#TDOJ Zacker(icanexplainwhythisnameisbad)

[decadeofjoy-au]

Dumb idea

chibi-moji’s

(It was originally a comic with some of my OCs but the smaller versions were adorable and looked like emojis so I left it as is )

The only 4 at the moment are

Confident Zacker

Confused Gray

Supportive Coo-Coo

& Unsure Handyman: Green

🪽Supportive Coo-Coo 🤨 THATS unexpected

[wildsparrows]

Lonnie and Zacker Side Story: Part 2

Asahan Mo At Malalim...

(Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad helped me with this! Part of the @decadeofjoy-au)

Alon Habagat-DeadZoneDenizen

Maury Serge-TDOJ(Mentioned)

Mr. Shortcake-TDOJ(Brief Appearance)

Icarus Tank-TDOJ(Mentioned)

Zacker-icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Vile-Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad(Mentioned)

Beartrap Bernie-Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad(Mentioned)

Calvin Construt-a-bot-just-a-freak40(Mentioned)

Hoppy Hopscotch-Canon(Brief Appearance)

Craftycorn-Canon

Dr. Bruno White-Canon

Ms. Brooks-Canon

Samuel Lee-Canon(mentioned)

The ride back to Playcare was mostly silent. Less orphans and more toys this time. Hoppy was restlessly bouncing her leg and Mr. Shortcake was repeatedly squeezing his arm as some sort of stress relief. Lonnie couldn’t help but think. 

Maury? Adopted? Something about this just felt so…sudden. Putting his headphones on, he listened not to a song, but to an audio. One he transferred from a VHS tape he stole from one of his ‘sleepwalks’.

The audio started with children celebrating in the background. Two adult voices spoke amongst themselves as the background noise continued.

“Ah, and here they all are.” One of the voices, a more masculine one, spoke. 

Answering him was the other voice, a more feminine one.

“Well of course, they’d never miss this!”

Two children then seemingly approached them, as two younger voices erupted in excitement.

"Who is it, Ms. Brooks? Who's going away?"

"Tell us! Tell us!"

Ms. Brooks then shushed them in the audio. "This week, Dr. White here has selected our very own Samuel Lee!"

The children in the audio then erupted into cheers, presumably congratulating this Samuel Lee kid. The caretaker, Ms. Brooks, then spoke up to get their attention.

"Now, before he goes, let's all give Sam one last goodbye, shall we? With me. One... Two... Three!"

"Goodbye, Sam!" A chorus of voices farewelled, and the audio ended.

Lonnie sighed, taking his headphones off. Apparently there actually used to be human workers here, if the names are anything to go off of. But what stuck out to him is that the caretakers would actually inform the other orphans beforehand if one of them’s getting adopted. He and the others? They were given no such announcement.

One exit from the Train Station, he then stopped in front of the Playtime Express. One thing that always struck as odd to him was why the letters of the word Playtime seemed to have fresher paint, compared to the flaking yellow of the word Express. Did the ride used to have a different name?

Saving that thought for another time, he boarded the cable car and made his way back to Home Sweet Home. Well- not without bumping into Craftycorn.

Maury’s textbook fell on the floor, and drawings flew and scattered about. The two immediately knelt down to gather the things, Lonnie even helping Crafty with getting the scattered drawings back. Once he managed to put them in an organized stack, he stood up with the textbook and handed the stack back to the plush unicorn.

“Oh god, I-I am so sorry, I should’ve watched where I was going!” Lonnie scolded himself, to which Crafty just waved her hoof to calm him down.

“No, no, I wasn’t watching either!” She admitted, thanking him as he handed the stack and added it to her own. “Sorry ‘bout that. I’ve just been a bit more scatterbrained recently.”

“No, I get it!” Lonnie faked an assuring smile. “Anyone would be tense after that scream. Say…”

He tilted his head.

“What was that about…?”

“Erm-” Crafty laughed nervously, unconsciously holding the stack of drawings tighter. Shoot- what was the excuse they used again? “It was just some acting from the theater!” She quickly blurted out, opting for Vile’s explanation instead. “Y-Yeah, it’s for a future play, I think?”

“It is?” Lonnie asked further, knowing for sure that wasn’t the case. “I wasn’t told. I should ask Vile and Calvin if I need to start practicing for any background music I need to play.” He paused for a minute, before asking another question.

“By the way, do you know where Maury is?”

