CHAPTER 8: The Hour of Joy

The lift brought Koa and DogDay back to the Gas Production Zone. The gate opened to let them out, but before DogDay could get them out of the lift, Koa's phone rang again. Koa pulled out the phone and answered it.

"Wow! You did it!" Ollie said with amazement. "You must feel pretty good! With CatNap dead, you're one big step closer to the Prototype! One step closer to winning!" Ollie's voice shifted from celebration to a more serious tone, "you've made your choice. You're staying to help Poppy. Well, finish the job! This win is yours."

Before Koa could say anything, Ollie disconnected the call. Koa wasn't sure how to feel with how Ollie finished the call. DogDay could tell she was uncomfortable but decided not to press the issue. Instead, he carried Koa to where she dropped the large battery when CatNap attacked her. He helped her plug it into its outlet and pressed the button on the console to restart the power. Then he carried her to the controller for the machine that made the Red Smoke. Koa was able to hit the large button to redirect the gas into the left pipe of the machine. Slowly, the gas rerouted to the left pipe, and the machine shut down as it drained the power.

Once the job was done, DogDay noticed a door on the opposite side of the room and carried Koa to it. Once they were in the room, Poppy could be heard nearby.

"Good, you're here," she said with a relieved sigh. "And you've done it again: The impossible. Just like I knew you would. CatNap's gone… the Red Smoke is diverted… you've even saved DogDay! Everything is falling into place… thanks to you." When she finished her sentence, a large hatch in the center of the room lifted up. Poppy then spoke again, but her tone then shifted from relief to pity. "But if we are to keep going then…" she paused. "Then you deserve to have the truth." Poppy then appeared on a high shelf, holding a red VHS tape.

"What do you mean? What truth?" Koa asked in exhausted suspicion. Koa wasn't in the mood for any more surprises, and she was too tired to deal with more trauma.

"You came back because of your co-workers, " Poppy reminded Koa, and that immediately caught her attention. "You wanna know what happened. And why. This…" she held up the VHS tape higher, "this is your answer. We called it…. 'The Hour of Joy.'"

As Poppy walked over to the VHS player, DogDay spoke up, "Poppy, wait." Poppy stopped before she placed the tape in the player and looked over at him. "I don't think she should see this, Poppy. The battle with CatNap was too hard on her. Maybe we should-"

"No, DogDay," Koa interrupted. "It's okay. I need to know. I need to know what happened. Please."

"Are you sure, Angel? You've already been through a lot." DogDay asked, concerned.

"It's okay," Koa reassured. She looked up at Poppy and nodded. Poppy nodded back and placed in the tape. DogDay carried Koa over to the TV that broadcasted the tape, 'The Hour of Joy.'

The film started in the main lobby, where Huggy Wuggy stood. Everyone was going about their business. All of a sudden, Huggy started attacking everyone in the lobby. The scene cut to the Game Station, where Mommy Long-Legs was chasing a few employees. She wrapped her long arm around a few employees and carried them to the ceiling. The screen then showed those employees falling to their deaths.

The scene cut again to a man falling backwards down a flight of steps, a bunch of Mini Critters and Mini Huggies mauling him. The scene cut again to a hallway. A man was running from a few Miss Delight teachers, and was cornered in a room when more teachers came at him from the other way. The next scene was an area of the factory Koa didn't recognize, but immediately guessed it was in the tunnels of the train tracks, as Kissy Missy was strapped to a large wooden plank on the train. A few workers were around her. The next second, Kissy broke free from her restraints and attacked the workers, fleeing down the tracks once they were dead.

The scene cuts again to another hallway, with a jack-in-the-box toy Koa knew as Boxy Boo, eating an employee whole then running down the hallway, leaving several severed corpses behind him. The scene cuts again to Playcare, with CatNap stalking the orphanage, corpses littered the floor and CatNap threw a man towards the staircase to the Counselor's Office.

