Setting the Stage

by Paper_Dear

Summary:

Mysterious disappearances, suspicious Toons, lack of maintenance, it feels as though everything is slowly disappearing. It will be fine though, right? Just stick together and maybe this is all a nightmare we need to wake up from. Right?

...Right?

 

(This is a Fruitcake centric fic.)

Chapter 1: Lights, Camera, Bake?

Cosmo was preparing the kitchen. Boxten had asked Cosmo to teach him how to bake, and Cosmo was only too eager to agree.
The Gardenview was strangely empty without any kids. Although it was closed on Sundays, Cosmo found that to be a relief. The amount of drama he had to deal with throughout the day was exhausting, and a little break was well deserved.
The afternoon sun filtered through the windows as some Toons walked by here and there. Glisten and Rodger gave Cosmo a wave before Toodles dragged them off to who-knows-where. Cosmo chuckled at the sight. Tisha stopped around the area, mainly to clean the sitting area. She was always here, mostly because the sitting area was the messiest part of the Gardenview.

“Hello Tisha,” Cosmo said, loud enough for Tisha to turn her head to look for the noise source.

“Good afternoon, Cosmo! Are you planning on baking something?” Tisha asked, perhaps to determine whether she would have to make a pit stop in the kitchen later today.

“I’m giving Boxten baking lessons today, so I suppose we will be in the kitchen for two hours,” Cosmo said, smiling kindly at Tisha.

Tisha nodded to Cosmo and returned the gesture with her smile, “Maybe we’ll see each other later, goodbye Cosmo!”

“Bye Tisha,” Cosmo waved goodbye as Tisha left the room.

Cosmo was alerted of someone else's presence when he heard the shuffle of small steps. Boxten had wandered into the room, looking around, as if unsure if he was allowed in. Cosmo and Boxten made eye contact. Boxten stopped and gave Cosmo an unsure smile. Cosmo smiled back and walked to greet Boxten.

“Are you ready for your baking lessons?” Cosmo asked kindly, gesturing to the pre-prepared ingredients on the kitchen counter.

Boxten nodded, “Thank you…” he said quietly.

Cosmo chuckled, “You make it sound like you forced me to be here, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it in no time,”

Boxten put his hands to his chest. “Okay, I’ll try,” he muttered as he shuffled towards the kitchen counter. Cosmo walked beside Boxten and gestured to the eggs. “Okay, first, we’ll need two eggs…”
It stayed like that for a while, Cosmo telling Boxten what to do while helping him out here and there. It was quite nice taking charge for a change. Usually, when Cosmo and Sprout bake together, there’s a type of harmony. Sprout and Cosmo have baked together so many times that Cosmo wouldn’t be surprised if they could do it with their eyes closed. Baking with Boxten had been refreshing, to say the least. Happy little accidents that Cosmo had forgotten even existed. Boxten had done better than Cosmo had first assumed. Not that he thought Boxten would be bad at it, but he had exceeded his expectations.

Once the batter had been placed in the oven with a timer set on the side, Cosmo let out an exhausted sigh. Boxten leaned against the counter, the flour had covered with flour. Boxten had accidentally dropped the bag of flour, making a huge mess in the kitchen. Boxten had been horrified, but Cosmo just laughed as he rubbed the flour off of his clothes and face. It had been a year since he had accidentally done something similar to that.
Cosmo offered Boxten a high five. Boxten looked like a mess with flour on his clothes and face but his face had a flicker of pride and accomplishment.

“So, what are you doing tomorrow?” Cosmo asked, trying to fill the silence with small talk.

Boxten looked at him and twiddled his thumbs. “I’m in a play, but I’m a bit anxious,” He admitted nervously.

“Who are you in it with?” Cosmo asked curiously.

“We-well, Dandy, Sprout, I-I don’t know who else but Shrimpo too,” Boxten said, “That’s what I’m nervous about, Shrimpo is… well Shrimpo is Shrimpo,” Boxten said simply.

Cosmo pondered for a bit, “Well, Shrimpo is a bit, uh, eccentric, but with Sprout there, I doubt he’ll hurt you if that’s what you're worried about.”

Boxten seemed to ease up at that thought, “I guess you’re right… Thanks, Cosmo,”

“No problem,” Cosmo said with an easy grin.

Boxten and Cosmo stood there, talking about their plans for tomorrow. The timer went off in the middle of their conversation. They opened the oven and removed the muffins from the tray. They looked perfect despite the struggle in making them.

“Next time, I can teach you how to add the frosting. Do you want to try one?” Cosmo asked nicely. Boxten nodded and picked one up. Cosmo also grabbed one and bit into it. It was warm and soft, maybe with too much sugar, but other than that, it was not bad for the first time.

“This is great Boxten, you’re a natural,” Cosmo said, turning to Boxten.

Boxten shrugged off the compliment, “Th-thanks, Cosmo. Maybe I’ll try this again with you if you want.”

Cosmo pushed the rest of the muffin in his mouth and swallowed before answering Boxten, “I would love to, if it makes you feel better, I’ll try to make it to your play and watch, for extra support. I would also like to see Sprout perform.” Cosmo offered.

Boxten seemed to light up, “Thanks Cosmo! It means a lot,”

“Of course Boxten,” Cosmo said.

Boxten and Cosmo took the liberty of cleaning the kitchen. That was before Tisha burst through the door with every single cleaning supply in the world possible. Tisha practically had a heart attack when she went through the doors and ushered them out and ordered them to get cleaned up. Cosmo apologized to Tisha, Tisha only answered him by asking him politely not to make a mess on the floor.
Boxten and Cosmo split ways. The evening sun guided him through the Gardenview. Cosmo turned a corner rather sharply and bumped into none other than Sprout himself.

“Cosmo!” Sprout said, “There you are, I looked in your room and you weren’t there, I was going to check the kitchen until-” Sprout did a double take and held back a snicker, “Why are you covered in flour?”

Cosmo looked up to Sprout and felt an embarrassing blush creeping to his face, “I was teaching Boxten to bake!” Cosmo sputtered. “We may have dropped a bag of flour on accident….” He trailed off.

Sprout was full-on laughing. “How I wish I was there to see the look on your face!” Sprout teased. The last I remember you doing that was on the day we made Flutter’s surprise birthday cake. I still have the picture!” Sprout added proudly.

Cosmo rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. It was quite fun you know. I can’t remember the last time I felt that way,” Cosmo said fondly, “Maybe you should come next time! It’ll be worth it, I promise!”

Sprout studied Cosmo’s face, “Fine,” he said, “but next time, you don’t drop things like a dork,” Sprout said as he helped brush off some flour off of Cosmo’s face.

“Well, I can clean myself up, was there a reason you were looking for me?” Cosmo asked Sprout.

He saw Sprout’s face light up, or was it the sun reflecting off his face? “Well, I just wanted to check up on a friend! See you tomorrow Cosmo!” Sprout said waving at Cosmo before running off in some random direction.

