Inside the elevator, most of the group lay in the elevator, unconscious. Michelle winced a bit before slowly opening her eyes; Doey grunted a bit before opening his eyes and looking at her. "You OK?" he asked.
Michelle slowly sat up. "I'm fine... your body cushioned the impact," she said before looking at Doey. "Thanks."
Doey smiled and nodded. "Anytime," he said.
As the rest of the group started waking up, Michelle got off Doey, which made him get up, before looking at them. "Is everyone else alright?" she asked.
DogDay slowly sat up with a groan. "For the most part, yes... we're fine..." he said, lowly.
As the others started getting up, Michelle was doing a headcount before she realized something. "Hang on... we're missing two people," she said.
Huggy Wuggy looked around before frowning and whimpering. "Kissy gone..." he said, lowly, which made the Mini Huggies make sad chirps.
Mommy Long Legs sat up and looked around. "Poppy isn't here either," she said.
Michelle looked around before she realized something, and she had angry eyes. "Don't tell me..." she said, lowly.
The group remained silent until Michelle yelled a bit. "Damn it! She does this every time!!" she shouted. "When something bad happens or if something isn't going her way, she runs away like a coward!"
Michelle made a fist with her hand before tapping it against her head a bit. "And just when I thought she was changing for the better, I'm a fucking idiot!!" she shouted.
The group looked at Michelle as she got out of the elevator and walked toward the right. "She expects so much out of me, but she's a lot older than me!" she shouted. "I shouldn't be going through this shit!!"
Michelle looked at the red door before she started kicking at it. "Not... to mention... I have... a fucking... destroyed... right prosthetic!!" she shouted in between kicks.
The larger toys stared at Michelle, concerned, while the smaller toys looked at her, scared. "I've got this," Doey said before Kevin, with the red beaded bracelet on his left wrist, split from him.
Kevin approached Michelle as she kept kicking the door. "What... the hell... am I... supposed... to do?!" she shouted in between kicks.
Kevin wrapped his arms around Michelle before pulling her away from the red door as she tried kicking it. "OK, first off, we're going to calm down," he said.
Michelle turned her head to Kevin. "But Poppy—" she was interrupted when he petted her head. "I get it... we all get it, but we can't lose our heads in this place..."
Kevin lowered his head to Michelle's ear. "Plus... you're scaring the smaller toys," he whispered.
Michelle froze and looked at the elevator; she noticed most of the smaller toys were staring at her, trembling. Michelle looked down with a frown before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
After Michelle exhaled, she opened her eyes and looked at Kevin. "Alright... I'm calm now..." she said. "Thanks for that..."
Kevin kissed Michelle's cheek before letting go of her; she approached the elevator and knelt to the smaller toys. "Sorry, I scared you, little guys," she said before looking down. "I'm just... frustrated..."
The smaller toys looked at Michelle before they gathered around her and hugged her, which made her smile. After the smaller toys let go of Michelle, she stood up before they stepped away from the elevator.
As the rest of the group came out of the elevator, Simon Smoke looked at Michelle. "What now, Boss?" he asked.
Michelle held her upper right arm. "The only thing we can do is move forward," she said before looking at the smaller toys. "Those who are small, stay close to the larger toys."
As the smaller toys nodded, Katelynn spotted a cutout of the chihuahua-like toy, which made her smile. "Hey, it's Giblet," she said before approaching it.
The group looked at Katelynn as she pressed the button on the cutout. "My name is—" the group heard static coming from it for a moment. "And I'm here to protect kids like you from all the scary things that go bump in the night!"
Michelle stared at the cutout. "That was the same toy you used to own back at Home Sweet Home," she said before looking at Katelynn. "I don't remember them being called Giblet though..."
Katelynn smiled at Michelle. "It's not, but there was one like him named Giblet who was a resident at Safe Haven," she said.
Michelle looked at Katelynn, surprised. "Seriously?" she asked.
Doey nodded. "He was with us even after Poppy disappeared," he said before looking down with a slight frown. "However..."
Kevin crossed his arms. "He had different ideals, so he went off on his own," he said. "Before he left though, we gave him a Huggy pin and told him to stay safe out there."
Michelle looked at Kevin. "Do you think he's still alive?" she asked.
