Mable: Since I haven't finished prompt 15, I will be skipping that for now and posting it later. Enjoy!
Begin Prompt in 3, 2, 1…
FNAF-tober Edition
16: Springlocked
It sounded like nothing more than a loud click. It could've easily been mistaken for something innocent, but he knew it wasn't. He knew he didn't even have a chance to do anything more than brace himself before it all came crashing down.
All at once, sharp metal stabbed out from the walls of the suit and cut into his flesh. It burned painfully, especially with how much of it clawed his skin, but he knew it was nothing to what was coming. The metal just holding him in place as the rest of the suit collapsed inwardly.
The pain was unlike any he could've imagined. So severe and overwhelming that he nearly fainted on the spot but didn't. His body was running off too much adrenaline, just on the edge of shock, as the metal broke bones, speared skin, and punctured deep into his organs, and it was still closing.
He couldn't breathe. Not only was the metal stuck into his chest, into his throat, but it was holding his lungs in a tightly compressed position. Even if they weren't currently stabbed through, they had no room to move. They were growing heavy as hot fluid started to clog his throat. It tasted like copper.
The excruciating pain was nearly blinding as he writhed on the floor and waited for something to happen. He couldn't call for help, all he could do was lay there in his own agony, and eventually the pain started to fade.
It was a slow process, but soon it wasn't hurting nearly as badly. In fact, he couldn't feel much of anything at all, and even though the blinding pain was gone, his vision had not returned. Probably a blessing, as all he would've seen was the inside of his suit.
His body ached for something. It felt like oxygen, but he couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. He could only hear his slow heartbeat in his ears and the soft clinking of the metal as the suit settled into him.
Everything settled and faded away.
...
One of the double doors to the employee's only room was opened as the second costumed performer stepped in. He looked around the room and saw the lights were off and huffed impatiently.
"What did I say about turning off the lights-?"
At that moment he stepped forwards into a slick puddle. The costume's traction-less feet slipped out from underneath him and he barely grabbed onto the side table to save himself from the fall. He stood there momentarily stunned, waiting to see if the suit was going to go off. Once sure it wasn't going to, a voice spoke up from behind him.
"Are you okay?! Here, let me- Can I touch you? Will I set them off?!"
"I'm fine," he forced out. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "Help me up." His employee rushed forwards to help him back to his feet. "What did I slip on?"
He saw the dark puddle only for a second before the employee stepped far enough ahead to turn on the automatic lights. Suddenly he saw the red horror stretched out before him, smeared along the floor, leading to the golden suit slumped against the back wall.
The employee choked on a scream. "Oh God, it's Henry!"
All while the costumed man beside him stared at that suit in complete disbelief. All the blood, no signs of movement, no chance to get him out; Henry was dead. There was no coming back from this. Henry was dead.
Everything was going to change, and for the first time in his life William was terrified.
17: Fruity Haze
Chrissy frowned down at the arcade machine as she ran out of time. Her blue eyes downcast underneath her curly, blond bangs. She had been so close to completing the level, and she needed to complete the level if she was going to win the life-sized pink Puppet plush from the prize corner. She was so disappointed that she could cry.
Except then the Puppet himself appeared on the other side of the machine with a wide smile. "I think I found a way for you to get the rest of the fruit!" he chirped. He pointed at the screen. "Let's go in and get it!"
Chrissy's eyes widened in surprise. "We can?! How?!"
"I'll use my magic to put us into the game! But we'll have to be careful not to get lost," Marionette warned. He then grabbed her hand and dove into the screen, pulling her with him.
It was less like dropping into a game and more like falling through an open window. She landed on the spongy black ground, surrounded by glowing green walls and lines of big pieces of fruit. By now Chrissy was smiling wide with excitement, and the Puppet started to float down one of the paths.
"Follow me!"
Chrissy eagerly ran after him, but instead of catching up he went a little faster, always a half a dining room away. Not that she was worried once she started to run through the fruit and the score in the bottom corner of her vision began to slowly raise. She almost squealed happily as she continued to run after him, following him around a corner and down between the glowing green walls.
As she collected more fruit and the points got higher, she began to run faster, and soon she was zooming through the maze behind the Puppet. She must've picked up a powerup too, because when she looked behind her, she could see a trail of fruit trying to catch up with her. But she couldn't stop or she would run out of time, so she kept on, following the Puppet through a tight section of alternating walls.
