Well, I don't often leave reviews, but this one will be brief. I've decided this chapter will be the last for now because I need to replay chapter 3 to see what I keep or add to the story. I'm also going to see the revelations in chapter 5, which comes out in just a few hours as I write this. In the meantime, I hope to receive some encouragement from you because writing a story in this universe requires a lot of research, and I need your support to succeed. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy reading it.
His grandfather Gabriel once explained to him that courage is not indifferent to fear, no, it is the act of resisting it that gives birth to courage in the heart.
Andy hopes he will be brave today, his heart is racing, his vision is reduced to the enormous pink toy which has gone completely mad, his feet are trembling but he manages to move them backwards, his hands rise in a soothing gesture but he guesses that in his state Mommy can no longer see him at all, far too focused on hunting him down and then killing him.
"Ten," she said cheerfully, her face frozen in an expression that simply defined madness.
"Mommy, listen to me!" Andy said quickly, ignoring the red light behind him illuminating the ruined corridor. "I'm not who you think I am!"
"Nine"
"And I know you're not just a toy! I found the notes and now I know what they did!"
"Eight"
"Good heavens, Mo-Marie!" She barely reacts, but he takes it as a good sign. "I know who you are, Marie Pay-
#BAM!#
Screaming in fear, he leaped back, avoiding being crushed by the hand of the plastic toy, which began to twist and writhe in place, its head spinning as it started to giggle like crazy.
"Seven !"
This time he quickly started running.
Rushing down the stairs in a few seconds, he wasted no time in dashing as fast as possible towards the nearest exit.
"SIX !"
(Quick! Quick!) he thinks, crawling through a hole, ending in a controlled fall. He keeps rushing forward while thinking (She's not listening! I have to calm her down or at least stop her from moving to make her see reason! Come on Andy, she's practically trained you to survive against all odds, so now's not the time to give up!)
Determined to turn the situation around, the human pushed a lever allowing him access to a conveyor belt. Rushing inside, he tried to hear a noise or at least get some sign of his lead compared to Mommy. He let out a cry of surprise when a grate gave way beneath his feet. Landing awkwardly, he resumed his race against death, pushing through the first door in front of him, then the second. Arriving in a room with several levers of different colors, he tried to activate them randomly, but nothing happened. Panicked, he tried to find a clue. Looking around, the human was truly out of sorts when he remembered Playtime's twisted logic. Looking up, he spotted a handle for his Grabpack. Pulling himself up to the top, he used his flashlight to see the power cables connected to numbered boxes.
(I curse whoever designed this place!)
Returning to the ground and activating the levers in the correct order, he passes under the gate, which rises.
(Did I lose him?!) he wondered panicked, looking quickly over his shoulder.
He got his answer by watching Mommy emerge from the darkness and advance like a predator.
"AH!" turning around quickly, he runs away amidst the hysterical laughter of the rose.
Returning to the room, he throws his hand in the air to pull himself out of Mommy's reach. He breathes with difficulty because of the panic, and the cackling that seems to come from everywhere is driving him crazy. Looking down, he sees her crawling quickly towards the place from which he first arrived. After waiting a good thirty seconds, Andy returns to the ground and discovers with horror that the path is blocked by webbing. Cursing, he starts running again.
(She's trying to trap me...hmm! She'll see! I'm not going to let her!)
~P~
Meanwhile.
It wasn't easy, between moving some rubble and then crawling through conduits barely big enough for him and his Grabpack. Alphonse didn't think it would be so complicated to sneak around to reach the place where Poppy was being held. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs from his ears, he moved forward, the little Huggys crawling after him because, given their weakness, they found it safer to be on his side. He doubted that this loyalty would hold up against Mommy.
His brow furrowed with worry as he thought of...his brother. It was still strange to think of him like that, but after everything he had done for him, Andy was truly his idea of a big brother. Smiling slightly, he continued on his way to the observation room above the Game Station. Standing in the corner of the door, he looked inside: buttons and joysticks, some papers, and just above the control console was Poppy, covered up to her chin. For a minute, he hesitated to take her out, almost wanting to turn back and pretend he hadn't found her. Then he remembered Andy's kindness towards him and how much effort he had put into saving the doll.
