Chapter Text
The vent was as nasty as the others, covered in rust. Thankfully, the trip was short, as you end up in some part of the non- Dollhouse area. A Lily cutout and a whiteboard was found in it. You flip it around, finding a note stuck to it.
08/06/1995
Project Proposal
Experiment # 1468
Tags: Bigger Bodies Initiative
Abstract
In accordance with prior conversation and critical feedback, proposed operational procedures and materials for Experiment 1468 have seen a radical shift. Rather than each strand of "hair" being comprised of a sequence of grafted finger bones and muscle in a loose hair facade, we've allocated horse hair (for its tensile strength, durability, and flexibility), an artificial bone construction, and various biological materials, which we've listed below.
Neural integration protocols have shown promising responsiveness in trials, indicating the subject's cognitive link will extend naturally to the hair construct. In effect, Lily's mind will be able to manipulate each and every strand as if it were its own limb. As such, our crafting will need to be intricate and operated by our most delicate hands.
Materials and Methods
Ahead of August 20th's operation, extracted capillaries will be required for the attenuation of pain responses and
(Note cuts off)
“Huh…So Lily’s body must have been prepped before the Hour…Which would explain why the Prototype was able to place Gracie inside of Lily.” It would explain why he can’t replicate the surgery, and possibly why he needed Sawyer. Because he can’t do it on his own. Seriously who is he? You’ve been assuming he’s an adult, mostly based on vibes and what little information you have…But really, what did you know about him? Nothing. You look at the board, reading “I’ll gut whoever is at my board.” Geez these guys must have gotten bored often. You roll your eyes. There is an exit door to your right, but it’s locked. So instead you simply sigh, as you loop back to where you started. Dogday was gone, but distantly you can hear footsteps. You look to the door at the end of the hallway, entering it to find yourself at some garage. There was a vehicle, a knockoff buggy car with a doll trapped inside it. It’s pretty obvious the car is fake as you approach closer, hearing Lily laugh in the distance.
The wall spins…Okay…Clearly that’s…something. “Hidden passages…In a dollhouse. Why not?” You question why this is needed. “Okay, the power circuit isn’t on…” It looked like the car needed to be “jumpstarted” by the circuit. Trying to open the door wasn’t working. “Of course…” You look at the wall, noting a small yellow star on it. “I wonder…” You use your Red Hand to grab at it, pulling it around. “Huh…” It looked the exact same except the doors to the cabinet weren’t broken. “Why…?” You open it up, revealing a vent that you break with the Pressure Hand. Inside reveals the broken cabinet side and the battery hiding in it. “Okay…we’re getting somewhere.” You grab it, using your Blue Hand to open up another section that contains the battery ports. You turn around, spotting a handle on the truck. “Aha! Like a spare tire!”
You flinch as you hear a loud noise…Something trumpet like? The fuck? Whatever, you’ll likely find out later. With the Yellow Hand, you get shit started, grabbing the creepy doll from the rolled down window. It wasn’t a doll you recognised. It looked dressed in a green dress with orange curled hair and blue button eyes. “If you speak, I’m throwing you across the room” You can handle plushies and plastic dolls, but not dolls that look like they can come from a horror movie. They better cast me pretty if they make a movie out of this. You feel as if it’s the least you deserve for putting up with all of this.
Finding the doll’s spot was fairly easy, she had a little note in the back of her seat.
“Ohhh~ Look who it is? Dusky were you playing in the garage? Remember, good Toys wash their hands!” She giggles as she walks out of the kitchen. “Thank you for finding her!”
“No..problem.” You say, shuffling on your feet slightly as you watch her wind up the gramophone again. You make your way upstairs. The first door you find is locked behind a large heart shaped lock. The other is covered with hair. Gonna need fire for that one… The third door leads to a hallway, and you find an observation room. And what looks like a report.
Entry 1:
Subject placed in constructed "home" environment.
Displays signs of environmental displacement: persistent pacing, heavy respiration, aversion to enclosed corners.
Attempts to locate exits suggest the subject does not yet recognize the habitat as its own.
The subject does not acknowledge researchers when we remain inside the enclosure, provided disguises are maintained. Observation Rooms remain undetected.
Continue monitoring acclimation behavior. Red Smoke sedation is advised.
Dr. Jessica Newman
Entry 2:
Two months have passed. Movements are less frantic-more purposeful.
The experiment now navigates the space with confidence, finding comfort in what it believes to be its home-where it belongs.
Disguised staff experience minimal aggression in interaction.
