TW: Panic Attack
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In Playcare, a young Michelle and Kevin were running around while Katelynn watched in the distance. Michelle looked at Kevin, laughing. "You can't catch me!" she shouted. Kevin grinned. "Wanna bet?" he asked before running faster.
When Kevin was close, he tackled Michelle, which caused them to tumble to the ground. Soon after, Kevin was on top of Michelle, trying to catch his breath. "I finally... got you..." he said.
Michelle turned her head to the side with a giggle. "Yeah, you did..." she said. A red liquid dripped near Michelle, which surprised her. "Now..." Kevin said, lowly.
When Michelle looked at Kevin, her eyes widened when she saw him as a large, disfigured abomination with toy parts sewn on his body, with blood dripping down his face. "You'll pay for leaving me behind..." he continued.
Michelle was terrified as Kevin raised his hand. Michelle quickly got out from under Kevin before he slammed his hand on the ground. Michelle got up and sprinted toward Katelynn. "Katie!" she shouted.
When Michelle was close, she grabbed Katelynn's hand. "Come with me, Katie," she said. Before Michelle could run, Katelynn grabbed her wrist. "Why should I...?" she asked rhetorically. "After all..."
When Michelle turned to Katelynn, her eyes widened when she saw her as a different disfigured abomination with various toy parts sewn on her body. "You left me behind, too, Big Sister," she continued.
The disfigured Kevin grabbed Michelle's other wrist. "It's all your fault!" he shouted. "You left us behind?!" Tears fell from Michelle's eyes as her breathing started going rapid. "I-I didn't... I..." she said, lowly.
The disfigured Kevin and Katelynn merged, forming a large abomination with a disfigured head between the two.
Michelle stared at the abomination, terrified. "Your fault! It's all your fault?!" they shouted before lifting her. The disfigured abomination opened its mouth before letting Michelle go, which made her scream.
...
...
...
Michelle quickly woke up, screaming, and quickly sat up in a cold sweat. Michelle hyperventilated and clenched her hand on the part of her tank top closest to her chest as her tears fell. I can't... breathe... she thought.
Michelle clenched her shirt tighter as her breathing worsened. I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't— "Hey, hey, you need to try to control your breathing."
Michelle was shocked at the voice before looking down in panic and fear. "I... I can't..." she said, lowly. "Yes, you can," the voice said.
Soon after, Michelle was pulled into a hug. "We're gonna take a deep breath, in and out," the voice continued. "Breathe in through your nose and out your mouth... whenever you're ready."
Michelle tried calming herself before inhaling deeply through her nose. Soon after, Michelle shakily breathed out through her mouth. "There we go... again," the voice said. "Breathe in."
As Michelle inhaled, she felt the figure holding her breathing in as well. "And out..." the voice continued as the duo breathed out of their mouths.
Soon after, Michelle started calming down. "Are you feeling better?" the voice asked. Michelle slowly nodded. "Y-Yeah... I am..." she said, lowly.
Michelle noticed something and sniffed the figure holding her. "Roses..." she said, lowly. "So the scent is still there even after everything that happened..." the voice said.
When the figure let go of Michelle, she saw a large anthropomorphic bear toy with glowing white eyes, red and rose-pink fur, wearing a collar with a heart pendant around her neck and a belt wrapped around her waist with a large first-aid kit on her right side.
Michelle was shocked. "Bobby BearHug..." she said. Bobby BearHug nodded. "We saw you passed out in the room filled with Red Smoke," she said. "We had to pull you out to get you to safety..."
Michelle remembered something before standing up. "What about my friend?" she asked. Bobby BearHug tilted her head. "Your friend?" she asked.
The duo heard screeching, which made them look at the door. "Huggy..." Michelle said, lowly, before sprinting toward it. Bobby BearHug was surprised as Michelle opened the door and left. "Hey, come back!" she shouted.
As Michelle sprinted, the screeches grew louder, which worried her. They better not be hurting him, she thought. When Michelle reached the room with the screeches, she opened the door.
Michelle saw a larger version of KickinChicken and a larger version of Bubba Bubbaphant looking at her as Huggy Wuggy was strapped to a chair, screeching and trying to move. "Get away from him!" she shouted before sprinting forward.
Soon after, Michelle stood before Huggy Wuggy and glared at the duo. "What the hell? I thought the kid was asleep," KickinChicken said. Bubba Bubbaphant turned his head to KickinChicken. "She must've woken up recently," he said.
When Bobby BearHug entered the room, she looked at the group, surprised; Huggy Wuggy looked at Michelle. "Misha," he said, which caused the trio to freeze up.
Michelle turned to Huggy Wuggy. "It's OK, buddy; I'm here..." she said as she placed her hands in his. "I'm here..." KickinChicken stared at Michelle. "Hang on, that's Misha; the one Ke—" Bubba Bubbaphant quickly covered his mouth with his trunk, "Shut up."
Bobby BearHug approached the duo. "So your name is Misha?" she asked. Michelle turned her head to Bobby BearHug. "Well, my full name is Michelle Mercia, but I let those close to me call me Misha," she said. "How... how do you know that?"
Bobby BearHug kneeled to Michelle's level. "Let's just say we've heard a lot about you," she said. Michelle looked away. "Listen, Misha... we weren't trying to harm your friend," Bobby BearHug continued. "We were trying to help him."
Michelle looked at Bobby BearHug, confused. "Help him?" she asked. Bobby BearHug pointed to her head. "Have you noticed his head?" she asked.
When Michelle turned to Huggy Wuggy, she noticed the bandage was gone, and his head wound was sewn together, which shocked her. "You stitched his wound up," she said.
