Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"You remember the plan, Berry-Boy?"

The elevator was scarily quiet as it descended down, the mains all gathered inside. Everyone. Every single toon was gone. They were gone. The ichor being too much for them. The mains had no idea why the ichor had a less strong effect on them, but it was clear it was going after the weakest after Poppy and Boxten were first to fall. One by one, it was only six left. Them

The main characters of this hell.

"..."

"Hey, hey, Sprout, did you hear me?"

Vee asks, twirling her microphone between her fingers as her other hand smoothed out the wrinkles of her suit.

"H-huh, what?"

"You remember the plan, yes?"

She asks again... The plan? What plan?- Oh, right.

"Y... Yes."

"Then repeat it to me, I want to know everyone's got this."

Sprout sighs as his tired eyes blink.

"First we're going to a random floor...."

"Yes."

"Then... We're going to find a Twisted."

"Yes."

"Pebble will distract them until everyone gets enough ichor to research it."

"Mhm."

"And when the Twisted is tired out, we all will trap them, and take them back to the Safe Zone to study."

"Good, glad to know your lack of sleep hasn't determented your memory."

Sprout groaned.

"When has it ever-"

Vee shushes him as Dandy interrupts.

"I've got some medkits handy if anyone needs them, just in case."

Shelly budds in as she has her signature wide smile on her face.

"Yup! We know!"

She happily says as she sways side to side, Pebble circling her happily as he's been needing to run. And where was Astro? Sprout looked back near at Dandy's makeshift shop at Astro asleep against the sign. Were they going to take him up? Yes. Will he be pissed? Oh, of course.

As the elevator came to a slow halt and the large door opened, Sprout took a breath in as he fidgeted with his bracelet, the little beats clanging against each other. He waited for Vee's cue to use her tracking to find any movement within this floor, a Rainbow Room.

The mains waited as she loaded, her antenna twitching as she tracks and tracks and tracks and tracks and-

"Someone's here."

She whispers as her screen flickers back to her face and her eyes dart back and forth.

"Who is it?"

Shelly asks.

"..."

Vee almost hesitates to say their name as she glances at Sprout.

"Cosmo."

KNOCK knock KNOCK is the noise Sprout heard in the dead of night. He was confused at first before remembering that knocking was familiar... He went to his door after throwing a blanket over himself to see exactly who he expected.

"Cos... It's 2 in the morning, what's- what's up?"

The pastry's head was down as he gripped a pillow, an oversized T-shirt replacing his usual sleeveless hoodie.

"... Nightmare."

"Ah."

Cosmo let himself in as the main closed the door behind him.

"What happened?"

Sprout asks as the pastry sits on his bed, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I... I'm scared, Sprout... I-I'm so scared..."

"About what?"

"The Twisted- Twisteds! I saw Boxten and- and Poppy and Shrimpo a-and Brightney DIE in front of me! I know I'm next, I just- just know it!"

Sprout held back a gasp as Cosmo quickly turned hysterical.

"Whoah, Cos-"

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

The chocolate roll sobs out as he grips his sheets, tears overflowing out his eyes as he starts to hiccup. Sprout quickly comes to his best friend's side, pulling him into a hug as he sobs in fear.

"You're not going to die..."

"BUT- But I know- I know I will... It got everyone else... I- I swear I can hear it in the walls, in the corner of my eyes, EVERYWHERE!"

Cosmo clings onto Sprout for dear life as the paranoia of this corruption is taking an effect on his mental sanity.

"M-maybe I should- should get it o-over with already!"

"No! Cosmo, no please, don't do that. You're not going to die nor will I let you die. I'm here, I'm by your side, I'm not letting that ichor even touch you."

"Sprout-"

"I'm not letting you turn, I promise."

Just after that night, he and Cosmo went down to gather ichor with some others, and he died. He died after he promised. The baker felt like puking as his stomach turned, not even noticing Shelly snap her fingers in front of him for a few seconds

"Sprout?"

"H-huh, wuh?"

He suddenly blinks as his attention is on the dinosaur enthusiast.

"You look sick, you can sit this out if you need to..."

"No- No I, I can do this... I just... Don't know if I can face him..."

Shelly sighed as she walked with Sprout out of the elevator. The others were gone by now, and the dusty cold air made him shiver.

"We're going to save him, I just know it. Come on, we have ichor to study!"

Her upbeat attitude lightened the mood a little as he heard the distant sound of Pebble barking loudly, signaling that he had found the twisted. He found Cosmo. With a deep breath, Sprout went to find the first machine.

Ding! Ding!

The sound of machines and capsules being filled echoed throughout the room as Pebble ran circles around a table, making sure to keep Twisted Cosmo's only eye on him. In the distance, Astro worked on a machine as Shelly encouraged him.

"We're almost done..."

The moon mumbled to himself as he struggled to keep himself awake.

"Come on, you're almost done, Vee's on the last one and I can see Cosmo getting tired!"

"Okay..."

"You got your magic thingy things ready?"

She asks as she peers at the glittering stars turning the red wheel.

"Sure..."

"That's the spirit!"

Ding!

One more left as Shelly's eyes narrowed, seeing the green TV in the distance. Instead of walking over there, she yells.

"VEEEEE!!! YOU ALMOST DONNNEE!!?"

The game show host sighed as she stopped what she was doing for a moment to look at the faraway shell.

"YES! LET ME DO MY WORK!"

"OKAAYY!!"

"You guys are loud..."

Astro mumbles as he walks a little closer to Pebbles area, stardust ready to grabble onto Cosmo when the time came.

. . .

. . .

. . .-

Ding!

As if on cue, the mains heard as Dandy activated panic mode.

"Alright, hope you don't mind..."

Astro mumbles as Pebble speeds past him and Twisted Cosmo's red eye locked onto Astro.

"A little closer..."

The Twisted charged at the dreamer, clawing out to swipe at his face. Just as the claw was inches away from his face, stardust locked onto the Twisted's wrists and shot him up into the air. It let out a roar of confusion and anger as it tried to swipe at Astro again, but his arms were restrained.

"I got him!"

Astro yells as loud as he can as he bolts, Twisted Cosmo being dragged behind. Vee and Shelly were waiting, capsules of ichor in tow as Astro slid into the elevator, Twisted Cosmo screaming until more stardust kept his mouth shut.

"Good job!"

Shelly smiles as she looks at the twisted, eyes red as blood and colors desaturated, hoodie stained with ichor. As Dandy closed the elevator, he made a quick head count...

Shelly? Check

Astro? Check

Vee? Check

Pebble? Check

Sprout? ...

Dandy's eyes darted around the elevator as a quick sense of panic rose in his body until he spotted the strawberry curled up in the corner.

... Check.

Sprout's eyes were screwed shut as he held back tears as he tried not to listen to the distorted sounds of his best friend. The mains felt the elevator start to go up to the Safe Zone.

Even if it was a quick trip, it felt like forever for the strawberry.

Chapter Text

Twisted Cosmo claws at the floor as he's dragged, Astro starting to feel the withdrawals of using his magic for this long. Dandy walked with him as they made it to the normal toon floors.

"I've got his room ready."

"Mhm..."

Astro mindlessly answers as they make it to what was Cosmo's room before this.

"Don't worry buddy, we ain't going to bother you after this for a bit, rest well."

Dandy takes out a key, tape labeled "Cosmo," onto the top as he kicks open the built-in lock and pushes it open. Inside was Cosmo's room, but with a few modifications. All his belongings were pressed against the wall opposite the door, a large sheet of plastic that cut the room in two. A metal door belonging to one of the facility freezers was now repurposed as a door for the containment chamber as Dandy unlocked it with the same key. Astro ignored Twisted Cosmo's protests as he slowly dragged the Twisted into the room, with the door being slammed shut and locked not long after. The glowing stars keeping Twisted Cosmo retrained suddenly disappeared as he banged on the plastic, clawing at it and screeching. The dreamer let out a relieved sigh as his magic was finally given a break.

"... Nice handy work, Dandy."

"Thanks!"

"I'm a little surprised how fast you got this done..."

"Honestly, same here. I have NO idea how I managed to do this."

The rainbow flower laughed as he pulled a plastic bag with a slice of banana bread in it.

"Wuh-?"

"Just want to see if these Twisteds can eat, and also to try this thing I did out!"

Astro watched as Dandy approached the door and pushed at the bottom section like it was going to open- Oh my God, it was opening.

"You made a food tray slot??"

"Of course! What? Did you think we were going to starve him?"

"..."

"Oh my God, you did."

Dandy looked disappointed as he opened the bag and shoved banana bread into the room just before Twisted Cosmo swiped at his hand.

"Whoah there buddy, almost got me!"

He chuckles as he backs up as he pats Astro on the back.

"Alright, go get some sleep."

The two mains leave the room, locking the first door behind them as they leave Cosmo on his own. The Twisted groans as it smells the bread, eyes dilating a little as, with its normal hand, shakily takes it out and bites into it.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Vee suddenly appearing in the kitchen scared the living daylights out of Shelly as she was caught raiding the fridge.

"Um.... Nothing!"

"You do know I can't keep supply runs downstairs to keep up with your stress eating."

"Yeah, but-"

"Shelly. I know you're putting up a front and I know it's making you worse than you appear to be. Just drop the act already, I'm honestly getting a headache from your pep talks."

Shelly stammers as she tries to keep up a smile.

"But it's good to encourage-"

"I don't CARE!"

Vee screams as her mic slams against the wall, starting the shell.

"You're suffering, I'm suffering, everyone is suffering! This facade of yours is just making things worse, can't you understand that!?"

Shelly is quiet as her smile wavers, but before this "discussion" can go on, Dandy walks in with a confused look on his face.

"What... Is going on in here??"

Vee scoffs as she crosses her arms.

"Nothing. I was leaving anyway."

The game show host pushes past a still-confused Dandy as Shelly's eyes stare at the floor.

".... Shelly?"

"It was nothing."

The dinosaur enthusiast dismissed Dandy just as Vee did as she, too, walked past him. The flower blinks slowly as he just comes in for a cup of water. He just sighs, chalking it up to the stress of this whole thing, but before he can get a break, he is scared shitless by Sprout.

"Hey."

"AHH-"

Dandy jumps like a scared cat at Sprout suddenly appearing behind him.

"How are you always so quiet?"

"I'm not, you just don't pay attention."

"Wow, okay, rude."

The flower takes a sigh as he goes to the cupboard.

"Did you know what's up with Vee and Shelly?"

"Vee is upset that Shelly's keeping up a happy facade so she can continue to lift everyone's spirits."

"Wow, you really don't sugarcoat."

Sprout can't help but chuckle.

"Sugarcoating's for baking, not for communication."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

The flower takes out the water filterer from the fridge as he pours himself a glass.

"Want some?"

"Not thirsty."

"Kay."

Dandy chugs down the water as he puts the filter back and puts the glass in the sink.

"... How's-"

"Cosmo is doing fine and yes, I did give him some food before I left."

Sprout shakes his head as he lets out a lighthearted sigh.

"Am I really that predictable?"

".... Maybe."

Silence...

"... Hey-"

"No, I'm not giving you the key, I know how you are with Cosmo."

Sprout sputters a little.

"What- what is that supposed to mean??"

"Oh, come on, all of us know."

The baker's face flashes a little red.

"All... Of you?"

"It's extremely obvious, like dude, you literally have like six different Cosmo featured merch in your room. We've seen the way you look at him-"

"Okaaayyy, you can stop now."

Dandy laughs as he sees how defensive Sprout is slowly becoming about this.

"Alright alright, loverboy."

"Dandy!"

"Hahaha! Not apologizing!"

The multicolored flower sprints down the hall before Sprout can get him, leaving the flustered strawberry alone.

"That damned flower..."

Sprout mumbles under his breath as he's forgotten why he was even in here...

...

Loverboy... He wasn't that obvious... Right??....... .... RIGHT!?

"G'night, Vee."

Dandy yawned as he dropped Vee off at her room

"See you in the morning."

Alright... He dropped Shelly, Vee, Astro, and Sprout off. All that's left is for him and Pebble to head to bed now.

"You a sleepy boi?"

Dandy says in a baby-talk voice at the dog as Pebble just stares at him with those huge eyes.

"... Hehehah, weird dog."

He chuckles as he moves the elevator to his room, and it doesn't take long before he reaches his room. The elevator door opens as he yawns, Pebble racing inside. Tossing the keys to a nearby nightstand. The stress of everything makes him fail to remember something...

To lock the door to the emergency staircase.

He was unaware that, as he went to sleep, the keys weren't on the nightstand anymore...

Chapter Text

Sprout huffs as he descends down the stairs, keys jingling along with the friendship bracelet on his wrist. This was unsafe, and he knew it, but he had to see Cosmo again... No matter how much it might hurt to see him in such an awful state...

Down the stairs he went, pulling open the door to the toon rooms, the stillness of it all was eerie. It almost made him miss the noise Shrimpo would make in his room or the hmm of the projector Razzle and Dazzle liked to keep on during the nights or Boxten's music or-

He shook his head, no use dwelling on that right now. Sprout walks down the corridor before making it to a familiar door. A door he'd sit behind ever since Cosmo twisted. A door he remembered he kept locked until Dandy needed to renovate it. A door that belongs to Cosmo... He takes out the key labeled Cosmo and unlocks the lock, pushing the door open with an echoing creek. It wasn't dark in the room as there was a lamp on, the lamp giving the room an odd comforting atmosphere.

"... Cos?"

He calls out as he closes the door behind him, seeing the sheet of plastic Dandy installed. His eyes narrow as he senses movement, the shifting of fabric, and a mass etching its way out of the bed. In the dim of the lamp, Sprout saw it. Saw him.

Cosmo.

His remaining eye was as red as twisted Brightney's bulb, ichor dripping down the rotting side of his face. He looked so dazed, like he was in a dream as his claw twitched every once in a while. Sprout took a gulp as he approached closer, only a foot away from the plastic now.

"Cosmo... It's me... Do you... Recognize me?

He asks, his voice level raising as Cosmo continues to stare at him blankly. His question was met with silence, the creature wearing his closest friend's skin not even making a noise.

"Can you, um... Talk?"

Sprout asks again. No response.

...

What did he expect? He felt a pain grow in his heart as he just stared at him, feeling tears well up in his eyes as he looked at the second door keeping him away from Cosmo. He had the key... Wait, no what was he thinking? Having direct contact with a twisted is stupid, even if it was his best. He's not an Ozzball! (hehe)

The strawberry lets the tears stream down as he clenches the bracelet on his left wrist. His eyes wander to the claw Twisted Cosmo has, seeing that his friendship bracelet is no longer there.

"...."

He sniffles as he looks back at the door.

"Is there even any of you left?"

He whispers, more of a question to himself than the creature staring at him, shakey red eye boring into his soul.

"... Why did this have to happen to you..."

Sprout crumbles to the floor, starting to let out sobs as he starts to let out all the pent-up emotions he's been holding in all this time.

"Why couldn't I stop this!?"

He cries out as he doesn't care about his volume. The toon rooms were far enough from the Main's rooms after all.

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE!?"

Sprout's voice wavers as the twisted doesn't do anything.

"I- I knew it was an AWFUL IDEA f-r-for you to go down there... I-I shouldn't- I shouldn't have let you- I shou- I PROMISED! I'M SORRY!"

He can barely see anything as his eyes are blurred from the hot tears waterfalling out as he crawls to lean his shoulder on the plastic, not caring about how that could be dangerous in any way.

"I'm sh- sorry, Cos. I'm so sorry..."

The strawberry takes off the friendship bracelet and holds it close to his chest, hiccupping as he doesn't care about his composer.

"I- I... I should- should've known something would g- go wrong down there...  I should've stopped you. I should've WARNED YOU! F... FUCK, IM SO STUPID!"

Toons were forbidden from swearing, especially the Main Characters but with no children or handlers around anymore...

"... I'M SUCH A FUCKING DUMBASS, WHY COUDLN'-T I DO THIS ONE THING RIGHT!?"

His screaming of words trails off into loud sobs, guilt, and anger swirling within his heart as everything feels fuzzy. The world was spinning as he honestly forgot how long he was sobbing, the screams he'd let out were making him lightheaded. Sprouts of seemingly endless sobs and shouts of anger slowly died down as he was left snuffling on the ground, a puddle of his drool, snot, and tears below him. All this crying was making him tired...

"... Y-you... Don't... Deserve this..."

His voice was barely a whisper as he used his scarf to whip his face.

" Fuck... I needed to protect you- protect you all... I failed... I fucking failed.... "

He could feel everything around him crumble as he quietly sobbed to himself, hugging himself. Hugging... Hug... Goob- Sprout remembers Goob, that ray of sunshine that always helped people out of situations... Sprout watched him get torn apart... Torn apart... Finn... Sprout remembers hearing the screams and cries of the poor fishbowl as his legs were agonizingly torn from his body... So many names swirled in his head as he remembered their screams, begs, and cries. Boxten- drowned. Poppy- cornered. Shrimpo- bitten. Brightney- crushed. All those names, all those empty rooms, all those soulless red eyes. Sprout could feel himself slip away as he drowned in his sorrow, images of everyone dying, everyone he failed to protect. He should've protected them. He should've died. He should've should've been bashed in, not Toodles. He should've been split apart, not Razzle and Dazzle. He should've been scratched and torn at, not Tisha. He should've- He should've- HE SHOULD'VE-

A bang scares him shitless as he shoots up. Twisted Cosmo, now closer to the plastic sheet, has his claw methodically but loudly banging on it. Sprout whipped the tears from his face as he backed up, black ichor staining the clear wall. He could hear it grumble as ichor seeped out its eyes.

"Cos?"

".... ghgnssp-..."

The twisted voice was garbled from the ichor in its through, so it was near impossible to tell if it was trying to say something. Sprout took deep breaths as, somehow, that ground him back to reality as he looked at the star-shaped alarm clock on Cosmo's nightstand.

4:24 AM

He needed to get some sleep... Sprout shakily dusted himself off as he snuffled, feeling his face hot from the sobbing.

"... Goodnight, Cosmo... I-"

He hesitates as he takes the key out, pulling the door open as he stands in the doorway.

"-... Love you..."

Sprout slams the door shut as he locks it, having to run back to Dandy's room so he won't notice he took the key. If only he stayed a few seconds longer, then he would've heard a garbled version of his name being called out. Oh well...

Maybe next time.

Chapter Text

"Yknow, Sprout, you always seem to know where everyone is, why is that?"

Cosmo asks, hand kneading dough as the distant sound of children playing can be heard.

"Hmm.... Dunno, guess it's like my sixth sense, haha!"

"Pfft, no way, no one has a sixth sense."

Cosmo playfully punches his friend's shoulder.

"You might think that, but I think the impossible is always possible."

"Like you being able to finally trim your own leaves on your own?"

"... Oh shut up!"

The duo laugh at their banter as Sprout continues to pour icing on cookies. Honestly, the sound of Cosmo laughing could be a sound Sprout could hear forever. He always liked it, it was a mixture of a high-pitched wheeze and actual laughter, sometimes switching between the two in a comedic way. Sprout would never admit that he's in love with his best friend, nor does he think he will ever. Toons weren't supposed to be in relationships, after all, only friends. Even if he wanted to, he didn't want to risk Cosmo getting into hot water because of his feelings.

