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Chapter 115 - Ruse

On the catwalk, Jack quietly walked forward while the trio quietly followed behind him. When Jack turned the left corner, he spotted the pink, white, and light purple wall with a small yellow star on the top left corner.

Jack turned his head to the trio when they were near him. "Over here," he whispered before quietly walking forward, which made them follow.

When the group was near the wall, Matthew shot his arm toward it, which made it stick in place, before he started pulling on it a bit until it made an opening.

The trio entered a room with a large, heart-shaped locket bed, a few pieces of furniture, and three doors: one of them with a pink heart locket. After Matthew retracted his arm and entered the room, the wall closed behind the group.

Michelle turned around and spotted the dresser with small, purple braided hair tied over the cupboard. "The tied hair Katie was talking about," she whispered. "We'll need a heat source to burn it."

Kevin turned his head to the heart-shaped bed. "Katie also mentioned that Lily doesn't like it when people touch her bed," he whispered before approaching it. "Let's see what's inside it."

Jack quickly approached Kevin as they stood near a large pink heart with a flower symbol at the center. "Should we really be doing this?" he asked, lowly, before looking down. "I mean... looking inside a girl's bed... it doesn't feel right..."

Kevin slightly grinned at Jack. "Aw, c'mon Jack, what's the worst thing we're gonna find in this place? A dead body?" he asked rhetorically as he pressed the flower symbol.

When the top part of the heart-shaped bed opened, the duo flinched when they saw a skeleton with a broken ribcage, a hole in its upper jaw, a hole in its skull, wearing a bandana over its eyes and a pearl necklace, lying against the bed with pillows behind it and a pink blanket covering it.

Poppy flowers surrounded the skeleton along with a Huggy Wuggy plush, a Boxy Boo plush, a Bobby BearHug plush, a KickinChicken plush, a lemon toy with black eyes and a mouth, and an ID tag lying against it. "I-Is that...?" Jack asked, lowly.

Michelle and Matthew looked at the skeleton in the bed before she deadpanned at Kevin. "You had to say something so cliché," she whispered.

Kevin angrily looked at Michelle. "How was I supposed to know that there would be a fucking skeleton in her bed?!" he whisper-shouted.

Jack looked at Kevin, panicking. "You're being too loud; we have to be quiet, or our cover is blown..." he whispered.

Kevin growled a bit before walking away from the bed, grumbling. Matthew looked at the ID tag before approaching the bed and picking it up. "This tag... it's Ms. Gracie's..." he whispered.

Matthew turned the ID tag around and spotted something. "February 24th, 1964... I think this is her birthdate..." he continued.

Michelle placed her hand against her chin with a hum. "Then that means she should be around her mid-thirties, but has the mentality of a child," she whispered before looking at the skeleton. "Those videos of hers did some serious damage..."

As Matthew placed the ID tag back on the bed, Jack looked up and spotted a heat panel on the top of the case before pointing at it. "There's a heat panel at the top of this case," he whispered.

Michelle looked at the heat panel. "Nice," she whispered before aiming her right arm at it. "Now let's see what that cupboard has."

The Conductive Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the heat panel, powering it up, before retracting it back to her wrist. Michelle approached the dresser before touching the braided hair, burning it to ashes.

The trio approached Michelle as she grabbed the hearts on the cupboard before pulling them, revealing a blue shelf with a heart on it and a drawer with a star under it.

Michelle grabbed the heart before pulling it down, revealing a key with a yellow heart at one end behind a glass frame with cracks in the center. Michelle looked at the key with a smile. "Jackpot," she whispered. "That'll unlock their cell."

Matthew placed his hand against his chin. "Now that we've found the key, how can we free it without causing noise?" he asked, lowly, before thinking of something. "Maybe we could do that same trick CatNap did."

Jack looked at Matthew. "But that made a painful noise back at Testing and Conditioning," he whispered.

Matthew hummed. "Good point... then maybe we could—" he was interrupted when Kevin placed his hand against his shoulder and moved him to the side, which surprised him. "Out of my way."

Michelle looked at Kevin and stepped to the side, which made him approach the cupboard while raising his right fist.

In the dining room, the group heard glass shatter, which made them flinch, and the beach ball hit the ground and roll away, which made Yarnaby chase it. "What?" Lily Lovebraids asked before facing the stairs. "Is one of the friends in my room?"

As Lily Lovebraids approached the stairs, the group was worried. "This is definitely not good..." CatNap whispered. "What can we do in this situation?"

Huggy Wuggy looked at the group as Yarnaby approached them with the beach ball in his mouth, moving it up and down. "Huggy suggest killing Lily," he whispered.

