Second-hand Suit

Vevina watched from the corner of the room as Billy played with Chica and Freddy. The two had taken it upon themselves to take the boy synth's mind off things. Or Billy was helping to distract them. It was hard to tell sometimes. Despite his appearance, he'd proven to be very insightful, capable and mature. More than she would have thought possible. Yet she still couldn't help think of him as no more than a little boy. She needed to work on that. One more thing to add to the list.

She didn't know how long they'd been down here for. Hours certainly. There hadn't been any word from their captors since Sid had to quickly leave. She couldn't say she sympathised for what she suspected he was going through. If she was right, he'd soon be regretting who he decided to throw his hand in with. And if he didn't yet, she'd make sure of it, along with the rest.

"Not joinin' in, lass?"

She didn't have to look to see who was speaking to her. "You're one to talk."

"Billy seemed like he's got enough company, reckoned ye could use some yerself."

"Did you now?"

"Well, if ye'd rather be left alone…"

"I didn't say that." She fixed her gaze on something else. That hadn't meant to slip out. "Doesn't matter, do what you like."

"Much obliged." He slid down the wall to join her on the floor. "A fine mess we've gotten ourselves inta, eh?"

"That's one way of putting it. Left behind again, what else is new?"

"Ya don't really thing that, do ye?"

"From where I'm standing, it's hard to see it as anything else other than that."

"Aye, that be true. But they couldn't really stick around with the humans in danger, could they?"

"Suppose not," she admitted grudgingly.

"Exactly and at least yer not on yer own this time."

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

"Ye tell me."

Vevina glanced at him to see him smiling that stupid smile. The one that made her face get all warm and her insides fuzzy like his ridiculous hair.

"Suppose I could be stuck with worse people," she muttered.

"But not by much worse, right?" Foxy chuckled. "Ya seem ta be doin' better, with the others I mean."

"Better than what?"

"Well, not tearin' 'em limb from limb fer one."

"Not on most days," she muttered.

"But on the others?"

She shrugged. "They're not so bad, I suppose."

"I know that feelin'." He chuckled again. "There were some days when I just wanted ta put Bonnie's head through the nearest wall. Did it at least once, if I recall right. Or she may have done that with me. It's hard ta tell."

"Aye, but Bonnie didn't leave you to be tortured in a mess of animatronic parts, did she?"

He looked at her. "Ya know that wasn't entirely on them, lass."

"I know, but still…" She clenched her fists. "I don't know. Used to be so clear who I was angry at. Now you lot have messed it all up."

"There's only one person ta be angry at and we know where he is. We'll get him, Vev and they'll come back fer us. I know they will."

She laughed, despite herself. "You never stop, do you?"

"Not if I can help it." He flashed a toothy grin. "I spent long enough in the dark, be damned if I'm lettin' anyone else linger there."

Vevina regarded Foxy for a long time. For someone that called himself a pirate, she couldn't recall anybody so determined to help someone as him. Her opinion was largely formed following what the Puppet had fed to her, especially about the Bite. She wondered what kind of person would do something like that and concluded that they must be an angry, ruthless sort. That couldn't have been further from the truth.

She remembered the time spent in the digital realm, when the angry little thing inside her head had taken over completely. Even when that was happening, he'd never given up on her. If she'd been in his place, she would have considered the whole thing a write-off well before that point. But he wasn't like that. Even if it had meant a high risk he could have gotten hurt, he hadn't abandoned her. On the one hand, it was completely stupid. He didn't seem to have a thought for his own safety or sanity. And yet…

Those fuzzy feelings came back again and she felt her face grow warm again. He was looking down and didn't notice, so she pulled herself together before speaking.

"I never said… thank you. For… for helping me. Us, helping us. I never actually said it so… aye, I said it."

"Ye never had ta, lass. But yer welcome anyway." His grin came back. "Ya know, I'm always lookin' fer fresh faces in me crew."

She barked a laugh. "And what makes you think I'd even want to be in your crew?"

"Well young Billy has already joined up, reckoned ya might want ta try yerself. A-course," he said, leaning back like he was relaxing on a beach, "if it's not somethin' ye'd be interested in…"

"I never said that." She tapped her finger on her chin. "I'll… think about it. But if I do, then I'm the captain."

"Oh, ya think just 'cause ya make the claim, ye can just take it?"

"I'm doing a hell of a lot more than just making it and I'm certainly going to be taking it!"

"Good luck tryin'."

"Trying implies I might lose and I promise you, I don't plan to."

He smiled at her. She smiled back. That fluttering feeling returned, though she wasn't annoyed by it this time.

"You guys okay?"

