Chapter Text
It was the 2nd day of shift work. Majority of the facility was converted to match a supposedly, or as Dandy likes to say 'Spooky' theme. Whatever that was suppose to mean, then again the facility was more orientated to an audience consisting mostly of children.
Speaking of Dandy. According to him, too many members of the cast were slacking off, so he decided to impose certain tasks on a handful of them.
Namely herself, Astro, and not any less surprising... Glisten. He always knew how to get under her nerves, or in her case circuits.
"Dandy, where are you taking us anyways?" Groaned Vee, she was walking next to Astro down in the depths of the conservatory section; Glisten bregrudgedly following close behind.
Dandy continued to walk, softly humming a tune. "It's a surprise."
Vee rolled her eyes, he could be insufferable.
Sprout especially enjoyed this floor, he had a minor hobby of gardening as well as baking. Dandy seemed to enjoy it just as much as Sprout.
At the mention of gardening, Vee remembered Sprout talking about Cosmo; their conversation soon switched into a chat about various hobbies.
Apparently Boxten was urged by Dandy himself to take up gardening; to relieve all the pent up anxiety. He came up on account that Sprout mentioned Cosmo was giving him baking lessons.
Vee recalled the music box as a very high-strung character. Not much too say about him; sometimes she would receive (very poorly written) admiration letters from him but that's about it; none of the which were exempt from spelling errors. He and Poppy got along extremely well though and Glisten seemed to enjoy bothering the music box in his free time. The three shared the same floor after all.
At the mention of Glisten, Vee looked back at him. The mirror had a look of annoyance; crossing him arms whilst staring at the dirty floor. He always wore white socks speckled with cherry-blossom pink stars, they were currently dragging on the floor; already caked in dirt and other debris to her amusement.
Glisten caught her staring with a smirk and gave a scoff of irritation. "Don't. I know already," he grumbled.
"We're here-!" Dandy stopped in front of a pile of boxes, a wide grin on his face. They were stopped in front of one of the many nature exhibits, namely the flower one.
"Where did all of this even come from?" Glisten glanced at the ominous-looking boxes with a look of discontent. They were all piled in to a corner next to the display cases.
"Since you guys didn't really get a chance to help out! I got a job for you all to do." Dandy gestured to the mass of boxes. "Could you guys open them up and organize the supplies into each area? There's just such a large amount gardening supplies in here... and I just don't have the time to go through them." He gave a giggle edged with mischief.
"Are you kidding me? I just washed my bow and now I have to dig through all these dusty boxes?" Exclaimed Glisten with a ruffled glare.
Vee herself was dressed into her little Game host get-up; it included a basil coloured suit vest with matching dark striped pants. Of course, she had the lime green bow she always wore on as well. Though she normally would banter with the mirror... she had to agree; this was getting a little too absurd.
"Yeah yeah. We get it." Vee gave a buzz of aggravation, the sound mimicked the noise when you got a question incorrect on her gameshow. "Drama queen," she muttered under her breath.
"Watch it, Vee." Glisten glared dead on into her glowing green eyes, he poked her directly on her chest plate. The toon lowered his voice until it was barely a whisper. "Don't you remember what I said to you?"
Vee shut her mouth immediately, shifting her gaze elsewhere. Astro looked at her with a new face of surprise.
"Whelp. Good luck then!" Dandy bid his farewell and slinked off to the elevator.
"You've got to be joking," Vee glared at the seemingly endless supply of heavy-looking crates. Some of them were even falling apart already, almost like they were decomposing. The occasional black liquid would be seen oozing out on a few of the parcels.
No way I'm going near that.
Right before she got to work, a large LOW POWER sign displayed itself on her internal monitor. She quickly clicked it away with a sigh.
16%
Great. Just my luck.
Vee operated a lot differently from the other toons. Yes, she needed to be charged every couple of days but she usually was able to manage her battery quite well or atleast to its full extent before she powered off.
It was not unpleasant if she were to run out of battery, just a little uncomfortable. It gave her a tight feeling, like she knew something was wrong but was unable to do anything about it. To put it lightly, it was basically just a version of fainting to her.
Hopefully we can just finish this up quickly, I don't wanna spend anymore time down here than I have too.
"You just gonna stand there or are you going to help out? Snickered Glisten, he pushed past her to the mountain of crates.
