Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1: No-clipped

Location: Level 0: The Lobby

One moment everything was normal, they were home at Gardenview, they were safe. The next thing they knew, they were in this strange place. The maze-like walls were covered in faded yellow wallpaper and the ground was covered in a carpet of a similar shade. The fluorescent ceiling lights emitted a constant, faint buzz. One thought was going through everyone’s mind: 

“Where are we?” Shelly asked. Her question was followed by silence, as if no one had heard her. 

“Where are we?” Scrap asked, repeating Shelly’s question.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it here. Something about this place just isn’t right.” Vee said. This place feels…wrong somehow.

“Perhaps that’s because it is a liminal space.” Rodger replied. “They tend to cause feelings of unease.”

“I don’t find this place unsettling at all.” Glisten declared. 

“I don’t find it unsettling EITHER! I think it looks INTERESTING HERE! We should EXPLORE!” Yatta half yelled, shoving candy into her mouth. 

“Yes, this place does have a certain intrigue to it.” Rodger said. “I think-“

“I HATE IT HERE! I HATE THOSE STUPID LIGHTS! I HATE THE COLOR YELLOW! I HATE ALL OF THIS!” Shrimpo interrupted, yelling in his usual angry voice.

“I think,” Rodger began, ignoring Shrimpo. “it would be best if we split up. That would make exploring take less time.”

He has a point… Vee looked down a nearby hall; it seemed to stretch on forever, with other rooms and possibly even other hallways splitting off. This place is like a maze. It could stretch on for miles and we don’t know what else is out there. We might not be alone here. Vee was about to voice her thoughts, but someone else beat her to it. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. This place is huge and we don’t know anything about it. We wouldn’t want to get lost and not be able to find each other.” Glisten said almost nervously. “Not that I would get lost of course. I’m too perfect for that.” He added. Vee rolled her eyes. Of course he has to mention how perfect he is. He can’t go five minutes without talking about himself. 

“Glisten’s right.” Sprout said. “We don’t know anything about this place. We don’t know if it’s safe or not. I don’t want anyone to get hurt or lost.”

“I think it might be too late for that…” Astro mumbled quietly. “We’re missing Pebble, Toodles, and Boxten… I haven’t seen them since we left Gardenview.”

Just great. We’re not even here for ten minutes and we’re already missing three toons.

“Maybe they’re still at Gardenview?” Razzle suggested.

“Or maybe they got lost and some monster found them…” Dazzle murmured gloomily. 

“This doesn’t seem like the kind of place that would have ‘monsters’” Rodger observed.

“We should still keep an eye out for them, just in case.” Sprout said. 

“Are we going to start EXPLORING soon?” Yatta asked, before shoving another candy into her mouth. She dropped the wrapper onto the floor, which was already littered with several others. 

“?gnitae neeb uoy evah ydnac hcum woh ,attaY” Blot asked.

“Not THAT much!” Yatta yelled with a mouth full of candy. 

“Yatta! I though I told you to eat less candy? You eat way too much.” Sprout scolded. 

“There is NO such thing as too much CANDY!” Yatta yelled. 

Sprout sighed disappointedly. It was no use trying to argue with Yatta. Nothing seemed to make her stop eating candy.

“We should start looking for a way out.” Vee said. I would like to get out of here as soon as possible.

“We should do something to make sure we don’t get lost.” Brightney said. “Maybe leave a trail or put some kind of marker on the wall…”

“I can just map this place as we go and keep track of where we’ve been.” Vee said. 

“You can do that?” Spout asked.

“Yeah.” Vee answered. “Now let’s go. Follow me and don’t wander off on your own.”

Vee began walking down a hallway. The others followed behind her. The layout of the place was strange and nonsensical. There were hallways that lead to dead ends, large rooms with nothing inside, and rooms with entrances so small no one was able to get inside. They walked through other odd rooms, like a room filled with numerous rows of pillars, a room with a chair on top of a table, and a room with another chair that was partially consumed by the floor.

Vee lead them around another corner, only to be in another room filled with pillars, one that looked like an exact copy of the other one. What? We were here just a bit ago. We didn’t backtrack, so how are we back?

“Vee, I think we were already here before.” Brusha said. “This looks exactly like that other room we were in earlier.”

“I know.” Vee muttered, irritated. “I don’t know how we got back here. We haven’t backtracked or anything and this place isn’t mapped out yet.”

“Maybe there is something wrong with your mapping system? Like a glitch or something?” Sprout suggested. 

“Everything is working just fine.” Vee snapped. “I can prove it. If you just follow me, I can take you to that other pillar room.”

Vee began leading them back the way they had come. Something isn’t right. There is no way that was the same room… It wouldn’t make sense for there to be two of the same room… although this whole place doesn’t make sense. After a few turns, Vee stopped. She should have turned into the room with the chair on the table, but instead she was facing a large room with several rows of square shaped holes in the ground.

“This wasn’t here before.” Vee said. “I know it wasn’t.”

“Did you take a wrong turn?” Astro asked. 

“No. There weren’t any other turns to take.” Vee said, frustration growing inside her. This wasn’t here before. Why is it here now? How is it here? What the heck is going on? 

“Vee is right. This was the way we went.” Glisten said. “I remember the route perfectly.” 

“So then how did this get here? Did the rooms just shift around on their own?” Brusha asked sarcastically.

“We should look around, maybe we will find clues to what happened.” Rodger suggested.

“I WONDER what is in those HOLES!” Yatta shouted, still shoveling candy into her mouth. Before anyone could respond, Shrimpo’s shrill voice rang out.

“I REALLY HATE THOSE STUPID LIGHTS! THEY ARE GIVING ME A HEADACHE! I HATE HEADACHES!” He yelled.

“Looks like someone is feeling crabby.” Finn joked.

“SHUT UP! I HATE YOU AND YOUR STUPID JOKES!” Shrimpo screamed. He is getting on my nerves.

“Why don’t we send Shrimpo down to explore those holes?” Vee said. It would be nice to get a break from his grating voice.

“Vee! There is no way to get down without falling and we don’t know how deep it is.” Sprout objected. “We don’t know if it’s safe down there either.”

“Maybe Scraps could use her tail to go down there?” Goob suggested.

“My tail isn’t that long.” Scraps responded. 

“…???” Flutter asked. 

“Are you sure you want to go down there? You’d be all on your own…” Glisten replied, a faint hint of fear in his voice. “If there was a monster or something none of us would be able to help you.”

“…!!!” Flutter replied.

“I supposed that’s true.” Glisten said.

“…!” Flutter said.

“Here, I have a flashlight you can use.” Gigi said pulling a flashlight seemingly out of nowhere. Where did she get that from? Flutter took the flashlight and flew towards one of the holes.

“Be careful down there.” Sprout warned. “If something happens to you, we won’t be able to help you right away.”

Flutter nodded before flying down the hole, slowly fading from sight as the darkness closed in around her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Grinning Faces

Location: level 1: Habitable Zone

Toodles look around. She was in an empty parking garage. The concrete ground was cold beneath her feet. Concrete pillars extend upward from the floor. Fluorescent lights and pipes lined the dark gray ceiling. The air was cool and damp, having a faint smell of gasoline. It reminded her of the warehouses back at Gardenview. Boxten and Pebble were with her, but she didn’t see any of the other toons.

“I wonder where we are.” Toodles said. 

“I don’t like it here. It’s kind of creepy…” Boxten said. “And where is everyone else?”

“I don’t know. Let’s go look for them!” Toodles suggested.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Boxten asked nervously.

“Yes. Come on, let’s go!” Toodles grabbed Boxten’s arm and began half dragging him along. Pebble walked beside them.

The parking garage extended out so far that the other side wasn’t even visible. As they walked they came across puddles of some kind of liquid on the ground. Every now and then they passed by openings in the walls that lead to dimly lit hallways. Strangely, there were almost no cars in the garage.

“I really don’t think we should be wandering around like this…” Boxten said.

“What else are we supposed to do, just sit around and wait for the others?” Toodles asked. “This place is interesting and I want to explore it.”

“I don’t know…” Boxten answered. “I just don’t like it here. It’s unsettling.”

“Whats the worst that could happen?” Toodles asked.

“Um, I don’t know…” Boxten mumbled.

“There is nothing to worry about.” Toodles declared. 

