After the door behind the group closed, they saw a large blue room with roots sprouting all over the place. "What is up with all of these roots?" Michelle asked. "How did they get so... ginormous..."
CatNap's claws extended before cutting the root near the broken glass. However, the root had a small scratch. "Whatever these plants are, they're very durable," CatNap said. "Normal slash attacks don't work on them."
Michelle looked around the room. "Everything has a weakness; we just have to find it..." she said before they walked forward.
When Michelle turned to the left, she saw a note on top of a box before approaching it and picking it up. The group surrounded Michelle. "It's a lab report... talking about this 'Medium Growth'," she said. "It's like these roots have a mind of their own."
Katelynn spotted something on the note. "And when the scientists gave the produce that came from this place to mice and rats, it started eating them from the inside out," she said before shuddering a bit. "That part is a little scary..."
Michelle shook her head. "There's even a mention of something called a 'Negation Compound'," she said. "I may not be a chemist, but to negate something means to nullify it or make it useless. That compound could be our ticket to killing the Prototype."
Michelle looked at Doey and held the paper out. "This could be useful to us," she continued. Doey nodded as he took the note before it went inside him. Michelle looked behind Doey and spotted a yellow organic growth on the roots. "Step back," she said.
Doey turned to the growth and stepped back before Michelle aimed her right arm; the Pressure Hand shot from her wrist and touched the growth before the gauge started going up.
When the gauge was in the red, Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand, destroying the growth; soon after, the smaller roots started retracting until a thick root appeared.
Yarnaby lit up and opened his mouth before grabbing the stick and pulling it away. After Yarnaby dropped the stick and closed his mouth, he looked at Michelle with bright eyes, which made her chuckle a bit and pet his head. "Good boy," she said, which made him purr.
Michelle looked at the large box before aiming her right arm; the Pressure Hand shot from her wrist and touched the box before the gauge started going up.
Soon after, Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand, pushing the box forward and making an opening. "Through here," she said before crouching and walking forward.
After the group went through the hole, they saw a tank with a green handprint at the bottom of it and a lever next to it.
Michelle examined the tank with a hum. "Seems like I'll need to use the Pressure Hand on the tank and lock it between the yellow lines with the lever," she said before aiming at the green handprint.
The Pressure Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the green handprint before the pressure gauge started going up. When the gauge was in the red, Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand, pushing the contents inside the tank up.
When the contents were between the yellow lines, Michelle pulled the lever, locking the tank in place and opening the doors.
When the group entered the room, they were shocked to see a ginormous plant with a giant growth at the center and smaller plants with faces on them. "Huge..." Huggy Wuggy said, lowly.
When Katelynn looked forward, she saw liquid nitrogen spewing out of the pipes, which made her flinch and hide behind Doey, trembling a bit. "Liquid nitrogen..." she said, lowly; he nodded. "I know, Katie... I know..." he said, lowly.
Michelle looked at the double doors and noticed roots covering them. "We'll need to find a way to destroy that giant growth," she said before looking at the blue pipes. "But first things first, we'll need to stop these pipes."
Michelle approached the pipe on the right and spotted a yellow valve before aiming her left arm. The blue hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed the valve before turning it, which stopped the liquid nitrogen.
Michelle looked at the small yellow growth near the twisted roots before aiming her right arm.
The Pressure Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the growth before the pressure gauge went up; when it was in the red, she retracted it, which destroyed the growth.
When Michelle did the same thing to the small growth above the large root, the smaller roots started retracting. Doey stretched his arm and grabbed the stick before pulling it off; a small bit of the roots started retracting from the door.
Michelle crouched under the root before going through the opening; after she stood properly, she spotted a few growths. After Michelle destroyed a few growths with the Pressure hand, the small roots surrounding a dead Outimal started retracting.
Michelle aimed her left arm at the stick before the blue hand shot from her wrist and grabbed it. After Michelle pulled the stick away, a few more roots started moving away from the door. "That should be halfway done..." she said, lowly.
Michelle approached the other blue pipe and aimed her left arm at the other valve. The blue hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed the valve before turning it, which stopped the liquid nitrogen.
