Chapter Text
Boxten.
He was standing right there.
And he wasn’t twisted.
Brightney stared.
“B- Boxten!” She stumbled, quickly standing up as she stared at him in awe. “You’re okay!”
Boxten stared, his gaze fixed on something, someone else. He stared behind Brightney at the seemingly lifeless toon on the floor with wide eyes.
Brightney paused and looked back at Cosmo, letting out a shaky breath she didn’t know she was holding.
Boxten wordlessly hurried forward, falling down next to Cosmo and grabbing his shoulders, starting to shake him.
“Cosmo- Cosmo, wake up!” Boxten whispered desperately, shaking him violently. Cosmo slightly stirred, staring at Boxten. A small smile appeared on Cosmo’s face. He attempted to speak, but nothing came out.
“Cosmo, please!” Boxten’s voice got louder as he moved his hands down to Cosmo’s leg, which had begun bleeding through its makeshift bandages.
“Brightney, do you- do you have anything else to help him??” Boxten asked hurriedly. Brightney looked around desperately.
“No, I don’t- I’m so sorry, Boxten, I-“ she grabbed onto the door handle, attempting to open it. It was, of course, blocked from the other side.
“Guys! Are there any more supplies?!” Brightney asked desperately. There was a worried “No,” from the other side, followed by “is Cosmo ok? What’s going on?”
“You really don’t have anything??” Brightney asked desperately.
“No!” The voice said- belonging to Sprout. “Im coming out there. I need to see Cosmo!”
Before anyone could protest, Sprout opened the door and slipped out, closing it shut behind him quickly.
As he looked up, he momentarily locked eyes with Boxten. To say Sprout was shocked would be an understatement.
After a few moments, he looked down at Cosmo with wide-eyes, freezing at the sight of the Ichor that had begun pooling underneath him.
“I- Ill be right back.” Boxten said, suddenly letting go of Cosmo and sprinting off.
Sprout leaned down next to Cosmo, too shocked to speak. He clearly wanted to comfort him, say something or anything, but he could barely speak.
“Cosmo,” Sprout whispered. “I’m so sorry. This- This was a terrible idea.” He said, his voice immediately beginning to waver as his eyes watered. He wiped the tears away, wanting to get a clear view of his friend.
Cosmo attempted to speak again, but he only was able to move his head over and start vomiting Ichor. Sprout tensed up, but didn’t back up, wrapping his arms around his friend, who had begun breathing heavily again.
“Cosmo,” Sprout mumbled. “Cosmo…”
Boxten was back quickly enough, holding not one, but a couple medkits. Where did he find these? Who knew. Brightney had went back into the room to search for any medical supplies, her body still stained with Ichor.
Boxten immediately kneeled down next to Cosmo, shoving Sprout away. Sprout let out an exhale of surprise, but backed up after a moment of shock, giving Boxten space.
Boxten unwrapped Cosmo’s leg, quickly opening one of the medkits and starting to rip open packets, bandages- Sprout looked away, standing up and stumbling away. He wasn’t sure what to do now.
“Is- is there any way I can help??” Sprout asked, his voice a whisper. He couldn’t muster up anything louder.
“Go away.” Boxten said, grunting as he worked on Cosmo’s leg. Sprout blinked in surprise, and after hesitating for a long moment, he retreated back into the room, closing the door.
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“What happened out there??” Vee asked worriedly as Brightney- who looked like she’d just been traumatized for life- rushed inside.
“Brightney! There’s Ichor all over you! Are- are you hurt?? Are you okay??” Vee asked, staring at Brightney in shock.
“Yeah- Y- Yeah, I’m fine! But Cosmo isn’t. There really aren’t any more supplies?” Brightney asked, breathing heavily. Vee shook her head.
Once Sprout came in, everyone began to ask questions desperately. Sprout didn’t answer any of them, taking deep breaths.
Astro walked over to Sprout, grabbing Sprout’s arm and dragging him off to the corner of the room- it was a large room, so they were in a more secluded area.
“Sprout,” Astro began, “Sprout, are you-“ Astro paused, already knowing the answer. Had Cosmo died? Astro took a deep breath, not knowing what to say. He was just as shocked as everyone else.
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Boxten had patched up Cosmo’s leg more correctly this time- with actual bandages instead of blankets and towels. It was the best he could do.
“Cosmo,” Boxten whispered, sitting Cosmo up hurriedly. “Cosmo, Cosmo… you can’t talk, can you?” He asked, unable to speak any louder than he was at the moment.
Cosmo didn’t respond- of course he didn’t, he was on heavy numbing medications. But his heart was still beating, and that was enough.
Boxten let out a shaky, big sigh, keeping his fingers on Cosmo’s wrist. His pulse was slow.
Boxten wrapped his arms around Cosmo, preparing his body to pick him up. But suddenly, he saw a faint light glint from Cosmo’s eyes.
“Cosmo,” Boxten whispered, looking into Cosmo’s eyes. “What happened to you?”
Cosmo attempted to speak, but then coughed again. He did manage to mutter out a few faint, raspy words.
“Ichor… foot.” Cosmo muttered, breathing heavily. “I-… I-I’m not-“ Cosmo started coughing again, wiping his mouth with his hand, which was stained with Ichor.
“Boxten,” Cosmo mumbled, his voice slowly beginning to warm up. “Too much Ichor,” he said, letting out a sigh. “Lost.”
“You lost too much… no you didn’t, Cosmo. You’ll be okay. Just stay alive for me, please? You’re alive, and you’ll survive. You know it.” Boxten said, not sounding too confident himself.
Boxten’s heart dropped as Cosmo shook his head.
Cosmo huffed as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small, folded piece of paper and handing it to Boxten.
“Sprout gave it to me,” Cosmo whispered. “So I could write.”
Boxten shakily took the note, holding it close to him.
“Cosmo, you’ll live! Please stop doing this!” Boxten said, feeling his heart skip multiple beats as he stared down at Cosmo. His voice had begun to get all high-pitched, which happened whenever he was about to cry. His throat hurt.
“Thank you for being my friend, Boxten.” Cosmo said quietly, smiling at Boxten as he leaned back against the wall. The bandages weren’t enough- he had begun to bleed through again.
There was nothing Boxten could say to convince him, it seemed.
“I love you, Boxten. I always- th-“ Cosmo turned over weakly, starting to cough again, letting out an exhale as the coughing died down for a moment.
He weakly reached a hand up to Boxten’s cold cheek, cupping it gently. “It was fun baking with you, Boxten.”
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After what seemed to be hours, the door finally opened.
Boxten stood, staring down at the floor while breathing slowly. His hands and legs were stained with Ichor, due to the puddle he had kneeled down in for so long.
“Boxten!” Sprout ran forward immediately, nearly falling over. “W- What happened?!”
All the toons got quiet, waiting for Boxten’s response. Most were shocked- they had thought Boxten was dead, but here he was. Standing in front of everyone.
Boxten paused before speaking.
“…Cosmo’s dead.” He choked out quietly.
And the room seemed to freeze.