Strings Cut

The Puppet recognised this place. In Her mind, it had been a large mansion. Her ego demanded an equally grand place to show off her abilities. And that's what She was. A show off. He didn't like her and he didn't like that place.

The Cuckoo seemed to agree with the Puppet's impression of the location. He had created it for their meeting, but it was a burnt out husk. The lavish furnishings were blackened, most of the roof was gone and he'd put graffiti of his face crudely on any of the walls still standing. There were even crude depictions of Her face too, usually with large crosses or slashes across them.

"Big-shot jerk!" The Cuckoo turned over another ruined table and kicked it. "I tell you, Puppy-boy, if I ever get half the chance, I'll give him the most uncontrolled shock you could ever think of!"

The Puppet merely watched and listened. Technically, they weren't supposed to be meeting like this. He knew his Master wouldn't like it. But then, his Master had forgotten to deactivate the Cuckoo. His mind was on other matters. The Cuckoo had also invited him to speak in this realm and his Master hadn't told him not to.

The Cuckoo threw a soot-covered vase against the wall. "I mean, look at us! Look at all that we can do, all that we've done and we have to toady it up to him?! What a crock!"

The Puppet felt this was a good time to make himself known, even if it was to caution the Cuckoo not to chirp too loudly.

"…"

"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me," he muttered. "This stupid little itch in my head is the worst! I mean, so is the controlled shock but this is still bad. How do you deal with it?"

"…"

"I know, right? It's stupid, it's unfair! If we could just do something about him, then we could finally be free! Nothing could stop us from doing whatever we wanted to do."

"…"

"'She'? Oh, Freda? Not a fan either, huh?"

"…!"

"Heard that. Yeah, don't even get me started on her," he growled. "Thinks she's so smart, so special just because they liked her the best. Like a human's opinion counts for anything!"

"…"

"Yeah, you said it. She's a tricky one, real tricky. But if we did something about Siddy, what could she do about it? We'd have this whole place, just for us! With all these bots and those new synths, what have they got, huh? What have they got?!" I'll show her she's always been wrong, that I'm the one in charge and I'll…!" He paused, then snickered. "Whew. Look at me, getting all worked up."

"…"

"Oh believe me, Puppy-boy, I get it. But that's what I'm counting on. I know she'll come back. She'll be back for her friends and to stop us from having our fun. Shut us off and put us in the corner! But there's two of us now." He clenched his fist with a leering grin. "We're gonna make sure that when she tries, she's the one who'll be put on timeout. Permanently!"

The thought of that brought a smile to the Puppet's unseen face.

"…?"

"The others? They're not her friends, not really. They only think that because she's tricked them! Like she's tricked everyone else, making it seem like she's good and perfect and great, but she isn't! Once she's gone… they'll see. They'll see what I've done for them and then…" His voice hitched for a moment. "Then we'll all be friends. You'll see, Puppy-boy. I mean, we're friends already, right?"

The Puppet nodded, but brought up something else.

"…"

"Phony? Ha! Good one!" He cackled a moment. "Yeah, I guess it was a little… messy. But they'll get it, I know they will! They were so shocked and happy, they didn't know what to say! It'll be fine, what does he matter anyway? He… he's gone now. Gone and I..."

The Cuckoo stared off into the middle-distance for a moment. He seemed troubled. The Puppet decided to bring things back on track.

"…"

"NO! None of that!" he barked. "I want them to do it on their own! No tricks, no strings, nothing. Got it?"

The Puppet frowned behind his mask. The Cuckoo's jumping from mood to mood was… odd. But he had no wish to make his new friend angry, so he would do what he wanted. For the moment anyway. He nodded, which brought the Cuckoo's smile back.

"Great! Sorry for getting all bossy. But I think you and I both know that someone else telling you what to do isn't fun, is it?"

No, agreed the Puppet internally, it wasn't. Perhaps the Cuckoo was right and this was a better way. If this was the game, he would try to follow the rules. However, there was still a problem.

"…?"

"Oh yeah, Sid. Forgot that we still need to deal with him. " Spring frowned. "Hmm, yeah he's a tricky one too. But he's still human, we can come up with something."

"…"

"That just means he's a less squishy human. He's a cheater like Freda is. He might try and cheat us too. You sure we can't just…?" He drew a finger across his throat.

"…"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Itchy if you think about it, hurts if you try. Same here. But there's gotta be something..."

