Prologue
Inside a large home in a quiet and peaceful neighborhood lived a boy at the age of 15. He was of average build, with fair skin, green eyes, and cinnamon-colored hair, standing at the height of 5'0. He wore a black shirt, forest green pants, and red & white shoes. Because of unfortunate events that occurred in the past, he goes by his family name: Player. Keeping both his first name and middle name anonymous from everyone except for himself. These bleak circumstances were of the day both of his parents have unexpectedly...Passed.
This happened three years ago when he was only 13 and homeschooled before the occurrence. With no other relatives to care for him, he was given the option to move into an orphanage. He denied the choice, refusing to leave his family belongings behind, and favoring to live unaided, despite his young age. Thanks to having an above-average IQ and a passion for technology, he was able to take up a job decent enough for himself to manage.
The job in question was hacking. Rather than use it to rob people blind, he used this proficiency to help those in need. After obscuring his location and identity online, Player created several accounts on both well-known and lesser-known social websites. After they were made, he'd go off and make posts, offering to help those in need of help for a small fee. Like someone who got locked out of their account and forgot the password, or wants to recover what they lost or had stolen in a scam. When successful he would send his earnings into his bank account.
It started off slow for Player, but as time went on, it started to speed up. His clients started to spread his name out to those that would need his assistance later on. After he turned 14 and made enough to pay for nearly everything, this got the attention of the authorities. Rather than figure out who he is, they instead required his assistance in current cases. Cases such as robbery, kidnapping, and murder. While not easy, he was able to either solve the case or find a link that'd lead to the arrest of the culprit and or rescue of the victim.
Per time Player was successful, he was given currency by authorities, more than the amount he's usually given. By the time he was 15 and wealthy, he decided to move out of that house for personal and cautious reasons. Putting his old home up for sale and purchasing the mansion-like house he now resides in, living his life and accomplishing work. As of right now, he's finishing up his work on his laptop, currently receiving his payment from his last client for the day.
"Thank you. I recommend writing down your passwords to avoid this from happening again." Said Player while he typed down a message to the client before sending it. With a smile, he shut his laptop, activating its sleep mode. "Okay...Now to go lay back and watch some TV." He got up from his office chair and headed living room, still thinking out loud. "...And maybe eat some leftovers?"
DING!
Player turned and walked toward the front entrance of his home. At the door, he peered through the security peephole to see nobody there. Unlocking the door he opened it and took a look around before seeing his mailbox packed. Grabbing the mail out of it he began to skim through each letter in his hand before giving a sigh. "Of course, more junk mail." Before he turned to go back in and throw out the mail, he stopped and looked at his welcome mat. To his surprise, there was a yellow folder-sized packet laying there.
"...I wasn't expecting a package today." Seeing nobody around and out of curiousness, Player took the package back inside and shut the door. After throwing away the junk mail, he started examining the packet. It wasn't long until he noticed a sticker in the center with his family name on it, along with his current address. With a raised brow he looked at the top right to see where this mail came from and was left even more confused.
"Playtime Co.? That's...That's where my parents used to work."
That name rang numerous bells in his mind. When he was just a toddler he would always see commercials from Playtime Co. promoting their unique and popular toys. They would have ones that dance, others that'd eat candy, and even stretch without any wear and tear. Other than that, he would be told by his parents that it was how they met back when they were just teenagers reaching adulthood. When he was born, his mother and father quit their job at the Factory so they would be able to raise him without leaving him unattended. Which may have been a good choice since the manufactory closed down at least 10 years ago
Shaking off those thoughts, Player wasted no time and went back to his office where he retrieved a pair of scissors. Cutting the packet open from the top, he put the scissors back and reached inside, pulling out both a piece of paper and a videotape. Looking at the two items, he started off by reading the writing on the paper. "Everyone thinks the staff...Dissapeared 10 years ago...Wer'e still here. Find the Flower...Who wrote this?" He asked himself, catching some errors as he looks down. At the bottom of the paper, he sees the drawing of a Poppy Flower, along with something extra.
"Blood?" Player rubbed his thumb against the red dry droplets stained on the paper seeing that it was indeed blood. Now worried as to who sent him this, he turned his attention to the yellow videotape that read, "VINTAGE POPPY COMMERCIAL" in all capitals. This gave him a sneaking suspicion that the tape will give him more clues about this flower. Keeping hold of it, the note, and the packet, he brought them to the only room in the house where he can play it.
Master Bedroom
In front of his Entertainment Complex, Player turns on his TV, including his parents' old VHS Player, which is in good condition despite its age. Seeing it was on, he picked up the videotape and places it inside the VHS before pressing play. Player sits on the edge of his bed and watched, waiting for the screen to alter, and soon enough it flashed blue, much to his relief. The blue screen that has the word "VIDRES" at the bottom right, changed to a purplish hue as a businessman came to view.
