Chapter Text
It's a rainy day at Hotel Oj. The rain is a comforting thing for some, annoying for others, and the rest are neutral to it. Test Tube listens to the rain as she works, loving the sound of water hitting her window.
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Mephone was walking around outside on the contestant grounds before it suddenly started raining. He begins to panic when the first few drops start falling, being electronic and weak to water isn't very fun. He thinks about sprinting to the cave, before realizing that it's way too far and he'll die before anyone could find him in time.
Oj's hotel is close by though. Oj wouldn't mind if he stayed in the lobby, right? It'll just be until the rain stops. Mephone starts running to the hotel, stumbling a bit from rocks and uneven ground. He nearly reached the doors before everything went dark.
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Test Tube puts her raincoat and rain boots on, deciding to walk around in the rain. She gets to the lobby and grabs her umbrella, opening it as she walks out the front doors. She takes a couple of steps and kicks something. Looking down she spots…
"Mephone!?"
Test Tube quickly picks up Mephone after he doesn't respond, looking at him. He's sopping wet and his screen is off. She hurriedly carries him inside, bringing him to her room after putting up the umbrella.
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Mephone wakes up and groans.
"I can't believe I was so dumb to just sit in the rain like a MORON. Ughhh…"
He painfully sits up, slowly realizing that this isn't his cave.
"When did I..?"
He looks around the area, taking in every detail. He's sitting on a bed. The walls are orange and purple. There's a desk covered in writing utensils and papers. There's an open door leading to a bathroom. Looking closer into the bathroom, Mephone sees that there's someone in there, fishing for something hidden by the bathroom door. He can't really make out who it is, his sight is awful.
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Test Tube hunts for ANYTHING to dry off Mephone in her bathroom closet, before hearing him quietly mutter to himself. She couldn't tell what it was, but he's thankfully awake. Test Tube finds more towels and brings them over to where she placed Mephone, seeing him squinting at her.
"You're awake! Golly, I was getting worried!"
"Test Tube?"
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Mephone can barely tell what anything is. As the person walks closer to him, he can make out a few things. They're wearing yellow. The yellow clothes are a raincoat and rain boots. They're holding something in their arms. Their head is green. The green is liquid in clear glass. They're wearing a cork on their top. Is... Is that…
"Test Tube?"
"Are you doing okay?"
"Uhm…"
Mephone looks away for a bit. That's definitely Test Tube. Everything is still super blurry and his head just… It REALLY hurts… Maybe he should just lay back down for a little bit of time, that might help with his headache a tad.
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"Oh my!"
Test Tube watches as Mephone drops down onto the bed with a sound thump. He loudly groans as she walks over with the towels, drying him off a bit more.
"Can you hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah. I can hear you, loud and clear."
"Great! Could you maybe answer any questions for me?"
Mephone groans again, quite a bit louder than last time.
"Do I have to? I just want to lay down in peace."
Test Tube dries off the back and buttons of Mephone, being careful to make sure that she doesn't just move water inside his head.
"Yes, you do. That question was just for courtesy. I need to see what got damaged by the rain. Nobody here wants you to die from water damage."
"Are you positive that nobody here wants me to be dead? Not even just a little bit happy that I'm gone?"
"Mephone."
"It's obvious that Oj doesn't want me here, he denies me entrance to his hotel!"
"Mephone…"
"And I've seen how Salt gives me death glares, she'd be happy if I was dead!"
"Mephone!"
"Who else would be happy with my fat slob self being gone…"
"MEPHONE!"
Mephone jolts at getting yelled at, some tears pricking his eyes from his short rant. Test Tube places a gentle yet firm hand on his shoulder before speaking.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you, but I couldn't let you go off thinking like that! That's not okay, you hear me? Nobody in this hotel wants you dead, nobody in this hotel would be happier with you dead, and I ESPECIALLY don't want you to be gone. Oj just won't let you in without supervision, Salt just doesn't want you around 'her man', and…"
Test Tube trails off, noticing how scared Mephone looks. She keeps her movements slow and steady, not wanting to drive him away.
"Hey... It's okay. You're going to be okay. Do…"
She slowly opens one of her arms out, keeping the other one on his shoulder.
"Would you like a hug?"
Mephone nods, crashing into her body.
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Test Tube listens to Mephone's hiccuped breathing, keeping her hands on his back. She eventually moves one to his head and holds it near the camera lens. She speaks in a hushed tone, not really wanting to spoil the moment too much.
"Could you answer some questions now, or do you need a bit more time?"
He sits there for a little bit, just holding onto Test Tube. His grip becomes a tad tighter on her like she'll slip away if he didn't.
"Uhm…" He replies smartly.
"I… I can answer questions now, just…"
Mephone tightens his grip even more, with Test Tube getting the hint and holding him tighter.
"Let's check your sight first."
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"Okay, your reaction timing is slower than usual and your sensitivity is higher than usual. I'll write that down to build replacement parts." Test Tube scribbles down the results on a notepad while Mephone watches as she writes. He clung onto her free arm as she wrote, slowly drifting off to sleep.
"All done. I should drop you off at the infirmary now so you can rest."
Mephone snaps awake and looks at Test Tube in disbelief. "Wh- what?"
She either doesn't notice his distress or is actively ignoring it. "There's nowhere here for you to sleep that's comfortable, and you're injured, so I'll bring you to the infirmary and you can stay there for the night!"
"Oh… okay…"
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Teat Tube brings Mephone to the infirmary before wishing his a good night and leaving.
No amount of water damage could ever compare to the pain he felt as he laid in the cot and cried himself to sleep.