Chapters Starlight Needs a Hug 2: A Web of Lies
4) A Detour and Investigation
Control Room - Mommy Long Legs and her Prisoners
Mommy Long Legs was watching both Starlight and Huggy Wuggy on the wall full of monitors. The two of them working together to beat the games would throw a wrench in her whole plan. Good thing she had something in mind to separate the two of them. Behind her in the room were Trixie and Poppy tied to the wall with Mommy's web. Trixie saw her friends win the last game and cheered for them.
"Hell yeah! Go Starlight! Go Huggy Wuggy!" she cheered while smirking at a scowling Mommy Long Legs. "Looks like you're gonna lose this game at this rate."
The pink toy monster turned and looked at Trixie with huge black eyes that twitched with madness. Trixie immediately shut up at seeing those mad eyes. Mommy spoke was slightly raspy when she spoke to Trixie and Poppy, whose mouth was webbed shut.
"Oh, I haven't lost quite yet, sweetie. There's still the last game to play, and this one promises to be a doozy!" Mommy said with a huge smile. "As for those two, I have an idea to split them up. This spider has multiple flies at her disposal, after all."
Mommy snapped her fingers and the pack of Mini-Huggies came into the room. They looked up at Mommy Long Legs as she spoke to them.
"I need you to make sure Starlight and Huggy are separated. If you do that, you can eat Huggy," Mommy said much to the visible delight of the Mini-Huggies. The pack scurried off to follow Mommy's orders as Trixie and Poppy watched with worry.
Trixie turned back to Starlight and Huggy on the monitors. "Come on, Star and Huggy. You gotta win this! And get us out of this factory! "
With Starlight and Huggy Wuggy
Starlight and Huggy Wuggy were walking down the hallway that led to the Game Station with Starlight's mind racing. Her mom held something of a high position in the Innovation Department, so she had to have known something about what was happening here. Experiments, crazy games, and living toys. What was Playtime Co aiming for by doing this? Why were they doing this to begin with? Starlight sighed to herself which Huggy responded to by nuzzling her head.
"Thanks, big guy. I really appreciate that," Starlight said. "I just wanna get these games over with and get the answers I need."
Huggy Wuggy tussled her hair, making Starlight chuckle. Before they could walk up the stairs to the Game Station, the door shut right in front of them.
"What the hell?!" Starlight called. She ran up the stairs to try to move the door to no avail. Huggy tried to move the door himself but even he couldn't move the door. They were stuck in that hall with no way back to the Game Station. Starlight slammed her fist on the wall in frustration and shouted towards the ceiling.
"Mommy! What's going on here?!" she shouted. The speakers on the wall flickered to life and Mommy's voice came through with a fake shocked tone.
"Mommy's so sorry about that! This place is quite old, so things are bound to be a bit glitchy ," Mommy said. "You can get of there through the vents, though. So I'd suggest you use them ."
The speakers flickered off and Starlight looked around to see some of the vents. She and Huggy could fit in the vents and get out of the hallway and back to the Game Station. She opened the vent with her GrabPack and crouched down to get it first.
"Well, Huggy, looks like we're going through the vents again," Starlight said. "I just hope Mommy doesn't throw any more surprises our way in the meantime."
They crawled into the vent with Huggy struggling a bit due to his greater size. He had to hold on to one of Starlight's legs to pull him forward. Starlight made sure to look through the vent grates whenever they passed by them. None of them led back to the Game Station and only led to random rooms in the factory. Storage rooms, assembly lines, and even janitor closets for the first 12 vent grates. The final one that Starlight passed was one that led to a room that held shelves of boxes, crates, and random toys. On the far side of the wall was a sign that said "Rejected Room".
"Maybe this room can lead us back to the Game Station," Starlight said before looking back at the cramped Huggy. "Better than crawling around in the vents like rats."
Starlight opened the hatch and they crawled out into the room. They stretched themselves and looked around the room at all the different toys. Starlight was amazed at seeing them all.
"I don't remember seeing these toys on the market," Starlight said, looking at the sign. "I guess these were proposed toys that the higher-ups rejected."
There were some truly bizarre toys, too. There was a bear on a toilet called "Sir Poops-A-Lot", a toy oven, and even a simple rock with googly eyes glued on it. At the end of one of the shelves was a giant version of one of her favorite childhood toys growing up: Bron the Dinosaur. Starlight would've been happier to see old Bron if he looked like himself. Instead of bright blue eyes there were tiny black sockets and it was covered in dried blood.
"My man Bron's definitely seen better days," Starlight said quietly. She and Huggy walked up a short set of stairs and towards a control panel with a wider vent behind it. Huggy lifted up Starlight and they crawled through another vent. Good thing for them that this vent was pretty short. Starlight knocked off the hatch and they crawled out onto what looked like tracks for mining carts.
One end of the tracks led down to a boarded up elevator shaft and the other led a gate over the tracks. On the other side of the gate was a mining cart with toy parts and the name "Barry" printed on the front. There was a hallway next to the tracks that had a gate closing the duo off from moving forward.
"Hey Huggy, if we could get Barry out of the gate, we could use him to break the boards and move forward to get back to the Game Station," Starlight said. As they were approaching the gate, something happened to stop them both in their tracks.
A door beyond the gate opened and a tall familiar figure stepped out. A tall and pink fuzzy creature that bore a striking resemblance to Huggy Wuggy and approached the two. Starlight's eyes widened at seeing the toy.
"Kissy Missy? It's Kissy Missy!" Starlight said. "I used to have a toy of you when I was a kid!"