“See you tomorrow, Sprout!” Cosmo yelled at Sprout’s retreating form. For a few seconds, Cosmo stood looking where Sprout disappeared before he hurried off in a different direction. Today had been a great day, and he didn’t want to mess it up and be found by Tisha.

Chapter 2: Man Overboard!

Cosmo woke up early to meet Sprout backstage. It was not that far, but the number of children he needed to stop and greet slowed him considerably.

It took Cosmo nearly half an hour to sneak backstage. There, he saw some Toons getting ready. Cosmo looked around for a few seconds before spotting a red scarf fluttering through the crowd. Sprout was somewhere around the corner, trying to get Pebble to calm down and sit still.

Cosmo slowly made his way towards Sprout before he was intercepted, Boxten had stood in front of him.

 

“Hi Cosmo, are you here to help with backstage props?” Boxten asked with a shy smile.

 

Cosmo looked around Boxten to see Sprout still struggling to calm Pebble down. Cosmo could spare a few minutes to talk with Boxten, after all, he had told Boxten he would come to help calm his nerves. Anyway, Sprout looked busy.

 

“Nope, I only wanted to check up on everyone! How are you doing?” Cosmo asked politely.

 

Boxten gave an unsure look around the room, “Well, the show is about to start in 30 minutes, everyone has already been here for an hour except for Shrimpo…” Boxten said anxiously.

 

Cosmo glanced around the room, and sure enough, Shrimpo was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he should’ve realized that sooner. The lack of ‘I HATE THIS’ and ‘I HATE THAT’  was a clear giveaway that someone was missing from the group.

 

Boxten continued anxiously, “No one else seems to notice though, but Shrimpo is playing as the ‘villain’ and we can’t continue the story without him,” 

 

Cosmo could sense Boxten’s worry from a mile away, so he placed a hand on his shoulder to try to calm him down,

 

“It’s okay, I’ll go check Shrimpo’s room and maybe around the Gardenview center, if he’s not there, I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually,” Cosmo said, trying to ease Boxten's worry.

 

It seemed to have worked because Boxten’s shoulders untensed slightly. “Thanks, Cosmo, but I think we should tell someone, just in case…”

 

Just then, as if by magic, Sprout appeared out of nowhere. Cosmo jumped slightly and retracted his hand from Boxten’s shoulder. Sprout was looking from Boxten to Cosmo with an expression Cosmo couldn’t quite pinpoint.

 

“Hey Cosmo! And Boxten, what are you talking about? Are you also part of the show Cosmo?” Sprout asked curiously, standing in front of Cosmo, side by side a very anxious Boxten.

 

“Just came to check in! By chance, have you spotted Shrimpo around the area?” Cosmo asked Sprout, trying to ease the tension around them that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

 

“Shrimpo? Uh- no I haven’t, why do you want to know?” Sprout asked hesitantly, paying no mind to Boxten, who was now slowly scooting away from the two and, unsurprisingly, making his way to Poppy.

 

“Shrimpo is part of the play, isn’t he? Boxten was telling me how he hasn’t seen him yet.” Cosmo explained to Sprout, that as much as he wanted Boxten to get along with Sprout, Boxten saw Mains such as Dandy and Vee out of his league and believed that they were too busy to waste their time on someone like himself. But, baby steps, at least Poppy was outgoing.

 

“Oh! That’s what you two were talking about… Anyway, Shrimpo is part of the play. I just assumed he’s punching a wall or something,” Sprout chuckled to himself. Is he not here?” Sprout added seriously.

 

Cosmo sighed, “Take a look around, I’m going to check around the Gardenview. I’ll see you later Sprout,” Cosmo said slightly turning around before Sprout stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

 

“I can help! It’s quite boring waiting for the show to begin and I’m already ready.” Sprout added, a hint of anxiousness in his voice.

 

Cosmo was about to answer Sprout when a huge crash could be heard from the side of the backstage. Some backup curtains had fallen, and Pebble was tangled in the folds. Looey and Tisha rushed towards the scene and tried to clean up the mess, failing miserably because of how heavy the curtains were and mostly because of Pebble, who was still causing chaos by running up and down the place.

Sprout facepalmed and groaned.

 

“Seriously! I’m going to talk to Dandy about Pebble! He needs to get him under control!” Sprout said, sounding exasperated. “Who let the dog backstage!” Sprout yelled into the crowd, no response except for Pebbles barking and the tired sigh of Tisha. 

 

“And where is Dandy?” Sprout muttered, mostly to himself. Seemingly forgetting he still had his hand wrapped around Cosmo’s wrist.

 

“Sprout,” Cosmo said, gaining the attention of the disgruntled Toon. “We can look for Shrimpo and Dandy at the same time, they have to be somewhere,” Cosmo said, taking advantage of the hesitation and dragging Sprout out the backstage door.

 

He made eye contact with Boxten and smiled. " We were out looking for them! We’ll be back,” Cosmo said nicely to Boxten, who had given him a thumbs-up.

 

Sprout had let go of Cosmo and walked beside him, giving him sideways glances. Only a few Toons who have activities in the afternoon wandered around, entertaining some children.

Sprout, being a Main Toon, attracted a lot of attention, which slowed down the search. Kids asking him questions and trying to get him to play with them. Cosmo also got his fair share of attention, mostly because he was always found beside Sprout.

 

“Did you know that Vee has Cupcakes hidden in her bowtie,” Sprout was saying to an extremely large crowd of kids. “You should all go ask her for one,” Sprout said, pointing to the direction where Vee was entertaining. Cosmo caught a glance at Vee and she already looked exhausted with the amount of kids that had gathered around her. Vee practically almost crashed when she saw an equally large crowd making their way towards her. If looks could kill, Sprout would have died twice.

 

After 20 minutes of a thorough search, Dandy and Shrimpo were still nowhere to be seen. 

 

“Maybe, they’re already backstage?” Cosmo added hopefully.

 

“If they are, I’m grabbing Dandy by his petals,” Sprout grumbled as they made their way backstage again. 

 

Backstage seemed to be more chaotic than before. It took Cosmo a good amount of time to comprehend what he was looking at.

Toons were scattered around the area, Pebble was running around the stage and a few Toons were behind him, chasing him around with no hope of catching him anytime soon. ‘Where were the handlers when we need them?’ He heard someone in the crowd yell. Tisha was frantically trying to clean up some banners that had fallen and a familiar figure was standing in the corner, trying to hide away from the chaos.

 

“Boxten!” Cosmo called out for him. Boxten turned his head slightly, and a relieved look overtook him.

 

“Cosmo! I - I don’t know what happened, first it was Toodles, then Pebbles and — did you find them?” Boxten added in an exhausted whisper.

 

Sprout had taken his place beside Cosmo and was looking at Boxten with utmost curiosity.

 

“We thought that they would have appeared by now, I think we’re going to have to cancel the show…” Sprout said, gesturing towards the madness that had unfolded before them. “Boxten, can you go tell someone we won’t be able to continue the show with two Toons missing and to send in one of the caretakers. I don’t think anyone can deal with Pebble at the moment,” Sprout had asked Boxten. Boxten fled right away towards the exit, dodging a basketball that had been thrown across the room.

