While the trio was climbing down, Michelle looked down and spotted light coming from the right side. "There's a room on the right," she said. "It won't be long."
When the trio was near the ground, they landed on it; Doey placed Michelle and Yarnaby on the ground, while Katelynn placed Huggy Wuggy on the ground.
After CatNap let go of Mommy Long Legs, Michelle pressed the green button, turning Glowby's light off, before approaching the opening. The group entered a room with a two-pulling mechanism and two tanks nearby.
The group heard an intercom go off, which made them look at it. "Yeah, that's what I heard. Gas; mining charges... Poppy was gonna burn the whole place down," Giblet said.
"If not for Misha's quick thinking, the residents within Safe Haven would have been lost too..." DogDay said.
Michelle stared at the intercom. "Poppy's heart is in the right place, but... man, that girl's been behind glass too long," Giblet continued before sighing. "Well... she doesn't know what happened to them. And I'm not gonna be the one to tell her."
Michelle crossed her arms and looked down. That means the Prototype did something to the orphans... the big question is what did he do to them; I just hope they aren't dead... she thought.
"And I don't mean to make this offensive, but... you guys know how Doey is; I told him it was safer down in Recycling, and lo and behold, I was right," Giblet said.
After the intercom turned off, Michelle looked at Doey. "That was the area near Giblet's hideout, right?" she asked.
Doey nodded. "It was... while I could see it as an ideal base, we were still close to the Prototype, and that was something I didn't want to risk for the smaller toys," he said. "That's why I believed Safe Haven was a better fit." Doey looked down. "But I guess nowhere is safe now..." he said, lowly.
Michelle frowned a bit before approaching Doey and holding his right hand with both of her hands, which made him look at her. "We still have Safe Haven's people and each other, right? That's pretty much everything we need to feel safe," she said.
Doey stared at Michelle before smiling. "Thanks for that," he said, which made her smile. After Michelle let go of Doey's hand, she looked at the tank on the right and noticed the cable traveling to the lower mechanism. "Let's get this started," she said before aiming her left arm at the mechanism.
The blue hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed the mechanism's handle before aiming her right arm at the green handprint.
The Pressure Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the green handprint before the gauge went up. When the gauge was in the red, Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand, pushing the contents inside the tank up.
Soon after, the cable lit up, turning the lights green and allowing Michelle to pull it. Michelle aimed at the green handprint before the Pressure Hand shot from her wrist.
As the Pressure Hand touched the green handprint, the contents inside the tank were under the red lines, stopping the mechanism in the middle. When the gauge was in the yellow, Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand, pushing the contents up and pulling the mechanism.
Soon after, the mechanism reached the slot, which turned the light next to it on. "One down, one to go," Michelle said as she aimed her left arm at the top mechanism. The blue hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed the mechanism's handle before aiming at the tank.
The Pressure Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the green handprint before the gauge went up; when it was in the yellow, she retracted it, pushing the contents up before going down quickly.
When the contents were between the green lines, Michelle pulled the mechanism a bit until the tank was empty, which stopped it. "Come on, you son of a bitch..." she said, lowly, as she aimed at the green handprint.
The Pressure Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the green handprint before the gauge went up. When the gauge was in the yellow, Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand, pushing the contents up.
As Michelle pulled the mechanism, she kept repeating the process with the Pressure Hand until it was inside the slot, which opened the elevator doors.
After Michelle retracted the blue hand, the group entered the elevator before the doors closed. As time passed, the elevator doors opened, revealing a pink room with magnetic panels above them.
As the group got out of the elevator, they heard the intercom go off. "Ew! What is that awful smell?" Bunzo Bunny asked. "There's a lot of... candy wrappers around the ground," Miss Delight said.
"Yeah, sorry about that; I keep telling Chum that he should keep his place clean in case guests come by," Giblet said before they heard humming in the background. "I know, bud, I know, but we really need to work on that."
Michelle looked at the panels on the roof before aiming her right arm. The Pressure Hand shot from her wrist and touched one of the panels before she pulled herself up. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask; how do you keep your fur so clean?" Giblet asked. "Asking for a friend."
As the toys were climbing up, Michelle looked at the magnetic panels near the red door before aiming her left arm. The blue hand shot from her wrist and touched one of them before she pulled herself in that direction.
When Michelle was close to the catwalk, she retracted the Pressure Hand before letting go of the panel. Michelle spotted a few vents before walking forward.
After the toys got on the catwalk, Michelle approached the third large vent before aiming her right arm. The Pressure Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the vent grille; as the gauge went up, it started to bend.
When the gauge was in the red, Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand, destroying the vent grille. Michelle pressed the green button, turning Glowby's light on, before the group crouched and entered the vent.
