Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Raphielle was a Caregiver. 

Raphielle was a caregiver at Playcare to be more precise. 

Was . 

Seven years ago Playtime Co. suddenly got shut down with no explanation or warning, leaving her confused and left to ponder. What happened to the children? Where were they? What about her co-workers? So many other questions constantly ran through her head in the first year of the Factory's sudden closure. At the time, she was on leave for two weeks so she had no idea what happened or what caused it. Her grandfather had just died and she needed to arrange the wake and funeral, not to mention Raphi had paperwork that needed to be done in place of her grandfather. That was when news hit her that Playtime Co. had shut down.

News speculated secret bankruptcy, others saying it was probably the lawsuits and mysterious deaths. Raphi felt it in her bones. As good as those may be, those explanations weren't it. 

Wouldn't there have been a notice? 

There wouldn't have been hundreds missing. 

She remembered trying to reach anyone at all with no answers. Raphielle even went out of her way to try and reach Lieth Pierre of all people who merely scoffed at her, refused to answer any of her questions and sent Raphi her severance pay before promptly ignoring any other attempts at communication afterward. An absolute prick through and through.

Raphielle had tried to move on with her life of course. She had inherited the orchard from her grandfather and so, left with no job, focused on taking care of what she was left with. 

She couldn't leave it be.

All those children and she heard no news of any of them. The families of her co-workers were left with no answers after suddenly disappearing. Try as she might she could not just simply forget what happened. 

“It should have been you.”

“Why are you here?”

“You left. They stayed.”

“Do you deserve this?”

“Your survival wasn’t a miracle. It was a mistake.”

Over and over cruel words cut through as years passed and still investigations bear no fruit, cases soon deemed cold, what happened still forever beckoning in the wake of unanswered questions. Now, logically, Raphielle knew it was not her fault. 

She wasn't even there. She knew this. Raphielle clearly knows it but the mind was a cruel, cruel thing that refused to listen. The most illogical thing being the organ that represents logic. It speaks lies and it wears on you until you are left questioning if the lies are actually true. 

Day after day Raphielle tried her best to bury it all deep inside yet still it overflowed, leaving her dreaming of children's laughter and colleagues and friends all gone. For years she tried. Really, she did. But grief and guilt makes people drown in it, dragging you to the deepest depths and if you had been drowning for seven years, you too would be desperate to breathe. 

She couldn't take drowning anymore. 

Despite her reservations and doubts, she drove no less than twelve hours back to the cursed place, sighing at her foolishness. She had twelve hours to contemplate, and still, she drove on. Raphi wasn't sure if she had truly gone crazy or was dangerously teetering on the edge of it. Surely, she had gone mad. There was no other explanation. 

So with yet another sigh, Raphielle got off her car and shouldered her pack filled with some snacks, food, water, and extra clothes she had packed for the trip. She planned on staying in the nearby town and going into the factory to investigate so Raphi gave herself a limit. No more than a week of playing detective then going back. 

“Why are you here?”

“This place was their end. Will it be yours too?”

“You search for answers, but will you like what you find?”

“Your sorrow is selfish. You only grieve because you got away.”

“Your survival wasn’t a miracle. It was a mistake.”

It was dusk when Raphi finally faced the front doors of a place she thought she'd never see again. Before nerves could get to her, she took a deep breath before trying to push the doors open. To her surprise, they unlocked. 

“Did no one lock the doors?” She muttered, a frown on her face as she squeezed over boards blocking the way. 

Raphielle couldn't help but be concerned. What if mischievous teenagers were trespassing? They could have gotten seriously hurt. She had worked in the absolutely horrid conditions the place was in after all. With seemingly a new accident occurring every other week. Raphielle could only thank the universe that at least Playcare had decent conditions for the children she once cared for. 

Taking in the main entrance she couldn't help but remember how many people used to be there. The endless stretch of emptiness and the silence blanketing the once lively place was heavy. She couldn't help but shiver, gently shutting the door behind her. Raphi had never stayed in the factory later than seven at times to help the children sleep before so she hadn’t noticed just how eerie the place could be. Not to mention she usually didn’t stick around the top floors much except to clock in and out of work. 

Looking around, Raphiel noticed a green VHS tape on the reception desk making her raise an eyebrow. Worn as it was, she noticed a player with the same color and played it only to roll her eyes at Pierre’s voice warning about the security details of the place. Having long since been well aware of it since it was in her employee orientation, she disregarded it. Raphi had no doubt the emergency alarms didn’t work anymore.

“Actually who the hell pays for the electricity?” She asked herself. How could there still be power when it's been literal years since the place was last operational? A growing addition to her list of questions it seemed. 

Wandering the entrance, she tried opening the door to security only to huff in annoyance. ‘This place and their stupid puzzles.’ Raphi thought, walking over to the gift shop. She remembered there was that train meant to be a hint or something. “Honestly, what was the point of it?” The woman asked, looking up as the train passed by. She had always thought it was pointless to install all these security measures only to leave a hint on how to open the place. It was helpful to her now though so Raphielle really had no room to complain. 

“Green, Pink, Yellow, Red,” Raphi said out loud, just so she could remember it. Her voice was loud and clear in the silence despite it barely being a whisper.

The gift shop was desolate as she looked around, with barely filled shelves and just the train chugging along. Unnerved, she went back to the door to Security only to groan. Raphi had forgotten the pattern. She quickly returned to the gift shop, memorizing the pattern again only then was she able to get inside. 

The room was as empty as the rest of the lobby, with lots of screens displaying nothing as they were left unused for more than half a decade. In a container in the back of the room was a Grabpack and a tape labeled “Grabpack Training”, she tried looking around for a way to open it only to be left with nothing. Seeing no other choice, they play the tape they’ve seen long ago, rummaging around as the music plays in the background. She personally never used it as much as say: people from maintenance or the regular employees did but she did still need it to get around the factory, to and from Playcare. It was a nightmare to get anywhere without it so since the power still worked, then Raphi knew she was going to need it a lot if she wanted to explore the place.

