Alex slowly stood back on his feet, looking at the one who just spoke to him.
If he thought the other Smiling Critters were in a bad state… well, this one couldn't even compare.
The one inside that cell was none other than the leader of the bunch, Dogday, and he wasn't just missing limbs. His whole lower torso had been ripped off, making some of his organs just… hang, while he himself was bound to the wall by some belts on his arms.
The cell was also full of blood, more than the other ones, and some of it looked recent.
"What the fuck?!" Alex yelled, horrified and yet unable to stop looking at the toy, feeling the peaches Poppy had given him earlier ready to come out.
"Wh-Who's t-t-there?" Another very shaky voice asked, from the cell that was just next to Dogday.
Alex made his way to it and threw a flare inside, causing the critter to recoil and yell in shock, crawling to the corner of the cell that was the furthest from Alex, shaking profusely as he hugged his knees.
That critter was none other than Kickin Chicken, who despite the permanently etched smile on his face, displayed the most afraid expression he had seen in this factory.
He seemed to be the only critter not missing any parts of his body nor tied anywhere, though the multiple blows, bite marks, and bright yellow feathers scattered all around the floor added to his stuttering and shaking made Alex think he had gone through the more psychological type of torture.
"Ugh, why did you scream now, Kickin?" Someone groaned, though it was muffled. That had to be Picky.
"Seriously, the only time we can catch some Z's without getting gassed and this is how you spend it?!" The booming voice that could only belong to Hoppy groaned.
"You know he wouldn't be able to sleep normally even if he tried…" A gentle voice sighed. Bobby. She was missing both her arms too, added to a deep cut on her torso.
"Maybe you should listen to what Dogday just said instead of bickering? Ugh, my head…" Bubba reprimanded.
"Yeah, what did he say?" The rabbit repeated.
"Th-There's someone in the h-hallway." Another voice, this one soft and high pitched, pointed out. Alex tried to remember her name. Crafting… no, Craftycorn. She was missing part of her horn and surprisingly none of her limbs either, though her hands (hooves?) were stained red, and it didn't look like her own blood.
When she uttered those words, all eyes fell on Alex, who simply stood there, not believing his own eyes.
"The f- Is that a human?" Hoppy exclaimed.
"In the Playhouse?! How? Why?" Bobby yelled, voice laced with concern.
"I think you should all let them take in our situation before overwhelming them." Bubba added with a roll of his eyes. "It's not everyday someone comes across something this disturbing."
"Speak for yourself!" The rabbit yelled. "Who the hell are you?! I swear if you're one of those white coats I'LL RIP YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF ITS SOCKET!"
"Language!" The bear said.
"Yeah, good luck with that. I'm sure even a child could outrun you in your state." Picky rolled her eyes.
"D-Dogday said something ab-bout an angel…" Craftycorn interrupted.
"R-R-Really? T-That's P-Poppy's a-angel?" Kickin asked.
"A-Angel?" Alex stuttered. "No! I'm not an angel! Far from it!"
"Your actions speak for themselves, Angel." Dogday stated, as if it were obvious.
"No! I'm not an angel! I-"
Am a scientist? Helped in your creation? Caused you to get tortured for however long you have been? Yeah, piss the big and scary toys off further, dumbass.
"You aren't? I'm sure all the toys you've saved wouldn't agree." Bubba told him.
"How do you even know that?"
"Words t-travel fast in the factory." Craftycorn explained.
Picky made a sound akin to clicking her tongue. "A shame there's nothing left to save here."
Alex immediately widened his eyes. " Nothing?! I see at least seven things to save."
Everyone let out a bitter chuckle, even the still huddled Kickin. "I don't see what's funny." Alex frowned.
"The funny thing is you thinking we have a chance to get out of here." Hoppy said.
"I hate to say it, but she's right." Bobby agreed. "And our sorry status is not the worst."
"You're in C-Catn-... T-Their home, A-Angel." Crafty explained.
"So what?! I've gone through a lot worse than some tenths of mini plushies trying to eat me!"
That was true. The experience in Home Sweet Home was by far the worst thing he had gone through, but even then, the Playhouse was close.
"If only there were tenths…" Bubba muttered.
"Okay, yeah, maybe one of them said something about being more, but there can't be that many, right?"
The uncomfortable silence that followed told him everything. "God damnit."
