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Chapter 66 - Maze

When the duo went up the ramp, they saw a spotlight turn on as they walked. "You realize the futility of this, don't you?" the Doctor asked. "Meat rots and loses its function, it's as replaceable as anything else. You're accomplishing nothing."

Michelle looked forward. "Maybe so, but it gets me one step closer to stopping you from tormenting my group," she said. When the duo turned to the left, they saw a lab room with a human corpse on the table and music in the background.

As the duo entered the room, the door closed behind them, which made them look at it. "Well, we're not leaving from there," she said.

When Katelynn approached the corpse, she spotted a note. "Hey, Big Sister," she said, which made Michelle look at her. "A note." Michelle approached Katelynn as she picked up the note. "What does the note say?" she asked.

Katelynn read the note. "Well... these look like instructions..." she said. "About diagrams or something... it also has an FYI for preserving meat." Michelle hummed. "There might be something useful within the note..." she said.

Michelle looked at the back and saw a machine with multiple computers of different toy corpses with missing parts. "Something tells me those corpses play an important role in putting the code into the machine."

Michelle looked at a body diagram on the wall. "And this diagram is the order of which experiment number goes where," she said before approaching one of the doors.

When Michelle was close to the door, she noticed Red Smoke on the other side, which made her grit her teeth. "Well, that's just great; there's Red Smoke in the hallways," she said.

Katelynn looked at the corpse and saw a gas mask on it before taking it off. "Big Sister, I got a gas mask," she said, which made Michelle look at her. "It was from the corpse on the table." Michelle shivered a bit and wrapped her arms. "Is that even sanitary?" she asked.

Katelynn looked at the gas mask with a hum before sucking it in her hand, which surprised Michelle. When the gas mask was inside Katelynn, it moved around inside her before it moved up.

Katelynn opened her mouth before the gas mask came out of it, covered in slime, and placed it back in her hand. "There, that should hopefully get rid of any corpse smell," she said.

Michelle shivered a bit as Katelynn shook any slime off the gas mask before approaching her and holding it out. "Here, try it on," she continued. Michelle was hesitant before grabbing the gas mask and putting it on.

After Michelle made adjustments, she looked around. "Woah... this one is different compared to the one back in Playcare," she said in a muffled voice as she glanced at the bottom right corner and saw an O2 with the number thirty next to it. "This one has an O2 meter."

Katelynn looked at the machine next to the diagram before stretching her arm and pressing the button on it, which dropped an O2 canister.

Katelynn grabbed the canister before retracting her arm and holding it out. "Here," she said. As Michelle grabbed the canister and screwed it on the gas mask, the O2 monitor went from thirty to sixty. "So sixty is my max; neat," she said in a muffled voice.

Michelle turned her head to the monitors. "I'm gonna find those corpses and get their numbers, she continued in a muffled voice before looking at Katelynn. "You stay in here." Katelynn nodded as Michelle approached the blue door, which made it open.

Michelle took a deep breath and exhaled. "Let's do this," she said in a muffled voice before sprinting forward. When Michelle turned right, she saw a black VHS tape under a mini Hoppy Hopscotch corpse in a room up ahead.

When Michelle entered the room, she grabbed the tape. "I'll take that," she said in a muffled voice before putting it in her jacket pocket.

When Michelle looked forward, she spotted a canister dispensing machine next to the door. "I should be OK for now..." she said in a muffled voice before approaching the door. Soon after, Michelle sprinted forward before turning right, and then right again.

When Michelle turned left, she saw a Bron corpse with a missing head; as she got close, she heard voices. What the hell is with this place? she thought.

When Michelle held the tag out, she saw the numbers '1393' and the name Timmy under it. "Experiment 1393... there's the first part of my code," she said in a muffled voice before sprinting back. "Time to refill my canister."

When Michelle entered the room with the mini Hoppy Hopscotch corpse, she approached the dispenser before pressing the button, which dropped a canister.

After Michelle refilled her gas mask, she looked at the door. "I'll try an alternate path where I found that Bron corpse," she said in a muffled voice before approaching it.

When the door opened, Michelle sprinted forward and took the right, and then another right. "Instead of going left, I'll go straight and then left," she continued in a muffled voice before turning left.

Soon after, Michelle turned left again, then right; soon after, she saw a clear space before approaching it.

Michelle tried catching her breath. "It's a good thing I refilled before going through that again..." she said in a muffled voice before glancing at the monitor. "I wasn't sure if I had enough oxygen if I didn't refill."

Michelle looked up and saw a handle near a vent before aiming and pulling the right trigger, launching the red hand and grabbing it. Soon after, Michelle pulled herself up before swinging herself to the vent and crawling.

When Michelle was out of the vent, she stood properly as different voices played; she turned her head to the right and saw a note before approaching it.

When Michelle was close, she picked the note up and read it; soon after, she growled a bit before crumpling the paper and tossing it. "I knew you were a twisted individual, Eddie, but that's fucked up," she said in a muffled voice.

