Inside Safe Haven, the smaller toys lay inside their tents, fast asleep. As Michelle slept, she heard metal noises, which made her wince a bit before slowly opening her eyes.
When Michelle sat up and looked up, she saw Doey sleeping with his neck retracted, which made her quietly giggle. That's cute... she thought.
As Michelle examined Doey, she noticed his left side had no orange dough, which surprised her. Matthew isn't with them... she thought.
Michelle heard more metal noises, which made her look around; soon after, she spotted light coming from the generator room. Michelle looked at the ground and saw Suzy lying next to Doey on her side, and Bunzo Bunny lying on her.
Michelle undid the blanket before quietly standing up. Michelle laid the blanket on Doey before quietly approaching for her crutch. After Michelle quietly picked up the crutch, she slowly approached the generator room.
As Michelle entered the room, she saw Matthew looking at the generator. "Matthew?" she asked. Matthew flinched a bit before turning to the opening. "Oh... hello there, Misha," he said. "Did I disturb your slumber?"
Michelle shook her head as she approached Matthew. "You're fine... how long was I out?" she asked. Matthew smiled a bit. "You were asleep for about a day or two," he said. Michelle stared at Matthew, shocked. "Seriously?" she asked.
Matthew nodded. "Poppy wanted to speak with you, but Kevin kept her away in his style," he said. Michelle hummed. "I'm guessing a lot of the toys in Safe Haven aren't a fan of her, huh?" she asked.
Matthew sighed. "That's... one way to put it..." he said before sitting on the ground. Michelle sat next to Matthew. "Even though Doey and Suzy were the ones to find the place, Poppy acted like a leader when she was around," he continued.
Matthew looked at the opening. "Any task she asked us to do, we did it... and it actually made sense..." he said.
Matthew frowned a bit and looked down. "When Poppy disappeared on Safe Haven, the smaller toys and some of the larger Smiling Critters came to Doey to figure out what to do next," he continued.
Matthew looked at his hands. "There was one moment when we were outside the Prison and thought 'There's the exit... we could leave this place,'... but..." he said, lowly.
Michelle looked at Matthew. "You chose to stay back here instead," she said. "Because you knew deep down that the other toys weren't like Doey."
Matthew nodded. "Ever since that day... I did everything I could to keep everyone in my home safe," he said. "But..." Michelle sighed a bit. "Sometimes you feel it's not good enough, right?" she asked rhetorically, which made Matthew look at her.
Michelle looked forward. "I know that feeling very well... my group could've let one of the larger toys be the leader of the group... but they unanimously follow me instead..." she continued. "The pressure of being a leader is almost suffocating..."
Michelle turned her head to Matthew. "But you and I have one major difference," she said. "If I may ask, how old were you back then?" Matthew remained silent before looking down. "Days after I was turned into Doey... I would've been sixteen," he said.
Michelle nodded. "I figured as much," she said. "You were basically forced to grow up... you were forced to have these responsibilities... you were never given the chance to be a kid, or in this case, a teen."
Michelle placed her crutch on the ground and stood up before facing Matthew. "With you being the eldest of Kevin and Jack, you had the entire weight of the world on your shoulders..." she continued.
Michelle placed her hand against her chest. "Life may not be fair, but you're not alone in this... you have other leaders like DogDay and me with you..." she said. "If the weight on your shoulders is too much to bear... then allow us to help you..."
Matthew stared at Michelle before dough tears pricked his eyes, which made him wipe them away. "Sorry..." he said, lowly.
Michelle slowly approached Matthew and wrapped her arms around his neck. "There's nothing to apologize for, Matthew... you deserve to have a break as well..." she said. Matthew looked at Michelle before chuckling a bit. "Now I know why Kevin admires you a lot," he said.
Michelle blushed and quickly let go of Matthew. "He does?" she asked. Matthew smiled a bit. "Kevin once told me your charisma could challenge my charisma and win... he was definitely right about that..." he said.
Michelle grabbed the end of her braid and played with it. "Ah... t-that's what he meant..." she said, lowly. "Yeah, I get that a lot..." Matthew smiled. I could also tell her about his feelings, but that's not for me to say, he thought.
Michelle let go of her braid. "A-Anyway... were you working on the generator?" she asked. Matthew stood up. "I just about finished when you walked in; the smaller ones will probably wake up soon... most of them probably on an empty stomach..."
Michelle thought of something and looked at Matthew. "I might have a temporary solution on the empty stomachs..." she said, lowly. Matthew looked at Michelle. "Is that so?" he asked.
Michelle nodded before gesturing to the door. "They're in my bag," she said before slowly walking forward, which made Matthew follow behind her.
Soon after, the duo approached the tent with Doey, Bunzo Bunny, and Suzy sleeping in. "Next to my GrabPack..." Michelle whispered. Matthew nodded as he stretched his arm toward Michelle's bag and grabbed one of the straps.
Matthew lifted Michelle's bag before retracting his arm and looking at it. "What kind of things do you have in here?" he asked. Michelle looked at her bag. "Just some basic items..." she said.
Michelle held her hand out and counted her fingers. "A first-aid kit, another change of clothes in case my current outfit gets torn, my toothbrush, and one of those small toothpastes my orphanage had when we stayed in a few hotels..." she continued.
Michelle placed her hand on her chin. "I also have a couple of books the people in my orphanage didn't touch, things I bought at Playtime's Gift Shop, twelve and a half bags of mini peanut butter cookies, and a few water bottles," she said.
Matthew hummed. "Now I see what you mean by temporary solution; I think three and a half bags should be enough for now," he said before looking at Michelle. "May I?" Michelle smiled and nodded. "Of course," she said.
Matthew nodded before unzipping Michelle's bag; as he looked in her bag, he spotted something before reaching in. Matthew pulled out 'The Adventures of the Word Wizard' from Michelle's bag. "You... have this...?" he asked.
Michelle nodded. "If I'm blunt, I was the one to convince my orphanage to get that book," she said. "The other kids thought I was too childish because it's a kids' book, but I didn't care because it made me happy... especially since you read it to us back at Playcare..."
Matthew stared at Michelle before smiling. "Thank you for bringing it and the compliment," he said before holding the book out. "May I?"
Michelle smiled. "Once we distribute the cookies to the other toys, you can read it to your heart's content," she said. Matthew nodded as he searched Michelle's bag.