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icaruslamentspiral · 7 months

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The Fall of DogDay

Summary: It has been three years since the Hour of Joy. The Smiling Critters are trying their best to take care of the children, but the adult bodies are running low, and sanity is starting to run even lower. There is only one option to even get a chance to escape the factory, and Dogday sets off to rescue her.

(Or, the player was not the first to try and free Poppy.)

Notes: Originally, this fic was going to take place six months after the Hour of Joy, but while I was doing research, I changed that. Check out the AO3 version to find other notes!

AO3/Ko-Fi

-_-

Three years.

It had been three years since the Hour of Joy.

DogDay wasn’t really certain of this. It somehow felt both longer and shorter than that, but Bubba claimed it had been three years based on the clock, so he believed him.

It had been three years, and yet the Smiling Critters survived.

It was the most positive way DogDay could describe it.

It was sad, but the kids were doing a lot better than they were, which was a better way to word it. When the alarms started going off and the Prototype started screaming in their minds, the Smiling Critters acted as trained to. They had herded all the kids away from the slaughter, down the elevator, and into the emergency bunker. They had all been able to ignore the desire for bloodlust.

Well, not every Smiling Critter had been able to.

DogDay winced at the thought. “You okay?” Hoppy Hotscotch’s voice broke through his thoughts. She brushed against his shoulder, her eyes probably wide with concern. “Are you hurt?” The rubble contained stuff like metal and wires that could slice at palms and fingers.

“I’m fine,” DogDay straightened, eyeing the cavern wall before them. “Just…getting a little annoyed with digging.”

The bunker was… decent. Big enough to host the entire Playtime Co. staff, which meant it was almost too big for the few hundred kids and the Smiling Critters. According to the manual Bubba had found, it was built to withstand nuclear blasts, built with an automatic fire sprinkler system and the same lights used in sunlamps, and, with careful rationing, have enough food for over twenty years for over a thousand people. However, there was only one entrance and only one other back door.

The food and back door were the issues.

There was enough rations for the kids. There was no questioning that. There was even a garden that Picky Piggy and some of the older kids took care of. However, the toys were built to consume one thing only: raw meat.

Big industrial freezers had been built into the bunker. That contained lots of meat, ranging from chicken to beef to veal, enough to create lots of good dinners for humans with careful rationing. However, Picky Piggy had tried some of the raw meat when making dinner and had spent the rest of the night violently throwing up. For whatever fucking reason, the toys could only eat human meat.

For the first two years, that hadn’t been an issue.

Even if they hated it, the pit where the… staff were had been accessible to everyone.

Picky Piggy, always sent to grab food, had commented once that it felt like the other toys let her go first. “I think they know we’re taking care of the kids,” she had said. “It’s kinda nice.” She had even been able to sneak up to the other levels and raid any vending machines and the cafeteria for extra food for the kids. Once, she had even been allowed to sneak into Home Sweet Home to grab any baby formula or toys left behind in the rush.

Even when the staff’s bodies ran low, humans still came in. First, it was the police officers that DogDay guessed ventured too far in. Then strange people in brightly-colored hazmat suits had started coming. Rumor said that they were looking for toy parts, to build more toys.

Toys like them.

For a while, they had kept coming in, killed by Huggy Wuggy or Boxy-Boo or even Mommy Long Legs and dumped in the pit. For over two years, starting six months after the Hour of Joy, they had come in, every week.

Six months ago, they had stopped coming, which led them to realize the second problem.

The backdoor, the door that didn’t lead into the factory full of monsters, was blocked off by rubble.

DogDay, of course, had decided to unblock it. Sooner or later, the bodies of those Resource Extraction Specialists and whatever was left of the staff would be gone. He didn’t want to be here, in close quarters with the kids, if hunger overtook them. It was hard work that they had to do in shifts of two, considering how tight the passage up was, but he figured that they would get out sooner rather than later with hard work.

