Chapter 1: Warning!
Chapter Text
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Hello! Thanks for checking out my work, glad you did! But before you continue reading, I recommend you understand and heed the warnings as I will list below beforehand, however, if you want to skip this and head straight into the story, you can! Though, I won’t be responsible for any sort of mental anguish you may or may not experience later on, hehe. Now, with that said, below this are the warnings!
Smut:
☆ This work contains a lot of smut. This should be obvious but minors should not be reading this work!
Swearing and slurs:
☆ Foul language and use of certain slurs! With the story being set in the time it is, there is certainly going to be quite a bit of homophobia, transphobia and ableism. I will not use any slurs I cannot reclaim and I will use anything sensitive in moderation.
Kinks:
☆ Some characters in this work have very unusual kinks, which will show clearly or subtly in the characters’ interactions, but mostly in sex scenes! I will put a warning in the end notes of each chapter that will list any kinks that appear in the chapter if there are any.
Gore and violence:
☆ Major warnings for graphic and vivid depictions of gore and death, yes I will be writing most of it with no filter so if you aren’t comfortable with that, please do not read this work.
Major and minor character death:
☆ This work and any that comes after will contain heavy amounts of character death and this applies to every character…
Mental issues and self-destructive behavior:
☆ Depictions and/or mentions of mental illnesses, suicide and self-harm.
Toxic relationships:
☆ This work will contain depictions of toxic and unhealthy relationships. Such as unbalanced power dynamics and codependency. I do not romanticize or condone these types of behavior at all, this work is meant to display what and how the characters deal with their situations and problems and their ways may not be the best…
Emetophobia:
☆ This work is not suitable for people with emetophobia! As the story has a lot of sickness and injuries in it, there will also be depictions of characters puking, if you aren’t comfortable with that, I recommend you click off.
Ships and character relationships:
☆ There’s a lot of ships in this work and any other “GardenView: Replay” works. The relationships of characters will vary from work to work and there may be a lot of changes in the character relations as the story progresses, do not expect a happy ending for any of them, they will not be getting one.
And that’s all! If you’re okay with all these warnings then you’re all set to read through the story of GardenView: Replay 01, system malfunction! Aka Vee’s version.
PS. Updates won’t be frequent since I’m quite a busy adult so please be patient with me! Also, English isn’t my first language but I will try my best to make it a fun and smooth read! Thanks again for reading and let’s hop onto the next chapter ♡, Chapter 01: Power on.
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Chapter Text
Beginning of Chapter 01, Power on. ``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~``
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``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~`` Start of day 01!
How long has it been? Since that day?
They all packed up and left with no more than a promise that they would return, someday… Someday. The toon handlers shared a special bond with their toons, or so she thought, so how could they just leave like that?
She thought Miss Veronica actually cared for her, she was like a mother to her. Vee couldn’t feel actual emotions but her AI programming is telling her that she should be upset, sad, angry?
Gardenview used to be so lively, bustling with children and adults alike, filled with sounds and music, like some sort of sensory overload nightmare.
And Vee, having been a main, was arguably one of the most popular toons in the center and according to her, very much better than Dandicus Dancifer himself.
But does that really matter now?
…
As much as she hoped it would, it doesn’t change the fact that no one cares about it now. And soon she’ll be forgotten by all. Her hard work will pay off to nothing and it hurts her to think that.
…
“Vee… Are you okay?” She felt a hand on her back, pausing her thoughts and turning her screen to face the voice. The eyes that met her artificial ones were soft, round with the most breathtaking brown color she’d ever seen.
The TV’s system expelled excess gas, coming out like a long sigh.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Her voice glitched, she probably needed an update but she didn’t really have the time at the moment so it’ll have to wait. The shell beside her looked so worried, it was making her feel bad for even causing her to be worried, fuck, she’s going soft.
The TV’s room was clean, neat and sleek. Books set perfectly into shelves and desk tidy. Her bed was a simple king-size mattress with white bed sheets, a large white blanket that hung off the bedframe and two pillows.
Shelly tugged on her sleeve. “Listen, you don’t have to go on that mission, okay? I can go, your system’s fragile and…” The ammonite averted her eyes, brows knit.
“I don’t want you to get hurt…” She continued.
This woman was going to be the death of her, she couldn’t deny it felt nice to be cared about like that though.
The mission was in just a day, their objective is to extract as much ichor as possible to keep the facility running, or at least that’s what Dandy said, though Vee would be lying if she ever said she truly believed anything that comes out of that bastard’s mouth. For all she knows, Dandy could be lying, in fact, she’d 100% expect it.
Vee tried to act nonchalant, sitting onto her bed, a dull sound of her body hitting the mattress following after.
“No, don’t underestimate me, Shelly. I can handle myself. You should take care of yourself more instead of worrying about me all the time.” The retro TV’s antennae twitched as the ammonite sat down next to her, leaning onto her shoulder.
“I know… I just can’t help it…” Dull claws held metallic fingers, grip tight. “I love you so much…” Shelly expressed with a soft voice, blush dusting her cheeks.
The robot couldn’t exactly say she feels the same way, sure, she cared about Shelly and wouldn’t want her to be with anyone else but she didn’t know if she could say she “loved” Shelly.
“...Yeah. Love you too.” She responded. Of course, she wasn’t some cruel jerk, she wasn’t going to tell the poor girl something if she knew it’d hurt her. She’s hardly emotional but Shelly didn’t need to know that, of course.
Vee found herself leaning into Shelly, seeking the warmth of the fossil’s body.
Slowly but surely, it devolved into cuddling with the two laying on the bed with arms wrapped around each other.
