(⭐)
It was a long time after the others left when we realized that, as always, Bubba and I had nothing to share. So we minded our own business.
Having nothing to do, I took a blanket and placed it folded under my head. I decided to take a nap to at least think about other things.
I closed my eyes, but I just tossed and turned. This seemed to annoy Bubba.
Bubba Bubbaphant: Could you stay still for a second? You're wasting my patience.
KickinChicken: Could you just stop giving your opinion on everything I do? Also, what patience do you need to have with me?
Bubba Bubbaphant: A lot, Kickin.
I sat up, looking at him. Today, I feel like annoying him. Let's take him to the edge of his patience- like, why not?
KickinChicken: What's a lot?
He sighed.
Bubba Bubbaphant: I need a superlative dose of patience and self-control in order to control myself and not snapping your neck with my bare hands.
I got up. We had reached my edge of my patience instead.
With all due respect, I was sick and tired of this arrogant elephant. I wish the cable car had fallen with him inside...
And I wasn't afraid to say it out loud.
KickinChicken: I hate you, Bubba.
There was silence after I released it. He looked at me, I sensed a spark of rage. It was a new gaze, totally different from the bad faces and annoyance of the looks he used to give me.
Bubba Bubbaphant: ...I beg your pardon?
KickinChicken: You heard me. I've been keeping it for 10 years. You're horrible, Bubba! Never forget it, understood?! You are arrogant, selfish, prideful and vain! Now I understand why Picky has anxiety sometimes. Being next to you is a guarantee of punishment.
Bubba Bubbaphant: ...Want to talk about what I've been keeping from you for an entire decade, KickinChicken? Want the real truth? Want to know what I remember about you? Because you know an elephant always remembers!
KickinChicken: Go ahead!
Bubba got up from his seat and approached me, calm but visibly angry. And he gave me what I gave Crafty in Home Sweet Home. This one felt more personal, though. More blunt than a simple slap. His strength, however, was such that he knocked me to the ground.
He left me stunned on the ground, but he grabbed me by the shoulders, lifted me off the ground and he had me suspended in the air by the lapels of my jacket, he shook me like a puppet and started yelling at me.
Bubba Bubbaphant: YOU DISGUSTING, SON OF A THOUSAND BITCHES, UNGRATEFUL, FUCKING LUNATIC INCAPABLE OF HAVING RESPONSIBILITIES!!! BLESSED CRAFTY FOR HAVING ENDURED SO MANY YEARS!
EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE PAIN YOU GIVE ME?! IF I HAD BEEN BRAVE, I SHOULD HAVE BROKEN YOUR HEAD BY SLAMMING YOU ON A WALL! SOMETIMES I WISH CATNAP HAD KILLED YOU, JUST SO WE WON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH A SELFISH, SPOILED, GREEDY, CARELESS BRAT LIKE YOU!!!
When he let me go, I ended up on the ground. I touched my face; A trickle of blood ran down my nose and mouth. I looked at Bubba.
His eyes were full of tears, his fist was full of blood, his face was pale. He was gasping for air.
KickinChicken: Bubba? Are you okay?
Bubba Bubbaphant: NO! SHUT THE FUCK UP! I don't want to keep hearing you! Is it too much to ask...?!
His voice was breaking into tears. He was shaking, he had noticed he had gone way too far. He covered his face, crying and whimpering like a little child. I never saw him so broken; all the feelings he bottled up for 10 years had spilled out.
For some reason, it calmed me to see him cry. Bubba had finally revealed that uncertain, formless thing that was eating away at his feelings.
I got up.
KickinChicken: Bubba, uh...
Bubba Bubbaphant: Leave me! I-I-...what the fuck did I just...?
KickinChicken: Bubba, calm down...we both got mad!
Bubba Bubbaphant: No! No! Stay back, please!
I placed my hand on his shoulder, but he slapped my hand away and ran out of the compartment out of the statue, crying.
