A/N: TW - Panic Attack
---
In Playcare, a young Michelle was being chased by a young Kevin while a young Katelynn watched them in the distance; she smiled at him, laughing. "You can't catch me!" she shouted.
Kevin grinned at Michelle. "Wanna bet?" he asked before sprinting faster.
When Kevin was close to Michelle, he tackled her, which caused them to tumble to the ground. Soon after, Kevin was on top of Michelle, trying to catch his breath. "I finally... got you..." he said in between breaths.
Michelle turned her head away, giggling with a slight blush. "Yeah, you did..." she said.
A red liquid dripped near Michelle's head, which surprised her. "Now..." Kevin said in a low voice.
When Michelle turned her head to Kevin, her eyes widened when she saw him as a large, disfigured abomination with toy parts sewn on his body, with blood dripping down his face. "You'll pay for leaving me behind..." he continued in a guttural voice.
Michelle was terrified as Kevin raised his right arm and readied his fist. Michelle quickly pulled her left arm out of Kevin's hold and rolled away before he slammed his fist against the ground.
As Kevin turned his head to Michelle, she quickly got up and sprinted toward Katelynn. "Katie!" she shouted.
When Michelle was close to Katelynn, she grabbed her hand. "Come with me, Katie," she said.
Before Michelle could run, Katelynn's grip on her hand tightened, which shocked her. "Why should I...?" she asked rhetorically. "After all..."
When Michelle turned her head to Katelynn, her eyes widened when she saw her as a different, disfigured abomination with various toy parts sewn on her body. "You left me behind, too, Big Sister," she continued in a guttural voice.
Michelle stared at the disfigured Katelynn, horrified, and her breathing started to quicken. The disfigured Kevin grabbed Michelle's wrist, which made her look at him. "It's all your fault!" he shouted in a guttural voice. "You left us behind!!"
Tears fell from Michelle's eyes while her breathing started going rapid. "I-I didn't... I..." she said weakly.
The disfigured Kevin and disfigured Katelynn merged, forming a large abomination with a disfigured head between the two. Michelle stared at the abomination, petrified. "Your fault!! It's all your fault!" they shouted in a guttural voice before lifting her.
The disfigured abomination opened its mouth before letting Michelle go, which made her scream as she fell.
...
...
...
Michelle woke up, screaming, and quickly sat up in a cold sweat, tears falling from her eyes. Michelle looked down while hyperventilating as her trembled hand reached for the part of her tank top closest to her chest before grabbing it. I can't... breathe... she thought.
Michelle clenched her tank top tighter as her breathing worsened. I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't— a female voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, hey, you need to try to control your breathing."
Michelle was shocked before looking down, petrified, while her breathing quickened. "I... I can't..." she said in a low voice.
"Yes, you can," the voice said.
Soon after, large arms wrapped around Michelle before she was pulled into a hug, which shocked her. "We're gonna take a few deep breaths, in and out," the voice continued. "Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth... whenever you're ready."
Michelle tried to calm herself, inhaling slowly and deeply through her nose. Soon after, Michelle shakily breathed out through her mouth. "There we go... again," the voice said. "Breathe in."
As Michelle inhaled, she felt the figure holding her breathing in as well. "And out..." the voice continued as they breathed out through their mouths.
After some time, Michelle started calming down. "Are you feeling better?" the voice asked.
Michelle looked down before slowly nodding. "Y-Yeah... I am..." she said in a low voice.
Michelle noticed something and sniffed the figure holding her before she was surprised. "Roses..." she said in a low voice.
"...So the scent is still there even after everything that happened..." the voice said.
When the figure let go of Michelle, she saw a large anthropomorphic bear toy with glowing white eyes, red fur covering most of her body, rose-pink fur on her paws, the inside of her ears, upper snout, and belly.
The anthropomorphic bear toy also wore a collar with a ruby-red heart pendant around her neck, a large black zipper running down her center, and a belt wrapped around her waist with a large first-aid kit on her right side. Michelle stared at the toy, shocked. "Bobby BearHug..." she said.
Bobby BearHug nodded. "We saw you unconscious in the room filled with Red Smoke," she said. "We pulled you out of it and placed you in here for safety..."
Michelle remembered something before standing up and looking at Bobby BearHug. "What about my friend?" she asked.
Bobby BearHug tilted her head, confused. "Your friend?" she asked.
The duo heard distant, muffled screeching, which made them look at the door. "Huggy..." Michelle said in a low voice before sprinting toward it.
Bobby BearHug was surprised and held her hand out to Michelle as she opened the door and left. "Hey, come back!" she shouted.
