The Calm

Goldie observed the progress of the four on the monitor in front of her. It was based on the plans of the building Phil had given her and she'd created a simulation of it in the digital world she resided in. She'd constructed it so they'd be operating on a separate plain to their newer counterparts. She'd explain things to them later, as well as their part in what she had in mind. She observed their progress, but didn't do anything to direct them aside from their initial entry points. Since they'd have to do it without her, they'd just have to get used to it.

They would infiltrate on different fronts. Foxy and Bonnie would enter by the skylight windows into the factory's upper levels and make their way down. Chica would make her way through a rear exit that Phil would leave open for her, while Freddy would slip in from the front after hiding in the men's. After avoiding security in the main body, they'd converge near the maintenance entrance and down into the testing area, where they'd secure the Puppet.

She was impressed by how well they took to the task already. Even Chica didn't seem to let her nerves get the best of her. There had been some slip-ups in their first few runs, but that was to be expected. She'd changed up the patrol routines of the sentries inside the simulation to keep them on their feet, but they'd responded well. She could hardly see Freddy most of the time, even when she was trying to keep track of him.

An alert sounded from one of the simulated sentries. Foxy was standing over the remains of one, but had been spotted by another coming around the corner. He froze for a moment, then charged straight at it. But as he reached it, another two came running from elsewhere, cutting off his exits. Snapping her fingers, Goldie ended the simulation and placed them in all the space that served as their planning room.

"I know what yer goin' ta say," said Foxy, noticeably frustrated. "But the blasted thing was right in my path! Reckoned I could run him through before anyone noticed."

"And that didn't end so well, did it?" asked Goldie. He muttered his response. "What was that?"

"I said 'not well!'" he barked. He realised he was shouting and took a few breaths. "Sorry, shouldn't lose my temper like that."

"That's alright. I think we could use a bit of a break anyway." She got rid of the table and conjured some comfortable chairs for them. "Despite some slip-ups, you're all doing very well. I have no doubt we'll be good to go when the time is right."

"Yeah, this is a done deal," said Bonnie. "I feel like I could find my way blindfolded around this place."

"It's good you're confident, but remember: don't rely too much on my reconstruction. There may be little things that I haven't anticipated which could factor into it."

"Eh, if anything happens we can just wing it." Bonnie snickered suddenly. "Hey, remember that time Chica and Freddy blew out their voices onstage?"

"Ah yes, that was a rather interestin' day," chuckled Freddy. "One too many back-to-back birthday celebrations will do that to a person."

"One of the rare times you had to bring out your instrument, Foxy," said Chica. "I didn't think that an accordion and a guitar would sound good when put together, but you proved me wrong."

"Yeah, but let's be honest: that was more me than him," said Bonnie.

Foxy glared at her. "Oi! The accordion is a fine instrument and I won't have ye besmirch it."

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you should play it while we're sneaking in. These security bots might collapse in a heap after a few notes of that thing."

"Actually," piped up Chica before Foxy could retort, "I had some ideas for how we could distract the sentries. We could use some items from our old restaurant if we can get them."

She told Goldie the list, who mentally processed it. "I'll contact Aaron and see what we can manage. It depends on what may have been impounded as evidence, but I think some of it is in storage at the old warehouse I used to be kept in."

"Funny thing, isn't it?" remarked Foxy. "Just think: a few months ago, I was shut up in the Cove and ye were shut up in that warehouse. Now look what's happened."

Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, any chance we can put both of you back?"

"Bonnie…" chided Chica.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she said quickly. "But yeah, you're right. It's crazy how much I used to hate Goldie's guts for what she did."

"You mean you don't anymore?" Goldie pouted across the table. "Oh Bonnie, I thought we had something special."

"Don't worry, there's still times I when I feel like shoving my foot in your mouth to stop it running so much."

"Just as there are times I want nothing more than to take that guitar of yours and smash it over your head."

"Know-it-all."

"Smart mouth."