"A m-mi-million pairs of e-eyes are watching y-you, Angel." Kickin told him. "W-Watching. W-Waiting. H-H-Hungry…"
"And they want nothing more than to crawl beneath your skin and eat you bit by little bit. Fill what feels empty inside them." Dogday added.
Alex scrunched his face. What? Thank goodness I didn't get caught. That sounds like an awful way to die.
"Is that why some of you have bite marks?" He asked.
The room once again fell in complete silence for a long while. "No, Angel." Picky suddenly spoke. "That was my fault."
The answer didn't surprise him. "Let me guess. You tried to eat Kickin, Bubba and Crafty, didn't you?" Alex sighed.
"Yes, but how did you-"
"A cutout."
"You found them?!" Hoppy exclaimed. "Those things are cursed ! Don't get near them!"
"Yeah, I kind of figured that one out." Alex rolled his eyes. "But why?"
"Catnap, that's why!" The pig growled. "Him and his goddamn gas made me lose it completely! And I wasn't the only one…" She added, glancing at Craftycorn with a sad look.
"CATNAP?!" Kickin yelled. "NONONONONO, NOT AGAIN! PLEASE, NOT AGAIN!" He cried, rolling into a fetal position, apparently having a panic attack.
"Picky!" Bobby growled.
"Shit, my bad."
"Great, now we're definitely not sleeping…" Hoppy sighed.
"Hoppy!" Dogday scolded.
Alex only listened to the exchange with a dumbfounded look. Seven children , tortured for years by their ex-friend, just because they didn't do what the Prototype wanted.
"I don't even-... How are you guys even like this?! This… This is too brutal! Even for this place!"
"Yeah, no shit, sherlock." The rabbit rolled her eyes. "No one should be living through this agony, yet here we are. We were the "lucky" ones, as those bastards called us."
"What Hoppy meant to say…" Bubba interrupted. "Is that Cat- I mean, you know who, brought us here because we were deemed "heretics" by his lord, and we've been like this for a long while." The elephant explained.
"I… re- guessed that by now…" Alex half chuckled. Is that what the 'act of betrayal' means?
"That thing…" Dogday growled. "The Prototype… It's his god, and this is what he does to heretics."
"Why do you think the minis follow him?" Hoppy butt in. "They want to avoid our fate. And guess what? For doing that, they are fed."
"W-We tried everything we c-could to fight the Prot-totype's control, b-but…" Crafty began, glancing at her bloodied hands.
"You can see how that turned out." Bubba finished.
Alex simply stood there. Not believing anything. He had to be dreaming. He was still asleep after fighting Delight. He had to. His brain didn't want to believe these poor souls were living like this for who knows how long, getting tortured by Catnap over and over again because they didn't follow what that thing said.
And worst of all, he didn't even want to do it. At least not fully.
Alex was about to tell the Smiling Critters how he'd read Catnap's diary, but he was interrupted by Dogday.
"Listen, Angel! You need to get out of this place! You need to live!"
"You're joking?! You're crazy if you think I'll let you here like this!"
"Angel, listen to me!" Dogday pleaded. "You and Poppy can fix this! End this madness. The torment! The-"
Alex's blood froze when he heard a familiar giggle coming from behind the walls. All the critters' faces went pale.
"They're here…" He heard Bobby mutter.
"Angel, get the fuck out of here!" Hoppy told him. "They're too many! You won't make it if you stay here!"
The sounds of tenths… no, hundreds of mini critters approaching reached his ears.
"Angel, listen to us!" Bubba yelled. "We are a lost cause! You can't help us! Save yourself!"
But Alex didn't move. He wasn't even sure he heard what Bubba told him correctly.
Before long, a small swarm of mini critters appeared from holes in Dogday's cell, all looking at him with that awful smile.
And then Alex realized something. None of them were going for him. They were all going straight for Dogday.
"Oh, NO!" The toy yelled, with the rest of the gang letting out gasps of shock.
The mini critters were crawling into Dogday's body from the opening in his torso.
"Angel, leave me! Please!" He shouted, yelling from pain as more and more mini critters entered.
"JUST GO! RUN!" He desperately pleaded.
But Alex could only watch in shock.
And then something happened. One mini critter came out of the hole and looked at him, muttering a single sentence.
"Told you we'd get you."
