Chapter Text
Everyone thinks the staff disappeared 10 years ago.
WE'RE STILL HERE!
FIND THE FLOWER!!
Isabelle Cole had once been an employee at the infamous Playtime Co. toy factory; her job was quality assurance, essentially she was part of a team that made sure the toys were up to company standards before sending them off to be packaged. Standing here now, at the main entrance, felt incredibly nostalgic but also very weird. Isabelle left the company 12 years ago due to finding a better paying job and had never really looked back; but yesterday morning she received a package containing a VHS and a letter, she never thought she'd return and yet here she was, in this very factory. Isabelle, upon hearing the news about Playtime Co's downfall, had wondered what had happened. Sure, it wasn't the greatest job in the world but it wasn't bad so why had they been forced to abandon it after all their efforts to make it work? In a way, coming back here was for her own selfish curiosities. She wanted to know. After standing at the entrance for a few minutes, simply soaking in her surroundings, she walks over to the front desk.
The desk had a few papers littered across its surface but what stood out to her was the green VHS tape, despite its faded colour it still stuck out like a sore thumb. The label on the front read: Leith Pierre Closing . If memory served; this was that closing message that played on loop during the end of the day but it had been so long since then that Isabelle didn't remember what it said, so, out of curiosity, she picked up the tape. She looks around for a moment before noticing the VHS player and TV. Proceeding to pop the tape in the VHS player and stands back, watching as the old TV flickers to life.
"Hi! My name is Leith Pierre and I’m the head of Innovation here at the Playtime Co. toy factory. If you’re seeing this, then you’re trespassing. Yeah, we play this little tape on loop whenever we close the factory for the day. So trespasser, just to make you aware. While we pride ourselves primarily on our high quality toys and excellent childcare, we also pride ourselves on our security. For example, this facility is full of hidden motion triggers which, once set off, will set off the factory’s emergency alarms and contact the authorities! And that’s one of the more tame aspects of our security system. No spoilers! So, you’ve got my warning. It’s not too late to turn around. I just hope you’re certain whatever you’re doing is worth it.” Oh. That’s right, she had forgotten all about the security protocols Leith put in place. Isabelle always thought that it was a little bit excessive but she didn’t run a popular toy factory so what did she know? Still… Hearing that old message gave her chills. Was what she had come here to do worth it? She didn’t even know who sent it and how they knew where she lived but…
If people were still here… If there was a chance of somebody being alive in here, waiting for help… She very well couldn’t doubt herself now! Whatever had happened to this place, it was now her obligation to find out the truth. Isabelle shakes her head and lets out a sigh, a smile warming her face. She could do this! She was going to help those people or, at the very least, find out the truth so their families could have some closure. From her spot at the front desk she could see through the doorway, it led to a small area that led to another door that should lead into the playtime area if she was remembering that correctly. To her right was the gift shop and to her left was security. She decides that it was probably best to have a look around and reacquaint herself with her surroundings. Where to start..?
Considering that she was closest to the gift shop, it could be beneficial to start off here. With her mind made up, Isabelle leaves the front desk and walks over to the gift shop. It wasn’t a very big room but it was large enough for several children to be inside it at once. The place had certainly seen better days, there were boxes scattered across the floor and only a few on the shelves themselves. Isabelle shortly approaches the counter where the cash register sat, this was where parents could pay for the toys their kids wanted. Sitting beside the register was a Boogie Bot. The colour of her face drained when she realized that it wasn't rust she was looking at… It was blood. A wave of nausea hit and her stomach churned, she dared not think about where it could have come from as it only made her want to throw up even more. To distract herself from the questions bubbling up in her mind, she looked up and watched the train as it circled on its track. It was oddly soothing, which helped to ease her racing mind. Time to move on and get herself away from, explore the rest of the area.
