At the train station, Huggy Wuggy was pacing around while Bunzo Bunny sat on a bench with the Mini Huggies beside him, and PJ Pug-A-Pillar lay on the ground asleep.
The Mini Huggies looked at Bunzo Bunny with worried chirps, which made him look at them. "It's alright, guys; I'm sure Big Sis Misha is fine, especially if Mommy is finding her," he said.
PJ Pug-A-Pillar's nose sniffed the air a bit before he woke up and turned to the back, barking, which made the others look at him. "What is it, PJ?" Bunzo Bunny asked.
When Huggy Wuggy looked forward, he saw Mommy Long Legs carrying Michelle in her right hand. "Misha," he said before approaching them.
Michelle smiled at the group and waved. "Hey, guys," she said.
Huggy Wuggy wrapped his arms around Michelle before pulling her into a hug, which made her giggle and pet the right side of his head. "I missed you, too, bud," she said.
Mommy Long Legs approached the duo. "Alright, that's enough; you're getting drool on her," she said.
Huggy Wuggy rolled his eyes before setting Michelle on the ground. "To think that you're a year older than my little Misha; had I not known that, I figured you were six," Mommy Long Legs said before giggling with her hand covering her mouth.
Huggy Wuggy had angry eyes before turning his head to Mommy Long Legs, growling, which made her wave her finger at him. "Hey now, you shouldn't do that to your elders," she continued.
Huggy Wuggy turned to Mommy Long Legs before stepping toward her. "Mommy one year older than Huggy," he said with a growl.
Mommy Long Legs slightly glared at Huggy Wuggy. "Exactly, hence why you should have a higher respect for me as someone older than you," she said, which made him snarl and the smaller toys nervous.
Michelle quickly stood between the duo and held her hands out, which made them look at her. "OK, we're not going to do this... not when we're so close to our goal," she said.
The duo stared at one another before sighing and looking away. "Sorry..." they said in a low voice.
Michelle smiled at the duo. "Thank you," she said as she turned to Huggy Wuggy and raised her right arm before gesturing her hand down.
Huggy Wuggy nodded and knelt to Michelle's level. "Thanks, bud," she continued before approaching her backpack and grabbing the zipper tab.
After Michelle unzipped her backpack, she dug her other hand inside it before pulling a bag of mini cookies out of it. "I know I packed twenty of these cookie bags, but I think we should ration these so they can last longer," she said before zipping it back up.
Mommy Long Legs smiled at Michelle as she opened the bag of mini cookies and dug her hand inside it. "A lovely idea, my little Misha," she said.
Michelle pulled a mini cookie out of the bag and held it in her mouth before holding it out to Mommy Long Legs. "Could you hand these to the others? I'm gonna power up the cable car so we can head to Playcare," she said with a slight muffle.
Mommy Long Legs nodded. "Consider it done," she said before lowering her right hand under the open bag of mini cookies.
Michelle smiled a bit and placed the open bag of mini cookies in Mommy Long Legs's hand; she turned her head to the back and spotted a door with a glowing sign that said 'Maintenance' above it. "That's promising..." she said in a low voice.
As Michelle approached the door, she placed her left fingers between the mini cookie in her mouth before biting into it. Michelle looked at the door while chewing the mini cookie in her mouth a bit before looking at the doorknob and placing her free hand on it.
Michelle twisted the doorknob and tried pushing it open, but it was locked, which annoyed her while swallowing the mini cookie piece in her mouth. "Well, that's just great..." she said in a low voice before letting go of the doorknob and stepping back. "How am I supposed to get in there?"
Michelle heard a chirp, which surprised her; when she looked down, she saw Tulip waving at her before kneeling. "Did you find something, Tulip?" she asked.
Tulip climbed onto Michelle before holding onto her left shoulder; soon after, they pointed to the left with a chirp.
Michelle turned her head to the left and saw another door with a glowing sign that said 'Security', which made her hum and stand up. "Well, it's worth a shot," she said before approaching it.
Before Michelle placed her hand on the doorknob, she looked at Mommy Long Legs as she handed mini cookies to the other toys before looking at Tulip. "Did you get a cookie?" she asked.
Tulip looked down and shook their head; Michelle looked at the mini cookie in her hand before grabbing it with her other hand and splitting it in half. Michelle held the half out to Tulip, which made them look at it. "Here," she said.