I followed him outside, but soon lost him. I looked for him everywhere, but he was nowhere. I screamed for him until I got a sore throat, but it was as if he had disappeared.
Or worse. Way worse.
It made me cry. I shook the tears away, but new ones came.
I stormed back down the statue. I began to attack everything with blows. I felt like an idiot, a moron, a wimp.
Bubba had swallowed too much, much more than I thought. He had been holding in all the hate, all the rage and resentment accumulated in 10 years of patience and hardship. He had a visceral hatred for me that I interpreted as a tantrum or a rivalry, almost like a game. And the worst thing was, he barely had people to vent about. He only had PickyPiggy. And I'm sure he didn't say anything to her either.
And still, he tried to be helpful, and he made me a mountain of debts of affection and support that I will not be able to pay even in three lifetimes.
I fell to the floor, buried my face in the blanket and started crying, kicking around, cursing everything, cursing myself for not caring, cursing him for shutting up.
Eventually, I calmed down. I lay relaxed on the blanket, my eyes still watery and my breathing threatened an episode of anxiety, similar to the ones Crafty suffered and I comforted.
I heard footsteps slowly descending into the compartment. I heard the door close.
I raised my head, because I thought it was Bubba...
...it wasn't like that.
KickinChicken: ...You! Damn it...!
CatNap seemed to be calm and docile, with no violent intentions. He was holding something with his tail. Lightly, he put that thing down; a red, soaked jacket.
It distracted me a little, I was wondering what was CatNap doing with the red jacket that PickyPiggy tied around her waist. When I touched it, my hands turned red. I drained it a little, and the red color fell like a waterfall on the floor. The robe took on a pink hue.
I soon understood that garment was white...only one of us was wearing a 100% white coat...
KickinChicken: Where is he.
CatNap: ...Somewhere.
KickinChicken: That isn't an answer! Where. Is. He! You killed him?!
CatNap: ...No.
KickinChicken: Where is he then?!
CatNap didn't respond to me. He started to expel that disgusting red gas...but it was darker. Thicker. More fragrant.
I breathed it in by mistake, even if I tried to avoid it.
It was a serious, serious mistake to do so.
(⚡)
Together with Oscar and Picky, we entered Home Sweet Home together. PickyPiggy seemed a little tense, even though she had already gone in earlier to look for food. She was holding onto Oscar's hand, with whom she seemed to have had a good relationship.
It didn't surprise me; Picky was always unnerved by being away from Bubba, with whom she was enormously close.
Oscar seemed to sense her upset, and helped her calm down, patting her affectionately and joking with her.
I, on the other hand, was at a hundred! I was bursting with energy and was looking forward to adventure! A good adventure!
Hoppy Hopscotch: Come on, guys! Let's look for that generator!
Oscar: Come on, let's go down.
The three of us went down those steep, narrow stairs to the long hallway full of doors.
PickyPiggy peeked into the bedrooms.
Hoppy Hopscotch: What do you see, aren't they all the same?
PickyPiggy: They are not 100% the same, there is always some difference...look at this one.
We enter a bedroom on our right. It was somewhat shabby, and had a seemingly ordinary mirror. However, Picky put her hoof on the mirror glass. I looked in the mirror and noticed that there was a gap between the reflection of Picky's hoof and the real hoof.
Bubba once made a point about this.
Hoppy Hopscotch: A two-way mirror.
PickyPiggy: Indeed! Bubba said he suspected something was wrong with the mirrors of Home Sweet Home, but I was never able to corroborate it. In addition, the staff called him out and scolded him.
Hoppy Hopscotch: What's the point of these kinds of mirrors, anyway?
Oscar: It's obvious; They were watching the children.
PickyPiggy: Why would they want to watch them? I do not understand anythin'...
Hoppy Hopscotch: Let's keep looking around while finding the generator, okay? Maybe we can find some sort of answer to our questions...