Hoppy sighed, unaware of his true thoughts. "Yeah, I feel ya." She reached out and wiped her brow. They didn't sweat, but it felt like a comforting gesture. "It feels like we're just gonna keep digging forever."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get out soon!" DogDay grabbed a piece of rubble and shoved it back. He and Hoppy would soon need to take a break to load the rubble into the rubble deposit tunnels that Bubba had insisted they dig first. "I can already feel the sunlight! Smell the poppies!"

"Yeah, about that..." Hoppy's hand on his shoulder made him look back. The green rabbit's eyes darted around, as if expecting someone to be eavesdropping on them. "Can I tell you something? I don't know who else to tell, and I don't want to scare the kids."

"Yeah, sure, what is it?"

Hoppy took a deep breath.

"I think CraftyCorn is losing it," Hoppy whispered softly, like she was worried that the unicorn would hear them. "I was helping her with a painting last night, right?"

"Right?" CraftyCorn wanted to paint a mural on the walls to give the bunker some color.

"And, she needed red for some poppies, but we were out of red in the paint cupboard." Hoppy gripped her arm, where a new bandage sat. "She accused me of hiding more red."

DogDay felt the pieces slide together.

"She... attacked you?"

Hoppy nodded. "I'm really glad the kids were asleep, because I was terrified of her right then. KickinChicken ended up finding some red paint, I think it was used for marking the tornado spots, but she calmed down the moment she saw I was bleeding red."

DogDay blinked. He had heard Hoppy loud and clear, but he couldn't match the image of CraftyCorn to violence. "Did...did she say anything? Did she apologize?"

Hoppy shook her head. "No. I mean, she used the paint KickinChicken found, but she hasn't said a word about it. But I just sat on it all night. I mean, what if she had accused a kid of doing that?" Her ears flattened against her head. "I know CraftyCorn wouldn't do something like that, but the thought is now in my head and and and..."

"...and?"

DogDay didn't expect the next words.

"I was on the roof earlier today, staring at the cliffs. And...and I wondered, what would happen if I jumped right there..." DogDay's mind whirred at the admittance. Once again, his brain was connecting dots, and, once again, not revealing a good picture.

He had found Hoppy on the roof before their shift. He had thought she just wanted a moment of quiet, peace, and fresh air before they were here. DogDay had done that a number of times before.

But, Hoppy had been considering... that? DogDay couldn't even think of the word.

This was all painting a picture.

DogDay felt himself twitch at the thought. They couldn't wait to finish clearing the rubble. He meant, they could work on the passage, but they needed a faster solution. Food for the toys was running low, sanity was beginning to run low among the tots, and the Smiling Critters were not surviving as well as he made himself believe. They needed a way out, now.

And, as he thought, as he began to once again mechanically move rubble as Hoppy began to chatter about some of the kids planning a play, probably guessing that he had hit his limit of awful things, DogDay had a thought.

An idea.

A way to survive and get out.

Poppies...Not just poppies.

Poppy.

-_-

“No.”

“What?”

“Are you crazy?!” Everyone jolted at the harsh words from Bobby, but she didn’t seem to care. “There’s no way the Prototype will even let you go near Poppy, let alone let her out!”

DogDay raised a finger to his mouth, trying not to think of the anger in his chest. “Guys, shush. You’ll wake the kids.” It was about midnight, meaning the kids had gone to bed, and now all seven of them sat around the kitchen table as DogDay presented his idea.

KickinChicken seemed to follow the command of lowering his voice, even as he provided Bobby with backup. “Nobody’s even seen Poppy since the Hour of Joy. How do we know the Prototype didn’t just off her?”

That was a fair point. Poppy had been the leader of the toys long before the scientists created the Prototype. It was an unspoken law: whatever Poppy says, do. DogDay was pretty sure the only reason why everyone had done the Hour of Joy was because Poppy hadn’t been seen in weeks, and everyone was just that done. It would be reasonable to assume the Prototype had gotten rid of her to make sure he stayed in charge. “Bubba and I talked about it.” He glanced at the elephant sitting across from him. “Right, Bubba?”

The elephant hadn’t said a word beyond his initial rejection. His brows furrowed as everyone turned to him. Finally, he sighed. “DogDay is correct. We have discussed it.” They had spent long nights, those first few weeks of fear and tension, talking about it.

