Chapter Text
It takes a while for you to calm down.
Jack doesn’t stop holding you. Even when your sobs soften into hiccups, and your trembling ebbs off, he refuses to let you go. He wipes away your tears and pets your head, cooing soft reassurances over and over. Cassie remains close, her piano keys glitching occasionally, playing a mournful song she cannot control. Kevin, though offering no words, lingers. He hasn’t taken his eyes off of you. You don’t want to see what his expression is. It could be frustration, boredom, or pity. You think you’ll feel worse if it is the latter.
Matthew returns, out of breath. He’s frustrated, hair tousled like he just ran through a hurricane. “I couldn’t find it,” he says. “I tried to track it by scent, but the trail just…went cold. I don’t know where it went.” His shoulders slump with obvious disappointment in himself. “Mom? Are-are you alright?”
You raise your head, sniffling. “I…I’m fine,” you answer weakly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to break down like that. I just…” You remember Touille’s words, the way he stabbed the wounds of your trauma wide open, cutting away the scabs so they would openly bleed. “He said…a lot of horrible things.”
“Who…who was he?” Matthew asks quietly.
“R-R-Rat.” Cassie interjects. Her keys stutter, hindering her speech. “B-Bad k-k-kid. Acts n-n-nice, eats l-later.”
“He’s one of the Nightmare Critters,” you murmur. “Touille. He’s spoken to me before. Once in PlayCare. He wants me to join him and the rest of his…crew.”
Kevin’s shoulders roll back in shock. “This has been happening since PlayCare and you didn’t bother to tell us?!”
“I’ve had a lot more issues to deal with besides Touille taunting me from a vent, Kevin,” you bite back, exasperated. “That wasn’t exactly the easiest night for me, so pardon if I forgot to mention it.”
That makes him go quiet. Matthew stills, eyeing him with a narrow focus on the hinted implications beneath your tone. You exhale, continuing. “I didn’t think he would try talking to me again. All he’s done is verbally belittle me with insults. He says the Nightmare Critters will help me escape the factory if I join them, but I refuse to buy it.”
“If this is the second time he’s pressured you, I doubt he’s going to stop trying,” Matthew says. He presses a hand over his mouth, tapping his foot. “This is…very frustrating. He’s quick to scurry off if he senses danger, and he’s smaller than us. We won’t be able to just catch him the next time he shows.”
“So why don’t we go in there now and just kill him and the rest of his crazy friends?” Kevin demands. “If they’re that much of a nuisance, getting rid of them will solve the problem.”
“Told you before. C-C-Can’t just…kill bad kids,” Cassie says. “Too big. T-Too angry. Not…not like you and me. No…regular thinking.” She taps her forehead with a clink. “They are like C-C-CatNap. The only one who thinks right is r-rat.”
“I don’t care if they’ve lost their minds,” Kevin growls. “I’m big and angry, too. I would’ve killed that stupid bird if he hadn’t stabbed his gross beak into my eye. I think I can handle the other four.”
“But we also have to save the other kids who are trapped in the hotel,” Jack says. “That’s the whole reason why we came down here, remember? If we go in there with teeth and claws flashing, we could accidentally hurt one of them.”
“Look, can I be honest for a second?” Kevin lets out a sharp, incredulous huff. “I’ve been thinking since we got down here, and I…I say we should cut our losses. We aren’t escaping the factory. Neither are these trapped toys and their evil berserker nightmare overlords. There’s no point in saving anybody if we’re trading one hell for another. Where are we going to bring them? Where can they go? Safe Haven is gone, this hotel is a lost cause, PlayCare has got to be taken over by ferals by now, No Man’s Land is, well, No Man’s Land, and the Prototype rules the upper levels. What can we do? Where is there anywhere to live safely in this factory?”
“Maybe Poppy knows-” Jack starts, cautiously optimistic.
Kevin snarls. His claws jut out and rows of spikes rise from his shoulders and spine. “Fuck Poppy! Poppy doesn’t know shit! She abandoned Safe Haven with dreams of grandeur about becoming the factory’s hero, and when she realized she was also helpless against the Prototype, she came slinking back to us like a dog! She is a selfish liar, and if she truly did know how to escape, she would have left all of us behind and taken the opportunity for herself a long time ago! She hasn’t even shown her face since Safe Haven blew up! If I ever see her again, I swear I’ll-!”