Kevin looked down. "Maybe, but it's been a few years since we last saw him," he said before looking at Michelle. "Even with an injured leg he got from one of the Doctor's minions, he was pretty quick on his feet."
Michelle hummed a bit. "Maybe we'll be lucky and find him throughout the journey," she said as she looked at the far door on her left. "For now, though, we shouldn't stay in one place for too long; let's move."
The group nodded as Michelle approached the door, which made them follow. Kevin opened the door and looked around before entering and holding it open. "Thanks," Michelle said before she and the others entered.
As the group walked forward, Bubba Bubbaphant let out an annoyed sigh. "I still can't believe that after weeks of work, most of the prosthetic right arm was destroyed in a matter of seconds," he said before he had angry eyes. "Damn that Boxy Boo!"
KickinChicken wrapped his arm around Bubba Bubbaphant's shoulder. "Relax, Bubba, I'm sure you'll be able to make another one for the kid," he said.
Bubba Bubbaphant sternly looked at KickinChicken. "That's easier said than done," he said. "While I still have the blueprints Yarnaby had in that canister and the base of Misha's right prosthetic is still intact, we'll need to find another GrabPack."
Some of the group looked at Bubba Bubbaphant. "And what are the chances of finding one in this place?" CatNap asked.
Bubba Bubbaphant was nervous before looking down. "Well... not so great..." he said, lowly. "Especially since we're inside a place we're not too familiar with."
Bunzo Bunny looked at Bubba Bubbaphant. "I'm sure we'll find one in this place," he said before looking at Michelle. "Right, Big Sis?"
Michelle chuckled a bit and petted Bunzo Bunny's head. "I'm sure we will, Bunzo..." she said.
When Michelle looked forward, she saw a tunnel-like structure made out of pallets, bed frames, and tarps above them before turning her head to the group. "There's a tunnel up ahead; I can—" Kevin placed his hand on her head, which made her stop.
Michelle looked at Kevin as he lowered his head to her level. "We can check it out," he said before pointing at her. "I'm not leaving your side since we have no idea what's in this place, and you have nothing on you to protect yourself."
Michelle stared at Kevin before nodding. "Right, my bad..." she said before looking at the group. "We'll check out what's on the other side."
The group nodded as the couple crouched before entering the tunnel-like structure. As Michelle looked around, she spotted a small makeshift bed in the left corner. Do toys live in this place too? she thought before the couple turned right.
After the couple stood up and went through a gap made with pallets, they saw a standing light at the center glowing red. "A standing light; that could help us see through this area," Michelle said.
Kevin spotted a lever next to him before grabbing the handle and pulling it down, which turned the standing light on. "We should head back," he said.
Michelle nodded as the couple went through the gap before crouching and entering the tunnel-like structure. As the couple crawled forward, they heard screams from the smaller toys until they saw a disfigured toy running past the structure, which shocked them.
After the couple got out of the tunnel-like structure, Michelle looked at the group. "What was that thing?" she asked.
DogDay looked at Michelle. "Something we've never seen before; I'm not even sure how to explain it..." he said before looking down. "It looked similar to a small Smiling Critter but..."
Hoppy Hopscotch looked at Michelle. "It looked like the stuff on the outside should actually be on the inside," she said.
CraftyCorn quickly nodded in agreement. "They were so gross..." she said, lowly.
Michelle hummed a bit. "They probably have names, but for now, we could call whatever it was an Outimal," she said.
Katelynn looked at Michelle and tilted her head. "Why Outimal?" she asked.
Michelle looked at Katelynn while placing her hand against her hip. "Well, based on the description, it sounds like the inspiration was based on the Wrongside Outimals," she said before looking down. "While I thought the concept of them was interesting, the execution was a failure."
PickyPiggy hummed a bit. "Honestly, that sounds fitting," she said.
Miss Delight nodded. "Though the name is a little harsh, I agree as well," she said.
As the others nodded, Michelle looked at the opened door before approaching it. "We should keep moving," she said, which made them follow her.
As the group entered the room, they heard growl-like noises, which scared the smaller toys. Michelle looked around before spotting the lever; as she approached it, she heard deep growls, which surprised her.
When Michelle turned her head to the source, she saw an inside-out toy with their head shaped like a dinosaur, small, rounded, inside-out plastic eyes, sharp, jagged teeth, patches of fur and stuffing sticking out of it, and red liquid resembling blood veins circulating its body.
