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A hiss. That’s what woke you up.
A weird little hiss that came above you, and you look up to see the red smoke clear up.
It takes a moment for you to catch on what was going on, and when it finally dawns on you, you sit up.
You remember that the last time you were awake. You remember the fun day you had with the Prototype and what you had learned about the Playtime factory. You remember the promise that had been made to you.
You rub your eyes and look around. You take a look at your hands and then at your feet. You realize that you have grown since the last time you were awake.
You feel excitement fill your systems, because you must have been awoken to meet the Prototype again. He must have figured out a way to fix all the broken toys. He must have gotten together with Poppy and they were good now.
That must be it!
But…
‘’Prototype?’’ your voice echoes around, trying to reach whoever was alive in this cursed place.
He’s not there. No one was there.
You look around for the emergency light, thinking that maybe your sleeping bot was broken again, but… nothing.
You slowly get up and look around some more.
‘’Prototype?’’
Where is he? He should be there to greet you. If he was behind this, surely he would be there.
You notice that there’s a door open. You look at it for a moment and try to decide on what to do.
You could go. See if the Prototype was in the hallway. Or maybe CatNap was there. Maybe DogDay was there. Maybe…
No. It’s too quiet.
And you’re sure that if CatNap and DogDay were behind this, they would have already rushed in and hugged you.
Surely, they had missed you as much as you have missed them.
You keep staring at the door.
You remember the last time you were awake. What the Prototype had told you…
‘’All toys seem to go feral after some time. They become animals that don’t know any better.’’
Was this one of those times when a toy had gone feral and had found the children?
If you start to wander around, would you be… its next meal?
No, it was too quiet.
If this was a hunting trip for the toy, surely it would have already come out and attacked. It had all the time in the world when you were rubbing your eyes.
This… made no sense.
You look around again and then you decide that the best (and safest) option was to stay still and wait.
This whole situation didn’t feel right.
So, you walked back to your bed and climbed in to sit. You look around and wait. The door was hidden from your view, but… your curiosity made your eyes wander over there.
Maybe just a little peek. Just…
No!
You remember all those times that you had wandered off on your own.
That time in Play Care, when the Hour of Joy was happening: You got trapped and nearly starved to death.
The time when you had decided to see where that hatch lead: You met someone scary and made DogDay and CatNap really worried.
And the last time you were awake… Well, you didn’t wander around then, but you almost woke up one of the other kids that Prototype wanted to keep safe.
Nothing good had come from you wandering around on your own. It was better and safer to just sit there and wait.
So, you sit there. You wait.
Maybe ten minutes. Twenty? Thirty? You don’t know.
But your wait was rewarded eventually.
A familiar clicking sound came from the depths of the room and you turned to see the familiar form of the Prototype.
‘’Good morning, little one!’’ the Prototype’s voice came from above you. He sounded cheerful, but you had to admit that you still weren’t used to seeing his full form.
He was just as scary as you remember, but…
Something was different. The Prototype’s body was…
Did he use to have three hands on his front? Was that purple fur on his back? And… Were there tanks of some kind around his stomach?
‘’Good morning.’’ you reply and move on your knees.
‘’Allow me, little one.’’ the Prototype moved the two unfamiliar hands towards you.
They were similar in shape and length, but one had pink fur and the other had blue fur. They moved to grab you from under your arms and hoisted you up. They felt firm and strong, but also soft and warm.
They were… oddly familiar.
Where had you seen those arms before?
Your curiosity knew no bounds, but luckily, your mouth did.
‘’How long was I asleep?’’ you ask as you were held above the floor like you were the Prototype’s most precious toy.
‘’Six years.’’ the Prototype says while he looks at you.
You get the feeling like he’s looking for something, but you can’t tell what.
‘’Six? Last time was four years… Wasn’t it? So… It’s been ten years since the Hour of Joy?’’
‘’Correct! Good job!’’ the Prototype sounds proud as he clapped his needlelike fingers as applause.
