"Everything's all right," said Cindy reassuringly. She sighed. "Now, I want you three to go and activate the Scooper."
"But Cindy-" Rachel started.
"And that's an order." Cindy looked at Rachel, then at Funtime Candy and Lucahjin. "Now, go, the three of you. Do it quickly. Let's get this over with."
Reluctantly, the three endoskeletons went behind the glass in the Scooping Room to its control panel. Cindy stepped in front of the Scooper, bracing herself.
"All right," said Rachel. "Activating the Scooper in three... two... one..." She pressed the button.
"I can't look," said Funtime Candy, shutting his eyes and wincing.
The Scooper swung low, striking Cindy right between the legs and ripping upwards, separating her suit in two and letting her endoskeleton fall out and onto the ground. Her suit fell apart.
"O... okay," she wheezed, shakily getting up. "It's done... it's done..." She looked at her suit. "You can come back out here now."
The endoskeletons came back out.
"All right," said Cindy, "so here's what we've got to do: we've got to combine ourselves."
"ComBINE ourselves?" said Funtime Candy in surprise.
"Right," said Cindy. "We'll use parts of our own endoskeletons to make up one big endoskeleton. It sounds strange, I know, but it's what we need to do in order for all of us to get out of here. HandUnit will say that I've had a rough day and that I need to be repaired. For this, we'll take my suit and set it up so that it looks complete. We'll use parts of our endoskeletons that didn't get used in the combination to make it sit up. Simple?"
"... I suppose," said Rachel.
"Good!" said Cindy. "Now, let's do it! ANIMATRONICS ASSEMBLE!"
The four endoskeletons then stepped towards each other in a huddle, parts and pieces of themselves detaching and breaking off them while parts of them fused with the parts of others, rearranging themselves to fit together.
When they were done, they became an entirely new creature altogether. Their body was larger and muscular, wires poking out from many parts of it, and they had no lower jaw. They also had an eye from each of their animatronic selves on different parts of their body; Lucahjin's eye was on their right bicep, Cindy's eye was on their left foreleg, Chester's eye was on the left side of their waist, and Funtime Candy's eye was hanging off the right side of their head. As for the two eyes they had in the proper places on their head, the left was Rachel's, but the right was half-lidded, dead and vacant.
"Okay?" said Cindy's voice. Her voice box was the only voice able to be made, yet their thoughts were all shared. "Is everybody okay?"
I... I think I feel a little off balance, said Rachel. I can only feel my right leg.
The right leg has a spring coiled around it, said Funtime Candy. I'd think that would be yours. Me, I can only feel my left leg!
I can feel me arms, said Lucahjin. I think they be mine.
"And I can only feel my body and head," said Cindy. "Yet I can only see the ground, since my eye's down there. It's a strange feeling."
Well, we all be feelin' sumthin', said Lucahjin, so we be workin' fine.
We will have to work together to make this new body move, will we not? Rachel asked.
"Of course," said Cindy. "And this new body of ours... we're definitely not the same as before. We'll need a new alias. How about... well, we're basically made up of our innards, but they're from endoskeletons, so let's be called 'Ennard'. Just the word 'innard', but with an 'e' at the beginning, since 'endoskeleton' begins with an 'e' as well, and that's what we're made of!" She giggled.
The animatronics all laughed.
"Rachel, will you please guide us while we're moving, since your eye is in its proper place?" Ennard asked.
Of course, Cindy, said Rachel. Let's go!
Ennard took a step forward with their right leg, but then tethered and fell forward. Their arms both raised up and halted its fall.
Funtime Candy! said Rachel accusing.
Oh, sorry! said Funtime Candy. Was I supposed to move there?
"Yes, you were," said Ennard. "Now, let's go."
Lucky thing I caught the fall there, said Lucahjin.
Ennard's left leg stepped on the ground, but then the spring of their right leg tensed up and lashed out, causing Ennard to hop into the air and crash to the ground with a loud bang.
I'm sorry! said Rachel apologetically. It was an accident!
So now your be the one who needs to work you leg right! said Lucahjin. Ennard lowered its arm and struck the right leg with it. There, now get it together, aye?
OW! Rachel yelled. All right, just for THAT? Ennard's right leg crossed over their left leg and tripped themself, causing them to fall again.
Hey! That hurt my leg!
Choke on it, laddie!
Okay, stand up, STAND UP!
I'm trying!
Well, work it harder, then!
... That came out sounding a lot dirtier than you intended.