"Yeah... Yeah..." Huffed Vee, an irritated scrowl on her green visor. "Keep talking."
"What was that?" Glisten flashed her a complacent smile.
Vee didn't respond, just stomping ahead of him with a glare.
Astro tried to make eye-contact with Vee, but she didn't meet his eyes. She just stared at the floor with a downcast, yet irked expression.
"What was that about?" Astro caught up with Glisten with a puzzled frown.
"I have no idea. I guess she's just annoyed." Glisten gave Astro an innocent smile.
"This is going to take forever," remarked Vee as she opened the first container. It was full of gardening tools and whatnot. Her formerly clean, chrome metal limbs were already encrusted in dust. Her poor clothing got the worst of it.
That's going to take forever to clean... She internally grumbled.
"Hey, the faster we do it, faster we can leave." Glisten finally began lifting the various tools out of the crates; leaving to move them to their own sections of the Green House.
Astro tapped Vee on the shoulder after noticing she was staring off into the distance. "Say Vee... You and Glisten aren't arguing again, right?"
"What makes you say that?" Vee turned her back to him to lift up one of the boxes, executing it with ease, then continuing off to move it over to the cactus exhibit.
"C'mon Vee, I'm not oblivious." He half-joked, shuffling close behind her, careful not to get in the way.
Vee set the box down next to the exhibit. "You don't have to worry. It will probably all blow off by tomorrow." She still had her back to him.
"What will blow off? You aren't really telling me what's-"
"Astro, can you just drop it? It isn't important." Snapped Vee, curling her face into a glowering display.
The toon was caught off guard, he paused while making an expression of shock. "Oh okay... Well we can talk later if you're feeling up to it I guess." He walked off without another word.
Vee watched him leave with a scowl, a slight guilt riddling inside her core. She let out an exhale, smoke drifted out from the side of her monitor; her tail dropped on to the floor with a thud.
"Better keep up. Remember, this is what we agreed on." Glisten strutted past her with the same charming smile, not a falter in his expression.
Vee begrudgingly trudged off after him, dragging her feet on the floor with heavy stops.
After around around two hours of labouring work, they finally had majority of the crates sorted.
They had make an unexpected amount of progress through the boxes, now there was currently only one full crate left.
Not that she would admit this, but she was surprised her battery had lasted as long as it has. She could go days without properly charging, but only to a certain extent.
It now rested at around 3%.
I need to get out of here... soon at the very least.
Vee felt her chest heave, her circuits and wiring were being pressed to its limit. Countless warning messages were popping up on her internal visor, letting her know that her time was nearly up.
Spoke too soon. Great.
Without saying a word to her teamates for her departure, she gradually began to hobble to the elevator. Her eyes were clouding over, shifting into tunnel vision.
She felt her legs give out, her body soon became a struggle to hold up. Her CPU was now in overdrive to keep herself hopelessly functioning.
Vee didn't get as far as she hoped, she was only a few measly meters away from the elevator.
"Psst- Astro." Glisten took the toon aside by his arm, dragging him into the open hallway; he subtly gesturing to Vee. "What's wrong with her? I mean- Not that I care or anything... it's just freaking me out."
He pointed to the television toon, whom was now using a box as an arm rest. Her antennas were pitifully drooping in front of her face, as if her body was melting before her. Smoke rose from her air vents, you could hear her panting as loud as a jet engine. Her internal chassis fan was now working on overdrive to desperately cool her core.
Not good.
Before long, Vee's head hit the ground with a loud thud, a loud crack splitting the air. She laid motionlessly on the dirty greenhouse floor.
"Oh no. Vee ran out of battery again." Now recognizing the signs, Astro rushed over to help with Glisten slowly following suite.
"Want me to get the toon handlers then?" He watched as Astro examined Vee for any visible injuries.
"Yes, that'd be helpful Glisten. Thanks," Astro sighed. "Sounds like she cracked her screen, she's going to be fuming once she wakes up."
Before he could react, Glisten was already in the elevator. "Wait here, I'll be back in a bit." The large door closed shut and the lift shot off off with a loud ding.
Well what now Astro? She's too heavy to carry by yourself. Should I wait for Glisten to get the handlers? He weighed out his options.
