Chapter Text
Yuu goes down the elevator in complete silence, the silence was only interrupted every few seconds by the creaking of the machinery and the whirring of the engine. His mind still replayed the scene of Dogday crying for the loss while his ears echoed that heartbreaking scream.
He can feel the guilt begin to take over his mind and body, tears begin to slide down his cheeks as his lips whispered over and over again a sincere "I'm sorry".
As the elevator continued its descent, Yuu felt more and more trapped in a whirlpool of mixed emotions; he finally reached the lower floor, the elevator doors open with a metallic creak forcing the adult out of his thought bubble.
With a shaky sigh, Yuu gets off the elevator to slowly approach the panel that was on the other side of the room, he observes the blue battery lying on the floor not far away to immediately take it between his hands and place it in the slot. Once this is done, he goes to the main machine, and in front of it, he presses the red button, glimpsing how the screen lights up revealing the logo of the company to then begin the process of changing the direction of gas, taking all the smoke to the left container which immediately begins to filter and purify the air.
Immediately, the lights come on, indicating that power had finally been restored.
Hearing a noise to his left beyond the door, the adult steps into the next room to see the hatch, which was closed, begin to rise revealing a small elevator.
-Good, you're here... - A little voice echoes. -And you've done it again, the impossible, just like I knew you would.
Yuu frowns slightly as he catches a glimpse of Poppy coming out of one of the vents standing on a metal platform, he expected the little doll to know about the feline's death and be satisfied.
-Catnap´s gone, the red smoke is diverted.... Everything is falling into place, thanks to you.
-You're welcome. -Yuu replies with a slight sarcastic tone while crossing his arms, after all, her relaxed way of talking makes him pissed off. -But if you want me to keep going with this then… you must tell me the truth.
A brief silence formed in the area.
-I came back for the employees. -The grown-up continues. -I want to know what happened to them and why they decided to send one of their orphans a package.
Poppy lets out a shaky sigh.
-Well, I think you've waited long enough. -With a slow motion she reveals a bright red VHS. -This… This is your answer, we called it... "The Hour of Joy".
The redhead inserts the tape into the video player, immediately, a television that was under the platform turns on showing for a few seconds a little static, it does not take long for a text to appear on the screen.
The hour of joy
The video clip begins with the security camera shot of the main lobby, several employees were walking around the room going about their routine while others were simply talking to each other, in the center, Huggy Wuggy was standing on his platform, it was just like any other work day...
But, in less than a second, the calmness vanished starting the chaos, the blue beast ambushes a man who was nearby to immediately bite his head off, the now decapitated body falls to the ground alerting the rest of the humans who were already running to survive, Huggy on the other hand observes this as a simple game, so it does not take long to go hunting down the employees one by one.
Static
Next, Mommy Long Legs is chasing a group of people in the Game Station, once close enough, she wraps one of her long arms around the small crowd while with the other she uses it to reach one of the ceiling beams and rise into the air taking the employees with her, it doesn't take long to see how Mommy throws the group from a lethal height, killing them instantly.
Static
Another employee, who apparently belonged to the water treatment area, is seen being knocked down the stairs and seconds later, his body is wrapped and possibly devoured by a multitude of mini Critters and Mini Huggies.
Static
Then, the scene cuts to a school hallway where a group of Miss Delight chase a man, both paths were blocked leaving the adult with no choice but to hide in a classroom, unfortunately, he fails to close the door in time causing the teachers access to the classroom.
Static
Kissy Missy is the next to appear, she was in one of the train cars, she doesn't take long to attack an employee, knocking him out immediately and then chasing another one who had escaped.
Static
Boxy Boo is then portrayed in a corridor of an unknown area, breaking an employee in half by biting him, then he sets his sights on another target which he does not hesitate to attack.
Static
Finally, the Playcare security camera is shown, there Dogday walked next to several bodies that were scattered, the solar dog stops right next to a man, with one of his feet moves the human observing that this one shuddered a little, before this the canine raises one of his hands calling the attention of his partner to seconds later point to the employee. Catnap soon arrives, the feline grabs the man by the collar of his shirt and immediately throws the body onto the stairs of the Counselors' Office, resulting in the adult's death as he crashes into the concrete staircase.
