A quick note: If you are highly squeamish, skip the part where Spring gets iced. Just stop at the part with ghosts and go to the next POV.
-Spring's POV-
-6 years earlier-
To be honest, I was incredibly proud of myself. Well, not exactly, but compared to everything else going on, it was pretty great, if such an emotion even existed. See, I got out of bed this morning and came to work in a relatively clean and professional manner. That was an achievement, to be honest, because I was... Well, I was me, I guess.
So, I suppose I could say that I was slightly more satisfied with my performance than expected, but given a day or two I'd likely be looking back at this small achievement like a long gone memory.
I sneezed from the dust floating around the place. Why wouldn't the company just take better care of the place? Alright, so I had to say that, well, maybe in their defense it was a new location and wasn't completely set up yet, but still. I mean, there were still leaks in the roof in some places, and I could have sworn that the place was infested with a miniature colony of rats.
Squinting, I leaned closer to the animatronic I was working on. It's not that I had poor eyesight, oh no, I just needed to focus when I was messing with the animatronic's endoskeleton, and believe me when I said I knew those things inside and out. I could probably dismantle them in a heartbeat if things came down to it, not that there was any need to. At least, I was going to hope that and be done with it. How things were lately, I really wasn't up to facing a small army of robots. I'd rather just flop down and let them kill me, if I had the choice. Be easier for them at the very least.
Yet, for whatever the reason, it was always the ears that liked to fall off, or break, or twist oddly, or basically anything else that they possible could. I couldn't tell if it was the screws or what, but I was determined (in my own way, of course) to just get them to stay, and that would be that- nothing more. I needed to reattach the ear that had fallen off, and I had to make sure that it was linked appropriately to the mechanism that allowed it to move. Technical work with a dose of mechanics, yada yada yada. Simple enough, I suppose, coming from my perspective, and I would hope that it is considering I had gone to school for that.
"And there we go." I mumbled softly, stepping down from the little stool I had been standing on to get a better vantage point. That was okay, right? Not too many things seemed to go right, not when I was involved at the very least. Wincing slightly, I tapped the toe of my boot on the ground, trying to regain some feeling and rid my right foot of that pins-and-needles feel.
"I finished cleaning up the game machine. If you're done working on… whatever you're doing, we can lock up and head out."
Turning around, I glanced down at the slightly younger man standing on the still slightly dirty floor of the new location, head reaching several feet below me as I was on the stage. Some of our fellow employees had jokingly nicknamed him "Phone Guy," since he was the one that set up most of the animatronic suit audio tutorials, although he did do things other than that. I mean, he wasn't useless, and he had a job to keep.
He coughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "And, uh, I wanted to know if you were up to get a few drinks tonight or something, on me. I- I mean, we never really get to talk anymore, and since you showed up to work today, I thought t- that maybe you were feeling... Better..."
I sighed in a hintingly annoyed tone, shoving my hands into my jean pockets and looking away, mildly guilty. "Look, I'm just not up for it. I- I need to finish some stuff anyway, before I can go. You head out, I'll lock up when I'm done here." I didn't want to let anything wrong slip, but whether my sincerity of guilt or having caught onto my annoyance, he let it drop- if anything, in an out-of-character move. We were good friends, perhaps he just knew not to push anything too far right now.
He cast me a worried glance before giving an "Okay, see you later," and making his way towards the door.
Maybe...
I checked my watch, finding the time to be pretty late. That was fine, I guess… Y'know, whatever. I was nearly done anyway, although I still needed to double check on the spring-bonnie suit in the back, not to mention the game machine. It was supposed to be working, but you never know, and now that it wasn't as much of a hunk of dirt and dust I was slightly less opposed to messing around with it.
Rubbing my eyes tiredly, I stepped off the stage that the animatronics were resting on, grabbing the little toolbox I had and the step-stool. I'd dump those in the backroom as well, since I was pretty sure that the game machine was going to be moved anyway to make a little arcade area elsewhere in the building. If it wasn't, I could always come back and fetch them later. But… but not tonight.
As I headed out of the room, I stole a glance back at the animatronics on the stage. Back at the old location, we had put them out as a quick trial to see how customers would react. Mostly it was positive, although a few people had compared them to, well, rotting corpses. Disgusting, yes, and hopefully not true. Even so, in the dark, with the way the temporary lighting was set up... Well, I just had to keep in mind that these were kid friendly things.
Well, only when they up there, on stage, away from other people. Not… not within… biting… Taking a deep, albeit shaky breath, not wanting my mind to start heading in the direction its thoughts were going, I turned away. Habitually, I silently began to reach up to my neck before becoming aware of what I was doing and forcing my hand down again.
