Warning: Heavy gore and suicide in one scene.

In the late afternoon, at the hospital downtown, Paintbrush was laying on the bed while Microphone was right next to them. They were wearing a smooth blue hospital gown that was held up by a fabric string. Paintbrush was unconscious from the shot, but she knew they were alive because the monitor was still beeping. Even with that, she was worried for them and didn't know what would happen next since they just murdered someone in front of an authority. Upon waiting, a doctor came in and he was the same doctor that checked in with Paintbrush before. A red and white soda can with a brown strap and tab connected on top of him. "Hello, Microphone, I assume. It's nice to meet you," said the doctor in his usual calm voice. "Hello," said Microphone nervously, she got up and walked over to the doctor. "Microphone, come with me. We need to talk about something." Microphone followed the doctor to another room in the hospital while a nurse stayed with Paintbrush. The room wasn't far, and it was only two rooms away. The doctor locked the room and offered Microphone a chair. The white room was almost empty except there were two chairs, a couch, and a table in the middle of the room. Once they sat down, the doctor began, "How are you today?" "I'm doing alright." said Microphone in her shy voice. He puts a few papers on the table that he was holding, and Microphone tries to look it over. One of the papers makes up the records of Paintbrush which concern her. "So, where's your other friend? I hear she was with you on the problem too." The doctor then glanced at Microphone after looking over the papers. "I told her to go because she showed them what they needed. Also…I don't want her to go through more. Just no." Microphone stared down at the table while the doctor seemed concerned for her. "Well. I hope she's okay. So, we decided to take in Paintbrush first," said the doctor with his calm voice. This made Microphone nervous and knowing the possibilities of what could happen to Paintbrush, she doesn't want that for them. "No," said Microphone with that word coming out of her mouth being the only thing she could say. Her hands were twitching, and her face was slowly sweating. "It would be a death sentence," said the doctor, making things worse for Microphone. "Please. They're only unstable. Please…" She begged him, and the doctor knew this just by looking at her worried face. However, despite what he said, the doctor also has good news as well. "Well, after looking through the information you and your friend gave us. We have other plans." Microphone stopped sweating, her facial expression calmed down, and she now wondered what he meant. Her hopes were coming up again and decided to ask about the other plans. "What are those 'other plans' may I ask?" asked Microphone in her calmest voice. "Well, you see, they showed highly concerning behavior. Hallucinations, aggressive attitude, and inappropriate responses." He shows her one of the papers talking about Paintbrush's behavior and the evidence the hospital got. It turns out that Cabby was hiding more than what she showed to Microphone. One of the pieces of evidence describes a recording of Paintbrush acting strange inside their house. Despite that, Microphone didn't care anymore since she thought Cabby just wanted to help and was even foolish enough to ask Taco to join her along. "Oh…" Microphone didn't know what else to say, so she just stayed quiet. "They will leave this hospital tomorrow morning, and be sent to a sanatorium outside of the state." After hearing that, Microphone was relieved that Paintbrush was getting some help soon. She smiled at the doctor, "Thank you, Doc."

They both continue with the paperwork until, a few hours later, Microphone leaves the room to find the other one where she was previously at. Once she did, the nurse saw her and left the room. There she sat down on the chair next to the still unconscious paintbrush. At least, that's what she thought when Microphone looked at Paintbrush. They were secretly awake, and just pretending to be unconscious because they heard everything. When Microphone and the doctor were talking, Paintbrush was starting to wake up. The nurse was at the restroom at the time while they were waking up. Overhearing everything they heard between them, and the fact of being sent away scared Paintbrush. The thought of getting brainwashed, being away from home, and they can no longer see the light of day again. It scares them. They were shaking badly, their face sweating, and their heart beeping fast. Paintbrush was breathing heavily until the nurse came back from her restroom break. They quickly lay on the bed and pretend to still be unconscious.

