18:00

29 : Pair

For the first time in what must've been forever, Soap didn't notice the approaching footsteps from outside the door. She didn't care about the pair she didn't quite recognize, and she certainly didn't take note of any of it. With the tightness in her chest, how could she take note of everything?

She couldn't decide what it was about Lightbulb that was causing that tightness. Was it the sting of knowing that even though Soap had sacrificed her own life to get everybody out just for it to be for nothing, or was it the pain of betrayal after Lightbulb took the life she had been given through that sacrifice to hurt somebody else? Either way, the feeling coiled uncomfortably in Soap's chest.

Mayhaps it was the pure awkwardness of the last week that made Soap's stomach knot. Maybe it was the way Lightbulb was too ashamed to truly approach either of the other objects in the room, but still laid on the opposite side of the blanket during the night and listened to Soap's stories, despite not speaking a word. Or maybe it was just the suffering Soap had been alerted of.

No matter what caused the lump in Soap's throat though, in the end all it did was distract her from the footsteps approaching the room.

The bottled object flinched as the door unlocked. She spun her body towards the entrance as fast as she could, the need to see who was entering becoming an urgency.

At first the usual thought ran through her head; there was no reason to question it, it was always Test Tube. But once the door opened, Soap felt the lump in her throat tighten more than she thought it could.

"Fan?" Lightbulb piqued up, her voice croaking a bit from her lack of speech. The mentioned object only glanced away, the same sort of shame that Lightbulb held. Test Tube ignored the lingering emotions of the situation, instead immediately speaking up.

"G-5, J-2. I need you both to come with me." Test Tube instructed.

There was no answer. Of course, the sudden appearance of Fan stunned Test Tube at first as well. She could be patient for a moment and let the subjects process what was going on.

"...Him again?" Bow said, an odd sense of curiosity in her voice.

"His name is Fan." Test Tube corrected. An odd thing to correct somebody like Bow on in Soap's opinion, but it was Test Tube

"What are you doing here." Soap demanded, her voice firm. Her firmness must've come as a surprise to the two newcomer objects, as both Fan and Lightbulb widened their eyes at Soap's tone.

"He won't be doing anything today, he's just accompanying us." Test Tube answered. "Now come on, I need both you and G-5 to come with us."

"Why should she?" Soap said. The way she said 'she' rather than 'we' hooked onto the attention of everybody in the room. Her fists were balled, a familiar hatred in her voice.

But to all of this, Test Tube only groaned as it was the usual routine. "It's just a quick test J-2. It won't hurt anybody."

Soap's face straightened into a line. "Bow's already hurt. If you make her walk out of here, it definitely won't help her heal."

"She's not going to get any better than she is now." Test Tube said. "And if I have to carry her out of here, I will. Stop complaining and just get this over with for me."

Soap hesitated, glancing back over at Bow. Then at Lightbulb, then at Bow again.

Bow didn't seem to particularly care. Although she held that same uncomfortable feeling around Test Tube every other lab subject held, it also seemed the pink object wasn't too bothered by leaving the room. On the other hand, Lightbulb looked like she was still processing the situation. Soap sighed, turning back to Test Tube.