"Exotic Butters."
"I am so done with you," I hissed at Hand-Unit's keypad before it collapsed back into the wall. Exotic Butters, the hell is- You took that outta my paycheck.
"Please be aware that there are still two technicians on-site today," said Hand-Unit. I perked up.
Those guys are still here? Uh- what are their names... Peter and Bobby? Cool, maybe I can say hi.
"Try to avoid interfering with their work if possible."
Oh.
"Also, feel free to ask them why they are still there, and encourage them to go home."
"Okay," I replied, not bothering to question Hand-Unit's logic. The elevator stopped. I took a breath and smoothed the wrinkles out of my shirt.
She's in there somewhere. Today's the day I get my information.
I pressed the bright, red, and obvious button to open the elevator door and trek into the cold vent. My thoughts were jumbling all over the place. I felt that, by finding this deceased relative, everything would suddenly be revealed. But deep down, I knew that whatever I was digging into was deeper than I thought.
Why did Father want me to find her, and why now? All those times he's gone for hours, was he searching for her? How do you look for ghosts, anyway?
"Let's check on Ballora, and make sure she's on her stage."
"Okay." I know she's not going to be there, man- I threw a hand to my mouth. Above the stage dangled a technician, wire from the stage lights wrapped around his neck and forming a makeshift noose.
"Why- how-" I choked on my words. Why would that guy- Bobby, his name was- why would Bobby end his life? He must not have done this. I think this is my fault.
"Great. Now let's check on Funtime Foxy."
My head swam, washing a sick feeling over my body.
"Okay," I mumbled like a mindless robot drone and turned on the light. A smear of blood on the window glass blocked my view of Foxy's stage.
"Great! It looks like everything is as it should be in Funtime Auditorium. Your task today will involve more maintenance work. Circus Baby had a rough day and is in need of repair. You will be required to reach the Parts and Service room by once again sneaking through Funtime Auditorium. As always, please proceed with caution."
I swallowed bile as the vent gate slid open.
"I don't want to do that," I barely spoke. My brain flashed an image of my own body hanging over stage and I grasped my stomach to prevent puking. I don't want to end up like that. I'm too young to die.
"Perhaps my instructions were unclear. You will be required to rep-"
I slammed my fist into the window.
"I HEARD YOU, DAMMIT!"
My body shook with all the stress that had accumulated over the past week. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying.
You have to go. As soon as you find out what happened to your sister, you can leave.
"I'm going," I told myself- and Hand-Unit- before my brain could change my decision. I crouched in front of the vent leading into Funtime Auditorium. Just blinking in front of it felt weird to me- like if I blinked again the darkness would swallow me and the streaks of pain would return to my face, never to stop. I focused on the pitter-patter of my palms slapping the vent shaft's cold metal.
Back into the darkness.
My breathing and heartbeat were deafening. I forced my legs to move. Flash. I caught something on stage- something stationary. Foxy? I kept moving, stepping lightly. Flash.
"Hello?" a tiny voice called out from the stage. "Is anyone there?" I knew that voice. Other-technician-guy! A wave of relief washed over me. Flash. I checked my surroundings before climbing onto the stage and turning on my flashlight. Peter laid on stage, his face and chest caked with blood.
"Hey, dude," he croaked. "Guess you were right about the robots, huh?" He gave a tiny smile, then coughed. I lifted my hands, hesitating and hovering them above him. What can I do?
"They didn't kill you," I pointed out.
"They think they did. I had to pretend."
Guilt slammed onto my shoulders.
"Peter, I'm sorry about your friend, he-" I tried to say but tears interrupted. Peter grabbed my arm, his eyebrows knitting together.
"It's all good, man. He's in a better place and didn't have to suffer like I am." He paused, licking blood off his trembling lip. "Why did you come back here, man? After what they did you to you?"
"I'm looking for... something," I hesitated. What am I doing?
"You're looking for death," Peter chuckled half-heartedly. My hands finally stopped hovering and slid under Peter's armpits to try and lift him. He shoved me away.
"Save yourself, dude."
"I can't just leave you here."
Peter squeezed my arm to get my attention.
"The robots never acted like that before you came," he explained. "They really want you dead. Leave before it's too late." I stood from my knees and held out my hand. Peter shook it.
