Chapter Text
“Good luck with...whatever you plan on doing in there.”
“Yeah, thank you. Like I said, it was just a dare. Here, take this.”
The eyes of the Uber driver widened as they saw the bundle of cash being handed to them. Even just looking at it, it seemed to be crumpled 50 dollar bills. And not only that, but a lot of them.
“Are… Are you sure? It was just a half an hour ride, man.”
The hooded figure shoved the money more enthusiastically towards the driver, smiling gently.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Take it, go get something nice for dinner tonight. Thanks again for driving me here.”
The driver took the money, albeit clearly hesitant. As soon as it left their hand, the figure opened the car door and stepped outside. They didn’t react even as the car behind them sped away in a hurry, as if afraid they would change their mind and take the money back.
They looked up at the factory, the breeze blowing over the scenery, creating an eerie presence. The sky was a murky yellow and grey, indicative of the fires raging in distant lands. It was hair-raising by itself, but accompanying this liminal space, it created a heavy feeling of dread in their gut, like a piece of lead that they had swallowed. Avery’s hand clenched, the letter in it crumpling even further than it already had been.
They didn’t want to do this. They wanted to turn tail and run, never come back, forget all about this.
But if they did, what was waiting for them? They didn’t have any friends. They didn’t have any family. They barely had a job, and honestly they probably wouldn’t for much longer with the absurd amount of time off they asked for. There was nothing left for them in this world but this rundown, depressing looking toy factory. It was fitting, honestly.
There was nothing left to do but move forward. And so, they did.
It actually wasn’t that difficult to get in through the front entrance. There had clearly been an attempt to board it up at one point, but raiders and urban explorers had made short work of it, and so there were plenty of gaps in its defenses. Avery managed to move the disassembled boards from the front doors and drag the creaky doors open. It protested from lack of use, but it was no use - they had already decided that this was going to happen.
The inside was basically as they had expected - peeling paint, dirt and rubble all over the ground. Everything looked faded and worn, a sad mimicry of what it used to be. A familiar face stared back at them, bright blue paint covered in dust and cracks, cartoonish eyes wide in terror.
They shuddered at the sight.
Coughing a bit as they kicked up years of dirt buildup on the floor, they wandered a bit, unsure of how to proceed. They had gotten here, sure, but they hadn’t really considered what they would do after they got here. They had assumed all the doors would be open from the various people who had come here over the years, but this assumption was quickly dashed by several locked doors in front of them.
First was the big one - the one that led to the rest of the factory. It was closed behind a security pad that could only be opened by an authorized grab pack. Surprisingly, the pad was lit up a bright blue, implying that the factory was at least partially powered up. It was strange, seeing as how they figured the electric company would have cut them off many years ago. Maybe the security pad would even still work - but this was another hope still dashed. They didn’t have a grab pack anymore. They hadn’t, even for the majority of their time at the factory.
Still, the power being on at all gave them one last idea.
They stopped in front of the security office. It was one of the only stations that could be accessed without a grab pack. They had only been in the office once or twice, and only with someone else opening it for them, but maybe, just maybe…
The keypad made a small ‘ding!’ noise as the door easily slid open. Avery sighed in relief. It was a good thing they hadn’t changed the passcode, even after all this time. It was a good thing the keypad even still worked.
They peeked inside. Maybe the security system would still be on, if the power was. Maybe they could get a good view of the rest of the factory on the cameras. There was no guarantee they would actually be able to access any of the cameras, though, they had never known any of the passwords to the system. This didn’t matter, though, since even with the power running through certain systems, the security station wouldn’t turn on - no matter how much they fiddled with it.
As something caught their eye, though, they thought maybe they had found something even better.
Behind a glass case in the security station was what looked to be a fully intact grab pack. Untouched by the rest of the world. Painted in bright, childish colors, its only imperfection was that it only had one of its arms attached - the other one nowhere in sight. Still, it seemed to be Avery’s saving grace.
