Work Text:
Deep in the bowels of the playhouse, Cathy had stopped to take a brief breather.
She’d just had to deal with what looked like hundreds of those wretched plush mini-critters, which all tried to bite her whenever they got close.
Only her flare gun seemed to scare them away.
But thankfully it looked like she’d gotten past most of them.
She had walked from the pool room in the playhouse into what looked like a prison.
There were about 4-5 jail cells separated from the hallway by metal bars, most of which were open or didn’t even have doors, likely either broken out of or rusted away over time.
“Why on earth would a playhouse need a prison…?”
Cathy wonders aloud.
She never knew about this when she worked here…
But, she pressed on.
In the first cell there was a hole in the floor in which she peeked in, through which she could see what looked like a giant cat bed.
‘That must be where he sleeps…’
Cathy thinks. ‘At least he’s comfortable… hopefully…’
She then continues, walking down the hallway and peeking in each cell, not finding anything of note until she got to the very last one on the left.
But what she found there was more sad and disturbing than anything she’d seen in this godforsaken toy factory so far.
Or rather, WHO she found.
“You… you’re Poppy’s angel… come to save us…”
The large, scruffy looking Dogday said.
Or rather… Half a Dogday.
His lower half was completely gone, and not neatly severed either.
His bones and organs were almost completely exposed and dripping, save for the belt that was strapped tightly around his waist, keeping him from bleeding out completely.
“Nothing left to save… not here…”
Dogday says.
Cathy covers her mouth, trying not to cry.
Dogday lifts his head a bit.
“You’re in Catnap’s home, angel. THEIR home.”
Cathy assumes by they, he means the ungodly amount of mini critters.
“A million pairs of eyes are on you now.”
Dogday says. “Watching. Waiting. Hungry.”
He lifts his head more.
“They want nothing more than to crawl beneath your skin, and eat away at you, bit by little bit.”
He says. “Fill what feels empty inside themselves.”
Cathy nods.
“I know…” She says quietly.
“That… thing… Catnap…”
Dogday says, looking down.
“The prototype is his god… and this is what he does to heretics.”
He says, gesturing to his lower half, or rather, LACK of lower half.
Cathy nods. “I see…”
She says sadly.
Dogday looks around.
“These little toys follow Catnap to avoid that same fate… and in turn, they are fed.”
Cathy resisted the urge to throw up.
“I… I understand…”
She says, slightly clutching her stomach.
Dogday coughs, making Cathy jump a bit.
“We tried to fight it… the prototype’s control…”
He says sadly.
“I’m… the last of the smiling critters.”
Cathy almost tears up.
“Oh no…”
Dogday’s head shoots up, and he looks her directly in the eye.
“Listen to me, you need to get out of this place.”
He says, the pain and suffering in his voice breaking Cathy’s heart.
“You and Poppy can fix this, end the madness, the torment… the-”
And then, the mini critters started to come in.
“Oh no… OH NO!”
Dogday says as they quickly get closer to him.
“Leave me, please!”
He says to Cathy. “Just go, RUN!”
By sudden instinct, something within Cathy compelled her to be a hero in this moment.
It was a strong, primal urge deep within her soul.
“NO!”
She yells, leaping into action.
Using the wrench she’d found earlier, she quickly breaks the old, rusty chains securing Dogday to the wall, then picks him up, putting him on her back.
He was surprisingly light for being a giant plush toy.
“Hold onto me!”
She says as she starts to run, while the horrid little bugs start to follow her again.
Dogday nods, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as tightly as he could, as she ran as fast as her legs would go before the little bugs got to her.
The two made their way through a maze of colorful yet worn away playground padding, avoiding little critters at every turn through slides, tunnels and padded metal bars, looking desperately for the exit, Cathy occasionally having to smash one’s head in with her wrench.
Until finally, finally, she spotted a service elevator on the other side of a large gap.
“Hold on tight!”
Cathy says as she uses the purple hand to make the jump, landing them both safely on the elevator as the metal door shut behind them.
The screams of the damned critters were the only thing Cathy could hear as she and Dogday rode the elevator back up to the top level of the playhouse.
Cathy takes a moment or two to calm down and catch her breath, before looking at the large Dogday, who was also trying to catch his breath.