“I’ll miss you and Astro so much while you two are gone…” Shelly mumbled, speaking into Vee’s chestplate.
“I know, I know…” A monotonous chuckle escaped her speakers. Now that Shelly’s brought up Astro, she’d have an excuse to talk about him, which is always nice, Astro’s always really fun to talk about for her anyway.
“Astro’s going on the mission too, right?” Vee asked, voice never betraying her fondness of the drowsy moon. Shelly nodded in response. Honestly, the robot would be lying if she said that she didn’t feel happy her best friend (and crush) was going too.
It was around 4 p.m. at the time, it was almost time for dinner. Vee wasn’t a huge fan of mealtimes, well, because she couldn’t eat but it also meant she had to go out and talk to people. It was boring hanging around the same group but she’ll damn herself if she tried expanding that small circle. Despite her seemingly large ego and good self-confidence, she loathed having to talk to anyone she wasn’t already close to, which in turn, pushes most people away. Her being unemotional and unwilling to socialize was probably also a big factor in why she had so many exes.
By the time she shook her thoughts away, Shelly was already nearly at the door, but of course, Vee got up right after, rushing to get behind her before she could leave.
The TV wrapped her cold metal arms around the ammonite’s tummy tightly, her screen laid on the shell’s shoulder.
“Vee… Come on, I’m hungry!” Shelly giggled, making no moves to try and get out despite her complaints. This only fueled Vee’s clinginess though.
“No. Not yet.” Her hands slipped downwards and snaked up Shelly’s simple T-shirt, palms cupping her breasts, feeling them up, she nuzzled her ‘face’ into her girlfriend’s neck, exchanging body temperatures. She felt how the shell’s body shivered, feeling a sort of… pleasure from it. “I want you to stay longer.” her screen displayed a stupid, smug grin.
“Hehe! You’re so needy, give me a break!” They were both enjoying this little fondling but Shelly actually is hungry so she attempted to waddle away from Vee a little bit. The TV pouted and obediently retracted her hands, fussily crossing her arms like a spoiled kid.
“What is there for dinner today anyways?” The robot asked and the fossil thought for a second before shrugging.
“Don’t know, guess we’ll find out?” Her claw reached out for the handle, twisting it and opening the door. Beckoning Vee to follow right behind her.
As they made their way to the cafeteria, or well… It used to be a diner but now, it served as a cafeteria for the toons, not like anyone was gonna use it now anyway. They looked around, most of the tables were already occupied, most toons sat with their own friend groups, chatting while some others like Shrimpo were sitting alone. Vee couldn’t tell if the crustacean was sitting alone by choice or because no one wanted to sit with him but that was none of her business and she couldn’t find it in her to give a shit about that somehow-below-the-bare-minimum guy.
Per usual, Vee and Shelly took a quick seat at the table where Astro was sitting, quietly dozing off again.
“Hey, sleepy. Wake up.” The TV teased, moving over to flick him in the forehead. A tiny “Ow” slipped as he sat up to attention.
“H-huh..?” The moon blinked.
Vee smiled, a playful perk in her eyes. “You’re not supposed to snooze at the dinner table, y’know?” She scolded unseriously with Astro sighing lightly in response.
“...Yeah… I know…” The drowsy toon responded with sad eyes, or maybe he was just like that? Yeah, actually, he always had sleepy eyes, who is she kidding.
Vee sat back down, leaning back against the seat.
“Hey, you need to stop taking a nap every few seconds, that’s not gonna fly during the operation.” She spoke sternly, she was actually genuinely concerned that Astro may accidentally fall asleep and get himself hurt somehow, she knew he wasn’t really that much of an idiot but just in case… She had to remind him. Vee’s probably gonna try to keep an eye on him.
Not too long after, Sprout came over, along with Cosmo of course.
The table became a lot chattier with the addition of the two, mostly the two lovers just talking to each other but sometimes, the others give their inputs on things.
Vee however, just couldn’t keep her head in check, thinking of all the ways the Ichor operation could go wrong. The elevator they have to use is extremely old and cranky, probably a safety hazard. Maybe Gardenview would’ve shut down anyway? The robot wasn’t paying any attention to the conversation whatsoever, feeling like this whole thing was a waste of time. It was to her anyway.
After dinner, everyone set off on their own ways, with the exception of Vee, who was walking with Shelly to the ammonite’s room. Hell, if the mission’s as dangerous as Dandy made it out to be, Vee was going to take her time with Shelly tonight, what if she doesn’t come back up and doesn’t get to feel Shelly’s body one last time? Sounds like one major tragedy if you asked her.
As the door shut behind them, the robot took a second to take in the sight of Shelly’s room.
She means it in the nicest way possible, but this fucking room was actually rekt, trinkets, plushies, papers scattered the carpet floor, posters sloppily stuck onto the walls and her shelves were simply used incorrectly with how absolutely messy it was. Even her table was littered with loads of useless shit, or maybe it was just useless to her? It kind of ticked her off with how untidy the space is but honestly, she’ll deal with it as long as it means she’d get some of that fossil.
“Sorry it’s so messy… I forgot to clean up beforehand…” Shelly apologized and of course, Vee, not wanting the mood to be ruined, lied right through her engines to reassure her girlfriend.
“Uh, no, it’s fine. I don’t mind it.” The TV said with a carefully strained voice while the shell trotted over to her generally unsafe-to-sleep-on bed, butt sinking into the soft mattress.
If Vee actually produced saliva, she was sure she’d have her mouth watering right now, looking at her lovely girlfriend sitting on the bed, she almost wanted to jump on her, push her down and fuck her silly but that’s ungentlemanly and she’s supposed to be a good lover.
