Spookyezz Reblogs

The morning came quicker than Astro liked.

They all met in the back of Dyle’s shop. There were several preparations Dandy and Dyle were making as Astro and Vee began to take their masks.

They got bags prepared with a bunch of supplies. Vee branded walkie talkies hooked up to the station Dandy and Dyle’s were on, a handful of smoke bombs, three bandages, a notebook with three pencils, and two airhorns. 

Their new outfits were also done. Black gloves, socks, and pants alongside a big coat. You couldn’t even tell it was them under there.  Vee even tucked her mic tail under the fabric. Their glows were completely dulled. They were made for sneaking around in the shadows of Gardenview.

Dandy helped Vee put on her coat. They flipped the hood over her antenna carefully. Tucking them under the fabric. “Are you sure you want to do this?” They asked. Vee nodded as she was putting on some gloves. “I trust you. I know you won’t let anything bad happen to me. Besides, I chose this. I have no one to blame for myself if this goes wrong.” She replied. Dandy took out the mask. A crude depiction of a deer Vee had made herself. It was colored with love by brown crayons and watercolor. Sticks from the tree in the lobby acted as its antlers, with one snapped in half and taped that unintentionally mimicked her bent antenna. Vee took it and slid it over her screen.

Vee was finding this funnier than she should. “Heh! Hey! Imagine seeing this in the shadows on a run?” She then tilted her head back and made this garbled static noise. Dandy punched her playfully. “VEE!!! Quit that! You know I hate scary stuff! Stop that!” They remarked and crossed their arms, “Idiot box.” Vee playfully replied, “Dandy, you can twist into this big ol’ monster on will. There's NO WAY you’re still creeped out by horror.” She bumped her head against their’s. The two were giggling at one side of the table while Dyle and Astro were at the other.

Astro looked over at them while he held the mask. Dyle took the words out of his mouth, “Still an odd sight for them to be this affectionate? I know it is for myself as well.” he fixed the coat. It was a repurposed tarp. Astro sighed. “It’s still an unfamiliar sight. Back when the show was running, this was something I would’ve dreamed to have happened. These two are my closest friends, but they never got along before. Now, it just feels strange to see them more playfully argue rather than fight like they used to. I cannot recall how many bitter arguments they had on runs before this year. It's just… something I have to get used to. I mean, we all can hang out together, the three of us, without fighting.” he explained. Dyle nodded and spoke, “Their relationship caught me by surprise as well. After all, they adapted to romance quicker than I thought. It's almost as if they were both waiting for an excuse not to despise the other. It reminds me a lot of when you all were younger. There were no fights and no quarrels, it was just you five growing into character. Watching their childhood friendship fall apart honestly made me a bit sad as well, however, now is just as strange.”

Astro slipped on the mask. Dyle placed a hand on his shoulder.

“... friendship and relationships were a key part of the show. Let's be glad they have this sort of unique bond.”

His words were comforting.

Today, they went on a floor to document twisteds. There was no behind the scenes work ready yet, so this was the next best thing.

Astro and Vee walked into an open floor. The rainbow rooms were common for twisteds to roam. They were here to document one of the questions every toon had on their mind since the operation:

How were twisteds created?

“... This is going to be absolutely horrifying isn’t it?” Vee asked Astro as they began to walk around. Astro sighed. “I appreciate you realizing this after you roped me into what I can only hope will just be a series of near death experiences,” he replied. Vee fidgeted with the handle of her cane. “You didn’t have to come with me. You could’ve stayed in the library with the weight of knowing I work in the operation in your head.” she argued. Astro paused.

She was right. Instead of agreeing when she asked to do something crazy, he could’ve gotten up, walked away, said no, or told everyone what crazy thing she was planning to do so they could stop her.

No, he decided to come along, he decided to work in the operation too.

Astro sat on top of a crate in the large clearing. Vee followed. Her cane clacked against the ground.

The floor was silent without twisteds.

A worry had been boiling in the moon’s chest since they began this.

“Vee.”