“T-thank you…”
The large plushie says, slowly crawling over to hug her around the waist.
Cathy smiles, hugging his head to her chest.
“You’re welcome…”
She says softly.
Dogday begins to cry, nuzzling into her stomach as his tears begin to soak into Cathy’s shirt.
(If the bbis can bleed they might as well be able to cry)
Cathy tries to soothe him, holding him softly, and stroking him behind his large ears.
“Shhh… it’s okay…” She whispers. “They can’t hurt you now.”
“You… you saved me…”
Dogday says.
“You… really are an angel…”
Cathy sighs softly.
“I’m no angel, Dogday…” She says. “I’m just trying to get out of here alive… and if I can save a few people, or toys, who need it, then I will.”
She says.
“It’s the least I can do…”
She says softly, looking down.
Dogday nuzzles her chest softly. “Well, I owe you more than words can say…” he says. “You saved my life…”
Cathy smiles.
“Well, you’re one of the few toys who hasn’t tried to eat me alive, cymbal-clap my head, snap my neck, spray me with nightmare gas, or beat me to death with a makeshift mace made of yarn and colored pencils.” she says.
Dogday laughs a bit. “I guess that’s true…”
He says.
Cathy then lifts up one of Dogday’s giant hands.
“If I can find some bolt cutters, maybe we can get these things off your wrists.” She says, messing with the chains. “I’m sure there are some around this place somewhere.”
Dogday smiles softly. “Thank you, angel,” he says.
Cathy laughs a bit. “Please don’t call me that.”
Dogday’s smile fades a bit.
“Okay…” He says. “um… what is your name?”
Cathy smiles. “My name is Catherine, but I usually go by Cathy, or Cath.” She says.
Dogday nods. “Alright, that’s what I'll call you then.”
Cathy gives him a thumbs up. “Thank you.”
They finally reach the top level of the playhouse, Cathy picking Dogday up and putting him on her back again.
When walking out, Cathy finds a Dogday standee next to a giant book-tent, similar to the ones of the other smiling critters she’d been finding throughout this chapter of her adventure.
“Hey look, it’s you!”
She says with a smile.
Dogday nods. “Oh yeah… I remember these things.” he says.
Cathy presses the red button on the standee.
“Dogday says… fetch!”
The standee says.
The real Dogday hums a bit.
“T-that’s what I used to sound like…”
He says. “Before… I got chained to the wall…”
Cathy feels a little guilty. “Oh dear…”
She presses the button again.
“Go, go! As far as you can!”
The standee says.
Dogday remains silent.
Cathy presses the button again.
“Why are you… just standing there?”
Again, Dogday doesn’t respond.
Cathy gets a bit worried, pressing the button again.
“You can’t be here. You can’t stay.”
Dogday STILL doesn’t respond.
Against her best judgement, Cathy presses the button a final time.
Not unlike the others, the standee screams.
And it sounded just as gut wrenching and haunting as the others.
Cathy could even swear she heard the sound of him being torn apart.
The real Dogday whimpers, burying his face in her neck.
Cathy shifts him to hold him in her arms.
“I… I’m sorry…”
She says.
Dogday nuzzles her.
“I-it’s okay…” He says shakily. “You didn’t know…”
Cathy gently strokes his back as she slowly walks out of the room, going down another slide.
~In-game transition~
Finally, they got out of the playhouse, and back into the main room of playcare.
“I… I never thought I'd see this place again…”
Dogday says.
Cathy gently rubs his back, comforting him.
Suddenly, Cathy’s little toy phone rings.
“Oh, I gotta take this.”
Cathy says, gently setting Dogday down on a nearby lawn chair, then lifting the phone to her ear.
“Hey! Are you alright?”
Ollie says.
Cathy nods. “Yes, I'm fine.”
“No ouchies, or lost body parts?”
Ollie asks.
Cathy glances at Dogday.
“Um… none from me at least.”
She says, feeling guilty.
Dogday rolls his cartoonishly large eyes.
Ollie sighs in relief.
“I’m really glad you’re okay… I don’t want to lose any more friends to this place.”
Cathy smiles softly.
“Thank you, Ollie…”
She smiles nervously.
“You were right about that place being dangerous…”
“I told you.”
Ollie says.
Cathy rolls her eyes. “Yes, I know…”
She then looks back at Dogday.
