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Gardenview hadn’t been the same since the people disappeared.
The toons stayed together, as close as always but tensions higher than ever. Food ran out too quickly too, they never starved thanks to Dyle, but he couldn’t stop the gnawing hunger in their stomachs as they searched for food between his supply runs. And the missing toons… they don’t talk about them anymore; Astro knows very well how many nightmares his friends have without it being brought up.
Their biggest worry is the ichor. It really is a cruel twist of fate that the same substance turning them into… those things… is what they need to keep the power on.
But this is their life now.
There’s no more kids to bring joy to, no more people to entertain, no more shows to make, and no one to take care of them.
They’re survivors, they have to be.
At least they have each other.
We still have each other.
Astro was snapped out of his train of thought by Vee snapping her fingers at him.
“Come on Astro, you might not be as good at it as me but we really need to get this ichor flowing again, and the door is about to open.”
She wore a charismatic smile as always, but a hint of static betrayed her annoyance. She held her tail in front of her mouth as she amplified her voice for all to hear.
“Alright, you know the drill, complete the machines, grab any food you find on the way, and come back to the elevator the moment you hear it open!”
“We know, we’re on our twelfth floor already, we don't need to hear this again.”
Astro saw the static grow as the TV’s smile twitched and she turned to the bold paintbrush.
Before Vee could say a word to Brusha, Rodger stepped forward.
“We are all well acquainted with the procedure, but I appreciate the clarification to ensure we stay organised. Our priority is to stay safe, and we have all practiced to ensure we do.”
Logical as ever Astro thought, appreciating the attempt to calm things down.
Finally the static quieted, and Astro smiled as Goob stepped forward.
“Yeah don’t worry guys, I’ll keep you safe!! And if anybody gets hurt, yell and I’ll hug you to safety!”
Goob’s giant smile was infectious, the elevator now bright and friendly as he wrapped his arms around himself three times and spun.
CLUNK
Smiles died as they looked out to the floor. A gift shop, if the plushies and hoodies littering the ground and walls were anything to go by. The toons had never really been allowed in the gift shops, especially not Astro with his nervousness outside of his room, but despite being built like a labyrinth, many of the rooms looked identical, so it was easy to explore an area.
Maybe that’s why they look identical, so nobody can really know where they are. Maybe we were always meant to get lost.
For a moment Astro pondered this, but the moon couldn’t let himself get lost in thought for too long, so he walked out into the shop and prepared to extract the facility’s lifeblood.
For several minutes Astro wandered through fields of clothing racks and forests of shelves, watching for any sign of movement, alert to everything. I’m a survivor, we are survivors, and we will be okay. The chant ran through his head, the only thing keeping him calm in the maze of merchandise as he scanned for a machine.
Eventually, he found one.
The janky old things were difficult to operate - he didn’t have the skill Vee or Shelly did - but he had learned the hard way how to do it without setting the alarms off. He would never forget the scolding from Sprout after that twisted heard the alarm and cut up his face. At least it was better than when Scraps a twisted caught him off guard and tore apart his arm. Patching himself back together in a corner with his medkit wasn’t something he ever wanted to do again, especially not after Shelly saw his ichor stained blanket and wouldn’t stop asking what happened. They didn’t need to know. They couldn’t know. He would make sure they never knew.
Ding
Before he knew it the machine was complete, and he could hear the ichor flowing through the pipes. Satisfied with his work, the moon stepped back, only to spot a box of chocolates down a corridor shooting off from the gift shop. A good meal for him and his team before they hit the next floor. He stepped forward-
Snap
Something grabbed his waist and he was pulled backwards.
A tail lunged towards him, shattered plastic finding its grip in soft flesh.
Hands gripped him gently as red and blue clouded his vision.
Black was all he could see as his fourth arm was tugged free of its binds to hit shattered bone against a familiar paper surface.
He found himself pressed against a familiar furry chest.
“Astro!! We’re almost done, we’ll meet at ele in a few minutes, okay?”
The moon’s breathing slowed as he found himself in Goob’s gentle hold, the friendly toon smiling down at him.
“Yeah.. yeah I’ll be- I’ll be there, I just need to grab a chocolate I saw, okay?”
Goob dropped his arms to the floor and released Astro, holding a thumb up before running to their friends, clearly ready to head back up despite his optimism.
Arms wrapping his blanket tighter and constricting further around his waist, he steeled himself to walk ahead.
The box of chocolates was full, a lovely treat for his friends, and clearly this corridor held more surprises as he spotted a rarity, a true valve. That section of the corridor was dark and shadowed, and Astro noted that he had never seen this layout before. But a valve was enough of a prize to run ahead without a thought, so Astro moved into the shadows.
Lifting his blanket to store the treasures he had found, Astro was too distracted to notice the new room. Only once he looked up from his satchel and readjusted his blanket did he see somewhere new.
It looked almost like the warehouse, he thought, but rainbow carpets painted the floor bright, machines filled every corner, and from the edge of the room he could hear trains rumbling.
