On the grassy part of Playcare near a large house, a young Michelle wearing a light purple blouse and matching skirt sat next to a young girl with long brown hair wearing a pink dress and a boy with brown spiky hair wearing a red T-shirt and blue pants, while other kids were playing.
Michelle stared at the girl's hands with a huge smile and sparkles in her eyes. "Oh, wow!" she shouted.
The little girl held out two bracelets made out of pony beads: a pink one with white beads that said, 'BFF K&M' and a purple one with white beads that said, 'BFF K&K'. The little girl looked at Michelle. "Do you like them, Big Sister?" she asked.
Michelle smiled at the little girl. "Like them? I love them, Katelynn," she said, which made her smile before she looked at the beaded bracelets. "Did you do this all by yourself?"
Katelynn held the purple bracelet out to Michelle, which made her grab it before looking at the boy while putting the bracelet on her right wrist. "I had a little help from Big Brother; I put the beads on them while he tied them together," she said.
Michelle looked at the boy while she put her bracelet on her right wrist. "Did you get one, too, Kevin?" she asked.
Kevin huffed a bit. "Why would I need some stupid—" he was interrupted when Katelynn smiled at Michelle. "Big Brother has one too, but he kept it in his room."
Kevin flinched and angrily looked at Katelynn. "Why d'you got to say that out loud?!" he shouted, which made her giggle a bit.
Michelle playfully grinned at Kevin. "Aw, what's wrong? Are you embarrassed to admit your sister made a cute little bracelet for you?" she asked teasingly.
Kevin angrily looked at Michelle. "Huh...?" he asked.
Michelle stood up and approached Kevin before leaning close to his face with a teasing grin and raising her right hand. "If you keep making faces like that, most of the girls will run away from you," she said before poking his nose and quickly running away.
Kevin growled and quickly got up before angrily looking at Michelle. "Now you've done it; you're gonna regret it!" he shouted before sprinting in her direction.
Katelynn quickly got up and looked at the duo. "Hey! Wait for me!" she shouted before following behind them.
Michelle turned her head to Kevin, laughing. "Try and catch me, slowpoke!" she shouted.
Unbeknownst to Michelle, she bumped into something, which made her fall backward and hit the ground on her back. As Michelle slowly sat up and rubbed her backside, a large shadow covered her. "Are you alright, little one?" a male voice asked.
When Michelle looked up, she saw a large anthropomorphic dog toy with light orange fur covering most of its body, golden brown fur on its ears, the left side of its face, and both front and back paws, sunshine-yellow fur on its mouth and underbelly, and glowing white eyes.
The anthropomorphic dog toy also wore a collar with a sun pendant on it, and a large black zipper running down its center.
Michelle stared at the toy in awe. "Here, let's get you back on your feet," he said as he knelt and gently placed his hands under her arms before lifting her a bit.
Soon after, the toy set Michelle's feet on the ground. "There we go," he continued as he pulled his hands away from her before looking at her. "Are you alright?"
Michelle looked at the toy with stars in her eyes. "You're DogDay..." she said in a low voice.
DogDay chuckled with happy eyes. "That I am," he said before looking at Michelle. "What's your name, little one?"
The siblings caught up with Michelle and looked at DogDay. "I'm Michelle Mercia, but my friends call me Misha," she said.
DogDay hummed and nodded. "That's a wonderful name, Misha," he said before standing up and looking at Michelle. "Make sure you're careful when you're not looking."
Michelle nodded as DogDay turned around and walked away; soon after, she trembled a bit, which made the siblings look at her, slightly worried. "Uh... Misha?" Kevin asked.
Michelle quickly turned to Kevin with sparkles in her eyes, which made him flinch. "You never told me that you had a live DogDay here!" she shouted.
Kevin looked away with a sweatdrop. "Well... I didn't think it was that important to mention," he said.
Michelle gestured to DogDay as he was talking to other kids. "How is that not important?! He's the DogDay in the flesh!" she shouted.