It might've been able to happen if one of them was a girl, however... Sprout remembers having to deal with a parent. The parent found it weird that he and Cosmo hugged each other and went on this tangent, saying boys need to man up for some stupid nonsense like that. Sprout wanted to break the code right then and there and knock that adult out. The parents of kids were always worse than the actual kids. Kids can be taught boundaries, rules, and respect, but adults can't. Adults don't like learning.

Sprout sometimes wishes he wasn't this close to Cosmo, that he didn't catch these feelings. If only things were different... But he had to follow the code or else.

Rules were rules...

But did rules really matter when there was no one to enforce them anymore?

Sprout wakes up in his bed, eyes tired from last night's sneak-out. He successfully puts the keys back, and he doubts Dandy will notice. Everything is quiet... He had a dream, though, but it is already fading from his memory, yet he could pin point one thing... Cosmo's laughter.

Oh, Cosmo...

Sprout really needed to get together as he stood up, legs a little shakily as he went to find something to wear. Rummaging through his closet as he yawned, seeing the leaves on his head overgrown......

"Like you being able to finally trim your own leaves on your own?"

... Sprout continued to find something half-decent to wear until he spotted something under some clothing. A sleeveless white hoodie... Sprout remembers borrowing it after a "Switch Outfits" week happened at Garden View. It was pretty fun watching Boxten get embarrassed having to wear Poppy's dress all week! Or seeing Shrimpo being pissed at wearing Glisten's giant bow, haha! Oh, his face! Or Toodles in Rodger's suit, oh, it was waayyy too big for her! Flutter and Gigi rocked each other's outfits!

Sprout caught himself smiling at the hoodie, remembering the good times...

Good times...

Good times that will probably never come back...

Oh, great, he made himself sad again. Way to go, Sprout. He didn't have the energy to cry again as he subconsciously held the hoodie closer, the faint smell of chocolate still on it.....

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Sprout is scared once again.

"GEh- HUH? WHO IS IT??"

He calls out in confusion, suddenly remembering he needs to get dressed.

"Sprout, it's Vee, come on, we're heading down again to find someone else. Hurry, you know how Dandy is in the morning!!"

Dandy was never a morning person even though he was phenomenal at pretending to be, a little ironic for a flower, eh? Well, then again, Sprout hated mornings and he was a strawberry. He chuckled as he looked back at this closet... Then at Cosmo's hoodie... Then at his closet, then back at his hoodie....................

Vee impatiently tapped her heels against the metal flooring of the elevator. Shelly and Pebble were as happy as ever, Astro was dead asleep on the floor already, and Dandy was not even trying not to fall asleep.

"Where is he?"

"I'm sure he's coming soon!"

"Yeah, sure-"

"SORRY, I'M HERE!"

Sprout came running down the hall and slid into the elevator.

"Huff- sorry..."

"Glad to see ya, buddy-! Is that Cosmo's hoodie?"

Sprout sputtered for a moment at Shelly's observation.

".... Yeaaahh, remember that Switch Outfit week?"

"OH MY GOD, YES! HAHA! Vee! Vee, remember what you looked like, bahahaahA! I think I still have a photo!"

"WHAT!?"

Shelly was laughing hysterically as Dandy joined in.

"Awwwhh, come on, Vee! You looked amazing in that dress!"

You could almost see steam rise out of the game show host.

"Brown is NOT my color"

Sprout started to laugh, and almost all the mains joined in the split moment of joy. Just like old times... The laughter slowly died down as Dandy coughed into his hand.

"Alright... This might be longer than yesterday because we're running low on supplies, mainly food and water. We're going down to an empty floor, kay?"

Everyone nodded in response as they heard the door slam shut as they descended down

Seems like the plans had changed though as Dandy, who decided to leave Astro in charge of the elevator, spots something in the corner of his eyes, or well... Someone.

"..."

He stopped mid-extraction just before the thing bolted at him.

"OH GOD, GUYYS! I WAS WRONG, FINN IS HERE!!! SOMEONE GET ASTRO!"

He screams out as he runs for it, Twisted Finn leaving a trail behind. Shelly, being the one who heard Dandy's shouts first, dropped everything and ran to the elevator.

"AASSSTTTRROOOO!!!!! WAKE UP, DANDY'S GETTING CHASED!"

She screams out, starting the dreamer awake.

"Ah!- HuH!?"

"JUST GET OUT HERE!!!"

Astro quickly gets up and runs to Dandy's aid, stardust ready as Shelly takes the moon's place on elevator duty. It didn't take long for Astro to find Dandy running in circles, Sprout and Pebble just watching like this was a movie.

"Guys."

"Sorry!-"

"JUST HELP ME!"

"Right!"

Sparkly stars quickly yanked the twisted by the shoulders up.... Only for it's head to fall down and absolutely soak the flower in ichor.

"...."

"...."

"...."

".... Please.... Towel-"

Sprout just chuckles as Vee comes running over, a water bottle in hand.

"What are you-"

Before Dandy could get another word out, Vee twisted the cap open and just dumped the water on him, washing away some of the ichor on him. Sprout can't help but laugh as Astro readjusts his stars to hold Twisted Finn by the head.

"VEE!-"

"I'm sooo sorry."

The two bicker as Astro just slowly walks back, keeping the dripping twisted in the air to try and minimize the mess. Dandy tries to shake off the remaining diluted ichor on him as he walks off, continuing the last machine as Sprout goes to pick up the supplies Shelly dropped.

Just like yesterday, the last of the machines and capsules were filled, and they were back in the safe zone. However, this time Dandy and Sprout were escorting Astro. Astro and Dandy made small chat as Sprout kept glancing back at the twisted being guided in the air. Even while like this, his smile remained... Soon, they came to a halt as they made it to Finn's room. The flower did the same thing as he did yesterday; unlock the holding chamber, put Finn in it, and then lock it. Just this time, instead of banana bread, he gave Finn five water bottles.

"Good work guys."

"I didn't even do anything."

"Don't beat yourself down, Sprout, you're just as important as all of us."

Sprout just sighs as Dandy pats him on the back the strawberry takes a glance at Finn, ichor leaking from where his legs used to be and head filled to the brim. He wonders how this could be fixed in any way. The three mains leave the room as the door is locked, leaving everyone to their own devices once again...

...

Sprout glances at Cosmo's door...

... He'll sneak into Dandy's room tomorrow... 

Chapter Text

Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step-

Shelly walked down the stairs, Dandy's stolen keys jingling in her hand as, the other, held a notebook and pencil. While yes, this was probably very dangerous, she was probably the most qualified to do research on anything! Down the hall, she went as she looked at the doors. Who to visit first...

Cosmo or Finn...

Finn or Cosmo...

Neither or both...

Considering Finn has more ichor contained within his body than Cosmo, or at least seems like it, she'll see how he's doing first. She stepped forward at the fisher's room, fish stickers plastered on the front and, with a turn of Finn's key, she opened the door. It was pitched black inside as she stepped forward, seeing glaring red eyes in front of her.

"... Hello, Finn!"

She smiled like this wasn't dangerous in any way as she walked closer to the plastic separating them and turned on the main light. With the room now lit up, she saw the state of Finn's belongings. All his fishing supplies were stained with the infectious liquid of ichor. Stuffed animals, torn apart, and chewed on. His bed was literally cut in half. There was only one thing in the room that was left completely untouched: his favorite fishing rod, still hanging above his bed.

"Intresting..."

She mumbles as she stares at it. It wasn't like Twisted Finn wouldn't reach it, as he very well could, it was almost like he didn't want to... Very intresting. In her book, she began to write.

Finn:

First observation: He seems... Really aggressive so far as almost everything was destroyed in his room, but his fishing rod. It did hold a lot of significance to him, maybe items that mean a lot to twisteds are the key?

She wanted to test her theory as she quickly left the room, not seeing a green face watching her down the hall... Shelly came back soon after, a variety of items with her. A shrimpo plushy, a small model copy of Finn's fishing rod, a liter of water, and the toy fish Finn used to keep in his head. After he twisted, it dropped out and Shelly snagged Barnaby Wilikers before he could go missing forever. As she came back into the room, Vee jumpscared her.

"Shelly-"

"AAAAHHHH!-"

"OW! Sh-shut up!"

Vee put a hand over Shelly's mouth to silence her.

"God... You're so loud."

"S- sorry, you scared me!"

Vee eyed the things the dinosaur enthusiast was holding.

"Just what are you doing??"

"...... Nooothhinnng-"

"Shelly."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I just wanted to do some research or something on these guys."

Vee looked at Shelly, then at Twisted Finn staring at them with those red eyes, then back at Shelly.

"This is stupid."

"Maaayybbeee, but keeping Twisteds here is also equally as stupid."

"It's really not-"

"Ehough, T-Vee"

That nickname made the TV cringe as she watched Shelly approach the door.

"I'm going to tell, Dandy."

"Go ahead then, not stopping me."

Vee just stared at Shelly as she opened the little opening at the bottom, shoving the Shrimpo plushie in.

"What is this-?"

"Testing object recognition"

Vee and Shelly watch as Finn drags himself to the stuffed toy as he stares at it...

"It's Shrimpo, remember Shrimpo?"

Finn stared at it... And then fucking twisted the head off- Vee goes wide-eyed a little as Finn tears the fabric and threw it against the wall, stuffing sticking to any ichor.

"Oh... Wow..."

"I mean, to be fair, most of us want to do that anyway."

Vee just looks at Shelly with a look of understanding, yet concern.

Reacts violently to stuffed toys... Or just to Shrimpo.

Next up is the toy model of Finn's fishing rod. Vee watched as it went in and the twisted picked it up, staring at it intently. Vee half-expected him to just throw it against the wall or bite into it, but instead, Finn dragged himself to a nightstand that was flipped over and put the model on it. He stared at it, almost admiring it in some odd way. He seemed... Happier.

Recognizes objects similar to objects of significance.

"What are you going to do now."

Vee asks as she eyes the water Shelly brought

"See what happens when I pour water in him."

She says as she puts the key into the containment's door- WAIT-

"ShELLY!"

Vee smacks the key out of her hand as she pushes her away.

"No! It's fine if you just throw stuff in there, but I am NOT letting you go inside!"

"But there's no other way f-"

"No no no no No No NO! You can ask Dandy about this in the morning and get Astro to help. None of us are capable of holding these things down other than him. You. Are. Not. Doing. This."

"But-"

"Shelly."

She pauses as she looks at Finn as he claws at the wall.

"... Okay... I just want to give this last thing to him, okay?"

"Deal, but after, go put the keys back and go to sleep."

Shelly does as she tosses Barnaby into the cell, the toy fish sliding against the ichor on the floor. To Vee and Shelly's shock, as soon as Finn saw it, he bolted with speed neither of them knew he even had. He grasps the toy in his shaky hands, staring at it and wound the toy up. The thing sprang to life as it started to flail mechanically in the Twisted's hand, ichor starting to well up in his eyes. The two girls heard it... Laugh? Was that the right word? Its smile seemed wider as let the toy swim about in the ichor. This seemed to make the Twisted... Calmer as he crawled to the wreckage of his bed and lay in it, crimson eyes slowly closing, but a smile remained.

Shelly stayed silent as she wrote down her last note for the night.

Twisted, or at least Finn, most certainly have object recognition. Does this mean Twisteds can have facial recognition?

Chapter Text

"Hey! Hey, Sprout!"

Sprout eyes darted to the familiar voice of his best friend, Cosmo, as he rushed over and hugged him, nearly knocking them both over.

"Whoa- Hey, Cos! What's up?"

He asks as Cosmo doesn't let go of him.

"It's so cold!!! I know it's winter and stuff, BUT IT'S TOO COLD!! Finn and Teagan are freezing up, Shrimpo's more low energy than ever, and I swear Scraps and Goob are getting ready to hibernate!"

"Cats and dogs don't hibernate-"

"I KNOW, LEMME BE DRAMATIC!"

Sprout laughs as he readjusts his position so his back isn't strained from Cosmo's clinging.

"Why don't we just ask the handlers to turn to heat up in Garden View?"

"I tried, but they said something about the heating bills being too high and needing to cut costs."

"Well, that's dumb."

"I KNOW!"

Cosmo lets go of him partially as he feels a shiver go down his spine.

"They said they'll heat it up after Winter Break..."

"Wow, that's in a week..."

"Yeah...."

It was quiet between the two friends as Sprout let out a sigh, rubbing Cosmo's back.

"Hey, how about this? We can cook a nice hot feast for everyone and watch something at the theatre. Pretty warm in there, and we'll all be together. How's that?"

Sprout felt heat rise to his face as he saw how Cosmo's eyes sparkled at the idea.

"Yes! I'll go tell everyone!"

He watched as Cosmo rushed out of the kitchen, a bright smile on his face... He couldn't quite ignore the longing he felt when the pastry let go, he wanted to hug him forever...

Sprout woke up in his bed, hugging a pillow tightly to his chest, a sleeping habit he noticed he developed after Cosmo... Yknow. There was nothing planned today as far as he was aware so he just... Didn't get out of bed. He stared at his ceiling as he continued to hug the pillow, shifting deeper into his sheets as he breathed in the cooler air... Was Winter around the corner? Great, just great. Sprout hides under his covers, seeing the darkness and warmth envelope him, yet he can't fall back asleep. He's alone.

Alone with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company.

...

He hated this.

It was morning so Dandy would be awake by now so no stealing the keys to visit Cosmo... He wishes he could sleep forever, wishing Astro would just put him into a coma forever so he wouldn't have to deal with any of this. Everything sucked. Vee sucked. Shelly sucked. Pebble sucked. Dandy sucked. Astro sucked. He-...

Sprout felt himself shake as tears welled up in his eyes again.

He sucked, didn't he?

Sprout hated this; he hated everything about all of this. Maybe he's starting to understand why Shrimpo was so angry all the time... Everything felt too bright, yet too dull. Too loud, yet too quiet. The strawberry sniffled as he hugged the pillow tighter, wishing it was Cosmo. He wished he had him as a best friend or boyfriend; it didn't matter right now. He just wants to know he's okay if he's safe. This finally made Sprout get up as he needed to see Cosmo, whether by pick-locking that damned lock or getting into a fistfight with Dandy for the keys. He threw something warmer on and ran out the door.

"And scientists say the variety of dinosaurs out there is a wide selection as the Jurassic period was extremely long! And-"

The sound of Sprout falling down the fucking stairs and stumbling into the dining hall stopped Shelly's rant to Astro.

"Sprout!-"

"I need- I need to talk to Dandy, where is- where is he!?"

"You-"

"I said, where is Dandy!?"

Astro and Shelly point to the staff room in the kitchen as Sprout rushes over, prying the door open.

"DANDY!"

"AHHH-"

Dandy screams, in the staff janitor's closet to have some peace and quiet but instead getting this.

"Dandy, can- huff- can you give me the keys."

"What."

"Just give me-"

"I am not giving you Cosmo's key!"

It's awful how predictable Sprout can be.

"Please, I just-"

"No. Nope. Nadda. No way."

"Please-!"

Dandy slams his fist against the wall, causing a vibration as red dots appear in the flower's eyes.

"I SAID NO! I know very well you're unlocking him and then you're going to get killed and I can't lose another one of you and you must be downright obsessive if you can't stand not being around him to RISK YOUR LIFE FOR IT!"

Sprout was taken aback by Dandy's sudden outburst as Astro and Shelly peeked to see what was happening.

"Dandy, if you were to-"

"No! We've already lost enough, I'm not losing you or Astro or Shelly or Pebble- HELL, I WANT VEE TO STAY ALIVE TOO! I MIGHT AS WELL KILL COSMO RIGHT NOW IF THAT GETS YOU TO NOT RISK OUR LIVES FOR ONE PERSON!-"

Sprout suddenly threw a punch to Dandy's face, knocking the flower down and causing some things to fall. Shelly was the first to scream.

"DANDY!"

She ran to Dandy's aid as he was dazed by that. Never has Sprout acted so... Violently before... Astro watched as the strawberry huffed and cranked his arm back. Quickly, he used his stardust to hold the baker down so he couldn't do any more damage.

"Whoa, Sprout, calm down!"

"COSMO ISN'T JUST ONE PERSON; HE'S MY BEST FRIEND! YOU'RE ALL NOTHING COMPARED TO HIM!- ASTRO, LET ME GO!"

"Sprout!"

"YOU SUCK! I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU-"

Sprout starts spouting the most vulgar words he could think of at the time as Astro had to drag him away while Shelly checked if Dandy was alright. Out the dining hall, the duo went as Sprout continued to struggle against the dreamers stardust.

"ASTRO, HE NEEDS TO LEARN A LESSON!"

"..."

"JUST LET ME AT HIM! IT'S ABOUT TIME THE BRAT WAS STRAIGHTENED OUT ANYWAY!"

"..."

"WHY WON'T YOU SAY SOMETHING-"

Sprout suddenly felt himself be shoved into the floor as Astro, with a fury he didn't know he had smashed his foot against the side of the strawberry's head.

"Would you SHUT UP!?"

Astro let out a scream of frustration that echoed throughout the building. Dandy and Shelly heard it. Pebble 100% heard it. Even Vee, who was three floors up, heard it. Sprout felt his non-existent ears bleed as Astro's screech came to a halt with quick, labored breaths.

"..."

"..."

"... Sprout, do you know how hard it is to stay calm during all of this? All of our friends are gone, ichor is wearing their skins, using their voices, their abilities. We have... People we care about and I know... This... Is... Hard"

Astro backs away from Sprout as he starts to tear up, letting the stardust disappear.

"You're not the only person in the world, you know... I don't want to die... I don't want to die like Dazzle did..."

The mention of the dreamer's tragic friend brought sobs out of his throat as Sprout didn't know what to do for once.

"Please don't endanger us... We're so close, so very close to having someone, anyone, back."

Astro rubbed his eyes as he tried to hold back the waterfall of tears in his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, but please... I want my friend back... I want Dazzle back..."

Astro's knees buckled as he almost fell to the ground if not for Sprout catching him, and hugging him tightly. Astro just sobbed as all the anxiety, stress, and despair of the situation came crashing down onto him. In this moment Sprout realized something...

He wasn't the only one who lost someone...

After a while of Astro's sobs turning into small whimpers and whines, he slowly got his composer now. He snuffled before talking again.

"Now... You need to apologize to Dandy..."

Chapter Text

Apologizing to Dandy after clocking him in the face was harder than punching him. What was even harder was to promise you wouldn't do something and then immediately do it in the middle of the night. So guess what Sprout was doing?

Sneaking into Dandy's room again to steal the keys.

As he walked up the stairs again, huffing a little as he opened the door into the flower pitch-dark room, he saw a glow... Did Dandy leave a light on- OH GOD, IT WAS ASTRO!-

"Sprout."

Sprout had to cover his mouth to not alert Dandy or Pebble.

