Time seemed to have frozen in place all around her, and yet it was also moving at an incredible speed-far beyond her momentary comprehension.

The monster before Belle, with it's straggly wiry hair and inhuman giant eyes, was charging itself straight at her. She could see it's horrible jagged-tooth mouth would be closing in on her in a matter of seconds with the way it flew on it's feet, but her own feet, frantic to run as well, were cemented in place.

Somehow through all of this she was able to notice a sound shrieking loudly in her ears, and it wasn't from the monster-it was her own wail of terror.

Just then the fear holding her frozen in place lost it's hold upon her just as the thing was only a few feet away. With all the strength she could muster Belle clasped tight onto her shaking flashlight, turned on the heel of her boots, and bolted around the hall's corner, nearly crashing to the floor from the velocity of it. The demon following right behind her clacked loudly with it's movements, but Belle heard it 'thump' into the wall, rattling the ceiling tiles above as well as letting out another short beastly cry. Even though she gained some sparse feet between her and the thing she kept moving upon wild feet.

'What the hell is that!' Belle cried out in her mind which was in near hysterics. There was no time for her to put together any explanation for the hellish thing chasing behind her right now, for she could hear it's foot falls clipping against the tile right behind hers. Her body simply went on autopilot, doing the only thing it knew to do in this scenario-run.

A few escape plans did manage to push through the wreckage that was Belle's train of thought. She could possibly hide in her office like the boy in the recording had, the door did have a lock and her cellphone was in her bag-but there wasn't enough time for that course of action. The sparse distance between her and the thing that was shrieking it's animal like cry behind her was too slim to guarantee her safety nor if she could even keep it out of the room. Despair filled her facial expression as Belle bolted straight past her office, being unable to stop for it even if she had truly wanted to do so.

'I can't run forever! I'm going to die-oh god! This thing will catch me soon if I don't do something!' Belle was gasping as she tore around another corner to the two swinging doors that lead to the party room and to the front portion of the building. More attempts at escape plans filled her head as she pushed through the doors and ran past the laser tag room, hearing the panels of metal behind her swing open again with the monster pursuing. It would be pointless to try and get out the gate like front doors, they were sturdy standardize slabs of heavy metal and had to be locked up tight. There was no time to fumble for the keys and-oh wait, she didn't have them on her.

They were in her office.

There was also no time to try to break a window open (they were thick and shatter proof anyways) and jump out to freedom either.

The tablet sitting upon her desk in her office suddenly came back to mind as she kept moving on hurried feet, passing the darkened stage that lit up thanks to her flashlight for only a moment.

Belle gave a small alarmed cry when she heard the thing behind her bump into something. It's loud footsteps were crashing down like a thunderstorm in this open wide space, each step kept spiking her heart into a frenzy crafted of adrenaline and fear.

She had pretty much memorized the map on the tablet when she managed to regain her thoughts while darting through the arcade area. If she could get into the kitchen she could get back to the main hallway behind the front building's layout and escape through the back door! It'd activate the alarm and as she got away-on foot she didn't have her car keys either, the police would soon arrive on the scene.

Belle took a glance back as she was sprinting into the dining area and saw that the monstrous being, with glowing eyes seemingly floating in the darkness, was only a few paces behind her. Claw like hands lunged in her direction, making the beauty squeak out a cry of terror while she dogged it around a table.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?" She shouted in mixture of anger and fear from the overwhelming horror bubbling in her blood. Taking a spare second of precious time the security guard knocked over a large chair right behind her path, hoping to buy her some more distance from her pursuer. A loud 'clatter' of sound met her ears, and Belle hollered for joy internally. She could tell the thing had gotten off her tail by the lack of immediate steps following after.

"AHHHHHHHH-AHHHHHHHHH!"

Belle's gut lurched at the screams that flew after her even if the steps did not.

The kitchen doors she was closing in on slammed open as she barreled right on through without any concern. Right across the vast room was the other door that connected to the back hall, and she hurriedly weaved between two of the closest island counters to reach it.

'I can get out of here! I just have to make it to the backdoor!' Belle thought. 'It's closer on this side of the building-so even if it runs the other way I'll still-'

And of course, the great wheel of fate spun without any forewarning and changed all of that.

In her haste and eager speed against the tiled surface Belle's foot suddenly gave way. A puddle of oil on the floor had gone unnoticed so easily in the dark and thus caused the security guards swift boots to slide upon it, loosing traction and then grip against the surface entirely.

Belle not only fell hard, with her eyes slamming wide open, but the side of her head cracked loudly against the edge of the island counter on the way down.

'CRACK!'

The world around her twirled on it's axis at an unobservable speed. Everything began flashing bright white while she tumbled, like she had some how flown too close to the blinding sun and now was paying the price for it by hitting the ground face first.

The flashlight flew from her hand and spun far across the tile floor, stopping it's rotation a few seconds later with it's beam falling upon the doors she had just ran through.

Terrible pain shot through her head instantly, leaving her to lay right there upon the ground in agony. Belle coughed and sputtered, spit flying from her mouth as she tried to comprehend the pressure throbbing in her head. She could do little but squirm upon the dark grey tiles with twitching fingers, her eyes stuck at floor level and only letting her see the grimy space underneath the bottom of the counters and appliances.

Belle managed to move an arm slightly, but the rest of her body was reacting as if it was no longer attached to her mind at all. Tentatively, she touched the side of her wounded head with her fingers and gasped a pained breath when it stung at the intrusion. She looked down to her fingers, barely able to see the blood coating them, yet, there was the warmth and sticky wet liquid against her skin that told her all she needed to know.

The kitchen doors creaked slowly open and her pounding ears managed to catch the sound. Belle couldn't stop herself from losing control of her breathing and gasping loudly, the pain was too much to bear and keep quiet about at the same time. Her squinted eyes managed to catch a bit of blood dripping from the counter while she swiveled her head to observe the room. A notch of sorts was sticking from the stainless steel top of the island and was coated with her life matter.

It dawned on her then, as she laid there upon the ground, hurt, alone, and terrified... She was going to die here.

Belle whimpered pathetically, trying to will her body to move to escape this unforeseen and unimagined fate. The sound of footsteps approaching against the stillness and her own heartbeat was nearly deafening all together.

With all the strength she had remaining at the moment Belle propped herself back on her elbows and pushed on the floor with her feet.

She was greeted to a horrible sight.

Standing at the other end of the gap between the counters was the thing that had been chasing her through the hollow halls. The flashlight laying about on it's side caught the being's lower half, revealing a dark pair of oddly laced boots and equally dark pants disappearing into the black of shadows with the rest of the monster-except it's eyes of course.

Those large inhuman set of eyes were intensely staring down at her, glowing a wicked yellow in the darkness.

Belle nearly choked but swallowed back the buildup of fear and saliva in her throat when the thing took another step near her.

