Chapter Text
The story begins with Astro waking up in a place he doesn't recognize, surrounded by complete darkness. He wakes up and looks around himself, confused.
"W-What? Where am I..?"
He stands up and begins walking forward while still looking around. But he couldn't see anything, only darkness was around him.
"Hello?! Is anyone there?"
No response.
Then, he notices something in a distance. He moves forward, first slowly, then faster. His heart pounding harder with every step. As he gets closer, that strange object becomes clearer.
It turns out to be... Vee. Or rather her lifeless body.
"Vee?!"
He grabs her body and shakes it.
"Vee, wake up!"
But that didn't work. His hands begin to shake.
"...What is going on here?"
With no other choice, Astro was forced to keep moving forward. A few moments later, he came across Sprout and Pebble, who were also dead. Astro just stood frozen for a few seconds, staring at them, as he knew there was nothing he could do.
Deep inside his heart, he prayed he wouldn't come across a specific toon's body. But unfortunately, his fears soon came to the reality...
"Is that..? No... NO, NO, NO!"
It was Shelly's lifeless body laying on the ground. Astro runs up to it and shakes it.
"Shelly! You gotta wake up!" Nothing.
"Don't leave me, p-please!" His voice begins to break. Still nothing.
Seeing this, Astro began sobbing while tightly holding Shelly.
"Shelly... I'm so sorry." *hic* "I couldn't protect you. I never told you... that I love you." *hic*
For a few seconds, only his cries could be heard, but then...
A strange sound, almost like a roar, echoed. He looked around, but he couldn't see anything.
Then, he felt something breathing on his neck. But he was too horrified to turn around and see what it was. Or who it was...
Unfortunately for him, it turned to be Twisted Dandy. He was the one responsible to this horror that Astro saw with his eyes, but now... he's here to finish what he started.
--- Black screen ---
--- Loud explosion sound ---
Astro: *opens his eyes, gasps and bolts upright*
"Oh... thank God, it was just a bad dream..." *rubs his face* "What time is it?"
He looks at the digital clock beside his bed. It shows 1:03 AM.
He stares at it for a moment.
"1:03. I should go back to sleep."
But as he lays down, he hears someone knocking on his door.
"Huh? Who could that possibly be at this hour?"
Someone knocks again, but a bit harder this time.
Astro slowly sits up and then gets out of bed - "Coming!"
Once he opens the door, he sees...
"Shelly?"
Yes, it was Shelly, standing in her dinosaur onesie, completely silent. Her eyes were red.
Astro wasn't really sure what to do.
"Shelly, what are you doing here at this hour? Everything okay?"
Shelly was still silent. This lasted for a few more seconds before she dropped on her knees and started crying. Astro, worried, got closer to her.
Astro: "Woah hey Shelly! Why are you crying?"
Shelly: "I-I'm sorry..." *hic*
This answer only made Astro feel more worried.
Astro: "Shelly, what are you sorry for? What happened?"
Shelly: *still sobbing*
Astro: "Hey, everything is okay Shelly. Come on."
He grabbed both of her hands and helped her get up. Then they both slowly walked towards Astro's bed. Once they reached it, they sat down.
Astro: "So... can you tell me what happened?"
Shelly wiped down tears and started speaking with trembling voice.
Shelly: "I... had a nightmare. And in it, I saw all of the mains being dead. Vee... Sprout... Pebble... and..."
Astro: "...and?"
Shelly: "...and you." *starts sobbing again* "I was so scared. I don't want to lose you Astro..."
At this moment, Astro has a realization that his dream and Shelly's were identical...
Astro (in his mind): "Shelly had the same nightmare as I did... could this mean something? Either way, this is not currently important. She needs me."
Astro puts his hand on Shelly's shoulder.
Astro: "Hey. Whatever happened in that dream wasn't real. Look, I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"
Shelly: *nods*
Astro: "Come here." *tightly hugs Shelly* "I will always be there for you Shelly. I promise."
Shelly's eyes widen.
Shelly: "R-Really? You promise..?"
Astro: "I promise."
Hearing this, Shelly's eyes began slowly watering up again and she tightly hugged Astro back, burying her face in his chest.
Shelly: "Thank you Astro... thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means to me..."
Shelly: "Also... can I stay with you tonight..?"
Astro: *smiles gently* "Of course you can."
They both lay down on Astro's bed, with Shelly being on the right side.
Astro: "You feeling comfortable?"
Shelly: "Mhmm."
Astro: "That's good. Good night then, Shelly."
Shelly: "Good night..."
Astro closes his eyes, but Shelly doesn't. A few seconds pass.
Shelly: "Astro..?"
Astro: "Mmm?"
