||~ Welcome to Gardenview ~|| [Dandy's World Writing Dump]

||_ Floor One Here We Go! _||

Gardenview.
Such a lovely place to live.. Right?

The walls were painted with bright colors and posters and there was guaranteed to be a happy face no matter which corner you turn. An amazing and joyful learning center, all ran by Dandy, the first toon who had been created. He kept things in order when the toon handlers and other visitors mysteriously stopped coming back. Nobody really seemed to think much of it.. How could all humans just disappear like that and nobody would care?

Boxten wondered if anyone really did...
He missed the kids and getting to spend time with them. He especially missed when nobody had to run away from danger or get their minds leeched with that filthy ichor. Of course, after a really, really long time, the ichor would eventually slip out to their minds and they'd become themselves again.. As if nothing ever happened..

All those days he'd spent stalking the far corners of the floors beneath Gardenview, hunting down toons against his will. Through his mind clouded with ichor and thoughts of violence, deep down there was still a part of him that was sane. A part of him that tried to get him out of this trance and become truly himself again.

Boxten really wanted things to go back to how they were.

The one good thing about living here?
The other toons.

Vee hosts fun gameshows to distract them all, Scraps is really good at crafting, Shrimpo's a grouch... Goob is super kind and helpful, Tisha is really focused and helps clean up, Teagan hosts nice tea parties for them, Pebble is.. uh.. A rock! And oh my were there so many other impressive and important toons here.

One of Boxten's favorite toons to see, Poppy.
Out of all the other toons, he adored her the most. She was what Boxten knew he could never be. Brave, loyal, fast, and a really overall sweet toon. No matter how many times Boxten would slip into the dark shadows of his mind, the deep pit that made him question his living and really wonder if he was that important... Poppy always came through for him.

"I know you're still recovering from that, but it's happened to all of us here." She said to him that day "No matter how many times you become twisted, in the end you'll always be your helpful and amazing self."
Boxten's frown turned into a smile, looking over at her with relief.
"Thanks Poppy..."
"No problem!" Poppy turned and looked over at the elevator with a couple other toons inside "We better get going, the elevators leaving soon! Cmon!" She took Boxten's hand and pulled him up, pulling him with her as she ran to the elevator.

Boxten stumbled into the elevator, catching himself against the wall. He looked around at their crew.
Scraps was standing at the other end of the elevator while Toodles was making fairly harsh comments about her outfit. "Why are kids always so rude..." Scraps mumbled. "Toodles, why are you so rude?" Goob asked randomly out of curiosity. "I'm not rude!" She argued "I'm just being honest!"
Scrap's face was painted with shock at the comment.

While the three were arguing, next to Boxten stood Tisha and Brightney who were chatting gleefully to each other. Good to know they'd have help in case there was a blackout. Poppy stood next to Boxten, leaning against the wall while humming a tune to herself. It seemed like quite the crew they had, maybe they'd last longer than Boxten assumed...

The elevator doors suddenly shut tight and swallowed them in darkness, minus Brightney's light.
After a long moment of silence and waiting in the dark space, the lights flickered on, signaling they were on their way to the first floor.

The heavy metal doors slid open, revealing a creepy and gloomy set of corridors. Boxes, shelves, and tables spread around the area, along with many items, tapes, and capsules to be gathered for research. Before Boxten knew it, everyone else had already disappeared, leaving him standing alone outside the elevator. The doors shut closed before he could even reconsider and turn back. He let out a small sigh and chose a random hallway, walking cautiously down it.

It wasn't long before Boxten heard the sound of someone screaming. "GAH! HELP!!" Brightney yelled, twisted Teagan right behind her. A set of arms quickly reached from behind a set of shelves and grabbed her, pulling her out of danger. Sighing in relief, Brightney responded "Thanks Goob."
"No problem! You looked like you could've used a hug!" Goob smiled brightly.

Boxten continued in the opposite direction, far away from twisted Teagan.
The halls rang with painful silence, causing him to stop and glance around the area. Something felt wrong, his heart sped up.

Suddenly, Boxten felt a sharp stab in his arm. He turned his head with a pained cry to see twisted Shrimpo trying to tear into his arm. He squirmed out of their grasp and ran off while they were disoriented. He didn't make it too far before twisted Shrimpo recollected themselves and spotted him running away. Although he was thankfully slow, he was still relentless. Boxten quickly rounded the corner and hid behind a stack of boxes, breathing heavily. Blood trickled slowly from his arm, leaving a small stain on the floor. He peeked around the boxes, watching Shrimpo slowly lose interest and walk away in another direction.

Relief slowly swept over him as he slid down against the boxes.
It didn't last long before he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand place on his shoulder. "AHH!" He screamed, turning quickly. "Sorry! Sorry!" Poppy quickly said "I didn't mean to sneak up on you."
"I -It's okay." Boxten breathed. Poppy looked down at his wounded arm and took out a bandage she had found. "Oh gosh, what would I do without you.." He said, gratefully accepting the bandage. Poppy giggled "Your welcome."

A faint ding could be heard, then the sound of ticking after.
"Hurry! The elevator is gonna leave!!" Poppy said, helping him up and running down the corridors. Boxten did his best to follow after her, watching for any twisteds crossing their paths. They both entered the elevator with plenty of time to spare.

Boxten looked around the elevator, noticing one toon missing...
"GUUYYSSS!!" Toodles shouted from outside the elevator, running towards them. There were only a couple seconds left. "I gotcha!" Goob said, reaching out and grabbing her from the edge of the elevator. Toodles was quickly pulled into the elevator, accidentally flying and hitting her head against the wall. Goob managed to dodge the elevator doors quickly shutting down on him as the elevator began its descent.

Everyone in the elevator was all out of breath and recollecting themselves. The sound of gears turning and metallic pieces working could be heard as the familiar shop rose from the elevator floor.

"Anything I can get you guys?"
Dandy said cheerfully from behind his counter to the seven exhausted toons.

Boxten could only imagine what horrors might be on the next floor.

[Part 2 coming soon]

(1198 words!)