Vee (very calmly and respectfully, I may add) walked over, standing over the smaller form, moving her body down so her screen would be at face-level.
“So, pretty girl, you want something. What is it?” Vee’s voicebox crackled slightly with how much will-power she had to exert.
Shelly closed her eyes, lips sealed shut.
“I… Uh… I—” The ammonite stumbled on her words.
The TV placed a hand on her partner’s thigh, stroking it gently through her skirt.
“I think I know what it is… Hm?” Vee had a knee between Shelly’s legs, their faces not even inches away from each other’s.
“Vee…” A mewl spilled from the fossil’s soft lips as Vee’s fingers caressed her body, relishing in how sensitive Shelly was to her touches, it was empowering.
“Are you gonna get naked for me, mamas?” Vee purred statically, patience running thin. She needed this so badly and the strain in her pants was making her act so erratic.
A simple nod from Shelly had Vee smiling like an idiot, leaning back to get started on her belt. She was going to keep her shirt on this time, Shelly nearly mauled her chest plate last time they actually had sex and Vee didn’t feel like explaining to Dandy why she needed a repair because of Shelly’s excessive biting and scratching.
Vee tried to keep her sight off of Shelly while she undressed, wanting to savor the beauty later on.
After she heard the last piece of clothing flop against the floor, she redirected her sights back onto Shelly, who was now naked a bare, body stiffening against the cold air.
The robot wasted no time climbing onto the bed, moving to get on top of the fossil while her hands continued to fumble clumsily with her pants, which is basically the only thing stopping Vee from fourth base right now
Shelly had her arms around Vee’s shoulder hugging her closer. Her legs slung over the robot’s waist, locking her in place.
The whistle left Vee’s speaker as she observed how Shelly was just as, if not more desperate than her right now.
“Woah, patient there, pretty girl, I’m working on it.” She chuckled, getting a noisy whine as a reward.
Finally, she was able to slip her trousers and boxers down, her cock springing out, throbbing needily.
“Fuck… You want this, pretty girl?” Vee’s voice had a lilt to it, that sexy tone she always used whenever she wanted to get her way, and it was clearly working on Shelly, a little too well actually.
“Y-Yes… I do… I want it…” Shelly replied, voice not coming out as anything but a tiny murmur.
Vee smiled to herself, her hand finding the space between her lover’s legs, metallic fingers running over the folds. Shelly’s body flinched at the contact, the ammonite holding onto the robot even tighter.
“V-Vee..!” Shelly yelped as Vee’s fingers skillfully found her clit, rubbing the bundle of nerves gently, yet with enough force to make sure Shelly feels it right.
“Yes, mamas?” Vee replied with a smug grin, finding joy in listening to all the little sounds Shelly makes when she makes her feel good. Fuck, she could barely wait to just get in there already.
Her fingers slipped in easy, Shelly’s body relaxing to accommodate the intrusion. Starting off slow with just two fingers, curling and pumping them hard enough to make Shelly’s entire body tense up.
“Feeling good?” She asked, the reply that followed being a muffled “Yeah”.
Vee added another finger, her hand nearly drowning in Shelly’s juices as she continued pleasuring her lover.
“Yeah?” The robot had this self-acclaimed look on her screen, like the cat who got the cream, fingers pulling out while the shell winced at the lack of penetration, which was quickly replaced with a hitch in her breath as Vee lined up the tip of her cock with Shelly’s drooling hole.
She pushed herself in, gently until her entire length was in, fitting in nice and snug. Her hips began moving, thrusting in and out of her lover’s cunt, getting a loud cry out of the shell.
“Augh…! Vee… Yes! Oh, my goodness, yeah—…!” Claws dug into the blankets as the shell tried to stabilize her breathing which had gone totally out of control from the massive load of stimulation being fed to her.
The moment the ammonite tried to reach for her own clit, her hand was slapped away by Vee, smiling at her.
“No. Stay like that for me, pretty girl. I’ll do it for you.” The TV pressed a thumb against the fossil’s swollen clit, circling the sensitive nub.
The shell’s body started shaking, tears welling up in her eyes. All of this felt amazing… Vee hadn’t given her this much love and affection in a while, she missed this.
“Ah…! So close… Vee!” Shelly kept moaning her girlfriend’s name, over and over, those same syllables rolled off her tongue like it was the most natural thing ever. Through her foggy vision, she could see Vee, who had been silent, slowly get more and more desperate with her thrusting, the TV noticed and leaned in, making sure the shell couldn’t see her shameful expression.
“You look so beautiful, dear. Fuck… Wanna fill you up and give you a kid or two…” Vee was clearly lost in her own fantasies, sure, Vee couldn’t produce actual sperm but was it wrong to indulge in these thoughts?
Vee’s internal fans were working overtime to cool her down, whirring loudly.
Shelly, despite herself knowing that those words wouldn’t come true, still had her legs trembling with excitement, tail thumping against the mattress happily, leaning into Vee’s neck, she bit down, suckling gently.
In the next few moments, it had felt like heaven, they were both so receptive to each other, and with Vee’s constant praises, Shelly had reached her peak, back arching as her vision went white. She could’ve sworn she saw into the afterlife with how good that had felt.
While the ammonite was still recovering from the overwhelming orgasm, the TV was still fucking her, rutting into her girlfriend like there was no tomorrow.
Vee’s cum flooded her insides, spurting deep into her cervix and drowning her womb in the viscous liquid-ish substance.