You feel a sense of pride. Something about making others happy feels good.
‘’Have you missed me?’’ you ask shyly.
‘’Every day.’’
‘’I… I dreamed about you. A lot.’’ you admit.
‘’Did you now? What were the dreams about?’’
‘’Us playing. CatNap was there too. And DogDay. And Poppy too.’’ you list and noticed how the Prototype seems to ease up. ‘’Uh… So… Why was I awaken? Did you find a way to fix the toys?’’
The Prototype doesn’t answer right away. He looks at you and his body lets out little clicks as it moves.
‘’Unfortunately, no.’’ he finally set you down gently and leans over to look closely at you. ‘’But! I found something else. Something which is almost as good.’’
‘’Oh?’’
‘’And I want to take you there. To show you.’’
You blink in surprise. ‘’Where?’’
‘’It’s called a Better Place.’’
You glanced down. ‘’A Better Place? Where’s that? I’ve never heard of it.’’
‘’It was something that was being made a long time ago. Someone… I used to respect created it, and it was left to gather dust. I made it… better. Finished what had been started. And now! It’s ready to be used again.’’
‘’Is… Is it like Play Care? Will toys be there? CatNap and DogDay….’’
‘’No toys. Not yet. But soon.’’ the Prototype moves your hair out of your eyes with his needlelike fingers. His eye looks at you like it’s seeing right through you and knowing what you have in your mind. ‘’They’re still not safe. I’m sorry. But I’m close. Very close.’’
You nod and look around again. You try to hide the fact that you remember what Mommy Long Legs had done to those little Huggy Wuggies.
You wanted the toys to be safe again, and you just knew the Prototype would find a way to make them safe.
‘’Will… Will the others join us? Should we wake them up?’’
‘’No, child. Not yet. I want you to see it first. I trust you.’’
You don’t understand what that means.
‘’Trust me? With… With what exactly? Is this place a secret?’’
‘’Yes, it was. A secret between three people. One who was tested, another who was wanted, and… a third who died with all the secrets.’’ the Prototype moved to his long needlelike fingers to feel your shoulder. ‘’It has been a secret between two people for so long. I can no longer tell if it’s a good one, anymore. I want you to come. To see it. Tell me if you think we can bring the others.’’
‘’That… sounds like a big ask. Are you sure I’m the right person to ask?’’
‘’Absolutely!’’ the Prototype sounded like he was smiling.
You glance down and think. You’re sure you can trust the Prototype. So, if he says you’re the person to ask something like this, then he must know it better than you.
‘’Okay.’’ you say and look up at the Prototype. ‘’Where to?’’
The Prototype picks you up and carries you out of the room.
You’re bigger and heavier, but the Prototype carries you just as easily as he did six years ago. He still feels like the most safest being in the world, despite how he looks.
‘’Uh… Do you mind if I ask questions? I wanna know what’s been happening.’’ you ask as politely as you can.
‘’Of course. Of course.’’
You look at the Prototype’s three new hands.
‘’Why… Why do you look so different now?’’
‘’I needed some work done to my body. I picked what I needed.’’
‘’Is that so?’’ you look at the Prototype’s back where the purple fur shined under the lights. ‘’Why did you need three new arms?’’
The Prototype laughs and shows one of his needlelike fingers. ‘’Child, with hands like these, things like hugs and games are nearly impossible. And if we are to reopen Better Place, the first thing I want is to hug everyone.’’
‘’Huh… Makes sense.’’ you say, but you’re not completely convinced.
You start to notice that the Prototype is acting… differently. You can’t put your finger on it, but there was something wrong.
Prototype seems too different, too cheerful, too… strange.
But he feels safe. Like a wise grownup.
And you also suppose that it has been ten years, and time has a way of changing people. Perhaps, Prototype has just been growing and changing and learning things that you couldn’t even imagine.
‘’And… How are things with Poppy?’’
