You opened the door, dressed head to toe in black while holding out your blood stained uniform to him in one hand.

“Can’t get any darker than this.”

“Good. It’ll be easier to hide if I need to I turn the lights out in any of the areas you cross.”

“Oh, then I should get the Glowby from my office in that case-” you glanced back toward your office but realized that, while Sawyer had reached for the uniform, he didn’t take it. Looking up at the towering figure, you find his eye trained on what you had changed into, particularly your torso. “What?”

The vessel jerked back slightly, his eye wide at being caught.

“Nothing! I’m… not used to seeing you in anything other than the security uniform, that’s all,” Sawyer cleared his throat, pulling his gaze away with an angry eye and he snatched the uniform from you. Him telling you that he became accustomed to you earlier entered your mind but you quickly shook that thought away. Maybe you shouldn't have put on an admittedly tight top...

“S-So, what’s the plan? I come get you at the lab and we both get out of here, or…?” you asked. The eye on the screen stared at you as if you had two heads for a moment before widening.

“Oh! Yes… exactly that. I’m unable to leave the lab on my own…” Sawyer glanced down the hall at the body on the floor.

“Really? Like, you’re surrounded or are you connected to something? Are you in a cell? Is that why the Warden left without you?”

“The Warden left without me because I had unfinished business here,” he snapped but then sighed. “As for why I can’t leave otherwise, it’s hard to explain.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Was… what that bad?”

“What they did to you? I heard they stripped you of your position entirely. I didn’t realize that meant sending you down here.”

“It’s-” Sawyer started then sighed. “It could have been worse. Much worse.”

“Oh.”

You watched as Sawyer grabbed the body and began to redress it with your uniform the best he could. 

“It doesn’t have to be exact. It’ll be torn to shreds before anyone realizes it’s not you.”

“Great,” you grimaced then frowned. “That poor guy… He saved me…”

“A sacrifice you should not waste,” he grabbed the body by the leg and dragged it to the main door. “He will be doing more for you than you realize.”

“O-Of course not!” you chased after him but stopped when he put a hand up.

“Stay out of view,” he instructed, waving at you to move aside.

Once you followed orders, Sawyer opened the main door to your wing and the gut-wrenching screams paired with the tearing of flesh echoing off the walls made you cover your mouth as the automaton tossed the body out. Almost immediately, you saw several small creatures jump on it before the door was slammed shut.

“What the hell were those!?”

“More experiments. Looks like they were waiting to ambush you since they couldn’t enter on their own. They’re tearing everyone out there apart. It’ll be a while before you can leave.”

“Oh my god…” you whispered, clutching your head. “This… is really happening, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“How?! What has Playtime been doing this entire time?! What exactly are these experiments if they have enough intelligence to organize a rebellion?! Yarnaby acts like an animal, he doesn’t-!”

“Yarnaby was a failure on that front. He did not have the cognitive abilities I was hoping for after his procedure. It was quite disappointing.”

“What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?! What procedure?! You have some explaining to do about what you did to that poor lion that got you canned!”

“Oh, it wasn’t Yarnaby’s condition that got me demoted and sent down here.”

“Then what was it?!”

Sawyer gave an exasperated sigh in response.

“I will explain everything once you find me at the labs! For the time being, get some rest. I’ll stand watch to make sure nothing comes through.”

“Rest?! There’s pandemonium going on outside and you want me to REST?! Are you out of your damn mind?!”

“Calm down. If you keep yelling like that, you’re going to-”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! People are being ripped apart out there and I’m supposed act like everything is fine?! What if they did get in here, huh?! What then?!”

Sawyer rolled his eye and moved toward a small examination room as you rightfully crashed out and unconsciously followed him.  He sorted through something near a table and you heard a soft hissing noise that made you stop.

“What exactly do you think I should-!? What was that?” 

“This,” he turns, grabbing you by the arm and pressing an anesthesia mask over your nose and mouth. Jerking away didn’t do much other than cause him to push you up against a nearby wall to keep you from escaping as red smoke filled the mask.

“STOP! SAWYER-!” you screamed and tried to turn your head away, only for him to release your arm and grab the back of your head to prevent turning. All your body could do now was flail and kick at him. "LET GO OF ME! STOP!"