Messing with the computers, she jumped as she heard a quiet hissing only to realize the tape had stopped running and the Grabpack was now accessible with the case open. Wearing the pack, she could only huff, suddenly remembering that the thing wasn’t light at all. It was ridiculous, how in the world was she able to lug this thing around before?

Raphielle couldn’t help but be grateful that she had an active enough  lifestyle in the orchard that left her fit enough to do stupid things like this. How she was going to survive a few hours roaming the place with such a heavy contraption on her back she didn’t know but she had a mission and she was going to complete it even if it killed her damnit!

So with the Grabpack on, Raphielle went behind the reception desk, jumped over a turnstile, nearly tipping over before truly facing the door to the main lobby. 

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“You search for answers, but will you like what you find?”

Snapping out of her thoughts, she scanned the blue hand onto the scanner above the door, taking a few seconds before it opens to the main lobby, the giant Huggy Wuggy statue smack dab in the middle. Raphielle couldn’t help but look on fondly at the toy, having seen it nearly a thousand times to and from work. She always thought it was cute, one of the kids’ multitude of favorite toys. She had seen plenty of cute drawings of him all over Home Sweet Home and a lot of kids had a plushie of him, calling Huggy their “Bestfriend.”

“Hey Buddy, haven't seen you in a while.”

Chapter Text

He was hungry. He had been hungry because there had been no new trespassers for a while now. None of those people in their little suits were running around and it was making him a bit put out. He couldn't get out, he'll just get dragged back in again. So he stayed. 

He had taken to roaming around the upper floors, trying to get one of those little ones that had been running around. Less and less of them over time but he had been hunting them a bit because how else was he to eat? Having already managed to catch a small Candy Cat earlier, the hunger pangs weren't as bad but they weren't as filling as a whole arm or a leg. 

Perhaps a whole body or two, but that would be wistful thinking on his end. 

But as he returned from looking through the conveyor belts, one of the little Catbee toys managing to evade him by jumping into a room with the vents too small, he heard it. The sound of someone just at the entrance. There was someone in the factory after nearly a year of there being nothing.

Fresh meat had wandered in, proper food after so so long. 

As Huggy heard the person stumble over the funny little gates he went back to his post in the center of the main lobby. One hand up in what he knew was supposed to be a wave or a high-five and his face in a passive smile just as he is supposed to have, standing as still as a statue. He was barely breathing as he watched the person in his periphery, not wanting to ruin the surprise by following the intruder around with his eyes. He has been punished by the people in white coats for that before and it hurt . He didn’t like that it hurt.

They were gone now, down to the depths. Yet…their shadows stayed ever looming. Waiting for one wrong move so they had an excuse to suffocate you. Wrongs done to you weren't as easily forgotten as people would like them to be after all. 

So Huggy stood still, barely breathing, not moving a single muscle, only to nearly falter. 

When has he ever been looked on with such kind eyes before? 

The woman looked up at him and smiled, a fond, soft thing that gave pause to his murderous, hungry thoughts, saying things with a soft voice that rang out in the quiet. Her words made Huggy think hard.

“Hey Buddy, haven't seen you in a while.”

‘Why do the trespasser’s words…sound weird?’  He thought, a weird feeling of warmth burning in his chest. He was tempted to rub at it or something, he wasn’t sure if he liked it or not, this weird warmth. It soon left though leaving him confused.

As the human walked around him once more after inspecting the two doors that had working scanners, something Huggy had long since thought would never happen with a human after they had gotten rid of all those awful people who used to hurt them, happened.  

Her hair was longer now and she looked a bit older. Most importantly, she wasn't wearing her uniform that he always saw her wearing in the past as she entered and exited the Factory before venturing deeper through the doors leading to the lower levels.

Pieces of the puzzle slotted together as a jolt of recognition was sent from one part of his brain to another, a memory resurfacing of a particular person years ago. 

⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⊹₊⟡⋆˚｡⋆ ⊹ ࣪ ˖༺ ❁ ༻ ˖ ࣪ ⊹ ⋆｡˚ ⋆ ⟡₊⊹｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆

Raphi scanned the blue hand with the matching scanner to the power room, which fizzled out. She tried the door, hoping that it would open only for it to refuse to budge. She went back to the lobby real quick, going back to the security room to look for a key of some sort. She knew those who worked in security had copies of the door keys, so she rummaged through the desks in the corner where she got her grabpack, hoping that some could be used to access the door she was stuck on.

“Aha!” She said, a triumphant grin on her face upon finding a key ring with a bunch of keys of all shapes and sizes with some more typically shaped while others obviously had a specific door they went to, such as the ornate golden key she knew belonged to Home Sweet Home, making her feel ecstatic. She rushed back to the door and using the key, it opened loudly.

“If it was Elliot or Leith who designed this whole place I hope their souls are suffering,” She grumbled, checking to see which doors she could open as she passed by them, trying out each key before managing to open the door with a key with a triangle in the end which led to the power room. The place was a veritable maze. Already not familiar with the layout up top, she didn’t really know where everything was, and it’s been so long already.

‘Maybe just Leith.’ She conceded. Raphielle didn't think that Elliot Ludwig would be suffering in hell or anything with how nice she heard the man was in life. You never know, though. Hearsay was always different from verifying things yourself. There was a poster of Kissy Missy on the wall with the dos and don’ts of the place. The pink variation of Huggy was another favorite of the kids, she recalled. Rounding a corner, her heart stuttered at the sight of something red splattered on the wall, her pondering abruptly cut short at the gruesome view.

‘That’s not…surely not?’ Raphi thought, trying to stay positive. To say she was unnerved would truly be an understatement, as a creeping feeling of unease slowly formed a pit in her stomach as she saw how much there was.