“And?” Hoppy said, crossing her arms. “What?”

“The Prototype mostly ignored us, especially CatNap,” Bubba folded his hands as he adjusted his position. He stared at the table like it was a map. “However, he paid attention to Poppy and seemed to show a fondness for her, even though she openly hated him. It was to the point that notes about his… attitude towards her called it a concern.”

“Basically, he was obsessed with her,” DogDay said. “There’s no way he would get rid of her, especially when the Doctor-” A cold chill went down his spine at the title. Everyone else shuddered on cue. DogDay pushed back the thoughts of cold hands and even colder hands to return to his plans. “Had that special case for her.” He leaned forward and unrolled the map of the factory. Before the meeting, DogDay had poured over it, marking out a route. He tapped it, and Hoppy and Bubba leaned in, their eyes following his finger as he traced his route. “There’s a back door to that room. All I need to do is sneak into Playcare-”

“Where Catnap is.”

“-Thank you Bobby, get to the train, set the train to go back to the Game Station-”

“Where Mommy Long Legs is.”

“- Thank you CraftyCorn, sneak out of the Game Station, take the emergency stairs up to where Poppy’s room is, and simply walk in, open the case, and get Poppy.” DogDay tried for a peppy smile, even as anxiety ate at him. Based on how Bobby’s eyes were narrowing, he wasn’t doing a good job at the smile. “Easy and simple! Nobody hangs around in that section. Then we just come back here the way I came in, we load everyone onto the train, and we take it to the very end of the tracks.” He switched the factory map for the train track map and tapped the very end of the tracks.

Conveniently, right next to two exits: either the front door or the warehouse.

“Then we simply walk out the door! Do I have a plan after that…?” Everyone blinked, waiting. DogDay sighed. “No, no, I do not. But, hey! We just need to escape the factory first, and then we can go from there.”

It was easy. Simple. Almost too easy and simple.

The other Smiling Critters exchanged looks. DogDay waited with bated breath. If they said no, then he would wait, just a bit longer and work on the passage in the meanwhile. Maybe until desperation began to sink in.

"Okay," Bubba stood. "If anyone thinks that DogDay should not go and risk his life to rescue Poppy, raise your hands." He raised his hand. So did Bobby and Hoppy. The last glanced at CraftyCorn, narrowing her eyes, but the unicorn looked away. "Okay. That's three. If anyone agrees with DogDay's plan, raise your hands."

DogDay raised his hand. Picky Piggy winced but raised her hand. KickinChicken raised his hand as well, ducking his head to avoid Hoppy's betrayed look.

"That's a tie," Hoppy noted, tearing her eyes away from her exercise buddy. "Crafty?" Her eyes narrowed harder at the unicorn. DogDay realized, with a start, that she hadn't looked at Hoppy throughout this entire meeting. Now that he thought about it, she hadn't spoken all throughout dinner. "You're the last vote."

It should be second to last, DogDay mused. But his best friend, his second in command, wasn't here. Bubba was great, but it wasn't the same.

"I...I...it's dangerous," CraftyCorn said, voice almost too low. "Too dangerous. What would happen if you didn't come back?"

DogDay nodded. "I get where you're coming from. While I'm gone, I want you guys to keep working on the backdoor in case I get chased out. If I were to...die," Everyone winced at the word. "I'm leaving Bubba in charge. He's better at handling things than me."

“Is there a time when you want us to give up hope of you returning?” Bubba asked, proving DogDay’s point. His heart skipped a beat a second later, realizing the elephant was talking as if CraftyCorn had agreed to let DogDay out. “It shouldn’t take very long, only a few hours. But that is when the factory is normal.”

Yeah. And the factory hadn't been normal in a while.

“A month,” DogDay decided as CraftyCorn raised her hand. “Give me a month to come back to you guys.”

Bubba sighed, sitting back down. "Then, I change my vote. DogDay has clearly thought about this." His hand raised, even as his expression said that he was at a funeral. DogDay didn't even need to count the votes to realize what the result was.

It was five to two.

Guess I'm going on an adventure...