"C-Come on!" Belle scooted back some more, till she was up against the wall with no where else to go-it appeared she was pinned between two counters. Her eyes flashed upwards, searching in the dim light to find anything to help save her hide. There at the edge of the counter to her right she saw the shape of a handle to a large skillet just within stretching reach.

Glancing back to the thing staggering forward, which was not screaming nor bolting to grab her, Belle gnashed her teeth together in pain before yelling at it once again. "I-I'm right here! W-What are you waiting for!"

Blood was trickling down her face at this point and Belle could feel it crawl across her cheek. There was more than just the sickly feeling in her head, she also felt the numbness seeping into her toes and legs. The young woman knew she wasn't going to be awake much longer, the pain in her head would be sure of that if the monster before her didn't take the strike first.

Sitting there, she awaited it's next few steps to be within reaching distance to grab her as it surely would, but it didn't happen.

Why wasn't it running-or just moving at her like it was before? Anything quick would be better than waiting for it to finally launch forward and maul her to death.

"Blood…"

Belle just stared hard at the half hidden demon before tilting her head, not quite believing what she heard-or believing where that voice had even come from.

'Did it just… Talk?'

"Bl… Blo-Blood…" The odd voice spoke up again, but it was a complete change in comparison to the terrible screeching the thing had only emitted before now. It's voice sounded like it had a reverberation bouncing on its words and that whomever spoke was speaking through a filter, one crackling and skipping against certain syllables from it's high pitch. "You're… Ble-ed-eding… I'm..."

The monster suddenly took another step towards her and another before it was basically upon her. Belle fought back the surprise she held from moments before, and quickly reached up to grab the skillet handle above her head with a pained cry.

"STAY BACK!" Her voice rung strong through the air and then her weary arms swung.

'KA-THUNK!'

The pan struck hard against the creatures side, but the sound of metal ringing loudly and not the crunch of flesh and bone startled her even worse than the voice. The thing just stared down at her with the pan resting against it's stricken side. It didn't and wasn't responding to her powerful attack at all-there was no flinching nor shrieking out in pain from the hit...

Just nothing.

Belle dropped the pan onto the floor, letting it clatter loudly even if it hurt her head. Finally the broken beauty allowed the awaiting tears to well up heavily in her eyes and begin to flow down her paling cheeks.

This was how the noble knights tale ended so it seemed. Ms. Belle French would soon be found dead at the age of twenty five in a silly pizzeria, slaughtered by a monster that had come out of nowhere, leaving her sickly father alone to suffer by himself.

Perhaps this was how it was for the French's-it seemed fated each one would die a terrible death all by themselves.

Belle shut her eyes tight, sealing off the well of tears so she would not to shed any more of them before this thing, as well to prevent herself from seeing see the two rows of dagger like teeth peeking from behind green gold lips.

She waited for the final blow, but no further pain or sensation of teeth ripping into her person occurred.

The monster in those seconds of anticipation seemed to touch Belle's hair with it's hand since her curls moved against her skull. A broken cry wormed it's way out of Belle's chest and into her throat against her will. She was still not ready for what was to come, and because of this her pounding heart surged with fear so terrible it pushed her mind further than it could go.

It was all too much and so Belle let go.

Everything went blurry, a haze like a dark fog went over her mind and Belle French passed out right there against the kitchen wall.

The last thing she saw before the black overtook her from the waking world was the yellow glowing eyes hovering over her in the dark.

Belle moaned slightly, letting a soft gust of air escape her lips. It was terrible, the feeling of wretched pain within her head throbbed with each pitiful beat of her heart. If she wasn't so tired she would have fought off the darkness, but it was a pleasantry compared to the pain, and so she welcomed it to her weary mind. All her limbs refused to obey her commands anyways, but she did little to fight the numbness to regain them either.

Why should she? Right now she was pressed against something delightfully warm while she was miserably cold, and that's all her mind could care for at the moment.

Despite being so sleepy, and the hurt swelling in her head making her wish for true unconscious bliss, she couldn't help but try to understand what was happening outside her body. The soft scent of dust tickled her nose faintly as well as the slight scent of oil. Strange enough as it was, the warmth and smells were comforting and reminded her of somewhere she had been once... Though even if she were completely awake she wouldn't be able to recall even the slightest memory where she had experienced these sensations together.

Her body jostled slightly, and the sleeping beauty realized, without much more thought to it, she was being carried. It seemed her body was being moved or that she was being hauled off somewhere by someone when she fought with her mind a bit further on the matter.

Honestly, Belle didn't care what was happening, why it was, or who was carrying her. She was happily warm in this persons strong arms. There was also no terrible set of eyes staring at her nor any sharp screeching ringing in her ears. The security guard was far away from the monster at this point, she had to be.

With that settled and deep sleep coming back to claim her and bring her some relief, she nestled into what she could hardly make out as fabric and warm metal before letting her mind fall back into the darkness.

There was some light... Beyond the splotches of color that were made up in her eyelids, so Belle could tell she was no longer in the dark.

Coming back to the waking world was not as warm of a welcome as she hoped it would be though. The security guard gave a loud huff of pain as she rolled upon whatever plush thing she was resting snugly against with her stretched out body. She was still pretty tired despite knowing she slept a while. After all, being chased about some frightening figure in the dead of night ought to mean she gets to sleep for as long as she likes-

All of what happened came crashing back into her prominent memories. There was the tape-recorder, the 'clacking' of steps down the hall, then the figure at the back door who went after her, but Belle had slipped away and then... Then...

With a frightened start the beauty sat upwards gasping, nearly launching herself straight to her feat in preparation of being chased once more.

'I went into the kitchen after I got away, but I fell and hit my head...' Belle's memories recalled all this perfectly, but what happened after was a complete blur. 'It came towards me but I don't remember what happened after I hit it... But...'

"I'm still alive." Belle uttered in a reverent whisper, bringing a hand up towards her mouth to feel her very much warm breath against pulsing fingers.

A sharp shot of pain went through her skull just then, and she cringed with her whole body before reaching upwards to touch the sensitive area. Shock filled her fair features once more when she found that there was no old blood dried upon her head as there should be, but most of all she was confused that beneath her prodding fingers was a bandage that had been crudely applied to where she had split part of her skin open.

Had someone found her here-or had someone come to Avonlea and had managed to save her? Hope swelled and blossomed in her pounding heart, though nothing about anything right now made a lick of sense. Especially the fact that she was tucked upon her office couch. Someone must have had to have carried her to her office and laid her there when she had blacked out. They had even draped her jacket over her, she realized, as she felt the piece of clothing wadded down around her back when previously she'd been covered in it.

The faint ticking of the clock hanging above her desk gained Belle's attention when she noticed it against the quiet within the building. She craned her neck to see what time it was from her seat and was further shocked at what she saw. It was just a bit over five in the morning right now, less than an hour before her shift was over, but no one should be at Avonlea besides her, or coming to work yet. Marco himself didn't come in till seven in the morning, even on Saturdays.

