Chapter Text
“First you need to open the access panel on the generator.” Ollie states, get right down to business. “It’s just a little door outside the machine. Use the Omni Hand.”
You see the panel, and use the Hand to scan it. Once you hear it beep, you grab the handle with your free hand. You see an empty port and a square thing, alongside another Omni Hand scanner.
“ Got it. ” You say, eyeing the breaker switch you see.
“Whenever you’re ready, flip the breaker switch.” You reach out to it, but pause as Ollie adds something. “But be aware, while it’s down, so are the Safe Haven’s defenses. Meaning whatever’s out there has NOTHING keeping it out there. We’ll have to be quick.”
You grimace at his words. Quick indeed.
You flip the switch, seeing the lights go down.
“Grab an external resistor. Attach that to the capacitor bank.” He orders. You weren’t sure what that was, but you simply grab the round plug thing and shove it in.
“ Think I got it. Round thing in round hole. ” You comment.
“Good.” He praises. “Now, use the Omni-Hand to override the generator’s chipset protocols so we can yank out the busted surge protector. It’s the flashing blue light!”
You put the Omni Hand on the scanner, quickly grabbing the square box. As soon as it turns green, using your free hand you yank out the surge protector, hardly caring about shocks to your shaking hand. You put it in.
You hear Ollie breathe, the generator’s humming filling the shaky silence.
“It’s done…” He says. If it was anyone else saying this, you might feel some pride. “We did it…”
Instead all you could feel was a sense of crushing dread, your hand clutching your chest, heart pacing. “Good.”
Why is it good? What are you doing?
You wanted to scream. But instead you just tasted copper in your mouth.
“You..did it…” Poppy says, causing you to flinch as you find yourself automatically raising the Blue Hand in defense. She pauses, but her relief is too palpable to be bothered. “Thank you isn’t nearly enough.” You could tell she was genuine in this, which did nothing to make the dread go away. Poppy’s face hardens slightly, clear worry in her blue eyes.
“No word from Doey.”
Meaning the Prototype is still keeping him busy…Just like I thought he would. He needs this plan of yours to go wrong, Poppy, and the price for it is him . You wanted to scream at her, but you can tell by the fact that she was okay with following through with the plan, regardless of the consequences that this wasn’t an issue. She hadn’t questioned whether the plan was still on despite the Prototype being Ollie.
Whatever her ultimate goal is, it’s clear she is willing to do anything to destroy the Prototype, blind to its games.
Harley was right.
She really was the type to kill everyone in the name of her goal.
It was a chilling conclusion but you simply smile.
“ Guess the big guy must be giving him the run round. ” You let your gaze focus on the phone, seeing her eyes widen as she clears her throat.
“Whatever happened out there, I’m sure he’s fine.” She assures you. Then her voice hardens, determination in her gaze. “I’m sure of it. We shouldn’t wait any longer, in the meanwhile. Head to the Foundation.” She made sure her words were clear.
“Plant the explosives. Meet back here after, we’ll discuss what comes next.”
You nod, your hands shaking hard enough for the Grab Pack handles to shake. You hear the phone click off.
“ Got it. ” You say, repeating the words in her voice. She flinches, a glint of something in her eye but simply nods, walking off.
You walk out of the generator room, spotting several of the Toys celebrating. You see Susie grin at you. She waves at you.
“You did it! You got it working.” She says, hugging your legs. You scoop her up in a hug, needing the comfort. You spot Dogday and your Dad watching you. Dad frowned, mouthing his words.
“Are you okay?”
No. I’m not. This can’t go wrong. Not now. Please not now.
You whisper in Susie’s torn ear, using her own voice for this.
“Could you tell my Dad and Dogday that it’s time to move quickly, please? It should be safe now…Okay?”
She looks at you, her rose scent filling your senses. She nods.
“Got it!” She whispers back quietly. “Be safe.” She nuzzles you one more time, before she runs off, escaping your arms.
You wave goodbye to the other Toys you see. You see Cathy talking with Mike. You spot Ed helping take a tent down. All of this didn’t make the dread go away.
IT JUST MADE IT WORSE.
Stick to the plan.
