#ler!doey

Plip. Plop. Plip. Plop.

A sound like that was to be expected in a large sewage tunnel, dirty and decrepit, though where the liquid dripping from the ceiling was coming from — or even what the liquid itself was — confused the employee momentarily every time they went back and forth from No Man’s Land to Safe Haven, but would quickly leave their mind once they remembered their current objective. All objectives and tasks given to them were for the sole purpose of one final challenge: defeating the Prototype and freeing the poor children trapped within, toy or not. At least that’s what the employee wanted to believe — it was comforting to imagine that everything you did would eventually lead to the end; freedom and peace, if you will — and it was that almost-naive belief that kept the only-animated human going in this horrid factory.

The employee themself wasn’t anyone particularly special: they sported a rather androgynous appearance, their hair short, yet in a ponytail, with only a few locks of hair perched on the sides of their face. Their eyes were hardly shown, almost seemingly and comically blocked with a dark shadow that no light could get rid of, and their clothes were simple — a zip-up yellow turtleneck sweater, brown pants, fingerless black gloves, and a comically voluminous yellow hat with the Playtime Co. logo on it — They dubbed themselves “Player”, though that was obviously not their true name; but in a strange way, it fit them.

Maybe it was because of the way they agreed so easily with others’ demands, like a puppet controlled by its master. Maybe it was their lack of visible emotion most times, especially when dealing with pain. They could take incredible amounts of damage and not flinch in the slightest, even when facing head injuries galore or deep cuts all over their skin. Or maybe…it was because they secretly felt like a pawn in a greater game, like they were the last chess piece on the losing side, and they were so close to getting a checkmate…Whatever the reason, it wasn’t like anybody used Player’s preferred title much anyhow. Everyone tended to give them their own nicknames for the employee, almost all much nicer than “Player”.

But the employee’s name or purpose didn’t matter much now. Currently, Player was walking back to Safe Haven through the sewage tunnel. It was a small detour from their mission to get the Omni-Hand from the generator, and they had none other than Doey to thank for the intrusion. On their way to finding the Doctor, Player met up with Doey once more, who was gathering parts for the generator. Of course, being in enemy territory, it wasn’t unlikely that there would be traps all around the grounds, and one trap, specifically made for Doey it seems, was a gust of liquid nitrogen — at least that’s what Player assumed it was — that caused their doughy companion to freeze. Hastily, Player had closed the valve, so no more cold air was keeping Doey contained, but…

“Hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts-!”

Doey had shifted uncomfortably to the other side of the room, away from the pipe that had blown the nitrogen to him. He was breathing deeply, seemingly in a world of pain. The employee immediately rushed over to him, even pelting fireballs from the Orange Hand near the toy’s figure to try and warm him up faster. It seemed comforting for a moment, but Doey immediately seemed to lose face after that… “He's made it impossible for me to get around here. Traps like this are everywhere! It's the cold that hurts...The big mean doctor knows that..”, he had said, reminding the Player of a hurt and scared child. They decided now to make a fuss about Doey’s language, and insisted that he go back to Safe Haven to get some rest. He seemed ready to protest, arguing that he had to get more generator parts. Player frowned before simply saying that they’ll get the leftover generator parts, then come back to Safe Haven to deliver them. Doey was about to protest again, but Player was very firm about it.

To be honest, it was the first time they ever demanded something from anyone since they arrived in this factory, and seeing that to be the case, Doey decided not to argue any further, reluctantly revealing the parts needed and to come back to Safe Haven immediately once they’ve gathered all of them. And Player did just that. It was bit tough, considering the seemingly endless number of mini-toys and Yarnaby roaming around, but, with only a few scratches and bruises, Player managed to collect all the parts needed and began to head back to Safe Haven through the sewage tunnel; a rather disgusting area that they soon grew used to. The employee couldn’t really complain though: they were deep underground after all.