Huggy Wuggy on the other hand walked forward and put a hand on the bars of the gate. Kissy Missy walked forward and put a hand over his. The two toys stared into each others eyes making soft growling and purring sounds. Starlight smirked in realization.
"I think these two are very friendly with each other ," Starlight said. "These two are just precious ."
Kissy Missy stepped back and looked at the lever for the gate. She looked back to Starlight and Huggy and flipped the lever to open the gate. Kissy then turned around and walked away from them. Starlight and Huggy ran after her as soon as the gate hit the ceiling.
"Kissy, wait! We need your help! We need to get our friends back from Mommy Long... Legs?" Starlight said. Just as they rounded the corner of the hallway, Kissy was gone. It was like she disappeared into thin air. "Okay... that's a little creepy."
Huggy Wuggy whimpered and held his head down in sadness. Starlight jumped up and pulled his head to her chest to hug him close to her.
"It's okay, Huggy. We'll find Kissy Missy again. I promise," Starlight said soothingly. "Come on, buddy. Let's keep going, okay?"
Huggy wiped some tears from his eyes and followed Starlight down the hallway. There was a green power panel for Starlight's green hand to use to open the gate for Barry. Starlight collected the green power in her green hand and quickly opened the gate for Barry. But before they could get help from Barry, Starlight found a VHS tap on top of a player and a TV.
"Hmph. Might as well," Starlight said. Starlight put in the tape and the screen showed a young man wearing a yellow Playtime employee uniform sitting down in a chair. "Huh. This guy looks cool."
Starlight stared in disbelief as the tape ended and put a finger to her chin in thought. Cleary the lower-level employees didn't know anything about whatever was happening here in the factory. Only the higher-ups must have known about what was going on. And the must have been hellbent on keeping their secrets, too. The voice talking to Marcus sounded familiar, too.
"That had to be Leith Pierre, the guy mom used to talk about," Starlight said looking to Huggy. "He was the Head of Innovation and de facto CEO of Playtime Co. after Elliot Ludwig's passing. And mom told me that she got a promotion at work one time, so did she know about this?"
Huggy just shrugged. Not the talkative type. Starlight looked back to the VHS player and saw that there was a note under where the VHS tape used to be. She picked it and read with widening eyes as she read it. The note was written in her mom's handwriting.
+
Dear Leith Pierre,
I understand your frustration with our past roadblocks regarding the BBI, but keep in mind that this field of research is in its infancy and we've only scratched the surface. But you'll be happy to know that we've been making strides thanks to Dr. Sawyer's work with Experiment 1006. All future experiments are intended to be better then the last. Me and my team guarantee that you and your money men will see your investments returned and then some. All we ask is that you simply let us do our work peacefully if you want the BBI to succeed.
Dr. Starshine Gleam
+
"So mom was involved. What did these experiments entail?" Starlight asked. "What is this 'BBI' she mentioned? And who's this 'Dr. Sawyer'?"
A menacing growl escaped Huggy's lips as he heard the name "Dr. Sawyer". Clearly Huggy didn't like whoever that was. Starlight put the note in her pocket and grabbed Barry with the GrabPack and moved him down the track towards the elevator shaft. Starlight pushed Barry down the tracks and watched Barry break the boards and fall down the empty shaft. Now they can climb up the shaft to get back to the Game Station. Starlight cheered.
"Alright! Come on, Huggy! Let's get back to--!" Starlight said before getting interrupted.
The pack of Mini-Huggies they beat in Whack-A-Wuggy burst out of one the vents and rushed towards the duo. Starlight and Huggy instantly turned and ran towards the shaft. Starlight used her both GrabPack hands to grab on to one of the handholds above to propel herself upwards. Huggy Wuggy joined her and began to quickly catch up to her.
"Keep going, Huggy! We gotta lose them!" Starlight screamed.
Unfortunately, the Mini-Huggies started to crawl up the shaft after them and were quickly catching up to them. Some of them started to latch onto Huggy to dislodge his grip. Huggy did his best to defend himself and even managed to knock off some of them. But it was clear that they would overwhelm him soon if Starlight didn't help him.
"Huggy! No!!" Starlight said before she stopped her ascent to help Huggy. Instead, Huggy knocked off a green Mini and joined Starlight.
The poor guy was in a bad state. He had chunks of fur missing and bleeding wounds from the Mini's teeth. He looked down at the rest of the crawling Minis and then back to Starlight. Tears formed in his eyes as he gave Starlight a sad smile. Starlight could see what he was thinking. She clasped his shoulder as she spoke frantically.
"No! Don't even think about it!" Starlight demanded. "We can fight them off! We just have to--!"
Huggy shushed her by putting a hand over her mouth and pulled her in for a one-armed hug. Starlight started to cry into his shoulder for a few seconds before she felt his hand move to the one grasping her GrabPack cannon. He made her press the trigger to propel her up the shaft. Starlight looked down at Huggy and reached out for him.
"No!" she shouted down to him. "Don't do this, Huggy!"
Starlight watched Huggy stay to fight the Minis as she was launched upwards. He kicked, punched, and bit at the Minis for as long as he could. But the Minis were soon too much for him. Huggy soon lost his grip and... plummeted down the shaft taking all the Minis with him. He was soon lost to the darkness below. Tears freely flowed from Starlight's eyes as her new friend was lost.
The GrabPack hand brought her to an open elevator door that led right back to the Game Station. She crawled onto the solid ledge and looked back down the shaft. Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, Starlight walked back towards the control panel.