Until she came out on the other side, surrounded by three paths of black halls and green walls and no Puppet to guide her. She stood there in confusion while listening to the soft chirping of the fruit catching up to her and adding to the point tally. Only once it all caught up did she realize how silent the world was around her. There was no music, no footsteps, no chimes, just a heavy silence.
"Mari!" Chrissy called. If it was this quiet then surely, he would hear her, except that he didn't call back. She couldn't hear any of his chimes or music either. She walked into the center of the three-way branch of paths, her footsteps echoing loudly across the halls and into the dark space above. She couldn't see the screen where she came through. "Mari, where are you?"
"Over here."
His voice faintly reached over the walls and made it to her ears. Perking, Chrissy began to run down the path straight in front of her, thinking that was where his voice was calling from. "Where?"
"Over… Here."
"Slow down!" Chrissy cried pleadingly. She was running as fast as she could but everything looked the same. Endless walls of glowing green. "I can't find you!"
"…Here."
His voice didn't sound right. It sounded staticky and strange, wavering in tone and volume. It didn't sound like him. Chrissy slowed down as she came up to a corner, realizing he would be just around the corner.
"Mari?" she quietly asked. She was rewarded with a sound like low, thick static. It was beginning to scare her, but she needed to find him, and so she inched around the corner and peeked down the next hall.
There he was with his back towards her. Chrissy stepped out from behind the corner timidly and started to walk towards him. Her footsteps were so loud as she crept up behind him and stopped only ten feet away.
"Mari…?" Chrissy asked timidly. Suddenly he spun around and she jumped-… but relaxed as soon as she saw his usual, friendly smile.
"There you are, slowpoke! I was starting to get worried!" the Puppet trilled and offered a hand to her. Her face broke into a relieved smile and she ran to him with an outstretched hand. Her fingers were so close that they almost brushed the soft fabric of his own.
Until the car smashed into him with a deafening crACK.
She didn't even see where it came from. It was as though it came straight through the wall without breaking it or smashing through it, hitting the Puppet and running over him in one fell swoop. Chrissy could see his busted-up body lying limply between the tires, shattered apart like a glass dropped on a clean kitchen floor. His hand still reaching for her across the ground.
"MARI!" Chrissy screamed. She ran for him but was stopped as the car suddenly whipped into reverse, almost hitting the maze wall which now seemed to slide back to accommodate it. The headlights now stared her down and she stared back with glassy, blue eyes filled with terror. She couldn't control herself, all she could do was turn and run.
Suddenly the maze was louder. Her footsteps deafened by the revving of the car behind her which gained on her an inch at a time. It didn't matter how fast she was, because even her super speed couldn't outrun the tires of that bellowing vehicle. The black ground became slick and muddy, and gunky, pulling at her feet until she was fighting to free her legs. It smelled like trash and hot asphalt, and it climbed her legs like tar.
That was when she saw the growing glow around her and the reflections of the headlights on the ever-stretching walls in front of her. She screamed and hid under her arms as the car ran her over.
Then there was darkness. Darkness, screaming, and crying.
And the sound of footsteps as she fought with the tightness wrapped around her body. As the bedroom door opened and the lights fell into the room, she realized it was just her puffy, pink comforter. She felt no better. The realization it was a nightmare only made her cry harder as she reached for her mother who was coming with welcoming arms.
"Sweetie, did you have a bad dream? It's okay, shh. We're here, it's over," her mother hushed her. Her father turned on the bedside lamp and came to sit on the bed beside her.
"We're here, Kitty. There's nothing to worry about," he added in. They both held her and she whimpered as the tears began to slow. "Do you want to talk about it?" She nodded shakily.
"I-I was in Fruity Maze and I was looking for Mari, and I found Mari, and then thi-this car c-came out and- a-and…" Chrissy began to sob harder once again at the memory. "And he hit Mari! That bad guy hit Mari and chased me and hit me too!" As her parents held her and comforted her, they exchanged concerned glances. Her father gently pet her head.
"I bet it was scary, huh? But you don't have to be afraid. That bad man was taken away to a place where he'll never hurt anyone again," he assured her. "You're safe in your bed and Mari's safe in his."
"Ma-Mari doesn't sleep in a bed, Daddy. He sleeps in a box," Chrissy said. She was starting to calm down again.