Oscar: Alright...but first, we need a battery.
PickyPiggy: Found one, look.
Picky pointed at a Bobby Bearhug statue in the middle of a bedroom where garbage and abandonment lived among the empty bunk beds and the empty cribs.
The statue had a battery on its back.
Hoppy Hopscotch: 'Kay, imma get it!
I ran to the statue, but upon realizing my existence, it quickly turned to face me, leaving the battery out of my reach. I tried to reach the back of the statue, but as I went to the right, it turned with me at the same speed, so I made several turns at high speed and still did not reach it.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, and tried another tactic.
I was running around it, but without warning I went in the opposite direction. I almost made it; I touched the battery with my fingertips, but it slipped away.
I stopped again, but this time I had another plan.
I let it look at me for a while, and then I approached it, took a dizzying leap, and jumped over it. Even like that, the statue followed me everywhere.
It frustrated me a lot. Oscar sensed it and approached me.
Oscar: Don't worry, Hoppy, we can do it another way. Picky, guard the door while we get it. If CatNap approaches, say "CatNap" so we can hide.
PickyPiggy: Got it.
Picky watched the door while he laid out his plan. And the truth is, if it were well executed, it was a wonderful plan. It became very clear to me, so we soon did it. As Oscar said, I stood in front of the statue. It was looking at me until Oscar approached it from behind. The statue turned toward him, but it was part of the plan. I grabbed the battery and pulled it. I ended up on the floor with the battery in my hand.
Oscar: Great job, Hoppy! Now we can go.
PickyPiggy: *Gasp* CatNap, CatNap!
Oscar: Oh shit! C'mon, under the beds!
Oscar I were quick and soon hid under the nearest bunk bed.
Picky wasn't as quick, for she didn't quite get under the bunk bed next to us, when something long, purple, and slippery wrapped around her arm and pulled her out.
Oscar wanted to leave to help her, but I held him back by one arm.
Imprisoned by that purple vine that couldn't be anything else other than CatNap's tail, Picky tried to free herself by kicking it in vain. However, she did not shout for us, as if to hide us better.
CatNap dragged her out of the room. She started screaming out of pure fear, but she still didn't call us.
I didn't accept it. I got out from under the bunk bed.
Oscar: Hoppy!
Hoppy Hopscotch: I have to save her! It was already difficult for me to save her in the Hour of Joy, and I'm not going to let him take her!
I ran out of the bunk without giving Oscar time to react.
At the entrance was CatNap, who had tied Picky's torso with his tail, and she was kicking in the air and moving her head everywhere, since she couldn't move the rest of her body. She was having a panic attack.
CatNap: ...I'll ask you once, you bitch. Where. Is. The. Worker?
I soon understood he was looking for Oscar, despite he never worked here. Luckily, he was still hidden under the bed.
PickyPiggy: I...I don't know...
CatNap didn't like the answer. He rammed her to the wall. She hit her head and yelped in pain, but was still concious.
CatNap: WHERE'S HE, YOU FATASS!?
PickyPiggy: I DON'T KNOW, GOD FUCKIN' DAMMIT! AND NEXT TIME YOU CALL ME FATASS, I'LL HAVE ROASTED CAT FOR LUNCH!
She spat on his face.
CatNap stayed quiet. That's when I came out with a piece of rubble in my hands and threw it at the tail. CatNap hissed with a hoarse sound, and let go of Picky, who fell to the ground.
I helped her up and pushed her into the hallway.
Hoppy Hopscotch: Run, Picky! I'll try to catch up with you later!
I spoke in the singular, because Oscar was still there and CatNap was there too, and the truth of our plans could be discovered.
I grabbed the rubble again and aimed for his head, but with a single blow he deflected it and in the process scratched both of my hands.
I positioned myself to finish him off with fist blows, but the force of his paw knocked me down and kept me on the ground. His sharp claws threatened to sink into my body and take my life.