“Hey Ollie, can I call you back in a bit?” she says. “I’m a little busy right now.”
“Okay! I’ll wait for you.”
Ollie says before hanging up.
Cathy then walks over to Dogday, kneeling down to look him in the eye.
“How… How long have you been suffering there…?”
Dogday shrugs softly. “I don’t know… ever since… the hour of joy, I think…”
Cathy’s eyes widened.
“Christ alive, that was nearly ten years ago…”
Dogday nods sadly. “Yes… it was just a big mess…”
Cathy nods. “I can imagine.
Dogday then looks away.
“Believe it or not… I actually used to be… loyal… to the prototype.”
He says.
Cathy’s eyes widened.
“YOU?”
She says.
Dogday nods.
“I was trying to… work undercover…” He says. “Figured if I got close enough, I could take the beast down from the inside, so to speak.”
He looks sad. “But… a bit after the hour of joy…”
He sniffles. “Catnap figured out what I was up to.”
Cathy winces.
“Oh…”
Dogday nods. “You can probably guess what happened next…”
He says, gesturing to his lack of lower half again.
Cathy nods. “I see.”
She pets his head. “It’ll be okay, Dogday.” She says.
“There’s enough toy parts around here that I bet we could fix you up.”
Dogday smiles. “That sounds… amazing…”
Cathy smiles back. “It will be.”
She says, gently stroking his head.
She then looks him in the eye.
“Dogday…” She says.
“Do you remember who you… used to be… at all…?”
Dogday shakes his head.
“No, nothing…” He says. “All I can remember is one of my friends…”
He sighs sadly.
“His name was Theodore…”
Cathy’s heart sinks.
“Oh…” she says.
Dogday nods. “I was one of the first ones to be transformed…” He says. “Even after I was, I still tried to spend as much time with Theo as I could… but he was…”
He sniffles again. “Afraid of me…”
Cathy covers her mouth. “Oh no…”
Dogday nods again. “Yes… whenever I saw him, or tried to talk to him, he’d run away in fear… and hide…”
Cathy hugs him gently, stroking his head.
Dogday leans into her chest.
“And not long after that… he disappeared…” He says sadly. “And… I never saw him again…”
He looks down.
“I can only hope he made it out alive.”
Cathy pets him gently.
She didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth about Theo.
Then, she remembers something.
“Lee.”
Dogday looks at her.
“What?”
Cathy looks into his eyes.
“Lee, that’s your last name.”
She says. “I remember Theo telling me that his best friend was named, something, Lee…”
Dogday’s eyes light up a bit.
“You knew Theo?”
Cathy nods.
“I was his mother.”
She said, “Or at least… I was supposed to be…”
Dogday’s eyes light up even more.
“Wait…” He says, remembering.
“Y-you’re… you’re miss Catherine…?”
He says, reaching out to touch her face.
Cathy smiles, tearing up.
“You… remember me…?”
Dogday nods.
“Yes… I remember… everyday when I played with Theo, he’d mention that his mother, Miss Catherine, was wonderful, and that he couldn’t wait to see her.”
Tears rolled down Cathy’s face as she remembered Theo.
Dogday looks down.
“B-but then, he got so sad after you left…” He says. “He cried, because he said that you abandoned him, and he missed you a lot.”
He looks her in the eye.
“Why did you leave….?”
Cathy cries harder.
“I never wanted to…”
She leans on his chest. “When I first found out about the… bbi initiative… the higher ups fired me on the spot.”
She explains. “They threatened that if I ever dared set foot in this factory again, they’d do something horrible to Theodore… so I didn’t…”
Dogday looks sad.
“Oh…”
Cathy keeps crying. “But… I wish I did….” She says.
“If I had just stayed here, I could have been there for him…” she says. “And maybe none of this would have happened…”
Dogday gently pats her back.
“Hey… don’t be sad…” He says gently. “None of what happened was your fault…”
He growls a bit. “It was those bastard scientists' faults…”
Cathy nods a bit. “I know..” She says sadly.
“Still…” She says, wiping her eyes.
“If I were here… maybe Theodore would still be… Theodore…”
Dogday tilts his head.
“What do you mean…?”
He asks.
Cathy gets a pit in her stomach.
Oh, this was going to hurt.