Static
The final part of the tape shows several locations in the factory, including Make-A-Friend, Game Station, Playcare and the walkway leading to Poppy's room, each of which was littered with dead bodies littering the floor along with blood, all while a music box played in the background.
Once the video ends, the television turns off reflecting on the screen Yuu's face whose tears were sliding down his cheeks in silence, slowly the human wipes the residue.
-I remember hearing every moment of it... -Poppy speaks in a whisper. -It went on so long, so agonizingly long. They tried to hide, to run, anything to stay alive...
Yuu can only watch her sadly.
-I remember their cries… -She continues in a trembling voice. - "What's going on?", "Why is this happening?", "What are those things?".... Senseless slaughter, that's all it really was. They killed everyone... The guilty, the innocent, didn't matter.
-All that death didn't fix anything. -The older one mutters.
-And then, once it was all over, they dragged those corpses down below where they´d never be found, and they... ate the bodies, to stay alive. -She finishes with fury in her voice.
The man is speechless, this is all undoubtedly the Prototype's fault, he influenced the toys to murder on a false promise of freedom and now, they must fight to survive.
-The Prototype has to die... He has to pay for everything! -Yuu declares, earning a nod from the doll.
Then, a gate opens allowing Kissy to arrive to the room, the pink plushie approaches the porcelain doll to then hold her in her hands, then leads Poppy towards the elevator while Yuu follows them silently, finally, Kissy bends down to place the redhead very carefully on the metallic platform.
However, none of the three were aware of anything important.
Dogday watched their every movement.
The canine was hiding in the door frame, watching with hatred the human who was getting on the elevator in a calm manner, that only fueled more the fury of the sun who tightened his grip on his improvised weapon which he created with a piece of rusty pipe, tape and pieces of glass stuck on one of the ends, while his breathing accelerated, releasing growls deep in his throat.
-´soon as we get downstairs, we'll send the lift back up. Just hold thight, okay? -Poppy says.
Kissy responds with a nod and then turn to a control panel.
-After you! -says the doll playfully in an attempt to lighten the mood at least a little bit.
Yuu lets out a small chuckle, he follows the order by getting on the small elevator, once this is done, the duo watches Kissy as they give her a slight nod, a clear sign that they are both ready, with this, the pink plushie lowers the lever thus starting the descent.
The human lets out a sigh as he releases his grip on his GrabPack and then leans on the railing of the elevator.
-Alright, here's the plan. -Poppy begins. -Once we hit the ground, we need to be cautious, there's something…
-EEEEEKKK! -A high-pitched scream suddenly sounds.
This interrupts the little doll who, together with the human, raises her gaze towards the source of the sound.
-What? -Poppy mutters in confusion.
That shriek echoes around the place for a while longer, but before the duo can wonder what's going on up there, other noises join in.
It sounded like Kissy was struggling with someone, as several footsteps are heard, some grunting and what scared them the most, a sharp object being stabbed into the flesh.
-AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! -Finally, the enemy's scream echoed loudly in the room and it was much louder.
-Dogday? -Yuu recognizes that sound.
Poppy and Yuu look at each other with noticeable concern, only for seconds later they both put the pieces together.
Dogday was attacking Kissy
-No No NO NO! -Exclaims the little doll in horror.
Acting fast, the human pressed the buttons on the board in front of him to change the direction of the lift, unfortunately, it was not working properly, so it was very slow, so they could only stand there while they heard the scream of both creatures fighting.
-We're coming, just hold on! -The redhead shouts.
-Dammit, go faster! -Yuu exclaims while hitting the board, but nothing changes.
A cracking sound is heard over their heads stopping their actions, the pair watches as the hatch began to close rapidly, causing the beasts' fight to sound in an echo.
They feel a lump form in their throat as their stomachs sink, helpless to do anything to save the pink stuffed animal, Yuu feels his heart pounding and unable to do anything else... He just screams in horror.
-AIDEN!