You tell yourself. You travel back through the sewage system, finding yourself in the waste plant. You spot some missing cogs, but it was easy to find the fitting ones to open the door. It was easy enough to get back to No Man’s land. The large cavern was dark, but it seemed to be brighter than it was before.
I only hope Ben stays away for a little while longer. Or that if Doey sees him, he’ll protect him. Which…He’s likely to do. Your throat felt dry. You spot how the boarded up passageway was now open. You switch from the Omni Hand to the Flare Gun.
You get to work.
As soon as you head deep enough into the passageway, you hear the sound of rocks moving. Your heart rate spikes, turning around to see your way back closed off.
“ Fuck…Not good… ” You chuckle nervously, the rocky walls seemingly closing in. “ Just focus Mal…Focus… ” You tell yourself, swiping up an explosion pack. You wander through the passageways, grabbing the explosives as you go, unease in your every step.
Normally a Mini Critter would be attacking me right about now. You think, flinching at shadows. You shoot a couple of flares, but nothing squeals or comes to attack you.
Even if I killed off a lot of the Mini Critters in the Playhouse, those were Smiling Minis… You frown, your stomach doing flips as your hands shake even more. You have to pause every now and then, to catch your short breaths. There should still be plenty of Mini Nightmare Critters around. And I didn’t kill all the Smiling Minis…So where the fuck are they?! You groan, your brain trying to work under its very stressed condition. Fear was making you this unfocused mess and you didn’t like it.
Eventually you managed to find the last set of explosives with the help of blowing a canister of that chilling nitrous oxide. And a light blue tape.
You manage to find the Foundation with its ever confusing network of pipes. You find a small office, seeing a purple keycard. Likely to get into the big office. You reasoned, ignoring the Bubba cutout in the corner of the space. What you don’t ignore is the TV that matches the cyan tape.
You note how the labelled writing for this tape is too faded to read. But after checking that your camera was still recording and had a strong percentage, you put it in.
Heavy breathing fills the air as you listen.
“Sir, ma’am, I ask that you remain calm whenever you interact with the…patient.” A scientist's voice states. You frown. This…sounds…familar. Why? Who are they letting them see?
“He’s only been awake for a few days now.”
So it’s a He.
“In many respects, he’s still adjusting.” The doctor adds, his voice calm and detached.
The sound of heeled footsteps help you imagine a woman approaching a room with a window. Likely a reinforced one by the sounds of the breathing. A Bigger Body Toy then.
“Is that…” She stutters, grief and awe mixed in a shattering cocktail. “Is that him ? Is that my boy?”
A mother…Wait…None of us had mothers. Ice filled your veins. No…One would have. The boy from the outside…The Ayers kid…Didn’t they send a letter?
“Yes, ma’am, it is.” the doctor answers, the tape playing regardless of how you wanted to stop it.
“Oh, George.” The mother’s relief is…It makes you feel things that you can’t process. And for a brief moment…
“That’s our boy. Jackie.” She sniffs, close to tears.
You feel jealous.
Your jaw tightens, as your arms wrap around your body, holding your stomach.
“Why does he look like that?!” George, most likely the father, shouts confused. “What did you do to him!?”
“Stop it, George!” the mother scolds. “Just stop! That’s our son in there! OUR son!” She emphasises desperation in her tone.
She really loved him.
“Dear, look at it ” You flinch at that. “That’s not even human.”
You suppose the worst part was that you couldn’t blame George Ayers for his reaction.
“Let’s just talk to him.” She says, clearly trying to sound confident. “Y-you’ll see. Let’s just go in there and talk to him.” As if she almost forgets about the other person, she pleads. “Can we? Can we talk to him?”
Please no… You plead.
“Yes, ma’am, you certainly can.” You hear a door open. Heavy. Most likely made of some type of metal. “ Go on in. Whenever you’re ready.”
It’s a trap! Run, run! Live! You wanted to scream.
But you couldn’t undo what’s already been done.
Like the final clang of a judgement bell, the door is sealed shut behind them. You can only barely hear the faintest click.
“Jack?” The mother says, hope in her words, so painful it burned. “Jack, I…I want you to know…I’m so, so, so , sorry.” She sounded so pained as she talked, guilt weighing heavy on her. “I’ve never forgiven myself for what happened.”