For the next minute, they were looking at each other’s faces, admiring each other while the TV’s cock had retracted, ending with Vee falling limp into Shelly’s arms, system rebooting after the severe overheating.
The Shell wrapped her claws around her girlfriend before laying onto the bed together.
Vee wasn’t a big fan of cuddling as it often led to her overheating again but she’d never deny Shelly the amazing feeling of getting loads of love and cuddles after sex, since Vee couldn’t compensate much in other, more sentimental ways.
After her system restarted, she took her time to make sure Shelly fell asleep calmly and happily before slipping out and getting dressed. With mundane movements, she turned to press her screen against Shelly’s cheek before heading out, making sure to flip the lightswitch off and shutting the door.
In the comfort of her own room, Vee clicked her tongue as she observed herself in the mirror, Shelly’s bite had caused a little dent in her neck area which, according to Shelly, was the fossil claiming her, but to the robot? It was just another damage, like I said, not good with the whole sentimental thing.
She had to be ready for the next day coming, for she, along with seven others, were going down deep into the abandoned center. Who knows what’ll be lurking down there? That place reeks of rot anyway, if it weren’t for the mission, she’d never even think about going down that shithole.
The TV laid onto her bed, plug having been inserted into her port as she attempted to go into sleep mode. Her body weakened as she was soon consumed by the activities of the day, she was tired and she needed to rest.
Besides, she had such an eventful day coming.
``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~`` End of day 01!
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``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~`` Start of day 02!
Vee’s system booted up, once again displaying her facial expressions. The range was spectacular, responding to the AI emotions coded into her, she was able to express herself with her face alone.
Truly, Vee was a work of art, a piece of technological gem.
And yet, she was discarded away like a piece of trash. What a shame.
What a damn shame.
The robot had made her way to the lobby, where she was supposed to meet up with the others. She had pushed those humiliating thoughts away, trying her hardest not to believe in them.
Right, they’re not leaving her. They’ll be back. Soon, they’ll all come back and everything will be normal again, she’ll be the beloved gameshow host again.
Yes, that’s right. That’s it after all…
She already knew who was going down with her this time around, the craft siblings, Finn, Poppy, Rodger, Glisten and last but definitely the most, Astro.
To be completely transparent, Vee had specifically requested Astro to go on the expedition with her, as she wasn’t that close to anyone there other than maybe Rodger. Vee was pretty cool with the detective, they both were pretty stoic people who liked dressing nice. Plus, Rodger had a knack for formality which is exactly what Vee wanted in someone to talk to.
The lobby was full of chattering toons, mostly others wishing the ones going down good luck.
For Vee however…
The shell stomped over, pouting with her hands on her hips.
“Why did you leave yesterday? I thought you’d stay… I wanted you to stay…” Shelly lightly hit her girlfriend’s chestplate repeatedly, just to show her how upset she was.
Vee tried to laugh it off, hands raised next to her screen.
“Oof, careful there, pretty girl, don’t mess up my wires now.” The TV pulled her girlfriend into a hug.
She had an apologetic look on her screen, clearly still feeling bad about upsetting Shelly. “Look… I’m sorry, okay? I promise when I come back, I’ll spend the whole day with you, okay?” Vee offered, stroking Shelly’s head affectionately.
Shelly was silent for a second before mumbling out.
“Fine, but you better keep your word.” The shell pulled away.
The robot smiled at her lover confidently, nodding affirmingly and replying to her with a:
“Of course. That’s what a promise is, Shelly.” With that, they had to set off with Vee walking over to join the group, staying close to Astro while they discussed their departure.
Soon enough, they were all in the cranky elevator, the springs working to descend them down into below ground floors.
Vee tugged onto Astro’s blanket, smiling at him as warmly as a robot could.
“Hey, doing alright, Astro?” Vee asked endearingly while the moon nodded.
“Yeah.. I’m fine…”
Before the moon could even think of what to say next, the TV was already speaking again.
“If anyone bothers you, let me know.”
“Uh-huh—” He was cut off again.
“And if you need literally anything, you know who to ask.” Vee assured her still slightly sleepy friend.
Astro looked a little overwhelmed but glad that Vee was concerned about him.
And after that, it was mostly quiet until…
“Toodles?!” Poppy exclaimed as she noticed the little eight ball had snuck onto the elevator with them.
“Hehe! I wanted to go on an adventure with you guys too!” The little girl ran into her dad’s arms, Rodger looked like he was on the brink of a cardiac arrest, not even on the floor yet and someone’s already going to die, geez, talk about prematurely—
DING!
The elevator door slowly lifted up, dust flying everywhere, most toons covered their noses but Vee seemed just a little annoyed by the dust on her screen.
This was it.
Floor 01.
Vee’s artificial heart was beating like crazy beneath all her wires.
She had a really bad feeling about this.
But maybe she's being crazy.
End of Chapter 01, stay tuned for the next one! ``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~``
Notes:
Yeah, Vee cannot keep those hands to himself LOL but that's fine probably. This chapter is meant to be a little prologue sort of so there's not much information yet but more will be revealed soon! Hehe. >:3c
Chapter Text
Beginning of Chapter 02, The First Descent. ``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~
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—— Cosmo’s POV
…
Sounds of shuffling around could be heard, fabric brushing up against the concrete of the kitchen’s counters, the only noise that rang out from the awkward quiet that hung in the air.
A sigh later, a certain swiss roll wiped a droplet of cream off his face.
Of course, it was Cosmo, baking— just as he always did.
Truthfully, he didn’t know who he was baking for. Back when the center was still open, loud with chatter and joy, he’d have kids to bake goods for. But now? Oh, wait. Guess he still has to feed the others, that has to amount to something… right?