"I thought we discussed this."

Astro says as he grabs Sprout by the ankles and drags him out of the room to talk without whispers.

"What are you doing!?"

He whisper-yells at Sprout as he closes the door.

"Nothing-"

Astro gives him a harsh glare, specks of the fury he felt a bit ago flaring up in his eyes.

"L-look, I'm sorry. I just... I just want to see him, okay? I'm not going to let him out or touch him, I just need to see him..."

The dreamer huffed as he let Sprout go and calmed down a little.

"I'm not letting you steal the keys."

"But-"

"Sprout."

The strawberry crossed his arms and huffed again as he had to suffer through Astro's disapproving stare.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... I know where Dazzle is-"

"YOU DO!?"

Oh, that certainly got a reaction out of the dreamer.

"If you let me take the keys from now on, I'll help you get him."

Astro's eyes narrowed at Sprout's deal. For one, super dangerous. But on the other hand...

"... You drive a hard bargain."

"Is that a yes?"

".......... yes."

Astro and Sprout started to walk down the stairs into the lobby. While neither was really experienced in the workings of the elevator, they assumed it was easy enough as they made their way into the lobby.

"..."

"..."

"So... Uh, how- how do you know where he is?"

"Well, uuhh-"

Astro didn't like the hesitation.

"It's actually more of an assumption... I remember walking around with Vee to get supplies and saw this... Weird circle of ribbons, and I know only two toons who have the exact same ribbons; Razzle and Dazzle."

The dreamer sighed as the two entered the elevator after getting it open.

"If I remember correctly... They were in the Warehouse."

"That dingy place?"

"Yup!"

"I hope you're right..."

He mumbles as Astro, in the few times he was on elevator duty, pulls a lever as they descend down.

The silence was suffocating, the light rumbling of the elevator surviving as decent white noise.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Sprout opens his mouth to speak.

"Are we-"

"Yes."

Astro flatly answers as, on cue, the elevator stops.

"Ast-"

"If you're wrong and we get hurt, then sleep or waking world, you will not know peace"

Astro's glare at Sprout makes him genuinely a little scared. Sprout was about to step out until Astro grabbed him with stardust, nearly making him trip.

"Whoah!-"

"No no, one of us has to stay in the elevator to open the door when I'm finished, and that person will be you."

"Oh."

"Now stay put."

Astro snaps out as he walks out, the cold concrete beneath his skin makes him shiver as he nears the door snap shut. Being alone while in an unsafe floor was never ideal and Dandy was a stickler for at least having two other toons with you, but it seems rules are being broken. The dreamer always hated these areas because they were so... Quiet. Too quiet at times... He couldn't hear anything right now.

Too quiet.

Astro continued his search around the large warehouse, past cars and fences.

Too quiet.

He saw a few empty machines and decided to collect some, might as well get something out of this trip.

Too quiet.

Stardust turned the wheel as he kept an eye on everything, always making sure he didn't see a random twisteds jump out of him. He knew that was far-fetched as Twisteds didn't really notice him a lot despite him literally glowing.

Too quiet.

The quiet ding of a machine signifies it was filled as he took a few empty capsules, hidden beneath his blanket, and started to fill them with the ichor in the machine. 

Too. Quiet.

Then, he saw something red in the corner of his eye as he filled the last capsule he had. Usually, he had more so he could empty a machine, but he wasn't expecting to collect in the middle of the night so give him a break! Anyway, he saw a vague red in the shadows and... Movement. He screwed the capsule shut as he slowly approached the mass and as the silhouette became more and more defend, Astro felt tears well up in his eyes more and more.

Black and white. Red ribbons, and what was left of Razzle and Dazzle. Their masks spit and fit into one like a puzzle piece.

"Dazzle..."

Astro whispers under his breath, seeing ribbons sprout from the ground and form a circle just like Sprout said (haha, get the semi-pun I did?) The form rocked back and forth as the dreamer noticed a weight, seemingly tying the two down.

"What did they do to you..."

He noticed that they were... Sleeping. They looked so peaceful. Dazzle looked peaceful. He stared at them, sleeping for a few minutes, not even caring that Sprout was waiting, he just slowly sat next to them... He slowly lifted one of his hands to the grey side of the twisted's face, hesitating for a moment, until risking it to just feel Dazzle once more.

His skin hits the familiar cold porcelain...

"..."

A sense of panic instills in Astro as he sees Dazzle's eye squint open, the red eye looking at the dreamer. Though, instead of instantly attacking or biting his hand off, they instead... Lean into the touch as their eye close again and their body relax, no longer rocking back and forth, seemingly completely asleep now.

"Daz?..."

He whispers as the twisted goes limp in his arms suddenly as he sees the ribbons slowly crumble away into dust. He... Didn't know what to do. The brick looked rather heavy, so it'd be hard for him or his magic to carry them... Astro glanced over at the chainlink fence...

...

Astro held the twisted closer as he managed to send out his stardust to yank on a piece of loose chain and tried to rip it out. He just needed something sharp. Something to cut this brick off them. Off Dazzle. Off his Dazzle-

With a loud snap, Astro got the piece of metal and brought it to himself as he took one of his lower hands and started to stab at the ribbon, poking holes in the threads.

"I'm going to get you out of here..."

He mumbles under his breath as he continues to stab at it.

"You're going to be safe and you're going to be here with me."

His tone got more admit as he deemed the rip big enough as he yanked at it, nearing the threads twist and snap as Razzle and Dazzle were freed by the brick's confines. As soon as that happens, Astro stands up and ran back to the elevator, Razzle and Dazzle in tow. He didn't really think after that as he ran, not stopping the tears anymore as he banged on the elevator to be let in. After the thrid bang, the elevator opened by a worried Sprout.

"Astr-"

"Just- just send us up, now."

The dreamer's voice was a hushed whisper to silence Sprout from being too loud. The ride back up was quiet as Astro was sitting in the corner, holding Dazzle's side close as he hmmed softly, knowing that usually helped the tragic sleep better. He didn't really mind having the watchful eye of Sprout glancing at them until he said this.

"... Is that blush I seeeee?"

"Shutup."

Chapter Text

"Sprooouuuutttt!!!!"

The strawberry blinked as he looked at his friend and some kid rushing towards him before stopping and panting.

"Huh? Yeah, what's up?-"

"This kid gave me an apple pie recipe! We want to try it out! Please please pleasepleasepleasepleaaaasseee!"

"YAY! It- it was ma gamgam's! She- uh, she-s not here anymore, and- and Mommy or Daddy won't let me use da oven... So c-can ya pretty please help me make it? Please?"

The child and Cosmo stared at Sprout with puppy dog eyes... Now, usually, children weren't allowed in the kitchen, but since they both asked so nicely...

Sprout woke up alone again in his room, the silence being too loud... He'd been thinking for a while every time he'd lay in bed, staring at his ceiling. Garden View... His home... Well, he's always been told it was his home. Garden View.

Sprout has... Never been outside before. He remembers the children always drawing pictures of them outside and playing, but he's never felt the warmth of the sun on his skin, never felt what true grass was beneath his feet, never felt the harsh yet refreshing cold of the ocean. Sprout has never left Garden View in his life, nor has anyone else here. They're trapped. After the train stopped and the entrances to the surface were blocked, there was... No way out. Would the surface even be that good?

None of them here, while humanoid, could not pass as human in any way. The closest ones would probably be Gigi and Poppy, but their skin was unnatural colors. Hell, he doesn't even remember if any of the children even remember they existed at this point. Was this the point of their existence? To be forgotten without a trace? Is this what it all meant? Was this life? Even if or when all the toons are saved from this curse of ichor, food and water will diminish quickly, and then they'll all starve.

What was the point anymore? Was there even a point? Maybe they should all just ki-

Knock knock knock.

Sprout sat up in his bed as he heard the knocking, wondering who it was he threw a blanket over himself and opened the door, looking down slightly to see Astro.

"Huh... What do you want?"

"Vee found some cake mix in one of the staff rooms... We were wondering if... You'd help up bake, or something..."

Baking... Sprout hadn't baked ever since Cosmo twisted as it didn't feel right too without him, but... It's been so long... And...

"We understand if you-"

"I'll be down in 10 minutes."

Before Astro got another word out, Sprout closed the door.

"..."

Astro stood behind the door for a few seconds in confusion. The dreamer just blinked as he turned the other way and he headed to the elevator where a slightly impatient Dandy was waiting.

"Is he coming down?"

"He... Said he'll be down in 10 minutes..."

"Alright then, come on moonwalker."

"Stop calling me that..."

"Whatever."

The two descended down before they reached the main dining hall, Vee reading the instructions while Shelly chased Pebble around.

"Hey, guys!"

Dandy smiles proudly as goes out from his spot to walk to the others alongside Astro.

"Sprout said he's coming down in 10 minutes"

"Usually he never hesitates or-"

Astro buds in.

"Usually, Cosmo's with him."

"... Right."

Vee looks down with a little bit of shame and guilt as she readjusts her bowtie. There was a pause of awkward silence as they all didn't exactly know what to do while they waited for their friend to come down.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Suddenly, Astro collapses which makes Shelly panic.

"ASTRO-"

But Dandy interuppts.

"Don't worry, he's just asleep again."

"... I've never seen him just drop... Asleep..."

Vee rolls her eyes.

"He's been doing that since Goob and Scraps died, how- how have you not noticed??"

"Well, soorrryyyy! I don't talk to Astro that much!"

"Fair enough, I don't really talk to him either."

Dandy rubs his temples.

"Man, you guys are such great friends."

Astro mumbles something under his breath as he sits up, his 5-second nap finished already.

"You're one to talk, Dandy."

"Can we not do this today?"

Everyone just chuckles at the two's banter as Shelly goes to figure out how the oven works because, surprise surprise, not many toons know how the Kitchen works. The only ones were Cosmo, Boxten, Shrimpo through trial and error, Razzle and Dazzle, and Sprout. But considering the ichor... That number dwindled to one.

"Shelly, don't burn the place down."

Dandy calls out as Shelly assumes it's simple enough, Just press a few numbers and then on, right?

After 10 minutes, Sprout walks into the kitchen to the smell of smoke. He takes a long sigh as he hears a mix of his friend's laughter and cries. Not saying anything, he watches the chaos unfold. Shelly is crying that she managed to mess up something like preheating an oven as the damn thing was ON FIRE- Astro was nowhere to be seen, assuming he went to get an extinguisher, as Vee laughed at all this and Dandy is trying to hold back his own. The baker finally makes his presence known as Astro comes rushing past him to put out the flaming oven that always seemed to do this from time to time actually...

"SSPPRROOUUTT, IM SORRYY!!!"

Shelly cries out as Astro blasts the thing.

"Hey hey, it's alright, you're not hurt or anything?"

"No... Well, maybe a tiinnnyyy burn on my finger..."

"I'll get a bandaid for you then-"

"Noooo!! Sprout, I don't need one!! It'll heal on its own, besides, we'll need those for more serious things..."

Sprout only chuckles as the smoke starts to dissipate.

"No one here has gotten severely injured"

"But-"

"Just wait here."

The Main's watch as Sprout quickly makes his leave, only to come back 2 minutes later with a bandaid. He unboxed it from its confines and wrapped it around the dinosaur enthusiast's finger.

"You didn't have to..."

"I wanted to. Now-"

Sprout backs away as he looks at Vee.

"-I heard you found cake mix?"

The game show host only nods as she points to the bag she put on the counter. The strawberry approaches it and sees three boxes of cake mix. While he never really liked cake mix because it was way too easy, he'll take it.

"Alright then! Let's get started!"

So, how did this baking conundrum end? Well, it ended with the group making three successful cakes! but also part of Astro's blanket getting burned, Shelly getting another burn, Vee almost melting a little, Dandy getting flour all over him, making him look like a daisy, and Sprout somehow getting absolutely soaked in water. You can imagine the chaos that happened because this chapter's getting long enough for me-

"Well, it's cakes!"

Dandy tries to keep a positive attitude as he coughs, some of the flour particles getting in his mouth. Shelly only laughs.

"Yeah! Who knew baking was this... Explosive."

Sprout rolls his eyes as he searches for a knife.

"It's really not... I think all this equipment is out of date so that's why"

Vee nodds in agreement.

"Yeah, plus I think we might have a gas leak so we're lucky."

Everyone's gaze snaps to Vee as they all say this at the same time.

"We have a what."

Chapter Text

Step. Step. Step.

Can you guess who is planning on stealing Dandy's key to the containment cells again?

It's actually Shelly this time as she quietly takes the key for Cosmo, wanting to see if he is any different from Finn. She was walking down the stairs when she was jumpscared by someone equally as scared to see her. Sprout

"EeK!-"

"AAH!"

The two quickly shut up as they both realized Dandy could hear them and they did not want to wake them up. The two stared at each other for a hot minute as Sprout's eyes wonder to the keys he was planning on snatching to visit Cosmo.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"What-"

"I can explain!"

Shelly quickly spits out, thinking the baker is going to tell Dandy about this, but instead, he says this

"Who are you heading to."

"I- what."

"Who are you heading to-"

"No no, I-I heard you but, huh???"

Sprout only chuckles.

"I'm assuming you're going to visit someone, hm? Who is it?"

The fact he didn't seem mad or upset confused her, then again... He was the one begging Dandy for the keys not that long ago...

"Cosmo, I-I just-"

"I wanted to see him too."

Sprout mumbles under his breath and he sees Shelly's smile grow.

"Wait... Wait-wait waaait! Haha, oh my God, did you sneak down here too?"

"... Maybe. I won't tell Dandy if you don't tell him."

"Swear on my life, I won't tell him."

"Then I swear too, now, come on, let's go"

Sprout and Shelly race down the stairs, giggling like they're not doing something that could absolutely kill them. As the two got to the toon room's floor, the weight of the situation finally dawned on the two... Whhiiicchh they swiftly ignored as Shelly speed-walked to Cosmo's door and swung it open

Shelly walked in as Sprout took a nervous breath in as he stared into the room, locking eyes with him. Part of his walls were claws as some ichor was splotching the plastic and Shelly took out her notepad.

"Cosmo doesn't seem as aggressive as Finn."

She mutters under her breath as she writes down a Cosmo section.

"Honestly, he seems really passive don't you think?"

She asks as she turns her head to see Sprout slowly walking closer, the Twisted quietly standing in front of them.

"Yeah..."

He mumbles as she continues to write.

Cosmo:

Seemingly a more passive Twisted compared to Finn, certainly less creepy to look at...

The strawberry looked over the dinosaur enthusiast's shoulder to read what she wrote as she peered at the sprout plushie on Cosmo's bed.

"Hmm... That thing seems pretty intact."

"Oh, yeah... I gave it to Cosmo after he complained about being cold or something in the winter..."

"Mhm..."

Does he recognize Sprout?

"Sprout, can you move around the room for me?"

"Huh?"

She rolls her eyes with a smile as she backs up a little.

"Move a little, I want to see if Cosmo's eyes track you."

Sprout was about to rebuttal but ultimately just did as she said as he moved the wall to the other. As he moved, he watched what was left of his best friend's bitch black pupils... Tracked his movements...

"Intresting..."

Shelly says as she continues to write.

Cosmo tracks movement pretty well, though that's possibly a quality of Twisteds as they're pretty good at tracing us.

"Does he eat?"

Shelly suddenly asks as Sprout stops moving, his face clearly being one of the confusion as she reiterates herself.

"Like um, maybe the Twisteds chase after us because they think their food so if we give them normal food, they'll be more passive and... Yeah..."

Her voice trails off as she attempts to explain herself as the strawberry gives it some thought... He could get Cosmo's favorite...

"Wait here."

He flatly says as he walks out the door, leaving a slightly puzzled Shelly to continue her research alone. Her attention is directed at Cosmo who's eyes wonder around his room, focusing on one thing for a few moments before looking at something different.

"Hey, hey Cosmo, can you hear me?"

She says as she approaches the glass once again, a bright smile on her face as the twisted eye locks onto her.

"Remember me? It's Shelly!"

Her voice is chipper as she does a little spin, her dress twirling at the force. Cosmo, in return, watches it for a few seconds before... Smiling...

"Oh! You're smiling!"

Unlike Finn's, this one seemed genuine in her innocent little act.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

The twisted looks up at her to stare her in the eyes, his claw twitching a little.

"Can you... Speak?"

Her voice wavered a little as this question was more far-fetched. The only noises any twisted make are garbled screams and screeches, a far cry from everyone's usual voices.

"..."

He's quiet. Honestly, what did she expect? Even if he could, there was ichor in the way so even if he could it'd be impossible to understand-

"Shh.... El.... E...."

The girl freezes as Cosmo forces air out of his sore throat, tears of ichor dripping down his cheek.

"... Cosmo?"

Her voice is barely a whisper as she drops her notebook, the garbled version of her name making her both panic and... Released.

"You're... Really in there, aren't you?"

Shelly, despite having anxiety build up, let her voice come out comforting and calm. Twisted Cosmo's head tilts to the side a little like a puppy as he weakly smiles. The dinosaur enthusiast puts her hand on the glass as she opens her mouth to speak.

"We're going to get you out of here, I promise."

Promise. Promise. Promise. The word set something off in Cosmo that he didn't even realize as he stood motionless. He couldn't explain it... Promise. Promise. A word in his clouded head made him feel a sense of panic he didn't know was possible. Promise. Promise. Pro-

"I'm back"

Sprout calls out as he holds a plastic-wrapped cupcake and stops as he sees Shelly's genuine smile.

"Did... I miss something?"

"He said my name."

She whispers as she starts to cry. This news nearly made him cry too.

"He... Did?"

"I-it was, like, re-really faint but it was my name!"

Promise. Promise. Promise. Promise. Promise.

"Do you think he'd..."

Sprout mutters the last part of his question under his breath

"He'd what?"

Promise. Promise. Promise. Promise. Promise.

"... Let me hug him..."

The baker's answer was quiet as he looked away, knowing how dangerous that was. However, with the news that Cosmo was most likely still in there...

Why did the word promise hurt? Why did it hurt? Hurt. Hurt. Hurt. Hurt.

Shelly slowly put the key in the door, separating the two best friends. She took a breath and unlocked it.

Promise. Promise. Promise!

Sprout walked into the ichor-stained room of Cosmo's room, the twisted staring at him motionless.

"Cosmo?"

PromisepromisepromisepromisepromisePROMISE-

"It's Sprout."

He said as he walked closer.

PROMISEPROMISEPROMISEPROMISEHE- HE -HE PROMISED!

It all happened in a sudden flash.

The screech of a twisted, the cry of the baker, the scream of the researcher, and the swing of a claw. Sprout fell to the ground, eye in raging pain at the sharp claw that swiped at it, the twisted shaking its head violently.

HATE. HATE. HATE. HATE. PROMISE, HE PROMISED. HE PROMISED, AND HE FAILED. FAILED.

HE DID THIS!

Shelly quickly yanked Sprout out of the room and slammed the door shut, the suddenly enraged twisted clawing at the metal door as Sprout trembled. He just got attacked... By his best friend... What... What happened?