Mommy Long Legs looked at Huggy Wuggy. "While I would agree with that idea, we still don't have all the information we need, including the orphans," she whispered.

The beach ball in Yarnaby's mouth made a popping sound before it started deflating, which made him drop it to the ground before closing his mouth. "Huggy not seeing Mommy make idea," Huggy Wuggy said.

As the trio was talking, Katelynn looked at the stairs, worried, as Lily Lovebraids climbed half of them. Damn it, this isn't good, she thought. I need to think of something quickly, or we'll be stuck in this place forever...

Katelynn glanced at the front door and noticed it was uncovered, which surprised her before thinking of something. I got it... she thought.

Inside Lily Lovebraids's room, small glass shards hit the ground as Kevin undid his right fist before grabbing the key. "Was doing that really necessary?" Matthew asked.

Jack looked at the door with a slight panic. "The others on the lower floor definitely heard it..." he whispered.

Kevin turned to the trio. "There was no other way to get the key without making noise," he said before tossing the key toward Michelle.

Michelle caught the key with her left hand. "He's right; if you guys weren't gonna do it, I would've switched to the Pressure Hand to do it myself," she said before sprinting toward the door with the pink heart locket. "We gotta move quickly."

As the trio quickly approached Michelle, she placed the key inside the locket before twisting it. After Michelle pulled the key out of the locket, the halves fell in different directions before she grabbed the doorknob and twisted it.

Michelle opened the door before the group entered an open closet; as she pushed the door, they heard a different door open, which made them freeze up and she pull her hand away before they got against the wall.

The group poked their heads out of the opening and saw Lily Lovebraids approach her bed before she made a shushing noise. "It's OK... you're OK; go back to sleep..." she said softly. "Nobody's gonna hurt you anymore."

The group stared at Lily Lovebraids as she turned her head to Candy Cat's head. "Someone's been in here, Candy..." she said before she started laughing maniacally. "SOMEONE WHO'S GOING IN THE BOX!!"

Lily Lovebraids stormed toward the door she entered before slamming it behind her. "Was she treating that skeleton like she's the real Ms. Gracie?" Kevin asked.

Matthew looked away. "If that's how she depicts her corpse, I'd rather not find out what she'll do to us when we're corpses," he said. "We need to regroup with the others immediately."

Jack looked at his hands and noticed they were a little runny before looking at Matthew and Kevin. "Hey, our limit," he said.

Kevin looked at his hand, annoyed. "Damn, has that much time already passed?" he asked rhetorically.

Matthew looked at Kevin and Jack. "Time to fuse back," he said, which made them nod.

As Kevin and Jack placed their hands on Matthew's arms, Michelle looked around the closet before spotting a drawing of Candy Cat and Cat-Bee lying on a grassy field, smiling, with Lily Lovebraids's signature in the bottom left corner on the wall. "That's an interesting drawing..." she said, lowly.

After the trio fused into Doey, he looked up and spotted a vent opening near a couple of panels. "There's a vent; we can use that to get to the others," he said.

Michelle nodded as she aimed her left arm at the panel before the blue hand shot from her wrist. After the blue hand touched the panel, Michelle pulled herself toward the vent opening.

Doey shot his arm toward the wall near the vent opening, which made it stick in place, before he pulled himself toward it. After Michelle got on the shelf and pulled her left hand away from the panel, she spotted a note on top of a wardrobe before aiming her right arm at it.

The Conductive Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and grabbed the note before retracting it back to her wrist. Doey stretched his head near Michelle as she read the note. "It's another journal log from Lily..." she said, lowly.

As Michelle read the note, she frowned a bit. "This one's sad though... when she tried to be nice to the other toys she's encountered, they just ran away from her..." she continued. "The only one she depicts as her 'true friend' is Ms. Gracie's corpse on the bed..."

Doey huffed a bit. "Well, if she actually remembered what she did to us, she'll know why they run away from her," he said.

Michelle threw the note forward, which made it fall slowly before hitting the ground. "C'mon, let's regroup with the others," she said.

Doey nodded before the duo entered the vent; in the dining hall, the group heard loud thuds, which made them tense up.

When the group turned to the stairs, they saw Lily Lovebraids, with Candy Cat's head in her hands, slightly bloodshot eyes, and her two smaller braids lifting her off the ground, going down the steps before she faced them. "Where are they?!" she shouted.

Mommy Long Legs tilted her head. "Where are who?" she asked.

Lily Lovebraids got close to Mommy Long Legs, which made her pull her head back a bit. "Don't play dumb!!" she shouted. "My Braid Buddy and the three Doeys; they haven't returned yet! Where are you hiding them?!"

Mommy Long Legs looked away. "I have no idea where they are; I haven't seen them in a while..." she said, lowly.