Isabelle leaves the gift shop and walks to security, passing by the sitting area. She tried the door which only rattled in response, telling her that it was locked. Only then did she notice there was a keypad and a colour co-ordinated keypad at that, of course it couldn't be numbers... That would have been too obvious, the faded numbers would have given it away so naturally they went with A COLOURED KEYPAD!! Isabelle sighs, letting her irritation fade, she couldn't get mad over something so trivial. She would be able to figure out the solution and move on, she could explore the room and hopefully figure out a way to bypass that strange lock. As she stared at the colors, she suddenly remembered that the train had 4 different colors. The solution! It had been in front of her eyes and she didn't even notice! She made a mental note to pay more attention to details like that; she never knew when the minor observations would come into play. Isabelle rushes back to the gift shop and observes the train, paying attention to the order. Green, Pink, Yellow, and Red. Green, Pink, Yellow, and Red. Right! Once she was certain she'd remember, she ran back to security and punched in the code. The door opens up, revealing a small room housing a TV and VHS player. There was also something yellow in a vent beside the TV, examining it up close revealed nothing new to her. She didn't know what this thing was so she just looked for the VHS tape instead, popping it into the player upon finding it. Unlike before, this was an instructional tape and that thing in the vent was called a GrabPack. The tape taught her how to and not to use it, telling her that it had several functions one being it could be used to rewire electricity. That was rather convenient. Once the tape ends, the vent door opens, allowing her to grab the GrabPack.
Isabelle takes it and straps it onto herself, carefully adjusting the straps so they are a little tighter, better fitting against her body. Satisfied; she tries shooting off the blue hand, startling her a little when it rocketed outward and held onto a chair. The giddy feeling of having such a cool tool at her disposal was almost overwhelming! Oh, she was going to have so much fun with this thing~ Once the hand had retracted and reset itself back into the canon, Isabelle left the little office and made her way to the turnstiles. Manoeuvring around it was incredibly awkward but she manages. She shoots the hand up at the panel and waits as it registers the hand's presence and loads. The door opens up after a moment so she pulls the hand back, her gaze shifts to the open doorway and her heart stops. Standing in the very centre of the room, as if on a pedestal, was this gigantic blue... Isabelle couldn't really tell what it was meant to be but it was freaking HUGE! She finally moves from her spot after staring at it for several minutes, slowly approaching as if that statue was going to suddenly move the second she moved too quickly. Before the statue was a notice board revealing the creature's name. Huggy Wuggy. How deceptively cute...
Isabelle took note of the big red button and just had to press it. “His name is Huggy, Huggy Wuggy when he hugs you he’ll never stop~ [Huggy laughing is heard] Your friend Huggy, Huggy Wuggy, he’ll squeeze you until you pop! [Pop sound effect is heard.]”
"Oh.. Isn't that quaint..." Isabelle cringed, the jingle sounded innocent but she couldn't help but get this weird chill. Why did it sound as if it was literal and not figurative? It was honestly a very strange feeling and there wasn't any obvious reason for her to feel that way either, so why..? She brings her hands up to her face and slaps her cheeks, she needs to focus! Getting freaked out over a song wasn't going to help her! Taking a slow; deep breath, Isabelle turns her back to the Huggy statue and goes about examining the doors. Unfortunately; they all seemed to be locked, her only way forward being a doorway with a sign above it which read: Make-A-Friend. A smile warms her face, this was where she worked! She, alongside her team, were assigned here to make sure the toys produced were of good quality. It made her heart happy to see it again. So many pleasant memories had been formed in that room. After a few minutes, Isabelle shot the blue hand and waited for it to load but was surprised when it short-circuited. "Damn.. I shouldn't be surprised, the facility is pretty old there was bound to be some issues with electricity sooner or later. Looks like the door to the power room is locked too, there has to be a key laying about somewhere.." She softly curses under her breath, this means she'd have to fix it if she wanted to get through. The moment the short-circuit occurred; the sound of a key falling quietly echoed through the room but Isabelle was too occupied with her thoughts to notice, but something else did or rather... Someone. He had been sleeping but being gently bonked by a key certainly woke him up. He softly blinks and turns his head, noticing the human standing not too far away. How odd. A human, an actually alive human, was standing right there and she didn't even seem to realize he was looking at her.
It had been oh-so long since he last saw a living human. A playful grin began forming on his face. Oh~ This was going to be very, very interesting~
While Isabelle was still momentarily distracted, Huggy glanced up at the second floor. He shifts his weight; crouches down and jumps, latching onto the 2nd floor railing and pulling himself up. By the time he had done so, Isabelle turned around to start looking for the key. Of course; now that Huggy was no longer there, her blood ran cold and fear hit her like a tsunami. "No... No..! You've got to be fucking kidding me, where the FUCK DID IT GO!?" Isabelle could feel her heart thundering in her chest, her legs quaking as she stood frozen in place. God damn it! GOD DAMN IT! She just knew something like this was going to happen! How did she not hear it move!? That thing was huge, there was no way it could have moved so quietly! Fuck!! She let out a trembling breath in an attempt to calm her nerves, there was no use in panicking. There was a task at hand that she had to focus on, she needed to find that key! Slowly, her heart slowed back down to its regular tempo. She felt a little calmer about this weird situation now. Putting on her game face; Isabelle starts sweeping through the playtime area, making sure to look in every nook and cranny before moving onto the next section. What she didn't notice, however, was Huggy peering over the railing and watching her. Now, he had no real intention of harming her; it had just been so long since he's seen anyone that he simply HAD to play with her.
