As Suzy opened the door, the trio entered a hallway with junk covering the pathway. Michelle looked around. "What is this place?" she asked. Kevin sighed. "This area has multiple interrogation rooms," he said.
Michelle looked at Kevin. "They'd question us here after watching us... at least the ones that can speak, anyway," he continued. Suzy smiled at Kevin. "I remember you saying that you answer them, Big Brother, but it was an answer they never liked," she said before giggling.
Kevin chuckled a bit. "Yeah, that's true..." he said, lowly. Suzy looked at the junk before squeezing through the tight spots. When Suzy was on the other side, she looked at the duo. "C'mon!" she shouted.
Kevin looked at the door on the right. "We're coming; just stay put," he said before approaching it. The dough arm on Kevin's back grabbed the door handle and opened it.
Kevin entered the room and spotted a makeshift ramp. "You probably have questions about me, don't you?" he asked before approaching it. Michelle slightly smiled at Kevin. "Straight to the point, huh?" she asked.
Kevin looked around the interrogation room before getting on the ground. "Well, it has been a few years since we've seen each other, and... since it's from you, I don't mind answering them," he said before approaching the door.
As Kevin opened the door with his dough arm, Suzy smiled and waved, which made him smile a bit. As the duo walked forward, Michelle looked at Kevin. "I guess the first question I could start with would be your appearance," she said.
Kevin looked at Michelle with a raised brow. "What's there to question?" he asked. Michelle rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... when DogDay mentioned you were part of Doey... I was kind of expecting to see him not... you..." she said.
Kevin hummed. "Well, technically I am Doey, but... I'm also not him..." he said. "I guess you could say I'm one of his consciences." Michelle tilted her head. "One of his consciences?" she asked.
Kevin nodded. "Two other people and I were made into Doey," he said. "I guess those bastards wanted a challenge and decided to make a toy with three bodies inhabiting it." Michelle looked at Kevin. "Who are the other two?" she asked.
Kevin looked at Michelle. "The first one was an eight-year-old kid named Jack," he said. "Apparently, there was this... accident... that happened during his tour, and he fell into a vat machine filled with hot dough."
Michelle frowned. "That's awful..." she said, lowly; Kevin nodded. "Yeah..." he said, lowly. Michelle looked at Kevin. "Who's the other conscience?" she asked. Kevin looked at Michelle. "An older kid named Matthew," he said.
Michelle was thinking. "Matthew..." she said, lowly; soon after, she was shocked and looked at Kevin. "You mean the one from Playcare who read The Adventures of the Word Wizard to us," she said. Kevin nodded. "Yep, the very same," he said.
As Suzy opened the door, she spotted a yellow VHS tape on the ground. Suzy picked it up and held it out to the duo. "Look, Big Brother! I found something!" she shouted.
Kevin grabbed the tape with his free hand. "Nice find, half-pint," he said before holding it to Michelle. "You can hold onto this." Michelle grabbed the tape as they turned to the right.
As Kevin opened the door, they saw a hole in the wall, which made the duo crouch under it. "Surely that question wasn't the only one you had," he said before they stood properly.
As Suzy walked forward, Michelle was thinking. "Well... how did you figure out it was me down here and not some former employee?" she asked.
Kevin flinched a bit and turned his head away, which made Michelle deadpan him. "Kevin," she said. Kevin nervously chuckled. "Well, uh... there's a bit of a story to that..." he said, lowly.
(Flashback Begins)
Inside a small room, a larger version of Doey was examining a long silver box with a handle on the right side. "I'm not sure how long the generator will last..." he said, lowly. "Doey," the voice surprised Doey before turning his head to the door.
Doey saw Bobby BearHug, Bubba Bubbaphant, and KickinChicken near the door. "Ah, it's you three," he said. Doey noticed something and looked at the trio, concerned. "Wait, where is DogDay?" he asked.
Bobby BearHug looked at Doey. "He's fine..." she said. "We've got a lot to report about." Doey looked at the door before nodding. "Alright, come inside and tell me your report," he said, which made the trio nod.
Suzy sat in the corner of the room with a sigh. "It's so boring here..." she said, lowly. When Suzy looked forward, she saw Bubba Bubbaphant look around before closing the door behind him.
Suzy tilted her head. "What's that about?" she asked herself before quietly approaching the door. When Suzy was close to the door, she quietly squeezed her head through the door.
When Suzy's head was on the other side, she looked at the group. "I see... this human sounds very unique if she's able to befriend crazy toys like Huggy, Mommy, and CatNap," he said. "Where is she now?"
Bobby BearHug looked at Doey. "As we speak, she and her group should be heading to the prison along with DogDay and... Poppy..." she said.
Doey froze. "Poppy... and you're certain it was her?" he asked. Bubba Bubbaphant crossed his arms. "I can't think of another living Poppy Playtime doll," he said. Doey hummed. "Thank you for your report," he said.