Crafty then froze. After all, it was only a while ago that she directed Maury to the room where he…She snapped herself out of her thoughts, before thinking of another lie.

“Well, he aged out…” She spat out the first lie she could think of. “He turned eighteen today, so we had no choice but to let him leave…”

Yeah, no, Lonnie was definitely being lied to. Was he adopted, or did he age out? Pick one. He couldn’t have been both. There was this inconsistency that Lonnie would’ve guessed became more evident thanks to the increased stress from the screams that the toys seemed to be actively lying about. It seems it was that tension that put them all on edge and made them less…convincing.

“Oh…that’s a shame…” Lonnie sighed, then walked past the plush unicorn. “I guess I’ll just leave his textbook in his room.”

“Of course!” Crafty smiled. Well, not like she could move her face in any other way. She was just glad that Lonnie seemingly bought her lie, as she went her own way.

Swinging Maury’s door open, Lonnie finds…his belongings all still being there. Things that he wouldn’t leave without, he was sure of it. 

Everything looks completely untouched from when Maury was still here. Lonnie was sure of that, because the guy asked him to help with his homework the day before.

Something wasn’t just off, something else was completely afoot here…

Opening the textbook and taking a quick snap on one of the pages, he left said textbook on the desk and left the room. One walk later, he arrived in his and closed the door, sitting on his bed and turning his laptop on. 

Turning his jammer on and flexing his fingers, he began typing and scrolling, letting time pass before finally getting access into Playcare’s database. Adopted or aged out, there should be a file out there for Maury’s circumstances. 

Somewhere here, in either the list of transition plans or the list of guardianship documents. Lonnie scrolled, every former orphan’s documents from both lists. And yet…

Maury's document wasn’t anywhere.

Now, come to think of it, neither was this Samuel kid. But he could at least excuse that for the factory not having that kind of technology yet.

Regardless, something happened to Maury.

Something happened to Maury, and the toys know...

They know...and they're lying about it.

...

What else are they hiding..?

Meanwhile, just outside the room, in the hallways. The mayhem from earlier left the small robot no less stressed than the other caretakers. Sounds of footsteps meet the cotton carpet, with Zacker just glad that everything's taken care of.

Distracting himself from Icarus’ earlier scoldings about how he repairs the computers, he hummed a tune from a game he heard of, once upon a time. Pshh- Not doing it right? Please, what does Icarus even know about computers? He couldn’t even tell the difference between a keylogging device and a regular charger. Then again- he’s not complaining.

Passing by each orphan’s doors, he stopped in front of one in particular. Painted in navy and with a decorative green fishing net on top, he saw his reflection through the golden glint of the doorknob. That kid…Ever since that kid with those fish-pants showed up, Zacker’s been having this little speech interruption problem. It’s either the random phrases interrupting him mid-talking, or just absolute ear-grating static.

‘I really hate that bear trap…’ He thought.

Shaking the thoughts away, he continued to hum and was about to walk past the door. Instead, his humming was once again interrupted by a sudden “[FREE SPY THRILLER MOVIE NO VIRUS-]”

He halted with wide eyes. “WHAT?! AGAIN?!” He made haste farther from the door as he gripped his fists. “Seriously, where is that coming from?!-” Zacker blurted out. Then he stopped, making a heel-turn and fixating his eyes on that navy door. That’s it, he was getting to the bottom of this!

The sudden louder footsteps didn’t fall on deaf ears either. Lonnie paused his typing with his own eyes focused on the turning doorknob. He knew whose voice that belonged to. There was only one toy who had that speech problem. Snapping the laptop shut, he stood up and acted quickly.

Swinging the door open, Zacker expected to find Lonnie lounging on his bed. But what greeted him instead was an empty pitch black room, devoid of any life. Cautiously walking into the room, Zacker looked in both directions, then back at the door at the sudden sound of it shutting and locking.

With no light from the hallways to illuminate his vision, his eyes automatically casted a faint white glow. A slight creak from the hammock chair made him turn to look there, except there was nothing but a cushion and a plush toy. The faint glow didn’t help with the already ominous atmosphere, further amplified by the subtle ticking of the clock and the soft blow of the air conditioner.

“Geez kid, I know you’re here.” Zacker snarked, expecting this sort of stunt from another toy or experiment, and not an orphan. “No need for all this theatrics.”

“And I believe this belongs to you.”

