The search for justice and security, the struggle for equality of opportunity, the quest for tolerance and harmony, the pursuit of human dignity these are moral imperatives which we must work towards and think about on a daily basis.
- Aga Khan IV
Koa groaned as she recovered from whatever hit her on the head. Rubbing the back of her head, she sat up and looked around. What immediately caught her attention was the now missing doll from the case. Removing her hand from her head, she looked around, but saw nothing and no one around. She stood up and left the room. Once she was outside the hallway, she found the door she had came through blocked. Something had moved the furniture in the room while she was down, and now she definitely could not go back the way she came.
Confused, she looked around and saw that a dresser along the wall had been moved, and there was a new door. Knowing she wouldn't be able to move the heavy dressers and desks, she sighed and walked to the new door, and opened it, walking deeper into the factory. The doors along the hall were locked, forcing Koa to continue forward.
"This way," a voice whispered in the wind, startling Koa enough to stop her in her tracks.
Remembering her knife, she had her had on the handle, ready to unsheathe it if anything came at her. Reaching the end of the hall, she found a door to an office. And not just any office. It was the office of the late Elliot Ludwig, the founder of the factory. Koa had never met the man, as Ludwig passed away a few years earlier. But she heard great stories of this man.
She tested the door, but found it locked. Backing up, the hallway leading to the left was blocked by a gate, and the power was down so she couldn't charge the door. Taking the hall to her right, she found a large gap in the floor, and she paused.
"Keep going," the voice sounded, louder this time.
Koa shuttered, but she couldn't see anything or anyone. Returning her attention to the gap, there was a way to climb into the hole in the floor thanks to a plank of wood, but no way to climb out on the other side. Looking up, she saw a handle bar on the ceiling. Getting an idea, she fired her Grab-Pack's red hand canon, grabbed the bar, braced herself, and swung herself across the gap in the floor. Once she was safe in the other side, she released the canon and continued her quest.
Seeing the hallway was once again blocked, with no way to open the gate, she looked around and saw a door hidden behind some gallon drums. Moving the drums, she opened the closet door, and found a key hanging on the wall. Taking the key, she returned the way she came back to Ludwig's office. Once she was in front of the door again, she used the key to successfully unlock the door.
She found the office was quite immaculate. There on the desk, she found another VSH tape. Under the tape, was a piece of paper with some notes on it. Curiosity getting the better of her, she picked up the paper and read it.
'Experiment 814
Notes:
• This experiment utilized a live rat.
• Rat was fed 3 portions daily for 2 weeks.
• At the end of the two weeks, the rat was killed and submerged into a poppy flower and preservative gel mixture.
• 1 week later, an electric shock was applied to the rat (still in the gel) in an attempt to revive it.
• The rat remained unresponsive.
Analysis:
I still believe in the potential of the poppy flower. Its unusual properties lead me to believe that the proper mixture and procedure could have life altering properties. The poppy flower has for a long time carried heavy symbolism, and I don't believe that's for no reason. Perhaps something larger than a rat would yield different results.'
"What the?" Koa said out loud. "What the heck was going on in this factory?"
Returning her attention to the tape, and seeing a VSH cassette player, she placed in the tape and watched the video.
"Playtime Co. is the product of a great man, by the name of Elliot Ludwig." A masculine voice narrated as various pictures and videos played, "divorced, but a family man at heart, his sights were always set on bringing amazing toys to amazing children around the globe. Ludwig spent countless hours in the factory, working overtime relentlessly in an attempt to continuously innovate and surprise. In the 1960's, an unfortunate family death had pushed Ludwig down to his lowest. But with so much ambition, he rose back up and continued to fulfill his vision for the Playtime Co. toy factory. Ludwig could never be content leaving a project unfinished, but just how did one man come to create such an astounding empire? How did he manage to stay determined, even after suffering such a tragic loss?"
The screen went black as the narrator continued, "It all began in the fateful year of 19-" the screen showed the numbers one and nine before it cut out and went black.
Koa stood there in awe. But then questions stirred in her head again as she turned her attention back to the notes she found. The notes said that they were trying to make some kind of life altering gel or concentrate with poppy flowers or something. Was this how they made these living toys?
Before she could think any further, she head something banging behind her. Looking behind her, she saw a large vent. Pocketing the paper, she opened the vent and traveled through them until she found herself in a power room. Looking around, she jumped out of her skin and pulled out her knife when something loud crashed behind her.
"Oh! Ah- sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!"
There was the Poppy Playtime doll. Alive and breathing and talking!
"I was just trying to get the power back on," she explained nervously. "Here," she said as she stepped aside, revealing a power outlet for her Grab-Pack canon.
Koa stood there in shock for a minute or two. She didn't know what to think. How were these toys alive?! Deciding to play along, she sheathed her knife, and looked for the other outlet for the power. Finding it behind an open gate and seeing two power poles, she stood in-between the poles, fired the blue canon, wrapped the wire around the right pole, then the left, walked to the gate, and fired the red canon at the outlet. The power came on with a chime, and Koa could hear Poppy's applause.
After a few seconds, she stopped. "Ahem. Um," she stared nervously, "I wanted to thank you for freeing me. I was stuck in there for so long. Thank you."
Her tone then gained more confidence as she continued, "I'd like to pay you back."
Koa stood there in shock for a minute or two. She didn't know what to think. How were these toys alive?! Deciding to play along, she sheathed her knife, and looked for the other outlet for the power. Finding it behind an open gate and seeing two power poles, she stood in-between the poles, fired the blue canon, wrapped the wire around the right pole, then the left, walked to the gate, and fired the red canon at the outlet. The power came on with a chime, and Koa could hear Poppy's applause.
