Rainbow Factory

The Ruins

Prologue

The Rainbow Factory was a hidden facility of which wasn't shown to the outsiders of the world, except to the individuals who had discovered it. It was a factory which was made to turn people into colors, did experiments and much more. All run by a man named Walden Darling. Walden was often described as a cold crazy lab person. A heartless guy who was apathetic to everyone. Don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason. Everything seemed to be going well in the forsaken place until one day. A certain lab worker was lurking around the hallways with a match in their hand. Before you knew it, the whole factory was to flames. Every little thing was burnt to ruins, only a couple of survivors were found and nursed to health. Police investigated top to bottom for the main cast, but nothing. The factory immediately shut down and has never been rebuilt ever since. Some people even went to investigate the ashed factory, but not even a single person ever came out with their lives. There on the wall, was a warning that was always spread around the factory when it was up and running: “Once in, there's no escape.”

Neighbor's introduction

Years later, after the factory’s incident. A certain person was assigned to fix some repairments in the facility. Their name is unknown as of now, we'll call them Neighbor. Now Neighbor didn't believe the factory would have anything left. – Due to it being left abandoned and past anyone’s recollection, but it was their duty to look around the forgotten building, so they would go anyway. On the road, while they were driving, Neighbor thought: “Why does this feel like a bad idea?” Perhaps it was all in their head, right? Neighbor got out of the car and looked at the tall and dirty building that was previously in production. Hesitantly, they opened the door, expecting for ‌the worst. Though, it won't be the worst thing ever Neighbor, why don't you join us? You'd make the perfect batch of red. You'll be just like the rest.

Story

Poison Feathers

Neighbor stared down at the tall building and looked at the door. They weren't so sure if they wanted to enter, due to hearing about all the rumors revolving around the place. They took a deep breath and opened the door softly. The door opened wide and made small creaks and sounds. As Neighbor stepped in, there was dust all over the place, it seemed like the place hadn't been explored in years.

They walked around for a bit and said softly to themselves.

“Can’t believe I have to fix something in a drastic place like this…” They weren't wrong, the place looked completely destroyed. Windows shattered, the walls being covered in burnt marks, even the old equipment from the place was still lying around.

“Welp. Time to get to work.” They said as they reached down to get their toolbox and walk into the hallways.

Some time later, Neighbor was finishing up repairing a pipe, and they heard a sound. It sounded like a squawk. They turned around and saw a little light coming from a door. “Who's there?...” They called out with a bit of a timid tone, to no reply.

“Hello?” They said again but not a single word was replied back. Neighbor decided to check where that sound was coming from, so they stuffed all their tools back in the toolbox and slowly walked towards the door. The sound started to get louder and clearer as they approached. Finally, they opened it and a giant bird jumped out and made a loud caw at Neighbor. She had a red torn up green dress and frizzled feathers with burn marks. Neighbor screamed with terror and was about to run away when the bird began talking.

“W-Wait! Please! Don't leave…I'm begging you. I won't hurt you. I-I promise…” She called out with a plea.

Neighbor stared at the tall creature with wide eyes and slowly said with a scared tone. “Y-You're…you're not gonna hurt me?..”

“No…not at all! I swear.” The bird responded back with a calmer demeanor. “I’m Portia Partridge, but you can call me Poppy.—And you?”

She said as she extended her big wing to them, offering a handshake. Neighbor still was confused about this whole thing, but maybe she was friendly. They gave a faint smile and shook Poppy’s wing.

“Uh…Neighbor. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too!” Poppy said with a bit of a sweeter tone and smiled back at Neighbor.

“What are you doing out here alone dearie? It's dangerous y'know…” She asked curiously.

“I was sent to fix some stuff in the factory, but I never even wanted to come here. ‘Cause of the incident that happened here a long time ago.”

“I see…” Poppy said as she looked down at the floor, thinking of what to say next.

“Say, why don't you come with me to the infirmary? You look thirsty.” Neighbor thought for a bit, they weren't going to put their trust in a complete stranger, but Poppy…she seemed nice.

They cleared their throat and said, “Sure why not, I could have some company anyways.” Poppy smiled happily and said in a friendly tone, “Excellent! Just follow me, hun.” Poppy gestured to Neighbor to follow her into the infirmary. Once they arrived, Poppy opened the door and invited them in. They looked around the small place, it was dusty and messy.

Poppy turned on the light and said,

“I apologize for the mess, I haven't gotten the time to clean it.” Neighbor sat down on a nearby seat, and replied,

“Oh no, it's okay, I don't mind. It's just been a weird day. You're the only one who's actually made it a tiny bit better.” They would reassure Poppy.

Poppy smiled at them and began talking with glee,

“Aw, I'm flattered. You'll feel a lot better once you've drinked your water and relaxed.” She then opened a cabinet and grabbed a cup. Then she poured some water in it and handed it to them.

“Here you go, dearie.”

Neighbor gave her a smile and said, “Thanks.” As they were about to drink the water, they smelled something odd. It was strong. Very strong. It smelled awful and weird.