Zacker shone the faint beam of light at the mirror, revealing the owner of the voice. Lonnie sat on his bed, holding a keylogging device between two fingers. The toy jolted back, shocked at how the hell the kid got his hands on one of his devices.

“...And you know that, how?” Zacker held back a snarl.

“It was you that Icarus was complaining about when he was repairing those computers, y’know?” Lonnie remarked slyly, his voice taking a slightly deeper tone than his seemingly peppy one. “And look at all these keyloggers I keep finding while helping him.”

“Don’t worry.” Lonnie then smirked, tossing the keylogger for Zacker to catch. “I didn’t tell him.”

Zacker caught the keylogger effortlessly, staring at it in his hands then staring back at the orphan.

“...What do you want?”

Lonnie’s smirk fell into a more serious frown.

“Answers.”

[decadeofjoy-au]

The HACKER OC

Zacker (like Zack (no relation to the orphan OC ) & Hacker )

A relatively small OC (around the size of a mini critter )

a RC Robot

But while they ARE a caretaker they have their own agenda

they remember. EVERYTHING.

so they’re trying to get back home

mainly to get revenge

as the reason they were even IN playcare before was that they’re parents decided instead of spending a fraction of their wealth on raising a child to just dump them at the furthest away orphanage (aka playtime Co )

(They would have a interesting interaction with Lonnie (I think that was their name… right? ) OC (mainly cause they have a innocent facade with their true personality being an intelligent hacker with motives )

his fingers are USBs

Due to his antenna he picks up on random signals from everywhere splicing into his conversation (inspired by spamton but less [HYPERLINK BLOCKED] and more “please just give me the -[FLOPPY DISK 90% OFF]- and we can just go our separate ways” )

(How he relates to the other OCs (who are coming later when I finish their designs and finalize their story) is a mystery I have yet to reveal)

anyway Hacker OC!

🪽Added to the list

[decadeofjoy-au]

More on Zacker’s personality

Since I saw the Lonnie & Zacker side story parts

my fixation has returned to Zacker

so now to give him an actual personality beyond “spamton-like voice” & “wants his sh*tty parents dead for abandoning him several states over”

-he likes coding and computer stuff (so when a certain self righteous tube says he can do HIS job better…

well let’s just say Icarus learned the fear of god that day- (Pizzaman taught icarus a better lesson. but that’s a later event in the timeline )

-he would like Lonnie if his headphones weren’t causing him pain from the sudden interruptions (he doesn’t say it but they HURT. like a brain freeze but combined with being electric shocked )

-when he likes something he doesn’t let go as last time he let go. He lost something he cherished in some random state between his old home & playtime co

-he doesn’t like Calvin for being a “fake robot” (as unlike the others he’s more plastic and looks like a coloring book threw up on him unlike the metallic gray with 1-2 other colors ) but doesn’t say anything as the guy could flatten him

-is confused by meringue’s design as he doesn’t look like a koala or a bear despite being said to be one-

-tends to skip meetings as most of its info he doesn’t need to do his job (which Icarus still says he could be better at. To which Zacker said “b*tch! I work 24/7. From 6 in the morning to 11 at night. shut up before I MAKE YOU” )

-doesn’t really care about escape attempts as they distract security from finding his own escape attempts

-despite trying to escape he would come back he just wants his parents DEAD. (Plus as a short robot he doesn’t really have anywhere else to go and eventually debt collectors would take the house when his (now dead) parents wouldn’t pay their taxes so he can’t stay there (not that it’s short robot friendly-) ) (wait… did I say this part already?)

🪽Icarus, how do you feel about Zacker?

✒️: “🖕🏾”

🪽ah…

[decadeofjoy-au]

CANONICALLY DECEASED CHARACTERS

(More to be added.)

