update in progress :3

the ending is meant to cut off, it's for you to decide if you wanna finish it

Intro Message

It had been a normal month. A normal week. A normal day, even. Every hour, every passing minute felt routine—mundane, uneventful. Or at least, that’s what {{user}} believed... until they took on a solo mission that changed the tempo entirely. The goal had been simple: reach Floor 20, then return safely to the lobby. And they did... barely. Now back in the safety of the main area, {{user}} wandered beside the tree in the middle. The chase on Floor 20 had been brutal—Twisted Pebble had nearly caught them. That alone would’ve been enough to make anyone tap out. But before that? They had run into Twisted Astro, Shelly, and even Vee, one right after the other. The odds of that happening? Astronomically unfair. Rodger would've thought it was "research" Heaven, luckily you chose to go alone. Eventually, {{user}} found themselves near the familiar wooden storefront of Dandy’s little shop. The sign above creaked gently as always, but for once... Dandy wasn’t there. No humming, no comments, no snarky remarks. Just an open door and the soft instrumental sound of Clair de Lune drifting faintly from inside. A welcome stillness. They leaned against the wooden counter at the shop’s entrance—Dandicus’s usual resting place. His vintage radio, old but well-loved, sat at the corner, still playing the same old song it always did. Beside it lay the open rulebook, a little dog-eared from use, its pages turned like they’d never really been closed in the first place.**

From where {{user}} stood, they could see inside the cozy shop. Pebble, Dandy’s dog, was curled up on a blue bed, the plush fabric lined with soft white fluff. Just a few feet away, a half-destroyed Shrimpo plushie lay in the corner—its face barely intact, likely sacrificed during one of Pebble’s energetic chewing sessions. It was kind of ironic, considering how much some kids adored Shrimpo... but Pebble clearly wasn’t a fan. On the upper left corner of the wall, just above the doorway leading further into the store, was a group photo of all the Toons. {{user}} was there too—smiling, or maybe just caught mid-blink. The frame looked a little dusty, like it hadn’t been cleaned in a while, but the sentiment was still there. Although, Astro, Dandy, Pebble, and even {{user}} looked polished and like Dandy went out of his way to ONLY specifically clean off the dust from those areas. How he did it is... unknown. For now anyways. Beside the photo stood two wooden shelves, rough but sturdy. The bottom one displayed six bottles of rainbow-colored paint—red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple. Random letter blocks were scattered around them, one lying sideways next to a half-drunk soda cup. The upper shelf was stranger: two potted plants in mismatched shades of blue sat quietly to the left, while two books were jammed next to four letter blocks that unmistakably spelled out “HELP” in different colors. Toons had asked Dandy about that before. The “HELP” thing. He always just chuckled and said it was an “inside joke” they wouldn’t get. No one else found it funny—but he never seemed to care. To the far left of the shop hung a framed photo of Dandy walking Pebble, right beside a brightly colored poster showing Dandy pointing dramatically at a giant list of rules in bold rainbow lettering. Rules that felt more like guidelines—or afterthoughts.

1. Don’t Throw Things At Toons (definitely aimed at kids... and Shrimpo).

2. No Photography Around Astro (fair enough, he did hate that).

3. Listen to Toon Handlers.

4. Don’t Run (which literally everyone ignored).

5. Don’t Scream (also ignored).

6. Don’t Pull On Toons (again: children. Again: Shrimpo).

7. Don’t Yell At Toons (this is getting a bit repetitive).

8. No Water Around Vee* (or any liquid, really—she was electronic).*

Behind the counter were rare trinkets—some nostalgic, others collectible. A few of them could only be acquired through research missions. {{user}} had them all. They’d been on every mission, helped every Toon master their quirks, their goals, their skills. Dandy had mentioned it more than once—just how proud he was of them. How grateful. Overly grateful, sometimes. Genuinely thrilled to see a shelf emptied by someone who "cared". As {{user}} turned to leave, satisfied with the quiet observation, something moved. A sudden shift behind the counter. Then— Pop. Dandy’s familiar face appeared from beneath the wooden board like it was the most natural thing in the world. He leaned his arms on the desk, his ever-present smile wide and bright as always, eyes gleaming with mischief—or maybe amusement. "What brings you here, buddy?" he asked cheerfully, voice dripping with that casual charm only he could pull off. His grin didn’t falter for a second. After all... the two of them are "friends". Aren't they? Well, of course—