Something snapped inside Alex.
Something he hadn't felt yet inside this factory. Something he had been trying to suppress ever since he had found out about the true nature of the toys.
Pure.
Unadulterated.
Rage.
Alex clenched his fists as he saw Dogday squirm and yell in pain. He clenched them so hard he was almost cutting himself.
"Stay." He took a step back.
"Away." He readied himself.
"FROM HIM!"
With as much strength as he could muster, Alex tackled Dogday's stomach with the GrabPack's bulky back part, knocking the air out of the toy's lungs, but also the mini critters from his body.
"What are you doing?! " Bobby screamed, both in awe and fear.
Without replying, Alex threw one flare, causing some of the minis to scatter, but when he saw that one of them tried to get back towards Dogday, Alex grabbed them and quite literally flinged them across the room, causing them to run away in fear.
After doing that and seeing how they were still really persistent on crawling inside the toy dog, Alex aimed his flare gun, and instead of firing it at the toys' feet so they would run, he aimed it at them.
He fired all the ammo he had right then and there, and the ones that didn't run away from the light, Alex either launched them or, God forgive him, kicked them away as hard as he could.
And then, silence. Well, kind of. The only sound that could be heard was Alex's breathing as he panted.
"What in the world was that?!" Picky yelled.
"Angel, you have to teach me how you did that!" Hoppy laughed.
"I don't t-think it's the t-time for that, Hoppy." Crafty told her.
"Angel, you…" Dogday spoke, finally causing Alex to turn his head. "You saved me…"
Alex stood a long while looking at him before he frowned. "We're leaving." He simply said, pulling out his swiss knife.
"Wha-" The toy dog tried to say.
"Shut up. Don't say a thing." Alex stopped him. "I said we're leaving."
Before Dogday could reply to his demand, the last belt that held his right arm was cut, causing him to yelp.
"Hold on to my back."
"Angel, you shouldn't-"
"Dogday. Don't make me repeat it." Alex bluntly told him. " Hold on to my back ."
Seeing there was no way he would be convinced otherwise, Dogday wrapped an arm around his neck, securing himself so he didn't fall.
Alex cut the other belts, and Dogday was now free. Still missing half his body, but free. Alex had to admit he was a ton heavier than what he had first thought, and combined with the GrabPack's weight, it wasn't pleasant.
Alex immediately walked to Kickin's cell, kicking it (pun not intended) as hard as he could, but it didn't budge a bit.
"W-W-What are y-you doing?" The chicken asked, his panic attack seemingly having lessened now.
"I said we're leaving, and I'm sure as hell not carrying four Smiling Critters on my back. You and Crafty are the only ones with all your limbs still attached, so you'll have to help." He explained, crouching and using his knife to try and lockpick the door.
"Angel, we just told you there's nothing left for us, and you still fought those mini critters to save Dogday!" Bobby shouted. "Just take him and run away before it's too late!"
"What?!" The toy yelled in shock. "No way! I won't leave you here!"
Alex kept his mind focused on lockpicking, but he had no idea what he was doing, so he was sure it wouldn't take him anywhere.
But even then, he was determined to do it.
"Neither am I!" He said. "Stupid thing, open already!"
And then Alex heard it again. A child giggling.
The mini critters were coming again. And there were even more than before, judging by the footstep sounds.
"Ugh, not again!" Alex exclaimed, hurrying to break the damn lock.
"Angel, listen!" Bubba shouted. "You won't be able to fight that horde of mini critters! I don't know why Dogday's cell was left open, but you won't lockpick the rest with a knife!"
"The scientists that built these cells made special precautionary measures for it!" Hoppy added.
"A-Angel, please." Crafty told him.
"No! I-I can't leave knowing you are like this!" The human half cried before he felt one of Kickin's shaky hands on his shoulders.
"W-We've gone through t-t-this for y-y-years. W-What's s-some more t-t-time?" He stuttered, not even himself believing he had just mouthed those words.
"He's right, Angel." Picky nodded. "Just take Dogday to safety. We'll manage."
"We know you'll come back." Bobby then added.
"N-No! I won't let you…" Dogday was about to cry. "I can't…"
"Dogday, w-we'll be alright." Crafty reassured.
"Get better and show that cat who's the leader here for us, 'kay?" Hoppy spoke.
