Chapter Text
…I've got an idea." Sprout said with his hands clasped together in front of him.
"So what stupidity will we be blessed with today?" Vee laughed, putting her elbow on Sprout's shoulder and leaning on him.
"It's not stupid, it's genius! Like, Rodger level genius!" Sprout praised himself, and Astro just rolled his eyes.
"I wouldn't call Rodger a genius, but what's this idea you're so fond of?" Astro giggled, trying to also lean on Sprout, but he was unfortunately too short.
"Okay. This might just be me, but I think those guys are going stir crazy. So what if we built, like, a mini Gardenview somewhere? Get a tree and everything! Y'know, make them feel at home instead of like zoo animals. I get why had safety concerns, but I don't know why we didn't think of this before." Sprout smirked as he proposed his idea. Vee looked over to Shelly, who then looked over to Astro. Hmm… y'know, it wasn't too bad of an idea.
"I wonder if the environment will make them feel like toons again. I don't think they'll be able to go back on their own but it might make our job easier. Well done, Seedly… you're full of surprises." Vee teased, but Astro had a feeling it… might be praise? Who knew, but Astro liked this idea.
"It sounds great! Let's propose it to the others right away! Ooohh, I could build some little fossils for them, like my floor!" Shelly was already excited, taking Vee's hand and dragging her outside. Sprout and Astro just laughed, then went to meet the others.
Sprout's plan was actually very well received. Bobette said she would make the props, Brightney and Glisten could do some decorating to make it feel like home, and other toons can try and make specific rooms so that they're not living their lives in a glass cage. Sprout was very proud that his whole plan was coming together nicely, and Vee just seemed proud that Sprout had a good idea. Of course, she was very obviously teasing him- Sprout often had good ideas, but Vee just liked giving him a hard time for the ones that didn't make sense. Astro could tell that she really liked having him there, and messing with him was her way of showing it.
"Okay. One issue I just thought of. What are we gong to do about Finn and Pebble? I don't really want that hellhound finishing the job, so what's the plan there?" Bassie chimed in. Well, sugar, she made a good point. The main suggetion was finding a way to separate the two, but Cosmo really didn't want to go back and forth between two different sets. The next one was simply keeping Pebble where he is, but Astro didn't like that.
"…I'll do it! I'll watch over Pebble!" Toodles raised her hand high, puffed her chest out, and put on a brave expression.
"Toodles… dear, I don't want you doing that. Pebble is extremely dangerous, and-" Rodger tried his best to talk her out of it, but Toodles refused to back down.
"Nope! Dandy let me babysit Pebble when he couldn't look after him! Not only do I know how to take care of Pebble, he also knows me pretty well! If any toon here is gonna do it, it'll be me! I volunteer- please!" Toodles continued to try and convince the other toons to let her take care of Pebble, but they all seemed a little hesitant.
"Y'know what? Who says she can't? She's a capable young lady, and I believe she has every right to watch over Pebble." Teagan added their own opinion, standing next to Toodles with the same brave expression that won't back down. Well… Astro couldn't really say no to that.
"Okay. Toodles, I'll let you take care of Pebble. We'll get him his own little playpen somewhere else and you're gonna be in charge of making sure he's well fed and entertained. But you also have to promise that as soon as you feel like you're in danger, come tell me. Can you promise me that?" Astro knelt down to her level, giving her a stern look as he held his hand out for the only way Toodles would ever make a promise- the unbreakable and soul-binding pinkie promise.
"I promise! I won't let anything happen to Pebble or anyone here!" Toodles saluted Astro, giving his hand a tight squeeze until she stepped back and walked over to the group of toons who were planning out decorations.
"…I got a good feeling about her." Sprout smiled as he watched Toodles join in excitedly, already presenting her ideas for how Pebble's little "house" as she called it should look.
"Yeah, I think Toodles was the right pick. Besides, I'm not sure I want Pebble with the others as a whole. I mean, I get Twisteds won't attack other Twisteds, but you never know with Pebble." Astro sighed, and the other three mans with him nodded in agreement. Looks like they were about to assemble a whole movie set.
Bobette and Brusha had done an excellent job recreating the rainbow walls of the lobby. Bobette had assembled the blank boards, and Brusha painted them to almost an exact replica. Well… it's not like they would care, but the attention to detail is still very nice. So long as the atmosphere is the same, Astro would call it a job well done. They had decided to take Sprout's floor, but remodeled it a bit. It was large enough to hold all of them as well as give them their own space, since Astro figured there might be a few complications if they shoved all of them into a confined space and called it a day.