You believed her.
“I’ve played it all back a million times in my head, and I know, I KNOW there had to be… Something I could have done. I could’ve reached a little further. I could’ve noticed a little sooner. I could’ve-!” She pauses, and you almost wanted to see her face, to see what it would be like to have a mother who cared like that. “But we have you back now. That’s what’s important. We can-!”
Doey…Or someone cuts her off. His voice was low, almost a pained growl.
“Who. Are. You?”
“J-Jack?...” The poor woman sounded so confused. “Honey, it’s me. It’s mommy.”
You rub your heart, feeling it hurt.
“M-Mommy?” Doey…No..Jack’s voice seemed to be so small. Fuck Playtime…Fuck them all. This shouldn’t have ever happened.
“Yes. Yes!” She sounded relieved. “It’s mommy and daddy! You remember, don’t you?”
“Leave. Me. Alone.” You could hear Kevin growl. And you knew it was him, because he always wanted to be alone when he was feeling too much. Unfortunately the Ayers didn’t know Kevin. Or Matthew. Was he even awake for this?
You just know this was never going to end well.
“Hey, hey.” She attempts to soothe. If it was just her son, perhaps it would have worked. But Kevin never took well to that. “You’ll be okay, I promise. Mommy’s only here to talk.”
“No…” Doey says, his voice growing distorted and layered. “No! I don’t Want to talk! Get out!”
You recognise Kevin’s temper anywhere.
Please, let him breathe, let them breathe. They must be so confused.
“Susan…” George speaks up, sensing danger. “I think we should leave.”
“Jackie, I’m staying right here .” Susan says firmly. “I’m not leaving you. Not ever again, do you hear me?”
Admirable in every other case, Susan Ayers…Not in this one.
You hear thuds, can imagine the ground shaking as Doey- no Kevin moves.
“The gentle voices lie! I know what they do. They lie..” His voice grows more angered, temper sparking and rising. “And they poke…” He growled. “ AND THEY HURT! ” he yelled.
“Susan!” George, the only one who seemed to understand the danger, called out. No response. “Susan! Get away from it!”
You flinch at his words.
You hear Doey groan, his breathing fast and heavy. Panic attack, likely. Overstimulated and dazed, three minds are hard to keep track of.
“J-Jack?” Susan called out. “Mommy won’t lie to you, Jackie. Mommy won’t hurt you. I’d Never hurt you.”
You close your eyes. That won’t matter. Kevin doesn’t know you. He won’t trust you like that. And they made sure of it.
You hear George, for it has to be him, trying to open the door, banging on it.
“Hey… Hey!” Panic was in his voice, confusion slowing him down. “Open this door!”
You hear a heavy slam, flinching as you can almost hear the sound of bones cracking, you can almost imagine the blood pouring out of Susan’s body.
“Oh god Susan…” George murmured, before he begins slamming on the door in a frenzy. “Please!” He pleads, not knowing that this was the approved plan of megalomaniacs. “PLEASE! OPEN THE DOOR! PLEASE!”
George Ayers, unlike his wife Susan, died screaming fearing the son he once loved.
Susan Ayers died in hope, and misplaced faith in a company that should have never brought him back.
The tape ends, Jack and Kevin’s crying being the last thing you hear before it ends.
Your hands shake as you move forward, putting the tape in your bag.
No time to think about it, no time to rest.
You head to the main office, using the purple keycard. You find a note on the computer.
Operator,
I know this new posting is a weird one, but it's important to what's being built here (remember no talking about any of that). Think of it like a promotion! After all, it's YOU we're entrusting to be stationed here. With the eventual additions of heating, air conditioning, working signal, and a few chairs, it might even feel downright cozy!
You'll notice this station is equipped with a variety of compounds labeled A, B, and C. If those come into contact with one another AND the Red Smoke, then you'd best make sure your cigarette breaks are somewhere else until the system flushes. Otherwise, your bit of relief might come at the cost of a few thousand lives.
I've left more detailed instructions for you below.
Also, I know we've had this conversation before, but it's important that you NOT rip forms in half simply because you deem half the note more useful than the other. I have to believe you're better than a barbarian monkey man, and that you can show SOME appreciation for...