As soon as those words left Toodles mouth, the lights in the distance flickered before going out. The ones far behind them did the same. The next row of lights went out, then the next. The darkness grew, closing in on either side as the lights kept going out. Fear coursed through Toodles as she realized all the light would be gone soon. It’s ok, it’s just a little blackout. The darkness can’t hurt you. You need to push through the fear, prove that you are brave. Soon only the light above them remained, then it flickered and went out, plunging them into total darkness. 

“Um, Toodles…” Boxten whispered. “There is something over there.”

Toodles looked where Boxten’s voice had come from. In the distance, there were two glowing white orbs. A glowing white sideways crescent was below the two orbs. It looks like a smiley face. A second face appeared, this one much closer. Toodles could see the outline of fangs in the crescent mouth. Another grinning face appeared, then another, until they were surrounded.

“I don’t like the look of those faces…” Boxten whispered.

“Maybe they aren’t as scary as they look?” Toodles whispered back, her voice shaking.

As soon as she said that, the faces all charged towards them.

“RUN!” Toodles cried. She took off in the direction of a hallway she had seen earlier. She could hear Pebble next to her and Boxten not far behind. I hope I’m going the right way. I don’t want those monsters to catch me. I don’t think they’re friendly. She saw a faint glow up ahead. The blackout must not have affected those halls. I might be safe there!

“Toodles, wait for me.” Boxten called out from behind her. She paused at the threshold of the hall and turned back. She could see the horde of grinning faces in the near distances, and Boxten wasn’t that far ahead of them. The creatures were gaining on him. Those monsters are going to catch him! 

Toodles backed away from the entrance and into the hallway, her eyes fixed on Boxten. She watch in horror as he tripped and fell to the ground. The grinning monsters closed in around him. I don’t want to watch. Toodles turned around and shut her eyes. Boxten’s pain filled screams pierced the air, before being cut off by a horrible crunching sound. Her eyes filled with tears. Those monsters killed him! They are going to kill me next! I need to hide!

Toodles felt a faint tugging at the hem of her dress. She looked down and saw Pebble.

“What is it?” She whispered through tears. 

“Woof!” Pebble turned and took a few steps into the hall. 

“You want me to follow you?” Toodles asked, wiping her tears.

“Bark!” 

Pebble lead her down the hall and over to a crate with a tarp over it. Toodles carefully lifted the tarp, and saw that the crate was empty. I can hide in this! She climbed in, careful to not make any noise. Pebble hopped in next to her, and then she lowered the tarp. I hope they don’t find us here. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: The Exit?

Location: Level 0.1: Danger Zone, Level 0: The Lobby

The light from above faded as Flutter progressed down the hole. By the time she reached the bottom the light was barely noticeable. The flashlight’s beam barely did anything to pierce the darkness. The air was musty and stale and dust sparkled in the faint light beam. In the distance she saw a red glow. I wonder what that is? She flew towards it and saw that the light was coming from a hallway.

Flutter cautiously entered the hallway. It extended out both directions and seemed to be similar to the ones from above, it was even covered in the same wallpaper. I need to be careful to not get lost. She flew down the hall, and for awhile, everything was normal. Then she heard a strange sound. It was a faint thudding coming from somewhere in front of her and it was rapidly getting louder. All of a sudden, a massive black spidery creature with a skull for a head came charging around the corner. It was coming straight for her. I have to get out of here!

Flutter turned around and began flying as fast as she could. She flew all the way back to the dark area she had started in and began flying upward, towards one of the holes. She heard the thing’s loud thudding stop right beneath her. Surely it can’t get me up here. I should be out of reach. The light above was growing brighter, she was getting closer. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain explode in her back as a large black thing pierced through her abdomen.

It had been awhile since Flutter had gone down into the holes. Vee stood by one waiting for any sign of Flutter’s return. Sprout was hovering by another hole nearby.

“I think I see her!” Sprout called out. The others rushed over to the hole Sprout was standing by. Vee could see Flutter’s light getting closer. Soon Flutter was close enough to be faintly visible in the darkness below. Suddenly, Flutter froze and blood exploded outward as a large black thing pierced through her body. Terror filled Flutter’s eyes as she was dragged back into the darkness by some unseen creature. The toons fell silent in horror, trying to process what had just happened.

“So there really are monsters here…” Dazzle mumbled, breaking the silence.

“Don’t worry, it can’t get up here.” Razzle said.

“You don’t know that.” Dazzle responded. “Maybe it can.” 

“Either way, we should get out of here. We don’t want to take the risk that that thing can get up here.” Vee said. 

The other toons nodded in agreement, but didn’t say anything. Vee walked to the edge of the room, then stopped. Outside the room, the hallway stretched forward with no nearby turns. When we came in here we made a right turn. Where did it go? Why is it not here? The others noticed the change in the hallway.

“If I remember correctly, which I always do, we came here after making a right turn.” Glisten stated. “So where did it go?”

“Thats what I want to know.” Vee said.

“It’s almost like the walls moved…” Astro observed. “Just like what Brusha said.”

“Indeed.” Rodger said, walking over to the wall where the walkway once was. He stood by the wall in silence, examining it. After a few minutes he rejoined the group.

“The wall is just as solid as the others walls. It’s like there was never a walkway there.” He said. “How fascinating.”

“Let’s just keep going and see if we can find an exit.” Glisten said.

“You’re suddenly eager to leave. Are you scared now?” Vee asked.

“I’m not scared.” Glisten argued. “I just don’t want to die. I’m too perfect to die.”

“None of us want to die” Vee stated. “Now come on.” 

Vee began walking down the hall, the others following close behind. The hallway was like most of the other hallways they had been through. The longer she was in this strange place, the more uneasy she felt. We need to find the exit and get out of here. Something is wrong with this place. The hallways seem to change and there is something in those holes. We aren’t safe here.

They continued wandering for hours. It only continued to get weirder the further they went. The rooms sometimes seemed to change in size; some were significantly bigger, with high up ceilings, while others were very small, with the ceiling only a few inches above their heads. Eventually, they came across a metal garage door.

“That is out of place.” Brightney observed. “Maybe it’s the way out?”

“Perhaps.” Rodger said.

Rodger walked towards the door and opened it. Darkness lay behind it. Vee walked over to Rodger and stared into the dark void.

“It doesn’t look like an exit to me.” Vee sated.

“I wonder where it goes.” Goob said.

“LET’S FIND OUT!” Yatta yelled, running into the void. Looey and Goob followed after her. Seriously?

“We should go after them.” Sprout said.

“Are you crazy?!” Vee shouted. “We don’t know where the heck that goes. It could get us all killed!”

“We can’t just let them wander off on their own.” Sprout argued. “I’m going after them. I don’t care if you follow me or not.”

Sprout stepped into the void. The other toons followed after him one by one until Vee was left standing there alone. It seems I don’t get much of a choice. This had better not get me killed. Here goes nothing. Vee stepped into the void. Instantly she was hit with a strange tingling, almost static sensation. She felt like she was falling, but she couldn’t be sure. Then, the sensation stopped and the light came back.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Another Level

Location: Level 1: Habitable Zone

Darkness surrounded Glisten as he fell though the strange void. His whole body had a strange static sensation. Then, it stopped, leaving him feeling dizzy. He found himself in some kind of parking garage. The Fluorescent lights lining the ceiling made a faint buzzing sound, similar to the lights from the yellow rooms. Relief washed over Glisten when he saw the other toons had also ended up in the garrage. I’m glad I’m not alone here…

“Ugh, I feel like my insides are all tangled up.” Brusha complained.

“I feel awful, I think I’m going to be sick.” Cosmo said before throwing up.

“I HATE THAT SO MUCH! I HATE HOW IT MADE ME FEEL! I HATE ALL OF THIS!” Shrimpo screamed. 

“I for one, feel just fine, perfect actually.” Glisten declared. I don’t feel much worse than when I teleport. I can’t tell them that of course; can’t have them thinking I can’t handle it.

“Yeah, sure you do.” Vee said sarcastically. 

“You just can’t handle my perfection.” Glisten replied.

“Whatever.” Vee muttered.

At least Vee decided to come with us. It wouldn’t have been good to leave her alone back there… I should have stayed behind to make sure she didn’t get left alone. That’s what a perfect toon would’ve done…

“So, where are we now?” Scraps asked.

“It appears to be a parking garage of some sort.” Rodger observed.

“Just great.” Vee muttered angrily. “Let’s try to find the way out of here.”

“Can’t we EXPLORE for a bit? Yatta asked. 

“No. We need to get out of here. Did you not see what happened to Flutter? If we stay here too long, who knows what else will try to kill us.” Vee stated. “We have to find the exit as soon as possible.”