"Mabye I should try and move her. What's the closest floor? The digsite? Another set of hands could really help right now." Said the toon with a wistful note.
A lightbulb of an idea hit him, but was quickly shut down.
Wait- No she's still too heavy to carry by myself.
Astro made up his decision and made his way to the elevator which had arrived back down to the floor. He hesitated for a moment before stepping inside.
Vee will be fine, she's not going anywhere anyway.
The lift stopped at the floor orientated to the history sector. As in more Shelly's section of the building; where all the recovered fossils are held.
Astro made his way through the welcoming heat in corridors of the digsite. He knew Shelly enjoyed keeping the floor on the warmer side, regardless of the time of year.
Constructed fossils hung from the ceiling and decorated the hall. The smell of dust was heavy, making the air thick and ashy.
"Hello? Anyone here?" Astro called out, he scanned the area deserted of people. It was a facility 'fix-up' day, resulting in the attraction remaining closed for maintenance, cleaning, and other duties to be attended to.
"Hi Astro! Where'd you come from?" Shelly suddenly appeared next to Astro, a content smile gracing her face.
Astro yelped in surprise; he jumped backward and landed straight on to his haunches. "Oh, Shelly. You scared me. Didn't notice you." He gave a light-hearted chuckle.
"Whoops! Ha ha... Sorry about that." She watched scramble to get up with observant eyes. "So what brings you over to the digsite? You never really come to visit... at all."
"I need some help. There is a bit of uh... situation down in the Greenhouse." Astro gestured to the elevator, an apologetic smile presented itself on his face.
"Oh... okay! I'm glad to help out. Tisha's here too... well somewhere here. Did you want me to bring her down there as well?'
"Uhm- Sure. That'd be great." Relief was visible in the toons voice. "I really appreciate this, Shelly."
"Yeah! No problem, Astro." Shelly gave him a broad smile and patted him on the back. "I'll be right back with Tisha. Wait here!"
She ran off to another corner of the floor; leaving Astro standing in the center of the digsite.
Moments later; Shelly arrived panting, with Tisha by her side.
"Is everything alright, Astro?" Began Tisha, she came up to him with a thoughtful stare.
"Sorry to bother you guys, I just don't think I could do this by myself."
"No worries. Now what'd you need help with?"
Astro lead them back down to the Greenhouse; toward where Vee laid face down, powered off and battery dead.
"So... What happened to her?" Tisha stood next to Shelly, who was crouched down examining Vees lifeless body.
"She ran out of battery again. Glisten went to get the handlers but who knows how long he's going to take." Astro shrugged. "I was wonder if mabye you guys could help me bring her up to her room?"
"Are you sure you don't want to wait for Glisten to get back?" Doubtfully said Tisa. "She's awfully heavy if you asked me." She half heartedly muttered.
"Tisha-" Shelly warned in a pinched manner, baring her teeth together. Her tone switched to a more hopeful streak. "I'm sure it won't be that difficult to drag her back up with the 3 of us, right?"
"If you say so, I guess." Astro went over to the powered-off toon. He used two arms, getting on his knees to support her legs. Somehow he still had the blue blanket; stably wrapped around himself.
Shelly grabbed Vees head, carefully lifting and bracing it on her knees. She gently brushed Vee antennas out of the way; staring deep down into her reflection on the toons screen.
An embarrassed, orange flush overcame her face for a moment when she recalled a very recent memory. She pushed away the thought, regulating herself back to normal.
Tisha watched her friend with a disapproving frown, shaking her head ever so slightly back and forth.
The tissue box moved over to the mechanical toons left side, picking up her micro-phone attached to her hip so it wouldn't drag on the ground. "Ready when you are," she said with an exhausted sigh.
The trio lifted her to the elevator with struggling groans.
Astro dropped her legs down with a sudden thud once they reached the lift.
"Astro- Careful!" Hissed Shelly, she furrowed her brows. A concerned expression snuck itself on to her face as she cautiously set the toon down on the side of the elevator; briefly examining her from head to toe.
Shelly gave a sigh of relief when there was no harm done, before long she was back up on her feet.
"Sorry, Tisha's right this time. She is a bit too heavy." He wore a guilty, yet humorous smile.
Shelly looked back at Vee while they descended up to their quarters. Vee hung her head in a eerie manner. The robot had a lifeless air to her that sent shivers up her spine.