"Oh, right. Then he's safe in his box. Only thing he's in danger of is getting a real bad stiff neck," he said, trying to keep a playful tone to ease the mood. It looked like it was starting to help and he started to pick up some of her plush toys that had fallen on the floor. She used to sleep with one; in the last week she had began sleeping with all of them lined in a wall. "That goes for Mini Mari here too."
Chrissy accepted the Puppet plush and clutched it to her chest. It almost made her feel better. Her mother noticed and after a moment with a torn look, considering what she was about to say, she made an offer.
"How about we go to Foxy's tomorrow so you can see Mari for yourself?" she offered. Chrissy's eyes widened and she looked up in surprise at her mother.
"Really?!" Her parents hadn't let her go over to Foxy's since… But she missed it, and Mari, even if she felt a slight tinge of fear. "You and Daddy'll come with me?"
"Of course! We'll be there the whole time," her mother promised.
Chrissy hugged her mother happily while the tears slowly dried up. She couldn't wait to go back, to play her games again and have everything be like it used to. It was almost enough to forget the nightmare.
Without her knowing, her parents had a silent conversation. Her father got a questioning look, her mother got a look of certainty and nodded, and her father did so as well. They agreed, if this was what Chrissy needed to feel better then they would give it to her.
They had almost lost her once already.
18: I'm Already Inside
Mike thought it was a joke at first. His boss had sent him out into the holding shed to check the newest animatronic they would be 'rehabilitating' for the pizzeria, make sure it wasn't aggressive, and spray it with a quick disinfectant. So, Mike strode into the shed with one hand on his taser, a can of chemi-spray in the other, and stopped short when he saw a wooden signpost propped up in place of the animatronic.
It said, "No one is here. (I'm already inside.)" and was topped with a winky face. It just reeked of being a bad joke until Mike realized that it would've had to have been his boss who did it. Needless to say, his boss wouldn't have done it.
Mike's eyes widened, he dropped the spray can, and sprinted back inside. Now he eagerly snatched up his taser as he made a mad dash to his boss' office and nearly banged down the door. He then burst in without an answer. His boss jumped slightly, but it was impossible to see his expression when he was wearing his Freddy head.
"We have a huge problem out here," Mike announced. He pointed a thumb back out the door. "That animatronic you wanted me to spray? Yeah, it's inside, and I don't know where."
"...So, wait, how are you sure it's inside if you didn't see it?" his boss asked with exasperation.
"Because it left a big-ass sign out in the shed."
His boss signed and rubbed underneath the Freddy head. After a long moment, he dragged his head up to look at Mike. "What does it look like?"
"It's made of wood with a smile on it."
"Not the sign, the animatronic!"
"I don't know, it got inside before I could see it. I think we just established that."
"But didn't you put it in the shed last night?" There was a long pause. Now the boss seemed flustered and he jumped up from his office chair to hustle out the door. "I swear to God, if it's him-."
"So, wait. You're saying it broke into the shed, left a signpost, broke into the building-."
"Just hurry up and help me find this thing before we get stuck opening with it still in here," his boss snapped. They hurried out into the main room and began to search.
It wasn't behind the curtains. All the animatronics that were supposed to be on stage were already there. Not under any of the tables or tucked away in the kitchen area. Not in the climbing tunnels, which Mike was forced to climb through to check. It almost seemed like there was nothing here.
"I swear, Schmidt, if I find out this is a joke, I'm throwing you out of here so fast I'm going to get a gold medal in curling," the boss muttered. Mike raised a brow at him. "...It's a sport, look it up." He shook his head and scoffed.
"Well, we checked the whole place and there's nothing here," Mike said. "What now?"
"...Not the whole place..." Slowly his boss turned to look back at the ball pit. Mike was sure he had a suspicious glare on under that Freddy head as he stared it down. Then he simply said, "Get me one of those novelty grabber toys from the prize corner."
"Wouldn't it just be easier to, I don't know, use anything else?" The way that head snapped to him told Mike that he was about one more word from losing his job, so he didn't argue and instead went to get it.
With the grabber in hand, the boss crouched beside the sea of colorful, plastic balls and began to remove them one by one. At first Mike thought he was insane, but then he started to get it. This was more of a power play than an attempt to empty the pit one at a time. To show the thing hiding inside that he wouldn't stop searching.
And it worked.
