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After walking down a few maze-like hallways, The Prototype extends a too-long arm to press a button that opens up a tunnel in the ceiling.
"SEND Your GraBPAck hAND tHROugh, we'LL FoLLOw beHinD," it tells Player.
They nod and shoot their hand through the tunnel, the GrabPack grasping a bar they couldn't quite see but pulling them up all the same.
When they get to the top, they pause and look around to see if anything looks familiar. It... honestly just looks like a plain metal tunnel, covered in dust and rust.
Huggy yells, "MOVE!" and so they do, scrambling backwards just in time to see Huggy shoot up into the tunnel, hitting the ground with a groan.
"What the f-" they start.
Huggy interrupts. "Language! And I had to get up here somehow, didn't I?" He stands up and brushes himself off.
"I guess, dude. But it feels like there really should be a better way- wait, how's Prototype dude getting up here?" Player asks.
"YoU SAy dudE A LOt," The Prototype notes, standing behind them somehow.
Player yelps and spins around, backpedaling violently enough to knock themself over.
"Whoa, calm down!" Huggy says.
"indeED WE ARe not. I thOUGHt thaT WAs alreaDY ESTablisHEd," The Prototype sighs.
Player turns bright red. "Well, excuse ME for having trauma after dying well over a hundred times."
Huggy reaches down and picks up Player to set them back on their feet. "Just out of curiosity, who would you say killed you the most?"
"HugGY!" The Prototype is taken aback. "I HArdly thINK THat qUESTion is aPPROPRiate!"
"No, no, it's fine," Player answers. "I'd say it's difficult to tell, but it's between Mommy and CatNap. Miss Delight was easy enough to avoid when I figured out how she worked, Doey's other two were fighting the violent one, the tiny plushies were flammable, and The Doctor killed me a lot. Still, he's an overconfident former human at his core."
"What about me and The Prototype?" Huggy asks.
The Prototype, who has only been half-listening, tunes all the way in.
Player hums in consideration. "Prototype dude hasn't tried to kill me himself at all. You weren't too difficult, other than my immediate shock at the situation. You were, however, my first death and the most embarrassing one."
"Really?" Huggy says.
"Do teLL," The Prototype insists.
"Ah, well, it's not much of a story. I'd already died, what, ten or eleven times? Kept tripping in the vents. Anyways, I made it to the catwalk where I hit you with that box, and the first time I saw it, I panicked. I just backed up until I felt the rail, then when he lunged at me, I flinched so hard I tripped and fell over the railing somehow," Player tells their story.
Huggy snickers. "How'd you manage that? That railing was at the perfect height to hold you up."
Player shrugs. "Can we go? I'd like to find Kissy."
Huggy gasps. "I can't believe I forgot my sister! Come on!"
He starts fast-walking down the tunnel, and The Prototype watches in amusement as Player struggles to keep up, their exhausted legs working double-time to no avail.
"HUGgy!" it calls. "I BELieve iT'S NOT GOod maNNErs to leAVE A Guest strUGGling."
Huggy turns back around and spots Player's heavy steps trying to catch up.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he says. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Player reassures him, though their words are slightly slurred. "It's just been so long since... let's find Kissy, then I'm going to sleep."
"Oh, okay."
The Prototype skitters up behind them. "humaNS NEEd food aND WATEr, don'T THey?"
"Yeah, we do, why?" Player yawns.
"When WAS The lasT TIME You ate OR DRAnk anythING?" it asks, mildly concerned.
"Oh, er, I die every few days from a lack of water," Player explains. "Most of the time, anyway. One time, I found a few bottles in an old office, but those didn't last very long. The starvation doesn't affect me as badly."
"Oh, that's not good, is it?" Huggy asks.
Player shrugs. "Probably not. Nothing I can do about it though."
"HmmMM. THERe's a kitCHEN A Few flooRS DOWN. and there'S ALWAYs beeN PLEnty of mONEY, so you CAN Go out and bUY FOOD To eat," The Prototype reasons.
"Sounds good, dude. For now, all I need is some sleep," Player says.
Huggy kneels down and picks them up. "We'll get there faster this way. Which way?"
"AROund wHERE thaT ONE Kickin' AND BUbba useD TO PLay taG," The Prototype answers.
Huggy nods, and the three set off, walking through a maze of hallways.
Finally, they arrive at a hallway that The Prototype gestures through. "NEXt halLWAY."
Huggy puts Player down and runs ahead, peeking around the corner and letting out a screech immediately and darting out of view.
Player and The Prototype watch him and glance at each other. The Prototype nods and the two head down the hallway to follow him.
The Prototype walks slower than it would like to accommodate the human's slower pace, but eventually, they get around the corner to see a sweet sight.
Huggy, who's shaking, is embracing a torn-up Kissy. When he finally pulls away, his mouth is closed in a joyful smile.
"Kissy... I've missed you."
She smiles sweetly back, but says nothing. Player doesn't expect her to.
When she catches sight of them, she rushes over and kneels down, using her one remaining arm to pat them down.
They pat her back as best they can. "Hey, it's okay, I'm alright. I'm glad to see you."
Kissy pulls them into a tight embrace, and they can feel her shaking.
They whisper words of comfort to her until she pulls back.
Finally, she looks around the room and catches sight of The Prototype. Her mouth splits open to reveal her teeth. "Y## C#M# B#CK #FT#R WH#T Y## D#D?!"
"CALm doWN. I'M Not here tO HURt anyONE," it tells her.
Huggy walks over to Kissy's side. "It won't do any harm anymore. I promise."
She hesitates, then looks over to Player.
They give her a nod, and she calms down, her sharp teeth disappearing under her smile.
"P#PPY?" she asks, which dulls the mood quite a bit.
"I haven't seen her," Player tells her.
"THE TraitoROUS Doll is hIDING SomeWHERe she THinks I CAnnot fiND HER," The Prototype growls.
"You, you do know she's like, thirteen, right?" Player asks.
"N#N#," Kissy corrects. "#R W#S."
"and OLlVer WAS EleveN. IT'S Hard tO NOT Grow uP WHEN There's NO CHOIce but tO GROW up, eVEN IF you neVEr groW OLD," The Prototype replies.
"Eh, well, if you want to think of it like that, dude," Player says. "But you were free to roam and think, and Poppy was locked in a box. I don't doubt she was doing whatever your equivalent of sleeping is."
The Prototype hums. "I HAd not tHOUGHt of tHAT. I Will keEP THAT In miND."
Kissy breaks in, growing distressed. "F#ND P#PPY! F#ND! N#W! PL##S#?"
Huggy literally growls. "Will you two quit arguing?! Let's find her!"
Kissy looks at him, grateful, and he smiles gently back at her.
"Yeah, sorry, dude, let's find Poppy. But then I am GOING to sleep, whether I like it or not," Player sighs.
This is going better than they thought it ever would.