Chapter Text
It was nighttime, and the founders, Dandy, Bassie, and Cocoa, brought in Easter decorations for the spring season. It was the first year they were ever doing this, and Bassie and Cocoa were excited. “Alright! We got everything!” Cocoa beamed.
“I’m so excited about doing an Easter Event this year!” Dandy cheered.
“Same!” Bassie cheered. “And I’ll be the one to put up the decorations this year!”
Oliver yawned. “Well, we can set them up tomorrow. Right now, I’m tired.”
“Me too.” Lewis replied, yawning as well.
“That’s alright. I can stay behind and set up the decorations.” Bassie said, grabbing the banner from the box.
Everyone looked at each other. They knew Bassie was learning to be more independent and self-confident, but the group noticed the basket toon started to take her independence too far. “You sure, darling?” Lewis asked. “I mean, we can all work together tomorrow to get everything up.”
Bassie shook her head. “Don’t worry, Lewis, I’ll just get a head start on it and then head home for the night.” She reassured them before letting out a cough. The basket toon started to have a cough a few days ago, and it sounded like it was getting worse.
“That cough you got Bass, is starting to sound worse.” Dandy pointed out.
“It’s just spring allergies, Dandy.” Bassie reminded him, though the cough didn’t sound like it came from allergies. “I’ll be okay.”
“Well, okay.” Dandy replied, still unsure of his friend’s condition.
“Just call us if you need anything.” Cocoa added.
Bassie nodded. “I will, don’t worry.”
The group looked at one another and left the basket toon alone while they grabbed their stuff and left the facility, each saying good night to Bassie. The last two to leave were Sara and Dandy, but before they left, Sara left her key on the table. “In case you want to call it a night, my key is right on the table. Lock up when you’re done.” She reminded Bassie, who was now putting up the banner.
“Got it!” Bassie replied, not looking up at the girl.
Sara and Dandy looked at each other, hoping Bassie was going to be alright. “Well, night Bass.” Dandy said as he closed the door and left with Sara.
Bassie waved goodbye and watched as Sara’s car left the parking lot. Once she was alone, Bassie sighed as she got determined. “Alright! Time to show everyone I’m not dependent. I can do this myself.” She said to herself. Bassie gathered the decorations and started to put them up in places she deemed fit. At times, she felt sleepy and wanted to call it quits to get some sleep, but she shook it off and continued working until sunrise.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
By morning, Eric, Ridley, Cocoa, and Carly came to the Dreamworld Facility. Lewis sent Eric a message about Bassie staying after hours to work on Easter decorations. Eric texted Bassie about needing to come home, but she didn’t reply. The following morning, Cocoa tried to call Bassie, but she didn’t reply, and it worried everyone.
“I hope Bassie is alright.” Cocoa said, gripping her Glazed Fondant Bag.
“I’m sure she is. She’s a hard worker.” Ridley reassured his bunny friend.
“Still,” Carly spoke up as the two toons turned to her. “Bassie would’ve called, letting us know if she was okay.”
Eric went to open the door and was surprised to see it was unlocked. “Uh, she didn’t lock up?” He asked. Eric walked in and looked around to see the Easter decorations up, but some of the decorations looked sloppy due to the tiredness Bassie was going through.
“Wow!” everyone exclaimed, looking at the decorations.
“Bassie really outdid herself.” Cocoa commented.
“Yeah, but some decorations could see better days.” Carly added, looking at one of the banners about to fall.
Eric didn’t see the basket toon and started to worry the worst. “Bassie!” He called out. The basket toon didn’t answer. “Bassie! Where are you?!”
A groan was heard, and coming out from the hallway was Bassie. The basket toon looked weak and groggy, her eyes were bloodshot with bags underneath them, and her face had a tint of red. “Morning, guys, what’s up?” Bassie asked, her voice sounding raspy.
The group looked shocked at Bassie’s condition. “Bassie!” Eric yelled, running to her. He then placed his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Bassie nodded. “I’m fine.” She replied before coughing. She tried to take one step, but Bassie passed out. Before she fell, Eric caught her.
“BASSIE!” Carly, Cocoa, and Ridley yelled as they ran to her.
Eric felt her forehead and saw that Bassie was burning up with a fever. Eric wondered if this was due to Bassie overworking herself or if it was a sign of the cough she got a few days back. “Carly, call Lewis and the others and let them know Bassie is sick!” Eric commanded his daughter.
Carly nodded and grabbed her phone from the bag as she called Lewis.
“What do you want us to do?” Cocoa asked.
“One of you go get a wet towel to put over Bassie’s head.” Eric said.
“On it!” Ridley yelled as he dashed off to the bathrooms to get a wet towel.
