Work Text:
3rd Person!
The elevator door shut down. Shelly sighed, "Brusha was too late..." The elevator went silent for a moment.
"Let's not focus on that," Cosmo said. "Just focus on what's ahead!" He gave them all a smile, likely to try and lift the mood. The voting cards appeared. Blind Grab, Sparkplug, and Covetous.
"Sparkplug?" Shelly suggested. "I know Vee and Astro glow a bit during blackouts but it could still be useful..."
"If we glow, why not just go off our light as a guide?" Vee replied, checking over her mic cord.
She hesitated for a moment. Vee did have a bit of a point... "Well... wouldn't we just be following you two the whole time then?" Shelly said, "we wouldn't get much done doing that..."
"She has a point," Scraps chimed in. "I can always pull myself towards you guys if I'm struggling to find my way, but it's always hard to navigate either way." Astro nodded in agreement. Shelly almost didn't notice him, as he had been very silent for a majority of the run.
"Seems like I'm outvoted here," Vee huffed. She turned away from the rest of the group. Shelly couldn't help but feel a little guilty... her choice immediately had everyone outvote Vee.
"What was your choice going to be, Vee...?" She asked.
Vee whipped around. "Why does it matter to you? Clearly you already got everyone to pick the most useless card!" She snapped. Shelly let out a gasp of shock. Vee didn't really think she made everyone pick Sparkplug, right...? "I mean, yeah! Let's skip past the two cards that could give us a higher chance of getting useful items instead of the crap Dandy usually sells!" She added angrily.
Shelly felt her heart shatter a bit. She opened her mouth to apologize to Vee but she was a bit too late. The elevator had already opened and Vee had marched out the elevator. Shelly slowly walked out of the elevator. As the door slammed down with a loud bang, she looked around to see if she could spot Vee. Negative. She sighed. Maybe she could apologize to Vee later...
She went to find the closest machine. As she kept walking, it was like she was walking on thin ice that was cracking with each step she took. She managed to find an untouched machine. She started to extract the ichor from the machine, her hands trembling as she spun the valve. It was like she was a ticking time bomb. She could feel the world around her get blurrier as emotions flooded her mind. She tried to brush it off but the thoughts and feelings and emotions caught up to her once more. Vee's words echoed in her mind, no matter how hard Shelly tried to push them away. She took a deep breath then exhaled. She needed to calm down.
It only seemed to work for a moment. Right as she heard the ding of the finished machine, she could feel tears start falling down her face. Shelly wiped them away as she scurried past the twisteds to find another machine. She managed to find an open machine. By this point, four of the six machines had already been completed. As she started to twirl the crimson red valve, Shelly heard the faint sound of footsteps. Despite the tears still falling down her face, she whipped her head around to see who was there. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a glimpse of a familiar cornflower blue blanket.
"Astro?" She said, quickly wiping away her tears.
"Oh, hi Shelly," he replied. Shelly could feel her body trembling as she rotated the valve. She gazed around before noticing the last machine across from her.
"Oh, I didn't see the last machine there, haha!" She said, trying her hardest to smile. Astro must've been able to see right through her.
"Shelly, are you alright...?" He asked. He tilted his head. She felt her blood run cold. Had he guessed she was upset about what Vee said? Or was she just too obvious?
"Pfft, yeah!" She said, lying through her teeth. Her voice was shaky and low, hoping that she wouldn't give herself away. Astro had a skeptical expression on his face, as if he could sense she was lying. Although she just wanted to deny it all and keep going, there was a small part that hoped someone would comfort her.
"Are you sure...?" He queried. "You look really upset..." She could see the genuine concern in his eyes, and felt a pang of guilt for lying.
"I-I'm sure," she mumbled. She shifted her gaze back towards the machine, about halfway full.
"Alright... let me know if you ever need to talk," Astro offered. She nodded her head slightly as he walked towards the nearby machine. After a few passing moments of silence, he spoke up again. "...are you upset about what Vee said in the elevator?" He asked. Shelly froze in shock. She fixated her sight on the valve, as she completed a skill check.