"W-h I- why-"

Shelly muttered nonsense to her as she got Sprout to his foot, rushing out the door and closing it too, needing to get him a medkit now and fast! She didn't know what happened as she saw how calm Cosmo was, why was he suddenly so violent!? Was it something she did? Was it something on her? Was it the environment?

Was it something she said?

Chapter Text

It was mid-day Vee paced around the halls, checklist in hand, as she checked off different needed things... Food? Decent supply. Water? Running a little low... Medical supplies? Not very good... She knew she was scheduled to do another supply run in a week's time, but that felt too long for her comfort. She could ask Dandy... Like hell, she'd ask him for anything.

It was a pretty known fact that Dandy and Vee didn't exactly like each other, so it was no surprise when Vee, not wanting Dandy for anything, was dragging a mostly tired Shelly in the middle of the night to the elevator.

"Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

"What."

"Please, I'm tireeddd..."

"You'll get to nap in the elevator, alright?"

Shelly just rolls her eyes as she's dragged onto the cold metal floor, blanket wrapped around her like a cacoon.

"Dandy will be mad..."

"Remember, I can tell him you snuck down to study Finn annnyyytime I want."

Shelly just yawned as she lay on the floor.

"Whatever..."

Vee just rolled her eyes... Okay, so she didn't know how to work the elevator, she'll admit that. Dandy didn't trust her on elevator duty so she never learned, but hey, it can't be that hard! Right? Vee pulled a lever as the elevator hmmed alive.

"Alright!"

She explained excitedly as the door shut, and they descended down, Shelly already being asleep on the floor.

This was going better than the game show host expected! She had found about three medkits, 2 bandaids, a pack of water, and a crate of non-perishable food! Awesome! The only struggle was getting this back to the elevator. Vee struggled to push the crate, the wood scraping the flooring as she huffed and puffed. Usually, they would have a troller to help with things like this, but considering Vee did this on her own... Eventually,f though, she managed to get the thing to the elevator as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shelly, open the elevator!"

She called out as she knocked and waited... And waited... And... Waited- Okay, was Shelly asleep in there again? Maybe getting someone extremely tired to do elevator duty was a bad idea. Vee only banged on the large metal door harder, yelling more loudly as she knew there were no twisteds on this floor, or at least none that would hear her screaming.

"SHEELLLYYY-"

Suddenly, the door slid open as Shelly rubbed her eyes.

"Sorry..."

The girl mumbled as she watched Vee push the crate inside.

"You took a while..."

Shelly mumbled as she sat on the floor, trying to keep herself awake still.

"I'm sorry, but doing this alone was not as easy as I thought it was."

The dinosaur enthusiast only laughed a little as they felt the elevator return upwards.

"..."

"..."

"Vee..."

Shelly whispered as she took a deep breath

"Hm, yeah?"

"Can we... Talk about something?"

Vee blinked as she shifted awkwardly.

"Um, yeah, sure."

Shelly hesitated as she opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"..."

"I don't have all day-"

"Do you think anyone is coming back for us?"

The question made the tv freeze up, her expression shifting into one of shock.

"What?"

"Do you-"

"I- I heard you! Just... Huh?"

Shelly's breathing started to shake as she curled up, laying down on the floor in the fetal position.

"We've been- been stuck here for... I-I don't know how long anymore... They abandoned us- they... I want to see the kids again, even if they forgot my name. I can't-..."

Shelly's eyes watered as she started to sob, her optimistic attitude seemingly crumbling before Vee. She was frozen in place, just watching Shelly cry in front of her for the first time in a long time.

"I-I miss my old life, Vee! I don't want to do this anymore! I CAN'T DO IT!"

She wailed as she sat up, rocking back and forth as tears she'd been holding back since the first few toons twisted came flooding out. Shelly banged on the floor and kicked her feet like some kid having a temper tantrum, only difference was this wasn't because she was a brat...

"I CAN'T KEEP DOING THIS FOREVER!"

The facade she put up for so long to keep everyone at least semi-optimistic crashed upon her as all she felt was pure sorrow, the smile she practiced in the mirror being a mask to hide away her true feelings. Vee continued to stand motionless, unsure what to do other than listen. She stood up to stare the other main in the eyes

"I don't care if they forget me, I don't care if they hated me, I-I DON'T CARE IF THEY IGNORE ME! B-BUT I JUST- JUST CAN'T KEEP PRETENDING LIKE THIS LIFE IS ANY BETTER NOW! THEY'RE ALL DEAD! MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD! THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO REMEMBERED I EVEN FUCKING EXISTED!"

Shelly's words weren't of malaise for Vee, yet every cry, every shout, every word felt like a shot to the heart as Vee clenched her fist. She saw Shelly fall to her knees, words caught in her throat as all that came out was wails and tears. The girl could barely breathe as she scratched at her skin, needing to feel something other than this. She needed to feel something. She needed to feel. She needed-

Vee pulled the sobbing girl into a tight hug. The game show host held her close, rubbing circles on her back.

"Shelly... Please, don't cry... I've got you..."

She whispered quietly as anything to reply back was stuck in her throat. Shelly was frozen before melting into the embrace, the comfort making her come back to reality. Shelly cried into Vee's shoulder until they made it back up to the Safe Floor...

Shelly helped push the crate back into the kitchen as Vee went to put the keys back. The crying made her even more tired, but she wanted to do this for Vee... They were friends afterall...

"I'm here, it's going to be alright..."

"Shelly, we're going to make it..."

"We're all here for you..."

Vee's words echoed in the shells dead as she felt a smile creep up on her, one not of the mask she put on, but genuine. She... Felt better. As Shelly past the toon rooms, she suddenly hear stepped in something sticky.

"Ew, huh-..."

It was black like tar...

It was ichor.

Shelly felt her body freeze up again as she heard a growl down the hall... Shelly suddenly remembers something when she had to rush Sprout out...

Did she remember to lock that door?

Chapter Text

It was night so the lights were off, but Shelly could see it as she looked down the toon room's hall.

A piercing red-eye

"No... NonononoNO!"

She yelled as she backed up, hearing the twisted's footsteps as it started out slow but very quickly gave chase as she ran for it. Shelly should've locked the door! Why was she so stupid!? She knew no one could hear her as the toon rooms were decently far. She was alone with a twisted chasing her. Wonderful.

"C-Cosmo, please!"

She cried out as what was left of the baker continued to chase as her heart beat faster and faster. Shelly knew she could keep a distance between her and him, but she could already feel her legs burn. She wasn't known for having the best stamina out of her friends... Oh, dear...

"Please- please! I-I'm sorry about what happened yesterday, I-I don't know what happened!"

She pleaded for her life as she started to slow down, Twisted Cosmo starting to catch up to her.

"COSMO, I-I'M SORRY!"

Shelly screams with all her heart as she looks behind her only to see Cosmo literally two feet away from her!-

"SHELLY!"

Someone screams as the twisted look behind, seeing that familiar green light... Vee had come running down the stairs after she heard her scream with Dandy following not far along as he had woken up from her scream, Pebble in tow. The twisted ignored Shelly to go after the bright green tv as she ran for it this time, letting Shelly have a moment to breathe. Dandy flicked the lights on as he saw the hallway's state. The wallpaper was scratched with stains of ichor everywhere. How did this happen!? He ran to the sobbing Shelly as Vee ran circles around Cosmo despite not being very fast.

"Shelly! Shelly are you alright!? Is nothing hurt!?"

"I- I'm... I'm fine, j-just shaken up..."

Dandy just nods as he looks at Vee.

"Pebble will handle him! I'll get Astro!"

Vee was quick to run past Dandy as he put his dog down, barking loudly to get the twisted attention as he ran.

"BARK BARK!"

Shelly watched as Vee rushed to the elevator as Pebble kept Cosmo distracted. The dinosaur enthusiast took deep breaths as she watched Cosmo chase Pebble, it was... Honestly pretty funny. Dandy becked Shelly to get closer to him when there was an opening to run out of Pebble's distracting line. Very quickly, she rushed to the flower's side as they watched Pebble taunt and bark at the twisted, being helpless to its instincts, and continued to chase despite how monotonous it was.

"How did this happen?"

Dandy mumbled to himself. He was so careful... So cautious... Did Twisteds know how to pick a lock? If they did, then why only now? Shelly could see Dandy was deep in thought as his expression shifted into one of guilt. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what he was thinking.

Was this my fault?

"Dandy..."

Shelly whispered as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Huh- yeah?"

"We can fix this, alright? Pebble has him distracted, then Astro will put him back in his room, and it'll be okay."

"Yeah... But did he even get out in the first place? Am I going to need to board up the door now?"

Shelly knew it was bad of her to not tell Dandy that she didn't lock the door... She didn't need him worrying more...

"Maybe..."

She mumbled back in response as they heard the hum of the elevator and saw a faint blue glow.

"Yawn- Okay where is he..."

Astro mumbled as he tiredly walked into the Toon Room where he spotted the twisted.

"Hm..."

He walked to Pebble as the pet rock sprinted past him and to Dandy.

"Guess we're doing this again..."

Astro says as Cosmo locks onto him and sprints forward before being caught up in stardust. He roared in anger, being a little annoyed that this happened again. 

"Kay, I got him... Dandy?"

"On it!"

Dandy says as he takes out Cosmo's key and opens the door for the tired one. It didn't take long for Cosmo to be put back into his room and properly locked. Through, Dandy wasn't satisfied now...

"Shelly, can you find me some bricks? Yknow, the ones Shrimpo just has sometimes?"

"Oh, uh, yeah sure..."

Dandy tosses the key to Shrimpo's room to her as she awkwardly walks to the bully's unused room. With the turn of a key, the first door opened, and she saw his room was in a similar setup to everyone else. A second door, everything pushed to one side, and a plastic sheet. She knew Shrimpo kept a bunch of bricks under his bed so he could threaten others with it, which... Is not pleasant- Quickly, the dinosaur enthusiast unlocks the second door and fetches two bricks from under the bed, the weight of the two straining her as she slowly makes it back.

"G-gosh why was they so heavy!?"

She cries out as Dandy takes the two and stacks them in front of the door.

"Well, good thing. This... Is very temporary, I'll think of something better in the morning."

"Eheh, yeah... Sounds good..."

It was honestly a little funny how all of this was happening and Sprout was supposedly still sleeping peacefully, the only main down here! Ain't that silly? Shelly started to laugh a little, getting a few weird looks from her friends. Vee is the first to speak up.

"What's so funny?"

"Ehehahaha, j-just this is all so weird! Haha! How are we even alive right now!? Pppftbabahaa!"

Shelly couldn't tell if she was going insane or just extremely tired, maybe both, but she continued to laugh and laugh and laugh. What did surprise her was when Dandy started to laugh with her, and then Vee joined in, and then Astro. They were all just four main toons all laughing out the stress of the situation they were forced into. None of them cared right now if this looked like insanity, they just kept laughing together!-

The lights flicker as they hear a snap and a zap of wires.

The power suddenly goes out as they realize what is going on. A blackout. But Blackouts never happen on the Safe Floor... Unless... No...

Brightney had to be here.

Chapter Text

The darkness.

A fear no one wishes to have, yet almost everyone does. The stillness of it all makes the situation worse. How did Brightney get here? This floor is supposed to be safe! The group could hear something breathing heavily and it wasn't Shelly, it was Dandy. The flower's hands were shaking as, in the light brought on by Vee and Astro, everyone could see him start to cry.

"No... Nononono, this is all wrong! This can't be happening!"

Dandy muttered out as he pulled on his petals, a nervous habit he caught ever since Finn got crushed into two before his eyes. Astro was quick to try and comfort him.

"Dandy! Dandy, it's going to be okay, we can handle this!"

"How!? We're stuck in a blackout now and we don't know where she is even is!"

Vee butts in.

"We can all split up and search. You and Pebble can stay near Astro and Shelly will stick by me."

Dandy just nods as Astro uses his blanket to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"W-wait, what about Sprout?"

Astro patted him on the back.

"He's probably still asleep, and even if he is awake, we'll find him."

The flower sighed as he straightened his posture a little, seeing Pebble at his feet as he petted him. Shelly rubbed a tear from his cheek.

"We can do this! Me and Vee can check the dining room and you guys can check the library! One at a time, yknow?"

Dandy smiled as he was starting to feel better about this. He laughed.

"Haha, yeah and we can see Brightney from a mile away anyway!"

"Pfftahaha!"

The group shares a few chuckles as they part ways.

Astro, Dandy, and Pebble used the elevator to travel up. Their first thought was to go to the various rainbow room libraries, but Astro wanted to go somewhere else first.

His room.

Dandy wanted to question it but said nothing as Pebble ran around in circles.

"..."

"..."

They didn't talk the entire ride as, soon enough, the elevator door opened. It revealed Astro's room, a museum in itself technically, but it was still his. It was blanketed in darkness as Pebble ran blindly into it, barking loudly as Astro hopped something he was hiding would stay hidden...

"Good luck, Astro, don't... Don't get hurt."

He heard Dandy mumble as the door closed, leaving Astro. If Brightney was here, he'd have to keep his eye out. He could hear the distant barks of Pebble, searching his large room for any sign of the twisted as he too, looked on his own, though he knew full well nothing was likely to spot him... He's always been weirdly good at getting twisteds off him.

"... Briiggghhttneeeyy?"

He called out slowly as he kept his out for a red light. Astro was slightly glad Brightney appeared in some odd way; he wanted his friend back. Brightney was always nice to him and Dazzle; she was always there for him... Then he spotted her.

The ominous red light running the corner.

He could hear Pebble was still quite far so if he got the dog's attention...

"Pebble! Com-"

He felt something getting thrown directly at his head as his shout was cut short. Astro fell to the floor, his head in pain from the impact as he looked to his side.

A brick was thrown at him.

He's surprised he's even conscious right now! Then again, toons weren't as fragile as humans...

"Brig-"

The glowing twisted suddenly jumped on him, her muddled voice growling as she pinned him to the floor, hands around his neck. Well, this was new-

Twisteds usually bite or swipe at them, not fucking choke them out! Astro squirmed, using his hands to try and get her off of him, but she was too strong. He was losing air fast as he flailed around, trying to get his voice heard but his airway was blocked. Everything was starting to feel fuzzy as he trembled in pain, suddenly feeling Brightney slashed at his chest, causing him to bleed. He was going to die like this, wasn't he? He tried to use his stardust to pull her off of him, but he couldn't focus to activate it. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT-

A loud growl and scream made Twisted Brightney look up just before she was about to deliver the final blow. Astro blinked as, instantly, something bashed itself into the twisteds body, smashing her against the other way as he felt air fill his lungs once again. He let out a confused cry of pain as he blinked the tears away quickly to see what was happening.

Razzle and Dazzle had woken up.

Yet... The twins, dangerous as ever now no longer being confined to the weight, didn't attack him. In fact, the opposite as he watched them smash Twisted Brightey's head into the floor, the twins growling like an animal.

"Oh my stars-"

Is what he mumbled as he stood in shock and fear, his body frozen. Brightney screamed as she pushed the twins off her, throwing a punch at their faces, but they quickly split and she lost her balance. The glowing twisted fell forward as Razzle and Dazzle moved out of the way, letting her crash to the floor as they kicked her while she was down.

"S-stop!"

Astro cried out as, without thinking, he grabbed the twisted twins to make them stop hurting her. Even though she was twisted, Brightney was still his friend, he didn't want to kill her! He felt the twins, especially Razzle, struggle against his four-armed grasp as he saw Pebble, rushing in and barking loudly at Brightney.

"G-go get Dandy, quick, go boy!"

He cries out as he uses his stardust to keep Brightney on the floor no matter how much she screams and roars. The dog quickly shot away, his speed unmatched by anyone other than Razzle.

"Raz- Daz, p-please don't! She's our friend!"

He begs as Razzle continues trying to escape, Dazzle staying quiet throughout the ordeal. Brightney cries out as she shakes violently, her light flickering as she continues to try and swipe at the twins. He suddenly felt a bite on his skin. Razzle bit him. It caused him to cry out as he was even more hurt as he fell to the floor, gripping one of his upper arms, Astro bled out. Ichor seeped out of his blue skin... Everything was getting dizzy... The world around him spun...

Brightney was freed as Astro slowly died on the floor, his energy at an all-time low as he couldn't think anymore. He was going to die like this, wasn't he? By the hands of his best friends...

Razzle screeched as he attempted to try and attack Brightney, only for him to stop. Dazzle, straining himself, kept their legs still. Astro could barely see as Dazzle cried and cried, splitting from Razzle as he sobbed. The comedic side, shocked turned around to see what he had done. Even more so, Brightney only stared at Astro, not attacking or doing anything.

Astro coughed up ichor as he slowly closed his eyes, the world turning black as all he heard was a voice. Not one of Dandy, nor the bark of Pebble.

But the distorted voices of Dazzle and Brightney, calling his name.

Astro awoke with a startle and a familiar face. Razzle and Dazzle's room. His projector was on as it played a rerun of a Garden View episode... Astro in Stage Fright, hm... The next thing he noticed was a red light next to him, then the sound of quiet snoring... Then Dandy and Sprout?-

"Astro."

Dandy mumbled under his breath as Sprout stayed silent

"Wuh, Dandy? Sprout?-"

"Shhhshhhh, be quiet, plleaaasseeee...."

There was an urgency to his voice as Astro looked to his sides... Oh, now he sees why. Twisted Brightney was sleeping on the floor to his left... And a sleeping Razzle and Dazzle, the tragic ones side cuddled up to his right.

"... What-"

He whispered as he saw how his chest was bandaged as well as the bite on his arm. Dandy just smiled awkwardly as he let Sprout be direct for this.

"Dandy found you almost dead with these three surrounding you. Dandy couldn't even get close to you so he had to give a medkit to Brightney who patched you up. We tried to contain these three, but they wouldn't leave your side so we had to put you in containment with them so they wouldn't try and kill us."

"... Ah..."

"In short, they're calm because of you."

Well... That was both a relief and... Scary as fuck. He just looked away and stared at the floor.

"How... Uh, how long do I have to stay in here?"

Dandy awkwardly chuckled.

"We... Don't know..."

Astro looked at the corrupted versions of his friends, their peaceful faces bringing him a sense of ease...

"Sorry it has to be this way, but I-"

"I'm okay with this, Dandy."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about me, this is probably the best thing that has happened to me..."

He says, tears welling up in his eyes as he leans into Dazzle's touch.

Chapter Text

With Astro out of commission, rescue missions were put on hold indefinitely. This left an unease with all the main characters, especially Vee, because supply runs were far more risky now... Also, because the power was out, too, that was pretty bad. Dandy, the unofficial leader of this all, kept a smile on his face, only letting it crack only slightly. Only a little. He only lets out his true emotions bit by bit.

"Sprout! Vee."

Dandy called out to the two sitting on the Toon Room's carpet

"Yeah?"

Sprout answers as Vee looks at him.

"Can you guys... Go up and try and fix the power?"

Everyone goes silent for a few seconds as Vee speaks up.