"Huggy, I promise I'll end this," Starlight vowed quietly. "For you and our friends, I'll end whatever nightmares happened here."
Starlight Needs a Hug 2: A Web of Lies
In Poppy's Room
Starlight, Trixie, and Huggy Wuggy all woke up in the room where Poppy slept in her case. Starlight struggled to get to her feet as she looked around the room. Poppy was no longer in her open case, and a door down an adjoining hallway was wide open. Starlight shook the sleep from her mind and looked to Trixie and Huggy.
"Are you two OK?" Starlight asked.
"Sleepy as hell, but happy to be alive," Trixie replied.
Huggy simply nodded groggily. The trio got to their feet and looked at the open door outside the room.
"Where'd Poppy go?" Trixie asked. "Did she see Huggy here and bolt in fear?"
"Maybe. Anyway, we have to follow her and see where she went," Starlight replied.
When they exited the room, they saw a huge red door flanked by two angling hallways. The door had a sign hanging above it with a familiar name engraved on it.
"ELLIOT LUDWIG"
"Is that the legendary Elliot Ludwig's office?" Trixie asked with a wide smile. "Oh! We have to go inside!"
"Trixie, as adorable as you look when giddy like this, we have to focus on finding Poppy," Starlight said with a suppressed giggle. She then tried to open the door to Elliot's office only to find that the door was locked.
Starlight looked away just in time to not see Trixie blushing from being called "adorable" to look for Poppy. While there was no living doll, she did still have her handy-dandy GrabPack. She looked down the left hallway and saw that the gate was closed, so Poppy couldn't have gone through there. That only left the other hallway for Poppy to go down. She turned back to Trixie and Huggy.
"You two stay here and I'll scout ahead to look for Poppy. If something goes wrong, I'll head straight back here," Starlight said.
"I think Huggy here will be able to handle any threat that comes our way," Trixie said. Huggy Wuggy screeched in approval.
Heading down the hallway, Starlight's mind raced with thoughts of what's happened since they arrived at the factory. They were expecting to see a nice abandoned toy factory and some form of evidence as to what happened to Starlight's mother and the other employees. Instead, they find an actual living Huggy Wuggy creature and vague tapes about what happened in this factory.
"Mom, where are you? And what happened in this factory? " Starlight asked in her mind. "I just hope I can get some answers from this place ."
She continued her way down the hallway and saw something she wasn't expecting to see. Laying on her righthand side was a bloody CatBee. Starlight walked over to the poor creature and examined it closely. Its abdomen was torn open and the inside of it looked scooped of everything inside. Inside the toy's body was not plastic or stuffing, but white bones and desiccated flesh. Starlight was shocked by this grisly discovery.
"These toys are... organic? How? How is this possible?" Starlight asked. "What the hell is going on here?"
Before she could get any answer to this question, she saw something laying on the floor across a hole in the floor. A large red key lay on the floor within reach of her GrabPack. She knew that had to be the key to Ludwig's office, so she grabbed it easily. Starlight made her way back to the others with the key in hand.
"Guys, I got the key. I also saw something really disturbing," Starlight said.
"What is it?" Trixie asked.
"I think that these toys are actually living creatures and not animatronics or something like that. I saw a dead CatBee and saw body parts inside. I think Playtime Co. was somehow making living toys."
"How... how is that even possible?"
"I don't know. If we can find Poppy or my mom, then maybe we can get some answers."
"Then let's just get into Ludwig's office and find out what's going on."
Starlight unlocked the door to Elliot Ludwig's office and opened the door to look inside. It was a relatively small office space for someone of Ludwig's importance. There were a small bookshelf on the righthand side of the office, a large rug, a few large vents, a mahogany desk , a TV and VHS player, and two other leather cushion chairs for people meeting. Hung up on the wall were several drawings from kids who visited the factory in the past. Starlight and Trixie looked at the drawings with nostalgia on their faces. Trixie gasped at one she saw on the far left.
"Star! I drew that one when I was 6!" Trixie said.
A crayon-drawn picture of a smiling 6-year old Trixie holding hands with Huggy Wuggy and Kissy Missy was hanging on the wall with a small message below it.
"I LUV HUGGY ANT KISSY"
Trixie continued looking at her drawing, Huggy Wuggy was waiting outside, and Starlight was looking around the office for anything that could be used as a clue. The VHS player had a tape sitting on top of it and Starlight picked it up to look at it. It looked like it was a documentary about Elliot Ludwig himself. She put the tape in and the TV hummed to life.
"That was sad to watch," Trixie said. "At least he was able to pick himself back up."
"Yeah. A family death would break anyone," Starlight said. "I hope he and his family member are reunited in the afterlife."
Starlight looked to Ludwig's desk and saw a single piece of paper on it. She picked it up and read it aloud for her and Huggy to hear.
-
Experiment 814
Notes: - This experiment utilized a live rat. - Rat was fed 3 portions daily for 2 weeks. - At the end of the two weeks, the rat was killed and submerged in a poppy flower and preservative gel mixture. - 1 week later, an electric shock was applied to the rat (still in the gel) in an attempt to revive it. - The rat remained unresponsive.
Observations: I still believe in the potential of the poppy flower. Its unusual properties lead me to believe that the proper mixture and procedure could have life-altering properties. The poppy flower has for a long time carried heavy symbolism, and I don't believe that's for no reason. Perhaps something larger than a rat would yield different results.
-
Trixie and Starlight looked at each other in confusion.