"Who did this then?" Belle whispered, touching her head again just to make sure the bandage wasn't some figment of her imagination. "Or… I couldn't have dreamed this all up could I? Maybe I am loosing my mind. It sure hurts too much to not be real though."

The monster-thing-whatever it was, had found her, had her right where it could easily have ripped her apart or done whatever it did to that other boy on the tape recorder and yet… She was here on the couch previously sleeping like a baby as well as having been bandaged and kindly taken care of.

Belle found the courage amongst the stillness of Avonlea to stand up, though a bit wobbly, from the couch to her boot clad feet. Even though the nervousness coiling in her belly had her still very weary she managed to get herself to peer at the eerie open doorway between the office and the hall. "H-Hello?" She called out to the darkness, though she cleared her throat when her voice was hardly audible to her own ears. "Hello? I-Is anyone here?"

There was nothing. The anxious security guard stood there for a good five minutes, but no one came into the security office nor did she hear any steps echo down the hall towards her very door. Finally gaining enough proper courage, Belle moved to her desk to grab the security tablet to signal the police. There was someone or something in this place besides her-she wasn't crazy, and she wasn't going to wait to find out who-or what it was all by herself.

She had the device ready to do so within her clammy hands. A simple press of a button would notify Graham and the local police that something was amiss at Avonlea-a break in, thieves, trespassing hooligans, whatever it may be. Her finger quivered over the 'call' button for several seconds, but despite her valid reasonings and logic willing her on she failed to press it. Instead, Belle flicked another button and went back to the footage feed, recalling where she was when everything went oh so wrong and when it was.

The first bit of footage she decided to examine was reversed from the kitchen camera's feed.

Belle sat back down on the plush couch and watched the screen, glancing to the door every so often-just incase. After a long few minutes of nothing happening on the feed she fast forwarded it, expectantly watching every second to see the capture of her slamming through the doors and falling, as well as the monster making it's appearance.

The scene never happened on the screen. It's as if what had occurred was just a figment of her tired and overworked imagination, which was more of a horror than not having actually experienced what she thought she had.

"What is happening to me?" Belle fought back a fearful sob and wiped her cheeks quickly to rid of them of any salty streaks trailing there. There was no time right now for sobbing and tears although she wanted nothing more than to do only that.

'What do I do? Do I try to make a run for it again? What if someone did find me here and they are just out for the moment or they're after the thing all by themselves? Maybe I am just going crazy and it's all been a terrible dream-I could've hit my head and forgot something important!' All these possibilities swirled into a storm within the young woman's head, leaving her with nothing but uncertainty amongst the comfort of her small office.

Belle gave a stressed sigh, breaking the silence settled around her, not caring at all for the moment if something or someone heard. Getting up from the couch she walked to her desk to put the tablet back and then settled into her swivel chair which squeaked when she plopped herself into it. "I swear Mr. Getto's going to get quite an ear full if I make it out of here alive..." Belle laughed tiredly, her mind a bit ragged at this point to try and keep herself together. She used the arm rests of her chair to prop her arms out, holding her head between slightly sweaty hands to contemplate further what she should do now.

It was silent for a minute before something other than her soft breathing broke the peace.

"Hello."

Belle instantly jerked up in her seat at the sudden voice, but she stayed still, wondering if she was possibly just hallucinating having heard it at all. Frozen in the chair, Belle simply sat and stared at the doorway where the odd statement must have come from-or at least it sounded as if it came from the hallway.

It felt like forever before she was able to open her tightly sealed mouth to form a response. A flurry of questions were all swarming the front of her mind, but all she managed to croak out was hardly what she meant to say.

"H-Hey."

Silence suffocated everything following her reply, while the young woman sat in her chair and the dark doorway stayed exactly the same. She should have been feeling absolute dread swallowing her into a void of despair, but Belle found herself not growing nearly as frightened as she had been an hour ago.

"Di…" The quirky voice began and then cut itself off. Belle tilted her head slightly, spilling her brown curls over her shoulder while she awaited it to speak again. "Did you stop ble-ed-eding? You lost quite a bit and I didn't know what else to do…" The voice was very quiet, but now that Belle was aware of it she could finally really listen to it. There was an odd bit of accent to the strange tone she had heard before in the kitchen. It sounded higher pitched, a bit nasally even, and yet it was a male voice she easily concluded. Still, there was no figure visible within the doorway, and Belle did not have her flashlight with her to help peel back the inky darkness to see who her... Current companion was.

Belle felt another pang in her head strike up suddenly and winced, releasing a soft gush of air to soothe the pain. Carefully she touched her skull again and the realization of who had exactly helped her slammed into her like a brick wall.

"You… You're the one who did this, you bandaged me up?" Belle blurted the question out, no longer so meek it seemed in her curiosity.

Silence loomed back. Then there was a small 'clacking' sound of what had to be metal brushing against metal, and Belle stiffened a bit in her seat.

"Go…" The mysterious voice spoke, and Belle noticed the odd static like hinge to the voice was more prominent when it spoke louder. This unknown figure didn't sound truly organic, in fact the speaker sounded like they were speaking through a machine of sorts. "Go away. Go now."

This was becoming absolutely frustrating, and so Belle just let whatever was at the tip of her tongue spill forth.

"No!" The word was out of her mouth before she had time to register it properly. Though perhaps not the best choice of wording Belle continued to sit quietly with hands firmly on the chair's arm rests, physically backing up her refusal. She was tired of running and crying tonight. God-she was so sick of it! Also, as if she would just up and leave now that the voice was suddenly being half polite and not screaming at her!

The thing huffed a strange sound beyond the wall, like it had tried to sigh, but the exhale was more like a burst of air from a half lidded pipe.

"If you don't go-I'LL KILL YOU!" A face abruptly appeared halfway across the frame, startling Belle. A yellow wicked eye and half of that horrible mouth of the monster she had been chased by was staring her down from the shadows. Belle nearly let out a yelp as she sunk back into her chair, the fear surging back into her heart was screaming-pleading at her to get up and run. The thing half hiding in the clutch of the darkness released a broken giggle in her direction. The high pitched creepy sound crackled with a bizarre static like effect that had the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up.

"NO! I'm not going anywhere!" Belle shouted back, launching forward in her chair and nearly mimicking what the demon had just done.

Surprisingly, the figure staggered from the door frame as if she had been the one to frighten it terribly. It's loud steps could be heard scrambling it back into the utter pitch black of the hallway, and Belle knew she could no longer see it when the glow of it's eyes disappeared from sight too.

Belle stared in disbelief with a dumbfounded smile stretching across her lips for several seconds, probably due to the fact her mind was unable to process this whole situation.