Player crawled through the remaining tunnel systems before finally making it back to the Infirmary of Safe Haven. All the Smiling Critter toys glanced up at the employee’s arrival before immediately turning away once they were caught looking at the human. They seemed to have gotten a bit used to Player’s presence, but not enough to fully trust them, which they supposed was fair. Player tried not to look in any of their directions, simply trying to see if they could find Doey anywhere. They glanced into the main area, glancing around back and forth before seeing the generator room door open. They peeked inside to find their 8-foot tall, multi-colored friend eyeing the buttons on the top of the generator. He looked confused, and maybe a little frustrated at the words they were reading…and also very focused. Player hummed before lightly knocking against the metal walls of the generator room, catching Doey’s attention.

He smiled, holding onto the roof of the generator with one hand and using the other to wave at the employee ever so slightly. “Hiya pal!”, he said before he noticed the machine parts in Player’s arms and beaming even wider, “The parts! You really found them all?! Oh thank you! This was really a big help!” Player smiled a bit before walking over and gently placing the parts on a side table across from the generator. Doey seemed to sigh in relief before turning back to look at the employee. “You should…probably go back to No Man’s Land and defeat the Doctor now…”, Doey said in an almost low tone. He seemed to be thinking about something, but the employee didn’t want to pry by asking. They simply nodded, clutching the handles of the Grabpack before beginning to walk out.

Come on, just ask them for help!

No! No, we got this! We can figure this out! We don’t need some lousy adult staying in Safe Haven for too long!

I don’t get what any of these parts do…

They seem nice. I’m sure they’ll know what to do!

But…I still don’t trust them fully. I don’t want to be in a room alone with them for long. I’d rather they just go get the Omni-Hand…

But if we don’t get the generator working…And besides, they helped us! They were there for us when we got frozen! I think we can trust them…

Yeah! We’re super strong anyway! They can’t hurt us!

…You’re right. But I still don’t like it.

“A-Actually!”, Doey suddenly cried out, causing Player to turn around in surprise. The toy began to fiddle with his fingers, averting his hollow eyes as he spoke. “Before you go…I was wondering…If you could help me fix the generator? Get it up and running? I…don’t know entirely how to repair it…”, he said sheepishly. Player blinked behind the shadow over their eyes before smiling and nodding quietly. Doey seemed a bit surprised that they agreed so quickly, but quickly masked it with a smile. “Thanks pal…We really appreciate that”, he said, watching the Player set their Grabpack down on the ground and walk over to his side…

The work took hours of time.

All that time was spent trying to unscrew panels and look into which parts of the generator needed fixing. The employee managed to find a manual for the generator, but both entities had a rough time even understanding what everything was…especially because there were very few pictures in the book — the scientists in this place were sadists not to have manual books with diagrams — Every piece seemed complicated, but Doey was thankful that Player seemed to have a bit of an understanding for the machine, albeit mediocre. A few minutes passed, the two of them opening a panel with an electrical symbol on it. They found it to have what looked to be a hollowed-out cylinder able to spin around, the sides of it sectioned into rectangular pieces with something inside it. “Do you know what this is, buddy?”, Doey asked. Player hummed in thought, using their finger to lightly push against the cylinder’s sides and make it spin. They suddenly felt a zap and recoiled their hand back from shock. “I don’t know what it’s called, but this is how a generator makes electricity…There’s a coil of copper in this cylinder. When it spins, it sparks and makes energy…”

“Well, it certainly hasn’t been making enough of it! We can barely keep it on long!”, Doey said, a little frustrated. Player hummed before opening another panel to reveal a set of gears. They looked rusted. “Maybe that’s why..! These gears are so rusty…They probably can’t spin all too well. Let’s try replacing them”, the employee said before carefully beginning to remove the gears. They placed the rusted ones aside as Doey began to hand Player new gears that they had collected earlier. They placed the gears inside the panel, making sure they all connected to the coil of wire. “Alright…I think that should work…Hopefully”, Player said with a small yawn. “It better…”, Doey added, almost as if he were threatening the generator itself. Player couldn’t blame him: they had been stuck in this room for a while now.

