Something inside Taco snapped. She glared at Gelatin, feeling her rage bubble to the top as she grabbed him by the collar.

"YOU FUCKING KNEW?!"

             Gelatin flinched, tears pricking out of the corner of his eyes. She shook him slightly, before Pin and Coiny pulled her away. "GELATIN, YOU DUMBASS!!"

He clenched his head, sobbing. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!" Taco didn't care. "Is this some kind of joke to you?! Some kind of 'fun' game?!"

"My girlfriend's life is at stake here, and you didn't fucking think to tell us this?!" Taco spat, as Pin covered her mouth. "Taco! Stop yelling at him!"

Pin lectured, almost on the verge of tears herself. "He was put in a rough position! If Leafy would have asked you to keep it a secret, would you?"

Taco was quiet.

She couldn't say anything else.

Taco silently backed away from the group. "...I'm sorry Gelatin..." She mumbled, rubbing her arm. Gelatin sniffled, not saying anything.

                 She felt worse. Everyone was on edge and worried for Leafy. Not just her. It wasn't fair to assume others didn't care.

But...how did Gelatin of all people melt Leafy's icy exterior and become friends with her...? Taco shook her head slightly, regaining focus.

"Look. We need to know what our next course of action is going to be. Let's head back to Four and figure it out from there." She sighed, turning her back on the group.

               Microphone nervously tapped her fingers against the mug, eyes spiraling with fear and confusion. Paintbrush and Bottle were sitting close by, with similar expressions.

               "...I-I...I can't believe ice magic could ever get that strong..." Paintbrush finally murmured, voice a bit weak. Bottle nodded, nervously smiling.

                "B-But...it was k-kinda pretty..." Bottle quietly joked, earning a bit of a weird glare from Paintbrush. "Pretty?! Yeah, pretty dangerous!" They protested.

                 "Not only for us, but did you even see what they were doing to her?!" They added, recalling Leafy's icy transformation. "She could have frozen to death! I mean, she almost froze X to death!!"

               Paintbrush frowned, taking a anxious sip of their hot chocolate, with an added kick due to all the stress from earlier. Bottle glanced to the side shamefully, but nodded.

               "...I know..." She quietly croaked. "But...I was kinda...hoping...she would." She confessed, causing Paintbrush to choke on their spiked coco.

"WHAT?!"

          They coughed, slamming their mug on the table. "ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO YOURSELF?!" Bottle flinched, before tearing up.

          "But she's right!! Leafy's right!!" She cried. "I'm so sick of being locked up!! I'm so sick of missing Yellow Face!!!" She sobbed, as Paintbrush's gaze softened.

            "This isn't home!! It's a cold, frozen hell!!" Bottle sniffled, latching on to Paintbrush for comfort, crying into their chest. They pat her head, expression softening even more.

"I get it..." They sighed. "And... honestly...I'm sick of this place too..." They admit, hugging Bottle closer. "I miss Lightbulb...Test Tube..."

They weakly chuckled. "Hell, even Cheesy." Bottle sniffled again, as Paintbrush wiped her tears away. Microphone frowned, shadows covering her eyes.

She stood up. "...I-I miss them too. But..." She looked away. "Remember that X saved us. And they saved them too. Our powers are too dangerous." Microphone said.

                 "If Leafy could almost freeze X of all people to death, imagine what we could do to someone without powers." She sniffled, wiping her tears away.

                 Paintbrush and Bottle fell silent. They didn't know how to respond. And before they could think of one, Microphone walked off. Paintbrush pulled Bottle closer.

Both conflicted.

            Leafy felt an invisible string tugging her. The voice of her mother echoed in her mind, as she walked down the frozen halls. Everyone seemed to be asleep at the moment.

             She wasn't sure why she was hearing her mother. For all she knew, it was a trap by X. But then again...something about this felt... genuine.

Maybe it was hope. A foolish hope that maybe her mother was still here. A hope that she had some family left in this place.

After all, X had stolen her away from the only other people Leafy felt remotely close with, making her isolated once again. Even if that wasn't their intention.

Leafy winced slightly at the thought of X, how she lost control and almost killed them. She felt remorse. She wanted to change his mind, but not like that.

                Eventually, Leafy was broken from her thoughts when she bumped into a wall. "Huh...?" She looked up. It was...odd...just an ordinary wall.

                  "But then...where is the way in?" She mumbled, pressing her hands against the wall. She noticed an odd, diamond shaped hole in the wall. She must have needed a key.

              Leafy closed her eyes in thought. Now where would X hide a key...? Once again, she was broken out of her thoughts. This time, by the wall moving.

                She quickly scrambled behind a pillar, watching to see who would walk out. Who she did see, was a surprise. "So, that was your song then?" Fan laughed slightly, a blush on his face.

             Knife nodded, a bit embarrassed, but hid it behind a smile. "Yeah...but I think the metal made it worth it." He smirked teasingly. "Especially compared to your pitchy performance.~"

              Fan laughed nervously, but the goofy smile still remained on his face. He was just looking at Knife so lovingly. And Knife...was doing the same.

               For some reason...this hurt Leafy. Yes, she loved seeing how happy they were together after being isolated from each other for months, but...

Why did it make her chest ache...?

               She felt like she was on the verge of tears, quickly wiping them away as Fan took the diamond from the hole...and...flickered away. He slightly hissed in pain.

              "I could have taken it out- I mean, I am the one resistant to fire." Knife joked. Fan just smiled, shrugging. "I just didn't want anyone to stumble upon your memory room."

               Leafy listened closer. "Usually some objects forget their fractals in the door, so others can stumble upon some...pretty embarrassing memories."

            Knife chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "You must speak from experience." Fan's face flushed red again as Knife held his hand. Fan finally chuckled.

             "Yeah...Baseball wandered in there-" He admit, as the two started to leave. Once they were gone, Leafy stepped out. "Fractals...hm..." She mumbled.

"Now how do I get my hands on a fractal?"