The toons mumbled amongst each other, most agreeing with Vee’s sentiment. Vee began walking, the others followed close behind. Glisten made sure to stay in the middle of the group. I don’t want to get left behind… If that did happen, surely they would come looking for me…right?

As they walked, Glisten couldn’t help but shiver from chill in the air. It’s so cold here. No one else seems bothered by it. I have to put up with it though, I don’t want them to think I can’t handle the cold.

“Glisten, are you ok?” Sprout asked, concern in his voice. “You’re shivering…”

“I’m fine Sprout.” Glisten replied. “I can handle the cold.”

“If you say so…” Sprout said, still looking at him in concern.  

They continued through the empty garage. Every so often they came across puddles of an unknown liquid on the ground. Isn’t this supposed to be a garage? Where are the cars? I've only seen like three. Something about this place is unsettling…

Vee stopped in front of a hall entrance, the rest of the group came to a halt behind her. She was standing in front of another puddle, but this was different from the others. It was darker and thicker.

“Is that…blood?” Astro asked, unease filling his voice.

“I think so.” Vee replied. 

“It’s still fresh.” Sprout observed. “Someone must’ve gotten hurt recently. We need to find them.”

“They might already be dead.” Vee stated. 

“We still need to look. If someone is wounded here, we need to help them.” Sprout argued. “They might be down this hall.”

“You really think going down a hall with a pool of blood in front of it is a good idea?” Vee asked, her voice getting angry. “Are you crazy? We don’t know what the heck is down there. Do you want to get killed?!” 

“Vee, calm down.” Astro said.

Before Vee could respond, a faint scuffling sound came from the hall. What is that? The sound got louder as two small figures stepped out of the hall. It was Toodles and Pebble.

“You guys are here! You found me!” Toodles exclaimed, running over to Rodger.

“Woof!” Pebbles barked.

“You ended up here too?” Astro asked. 

“Yeah. Me and Boxten and Pebble.” Toodles answered.

“Where is Boxten?” Sprout asked.

Toodles’ face fell at Sprout’s question, her smile replaced with a look of terror that Glisten had never seen before.

“Toodles, what happened?” Sprout asked, noticing her change in expression.

“I…I don’t really know. First we were in Gardenview, then we were here. We decided to explore, and at first it was going really well. But then the lights started going out…and that’s when they showed up…” Toodles paused, visibly shaking in fear. “There were these things, these monsters. They had glowing faces, and they all had this awful smile, it was full of sharp teeth. There were so many of them, they surrounded us and then they started to chase us… Boxten wasn’t fast enough…”

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: The Lights Go Out

Location: Level 1: Habitable Zone

The toons stood in silence, trying to process what Toodles had told them. Glisten briefly glanced behind him, half expecting to see one of those faces Toodles had described. I’m being paranoid. Those monster things aren’t here. Besides, I can’t be afraid of them, I’m too perfect for that. Eventually Vee broke the silence.

“You were chased by a bunch of glowing smiley faces?” She asked skeptically. 

“Y-yes..” Toodles answered.

“Are you certain that’s what you saw?” Vee challenged.

“Yes!” Toodles wailed, tears falling from her eyes. “I know what I saw! They killed Boxten!”

“That would explain this pool of blood.” Brusha commented.

“I have a hard time believing it was a bunch of smiley faces that did that.” Vee said.

“I’m telling the truth!” Toodles protested. 

“Perhaps you imagined it.” Rodger suggested. “Fear can make things seem much worse than they actually are.”

“What about Boxten? He still died!” Toodles cried.

“It was probably something else. I’m not saying there aren’t monsters here, I just don’t think a bunch of smiling faces are really that much of a thre-” Vee was cut off by the sound of a light flickering out in the distance. A few second later, another light went out.

“This is what happened last time!” Toodles sobbed. She clung to Rodger’s leg, burying her face in terror.

“We should get out of here.” Sprout said as another light went out.

“I agree. This place will be even harder to navigate in the dark.” Vee said.

Glisten followed Vee and the others as they resumed walking. The lights continued flickering out on either end of the garage. The darkness was closing in on them.

“Not again not again not agin…” Toodles whimpered. 

Soon the last light flickered out, leaving them with only Brightney’s small circle of light and the faint green glow of Vee’s screen.

“Everyone stay close together.” Sprout instructed. “If you get separated, look for Brightney’s light.”

Glisten was about to say he wouldn’t get separated, when something in the distance caught his attention. There were two white orbs. Below them was something that looked like a smile. That looks like a face… Was Toodles right? Are there smiley faced monsters here? He noticed another face, one much closer. He looked around and saw that there were several of those things surrounding them. 

“What the heck?” Vee muttered. “I guess Toodles was right. We need to get out of here while we still can.”

Right after Vee said that the faces charged at them. It’s like they heard her…

“RUN!” Sprout yelled. They took off running. Glisten tired to keep Brightney and Vee’s lights in view, but their lights were growing further and further away. No! I can’t lose sight of them! I can’t get separated from them! He felt breathing on his neck, but didn’t dare turn around. Suddenly, something grabbed him by his ribbon and violently yanked him backwards onto the floor.

“NO!” Glisten cried out. A glowing face was looming over him, its bloodthirsty grin sent fear coursing through his body. The light its face emitted should have been enough to show its body, but he couldn’t see one. It’s like that thing is made of darkness. The monster reached out a hand with long sharp fingers. It’s going to kill me! 

Its claws were inches from Glisten’s face when a loud bark sounded from nearby. The monster froze, then turned to the direction of the noise. There was more barking. The creature slowly stood up. It turned, and charged towards the noise. Pebble just saved me… Glisten rose up from the ground and looked around. He saw a faint glow in the distance. That must be Brightney. He sprinted towards it. 

Glisten soon found Sprout and Brightney standing near a door. It looked like the front door of a house. That’s out of place…

“There you are!” Sprout said. “Brightney found this door, we think it’s the exit. The others already went through. We stayed behind to wait for you, Teagan, and Pebble. Where are they anyway?”

“Pebble lead one of those things away from me.” Glisten answered. “I don’t know where Teagan is…”

Glisten looked around and saw Teagan in the near distance, running towards them. Before she could get much closer a dark shape charged at her. She let out a loud scream as it slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. The figure advanced towards her, its claws outstretched. It’s going to kill her! A loud shattering filled the air, like something was being broken into a thousand pieces.

Before they had time to process what had happened, Pebble ran over to them. A large bloody gash extended across his back. He was barking furiously

“We need to go, now!” Brightney said. She opened the door and ushered them back into that strange darkness.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Can’t Hide

Location: Level 164: Structures in the Dark

When the darkness of the void faded, Glisten found himself outside in some kind of town. The sky was pitch black, lacking stars and a moon. A sidewalk stretched out into the dark with buildings on one side and an empty road on the other. Streetlights were haphazardly scattered along the sides of the sidewalk. The other toons were standing under a streetlight, waiting for them.

“There you are.” Vee said, sounding annoyed. “Why didn’t you come through right away?”

“We stayed behind to wait for Glisten, Pebble, and Teagan.” Sprout explained.

“Where is Teagan then?” Vee asked.

“One of those monsters killed her.” Brightney said quietly.

“One also tried to kill me.” Glisten added. “Pebble got its attention and saved me, not that I needed saving of course. I could’ve handled it myself.”

“You wouldn’t stand a chance on your own against one of those things.” Vee stated. She’s right… I can’t admit that though. I don’t want them thinking I’m weak and can’t handle being alone or anything… 

“Glisten, are you ok?” Sprout asked worriedly. “Did it hurt you?”

“Oh, I’m fine. It just grabbed me by my ribbon, it never actually touched me.” Glisten responded. It puled me back pretty aggressively. I probably have some bruises from that. It does hurt a bit…but I can handle it.

Pebble barked next to Glisten, pulling him out of his thoughts. The claw marks in Pebble’s back were more visible under the streetlight.

“Oh! Pebble!” Sprout exclaimed. “Let me help you.”

Sprout removed his scarf and knelt down next to Pebble. He carefully wrapped his scarf around Pebble, covering the bleeding gashes. When he was finished, he rose back up and turned to Glisten.

“Glisten, I want to check you for injuries. That monster pulled you back really violently. I want to make sure you’re ok.” Sprout said. 

“Sprout, you worry too much. I’m fine.” Glisten replied.

“Just because you feel fine doesn’t mean you are.” Sprout argued. 

