"..I'm.. fine, for the most part..."—Astro.
Gardenview Center, January 13th, 2025...
In a place where Toons gathered, doing what they do best, now that everyone was gone, and everyone, I mean, the caretakers, the kids, all that made this place more lively. These Toons, as you know already, all have their unique personality traits, appearance, whatever they favor... whatever they don't. Astro was one of these Toons, a special one, similar to Sprout, Pebble, etc. Mains, as they were dubbed.
"Almost 60% off, here ya go, bud~!" On this occasion, Dandy had lowered the price of the trinkets he was selling by a considerable amount. Despite the late celebration of Christmas, as long as they got what they wanted, it didn't matter one bit. Dandy playfully tosses a Pull Toy up for Poppy to catch. who excitedly took it and went with the others with the rest of the group.
Among them, Astro stood, silent as always, listening to the conversation they had without any input himself. As time passed, fewer and fewer Toons were present, already having left on their adventures, possibly achieving their goals. It was only mere moments when Astro zoned out, experiencing a brief flashback of... something. His name was called not long after, waking him into reality.
"Astro! You kinda zoned out there! Aaanything on your mind?" Goob asked, tilting his head. He thought nothing of it, his cheerfulness showcasing without concern.
"...huh? Oh, yeah... just personal things." Replied Astro, brushing it off was what he called it. A chuckle escaped Goob, seeing how it was nothing serious. You didn't feel the same, though. Something WAS wrong, you just didn't know what. Dropping it for the time being, all of you set off, entering the elevator one by one, ready to go.
From there, and the many floors that were passed, the run was going relatively fine. The only one who wasn't fine was Astro. Currently, they made it to the second milestone, Floor 20. The Toons set off, splitting up to complete these machines. No blackouts, and from where they were, no Mains, surprisingly. Astro didn't worry about that, staring up at the ceiling with guilt filling his mind. Everything felt so blurry as his mind shifted through past experiences, replaying over and over.
There was no need for further prologue...
"What are you doing?!"
Astro had a bottle of ichor with him. The action he wanted to take upon himself was unimaginable, nothing no one could have expected. With the suspicion of something happening, you ran over to where you saw Astro last, and tracked him here. You decided to bring Goob with you, the source of the sudden exclamation before yanking Astro into him in a tight hug, refusing to let go. He was beyond distraught. As Vee came along, there was little to no struggle from Astro... and him? He had nothing to say.