Chapter Text
Yells erupted from the group as they ran out of the elevator, different Twisteds catching sight of each group. Cosmo had grabbed Sprout, running first and catching the eye of Twisted Pebble who vigorously hunted them. Astro kept his hold of Dandy, rushing out and trying to stay out of sight. Glisten and Rodger quickly grabbed each other, diving past Twisted Shelly, who quickly followed them in pursuit. Bassie, noticing the others had already left, dashed forwards and wandered into the floor alone.
~~~
Bassie, having been seen by many of the ‘common’ twisteds, ran through the halls of the warehouse. She eventually circled back to the elevator, running around a shelving unit to lose them. Once they were lost, she hid behind the shelves, trying to catch her breath. She turned, seeing the small office area off to the side. She walked over to inspect the area. There were two bookcases that lined the back left corner, filled to the brim with books, folders, binders, and other packets of research.
She walked to the left, some books beside her as she sat to collect herself after the encounter. She looked around, still on high-alert, hearing the sounds of twisteds roaring and yells from her friends. She sighed in fear. She stood up once more, poking out of the office and looking through each side of the small hall in hopes to find the others…
~~~
Glisten and Rodger eagerly ran from Twisted Shelly, the twisted following closely in pursuit. There were a few moments where it got close, but the duo was agile in turning corners to create distance.
“How long is it going to chase us for?!” Glisten yelled, exasperated.
“Just keep moving!” Rodger responded.
Eventually they made their way back to the elevator, taking another sharp turn into the small hall nearby in attempt to lose Shelly. They seemed to be making distance when—
“Come on!”
A pair of hands grabbed onto Glisten and Rodger, pulling them aside. They hit the floor with a thud. Glisten, looking up, noticed Bassie was the one who pulled them in, standing above him.
“Hide!” She spoke in a hushed voice, pulling back against a wall to hide from Twisted Shelly.
The others complied, hiding as they caught their breath. The twisted ran right past the opening of the office. After a moment of silence and heavy breathing, the moment was interrupted by more yelling from the other members still roaming the floor.
“We’ve got to get the others back here!” Rodger exclaimed, to which Bassie took out her walkie talkie.
“Guys, head back to the elevator. We found a place to hide, over!”
~~~
“Ow… Ow, ow!!”
A few painful cries came from Brightney as her and Vee ran from the elevator.
“Just a moment!” Vee exclaimed, turning a corner and pulling Brightney to hide behind a silver gate of wire.
“Are they gone?”
“I think so, the coast looks clear.”
“Good…” Brightney sighed as she slowly sat down, her hand against the wall for support.
Vee followed, sitting down beside her. There was a moment of quiet understanding between the two of them before Vee spoke up.
“Let me see your ankle.”
“Vee, I’m alright—“
“We’re not doing this.”
Brightney hesitated. She didn’t need Vee fussing over her. She didn’t even know why the other was fussing over her in the first place. Brightney knew Vee wasn’t the type to care much for others, and the way the television acted around her was confusing.
“Alright…” Brightney surrendered, moving her leg to the other.
Vee took no time to lift her long skirt off of her ankle, inspecting the area. The rose-pink skin on her ankle bruised with a magenta tint where the assumed fracture resided. She grimaced, emitting a static hum.
Brightney sat still, her sight avoiding Vee. She tried to make it seem like she was looking out for twisteds, but in reality she was just trying to distract herself. Whenever they got this close, Brightney couldn’t think straight. It was infuriating. The amount of times she had answered questions incorrectly on Vee’s game show due to a random feeling in her gut frustrated her to no end. It annoyed her when others pointed it out: “You’re so smart, what happened?” They would say, but she couldn’t reply. She just didn’t know.
“Brightney, are you—“
“Guys, head back to the elevator. We found a place to hide, over!” A voice broke the silence from over Vee’s internal walkie talkie. It was Bassie.
The two shared a look for a moment, only to look away as soon as they made eye contact.
“L-let’s go find the others.” Brightney mumbled.
“Good idea.” Vee replied.