Cocoa decided to stay with Eric and Bassie; she frowned seeing her best friend sick. “Bassie, please get better.” She whispered.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Bassie woke up and gasped that she had fallen asleep in the middle of decorating for the Easter event. She looked around and saw she fell asleep inside the closet. Quickly getting up, she tried to leave, but the door was locked.
“Oh no.” Bassie whimpered. She couldn’t be locked in, she couldn’t be! Bassie tried knocking on the door, but no one could hear her as the sounds of kids laughing and having fun drowned out her voice. Bassie started punching the door, in hopes someone, anyone, could let her out. “Let me out! Please, someone let me out!”
The basket toon cried as she felt her body grow, especially her right arm, turning black due to ichor and longer.
“Sara!” Bassie cried. “Ridley! Oliver! Lewis! COCOA!” Her voice got raspier as Bassie turned into her twisted form.
“LET ME OUT!”
Bassie gasped as she awoke. She saw she wasn’t locked up and turning twisted, but in her room, and Eric, Cocoa, and Carly were watching her. Bassie was now out of her usual outfit and was wearing a pink two-piece pajama with the shirt having a white tulip blooming from the grass, and the pants being covered in the same tulips.
Cocoa smiled as she leaned in closer to her friend. “Bassie! You're awake!” She exclaimed.
Eric put his hand over Cocoa to prevent her from getting closer. “Careful, Cocoa, I don’t want Bassie to be overwhelmed and you to be sick.”
Bassie let out a cough, “w-what happened?” She asked, groaning.
“You overworked yourself and passed out.” Carly explained. “Which is why you’re sick with a 103-degree fever, so we brought you home.”
Bassie slowly got up, but felt lightheaded due to her illness. “B-But what about-” She was about to ask about the Easter event, but Eric cut her off.
“Don’t worry about it. Everyone got it under control.” Eric reassured her.
“W-What?” Bassie was confused.
“We’re gonna help run the Easter event until you’re feeling better, Bassie!” Cocoa exclaimed.
Bassie felt her stomach drop as her anxiety peaked. She couldn’t be sick at this time, not when the Easter event was near. The basket toon was breathing heavily, coughing in between, as she felt like throwing up.
Eric took notice of Bassie’s panic attack and put his hand on top of hers. Bassie slowly calmed down as she turned to the man. “Um…guys, let me talk with Bassie for a bit, you wait downstairs until I come down.”
Cocoa and Carly looked at one another and back at Eric. “Okay dad.” Carly said. The two left Bassie’s room, leaving the man and the basket toon alone.
Eric turned to Bassie, seeing her taking deep breaths, which then turned into coughs. “Bassie, breathe nicely and slowly. Okay.” He said, slowly rubbing her hand.
Bassie nodded and did what Eric told her to do. Soon, Bassie started to relax; the anxiety lingered, but it wasn’t bad. She took a few more deep breaths before calming down. Eric gave her a small smile and handed her a cup of water that was sitting by her bedside desk.
“Here, drink some water.” Eric offered.
Bassie grabbed the water from Eric and slowly drank it. She finished the glass and let out a sigh. “Thank you, Eric.” She replied.
Eric gave a small smile. “Anytime.” He said. “Now get some rest, and I’ll get you some soup.”
Bassie sighed and gave a nod as she lay back down. Eric rubbed her head and walked out of Bassie’s room and closed the door, but not all the way. Once Eric was gone, Bassie sighed as she pulled the blanket over her and tried to get some rest.
Downstairs, Carly and Cocoa waited on the couch for Eric to come down and bring up Bassie’s condition. Once they heard footsteps, they looked up and waited for Eric to speak up about Bassie. “So how is she?” Carly asked, being the first one to speak up.
“Sick, though she’s not taking it well since it's time for the Easter event.” Eric explained.
“Well,” Cocoa spoke up. “I know Delilah made me the backup toon to run Easter if anything happened to Bassie, but I’d rather help you take care of Bassie until she’s better.”
Eric smiled, seeing Cocoa wanting to help care for Bassie, then run the Easter event. Despite their past, Cocoa chose loyalty over being a face at a holiday event. He gave a light chuckle and petted the bunny’s head between her ears. “You’re such a loyal rabbit, Cocoa.” He said.
Cocoa giggled in reply. “I just love helping others.”
“That’s good. Later, I’m gonna make some soup for Bassie. You're welcome to help me.” Eric offered.
“Sure!” Cocoa exclaimed, jumping on the couch.
Eric chuckled, and soon his phone started to ring. He took it out of his pocket and saw that it was Lewis calling to check on him. “Hey Lewis!” He said, answering the call. He heard Lewis speak on the other line as Eric listened. “Bassie is alright, just resting, but I think today we’ll be home to watch her.” Eric paused as Lewis continued to talk. “Cocoa, no, she wants to stay and help care for Bassie.”
