Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The toy was looking for some food, he had refused to return to Safe Haven until he got even a little food. The heart-shaped button on his left eye was a little stained red, he would have liked to clean it, but he couldn't find any clean water to use.

"Hm." The toy heard the ringing of a phone, he quickly flew over to it and answered. "Ollie!" He said, closing his one eye in happiness.

"Vayl!" Ollie's cheerful voice rang through the phone, something that was happening more and more often. "I have good news! A former worker came back to the factory… And Poppy came back!" Ollie said as if it was a great achievement.

Vayl made a surprised noise. "Poppy came back?" He asked in a confused voice. "Ohh, right! I heard that the former worker threw Huggy down…" His voice sounded sad, to which Ollie quickly reacted.

"Don't worry, Huggy is probably fine!" Ollie assured him, his voice optimistic, though his voice changed slightly to a curious tone. "Well, are you going to Safe Haven? Doey asked about you, you know… Since no one's seen you lately…"

"Uhm…? I talked to you, Ollie. Didn't you tell them I was okay?" Vayl asked curiously, but Ollie didn't answer. "Mmh, well! I'll go to Safe Haven in a bit, first… I want to see the ex-worker, plus, I need to get some food!" Vayl decided to ignore Ollie's silence, though he thought it was odd.

Chapter Text

Vayl wandered around for several minutes, looking for some food or something he could use for the other toys.

The little toy couldn't help but think about the former employee. Why had he come back? Vayl didn't even know which of the former employees it was; he didn't quite remember who had been at The Hour of Joy. But he remembered Ollie mentioning at some point that one of the employees hadn't been there at the time because he was off work, so the new intruder was probably the employee who hadn't been there.

He wandered around a lot until he found some food inside a backpack near the main entrance. "Woah, who would have left this here?" The toy muttered, rummaged through his backpack, and found an ID. "Oh, it's his..."

Vayl remembered it.

He recognized that name, that face.

He remembered it, he remembered it.

 He remembered him wandering around his room, taking notes on him, cutting and stitching his flesh as if he were a mere broken puppet.

Vayl looked at the backpack, the food inside it. His friends were starving; there was food there.

Food that already belonged to someone.

Although Vayl didn't like the idea of stealing from someone, he grabbed the backpack and took it with him.

.

.

.

.

Vayl dragged the backpack around for a few minutes, until he stopped when he remembered he had to tell Ollie—or, rather, he wanted to tell Ollie.

The toy picked up the phone. "Ollie! Psss, are you there?" he asked curiously, patiently waiting for a response from the boy on the line.

"Vayl, psss!" Ollie answered in his trademark upbeat voice. "Did you find any food?"

 "Yes! Could you tell Doey I'll be there in a bit with some food?"

"Of course! By the way, I can see you!"

Vayl looked up, searching for a camera, until he spotted it, hidden in a corner behind a Cardboard of himself. He moved the Cardboard and waved at the camera. "Hi, Ollie!"

"Hi, Vayl!" Ollie replied in his cheerful tone.

Vayl lifted the backpack a little. "Look!" he said with a smile, closing his one eye happily. "It's heavy," Vayl complained.

Vayl was silent for a few seconds, until he spoke in a low voice; "Look at this..." The toy dropped the backpack and picked up the ID, holding it up to the camera.

PLAYER

"He's the man who came, right...? He was with me when... Well, you know." The toy lowered its voice again. "He was with the doctor."

Ollie was silent for a few seconds, seeming to be thinking about what to say. "He was the doctor's assistant." Ollie's voice sounded different, but he soon returned to his childish, upbeat voice, dropping the subject. "Don't worry, you'll be safe, Vayl! He's Poppy's angel, he's a key part of her plan!"

"Umm, I know, but-" A noise was heard near Vayl. "Oops, maybe I should go, heh, bye, Ollie!"

"Bye, Vayl."

The phone cut off, but the camera was still moving, following Vayl, who put the Cardboard back where it was before grabbing his backpack and leaving as quickly as he could. Just as he left the camera's view, the player arrived behind him.

"Whoa, these Cardboards are still here..?" The player looked at the Cardboard hanging from the ceiling. The only thing that came out of his mouth was a small, "Oh."

He could remember it; it was a toy they had created to be a guide and best friend for children. He also remembered the child he had become. They had used the child's name for the toy.

The player, slightly lost in his memories, didn't seem to notice that the camera had moved, pointing at it.

With a glimmer of hope, the player used his GrabPack's blue hand to tap the button, which, on this Cardboard, was pink.

"Hi, I'm Vayl! Need anything? I can guide you or help you!"

The player pressed it again, with a slight smile.

"Maybe we can play hide-and-seek. I'm pretty good at it, heh!"

Again.

"I hide around here a lot."

Again.

"I know this place really well. I can show you super-secret spots!"

Again.

"To hide from the scientists."

Again.

"Do you regret it?"

 Player stopped pressing at that moment, staring at the sign and pressing it one last time, but only Vayl's greeting played again. "Sorry..." The man whispered, staring at the Cardboard for a few seconds. But he quickly continued on his way.

......

Vayl felt a small chill; he didn't like walking (or rather, floating) through the doctor's domain, but the path he took led him through those places. He could feel the cameras following his hurried steps, but he wasn't 100% sure it was the doctor, which made his little wings ruffle.

He could hear the small footsteps of some toys approaching him, which made him quicken his pace. He quickly crossed the prison, looking for a small hole he had hidden.

He accidentally bumped his cheek against the edge of the hole, but he didn't think anything of it and continued on his way.

 It didn't take long to get to Safe Haven, not as long as walking through the daycare to get to the elevator. He was thankful Catnap wasn't there at the moment.

"Um, knock, knock!" Vayl spoke loudly, waiting for the door to be opened.

It wasn't long before Scout opened the door. The flying toy entered with a radiant aura. "Doey!" Vayl called, looking around for the dough man.

Doey quickly approached, smiling at how radiant Vayl looked. But his expression quickly changed when he saw his cheek. "Vayl! What happened...?" His tone was brimming with concern.

The younger boy looked at him in confusion, touched his cheek, and felt something.

His cheek had small cracks.

"Um, it's okay, I'm fine...! Look at this!" Vayl brushed it off and lifted his backpack with some difficulty.

"Is that...?"

"Food, yes!" The toy closed its one eye happily. "It might not be much, but it's all I could get…" His voice trailed off for a second, but he quickly smiled again, hoping it wouldn't show.

Doey was silent for a few seconds. His face held the same expression, and he was completely still.

Thirty seconds.

One minute.

Two minutes.

"Doey…?" Vayl tilted his head, waving his hand to get his attention, causing the older boy to blink twice.

"Oh, of course, buddie. We're going to distribute this food. If we distribute it properly, we could have rations for four or five days!" Doey said with a friendly smile, patting him lightly on the head and taking the backpack.