-_-

Hoppy had insisted that DogDay let the kids say goodbye before he left the next morning. Her intentions were pretty clear with the gesture, but DogDay did his best to ignore it as he dispensed last hugs, head pats, and handshakes to the kids. He promised that he would be back soon, he would tell them all the story of his adventure when he got back, and that he loved them. The last bit was unneeded, but hey. Sometimes the kids needed their favorite toys to tell them that they loved them back.

Picky Piggy walked him out of the bunker. For a while now, she was the only one who left the bunker and the caves beyond. They had all offered to accompany her several times now, but Picky Piggy had always refused.

Not this time.

They walked in silence except for the drip of water against the stone. Picky Piggy led the way, following the lights that lit the path, with tightly furrowed brows.

Finally, they arrived at the elevator.

DogDay pressed the button. With the whine of the motor, the elevator began to descend.

"You know, I think this is a bad idea." He turned at the words. Picky Piggy stared at the floor. "I know, I voted for you and all. But it's a bad idea. Unneeded risk and all that." He prepared to retort, but she held out a hand. "But it's also a good chance. So, here."

She tossed something at him, and DogDay caught it. It was a satchel. He opened it, raising a brow, and paused. Two loose Grabpack hands with electrical wire sat inside, next to Picky Piggy’s lockpicking kit and a few small tools. Four objects had been wrapped in paper and, based on the smell, DogDay knew what they were.

"Is this...?"

"The liver's a little moldy, but it's not off entirely."

"Picky, I can't take this." He loved organ meat, even though he hated that he liked a specific part of eating human. But food for the Smiling Critters was already so stretched. "Everyone else-"

"Everyone else insisted I make you something so you didn't get hungry," Picky Piggy finally looked up from the floor. A wry smile creased her features. "You better not waste it."

DogDay gripped the satchel tight.

"I promise." The elevator clunked as it finally hit the floor. “I promise, I’ll come back to you guys.”

Picky Piggy nodded. “We know.” A hand pressed gently on his chest. “Now, go, before I think about dragging you back to the bunker.”

Despite his resolve, Dogday's feet dragged as he made his way to the elevator. The clink of the doors behind him sounded like the toll of a bell. Picky Piggy’s shoulders trembled as she pressed the button.

The elevator descended up, pulling DogDay away from his family and hopefully to Poppy. He stared down, however, not looking away from Picky Piggy until the walls surrounded him and cut off the sight of her.

Much like time, the elevator ride somehow felt too long and too short. DogDay kept quiet the entire time. The elevator cut through the labs, where the Prototype lurked. He didn’t need his quest being cut short barely five minutes in.

But nothing jumped out at him or attacked. It was just him, the darkness, and the groan of the elevator. DogDay looked up when light infiltrated the darkness. Above, a massive lid was rising up. He stood, gripping the satchel tight.

The elevator clunked into place and the doors swung open. DogDay didn’t immediately march out, however. Instead, he peeked his head out, just looking around. The gas production zone was quiet, excluding the weird violin soundtrack. DogDay counted to five minutes, waiting for anyone to come in, lured by the sound of the creak and clunk of the metal in here.

Five minutes passed. Nobody came.

DogDay finally stepped out.

He padded out of the room. The violin soundtrack grew louder in here as it was revealed that the gas-channeling machine was offline. DogDay hummed. He may need to deal with that later. Right now, he needed to get to Poppy. He padded out of the room and set off down the hall, ignoring the claw marks and streaks of blood.

The door to Playcare was thankfully unlocked. All DogDay needed to do was open it, and he stepped into Playcare. He stopped at the sight that greeted him.

Playcare had obviously seen better days.

The tarp, painted like the sky that hid the metal beams of construction, was pulling away in some areas. Only the main overhead light shone down in the area’s day mode, giving the edges creepy shadows that DogDay now padded out of. The buildings were all grungy, with paint peeling and dust covering them. Several things had been knocked over, and he ignored the blood stains. Even the Critters’ statue, once the main hub of the orphanage, was now covered in ivy. DogDay tried to ignore the missing Critter, his statue now lying broken on the ground.

(The workers had just pulled him off when it began.)