The woman was careful of where she stepped, avoiding the dried blood red puddle on the floor and walls as she tried to open the metal panel, only to use too much force in her frazzled state, yanking the panel off its hinges. She let go for a bit, her hands shaking slightly, feeling clammy from sweat. Raphi wiped them off on her pants, then held on to the grabpack controls again. Connecting the blue hand to the power nodes she thinks she remembers it being called, she went all the way through the room, past corners and finally making contact with the post, the power flickering for a moment, before a cheerful sound indicated that she did it right and that the electricity was back on. 

The woman took a moment to breathe, leaning against a wall as she drank some water from her pack, her hands still shaking. Had she possibly walked into a murder scene? She hoped not. Barely an hour in, and she was already regretting every decision she had made. 

“Why are you here?”

"You looked not for answers, but for a way out."

"You didn't want the answers, you just wanted the guilt to stop."

"You didn’t care about what happened, just how to make it all go away."

“Your sorrow is selfish. You only grieve because you got away.”

With one last sip of water, Raphielle, shaky as she may be, stood to leave the room, unable to stay any longer than she already had. Putting back the bottle of water in her pack, she left the room, feeling as if it was a thousand times longer than before, trying to see where she could go next,t only to freeze in place. 

Huggy Wuggy wasn't there anymore. 

“Hell no.” She whispered to herself, horrified at the discovery.

In the center of the room where the statue was supposed to be, was empty. The blocks that formed his name stayed in place, the podium that she knew played the theme song for him remained untouched, and the layer of dust was still on there. Raphielle was ready to bolt out the doors but could she live with herself if she did not continue on? The woman didn’t think so.

“Hey buddy!” She said, a lump forming at her throat, and her voice as shaky as her hands. “Are we playing hide and seek? You gotta warn me first, yeah?”

Swallowing her terror, she ventured on, she felt like she should apologize to all those horror movie characters now because she was doing the exact crap they pull. She was one of those who mocked horror movies. The characters were so stupid for not running at the first minute, how they were so dumb. Now here she was. In an abandoned toy factory. Chasing ghosts and answers that hopefully existed. Raphi was going to regret this decision later on, she just knew it. 

Awful. Truly Horrific. A Bad Idea™. Fucking Stupid even.

Raphielle knew it was bad the second she didn’t run. That was the first sign of danger and she didn’t run. Even going back to the Playtime factory was dumb. Even thinking of going back to this place was idiotic. Why the hell did she even let herself do this? Raphi was sure she was truly an idiot at that exact moment because she didn’t run. 

The giant Huggy Wuggy statue had disappeared. Run off to who-knows-where, and she had no idea how . Dead. She was going to die looking for answers in this place. All these thoughts ran around her head as she continued on walking back to where the scanner was. The woman cautiously scanned the blue hand again, this time, the door slowly lifting as it creaked loudly, the past years of disuse catching up on whatever hinges and mechanisms made the doors open, taking longer than it would have. Despite it all being said, though, she noticed that they were working better than they really should have though. 

Catching herself, she ran her hands through her hair, deciding to tie it back before it got caught on something. Or yanked back. Also a large possibility. Her hair now in a bun and out of the way, Raphi walked through the hallway, trying each door only to see it was blocked by debris inside or there was simply nothing interesting. She was constantly watching her back, afraid that the giant blue toy could sneak up on her. A room labeled ‘05’ opened up to yet another hallway, this one dark. Taking a shaky breath, again, she soldiered on despite everything in her body screaming for her to just leave.  

No matter how she turned it over and over in her head. Raphielle could not bring herself to leave. 

“Why are you here?”

The door at the end of the hall was empty crates and stairs. She winced, every step she took sounding like drums to her, each step signalling where she was for Huggy Wuggy to find. It was horrible. The top was a balcony of sorts that overlooked the floor below and straight ahead inside a case. Raphi’s nerves gave way to joy when she saw it. A red hand for the other arm of the grabpack. 

She tried reaching it, only for the grabpack hand to fall short. Looking around, she found a glowing power cell near the edge of the broken railings. It fit into a panel, and she could only groan in irritation. She needed three more. One of which she could see was on the top of the shelves on the bottom floor.

“More puzzles…” 

Grumbling curses under her breath, cursing godforsaken Leith Pierre to hell and back, why was the factory even made like this? Another round of whispered cursing came when she realized she had to jump to get down. She gently lowered herself, hanging on to the ledge as she got as close to the pile of boxes down below, praying they were solid enough to break her fall but didn’t have anything so solid it’d break her legs in the process. 

“You search for answers.” 

Raphielle jumped into a pile of boxes only to scramble off as she heard a squeak. Quickly getting off the pile, two Cats-Bees rush out of the pile of boxes and huddle under a shelf in the corner making her stare, wide-eyed in disbelief. She took a step back, bumping into another shelf, making a box fall down. 

“What are you doing! He’ll hear us!” One of them hissed, further pushing themselves under, the only indicators they were still there being glowing eyes, one pair green, the other a light blue. 

“You-you can talk…” She uttered in shock, her voice tinged with disbelief and fear. “You are talking toys.”

“Yeah, lady, we can talk now, stop talking to us or that brute will find us!” The same toy said, the cute voice a stark contrast to its sharp words.

Her mind was reeling, going a million miles a minute. If this Cat-Bee could talk, and they can both move around, this explains how the Huggy Wuggy statue disappeared. Oh she was screwed. “What kinda night at the museum, toy story bullshit is this?” She gulped.

“Bad word!” The other said, chastising yet soft. “You can’t say bad words!”

Her words reminded her of the children she used to work with, making her heart’s rapid beating slow at the familiarity. Toys could talk now, cool, cool. 