"You're about to see...The most incredible doll...Ever invented." The businessman started as he stops in front of the camera. "Her name is Poppy, and she is the first truly intelligent doll, in the world." He looked down with a blink and back up. "A little girl can talk to her..." He blinks and looks back down. Player guessed it was to peek at a note he was reading for the commercial. Looking back up, the adult continues. "Poppy gives her answers. She is the first doll actually able to have a conversation with a child. Hard to believe? Just watch."
The screen goes dark and after a few seconds flashes bright, revealing the supposed doll with intelligence. From the look of it, through the gritty graphics, the doll had white porcelain skin, big blue eyes, and crimson red hair with curly pigtails. She was dressed in a blue & white dress that have 3 blue bows on it with 2 extra bows, one each holding her pigtails, and black shoes. And her makeup consists of red lipstick and blemishes on her cheeks. While it seemed like a normal doll to him, Player felt as though it was looking at him from the camera.
"POPPY PLAYTIME!" Several shouts belonging to a small variety of girls offscreen were heard as the screen changed to a side close-up of the doll. "Poppy's as lovable as a real girl, and she talks like one too." Said a woman as it now shows her hand pulling the string on Poppy's back. It shortly switches again to show her now holding the doll in her hand, which spoke. "Hi, my name is Poppy! I love you." The screen changes again to Poppy's legs as she lifts a foot. "Can you help me polish my shoes?"
"Why, of course, Poppy!"
The scene shifts to Poppy sitting in a chair as the woman polishes her shoe with a small cloth. "Just like a real girl, Poppy always wants to look her best." When she finished, it showed the Poppy doll standing with a child's drawing of a tree, house, and sun in the back, giving a wave. "Perfect! Thank you." The next came after to show Poppy getting her hair brushed by the female narrator. "Her hair is sturdy and won't come out when you brush it, and it smells just like a Poppy Flower."
The tape displays the said flower. It goes back to Poppy standing on a rotating display stand with her name on the side and her price of $5.99 too. "Is there anything else you'd like to say, Poppy?" The woman asks as the screen flickers and shows Poppy looking at the screen again, but up close this time. "I'm a real girl...Just like you." Quickly the screen changes to a text that the woman says in question. "What's the time?"
"PLAYTIME!"
The logo of Playtime Co appears under the text before changing to clips showing the inside of Playtime Co. itself. Mainly workers that're analyzing the toys and making them someplace in the factory with a male narrating the rest of the video. "And if you've ever wanted to see how all of the nation's favorite toys were created...Playtime Co. is now offering factory tours at just $2.99 a person. An entire hour in the most magical toy factory on Earth." After showing all this, the scenery changes, showing the toy factory itself. To Player's wonderment, Playtime Co. is huge, as in it could've rivaled most toy factories that were still active out there in the world.
"What are you waiting for? Come visit the factory! We can't-" Suddenly the narrator is cut off and the screen began to tear, altering from the factory to somewhere in the factory. The area seemed to be somewhere metallic with barely any ground below the grid platform visible. Besides what Player believed were ornaments hanging from the ceiling, there was a large painting of a Poppy Flower on the wall. In the center of the flower was a doorway that lead...Somewhere else.
"Wait..." Immediately Player grabbed the note he got from Playtime Co. "Wait a minute! Oof!" He got up from the bed and fell to the floor and quickly crawled to the VHS. He pressed the pause button, stopping the footage that shows the unknown location. With it paused, Player brought the note to his view. His eyes were locked on the lower half of the page looking right at the Poppy drawing that looks exactly like the one in the video. "Find the Flower..." He reread that, looking at the screen and back at the paper.
"This is the Flower." He pointed out. "They want my parents to find this place in the factory, but they're...Not...Here..." He paused for a moment looking a bit sad from bringing his parents up. Whoever sent this, whether it was a friend or colleague, is probably unaware that his mom and dad died. Shaking it off, he gave a look of determination and took the tape out of the VHS Player, placing it and the note back in their yellow packet. "I can't stay here knowing somebody's in danger." Leaving the Master Bedroom he grabbed his backpack and went back to his office.
Grabbing his laptop Player placed the device inside its protective case, zips it up, and places it in his backpack. Grabbing his phone, he turns it on and types in Playtime Co. to locate the factory and help the individual trapped within it. It took a few seconds for its location to pop up and the information surprised him. "It's only 3 miles away from here?" Player thought as he inspected the quickest route he can take to get there. Before leaving his home he gathered a few other things for the trip like food, water, and a multi-cord for his laptop and phone.
With everything packed, Player grabbed his keys and went down to the garage where a black car is parked. Despite being 15, he managed to obtain his driver's license the same day he bought the car. As much as he enjoys being home, there are times when he just wants to stretch his legs and go to places as he used to with his parents.