Player closed the panels, Doey stomping over to the switch to turn on the generator — they needed the Omni-Hand to help restore the generator to full power, but there was no harm in testing it out — Player walked over to Doey’s side, and the toy took a deep breath before flipping the switch. Both of them could hear the gears turning and sparks being made…maybe too many sparks..?! “What’s happening..?!”, Doey exclaimed, noticing the electric panel making strange noises. “I-I don’t know! Take cover!”, Player exclaimed before grabbing Doey’s arm and bolting to the other side of the room. They could hear the gears whirring faster and faster…Smoke began to fizz out of the panel doors before..!

Everything shut down. A tiny bit of smoke lingered in the air, but Player went over to the panel regardless. They opened it up, more smoke escaping its confines, before looking at the cylinder. The copper coil inside seemed fried… “Dammit…What was that surge for? It completely overheated the copper…It’s unusable now…”, Player mumbled to themselves. “WHAT?!”, Doey exclaimed, his loud holler catching the employee by surprise. “You broke it! Now it’s even worse than before! You were of no help! You…YOU..!”, Doey started to exclaim, clenching his fists up before…he suddenly just slumped down on the floor. His neck extended loosely, making his head hit the ground with a splat. His arms began even more ‘jelly’ than they already were, dangling from his torso and hitting the ground with a similar thud. It almost looked like his whole body was starting to melt from exhaustion.

The employee blinked before approaching Doey and kneeling down to his head. “You alright, buddy?”, they asked calmly before hearing a groan after a few seconds of silence. “No…”, Doey mumbled, raising his head up a little so that his eyes were visible. Player patted his head with a small smile. “Come on. Let’s take a break…You’re practically melting”, they said, attempting to help Doey sit up — he was incredibly heavy though, so their efforts were pretty much in vain until the toy got up himself — The two slumped down near a wall, their backs to it. Doey still looked upset for a few minutes, but his face seemed to relax a little after that…and maybe harbored a bit of guilt? “Hey…I’m…sorry…I said you were of no help. I was just…”

“Frustrated?”

“Yeah…”

“I get it. None of this stuff is particularly easy. I…never fixed generators when I worked here…”, Player said with a slight chuckle. “We…never fixed generators before either…”, Doey mumbled in response. The employee blinked and looked at the 8 ft. toy guiltily. They had seen the tapes. They knew Doey was three children fused together — how twisted… — It made more sense why Doey sometimes, albeit rarely, used plural pronouns. And it only made it even more sad… “You alright..?”, they asked. Doey looked down at his hands and sighed. “We…I…never thought I’d be doing any of this. Never did I think I would be the protector of dozens of hurt and scared toys, or working with other toys to defeat some weird…metal spider thing..! I just…want to be good. I want to be better…but I’m so tired. We just wish we could be…”, Doey looked at the employee before his expression softened in pain before looking away once more, “…kids again…”

A moment of silence drew on between the two, but soon, and without much warning, Player suddenly threw their arms around Doey — as much as they could anyways — who seemed surprised at the action. “Doey…All of you..! I’m sorry…I’m sorry you three were…”, the words got lost in their voice, “You deserve to feel happy again, Doey…” The toy in question smiled softly before sighing. “Thank you…It’s a shame we can’t go back to the good old days…”, he muttered, his head slumping back down, so it rested on Player’s head. The employee blinked before humming in thought. Seeing Doey like this pained their heart. They tried to think of a way to make Doey feel better.

When Player was deep in thought, they had a subconscious habit of fidgeting and messing around. Whether it be playing with whatever object was in reach or twirling their hair or-! Suddenly, they felt Doey flinch. His shoulders had jumped ever so slightly and his stubby legs had gotten closer to his body. Player could feel Doey’s face sink into their hat, as if trying to hide it for some reason. “Are you okay?”, they asked, feeling Doey shift a little. “Mhm-! I’m fihine..!”, he said with a slight giggle. Player hummed again before glancing around in slight confusion, their eyes soon wandering to their hand resting on Doey’s stomach. Their index finger was curled, their nail in an almost scratching position. Right…One of their habits when thinking was scratching. Originally, they would scratch themselves, but tried to break that habit by instead scratching surfaces around them. “O-Oh! Did I scratch you..?!”, they asked guiltily before rubbing the area where they presumed they had scratched Doey.