"B̷̗͊̕u̶̖̽́t̵͙̑͘ ̷̩͗́ẅ̷̪́͆i̷͚̅͋l̶͉͊̋l̴̛̙̏ ̷̘̽̋y̴̟͛̚o̸̞̓̕ȕ̴͠ͅ ̴̙͑̏ĺ̸̼̃ì̷̝̕k̴͎̍͌e̷̞͋͌ ̴̪̿̾w̴̪̍̋h̵̖͆̕a̶͍͛͗t̴̠̍͘ ̷̜̄̄y̴̹͗̀ȏ̴̜̾u̵͓̔̕ ̶͕̓̚f̵̠̈́̋ȋ̴̠͝n̴̘͑̾d̸͓͆͊?̵̦͛̈́"

"B̶̟͆̽ǘ̷̘̄t̷̠͑̽ ̶̜͌̋w̶̛̘͘ḯ̷̡͠l̷̜̇̿l̸̩͠͠ ̴̞̅̕y̶̢̛̑o̵̜͂͑u̶͙͋͂ ̷̟̌̚l̴̺̑͆i̸͚̾̈́ḱ̵̡̽è̶͙̾ ̶̙̚͘w̵̼̾̔h̴͉̋͝a̸̬̋͠ẗ̵̩́̋ ̶̙̄͗y̸̖͗̈́ò̷̰̑ǘ̵̗͠ ̵̺̇̿f̸̪͑͌i̶͉̚͠n̷̲̍͋ḋ̸͜͠?̶̞̋̕"

"B̵̢̨͔̦̞̼̺̪͂̒̿̾̒̈́̈́͝͠͝͝ư̵̢̢̩͕̗̗̹̽̿͆͑́̒̈́̅̋͘͜t̸̞͎̝̜̳̪̻̻̞̜̋̾̿̽̐̾̈́̇̽͘̕ ̵̛̪͍̼̲̤͙͇̳̜̇͛̏̅̽͛̿́̚͠ẅ̵̨̡͔͎͇̳̝͕̝̦̠́̍̈́̋̏̏͂̈́̾̍͝ȋ̷̩̳̙̤̻̙̾̈́́͊͛͋̈́͌̿ͅl̸̛̳̬͓̲͚̥̝̩̜̒̇͆̇͋͛̀̄̽͜l̵̨̨̛̩̱̝̦̲̰̝̏̅̓̃̽̊̃͝͝ ̶̛̥͖̯͙̖̲͎̻͉͗͆̀̒̈́̄̍̀́͜y̴̡̛̘̦͕͓͚̖͙͙̑̋̋̄̽̍̚̕̕ơ̷̡̰̗̙̯̠̗̼̺͍͗̒́̋͊̕͘͠͝u̷̙̱̗̦̬̝̞̝͋͆̓͛̎͑͐͜͝͝͠ ̵̛̝͓̟͈̤̊͛̎̒̎͛̅̓̔͜͝l̴̺͈̱̻͓̾̏͗̋͌͛̚̕̚͜͠i̴̡̦̠͈͕͇̰͂͛̈́̊̃̈́͑͆̓̔̑͜͜k̴͇̳̰͖̳̑̆̾̀̒͛̓̓̎̚͜͠e̷̡̦̹̳̤̒̾̈́͆̀͋̀̇̋̎̚͜ͅ ̸͖̼̰̙̾̾̆̿͋̀̅̒̎̚ͅͅͅẇ̶̡̖̼̪̹͊̋̽͌̄̈́͗̎̚͠h̶̨̗͚̝͖͓̽̒̿̿͐̕͘̕̕̚͝ͅa̸̘̪̺͇̖̳̞̎̎́̑̓̄́̿̔͘ͅt̴̡͉͇̳̗̟̙̜̜̩̿̅͊͛̅̍̏͑͂̕ ̴̝̩̞͎̼̤͙̖̺̀̓͋̌̈́̆̋̽̀̎̕y̴̢̳̪̱̜̤̳͛́̍̎̏͊̓̆̾̚ͅͅṏ̵̩̙̲̞̞̺̿̿̈́̽̓̄̔̚ͅù̸̡͇̺͖̪̹̟̹̙̟̅̽̑̐̔̕̕͝͝ ̶̢̠̳͕̯̺̳̙̯̖͛̇̽̎̒̈́̎̚̚͝f̶̡̝͙͖̘̝̰̰̺͕͗͊͂̅̾͆̄̏͘͝i̷͉̻͎̪̙̬̦̤̞̿̓̽͗̽̓͂̍̔̕͝n̵̦̮̠͎̹͖͇̱̅̄̄̅̋͛͆̒͜͠͝d̷̡̼̝͉̲̲̯͈̎̄́̀̏̏͘̕͝͠?̶̢̻̖̞͖̟͖̥̤̠͂͆͂̑̏͆̅̍͂̑"

Chapter Text

“Hush! We don’t want him to find us!” The first one hissed again, chastising the other. It (?) was looking around cautiously as if on the lookout for something.

The woman could only stare at the spot where the two toys had hidden, her body firmly in place. Did this mean all toys could talk? Walk around? Did that mean her old stuffies felt it when she put them into storage? They probably hated her, oh my god. Mr. and Mrs. Salmon, I'm sorry. They were stuffed in a box in the attic, and she—

“No silly, we’re special, that's why we can do stuff.” Raphi snapped back to reality as the Cat-bee interrupted her thoughts, not realizing that she had said all of that out loud. She let out a cough in embarrassment before confusion made itself known. “How?—”

“Can you two please stop talking!” The one who hushed them earlier— man, she should really ask them for names.— shushed them again, sounding more distressed. 

“Sorry.” The other replied, scooting to the back again. 

“Wait, can you tell me your names?” She whispered, not wanting to further upset the Cat-Bee. 

Both looked at her like she was crazy then, giving her a judgmental look making her huff in amusement before catching herself. Raphielle was getting way too comfortable with this discovery way too fast. She squatted down so she could be somewhat on their level. 

