(chapter 9 is currently being written, but i'm publishing this early since it's finished so there might be some spelling mistakes and plotholes. this will probably be edited later)

There Salt was, standing in the entryway, a look of pure horror plastered on her face as her mind struggled to process what was in front of her. Her eyes were so wide that they started to water, both from emotion and from dryness, and her mouth was twisted into a heart-breaking frown that told Test Tube more than her words ever could.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. It never was. But it had to be.

The sound of shattering echoed in Test Tube's head, bouncing around the walls of her skull to try and fill the terrifying silence. Salt began to shake - Test Tube assumed it was from a mix of the chilling breeze and her tensing muscles.

The tension was like a glass balloon, floating higher and higher until Salt lunged forward, resulting in a deafening shatter much like Pepper's.

The unconscious body fell out of Test Tube's grip as Salt pinned her down onto the rock and pebble below, causing small cracks to form both from pressure and the impact. She had never assumed Salt to be so strong, but as she had started to research because of her paranoia, adrenaline and revenge could cause objects to do extraordinary things.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" was all Test Tube could hear through her opponent's string of slurred sobs. She was more focused on avoiding the punches that Salt tried to land on her out of pure rage and devastation. Her struggle could only last so long, however, and eventually Test Tube managed to slip out of her grasp.

"Why... why?! WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ANYONE?! TO HER?!"

Test Tube leaned against the wall of Hotel OJ, trying to catch her breath for just a split second. She panted in a terrified, guilty daze, listening to Salt's hoarse, sobbing voice and the distant thunder of a nearby storm.

How would she get out of this mess?

She didn't deserve to, that's for sure.

Maybe... right! Maybe she could frame someone for the murder of Pepper!

But if Salt were alive to tell the truth, that surely wouldn't work...

Oh no.

Her heart sank, like a bird being shot out of the sky, as she realized what she'd have to do.

Test Tube threw open the entrance doors, tracking mud and raindrops from the fast-approaching storm into the building. And, of course, Salt quickly followed, tackling her onto the floor and holding a firm grip on her vial.

For a split second, everything felt slow as Test Tube braced herself for her death.

She thought that Salt would bash her head into the hard floor below, instantly shattering Test Tube just like she had shattered Pepper.

But she didn't.

Salt panted, rain and tears blending together as they rolled down her glass. A look of pure betrayal and fury still burned in her tired eyes, but it burned less fiercely than before. Her glass face was painted with a slightly reddish hue from her intense sobbing. More and more tears ran down her face as she began to quietly sob, the realization that Pepper might actually be dead kicking in.

Test Tube felt sorry for her. She had at least had a chance to mourn the death of her closest friends, while Salt had been thrown into a life-or-death situation while still in shock.

Caught up in her mourning, Salt allowed Test Tube to slip away, quickly scurrying into the kitchen. Once she spotted Test Tube's silhouette, that burning fury possessed Salt yet again, and she ran after her target.

The quick but heavy steps of Salt approaching, Test Tube frantically scrambled through the cabinets in search of a knife. Exactly why a knife when a blunt object could get the job done easily, she wasn't sure, but she felt safer with an object so usually associated with weaponry in her hands. She curled up into a ball behind a counter, hoping to surprise the attacker and get another head start, and flinched as she heard a shatter from beyond the kitchen.

As she closed her eyes and prepared for a bash to her vial, something strange occurred.

Not a scream. Not a cry. Not a punch, or a kick, or any sort of emotion at all. No response from the dark figure in the doorway to the kitchen. Just nothing.

Just... a pause.

Thoughts welled up inside their heads, just like the tears welling up in their eyes. It was only natural to try and make sense where sense lacked.

Nothingness truly was terrifying - and the thought that objects had evolved a primal fear of it was even more so.

"I'm done."

Salt's weak, monotone voice took over Test Tube's desperate mind, finally giving her sensory-starved brain something to feed on and think over. Completely baffled and caught up in her thoughts, Test Tube remained in shocked silence. "...with... life?" she asked after a while, an awkwardly rising tone in her voice.

"With this", Salt's voice echoed again. "So... yeah, I guess."

Test Tube still didn't understand. "W-... What do you mean?"

"You took everything from me. I live for my friends. I live for OJ, and for Pepper. And if I continue living, I know you'll take the few people that still like me, too."