Michelle approached the railing and saw a PJ Pug-A-Pillar corpse with a missing upper leg and eye.

Michelle dropped down and looked at the tag; she saw the numbers 1398 on it. "Experiment 1398..." she said in a muffled voice. "So that should lead to three missing corpses..."

Michelle turned her head to the right and saw a large red button next to a dispensing machine. "Let's refill on O2, and then press the button," she continued in a muffled voice before approaching the dispenser.

When Michelle was close to the dispenser, she pressed the button, which dispensed a canister; she picked it up and refilled her gas mask.

Michelle looked at the button before pressing it, which lit the cable. "Where will you take me?" she asked in a muffled voice before approaching the steps.

When Michelle reached the top, she spotted a door before approaching it; when she was close, it opened, revealing a catwalk before moving forward.

When Michelle entered the other side, she saw a vital chamber with a liver inside it. "Why do you submit to their whims?" the Doctor asked.

Michelle looked around before spotting the steps. "Playtime hurt us; my experiments hurt us," the Doctor said. "Do you think Poppy cares about you? She'd sacrifice you in an INSTANT if she believed it meant getting what she wants."

Michelle gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "The only difference between her and I... the ONLY difference is that what I fight for actually gains humanity SOMETHING," the Doctor continued.

Michelle looked down. "Otherwise, what was ANY of this worth? Would you simply make all that sacrifice meaningless?" the Doctor asked.

Michelle mockingly laughed. "You, doing humanity a favor?" she asked rhetorically in a muffled voice. Soon after, Michelle glared at the intercoms. "Your ego trip is so big that it'll take you nowhere," she said in a muffled voice before going down the steps.

Soon after, Michelle entered the room, which made Katelynn turn to her. "Big Sister," she said before approaching her. Michelle looked at Katelynn. "Anything?" she asked in a muffled voice.

Katelynn shook her head. "I haven't seen any bad toys so far," she said before pointing to the back. "But take a look at the monitors."

When Michelle approached the monitors, she saw the experiment numbers next to the Bron corpse and the PJ Pug-A-Pillar corpse. "I see..." she said, lowly, in a muffled voice.

As Michelle examined the numbers, she noticed the last digit was a different color. "It seems like the last number on the experiments is part of the code," she continued in a muffled voice. "So I need to find the remaining three before we can destroy the Doctor's liver upstairs."

Michelle looked at the door on the right. "I'll be back, Katie," she said in a muffled voice before approaching it; Katie looked at her as she sprinted forward. "Good luck, Big Sister," she said.

Michelle turned left, then right, and then left again. When Michelle glanced at the room on the right, she spotted a TV with a VHS tape under it. "Eventually I'll get in that room, but for now I'll check the left," she said in a muffled voice before turning to the left.

When Michelle was at the other end, she saw a mini Bubba Bubbaphant corpse on her right with a missing left leg. "You're the third one," she said in a muffled voice.

When Michelle spotted the tag and held it under her hand, she saw the numbers 1399 on it. "Three down, two to go..." she continued in a muffled voice before leaving the area. Michelle sprinted forward before turning right.

Soon after, Michelle entered a room with a green Mini Huggy corpse with their right hand missing. "That's the fourth one," she said in a muffled voice.

Michelle looked at the machine and spotted the numbers 1391 on it and the name Cassie on it. "None of you children deserved this fate," she continued in a muffled voice before turning right.

Michelle looked at her O2 monitor and noticed half of it was gone. "I remember the room with the room with the TV inside also had a canister dispenser," she said in a muffled voice. "I need to find the door before moving forward."

When Michelle turned left, she spotted a red door in the distance. "That's it," she continued in a muffled voice before sprinting toward it.

Soon after, Michelle entered the room and tried catching her breath. "That was too close..." she said, lowly, in a muffled voice. "I don't know what'll happen if the O2 monitor reaches zero, and I'd rather not find out."

Michelle approached the dispenser before pressing the button, which dispensed a canister, before grabbing it and refilling the gas mask. "That's much better..." she said, lowly, in a muffled voice.

Michelle looked at the TV before grabbing the tape out of her jacket pocket. "What do you have in store for me?" she asked in a muffled voice before approaching it. When Michelle was close to the TV, she inserted the tape into the player before looking at it.

Soon after, Michelle heard mechanical noises. "It looks like he's waking up," Dr. White said. "Where... am I? What... what is this?" the Doctor asked. Michelle crossed her arms. "Oh no... they didn't; those backstabbing traitors," the Doctor said.

"Dr. Sawyer? Can you hear me?" Dr. White asked. "White?! White, is that you?! Who else is in there with you? You enjoying me watching me writhe like one of them?" the Doctor shouted.

Michelle heard a pained noise from the Doctor before groaning. "My head... feels like it's splitting in two. This is wrong, you must have done something wrong," he said.

"Some disorientation is to be expected, it'll—" the Doctor interrupted him. "Who gave you the order?" Michelle stared at the TV. "You spineless cowards, after all I've done for this project, for this company—" a new voice emerged. "I gave the order, Sawyer."