“Where-“
As soon as he had started to speak, he stopped, frozen in terror.
Something was in the shadows.
A dark figure loomed, ichor dripping from its body to pool on the floor as it stared. Bright red pupils pierced into his artificial soul from that shadow, and for a moment Astro almost thought he knew those eyes.
He should have run.
He should have fought.
He should have screamed or called for help.
But as the figure emerged to tower over him, Astro realised none of it would have mattered. Not with who he faced now.
Technicolour claws tore concrete as he it stepped forward, marks filled with ichor as it dripped from emaciated ribs. The tapes they all traded hung from its form, the torn ropes holding a prisoner that broke free. Its neck lowered to stare and Astro recoiled in horror. That twisted grin, those stained petals, those red eyes, they all belonged to his friend.
“… Dandy…?”
For a fleeting moment the moon reached out towards his sun, an instinct to soothe his suffering causing his heart to ache.
The moment passed as warm ichor spilled from his chest, his own screams drowning out the empathy.
Claws sank into blue flesh, drawing a symphony of cries from the little moon. He grabbed at his face while his other arms scrabbled for purchase on the cold floor. Rip. His blanket tore around his friend’s hands claws.
All Astro could do was beg as Dandy raised the ichor stained claws to his fangs and drank, savouring the meal. This wasn’t his friend. This wasn’t Dandy anymore.
Astro ran.
It was all he could do to run. To wrap his arms tight around his chest and hold his organs together. To follow his tracks and pray he wouldn’t get lost in the buried labyrinth.
Finally he heard a voice and sobbed with relief as he rounded a corner to find the elevator, with all his friends standing and chatting.
“HELP! PLEASE- I DON’T- I DON’T- I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BUT I- WE NEED TO GO NOW! PLEASE WE NEED TO GO NOW!”
Hearing the cries, Vee turned from the final machine to face her friend.
“Rodger, take over. Astro are you- ASTRO WHAT HAPPENED?! YOU- you don’t have your blanket… Have you always- are you…?”
The TV stuttered, static filling her screen as she reached toward her friend, lost on the words she should say.
The others turned towards the confusion, only to stop and stare.
Through the panic, it took him a moment to notice what they had seen.
"No."
CLUNK
The elevator opened and everybody backed in except for Astro and Vee.
“Astro please we can get you healed, its not safe out here!"
"NO"
Her little moon stepped back, two of his arms coming up to hide his face while the others kept holding in his ichor.
“NO NO NO YOU WEREN’T MEANT TO SEE IT”
“Please Astro just come in the elevator, it will be okay.”
“N̴̟̟͓̤̐́͊O̷̭̓”
Vee stumbled backwards in fear, static consuming her screen.
“Y̴̖̳͋̐Ö̷̫̎Ư̵̥ ̵͈̱̒W̷̥̌͠ͅĘ̸̦̇̒R̴̛͖E̵͓͝N̶͚̈́͝’̸̖̮͆T̸̢̤̃̋ ̷̻̉͌ͅM̸̙̈̽ͅE̵̟̣͊͘À̸̺̔N̴̨͂̓T̵̺̼͛͊ ̴̲̺̈́T̶͈́O̶̺̥͊ ̴͇̠̆Ṣ̸̿Ę̸͖͂̓E̶̼̽͝”
He lunged forward, shattering the machine as a hand released his face to form a fist.
Ichor drenched his arms now.
His organs spilling out? The power of the facility surging through him? The blood of his friends? He couldn’t tell, his vision blurry as he saw the elevator start to slowly close.
“D̵͚̮̎̈O̵͖̽N̷̦͛’̴̳͛̒T̸̟̐͜ ̸̺̌͑L̵̻̱̍Ȩ̶̺͠Ä̴̩́̑V̵͉͂͑Ḙ̵͠ͅ ̵̨̨̆͝M̵̢̢̈̀Ȇ̷̙ ̷͍̰͂́I̵͚͊ ̴̘̫̀C̴̨͋A̴̻͗N̷̳͑ ̷̩̭̎̌F̵̲̹̎I̷̠͚̍͠X̶̪̊ ̴̤͌Ţ̸́Ĥ̷̬̘Ḭ̶̰͑S”
He hit hard metal as he thudded into the closed elevator.
