A sharp ache throbbed in the Player’s skull as consciousness slowly returned to him.

The dim, flickering lights above did little to ease his dizziness. He forced himself upright, his muscles stiff from exhaustion.

The glass case in front of him was empty.

Poppy was gone.

His pulse quickened. She had been right there. But now—nothing.

Something took her.

Or… she fled?

He turned toward the entrance, gripping the handle—but it refused to budge. Locked.

"Of course"

His gaze darted around, searching for another way out. His breath hitched when he spotted it—a closet, its door barely clinging to its hinges.

And beside it—

A white door.

He yanked it open.

Beyond the door stretched an impossibly long hallway, lined with rusted pipes and flickering bulbs that cast eerie, shifting shadows.

His stomach tightened.

This place was bigger than he ever imagined.

He stepped forward, his footsteps echoing endlessly as he navigated the winding corridor. The deeper he went, the more it felt like the factory was breathing around him—watching, waiting.

Then—

A door.

Not just any door.

Elliot Ludwig’s Office.

The man who built all of this.

He hesitated, then pushed open the heavy office door, and a stale, dusty scent greeted him.

The office felt frozen in time—papers scattered across the desk, faded photographs lining the walls, a single chair turned away as if its occupant had stepped out years ago and never returned.

The room was cluttered, but not in the way he expected.

Drawings.

They were everywhere—pinned to the walls, scattered across the desk, some even crumpled in forgotten corners.

Hand-drawn sketches of the factory’s toys.

Huggy Wuggy. Kissy Missy. Mommy Long Legs.

Shaking off the unease, his eyes landed on something else—

A loose vent cover on the far wall.

A person could fit through it easily.

Without hesitation, he raised his GrabPack, aimed, and fired.

The vent cover groaned before snapping free, clattering to the floor.

He climbed inside.

The tight passage was cold, the metal walls pressing in on him as he crawled forward. The air smelled faintly of rust and something else—something rotten.

Then—

A faint glow ahead.

A soft humming noise.

He reached the end of the vent and dropped down into another room.

Suddenly a box in front toppled over, crashing onto the floor.

He flinched.

Poppy gasped and spun around, her bright blue eyes wide.

"Oh! Sorry!" she stammered. "I didn’t mean to scare you!"

He then exhaled, shaking his head.

"I was just trying to get the power back on," Poppy continued, stepping aside. "Here, let me—"

He didn’t wait for her to finish. Raising his GrabPack, he connected the electrical circuits. A surge of energy crackled through the air—

And then—

Light.

The dim bulbs flickered back to life, illuminating the room.

Poppy clapped her hands together.

"I wanted to thank you for freeing me," she said, her voice softer now. "I was stuck in that case for so long. Thank you."

He didn’t respond.

She didn’t seem to mind.

"I want to help you now!" she said brightly. "There’s a train station nearby. It needs a code—and I have it! We’re gonna get out of here!"

A train station.

An escape.

It sounded too good to be true.

Still—what choice did he have?

Poppy turned toward a vent. "I should be able to follow you through here," she explained.

He couldn’t fit, so he took a different path—walking back out into Ludwig’s Office, tracing where the vent led.

Then—

He saw her again.

Poppy stood at the edge of a massive hole in the floor, waiting for him.

When he approached, she turned to him, her voice softer now.

"Listen," she said. "I’m going to need you to trust me—"

Then—

A scream.

"Ahhhhhh—!"

Before he could react, something lurched from the darkness.

A flash of pink.

Long, wiry limbs shot out, wrapping around Poppy in an instant.

His breath caught.

The thing moved too fast.

Before he could react, something yanked Poppy into the abyss.

Gone.

Just like that.

His breath hitched. His muscles locked.

What…?

It happened so fast. One second, she was there—talking, guiding him—and the next?

Ripped away. Vanished.

He barely caught a glimpse. Just a flash of pink. Then darkness.

His heartbeat pounded against his ribs as he stepped toward the edge. He swallowed hard, peering down.

Nothing.

The hole stretched into endless black.

He clenched his fists.

What the hell was that?

He exhaled sharply, forcing his mind to steady. It doesn’t matter.

Poppy was his only ticket out of here.

She had the train code. The exit. The way out.

Without her, he was trapped.

And if he kept going…

More horrors. More things lurking in the dark, waiting.

His stomach twisted, his body screaming at him to stop, to turn back.

But there was no turning back.

His only way out—was down.

He squeezed his eyes shut for half a second, inhaling through his teeth.

"Damn it!" he muttered.

Then—before he could talk himself out of it—

He jumped.

His stomach lurched as he plunged into the darkness—only to feel himself sliding.

Not falling. Sliding.

The smooth, twisting chute sent him spiraling downward, disorienting him as he sped through the enclosed tunnel. The rush of air roared in his ears before—

THUD.

He hit solid ground.

Dizzy, breathless, he staggered to his feet, shaking off the sudden drop.

And that’s when he saw it.

The Game Station.

The entire station was sealed shut by a heavy, screen-like metal gate.

He scanned the area. There—a wire.

It stretched from the gate, snaking along the floor and leading into an open room.

Power room.

He didn’t waste time. He sprinted inside, scanning the dim space.

Using his GrabPack, he latched onto the electrical coils, feeling the current surge through the metal. Carefully, he maneuvered the energy, guiding it along the circuit until—

BZZZT!

The system jolted to life.

Sparks flickered along the wiring, and through the door, he saw the circuit leading to the gate hum with power.

Then—

A metallic groan.

The gate began to open.

With a deep breath, he turned back toward the Game Station.

His path forward was clear.

But something told him… he wasn’t alone.

As he stepped through the gate and into the Game Station, a strange unease settled in his chest.

The air felt thicker. Heavy with something unspoken.

He cast a glance over his shoulder.

Nothing.

Just the dim glow of the power room behind him, the long shadows of rusting machinery stretching across the floor.

Still—he couldn't shake the feeling.

Like eyes were on him.

Watching.

Observing.

He forced himself forward, gripping his GrabPack a little tighter as he took in the surroundings. The Game Station was eerily quiet. No music. No laughter. Just the low hum of machinery running on autopilot, as if the place was still waiting for children who would never return.

And behind him—hidden in the depths of the shadows—someone watched.

Not a monster.

Not a toy.

Someone else.

The dim, flickering light barely illuminated the lower half of its body. Glancing over his shoulder.

He felt it. The weight of unseen eyes.

Interesting.

She rested her chin against her knuckles, eyes gleaming with amusement.

"I didn’t think he’d be this perceptive…" she mused silently. "Not bad."

Her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before she melted back into the shadows, disappearing without a sound.