Sighing through his nose, he finally enters the room; the redhead's wide eyes fix on him and Huggy's gang beside her, while he simply glares at her.
"I'm going to free you, but... I'm not doing it for you, understand?" he said darkly. "I'm doing it because Andy needs you... even though frankly, he shouldn't be counting on you..."
Climbing onto the console, he hoisted himself up to Poppy, tearing the web holding her. He stepped back, letting her free herself, crossing his arms, avoiding looking at her, far too angry with her to bear her face. To think that he once...
"Thank you, Good-"
"Alphonse," he said suddenly, cutting her off, turning one eye towards her, he even displayed a smug look, "Andy gave me a real name!"
"So he..." the redhead murmured, dusting off her dress with a look of wonder, "He's truly incredible."
"Obviously! My brother is incredible, well pl-
A ragged breath cuts him off, turning his eyes and his Grabpack towards the door, his little heart races and his fingers tremble on his wrists already ready to pull on Mommy who came to prevent them from freeing Poppy.
The pressure drops abruptly when he sees a toy he has never seen in his life, or rather it looks like a PJ in humanoid version dressed in overalls like his own, cautiously he directs his blue hand to the head of the panting stranger with her hands on her knees and her tongue hanging out.
"Ugh! Good grief! Why is this..." her tirade fizzled out as she saw Bunzo with the mini Huggy dolls, and Poppy standing on the control console, staring at her in astonishment. "So you were here..." she said with a laugh. "I should have realized that sooner..."
"PJ?" he hesitates, having never encountered this toy.
"Oh look at that, he guessed it!" she said sarcastically. "Anyway, your human needs us."
Alphonse's expression immediately shifted from mistrust to panic as he imagined Andy being injured.
"W-what? Where is he?!"
"We were separated and...I...I heard Mommy's voice"
"No...no! We must save him quickly!"
"And how do you plan to do that? You don't even know where they are!"
"I don't care, I'm not abandoning him!" he yells, already ready to set off in pursuit of his brother.
"I..." Poppy stopped, seeing all eyes returning to her. Their animosity made her take a cautious step back, but she regained her courage and straightened her small shoulders. "I know the shortcuts. If Andy is somewhere, I'll find him."
"Ah yes, now we should listen to Poppy!" barked Winry with a contemptuous smile at the redhead. "What a joke..."
"All right"
It may be her imagination, but for a second the doll thought she heard the human's voice instead of Bu-Alphonse's, her sky-blue eyes turned towards the giant rabbit who was taking a few steps towards her.
"Are you serious?! I'm the only one who remembers-"
"Andy needs her..." Alphonse practically growls, his retractable teeth bared for a second, then he regains his composure. "So this time...help us, Poppy...please."
Before his pleading eyes, Poppy could only say yes.
~P~
Hidden at the bottom of the oven he just used to make a gear, Andy breathes erratically as he listens to Mommy giggling and walking around the room, making him understand that if she hasn't caught him yet, it's only because she's playing with him. Leaving there, he crosses the walkway to activate the lever that should unlock the door one floor below, if he believes the note he found earlier.
He pulls the lever and barely does the Grabpack's hand return when a pink hand emerges from the shadows.
"AH!" Andy shouts as he runs away.
He turns immediately, an upward movement triggers a landslide blocking his passage, in a second the blond jumps and pushes the door open on his left with his foot.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
He doesn't turn around, not even wanting to know if she's really behind him or above him. Seeing a dead end, he jumps and almost twists his ankle while turning around to continue. Very quickly, he reaches what looks like a sewer, and then, right in front of him, a hand tries to grab him.
"By Zeus!" he rages, spinning around every time one of Mommy's hands tries to grab hold.
Smith continued running despite the water slowing him down, panting and gripping the handles of his Grabpack. Reaching the end, he pulled on a support bar to hoist himself up. Daring to look down, he saw Mommy Long Legs' face distorted by madness as she pursued him. Barely back on his feet, he ran like a devil, throwing out a hand to swing over a chasm. Seeing a hole through which to squeeze, he jumped through. He landed heavily, rolling once, regaining his balance, and activated the lever in front of him. No sooner had the metal gate risen than he rolled underneath to save time. The human began to use all his strength to cross the poorly lit corridor, which, as always, seemed longer than necessary. Reaching the end, he sent his blue hand to the panel placed just below a drawing of Mommy, opening her arms wide as if to say hello.