Astro rested a hand on Vee’s shoulder. The masked tv looked back at him. He used another hand to lift off his mask.

“… please stay safe. I know we’re sticking together for now but please. Please stay safe.”

His voice was a delicate plea, alongside his more worried expression. Vee lifted off her mask to give a reassuring smile.

“You worry too much Astro. I’m sure Dandy won’t allow bad things to happen to us, right?”

Her voice wasn’t as reassuring as her smile.

Suddenly there was the sound of glass shattering. The two toons jumped and slid back on their masks. “Vee! That sounded like a machine!” Astro exclaimed and shook her shoulder. Vee got up and grabbed her cane. “Come on! We’ve got to check it out. It could be a twisted!” She urged as she waved a hand. The moon got up after her.

Down the hall, there was a broken machine. Ichor was gushing from it. Astro grabbed Vee’s shoulders before she got any closer to the spilled ichor, and he pulled her behind some crates. “Vee! Don’t run in like that! You’re still recovering from ichor poisoning! Remember?” He reminded her. Astro could feel the TV roll her eyes from behind the paper deer mask. “I’m not that fragile. No need to baby me.” She waved her hand dismissively as she replied.

The two peeked from behind the crate as Ichor from the machine grew close to this stain on the ground. Astro recognized the stain. “That was Razzle and Dazzle, they were caught by Twisted Blot while finishing up a machine… that’s a death stain.” He informed Vee. The television pointed above. “Look there! More Ichor!” She noted. A pool of ichor formed in the ceiling and dripped down onto the growing puddle.

They watched as the puddle began to bubble and boil, when suddenly a dark hand emerged, and pulled out one half of a head. Razzle’s head specifically. The creature continued to pull itselves from the Ichor in a horrific and painful manner to watch. Ichor slipped off of its body like a solid film as Razzle’s head half was pulled up. The twisted pulled itself out of the Ichor completely and hobbled around for a moment, as if looking for somewhere to lay, or something to hunt.

Vee and Astro stayed pinned behind the crate. The tv peered out for a brief moment to catch what it was doing. Suddenly, she lost grip of her cane, dropping it on the ground.

CLATTER!

The twisted turned its head around and snarled. Astro and Vee yelped as the monstrous beast began to run their way. When…

CLANG!

Ichor solidified into a weight tied to its ribbons. Holding it in place. Red ribbons burst from the ground and surrounded the activated twisted. Astro and Vee lie right outside the barrier. They stayed very still, and watched as the twisted calmed down and settled much like it would on a run.

Silence rang throughout the floor again. The only sounds were Astro’s panicked breathing and Vee’s fast fans.

Vee stood up cautiously and scooted around the dormant twisted, heading for her cane. “God, what did we just watch?! Did you see it-?!” She asked as she grabbed her cane and stabilized herself. Astro stood up and walked around the ribbons. “… yes. Goodness…” he replied with a hint of concern in his voice. He turned to Vee. “… This is twisted Razzle and Dazzle! We just watched the creation of a twisted!” He remarked. “Creation of a twisted?!” Vee turned to him, and lifted her mask to give a more clear look at her confused and uncertain expression. Astro nodded, “it makes sense! Tell me, what do you remember from revival? Maybe it’s similar.”

Vee paused and fidgeted with the handle of her cane. “Eh… it was…” she began, her face contorted into something more disturbed.

“Okay, first, take the core capsule and set it nearby”

Dandy instructed as Vee set the capsule on the table. The television was carefully followed as dandy continued.

“Next, open the lower panel of the machine in the corner. Now is when you get your hands dirty.”

Vee walked over, and opened the lower panel. A thick and tar-like substance lay in the bottom of the compartment. “What now Dandy?” She asked.

“Take two handfuls of that. That’s condensed raw Ichor. The base for all of us.”

The Ichor was cold as Vee reached in and grabbed a handful. Her senses weren’t as strong as other toons, luckily. She could only imagine how the texture of this truly was without her metallic barrier. The substance felt so strange in her hands, like it was moving and writhing as she walked back towards the table.