Unlocking the car door and getting inside, he sets his backpack on the passenger side and buckles it in. Upon buckling himself in and closing the door, he turns on the car and opens the garage door with the opener. With enough space to drive through, he steps on the gas and drives out, closing the big door behind him as he heads off to Playtime Co.
5 Minutes Later
Having driven down the road with the least traffic and fastest speed limit Player made it to the manufacturing complex. "Looks like the place." As expected from its closure 10 years ago, Playtime Co. was in dilapidation. Plants seem to be shrouding remote parts of the structure from the ground. All colors of paint were bleached, peeling, and chipping at some parts of the factory's walls from the saturation of sunlight and rainfall. The windows were either shattered or boarded up from inside and out. And the P on top of the building's entrance looks close to falling down.
Parking his car on the road with a large gap between it and the factory, Player takes off his seatbelt along with the backpack and grabs it. Getting out and shutting down, he locks the door with his keys and places the backpack on his back, and heads to the entrance. Stopping at the front of the building, he looks up from the entrance to the top. After a few seconds, Player took a deep breath and sighed before walking toward the center double doors. To his luck, the doors were unlocked, allowing him to enter the building.
Inside, Player was greeted by a sight of what would've been described as fun or neat during the factory's activity a decade ago. Right behind the front desk, there was a defaced painting of a creature with big eyes, long arms, red lips, yellow hands, and blue fur on the wall. Its arms stretched out far across the other walls in the foyer with a yellow speech bubble shouting, "Welcome!" to visitors. Above was a golden sign hanging from the ceiling labeled: Welcome Center. On both sides of the desk were old-fashion ticket barriers leading further into Playtime Co. There were also two rooms on the left and right side, the former's the Security Room, and the latter's the Gift Shop.
What caught Player's interest was the old TV in the corner on the right with a green VHS Player underneath and the lights still on. "Shouldn't the power be off?" He questioned himself, wondering if anyone was ever notified about this after the disappearances. He brought himself out of those thoughts after spotting a green videotape lying on the desk in front. "Hello...What's this?" He approached the desk and picks up the tape.
"Laith Pierre Closing." Seeing that it's green like the VHS, Player turns his attention to it. Not wanting to waste gas to go back home and watch it there, he brings the tape over to the VHS Player. With care, he put the videotape inside the VHS and presses play. Looking at the TV, he felt relieved to see that it was working as the screen flashed blue. To his confusion instead of a person appearing on the screen, it was the forearm of a toy, belonging to the creature painted on the wall.
"Hi, my name is Laith Pierre, and I'm the head of innovation here at the Playtime Co. Toy Factory." The voice belonging to Pierre echoes throughout the lobby. Listening closely, Player can tell this was the guy narrating at the end of the tape he received in the mail. Could he have been the one that sent him that packet?
Laith Pierre's audio recording continues. "If you're seeing this...Then you're trespassing. Yeah, we play this little tape on a loop whenever we close the factory for the day. So trespasser, just to make you aware...While we pride ourselves primarily on our high-quality toys and excellent childcare. We also pride ourselves on our security. For example, this facility is full of hidden motion triggers which, once set off, will set off the factories emergency alarms and directly contact the authorities!"
"Yeah...I don't think that matters anymore..." Muttered Player as he hears Pierre add. "And that's one of the more...Tamed, aspects of our security system. No spoilers...So you've got my warning. It's not too late to turn around. I just hope you're certain whatever you're doing is worth it."
Ok, that was a bit concerning to Player. "More tamed?" This made him wonder if those in charge of security had some sort of harsh punishment for those that entered the building illegally. Could they have been the reason everyone who worked here disappeared? Continuing on, he decided to take a look over one of the ticket barriers. Doing so, he sees the doorframe leading in that's, unfortunately, blocked by a steel barrier. It appeared he couldn't go further until he noticed a big hand scanner above it, glowing blue.
"Unless there's a plug for one of my cords or a ladder, I need to find that hand." Backing away he looked down at both halls he saw on the way in and soon walked down to the Gift Shop. Passing broken glass and a poster of an orange and yellow brontosaurus named Bron, he pushed open the double door and entered. Looking around he saw a counter with a broken toy, a big image of a blue cat with a gift on the wall, and near empty shelves with opened and beaten-up boxes of toys.
What caught his eye though was an active green toy train that was circling right above him with a pink, yellow, and red cart behind it. Seeing nothing useful, he leaves the Gift Shop and heads off to the Security Room. Passing a row of wavy seats with a broken toy and a poster of Poppy, he stops right at the door leading into Security with a Staff Only sign above. Player was about to push open the two doors but halted when he spotted a control panel next to it.
Other than the reset button, all the other buttons on the panel were of different colors, which were oddly familiar to him. With a hunch, he pressed four buttons in order: green, pink, yellow, and red. After they were put in, the sliding doors activated and opened, allowing entry to the room. Inside he saw another old TV with a blue VHS, several blue chairs, some computers, and many miniature TVs connected to the security cams that are off. It didn't take long for him to spot an anomalous gizmo behind a transparent trap door, and it has a blue hand big enough for the scanner.