As Michelle sprinted in the hallway, the screeching grew louder, which worried her. They better not be hurting him, she thought.
When Michelle reached the door to the room filled with screeching, she grabbed the doorknob and twisted it.
When Michelle opened the door, she saw a larger version of KickinChicken and a larger version of Bubba Bubbaphant turning to her with shocked eyes while Huggy Wuggy was strapped to a chair, screeching and struggling to move. "Get away from him!" she shouted before sprinting forward.
Michelle stood in front of Huggy Wuggy before turning to the duo with a menacing glare. KickinChicken raised his brow. "What the hell? I thought the kid was asleep," he said.
Bubba Bubbaphant turned his head to KickinChicken. "She must've woken up recently," he said.
When Bobby BearHug entered the room and looked at the group, she noticed Huggy Wuggy was looking at Michelle before he stopped moving and calmed down, which surprised her. "Misha," he said.
The trio froze with shocked eyes as Michelle turned to Huggy Wuggy. "It's OK, buddy; I'm here..." she said gently as she held his left hand in both of her hands. "I'm here..."
KickinChicken stared at Michelle with a bewildered gaze. "Hang on, that's Misha... the one Ke—" Bubba Bubbaphant flinched and quickly covered his mouth with his trunk, which made him stop talking. "Shut up."
Bobby BearHug approached the duo and looked at Michelle. "So your name is Misha?" she asked.
Michelle turned her head to Bobby BearHug, surprised. "Well, my name is Michelle Mercia, but I let those close to me call me Misha," she said before staring wearily at her. "How... how do you know that?"
Bobby BearHug knelt to Michelle's level. "Let's just say we've heard a lot about you," she said.
Michelle looked away, disconcerted, which made Bobby BearHug sigh before looking at her with gentle eyes. "Listen, Misha... we weren't trying to harm your friend," she continued. "We were actually trying to help him."
Michelle looked at Bobby BearHug, baffled. "Help him?" she asked incredulously.
Bobby BearHug nodded before pointing to the left side of her head. "Have you noticed his head?" she asked.
When Michelle turned to Huggy Wuggy, she noticed his bandage was gone, and his head gash was sewn together, which shocked her. "You stitched his wound up," she said.
Bobby BearHug nodded. "Yes..." she said. "We had to strap him to that chair so he didn't harm himself with the addition of my Pink Smoke."
Michelle turned to Bobby BearHug, confused. "Pink Smoke?" she asked.
Bobby BearHug took a deep breath before blowing a pink gas out of her mouth, which shocked Michelle. As the pink gas surrounded Michelle, she inhaled it before she started feeling calm. "My Pink Smoke has a calming effect when inhaled," Bobby BearHug said.
After the Pink Smoke disappeared, Michelle looked at Bubba Bubbaphant and KickinChicken. "Do the other two have a smoke effect as well?" she asked.
Bubba Bubbaphant was amused as he took a deep breath before blowing out a cloud of blue gas. "My Blue Smoke makes the affected person think smarter; however, it's only temporary," he said as it disappeared.
KickinChicken took a deep breath before blowing out a cloud of green gas. "And my Green Smoke makes the affected person more charismatic; it's also temporary," he said as it disappeared.
Bobby BearHug looked at Michelle. "CraftyCorn uses her Purple Smoke to make others feel more creative," she said. "Hoppy Hopscotch uses her Yellow Smoke to make others feel more energized, and PickyPiggy uses her Orange Smoke to make others feel full. And DogDay..."
Bobby BearHug went silent and looked away with somber eyes, which concerned Michelle. "Did something happen to him?" she asked.
The duo behind Bobby BearHug looked down with somber eyes, which made Michelle look at them before she looked at her. "If you tell me, we can help you," she continued.
The trio had shocked eyes before Bobby BearHug looked at Michelle. "No, we couldn't possibly—" she was interrupted when she held her right hand with both of hers, which surprised her.
Michelle gently smiled at Bobby BearHug. "Believe me when I say, I've seen a lot of messed-up stuff," She said before turning her head to Huggy Wuggy. "Plus, I owe your group for stitching Huggy's head gash when I couldn't..."
Bobby BearHug stared at Michelle before sighing. "Very well... if you want to help us, we'll start from the beginning," she said before turning her head to Bubba Bubbaphant. "Bubba."
Bubba Bubbaphant nodded before stepping forward and looking at Michelle as she let go of Bobby BearHug's hand. "You see, young one, we come from a place called Safe Haven," he said.