Cosmo looked around at the chaos and then back at Sprout. Sprout to say the least, looked annoyed, something you see rather on Vee than himself. Cosmo tugged on Sprout’s wrist, Sprout looked down at Cosmo and sighed.

 

“Sorry, Cosmo. I’m just really stressed right now. This was supposed to be the grand opening for the week,” Sprout said tiredly.

 

“Well, it’s a Monday. Let’s first try to get everything under control before we worry about anything else,” Cosmo suggested.

 

“You’re right Cosmo, how about we start with getting Pebble under control? Never seen him act this energetic before.” Sprout added in a mumble.

 

Cosmo nodded but before they could do anything, a loud announcement came from the speakers.

“( BEEP ) Pardon the interruption, but the 6:30 play has been cancelled. We ask you kindly to make your way to the front desk for your ticket refunds. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience. (BEEP) ”

 

“Well, we got that over with…. First one to catch Pebble gets to throw a pie at the other's face!” Sprout added gleefully, turning away from Cosmo and running towards Pebble.

 

“W-what?!” Sputtered Cosmo, quickly trying to catch up with Sprout, “No fair! You’re way faster than me!” Cosmo yelled at Sprout.

The only answer he got in return was an evil giggle as Sprout and Cosmo ran.

 

Notes:

I was fighting autocorrect in this chapter, kept wanting to change Shrimpo's name to 'Shrimp' and 'Shrimpy'.

Chapter 3: Buddies and Slackers

 

The mysterious disappearance of Dandy spread across the Toons rather quickly. Of course, Shrimpo was also mentioned here and there, but most activities around Gardenview had been cancelled because of the missing star of the show. Of course, the Gardenview had closed for the week and an increasingly low number of workers had been sent to try and investigate the missing Toons.

 

‘– do you think they're being overdramatic?’

 

‘– only a few hours, maybe…’

 

‘– the lack of employees –’

 

Rumours had spread among the Toons, Cosmo sat in the sitting area, accompanied by Sprout, Brightney, Vee, and Rodger.

 

“Well, the rumours are not wrong,” Vee added, “The lack of people taking care of the Gardenview has become concerning, we are the ones who are scheduling shows and making the activities.” 

 

Sprout added, "A bit suspicious if you ask me, they have been acting weird,” 

 

“Have they found them yet?” Cosmo asked in a concerning tone.

 

“Nope, they checked Dandy’s room and it looked normal enough, Shrimpo’s was trashed though, probably fighting the wall or something,” Brightney added thoughtfully.

 

“It’s weird because I saw Dandy late last night, I was cleaning up after the book club meeting, I saw him walk by, asked him what he was doing and said he forgot a prop on stage,” Brightney said, looking around the small group.

 

“Interesting,” Rodger said. “Well, that’s a lead. I must leave you all. Just to check around that area.” Rodger stood up and walked towards the performance area.

 

“Well there he goes, I bet he’s hoping to be the one to solve this problem,” Vee added amusingly. 

 

“At least we know someone is doing something,” Cosmo sighed

 

“Yeah, unlike them, ” Sprout added bitterly and pointed to a group of employees that were sitting on a table near them, laughing and talking about who-knows-what.

 

“Where do they even find these people?” Brightney added in a whisper.

 

“Anyways, we should not concern ourselves with them, the company will find out what to do with them,” Vee said turning away from them and deepening their conversation, “I am quite relieved it was Shrimpo who went missing and not another Main,” Vee added

 

“That’s rude Vee, I’m sure they’ll find him soon as well,” Cosmo said indignantly.

 

“Yeah, all they have to do is to listen to someone screaming ‘I hate’ at the top of their lungs”, Vee added in a whisper so Cosmo wouldn’t hear.

 

“Well, it was nice chatting with you all, but Cosmo and I have busy schedules,” Sprout said, removing himself from the table.

 

“We do? I thought we-” Cosmo retorted back before being interrupted and dragged away from the table. He blinked in surprise before he waved goodbye to the other Toons.

 

***

 

“Finally,” Sprout muttered to Cosmo, “I thought Vee might put me in a chokehold if we stayed any longer,”

 

“Really? Vee didn’t look that annoyed…” Cosmo said to Sprout. They were walking into the gift shop when Sprout answered, “Yeah, not annoyed at you, but she was annoyed at me. That little stunt I pulled when we were looking for Dandy and Shrimpo is still seared into her memory,” Sprout said with amusement.

They walked in silence for a while before Sprout spoke again.

 

“So… Since we're not due in the kitchen, what do you want to do?” Sprout asked Cosmo

 

“I don’t know I-” Cosmo started before he’d been interrupted, Pebble zoomed by him making him lose his balance only to be followed by Toodles, who was chasing after Pebble. Luckily, Sprout had caught him before he fell and helped him regain balance.

 

“Ah! Thanks Sprout… I wonder what that was about…” Cosmo muttered softly, but Sprout wasn’t listening, he seemed to be lost in thought.

 

“Y’know,” Sprout said, “Maybe we can use Pebble to help us find Dandy, sniff him out,” Sprout said and looked at Cosmo.

 

“Maybe, but the only thing Pebble looks for is items, and I don’t think he’d willingly help us, especially you,” Cosmo said a bit apologetically.

 

“That’s why you are on Pebble duty, you can’t say no to Pebble and he can’t say no to you, it’s perfect! I’ll just follow from behind.” Sprout added and looked at Cosmo for confirmation.

 

“Oh- Alright, but we’re going to have to find Pebble first,”

 

Notes:

So sorry, forgot to post this chapter! I guess you're getting two chapters in one day :p

Chapter 4: A Needle in a Box

Finding Pebble should have been quite easy, he’s everywhere all at the same time. And yes, that is correct, finding him is very easy. But trying to talk with him meant trying to slow him down, and he seemed to be in a very hyperactive mood at the moment. Cosmo had been run over three times already and Sprout wouldn’t stop fretting over him.

 

“For the last time Sprout, I’m fine, stop shoving the cupcake in my face,” Cosmo said, his calm voice having a bit of irritation in it. He knew Sprout meant well, he always did.

 

“Fine, but maybe this time we try to lure him in rather than trying to face him head on,” Sprout suggested, finally stopped trying to make Cosmo eat another cupcake.

 

“Better idea,” Cosmo muttered, rubbing a still-healing-bruise on his cheek.

 

***

 

“Are you positive this will work?” Cosmo whispered to Sprout. They were hiding behind a few boxes with a trap at the entrance of the Gardenview. It was a string contraption with a dog bone in the middle and a box overhead to trap the target. A bell was attached to signal when the target was caught.

 

“I’ve never been so sure in my entire life,” Sprout answered, also in a hushed whisper.

 

“There must be another way to do this, maybe if we offer the bone to Pebble?” Cosmo retorted back.

 

“He’d just run you over again, this is foolproof,” Sprout said determinedly.

 

“This feels wrong Sprout,” Cosmo muttered

 

“Do you want to find Dandy?”

