Michelle lay in an open field full of poppy flowers and a blue sky, her eyes closed. Michelle winced a bit before slowly opening her eyes; she looked at the blue sky. "Where... am I?" she asked herself.
Michelle placed her hands on the ground before slowly sitting up and looking around the area. "Where are the others?" she asked herself before standing up. "Where are Katie and Kevin?"
Michelle heard two pairs of footsteps lightly crunching against the grass, which made her freeze up.
When Michelle turned her head to the back, she was shocked to see an adult man with short black hair and brown eyes wearing a white button-up shirt with a black tie, a long lab coat, black jeans, and black leather shoes standing in the field.
Next to the man was a woman with long brown hair in a braid and hazel eyes, wearing a lilac blouse, a white cardigan, soft gray jeans, and white leather sneakers. Michelle turned to the duo and stepped forward a bit. "Who... are you?" she asked.
The duo smiled at Michelle. "It's not your time, Misha," they said.
Michelle was shocked and looked at the duo. "Hang on, how do you know—" she was interrupted when a large gust started blowing, which made her cover her face with her arms.
Michelle tried looking at the duo as a light started shining behind them. "You'll know your answers in the Labs..." they said before the light engulfed the area.
Soon after, Michelle, with her hair undone and head bandages wrapped around her head, and a blanket covering her body, saw a metal roof. This room... she thought.
Michelle slowly turned her head to the right and saw Kevin lying his head against his arms on the metal table. "Ke... vin..." she said, lowly.
Kevin flinched a bit before raising his head and looking at Michelle. "Misha," he said before standing up. "You're awake..."
Michelle winced a bit, which concerned Kevin. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Michelle looked at Kevin. "Wa... ter..." she said, lowly.
Kevin turned his head to the back and spotted Michelle's bag on the shelf with a purple hair tie and a small black hairbrush next to it. "Matthew did mention you had a few water bottles in your bag," he said before approaching it. "I'm glad he thought ahead of this."
When Kevin was close to Michelle's bag, he unzipped it before opening it and digging his hand into it. After Kevin pulled a water bottle out of Michelle's bag, he zipped it before approaching Michelle.
When Kevin was close to Michelle, he untwisted the cap before placing it on the metal table. Kevin carefully placed his hand under Michelle's head before gently lifting her. "Here..." he said as he carefully brought the bottle's mouth to hers.
As Kevin tilted the water bottle a bit, Michelle quickly drank from it until she flinched and started coughing, which made him quickly stop. "Easy, easy..." he said. "You have to go slow..."
When Michelle stopped coughing, she nodded, which made Kevin help her drink from the water bottle. Soon after, Kevin stopped pouring and pulled the water bottle away before gently laying Michelle's head back on the metal table. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
Michelle sighed a bit. "Better..." she said, lowly.
Kevin nodded as he grabbed the bottle cap off the metal table and twisted it back on the water bottle before stretching his arms toward Michelle's bag and unzipping it.
After Kevin placed the water bottle inside Michelle's bag and zipped it, she looked at the roof. "How long was I out?" she asked.
Kevin remained silent as he retracted his arms before looking down. "For almost a month..." he said.
Michelle was shocked. "A month?!" she shouted.
As Michelle quickly sat up, she felt her head pulse, which made her flinch in pain and close her eyes with gritted teeth. "Ah! My head..." she said.
As Michelle placed her right hand against her head, she felt something hard, which made her freeze up. When Michelle opened her eyes and held her right arm out, she saw the Omni-Hand connected to a yellow mechanical prosthetic on her lower arm.
Link to the pic: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turbosquid.com%2F3d-models%2F3d-mechanical-prosthetic-arm-2159241&psig=AOvVaw34XlvSUkHhIRkrHr5abHC_&ust=1749061812658000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCJiQwJzx1Y0DFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
(Picture it something like this, but with a GrabPack style.)
