Dogday walked through the dark parts of the factory, an axe in his belt.

His arms were crossed, his eyes focused on the ground.

He told Poppy and the others that he'd reunite with them. And yet...they were gone.

Luckily, the elevator was still functional, so he made his way down to where the three should have supposedly gone.

It's been a few days now, however, and he still hasn't caught up to them. He had a feeling that they were still alive, though.

They wouldn't die that easily.

He just has to keep moving, and keep a lookout for–

"Dogday! Is that...you?"

He heard Catnap call out to him, freezing in place as he instinctively searched for the source of the voice.

It was somewhere nearby, but he couldn't quite pinpoint where it was.

The dog's eyes narrowed, a quiet growl escaping him as he bared his teeth.

He knew that it wasn't really the cat's voice. And there was only one person who would be able to mimic the feline's voice.

The Prototype.

He carefully looked around, taking a defensive stance as he continued to search around the dark room.

An eerie feeling of dread began to rise within him. He couldn't pinpoint the source of the voice, let alone find The Prototype in the darkness.

"Over here, Dogday!"

Catnap's voice called out once again, sounding as if it were to the canine's right.

The dog turned in an instant, only to find the nothing was there. His heart began to speed up, adrenaline coursing through his feins.

"We'll be together..."

He heard the cat's voice speak behind him, slowly distorting as it turned into the familiar, distorted voice of The Prototype.

"Forever.."

The Prototype let out a sinister chuckle, the dog quickly bringing the axe to his hand, turning to face the expirement behind him.

He lifted his axe into the air, ready to attack.

Before the dog could react, he saw The Prototype before him, the hand moving in what felt like a blur.

The dog let out a loud gasp, feeling a sharp sting in his stomach, and a warm fluid pooling out within an instant.

He nearly froze, staring down at his torso, only to find that The Prototype had dug himself into his stomach, leaving a fatal wound in the process.

"How disappointing...I thought my greatest decibel's friend would be smarter than that."

Dogday felt his arm trembling, staring down at the expirement, a mix of anger and fear growing within him.

"Awww, is the little puppy scared? What are you going to do this time?"

The Prototype turned his voice back to the feline's, deciding to mock the dog once more.

"Run away? Like you always have?"

But The Prototype had miscalculated the dog's true motivation for continuing on.

The expirement had assumed that the canine wanted to be free, to escape to the surface.

However...he couldn't be further from the truth.

Dogday narrowed his eyes, thinking back to the sight of Catnap from a few days prior.

He wasn't sure if the cat would approve of this, but...he had to do this.

Feeling a surge of strength rise within him, the dog focused on The Prototype's hand, bringing his axe down into both The Prototype and his stomach, a metallic screech escaping the expirement, alongside the dog's own.

"AAGGGHHHHH!!!"

The canine yelled out, feeling the hand squirm inside his body, alongside an extra bit of pain from his own doing.

Still, the dog smirked, satisfied to see the hand panicking. For once.

The hand managed to dig its way out of the dog, sparking as it squirmed onto the floor.

The dog felt a daze begin to overtake him. In a hurry, he walked up to the hand, tearing the axe, now stained with blood out of his stomach.

With a final bit of strength, he stabbed the axe into the hand, another, horrifying metallic screech escaping it, as the dog fell to the floor, sitting down as he watched The Prototype struggle.

The hand squirmed, attempting to escape the axe, but to no avail, of course. More sparks flew out of the hand, until its panicked movements slowed to a stop.

Lifeless.

The dog smiled weakly, staring down at his bleeding wound, feeling his body grow weak.

"I did it, Moonlight. I finally did it.."

Barely able to hold himself together, the dog laid down onto the floor, starring up at the ceiling as his vision began to blur.

His eyes grew heavy, his body giving up on him. However...the dog didn't mind.

Even if this wasn't ideal, the dog wanted this.

He wanted to be reunite with his sweet moonlight. To reunite with his friends.

He wanted to rest.

The dog let out a shakey sigh, beginning to close his eyes as he felt his consciousness fade from him.