I made my way into the little backroom area, footsteps sounding incredibly loud in the silent workspace. Priorities first. I walked in, seeing the pale blue-white of the game machine's screen glowing and providing illumination to the room.
Leaving the stool against the wall, I grabbed the toolbox and put it beside the spring-bonnie suit, not bothering to turn on an extra light, save for a small flashlight I had. The golden rabbit suit was officially retired at this point, but I was still supposed to double-check that it hadn't been damaged in shipping, same old same old kind of drill. Considering how late it was, I was probably just going to make sure that the spring-locks opened and closed right, instead of actually going through and assessing the entire suit. The company apparently didn't have much of anyone qualified for anything dealing with robotic work aside from me, though…
I frowned slightly. Maybe just next week… Maybe even tomorrow… I'd, I'd do it another time.
Gripping the flashlight between my teeth (I could have gone for the room lighting, although in all honesty I didn't trust the electrical system and doubted the bulb would even work if I did), I began my work. One thing I did notice, however, was the fact that the right ear had fallen off, because hey! It's an ear, what else is it going to do? Be helpful and stay intact for once? Groaning in annoyance, with a hint of defeat and resignation, I just hoped with any luck it was around here somewhere, and maybe it would be reattached eventually.
I grabbed the hand-crank out of the toolbox, putting it into the animatronic's body and beginning to, well, crank it. This started the mechanism that would cause the endoskeleton to move outward and press against the sides of the suit, being held in place by the spring-locks.
Thinking that it was working fine, I went to return the suit to its normal state, but before I was able to begin this I heard... Something, like a heavy footfall. I froze from my work for a moment, straining my ears. Did I imagine that? Or was- was there someone in the building?
No, surely not. But- there it was. Again, a footstep. A heavy thud.
Taking a few slow breaths, I quietly rose from my crouching position, clicking the flashlight off and thrusting the room back into the soft blue light of the game machine. I was fully aware that either I was overreacting, or maybe someone came in to grab something they forgot. But… might as well check, I supposed. It couldn't hurt to, surely.
I made my way back to the doorway, narrowly escaping a stray water droplet falling from a particularly resilient mold spot on the ceiling that had yet to be repaired, and peered out. It didn't look like there was anything there, should I walk around? That would be a bit paranoid, but, you never know...
Then I heard the noise again, but instead of one or two footfalls that I couldn't be sure I had heard, it was consistent. Someone, or something, was walking around the place, and to me it sure didn't sound like a normal person. People don't walk like a, well, robot.
My breath caught in my throat as the noises grew closer, and I put a hand in front of my mouth to cover any strangled-child sounds I may make involuntarily. Of course, moments later, it rounded the corner.
Well, I'll give it credit for catching myself unaware, because the last thing I really expected was for one of the animatronics to be walking around, let alone doing it seemingly with a purpose. Sure, I supposed it was possible, but why...?
Oh. Oh, no. No, no, no...
~#*#~
I stood still, breathing heavily, ragged, and slow. What had I done, exactly?!
Ha, well... That was simple enough. I had hidden myself in the shadows of the doorway, hoping the animatronics didn't take a notice. Anyway, I had watched as the Freddy suit moved closer before hesitating, but only for a few moments. Two or three seconds at the most.
In that time, I was armed with a crowbar from my tools and had bloody murder on my mind. I had already put two and two together- the "rotting corpse" comparison. The lack of bodies after the murders.
It may not have made sense to you, but to me- oh yes, it fit perfectly! They were ghosts, spirits, haunting the place!
And of course, they were out to get me, because I had... Well, I had been the one that killed them- and they wanted vengeance.
But it hadn't stopped there. After Freddy, the others came filing in.
Was... Was I safe now? There were only four, surely I was!
I shook my head. No, I wasn't a cruel man, hadn't "gone off the deep end," and I wouldn't let myself feel any satisfaction from this. Still... Broken animatronic parts littered the ground, and I couldn't help but allow a nervous smile to pass over my face, but all it did was magnify the realization of what I had done.
Looking down at the parts and pieces around me, I hesitantly let my voice ask softly, "Is that it? Is that all you have for me?"
I... I guess it was. There was nothing else here.
Turning away, I gave a long, drawn out sigh. What would I say, when people asked me about this? But there was nothing I could do about it now. I might as well just go, what else was there for me to do? Shaking my head with eyes downcast, I slowly made my way towards the backroom to get my things before I'd leave, get out of here. I'd figure it out tomorrow.