"I'll come back for you," I declared. "I promise." Peter half-smiled.
"That's nice, dude, but don't make promises you can't keep."
He watched me step off the stage. I saw the fear gloss his eyes- fear for me.
"I-" I started but he spoke first, "I hope you... find what you're looking for."
"Thanks." That's not what he wanted to say.
I opened the door to Parts and Service and shut it behind me as silently as possible. Don't make promises you can't keep, his words played through my head.
I got lucky the first time they attacked me- no, I barely survived, then did that stupid thing at the bar, then Father took care of me. I frowned at that. He actually cared?
My thought process stopped when I saw her.
The shiny clown girl sat on the conveyor belt, unmoving and unblinking.
Wow, I thought. That's a big baby.
It was too dark in the room to see her closed eyelids. For just a second, I imagined a giant mechanical claw snap out of her midsection and grab mine, seeping its claws into my flesh. I shook the vision out of my head and rubbed my stomach to stop the fake pain. A high-pitched scream rang in my ears and I covered them. My head was spinning for the umpteenth time.
Why is this happening?!
I could feel a strange presence turning the air frigid; making the hairs on my arms stand.
"Great job reaching Parts and Service!" Hand-Unit broke my reverie. "Circus Baby has been deactivated for an unknown reason. It is your job to ensure she is structurally stable and secured to the conveyor. Our technicians will take it from the-"
A screech interrupted him, followed by a voice that echoed with a loud whisper.
"Can you hear me?"
I lifted my head. Baby hadn't moved an inch.
"I'm pretending," she said. "Remember how I said I could pretend? The cameras are watching, I must be careful not to move." I hadn't noticed my cheeks were wet with tears.
"Your friends hurt my friends," I accused, glaring but for only a few seconds- the longer I stared the louder the scream was.
"My friends are bad. They do not know how to pretend like I do," Baby replied after a pause. My brain reminded me of Bobby hanging over the stage dead and Peter bleeding out on the floor.
"They did not deserve that."
"Something bad happened yesterday," Baby changed the subject. "Something bad always happens."
"Of course something bad happened here," I tried to sound tough but my teeth chattered with every word. Her voice wavered, sounding like one I'd heard before.
"There is something bad inside of me."
My brain flashed the nightmare- the tall clown's eyes rolled to the back of its head as a giant metal claw shot out of its belly. In a blur, the girl was snatched away. Paralyzed with fear, I could do nothing but watch her blood seep out from the cracks of Circus Baby's shiny metal skin.
Elizabeth!
"It was you," I mumbled, shaking the memory away with my head.
She took my sister from me. I saw it.
I caught Baby's eyelids flicker open then shut, revealing for a split-second glowing green eyes.
"I'm broken," she whined.
She's still inside, I realised, my stomach turning.
"How can I fix you?" I asked Baby.
"I'm going to be taken to the Scooping Room soon, but it's not going to fix what's wrong with me. What is bad is always left behind. Will you help me?"
I didn't know what to say. I hated that I felt sorry for her. She'd been left down there all alone, being forced to stay in her place. There was a chance that Elizabeth could be inside her still.
Maybe you were hallucinating, a small part of me gave a simple answer. I recalled the day before, where I saw the bloody wires and coils of my broken reflection. Was that real?
"I will help you," I finally replied, then added, "but only if you help me." I knew it was weird- trusting a robot that may or may not have taken my sister and been involved in the murder of two employees- but I didn't have a choice at that point.
I could've sworn Baby gave a tiny nod.
"I want you to save what is good," she said, "so the rest can be destroyed and never recovered, but you must be careful."
"Why?" I asked, almost in a whimper. Foxy?
"Ballora is here in the room with us."
I stopped breathing, my eyes suddenly darting around the tiny room.
"Where is she?" I mouthed, too afraid to actually say it.
"Ballora will not return to her stage. Ballora will not return to her body."
I squinted through the darkness but couldn't find any movement. My heart raced in my chest.
"You must be careful, you must remain calm and listen to my voice," soothed the only friendly robot down here. I swallowed my heartbeat and took a deep breath. "Okay."
"There is a button on my cheek. You must find it and press it."
