Vee glanced back at Shelly; her back was facing Vee while she conversed with the same toon who saved Shrimpo, Goob, and his sister, Scraps. There was no telling what their conversation could be about.

 She wasn't irritated about Shelly running off, aware that she's the talkative type. Although, she had to concentrate on the elevator anyhow, she wouldn't let herself be distracted by another toon when there was work to do. 

 It was surprisingly long for Vee, she expected the next floor to open at around half a minute, but it's been longer than that. Suddenly, the elevator came to a halt, causing everyone to shift off balance to gravity. A loud, familiar rumble roared throughout the room as the heavy door swung off the floor. 

 Another floor, the same procedure, shouldn't be a hassle. The pack of toons dispersed out of the elevator, splitting into groups. It'd be easier to stick together to prevent close calls like the last time, hopefully. 

 Vee looked upwards, at the ceiling, the lights dimmed a little. She stared at it for a moment while it flickered, before completely going out. A whirring sound echoed through the floor, indicating that a generator had possibly malfunctioned. 

 The blackout caused some panicked scurrying, gathering around toons such as Brightney or Astro for a light source. Vee produced a faint green glow, amassing a small crowd around her. 

 "Okay, guys! We're gonna split up, four groups for the machines alright?" A strawberry toon immediately called out, taking action to the situation, "Look out for one another!" He started to lead his small group to scout for the machines. In a couple of seconds, they were gone. 

 The two other groups had their light toons, and started their search to extract. This left the last group, which included Vee, Shelly, Tisha, Glisten, and Rodger. The five of them stared at each other for a second, before Glisten led the way without a word. 

 Tisha and Shelly held back from the rest of the group, leaving Glisten up front and Vee with Rodger in the middle. There was small talk from behind Vee, and she couldn't pick up what they were talking about but she could only guess. She felt a twinge of disdain for Tisha, but shook it off as they were an unfamiliar predicament. Vee's screen glitched a little, she couldn't quite place what she was feeling; it was obviously aimed at Tisha, but she couldn't place a finger on it. 
 Was it bitterness? Jealousy? Resentment? No, not strong enough. 

 Whatever it was, Vee could feel it eating away at her, she wanted out of it. Overwhelmed, she picked up her pace, trying to distract herself. As if her prayers were answered, she spotted a machine, rushing to it quickly. Gripping the valve and twisting the wheel, she'd already got it going at a fast pace. 

 "You can do this!" Shelly's voice encouraged Vee from a distance. Strangely enough, her reinforcement actually helped Vee's extraction process go smoother. Vee started to count how long it would take for the substance to fill up to the top, and in seconds it was already full. 

 Stunned for a moment, she noted how this machine filled up a lot quicker than the first one she did, immediately confusing her as she sought the answer for this comparison. She did everything like she did before.. maybe it had something to do with the other toons. She concluded that Shelly's encouragement had something to do with it, though she thought it'd be better to conduct experiments later. 

 "..Thanks," Vee replied, why she couldn't just spit out regular responses was beyond her; she felt scripted. 

 Everyone else had already moved on, leaving Vee a little dazed before catching up to them. She remained in the back of the group of five, trying up with Shelly and Tisha's pace; she was already a naturally slow walker, and being in an anxious crowd didn't help her keep up much either. She studied at her group's body language, concluding that their raised shoulders and tense behavior meant they were on edge, ready to scatter at any moment. 

 She peeked past Shelly and Tisha, looking in the dark for any machines; oddly she could make a faint distinction in the dark, it had to be. Pushing Tisha's shoulder as she sped past her, she was met with a "HEY!" before the group noticed Vee's sporadic reaction. "What's going on?" Glisten, who was ahead of the group, questioned as he whipped his head around to see Vee rushing ahead. 

 Vee didn't answer anyone, her curiosity getting the better of her as she ached to get this over with. Her predication was right, the machine came into view; good to know she had this ability to see this machinery from far off. Just as her group gathered around the equipment, she counted how long it'd take to finish this one. 

 Weird, longer than the previous times. 

 Regardless, Vee shrugged it off as she eventually filled the tank to the top with the black substance. She had other things to worry about than being slightly slow on a machine. As she took a step behind her, facing the dark, she suddenly froze up. 

 Distant screams were heard, seemed like another group was facing something. Unlike the distant screams, however, there were closer nearby. 

 Glisten didn't hesitate whatsoever, immediately sprinting to find cover; the rest of his group followed him behind some crates and shelves, covering them from whatever was trudging toward them. The entire group fell dead silent once the footsteps were on the other side of the obstacles. 

 It paused for a split second, almost as if it was playing with its food. The silence was agonizing, leaving Vee alone with her racing thoughts; she wasn't alone, looking at Rodger and Tisha next to her, they were just as tense. Tisha held her hand over her mouth to control her breathing, whilst Rodger was silently gripping at his knees. 

 It was a few more seconds before they heard the footsteps trail away, leaving a path of uncertainty in its wake. Still clustered together, the toons looked at the rest of their crew, silently signaling whether or not to make a move. They all sat, hushed out of vague fears. None of them dared to take the risk. 

 As if to mock them, the ambiance shifted to one of a tense, countdown. They already knew what this meant, and got up to run back down the pathway they took. 

 Tisha sped in front of everyone, leading the way for the toons to follow; Glisten and Shelly were behind her, while Rodger and Vee were last. Navigating through the dark was difficult enough, but the timer added even more urgency and room for error. 

And as if it wouldn't get worse, an error had to occur. Unaware of the floor, Vee glossed over the items scattered randomly throughout the rooms; that was until her foot landed on a soda pop, which immediately rolled out underneath her. 

 Crashing on her frontside, she hit her head against the floor. Wincing, her face felt funny, causing a throb right behind her screen. "..Ah, [BEEP]," She groaned, tracing her fingers around the screen as she pushed herself off the floor. 

 One of the leading toons, Shelly, twisted back once she heard Vee's curse, "Vee!" she called out, looping around quickly as she knelt to her level, "C'mon, don't touch it, just go, it'll be okay!" Immediately taking her arm, she hoisted Vee off the floor. 

 Tightly gripping Vee's wrist, Shelly practically dragged Vee along to the elevator. Vee tried to match her pace, but she was just slower by a bit; it helped that Shelly was dragging her, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep up. 

 "Don't give up!" Shelly almost screamed at Vee as the elevator was only a mad dash away, "Keep pushing!" 

 Vee recognized that countdown from anywhere, and it filled her with dread. She took a mental note. "Just a few more seconds!" She warned Shelly, but Shelly was relentless. Vee wanted to hold back, they were going to be crushed at this rate! Yet this girl wouldn't give up, dragging Vee along for the ride. 

 "WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT!" Vee alarmed Shelly, but it bounced off her head. 

 "On, three, leap!" Shelly screamed, and Vee shook her head in protest.  

 "Three, two, one!" Shelly did so anyway, making Vee follow her lead. They barely slid in, the elevator's breeze brushing against the two of them. The door slammed close, encasing them in this place once more. 

 There were shocked stares, but frankly, Vee could care less, she never felt more alive. Glancing over at Shelly, her chest rapidly fell and rose. Looking back at the ceiling, Vee felt the throbbing in her head again. 

 Maybe this is what it felt like to be alive.