Make Him Proud [II AU/FANFIC/DARKFIC]

Chapter 12A: Sliced and Diced

Pickle gasped when the window shattered behind him. Shards of glass flew everywhere and some even flew into his skin. He screamed, limping to the side to get out of the way. Knife and Suitcase ran over to help him, but the others stared blankly at the window.

"What. Was. THAT?!" OJ yelled. The ex-contestants had no clue, but Knife spoke up.

"Hey, didn't you say it was a tree? I didn't know trees could throw rocks." The sharp object said, pointing at the rocks on the ground near the window.
OJ didn't answer, he looked stumped. Test Tube was in the corner of the room pacing in circles while Fan ranted about how everything would go downhill from this point on.
"Oh, Fan, calm down! I'm sure it's fine! Maybe we can look in the woods and find the cause of all of this!" Test Tube said, her face beaming with excitement.
"Testy, as much as I love the idea, PEOPLE ARE GETTING HURT!!! This is all so overwhelming and a simple little detective case wouldn't help!!" Fan screamed. The two of them continued talking until OJ walked up to them.
"Guys, maybe Test Tube is right. If we go looking in the woods, we can find who— or what— caused this. Pickle, you stay behind. Knife, wanna watch Pickle for us?"
Knife nodded before looking at Pickle and smiling. OJ then turned to Taco who was trying to blend in with the crowd and forget what just happened.
"Taco, I see you over there. As much as I hate to ask, mind helping out? You might be able to find hiding spots since—"
"Yeah; don't remind me, you brute. I'll come for the fun of it." Taco muttered. She walked out of the crowd and didn't bother to look up at the people who were silently judging her. Especially Pickle.
"Does anyone else want to come?" OJ exchanged glances with a few former contestants, but only three joined him in their hunt: Lightbulb, Nickel and Test Tube.
"This sounds fun! C'mon, Testy!" The bright object chanted as she ran out the door with the other object. Nickel followed behind the group, but eventually he caught up with the others. Taco and OJ were talking about god knows what, but Test Tube and Lightbulb were oblivious as always. Test Tube wasn't always ignorant, but when she was around her friends she seemed to let loose.

Unfortunately, that'd get them hurt.

Lightbulb and Test Tube ended up separating, and Lightbulb was nowhere in sight. Test Tube ran back the moment she couldn't find her friend and told the others. Taco and Nickel didn't seem to care, but OJ was somewhat concerned. The breakfast beverage told them to split up and try to find her, but it was no use. Test Tube ran back to the hotel almost immediately to tell the others Lightbulb was missing; Paintbrush shot up from their seat and ran out the door. Pickle tried running up too, but the cuts in his leg made it hard to walk. Knife had to hold him back so he wouldn't get hurt any more.
  Test Tube and Paintbrush went into the woods to look for Lightbulb, and the rest of the group met up again to check on each other; except Nickel, he was gone.

"Okay, so Paintbrush and Test Tube are looking for Lightbulb, has anyone here found her?" OJ asked.
"Nope. Have you seen Nickel?" Taco asked.
    OJ shook his head, and Taco looked disappointed. Taco sighed, looking up at OJ. He looked disappointed, too, but they both gasped when they saw Paintbrush and Test Tube carrying Lightbulb. She had a crack in the side of her light and she wasn't awake, she must've passed out in the forest. They both ran to the hotel quick enough to get help from the others, but Nickel was still nowhere in sight.

"I'll go look for Nickel." OJ said in a serious but concerned tone. He walked into the forest, but Taco grabbed his hand before he could walk away.
"Wait— You wanted me to come with you to find someone, right? You can't just leave me here!" Taco pleaded. He sighed, accepting her offer and taking her with him.
    Him and Taco looked for Nickel further in the forest, but they couldn't find him. They hoped he didn't get hurt like Lightbulb. Taco strayed away from OJ and started walking her own way. She pushed a bush out of the way and saw a large stick on the floor and small pieces of glass, but no Nickel. Further down was a shuttle of some sort, and the door was wide open. She paused, realizing whoever was hurting the contestants had already got out and could be anywhere. Fortunately, she found Nickel behind a bush nearby. Whoever was here had tried hiding him. She tried waking him up, but he didn't budge. He looked dizzy and his mouth was wide open. There was a small dent on his head and it might've been the reason he was non-responsive; he could've hit something nearby and passed out.