Neighbor looked at the drink and took a closer look and they soon realized. “It's poison…” they thought. They looked at Poppy, who was staring at them with satisfaction. Waiting for them to drink it. “Something wrong, Neighbor?" She asked.

“I…I-...” Neighbor stuttered, unsure what to do. Then, Neighbor held a tight grip on the cup and threw it at Poppy. The liquid spilled on her face and dress, she let out a loud caw and dropped to her knees while being in pain. Neighbor quickly grabbed their toolbox and ran out of the infirmary.

Not looking back. Why was she trying to poison them? Whatever the reason, she's hurt. Nothing else can happen…hopefully.

Warehouse Ahead

Neighbor just ran out and without any sense of direction was aimlessly following the emptiest corridors. They just ran like that for a little while, but then felt themself getting tired as the toolbox wasn't exactly the easiest thing to run with. They were getting a bit tired, so decided to enter the next room they would stumble upon and rest there for a bit, hoping that Poppy wouldn’t follow them there. As they saw a door on the left side of the hallway that didn’t seem too rusty to be unable to open it, they ran for it and went inside.

They entered the room and closed the door behind them, slumping against the wall to catch their breath and collect their thoughts for a moment.

“Deep breath in. 1, 2, 3. Deep breath out…,” Neighbor counted quietly to themself to help ease their nerves. After a few more deep breaths they finally took a closer look at their surroundings. It appeared that they had stumbled upon a storage unit of some sorts, and it was quite huge, and, honestly speaking, a little chilly too.

“You know, since I’m here, I might as well look what’s in here, right? What’s the worst that could happen?” Neighbor thought to themself, hoping that they had not just jinxed it, as they started to walk towards the very tall, metal shelves and look around.

A lot of it had suffered an amount of fire damage, but this place did look a considerable bit better than the rest of the factory, though it was definitely way more dusty. Honestly, that was to be expected from a place such as this. While they went further in and looked around, they noticed that some of the boxes looked as if they were never touched, making it seem like they had been delivered on the day this whole thing went to ruin.

Neighbor, out of boredom, or curiosity, started to look through the lower level boxes. Most of them contained things that you would expect in a factory producing colors and products that use color, like empty containers of different shapes and sizes. Some boxes were also just empty, and some were too heavy to move, so they couldn’t get them out to open them and check what’s inside. However, one of the boxes contained a black, almost coat like, jacket. It was in pretty good condition, and Neighbor was getting cold in here, so they took it and put it on. It had fit on pretty much perfectly and was providing a bit more warmth to their body.

Neighbor continued to walk further and further, ’til they noticed something. They saw a box that had recently been moved, and you could tell that by the fact that there was a dustless patch where the box had once stood. As they approached the box, they heard a sudden noise of movement.

“I did jinx it, didn’t I?” The thought had popped up in their head as they had remembered thinking that it would be fine to explore this place. They tried to listen to where the noise had come from, but all of the ‌hollow shelves were messing with the sound. But they didn’t have to wait too long till their opponent showed face. And it was in the most literal way, as it was really just a head. It rolled and then jumped at them.

“Holy—“ Neighbor could only muster that as they ducked to not get hit by a bouncing head, though, due to their movements being very sharp and uncalculated, they ended up tripping due to the weight of their tool box. Now they were on the ground, hitting their knee against the hard, cemented floor. They sat up straight to assess the damage to their knee. Luckily there was no blood, as they really did not want to have a reason to go back to the infirmary at the moment.

Neighbor sighed with relief, but then they noticed something. The head that had been previously attacking them was just standing there, still and unmoving, looking at them with their empty eye sockets. And though the head had no eyes, you could see that sadness and longing and recognition.

“... Eddie..?” The head spoke. The tone of his voice was quiet and sad, almost a bit teary as their entire demeanor had changed. He no longer looked like he wanted to destroy you. No. He looked at you as if you were an old friend.

“... Is.. Is that you?” The head asked in a sort of melancholy tone, with a tinge of longing.

Neighbor sat there, shocked, scared and confused.

“... U-uh… No..?” They were confused, barely mustering the words past their lips.

“... Oh…” They seemed sort of disappointed about that, though there was nothing Neighbor could do about that.

“... Sorry about that… I haven’t exactly been myself in a while…” The severed head had spoken, still quietly, but this time not so cowardly.

“It’s fine…” Neighbor replied back, while picking up their toolbox. They looked back at the head and slowly approached it.

“So, are you really not gonna hurt me?” They asked softly, making sure the lying head wouldn't attack again.

“No. I don't even feel like hurting anyone at this point. Anywho, what's your name, kid?” The head asked in a softer and kinder tone. Hoping that Neighbor would put a little trust in them.

“Neighbor…and you?” Neighbor said as they sat in front of the head, wondering how it could even talk.

“My name's Frank Frankly. Nice to meet you.” Frank said, giving them a faint smile. “I apologize if I spooked you there before, Neighbor. I thought you were someone else.”