KickinChicken thought of something before looking at Doey. "Hang on," he said, which made him look at him. "Who is currently... in control... right now?" Doey raised his brow. "You're speaking with Matthew," he said.
KickinChicken nodded. "Would it be possible if I talked to Kevin?" he asked. Doey was confused. "Uh... sure, one moment," he said before closing his eyes. Soon after, Doey shifted a bit before looking at KickinChicken with stern eyes. "What do you want, bird?" he asked.
KickinChicken's eyes became mischievous as he approached Doey and leaned close. "I heard I was your favorite Smiling Critter," he said. Doey's eyes widened. "I find it very touching that—" he wrapped his hand around KickinChicken's neck, which made him yelp.
The duo was shocked as KickinChicken choked. "Doey!" they shouted. Doey glared at KickinChicken. "Who the hell told you that...?" he asked.
KickinChicken placed his hands on Doey's arm. "I, urk..." he said, lowly. Doey was angry. "Give me an answer, birdbrain?!" he shouted. KickinChicken looked at Doey with panicked eyes. "The... human..." he said, lowly.
Doey froze and let go of KickinChicken, which made him gasp for air. The duo approached KickinChicken as he coughed. "What the hell, man..." he said, lowly.
Doey looked at KickinChicken with a slight frown. "Sorry, I—" his face suddenly shifted to a serious expression. "Tell me more about the human." Bubba Bubbaphant looked at Doey. "We already told you about—" he shook his head. "Not that... what did she look like?"
Bobby BearHug tried remembering. "Well... she's definitely young; maybe seventeen or eighteen," she said. "She has long black hair in a braid and wears a black tank top, blue jeans, and purple and white sneakers."
Doey looked at Bobby BearHug. "Was she wearing a purple beaded bracelet saying 'BFF K&K'?" he asked. Bobby BearHug was shocked and looked at Doey. "Now that you mention it, yes... on her right wrist," she said.
Doey froze. "Misha..." he said, lowly. The trio looked at Doey as he placed his hands on his head. "Doey?" they asked. The red hand on Doey's midsection started pulling on itself. Soon after, the red and blue dough pulled off Doey, which made the others look at it.
Doey looked at the red and blue dough as it started shifting. "Kevin?" he asked. Soon after, Kevin formed before turning to Doey. "I know that human; she's my friend," he said.
Doey stared at Kevin before he started smiling. "You mean the pretty girl?" he asked. Kevin groaned. "I don't have time for your dumb antics, Jack; I have to find her," he said.
Suzy smiled and entered the room through the door crack. "You're gonna go outside?" she asked, which made the others turn to her, shocked. "I wanna come with you!" Kevin quickly shook his head. "Absolutely not! I'm not taking you with me; it's dangerous!" he shouted.
Suzy whined. "That's not fair! You always let Big Brother Jack go on scavenging hunts?!" she shouted. "I wanna go too!" Kevin growled. "No means no!" he shouted.
Slime tears fell from Suzy's eyes, which made the others flinch, before she started crying and lay on the ground. "You're so mean!" she shouted before she slammed her fists on the ground. "I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go?!"
Kevin looked away with his arms crossed. Doey looked at Kevin before approaching him. "Kevin..." he said, lowly. Kevin turned his head to Doey. "Listen... I get that you're very protective of Suzy, especially since she's your, you know..." he continued.
Kevin remained silent and looked down. "But, I think you should take her with you," Doey said. Kevin glared at Doey. "Are you nuts?! I'm not doing it; she's not ready to go outside!" he shouted.
Doey looked at Kevin. "You don't know that unless you give her a chance..." he said. "We let Jack lead a group on his own, and he turned out fine." Doey's face shifted to a smile. "And we found a lot of supplies too," he said.
Doey shook his head. "Anyway... if you want her to help Safe Haven... you'll have to show her the ropes outside as well," he continued. Kevin looked down before glancing at Suzy as she cried on the ground.
Kevin groaned as he approached Suzy and kneeled. "Alright, you can come with me," he said. Suzy looked at Kevin with a smile. "Really?" she asked. Kevin held his finger out. "Under one condition," he said. "You stick with me, got it?"
Suzy got up and quickly nodded. "Okie dokie, Big Brother!" she shouted. Kevin smiled a bit before turning his head to Doey and the trio. "I'm gonna take Hoppy, Piggy, and Crafty with me," he said.
Doey nodded. "Very well; be careful out there," he said. Kevin nodded before looking at Suzy. "C'mon, half-pint; let's gather the others," he said. Suzy quickly nodded as the duo left the room.
(Flashback Ends)
Michelle deadpanned Kevin. "Did you actually choke Kickin' just because he knew he was your favorite Smiling Critter?" she asked.