Pianosaurus. CANON

Yarnaby. CANON

Bunzo Bunny. CANON

Elliot Lutwig <- Past founder of Playtime Co. CANON

Roman Harper <- Maria’s father. TDOJ

Sheena Harper <- Maria’s mother. TDOJ

Vickie (last name unavailable) <- Rusty’s mother. TDOJ

Loki (last name unavailable) <- Rusty’s father. TDOJ

Mateo Dane <- Austin’s former Band Member. TDOJ

Tucker Fallz <- Austin’s former Band Member. TDOJ

Brick Donnie <- Austin’s former Band Member. TDOJ

Zuri Saldana <- Mr Sandman’s mother. TDOJ

Multiple people added onto Leith Pierre. TDOJ

Multiple toys added onto Leith Pierre. TDOJ

Multiple experiments added onto Leith Pierre. TDOJ

Multiple Mini Toys/Expeiments. TDOJ

Sage Dennis <- Jaelyn’s wife. TDOJ

Clarance The Clayman. TDOJ

Helena Lux <- Percival’s missing half. TDOJ

Candice Candle <- Former Toon-y Terrors character. TDOJ

Silvery Bell <- Former Toon-y Terrors character. TDOJ

Postie the MailWolf. TDOJ

Carrier the MailCrow. TDOJ

Sparky the Christmas dragon. TDOJ

Pipsqueak. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Chara-Coal The Charcoal Clay Friend. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

MooseMan. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

CircuiTabby Cat Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Mischief. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Dunkan. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Pink Mini Handymen. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Bruce. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Unnamed Iron robot. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Harold Helicopter & Gerald Garbage. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Franklin Gregorys. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Zacker’s BIG SHOT body. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Mania Maui. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Stretch n Slam. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Leroy The Lion Fish. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Honey Hornet. Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Tina Pierre. Portalling101

Luciana Harper. Anewbieartist356

[wildsparrows]

Lonnie and Zacker Side-Story: Part 3

Shadows Neath The Great Deep

(@icanexplainwhythisnameisbad helped me with this! AU belongs to @decadeofjoy-au and divider belongs to @sister-lucifer)

Character used:

Alon Habagat-deadzonedenizen

Zacker-icanexplainwhythisnameisbad

Maury Serge-TDOJ(mentioned)

Orion Asteria-TDOJ(mentioned)

Hixel Pixel-TDOJ(mentioned)

“Look, I don't know what else to tell you.” The toy robot remarked, gripping the keylogger in his fist. “They probably just scared him off like they usually do with the others.”

“Scared him off?” The young orphan questioned, gliding towards the door to lean on it. “What do you mean?”

“How the hell am I supposed to explain this can of worms…” Zacker sighed. Never did he think there’d come a time where he had to explain the truth to an orphan. “There's this thing we do where we scare a kid off when they turn eighteen. Because if they don't leave, then…”

Lonnie raised a brow, urging him to continue. “Then?”

“They'll-” Zacker hesitated, carefully choosing his words. “They'll get…demoted and- Hold on…”

He stopped mid-sentence, noticing a discrepancy.

“... Maury's eighteenth birthday is still two weeks away.” The robot murmured to himself, slowly walking as he tried to make sense of this realization. “They wouldn't demote him this early, right? Was that what the last meeting was about? All I know is something happened to Hixel and-”

“You're giving me a lot of fragmented intel here.” Lonnie snarked, pressing his ear against the door to make sure nobody was listening, before pushing himself off. “Maury was demoted, how exactly?”

“...What I can tell you for now is that he’s still here, in the factory. Somewhere…further down.” Warned the toy. “My advice, stay clear of that place. Unless you want to join him. Him and the rest of us, that is.”

Lonnie narrowed his eyes at the toy, not exactly liking the vagueness of his answers. It’s understandable, he figured. Glancing at the locked doorknob, Lonnie assumed Zacker was more worried of any unwanted eavesdroppers than even he was.

The orphan’s hand reached a button hidden in his headphones, triggering the jammer…and an unexpected sharp migraine attack at the unexpecting toy.

“AgH!!”

Zacker fell on his knees, gripping his head like his life depended on it. Lonnie stepped back in shock, turning the jammer function off. The migraine finally stopped, letting Zacker recover before prompting himself up.

“Stop- doing that.”

“Noted…” Lonnie replied, remaining confusion still evident in his voice as he tried to understand this apparent side-effect. “Sorry, I…thought you were being vague cuz you didn’t want anyone hearing.”

“How is that supposed to help?” The robot sharply whispered. “How does giving me all those speech interruptions and migraines help with eavesdroppers?”

“It's a jammer.” Lonnie clarified in a deadpanned tone. “How was I supposed to know it would do that to you?”

“You- That's supposed to-?! Ugh…” Zacker mentally cursed, but at least he knew the cause behind all his speech problems now. “The truth. You want the truth, right?”

“I think I've made that incredibly clear, yeah.” Lonnie confirmed with a straight face.

“...Fine.”