They managed to hold their harsh gazes for about three seconds before they burst out laughing, along with the others. Even as it died down, Bonnie and Goldie kept their smiles as they locked eyes and nodded to each other.

"I just… want to say something." Chica cleared her throat and looked around at them all. "I know things haven't always been the way we'd like them to be. I know we've experienced bad, even horrible, events. But I couldn't think of anyone else I would rather be with than all of you. You're my family and… I love you all. Whatever happens, I want you all to know that."

"I love ya too, lassie." Foxy held out his arms for a hug which she happily gave him. "Not a day goes by I'm not grateful fer havin' another chance ta tell ya."

"The same with me." Goldie placed her arms around them both. "I told myself I was above this kind of thing when I was still… well, as I was. I've never been happier to be proven wrong."

"Me too." Chica gave her teacher a personal hug and turned to see Bonnie. "You don't have to do this, Bonnie. I know how you feel about touchy-feely stuff."

She smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Cheeks. But…"

Bonnie glanced up and down at the ground a few times, before suddenly pulling Chica into a hug of her own. It didn't last for very long, but it didn't stop Chica from beaming at the end of it. She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Freddy, holding her in a one-armed hug while did the same with Foxy. Bonnie stood nearby, but he didn't try to do the same with her. He made space for Goldie to squeeze in between him and Foxy.

"Yes, we have come a long way, this odd little troupe of ours," agreed Freddy. "I will always cherish the times we have shared together, the good and the bad. But whatever may come, let's not think of this as the end but a new beginning. We will succeed in our mission. Sid Hawthorne will be made to answer for what he's done and we will make new memories together."

They all gave each other another gentle squeeze in their collective embrace. Even Bonnie managed to sneak in for a moment.

"Well spoken, dear brother," said Goldie. "Now then, let's get back to business."

With that, they broke apart and resumed putting their plan into practiced action.

'Robert Fitzgerald: taken before his time, never to be forgotten.'

The words were burned into Jeremy's mind. They were the same for each of the four other graves he'd been buried next to. Katie O'Malley. Max Boyle. William Davies. Martha Foreman. They were all on the same plot of the graveyard, paid for by a collective effort from the locals for the families they'd been taken from.

Seven. Bobby had only been seven, the day he didn't come home. Jeremy could still see him. Grinning away while talking up his score on Guitar Hero. The look on his face when Jeremy had gotten him a ukulele for his birthday. The arguments that started because he wouldn't stop playing it, even when Jeremy was trying to do his schoolwork.

A few weeks ago, Jeremy had felt like he was ready to really deal with the loss of his brother. His killer had been caught and put away, thanks to his efforts in part. Not only that, but he'd saved some people in need of help and had started to give them better lives.

Then, it turned out it wasn't over. The man who was truly responsible still roamed free and his brother, along with these other four, weren't even properly dead. Hawthorne had condemned them to some broken existence. Yet they still couldn't be saved. Even after all they had been through, after everything that Jeremy had done, he couldn't even have that…

"It's meant to get easier." He barely glanced around at the voice of his mother, Erica. "That's what everyone says."

"There's a lot of stuff everyone says," murmured Jeremy.

Silence passed between them. Only the wind rustling the leaves and the grass met their ears

"I can't help thinking… is this my fault? If I was around more, if I wasn't always so busy, that maybe he'd…" She choked on a sob and brought her hands to her face. "I should have been there…"

"Hey mom, no." Jeremy placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. "This isn't on you. I shouldn't have let him… if I'd just gone home with him when I did…"

"Now, you stop." She managed to keep her voice from trembling. "If I'm not allowed to blame myself, neither are you. That monster… he did this. But it's alright. He's gone now, they got him, thanks to you."

Jeremy had to push down the bitterness that threatened to rise from that. He only nodded and managed to put on what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"That's right. He's gone."

"He's gone," his mom echoed. "Even so… I'm sorry that I wasn't around more, Jeremy. I promise, I'll try and change that."