'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'

That horrible wail broke through the air as the monster grabbed the sides of the door frame with it's two larges hands in a violent motion, throwing it's upper half into the rooms light to bear the awful set of jaws right in her face. Belle covered her ears with both hands from the sheer volume of the painful cry, but kept her eyes open to stare face to face at the terrifying one looking at her.

She already knew it was humanoid, but now with the light clearly illuminating it Belle finally could see the thing in a whole new perspective. She watched as it's strange hinged jaw hung low before it slowly clacked back together with it's upper portion when it had finished it's terrible screaming. The demon-monster, she was no longer sure what it was exactly, had the proper shape of a human face, with a nose, two eyes, eyebrows, and a mouth, but all these features were distorted. It's two eyes were huge in its head, bigger than what a human should have, and the pupils stared at her as tiny pinpointed dots in the vibrant amber irises. It had no whites to it's eyes and Belle manage to notice that it's lowering eyelids looked almost like the ones the animatronic dragon on stage had.

The amber color of it's eyes, that had been so frightening before, seemed so much prettier with the light bouncing off of them. In fact the whole thing seemed to sparkle a different color in the glow of the room than it had in the bleak darkness.

Hesitantly and without any true consciousness to the action, Belle reached one of her hands forward and shakily touched the curve of it's cheek.

"What…" The thing whispered in that low voice again, seemingly stuck like a statue in it's predator like stance with it's gaze casted upon her. Carefully she traced the bumpy cold… metal of it's jaw with her fingers, attempting to understand why she felt flesh and then the absence of it across it's chin.

"What are you…" It's partially opened mouth ushered those words and showed the hints of the sharp jagged teeth, all colored an ugly rotten looking shade, lurking within.

It's 'skin' was equally inhuman and what one could consider monstrous in appearance. It had a mottled look to it's flesh, like lizard scales, and was colored a mixture of gold and green that did sparkle oddly as well as beautifully with the light. A slightly crooked and unique nose framed the center of its face but stood apart looking as if it was melded onto it with divot like bumps-it's eyebrows also looked as if they had been attached from the way they split and rose up in halves. Scraggly grayish-brown hair framed it's head and hung slightly over it's eyes, brushing against her hand and alerting her to it's softness.

"What are you?" Belle mimicked in reply with her twist on his question, though her inquiry was genuine and open despite the goosebumps crawling all over her skin. This unknown thing before her was very real, the grooves and bumps brushing her palm was enough to tell her that she wasn't crazy in the slightest.

It pulled back from her then, slipping away from her curious fingertips and making a peculiar whirring noise as it did so. Belle looked at the rest of it's form quickly with the light giving it completely away to her sight. The clothes it wore were equally odd as it, a fantasy medieval like outfit adorned it's rather short form-it could hardly be any taller than her! The humanoid figure wore a scaled leather coat with a high collared neckline, a dark orange vest with the hints of a silk shirt underneath-frilled out from it's cuffed sleeves, all while leather pants and tall laced boots clung to it's shapely legs.

It's entire appearance seemed to fit the look of Avonlea perfectly, making her even more bewildered than before.

Yet, Belle had noticed when it had moved away from her that the coat had cuts where the shoulders met the sleeves revealing a sight that had the security guard's breath hitch in her throat. What appeared to be wires, cables, and tendrils of metal were holding the creatures upper arms to pad like shoulders that were separated from it's body and continued to extend underneath the clothing it wore.

It all clicked together right then. This thing was metal, cold, inhuman, and made of wires and parts in a building with several other things just like it.

"You are a machine." Belle stated and she looked back up to its face to see it staring at her with what had to be a frightened alarmed look just the same as she surely had plastered on her face.

"Why ar-aren't you running? I don't under-der-stand, you should have ran away! Or at least you should be running away now!" It yelled the last part with it's sharp voice, causing Belle to flinch slightly in response to it's sudden surge of anger. Now that she understood that the thing before her was not a demon, ghost, nor a being of flesh and blood she somehow was able to comprehend it without wanting to flee in absolute terror. Her lack of immediate action seemed to frustrate the now confirmed machine before her as it set it's clenched hands at it's hips in an irritated stance.

As if that thing was the one who should be irritated right now!

"W-Why are you trying to scare me away?" Belle snapped right back, pointing a finger at it that had it scowling at her. "But-how are you even-well how are you even aware or moving on your own? It's after hours and if you're a machine shouldn't you be off? I never saw you with the other animatronics-"

It huffed that odd puff of air again while the 'aged' like lines on its face crinkled with it's nasty expression. A large hand flittered back up into the air, dancing around with it's words as if unable to help itself. "I asked you a question first, dearie! All the other guards ran out of here with their tails tucked between their legs after everything I've put them throu-through-but not you! Perhaps I've under-est-estimated your kind, or perhaps you're one of the not sane ones."

A trill emerged from it's odd throat then, seemingly amused at the human prospect before the machine shaped like a man.

"I am too sane! If anything you're the insane one-scaring people off as if for fun. Wait... That's all you've done right? You didn't kill any of the previous guards or hurt them did you?" Belle questioned quickly, as the tape recorder with the boys plea had come back into mind. "What happened to the last boy, the one who worked before me?"

The thing cocked it's head at her, and it's fake eyelids drooped downward before it gave off another unnerving giggle that sounded really glitchy towards the end. Belle was rather annoyed herself with the thing at this point, but she noticed that it seemed to flinch in his entirety when that happened, as if unable to process the full effect of it's laugh correctly. Perhaps that was why she hadn't seen this machine with the others. It could be damaged and was kept out of sight till it needed to be fixed... Yet, somehow that didn't quite seem right. She'd never seen it before, and Mr. Getto never mentioned such a peculiar... Model.

Belle was pulled back to the present when the machine seemingly danced a bit in place, letting it's heeled boots bounce against the tiled floor.

"Oh that gibb-ber-ering sod? He'd been up to no good during his entire stay here so I felt a little bit more, persua-sua-sion, was necessary to get him to leave. You should have seen it! He ran straight on out through the back doors screaming 'wee' 'wee' all the way home!" The thing seemed so proud of itself with the way it grabbed one lapel of it's vest with a smug smile pushing across it's faux face. "He didn't even call in to let the boss know he wasn't coming back. How rude! Good rid-dan-dance I say."

Another smaller giggle bursts from its hardly moving mouth.

Belle felt tension leave her body in another wave with the thought that the boy hadn't been harmed. It seemed the thing before her hadn't killed anyone at all-or so it claimed. Still if a murder had happened here at Avonlea Belle doubted it could be covered up so easily that no one would know it happened. Then again she hadn't even known this thing was here right under her very nose.

"You know, I still don't understand why you've been trying so hard to make me leave." Belle bit back while she stood up from her chair to better face the rather cruel being. It's unwavering eyes bore back down at her own with its unblinking intense stare. There was no way she was going to let it get another ounce of fear from her at this point so she didn't even flinch when it took a step towards her (though she noticed it kept a certain distance from her regardless).