Cocoa looked up at Eric once she heard her name, and once he said she wanted to help care for her friend, she nodded quickly as her tail wagged.
“Thanks for understanding, Lewis. I’ll check up on you guys tomorrow. Bye.” Eric said as he hung up the phone.
“What did Lewis want?” Carly asked.
“Just checking on Bassie and how she’s doing.” Eric answered. “He wanted to know if you were coming into Dreamworld to help with the decorating, but I told him you want to help care for Bassie.”
Cocoa nodded quickly in reply. “Yep. I can help out anytime before the event ends.”
Eric smiled. “Lewis and his friends might swing by to check on Bassie.” He mentioned.
“Okay!” Cocoa replied.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Bassie woke up and groaned. She hoped that rest would make her feel better quicker, but she felt dizzy. The basket toon didn’t want to sleep anymore and decided to lie down and turn the TV on. She flipped through channels until she stopped on the cooking channel and put it at the lowest volume. She watched the show for a bit before she heard a soft knock on the door. “Come in.” Bassie said, weakly. The door opened and it was Cocoa, causing Bassie’s eyes to widen as she glared at the rabbit toon. “What are you doing here?”
“Helping Eric bring you soup.” Cocoa replied. She opened the door wider, revealing Eric holding a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Seeing Eric made Bassie relax, but now she felt bad glaring at Cocoa.
Bassie strengthened herself so she could eat her soup. Eric and Cocoa walked over to her as the man handed the basket toon her soup. “Thank you.” She said as she slowly ate her soup. It tasted good, it tasted homemade, then from a can like Delilah made for the toons when they were sick.
“How was it?” Cocoa asked. “I helped Eric make it!”
Bassie stopped eating and stared at the bowl. Her intrusive thoughts wanted her to be disgusted and throw the bowl at Cocoa, but with Eric being here, she had to hold it in. The last time Cocoa helped someone to take care of her, it didn’t end well.
“Don’t worry.” Eric spoke up. “I watched and helped her.”
Bassie felt her intrusive thoughts disappear and relax a bit before continuing to eat her soup. “Do you need anything else?” Cocoa asked.
“I’m fine for now, Cocoa.” Bassie answered.
Cocoa’s tail twitched. “Okay, just let me know if you need anything!” She beamed before leaving the room and headed back downstairs. Once she was gone, Bassie sighed, finally getting some peace and quiet from her fellow toon.
“You shouldn’t worry about Cocoa too much.” Eric spoke up. “She just wants to help you.”
Bassie sighed and continued eating her soup in silence. Once she finished her soup, she put it on the counter and sat there silently.
“Bassie, what’s wrong?” Eric asked.
“Everything.” Bassie whispered. “I thought I could do an entire Easter event by myself, with no help, and I ended up sick!” She raised her voice before letting out a cough. Eric frowned, hearing the toon vent out of her frustrations. “I’ve always tried everything to show I’m not just dependent, that I’m worthy of being a main, but all I do is make Delilah see that I’m not worthy of being a main and I should be replaced!” Tears started to fall on the basket toon’s eyes as she let out a sob.
Eric knew from Sara about Bassie’s predicament back when Gardenview was open. He was furious that Delilah would make that kind of decision and was even more shocked at how many other decisions Delilah made for the toons to where therapy was needed. Though Delilah had remorse for some of her decisions, she believed they were made for the good.
“Maybe Delilah was right, I’m not worthy of being a main.” Bassie whispered as an ichor tear fell from her eyes.
“That’s not true Bassie.” Eric spoke up. “You have the right to be a main character. That’s what you were created for!”
“I know that!” Bassie snapped. “I thought everything was okay, I thought I didn’t have to worry about losing my main status, but why does it hurt?” She coughed.
Eric sighed and put his hand behind Bassie’s back and rubbed it. “Trauma doesn’t just go away quickly. I wish that were the case, but it’s not.” He explained. “Bass, it’s not a crime you're dependent, but you’ve been getting better and better at being independent than you were back then.”
“Yeah, and this year I ended up getting sick. IT’s always when I’m trying to be independent that shit goes wrong.” Bassie cried.
Eric frowned and had to think of something to cheer Bassie up. “You know I was in your place at one time.” He started. Bassie stopped crying and wiped the tears from her eyes. “With my memory loss condition, I was always seen as a burden to my classmates and even to some family members. No one wanted me around except my mom.”
Bassie sniffled. “Well, you're lucky you got friends and even work at Dreamworld.” She sobbed.
Eric nodded. “True. But there were things I wanted to do, but with my condition, no one could trust me.” He explained, looking down. Bassie frowned too. Even though she and Eric were both dubbed dependent, it was for two different reasons. “However, despite my condition. I made friends, became a teacher, and now I’m working with my students to help their dreams come true.”