Michelle stared at the inside-out toy, disgusted, as the group approached her. "It's a lot worse than I thought," she said. "Outimal is definitely fitting..."
As the Outimal growled at the group, Michelle looked at the lever before aiming her left arm at it. The blue hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed the lever before pulling it down.
When the light turned on, the Outimal made pained noises before running away. "So, they don't like light; that's good to know," Bobby BearHug said.
After the blue hand retracted back to Michelle's wrist, she looked at the door on the right. "If I remember correctly, there was a button in that room," she said before approaching it.
As Michelle opened the door, she looked around the room before spotting the button next to the console. "There you are," she continued before approaching it.
When Michelle was close to the button, she pressed it, which made the other door open; after she left the room, the group went through the opening. Soon after, the group saw an Outimal inside a tent with a standing light facing it, connected to the lever on the wall.
Michelle aimed her left arm at the lever before the blue hand shot from her wrist. The blue hand grabbed the lever before pulling it down, which turned the light on and made the Outimal run away while making pained noises.
The blue hand retracted back to Michelle's wrist before she looked at it while moving the fingers. "It's a good thing that I still have the left prosthetic," she said.
The group looked at the hole before crouching and entering it. As the group climbed the ramp and got on the catwalk, Michelle stood up before jumping over the gap. "What... was that?" an Outimal asked.
Michelle glanced at the ground and spotted two Outimals inside makeshift homes before getting on the pipes and crouching. "People... from above," another Outimal said.
The larger toys helped the smaller toys cross the platform. "There is no above; the Judge said," the Outimal said.
"Can't trust the Judge," the other Outimal said. "Can't trust any of em'... not like us."
Michelle stared at the Outimals. I'm guessing it's another name for the Prototype, she thought before glancing at the hole in the wall and crawling forward.
When Michelle was close to the hole, she went through it and landed on the ground. After the group caught up, they walked forward; Huggy looked around with a whimper. "Huggy hope Kissy OK..." he said, lowly.
Bunzo Bunny patted Huggy Wuggy's leg. "I'm sure Kissy is alright, Huggy; she and Poppy have each other's backs," he said.
Michelle gritted her teeth a bit and held her upper right arm; Kevin looked at her. "Still pissed off about Poppy leaving us?" he asked.
Michelle growled a bit. "Pissed off is a big understatement..." she said.
When Michelle was close to the door, she kicked it open, which made some of the group flinch and an Outimal on the other side run away, startled.
Kevin held the door open before looking at Michelle. "Every time I put my trust in her, it always bites me in the ass, and I'm the one who has to clean up her mess!" she shouted.
Michelle remembered Poppy crying in Safe Haven and at the large mining pit, which made her grip her arm and look down. "And those tears she shed back at Safe Haven and the barracks... were they even real...?" she continued.
Tears pricked Michelle's eyes as her grip tightened. "Did she shed her crocodile tears just to take advantage of my vulnerability and manipulate my sympathy into whatever she wants?!" she shouted.
The group remained silent. "I think Poppy's tears were real," Katelynn said, which made most of them look at her.
Michelle looked at Katelynn as she crossed her arms. "I'm not sure what exactly happened back at Safe Haven, but... back at the barracks, she isolated herself from everyone else in the group, including Kissy," she continued.
Katelynn frowned a bit and looked down. "And the times I have seen her, tears were always falling down her face... almost like she felt guilty," she said.
Michelle stared at Katelynn. "I would also like to add something to Katie's statement," Mommy Long Legs said.
Michelle glanced at Mommy Long Legs. "When most of us were fast asleep, she would always stand near the door on her knees and hold her hands together... almost like she was praying," she continued.
Mommy Long Legs looked at Michelle. "I get your anger towards Poppy, and the things she did were wrong, but... she's not this evil person you think she is," she said. "She does have a heart and has feelings towards you; she's just... making all the wrong decisions..."
Michelle remained silent and looked down. "You don't have to forgive her immediately, my little Misha, but... don't jump to the wrong conclusion..." Mommy Long Legs continued.
Michelle took a deep breath and exhaled before nodding. "I'll keep that in mind..." she said, lowly.
Michelle looked at the opening before going through it. "We should keep moving," she continued as she turned right, which made the group nod before they followed her.