Her head snapped up at the sound of Billy's voice and she quickly withdrew her hand, folding her arms and looking away. She heard Foxy laugh.

"All is well, me young lad. Vev here was just helpin' put me lighten me spirits."

"She was?"

Billy's words reflected her own thoughts. When had she done that? They'd just been talking. If anything, he'd been making her feel better. She was about to say something about it when Billy hugged her.

"That's really nice of you, Vevvy."

"Aye. Well… someone had to," she muttered.

"Yep and you did. I'm proud of you."

Vevina felt a mix of elation and an unpleasant squirm at this, like she didn't really deserve it. But she'd never say that to Billy. She just returned his hug instead.

The door opened and all of them were on their feet. A number of bots filed inside, blocking off any chance they might try and slip past. In their centre came the thin, precarious form of the Puppet. His blasted, empty eyes. That ugly, leering grin. They settled on her. She could feel it.

Rage bubbled up in Vevina and she was on her feet before she knew it. If they were going to be dismantled, she wasn't going to take it lying down. She started forward, but someone held her back. Freddy had her arm. She glared at him, but he returned it.

"I know," he murmured. "Stay calm. Let's see what they want."

"You know what they want," she hissed. "Now let go of me before I-!"

"Hey check it out! No brawling. Looks like you owe me five bucks," came Spring's voice. But it wasn't coming from the speaker.

Another form lumbered in next to the Puppet. It looked like an animatronic, dressed in a mascot costume. The costume itself took the form of a golden rabbit with a fixed grin, a purple bowtie and a matching waistcoat decorated with stars. The eyes were large and bulbous, green irises roaming around the room.

It was moving rather awkwardly, even by animatronic standards. The movements seemed rather stiff, like he was having to work to put one foot in front of the other. His arms swung lifelessly, only to suddenly move. It seemed to be twitching in places too. That could just be Spring, but Vevina couldn't shake the feeling that something seemed… off.

"Hey there folks!" The suit's jaw didn't move when Spring spoke. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, it's fine," said Chica quickly. "We were just playing a little game to pass the time, weren't we?"

Billy nodded. "Red Light, Green Light."

"Well hey, that sounds like fun!" He rubbed the back of his head. "See, I just got this new body sorted out for myself and I figured I'd come down to show you guys. What do you think? Pretty nifty, right?"

Vevina would be lying if she agreed. But she didn't imagine that was exactly what Spring wanted to hear right now. Freddy seemed to agree and said something before she could.

"Very nifty, very nifty indeed!" he said, putting on his stage voice.

"Thanks! Gotta say, I'm still getting used to moving around in one of these again, but I'm getting the hang of it." He threw out his arms, as if to say 'ta-da'. He held the pose just a little too long before the arms suddenly dropped back to his sides. "So can I play too? Hope you don't mind me bringing Puppy-boy along. Figured it was time for everybody to start getting along and having fun."

"A-course we don't mind," said Foxy quickly. "But what about Sid?"

"Oh don't worry about him," he giggled. "I've made sure he's not gonna be a problem anymore."

Chica glanced about uncertainly. "And… how have you done that?"

"Okay, I know what you're thinking but just wait! It's gonna be a real surprise." His eyes focused on Vevina. "Now, I know that you've got some beef with Puppy-boy but remember: he's like you."

Vevina laughed derisively. "Oh, is he now? I guess he didn't mention that he was the one who locked me away in the body of an old endo and let me feel it get taken apart and jumbled up over, and over, and over again! If you think I'm going to let him waltz about with me, you can go-!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP SO THAT I CAN…?" Again, he stopped himself. His outburst was so sudden it even shocked Vevina into silence. "Okay, my bad. Sorry. I just get a little antsy when I'm excited, you know? So, I get where you're coming from, really I do. But Puppy-boy's name isn't for nothing. He is literally a Puppet! He couldn't do anything unless Siddy gave him the say-so. Isn't that right?"

The Puppet stared at Vevina for a long while, then at Spring. He nodded.

"There, see? But now Siddy isn't around anymore to tell him what to do, so he can do what he likes. That about right?" He cackled when the Puppet nodded again. "There we go! So be nice, 'kay?"

Vevina looked at the Puppet. He returned her look. She gritted her teeth but felt Foxy's hand on her shoulder. He quickly shook his head and she managed to turn her grimace into a grin. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Great! Okay, you guys better get ready!"

She saw Freddy, Chica and Billy exchange worried looks with each other. Billy held out his hand to Chica, who gave it a squeeze with a reassuring nod. He returned it and went over to the wall, taking his role as the counter while the others moved further back.

"Be nice."