“That’s it. Fight. It works quicker when you do,” he murmured. “I asked you to calm down. You didn’t, and have forced my hand.”

“Get… off!”

You pushed against any part of him you could reach and your hand landed on the lower part of his screen. His frame stayed firmly planted and did not show any sign of moving.

“Breathe deep, dear. You’re safe. Sleep for now. I will be here when you wake.”

Your body began to feel heavy and your vision faded. The sweet smell of poppies laced with a bitter chemical fill your senses as Sawyer’s voice became distant. The last thing you saw is his eye watching you with a soft, yet dark expression. The last thing you felt was his hand moving from your head and hooking around your waist to keep you upright.

"There, now was that so hard?"

“I hear you on that. He does have those moments. He’ll loaf and stretch like one. And the butt wiggles before he pounces on his toys are the cutest, even at his size. Once you get past his vicious side, he’s actually just a big kitten,” you snickered. “You should see him chasing a laser dot.”

“Has to be hours of entertainment.” he chuckled. “Bet that tummy is a trap when he lounges about on his back.”

“Oh, you have no idea. The urge of just laying against it is immeasurable. I often debate if it’s worth losing an arm or my head over-”

Halfway to your destination, the sound of Yarnaby’s door opening made you stop in your tracks in confusion. How…?

Everything that followed happened so fast and slow at the same time. Yarnaby bounded from his enclosure and toward the two of you. The technician shoved you back to the floor as the massive toy pounced. A sickening crunch and blood splattering the area made you flinch. You’re sure some of it hit your face. A dull “thud” of the technician’s headless body against the floor when Yarnaby jerked his head to the side made your stomach turn. 

Every fiber of your being screamed at you to run but you couldn’t as you stared at what transpired. You had never seen Yarnaby kill someone, only injure them. You’ve heard of cases, but never saw them. You understood why you were chosen for this. No deaths had happened when you were there for him. This broke the illusion you had of being untouchable around the toy lion, despite never testing your luck around him.

Once Yarnaby was done snacking on the technician’s head, his attention fell to you and he crouched down once more.  It was your turn.

“Yarnaby…” you whispered, crawling backward on your elbows the best you could, trying to ignore the numbness that had engulfed your mind. The blood made it hard for your heels to grip the floor, slipping several times. Yarnaby’s body began to wiggle, indicating a pounce but when he launched himself toward you, something rushed past you and caught Yarnaby by his chest and paws before he came down on you. This snapped you back to reality and you realized the vessel was now holding the toy lion back. Yarnaby hissed and snarled violently as it struggled to get free from the robotic grips.

Taking this opportunity as a second chance, you forced yourself to your feet and bolted for your office, slipping slightly due to blood before slamming and locking the door behind you. Without a second thought you dove for the phone. Number after number was either busy or off the hook but as soon as you got through to someone on the upper floors, it devolved into screaming before the call cut out. Several more attempts ended this way and it made you realize that something was happening. Something massive and horrible. Yarnaby’s release was only the beginning. A siren begins to blare throughout the wing and you lower the phone to your side.

“What the hell…”

The sound of the door behind you being forced opened made you drop the phone. Turning, you could see the vessel’s form on the other side and you scrambled behind the desk to have something between the two of you. You ripped open the drawer next to you and, after some blind groping, you retrieved a pistol which you quickly loaded and held close. You made fun of it when you first got it, and you’d make fun of it now considering what good would it actually do other than piss someone off? You weren’t even sure what it could do against a sturdy automaton. Break the screen?

“Come out, Officer. You are safe, for now.”

That voice sent a jolt up your spine. Cautiously, you raised your head just enough to look over the desk. There, on the other side stood the vessel, towering over you with a relaxed eye on its screen, its arms folded behind its back.

“Doctor S-Sawyer?” you breathe.

“Unfortunately, yes,” the vessel moved as if he were talking.  His head followed you as you stood and you unconsciously placed the gun on the desk. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I had hoped our reunion would be on better terms, but here we are.”

“I don’t… I don’t…” you stuttered, looking him over. “... Understand…? How-?”

“It’s a long story, my dear, but we can reconnect later. Right now, we need to focus on relocating you to a more secure location.”

“The whole time… You were here…?”