“We're Cat-Bee.” The one with blue eyes stated as if it was a fact of life. 

“Who else are we supposed to be?” The one with green eyes said, sounding unimpressed with Raphi’s intelligence. 

The woman could only hold back her laugh. ‘So sassy.’

“Then how do I know which is which then? I can't just say “Cat-Bee” now can I?” She reasoned with them, sitting on the floor now. 

The two looked at each other before the green-eyed one cautiously stepped forward. “I suppose.” The toy conceded. “You name us then.”

Well…this wasn't how she expected it to turn out. Raphielle wasn't going to just name them one and two though. She pondered a bit, her mind conjuring absolutely nothing. Naming things was hard wow . ‘No wonder some parents don't name their kids until a few days after birth sometimes. She could see how nine months was not enough to decide for people.”

“Are there any names you two like?” Raphi asked, trying to deflect. Only for it to be unsuccessful when the two shook their heads. “Alright then…how about Blue and Green?”

It was a bit lazy on her part but she decided to just name them after their eye colors and crossed her fingers that the two would like it enough not to notice. The two blink seemingly thinking it over before they looked approving of her words. She could only thank the universe the two weren't too picky. The horses in the orchard were called Sugar, Apple and Oats for goodness sake, she cannot for the life of her, give names that were all that good. 

“I'm Green then, how did you know my favorite color?”The one with blue eyes said, a happy smile on their face. Okay. That wasn't exactly what she had in mind but she'll take it. 

“Blue…not too bad.” The one with green eyes nodded. “Why do you need names anyway you weird human.”

“I—” Raphielle stopped mid-explanation, realizing she didn't…really know why. She told them as much while also reiterating her previous point to which the two simply nodded. 

“Alright, what are you doing here then?” Blue asked, calm enough to be suspicious. They figured if Huggy Wuggy hadn't shown up yet, it was safe enough to chat with this human a bit. 

“Well I used to work here before it closed and I wanted to look for answers,” She admitted, then noticed the duo’s sudden caution. “Guys?”

“You used to work here?” Green asked, their voice tinged with fear. 

Admittedly Raphielle was confused. Did these toys talking have anything to do with all the missing people? Swallowing all the questions she had, she decided to answer yes. Which made Blue stand defensively in front of Green, their back arched as if they were a real cat. She was sure if they had fur, it would be standing on end exactly like one too. 

“Where?” Blue demanded, claws of all things out of their paws and sharp teeth . 

How did a toy have sharp teeth, much less claws!? Raphielle felt that should her answer be wrong, these two would no doubt either attack or flee. Weirdly enough, despite the fact her heart was beating as fast as a rabbit's, she managed to calmly answer. Her voice was gentle even. You didn't respond to an agitated kid to anything other than calm and you didn't run from an animal ready to attack you. Raphielle didn't want to compare the two Cat-Bee’s to an animal but they were the in-between of the two creatures she was most familiar with after all. The two were smart, sentient even but their body language was exactly that. Defensive, ready to attack, warning her to stay away. 

“Playcare, I used to take care of the kids there,” She responded gently, her hands raised in surrender. 

The two stared her down, assessing her truthfulness before relaxing. Blue sat down, claws retracted and all the sharp teeth gone, tired from all excitement if she were to guess and Green looking relieved. Raphi relaxed, not even noticing she was tense. That was terrifying. The two were no taller than her calves but she was sure there was danger there, cute as the two Cat-Bee’s may be. 

“Sorry, we thought you were evil!” Green said, getting out from under the shelf and walking up to her. Blue simply nodded, following after and plopping in front of her. “You were a caretaker though so it's not too bad.”

“Thanks…” The woman could only respond, relieved of the peaceful outcome. 

Raphielle was getting serious whiplash from how fast the mood changed. Her throat dry, she sat down and dug through her pack deciding on a sip of water and a bit of a snack only to see the two stare at the pack she just opened as she bit into an oreo.

“Yes?”

“Can…can we have some?” Green shyly asked, plopping their body across Raphi’s criss-crossed legs. Blue followed, stopping just shy of doing the same. Shrugging, she opened a pack of biscuits for each, putting it down in front of them. The two looked amazed before digging into it like starving wolves amusing her. She didn't know how toys could possibly digest food but the act of them simply asking for food and walking around was crazy so she didn't voice her questions out loud. 

When the two finished their share, which didn't take all that long, they looked pretty happy, licking up crumbs and cream stuck to the wrapper, practically leaving it shining as if unused. 

“Those taste so good ,” Green said, purring softly as they rolled around. 

“Yeah, haven't eaten something good in days,” Blue added, also purring softly, now a loaf  of satisfied Cat-bee, their eyes closed in happiness. 

Raphielle couldn't help but laugh, the two being adorable. They reminded her of the barn cats at home and of the…kids she…with a sigh, she gave the two the last of her oreos that they happily snapped up. “How are you guys even eating?” She asked teasingly, petting the Cat-bee closest to her which was Blue. To her surprise, the purring got louder, the amusement driving away the thoughts creeping in. 

“Well you gotta eat to live don't you?” Blue said, stretching before shaking off her hand. “We haven't eaten that much in days.”

Raphielle’s breath got stuck in her throat at that. They were starving? She'll have to try and give them food then. With how there was nothing really up on the factory floor, she doubted they actually found anything all that good to eat. But first— the woman had to find those power cells. She needed that red hand. 

She tried not to think past the fact that they needed food to live. She was not ready for the implications of those words. Unwilling to think of the implications. 

Walking around, she found the red one on a shelf, half hidden behind a box. Seeing what she was looking for, the two Cat-Bees were happy to help her find the other two. The green power cell got buried under some boxes and yellow was pushed out from under the conveyor belt by Green. 

“I think that's all of it,” Raphi smiled, picking the last one up in her arms. 

“Yaay!” Green cheered, running in circles around her feet much to Blue’s exasperation. 