“No worries, we're good. Want me to help you up?” Neighbor asked politely as they held out their hands, so they could carry Frank.

“That would be greatly appreciated, friend.” Frank responded back softly and slowly jumped into Neighbor’s hands.

Neighbor got back on their feet and walked over to a nearby workbench and placed Frank there gently. Frank turned around to the feel of their presence and began saying.

“So what are you doing in this place? If you're here to explore, you're basically trespassing.” Their expression seemed serious, as if they should leave immediately.

“Trespassing? No! Not at all! I was sent here by my boss to fix engines and pipes here,” Neighbor said in a louder voice, raising their hands up. Frank sighed in relief, but that serious look didn't leave their face.

“Good, but this isn't the brightest place you would want to be in, kid. You need to leave… now. Before it's too late.” They warned them, saying in a softer tone, as in whispering.

“Look Frank, I know this isn't the place I would want to be in but I just got a few more pieces of equipment to fix and I'll be on my way. Simple.” They reassured them, but the thought of them saying: ”Before it's too late.” Stuck to their head like glue.

Frank sighed once more, they moved a little closer to Neighbor and began talking again.

“Do you know why this factory was abandoned? Do you know why people have visited this place and never returned?...”

“Uh, not really–” Neighbor replied but Frank interrupted them mid sentence.

“I think it's time I educate you on what happened here, 7 months ago.” Frank said in a serious tone and started talking in a very low tone.

“This factory used to be the best selling one, all for its colors, experiments and projects. The man who managed this facility was… well, a mad man. A very cruel person. But he's not always a mean guy. He was my friend. I used to work at this factory, in here, the warehouse. Along with my husband. Eddie Dear. Oh, he was one of the most amazing people I've ever met. I couldn't ask for anything better than him…”

When they talked about Eddie, their voice was filled with love and gentleness. It seemed like they cared about him a lot. But soon their expression saddened when they started talking again.

“My life was complete until one day. I was working in the warehouse with some other workers when the smell of smoke filled up the room. Apparently someone lit the whole facility on fire, we never found out who did it or why. But when I tried looking for Eddie, he was already gone…”

Recapping the horrible situation to Neighbor, gave Frank flashbacks of when they were in that scary state. It was terrible and made them feel vulnerable. Neighbor noticed their expressions and they slowly patted Frank's hair, giving him a small smile.

“I’m sure Eddie misses you, and I'm really sorry you went through that. It must've been awful. I could not imagine how you felt during that time,” Neighbor said in a low tone as they rested their elbows on the table while speaking to them.

“It was awful, indeed. Thank you though, Neighbor.” Frank gave them a small smile, they were trying to forget those memories. Neighbor gave them a nod and smiled.

“But Neighbor, you really need to get out of here. It's not safe here. You'll be done for once they find you.” They said again, it seems like they’re very urgent for Neighbor to get out of here. Neighbor however, still had a couple of stuff to fix so they weren't leaving just yet.

“Frank, I promise I'll be fine. I already dealt with a giant bird creature, nothing can be worse than that right?,” They replied in a calm tone and started to grab their toolbox, ready to leave the warehouse.

“H-Hold on! Can I come with you? I really don't like being alone. Besides, I know my way around here.” Frank asked, they were probably afraid Neighbor would get hurt while wandering around.

As Neighbor was about to leave, they turned around and gazed back at Frank, they thought about it for a moment and nodded. Neighbor then picked up Frank's head off the table and held them tightly in their hands, before exiting the warehouse. Now that Neighbor has some help, everything should be fine. For now.

Forklift Certified

Neighbor decided to explore the factory’s second floor, along with their new friend. They raced up the stairs, while carrying Frank’s head in their right arm and their toolbox in the other. Once they reached the top up the stairs, they let Frank loose on the ground. To move, Frank could only jump so they hopped along the hallways being by Neighbor’s side. While they were passing through the rusty hallways, an old office caught their attention. They drew back and stood in front of the office. There was a silver sign but it was covered in dust so it wasn't clear to read. Neighbor then put their fingertips on the silver sign and brushed off the dirt to read it. The sign read: Walden Darling. Neighbor raised an eyebrow and whispered to themselves.

“Walden Darling?...”

Frank then started to catch up to them and asked.

“Neighbor? Are ya there?”

“Mhm, I am. Hey, whose office is this?,” Neighbor asked, still having their fingertips on the sign.

“What does the sign read?” Frank asked curiously as they jumped closer to Neighbor.

“Uhm, Walden Darling…” They read out loud for Frank to hear clearly.

Frank's eyebrows went wide but they remained a calm expression. They then began saying.

“That’s the boss’s old office. Walden Darling.”

“The crazy lab man?” Neighbor asked, there's no way they are standing in front of the person who created this facility.

“Yup, that's his office alright. I'm not so sure you should enter it though, there is a possible chance—”

Before they knew it, Neighbor had already entered the office. Frank sighed in annoyance and chased them inside. As Frank entered the office, trying to navigate where Neighbor is or the feel of their presence. They could hear footsteps on the left side of the room, Frank then hopped to that side and called out.