But there was no sign of CatNap.

DogDay looked around, just in case. Nope, no sign of him. That made sense. CatNap was sensitive to bright light. It didn’t help that he had been trained only to come out when Playcare was in night mode to distribute the Red Smoke.

So that meant he had to move.

DogDay started walking, trying to ignore how eerie the silence was. The cable car in and out of Playcare was right across from the gas production zone. Hopefully, it was still in working order.

He nearly laughed in relief when he found it, and the doors opened for him once he flipped the levers. Yes! It still worked! It was child’s play to hop on in and sit down, letting the cable car begin to move by itself.

Thankfully, Elliot’s spiel about Playcare and smiles didn’t play when the cable car was going up. DogDay just relaxed, watching Playcare grow smaller and smaller. A little hint of movement, right in the school’s windows, however, made him squint. Hang on, had that been one of the Miss Delight teachers?

Before he could question it, Playcare was swallowed up by the red transition lights. DogDay pulled away from the window and decided to not question it. The kids came first.

As he hoped, nobody was hanging out in the entrance to Playcare. Even better, the train was there!

DogDay, however, didn’t go into the head car, where the driver would sit. Instead, he headed to the caboose. A lever needed to be flipped whenever the train needed to go backward, like now, because the tracks ahead were blocked by rubble. The door to the caboose opened easily with some lockpicking, revealing the massive amount of controls and such that all went into controlling the train, including the lever. Hopefully, Poppy knew the master train code. DogDay flipped the switch and heard the train whistle. He hopped out and yanked himself into one of the passenger cars before the train started to move.

“Easy.”

Now he had to just sit and wait in darkness like the elevator. DogDay settled into one of the seats. Now that he was alone with his thoughts again, he wondered what the other critters were doing. Would he ever see them again? No, he shook his head, those were bad thoughts. Of course he would see them again! The others were fine, probably a little worried, but would be distracted with caring for the children.

Bubba was probably teaching afternoon classes now. Picky Piggy was probably making lunch for the children while Bobby cared for the younger kids. Hoppy and KickinChicken, if they weren’t arguing about sending him out, were probably planning some fun games for recess. CraftyCorn was busy working on her mural. The thought of the unicorn sent a shiver down DogDay’s spine. Hopefully, if CraftyCorn snapped again, the others would be able to keep her from hurting anyone.

He pushed back his concern when the darkness, once again, was interrupted by light. The Game Station was up ahead. DogDay tensed at the thought. Would the train stop here?! Did they need to push the brakes manually? He glanced out the window, trying to figure it out. The train was slowing down, so hopefully, he could jump out if-

The wheels screeched as the train came to a rolling stop. The car jolted. DogDay let out a sigh of relief. Oh thank the Lord, the train stopped on its own-

"Oh~?"

The moment he heard the sickly sweet croon, DogDay hit the floor, his relief blocked out by terror.

Mommy Long-Legs was best described as a mixed bag. In the early days, she had been kind to the Smiling Critters. DogDay could remember her hands on his, helping him learn how to walk. As the years passed, however, her focus grew more and more on the children. She had once nearly ripped Bobby's arm off for making a little girl throw a tantrum for not having the bear's sole attention on her. Her mental state hadn't improved after the Hour- in fact, according to rumors, it had gotten worse, with Mommy making any adults still alive or trapped run the Game Station gauntlet for lack of being able to watch the kids play.

He was surprised that she hadn't come looking for the children after the Hour.

If she caught him, with no humans available to play with... DogDay didn't even want to think about it.

He held his breath. Outside, he could hear the squeaks of elastic-plastic moving around, circling the train. "Now, who did this?" Mommy crooned from somewhere near the head of the train. "Hello~?"

Silence.

"Hm. It must've been a power failure," Mommy sighed. He could hear her shuffle her feet as if waiting for him to pop up just in case. "Oh well." Slowly, the plastic squeaks moved away with the creaks of metal as Mommy disappeared into the upper levels.

DogDay counted to ten.

When fifteen had passed, he sat up. The Game Station was empty and silent in the darkness. He took a deep breath and hopped out of the window, landing on the stage. He waited, just for another five seconds, before sprinting off the stage and into the Station.