Watching the bar load through gritted teeth, his blue eyes widened in panic at the sound of hurried footsteps, looking over his shoulder his heart skipped a beat as he saw Mommy crawling towards him, her eyes fixed on him, and her laughter becoming slurred as if her voice were a worn-out voice box.
"Come on!" he pleads, seeing how slowly the life-saving door is opening.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHhhhaaaaa ! You're too ten !"
Turning around as the door was finally open, the human watched in horror as Mommy jumped on him with her hands wide open. He then jumped back, the pink hands managed to push him away, but because of his dodge, the giant toy ended up tipping forward. The two bodies ended up falling across the room. To cushion her fall, Mommy pressed her hands against the teeth of the grinder. Andy hit the lever activating the machine, his back bending the wrong way, tearing a cry of pain from him. He crashed to the ground, and his Grabpack was broken in turn.
#BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR#
"HAAAAAAAAA!"
The piercing scream makes him open his eyes despite the pain in his back and he helplessly watches as Mommy's left hand gets stuck in the grinder. He watches as she stretches her arm out, trying to pull the rest out, but the speed of the machine makes it impossible and the pain makes her panic.
"AHHHHHH! What have you done?! He's going to take me! Y-you can't do this to me!"
His muscles screamed in pain but he gritted his teeth, leaning on his arms he lunged towards the lever, almost hitting his head against it, grabbing it he turned it the other way, holding the lever so as not to fall back because his back was aching like hell, his vision blurred and his breath short, he watched Mommy's hand come out and he grimaced when he saw her fingers bending the wrong way, then he felt a smile at the corner of his lips as he saw his elastic skin slowly regain its shape.
Then he felt his breath cut off, his cap flew off his head and he groaned in pain as he felt his back pressed against a wall, a hand squeezing his throat, his feet no longer touching the ground and he could barely see how Mommy was approaching him, her expression becoming more normal even though she was staring at him with fury and sadism as she watched him writhe for air.
"Hiiia! You really thought I would spare you?! Ah! Co..." her voice stops, and her eyes narrow as her face slowly approaches the human she is strangling, then her face brightens and shocked she releases him.
Falling on his buttocks with a gurgle of relief, he opened his mouth wide to get the oxygen he so desperately needed, coughing, he massaged his throat and looked at Mommy completely frozen in place, her open hand looking at him for a second, then her eyes fixed on him, then she began to breathe a little faster, her elastic limbs trembling.
"D...Dr. Smith?!..." she murmured, then shook her head to dispel the illusion, for it was impossible that it was her. "No...you...it's impossible, she can't be here..."
"Humf...no...I'm his son...Andy" he mumbles with a pained expression on his face. "I tried to tell you ma-hhhummm Damn..." he sighs, closing his eyes to absorb the pain, opening them he watches her cradle his injured hand, then his eyes turn to the cap he proudly wore.
"S-so you..." The realization hits her. Clumsily, she stumbles backward, her back pressing against the opposite wall. Slowly, she lets herself fall to the floor, mimicking his position. Her mouth opens, and her eyes fall on her hands, which she stares at in horror. "I...what did I do...why did I...hhhhn...I almost killed someone who did nothing wrong...no...no...Mommy mustn't hurt anyone! Mommy is kind and loves children! Mommy mustn't do this...No...Mommy didn't-"
Her panic attack stopped when she felt something wrap itself around her, blinking once she slowly regained her senses in the touch of a warmth she thought she had forgotten, lowering her eyes for a second she saw only golden hair and a back covered by a denim jacket, incredulous she didn't move when she realized that the one she had tortured and tried to kill was comforting her by giving her her first hug in...in so long.
"Marie," that name, she thought she had completely forgotten it and that Marie Payne was dead for good, that no one cared about her anymore, that she would end up alone in the darkness of Playtime. She doesn't know when the first tear started to fall, nor the second; slowly she let herself go as the human stroked her hair. "Everything is alright...I'm here, Marie."