Kevin looked at Michelle. "Well, what was I supposed to do when he said that?! The only ones I told about that were you and—" he stopped for a bit before looking down with a slight frown. "And her..."
Michelle looked at Kevin, concerned, until they heard a loud crash in a small room, which startled him, and he got into a fighting stance with his fangs showing.
When Kevin looked forward, he saw Suzy standing beside the knocked-over shelves next to a giant hole. "Sorry, Big Brother; something was covering the bigger hole, so I moved these shelves," she said.
Kevin sighed a bit. "It's fine... but next time, warn me before you do that," he said. Suzy nodded as she went through the hole. "Still not a fan of loud noises, huh?" Michelle asked. Kevin sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, yeah..." he said before approaching the hole.
When Kevin was on the other side, Suzy approached the door on the right side and entered it. "Do you... have any new triggers that I should be aware of?" Michelle asked. "I mean... is something like that possible? I'm aware that you... think differently than others."
Kevin dryly chuckled. "That's a sweet way of saying I have autism," he said. Michelle looked away with a frown. "Sorry, I... I didn't mean to insult you if I have..." she said, lowly.
Kevin looked at Michelle before looking down. "Gentle voices," he said, which made her look at him. "It started after I became Doey... those damn scientists..." Some of the dough on Kevin's body started bubbling a bit. "The gentle voices lie..." he said, lowly.
Michelle looked at Kevin, concerned, before looking at his shoulder. Michelle reached for Kevin's shoulder but hesitated; soon after, she shook her head and firmly placed her hand against his shoulder. "Hey, it's OK," she said.
The dough on Kevin's body stopped bubbling as he looked at Michelle. "You're OK now; no need to get angry when they aren't here anymore," she continued.
Kevin stared at Michelle before looking away. "Thanks," he said. Michelle smiled and patted Kevin's shoulder. "No problem, bud; it's what friends are for," she said.
Kevin smiled a bit as Suzy opened the door on the right side. "Hey, Big Brother," she said, which made the duo look at her. "There's a hole in the wall that was covered by a small crate, but I moved it out of the way."
Kevin approached Suzy. "Nice job," he said before entering the room. "Let's see what's in that other room." When the duo reached the other room, they saw a TV with a yellow VHS player under it. Michelle held the tape up. "We found the TV that goes with the tape," she said.
Suzy smiled and looked at Michelle bouncing. "Oh! Can I put the tape in there? Pretty please...?" she asked. Michelle giggled. "Very well, just be careful with it," she said as she held the tape out. Suzy giggled as she carefully grabbed the tape and put it in the player.
The trio looked at the TV. "Got another one over here!" a young man shouted. Michelle looked at the TV. "This... must be the aftermath of the Theater Incident..." she said, lowly.
Kevin stared at the TV. "Jeez... hard to imagine how the company will tuck all this under the rug," an Irishman said. "Not our problem," a female said.
"Three here!" an older man shouted. "How many is that now?" the Irishman asked. "Fifty-eight, so far," the female said. "Another one over here!" a man in the distance shouted. "Fifty-nine," the female said with a sigh.
"Where's that investigator? Campbell, Lockehart— whatever his name is," the Irishman said. "Poking around somewhere; don't know. You ask me, the culprit's obvious. Just needs to be spelled out plain and clear for the bigwigs," the female said.
"You think?" the Irishman asked. "Yeah. Rotten eggs come from rotten chickens, ya know? Can't get more rotten a chicken than him," the female said.
"I don't know, just seems too careless that a guy so smart wouldn't cover his ass. I mean, if the investigator finds evidence of this being his fault..." the Irishman said.
The trio heard the female chuckle. "Hope Boxy's still hungry," she said. "Got another!" a young man shouted. "Sixty," the female said.
"Right, and are we just stuffing the experiments back where they came from? Acting like all this didn't happen? Wool over the eyes?" the Irishman asked.
Michelle was concerned. "Because I can guarantee it won't be so easy to toss a new coat of paint over sixty visitors dead. Or the dozens of Resource Extraction Specialists we've got swimming in the bellies of those things," the Irishman continued.
The trio stared at the TV. "I'm sure that's taken care of already... but I hear there's plans. Something big; somewhere to put them. With any luck, that means stuff like this and people like him will be the thing of the past," the female said.
"Six more over here!" a man on the right side shouted. When the TV ended, Michelle looked down. "I had a feeling there were a lot of casualties when I saw it in the news, but this..." she said, lowly. Kevin pierced the TV with his free hand, which made the duo look at him.
Kevin glared at the destroyed TV as he pulled his free hand out of it. "We should keep moving," he said as the free arm destroyed the door behind them. As the duo left the room, Michelle glanced at Kevin, concerned. Kevin... she thought.