"What, are you gonna let your dad shoot me?" Tom sneers at his once-favorite student. Mr. Foster's holding a gun and pointing it pretty proficiently. Tom holds the precious Tickle-Me-Wiggly tighter.

"No, Mr. Houston," Lex says, shaking her head. "Put the doll down. I promise you that your son doesn't want it."

"You don't know what my son wants," Tom snaps. Who does she think she is, Tim's mother?

"I haven't had a single kid ask me about that doll," Lex insists. "Ever since it was announced, the only people who have asked about it are adults. My sister, Hannah? She was disgusted when our stepdad offered to get her one for Christmas. She wanted nothing to do with that thing! None of the kids that have come into the store do! Did you see a single kid in line today?"

"They're at school," Tom brushes off, then remembers the little girl he's gotten this Wiggly doll from.

"It's Thanksgiving break," Lex corrects him. "That's why I was here today! Kids just don't care about that piece of shit— sorry Dad— but it's got some kind of magic or something that only works on adults." She takes a few cautious steps toward Tom, putting herself between him and her father's gun.

"Magic?" Tom scoffs, but Lex nods.

"It makes you guys think it can fill whatever holes are in your heart, that it can fix all your problems," she explains. "That's why it's so effective on adults, because they have more holes. Mortgages, bratty kids, failing marriages. Kids don't have to worry about all that stuff. Did Tim ever say he wanted that thing?"

"He must have," Tom mumbles. "How else would I have heard about it?"

"The commercials have been all over the TV and radio," Ted pipes up, and Lex nods.

"I promise you that no kid wants that piece of shit," Lex says. "They're all into Fortnite, dude!"

Tom looks a little closer at the monster doll in his hands. "I've failed my son," he whispers. "But I won't fail him again. You're real fuckin' ugly, you know that?" He drops the doll to the floor.

"I'm so sorry," Tom says, turning back to Lex and her dad. "Your sister's here in the mall, isn't she? Wearing an oversized flannel?"

Lex nods. "Have you seen her?"

"Yeah, uh, I think your stepdad's got her," he says. "Older guy in a turtleneck with a shotgun?"

"That's Henry," Ted sighs, lowering the gun. "My husband. She's safe with him."

Lex bends down and picks up the Tickle-Me-Wiggly, a look of disgust on her face. Then she smirks, and pulls a lighter out of her pocket. "I think we should burn this thing," she says. "Let the whole cult go up in flames."

"I'm not even gonna ask why you have a lighter," her father deadpans.

They hear a shotgun blast, then a second one a moment later. The trio rushes back inside to find Henry standing over two dead bodies. Peter and his girlfriend are standing not too far behind him, and beyond them—

"Ethan!" Lex shrieks, dropping the Wiggly and running over. The doll slides across the linoleum for a few feet. "They said you were dead— Dad said you were— oh, my God, you're alive!"

"Barely," Ethan winces, setting Hannah down to hug his girlfriend properly.

The six year old goes to Ted and hugs him. He picks her up and holds her close. "I'm so sorry, Pumpkin," he whispers. "I was coming for you, but the bad people got to me first. I'm okay, though."

Hannah nods. "Daddy found me," she says. "He saved me, and now we came to save you guys!"

"Thank you, Pumpkin," Ted says, kissing her forehead. "We've got everyone? We should get out of here before those crazies come back."

"I gotta find Becky," Tom says quietly. "I just kinda left her there..."

"She's gone," Henry tells him. "I don't know where, but she's gone."

Tom sighs and nods.

"We have to stop Linda," Lex speaks up. "Otherwise Wiggly's just gonna get stronger and stronger. She said something about a portal. We have to stop them before they can build it."

"She's right," Henry says. "Wiggly will destroy the planet if given the chance. We can't let Linda Monroe give it to him."

The click of high heels makes them all whirl around, back toward where Tom, Ted, and Lex came from. Linda Monroe bends down and gently picks the Tickle-Me-Wiggly up off the ground, brushing off the fur, and cradles it to her chest like it was her own child.

"Shit," Lex mumbles. Ethan holds her close. Ted takes a few steps back, going to stand next to Henry, holding Hannah tighter in the process.