“Dogday…” She says. “I have something… difficult… to tell you.”
Dogday looks into her eyes.
“What… is it?”
Cathy takes a deep breath.
“Catnap, the big Catnap thing… IS Theo.”
She says.
‘Or… at least he was.”
Dogday’s face goes blank.
He stares at her a moment or two, completely still.
“N-no…” He says. “That can’t be…”
He cries. “Theo would never do anything like… what Catnap did.”
Cathy feels guilty.
“I didn’t want to believe it either…” She said, looking down.
“But… then I found this.”
She shows him the file on subject 1188.
Dogday stares at the documents in disbelief for a few moments, not trusting his eyes.
But then… he puts the pieces into place.
Theo disappeared right before Catnap was introduced.
He was always loyal to the prototype, who Theo always said was his best friend, next to him.
And… he even told him that the prototype would free them, BEFORE he was transformed.
“Theo… No…”
Dogday says as he begins to break down, tears spilling from his big vacant eyes.
“NO!”
He buries his face in his hands, crying harder than he had in a very long time.
Cathy, still crying, slowly takes him into her arms, stroking his back.
Dogday buries his giant head in her chest, crying like a baby.
After a few minutes, Dogday pulls back a bit, wiping his eyes.
“H-he was my best friend….” he says. “I-it’s not fair… nothing is ever fair!”
Cathy keeps holding him close, gently petting him.
“I know…” She says, sniffling. “Everything that’s happened in this place has literally been hell…”
Dogday nods. “Yes…” he says, still crying.
After what seemed like an eternity, Cathy gently takes his face in her hands.
“Listen… Dogday.”
She says.
“I know that… things are looking grim right now, and everything seems like it sucks… but…”
She looks into his big black eyes.
“I’m going to take down the prototype.”
She looks a bit angry.
“After what that tyrant did to Theo, and all the innocent workers and children… I'm going to give him retribution.”
She sighs.
“But I need your help.” She says.
“Will you join me?”
Dogday stares into space, seemingly thinking about it.
Then, he looks back at her, nodding.
“Okay.” He says. “I’ll join you.”
He growls a little.
“I’ll do anything to take down the prototype.”
Cathy smiles, hugging him softly.
“Thank you, Dogday.”
Dogday hugs back, wrapping his arms around her.
“You’re welcome, Cath.”
After pulling back, Cathy then picks him up, putting him on her back again.
“Okay, let’s get going.”
She says.
Dogday looks at her. “Where are you taking me?”
Cathy smiles.
“To the gas production zone.” She says. “My friends will hopefully be there.”
Dogday tilts his head.
“Friends…?”
Cathy nods.
“Since I got here, I’ve made some new friends...” She says softly. “And I'm sure they’ll be glad to have someone else on our side.”
Dogday smiles a bit.
“Okay…” he says. “I trust you… so if they’re your friends, I trust them too.”
Cathy smiles reassuringly..
“Don’t worry… everything will be okay.” She says.
Dogday sighs.
“I sure hope so…”
Shortly after, Cathy arrives outside the gas production zone, gently setting him down outside the door.
“Okay, stay here for a minute.”
She whispers. “I’ll come get you when they’re ready.”
Dogday nods, laying against the wall.
Cathy walks in, where she’s greeted by a tall pink fuzzy monster, and a small porcelain doll wearing a pretty blue dress, with curly red hair tied into two pigtails.
“Hey, you’re back!”
The tiny doll says with a smile, walking over.
“I’m happy to see you’re safe.”
Cathy smiles back and nods.
“Good to see you girls too.” She says, waving to the fluffy pink toy.
Kissy waves back with that permanent smile she has.
“Did you successfully reroute the backup power from the playhouse?”
Poppy asks.
Cathy nods. “Yup.” She says. “All the wires are connected.”
Poppy smiles. “Good.” She says. “You just need to reroute the power from the counselor’s office, and it should be enough to restore power to here.”
She says.
Cathy sighs and nods. “I was just on my way to do that… but first…”
She smiles softly.
“I’ve found us another ally.”
Poppy looks surprised.
“Really?” She says, while Kissy walks closer. “Someone else on our side?”
Cathy nods again. “Hang on, I'll go get him.”
She goes outside, kneeling next to Dogday.
“You ready?”
