Chapter Text
Pla hurt.
That was the only thing his foggy mind could process, as he slowly woke. After a long moment, the aching pain receded to a more manageable level, and his vision slowly came into focus.
He found himself staring up at the cobwebbed underside of a shelf, body limp, contorted into a most uncomfortable position, torso tilted to the side, one arm bent, folded awkwardly behind him. He began to shift, moving slow and gingerly, joints flaring with sharp pulses, stiff and painful.
He righted himself carefully, realizing he was sat half under the lobby counter. He tipped his head side to side, breaking it loose, working the joint smooth again.
He began to repeat this process with all his points of movement, slowly flexing and turning, the ache slowly fading as his body got used to motion again.
The smell of burnt lavender still lingered in the air, not terribly noticeable, but still clinging. The floor around him, and parts of his plastic, where coated in a fine red powder, by-products of the red smoke.
A hazy memory slowly swam to the front of his mind, of green paws, and tearful eyes. He twisted, too quickly, too far, causing a bright spike of pain, searching for the small bunny, the one who had sought him out in tears.
He soon found it, huddled not far away from him, fully under the counter, backed into a corner in the interior. It stared at him with it's black eyes, not making a sound. It looked to have woken before him, the effects of the red smoke wearing off much faster, just as they had taken affect.
He reached out a shaking hand, pausing when the bunny flinched, hunching away from him. "It's alright," Pla soothed, voice soft. "I'm not gonna hurt you. You're alright. You're safe."
The bunny didn't move, so Pla waited, hand still outstretched, but lowered to rest on the bottom of the shelf. He stayed still, for fear of scaring the small toy further.
It was obviously still adjusting to the waking world. It felt like they had been out for awhile. Pla knew he didn't get that sort of aching stiffness from a single night of unconsciousness. Probably more like a week. He knew the smoke also had...some unfortunate side effects, vivid nightmares one of them. This was more than likely the cause of the smaller toys current state.
He had a few blurry memories of odd warped dreams, but thankfully nothing had stuck, becoming a faded haze in the back of his consciousness, soon to be fully erased in time.
He tipped his head back slowly, noticing some peeling paint on the ceiling above. Playtime must have really had some difficulty with whatever happened, since it seemed to have taken them multiple days to get everything sorted, and especially if they hadn't bothered to continue basic maintenance.
At least it was over now. He always hated when the red smoke got used. It never was a gentle sedative. But, it didn't effect humans in the same way it did toys. The most it would do was trigger headaches with the cloying smell, or eye irritation with it's dust. Probably why the company kept using it.
He could see that dust all around, coating the floor, him, some of it even sticking to the wall in front of him. He frowned. He'd need more than a broom to clean all this up, probably a dust mop, or three.
Everything would likely be covered, though some of the more industrious staff could have gotten to it already. He knew from experience, that the lower levels had the gas disperse first. So hopefully some of it was getting cleaned up. He couldn't do everything, being just one staff, after all.
The bunny finally shifted, slowly crawling towards him, out of its shadowed corner. It reached out a green paw, fur stained with a hint of red. It gave him a soft pat on the hand, seeming to test his reaction.
Pla simply tipped his head at it, noticing it looked a lighter color than before, like it's fabric had faded somehow. Perhaps he was misremembering. Things still felt a bit muddled in his head, even after orienting himself.
The bunny suddenly lunged towards him, burying it's face into his side, beginning to shake once again, as they both heard one of the outside doors get shoved open.
Pla froze, looping one arm around the bunny, in an attempt to comfort, the other locked rigid, supporting him as he listened intently.
Was it a human employee? He didn't know what time of day it was, but it seemed a bit late to just be getting to work. And they didn't often use the lobby to get in anyway. He heard shuffling, sounds of fabric. After a moment, whoever it was crossed the room, footsteps soft, stopping at a wall.
There was a metallic snap, and then a steady soft scraping. Pla wasn't sure whether to get up or not. He didn't really feel like it, had a feeling it would probably be a bit of a struggle.
But if he didn't, and was supposed to, he would get in trouble. He hated these games, ones that Playtime were oh so fond of. Things, according to them, you were just "supposed to know."
So, after a moment of rebellious delay, Pla struggle to his plastic feet, hand gripping the top of the counter, helping pull himself up.
