🤡☁️Just a guy☁️🤡

“Shhh!” “I’m made out of paper mache and you're telling me to shush!?” “Yes! Your excitement’s loud, silly.” “.xxxaler ,syuG” Rudie blinked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. What was all that commotion? He wondered as he sat up. Suddenly, a quiet knock came from his door as he moved. It would only be a moment before Rudie was back into his normal attire from red and green pajamas that he’d open the door to reveal his boyfriend, Yatta, and Blot altogether on the Christmas Floor. “Oh! What are you three doing?” Rudie asked, nose glowing softly in the dark of the floor. Yatta giggled a bit in clear excitement of something as Looey gently tugged Rudie out of his room. “I know it’s not your season right now- but- since the place is closed I wanted to see if maybe you were able to come with us? Yatta did something cool and wanted to show us.” Looey asked with a wag in his tail, hope clear in his eyes. Rudie had a look of surprise on his face that quickly shifted to a bright expression of excitement. “Yeah! Of course, where to??” He asked, closing the door behind him as the squad moved together to the emergency stairs, presumably because the elevator would’ve been way too loud this late at night. Leaving his room felt so weird outside of his holiday. He never liked going out, all he could remember about anything in his life was Christmas related. For Looey though, he would go anywhere if permitted. 

“Wellll, to our floor of course! Having the floor to ourselves is SO nice, hehe!” Yatta exclaimed… she was always trying to make light of the closure of the center, to varying degrees of success as they all moved down the stairs one by one. “But anyhowwww, you know those shrinking candies that I made alllll that while ago? Well! I made something new with those.” She had been experimenting with candies recently, and had made some shrinking candies that had been purely a party trick. She began to explain, being very animated with her gestures as she seemingly resisted the urge to slide down the railing of the stairs with how her eyes shifted from the railing back to the group repeatedly. “Growth Candies! They do the opposite, and with how big the Carnival Floor is it should be perfect to test them!!” She finished, smiling widely despite Blot’s apprehension. “?tey meht detest neve t’nevah ouY” Blot seemingly questioned, Rudie was still trying to figure out what he was saying to no success. Who knows what that ink blot talked about. He seemed to be a chill guy, though, so Rudie liked hanging out with him and Blot Jr. “Welllllll- not exactlyyyy, BUT BUT!! That’s why I have you three!! Promiseee the worst case scenario is a stomach ache!! Heck I’ll go first if you need!” She spoke, forgoing the need to be quiet the deeper they went… and despite the slight worries, the squad would keep going all the way down… hoping the Carnival Floor would be free of Twisteds.

It was supposed to be a good night. A simple night. Looey and Yatta were supposed to be bigger than life… vibrant, and fiery souls.

Against their wishes, the Carnival Floor was not free of Twisteds, and with that, that night would haunt Rudie and Blot for the rest of their foreseeable lives.

—-------------------------------------

Three Weeks Later…

Rudie blinked, and blinked again as the elevator doors opened to reveal the Carnival Floor. He didn’t step out. A hand was felt on his shoulder. “?okay ouy …Rudie” Rudie sighed, and turned to look at Blot, a strained smile on his face. In these three weeks… Rudie had made a greater effort to understand Blot, and now he almost had it down pat. He could understand his own name at least, and the soft tone. “Of course… Christmas is soon, how could I not be?” It wasn’t for another month or so, but that didn’t matter. It had always been one of the few things that brought him joy. Rudie would turn back to face the awaiting floor, and sigh as he took a hoofstep out, and Blot followed. The ceiling stretched up high, nearly higher than could be seen if it weren’t for the lights. The floor was dim, with lots of colors that had faded from all the time that has passed since the center had closed. Rudie frowned as he moved down a path, seemingly made out of dirt but in actuality was paved brown with fake grass lining the sides of it. On either side of him and Blot were various carnival games, prizes adorning the shelves with water guns and towers of cups at the forefront. Far ahead, if Rudie looked past the many stalls in the distance was a massive tent where the performances had been held. It brought a faint tear to his eye, the memory of sitting alone in the stands while Looey, Yatta, and Blot had all practiced their acts with him as a stand-in for the audience. He turned back and watched as Blot fiddled with the water guns, eventually getting a weak stream to hit the clown targets. Rudie smiled weakly, and walked right over to him, keeping an eye out for any Twisteds that may be around. “Having a holly, jolly Christmas?” He asked, peering over his shoulder as one of the Clowns fell from the water. “.am I esoppus …Yeah” Blot answered, climbing over the counter and grabbing one of the juggling balls that stood as a prize. “nrael to detnaw syawlA ?...juggle to woh me hcaet gonna reve You” Rudie caught a bit more of that as he watched Blot toss the ball from one hand to the other. “You… want me to teach you how to juggle?” He asked, nodding when Blot nodded in response. “I mean, I suppose I could- I’m not the best teacher though.” They both know who would have been. “Come on though, I’ll teach ya after this! Could be fun… but we do need to extract first.” This wasn’t just a stroll down memory lane after all. 