She asks.
Dogday takes a deep breath, then nods.
“Yes.”
Cathy smiles, gently picking him up.
When she carries him in, Poppy gasps, covering her mouth.
Dogday smiles brightly.
“Poppy…? And… Kissy…?”
He whispers.
The two girls were silent while Cathy set Dogday down on a nearby chair.
Then Poppy smiles brightly.
“DOGDAY!!”
She says, smiling happily while Kissy silently tears up.
The two girls go to hug him tightly, Kissy wrapping her arms around him twice.
“You’re alive!” Poppy says, trying to hug him as best she could with her tiny arms.
Dogday cries happy tears, hugging them back.
“Barely…” He says.
He sniffles. “I… I thought I'd never see you girls again…”
Poppy looks up at him. “Us neither…” She says. “How did you get out of there?”
Dogday cries happily, looking up at Cathy.
“Cathy rescued me.”
He says.
Poppy and Kissy look at Cathy.
“Thank you…”
Poppy says. “You have no idea how much he means to us…”
Cathy shrugs. “Well, he was suffering.” She says. “I wasn’t just gonna leave him to get eaten alive by those mini-abominations.”
She scoffs. “Only a total blank faced yellow spoon-head who probably participated in the experiments and called Dogday boring and shouldn’t be shipped with either of them would do something like that.”
Poppy, Kissy and Dogday all nod in agreement.
Cathy smiles softly.
“Now, do you think you could look after him while I’m away?”
Poppy smiles and nods.
“Don’t worry.” She says. “We’ll take good care of him.”
Kissy nods as well.
“Thank you.”
Cathy says gently. “I trust you.”
She then turns to leave. “Now, I've got to go take care of that last wire.”
She looks back at them. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay.” Poppy says.
“Be careful, and we’ll be waiting for you in the other room, okay?”
Cathy nods. “I always am.”
She waves to everyone as she leaves, and they wave back happily.
“Bye Cathy!”
Cathy smiles, knowing her friends were backing her up.
Once she was back in the main playcare area, Cathy redials Ollie on her toy phone.
“Hey, sorry I took so long to call back.” She says.
“That’s okay!” Ollie says.
“Hey, while you were down there, did you see the shrine?”
He asks.
Cathy sighs shakily, remembering it. “Yes, I did…”
“Catnap made it for the prototype.” Ollie says.
Cathy nods. “I figured…”
“See, before Catnap turned into… Catnap… I guess there was some pretty serious accident.”
Cathy’s heart sinks.
“I… I figured…”
“He almost died, but they say the prototype saved his life, giving up his own freedom in the process.”
Cathy tears up a bit.
‘My poor Theo…’
She thinks to herself.
“In Catnap’s eyes, the prototype is a superhero, and has saved this place.”
Ollie says. “So Catnap treats him like a god, killing everyone who opposes him. Us included, if we’re not careful.”
Cathy sniffles, wiping her eyes.
‘If only I could get through to him…’
She thinks.
“That shrine… Did it scare you?”
Ollie asks.
Cathy frowns.
“Kind of… it was very unnerving…”
She answers.
Ollie then says,
“If you think THAT’S terrifying, wait until you see the REAL thing.”
A shiver rolls down Cathy’s spine.
“I can hardly wait…”
She says sarcastically.
“Anyway, we’re really close to the end!”
Ollie says.
Cathy smiles. “Good.”
“I sent you a new key. You’re going to the counselor's office instead.” Ollie says. “It’s not ideal, but it should have enough juice. If you can get that generator going and plug it in, I think we’ll be done!”
“Okay, gotcha.”
Cathy answers.
“And keep your eyes open for Catnap.”
Ollie adds. “Every shadow and flickering light is a hiding spot.”
Cathy looks down.
“I know…”
“He’ll take away anything you have to defend yourself… and when you’re at your most vulnerable… he’ll kill you…”
Ollie says. “Catnap lives for the hunt.”
Cathy sighs sadly.
“Well, I will try my very best not to die…” She says.
‘But if I do… at least I'll die by the hands… or… claws… of my Theo…’
She thinks to herself.
“Good luck. Talk soon.”
Ollie finishes.
Cathy nods. “Okay, talk later.”
She says before hanging up.
With her new goal in mind, she heads off towards the statue.