“Spread out the condensed Ichor on the table. This will be the membrane that everything else will be made in.”

Vee set the Ichor and began to work with the tar. It left black stains on her hands and forearms as she worked.

“Spread it in an oval. Make sure you can pick up the edges and tuck them over each other. Then go and grab another handful to start the bones.”

“… will I have to build the entire body from scratch? My hands are too big for fine details like smaller bones or organs. Not just that, I don’t know how comfortable I’d be… basically making organs.” Vee bit back the nausea in her voice. The radio clicked.

“No no! It’s okay you don’t have to do all the fine details! The final step will take care of the fine details! Just make basic bones and organs. Okay? I’ll guide you.”

Their voice wasn’t the most reassuring as Vee grabbed another handful of the Ichor. She walked back over and began to work.

Smoothening ribs in her hands as the Ichor solidified.

Carving individual vertebrae in a spine.

Working with the Ichor to create the bare minimum of bones.

Creating the skull was the worst of it.

“Next, the organs! Make a basic set of organs! The brain is the most important! Pay careful attention to it!”

Making a brain from scratch made Vee shudder as she held it. The fleshy lump in her hands was disgustingly cold as she settled it into the skull.

“Brain’s done? This is the second most important step! Take out the core and set it in the chest, mold the organs around it!”

The TV followed as she opened the capsule. Vee craved the ability to vomit as she reached into the Ichor and grabbed the heart shaped object. She could feel her coolant and Ichor bubble within her core with disgust as she set the core in place.

She molded the lungs around the core, and then moved to digestive organs, then a very basic aorta artery, and so on and so on with different organs.

Vee stepped back and observed her progress. Organs and bones lying in a membrane much like an embryo. Sickeningly organic. Vee brought her Ichor covered hands to her cassette player and suppressed a gag from her speakers.

“Cathode, are you okay?”

The question brought Vee out of her trance. “Oh, eh… could be better than this. My hands are aching from the modeling… what else do I have to do?”

“Start modeling Looey himself! Use their reference sheet to mold Ichor around the bones and organs shaped like him!”

Vee stared back at the open compartment in the machine. Her stained hands shook as she grabbed handfuls of after handfuls of and quickly began to work. Covering bones and guts and modeling the toon. She looked back at the reference sheet to make sure she didn’t model anything wrong.

Thankfully toons are simple, it wasn’t too hard to model him. Though, modeling their closed eyes and tranquil expression was difficult. It’s like she was staring at a sleeping inky copy of a toon she spoke to hours earlier.

Seeing his body lying in the Ichor did not make the embryo connection any better. In fact it disturbed her further. Vee couldn’t even look at the body as dandy gave her final instructions.

“In the desk drawer, there should be a few vials of golden liquid. Grab one of them.”

Vee followed. “What are these?” She asked as she pulled a vial out. Dandy replied, “toon’s Ichor. Purified for revival! Amongst uh- other things!” The tv stared at the vial. The gold liquid inside was much easier to look at.

“Take some in a syringe…”

Vee followed, and took one from another drawer beside the one with the toon’s Ichor. She collected some and tapped the side to get any air bubbles out.

“And inject them straight in the heart!”

Vee stared at the inky looey, and carefully inserted the syringe into his chest. She injected the gold Ichor and removed it.

“Now quick! Close up the Ichor covering!”

The television tossed aside the syringe and began to grab each side of the membrane off the ground and close it over the body. She carefully pinched the sides shut.

Vee stepped back.

What was she feeling?

She wasn’t sure. There were a lot of feelings boiling inside her as she stared at the fleshy and disgusting sack holding looey.

A sickening feeling of nausea and disturbance settled in her chest.

There was also a weird sense of… power or strength. The idea of this entire ordeal. Creating life from scratch.

A creeping feeling of horror and terror sneaked into her chest. It made her antenna stand on end as she shuddered.

She created life.

Or at least she tried, who knows, maybe the toon needed to be a lethal twisted like Dandy to actually create life.

“Hey Vee? Doing okay?”