"Mom, it's okay. You have to work, I get it. You made time where you could."

"But not enough and now it's…" She squeezed his shoulder. "I'll make it right, starting now. I got the whole day off today when you told me you were. After this, we'll go have lunch somewhere and go bowling, do whatever you want."

"That sounds great, mom." He managed a smile. "Just don't hold your breath though, I'm a lot better than I used to be."

"And who do you have to thank for that?" she returned.

"My hard work and determination to get better?"

"More like me and pushing you to stop using the chute to make the ball go straight." She wiped her eyes, beginning to smile again. "Looks like I need to remind you who the champion is."

"You sure your wrist hasn't been slackened by all that pencil pushing?"

"I don't know, you tell me." She gave his shoulder a playful swat. "Maybe tonight, we could watch a movie. You're rehearsing for a Shakespeare show, right? There's probably something for that."

Jeremy blinked. "Mom, you hate Shakespeare. I'm sure the words 'overrated' and 'wordy' have been tossed around whenever I've brought it up."

"Okay, well how about this: if I sit through Shakespeare, you have to sit through Pride and Prejudice."

"Oh god no…" Jeremy groaned into his hand. "Period drama, really?"

"Oh come on, they're funny!"

"It's not meant to be funny, it's supposed to be a romance and even then, it's just these rich girls chasing after guys who are clearly not good for them."

"I know, that's the funny part," she laughed.

Jeremy laughed along with her, though he dreaded what he was about to tell her.

"Yeah, I'm… not going to be home tonight," he said. "Sorry, it's the new job. They just want me working this one late shift tonight, that's why they let me off today."

The smile on her face immediately fell. Her eyes widened with mounting worry and her lip began to tremble again.

"Jeremy, no…" She shook her head. "Not again, please."

"It's only the one night shift, mom, I promise," he said quickly. "It's not just me, it's the other guy I'm working with too."

"But you said you weren't going to be working at that… that place anymore at night!" She looked at him sidelong. "And you know how I feel about that other guard. He was in jail, Jeremy."

"For something that he didn't actually do," he countered. "We just talked about how they put the real guy away. It's just for some quick tests they want to do with the robots, it's fine."

She looked back at Robert's grave. "That's what you said about the other jobs too…"

"Mom, please. They need me there."

"But I need you here!"

Jeremy didn't know how to respond to that. He knew his mom wouldn't have responded well to this. Strictly speaking, what he'd said hadn't been completely true. Goldie had offered him an out, saying that they could handle it. He'd immediately shot that down. He was seeing this through to the end.

Just when he was thinking of how he could possibly change her mind, she spoke again.

"You'll go, even if I tell you not to."

His mom still wasn't looking at him. Not directly at him. The tone in her voice was one of resignation. Again, Jeremy didn't know what to say that. She was right, but he didn't feel like he could admit it. She turned to fully face him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Just do one thing for me. Promise me that you're safe, son." Her grip tightened like a vice and gazed into his eyes. "Promise me that, whatever it is you're doing, that you're safe. If I lost you…"

Those eyes were still brimming with tears. Jeremy very nearly couldn't bring himself to look into them. Even when he did, he hated himself for saying his next words, even if he knew he had to:

"I promise, mom. Nothing's going to happen to me."

He pulled her into a hug when it came, silently grateful that she couldn't see the look on his face. It might have given him away.

"All fastened in over there?" asked Theodore.

"Gimme a sec… okay, got it," reported Clyde as harness fastener clicked into place. "You sure you can lift this thing, Vev?"

"Oh just you watch me," she replied with a fierce grin. She yelped. "Hermana, watch what you're doing there!"

"Sorry Vevvy!" she chirped. "Just makin' sure this neural whatsit is fixed in nice and tight."

"Well…" She took a moment to calm down and nodded. "Cheers for that. Alright then, back up you two. Call it, Ted!"