The terrible humor in it's somehow very expressive face disappeared, and she watched as it began to sneer and glower at her. Logic bit back at her for speaking out against the thing with it's change in mood being so frequent (could it even have moods?). It was obviously angry despite the giggles and mocking smiles, after all it did try to have her running from this place while screaming her lungs out with no intention to ever come back.

Yet… It had taken care of her when she had fallen and gotten herself hurt, and the machine seemed rather concerned with her well being earlier.

All these clashing actions left Belle completely and utterly confused on what it really wanted from her.

"Let me make it clear then, dearie. You are not needed here." It spat at her, though the effect was hardly intimidating with it only being a few inches taller than her. "Avonlea doesn't need anyone here after hours!"

Belle took the turn to huff, readying her fury to unleash an onslaught of words against the machine, but her curiosity towards the thing before her was far greater than her simmering rage. Her own facial expression softened from the angry purse of lips as she trailed her blue eyes over segmented shoulders back to it's face.

"Do you live here then?" She gently asked, surely having surprised it with the way it's eye lids flew open. "I'm mean you are a machine-more of an animatronic right? You don't quite look like the ones on stage but you do appear to be one-"

"Stop chan-an-ging the subject! Least you'd like to be strewn apart and hung outside for decor-cor-ation!" The machine growled, attempting to look menacing though it's confusion made it more apparent that it was trying to frighten her off.

"You wouldn't do that." Belle stated without a beat or pause, and the thing before her shut its trap like mouth with a sharp clack to stare daggers at her. "You obviously would have killed me when you had the chance if you had really want to… Instead you took care of me after I fell didn't you?" It looked a bit guilty with the way it's eyes flickered from hers at that question, cementing the fact that 'it' had looked after her. "Why would you help me if you want me out of here so bad?"

Then it took a step back from her, setting some distance between them, but she followed with a step forward. It almost looked nervous with the way it's eyes desperately flickered around the room, landing on anything but the small woman quirking a brow back. In the right light Belle could now see that it's eyes were literal metal spheres inside his skull and if she wanted she could push her fingers around them to touch wires and bits of machinery within his head.

"Just go away!" It finally replied in a childlike manner, and Belle decided to grab its flittering hand that had been attempting to point at her, causing an odd squeak to slip from her sole companion's throat. A throat, by the way, that easily gave away it's inhumanity when she shifted her wandering attention to it. A flexible steel joint was visible underneath it's chin, and it's neck was plated so it could bend, she assumed, as a human could. It became incredibly clear to the young woman that this thing was not living or human... And yet, it was so beyond and unlike any machine she had ever seen. None of the stage animatronics were like this-or capable of such freedom and movement.

Belle could almost swear that if she tore off the metal plates and pieces on this thing a 'real' man might be lurking right beneath the surface.

"S-Stop staring at me like that!"

Belle jerked back from observing it's neck while still holding it's hand within her own. Heat began to burn beneath her skin in response to her embarrassment for she had been obviously gawking at the animatronic like one did an exotic animal at the zoo. There should have been no guilt on her part for doing such a thing, it wasn't like it was a human being, and yet Belle felt honest regret for thinking of it as the equivalent of a zoo exhibit.

"I didn't mean... I'm really sorry." She stammered.

It hesitated in it's response, but Belle knew she saw a shimmer of hurt in it's eyes before it suddenly all transformed to a readable rage. The machine gave her a nasty smile as it lifted her hand holding onto it's own roughly into the light. It's fingers broke free and curled around her own, trapping her hand within the confines of it's large one. She could see all the bendable joints on his dark clawed fingers and the curve of different metal to allow movement where muscle should have been. The sickly color of green and gold reflected against the light just as his face did, but his hand was just harsh cold metal all the way through.

"Staring at the beast for your amus-muse-ment are we?" It gave a hoarse laugh at her that sounded far too forced to be true. "Why not? That's what I was made for wasn't it? For you humans to mock, laugh at, scorn and hate! Or am I better off being forgotten and hiding out of sight to never be seen-sparring you all of my horror?" It brought it's face closer to hers, alarming the beauty slightly as it's maw barred itself wide open for her to peer into the machinery inside.

"Tell me then, dearie, am I such a plea-lea-sant sight? You were screaming at me in terror mere hours ago!" The jaw full of horrible teeth looked almost as if to tear into her skull and strew her brains about the floor, marring it's clean surface in a painting of gory pinks and reds.

Then suddenly, an intense pain began to course through Belle's captured hand, making her gasp slightly.

"Please, please, stop! You're hurting me!" Belle cried out and in an instance her hand was released, allowing her to tumble back from the figure. The machine had begun to squeeze too tight with her in its grip and now she was sure, as she clutched her hand to her chest, that it would be bruised in an hour or so.

The machine looked utterly lost after what it had done. A distant-almost tormented gaze was bared all across its scaled features, revealing an emptiness that Belle thought made it look the least human and the most lifeless she'd seen so far. Metal joints creaked slightly as it took to staring at it's offending hand, which trembled slightly in the yellow light of her office.

"I'm…" It began to back away from her then, further and further till it entirely slipped back into the darkness of the door frame and the vacant hall. "I'm sorry-I'm so sorry…"

Belle just watched it disappear, till the glowing amber eyes turned and were lost from her vision and the empty dark door way was just that. Part of her wanted the machine to not run away, but the security guard was unable to come up with any logical reasons to stop it right then and there. Belle shook her head slightly, feeling a tad bit crazy at this point. 'Why would I even want it to hang around, after all it did to me?'

The retreating footsteps 'clacked' against the tiled ground, and Belle could tell the sounds were starting to drift far away from the security office door.

'Don't do it Belle, don't you dare call it back. Who knows what it might do if it returns, possibly something worse than bruising your hand!'

All the rational thoughts flew from her mind because the sudden urgency in her heart was too great to ignore.

"Wait." She whispered the word quietly and more to herself as she was still very confused, frightened, and despite it all, curious over what had just happened within these last few minutes of her life. To be honest, her prodding to the thing probably hadn't been the kindest-but then again it had not approached her like a decent human would… But, it wasn't human, was it?

Could it be just as confused and scared as she was while it walked down the hall alone?

"Wait! Please!" Belle shouted in her haste and slid out the door to stand in the frame of light breaking up the dark hall. Her body froze in place when she saw the machine turn back and look at her, but she only knew it did so because of it's glowing eyes appearing when it shifted its head and locked it's gaze onto her. The same intensity of it's unblinking stare had her nervously cradling her tender hand to her side, pulling her other arm to grasp the wounded one as a form of visual defense.