At that, the Prototype stops walking and stares into nothing.
‘’She… She is fine.’’
Something about the way the Prototype says that makes you suspicious. It sounds like a lie.
‘’Did you talk with her?’’
‘’I did and… She… I…’’
‘’Did something bad happen?’’
The Prototype doesn’t speak. Just stares at you. You can almost see some kind of a story roll behind the gaze, but the words were refusing form.
‘’Are you okay?’’ you’re a bit worried now.
The Prototype still hesitates.
‘’Prototype!’’ a voice that had no body screams from somewhere, and you jump in surprise.
The Prototype moves at last as his hands suddenly hold onto you very tightly. The needlelike fingers press against you as if they were promising safety, and you allow yourself to believe it.
‘’Prototype! Words from Lily Lovebraids!’’ the voice says.
The Prototype lets out a long sigh, and he seems very annoyed suddenly.
‘’I am busy. Tell her if she wants to talk about same thing, I already told her…’’
‘’No! She says it’s different this time!’’
The Prototype seems to roll his eyes as much as he can and starts to walk again.
‘’She says she had Poppy!’’
The Prototype stops again. ‘’She what?’’
‘’She said, if you come have tea with her, Poppy will be there too!’’
The Prototype’s hands start to shiver, and his body lets out clicks. He looks down at you again and seems to think about what he would like to do first.
You hesitate. You don’t know if you should say something, or if it even was your place to say anything. And just as you decide on what to do, you’re suddenly surprised as the Prototype’s hands move you up and down, as if he was trying to guess your weight. Or… maybe it was his way of making sure you’re calm.
‘’Tell Lily… that I will be over, once I’m done with my friend.’’
There was a scuffle and you finally saw the thing that had been talking.
It was a toy. Or… You think it was.
It looked oddly hairless and misshapen as it rushed off.
The Prototype starts to walk again.
‘’Uh… What was that about?’’ you ask curiously.
‘’Nothing for you to worry about. Just an old… friend… trying to connect. And it seems, Poppy is with her.’’
You can tell the Prototype didn’t want to use the word ‘friend’ when he spoke about this person who was apparently with Poppy. You get the sense that the Prototype is holding back a nasty word that he was sure you shouldn’t learn from him.
‘’Who’s Lily Lovebraids?’’
You’re sure you know every toy that had been made in the Playtime factory. Smiling Critters were the toys you grew up around, but you heard about every other toy.
But try as you might, the name ‘Lovebraids’ doesn’t ring a bell.
‘’No one important. But she is also another toy that I must entertain with my presence.’’ the Prototype turns to get into a room and stands in the middle of it for a moment. ‘’Hungry?’’
‘’Uh… Yeah…’’
The Prototype sets you down, and you suddenly hear familiar noises.
You look over to see mini Smiling Critters coming towards you. They let out laughs and stare at you.
But… they look wrong.
Their fur… It was matted, dirty, full of holes. The blacks of their eyes were hanging on their faces or completely fallen off, shoving their glowing little eyes.
They looked… broken.
The Prototype puts his hand on your shoulder. ‘’Go play, child.’’
You stare at the critters in shock and back away until you’re hiding behind one of the Prototype’s legs.
‘’What… What has happened to them?’’
‘’They have been so excited to see you, that they didn’t think to wash up. Don’t worry! They’re okay.’’
You hesitate for a moment longer before you dare to take a step forward.
A KickinChicken plush comes to meet you. It stares up at you, pauses and then lets out a croaking laughter.
The other critters come closer too and they start to jump around while laughing. Then they rushed away to hide all over the room, and you remember this part.
This happened in the Playhouse too. The critters there had gone to play hide and seek, and you had been the seeker.
The lights in the room flicker on and you’re met with another familiar sight of the Prototype’s room. The familiar walls that reminded you of the Playhouse and the table where you had been drawing pictures. With a rush of nostalgia, you see the three drawings you had made on the wall, kept as treasures on display.