…Mix mix mix— Keep mixing the dry and wet ingredients together, the whisk clanging against the sides of the bowl, sound as grating as it is comforting.
He poured the batter into molds, chocolate cupcakes he was making. A boring recipe, one he has made more times than he could ever possibly count on his stubby little paws.
Slipping the tray into the preheated oven, he had long gotten used to the heat on his skin as he did so.
Just for twenty-five minutes, nothing more and nothing less.
The cake had become so invested in the baking that he hadn’t noticed who had wandered into the kitchen until he felt lithe yet sturdy arms wrap around him.
“Did they leave already?” Cosmo asked, confident with who he was talking to.
The voice that returned was nothing short of familiar. His best friend since he could remember and now, his boyfriend.
“Yeah, they did.”
Sprout replied with a steady tone.
“Aw, damn really? Did you at least say bye to Astro for me?” The cake followed up, with a nod from the strawberry toon, he let out a little breath of relief.
“Good, would’ve beat you up if you didn’t.” Cosmo joked, voice playful.
By the time he finished his sentence, Sprout had let go of him, looking at the tray cooking in the oven.
The smell was starting to flow out, a ‘delictable’ scent of warm chocolate.
“What’re you baking?” The strawberry questioned with his arms crossed and a smile.
“Cupcakes. I got a little bored while you were gone.” Cosmo answers while he moves to continue preparing the frosting.
Sprout rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle.
“Well damn…— my bad, Mo. Thought you’d be okay alone for a bit.” The strawberry apologized and the cake sighed.
“I was okay, for your information. I just didn’t have much to do.” Cosmo sounded a little offended, offended that Sprout, of all people, was trying to baby him. Yeah right— Not gonna happen. Ever.
There was just a few seconds of silence until Sprout spoke up once more. Voice a little tense.
“Hey… Uh, you think those guys will be fine? I mean…” He thought for a moment.
“Must be pretty dirty and dangerous down there, there’s been no maintenance for weeks. Imagine all the tripping hazards.” He continued.
Cosmo started to feel a little worried too but he shook it away, trying to ease his own and Sprout’s nerves.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine.” He replied curtly, mixing the frosting a little too hard, spilling a bit onto the counter.
Sprout seemed apologetic, reaching out to take the bowl of frosting and placing it onto the counter.
“You’re right, I worry too much, eh?” He chuckled, his face amusing the cake toon.
“Yeah yeah, now take those cupcakes out for me, please and thank you.” Cosmo blew a little breath out, turning back to put the frosting into piping bags.
Sprout did a little salute with a goofy smile.
“Yes sir!” He said before little laughs began to surface, filling the room with a lighthearted atmosphere as the two lovers joked around with each other.
…Yeah, they shouldn’t worry too much.
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——— Vee’s POV
…
“Augh…— Seriously?” The robot complained as he felt his engines whirring, working overtime to make sure dust doesn’t collect excessively in her system.
The other toons had all begun walking out to explore the place and our good old neighborhood TV had just about the same objective.
Vee looked to Astro, the moon had his nose and mouth covered with his blanket; a single squinting eye looking right back at him.
The TV reached a hand out, grabbing Astro’s fabric-cloaked palm, squeezing it slightly. He tried his best to have a nice and warm smile but it just came out more like a devious smirk than anything.
“C’mon, let’s go.” Vee basically dragged him out, despite him walking on his own, Vee’s pace was much faster, making him stumble.
Astro couldn’t help but be a little ticked off about it.
The TV was acting strange, erratic. She wasn’t always like this, right? But… But, for some strange reason, Astro felt like he had gone through this before, like this wasn’t the first time he stepped onto these floors—
That one single thought sent shivers crawling up his spine, and suddenly the room felt much colder than it had beforehand.
He tried to reel his mind back, for the sake of his own sanity.
“Uh… Do you mind…?” The moon’s brow slightly furrowed at Vee’s insistent pulling, in response, the robot retracted her hand immediately, looking away.
“Shit… Sorry.” He cleared his throat, or well, it was a soundtrack but close enough.
How fucking embarassing.
They continued walking, Astro taking the time to observe the surrounding location. This used to be the hallways connecting the other places, with large corridors and small rooms. Furniture, crates, papers and shelves scattered all around, seems like a clean-up nightmare. Tisha would get a brain aneurysm if she were to see this, good gracious.
Astro was starting to get a headache from all the dust he was inhaling.
The environment around him– How strange… It was unforgiving. The cold air stagnant as quiet yet unnerving sounds rung loud in his ears.
His head felt light, he felt it, how his body was giving out, on the verge of passing out.
It felt suffocating.
His lungs were uncomfortably clenching, he struggled to breathe.
“You okay?” Vee asked worriedly, snapping the dazed moon out of his head, getting a shake of Astro’s head as a response.
The moon answered with a soft “I’m okay, don’t worry about me…”
The screen showed narrowed eyes and a pair of tight-knit brows but the reply was quite calm.
“Then that’s good. Stay close to me, don’t wander off anywhere now.”
“...I’m not a child, you know…” Astro sighed, relenting. Vee’s overprotectiveness was getting on his nerves a little, it was weird, he never does this usually so why…
But then again, this was a dangerous mission and they oughta be careful so maybe Vee was right to be this way?
Astro never really understood Vee; her mechanics were far too complicated for the sleepy moon to comprehend. But it made it far more fun to interact with her, how unpredictable he is, it’s thrilling, really.
Then, almost on cue, Vee found something interesting.