They felt Doey sink his face a little more into their hat, now thoroughly confused. “Doey? Did I hurt you..?”, they muttered before the toy spoke again. “S-Sorry! I-It didn’t hurt! It just…Nevermind”, he mumbled with a slight huff. Player blinked before looking at their hand once more. They were sure Doey was very much capable of getting hurt, but with his entire body made out of thick, yet sludgy, clay, a scratch shouldn’t hurt that much. Maybe it just caught him off-guard…or maybe..! Doey was a pretty giggly guy, but to giggle after they scratched him…Player hummed before they stared off into space, pretending to be deep thought again, before they began to lightly scratch against Doey’s belly once more.

It was just as they thought. The toy immediately began to squirm ever-so-slightly, shy giggles pouring out of his mouth. One of his hands was resting on the floor, and Player could hear it thumping and patting against the ground. “P-PahaAHAL-!”, he cried weakly, cuing Player to pause their little experiment. How…interesting…and adorable! “Huh? Did I scratch you again?”, they said all too innocently, which he seemed to fall for…somewhat. “Y-Yeheah…Why are yohou doing that..?”, Doey asked, a few stray giggles still wandering out. “I tend to do that when I’m thinking, that’s all…It doesn’t hurt you, right?”, Player said, trying to hide their smirk.

“N-No…J-Just feels weird is all-!”

“Weird…how?”

“Umm..!”

“Like…if I were to do this…”, Player started before beginning to scratch against Doey’s belly once more, making him quickly squeak in surprise, “What would it feel like..~?” The toy’s hand patted against the ground again, his legs sliding across the floor as best they could. His belly jiggled with each little laugh that came out of him and every movement the Player did with their nimble fingers. “W-WAHAIT-! — squeak! — Yohohou knehehew whahat yOHOU WEHERE dohohoing!”, Doey covered his mouth with one hand, turning his head away from Player, who wore the smuggest expression on their face. “Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. Regardless, I fail to see how this is a bad thing, and I’m really liking this fun little discovery I made~”, the employee chuckled at their own little tease before they decided to include their other hand in the mix. Both hands quickly began to scribble against the doughy tummy, Player very much enjoying the laughter that came with it.

“EHEHEHE! PleheheAHAHASE-!”, Doey protested, his legs beginning to kick rather than slide about, “IHIHIT TIHIHICKLES!” Player let out a dramatic little gasp in mock surprise. “Really?! This tickles~?!”, they reply before their light scribbles suddenly turn into swift skitters that made the toy shriek ever-so-slightly, “What about this? Does this tickle too~?” Doey let out another shrill squeal, his hands now off his face and instead flapping up and down in pure glee. “YEHEHES! — squeak! — EHEHEHAHAHA! IHIHIT REHEHEAHALLY TIHIHICKLES! — squeak! — PAHAHAL-!” Player snickered, leaning closer to Doey’s torso and rapidly squeezing the dough doll’s sides. The toy shimmied around as much as he could, though he tried not to squirm too much as to not throw the employee off. “EHEHEHAHA! — snort! — NOHOHOT THAHAHAT! NOHO SQUEHEHEEZING!”

“Awwww, but you’re just so squishy and pudgy! How could I not squeeze you like this~?!”, Player teased, making their point known by squeezing Doey’s sides a few more times. “EHEHEEK! IHIHI CAHAHAN’T-!”, the poor toy’s face was flushed from embarrassment, much to the employee’s delight. Now that they thought about it… “You can’t? I think you can…considering you haven’t told me to stop yet~!”, Player said with a cheeky little grin. Flustered gibberish spewed out of Doey’s mouth before his hand went right back to his face. The comment seemed to have caught him off guard because he leaned over and fell down on his side with a loud thud. But that wouldn’t stop Player: they simply scooted closer to his figure and began to squeeze and prod his exposed side, occasionally slipping their fingers higher up where Doey’s ribs would be if he had any. Either way, the spot was sensitive enough that lovely peals of laughter rang every time it was tickled.

“PLAHAHAYER!”