“Kevin.” Matthew’s voice lowers to a dangerous pitch, slicing through his brother’s anger and demanding silence. “Enough. You’re scaring Jack, Mom, and Cassie.”
Kevin pauses. Cassie is cowering behind Jack’s foot. Jack himself is attempting to make himself as small as possible. You are being held close to the youngest’s chest like a security blanket, his hands trembling. The red giant blinks, a look of fleeting remorse crossing his features, before closing his eyes and forcing his body to untense. His claws and spikes slowly recede.
“...I shouldn’t have yelled,” he murmurs. “I…I’m sorry.”
“...S’ okay,” Jack quietly answers. You hug his thumb tight and offer as much physical comfort as you can give, deciding this may be a good time to offer your piece.
“It’s okay to be angry,” you say, hoping Kevin listens. “Poppy is not a perfect person, and she’s made a lot of mistakes that have hurt us all. But that doesn’t mean we let our anger out on those who don’t deserve it. Let’s all take a moment to breathe, and think without big feelings weighing us down. Do we still want to go and save the kids in the hotel?”
Matthew immediately nods. Jack answers with an insistent “Yes!” along with an affirmative song from Cassie. Kevin begins to growl, then cuts it off with a low snort. “I guess…”
“Okay. Me too. I want to get as many kids to safety as possible, even if safety means simply away from the Nightmare Critters. Let’s focus on that: rescuing the trapped toys and moving back up towards the surface. Don’t worry about what might happen after that. It’s one step at a time. Sounds good?”
The boys, finally at a mutual consensus, nod. With your damage control done, you settle back. “Alright. We have to take into account that Touille knows we’re here. Cassie, are there any possible entrances into the hotel where we can sneak in without being noticed?”
Cassie perks up, tail wagging. “Yes! Many places! Follow me!” She trots off eagerly. With you still in his hands, Jack follows, humming softly. Matthew is close behind, walking in step with a silent, conflicted Kevin.
“Thank you,” Jack suddenly whispers.
You stare, puzzled. “For what?”
“For helping Matthew and Kevin. Sometimes they get…intense. Kevin is angry, and then Matthew gets angry because Kevin is angry. I can’t stop them because I’m smaller and I don’t like fighting, so I watch them yell at each other until Matthew calms Kevin down, or Kevin stomps off to be on his own for a while. But you…you got both of them to stop being angry. It’s like your talking has magic.”
You laugh softly. “It’s just words, Jack. There’s no magic to it, only practice. When kids fight, sometimes they get too upset to properly communicate. So the adult has to step in and understand both sides of the story. If they know they are being listened to, it helps them stop fighting. I’ve done it a lot at my job.”
“Your job?” Jack gasps. “You’re a teacher?”
Your jaw tightens. “...Yeah. Yeah, I am.”
“That’s incredible!” Jack gives you a loving squeeze. “My mommy’s a teacher! I bet you’re the greatest teacher in the world, and all the kids at your school love you! When we escape and you bring us to our new home, do you think I could go to school again? I want to be in your class!”
Something behind your eyes loosens. Your vision goes watery, and with trembling fingers, you press yourself into as wide a hug as you can give him. “...Yeah, Jack. You can go to school again, and-and we’ll see if you can be in my class, okay? I promise.”
Jack hugs you back with a happy purr. He prances in a little elated skip. “I believe you, Mommy. I’ll always believe you, because I love you!”
You press your knuckle to your mouth to hide how close you are to crying. “I love you, too.”
Cassie brings you past the hotel’s main entrance, avoiding the faint light filtering from a few of the front windows. There is an obvious sense of urgency in her pace as she makes a wide berth near the revolving door, then sidles up to the hotel’s side. Under the building’s shadow, you and the boys follow the pianosaurus through fake plantbeds and under artificial trees. Leaving the grand entrance area brings a sense of decay; the hotel is obviously crumbling in some areas, with small pieces of faded red brick caving in to create little holes leading further into the inner walls. Where Cassie brings you, however, isn’t to any of these. Rather, she stops at a piece of wall covered in fake vegetation. Pushing the plants aside, she reveals a larger hole, one just wide enough to allow something her size to fit through.