What on earth was she doing? Shouldn't she be crying with relief that thing was leaving her alone or that the nightmare was coming to an end? Yet Belle was surprised to find her heart hurting near as much as her head did when she gently reached up to touch the bandage. The same bandage that the being before her had applied after it had made sure she was comfortable while she was vulnerable and unconscious-though that was it's fault she ended up like that in the first place.

Belle blushed a bit as she fumbled for words, but kept up her bravery as the thing looked at her as if awaiting her reasons for calling it back. "I didn't mean to stare at you. I'm honestly sorry for that… I've just never seen something-anyone like you before and I'm a terribly curious person by nature. Though you didn't have to be so rough on me about it."

"M-My… Apol-pol-ogies, yet again. I had no inten-ten-tion to..." The floating eyes never blinked, but it's head cocked to the side slightly while the solemn erratic voice continued. "If it's any comfort to you... You don't have to worry about seeing me after this, dearie. We'll probably never cross paths past tonight."

"What…" Belle wanted to approach it as it's words befuddled her, but the common sense rattling off in her head kept her at bay. "Why won't we? Wait! I'm so confused about all of this-please... Do-do you have a name at least?"

It made a 'tsk' sound at her, it's tone taking on more of that whimsical note it had held before, something she could almost call 'impish'. "I do indeed have a given name but it's not impor-por-tant. It hasn't been for a long time and neither will it ever be again!"

"Of course it's important." Belle furrowed her brows as a frown settled upon her features. Desperately she was trying to understand the oddities it was speaking of. "I would like to know what to call you or what you really are…"

It began to walk away from her after the brief pause of silence, and Belle felt the stewing irritation bubble back up with it's blatant decision to ignore her.

In fact the security guard, no longer trembling in place in fear of the animatronic, was about to march up to it and let herself finally give it a good scolding, but she found the fury dissipate when it spoke back up.

"After you leave here and I am discov-cov-ered you'll have no need of my name. I've let myself go too far this time around... Oh, dearie, dear! You'll tell Marco of the monster lurking in the halls-then he'll find me and be rid of me for sure this time."

What? Get rid of? So it hid itself within Avonlea, without Mr. Getto knowing?

Belle blinked as she lost track of the machine's shape in the inky black darkness, the only proof he was still there was the soft whirring of his metal parts and the clacks of his steps. It fell completely quiet just a minute after, by then Belle knew that it had to be gone from this part of the building. Alone again, Belle was left to lean against the door frame-needing the support since her legs wavered and heart still pounded far too fast for her liking.

'What did he mean by all of this? What is going on here?' She thought to herself, closing her eyes briefly. A sad smile crossed her lips as she realized that she had internally just addressed the man shaped thing as a 'he'. It was just a machine, it wasn't a 'he' despite looking half like a human male (it was still rather beastly looking as well). But why was that thing here at Avonlea? How did it walk around and function independently, as if it could do what ever it pleased? Why was it not backstage like the other animatronics, or why did she not now about it?

It seemed that perhaps Marco didn't know it was here either, by the way it spoke it's last words to her, and that made her all more curious to the strange humanoid being.

Or perhaps she had just lost her mind and this whole thing was a bizarre dream from lack of proper sleep these last few days.

Figuring her 'companion' wasn't going to come back, Belle wandered into her office. For her own peace of mind the beauty closed and locked the door behind her as she was still a bit intimidated by the thought she wasn't alone in this vast building. In an effort to make it through the rest of the night she curled up into her chair and sat there, exhausted and fighting the ache in her skull, till it was six in the morning. During the entire wait, which was only about half an hour, her mind tossed and tumbled in a storm of confusion.

The faithful clock finally chimed at her when it was six in he morning and told her to get a move on. She gratefully listened to it's advice as she'd been prepared now for quite a while. Her bag was already set for her to go and she grabbed it quickly as she got up before bolting from the office to the back door as if she was once again being chased. Her head sharply hurt with every 'patter' of her steps, but she cared little for the pain at the moment.

All that mattered was getting this bizarre night to end.

The backdoor appeared before her as she tore down the corner, her means to escape and freedom from this suffocating hellish place was free from the scaly leather clad figure much to her relief. Her sharp blue eyes went darting about just incase though. Belle glanced down the branching hall as she passed but did not see hide nor tail of the machine peeking behind a corner. A sweet sense of ease should have washed over her as she opened the door, after setting the alarm, and stepped outside into the wide open world and yet… It didn't, not really.

The door slowly closed behind her in the growing morning rays, casting away the darkness that had been grasping at her all night long, waiting to pull her under and never let go. Belle took a minute to just stand outside Avonlea's cheerier looking exterior with her hand clutching the knob till it finally 'clicked'.

Suddenly a strangled laugh bubbled up from her belly and erupted from her slightly chapped lips. One would think the beauty, so beautiful with a curled smile and squinted eyes surrounded by her mane of untied hair, was truly happy at her survival these last five nights. However, the laughter was missing any true happiness to it's ring. It was simply the need to let out the absurdity of all she had been through that made her act so.

No one would ever believe her about tonight, and she could barely believe it herself. The humorless laughing changed sporadically into silent sobs, and Belle combed herself back into a composed stance after letting the remaining fear have it's way with her mind for only a short lived moment.

She pulled out her key, locked the door, and turned away, determined to not let herself look back even once at Avonlea. There should be no shame though the feeling coils around her heart and tightens. She had done it, she'd made it through and survived five nights of this ridiculous shift, at least she could hold her head up high on that. Though she braved such unknown horrors there was no way she could go back into that building ever again after what she had endured.

There was still a hint of terror ebbing freely in her veins while she was already feet beyond Avonlea's walls.

How could she even go back inside that place that once brought her such comfort but now left her with dread? Could she even walk down those halls where she knew that mechanical thing lurked in the darkness with terrible teeth hidden from sight? There were enough reasons to fill a book why it'd be completely insane for her to come back, or to even stop by in the day time to explain to Mr. Getto why she was going to out right quit in the first place.

And yet... Against all the reasoning and logic she usually listened to, something inside of her questioned if perhaps she should go back inside of Avonlea.

Because despite being frightening, and cruel, and very rude with it's snappy remarks the animatronic hadn't meant to hurt her. Those amber eyes spoke to her more than any of it's words so far, and it's reactions went beyond what one would think a machine could even show. The true sorrow within it had been bared to her amidst it's quivering and stuttering apologies. The longer she let herself think about the machine the more she could feel the fear twist and change within the confines of her heart. Curiosity unlike any she's ever experienced before was pulling at her, tugging at her hair, skin, and bones to try to understand what exactly she had just met for the first time this dark and lonely night.

The irony didn't go over her head when she recalled her wishful thinking as she sat alone in her swivel chair. She had longed for company here... Didn't she?