"You know I can just go myself, I don't need Berry-Boy watching over me."

Sprout rolls his eyes at the nickname as Dandy crosses his arm.

"Just do it, pairs are better than being alone, okay?"

Vee opens her mouth to argue, but she can't exactly argue with that given the situation they're in as she just sighs, grabbing Sprout.

"Come on."

"No need to drag me!-"

"Well, you're slow!"

"LIke hell, I am!"

He yanks his arm out of her grasp as he walks with her, the two disappearing into the darkness of the stairs. Shelly stayed with Pebble, petting his hard head softly as he looked at Dandy.

"H-hey, wait, where are you going?"

"I just... I just want to be alone right now, okay? Pebble will keep you safe..."

"But-"

"I can handle myself..."

Shelly shuts up as it's probably better that Dandy gets a little bit of alone time, it's been hard on everybody as Shelly continues to pet the pet rock.

Vee and Sprout walked down the stairs, knowing the power circuit for the Safe Floor was located in the Kitchen room. Vee's green glow allowed them to walk down the stairs without tripping they made it down and opened the door, Vee leading the way. They were quiet together as both didn't really talk a lot. They considered each other friends, but were they really friends? Or was that just a title the Handlers forced upon them, and they kept the act up? Who knows... As Vee makes her way into the kitchen, Sprout wanders away, opting not to watch Vee like a hawk. The strawberry blindly walks about in the darkness, yet it is actually pretty easy for him as he's basically memorized the layout. The only problem was the trash that scattered the floor, but oh well.

Sprout lets his hand slide against the counter as closes his eyes...

Dandy took a few deep breaths as he wandered into the elevator, needing somewhere quiet to just... Sit... Today was rough, to say the least as he pulled the lever, going to a random floor so no one would hear him.

"... I feel empty..."

Dandy started, the habit of talking to himself when things got hard instilled in him long before any of this... Before Garden View closed down for good, leaving all of them to rot... He had learned to keep it all inside, any bad emotion needed to be hidden far away... He needed to act happy even if he wasn't... To keep himself from exploding, he would find himself mumbling how he felt into a pillow, alone in his room. Old habits die hard, I guess...

"I don't feel sad... I don't feel happy, I just..."

He mumbles to the void, pushing his knees to his chest. He's noticed how all of them have lost weight, probably a mix of lack of food, running away from twisteds, and stress... He did miss how he used to look, his petals being duller and a little wilted... Honestly, all of them looked worse for ware...

"... I wish I could help more... I wish they didn't have to suffer like this, I'd give up my life for a happy ending..."

Dandy continues, feeling tears well up in his eyes again. He felt nothing as they spilled from his eyes as he spoke.

"I'm... Sorry, I threatened Cosmo, Sprout..."

He began.

Sprout can imagine it so clearly. His smile, his mannerisms, his caring voice. He kept imagining Cosmo.

"Yknow Sprout, I've always wondered if we tried putting pop in some treats!"

He was always so experimental, it was impressive...

"I heard one of the kids mention fall coming by, we should make some pumpkin pie!"

Always so excited to spend time with him...

"Sprout!"

He remembered the little roll tail he had. He remembers the handlers always telling him to hide it as it was a defect in his creation, but after the kids saw it, they all fell in love with it and he got to show it off.

"Honestly, you ever think what the outside world looks like?"

... Sprout has wondered, he's wondered a lot. He wonders if they do get out, will they be safe? Vee knew how to get the train up and running, but everyone promised not to put it into action until they found a cure for their friends, not abandoning them like how Garden View did.

"Vee let me on her game show!! I'm going to be on it, I'm so excited!!!"

He would always do a high-pitched squeal like when a little kid gets candy... How Sprout longed for those moments again, to just... Hear his voice... He opened his eyes just as the lights flickered back on and he heard Vee's voice.

"Finished, we can go back up again."

Sprout stayed quiet.

"I'd... Like to stay down here for a little."

Vee looked at him weirdly but didn't question it as she walked off, leaving Sprout alone.

"I'm sorry for not being useful..."

Dandy whispered, crying more as he rolled onto the floor.

"I'm sorry for- for making all of this worse..."

The flower cried, tears making a puddle on the cold floor.

"I'm sorry Vee for never- a-apologising to you- I'm sorry, Sh-Shelly, for forgetting your name... I-I'm sorry Pebble, for being a-a bad owner..."

Dandy felt like this entire situation was his fault. He wanted to just die and fix everything... Why couldn't he fix any of this!? Dandy felt a burning determination in him as he stood up, opening the elevator to reveal a rainbow room.

"I... Can be useful."

He says to himself as he decides to do a run alone. He knew he wouldn't be able to get the elevator open after he walked out, but he was fine with taking the stairs! He'll show them!-... Wait, who's even them?I... He'll think about that later as he forces a smile on his face, walking out into the room as the door shut. No turning back now.

Sprout was sitting down on the floor, crying again. God, why was he such a crybaby recently? He felt like a lost child as he hugged himself... Goob would be here and would ask him what's wrong...

"Ohhh, Sprout! Why are you crying?"

He'd say and the fluffy craft would sit down next to him. He'd say something like-

"Just... Thinking is all, don't worry about it Goob."

And then Goob would say-

"Awwwh, come on, you need a hug!"

And then Cosmo would come in, wondering what the ruckes was.

"Hey, are you guys alrigh- Sprout!"

He'd say with worry, seeing how Sprout was pathetically crying. Goob would respond back-

"I dunno, I found him like this..."

"Oh, Sprout..."

And Cosmo would wipe the tears from his cheek, Goob and him hugging him tightly.

...

...

But he knew what reality was as he opened his eyes, seeing how he was alone. All alone. No one was here to comfort him... Sprout continued to sob.

Dandy has done a few machines and filled a few capsules plus found some stuff on the floor. This was going great and he was feeling better already! He was in the middle of a machine when he... Heard something. A garble.

Someone was here.

"I swear no one was here..."

He mumbles to himself as he turns around, trying to find the source of the sound and stopping the machine. He was starting to regret this- OH GOD-

Dandy felt hands around his torso, claws digging into his skin... Blue and red.

"Oh, shIT-"

He barely got out before he was pulled back by a used-to-be cuddly friend, Goob. Twisted Goob dragged him back as he collided with the fluffy body. The twisted drolled, ichor leaked onto the flower for a bit second before biting down.

"OW! GOOB, STOP!"

He yelled, feeling the sharp teeth break the skin and cause him to bleed. He wiggled his way, albeit painfully, out of the twisteds grasp and made a break for it. He couldn't die here.

SNAP

Just as he turned a corner, something tried to snap at his legs. Scrap's tail. Oh god, oh god, this was bad! He was stuck on a floor with one of the more dangerous Twisteds. No one knew he was down here. No one knew where he was. No one was coming to save him.

A growl makes him turn as he sees both the craft twins spotting him and giving chase. FUCK! Dandy ran for it, feeling tears well up in his eyes again from terror. He was going to die here, he was going to die alone and afraid with no one to save him.

He was going to be like them, mindless and gone. He was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to die, he was going to die-

Dandy tripped on a rubber ball, falling down the small stairs he was going down, and Scrapd and Goob closed onto him. He wouldn't survive this. He was going to die. Everything came crashing down onto him in this moment. The number of lives he saw die, the amount of friends that were infected with his. Everyone. Everyone. Everyone. Everyone.

Rage burned in him. He hated Garden View. He hated the handlers, forcing them to do things he hated. He hated children. He hated being created. He hated. He hated. He hated. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. HATE!

He could hear his favorite music.

Before he felt his bones crack, the tips of his fingers turning black as the void.

And his vision turned red.

He heard the twisted versions of the twin's voices, screaming. He screamed too, his voice?

...

A roar like an animal.

Chapter Text

"Vee, did you hear that!?"

Shelly suddenly asks just as Vee makes it up the stairs.

"Huh? You mean that rumbling?"

"Y-yes! What was that!?"

The dinosaur enthusiast asks, scared, as Pebble hides between her legs.

"I thought that was just, like, an elevator malfunction..."

"Y-yeah, and Dandy was in the elevator!"

Vee blinks.

"What? I thought he was with you!"

Shelly shakes her head, worried.

"No, no, he wanted some alone time and... Something like that—never mind it, please! We need to find him! What if something bad happened? We need to get Sprout so we can find him!"

Vee hesitated for only a split second before she, Shelly, and Pebble ran back to the dining room.

Sprout had heard that roar, and it scared him shitless. He already knew he should go back to the group, quickly wiping his tears with his scarf as the door to the dining room opened before he got a chance.

"Sprout!"

Shelly yells as the strawberry stumbles back in surprise. He looks at the group, doing a headcount. He already knows Astro's stuck in Razzle and Dazzle's room, so... Vee, Shelly, Pebble, him, Da-...

"Where's Dandy?"

He asks, his voice cold as Shelly tries to calm herself down.

"S-somewhere in the elevator! He wanted to be alone! Gosh, why did I let him? We need to find him!"

Sprout just nods.

"Should we get Astro? What if he ran into a twisted?"

Vee answers this time.

"I mean, we can try, but I'm not sure Brightney or Dazzle will be fine with that."

"Let's try! Pebble, go fetch Dandy's keys!"

The dog barks as he speeds away with amazing speed.

"Vee, go wait at the room. Meet up with us later!"

"Got it!"

Vee stays at the Toon rooms as Shelly and Sprout race to the lobby, stopping in front of one.

"Alright... Dandy, where did you go?"

Sprout mumbles under his breath as Shelly catches her breath. Before Shelly can get her own words out, they hear the roar again, the floor vibrating beneath them.

"Oh god..."

She whispers as they figure out they don't have much time and decide to descend without Vee or Pebble. The two will find them... Hopefully. Sprout and Shelly enter the elevator as the dinosaur enthusiast stares at the buttons. If she were Dandy, what floor would I go to to calm down?

"..."

"..."

"Let's, uh, t-try 15?"

She mumbles, pressing a button. They feel the elevator start moving, a sense of impending doom rising as they descend. But they are strong... Are they strong enough?

Vee waits by Razzle and Dazzle's room, foot tapping the floor impatiently as she waits for Pebble... the longer it takes, the more danger that damned flower could be in... She waited and waited and waited. Maybe it was her impatience talking, but was Pebble taking fo—

"Bwof!"

She heard the dog call, the ring of keys Dandy kept on the top of his head.

"Oh! Good boy!"

Vee quickly rises, snatching the keys and giving Pebble a few good pats as she opens the first door.

"Astro, I—"

She instantly stops as she sees a ribbon sprouting from the floor, attempting to unlock the door from the other side. Astro, Twisted Brightney, and Twisted Razzle and Dazzle looked at her like deer in headlights.

"... Were you trying to break out?"

The game show host can't help but ask as Astro sputters out a response.

"Brightney, Razzle, and Dazzle got scared when they heard that roar! I, uh—"

It doesn't seem like the three twisteds are going to be hostile toward her... She pushes the ribbon from the handle as she unlocks the door, letting Brightney rush out as Astro picks the twins up. She glances at Astro as she sees Dazzle whisper something to the dreamer.

"... Mhm—Vee, unlock the rest."

Vee stops in her tracks.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Get Finn and Cosmo out."

"No, I—"

"Do it!"

Vee didn't need to be told twice by Astro's firm tone.

"Daandy?"

Shelly calls out as she and Sprout wander around the library floor. Sprout had placed a crate and a half between the elevator doors to keep them at least semi-open. The two saw a few half-finished machines and ichor capsules. Someone was here...

"I saw Goob earlier, so be careful, alright?"

Sprout mumbles as he scans the area, ensuring nothing grabs at them in the dark.

"I saw Scraps too."

She replies back, anxiety creeping up their backs. This was dangerous, and they knew it—

"GGRRRAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"

The roar was louder than before. It sounded like some beast as they heard... music? It was classical, yet off-key... Dandy always loved classical music... Shelly and Sprout are frozen in fear as they see a large, inky black mass move through a window in the rainbow room, a room to the left of a broken elevator.

"What... the fuck is that."

Shelly says, probably the first time Sprout has ever heard her swear. They could barely see films of cassette tapes around its body, tapes dug into its flesh... Dandy was always fond of having any tapes they found on a run. As the creature moved, its stomps echoed throughout the floor, shaking it. In the little room, Shelly and Sprout could see...

Goob and Scraps?

The twisteds looked petrified, Scraps in a defensive position near her brother as whatever the beast was stared at them. Scraps squinted her eyes, seeing the creature turn... No... no, it can't be.

"Dandy?"

She whispers, Sprout coming to the same realization as the creature—colorful petals sharp and teeth just as sharp, if not sharper. The two panicked as it saw them through the window, and, in a flash, it charged. Sprout and Shelly screamed for their lives as the window shattered into little bits of glass. Twisted Dandy smashed into a few crates.

"FUCK! SHELLY, RUN!"

Sprout screams as he gets the giant twisted's attention and runs, letting Shelly have a chance to escape. The dinosaur enthusiast scrambled to her feet as she peered into the broken window, seeing Twisted Scraps hugging her brother tightly, not even caring that she was watching.

She looks over to see Sprout distracting Dandy, who was, thankfully, not that fast. She could hear a garbled version of Scrap's voice, trying to comfort the sobbing Goob...

She stared at them like it was a spectacle. Never had she seen Twisteds care about each other. Yes—YES! This was good; it proved there was something more underneath the ichor! Without a second thought, she jumped into the room through the window, scraping her knees against the glass, but that could be fixed later.

"Scraps!"

She calls out, seeing how the twisted's eyes jolt toward her, tail snapping yet not going after her.

"You want to protect him, yes?"

She asks, eyeing Goob, who is staring at her curiously. Twisted Scraps nods slowly as her eyes narrow at the shell, who smiles brightly.

"Well, then we need your help."

Sprout was having a grand old time dealing with this twisted version of Dandy. No other Twisted had ever grown to this sheer size! Sprout still managed to keep his distance, but he just had this feeling... One hit and he'd be a goner. He just had to keep his pace, he just had to live, he just—

Dandy knocked over a table, hitting Sprout as he tumbled to the floor in pain from the impact.

"GH!-"

He tried to crawl out from under the table, getting mostly free before Twisted Dandy pressed his claws onto the table, trapping Sprout's leg.

"Fuck-fuckfuck- FUCK! HELP!"

He screamed out, praying his leg wouldn't break under the weight. Dandy only smiled, his eyes staring at the helpless and injured strawberry. This wasn't the end, was it? He heard a familiar snapping sound and felt Dandy recoil suddenly, growling in pain. Sprout managed to escape, his leg injured but still working. He looked up to see what had happened.

Twisted Scraps smiled wildly as her tail bit into Dandy's leg, teeth ripping into his ichor-infested flesh. Before Sprout had a second to think, Goob suddenly stretched his arms out, claws wrapping around Sprout's torso and quickly pulling him away.

"I got them to help, Sprout!"

Shelly said excitedly as Goob put Sprout down, ignoring his terrified face.

"Wh- what?-"

He was cut off by the sight of Twisted Scraps getting absolutely launched across the room, smashing into the "Garden View" sign and breaking a hole in the cardboard. Goob, now enraged, growled and charged at Dandy, stretching his arms to wrap around the beast's neck and pulling him down. He swung around and managed to get on top of the terrifying flower. Dandy roared, trying to shake Goob off, reminding the two toons of a bull ride. Scraps, who recovered surprisingly quickly, got back up and ran to help her brother, snapping and scratching at Dandy's legs.

Sprout and Shelly could only watch, unable to help in any meaningful way. Twisted Dandy swiped at the walls, scratching the wallpaper as he tried to smash his side against it, crushing Goob between himself and the wall.

"Hey! Dandy, stop, you're hurting him!"

Shelly cried out as she saw Scraps growl louder, her tail extending upward to bite down on a petal, tearing it. Dandy bellowed, lifting a leg and smashing it against Scraps' fragile craft body. She coughed as she was crushed under the weight, ichor spilling from her mouth.

"DANDY!"

Shelly screamed, unable to do anything as Dandy stared at her. Goob let go after being crushed and joined his sister in a puddle of ichor. Sprout grabbed Shelly's hand in fear, ready to start running with her.

"Shelly."

"Y-yeah?"

"If we die here... Thank you for trying..."

Sprout managed to croak out before starting to sob. Shelly joined him, and they hugged each other as a twisted version of Dandy loomed over them, ready to crush them with his claws. Shelly looked up at the multicolored claw above them and closed her eyes, bracing for impact.

But nothing happened?

Sprout and Shelly opened their eyes in confusion, looking up to see red ribbons sprouting from the ceiling, holding Dandy's arm up. Red ribbons...

"SPROUT! SHELLY! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Vee screamed as Astro came to their aid, Pebble barking loudly. Twisted Brightney's ominous red glow kept Dandy's attention, with Twisted Finn in tow. The dreamer came running, a wave of blue flooding over the two toons, making a surge of energy flow through their veins.

"Come on! Let's go!"

Astro shouted, grabbing them both as they ran out. Just as the ribbons broke, Dandy's claw smashed down where they had been. His red eyes glared as he charged at Brightney, only to fall into a trap placed by Razzle and Dazzle. Ribbons sprouted from the ground again, tying around his legs and stabbing into his flesh. Dandy cried out, trying to escape the ribbon confines, but was unable as someone ran past him—Twisted Cosmo.

Cosmo came to the craft twins' aid. Sprout watched as he ripped off a chunk of his head and fed it to Scraps and Goob, the missing chunk quickly replaced by more bleeding ichor. Even in corruption, he was always selfless...

Scraps and Goob got up, instantly feeling better as they went for the attack. The four mains watched in awe as all seven Twisteds worked together. Razzle and Dazzle worked hard to keep Dandy on the ground. Goob and Scraps slowly chipped away at his energy. Finn doused ichor on Dandy's face. Brightney kept the beast's attention on her. Cosmo healed anyone in need. The mains wished they could do more than watch.

Twisted Dandy took scratch after bite, hit after stab, a mess of inky black staining the floor. If Tisha were here, she'd be pretty upset...

But sometimes, plans don't work the way they should.

As Dandy blinked through the fourth round of ichor splashed in his face, his attention shifted from Brightney to Razzle and Dazzle. The classical music that accompanied him grew more broken and off-key. The theater twins didn’t have enough time to react as Dandy ripped the ribbons off one limb and struck at them, causing the rest to disappear.

The Twisteds screamed as Goob grabbed the twins to pull them out of Dandy's range—but not for long. Astro watched in horror as Dandy spun around and lashed out, crushing Goob, Razzle, and Dazzle. In the chaos, he grabbed Scraps' tail, mangling it in his claws.

Cosmo rushed in to help but was met with a brutal kick, his body slamming into a wall and leaving ichor splattered across it.

"Cosmo!"

Sprout cried as he rushed to his best friend, something falling from Cosmo's hoodie pocket. It was his friendship bracelet. He... kept it? Sprout started sobbing, hugging the twisted toon tightly as Finn was grabbed by the arm and slammed against the floor like a rag doll. Everyone was forever thankful his head was made of plastic and not glass.

