Bassie's World - Chapter Four

Instructions

[ Cosmo, 3:04 PM, Elevator ] "Cosmo, seriously! What's the issue?" Cocoa yelped as I pulled her into the elevator. "Sprout doesn't believe that I've always had this!" I gestured to my prosthetic leg. "And you pulled me out of helping Teagan...to convince Sprout you've always had a fake leg?" Cocoa said. "Why does he not think it's always been around?" "I don't know!! Also, he's not just confused, he's really really mad!" I groaned. "Apparently, me staying in my room for a day or two made him really upset. Oh, but also, I lost my friendship bracelet. Maybe that's the actual reason?" "You lost it??" Cocoa loured. "Isn't it really special to you, though?" I pressed the button to his floor. "Yeah, uh, I don't know what happened." I pulled on the drawstrings of my hoodie, a bit ashamed that I lost an item so precious to me. "Please, just calm him down, will you?" "I can try..." she sniffled. "I'm better at helping people do things, not be things." "Good enough." The elevator opened in the picnic area. Grass coated the ground, and gingham blankets were strewn about. Large muddy cliffs towered over the rest of the section, accompanied by trees and bushes. Despite being on this floor probably just as much as I'm in my own room, I rarely actually spend time in this area. It's so peaceful, and I should really get around to showing it some love. "Uhm, Cosmo...?" Cocoa whispered to me. I realized I had been spacing out and finally saw the furious strawberry approaching me. "You're acting like I'm going insane, Cosmo!" Sprout yelled. "I know your leg wasn't always like that!" "Really, Sprout, did I?" I stuffed my hands in my hoodie pocket. "I've had this leg for as long as I can remember. If you're just upset that I didn't visit people for a bit, I'm sorry, okay?" "No, no, no!" Sprout began running his hands through his 'hair'. "Bassie, she did something to you! Vee told me so! She took you, and now she's changed you! She probably stole your bracelet too!" "Wh-what?" My eyes widened. "You seriously think Bassie caused this? She's probably more harmless than a fly! Not to mention, I haven't spoken to her since last week!" "That's the thing. She must have made you forget! Come on, think about this logically!" Sprout huffed. "Logically? You're the one who's not being logical!" I protested. "You can't even show me that you're telling the truth! I usually trust you over others, Sprout, but now I feel like you're pranking me." "Show you?" Sprout pursed his lips. "I can show you. I have proof." "Oh, goody!" Cocoa smiled. "I was just going to give you both bonbons so that you'd stop yapping, hehe!" "Uh, Cocoa, you do realize that wouldn't fix anything, right?" Sprout tilted his head. "Well, it would give you time to think and calm down!" Cocoa winked. "Now, let's see that proof, hm? As always, I don't have all day!" "Right, whatever." Sprout marched away, and I supposed I should follow him. Cocoa joined. We reached one of the many doors with "Staff Only Area" plastered onto them. Sprout opened it to reveal a small, dingy room with boxes filled with newspapers, pictures, and art. "However did you get all these?" Cocoa asked. "Found 'em in trashcans and scattered across the lobbies when Gardenview closed." Sprout told her. One photograph caught my eye. It showed Bassie and Cocoa sitting next to each other. Weirdly, Cocoa's headband thing was white instead of purple. Maybe they decided to change it before I ever saw her? Bassie looked uncomfortable and was staring in the direct opposite direction of Cocoa, who was smiling and waving at the camera. "Look!" Sprout called out, putting his hand on my shoulder. I turned, and saw a picture of Sprout and I. We were in front of the kitchen we usually cooked, and you could see a human thumb in the upper right corner. They were always bad at taking photos. I looked closely, and saw that I did have two whole legs. But how? "Hold on. I'm so confuzzled right now." Cocoa said. "You're telling me that both me and Cosmo himself remember Cosmo having a prosthetic leg, but his best friend doesn't, and now we're seeing a picture of Cosmo with two very not prosthetic legs?" "Yes. Yes, Cocoa, that is precisely what." Sprout repositioned his scarf. "I'm telling you, Cosmo! Bassie really did do something to you!" "Yeah, but how do I not remember this?" I contemplated. "Hey, you guys, look at this!" Cocoa held out a newspaper article with her paw. The article was odd, to say the least. The headline stated "DANDY'S WORLD AIRS ON TELEVISION, KIDS LOVE IT!" in large black lettering. Underneath, there was a picture of Dandy in a different outfit hugging Astro, who also had a different appearance. "Dandy's World...?" Sprout whispered. "What? Is this fake?" "No." I said. "It's definitely real, but..." +