Michelle stared at her right arm before turning her head to her left arm and holding it out, revealing the blue hand connected to a yellow mechanical prosthetic on her lower arm.
Michelle stared at her lower arms and moved the blue hand's and the Omni-Hand's fingers. "This is..." she said, lowly.
Kevin nodded. "We had to take parts from the GrabPack you wore to make your prosthetic arms..." he said.
Michelle hummed and nodded. "I see..." she said, lowly.
Michelle looked at the blanket covering her chest before lifting it a bit. Soon after, Michelle covered her chest with the blanket before deadpanning at Kevin. "Is there a reason why I'm only wearing undergarments under this blanket?" she asked.
Kevin flinched with a blush before quickly turning away. "Uh, yes, a very good reason," he said. "Your clothes were covered in blood, so Bobby undressed you and put that blanket over you. She told the male toys to never lift it, or we'll have hell to pay."
Michelle looked at Kevin. "And my jacket?" she asked.
Kevin looked down. "They had to cut it off you so they could get to your arms," he said.
Michelle sighed. "Aw man... and I liked that jacket too..." she said.
Kevin frowned a bit. "Sorry..." he said, lowly.
Michelle shook her head. "It's fine... they needed to get to my arms, so they had no other choice," she said before smiling at Kevin. "And besides, I can always get a new one once we're out of this place."
Kevin froze and turned his head to Michelle. "Are you saying...?" he asked.
Michelle looked at Kevin, determined. "Once we deal with the Prototype, I'm going to get all of you and the orphans out of here and show you the real sky," she said.
Kevin stared at Michelle before smiling. "That sounds nice..." he said.
Michelle smiled. "Now, uh..." she said before pointing to the door. "Could you step out of the room for a moment? I'd like to put some clothes on."
Kevin blushed and quickly nodded. "Yep, I can do that," he said before sprinting toward the door. "I'll be outside."
When Kevin stood before the door, it opened, and he quickly stepped out of the room. After the door closed, Michelle smiled. "What a gentleman," she said as she turned to her right side before getting off the metal bed while holding the blanket.
As Michelle approached her bag, she held her right hand out with a slight frown. "Did the debris destroy my bracelet?" she asked herself before looking down. "I'd like to hope it's still intact, but that's wishful thinking..."
When Michelle stood near her bag, she grabbed the zipper before unzipping it. As Michelle looked inside her bag, she noticed a large plastic bag inside, and a smaller plastic bag tied and tucked in a hidden spot. "I'm gonna go on a limb and say that was Bobby's doing..." she said, lowly.
Michelle let go of the blanket, which made it drop to the ground, before rummaging inside her bag. "Ladies gotta stick together in certain situations..." she continued.
In the hallway, Kevin leaned against the wall by the door with his arms crossed. "You can come back into the room, Kevin," Michelle said inside the room.
Kevin turned his head to the door before approaching it, which made it open. As Kevin entered the room, he saw Michelle wearing a purple tank top and black jeans, kneeling on her left knee and holding the right shoelaces in her hands before approaching her. "Do you need help?" he asked.
Michelle stared at the shoelaces. "I'd like to attempt it first..." she said as she made a knot with them and carefully pulled them.
As Michelle attempted to tie a loop with the shoelaces, it came undone, which made her sigh and let go of them. "Well, that's just great..." she said, lowly.
Kevin knelt before Michelle and grabbed her shoelaces. "It's fine..." he said as he tied a loop. "You tried at least..."
After Kevin finished tying the shoelaces on Michelle's right shoe, she lay her right knee on the ground before setting her left foot on the ground, which made him grab the shoelaces and tie a knot on them.
After Kevin finished tying Michelle's shoelaces, he stood properly. "There we go..." he said before looking at her. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Michelle stood properly and rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh, well... if you don't mind..." she said before carefully grabbing part of her hair with her right hand and looking at Kevin. "Could you help with my hair?"
