Silence filled the room as Michelle and Kevin stared at one another. Suzy looked at Michelle and then at Kevin, confused. "What's going on...?" she asked, lowly.
Kevin took a deep breath and exhaled before approaching the duo. When Kevin was close to Michelle, he knelt and held his hand out. When Kevin was close to Michelle's cheek, he stopped momentarily before looking at his claws.
Soon after, Kevin retracted his claws to blue fingers before gently placing his hand against Michelle's cheek and wiping her tears away. "You've... changed," he said. Michelle stared at Kevin before she started giggling. "Yeah... I guess I have when you last saw me," she said.
Michelle smiled at Kevin. "I would say the same thing, but both of us know that would be the biggest understatement in the world," she continued. Kevin looked down with a slight chuckle. "Yeah... it would be..." he said, lowly.
Kevin turned his head to Suzy, which made her flinch. "Suzy," he said before holding his other hand out. Suzy closed her eyes, scared, until Kevin placed his hand against her head, which surprised her and made her open her eyes.
When Suzy looked at Kevin, he smiled a bit and petted her head. "You did good, kid," he said. Suzy stared at Kevin with awe before smiling. "However..." he continued. Soon after, Kevin pinched Suzy's cheek and pulled on it, which caused it to stretch.
Suzy yelped in pain, and slime tears pricked her eyes. "You ran away from the group!" Kevin shouted. Suzy looked at Kevin. "I'm sorry, Big Brother..." she said, lowly.
Kevin let go of Suzy's cheek and sighed. "And even though I told you to stay with the group, you did find Misha on your own," he said. Kevin looked at Suzy. "So with that, you're not coming with me on these scavenging missions for two weeks," he continued.
Suzy looked at Kevin, shocked. "Huh! But I found the human all by myself; that's gotta count for something?!" she shouted. Kevin sternly looked at Suzy. "That's why I said two weeks, moron! You're lucky I didn't say never?!" he shouted.
Michelle stared at the siblings as they argued. It's been a while since I've seen these two argue. They used to do that when we were younger, and Kev doesn't mean his insults when it comes to Katie... she thought.
Soon after, Michelle covered her mouth a bit with a small giggle before smiling under her hand. I missed you two a lot, she thought.
Unbeknownst to the trio, a large figure appeared at the opening. "FOUND YOU..." Kevin looked up and saw CatNap, which made his eyes widen.
Kevin quickly grabbed Suzy and carried Michelle on his shoulder and backed away as CatNap landed on the ground. As CatNap looked at the trio, Kevin glared at him. "What the hell! You're supposed to be at Playcare, not here?!" he shouted.
"Come back here, you stupid cat!" the ones on the lower ground looked up and saw a larger version of Hoppy Hopscotch, a larger version of CraftyCorn, and a larger version of a pig Smiling Critter wearing a collar with an apple pendant on it enter the lower floor.
Hoppy Hopscotch looked at Kevin. "Kev! I'm glad we—" she saw Michelle on his shoulder, which surprised her. "Hang on, is that...?" Kevin held his free hand out and extended his claws. "We'll talk later; right now, we've got a cat to skin," he said.
Michelle's eyes widened before she started moving, which made Kevin struggle. "Wait! Don't hurt him?!" she shouted before getting out of his hold. Michelle limped her way toward CatNap before facing the group. "He's not working for the Prototype anymore!" she shouted.
The group stared at Michelle, dumbfounded. "He what?" Kevin asked. CatNap lowered his head to Michelle. "That's right," she said before petting under his chin, which made him close his eyes and purr. "He's with me now..."
CraftyCorn was confused and looked at the pig Smiling Critter. "Have you seen anything like that before, Picky?" she asked. PickyPiggy shook her head. "Definitely not..." she said. "There's no way he suddenly changed sides for some human."
Hoppy Hopscotch turned her head to Kevin. "Hey Kev... not trying to be rude, but..." she said as she swirled her finger around her head. "Has your friend lost a few screws while being down here?"
