As the group moved through the tunnel, they saw more balloons in the tunnel before the ice cream truck popped them, which made Doey flinch a bit. "There are more balloons; what the hell," he said.
Soon after, Michelle spotted a large purple balloon covering the tunnel before looking at Doey. "You might want to cover your ears," she said.
Doey nodded and quickly covered his ears before the ice cream truck popped the large balloon, creating a very large pop. "Stupid balloons..." he said, lowly.
After the ice cream truck popped a couple more balloons, the group got out of the tunnel, revealing castle-like walls with fencing on the top and a large purple gate with a blue flower print on the top, and the corner of a large purple dollhouse on the left side.
Soon after, the ice cream truck stopped before powering down, and the sides opened. Michelle stepped out of the ice cream truck and looked at the gate. "We'll need to get that gate open somehow," she said.
Doey, CatNap, Mommy Long Legs, Huggy Wuggy, and Katelynn approached the gate. "You leave that to us, my little Misha," Mommy Long Legs said. "You can look around while we take care of it."
Michelle nodded as she walked toward the back, which made Yarnaby follow. As Michelle looked around, she spotted a Lily Lovebraids cutout, with her hair in an updo and wearing a beach-themed outfit, before the duo approached it.
When Michelle was close to the cutout, she pressed the button. "Hi!!! I'm Lily Lovebraids! The girl with flair and out-of-this-world hair," it said. "Join me for a slumber party, and we can braid each other's hair!!!"
Yarnaby stared at the cutout with a tilted head, which made Michelle look at him. "What do you think about her, Yarnaby?" she asked.
Yarnaby turned his head to Michelle before laying his head against her, which made her smile and pet his head, which made him purr. "That's good to know..." she said, lowly.
The duo heard laughter, which surprised Michelle and made her look around. "We should get back to the others," she said before walking away, which made Yarnaby follow.
When the duo was near the ice cream truck, Michelle saw Huggy Wuggy, Katelynn, and CatNap pulling on the left side of the gate while Doey and Mommy Long Legs pulled on the right side of the gate. "You got this, guys..." she said, lowly.
When the group was pulling on the gates at the same time, they tore them off the hinges, which made Michelle smile. "Nice job!" she shouted before the duo sprinted in their direction.
The group laid the broken gates against the walls as the duo caught up to them. "Now we can move forward," Michelle said.
The group nodded before approaching the tunnel; Michelle turned her head to the large dollhouse and sighed a bit. Let's get this over with... she thought.
As the group entered the tunnel, they looked around. "Oh... my... goodness!" a female voice shouted, which made them freeze up.
The group turned to the back and saw a bigger version of Lily Lovebraids holding a Candy Cat's head in her hand, smiling at the group and jumping around a bit.
The toys surrounded Michelle and glared at Lily Lovebraids with slight growls as she held Candy Cat's head close to her face. "I don't think they're here for the party, Lily," she said in a lower-pitch voice.
Lily Lovebraids smiled at Candy Cat's head. "Well, of course they are, Candy! Why ELSE would they be here?" she asked rhetorically.
Lily Lovebraids looked at Huggy Wuggy, Mommy Long Legs, CatNap, and Yarnaby. "And so many familiar faces, too!" she shouted. "We got Huggy and Mommy and CatNap and Yarnaby."
When Lily Lovebraids looked at Doey and Katelynn, she gasped. "We even have Doey and Suzy here!" she shouted.
Lily Lovebraids brought Candy Cat's head close to her face. "Well, with their home in pieces, they have nowhere to go," she said, in a lower-pitch voice.
Lily Lovebraids looked at Candy Cat's head. "You can't fully blame them for that; it was their own fault they went along with her," she continued as her eyes became slightly bloodshot.
Doey glared at Lily Lovebraids with a slight growl until Michelle placed her hand on his arm. When Doey turned his head to Michelle, she shook her head, which made him huff a bit, and he turned his head away.
When Lily Lovebraids's eyes returned to normal, and she looked at the group, she eyed Michelle. "You, however..." she said, lowly.
Michelle looked at Lily Lovebraids as she approached her. "I don't think I've seen a toy like you here before..." she continued.
When Lily Lovebraids was close to Michelle, she placed her right hand under her right arm, which made the others glare at her. "Your arms... they remind me of Eve's arms..." she said, lowly.
Lily Lovebraids looked at Michelle's beaded bracelet with a hum before pulling her right hand away and circling her.
When Lily Lovebraids saw Michelle's braided hair, her clothes, and her shoes, she realized something and faced her with a smile. "But that can't be right; you're like me!" she shouted before placing her fist against her head, laughing. "Silly Lily, that's an egg on my face!"
Michelle stared at Lily Lovebraids. "Like you?" she asked.
Lily Lovebraids smiled as her updo started unraveling itself, revealing a large braid and two smaller braids with three claw-like points before one of them grabbed Candy Cat's head. "Yeah!" she shouted before holding her arms out. "You're a fashionable toy like me!"
Most of the group growled at Lily Lovebraids, which shocked her. "What kind of idiot thinks she's—" before Doey could finish his sentence, Michelle held her hands out, which shocked them and made them look at her. "Yes, I am; how observant are you!"
Lily Lovebraids looked at Michelle as she placed her hand against her cheek. "I'm a, uh..." she said, lowly.
Michelle thought of something and looked at Lily Lovebraids. "A different variation of you! I'm known as your... Braid Buddy named Michelle Heartbraids!" she shouted.
Michelle cringed and placed her hand over her face with a groan as most of the group looked at her with dumbfounded expressions. "Heartbraids?" they asked, lowly.
Michelle turned her head to the group. "It was the first thing I could think of... just play along..." she said, lowly, through gritted teeth.