"Ugh! That the heck is it!? It should be around here! I didn't notice a key while I was exploring the main entrance, so where is it!?" Isabelle was growing rather irritated. How was she supposed to progress if she couldn't get into the power room? Would she have to resort to using a weapon to break into it? She was rather reluctant to, since that could set off alarms and she really didn't want to deal with that right now. All of a sudden, Isabelle hears a thump come from behind her. The hairs on her neck rise as she feels something staring at her, she grips onto the handles of her GrabPack before slowly turning around. Looming just a mere foot or so away from her was none other than Huggy! An unnerving grin practically sewed onto his face. Oh sweet mother of mercy, was she about to be killed?
Isabelle lets out a terrified scream; tumbling backwards and landing on her butt, scrambling backwards until the GrabPack bumps against the wall. Huggy was startled by her scream but didn't try to approach when she pushed herself against the wall. He should have probably thought about her reaction to him a little more but whatever! He crouched and very slowly began to make his way towards her, watching as her body shook. She looked absolutely petrified! Isabelle flinched when Huggy got within reaching distance and when their eyes met, the momentary silence between them was almost deafening. Thankfully, that silence didn't last very long. "W-What the hell do you w-want from me? You going to k-kill me? Huh?? If you t-try anything, I swear I'll p-put up a fight! I'm not going to-" Isabelle was cut off mid sentence when Huggy reached forward, dangling the key in front of her face.
"The... The key? Are you giving me the key?" Huggy nods, cocking his head and showing her a gentle smile. He really didn't mean any harm, he just wanted some fun. Isabelle sighs, letting herself breathe before returning the smile and reaching up to take the key. "Thank you! Where did you find it?" Now that the key was safely in her hands, she decided to ask the large creature some questions. Did he have a reason for helping her? He could understand her, so she assumed he had some intelligence. Perhaps he could talk to her, tell her what he was and why he gave her the key. Huggy turned his head, using his left hand to gesture back to his display. He looks back to her, gesturing that the key had fallen from above and woke him up.
"Wait.. If the key fell.. That means you had it the entire time! You ass!! Were you trying to scare me!?" Isabelle was furious! Huggy had given her a heart attack because of that little stunt he pulled! She crossed her arms and pouted angrily, how dare that jerk scare her like that! Huggy shook his head frantically, scaring her hadn't been his plan at all! He opens his mouth to say something but stalls. Should he really use his voice to explain himself? Would Isabelle even believe him if he did? She'd probably get even more upset if he told her it was just a game.. Perhaps he had made a mistake. He bows his head in shame, beginning to feel bad. Isabelle let her shoulder sag, he seemed to feel bad about it so she couldn't stay mad. "Alright. Just... Don't do that to me again, okay?" Huggy perks up and nods, smiling warmly. Simply glad that she was willing to forgive him so quickly.
Isabelle gently ushers Huggy back so she could stand up and dust herself off. "I'm going to head into the power room and sort out whatever caused that shortage, do you want to wait for me to come back?" Huggy stood back to his regular height, looming above her like an ominous tower. He nods and watches as Isabelle turns away, opens the door to the power room and disappears into the darkness. He wanders back to his display and sits down on one of the large blocks, glancing around the room as he waited. After about 10 or so minutes, Huggy was startled by a door opening up. Isabelle walks out and waves to him chipperly. "Hey big guy, I'm back! It took me a while to figure out the problem and what to do but it's sorted now. We should be able to open up this door!" She points to the Make-A-Friend doorway, smiling up at Huggy. If he wanted to, she wouldn't mind taking him with her.
Huggy was surprised by this but smiles excitedly, it had been a while since he left his area so naturally getting the option to explore was thrilling! He stands up and steps towards her, following as she approaches the door. Isabelle uses the blue hand and after a moment the shutters open, revealing a hallway. She turns back and smiles. "Ready to go?" Huggy happily nods. This was going to be very interesting indeed.