Chapter Text
“Healing is a process, that's the truth.” That is what MePad told Taco, wasn’t it? Days have been blurring together recently. With the OSC, things are so vanilla, so bland. There truly is nothing interesting going on.
Taco has been trying to speak with Microphone recently, and they’re making amends, as for Pickle, well not so much. He still hates her, with reason. She doesn’t blame anyone for hating her, at least she’s not as hated as Cobs.
Whenever anybody hears Cobs’ name, it’s chaos! Everyone hates him, genuinely, it’s hell. Taco wishes Cobs was never alive, sure, she’d be dead too, none of her friends would be alive, but maybe that’s what's needed. Maybe Taco should never have existed!
—o0o—
Taco jolts awake in bed, breathing heavy. She looks at Microphone next to her and gets out of bed. She makes her way out of her room and all the way to Test Tube’s lab. Test Tube should be there right now.
“Test Tube?” She asks, almost inaudibly as she enters the main room of the lab. Test Tube is there with MeTag and Fan. “You have MePad, right?”
Make no mistake, MePad is dead, but they managed to save his corpse? Body? Whatever.
“Oh yeah, I do. Why?” Test Tube responds, looking confused. She doesn’t know Taco that well, she was introduced in Season Two, which were beyond Taco’s competition days.
“Oh, I’d just like to see him.” The Brit replies sheepishly. Taco isn’t a very vulnerable person, but sometimes, she just needs the comfort. MePad was a source of that when he was still alive, so she’d go to his corpse when needing it. Test Tube is working on bringing MePad back, actually!
“Golly, I don’t know if you can. We’re still working on tests to bring him back and well, it’s not pretty.” Test Tube frowns.
“Please, Test Tube.” Taco says. Test Tube nods and lets Taco into the room with MePad, and she was not lying, the sight is not pretty, there are a lot of wires and cords. He’s still in the bow tie that made him invisible. Taco watches as Test Tube closes the door before she starts to rant.
“MePad, it’s just- Ugh! Microphone is too forgiving! I don’t deserve it, I don’t deserve anything. Honestly I don’t blame Pickle for hating me, I’d hate me too! I do hate me. Honestly. I just- I don’t deserve Mic. I don’t deserve her.”
Taco sits next to MePad’s dead body for a while before leaving the room, thanking Test Tube, then going back to her room in Hotel OJ.
—o0o—
Microphone is awake when Taco returns.
“Where were you?” She demands. Microphone isn’t a rude person, she can be competitive and strong witted when necessary, but she’s also kind to people who are good to her.
“I just went to Test Tube’s lab to check in on how MePad is doing. That’s it.” Taco explains. Microphone’s expression softens by a fraction.
“Oh. How is he?” She asks Taco with concern evident on her face. Mic knew MePad as a host, Taco knew him as a friend, Toilet knew him as more. Taco and Toilet don’t get along well.
“He’s- Well there’s a lot of wires, but things look promising.” Taco smiles. Microphone smiles as well. Taco climbs into bed next to Mic. “Good Night, Microphone.”
“G’night, Taco.” Microphone replies, hugging her side.
—o0o—
Taco wakes up the next morning, well, afternoon, alone. She finds that happening often, her waking up late, alone in bed, the sun shining through the window and into her eyes. She hates it, but she also finds it hard to sleep at night, so this shall suffice for now.
She sits up in bed and the collar of her shirt falls off her shoulder. She carefully climbs out of bed and goes to the closet to pick out a tuxedo. She finds joy in looking formal all of the time, as, in her opinion, she is quite the business woman. She puts on her bow-tie before putting her hair into a loose pony tail. She leaves her hotel room and finds Mic talking with Test Tube and Fan in a hushed tone.
“Are you all talking about something important? I’d hope not, with this space being public, and all.” Taco smirks, sitting on a couch, sipping her tea.
“Oh! Golly, Taco we have to show you something! Microphone, go get Toilet! It’s about MePad!” Test Tube exclaims with pure joy. Taco raises her eyebrow.
Toiler approaches the group. “You have news about MePad?” He says in his normal voice (the one Taco finds similar to nails on a chalk board). He sits next to Taco, who glares at him.
“MePad is alive! We did it.” Test Tube says. Toilet sobs, presumably tears of joy, while Taco stands up from shock.
“May we see him? I need to see him!” Taco says. Test Tube and Fan lead them to MePad, who is sitting now in the hospital, rather than the lab. Taco runs to his side.
“Hello Taco.” He says calmly, in his normal soothing voice that he always has.
“Wow. You’re alive.” She says. Toilet jumps around and starts to yap to MePad. Taco stands to the side. She hates Toilet, but she knows how much they mean to each other, so she lets them talk first. Mic finds her place next to Taco, who looks up at Microphone with a smile. “Hey pretty.”
Mic rolls her eyes. “You’re just saying that.” She laughs. “How’re you feeling now that MePad is back?”
“I never thought it’d be possible, I mean, we saw him die, but here he is, okay and alive. It’s crazy to believe, but I’m happy, you know?” She sighs.
“I know, Taco. I know.” Microphone replies. MePad looks at Taco with… Fear? Hate, maybe. That’s when Test Tube walks over.
“So, we had to reset some of his memory, so he may not remember you, or your bond.”
No. No no no no nonononono! He’d said he always wanted to meet her, but.. Oh God. What if he hates her? Oh God, oh God, oh God. Toilet stops talking and Taco goes over to MePad.
“Hey MePad.” She says. He looks at her weirdly. She sighs and turns around, leaving, and going right back to Hotel OJ. Microphone follows her.
“Taco! Taco listen!” Microphone says. “Rebuild your bond with him!”
Taco stiffens. “You don’t get it, Microphone. He was a source of comfort for me, but now.. He might hate me. You have no clue how horrible it is.”
“That’s right, I don’t.”