Back in the present, Paintbrush was just fake sleeping and listening to Microphone talking to herself. "Why do things have to be this way?..." said Microphone, looking at the white tiles through her reflection. Paintbrush, feeling uncomfortable on one side of the bed, decided to move. This frightened Microphone, she got up from her chair and started shaking them. "PAINTBRUSH?! ARE YOU AWAKE?!" yelled Microphone, shaking Paintbrush left and right. Paintbrush tries to close their eyes while being shaken, but it was hard. Fortunately, Microphone stopped shaking them after a while, and now she was losing hope. The paintbrush was relieved, and they tried to at least nap for a few hours after that. The day was dark as the darkness within others, the wind moving slowly, and leaves all over the empty town. Paintbrush woke up from their nap, slowly got off the bed, and now their feet were touching the floor. They looked around the room, not a sound other than Microphone and her lightly snoring. She was asleep on the chair while her body was slightly tilting off. Paintbrush left the room, one leg moving the other, and their hair popping out. The hair was messy, lines straight up, and somewhat tangled through the hair lines. They looked around the hallway to see if anyone was there. The hallway was just another ghost town, the outside offices were empty, and even the restroom doors were open. As if an apocalypse took over the hospital, Paintbrush was just relieved that nobody was around. However, to double-check, they look through the offices just to be safe. They look through the paperwork, the computers, and even under the desks. After knowing the coast is clear, Paintbrush made their run through the right side of the hallway. They passed through the many glass window rooms covered by teal curtains. They eventually got to the elevator, but realized someone was coming out of it. The elevator's lights were on, indicating someone was coming, so Paintbrush ran to the other hallway next to the elevator. Then another person was coming from that hallway, and Paintbrush had no choice but to hide. They went inside a closet nearby that was thankfully open for them. It was crowded with medical stuff, needles, tissues, and biohazard plastic bags. This didn't matter to Paintbrush, and they just wanted to hide from the upcoming staff.

Once everyone left, Paintbrush stormed out of the closet and went back to the elevator. They pressed the open button, and it opened the door. Paintbrush quickly walked in and looked at the buttons to the left of the elevator. It confused them since they didn't know what the buttons meant besides the open button. They then saw a button label close, and right when they realized it, a nurse from afar saw Paintbrush. They panicked, and they forced the close button. This caused the door to close right away, and Paintbrush just pressed whatever button they saw afterward. Later on, the day still full of darkness, Paintbrush made it to the maintenance. Again, nobody was around so Paintbrush made a run to the exit. "FINALLY, FREEDOM!" yelled to themselves, pushing the door, and out onto the outside world. Outside of the hospital was a stony pathway with a small river and trees nearby. They ran through the concrete pathway passing by the leafy grass and small river. They made it back to the dusty old city and were lost, they didn't know where to go. However, they knew time was running out, Paintbrush began looking until they saw the train station above them. The train station was connected to the tall buildings, had stairways to enter or leave, and an elevator out in the open. Paintbrush took the elevator, remembered what they had learned, went up, and made it to the train station. Unfortunately, some poles were blocking the entrance and it needed a credit card to get in. The person guarding the entrance was asleep, and Paintbrush thought it was a good time to take off their hospital gown. They untied the string, and the gown dropped on its own. This wasn't a problem when half of the object folks don't even wear clothing in the first place. Since the poles can still be passed through, Paintbrush hopped over one of the poles and made it to the other end. They ran towards the station which was out in the open. The rails were connected to the metal bridge, a roof covering everything except the rails, and chairs to sit at. Paintbrush walked over to the chairs, sat down, and looked at the night blue sky. Not many stars were seen in the city with the buildings mostly blocking them. Paintbrush thought about the moments of their loved ones, the memories they had together. Paintbrush was starting to break down as tears were racing fast. They began to sob, pulling their hair out, and screaming their names. After a few minutes of screaming, they immediately stopped because they didn't want to draw attention. They never wanted to be noticed, they only wanted to disappear, and nothing more.

