Bassie's World - Chapter Seven

Instructions

[ Sprout, 3:11 PM, Elevator ] The gears in the elevator whirred loudly, so loud that it didn't seem like the environment for conversations. Sometimes, however, you have to talk. "Shouldn't we develop a plan?" I asked. "Right. We need a plan for this." Shelly agreed. "It's a shame we couldn't find Vee, but this is our next best bet." "Oh! I have an idea!" Cocoa lifted her paw up in the air, her nose twitching. "Well, let's hear it!" Cosmo smiled at her. "Well, why don't Shellster and I go in to do all the talking, and you and Cosmo can stand guard! Y'know, make sure nobody tries to interrupt us." Cocoa explained. "I- uhm, Shellster?" Shelly blinked. "Sorry, do you dislike nicknames?" Cocoa wondered. "No, it's just, uh... I've never had one before... haha." Shelly scratched the back of her head delicately. Cocoa nodded her head quaintly. The elevator opened with a thundering ding, and we were met with perhaps the most ichor-stained and filthy floor I'd ever seen. "Yikes. Absolutely disgusting!" Cosmo said. "It looks like how it did when Sam cleaned the oven after it exploded." I chuckled at that, only quietly, as I was the only one who would get it. Then, I began to study the surroundings. There were no obvious doors that would lead to Bassie, but maybe we could try and hear her through walls? "Cocoa, do you have better hearing because of those ears?" I pointed to her long, floppy bunny ears. "Hmm, uh, I guess so!" Cocoa rubbed them protectively. "I would have no way to know, but bigger ears usually mean more hearing, huh?" "Yeah. Uh, you go and... do your hearing stuff. If you think you've found Bassie, then come back here and we'll be waiting." I winked. She nodded and padded off. Or so I thought she would, but she turned around and said, "Come on, Shellster!" Shelly nodded faintly and followed Cocoa. It was nice that Shelly was finally getting a friend other than... Bassie. Yeuch. Behind us, the elevator shut. I wonder who was using it? After all, the elevator only leaves when someone else requests it. Although there are still multiple elevators in Gardenview, it means someone is getting to a room nearby. I really hoped it wasn't Bassie returning here. Cosmo cleared his throat. "So, Sprout, if all of this goes well, do you think we could maybe bake something together later?" he said. "Yeah, of course!" I put my hands on my hips and did a sort of joking flourish like on the Main posters. He laughed a little. "OH! IT'S-" a voice yelled from a ways away. Ten or so seconds later, Cocoa and Shelly ran up to me. "Sorry to spook you, hehe. I heard Bassie talking behind a wall, and Shelly had to stop me from yelling!" "Poor you!" I teased. "But seriously, try not to be too loud. If she heard you, she might come out here, aware of us." "I know, I know..." she sighed. "Well, anyways, follow me!" Just then, the elevator reopened. I turned around, praying it wasn't Bassie, but was relieved. It was Astro. Why was he here, though? "Uhm... c-can I talk to one of you...?" he asked. "We're kind of in the middle of something, Astro!" Cocoa said. "It's really important!" he insisted. I really never saw Astro seem so visibly stressed, it was a bit shocking. "Okay then. Cocoa, Shelly, you go do the talking to Bassie. Cosmo, you follow them and stand guard outside. I'll, uh, talk to Astro." "If you say so..." Cosmo looked at me desperately, as if he didn't trust Astro. I beamed at him, as reassurance I'd be okay. Reluctantly, he walked off behind Shelly and Cocoa, who were already leaving. I faced Astro, who was staring at the floor. "Well, uh, I went into Toodles's dream. She was being scolded by Rodger." he began. "At first, it was weird. Usually, her dreams are very unrealistic, but this one was like real life, except she had on a little bit of a different outfit, and Rodger too. They said stuff about Dandy organizing runs, and Toons from each Holiday were there! "Not to mention, it was a dream where I was watching it in an outside perspective, still in Toodles's body. In those types of dreams, you can hear the dreamer's thoughts, and Toodles said stuff like it was a memory, something that had already happened." "So, you're saying you think that dream was a memory?" I said. "How is that possible, though? None of the stuff made sense. Toons from every Holiday can't be out at once, and why would Dandy organize the runs and not somebody like Bassie?" "Exactly..." he acknowledged. "I think something has changed around here, and we don't know it. But she does. Toodles, I mean." "Well, we already know that. We found newspapers that said 'Dandy's World' on them. Therefore, we think that Dandy used to be the star of Gardenview, and your account supports that." I stuffed my hands in the side pockets of my apron. "Oh... haha." he looked away. "Yeah, sorry I wasn't all that useful, if you already knew..." +