She skips across pinkish clouds, her movement causing puffs to fly up to her face, allowing her a taste – strawberry cotton candy, yum. She floats into a pile of pinkish puffery, enjoying her sweet treat while glimpsing at the pizza-shaped unicorns prancing across the field.
Worthless fool!
She blinks.
Now she'd dressed like a knight, creeping through a dark forest. Though her armor prevents the touch of the prickling ends, she could feel the trees' prickly touch. Giving way to comfort her like a scratch to an unbearable itchiness. It provides an unspeakable conversation, leading her to slay the beast laying before her. With her sword held high, she rapidly approaches the monster, finding her weapon a new home within the slots of its heart.
Bite-size pizza pies rush to great her. And although they are small in size, they were able to lift up their hero, no causalities, only cheers. Carrying her back to their village, showering her with endless gifts and galore, singing a song that they'd guarantee will last for generations.
She blinks.
She's back in her dull and lifeless greenroom, a few shades darker than what she'd previously recalled. A wave of electric currents flows from head to feet. The entity hovering above her on the ceiling scoffs.
Useless weakling.
Another wave of electricity flows through her. She gasps at how painful it felt, knowing someone's outside her subconscious frame, trying to wake her up from this conscious hell.
Did you really think a shutdown will save you?
She had too. The choices were limited because of that thing controlling one part of her body. Because, in her anger and betrayal, she couldn't control those emotions as she fought her friends.
They laugh at you. They mock you. They've turned their backs on you and yet you resist to fight. You deserve to lose everything.
The entity inches closer.
Everything!
A painful shock. One powerful enough to make her twitch and fall to the ground.
She blinks. She's back in the PizzaPlex, enclosed in a dome with tight bands across her wrists. At least she knows that she's out and away from that entity, for now.
"Oh look, she's finally awakened from her slumber." Tessa looms over her from outside the dome, an annoyed look on her face. At least Chica thinks it's an annoyed look – she couldn't blame Tessa for being mad considering what she's done.
"Tessa, I –" Chica wanted to apologize, before getting shocked. She glares at Tessa. "What was that for?"
"That was for nearly biting my face off the other day." Tessa presses the button to electrocute the subject inside. "And that is for being a thorn in my side, trying to ruin everything I'd worked hard for." She hits the button again.
"Ah! Stop that! You're going to turn me into a literal fried chicken!"
"Wouldn't that be a show." Tessa sneers with another electrocute. "You're done for chicken strips. Your friends are scared of you and not one child would want anything to do with you. I'd already heard Gabe calling some special technicians to get the scooper ready but this would be an added treat for him."
Another shock and scream. The anger rushes back through Chica's veins. "You… I knew it." She spat through gritted teeth.
Tessa grins. "Did you really think I would play along to be your friend? Please! Don't make me gag. I'm here for one thing and one thing only and that is to be the new star in this place. Thanks for the pathetic advice." She pats an area of the dome. "Now be a good little chicken and wait in this lockdown quarantine until they come scoop your parts out. Maybe we could sell them as vintage pieces. No worries, I'll be sure to stop them from decomposing your mechanical heart. Freddy's got to have some keepsake to remember his pathetic bird lover." She smirks deeper seeing Chica's furious face. "You really think I wouldn't know about you and Freddy? Had to do something to gain leverage at your demise."
"I swear, if you hurt him I'll –"
"You'll what? Call on your dark powers to turn me into bolts?" A laugh. "Quite a comedian, such a shame to see talent go to waste. Now, it's time for another shuteye."
"No! Tessa, don't–!" She'd flicked a switch, initiating a force shutdown. Chica fought a losing battle before the lights had gone out in her eyes and she laid still.
"Such a waste indeed. Now onto my next plan."
Nothing good ever came from hospitals. He learned from past experiences and he swore the day he stepped foot into such a place is when he was close to death. This isn't what he had thought, but he was desperate.
Desperate enough to ignore Vanessa's orders.
She came home, crashing on the couch to sleep off whatever breakdown she had. She couldn't explain to Gregory what had happened, overwhelmed with her own roller coaster of emotions. Gregory waited patiently for her to wake up, waiting up until the late hours of midnight. When she had awakened, she told him that they had to decommission Chica.
"What? No!"
"Gregory, she's getting worse. She attacked Monty, Roxy and Tessa and then she shut herself down. We had to put her in the dome on lockdown until they can assemble the scooper." He'd cursed himself for the decision to not visit the PizzaPlex for a while. He knew that Chica wouldn't hurt him, she couldn't have. She was upset, yes, but he understood. Which was why he had been determined to make sure she's restored back to herself.
