Chapter Text
Ginger had died a lot. Kinda came with doing runs. Which is why she could confidently say the most embarrassing way to die was by and far just missing the elevator.
Not even going down to a rogue Shrimpo floor 1 compared. Probably because she was likely on death's door due to her teammates incompetence anyways.
Unfortunately the death she was just about to face was just that.
“Ginger! Come on!” Cosmo cheered. Her Cosmo, the one that she had been rented out with before Gardenviews shutdown.
“I’m trying!” She huffed, the tick of the 10 second countdown still loud over her heartbeat and panting. There was no real point in trying, but she kept on dragging herself forwards anyway.
The elevator shut down, and… Nothing. You were normally meant to explode by now, coming back up top completely unphased.
… Guess she’d just have to die the way just about everybody else did. Poppy would do.
“Hey!!!” Ginger waved her arms dramatically, calling the attention of the Twisted the Looey had been circling for anybody lagging behind. A Goob had managed to pull in the Shrimpo, and judging by his face seeing Ginger, hadnt realize she was still out and about.
It’s fine. She was an Event toon. It’d make sense to forget about a Toon that was barely there.
Her team had been good this time, mostly friends and a random or two. So good she was at 3 hearts and had to throw a few cookies at Looey to be able to get everything that was found for her and Cosmo.
Poppy turned to Ginger, trudging forwards like a zombie movie. That's what the Twisteds were, were they? Barring a select few.
“You’re staying?!” A voice called, making Ginger jump. She had been so distracted on getting back to the lobby she almost forgot the other Twisted, despite even being on his “babysitting duty”.
The Twisted Glisten ran up, tackling Ginger right before Poppy could attack. A shard of glass in her side told her she lost a heart anyways.
“Hold on, Poppy! She’s a friend, I swear!”
Poppy stopped in her tracks at the fellow Twisteds urging. They understood words? A small gargle came from her, high pitched at the end in almost a question.
“Uh… Yeah! Look! The elevators closed and she’s still here! Not abandoning us!” Glisten assured her, gesturing towards the closed elevator and Ginger. “Right?”
On one hand, explaining that she was in fact interested in leaving this floor as soon as possible via brutal explosion, would possibly enrage Glisten into murdering her, which would complete her objective.
On the other hand, there was no guarantee he wasn't capable of figuring as long as she didnt die, she'd stay here. Ginger understood how desperate he was.
Part of why she hung out with him when she could and certain relatives didn't beat her to it.
(“Best of three?”
“And if the Twisteds catch us mid rock paper scissors?”
“It's just Poppy. Our famous one heart wonder’s got her.”
“Fine…”
“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”
“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”
“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”
“Guess I won~”)
Perhaps it was best to lie, for now. That’d piss off the little speed demon when she got caught.
“Yep,” Ginger affirmed. “I’m staying right here.”
“See? Not everybody hates us for… whatever's wrong with us!”
“You don't know?” Ginger muttered, half to herself.
“Know what?”
“What a Twisted is?”
“I’ve heard the word…” Glisten shrugged. “Thought it was more an insult than anything. Not like we look our best.”
“So you have absolutely no idea whats going on since Gardenview shut down?”
“... I didn't even know the museum shut down…”
“How can you not know that?! Have you been down here since everything went down, or something?”
Glisten looked at his nails, cracked and bitten. “Yeah, basically.”
“Poppy too?”
“No, she… got left down here. Abandoned, like me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. That's why we're sticking together!” Glisten put his arm around Poppy. “And you're with us now too!”
“That sounds great!” Ginger forced out. “So uh, what do you two do around here? When nobody else is around.”
“Poppy just wanders around. I follow her,” Glisten explained. “Sometimes other… Twisteds come around. They kinda do the same thing.”
Poppy had squirmed out of her fellow Twisteds grasp and went off to do presumably the wandering thing.
“Sounds fun,” Ginger huffed perhaps a bit too sarcastically.
“Yeah… we can find something more interesting to do. I’m sure Poppy will try if I ask?”
Strangely, she doubted that of the legendary Twisted Poppy. “I’ve got some eyeshadow in hammerspace?” It may have been considered rude to stereotype him like that, but certain toons had their things they all shared. Cosmo and Sprout sharing a single braincell, for one.
“Oh, really?! It’s been so long since I’ve even seen myself. Lets do it!” Glisten grabbed her wrist gingerly, ichor stained hands dragging her towards the open space by the projector.
“Are you sure you want to?” Ginger once again mumbled.
“Yes,” Glisten answered. Jeez, did he have super hearing? “I’ve been curious for quite a while. Why everybody that talks to me looks at me like Scraps’ hairball. Already cant see out of one eye, so… Might as well?”
“It’s okay, I’ll try and stay on your good side.”
“You’re staying with us. I doubt you could do anything to really make me upset. Just being here is enough.”
That was right. “I meant the side you can see out of.”
Glisten seemed to almost wince at the miscommunication, but sat down on the rug, next to a bunch of crates and the like. If she squinted, she could see the circle Looey ran Poppy around. “Let’s just do our makeup, okay? And you can tell me all about what's happened in Gardenview!”
“Sure. Where do you wanna start?”
“Are there other Twisteds who are… like me and not Poppy?”
“Sentient? Well, I haven't been a Twisted myself so I can't say if the rest have anything going on upstairs but Ichor. But all Glistens seem to be pretty conscious, and then there's the bastard.”
“The bastard?”
“Dandy.”
“Dandy?”
“Yeah, its a whole thing.”
“But theres only one of him? If he’s Twisted, why do I hear people talking about him like they just saw him…?”
“Don't worry, we get to see his smiling face every day, Twisted and not. Thats,” Ginger pulled out a notebook, alongside a small palette of mostly cool toned makeup. “For this little book to explain.”
“Sprout?”
“Yeah, Cos?”
Cosmo approached his baby brother. He knew it seemed weird to a lot of people, but this Sprout was his little brother and their Ginger was their big sister.
Even if he couldn't find her.
“You see Ginger?”
“No, probably avoiding your dumb face,” Sprout answered.
“I’m serious. I haven't seen her since she died.”
“You check with her friends?”
“Yeah, and even the randoms we played with.”
“Ask Bobette?” Sprout suggested, gesturing towards the small room besides Dandy’s shop.
“Like. The Bobette?”
“Yeah. All the Christmas toons are like family to her. She’d probably at least keep an eye out.”
“Yeah, but… You know.”
“Do you wanna find her?” Sprout crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.
“Fine. If she doesn't show up tomorrow we’ll ask. And if she doesnt help, uh ....”
“The Blue Star Bakery brothers will figure it out for their beloved big sister!”