The duo stood before the Counselor's Office. "Here we are... the Counselor's Office..." Michelle said, lowly. Michelle approached the door and put the key in the lock.
After twisting the key, Michelle opened the door before the duo entered. Michelle looked around the area with crossed arms. "I take it you're not a fan of this place?" DogDay asked.
Michelle looked down. "Whenever Kevin disappeared on Katie and me, the first place we went to was the Counselor's Office," she said. "The people would always say that he was adopted, but..."
Michelle clenched her arms. "It didn't make sense..." she continued. "If he was adopted, why didn't they take Katie with them?"
Tears pricked Michelle's eyes. "And then the same stuff happened when Katie disappeared..." she said. "I tried to get an answer, but it was the same thing... I wish I could've done more..."
DogDay looked down as they entered a room with a battery socket. "There's a battery in here somewhere," Michelle continued. DogDay looked at the vent and noticed a glowing green light, which made him approach it.
When DogDay was close, he spotted a battery in the vent before reaching for it. Soon after, DogDay grabbed the battery and pulled it out before holding it out to Michelle. "Here," he said.
Michelle took the battery. "Thank you," she said before putting it in the socket, which made the door in front of them open. As the duo entered, they saw a room with a battery socket, a TV hanging above them, and a white VHS player.
Michelle looked around the room. "I'm not seeing another battery in here..." she said, lowly. Michelle turned to the battery inside the other socket. "I guess it's time for me to get resourceful," she said before twisting the knob.
The orange hand switched to the green hand before Michelle pulled the right trigger. The green hand grabbed the battery and pulled it before the door closed. As Michelle approached the battery socket, she noticed a white VHS tape on the desk.
Michelle picked the tape up and examined it. "Emergency alert..." she said, lowly, before looking at the player. Soon after, Michelle inserted the tape into the player, which turned on the TV screens and made emergency noises.
Michelle looked at one of the TV screens as it turned red. "The following message is for all Playtime Co. employees," a male voice said. "At 11:01 AM, Eastern Standard Time, an unknown hostile force was declared present within the Playtime Co. Facility."
DogDay looked away with crossed arms. "Personnel are to begin enacting emergency evacuation protocols immediately," the male voice continued. "Leave all personal belongings. Do not engage with any hostile individuals."
The duo heard static coming from the TV. "If no exit path is available, seek shelter in a hidden location. Use blankets or pillows to cover your body, and remain silent," the male voice said. "Do not look through any windows. Do not open doors for any individuals."
The static grew louder. "Do not make eye contact with—" the screen went blank before the duo saw a text reading, 'Open the doors now. The Hour of Joy has arrived.'
Michelle felt uncomfortable as the screen went blank. "That Hour of Joy again..." she said. "What even is that?" When Michelle looked at DogDay, she noticed he was trembling and clenching his arms.
Michelle was concerned before approaching DogDay and placed her hand on his back. "DogDay?" she asked. DogDay stopped trembling and looked at Michelle before looking away and taking a deep breath.
After DogDay exhaled, he looked at Michelle. "I... I'm alright now..." he said. "We should keep going." Michelle stared at DogDay before nodding. "Alright..." she said before approaching the battery socket.
After Michelle placed the battery in the socket, the door opened. As the duo entered the hallway, Michelle opened an office door and looked around. "Nothing so far..." she said, lowly. "Anything on your end?"
DogDay tried looking through a room with a lot of objects blocking the door and the word 'Help' written in dry blood. "Nothing..." he said, lowly, before looking away.
When the duo reached the end of the hallway, they saw a waiting room with a battery socket next to a door on the left. "We're gonna need a battery for that door," Michelle said.
When Michelle looked at the other side, she saw a room with a hole in the wall filled with Red Smoke. As Michelle approached the hole, she saw a small Bunzo Bunny running in the room, coughing before collapsing on the ground.
Michelle was shocked. "Oh no..." she said before sprinting forward. DogDay quickly followed behind Michelle. "Hey, wait, don't—" when she was close to the hole, she saw CatNap grab the unconscious Bunzo Bunny with his mouth before running away.