Brightney attempted to intervene but was thrown into a bookshelf, the heavy structure almost toppling over onto her. Astro caught it just in time, holding it up while getting Brightney to safety. Shelly was frozen in fear, knowing she should run, but her legs rooted to the floor. Vee saw this and she saw how Dandy wound up to hit Shelly with Finn. In a desperate move, she pushed Shelly out of the way of Dandy's claw, which was still using Finn like a toy. In doing so, however, she accidentally caused her leg to...

"F-FUCK! MY LEG!"

The game show host screamed in agony. Finn groaned as he was finally let go, staggering backward. He gasped in horror at what had happened. Vee’s leg—severed below the knee—lay in a pool of ichor. Pebble barked, trying to get Dandy’s attention, but the little dog slipped on the ichor and was flung across the room, slamming into the metal door of the elevator with a yelp.

Shelly, the supportive toon like Astro, stood frozen. Her eyes darted between her friends: Astro was struggling to keep the bookshelf up while Brightney lay unconscious. Sprout is sobbing over Cosmo. Vee cried out in agony as Finn tried to comfort her. Pebble whining and limping in pain.

Shelly, a toon who was always forgotten.

Shelly, a toon with a fascination for the old.

Shelly, a toon with a heart.

Shelly, a toon.

Shelly.

Shelly, a toon who wouldn't go down without a fight.

The sound of cracking broke the heavy silence in the room.

"... Shelly?"

Vee whispered, watching the girl fall to her knees. A laugh bubbled from Shelly's lips—quiet at first, but then louder, more unhinged. She laughed and laughed, even as the laughter turned into screams. Even as ichor spilled from her mouth and her legs began to split apart, she laughed. Even as her mind clouded with fog and her body contorted in pain, Shelly kept laughing.

Dandy growled and took a cautious step back as the ichor pooling around Shelly began to swirl, collecting around her twisting legs. Astro let go of the bookshelf after pulling Brightney to safety and rushed to help Vee stand. Sprout grabbed the injured Pebble, holding him tightly.

"Shelly!"

Vee cried again, watching as Shelly's gaze snapped to them, her eyes now glowing an ominous red.

"EhehaHhaAHaHA! DOn'T you SEE, VEe-?"

It was all Shelly managed to say before succumbing fully to the corruption. Her attention shifted to the weakened Dandy. Before the lethal twisted flower could react, the now-twisted Shelly charged forward, her new form biting viciously into his flesh. Ichor splattered across the walls and ceiling.

The remaining mains watched in horror as the Twisteds continued to tear into Dandy. The room filled with their guttural cries, their feral fighting painting the floor black. Astro backed away, unable to take his eyes off the gruesome scene. Despite Dandy's immense strength, Twisted Shelly’s newfound power was overwhelming, her strikes raining down with unparalleled brutality.

Dandy’s twisted eyes began to dim, his movements sluggish as he was forced into a corner near the broken elevator. His massive frame was now significantly smaller, his body crumbling under the relentless attacks.

"SHELLY! HE'S HAD ENOUGH!"

Vee screamed, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to run to Shelly, to reach out and stop her, but Astro held her back.

Shelly didn’t stop. At this rate, she was going to kill Dandy.

"Sprout, take Vee!"

Astro yelled. Sprout supported Vee as Astro rushed forward, using his stardust to wrap around Twisted Shelly’s arms and hold her back. He strained, trying to lift her, but he was too exhausted. Her ichor-covered legs thrashed wildly, one swing nearly hitting him.

Astro stumbled backward as Shelly broke free from his stardust. Without a second glance at Dandy, she turned and rushed toward the barricaded emergency doors.

"No! Shelly, stop!"

Before anyone could stop her, she tore through the barricade, forcing the doors open and vanishing up the stairwell.

Silence filled the room, broken only by the labored breathing of the mains and the groans of the injured Twisteds.

Astro looked at the cowering form of Twisted Dandy, now almost unrecognizable. His size continued to shrink as ichor drained from his body, a familiar light green color beginning to return to his form.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"We... We should go back up."

Astro whispered, his voice hollow. He hoisted Dandy over his shoulder as Twisted Razzle and Dazzle carried Brightney, their masks now more broken. Finn crawled toward the elevator, lightheaded from the repeated trauma to his head. Scraps dragged Cosmo’s limp body, and Goob followed, sniffling quietly.

The day had been brutal. They had gained so much information... but even more questions.

Sprout forced the elevator door open, removing the shelf and crate that had been used as a barricade. Everyone shuffled inside, exhausted and battered. They had gained two more Twisteds, but at what cost?

Sprout glanced at the craft twins. Goob hugged his sister tightly as she gently stroked his fur, whispering soothing gibberish. Sprout looked down at his hands, realizing he was clutching Cosmo’s friendship bracelet so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. He moved toward the unconscious toon, sitting beside him and leaning his head against him.

Astro stood in a daze until Dazzle approached, her worried gaze fixed on him.

"I'm... I'm fine."

He muttered though he knew it wasn’t true.

Vee lay on the floor, her severed leg a gruesome sight. She squeezed her eyes shut as Finn tied a makeshift tourniquet around the wound using a strap from his life jacket. Pebble limped over to her, licking her screen gently.

No one dared speak another word. They all had the same question burning in their minds:

Where did Shelly go?

Chapter Text

Sprout sat by Cosmo in his room, the importance of the keys long gone by now as everyone's just trying to regain any amount of sanity they have left. He slowly pats his friend's head, ichor getting caught on his skin a little, but he doesn't care. He had his friendship bracelet on, the little beads clicking against each other as the broken flower charm was connected. He knew he didn't have that much time in here as he had to help Astro tend to Vee, but he would stay here as long as he needed. He holds Cosmo's normal arm as he puts his head on the twisteds chest. Cosmo's heartbeat was slow but steady. The rhythmic beats bring a sense of calm to him...

"I miss you..."

He whispers under his breath, his hand lightly grazing something he'd forgotten until now. The claw marks on his face. The one he got from this is very twisted. He hopes it heals fully and doesn't leave a scar, plus, it hurts every time he closes his eyes. Sprout didn't know why Cosmo lashed out at him that day, but he wasn't willing to find out while he was this close to him. But he knew something of him was still left, which gave him hope.

"I love you."

The strawberry whispers again, kissing Cosmo's palm as he gets up and leaves, closing the door behind him, the twisteds having now stopped trying to escape/escape to cause chaos. That was a good sign; they were getting better. Sprout had to use the stairs; he swears all of them have the strongest legs because of this. Eventually, after some huffs and puffs and a quick detour to grab a snack for them, he makes it to Astro's room and walks in.

"Hey! Astro, I'm here!"

He says, the large room usually made finding Astro a game of hide and seek, but it was easy this time as he was stationed in front of the door. Vee and Dandy lay on separate spare mattresses, Vee being awake and... Finn was here?

"Why... Is he here?"

Sprout asks, looking at the legless twisted next to Vee, who answers his question.

"I think he feels bad for "causing" this"

She gestures to her missing leg.

"Even though I told him it's not his fault."

Finn only shakes his head and frowns, Barnaby still swimming around in his head. Sprout only chuckles as he glances at Dandy... He was back to his normal size, but something still looked different about him. His petals were a little sharp, and he still had claws, but they were smaller. Plus, he swore he still heard faint music. Meanwhile, Astro looked exhausted.

"Um, you okay?"

"Yes."

The dreamer's tone is stern and Sprout awkwardly shifts a little.

"Well, I got some cookies if you guys want some."

He says, taking a plastic baggy out of his pocket. Before he gets to react, Astro quickly grabs it with his stardust, opens it, inhales it, and hands one to Vee and Finn.

"... Guessin' you were hungry?"

"Yes."

Vee and Sprout only chuckle as Finn nibbles on the cookie.

"Do you think they have wheelchairs around here? And... Crutches..."

Vee asks as Astro takes a second to think.

"We have crutches from that one time Shrimpo sprained his ankle... I dunno about a wheelchair our size..."

She just sighs as she continues to lay down, winching in pain from her amputation wound. It was silent for a bit, the only sound being the faint music emitting from Dandy's unconscious body. Vee breaks the silence.

"How'd Goob and Scraps doing?"

Sprout takes a moment to respond.

"... Well... They're fine. Scraps is still recovering from her tail getting mauled and Goob is being more defensive about her than Dazzle is with you."

He points to Astro, who just looks away, a little embarrassed. Vee laughs a little as she attempts to sit up, gritting her teeth through the pain.

"Whoah, slow down Vee, you need to recover."

Astro attempts to set her down.

"I'm- ah- fine... We have work to do."

"You don't have work, you need rest!"

"But we need to find Shelly!"

Everyone pauses, silence filling the room.

"We... We need to find her..."

Vee repeats as she has a somber look on her face.

"Sprout, go get me crutches."

"Why me?"

"You're the fasted two-legged toon here! Now go!"

Sprout didn't like being ordered to do something.

"No."

"Yes!"

"No, you need to stay here!"

"I'm fine!"

"You lost your leg!"

"Only below the knee."

"That's not any better!"

Sprout and Vee argue and banter, not even noticing Twisted Finn slowly drag himself away.

"Vee, stop being stubborn for once!"

"I'm trying to do the right thing here! We need to get her before she hurts herself!"

"Then let me and Astro do that! You're completely unfit!"

"She's my friend too!"

"YEAH! She's ours as well! Let us handle it!"

"She's probably scared! She needs someone!"

"She doesn't need everyone!"

"She needs someone she trusts and she trusts me!"

"Oh real sweet comin' from you!"

"What!? WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?"

"SHUT UP!"

Sprout and Vee scream at the same time at the booming voice of Dandy, his eyes a faded shade of pink, teeth still as sharp as his twisted form. Vee, Sprout, and Astro back up in instinctual fear as Dandy looks at his clawed hands.

"Shut... Up..."

"Dandy-"

Vee is interupted.

"None of you know her, no one knows her..."

He starts whispering, his head swirling with thoughts.

"Do any of you even know her favorite color?"

Vee opens her mouth to answer... But... Nothing comes to mind.

"Do any of you know her favorite kind of music?"

Nothing comes to mind.

"Do any of you even know her birthday?"

... Nothing comes to mind. Astro, Vee, and Sprout fall into silence as Dandy glares at the floor, holding his arms.

"... Why is it that there's only one toon that remembers?"

He mumbles to which everyone... Was a little confused.

"Oh my fucking god, Tisha! I'm talking about fucking Tisha!"

Tisha, the cleaner toon. She always hung around Shelly, always helping to clean the sand in her room... They remember how devistated Shelly was when she twisted... Now with this infortmation and knowledge in their mind, they collectivly thought of an idea...

They needed to find Tisha.

Chapter Text

Dandy stepped quietly into the elevator, his new claws scraping against the wooden table inside. He could feel the tension radiating from everyone around him. He didn’t blame them. He didn’t care. There was only one priority now: finding Shelly.

He glanced back at the ragtag group gathered behind him.

Vee, balancing on crutches Finn had scavenged for her.

Finn, looking weary, the ichor swirling faintly within his head now slightly diluted.

Cosmo, with more pieces missing from his body.

Sprout, clutching Cosmo’s hand like it was a lifeline.

Astro, the red ribbon tied around his wrist contrasting with his blue complexion.

Razzle, his stern gaze fixed on the elevator door, while Dazzle leaned against Astro, looking drained.

Brightney, ready to serve as a literal light if the power failed again.

Pebble, wagging his tail and happily gnawing on a bone, seemingly oblivious to the tension.

And himself.

It wasn’t the team he was used to, but every bit of help mattered now. He clenched his claws, his resolve hardening. They just needed to find Tisha.

Floor 15 lingered in his mind. That nagging feeling told him she might have gone there. It wasn’t a certainty, but instinct. He sighed as the elevator descended, a journey some whispered might lead to their end.

But it had to be okay. It had to be.

Vee’s voice echoed as the group poured out of the elevator. Her shout reverberated down the corridor. They stopped abruptly, their steps halting as they took in their surroundings.

The room was... Pristine.

The ichor-stained walls were repaired, the floor spotless, and every trace of the earlier chaos had vanished. It was unnervingly perfect.

“What... the hell?”

Astro muttered, his voice breaking the stunned silence. Sprout stepped closer to Dandy, his voice trembling.

“The... the room is-”

“-Already cleaned.”

Dandy interrupted, his tone flat but heavy with suspicion. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a battered megaphone from under the table.

“She was here”

He muttered, flicking it on.

“EVERYONE! BACK HERE!”

His amplified voice sent a jolt through the group. Slowly but steadily, the others regrouped, Vee and Finn, trailing behind for obvious reasons. Dandy pinched the bridge of his face in frustration, wincing as his claws scratched his skin. Those claws hadn’t receded since his transformation. Ignoring the worried glances cast his way, he took a deep breath.

“We’ll have to search floor by floor”

He said, glancing at Vee as if daring her to protest.

“But-”

“-Unless you’ve got a better idea?”

Vee’s mouth snapped shut, her circuits sparking faintly in irritation. She didn’t argue. Dandy smirked grimly.

“Thought so. Alright, let’s get started.”

He yanked the lever, and the elevator jolted upward with a collective groan from its passengers.

Floor One: Empty.

Floor Two: Nothing.

Floor Three: More silence.

Floor Five: No sign of her.

Floor Ten: Just emptiness.

Floor Sixteen: Still no one.

“I... Hh- I need a minute”

She rasped, hobbling to the wall and sliding down to catch her breath. Razzle and Finn crouched beside her, trying to comfort her. Sprout sat beside Cosmo, who had drifted into a disquieting, dreamlike state. His red eyes stared blankly ahead, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.

“Cosmo?”

Sprout whispered, nudging his friend gently. Cosmo’s gaze slowly turned to him, his lips parting as if to speak, but no words came. Instead, he simply closed his eyes again. Sprout’s heart sank. Cosmo was always the talkative one, the nervous chatterbox who couldn’t sit still. Seeing him so quiet, so... diminished, was jarring. The others weren’t faring much better. Brightney dozed next to Astro, who had fallen asleep again. Finn and Razzle stayed close to Vee, ensuring she didn’t overheat further. Dandy looked around at the weary faces of his team. He opened his mouth to call for them to continue, but Vee cut him off.

“I can’t- I can’t do this anymore!”

Her voice cracked, her screen flickering.

“We’re not going to find Tisha like this!”

“Vee-”

“Take us back up!”

She begged, her tone desperate.

“Please, I... I have an idea.”

For once, Dandy didn’t argue. He simply pulled the lever, and the elevator began its ascent. Razzle nudged Vee gently as they rose, his silent question clear.

“I want to check Shelly’s room”

She admitted, her voice flat but resolute. The group fell silent. Dandy spoke up to try and break the tension.

“Are you sure?”

“It’s worth a shot.”

He nodded. No one argued as the elevator reached their safe floor. They shuffled out quietly, heading toward the other elevator that would take them to Shelly’s room. The distance was short, but god, did it feel like forever, especially for Sprout.

Cosmo was still quiet as ever, not trying to speak or do anything like his brain had shut off again and left a husk. Maybe it was the stress. At least, that's what Sprout hoped was happening. As they entered the other elevator, Sprout heard something.

“Sprh...”

The strawberry immediately snapped to Cosmo, who had ichor dripping down his face, soaking into his hoodie, and eyes glossy.

“Cos?”

“Ppr.... T.”

Everyone turned to look at Cosmo, his struggle to speak very evident as he gripped the hem of his hoodie.

“Cos, Cos, stop, you’re hurting yourself!”

Sprout begged as Cosmo continued to try, his vocal cords breaking more than they already were from the stress.

“Plh- h- s-”

“Cosmo!”

Razzle moved away from Vee to slap a hand over Cosmo’s ichor-pooling mouth, muttering some nonsense the others couldn’t understand. Cosmo promptly shut up. The group glanced at each other as the twisted pastry went back into its daydream-like state. Well, that was... weird.

But no time to stall, as Dandy forced them all into the elevator, already pulling the lever. It didn’t seem like Dandy was interested in focusing on the twisteds for once. The silence inside the elevator was tense, everyone occasionally glancing at Cosmo as he leaned on Sprout, accidentally staining his shirt with ichor, though it didn’t seem like he cared. God... This was nerve-wracking.

Soon enough, they reached Shelly’s room.

The door opened, and her room was pitch black. Vee and Astro tensed up as Brightney stepped forward, her red light illuminating the walls. The recreation of a fossil front and center was now broken on the floor, smashed into little bits and pieces. Vee took a deep breath as she started to scan, feeling her system heat up.

...

...

...

"She's here."

Sprout went with Cosmo and Brightney, Astro went with Razzle and Dazzle, and Vee paired up with Finn and Pebble. Meanwhile, Dandy stayed behind in the elevator. Her slow, heavy footsteps echoed faintly, accompanied by the occasional sound of growing vines.

Brightney led the way through the fossil museum, her light casting an ominous red glow across the walls. Sprout followed closely with Cosmo, but his mind raced with questions. Why had Cosmo tried to speak earlier? Why had Razzle stopped him? And what exactly had Razzle said? The thoughts swirled, distracting him as his hand absentmindedly traced the beads of Cosmo’s bracelet. The pastry’s hand was cold—unnervingly so, like holding something lifeless.

Before he could process further, Brightney stopped abruptly, throwing out an arm to block their path.

“Bri-”

Sprout began, only to be hushed by her uncorrupted finger pressing to his lips.

Confused, Sprout turned to Cosmo, who had stepped away and was now peering curiously ahead. Then he heard it—the sound of footsteps, loud and deliberate, though nothing was visible in the dim light. His heart pounded as fear crept in, but Cosmo continued walking, indifferent to the growing unease.

Brightney’s gaze fixed on something behind Cosmo. Her body tensed, her eyes widening.

“Cosmo, no, wait!”

Sprout shouted, panic surging when he saw them.

Red. Eyes. The glowing red eyes stared at them from the darkness, accompanied by a low, menacing growl.

Sprout didn’t think- he acted. Pushing Brightney aside, he sprinted toward Cosmo, desperate to reach him before the towering figure could. He couldn't lose his best friend again, not when he just got him back. He wouldn't let him get whisked away, he wouldn't let him to get hurt- he wouldn't- HE WON'T!

HE CANT

In a flash, Cosmo was shoved to the ground, just as Twisted Shelly lunged forward. Her attack missed him but slashed across Sprout’s chest instead. He let out a strangled cry as the fabric of his shirt tore, and ichor seeped from his fresh wounds.

“HELP!”

Sprout screamed as Shelly grabbed his collar, lifting him effortlessly. He squirmed helplessly, her grip like iron.

“S-Shelly! Please! It’s me, Sprout! Please!”

He begged for his life. His pleas fell on deaf ears as she hurled him across the room. He collided with the wall, crumpling to the ground in a heap. Pain wracked his body as tears spilled down his cheeks, mixing with drool.

Cosmo was at his side in an instant, his cold, lifeless hand resting gently on Sprout’s leaves. Through blurred vision, Sprout gazed up at his friend’s single, hollow eye. Even now, he was so... So...