Suddenly the balls started to shift where the boss had been digging. He drew back the grabber and watched with a tight gaze as the balls started to roll aside. Then something began to slowly rise out of the ball pit. First two long, golden ears broke through and stuck out amongst the color. Then a matching head began to rise out and revealed glowing eyes and a wide grin of tight teeth.
It was a decrepit rabbit animatronic. One that reeked of mildew and rot that looked like it had been decaying for years. Before Mike or the boss could properly react, the rabbit's jaw creaked open and a menacing voice spilled out.
"WELL, HELLO THERE, OLD SPORT."
Mike's brows shot up, especially when his boss answered, "I knew it was going to be you. What, did the dumpster you've been sleeping in flood again?" His voice was bitter and angry, but entirely unsurprised.
"AWW, SPORTSY, DON'T BE LIKE THAT. IS THAT HOW YOU TREAT AN OLD FRIEND?"
"All of my friends are dead."
"EXACTLY."
"So, wait, you know this... This?" Mike asked in disbelief.
His boss gave an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, we've got a bit of a history," he admitted.
"IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL DECADES OF PASSION, COKE, AND KEBABS? SPORTSY, THAT HURTS. I THOUGHT I MEANT MORE TO YOU THAN THAT."
"Dave, get out of my ball pit and get out of my restaurant. I've already told you; I'm not letting you pull your sh- your usual stunts in here. This is my pizzeria; if you want to sleep in the alley, then be my guest, but you aren't staying in here," the boss firmly laid out. "Now are you going to come out quietly this time, or am I going to have to get the taser?"
And Mike distinctly noticed that "this time" and started second-guessing if keeping his job was the best option.
"COME ON, OLD SPORT, DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DON'T NEED ME. I GIVE THE PLACE A SENSE OF ATMOSPHERE, I BRING A WHOLE NEW AMBIENCE, AND ALL I ASK IN RETURN IS TO EAT WHATEVER GETS DROPPED IN THE PIT. IT AIN'T LIKE YOU'RE PLANNIN' ON CLEANIN' IN HERE."
"Does that include children?" the boss asked flatly.
"I REALLY MISSED YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR, SPORTSY. SEE? WE ALREADY PLAY OFF EACH OTHER NICELY."
"That wasn't an answer."
"I'M A CHANGED RABBIT. I'M LOOKIN' FOR HONEST WORK."
"That still wasn't an answer."
"WHATCHA GONNA DO, KICK ME OUT? SEND IN THAT POOR SAP THERE WITH A NET? THE PIT WILL DEVOUR HIM FROM THE INSIDE. YOU NEED ME TO REGULATE THE FATALITIES OF THE BALL PIT."
The boss stared at the rabbit for a long time, seemingly realizing now that he wouldn't be easy to get out. Especially with the darkness looming in the depths of the pit. He gave a slow sigh.
"Well, Dave, you got me there. I'm not happy about this... But maybe we can make a deal. You can stay in the ball pit if you-." He held up a finger. "Don't kidnap, attack, maim, or eat any kids." He held up a second. "Don't come out of the ball pit during the day." Then a third. "And you let us drench you in a quart of cleaner. People are expected to eat here."
"GEE, SPORTSY, YOU'RE TAKING ALL THE FUN OUT OF THIS. WHAT HAPPENS IF I HAVE TO TAKE A LEAK?"
The boss stared at him without any amusement, three fingers raised, while Mike just looked slightly quizzical. Dave gave a groaning noise that sounded more like a wild animal than any kind of person.
"ALRIGHT. FINE. STILL BEATS SLEEPING IN A DUMPSTER FULL OF HALF-ROTTEN PIZZA. YOU GOT A DEAL, SPORTSY."
"Alright, hold on a second." The boss stood and hooked an arm around Mike's shoulders to lead him away. "Look, I know this sounds insane, but Dave was talking sense about the ball pit. I think we can get rid of two birds with one stone," he said, much to the shock of Mike.
"Wait, what?" Now far enough that Dave couldn't hear, Mike still lowered his voice and asked, "Are you completely insane?! We can't keep that thing in here!"
"I know," his boss said. He swore he could hear a smirk on his voice as he gave his employee a firm slap on the back. "You remember that gallon of heavy-duty fabric cleaner in the closet?"
"Yeah?"
"Dump it out and fill it with gasoline."
Well, nobody liked the ball pit anyways.
Mable: Rest in pieces, Dave. We'll always remember the day shift we shared with you.