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; thanks," she said; Doey smiled. "Anytime," he said. As the others started waking up, Michelle got off Doey before he sat up. "Is everyone else alright?" she asked.
DogDay slowly sat up. "For the most part, yes... we're fine..." he said, lowly. As the toys started getting up, Michelle counted the group before she realized something. "Hang on... we're missing two people," she said.
Huggy Wuggy looked around before frowning. "Kissy gone..." he said, lowly; the Mini Huggies made sad chirps. Mommy Long Legs sat up. "Poppy isn't here either," she said. Michelle looked around before a tick mark formed on her head. "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 does something like this!"
Michelle tapped her hand against her head a bit. "And just when I thought she was changing for the better, I'm a fucking idiot?!" she shouted.
The toys 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 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 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—" 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. "Not to mention you're scaring the smaller toys," he whispered.
Michelle froze and looked at the elevator; she noticed the smaller toys were trembling. Michelle looked down and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. After Michelle exhaled, she 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; I'm just... frustrated..." she said.
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 stepping away from the elevator.
As the rest of the toys 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. "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; she was surprised. "Seriously?" she asked.
Doey nodded. "He was with us even after Poppy disappeared; however..." he said. Kevin crossed his arms. "He had different ideals, so he went off on his own," he said. 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. "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 the right. "For now, though, we shouldn't stay in one place for too long; let's move."
The toys 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 after weeks of work, most of the prosthetic right arm was destroyed in a matter of seconds," he said. "Damn that Boxy!"
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, Kickin'," 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 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. "We can check it out," he said. "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 bed on the left. Do toys live in this place too? she thought before the couple turned right.
After the couple stood up and walked past the 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 before stretching his arm toward it and pulling it down, which turned the standing light on. "We should head back," he said. Michelle nodded before the couple walked past the pallets before 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," he said. "I'm not sure how to explain it... 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. "Why Outimal?" she asked.
Michelle looked at Katelynn. "Well, based on the description, it sounds like the inspiration was based on the Wrongside Outimals," she said. "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. "Agreed," 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 was disgusted. "It's a lot worse than I thought; Outimal is definitely fitting," she said. As the Outimal growled at the group, Michelle looked at the lever before aiming her left arm. 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 before spotting the button. "There you are," she continued. When Michelle was close to the button, she pressed it, which made the other door open.
As Michelle left the room, the group went through the door on the left. 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, before it retracted back to Michelle's wrist. "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 went up the catwalk, Michelle stood up before jumping over the gap. "What... was that?" an Outimal asked.
After Michelle jumped on the pipes, she glanced at the ground below. "People... from above," another Outimal said. "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 looked at the hole in the wall. I'm guessing it's another name for the Prototype, she thought before crawling forward. When Michelle was close to the hole, she went through it and landed on the ground.
After the toys caught up, they walked forward; Huggy whimpered a bit. "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 toys flinch and an Outimal run away. Kevin held the door open. "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's tears, which made her grip her arm. "And those tears she shed back at Safe Haven and the Mining Pit... were they even real..." she continued.
Tears pricked Michelle's eyes. "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 the toys 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 Mining Pit, she isolated herself from everyone else in the group, including Kissy," she continued.
Katelynn frowned a bit. "And the times I have seen her, tears were always falling down her face... almost like she was 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 the 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 kind feelings for 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 before looking at the door. "We should keep moving." The group nodded before entering the hallway.