Noticing that the VHS Player is plugged into the wall above the trap door, he turns to the table on the left and sees a blue videotape on top of it with the label: GrabPack Training. "Better than nothing." With no delay, he grabs the tape and pops it into the VHS, pressing play. Looking at the screen he watched as the screen turned on, showing the logo and name of Playtime Co. with a purple grid background.
As the name on the tape suggests, it presented him with an animated design of the GrabPack. The gadget was yellow, blue, and red with two shoulder straps, two cannons depicted as forearms, a red & blue hand, and a hollowed-out cylinder. Said cylinder shows to contain a very long cord on the inside that connects to both hands.
The training video begins showing the 15-year-old how to put on the GrabPack and utilize it such as grabbing certain items or conducting electricity. All except the warning that it can kill somebody, amazed Player. Considering the situation he's in now, it may be useful the further he goes into the toy factory. Just as the video was coming to an end, requesting he'd use the GrabPack responsibly, sparks shot from behind the VHS, breaking it.
"Seriously?" Player questioned, knowing now he has to improvise. Taking off his backpack, he opens it and takes out his multi-cord along with his laptop, which he took out of its protective case. Turning it on and plugging the multi-cord into it and the outlet the VHS once occupied he started hacking the trap door's control mechanism. "A machine this old should take about a minute or so to get working."
As he speculated, it took him over a minute to get through and take temporary control of the translucent door. "Aaannd...There!" With one tap of the enter key, the trap door opened up. "Hack complete." Player put his stuff back in his backpack the way he had them and picks up the GrabPack. After inspecting it he slipped his arms through the straps and tightened them on like in the training video. Raising the two cannons he noticed the gadget was missing something.
"Where's the red hand?" Player looks where he got the GrabPack and back at the gadget itself, reaching into the nub of the right cannon and pulling out one end of the cord. With a shrug, releasing the cord he turns his attention to his backpack, looking at it and the GrabPack. Coming to a conclusion, he puts on his backpack in front of his body. "It looks ridiculous, but I can't leave my things behind." He turns to the hall and heads back to the foyer. Getting over the ticket barriers, he saw the head of that robot toy, Boogie Bot, surrounded by dark splatters.
Seeing no trail of the dried substance, he turns back at the hand scanner. Knowing now it was for the GrabPack, he aimed the blue hand at it and pressed the trigger, launching it toward the scanner. Latching onto the scanner he held the trigger down until the steel barrier activated and raised. Entering the hall he read the sign from above along with the one inside the hub room. "Welcome to...Playtime Co..." His voice died down as his eyes locked with another pair.
Focusing away from the other eyes he saw they belong to a waving blue statue that was either waving or holding the sign above it. By its appearance alone he can tell it was the same creature from the painting on the lobby wall. Down around its feet were large letter blocks and boxes containing a toy version of it. Seeing the plaque in front of the statue, he walked over and read it thoroughly.
"Huggy Wuggy...Founder Elliot Ludwig...Popular and best-selling toy so far." Player glances up at the statue, known as Huggy Wuggy. "...I can see why." Backing away he looked at each of the signs above the doors he has yet to enter. There was Power, Gaming, Innovation, Theater, and the Cafeteria.
As nice as it would be to play games, watch a movie, or grab some snacks that haven't staled, he needs to find whoever contacted him. Glancing at the door with another blue scanner, he aimed and launched the hand onto it...Only for the scanner to shut down with sparks emitting and traveling from its wire into the Power Room.
Just as he was about to check the Power door, he heard the chime of something hitting the floor. "Huh?" Turning around, he spotted something yellow and shiny near the Huggy Wuggy statue. Confused and curious, Player looked at the blue hand of his GrabPack and launched it at the yellow object on the floor. Dropping it into his hand he can see it was a key with a triangular bow that matched the shape beneath the room's name.
Taking a couple of steps over, he unlocks the door with the key and enters the short and narrow hallway right into the Power Room. While confused by the numerous unlabeled drawers in the room he saw a copper rod with a circular coil at the top with a glass bulb on the inside. It was linked to an exposed circuit box trapped in a rusted metal cage. Walking further in he locates another rod that's near a poster of a pink variant of Huggy and shortly finds a small door with a high voltage warning above.
Not wanting to get electrocuted, he pulls on the door from its orange handle with the GrabPack. Suddenly the door ripped off its hinges, making the teen leap out of the way of the oncoming door. Looking up he sees the electric transmitter he uncovered. Remembering from the training video he grabs the transmitter with the GrabPack and pulls it back. Following what to do he wraps the now glowing cord on both rods all the way back to the circuit box, turning back on the power.