The two of them had come onto this duo run to show that they could still contribute, as they’d been granted reprieve from Runs after what happened, happened. Rudie moved along the floor, Blot sticking close despite the vastness of this particular floor. He got to work extracting next to an abandoned hot dog cart, and Blot would scavenge not too far away, picking up tapes and items as needed while Rudie gazed into the viscous liquid that filled the machine. It was hard to think about… stuff. His mind used to be so quick, and full of just so many thoughts. Sure, it was usually about Christmas or Looey, but now things felt emptier, emptier than they were before. Rudie had always struggled to feel… like a Person, you know? Looey gave him a purpose outside of just Loving Christmas, but now… he had even less of an idea of who ‘Rudie’ was than he did before. He sighed heavily as the ichor reached the top, and a resounding Ding echoed from the machine as he waved Blot over for the two to keep going. So far no Twisteds. There should only be two at this point; Rudie wasn’t sure how the Twisteds got around or how they seemed to appear in strangely consistent quantities, but he couldn’t be bothered to give it much thought. The floor shook a bit under them slightly just as Rudie spotted the next machine by the Bathrooms, and a third one by a tree. Rudie and Blot both maintained their footing as they kept going. “Uh… probably just the building settling or something hehe- hhh. Reminds me of a herd stampeding.” Rudie said, to no one in particular, though Blot listened intently. Rudie would extract by the bathrooms, and Blot would work at the one by the tree… it was all routine. Although the last machine seemed to evade the two as Rudie looked around while he spun the wheel, and occasionally input the passcode needed to keep working at it. These machines… They were supposed to only need the passcode once in a short time frame, but because of a lack of maintenance they just Kept Asking. It reminded him of whenever Gourdy and Toodles tried to peek at their presents during the Christmas Season, always asking and having to be chased off. At least they could be reasoned with. The memory brought a faint chuckle to his face as he finished the machine, and made his way to the Circus Tent. 

The tent… it felt even bigger than before, draftier. The ground shook again, but he barely paid it any mind. Worst case scenario it could’ve been a minor earthquake, no Twisteds were big enough to cause such vibrations. He pulled the flap of the entrance away, and stepped inside. The tent stretched up to a peak, and it was just as they left it. A trapeze rope high up, abandoned juggling balls, trash in the stands, and a singular ichor machine faintly visible in the darkness of the backstage area; there was a little area past the main pit where the trio performed on the sand where they could duck back to prepare for the next acts, and that was where he needed to go. Rudie trotted down the stands, and reached the pit quickly. His hooves left a trail in the sand, and it would only take a moment before he’d be past the curtain that kept the backstage stuff hidden. It was a benefit of having a carnival/circus indoors, that they could actually build permanent stuff in conjunction with the tent. This area was quite jarring from the main area of the tent, with TVs, mirrors, and various supplies that towered up high. Rudie didn’t pay much attention to his environment, though. He’d get right to work at the last machine, and quickly pick up his radio that he had clipped to a satchel of his that he took for runs. He held it to his face, ready to tell Blot to get to the elevator once he heard the Ding in the distance… but it was with that ding that a burst of hot air rushed past Rudie. His tail went still, his ears flicking to listen. There was something in the room with him. He looked to his right, and to his left… but this area was too dark. 