“Kitchy kitchy koo~! Kitchy kitchy koo~! You’re such an adorable little thing~!”, Player teased. Doey’s foot quickly began to stomp against the ground, one arm covering his face as the other tried to gently push the employee off. He flipped himself on his back, the Player quickly following suit, so that they were on top of Doey now. “EHEHAHAHA! Q-QUHUHUIET! — squeak! — IHIHIHI’M NOHOHOHOT AHAHA-! — snort! — CHIHILD-!”, Doey protested — the employee was not about to be a smartass and correct that Doey was not only a child, but three. The irony in that statement was almost funny though, if not for the unfortunate circumstances — “You’re right…You’re more like a little mouse~! Look at all this squeaking you’re doing! But you’ve been snorting too…Maybe you’re more pig-like! Hmmm…”, Player hummed before smirking and shooting his hands underneath his arms and scribbling around there, “Let’s see if you snort or squeak more~!”

Doey shrieked and jumped a little, trying his hardest not to shake Player off as he slammed his arms down, “P-PAHAHAL! — squeak! — N-NOHOHOT-! — snort! — NOT THERE! NAHAHAT THEHERE! — snort! — THIHIHIS IHIHIS MEHEHEAHAHAN!” Doey hugged himself, hoping that curling into a ball would protect him from the electrifying sensations. To no avail, unfortunately. Player chuckled at the attempt though. “Hmmm…You’ve been snorting an awful lot…Maybe you are a little piggy then! Or maybe your underarms are just that ticklish~? Well, that’s too bad for you because you’ve trapped my hands in there real good~!”, the employee grinned as they continued to skitter their fingers as best they could under the weight of Doey’s arms. The dough doll was finding it harder and harder not to squirm — he didn’t want to fling the human off — so a new plan was decided.

Doey’s hands suddenly went to his mouth, trying his hardest to prevent any more laughter from pouring out; something Player took notice of. “Oh? What’s this? Trying not to laugh, are we~?”, Player cooed, digging their fingers into Doey’s armpits. A muffled squeal escaped the toy before he seemed to bite down to prevent any more laughter from coming out. Player chuckled. “Fine…If that’s how you want to play!”, they said simply, their fingers now crawling down from Doey’s underarms back to his sides. A few muffled squeaks and squeals continued to break free as the employee squished and squeezed and tickled Doey’s sides; but nevertheless, he continued to stay firm, hoping (not really) that Player would get bored. Unfortunately for him, the employee was persistent, and the longer that they went on without hearing any laughter, the more determined they were to get it out of him.

It only took a few more unsuccessful attempts before the Player smirked, an idea forming in their mind. “Wow! You’re really good at this game!”, they said, chuckled as Doey flushed slightly by the idea of calling this a game, “But you should know by now that I’m not the type to give up so easily! Especially when I have a method that’s guaranteed to reduce you to giggles~!” Doey’s eyes widened, almost eagerly waiting in anticipation despite his hands pressing firmer into his mouth to ready himself. His dough began to shiver as Player’s fingers tapped along his belly before he saw them take a deep breath. Only one of the children realized what was about to happen, and before he could excitedly tell the other two just how tickly this was going to be, the employee blew a big raspberry onto Doey’s tummy.

Nothing could prepare Doey for that devastating attack: the raspberry felt like ripples of electricity surging through every part of his body and, as expected, loud cackles and shrieks burst out of the dough doll. He seemed undecided on what to do with his hands, not knowing whether to cover his face or flap them gleefully, until he eventually settled on hugging himself. His legs rapidly kicked — he was grateful that the employee was nowhere near his stubby legs; otherwise he definitely would have kicked them hard — and his face exploded with a vibrant multi-colored hue. “P-PAHAHAHA-! WAHAHAIT! WEHEHE-! OHOHOH GOHOHOHOSH!”, Doey cackled, most of his words getting lost in his laughter. Player grinned, squishing his sides quickly. “Heheh…Knew you’d break with that~!”, they exclaimed triumphantly, chuckling as the effects of the raspberry still seemed to linger within Doey.

