Stage Zero: Moments Before Disaster

                                    

                                          
(Yippee first chapter! Again, I've never made an infection au before so this is kind of a new format for me. Also we're gonna have moonflower because I need my fix, I'll try to make up for the amount of moonflower with some fruitcake or shellevision in the future of this story)
It was a normal day in Gardenview, with the Toons doing their usual activities with the guests. Shrimpo bullying everyone, Gigi pickpocketing kids, and Connie jumpscaring people, very normal Toon stuff. 
After a long performance from Dandy, he secretly met with Astro backstage. "...wow that was a great show..." Astro muttered, blushing slightly. There was a lot he admired about the flower, him being the star of the show and all.
"Thanks! Although, I'm quite tired now..." he said, his voice trailing off a bit near the end. Astro reached one of his hands out of his blanket and gently grabbed Dandy's hand, he started leading him back to the elevators.
"It's almost closing time, I'm sure they won't mind if we turn in early" Astro said. "Thank goodness we have a week long break ahead of us..." Dandy mumbled tiredly. The flower started leaning against the moon, on the verge of passing out.
Astro would be lying if he said he didn't find Dandy adorable when he's sleepy. The elevator finally opened to Astro's room. He lifted the petaled Toon up and onto his back using his magic and started walking towards his bed.
Once he found it, he tucked Dandy in before getting in the bed himself. "Night, Astro..." Dandy said, half asleep. Astro felt the flower hug him from behind before hearing his gentle snoring. He held the sleeping Toon close before he drifted off as well.
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Dandy woke up late into the night, feeling parched and slightly withered. He groggily got up and started making his way to the toon rooms kitchen. He grabbed a plastic cup and started filling it with tap water. Once it was full, he chugged it down as if it would dissolve any second. He must've been so busy earlier that he forgot to water himself.
Once he finished, he still felt a little off. He took a look at his petals, noting that the rainbow colors looked much more dull. He sighed and made his way to the elevator, pressing the button for the warehouse.
Flowers need water, and the sun. But because he wasn't allowed outside, he was using an artificial sun lamp. They'd been using it since his creation, which was always a grueling process but at least he only needed to use it every two weeks. Plus, it was the closest thing he had to the real sun.
He found it in one of the offices in the warehouse, already plugged in. He pressed the button on the top and sat underneath it, unfurling his petals so they could soak up the warmth. He never liked using this, but at least he isn't chained to the ground this time. He impatiently tapped his finger on the floor, wanting to return to Astro.
He got up as soon as the lamp flicked off, feeling much better now. As he returned to the elevator, something caught his attention. A weird machine was set up in the middle of the warehouse.
Growing up in a lab, you see all kinds of weird machines, but this one wasn't like anything he'd seen before. He cautiously approached it, being curious as to what it was. As he got closer, he noticed that the glass of the machine was shattered, with a strange black substance surrounding it.
Dandy accidentally stepped in the liquid, which sent a shiver up his spine. He tried to shake the stuff off his foot, but it wouldn't come off. He decided he'd worry about it later and started focusing more on the broken glass.
Someone could get hurt, broken glass can do a lot of damage. He crouched down and started carefully picking up the shards, thinking he was doing the staff a favor. As he picked the glass up, the black stuff started clinging to his hands as well.
He threw the shards into a nearby trash bin and returned to the elevator. He stopped at the toon rooms and walked into the bathroom. He turned on the lights to see there were splotches of the black substance all over him.
He sighed, thinking to himself to be more careful next time. He tried to wash it off, but it wasn't working too well. Once he used up all the hand soap in that bathroom, there were only faded remnants of the stuff left on him.
Dandy decided it was good enough and that he could finally return to bed. He crept back into Astro's room, being careful not to wake him, and managed to quietly squirm back into the blankets.