The thousands of steps sounded just around the corner.
Dogday was now crying. "I'll miss you all…"
"We'll miss you too." Bubba finished.
Alex groaned and gave up with the door, putting his knife back on his pouch. He didn't want to leave any of them here, but he didn't have any other option. If he didn't run away, he wouldn't even get one of them out.
"I'll come back. If I don't, I'm dead." He said.
Before any of the critters could reply with a 'we know.', Alex saw some shadows behind the door at the end of the hallway, followed by hundreds of glowing white pupils.
It was time to run.
"Take care!" He shouted before sprinting back towards where he had entered from.
"He's over there!" A mini critter yelled.
"He's escaping! And with Dogday!" Another one added.
On cue, the steps turned into running, and to say the least, hearing at least a hundred of tiny plushies wanting to 'eat your insides bit by little bit' behind you was, to say the least, not cool.
"You better hold tight, bud!" Alex told Dogday.
"As tight as I can!" He replied.
Alex ran until he found the entrance to the prison, but then he realized something.
The door was closed. And not just that. It was locked. He was trapped inside.
"WHAT?! When did this get locked?" Alex exclaimed, looking back.
The horde of mini critters was just a few steps away from the two.
"Oh, you're so dead, demon!" The same mini Hoppy as last time told him.
Alex looked around, even to the ceiling to see if there was a handle he could grab onto, but nothing.
Is this how it's going to end?
"Yeah, we're going to break all your bones while you're still alive! And then we'll eat you!" The same mini Kickin from last time added.
"Angel, look down!" Dogday exclaimed.
Alex did that and saw that he was standing on wooden planks that covered some hole he could drop into. No guaranteed exit, but there was no other choice. "You can break those planks if you jump hard enough!" The bigger toy added.
Mini Hoppy looked at mini Kickin. "Are you kidding me?! THREE TIMES?!"
"Wha- This one wasn't my fault!"
"Yeah, neither of the other two were either!"
"Stop fighting while we're trying to corner a human!" Another different mini said.
Not wanting to hear any more of the discussion, Alex began jumping on his spot, feeling the planks below him slowly bend before breaking apart, causing both him and Dogday to fall.
Alex was quick to get back on his feet and find a tunnel he could enter to escape.
"They're getting away! Quick, follow them!" The mini critters wasted no time in jumping down to try and catch them. Luckily, Alex had experience with crawling inside narrow areas.
It was harder to do that when carrying another toy on his back, however, but he could manage. "You doing okay?" Alex asked.
"Worry about yourself Angel! Don't get distracted with me!" Dogday replied. "They're just behind! Watch out!"
Alex exited the tube system, feeling his lungs burn. Carrying Dogday was taking a toll on him. "Angel, how are you holding up?" The toy dog asked.
"I'm fine! Just keep looking behind!" Alex replied, going up a padded slope before seeing another tunnel entrance.
He groaned when he found out this was another maze.
He made his way through the passage, passing through many twists and turns, hearing the shouts of the mini critters behind. He also came across some that weren't inside the mob, but Alex didn't have enough time to get his GrabPack, so he just decided to either push them out of the way or just dodge them.
It seemed the structure wasn't as sturdy as it looked, because the moment Alex got out of one tunnel, the floor gave in below him, making the two fall.
Thankfully, the floor was padded, because if it wasn't, his GrabPack would be hurting Dogday twice as much as it was doing now.
Alex found himself in a wide and open room with a small river crossing through it. Floating on the water were a few rideable rubber ducks that served as a way for children to sail around the still flowing river.
Alex saw the exit was on the other side of the room, and the river was too wide to just jump.
"I hope you don't mind getting wet!" He told Dogday, running into the water, making sure it didn't enter his mouth.
He felt the toy he was carrying shiver.
The two arrived at the exit, with Alex's pants now wet and Dogday's face having twisted into an uncomfortable one. It seemed that getting your insides wet wasn't a pleasant sensation.
"Angel, please, don't do that again."
"My bad…"
It seemed that the mini critters were having trouble crossing through the river, so that bought Alex some more time to gain a significant distance away from the horde.
Only to be met with a room full of platforms with the exit just next to the tallest one.
"You gotta be kidding me…" Alex groaned. "Listen, Dogday. I'm going to need you to make sure you won't fall. It's time to do some jumps." He told him.
