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They took a deep breath as they burst from the vent, their body slamming into the boxes blocking the other end of the catwalk. The air here wasn't any more breathable than the rest of this cursed factory, but it wasn't as vile as the air inside that vent.
They couldn't continue to breathe much longer, the slamming behind them alerting them to the approaching enemy. They glanced above them, to the precariously balanced box, before extending their hand to grip it.
The vent flung open, and the blue monster surged forward.
SLAM
…
They glanced around, before they stared down at the piano, then back to the note they had collected. Another wave of nausea struck them, feeling sick in their stomach as they struggled to uncurl one of their arms from the GrabPack. For so long now, they had been using this contraption, it felt like their hands had melded into plastic and wire.
It wouldn't be new for this place.
They placed the note up on the board, before flicking the piano keys in order. Star, Diamond, Clover, Heart. The piano’s lid popped up, revealing the Toy they had been searching for. They didn't bother to question why the piano worked that way, this factory just did.
They stared down at the Toy, a Baby Long Legs. Its creepily large eyes stared into them, making them shiver. Was this just a Toy, or was there something trapped in there, screaming for help? They would never know.
When they first got there, they assumed the only living toys were the big ones. Huggy Wuggy, Mommy Long Legs, PJ Pug-A-Pillar, Kissy Missy. But then, of course, they went into that Playhouse.. That place was teeming with artificial life, teeming with…
“Oh no.. Oh no! L-Leave me, please!”
They took a step back as the Smiling Critters flooded the walls, appearing like insects to the carcass. DogDay struggled against their binds, yet they couldn't even bare to raise their Flare Hand.
“Just go.. RUN!”
They didn't listen, not until DogDay’s wrist snapped free from the chain, something else moving his corpse as it swiped into the human’s chest.
“Gllkk-”
Was it the memory of being punched, or the memory of death, that made them vomit? It didn't matter much, the human just slamming shut the piano lid to cover it up. They hoped Lily wouldn't find it before they escaped this place.
Or before she.. was…
“Down here they're calling you The Playtime Butcher.”
They gagged again, resisting the urge to hurl once more. But they knew they shouldn't. The only thing they had managed to eat in their time were some scraps from Safe Haven, they couldn't afford to lose anything else.
With shaky steps, they descended down to the dinner table, where the two other two Toys were already placed. Baby Long Legs was carefully placed into their seat, before the door to the room suddenly flew open.
“Baby! I'm so happy you could make it~”
She always seemed to know when they found one of their toys, maybe it was coincidental. But at the same time, they had caught her slinking around the dollhouse at multiple points, they were probably just watching her. They’d probably care more if they hadn't been stalked by at least 5 other creatures up to now.
She was.. She wasn't human, but she was the closest they had seen to one. She had the shape, and the look. Those were human traits. Though more importantly, she wasn't immediately murderous. She was more like Mommy in that regard, but even she was threatening them from the start. Lily hadn't struck out.. yet.
The doll bounded over to the table, before giving a more pitiful look.
“And I’m so sorry for your loss..”
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”
Pulling the lever wasn't much of a conscious act, just an auto-pilot. Her hand became trapped within the metal gears, slowly pulling her in as the plastic was shredded. She fought and struggled, at the same time swiping for them.
“HE’LL MAKE ME.. PART OF HIM!”
She gave another screech before her leg slid between the gears, pulling the rest of her upper body in. Her abdomen was pulled in, bursting into gore with ease, causing her to fall still.
…
They wobbled back and forth, putting their foot forward to try to stop themselves from falling on their face. In front of them, the doll gave a turn, an angry look on her face. She was more emotive than most in this place, stamping her foot in a pout.
“Hey! Are you even listening to me!?”
They opened their mouths, taking another step, before their exhausted body gave way. Lily stared as their legs seemed to stop working, the human falling down without much warning. Her braids instructively lurched forward to grab onto them, grabbing onto their upper body tightly.
She harshly shoved them onto their feet, breaking into a smile.
“It is not naptime, we still need to have our teaaaaa party~”
She giggled, staring them in the eye so that the Toy would start moving again. When they didn't, her smile faded, leaning in. Were they ignoring her? It felt that way, but they seemed more.. off. Their face was a disgusting red, drenched in sweat and.. yep. They still smelled like gore.