Her silent tears turned into a loud sob as she embraced him in turn; he did not protest despite the pain in his lower back.
"LOAD!"
Their emotional moment was interrupted by a war cry from Alphonse, who came running in armed with his Grabpack, with Huggy perched on his shoulders. On his heels, PJ carried Poppy on his back with a sullen expression. When the whole group arrived in the room, they only saw Andy's back pressed against Mommy's, who looked at them in surprise, her cheeks wet with tears. Bravely advancing, the musical rabbit pointed his hands towards her.
"Let him go!"
"Mommy! Listen, this human is..." PJ begins before noticing the tears of the scariest monster in the Game Station. "Huh?"
"Al..." Andy said suddenly, freeing himself from Mommy's grasp. Turning to them, one eye closed in pain, he tried to reassure them with a smile, but from their perspective it looked like a grimace. "It's fine...she's not holding me back..."
"But she was holding you!" retorted the child, approaching him, unaware of how the pink toy avoided their gaze.
"We were just hugging, Al..." he turns to her, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Right, Marie?"
The name makes her tremble slightly, then she completely releases the human to wipe away her tears, she straightens up, making the toys around them tense up, which for once hurts her because she realizes that she has really traumatized them, then her eyes find Poppy's sky blue and her mouth twists into a grimace of annoyance.
"What is she doing here?" asks Mommy, this time in her normal voice and no longer in her Mommy Long Leg act, which surprises everyone except Andy.
"I came to help Andy...even though apparently he didn't need it," she adds, looking in wonder at the human taking off his backpack to rummage through it.
"Humf...really?" she said sarcastically, before an argument could begin the blond with pink bangs presented a cassette to her nose while looking at her seriously.
"You need to see this."
~P~
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
"Stop acting like a baby!" PJ growls from behind her, pulling on the bandages.
"Do you even know what you're doing?!" he asks in a tense voice, looking behind him at the canine finishing dressing its wounds.
"But yes...I think so," she said confidently, then with a hesitant whisper that Andy heard but preferred to ignore.
After carrying him through the corridors, all the toys started rummaging around to make a makeshift bed for their only injured one. PJ volunteered to take care of him while Mommy locked herself in a room with a cassette player to listen to the proof that Dr. Harper hadn't abandoned her. Smith sympathized with her pain, having also lost his mother.
Sighing, he glances at Poppy, who is busy paying for the train to get to Playcare. At this point, he'd like to sit down and ask questions of... his what? Accomplice? Friend? He doesn't like being suspicious, but there are too many unanswered questions surrounding her. Why was she locked up? How did she manage to survive like that? And above all, who did this? He might have a lead on that last question. On his way back, Alphonse found another tape talking about the infamous 1006, or Prototype, as the scientist calls it in the video.
"Registration code 08502. Related to: Experiment 1006. 'The Prototype'."
"We narrowly avoided disaster this week, almost escaping the containment zone." "The Prototype apparently dismantled the digital alarm clock in his room and used the battery and other components to make a laser pointer, which he then pointed at the security camera, disabling it."
"These actions allowed him to remain completely undetected for 28.3 seconds."
"Once the camera was turned back on, the room seemed empty."
A security specialist entered to verify her absence.
"However, upon opening the door, she realized that the Prototype had hidden itself in a blind spot of the camera."
"The Prototype attempted to escape through the open door; however, another surveillance specialist managed to lock it remotely while the first one was still inside."
"One fatality is to be deplored."
"The Prototype appears to possess an unprecedented level of intelligence, superior to that of all other experimental subjects, as well as an alarming propensity for violence."
"Additional suppression treatments will need to be implemented to prevent other experiments from developing these characteristics."
"The 1-1-7-0 experiment, 'Huggy Wuggy', remains the optimal result thanks to its sufficient intelligence and maximum obedience."
« Nice report. »
After seeing this, Andy was really impressed by the Prototype's resourcefulness, which was apparently on par with MacGyver's. This didn't reassure him at all, however, because this Prototype seemed to be the exact opposite of a toy; it looked much more like an accident, since humans rarely create something smarter than themselves intentionally.
Having nothing better to do, Smith takes out his journal to write down his latest discoveries and also his thoughts on what he has just experienced in the Game Station.