Stooping down, I reached to grab my toolbox before shivering slightly, an odd prickling feeling crawling up the back of my neck. Confused, and admittedly a bit fearful, I slowly straightened up, before wheeling around to face whatever it was that was behind me.
I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.
It wasn't the faces of four of the children I murdered. They stared back at me with blank faces, eyes empty. Darkened tears trailed down their cheeks. They came back once for me, why could I expect that would be all?!
Backing up slowly, I took a deep breath, but all it did was catch in my throat. "What do want from me?!" I yelled. They didn't waver, didn't move. Why would they… Oh.
They were blocking the door, my only escape. But they weren't advancing on me, only standing still and just… Watching. But why? What were they waiting for?!
Then, a fifth figure joined them, looking younger than the rest. But this one wasn't blank-faced. No, it had a murderous expression that nobody would ever, ever want to see on a child.
Especially not this one.
And of course, he stepped towards me. I nearly shrieked, stumbling backwards, only causing him to follow. What would he do to me if he caught me?!
Oh no, I had to hide, hide from these- these things! They would kill me, I knew it, as revenge for what I had done to them, and- of course!
The spring-bonnie suit! Feeling that special rush of elation that comes not from joy but relief, I practically jumped into it, as I hadn't had the chance to close the endoskeleton earlier, something I was incredibly grateful for now. I couldn't be sure of my reasoning at this moment, I just felt so positively right that I would be safe from them in this.
In fact, I laughed. It was strained and scared, but I saw a flicker of emotion go over their faces.
But it wasn't fear, or anger. They… They were smirking back at me. I couldn't fathom their reason to, until I saw a drop of water fall from the ceiling, splashing on the floor near my foot.
Then, it occurred to me why, as I heard the sound of the spring-locks failing, and a deathly crack that practically made my heart stop. The spring-locks were not to be shaken, be breathed on, or come into contact with the body or moisture.
And I had done all of those things.
I tried to scream as I felt the metal bars, twisting into my flesh, forcing themselves into my skin, veins, bones, but blood was already beginning to fill my throat. My legs gave away beneath me and I fell to the ground, only jarring the suit more.
Vision fading fast, senses were overwhelmed, but I could still feel the warmth of the tears running down my face- all too similar to the blood flowing down of my arms and legs. The pain was near unbearable.
"P- plea- se. He- help m- me." I begged in broken gasps, feeling hot blood bubble up and drip from my mouth, further slurring my speech. "P- plea- se…" But why would they? Their laughter filled my ears, even drowning out my stuttering heartbeat, as they looked down at me.
I felt dizzy, hazy, I couldn't move right, every part of me was screaming, blood dripping down onto the floor. I opened my mouth in another exclamation of pain, but nothing came out save for a choked gasp as twin metal spines shot through my jaw, silencing me. Wires and beams shoved inside of my body, skewering me.
I couldn't breathe, could barely see, was nearly dead.
Why couldn't it just be over?! Wasn't this what I had wanted not too long ago, to end the guilt?!
But I didn't want it like this.
I could only lay there, trembling slightly, as they began to fade away, giving me one last victorious look as they did so.
The last child stopped, looking at me for a long moment. It was the one that died a little different from the rest, the only one who's animatronic body I hadn't destroyed. I could feel his gaze wash over for me.
Yet with that, and not a single word, he too faded away. He was gone. And thankfully, so was I.
It was finally, finally over…
Right?
-Tamarin's POV-
-the present-
Michael had gone into the kitchen in pursuit of Spring. I supposed I could try and stop him, but why should I? Somehow I doubted that Spring would physically tear his suit apart, and confident that he would "survive" his encounter, I didn't see any need to interfere.
Taking my chance, I glanced around the room, animatronic eyes landing on Olive. Michael wanted to talk to Spring, I wanted to speak with her.
Stepping forward, I went over to grab her attention for a few moments. She saw me walk over to her and straightened up from how she had been, slumped down on the table boredly, head on her arms. I vaguely wondered what she did most of the time, as despite tagging along with Spring they were very different in age and personality.
"Olive, can I ask you something, real quick?"
She blinked, before replying. "Sure, what do ya need?"
I sat down on the chair in front of her, lowering my voice. Despite having watched as the group of children, excluding Marionette and Goldie who had gone off to the office, go over into Pirate's Cove to do something or another, I wasn't really too keen on them overhearing hearing us. I doubted that they could, though, unless they were eavesdropping.