Any and all thoughts were replaced simply with just how much all of this tickled…and how happy Doey was. He had never felt this much joy in a long time…Anything that stressed any of the three souls out was no longer important: all that mattered now was laughing their worries away. It was almost blissful and peaceful in its own sense, despite how much the toy was cackling and squealing with each tickly touch. As much as Doey would’ve loved to continue laughing forever, everyone had their limits, so, knowing they couldn’t form any sort of sentence or plea, tapped Player on their shoulder. The employee immediately understood and stopped, a bit worried that they had gone too far.

Player soon smiled fondly though once they saw just how smiley and soft Doey looked. He was still a bit of a giggly mess for a good while, hugging himself tightly and trying to sneakily rub the evil sensations away. “Heh…You okay?”, Player asked, feeling relieved when Doey nodded in response. “Yeah..! Yeah…I…That was cruel…”, Doey replied, glaring at the employee before a goofy smile overcame him, “But…I think we needed that. Thank you…” Player smiled, happy that Doey was better and proud of their victory. Then they heard Doey giggle a bit…It was a sort of evil giggle. Maybe mischievous was a better word; either way, a pit of nervousness rested in the human’s stomach upon hearing it. “Hehehe…Oh, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook…”, Doey cooed before he stood up, practically towering over the Player with his 2 ft. height difference.

“D-Doey..?”

“Don’t you know that I’m practically the tickle monster around here~?”

Oh boy. Now it was the human’s turn to get flustered. They squeaked a little in anticipation as Doey wiggled his fingers at them, slowly approaching closer and closer every time they took a few steps back. “W-W-Wahait-!”, Player said, giggles beginning to sprout, “T-There’s noho need for this..! I was just trying to cheer you up..!” Doey grinned evilly. “And you did a wonderful job! But I think you deserve a nice, long laugh too, friend…~”, he teased as he wiggled his fingers a bit faster, pleased to hear Player squeal again.

The generator room was small: Player knew that there was no way out of this, especially with Doey practically blocking the door to leave. Their only options were to either unsuccessfully negotiate with the giant dough blob or accept their fate, and no way were they going to actively let themselves get tickled to bits. “D-Doey! Pal! Buddy! I-I mean it! There’s no benefit to tickling me! I-I don’t even speak that loud, let alone laugh loudly..!”, the employee exclaimed with another squeak, feeling their back get pressed against the wall. Uh oh. “Y-You wouldn’t have any fun t-tickling me..!”, they tried to convince the toy. Doey tilted his head innocently before grinning smugly.

“I’ll be the judge of that, pal~”

Player barely had any time to think of what to do next before Doey practically bear-hugged the human and let the two of them fall backwards onto the floor. With the employee now in his arms, he wasted no time tapping his fingers against both of their sides at once. He immediately began grinning as Player giggled quietly at the light tickles. “Ehehehahaha! D-Dohohoey! Dohon’t!”, they squeaked, giggling mindlessly before feeling one set of Doey’s hands wander to their back, “H-HeheHEHEY-!” Doey gasped a little, getting giddy at the new spot. “Pal, your back is ticklish?! That’s adorable~! Tickle tickle tickle~!”, he cooed, his other hand joining in on tickling their back.

Player squeaked and kicked their legs as best they could, squirming practically being impossible with them still trapped in a hug. “NOHOHOT THEHERE! — squeak! — Lehehehet gohohohoho!”, they quietly giggled out, their face turning a little darker from blush as they fell into light hysteria. “Let go? But buddy! You’re clearly enjoying this~! Just look at that happy little face of yours~!”, Doey teased, taking a moment to poke Player’s cheek before continuing to skitter and gently tickle their back. As cute as their laugh was, he soon got bored with the giggle spot and used one of his hands to pinch at the employee’s hip, just to see their reaction. He was pleased to hear them let out a little shriek. “

“DOHOEY-!!”

“Hehe! Whaaaat~? I didn’t even do anything~!”; Doey cooed, one arm over the employee’s back and their hand gently scritching against their side, while the other continued to pinch and drill its fingers against their hip. Player let out a snort, their laughter going up an octave — though, it was still a little on the quieter side — Their hands were basically stuck in the position they were in from the hug, so they opted to lightly bury their face into Doey’s body in an attempt to cover it up. “Awwwwww! You embarrassed, bud~?”, he smirked as he continued his tickly attack, the fingers tickling their hip occasionally poking around their legs as well. “EHEHEEK! — snort! — SHUHUHUSH! IHIHI-! — snort! — EHEHAHAHA!”