Tulip smiled and happily chirped before wrapping the cookie half around their arm and putting it in their mouth. Tulip happily purred, which made Michelle smile as she finished her half and dusted her hands before placing her right hand on the doorknob and twisting it.
After Michelle opened the door, she entered the room and looked around before spotting a door on the right. "You might be something," she said before approaching it.
When Michelle was near the door, she placed her hand on it before twisting it; after she opened it, she saw a hallway leading to another door. After Tulip finished eating with a sigh, Michelle approached the door before placing her hand on the doorknob and twisting it.
After Michelle opened the door and entered the room, she saw an electric pole with a yellow cylinder connected to an orange ring with four handles on it and two parts connected to it: a blue part with a hand symbol on it and a blue part with a hole.
The room also had a power socket on the left wall, and an input socket across from Michelle; she examined the pole with a hum. "That's new..." she said in a low voice as she grabbed the right arm cannon's handle. "Let's test what this does."
Michelle aimed the right arm cannon at the pole's handprint and pulled the right trigger, launching the green hand. When the green hand touched the handprint, it spun around the pole before shooting to the right.
Tulip made a surprised chirp while Michelle looked at the spinning post as the green hand spun around it before retracting back to her. "Interesting... if I can line it up right, I can get it into that input socket," she said.
Michelle looked at the spinning post's handles and grabbed the left arm cannon's handle before aiming at one of them and pulling the trigger, launching the blue hand.
When the blue hand grabbed the handle, Michelle noticed a blue laser beam coming from the blue part with a hole, which amazed her. "Oh, that's neat," she said.
Tulip chirped as Michelle aimed the spinning post at the input socket before retracting the blue hand back to her. "That should do it," she continued.
Michelle aimed the left arm cannon at the power socket before pulling the trigger, launching the blue hand and touching it, which lit the cable. "And now..." she said in a low voice before aiming the right arm cannon at the spinning post's handprint and pulling the trigger.
The green hand shot forward and spun around the spinning post before touching the input socket, which powered the area up.
After the GrabPack's hands retracted back to Michelle, Tulip rubbed their head against her cheek with a purr, which made her smile and let go of the arm cannons' handles before petting their head with her right index finger. "Thank you, Tulip," she said before approaching the door.
When Michelle was near the door, she placed her hand on the doorknob before twisting it. After Michelle opened the door and stepped out of the room, she turned her head to the right and noticed the turnstiles were powered up, which made her smile. "Nice," she said.
When Michelle looked forward, she saw Bunzo Bunny chase a few of the Mini Huggies, smiling and laughing, Mommy Long Legs petting PJ Pug-A-Pillar's head, and Huggy Wuggy holding his arm out while Lilac swung on it.
Michelle chuckled a bit before approaching the group. "Hey, guys," she said, which made them look at her as she pointed at the turnstiles. "I got the power back on; we should be able to take the cable car to Playcare now."
The group nodded as they approached the turnstiles; Michelle and the smaller toys went through them while Huggy Wuggy, Mommy Long Legs, and PJ Pug-A-Pillar went over them.
As the group reached the top of the stairs, Michelle saw a cutout of an anthropomorphic chicken toy with yellow feathers, four digits on its wings, a three-feathered crown extending on the right side of its head, an orange half-moon upper beak, and matching colored feet wearing a collar with an orange star pendant on it.
Michelle stared at the cutout before approaching it and pressing the button. "Hey, I'm KickinChicken! Wanna go outside and hang out?" it asked.
Michelle looked at the cutout as the group walked ahead. "If it's like the Bubba Bubbaphant cutout, one press should be enough," she said before catching up to them. "It's still nice to see Kevin's favorite Smiling Critter."
When the group was close to the cable car, Michelle approached it before looking through the glass, revealing two cushion seats: a broken one on the left and a normal one with a book on it on the right, and a TV in the top left corner.
Michelle hummed and stepped back. "Not all of us will be able to fit in this cable car," she said as she glanced at the lever on the left wall. "We might have to send it back up here a second time."
Mommy Long Legs looked at the cable car as Michelle approached the lever on the left wall. "That seems to be the case..." she said before looking at her. "I think it would be in our best interest if PJ and I stayed behind since we're the largest ones."