His heart pounded. What was this…? His nose would begin to glow, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw nothing to his left, but it was when he looked to his right that he nearly screamed. A chest partially covered by a tattered white shirt with polka dots rose and fell from the sleeping form of a Massive Twisted. It wasn’t any Twisted. It was Looey; and judging by the ribbon-like tails that rested nearby, it would appear both he and Yatta were curled up in a sort of sleep pile. Looey rolled over onto his side slowly, now facing Rudie as the ground shook slightly from his movements. Well… that was where the shaking had come from. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, HOLY GARLAND. Rudie’s heart raced as he could feel his lungs threatening to unleash a scream louder than any Twisted’s, but he had to refrain. He kept a hoof over his mouth as the other idly turned the wheel, and he kept his eyes on Twisted Looey. The others had said that they hadn’t seen either Looey or Yatta on any of their runs… maybe this was why. Looey’s mouth was fixed in what seemed to be an eternal frown, filled with sharp teeth as Ichor leaked from his ear, neck, and even a bit from his mouth. Yatta was clearly just behind him, and the faint snoring from her that was so familiar felt soooo much louder now. ERRR! Oh no. He thought, dread quickly penetrating his mind. He hadn’t been paying enough attention. He failed the skill check, right next to TWO SLEEPING GIANTS. He’d never done it before, but Rudie was pretty sure he was praying internally for his safety. Of course, he could never be that lucky. Looey’s eyes groggily opened, and almost instantly locked onto him. They were a deeply scary shade of red, and Rudie felt a shiver go down his spine as the brows furrowed, and the frown did change… to a menacing smile. Rudie let go of the wheel, and raised both hooves up. “U-um… Looeyyyyy- hiiiii-? Remember me?” Maybe he’s passive like Glisten…? Rudie thought, before a swipe would tell him otherwise as he just barely avoided being absolutely Yoinked by his paw. Rudie paused for a moment, fully surprised that he’d been able to duck that before quickly dashing away as Looey shifted to a crouching position before moving to standing. Rudie didn’t even look back as he left the backroom and emerged back into the sand pit. “Blot! BLOT!” He called, hoping the ink blot would hear him. Realistically, what could Blot do to help him? Not much, and he didn’t want him to get hurt either, but the panic was strong. 

Looey would step out from behind the curtain, the frown quickly returning from his first failure to catch his prey, and Yatta would be right behind him. She was on all fours at the moment, but it was clear she was going into standing too. Rudie would rush up the stands, stumbling over each seat as if there weren’t Twisteds 10x larger than himself in pursuit. He would reach the entrance flap, and sigh in relief as he pushed the flap away, and saw Blot rounding the corner of some of the game booths. He waved both hooves rapidly. “Blot! We need to hi-” He’d call, quickly moving forward, but his pause had cost him everything. The air was knocked out of his lungs, and a tight pressure wrapped around his body as he saw Blot’s eyes widen immensely as they reached a hand out in panic. “Rudie!” They screamed, before Rudie would be pulled back into the tent via a large, purple hand.

—-------

Blot froze, hand extended as he beheld the worst possible sight. A paw, almost larger than Rudie was had just grabbed him and stolen him away as fast as Rudie had dashed out of the tent. “Rudie…” He breathed out, trying to steady his inky lungs as he took a step backward, just as a familiar face emerged from the tent. Twisted Yatta pushed the flap of the tent, and emerged as an absolute behemoth. She was almost the full height of the tent; for a moment, Blot was worried she’d tear it down. This did not seem to be her end goal as he watched her eyes scan the floor, before eventually landing on his, quite tiny in comparison, form. He shuddered as she smiled; the teeth that were already sharp when she’d been… not Twisted had somehow become even sharper and far more menacing as she stood on her tails and quickly made her way to him, hardly caring for any booths that may be pushed over. Blot was scared, but he wasn’t stupid. He would, almost immediately after she spotted him, begin to run and also hide. He breathed sharply and heavily as he ran, ducking behind booths and stalls, just generally trying to stay out of her vision as he dropped a statue of Blot Jr. to keep her busy for a moment if she got too close. He ran, and ran, and ran, before finally leaping over a counter and ducking down amidst the cups that had previously been stacked before presumably being knocked over by her movements. He held an inky hand to his chest, and tried to keep his breathing quiet. He needed to be rational. He needed to stay calm. Rudie… I need to help him- but… no, I can’t. He’s… he has to be beyond help now. He tried to affirm, but it broke through the sense of calm he had as a sob racked his body. It had been a lot, these last few months. He had to be tougher than he had been before, or else he’d let them all down.