"There, now-" He stops and jumps in shock as the cheery music of Huggy Wuggy played in the hub room, echoing all the way into the Power Room. Running back inside, Player looked around only to see that Huggy Wuggy was missing from the room. Not the toys lying around in their boxes, but the statue that stood in the middle of the room.
In Player's skittish mind, he had three hypotheses as to what could've happened while he wasn't looking. 1. Huggy Wuggy was taken away by a psycho that's starting to mess with him. 2. Huggy Wuggy is alive and is currently exploring the factory. And 3. Huggy was only a figment of his imagination. Either way, it doesn't help him feel better about this situation.
Hurrying up, he launches the blue hand at the scanner to power it up. With the door open he entered and walked down the hallway, passing a poster of the toy, Candy Cat, and a sign above saying: Make A Friend. "Okay, keep it together...It's nothing to worry about..." Player muttered sternly with his eyes closed, missing the arm of a familiar toy slipping through an ajar door. The same door the 15-year-old opened right after and entered.
After walking down the dimly lit hallway full of hissing and steaming pipes, he enters what looks to be a part of a storehouse, judging by the boxes and carts. Going over to the stairs leading to another floor, he spots another TV but with a yellow VHS this time. As repetitive as this might become, he wants to find these VCRs. He wants to know and understand what's been going on in this facility. Up the stairs and down the steel catwalk he sees a control panel for a large crane, next to a Huggy poster for 10-minute breaks.
Before checking the panel, Player notices a glass case on a conveyor belt on the opposite wall. "Is that..." He peered closely and became wide-eyed. "The red hand!" He was pleased to see the missing piece of the gadget, especially since he was going to need it for those hand scanners below. Bringing his attention to the panel, he sees that there were power blocks in three of the four slots. Regrettably, the blue one is missing.
Knowing it must be here in the warehouse, Player stares down below from where they would be a railing, which seems to have been torn off. Dropping down onto a knee he gets up and starts looking around from under a conveyor belt, in carts, pipes, and behind boxes. It wasn't until he noticed a bluish glow coming from in between a standing and knocked-over shelf. Going behind it he found the blue power block and picked it up. Before leaving he also spots a yellow videotape on the shelf labeled: Security Camera: Rich Avery and grabs it.
Over to the large sliding door leading back to the room he entered, he pulls it to the side and heads over to the TV. Placing the tape into the VHS Player and hitting play, the teen watched as the screen turns on to display the crane illuminated in the darkness. "Rich, where are they keeping the Huggy boxes?" The voice of a male asked Avery who answers. "I don't know, I couldn't tell ya. Remember when maintenance last did a sweep of this place?" He asked, getting a chuckle from the male worker. "No..."
"Exactly! Nobody in this stupid company knows what they're doing." Avery lets out a groan. "I swear I haven't seen a single box in this place since we started flooding the storehouse with orphanage junk." The worker agrees with him. "Right..." Hearing how he replied, Avery tells him. "I get it, it's a nice program and all, on-brand." He lets out another groan. "It's just hard to be happy about it when manufacturing is on our necks about it...Because we can't find stupid Huggy boxes!"
"Rich..." Hearing the worker, Avery sighed. "You're right, you're right. It's...It's for the orphans...I just wish there were less boxes. Anything less would be more habitable." He then wondered. "Is...Is that even a word? Habitable?" With that, the tape came to an end.
"So some of the employees were cluttered with too much work and treated poorly unlike others. And they blame those operating Playtime Co. for the conditions they work in...Yet they choose to keep working here to help orphans?" Speculated Player, rubbing his chin. First brutal security and now poor treatment? What type of corporation does this? "I'm going to need a notebook after this." With that, he went back up to the catwalk where the control panel was and began reuniting the blue power block back with the red, yellow, and green power blocks. Before connecting it, Player felt as if he was being watched.
With a quick glance at the blue conveyor belt door closest to him, he spots a blue blur that immediately obscured itself with the door covered in warning signs. Feeling dread returning to him, he immediately attached the blue power block to the panel, making the crane get the red hand automatically for him. "Come on...Come on!" Player reached to acquire the box, only for the claw to let go, dropping it below, and breaking the case open. With a sigh he drops down and collects the red hand, attaching it to the right cannon.
Remembering there were two scanners above the one door back in the hub room he looks back at the door that leads back to the dull hall. "I gotta go back to the other room." With a swift turn of his heel, he rushed toward the door and reaches for the handle, only to grab air. "What?" Looking down he sees that the handle is missing, including the button that would unlock the door.
This would've left ramming the door down as the only option until he looked through the rectangular window. Instead of seeing the dark hall, he saw parts of the large colored blocks from earlier. Someone had blocked him in...No pun intended. And judging by the size and material of the blocks, they were heavy, so any attempts to ram the door down is a no-go.
