Chapter 36 – A Plan and a Deal
The next morning, Foxy was quickly woken up by Horton, who immediately hid him from any windows or crowds in order to prevent from anyone realizing that he was still alive, as they made their way to the Angel's Devils home, which wasn't too far away, thankfully.
When they had barely made it, after they had bumped into a short-tempered ox, who yelled at them as they quickly evaded him and his anger, both animatronics quickly went inside the doors, and as they were walking around in the unlit space, they were shortly stopped when they suddenly felt blades poking at their throats from every direction, before a voice called out from the dark.
"Who is it?"
Gulping as he felt the tip of the blade tickle his throat, Foxy said,
"It's me, Foxy and Horton, let up, we got a something important to do right now, so let's get started."
He was relieved when the five females that surrounded them released their weapons, and then he had to cover his eyes for a quick moment as they turned on the bright lights, allowing them to walk further to a large metal table in the shape of a circle, and as the fox and the owl sat in the seats that they chose, they waited for the last two to come, which they did, when Argos and Marionette later caught up about half an hour later, and the nine members sat down.
The puppet was the first one to move, rolling out a large parchment diagram that he had brought with him, presenting the design and structure of the ring, where it showed Springtrap's podium that stretched out to the audience, giving him a good vantage point from there.
However, the paper further revealed that it contained many defenses, such as hidden slabs of metal that would slide out, revealing a large assortment of weapons, wiring that led to the circuitry of a retractable blast dome, and even down to the communicator Springtrap carried if he needed backup, which was no more than the size of a baseball.
Clearing his throat, Marionette raised his head up and spoke.
"As you can see by these designs, Springtrap has many advantages up his sleeves, some of which are almost impossible, or otherwise extremely difficult to overcome, however, he has a weak point for every strong asset he has."
Further unrolling the blueprints, the puppet showed that the wires that connected to the retractable blast shell and gun slots led down to a large battery underneath the stone foundation of the entire ring that was supporting it, connected by a vast and seemingly crowded and complicated tunnel system that the plans showed, and all of the entrances to get inside one of those tunnels was scattered around the area, where there were multiple places to easily access it, where it had one entrance for one tunnel each. One of them included the park, underneath a tree, a bar, and even one in the bathroom stall, and many other horrific places that they felt repulsed at, including the waste dumps.
Coughing, Marionette then added to his debriefing.
"Due to these, erm … locations' 'conditions', they are in public areas, where many people could easily see anyone else trying to get in, and since me, Argos, Horton, or especially Foxy cannot be seen around, since many people believe that we have already left, that leaves you five to discuss it. We already know where one entrance is, so that means that we don't have to look for one, the problem is what would happen if someone were to go in it, as the person needs to be quick, silent, and stealthy in order to find the battery generator."
The females didn't mind the possibly horrid conditions, as they knew that the mission was top priority, not them, and they quickly talked about it, before Liz nodded, flicking her tongue confidently.
"I can do it, where'sssss the placcce?"
She knew that Argos worried about her, which he did, but they both knew that the mission was first, otherwise it would probably never allow their relationship to last long, if she either got killed in another ring, or he was ran out by other rivals teams that wanted him for their own.
Horton then circled a specific area on the diagram, showing where it is, then gave the paper to her so she could have a better look at it. When she got it, she scanned her eyes over it, her eyebrows rising up in question, before she said,
"It'ssss really located there? It looks too obviousssss."
However, when she saw the males' passive faces, she knew that they weren't lying, so she sighed, accepting the task at hand. She was then guided by Argos to the designated location while the others stayed back, ready to come running out in case there was trouble.
Liz was then walked to the park, where the two lizards pretended to be on a date to avoid any suspicion, and since today was a bright, sunny day, many animatronics avoid each other as the reflected sunlight off of each other's metal would sometimes irritate many eyes, so they used that to their advantage to walk around in the open, and tried to find a quiet place to further talk about their mission. Finally, they were able to find a clear patch where no one was around, and Argos led her down there, both of them sitting down onto the soft, comfy-feeling grass.
Hissing, the male lizard filled her in on the plan, not too currently interested in the plant life.
"Do you know where the entranccce issss?"
Unfurling the map Marionette had marked and given her, the female lizard rolled it out, and adjusted it so that it would fit their surroundings, facing the top part of the paper towards the north, as it had indicated. After carefully scrutinizing it, she took the map's location of 'X', which symbolized the entrance, and ran her eyes towards the exact same spot in the park.