Back to Microphone, she slowly started to wake up after hearing footsteps in the room. At first, she ignored it, thinking it was the doctor, but after realizing that Paintbrush was gone from their bed, she panicked. "How could I be so foolish!" whispered Microphone to herself, getting off the chair, and looking around the hallway. Eventually, she found the doctor walking into the hallway where she was at. "Doctor! I think Paintbrush escaped!" She runs towards the doctor, hoping he has an answer. "Well, Microphone. I can see that. Let's check the cameras. Quickly." The doctor took Microphone into another room next to the open office. The room was dark, ten screens on the wall were off, and an empty chair. "Where's the security camera dude?" asked Microphone desperately. "Well, he's on his lunch break. Don't worry, I know how to use this." The doctor turns on the ten screens, making a few clicks, and one of the screens shows Paintbrush leaving the hospital. Microphone gasped and realized Paintbrush overheard them. "I-I think they overheard us. Doc," said Microphone nervously. "I could tell. Let's go find them. I will send out an emergency lookout." Microphone and the doctor left the hospital in a hurry, looked around the hospital area, and now outside of it. Fortunately, the train station was out in the open, and the doctor could easily see Paintbrush sitting down in the station. "Microphone. I think we found them." The doctor pointed the paintbrush to Microphone and she gasped. "WE HAVE TO GO UP THERE!!" yelled Microphone, accidentally releasing her volume loudly. However, Paintbrush slightly heard Microphone, and they turned around to their horror. They saw the duo at the bottom, and not even far away from the station. Paintbrush began to break down again. "NO, NO, NO!!! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN TO ME!!! I CAN'T, I CAN'T, I CAN'T!!!" They were moving back and forth, pulling their hair once more, and crying uncontrollably. Getting off the chair, now laying on the floor, they continue to panic. They were kicking the chair violently, yelling at it, and even biting it. After a while, they heard footsteps coming in and stood up. Paintbrush was nervous but all of a sudden, they saw light from the left side of the tracks. They then realized it was the train. Paintbrush was happy, knowing that they could get away from them, and being free at last. The footsteps were getting louder and the train was getting closer. Once the train came, Paintbrush jumped into one of the carts, and it closed right away. The train was heading off, and Paintbrush looked over the window. They saw that Microphone and the doctor were looking for them, confused about where they went, and the duo were frustrated now making the realization. Paintbrush just smiled maniacally, relieved they were out of their sight, and no longer worrying about the duo anymore. They just lay down on one of the train couches and closed their eyes. After a long night of escaping, all they wanted to do was just sleep and live freely. They slowly closed their eyes and fell asleep. They dream about the memories of their loved ones. The day they met, the day where they hung out, and the day they had the best times with them. The memories were now fading away, showing nothing but darkness, and silence in the dream realm.

"Life isn't the same anymore once you have lost everything. It's just darkness and darkness you're looking at, and nothing more. Your life is a lie and so is mine, the memories, the thoughts, and that is nothing. So, why bother going on with it? You're better off dead and this is your fault. This is my fault, why am I still here?! Why do I exist?! If I didn't exist at all, they still would have been alive. Without me."

The sound of a train screeching, the lights flickering, and the carts bouncing up and down. The bouncing caused Paintbrush to land on the train floor, and they suddenly woke up in shock. They looked around and realized the train was about to crash. They didn't know what to do so they just pressed the emergency button near them which did nothing. "Stupid button, stupid button, stupid button, stupid button, stupid button!" The next thing they did was try to open the door but it was also useless. They were pulling the handle with all their force, but they ended up slipping to the floor instead. They hit their head and now have the worst headache in their lives. As they got up again, they tried smashing the window, but it was too strong to bear. With all of this on their mind, their hair was smoking up again. The smoke was filling up the train cart they were in and fire sparked out. They were outraged and they used the fire on the door to break free. Unfortunately, the fire only caused the door to heat up, and the train was now making sounds. The screeching sounds that nobody likes, Paintbrush put their hands between their head, and the train was heated up inside out. Eventually, the train exploded, and Paintbrush passed out for a few hours.

"Ugh…what happened?..." Paintbrush woke up and didn't know where they were at. The area was still full of smoke, so they couldn't make out what was there. They walked around the area and realized the train had already crashed. The train fell off the tracks, and to the ground after its doom. Despite being also confused since they survived such a crash and fall. Once the smoke cleared out, Paintbrush finally made out what was around. They realized the neighborhood around the upper tracks, it was old, sad, and out of date. The buildings look like they were built a long time ago, and the trees were mostly cut off. As they walked through the neighborhood after escaping the upper tracks and the alley after it, they looked around. The sidewalks were dirty, the grass mostly dead, and the tall outdoor lights shattered. This didn't matter to Paintbrush as they knew they were far away from Microphone and the doctor now. They were just happy to be a free bird again after the incident. Even though they knew things couldn't change, they just wanted to be alone with them. Paintbrush was yelling out their names, kicking the dirt near the sidewalk, and walking faster. They still couldn't see them, so they began to panic. The wind through the grass was getting stronger as Paintbrush was running around, and they continued to go all over the place. They were going through the alleys, now kicking old trash bins, and holding a large stick in their hands. One of the house window lights turns on, and this frightens Paintbrush. They tried to hide somewhere but didn't know where until they saw a tunnel from afar. The tunnel was circular, it was surrounded by bricks glued together to create a wall, and there was a train track on top of it. It was old and dirty, mold was growing from the outside, and water was leaking through the entrance of the tunnel. Thinking it was a good place to hide, Paintbrush went inside the tunnel. Inside the tunnel was water leaking through the top, the ground was muddy, and the circular walls were growing grass and mold at the same time. This still didn't bother them, they just wanted to run away and nothing more. Then all of a sudden, they saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Paintbrush smiled and decided to run in that direction, "YES, YES, YES!!!" They were stepping on the muddy ground, accidentally hitting themselves on the moldy wall, and running weirdly. Paintbrush eventually made it to the light and realized it was the light of some random mall. The mall looked abandoned, it was the color of bone white, with some stores with windows shattered, and tiles missing. They continued to look around, the ceiling was peeling off, some water dripping, some lights shattered, and signs saying the closure of the store.