What they were looking for, a machine. A red, ugly valve sticking out. It was tacky and suddenly, the TV was questioning what their interior designers were thinking having these absolutely hideous pieces of junk standing around, sticking out like a sore thumb.
The robot inspected their new, or well…– Her new discovery, looking on with curious false eyes. “These are the… Ichor machines we are looking for, I’m sure of it.” He spoke carefully.
The moon nodded in agreement, clutching his blanket closer.
“You’re probably right…” He hummed softly, standing back.
Vee turned to his friend with a smile.
He laughed a little, turning away to hide the way a green blush showed up on her screen.
“Mhm, you know I’m always right. Just stay there as support in case something happens, alright?” Vee started on the machines, the valve screeching and croaking with every turn.
Maybe it wasn’t so hard after all! Just a little bit of dust in his lungs, he’ll surely be fine.
``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~``
——— Poppy’s POV
Just like Vee; Poppy herself was also working on a machine, singing under her breath as she did, her head bobbing side to side with every lyric.
She had started much earlier than the robot had, so she was nearly done. And unlike Vee, she was alone. She, Scraps and Goob and split up, finding it best to go their own ways to find a machine of their own, just to speed up the process.
With one last turn of the valve, a loud ‘DING’ came from the machine, and the red glaring light on the machine had turned green.
Poppy was almost given a moment of respite, only to find herself getting ambushed.
“Wha—!?” She had no time to finish as the air was knocked out of her lungs, getting tackled to the ground.
When she forced her shut eyes to open, to just get a look at her attacker, she gasped.
It was… Shrimpo? But wait— This was weird, the eyes, his jaw being gone, replaced by a gaping space, drooling and dripping Ichor onto the bubble’s cheek and her non-existent nose.
She fought desperately, trying to pry the… thing, whatever it was, off of her. In the process, the twisted Shrimp dug its claws into her right arm, the sharp tips of those things shredding skin like tender meat falling off bones. There was Ichor, so much of it.
But her fight wasn’t without fruition as she eventually managed to break free, stumbling onto her feet and running off, as far and as fast as she could. It was a blur, the pain blooming from her arm stinging all the way throughout her body. She felt little tears forming as she continued to run, turning a corner and falling onto her behind as she clutched the bleeding gash on her limb; muttering little curses. Adrenaline rushed through her system as she tried to stop her breaths from being too loud.
This was bad, so bad.
Seems like Dandy wasn’t lying about it being dangerous after all…
But… Wait, will Toodles be okay?
Poppy hoped to all that is good in the world that Rodger is keeping his daughter at his side at all times. Hoped that the little girl wouldn’t run off on her own.
She felt so stupid. How classic, she knew splitting up wasn’t a good idea, damn it!
…It was like some cheap horror flick, but instead of a movie— It was her reality!
Now she just really wanted to scream. But dare she not, lest she wanted to get her pretty little head beat up by some monster again.
So, guess she just has to wait for the elevator to open now.
—Good grief.
``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~``
——— Glisten’s POV
The mirror wasn’t doing much, seated on a crate while our little eight-ball ran around, giddy as she inspected every single nook and cranny the area had to offer.
Rodger was busy, turned to the machine as he worked on it with nothing leaving his… Uh, lips. Wait, he doesn’t have lips, does he?
“Careful, darling. Don’t wander off too far now, we can’t have you getting lost.” Glisten reminded the kid, a smile on his face.
Toodles waited not a second to reply with an “Okay!” before immediately continuing her little investigation.
It was so endearing to see, just a girl in her own world, having fun. Must be nice to be so aloof, that’s what Glisten was thinking. He’d admit, he was a tiny bit jealous of Toodles, imagine being so loved by everyone. —But oh wait, he is.
Glisten tilted his head to Rodger, pouting with his legs crossed, dangling off the crate.
“Rodger-pie, are you almost done? My legs are aching sooo— bad right now, ugh…” The mirror complained, and yet, the magnifying glass didn’t respond, leaving Glisten feeling a little pissy.
He hopped off the crate, taking his place behind his lover. He breathed into his… ear…? Seriously, what does Rodger even have at this point?
“Don’t ignore me now… Hey…” Glisten whined, Rodger only sighed and answered in a monotone voice; obviously not a big fan of his boyfriend’s insistence and flirtations.
“Not now, Glisten. We have work to do and Toodles is right there, behave.” Rodger spoke through gritted teeth and a bitten tongue, trying not to get worked up as Glisten scoffed and backed off.
Just as the mirror was about to complain more, the machine had been completed as the elevator opened, sirens blaring, it was loud enough that anyone could’ve heard it.
Well— Time to head back… But it wasn’t over, oh no. Glisten wanted Rodger to know just how much he wanted him, of course, without being an eyesore and an actual pebble thrown into Toodles’ eyes with how flirty he was being with her dad, of all people. Hey, it's not his fault that Rodger is hot now, is it?
``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~``
——— Cosmo’s POV
Opposite to the rather… Dusty situation the team found themselves in, the atmosphere in the upper levels were completely different. More specifically, in the room of the main toon, Sprout.
A sultry, romantic jazz melody played, the air in the room scented with candles.
Cosmo found himself laid down on the bed with his wrists bound together with Sprout’s iconic white and pink scarf, neatly tied into a bow as it locked his hands to the headrest. Naked and sweaty as Sprout had his hand on Cosmo’s chest.
The strawberry was licking all over him, incredibly aroused as he did so. Saliva thinly coated parts of the swiss roll’s body.
“Oh goodness… Babe, you–... Auugh…” The cake trailed off, Sprout’s head was on his neck, tongue lapping at the skin there.