Kevin smiled a bit and nodded. "Sure..." he said.
Kevin carefully grabbed Michelle's head bandages before pulling them off and setting them on the counter.
Kevin grabbed the black hairbrush before standing behind Michelle and brushing her hair. "Y'know, I don't think I've ever seen your hair down before," he continued. "You always had it in a braid."
Michelle thought about it. "Yeah, you're right..." she said before glancing at Kevin. "If you don't know how to do a braid, I don't mind if you put my hair in a ponytail."
Kevin smiled. "Nah, you're good..." he said as two dough arms sprouted out of his back. "Back then, Katie wanted her hair like yours, so I've practiced doing braids on hers."
Michelle smiled. "Well, aren't you a good older brother..." she said before looking forward.
Kevin carefully grabbed Michelle's hair and separated it into three different parts before overlaying one another. When Kevin finished, he grabbed the tail of Michelle's braid in one hand before grabbing the hair tie on the counter.
Soon after, Kevin wrapped the hair tie at the tail of Michelle's braid. "There we go; it's like it never came undone," he said as he let go of it, and his dough arms retracted inside him.
Michelle held her braid out with a smile. "Thank you very much," she said before letting go of it and turning to Kevin. "Surely there's something I can do to repay you."
Kevin grinned a bit and gently placed his finger under Michelle's chin. "There's only one form of payment I'll take," he said before closing his eyes and pressing his mouth against her lips, which made her close her eyes and reciprocate.
After a few minutes had passed, the couple pulled away. "Your debt is paid in full," Kevin said before pulling his finger away from Michelle's chin.
Michelle giggled. "Good to hear..." she said.
Michelle looked at her hands. "Now, to figure out how these things work..." she continued before holding her left arm out at the far wall. "It can't be as simple as aim and shoot with my mind, right?"
The blue hand shot from Michelle's wrist, which baffled the couple as it hit the far wall. The couple stared at the blue hand with sweatdrops as it retracted back to Michelle's wrist. "I guess it is that simple..." she said, lowly. "Then what about switching the hands on the right side?"
Michelle looked at her lower right arm and noticed a knob near her elbow. "Is that it?" she asked before placing her fingers between it.
When Michelle twisted the knob, the Omni-Hand retracted inside her arm before the purple hand appeared. Michelle looked at the purple hand and moved its fingers. "So weird..." she said, lowly, before realizing something. "Hang on, the air jets that were on the GrabPack."
Kevin looked at Michelle. "Bubba thought ahead of that," he said, which made her look at him.
When Kevin held his hands out, yellow shoe braces with open toes and heels emerged from them. "He wanted me to give these to you whenever you woke up," he continued.
Link to the image: https://www.reddit.com/r/CosplayHelp/comments/1opsa2u/how_can_i_make_these_long_fall_boots_urgent/#lightbox
(Imagine them in this style, but replace the black bar with the air jets and they're yellow instead of white.)
Michelle stared at the shoe braces. "What are those?" she asked.
Kevin showed the back of the braces, revealing the air jets on them. "Think of it like the air jets that were on your GrabPack in shoe brace form," he said.
Michelle stared at the air jets with a hum. "Interesting..." she said, lowly.
Kevin carefully held the braces to the ground. "Now then, let's get these on you," he said.
Michelle nodded as she approached the shoe braces; when she was close to them, she placed her feet inside them.
Kevin let go of the braces before standing before Michelle. "Bubba showed me how to make adjustments on the braces," he said before kneeling. "I'll make it quick."
Kevin carefully grabbed the strap on the right shoe brace and pulled on them before sticking it on itself. After Kevin did the same thing for the left brace, he stood properly. "Alright, that should do it," he said.
Michelle looked at the braces with a hum. "Bubba went all out on this stuff, huh?" she asked.
Kevin nodded. "It took him weeks of working nonstop to make sure both your arms and the braces were perfect," he said.