“Neighbor? Are you there?”

Neighbor, who was looking at an old bookshelf, looked down at the ground and finally noticed them, sitting helplessly. They then kneeled down and picked Frank up and made them sit in their palms. Neighbor then said,

“Sorry about leaving you there, I got a little curious..”

“It’s alright, just what do you think you're doing?” Frank asked in a bit of an annoyed tone.

“I’m just exploring here for a bit, no worries,” They replied as they were looking through the bookshelf and the old desk.

“Neighbor, I'm serious! We should really get out of here–” Frank said in a worried tone but a loud thud interrupted them before finishing their sentence. Neighbor turned around from hearing the loud noise and they quickly grabbed their toolbox and ran out of the office, while still holding Frank. As they were racing down the hollow hallways, a very tall figure bumped into them, causing Neighbor and Frank to fall down. Neighbor's head hits hard on the concrete floor, making them have a bit of a bruise on their forehead. They rubbed it and slowly looked at who made them fall. A very big creature, with light green skin, antennas on his head. He had more than four arms attached to his body. He looked like a caterpillar but was absolutely terrifying. Neighbor started to panic and tried to run away but then the tall caterpillar grabbed their leg and held a very tight grip on it and pulled Neighbor to him. He then raised them up with one of his arms and held them upside down. He glared menacingly at them, as if wanting to kill them in an instant. Neighbor was absolutely scared and was too stunned to speak. The caterpillar then leaned towards their face and said in an aggressive tone.

“Who are you and why are you here?”

Neighbor didn't talk at all, they just stayed still and remained quiet. The caterpillar started to get even angrier and said in a demanding tone.

“I asked…who are you and why are you here?!”

He was getting impatient and then, he grabbed Neighbor by their torso and held them tightly with his strong bare hands. He then proceeded to slam Neighbor into the wall and hold them by their throat, gripping it tightly. Neighbor couldn't speak and had trouble breathing. They tried to break free but the caterpillar’s grip was tight. Really tight. Their face started to turn purple but all of the sudden, Frank jumped in and bit the caterpillar’s leg. He screamed in pain and let go of Neighbor. Neighbor fell to the ground, hyperventilating and slowly rubbed their throat from pain. Frank quickly yelled out to them.

“Neighbor, we need to leave! Now! Go! Run!”

They nodded and quickly scurried off the ground and grabbed their toolbox, but the tools were spread all over. They kneeled down on the ground and tried their best to stuff it all back in but then, another tall figure could be seen down the hallway. Surprisingly the figure raced down to Neighbor, they couldn't get a good glimpse of what this creature looked like, but all they could see was an animal with giant dog ears, big sharp paws and dark blue fur. He looked at Neighbor, as if they were his prey. They quickly got up from the ground and ran as fast as they could. Leaving the toolbox behind. The big blue dog was still chasing them, but this dog could run fast. He was on all fours and was quickly catching up to them. Frank, who was still being carried in Neighbor’s arms, saw a room and called out.

“Go! In there!”

Neighbor nodded and ran into the room Frank told them to go into. As they entered, there was a bunch of old machine parts and pipes. They then noticed a giant forklift. It won't be long until that giant blue dog would be after them. Neighbor then proceeded to jump in the forklift and place Frank in the passenger seat and they sat in the driver's seat. There were a bunch of levers and of course a steering wheel. They had a bit of trouble turning it on but when it finally did, the blue dog had come into the room and started to race towards the forklift. Neighbor then pulled down a lever and the forklift dashed out of the area and went into the hallways. As Neighbor was driving they asked Frank,

“Who are those guys?..”

“The big blue dog is named Barnabus and the tall caterpillar is Howdy! They were workers who also got killed in the fire!” Frank said while trying to stay still on the forklift and not fall off.

“And how the hell are they still alive?!” They asked, thinking how can a person come back from the dead.

“I have no idea but you better hurry! Barnabus can run really fast!” Frank said in a worried tone.

Neighbor nodded and they pulled another lever, making the forklift drive a bit faster but it was no match for Barnaby. He is still on all fours and is running pretty fast. Suddenly, Barnaby leaped and landed on top of the forklift. His claws made a tight grip on the roof, and he tried to claw his way through to get them. Neighbor thought that this was the end but then they saw a turn at the end of the hallway and that turn would lead downstairs. They took a deep breath and pulled another lever, causing the forklift to go at max speed. Surprisingly, Barnaby still remained on the roof ready to tear it off and attack them both. Neighbor then took the turn and quickly grabbed Frank from the passenger seat and jumped out of the vehicle. They landed on the ground, a bit in pain but safe. Barnaby however, was still on top of the roof of the forklift and he and the vehicle went tumbling down the stairs. The forklift hit hard on the ground, causing it to break to pieces and be torn apart. Barnaby fell and crashed down on the forklift’s window. He was knocked out cold and laid there, lifeless. Neighbor walked over there where Barnaby was lying, still having Frank in their arms. Their eyes were wide but they cleared their throat and immediately left the room. Hopefully the next thing they encounter won't be so bad.