Logbook entry for August 9th (not sure of the elapsed time)
I am now certain that the toys were once humans after discovering notes and videotapes proving that Playtime actively participated in the creation of living toys. I still don't know the reason and I fear I will discover it as I progress through this factory. By the way, I met Poppy, and no, she is not a toy but a person, and I think I made a fool of myself by telling her she was pretty, which she is.
She told me that the answers to what happened to my mother are at Playcare, so we set off together. I don't know why she's accompanying me or why she refuses to tell me what happened here ten years ago, but I sincerely hope she can tell me more because otherwise I'll have to consider that she's deliberately hiding vital information about this place from me.
I also met Mommy Long Leg, or rather Marie Payne. She made me suffer by forcing me to play her deadly games. However, this allowed me to discover that scientists were using these games to test the children participating. I have to consider that Playtime used the orphans for their abominable experiment, and... I also have to consider that my mother knew about it, even though my heart breaks just thinking about it.
I met other toys, Bunzo who is now called Alphonse, then a gang of mini Huggy which is rather amusing...if I forget their teeth, there is also the special case of PJ, normally he is a dog/caterpillar with multiple legs but Winry (that's PJ) explained to me that the scientists considered that it would take far too many subjects to make a life-size PJ so they made an animatronic which Winry is trying to repair after our little meeting.
I finally managed to reason with Marie, not without difficulty, but I'm glad I helped her a little. I still don't realize what they went through here, locked in the dark for ten years, nor what drove them to kill each other. I tried to question them, but they dodged the questions, so I have to resign myself to it.
One thing is for sure now after discovering another tape on the Prototype, he is someone special because he is not referred to as a toy and the only image of him is a kind of mechanical arm with a piece of bone all supporting a hand which reminds me of Edward Scissorhands, I don't know what role he plays here but the scientists speak of him as a genius who learns quickly but is also unstable and dangerous, honestly I am not in a hurry to meet him.
I don't know what Playcare has in store for me, but now I'm ready to take on this final challenge. I know the truth lies there, and I intend to find it.
~Andy Smith~
Finishing writing, he puts his journal in his backpack and looks at the wreckage of his Grabpack with a sigh; without it, it will be much more difficult to progress in the factory.
"Finished !"
Rolling gently, he groaned inwardly as he felt pain in his kidneys, but he noted that it was less painful than an hour ago. Straightening up, he grabbed his clothes to get dressed again, offering Winry a grateful smile.
"Thank you Winry," he said, finishing putting on his jacket. The pug toy crossed its arms and sniffed, turning its back on him.
"You're welcome Hu-...Andy," she coughs.
It was at this moment that Mommy returned, looking up. He was happy that she had taken down all the dead, webbed toys. Moreover, she expressed a lot of regret, explaining that they were...their food supply and that they ended up like this because she had to decide who should survive and who should die when the food started to run out.
With reddened eyes and a downcast expression, she stretches out her legs and comes back to stand in front of the duo who watch her embrace with one arm, her other hand holding the video cassette proving that Claire Harper tried to make the right choice, to prevent the monsters of Playtime from turning her into Mommy Long Leg, too bad she failed but today the one who was little Marie Payne can finally turn the page.
Looking awkwardly at the human and the rose, PJ slipped away as discreetly as possible, as awkward conversations were not his strong suit. Once alone together in the middle of the Game Station, silence reigned, slightly broken by the echoes of the factory.
"..."closing her eyes, Marie sighed heavily. "All this time I believed she had lied to me...that everything we had experienced together had never mattered to her. I hated her all this time and now...I...I did terrible things because I believed that..." She bit her lower lip, holding back tears as she remembered the humans and toys she had killed, thinking she was doing the right thing. "I tried to convince myself that it was Mommy who did all this...because...because Marie would never have done it."
Gently he took her hand, rendering her speechless with the tenderness of the gesture; raising her eyes to him, she was surprised to find the same look in his eyes as her own.
"When...when my mother disappeared, I resented the whole world. I was just a kid, and overnight I no longer had a mother, and...I was lost. I didn't understand why we couldn't find her...I know better than anyone how this kind of pain can drive us crazy..." he explains, rubbing his thumb against the back of his hand. "That's also why I know how important it is to have someone to take some of that pain away from us...I had my grandfather, so I coped well, but you...you had no one to confide in." He lifts his head, offering her a smile that makes her feel like she's finally seeing the sun again. "But now you can."