Michelle was shocked. "Leith Pierre, of course it'd be you. You have no idea what kind of mistake you've just made," the Doctor said. "Really? From where I'm sitting, you're the one who keeps making mistakes that need fixing," Leith said.

Michelle looked away a bit. "We gave you so many opportunities to clean up your own messes, but you just couldn't do it, could you?" Leith continued.

"What? You think you could do better? Nobody else can do what I do! You need my knowledge— my intellect!" the Doctor shouted. "Why do you think you're sitting in there right now, and not in Boxy's stomach?" Leith asked rhetorically.

Michelle looked at the screen. "Let me tell you how this is gonna go, Sawyer," Leith said. "From now on, you're here to give the lab boys answers when they need them, and carry out procedures when and how we tell you to; that's it."

Michelle stared at the screen. "You'll be like an open book to us whenever we want. So fight, or give in, or whatever, because either way we own the infrastructure you're wired into," Leith continued.

"You'll die for this, Leith! When I get my hands on you, you're a dead man?!" the Doctor shouted. "This temper is a bad look for you, Harley," Leith said before the TV ended.

Michelle huffed a bit. "Even though I hate the Doctor, I'd feel the same anger too if I had my brain and part of my organs connected to machinery..." she said in a muffled voice.

Michelle looked at the door. "Time to find the last corpse," she continued in a muffled voice before approaching it.

As Michelle reached the room with the mini Hoppy Hopscotch corpse, she spotted a blood trail on the ground. "You must lead to the final corpse," she said in a muffled voice before following it.

When Michelle reached the end of the blood trail, she saw a Bunzo Bunny corpse with a missing left arm and shoulder. "That's the last one," she continued in a muffled voice.

When Michelle held the tag, she saw the numbers 1395 and the name Danny under it. Michelle removed her hand before turning to the back. "Time to get back to Katie," she said in a muffled voice before sprinting forward.

Soon after, Michelle entered the room Katelynn was in, which made her look at her. "I managed to find all the numbers," she said in a muffled voice before approaching the monitors.

Michelle looked at the monitors while humming. "How can I know which number goes where?" she asked in a muffled voice.

As the music played, Katelynn was starting to get irritated, which made Michelle look at her. "Is something wrong?" she asked in a muffled voice. Katelynn yelled a bit. "It's this stupid song; it's been playing nonstop?!" she shouted. "It's so annoying! I just want it to stop!"

Michelle looked at Katelynn. "Song?" she asked in a muffled voice before humming. "I guess when you're in a room for a long time, it does start getting annoying..."

Katelynn growled. "But why is this the only song?! I get that it promotes activity to the kids to touch a certain body part, but it's aggravating!" she shouted.

Michelle was surprised. "Touch a certain body part," she said in a muffled voice. Michelle looked at the monitors. "That's right, each corpse was missing a body part..." she continued in a muffled voice before looking at the diagram. "And the order on the diagram..."

Michelle realized something before approaching Katelynn and hugging her, which surprised her. "You're a genius, Katie!" she shouted in a muffled voice. Katelynn looked at Michelle, confused. "What?" she asked.

Michelle let go of Katelynn and approached the monitor. "Each corpse is missing a body part, so all we have to do is follow the song," she said in a muffled voice. Katelynn looked at the monitor. "That being head, shoulders, knees, and toes?" she asked.

Michelle nodded. "Bron is missing his head, Bunzo is missing his arm, the Mini Huggy is missing her hand, and both the mini Bubba and PJ are missing a part of their legs," she said in a muffled voice.

Michelle looked at the keypad. "And if we follow the last digits on the experiment numbers..." she continued in a muffled voice. Katelynn was shocked. "That gives us our code!" she shouted.

Michelle nodded. "That being 3-5-1-9-8," she said in a muffled voice as she typed the code in the keypad. Soon after, the cable lit up and followed toward the back. "That should open the vital chamber upstairs," Michelle continued in a muffled voice.

Katelynn nodded as the duo went up the stairs. When the duo reached the top, Micelle looked at the plug before aiming and pulling the left trigger, launching the blue hand and grabbing it before retracting. "Time to plug you in," she said in a muffled voice.

When the duo entered the small room, Michelle put the plug in the machine, which electrocuted the liver before it went up in flames. The door beside the duo on the left opened. "Time to get out of here," Michelle said in a muffled voice.

Katelynn nodded as the duo approached the door. The duo went down a ramp. "Now we need to get to—" before Michelle could say anything else, Touille lunged toward her and grabbed the gas mask. "Ah, fuck!"

Katelynn glared at Touille, "Hey, get off my Big Sister!" she shouted before punching him, which pulled the gas mask off Michelle's face in the process. Touille screeched at the duo before running away; Katelynn growled a bit. "I hate the Nightmare Critters..." she said.

Michelle looked at the broken gas mask before sighing. "Well, there's not much we can do; let's get going," she said. Katelynn nodded before the duo turned to the left.

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