The scene cuts to the Build-A-Friend room in the factory, the floor covered in corpses. The scene cut again to the Game Station, even more corpses every square inch in the room. The scene cuts again to Playcare, riddled with mutilated corpses. The final scene shows a few corpses in the back room where Koa found the graffiti poppy flower that led Koa to the room where she found Poppy.

The TV went black. Koa trembled with shock, fear, and grief. She slid off DogDay to the floor, staring at the blank TV screen in complete shock. DogDay rubbed her back in comfort. "I'm so sorry, Angel. I'm so, so sorry."

I could've been there! Koa thought. I would've been there! Mom was right! That bear attack was a blessing in disguise! I would've been killed too!

"I remember hearing every moment of it," Poppy said quietly. Koa and DogDay looked up at her. "It went on so long… so agonizingly long. They tried to hide. To run. Anything to stay alive. I remember their cries…" Poppy's voice started to crack as she remembered the horrors of that day. "'What's going on?' 'Why is this happening?' 'What are those things?'"

Koa looked away from Poppy. Trying to process what Poppy was saying. DogDay wrapped his arms around Koa to support her.

Poppy sniffled sadly before continuing, her voice becoming angry. "Senseless slaughter… that's all it really was. They killed everyone… the guilty. The Innocent. Didn't matter. All that death… didn't fix anything! And then, once it was all over… they dragged those corpses down below where they'd never be found. And they…. ATE the bodies to stay alive!"

Just then, Kissy Missy entered the room from a side door and walked over to Poppy, who angrily stated, "The Prototype has to die! For this! For everything!"

Kissy lifted her paws for Poppy to walk on, then she carried Poppy over to the lift under the open hatch and placed her in. DogDay helped Koa onto his back and crawled to the lift. Kissy stood by as Poppy gently spoke to her, "soon as we reach the bottom, we'll send the lift back up. Just hold tight, okay." Kissy gave a quick nod and walked over to the control panel for the lift. Poppy looked to DogDay and Koa, "after you." With that, DogDay carried Koa into the lift.

Once everyone was settled on the lift, Kissy switched the lever to send the lift down to the lower levels. Koa crawled off of DogDay, who helped her sit up against the rail.

Poppy then looked back at both of them and said, "alright, once we hit the ground, we need to be cautious. There's something-"

Poppy was cut off when all three of them heard Kissy roar and scream, making her, DogDay and Koa look back up to where Kissy was.

"What the-"

"Woah!"

"What?"

DogDay, Koa, and Poppy said simultaneously.

"What is she doing?" Poppy asked. "This isn't-"

Poppy was cut off again when Kissy screamed again. Realization hit them all like a ton of bricks. Kissy was being attacked!

"No no no…. NO! WE'RE COMING! JUST HOLD ON!" Poppy yelled for Kissy, switching a lever to send the lift back up. But the lift was moving too slow. Far too slow.

"Come on! Come on! Go faster!" Poppy begged the lift. Koa and DogDay whimpered in concern for Kissy. Koa tried to arm her Grab-Pack with the flare gun, but Kissy's screams started to fade and the hatch to the lift was closing on them!

"KISSY!!" Poppy screamed. Then the hatched closed on Poppy, Koa, and DogDay, trapping them in the dark.

Koa has finally learned the truth about what had happened to her co-workers all those years ago. They had died brutal deaths at the hands of the toys of Playtime Co., who were following the commands of the Prototype.

On their way to confront the Prototype, however, ally and friend Kissy Missy has been attacked, and they were too late to save her.

What happens now?

As stated before, the Prototype took advantage of the toys' desperation and hatred, as well as the fact that the scientists made sure that the toys were obedient to commands. But instead of saving everyone from the neglect and torment of the scientists, it only made things worse for everyone, and the toys started turning on each other in desperate attempts to survive.

Science is flawed and will always be flawed. You simply should not toy around (no pun intended) with these things. It will turn on you before you can even blink.