Michelle stared at the hole, distraught, before looking down. Soon after, Michelle clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. DogDay looked at Michelle, concerned. "Misha?" he asked.
Michelle glanced at a lamp on a small table before grabbing it and pulling the cord out of the plug. Soon after, Michelle slammed the lamp against the door window, which shocked DogDay. "Damn it!" she shouted.
Michelle kept hitting the door window with the lamp. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" she shouted before hitting it hard, which shattered the glass.
DogDay quickly approached Michelle. "Hey, that's enough," he said before grabbing the arm holding the lamp and wrapping his other arm around her waist.
Michelle tried catching her breath as she gripped the lamp. "Why am I so pathetic?" she asked. DogDay looked at Michelle as she trembled. "It's like all those years ago again..." she said. "I couldn't save Kevin... I couldn't save Katelynn..."
Tears pricked Michelle's eyes as she threw the lamp in the room. "I can't even save a fucking Bunzo Bunny for the life of me?!" she shouted before covering her eyes with her hand. "I'm a failure..."
DogDay looked at Michelle with somber eyes before sitting down and placing her in his lap. "You're anything but a failure, Misha," he said. "You've done everything you could do."
Michelle removed her hand from her eyes and looked at DogDay before laying her head against his chest. "How do you do it?" she asked, which made him look at her. "How did you become a great leader?"
DogDay stared at Michelle before looking down. "There's no such thing as a great leader..." he said, which made her look at him. "However, good leaders are real."
DogDay looked at Michelle. "Since I was the eldest of my group... I was deemed a leader in their eyes... therefore, they made me into this," he continued. "From my experience, there were key factors that made good leaders."
Michelle looked down. "Good leaders are resilient people who envision strategies and can communicate with their teammates," DogDay said. "However... they also have integrity and empathy to those that follow them and are fully aware of their weaknesses."
DogDay's eyes looked gentle. "And through their experiences, they grow from them and take accountability for their failure," he continued. "And if their plan from before fails, they encourage their teammates with the task at hand and motivate them to accomplish their goal."
DogDay petted Michelle's head. "And what I saw from you... you've been a very good leader," he said. "Far better than me..." Michelle looked away. "You're only saying that just to make me feel better..." she said, lowly.
DogDay shook his head. "It's true," he said. "Your allies follow you more than my Smiling Critters followed me back in the day... CatNap included..."
Michelle glanced at DogDay. "I'm not sure if it was because he was the youngest out of all of us or if it was because of the Prototype's influence... he never listened to me," he continued.
DogDay looked at Michelle. "But you... they see you as someone they can trust... someone they put their faith in..." he said. "Not every leader is going to be perfect... they learn from their mistakes and overcome their torment..."
Michelle remained silent and looked down. "Never doubt your leadership skills," DogDay continued. Michelle took a deep breath and exhaled before looking at DogDay with a slight smile. "Thank you, DogDay..." she said. "I needed to hear that."
DogDay nodded. "If you ever feel the world on your shoulders again, I'll lend out an ear," he said. When Michelle stood up, she saw a battery next to a socket in the room filled with Red Smoke. "There's my battery," she said before pulling the right trigger.
The green hand grabbed the battery before retracting. The duo approached the door with the battery socket, and Michelle placed the battery inside it, which opened the door. "Let's keep going," Michelle said.
DogDay nodded as they entered the hallway. As Michelle looked around the hallway, she noticed a TV inside an office. "Hey, DogDay," she said, which made him stop and look at her. "There's a TV in this room; it might hold something important."
DogDay nodded as Michelle opened the door. As the duo entered the office, Michelle saw a light pink VHS player next to the TV. Michelle looked at the top of the filing cabinet and spotted a light pink VHS tape, which made her approach it.
Michelle grabbed the VHS tape and looked at it. "What do you hold?" she asked herself before approaching the TV and inserting it into the player. As the duo looked at the TV, they heard paper shuffling and hum until they heard knocking. "Come in," a female voice said.
The duo heard the door open on the TV. "Mrs. Garcia, I have today's documents from the other orphanage," a male voice said. "Thank you, Scott; set them to the side," Mrs. Garcia said. The duo heard papers being placed to the side. "Is something wrong?" Scott asked.