How could he let them down if they were already gone? Vee, Looey, Yatta… Rudie. He couldn’t let that last friend go. He just couldn’t. He got on his hands and knees, and tried to sneak out the back of the booth he was in. He’d just have to be faster, sneakier, inkier, he thought as he reached out to the ink that he had lost with that last statue he’d made. He would quickly get to his feet as the ink rushed back to him across the floor, and was reabsorbed. You got this… just- find him, extract that last machine, and get out. Easy. He thought, with a confidence he absolutely did not have. He moved toward the tent, sneaking between booths as Yatta searched around the bathrooms, peering over booths not too far away… but she seemed to be getting closer. With how animalistic these Twisteds were, it would not surprise Blot if she could smell him. He’d get really close to the towering tent, but just as he turned the corner he would yelp as he bumped right into something large and yellow with a few different colors dispersed. “Oh-” He said as he took a step backward. It was Yatta, specifically her face as she lay close to the ground with her chin on the ground, paws splayed in front of her with her back arched a bit and tails swaying idly in the wind. She was so big… how was that even possible?? The details of that night came back to him. Oh. He knew how it was possible. That night they had lost Looey and Yatta, they had been experimenting with a candy Yatta had created, a growth candy. Before they could test them, they had been ambushed on a lower floor. Both Looey and Yatta had tried to take the candies to try and actually fight back since that would’ve been a practical use to them… but seemingly they hadn’t worked; perhaps it was a delayed reaction. That didn’t explain how Yatta had found him though. “U-um… hiiii? How did you-” She would point behind him, not saying a word if she even could, all she did was smile and stare at him like Yatta used to stare at chocolate. He looked behind him against his better judgement, and saw a trail of inky footsteps leading back presumably to where he’d started. “Son of a gun.” He mumbled, before turning back around to see her slowly sliding closer to him with those bright, red eyes on him. “Haha… couldn’t- couldn’t let an Ink Blot go?” He asked, sheepishly as his heart began to race as reality slowly dawned on him. It had taken a bit, with the cartoon antics of getting caught like this distracting him, but now he remembered that he was in danger. Twisted Yatta wouldn’t say anything, and just smiled, eyes unblinking; it really felt like that’d be the last thing Blot would ever see. That was quickly disproven, unfortunately for Blot, as she’d suddenly open her maw cavernously wide, and lunge at him… At least Rudie and I weren’t separated for long… He thought, silently praying that his soul wouldn’t be bound to his Twisted Form, if he was even going to have one.

—---------------------------

Rudie grunted, and shivered fearfully as he tried to push Looey’s cheek away. The Twisted hadn’t done anything horrible to him yet… but that was kind of subjective. So far, Looey had just been holding Rudie close and squishing him to his cheek with deep purrs emanating from the large Twisted. If he didn’t have such sharp teeth and claws that poked Rudie here and there, he might’ve enjoyed all of this. “L-Looey… stop-” He protested, thankfully just as the Twisted pulled him away and looked over him gleefully. The expression made him shudder. He turned to look away, back toward the entrance of the tent when his eyes widened. Yatta had just come back in. Yatta wasn’t exactly what he was focusing on, unfortunately. Rudie’s mouth fell open a bit in disbelief as his eyes stayed locked on Yatta’s lips, where Blot’s still struggling arm was sticking out. The reindeer watched in sheer horror as Yatta casually slurped it in like a noodle, and noticeably pressed what she had in her mouth to the cheek internally. He closed his eyes, tightly in terror, and waited for the tell-tale crunch akin to Twisted Pebble; it never came. After a moment’s confusion, Rudie opened his eyes again… and if he were being perfectly honest, what actually happened was probably worse. He witnessed Yatta seemingly suck on the Ink Blot like she had done to candy in life, and after a little bit, she swallowed. The sound was guttural, and distantly squelching as she took a casual seat nearby to Looey on the sand. Rudie’s eyes followed the slight bulge that went down Yatta’s throat with a shaking in his body. He could feel tears pricking at his eyes as he looked back up at Yatta once the bulge had disappeared into her chest. She smiled at him, and licked her lips. “Ah-!” He hid his face in Looey’s hand that he was held in, thoroughly frightened. 

Looey held his small form close to his face, and tilted his head curiously. Rudie whined softly as he heard the guttural growl from the large Twisted, but was surprised as the reassuring rub he felt down his back. He couldn’t see it, but Looey’s thumb had begun gently stroking his back, and the Twisted watched him with a frown that was more sad than mad. Looey warbled at him, seemingly softly as he watched Rudie. Despite Rudie’s intense fear, he couldn’t help but make eye contact as Looey’s pupils expanded a bit. Does he… does he recognize me? Rudie thought, almost trying to reach out with his mind and will that to be reality. “Looey…? Oh-” Rudie gasped as he was pulled closer, and Looey kissed the side of his head. It was a casual motion, familiar, yet so so alien due to his larger size. It felt soft, and warm; it had especially made Rudie warmer on the inside. It was also minorly disgusting, thanks to the ichor on Looey’s lip, but Rudie would ignore that for love. He debated for a moment on kissing him back, though of course it’d either have to be his hand or those large lips… and considering what happened to Blot…

