Chapter Text
The warehouse was dark. The lights above flickered with a hum, and a spark caused one of the lights to go out. It had been so long since Dandy had seen the world above. He didn't dare go back to his shop— not after what he had done. He had witnessed friends go down over the lies he told. He watched all the other toons he knew follow his word blindly, just because they had trusted him. They heard him speak of people returning for them if they had fixed the ichor problem, if they had just pushed a little harder, if they just went a little deeper. But each trip caused more causalities. Each "run", as some of the toons started calling them, went by, more would get injured. Eventually, someone popped. Splattered. Shrimpo, it must've been. Sprout couldn't heal him in time. Dandy remembers the story as if he was hearing it for the first time.
"He was right there— and then, one of those copies just… got him. It looked like Yatta, but obviously it wasn't. Less bright, hungry, kind of. She was rabid. She came out of nowhere as well! He shouldn't have died!…"
Sprout had told him, teary eyed. Dandy recalled Cosmo having to comfort the strawberry, saying it wasn't his fault. It wasn't, truly. Shrimpo just wasn't fast enough. Everyone knew that.
But it got worse after that. People started…not going on runs as much. Only going if they were forced to. His own pet— Pebble, wasn't as excited to go on a "walk" anymore. Vee was the first one to say something about it after the forth round after Shrimpo's death. Toodles almost died, barely making it to the elevator in time. She cried into Teagan's dress, scared. For good reason. The mock version of Pebble, the "twisted" version, was there on that floor. Wild. Ready to play. Dandy remembers how he made him exactly: just like his own boy. But it didn't come out right.
Vee yelled at him. Yelled at him for around an hour, at least. And he didn't reply. Not once. He was the star, and she wasn't. He knew what he was doing.
That's what he did think, anyways. Now, he was down so far he wasn't sure if he would ever make it back up. Dandy looked down at his claws, rainbow, just like his spiked petals. Ichor stained the tips of them, from his last… problem. He…got mad. He got too mad, at the wrong person. Astro. The ever so patient Astro. He was simply trying to understand. The moon had tried to understand why all of this had to happen— why any of this had even popped into Dandy's head. And he had gotten angry, because he himself didn't know.
Astro, the real one, was somewhere on an upper floor, wandering. Dandy wondered if he was still conscious like he was, but he doubted that. Dandy could control his form. Slightly. He tried to make himself better, after a night of terrible thoughts. It didn't work out, obviously. His body is now contorted, his neck too long, his body stretched out past his comfort. He was giant now, as well. Normally, when he would turn into this form, he would try to return to his original state by watching the tapes he had collected… but what was the point now? Everyone he knows is dead, replaced by hunger and anger.
He didn't even have anyone to pretend to talk to in the warehouse he was in. None of the twisted managed to crawl their way down here, surprisingly. Maybe it was for the better. He did not deserve to see his friends faces after all he had done to them.
A noise. A kkisssh. The elevator had opened. Dandy's head lifted, light pink eyes wide with surprise and confusion. Had he missed someone? Maybe it was Dyle. He had…went missing. Took the train one day, and never came back.
Voices. Not nice, cheery, supposed to be in a show voices, though. Real voices. Human voices.
Anger surged through him. Humans. Arthur. Delilah. Humans. One who had left them all behind to rot. He started to stomp over to the voices, a growl escaping his throat. His heavy footsteps echoed throughout the empty warehouse, a death call to whoever was in there with him. He had reached the elevator, letting out an angry huff. They were already gone, and they were now surprisingly quiet. His petals twitched, and the tapes around his limbs scratched at his body. He would have to listen for any machines…. although there were only….two. Only two? He swore more were down here before….Maybe he went on a rampage he doesn't remember and destroyed the others.
Dandy allowed himself to pad around the warehouse, head turning to search for the beings that had entered. They cannot go far. The warehouse was quite small, admittedly. The only thing that made it seem large was the high roof.
Ding!
A machine had been completed. Dandy swung around, racing toward the noise. He growled, claws scrapping against the concrete floor. When he turned the corner, no one was there unfortunately. He shook his head in anger, scowling. He scans the area, just in case he had missed a glimpse of someone. A shattered machine was the only thing he spotted, along with the ichor filled one. That confirms I got angry, Dandy thought bitterly. He paws at the floor, claws screeching. Three white marks in the floor, telling that he had been there. He turned his head, eyes wide as he noticed a shadow gliding by. A woman, it seemed. She had long hair, it blowing behind her as she ran, and Dandy gave chase.
His feet pounded against the ground, a grin on his face. He swerved a corner, almost colliding with a fence that kept a forklift encased in a corner. He found himself out in the open, letting out a shriek of frustration as they lost sight of the human. Dandy idled, eyes narrowed. An air horn went off behind him, and he spun around immediately.
A man. Relatively average height, brown hair with stubble. His clothes were all black; a jacket on top of a turtleneck with loose pants. This stranger had boots on as well…and a belt with a ring of keys and a—
Something shot at Dandy's side, a pained yelp coming from him. Something was jammed into him, and he couldn't see what it was— It hurt! Like a giant needle into his body! What was happening?! It whipped it's head back to the man, who had a gun pointed straight at his face now. He wasn't running. Dandy let out a roar, lion-sounding, and ran at him. Then more things were shot into him. More needles, maybe. He was starting to feel…tired. He couldn't let this take him down. Not when he's being hurt. He cannot die. He cannot die now. Dandy charged at the man, his movements sluggish. The stranger avoided with ease, leading Dandy on a chase.
Dandy's brain began to fog…. his breathing was slowing as well. This wasn't normal. What was happening? He stuttered in the chase, legs and arms tensing up before accepting the new phase of running. He slammed to the ground, limbs giving out. Tears pooled in his eyes. No. No, no no no. No. No. No. This can"t happen. He can't die. He cannot go like the rest of them had— he wasn't supposed to!
The world went black.