Katelynn looked at Michelle. "Do you like DogDay, Big Sister?" she asked.
Michelle smiled and nodded. "I've always watched The Smiling Critters TV show when it aired, and he's my favorite character!" she shouted. "My second favorite Smiling Critter is CatNap because he's DogDay's best friend."
Katelynn smiled. "I like Bobby BearHug," she said before wrapping her arms around herself. "She's super sweet and caring."
The girls looked at Kevin. "Who's your favorite Smiling Critter?" Michelle asked.
Kevin remained silent until he looked away. "KickinChicken..." he said in a low voice.
Michelle grinned a bit. "Of course he's your favorite; you totally act like him," she said.
Kevin blushed a bit and looked away. "Shut up..." he said in a low voice, which made Michelle giggle before she approached him.
When Kevin looked at Michelle, she raised her right hand before poking his nose. "Tag, you're it," she said before quickly running away.
Kevin angrily looked at Michelle. "Hey, that's not fair!" he shouted.
Kevin thought of something before grinning and tapping Katelynn's shoulder. "Tag, you're it," he said before running away.
Katelynn flinched and angrily pouted at the duo. "No fair! I've got little legs!!" she shouted before running behind them.
When Kevin caught up with Michelle, they smiled and laughed while they continued running as Katelynn chased them.
...
...
...
Michelle had her eyes closed before groaning and slowly opening them; when her vision became clear, she noticed she was being dragged. Michelle stared at the moving ground. What... what's going on? she thought. Who's... dragging me...?
When Michelle looked forward, she noticed large purple front legs with black claws extending from dark purple paws approaching a garbage chute.
The creature stopped near the garbage chute and raised its left arm before grabbing its handle and twisting it. After the creature opened the garbage chute, it let go of its handle and grabbed Michelle before tossing her toward it.
When Michelle turned around, she saw a large anthropomorphic cat toy with purple fur and glowing white eyes wearing a collar with a crescent moon pendant on it, and a large black zipper running down its center. "CatNap..." she said in a low voice as she slid down the chute.
Soon after, Michelle came out of the chute and hit the ground, which made her grunt. Michelle slowly stood up and rubbed the back of her head. "Ow... that's gonna leave a mark..." she said in a low voice.
Sirens started going off, which shocked Michelle and made her look up. "What's going on...?" she asked.
Soon after, the wall behind Michelle and the walls on the sides started moving, breaking small crates, which made her look at them in panic. "Ah shit, it's a trash compactor!" she shouted before quickly looking around. "How do I get out?!"
Soon after, Michelle spotted a ramp made of garbage on her left side before sprinting toward it. After Michelle climbed the ramp, she quickly jumped through the hole before landing on the ground.
Michelle sighed in relief and stood up properly before looking at the hole as the wall closed against it. "That was close..." she said before walking forward. "If I hadn't noticed it sooner, I would've been a bloody pancake."
When Michelle stood near a ladder, she looked up and saw a handle near an opening; she grabbed the right arm cannon's handle before aiming at it and pulling the trigger. The green hand shot forward and grabbed the handle before Michelle pulled herself up.
When Michelle reached the top, she looked forward and swung herself a bit before swinging forward and pulling the trigger, retracting the green hand back to her before landing on the catwalk.
Michelle stood up properly and let go of the right arm cannon's handle before looking around. "I hope the others are doing OK..." she said before walking forward. "Whatever happened at the train probably caused a huge crash; I just pray that they got out of there unharmed."
When Michelle reached the end of the catwalk, she spotted a few pistons moving up and down, which made her smile a bit. "It'll be just like old times when I sneaked away to abandoned buildings at night," she said. "Hopefully, my parkour skills aren't too rusty..."
Michelle jumped down and landed on the piston closest to her before it started going up. When the piston next to Michelle lowered, she jumped on it and quickly got onto the third piston before it lowered to the ground.
When the third piston was raised again, Michelle got on the last piston before facing the opening on her left; when it raised a bit, she jumped forward before landing on the ground.