Lily tapped her foot, waiting impatiently, before Candy suddenly spoke up.
“I think they're dead.. No, Candy! Don't say such an awful thing.. They're obviously just..”
Her braids were still wrapped around them, the doll moving her ponytail to gently poke at them. No reaction.
“Silly Billy, they got all tired out before our Tea Party! Probably because you made them work.. They probably had such a long day..”
She sighed, before uncurling one of her braids from around The Butcher. The other tightened around their body, holding them up as the doll carried them up the stairs. They couldn't have a Dozy Daisy at the party, especially not in front of her special guest.
She used her other braids to pull herself along quicker, before eventually reaching her room, opening it up. It was well decorated with all of their favourite things, Lily kicking the latch on her bed to make it open up.
“Oh, sorry Gracie, I didn't know you were still asleep..”
Lily gave a hum, staring down at the skeleton tucked into sleep. They had been asleep for quite some time, they weren't sure when they’d ever get up. But this was the only bed, and she wasn't sure about making her friends share.
I mean, she could sleep with Gracie just fine, they were friends. But The Butcher didn't know her. She thought for a moment, before gently placing them in the bed.
“I’ll.. put you back later. Just..”
They gently extracted the carcass from the sheets, making sure to not let it fall apart as she was moved to the side rooms. She had enough extra pillows to make a temporary bed, making sure Gracie was comfortable before closing the side room.
The few people she had seen had mocked her friend. That meanie computer man couldn't stop laughing for minutes- But surely The Butcher wouldn't. Surely.
Going back to the bed, they tucked The Butcher into the blankets, snug in place alongside all her plushies. It was hard to tell their expression, they had been fairly dead inside ever since they first met. But they looked peaceful now, at least.
With a satisfied hum, she left the room, using her braids to quickly swing down stairs and into the living room. She looked over to the TV, playing that same Wrongside Outimals commercial that she could probably recite by heart by now. She picked something up from the table, a small red phone that she tapped into.
“Buddy, are you there??”
She waited with bated breath, before the voice on the other end came through. He sounded so grumpy, classic Prototype!
“What is it?”
“Hey! Hi! So about that Tea Party.”
“DO YOU STILL HAVE POPPY?”
“Yuuuup- Down in the basement, locked up tight.”
The Prototype gave a clicking noise from the other end, so she took her turn to speak.
“But we need to delay it by um.. Two hours? Maybe?”
"What?"
“My friend is sleeping, and they put in so much work.. I can't let them miss it.”
Another silence fell, before the voice spoke through the phone again.
“Fine, then we can wait. But no.. Later.”
The phone immediately hung up after that, making Lily sigh in relief as she placed it back down. The Prototype was one of the few that she ever saw down here, though only rarely. She wasn't allowed out of the Sweet Street, probably to protect her, and he only ever walked through to get to Reanimation.
Aside from him, the only other people she had seen were that mean Doctor, Gracie, Poppy, Kissy, and The Butcher.
Speaking of which, she walked back up to her room, being quieter to not wake up either of her friends. It seemed like she was walking around a lot today, usually she had a set path of things to do everyday, but she didn't mind the fun she was having with her newest friend.
She walked back into the room, glad to see The Butcher was still tucked into sleep. She stood at the edge of the bed, watching them.
And she waited.
There was nothing left to do but wait. Sure, she could go do other activities, but.. They all seemed pointless right now. She had been waiting so long for a friend, for a real friend, that not being around them when she easily could seemed like a waste of her time.
So even if they weren't doing anything, she waited. She waited and she continued to wait.
////////
The Butcher awoke with a groan, brain almost immediately kicking in to scream at them. Adrenaline had become a constant in this place, and it was immediately flooding back in. They had been asleep in this place before, but each time had led to awful hallucinations.
But.. right now, they seemed rather comfortable? They hesitated to open their eyes, expecting to see some hideous creature waiting to tear their guts out, but they saw no such thing.
They were tucked into a bed, the blankets surprisingly comfortable despite being dirty. Next to them, multiple stuffed animals lay peacefully, resembling creatures they had seen so far. Aside from that weird box monster, they had no clue where that came from.
