Chapter Text
Looey Helium. Loud, obnoxious, reckless, and careless. No worries, no concerns, just party tricks and jokes. Yeah, what a joke.
And that was the toon volunteering to distract? The weekly run, one he’d never joined before, but now he’s suddenly so interested?
“I think it’s a good idea.” Dazzle said quietly, giving the clown a small, fond smile.
“Yeah, Looey’s a great distractor!” Razzle agreed brightly.
Sprout wasn’t too convinced, but the twins were close with Astro, so he tried to be a bit more thoughtful. I just hope he doesn’t plan on goofing off, Sprout thought, vaguely annoyed. If anything goes wrong, I can always take over.
Sprout Seedly. Stuck-up, effortlessly perfect, actually respected by all, and he sure used that status to be bossy. Talk about hard-edged.
He just had to make a point of hosting every weekly run, didn’t he? With his constant no-nonsense attitude, he wasn’t the kind of guy Looey liked to run into. He had hoped to be able to join at least one weekly run Sprout wasn’t supervising…
As he and Yatta approached, Sprout acknowledged them with a curt nod. Looey smiled uneasily.
“You’re the best distractor by far!” Yatta exclaimed, holding onto his shoulders and jumping up and down. “And DON’T act so humble!” In an exaggerated whisper, she leaned over to Sprout, “He managed to distract Pebble and the Crafts by himself!”
The baker regarded him with some surprise.
“It was a lucky floor!” Nearly toppling over, Looey used his finest ‘funny’ voice. Friendly, confident, humble... “There’s no need to talk me up like that!” He glanced over at Sprout. I just hope he doesn’t get in my way.
After the descent, the elevator door opened, and the toons cautiously scattered throughout the floor, Looey speeding ahead to catch the attention of all the twisteds. Almost immediately, the slash of a lost heart rang out. Cosmo and Sprout exchanged a glance. Already??
The rest of the floor proceeded without a hitch, and the healers were surprised to discover it was Looey who had lost the heart. Sprout frowned with annoyance. Let’s go settle this.
“You need a heal?” Sprout approached Looey once everyone had settled in the elevator.
Looey glanced down at his shredded shirt. The claw marks had stopped bleeding, but that didn’t negate the damage. “Oh! You should know about my ability. The more injured I am, the faster I go!” He gestured his hands assuringly.
Sprout’s concern was joined by confusion. “Why distract if you have to get hurt? Why don’t you let Yatta take over?”
“I’ll be fine! Yatta’s better with machines, anyway.”
“But you’ll be running around on two hearts!”
“So will you!”
Sprout paused, narrowing his eyes. “Touché.”
Before Sprout could turn to the other toons, Looey hurriedly put a hand on his shoulder. “-But I’ll be careful! You shouldn’t have to heal me at all this run!” Their expression was somewhere between resolute and incredibly anxious. “…That is, not until we head back, haha.”
Sprout returned the touch with an amused smile. “It’s a promise, then.”
They descended floor after floor, and Looey did his job well. Of course, there were the occasional hiccups. Vee got hit before Looey had rounded up all of the twisteds. Yatta distracted twisted Goob while Looey focused on some commons. The ever-curious Rodger lost several hearts to his twisted counterpart…
But beyond that, the run was going smoothly.
Everyone was confident now. There wasn’t anything they couldn’t face! There wasn’t anything Looey couldn’t handle! They could keep exploring forever if need be!
But after the twentieth descent, a deafening growl echoed through the rooms and killed any ghost of certainty the toons had. Thud, thud, thud. Even worse, they all heard the distinct sound of a generator failing before the floor snapped to pitch black.
“About time we headed back, anyway.” Vee sighed, resigned.
“And in the smaller warehouse!” Cosmo groaned, stretching his arms above his head. “Are we unlucky or what?”
Everyone drew their eyes to Looey, who seemed to shrink under their gazes. His face was pale, though that could’ve just been his clown makeup. “N-nothing I can’t handle!” He exclaimed, then burst out of the elevator before anyone could see his expression change.
Sprout tore away after him.
“Sprout!” Looey yelped as the baker caught up to him. “I can handle this!”
“We’ll see!” Sprout panted. “The odds are looking–!”
His words were cut short as a resounding BARK sent both of them skidding to a stop. White fangs and red, raging eyes appeared from the black. They nearly cuffed Sprout by the cheek, gnashing straight past him and closing around Looey’s neck.
