Disclaimer: I don't own Poppy Playtime (Video Game). I don't own the picture (cover). Or the song if I put one in.

(qwertuno and SilentReadersMatter)

(Hope you enjoy.)

"...What are you planning to do?"

The voice of his polar opposite sounded behind him. Gentle as could be, but the harsh tone contradicting the real reason why he met up with them. Too close for comfort, yet the other still allowed it for old times sake.

"With what, Day-Day?"

Catnap teased the other gently, the mascot self as sensitive as their cartoon counterparts. Those who knew them assumed the cat to be mute. Which was true for the most part, he just never spoke in front of most people. Described as shy and cuddly by his own peers, the other mascot being one of them.

Even Dogday grew more in confidence, at least socially, Catnap proving himself the superior predator between them both.

I wish my skills improved more.

The bitter thought passed before a paw on his shoulder brought him out of it. Dogday's paw gripped him tightly, as if afraid of losing him out of his sight.

"...The human. They passed though here earlier. And still, you spared them. You didn't kill something, Catnap. What are you planning?"

The cat mascot merely giggled, his frame moving to attach his claws to the ceiling, hoisting himself to face Dogday. Eye to eye, face to face, only one facing normal, the other upside down. Dogday craned his neck to peer at Catnap, standing to show his true size in comparison to the other critters. Almost as tall as the other in some ways, and yet still remaining in physical appearance and in other parts he couldn't describe.

Catnap moved so they were nose to nose, Dogday keeping the eye contact. To lose this game was like submitting to Catnap's control. He only came here to find some of his friends, not a longtime enemy everyone warned him about. This was the first time they had seen each other in years.

"...You chose them over me. Your moon, your equal, Dogday. How I haven't killed them is beyond me."

The dog mascot's eyes hardened, narrowing even more at his opposite. Once they were friends, now they were enemies ready to tear out each other's throats.

"Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged."

The cat released some of his red gas directly into the other's face, Dogday countering it with his own. Secretly taking pride in the widening of his enemy's eyes, a sign that Catnap was taken aback. The mascot's paw pushed him away, the dog critter turning his back to his once friend.

"You forget I have my own means to defend myself."

Laughter is all he received as a response. The cat wasn't taking him seriously, he didn't think that Dogday held the capacity to injure anyone. Least of all him.

"Use it, then. Show me that you want to live, Sunrise. Demonstrate what you can do."

Catnap's claw curled around his throat, dragging the dog to a nearby bed. The mattress surprisingly soft, making the mascot realise that it was a makeshift. The realisation of that he'd stumbled into Catnap's temporary home chilling him to his core. Catnap letting him live scared him even more. In this situation, what positives were there to find?

"Get off me!"

"...No."

"Don't make me defend myself-"

Red smoke poured on to his face, Dogday's paw having to cover his mouth and nose from the substance. His other paw busy holding Catnap's arm, he was too distracted to notice the other resident of this area crawling her way in. A yawn broke them from their struggle, their heads turning to see Bobby Bearhug in her tiny form watching them with a raised brow, and a cruel smile.

"I assume you captured him, Master."

Dogday eyed Catnap, non-existent brow raised in a silent question. Why in all of the factory was a free toy calling him master of all things? Catnap sent Bobby an affectionate smile.

"You'd be spot on, little bear. Dogday thought he could sneak up on me. I proved him wrong, of course."

That was when the dog critter noticed Bobby's little red eyes. Peering into his soul, knowing that Catnap had put her under his control. As if sensing his conflicting thoughts, the cat cupped his polar opposite's cheek, tilting him by the chin to look him directly in his crimson eyes. They were with hatred, resentment, and a little bit of...affection, though it was quickly hidden by rage.

"She asked for this, Day-Day. Because of what you did to her. To us. We didn't mean to hurt anybody. You cast us out like we were nothing. And Bobby-..."

Catnap merged with the shadows, appearing at the little bear's side, a claw under her chin as Bobby chirped up at him. Climbing on Catnap's leg, her red eyes matching the giant cat's in the darkness of their hideout. Dogday only whimpered, back reaching the wall as they just stared.

"...Bobby became mine. Once, she was lonely. And now, I've given her another means to protect herself from the likes of you."

Bobby's fangs flashed, a set of sharp teeth and her own claws sprouted from her tiny hands. Still, she didn't move a muscle from Catnap, the giant mascot's eyes averting once settled on her alternate form. Reminded of his days when he wasn't a monster, when Dogday cared for them both, of when he wouldn't have chosen the other critters over them.

The bear critter curled up to him as the memories flashed through their shared minds. The events of what led up their eventual circumstances weren't pretty, the Bobby that she once was dead by the betrayal of her old friends. The only thing remaining in place? A monster who didn't hold sympathy unless she cared. A rare sight to see from her nowadays.

Dogday reached out with his paw. Offering an apology is all he could do-

"Catnap, I'm sorry-"

"Sorry doesn't excuse what you did to us."

