Chapter Text
Fan’s condition had been getting worse. Nobody could deny it. All we could do was watch as he rotted away in that hospital bed. And it was taking a toll on all of us. Especially Test Tube.
She would stay in that hospital for days on end, sitting with Fan, holding his hand tight, hoping for something, anything.
But nothing happened.
After Fan’s condition hadn’t improved after a week, the OSC decided it would be best for the game to be shut down.
Many of the newbies were against the game being shut down, but none of us could deny that all this game ever caused was pain.
And so, I found myself on the steps of the Purgatory Mansion once again. It was the only place I could go to be alone with my thoughts. Mostly. Because there was one certain character that somehow always seemed to find me when I was at my worst.
Bow.
The person I was designed to be a replica of. She had found me sitting by myself the night Fan was hospitalized. After I explained the situation, she brought me inside and introduced me to the other residents of the mansion: Marshmallow, Apple, Dough, and Knife. I had seen them around before, just never had the time to actually talk to them.
Over the weeks, as I hung out at the mansion more and more, I grew a bond with everyone there. Well, except for Knife. I don’t think he’s over the fact that MePhone paused Season 2 to start Season 3, and I was technically a Season 3 newcomer, so…
Anyways, I’m getting off topic. It had been a month since Fan had been hospitalized at this point. And, to be honest, I had been losing hope. He wasn’t getting any better, and Test Tube had been losing sleep over it all. She stayed up all night almost every day, desperately trying to find some sort of solution.
I sat in Test Tube’s lab as the blue vial was seated at a desk, writing rushed ideas and concepts down on a notepad. “Maybe we could- ugh, NO! THIS ISN’T WORKING!” She exclaimed, ripping out another page and crumbling it up into a ball, tossing it behind her. Then, she put her head down on the table.
“We could try the Blu-Ray on him?” I asked nervously, standing up.
Test Tube turned to me and replied, “The Blu-Ray’s meant to PROTECT, not HEAL, BOT! DON’T YOU UNDER-” Then she froze, and a tear ran down her face. Looking down at her hands, she muttered, “What am I doing, yelling at my own kid…?”
I then gave her a hug, wrapping my arms around her. “It’s okay, Mom, you’re under a lot of stress because of this. It’s alright.”
Test Tube returned the hug, quietly replying with, “Thank you…”
“Alright, get some rest, okay? We can figure it out tomorrow.” I said, letting go of her.
She nodded and left the lab, leaving me alone in there. I headed over to my charging station, ready to power off for the night, when I noticed the liquid in the Blu-Ray twinkling softly. Picking it up, I recalled how Test Tube said this was organic matter given to us by the Shimmers shortly after MePhone had left. And if I remember correctly, the energy from one of the Shimmers was given to MePhone, which he used to create the contestants, which means…
I let out a gasp at the idea I had gotten. No way that would work.
But what other options do we have at this point? Fan’s only getting worse and worse every day, and everyone’s losing hope.
I shook my head, trying to forget that idea. I then let go of the Blu-Ray, setting it back where it was, before heading over to my charging station and powering off.
The next morning, when I woke up, I practically bolted out of the lab, headed for the mansion. Surely they’d be able to give some advice on this whole thing?
“You want to do WHAT?” Bow exclaimed when I told the Purgatory Mansion crew my idea.
Marshmallow sighed. “You do realize this most likely won’t work, Bot.”
“Well, I have to try!” I replied. “Fan’s practically dying right now! I can see how much of a toll this has on Test Tube, and to be honest…”
“I just want my dad to survive.”
“We get that, Bot, we all do.” Marshmallow said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “But we don’t even know if this’ll work. Think about it. We haven’t seen the Shimmers in a while, and they might not even be able to do this. It could’ve just been since MePhone had one of the Shimmers in him that let him do that.”
I let out a defeated sigh and dropped to my knees. “You’re right, guys. I just… I don’t know! This whole idea is reckless, and it might not even work. It’s all just- ugh! It’s so complicated! I can’t stand it!”
Then, Knife said something I didn’t expect.
“Well, what would Fan do?”
I looked up towards the grey ghost, recalling how Fan rushed to save Test Tube when she was falling. “He would… he would go for it. He would do it if it meant someone he cared about would be safe.”
“Then there’s your answer.” Knife replied.
I gave him a smile. “Thanks, guys. I think I know what to do now.” I then left the mansion, and headed for the hospital.
I just have to remember.
This is what Fan would do.