"This was Hoppy's favorite room…" He heard Dogday mutter. "Be careful, Angel."
With another groan, Alex got onto the first platform and went for the next. It wasn't too difficult, since they weren't too far apart from each other, but they were really small, and he was scared the extra weight would cause them to break.
Once Alex was about halfway there, he saw the horde entering the room and looking at them.
"Vent division, now!" A mini Dogday yelled.
From above Alex, a few vent covers opened before mini critters began lunging at them to try and make them fall.
Alex somehow managed to dodge all of them.
"Angel, behind you!" Dogday yelled, but Alex didn't react quick enough, and was pushed from behind.
He was now hanging from a platform.
Quickly, he looked around for anything useful, seeing the all too familiar handle next to the door.
He used one of his hands to fire the hand at it, seeing it hold onto it.
"You're done!" The mini Catnap that jumped on the platform told him, being about to bite his fingers off it.
"You wish!"
Alex pushed the toy off and let go of the platform, firing the other hand and swinging across the room as Dogday screamed.
Alex hit both triggers and the GrabPack began lifting them to the exit.
"That's for trying to eat Dogday!" He yelled at the minis before proceeding to the next room.
"How many times have you swung across a room like that?" Dogday asked him, still a bit shaken.
"Like I did just now? Never, actually."
Dogday stared at him long and hard, as much as his position allowed him to. "You're dangerously irresponsible, Angel."
"Geez, okay dad." Alex chuckled. "My 'irresponsibility' got your ass out of that cell, so it can't be all that bad!"
The two arrived at a hallway. One way led to the incoming horde of mini critters, and the other one to a set of slides.
It wasn't hard to pick which way to go.
"Dogday, you know this place better than I do! Which slide?"
"Whichever!" He replied.
"Got it!"
Alex sat down on the middle slide and positioned Dogday in a way in which he wouldn't get hurt by the friction with the slide, which meant 'sitting' on his legs.
Without further delay, he pushed himself down the slide, seeing some mini critters try and jump at them from a few holes in the walls, to no avail.
Alex reached the end of the slide and saw some rusty children's park equipment laying around the long hall.
The chase wasn't over yet, however.
"COME ON, MOVE! THEY'RE GONNA ESCAPE!" A plush yelled from one of the slides.
Alex grabbed Dogday again and resumed his running. He widened his eyes when he saw what was in front of him.
A large and deep hole, caused by the collapsing of the flooring and an elevator on the other side.
There was also a purple jump pad.
"Angel, there's no way out of that hole!" Dogday warned him.
"We're not going for the hole!" He replied, getting his purple hand ready.
"No! Don't go!" Some minis exclaimed.
The moment Alex was standing on the platform, he fired the hand at the jump pad as the floor below him sprung up, launching them both up.
"We're not going to make it!" Dogday yelled.
"Yes we are!" Alex replied
Just barely, Alex hit the floor with his back, sending pain flaring up his body, and also Dogday flying.
He caught the last glance of a mini critter's white pupils as a garage door closed on them, finally separating them from them. There were a lot of muffled angry screams and curses and then…
There was just silence.
Only Alex's panting and Dogday's shaky breath could be heard.
"We did it…" Alex muttered.
"It's over…" Dogday added, before a light chuckle escaped him. "It's over. It's over! IT'S OVER!" He repeated, the chuckle turning into a full laugh. An actual laugh. For the sound of it, it was clear he hadn't laughed in a long time.
"It's far from over, buddy." Alex sighed. "But I get what you mean."
"Angel, I-! I can't even begin to express how thankful I am! I-" The dog kept saying.
"No need for a thank you. It was the right thing to do." He groaned, taking off his GrabPack before sighing and sitting down.
He heard Dogday chuckle again. "And you say you're not an angel…"
They spent some time resting on the floor, Alex catching his breath from all the running, and Dogday taking in the fact he was finally out of that cell.
But his friends weren't.
"Well bud. How does freedom after all that time feel?" Alex asked before noticing the toy's worried face. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing Angel, really. I'm so happy to-" The dog tried to lie.
"I'm not stupid, Dogday."
The toy looked away and sighed. "I just… You shouldn't have gotten me out. There were critters that needed it more, like Kickin."