...
The second hug was much better than the first, in Marie's opinion.
"Andy !"
Galloping with the Huggy squad, struggling to keep up with his long legs, Alphonse returns with a map in hand and a bag full of snacks on his back. Curious, Marie watches the rabbit stop beside them, then turn his bag over to drop in an avalanche of snacks, madeleines, and drinks found in vending machines. Perplexed, she watches the toys start eating, grimacing, not daring to imagine the taste of chocolate that has been expired for years. Then she remembers what she ate instead and feels a wave of disgust rising within her.
"So it was true," said Andy's voice as she nibbled on a madeleine without spitting it out; curious, she picked one up and inspected it while the human continued to eat.
"How is that possible?" she asks, shocked, after realizing that it was good.
"Al, show me the map," the human kindly asks his brother, who happily hands him a sheet of paper rolled into a tube.
Taking the map, he unfolds it under the curious gaze of Marie, who looks at an area that is just before the entrance to the Game Station, which she is convinced she has never seen in ten years. Frowning, she bends down to read the notes half-hidden by traces of dried coffee.
"Project Famine room, we will apply here the other possible uses of component P-009, Dr. Hutch will work to find applications in the food field," she said, raising her eyebrows at the end. "So all this was a project?"
"Apparently...even though I don't know what the component is, even though I thought I saw that it looked like some kind of gel...the details are unfortunately illegible," the human grumbled, gulping down his cherry soda. "There are other rooms like this one scattered throughout the factory, but to open them you first have to find the doors and, more importantly, where to use the Grabpack to open them," he explained, noticing her dejected expression. "Don't feel guilty, Marie, you couldn't have known; the plans were in Ludwig's office."
"...no but..." she doesn't finish her sentence because even he understands that guilt doesn't go away so easily, yet he gently pats her hand reassuring her.
Later, the whole group gathered on the train platform, bringing pillows and blankets to organize what Andy considered the strangest sleepover in the universe. He was truly happy to have the chance to rest after having been so close to death in twenty-four hours. Lying on his back, he watched Poppy settle down a little apart from the others, who made no secret of avoiding her. Sighing, he shifted his blanket to be right in the middle. The redhead looked at him with surprise and gratitude when he simply smiled at her. The others watched the exchange with eyes narrowed in suspicion. The atmosphere wasn't bad, even though, seeing the hostility towards Poppy, the young man wanted to ask questions that would probably remain unanswered. The same was true for the Prototype, even though the mere mention of his name had the same effect as Voldemort's.
"Hmm, I'm not sleepy..." PJ yawns, turning over in bed, then she sits up and looks at Mommy excitedly. "Hey Mommy, will you tell us a story?"
"Oh...yes, a story." Smoothing the blanket that hid her lower body, she coughed into her fist as all the toys gathered around her. "I know...once upon a time in England, there lived a young girl named Wendy who didn't want to grow up..."
Smiling tenderly, Andy watched as Marie recounted the story, even using her elastic abilities to visualize the scenery and even the characters. Since their private conversation, he'd noticed how natural Marie's voice had become once she'd dropped her "Mommy" act, even though she still occasionally talked about herself. The biggest change, however, was how much more relaxed she seemed now that she knew the truth about her adoptive mother; in a way, he envied her tranquility.
Turning around, he watches as Poppy listens to the story, her hands on her knees and her eyes fixed on Marie's undulating arms as she continues to explain how the crocodile ate Captain Hook's hand.
(Children...) he muses as he lies back, eyes closed, listening to the sounds of joy from Alphonse and the excited cries of the mini Huggy.
Hearing them laugh gives Andy one more reason to continue his descent into the bowels of Playtime; if there are other children in need of help, then he will be there for them.
~P~
His dark blue eyes look at the locomotive that seems to have come straight out of a cartoon with mixed emotions; he is happy in advance, but he is also concerned about what he is leaving behind, turning around he looks at the toys he has met here all lined up to say goodbye, approaching the mini Huggy he raises his index finger and each one taps it, he would not say they are friends but since they no longer try to eat him it is progress, getting up he approaches a Winry who tries to look detached but her drooping ears betray her.