Behind him, he could hear the lights flick on with the movement, but he was out the door before he could hear Mommy's confused noise. He flipped the lever to close the door behind him, just in case.

The next room held a series of doors. DogDay slid the Game Station's passage door behind him once again, before looking around. The slides for the upper management were there. (He ignored the pang that hit his heart when he saw Elliot's name.) Now, there had to be stairs…

Yes! There!

DogDay reached out and winced at the clink of the lock. Oh, great, of course, it was locked. He reached into his satchel to pull out Picky Piggy’s reliable lockpicking kit. He pulled out the tools and turned back to the lock, reaching out. It was child’s play to spring the lock from there, allowing DogDay access. So far, so good.

DogDay took a deep breath, closed the door behind him, and started up the stairs.

He failed to notice the little eyes peeking out at him from the lower floors, not until he heard a chirp. DogDay glanced down and felt his heart sink. The Wuggies beamed up at him, revealing their sharp teeth.

"Oh no."

DogDay took a step back. The lead Wuggy, a small blue one that resembled Huggy Wuggy, took a step forward. It seemed like a signal for all the Wuggies to let out one loud hiss. That was enough for him.

He turned and bolted up the stairs.

A loud screech sounded out behind him like a war siren, followed by the sound of rapid but very small footsteps. DogDay glanced down and nearly peed himself at the sight that greeted him.

Wuggies, what looked like thousands of them, were all chasing him. Most were down on all fours, chasing him like a dog would chase a mailman. And, yes, DogDay understood the irony. He was more focused on the Wuggies who could somehow climb the walls and were launching themselves at him. He turned and swung out with the satchel, knocking them away.

Stairs stretched up and up, but DogDay could see the door ahead! Pain shot up his ankle. He cried out and kicked out, sending the Wuggy who had gotten too close back into the crowd. But they were all drawing closer and closer, too close for comfort.

DogDay needed to get them away, hopefully distract them so they didn't chase him and Poppy.

The door was where he came to a stop, turning. The Wuggies came to a stop, pinning him to the door. They didn't attack. They probably knew that they didn't need to. DogDay was trapped.

"Back off." DogDay hefted his bag up as a makeshift weapon. "Back off, and I promise I won't tell Poppy!"

That didn't work as well as he hoped. Some did flinch at the doll's name, but none of them backed off. He thrusted his bag at them. "I said, back off-"

A Wuggie launched up at him. DogDay screamed, especially when the Wuggy landed on the bag. However, instead of using their position to dig into his flesh, it instead dug into the fabric of the satchel.

DogDay swung, sending it howling away, but a thought occurred to him. He turned to the crowd. None had approached to provide back up, instead staring at him and growling.

"Is this what you want?" DogDay said, holding out the satchel. Most of the Wuggies' eyes followed the bag, while a few stared firmly at him. Until he reached inside blindly, hearing the squish of an organ and pulling it out. Now all of their eyes were locked on his bag. "Here... here, it's all in here!" Stuffing the organ back in the satchel, DogDay threw it down the stairs. "DogDay says fetch!"

The Wuggies turned and ran back down the stairs in one heaving mass, just like when they were chasing him. DogDay sighed in relief, leaning against the door.

At least, until the door opened and sent him sprawling.

"Owwww." DogDay managed to stand, looking around as he closed the door behind him. He didn't notice the click of the lock as he looked around, feeling a smile lighten up his features.

Great! He was now in the hallway that led to Elliot's office! He glanced behind him. There was an open door, revealing a massive pit that must've been the slides. For good measure, DogDay trotted over and shut the door.

Now, Elliot's office was up ahead. He just needed to…

Jump this giant pit, apparently.

DogDay came to a stop, staring at the pit that he knew, for a fact, wasn’t there before. There were no signs of a floor. With his luck, it probably dropped all the way back to Playcare. But, hey! There was a Grabpack handle clear in the ceiling. DogDay could use one of the Grabpack hands in...his...satchel…

"Oh no." He patted his side, just in case he made a mistake. Nope. No satchel with food, Picky Piggy’s lockpicking kit, tools, or the Grabpack hands. He had just tossed everything down several flights of stairs. “Ohhh no.”