Vee couldn’t reply other than a buzz from her speakers. The contradictory feelings made her head spin as she stared at the membrane.

“… when the membrane starts moving I need you to cut it open with a knife or whatever’s in there.”

Their instruction made the nauseated feeling leap back into her chest as her stinging and stained hands began to tremble.

Likewise the membrane began to shake and move with sickening life. As if the body within could finally start moving and living. Kicking and fighting against the film holding it shut.

Vee stepped forward and looked in the drawer beside the shaking fleshy lump. Medical tools, and a scalpel lie in the side of the drawer. The TV grabbed it.

Much different than the pocket knife she was using before to cut open bodies. The blade sliced into the flesh so easily Vee barely had time to feel nauseated as the membrane burst open and splattered the grossly warm Ichor across the room and onto Vee.

Looey, colorful and normal, lay in the puddle as the membrane began to liquify and drip off the table into the drain in the floor. He inhaled a large breath of air, and their eyes fluttered open for a moment before he closed his eyes and lay still. They seemed to be asleep.

Vee stood there, covered in warm Ichor. She felt gross in her own clothing. She felt disgusting in her own skin. A crawling feeling all across her body as she dropped the bloody scalpel.

“… Vee?”

She couldn’t reply to dandy’s question, she just sat down with a blank expression as so many conflicting thoughts buried themselves into her mind. Waiting for looey to properly wake up.

Vee shuddered at the memory. She felt like she was bloody and gross all over again. Like she created life all over again. A disgusting memory.

“… it’s a bit similar… though I guess they don’t usually break through the ichor.” She spoke after a moment. Astro made a sound like a hum. He took out his journal and wrote something down. “... we’ve got to relay this to Dandy. I don’t think they know this about twisteds.” He noted. Vee gave a nod. “... Should we keep going or head back?” she asked after slipping her mask back on. The moon toon nodded. “Yes, unless they’d want more information about twisted habits… we cou-”

Suddenly the lights flashed on and the elevator opened.

Astro and Vee scurried, making sure their masks stayed on, and climbed up a bunch of crates as what sounded like a run walked out into the room.

They were still here in an active run.

“Vee… Vee what do we do?” Astro asked worriedly. Vee looked around. “I think we should try and get to a staff only door…” She cautiously slipped off the crate she was on and carefully began to sneak off. She waved a hand for Astro to follow.

“This could be risky, Vee! Why don’t we just stay hidden? Maybe we could pull that off!”  He argued. Vee’s mask remained still, but he could feel her give an unamused look from behind that mask. “... Astro I have 2 stars of stealth.” She dully replied. The moon toon climbed down after her.

Meanwhile, the run dispersed throughout the floor. Rodger was walking with Cosmo. “... This floor’s a bit quiet.” The cake roll commented. The magnifying glass adjusted the collar of his shirt. “The lack of footsteps tells me there might be a stationary twisted here. If we weren’t so hesitant to bring Vee again, we would know immediately. Today we play the guessing game instead!” he remarked. They turned down one of the hallways.

A set of footsteps followed by what sounded like clinking caught their attention.

Cosmo jumped as Rodger flicked out his magnifying glass. “Hold on..” He said and raised a hand in front of the pastry as he peered further down the hallway. At the end of the hall were two cloaked figures. The larger one seemed to be fumbling with a set of keys. Were they… Dandy and Dyle??? It seemed that way from the height, yet their silhouettes didn’t match. They both had different body types and were masked. The masks were crude depictions of animals. If they were Dandy and Dyle, they would have no reason to hide.

These two were completely new, and who knows if they even worked IN the operation.

Cosmo noticed them too. “Rodger! What are those?! Twisteds?! Toons?!” he asked. Rodger shook his head in disbelief. “I… don’t know. I have no clue. They could be toons… they’re likely not twisteds. Who are they?!” he replied. The cake roll looked a bit nervous as he stepped out and began to walk towards them. Rodger yelped and reached after him. “What are you doing?!” he whisper-asked. Cosmo looked back and explained, “I’m going to see if they are hostile or not. They don’t seem that way, but we have to check. Maybe they’re friendly!” The magnifying glass looked skeptical, but followed. No way to find out other than to ask after all.