"Alright, Olive, listen. The- the children, they seem to, well, not hate you and somewhat like you, I guess? I- I don't know if this is possible, but-"
"You want to protect Lori, don't you? You think they listen to me?"
I looked at her confusedly. Not only had she practically read my mind, but she seemed to be taking my request seriously and not just laugh happily with a "will do" like I had expected her to.
She returned the look. "W- what?"
I shook my head. "Nothing."
She shrugged it off, before sighing. "Look, I- I really do want to help you, but I… I can't. They don't hate me, but I can't influence them."
I felt the little aspiration I had that maybe she could do something sputter and die.
"Well, they all know you well, I thought- eh, maybe-"
She looked down, almost ashamed. "I don't want to hurt anyone. But I don't think I can do anything. They have their own twisted logic."
I frowned inwardly, dejectedly. "I'm like a bad omen, aren't I? People I care about- always getting hurt."
"Or maybe that's just life, and you're luckier than they are, in a sense." She replied. Not knowing how to answer, I stayed silent.
I just had to hope that she- Lori, that is- would survive. Last night, I had seen them acting different. They were focused, intent on what they were going to do. Not like they normally were.
"She's not to give up, Tamarin."
I nodded, saying "thanks" even if what she had said hadn't made me feel much better. Coming from her, it seemed that she had just accepted what was happening and wanted to make the best of it. She wanted to be as happy as she could, and sometimes it was even genuine- even if it wasn't always. She had accepted that no one would ever know about what goes on here, no one would ever know that we were real human beings that could think and talk. Maybe one day we would tell our story to someone. But maybe not. I glanced up as she stood.
She turned the corner, away from the party area, likely heading over to the office. Not too much later, she came back with Goldie and Marionette in tow, heading over to the backstage area, as cheerful as she normally seemed to be. I wondered how much of it was an act, or if she had really just chosen to go with it all.
Sighing inwardly, feeling disappointed, I too finally stood up, going to lean against a wall outside of the kitchen and wait for Michael to come back out.
-Mike's POV-
There is no dignified way to shamefully scamper away from someone. So, composing myself the best I could, I stepped out of the kitchen.
Glancing around, it seemed that everyone had decided to move around during the few minutes (at the very most) as I had been having that rather… one sided conversation with Spring. From what I could tell at the moment, the main four had gathered in Pirate's Cove, as I could see them through a gap in the curtains. Contrastingly, I had basically no clue where Olive, Goldie, and Marionette had gone off to, and it also seemed that Tamarin had disappeared to who-knows-where.
Almost hesitantly, I walked forward. Turning the corner, I was suddenly forced to stop short, to avoid running into Tamarin, happen to speak of him. Briefly, I wondered if he had heard, but shook away the thought, deciding he couldn't have.
Still, I dove right to the point. "Spring told me what he did, but-"
"But? W- what else is there?" He asked, in a slightly uncaring tone.
"Listen, it's just that, well-" I continued somewhat quieter, not wanting anyone else to overhear our conversation, but not really having anywhere else to talk. I wasn't sure how well this place echoed.
"Uh, hold on." Tamarin said quickly, seeming to pick up in this, saying something along the lines of "just in case" quietly, almost to the point that I couldn't hear him. He motioned me to follow him, and we went to stand by the office doors. Once we were there, I took it as my cue to continue speaking.
"It's Spring himself."
"Huh? What about him?"
"Look, I just don't know what to make of him. He's not manipulative, not a crazy serial killer, just, well… Blunt. Like he doesn't care about anything at all, and if he does, it's in a negative way. And I've barely talked to him over these past, what, two or three days I've been dead?" I wasn't sure why I was making such a big deal about this. It was just… Off, I guess. Strange. Not what I would expect.
Tamarin shrugged. "I don't really know what to say about that. He could be manipulative, could be crazy like that, maybe it's all an act. I don't know. Just… Maybe instead of always asking questions, you can try listening for once. You're a very curious person, Michael."
"Thank you, for your indispensable wisdom." I replied lightly, but even that was in a slightly forced tone.
Tamarin just shook his head at my incredibly weak attempt at humor. "You're welcome." He finally replied.
Before, Tamarin had seemed a bit reluctant to talk about Spring, but I didn't want to drop the topic, and he was deliberately beating around it.
"What was Spring like? When you were alive?"
Tamarin sighed, rubbing his arm. "Fine. Kind of quiet, I guess."
"Not going to elaborate? At all?"
