Inside the main room, the smaller toys lay inside their tents, fast asleep. As Michelle slept, she heard metal-like noises, which made her wince a bit before slowly opening her eyes.
When Michelle sat up and looked up, she saw Doey sleeping with his neck retracted, which made her quietly giggle. That's cute... she thought.
As Michelle examined Doey, she noticed his left side had no orange dough, which surprised her. Matthew isn't with them... she thought.
Michelle heard more metal-like noises, which surprised her and made her look around; soon after, she spotted light coming from the generator room's opening. Michelle looked at the ground and saw Suzy lying next to Doey on her side, and Bunzo Bunny lying on top of her.
Michelle undid the blanket before quietly standing up; she looked at Doey and laid the blanket over him before quietly limping toward her crutch. After Michelle quietly picked up the crutch and got it under her left arm, she crutch-walked toward the generator room.
As Michelle entered the generator room, she saw Matthew kneeling before the generator and examining it. "Matthew?" she asked.
Matthew flinched a bit before turning his head to the opening. "Oh... hello there, Misha," he said. "Did I disturb your slumber?"
Michelle shook her head as she crutch-walked toward Matthew. "You're fine... how long was I out?" she asked.
Matthew smiled a bit. "You were asleep for about a day or two," he said.
Michelle stared at Matthew, shocked. "Seriously?" she asked.
Matthew nodded. "Poppy wanted to speak with you, but Kevin kept her away in his style," he said before looking at the generator. "Normally I don't condone that kind of behavior, but I think he did the right thing in this case..."
Michelle hummed. "I'm guessing a lot of the toys in Safe Haven aren't fans of her, huh?" she asked.
Matthew sighed as he placed his hand on the generator's handle before closing it. "That's... one way to put it..." he said before sitting on the ground and laying his back against it.
When Michelle was close to Matthew, she carefully sat down with the crutch's help next to him and laid it against her lap before looking at him. "Even though Doey and Suzy were the ones to find the place, Poppy acted like a leader when she was around," he continued.
Matthew looked at the opening. "Any task she asked us to do, we did it... and it actually made sense..." he said.
Matthew frowned a bit and looked down. "When Poppy disappeared on Safe Haven, the smaller toys and some of the larger Smiling Critters came to Doey to figure out what to do next," he continued.
Matthew looked at his hands. "There was one moment when we were outside the Prison and thought, 'There's the exit... we could leave this place,'... but..." he said in a low voice.
Michelle looked at Matthew. "You chose to stay back here instead," she said. "Because you knew deep down that the other toys weren't like Doey; plus, Kevin wouldn't leave Katie behind either."
Matthew nodded. "Ever since that day... I did everything I could to keep everyone in my home safe," he said before looking down with a frown. "But..."
Michelle sighed a bit. "Sometimes you feel it's not good enough, right?" she asked rhetorically, which surprised Matthew and made him look at her.
Michelle looked forward. "I know that feeling very well... my group could've let one of the larger toys be the leader of the group... but they unanimously follow me instead..." she continued. "The pressure of being a leader is almost suffocating..."
Michelle turned her head to Matthew. "But you and I have one major difference," she said. "If I may ask, how old were you back then?"
Matthew remained silent before looking down. "Days after I was turned into Doey... I would have been sixteen," he said.
Michelle hummed a bit and nodded. "I figured as much," she said. "You were basically forced to grow up... you were forced to have these responsibilities; you were never given the chance to be a kid, or in this case, a teen."
Michelle grabbed her crutch and placed the tip of it on the ground before standing up with it and facing Matthew. "With you being the eldest of Kevin and Jack, you had the entire weight of the world on your shoulders..." she continued.
Michelle placed her free hand against her chest. "Life may not be fair, but you're not alone in this; you have other leaders like DogDay and myself with you..." she said. "If the weight on your shoulders is too much to bear... then allow us to help you..."
Matthew stared at Michelle, shocked, before dark teal dough tears pricked his eyes, which made him look away and quickly wipe them away. "Sorry..." he said in a low voice.
Michelle gently smiled and knelt next to Matthew with the crutch's help before wrapping her right arm around his neck. "There's nothing to apologize for, Matthew... you deserve to have a break as well..." she said.
Matthew looked at Michelle before chuckling a bit. "Now I know why Kevin admires you a lot," he said.
Michelle blushed and quickly let go of Matthew before looking at him. "He does?" she asked.