"We can't give up on her, not yet Ness. We need to regroup and come up with a new idea –"
"Like the idea you had on getting that machine in which we thought would work, and it didn't?" Vanessa snaps.
"More like finding the people in charge of her original software." Vanessa rolls her eyes, going into the bathroom to wash her face. "It's 2030, those people can't be dead yet. We could find them and get them to reverse Chica's programming."
"No."
"You can't abandon her like this!" He shouts at her from behind the closed door. "You were determined to save her too, we still have until the end of the week. Why do you let Gabe push you around?"
"Because Gabe didn't make the call to decommission her, I did." Vanessa states, opening the door to glare at him. "We're not waiting for another chance for her to attack someone. Virus or no virus, she's been marked as not safe to be around anyone."
"Because abandoning something or someone when you have lost hope is such a great idea."
"Damnit Gregory!" She snatched the towel off a rack in frustration. Why is this child so hardheaded? "That's enough! I'm not about to lose a job and have child services grinding up my butt! A job is more important than keeping a robot. I made up my mind and we're going to take her apart on Friday. So, get over it!"
They don't talk for the rest of the night, staying in their own rooms. The next day, she drove him to school in silence, and in an attempt to make amends, she said. "Try to have a great day."
"Don't see how that's possible knowing that you're going to commit a murder." He leaves the car, not before secretly taking her authorization key. She wouldn't be looking for it for a while, giving him more time to do what he was about to do. He does go inside the building, waiting for her car to disappear. Then, he hides in an unguarded area for school to officially begin. Afterwards, he jolts to town and into the library, remaining hidden to scoop information.
Which is where the information has led him to this hospital. He'd found that Gabe had been married before to Carlene Denver. That Carlene had been responsible for the software that the animatronics use. He had figure since Gabe is dumb enough to not know how to change a water filter, let alone work a complex robotic system, and his current wife would rather watch paint dry.
He enters the foyer, approaching the nurse at the desk. "Excuse me."
She glances up. "Yes? Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Carlene Denver. I was informed that she would be residing here."
He's given a strange look. "Hospice residents are not allowed to have anyone other than close family or friends. She never mentioned she had family. How are you related to Ms. Denver?"
Hospice care? The phone rings and she picks it up to answer, turning her back to him. Eyeing a bucket of guest tags in a wicked bin, he slyly picks up a tag, running towards the other end of the hall. On an elevator to the 2nd floor, the area presents a different feeling. People were either crying and mourning or feeling the blues. It freaked him out.
"Hey there sonny," An older woman in scrubs smiles at him. "It's kind of early, shouldn't you be at school?"
"Gas leak. Wouldn't want this place to be filled with kids dying of gas poisoning."
"Yes, yes. A good point. So how can I help you?"
"Could you point me to Carlene Denver's room?"
The woman frowns. "Her room is just on the other end of that hallway, but the woman's on her literal deathbed, I don't think she'll be up to seeing anyone." She called a younger colleague over, asking for her to escort Gregory to the room.
With the older lady's back turned, the younger woman sighs and rolls her eyes. "Could you move faster? I don't have all day, kid."
She knocks on the door. "I have someone here to see you." she announces in an apathetic tone, glaring at Gregory, pushing him in and closes the door.
Before him lay a woman that depicts the opposite of what he'd imagine she would be like. Salt and pepper hair, shaky skin with her bones protruding out, and a breathing tube around her. "Come closer. I won't bite." She invited. He only takes two steps, wanting to be in close proximity to the door. That way, if she throws a cup of pudding at him, he'll be able to dodge it.
"You're Carlene Denver?"
"The one and only. What's your name, young man?"
"Gregory."
Carlene eyes him in awe. "Gregory, what a beautiful name. That was what I was going to name my baby, things happened." She shrugs. "So, how can I help you in my last and final moments? I could always have a boost of karma in my favor."
Geez, this lady sounds miserable. She carries this act that portrays such an intense hatred for life that a meteor could strike her and it'll be the only moment of pure happiness, if it succeeds in causing death. Gregory ignores the woman's persona, eyeing a USB drive on her lap. "Is that what I think it is?" he takes another step. Carlene quickly snatches the device into her fist.
"Not so fast child, this isn't some device to store your Fortnite games."
"Why does everyone say that? I hate Fortnite." Gregory complains. "And I know what that is, that's the reversal coding to combat Chica's virus."