Screw it… merry Christmas, Looey. He thought, as cheerfully as he could before he’d lean in to just leave a little mwa on Looey’s top lip. For a moment, things felt normal. Unfortunately for our little reindeer, Looey had other plans; Protective Plans. Looey suddenly opened his maw widely after Rudie’s little kiss, and quickly wrapped it around his entire top half. Rudie’s face went from softly hopeful to blank terror faster than you could say Merry Christmas. “WAIT-” Rudie screamed, but it wouldn’t be enough as Looey shifted to holding Rudie with just two fingers, and shoving him inside. In the very same moment the maw opened, Rudie was met with a humid wave of air, and soon after the tongue would cover his entire top half as he landed there once Looey let go. The little reindeer quickly made it a point to scramble backwards, but stopped just before hitting the teeth. They were IMPOSSIBLY sharp, and the mere feeling of the slick and smooth sides of them made alarm bells ring in his head. They were like jingle bells but wayyyy more discordant. Bells were interesting, Rudie thought, desperately trying to escape the situation mentally as his body was flung to a cheek and squished gently by the tongue. There were so many types, Jingle Bells, Alarm Bells, those little bells on receptionist desks, clocktower bells. Wait… gentle? Rudie thought, immensely confused. Despite the struggle he was putting up, trying to push the tongue away and figure out anyway to get out without getting himself hurt by the teeth, somehow the tongue wasn’t putting all that much pressure on him… and the teeth didn’t do anything either except look intimidating. His mind couldn’t wonder about this for long as suddenly the half-green and half-purple tongue pulled him toward the back, and continued to slather him with saliva as it did so. The environment was so strange. It was mostly light yellow flesh, but with the occasional stain of ichor here and there, with a prominent amount near the lips. The saliva was mostly clear like expected, but mildly diluted with ichor that stuck to Rudie even more so than the saliva already did. It made his fur feel so weird. He grunted, and wheezed in distress as all of the intense movements made it hard to keep struggling. Nothing would keep him from trying to scrabble away however, once he heard the dark tunnel at the back of this chamber squelched ominously, and contracted. He could feel gravity shift as the tongue flicked upwards, and the saliva that coated the tongue and Rudie made everything feel slippery. 

“N-NO! LOO-” He called, before the muscles around him let out a twisted Glrkkkk that emanated throughout Rudie’s whole body as he felt the oppressive muscles suddenly ensnare his body as he left the tongue and entered the Twisted’s throat. Rudie shut his eyes as tightly as he could, not wanting to see this as he tried to push and struggle, but the force of each resounding swallow oppressively squeezed him tighter and tighter. He could hardly bear it as the humidity made him pant more than a little bit. He scrambled, and tried to prop his legs up to kick downwards in an attempt to push himself back up, but it was no use. Occasionally, his descent paused, and he was stuck being squeezed on all sides, but moments like that never allowed him the chance to go up, and once they were over it was followed by him being pulled further down, down, down. He groaned, and just tried to think of anything else as the walls shifted from yellow, to black, then back to yellow again. Then, as he got closer to another part of Looey’s body that sounded like many growls, and churning noises, the tunnel then began to have dots of purple and green, before switching to a spiral pattern. It was so wet. Rudie let out a last yelp as the tunnel suddenly ended, and he was pushed through into Looey’s stomach. The organ was tight, with spiral patterns that resembled a circus tent in Looey’s colors. The grooves pulsated, and the entrance he came from was shut tightly… far too tightly for him to try and climb back up. Believe him, he tried. He scrabbled at the entrance with both paws desperately, nuzzling his antlers up to no avail. He eventually moved onto his back and just sat in the cramped stomach and tried to take deep breaths. “I-it’s okay… it’s okay… This is just a nightmare- yeah- a nightmare that I’ll-” The growls increased in volume for a moment, interrupting Rudie as he winced. “Wake- wake up from…” He frowned as his denial quickly faded to acceptance. Blot… I’m… I’m so sorry. Yatta too- and… He decided to speak the last part aloud. “Looey… if- if you can hear me… I’m sorry too… I-I love you, Loo-Loo.” He said lastly, wincing as the organ shifted and he was jostled a bit. He laid back… and sighed heavily. It was clear there wasn’t much else to do, and he was so tired of the struggle. 