Matthew smiled a bit. "Kevin once told me your charisma could challenge my charisma and win... he was definitely right about that..." he said.
Michelle quickly stood up with the crutch's help and stepped back with it. "Ah... t-that's what he meant..." she said in a low voice as she grabbed the end of her braid before looking away and playing with it. "Yeah, I get that a lot..."
Matthew smiled. I could also tell her about his feelings, but that's not for me to say, he thought.
Michelle let go of her braid before clearing her throat. "A-Anyway... were you working on the generator?" she asked.
Matthew stood up. "I just about finished when you walked in," he said before looking down with a slight frown. "The smaller ones will probably wake up soon... most of them probably on an empty stomach..."
Michelle thought of something and looked at Matthew. "I might have a temporary solution for the empty stomachs..." she said in a low voice.
Matthew looked at Michelle. "Is that so?" he asked.
Michelle nodded before turning toward the opening with the crutch's help. "They're in my bag," she said before crutch-walking forward, which made Matthew follow behind her.
Soon after, the duo stood before the tent with a sleeping Doey, sleeping Bunzo Bunny, and sleeping Suzy inside. "Next to my GrabPack..." Michelle whispered.
Matthew nodded as he stretched his arm toward Michelle's backpack and grabbed one of the straps; he carefully lifted it before retracting his arm.
After Matthew held Michelle's backpack on his arm by the straps, he looked at it. "What kind of things do you have in here?" he asked.
Michelle looked at her backpack. "Just some basic items..." she said.
Michelle held her right hand out and counted her fingers. "A first-aid kit, another change of clothes in case my current outfit gets torn, my toothbrush, and one of those small tubes of toothpaste my orphanage had when we stayed in a few hotels..." she continued.
Michelle placed her right hand on her chin. "I also have a couple of books the people in my orphanage didn't touch, things I bought at Playtime's Gift Shop, twelve and a half bags of mini peanut butter cookies, and a few water bottles," she said.
Matthew hummed. "Now I see what you mean by temporary solution; I think three and a half bags should be enough for now," he said before looking at Michelle. "May I?"
Michelle smiled and nodded. "Of course," she said.
Matthew nodded as he grabbed the zipper tab before carefully unzipping Michelle's backpack; as he looked inside, he spotted something before putting his hand inside it.
Soon after, Matthew pulled 'The Adventures of the Word Wizard' out of Michelle's backpack before looking at it. "You... have this...?" he asked.
Michelle nodded. "If I'm blunt, I was the one to convince my orphanage to get that book," she said. "The other kids thought I was too childish because it's a kids' book, but I didn't care because it made me happy... especially since you read it to us back at Playcare..."
Matthew stared at Michelle before smiling. "Thank you for bringing it and the compliment," he said before holding the book out. "May I?"
Michelle smiled. "Once we distribute the cookies to the other toys, you can read it to your heart's content," she said.
Matthew nodded as a dough arm came out of his back and grabbed the book before he continued searching inside Michelle's backpack.
...
...
...
As time passed, the lights in Safe Haven started turning on, which woke up some of the smaller toys. Doey slowly woke up and let out a big yawn with his red teeth showing.
After Doey closed his mouth and rubbed his eyes, Bunzo Bunny stood up and stretched his arms while Suzy stretched like a cat and yawned with her blue teeth showing. Suzy stood up and tiredly smiled at Doey. "Good morning, Big Brother..." she said in a low voice.
Doey nodded with a sigh. "Good morning..." he said in a low voice.
When Doey looked at his lap, he noticed something that concerned him before standing up. "Misha?" he asked before looking around.
Unbeknownst to the trio, someone crutch-walked forward a bit. "Good morning to you, too," a female voice said.
The trio looked forward and saw Michelle holding an open bag of mini cookies in her left hand, which made Doey smile. "Are those sweets?" he asked.
Soon after, Jack split from Kevin and quickly approached Michelle. "Peanut butter cookies, to be specific," she said as she dug her right hand inside the bag. "Since I have a limited amount of these, each toy gets one cookie; I hope you don't mind."
When Jack was close to Michelle, she pulled a mini cookie out of the bag before placing it in his hand. "I don't mind at all; I'll enjoy the flavor," he said.
Bunzo Bunny approached Michelle and looked at her. "Could I have one too?" he asked.
Michelle smiled at Bunzo Bunny. "Of course," she said as she dug her hand into the bag before pulling a mini cookie out of it.