With that Belle came to a halt a few good paces out into the parking lot behind the family fun center, a stray several feet from her parked car. The tug of her compassion had finally won out amongst the clutter of emotions that fought each other within her pounding heart. Glancing back, Belle looked to the building with a weary expression upon her face. She scoured it over, but the entire place was still just as dark and empty as every night before, looking perfectly normal to the untrained eye.

Yet, she didn't miss the shape of a figure standing at the window in the break room that looked out into the employee parking lot. Just enough light came from the street lamp and the rising sun to illuminate his shape behind the pane of glass-if the machine's shimmering odd amber eyes didn't give it away beforehand.

She stood there in place, breathless for a second until her lungs demanded air. The two of them were just staring back at each other, blue eyes locked upon yellow ones that seemed almost to be speaking to her again. Though this time, she did not know what exactly they were trying to tell her.

They looked so familiar somehow, like the ones she had stared back at as a kid from some reflective surface of a hospital waiting room.

'I do indeed have a given name but it's not important…' It's words, haunting and desolate, came back to haunt her as the summer breeze began to pick up and brush her bare arms with it's gentle touch.

"Who are you?" Belle spoke those three words aloud, and she wondered if perhaps it could hear her all the way out there from behind it's window pane.

Surely it couldn't...

Belle did something then, something she felt inclined to do out of the kindness of her heart or perhaps because her mind was in shambles and her sanity questionable. The security guard's mouth quirked upwards ever so slightly as she gave the machine a little wave of her hand before quickly turning on her heels and hurrying to get inside her car. With a resonating 'clunk' the door closed behind her and then she was off, speeding down the neighborhood streets to get as far as she could from that place for the time being.

No… She shouldn't come back to this place ever again, not after what had just occurred tonight. It didn't matter whether that being standing at that window was real or not, or if what she saw within it's steel and silicone face was the same thing she felt within herself for most of her life.

Belle French would not-would not, spend another single night in that blasted building as five was clearly enough to tell her to get out!

And yet she knew that she would be back.

'Who are you?'

He didn't imagine those words slip from those set of lips did he?

No he didn't. His photographic mind had seen and captured the sight of her perfectly enunciate those three words-and what three powerful words they were. He wanted to answer that question she had bared only to him. He desired to give this human woman his long forgotten given name so that perhaps he could hear it's clunky syllables be spoken out loud at least one last time.

Yet, he didn't give her his name even when she was the one to request it... Because, he didn't deserve something so kind as the simple recognition from a living creature after what he had done tonight.

The machine stood at the break room window, lurking like a tormented ghost-which was't far off from what he was anymore, and stared out as he knew the security guard would soon be leaving. Some faint 'pitter patter' of steps managed to reach his auditory sensors, alerting him the small thing was running down the halls to desperately get out of Avonlea. He closed his eyes momentarily, fighting back the shame and guilt that assaulted his wires and gears in a most uncomfortable manner.

When he opened them again, he saw through the window slats toward the parking lot where the woman was striding over to her car. Satisfied that he at least saw her off safely leaving after the hell he created, he prepared to turn and sink back into the darkness of his 'home'. However, he kept in place when suddenly the brown haired woman a few paces away from her car was waving at him before hoping into said vehicle in a rush. That small white car had been visiting each night for five nights now, and he allowed himself to watch it and it's driver speed off and disappear completely before retreating back into the shadowed room.

It was all over now. Not just her stay here at Avonlea, for he knew that he must have succeeded in keeping a security guard at bay again, but his own stay within the only place he had ever known.

Perhaps it was for the best though, after the pain and terror he had just inflicted upon a human being once again, he deserved this long awaited punishment.

"So… This is going to be my last day…" He softly said in a less impish manner. His voice was echoing from the pipes and wires inside his throat without having to move his jaw at all. "I sup-pos-pose I ought to enjoy what's left of it..."

The machine let himself glance about the dark room, his yellow eyes kept looking about the space as if suddenly he was somewhere he had never been before.

With nothing better to do than what he'd always done, he realized he had about one hour left to take a final stroll.

So he did-or as it properly should be, 'it' did-the machine was always getting mixed up on how to even address itself. Some humans had called it 'he' through out the years but most called it 'it' or 'thing, which made logical sense despite the fact it bothered him slightly. 'Augh there I go again! You're an 'it' you deluded piece of junk!' The machine tapped it's own skull, getting a resounding 'tink' to emit from it's steel body. The pronoun 'he' was far too human for something like 'itself', but even now after twenty eight years the machine was still slipping up and calling itself a 'himself'.

"Oh, it doesn't matter really! Nothing matters any-mo-more, especially when you're done for!" He quipped out loud to no one at all. The last hour of it's existence should allow the machine at least the freedom to call itself whatever he wanted. "Oh dearie dear! I fear-I fear! My end has come about!"

The animatronic strolled out of the break room on 'clacking' steps after that and on through the halls and adjoining rooms. Within the shadows that were starting to thin thanks to the light slipping past the windows the mechanical man slowly took his time to memorize all the little details of the building surrounding him. Perhaps he was hoping to see if he could spot anything new or maybe something unnoticed before in the place he had consistently walked around. He knew it was pointless to do this, for if he truly found something he hadn't seen before at all (which was doubtful to begin with) it would change nothing of what was to come.

Still, it was comforting to retrace everything he had ever known and was much better than to think of the things he'd rather not.

As the green gold humanoid wandered through hollow spaces he quickly found the stage in the big entertainment room call out to him loudly amidst the tugs from rest of the building. It could be that his age old programming wanted nothing more than to at least give an imaginary audience one more show before his own final curtain call, which made a sad smile push the faux materials of his lips up on one side. It'd been many many years since he last performed for a human audience full of children or even empty seats at all.

His memories, as he stood before the large wooden platform with red curtains drawn down to conceal the actual performing animatronics, recalled it had been twenty six years since he had been removed from the stage light he had once stood under.

Though his boots nearly took him up the steps to the stage top, he didn't move an inch further as a recent recollection surged forward into the system within his thick skull.

He remembered instantaneously of the woman-the current but soon to be no longer security guard, just the other night standing up there on the dark platform doing what he wished to do so right now. Everything had seemingly gone wrong that night but that... That one moment was one he would like to think was meant to happen. The young woman had thought she was alone when she began her simple tale of a burdened knight on a noble path to cure an ailing father but she was not. Her story, which was more than just simple idea concocted briefly from her imagination, was absorbed and processed by a monster hiding in the darkness just a few feet away.

Strange enough the machine had found himself enthralled with the woman's echoing words. Never in the years he's existed had he ever seen or watched anyone do such a thing before in the emptiness of Avonlea. There was so much more to her actions than just enjoying the whimsical feelings of being upon a stage with no one to judge such actions (or so she thought at least). The contours of her fair face had expressed the pain and raw emotion held up inside her so visibly that for him to see such a 'real' moment was something utterly baffling to everything he understood.