Speaking of day, this whole thing took days… to start, they had decided to cover the grass on the outside of Sprout's floor with a bunch of spare planks they had found lying around to make it look even more like the actual Gardenview. That wasn't pleasant at all, but Astro just kept reminding himself the final product would be worth it. Once the floor was covered, they put the walls up as much as they could. The sky ceiling would be okay enough, since the lobby had clouds visible, but they mostly just wanted the multicolor walls that covered most of Gardenview. They kept the inside of Sprout's floor mostly the same, considering it looked very similar to the diner floor where they all ate on occasion.
So far so good… it was nowhere close to an exact replica of Gardenview, but it would do the job. Next came the rooms. That part they didn't really think through. While there were a few spaces on Sprout's floor they could turn into spaces that could probably pass as rooms, Vee was concerned there might not be enough for all of them. Then Goob decided to share his idea, and it was probably better than Sprout's whole mini Gardenview idea.
"Why not just make some along the back walls? I mean, the actual rooms look like that. Do them side-by-side to make it feel more like the actual toon room hallways. I think there's enough room… and we don't have to make them all the same size, just scale them off the Twisted and we should be set." Goob suggested and holy balls Sprout thought that was the greatest idea since sliced bread.
"Yes, that sounds great! Wonderful job, Goob! Why didn't we think of that?" Sprout playfully gave Goob's shoulder a light punch, and Goob looked like God himself had just given him a compliment.
"Yeah…! Glad I could help!" Goob said happily, and everyone immediately got to work. Astro and Vee, however, stayed behind. They both had a few things they wanted to talk about.
"Vee… we're literally just lying to them. What do we do if they find out none of this is real? They're gonna be upset, and how are we supposed to recover from that? This is the most freedom they've had in ages, and I highly doubt they'll willingly go back inside those glass cages now that they're about to experience this." Astro sighed. Vee sighed as well, looking away for a bit as she thought. Astro liked the plan, he really, genuinely did, but he can't help but always find something to worry about.
"Honestly? I can't help but think the same thing. They're smarter than everyone else thinks… I think they can identify a lie when they see it. But, then again, this is assuming they'll even hate it. Maybe they won't care…? Like, they're just happy to have something like… this." Vee gestured to the other toons who were busy planning out what materials they needed and working on blueprints for the different rooms.
Astro was thinking about Dandy, but he knew he shouldn't bring him up right now. They weren't working on any room for Dandy, and planned on leaving him behind in the warehouse room. All on his own.
…Astro would find a way to fix that.
"I just don't know… like, okay, don't get me wrong. I like the plan, I think it's great, but we can't just build it and call it a day. There's a 50 / 50 chance they either get upset when they find out the whole thing is a lie or they just live with it, like you said… I suppose either are possible. Only one way to find out, I guess." Astro sat down on a nearby counter, resting his chin on his fist as he began overthinking every way this could go wrong, but also every way it could go well.
He knew there was a chance, and decided he'd believe in that chance rather than the potential dumpster fire this could become. He really hoped it didn't fail… because Astro figured they could get it to work in stages. First, make them feel like they're just regular toons again. After that, lower their aggression by having other toons be there like they were just regularly hanging out. If that works, then they can just do them one after another. God, he really hoped this worked…
If it did, maybe he could convince them all to let them try it with Dandy. Astro knew it could work, that Dandy would probably love being back with every toon, or at least deep down. Astro wasn't going to let Dandy live the rest of his life just like this, he was going to give him a second chance at the life everyone else has. Maybe once this is all said and done, Astro could drop the idea. Yeah. That'll hopefully work… God, he didn't care what it'd take at this point. He just wanted to get Dandy back. If someone wanted his left lung, they can have it, so long as it meant he could just see Dandy- the real Dandy- again.
Before Astro even knew it, the other toons were done with the blueprints and everything. Overhearing Cosmo, apparently they just basically copied every single room idea, just changed up the interior. Well, that's how the normal rooms worked… tomorrow was their dedicated work day, according to Sprout. Astro was just going to sit back and watch. Well, he would help out if needed, but mostly just watch. Y'know, preserve his energy and everything.
…Imagine what Dandy's room might look like.
Brightney and Ribecca put the last of the plan together, and it really just made Astro feel even more uneasy about it. Not only were they putting them in a poor imitation of their old home, Brightney said it might be for the best if they all went along with it. Only doing all the scientific and medical talk in private, and pretending that everything is really just… fine. But it isn't fine! Astro just can't lie to them like this!
He really wanted to protest, but all the other toons were already following Sprout and Brightney towards the elevator, piling themselves inside. Astro stayed behind, though thankfully, Vee and Teagan were there.
"…You're still upset about having to deceive them, aren't you?" Vee sighed, sitting up a little straighter. She had kicked back in a chair, putting her feet on a nearby table, but she grew much more serious now that it was just her, Teagan, and Astro.
"Hm, I can't blame you. I just want to know if we're keeping their best interests in mind… their happiness isn't based on what we want, it's really what they want. But the only thing they want that we know is to see us bleed out on the floor, so we can't really do that for them." Teagan shrugged, leaning against the table.