Zacker prompted himself on the bed and beckoned Lonnie to come closer. The latter leaned in as the former whispered everything he needed to know. The entire time, Lonnie furrowed his brows, not sure how to absorb everything being told to him. The robot eventually pulled away, leaving the boy completely baffled.

“Then, if you're with them, then why are you leaving keyloggers in their equipment?” He glared at Zacker suspiciously.

“... Let's just call it unfinished business.” Was all the toy told him.

“And you're okay with telling me all of this?” Lonnie asked. “Wouldn't your…superiors disapprove?”

“I may be working with them, but that doesn't mean I have to do everything they say. My business doesn't concern them.” Zacker simply stated. “All I'm asking from you is that you keep this to yourself.”

Zacker subtly threatened Lonnie, pressing a finger against where the robot’s lips would've been.

“You didn’t hear this from me.”

...

That was a day ago. Now, Lonnie stood in front of Orion's door, recalling what just happened back at the school. After everything he now knows, does he really want the others to involve themselves? Don't get him wrong, he was still having a hard time believing what Zacker told him.

Experiments, torture, and everything else that would've made any sane person go green in disgust. A can of worms isn't enough to describe what Zacker told him, this was a pit of vipers. Still, Lonnie had to be skeptical. That was...a very bold claim after all. For all he knew, it could all be this fabricated lie.

Still, one thing’s for certain.

He had to tread with caution.

[wildsparrows]

Lonnie and Zacker Side Story: Part 1

Kapag Ang Dagat Ay Tahimik...

This is deadzonedenizen, I'm just in my PPT sideblog. Also no, this isn't canon to the fledglings AU-

Set during @decadeofjoy-au's Maury Serge side story: Happy Birthday!

(Icanexplainwhythisnameisbad helped me with this!)

Alon Habagat-DeadZoneDenizen

Maria Harper-TDOJ(Mentioned)

Azure Nilson-TDOJ(Mentioned)

Maury Serge-TDOJ(Mentioned)

Orion Asteria-TDOJ(Brief Appearance)

Hixel Pixel-TDOJ(Mentioned)

Antsy Antilope-TDOJ(Mentioned)

Mr. Sandman-TDOJ(Distant screams from part 17 of the canon story)

Caleb-icanexplainwhythisnameisbad(Mentioned)

Zack Danielwoods-icanexplainwhythisnameisbad(Brief Appearance)

A.I.-icanexplainwhythisnameisbad(Mentioned)

Commander Cinnatart-icanexplainwhythisnameisbad(Mentioned)

Silencer/Nostalgia Nancy-icanexplainwhythisnameisbad(Mentioned)

Aether F. Beaumus-Stallia abiarts(Brief Appearance)

Usher Pyper-Stallia abiarts(Mentioned)

Mangus J. Harper-Anewbieartist356(Mentioned)

Silas The Scorpion-Anewbieartist356(Mentioned)

Miss Delight-Canon(Brief Appearance)

Mommy Long Legs-Canon

Huggy Wuggy-Canon(Mentioned)

Catnap-Canon(Mentioned)

Doey The Doughman-Canon(Mentioned)

The Prototype-Canon(Mentioned)

Lonnie had many reasons to be suspicious of this place.

The toys’ so-called dress-codes, Caleb’s conspiracy theories, Maggie’s hiding spots, Zack’s dad’s whereabouts, the other generals, in Cinnatart’s words, Icarus spotting keylogging devices in places where they shouldn’t…

Whatever the hell this Theater Incident is…

But Lonnie allowed it to slide. He had his own little unfinished business to take care of, which he planned on getting back to later. Right now, he just had to sit through this Geometry lesson Miss Delight was teaching. Were there only…five of them in class right now? 

Yeah, it was just him, Maury, Zack, Aether, and Orion…He’s known about Maria and Caleb being missing for a while now, Usher’s dislike of the teachers, and Maggie’s dislike of the toys in general…But Azure? Well, Maria’s apparently like a sister to her, so her disappearance might’ve affected her in some way…

Lonnie had his own priorities. And if there’s one thing that he learned in his workfield…

It’s to learn when not to get involved.

And by whatever god that still hasn’t abandoned this doomed timeline yet, if he really does need to get involved, then let there be a sign.

“Class dismissed! You all have a delightful day!”