 

“Don’t forget about Shrimpo,”

 

“Yes, him as well”

 

“Sprout, how would you feel if you were stuck in a trap?”

 

“It’s not like we’re going to keep him there!”

 

“I’m not doing it this way,”

 

“Cosmo, come back,” Sprout said, pulling Cosmo back into a sitting position when he tried to stand up.

 

“Why did I agree to do this again,” Cosmo muttered trying to get up

 

“Must I remind you–” Sprout said, pushing Cosmo to the ground to try to get him to stop moving, 

 

“Sprout, let me go!”

 

“Shhh! They’re going to hear us,”

 

“I don’t want —”

 

Just then, there was a loud bark behind them that both made them jump. Behind them, Pebble was in a sitting position watching them intently. Sprout and Cosmo, forgetting their previous debate, stared at Pebble curiously.

 

“Pebble?” Sprout said, still overtop of Cosmo.

They heard a large thump and a bell ringing, Sprout and Cosmo scrambled up and saw that the trap had been activated.

 

“Wait,” Cosmo said, “If Pebble’s with us, who’s in the trap?”

 

There was a slight banging and a muffled yell. Cosmo and Sprout inched out of their hiding spot and pushed the box over together. Underneath the box was none other than Shelly, holding the bone in her hands.

 

“Sprout? Cosmo?” Shelly said in a surprised tone. “I don’t know what happened, I just saw this and thought maybe it might be a fossil, then it all just went dark!” She said, her eyes large.

 

“Oh! Heh, I wonder how that happened…” Sprout muttered, feigning surprise.

 

“Yup! No clue, we were just walking by… are you hurt by any chance?” Cosmo asked, offering his hand to help her up.

 

“Thanks for worrying Cosmo but I’m fine, I’ll see you guys later” She said, walking off to some other part of the Gardenview with the bone still in her hands.

 

Sprout let out a sigh, “maybe you were right Cosmo, I’m sorry, I should've listened…” Sprout said apologetically.

 

“It’s fine Sprout, it was a decent idea, maybe different bait next time?” Cosmo said with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

 

“Heh, yeah.” Sprout said with a smile too.

 

There was another bark that broke them out of their reverie. They spun around and saw Pebble looking up at them and sniffing Sprout’s pocket. Sprout placed a hand in it and pulled out a cupcake, slightly squashed.

 

“That’s why he came!” Sprout said with an air of disbelief. He tossed it to Pebble, who ate it up gratefully.

 

“Perfect opportunity to ask,” Sprout whispered in Cosmo’s ear

 

“Oh yeah!” Cosmo crouched down to Pebble’s level, “Pebble, could you help us find Dandy?” Cosmo asked, unsure if Pebbles would understand him.

 

Pebble perked up at the word ‘Dandy’. Sprout and Cosmo both noticed this and looked at each other then back at Pebble.

 

Sprout perked up and spoke in a patronizing tone, “Yeah Pebble, Dandy, Daaaaaaaaandy, do you know where he is?” Sprout said, pointing at some flowers as if it will help Pebble to understand.

 

Pebble barked a few times and took off into some random direction. Sprout took Cosmo by the hand and dragged him towards the direction where Pebble went. Since Sprout was quicker, Cosmo let him lead the way. The occasional bark could be heard.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a door with an ‘Employees Only’ sign. Pebble barking up at it. Sprout let go of Cosmo and tried opening the door.

 

“What-? It's- (he tried tugging it again) -locked” He said, grunting as he kept trying to pull it open.

 

“Sprout, stop pulling on it, if it’s locked, it won’t open anytime soon. We don’t want to break it…” Cosmo said thoughtfully, pulling Sprout away from the door.

 

“We need the key… Do you know where they keep it?” Sprout asked Cosmo.

 

“Probably one of the employees,” Cosmo muttered, “Maybe we should ask them to help?”

 

Sprout gave a dry chuckle, “They haven’t done anything except eat all of the sweets in the pantry, I doubt they’ll even take us seriously.” Sprout added in a bitter tone.

 

“I’m sure Rodger would like to know about this, he’s better at solving mysteries,” Cosmo said, but before Sprout could state his opinion, a loud voice came from behind them.

 

“Did someone say mystery!” Someone squeaked from behind them. Turning around, they saw Toodles standing proudly with a stereotypical detective's hat that she probably stole from Rodger.

 

“Oh, hi Toodles. What are you doing here?” Cosmo asked politely, Sprout was staring at her with utmost interest.

 

“Well I’m here to solve the mystery of course! Where were you last Monday?!”

Notes:

Shorter chapter than usual. To be honest, this was a really fun chapter to write. I probably will post the next chapter on Monday or Tuesday...

Chapter 5: Jr. Detective

“Toodles, I don’t think that’s necessary—,” Sprout began to say until he was interrupted by yet again, Toodles.

 

“You two are coming with me to discuss the crime,” Toodles said, grabbing Cosmo’s hand and dragging him along, fully knowing that Cosmo would not object, even if it killed him.

 

“Cosmo!” Sprout said exasperated, walking after him, “We don’t have time for this!”

 

“I know, I know.” Cosmo said apologetically, turning to Toodles, “Toodles, we’re busy right now, maybe another time?”

 

“Crime waits for no one!” Toodles answered, Cosmo gave a defeated look to Sprout. He let out a sigh and followed from behind.

 

---

 

Rodger had taken a walk around the perimeter of the Gardenview Performance Area. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Rodger had started getting frustrated, the lack of any hints, evidence, anything, made it hard to even assume what to do next. Rodger stood there for a few moments, since Brightney had said he was heading for the Performance Area, it never meant he made it. Perhaps a quick search through the hallways. Shrimpo’s room was the closest anyway.

If he had believed it would have made any difference, he was highly mistaken. Whatever had happened, they must have gone away willingly if there was no sign of struggle, perhaps they left Gardenview all together, but how ? Rodger settled for some interrogation, to see if anyone had seen anything, perhaps Cosmo, since he was the one to first notice and start looking the moment he realized they were missing. Or Astro, he was usually seen hanging around Dandy from time to time.

 

Looey was the first one he came across. Looey was a very helpful Toon indeed, so when asked to answer some questions, Looey wholeheartedly agreed.

 

“So Looey, you were part of the 6:30 show, the one with Dandy and Shrimpo, correct?”

 

“That’s right!” Looey said, “I was waiting for Dandy to come, got a bit distracted with Pebble, then the next thing I know, the show’s cancelled!”

 

“Alright,” Rodger said, writing this down on a clipboard he brought, “Did you see anything out of the ordinary, out of place?”

 

“Pebble was acting more energetic than usual, someone also stole all my speed candy, and I might have a hunch of who” Looey added in a hush whisper.

 

“Hmm,” Rodger added, “Thanks Looey, this helps me at least a little,” Rodger said.

 

“Happy to be of service!” Looey said with a salut and ran off.