Michelle nodded as she grabbed the lever with both hands before pulling it down. "Good idea, Mommy," she said before approaching the lever on the right wall. "I'll make sure to send the cable car back up once we reach Playcare."
Mommy Long Legs nodded as Michelle grabbed the lever with both hands before pulling it down, which opened the cable car's door before she approached it. "With that setup, let's board," she continued.
Huggy Wuggy crouched before entering the cable car and sitting on the ground. Bunzo Bunny held his left cymbal under his right arm before holding his paw out, which made Michelle hold it in her hand before they and the Mini Huggies entered the cable car.
When the door closed, the cable car started moving; Michelle grabbed the book off the cushion seat and tossed it to the ground before sitting on it.
Michelle sighed as Bunzo Bunny pulled his paw away and placed his cymbals on the spot next to her before climbing on it and sitting down, while Tulip got off her shoulder and approached the other Mini Huggies before sitting down. "It's been a while since I rode this cable car," she said.
As the cable car went down a slope, Michelle leaned back and stared at the roof. "We're so close to you guys... I can feel it..." she said in a low voice.
The TV turned on, which made the group look at it. "Hello, my name is Elliot Ludwig," the man on the TV said.
Most of the group growled at the TV, which made Michelle look at them. I guess a lot of the toys don't like Mr. Ludwig even after death, she thought.
"When you look around at the world today, what one thing do you think it needs more of?" Elliot asked.
Michelle looked at the TV. "I asked around once," Elliot said. "'Money, I never have enough.'"
Michelle looked away with a huff. "Very accurate for greedy people..." she said in a low voice.
"'Understanding, I can never get any,'" Elliot said.
Michelle crossed her arms. "'Faith, the common man has lost it,'" Elliot continued.
Michelle trembled a bit. That's very accurate to me... she thought.
"Each answer was different... and I could perhaps see some little truth in each," Elliot said. "But I think each was also missing something... something simple."
Michelle looked at the TV. "You see, not one of them could muster a smile," Elliot continued.
Bunzo Bunny turned his head to the left and spotted something before looking at Michelle and tapping her arm, which made her look at him as he pointed to the left. "Come look at this, Big Sis," he said in a low voice.
Michelle looked to the left and saw a dome in a massive underground space in the distance. "A smile is hope; a smile is love," Elliot said. "A smile is understanding."
Michelle glanced at the TV. "And there is nothing more gratifying to my soul than being the reason for a child's smile," Elliot continued. "To be the spark that ignites all their hopes and dreams. For it is only through hopes and dreams that we may create a better world."
Soon after, the cable car was close to the dome. "One where our children need not be afraid. One where they are protected," Elliot said. "After all, this company and its toys are nothing without them."
The cable car entered through a red hole. "These children deserve to smile, they deserve to love, and they deserve a safe home," Elliot continued. "That is why it is with enormous pleasure that, as the founder of Playtime Co., I announce..."
When the cable car entered the dome, the lights turned on, which revealed an area with the inner dome with slightly torn sky blue wallpaper, faux clouds hanging above, five buildings around it, and a statue of the Smiling Critters in the center. "Playcare!" Elliot shouted. "Our very own on-site orphanage."
Most of the group looked around the area. "But it's not only that; it's a school, a playhouse, a place to belong," Elliot said. "Our very own ecosystem beneath the surface... dedicated in every inch and detail to ensuring a child's smile."
The cable car circled the area. "It's teachers and counselors, mothers and fathers, until such a time they have all of that in you." Elliot continued.
As Michelle stared at the area, she noticed CatNap's statue face down on the ground. As Michelle examined CatNap's statue with squinted eyes, she noticed claw marks on it. If I were to guess, this was CatNap's doing... she thought.
"May Playcare bring joy, inspiration, and smiles to all who enter these doors," Elliot said, which made Michelle look at the screen. "For what gives life its meaning if not a smile?"
Soon after, the cable car stopped near the stairs, which made a few of the toys stand up. As Bunzo Bunny grabbed his cymbals off the seat, Michelle stood up, which made him and the others look at her. "Before we go out there, we must remember that this is CatNap's territory," she said.
Michelle looked at the group with serious eyes. "Be on guard and don't separate yourselves from the group," she continued.
The group nodded as the cable car's door opened, which made Michelle and the others approach it. Hang on, you two... I'm coming to find you... she thought.