Raphi chuckled and could barely hold all three power cells but she managed. Realizing her arms were all full, she couldn't just use the grab pack to bring her back up. 

“You guys know a way to get out of here?” She asked. The two looked up at her, Green nodding enthusiastically. 

“This way,” Blue led the way to a massive sliding door. Raphielle shouldered it open with the help of her two new enthusiastic companions. She followed right at their heels up the stairs, the place less creepy with two childlike toys running around. They froze in place at the top of the stairs though, their backs arching in agitation. When Raphielle looked in the same direction as she did, her heart nearly came to a dead stop. 

Up top, peeking in from a broken conveyor door, she found where Huggy was. How long has he been watching? Why didn't he attack? He swiftly went back in, the door shutting behind him making her release the breath she didn't know she was holding. 

“How does he do that?!” Blue hissed in frustration. “I hate it. I hate it!”

“It's okay Blue, he's gone now,”The woman murmured, unsure if she was trying to reassure herself or trying to reassure the toys. Possibly all three now that she thought about it. 

The little Cat-bee grumbled but sat against the wall. As far from the opening where they saw Huggy from as physically possible. Green followed, always following the other Raphi noticed. It was possibly codependency but she didn't major in psychology or anything. She kept note of it though. It wasn't anything harmful so far, not to mention they just met, so she had no say in anything. 

Putting all the power cells in their corresponding colors, the overhead claw automatically got the case with the red hand and dropped it rather loudly onto the conveyor belt making a loud clang that made her wince. Checking on the two, they had covered their ears with their paws. 

“Sorry you two,” She said, smiling sheepishly. The duo simply shook their heads before righting themselves. She knew there were closets of the things but they were at the lower levels and to proceed she needed the red hand to get to the lower levels so she might as well take it while she had it. 

Once the red hand was attached, Raphielle looked around some more to see if there was anything of interest. Since there was nothing, she quickly tested the hands with the scanners to see if it was functional. Raphi being a caretaker didn’t exactly have her own grabpack since they weren’t issued to you unless you were security or maintenance or some others of the same sort but training was still required for everyone incase of emergencies and to move around the utility tunnels and scanner-locked doors. Since the place was annoyingly, puzzled base, the woman was still familiar with how to use it if she wanted to be able to go anywhere. 

Once the door opened, Raphielle jumped on the conveyor only to realize the two hadn’t followed. Looking around, Raphi saw they just sat there.

“Why are you here?”

“You left. They stayed.”

“They got left behind.”

“You abandoned them.”

“Do you remember young faces? They'll stay that way.”

Confused, the woman asked if the two weren't coming along. The two reminded her too much of the children from Playcare. She wasn't just going to leave them and she told them as such. With confused faces, the two Cat-Bees hesitantly stepped forward. 

“You…you want us to come with you?” Green said, a hopeful glint in the toy’s eyes. Blue said nothing, though she could see how they were struggling to tamper down the hopefulness clawing at them as they looked up at her. 

Raphielle smiled softly, her heart aching at how fragile their growing hopes were. Getting down from the conveyor belt, she patted the two, the plastic smooth under her fingertips. They reminded her of the kids. Raphielle was actually one of the last few actual humans in Playcare, so the kids had flocked to her. While the teachers were nice enough when they were placed in the school and the giant Smiling Critter toys were a joy to the kids, they were robots and kids needed human connections. 

She knew about those ones tasked with the kids but never really interacted with them. It was against company policy to do anything past supervision and to report to the “handlers” any abnormal behaviors. The woman had simply thought they had fallen to disrepair with how long it's been but to know Huggy Wuggy of all things could move? Not in anything she knew. 

The two said they needed food.  

She had to sign an NDA back then to keep company secrets or so she was told. Now, Raphielle wasn't so sure if that was really the only reason….

“Well I'm not going to just leave you two.” The woman said, reassuringly. 

The two leaned into her touch, purring softly. It was an adorable sight and the vibrations she felt at her fingertips calming yet simultaneously making her freak out. Raphielle had witnessed first hand the “technological advancements” of Playtime Co. But what she just saw? The way the two feel and act in her hands and around her. It was nothing simply technological at all. Each passing second spent in the company of the toys was making her question everything she knew. 

Outside, Raphielle Wyneth Jules was the pinnacle of calm as the toys led her through the conveyor belts’ many confusing twists and turns. Inside, the woman was constantly screaming with each discovery. What the hell were the higher ups hiding? Were these toys actually living, breathing, sentient beings? More questions piled up with each minute in the place.

The two said they needed food.  

With a big breath, Raphi once again directed a smile to the two. They easily helped her figure out yet another puzzle to open the room the conveyor belt fed into. Raphielle would be glad once she was out of the place for the day, she needed to rest her brain and body or something, the place was a whole workout more than the walking around she thought it was going to be.   

Gently helping them down, the group reached the opening into a room with a Make-a-friend Machine before getting down herself. Seeing the cautious behaviour of the two, the woman sent a quick prayer hoping Huggy Wuggy wasn’t in the room hiding in some shadowy corner, she hadn’t gone full sprint in a long while but Raphielle swears on her grandfather’s soul she was grabbing the Cat-bees and running the other way if anything happened.

Green and Blue wouldn’t be scared if there was no reason for it. 

Most people wouldn’t be.

The two said they needed food. 

Heading to the door, she could only groan. Who the hell decided some doors didn’t just need scanners, the doors needed toy scanners. Raphielle was ready to bang her head on the wall because what the hell. She couldn’t believe she was so enthusiastic in working in this place years ago. It was part of the factory tour experience for sure, but the place was so needlessly complex. It was a wonder the factory was functional. 

Grumbling about where in the whole godforsaken place she was going to be able to find a whole- oh. Right. Machine was right there. Now if only she could find where the power was…

“Where are you going?” Green called to her as the little toy jogged to her side.

