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Chapter 99 - Spook

When the group was outside the Memory Room, Michelle looked at the large opening. "All that's left should be in the main room," she said before they approached it.

When the group was in the main room, a piece of the half wall with some railing on top of it from the upper floor fell and hit the ground, which made them look at it. Michelle looked at the upper floor. "There's probably a way to get up there," she said before looking around.

Michelle spotted blue double doors with a blue hand scanner on the left side. "That way," she continued before approaching it, which made the others follow.

As Michelle placed her left hand on the scanner, Matthew looked at his arm and noticed it was a little runny. "We're near our limit," he said before looking at Kevin and Jack. "Might be best to fuse back together."

The duo nodded as Matthew approached them before they fused into Doey. When the scanner finished, Michelle opened the double doors before the group entered.

Michelle looked at the blue door and noticed the words 'Red Smoke Maintenance' above it. "A maintenance room, huh..." she said, lowly, before looking at the doorknob and placing her hand on it.

When Michelle opened the door, the group saw a red pipe with a yellow valve, a red pipe with a yellow handle near the top, and a bunch of stacked boxes near a vent.

When Michelle entered and was close to the pipe with the valve, she heard Glowby make an alert sound, which made her look at it.

Michelle pressed the green button twice, turning the blacklight on. The group looked at Michelle as she aimed the blacklight at the wall, revealing a hexagon. "Must be part of a puzzle," she said. "The question is... to what?"

Michelle looked at the stacked boxes near the vent. "Maybe I could find a clue in there," she continued before approaching it.

Katelynn looked at Michelle as she climbed on the boxes. "Be careful, Big Sister; you might hit your head if you fall," she said.

Michelle looked at the group. "I'll try," she said as she continued climbing.

When Michelle was at the top of the stack, she looked at Glowby. "It's not as bright as the regular flashlight, but this should help just as much," she said.

Glowby started making worried noises, which surprised Michelle. "The hell..." she said, lowly. "He only does that when someone bad is near..."

When Michelle aimed Glowby at the vent, she saw glowing green eyes with black pupils and a glowing green, maniacally gleeful smile, which made her eyes widen, and she screamed a bit until her foot slipped off the box, which made her panic before falling backward.

Doey stretched his arms and caught Michelle before pulling her close. "The hell was that about?" he asked.

Michelle looked at Doey and pointed at the vent. "T-The vent; I saw something!" she shouted.

The group was surprised, and they looked at the vent. "Really?" Doey asked.

Mommy Long Legs started stretching her head toward the vent. "I'll check it out," she said.

When Mommy Long Legs's head was close to the vent, she looked around with one of her eyes and saw nothing. "I'm not seeing anything," she continued before retracting it.

Michelle was shocked and looked at the group. "I'm telling you that I—" CatNap looked at her before she could finish her sentence. "We don't doubt that you saw something, Angel."

Doey nodded. "It was probably just an Outimal," he said. "And when you saw them, they probably ran."

Yarnaby growled a bit while Huggy Wuggy huffed a bit. "Annoying pests..." he said.

Michelle remained silent and looked at the vent. None of the Outimals have glowing green eyes and glowing green teeth; that thing was something else, she thought.

Katelynn looked at Michelle before holding her hands in hers, which made her look at her. "Even if it wasn't an Outimal, we still have your back, Big Sister," she said.

Michelle stared at Katelynn before smiling. "Thanks, Katie," she said.

After Doey placed Michelle on the ground, she looked at the pipe with the valve. "There are probably other pipes similar to this one; we'll need to find their purpose first before messing with them," she continued.

The group nodded as they left the room. The group looked at the stairs next to the room. "Those stairs should let us get to the upper floor and, in turn, clues about the pipes," Mommy Long Legs said.

Michelle turned her head to the left and saw a red pipe with a yellow valve in the corner. "Speaking of pipes, that might be one of them," she said before the group approached it.

When the group was close to the pipe, Michelle aimed the blacklight at the wall, revealing a triangle. "The one inside the room was a hexagon, while this one is a triangle; what shapes do the other two hold?" CatNap asked.

Michelle looked at the stairs. "Whatever is upstairs will give us that answer," she said before the group approached it.

After the group climbed the stairs, Glowby made an alert sound, which made Michelle look at it. Michelle looked at the red pipe with the yellow valve on her right before aiming the blacklight at the wall, revealing a circle. "Three down, one to go..." she said, lowly, before the group continued climbing the stairs.

When the group reached the top of the stairs, they walked to the left. Soon after, the group saw a yellow room with a large pirate ship in the center and a memory disk in the corner filled with Red Smoke through the glass. "That must be what those pipes with shapes are for; to stop the Red Smoke in this room," Katelynn said.

Doey placed his hand on his chin. "Though something tells me that's easier said than done," he said. "The pipes probably follow a certain order."

Michelle nodded. "Agreed, we'll need to find the order these pipes go in first," she said before looking at Glowby. "Glowby's blacklight should help us with that."