Her mouth drops some, shaking her head. "You don't know that. I've created lots of reversal codes. Besides, you gather that answer based on a TV viewing?"
"Lady, I do not have time for your bitterness. Chica needs that device. This machine picked up a deadly virus that will turn her into a monster! She could kill people if they don't disassemble her first."
So the rumors were true. She blinks at him. "Gregory, even if I wanted to help you. I can't give you this."
"You can't or you won't?"
"Fine, I won't. Why should I help that greedy, good-for-nothing snobbish Gabe maximize his profits and his claims of saving the world? That man deserves to have everything burn to a crisp!" She puts the device back into the lock box and holds the key tightly in her hand. The motion makes her hand tremble. "If I die, this device dies with me!"
He stares at her in disbelief, wanting to risk an argument and snatching that box out of her hands.
She spoke again. "You have no idea of the turmoil I had gone through because of that man. I gave up my life for him and he left me for another skank. He let our child die because of his selfishness. He left me with nothing! Nothing! So now when it's his turn to crumble, he'll feel what I've felt a thousand times more! Besides, those robots are of no use to me, why should I care about another decommissioned robot?"
"Because you designed those robots with a purpose."
She remains silent.
He takes another step, looking down at his shoes. "I may be just a kid, but I had my own share of tough times. Four years ago, I came here on a trip with my parents. They took me to the PizzaPlex, had me stand in the middle of the parking lot, and told me not to move. They used to hit me a lot, so I did what they asked because I didn't want them to get angry and cause a scene. I had thought that day would be just their way of apologizing for treating me so harshly. But instead I watched them drive off without me. I remember running inside the building and having a whole bunch of bots chasing me cause I was an unknown guest. I remember crying a lot. And you know who was there? Chica. She got the bots off my back and protected me. I stayed with her for hours, she never let me leave her sight and I made a friend. Sure, she was 'just a robot' but she cared for me."
He looks at her. "Now I live here with Vanessa and I get to see Chica and Freddy all the time. I don't think about my parents unless I retell the story. And even now, it doesn't hurt. I don't shed a tear. What for? It won't change the fact that they're gone and what they'd done to me. I have a better life now than the first years of my life, and I'm only ten."
"I'm sorry to hear about your parents, Gregory, but you're still young to have had this happen. You'll get older and it'll be forgotten."
"You were young once too." He points out. She sighs and fumbles with the key. "Ms. Carlene please. I know that you planted that virus."
"How did you –"
"I don't think you meant for it to affect any animatronics, just you wanting to get your revenge against Gabe. I can't blame you, he is a jerk. But Chica got affected with it, it's not fair for her to be scrapped over something she can't control. And she's getting worse, they're going to disassemble her tomorrow if nothing gets resolved. I can't lose my friend."
She scoffs, looking down. "You know it's funny, I have thought about giving this ever since I saw that video. Freddy and Chica are one of a kind because they were recreated from a memory of my childhood. When I saw that video, I grieved for them, because of what I had done. It hurt me. They were like my children, how pathetic is that?"
"Well, you did program them to be so humanlike."
"Yes, perhaps I wanted for them to help in more ways than a human can. There's only so many kind-hearted people in this world. And I admire your kindred-spirit to want to help, even if Chica's a robot." She takes the device, giving it to the child before her. "Which is why I'm surrendering it to you."
"Thank you Carlene!" He fumbles with the device, relieved and confused at the design. "How do I work this?"
"It's quite an old design, but even with new technology, they have to have old parts to accommodate the slowly-adaptable adults. I'm thinking of a simple transfer to the machine and hook a port to Chica and the coding will do the rest."
"You have to come with me." He insists. She shakes her head. "Please, I don't think I could do this myself."
"I can't Gregory. This time, I can't. I'm dying, hence the reason why I'm in hospice care." She takes a big breath of oxygen. "I've been angry for a long time, and now I'm paying the price. I've accepted it and this is where I've finally made peace with my past."
"Carlene –"
She shushes him. "I'll be okay. Get on out of here Gregory. Go save Chica." She urges, flashing him a genuine smile. He returns the gesture and with a final wave, he leaves the room. She smiles wider. The air smelled fresher, her body felt lighter, and the warmth of the sun filled her with joy. Happiness, my old friend. It's been a while.
Later, the nurse comes in with the same tone holding a tray of meds. "Carlene, it's time to take your meds."
No answer.
"Carlene? Carleen?"