So...

“Beautiful...”

He murmured, his voice weak but sincere. A faint smile crossed his lips, though the agony persisted. Astro arrived moments later, pulling Sprout up with his stardust.

“Oh gosh, are you okay?”

He asked concern etched into his voice, snapping Sprout out of his lovesick train of thought

“I... I think?”

Sprout replied shakily. Astro patched him up quickly, wrapping bandages around the torn shirt and wounded chest. Though the pain lingered, Sprout managed to stand with Cosmo’s help.

The group regrouped and pressed on, eventually finding Brightney and Vee near the elevator. Their destination lay ahead, but their path was obstructed by Shelly—transformed and monstrous. Her lower half was replaced by a ribcage-like structure of hardened ichor, and her tail lashed violently. They tried reasoning with her, but every attempt ended in chaos. Vee was struck by Shelly’s tail, ichor splattering across her cracked screen. Finn was thrown aside as well, landing hard against the wall. Shelly’s rage subsided only when her gaze landed beyond the group. Without warning, she bounded past them, her claws scraping against the floor.

“SHELLY!”

Vee screamed, giving chase with the others close behind. The mains needed her to stay in their sight, who knows what she could do! What if she gets to Dandy? They can't let that happen... Though how they found her made most of their worries dwindle away.

They found her in the projector room, nestled among beanbags, cradling Twisted Tisha like a cherished stuffed animal. Tisha appeared bewildered but reciprocated the hug instinctively. Shelly’s face, harsh moments ago, now bore a serene, almost childlike smile. Astro stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on Shelly’s head, and smiled at her not reacting to it.

“I think it’s best if we leave them here”

He said softly.

“WHAT?!”

Vee objected, her jealousy flaring, though she tried to mask it. Astro chuckled.

“She’s calm now. Let’s not risk upsetting her again. We’ll wait and regroup.”

Reluctantly, Vee followed the others back to the elevator. As they left, Shelly remained with Tisha, her expression peaceful for the first time in ages. Sprout lingered for a moment, glancing back. A pang of longing twisted his chest. Shelly seemed happy.

He wished he could feel the same.

Chapter Text

It was a slow slow day today as the stress of just everything that has happened recently was starting to take a toll on the Mains. So a day off from moving or talking was ordered by an exhausted Dandy. Which... This day was long overdue for them.

Sprout flopped onto his bed, feeling his weight sink into the mattress. The silence in his room is both eerie and comforting. With this rest day, he decided to stay in bed, not think about anything, and not exist for a while. He knew Vee was taking this day to try and fully recover from her leg... Well, saying it's an injury is an understatement so... Astro was sorting books in his library, Dandy was... Um, okay, no one really knew what he did in his free time given how Pebble does his own thing which is running around the lobby for three hours. 

The baker closes his eyes as he takes in what he can feel. Sprout moved his fingertips against the soft polyester of his blankets, tracing the little strawberry patterns Shelly decided to sew on one day... He took a deep breath as he tried to let his body relax and feel at ease for once... But he couldn't get the image of Twisted Cosmo's dazed expression right before Shelly attacked... What was up with him? Sprout knew that he needed to rest, but he just... He needed answers, anything.

With everyone busy, they wouldn't suspect anything.

Sprout quickly threw on a tank top, his scarf, and some pants as he rushed out the door, hoping Dandy wasn't spending his day in his room too... Up the stairs, he went to fetch the keys keeping the twisteds locked up again. Damn, old habits die hard, right? Sprout pushed Dandy's emergency door open as he tried to listen for any sounds. Usually Dandy always had classical music playing on the radio he kept around, today he heard... Nothing

Perfect.

Sprout walks in, snatching Cosmo's key. Dandy won't notice if only one is missing... Right? God, he hoped so.

The baker walks back down, his overgrown leaves swaying with each step. They're dry and withered, a darker lime than the bright green they once were. How long has it been since he's looked at himself in the mirror anyway? Sprout stops on one of the steps as he looks down at his hands. He was such a deeper shade of red now... He counted the little light spots on his knuckles with his fingertips. He honestly didn't know what he was doing, but he just needed to check... Check for... He doesn't know. Maybe check if he was still real, haha... Hah... Heh... Mm...

Sprout shakes his head, his tail curling around his leg, and comes back to reality as he resumes walking down the steps. He's fine, he'll be fine...

The baker opens the door to the toon rooms and hears no one. Good. He walks down the hall, passing the kitchen where he and Cosmo would spend so much time as he stops in front of his door. With a deep breath, Sprout turns the key and opens the door.

The room smelled of stale chocolate as the lighting was dim, the only lighting being from the LED star alarm clock Cosmo has. He takes the sights in again like he's never been in here before. Ichor stained the floor, walls, and plastic wall. There were discarded bricks, pushed away from the door as he locks eyes onto him.

Cosmo was sleeping soundly on his bed.

Sprout closed the door behind him slowly, quietly clicking it in place as the light from the hallway made the room even more dark.

"Cos?"

He whispers, wondering if the Twisted in a peaceful slumber, could hear him. He... Wondered if twisteds had dreams too, the only one who would know that was Astro, but it's not like he was going to ask. Sprout can't help but smile a little as he walks closer, avoiding the stray bricks and such. He puts a hand on the plastic, just watching. He felt like a creep doing so, but he just...

He looked at the metal door. He remembers what happened last time. He got hurt- Cosmo hurt him... But, what if this time it's different?

...

God, he sounds fucking insane right now, but what if... He moves over, tracing his finger over the cold metal of the door as he grips the key...

...

..

.

He opens the door, the sound stirring the twisted awake as Sprout watches him lift himself from his bed, red eye almost glowing in the darkness.

"Cosmo..."

He whispers, almost hesitant to stop forward and stay at the doorway. Well, that's what his mind was telling him, but as his feet took a step forward, he knew he was listening to his heart now.

"it's me, Sprout, don't... Worry."

Sprout tries to keep his voice calm and quiet as he walks closer, but Cosmo just continues to stare. It was almost unnerving, this silence, but he'll push through.

"I uh..."

He puts his hands in his pockets as he feels, Cosmo's bracelet. He must've stuffed it in there when he rushed out the door. Slowly, he pulls it out, the clatter of the charms catching Cosmo's attention.

"You dropped this."

He holds it out in his palm, letting Cosmo come to him as the twisted stares... Before slowly moving out of the bed and shakily reaching his non-twisted handout. Sprout couldn't help but blush a little with how close Cosmo was coming. The twisted carefully slid the bracelet out of his hand and slid it back onto his wrist, holding it out so he could see the little charms move against each other.

"You... kept it."

Sprout says, seeing Cosmo's eye snap to him.

"I thought you lost it, eheh..."

This one-sided conversation was awkward, but he was glad he was able to talk to him and Cosmo's listening... At least, he thinks so.

"Hm..."

Now that the bracelet is on Cosmo's left hand, he moves his own bracelet to his right and grasps the non-twisted hand.

"See, how it matches still."

He clicks the broken friendship charm together, forming a flower as Sprout smiles. Twisted Cosmo stares blankly at the now-connected friendship bracelets.

"... Do you... Even know what's going on?-"

Cosmo slips his hand out of the baker's grasp, gliding down to hold his wrist as he puts Sprout's palm to his cheek. He felt his heart race, not expecting that to happen as Cosmo leaned into his touch, but not rejecting it in any way.

"Cos-"

Cosmo makes a quick hushing noise, moving forward and backing Sprout against the wall.

"What are you?..."

The twisted quickly pulls him into a hug, making him lose his footing and slide down the wall onto the floor.

"Whoah-"

Cosmo buried his face in the crook of his neck before promptly falling back asleep. Well, shit, he has a twisted asleep on top of him. The others would be looking for him if he stays here but... Hearing the soft snores of his best friend and the closeness made him not completely hate it. He wraps his arms around Cosmo.

He needed to get some sleep anyway, heh...

Chapter Text

"Hey, Vee, have you seen Sprout?"

Astro pushed the back door to Vee's room open slightly, his tone casual but curious. Vee groaned from her bed, sitting up just enough to glare at him.

"How would I know? I've been here all day."

Astro rolled his eyes and waddled over, plopping down at the end of her bed.

"How are you feeling?"

His gaze lingered on the bandages covering her less-than-clean amputation. Noticing this, Vee pulled the covers over herself defensively.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

Vee nodded more emphatically this time, her expression making it clear she had no interest in this conversation. Astro sighed, recognizing her stubbornness.

"Do you want anything?"

"'M not hungry..."

"Do you want to be left alone?"

"Yes."

Astro nodded and started to rise, but the door suddenly flew open with a deafening bang.

"Vee, Astro, downstairs NOW!"

Both jumped as Dandy stormed into the room, his expression a mix of fear and fury. His hands were soaked in ichor, and dark stains smeared across his face. Before either could question him, he spun around and bolted back down the hallway.

Vee and Astro exchanged wide-eyed glances before scrambling to get ready and follow.

Sprout was peacefully asleep, Cosmo nestled snugly in his arms, both of them lost in quiet dreams. The moment was shattered by the door crashing open.

"STOP MAKING OUT WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND AND GET IN THE DINING ROOM!"

Dandy's shout jolted both of them awake. Cosmo sprang up first, wide-eyed and startled, while Sprout blinked blearily at the doorway. Dandy was already gone, his footsteps fading as he dashed away. Sprout and Cosmo exchanged a bewildered look before Cosmo slipped out of his arms and hurriedly helped Sprout to his feet. Whatever this was, it seemed serious.

Outside the room, Sprout saw Astro and Vee rushing down the stairs, their expressions matching the dread creeping into his chest. The three shared a brief, tense glance before breaking into a sprint. Sliding into the dining room, Sprout nearly bowled over Astro and Vee as they came to a halt. In the center of the room stood Dandy, hunched over the table. His shoulders were rigid, and his claws dug into the wood as ichor dripped from his hands onto the surface.

"Dandy, what is this about??"

Astro stepped forward cautiously, his voice heavy with concern. The group approached, their eyes darting to the object Dandy clutched tightly in his ichor-streaked hand. The flower let out a gruff, shaky breath, the sound like a growl. His claws scratched at the wood as he waited for them all to gather around, the tension in the room thick enough to choke on.

"So... I recently went down again-"

Sprout interjected

"You know that's dangerous! Why would you do that!?-"

He's cut off by Dandy shooting him a glare that could cut steel as he promptly shuts up.

"... I went down to the floors again, I just needed to gather some things and I found..."

Dandy drops something onto the table.

"This"

The three mains stared at it as, one by one, they all stared at it with shock. It was a ripped-off sleeve, green in color with fluffy cotton cuffs. Intricate darker green patterns, a notable snowflake sewn onto it. The patterns and color were unmistakable for someone they barely see even when Garden View continued to run. Someone who always seemed so desperate to stay happy. Someone who always seemed so detached from reality. Someone they hadn't taken into account this entire time. Someone named...

Bobette.

They all stared at it, the patterns being unmistakably hers. They had all assumed the Holiday toons were long dead, but...

"I had found this hooked on a shelf."

Dandy started, his expression unreadable now as they all looked up at him.

"And a few broken ornaments on the floor that weren't there before..."

He says this, pulling out a sharp undeniably familiar shade of bright red piece of plastic, placing it next to the sleeve

"... She's alive."

Is all he says as he moves back, crossing his arms, letting the others take in this information. Sprout is at a loss for words, Astro opens his mouth to say something but he can't quite get anything out, and Vee is just trying to process all this.

"I..."

She begins.

"What do we do?"

She asks, her voice wavering a little as they all look up at Dandy expectingly. They see his shoulders tense, then relax as he rubs his temples.

"... We're going to look for her."

"What!? Are you crazy!?-"

"MAYBE!"

He snaps, the three of them jumping back in surprise. Dandy doesn't usually raise his voice so it was nearly terrifying when he did, a sense of panic only matched by their old Handlers.

"... Maybe, is that what you want to hear?"

Dandy looks so tired now that Sprout sees, his eyes heavy and posture unsteady. The strawberry sighs as he approaches, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You're not crazy"

He tries to reassure as Dandy slouches over.

"I feel like I am."

He says as he shoves his hands in his face as he tries to take some deep breaths. They all stare back at the ichor-stained holiday items, dread radiating from them rather than cheer. The mascot tried to calm down as he looked up, whipping the few tears in his eyes.

"We need to-... I need to know if she's okay or not."

Is what he managed to strain out, trying to keep his composer as he looked away into the void. Bobette and him were always seemingly close or at least, on good terms. She shared his spirit of collecting seemingly niche things and having Coal and Pebble do playdates together sometimes. He was scared about her and she was scared about him, even if she seemed to care about Christmas more than anything. Though... If Bobette was active, then everyone else was active. And if everyone else is active, that means Garden View is going to get so much colder than it usually is. It means they possibly have more twisteds on their hands. It means she's been down there since all this started.

...

It means she could be one of them.

Chapter Text

"Where are you taking me?"  

Vee asked, frowning as Dandy guided her into the elevator.  

Astro and Sprout were already preparing to find Bobette and, maybe, the other holiday toons... If they were still alive. Dandy had hope, though. He had to. He wanted to find his friend.

"To Shelly's room."  

"What."  

Vee gave him a look like he had just told her to jump in a pool.

"We need her help if we're going to do this."  

"But-"

"We just need to talk to her. She should be calmer now."  

His voice was gentle but firm, his smile soft but unwavering. Vee huffed, crossing her arms, sulking on the floor. The last thing she wanted was to walk in on Shelly still cuddled up with that— that stupid Tisha—  

"You're jealous, aren't you?"  

Dandy’s teasing voice broke through her thoughts. Vee’s head snapped toward him, eyes burning.  

"Jealous?! Jealous about what!?"  

Dandy smirked.  

"About Shelly and Tishhhaaaaaa-"

One of Vee's crutches flew before he could finish his sentence. Dandy barely dodged, bursting into laughter as Vee scowled, crossing her arms again in an even bigger pout. Soon enough, the elevator dinged, stopping at their floor. As the doors slid open, a familiar sandy color scheme greeted them. It looked... cleaned up. Tisha must've been let loose. Dandy hopped over the counter, grabbing Vee’s thrown crutch and handing it over before helping her up.  

It was quiet... Too quiet. No sign of Shelly moving around.  

"Hmm… where would she be..."  

Dandy muttered to himself, glancing around. Before he could start guessing, Vee cut in flatly—  

"Why not try her bedroom?"  

"..."

The two exchanged a look. Then, without another word, they immediately went to her bedroom.  

The door to it was near the beanbag area they had last seen her in. The usual projection of an old episode featuring her was gone. Dandy stepped up to her bedroom door and knocked three times.  

...  

...  

...  

No answer. He knocked again.  

...  

...  

...  

Still nothing. Dandy sighed and raised his hand to try again, but Vee grabbed his arm, stopping him.  

"Let's just go."  

"No, we need to talk to her."  

"Just leave her be, she'll be-"  

Dandy slammed his hand against the wall. Vee flinched, startled by the sudden force as he stared daggers at her.  

"We've always left her alone when she needs us, and look what happened."  

His tone was stone-cold, serious. From behind the door, they heard a shuffle. The bang must have stirred whatever was inside.

They fell silent as the doorknob twisted slowly, the door creaking open.

"Shelly?"

Vee muttered. The crack in the door revealed nothing but pitch black - except for a single glowing, pinkish eye staring down at them.

Dandy and Vee tensed. A chill ran down their spines as Vee swallowed and tried again.

"...Shelly?"

The door inched open a little more, light from the hallway spilling into the darkness. Slowly, Shelly’s form took shape.

She was taller. A whole foot taller than Dandy, maybe even taller than Sprout. Her hands were stained a dark brown, her fingers sharper, more claw-like. Her legs, still dinosaur-like, were nearly pitch black, and the bony ribs she’d gained remained visible.

"...Hi, Vee..."

Her voice was quiet, every word carrying a low, guttural growl. She smiled, but her sharper teeth caught the light. Dandy and Vee hesitantly waved. Vee sucked in a breath, pushing down her nerves.

"How are you feeling?"

"Grrh... Uh, I'm feeling... tired. Yeah, tired."

"Where's Tisha?"

Shelly let out a small giggle, tilting her head toward her bed. Twisted Tisha lay curled up, sound asleep.

Dandy chuckled. Vee, on the other hand, tried - and failed - not to show her jealousy.

The dinosaur enthusiast turned back to them with a soft smile.

"What, um... what did you need?"

This time, Dandy spoke up.

"Shelly, Bobette’s still alive."

Silence. Shelly froze, her glowing eyes widening.

"She's..."

"Yeah."

Dandy confirmed.

"She’s still down there. We’re getting ready to go find her, and we were hoping you-"

He barely got the words out before Shelly blurted -

"YES! YES, I'LL HELP! O- of course, I'll help!"

Her eagerness caught Dandy off guard, but he smiled anyway.

"Great! Let's go tell the others, okay?"

Shelly nodded and stepped out, shutting the door behind her as she followed them back to the elevator. Her footsteps were still heavy, each one landing with a soft thud against the floor. It was... unnerving. But they all stepped inside the elevator, Dandy hopping over the counter to pull the lever. The platform jolted and then began to descend.

"..."

"..."

"...So, Shelly-"

Vee broke the silence first.

"Are you... okay?"

Shelly glanced down at the TV toon, curiosity flickering in her glowing eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I-I mean you- you twisted! Like, how are you recovering? Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

Vee’s gaze flickered over Shelly’s transformed body as she shifted uneasily on the cold metal floor.

"Please, tell me anything! How did this even happen!? We've all been so careful not to ingest this- this ichor stuff-"

She turned to Dandy, her voice rising.

"And you! How did you even twist!? How did you go back to normal so quickly!?"

The air in the elevator grew tense. Her overflowing questions, the sheer confusion in her voice, made both of them uneasy.

"Vee-"

Dandy tried to interject, only to be met with more words.

"None of this makes sense! Did you both drink something weird!? What happened!?-"

"Vee!"

"We have been SO careful about this! Is it the ichor on your clothing!? I told you that you needed to be more-"

"VEE!"

Dandy screams at the gameshow host, his teeth sharpening a little as his claws dig into the wood of his shop. The soft music playing around him gets distorted and off-key, just for a moment. This scared Vee enough into silence as Dandy needed to take a few long gruff breaths to calm down.

"Don't start blaming us for everything."

Vee just sighs as the elevator soon comes to a halt and the door opens, letting the three walk out and soon make their way back to Astro and Sprout in the dining room.

"Hey! We're back!"

Dandy calls out as Sprout finishes preparing some sweet treats. Astro looks up and is about to smile before almost shrieking at the sight of Shelly.

"OH MY-"

Sprout quickly covers the dreamer's mouth as he shares a similar, but subtler, shocked expression.

"Whoa."

Is what he mutters out instead as Shelly sheepishly laughs, scratching the back of her neck, her sharp teeth on full display.

"You look like you could tear us in half."

Sprout says, causing Shelly to start giggling a little, lightening the mood a little.

"Ohhh! Ima get'cha!"