Please
P̴̜͒͒ĺ̶̛̤e̶̦̝͋͂a̸͉̐s̴͚̀è̶̮͊
Ý̵͔ö̵͈͖́̉u̴̗̓̓ ̷̢̙̀̂w̷͓͙̔ë̵̥̗́̀r̵͎̂e̴̘͓͛ṉ̸̛̀’̴̱̈́ṫ̶̲̰̉ ̸̙̪̂m̶̥͎̊͘e̸̥̐͠a̴̞̒͊n̴̤̠̐̀ṯ̶̀ ̸̫̣͝ť̸̳͛o̵̦̅̕ͅ ̷̟̗̆ṣ̶̋͂ë̵̪̈́e̵̜̤̋ ̵̭̽ţ̴̤̌h̸̹͋e̷̖̽͗m̶͖̓̓
Y̴̨̧̟͎̑o̷̩͕̩̮̠̮͛̓̐͛̚ü̶̡̘͘ ̸̺͈͇͂̓̈̈́́͝͠ẅ̴͔͍̻̜͆͗̓͋͂̕e̸̛̹̹̝̘̜̘̯̓̓̊͋ȓ̷̨̼͓̳̪̣͒̅̕e̴̡̺̽͂̇͑̕͠n̴͔͕͋̌͑’̸̢̟̙̺̖̣̓̋͘͝t̷̨̡̼̀̏͋̍̈̈̎ ̵̛͚̫̏̒͗̇m̵̯̀͂͗̆e̶̺͔̣̐̅a̶̮͍͆͑͐̅͆͜n̸͚͇͈̾̐̃͊͒͋͊ͅẗ̶̰̟͙̺́̊̊͝ ̷̦̙̐́̕͝͝t̷̛̰͍͇͎̰̆͐͋̚o̷͇̗͇̞͇̔ͅ ̴̡̖͔̣̥͆̉̇͌̈͘͝ͅs̴̢̱̀̓̆̅̿ȩ̴̫̲̝͑̾̀̒̒e̸̬͠ ̶̛̰͙̱̾͑ͅm̶̭͇̟̳͚̮͆̓ͅe̴͔̝̥̠͎͎̐̏̀̇̍̈̚.
C̵̳̟̦̜̠̤̳̋̀͗̐ö̷̞͇͇̞͍̘́̾̄̈̇̉̈́ļ̶̩̪̳͆̾̽̾̓d̸̩̤̱̠̈́͜
Ḋ̷͕̎͒͆̈̊̕ä̴̖̞͇̅̈́͗́̓ṙ̷̢͙̩͗͗͆̆ķ̵͍̲͓̣̅̽͂̐͌
Ẁ̴̦h̶̢́y̸͓͑ ̴̖̒ẃ̶͓ó̷̤n̷̞̋’̴̓ͅt̵̥͝ ̶͚̔S̵̤͋c̴͔̈́r̷͕̄ā̵̩p̶͓̄s̶͒͜ ̸͍̒ḧ̵͈ü̵̠r̸̻͗ț̸̈́ ̴̹̔m̷̩͐e?
W̴̤̉h̴̟̀e̴̜̒ȑ̴̙ě̴͓ ̴͙̐ȁ̷̼r̵̫̀e̸̼͆ ̸̨͝m̷̨̕y̵͚͊ ̸̓ͅf̴̮͑ṛ̸̾i̷̯̊e̴͎͠n̶̪͐d̸͊ͅs̸̞͌?̶̥̉
CLUNK
T̸̹̙̤̻̭͑̃h̷̲̥̱̯̾͆̋͋̕ẹ̷̬̎̾́̃͂y̷̜̫͍͗̉̓̽̇̊ ̸̞̜̬̬͂̆̐͐͋c̴̨̡̭̫̫̤̆̀͗̾̎̂a̷̺͓̣͂n̴̺͚̜̮̳̘̔̓’̶̢̘̖͔͆̃̚t̷̼̯̊̉̅́͘ ̸̡̨͖͠s̶̛̤͓̮̀́̌̄e̷̪͚̤͊e̶͈͖͖̻̾̈̂̈ ̴̨̦̗̊̆m̴͓͓̟̞̘̕̕ë̴̡͔͉̥̖́̈͋̏͐̈́
Í̶͔̟͖͚̘͕̮̘̞ͅ ̶̬͔̱̰͕͍̪͎̱̏͌̈́͘Ẃ̷̻̯̞̊̌̀̅̊̐͘͠O̴̢̡̳̻̻̲̰͋͆̂̇̑̎́͑͆N̸̢̢͎̗͙͚͍͕͇̆͗T̸̞̠̋̈́̈́͑́̑ ̸̤͉̱͙͈͔͖͈́́̇̎̽L̶̦̙̭͙͈͙͌̍̂̏̄̑̅͝È̵̡̜̝͉̦͓̇̃T̷͓̝̥̐̌̒͝ ̸̧̛̗̩̺̫͉̮̉͛̾̅̒̄̒T̸̹̋̎̉͒̐̓̏̌͒͒H̷̖̝̺̟͈͛͌̿͌͐̍́͂E̶͎̹̟̮̞̲̅̍͑́̓̋̏̇͠Ḿ̶̠̮̗̭̱̯͈̯̟̲̒̊́̈́͊̒͊ ̴̘̻̪̾͝ͅṠ̷̜̯̿E̸̡̙͇͍͍̜͖͛̈͐͛̌̂E̴͚̱̟͍͇̯͐̍͗͘͜ ̵̡̨̢͉̘͇͘͜M̷̧̢̜̱̬͙̹͖̿́̌̂̓́͘͠ͅE̵̡̢̧͙̞̟̓