More tears rolled down Test Tube's cheeks. She didn't understand. She didn't want to understand. What did Salt want her to do? Test Tube hadn't known Salt much, and to be honest, she still subconsciously held a bitter grudge towards both of the condiments because of the events of the alternate timeline, but-

"I want you to kill me, Test Tube."

Her suspicions were confirmed.

"...What?" was all she could manage to say.

"You heard me. You've already taken everyone I care about. And since it seemed so fun and easy for you, I'm sure you won't have any problem with taking me, too."

Test Tube breathed a sigh of relief as a hint of anger and bitterness entered the saltshaker's empty voice. It was strange and terrifying to her Salt speak in the state she was now, lacking all her enthusiasm and repeating vocabulary. Test Tube's mouth hung wide open in shock, and she quickly closed it as she regained her composure and the little calmness she felt in the situation.

"Salt, I'm not going to-"

"No witnesses, right? I've seen that in horror movies and serial killer documentaries. Who's to say I won't rat you out? What will you do then?"

Test Tube began to tear up again as Salt stepped into the light. The face she was met with was a face of complete hopelessness, grief and sorrow. Salt's eyes were dull and red from tears, pointed blankly downward as she began to approach the counters where Test Tube was hidden.

And in her hands was a broken glass bottle.

Test Tube really didn't mean what happened next. It was a natural response, a primal instinct: fight or flight, life or death.

She really didn't mean to make Salt trip.

A deafening shatter echoed through the empty first floor of Hotel OJ as Salt's corpse collapsed onto the kitchen tile. Or, at least, Test Tube thought it was a corpse. The entirety of Salt's face had shattered, leaving her only an oversized saltshaker with limbs.

Test Tube's mind instantly shut out her actions - she was getting better at that - and drifted away into her memories of her deceased friends instead.

Part of her still believed that they were alive, that they were still there, just in a different room. Part of her believed that she could just give Fan a call and he'd show up by her lab. Part of her believed that she had succeeded in constructing a recovery machine, and that she had only had to commit one single murder to bring all of her friends back.

The thought that all of these outcomes occurred in a different timeline was comforting.

But she was brought back to reality by a pair of hands shaking her shoulders.

It was Trophy.

Knife looked like he was about to vomit, staring at Salt's corpse. He quickly grabbed his phone and dialled a number, frantically explaining the scene in front of him. Trophy yelled something incoherent at Test Tube, his face growing pale as he ran out of breath and red and blue lights reflected on his golden hue.

Tears began to fall as the weight of the situation crushed her under its might.

"Tell us what happened."

A police officer sat in the corner with a notepad, ready to take notes. Test Tube herself was wrapped in a blanket, shivering intensely. The bandages on her face had been swapped out. Knife and Trophy sat beside her on the couch, but she could hear more panicked voices coming from the direction of the stairs and elevator.

Of course she couldn't tell the truth.

Jeez, how would she get herself out of this situation...

"I-I was..." Test Tube's voice was weak and hoarse as she silently panicked. "I was out walking... from my lab to the hotel, and... I-I saw Pepper..." She took a break to cover her face and cry.

"Take your time. We know the past few days have been... a lot for you."

"Salt was walking inside, and she was stained with some sort of... substance... she spotted me, and she started screaming and crying... almost like I was the one who committed the crime. She attacked me... I managed to escape and run to the kitchen, and- oh..."

The scene replayed itself in her head, and her voice began to go weaker, this time genuinely.

"I-It was self-defence..." she whispered. Knife shook his head with a strange expression.

"We understand. Thank you for the information." And with that, the police officer left.

Knife tapped his foot, deep in thought. Trophy glared at him. "But she had no motive... It just doesn't make sense."

"Let it go. It's solved, which means our little 'alliance' is over. I've wasted enough time as it is, I'm not gonna waste more just because you refuse to accept the truth." Trophy rose from the couch and headed to the elevator. Knife watched him leave, looking like a kicked puppy.

Test Tube didn't understand. The two had never been able to work together or had an even slightly positive relationship, so why did Knife look like he was itching to chase after the jock? Maybe he just wanted someone to work with, she answered herself.

"Well..." Knife sighed. "I should go. Good luck trying to... recover, from all this."

And, once again, Test Tube was left to process her grief and paranoia by herself.

[word count: 1752]