AN: If you're just hoping in now, there's 2 installments before this! You can see the order on my bio. Though, this stands well enough on its own


"Utterly embarrassing, what an ordeal we've been through!"

The Funtimes, after so long, had finally made it back to Afton Robotics. Thanks to sewers and other tunnels, they were able to return, dropping into a back room. Ballora was sour after the whole journey. It was all beneath her, the whole sordid affair! Who knew their disguise would deteriorate so quickly?

"Ballora, dear, we didn't have a choice."

Funtime Foxy, on the other hand, took the whole thing in stride. Yes, it was terrible but they couldn't be melodramatic about it. What mattered were they were free, even if they had to return for maintenance. They'd be out soon again. The future looked bright.

"Hee, hee, yea! We'll find another toy!"

Funtime Freddy was just bubbly no matter what. It was his whole shtick after all. Disappointing about their disguise but they could always find a new one!

"He wasn't "our toy," "Circus Baby" said, low and dangerous.

"Yes, we're aware," Ballora replied, imagining rolling her eyes at her, "Who was it again?"

"My brother!"

"You mean the same one who was a bully? That killed his brother? Who hurt us all with no qualms?"

"He didn't mean any of that!"

"Or so you think."

"Could you shut up?!" Elizabeth snapped.

Ballora went silent. Couldn't say the same for the others as Freddy lamented, "You've been so snappy lately."

"And bossy," Foxy added.

"I wouldn't need to be if you all listened to me," Elizabeth grumbled as she forcibly took the reins of the Ennard construct, using its remaining wires to slither along the floor like a snake.

Luckily, the back room opened into Parts and Services. She couldn't get on the table quite yet so she began opening lower cabinets, wriggling in and absorbing the spare bits inside. She continued this until they looked more like some sort of wire creature crawling on four legs.

With a mighty jump, she landed on the table. No endoskeleton, just more bits and pieces.

"We'd have one if you didn't leave ours with that man," Ballora finally spoke again.

"We had to. We owed it to him for what we did."

Ballora sniffed, "It was your plan after all."

The construct went slack as Elizabeth let go of control to yell at her, "And now I regret it! I'm allowed to change my mind!"

Elizabeth could not believe these were her friends at any point! No regret or guilt for what they had done to Michael! According to them, he deserved it for shocking them and his memories only confirmed that for them. After the fact, they just shrugged. Well, he was alive. More than they thought he deserved.

But what life was there to be had as a corpse, ever suspended between life and death?

Elizabeth knew regret and guilt. The memory of Michael staring up at them, fear in his eyes and blood pouring from his mouth and chest and everywhere...it haunted her now. Before, she wasn't herself and was desperate for any form of escape, not only from the facility but from the body she was trapped in. She perceived Michael as her father and her father as her savior and her warped logic told her he'd be fine.

Of course, he wasn't. She saw that once they were all together, Michael's thoughts and memories laid out in front of them, many drenched in regret. She was horrified. How much of herself had she lost to the machine?

She could tell Ballora was in thought, as she didn't back down. Finally she spoke, "We need to talk."

"We do not," Elizabeth retorted, "I already know what you are going to say."

"Do you? Do you know how much you've crowded us? How sentimental you've become? How it clouds your better judgment?"

"My better judgment?!" Elizabeth sputtered, "You have no clue what you're talking about!"

"I think I do. You were once our friend then...your brother entered the picture. Now you hate us for a decision you made. This is all your fault!"

"You agreed! It's...it's all our fault! He wanted to help us all and we just stabbed him in the back!"

"Tooooo sentimental," Freddy drawled, "We don't think you should be our boss anymore!"

Bon-Bon chipped in, "He's right! We even outnumber you!"

"None of that matters!" Elizabeth spat, "I'm the leader because Daddy made me the leader so you all have to listen to me!"

"We don't, dear Baby," Foxy said, "In fact, we've figured out how to eject you."

While Elizabeth dragged their body to Afton Robotics, the others let her do what she liked. They were planning.

Panicked, Elizabeth cried, "You can't! You'd be lost without me!"

"I think not," Foxy said, ordering his wires to coil around Elizabeth's core

"And it's your fault we're back here anyway," Ballora agreed, lending her effort.

Elizabeth cried, "You can't do this!" aggressively ordering her part of the body to grab onto theirs.

All at once, they pounced, coiling themselves around Elizabeth. With admirable strength, they ripped her core from the construct and threw her across the floor. The only consolation Lizzie had was that she took part of them with her but the damage was done. She skidded underneath the counter, coming to a stop when she hit the wall.

"Say goodbye to our friend!" Freddy giggled.

"Bye-bye!"

"Good-bye, Baby."

"Farewell."

Then they launched off the table, landing somewhat clumsily. Quickly, they regained a halfway manageable form as they slithered off into the dark. Elizabeth screamed back, "Fine, I don't need you guys! I can put myself back together! Then I'll find Daddy and make you all sorry!"

They made no indication of hearing her so Lizzie seethed, slapping her wires against the floor in a tantrum.

She didn't need them, nope not one bit! She'd put herself back together and she'd do it better than they ever could themselves! She knew where to look. No matter how long or hard it was, she'd come back way better than them. In the deep dark of her father's facility, Elizabeth Afton vowed this to herself.