Player sighed and banged his fist against the door out of frustration. After a moment, he glances at the conveyor belt door that has the red & blue scanners. "Guess I don't have much of a choice." Gripping the cannons he made it over to the door and launches both hands at their scanners. When the door raised, he wasted no time and crawls in, ignoring the warnings that were on the door. Sliding down the incline of this narrow area, he lands on his feet and skids up to another conveyor belt door.
Seeing it isn't opening and a circuit box on the left that's like the previous one, he looks around the narrow space and finds a rod and electric transmitter. Having confirmed his suspicions, Player knew what to do and climbed up a raised segment of the conveyor belts. He latched the red hand to the transmitter and went down on the left side. Having made sure the wire touched the rod he walked to the circuit box and touched it with the blue hand.
Not only has this powered the door to open, but it also made the conveyor belt activate. Balancing himself, Player watched as he was led down the narrow space and is showered by toy parts with the torso of a Cat-Bee hitting his head. "Ow!" Rubbing the top of his head he glares at the parts as he reaches a turn. "For kid toys, they hurt like-!" Having reached the end Player found himself falling forward toward a shard of glass.
"Whoa!" On instinct, he threw his arms forward, but from gripping the GrabPack cannon handles, the red & blue hands caught his fall. They broke the glass and from the weight of his backpack, made him flip back onto his feet at the bend of his knees. "I'm...Gonna be sore later..." Left frozen by the many muscles he pulled, Player took this moment to inspect the room he was in now.
It was huge, roughly the same size as the storehouse, maybe even more, and very rusty on the metal walls and pipes too. On the left, there are three giant machines, including one that looks like a cat nearest to him. They each have a pair of eyes, and a mouth that the conveyor belt enters or exits, and are in a different shape or color. On the right is a stairway leading up to a catwalk above that has what provides power to the machines. There's also a door with a steel barrier with a sign of Huggy with his arms around the phrase: Nobody Leaves Without A Toy! Underneath is a red arrow pointing toward a podium device. And in the center, there's a large blue circle with a plaque and a power panel with a screen and a red button.
Taking a deep breath, Player stood straight, cracking the joints in his body, and checked the plaque talking about the machine in front of him. "Make-A-Friend 1960...Creative, impressive, and advanced...Responsible for nearly every toy marketed...Fed proper parts it'll paint, assemble and do a quality inspection...Can do all that...What do they mean more?" He raised a brow and looks at the door the conveyor belt continues to. Looking at the panel now the screen informs that it needs power to activate Make-A-Friend.
"I can't continue without a toy..." Player told himself before going toward the stairs. Before going up to them he noticed another poster that says, "Fostering Happiness", which didn't have a Playtime Co. character this time. Instead, it has the arm of an adult and child grasping each other's hand with a star asking to adopt an orphan today. Looking below the arms a summary states that Playtime Co. recruited adoptive and foster parents, and encouraged employees to adopt an orphan child. That it would help children around the world to get a chance at a new life.
Player felt thankful yet sorry for the orphans at the same time. Thankful that some of them managed to get a new home and family of their own. And sorry that some had either lost a parent or ended up becoming orphans again after the staff who adopted them disappeared. Nothing can be done to help them now, but if the staff are still alive, there could be a chance to fix that.
Continuing on, he heads up the stairs and comes to another TV and a pink VHS, thankfully a pink VCR lies on the shelf beneath labeled: Stella Graybur Interview. Putting it in the VHS, Player pays attention to the screen, seeing a woman's hand come to view as the audio plays. "So Stella...What made you want to work at the Playtime Co. Factory?" The voice belonging to a male questioned Graybur in a stern tone, interviewing her.
"Playing with toys when I was young was so magical." Graybur began jovially. "I could go straight from my bedroom floor to anywhere in the world. It was such a great feeling...And being able to work at a toy factory, somewhere that can provide kids with that same experience, that's a pretty great feeling too." She let out a laugh of joy and adds. "Sometimes though I really, really wish I could go back...To being a kid I mean." She clarified. "And it's weird because adults are just like kids, but older. I don't think anybody really feels like an adult, but your body just gets older and older...And then you die."
Graybur paused as if reflecting on her words about the human body as it ages. "Poof!" She cheered herself with a slight giggle and continues. "Human bodies just can't stay young forever. There's things though. Like some trees that can stay alive even while being way older than a person. I mean the oldest people to ever live are still younger than those. So I guess everyone is young relative to something...Right?" After she asked, the male interviewing her chuckled and tells her. "Alright, I think we're getting a little off track." Just like the previous tape, it has come to an end.
"Imagination...The feeling that never dies." Player comprehends what Graybur meant. Being a kid is the time for the youth to develop into what they want to be with their minds and toys. Though after they've matured past their childhood there'll be a time they want to go back and be the kids they used to be. Relive the lives they had the most joy out of...Even though it's impossible for humanity to accomplish. Yet, it's not too late for them to pass this on to children who haven't gotten the full experience.