Shelly reaches over and gently grabs Astro's hand.
Shelly: "Thank you again... for everything. You are the best."
Those words made Astro blush a bit.
Astro: "Oh... umm..."
Shelly noticed Astro's blushing.
Shelly: "Oh Astro I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"
Astro: "It's fine Shelly, really. I'm really glad to hear that. Seeing you smile... it makes me happy."
Blush appeared on Shelly's face.
Shelly: "Really..?"
Astro: *giggles* "Yes. Good night Shelly."
Shelly: *yawns* "Good night..."
Shelly finally closes her eyes and goes to sleep. Astro does too.
Half an hour later, Shelly inches closer to Astro and rests her head on his chest. Astro slowly opened his eyes to see this. At first, he was shocked, but then he smiles and wraps his arms around her.
And then he gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Astro: "Sweet dreams, my dear."
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THE END
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Additional version (from Shelly's perspective):
Shelly wakes up and finds herself surrounded by complete darkness.
"H-huh? Where am I..?"
She looks around, trying to find something, but there weren't any physical objects around. She shouted.
"Hello?! Can anyone hear me?!"
But there was no response. Only her echo answered.
"What is this place..?"
With no other option, she was forced to start moving forward. Carefully, step by step, as she wasn't sure if something wasn't hiding inside in the dark, waiting for her to make a mistake. Her hands trembled. After a few minutes of walking, something appeared in the distance.
"What is that?"
As she got closer, that strange object became clearer. It turns out to be Vee's lifeless body.
Shelly's eyes widen in shock.
"VEE!"
She grabbed her body and shook it hard.
"Vee, please wake up!"
Nothing.
"Vee, please!" Her eyes begin to water up.
But still nothing.
Defeated, Shelly leaves Vee and moves forward while wiping out the tears.
"... What is happening here? Is this some sort of nightmare?"
Later on, she finds Sprout and Pebble, who were in the state as Vee.
"Oh god... oh no, no, no..." She covered her mouth and struggled to keep herself from breaking down. Then she forced herself to keep moving forward.
Nothing seemed to be happening for a while, apart from unknown sounds coming out of the dark. Sounds that were similiar to... voices, whispering something. But Shelly couldn't recognize any of them nor she could understand any words. Those voices only made her feel more anxious.
That's when she noticed something familiar in the distance. Or someone.
"No... no, it can't be."
She picks up a pace. A familiar object becomes clearer and clearer with each second.
It was Astro laying on the ground, completely unresponsive.
Her heart felt like it dropped down to the bottom. Her eyes quickly began watering up.
"NO, NO, NO!!"
She grabbed his body and shook it with all her strength she had left.
"ASTRO! Wake up! Please, wake up!!" Nothing. At this point, she could just barely hold herself together.
"Astro please! Don't do this to me!! D-Don't leave me alone!!" Still nothing.
She even tried slapping him, hoping to get some kind of reaction.
But Astro didn't react at all.
"Astro..." *hic*
Seeing this, Shelly completely broke down. She laid her head down on Astro's chest and began crying uncontrollably.
"Y-Y-You were one of the very few that actually cared about me..." *hic* "The one I enjoyed spending time with..." *hic* "The one that always listened..." *hic* "P-Please... come back..."
Suddenly, she began to feel dizzy. Her body went numb. And then everything went black.
--- Black screen ---
Shelly: *opens her eyes and loudly gasps*
*bolts upright and screams*
She can feel her entire body shaking.
"... It was just a bad dream. It was just a bad dream." She kept repeating that while trying to calm herself down. But it felt like it was barely helping.
Then, she remembered what Astro told her one day.
Astro (flashback, with a calm voice): "Shelly, If you ever find yourself in a situation where you can't seemingly calm yourself down, remember to slowly breathe in and out. Trust me, it really helps."
So Shelly did exactly that.
"Breathe in..."
*breathes in slowly*
"Breathe out..."
*breathes out slowly*
She did it again.
"Breathe in..."
"Breathe out..."
She repeated that for 3 more times, until her breath became stabilized. Still, she felt uneasy after the nightmare, she still thought that maybe, just maybe... that nightmare was real.
"I have to go check on Astro... hopefully he's still there..."
She got out her bed and slowly opened the door that led to the hallway.
Eventually she found Astro's room. But she hesitated to knock at first.
Shelly: "What if this wasn't just a dream..? What if... No, snap out of it Shelly. Astro's fine... he has to be."
She slowly reaches out and knocks softly.
A few seconds pass, nothing.
"Come on..."
She knocks again, a bit harder this time.
Then, she hears a voice coming from the room - "Coming!"
The door opens.
Astro: "Shelly?"
--- The rest is the same as in the original version ---