~~~
Loud growls followed Cosmo and Sprout as they sprinted through the warehouse. Twisted Pebble kept on their trail, following them closely and snapping its jaw at them in attack.
“GAH!” Cosmo yelped as he tripped over his foot, nearly falling to the ground.
Sprout swooped in, grabbing him up. He slung his arm around Cosmo’s shoulder as he regained his footing, continuing to run.
They were able to get a bit more distance between themselves and the Twisted, gaining an opportunity as they passed by a shelving unit. Sprout stopped, looking at the many boxes on it.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Cosmo yelled, stopping with him.
“Just keep going, I have a plan!” Sprout didn’t look over as he spoke, quickly moving to the shelves.
Cosmo hesitated, but ran nevertheless in the other direction.
A loud roar came from the Twisted pursuing Sprout as he grabbed a box on the shelf. He wasn’t sure what was in it, but it was heavy enough for his plan. He chucked it at the creature, eliciting a growl from it. He grinned as the Twisted was distracted, ripping up the box violently. Sprout took this chance to run, quickly following after Cosmo, who hid behind a gate.
There was a moment of silence and heavy breathing between them before Cosmo spoke up.
“Thanks… for saving me back there.” He looked over at the strawberry with a soft gaze.
“There’s no need to thank me, Cos—“
“Let me appreciate you!” Cosmo joked, shoving the other’s shoulder slightly.
“For doing the bare minimum? Not on my watch— Hey!” He explained before yelping at the cake roll elbowing him in the gut.
The two laughed quietly together, almost forgetting about the danger around them for the moment.
Almost.
“Sprout..? Cosmo?” A voice spoke up from behind them.
The bakers looked around for the source of the sound, eventually spotting two figures behind another row of shelves behind them.
“Astro!” The two spoke in unison, recognizing the duo.
They quickly went over, checking on them. Sprout fussed over Astro while Cosmo checked on Dandy’s head.
Speaking of Dandy, he was still unconscious despite the loud situation. The Ichor flowing from his head slowly ceased, but the stream was still present. Cosmo looked at his left hand, a chocolate chip cookie staring back at him. He thought about healing Dandy. It would be beneficial; maybe he knew what was happening. Maybe it was worth being on one heart…
“Are you alright: no scratches, no scrapes?” Sprout asked in concern.
“I’m okay,” Astro answered, still holding his blanket close around him.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“Sprout, yes!” Astro exclaimed and summoned a star to rest on his shoulder.
Sprout sighed in relief before looking down to Cosmo, who was still in deep thought.
“Cos?”
No reply.
“Cosmo?” Astro chimed in.
No reply.
“Cosmo. What’s going on?” Sprout demanded.
No reply.
“Cosmo?!” Sprout asked louder, resting his hand on the cake roll’s shoulder.
Cosmo flinched at the touch, looking over at Sprout as he snapped out of his thoughts.
“Huh..? What’s up?” He asked calmly.
“What’s with that look? You spaced out again.”
“I just…” Cosmo trailed off into thought again, rambling softly, “I feel like I should heal Dandy. I mean, we don’t even know how much health he has since his Ichor mutated differently than ours, but it’s at least worth a shot. Maybe I’d help him wake up—“
Cosmo was cut off by Sprout holding both of his shoulders firmly, keeping eye-contact.
“Cosmo, you are not being on one heart in a situation like this. We don’t have any heals, and if we find some, it should be used for others.”
“But he’s still important!”
“Cos, it’s not safe!”
”I—“ Cosmo sighed, ceasing his argument, “Okay…”
Meanwhile, Astro sat with Dandy’s head in his lap, listening to the baking duo argue. He thought it might be a good idea if Cosmo healed Dandy, but didn’t want to deal with any more confrontation than necessary.
There was a bit of awkward silence. It seemed to happen a lot between the group; a silence where no one knows how to continue. Luckily, they didn’t have to—
“Guys, head back to the elevator. We found a place to hide, over!” A voice broke the silence from over Sprout and Astro’s walkie talkies. It was Bassie.
The trio looked at each other before nodding in agreement. They stood, making their way through the dangerous floor to the elevator in hopes to find their friends.