Michelle looked at Kevin. "He also told me that they were his greatest work," he continued.
Michelle stared at Kevin before smiling. "Then I need to thank him along with those who saved my life," she said before approaching her bag.
When Michelle was close to her bag, she unzipped it before grabbing the hairbrush. Michelle turned her head to Kevin. "Speaking of the others, was there something I missed?" she asked as she put the hairbrush in her bag.
Kevin looked at Michelle as she zipped her bag. "Most of the group are in the barracks, or what's left of it anyway, destroying the fallen debris or sitting around," he said. "Just... doing what they can to clear their minds..."
Michelle looked at Kevin, concerned. "Were there any...?" she asked.
Kevin shook his head. "There have been no casualties if that's what you're worried about," he said, which made Michelle sigh in relief.
Kevin looked away. "Although that damn dragon doll disappeared on us," he continued. "He's been gone for two weeks."
Michelle hummed as she grabbed her bag's straps before putting it on. "Hopefully, we'll find him on our path toward the barracks," she said before approaching the door. "C'mon, let's go."
Kevin nodded. "Right," he said before following Michelle.
After the couple left the room, they heard giggling in the hallway, which surprised them; Kevin stood before Michelle and looked around, growling.
Michelle heard something coming from the roof, which made her look up. Michelle saw a Rabie Baby plush fall from the roof and land on her face, which made her let out a muffled yelp.
Kevin turned to Michelle, shocked, as she placed her hands under Rabie Baby's arms before pulling her off her face and shaking her head. "It's raining Nightmare Critters..." she said.
Rabie Baby looked at Michelle. "So, you're this 'Boss' Simon was talking about, huh?" she asked.
Michelle looked at Rabie Baby, surprised as Kevin stood beside her. "You know Simon?" she asked.
Rabie Baby looked at Michelle with happy eyes. "Yeah, I do; he spilled the tea on you and your group," she said.
Rabie Baby looked at Kevin with mischievous eyes. "Even the gossip about you and your boyfriend," she continued, which made him growl with his fangs showing.
The trio heard multiple steps. "Boss, you're OK!!" a male voice shouted.
Michelle looked forward and saw Simon Smoke with Baba Chops, Poe, Touille, Icky Licky, Maggie Mako, and Allister Gator behind him.
The couple looked at Simon Smoke as the group stopped while Rabie Baby got out of her hold before getting on her shoulder. "It's good to see you as well, Simon," Michelle said before looking at the other Nightmare Critters. "And you brought a few of the Nightmare Critters with you as well."
Simon Smoke smugly laughed. "I know, I'm pretty awesome," he said.
Michelle looked at Simon Smoke. "How did you convince them?" she asked, which made him flinch.
Simon Smoke nervously laughed. "Well, obviously to help the group out," he said.
Kevin menacingly glared at Simon Smoke as his claws sharpened. "Can I kill them now?" he asked.
Simon Smoke looked at Kevin, panicking. "Alright, alright, I lied!" he shouted.
Simon Smoke looked away as he tapped his hands together. "The truth is... I told the other Nightmare Critters about the cookies you gave me at the Doctor's lair," he said.
Michelle hummed. "I see... hunger is what drove them," she said before lifting Rabie Baby off her shoulder.
After Michelle placed Rabie Baby on the ground, she took her bag off and held the straps in her left arm before unzipping it. "Was all the stuff in my jacket pockets put in here?" she asked as she rummaged inside it.
Kevin nodded. "Yeah, it was," he said.
Michelle smiled a bit. "Sweet," she said before pulling out a twisted bag of cookies.
After Michelle zipped her bag and put it back on, she undid the knot on the cookie bag. "There should be enough for each of you to have one," she continued.
Before Michelle did anything, she looked at her right hand, puzzled. Kevin noticed before grabbing the bag out of Michelle's hand. "Here, I can hand them out to these little shits," he said before digging his hand inside it.