“Fine.” Glisten said reluctantly. He doesn’t need to worry about me so much. I am capable of taking care of myself. Surely he can see that…

Glisten stood still as Sprout carefully lifted his ribbon, trying to not wince in pain as Sprout’s fingers brushed against his waist. The skin below the ribbon was red and rubbed raw in a few places. Bruises had already formed in multiple places and his flesh was sensitive to the touch.

“Glisten, this is terrible!” Sprout cried.

“It’s not that bad! It doesn’t even hurt that much!” Glisten protested. Why does he have to treat me like I can’t handle it? The pain isn’t that bad. I have to be perfect, I can’t let a bit of minor pain get to me.

  “You should just ditch the bow, Glisten. You don’t want what just happened to happen again, do you?” Vee said.

“I am NOT getting rid of my bow!” Glisten declared. “I will just be careful to not get caught by it again.”

“Go ahead then, not my fault if your stupid bow gets you killed.” Vee said flatly. My bow isn’t stupid…

Before Glisten could argue, Shrimpo’s shrill voice filled the air.

“WHAT THE HECK IS THAT HIDEOUS THING OVER THERE!? I HATE IT!” He shrieked, pointing at something. Glisten looked in the direction Shrimpo was pointing. He saw what at first appeared human, but he quickly realized it wasn’t. It was too tall. Its arms were longer than they should be. The fingers were also way too long and even from a distance they looked sharp. Shrimpo took a few steps towards it.

“I HATE YOU, YOU’RE UGLY!” Shrimpo yelled, holding two up middle fingers in the direction of the creature. It turned to look at Shrimpo. Glisten stared in horror as he realized the thing didn’t have a face, just empty holes where the eyes and mouth should’ve been. It’s another monster! The thing stared at them for a moment, like it was contemplating what it should do, then it began to run towards them. Not again!

“RUN!” Vee called out. Glisten followed after her as she ran down the sidewalk. Can we even outrun this thing? On the other side of the building there was a fence with a hole in it. 

“OVER HERE!” Vee called out, ducking through the hole. Glisten followed after her, making sure his bow didn’t catch on rough edges. I don’t want to rip it or get stuck…

“Don’t make a sound.” Vee whispered. In the silence, Glisten could hear the creature’s dreadful footsteps on the other side of the fence.

“BRIGHTNEY’S STUPID LIGHT IS GOING TO TELL IT WHERE WE ARE! SHE’S GOING TO GET US KILLED!” Shrimpo loudly hissed. The creature stopped walking. It was right in front of them now.

Glisten held his breath, staring at the fence in terror. It knows we’re here. He slowly backed away, his eyes still fixed on the fence. Suddenly, a hand with long gray fingers burst through the fence, right next to Brusha. It grabbed her by the left arm, and there was a sickening crunching sound. Blood poured out of her arm as its sharp fingers dug into her flesh.

“AGH! LET GO OF ME!” Brusha screamed, thrashing around in an attempt to break free. Glisten stood there watching in horror. It’s going to rip her arm off! We need to do something, but what? A shattering sound came from behind Glisten, causing him to flinch. He turned and saw Vee running from the building next to them with something in her hand. The window to that building was broken and shards of glass littered the ground beneath it. Vee ran up to Brusha and plunged a shard of glass into the creature’s hand. It let out a shriek, and its grip loosened just enough for Brusha to break free.

“We need to get out of here!” Vee yelled.

“But where do we go?” Astro asked.

“I don’t know.” Vee answered. “We just need to get away from here. Follow me.”

Glisten ran after Vee as she went around the building’s edge. He glanced back and saw the creature passing through the fence like it wasn’t even there. He turned back to see Vee weaving through the houses, as if she was looking for something. His sides ached from where the ribbon had dug into his flesh. I hope we find the exit soon. I don’t know how much more running I can do. My waist is starting to hurt more. I think the running might be aggravating it. He pushed on, doing his best to ignore the pain.

Shrimpo was towards the back of the group. Brightney was next to him and he could hear the thudding of the monster not far behind them. BRIGHTNEY’S STUPID LIGHT WILL MAKE IT EASY FOR THAT UGLY THING TO FOLLOW US! I’M NOT GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF A DUMB LAMP! He slammed his body into Brightney, knocking her over. She let out a cry of surprise as she hit the ground, but he ignored her and kept running. He could hear the monster getting closer. A loud cry of fear and pain came from behind him, but he continued to ignore it.

Vee had stopped running and stood next to a door. Glisten came up next to her and stopped, his sides aching from the running. The others joined them one by one.

“Is that the way out?” Sprout asked.

“I hope so.” Vee said. “I looked inside the door and it was all black like the other two were.”

“Is everyone here?” Sprout asked, looking around.

“We’re missing Brightney.” Rodger observed.

Glisten looked around, but he didn’t see her in the group. He looked back in the direction they had come from and saw a light in the distance.

“I see her.” Glisten said, pointing in the direction of the light. The others turned to look where he was pointing. A shrill scream came from where the light was. It was followed by the loud sound of glass being crushed, and then the light went out. I think it killed her…

“We can’t help her now.” Vee said coldly. “Let’s get out of here before we’re next.” 

Vee opened the door and ushered them through, back into the strange, dark, nothingness. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: A Moment of Peace?

Location: Level 4: The Abandoned Office

The darkness faded and Sprout saw that they were now in an office building. He could hear the sound of rain pounding against the windows. Rows of cubicles filled the large gray room, with old computers sitting unused at the desks. Empty tables lined the wall on one side and worn gray couches lined another wall. I need to find Brusha! That monster hurt her badly! I can’t let her die. Sprout quickly scanned the other toons, searching for her. He saw Brusha standing near a wall, clutching her bleeding arm.

“Brusha, your arm…let me look at it.” Sprout said running over to her. 

“What good will that do? We don’t have any medical supplies here. Are you going to heal me with your eyes?” Brusha sarcastically remarked. 

“We might be able to find some medical supplies.” Sprout argued. “But I won’t know what we’ll need if I don’t look at your arm.”

“I suppose you have a point.” Brusha replied. She let go of her left arm, revealing multiple bloody gashes. Her white sweater was already stained black from the blood and more continued to pour out.

“That is awful!” Sprout exclaimed. It’s so bloody. 

“It felt like that thing was going to tear my arm off.” Brusha commented.

“It sure sounded like it was.” Vee remarked. “It made quite the crunching sound.”

“I am well aware of that.” Brusha snapped.

“We need to find a first aid kit.” Sprout said looking around.

“Pfft, like this place would have one of those.” Vee said sarcastically. “Even if it did, it’s not going to be lying out in the open.”

“Then we should at least find something to wrap it with.” Sprout said.

“What about that?” Cosmo asked, gesturing towards a cushion on the ground. “We could cut it into strips.”

“That would work, but we need something to cut it with…” Sprout trailed off. 

“What about this?” Gigi asked, holding up a knife.

“Where did you get that?” Sprout asked.

“I found it in one of the desks.” Gigi answered.

“I’ll do the cutting.” Vee said. “I’m a machine so I can be the most precise.”

Vee took the knife from Gigi and walked over to the cushion. She stabbed the knife into it and began cutting it into strips. When she was finished she handed them to Sprout. He began 

carefully wrapping the strips around Brusha’s arm, making sure it wasn’t too tight. Brusha winced in pain as he wound the strips around her arm. Whatever that was, it badly hurt her. Her arm feels broken and these gashes are really deep. I hope we don’t encountering more of those things…

Glisten sat on one of the worn couches, his sides still aching from the running. Perhaps that monster hurt me worse than I thought… I can still push through it though, it’s nothing I can’t handle. 

“I wonder if these computers have useful information about this place.” Rodger said thoughtfully, walking over to one of the computers.

“I should take a look, I can download the information so we always have access to it.” Vee said. “Hopefully there will be something that will tell us how to get out of this wretched place.” She added, walking over to another computer. 

I should also look around from information. After all, it wouldn’t hurt to have perfect knowledge of this place. Glisten rose up from the couch and started walking along the nearby wall with tables. One of the tables had an old computer on it. That’s a bit out of place. None of the others have computers or anything at all. I wonder why this one is here?

Glisten walked over and tried pressing the power button, but nothing happened. Is it broken? He looked around and saw that it was unplugged. Strangely, there was no nearby outlet for it to even be plugged in to. Why is there no outlet for this? Who puts a computer somewhere where it can’t be plugged in? Gigi and Connie approached Glisten, interrupting his thoughts.

“Whatcha looking at?” Connie asked.