After Michelle destroyed the growth near the boxes and the growth above it, the small roots near a dead Outimal started retracting. Michelle aimed her left arm at the stick before the blue hand shot from her wrist and grabbed it.
After Michelle pulled the stick away, a few more roots started moving away from the door. As the group approached the door near the roots, Michelle aimed her right arm at the giant growth. "All that's left is you," she said before the Pressure Hand shot from her wrist.
When the Pressure Hand touched the giant growth, the gauge started going up until it was in the red. Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand, destroying the giant growth and making the roots near the door pull away before it opened.
Michelle looked at the contents on the ground and shook the sap off her right hand. "That takes care of that," she said before the group entered. The doors closed behind the group before the room started spraying liquid and blue lights moving up and down.
When the room stopped spraying the liquid and the lights disappeared, the doors before them opened, which made them leave. As the group walked to the right, Michelle spotted a note on the desk before approaching it.
As Michelle picked the note up, the toys gathered around her. "It's a letter... from a Dr. Arkins; she was writing it for her daughter and husband," she said.
Mommy Long Legs frowned a bit and looked down. "Even though they were the reason we became this, sometimes you forget that they had families and children too; it's sad..." she said.
Michelle remained silent and placed the note back on the table. "Families or not, it still doesn't change their guiltiness," CatNap said. "They made us suffer."
Huggy Wuggy nodded in agreement while Yarnaby growled a bit. "We should keep moving," Michelle said, lowly; the others nodded before walking away.
Michelle spotted a door with the word 'Utility' above it. "A utility room," she said before looking at the others. "Not everyone can get inside, though."
Huggy Wuggy thought of something and gestured to himself, CatNap, Mommy Long Legs, and Yarnaby. "Large toys, bodyguards," he said before pointing at Doey and Katelynn. "You two protect Misha."
Doey nodded. "Great idea, Huggy," he said. Mommy Long Legs lay her arm on top of Huggy Wuggy's head, which made him growl. "Who would've thought the little puppy could come up with an incredible idea like that?" she asked rhetorically.
Huggy Wuggy tried biting Mommy Long Legs's arm, but she pulled away with a giggle. Huggy Wuggy huffed a bit and looked away. "We won't take too long; let us know when something happens," Michelle said; CatNap nodded. "Will do, Angel," he said.
When Michelle looked at Doey and Katelynn, they nodded before she placed her hand on the doorknob and opened it. After the trio entered, they walked forward before turning right; soon after, they entered a small room with a metal platform above the vent.
Glowby made an alert sound, which made the trio look at it. Michelle pressed the green button twice, switching it from the regular light to the blacklight.
When Michelle aimed the blacklight at the metal storage cabinet, she saw an arrow pointing at the pathway. "You two can stay out here. I'll see what's on the other side," she said as she pressed the green button, turning the blacklight off.
The duo nodded. "Be careful, Big Sister," Katelynn said. Michelle nodded as she got on a few boxes before getting on the platform.
Michelle looked at the vent grille before aiming her right arm; the Pressure Hand shot from her wrist and touched the vent grille before the gauge went up. When the gauge was in the red, Michelle retracted the Pressure Hand, destroying the vent grille.
When Michelle looked through the opening, she spotted two battery sockets. "Is there a battery in this room?" she asked. Doey looked around before spotting a battery near the whiteboard. "Yes," he said before stretching his arm toward it and picking it up.
Soon after, Doey brought the battery close to Michelle, which made her grab it with her left hand. "Thank you," she said before entering the other room.
After Michelle landed on the ground, she stood properly and approached the closest battery socket before putting the battery inside.
Michelle twisted the knob, which made the Pressure Hand retract into her arm, and the red hand appeared, before looking at the battery leaning against the wall and aiming her right arm.
The red hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed the battery's handle before retracting back.
After Michelle placed the other battery inside the socket, the output unit powered up; she examined the electric poles with a hum. "It seems like I'll need to wrap the cables around the poles and the walls a few times to power them up," she said.