"I'll be with you soon...Moonlight."

The dog quietly said to himself, his mind fading from him as he passed on.

...

The dog felt...

...fine?

He wasn't bleeding anymore...was he?

But he didn't feel as if he had been healed. He felt it. He died, right?

So that must mean...

The dog attempted to open his eyes, only to find that he could. He didn't find himself within the factory's dull, confining walls.

Instead, he was greeted by a lush, grassy field.

And to his relief...his sweet little kitty in front of him, a clear look of concern on his face.

Of course, having had the cat on his mind ever since he passed before him, he instantly noticed a difference in the cat's fur pattern.

He didn't have his pendant, but he had a purple sun in the middle of his torso, in the form of a fur pattern.

"Dogday! Are you alright?!"

The feline asked, rushing over to the dog's body, kneeling down in front of him.

Dogday took this as a cue to check himself, looking down at his body.

Similarly to the cat, he found that he didn't have his pendant. However, he had an orange crescent moon in the middle of his torso.

....and a large scar on his torso, right where the dog had been impaled by both The Prototype and his own axe.

So that's what the cat was concerned about...

Dogday looked back up at Catnap, a clear hint of panic within the feline's expression. Dogday gently placed his paw onto the cat's cheek, smiling at the kitty.

'He's even cuter than I remember...'

"I'm okay Catnap, honest! Some...things happened back at the factory. That's all."

Catnap nodded, a small frown on his face as he held out a paw for the dog. Dogday of course took it, the two standing up beside each other.

"Right. About that...I wasn't expecting to see you here so soon. It's only been a few days. What...happened back there?"

Right...

Catnap was probably expecting the dog to arrive in a few years.

"Well...I did it. I stopped The Prototype. I killed him, but..."

The dog glanced down at the scar on his stomach, a reminder of his own death.

"...At the cost of my own life."

"Dogday...I'm so sorry..."

Dogday shook his head, a big smile on his face despite the topic at hand.

"No, no! It's fine. If I'm being honest...I'm fine with it. Even in the few days I spent there I was kind of just...exhausted, you know? Especially after everything that's happened."

Dogday sighed.

"I just wanted to be with you again. And the others, of course."

Catnap smiled a little, although he still wished that the dog had a less...painful death. He obviously hadn't witnessed the scene himself, but he could only imagine what it looked, or even felt like.

"But hey! It's all over now! I'm just happy to be with you again, moonlight!"

Dogday's tail began to wag furiously, the canine pulling the cat into a big, tight hug. Catnap instinctively purred, before returning the dog's gesture, wrapping his own arms around the canine.

After a few seconds, the two pulled away, the dog's tail continuing to sway.

"Oh! I forgot to ask, what about the others? Did they...forgive you?"

Catnap glanced over at the houses behind the two for a moment, Dogday doing the same before the two returned their gazes to each other.

"Well...they did. They saw what happened in the cartoon world through a TV screen, apparently. But..."

Catnap thought back to when the chicken had worked up the courage to rub the cat's cheek when he first arrived, as well as the noticeable lack of his usual confidence when speaking to the cat.

"...They're still working through some things. They're doing their best, though. And I can't thank them enough for that. Even if I don't deserve it."

Dogday placed his paws onto the feline's cheek, a blush forming on Catnap's face. The two gazed into the other's eyes, a welcoming smile on the canine's face.

"You do deserve it, Catnap. I know you feel like it's your fault, but...at the end of the day..."

"You wouldn't have done the things you did if it weren't for The Prototype's influence. Besides...you weren't the only toy under his control."

"What matters is that you broke out of it, and you're already doing what you can to make up for it. In my eyes...that's more than enough."

"I'm sure that the others would agree as well."

Catnap stared back at the canine, a couple of tears beginning to escape the cat as he started to sob. The dog let out a quiet sigh, wiping off the cat's tears with his fingers.

"Shhh...it's okay kitty. I'm here for you.."