“This computer.” Glisten answered. “It’s out of place and there are no outlet nearby for it to even be plugged in to.”

“Hmm. That is strange.” Connie commented. “Maybe I could try haunting it? That would be fun.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sprout said, walking over to them. “This place we are in doesn’t seem to function normally. I don’t want you to get trapped in there or something.”

“You’re a partypooper.” Connie complained. “Is that why you came over here? To crap on my fun?” 

“No. I wanted to check on Glisten again.” Sprout answered. He turned to Glisten. “I want to check your bruises again. I want to make sure that the running didn’t make them worse.”

“Sprout, you worry too much; I’m fine, perfect actually.” Glisten replied. Why does he have to worry so much? It’s not even that bad. I can handle it on my own.

“It pulled you back really violently.” Sprout protested. “You could have internal bleeding.”

“Sprout, I’m fine. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” Glisten said.

Before Sprout could continue arguing, Shrimpo stomped over.

“WHY IS THIS STUPID COMPUTER HERE!? I HATE COMPUTERS!” He yelled punching the computer screen. Without warning, the computer blinked to life. The screen had three smiley faces on it, and above them there was text that read “you are an idiot!” The screen was flashing between black and white while playing a recording of glitchy voices gleefully repeating “you are an idiot” while laughing.

“I AM NOT AN IDIOT! I HATE THIS COMPUTER!” Shrimpo yelled before stomping off. 

Suddenly, the voices slowed down and became distorted. What is with this recording? Before Glisten could even react, the floor seemed to disappear beneath him, plunging him into the dark void. Where is it taking me?

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Fatal Mistakes

Location: Level !: Run For Your Life!

Glisten fell through the void before landing on a hard tile floor. He looked around and saw he was in an eerie hospital room illuminated by blood-red lights. A hospital bed was placed against the middle of a wall, with neatly folded sheets placed at the edge of it. There was a door on either side of the room; one had a red exit sign over it, the other was chained shut. Where did that computer take me? And why is one of those doors chained shut?

Sprout, Connie, and Gigi also had ended up in this red room. They were looking around, equally perturbed by the strange room.

“I don’t think we should be here…” Sprout said slowly. “Something feels really wrong with this place.”

“Normally I like creepy atmospheres, but this is actually unsettling.” Connie stated.

They are right, something does fell wrong here. I don’t like this place, but I can't tell them that. I don’t want them to think I’m afraid of some red hospital room.

“I think we shou-” Sprout was cut off by a loud bang that came from behind the chained door. Glisten flinched, startled by the sudden sound. What was that? There was another banging sound, one much louder than the first. Something is trying to get in here. Sprout walked to the other door.

“We need to get out of here, now!” He said, opening the door.

“Give me a minute.” Gigi said. “I saw something shiny in here…”

“We don’t have time!” Sprout yelled.

“Go on without me. I’ll be right behind you.” Gigi answered.

Glisten followed as Sprout reluctantly walked through the door. They stepped into a long hallway, bathed in the same eerie red light. Doors lined both sides of the walls, all bearing the same red exclamation point emblem. The floor was littered with various kinds of hospital equipment, almost like they were placed to be obstacles. Red exit signs were haphazardly scattered across the ceiling, leading down the hall. 

Glisten heard more banging coming from the room. It was much louder now, like a whole horde of monsters was trying to break through. That door won’t hold them back much longer. Glisten hurriedly walked down the hall next to Sprout, with Connie gliding behind them. Suddenly, a loud thud came from the small room, followed by the shrill sound of an alarm going off. Then, Gigi’s bloodcurdling scream rang through the air. Whatever was behind that door just got her… 

“GIGI!” Sprout yelled, turning around. Glisten looked back towards the room, but instantly wished he hadn’t. There was a huge horde of monsters inside that room. He recognized the awful grinning faces and the distorted gray humanoid creatures, but there were other creatures he didn’t recognize; large spider-like things with skulls for heads, red humanoid creatures that appeared to lack skin, and yellow figurers that seemed to be wearing some kind of fabric with bloodstain-like smiles.

“We need to run!”  Glisten yelled as he began running down the hall. Sprout had already started running and was just ahead of Glisten. He could hear the thudding of the monsters chasing after them and the loud crashing sounds as they smashed through the obstacles. There must be hundreds of them! I don’t want to know what they’ll do if they catch me… I can’t let them catch me… As Glisten ran, he had to doge things like IV poles, hospital beds, and metal rolling carts. Several times he miscalculated and slammed his sides into the scattered equipment. How much running will it take to escape them? My waist hurt when I run and crashing into these obstacles makes it worse. If I didn’t have bad bruises from those smiling monsters, I definitely have them now… Maybe I should tell Sprout…but I don’t want him thinking I can’t handle some little bruises… I have to be perfect. I can’t admit I’ve crashed into that many things…

Connie was trying keep up with Sprout and Glisten, but she was slowly falling behind. She could hear the monsters shrieking not far behind her. She didn’t dare turn around to see how close they were. I’m not fast enough. Those things are catching up to me. Maybe I can hide in one of those rooms and wait until they are gone. Connie glided to the nearest door and opened it. Instead of finding an empty room to hide in, she found a room filled with more monsters.

CRAP! The horde was too close now; she didn’t have time to get away from them. Connie went invisible, hoping the monsters wouldn’t see her. At first it seemed like it had worked, but then one of the grinning faces swiped at her. Its claws tore through her chest, sending blood everywhere. Nonononono! They’re not supposed to be able to see me! That should have worked! One of the gray things lashed at her and she let out a terrified scream as it ripped though her abdomen, tearing it open. Its claw caught her intestines and pulled them partially out, along with a waterfall of blood. Darkness closed around Connie’s vision as death overcame her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Can’t Stop Running

Location: Level !: Run For Your Life!

Connie’s pain filled scream rang out behind Glisten. He didn’t dare look back, he already knew what happened. The monsters caught her…

“Glisten?” Sprout called out, his voice almost drowned by the deafening alarm.

“I’m still alive.” Glisten answered. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up though… My sides ache from how often I’ve crashed into things. It hurts a lot…but I must keep going. I can’t stop, I don’t want those things to get me. 

As they ran down the seemingly never-ending hall, Glisten realized it had become quieter. The alarm still blared around them, but the sound of the monsters thundering after them had ceased.

“I think those things stopped chasing us. I can’t hear them anymore.” Glisten said, breathless from all the running. “Maybe we could slow down a bit?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, they might still be chasing us.” Sprout replied.

“It would only be for a bit, just to catch our breath.” Glisten argued. I really need a break…but I can’t tell him that.

“I guess we could…” Sprout said hesitantly. 

Glisten slowed to a walk, finally able to begin catching his breath. Sprout slowed down next to him, but still maintained a faster pace. 

“Could you go a bit slower please?” Glisten asked, still trying to catch his breath. The pain in his waist and sides was becoming difficult to ignore.

“Am I going too fast for you?” Sprout asked, his voice filled with concern. 

“Oh no, you’re not too fast for me.” Glisten answered, laughing nervously. “I just don’t see why we need to go that fast when they aren’t chasing us anymore. It would be better if we saved our energy for when we need it.” 

I can’t have him thinking a little running is too much for me. Sprout slowed down a bit more, but continued to keep a quick pace. Why does he have to keep walking so fast? The monsters aren’t chasing us anymore, we’re safe now. Glisten glanced down at his waist and saw that there were more bruises forming on his already sensitive skin. Perhaps I should mention this to Sprout… No. I can’t do that. It’s not that bad and I can’t admit I’ve crashed into things. I don’t want him thinking I’m weak. I can manage it still. Glisten’s thoughts were interrupted by the chilling sound of thudding footsteps behind him. He glanced back, and saw the horde in the distance, growing closer every second. 

“Glisten…we need to start running again.” Sprout said urgently, breaking into a run. Glisten began to run again, but much slower this time. His legs ached from the running and weariness was clawing at him, threatening to overtake him. He could feel himself losing speed, getting further and further from Sprout. I’m getting too far behind! I can’t get separated from him! I can’t let the monsters catch me!