The hidden entrance was identified as a large boulder that stood in the middle of the clearing they were in. It was a decent-sized piece of granite that just sat there, polished smooth by the elements undeterred, since no one else could move it due to its massive weight. She looked at Argos to check it, which he gave the approval of, and then he started to outline the plan to her.
"Alright, here'sss the plan; you get inssside the entranccce by pussshing the button on the side of the rock, and then it will slide back, revealing a ladder. Onccce inssside, you have to climb down and make your way to the power box. Be warned though, there will be Ssspringtrap's henchmen patrolling inssside, in case if anyone does a rebellion, like we are doing now. Make sssure that they don't alert Ssspringtrap by knocking out their communicatorsss on them, they will be ssshaped like sssmall metal disks."
"The bigger problem will then be navigating your way around to the power sssourccce. You have the map?"
When Liz showed him the fresh sheet of paper containing the designs of the corridors, though she was confused when the male spoke about the button on the side of the rock, but she then figured that she would get to that later, so Argos nodded his approval and continued his briefing.
"You ssshould make sssure that you have it every time with you, as the corridorsss form, literally, a labyrinth. Intersssecting, those platformsss are literally made of sssolid iron, roughly in the diametersss of six inchesss thick, too tough for your axxxesss. You'll have to make do with wandering around there."
As he saw her uncertain expression, he knew that the risk was high as well, since it gave him trouble, thinking about her wandering alone in the great maze of metal, but he trusted her experiences being a fighter to get her through. He then gave her a hug, knowing that it would probably be the last time he would see her, and she hugged back, and they both held it for a long time, before they both knew they would take too long, and released each other, and Argos guided Liz to the rock.
The female lizard inspected the rock, looking for any anomalies, until she found a crack in the shape of a square, noticing that it looked too clean to be damaged. She tested it by dragging one of her fingers across the separated area, feeling it shift, almost as if it was attached …
Liz then applied pressure onto the squared area with the same finger, and jumped back as she heard the hissing, of not Argos, but of the door that appeared as it slid back, revealing a ladder embedded in the newly discovered hollow rock, leading downward.
When the male lizard nodded the 'go' signal at her, she started to climb down, but not before Argos grabbed her shoulder, quickly giving her a peck on the cheek, making her freeze momentarily, but then continued heading down, taking what might be her last peek of his face, and descended into the darkness below.
As she climbed down, rung by rung, she made a quick thought that she would get out alive, for everyone, especially Argos, where they could then spend their lives happily. She sighed happily, before continuing her descent into the black, midnight black abyss below.
Checking to make sure no one else was around, the male lizard quickly closed the door disguised in the rock, so that no one would suspect anything of the rebellion, before walking back to the building where the rest of the team waited.
He couldn't help but worrying over what might happen to Liz, but he knew that she would complete it, and he also thought sadly of the possibility of her getting killed. Clenching his jaw, he strode onward, knowing that if she was, he would only fight harder against Springtrap and his lackeys.
Meanwhile, at the Angel's Devils building, the others patiently waited for Argos to return, and to pass the time, they all reviewed the plan so that they would be certain enough to not make a mistake, even if blindfolded, if that situation happened.
Marionette was currently reminding the two teams of what to do when the power was successfully deactivated by Liz, yet the three females, Diamond, Lana, and Scarlet, were becoming bored of the male's lectures, as it only progressed to more complicated and technical details.
Penny however, didn't feel bored at all, as she was already asleep on the table, snoozing, yet the puppet didn't notice the action as his back was turned against them as he pointed to certain spots on the board. Foxy and Horton were both awake by anxiety, in the slight chance that they might slip up, so they paid careful attention.
Marionette drew the outline of Springtrap's private shelter, made as a room behind the curtained entrance of the podium, which wasn't that far of a distance away from it, and stressed on major key parts of the operation, while stating it in both militaristic tone and attitude.
"Once Liz has cut off the power, we rush inside to his office, as the doors can't be operated due to the loss of power, and remove any resistance first, do not just attack Springtrap, as he is actually stronger than most of the fighters here. In fact, that is how he has maintained his power all these years, by holding his position as champion of the ring."