The dog whispered quielty, the moment the two had together being cut short as they heard a few footsteps beside them.

They turned, only to find the other six critters walking over to the two. They all gasped in awe, except Catnap and Dogday, of course, as they saw the canine.

"Dogday...you're back already?"

The dog's tail wagged as he saw the other six, his friends.

For real, this time.

Not to say that the cartoon critters weren't his friends too, of course!

"Yeah it's...a long story, haha.."

The dog chuckled nervously, hoping that the others didn't notice his scar yet.

But of course, the smartest elephant he knew had noticed it immediately.

"Dogday...you have a scar. What happened?"

The elephant asked, a stern look of concern on his face as his eyes focused on the dog's scar.

Dogday smiled, wrapping his arms around Catnap as he came up with an idea.

"How about...the eight of us talk about it together? Like those group hangouts we used to have, back in Playcare?"

Everyone's faces lit up at the idea, beginning to chim in with their own roles in setting things up.

"That sounds lovely!"

Bobby cheered, a giant smile on her face. Picky's eyes widened as she came up with her own idea.

"Oh! I'll prepare the food for everyone!"

"And Kickin and I will pick out a movie to watch!"

Hoppy chimmed in, pulling Kickin into a one arm hug. The chicken flinched for a moment, an unusual behavior that the dog had spotted.

'So that's what Catnap meant...poor guy.'

The dog thought to himself, frowning for a moment as he glanced at Kickin. His smile faded once he saw the chicken smile sheepishly at Hoppy's gesture, slowly wrapping his own arm around her.

"Bobby and I will help patch Dogday up!"

Bubba chimmed in, the bear nodding in response to the elephant's suggestion.

Crafty looked around nervously, seemingly both unsure and afraid of announcing her own unspoken role. Catching onto this, Catnap decided to speak up himself.

"Crafty and I will help set everything up, and make sure that everybody's comfortable."

Crafty smiled a little at Catnap, silently thanking him for speaking up for her.

"And uh...what will I do?"

The dog asked, uncertainty present within his voice, despite having been the leader of the group.

Bobby got behind the dog, gently pushing him forward.

"Just relax! You've just arrived here after all! Besides, we'll be hosting things at your house, Dogday!"

'My house?!'

Dogday turned to Bobby, a clear look of confusion on his face. He had only just arrived here. How did he have a house? Did they build it for him?

"Wait...my house? How...? Why?"

"Don't worry about it! Catnap will guide you!"

Bobby replied excitedly, before running off with the other six critters, all heading off to fulfill their own roles.

Catnap walked alongside the dog, the two making their way to the eight houses in distance.

"Long story short, there were apparently eight houses when they all arrived here. Each seemingly themed after one of us."

The cat explained, glancing over towards a house with a dog bone in the middle of it.

"That one's yours. I guess we may as well head there. Bobby and Bubba will probably come over soon with medical supplies."

Dogday's tail began to wag excitedly, the curiosity already getting to him as he began to run towards the house.

"Sounds great! Let's go!–"

"Wait!"

The dog stopped in his tracks, looking back at the canine who slowly caught up, walking up to the dog.

"Dogday..?"

"Yes Catnap..?"

I just...I just want to say...thank you. For giving me a second chance. 

The dog smiled, his tail wagging as he held the cat's cheeks, the cat smiling back as he did the same to the dog.

"It's okay, Catnap. Everything will be okay now. I promise."

Dogday leaned in, the two sharing a kiss on the lips, their tails swaying in unison as they held it together.

After a minute or two, the two pulled away for air, a flustered look on the two's faces as they stared at each other.

They both let out a soft chuckle from the look on the other's face, finding it rather amusing.

The dog held out a paw, the cat slowly taking it as he smiled. The dog giggled a little, looking back at his new house.

"Now come on! We have a sleepover to prepare for!"

The dog cheered, enthuastic as ever, as the two made their way to the house to prepare for the upcoming sleepover.

Finally...

They were free. 

Free to live the life they've always wanted since their days in Playcare.

The life they deserved.