“Uhh, I need to power the machine,” She replied distractedly, trying to find where the wires led to from the back of the machine. “The room has a toy scanner for the door.”

Raphielle was just about to go up a set of stairs up onto the catwalk when she heard the sound of the scanner working, making her confused. How was that even-?

“Oh.”

Seeing the two Cat-bees look at her funny, the woman could only facepalm. They were Cat-bees . The exact toy she needed to get the door to work. Of course she didn’t need to make the machine work. Man she was getting old or stupid. She hoped it wasn’t the latter, Raphi would like to keep some semblance of intellect thanks.

“You’re a silly human.” Green remarked, giggling at her fumble. “We could just hop on and the door will open y’know?”

Laughing along, Raphi picked up Green and walked up to Blue who was patiently waiting in front of  the scanner. She watched as Blue skillfully jumped on as they got close, the machine slowly scanning them. Once it let out the confirmation sound, the woman let the both of them down as the door slowly lifted open. 

The two said they needed food. 

Just as the door fully opened a yellow hand attached to a blue arm came into view, the blue smiling giant himself hunching over as he entered the room making them hastily take a few steps backwards. Her heart dropped to her stomach, a scream dying before it could even escape, she took a shaky breath as Huggy Wuggy fully entered the room, standing at full height as he inspected Raphielle curiously. He stood blocking the door looking for all intents and purposes as if he belonged there.

Chapter Text

Blue watched as Huggy’s too tall body ducked under the door frame, the giant, trapping them in the room. They had no escape, the previous route shutting close earlier. The toy let out a hiss, her body arching in a defensive position in front of the others. As he fully walked in, Blue, The Human, and Green also stepped back. Wanting to keep some distance between them and him.

‘Was he waiting for us here all along?’ Blue thought, her throat dry.

They all saw him stalking them earlier, just looking at what they were doing. It was unlike him. Huggy usually caught them as fast as possible, barely giving them time to think as he hunted them down. Was it because he was waiting for an opportunity to catch them? She felt the thick tension in the air as Huggy merely stood still, observing for any sort of movement. Locked in a standstill, Blue kept her eyes on Huggy Wuggy, the guardian of the factory keeping his eyes on them in turn.

All of a sudden, she felt The Human scoop her up before bolting to the other end of the room making the blue giant follow. Up the stairs the woman went much to Blue’s confusion, Green looking at her in terror. 

Years of surviving on the factory floor, ruined because they locked themselves in a room with no other escape routes. It was a mistake they should have learned to avoid years ago but forgotten in the face of contentment. Just as Huggy took a step on the catwalk, The Human shot the grabpack hand onto the platform making it hold then jumped off making Blue’s stomach feel like it was left up above as they stopped just before they hit the ground, gently reaching the floor then bolting towards the now open doorway. 

Down the hall they dashed, trying to create as much distance from Huggy Wuggy as possible. Blue could feel her heart pounding in her casing, her wings occasionally fluttering as if to let her fly away though they don’t really have those functions. Looking at Green, She sees the terror in his eyes. If it was possible, she knew he would be drained of all color. His claws were out, digging into the woman’s skin as he held onto the Human for dear life.

Blue could hear him.

She could feel her heart in her casing pound away. She could hear Huggy chase after him. It wasn't exactly loud but years of listening and looking out for it had familiarized her. The sound of the Factory's guardian chasing down prey. She could tell he wasn't being as fast as he could be, she had seen her chase down the others before, he had lunged, grabbed, then ate them in quick succession. 

A terrifying sound to hear, Huggy Wuggy prowling. She was scared. For her, for Green. They could die there, all that after doing their best to be out of the lower levels. She would not accept it. If push came to shove, they could scramble into the vents.

The Human turned a corner, shutting the door behind her and put them down. Blue noticed her hands were shaky as she tried a few keys for each door, trying her best to open something, anything. After five keys, The Human would move on to another door, making sure to keep moving.

Desperation that Blue herself could also feel just radiating off the woman in droves, amplifying Blue’s own anxiousness. She could hear nothing yet though, and looking at Green, she could tell he was on guard but didn't hear Huggy Wuggy either so she felt marginally better. Not as good as if they had a place to hide though. 

“We gotta keep going!” Green urged, his voice barely there. He was afraid speaking would suddenly summon the guardian. In all honesty so was she. Even the keys jingling was making her anxious, she didn’t know if his hearing was as keen as theirs, but it probably wasn’t far off. The sound might just lead him to them.

When the eighth door didn’t open after the third key, Blue could hear the human mutter things under her breath, a continuous stream of bad words she knew Green wanted to scold her about like he did earlier in that storage room. As of the moment though, she knew he was still too scared to scold anyone, they were too busy trying not to die.

On the ninth door though, luck was on their side. It had “Employees Only” on it, the letters old and peeling. When it clocked open after the second key, Blue released a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and felt as if she could melt through the floor. They quickly got inside and locked the door behind them just in case. 

Blue didn’t know if the door could hold it if Huggy Wuggy was determined to get in but at least it would give them some time if they needed to escape.

Inside was one of the breakrooms, very similar to all the other ones inside the big factory from the sheer number of people working there. Over the years, Blue and then her and Green had rested in the ones that were unlocked. It had couches, even a bed or two depending on how big it was, and not to mention in the beginning, it was one of the places with tons of snacks. Break Rooms also had a lot of good hiding spots if you knew how to hide properly.

There was a long table near the kitchen area, lots of counter space, a bunch of chairs all over the place, there were two coffee machines too with pitchers still halfway filled with old coffee Blue could guess had been there since The Hour. Yuck.

On the other side of the room was another door which the Human quickly locked as silently as possible. Just in the nick of time, they heard Huggy’s footsteps, looking around for them. The group made sure to stay as still as possible, Green crouching on the floor as he trembled. When the steps faded away, they all sighed in relief. Fear subsided for the precious few moments. 