Trying to pry open the case with their bare hands seemed to be a no go, and there was no locking mechanism in sight, so they were a bit befuddled until they caught sight of a metal bar on the ground. It looked like it had once been part of a table before it had been dismantled. It was as good a crowbar as any, though, and so that’s how they used it, wedging it into the gap in the glass case and pulling as hard as they could. With a little elbow grease and effort, the case snapped open, and with the force of it Avery was thrown back and onto the ground. They cried out, panicking as they made contact with the cold, dusty ground. The metal bar clanged onto the ground as well before sliding to the other side of the room.
For a moment they just sat there on the ground, breathing steadily as the dust settles around them, before sitting up. Maybe they should have been more prepared for the recoil.
Still, they had accomplished their goal. They slowly stood up, minding their bent leg, and walking to the now opened case, grabbing the grab pack and securing it around their shoulders. Cautiously, they tightened the straps and grabbed the control of the left arm. Still unsure, they pressed the button on the controller as a test. The grab pack whirred for a moment, and just as they thought it wasn’t going to do anything, the blue hand extended towards the ground, gripping onto it until they released the button.
It worked. The only question was: did it have the proper authorization?
There was no use in just theorizing about it, though. So they made their way back to the lobby with the metal bar, hopped over the turnstile, and put the blue hand to the lit up screen. After just a few moments, the door slid open.
Beyond the door, beyond the hallway, within the main hub of the factory, Avery saw something that made their heart beat out of their chest, their head feel light, and their stomach feel like an anvil in their torso.
It was him.
The longer they looked at the sight in front of them, the more the fuzzy feeling in their head turned into a pounding headache, feeling like it was ripping their skull apart. Their vision became darkened, their limbs feeling like they were afloat, their throat suddenly becoming so incredibly dry -
They shook their head. It was fine. They were fine. After all, it was just him… It was just Huggy Wuggy.
Step by step, they came closer to the giant fluffy ‘statue’. And yet, no matter how close they came, he didn’t move. They were confused. This isn’t what they expected. First of all, they didn’t even expect him to be here - second of all, why was he just standing there, like he was an actual toy? Like how he would during the factory’s active hours?
Finally, Avery was standing in front of Huggy, less than a foot away from his furry form. They barely came halfway up his leg. They gently touched his fur, patting it down.
He was warm, just like they expected.
“Buddy?” they asked.
No response.
“Buddy, why you so still? I can see you swaying.”
Still, nothing.
Avery considered their options. They could stay here until the stubborn Huggy moved or acknowledged them, or they could move forward. They didn’t come here for him, after all. They came here for the letter. They came for whoever sent it.
So they decided to leave the fluffy blue monstrosity and continue on.
There seemed to be a few doors at their disposal - they remembered them, even after all this time. However, they figured that one of them was a good starting point - the electrical room. Even though this place seemed to be at least partially powered up, it didn’t seem that all its features were working. Logically, then, they could start up the entire factory in that room.
There was one problem with this idea: the door was locked. Except that it wasn’t much of a problem for Avery, who had brought a lockpick with them.
It took some fenangling, but they were able to unlock the door and enter.
Like they suspected, not everything was turned on - so after pressing some switches and replacing some fuses with spares that were kept in the back, the factory was (theoretically) at 100% power. The lights in the room flickered on, and presumably the rest of the factory. They smiled. At least they were able to accomplish one thing.
The smile disappeared from their face when they came back to the main room and Huggy was gone.
“Huggy?” they called out. “Where’d you go, buddy? It’s okay, the lights only came on because I turned them on, no one else is here…”
Nothing.
Avery sighed. It seemed that Huggy was going to be even more of a brat than they expected. But what could they do? They couldn’t make him come out or act more mature. All they could do was continue on.
They could try breaking another door open, but they were more interested in one of the doors that needed the grab pack to access. One of them seemed to need both arms to access, so they opted instead for the one that seemed to only require the left hand. (They found it funny that most one hand security pads only seemed to require the left hand. What happened to most people having dominant right hands, huh?)
Inside was a two story room. Below were shelves of boxes labeled different sizes that made their head hurt to look at, and above was a control station. From the view of the control station, Avery could see an assembly line covered in unfinished and unassembled doll parts. On the other side of the line was something that made their eyes light up: a red grab pack hand up on one of the shelves.