Alex's look saddened. "Don't say that, Dogday. You deserve to be free just like the rest. It's just that your cell was open and we didn't have enough time to bust the rest out."
"I know, Angel! But you still almost got caught because you were carrying me around. You should have just let-"
"Do not mouth those words, Dogday." Alex warned. "No, I shouldn't have let you in that cell, especially knowing it was very easy to get you out. Yes, maybe I could have tried harder to get Kickin out of the cell in time, but it just wasn't possible. And no, I definitely shouldn't have let those mini critters crawl inside you and do whatever the hell they wanted to do with you."
"I know, but-"
"Dogday, there's no buts. We will get all of them out, but not this time. You can't keep thinking about 'what if's. You got tortured for years, and you finally escaped. Don't overthink it too much."
The toy stood silent for a long while before looking at Alex again. "What if he hurts them, Angel? Do you think Catnap will take the news of you breaking into his torture chamber and snatching his 'favorite prisoner' well?"
"That's not something we can prevent, Dogday. Even if we were to go back right now."
Dogday look at the closed door, his gaze distant. "Okay. I'll try not to think about it and focus." He finally sighed.
He then looked back at Alex and gave a small smile. "Thank you so much, Angel. And sorry."
Alex shook his head slowly with another smile. "Don't be sorry. Of course you'd be worried about your friends." He told him. "And please, stop calling me 'Angel'. My name is Alex."
"Alex… Beautiful name."
"Thanks. Now, come on. Let's get out of here."
Alex offered his hand to Dogday, and the toy was once again secured in Alex's back, though now he was looking forward instead of backwards.
They got onto the elevator and went upwards. "You say you were his favorite prisoner? Because it doesn't look like it."
Dogday scoffed. "Catnap must have found it amusing to torture the 'pitiful leader' of the Smiling Critters in front of said Smiling Critters. But I wouldn't know, I'm not him."
"Dogday, there's-" Alex then realized maybe it wasn't a good idea to speak about that diary at that moment. "Actually, nevermind."
Dogday looked confused for a second before deciding to leave it be.
The elevator finally reached the end of its way, and the human and toy stepped off it, both eager to get out of the Playhouse, each for different, yet similar reasons.
Alex almost yelled when he saw a cutout depicting Dogday laying in the room.
"Oh no. Not that thing again…" Dogday groaned.
"What's the problem?"
"Catnap used to bring that cutout to my cell and press the button over and over again for hours. I think I know exactly the phrases it'll say."
"Really? Okay, what's the first one?"
"'Dogday says, fetch!'" He said, trying to imitate a more high pitched voice.
Sure enough, the cutout said that exact thing. "Oh, wow."
"Told you."
"Do you really know all the phrases?"
"I think so." He laughed while rolling his eyes.
"I don't believe you. What's the next one?"
"'Go, go! As far as you can!'"
Another correct guess.
"Jesus, how many times did you listen to this?"
"A lot, Angel." The toy replied. "The next one says something like 'why are you just standing there?' I think."
It was true, but the tone that the cutout used was far more creepy. It sounded almost worried.
"Now what?"
"'You can't be here. You can't stay'."
True. The cutout said exactly that, with a more worried tone.
"This is creepy…" Alex groaned.
"Well, wait until you press it again, Angel. There's a very loud scr-"
" What? You… you want me to come with you? "
"What."
Dogday stared at the cutout. Really stared.
"Oops, you got it wrong!" Alex laughed before realizing what just happened. "Wait, you got it wrong?"
Alex joined Dogday in staring.
"It didn't say that last time, did it?" Alex said.
"No, it didn't."
Alex gulped and pressed the button again.
"But if I go, my friends will be sad! I can't leave them!"
"This sounds really familiar." Alex mouthed.
"...Come for them later, you say? Hmm…"
"Okay! Let's go! I'm right behind you!"
Alex looked at Dogday, and saw he was horrified at hearing that cutout's phrases. "Angel, let's leave. Now ."
"I should have listened to Hoppy's warning…" Alex rolled his eyes, walking away.
"If hearing that voice again wasn't enough, now it's confirmed those things are haunted. If only Bubba could have seen it…" Dogday groaned.
"You don't like the cutout's voice? I mean, after hearing it so many times, you probably are very tired of it."
"It's not that. The voice from 'show Dogday' doesn't sound at all like my voice, and I hate it. Just another reminder of the experiments."