"I can only hope that you were spared." The 15-year-old directed toward Graybur on the TV before going to the steel catwalk right above the floor he was on. Walking and pulling a movable segment or two of the steel catwalk, he began surveying what was up here with him. "Circuit box, two rods, and an electric transmitter, just like before." Analyzing how to activate the power back to the room and the Make-A-Friend, Player began to move.
Walking back over to the transmitter he latches the blue hand to it and uses the red hand to pull the 2nd catwalk segment toward him. Using it to walk over between the two rods, avoiding the bars holding the steel catwalk up he walked over to the circuit box and pulled the catwalk segment back. After tangling the GrabPack's wire around the two rods, he steps over to the circuit and applies the red hand, powering the room.
Looking at the power panel below, he sees the screen above the button now states it's ready to power on. Glancing at the steps and at the orange handle at the end of the catwalk segment. Grabbing the orange handle he takes a deep breath and leaps off the catwalk. "Hup!" Player let out as the wire of the GrabPack lowered him back to the floor below. With his feet touching the ground he made the GrabPack let go, allowing him to walk to the power panel.
Pressing the button, Player looked up at the Make-A-Friend and watched as the eyes belonging to three of the four large components of the machine opened. Immediately the one in the middle locked onto the teen, staring down at him due to his size, sending slight chills down his spine. "It's looking at me...Like it's alive."
Turning to the left he sees three levers, belonging to the toy conveyors, glow. "Alright...Time to make a toy." With the use of the GrabPack, he grabs each of the three levers and pulled, dropping the untextured limbs, body, tail, head, and eyes of a Cat-Bee toy. All that was left is to watch as the parts go through each mouth belonging to the Make-A-Friend. The 1st part brought the parts inside the machine. The 2nd had given a different type of color to each of the parts. 3rd connected the parts together into one, completing the two. And the last one scanned the toy for inspection, which it had succeeded.
Before the toy could reach the door the belt was leading it toward, Player grabbed it. "No-no-no, you're coming with me." He brings the Bee-Cat toy over to the small podium near the steel barrier and places it there. The device activates and begins scanning the toy, until it gave the green, accepting the toy, and making it vanish. As confusing as that was, he ignored it and went down the short hall...Only to begin backing out of it seconds after with an alarm going off.
Soon following were two long blue arms that stretched out and grabbed the frame of the door, menacingly. Just then its head popped out from the frame, revealing to be what Player had thought was a Huggy Wuggy statue. No...He now knows this Huggy Wuggy was alive, looking at him, smiling wide, revealing three rows of sharp teeth.
Player was silent out of fear, shocked at what he was seeing in front of him right now. It shouldn't be real, it should've been fake, but there's nothing to prove it. Huggy had no strings attached, his limbs were too sluggish for him to be an Animatronic, and drool was oozing from his mouth.
"Not possible-not possible!" That thought repeated in Player's mind. Frantically he looks around for a way to escape until he sees that the door the Cat-Bee was going toward had opened with a red alarm above. Without a waste of time, he ran toward it and jumped in before it closed, separating him from Huggy. Rolling down the conveyor belt through the narrow space he gets up and runs, wanting to get away from the hostile toy as fast as possible.
Going down he spots Huggy Wuggy already on his tail on the other side of these large vents, making Player hurry. Going up an angle, he sees a light at the end, only for it to be obscured by Huggy Wuggy. "Ah!" The teen turns to a right intersection and hurries down a few curves, ignoring the words written on the walls telling him to turn back and stop. This made him go faster, going through more turns, elevations, and intersections until he jumped through a hole, big enough for him to squeeze through.
He took no break and continues until the way he was gonna go shut on him, just as Huggy approached him from the junction opposite from where he came from. Wasting no time, Player began banging his arm against the door, trying to ram it as Huggy closes in. When he was a few feet away, the door opened, allowing the teen to sprint. This leads him to another stretch full of colorful writing with the belts trying to send him back to Huggy.
Running faster, Player flies down another hill and out of the narrow space into a pile of packages. Panting from all the running, he turns to the door he flew out of and noticed a crate on a belt above it. Knowing he has no choice, he grabs the crate with both GrabPack hands and pulls as Huggy emerges from the door. He leaped at Player, only for the crate to land on top of him and take out the conveyor belt.
Player landed on the steel catwalk that was below him and watched as Huggy slipped off and plummeted down into the abyss below, hitting a few things along the way. Huggy Wuggy also left a few splatters that're all too familiar to Player. "Blood...He was bleeding?" Memories of the broken and discarded toys he passed that were covered in a dark substance came back to him...Those splatters were blood...The toy's blood.
"...What have they been doing in this factory?"