Soon after, Kevin pulled eight cookies out of the bag before kneeling and holding them out to the Nightmare Critters. "Each one of you gets one, you hear me?" he asked rhetorically.
The Nightmare Critters had happy eyes before approaching Kevin's hand. As the Nightmare Critters grabbed a cookie off Kevin's hand, Michelle looked at him and noticed the red beaded bracelet on his left wrist, which surprised her.
While the Nightmare Critters started eating the cookies in their hands, Kevin stood properly. "That takes care of them..." he said, lowly.
Michelle looked at Kevin. "You're... wearing it?" she asked.
Kevin looked at Michelle, confused, before looking at his left wrist. "Oh yeah..." he said before bringing it close to his chest. "It brought me... a lot of luck..."
Michelle stared at Kevin before smiling a bit. "Is that so?" she asked rhetorically before looking at her right hand. "That's good to hear..."
Kevin remained silent before looking inside the cookie bag. "Huh? It seems like only one remains," he said before digging his hand inside it.
Michelle hummed. "Well, as they say in French: c'est la vie," she said.
After Kevin pulled the cookie out of the empty bag and tossed it to the ground, he held part of it in his mouth. "Well, I say to hell with that quote," he said, which made Michelle look at him.
Kevin grinned a bit before lowering his head to Michelle. "I got part of it hanging out; why not try to take a bite?" he asked.
Michelle stared at Kevin, blushing. "Uh... I..." she said, lowly.
Kevin grinned. "What's wrong, too scared?" he asked.
Michelle looked at Kevin, baffled. "Oh, now you've done it," she said.
When Michelle faced Kevin, she glanced at the Nightmare Critters, blushing, before closing her eyes and biting into the cookie.
After the cookie split in half, Kevin pulled Michelle into a kiss, which disgusted the Nightmare Critters, before they pulled away. Michelle hummed while chewing on her cookie half. "Salty and sweet... not a bad combo..." she said before swallowing.
Kevin chuckled a bit. "Oi, lovebirds," Maggie Mako said, which made the couple look at her. "D'you have any more of those sweets?"
Michelle crossed her arms. "While we do have some, we don't have a lot of it to spare..." she said.
Maggie Mako looked down, slightly gloomy. "Ah, I see..." she said, lowly.
Michelle looked at the Nightmare Critters. "I know you guys came here on Simon's behalf, but... if any of you don't want to stick with our group, it's not too late to turn away," she said, which made them look at her. "Where we're going next... will probably be the most dangerous one yet."
The Nightmare Critters stared at Michelle until Allister Gator looked at her. "If we didn't want to join ya, we wouldn't be standing here in the first place," he said.
Michelle looked at Allister Gator, surprised. "Al is right; we all wanna get out of this dump too," Icky Licky said.
Michelle looked at the other Nightmare Critters. "Is what he's saying true for the rest of you?" she asked.
Poe nodded. "Indeed... we don't want to hide in the shadows anymore," they said.
Touille crossed his arms. "Now ai can see why Simon calls you 'Boss'..." he said.
Maggie Mako had happy eyes. "As long as I can have sweets, I'll be happy," she said.
Baba Chops groaned and looked away. "So annoying..." she said, lowly.
Rabie Baby giggled behind her hand. "At least it won't be boring," she said.
Michelle stared at the Nightmare Critters before nodding. "Very well then, you can come as well..." she said before looking at them. "So... are you guys the same age as Simon or...?"
Rabie Baby stepped forward. "You want tea about us?" she asked rhetorically. "You've come to the right gal."
Rabie Baby held her hand out to the other Nightmare Critters. "Baba, Al, Poe, and I are sixteen while the rest are fifteen," she continued.
Michelle hummed. "Good to know; now then, we should be heading to the barracks," she said before walking forward, which made Kevin follow behind her.
The Nightmare Critters looked at the couple. "Right," they said before following them.