"Why would a toy company be performing experiments like this with poppy flowers?" Trixie asked. "That's really weird."
"The note says that poppy flowers carry heavy symbolism, and poppies have been used to symbolize things such as peace and death," Starlight replied. "In Greek mythology, poppies were linked to the goddess of harvest and agriculture Demeter. Were they... trying to revive the dead somehow with poppies? And if they were, what did the toys have to do with it? And what if my mom was involved with these experiments?"
"Maybe we'll find an answer by looking more around this place," Trixie said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.
As Starlight was about to thank Trixie, a vent cover fell off and Poppy herself appeared in the vent. She looked down at the startled human girls below and spoke in a kind voice.
"Oh! Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Poppy said. "I was trying to remember my way around in these vents."
Trixie pointed to Poppy with a smile on her face. "You... you're the real Poppy Playtime! The doll that started it all!"
"That's me. I want to thank you all for saving me," Poppy said. "I know a way out of here. There's a train in the Game Station that we can use to get out of here. It needs a code and I have it."
"Wait! I have a reason for being here!" Starlight said. "My mom used to work here, and she disappeared along with the other employees 10 years ago and I have to get answers!"
Poppy looked at Starlight analytically for a moment before her eyes widened somewhat in what looked like realization. Then she gave her a small smile.
"If that's the case, then I can guarantee that the Game Station's train can take you to different places throughout the factory. It's your best bet of covering ground quickly and helping you find answers," Poppy said. "I'll do my best to help you all with whatever you may need."
Starlight smiled at hearing that. "Thank you so much, Poppy. I have to find out what happened to my mom."
"I understand. Now let's head to the Game Station. I should be able to follow you through the vents," Poppy said, walking back into the vents.
The girls left the room and rejoined Huggy Wuggy and the trio walked down the hallway after Starlight opened the gate with her red GrabPack hand. It was easy for them to follow Poppy through the vents by listening for her humming. Starlight was happy to see that someone in the factory was actually willing to help her find answers to the questions buzzing in her mind like a nest of angry hornets. The group walked in silence until they opened a door to find Poppy standing in front of a large hole in the ground. Poppy turned around to face her saviors.
"Listen everyone, I'm going to need you to trust--," Poppy said before being cut off by something.
A large pink hand attached to a long pink arm suddenly grabbed Poppy and pulled her towards the hole. Trixie lunged forward immediately to help Poppy.
"Poppy!!" Trixie called out.
Trixie grabbed Poppy and tried to pull her away from the hand grabbing her.
"Help me! Please don't let go!" Poppy cried out.
"Guys, help me!" Trixie yelled to Starlight and Huggy.
Before the two could help, another pink arm shot out of the hole and grabbed Trixie, too. They were pulled into the hole in the blink of an eye. Starlight and Huggy just stared into the hole in shock.
"Huggy, buddy, we have to go down there and get our friends back!" Starlight said.
Huggy Wuggy grabbed Starlight and held him to his fuzzy chest as he jumped down the hole where the arms came from. They found themselves sliding down... an actual slide. The slide went on for several moments until they shot out of the other end. Huggy set Starlight down and she looked up at her blue buddy with gratitude.
"Thanks, Huggy," Starlight said, petting his head. That earned her a purr from Huggy. "Now let's go get our friends back!"
Starlight and Huggy made their way down the hallway to a closed gate with a sign above it labeled "Game Station" and seemed to require a red hand to open. Starlight fired at it, but a familiar pink hand grabbed it from the shadows in the ceiling.
"Ah! Some new playmates!" a cheery voice called from above, ripping the red hand from Starlight's GrabPack.
Descending down from the ceiling was another large toy creature. This toy was another toy that Starlight recognized from her past with the factory. This was Mommy Long Legs, a spider-lady toy popular in the 90's. Mommy Long Legs looked down at Starlight and Huggy Wuggy with huge green eyes.
"It's been so long!" Mommy said, bringing down one of her arms to reveal Poppy and Trixie with spiderwebs covering their mouths and muffling their screams.
"Isn't this exciting, Poppy?" she asked Poppy, before speaking in a higher tone to mimic Poppy's voice. "Very exciting, Mommy ! Mommy heard that Miss Poppy was going to just give you the train code to escape. Now how is that fun? Instead, why don't we make a game out of it?"
Starlight wasn't having it. She wanted to get answers and this huge living Mommy Long Legs was distracting her. Mommy smiled as Starlight glared up at her.
"I don't want to play games with you, Mommy! Just give me my friends back!" Starlight called out. "Just let us look for my mom and we'll leave, I promise!"
Mommy Long Legs stared at Starlight for a good minute before her smile grew even wider. "Now that I get a better look at you, you kind of look like that mean doctor I've seen a lot here in the factory. If you are her daughter, that will make these games all the more satisfying!"
"Wait, you knew my mom? What was she doing here?" Starlight asked. "Please tell me!"
All Mommy did was shake her head. She than lowered her head down to them by stretching her neck.
"That wouldn't be any fun at all. Instead, I'll make you a deal," Mommy said. "If you can play my games and win them all, then I will not only give you the train code and give you your friends back, but Mommy will tell you about your own mommy. Do we have a deal?"
There was no way out of it. Starlight had to accept the deal with Mommy if she was to move forward. And Mommy had a look of madness in her eyes, so Starlight didn't want to test her patience and set her off. Steeling her resolve, she looked up at Mommy with determined eyes.
"Deal. I'll play your games, and I'll win them," Starlight said.