Reaching my hand out to touch her cold metal face felt wrong- like I was about to touch a blade by its sharp edge. My fingers grazed a tiny bump on one of the much larger bumps on her face painted to look like rosy cheeks. I heard a click and jumped. A tiny number pad popped out of the side of Baby's face.
Oh, thank God a claw didn't pop out.
"There is a passcode that you must enter before you can retrieve me," she explained. "Enter the code carefully."
"Okay."
My eyes narrowed at the buttons, trying to find numbers.
"One," she started. I pressed the button and heard a small beep.
"Two. Four. One. Seven. One. Nine. Eight. Three."
When I finished the sequence, a panel on her arm flipped up.
"Good. A hatch should have opened. Take the card that you find inside."
Without hesitation, I pulled a plastic green card out from a mass of wires.
"Put the card into your handheld device and I can continue to speak to you."
I slid the card into a slot on my Hand-Unit glove, which gave a silent whirr in response.
"Huh. Okay, now what?"
"Now you must turn back. I will guide you through Funtime Auditorium, so you can reach the Scooping Room. When you are there, I want you to destroy this body."
Destroy? I thought it was harsh at first, imagining the girl getting hit with the Scooper. But she's one of them. And destroying her might free my sister.
"I understand," I replied.
"Now, press the green button to your left, this will send me to the Scooping Room." I waited for her to say more, then pressed the button, thinking about what the Scooper did to Ballora. Does it hurt to be hit by that? The conveyor belt hummed and buzzed loudly as it carried Baby out of my line of sight.
"That's it-" I started, only for Baby's voice to speak from the tiny speaker on my glove.
"You must follow my instructions in Funtime Auditorium. Ballora is going to follow you. She will try to catch you."
"Catch me?" I repeated. Would she do worse than Foxy? Apparently, Baby heard the fear in my voice.
"Don't worry, I will help you avoid her. She will not follow you inside the Scooping Room, she is afraid."
My brow furrowed. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she said in a 'duh' tone. "Go back now." I turned to the door leading back into Funtime Auditorium. I didn't want to go- not after seeing what the robots had done to Peter- hell, what they had done to me the day before. But what choice did I have? I'd have to leave the facility eventually. I opened the door and stared into the dark abyss before me. I swallowed against a dry throat.
"I'm ready," I said, not ready at all.
"Go forward," directed Baby. I stepped into the room, keeping my breath silent to listen for other footsteps besides my own. My finger hovered over the flash beacon button. Baby kept me zig-zagging all over the room.
"Go forward; you are almost there," Baby said. I kept going. I heard something metal scratch the floor and froze. That better be my imagination. An echoing clank shook my entire body.
"Stop," whispered Baby, "she is right in front of you. Don't. Move." The air seemed to get colder in front of me.
Don't move, I told my aching muscles. My lungs screamed at me to breathe but I resisted.
"Dude? Is that you?"
No! Bad time!
I kept my mouth shut, only to heard a shrill screech blow up my eardrums and heavy footsteps clanking away. She's going for Peter!
Save yourself, said my brain but my mouth already made a decision.
"Don't hurt him!" I forced the words out of my throat, sounding raspy. Glowing purple eyes stared into my direction. I slapped my mechanical glove, hoping to stun the beast. Flash. A tangled mass of wires shot my way.
"Oh, shit!" I hissed, backing away to slam into the wall. Cold pressure squeezed my neck and I slid up the wall. The purple eyes were two inches from my face. Breathing I found to be impossible all of a sudden. My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She's choking me!
"He is here to help, Ballora," Baby spoke. Numbness spread across my body. I flailed my legs about, giving up when my heel hit the wall hard.
"He is not here to hurt us."
Ballora's grip loosened.
"Please," I wheezed, my voice hardly audible. The air around me felt fluffy and my arms were limp at my sides- I knew I was losing consciousness.
"Ballora, he is here to help," Baby insisted with a firm tone. Ballora held me there, barely squeezing now; contemplating on whether or not to let me live. She dropped me and slunked away. I gasped at the air and rubbed my neck- everything still felt fluffy. I stumbled to my feet. Where'd she go? My eyes gazed back and forth.
"Ballora is behind you. She is afraid of the Scooping Room," Baby said. "She will not follow you." I wiped my burning eyes before stretching my arms out to find an exit. I touched what felt like a vent opening and crawled into it without second thoughts.