CatNap: Where are you hiding the worker, Hoppy...
Hoppy Hopscotch: The worker isn't with us.
CatNap: Are you going to sacrifice your life over some foolish mortals?
Hoppy Hopscotch: I'm not sacrificing anything because I have no idea of what you're talking about.
CatNap: I see you don't want to cooperate, Hoppy. It is a pity.
Suddenly, I saw something collide with CatNap's head. He turned around. I couldn't lift my head to see who he was. But I soon understood it.
CatNap: Damn pig...well, she'll be of some use to me.
CatNap ran to the other side of the hallway. I grabbed him by his sharp talons, and he dragged me a short distance until he noticed I was clinging to him in order to stop him from doing something to PickyPiggy.
A blow to my face turned everything black.
...
...wake up...
...this isn't over...
...they need you...
...deep within the ground, suffocating...
...alone in the darkness, in her constant torture...
...plunged in an atrocious act that will eat her away...
...they'll die...we need you all...
...Hoppy...
...Hoppy...
...HOPPY!
My eyes flew open. I found myself outside on the porch. Oscar was shaking me with both hands. He put one hand on my chest and another on my forehead.
Oscar: Okay, the effect of that fog has worn off... you're no longer cold...and your pulse is fine...
Hoppy Hopscotch: ...Where's Picky?
There was silence.
Oscar: Are you sure you wanna know the truth...?
Hoppy Hopscotch: ...Absolutely.
Oscar: CatNap took her away after turning on the generator. I couldn't save her, Hoppy, I'm so sorry! By heaven I swear I tried!
The poor guy was devastated, crying his eyes out and muttering insults to himself. I hugged him and spoke to him using the same half tongues and sappy language that I used years ago to comfort children like him. Because, after all, he's still a kid.
He relaxed little by little, but continued to cry and sob.
Hoppy Hopscotch: Don't cry anymore...we can solve everything.
He responded with a sob.
Hoppy Hopscotch: We'll save her. I know she is alive.
Hearing that, Oscar swallowed his hiccups and wiped away his tears.
Oscar: How do you know that...?
Hoppy Hopscotch: I...dreamt it.
That confused him a little, but it helped him calm down. Oscar stood up, wiped away the last tears off his eyes, and straightened his head. He didn't cry again.
Oscar: Oh...by the way...what's the Hour of Joy?
Hoppy Hopscotch: What?
Oscar: When you got out from under the bunk bed, you mentioned something about something called "the Hour of Joy"...what's that?
...Shit, I talked about it aloud?
Hoppy Hopscotch: Umm...it's a long story. I'll tell you...once I'm ready for it.
Oscar didn't ask anymore about it.
We returned to the statue...
Oscar: ...The gas?
Hoppy Hopscotch: What happened here...?
We heard desesperate screaming from inside, huge cries of suffering. There was also a tiny trail of blood that ended not so far away in a huge pool of blood.
There was no doubt something happened to them...
Hoppy Hopscotch and Oscar: *Gasp* KICKIN! BUBBA!
(☀)
The three of us entered, thanks to a key that Bobby had, into the counselor's office. It was dusty and full of papers and trash scattered everywhere.
This site will be more difficult to explore, since no one has been inside before.
Austin: How strange is this place... have you ever been here?
Bobby Bearhug: We weren't allowed access. This was for the staff.
Austin: And what will be here...? What will these papers be about?
DogDay: I'd rather not know...let's find that generator and get out of here.
Bobby, Austin and I were looking for that generator. We wandered around the rooms and offices, slightly lost, until we finally found the damn generator. I turned it on. It started making the humming of an engine.
DogDay: Ready! Let's go-
I turned around, and then I realized I was alone.
Were they lost? Or had I gotten lost and found the generator by divine luck?
DogDay: Austin? Bobby! Are you guys there?
I went back through the same rooms I passed before. I didn't see anyone, and I almost started to panic. What if they were in danger? What if CatNap had caught them...?