"Excellent! Head to Musical Memory, and Mommy will get things started!" Mommy said before dropping her voice and staring right at Starlight. "Obey the rules, or I'll tear you apart and eat your insides... while you're still alive ."
With a manic laugh, Mommy scurried her way back up the wall and disappeared into the shadows above with Poppy and Trixie in her grasp. The gate to the Game Station opened to reveal the Game Station itself. Starlight was in awe of the place as she never saw this place whenever she took the factory tours back in the day.
The Game Station looked like a kids' train station. To the left and right were two areas of playground equipment of all kinds and there were three doors in the ground as well as a raised train platform with a colorful train with a control panel in front of it. Starlight knew she and Trixie would've loved this place if it was on the factory tour. Made her wonder why it wasn't.
"Huh. Why would Playtime Co. build a kids' play area and not include it on the factory tour?" Starlight asked, only for Huggy to give her silence. "They would've loved this place!"
Huggy Wuggy nudged her towards the control panel on the train platform as if to tell her to stay on track. Starlight giggled to herself.
"Ha! Thanks for reminding me, Huggy," Starlight said. "Let's see what games Mommy wants us to play."
They walked up tp the train platform and Starlight pulled a lever that had a flashing light in front of it. The PA system rung to life and a weirdly familiar voice came on. She later recognized the voice as belonging to Stella Greyber, a co-worker that her mom enjoyed working with.
"Hi, kids! Welcome to the Game Station! I'm Stella, and we've got 3 super-duper fun games to play! Just follow Mommy Long Legs down the stairs, and we'll start by playing Musical Memory. See you in a bit! "
"I... think I met Stella Greyber before while my mom was watching me," Starlight said. "She said she needed mom's help with something, but I can't really remember what it was exactly."
The door leading down to Musical Memory opened up for the girl and toy monster to go down. Starlight looked up at Huggy with a determined smirk.
"Alright, Huggy! Looks like it's playtime!" Starlight said. "Let's go!"
Starlight Needs a Hug 2: A Web of Lies
-With Starlight and Huggy Wuggy-
Starlight and her new friend Huggy Wuggy were making their down the stairs to the first game Mommy and prepared, the one called "Musical Memory". Starlight didn't know exactly what exactly to expect from this game, but it had to be important.
As they walked towards the room where the game was to take place, Starlight noticed something on the floor. It was a green hand for her GrabPack.
"Well, isn't this our lucky day!" Starlight said, picking up the green hand.
She then attached the green hand to her right cannon and they continued their way down the hallway. Huggy seemed visibly nervous about what was to come, so Starlight placed a reassuring hand on his leg.
"Hey, it'll be okay, Huggy. We're going to get our friends back," Starlight said with a smile.
Huggy nuzzled the top of her head lovingly. The two finally came upon a door that led into the room where the game was supposed to take place. Before they could enter together, Starlight turned to Huggy Wuggy and gestured for him to stay. where he was.
"I'm sorry, Huggy, but you have to wait outside for me," Starlight said, earning a whimper from Huggy. "Look, if something happens while I'm in there, I'm going to need you to come in and save the day."
Huggy Wuggy brightened at the thought and struck a pose like a superhero. Starlight took a breath and walked in once the door rose for her to enter. She took a deep breath and entered the dark room.
Starlight found herself in a dark room with a single raised platform connected to the door. She looked around just as the lights in the room came on.
The Musical Memory room had large collections of screens position at three points around the room as well as an observation room above the platform. The weird part of it was that very observation room, as if someone was supposed to be watching the kids play the game before. Suddenly, the screens around her flashed to life and a voice spoke to her.
-
Welcome to Musical Memory! This advance cognitive and recognition test is designed to stimulate several segments of the brain, allowing us to see how quickly and efficiently your brain works. A sequence of colors will be shown, and you must recreate the exact sequence using the buttons around you. Bunzo will slowly lower towards you. When you input a pattern correctly, Bunzo will rise back up."
-
"Wait, what? Bunzo?" Starlight asked.
Starlight looked up and saw a large, living Bunzo Bunny dangling above her with a large pair of cymbals in his paws. She then looked back to the screen as it continued with its explanation.
"What happens if I fail at the patterns?" Starlight asked.
-
"When you input a pattern incorrectly, Bunzo will lower towards you faster. If Bunzo reaches you, your test is over."
-
"HUH?!" Starlight called incredulously.
-
"The test will become more difficult as it continues, with longer patterns in quicker succession. That's all. Good luck!"
-
"Oh, this is just going to be a barrel of laughs, isn't it?" Starlight asked sarcastically.
A bang on the observation room's glass alerted Starlight to Mommy Long Legs' presence. She was staring down at Starlight with the same creepy grin she always has. She spoke to Starlight with a sickly sweet voice.
"Oh, isn't it amazing?! Mommy hasn't seen the place up and running in years!" Mommy said. "Mommy can only imagine how excited how Bunzo must be. It's been such a long time since he's been able to play. To cheer. To eat."
Bunzo clanged his cymbals together in excitement. Starlight glared at Mommy with determination.
"Can we just get your game started? I want to get my friends and answers as soon as possible," Starlight said.
"Such an eager playmate, you are! Don't worry, we'll all be having fun soon enough," Mommy said. "You're right! Let's get things started!"
Starlight saw some large buttons rise up from the bottom of the platform. The screens around her flashed different colors and words for them. The game had officially started.
BLUE
She hit the blue button with her GrabPack. The voice spoke again to tell her the pattern.
BLUE-RED
Done easily.
BLUE-RED-GREEN
Done.