The Puppet played Spring's recorded voice from next to Vevina, making her flinch. He played a recording of Spring's laugh at her reaction.

"Oi, that's the same fer ye as well," warned Foxy. "Ye better not start tryin' ta push anyone's buttons."

The Puppet regarded Foxy. He played sounds of growling, biting and chomping followed by tittering laughter. Foxy glared, but didn't rise to the bait. Vevina almost snapped herself, but she knew what he was doing. He wanted to get a rise out of them? Fine. Two could play at that game.

"Aye, that's a good one," she said. "Always knows how to make a good joke, eh Puppy-boy?"

He looked sharply at her. She found it surprisingly easy to flash a toothy smile in his face and it only broadened when he didn't offer a response.

They watched the game for a bit. Billy had managed to catch out Spring who returned back to the start again. He paused, then suddenly smacked the side of his head before continuing like nothing happened. The others noticed, but said nothing about it.

"It's a good name for you," she continued. "I mean, that's what you were for Sid, wasn't it? A puppy. A loyal dog, following his orders."

"Not-anyMORE." He did that thing where he strung a few different recorded words and pitches together. "I'm- free-free- free."

"Good for you, good for you. I mean, it doesn't look like much has changed to me but who am I to judge?"

"Dummy."

"You sure you're not just looking in a mirror there?"

She gasped when she felt the beginnings of a familiar pain in her head. It was him, trying to creep back in. But she could feel the defensive code that Goldie placed in doing its work, keeping him out. Her own mental fortitude made it near impregnable, though it still hurt.

"Everything okay over there?"

Spring had noticed what was happening. At once, the pain stopped and Vevina forced a smile.

"All good here, right Puppy?" She placed an arm around him, yanking him close enough to whisper. "Careful now. Wouldn't want your new pal thinking we were fighting, would we?"

The Puppet raised a thumbs-up. She was so close, she thought she could hear his voice. Not the recorded one. His actual one. A frustrated growling, muffled by the mask. Spring looked from one to the other before shrugging.

"Well okay then. Don't forget, we're all friends now."

He went back to his game. The Puppet tried to get out of her one-armed embrace, but Vevina tightened her hold.

"Lass, what are ye doin'?" whispered Foxy.

"Not standing here and taking his prodding, that's what," she shot back. "After all, we're all friends now, aren't we?"

She waited until the Puppet tried to tug himself free again, then let go. It made him fall to the floor. He stood to his full height, towering over her, glaring silently down at her. Vevina just folded her arms and leered back at him.

"Aww, look at you. Trying to be scary. It's almost cute. Uh-uh," she said when she felt his mental probes again. "Friends, remember?"

Her laugh became a yelp of protest when Foxy pulled her aside, standing in front of her so she couldn't see the Puppet.

"Ya can't keep doin' this, lass. If Spring catches on ta what's happenin'-"

"You can't seriously expect me to just roll over like he's doing!" she hissed. "That fucker messed with my head, made me feel what it was like to get torn apart and he probably helped to kill the kids that made me and others! If you think I'm going to-!"

"You-know?" The Puppet had approached them. His head was tilted to one side. Vevina didn't need to ask what he meant.

"Aye, I know. We all do. Goldie told us that little titbit. You remember her?" She saw his fingers twitch. "Oh aye, I'm sure you do. I mean, she tricked you and your master before your new friend saved the day. Be pretty hard to forget her. Just like what you did to those kids."

He didn't respond immediately. He looked off to one side, staring intently at a single spot on the ground. Then at one of his hands before slowly shaking his head.

"No. Not-me. Didn't-DO-it."

Vevina didn't possibly think she could get any angrier at this… this thing. Foxy must have sensed it. He didn't try to stop her as she moved him aside, striding towards the Puppet. In fact, he fell into step next to her

"I have to say, I knew you were a cruel bastard. That much was obvious. But standing there, lying to my face, denying you had any part in something you had to have been there for…"

"Not-me. Not-me." The Puppet seemed to shrink before them. "No-no-no-choice."

"That the way of it, is it?" Foxy went around the side of him. His yellow eyes seemed to burn in the dim light. "Ye think yer any better'n yer master, if all ya did was stand and watch?"

"Not-NOT-NOT!" The Puppet was shaking. From rage or fear, she couldn't tell. "Didn't-want. No-choice!"

"You hear that, Foxy? No choice, he says. Well, we have a choice and I'm about to make one of my-!"

"I'm not out!" They all looked around at Spring's raised voice. "I didn't mean to twitch, that wasn't fair! Do it again!"