He closed his eyes, and hoped for sleep. It took a second, but once he was finally drifting off, he heard something finally… but he was already too deep into sleep to fully process it. 

“Mmmm… I- love you too… C-Candy… Cane…”

—---------------------

Looey felt his mind clear when the tiny reindeer finally landed in his gut. He could feel… his hands, he could feel his legs, he could feel his tail, and he could feel Rudie squirm around… but he could also feel that he was safe. Somehow, he was safe. The giant balloon dog would stand, and look around as he rested a paw over his stomach. Yatta was curled up nearby, twisted just like him. The memories came back slowly. He remembered going down to their floor, and trying out the candies. He remembered that he and Yatta had tried to protect Blot and Rudie… but the candies hadn’t worked. Blot! Looey’s eyes shot open as he moved to curl up with Yatta now, jostling his tiny passenger as he grabbed Yatta’s head with both hands and gently pulled her into looking at him. She wasn’t conscious, but she seemed calmer than before. She just stared at him with those red eyes. “B..bl- Blottt..?” His voice sounded so strange, vaguely garbled and scratchy, but understandable. Yatta blinked, her pupils dilating a bit as her expression shifted to one of satisfied comfort. She looked away, and gazed at her stomach, which she would then pat with one hand. She still seemed animalistic, but better than before. Looey, curious, would lean his head close. His hearing was enhanced, so he was able to hear Blot’s breathing, and his heartbeat distantly. He seemed okay; that revelation helped him relax into laying back down, a paw on his own gut with a worried frown, but ease in his mind. To say he felt weird was an understatement. He could feel his wounds, he could feel the ichor in his mouth and on his ear. It was all so strange.

Yet, despite the uneasiness of his new situation, he could at least rest easy knowing his love was safe. When he heard the last words from Rudie, a pang went through his heart. The poor thing… he must be so scared. Talking had hurt Looey’s throat slightly, but… maybe he could do something for the reindeer as he felt Rudie settle down in what seemed to be acceptance. He opened his mouth, and said those simple words. “Mmmm… I- love you too… C-Candy… Cane…” Everything was going to be okay, somehow, because they were together. He could rest easy with that. 

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And here we are! Hope you liked it <3 especially with That scene if you know you know- this poor reindeer could use hugs sob

It was just a normal run. They had only been doing them for a month or so at this point, researching, extracting, that kind of thing. Sprout sighed as he stepped out of the elevator, and everyone dispersed. The distractor went to grab the Twisteds, and that was that. He would’ve done the machine closest to Ele, but something stopped him as he approached. Someone else got to the machine as he turned around and quickly went back inside. Ah. Sprout sighed as he leaned down, and picked up an abandoned radio with a cupcake sticker on it. Cosmo forgot it again. He thought with an exasperated smile. Cosmo must have set it down as they waited to get to the next floor… forgetful guy. But! He couldn’t exactly judge. They’d set the oven on fire enough times for him to be fully aware that they both had that problem. Sprout pocketed the radio, and set off to find a different machine. He’d return the radio next time he saw Cosmo, promise. It wouldn’t be long before he would find a machine behind a few crates, and he’d get to work; not before setting the radio turned off on top of one of the boxes, though.

Sprout grunted as he began to turn the wheel. It wasn’t exactly his forte. He was supposed to be in the kitchen working on the dough, not… down here. He wiped a bit of sweat away, and pushed back his leaf-hair just as the machine Dinged! in completion. Two down, only four more to go. The further they went down the more machines there were; he was just glad he didn’t have to do this alone. Elsewhere in the floor, Looey was keeping the Twisteds occupied, Shelly was extracting, and Astro was trying to teach Pebble how to spin the wheel, and how to distract. That puppy was the fastest out of all of them after all, if he could be trained to distract the Twisteds like a game, then they could all stay safe. Sprout had been apprehensive about it, but the rock had been able to evade the Twisteds and stay safe in the past runs they’ve done with him 100%. He was a good boy.