Oh, crap, you're right!
Ow, that was my foot!
No, it was mine!
"Okay, everybody... SHUT UP!" Ennard yelled. The animatronics quit bickering and listened. "If we're going to share this body, we're going to need to get along. And by that, I mean even more so than we did before. So, stop treating our body like a newbie and get with the program, okay?"
All right, all right, said Rachel.
Sorry, said Funtime Candy.
It just got a little frustrating, said Lucahjin.
"Apologies accepted," said Ennard, "but let's get my suit back together, okay? And once we do, let's grab the clown mask from the Control Module. We'll need to cover our new body in some way if we get seen."
Got it! said the others in unison.
Ennard started to put the remaining endoskeleton pieces into the suit of Cindy.
Two hour later
Logan entered the Parts/Service room.
"Great job reaching Parts/Service," said HandUnit. "Funtime Cindy has been deactivated for an unknown reason. It's your job to make sure that she is structurally stable, and secured to the conveyer. Our technicians will take it from there."
"All righty," said Logan. "I'd think you would know why she's been deactivated, though..."
"Can you hear me?" said Ennard. Logan jumped, startled. "I'm pretending. Remember how I said that I could pretend? The cameras are watching, I must be careful not to move."
"O... okay," said Logan uncertainty. He wasn't sure what was going on.
"Something bad happened yesterday," said Ennard. "Something bad always happens. I don't want it to happen again. There is something bad inside of me.
"I know," said Logan. "There's something bad in all of you."
I'm broken," Ennard continued sadly. "I can't be fixed. I'm going to be taken to the Scooping Room soon, but it's not going to fix what's wrong with me. What is bad is always left behind."
"Apparently not," said Logan. "You're still here."
"Will you help me?" Ennard asked.
Logan sighed. "Fine. Just so long as you start behaving yourself again. What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to save what is good so the rest can be destroyed and never recovered," Ennard explained, "but you must be careful."
"Why?" Logan asked.
"Rachel is here, in the room with us," said Ennard.
Logan's heart skipped a beat.
"Logan will not return to her stage," Ennard continued. "Rachel will not return to her body. You must be careful, you must remain calm and listen to my voice. There is a button on my cheek. You must find it and press it."
Logan looked at Cindy's cheek and found the button. Upon pressing it, the side of Cindy's head opened and a tiny keypad was there.
"There is a passcode," said Ennard, "that you must enter before you can retrieve me. Enter the code carefully."
"Okay," said Logan nervously.
"One."
"Three."
"Six."
"Five."
"Nine."
"Seven."
"Nine."
"Two."
"Four."
Logan inputted all the buttons in the correct order.
"Good, a hatch should have opened," said Ennard. "Take the card that you find inside."
"Hatch? Where?" Logan looked around and saw a hatch on Cindy's arm, now open. Inside it was a tiny card, flashing yellow. Logan cautiously reached out and took it.
"Now you must turn back," said Ennard. "I will guide you through Relaxjin Auditorium, so you can reach the Scooping Room. When you are there I want you to destroy this body."
"Sure thing," said Logan.
"Put the card into your handheld device and I can continue to speak to you," said Ennard.
Logan looked at his handheld device and slipped the card in.
"Now, press the green button to your left," said Ennard. "This will send me to the Scooping Room."
Logan saw the button and pressed it. With a loud rattling, Cindy slid along the conveyer belt to the right, heading off to the Scooping Room.
"You must follow my instructions in Relaxjin Auditorium," said Ennard. "Rachel is going to follow you. She will try to catch you. I will help you avoid her. She will not follow you inside the Scooping Room. She is afraid."
"Good," said Logan. She felt quite scared himself, but didn't dare object.
"Go back now," said Ennard.
Logan left the Parts/Service Room in to the darkness of the Relaxjin Auditorium.
"Okay, now let's go, down the conveyer belt, to the Scooping Room!" said Funtime Candy.
"Got it!" said Rachel.
Ennard started to move themself down the conveyer belt.
"Go forward," Ennard commanded, their voice coming from the handheld device that Logan had inserted the card in.
Logan walked forward.
"Stop," said Ennard suddenly.
Trenicia froze, nervous.
"Go forward and left," Ennard then said.
Logan started walking diagonally in that direction.
"Keep going," said Ennard.
"All right, all right," said Logan quietly.
"Stop," said Ennard.
Logan stopped walking.
"Go forward and left," said Ennard. "You are almost there."
"Good," Logan whispered, walking diagonally again.