Lily Lovebraids stared at Michelle. "My Braid Buddy..." she said, lowly, before smiling and hugging her. "My goodness! It must've been forever since I've seen you!"
The group looked at Lily Lovebraids with sweatdrops. She fell for it... they thought.
After Lily Lovebraids let go of Michelle, she looked at her. "Then it would be safe to assume that the person I saw in the vent and the one Suzy saw in the roof was you?" she asked.
Lily Lovebraids smiled and nodded. "Yep! That was me!" she shouted.
Lily Lovebraids sighed and placed her hand against her cheek. "I was really afraid when I heard Boxy's roars in the vents..." she said.
(Flashback Begins)
Inside a different vent, Lily Lovebraids was crawling through the vent, humming a bit. The figure heard roaring, which surprised her and made her look down before tilting her head. "Those roars..." she said, lowly. "They sound like..."
When Lily Lovebraids realized it, she started panicking. "Boxy is close to the guests..." she said. "We can't have that; we need to stop him!"
Lily Lovebraids brought Candy Cat's head close to her. "But if the Special Guest knows we're not home, they'll get angry at us, and we won't go to his Better Place," she said in a lower-pitch voice.
Lily Lovebraids looked at Candy Cat's head. "You're right, Candy," she said before looking down. "But how can we help our guests and not be noticed?"
Lily Lovebraids realized something before smiling. "There's one room that has projectors in it; if I turn one of them on, that'll stop Brutish Boxy, and they'll know what to do!" she shouted.
Lily Lovebraids turned Candy Cat's head to her. "That's a wonderful idea; you're such a Smarty Sally," she said in a lower-pitch voice before giggling. "Thank you, Candy."
Lily Lovebraids looked forward. "Now c'mon, Candy; let's keep moving," she said before she continued crawling through the vent.
(Flashback Ends)
Lily Lovebraids frowned. "I didn't want my guests to get eaten alive," she said. "So, I did what I thought was best and gave you guys a little hint in that room."
Michelle smiled a bit. "That was very kind of you, Lily," she said, which made Lily Lovebraids look at her. "Thanks for that."
Lily Lovebraids stared at Michelle before smiling. "Of course! Anything for my Braid Buddy," she said.
Michelle stared at Lily Lovebraids as she giggled a bit. Even though she's probably the oldest out of all of us, she acts more like she's a doll being controlled by a little girl. She may have done horrible stuff to the others, but seeing her like this makes me pity her... she thought.
Lily Lovebraids smiled at the group. "And now that you're all here, you can come to my tea party!" she shouted. "I bet our Special Guest would love to see you!"
Most of the toys flinched in fear. "Your Special Guest, huh? What are they like?" Michelle asked.
Lily Lovebraids smiled. "He's the best toy in the whole factory!" she said before glancing at CatNap with slightly bloodshot eyes. "I'm sure Nappy Cat knows him best."
CatNap glared at Lily Lovebraids with slight growls, and his ears pointed back, while Mommy Long Legs was mortified. Michelle glanced at the duo. Yeah, she's definitely referring to the Prototype, she thought.
Michelle slightly smiled at Lily Lovebraids. "While it is a nice offer, won't your Special Guest get angry at us?" she asked.
Lily Lovebraids's eyes returned to normal, and she placed her hand against her cheek with a hum. "I'm not sure..." she said. "While you guys abandoned our Special Guest, you did refuse her plan and took care of the Dreadful Doctor..."
When Lily Lovebraids glanced at Huggy Wuggy's missing arm and Mommy Long Legs's missing leg, the braided hair holding Candy Cat's head brought it close to her face. "Maybe if these bad toys become good toys while attending the tea party, our Special Guest might return what he took," she said in a lower-pitch voice.
Lily Lovebraids gasped and smiled at Candy Cat's head. "What a wonderful idea, Candy!" she shouted before looking at the group. "Now you should definitely come to the tea party!"
Some of the group glared at Lily Lovebraids. "Could you excuse us for a moment?" Michelle asked.
Lily Lovebraids tilted her head as Michelle turned to the group. "Do we really have to do this? It would be so much easier if we ended her..." CatNap whispered.
Huggy Wuggy glared at Lily Lovebraids with snarls. "Huggy wanna tear her to pieces..." he whispered.
Michelle sighed. "I get that killing her is tempting, but we can't do it..." she whispered before looking at CatNap. "You said you had a theory about the orphans, right? Getting information about them is important..."
CatNap glanced at Lily Lovebraids before sighing. "Though I hate to admit it, you're correct, Angel..." he whispered.
Michelle looked at Huggy Wuggy. "And there's a high chance that Kissy is inside her dollhouse with Poppy... we need to go to her place to locate and free them..." she whispered.
Huggy Wuggy looked at Michelle before huffing a bit and looking down. "Misha right..." he whispered.
Michelle looked at the group. "I know this is going to be difficult, but I need all of you to be on your best behavior and be kind to Lily; act if you have to," she whispered.
Michelle pointed to her head. "We need her to think we're enjoying our time there until we can find a way to escape that place with Poppy and Kissy in tow," she whispered.
Some of the group stared at Lily Lovebraids before sighing. "We'll try for you, Misha..." Doey whispered. "But if she harms you in any way, I won't hesitate to bash her head into a hard surface."
Michelle smiled before the group turned to Lily Lovebraids. "We would be thrilled to join your tea party," she said.
Lily Lovebraids smiled and hugged Michelle. "Awesome!" she shouted before letting go and holding her right hand. "We're going to have SO. MUCH. FUN?!"
Michelle smiled as Lily Lovebraids led her out of the tunnel, which made the group follow. Hang on, Poppy and Kissy, we're coming to get you, she thought before they turned to the left.