Unbeknownst to the group, a different group appeared at the opening. "If you aren't taking her word for it, why don't you take mine?" they looked up and saw DogDay and the other toys.
The Smiling Critters were shocked. "DogDay!" they shouted. DogDay picked Miss Delight and Bunzo Bunny up and jumped to the lower floor while PJ Pug-A-Pillar climbed down while the Mini Huggies held him.
After DogDay placed Miss Delight and Bunzo Bunny on the ground, he looked at the group. "What Misha said is true," he said. "She saved CatNap from being killed by the Prototype, and now he follows her."
The Smiling Critters were shocked. "You can't be serious," Hoppy Hopscotch said. Kevin sighed and rubbed his head. "Unfortunately, that is something she would do..." he said.
Bunzo Bunny sprinted toward Michelle. "Big Sis Misha!" he shouted before leaping forward. As Michelle caught Bunzo Bunny, she felt a sharp pain in her right ankle, which made her yelp before collapsing.
Kevin looked at Michelle, shocked, before quickly approaching her. "Are you alright?" he asked. Michelle sat up with gritted teeth as Kevin kneeled next to her. "I think I landed on my right foot in the wrong way..." she said, lowly.
Bunzo Bunny quickly got off and looked at Michelle in a panic. "I'm so sorry, Big Sis!" he shouted. Michelle smiled at Bunzo Bunny. "It's alright; it happened way before you tackled me into a hug," she said.
Unbeknownst to the others, Suzy stared at Michelle. Big Sis? she thought before looking away, uncomfortably, and rubbing her head. DogDay approached Michelle. "Even so, we should take a look at it," he said.
Michelle nodded as she took her right sneaker and sock off. DogDay kneeled before Michelle and gently placed his fingers between her right foot and ankle. "Well, the good news is that I don't feel any broken bones," he said.
Michelle nodded. "That is very good news..." she said, lowly. As DogDay carefully moved Michelle's foot, she flinched in pain and gritted her teeth. "The bad news is that it is sprained," he said before turning his head to Miss Delight. "Miss Delight."
Miss Delight nodded as she approached the small group. When Miss Delight was close, DogDay unzipped Michelle's bag before pulling out the first-aid kit and opening it.
As DogDay pulled out an elastic bandage, Kevin looked at Michelle. "Where the hell did you find a first-aid kit?" he asked.
Michelle looked away with a sweatdrop as DogDay started wrapping the elastic bandage around her foot. "I may have... 'borrowed' a few things from my orphanage," she said. Kevin deadpanned Michelle. "You mean stolen?" he asked.
Michelle looked at Kevin. "Don't put it like that, you ass! It makes me sound like I'm a thief?!" she shouted. "And besides, some of the stuff I brought wasn't even being touched by the other orphan kids."
Kevin snorted and chuckled. "Sure, whatever you say, Ms. Kleptomaniac," he said. Michelle glared at Kevin. "You ain't so slick, either! Remember when you stole one of the Counselor's coffee mugs?" she asked.
Kevin flinched and glared at Michelle. "That was a dare Joseph made; it doesn't count!" he shouted. Michelle got in Kevin's face, which caused DogDay to stop. "Maybe so, but he didn't dare you to drink out of the cup!" she shouted.
Kevin growled and pushed his head against Michelle's. "That didn't happen?!" he shouted. Michelle started pushing back. "Yes, it did?!" she shouted.
DogDay deadpanned the duo. "Could you please stop arguing like a married couple? I need silence to patch her up," he said. The duo looked at DogDay. "We aren't a married couple?!" they shouted.
The duo flinched and looked at one another before looking away, blushing. "Uh-huh, sure you aren't," DogDay said as he continued wrapping the elastic bandage while Bunzo Bunny giggled.
When DogDay finished wrapping the elastic bandage, he locked it in place. "How does it feel?" he asked. Michelle moved her foot a bit. "It doesn't feel tight, but it's also not too loose," she said.
DogDay nodded as he closed the first-aid kit and put it back in Michelle's bag before zipping it. "Unfortunately, there's no ice in this place, so for it to heal properly, you'll need to stay off it and keep it elevated above heart level," he said.
