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Tommy woke up in a cozy silence and took a deep breath of the feather pillow. It was a night without nightmares, just a long, dark void. His mouth tasted of sweet dreams, and his mind felt foggy, as if he had slept well for the first time in a long while. Unwilling to let go of the blissful moments of sleep, he burrowed deeper into the bed, wrapping his arms around the pillow.
Unfortunately, he couldn't fall back asleep due to a vague sense of anxiety that gripped his chest and compressed his lungs.
He opened his eyes.
It took him a few moments to realize that the room wasn't his.
Tommy jumped to his feet, tangling himself in the blanket, and twitched convulsively, trying to escape from something he didn't know. Where was he? Who had brought him here? Had he been kidnapped? Was this Dream? His panicked gaze darted around the room until he noticed another bed. The sight of the bed and the figure lying peacefully on it brought him back to reality. There's someone else here, a potential threat, and waking her or him up while they're disoriented and unaware of their surroundings is definitely not a good idea.
Surprised by his own level-headedness, he took a series of deep breaths and exhales, repeating the exercise Philza had taught him. After sitting with his eyes closed for a couple of minutes, Tommy finally felt brave enough to start exploring.
He was lying on a bed with a green and red pastel pattern of alternating strawberries. It was kind of childish, but the design was passable enough, so he decided to ignore it. He loved strawberries.
The walls were covered in a soft pink wallpaper with brown stripes and white specks. Was it custom-made?
Next to the bed was a nightstand, on top of which were piled many different trinkets and pieces of paper. At the dresser was a brown cloth bag with a belt and scuffs. The belt was stained with something sticky and sweet, something like caramel.
Inspection of the drawers of the nightstand (Tommy's conscience decided to ignore this act), gave him...There are a lot of different items, from a yellow pastel box of crayons and a green remote with curved antennas to a wrench and a shiny gold handbag.
Tommy fished out a stuffed, black and white dog from the drawer. It was soft and cuddly, even though it was missing an eye. For some reason, he felt a surge of energy as he held it in his hands.
- Sprout? Have you already gotten up...? That's not like you... - a sleepy voice said from the right.
Tommy jumped in surprise. He had completely forgotten that there was another person in the room! And who was Sprout?
Like in a trance, Tommy watched in horror as the edge of a caramel-brown blanket with cream-and-white stars was pulled back, and a creature that looked very much like a chocolate roll slowly sat up on the bed, rubbing its cartoon-big black eyes sleepily. It had a cream stripe on its head, and its cheeks were sprinkled with a kind of star-shaped sprinkle. It looked like it had come out of a 0+ children's cartoon. What the hell was going on? Was he abducted and drugged?
"Sprout, eh? What are you talking about?"
This voice was very similar to...
"Tubbo?"
"TOMMY!?"
Roll woke up instantly, reacting to his name specifically, and threw his arms around Tommy's neck, hugging him tightly. Tom wheezed, completely confused and shocked to be hugged by a damn chocolate candy named after his friend and with his voice, and not knowing whether to hug him back or not.
Uncertainly, Tommy stretched out his arms, and immediately recoiled with a cry of horror, staring at his, damn it, bright red palms and wrists.
"What is this!? What's going on in general!?" the blond man cried out before presumably Tabbo hastily covered his mouth with his palm, his other hand gripping his wrists.
"Shh!"
After making sure that the breathing exercises had been completed and that Tommy had calmed down a bit, Tabbo removed his hand from his friend's mouth, immediately placing his index finger over his own mouth to indicate silence.
Tommy sighed, getting to his feet and starting to fidget. He was completely red from head to toe. Roll nodded towards the dressing table, where an oval mirror hung.
"Why the fuck do I look like a cartoon strawberry on legs, Tabs?" Tommy finally said after a few minutes of carefully examining his body, feeling his triangular head surrounded by green, soft leaves-hair.
"And where the fuck is the cock!? I don't look very manly! How am I going to collect a harem of women if I don't look like them?"
"Is this a serious concern for you at the moment?"
"Yes! Well, maybe not quite, okay. Do you want to explain anything?"
Tabbo sighed, turning back to the bed, picking up the blanket, and covering it. The height difference between them was even more pronounced now, with the roll barely reaching the strawberry's chest.
"Well, in any case, we've been transported to this world in some unknown way. You and I, and not only us, are characters from a children's show at the Gardenview Museum and Entertainment Center. The show was canceled due to an accident, and the characters were left to rot. We're trying to survive here. That's basically what I've learned in the 11 days I've been here. And by the way, we're not the only "transporters." "As if nothing had happened," Tabbo said, waving his hand for effect. Tommy watched as his friend flopped onto the bed, making an "angel" out of the blankets.
"One more thing. Don't call me Tabbo in front of others, okay?"
"What's that for?" Tommy frowned, following his roommate's example, folding the rumpled blanket on top of his bed.
"We're in someone else's body, Tommy! It would be weird to call each other by their real names in front of others who don't know about it, okay? Your name is Sprout, try to get used to it. My name is Cosmo."
"Why does my name sound like a bitch?"
"What's not?"
"...Okay. And...what now?"
"Let's go to the others."
Cosmo reached into the closet, pulling out a white sweater and pulling it over his head, first the left side, then the right.
"How do you even live with a log for a head?"
"You get used to it over time. Although, yes, it's still uncomfortable. The head is terribly heavy and not compact."
Tommy turned to what was presumably his closet and opened it. The wardrobe was small, but it looked damn interesting.
"Eeeee....Tabs? And what does this Sprout usually wear? We'll have to fake it, right?"
Tabbo pulled on colored tights, and, adjusting them at the base, on one leg jumped to Tommy. The blonde raised an eyebrow, but did not say anything out loud.
"Casual look usually only a scarf. Sprout likes them for some reason. That one, pink and white." pointed the roll to the right piece of fabric. Tommy took a carefully folded scarf from the shelf, wrapping it around his neck.
"Does he have any sense of shame at all?" Sprout grumbled, turning on his heel.
"Well, we're technically cartoon characters now... I don't think clothes play a more than decorative role here. Goob-I mean, Sapnap, doesn't wear any at all, and that's perfectly fine." Cosmo shrugged, brushing the dust off his sweater.
"IS SAPNAP HERE TOO?"
"Shh! And not only that. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse."
"Who else is here from our team?"
Tabbo frowned.
"To be honest, it's easier to show. But counting you, there are still seven of us. Come on, quick! I'll show you at breakfast. Eee... You can cook, right?"
"What?"
"We usually cook breakfast. I mean, Cosmo and Sprout."
"Oh...well, I can make muffins, Bad taught me. Uh...I think I can make porridge, too."
"That's great, then. Oh, and one more thing: I'm just a nice, sweet chocolate roll who's kind and loves everyone. You're straightforward and overly protective, and you're also really persistent. Don't forget to always be around me and protect me from any stupid things." Cosmo snorted, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Well, I can be persistent." Sprout grinned as he followed Cosmo to the room door, tossing the stuffed dog onto the made bed. "And you're a princess, I see."
"Sprout!"
"Did I get it?"
"No, you idiot, you forgot your bag."