She turned back around and crossed her arms, a uncomfortable feeling rested in her core.
"You've been acting a little strange lately. Ever since that sort of... lockdown we had. Are you sure you are alright?" Tisha came to stand next to Shelly, crossing her arms behind her back.
"Yes! Yes- I'm fine. Never better actually," she returned Tisha's concerned smile.
The lift stopped one floor away from their destination. The elevator door opened and revealed two other toons.
"Glisten? I thought you were getting the handlers?" A questioning tone range out from Astro.
Glisten stood next to Boxten; purely small talk. He turned around when he noticed Astro speaking to him. "Oh? Sorry, I guess I got sidetracked."
"Are we interrupting something?" Boxten peeked past Glisten as the two of them strode inside. He noticed how the one and only gameshow host was sprawled around on the floor of the elevator.
"We were just bringing Vee back up to her room. She forgot to charge herself, again." A small hint of venom could be heard in Tisha's voice; though going mostly unnoticed.
"Doesn't look like you need much more help anyways," came from the mirror; an unregistered glint in his eyes.
"Okay?" Astro sounded unimpressed, yet not even the slightest surprised. He was aware of the unrelenting tension between him and Vee. He was her go-to person when she needed to 'vent' about the latest topics; as a result Astro himself got to hear all the little details.
The lift progressed for another short period before halting at the selected floor of the main toons.
Before the other two got into position, Shelly had already began hauling Vee to her room with a huff.
Astro cast a expression of perplexion to Tisha, caught off guard at her sudden personality switch.
Astro trailed behind her; leaving the other three in the elevator. Glisten watched them go with careful eyes and crossed arms, unmoving.
Shelly trudged towards Vee's room with heavy steps, lugging the green toon along with ease.
She stopped at a room with a sign that said:
M-003
All the toons of GardenView were given certain numbers; for no apparent reason according to Dandy. She never thought (or bothered) to delve into it.
She dragged the television into the room. It took a bit more effort than expected to prop her up, as the toon's bed was slightly elevated. She set her down on the satin, emerald green sheets; putting her into a sitting position with her legs dangling off the bed.
A large, crooked crack was widely displayed on Vee's screen. Shelly was examining the toon of any other unseen scrapes and splits on her when Astro walked in.
Her usual 'show host' attire was stained with grease. The edges of the suit piece were terribly crinkled in dirt and the pants were covered in dust.
"Tisha left with Glisten and Boxten. You look like you had everything covered anyway." He began, coming up right next to her with a soft smile and tired eyes.
"Okay! That's just fine. But uh- do you know what to do next? Since nobody notified the handlers and-"
"Vee taught me once before. I can show you how to hook her up to her charging port right now." Astro gestured to the plug in station on the opposite side of her bed.
"Oh." Shelly walked over and took it in her hands, unraveling it from its dormant state. "Now what?"
"She has a outlet hidden behind a little cap on her back. You can attach it from there."
"Okay..." She dropped the charger on to the bed, and went on to move the garments in the way.
Astro simply just watched with an indifferent, yet neutral face.
Shelly moved to stand in front of Vee. As she unbuttoned the vest; she soon found it difficult to fight at the growing heat on her face. The unwavering stare from Astro didn't seem to help her cause either.
Gosh. This feels much more intimate than it should be. The thought lurked in the back of her mind.
"Are you alright?" Astro tilted his head as he took notice of her unease. "You looked a bit... ruffled?"
"Yes! Just peachy." Shelly managed to cough out an awfully forced laugh. She finally undid each black button of the vest and carefully removed it from her body.
Shelly attempted to fasten up the process; she got on to the bed and positioned herself behind Vee. She opened the hatch and stuck the charger in.
A low battery symbol popped up on the television toons face; accompanied by a bright display:
CHARGING...
"See? Simple as that?" Said Astro as Shelly hopped off the bed and walk away. "Where are you going?"
"Just... to my room." Shelly stopped at the entrance of the bedroom; facing away from him as she paused to put a hand on the door frame.
"Oh okay. I'll let Dandy know if you're done for the day."
"That'd be wonderful. Thanks Astro." She left without another word.
Hopefully I didn't make her too uncomfortable.
The thought trailed into his mind as he watched her go.