It was also incredibly beautiful to see such a 'real' sight upon a breathing creature...

Suddenly he felt his wires in his chest tick away a bit faster as they processed his mixed signals, leaving the scaled machine to shyly reach a clawed hand to touch his chest in confusion to his body's response. Perhaps this is the closest he could 'feel' in correlation to what human's called 'attraction'. The security guard herself was what humans surely would call 'gorgeous', 'breathtaking', or even 'pretty'-and much to his surprise he found he thought so too. She stood a few inches shorter than him, he's rebuilt her image perfectly within his permanent memory, with long auburn hair, bright blue eyes behind dark lashes that squinted with her smiles, and high cheeks that had turned a rosier color when they had spoken tonight.

The young woman wore the uniform well, even if the bow tie pinned at her throat seems a tad large and humorous. He does remember seeing her before this week and her nightly shifts wearing something else. She had looked remarkable in a skirt and yellow blouse the day she came in for her interview, while still seeming to be the same soft and strong willed individual regardless of what she wore ... It was a rare occurrence for him to ever dare being out and about during the day light hours, but he'd been so intrigued by the thought of a female security guard that he had even been brave enough to sneak out and take a glance at the new recruit from within the kitchen.

'Belle… Her name is Belle. I think that means beauty in another language.' The machine hummed to itself while pondering about the little security guard. 'Yes, I quite think that is befitting of a name for someone like her.'

Of course that beautiful human moment showing past the flesh and blood of his night guard was a moment no monster should be allowed to witness. Sure enough he had shattered the repose and peace the young woman had found when he had bumped into a chair awkwardly in his awe of her, easily startling her and startling himself even more. Though he had been meaning to frighten her away from the very beginning of the week, from the very first night she had wandered down the hall and past the pane of glass he had stood behind, that one moment had truly been an accident out of them all.

Despite having meant to have her sprinting from this place in terror as he had done to all the other guards, the fear she had worn these last few nights haunted him now.

The dread he had seen in her eyes when they met at the back door-the absolute terror on her face as he chased her, all of this was permanently engraved into memory banks never to be forgotten and rightfully so. He'd seen many faces in his early years look upon him with terror, disgust, mockery, and disinterest and yet that one fascinating human face of lush lips and sky blue eyes wide with horror assaulted his operating system the most.

It began then, the flood of memories that could never be tossed out or removed from the chips and technology built into his head. They were nearly crippling him with their ferocity, and the machine reached up and held it's head for a few moments to try and stop the onslaught of visionary human faces all looking at him with awful faces. The beauty Belle was there amongst them, another to add to the collection of horrified expressions that had him nearly tearing his claws into the sockets of his head to rip his optic sensors straight out.

"Please stop-please stop… I'm sorry! I truly am! Please just stop!" The machine cried to the empty air, standing alone and hunched over as if in a pain unlike any other.

Eyes-so many sets of eyes, some pinpointed and some whole and human, bore right into him, causing his metal frame to shake and rattle from this overwhelming 'feeling' he did not understand. His system was attempting a response to these errors occurring, but it was unable to find just what it was that had him screaming so.

It never could.

"Please-please! Go away! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE... P-Please..." The machine whimpered and the mass of memories, mixed with haunting imagery of blood and gore all mattered across floor and between his own teeth, finally came to an end. All the systems regained proper control those seconds after, while the scaled man let his eyes fling back open, still whole and connected within the pivots in his head.

He recovered once more as he lifted his head from his hands, letting his scraggily grey hair fall across some of his shadowed face.

With the quiet settling back in from the absence of his cries he realized something quite sad. A truth that was as brutally painful as it was necessary.

"Yes, what will happen to me is for the best." He chirped to no one at all, as he always did.

Without warning the internal clock wired into his machinery became active, making the animatronic recoil and stand up straight. It was part of his system's warnings, with it being so close to seven after all, and he had to fight his self spawned programming from consuming his thoughts and filling his head with age old commands. Instead of fighting himself, for he was too 'tired' to deal with such menial actions tonight, he gave into some of them-at least the one that involved the regular routine of his mornings before it was time to retreat.

Staggering on heavy steps, the machine returned to moving about in the dark halls, preparing to hide itself away till his judgement call came. He passed several of the private party rooms down the long route before the security office finally appeared on his right hand side. For some reason he suddenly came to a slight halt right beside the open door, cocking his slightly at the room that was now just as dark and lifeless as the rest of the building.

Perhaps he was feeling guilty more than usual for causing this room to become inhabited again, for the woman named Belle had him actually regretting his actions like no one had before... He did feel terrible for what he had done to her, but there was more than that. Something was quite out of place within the room that he had noticed instantly, thanks to his unnecessary need to memorize everything.

"She… forgot her jack-ck-jacket." He spoke aloud, his voice quivering upon the last word as he laid eyes upon the piece of clothing resting on the chair.

For a few seconds he simply stared at it with a set of fingers kneading against each other at chest level, wondering why he was so drawn to it. Though he was not sure what he was exactly doing or hoping to achieve, he broke away from his current programmings routine and reached out to grab the jacket. A swell of desire to keep the personal effect as his own surged through his wires and sparks as he brought it to his body in clenched hands before continuing onwards.

It wasn't as if he could even enjoy what value a jacket could give oneself (it would be a tad bit small anyways-he'd look ridiculous). Jackets were made to keep humans warm and he did not feel warmth nor the cold-or any sensations of those sort. He also knew jackets could 'smell' like someone, as he's heard, and bring comfort to another, but he has no sense of smell or any clue of it. It also served him no protection against rain and the elements since he didn't ever stand underneath such things...

Why then, did the weight of it in his hands and the thought of it's owner bring his mind some form of… peace?

With a soft snort the machine decided there was no point on thinking about it further. He was faulting and broken beyond repair anyways, he might as well let himself enjoy the comfort the silly little piece of clothing gave him.

His stroll resumed after that, till the maintenance room door, his final stop on his journey, appeared on his left hand side down the hall. With a sense of growing weariness the leather clad machine stood before the seal to his coffin, allowing himself one last lidded glance about Avonlea before he prepared for his burial.

With a flourish he turned to face the empty space stretching before him with a maniacal smile revealing the metal knives for teeth behind his lips.

"Good night Avonlea, the only home I've ever known… I hope that you are taken care of well in my absence. I'm sorry... I've let you down again, but maybe things will cha-an-nge for the better with me gone, eh?" There was a strange tick at his eyes, from sparks or corroded wiring he wasn't quite sure. He waited for something to happen at the edge of his sockets, but nothing occurred, so he pushed the odd sensation away.

Twirling the handle of the door behind him he stepped inside the room, and with a final bow he closed the door after him with a resounding click of finality.

All was quiet for a good several minutes before the backdoor opened at exactly seven in the morning, followed by the sound of Mr. Getto's steps.