He tried to find a position of balance, leaning heavily on his arms, that he rested on the countertop, causing him to stand slightly hunched over. Looking up, he spotted the human, who was frozen facing him, her blue eyes wide in shock.
Well, she certainly wasn't a employee of this place, dressed in casual attire as she was, and not in the mandatory uniform. She also carried a backpack, which was unusual to see on a guest. Pla glanced past her, at the lobby's doors. Light was shining through, faint, but growing stronger.
Early morning then. He cringed as the sunlight showed in stark detail, just how rough the lobby looked. Dust was everywhere, along with flakes of paint from the peeling ceiling. He had so much cleaning to do later.
The human shifted, her gaze flicking uncertainly from him, to the the hall beside him, to his left.
"Greetings!" Pla spoke out, perhaps a bit too loudly, causing the human to start, and then retreat a step. He adjusted his tone, speaking slightly softer now, "welcome to Playtime factories. Are you here for one of the tours?"
The human looked confused for a moment, giving him a hard look. "A tour?" She finally asked, voice full of hesitation.
"Yep!" Pla chirped, sounding as cheerful as he could. "A tour! You'll get a up close and personal look at Playtime's toy making process, a trip to a warehouse, a fantastic journey through some of Playtime's history, and-"
"Yeah, alright," the human said, stepping closer. "I'll take the tour." She was still staring hard at him, as if taking in every minute detail.
Pla shifted under her intense gaze, self consciously wiping a bit of red off of his forearm. "Fantastic choice!" He said. "That'll be ten dollars and fifteen cents, please."
The human squinted at him, then shook her head, smiling to herself. "Alright, let me get my wallet." She slid her backpack off her shoulders, placing it on the floor in front her. She paused in unzipping it, looking up at Pla with amusement. "Unless you take tap?" She asked, expression playful.
Pla slowly shook his head, confused. "No? If you want I can go check?" He worriedly tilted his head, half pushing away from the counter.
The human chuckled, pulling something square out of her bag. "No no, I was just kidding, don't worry about it." She unfolded the black leather, revealing it to be a simple wallet. Pla noticed there a lot of colorful cards in the front pockets, for some reason. She pulled a twenty out of a wider pocket in the back, handing it over.
Pla looked it over, noticing it was a strange color, with lots of extra writing on it, and the picture in the middle was all wrong, he looked to the human, checking her expression, then clicked his jaw, sliding the bill slowly back across the counter, causing her to frown. "We don't take play money." He stated simply.
The human looked at him, the faux twenty on the counter, then paused, staring down at it, realization slowly dawning on her face. "Ah, whoops!" She said, taking the colorful piece of paper back. "I forgot I had that in there, my mistake." She carefully fit the bill back into her wallet, thumbing through the other cash she had in there, frowning. "I don't suppose you take I.O.U.s?" She finally asked, looking slightly defeated. "That tour sounds reeeally cool."
Pla shook his head. "Unfortunately, Playtime only deals in cash or check."
"Ah," said the human, stowing her wallet deep into her backpack, zipping it up, and securing it back over her shoulders. She also fastened a previously hidden strap around her waist, shifting the bag around, making sure it was secure. She let out a dramatic sigh once she was done. "Well, I did try."
Pla, confused, didn't even have a chance to ask what she meant, before the human had darted past his counter, down the hallway on his left, her right, the one that led to build-a-friend, deeper into the factory. The sound of her shoes slapping against the floor quickly faded, leaving Pla standing frozen, the bunny next to him huddled against his leg at the sudden noise and movement.
He had no idea what to do. No customer had done that before. He wasn't prepared for this. But Playtime would no doubt blame him anyway. He needed to go find that human, before anyone else noticed.
"Hey!" He called after her, voice only slightly panicked, turning to follow, hindered by the plush still clinging to him. He stooped, scooping the toy up under it's arms, and tucked it loosely under his own arm, before taking off after the human intruder.
Or trying to. In the heat of the moment, he had forgotten about the state of his body, swiftly reminded as his knee went slack under him, causing him to nearly faceplant into the tile. He caught himself on the edge of the counter, nearly dropping the bunny, who chirped at him in concern.
"I'm fine," he tried to reassure it, still leaning quite heavily against the countertop. Slowly pushing back upright, he took a more deliberate step, moving steadily, staying close to the wall.