It made you feel remembered. And to an orphan child, a feeling like that was worth more than any amount of gold.
With an old excitement, you rush to find the little critters.
The Prototype calls back to you: ‘’I’ll make you some food while you’re having fun!’’
‘’Thank you, Prototype! You’re the best!’’ you gave him a big smile before you dove into the huge play castle.
You don’t see the way the Prototype shivers from those words.
You find critters all around and hugged them one by one. They seem to enjoy your company and hugs.
They were happy to crawl with you, follow you and laugh with you. They were the perfect playmates.
And you were having fun too. Sure, your body was bigger and according to the law, you were an adult, but you felt like a little kid as you were playing with the critters.
But… the more you played, the more you noticed the smell.
They smelled bad. Like really bad. You tried to ignore it, but you can’t. They smelled like blood, meat that had gone bad and… vanilla?
Huh… That’s odd. The only creature that smelled that strongly of vanilla was… DogDay.
You pause in the middle of the game and look at the critters you’ve already found. You had found a good number of them, so… Maybe at least one of them could ease your pain of missing your old saviors.
‘’Hey… Can you tell me…? How is DogDay?’’
The critters look at you. Their broken voices sound hollow as they laugh.
‘’Is he still in Play Care? Has… Has CatNap kept his promise and not hurt him? Are they… friends again?’’
The critters don’t look away from you.
You’re unable to read their expressions and you begin to doubt if they can even speak.
‘’Please… Can you tell me?’’
The critters move as one. They started to laugh and jump as if they were trying to make you focus on the game they were playing. Some rush behind you to push you forward.
They… wanted to continue the game… without telling you anything.
You could tell that they were somewhat frantic with their movements. It was as if they knew they had to continue playing, or something bad might happen.
‘’Hey…’’ you hesitate.
More critters started to jump around and some of them slam into you.
‘’Stop it.’’
It was becoming overwhelming. Hundreds of different broken voices giggled all around and multiple little bodies slammed against you as if trying to get you to move.
‘’Stop… Please…’’
You can’t handle it. You have to leave right away. You crawl away as fast as you can while the critters kept jumping and laughing.
As soon as they realize that you were trying to leave the castle, the critters stopped jumping and started to build a wall of themselves in front of you. They were trying to keep you in.
What were they thinking? Were they trying to bully you?
The broken laughter still rings around as you try to push them away.
You panic. You were never good with tight places.
You push your body forward and land hard on the floor. You hear something crack and turn to see two critters below you.
They weren’t moving. Something that looks like blood start to leak out of them.
The critters seem to panic and start to rush at you, but you stand up and run away. You run out of the room and slam the door.
‘’What… is wrong with them?’’ you ask and watch as the door shakes.
You shiver and back away. You can still hear the laughter, but now you can tell there was a note of desperation.
Then there was another sound that makes you turn.
The Prototype comes to you and leans towards you as if he was worried.
‘’What happened?’’ the Prototype’s voice was too loud, and you immediately jump back in fear. He seems to realize his mistake and slowly reach towards you. His touch is gentle as he rubs your back. ‘’Are you alright?’’
You let out a sob and shiver.
‘’I… I dunno what happened.’’ you dare to take a step towards the Prototype. ‘’I… I-I asked about DogDay and CatNap, and they… They were jumping and pushing me. I got scared. They tried to keep me in, and… a-and… I’m sorry! I wanted to know about them!’’
‘’Shh…’’ the Prototype lifts you up and hugs you gently. ‘’Calm down. You did nothing wrong.’’
You feel safe and slowly calm down.
The Prototype looks at the door where the critters were and hisses through it: ‘’I will talk to all of you later. You better be there when I get back. You know the punishment of disobedience is… dire.’’
The Prototype takes you away into another room that seems like an old breakroom. There was a table that had a deliciously looking dinner waiting. He sets you down gently and one of his furry hands comes to wipe your face.