"Well, maybe if some people had made use of more ethical methods instead of shoving a child into a toy body, they could have tweaked your voice a little more to sound closer to the cutout…" Alex muttered.
"Heh. You're so right, Angel."
"I told you to stop calling me that."
The duo arrived at another slide, and Alex got Dogday onto a better position as the two slid out of the hellhole that was the Playhouse.
The moment Alex and Dogday exited the slide, the human turned around to look at the place he had just fled from. The huge circus tent was now more haunting than ever, knowing what laid under it.
"I'm so glad we got out of there." Alex muttered.
"Do I even need to add to that?" Dogday rolled his eyes.
The sudden sound of Alex's phone ringing startled both, but Alex immediately sighed when picking it up. "Ollie? Is it you?"
"Alex!" Ollie's voice exclaimed. "Oh goodness, are you alright? No ouchies or lost body parts?"
Alex resisted the urge to laugh at that sentence. "No, Ollie. I'm fine. Tired, but fine."
There was a sigh at the other end of the telephone. "I'm really glad you're okay. When I lost you when you entered the School, and I couldn't find you for so long, we were so worried! Poppy was even threatening to go look for you herself! The point is, I don't wanna lose any more friends to this place, so I'm happy you're alive."
"Almost didn't make it." Alex chuckled. "When you said the Playhouse was scary, you weren't kidding…"
He decided to omit the thing about Catnap now too, especially because he was carrying Dogday.
"Yeah, it is! Especially that jail room. Hopefully you didn't-"
Ollie suddenly stopped speaking, worrying Alex. "Ollie? What's wrong?"
No response for a few seconds. "Alex." Ollie called. "Is that who I think it is on your back?"
Alex turned to face Dogday. "Depends. Who are you thinking about?"
"Angel, who are you speaking to?" Dogday asked.
"He's Ollie. Say hello!"
"Alex!" Ollie interrupted. "Did you manage to find Dogday?!"
"Yup. Him and the rest of the Smiling Critters."
Ollie stood silent for a while. "Woah! Amazing! What happened to them?"
He winced, remembering the state they were in. "Catnap. That's what happened."
That seemed to be enough for Ollie. "Oof. Better if you save the details for yourself. I can see Dogday's state from here, and I don't want to imagine how the rest of them are."
"Not as bad as him, surprisingly."
"Oh… Well, anyway! Now that you're here, there's something I have to tell you! Poppy and Kissy have been very worried about you, and they are waiting below the statue in the middle of Playcare! You should take Dogday there. I'm sure Poppy'll know some way to fix him."
"How do you even fix something like- You know what? Not even gonna ask. Will do Ollie. And also, you can't imagine how relieved I am to hear a voice that's not mine or those mini critters."
"Wait, they can talk?"
"I wish they couldn't." Dogday groaned.
Ollie laughed. "Okay. I'll tell Poppy you're alright and that you're coming. Stay safe!"
Ollie hung up the phone, and Alex sighed. "Welp. It's time for a meeting, I suppose." He looked at Dogday. "You won't happen to hate Poppy too, will you?"
"Hate her? Why would I?"
Alex raised a brow at that. "Huh? Well, it's just that all the toys I've come across hated her guts for some reason." Alex explained, remembering Bunzo's behavior when speaking about the doll.
"I wonder…" Dogday said, obviously hiding something.
"Well, if you don't hate her, it just makes things easier. Let's go."
And with that, Alex headed to the statue, where he would hopefully be able to finally rest.
Catnap furiously stomped his way through the Playhouse's cell room, towards the now empty cell that used to contain Dogday.
That demon had taken him away from his rightful place, off to somewhere.
"What's the matter, big guy? Did someone steal one of your prisoners?" The irritable voice of Hoppy taunted. "Maybe try locking your doors next time!"
Catnap didn't even bother to turn to face her. He couldn't. He had other matters to tend to. The matter of finding out who had had the brilliant idea of trying to use Dogday's body as a way to catch that human.
At least the rest of the heretics stayed silent while he passed, as they should.
He exited the cell room and made his way through the Playhouse, finding a group of mini critters talking to themselves.
"How are we gonna tell him that they escaped?!" One exclaimed.
"No way I'm telling him that!" Another one frowned.