This caused Foxy to raise an eyebrow, before asking Marionette,
"Then how come we don't just teleport inside his office? We could then just wipe him out easily as the doors are closed, preventing him aid from the outside."
The puppet turned around to the fox's question, but first noticed the hawk sleeping. Frowning, he walked up to her, before roughly grabbing her shoulders, literally thrashing her awake while yelling,
"WAKE UP PENNY!"
Her eyes immediately bugged out in shock, making her fall back, sheepishly looking at the other amused faces that stared at her, and brought herself back up in her chair. Nodding to Foxy, Marionette answered his question.
"That would have been possible, but you see, Springtrap doesn't have ordinary metal doors. You know those chains that were … used on you yesterday?"
That brought the three other female's attention as Foxy subconsciously turned his head away from them, hiding the burning up face as he remembered the chains, which allowed them to stop him, and also allowed the females to … ahem, seal the deal for their help.
However, he then paid attention back to the puppet, who was smiling nervously, and he said.
"Ye, I remember the chains from yesterday. What about them?"
Sighing in relief that Foxy wasn't going to attack him, Marionette answered more calmly.
"Well, Springtrap's doors are made of the same metal, which means that it won't let us go there."
"Why? If it's just metal, how can it prevent us from teleportation?"
The puppet hesitated, wondering if he should tell them the origins of the substance, and when he saw the doubting eyes of the fox, he decided that it would be necessary for them to understand. Nodding, he started his explanation.
"Do you remember the basics on the principles of it, teleportation? It's when you focus your mind, your CPU, to separate itself from the physical body, allowing it to go into a mental state. That's exactly what I made the metal from to counter-act it."
He lowered his eyes as he saw Foxy, eyes wide in disbelief, who then said.
"You mean, you used …"
The puppet bit his lip, knowing that either it would end in an argument, or just a shocked group, and decided to take that chance, knowing that either way they would expect the real answer.
"Yes, I used the CPUs from the animatronics I had beaten or killed to form the metal."
A hush fell over the building as Marionette described how it was made.
"Using my fallen enemies' parts, I had given them to Argos, who was experimenting with a different type of weapon, not of the physical types, but on the mental, spiritual plane, due to my ability, and Foxy's. He always wondered if there was anyway to stop it in case someone else had the power to teleport as well, so he fiddled with them, day and night."
"He had found a way, and it was quite ingenious, for when Horton examined some of the CPU units that were collected, he still found small traces of electricity in the circuits, and we had identified the ones with enough power in it to last decades, or centuries, if needed to. Argos had melted the CPUs partially, in order to shape it into the chains, yet not too much as the damage the circuits to allow the electricity to flow. Turned out those circuits were still pieces of conscious minds from the fallen."
"When he was done, we experimented with it by having it draped around me, and immediately I couldn't move, I was immobilized, so he quickly took it off, and we regarded it as a success. But, there was a catch, as the strength of the 'spirit' metal, as we called it ... depended on how much pain and struggle the deceased source had experienced."
"The chains the Angel's Devils used on you were the most resilient, as they came from the CPUs of some of the strongest opponents I had ever faced in my past, rest their poor souls, however, Springtrap was able to learn about the technique by placing spies when we didn't know, so he was able to replicate the process that made the metal, which he then fabricated into his doors. The good thing is that he didn't know how strong the CPUs had to be, so he inadvertently mixed in a ton of weak units that could barely support the teleportation barrier, yet it still prevents us from passing it. To do so, would have to make us take out a large part of our energy to push ourselves through it, which could weaken us greatly. That leaves us with our original plan sticking."
It took a while for Foxy to eventually nod his agreement, surprising the others as he said.
"I rather have the chance of all of us staying alive, rather than have catch Springtrap off guard with te chance of 'un of us dying, alright, I'm in."
The others agreed with the plan, and then Marionette dismissed them, allowing them to take a break to loosen up. As he and Horton went to take a quick nap, thinking about various strategies, Foxy went to practice some more in the training room.
The fox asked Lana for directions, who pointed him in the direction of it, and went to make sure that he was still in shape. When he got there, he immediately spotted the weights and smiled, remembering how he spent tiring hours with Marionette yelling at him to work harder.
Wrapping his hands around the dumbbell without bothering to read how heavy it was, he hefted it above his head, making sure he held it firmly, before letting it back down, and repeated the process, causing him to slowly, but steadily work his arms.