Shelly laughs more as she pretends to chase Sprout who promptly starts to run, chuckling as well. Soon enough, everyone was. The area filled with the laughs and chuckles of the mains, almost bringing them back to a time before this. Before all of this. It felt nice, but all good things must come to an end, right?

Slowly, the laughter died down and the cheery mood went back to somber as everyone remembered what they were here for. Dandy coughed in his hand to get everyone's attention again.

"Heh... Uh, okay... Are we ready?"

He asks, looking at everyone, their hearts heavy as they knew this could take a while. No one knew where Bobette might be or if she was all right, hell, she could be actively hiding somewhere. She was always good at hide and seek... Everyone collectively nods as they head to the elevator. If this ended well, they'd have another ally. But if it didn't...

They might just end up with another problem.

Chapter Text

The elevator ride was quiet; the only sound was the faint hum of machinery as it descended. Tension settled over them like a thick fog, pressing into their chests. It was a different kind of unease from before, not just nerves, but something sharper, something urgent. They had to start somewhere, and floor five was as good a place as any. This would be easy enough, right?

...Right?

"What do you mean you can't scan her!?"

Dandy’s voice shot up, frustration leaking through as he turned to Vee. She furiously tapped at her scanners, movements quick and agitated, her usual cool demeanor slipping.

"I-I don't have her in my database! I don't- I don’t know what you want me to say!?"

"But="

Vee cut him off before he could finish, her tone snapping like a rubber band stretched too tight.

"It's been months, okay? I can't scan what I don't know!"

Dandy groaned, dragging his hands down his face before rubbing his temples. Of course, this couldn't be easy. Why would it ever be? Was it ever?

The mains watched as he tapped his fingers against the shop's table, deep in thought, his claw-like fingers twitching in agitation. The weight of the situation was already pressing down, and they hadn't even started searching yet.

"Alright... Alright... Hard way it is, then."

He straightened up with a huff, shifting his stance as he formed a plan on the spot.

"We'll split into pairs. It'll be faster that way."

"Risky, isn't it though?" Astro mumbled, shifting from foot to foot, his usual swaying more exaggerated.

"Yeah, and so is you gettin' all cuddly and kissy with Daz-"

Before Dandy could finish, a sudden tug at his petal made him jolt. A shimmer of stardust wrapped around him, and he barely choked out a pained laugh.

"EHh-OW!"

"Time and place, Dandy!"

Astro huffed, arms crossed as Shelly and Sprout snickered to themselves. Dandy sighed, rubbing his petal with a wince.

"Heh, yeah, I deserved that. But anyway... Er... Vee with Sprout, Shelly with Astro and Pebble."

He pointed at each toon as he assigned them. Vee opened her mouth, clearly about to protest, but Dandy was already a step ahead of her.

"Aaand yes, I do have a reason for this pair-up, alright? We don’t split up often, so I want to make sure your survival is prioritized."

He turned to Vee first.

"Vee, you are almost seen a mile away by anything and everything."

"Hey!-"

"So you have Sprout to help you out with that. You have airhorns, right?"

The strawberry quickly rummaged through his bag, pulling out a bright red one with a triumphant grin.

"Awesome, so he can help you if you're getting chased."

Dandy then turned to the next pair.

"And Shelly, you are... Er, fast, which is a little terrifying if I’m being honest."

Shelly smirked, clearly taking that as a compliment.

"And Astro, you’re the exact opposite of Vee over here. Nothing can see you. Seriously, how do you do it?"

Astro just shrugged with a sheepish chuckle, clearly enjoying the mystery.

Vee, however, suddenly narrowed her eyes as a thought crossed her mind.

"Wait, but will the twisteds recognize Shelly as a toon?"

The game show host turned to her friend, scanning her up and down. Shelly still had that twisted look to her, sharp edges, eerie glow, something just a little... off.

Dandy paused, considering it.

"Good point..."

Then, with a forced grin, he threw up his hands.

"Whelp, you got Pebble to protect ya, isn't that right, boy?"

He looked down at his little dog, who barked happily as he reached down to pet him.

"Yeah yeah! You gonna be a good boy and keep them safe, aren’tchaaa?"

"Arf! Arf!"

It was a little sweet seeing Dandy loosen up near his beloved pet, but they had work to do. As Pebble wandered back to Astro, Dandy quickly composed himself, coughing into his hand.

"Well, let's get started, shall we?"

The pairs went down the elevator, were dropped off at different floors, and were tasked with finding anything. Up and down, down and up, it was like a cruel cycle. With every knock on the elevator door, the team came up empty-handed. The more they searched, the less hope Dandy had, though he wouldn't admit that. He had to stay strong... He had to.

The sound of Vee’s exasperated voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Dandy, we've been at this for- for-"

"Two hours," Astro said, finishing her sentence.

"Exactly! I know you care about her and I know she could still be okay, but we're exhausted."

"..."

"Please, can we-"

"One more floor, deal?"

Dandy’s face tilted down as his breath shallowed a little. Vee clenched her fists, feeling her circuits heat up before calming.

"Deal."

She responded, earning an uneasy shuffle from the rest of the mains as Dandy pulled the lever again. Vee didn’t want to humor him, but if he tried saying "One More Floor" again, she’d shut him down so it wasn’t that- Wait. Hold on. Where were they going? She felt the elevator go up rather than down.

"Dandy?-"

"I just want to make sure..."

He whispered in response, seemingly lost in thought. The mains glanced at each other, uncertain of what Dandy was planning as the elevator continued to move. The air turned thick with unease as Vee felt more and more on edge.

"Dandy."

She said, the flower in question seemingly lost in thought.

"Dandy."

"Just let me try this..."

"Dandy!"

"I need- Vee, please."

"Dandy, where are you taking us!?-"

Suddenly, the elevator screeched and everyone lost their balance, Vee hitting the floor with a painful thunk.

"DANDY!"

She screamed as he continued to mess with the controls, not bothering to look up. Astro clung onto the railings for dear life, Sprout held onto Shelly like she’d get swept away, and Pebble howled loudly.

"DANDY, STOP THE ELEVATOR!"

Astro screamed as the elevator seemingly zigzagged. The mains cried out as Dandy remained focused, sweat beading down his face and-

Then it all stopped.

The elevator was still. The ground was stable. Astro’s hands were clenched so tightly on the railing it looked like he’d break it. Vee had been tossed around like a sack of potatoes. Shelly had taken cover with Sprout protectively in her grasp. Pebble whined and flipped upside down. They all gasped, out of breath and coming down from the adrenaline rush. Vee quickly got up, a little banged up from having nothing to hold onto.

"Dandy, what the FUCK WAS THAT!?-"

"Shh."

He cut her off, and she was about to yell until she heard it.

Soft jingle bells. A pluck of strings. The ring of chimes.

Music seeped from behind the elevator door like a sickening reminder of what life used to be.

He had found it.

He had found her floor.

Dandy stood frozen, listening to the warped holiday music as he slowly pulled the lever. The elevator doors slid open, revealing the sight before them.

Broken Christmas lights dangled from the walls, fake snow scattered across the floor like forgotten remnants of a memory. A plastic Christmas tree, once tall and proud, lay toppled, its branches bent and shattered.

No one spoke.

Astro was the first to step out.

"I... never thought I'd see this floor again."

His voice was barely above a whisper as he took in the ruined festive floor. His blue glow cast eerie reflections on the dark stains littering the ground. Wait- no, not just stains. Handprints. A shiver crawled up his spine as he instinctively backed away from the walls. Shelly, Vee, Sprout, and Pebble followed cautiously, their steps light, as if afraid to disturb whatever still lingered here.

Astro glanced back. Dandy was still in the elevator, unmoving, eyes wide.

"...Dandy?"

"She... She has to be here..."

Dandy's voice was quiet, almost fragile. Then, without another word, he grabbed a nearby crate and wedged it in the elevator doorway to keep it from closing before finally stepping forward to join them. Shelly took the lead, her sharp eyesight scanning for movement. Vee walked ahead, Astro covering their backs. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became. The sound of the broken speaker droned on, looping the same holiday tune over and over again. The cheerful melody felt sickeningly out of place.

Floorboards creaked beneath their steps.

A torn poster of Bobette hung on the wall, her face slashed beyond recognition. Claw marks dug deep into the paper, a silent warning. Dandy swallowed hard. Whatever had been here, whatever had done this- it didn't seem friendly. But he had to believe she was still alive. He needed to.

Then, cutting through the heavy silence—

"Come on, you need to eat."

A voice.

Not just any voice.

A voice that was always warm. Always giving. A voice that never asked for anything in return.

Dandy, upon hearing it, bolted.

"BOBETTE!"

The name tore from his throat as he sprinted forward, tears stinging his eyes. Astro cursed under his breath and bolted after him, unwilling to let the reckless flower out of sight. The others followed, their hurried footsteps echoing in the empty hall.

Then, a startled scream.

They skidded to a stop.

And there she was.

Bobette.

Her head was split open, ichor seeping down her face as something sharp and jagged, a Christmas star, emerged from the wound. Her eyes, once bright, now glowed a pale, unnatural pink. Her left hand was overtaken by ichor, her right foot drenched in the substance.

She looked... Half-twisted. But that wasn’t the only thing that made them freeze. Clinging desperately to her untwisted arm, as if he would disappear without her-

Was Glisten.

Chapter Text

"GLISTEN!?"

The mains yell in unison, the broken mirror yelping in fear and hugging Bobette closely, the bauble staring at the group like Rudie in headlights.

"Bobette..."

Dandy whispers like if he doesn't repeat her name, she'll disappear.

"Dandy..."

She returns as she stands up, still holding Glisten close as she runs and tackles Dandy to the floor in a fit of laughter.

"Y-You-"

Bobette starts, hugging him on the floor, ichor tears streaming down her remaining eye.

"You idiot!"

She laughs, sitting up, still hugging him. The two break out into a fit of giggles and sobs, with Glisten sort of awkwardly sitting there, hand still holding onto hers. The mains can't help but stare at his current state. His face was broken up, a void of black replacing where the glass once was, inky black ichor staining his once pristine outfit, and the ribbon his bow was on now wrapped around his wrists like handcuffs. Shelly was the first to speak.

"Y-you're- you're alive!?"

She asks, her question directed at Glisten, who whines and tugs on Bobette's sweater sleeve. The holiday toon lets go of Dandy, whipping the tears out of her face and nearly shrieking at seeing Shelly's appearance.

"OH SWEET SANTA- Shells, what happened to you!?"

She asks, looking the dinosaur enthusiast up and down, taking in her dinosaurian appearance.

"Er- things..."

She replies, fidgeting with her hands as she backs up a little, tail wrapping around her new legs.

"B-but better question, what happened to you both?"

Glisten and Bobette shut up and glanced at each other, there being an unspoken hesitation between them. She started whispering things to him quietly, the rest of the Main standing there, waiting. After a few nods and mumbles, Bobette started speaking.

"You might want to sit down for this."

She mumbles as she moves over to the beanbags she was at earlier, her pace limped as she doesn't seem quite stable on her ichor-soaked leg. Everyone silently followed, a little uneasy by Glisten being there as he clung to her like he'd die if he didn't. Bobette lets out a sigh as she sits down, relieved that the pressure on her leg is temporarily gone. Dandy sat in front of her, worried and awaiting her to speak again.

"... Rudie said he felt something off about everything a few weeks ago."

She began, Glisten leaning his head on her shoulder.

"He said that 'Christmas was coming!' and that we'd get to see you all again. We were all so happy..."

She weakly chuckles, clearly seeing the irony in her words as Sprout pats her shoulder sympathetically.

"We... Didn't know what happened, and so, we were so so unprepared when we got the door open. I... Don't want to get into detail on what... Exactly happened, but..."

Bobette holds her breath a little to rub out the tears in her eyes.

"Rudie was first to go down."

She says quickly, Glisten moving a little to hug her tightly.

"... Ginger tried so hard to h-help him but... She ended up losing her arm and... Well, she's gone now."

The memory of her screaming, trying to break her arm free from Rudie's bloody teeth was burned in her brain. Sometimes, if she'd close her eyes, that image would be all she sees.

"And- oh... Oh my dear, Coal..."

She whispers, glancing at Pebble, staring up at her with tears in her eye. She pats her lap shakily, just wanting to feel the familiar smooth texture she once got from her beloved dog. Pebble understood quite quickly as he jumped up onto her, whining a little as she petted him. 

"I don't know how it happened, but she kept whining and crying... She was in so much pain- I didn't- I didn't know how to help her... I don't know where she went..."

Her voice was somber, soft, and quiet. Astro joined next to her, whipping the ichor-stained tears out of her eye. While it was clear Bobette was struggling to speak, Sprout started to ask questions.

"Why is Glisten here?"

His voice was a stark contrast to hers as it was far more cold and emotionless in the moment. Astro elbowed him in the side as Bobette sighed, glancing at Glisten as he nodded.

"Yeah, okay, so... One day, I was originally just trying to gather supplies but..."

Bobette limped her way down the hall, a bag lugged around her shoulders as she rubbed her right eye. It started to hurt for some reason, and she didn't know why. Her leg also kept hurting, but nothing worked to soothe the ache. All she could do was push through; she had to, she had to survive for them.  

"Ghn..."

She groaned as she drank a can of soda. She was so tired, but she had to get a few more things before going back to her floor. She turned the corner, seeing crates and a knocked-over shelf on the floor. Out of her bag, was a crowbar as she started to pry the crate open, hoping something useful was inside. As she did, she failed to hear a crack and a snap in the walls...

"Come on... Come on, open..."

Bobette begged as she struggled to get the top off, dust soon started to fall from above, but she ignored it. The wood of the crate snapped and cracked, masking the snaps and cracks above her.

"Open, damnit!"

She yelled, but then she noticed it. The cracks in the ceiling above her and how dust started to pour out.

"Oh, shi-"

The Christmas Main barely got out before one last crack caused the ceiling structure to break, drywall and wood rapidly falling directly onto her. She got up as fast as she could, trying to run out of range, but it was too late.

CRASH

She was caught under the rubble, ichor pooling out as the pain felt numb, her vision blurry as she couldn't even see the outside. Her head ached as she coughed, her blood spilling out of her mouth. It hurt, of course.

"N-no no..."

Bobette whispered as she tried to crawl forward, but her leg was stuck under brick and drywall, maybe a pipe. The dust made it hard to breathe as she cried. She couldn't die here, not now, not ever. She had to live, she promised Ginger, she... She... Bobette's breath slowed as she felt dizzy, the blood loss starting to get to her head. Her eyesight was blurry, fuzzy, and unfocused.

"Ph- please..."

She begged to no one but the dead silence. She didn't want to die; she didn't want to die. Bobette tried again to crawl, to get her leg untangled from the debris, feeling her flesh break and snap as she tried.

"gGHH! Ahh- AH!-"

She screamed, the adrenaline starting to wear off and the pain coming full force. The Christmas Main fell limp, pain coursing through every part of her body as she could barely think. This was it, wasn't it? She'll die here, no one to help her, not even Coal to comfort her... Alone... So Alone...

Bobette felt her mind start to go foggy, the corner of her eyesight darkening.

"No..."

Bobette started to fade little by little, her thoughts starting to disappear as well. She was so tired, so tormented, so exhausted, so hungry. Hungry... She was so hungry... Hungry, hungry, hungry, hu ngry, hungry, hungry-

"Is- is someone there!?"

A voice called out, bringing her back to her senses. She's heard this voice before... With all her strength, she mustered up her voice for another call for help.

"H-HEY! OVER HERE, HELP ME!"

She begged as she heard footsteps approaching fast.

"Oh- oh dear!"

"G-get me out of here! I- I can't- I-"

Bobette's voice was broken and ragged as she struggled to speak, the air thick with dust and dirt. Instantly, she heard whoever was there starting to dig through the rubble, throwing metal and plaster away with speed and strength that couldn't be normal. Little by little, she saw the light start to peak through the holes.

"Y-yes! Please, t-thank you thankyouthhankth"

She babbled, her head becoming foggy but she kept holding on, just a little, just enough to survive... Just...

"Aaand I ended up blacking out..."

She chuckled, the memory being fuzzy to her. Glisten just laughs quietly.

"I'm glad I found her..."

He mumbled, sighing as his grasp on her loosened, seemingly more calm now.

"Yeah, I am too..."

Dandy just smiled as he stared at her fondly.

"I'm glad you're okay... You said you're running out of supplies though?"

He began as she looked at him.

"We got food and- and water and medical supplies! There are some floors that you both will be safe, where we can-"

Dandy starts to ramble.

"We're researching how to find a cure so if you come with us we can-"

"No."

"Help you and- what."

Everyone stops, Bobette and Glisten's eyes to the floor as she tenses up.

"..."

"I'm not leaving."

"Bobette-"

"I can't."

Dandy looks at her, confused and a little betrayed.

"We-"

She gestures to herself and Glisten.

"-Promised we'd find my friends first."

"But-"

"I need to know they're safe- that they're okay, Dandy. I know you'd do the same."

Her voice was sterner as she didn't look at anyone, Pebble jumped off her lab and did to his owner

"But we're figuring out a cure and- and we'll fix them once we find it and-"

"But they're in pain! They're- they're breaking! I need to make sure I can keep them safe before I do anything!"

"Bobet-"

"NO DANDY!"

Her voice raises, scaring everyone in the room as they're not used to seeing her like this.

"I'm NOT leaving my friends! I care about you, I really do, but I need to think about my friends too!"

Dandy sweats as his expression shifts.

" I'm trying to keep you safe! Do you know how much turmoil I've been in!?"

"Oh, are you trying to guilt trip me now!? I'm not leaving them behind! I'll find you guys once I can keep them safe!"

The tension was thick in the air as they backed up from the arguing mains.

"No, you're coming with us now! I need-"

"I KNOW WHAT YOU NEED, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I NEED, DANDY!"

"WHY ARE YOU BEING DIFFICULT!?"

"BECAUSE I'M DOING WHAT'S RIGHT FOR ME!"

She screams, raising her hand once Glisten latched off her and slapped the flower across the face. The slap echoed throughout the empty holiday floor as everyone went silent, the only noise being Bobette's labored breaths. A red mark slowly appeared on Dandy's pale face, his expression shocked as he looked at her.

"... Bobette..."

"I'm sorry, but I'm staying put."

Dandy ghosts his hand over the mark, looking at her like she just said she'd kill Pebble. It was silent, everyone too nervous to speak as Dandy was at a loss for words. Shelly was the first to speak.

"Dandy, we should leave..."

She says, putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling the shocked Dandy away.

"I think that's for the best, Shells. I'm sorry it came to this."

Bobette says as she turns away from the group, Glisten staying close by her. Dandy didn't say anything as the group slowly left out of the room, leaving the two half-twisteds alone. The mascot was silent, hand still on the red mark on his face even when they traveled back up. He was silent even as they ate; he was silent even as Pebble begged to play. Not a word came out of him that day. Astro tried to talk to him, but nothing came, and they all decided to leave him alone to process everything that happened. But one thing was for sure.

This wouldn't be the last of Bobette.