He turned into the hall, beginning to pick up his pace just a little bit, no longer feeling like his joints might slip. He set the bunny down, it following right at his heels, as they both reached the door to build-a-friend.
Pla slowly pushed the door open, though it didn't really matter, the door uttering a betraying squeak, ruining his attempt at stealth.
The human stood in the middle of the dimly lit space, looking around at the colorful machinery, boxy and simplistic, laced through by one connecting conveyor belt, covered by a clear dome of plastic, to keep out curious hands. Everything was lit by soft yellow light, mostly on the underside, giving a interesting glowy effect to it, drawing the eye to important areas.
The human turned as Pla entered, holding the door for his small companion. She seemed surprised to see him, taking a step back, silhouetted against the machines. "Whoah, you followed me." She reached into her jacket pocket, fingers grasping some hidden object.
Pla did his best impression of a irritated huff, crossing his arms as he nudged the door closed with his foot. "Obviously. You are trespassing on company property." He took a step closer to the human. "I am asking you to leave, or I will be forced to escort you from the premises."
"Wow," the human muttered, pulling a thin rectangle out of her pocket, seemed unfazed by his threat. "They weren't kidding about the mascots." She then raised the rectangle in front of her face, tapping at it.
Pla had time for only a moment of confusion at her actions, then was promptly blinded by a stinging white light. He jerked back with a cry of alarmed pain, covering his face with his hands. The light had lasted for only a split second, but it was too much.
Pla remembered lights just like that, bearing down on him. A small room, walls lined with cameras pointed in different direction, catching ever angle. Metal jointed limbs ending in finely articulated claws. A tray of surgical tools, stained with black. A screen filled with scrolling text, appearing faster than any human could ever hope to type. Straps holding him still to a cold table, as pieces of him were torn away.
"Crap, I broke it." A voice sounded near him, just making it through the buzzing in his head. Something touched his shoulder, something pulled.
"No!" Pla twisted, shoving the thing away, mind filled with memories of cold digging into his plastic. He heard a surprised cry, but was already moving, finding himself lying on the floor, he pushed up, stumbling back until he hit a wall, joints screaming at him to stop.
His stability wavered, and he slid down, curling into himself, knees pulled to his chest, hands clutching his head. Something bumped his leg, and he flinched, seeing a haze of green. The touch was warm, soft. Nothing like the hard cold touch he remembered.
A small toy crawled into his lap, leaning against his leg. The bright, clean smell of mint enveloped him, slowly clearing some of the fog from his mind. He focused on it, using it as a tether, slowly pulling himself together.
He dropped his hands, the green bunny in his lap shifting, looking up at him. He gave it a small smile. The smell of mint faded in intensity, but still lingered, a welcome break from the scent of burnt lavender.
Pla looked past his knees, noticing the human sitting frozen, staring at him. He wasn't sure what to make of her expression. It looked... confused? Concerned? Afraid? He couldn't be sure of any of them.
He was then hit with the realization that she had most definitely been the "thing" he had pushed away, in his earlier panic. He struggled to his feet once again, as a new fear rolled through him. The bunny slid out of his lap with a squeak of protest, as Pla forced himself to stand, taking a half step towards the human, then thought better of it, instead anxiously clutching at his arm.
"I'm so sorry!" He blurted, "I didn't mean to push you, you just startled me, but I shouldn't have reacted like that."
The human just stared up at him from the floor, silent and unmoving.
Pla was beginning to panic, if he had hurt her-! He would be- he would-
He would be punished. Maybe even sent to the Shelf.
"Are you okay?" He tried again, inching slowly closer to the downed human, hoping he wasn't scaring her more.
She finally shifted, raising a hand, to tug at her jacket sleeve.
"What are you?" She carefully asked, voice soft, almost a whisper. She stared into Pla's face, like she could pull the answers she needed out of him with her gaze alone.
×~~~`\°=°/`~~~×
Somewhere else, a Toy stirred. It shifted slowly, tilting it's large head side to side.
It could hear sounds, noises, voices.
Things that didn't belong.
Things it needed to find.
To catch.
It stretched long, limber arms, twisting to shake red dust out of blue fur, then ripped the grated cover off a nearby vent, throwing it to the floor with a clatter of metal again tile. It clambered inside with surprising ease, despite its large size.
It opened a wide mouth, full of needle teeth, and sucked in a mouthful of air, beginning to follow the faint smell of mint.