"Warning: You've entered a highly dangerous area!" informed Hand-Unit. I squinted to let my eyes adjust to the dark. All the animatronics shells were sprawled across the floor around me. Then I saw it- gleaming in the dim flashing light.
It's right in front of me.
"You've entered from maintenance hatch 1B, reserved for cleaning and repair of The Scooper. Entering this side of the room is strictly prohibited by unauthorized persone-"
"You are in the Scooping Room now," Baby interrupted Hand-Unit again. I glanced around, my brows furrowing in confusion.
"I can see that," I muttered with a hand on my sore throat. "Where are you?" Baby didn't answer me. I caught the camera in the corner facing my direction. Someone's watching me.
Baby listed in a blank tone, "Funtime Foxy has already been here today. Funtime Freddy has already been here today. Ballora has already been here today." She paused. "Circus Baby has already been here today." My breath got stuck in my throat when I noticed the figure watching me from the window looking into Parts and Service. Its purple eyes stared through the white clown mask it wore on its face. I recognised Ballora's endoskeleton face but the rest of its body wasn't hers.
"What's going on, Baby?" I asked, worry rising up my chest and stiffening my limbs. My eyes fell to their metal skins again. They combined together? Like Legos?
"I've been out before," began Baby, her voice soft, "but they always put me back. They always put us back inside. There is nowhere for us to hide here. There is nowhere for us to go... when we look like this."
"Baby, what's going on?" I repeated with more panic in my voice. I looked around for anywhere to move but the giant robot skins blocked my path. I whirled to the wall behind me, where damaged Bidybabs sat in the vent shaft. Chelsea stood up on two legs and smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress. Bitey and the others snapped their jaws while Chelsea placed a tiny hand on my cheek.
"Don't hold it against us," she whispered. My eyebrows scrunched together. What's that supposed to mean?
"But if we looked like you, then we could hide," Baby spoke again. "If we looked like you, then we would have somewhere to go." It took way too long for me to process what she'd just said. I hunched my shoulders, staring at the Scooper poised to attack.
"Oh no- no, this- you can't- please, don't-" I spewed my jumbled thought process, throwing shaking hands up as if that would stop what was coming to me.
There's nowhere to run, my brain stated. If I weren't so frozen stiff, maybe I could have found a way to stop it. But I just stood there, crying and panicking and melting at the sting of betrayal.
I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have trusted her.
Preparing to activate the machine in front of me, the clown robot creature in the window raised a finger. I shut my eyes and focused on my pounding heart. A muffled clank made me jump. I dared to pop open one eye. Peter stood before the clown robot, holding a metal pipe. The robot's mask bore a thin crack along its side.
"Go, man!" he shouted, banging his fist on the window. I pivoted only to find the Bidybabs still behind me.
"Let me leave!" I cried. They shook their little heads at me. I turned back, catching the evil robot clutching Peter's neck. In a headlock, Peter struggled and squirmed but it was no use. The clown robot looked at me, peered down at him, then used its other hand to twist the man's neck in an agonisingly slow movement. His screams wrenched my stomach, even moreso when they came to a quick halt. The robot dropped Peter's limp body and stared at me as if waiting for my reaction. I couldn't handle it anymore. My entire frame shaking with my sobbing, I stepped forward. My stomach jerked at touching the tip of the machine- it was unexpectedly warm.
This is it. I let them trick me and this is what happens. At least everything will be over soon. I'll finally see her.
"The Scooper only hurts for a moment."
Beep. Beep. Beep.
White, black, and red exploded around me. I gasped at the stabbing pain. Fresh tears ran down my face. I tried to scream but blood spilt out of my mouth instead; it formed thick globs that lodged in my throat. My mouth formed a noise like a mix between a high-pitched whine and a sickening gurgle. I curled over on my side. Chunks and wires- the broken pieces of my midsection- gathered in my trembling hands.
I'm dying- I'm dying, the thought repeated itself over and over. Circus Baby didn't lie- the pain left as quickly as it had arrived. My numbing body prickled like static. I stared at the blurry wall and watched black and red spots swallow me before two purple eyes drew closer. The last thing I heard was Circus Baby's distant voice.
"Michael Afton has already been here today."