Paintbrush just set their knees down and started crying. This was not the light they were looking for, and they ended up collapsing to the ground with their stick. Water came out of their eyes, and their cries became sobs as they just wanted their lives to go back to normal. When everyone was okay, and when things were much different a long time ago.

"Painty…"

"LIGHTBULB?!"

Paintbrush quickly got up, and saw Lightbulb but was fully yellow and transparent. They then realized they weren't alone after seeing their loved ones there too. Some with different colors, transparent, and they were all smiling softly at Paintbrush. They just stood there looking at them, Paintbrush couldn't believe their eyes and now started crying again.

This time, however, it was out of joy.

Paintbrush lifted their arms out, and everyone came in to hug them. "Hey, Paintbrush, do you want to go to the band?" said the ghost of Marshmallow happily. "Hey, Paintbrush, do you want to go to the park?" said the ghost of Fan happily. "Hey, Paintbrush, do you want to go to the zoo?" said the ghost of Test Tube happily. "No! How about the museum?!" yelled the ghost of Bot as she flew over to Paintbrush. "Hey, Paintbrush, do you want to go to the beach?" said the ghost of Lightbulb calmly. "I would love to go to the breach! And the banned! And the bark! And the zoo museum!" yelled Paintbrush, jumping up and down with Bot holding their hand. "Then what are we waiting for?!" Bot was dragging Paintbrush further into the mall. "I need to use the bathroom." Paintbrush lets go of her hand and turns around to the others. "Go under the tree. We will be waiting here," said Marshmallow calmly. "Can I have candy?" They walked over to their loved ones with a huge smile on their face. "Of course! Let's go!" Everyone followed Bot further into the mall with Paintbrush now dropping their large stick. The paintbrush picks up a rope on the floor and bites the rope while having it in their hands.

I was just walking around the neighborhood, pretty old and abandoned around here, but I don't mind it. I also realized some trash bins were knocked down. Not a big deal around a neighborhood like this. However, I did realize the tunnel, which was at the end of the hood. I decided to go in because I'm bored. I'm also the strongest and sharpness in the hood, and nobody can stop Mr. Knife Guy here. Anyways, as I was going in, I came across a terrible smell. It was so bad that I don't even know why I was still walking through the tunnel. After a while of walking, I came across the abandoned mall and looked around. Just the usual broken store windows, the roof peeling off, and some floor tiles missing. I may well find out what that smell is since I'm already here and it's getting stronger. Unfortunately, it was something I wish I never came across. Someone hangs themselves up near a dark room, and it was Paintbrush. Now, I never knew much about them other than they came into a random neighborhood for no reason. I know something was up back there, but I never knew it would go this far. Their eyes were hanging off, blood coming from their mouth, and their neck, tied up by the rope, was also bleeding out. All of this got me disgusted, and now I knew where the smell was coming from. I walked away from the spot and just called the police.

It's the least I could do.

I wish I had done something before.

Summary:

Microphone and the Doctor talk about sending Paintbrush to the sanatorium. Microphone realized Cabby was hiding more than what she showed her, but the microphone didn't care anymore. Meanwhile, Paintbrush overheard the duo while fake sleeping, and they decided to escape. After successfully escaping them by taking the train, it crashed. Paintbrush survived the crash and ended up in an old neighborhood. There, they started going insane and later hung themselves up. Before that, they saw the ghosts of their loved ones. Later on, Knife was just walking around the hood until they found Paintbrush dead and called the police.

NOTE:

Everyone suddenly disappearing, yeah that's normal in that AU. Anyways, thanks for reading! Let me know if you want a follow-up story! Although, it won't come out soon because I have other stories to do! The next one won't even be about object shows! That's one thing for sure!

Word Count: 3,657