Jack bends down, eyeing it curiously. “That looks pretty tight.”
“Had to keep it small,” Cassie explains. “Bad kids cannot find if it is not big enough to see. This will b-bring us into l-l-laundry room. Old, dusty room in basement, boring to b-bad kids. It is where my friends h-hide.”
You pat Jack’s thumb, and he lowers you down. Peering into the hole, you can see it is more decrepit appearance-wise than the interior actually is; whoever Cassie’s friends are, they seem to be taking care of it quite well. “I’ll go in first,” you say. “If anything seems wrong, I’ll yell, and we’ll double back.”
Matthew protests. “Mom, one of us should go first in case there’s something dangerous inside.”
“Nothing dangerous,” Cassie says. “Friends are safe. T-They will like you, Y/N.” She sticks her entire front body through, then with a swish of her tail, slips inside. You give the boys a shrug, then follow. There is the sound of morphing dough as they shrink themselves down to your size and stay close to your heels.
At first, it is only darkness. A faint bioluminescent glow comes from Cassie’s horns and spikes, but otherwise you essentially flounder your way through the dark. However, the little cavern soon widens, and up front you can see soft light silhouetting Cassie’s form. The room you stumble a little into is a rather plain space compared to the hotel’s exterior. It is a laundry room, with at least twenty washers and dryers lining the walls. What was once pleasant pink wallpaper is now a faded, bruised color, with areas near the low ceiling peeling in long strips, and a strong, musty odor making your nose curl. Only three fluorescent strip lights desperately hold onto life in order to keep the space free from total shadow. When the boys grow back to a size closer to their usual scale, Jack unfortunately bumps his head against one, cracking it instantly and causing it to fizzle and dim. He rubs his head with a wince. “Ow. Um…sorry.”
“Yeesh,” Kevin says. “Cassie, you live in this dump?”
“Kevin!” Matthew scolds, horrified. “You can’t just say that about someone’s home!”
“It’s okay.” Cassie doesn’t appear offended. “He is right. Laundry room n-not the best place to live. Lots of…gross things. M-M-Mold. May want to k-keep Y/N in stomach so t-they do not breathe it in.”
“UH, no, no, I’m good right now!” You shy away from Matthew’s already reaching hands. “I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine! My lungs are very, um, strong and durable! Oh WOW, look at this washing machine!” You crouch in front of a decrepit washer that still has its door on its hinges and try to appear as fascinated as possible. “It is…a very nice washing machine.”
Said washing machine is silent, appearing very ordinary and very uninteresting. So you are not prepared for a round head with two pale blue eyes to pop up and press against the glass to gaze back. You yelp and startle backwards, almost tripping and falling. “A-Ah!”
“Mommy!” Jack gets to you first. He draws you towards him and crouches over you to shield you from what is inside. Matthew and Kevin lean in, peering at the machine. “What…is that?” Matthew murmurs.
“Too small to be much of a threat.” Kevin smirks. “You’re such a scaredy cat, Y/N.”
“You’re, like, ten times bigger than I am!” you yell. “What may feel like an ant bite to you is a huge chunk of flesh out of my arm for me!”
“No need for fear!” Cassie says. “That is Candi! Friend!” She moves in front of you. “Candi, come out!”
The washing machine’s door slowly swings open. A little round toy slides out, plopping on the floor before tiredly lifting its head. Its ears swivel, twitching at every sound it hears while its head tilts slightly in your direction. It’s a Candy Cat, with a bubblegum-pink body and a splash of cerulean on its back. A long tongue hangs out of its smiling mouth, and a puffy round tail curls around its stubby feet. You notice one of its back legs is missing; all that is there is a healed stump with a long ugly scar.
“...Cassie,” the cat murmurs. “Who are these people? They are…very loud.”
“Sorry for so much noise.” Cassie bumps her head fondly against the other toy’s side. “I brought new friends to meet you! Three are b-big, made of dough. One is h-human, small like us, and friendly!”
“Human?” The cat’s ears point forward. It sniffs and toddles towards you. Jack’s fingers brace slightly, ready to defend, but the little creature does nothing more than touch your foot lightly with one paw. “I thought all of the humans were gone…You smell like sweat and blood. Are you hurt?”