Michelle nodded as she got her sock and sneaker back on. Before Michelle did anything, Kevin picked her up bridal style, which made her yelp a bit. "Don't be an idiot; DogDay literally just said to stay off it," he said.
Michelle looked at Kevin. "I know that, but you don't have to carry me," she said before looking away with a slight blush. "I mean, with my GrabPack, I'm... probably a little heavy for you." Kevin looked at Michelle. "Nah, you're not as heavy as you look," he said.
Suzy smacked the back of Kevin's head, which made him yelp. Kevin turned his head to Suzy with a tick mark. "What the hell, Suzy?!" he shouted.
Suzy placed her hands against her hips. "That is not how you speak to a lady; you always tell her she's as light as a feather!" she shouted. Kevin was dumbfounded. "You can't be serious," he said.
The female toys stared at Kevin with dark auras, which made him flinch a bit. "Oh, you've got a lot to learn, my guy..." Hoppy Hopscotch said. Kevin clicked his tongue and turned his head away. "Whatever..." he said before staring at Michelle.
When Michelle noticed Kevin staring at her, she turned her head away, blushing. "Could you not stare at me like that? Please...?" she asked. Kevin blushed a bit before looking away. "Sorry..." he said, lowly.
CraftyCorn cooed at the duo. "This is definitely art material..." she said, lowly, before shaping her arms into a square. "I need to remember this scene for my canvas."
PickyPiggy looked at CraftyCorn with a sweatdrop. "I can't believe you're older than me and Hoppy..." she said, lowly. DogDay cleared his throat, which made the others turn to him. "Now then, I think it's plainly obvious what our next step should be," he said.
Kevin nodded. "We need to head back to Safe Haven, pronto," he said. Miss Delight crossed her arms. "But won't we be a huge target for the Doctor if we travel together?" she asked. Kevin nodded. "That's why we'll be traveling in different groups," he said.
Kevin looked at DogDay. "DogDay, you and the Smiling Critters take the smaller toys..." he continued as he glared at CatNap. "...And him... through the hole beside you. That should lead to Safe Haven with no cameras on you."
Kevin turned to Suzy. "Suzy and I will travel with Misha on a different path," he said. "And this time... you're staying by my side; got it?" Suzy looked down and nodded. "Yes, Big Brother..." she said, lowly.
Michelle looked at Suzy with a slight frown. "You sure it's a good idea just for the three of you to travel?" Hoppy Hopscotch asked. Kevin glared at Hoppy Hopscotch, which made her flinch. "What? You think I'm not strong enough to protect them?" he asked.
DogDay stood before Hoppy Hopscotch. "You know that's not what she means. We all know how capable you are; she's just worried about your group's safety," he said, which made her quickly nod.
Kevin stared at DogDay before turning his head away. "We'll be fine," he said. "If something bigger than us comes by, we'll run away." DogDay looked at Kevin before nodding. "Then we have our groups," he said before turning his head to the back. "We should get going."
As the other toys followed DogDay, CatNap turned his head to the duo. When Kevin noticed, he held Michelle close to him. "KEEP THE ANGEL SAFE..." CatNap said.
Kevin glared at CatNap with a slight growl. "You don't gotta tell me twice, feline; get outta hear before I tear you a new one!" he shouted. CatNap stared at Kevin before following DogDay's group.
When the group was out of sight, Kevin let out an annoyed sigh before looking at Michelle. "You're a real piece of work, you know that," he said.
Michelle giggled and pointed at Kevin. "And yet you chose to hang out with me all those years ago," she said. "The only one you gotta blame is yourself." Kevin chuckled a bit. "Yeah, yeah..." he said, lowly.
Kevin turned to Suzy. "C'mon, we're heading back home," he continued. Suzy smiled and nodded. "Okie dokie, Big Brother," she said. Kevin turned his head to the right and saw a handle near a platform.
A dough arm formed on Kevin's back before launching it and grabbing the handle. Suzy stretched her arms to the platform before both siblings reached the top and left the area.