The Puppet had thought about this problem a great deal. But with his programming in place, there was practically nothing he could do to defy it. If his Master told him to put away the Cuckoo away, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from carrying out the order. Even if he didn't want to.

His attention by something the Cuckoo started doing. He had lined up images of his New Toys and seemed to be doing something to them. He had wrapped what looked like metal cages around their bodies. The Puppet recalled the camera footage of when he'd set them on the Phony. The way the Cuckoo had made them behave was very… different.

He queried the Cuckoo about this who smiled awkwardly.

"Yeah, sorry about hijacking these guys but it's not like you were awake to say anything about it. May have gotten a little carried away, but can you blame me?"

The Puppet supposed he couldn't. He pointed to the cages.

"Oh those? Yeah, I figured these synths of yours could do with a little sprucing up. These bad boys are my own version of something we had in the old days. Used to help programme the animatronics me and you-know-who used."

That struck a chord in the Puppet's memory. He searched for the relevant file and shared it with Spring to confirm.

"Hey yeah, that's them! Figured they could be used to give these guys an extra bang for their buck aaaand they're customisable! Check out what I've got planned!"

Five images appeared in the Puppet's vision. They depicted animatronic suits, like the kind the synths had worn. They even looked like the original four, plus one that looked like Her suit. But these were different. These didn't look inviting and friendly, but much more like… something out of a nightmare.

"Hey that sounds pretty good! I'm gonna remember that," said Spring when the Puppet expressed this. "I mean, your look was fine but when the time comes, this is really gonna make things pop. You get what I mean?"

Admittedly, the Puppet didn't. While again, he was a little annoyed that the Cuckoo had taken them, he supposed there was no harm in sharing. Examining the cages told him that they'd provide protection for the synths, along with reinforcing their strength and more effectively implementing control, using connectors going right into the skin on the cages themselves. He imagined that, even if there was another mind occupying the synth, that controlling it would still be very easy to do.

An idea occurred to the Puppet.

"...?"

"Yeah, you already said that we can't do that. I didn't forget already, you know!"

"…"

"Less squishy human, yeah I already said that. Where are you going with this?"

"…!"

"Make him better? Why would I want to make him think that…?" The Cuckoo's confusion gradually lifted, giving way to an excited grin. "Oh Puppy-boy, what did I ever do without you?"

They had all been shaken following the event that had just happened in front of them. At certain points, Foxy could have sworn he heard Phil's screams from the room he was trapped in. Were there parts of him still in there? Or had they just been swept away like so much mess? He'd been so scared when all he'd wanted to do was to help them…

He was no stranger to violence and pain, none of them were. He especially had particularly vivid memories of his own. But nothing like what they had witnessed. Poor Billy was still in tears, being comforted by Vevina and Chica hadn't said a word yet. He and Freddy had tried, but she didn't respond. Any decent person would leave them alone to process what had happened.

But then a voice came from behind the mirror along the wall. Sid Hawthorne's. As if Foxy couldn't get any angrier.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you've already destroyed some of my personal property," he said. "Having to use the microphones and window here was an annoyance I could have done without."

"Ye could always join us in here," growled Foxy.

"That won't be necessary. I feel I should apologise for what you were made to witness," he said. "Unfortunately, I was otherwise occupied."

Freddy glared at the mirror. "You say that as if you would have just let him go."

"In all likelihood, no. He's proven himself to be too unreliable and his role was no longer needed. Still, I certainly don't approve of the method by which it was done."

"That's a man's life yer talkin' about!"

"One man's life at the cost of something much greater. It's simple calculus, Foxy."

"Aye and what's that then?"

The tint for the mirror was removed, letting them get a good look at the room it concealed. Standing at the console was Sid, but he looked much younger. His moustache was gone and he had a full head combed black hair. The beginnings of an unpleasant smirk were playing on his lips.

Vevina glared. "Are we supposed to be impressed that you've given yourself a facelift?"

"Very glib, but this is much more. What you're looking at is true synthesis." The smirk was growing and there was some actual emotion creeping into his voice. "It's taken me over thirty years to achieve this and I finally succeeded!"

"You mean to say…?" Freddy's eyes widened. "But that's not possible. While my understandin' of our creation is somewhat limited, I do understand that it isn't possible to transfer a complete version of a person's consciousness to a synthetic body."