“Um…no, I’m not.” You gently push Jack away with a soft “It’ll be alright,” and then crouch. “You…aren’t feral?”
The cat shakes her head. “I am still me. You can call me Candi. I…can’t remember my real name. I had one, once. But it is somewhere down below, and I won’t find it again.” She shivers. “The labs were…very bright. Too bright for my eyes. I…lost them. Somewhere…”
With a jolt, you realize that she truly can’t see; her eyes are nothing more than decorative pieces attached to her face. She’s completely blind…
“Don’t smell sad,” Candi says sympathetically. “I’m okay, honest. I can hear, and I can smell. Cassie, Rufus, and Sam all help me get around. They are my eyes now.”
“Where are Sam and Rufus?” Cassie asks.
“Sam is…somewhere. I do not know. Rufus is-”
“RAH!” Something drops from the ceiling onto Kevin’s head. There is a flurry of white and pink as a stuffed bat attacks him with little success at doing any damage beyond biting his hair. “Intruder! Get out of here! If you want to hurt my friends, you have to go through me!”
Kevin makes a face and peels the toy off of him. The Rabie Baby mini critter flaps its wings indignantly and hisses. “Put me down! I’ll beat you up, I swear!”
Kevin laughs. “Okay, sure. Whatever you say, pal.”
“There is Rufus,” Candi calmly says. “It is okay, you can leave the newcomer alone. He won’t do anything to you.”
“But Candi,” the bat whines. “They’re-!”
“-Friends of Cassie,” she finishes. “If they wanted to hurt us, they would have done it by now. Let them explain themselves before jumping to conclusions.”
Rufus grumbles. “Fine. I guess I WON’T be beating you up, then. WHATEVER.”
“No, you won’t.” Kevin looks greatly amused. “And if you slap yourself onto me again like some kind of dying animal, I’ll have to treat you like one.” He opens his mouth wide and hovers Rufus over it, teeth sharp and deadly. The bat shrieks and squirms frantically. “NONONO, I am NOT food, PUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWNPUTME-!”
“Kevin, come on, stop teasing him.” Matthew lightly baps Kevin’s shoulder. “Scaring him senseless won’t do anything to help.”
“THIS is his idea of TEASING?!” Rufus howls. “I think I would rather him just call me names!”
Kevin chuckles, swings him a little, then lets him go. Rufus flutters to the floor and scurries behind Cassie, shaking. “Mean, mean, MEANIE! Why do the bigger kids always think it's fun to toss me around?”
“Probably because you’re easy to squeeze,” Kevin snarks. Rufus bares his little teeth at him and does a very unintimidating snarl.
“New friends, these are my other friends, Candi and Rufus!” Cassie looks quite excited to introduce them. “We k-k-knew each other b-b-before we…became what we a-a-are now.” She glitches out for a moment, then regains her composure. “We hide from bad kids here. You could say this is…our home.”
“It is nice to meet you, Cassie’s new friends,” Candi greets. “If she trusts you enough to bring you here, then you must be safe. Are you hiding from the bad kids, too?”
“No, we’re here to save you from the bad kids!” Jack puffs out his chest and puts his hands on his hips, posing like a superhero. “We met Cassie after our mom fell down a hole. We would have eaten her if she was feral! But she isn’t, so now she’s a friend! She said you guys need help defeating the bullies who are keeping you trapped here!”
“You want to EAT her?!” Rufus squawks.
“No, no, we were going to, but we didn’t, so it’s fine. Anyway, there are a lot of kids stuck here, right? If the bullies are hurting you, then we can help take them down!”
“...They aren’t just bullies,” Candi murmurs. “They’re…not like us. They crave violence. They wear our blood like trophies around their necks.” Her legs twitch. “You are strong, I can tell. But they do not care about themselves like you care for your own body and mind. They will let themselves be ripped apart if it means winning against you in a fight.”
“I already fought one of them,” Kevin says with a nonchalant shrug. “He wasn’t that much of a challenge.”
“You did?” Rufus gawks. “Which one? Don’t tell me it was Maggie! She would’ve torn you apart!”
“It was Poe,” you say. “He attacked Cassie and I when we were all farther up towards the surface, but he wasn’t in very good shape.”