"Yes, very good. Clear the testing area, everybody, get clear now!" He watched over his clipboard as Hermana and Clyde got out of the way. "Very good. Ready and waiting here."

Vevina nodded. "Grand. Count me in, Billy."

The boy saluted from the console nearby. "Got it. Okay, here we go everyone. Starting first Mangle harness test in three, two, one."

He pressed the activation switch. The neural connector inserted into her missing eye thrummed to life. Vevina seized up as what appeared to be a mass of metal on her back began to move. The metal endoskeleton fastened over her body's frame clicked and whirred, her teeth gritted and her muscles tensed.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she managed to say before they could ask. "Just… just need a moment."

"Take all of the time you need. Best we do this properly than to rush it." Theodore made a note on the clipboard. "Initial start-up successful. Some discomfort, but manageable. Now, let's start simple. How's your second set of eyes?"

What appeared to be another head slowly raised from Vevina's left shoulder. The single yellow eye of the animatronic flashed and began to gradually turn from left to right.

"Bloody hell, that's bizarre," she murmured. "Alright, I'm starting to get something. Like a little screen in the top left of me vision."

"Very good, that's what should be happening," said Theodore, adding to his notes. "Can you control the head's movement?"

"Hold on…" The head turned to the left and back to right again, more fluidly this time. "Yep, there we go."

"Can you look to your left and tell me if you see Clyde?"

"What, are you trying to torture me or something?"

"Speak for yourself there, one-eye," remarked Clyde.

"Oh, well I can definitely see him." The endo head turned to look at him, the eye mirroring Vevina's glare. "Does that mean I get to hit him?"

Clyde responded with a rude hand gesture, prompting laughs from the others watching, including Vevina herself.

"Save it for the end of the test," said Theodore. "Now to your right and the same with Hermana."

"Hi, Vev!" Hermana waved enthusiastically when the endo head angled towards her. "This is gonna make any games of Red Light, Green Light pretty tough."

"Like you could sneak up on me anyway, with all the racket you cause," replied Vevina.

"Well ya gotta know the Party Queen is on the scene somehow."

"Too right, your highness. Alright, I can see out this thing. Let's try some limbs!"

Theodore nodded while he added to his notes. "I concur. Let's start on the lower body. Now, get yourself stable first. When you have a good stance, raise yourself up nice and slowly on the legs."

Vevina took a moment to concentrate. The three legs near the base of the Mangle harness fumbled about for a bit. The metal feet eventually found traction on the ground, planting themselves firmly in a tripod fashion. The legs tensed. Slowly, but surely, Vevina rose. Her stunned expression gave way to triumphant chuckling.

"Woo woo, look at you go, Vev!" cheered Hermana.

"Yeah. At long last, you're finally tall," added Clyde.

Vevina returned his hand gesture using one of the limbs of the harness. Unfortunately, it caused one of the supporting legs to move at the same time, suddenly shooting to the left and causing her to lose stability. Limbs, both the harness's and her own, flailed as she crashed to the floor.

"Vev! Vev are you- WHOA!" Hermana ducked just in time under a wayward hand. "That was close!"

"Daft dunce, get back!" Vevina was trying to right herself, but she'd lost cohesion between her own body and the harness, being constantly thrown off balance. "Listen to me, you hunk of junk!"

Theodore shook his head. "It's no use. Billy, shut it down!"

"Don't you dare! I can still… still do this!"

Billy looked from Theodore to Vevina and hanged his head. "I'm sorry, Vevvy. Shutting down."

He pressed the console again. The limbs suddenly stopped and collapsed. Vevina disentangled herself from them. She glared at Theodore, managing to drag the harness with her while she stalked over, though not without difficulty.

"What did… did you do that for?! I almost-" She tripped over a leg, but caught herself. "I almost had it!"

"Well it certainly didn't look like it to me. I couldn't risk any damages being done to the harness."

"More like you lost your nerve, like always! If you'd just given me a few more seconds-!"