Distorted Help

Neighbor started to once again roam the corridors, Frank just bouncing alongside them, but as they continued to walk, they couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off, like they had forgotten something. They checked all of their pockets, but everything was there, they even looked over at Frank once in a while to see if they were still there, but they were still hopping along them, just ever so slightly behind, so that couldn’t be it. Neighbor even at one point tried counting their limbs, as dumb as it sounded and luckily for them everything was still intact.

Neighbor noticed that they had an untied shoe-lace from all that running, and they bent down and instinctively placed down their toolbox to- … That was what was missing. Their toolbox. Neighbor groaned quietly in frustration and tied the shoe-lace, and since Frank was blind he quite easily caught that sound.

“What is the matter?”

“I forgot my toolbox. It should be back up on the second floor.”

Neighbor did want to go back and get it, but they also did not want a second encounter with that Howdy guy, since, if not for Frank’s intervention, Neighbor would have been choked to death then and there. And, even though there was Portia on the first floor, Neighbor counts her as a bit of a lesser threat as she seems to utilize some form of manipulation for her attacks instead of immediate aggression.

“Shouldn’t you go get it then?”

“I mean, yeah, but the toolbox is in the area where we last saw Howdy, and if you didn’t see, he had almost choked me to death.”

“... No, I didn’t see that,” Frank answered, his tone sort of monotone, though there was still a bit of difficulty in whether they had taken it as a joke or had genuinely gotten slightly offended by the remark.

“Oh, right… You’re blind. I forgot for a second.”

There was a bit of an awkward silence between the two of them as they continued walking the long, almost unending hallway.

“So, are you going to get that toolbox of yours?”

Neighbor really had to think about it, since they really did need it if they were to actually do their job here and fix some machinery, but they also did not wish to be once again held in a chokehold. All though, after a moment of thinking, they had decided to actually turn back and get the toolbox, as they were sent here to do a job, and do the job they will, even if their life is on the line. Honestly, Neighbor had already expected this to be difficult, as the legends of no one coming back intact from this place were being spread around a few times, but they had not expected that the threat of this place would be actual monsters by definition.

“Alright, Frank. Let’s go get my toolbox.”

And just like that, they had started to walk back up the stairs that led to the second floor. They had luckily not gone that far away from the stairs, though, the slightly frightening and concerning thing was that Barnabus was no longer there. The only thing left at the bottom of the flight of stairs were the broken parts of that forklift they had crashed. They had absolutely no idea on where he could have gone, but the fact that he was no longer there was both relieving and distressing at the same time. Frank also ‌seemed to notice the big guy’s absence, probably due to the lack of the wet dog smell.

“Barnabus is no longer here, is that right?”

Neighbor was about to nod before once again remembering that Frank was blind and would not see the gesture, so they just said yes, with ‌both relief and concern still lingering in their voice. And with that, Neighbor picked Frank up to help him up the stairs before letting him back down once they were up there. They started to slowly and quietly walk over to where to try and not alert anyone of their presence as they made their way to where they had last left their toolbox at, however, the more they walked, the more they kept feeling as if someone was watching them from above, though when they took a look up, there was nothing but the lights and the vents on the sides. Neighbor tried ignoring the fact that something or someone could be hiding in the vents. They continued on walking around and trying to look for their toolbox, with Frank in their palms. Then all of a sudden, one of the vents busted open and a person jumped out to Neighbor and Frank. This guy had brown dirty hair, white skin, a medical mask on his face and had a sharp blade in his right arm. Pointing it directly to Neighbor, they thought he was one of the terrifying monsters terrorizing folks when they walked into the factory. But this guy's expression softened as he looked at Frank, seeming in shock and disbelief. Frank, unable to see but could hear and smell, was confused because that smell seemed familiar to them. The guy slowly dropped his blade and took off his mask, he then said as he looked down at Frank. The guy pulled out some odd looking device. It looked like an Unihertz Titan but with a bigger keyboard to screen ratio. The guy typed in something and with a click of a button the machine read out the following message.

“Frank?... Is that really you?” The machine spoke in a robotic voice. The guy's face however looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

Frank's eyebrows rose when he recognized the talking machine, and along with it the person that was using it by association, but he was also not amused.

“... Jeremy?...”

Jeremy nodded slowly then quickly as he leaned down to Frank's level and began typing again.

“Dude, I thought you got killed… what happened?”

Frank did not have a happy expression, more like an annoyed one. They sighed and said.

“I should be asking you the same thing.”

Jeremy leaned back and looked at Neighbor, he looked at them as if he knew who they were.

“Oh…you're still alive,” Jeremy's machine spoke. Frank quickly chimed in and replied.

“No Jeremy, that is not who you think it is. I don't even know if they're still alive. But I promise, this person is not them.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes at Neighbor. In their mind, they thought: “Rude. Who does he think he is?..” Whoever this Jeremy character is, they started to have a dislike for him. Jeremy then began typing again.