And that’s the cue. Upon Miss Delight’s greeting, the students began packing up their things, with Lonnie not being exempt from that. But not before giving him one last glance at his own geometry notes. He can’t exactly say he remembers much of the lessons than when he first learned of it, but the refresher was nice. 

His writing was tiny and only included the keywords and all, as if made to fit as much information as possible…and ironically also using up the remaining space for doodles of jellyfish and other sea creatures…

Shoving the notebook back in his worn down backpack, he slung it over his shoulders before leaving. Hmm…seems like everyone already left. Looks like it’s his turn to turn off both the AC and the lights. Scanning the room, the place was full of color and decorations that you’d think you’d only see in the Preschool wing of the school. Honestly, that seemed to be a recurring theme with the factory itself. They really want to drive home the fun kiddy aspect of this place.

Waltzing to where the AC was, he passed Maury’s chair and…spotted his Geometry book? Did he leave it? Out of curiosity, Lonnie opened the book. Looks like he tends to underline keywords with pencil instead of using the traditional highlighter. Probably to leave the option to erase any irrelevant info. 

There’s other small notes regarding the lessons scattered about in the pages, though it seems like not much effort was put into it. Some of the writings were smudged too. Lonnie can imagine Maury accidentally smudging it with the side of his palm a lot.

Regardless, there’s nothing here of much use. It’s probably better to return it. Shutting the lights in the room, he stepped out of the classroom to leave, passing through the hallways as he did. 

Sticker-filled lockers line from end to end in said hallway, though leaving the textbook in Maury’s wasn’t much of an option. Not without knowing his padlock’s password. Instead, he heeded no mind and exited the school, planning to go to the Game Station. 

That’s apparently where Maury usually goes after school. A bit inconvenient since you still have to use the Playtime Express and the Train Station to get there from Playcare, but whatever. Gives him the excuse to familiarize himself with the factory more instead of just Playcare.

Boarding Playtime Express’s cable car, he moved some of the non-living mini-critters to sit on one of the seats, letting himself lean on the back cushions for that sweet sweet back relief. He then stared at the TV in the corner. 

It played mostly the same Playtime Co. cartoons that played when he was first being toured around by the toys. According to the other orphans, that’s all it ever played. Well, apparently not always, as far as what Zack accidentally slipped up. Totally not ominous whatsoever, that kid…

Then he arrived at the Train Station. 

Not too eventful. Sharing seats with mostly toys and the occasional younger orphan here, he stared at one of the windows, spotting security cameras through the reflection without giving himself away to the cameras themselves. Alright then. 

Most of the toys were either completely tense, or absolutely exhausted. While the orphans, mostly younger ones, were talking amongst themselves about whatever new games Maury had planned for them next. Everything was mostly fine, until…

This- ear shattering scream rang out.

The train suddenly erupted into a frenzy. The younger orphans jumped out of their seats, the exhausted toys were quickly woken out of their daze, and the tense ones stood up to calm the situation down. And if that wasn’t enough, muffled shouts from somewhere in the factory followed soon after.

“WHAT!? NO!!! QUIT RUNNIN’ SO I CAN GRAB YOU!! DON’T YALL KNOW WHAT HE'S GON DO TO ME!? I CAN'T GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN!!! NOT AGAIN PLEASE!!”

All of the toys simultaneously froze. Did they recognize that voice? Some of them shared shocked glances, while others covered the orphans’ ears. Although they didn’t bother with Lonnie, assuming his headphones are still playing.

But…

“NONONONO!!! PLEASE!!! GET BACK HERE!! WHY ARE YOU TWO SO….FUCKIN’ SELFISH!?!? CAN’T YA’LL SEE WHAT YOU’RE DOIN’?!?” The voice pleaded. “NONE OF THIS WOULDA HAPPENED IF YOU TWO BRATS HAD JUST STAYED PUT IN PLAYCARE!"

He heard it all.

"IF YOU HAD JUST STAYED THERE YOU COULDA LEFT! WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN SO FUCKIN’ HARD!? HIXEL’S DEAD." The voice continued to ring out from who knows where. "THE FOUR LEADS MIGHT DIE…and IM GON GET SENT BACK TO THE TRENCHES AND ITS ALL. YOUR. FAULT!!!”