No!

There was no way he could just stop, right here! He was right next to Elliot's office! He was so close to Poppy's backdoor that he could smell Poppy's poppy flower scent! How would the others react if he came back empty-handed?!

DogDay looked around. There had to be a way! He couldn't stop here!

He went back, looking around. Nothing met his eyes. The door across the door he had used to get in was locked. In the room before the giant pit room, there was nothing except a ladder, still open as if the worker doing work on the vent had simply walked away.

"Hmm..." It sounded insane and his inner voice, which sounded a lot like Bubba, screamed at him not to do it.

DogDay grabbed the ladder, closed it, and made his way back to the pit. He stopped at the very end of the room and took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly.

"One..." He tensed up as if he was about to race Hoppy. "Two... Three!" He took off like a shot with a battle cry, holding the ladder over his head. He slammed the feet of the ladder right at the edge of the pit and threw himself up and over.

For a second, he was flying.

The next, his stomach was aching as he slammed into the edge.

Behind him, the ladder fell. DogDay was too busy desperately grasping at the edge, trying to find something to hold onto. His feet desperately kicked out, his toes reaching out to find any way to support him.

DogDay yelped as he slid down farther, desperately grasping even harder. His feet kicked out even harder until pain laced up his foot, joining his ankle.

Wait, was that... He searched out. It was! A piece of metal, barely jutting out from the wall! He stood on his tippy toes as best he could. Thankfully, the metal didn't fall away when he put the weight of his feet on the metal. He searched with his hands. All he could find was the edge, the tiles digging into his palms.

It would have to do.

Channeling Hoppy, DogDay squatted as best as he could, took another deep breath in and out, and jumped.

The metal fell away with a clang, but DogDay's upper half was up. He scrambled away on his hands and elbows, his knees sobbing when they managed to get on solid ground. DogDay collapsed a few inches from the pit, panting for air that didn't seem to be entering his lungs.

...hopefully, there was a spare GrabPack nearby. DogDay did not want to try that jump again with Poppy in tow.

He sighed and got to his feet, his entire body aching. He stumbled to the gate, which was pushed up easily. He glanced down and sighed at the sight of Elliot’s red door.

Wait, that meant…

DogDay straightened, looking down the hall.

There it was! The back door!

DogDay felt a relieved laugh punch out of his mouth as he shot down the hallway and grabbed the doorknob. Once he got Poppy, they could find a Grabpack and the skeleton code to the train, get back down with the train, get everyone, and get out. If they timed everything right, they could avoid the bigger toys, and the smaller toys would be scared away from Poppy.

He could see the ending!

He just needed to-

He threw open the door.

The scent of lavender hit his nose before the red of the Red Smoke engulfed his vision. DogDay took a deep breath before he could stop himself, and the hysterical laughter was already coming out.

His muscles went slack, and he collapsed onto the floor, just like his heart.

He could see the doors to the case room, just there, only a few feet away. More importantly, he could see CatNap stare down at him, Red Smoke leaking from his mouth. Over his shoulder, he could see the hulking monstrosity of the Prototype.

His eyes grew heavy. A ringing began to hit his ears, mixing with his own hysterical laughter, and voices drifted in and out.

"...take care...I promise..."

"I trust...need a... legs..."

Before he drifted off to sleep, he felt a hand wrap around his ankle.

–_-

DogDay’s mouth tasted like he ate shit.

It was harsh language, but it was the best way to describe the taste in his mouth as he slowly woke up. He blinked and stiffened. Darkness surrounded him. Where was he? Why was the bunker dark? Bubba had made sure the generator didn’t run out…

Oh. Wait.

Memories trickled in. Picky Piggy giving him the satchel of food, riding the train, evading Mommy and the Wuggies, somehow making that jump, opening the back door to Poppy’s apartment…

The Prototype. CatNap.

It took a moment, but DogDay's eyes eventually adjusted to the darkness.

Padded colorful walls met his eyes, as well as...cells?

"Oh no."