Their mind slowly came to and they glanced around. No other place in the factory had looked like this, so they knew they were still in Sweet Street. And if they were in bed, that meant.
“You're awake!”
They jumped at the voice, and then jumped again as they saw her so close to them. Her eyes were wide open, leaned in far to be right in their face. They gave a slow nod.
“Aren't you a Dozy Daisy.. You got tired just before our Tea Party.”
They sat up from the bed, watching the doll as she explained. They only remembered delivering Baby, then.. Right, yeah.
“But it's okay, everyone needs to rest! I went ahead and sorted everything out, so we’ll be ready when my special guest arrives..”
They idly nodded, barely listening to her. They had a sneaking suspicion of who that special guest was, so they were hoping to slip out before then.
Though they couldn't help but feel.. bad, about that? Sure, Lily had kidnapped them, but compared to the rest of this hellish cast she was at least a hospitable host. Though maybe they just..
They glanced up to her again, watching as her mouth curled up into a smile. They had pieced together who she was a bit before even meeting her. It sure was convenient to have that audio tape showing her transformation. It was obvious enough that the kids were Toys, and they figured there was some level of forced obedience but..
Being in Huggy’s head, and then seeing that feral creature reverted to a helpless child in front of those projectors. It really was horrifying.
And, of course, Ms. Gracie was front and center. The way she talked made their skin crawl, they could only imagine how all of these Toys were tortured by her. And when they heard that same voice come from this doll, it was easy to blame her.
But.. that wasn't really fair, was it?
The Toys had been brainwashed into monsters, they could never blame them for those actions. So it didn't seem fair to blame Lily for what Gracie had done. The Doctor was fully aware even as a computer, they felt no sympathy in murdering him for good, but Lily.. wasn't that. She was odd, and creepy, and in many ways a threat- But she felt too human in this place of monsters and confusing allies.
As much as they liked Kissy and Poppy, and all of their allies, there was a level of comfort that only a human could give them. There were no humans here, but Lily was something close.
“Aw, are you going back to sleep? Don't zone out on me, Butcher..”
Their mind immediately reeled back, as if yanked back into nightmares. Nightmares of a human-shaped doll being decapitated by a falling door, of a dinosaur torn to shreds in front of their eyes, of one of their only allies crushed by their very own hands.
They put their hand to their mouth, coughing as they resisted the urge to throw up like before. Lily tilted her head, leaning into their side.
“You look pretty sick, Butch-”
“Don't call me that.”
Their voice was quiet, weakened from not using it. They didn't speak much at all, even outside this place, they didn't like it very much.
Lily’s eyes widened, tapping her fingers on the edge of the bed.
“You can speak??
They looked over, before giving a stilted nod. They picked up one of their Plushies from their side, the Huggy Wuggy one. At first, they were terrified that they were alive. But now? They were happy.
They didn't want to kill everyone. Even if they had to, they didn't want that to be them.
“Oh.. Weeeell, what should I call you?”
“...Angel.”
That was what DogDay had called them. Poppy’s Angel. That was what they wanted to be. An Angel.
For Poppy
For Kissy
For Giblet
For Chum
For Glowby
For.. Doey.
For anyone who was willing to accept that hand.
Lily clocked her tongue, sounding it out in her head.
“Ange.. el.. I think that's stupid- Shut up, Candy! Our friend’s name is wonderful~”
She giggled again, before her braids suddenly grappled onto The Angel. They instinctively panicked, before realising Lily probably wouldn't hurt them. If she wanted, she would’ve just mauled them in their sleep.
With a skip, she carried them out of her room, speaking in a sing-songy voice.
“We’ve still got so much time before the party! Buuut I'm sure we can sneak a cup of tea before then~”
Their dead stare remained, but inside they were thinking. Thinking hard. In every encounter, they had been forced to eventually kill the Toy they had been up against. A torturous process with no change, no way to prevent it.
But.. Lily was different. In more ways than one.
They sighed, idly listening to Lily talk in the background. It felt stupid to add another thing to their goals in this godforsaken place, but they’d never feel good if they weren't trying to help everyone they could.
No matter what happened, Lily was getting out of this stupid dollhouse.
They would be her Angel.