Once it became clear that he wasn't going to answer, I finally just chose to stop asking. It seemed to have become clear that no one here was ready, or willing, to just give me answers so far- and even if they were, I'd have to work to get them. I would… I would get them, though, because Tamarin was right. I was curious. I wanted to know, and I even wanted to help.
Stepping through the office and out of the other side, we walked along the hallway towards Pirate's Cove, just at the time that the little group that had been doing whatever was dispersing.
"Oh, hey Wyless!" Foxy said. "T- tamarin."
Tamarin didn't react to the stutter, so I wondered if it was just something I had imagined. Brushing it off, I listened as Foxy continued on.
"We need to get back to the stages. The night guard's coming in early, it's almost ten-thirty." He seemed proud of being the one to say this, for whatever reason.
I blinked, confused. "How do you know?"
He pointed to a piece of paper tacked on a bulletin board outside of the manager's office. I had noticed it, but hadn't gone to read it. "The guy who runs the place is really particular. He writes when every shift starts and ends, and if someone is coming in later or earlier than usual he makes records it here so everyone knows. That's why not many people know that we move around- we know when they're coming. Even the manager comes in during normal hours."
Oh. So that's why I never noticed them out of place when I came in early. One thing I had definitely noticed, however, was that the manager was a huge stickler for order.
Foxy ducked back behind the curtains while Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica walked back up onto the show stage. Olive walked out of backstage, and Freddy quickly said something along the lines of "night guard in ten," probably meaning ten minutes. She nodded, before going back into the kitchen.
It stuck me as to how orchestrated they were. It was like being a toy that came to life when people weren't around. They all knew how to not be noticed, knew how to go about their "life" without anyone suspecting a thing.
I just had to feel the sheer weight of the fact that we would be stuck here for who knows how long, and nobody would ever know the truth. No one would ever realize that we were real people, forced to be here and perform for children every day.
We all went to stand on the stages, the three on the show stage frozen in place, holding props, standing posed. Us three, behind the curtain, were in a more slack position. I was watching through the part in the curtain, waiting for something to happen. Tamarin was sitting down against the wall, Foxy doing the same, although they were poised noticeably apart.
After several silent minutes, broken only by someone shifting slightly now and again, there was a rattling sound as a person outside fumbled with the lock outside of the building.
The door finally opened, a few people coming in. One I didn't recognize, Lori, and the manager.
"Alright, Fritz- you can go ahead and get to work. Two of the ones you'll be working on are in the kitchen, and one more should be in the basement. Just remember-"
"I got your notice. I already know." The manager nodded at this and Fritz went off into the kitchen.
I felt like I should recognize at least the name "Fritz," but it didn't seem to be ringing any bells. It was probably just some worker who filled in for someone or another at some point.
He turned to Lori, holding up a little plastic bag, but I was unable to decipher what it contained.
"Hey, uh, is this yours? One of the day shift workers found it in the kitchen so I didn't think it was, but it never hurts to ask."
She shook her head, and he handed her the baggie. "Alright. Would you mind setting it on the desk in the guard's- well yours, until you quit- office?"
"That's fine." She replied, taking it from him before going off to the office. "Oh, and if Fritz needs help with holding a light or something, would you mind doing so? He's not gonna murder you or anything, honest."
She agreed and without so much as a "have a nice night" the manager spun around and headed back out the door.
A/N: Oh. Look at that. An update. *Shakes fist* This story will be finished by the time I'm done with it! But in all honesty, seeing that people are still reading this and still looking forward to an ending… It's gonna be finished eventually. Oh, and about the cover... It's just a little lined image I whipped up in less than an hour as a place holder. I may replace it at some point considering it's not exactly good. Ah well.
~#*#~
Wolftron666: It's a good job, and seeing how I like Royksopp (look it up), I have to say...thank you. But one thing about June 26th...it reminds me of Doctor Who. Also, mind blown! That's how I say, GG. Good, good story.
Author: June 26 was actually a completely random date on my part. And thank you!
~#*#~
Lolzer1987: #BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE!
Bonnie: *gasps* That's me!
Spring(trap): I'm the other Bonnie. The yellow one.
~#*#~
lex1013: Epic. Also, in my vision, Mike before he had died had a friend...my alter ego known as Immunity. Apparently, Immunity's playing some songs from his favorite stuff just a couple feet away. At this point, Mike hears Immunity playing the Ending OST from Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. Second, DARN IT THE EXPLOSION WAS UNDER MY BED! Third...meh, i think Immunity should at least be mentioned. Not that i am MAD or anything, i just think it would be sorta...neat.
Author: Pokémon came out after the time frame of this story.