Michelle tried to catch her breath while smiling. "It's been a while since I felt a rush like that before..." she said in a low voice before standing up properly. "I wonder if there are more of these pistons."
Michelle approached the hole in the wall before crouching and going through it. After Michelle stood up properly, she saw a door on the left side before approaching it; when she stood near it, she placed her left hand on the doorknob before twisting it.
When Michelle opened the door, she saw stairs. "I guess the only way I'm getting out of here is going up," she said before walking forward and climbing them.
After Michelle walked along a dark hallway, she stood before a door and grabbed the doorknob with her left hand before twisting it. After Michelle opened the door, she saw more pistons, which made her smile. "Alright, let's do it," she said before walking forward.
While Michelle was walking, she glanced down and noticed a red gas covering the ground. "This red gas... if I remember correctly from Kevin, this gas puts people to sleep every night at Home Sweet Home by CatNap," she said.
When Michelle was near the end of the catwalk, she stood on the sturdier part of it. "It's probably in my best interest to stay away from that stuff," she continued before facing the left side.
Three pistons in front of Michelle rose, which made her quickly jump from one to the other before landing on a small platform. Michelle looked around before spotting another platform in the distance. "Just a little further..." she said in a low voice.
Three pistons rose on Michelle's right side, which made her jump from the first one to the other. However, when Michelle jumped toward the third piston, her foot slipped on the edge, which shocked her and made her yell while falling backward.
Unbeknownst to Michelle, a pink right hand shot toward her and caught her before she fell into the red gas. "I got you!" a female voice shouted.
When Michelle looked up, she saw Mommy Long Legs standing inside a large hole, which made her smile. "Mommy!" she shouted.
Mommy Long Legs pulled the arm holding Michelle up to her head level. "I'm so glad you're alright, my little Misha," she said.
Michelle smiled at Mommy Long Legs and nodded. "Likewise," she said.
Michelle realized something and looked at Mommy Long Legs. "But the others—" she was interrupted when she smiled. "They are also safe."
Michelle placed her hand against her chest, sighing in relief. "When we realized you were gone, we had to split up," Mommy Long Legs continued. "Huggy was insistent that he'd come with me, but I told him that if two strong toys came to find you, the smaller toys would be defenseless."
Michelle nodded. "Smart call," she said.
Mommy Long Legs smiled. "And besides..." she said as she twisted her left arm into loops. "I'm a bit more... flexible than the guard dog."
Michelle nervously chuckled with a sweatdrop. "That's true..." she said in a low voice.
Mommy Long Legs giggled as she got out of the large hole. "Now, let's take you back to the others," she said.
Michelle remembered something and turned her head to Mommy Long Legs. "Hang on, what if he—" she was cut off when she turned the corner, and they saw CatNap climb into a large opening in the roof.
Mommy Long Legs froze in horror. "CatNap..." she said in a low voice.
Michelle nodded. "I saw him drop me into that garbage chute, and that was not a fun experience," she said before crossing her arms. "Something tells me he's not friendly."
Michelle felt Mommy Long Legs's hand tremble, which surprised her and made her look at it. "Mommy?" she asked.
When Michelle looked at Mommy Long Legs's face, she noticed she was staring forward, terrified and trembling, which shocked her.
Michelle crawled toward Mommy Long Legs's thumb before she started caressing it. "Hey, hey, it's alright..." she said softly, which made her look at her. "From the looks of it, he didn't notice us, so we should be OK."
Mommy Long Legs stared at Michelle before slowly nodding. "R-Right..." she said before crawling forward. "You're absolutely right, my little Misha..."
When Mommy Long Legs reached the end of the hallway with a small opening, she lowered the hand Michelle was on toward the pipes, which made her stand up before jumping forward and landing on them. "That vent is too small for me," she said. "I'll take the route from the roof; please stay safe."
Michelle nodded and crouched toward the opening. "Likewise, Mommy," she said, which made Mommy Long Legs nod and climb through the opening in the roof before she went through it.