 

Rodger watched him run off and walked to a different Toon. It continued like that for a while, each Toon had something similar to say, whether it was their point of view or something a bit different. There was barely enough information to continue on. He walked on until he stopped at a small room with the door slightly ajar. Voices were coming from the inside. Rodger pushed the door open and blinked a few times to adjust to the lighting.

Toodles, Cosmo, and Sprout were inside the dimly lit room with a large table situated in the middle of it. Toodles was asking them questions, well, were they really questions?

 

“What’s your favourite ice cream flavour?” Toodles asked

 

“Well, I think chocolate is nice…” Cosmo said

 

“Correct!”

 

Sprout sighed, "Is this even an interrogation anymore?” he muttered.

 

Rodger stared at the scene before him for a few seconds.

 

“May I ask what you all are doing?” He asked tentatively.

 

Toodles turned around to face Rodger. 

 

“Obviously an interrogation, these two were acting suspicious” She told Rodger sternly

 

Sprout groaned, “For the last time! We didn’t steal your rubber duck!” He said, sounding half desperate. 

 

“Speak when spoken to criminal! You’re guilty until proven guilty!” Toodles shot back

 

“That doesn’t even make sense?!”

 

“Where’d you learn that Toodles?”

 

“I watch Teagan’s drama shows when she’s not looking!”

 

“Of course you do…” Rodger sighed, “Well, Toodles, to be a proper investigator, you can’t just bring random people to interrogate. You need evidence” 

 

“B-but—”

 

“I Truly apologize for the inconvenience,” Rodger said, turning to Cosmo and Sprout.

 

Sprout stood up, “Finally! Hah! Proven innocent you gnat!” Sprout said triumphantly at Toodles.

 

“Just you wait SEEDLY ” Toodles shot back grinning.

 

“How DARE you!” Sprout said

 

In the end, Cosmo had to drag Sprout out by the scruff of his scarf while Toodles stuck her tongue out at him. Rodger just watched the exchange, scolding Toodles a bit for not being respectful. She eventually ran off to go bother someone else.

 

“Thanks, Rodger” Cosmo said, finally letting go of a very annoyed Sprout 

 

“My pleasure” Rodger said, about to walk off when Cosmo spoke again,

 

“Actually, before you leave, can we have you look at something? It might help you out with your investigation.” Cosmo asked 

 

“I suppose,” Rodger said, anything at this point was useful.

 

Cosmo and Sprout led the way, stopping at a doorway with an employee only sign. Rodger stood around waiting a few seconds.

 

“What was it you wanted to show me?” Rodger asked

 

Sprout spoke up, “Well, me and Cosmo decided that Pebble might be able to help us find something. So we asked Pebble to look for Dandy and led us to the door. It might be dog treats or something important. We don’t know yet.” Sprout explained.

 

“Then why don’t you open the door…?” Rodger asked confusingly.

 

“It’s locked. Don’t you have a key or something?” Sprout answered and asked.

 

“I do, but they’re outdated. I thank you for this information all the same. But what inquires me the most is how you managed to get Pebble to do this, let alone listen to you…” Rodger said, narrowing his eyes at the both of them.

They both laughed awkwardly.

 

“Not important,” Sprout said, his voice unnaturally high.

 

“Quite suspicious, but it can not be that bad.” Rodger said dismissively. 

 

Rodger ruffled some papers on his clipboard. “I’ll look into it, Thank you for the information.” He said, examining the door some more, “Did Pebble do anything else?”

 

“Except banging on every moving object he finds, nothing,” Sprout said.

 

“Well, if that’s all, I’ll see you two around,” Rodger said before walking away.

 

Sprout and Cosmo stared at Rodger’s retreating figure for a few seconds before Sprout sighed and looked towards Cosmo.

 

“You know, I think Vee’s right. He has a big stick shoved up his –”

 

What Sprout was about to say, we’ll never know. Cosmo had hit Sprout on the back of his head, effectively shutting him up.

Chapter 6: Cooks and Cookies

Notes:

Hope you enjoy!

It had been a whole week now and there was no sign of either of them. The Gardenview had sent an announcement that it was now closed until further notice. Speculations of them leaving the Gardenview started to spread and rumours were spreading like wildfire.

 

“Why would they want to leave?” Cosmo heard a group of passing Toons talking about.

 

“I heard that they’ve been planning this for week’s”

 

“So they weren’t kidnapped?”

 

“How could they? Gardenview was closed and there were no signs of break ins.”

 

The group continued to mutter as they walked farther away from the kitchen. Cosmo sighed as he went over to the counter where Sprout was cutting a few vegetables. 

 

“I just don’t understand why they left,” Cosmo said to Sprout.

 

Sprout hummed in response, not needing to know who he was talking about to understand. It was all everyone was talking about.

 

“What do you think they're going to do?” Cosmo asked quietly.

 

Cosmo didn’t have to specify either, that he was talking about the founders.

 

“I don’t know Cosmo, they’re probably going to keep looking until further notice…” Sprout said, placing the cut vegetables into a pot of boiling water. They were practicing a recipe from the cookbook Brightney gave them.

 

“They haven’t really been active either, almost if they’ve forgotten about us…” Cosmo muttered.

 

“At least maintenance comes in once in a while,” Sprout added humorously 

 

“Heh, yeah” Cosmo said, coming around to stir it while it boiled.

 

“If they did leave though, where do you think Shrimpo would have gone?” Cosmo asked

 

“Probably in jail for ‘disturbing the peace’” Sprout answered

 

Cosmo snickered at that, “and Dandy?”

 

“Well, he became an astronaut who crashed landed into a mysterious planet then became the leader of an unknown colony, he performs tap-dancing for them regularly” Sprout added

 

Cosmo burst out laughing at that, soon accompanied by Sprout’s laughter as well. Cosmo had to take a step away from the stove from the risk of accidentally burning himself because of his laughter.

Cosmo wiped a tear and let out a final chuckle, Sprout was getting up from the floor, he had tripped and had been on all fours while laughing. 

 

“Should we be joking about this?” Cosmo asked, returning to the stove and stirring it a bit more. 

 

“Who says we can’t?” Sprout answered him “We’re already stuck in here until they find them, might as well make the most of the break.”

Goob was one of the first Toons to ask for desserts the second he finished, (and spilled half of) his soup. Cosmo and Sprout had made a bunch of sweets since that was their specialty. 

The sitting area was filled with Toons, some just passing by, others sitting down with a bowl of warm soup. Cosmo was at the counter, serving it to those who wanted some. Boxten came up.

 

“Hey Boxten, long time no see” Cosmo said kindly, wiping his hands with a clean towel.

 

“It’s only been a few days…”

 

“I know, but we should chat more. Maybe continue some baking lessons?” Cosmo said, now offering him a bowl of soup. Boxten grabbed it and muttered a small thanks.

 

“Yes, I would like that. Poppy asked me to bring some snacks and I want to try to make some cupcakes…”

 

Cosmo didn’t ask why Boxten needed to bring snacks but was eager to help Boxten again.

 

“Say no more, I would love to bake with you again,” Cosmo said, seeing Boxten light up at that.