The group spotted a few Outimals running away, which made Yarnaby growl a bit. "Easy, boy, easy..." Michelle said, lowly.
When Yarnaby stopped growling, the group continued moving; Michelle looked at the lower part of the vent before jumping down. After Michelle landed on the lower part of the vent, she crawled forward, which made the toys follow.
Michelle heard small growls coming from the left side. "Hey, don't you take that tone with me," Giblet said. Michelle turned her head to the left. We're close to them... she thought before turning to the right.
After Michelle turned to the left, she spotted a vent grille below before jumping down; when she landed on it, it busted open, which made her land on the ground.
Michelle stood properly and looked around; she realized she was in the office area near the utility room. "We're back where we started," she said. Michelle pressed the green button, turning Glowby's light off, before walking forward.
After the toys got out of the vent, Michelle turned her head to the left and spotted the larger group. "Hey there, how'd it go?" Giblet asked. Michelle smiled as her group caught up. "I think it was very successful," she said.
As Doey held his hand out, the large file emerged from his hand before holding it out to Giblet. "You can consider us even now," he said.
Giblet grabbed the file and opened it. "Hell yeah, now we're getting somewhere," he said as he turned the pages. The larger group looked at the file. "We're getting one step closer to this Negation Compound," Giblet continued.
Michelle crossed her arms. "Though from the looks of it, the Prototype doesn't want us to get our hands on it," she said. "The files say there's only one place where we can get it."
Giblet turned to the last page. "Inside a backup on IT," he said. "We can get there from the tram in Reanimation." Giblet closed the file and looked at Chum Chompkins. "You can get us in there, right?" he asked.
Chum Chompkins quickly shook his head while humming, which shocked Giblet. "'No?' W-What are you talking about, 'no?' This is our chance!" he shouted.
Chum Chompkins quickly shook his head while making humming noises. "Well, we gotta try!" Giblet shouted. "Or are you just happier being the Prototype's errand boy, now?"
Chum Chompkins glared at Giblet, growling. "That's enough, Giblet," Michelle said, which made the duo look at her. "It's his choice if he wants to join or not; you shouldn't force him to do something he doesn't want to do."
Giblet was silent before sighing. "You're right..." he said, lowly, before looking at Chum Chompkins. "Look, I'm sorry... you help us out, and... we're even; I mean it." Chum Chompkins was reluctant before nodding a bit. "So, how do we get to Reanimation?" Katelynn asked.
Giblet was thinking. "Well, the gel lab's a mess right now. We could go up from the pit, but that's too risky..." he said. Giblet remembered something. "We could also go through Sweet Street to—" the group heard metal clanking, which made their eyes widen. "Ah, shit...!"
Michelle looked around before looking at the office room and pointing at it. "Everyone go there, now!" she quietly shouted. Most of the toys nodded before quickly entering the room.
Before Michelle and Chum Chompkins followed, they heard the metal clanking get close, which made her grit her teeth. "Shit, we won't make it to them on time..." she said lowly.
Chum Chompkins quickly picked Michelle up, which surprised her, and he looked around in a panic before looking at her. Michelle looked at Chum Chompkins before realizing something and making her face pale. "Wait, are you gonna..." she said, lowly.
Chum Chompkins had worried eyes, which made Michelle shudder before shaking her head. "We don't have a choice; do it," she continued. Chum Chompkins nodded and opened his mouth, which made Michelle panic on the inside, before placing her inside his stomach.
After Chum Chompkins closed his mouth, Michelle was disgusted. Ew... this is so much worse than seeing someone's arms getting bitten off by a Thing... she thought.
As Michelle looked around, she started feeling calm. But despite what I'm seeing... it also feels weirdly calm... she thought.
Michelle heard metal clanking, which shocked her and made her look at the small gap in Chum Chompkins's mouth; she spotted Red Smoke around the area. "I thought I'd find you... hiding... in here," the Prototype said.
Michelle froze. The Prototype... she thought. "My hunters... shall pursue the human and traitorous toys following her," the Prototype said. "But you... I need you to repair the security system."
Michelle stared at Chum Chompkins's mouth. "Make sure there are eyes... everywhere..." the Prototype continued as he got closer to him. "Then... find me Poppy. Before she does something she'll regret."
Michelle was shocked. The Prototype doesn't have them; that means they're still out there somewhere, she thought. "Nothing is more important to you than this..." the Prototype said before walking away. "And you know the price... for failure."
Michelle noticed Chum Chompkins was moving, and the area around her was getting darker. We'll need to get to Poppy and Kissy first before that bastard gets his claws on them; I just hope they aren't harmed... she thought.