Suddenly, there was a loud popping sound from above. An exit sign burst into flames and plummeted from the ceiling, crashing into the ground ahead of him, blocking his way. He skidded to a stop a few yards from the sign. The sign is blocking my way. I can’t get around it without getting burned! I could teleport, but Sprout is too far away…

“SPROUT!” Glisten called out, panic filling his voice. Sprout paused and turned, his eyes going wide when he saw Glisten’s situation, and he began running back. Sprout was almost in range when Glisten felt a tugging from behind as something grabbed his bow. Not again! Glisten jolted forward, struggling to break out of its grasp. There was a ripping sound as he tore free and he began running towards Sprout and the flaming sign. Just as he was getting close, he felt claws pierce into his side, tearing through his flesh. He let out a gasp of shock and collapsed to the ground, pain exploding from his wounded side. He felt more claws digging into his back, ripping away more of his flesh. 

Glisten looked behind him and saw one of the horrible grinning monsters. It stared at him with its grotesque smile, almost like it was enjoying the whole thing. Not again not again not again! It’s going to kill me this time! I have one last chance to escape…I just hope Sprout is close enough… Glisten tried to teleport, but instead there was a loud shattering sound, and his face exploded into pain. Shards of glass and blood fell to the ground as he collapsed back into a heap, pain swirling around him. He could feel more claws sinking into his back and sides as his vision began to blur. Then everything went dark.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: Lone Survivor…

Location: level !: Run For Your Life!, Level 37: Sublimity

Sprout watched in horror as the grinning monster lunged at Glisten and ripped into his side. I need to save him, but how? I can’t fight that thing, it would just kill both of us. I can’t just stand here and do nothing though… A loud shattering sound rang out, interrupting Sprout’s thought. He stared at the flaming sign, grief welling up inside him. It killed him. I failed him, just like I failed Connie and Gigi… I’ve failed everyone that we’ve lost… The smiling creature looked up, its eyes meeting Sprout’s eyes. A wave of terror washed over him. I have to keep going. If I stay here it’ll kill me too. He turned and began running down the hall once more.

Sprout's thoughts were filled with grief and guilt as he ran. I couldn’t save them, I couldn’t save anyone. It’s all my fault. I should have payed better attention, then I would’ve noticed Connie and Glisten falling behind. I think Glisten’s waist was hurting him more than he wanted to admit…I should have been more firm with him. It’s my job to be the healer and I couldn’t even recognize he was struggling. I have to do better. Once I find the others, I’ll do everything I can to protect them. I don’t want to watch anyone else die…

Sprout was approaching a large metal door at the end of the hall. It was bigger than the doors that lined the walls. Instead of bearing the red exclamation point emblem, it had an exit signs. There were no openings or turns on either side of the hall. That must be the way out! Sprout stopped at the door. He could hear the monsters not far behind him. He took a deep breath, opened the door, closed his eyes, and stepped into the darkness. The static tingling sensation washed over him.

When it faded, Sprout opened his eyes and saw that he was in some kind of pool room. He was standing on a walkway covered in white tiles with water on either side. The walls were covered in the same white tile as the floor. There were cylindrical pillars that reached up to the ceiling and various circular openings in the walls. 

This is different… How will I find the others if I’m not in the same place as them anymore? Sprout began walking down the walkway, searching for any sign of the others or an exit. When he reached the other side, he hear the familiar voices of the other toons. He followed the sound around a corner and came to a large room. The toons were all standing in a half circle around Vee. As he approached, Vee turned to look at him and he saw that her right eye was glitched.

“There you are.” Vee said.

“Vee what happened to your eye?” Sprout asked.

“Oh, some of the files I downloaded were corrupted. They caused my face to glitch a bit, but I’m fine.” Vee answered casually. “What happened to you? You, Glisten, Connie, and Gigi all just disappeared.”

Sprout stiffened at her question, unsure of what to say. 

“There was this out of place computer that Shrimpo punched.” Sprout began. “It sent us to some kind of hospital that was lit by red lights. We started in a room with two doors. One was chained shut and there were monsters banging on it, trying to get through. We decided to leave the room, but Gigi stayed behind briefly…I told her we need to go, but she wouldn’t listen. She was still in that room when the door broke down.” He paused momentarily, tears falling from his eyes. He wiped them away and continued speaking. “We ran down the hall for awhile, then something happened, and the horde caught Connie… Glisten and I kept running, but after awhile he said that the monsters had stopped chasing us. He asked to slow down, and I didn’t want to leave him behind so I did… I really wish we hadn’t done that. They were still behind us. We started running again, but Glisten was lagging behind me. One of the exit signs on the ceiling caught on fire and fell to the ground. Glisten was on the wrong side of it… Before I could get close enough to help him, one of those smiling things got him…there was a shattering sound and…” Sprout trailed off, unable to finished his sentence.

“You were in THAT place!?” Vee exclaimed. “That was Level !, the most dangerous anomalous level in the Backrooms! It’s nearly impossible to survive! I’m surprised you made it out.”

“Levels? Backrooms?” Sprout repeated confused. What is she talking about?

“Right, you weren’t here. We are in what’s called The Backrooms. These different places we keep going to are called levels. The process of going to those levels is called no-clipping.” Vee explained. “Those ‘monsters’ are called entities, and the ones with the grinning faces are called smilers.”

“Did you learn that from those files?” Sprout asked.

“Yeah. I also learned that there is a way out of this place. It’s called The End. Once we find it we can leave this place and go back to Gardenview. We have to keep going to different levels until we find it.” Vee answered. “Speaking of going to different levels, we need to find the exit to this level as soon as possible.”

“Why do we need to leave so soon?” Goob asked. “This place looks safe to me.”

“It is safe for you.” Vee stated. “But it’s not safe for me. I can’t get wet.”

“It’s also not safe for Pebble either. If he falls in he could drown.” Astro added.

“I could hold Pebble.” Sprout offered. 

“Woof!” Pebble barked, bounding over to him. Sprout bent down and lifted Pebble into his arms, holding onto him tightly. I can’t let him fall into the water. I can’t fail him.

“Ok. Follow me.” Vee said. 

Vee lead them across the room and onto another walkway. There were pillars placed every few yards on either side, acting as support beams. Water surrounded the walkway, with circle platforms scattered across its surface. The platform lead them to an entry way for some kind of room. Vee stopped in front of the entryway. Sprout stopped next to her and saw that the walkway continued a bit before being consumed by water. Another walkway emerged from the water was a few yards ahead. Vee won’t be able to cross that. If she gets wet she’ll die.

“Ugh. We need to go that way, but the water is blocking us.” Vee grumbled.

“The water isn’t that deep.” Rodger observed. “It only goes up to our knees.”

“That is still too much water for me.” Vee replied.

“What if I carried you across?” Goob asked. “I can hold you above the water.”

“I guess that would work.” Vee said.

Sprout watched as Goob wrapped his arms around Vee and lifted her above the water. I should follow behind them and make sure his grip doesn’t slip. Sprout stepped into the water behind them and followed them to the other platform. Once everyone had crossed, they began following the walkway until they came across a large spiral staircase that was almost completely surrounded by water.

“This it it. The exit should be at the top of the stairs.” Vee said. Sprout followed Vee as she began ascending the stairs. Just as they reach the top, a shouting came from behind Sprout.

“SHUT UP FINN! I HATE YOUR STUPID JOKES!” Shrimpo yelled. He shoved Finn, causing him to crash into Sprout, throwing him off balance. Pebble slipped from Sprout’s hands and plummeted down into the water below. NO! Sprout stared down at the water in horror as frantic barking and splashing sounded from below. Soon, the barking and splashing faded, before ending completely.

“Pebble…” Cosmo said quietly, staring at the water.  I should’ve been holding him better. I failed him. This is all my fault.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: Mannequins

Location: Level 570: Closing Hours

Vee stared down at where Pebble had fallen. Pebble died because of Shrimpo’s recklessness, just like Brightney, Gigi, Connie, and Glisten… He needs to cut it out before he kills anyone else. Vee looked back down the steps. Sprout was frozen in place, still staring at the water.

“Sprout, we need to go.” Vee said, grabbing him by the arm.

“R-right.” Sprout mumbled.

Vee led Sprout up the last few steps and into the strange darkness. She was met with that same strange static feeling as she no-clipped. When it stopped, Vee found herself in a poorly lit shopping mall. Store fronts lined the sides, their signs acting as one of the few light sources. All of the stores had mannequins in the window displays, even the ones that didn’t have anything to do with clothing. That’s…odd. Vee looked around, searching for Shrimpo. Once she saw him, she stormed over to him, anger surging through her.

“SHRIMPO! YOUR RECKLESSNESS HAS GOTTEN FIVE TOONS KILLED!” Vee yelled, pointing her knife at him. “IF YOU DON’T CUT IT OUT, I WILL BEAT SOME SENSE INTO YOU!”