Lily Lovebraids growled as she brought Candy Cat's head close to her. "Yippie Yellow was the one who found the wall leading to your room, Lily," she said in a lower-pitch voice.

Lily Lovebraids looked at Candy Cat's head. "You're right, Candy," she said as her larger braid started moving sporadically. "He must've been the one to lead the others to my room! Even after I told him that it was off limits!!"

Huggy Wuggy looked at the table before pointing at Dusky. "Maybe Dusky went in Lily's room," he said.

Lily Lovebraids quickly shook her head. "Definitely not; she's a real sweetheart and actually respects boundaries, unlike that ungrateful piece of clay," she said.

CatNap scoffed and sternly looked at Lily Lovebraids. "Pot calling the kettle black; ever since we've been in this place, you haven't respected our boundaries. No wonder why the other toys run away from you and the False God kept you in this place," he said, which made her glare at him with a growl.

In the vent, Michelle and Doey crawled forward until they heard a large slam against the ground, which surprised them and made them stop while Glowby made worried noises. "Enough!! All of you!!" Lily Lovebraids shouted.

Michelle was worried. "That's not good..." she whispered before looking at Doey. "Let's keep moving."

Doey nodded as Michelle looked up and spotted a panel before aiming her right arm at it. The Conductive Hand shot from Michelle's wrist and touched the panel before she pulled herself up.

In the dining hall, the group looked at Lily Lovebraids with her large braid against the ground, which left cracks on it, as she tried to catch her breath.

The large braid lifted off the ground before Lily Lovebraids glared at the group. "I'm going to count from five, and when I reach one, the three Doeys and my Braid Buddy better reveal themselves!" she shouted. "If not, all of you will be put in the bad toy box!!"

Yarnaby growled at Lily Lovebraids and opened his mouth a bit. "Damn it, we don't have a choice..." Mommy Long Legs said, lowly.

Lily Lovebraids's smaller braids moved toward the group while her larger braid moved sporadically. "Five..." she said. "Four..."

Most of the larger toys took fighting stances. "Three... Two..." Lily Lovebraids continued.

Lily Lovebraids's eyes became more bloodshot. "On—" she was interrupted when Katelynn pointed to the front door. "They're having a picnic!"

The larger toys were surprised as Lily Lovebraids turned to Katelynn. "I've kept this a secret from you because I didn't want to hurt your feelings," she continued before looking down with a frown. "But alas... it had come to this..."

Katelynn looked at Lily Lovebraids. "Those two went outside to enjoy a picnic they made as we speak because they got tired of waiting for the Special Guest," she said before pointing at her. "They also said you were being a Boring Betty, so they decided to make their own fun without you!"

Lily Lovebraids gasped as her hair lowered until her feet touched the floor. "I'm not a Boring Betty!! I'm the most fun toy in this place!" she shouted.

Katelynn smiled at Lily Lovebraids. "Then prove them wrong!" she shouted before pointing at the door. "Prove to them that you can be a really fun toy!"

Lily Lovebraids nodded before sprinting toward the double doors as one of her braids pushed them open. After Lily Lovebraids's braided hair closed the doors behind her, Katelynn sighed in relief. "That went a lot better than I thought," she said. "Lying is a tough gig..."

The larger toys approached Katelynn. "Nicely done, I expect nothing less from the one Angel cares for," CatNap said.

Katelynn looked at the larger toys. "That ruse won't last for long; we need to free Poppy and Kissy quickly," she said.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," a female voice said, which surprised the group.

When the group turned to the small upper floor, a vent grille opened before Michelle came out of the vent and landed on the ground. As Michelle approached the railing, Doey came out of the vent and landed on the ground before following behind her.

Michelle smiled at the group and held the key out. "Now then, I think it's finally time to end this charade once and for all," she said.

Most of the group smiled and nodded as Doey picked Michelle up before jumping off the upper floor and landing on the lower ground. After Doey placed Michelle on the ground, they approached the group. "Let's head to the basement quickly," she said.

The group nodded as they quickly approached the door; Michelle grabbed the doorknob with her right hand and twisted it. After Michelle opened the door, the group quickly went through it before the door closed behind them.

Soon after, Lily Lovebraids's smaller braids opened the door before she entered, pouting. "Nothing... there wasn't even a blanket or a picnic basket either..." she said, lowly.

After Lily Lovebraids's smaller braids closed the doors, she noticed the dining hall was empty, which made her gasp a bit. "They're all gone..." she said, lowly.

Soon after, Lily Lovebraids's eyes became slightly bloodshot as the ends of her smaller braids got on the ground before she lifted herself off the floor. "Once the tea party is over, all of them are going in the bad toy box!!" she shouted before moving forward.

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