All the images of that decade of pure torture began to come to me. A pain began to lodge in my bones, I felt weakness in my joints, my head began to hurt and a taste of blood came to my mouth. I felt a strange sensation on the back of my neck, like something grazing it.
My chest felt tight, as if my heart were in a knot.
I entered another room, and all those feelings disappeared when I saw Austin, who was taking off a gas mask.
DogDay: Austin! I lost you! What a relief to have found you...
Austin: Man, I was looking for you two! I had to go through the red gas. Are you OK?
DogDay: Two...? Umm...I'm alone.
Austin: Well, Bobby's not with me either! Don't tell me she's lost...?
Austin and DogDay: ...Oh shit.
DogDay: Okay, we have to look for her, and pretty fast! What if CatNap gets her?
Austin: Let's hope not! I'll look for her in this room. It has red smoke, though. Gotta enter with the gas mask.
Austin put on the gas mask and squeezed the grips that controlled the GrabPack's hands tightly. He entered a room filled with red gas. Some of the smoke entered the room, although I closed the door quickly. I breathed it in, and although it wasn't enough to put me to sleep, it made me a little dizzy.
Still, I could see how Austin was in that room. I was looking out the window...and I saw a dark purple shadow. There was no doubt. It wasn't an hallucination.
DogDay: Austin, watch out!
When Austin turned, CatNap was on him. I watched as CatNap snatched the gas mask and took off, locking Austin in the room.
I ran inside by that only unlocked door CatNap forgot, holding my breath and pulling out Austin, who was unconscious. I picked him up and carried him to a safer area.
I arrived at a safe area and very close to the exit. After a while, Austin opened his eyes. He began to cough and soon retched. I helped him stand up and recover from the dizziness, but he looked visibly nervous, disoriented and scared.
DogDay: Austin, Austin, calm down, it's DogDay!
Austin: Yeah, yeah...damn, this shitty red gas feels bad...but, damn...I saw something weird...
DogDay: What did you see...?
Austin: They have only clarified my doubts...now we really have to reach the truth...
DogDay: Did you have doubts about staying?
Austin: Let's see, it's not doubts...well, yes, because I didn't trust Poppy. But now I plan to stay until the end.
DogDay: I understand...this is already on...come out, I'm going to look for Bobby. I hope to be on time.
Austin: No, no, no! You're just not going alone, huh?
DogDay: But you're looking just like an electrician who fixed halogens before this whole shit, who carried a canteen everywhere and got dizzier all the time!
Austin: You had a drunk worker here? Damn...
DogDay: Well, go outside, please. I swear to find her.
Austin: Okay...be careful, huh? You better be!
DogDay: I'll be, okay? Take care of the others, please?
Austin nodded and left the offices.
I went into the offices and found the gas mask again. I put it on, and luckily it fit on my face.
I went around the offices several times, but nothing. The only interesting thing I found was a box, which I opened to find the rest of the Smiling Critters pendants.
I grabbed them by handfuls and put them in my pockets. I had to give it to its owners.
After another search without results, I stood in the middle of one of the rooms, somewhat desperate.
Bobby was missing. Or worse; she could have died...
I turned to head back, and I got the shock of my life.
Between the lenses of the mask I saw CatNap.
I backed away, but he struck me harmlessly with his paw and held me by the shoulder. He seemed more...calm than usual. But I was afraid.
CatNap: ...Take off your mask.
I wanted to resist, but at his insistence, I sighed and took it off. However, I didn't dare look him in the face.
CatNap: Look at me.
I shook my head.
The grip on my shoulder grew tighter.
CatNap: Look at me in the face, DogDay. Let's talk.
I sighed. I looked him into his eyes. He had a bizarre and chilling look that shook my entire body. His huge, empty smile lengthened a little, and I saw small dimples in his cheeks, as if he were smiling at me more.
He let go of my shoulder, and relaxed.