“Yes. And no. I am here, but I’m also elsewhere. Regardless, I have made sure you were safe and remain adamant in keeping you that way.”

“Y-You-” The sound of screaming in the distance made you jump. “What’s going on?! What’s happening, Doctor?!”

“Please, calm down. A rebellion is taking place. Playtime Co.’s time is done.”

“A rebellion…?”

“One for the ages, apparently. ‘The Hour of Joy’, they’re calling it. This place is filled with conspirators and backstabbers who want nothing more than to burn this place to the ground, one way or another. How do you think I came to be… this?” he motioned toward himself. “But don’t fret. I will- Oh. One moment. I hear the Warden. Excuse me, my dear.”

The TV screen went black and the vessel shifted slightly as if it had powered off. The silence that followed, saved for the muffled siren, gave you time to think on what he had told you.

Sawyer had been around you the entire time and, by his own admission, he was protecting you. Why? You also had to wonder what he meant. He was here but elsewhere? He became… the vessel? You were relieved that you were right and hadn’t lost your mind thinking back to when you had been locked in Yarnaby’s enclosure, however, it came with more questions than answers. And who were ‘they’? The Hour of Joy? What-?

The vessel moving and the screen flashing pulled you from your thoughts and Sawyer let out a deep, almost sinister chuckle.

“What is it? Is the Warden okay?”

“Hm? Oh, the Warden. Yes, yes, he’ll be fine. He gave me the Omni-Hand so I now have access to the entire facility. He is on his way out with a path I made for him. Now, I am prepared to do the same for you,” the vessel offered you his hand.  You stared down at it before looking up at the screen.

“He… gave you… the Omni-Hand? The key to literally every door in this place? Why? Why would he give it to you, of all people?”

“He said it himself, he could only open one door at a time. However, in my possession, I can open a direct line out of the facility.”

“If he could open one door at a time, how are you able to do that then?”

“You will see soon enough. Let me help you, Officer.”

Still, you hesitated. His tone became playful with a chuckle.

“What? Don’t you trust me?”

“Considering who you are, I… find it hard to.”

“Come now, haven’t I proven myself to you? I’ve protected you time and time again, even if you didn’t realize it. If I truly wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have stepped in any time you needed me.”

“Yes… That’s true. But why? You don’t exactly like me from what I remember.”

The vessel stared at you wide eyed before crossing his arms, standing at full height while he curled a finger under where a mouth would be.

“I guess you could say I’ve grown accustomed to you, my dear,” he flicks his hand, nonchalantly. 

“Oh,” you murmured before it clicked what he meant. “O-Oh!”

His behavior the last time you saw him finally made sense, him breaking into your dorm when you were sick and NOT killing you at your most vulnerable, keeping Yarnaby close to see you when he usually didn’t interact with him before, all of it. It was a bit to process.

Slamming somewhere nearby made the two of you look toward the door.

“We can talk once I get you to my lab. For now, hide. I’ll come for you once everything calms down enough,” Sawyer growled. “You will be slaughtered like the rest if you try moving now.”

“Slaughtered?!”

“Do you have a GrabPack ready?”

“N-No, it was sent in for repairs two days ago after Yarnaby mistook it for a toy. It wasn’t rushed since I don’t need to use it as often.”

“He always had an affinity for putting his mouth on things he shouldn't… I’ll find one with the appropriate hands to bring you to me. There may be a handful of constructed obstacles you need to get over between here and there.”

You furrowed your brow. ‘Bring you to me’?

“It’s fortunate that Yarnaby’s enclosure is more isolated than the rest of the North Block. There shouldn’t be many coming this way to look for survivors. Just to be safe, find a high place and stay hidden until I return.”

“F-Fine, but who-”

“Hm. Perhaps I can use the body in the hall to buy some time…” he muttered then paused, glancing at you. “Get undressed.”

“WHAT? Absolutely not-!”

“I need your uniform to create a dummy. Playtime Co. doesn’t exactly keep them in a convenient hall closet that just anyone can access. You have other clothing, just go to your room and get them.”

“Then why don’t I just go to my room and change and give them to you after!? It's literally two doors down!”

The eye stared at you before Sawyer turned away with a huff and crossed his arms.