Sprout’s thoughts were interrupted by a discordant noise as a skill check was failed in the distance. Right, Cosmo; he’d come along though Sprout had been apprehensive. You see, these machines they extracted from had special features in place to ensure the Right kind of people were interacting with them, and not say Children or general non-Employees. Unfortunately, Cosmo could rarely complete the verifications, or skill checks as they called them sometimes, correctly. Sprout loved the dude, but he really needed to be less clumsy! Thankfully, the Twisteds were distracted at the minute, so Cosmo should be fine. This was, fortunately or unfortunately, when he noticed a strange buzzing at his hip. He picked up his walkie talkie that he had at his belt, and put it to his ear. It sounded like Shelly was trying to say something. Wait… he checked the volume dial. Ffffruit cakes. He cursed inwardly as he quickly adjusted the volume dial back to normal. “SPROUT! Please please respond! Over!” Shelly spoke, frantic. “Yeah, yeah?? I’m here, over.” Sprout responded, more than a bit worried as a strange feeling went down his spine. A feeling that only happened when someone was hurt. “Looey- he had to lose the Twisteds for a second because he was getting too tired and had been hit by them one too many times! Could you please check on Cosmo? He’s not answering his radio!” She said worriedly, before quickly adding “Over!” at the end. Sprout had fallen silent. No. No no no no no. Cosmo had already been low from healing Looey on a previous floor (Twisted Pebble, so unlucky.), he… Sprout looked around, trying to remember where he’d set it.

Once his eyes landed on Cosmo’s radio, he snatched it up and quickly sprinted for where he’d heard the failed Skill Check. His mind fell blank as he relied solely on instincts to reach him. Mid-Run, he had a moment of clarity and fumbled for the airhorn in his pocket, and turned the corner to see a small trio of Twisteds huddled around a machine… and a trail of ichor leading behind some fallen over crates. Sprout’s eyes widened. He clenched the airhorn tightly, creating a loud discordant noise that quickly attracted the Twisted’s attention as he went back around the corner out of sight, and quickly dove over a countertop so they wouldn’t see him. It would take a tense minute before the ichor-covered creatures would pass him by, and grant him free access to the room where Cosmo had been. Sprout would leap back over the desk, and make his way to the machine. Now he could see better. The trail of ichor, mixed with brown chunks of cake led away from the machine, to some toppled over boxes, and then finally to a now closed closet door. Sprout bit his lip, and tensely moved forward, put a hand on the door, and opened it up. It was then that he yelped, and quickly ducked a swipe from a broom as someone inside tried to attack. “WOah! Hey, hey, buddy, it’s me-” He assured, catching the broom on the second swing as the figure breathed heavily, but halted when his weapon was caught. Once the weapon was lowered, Sprout could get a better look at the figure. His eyes met his. A stuttered breath fell from Sprout’s lungs as he pushed the weapon aside, and pulled Cosmo into an embrace. His head… Sprout pushed the image away as he rested his head atop the uninjured part of Cosmo’s head. “Hey.. hey it’s okay, you’re safe now, now…” He assured, stuttering over his words a little bit in the process. His arm was injured too… it broke his heart.

Sprout held his friend closely with one arm as he fumbled for a cupcake from his bag, and quickly tried to feed it to his friend. “Here… it’ll be okay, you got it? You do Not get to die on me, oki buddy?” He tried to say, commandingly, and maybe a little desperately trying to get Cosmo to look at him and focus his eyes. Sprout softened up a bit with a sigh as Cosmo slowly ate the cupcake from his hand, and some of the scratches and a part of the head-wound would heal, but it wouldn’t be enough. “You should Really work on getting those skill checks down, you could get hurt.” Sprout teased lightly, hoping that a laugh would cheer him up. That snapped him out of it a bit. A small, faint chuckle from Cosmo’s lips as the swiss roll leaned into him made everything seem at least a little bit better, even when Cosmo was actively almost collapsing onto the floor if it weren’t for Sprout’s body keeping him up. “You’re… a real prick, Sprout.” Sprout snickered, but it was more sad than one would expect. “Language, Roll boy… There we go… soon enough, you’ll have a face even Shrimpo couldn’t hate. I am a miracle worker, truly.” Sprout boasted, trying to be as encouraging as possible. Cosmo snorted, and winced a bit as the jostling of himself due to laughter did make his wounds hurt. “Just… need to add a mention about… about how perfect you are and you’d… sound, sound just like Glisten-” Cosmo joked, grinning up at Sprout through the pain. “But… you don’t have to lie… I know I’m not well, just-” Cosmo pushed away from Sprout, and sat with his back against one of the walls of the closet. “I need to sit down.” 