“Poe doesn’t like being down here. The others make him nervous,” Candi explains. “He travels through the holes Maggie makes all over the factory and rarely returns. He was here earlier, though. I could hear him screaming.”
“Probably because I beat the shit out of him,” Kevin boasts.
“I’d like to see you try and go against Simon,” Rufus mutters. “Serves you right to get your ego checked with an attitude like that.”
Kevin scowls. “Watch it, vermin, or you might just find yourself between my teeth after all.”
“I am not a VERMIN!” Rufus launches himself at Kevin with a furious screech. You intercept him as he’s streaking past you and gently hug him to your chest, turning so he cannot see the other boy sticking his tongue out at him. “Okay, okay, no fighting! Let’s focus on what matters. We’re here to work together, alright?”
“Work together? We don’t even know you! Cassie is always so quick to trust, but I know better!” He wriggles and glares up at you. “There’s no such thing as an adult who doesn’t tell lies!”
You wince. “That’s-that’s fair. I don’t blame you. There’s no reason for you to think I’m a friend yet, and that’s okay. But do you think you could try trusting my…my boys? They’re very nice, and would never hurt you. Not even Kevin.” You hush your tone to a teasing lilt.
Rufus glances at the smiling Matthew and Jack. He grumbles and crosses his wings. “They seem nice…if Cassie likes them, I can give them a chance. But I’m still not sure about you and Big Red.”
“Do not call me that,” Kevin snaps. Jack giggles.
You smile. “Thank you, Rufus. You’re a brave kid for standing up to scary Kevin. But trust me, he’s all bark and no bite.” It feels like a fib, and it is one. The faint scar crossing your neck is proof, and Kevin surely is also aware of your attempt to paint him in a less intimidating light. But that is not an issue for a young child like the one in your arms to worry over. “Why don’t we all take a break? Cassie probably wants to rest after being away from home for so long. You have another friend waiting for you, right? Sam?”
Rufus brightens. “Yeah! Sam is my best friend! He’s super smart and always knows what to do when there’s trouble! Candi’s the oldest, but Sam knows all the best places to hide from the bad kids! He’s the one who found the laundry room!”
You put him down, and to your surprise, he grabs your hand as you begin to pull away. With a tug, he guides you to a pile of towels. You hesitate when he crawls onto it and gestures for you to sit. “Don’t worry, Cassie washed them last week! Some of the washers and dryers still work, so we try to keep things as clean as possible!”
“Alright, alright, I’m sitting.” You ease yourself down. Rufus clamors into your lap and nestles against you. “Let me tell you about Sam! When we were in PlayCare, he would push me on the swing really hard. Like, so hard I would go super high! And then I would get dizzy and throw up…”
He rambles on. You find yourself slipping into that trained mindset you live in so frequently: turning your voice up to match his childlike wonder. Encouraging him with laughs and excited remarks. “Really?” you say when he describes his love for the Game Station. “Wow, that’s amazing!” is for when he brags about once sneaking into the Home Sweet Home kitchens and stealing cookies without being caught. The teacher in you takes center stage, and for a moment, you are in your kindergarten classroom, sunlight streaming through the windows with the scent of pencil shavings and construction paper in the air. It feels as natural as yesterday, because it was yesterday; you were sitting in that classroom only a couple of days ago. And now, you are here, in an abandoned hotel within an abandoned factory, with a group of children trapped in the bodies of toys who have no business not knowing what a kindergarten classroom feels like.
You spare a glimpse up while Rufus chatters on. Cassie is curled around Candi, listening to her and Matthew talk. Kevin is sulking around the laundry room, poking empty detergent bottles and sniffing anything that may be somewhat edible. Jack ambles over to you, sitting down by your side and resting his thumb tentatively over your thigh. You stiffen, but when you remember that touch no longer always comes with pain, you relax and place your hand over his knuckle. He trills happily and beams a radiant smile.
You are a teacher.
You are a mom.
A deep, steely feeling strengthens your heart. You are still afraid, and you don’t think that will ever stop. The terror is too embedded within the memories your bones and muscles hold. But for a moment, your anxiety takes a back seat.
You will protect these children, no matter the cost. From the bad kids. From the Prototype. From the Doctor, if he is still out there, and from anything else. You will be the adult that will do as adults should: protect.
You swear it.