The artificial sunlight from the ridiculously high ceiling was streaming down, illuminating everything around them. The temperature was perfect. The turf felt soft. It was a perfect day.

Theodore had been in his new body, under his new name, for about five years now. CatNap, the children called him. He was their protector now. He helped them sleep at night. He gave them nightmares. He was forced to help the villains, who called themselves 'doctors', take them away.

When he had been human, Theodore hadn't much cared for the other children. They teased him, provoked him, made him angry. However, now, in his new form, many of them had come to like him quite a bit. He was unsure if he liked most of them back, but he certainly cared about them. After all, they had no idea of the horrors that they lived beside every day. The had no clue of their purpose in existing at Playcare. Sure, some would eventually be adopted by loving families. But in reality, most never would. Regardless, they were all test subjects in one way or another. Every single one of them.

In the end, that was what had warmed Theodore to them over the years. He and they were not as different as he had believed when he was human. They were all trapped in the same web of lies and blood. Abused by the people meant to keep them safe.

Theodore's favorite of the children didn't live at the Playcare at all, however. He was the son of one of the doctors. One of the evil, mean, nasty doctors that had twisted Theodore into the feline-shaped monster that he had become.

Grayson Hoyt was nothing like his father. Shy and sweet and thoughtful, the boy had never done anything to harm Theodore. He wouldn't dream of it. Before Theodore had been chosen for Experiment 1188, Grayson had been his very best friend. And even now, he considered him his best human friend.

Grayson had no idea of the mistreatment and terrors that had befallen Theodore. He was simply CatNap to him now. To tell the boy what had become of his closest friend would have put him in extreme danger. Some might think that Dr. Hoyt wound not allow harm to come to his own son. Theodore knew of the doctor's cruelty, however. He knew otherwise.

That day, the two of them were curled up in the grass, as Grayson read aloud from a book he had brought with him. Theodore listened intently, his head in the boy's lap. They were both twelve years old now.

In the distance, Theodore could see DogDay, another victim of experimentation, playing soccer with several children. DogDay was based on another toy from the same line as CatNap. Almost a counterpart to the monstrosity that Theodore had become, but canine in nature, with golden fur and soft, floppy ears. Theodore liked DogDay. He was friendly and mild-mannered. He had never asked who he had been in a prior life. Some of the toy experiments didn't even remember.

Theodore appreciated DogDay taking over playing, as he had wanted to spent some one-on-one time with Grayson. It was going to be the last time they ever saw one another.

"So, you're…absolutely sure you're…staying with your Aunt Molly…tomorrow?" Theodore rasped in his low, static voice. He didn't talk much, unless it was around Grayson. The scientists had damaged his voice box during surgery and he tended to frighten many of the children when he spoke. Grayson, however, had never seemed to mind.

"Yeah," Grayson nodded. He stayed with his aunt, instead of coming to work with his father on days that Dr. Hoyt would be in the labs all day, unable to check on his son and his schoolwork.

Between the school at playcare, Dr. Hoyt, and his Aunt Molly, Grayson was considered homeschooled. It was another reason that he did not have many friends, aside from Theodore. Besides at Playcare, he hadn't been afforded much opportunity to make any.

"Why? Did you want me to see if I could come to Playcare instead?" Grayson asked.

"No," Theodore denied, a little more adamantly than he had intended. "They…need me in the labs tomorrow…so I wouldn't be able to see you. I…just wanted…to make sure I wouldn't miss you…if you came."

It was a lie. It was an obvious lie. He had asked Grayson the same question no less than five times over the last week. But he had to make sure. If Theodore and the others were going to gain their freedom and take their revenge, he did not want Grayson as collateral. He didn't want any of the children as collateral, but Grayson was the one human he would not tolerate anyone harming under any circumstance. He couldn't be present. Theodore needed to make sure that he was safe.

It was unlikely that Grayson would ever find out what they had been planning. Theodore wondered if he would hate him if he ever did.

Theodore planned on killing Grayson's father, himself. He wanted to tear out Dr. Hoyt's throat with the claws that the man had forcefully given to him. To watch him bleed out and realize that, in truth, he had become victim to his own ego. That an agonizing death was the consequence for helping to take the life of his son's best friend. For helping to take the lives of all of the experiments.

They would all die, Theodore knew. Even the ones who knew nothing about the experiments. They couldn't discriminate. They didn't know every single employee that had insider knowledge. They couldn't be certain which ones did not. And they couldn't risk letting a single guilty party escape. Yes, some innocents would die. But it would be worth it, if it meant freeing them all from the torture that they had been forced to call home for so long.

They were planning a full-scale riot. It had been The Prototype's idea. His wonderful, compassionate, clever friend, The Prototype. The one who had suffered the most, who had tried to help Theodore escape, who had saved his life at his own detriment, and who understood best what needed to be done. The moment he had crept into Theodore's cell the month prior, whispering to him of his brilliant plan, Theodore was all in.