"Guys!" They both stopped at the sound of Billy's voice. "That's enough. Vev, it's not fair of you to get mad at Ted like that. He just didn't want you to get hurt. I didn't either."

Vevina went quiet. She slumped, though Billy wasn't sure if that was because of the harness or something else.

"Sorry," she said shortly.

"Quite alright," replied Theodore. "I'm sorry if I stole your thunder, so to speak."

Clyde chuckled. "You kidding? I think you did her a favour. Any longer and she might have hit herself."

"You know, I thought there was something I'd forgotten." She slammed her fist into her palm and turned to him. "Ted did say to save it for the end and I think that-"

She yelped when she tripped over another of the limbs and fell face down on the floor. A hush fell over them. Vevina snapped her head up, looking around, daring any of them to start laughing.

Billy couldn't help it. He giggled. At his prompt, Hermana did as well. Clyde and Theodore weren't far behind. In the end, Vevina's anger faded and she was as well.

"Maybe I should call meself the Tangle instead," she said. She accepted Clyde's hand and pulled herself up. She looked him in the eye, then quickly punched his shoulder. "Gotcha."

"Oh come on, we were having a moment!" he complained, though he was still laughing.

"Yep and now it's over." She tensed when Hermana suddenly hugged her from behind. "Hermy, come on now…"

"What? You did good, so you get a hug. That's how it works!" she sang. She let go, skated around in front of Vevina and beamed. "You even managed to laugh when ya messed up, so I'd call that great!"

"Alright, alright." Despite her annoyed tone, a smile tugged at her lips. "Thanks. But we talked about this. Ask before you hug."

Hermana looked contrite. "Sorry. Just got all caught up."

"It's fine, now don't go and start pouting on me. One of us has to keep smiling."

Hermana's smile perked back up. She went for another hug, but stopped herself. Vevina nodded and held out her arms, making Hermana squeak with joy and hug her again.

"It's too bad we might not get to use it for our part of the plan," said Billy.

"Aye, but now if anything happens that isn't part of the plan, I know we've got this little surprise ready for them," said Vevina. "That lanky bastslime wants me to be the Mangle? Fine. I'll give him a mangling he'll never forget."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of this thing," said Clyde, looking over the harness. "I wondered what you were working on in your part of the mansion place."

"Believe me, a lot of thought's gone into this, courtesy of Goldie. She helped me work out how to fit it all together for the next time we could 'wake up'. Reckon it'd be something to do while that lot get themselves ready." She indicated where the originals were connected up with Goldie. "Just hope this all pays off."

"It will," said Billy.

She bared her teeth in a grin. "Of course it will. Right, let's restart and try again. I'm not letting this thing beat me!"

Mike gazed out across the water in the park at Greater Borealis. He'd gotten some seeds for the ducks and was sat idly feeding them while he waited. This is where Chica said she would come to before the commencement of the night's operation. Now that he and Jeremy had done their part to help prepare, they had the day off after they'd done the last few checks. Chica had not-so-subtly told Mike where she would be and what time it would be at.

The memory of the last time he was here was still fresh in his mind. Granted, it had ended with the two of them quickly rushing off, but today they could slow down a bit. This time around though, they'd both be making an effort to not glance too much at the clock, ticking ever closer towards the final confrontation.

He'd made a point of checking out the factory before coming. It was much more… normal than he imagined it being. A grim, imposing fortress with high walls or something with a towering chimney stack. But no, the building was fairly standard. Yes, there was a wall, but just one tall enough to deter intruders. It was grim, yes, but buildings like this usually were, so that didn't mean much.

He chuckled to himself. Clearly, he played too many video games and seen too many movies. As the lair of what was essentially the final boss, it just what he was expecting.

He became aware of someone sitting next to him on the bench. Thinking it was Chica, he turned to look. But it wasn't Chica. It was Lidiya. Her expression told him she was as surprised as he was at the current turn of events.