After a few seconds, she stopped. "Ahem. Um," she stared nervously, "I wanted to thank you for freeing me. I was stuck in there forso long.Thank you."
Her tone then gained more confidence as she continued, "I'd like to pay you back."
Koa stood there. She couldn't leave yet. She had to know what happened to her co-workers. But, then again, if Huggy Wuggy and Poppy were living toys, that seems to confirm her earlier theory that the other toys were alive too. She began to doubt that she would be able to defend herself from all of them. Especially when it was shear luck that she escaped Huggy.
"Come on," Poppy said with slight impatience, snapping Koa out of her thoughts.
Perhaps it would be best to leave. She couldn't do this alone. Remembering the paper in her pocket, and her connections to the military, perhaps she could form some kind of team and come back.
Nodding, Koa fired the Grab-Pack's blue canon to grab a metal bar above the vent, she pulled herself up with the canon and swung herself into the vents, and returned to the office of the late Elliot Ludwig. Just as she made it to the exit of the vent, she saw Poppy again in another vent.
"Hey, I'm up here! I see you," she teased with a giggle, though Koa was not amused. "I should be able to follow you through the vents. This way." She waved her arm then disappeared back into the vents.
Koa left the office and walked down the hall, and charged the scanners to open the gate. Once it was open, Koa continued a few feet, but paused when she approached a deep chasm in the floor. It was deep and dark. She couldn't see the bottom. Shuddering, she looked up and saw another bar on the ceiling, she fired her Grab-Pack's blue hand canon, grabbed the bar, she sighed, gave a quick prayer, and swung across the chasm, safely landing on the other side.
Giving a huge sigh of relief, she looked ahead when she heard Poppy humming in the distance. Following the humming, Koa didn't have you go far, as through the doorway, there was Poppy, standing right in front of a large hole in the floor. Cautiously approaching, she only stopped when Poppy turned to face her.
"Listen," she said quietly and urgently, "I'm going to need you to trust me- WAAAHHHHH!"
She was cut off when a pink hand suddenly grabbed her from behind and dragged her into the hole, and Poppy's sudden scream made Koa jump back with a scream of her own. After a few seconds of sitting there in shock, she crawled to the edge of the hole, her hand on the handle of the knife, and she peered over the edge, only to be met with pitch blackness.
Backing up, she looked around to see if there was a way to follow Poppy, but there was no other way. All the doors were sealed shut and there was no way to open them. Knowing there was no other way, she prayed for her safety, and jumped into the black hole.
She felt like she was in a tight space as she fell. After a few seconds, she felt herself land on something hard, and she could tell she was now sliding instead of falling, and rings of light passed by her. After a few more seconds, she landed safely on the floor at the bottom. She laid there to take a quick breather to calm herself down, then looked around once she was calm again. She found more gated doors in the room, each labeled with different names, but one stood out more than the others: Game Station.
Remembering the factory had a playground themed train station to take them around the factory or outside the factory all together, she stood up ready to go, but found there was a cord that led to the power room, meaning she had to turn on the power to open the gate. Sighing, she turned to the power room and got to work in passing the charge from one side to another. After some tricky maneuvering, she charged up the power and she heard the gate opening up. She left the power room and walked down the hall that lead to the Game Station. Seeing a red hand scanner above another gate, she sighed and fired the Grab-Pack's red canon, but just before it made contact with the scanner, a pink hand came out from above and grabbed the Grab-Pack's canon with a gasp, making Koa gasp herself.
"A new playmate!" A bubbly voice spoke up in excitement, and then the hand pulled the canon up and ripped off the red hand, and the wire zipped back into the canon.
Just then, Mommy Long-Legs, a spider themed pink elastic toy came down from the ceiling, her feet and left hand holding her to the walls.
"It's been so long… Isn't this exciting, Poppy?" She asked rhetorically as she looked towards her right hand, revealing Poppy, her mouth was sealed shut with webbing.
"'Very exciting, Mommy!'" Mommy spoke for her and Poppy looked away in fear. Mommy then looked back to Koa, who stood there in shock, with her big green eyes. Mommy stretched her neck to bring her head a bit closer to Koa.
"Mommy heard that Miss Poppy was going to just give you the train code to escape. Now, how is that fun?" She asked, again rhetorically, as she twisted her elastic body, changing her grip on the wall. "Instead, why don't we make a game out of it? The Game Station is still working! It'll be just like old times!"
Mommy then lowered Poppy a bit in front of her face and spoke for her again in a higher voice, "'And if you win all three games, I'll give you the train code!'"
Mommy gasped and forced Poppy to look at her, "Mommy loves that idea, Poppy!" Mommy then turned her attention back to Koa as she twisted her body around again. "Oh, we're going to have so much fun! Head to Musical Memory, and Mommy will get things started. Oh, and you won't be needing THIS!"
Mommy suddenly stretched out her hand and snatched Koa's knife from its sheath, stealing it from Koa.
"Wha- Hey!" Koa shouted as Mommy stole the knife.
Before she could do much else, Mommy stretched her neck to bring her face closer to Koa's, causing her to retreat slightly, as her voice took on a threatening tone, staring wide-eyed at Koa as she spoke, "obey the rules, or I'll tear you apart, and eat your insides, while you're still alive!"
Mommy closed her eyes with a giggle, then she snapped her eyes back open and retreated backwards into the shadows with Poppy and her knife, cackling the whole way, not taking her eyes off of Koa.
Once Mommy's voice faded, the gate in front of Koa opened.
"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start."
- Nido Qubein