“Now, look who’s snorting like a little pig…Hehehe! Cute, cute, cute!”

Player’s face flushed a little from embarrassment, squeezing their eyes shut as they snickered and snorted. They couldn’t see it, but for a little bit, Doey’s face practically melted into one of softness, just pleased to see their friend — yes, friend — smiling and happy. They really did look more relaxed…even if this was for the purpose of revenge by one of the souls. “It’s true, you know. I’m glad you’re enjoying this. You’ve done so much for us…You deserve to laugh a little!”, Doey grinned before snickering, “Besides! If you can't take what you dish out, maybe this’ll teach you not to mess with me~!”

Somehow, their ticklishness seemed to increase with those words, laughter now more easily flowing out of them. It was nice…but their stubbornness exceeded their ability to admit that. “IHIHI CAHAN TAHAKE IHIHIT-!”, the employee exclaimed proudly…then they felt Doey stop. “Uh oh…”, Doey said, matching exactly what the player was thinking, before an evil grin washed on his face. Suddenly, Player was lifted as Doey sat up. His hands suddenly held up their own, and the employee saw Doey’s body begin to morph. Doey suddenly had multiple hands — about ten, including the ones holding their arms up — and each free one suddenly wiggled their fingers towards the Player’s body. They squealed in fear, which made Doey chuckle darkly.

“Well pal…can you handle this~?”

“W-Wahait-!”

But it was too late. In the blink of an eye, the hands shot towards the employee and immediately began their rampage. One set tickled their underarms and ribs, rapidly switching between the two spots, one hand was squeezing and tickling Player’s side and belly, while another was squeezing at their hips. A set of hands was holding the employee’s legs by their knees, gently rubbing and skittering at the skin behind them as much as they could, the final pair of hands removing their shoes and skittering against their socked feet. Needless to say, the human exploded with laughter. With their hands held up and them practically dangling in the air, there was no hiding their red face. All of the tickles were not necessarily rough with so many spots being targeted, but it still felt just as overwhelmingly ticklish, and the employee could feel their worries (and brain) turn into giggly mush by the minute.

“D-D-DOHOHOHOEY-! — snort! — YOHOHOHOU-! — squeak! — NAHAHAHAO-!”, Player protested, trying to kick their legs to hopefully deter the hands tickling them, but they seemed to follow their movements rather quickly. The dough doll simply giggled at their squirming. “Oh? Is this too much for you? But I thought you said you could handle it~!”, he grinned, listening to your laugh with such joy and mischief. Player shook their head, unable to get coherent words out, and simply continued to try and squirm around in the hopes of getting rid of a few of the tickly sensations. “Hey! Let’s play a game~!”, Doey suddenly exclaimed, all of the hands stopping their tickle attacks — they would still at times wiggle their fingers, scratching the air near Player’s spots, just to keep them squeaking and giggling — Butterflies appeared and fluttered about in the human’s stomach.

“G-GaHAHAME-?!”, Player asked, their voice raising into a loud giggle upon noticing a sneaky hand scratch dangerously close to their belly. “Yeah! A fun game! We just need to choose what spot to tickle~!”, Doey said playfully, all of the hands wiggling their fingers very close to Player’s spots now. Immediately, they let out a shrill shriek, squirming instinctively, but trying their hardest not to accidentally weasel their body too close to the tickling fingers. Doey giggled evilly. “Pal, I’m not doing anything this time either! Are you really just that sensitive~?”, he teased before a goofy smile plastered on his face, “But I’ll do something now! How about…your ribs?!” Two hands quickly traveled to Player’s ribs, pressing firmly against the bone and making the poor human squeal.

“DOHOHOEY-!”