After he set it down, he took a breather, but then yelped out loud as he felt a sudden coldness flash against his left cheek, making him jump up. He was about to punch whoever did it, until he saw that it was Diamond, who held a bottle of coolant, wearing an easy smile.
Returning her smile, he took the offered coolant, and she watched him drink it until it was empty before she looked at the weight, and read out the number printed on it.
"7 Tons? That's more than I can lift."
Chuckling, Foxy replied.
"Aye, it's not too hard, and thanks for the liquids."
"No problem, besides, we all need to be ready to face Springtrap."
"Yea, I suppose that's true."
They then spent a silent moment before the cheetah spoke again, but it was not what Foxy was expecting to hear.
"Do you like Scarlet?"
"Um, well, you see, it's not what you-"
Shaking her head, Diamond then told him to follow her, so he did, leading him to the washroom, where both Lana and Scarlet were, looking at Foxy before they nodded at their friend. The dark red fox looked quizzically at them, saying,
"What's going on? And why are we in the washing room for no apparent reason?"
He wasn't given an answer as Lana spoke up.
"Get in the tub."
"Excuse me, lassie?"
He was then dragged by Scarlet and Diamond into a water-filled tub, which Lana then turned on the heat, causing the liquid to bubble, as well as raising the temperature of Foxy's interior to rise to uncomfortable levels, since he was also wearing his armor. Quickly, to avoid getting burned, he took off his armor, and tried to get out, but then they pushed him back in.
Splash!
Spitting out water, he was about to yell at what they were doing until they jumped in, forcing him to sit in the tub as they all undressed as well. Foxy nervously clenched his left hand as he hid his right hook behind his back as the three stared at him, until he spoke again.
"What is this about?"
Diamond shifted herself so that she would be comfortable in the water, before she felt relaxed enough to say,
"We know that you like Scarlet."
Stricken, he took a quick glance at the crimson vixen as well, but he could see her being untroubled by it, which only made him more confused.
"Scarlet, do you know what this is about?"
He saw her hesitate for a moment, knowing that whatever she planned to say wasn't easy, so he let her take her time to say the words. Finally, she said,
"Diamond and Lana both agree that I can have you, since I like you the most, romantically speaking, but, there are certain conditions that we, you and I, have to agree to."
"Such as?"
This time she appeared to have even greater difficulty then before, but she finally spit out the words.
"Well, you see, we can be a couple," To this she blushed at. "Diamond and Lana would respect that, but whenever we have the 'special occasion', they would like to be in it."
Foxy was uncertain about this, looking to the cheetah and black vixen, saying incredulously,
"And both of ye are okay with the proposition?"
The two females nodded. Turning back to Scarlet, he could see that she was fidgeting nervously, causing ripples in the water as she looked down, and wetting her lips apprehensively. The dark red fox could feel even more heated as he had to decide whether to accept the deal while happening to be in a pool of steaming water, correction, in a pool of steaming water with three unclothed females in it.
Finally he spoke, but this time to only Diamond and Lana.
"Only whenever me and Scarlet 'do it', and you'll both still recognize us as a couple?"
The cheetah added a little more explanation as she was trying to shake out the water from her head fur.
"Well, not every time, just some times, it's not like we're letting you go that easily."
Turning away from the feline, he faced Lana, who was surprisingly serene, despite him knowing that she was the most shy in matters like this.
"And you, Lana?"
The black and white vixen nodded her head slowly.
"I'll still regard you as a friend, which is probably what separates between Scarlet and me. I would still prefer to have an informal relationship, while she prefers something more, secure."
Sighing, Foxy rubbed his head, his eyes darting between the three females, especially Scarlet, who looked at him with a look of understanding in her eyes, showing that whether or not he agreed, she would still love him. Seeing this, he then confidently said,
"I'll accept the offer. Scarlet, come here please."
As the happy vixen walked over, she was surprised when he dragged her down with her until they were eye level, before he kissed her. He could feel her smile as she kissed back, and heard the clapping of her two friends behind her, happy that she was happy with Foxy the most.
He could finally have someone he loved, someone to care for, and for someone to spend his life with. He was happy, possibly happier then he had been so far, or ever could be. How he wished the feeling, or the moment, would last forever, or at least a long time, yet he felt like he was eating away at himself, knowing what will eventually happen later on when they would confront Springtrap ...