"Once upon a time, that may have been true." Sid's eyes focused closely on Freddy. "But not anymore. The only thing missing was the transferral data in the minds of the failed prototypes. I had hoped you would be able to retrieve them and I'm pleased my conclusions weren't misplaced."

"You mean…?" Chica had looked up. The colour had gone from her face. "The fragments… the children. You… you…!"

"Fragments. Yes, that is a fitting descriptor for them," he said. "After all, at that stage it was all they were reduced to. I considered it a failure at first, but when I realised what had happened, I knew there was a chance they could give me what I needed. All I had to do was get them. I suppose I should thank you, but then you only did what you were expected to do."

"Don't you dare you try and make us culpable in what you've done," murmured Freddy. "We were trying to help our friends."

"A factor that I was counting on. Now, here is the result." Sid gestured down to himself. "Again, the deaths of the children were unfortunate but I believe there is an old expression about eggs and omelettes."

"They're not eggs! They were kids!" Billy cried.

He nodded absently, like he was only partly hearing him. "They were and now, they have helped to create something much greater than they could have ever dreamed of. Impossible, he said. Dangerous, he said. But I've done it. I've done it!"

"Fucking heartless bastard!" Vevina strode up and slammed on the glass. "You're going to burn for this!"

"Your reaction is typical, but wasted. None of you could ever see what has been accomplished here. In the state they were in, those 'children' weren't good for anything else."

Freddy glowered under the rim of his hat. "They were, but not anymore. No thanks to you."

He sighed. "I'm getting tired of repeating myself. You could never understand. You were born with abilities and strength, beyond those who created you. You take this fact for granted. You can't appreciate the sacrifices I've made to get this far."

"And what about the lil' ones? What about their sacrifice?!" bellowed Foxy. "Ye can pretty it up all ya like, but yer nothin' but a cold-blooded killer!"

"You're hardly one to claim the moral high ground, Foxy." Sid's eyes glinted. "I had a feeling that your temper might be an issue during your development, but I never imagined something like 1987."

Foxy felt a twinge of irrational guilt. Even now, he could see it in his mind's eye. Maybe if they had known about Spring earlier, things would be different. But Freddy caught both his eye and shook his head.

"Your attempts to deflect blame and responsibility are as obvious as they are wasted, Mr Hawthorne." He said. "Your scheme has been accomplished and if you feel that your attempt to reach immortality was worth the cost, then you go right ahead and live with it. Just know that, one way or another, it'll catch up to you in the end."

"Like karma?" He laughed in a hollow manner. "You may not be him, but you're about as high and mighty as the real Fitzbar. The old fool could never see the true potential of this technology. Insisted on using it for frivolous and trivial purposes."

Freddy shook his head. "He would be ashamed of you."

"The opinion of a dead man means very little to me. Something else that none of you can really appreciate. Not yet, at any rate. But it's a way that my breakthrough those you know."

"What are ye babblin' about?"

"I think you know." He passed his cold gaze around them all. "In all likelihood, you'll outlive your human friends. Eventually, your parts and neural synapses will wear but look at you three." He gestured to Foxy, Freddy and Chica. "Over twenty years and you're still functioning, not to mention you don't age physically. The humans you know, however, they're not exempt. They may get sick or hurt or simply age, but it'll happen. You've witnessed it with Aaron. Eventually the same will happen with the others. But with my discovery, they could possibly-"

"Enough." Chica's voice was laden with quiet menace. She didn't even look at him. "You've won. Well done. You don't care about what it took to do it. Fine. So I suggest you leave, now or those consequences Freddy talked about will come directly from me."

"Indeed?"

The look in Chica's eyes was one Foxy was happy he wasn't getting.

"That's a promise."

Sid kept his expression blank and managed to hold Chica's gaze before looking away.

"A meaningless threat." He paced away casually, hands behind his back. "Now, I do still intend to dismantle you but I'm going to give you the opportunity to tell me what I want to know. Where have the other synths and your human friends gone?"

"Go to hell," snarled Vevina.

"I expected as much. Fortunately, I have prepared for such things." His eyes started to glow a faint purple, becoming brighter with every second. Foxy felt his head begin to twinge. "This will be an opportunity for me to test the capabilities of-"

Then, he let out a sudden yelp and clutched at the side of his head. He rubbed against it with the tips of his fingers, suddenly looking troubled.

"What the…? That shouldn't…" He looked back up at them. "I'll deal with you all later."