“Thank you,” Boxten said, cupping the soup in his hands and walking off to a nearby table.

 

Cosmo waved goodbye to Boxten, just about to grab another bowl of soup to hand out when there was a crash. Cosmo flinched and looked around, he saw Sprout lying on the ground, covered in cupcakes. He must’ve crashed into something. He saw Sprout rub his head and Tisha coming over to clean up the mess. Cosmo caught Sprout’s eye.

 

“Are you alright?” Cosmo asked, slightly yelling over the sound of the other Toons talking.

 

“Heh, yeah I’m fine” Sprout answered back, giving Cosmo a thumbs up

 

Cosmo saw Goob trying to sneak 5 muffins into a small bag when Sprout wasn’t looking. Cosmo fought the urge to laugh. It looked like every Toon was in the sitting area, everything was normal again. But missing the loud and somewhat annoying remarks of Dandy, and Shrimpo’s ever so famous for stirring trouble shtick. At least Goob kept things interesting, always hanging around Scraps… wait, where is Scraps?

Cosmo looked around the room, usually, Scraps and Goob were always hanging together. Maybe she was sick? In that case, maybe he should ask Goob if he can see her, maybe make some ‘feel better cookies’...

 

Or did she prefer muffins?

Notes:

Shorter chapter than usual, I didn't really liked how it turned out so I ended it and trimmed it a bit.

Chapter 7: Dream Sweet in Sea Major

Notes:

Happy April Fools day! Hope you all get tricked and what not. I didn't even know it was April Fools day until I heard the news on the radio, I'm in a different universe right now lol.

Chapter title is from the song "Dream Sweet in Sea Major" by Miracle Musical.

The Sitting Area was slowly being cleared out. Toons filtered out of it, a few staying around to help clean up. Goob was one of them. Cosmo pushed by the crowd, muttering a quiet apology to all he accidently bumped into. Goob was one of the Toons helping clean up pastries.

 

“Hi Goob,” Cosmo said, Goob turned around abruptly, hiding his hands behind his back.

 

“Hehe, HI COSMO! How ya doin’?!” Goob said excitedly

 

“I’m doing good Goob, I have a question to ask you though,” Cosmo asked, trying to peek behind Goob to see what he was hiding.

 

Goob turned a bit to the side, blocking his view, “Anything! You can ask me ANYTHING… that I know how to answer…” Goob added

 

“Oh.. okay. Um, how is Scrap’s doing? I didn’t see her here or with you on the matter,” Cosmo asked a bit nervously, maybe he was overthinking, but he couldn’t help worry for the well being of his other peers.

 

“Scraps? SHE said she was working on a ‘Top Secret Project’, I think it was an excuse to sleep in though,” Goob said, accidentally taking a bite of a cookie he was hiding behind his back.

 

“Oh, well, I was going to give you some extra cookies to give to her, but it seems you’ve already have some,” Cosmo said, pointing to the one Goob was currently shoving in his mouth.

 

“Oh. OH, these? Uh, Sprout gave them to me to TOTALLY give to Scraps, on my way right now actually.”

 

“Oh? Sure Goob. You don’t mind if I tag along? Y’know, keep you company,” Cosmo said, knowing fully well that Goob was planning to eat the rest by himself.

 

“Sure! That means I can finally show you my candy tower,”

 

“Your candy what?”

 

“Candy tower! Made out of candies!”

 

“Oh, yeah, that would be nice”

 

Goob entered the room, dumping the load of snacks onto Scrap's empty bed. 

 

“Hmmmm, something’s missing…” Goob muttered to himself, looking around the room.

 

“I realized that” Cosmo added, “Where’s Scra-”

 

“WHERE’S my CANDY TOWER!” Goob exclaimed, only finding a few empty wrappers scattered across the room.

 

“Oh?” Cosmo said, only noticing the thing that Goob has been boasting about, missing from the room. “What about Scraps?” Cosmo asked,

 

“You’re right, SCRAPS probably stole them, then ran away with it!”

 

“I thought you said Scraps was sleeping?”

 

“YOu’re RiGht AGAIN! She lied,”

 

“She never told you she was?”

 

“I’m confused,”

 

“So am I”

 

Cosmo checked her bed, nicely tucked in and pillows fluffed. It must’ve been Scraps who cleaned it up because Tisha was back at the Sitting Area, but Goob and Cosmo already walked down the halls and didn’t see her. Unless she didn’t want to be caught? Perhaps she did really steal Goob’s candy tower, he had a bad feeling about this.

They slowly walked out of the room, Goob still seemed bummed out about the candy fiasco. Cosmo spoke before he could stop himself.

 

“If it makes you feel better, me and Sprout had some extra candy in the kitchen, we could make another candy tower if you wanted?” Cosmo said nervously, awaiting Goob’s answer.

 

Goob smiled and pulled Cosmo into a soul crushing hug, “REALLY!? That would be better than my last one because we would be doing it together! THANK you Cosmo!”

 

“Yep!” Cosmo said breathlessly, patting Goob on the back, “Could you- could you put me down? I feel my lungs getting squished here…”

 

Goob gave him one last squish, making Cosmo let out an involuntary squeak before letting go, “Haha! Sorry! I got too excited for a second,”

 

“Did I hear candy!?” Another voice came ringing out from the ceiling. Cosmo looked towards the speakers, assuming that’s where the sound was coming from, only to see Yatta hop down from the vents.

 

“HELLO my dearest friends! Howzzitgoin?” Yatta said excitedly, running towards them and stopping abruptly before she could crash into them, “I heard someone was making a candy tower?!” She said looking at them intensely

 

“HELLO Yatta! A certain someone stole my original masterpiece and Cosmo volunteered to help me make a new one! He’s the best!” Goob said, pointing at Cosmo who turned red and slightly turned away.

 

“It was nothing,” Cosmo muttered appreciatively

 

“REally!? That’s great! Can I join!? I have a bunch of candy to help make it bigger than the sky!” Yatta said, hopping excitedly.

 

“The more the merrier! You don’t mind Cosmo?”

 

“Of course not. How about thursday? Two days from now, I’m a bit busy at the moment…”

 

“It’s a date!” Yatta said, “I’ll see you guys on thursday! Byeeeeeee!” Yatta said before climbing up the walls and back into the vents. A little bit of movement could be heard from the ceiling.

 

“Isn’t that a bit unsettling, the way she climbs up and goes into the vents?” Cosmo muttered to Goob who looked unbothered as always.

 

“I have no idea what you're talking about Cosmo!”

 

Cosmo sighed, “Nevermind, have a goodnight Goob,”

 

“You too!” Goob said waving goodbye before going into his room

 

Cosmo walked back to the Sitting Area, having to make sure everything was in order, the Gardenview was pretty dark now, the sun had gone and a few stars were threatening to appear in the sky. Cosmo knew the way to the Sitting Area, even without the light.

It was deathly silent, every Toon having left. Cosmo wandered around before entering the kitchen, it seems like either Sprout cleaned it, or Tisha snuck in again. Having gone in here for no reason, Cosmo closed the door softly and walked out of the room. 