Bubba Bubbaphant looked up and placed his right padded hand against his chest. "A place where the young, innocent toys who still cling to humanity and refuse to eat—" Bobby BearHug sternly looked at him, which made him flinch in fear. "Right... getting a little sidetracked..."
Bubba Bubbaphant cleared his throat with his right padded hand over his mouth before looking at Michelle. "Anyway, we were a group of four, with DogDay taking charge of us to gather supplies for Safe Haven," he said. "However... CatNap attacked us."
Bubba Bubbaphant looked down with somber eyes. "DogDay protected us and told us to leave him behind," he continued before shaking his head. "But we couldn't do that to him, so we hid ourselves in Home Sweet Home to devise a plan until we saw you two."
Michelle hummed and nodded. "I see..." she said in a low voice.
Michelle realized something before looking at Bubba Bubbaphant. "But the Red Smoke—" she was interrupted when he looked at her. "It doesn't affect us; it's something the lab people added to all the larger Smiling Critters."
Michelle crossed her arms. "Well, where is he now?" she asked.
Bubba Bubbaphant placed his padded right hand under his chin with a hum. "If I had to guess, he's being held in the Playhouse," he said.
Michelle thought of something before looking at the trio. "Well, couldn't we—" she was interrupted when they looked at her with panicked eyes, which made her flinch. "NO!"
Michelle stared at the trio with a sweatdrop. "That place is super dangerous," KickinChicken said before pointing at himself. "And that's coming from someone like me."
Michelle hummed a bit before placing her hand against her chest. "In that case, why don't we stick together?" she asked.
The trio looked at Michelle as Huggy Wuggy lowered his head to her. "I'm sure you're aware that the power is out, right? Well, we're here for Home Sweet Home's backup generator," she said.
Michelle petted Huggy Wuggy's cheek, which made him purr a bit. "Plus, I got a few more allies under the statue," she continued. "Greater numbers mean being able to watch each other's backs."
The trio was silent as Michelle stopped petting Huggy Wuggy's cheek before holding her hand out to Bobby BearHug, which made her look at it. "So what d'you say? Will you team up with us?" she asked.
Bobby BearHug stared at Michelle's hand before sighing a bit and placing her finger in it with soft eyes. "Alright, Misha... we'll team up with your group," she said.
Michelle smiled at Bobby BearHug. "Sweet! Now, uh..." she said before pulling her hand away from her finger and gesturing to Huggy Wuggy. "Could you let him out of his binds?"
Bobby BearHug looked at Huggy Wuggy. "Ah, right," she said before turning her head to KickinChicken. "Kickin'."
KickinChicken nodded as he approached Huggy Wuggy before kneeling and starting to undo his binds on the chair. Michelle looked at Bobby BearHug. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you and the other Smiling Critters?" she asked.
Bobby BearHug looked at Michelle. "Well, we were around twelve to thirteen when we were turned into toys in 1990," she said before she pointed at KickinChicken. "Bubba and I are both twenty-one, while Kickin' is our youngest in our group at twenty."
KickinChicken growled a bit and angrily looked at Bobby BearHug. "D'you gotta say that every time we meet new people?!" he shouted.
Bobby BearHug giggled with happy eyes while KickinChicken grumbled and continued undoing Huggy Wuggy's binds.
Michelle looked at KickinChicken before approaching him. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, my friend Kevin said that you're his favorite Smiling Critter," she said.
KickinChicken looked at Michelle before looking away with mischievous eyes. "Did he, now?" he asked.
Bobby BearHug looked at KickinChicken with stern eyes. "Kickin'," she said, which made him flinch in fear.
Michelle tilted her head, confused. "What does that mean?" she asked.
KickinChicken quickly shook his head. "Nothin', kid..." he said in a low voice before he finished undoing Huggy Wuggy's binds.
Huggy Wuggy stood up and stretched before approaching Michelle. "Now then, let's find ourselves a generator," she said.
Bobby BearHug held the GrabPack out to Michelle, which surprised her. "You might want this back," she said.
Michelle turned her head to her back and placed her hands against it. "I took it off you when you were unconscious," Bobby BearHug continued with happy eyes, which made her look at her. "I bet it would've been uncomfortable if you lay on your back."
Michelle nodded and grabbed the GrabPack's straps, which made Bobby BearHug let go of it before putting it back on. "And the Red Smoke?" she asked.
Bubba Bubbaphant looked at Michelle. "We cleared the smoke out of that room so we don't have to worry about it," he said.
Michelle finished adjusting the GrabPack's straps before looking at the group. "Good... then let's head off," she said, which made them nod before they approached the opening.