Bassie gave a small smile, hearing that. “I guess that’s true.” She said as she let out a cough.
Eric pulled Bassie close to her. “You’re strong and special, Bassie. Even if you're dependent, you're not weak, my little tulip.” He said.
Bassie felt her eyes tear up as she let out a sniffle. She told herself she wasn’t going to cry, but the tears threatened to fall out, and she let out a sob. She then went into Eric’s arms and cried. “Thank you, Dad!”
Eric’s eyes widened, but he wasn’t surprised since he was told by Lewis’ mom that he was everyone’s dad. Though he always saw Bassie as another child to him, the same with Cocoa and Ridley.
“Anytime, my little tulip.” Eric said, hugging Bassie back.
Outside of Bassie’s door, Carly and Cocoa watched the scene unfold and smiled seeing Eric help Bassie out. “Carly.” Cocoa whispered.
“Yeah.” Carly whispered back.
“Does that make Bassie part of your family?” Cocoa asked.
Carly nodded. “To be honest, both of you have been family to us.” She confirmed, hugging the rabbit toon tight. Cocoa smiled widely as her tail wagged. She was happy to be part of a family.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Today was Easter, and by then Bassie felt a lot better and was able to help with the Easter event over the past couple of days. To celebrate today, Sara bought an outfit for the basket toon to wear today. The outfit was a blue overall dress with a pocket in the middle, worn over a yellow shirt with green and pink stripes. Her stockings also matched her shirt.
“Wow! You look great Bassie!” Ridley exclaimed, seeing his best friend/sister in her Easter outfit.
Ridley, too, wore an Easter outfit, which was a pair of yellow overalls with splatters of red, blue, and green paint, over a long-sleeved white shirt. His signature top hat was yellow with a sunflower on the side, as well as more splatters of paint.
Bassie giggled. “Thanks, Ridley.”
A knock was heard, and the two toons turned to it. “Come in!” They both said. The door opened, and Eric came in holding something behind his back.
“Hey, you two.” Eric said. He paused to see Bassie and Ridley in their spring outfits. “Wow, you two look great!”
“Thanks!” Ridley and Bassie exclaimed in reply. “I don’t know how Sara got my size, but this outfit is so cute!”
“It’s actually Sara’s old clothes. She got a lot from Arthur when she was a kid, and because they don’t fit her anymore, if they fit us, we can keep it.” Bassie explained.
Ridley looked at his outfit and smiled. “Hey, if it fits. I like it.” He replied.
“Speaking of outfits.” Eric spoke up. “Bassie, I got you a gift for the Easter event.” He revealed the item behind his back, which was a pink and purple spotted box.
Bassie’s eyes widened. She was about to grab the box, but got nervous. She remembered the last time she got her trinket as a gift during Easter, and it ended up causing her many problems and distress.
“You okay, Bassie?” Ridley asked, tilting his head.
“Not really.” Bassie replied, holding on to the basket handles on her head. “Last time I got a gift for Easter, it gave me…problems.”
Eric frowned a bit before giving a small smile. “Well, maybe this gift will change that.” He said, handing the gift box to her.
Bassie looked at the box again and grabbed it from Eric. She scanned the box and didn’t see anything suspicious about it. Though she said the same thing when Cocoa gave her that flower. Slowly, Bassie opened it, and her eyes widened in amazement.
Curious, Ridley wanted to see inside the box, and his eyes too beamed in amazement.
Inside the box was a blue and brown backpack with a B stitched on the top.
Bassie felt like she was ready to cry at this point. Her backpack looked handmade rather than from the store. She grabbed it from the box and put it on her. A smile appeared on her face, seeing it fit right.
“Sara showed me the outfit she gave you, and I decided to add a cute backpack with it.” Eric explained. “I know you like egg hunting and carrying your pressed flower book, so this could help-“ Eric paused, seeing Bassie tear up and run over to hug him.
“Thank you! Thank you so much, Dad!” Bassie cried.
Eric smiled. That was the second time Bassie called him dad. “Anytime, my little Tulip. Anytime.” He said, hugging Bassie back.
Ridley sobbed, which grabbed the attention of the two. The lemur toon used his tail to wipe his eyes, but the tears kept falling.
Eric and Bassie looked at one another and held their arms out for Ridley to join in on the hug. The lemur toon looked surprised.
“Really?” Ridley asked.
Bassie nodded, and not a moment too soon, Ridley hugged the two tightly. Eric and Bassie chuckled, hugging the lemur toon back.
To Bassie, she considered this Easter Event one of the best ones, as it was the first one she had ever felt truly loved.