He passed a few doors when one stuck out to him, it was the one Sprout and Cosmo had found with Pebble, the one that was locked was now slightly open, with a flickering blue light and a muffled voice coming from it. Cosmo hesitated, who was up at this time, nevertheless in a room as suspicious as that? He slowly walked down towards it, the voice getting louder. He strained his ears, hovering a few inches from the door.

 

“This…. right….is.”

 

“I….thought…..believe”

 

Cosmo's heart was pounding, he sucked in a deep breath and pushed open the door. Though there was a flickering blue light, it was still hard to see. There was Astro and… another Toon? With bright colours and… and.

Before he could see anything else, his head started spinning, blurring the dark world together. A voice, urgent and loud, was all that filled his ears at the moment.

 

“I thought you said everyone was asleep!”

 

“I miscounted, it happens sometimes. I didn’t expect them to come here though!”

 

“Do something!”

 

“I already did,”

Cosmo felt the world spin as he lost balance and hit the floor with a loud thud he could barely hear, his head was pounding, his consciousness slipping away.

 

He felt himself being dragged away before abruptly being dropped, footsteps fading away, then he heard another pair run nearer.

That’s all he heard before it all went dark.

 

Notes:

Kinda hard to make the chapters flow together, I'm working on that.

Chapter 8: Oversleep

Notes:

Late Chapter, I was going to add more but couldn't resist the urge to end it here, enjoy! :p

A little warning tag here,

**DROWNING**
**Rodger deserves his own warning**

He was floating, somewhere, in the middle of the ocean, judging by the salt water. Dark clouds filled overhead while he looked around. He felt light, and tired, so very tired. He felt as though he was being dragged down by his exhaustion, maybe because he was. The water slowly filled his lungs as he felt someone pull him down. 

It burned.

  He knew yelling would be useless, what else was there to do? His vision swimmed, sea creature in the water making fun of his lack of gills. He felt as though a plastic bag had been placed over his head, making it harder to breathe, the salt water infecting his body.

In the distance, he heard a voice. It sounded hard and disappointing, like a mother scolding her child. Cruel laughter filled the water.

 

“Next time, keep to yourself” It echoed

 

Another voice came, Cosmo barely heard it, was it… Pleading? Comforting and erratic, a desperate kind of voice. His eyes faded closed as he saw the last puff of life leave him.

Cosmo’s eyes snapped open and he sat upright, gasping for air like he never had before, ignoring the pounding in his head. His breathing was erratic and he felt sweat down his forehead. Vaguely realizing he was shaking, he felt for his lungs, still working and not full of seawater.

His vision grew clearer, he was somewhere in the hallway, it was still dark, dark and cold. He shivered, his breathing still not controlled. A muffled sound came from behind him, he slowly turned to his side to see Sprout shaking his shoulder, his face concerned and… scared?

 

“Cosmo, buddy! Are you okay?! Can you hear me?” Sprout said, turning Cosmo around to face him fully.

 

“S-Sprout?” He muttered, his breath shaky.

 

“Yeah, it’s me! What happened?! Are you hurt?” Sprout said, checking Cosmo for injuries.

 

Cosmo didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know what happened. Was it really all a dream? The voices, the water, the two Toons talking. It had felt so real. Cosmo didn’t know what to say, there wasn’t a better way to describe it, he was scared , terrified and afraid. 

 

“I-I went to check the kitchen” Cosmo started, his voice shaking, “When n-no one was there, I was going t-to go back when I saw the door open-”

 

“What door?” Sprout asked curiously, looking around as if the answer would appear somewhere in the dark hallway.

 

“Th-the one door we found with Pebble…” Cosmo muttered squinting down the hallway and pointing towards something in the dark, “someone was in there so I went to check it out,”

 

Sprout looked at Cosmo and then back at the door, Cosmo was right, the door was slightly ajar. They had such a busy week he had forgotten all about it, leaving Rodger to work on it, maybe he didn’t even think there was something wrong about it.

Sprout slowly got up, hearing the shuffle of someone else getting up behind him. Sprout looked back to see Cosmo also standing up, looking slightly scared. Sprout walked towards the door with Cosmo behind him, grabbing the handle and giving it a short tug, this time instead of being locked, it opened easily. Inside, it was dark, too dark. Sprout felt for the sides of the walls, looking for a light switch. He clicked the light switch on, yet it didn’t work. He sighed.

 

“Looks like we’re going to need a flashlight, you don’t happen to have one in your pocket?” Sprout said, turning around to face Cosmo.

 

“No, but I’m sure there’s one somewhere in the Gardenview… can’t this wait for tomorrow?” Cosom added in a small mutter.

 

“No, I'm not going to risk waking up and finding the door locked again,” Sprout said determinedly.

 

“And if it’s just a normal closet?”

 

“Then Pebble’s isn’t getting any more cupcakes from me for a week,”

 

Cosmo fake gasped, “You’re cruel,” he said teasingly.

 

“So I’ve been told,”

 

Cosmo chuckled, he felt better. Sprout always knew how to lift the mood, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy, his stomach churning. The feeling of being watched, it also didn’t help that it was the middle of the night, it also didn’t help that he couldn’t shake off the words he heard in the ‘dream’.

 

“Hellooooooo? Earth to Cosmo? Are you going to help me find a flashlight or what?” Sprout said.

 

“O-oh, yes sorry, I’m just a little nervous,” Cosmo said, snapping out of his thoughts.

 

“Well, let’s go. I’m sure I have a flashlight in my room…”

 

Sprout and Cosmo walked towards the room, being careful not to trip on anything in the dark. When both he and Cosmo where blinded by someone holding a flashlight.

 

“Sprout? Cosmo? What are you doing at this time?” a familiar voice asked.

 

“Rodger?” Cosmo muttered, his eyes adjusted to the light rather quickly, he saw Rodger pointing a flashlight directly at them wearing pajamas, looks like he was about to go to sleep.

 

“Yes, I came to check what the noise was, but I see you two sneaking out past hours.” Rodger said, squinting his eye at them.

 

“What are you? My parent?” Sprout muttered flinching as Rodger pointed the light directly at him

 

“No, I am the only Toon here who actually listens to the rules,” Rodger retorted back

 

“And what about those times you broke them for an ‘investigation’” Sprout said, air quoting the word.

 

“This isn’t a topic for discussion, what is is why you two are out here in the dark, at times like these,” Rodger said

 

“Well Rodger,” Cosmo started, “I got left behind and–” Cosmo paused, was he going to tell them he saw Astro out in the middle of the night? As much as he wanted to tell the truth, it could be that Astro was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, as much as he found it hard to believe.

Maybe he could talk to Astro afterward, to clear up any confusion, for now he had to think of something believable to say.

 

“And?” Rodger said, noticing his pause, even Sprout looked intrigued. Cosmo realized he hadn’t told him everything about what happened.

 

“And I noticed a door open,” Cosmo immediately started again, “I went to check it out but it was too dark,” Maybe he should leave out the fact that he passed out too.