Sprout’s smile fell. He really didn’t want Cosmo to panic, but… Sprout himself was kind of freaking out on the inside. He would sit down next to Cosmo, and clench his left arm with his right. “I’m sorry. I should have given you your radio immediately! I just… just thought it’d be okay but it wasn’t and now you’re hurt and-” Sprout caught his breath as he began to ramble, and Cosmo would elbow him. “Hey… don’t do that- this isn’t your-” Cosmo inhaled sharply, groaning a bit. “This isn’t your fault, okay? Let’s just… finish this run and then-” “No.” Sprout interrupted him and kept him from standing. “You can’t be running around out there! Just…” Sprout racked his brain for ideas, he could carry Cosmo and they could just end the run… but- Cosmo also needed healing. Sprout had natural healing capabilities past just his cupcakes, so if he just did a little magic, then…

Sprout reached into his satchel, and took out a pink and orange-ish cupcake. It was made using some special magic that Astro had been practicing, and would allow for a little extra bonding. “Let me keep you safe, for at least until you’re all the way healed. Then you can join us on the run again.” Sprout reasoned, offering the cupcake to Cosmo’s uninjured hand. Cosmo looked at the cupcake, then up at Sprout. He had a strange look on his face, one of minor embarrassment. “..you know I won’t tell you if I want it.” Cosmo explained, and Sprout barked a laugh that was quickly stifled so they didn’t attract any attention. “You do want it don’t youuuu?” “Shut it, Seedly.” “Oh you’re getting it now.” Sprout said with a fake punch to Cosmo’s side, thankfully uninjured. “Just eat the cupcake, man.” Sprout would finish off with a wide smile despite the tears that had pricked his eyes all the while. It wouldn't be much longer before the swiss roll would eat the cupcake quickly, and be reduced in size quickly in a pink and orange light down to a more manageable size. Sprout easily scooped up his small bestie, and carefully held him in one hand up to his face. “Heh… heh… I’m glad you’re okay enough for this.” Sprout spoke, struggling to decide on whether to tease or to be genuine. “Yeah, ‘course. I’m not made out of glass, pureeeeee baked goodness with me.” Cosmo declared, sitting with his legs splayed out on the Strawberry’s palm. “Well, you’re lucky that swiss rolls are my favorite.” Sprout winked as he brought his friend closer, and gently licked part of his face, healing saliva quickly wiping the ichor away. “Just get it over with, ya big weirdo.” Cosmo scolded affectionately, but the disguise of being Over-It didn’t work well with how he leaned into the soft muscle of the Strawberry’s tongue. “Okay, okay.” Sprout giggled out lightly as he rolled his eyes.

He would open his mouth widely, revealing the inside to the shrunken Roll before setting him inside just as quickly. The flavor was always one of the best parts. He had nomfed many of the Toons here, but Cosmo with his natural cosmic-brownie-esqe flavor made his best friend particularly appetizing. Sprout chuckled as he closed his maw around the smaller Toon, and quickly sloshed him around the inside. The little pushes and movements that he made from inside elicited a slight purr from Sprout as he squished him teasingly under his tongue. It was all too easy. At this point, Cosmo barely struggled, which made the feeling of smoothly swallowing him feel so satisfying. Sprout pushed Cosmo up to the roof of his mouth once the Toon was adequately slickened up, and his throat muscles contracted as the tongue slid Cosmo straight down into his throat. He would’ve asked Cosmo to put up more of a struggle, but with the state Cosmo was in physically, and the state Sprout was in emotionally, he was alright with it being calmer. He’d set a finger against his throat, subconsciously assuring himself that Cosmo was safe as he felt him descend deeper, before he’d disappear into his chest, and then add a gentle weight to his stomach. Sprout smiled as he gently patted where he could feel Cosmo get cozy, and got up to leave the room.

“Sprout! Is- Is Cosmo okay?” Shelly asked through the radio as he left the room, and went to extract the machine that Cosmo had been doing earlier, ignoring the ichor stains on the floor in the process. Sprout would use a free hand to answer, “Yes, he’s safe now… all is well.”

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Cosmo curled up in the warm space as softly red-colored healing acids lapped at his form. The space was cramped, but not in an uncomfortable way. Every surface felt like the best mattress, and pleasantly warm. Cosmo’s wounds quickly were patched up, but after the adrenaline rush of before, he was excited to take a nice, long nap. He’d idly trace some of the grooves as he admired the seed-like patterns all across the chamber, and smile. “Thanks for the heal, Sprouty.”

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And there we are! To add on as a Big update :3