No, no, no... no! He couldn't be back here! He couldn't! The only good thing the Hour of Joy had given the Smiling Critters was the opportunity to be free from this place! DogDay tried to launch himself forward and run, but something yanked him back as a wave of pain washed over his lower half.

"Wh...wha..."

DogDay looked down first. He wished he hadn't.

His legs were gone. His entire lower half had just been… ripped off. He could see his organs practically spilling out. The only reason why they hadn't, as far as he could see, was due to the tight belt wrapped around his waist as a makeshift tourniquet. That would explain the pain. He looked up before he could see if he could throw up.

The first thing he saw was the chains spreading his arms apart. The second was CatNap.

Before he could scream, a paw wrapped tight around his mouth, cutting off the noise. CatNap lowered down the rest of the way with the rest of his limbs, finally settling down in front of him.

"You're lost," CatNap spoke in a whisper. "You are not with the children."

“I had to,” It was his first instinct. DogDay, the part of him that desperately wanted to be the happy leader, wanted his friend back. “You know this isn’t a sustainable situation.”

"I told you, the Prototype will take care of us," CatNap said back, cutting down DogDay's hopes. "You need just put your trust in him." How many times had he said that? It was enough for DogDay.

"The Prototype doesn't give a damn about the kids!" DogDay tried to launch himself forward, only to be held back by the chains. "He hasn't been taking care of them these past three years, we have!" Guarded by CatNap, yes, but still.

Silence.

DogDay continued. He needed to figure out a way out, but he was too angry. "He's a monster! So were you! You killed everyone, even those who didn't deserve it!" So many workers had no idea of the sinister plans of Playtime Co. How many of those workers had been through the treatment, like them? "You don't feel anything for them?!"

CatNap stayed silent, cocking his head.

"Say something!"

As he wished, CatNap spoke. "You judge," CatNap mused. "But you partook in the Hour of Joy, for all your judgment."

Oh. DogDay didn't know CatNap knew about that. "That- I wasn't in control- I didn't want to-"

"You did. You wanted to kill Stella, deep down."

It hurt. It hurt because it was the truth. Barely an hour before the Hour started, DogDay had listened to Stella stagger through an excuse to not release another child away from the chopping block. The parents had been furious, and DogDay had been furious because he knew the child would have been happy.

Stella knew about the surgeries. The Initiative. Everything. DogDay could not remember his own name, his own face, but he knew one thing. Stella had known and did not give a damn about any of it. Sure, maybe she had once cared about the children under her care, but she had just cared about her own skin at that point.

And then DogDay had woken up to her screams, his hidden teeth burying themselves in her throat, as the world ended.

He had left Stella there. She had still been alive, with her eyes wide and hands desperately grasping, but DogDay had left her there to die alone. The other Smiling Critters had assumed that he had been attacked when he got to the evacuation site.

He had never changed their minds.

"You judge me, my dearest friend," CatNap was purring, hard enough that DogDay could feel it through the grip on his face. "But you understand, better than the others. It is why you are here."

"What...What does that mean, it's why I'm here?" CatNap was silent, allowing DogDay's mind to wonder. "CatNap." he finally said. "Tell me, what does that mean?"

"We know where the bunker is," CatNap's voice ground against his nerves. "We cannot trust the heretics to care for the children anymore, if you could so easily abandon them. But I am sure you can be convinced, even if the others are lost." CatNap leaned forward, rubbing his cheek against DogDay's cheek, even as the dog went still with realization. A claw traced the belt that wrapped firm around his waist. "You have already given an offering to the Prototype."

What...what had he done?

"You will stay here, my dearest friend," CatNap said, either not realizing or not caring for DogDay's horror. DogDay was willing to bet, with his rising horror, that he didn’t care. "At the end of everything, it is just you and me."

The Playcare was silent that night, excluding CatNap's purring and DogDay's sobs.

Inside her case, Poppy slept, tears rolling down her cheeks as her only rescue attempt fell apart.

In a home hours away, an angel, unaware for another seven years, said goodnight.

#this is the reason of my downfall #i bawled my eyes out #Poppy Playtime

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