 

“Yeah, I found Cosmo wandering around and we went to look for a flashlight.” Sprout added giving Cosmo a knowing look.

 

“Did you perhaps lose something in the room? Why else would you go in?” Rodger asked suspiciously

 

“Well you see Rodger,” Sprout said, “It’s the same room that was locked when we showed you, did you happen to get it open?”

 

“Well, no. I tried multiple ways but it wouldn’t open. You are telling me you got it open?”

 

“ Found it open,” Cosmo corrected quietly

 

“Well,” Rodger started, “Since I’m already here, we could see what was inside together,” Rodger said, pointing to the flashlight, “lead the way,” he added.

Chapter 9: A New Currency

Notes:

The amount of plot holes there are because I keep forgetting the story is crazy. Forgive me if it isn’t consistent

Edit: Changed the story a bit, I am having so much trouble continuing this lol

The air seemed to grow dense, almost as if it didn’t want them to go any further. Rodger held the light behind them as Cosmo glanced around the hallways, looking for anything out of place, when they reached the mysterious door, it was exactly as Cosmo and Sprout left it.

“Remind me why you two didn’t turn on the lights instead,” Rodger asked the two of them.

“It didn’t work,” Cosmo said simply as Sprout tried to turn the lights on again, “still doesn’t work,” Cosmo added as he watched how the lights didn’t even flicker when they tried to turn it on.

“Very helpful Cosmo,” Sprout said sarcastically, “Alright, let’s finally see what’s been behind this door,” Sprout added, stepping aside as Rodger flashed the light inside.

 

It seemed to be an employee storage room, though the shelves that remained were filled with different color spray paint and a few plushies. Though, that wasn’t their utmost concern, because there was one thing that really caught their attention, the room was filled with-

 

“Tapes?” Cosmo said baffled

 

In a giant corner of the room, there had been at least more than a hundred tapes shoved into the corner of the room, threatening to overflow. Sprout went to pick one up.

 

“Huh,” he said, “I didn’t even know we made this many,”

Sprout looked back at Rodger, “What do you think, you’re the detective after all.”

Though Rodger wasn’t paying attention to Sprout, he was crouched down in the corner of the room, seemingly inspecting something.

“This is certainly very strange and concerning,” Rodger finally said, standing up and grabbing a white towel to wipe his hands, “I’ll stay for a bit longer to check around this place, you two may leave if you want,”

Sprout and Cosmo looked at each other, Cosmo nodded,

“We’ll see you in the morning then,” Sprout said

Before they left though, Sprout grabbed a few tapes, “Just in case” he said.

Sprout and Cosmo walked down the still darkened hallway. The shift in the air got presumably lighter.

“So, what actually happened to you before I came,” Sprout asked Cosmo casually,

Cosmo sighed, of course Sprout would want to know. He explained that after he had checked inside, he had seen Astro inside with someone else. Explaining that he had passed out and had a vivid nightmare before Sprout woke him up. Sprout had listened intently, his eyes betraying his worry.

“Alright,” Sprout said after Cosmo had finished explaining, “Let’s not beat around the bush, do you think Astro was the one who gave you the nightmare?” Sprout asked tentatively.

“Maybe, but I don’t know why he would do something like that,” Cosmo muttered, “Do you think I did something wrong?” Cosmo asked worryingly.

Sprout shook his head, “You're one of the nicest Toons out of everyone, except maybe Shelly,” Sprout added.

“Do you think I should’ve told Rodger?” Cosmo asked

“Nah, Rodger would have harassed Astro more than he did before, he’s not exactly the subtle type.” Sprout answered

 

They had made it to the Toon rooms, Cosmo waved goodnight at Sprout before collapsing on his bed. As much as he wanted to get a good night’s sleep, the memory of the nightmare was still fresh in his head, with that voice echoing in his mind. It took Cosmo a few tosses and turns before he passed out, even then, his subconscious was still replaying the events that had happened.

 

---

 

The mornings were always the hardest, not because waking up was difficult, (which it mostly was,) but because with no shows to prepare for and nothing to keep themselves busy, most Toons just wandered around before finding something to do.

Cosmo was sitting at the table with a warm cup of hot chocolate. A bit healthier than the Bottle ‘o’ Pop most Toons drink.
Sprout and Cosmo were planning on searching for Rodger to ask him about yesterday. Sprout had said that he was in too deep to not know what was happening, Cosmo agreed.

“So, since I don’t see Rodger anywhere, want to check out the room beforehand?” Sprout asked casually

“I suppose,” Cosmo said

Though, when they went to the same spot they went to the night before, there was seemingly no door.

“Uh, where did the door go?” Cosmo asked, staring at a blank wall

“Same question I’m asking myself, buddy,” Sprout answered, taking a step closer. Sprout placed a hand where the door was supposed to be and knocking on the ‘wall’ a few times,

“Hard as rock, though the paint is still a bit wet,” Sprout said, wiping his hand on his scarf.

“Look at this,” Cosmos said, pointing to something beside the door, it was a white towel right in front of the wall. Cosmo picked it up and examined it. It looked like the one Rodger used to clean his hands with, though it was smudged with a black-like liquid, one he was too far familiar with.

“Ichor,” Cosmo muttered, feeling the soft fabric under his fingers he felt himself tense up at the word.

“What’s… Why was that here?” Sprout asked, looking from the cloth to the wall.

“This can’t be good,” Cosmo said,

“When has ichor ever been good?” Sprout muttered

There was some shuffling behind them, they both turned to see Goob running their way.

“Hiya fellas!” He said in a cheery tone, not knowing what he just walked into, “Have you seen Scrap’s by chance, I haven’t seen her since yesterday,”

Cosmo and Sprout looked at each other,

“What do you mean Goob?” Cosmo asked

“Exactly what I said! Scraps has been missing for over a day now, and I wanted to show her my new drawing I made of us together!”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“Am I supposed to?” Goob asked

“You know what? Just leave it to use, we’ll look for her,” Sprout said, giving a strained smile,

“Okie! You guys are the greatest!”

“Ha ha, yeah…” Sprout muttered waiting until Goob was out of earshot

“Ohmygosh Cosmo, this is bad,” Sprout said in a hushed voice

“What are we going to do?” Cosmo said he felt hopeless, what were they going to do?

 

Cosmo racked his brain for anything  that could be useful, they were at a dead end. Cosmo feared what would happen if they didn’t do anything soon.

 

“Sprout… Do you think we should talk to Astro?”

“Well, he was the only one you saw before I came wasn’t he?” Sprout muttered, mostly to himself.

“Well” He said, “It can’t be helped, Astro is friends with Dandy afterall, maybe he has something to do with this..”

Notes:

For all the peeps here that came for the other ships I promoted in tags, be patient, they're all happening soon.

Edit: Projects be hitting me hard. No, I DOn'T wANt to wRiTe aN eSSaY aBouT tHe dAY THe skY turNeD BluE.

Notes:

This is just an experimental type of post, we'll see how the story goes. Leave your suggestions down in the comments! Always appreciate some suggestions since this is not beta read!