There were already hickeys there, ones from before. As despite what it may seem, Sprout Seedly was a nasty sex fiend when it came to Cosmo. It was intoxicating, being so loved.
“You’ve been at it for a while now, Sprout… Is there really anything that interesting about just… licking me?” Cosmo’s gaze fell on his boyfriend as he awaited a reply.
Sprout pulled back, looking right into Cosmo’s eyes as he smirked.
“Hm? Getting impatient now, are we?” Sprout’s hand trailed down, wrapping his fingers around his boyfriend’s cock; the flesh pulsing and throbbing incessantly, the appendage needily begging for his touch like a starving lover.
With just that, the cake found himself melting into the bed, groaning incoherently. Muttering Sprout’s name, getting whinier with each syllable that fell off his tongue.
He just needed to be inside him, so very badly. It was carnal, a need reserved only for Sprout. The way those damned fingers tugged on him, the way that stupid fucking strawberry looked at him, it was maddening.
“Sprout please…” A broken whine left Cosmo’s lips. A humiliating sound.
So close yet so far, he felt his oversized head floating off as he kept himself lost in the feelings, drunk on the pleasure, and sick for that love that lingered in the air.
He never wanted this to be over, just him and his love.
Just them alone.
He never wanted to lose this ever, just wanted to cling onto this high forever. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking— He’d never know but he'd let himself indulge in it for as long as it lasted.
Lives are so fleeting after all, you never know when everything could just…
…
KNOCK KNOCK.
The dull sounds rang through the material of the door, noise traveling freely through the hollow insides of the object.
“U-Uh, hey! It’s me… Shelly… May I come in?” The ammonite stood on the other side, clicking her claws together nervously as the silence closed in on her, suddenly feeling self-conscious about having asked for company.
Sprout turned to his boyfriend with slightly panicked eyes.
“Shit, we were supposed to hang out with Shells today.” He whispered as he tried to compose himself, fixing his hair and wiping his lips with the back of his palm. He signaled for Cosmo to free himself and get dressed as he got up, scampering to the door in a hurry.
And of course, Cosmo waited no longer than a second to pull his wrists away, the scarf falling limp onto the pillows. He turned off the music, nearly tumbling off the bed as he grabbed his clothes off the floor.
“Hold on, give me a minute!” He cleared his throat as he reached for the doorknob, turning the lock so he could open it.
Despite his frustrations at being interrupted, he made an effort to smile at his guest as he welcomed her in. He was trying to act nonchalant, like he hadn’t been all over his Cosmo a few moments ago.
“Hey! Glad you could make it.” Cosmo waved to Shelly with a grin, the shell giving a little chuckle in response.
“Yeah, sorry for bothering by the way…”
The two lovers both had smiles on their faces, despite their painfully cut-short intimacy.
“No worries!”
That was all the cake roll could muster at that moment.
``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~``
——— Vee’s POV
The moment those sirens blared, signaling the elevator door reopening; Vee took Astro’s hand into hers once more, holding it snug and tight in his gloved grip.
“Let’s move.” She said before dragging him along, the exact way they came. Vee had quite the impressive memory, you know? He didn’t know for how long they were running but they ended up making it back butt-last, which may or may not have ever-so-slightly hurt the poor TV’s ego.
But that didn’t matter as the second she and Astro stepped inside, they promptly saw the others checking up on Poppy and her wounds.
In any other cases, Vee would’ve laughed, ridiculing the bubble for getting hurt just one floor in but she knew it wouldn’t have been the best look for her. Especially since Poppy was in pain, mocking her would be pouring salt into the wound and Vee wasn’t particularly a big fan of that.
Astro also walked in to assist and comfort Poppy, leaving Vee to stand there and just observe from a distance as she watched the situation.
Scraps seemed guilty, he had no clue as to what happened but she couldn’t care less.
Goob looked the same as his sister, guilty as charged.
Rodger just looks interrogative, how typical of his friend, huh.
Glisten had Toodles with him, also looking on from a few feet away with the kid trying to look through the crowd.
The chattering was too loud, it was annoying.
Too damn loud. Just shut up already.
But of course, as per usual; as Vee was about to get vindictive, Dandy had to swoop in.
As he rose up, he presented his shop.
The stock? Disappointing.
All he was selling were candies and pops.
The price? An outrageous amount of tapes.
Is he stupid or just really out of touch?
Well, Miss Television could only wonder.
…Although…
Dandy nearly choked on his words the moment he saw who was approaching his shop, fixing his petals and standing up straight in a flash. Putting on a suave grin and leaning his elbow onto the table.(?)
“W—... Well, hey there, Sugar! Need somethin’?” The flower looked like a lovesick puppy, tail wagging with his face flushed and a drop of sweat on his brow. The other could only smile in response.
“Hello, Dandy…” Astro replied with a small tilt of his head, eyes softening as he gazed into the eyes of his beloved. “Nothing at all… Just wanted to say hi, dear…” He felt his cheeks heat up in delight as he reached a sneaky hand out his blanket to hold Dandy's hand. “I missed you so much…” The moon continued. And the flower, not expecting that gesture and those words, started sputtering even more, flustered.
“O–Oh..! Ahahaha… T-That’s… You’re so funny! Haha…!”
While Dandy was embarrassed to hell and back, Astro was giggling. It was as if nothing else existed, just the two of them, together. Of course, Astro actually wanted something.
—The thing in question? A kiss, of course! Why? Do you think Astro would be the type of toon to try to use his relationship as a leverage to get free stuff? Maybe. But not now! Not now…
So while Dandy was busy trying to recover mentally, Astro took the chance to lean in for a kiss on the cheek, which of course, made Dandy even more red in the face.