Shrimpo stared at Vee, a faint glimmer of fear in his eyes.

“Do you understand me?!” Vee demanded. 

Shrimpo nodded silently.

“Good.” Vee muttered, putting her knife away. She turned back to the other toons. “Let’s get going now.”

“Wait.” Scraps said. “We might be able to find useful supplies in those stores.” 

“No. Everything here is unusable.” Vee stated.

“Oh.” Scraps said, disappointment filling her voice.

“Now come on.” Vee said.

They began walking down the main walkway. The concrete floor was in pristine condition, like the store had just been built. The dim lighting gave the place a foreboding atmosphere. Vee couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching them. She turned and glanced back. A few mannequins were standing several yards behind them. Those weren’t there before… Did they move? I don’t have any files on mannequin entities… It’s probably just some non-Euclidean geometry or something…

The other toon grew in unease as they continued through the empty mall. Every time Vee glanced back the mannequins seemed to get a bit closer, despite them walking continually. 

“I think the mannequins are following us.” Dazzle said nervously.

“Mannequins? Following us? Yeah right.” Brusha said sarcastically.

“Vee?” Astro asked quietly. “Do you have any files on mannequin entities.”

“No.” Vee answered. “The mannequins might be ‘following us’ as a result of non-Euclidean geometry.”

As soon as Vee said this, a horrible scream rang out behind them. She whirled around and saw Finn standing just a bit behind the group, with a mannequin right behind him. Something was sticking out of Finn’s abdomen. Vee ran over to him, Sprout following close behind her. She stopped in her tracks a few feet away and stared in horror. Finn had been skewered by the mannequin’s need-like arm, like some kind of cursed kebab. Blood oozed out from around the mannequin’s arm, pouring onto the floor. Finn stared at them, terror filled his eyes.

“It…it…it moves…” Finn gasped before going limp. Those things are entities… Why did we never see them move? Do they only move when we aren’t looking? We will have to be much more careful here. 

The other toons were staring at Finn’s corpse in silent horror. If I’m right, and that thing does move when we aren’t watching, as soon as we look away it will kill another one of us… I need to do something about it. Vee pulled out her knife and approached the mannequin. She plunged her knife into the side of its neck. The mannequin collapsed to the floor as a white, blood-like liquid flowed from the wound in its neck. Ew.

“It can’t follow us now.” Vee stated. “We should keep going.”

Vee walked back to the front of the group and resumed leading them through the level. They were much quieter now, clearly disturbed by had happened. Soon, they came across what looked like the interior door of a house.

“Here is the exit.” Vee declared. 

“I think it would be best if I informed you that the circus troupe appears to be missing.” Rodger said. Just great.

“We need to go looking for them.” Sprout said urgently.

“It’s too risky.” Vee said. 

“We can’t just leave them here!” Sprout protested.

“Fine. I will go look for them. The rest of you need to move on the next level.” Vee replied.

“But what if you get lost?” Sprout argued.

“I won’t. I’m mapping this place, remember? I’ll be fine.” Vee replied. “Now go.”

Vee watched as the toons walked through the door one by one. Eventually, it was just Sprout and Vee left.

“Go.” Vee said.

“Are you sure you can do this on your own? It’s dangerous out there…” Sprout asked, concern filling his voice.

“I can handle myself. Now go.” Vee said. 

Vee pushed Sprout into the darkness of the void. Once she was certain he had no-clipped, she turned and began walking back the way they had come. Where did those circus freaks go? She looked around, searching for any sign of them. A small crumpled piece of paper laying on the ground caught her attention. A candy wrapper! She looked ahead, and saw more littering the floor every few feet. Yatta left a candy wrapper trail. I can use that to find them. 

Vee hadn’t been following the trail for long when she heard the faint sound of footsteps behind her. She paused, listening as the footsteps grew closer, until they were right behind her. She spun around, coming face to face with another mannequin. She pulled out her knife and stabbed it in the chest. It made a crunching sound as her knife pierced through its plastic flesh. The same white liquid flowed out of the wound as it fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Vee turned back and continued following the wrappers until they lead her to a party store. The faint sound of voices came from inside. Of course they would go to a party store. She walked inside, following both the trail and the voices to the back of the store, She found Yatta and Blot standing in front of a door with party streamers on it.

“There you are. Why did you wander off like that?” Vee demanded.

“We SAW this STORE and thought it looked NEAT and we wanted to LOOK AROUND !” Yatta half yelled.

“.netsil t’ndluow yeht tub ,og ot dedeen ew meht gnillet tpek I” Blot said.

“Well, we need to go now. We found the exit and everyone else has already gone through.” Vee stated, annoyed. 

“We CAN’T go YET!” Yatta said, still yelling. “When we found this door I DARED Looey to go inside, and he HASN’T come BACK YET!”

“YOU DID WHAT!?” Vee shouted. “You don’t even know where that door goes!”

“.deppilc-on eh kniht I” Blot said.

“You’re probably right.” Vee said. “Which means we have to go in there and find him.”
“OK!” Yatta yelled, jumping through the open door. Blot quickly follow after her. Vee paused in front of the door before reluctantly going after them. I had better not regret this.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Too Late

Location: Level 694: Juvenile Recollections

Looey looked around. He had gone through that door with streamers and was now in some kind of play center. He began walking and noticed that most of the place was in disrepair. The padding on many of the structures had big tears exposing the foam underneath. Mold and dust covered most of the surfaces. I don’t like it here… I should find my way back to the others. As he wandered the empty play center, he kept feeling like something was watching him. It’s just your imagination. There isn’t anything watching you…

Looey turned to go down a hall, but stopped at the edge. At the other end of the hall there was a strange figure. It was tall, and it appeared to be wearing some kind of yellow cloth. The figure turned to face Looey. Another yellow cloth covered its face, with a smiley face drawn on with blood. Oh no. It’s another one of those entity things. The figure began lumbering towards him. I don’t want that thing to catch me. He turned around and began sprinting back the way he had come. 

Eventually he came to a stop. He was in a part of the level he hadn’t been in before. It was even more disheveled than the other parts. Mold covered almost all of the surfaces. The air here was much colder, and the faint humming of a lullaby sounded in the distance, slowly getting louder. What is making that noise? Could it be another monster? The humming grew closer and closer, until it was in the doorway. Looey turned around to face the doorway. A small dusty gray teddy bear was standing there. Its jet black eyes locked with his. It’s just a teddy bear, surely it wouldn’t hurt you… The bear’s face shifted into a grotesque expression, and then it lunged at Looey.

When Vee finished no-clipping, she found herself standing on the worn padding of a play structure. She looked around and saw other play structures in various sates of disrepair. We’re in a play center of some sorts…it seems to have been unused for a long time… 

“THE FLOOR IS SO SQUISHY!” Yatta yelled, bouncing up and down.

“.ereh efas er’ew fi wonk t’nod eW .attaY duol os toN” Blot said.

“We aren’t safe here.” Vee said. “This is a terrible level to be in.”

“What’s wrong with this level?” Yatta asked.

“This is Level 694. It’s a deadzone.” Vee answered. “There is only one way to exit, and it’s very difficult to do. You can only exit this level once, so if any of us end up here again, we can’t leave.”

“That does sound BAD!” Yatta observed.

“It gets worse; This level has a lot of entities.” Vee said. “If you see a gray teddy bear, that’s the entity named Charolette. Stay away from her, she is extremely hostile.”

“.neht yeooL rof gnikool trats dluohs eW” Blot sugested.

“Follow me and stay close.” Vee instructed. “And Yatta, stop eating candy, you’re going to leave a trail and that will make it easier for the entities to find us.”

“NEVER!” Yatta shouted.

Ugh. She had better not lead an entity to us… I’d be surprised if she or Looey manage to survive this level. I can’t believe I am risking my life for these idiots.

They wandered around the level for awhile. Mold and dust was on most of the surfaces and the speakers were playing an unsettling distorted lullaby. Vee noticed a dark puddle in the entryway to a nearby room. She walked over to get a better look. Blood…and it’s still fresh… She walked into the room and found more blood covering the floor. There were small pieces of yellow, green, and purple latex strewn across the floor. A single yellow balloon lay in the middle of a large pool of dark blood.

“Looey?” Yatta whispered quietly. She ran over to the balloon, stopping when she was still a few feet away.

“No…” Yatta wailed. “No no no no! This is all my fault…”

Yatta stood over the balloon, sobbing. There was movement in the corner of Vee’s vision. She turned and saw two yellow figures lumbering towards them. Partygoers!