‘’Now… You just eat your full. I’ll go talk to those who bully you.’’ the Prototype leans away and gets out of the room.
You look at the food. It looks absolutely amazing and fresh, so you dig in. It’s just as good as it looks. It’s warm, filling, tasty and…
Huh… What is this meat?
Sure, you’re not that familiar with meats and what they’re supposed to taste like, but you remember somethings about the meals that had been served to you back in Play Care.
Pork tended to be fatty, fish was salty, chicken was rubbery and mettwurst, which you knew to be horse meat, was spicy.
But this meat was… none of that. It was fatty, sure, but also rubbery. You can taste the salt and something like a flower.
Come to think of it, when you had awoken six years ago, the Prototype had served you a meat that tasted exactly like this.
And as for the vegetables? They taste weird too. They were good, but something tastes off. You still eat them and accept them as food, but something in your brain tells you that it was… wrong.
Once you’re full, you look around.
The Prototype still isn’t back yet, so you wander to the door to look around.
You don’t plan to leave the area, since you’re still convinced that wandering on your own is a bad move. But that idea was changed when you heard a voice.
It came from behind you, in what you knew to be the room where the sleeping pots were.
Maybe… another kid had woken up and they were wandering around.
You better go and see that they’re okay. You can guide them to the table to eat. You bet the Prototype would like that.
So, you go inside and look around.
‘’Hello?’’
There was a sound at the very back of the room, so you walk towards it.
Whoever it was, they were moving slowly and loudly. They let out huffs and inhaled deeply.
‘’Hey there! Are you okay?’’ you ask in the most friendliest voice you can. ‘’Don’t be afraid. I’m here to…’’
You had looked around as you spoke, and you suddenly notice something very odd in one of the sleeping pots. You walk towards it and take a better look.
There was the red smoke, but no child insight. The pot was empty.
Why would there be a need to fill an empty sleeping pot with red smoke?
You turn to another sleeping pot and see that it was empty as well. You rush to your own sleeping pot. It was shut too and red smoke was filling it up.
What was going on?
Were… Were all the sleeping pots empty?
The sound came from the darkness again, and you turn to look. You see movement in the dark corner and walk towards it.
‘’Hello?’’
You see the figure in the dark standing. It was short and awkward looking. It was moving weirdly and bending every so often, as if it was looking for something but didn’t want to be seen.
‘’Hey? Can you hear me?’’
The figure suddenly jumped and fell hard on the floor.
You rush to whoever it was and reach a hand out.
‘’Hey, are you oka-?’’ you stop talking, because you finally see what you had been chasing.
It was a toy. A very weird looking toy with an oddly shaped body. You can tell based on the color that it’s supposed to be a Cat-Bee, but the body wasn’t shaped like it was meant to walk on all four. The arms and legs were bobbed out of the body and linked by what looked like thin metal pipes and exposed muscle.
The toy looks like it’s in pain, but you feel oddly repulsed by the way it looks. You can’t bring yourself to touch it.
‘’Uh… Hey.’’
The toy slowly gets on its hands and turns its head.
It was Cat-Bee’s face. The face was frozen in the same kind expression, but the eyes…
Those were not the eyes of a toy.
They were wide, round and… humanlike. They looked scared.
You stare at this thing, wondering what to do.
And then it starts to scream.
The mouth didn’t move at all and the expression stayed the same, but the scream was that of an adult man in a state of terror.
You’re so surprised and confused that you just stand there staring. You keep staring as the toy awkwardly gets up on its feet and starts to rush at you.
The limbs move weirdly. Like… Like they weren’t meant to be used like that. They rotated, around and around, stopped and rotated the other way as if they had been winded up.
It was at that moment when you start to scream too, and you ran away. You hear the toy fall on the spot where you had been.
The toy let out a painful cry.
You look behind you and see the toy now rushing at you on all fours. Its eyes were on you, and it was still screaming.
You ran out of the room and rush towards the way where the Prototype was. You’re screaming in fear as you hear the toy coming after you.