At this point, the chances of finding the workers that vanished are now thin. Getting up he turned opposite where he entered and saw a familiar red sight not far from him. "The flower from the tape...I-I made it." Not wanting to wait any longer above this death pit, Player headed toward the painting. The moment he reached a T-intersection, he spotted a black videotape that almost blended in with this atmosphere. Picking it up, he noticed it was missing a title.
"Blank?" Turning to the right he spots VHS at the end, connected to a TV held by a large metal pole. Deciding to take a quick look, he goes to it and carefully placed the tape in, wanting to avoid losing it. Having pressed play, he watched as the screen turned on and showed only a metal hand with lengthy claws as the calm voice of a male is heard.
"Final log. In relation: Experiment 1-0-0-6, The Prototype. Coordination and cooperation is evidently within his skillset...As well as the skillset of all other experiments of his type...Though still missing, today's events are no doubt in relation to him. His absence was a flaw in the scientific process, which should have under no circumstances been left unaccounted for. That's why I'm making this log. So that the same mistake won't be made twice. Any future experiments will need to be contained and disposed of in a secure location."
Suddenly there were the sounds of banging and screaming beginning in the background from behind a door in the tape as the male resumed. "I'm not worried about myself. One Breakthrough and I'll be back. We must forge onwards in the way of science. Whether those who are beneath us understand it or not. End of-" Suddenly the tape cuts off before he could finish.
"Experiment 1-0-0-6...The Prototype." Muttered Player. "Whatever it is, could it have been the cause of..." It then hit him. "Wait, there are more?!" Realizing he's been roaming a building full of these giant toys of death, he rushed his way to the door in the center of the painted Poppy Flower. He's not sure why, but if there's any place in the factory that's safe, it's there. Passing the many hanging toys that he originally thought were ornaments from the tape, he reached the old door made of wood.
Around it were arrows pointing away from the door with words like "No", "Stop", "Run", and "Danger" labeled all around it. Either something is now inhabiting behind that door or this was a tactic to scare away the toys that were lurking around for a new target. With an inhale and exhale, Player turned the knob and opened the door, entering and closing the door from behind. Opening his eyes, he was amazed at what he saw.
Unlike the other areas he's been to in Playtime Co. this place looks exactly like a home from the lights, wooden floorboards, and Poppy Flower wallpaper. "Whoa..." Going further in, Player went down the stairs of the long hall and made it to the bottom, coming up to a room. In it, besides the wall with the 3 wooden grid windows, there was a divan in the corner on the right with blue cushions and pillows. On the right there's a large cabinet, likely containing clothes, it's also near a pink and white dollhouse. Opposite the dollhouse was a toybox, a shelf of library books, and red, blue, and green pillows.
"This is supposed to be like a playroom mixed with a bedroom." He thought to himself of the sight, but those thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a music box that started flooding the air. Listening closely he noticed it was coming from the end of the other hall, which glowed an ominous red at the end.
Coming to the double doors, Player put his ear against the door, listening closely. There was no breathing or footsteps on the other side, just the sound of music and the light rotating. Grabbing the knobs, he turned them slowly and opened the double doors, pushing them open quietly. Inside the square-shaped room, there was more furniture. Another cabinet, toybox, pillows, a table with a cover, and a big rectangular case in the center of the room with a figure inside.
Wait, what?
Player focused his concentration on the case that was in the middle of the room, facing him with the light above. Getting a closer look through the glass, he was shocked to see what it was.
Inside the case was a Poppy Playtime doll. She has crimson red hair & curly pigtails, dressed in a blue & white dress, white socks, black shoes, and 5 blue bows. She also has red lipstick and blemishes too, but...She's not the same size as the doll as the one in the commercial. This Poppy in this case had more slightly elevated arms, legs, and body that made her 3 feet and 8 inches in height, about a foot away from Player.
"Is she..." Player squinted and saw that this Poppy was breathing but at a remarkably slow rate, surprising him. "She's alive..." Unlike when he was around Huggy Wuggy, feeling tension before and after he moved, Poppy has the opposite effect, he feels at ease around her. This along with the commercial videotape made him wonder. "Could it be..."
Trailing off, he decided to try and get her attention to confirm his assumption. Raising his hand he taps the back of it against the glass. "Hello? Uh...Poppy?" She didn't budge a bit from that. It was made clear she isn't aware of his presence, that or the case is keeping her in a deep sleep, like a cryogenic chamber.
Looking at the handle of the case, Player grabbed it. "Okay..." After mentally counting down to himself, he pulls the handle, opening the front of the case with a hiss. Immediately Poppy opened her eyes and blinked a few times before making eye contact with Player. "...You opened my case." Hearing her soft yet surprised tone, Player felt relief but kept up his guard.
He watched as Poppy looked at the floor and takes her first step out of the case. As she was about to take her 2nd step, she groaned out of weariness and fell forward. With a gasp, the teen stepped forward and caught her before she could drop to the floor, now holding her bridal style as she had passed out. All Player could do is look at the unconscious Poppy in shock.