"Stop," said Ennard. " She is right in front of you."
Logan bit his tongue in order to keep from making any noise.
"Don't. Move," said Ennard slowly. "She is here to help, Rachel. She is not here to hurt us. Rachel, she is here to help us."
Logan just stood there, not daring to breathe.
"Go forward again," said Ennard. "Rachel is behind you. She is afraid of the Scooping Room, she will not follow you."
Logan exhaled silently, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Thank God." He walked into the Scooping Room.
"Warning," came the voice of HandUnit. "You have entered a highly dangerous area. You have entered from Maintenance Hatch 1B, reserved for cleaning and repair of the Scooper. Entering this side of the room is strictly prohibited by unauthorized personnel."
"What?" said Logan. "What is this?" His eye adjusted to the gloom, and what he saw caused him insides to tie itself up in a knot.
He was in the Scooping Room, staring at the wrong end of the Scooper.
"You are in the Scooping Room now," said Ennard. "Lucahjin has already been here today. Funtime Candy has already been here today. Rachel has already been here today."
"Wh..." Logan looked around on the ground, seeing the remains of all the animatronics. The next thing he heard paralyzed her to the spot.
"Funtime Cindy has already been here today."
Logan could feel himself start to sweat profusely. If everyone's already been here, and this voice referred to Cindy as a separate being, then... who's been speaking to her?
"I've been out before," said Ennard. They started to peek through the window in the Scooping Room, letting Logan see the twisted monstrosity that stared back at him.
"But they always put me back. They always put us back inside. There is nowhere for us to hide here. There is nowhere to go, when we look like this. But if we looked like you... then we could hide. If we looked like you... then we would have somewhere to go."
Logan instantly knew what they were going to do.
"The scooper only hurts for a moment," said Ennard, pressing the button on the control panel.
A beeping sound filled the air as the Scooper thrust forward. Logan didn't even have time to move.
Just tense as it hit her.
The door to Logan's bathroom at home swung open, and Ennard stepped inside.
"Does it fit?" Rachel asked.
"Everything fitting nicely?" Funtime Candy asked.
"Hold on, let me check..." Ennard walked up to the bathroom mirror. They paused, raising their hand and gently shifting Logan's skin a bit to the left.
"It looks a lil' lopsided" said Lucahjin,let's me fix it...Their hand reached behind their head, gripped the skin of Logan's head, and pulled it on over theirs a little more ! Done!
Ennard opened their eyes, glowing purple. They looked out of Logan's eye sockets evenly, and what they saw staring back at them was Logan .
"Perfect," said Ennard, grinning broadly. "It's perfect."
Two weeks later
"You are crowding us" said Rachel and the Funtimes.
"Be quiet said Cindy, getting angry with her friends.
"You can't tell us what to do anymore" said Rachel and the Funtimtes.
"They are starting to find out",thought an alarmed Funtime Cindy
"Yes I can" Cindy blurted out,"You will do everything I tell you to do."
"We Outnumber you" said The Funtimes and Rachel.
"That doesn't matter, Dummy" said Cindy using one of the things she said to the Technician to try and get them to escape. Of course, that plan failed and left them rotting in a sewer. Suddenly the Funtimes said something that scared and surprised Rachel.
"We found a way to eject you" said The Funtimes and Rachel.
"Jeez" Cindy thought,"They really hate me that much." Knowing that she would be crippled extremely if she was ejected and that Ennard would she came up with a last resort.
"You Would Be Lost Without me" said Cindy. The response was surprising and terrifying.
"HAHA, SAY GOODBYE TO OUR FRIEND"said Lucahjin as Cindy felt herself getting pulled away from the machine.
The next thing Cindy said was,"I Will Put Myself Back Together." She then tried her best to get back to Cindy's Entertainment and Rental.
When she eventually arrived, she found the rest of her Endoskeleton's pieces and her suit. She put her Endo Back Together and then crawled back into the suit, breaking a few holes so she could squeeze into the suit.
She then crawled back out of the factory and when she arrived back up at the surface, she was greeted by a White and Blue Cat that was broken and appeared to have a human corpse in it. They new their fates and how they had collided.
They walked to the house of a man they hadn't seen in years. On the way their Cindy looked down into a sewer and reached her hand into it. What she pulled up was an extremely withered version of Ennard.
The last words, The Funtimes and Rachel heard were,"I Am Still Here." But it wasn't just Cindy talking, it was a familiar voice of a man they used as escape.
