Chapter Text
!SLAM!
The elevator door shuts behind the group with a loud thud. The eight toons had heavy breathing, their senses flooding back to them after the dangerous floor.
The elevator dinged, the floor number changing from forty-four to forty-five.
Sprout, Cosmo, Astro, Bassie, Vee, Brightney, Rodger, and Glisten stood in the wide space, looking over at each other with tired looks. The run had been going well, but with so many twisteds of varying aggression, it was hard to keep track of everything. Maybe that’s what led them to the chaos they endured.
The florescent lights hummed as the space was quiet, everyone silently thinking one thing.
‘We need heals.’
The toons shifted in anticipation as the trap doors in the floor opened. Dandy’s shop emerged from within, the rainbow flower giving a warm and cheerful smile despite the situation.
“Spare a flower some tapes, will ya?” He spoke, his tone light and cartoonish.
The team gazed at his selection of items: Some gumballs, an extraction speed candy, and a jawbreaker.
Their reactions varied, some toons just disappointed, while others were frustrated. But one toon in particular seemed to be quite upset.
“Are you kidding me?! What the [BOINK] is this!” Vee spoke up, marching over to the shopkeeper. Her voice censored itself as she cursed; a mechanic she had programmed into her.
Dandy gave a confused look, unable to wipe the grin off of his face. “What’s wrong with my shop?” He spoke innocently.
“Vee, please—“ Astro began, walking over.
“NO! This is ridiculous,” Vee cut off Astro, “you can’t find it in yourself to sell us anything useful?!” She slammed her metal hands on the countertop.
Dandy raised his gloved hands in defense, “Woah there, Vee! Why don’t we calm down and just—“
“CALM DOWN?!” Vee interrupted, “We’re basically half dead, and you want me to CALM DOWN?! I’LL SHOW YOU CALM!”
She was about ready to jump the counter and shove that flower into his place, but Sprout and Glisten came behind her, holding Vee back by her shoulders.
Through the fighting, Rodger had made his way to Dandy’s Shop, looking directly at him with a solid glare.
“She has a point. Would it really be too much to ask for a heal? Look at the state of our team!” He spoke, moving his arm to gesture to the group.
Just beside the counter, Vee and Astro stood unharmed physically. Glisten had only a cut on his upper arm, while Sprout wore a grazed abrasion just below his kneecap. Behind them was Cosmo, bearing a hole in his hand where a heal once was, given to another teammate earlier.
Closer to the right corner of the elevator stood Bassie and Brightney. Brightney leaned on Bassie’s shoulder, still trying to catch her breath. She had a bad bruise on her back and some kind of injury in her ankle. The group had tried to figure out what it was a few floors ago, Sprout and Cosmo eventually agreeing it might be a fractured bone. Either way, Bassie helped support her weight as the others spoke.
“You’ve got to have some kind of heal you can sell us, right?” Rodger continued, his glare firm.
“Rodger, my dear associate,” Dandy began, “You know how this works! The only things you can purchase are the wonderful items I have displayed in my shop!”
Vee facepalmed.
Rodger sighed.
The two stood close to the counter, continuing to try and argue with the flower. Through their fight however, Rodger seemed to loosen his grip on the satchel he wore. Through the sound of their dispute, glass breaking cut them off.
“What the—“ Vee spoke, looking down.
There on the ground was a broken research capsule from a previous floor. Rodger seemed annoyed by the lost research, but his concern was clear. The Ichor didn’t seem to disperse or flow out like it usually would, but simply spread out into an even pile. By now, the elevator was silent, each of the toons’ attentions pointed to the broken capsule and Ichor.
“My, my! You guys have made quite the mess!” Dandy spoke with a feigned-innocent tone.
“My deepest apologies—“
Rodger was cut off by Dandy waving his hand at Rodger. “No need to apologize! We’ll have this cleaned up when you get back! What was my line again?” He cleared his throat, “Surely you ist be saving your tapes for me!”
Dandy grabbed the red ball on the lever beside him, shifting it in place. A mechanical whirr went off, the trap doors beginning to close.
Just before the sound of gears turning filled the elevator shaft, a grumbling noise slowly rose in volume. The puddle of Ichor seemed to bubble up in front of the counter. Vee and Rodger slowly backed away, the others following their movements.
As the trap doors began to close around Dandy, an Ichor-tendril shot up out of the puddle, splitting the air around them like a knife. Dandy looked up at the tendril with a mix of fear and confusion, though he didn’t have much time to think.
“DANDY!” Astro yelled out, but it was too late.
The tendril dived at Dandy, wrapping around his neck and lifting him out of his shop. The trap doors collapsed together, sealing the shop shut without Dandy inside. In the blink of an eye, the tendril manically waved, sending the rainbow flower flying at the elevator door. He hit the metal wall with a thud and groan. Dandy instantly went unconscious as he slumped down to the floor.
The tendril retracted slowly, dissipating back into the puddle of Ichor within the broken capsule.
The toons all reacted, yelling and moving to the side walls of the elevator to avoid the conflict; all of them but Astro. Astro ran to Dandy as soon as he slumped down, trying to check on him. Bassie pulls Brightney away to keep her safe. Vee, noticing this, crossed to the other side of the elevator to them. Sprout moved back with Cosmo protectively. They all stood clear of the capsule.
Everything was quiet besides the occasional whisper from Astro trying to wake Dandy, only to be broken by Glisten as he turned to Rodger.
“What kind of capsule was that?!”
“I’m— uhm, I believe it was a capsule of Twisted Sprout.” Rodger responded.
“Guess the tendril makes sense…”
The elevator went quiet again except for quiet whispers. Cosmo seemed to bicker with Sprout for a minute—
‘Serves him right.’
‘What?! Sprout, this is not the time!’
‘So you just trust him now, huh?’
‘No, we both know that!’
A sigh
‘Fix your attitude, please.’
—before Cosmo went over to Astro to check on Dandy. Eventually, the elevator door opened to floor 45, cutting the silence like a knife. A warehouse. Vee, Brightney, and Bassie walked out of the elevator together, mumbling under their breaths. Glisten and Rodger quickly moved to the second-nearest machine. Meanwhile, Sprout, Cosmo, and Astro seemed to linger for a moment before Cosmo spoke up.
“Just… stay with him. We’ll go back up soon.” He gently spoke, putting a hand on Astro’s blanket-covered shoulder. The soft material felt warm under his hand.
Astro nodded, lifting Dandy into his upper arms and stepping out of the elevator. Sprout and Cosmo did the same, but Sprout still gave a hesitantly suspicious look to the flower and moon.
Cosmo stood up, giving Sprout a sharp look before going off with him into the vast, dimly-lit warehouse.
Astro sat on the ground as the elevator door shut, holding Dandy close. He inspected the flower, trying to use the end of his blanket to stop the blood running from the back of his head. It wasn’t much, but the blanket would surely be stained. He grimaced, hoping the other would be alright…