“Anyway, I can't believe you're here Frank! It's been so long since the incident. This is so relieving to hear. How's life?”

“Awesome!” Frank said with a fake smile and sarcasm in his tone.

“Really?... ” Jeremy's machine asked.

Frank's expression shifted from sarcasm to an annoyed look.

“No, idiot. You think I'm going to be happy knowing everyone in the factory turned into monsters and my husband died and I'm just a rolling head?...”

“Oh…right.” Jeremy quickly typed out a reply with an embarrassed look and smiled. Fidgeting his fingers on the keyboard. He then once again started to type out another message for the machine to read out.

“Hey, I found this a bit further down the hall. Does this belong to any of you?”

He then pulled out a toolbox…Neighbor’s toolbox! Surprisingly, it was all in one piece. Neighbor brought out a happy expression and exclaimed as they grabbed it from him,

“My toolbox! Thank goodness! I thought I lost it.”

As they reclaimed their belongings Neighbor looked at Jeremy and said quietly but still able to hear.

“T-Thanks…”

Maybe he was not so bad. Jeremy nodded and said, placing his hand on his chest and nodding once with his head as a “you're welcome”, then he typed again,

“What did you say your name was again?”

“It’s Neighbor. Jeremy, right?”

“Yes, indeed! Anyways, enough with the formalities. Want to go to my place? Besides, it's not safe out here. It won't be long until Howdy or Barnabus come out.”

Neighbor looked down at Frank, as if they were thinking the same thing. Jeremy did have a point. Neighbor didn't want to experience Howdy choking them to death again, or another Barnabus chase. So reluctantly, they nodded and gave a confident smile. Jeremy smiled and gestured to the two of them to follow him. As they went deeper into the factory, it started to look more creepy looking as they went further down. Jeremy leads them to a room, with papers flooding a desk nearby. And cabinets and chairs in the room. He closed the door very slowly, to not make noise. Once he did, he sat down on a nearby chair and looked at Neighbor and typed out the following message.

“Welcome, to my hideout. Not much but it prevents me from getting caught. Want some water?”

He asked as he offered them a water bottle. Neighbor quickly shook their head and said awkwardly.

“No thanks. I'm good.” The thought of water made them have flashbacks when Poppy tried poisoning them. They did not want to go back on that trail. After a few minutes of relaxing in the room. Frank then began talking.

“So Jeremy, how did you survive the fire? Were you there? I mean no offense but, I thought you were the one who caused it…”

Jeremy gasped, obviously offended and quickly wrote:

“Look Frank, I may not like anyone in the factory but I don't want to flat out kill innocent people! I'm actually very offended that you said that. But, to answer your question. Yes. I was there… unfortunately.”

Neighbor started to seem interested in what happened during the fire. It was all over the news and it was something really popular seven months ago. They remember when they saw it on their television and seeing a news reporter talking about the burnt down factory. Now here Neighbor was, standing in the forgotten place that was once in stable condition. They then looked at Jeremy and said softly.

“Hey Jeremy, if you don't mind me asking, I'm curious what exactly happened at the fire?...”

Jeremy let out a sad sigh and thought for a moment, he then wrote:

“If you really want to know, I'll tell you. Seven months ago, I was working in the lab with a couple of my coworkers. Well I wouldn't consider them as coworkers, no one really liked me when I worked there. Neither Walden. Actually he hated my guts and I hated him. But back to the story, I was working in the lab when the smell of smoke filled up the entire area and it got really bad and one of the senior members, Salina Starlet. She told us to evacuate, we did but the fire spreaded all over and it was too late.”

Neighbor looked at him and felt bad. It was horrible of what had happened to them but listened carefully as he continued.

Jeremy then continued to write:

“I, for one, survived. How? There was a fire extinguisher nearby and I used it to try to block out the fire, it did damage and luckily I was able to get out but other workers weren't able to. I ran as fast as I could to get the hell outta there. After that, I never returned back not until I heard the rumors about the factory and I went to see for myself. I've been here ever since. Now, here I am! Talking to a complete stranger and a head.”

Frank frowned at Jeremy and quickly said.

“Hey, it's not my fault that this happened to me! It was unexpected.”

“Whatever, Frank.” Jeremy typed out and rolled his eyes at them.

Neighbor then thought for a moment or two. If Jeremy knew his way out of the factory, then he could help Frank and them escape! It probably won't be easy, but it's worth a shot. They then asked him.

“Hey Jeremy, do you possibly know a way out of here? I would rather be at my house than be here so is there an exit nearby or?...”

Jeremy thought for a moment as he looked down on the ground and rubbed his chin, he then got an idea and began typing:

“There are multiple exits, but I do not know which one is the closest. Only way to know is if we go to the boss's old dorm. He used to have a bunch of blueprints and maps in there. If we do manage to find one then we can use it to find the nearest exit and escape from there. But we have to be careful, any of the senior members can be lurking around there.”

