Bassie's World - Chapter Five

Instructions

[ Bassie, 3:04 PM, ??? ] I find it very trivial that Cosmo decided to say that without really knowing about Dandy's World. Naturally, he may have lied, but that's unlike him... Pebble's tail loudly thumped behind me. I jerked my head back to stare at him. He tilted his head and stopped panting, staring at me like I owed him. "You silly dog." I scoffed. "You sit around waiting for me to make a move for you. You really were coded to be obedient pretty good, hm?" He licked my hand, and I laughed a little. Of course, I couldn't let a giant dog distract me from doing my very important work. And by important, I mean IMPORTANT. Being in control of Gardenview is hard work for one Toon. Dyle refuses to help me, for some reason. He's been brainwashed like all the other Toons, yet he seems loyal to Dandicus still. How sweet. Maybe Dandy had two dogs, not one. No, oh, that's mean. I stood up, and thought for a second. What to do? The Easter Toons would soon awaken from their sleep, which is a huge liability for me, regarding my secret. Of course, I can't do anything about that. The whole ecosystem of Gardenview would fall into chaos if Easter suddenly never happened. However, I am starting to regret assigning Dandy to taking my place as the Easter Main. For some reason, he still treats Astro like his best friend, and since Astro doesn't remember, it makes him a bit uncomfortable. To say the least, it's a bit parasocial. I guess he's just very, uh, attracted to Astro. Hmph. Oh! I almost forgot about that VERY IMPORTANT WORK THAT I MENTIONED. Silly me. That annoying robot should be here right now, but she just detests my commands. I walked over to the shabby computer that I own and opened up Vee's personal tracker. She was in Astro's floor, it said, which is rather odd. She barely ever talks to any Main Characters, nor goes to their floors. More importantly, I hated going there. Reluctantly, I stood up. "Stay," I said to Pebble. "I'll be back soon." He barked at me, but what could I do? Hurriedly, I ran over to the elevator and pressed the button. It opened unto his floor almost immediately. The whole room was vast; boxes and shelves towered over me. The whole blue scheme of it only made it seem more nerve-wracking. Then, I decided to attempt to find Astro and Vee. As I walked, I saw the fake planets and stars on the ceiling and smiled. I always loved those little items dangling from ceiling tiles in places. They're oddly comforting. A distant speck of light green caught my eye. Upon closer inspection, it was, in fact, Vee. She was talking to Astro, in a weirdly casual way. She's coded to be rigid and only be able to answer information to questions, not leisurely sit on an armchair and talk to Toons! Angry, (and rightfully so) I walked up to Vee and put my hand on her shoulder. She stiffened up so fast it was impressive. "Oh, uh, hi Bassie." Astro said. "I need Vee." I whistled. At the mention of her name, Vee stood up and faced me immediately. She never asked me what I needed anymore, she already knew. "...Sure." Astro mumbled. Without another word, I grabbed Vee and brought her away from that Toon. I left that floor as quickly as I came. Back in my lair, I pressed the button under Vee's neck that allowed her to speak freely. "Whatever were you speaking to Astro about?" "I don't remember." Vee answered. "I don't remember anything that happens when I'm not in this mode, remember?" "So, he positioned you that comfortably on a chair and then made it seem like you were talking to each other all on your own?" I countered. "Come on, Vee." "Ugh. Look, I didn't show him the button, alright?" she said, furrowing her brows. "He found it all on his own and decided he liked talking to me. Simple as that." "Well, I don't like you talking to anyone but me in that mode. Do you understand?" I hummed as I began to sort through my folders, organizing them. "Yeah, yeah." she said indistinctly. "Anyways, can I go now?" "Nope." I shot back. "But—" "But I need you for something." "Get on with it, then. Jeez!" I turned to face her. "You shouldn't speak to me so rudely, you know." I said. "It can result in serious consequences for you." "Okay, okay." She took a deep breath (don't ask me how, she's a computer). "May you tell me what you want me to do, please?" "Yes, actually!" I smiled at her. "Easter is just around the corner, so I need you to do some tweaking on Astro's code before then." "Wh-why Astro? He's not even an Easter Toon." Vee wondered aloud. "It's because of the way Dandy acts around him." I said. "It's dangerous for me, and it makes Astro feel... displeased, to say the least." "So what do you want me to do? Make Astro into Dandy's friend again?" Vee groaned. "That's gonna be a pain." "Well, I guess you're going to be in pain, then." I shrugged. "I really need it to be done as soon as possible, though." "Fine." "Good." +