It believes the "friends" around it are genuine members of its social group.
Similar to the children in Playcare, the experiment appears to welcome Red Smoke sedation.
Still, I worry. Its stability relies entirely on the illusion; a single breach collapses the trust we've engineered. If more lives become the cost of operating this “Sweet Street,” can we say it was truly worth pursuing?
Dr. Jessica Newman
Wait…Is this the same Jessica Dr Preston mentioned? You think it might be. Jessica Newman… The name sounded familiar to you. Was she an orphan? You know Home had a policy of passing down anything to the next lot of kids, it wasn’t uncommon for some kids to end up inheriting clothes that had been labelled. Or did she leave her name on one of the beds? That could the other way, you spent plenty of time just tracing the names when you were bored. Doesn’t matter for now. What was more interesting was the handle. But it didn’t budge. But you did notice that the wires might lead to the bookshelves, finding a lit up section that needs a book. And other note.
Nursery Damage
Again
Again
AGAIN
HE STILL DOESN'T COME
NONE OF THEM WILL COME
WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE ME
Big breath in.
Into your belly. And out.
Again.
Good. You're doing so good.
Just cover up the hole with something.
Anything will do. Maybe just a poster.
Your favorite one — that's what you deserve for this.
Don't let him see the mess you made.
Never ever.
-Lily-Billy
Aha! You grin. This is worth something! Okay, Lily, let’s see what poster is your favourite. You head out of the hallway, finding the door open as Dogday exits it slowly.
“Oh hey Angel!” He holds up a Baby Long legs toy. “Look who I found!”
“Were you the one who made that noise?”
He nods. “Yeah…This little guy was stuck in some kind of…Seal…Trumpet thing? It took me a bit to figure out how to recreate that Pressure Hand of yours.” He shrugs. “I figured it out. Course then it flew into the piano and got stuck there. And I couldn’t open it, so I had to find the right notes to play to get it open.”
“Why didn’t you come get me?”
He chuckles. “These kinds of puzzles are things I’m used to solving, before…all of this. I used to help my co-workers out a lot when they got stuck.”
You smile a bit at that. You gesture for him to come closer as you whisper. “There might be a way to get Poppy and Kissy out. There’s a book I need to find to open up the Nursery I think. It’s damaged, apparently. I’ll go find the last one, and hopefully we can sneak away for a bit.”
He nods his head. “I’ll just go bring this guy down.”
You find a way into the bathroom, thanks to a loose panel that reveals a magnetic surface. It got you to that floating landing that contained a fake door. Inside was the bathroom, and the final doll trapped in Lily’s braids. Why? You were so confused about everything about her, but you think about that note about the Nursery. She seems desperate to be liked…So does she not remember? It didn’t seem that way. Maybe my problem is that I keep comparing Lily to Gracie. Lily seems like her own person now, crazy sure, but separate from Gracie. You weren’t a therapist in the slightest, so you put it out of mind for now, grabbing the doll after setting the braid on fire. Least I know where this is.
You head down to the table, putting the doll in it’s spot. “Dolly Grub! Were you taking a bubble bath?” She sniffs the air, though you aren’t sure why, even in the Dollhouse, the air wasn’t great. “Vanilla~” She sighed. Oh right. Crazy. Keep forgetting that. “Oh this is the best day of my life!” She runs up to you, shocking Dogday who looks ready to defend you. But instead she hugs you. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! All of the friends are here!” She squeals. You hesitantly hug her back. It was strange, hugging a body that looked similar to a human body, but the plastic of her skin was a firm reminder that this wasn’t the case.
“No problem….Glad to help.”
“Oh I almost forgot! I need to get ready! Follow me, we need to make final preparations for our special guest!” She exclaims, skipping to the kitchen. You and Dogday share a look as you reluctantly follow. Lily frowns. “Oh look at this mess! We need to tidy up!” She passes you a book. “Return my recipe book to the nook upstairs while me and Dogday get everything ready.”
Crap, okay then. “Sure thing! I might take a bit to prepare for the guest as well!” You smile, taking the book. Hopefully that buys me some time to try and free Poppy and Kissy. You hated leaving Dogday alone with Lily, knowing who she used to be, alas you didn’t have much choice.
You head up to the nook, putting the book in, watching as the wall caves a bit. You open it up to find the Nursery room, and the poster on the wall. “Shut it! You’ve always been a Bad Toy!” Lily snaps at Poppy, her voice coming from a Glowby device. “And once HE gets here, HE’LL see it too!”
