Into Darkness

Haze

"Lightbulb! Oh, Lightbulb, please don't be hurt! Can you hear me?!"
Test Tube's panicked voice echoed across the expanse and around the rim of the massive pit, followed by a brief second of silence as she anxiously awaited her friend's response.
"Ahh, simmer down, Tubes, I'm fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine."
Finally, Lightbulb's distant voice trailed back up.
Letting out a relieved sigh she didn't know she was holding in, Test Tube squinted to see the light emanating off of Lightbulb's body. "Are you okay down there? Are you hurt?"
"Only my pride, science gal! Except the, uh, well..."
"...Yeah?"
"It's nothin'! I'm just a bit dimmer, s'all."
Test Tube huffed and tapped her foot against the mulchy, wet floor. It was nearly impossible to tell that this had once been the hardwood of a furniture store, but if only Lightbulb hadn't fallen down, they might've managed to find the area they'd started at by now.
"So are we going down, or what?" Knife impatiently crossed his arms. At this, Microphone raised an eyebrow and Suitcase gaped at him. "Knife! C-c'mon, be reasonable! We don't know what's down there, and-"
Lightbulb's voice rang out. "There's a tunnel!"
Suitcase frowned, but continued. "We don't know what's down that tunnel, and we could get hurt!" Test Tube nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, and what if the only way out of here is up on this level, and there's no way out of the hole? We'd just be wasting time and making things both harder and more dangerous for ourselves."
"Oh yeah, that makes perfect sense. Thank you, Test Tube," said Knife, promptly walking forward and pushing Test Tube into the hole.
As Test Tube's surprised scream traveled down the pit alongside her, Suitcase sputtered uselessly. "KNIFE! That's- that's horrible! Don't just push her, what if she's right?!"
"You wanna wander around without Lightbulb there to show you what you're standing on? You wanna end up like Baseball? Be my guest." Knife turned away from her and hopped in after Test Tube. "B-BASEBALL DIDN'T KILL HIMSELF! Stop SAYING that! That's so wrong, and horrible, and, and, and it's sick!" In response to Suitcase's insistent cry, Microphone rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Whatever sis, I'm goin' where Lightbulb's goin'." Microphone stepped into the hole, leaving Suitcase to stammer and object before eventually following the test of them down.

Plop!
As she rose to her feet amongst the soft, plushy dirt, Suitcase scowled at the group. "For the record," she began, "This idea is AWFUL, and we could have simply helped Lightbulb out of the hole and moved on. The walls look at least lumpy enough to, y'know, climb a bit."
"No can do, baggage girl, I tried that." Lightbulb shrugged sadly and started towards the tunnel. "Whatever the walls are made of just comes right off, so we gotta go this way." "N-now wait a second!" Suitcase, again, hesitantly followed after the other contestants as they approached the mouth of the tunnel. "That's not our only option, we could... we could tunnel our way out!"
"Suitcase, tunneling upwards requires climbing. That's the thing we can't do," Microphone replied.
"Technically, we could tunnel at an acute angle that would gradually take us up to the surface, but where we end up might have hardwood flooring, and we'd have to break through it." Test Tube scratched her chin thoughtfully as she eyed the imposing tunnel entrance. "I must admit, lingering horror aside, the unending intrigue of this hole is quite... difficult to resist."
"Atta girl!" Lightbulb excitedly slapped Test Tube on the back, instantly making the scientist lose focus. "Less worrying, more adventuring!"
With that, the group trudged into the deep, dark cavern, varying levels of enthusiasm pushing them all onward.

"I'm BORED."
"Shut up, Lightbulb."
"I don't WANNA, Knife."
Microphone cleared her throat to quell the bickering. "Guys, I'm getting really claustrophobic in this stupid tunnel, I don't wanna listen to you two go on like that on top of it."
Test Tube, her cautious interest having bloomed into unabashed excitement, took a break from intently scouring the dirty material making up the surrounding walls to glance back and present the others with a grin that, in almost everyone's opinion, was hardly one that their current situation warranted. "It could be said that, in an exiting journey, this would be the portion that most stories elect to skip over. Let's take solace in the lack of dangerous creatures ravaging our helpless forms, yes?"
Knife cringed. "Sheesh, I'm starting to miss Baseball. What's got you so giddy?"
Before Knife was even done talking, Test Tube had once again smushed her gaze close to the floor under their feet. "Minerals! Maggots! Slime! The tiniest signs of life in this otherwise barren land! How can any of you be bored? There's so much to pick apart! Literally, even!" Test Tube snatched up a glob of black, slimy dirt from the ground and showed it to her companions. Only Lightbulb seemed particularly interested. "There's more going on in this clump of dirt than anything we've seen above the surface! I haven't been this stimulated in HOURS! Oh, if I only had my microscope..."
A loud cough from Knife interrupted her. "That's great. Keep moving."
"O-oh, of course! Of course, of course..."
Test Tube shook her head and stumbled back along the path, seemingly in a daze. Knife's encouragement earned a surprisingly disgruntled look from Lightbulb. "Leave her be, none of us have had any fun in hours." "Yeah, well, we aren't gonna make any progress on this tunnel if we spend those hours chewing dirt."
"She doesn't chew it!" Lightbulb huffed as, a couple of meters away, Test Tube frantically spat something out.
"We aren't gonna make any progress if you argue with each other, either!" Microphone stomped ahead of both of them, their path a couple of meters ahead lit dimly by Lightbulb's glow.
"Come on, guys."
"Wait."
Microphone stopped and glanced back at Test Tube, who was now plodding after her with a growing look of suspicion spreading across her face.
"You didn't take anything ELSE from my laboratory, did you?"
Microphone jolted at the sudden change in topic. "Uh, what?"
"Yeah, you heard me!" Test Tube squinted at Microphone, not breaking their steady stroll through the tunnel. "I've got enough halfway-developed tech in there to make fifty investors salivate an ocean!" A pause. "You know, allegedly. My laboratory is a secret, you see."
"Of course," Microphone nodded.
"Ugh, I don't know why I expect you to tell the truth." Test Tube grumbled, her eyes scanning over their dirty surroundings with a bit less enthusiasm than they had a minute before. "Anyone who can just up and steal from someone else isn't someone I'd peg as particularly honest. Or trustworthy, for that matter." She flashed a weak smile at Microphone. "I hate to insult you to your face, but you did violate my sanctuary and steal from me, so..." "I know, I know." Microphone waved her off. "It's fine, I know I deserve it."
"Oh, now I feel bad." Test Tube huffed. "I'm not good at being mean. Or, well, being upset. I apologize for not berating you more effectively." Microphone barked out a laugh. "God, that's a stupid thing to say on so many levels. I like you, Test Tube."
Test Tube helplessly smiled at the person who had hurt her in a way only she could truly understand, finding herself incapable of not giving the thief a chance. "That's good! I think."
Microphone chuckled again.
"Yeah, it's good."