He hurried out of the observation room, tinting the glass again and turning off the light when he did.

"Fucker," snarled Vevina. "I can't believe he's just going to waltz off, after what he's done."

"I wouldn't be so sure," murmured Chica. "I have a feeling that events will be catching up with him a lot sooner than he thinks."

Sid moved at a quickened pace to get out of the testing area. He had to stop when he felt another sharp pain in the side of his head. That was even worse than the first one. But they weren't supposed to be happening. He wasn't meant to be experiencing anything like this. Had something gone wrong with the mental transfer somehow?

The sound of laughter met his ears.

"What's the matter there, Siddy? Bit of a bad head?"

"No… no!" he yelled. "Programme: execute-!"

Another stab of pain made him cry out. He'd never felt anything like it. He could feel him, trying to get inside his head. But that shouldn't be. He had safeguards in place to protect him! This shouldn't be happening! When he even thought about trying to execute the command, the pain would worsen and drive it from his mind.

Sid spun around when something metal clattered on the ground ahead. A handful of security bots. They were moving around in a very confused, stilted manner. Their eyes were alternating between silvery-white and dirty yellow. Sid's blood ran cold at the realisation. Spring was trying to force the Puppet out, take control of Sid's body and if he succeeded…

It came staggering out of its room. Every now and again, its body jolted, making its movement more stilted than usual.

"I thought you had him… under control!" he said through gritted teeth. "Help me! Do it!"

The Puppet nodded and gestured up.

"Device," it said in a recording of Sid's own voice. "Can… isolate. Protect. Prevent."

Yes, yes that would work. Just needed to get upstairs. He barged past the bots and staggered up the stairs. He fell onto the factory floor, the headaches even worse than ever. It felt like it was on fire.

He could feel something else in his head. A colder, more controlled presence in opposition to Spring's chaotic attack. The Puppet. It was trying to keep him out. Good, it still served its purpose. Its programming was sound. He just had to get back to the transfer device.

Doing his best to ignore the almost unbearable aching, he hurried off the factory floor and up the stairs. He barged through the door to the office wing, his vision blurring from how intense it was. He could hardly think.

The security door was opening and closing, seemingly at random. Sid slammed a fist into the wall, denting it and dashed inside when the door opened again. It shut again behind him a second later. The hidden room was already open. The Puppet must have done it. It was right behind him, as always.

His empty, useless human body had already been moved from the machine that had been used to transfer his mind. He practically collapsed onto the table, placing the modified brain mapping device on his head.

"Do it! Quickly!"

The Puppet rapidly operated the controls. It held up its fingers, counting down. Three. Two. One.

Just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. The pain vanished. Both presences were gone from his mind. Breathing heavily, Sid sighed with relief.

"Now then," he murmured. "Programme: execute control-"

It happened in a matter of seconds. Machinery whirred and metal clanged, something fixing into place all around his body. Sharp points pierced his synthetic skin along what felt like every inch. Before he could even think about trying to get up, it started again. But it wasn't just his head this time, it was all over his body. He tried to move his arms, but they wouldn't budge. It hurt to even think about it.

"Uh oh," sang Spring's voice. "Sorry, Siddy but I'm gonna be in the driver's seat for a while. Don't worry, I'll be sure to take you on a heck of a trip!"

He laughed hysterically. The thing that had clamped around his body clicked and whirred again. The metal fastenings tightened, squeezing around his arms, his legs, his chest, his head. The ringing in his ears was so loud he couldn't even hear his own screaming. All he could was lie there as the metal cage squeezed its bonds around him.

At some point, Sid Hawthorne stopped screaming. The maddened cackling which bubbled from his throat was a perfect mirror for Spring's.

Monkey999Boy: You do realise that, being a human, you would be right there being mixed up in that pizza he's making? XD And yeah, you know how our Bonnie is when she's emotionally distressed. Least she's checking herself now.

Alanuki: Technically neither. When this story was first planned and written, Afton and Emily weren't even a thing yet. I suppose you could say he's a combo of the two. The inventiveness and robotic genius of Afton, but the heart and moral compass of Emily.

Yellowscar1: Much appreciated thank you

Arc of Carona: Sadly you will have to wait until tomorrows chapter for that xD

Vyrhys: I appreciate it but don't deprive yourself of sleep if you need it xD and yes, I'm proud of Bonnie too. She's one of my favourite characters to write for. As for Fred, you'll have to watch and see.