"But you m-moved." Billy was cowering before the much larger, bulkier animatronic. "That's the rules, I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry"

"No. No, no, stop crying." He knelt down to Billy's level, cutting off any way to escape to the sides. "I never like it when they start crying. Never. So stop it, right now. Stop it!"

Billy flinched when he snapped his head forward, but managed to duck under Spring's arm and run towards Chica. But he was stopped when Spring grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, lifting him up.

"Hey, don't run away, little guy!" He leered into Billy's face. "You're not afraid of ol' Spring, are you? Are you?!"

"Please, put me down! Put me down!"

"You're still crying!" He raised his other hand, grasping towards Billy. "I told you to stop-!"

"That's enough!" Chica hurried up, pulled Billy free of Spring and shielded him behind her. "Leave him alone, Spring."

He stared at Chica, frozen in place. His hand grasped at empty air, like he was still comprehending what she'd done. His arms suddenly dropped back to his sides. They swayed like broken branches as he began to lurch towards her.

"Did you." His steps were like falling gravestones. "Just." His eyes seemed to narrow. "Tell me." Vevina thought the eyes would burst from his head. "What to do?"

To Chica's credit, she didn't falter. Not even for a moment. But Vevina could see her faintly trembling. She went to stand at Chica's side, placing a hand on Billy's head. Freddy did too, followed by Foxy. Spring's eyes flittered about like flies between them all. The tension and the silence was suddenly ended by two words.

"Help… me…"

They all froze. That voice didn't sound like any of theirs. Vevina could have sworn that it came from Spring, but it definitely wasn't him speaking. It was weak, gasping. Pained. Not to mention Vevina felt like she recognised it…

"SHUT UP!" They all leaped back as Spring screeched. "You're supposed to be quiet! You're not meant to be…!" He looked up at them again, then laughed awkwardly. "Well, guess the cat's out of the bag now. I got myself a synth body! I mean, it's not mine but… you know what? I'll show you!"

He reached up to the jaw of the suit's head. He grasped the upper and lower parts, pulling it open to reveal the skull of the metal endoskeleton inside. But it wasn't an endoskeleton.

It was a face. A human face. No, not quite human because it was a familiar one. But Sid Hawthorne didn't look so cocksure anymore. His expression was frozen in one of intense pain. His mouth was stuck in a silent scream, his eyes revolving frantically in their widened sockets.

"See, we couldn't do anything to him that involved shutting him up for good." Spring's voice came out of the open mouth. There wasn't even a hint of movement. "So we managed to get him in this fancy suit I came up with. There's connectors all over the suit that are going into him so I can move him about and he's not actually dead! I mean, it's not perfect since he gave himself away too soon but hey, not bad right? Right?"

If they had the capacity to vomit, Vevina felt like she could do just that right now. Was it the same for him like it was for her? Stuck, trapped in the prison of another body, still feeling every single sensation and completely helpless to prevent it? Only this seemed much worse.

"Spring." Freddy had dropped his stage voice, adopting his normal one. "You have to let him out from there."

"Huh? What was that, Fazzy?" He cocked his head, lowering one of the suit's rabbit ears. "You'll have to speak up."

"I said, you have to let him go." He stepped towards him. "I don't sympathise with the man, none of us do, but you can't really think that-"

Whatever Freddy had to say was cut off when Spring backhanded him. Before he could recover, he grabbed Freddy by his lapel and threw him bodily into the wall. Freddy got up shakily, doubling over when Spring punched him in the gut and again with an uppercut to his jaw.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" He grabbed him again, trapping him against the wall. "You don't get to tell me what to do anymore, you old bore! I'm in charge here, you get it? Me, me, ME!"

"Spring, no!" Chica tried to move but was restrained by a bot. "Leave him alone, stop!"

The bots guarding the door all moved to keep them back. Foxy needed two to keep him away, bellowing and cursing at Spring. Vevina struggled against her own captors, watching while the Puppet limbered up to Spring with another bot. He gestured to it, the bot yanking on Spring's arms.

Spring whipped his head around to look at the bot. He tossed Freddy aside, grabbing the bot's head and smashing it in the palm of his hand. Then he rounded on the Puppet who took a few steps back.

"You trying to tell me what to do too? Are you?!"

The Puppet made some kind of buzzing noise. Whatever it was made Spring stop. He stared silently at the Puppet for a bit.

"Okay. Okay! Fine." He lumbered out. He looked back over his shoulder when he was back outside. "You'd better all take some time to think about what you've done. I've been nice to you so far. You don't want to see me when I'm mad."

The bots started to file out after him, the Puppet leaving in the company of two of them. Chica was already hurrying to Freddy, asking urgently if he was okay. Vevina felt like someone was watching her and looked to see the Puppet, lingering in the doorway.