"Are you scared of getting killed? He's gonna do it anyway, no matter who says it, dumbass!" A third one yelled before her gaze fell on Catnap and her face paled.
"Who… " Catnap began. " Who dared disobey the ONE order you were given?!"
Now it was the other critter's turn to look scared.
"Uhhh…"
"Well…"
"Him!"
"What?! No, it wasn't me! It was that Craftycorn's idea!"
"Hey! Don't dare get her into this!"
"SILENCE!"
Every sound immediately halted. Catnap wanted to use his red smoke so badly, but if the minis were asleep, he wouldn't get his answers.
"Explain what happened. Now. "
Everyone pushed a mini Bobby to the front of the group. She looked horrified at being the one that had to speak.
"Well, uh… That human managed to get through the Playhouse and we found him speaking to Dogday when we arrived so…" She winced. "We kind of tried to use his body as a way to chase the human out of the Playhouse…?"
Catnap's frown deepened and the toy yelled in fear. "B-But we weren't going to do anything to him! We were just… what's the word…"
"Possess." A mini Bubba told her.
"Yeah, that."
"But we couldn't do that! That human just knocked every single one of us out of Dogday's body and then fought us!"
"And won. Against all of you. "
"Well! But… uh… But he was super strong! He even broke a whole TV with his hand after hearing something about a… coffee, I think?"
Catnap widened his eyes. "HE WATCHED THAT TAPE?!"
The minis winced at the shout. Catnap growled and turned around. "Pathetic. You are lucky I don't use you to feed the rest."
The mini critters flinched.
"So… what do we do now?"
"Make sure that demon does not dare to come back to the Playhouse. All of you , stand guard at the entrances. If he comes, restrain him and call me. I will handle it personally."
Catnap turned to look at the toys, crouching until his face was merely inches from the mini toys. "If I find out you do anything to the human without my permission, or simply that you have disobeyed my orders again, that will be your last mistake."
The group immediately dispersed, running away in fear.
Catnap stood there for a while, looking at where the mini critters had scattered off to, before letting out a deep sigh.
He was angry. Very angry. Not just at that human for snatching Dogday, but at himself too.
He had seen that human heading straight to the Playhouse, but instead of trying to do anything to stop him, he had decided to trust that the mini critters would be able to stop him.
Long story short, it would never happen again.
Despite that, he was glad that Dogday was okay. Why? He didn't know himself. Pity? What else could it be? The reason he ordered the mini critters not to touch him was because in case he had to die, he, Catnap , would deal the blow.
That's what they deserved for their betrayal. To make them suffer for their unwillingness to follow him , but making sure they didn't get the sweet release of death.
And if it had to be that way, Catnap would act accordingly.
No matter how much his emotions got in his way.
Speaking of emotions. Catnap arrived at where the demon had entered the Playhouse from, finding that, just as the mini critters had said, the TV screen was cracked, with a fist mark on it along with some dried blood.
How the human had found the tape he had made sure to hide was a mystery to him, but even if Catnap hated it, there was nothing he could do now.
Why did the human break the screen, he wondered. He must have hated hearing that white coat 's voice as much as he did. He immediately frowned when he realized he had compared himself to that demon .
Smashing the tape player, he made his way back into the Caverns, ready to ask his lord for help, just as he had done many times before.
The human was getting too close to achieving his goal of restoring power, and he didn't like it one bit.
He was starting to grow tired of being this lenient with him, and this act of breaking one of his prisoners out was the final straw.
If Catnap's memory wasn't lying, there was only one generator the human could be headed to. And so, he would consult with his lord what the best course of action to catch the human was. And this time, he really hoped he would grace him with his presence.
After all this time, he was starting to feel… hopeless?
That couldn't be right. As long as his lord was with them, there was hope.
But he wasn't. He hadn't for a long while.
Catnap punched the wall with rage. Why was this happening now? He thought he had his doubts locked behind at least three metaphorical steel gates inside his brain, so why was it happening?!
That human was just making things worse for everyone.
And so, ready to try to talk to his lord one more time, he walked through the hallways, trying to push those thoughts away once again. He found that his path was devoid of any sound or life. With no mini critters to annoy him.
No Smiling Critters to insult him.
No Dogday to try and save.
No God to accompany him.
Not even the human that seemed to always be running around everywhere he went.
The hallways were empty.
Empty and lonely.