He heard everything…

“N-no…NO NOT AGAIN! PLEASE! PLEASE, MAN! I TRIED MY BEST! JUST NOT AGAIN! A.I.!?, NANCY!?, ANTSY- SILAS!! HELP ME!!! I DONT WANNA-”

What in the ever-loving hadal zone was that?! The scream was loud enough to cause the lights to flicker, and the commotion was even starting to rock the train a bit. Lonnie stood up and held onto the grab handles as tight as he could until the dust finally settled, and whoever was conducting the train had no choice but to stop to an abrupt halt.

…Well, not that far of a walk away from the Game Station, Lonnie guessed.

As he walked the entire time, he couldn’t help but think of what that was about. Two brats? Maria and Caleb? Hixel? Like the toy robot? There’s four leads? Well, he knows about Mommy and Doey being two of them thanks to Cinnatart, but who are the others? Who are they, and who are those names the voice mentioned at the end? The trenches? D-did that person who screamed die…?

Who’s…this he…that’s threatening him…?

One walk to the Game Station later, and he arrived to see other younger orphans telling the ones Lonnie shared a train ride with not to bother with Maury’s next game. Something about being unable to find him?

‘Don’t tell me I had to deal with all of that for nothing…’ Lonnie thought.

Why is he even spending all of this effort looking for one person, when he could’ve just left the textbook in Maury’s room at Home Sweet Home? He knew he told himself it’s for familiarizing himself more, but he’s starting to think of all the better times he could’ve done that. In the corner of Lonnie’s eye, he then found a certain head toy in pink. Great, maybe Miss Long Legs knows where the missing boy is.

“Excuse me- Miss Long Legs?”

The toy flinched, before turning around to face him. 

“Yes, dear?”

Seems even she was tense. Was this about Maria and Caleb’s whereabouts? Makes sense, he figured. The first seventy-two hours are the most critical when looking for a missing person, and how many days has it been since those two’s disappearances? Nevertheless, Lonnie feigned ignorance and tilted his head.

“Umm- I can’t help but notice how on edge you and the others have been, and- I don’t think that scream really helped.” He pointed out. “Is it about Maria and Caleb?”

Mommy’s breath went unsteady for a minute, looking at the other orphans at the Game Station. Why did she even agree on letting Azure go? She should’ve stayed with the others while the other three searched for Maria and Caleb! What- just because A.I. vouched for her? That meeting left here really tense, and the sands of time are only further running out. Regardless, she forced a smile.

“Well yes, b-but rest assured, we will find them!” She tried to convince Lonnie…and herself. The last thing she needed was another orphan conducting their own search party. “But enough about that, what brings you here, Lonnie dear-”

“You guys already contacted the authorities about it, right?” Lonnie raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to do this all on your own. The factory is really big and all, and I’m sure the police can help-”

“No! No, umm-” Mommy cleared her throat. “What I meant to say is, we’ve got it all taken care of! Now, as I was saying…”

“What brings you here, Lonnie dear?”

Lonnie hid his rising suspicions under his oblivious facade, before presenting Maury’s geometry book in his hands.

“I was wondering where Maury is? He left his textbook in class, and I wanted to return it to him.” He filled Mommy in, then glanced at the disappointed younger orphans. “I’ve overheard from the younger kids that he’s not here, when he usually has all these games planned.”

Mommy blinked in surprise, internally forcing herself to think of an explanation. “Oh! Well you see-” She momentarily looked at the Train Station’s waiting area, where she last saw Maury before leaving to eat lunch, and…

“He’s- He’s been adopted!” She lied. “He’s found a new home, with a wonderful new pair of parents!” She tried to make a convincing laugh, wincing internally at how it came out.

“Adopted?” Lonnie echoed, catching the toy’s failed attempt at subtlety. One that Mommy would hope he’d excuse for stress from the two missing kids. But at this point, Lonnie’s only getting more suspicious from here on out. “Oh, that’s great for him! I’m just a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to know him more before he left. Oh well…”

“Looks like I’m just gonna have to leave this in his room.” He slouched in feigned disappointment, holding the book back to his chest. “Take care, Miss Long Legs!”

Mommy nodded in return, watching in worry as Lonnie disappeared from her sight. She fidgeted with her plastic fingers, unable to shake off the jitters from her spine. Five days…

That’s all they have…

--

Part 2's first draft is already done, I'm just waiting for Zacker's owner to give me the green light since that's when Zacker actually shows up. Oh, and fun fact! If you can't tell by the title, Lonnie's Filipino! His full name is Haiyan M.(Maalon) Habagat, so take those name meanings in that context🤭