BLUE-RED-GREEN-GREEN
Easy.
A dinging sound came from the speakers and the voice spoke to Starlight again. "Round 2".
"OK, pretty easy so far ," Starlight said. "Better stay on my toes, though. "
RED
Easy start.
BLUE-RED
Still pretty easy for Starlight to do.
BLUE-RED-VIOLET
"Wait, what?! Violet?!" Starlight yelled. "Where the hell is violet?!"
Starlight looked up and saw Bunzo Bunny lowering towards her on the rope. She spun around and saw the violet button behind her.
"Violet!" she called, hitting the violet button.
BLUE-RED-VIOLET-VIOLET.
Repeating the pattern in her mind, Starlight completed the pattern.
BLUE RED-VIOLET-VIOLET-YELLOW
Still pretty easy for Starlight to do. Next one.
BLUE-RED-VIOLET-VIOLET-YELLOW-GREEN
Starlight hit most of them, but accidentally hit the blue button instead of the green one on accident. Now she was slightly panicked. And Bunzo was indeed lowering towards her faster eagerly clanging his cymbals.
"Damn!" she cursed.
Now she had to do that same sequence all over again and managed to hit the green button before Bunzo reached her. The dinging sound sounded off again and Bunzo rose back up much to Starlight's relief. "Round 3"
BLUE
Blue
BLUE-J
"Hold up! 'J'?!" Starlight yelled. "Why is there a 'J'?! I thought this was about colors!"
A new button popped up around Starlight's right with the letter "J" on it. Starlight hit it to move the game along despite her confusion.
BLUE-J-HEART
Another new non-color button appeared and Starlight hit it keeping with the pattern.
BLUE-J-HEART-PI
"Uh... blue, jay, heart, and... pi!" Starlight said, finishing the pattern.
BLUE-J-HEART-PI-PI
"So we've got two pi's now. Great!" Starlight grumbled.
BLUE-J-HEART-PI-PI-QUESTION MARK
Starlight hit the buttons with some minor difficulty. But to her relief, the dinging sound sounded off again.
"Yeah! I did it!" Starlight called happily. "I made it!"
"Round 4"
And just like that, Starlight's joy was dead. Adding salt to the wound was the appearance of even more buttons both of the platform's floor and from the ceiling with random colors and symbols.
"Are you kidding me right now?!" Starlight yelled.
The voice was listing off random colors and symbols too fast for Starlight to comprehend. But amidst the buttons was one that was moving around her. It had the triangular symbol of a stop button. With careful aim, Starlight fired her green hand and hit the stop button. The buttons and screens were glitching out until the all died. Mommy Long Legs finally spoke again.
"Oh... it broke. That's no fun," Mommy said with apparent disappointment. "For doing such a splendid job, Mommy has decided to give you part of the code for the train. Look up."
She did just that. Mommy's long arm stretched from the ceiling and handed a small slip of paper in her hand. Starlight grabbed the paper with her GrabPack and it did have a code of colors for the train. It was a small step in the right direction at least.
"There. I won the first game!" Starlight told Mommy.
"It's OK, though. Mommy knows other ways to play with you," Mommy said somewhat seductively. "You still have two more games left, so you better get moving. I'm sure my old friend Huggy Wuggy is getting lonely out there."
There was no need for Starlight to be told that twice. She eagerly made her way back to the door and was greeted by a very happy Huggy Wuggy who scooped her into his arms and squeezed her like a python.
"Uh, Huggy, you're kind of... crushing me," Starlight said with a strained voice. Huggy set her down and nuzzled her instead.
"I missed you too, big guy," Starlight said. "Now then. Let's get ready for Mommy's next game. I hope our friends are OK in the meantime, though."
Author's Note
Next Time: Whack-A-Wuggy
Starlight Needs a Hug 2: A Web of Lies
The dynamic duo that is Starlight Glimmer and Huggy Wuggy walked out of the underground hallway and back into the Game Station. Starlight had a huge smile on her face at her winning Musical Memory.
"I think I did pretty well in that Musical Memory game, don't you think, Huggy?" Starlight asked.
All Huggy did was throw his arms into the air and screech excitedly. It made Starlight happy to know that Huggy was happy about her winning, too. They walked back up to the platform to pull the second lever for the next game. Stella Greyber's cheery voice once again.
"Whoa! You did fantastic! Who gave you permission to be this smart? Mommy is super proud of you! But I'm sure she's already told you that herself. Our next game is Whack-A-Wuggy! Head downstairs and have fun!"
The lights for the game's door came on and Starlight and Huggy walked towards the door. Starlight opened the door for them and they headed down the stairs to the game area. As they walked down the hallway, Starlight saw a paper lying on the floor. She picked it up and looked at it.
-
-Transfer Request-
Abilities:Mommy Long Legs has the ability to stretch any of her limbs to several hundred feet. This includes her fingers, arms, hair, neck, legs, and waist. She's very hostile towards the staff, but is very motherly and acts warmly towards the other experiments. She is very protective of them.
Problem:The hostility is quickly becoming problematic, but perhaps there is a solution to put her in her place.
Proposal:Mommy Long Legs would be perfect for facilitating everything in the Game Station. She has the warmth that every mother should, and ant rowdy child can learn to "listen to their mother". It makes sense that seeing these children daily would improve her behavior, and it is very unlikely that she would act out in front of the children. Have her transferred to High Security Maintenance immediately. Conditioning can begin.