The duo heard a sigh. "The scientists are getting on my case for choosing a few candidates for designation #1332," Mrs. Garcia said. "Well, what about that one girl with the black hair in a braid... what was her name again? Mary? Millie?" Scott asked.
"Michelle," Mrs. Garcia said, which made Michelle's blood run cold. "Unfortunately, she's not part of Playtime Co.'s orphanage system, but I've heard that Leith wants to transfer her to our care."
Michelle crossed her arms. "Really? Did he say what day he'll talk to the orphanage?" Scott asked. "Well, if there aren't any more incidents, he plans on talking to the owner of her orphanage in mid-August," Mrs. Garcia said.
The duo heard sighing on the TV. "For now, though, she's off the table," Mrs. Garcia said. "What about the young girl always with her? If I remember correctly, one of the experiments used to be their sister," Scott said.
The duo heard a hum. "That could be a possible candidate..." Mrs. Garcia said. When the TV ended, Michelle trembled a bit and looked down.
DogDay looked at Michelle, concerned. "Misha..." he said, lowly. Michelle closed her eyes and stopped trembling. "I'm... I'm fine..." she said before turning away. "Let's just leave this room." DogDay nodded as they left the room.
At the end of the hallway, the duo looked around. "I'm not seeing anything so far..." DogDay said. Michelle looked up and noticed a large hole in the roof with a handle at the top. "Up there," she said. DogDay at the handle on the roof before nodding. "I see..." he said, lowly.
DogDay picked Michelle up, which surprised her, before laying her on his shoulder. "Hang on to me tight," he said. Michelle nodded as she held DogDay's shoulder tight as he looked forward and stepped back.
Soon after, DogDay sprinted forward before jumping. DogDay placed his foot on the wall before jumping to the other side. DogDay kept jumping on the walls before grabbing the handle.
DogDay turned his head to the right and saw a vent. "That's where we'll need to go," he said. DogDay grabbed Michelle before placing her at the vent opening. "Go on ahead, I'll be right behind you," he said. Michelle nodded before crawling through the vent.
When Michelle poked her head out, she saw a few platforms on one side with a bounce pad and a platform with an opening on the other side. Michelle got out of the vent and landed on the ground before twisting a knob.
After the green hand switched to the purple hand, Michelle sprinted toward the bounce pad before pulling the right trigger. The purple hand launched Michelle to the other side before landing on the platform.
DogDay landed on the ground as Michelle approached the opening. After DogDay jumped to the other side, the duo entered a cave area.
As the duo climbed the ramp, Michelle noticed a deactivated pad. "It's been a while since I did a puzzle," she said before looking around. "Where's the output unit?" Michelle looked at the wall on the left and spotted the output unit. "There it is," she said.
Michelle looked up and spotted a handle before pulling the left trigger. The blue hand grabbed the handle before Michelle pulled herself up. When Michelle reached the top, she landed on a platform with a metal pole.
Michelle turned her head to the left and spotted the input unit. "This one looks complicated, but I think I get the gist," she said before looking at the output unit.
Michelle pulled the left trigger, launching the blue hand and touching the output unit, which lit the cables. Michelle wrapped the cable around the pole, which raised the platform with an activated bounce pad.
When Michelle was close to the bounce pad, she pulled the right trigger, launching herself to the other side. When Michelle landed on the ground, she retracted the blue hand, which made the platform on the other side drop.
Michelle aimed the blue hand and pulled the left trigger, launching it and touching the outlet, which lit the cables again.
Michelle wrapped the cable around the pole, which activated the bounce pad. "Now, to get back to the other side," she said before approaching the bounce pad.
Michelle pulled the right trigger, launching herself to the other side. When Michelle landed on the platform, she aimed at the handle and pulled the right trigger. The purple hand grabbed the handle before Michelle pulled herself up.
After Michelle landed on the ground, she wrapped the cable around the pole before aiming at the input unit and pulling the right trigger. The purple hand touched the input unit, which lowered platforms between them.
Michelle smiled. "I still got it..." she said, lowly, before dropping down. After Michelle landed on the ground, she turned her head to DogDay. "Let's go," she said; he nodded as they crossed the platforms.