Neighbor nodded and picked up their toolbox and picked up Frank and carried them on their left arm, while having the toolbox on the left.

“Then we better be quick.” They said.

Jeremy nodded and put his machine away for now and followed Neighbor out of the door. Neighbor thought that this might be the last time they'd see the factory, or is it?

Shooting Star

They had started to go forward, looking for one thing - Walden’s dorm. Neighbor was mostly just following Frank and Jeremy, though sometimes they got the feeling as if the two had been following them for some unknown reason.

“Hey, uh… Where exactly are the dormitories located?”

“There is a passage that leads from the second floor to the dormitories. Due to the amount of workers we had, we needed an entirely separate place for them, since there was not enough space for them to stay for the night. A few of them even had quite the private life, so keeping that up in the factory area with all the machinery and spectra would not have been a wise decision on anyone's part,” Frank replied. He seemed like he would know the entire layout of this area by the way he spoke about it. Perhaps they knew where the boss’ dorm room was.

“Hey, Frank, do you know where his dorm is?”

“I know where his office is and I know where the dorms overall are. I still remember where mine is,but I personally have not been to his dorm, so I would not know.”

Jeremy looked like he was thinking, trying to recall something. Then he got an idea and started to type it out on his talking device.

“I have seen his dorm before, but I only know how to reach it through the vents. I am not sure how to get there through the hallways. I have tried a couple of times before and failed. I am not sure if the vents would support all of us, though.”

That did sound like it could lead up to something, and they did have a start.

“Do you by any chance know in what part you lose track of where you are headed? If it is always the same area, then we can try starting from there,” Frank said after a moment of thinking. It made sense and would be efficient if done correctly, though sadly Jeremy shook his head in dismissal, as that was not the case. Every time he tried to locate the dorm via the hallways, it would go through a different path, as if it never wanted to be found, or if it was a live maze.

“So, you say that the hallways change, but the vents don’t?”

Neighbor was quite confused by the said notion as it barely made any sense. Besides, the hallways could not have been moving, otherwise, no one would have been able to find their own dorm. Jeremy just shrugged. Maybe he just had a poor sense of direction. But he seemed to be able to navigate his way through the ventilation system just fine.

“If we gave you a map of the vents, would you be able to follow that?”

That seemed like quite a promising idea, till Jeremy’s talking machine replied with a:

“That is how I had tried to do it. Do you think I would be dumb enough to go try going without one?”

“Well, I guess that that is out of the question then,” Neighbor said with a sigh.

“The only people who have been able to locate his dorm are the ones who had been brought there by him personally before… and apparently Jeremy through the vents… I wonder how many of you know how to get there because of the vents.”

A few seconds later Jeremy’s talking machine spouted a: “Don’t question it.”

“Alright then.” Frank retorted as he did not have the will to argue with him over that at the moment.

“You know, we could have you climb through the vents, make some noise, and then we just try to follow it. Do you think that’ll work?”

Neighbor's suggestion seemed like a pretty reasonable one, and it did make Jeremy think for a moment, thus making that an option he had not explored before. Suddenly, Frank spoke up.

“No, that won’t do. If we make too much noise, we could attract the others and alert them of our location.”

Then, Jeremy also added: “Also some of the vents cross over through rooms and you two can’t exactly faze through walls.”

Neighbor sighed once again, kinda out of ideas, quietly muttering: “Why can’t we just send Jeremy there on his own to retrieve the blueprints?”

The other two paused for a second, a bit caught off guard as to why no one had thought of that option before.

“I mean… we could, right? That would take less effort and meddling with the maze of these halls and would be much faster as Jeremy already knows the way and could go at his normal pace without having to wait on any of us.”

“Yeah, that would be easier. But how would I find you afterward?”

“You'll find us later, I’m sure,” Neighbor quickly responded: “now, go! The quicker, the better.”

Jeremy nodded, understanding that there was no rush, but it would be better if this could be done with quicker. He also had the wish to leave as fast as possible. And thus, Jeremy swiftly got up in the vents. You would assume that he was no longer there, but you couldn’t tell, as there was not a single sound made when he moved through the ventilation shafts. Neighbor then sat down, propped up against the wall, looking at the ceiling, twiddling their thumbs, whistling some random tune in their head. Frank rolled over, propping themself next to them.

“... So… Are we just going to be spending this entire time just sitting here, doing nothing?”

Neighbor stopped their whistling for a moment as they heard Frank ask them that. They had to think for a moment, as on the one hand, if they stayed here, it would be easier for Jeremy to locate them, but on the other, there was a chance that we could get closer to Jeremy by walking instead of just standing in place.

“You know what? Let’s go!”

And like that, Neighbor stood up and started to walk forward. Or at least they were walking in the direction they thought to be forward. Frank just rolled around after them.