It was the first time I had seen him face to face since I was free, since the last torture in the cell.
CatNap: You look the same as you did 10 years ago. I missed your old self.
DogDay: So...why did you torture me? Why did you lie to me? They were alive. You knew it, right? You hid it all the time. With what purpose, hm?
CatNap: That's enough questioning, DogDay.
DogDay: No. I want answers, CatNap. And only then I'll stop.
CatNap: I tortured you...so the world would be perfect in the eyes of my God. Since this was His will. Heretics needed to be punished. That's His divine law.
DogDay: You could have killed me. You could have put me out of the mysery you sunk me in...so, why did you let me live? Why did you let me suffer?!
CatNap: That was the task that my God entrusted to me. He wanted to see how much you could endure in your resistances and heresies. But he wanted you to live...because he saw special potential in you. You would be a valuable prophet for Him, DogDay. You have something special that He likes.
DogDay: ...What? But...I'm just a dog that smells like vanilla.
CatNap: And what's the point? I was a cat that smelled like lavender, and look where I am.
The Prototype wanted you on his side, not only as an adept, but as a higher position. You would be on his right. But your resistance offended him greatly. He demanded that I lock you up and torture you until you came to your senses and agreed to follow him... but I got out of hand. The day I ripped off your legs I was more angry with you than usual, I indulged in making you suffer, I was tempted.
DogDay: And the others...?
CatNap: The Prototype wanted me to kill them; they were a burden for His divine plan. But they were bolder and more organized than usual. I couldn't reach them, I didn't have the confidence that others would finish them off, but I knew that without you, they were lost. I assumed they would die of natural causes, from the desperation of loneliness. But they were more...strong-willed than expected.
But not anymore.
DogDay: Not anymore? So you're related with Bobby dissapearing?
CatNap: ...Kinda. She will pay twice as much as the other two I managed to catch. After all, she was the real mastermind behind the scenes.
DogDay: ...I won't ask who you caught, because I'll run into it sooner or later...but let's make one thing clear, CatNap. I don't know when, where, or how... but I plan to get my friends back, I plan to put an end to your God... even if I have to put an end to you in the process.
CatNap smiled more at me. His diffuse eyes stared at me.
CatNap: Well, I wish you great luck.
CatNap left. I headed towards the exit, knowing that I was going to encounter a major catastrophe on the way out.
I arrived at the statue and found a strange scene.
Kickin was shaking, his pupils dilated and his lips trembling. I quickly approached Kickin, murmured his name and took his hand. I felt something swollen in his hands, and a constant throbbing in them. I almost felt his blood flowing.
With his free hand he was squeezing a reddish garment with enormous force. Red ran down Kickin's hands.
Despite the strange color, I knew whose clothing was.
DogDay: Kickin, you okay?
KickinChicken: Fucking gas...
DogDay: I know, Kickin, I know...
KickinChicken: ...He's taken Bubba.
My heart sank. Kickin was devastated, although they had probably been fighting for 10 years.
Could it be what they say about not knowing what you have until you lose it?
DogDay: Don't worry, we'll find him...
KickinChicken: Please...yes, I need him here...I need to fix it...I can't take it anymore...as Picky...
DogDay: Picky...she's also gone?
KickinChicken: Yes...
DogDay: Bobby is also missing. He surely takes them to the same place.
KickinChicken: ...And the others? Austin? Maya? Crafty?
Oscar: We're here! Crafty and Maya are doing well!
Crafty ran down and hugged Kickin. I saw her terrified when she realized the state of exaltation and pain in which her friend was.
CraftyCorn: Kickin! Are you OK?!
Kickin: No.
He gripped the lab coat tighter. Crafty looked horrified at the scene.
CraftyCorn: That's Bubba's...
DogDay: And there are several trapped by CatNap. We have to go rescue them.
CraftyCorn: Of course! ...But how?
DogDay: ...I don't know. But we'll find out.