"Thank you for your patience," Hand-Unit's voice echoed through the building. "It seems that the power system cannot be restarted automatically. You will need to restart the power system manually. Please return to the primary control module."

"That's exactly what that robot lady said," I thought aloud as I hurried back through the vent.

"You will now be required to crawl through the Ballora Gallery using the vent to your left to reach the Breaker Room," directed Hand-Unit. I peered through the dark vent shaft.

This looks terrifying.

"It is recommended that you stay low to the ground, and reach the other side as fast as possible as to not disturb Ballora."

"She said you'd say that," I mumbled. I didn't know if I could trust this machine anymore.

"It is against the rules to converse with active machinery programmed to entertain children," Hand-Unit scolded me. "Unfortunately, this kind of behaviour will be on record and may require disciplinary action."

"Wonderful," I sighed, then ducked into the vent leading to the dreaded Ballora Gallery.

"I will deactivate myself momentarily, as to not create an auditory disturbance," Hand-Unit's voice echoed through the dark room. "Deactivating..." My eyes darted around the room, trying to catch any movement. I dared to switch on my flashlight.

She won't see it, my brain reminded, but I still felt uneasy. I lifted one shaky hand, preparing to crawl, then hesitated. I used that hand to slide a cinnamon gum strip in my mouth. The flavour spread in my mouth, spreading a wave of calm through my body.

And go.

I began my belly crawl through Ballora Gallery.

"Slow and steady," I mouthed. I kept my head down as I went, wincing every time I heard my palms smack the tiled floor. My ears caught a faint sound approaching- a twinkling music box. I froze in place. Where is it coming from? I glanced around, my heartbeat, breathing, and panicky gum-chewing sounding like a whole orchestra with how loud they were. Nothing's there! You can go. I was too scared to continue.

"You have to move," I mumbled, my voice shuddering. I forced my stiff muscles to crawl. Eventually, I saw the exit- it seemed miles away. I kept an even pace, going and stopping when I heard a sound. Almost there. I clenched my fists and decided to gun it. Almost there!

"It seems you are taking a long time. Please proceed as quickly and as quietly as possible."

"No!" I caught myself gasping and clamped a hand over my mouth.

Hand-Unit, you're gonna get me killed!

"Is someone there?" a deep toneless voice rang in my ears. The music approached at alarming speeds and I stopped just as a silhouette of a ballerina twirled past. I closed my eyes and held my breath, feeling the frigid breeze of her movement brushing against my face.

Don't move.

The tension felt like an eternity. Eventually, her music trailed off. My lungs screamed for air and I let go of my breath. I looked up, realising the exit was right there.

I have to go for it.

I scrambled to my feet and ran for the door, ignoring the clicking and screeching of the machine behind me. I slammed the door shut. A thud sounded from the other side.

"I did it."

I felt a grin on my face. But that grin disappeared when I saw the next room.

Tangled wires and pipes were strewn all across the room. A light flashed every few seconds. In front of me was a circuit breaker box and a tablet displaying the building's layout.

"You may now interface with the breaker control box," Hand-Unit said. "Using the interface may disrupt nearby electronics. If you feel you are in danger, feel free to disconnect the interface temporarily until it is safe to reconnect."

"Oh, great. More killer robots," I panted. I examined the building layout. Warning signs flashed on each room- the power was out. I tampered with buttons until a meter popped up showing the percentage of power restored. This isn't so bad, I thought as I held down the RESTORE button.

"I s-see you over there in the dark!" screamed a broken raspy voice from the other side of the room. My head snapped up for me to notice a bear shadow move across the wall beside me. Flashlight, I thought, and fumbled with my Hand-device for the button, pressing a different one instead.

"Calm down, and go back to sleep! No one is here!"

The tiny sing-song voice rang out of the speakers. The bear shadow left.

"Huh. Whatever I did, it worked," I whispered, then went back to restoring the power.

"I-I know you're over there somewhere!" I jerked back. Partially hidden by stray wires, the purple-and-white bear's head clicked as it turned back and forth searching for me. I played the little voice again.

"Oh, calm down, I think it was just a mouse."

The bear walked to the far end of the room where I presume his stage was. I took a breath and got back to work. It took forever, but I managed to fend off the animatronic bear and restore the power in the building.

"Phew," I sighed and leaned against the wall. "All done." I turned back to the exit and groaned.

Aw, man. Ballora Gallery.

"Great job," Hand-Unit told me. "This completes your tasks for the night. Please proceed back through the Ballora Gallery with care, and we'll see you back here tomorrow!"

"Good-" I started, grasping the doorknob, but stopped when I felt hot breath down my back. "-bye..."

"And just where do you th-think you're going?" I turned to face Funtime Freddy, who was grinning maniacally at my presence. I opened my mouth to reply, 'home', but no words came out of my mouth.

"Hey, Bon-Bon!" called Freddy. "Say hello to the birthday boy!" The blue rabbit attached to his hand opened its eyes and locked them on me before waving its tiny hand. I whirled around, desperately trying to open the door. I couldn't before Freddy grabbed my shirt and hurled me across the room like I was a stuffed animal.

"WAIT-"

A loud clank echoed as my body slammed into a metal pole. I clutched my spinning head and blinked away hot tears; a blurry Freddy advanced closer.