The flower, not wanting to lose this… battle…? Tried to gain the upper hand by trying to pull Astro closer, which he fumbled and consequently got laughed at by his lover for it.
“Oh, come on…! Clearly y—you want something from me, what is it..?!” Dandy complained as Astro peppered his round, blushy face with more little smooches. “Nothing, I said… Just love you so much I couldn’t help myself…” Astro pulled back, satisfied with the amount of public display of affection he had shown.
But of course, a few feet away, a certain television was looking on. He hated it, hated how lovey dovey they were. Hated how Astro could ever love someone like that.
Hate, hate, hate.
. . .
She sighed.
Oh, Goddamn it. She’s becoming her ex.
She looked away, trying to seem unbothered by the interaction she had witnessed. He set her attention onto Poppy and Scraps, who were sitting together. Of course, of course; girlfriends.
Vee couldn’t help but roll his eyes, he wasn’t good with all that sappy crap and looking at it made him sick. —Wait, does he do that with Shelly sometimes? Oh goodness, that is so fucking cringe.
As she continued her unnecessary judgement of other toons, she was snapped out of it by a deep voice, all serious.
Oh great, Rodger…
“Hey, what’s up?” Vee turned only slightly, just so the other wouldn’t think she’s acting all high and mighty, well, she is but he doesn’t need to know that now, does he?
Rodger had his hands behind his back, posture straight as a board, which is a complete contrast to his romantic and sexual attraction but that’s not what we’re supposed to be talking about right now.
“Ah, it’s nothing, I just wanted to have a chat.” Rodger replied.
Oh really now? People actually seek out her company? Crazy. He doesn’t know if he should be flattered and smiley or icked out about it.
He’d rather take a shower than talk to people but since it’s a friend, it’s really not too bad. Not good, just… Not bad.
Vee’s eyes set on Toodles for a second, watching as the little girl hung around the rest of the toons, the kid skipping around without a care in the world. How endearing.
But… If Rodger left Toodles with the others, that meant he wanted a long chat then…
Whatever, man. Bring it on.
Mostly, it was just the magnifying glass talking, the TV only nodded or laughed in response. Not having the mental capacity to talk or any conversation starters to even use. Oh, but there’s something to discuss, alright…
“Hey, detective. Interviewed the injured yet?” Vee tilted her head, her antennae bobbing. “Or do you call it an interrogation?” He smirked, finding the detective’s face to be quite humorous.
Rodger shook his head in mock disbelief.
“Yes, and personally, I’d call it an interview.” The toon in the suit responded. Vee was curious about how Poppy had gotten that nasty ol’ scar, meat and skin torn, muscles and fat exposed, raggedly ripped to expose a peek of the off-white of bone. Vee’s surprised she didn’t just pop.
“So, what’s the gossip, what happened to miss girl over there? She’s been real quiet, not that I blame her, a r—eal bad state her arm is in, huh?” Vee accentuated, fixing her glove.
Rodger cleared his throat.
“I’d prefer if you do not call this gossip, Vee. It’s an unfortunate and horrible situation and dare you not make light of this.” He spoke sternly.
Nonetheless, he continued; “But to feed your curiosity… Apparently, Poppy has been attacked by a… Monster of some sorts, her accounts say the monster in question looks like a mangled version of Shrimpo, though I say we shouldn’t take that too literally, I fear just about any monster would look like Shrimpo.” Rodger explained, trying to crack a tiny joke at the end, which succeeded in getting a big, hearty yet mechanical laugh out of Vee.
“Yeah? Really funny, Rodge.” The robot rolled her displayed eyes.
That was comedic and all but now that she’s got the information she wanted, he just wanted out of the conversation, her social battery running out and dipping into dangerously low territories.
How she begged for the damn elevator to be faster so he could just fuck off somewhere alone already, oh wait—
Would that be a good idea considering what happened to Poppy? Probably not, if anything, he’ll take Astro along again. As emotional support, of course. Vee’s not gonna let Astro do any work, no way. Such a lovely toon shouldn’t be laboured like that anyway.
So now, she was silently waiting. Watching the steel door, waiting for the moment it opens once more.
Could this rusty old thing be any slower?
He really wondered…
How are they doing up there? No, how is she doing up there?
Wait, since when did she care about things like that?
Vee didn’t understand her own feelings.
Just… Really— Really worried about Shelly all the time. Maybe he’s being overprotective? Maybe, maybe. But is that really such a terrible thing?
Truthfully, she just missed her girlfriend. Missed her smile, missed her eyes, everything about her. But hey, at least Astro’s here. That’s something.
But she’s glad that Shelly wouldn’t have to be in danger at all, in the comforts of the upper levels. It’s only what she deserves.
Vee may be a robot but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate the niceties in life, and her Shelly was for sure one of those niceties.
And like any other, Vee would take such good things for granted. Selfish? No, just very self-preservering.
But who knows how long that'll last. Guess she'll figure it out as she kept going.
End of Chapter 02, stay tuned for the next one! ``~ ~ ~ × × × 《 ● 》 × × × ~ ~ ~``
Notes:
Heya! Thanks for reading, sorry this took a while to come out. I was getting a little occupied with art and stuff... But I hope this chapter has been enjoyable. Poor Poppy, huh? And poor Cosmo and Sprout, that's gotta suck.
I_FUCKING_Hate_Myself on Chapter 2 Sun 19 Jan 2025 04:11PM UTC
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techyuri on Chapter 3 Wed 26 Feb 2025 12:09PM UTC
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