-
Starlight put the transfer request down. It now made sense how Mommy Long Legs was so familiar with the Game Station, but the fact that she was so warm to kids was a surprise. And what did the transfer request mean by "the other experiments"?
"Seriously, what the hell went on in this factory?" Starlight asked. "Was Mom involved? Did she even know? And what was the point of these experiments?"
This new information steeled Starlight's resolve to complete the games and get answers out of Poppy and Mommy. She didn't come all this way for answers only to be left with more questions. Starlight turned to Huggy.
"Come on, big guy. Let's see what else Mommy has planned," she said. Huggy growled with confidence, which made Starlight feel better.
The duo headed down the stairs into a long hallway that led to a peculiar room. Starlight and Huggy both entered a room with sand on the floor and 18 colorful pipes sticking out from the wall. There were some TVs on both sides of an observation window. Mommy Long Legs appeared from a hole in the wall and smiled down at the two of them with a sadistic eagerness in her eyes that only a madwoman would have. She glared at Huggy Wuggy with anger.
"Huggy! Why are you helping her and that brat Poppy?!" she shouted at him. "You were supposed to kill the girls and leave Poppy to rot! Then again, you always were easily swayed, you idiot!"
Huggy snarled and shrieked at Mommy for that. It was nice for Starlight to see that Huggy wasn't on Mommy's side. She then took her turn to speak.
"OK, Mommy! What exactly is going on around here?" Starlight asked. "I know you tended to the Game Station and the children here. I need answers! What exactly happened in this factory?!"
Mommy tsked and wagged her finger in a creepily maternal way. "Uh-uh-uuuh. That's not part of the deal, dearie. You play the games, and if you win and survive, then I will tell you what you need to know. It's the fair thing."
Starlight knew she wasn't going to get any answers unless she won, so she changed the subject. "So what do we have to do for this game?"
"Oh, Mommy's glad you asked. You're about to find out," Mommy said, putting a VHS tape in a nearby player.
Both of the TVs flashed to life and a masculine voice told Starlight and Huggy Wuggy what to expect from this particular game.
"Welcome to Wack-A-Wuggy. This advanced test is designed to test the extent of your reactionary abilities. A dual-palm GrabPack will be provided to you for this test. Around you are 18 sizeable holes. An adorable Huggy Wuggy toy could appear out of any one of these holes. If one comes out, hit it with your GrabPack. That's all. Good luck!"
Mommy giggles as she turned back to Starlight and Huggy Wuggy. "Back when the company was in charge, the toys in this game used to have strings attached to them. That way they could be pulled back when they got too close to the children. Have fuuuuun!"
The sounds of clambering feet against metal now echoed from all around Starlight and Huggy. Starlight spoke to Huggy in an urgent tone.
"Be on guard, big guy. I'm gonna need your help to keep these guys off our backs," Starlight said. Huggy growled in agreement.
Both of them stood ready to face the Mini-Huggies that should be appearing soon. Soon enough, a green Mini-Huggy popped out of one of the holes on Starlight's side. Starlight fired the green hand at it and it was sent crawling back inside the hole. Huggy Wuggy seemed to be handling himself well holding off a yellow and red one on his side. Starlight smiled at the progress they were making as they kept the Mini-Huggies at bay. Mommy was getting visibly angry at this point and shouted through the glass.
"You idiots! Just rush them all at once!" Mommy shouted.
Suddenly, all 18 of the Mini-Huggies swarmed out of the holes and attacked them. Starlight managed to knock out two of them with her GrabPack, but there was no way she could take out the rest of the pack. She would've been food if Huggy hadn't picked her up and placed him on his back. With a loud shriek, Huggy began to bat away at the other Mini-Huggies until they all retreated back to their holes in defeat. Starlight laughed as Huggy put her back on the ground.
"We did it! We did it, Huggy!" Starlight cried in joy. She jumped up and hugged his legs as Huggy wrapped his own arms around her in a hug. Mommy Long Legs was no amused by what happened as she threw a chair against a wall and screamed in frustration. Starlight crossed her arms as she glared at Mommy.
"Look, Mommy. We played the game and we won, so get over it," Starlight said. "Can we please move this along or should we keep letting you have your tantrum?"
Mommy took a deep breath and looked at her with a twitching eye. She smiled creepily at them when she spoke in that eerily sweet voice again.
"Hooray! Mommy is so... proud of you," she said, her voice strained slightly. "Mommy was hoping the game could last a little longer, but this is fine. Mommy knows... other ways to play with you. Now collect your prize."
Mommy stretched her arm through a vent until her hand appeared outside a vent within the room. Starlight took the second piece of the train code and put it in her pocket.
"Now there's only one more game left to play," Mommy said. "If you want your friends, and the answers you want, you simply need to play the last game and win."
Starlight narrowed her eyes at Mommy who only responded with the same creepy smile. She didn't trust this toy monster as far as she could throw her, but Starlight knew that she had to keep Mommy placated to get her friends back. As well as find out about her mother's disappearance. Besides, she had Huggy Wuggy with her and he was more than capable.
"Fine, Mommy. But you better keep your word," Starlight said.
"You don't need to worry, dearie. I wouldn't want you to die before I get the entertainment I've been denied since... well, you'll find out about it at some point," Mommy said cryptically.
The door to the game room opened and the dynamic duo of Starlight and Huggy Wuggy walked out. When the door closed, Mommy growled in anger.
"Huggy Wuggy's becoming a spoilsport for me. This is supposed to be my playtime, not his!" Mommy said before an idea popped into her mind. "Then I guess I'll just have to separate them, aren't I?"