For a while, they were walking in an eerie silence, with nothing but the sound of the two of them moving forward and the occasional flickering of lights. Neither Neighbor nor Frank spoke, as they had no idea of what to speak of and neither of them was that much into small talk. The two of them just walked and walked, not really bothering each other, but as you went, you couldn't shake off the feeling that somebody was watching you. Neighbor would look around once in a while as if to take in their surroundings, but there was no one but them and Frank. They could see that Frank was also starting to get bothered by said feeling of being watched, as they would just pause and listen to their surroundings then and again.

“You also feel like someone is watching us, huh,” Neighbor asked, totally understanding what they were feeling.

“Indeed. Can you see anything?”

“Nothing but empty hallways, I'm afraid.”

“I see... That would be no excuse not to be diligent, though. We should stay on high alert, since both of us feel it, and, just like the saying goes, no one can hallucinate the same exact thing at the same time... I am not exactly sure how scientifically correct that would be, but you get my point.”

Neighbor nodded, completely understanding what they meant by that, and stayed on guard, looking at every corner, wall, and doorway they noticed, to make sure that no one was there. Frank was also doing his part, making sure to listen and try to detect any movement that was not one of their own. As they went on, they noticed that the lighting was becoming dimmer, or in some places, it would just be flickering more than usual. Maybe this was all just the paranoia from everything that has already happened thus far, but, usually, things do not turn out so brightly in places such as these. Suddenly, the lights went out.

“Damn it!”

“What is the matter?”

“Power went out,” Neighbor replied, remembering that Frank is blind, so he wouldn't have known.

“I see... Is it entirely pitch black? Or are there some outlines of things you can see,” Frank asked, since if Neighbor could still see faint outlines of anything, then they could still move forward, but if they couldn't, then they would have to try and not run into a wall.

Neighbor squinted their eyes, trying to look around, but anywhere they looked it seemed as if they were in a black void.

“No... I can't see shi-... wait a minute...”

In the distance, they thought they could see a very dim light. It was barely anything, thus probably very far away, but it was still something.

“I think I actually see a light... I will go towards it,” they said as they started to move forward.

“Are you sure that that is a good decision? What if it is a trap?”

“You got any better ideas, Frank?”

Frank then went silent, either thinking or just not saying anything due to the lack of a better idea. Neighbor just continued walking forward, moving towards the light, and the closer they went, the brighter the light became, and oddly enough, it also became a bit warmer. Frank was still right behind them, also seeming to notice the slight temperature change that occurred as they drew closer and closer to the light source.

“What do you think it is,” Neighbor asked Frank.

“I can not exactly see what the light looks like, and we are still a bit too far for me to hear it, and those are the 2 very important details I need to know to identify it.”

“Okay, alright.”

So, the two of them just continued to approach the light. They continued to approach it, the hallways becoming warmer every time they got closer, and soon enough, they both could quite well hear it. And what was it that they heard? It was the crackling of a fire.

“Uh... Do y’all have some sort of fireplace or something in here?”

“As far as I am aware, no, so that sound is quite concerning... We should probably make heist,” said Frank, and Neighbor nodded, picking up their pace and walking faster as Frank followed suit.

When the two finally reached it, they saw that the fire was of decent size. That be a decent size for a campfire, as the fire had been placed in a contained area.

“Huh... That's weird.”

“What is? What is burning? How big is the fire?” Frank was getting a bit frantic as they did not want to be burned alive for a second time.

“Relax, Frank. The fire is contained. Someone built a campfire, but I don't know who would do such a thing and why,” Neighbor said, trying to calm Frank's nerves a bit. That did seem to make them calm down a bit, though it was quite evident that the fire still made them be a little on edge. Then, there was that feeling again. The feeling of being watched, and it was a bit more intense. It was as if someone was burning a match on their back, even though they were facing the fire, not looking away from it. Suddenly, Frank shouted: “DUCK!” at Neighbor, and as they did, a ninja star barely missed their head, only managing to snip off a tiny bit of hair. In the distance was heard a whisper that kinda sounded like fuck, and then another ninja star was thrown at them. Neighbor swiftly dodged it again, but then there came more and more, to where the two of them had to run and hide behind a wall to escape the rain of those metal things. And they were coming at a very rapid speed too. They tried to locate the source of them, but they could only tell which direction they were coming from. As they were hiding behind that corner, they heard a thump, as if someone had jumped off of a high place. Frank could hear their approaching footsteps, and then, they saw them. She was yellow, and she was mad, and she once again started to fling ninja stars at them, so they ran. It was a surprise that Neighbor hadn’t gotten vitally hit, just a few small scratches here and there, and there were a few rips in their clothing, but nothing too major. It could be chalked up to the ninja being mad, thus only throwing in a general direction, rather than aiming straight for something. But when Neighbor looked back, just to check if the person was following behind them or just throwing, they could see that the ninja stars were flying straight for them, but then suddenly moving to the side as if they had been pushed by a gust of wind or something. And when Neighbor took a closer look, they could faintly see an outline of… some ghost? Well, whoever it was, it was nice to get some help, as with that they successfully ran away from whoever that ninja girl was. Hopefully, Jeremy would not have to have a run-in with her.