They would wait until late morning, when the highest number of staff were sure to be present. Then, they would strike. They would tear through the labs, the prison, the warehouses, anywhere where their fellow toys were being held against their will. They would free everyone from their cages, and kill any adults that they encountered. They would flood the hallways, unleash the rage that had been building up inside of them for years, and show the villains who had taken them and twisted them into monsters how grave of a mistake they had really made.

Then, they would move the orphans to a bunker to keep them safe, away from the carnage and misery. They were all innocent, after all.

Theodore had never been more sure of anything in his life. He had no doubt that they could do it. He was beyond ready to take his revenge in full.

The only thing he regretted, was knowing that afterwards, he would never see Grayson again.

The Prototype had sympathized with Theodore, but assured him that this was in Grayson's best interest, as well. Ridding him of his evil father and keeping him far away from the factory, which would from then on be full of decay and made anew, into a sanctuary for the experiments left behind, was better for his development. His father would go missing. This would be difficult, but he would avoid trauma, otherwise.

Theodore knew that he would always worry about Grayson, and wonder what had become of him. He knew that he would never be able to see him again, or tell him what he had done, or how much he had meant to him, and how much he always would. And he worried that it would eat at him, slowly, until there was nothing left of him but the monster that Dr. Hoyt and Dr. Sawyer had made him into.

He was absolutely certain that he would yearn for him every day of his existence until he died.

"I wrote another letter to Theo last night," Grayson said, pulling Theodore from his worried, bloody thoughts. I have over one hundred now. Dad still won't tell me where he went. He still hasn't written to me…or tried to reach out at all. I'm…starting to lose hope. It's been five years."

"Oh, Gray…" Theodore soothed. His stomach flipped, nervously, as it always did when Grayson spoke of his old, human self. The boy missed him terribly, and Theodore longed to be able to comfort him.

"I think he was my first crush, y'know. I think I…I think I liked him more than a friend," Grayson admitted, voice becoming quiet, cheeks flushing slightly. "But I think maybe he didn't like me as much as I liked him, or he would have called or written to me by now. He was always a little stand-offish. Grumpy. Maybe...maybe he was just putting up with me all that time, I don't know."

Theodore's heart skipped a beat. He felt a thick weight in his chest. Grief. Longing. Pining for what he could have had. What he knew then that he could never even dream of.

He wanted to say something, anything, to make Grayson feel better, but he didn't know what. He didn't know how. He wished that he could tell him that he was wrong, that Theo did like him back, that he had always liked him, that he would always love him. That he did love him. He wanted to tell Grayson that it was all going to be alright, that everything would work out, that perhaps one day Grayson and Theodore would see each other again. But he knew they would be empty words. Straight up lies. He was CatNap now. He couldn't change the past.

He hated knowing that he was partially the cause of that pain. He wanted nothing more than to wipe it away, to take it all back. The Prototype's plan was the closest he could ever get to that now. To stop it from happening to anyone else ever again.

"You...are amazing, Grayson. You'll find...more friends...someone to love...I promise. It won't always be...like this," Theodore said.

"You think so?" Grayson asked, his eyes hopeful.

Theodore nodded, trying to convince himself as much as Grayson. "Really. You are...you are one of the most special people I've ever met. You're brave, and smart, and kind. You're..." He trailed off, searching for the right words. "You're so...wonderful, Gray. And...I promise, you'll find someone who'll...see that too."

"You're a good friend, CatNap," Grayson said, smiling. It was a beautiful smile, Theodore thought. He wanted to remember it for the rest of his days. "I'll miss you while I'm gone at Molly's."

Theodore felt a hand card through the fur at the top of his head, and he pressed into it.

"I'll…miss you, too."

Grayson wrapped his arms around Theodore's neck, holding him in a firm embrace. They rested there, for what felt like both an eternity and only a brief moment, just enjoying the feel of each other's presence, and the warmth. Theodore closed his eyes, taking in the scent of his best friend, the softness of his hair, as it brushed against his nose. If his body would have allowed it, he may have cried.

Theodore felt a lump forming in his throat, and he had to swallow hard to push it down. He didn't want to ruin this moment, their last moment together. He wanted to remember it as perfect as it was, even if it was tinged with the knowledge that it would be their final. He wished he could freeze time, just for a little bit longer.

"I love you, CatNap. Thanks for being my pal. After Theo left…I didn't know if I'd ever have someone to care about like this again. Someone who cared about me," Grayson whispered into Theodore's fur.

Theodore nuzzled his friend, feeling as if his heart was shattering. "I love you, too, Gray... You're my...best friend, and I'll never forget you. No matter what happens."

He had said the words. Grayson had said them, too. But they held different meaning when said to CatNap instead of Theo. The knowledge cut deeply. He knew he could never have the version of that love that he might have had as a human. He was a monster now.

He wished that he could have told Grayson that he would always be there for him, that they would find a way to stay together, somehow. But he knew that wasn't true. He knew that he would have to let him go.

Theodore pressed in closer. His heart was racing. His chest felt tight, like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. He had never been more excited, and he had never been more heartbroken.

He had eighteen hours left until The Hour of Joy.