"That's… hm. That's a really good point. But maybe they don't care where they are…? There's so many variables, so much that could go wrong… but, at the same time, so much that could go right! Ugh… Vee, I'm gonna say something, but I need you to not take me out back and beat me up. Sound good…?" Astro winced as he gathered up the courage to talk about Dandy. He had a feeling that Vee would hear him out in the specific, but there's always a chance…
"Oh? Yeah, of course. You can tell me anything, Astro. And, trust me, if I wanted to take you out back and beat you up, I would've done it by now." Vee smirked, putting her heels on the table and leaning back in the chair.
"…Can we add Dandy into this whole plan? He gets lonely… I don't want him to be here alone on a cold, dark floor with not a single soul nearby. So, please? Can we at least let him have some freedom or be with the other Twisteds? He won't hurt them, I know it! And they won't hurt him! Nobody will be hurt… so it's for the best!" Astro pleaded, putting his hands together in a praying gesture as he stared Vee down, hoping she'd crack eventually.
"…That's not my call to make. Ask the others." Vee sighed, looking away from Astro with that answer. Well… it wasn't a no…! But the others, yikes… they're gonna be a bit harder to convince, but one side glance from Teagan made him realize they seemingly had an idea for how he could get the other toons to go along with his plan.
About fifteen more minutes of going back and forth between worrying and being hopeful, Teagan eventually grabbed Astro by the back of his blanket and dragged him to the elevator. Astro knew this meant she was about to tell him something important and if he shows any sign of not paying attention, he'll feel their wrath. He followed Teagan to her room where she looked around a bit and then closed the door, sitting on the chair across from Astro.
"So, what's our plan for if they don't like it? Clearly, we're some of the only ones who think this sounds a bit too good to be true, so what are we going to do if they end up hating it?" Teagan asked, crossing their legs. Oh yeah… that got Astro thinking. What were they going to do?
"…Get them out of there and back in the cells from before?" Astro shrugged, but Teagan's expression begged to differ.
"Now they've had a taste of freedom, you think they'll go back into those sorry excuses of a room? No offense, but they won't. We're playing a dangerous game here." Teagan's point of view really got Astro thinking even more. Once again, they were right… there's no way they'd just happy go back to a life of claustrophobia now that they know what complete freedom looks like. But Astro didn't want to try and make their whole plan to fake Gardenview turn right back into some kind of zoo exhibit…
"…Well, tomorrow, I'll think about it. I'm gonna suggest bringing Dandy in to the others and that there's always a possibility this plan's gonna go south. I'll sleep on it, dream of a solution, y'know? We've gone this far, I won't let anything go wrong… I mean, I've messed up enough. I don't want there to be any more mistakes so long as I can help it. I don't know if this is a mistake quite yet, but… I'll think of something. Trust me." Astro gave Teagan a reassuring nod, but he wasn't too sure she bought it. Teagan just sighed in response and walked to sit on their bed.
"…I pray for the day this will all be over." Teagan looked at Astro, then turned off the lamp next to their bed as they laid back on their pillows. Astro wished them goodnight and went back to his own room, figuring he should probably get some rest of his own.
Was this really the right course of action? Lying to them, making them think everything was okay when that was far from the truth? Making them think that they're okay? Astro knows that getting them to feel normal is a vital part of their restoration process, but this just felt… off. He just couldn't help but worry about their reaction if they ever found out this whole paradise they were living in was… a lie. Astro found several fallacies in this plan, but also enough evidence to prove this might work…
But, more importantly, he needed to bring up Dandy to the others. He needed them to agree to let Dandy into their fake Gardenview… he didn't want him to be alone. And if they didn't let Dandy in, Astro would just move into that warehouse room himself and sleep there with him every night! When it really mattered… well, when Dandy was around, he never left Astro alone. He was always right around the corner, ready to cheer him up with a smile or a hug. And, if those failed, some kind of dumb joke Dandy had thought of to just get Astro to smile. Oh, the things Dandy would do to get Astro to just smile a little bit… even if it was just a slight tremble on the corner of his lips, Dandy counted it was a small win.
Glisten said he was going to call a meeting tomorrow morning. He wanted all the toons when they were around the Twisteds to act normal. Like this really was Gardenview, keep all the science and medical stuff for outside this little safe haven they built for them. Astro really didn't want to contribute to deceiving the Twisteds, but he probably didn't have any other choice. The toons knew they were smarter than they looked…
Astro hoped they came up with some kind of backup plan that he just hadn't heard about if everything went south. But Astro had a plan- he'd ask if Dandy could come to the mini Gardenview too. He was a Twisted, just like the others. But more importantly… he used to be a toon, just like them. Astro just needed to make them see that.