Michelle looked at the output unit and aimed her left arm before the blue hand shot from her wrist and touched it, which lit the cables up. Michelle circled the pole on the left, which powered it up, before circling the pole on the right.
When the second pole was powered up, Michelle aimed her right arm at the input unit before the red hand shot from her wrist and touched it, which powered it up and made both hands retract to her wrists. "That should do it," she said.
Michelle looked at the pipes and noticed fire spewing out of them before looking at the larger opening. "Guess I'm going through the door," she continued before approaching it.
As Michelle left the room, a large yellow hand grabbed her, which made her eyes widen before they lifted her; she turned her head to the source and saw a bigger version of Chum Chompkins.
As Chum Chompkins opened his stomach-like mouth, a pair of red claws, a slime-like blade, and a yellow battle-axe pointed near his neck, while an orange Morningstar-like weapon was above his head, which made him flinch and close his mouth.
Kevin glared at Chum Chompkins with a scary grin. "If I were ya, I'd put her down nice and slowly, got it?" he asked rhetorically. Chum Chompkins trembled and nodded before placing Michelle on the ground.
Katelynn glared at Chum Chompkins with her blue teeth extended. "Who do you work for?" she asked. Jack glared at Chum Chompkins with his red teeth extended. "Is it the Prototype?" he asked.
Matthew looked at Chum Chompkins with stern eyes. "If you answer us quickly, we might give you a painless death," he said. "Whoa, whoa, hey; no need to be hostile!" the group turned their heads to the source and saw Giblet quickly approaching them.
Michelle looked at Giblet as he stopped near the group and tried to catch his breath. "Giblet," she said before looking at Chum Chompkins. "You know him?"
Giblet nodded. "Yeah, I do," he said as he approached Chum Chompkins and held his fist out. "This is Chum Chompkins; my guy on the inside."
Chum Chompkins fist-bumped Giblet's fist, which made the others pull away from him. "We, uh... sorta look out for each other," he continued before gesturing to Michelle. "Chum, this is who everyone's been talking about!"
Chum Chompkins looked at Michelle with wary eyes. "This is Michelle Mercia, or you can call her Misha; she's Poppy's Angel," Giblet said before chuckling a bit. "Playtime's Hero."
Michelle tapped her fingers a bit as Chum Chompkins stared at her. "Uh, well... it's been a while since I did this..." she said, lowly, before waving her right hand. "Hello."
Soon after, Michelle started moving her hands, which surprised Chum Chompkins. "My name is Michelle Mercia," she said while signing. "But you can call me Misha."
While the others stared at Michelle, confused, Chum Chompkins stared at her with bright eyes before picking her up and hugging her while purring, which shocked them. Michelle chuckled a bit. "That's a relief; I thought I messed up on my sign language," she continued.
The others stared at the duo. "Whoa... Chum usually isn't friendly towards people he just met," Giblet said before chuckling a bit. "Maybe we should call you, 'The Toy Whisperer'."
Michelle flinched and looked at Giblet as Chum Chompkins placed her on the ground. "I'd rather you not call me that at all; that title sounds like I'm taming animals," she said before rubbing her arm. "And that's something I don't see you guys as."
Giblet stared at Michelle before nodding. "Fair enough," he said before gesturing toward the hallway. "C'mon, the others are waiting outside the utility room; I filled them and Chum on our plan."
As Giblet and Chum Chompkins left the room, the others looked at Michelle. "How do you know—" she looked at them. "One of the kids in my orphanage was deaf; the rest of us were taught sign language so he didn't feel left out."
Michelle rubbed the back of her neck. "Though I'm rusty on it since he got adopted when I was around eight or nine years old," she continued. "Most of the stuff I do remember is introducing myself."
Kevin chuckled a bit with a slight smile. "And here I thought I knew everything about you, but here you are impressing me again," he said. Michelle giggled a bit with a slight blush. "Well, what can I say, I'm full of surprises," she said.
Matthew looked at the door. "C'mon, we shouldn't keep the others waiting," he said. The others nodded before they approached the door.