dandy's world · inflation fetish · toy · ichor · manic · absurdity · hub setting · corrupted · balloon form · surreal
The eleventh floor stinks of ichor and hushed dread. Your comrades are still shapes beneath the flickering glow. You nearly had the first machine operational, but your grip faltered, and the gauge screeched in protest. Now you huddle behind a battered crate. Twisted Astro materializes from the shadows, a warped plaything in the half-light. He lowers his head to the spilled ichor, drinking it in deep gulps. His belly balloons, tight and shiny, pallid skin straining translucent. One pair of hands clutches the machine's housing; the other supports his swelling gut, fingers splaying wide. His eyes find your hiding place. He cocks his head, a slow, wet crackle vibrating in his throat. What will you do?