After Michelle handed Bunzo Bunny a mini cookie, Jack nibbled the mini cookie in his hand, which made Kevin grin at him. "The way you're eating that makes you look like a chipmunk," he said.
Suzy smiled and quickly approached Michelle. "I wanna be a chipmunk too, whatever that is," she said.
When Suzy was close to Michelle, she dug her hand inside the bag before pulling a mini cookie out of it and placing it in her hand. "Alright, but make sure you—" she was interrupted when she quickly nibbled on the cookie.
Soon after, Suzy flinched and started coughing, which made Michelle look at her with a sweatdrop. "Don't eat too fast..." she said in a low voice, which made Kevin sigh and place his hand over his face.
Jack approached Suzy and gently patted her back. "There, there..." he said.
After Suzy stopped coughing, she looked at Jack before smiling, which made him smile, and they continued eating. Michelle turned her head to the back and noticed Kevin staring at the duo.
Michelle smiled a bit before crutch-walking toward Kevin and putting her hand inside the bag. "Aren't they adorable..." she said as she pulled a mini cookie out of it before holding it out to him.
Kevin looked at Michelle as he took the mini cookie. "They're... something..." he said in a low voice before glancing at the duo.
Michelle giggled as she crutch-walked toward her tent. "Cupid's arrow always lands on his mark," she said.
Kevin flinched a bit before following Michelle. "That's not true, is it?" he asked.
Michelle laughed as she slowly sat down with the crutch's help and grabbed the bag of mini cookies with her right hand. "Well, right now, she sees him as a big brother figure like you, but if she were to regain her memories..." she said before laying it next to her.
After Kevin sat next to Michelle, he looked at her. "You got one too, right?" he asked.
Michelle flinched a bit. "Oh, uh..." she said in a low voice before looking away. "I'm not that hungry..."
Kevin deadpanned at Michelle. "Yeah, I ain't buying that," he said.
Michelle rolled her eyes. "Like it matters if you believe me or not; I'm not hungry, leave it be," she said.
Before Michelle could close the bag, Kevin quickly dug his hand inside it before pulling a mini cookie out of it. "Not until you eat something," he said.
Michelle was getting annoyed and glared at Kevin. "And I told you I wasn't—" she was cut off when he shoved the mini cookie in her mouth. "Just shut up and eat the damn cookie."
Michelle stared at Kevin as he bit into his mini cookie before looking at her mini cookie; she placed her fingers between it before biting into it.
As Michelle pulled her mini cookie away and stared at it, tears pricked her eyes before she looked away and tried wiping them. Unbeknownst to Michelle, Kevin glanced at her before looking forward. I guess you were spot on, mutt... he thought.
(Flashback Begins)
Kevin and DogDay entered a bathroom area with a mattress lying in the corner and a few blocks and toys scattered around. After DogDay closed the door behind him, Kevin turned to him. "Alright, you brought me here; what's wrong with her?" he asked.
DogDay turned to Kevin. "Have you noticed any... abnormalities when around her?" he asked.
Kevin raised his brow. "What kind of abnormalities?" he asked.
DogDay sighed. "Well... I tried to offer her the sweets she brought with her in Playcare, and when we were traversing inside the Prison," he said. "However... she's refused both times."
Kevin crossed his arms. "It could be that she lost her appetite due to all the shit she saw up there," he said.
DogDay nodded. "That may be true, but something else seemed... off," he said. "During our time traversing the Prison, she would always say that she's fine, but in reality, she's not..."
Kevin stared at DogDay. "So you came to me in hopes of helping her?" he asked.
DogDay nodded. "If anything... I'd like to see her old happy self back when she would visit Playcare," he said. "You've known her for a long time... what she likes and dislikes... even possible ways to cheer her up."
Kevin remained silent and looked down, which made DogDay wave his hands a bit. "I'm not expecting immediate results if that's what you're concerned about," he continued before sighing a bit. "I just... don't want to see her like this..."
DogDay looked at Kevin. "And I'm sure you don't want to see her like this more than I do," he said.
Kevin looked at DogDay before sighing. "Alright... I'll see what I can do," he said before approaching the door.
As Kevin placed his hand on the doorknob, DogDay looked at him with happy eyes. "Thank you, Kevin; she's really lucky to have a friend like you," he said.
Kevin turned his head to DogDay before turning away; he opened the door before leaving the room.
(Flashback Ends)
Kevin hummed a bit as he finished eating his mini cookie. In a place like this, it won't be easy to make her smile, he thought, before he came up with something. Unless...