Bobby BearHug nodded. "Yes..." she said. "We had to strap him down so he didn't harm himself with the addition of my Pink Smoke." Michelle looked at Bobby BearHug, confused. "Pink Smoke?" she asked.
Bobby BearHug breathed in before blowing Pink Smoke. As the smoke surrounded Michelle, she started feeling calm. "My Pink Smoke has a calming effect when inhaled," Bobby BearHug said.
Michelle looked at Bubba Bubbaphant and KickinChicken. "Do the other two have a smoke effect as well?" she asked.
Bubba Bubbaphant was amused before blowing out a cloud of blue smoke. "My Blue Smoke makes the affected person think smarter; however, it's only temporary," he said.
KickinChicken blew out a cloud of green smoke. "And my Green Smoke makes the affected person more charismatic; it's also temporary," he said.
Bobby BearHug looked at Michelle. "CraftyCorn has her Purple Smoke to make others feel more creative," she said. "Hoppy has her Yellow Smoke to make others feel more energized, and PickyPiggy has her Orange Smoke to make others feel full. And DogDay..."
Bobby BearHug went silent and looked down with somber eyes, which concerned Michelle. "Did something happen to him?" she asked. The two behind Bobby BearHug looked down. "If you tell me, we can help you," Michelle said.
The trio was shocked and looked at Michelle. "No, we couldn't possibly—" she held Bobby BearHug's hand, which surprised her. "Believe me when I say, I've seen a lot of messed-up stuff. Plus, I owe your group for patching Huggy's head wound when I couldn't..."
Bobby BearHug looked at Michelle before sighing. "Very well... if you want to help us, we'll start from the beginning," she said before turning her head to Bubba Bubbaphant. "Bubba."
Bubba Bubbaphant nodded before approaching Michelle. "You see, young one, we come from a place called Safe Haven," he said.
Bubba Bubbaphant placed his right padded hand against his chest. "A place where the young, innocent toys who still cling onto humanity and refuse to eat—" Bobby BearHug sternly looked at him, which made him flinch. "Right, getting a little sidetracked."
Bubba Bubbaphant cleared his throat. "Anyway, we were a group of four, with DogDay taking charge of us to gather supplies," he said. "However... CatNap attacked us."
Bubba Bubbaphant looked down. "DogDay protected us and told us to leave him behind," he continued. "But we couldn't do that to him, so we hid ourselves in Home Sweet Home to devise a plan until we saw you two."
Michelle nodded. "I see... but the Red Smoke—" Bubba Bubbaphant looked at her, "It doesn't affect us; it's something the lab people added to all the Smiling Critters." Michelle hummed. "Well, where is he now?" she asked.
Bubba Bubbaphant crossed his arms. "If I had to guess, he's being held in the Playhouse," he said. Michelle looked at the trio. "Well, couldn't we—" they looked at her, "NO!"
Michelle flinched. "That place is super dangerous," KickinChicken said. "And that's coming from someone like me." Michelle hummed. "Well... why don't you come with us?" she asked.
The trio looked at Michelle as Huggy Wuggy lowered his head to her. "I'm sure you're aware that the power is out, right? Well, we're here for the Home Sweet Home's backup generator," she said.
Michelle petted Huggy Wuggy's cheek, which made him purr a bit. "Plus, I got a few more allies under the statue," she continued. Bobby BearHug was silent as Michelle held her hand. "So what d'you say? Will you team up with us?" she asked.
Bobby BearHug stared at Michelle's hand before placing her finger in it. "Alright, Misha... we'll team up with you," she said. Michelle smiled. "Sweet! Now, uh..." she said before gesturing to Huggy Wuggy. "Could you let my friend go?"
Bobby BearHug looked at Huggy Wuggy. "Ah, right," she said before turning her head to KickinChicken. "Kickin'." KickinChicken nodded as he approached Huggy Wuggy and started undoing his binds.
Michelle looked at Bobby BearHug, "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you and the other Smiling Critters?" she asked.
Bobby BearHug looked at Michelle. "Well, we were around twelve to thirteen when we were turned into toys in 1990," she said. "Bubba and I are both twenty-one, while Kickin' is our youngest in our group at twenty."
KickinChicken looked at Bobby BearHug with a tick mark. "D'you gotta say that every time we meet new people?!" he shouted. Bobby BearHug giggled while KickinChicken grumbled as he undid some of Huggy Wuggy's binds.
Michelle looked at KickinChicken before approaching him. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, my friend Kevin said that you're his favorite Smiling Critter," she said. KickinChicken looked at Michelle. "Did he, now?" he asked.
Bobby BearHug looked at KickinChicken with stern eyes. "Kickin'," she said, which made him flinch a bit. Michelle tilted her head. "What does that mean?" she asked. KickinChicken shook his head. "Nothin', kid," he said before finishing Huggy Wuggy's binds.
Huggy Wuggy stood up and stretched before approaching Michelle. "Now then, let's find ourselves a generator," she said. Bobby BearHug held the GrabPack out to Michelle, "You might want this back," she said.
Michelle was surprised and placed her hands behind her back. "I took it off you when you were unconscious," Bobby BearHug continued. "I bet it would've been uncomfortable if you lay on your back."
Michelle grabbed the GrabPack and got it back on. "And the Red Smoke?" she asked. Bubba Bubbaphant looked at Michelle. "We cleared that area up, so we don't have to worry about it," he said.
Michelle finished adjusting the straps. "Good... then let's head off," she said. The others nodded as they approached the door.