Chapter Text
Log 2: 20.06.2012
"Dude I- Oh my gosh I'm literally shaking right now. The Center! It's here! Ah- It looks even better in person.. Nebs you see that!? It's real!" "Miauu.." "Hah.. It looks a bit run down- okay, 'a bit' is an understatement but nothing we can't make due of, right? I just hope this ends well.. I'll make another Log if I make inside alive, let's hope for the best."
I turned off my voice recorder and almost squealed from excitement, quickly reminding myself that we're illegally invading someone's property and getting caught is not an option. I secured all my belongings in back pack before walking up to the front doors, being wary of all the broken glass before pushing them open.
If there was a word to describe a monumental amount of dust, dirt and grime all in one place, it wouldn't be enough to describe it at all. One deep inhale could be enough to take out an entire army in less than 15 minutes. With all the different types of mold around here, one sniff could put me into a coma.
I took a good step back, making sure Nebula was okay before digging into my bag and pulling out a gas mask and a miniature gas mask, one for me, one for the cat. I wasn't just going to let her suffer, was I? Once I made sure the masks were secured onto the both of us, I finally made my way into the Center.
The inside was a complete and utter mess. Chairs thrown everywhere, cabinets fallen over, papers scattered all over the place. One small glance at this could make a home cleaner quit they're job entirely.
The dust and smoke made it pretty hard to navigate, especially while carrying one bag on your back and one on your stomach. I just wandered around, opening doors I found interesting and looking into cabinets that weren't thrown to the ground. It all seemed so surreal, looking at all the files of registered visitors, exploring unexplored areas, it felt like a dream. And I didn't want to wake up.
After scavenging the register area, I found two comically large doors looming over me, practically begging for me to open them.
I took a look at the snoozing feline in my kitty bag and took a deep breath. I tried pushing them open but they didn't budge, so I used all my strength and pushed the doors with my upper to push them open. It took quite a while to pry open, almost as if they were barricaded shut, but after a bit of struggle, the secrets that lay behind the doors were finally revealed. My eyes sparkled.
A ginormous, almost colossal museum was presented in front of me. Different rooms for different artifacts, big and small, were splayed everywhere in my sight. It was almost overwhelming.
I lightly shook my kitty pack, trying to wake up my little friend to explore anything and everything I could. She let out a small yawn, stretching the best she could in that small pack before mewing at me.
"I'm sorry sweetie, I couldn't let myself have all the fun. Don't worry. We'll find somewhere comfortable to rest in soon, okay? Just have some patience." I mumbled to her. She meowed, kneading the cloth inside with her.
I took that as a sign to quickly get started on my research expedition. Taking a good look at the rooms, there were 4 main rooms and a few mini rooms in between. The first room was mainly red, some pink and white splashed on the walls. Most of the stuff inside was baking related, a few aprons hung up on a rack for guests. Right next to it was a cutout a strawberry cartoon character. Sprout.
Sprout was known for his caring self and his protective demeanor. He usually taught children how to share, be kind to others, and always be kind. Quite literally the role-model of the show.
A baking table stood in the middle of the room, baking ingredients laying untouched. But definitely molded. I looked around the room for a bit longer, finding all the little boards of educational messages and children's drawings, and a few weird black capsules, before deeming it uninteresting and moving to the next room.
Next one was definitely a contrast from the first room. A dulled down neon green painted every wall inside, some black complimenting along side it. A bunch of binary code everywhere, with a giant stage in front with small seats on the floor. Another cutout on the side of a green television cartoon character. Vee.
Vee was quite blunt but very self-assured. She always tried to teach children how to be confident and never let others bring them down, no matter what. Very motivating.
Next room was quite dark compared to the other ones. Stars painted on shredded walls and a giant crescent moon mural on the ceiling. There was a circle of sleeping bags surrounding a small pedestal-chair in the middle with a closed book on it.
I took the book from the seat, wiping off the dust on it with hand to see the title. "Astro The Dream Walker."
I glanced up from the cover and looked at the corner and saw a blue crescent moon. Astro.
Astro was almost like the gag of the show; being the sleepiest out of everyone, he was able to sleep almost anywhere he wanted. He taught kids that rest is always important for people's well being and everyone should learn to take a break when needed.
I found more of those capsules around the room as I was leaving.
Last but not least, the final room. Yellow and brown were merged together with being, almost sand-like patches everywhere. The entire place was filled to the brim with bones and fossils of different kinds. The character's cutout wasn't here but with one look at this room, it was quite obvious to see this room belonged to Shelly.
Though Shelly didn't really appear much on the show, it wouldn't be the same without her. Always so cheerful and enthusiastic, no matter what the condition, she taught kids try and stay happy and chase their dreams.
After looking around, I finally deemed them uninteresting and returned to the middle of the dome like place.
This wasn't the main part.
I knew that for sure. This was an introduction for newcomers. I knew this place like the back of my hand, being of their biggest fans and visiting the place almost like I lived in it, I knew the main part was underground.
Walking backwards, I was taking in the view of the place before my foot bumped into something.
Quickly turning my head, I found a staircase looking back at me, the stairs being poorly illuminated.
The train station!! I gasped internally. I shook my kitty pack, waking up the almost asleep feline to tell her.
"Nebs, don't fall asleep now.. We have somewhere more important to be."
"Mrroww..."
After receiving a response, I wasted no time to rush down the stairs to uncover what as down below.
My hand grazed over the dirty railing, feeling the dirt and grime that gathered over the years making contact with my skin. I definitely need to disinfect that later..
The flickering lights was making it difficult to see and the dust and smoke wasn't helping at all.
I hastily brought out a flashlight, covering my face as the dust and dirt got in my way. Nebula squirmed in discomfort at the scene.
"Hiss..!!"
"I know I know. But you're gonna have to be patient if we're gonna go down any further. Just bear with me, please."
I left her to try and get comfortable again, and continued down the tunnel like staircase, my flashlight illuminating the path for me.
...
Train stations aren't usually so low underground but, at least we made it down in one piece. I stared at the empty train track, along with the magnitude of boxes as confusion washed over me. That definitely isn't normal. Then again, breaking into an educational center where cartoons LITERALLY come to life isn't so normal either so I can't judge.
Curiosity gnawed at me as I gazed over all the boxes sprawled before me, some small, some large, some average. I hurried over to one of the big boxes, heaving as I opened it, just to find those same capsules I saw in the rooms upstairs. Now this couldn't be a coincidence. I checked some other boxes and found the same result plus some files I found uninteresting. Before I could question the mass of capsules, a train horn blared in my ears as the screeching of wheels could be heard.
I thought this place was abandoned?! A wave of panic slapped me in the face as I tried to look for a way to not get caught. I ran to an empty box, pulling the lid over my head, and hid silently, praying that no one would find us.
The train came to a stop and I could hear the footsteps of someone. I expected them to be heavy, like from a security guard or something, but I heard heels clacking instead..? Some wack ass security they have here.
My thoughts were interrupted as I felt my weight lifting off the ground and being set into a different location, grunting accompanying their movements.
Fuck. That can't be good.
I looked around the box and found a tiny peephole. I used it to atleast get a small look at my surroundings, only for my vision to be blurry. Curse you 20/40 vision.
I could only hope for the best as the train took me to God knows where, holding Nebula close to me. I think I messed up.