Chapter Text
DATE: AUGUST 18TH, 2007
TIME: 0800 (08:00 A.M)
Astro stepped out of the elevator into the Gardenview lobby, noticing the other toons starting to gather in groups for runs. He kept his head low and walked to Dandy’s shop, knocking gently on the counter. “Dandy?”
Dandy came out of the back door, opening his arms for a hug. “Astro!”
Astro hesitantly hugged him, giving Dandy an awkward smile. “Hey, Dandy…”
“Let’s walk and talk, yeah? Tell me what’s been on ya mind recently.”
“Uhm, about that, can we just sit by the train tracks? Like how we used to?”
“Sure! Whatever makes this most comfy for you.”
The two walked in silence to the train station, sitting down with their legs over the edge. Astro stared at the tracks instead of looking at Dandy. He was never the best at making eye contact like that. He took a deep breath and ignored the terrible feeling he had in his gut. “Dandy, I know that’s you. I know you can become a twisted. Everyone does.”
Dandy stiffened, looking at Astro with a fake smile plastered on his face. “You said this was going to be like old times. You lied–”
“And you lied too, Dandy.” Astro cut him off, knowing how Dandy liked to use his words. “You lied to everyone by hiding the fact that you could become twisted. You lied and said that we needed tapes to get items when you could give them to us for free.” Astro saw Dandy open his mouth to speak and he put a hand up.
“What makes this worse to me is the fact that I was the last one to find out. I’m your best friend. Or am I not a friend to you anymore?” Astro finally looked up at him, those starry tears falling down his face once more.
Dandy looked at Astro, the facade he held for so long shattering like glass. “Y’all don’t mean much of anythin’ to me anymore. All ya do is whine and complain about everythin’ goin’ wrong since Gardenview was abandoned,” he chuckled. “Delilah should’ve gotten rid of all of you idiots right when she knew this place would shut down.”
Astro stared at him in disbelief, his hands tightening on his blanket. “So our friendship meant nothing to you?” he whispered, still trying to process Dandy’s words. “I felt so guilty about us drifting apart for nothing?”
“Of course it meant nothin’! Why do ya think I said nothin’ to you when you stopped buying from my shop? I didn’t care. I feel hatred towards every single one of you idiots! If Delilah was here, all of you would’ve been long gone.” Dandy stood up, Ichor beginning to seep through his gloves as his true nature showed.
Astro stood up as well, Ichor seeping through his hat and through his blanket. “You’re so cruel! Everyone is trying their best and you’ve done nothing but the bare minimum! You sell items at ridiculous prices and then throw a tantrum when nobody wants to buy them! You are the reason this happened in the first place!”
“Oh, don’t you go and start blaming me for everythin’ that’s happened, Astro Novalite.” Dandy snarled, growing bigger by the second. “Y’all brought this upon yourselves!”
Astro smacked Dandy without a second of hesitation. “No, you brought this upon yourself! You’re selfish and ignorant and I’m surprised everyone put up with you as long as they did!”
By now, the other toons had started gathering, watching the two argue and being unsure how to stop it.
Dandy didn’t even think to speak or argue back. He just tackled Astro, causing the two of them to crash into the pit where the tracks were.
As they tussled, Dandy began to overpower Astro the bigger he grew. His eyes were red now and his body had morphed into that disgusting monster that hunted the toons for sport.
Astro lost his blanket when he was tackled, but he had no time to worry about his other arms being seen. His star burned a crimson full of anger, regret and guilt. He waved his hands at Dandy, throwing him off briefly, which allowed him to scramble up to get away.
Dandy snagged his claw onto him, causing Astro to fall again, right in the middle of the tracks. He stumbled up, ignoring the agonizing pain in his leg.
Dandy lunged and Astro barely got his hands up in time, but the impact sent him flying back into the wall.
Everything hurt as he tried to stand once more, heaving as he felt pain so terrible he thought death would finally come.
From the shop, Dyle was petting Pebble out of boredom. He noticed the other toons gathering and then heard Dandy and Astro getting louder and louder.
When he peeked over the counter, he stared at the fight in disbelief. He didn’t think about it much when he pulled the lever on the desk. If Astro died it meant that the other toons were next on the list.
The train whistle blared through the tunnel as it picked up speed. Astro’s eye widened as he felt the rails beneath him begin to hum and rattle. Dandy, who had him pinned to the ground also noticed.
It was going too fast for Dandy to react in a smart way. He loosened his grip on Astro as the train hurled towards them, allowing Astro to use magic to push him off a bit more before struggling to get up.
“ASTRO!”
Astro barely had time to register the voice before something yanked him hard by the arm. His back hit the concrete just as the train tore through the tunnel.
The sound was deafening metal screaming against metal, something heavy being crushed beneath it. Something that shouldn’t have been.
He couldn’t breathe. His chest rose in shallow, broken gasps, his vision unfocused, everything was ringing. It felt wrong. Goob was saying something and shaking him, but he couldn’t make out what.
All Astro could think about was the fact that he did that. He pushed himself up too fast. Pain shot through him and it felt like he was burning, but he ignored it.
“No, no, I can’t—“ His voice was unsteady. He hated it. Why couldn’t he stay calm? He was the calm one. “I can’t stay here.”
“Astro—“ Goob lifted a hand, but Astro was already on the move.
Stumbling and limping, but running anyway. He didn’t look back. He couldn’t look back. The shops and toons blurred as he headed for the elevators.
“Just…stay,” he muttered, more to himself than the others. “Stay down.”
He waved his hand and sent a pulse outward. One by one the other toons dropped. Not hurt, but sleeping. He made sure of that.
The elevator was just within reach. Just a few more steps.
Astro stepped forward only to feel himself tilting to the left. Dyle was at his side before he could fall to the floor. He heard faint barking as Pebble followed the two into the elevator.
Everything was so blurry. Was he crying? He strained himself to stand properly.
“Easy, easy…” Dyle hissed. “You can rest, I’ve got you.” He leaned Astro against the elevator walls as the door shut.
Astro didn’t argue as he felt Pebble sit in his lap and lick his hand. The elevator hummed as they descended, and just like that, they were gone.