“Oh yes, this’ll be a real rib-tickler!”, he joked, the other hands — besides two holding the employee’s hands and the two about to cause the most devastating tickle attack ever — retracting back to his body, “I’m gonna count your ribs! Don’t let me lose count though~!”, Doey teased with a wink before one hand began to lightly scribble against each individual rib on one side, the other gently gliding up and down the other set of ribs. “WHAHA-?! WAHAIT, HOHOHOLD OHOHON-!”, the employee exclaimed, their torso jittering a little at each little touch. “1…2…3…4…5~”, he started, skittering against the fifth rib a little more than the others. Immediately, Player burst out in laughter, kicking and arching their back to try and escape the slightly evil sensation. “THAHAHAT’S CHEHEHAHAHATING-!”, they pleaded, though it fell on deaf ears. “Oh my! Look at how much you’re squirming! How cute~! But what number was I on again..? Hmmm…guess I’ll have to start all over again~!”, he grinned before he began to count again, “1…2…3-! Ah, ah, ah! No squirming! Or I’m gonna forget again~! Now where was I..? Oh yes~! 4…5…~!”

Doey continued to count the human’s ribs, the combination of the tickle game, and the other hand lingering about your other ribs, reducing you to frantic laughter. You try to keep still, not wanting to be stuck on your ribs for long, but it was getting harder and harder as the toy made the tickling worse and worse the closer he got to the end. “…15…16…17~! Awww, come on bud! We’re almost done! Don’t mess it up now~!”, Doey grinned, seeing the shivering human who seemed so close to breaking their resolve, “18…19..20…~”

“EHEHEHAHAHAHAHA-! — snort! — D-DAHAHAHA-! DOEY! — squeal! — IHIHIHI CAHAHAHAN’T-!”

“Oh nooooo! You squirmed around so much on 20! We were sooooo close too~!”, he teased, acting as if he didn’t explicitly tickle that rib much more to break the poor employee, “Guess we’ll have to do it aaaaall again~” Player squealed at that and quickly shook their head. “NAHAHAO! P-PLEHEHEAHAHASE-!”, they pleaded, their body somewhat going limp. The dough doll noticed that and hummed in mock thought before the extra pair of hands retracted back to his body. “Well…ok! Since I’m a nice tickle monster, I’ll stop…But I still want compensation for not finishing the game~!”, he said before repositioning the human, so that they were basically being cradled like a baby. They giggled absentmindedly, practically drunk off of tickles before they felt something pulling up their shirt.

“EEK-! D-Dohohon’t-!”

“Awwww, come on! Just one little raspberry~? We promise to be nice! Pleeeeeeaaaaase?”

He seemed to be genuinely asking. THEY seemed to be genuinely asking. That alone kind of flustered the employee, but they thought about it for a brief moment…before nodding sheepishly. Player would be fine with a raspberry to end things off…Doey immediately got excited, practically hopping with joy. “Yay!”, he exclaimed before he took a comically loud and large breathe before suddenly unleashing a raspberry on Player’s tummy. They immediately shrieked, snorting and squealing as they felt the electrifying sensations attack every nerve on their belly. They were too limp to move at the moment, but they knew they would be squirming and kicking if this had been done earlier.

After that, Doey kept his word. He stopped the tickles, though still held on to Player like they were a precious little baby. The dough doll then sat back down and placed the human beside them, allowing them peace as their giggles eventually died down. “I…Eheheh…You weren’t joking when you called yourself a tickle monster…”, the employee mumbled in slight embarrassment. Doey laughed triumphantly before sighing in contentment. He looked at Player softly, tilting his head. “Did you have fun?”, they asked as if it were not at all a flustering question. Player blinked and blushed a little before nodding. “Yeah…It was fun! It’s nice to laugh after everything that’s happened…”

“I couldn’t agree more…”

The two fell into comfortable silence, the two taking their time to relax after their little tickle fight…Doey closed his eyes as he took in the peace and quiet…

Hehe! That was fun!

Yes! Nice to put that employee in their place!

Haha…Don’t you think you went a little overboard?

Nah, they could handle it! Besides…I wasn’t gonna kill them. We still need them after all…

Awwww, that means he likes them!

N-No, I don’t-!

C’mon…You were totally having a blast. Admit it: you like them.

…Maybe a little bit.

“…Hey pal?”

“Hm?”

“Let’s do that again sometime. P…Please?”