Sprout stumbled to the ground in shock. His ears filled with a crunch and a whooshing of rushing air as a heart was torn out of the balloon. The monster shook its jaws around Looey for good measure, before dropping him to the ground. Looey was quick to recover before the beast could secure another bite, and began the chase.
“B…Be careful!” Was all Sprout could sputter out.
“I will!” Looey called back.
The rest of the floor was a race against time. Pebble was faster and bigger than anything else his team had come across this run. With his nerves, he couldn’t stand to work at a machine, instead standing at a distance to watch Looey distract. He was terrified that at any point, the rapidly beating outline of the clown’s heart could vanish.
After what felt like an eternity, the elevator door closed behind them. “We’ve pumped more than enough ichor… let’s head back to the lobby.” Sprout exhaled. The rest of his team murmured their agreement.
Looey had slumped against a wall and he was… certainly a sight. He was thin, mangled, his eyes were wide and wild, and his hands were fidgeting relentlessly. On one heart, he was significantly shorter than before, over a head shorter than Sprout. At some point during the chase, they had ditched that poofy neck collar.
He looked… so much smaller. Sprout’s heart drooped a little. Looey hardly resembled that bright, larger-than-life performer on stage. Slouched over on the floor of the elevator, he was a trembling rabbit.
Sprout sat down next to them. “How about that heal?”
Looey snapped out of whatever stupor he was caught in, giving Sprout an uneasy smile. “I’m sure I’ll… naturally recover in time for the next run.”
Their voice seemed far weaker, fainter than it did before, making Sprout lean in further with concern. He eyed their tattered shirt and lacerated neck dubiously. “Have you seen yourself? There’s no shame in a little care.”
Looey threw his hands bashfully, attempting to reinflate that usually colorful attitude of his. “Come on, Sprout, do you have to heal everyone? Besides, the run’s over! No use in me using up supplies.”
Sprout furrowed his brows. “Looey, other than you potentially scaring the shit out of Toodles, we’re a team! If I think you need some extra care, that’s my call.”
“...I know, but, I’d hate to waste your-”
Sprout placed a hand on their shoulder. “Looey, you’re never a waste of anything.”
And he meant it. He didn’t just want to keep his team alive, he wanted everyone to be safe. What was the point of surviving in the shadow of Gardenview’s shutdown if every toon was on the brink of collapse? No use of supplies was a waste.
…Not that Looey took it that way.
Looey’s face flushed a bright red, and he turned away. “Sorry! Nevermind!! Forget I said anything, HAHAHA!” He let out some panicked laughter, before immediately doubling over in pain. “Ughhh…” His voice was even more deflated.
Sprout stifled an endeared laugh. He’s not as bad as I thought… he mused distantly, summoning a cupcake as the elevator ascended…
By the time they returned to the lobby, Looey had only stubbornly accepted a single heal.
“When I’m at two hearts, we’re completely the same!” Looey insisted. “Same health, same speed, same survivability! Only,” he pointed to himself, “I’m far flashier. The twisteds love me.”
“It must be the squeaking as well,” Sprout laughed under his breath.
“What was that?”
“--I mean! That may be true, but I can run for far longer than any other toon.”
Looey stopped, frowning indignantly. “That can’t be true.”
“Here, let’s race.” Sprout pointed to the tree below the skylight, afternoon light pouring in and bathing the elevator courtyard at an angle. “We’ll run there and back, however many times it takes. Whoever’s out of breath first, loses.”
“I didn’t know you were competitive.” Looey put his hands on his hips.
“So you agree I’m the better survivalist?” Sprout shrugged, inwardly delighting at Looey’s outraged expression. “Then there’s no need to distract.”
“Fine, then!” Looey puffed. “Let’s race.”
Looey lost. Badly.
“Well, that settles it.” Sprout looked rather satisfied with himself, hardly breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, Looey was leaning forward on his knees, gasping for air. “You can take a break from distracting, okay?”
“It–!” Looey caught his breath. “Stamina will hardly matter when I’m on one heart!”
“But that’s exactly the problem!” Sprout protested. “You’ll be running around within an inch of your life!”
“Sprout,” Looey got to his feet, “I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself, really! And besides, I can conserve stamina fine when it really comes to it!”
Sprout didn’t look convinced. Looey brightened with an idea.
“How about this! Let’s go on a duo run, and you’ll see just how capable I am.”
“I don’t know…”
“So you agree I’m a perfectly fine distractor?” Looey challenged.
Sprout narrowed his eyes at the irony . “Alright then.” He crossed his arms in mock annoyance before giving Looey a wry smile. “It’s a date.”