Starlight Needs a Hug 2: A Web of Lies
With Starlight
Starlight crawled out of the elevator shaft with tears streaming down her face. Huggy Wuggy was gone, fallen down into the depths below. He sacrificed himself to save her and she'll make sure he didn't die in vain. She slammed her fist on the ground.
"Don't worry, Huggy. I'll make sure to put an end to this," Starlight said to herself.
She hurried down a hallway towards the Game Station and made it all the way to the control panel and pulled the final lever and was once again greeted with Stella Greyber's voice.
"Geez! Have you played these games before? You're so good! Seems like you're ready for the final game... Statues! Follow Mommy down the stairs one last time and I hope you had a fun day at the Game Station! See you next time!"
"Yeah, like there'll be a next time," Starlight muttered as the door to the "Statues" area opened.
Running down the stairs in a hurry, she made her way to a dimly lit room. There were short plastic walls made to look like castle walls. Starlight could see that there were more obstacles beyond it but the TV on the wall turned on before she could try to see what they were. Apart from the TV, there was this weird scuttling sound coming from the vent next to it.
"Welcome to Statues!
This advanced obstacle course is designed to teste your physical endurance and strength. The rules are simple. The lights will turn off. You can move through the obstacle course at this time. However, when the lights turn back on, you can look around, but cannot move. You may move again once the lights turn back off. The lovable PJ Pug-a-Pillar will follow you! If PJ reaches you, your test is over. That's all. Good luck!"
Starlight was terrified to see the smiling face of a living PJ Pug-a-Pillar suddenly appear from the vent. The look in his eyes was one of eager hunger. It didn't take a rocket scientist for Starlight to figure what would happen if PJ caught up to her during the game. A light in an elevated observation room illuminated Mommy's silhouette. Starlight was just eager to get this over with.
"Alright, Mommy! I'm here now so can we get this started?" she called to the pink spider. Mommy just had a far-off look like she was remembering something.
"It was always so sad to see the kids go. They called me 'Mommy' because I was the closest thing they ever had to one," Mommy said. "But they'd come for games and never come back. They left Mommy to die alone! Mommy didn't deserve that! But you... your mommy worked here. And since I can't take my revenge on her... you'll have to do."
Starlight's eyes widened when she heard that. Mommy knew her mother and actually interacted.
"Why? What did my mother do to you to make you hate her so much?" Starlight asked. "What happened here and where is my mother?"
"Win this final game and I might be willing to tell you," Mommy said. "That is if you haven't been eaten by dear PJ. It's been a while since he's last eaten."
The lights turned off to signal the start of the game. Pj was slowly crawling towards Starlight as she passed through the small maze. She wove her way through the maze as quickly as she could until the lights turned back on. Of course she froze instantly but she could still hear PJ crawling after her.
"What?! He can still move even in the light?! That's not fair! " Starlight screamed in her head.
Starlight zoomed her way forward once the lights turned back off and Starlight saw a long set of monkey bars above a pit full of foam blocks. An idea suddenly entered her mind. She fired her GrabPack at the bars and started to brachiate like a monkey. When the lights turned back on, she turned around and saw that PJ was now on the top of the monkey bars and was crawling towards her.
"Think, Starlight! Think! " she screamed in her mind. "There's gotta be some other way to get out of this! "
She looked around for something that could help and saw one of the observation rooms. There was a pipe running along the top of the window. Starlight fired her hands at it and swung towards the window and smashed right through it. It was a miracle that she wasn't cut by the broken glass. PJ was angrily growling and howling outside.
"Ha! I did it!" Starlight called. Now that wasn't in danger, she looked around the room.
A long table held dried blood splatter and a few documents that caught Starlight's eyes. It would help her investigation if she were to look at them so she decided to read them.
GAME STATION TEST SUBJECT ASSESSMENT FORM
Subject Name: Makayla Hyssop : Sara Abell : Candy Cat
TRIAL 1: MUSICAL MEMORY: 3 : She has a good grasp on the concept and decent performance, but Makayla made mistake on several of the color patterns. Her posture indicates to me that she was beginning to panic whenever she got a color pattern incorrect.
TRIAL 2: WHACK-A-WUGGY: 3 : Makayla had trouble wielding the GrabPack, often unable to accurately fire it at a hole. She reacted quickly whenever she noticed a Huggy Wuggy toy, but was slow to notice them in the first place.
TRIAL 3: STATUES: 1 : Makayla is not paying attention, she is screaming and pointing at something else in Statues when nothing is there. Lucky for her, PJ Pug-a-Pillar is so far far behind that he can't even be seen.
(+)
GAME STATION TEST SUBJECT ASSESSMENT FORM
Subject Name: Makayla Hyssop : Matteo Lata : Candy Cat
TRIAL 1: MUSCIAL MEMORY: 4 : Makayla is very accurate and fast. Few mistakes were made.
TRIAL 2: WHACK-A-WUGGY: 3 : Her accuracy with the GrabPack is subpar. Spatial awareness is subpar. Reaction time is fast.
TRIAL 3: STATUES: 4 : Completely lacks focus. Makayla was very engaged in the previous tests, however something within Statues is drawing her attention away from the obstacles.
"These weren't just games. They were tests," Starlight said. "Why were they testing kids? Could these crazy toys have something to do with it? What was the point? What did my mom want to accomplish?"
She set down the documents and ran out of the door. Starlight made her way back down the hallway back up to the Game Station. This time, though, Mommy Long Legs was waiting for her. And she didn't look happy.