Seeing no other way to get to it, they carefully lowered themself onto the ground and wandered over to the shelf in question. It was a little too high for them to reach on their own, so they carefully positioned their grab pack so they could grab it - like a much more dangerous claw machine, considering it could cause the shelf to topple on them at any moment.
Still, they were able to get the other hand without incident, as well as attach it to their grab pack.
Very happy with themself, Avery sauntered back to the main hub - at least, until they were met with a very unexpected sight in the hallway.
Huggy Wuggy.
He stood in the hall, head brushing the ceiling, eyes focused entirely on the shorter figure in front of him. They chuckled.
“Hey, buddy. Finally decided to stop sulking? It’s nice to see you.”
Huggy grinned with his razor sharp teeth, and took one step forward. Avery laughed again, this time nervously, taking a step back. That couldn’t be the look on his face that they thought it was, was it?
“Um, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Is….is everything okay, Huggy?”
He chuffed, as though it was a rhetorical question.
And then everything happened at once.
Huggy screeched and lunged at Avery, barely giving them enough time to fall back and out of his range. They scooted backwards before getting up, taking one look at Huggy’s bloodthirsty eyes and drooling mouth, before turning around and booking it.
They ran to the door from which they had just exited, entering once more and slamming it behind them. They heard a loud bang behind them, and then several more, so they continued running up the stairs and down to the conveyor belt. It led into a small entryway, only meant for toys to go through. It looked like the only way to exit this room. They gulped, considering whether or not it was worth squishing themself through it, but their decision was quickly made when they heard the door being torn down, accompanied by a loud screech.
As fast as they could, they ducked into the small entryway, and started crawling.
They nearly started crying as they continued through the tiny duct, hearing Huggy clearly behind them, clawing at the bounds that prevented him from joining them in this tiny space. What had happened!? They had never seen him like this! He had never acted this way towards them! What had occurred in the time that they were gone? Maybe he didn’t recognize them?
At some point while they weren’t paying attention, they must have tripped some sort of trigger, as the conveyor belt started moving beneath them. They were helplessly dragged along as the belt moved them forward regardless of where they wanted to go. Alarms blared as parts of dolls and toys were rained upon them, overwhelming them even more as they raced forward toward an exit - the momentum throwing them into a new room, straight onto the ground covered in broken glass and parts of toys. They cursed, trying to get up without aggravating any of their new wounds on their legs and arms - looking around them, it seemed to be a familiar room - the Build A Friend station.
They weren’t given much time to adjust or take in this new room as they heard a bang and a screech behind them.
Looking back, it was Huggy Wuggy, looking to visit them.
Avery scrambled to get up, running as far away from Huggy as was physically possible before they reached an obstacle - the fact that there were no open exits in this room. They banged on the metal door separating them from the hall connecting to the main part of the building, crying as they searched for some way to open it. The words ‘No one leaves without a toy’ glared at them from a poster, as if mocking them.
They heard Huggy close behind them, thumping as he got closer and closer, so they quickly made a change of plans - or lack thereof, aka just getting as far away from their pursuer as quickly as possible.
Except they were stopped by a soft but firm, flexible thing wrapping around their leg, tripping them and making them fall straight onto their face with a loud CRACK!
When they looked back, they of course saw that it was Huggy’s arm that had stopped them, tightly gripping their leg and slowly, but surely, dragging them back towards him. They cried out, bright red liquid pouring from their nose, as they were brought closer and closer to their presumed killer. As they were directly beneath Huggy, they sobbed and covered their face, awaiting whatever horrible death he had planned for them.
Except it never came.
As they were tensely waiting for something to happen, they felt something. Something wet dripping onto their face.
Maybe he’s drooling thinking about eating me, they thought miserably. Still, nothing came, and the liquid continued to surely drip onto their face. Then, they heard a stifled noise come from above, and they opened their eyes.
They gasped.
Clear liquid was pooling from Huggy’s eyes and streaming down his face, wetting his fur, and dripping onto the floor and Avery. He was crying. Even as he pinned them to the floor with his free paw, he was crying. He made a strangled noise, not even close to English, but Avery realized the message all at once nonetheless.
Why? Why did you leave me?