Their friends, his friends cast Catnap and Bobby out like they were nothing. After choosing Dogday and the others over him, the one who saved him, betrayal is what he had been brought ever since his newfound freedom. Only Bobby understood a fraction of the pain he endured. His so-called friends were dead to him, and the Catnap they all wanted back no longer existed. They created this monster, and he intended to stay. Whether anybody liked it or not.

"Please don't leave me again."

Dogday stood ashamed of his actions. The rest of the smiling critters had cast out two of the eight, with their now remaining six of their little group. Equally as divided as they were together, all the dog critter desired was his friends to reconcile.

By the look on Catnap, his words were having little to no effect.

Bobby reached the floor, Catnap continuing to remain still, his ever-present smile hiding the scowl waiting to be seen. Nothing but hatred and jealousy filled his being, reminders of the innocent children in Dogday's place as they begged him not to leave after he put them to sleep.

"...You'd have to grovel for a thousand years before forgiveness would become an option."

Catnap's eyes steeled, the mascot part taking control as he suddenly held Dogday by the throat. Squeezing the artificial vocal cords, the dog critter gasped for air (he pretended to notice Catnap's disgust, they didn't even need air-), instincts kicking in as he kicked the cat critter. Knocking him over in the process, Dogday's paw massaging his orange furry throat. The latter rolled his eyes, dusting himself off as he stared down his enemy.

"What to do? What to do?"

He kept watch as the cat circled him. Beginning to count down the options presented in front of his form, many of them ending in a gruesome manner, or the demise of his fellow critters.

"Putting you to sleep didn't work. You're immune to my gas, which I still think is silly. I could just give you to him-"

Catnap kneeled down, claws hooking itself on Dogday's head. Pulling it by the back, it was almost as he had control of the back, the scared critter whimpering at the sight of his once friend's monstrous form. He'd forgotten how sensitive his counterpart could be.

"But I like you too much for that. Keeping you alive is far more valuable~"

He giggled when Dogday crawled backwards, aware of his violent tendencies growing out of control. In the corner of his vision, something hovered over the two enemies, Catnap's attention drawn to it. A child, one transparent, yet their bodily shape as one of a shadow. Choosing to not have a physical appearance like many of the others.

Don't treat them how they treated us.

The kid. His host. Little Theodore who gave up complete control of the body over to Catnap decades prior. He hadn't seen him in...well, years. The little boy either sleeping in their mind, or buried in the darkness just watching over him.

"...I'm not planning on killin' him."

His paw shut the mouth of the dog mascot. Losing his concentration meant his host would be gone, and the loneliness only became bearable when someone who understood him came around. Those were far few and in between. Theodore appeared satisfied, disintegrating into ashes as he went back into their shared mind. Safe and sound where he belonged. Away from those who wished to use them for their own gain.

Besides, I owe it him to respect his wishes. Unlike Dogday who rejected ours. We're better off without them. The sun can go back home for all I care.

Suddenly dropping Dogday, the mentioned yelped as Catnap's steeled eyes softened, releasing some of his gas to stun him. Bobby crawled closer, finding it easier on all fours like her real animal counterparts. She crooned at Catnap, not once sparing Dogday even a brief glance. Her own gaze filled with hatred as she made the cat crack a smile, even leaning down to put their heads together. He purred in response, confirming the bond to Dogday they somehow must have formed from their years as outcasts.

"...Got anything to say for yourself, Sunny?"

Catnap flicked his charm, the sun shaped necklace tapping Dogday's chin before falling to his chest once more. His paws grabbed one of Catnap's, bringing it to cover his face. The mascot looking like the definition of a choosing beggar. A leader brought down to his knees. It brought joy to his enemies standing in front of him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

"So pathetic. You can't even say what you're sorry for. You and the others can burn for that night. If forgiveness was an option, I'd choose to make myself part of him instead."

A shadow fell over Dogday's eyes, head looking down in shame. Loosening his grip on Catnap's claw, the cat mascot moved it to cup his cheek. Relishing in these last moments of contact before it would inevitably turn violent.

"If you were sorry, you would have fought harder to keep us around. We could have been something, friends, maybe even more. But, no, you had to impress the smiling critters gang. Keep our friendship a secret from them. Guess what, Day-Day? All secrets are revealed eventually."

His claw was off, and moved to his side as he latched the extremities to the ceiling. Needing all of the to climb away from the monster on his side of the story, even if he and Bobby were considered villains by the others. In their version, abandonment was just as a bad as any other kind of betrayal.

No one will ever understand us.

After all, accidents did happen. But the critters couldn't accept reality. Dogday's ignorance is what ultimately lead to their downfall, the rest of the bigger bodied critters added on the to already crumbling pile. Even as Dogday sat there with marks and bruises, he at least acknowledged that Catnap spared him some mercy. Showing that he still cared, in his own twisted sense of it. Not harming anyone meant being sort of merciful to those who crossed him.

Can we ever resolve this conflict?

Returning home proved fatal, all the friends assuming Catnap must have done it before immediately going to look for some revenge against their fallen friend. Another bit of blame passed to an already falling apart group. Survivors of experiment who were unstable, ready to kill another at a moment's notice. From then, Dogday became cautious of those around him. Even so, he missed his old friends dearly.

And he wasn't sure if any of them would ever be coming back.