The group nodded before walking away from the room. After the group got out of the hallway, Michelle looked at the partially broken floor on the left. "Do any of you think there's something worthful on the left side?" she asked.

Mommy Long Legs got near the half walls. "If there is, you can leave it to me, my little Misha," she said before placing her hand on the upper part.

Mommy Long Legs stretched her other hand to the wall near a small blob of Poppy Gel full of toy and human corpses hanging from the roof before pulling herself toward it. As Mommy Long Legs placed her foot on the wall, she stretched her head down and looked at the gap in the broken pathway.

Mommy Long Legs turned her head to the right and spotted a honeysuckle yellow cassette tape. "You must hold something," she said, lowly, before stretching her arm toward it.

After Mommy Long Legs carefully picked up the cassette tape, she stretched her arm toward the group and held it out. "I found this cassette tape on the other side of a broken hallway," she continued.

Michelle grabbed the cassette tape from Mommy Long Legs's hand. "Nice find, Mommy," she said.

After Mommy Long Legs was close to the group, Michelle opened the white part of Glowby. "Let's see what you hold," she continued as she placed the cassette tape inside.

After Michelle closed the white part of Glowby, she pressed the play button. "Meeeeegan. Heya Megan," Ms. Gracie said. "One of the friends told me that you're having trouble with the noise of the world being just too much! I brought someone to help."

The toys glared at Glowby with slight growls. "Go away!" Megan shouted.

"Now that's not very nice! You're going to hurt our friend's feelings," Ms. Gracie said.

"Chum's not my friend," Megan said.

The group heard Chum Chompkins growl from Glowby. "Well, sure he is. Chum's friends to all kids, especially sensitive ones like you," Ms. Gracie said. "He's here to help make your world just a little softer and quieter."

"I don't like it. I don't like it in there!" Megan shouted. "I... I can hear his heart beating."

The group heard Chum Chompkins make concerned growls from Glowby. "Oh, that's just... a... recording of a heartbeat, silly," Ms. Gracie said as they heard him make noises in the background. "Something to make you feel warm and safe. Like a little baby!"

The group stared at Glowby. "Why don't you just come here—" they heard Ms. Gracie grunt a bit, which made Megan panic. "I don't want to. Don't!"

Soon after, the group heard something slimy. "Oh, there we go," Ms. Gracie said, slightly muffled. "See, that's not so bad."

"It's OK... I'm better... I'm better..." Megan said, lowly.

"Of course you are; that's what Chum is for. A little safe space for you," Ms. Gracie said, slightly muffled. "Now you just close your eyes and breathe deep. Everything's better when you're with a friend."

When the tape ended, the white part of Glowby opened, which made Michelle pull the cassette out before she closed it. "So, they used Chum as a quiet space for sensitive children," Doey said.

Michelle looked at the cassette tape. "Makes sense; when he was hiding me from the Prototype, it felt weirdly calm despite being inside his stomach," she said before placing it on the ground.

Michelle looked at the red pipe with a yellow valve on the right side. "Now to see what shape that pipe has," she continued before the group approached it.

When the group was close to the pipe, Michelle aimed Glowby at the wall, revealing a star. "Star..." Huggy Wuggy said.

Katelynn tilted her head. "So, we have a hexagon, a triangle, a circle, and a star," she said while counting her fingers before placing her finger against her chin. "All that's left now is to figure out which valve to turn first."

When Michelle aimed Glowby to the left, the group saw a cloud of gas with an 'X' over it and the shapes: triangle, star, circle, and hexagon, under it.

Michelle hummed a bit. "So, the order to turn the valves is triangle, star, circle, and hexagon," she said before looking at the pipe near them. "This pipe needs to be turned second."

Michelle stretched her legs a bit before facing the stairs. "Well then, let's get started," she continued before sprinting down them.

When Michelle was at the bottom of the stairs, she aimed her left arm at the valve before the blue hand shot from her wrist. The blue hand grabbed the valve before it started turning.

When the valve stopped, Michelle retracted the blue arm before climbing the first half of the stairs. "I turned the first valve!" she shouted before stopping near the pipe.

Doey nodded as he stretched his arms and grabbed the valve before turning it. When the valve was in place, Doey looked at the stairs. "The second valve has been turned!" he shouted.

Michelle nodded and aimed her left arm at the valve before the blue hand shot from her wrist. The blue hand grabbed the valve before it started turning. When the valve was locked in place, Michelle retracted the blue hand. "Only one more remains," she said before going down the stairs.

When Michelle was on the floor, she quickly entered the maintenance room and aimed at the valve before the blue hand shot from her wrist.

The blue hand grabbed the valve before it started turning. When the valve was locked in place, Michelle retracted the blue hand before aiming her right arm at the yellow handle. "This should do the job," she said.

The Conductive Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed the yellow handle before pulling it down, which made a hissing sound. Michelle retracted the Conductive Hand. "Now to regroup with the others," she said before quickly leaving the room.

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