"I thought I saw you outside the factory earlier," she said. "Couldn't be sure if it was or not."

"So you decided to follow me here." He laughed awkwardly. "That uh, doesn't sound stalkery at all."

"When you put it like that…" Her chuckle ended quickly as she looked out across the water. "Weird how things worked out, isn't it? Neither of us see each other for years, then we wind up in the same place, involved the same… line of work."

It was a euphemism, but Mike knew what she meant. That pretence was gone, unlike the last time they'd met. It seemed so long ago now…

"Yeah. Just on two different sides."

Lidiya sighed. "You make it sound like it's a war or something."

"I mean, kidnap, murder, getting locked up. What else would you call it?"

"That wasn't anything to do with me or Mr Hawthorne," she retorted. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Mike and about those kids, but that isn't on us."

"You didn't deny the kidnapping part." He glanced at her. "You know, what happened to my friends."

"Mike, they're just-"

"Machines, yeah, I know what you think they are. But they're more than that and they deserve to live their own lives, not be told what to do. Not by you or your boss or anyone." He turned to look properly at her. "You helped make those other ones, the newer ones. You can't tell me that they're just machines."

"But they are, Mike. Yes, they're intelligent and responsive, which is incredible, but they're still things that were made, not born. They're things that we created."

"People are created by people too. Why are they different?"

"I just said! They're not living, they're not alive, they're technology!"

"Technology that feels hope and love, pain and fear. You and your boss have caused plenty of those last two."

"Mike, stop it! You're being ridiculous!"

"So are you!" Mike let out a frustrated sigh and looked away again. "What are you doing here, Lid?"

"I… I don't know," she admitted. "I guess… I did want to say I'm sorry. That you got put in prison, I mean. You didn't deserve that."

"Right, thanks." The sound of the ducks splashing in the water filled the quiet between them. Despite everything, Mike found himself laughing. "Synths, huh?"

"I know, right?" She looked at the ducks. "I still remember when they showed me them. I didn't know what to expect when they brought me out to this little house way out of the city, but I really wasn't disappointed."

A thought occurred to Mike, something set a pit of dread in his stomach.

"Lid? You weren't involved in uh… making them, were you?" he asked.

"Sadly no. They'd already been put together way before I got there, walking and talking and everything. I was just there to start getting myself acquainted with the tech so I could apply it to the older ones." She sighed wistfully. "If I'd just had one more day…"

Mike chose not to say anything to that. Relief surged through him at the revelation that she hadn't been involved with the brain mapping side of things, but even so…

"I know you probably won't listen to me," said Mike, getting up to leave, "but Sid Hawthorne isn't what you think he is."

"And what is it that you think he is?" she asked after a moment.

"I think you have an idea already."

"Really?" she scoffed. "How do you figure?"

"Because Fritz and Gordon were locked away for the kidnap and murder, but you seemed to think I was talking about Hawthorne when I mentioned it." He held her gaze for a moment before walking away. "See you around, Lid."

With his eyes fixed straight in front of him, Mike walked away, He managed to go at least thirty paces before daring to glance over his shoulder. Lidiya was leaving too, in a rather hurried fashion. He kept looking to see if she'd glance back as well, when someone called his name. Chica was approaching, beaming at the sight of him.

"Hey Mike!" Chica looked past him. "Who was that you were talking to?"

Mike looked where she was looking, at Lidiya's retreating back. Was she going to look back? It occurred to him that, for once, that didn't matter. He looked back at Chica.

"Just someone I knew," he replied. "You got some time before tonight then?"

Chica nodded. "We're just waiting on Freddy. Foxy and Bonnie are already out. I know where they are, if you want to go and meet with them. We could all spend some time together before tonight."

"Maybe later," said Mike. "I think we deserve our own time together first."

"Oh, I do like your way of thinking, Mr Schmidt." She kissed his cheek and looped an arm through his.

Just this once, Mike Schmidt didn't look back and it felt pretty good.