"Try not to get killed..." she said after a while.
"I'm going to miss you too, Winry."
"Pleh" she simply sticks out her tongue and walks behind the pink toy who smiles at the interaction.
"So you're leaving..." sighed Marie, looking at the locomotive and then at the human who had saved her from herself.
"You know it's necessary," he said, shrugging his shoulders, stepping forward and embracing her. "Take good care of each other."
"Count on me, Andy, and you take care of yourself...Playcare is a really dangerous place..." she warned, stroking her hair. "Be careful and...don't believe everything Poppy tells you."
"You really don't want to tell me what happened between you two?" he asks, stepping back to contemplate Marie's pinched expression.
"...you'll find out soon enough...goodbye Andy"
After this enigmatic answer he walks to the last person who is looking at his feet, putting a knee on the ground he offers a smile but Alphonse turns his head to the side, sighing the human runs a hand through his hair while wishing to know how to make a child understand that he cannot take him with him.
"...why can she come with you and not me?" he asks, glaring at the doll, who in turn heads inside the train.
"Al, it's dangerous, okay? And I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to you," he explains with a pained expression, imagining his little brother hurt. "That's why I want you to stay here; you're safer with Marie than with me."
"...it's not fair...I had so many places to show you and I also wanted you to tell me about yourself," he said, sniffing slightly, "...and if you don't come back...a..."
...
The life-size rabbit's gloom was broken by the sensation of something being placed on its head; surprised, it raised its gaze until it saw the smiling face of its brother with his head uncovered; incredulous, it placed its hands on the aged fabric.
"This is the last gift Mom gave me," explains the human, placing a hand on Alphonse's head to better secure it. "It's both a treasure and a lucky charm for me... and now I'm entrusting it to you, but be careful, you'll have to give it back to me when I come back for you, okay?"
Her moist eyes lifted, fixing on the determined expression of the blond boy.
"It's a promise, Alphonse, I'll come back for you."
No sooner said than done, than he was enclosed in the softest hug that made him smile, the two brothers embraced under the tender gaze of the others, then gently they separated, both struggling to hold back their tears.
Getting up, Andy heads towards the driver's cab, closing the door he says a final goodbye to his new friends, then he starts the train, the locomotive starts up, pulling the whistle he laughs when he sees Alphonse run to the end of the platform and greet him with PJ on his heels, soon the train plunges into a tunnel, panting with exhaustion he lets himself fall to the ground not having to worry about navigation because it is a direct train, opposite him is Poppy who has remained silent since their reunion.
"You could have said goodbye," he said casually.
"I don't think they would want to talk to me..." she said sadly and...regretfully?
"...what happened between you two?" he suddenly asks, and continues when she starts to open her mouth, "I'm not asking you to tell me the whole story, just tell me what he accuses you of that makes him resent you so much?"
Her mouth closes, her eyes look down and her fingers play with one of the ribbons on her dress, for his part he waits patiently having done this practically all his life.
"I...I promised something...but I disappeared at the worst possible time, because of that many here think I'm a traitor..."
"...is that true?"
Gently raising her porcelain face towards him, she looks at him with something resembling fear; he is about to reassure her when a particularly strong jolt makes him stand up, looking ahead at the slope, he decides to use the brake.
"Huh?" He frowned, feeling resistance; he forced it with both arms and hands, but the lever remained stuck. "Why is it stuck?!"
The little doll gets up when she sees the dashboard flashing red, climbs onto it and looks at the controls with incomprehension.
"I-I don't understand, I checked everything beforehand and everything..." His breath caught in his throat and his gaze fixed on the path they were hurtling down. "Him..."
"Poppy!" the human shouts because now the machine is going much too fast.
Jumping to press his feet against the window, the human finally manages to lower the lever, but instead of slowing them down completely, it makes the train sway. In a panic, Andy grabs Poppy and hugs her tightly, her back to the window, when suddenly he feels his world violently tip to the side. He hears the redhead's cry of distress before everything goes black.
In his last moments of lucidity, Andy Smith managed to see a small sign.
~Playcare~