You roll your eyes at the message.
“ Of course, they took the important part. ” You mutter. Thankfully it seemed easy enough to put on. You spot a poster as you put the explosives in their place.
“ Gotta make it green then. ” You note. “ Only in Playtime Co would green be a bad colour to see. ” You adjust the switches, till it starts turning green. You quickly move, sirens blazing, seeing the door be jammed after using the Omni Hand. You were confused at first.
“ The fuck! ” You note the Red Smoke rising. “ Shit! ” You see a gear in a locker, grabbing it as you look outside the office. You see a Grab Pack Handle and use it, using the Purple Hand to stick the gear in its place. You quickly move onto a catwalk, then spot a hole in the fences. You look back to see the Red Smoke and just jump.
You run, ignoring the Mini Critters you encounter, finding a red button for the elevator. You kick the little shits away, as you enter the elevator. You enter it, frowning as the Mini Nightmares cling to the wire fencing. As it rises, it occurs to you that you haven’t seen them at all while collecting the explosives.
So…why?
That feeling of dread was rising again.
Then you realised something.
Poppy called out to “Ollie” in the Safe Haven, and it seemed that “Ollie” could see into the Safe Haven.
“ Oh no.. ”
You run, looking to get out of the tunnels, but shriek as you were grabbed.
“The Prototype!” Doey’s concerned face was all you could see, your heart racing as his doughy arms held you. “I lost track of him in the tunnels. Have you seen him? Was he at the Foundation?” He seemed to finally spot the red gas floating through the pipes. “What…Is the plan going well? Is it done? Why?”
“ Doey… ” You say, your hands shaking, your eyes glowing a bright blinding red. “ I messed up…I didn’t know he could See us… ”
You swear he pales.
“What…”
“ I…I didn’t know he could see us. ” You tell him, trying to get out of his grip. Maybe if I fall, I can reverse time just enough, change plans.
“What are you doing?”
“ We need more time! ” You say, not hearing how your voice changed to Harley’s for a moment. “ Let me die, I can buy us-! ”
An explosion rings out.
“No…” He gasps. “Oh no..”
You were left to stare.
And you run .
You run, ignoring the bodies as you do.
You spot several Mini Critters bodies in No Man’s land. Most Nightmares.
You run through the waste production, the colour red haunting you.
You shake, your mind unsteady.
No, no, no, please no.
It was the only thing you could think.
You run through the sewers, bright fresh blood stains through the halls, Minis from all over.
“ Hello? ..” You call out, hoping for anything.
Doey’s screams chilled you to the bone, forcing you to move.
WHAT HAVE I DONE? WHAT DID I DO?
You run through the sewers.
You spot Cathy’s mangled corpse in the tunnels. You see Mike’s body in the hospital room.
You see Ed’s bleeding head across the room.
“ Kids…? ”
Your footsteps slow..
“ Dad?...Dogday? ” You call out.
Your heart thrums in your chest.
You can only hear Doey’s cries.
“ Doey? You slowly approach the main area, seeing the destruction all around. You trip, swaying on your feet. Your ears ring.
You spot him crying over a Mini Critter. A little bear…
With a torn ear.
“ Susie? ” You murmur, slowly approaching. Your knees wobble and shake, finally collapsing alongside the body. Your vision swims. “ Kiddo? ”
You look around but can’t see them anywhere, Doey’s cries endless in your ears.
Dad… You think about his cane, the medicine. His brain problems.
“Daddy?” You find yourself saying, feeling small. You sniff.
Your hands shook, as you gently picked up Susie’s body, cradling it. You dare not think about Simone.
“Papa!” You cry out, wanting Dogday. Wanting your Dad .
“Help!” You cry out, hot tears dripping down.
You hear Doey mutter to himself, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care anymore.
This was all your fault.
“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Doey screams, as you look up at him. “ALL OF THIS STARTED WITH YOU AND POPPY! IT WAS YOUR PLAN TO DO THIS!”
A part of you wanted to defend yourself.
The other couldn’t deny it.
You just hug Susie tightly, as if her heartbeat would come back.
You don’t see his fist, you just scream loudly.
AND EVERYTHING GOES RED.