Blue had thought it was too quiet for them earlier, especially after they saw him stalking them from the conveyor doors. At least now they knew it was supposed to be an ambush.  

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Screwed, utterly, terribly screwed. Raphielle was going to freaking die. Doomed as hell. This is going to get not just her, but also the two little ones. She’s utterly fucked . Raphi wasn’t allowed to die, she had the orchard to get back to. She only paid Linus enough for two weeks and had to get back. Not to mention she had to keep these two safe. 

Crap.

Crap, crap ,crap.

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap. 

She had to breathe. 

“Breathe goddamnit.” She hissed to herself as black spots danced in her periphery. She hated this. Drowning. She felt like she was drowning yet there was no water. The woman could see the Cat-Bees look at her in concern as she sat on the floor. Huggy was gone for now right? She was safe. They were safe. Even if it’s just for a bit. 

“ Why are you here?”

“ Why are you here?”

“Your sorrow is selfish.”

“Human?” Raphielle heard them asked, their voices muffled as if she was under water. When did they get near, she wondered.

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Do you deserve to live?”

“Hey a— ok—?” The two asked once more, sounding more concerned as the two went closer to her. Their voices were drowned by the sound of drums, making her unable to hear them properly. The room felt distant, dreamlike. She felt the cold of the tiles of the room but not at the same time. 

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Your sorrow is selfish.”

Raphi could see the two, their confusion evident at her unresponsiveness. “I’m okay.” She wanted to say, only to find herself unable to vocalize it. She wondered how that happened. The two looked at her skeptically, did she manage to say it after all? Huh. How odd. She didn’t hear it.

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Your survival was a mistake.”

The woman sat on the floor, feeling numb. It felt like she was separated by water. She thinks she said something, she didn’t know. Blue looked worried as they sat with her, wings fluttering in agitation. They did that earlier too. How cute. Were they able to fly with those? 

Green was teary-eyed from where the cat-bee sat, their front paws on her legs. Raphielle thinks that Green might be shaking her. Why? She also couldn’t help but wonder how Green was a teary. Did they have tear ducts? Weird. How in the world was that possible? They were made of plastic and faux fur weren’t they? Oh right. It’s barely been a few hours since they’ve met, of course she didn’t know. Her thoughts were absurd, she realized but still, it occupied her mind. 

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

"You're just trying to make yourself feel better."

Oh. 

Raphielle felt like she was drowning again. It was awful when she felt like this. It was never this bad before. The last time she was like this was after that call with Leith. Or was it Laith? Plaques said Laith while some posters and signs said Leith. It was confusing when she still worked in Playtime and now it was confusing after. 

The man was haunting her from the grave. 

She managed to move her hand, enough to pat the two. They looked too cute to be worried about her. Raphi had noticed it before but the casing wasn’t exactly like the weirdly smooth plastic or anything. It felt oddly pleasant. A testament to Playtime Co’s quality or something, she was sure. She felt an odd rumbling from her hands and realized it was the two. They were purring like cats. Man she missed the barn cats. 

Eventually, she noticed Blue’s ears shoot straight up. She said something to Green too and both looked towards the doorway. Were they afraid? Why was that? Looking towards the door too, she noticed that it was shaking a bit. Why was…?

She had a lot of questions, it seemed.

Raphi needed. She had to do something. 

What?

Something about the door?

The door…it was?

BANG!

The door went down and Huggy Wuggy walked through the door. Huggy took a step forward and again simply looked at them curiously. Time seemed to stretch, each second an eternity once more. It felt as if she had been doused with cold water, she had to run. They had to run away from him. But how? Her body wasn’t listening to her. The two were in front of her, protective, maybe a bit scared. She tried to stand again, and it sort of worked. Looking at her hands she realized she was trembling. 

She wondered when that started. 

Huggy took a step forward and again simply looked at them curiously. She couldn’t exactly hear what Blue and Green were trying to say but she could guess that they were absolutely terrified she saw their frantic gestures, their wide eyes filled with fear.A cold sweat broke across her brow, and her limbs trembled uncontrollably. Raphielle managed to stand upright but no matter how many times she tried she could not bring herself to move anymore than she already had, her legs feeling like lead.

She had to keep the two away from the big blue guy but the thought felt distant, disconnected. Her body didn't respond to her commands. Once more she tried to take a step only to stagger and then the room seemed to tilt, the walls closing in. She reached out instinctively only to feel soft fur beneath her finger. 

Huggy Wuggy took a step forward, his towering form casting a long shadow. Raphielle's breath hitched, and her vision blurred at the edges. This was not good. Not good, not good, not good. At all. The two had told her earlier when they were travelling through the conveyor tunnels. He was hungry. They all were. They had not properly eaten in months. It might even have been a year already, maybe more. 

They were hungry. Starving even and had long decided that each other was fair game and “Intruder” was a special meal. 

But then why…? Huggy Wuggy did not attack, simply helped her back up on her feet. Raphielle was confused. What the hell was happening. He was surely squishing her to death or? Nope, just hugging her. 

What in the world? 

It was surprisingly soft to be hugged by him, warm and comforting for something that had tried to kill them. Feeling Huggy Wuggy's own breathing—slow and steady—hers began to follow suit. Gradually, the roaring in her ears diminished, replaced by the muffled sounds of the environment. Her vision, once tunneled and dark, began to clear, revealing the concerned faces of Blue and Green peering up at her.

Raphielle took a deep, shuddering breath, the first full breath in what felt like hours. The tightness in her chest eased slightly, and the trembling in her limbs subsided to a manageable tremor.

She wasn't okay—not yet—but she was no longer drowning.

Her knees buckled, but Huggy held her firmly, his embrace grounding her. Her legs soon felt like jelly, and the blue of his fur was soon slowly swallowed by the black dancing at the edges of her vision.