“Oh, Huggy,” Avery said, tears gathering in their own eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. I didn’t... I’m sorry.”
Huggy made another garbled noise, sounding frustrated and sad, and gritted his teeth.
“I know… I didn’t realize… You must have been so lonely here. You must have been so hurt… You didn’t know… You didn’t know why I left,” they continued, reaching out a hand to pet Huggy’s face. He leaned into it, cooing softly.
Slowly, he released their leg and shoulder, moving away before Avery pulled him back, pulling him into a tight hug. He made a surprised, shrill squeak before leaning into it, hugging back.
“It’s okay, it’s okay… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Avery repeated in a whisper, running their fingers through Huggy’s fur in a way they hoped was comforting.
The two of them stayed like that for a while, with Avery practically sitting on Huggy’s lap as they embraced, both crying. Eventually they both quieted, but stayed where they were, afraid to disturb the peaceful feeling of remembrance that they felt.
Huggy was the first one to move. Hugging Avery more tightly than before, he was careful as he stood up, cradling them as if they were a child. When he started walking, he was cautious and slow, making sure not to jostle them as he moved. They weren’t sure where he was taking them, but they trusted him implicitly, so they simply buried their face in his fur and waited until he stopped and carefully set them down.
They wobbled a bit at first, after a while of not standing. Huggy swiftly moved in, readjusting and balance them, and they mumbled out a quick ‘thank you’.
They looked around and found themself in a very familiar place - a place, in fact, that they had been in not that long ago.
The lobby.
Confused, they looked up at Huggy, who then frowned and gestured back to the glass doors in front of them.
"You want me to leave," they said in realization.
Huggy nodded.
Avery stopped for a moment and considered their options. Huggy was offering them a way out, a painless way to say they didn't want to continue, guilt free. They could leave now, go back to their normal, human life, no questions asked. Huggy Wuggy wouldn't blame them, it would be okay.
"...no. I'm not going back out. I'm staying."
As soon as they said that and went to make a move back towards the rest of the factory, Huggy's entire demeanor changed.
He immediately became more animalistic, growling and hissing, lowering himself onto all fours and blocking Avery from continuing on. When they took another step towards him, he snapped at them, as if daring them to come closer. They took a step back without meaning to, before becoming angry themself.
“Huggy, you can’t change my mind! I’m not leaving! I’m staying here and I’m finding whoever sent me here!”
Huggy shrieked at this, bringing himself closer to Avery and loudly growly, his face inches away from theirs. They could feel his breath against their face.
They sighed and took a moment to close their eyes, breathing deeply before opening them up again, puffing themself up to confront the blue, furry monster standing before them.
“Huggy. Huggy. I know you’re not going to hurt me. I know you’re just doing this to protect me. But you’re not going to change my mind. I need to know who sent me here, and I need to know what happened to everyone after I left. Okay?”
He just stared them down for a moment, as if testing their resolve, before righting his posture and looking down at them, as if asking a question.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
He huffed and turned away, taking a moment to consider what they had said. Then, he turned back, leaning down and putting a paw on Avery’s back, pausing to look at them, perhaps wondering if what he was doing was okay. They nodded, and were promptly lifted into the air and cradled against Huggy’s chest. They assumed they were going to be taken somewhere, again.
They closed their eyes and drifted off as Huggy continued to carry them throughout the facility to a destination unknown. At one point, it seemed that they entered some sort of small, metal corridor, from the clanking noises and Huggy bending down while carrying them.
Soon after, they were once again set down on the floor.
Avery opened their eyes to find that they were now somewhere they didn’t recognize - a bridge crossing a huge gap, a room so huge that they couldn’t find the bottom of it. Down in the deep they could see metal pipes that extended so far that they never seemed to end.
But what was most disconcerting about this new location was what the bridge led to.
What seemed to be a normal door, like the door to a house, with a huge poppy flower painted around it - not only that, but what seemed to be warnings not to enter, and toys strung up like people hanging above near the door.
With what Avery knew about this place, that didn’t bode well.
They looked up at Huggy Wuggy, gesturing towards the door, who nodded.
So, they walked up to it, and opened it.