“... Vee you can admit you’re struggling with the keys, i know you struggle with tedious things with your hands these days.” Astro commented as Vee dropped the set of keys again. “No no, if I can play guitar, I can open the door.” She argued and picked up the keys to try again. The moon opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly, a voice broke their focus. “Hello? Uhhhh… Deer mask and sheep mask? Hello!” came the voice of Cosmo. The two masked toons turned slowly towards him. Rodger walked in behind the waving pastry. “You two seem… uh… well dressed for the weather!” He tried to make some small talk. Rodger meanwhile began to analyze them. It was hard to make out details under all that black fabric, but he could get some things. One of them either had three legs or was supporting themself against something, the other two legs. No discernable hands or facial features… It was strange. Meanwhile, Astro and Vee were internally panicking.

Vee looked over at him, and began to sign with her hands. Slapped her palms together like she was clapping. Pointing at Rodger and Cosmo. Motioning at him then behind her. Then making a slamming motion like she threw a basketball.

Astro blinked.

What the hell was she trying to say???

Suddenly, Vee slammed the keys in his hands and dug into her coat. Astro moved behind her. The keys for the door. Which made her hand motions make more sense. The TV pulled out a smoke bomb. As Astro unlocked the door, she threw it.

She overswung.

Rodger was hit square in the face with a glass bottle, causing him to fall backwards and grab his face with a yelp of pain. The smoke bomb didn't even break, she just basically hit him. Either way it was enough of a distraction for them to slip into the stairwell.

They closed the door and began to make their way up the staircase. “Vee! What the hell!?” Astro blurted out. Vee replied, “I panicked! I didn’t mean to hit his face!” They moved into the staff only elevator and began to head up. “It's a miracle you didn’t shatter his face! I thought you of all toons would have a good aim!” He argued. The TV sputtered, “Well not when I'm PANICKING!!!” They continued this brief back and forth before the radio crackled.

“Heya Agents Deer and Sheep! How is your first day on the job?”

The two looked down at their radios. Vee replied, “Hey blossom! Good to hear your voice, we just hopped off the floor. We’ve got some good news and bad news.” Astro felt a tinge of unfamiliarity when she spoke so casually. He couldn’t believe he still wasn’t used to this. “Well, tell me! What's the news?”

In the back of Dyle’s shop, the four reviewed their findings. “Born from the ichor? No wonder there's puddles on every floor! I can totally see that being the case! It's a little like revival!” Dandy said, and took out a thick journal of their own. They began to copy the descriptions. “We only saw Razzle and Dazzle, and didn’t get time for others. So, call it a theory for now.” Vee argued. Dandy and Dyle nodded. “It also reminds me of twisting as a lethal a bit. The fact your body sort of mutates and occasionally splits open. Dandy knows that feeling much more than I.” He commented. Dandy nodded. “Painful stuff…” they remarked. Astro hummed a bit. “... should we be worried about our encounter with Rodger and Cosmo?” He asked. Dandy and Dyle looked at each other. “I wouldn’t be too worried about it. They didn’t see your faces so you should be okay!” The flower reassured them. Astro still felt uneasy. Vee messed with the handle of her cane as she sat. “Well, at least we weren’t attacked by twisteds, huh?” she said. Astro nodded. “I don’t know if we’ll always be this lucky…” he mumbled. The group continued to write down all the details of their findings.

Astro was walking out back in his normal outfit. Vee was fixing her jacket. “Well, I’m going to go hang out with Dandy. Do you want to join? We’ve been meaning to do a three friend hangout since Dan and I won’t argue anymore.” She asked. The moon smiled but shook his head. “It’s getting late, I think I'll head to bed for now.” He replied. Vee nodded. “You’re right, maybe some other time?” She asked back. Astro smiled and nodded. “Goodnight Astro.” Vee said with a smile. The moon replied, “Goodnight Vee, tell Dandy I said hello.” The television nodded, and the two walked away in opposite directions.

