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Once everyone got to the elevator, Eclipse followed close behind, losing the twisteds. The elevator door closed and descended to the next floor.
Finn walked over to pat Eclipse on the back. "Good job at distracting, Eclipse", Finn grinned kindly.
Eclipse waved a paw, blushing shyly. "Aw, thank you. It's nothing, really."
Gigi blew out a breath from boredom. The elevator didn't take long to get to each floor, but Gigi got bored very fast. She glanced over at Sprout and smiled to herself mischievously.
"Psst! Hey, Sprout. It says 'gullible' on the ceiling...", Gigi smirked, hoping Sprout would fall for the trick like his friend Cosmo had.
Sprout had his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall of the elevator. He raised a brow with a deadpanned expression while staring at Gigi.
After some seconds, Gigi frowned. "Oh, come on. Not even a glance?"
Sprout huffed a single laugh. "I'm not falling for that trick, Gigi. Good try, though."
Gigi rolled her eyes, tutting in disappointment. "Psh, whatever."
Bassie smoothed down her skirt before she walked over to check on Soulvester. She knew how slow the ghost knight was and did her best to find speed and stamina items for him every floor so far. And she would continue to help him. It made her feel useful at least.
"Hi, Soulvester. Are you doing alright?", Bassie asked softly.
Soulvester turned his head to Bassie. "Hello, Bassie. I am quite alright. I hope the same can be said for you."
Bassie nodded. "I'm just fine. Don't you worry about me."
"I worry for every single one of my friends. So, I can't promise that I won't worry about you", Soulvester spoke slowly, nodding his head once.
Bassie smiled smally. "I'll look out for you, and you'll look out for me. Sound good?"
Soulvester placed a hand over his heart. "If I am in danger, I will call for your aid. And if you are in danger, I shall aid you, Bassie."
Gigi groaned in annoyance. "Ugh, will you two stop flirting?"
Finn raised a confused brow. "How do you know they're flirting?"
"Hey, leave them be", Sprout butted in.
Shelly shook her head from her wandering thoughts at the commotion. "Huh? What's going on?", she wondered.
Soulvester turned away from the others, his face turning a light pink. "It's nothing. Bassie and I were just having a small chat, that's all."
Eclipse sniffed around the elevator. "We're almost to the next floor. I can smell it."
"Girl, that's weird", Gigi mumbled.
Shelly shrugged her shoulders and walked over to Bassie. "Hey, Bassie. Do you need any assistance on the next floor?"
"Sure. If I find a duo machine, I'll come get you", Bassie smiled politely.
While Shelly and Bassie chatted, Eclipse scooted closer to Soulvester.
"So, were you two flirting?", Eclipse whispered.
"No. We were just chatting", Soulvester stated quietly.
Eclipse tapped her chin in thought, humming as if she didn't believe him. "It's fine if you were. You can tell me, Soulvester."
Soulvester was about to argue with the werewolf, but soon the elevator door opened to the next floor.
"Is someone there?", a shaky voice spoke.
"It's Twisted Glisten", Sprout sighed.
Gigi tsked. "I'll watch him or whatever."
Eclipse smiled gratefully at Gigi. "Thanks, Gigi. I'll go distract Twisted Boxten."
As Eclipse ran out of the elevator to get Twisted Boxten's attention, everyone else walked out to find the machines. Gigi went to find Twisted Glisten so he didn't snap too soon. Finn found a duo machine and attempted to do it himself, but he failed a skill check by accident.
"Oh, fish sticks...", Finn muttered.
Soulvester walked over to Finn. "Do you need help with that machine, Finn?"
Finn grinned. "Yeah, that'd be fin-tastic."
So, Soulvester and Finn got to work on the machine. It only took a few seconds before it was done.
Bassie found another duo machine and called for Shelly. The fossil and the basket went right to work, with Shelly boosting Bassie's extraction speed.
"So, you and Soulvester... are you two a thing or-", Shelly asked.