The toy’s paws sounded like a drum of death as they landed on the tiled floor. Fast, practiced, focused, but slightly uneven.
The toy was still screaming, still staring at you, and slowly gaining on you.
The Prototype rushes into the hallway and looks at you.
You’re so scared that all you managed to do was believe that as long as you could make it to the Prototype, you were safe.
And it seems the Prototype decides to meet you halfway, since one of his extra hands stretches towards you.
The pink gloved hand stretches towards you and its long fingers wrap behind your back, and you’re pulled towards the Prototype’s body. The two furry arms come to break your impact so you wouldn't get hurt by the Prototype’s hard exterior and then they wrap around you to promise protection.
The Prototype stares at the toy that had been chasing you, and there was a heavy silence.
The toy stares at the Prototype before it screams again and rushes away.
The Prototype uses the pink hand to lifts your body off the floor while the furry arms still embrace you, and he rushes at the toy. The Prototype’s upper body leans ahead, and his hands moved into position.
A hunter on a hunt.
You don’t see what happens, but you hear a sudden splat and the screaming stops. You sob out in fear and keep your eyes closed.
The Prototype moves slowly and looks at the toy that he had pierced with his needlelike fingers. He looks around before he tosses the body into another room and puts all of his attention onto you.
‘’Child…’’
You’re still shaking and sobbing like a scared little kid after a horrible nightmare
‘’Shh… Shh… It’s okay now.’’
You sniffle and wipe your face. The furry arms move to press against your shoulders and the pink hand pets your head.
‘’I’m sorry…’’ you sob out.
‘’For what?’’ the Prototype’s voice was gentle.
‘’I… I heard a noise in… in the room with all the sleeping pots. I thought another kid had woken up.’’ you explain and sob. You want to stop crying, but you can’t.
You’re suddenly struck with the realization of what kind of trap you had walked into and how much danger you must have been just by wandering around.
You should have known better.
Nothing good had ever come from you wandering around.
The Prototype leans to look at you. ‘’He didn’t hurt you, did he?’’
You shake your head.
‘’Good. You’re okay, that’s all that matters.’’ the Prototype looks around. ‘’Perhaps, now is the time when I take you to the Better Place. Before any more toys can scare you.’’
You say nothing. You just let him pick you up and carry you away from the area.
You feel safe in the Prototype’s arms. Your hands move on their own as they wrap around the Prototype’s shoulders and you feel a little pathetic.
But the Prototype’s hands didn’t move away. You feel his head lolling against yours, and you feel important.
Important enough to be held and seen, and it eases away whatever part in your brain feels pathetic.
It takes a few minutes before the Prototype places you down.
‘’We’re here!’’ he says kindly.
You let yourself to be placed down and wipe your face as much as you can with your hands.
‘’I’m sure you will love the Better Place.’’
You sniffle one more time before you turn to see a huge door. It looks grant and like a realistic portal to a dream world.
You feel the Prototype move the furry hands on your shoulders, and you look up to see him looking at you as if seeing how you will react to the surprise is his greatest pleasure.
‘’Go ahead, child. Open the door.’’
You look at the door.
Something nags at the back of your mind. Some unanswered questions that you had forgotten.
Why were the sleeping pots empty?
What was that meat? What were those vegetables?
What was wrong with those critters?
Where was DogDay?
Where was CatNap?
Your curiosity knew no bounds, but… your mouth did.
The question can come later. Can’t they?
This place was scary and you wanted to go to a better place. Somewhere the bullies didn’t come to. Where there was no scary looking toy chasing you.
And… The Prototype thinks it’s for the best.
He said he trusts you.
So, you can trust him too.
The Prototype has protected you, cared for you, played with you, feed you…
He has shown you more love than any adult that you can possibly remember.
You trust him. Completely.
The questions can come later.
You hesitate but for a moment until you place both of your hands on the door and push them open.
…To a Better Place.