Chapter Text
Angie woke to the sound of their alarm clock, now in their mid 40s the ex-toymaker worked a 9-5 job at a local restaurant, serving tables and cleaning spills customers left behind. Groaning, they sat up slowly and turned off their alarm, adjusting their eyes to the light that flooded their bedroom.
A while after waking themselves up, the ex-toymaker turned waiter began walking down the stairs to their kitchen to pour themselves a bowl of cereal.
Knock, knock.
Angie turned to face the front door, letting go of the box of cereal they had grabbed. They approached the door and opened it, however no person could be seen, only a box with an envelope taped to the front. What on earth could this possibly be, they asked themself, carrying the box into their living room to open it.
The letter was crudely written in what seemed to be crayon, however the writing utensil wasn't what intrigued them:
"Everyone thinks the staff dissapeared 10 years ago
wer'e still here.
FIND THE FLOWER."
That last part was underlined and bolder than the rest of the message, a drawing of a poppy flower sat beneath it. The writing on this note was poor and the grammar perhaps worse, but it was still something that shocked them, their coworkers were still at the factory? How? No one had returned their calls all those years ago. It puzzled them, maybe this was someone's weird way of making a joke at their expense? Nevermind that, there was still one more thing to unwrap in this mysterious package.
A cardboard box.
They ripped the top open and to their surprise, a VHS tape labeled "VENTAGE POPPY COMMERCIAL" with the signature Playtime Co. brand colours on it, that signature yellow, red, and blue. Angie was sure they had a tape player somewhere around here, although they barely used it anymore, TV wasn't especially their thing.
After a minute of searching, they placed the VHS into the tape player, watching the commercial for the Poppy Playtime doll.
A hundred questions swirled in their head, who gave them this strange gift? What could it mean? These thoughts continued to simmer in their head before it finally clicked: someone wanted Angie to return to the factory.
Why? Angie wasn't sure of that, but someone wanted them to return to Playtime Co..
And that's just what they did.