Bassie's face flushed a light pink. "Um... no?"
Shelly smiled softly. "That didn't sound very confident."
Bassie sighed quietly. "Let's talk about this some other time, alright?"
This made Shelly chuckle. "Alright. It's fine if you like him, you know. You two look cute together, I think."
Bassie huffed a quiet laugh. "Oh, that's silly to think..."
Shelly and Bassie got the machine done and went to check on everyone else.
Sprout went to check on Gigi. "Is Twisted Glisten still calm?", he asked.
"Yes, he's fine", Gigi confirmed.
Then she spotted Soulvester doing the last machine. "Well, since ghost knight over there is doing the last machine, imma get to the elevator", Gigi said, walking away from Twisted Glisten.
Sprout tsked and decided to stay by Twisted Glisten's side instead. But he then realized that Twisted Glisten was getting closer to where Soulvester was.
"Heads up, Soulvester. Twisted Glisten is near you right now. I'll try to lead him away once you're finished with that machine", Sprout warned.
Soulvester turned his head slightly to face Sprout. "Thank you for the warning, Sprout."
After some seconds, the last machine popped and the elevator door opened.
"Wait! Don't leave me!", Twisted Glisten snapped loudly.
Sprout made sure he was a few steps away from Twisted Glisten before he let the mirror chase him. Soulvester tried to run up the stairs, but Twisted Glisten saw him. He was no longer interested in chasing Sprout and took to chasing Soulvester instead.
"Run!", was all Sprout could shout.
Soulvester tried to run away from the mirror, but he was too slow. It didn't take long for Twisted Glisten to catch up to the ghost knight.
"Help!", Soulvester yelled desperately.
Right as Twisted Glisten was about to hit Soulvester, Bassie came running. She scooped Soulvester up in her arms and ran into the elevator. Shelly and Eclipse followed behind, being the last Toons to get to the elevator. Twisted Glisten and Twisted Boxten growled as the elevator door closed.
Bassie panted, still holding Soulvester in her arms. After getting her breath back, she placed Soulvester on the ground.
"Are you alright?", Bassie asked, slightly panting still.
Soulvester stared into Bassie's eyes, his own eyes twinkling in awe. "You are quite strong", was all he managed to say.
Bassie huffed, smiling. "I'm really not. I uh... I'm just doing my part."
Soulvester took Bassie's hand in his own and planted a soft kiss to it. "You amaze me, Bassie. I am honored to be in your presence."
Bassie's face turned red, but she smiled softly at Soulvester. No one had ever called her strong before, let alone saying she amazes them. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was important, even if for just a moment.
"Boo! Get a room!", Gigi booed.
Sprout lightly smacked the back of Gigi's head. "Be quiet, Gigi. Let them have this."
Shelly clasped her hands together at the sight of Soulvester and Bassie. "Aw, they're so cute."
Eclipse nudged Shelly's shoulder gently. "Super cute", she added with a wink.
Finn, having seen Bassie's strength, jumped on the balls of his feet excitedly. "You could probably carry lots of heavy boxes, Bassie!", the fishbowl said eagerly.
Bassie waved a hand in embarrassment. "Oh, no. That's not possible."
"If you can carry heavy armor, you most certainly can carry boxes", Finn defended.
Sprout chuckled as he went over to tug Finn away. "Let Bassie have her moment with Soulvester, Finn", he stated calmly.
Soulvester let go of Bassie's hand and smoothed down his legs. "Thank you for saving me, Bassie."
Bassie smiled, gazing into Soulvester's eyes. "It was no trouble at all. You're not the only one who worries."
Soulvester nodded, humming. Then he bowed. "I owe you my life."
Bassie went to hold Soulvester's hands in her own. "You owe me nothing, Soulvester. I'd help you a thousand times if I had to."
Soulvester chuckled softly. "And I'd love to do the same for you."
"Gross!", Gigi shouted.
"Gigi, be quiet!", Sprout shouted in return.