"I- yeah," she murmured, "it's just..." She struggled to find the right words. She let out a small sigh. "Do you think going with Covetous or Blind Grab would've been a better choice?" She asked.
Astro shook his head. "I thought Sparkplug was a good choice..." He responded. "I think Vee was just upset she was outvoted by everyone else.."
"I guess," she sighed. "It's just... why did she have to yell at me?" Shelly could feel the emotions starting to flood back to her. She quietly sniffled as tears started to fill her eyes once again. Sadness came over her, like a wave crashing onto the shore but it consumes the sand more and more with each time it returns to the bay. "I was just asking what she was gonna choose..."
"Vee... definitely did overreact a bit," he mumbled. Shelly felt her heart lift a bit, but only for a moment. The sandy colored ammonite was still quietly crying, the only background noise that was able to filter out the sound of teardrops hitting the floor was the ichor slowly filling the machines. Speaking of which, the machine Shelly was extracting from let out a small ding, indicating her job was done. Astro must've noticed that. "You should get to the elevator.." He mumbled.
She hesitated a moment. On one hand, she really wanted to get to the elevator because it would be one step closer to ending this damned run. On the other hand, she wanted to stay and continue talking to Astro. She wasn't sure if she could make that choice just yet. A tiny part of her just wanted to stay here for eternity, and hope the others would forget they left her here.
"I'd rather stay here," she replied. Astro paused for a moment, stopping the ichor from filling the machine briefly. He turned around, facing Shelly. The ammonite still had tears falling down her face. Never once in her life had she ever heard Astro gasp in shock the way he did.
"Shelly!" He gasped. She couldn't tell if it was shock or something else. She looked at Astro in the eyes. Everything around her just felt hazy. All she could think about was probably how ridiculously childish she looked in that moment.
"Sorry," she whispered. "I probably look so childish." She averted her gaze away from him. All she could think of was how childish she looked. She was supposed to be Shelly the Ammonite- the sweet, energetic toon who always helped put a smile on others peoples faces. But now, she could barely form a smile on her own. "I'm sorry..." She wiped away her tears.
"Shelly, what are you apologizing for...?" He replied. "You don't look childish at all..." Shelly wanted to acknowledge that he was probably right, but she was too overwhelmed with emotions to realize it. She shifted her sight towards the ground in embarrassment. She wiped her tears again, trying to find the right words. It just seemed to slip from her mind anytime she went to open her mouth, leaving her more upset than before.
She managed to finally speak. Her voice barely audible, she said, "I don't want Vee to hate me." She slipped into a small corner, embarrassed. Astro sat down beside her. She caught a flash of sympathy in his eyes. "I was just voicing my opinion," she whispered.
"I'm sure she doesn't hate you," he said in a soft tone. "She must've just been frustrated about being outvoted." Shelly saw sense in what he was saying, but it didn't do much to ease the sadness. What did help was that he was comforting her, instead of walking past or just telling her to 'suck it up.'
Shelly looked at Astro. He had a small smile on his face, one that made her feel like everything was gonna be okay. "Thank you for being here," she mumbled. "It's making me feel a lot better..."
"No problem..." He replied. "I'm glad to be your friend.." That sentence made Shelly feel warm inside. She leaned over and gave him a hug. She could tell he was shocked a bit, but his surprised expression quickly faded into a smile. She wiped away the tears on her face. Finally, the tears stopped streaming. She stood up, and offered her hand.
"Go do that last machine," she smiled. Astro stood up, and walked towards the last machine. He twirled the valve with his magic as the two stood in silence. As the ding rang out, the two raced each other to the elevator. As the elevator closed tight, the two shared a small glance. It was brief, but full of appreciation. She stopped trembling, she stopped crying. She was just happy to have had a friend like Astro be so kind and comfort her.