"Hey, Bon-Bon, whaddya say we g-give the birthday boy his surpr-prise?"

"Please, don't! It's not even my birthday!" I cried, raising my hands in front of my face. Then the footsteps stopped. I opened my eyes. Freddy stood there, a puzzled look on his face.

"It's n-not your birthd-day?" he asked, his head twitching. I shook my head so hard it hurt. The bear blinked profusely.

"Not y-y-your birthday?"

He stepped back, staring at me as if I could bite his head off, then walked back to his stage. I pulled myself to my feet, wincing at my throbbing head.

Oww... Finally, I can-

I winced when I remembered what I was stepping into. After taking a minute to compose myself, I dropped to my belly and began my crawl. I didn't hear Ballora's music. The quiet stirred my stomach. I chewed faster on my now-bland gum.

"I can hear someone creeping through my room."

I stopped- crawling, chewing, and breathing. After minutes, I heard a tiny, "Perhaps not..."

Damn right.

She didn't bother me for the rest of the night.

01101101 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010

I fixed popcorn and watched the second episode of The Immortal and The Restless as soon as I got home.

"When will these two ships passing in the night rekindle their long lost love? Tune in tomorrow to find out!" the announcer on TV declared before the tape cut. I turned off the TV and sighed.

I wish Sasha and I would rekindle our long-lost love...

I would have started crying if it weren't for the sudden creak of the fridge door opening.

Father's not home, I thought as I bolted to my feet. After seconds of silence, I frowned. I'm just being paranoid. My butt was four inches from the couch when I heard a clink. Okay, I heard that. I whirled around and tried to see who or what was there from the living room. The fridge was open but other than that, the kitchen seemed fine.

"Must have drifted open by itself," I concluded before stepping into the kitchen and screaming.

Two naked robot babies turned their heads and mimicked my scream. I grabbed the broom and held it up like a staff.

"Get out of here!" I cried. I felt a sharp pain in my toe and looked down to see a robobaby munching it. I yelped and kicked it off, only to lose my balance. My already-sore back crashed against the tiled floor. The baby crawled onto my chest and stared into my eyes, snapping its jaws.

"We found your house," it whispered.

"I can see that," I grumbled, then picked up the Bab and threw it to the rest of its pals. I hopped to my feet and closed the fridge.

"Why are you here?" I asked through gritted teeth. The three babies gathered at my feet.

"We aren't here to kill you," replied one, sounding a bit annoyed, "if that's what you're thinking."

"She sent us here to watch you," said another. I stepped back.

"Who? Ballora?"

The babies glanced at one another. The doorbell made all of us jump.

"Who the heck is it at this hour?" I muttered as I opened the door. There was Holly, chewing a piece of her long hair.

"So, you might be wondering why I'm here right now..." she said, holding a nervous smile on her face. I resisted an urge to slam the door shut. I knew what she wanted from me, but couldn't bring myself to give in so easily- not when my spine ached like a bad on line connection. My brain wouldn't let me forget the past few cold nights of sleeping with just a blanket on my chest. I couldn't decide if I wanted to change that or not.

"Now isn't the best time-" I began, but the sound of a pot clattering against the kitchen floor shut me up. Holly's face twisted into a suspicious glare.

"Who is that?" she asked, dragging out her words. I opened my mouth then shut it. How do I explain this? I almost wished it was another girl instead of tiny baby robots.

"For your information, I am still single. Just let me, uh, take care of this real quick."

I slunk back into the kitchen, ignoring Holly's curious gaze.

"What are you guys doing?"

I tore a pot off a baby's face and did a headcount. One was missing.

"Where's your sibling?" I asked the two. They pointed to the living room.

"No!" I screeched and zoomed away, realising how many fragile things could be broken in there. The last baby ripped the film out of one of my movie tapes and shoved it into its mouth. I snatched it away. Wincing at the damage it caused, I glared at the baby.

"This was an overdue rental, you little-"

"What's going on here?" Holly asked from the living room doorway. I whirled, holding the robobaby behind my back.

"Nothing, Holly!" I said quickly. "But you need to leave. I'm not really feeling like- OW!" I dropped the baby and put my finger in my mouth, tasting blood. Holly screamed.

"What is that?!"

I glanced at the damn robot baby crawling past my toes and answered, "That's... my dog."

Holly didn't take her eyes off it. "What kind of dog is that?"

"It's, uh... I don't know."

Her face now devoid of fear, Holly watched my 'dog' tip over my popcorn bowl and stick a popcorn morsel into its mouth.

"Holly, please, just- just come back another day. Okay?" I tried, hoping she'd accept my answer. Her thin eyebrows crinkled in thought. She gave me a small smile after a pause.

"Sure thing, Mike."

She pat the popcorn-munching Bidybab on the head. "You're kinda weird, but a cute pet... thing."

She blew me a goodbye kiss before leaving, which brought an odd feeling of both confusion and arousal tingling in my body.

I don't want her, a part of me knew. Do I? I don't. Maybe.

I shut the door behind her and returned to the living room where all three babies chewed and spit out the spilt popcorn.

"I guess I own three little dogs now," I sighed, shaking my head.