“We need to go, NOW!” Vee called out. 

Yatta remained unmoving, tears streaming down her face. Blot ran over to her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her out of the room.

“Follow me!” Vee said. 

She started running, weaving in between the structures and in and out of hallways. I need to find the place where we can begin the exiting process. Soon, she came across a play structure with blue steps and a teal padding around the entrance. There was a red slide leading into a ball pit on the other side of the safety netting.

“?ereh gnippots ew era yhW” Blot asked. Yatta stood beside him, still crying softly.

“This is the start of how we exit. I will guide you through the process, but you must do exactly as I say.” Vee explained. “We have to stare at this floor for approximately one minute. Once we feel a headache we must sit down and close ours eyes. Do not get up until I say you can.” 

Blot and Yatta nodded in agreement. They stood at the entrance of the play structure, staring at the floor. After about a minute, Vee started to have something similar to a headache. She sat down and closed her eyes, Blot and Yatta did the same. Vee waited, and after a few minutes she felt a wind blowing behind her.

“We can get up now.” Vee stated, standing up. “Follow me.”

Vee stepped into the play structure, then turned and climbed into the ball pit.

“Start digging around. We need to find a slide buried here.” Vee said, digging through the dusty plastic balls.

“.ti dnuof I” Blot said after only a few minutes. Vee made her way over to Blot and saw the slide he was talking about. 

“Now we have to go down it.” Vee said, standing at the mouth of the slide.

She climbed in, pushed off, and began sliding down. The slide spit her out into a room with a green concrete floor and a dirty gray concrete ceiling. There was a staircase near an entryway to another room. Vee looked around at the walls. There isn’t a light switch, good. Vee heard Blot and Yatta land behind her.

“Follow me and don’t try to explore.” Vee said, leading them up the staircase. The upstairs was dark a dark hallway with five doors. Vee looked up and saw that the ceiling was dirty. We need to enter the second door. 

“This way.” Vee said, walking to the second door. She opened it, revealing a long, dark hall.

“You cannot look behind you while we walk down this hall.” Vee said. “When the hallway starts seeping blood we have to turn around and run.”

Blot and Yatta nodded in agreement. Vee stepped into the hall, and began walking. The air was cold and musty, like the hall had been sealed for years. The wood floor creaked with very step. Vee kept checking the walls as they walked down the hall. As soon as she saw blood seeping out she turned to Blot and Yatta.

“We have to run now.” She said. Bot and Yatta turned and began to run down the hall, Vee following behind them. They ran until they came back to the door they had came from. When they went back through, they found themselves in a room with rainbow checkered floors. There were a few steps that lead to a ball pit, and on the other side there was a hallway. Small structures were scattered throughout the ball pit.

“The exit is down that hall, on the other side of the ball pit. We have to get across without falling in.” Vee said. They carefully made their way across the ball pit. When they made it to the other side they walked down the hall until they came across a door.

“This should be the exit.” Vee said, opening the door to reveal the void. I am glad to get out of this place. I do not like this level.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: The Hollow

Location: Level 193: Uncanny Household

Sprout was now in a strange room. The walls were a pale yellow and the floor was covered in a yellow carpet that about the same color as the walls. There was a hallway on either side of the room and a few white doors in a wall. Three ceiling fans were haphazardly placed on the ceiling, hanging at different lengths. A brick fireplace was in the very center of the room. That’s an odd location for a fireplace…

“This looks like a house!” Poppy said excitedly. “We should explore it!”

“I don’t think we should wander around yet, we need to wait for Vee and the circus troupe.” Sprout said. If someone is hurt, I don’t want to be too far away to help.

“We won’t go that far and Vee will be able to find us if we do.” Poppy argued. 

“We don’t know if this place is safe though. What if some of those entities are here?” Astro said.

“We will be careful.” Poppy insisted. 

“I guess we could look around, we just need to stay together so no one gets lost.” Sprout said. “We can’t go too far either.”

They began walking down one of the hallways. It lead them into another weird room. This room had a door that was half way up the wall, and several openings in the walls and ceiling. The next room was even stranger; it had a staircase that lead right into the ceiling. There were also some paintings and mirrors on the walls, but they were all placed low to the ground. This place keeps getting weirder. At least we haven’t seen any entities yet…I hope it stays that way. I can’t let anyone else die. I must do what I can to protect everyone.

They continued walking through rooms, each one more bizarre than the last. Eventually they entered a large room with a smaller room in the corner. That small room seems…wrong somehow. I don’t want to be near it…

“We’ve been wandering for awhile, I think we should head back now.” Sprout said.

“Can I explore that room first?” Poppy asked, pointing at the small room.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sprout replied. “That rooms is unsettling.”

“I won’t take long.” Poppy argued. “If I see any entities I will run away.”

“I guess you can go…” Sprout answered. “Just be careful.”

“I will!” Poppy said.

“I’m going with you.” Toodles declared. “I want to explore it too.”

Poppy and Toodles scampered off in the direction of the room. I hope it’s not a mistake letting them go there… That room seems wrong…but we haven’t seen any entities yet… Maybe I’m just being paranoid… Sprout looked around and saw that the other toons were exploring the large room. He saw Brusha standing off to the side looking at a painting. I should check on her arm. I need to make sure she doesn’t die. He walked over to where she was standing.

“How’s your arm?” Sprout asked.

“Eh, it still hurts, but I think it stopped bleeding.” Brusha replied without looking away from the painting. Sprout looked at the painting in curiosity. It depicted a tall gray humanoid creature that was covered in holes. There was writing on the bottom of the painting, it read: “The Hollow.”

“What is ‘The Hollow?’” Sprout asked. 

“I don’t know, but I find it intriguing.” Brusha replied.

“Indeed.” Rodger said, approaching them. “Most of the art in this place is of ‘The Hollow.’” 

“It reminds me of those other entities we’ve encountered.” Sprout said. It looks like an entity. Is that thing in this level? We need to get out of here.

“It does have a similar appearance to them.” Rodger stated.

“Sprout?” Dazzle called out. Sprout turned around. Razzle and Dazzle were standing near the hallway they had come from. 

“Can we leave now?” Dazzle asked. “This place is really creepy. I feel like something is watching us.” 

“I think that would be a good idea.” Sprout said. I don’t want to risk The Hollow being in this level and finding us.

The others began making their back to the entryway of the room. Everyone is here except Poppy and Toodles. Have they left that room yet?

“Where is Poppy and Toodles?” Astro asked. 

“I think they might be in that room still.” Sprout replied. “I’ll go tell them we’re leaving.”

“I will accompany you.” Rodger said.

Sprout and Rodger walked over to the room. When they approached the threshold of the room, they saw Poppy and Toodles standing there, motionless.

“Hey, we’re going to head back to where we started. You need to come with us.” Sprout said.

“But I don’t want to leave this room.” Toodles said. “I like it here.”

“Toodles, we need to go.” Rodger said firmly.

“Aw…ok.” Toodles said disappointedly, walking over to Rodger. He lead Toodles away from the room and towards the others. Poppy remained unmoving int the middle of the small room.

“Poppy? Come on.” Sprout urged.

“I don’t want to ever leave this room…” Poppy murmured.

Before Sprout could argue with her, he noticed something off about the wall behind her. The wallpaper was bulging, like something was behind it, trying to break through. Then the wallpaper began to tear as a horrifying creature emerged from it. It was tall gray and covered in holes. It’s the creature from those paintings!

“POPPY! LOOK OUT!” Sprout yelled, but she didn’t seem to hear him. She just kept standing there, staring off into space. The Hollow crept up behind her, reaching its long, bony fingers out, grabbing Poppy by the neck. There was a loud popping sound and Poppy’s head exploded. Sprout stood there, rooted in horror, as her headless corpse fell to the ground. We have to get out of here. Sprout turned and ran back to the other toons.

“We have to get out of here! NOW!” Sprout yelled. He did his best to lead them back the way they came, but he couldn’t remember which way to go. We have to find the exit! But what way did we come from? I can’t remember… Sprout turned down the strange halls, trying to find something that could be an exit. He turned a corner and found himself in front of a metal door with a small rectangular window. That looks out of place here…

“I think I found the exit!” Sprout called out. The others rushed over to the door, stopping next to him. Sprout opened the door and was greeted by darkness, like with so many other exits. He stood by the door, making sure all the toons made it out before stepping through himself. I hope Vee will be able to find us somehow.