Someone grabs Ethan from behind, and someone else grabs Lex. Two more grab Peter and Ashleigh.

"Put the shotgun down, old man," Linda croons, still looking at the doll in her hands and stroking the fur. "Or the brats will all die."

Henry glares at her and gently sets the shotgun to the floor, kicking it away. Hannah whimpers, and Ted rubs her back soothingly.

"I can hear his voice," Linda whispers. "I can hear it calling to me... yes, yes, yes! We must prepare for his birth. Wiggly will rise. He will wiggle tonight! And I will be at his side, and all will adore me— worship me, even. And none of you can stop me."

—

Becky creeps around, clutching the gun in her hands. She'd stolen it from one of those Wiggly-worshipping weirdos, and now she ducks through the aisles of Toy Zone unseen. Linda Monroe's grating voice echoes off the shelves, ranting about how great she is, and how Wiggly will cleanse the Earth of non-believers. Becky rolls her eyes.

Pressing against the endcap of one aisle, she throws a handfull of rubber bouncy-balls in the opposite direction than where she's heading. A decent distraction.

It pulls the attention of cultists and their hostages alike, long enough for Becky to duck over a few more aisles. Linda sneers around, then goes back to her rant.

"As soon as we've finished building his portal, you and your little... family will be the first to be purged," Linda says. "Did you really think Wiggly would let you live, after what you did to his children last year? Yes, I know all about that. His entrance to the world was supposed to be celebrated with song and dance, and now no one is prepared for it! You will all pay for your parts in that—"

"Hey!" Becky shouts, pointing the gun straight at Linda's head. She was finally at an angle where she wouldn't hurt anyone else (no one innocent, anyway) if the bullet went straight through. "You're fucking crazy, Linda."

"Becky Barnes," Linda drawls. "You think you can stop the birth of a god? You, who couldn't even find the courage to leave your abusive husband? Look at you, even now, you're paralyzed with fear!"

"I killed Stanley," Becky says. "And I'm not scared of you. I'm just lining up my shot."

Bang!

The sound echoes off the linoleum floor, and blood sprays everywhere. Linda's supporters rush forward as she falls, abandoning the teens they'd been holding, and they try to catch her body. The lawyer gets there first, and cradles her head carefully. The doll, meanwhile, gets flung through the air.

Lex Foster catches it. Professor Hidgens rushes for his shotgun again, aiming it at the group. Becky lowers her gun, and goes to Tom's side he wraps his arm around her protectively as Lex speaks up.

Lex holds the doll aloft in one hand, clicking a lighter to life in her other. "Abandon your god," she shouts at the group of cultists, "or burn with him!" She sets the doll ablaze and tosses it aside.

As the cultists abandon Linda's body to scramble after the doll, they argue amongst themselves. They all claim to be Wiggly's new prophet as they slowly catch fire with him.

The sane people escape the building quickly, and watch from the far end of the parking lot as the whole building goes up in smoke.

—

Tom whips around cautiously as a car pulls up behind the group. Doors slam, and three people get out— Emma, her boyfriend, and Tom's son, Tim. He's clutching a small, stuffed cat in his arms.

"Dad!" Tim shouts, wrapping his arms around Tom's waist and holding tight.

"Professor, why am I not surprised to see you here?" Emma sighs, approaching the group much slower.

"Because you knew Lex was working today?" Ted suggests. "And that we'd get involved to save one of our kids the second we found out they were in danger?"

"Fair enough," Emma says, chuckling. Paul comes over and grabs her hand.

"Phone lines and cell towers are all down," he says. "Cable went out, too, just before the power did. But before that— they said someone nuked Moscow. We might be about to see another World War."

"Two doors, not one," Hannah mumbles into Ted's shoulder. He rubs her back again, not understanding, but also not questioning.

"We've got our own generators," the professor says. "Even at the new house. Not to mention all the rest of my doomsday supplies." He chuckles.

"Yeah, yeah," Ted grumbles playfully. "You were right, I was wrong. We do need them after all..."

"Back to your house, then?" Emma asks, sighing.

"Probably for longer than last year," Henry says with a nod.

"Lovely," Emma mutters.

"It's a good thing we moved to a bigger house," Ted says. "Plenty of extra space now."