Well if that wasn’t a good reminder. You run out of the room quickly, finding the Heat Port easily as you use your Yellow Hand to conduct the heat. You run back to the Nursey, shutting the door as you burn the poster, revealing a grey walkway. This must be what exists outside of the Dollhouse. An easy walkway to observe and get around. And it certainly did, the next room you find is a bedroom, with a large…thing. It looked like a locket. You open it and- “Oh fuck!” your Dad’s voice escapes you, both of them as you stare at the skeleton. It was laid at the end of the bed, like it was sleeping. Next to it were toys, old and dusty. Underwear was on it’s head, covering a large gaping hole in it. You find a card.
“This was…This is hers…I guess the Prototype only needed the brain..Oh god the fact she knows it’s hers…” That didn’t bode well. But you find a locked cabinet, and a Heat Port, that you use to open it. “Must be where the key is.” You were just thankful that so far, your presence here was minimal. You find the key behind glass. You break it with the Pressure Hand. Unfortunately the sound of broken glass is too loud!
“WHAT? Is one of the friends in my room?” You quickly unlock a door, leaving it ajar just enough to witness her. “It’s okay” She soothes her corpse. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Go back to sleep. Nobody is going to hurt you…Anymore. Someone’s been in here, Candy.” She laughs. “SOMEONE WHOSE GOING INTO THE BOX!” She laughs. Gotta hurry! You managed to sneak out of the closet, ending up near the bathroom. You head down to the kitchen, finding Dogday there. “Come on! We gotta go!”
The both of you head down to the basement, as you open up the wall. “Did you manage to find a way out yet?” Poppy asks. Dogday shushes her.
As you get to work on solving the puzzle, you hid in the vent as Lily comes down. Thankfully, Dogday is able to hide behind the fake wall.
“Who left this door open, Candy?” She asks, her voice sickly sweet. “Maybe it was Dolly Grub?” She glares at the door to the cell. “What’s all this fuss? I could have sworn I heard you chitter chattering down here. I think they are planning to escape. Oh of course they aren’t! They can’t leave before the party!”
Of course as soon as she leaves, that’s what you try to do as you manage to unlock the cell. You should have known that it wouldn’t work as the lights come off. “What? What’s going on?” Poppy asks.
“She caught on.” You mutter, letting go of the mask. “Dogday stay with them. I’ll try to divert her attention.”
“We’ll meet you in the attic.” Poppy adds.
“Be careful Angel.” Is all Dogday allows himself to say, as you head forward. You turn on Glowby as you find yourself following a path that looks pretty similar to Lily’s braids.
So naturally she grabs you. “Malachi, Malachi! And here I thought you would be a Good Kid!” Her voice was angry, as her hair coiled around you. No amount of wiggling was letting you loose. “I thought you actually wanted to be my friend!”
“I did till I realised your Special Guest was someone who hates me. Can you blame me for dipping?” You snark, trying to look at her, sitting on the balcony. Her eyes narrow, growing red. “Sounds like to me, you’re bored. How about we play a game? Upstairs, there’s a sweet little Nursery. When I sing a pretty song, you can walk there.” Her hair tightens, causing you to hiss as she adds. “But when I’m quiet you have to stop. Follow the path to the prize!” She giggles, putting you down. Looks she doesn’t know what I did yet. Good. All eyes on me, Lily. “By the way, I should add, I so do love your real voice! You sound just like Him.”
Fuck off. You make sure Glowby is on as you follow the braided path, listening out for Lily. You were tired, which slowed you down a little. But thankfully, you hadn’t been completely turned around in the dark. Though you were panicking a bit as you used your Pressure Hand to break the glass to shorten your trip.
“Malachi!” Poppy calls out, her voice upwards in a lit area. The attic. “Up here. We found a way out!” You magnet up there, Dogday there to help you as you run.
“NO NO NO! YOU CAN’T LEAVE YET! THE PARTY HASN’T STARTED YET!”
“Hurry!” You yell at them, as you reach Poppy and Kissy. But something grabs your foot, forcing you to slam down.
“Angel!” Dogday turns around, before whining as purple strands surround them. You try to get up, to protect them! You go for your knife, but a strand of hair forces your hands down.
“Naughty Malachi! You can’t run away from the party!” She says, walking up behind you. “NONE of you can. But don’t worry! I’ll make sure you are in the special seat of Honour, just for you! After all, I know He is excited to meet you!”
“St-stop!” You can hear Poppy struggle, as the purple hair consumes your vision.
“Angel!”