Astro was about to head into the elevator when suddenly he was stopped by Rodger. He jumped in front of him. The moon noticed a bandage on his forehead. “Astro! Hello! Sorry it's so late, but we have an emergency toon meeting!” He said quickly and began to drag him into the elevator and pressed the projector room button. Astro was confused and asked, “Wait! Vee and I just split up! Should I get her?” The magnifying glass’s eye narrowed into a more hesitant expression. “One more meeting without her, just to be sure. We’re all still a bit on edge since she showed up in the shop.” he explained. The moon toon was uneasy.

The projector room was just as packed as usual. Toons bustling around and setting up. Cosmo was beside Sprout, Yatta, and Shelly. He seemed to be describing something. Astro sat down near them. “Hello? What is going on?” he asked, pretending he had no idea what this meeting was about. Though from Cosmo’s face, he could guess. “Oh! Astro! The strangest thing happened on a run today! Rodger and I ran into these… weird… uh… I don’t know if they were even toons! They had animal masks and dressed in all black! Like ghosts!” the pastry explained. Yatt butted in, “We were gonna call them the ‘GHOSTS of GARDENVIEW’ but Connie said her and Soulvester were the ACTUAL ghosts of Gardenview.” Shelly giggled a bit. “To be fair, ‘Phantoms of Gardenview’ could work!” she offered. Astro blinked, and tried his best to maintain a straight face. He was boiling with anxiety. 

The airhorn sound blared again. Rodger stood at the board. “Hello toons of Gardenview! It’s been a minute since our last meeting. Well, no time to waste! There’s something new and strange going on around Gardenview! Two new entities that aren’t clearly toon or twisted!” He announced. The crowd murmured and whispered. Astro was sweating. Rodger pinned a drawing to the board. “They are a deer and a sheep! Masks of those animals lie atop layers of black fabric, and we have no clue what exactly they are!” he added. Shelly raised her hand. “Can we call them the ‘Phantom’s of Gardenview?’” She asked. Rodger pointed. “Absolutley. Its brilliant!” he replied. Another question was thrown, this time from Finn. “Do we have a line on who they could be if these ‘phantoms’ are toons?” he questioned. Rodger gave a nod. “Well, it's a bit of a rash assumption, but she’s shown she’s fine with dipping into operation territory.” He described, Astro felt his anxiety spike, then pinned a photo of a familiar green television onto the board. “Vee Version 1. She’s our prime suspect. There’s not much proof yet. Only that the ‘Deer phantom’ might use a cane like her, however it could also have been a blunt weapon, or hell, even a tail or third leg. We don’t know. However, she's more morally grey than she lets on. So we should keep her in our sights.”

The crowd gasped and mumbled. Theories and ideas were tossed around the room. Astro had never felt more afraid in his life.

Dandy sighed and sat on the edge of their bed. Vee was beside them. “... Is something on your mind?” She asked. The flower turned to her and laid beside her. “... A lot of things cathode. Though, mainly just a slight worry about what your genius idea to join the operation will bring farther down the line.” They explained. Vee pulled them close. “... well, who cares what happens? I learned to stop questioning the future. After all, I didn’t really plan for the future.”

Dandy gazed at her screen when she said that. Looking for a waver in her expression. She seemed so… casual admitting something so heavy like that.

“... Now that I’m here, years past where I thought I'd never reach. I’ve learned that whatever happens might not happen the way you think, or at all.” she said. The flower looked at her. “... You know, I think you should really start seeing Teagen about these things.” They remarked. Vee began to laugh and pull them closer. “Dan! I’m fine you idiot! Don’t worry so much about me, or anything really. We’re walking proof that the future can change whether you expect it or not.” Her voice was so confident. She was so overly confident, almost to a fault. Yet it brought them so much comfort. To feel her arms hold them with genuine love and hear her voice was more comforting than anything they’ve experienced in the past few years.

… She was so stupidly confident it almost made them believe it.

Maybe it's the pounding, aching feeling in their chest thats making it difficult to think.