"Like I said," muttered Vevina, knowing he could hear her, "doesn't look like much has changed to me."

The Puppet stared at her for a few seconds, then left the testing room, the door sealing behind him.

"Can you believe it?! Those ungrateful jerks! I saved them! I freed them! I got rid of Sid, me! That should be enough, but it never, ever is! It isn't fair!"

The Puppet said nothing. He did understand Spring's frustration. He had experienced similar feelings whenever the Toys didn't tell let him tell them what to do or She had ruined his plans. It had made his Master angry. It had made the Puppet hurt.

Maybe that was why he had tried to stop Spring hurting the Leader of the Old Toys. He remembered that pain and didn't want the Leader to experience it needlessly. It didn't seem… fair. Not by the rules that Spring had made, at least as he saw them. Not that Spring seemed to care.

"And you!" He thrust a finger in the Puppet's face. "You tried to stop me. You don't get to do that. Got it? You don't get to do that, nobody does! Not anymore!"

"…"

"But he was talking like the old bore! I told him not to do that and he…!" He didn't finish his sentence. He kept doing that. "It's fine. It's fine, he'll be fine. He just needs to remember, that's all. They all do. I'm the one who saved them. Me."

Again, the Puppet said nothing. It seemed better that way.

"Need to try something else, do something else. Has to be something, something that I can do to make them…" He did it again. It was getting a little annoying. "It's her. They're still counting on Freda and all their other buddies to come save them. As long as she's out there, making them think that she's better than me, she'll keep making them get all mixed up inside." He turned to the Puppet. "Figure out where they went. I don't care how, just do it. Find them, bring her back here along with the rest. Maybe then they'll start to see."

The Puppet watched him return back upstairs. His Master's body still seemed to try and move against his wishes. He wondered if it would ever stop while he returned back to his box to think. But he didn't end up thinking about Her. Instead, what the Mangle had said to him reminded him of things he didn't like to think about but couldn't stop himself from thinking…

The screaming. The pleading. The crying. The Silence. Silence. He'd wanted them to stop. Wanted to help. Then the Silence came and he wanted it to end. It didn't. It never did. It never would.

The Puppet shook his head, trying not to let the Silence creep into the silence of his own head. He needed to fill it with noise, any noise. His task would help. They always did. For a while, at least.

He tried to think like them. Scared. Running. They needed somewhere to hide. The humans especially would need rest. They wouldn't go back to the Fun Palace. Too obvious. Perhaps the Diner? No, he imagined She would have considered that and discounted it. Also too obvious. A home of one of the humans? Again, that didn't seem right. They'd be in either the town or the city. Too easy for him to find them. But where else?

The Puppet recalled who had escaped. The Bragger of the Old Toys. The Fool, the Doormat and the Mouse of his own Toys. The First and Second Watchmen. The Engineer. The only human not involved with their efforts. He brought her image into his mind. But she had been sent home and left. And yet… she had a connection to the First Watchman. Was it possible that…?

He brought up footage from the security feeds. Her escort hadn't even gotten her out of the testing area before it was called away. He followed her progress, up to his Master's hidden room, being caught, escaping from the factory floor. But the ones facing the inside and outside of the doors had been broken. She could have simply left, but then the truck had broken in moments later and the Child had been inside it. He tracked his progress. He'd left in that direction, but had taken pains to remain out of their view. The back door ones had broken shortly after.

He began to consider other factors. She had worked with his Master. Not as closely as the Puppet did, but enough. Enough to know where the Hidden Place was. She had been brought there, when the Toys were completed. If they had nowhere else to go…

The Puppet left the box and found Spring, notifying him of his suspicions.

"Yeah… yeah, that would be just like her." He giggled. "Why don't you go and say hi to them for me? Oh and you can take a pal of mine with you! He's just finished getting his… upgrades."

The Puppet turned at the sound of heavy metal feet. Even he had to gaze up at the hulking form that lurched towards him, eyes glowing red and teeth glinting.

He allowed himself a smile. This was going to be quite a surprise for them.

Fate-Be Changed: That would be nice, wouldn't it?

Arc of Carona: Yeah this chapter is something of a mixed bag for people, but it is what it is. Mike and Lidiya burying the hatchet is the biggest one for me, since it's plagued them for a long time.

Alanuki: They wouldn't be in the work I've planned, but I'm considering transplanting the personalities I've created into a new form in a different novel. As they are, I believe Mr Cawthon would want words if I tried publishing them xD

Vyrhys: Weirdly enough, that never occurred to me. I figured it was too obvious xD