In season two of The Immortal and The Restless, Clara introduces Vlad to her eccentric human parents. I don't remember what conflict happens as a result. The drama I hardly paid attention to. My teeth remained gritted as a distant ache tortured one side of my face. This morning's energy shutdown had kept me in a daze for hours. Not even my favourite TV soap could distract me.

"The plot of this episode is not well-thought-out. Not to mention the fact that they changed voice actors halfway through! I'm not very entertained right now," Funtime Foxy critiqued with a long sigh, to which Funtime Freddy agreed, "YEAH! LET'S WATCH SOMETHING ELSE!" They waited for my input before immediately moving forward, which I respected.

I turned the VHS player off and switched the TV to cable. After adjusting the stubborn antenna, the screen flickered alive with a buzz of static. Some romance show played- not one I haven't already seen. A young and chipper character dramatically confessed his love for the female deuteragonist. Sitting back down, I clicked past the scene with haste.

"Boxing!" blurted a dramatic fox in my head. "Wait, go back!" I skipped the channel for the umpteenth time. My eyes blurred, staring at the lights and colours of shows flashing by. My mind wandered off.

How am I supposed to go on?

My thumb gave up on button-mashing. I stopped on the local news. It just so happened that the reporter still spoke of the ER incident from this morning. That caught my attention. The footage showed a poor-quality rendition of the power suddenly snapping off. Apparently, the backup power generator had malfunctioned, too. The event caused several casualties, including the mysterious and gruesome death of Ron Harrison, the CAT scan operator and what the public assumed to be the culprit behind the power cut.

I barely breathed watching the aftermath of our chaos. They're going to find out who did it. The reporter mentioned something about the investigators finding no other DNA than Harrison's in the room and an unidentifiable substance mixed in his blood.

Is that… my blood? I worried as my stomach knotted. Clenching my teeth together, I wished for fruity-flavoured chewing gum or a hand to squeeze or nachos or anything comforting, and the edge of the couch cushion was not sufficing.

They're going to find me. They're going to put me in jail. They're going to know what I did to him, and to- and to her… and I'm gonna go to jail-

"We're NOT going to jail," Circus Baby assured firmly. I leapt off the couch and jabbed a finger at the TV screen.

"You see this? It won't be long before they-"

The TV- along with the living room lamp- flashed colours several times in a random pattern. Then everything shut off. I halted my breathing. The distorted reflection of my now-glowing azure eyes appeared on the black TV screen.

"The power!" everyone exclaimed in unison. A deep red-orange hue of early evening light glowed throughout the house. The window blinds cast even rows of shadow lines across the floor.

"We didn't do anything to cause this!" blurted Funtime Foxy.

"I know," I grumbled. Hugging my arms together, I approached the window and squinted outside. The streetlamp hadn't ceased flickering with an eerie glow down the street.

We didn't do anything, I repeated. I get the ER malfunction, but here? Why…

Circus Baby caught my slim-eyed glance at my hands and used my face to scowl.

"No, we do not have superpowers," she sighed. I gave her a frown in return.

"Yeah, but-"

She stopped my idiotic response, creating a crackling sound as she interrupted, "Wait! Listen!" What sounded like plastic feet made tiny pitter-patters across the old kitchen tile behind me. It stopped as we remained still. My shoulders tensed.

"The Babs?" I rationalised quietly, swallowing an ounce of fear and crinkling my eyebrows. "Don't sneak up like-" When I pivoted on my heels to survey the kitchen, I saw not a single Bab.

"…that."

My jaw tightened. I expected to see their cute-in-a-weird-way little faces standing there, not an empty kitchen. The trash can stood untouched.

"Hello?" I called out. Father? My fists clenched at that mental image. Both Ennard and I jumped back upon hearing a cheery, high-pitched, "Hello!" in return. Funtime Freddy recognised the voice before I did.

"IS THAT B-BON-BON?!"

Right on cue, a glare of pink and blue darted into the living room.

"Woah!" I exclaimed and shuffled backwards in surprise, bumping into the TV. The antenna landed softly against the carpet. Bon-Bon giggled as he lingered around the base of Father's armchair.

"Let me handle this!" Funtime Freddy told me, then yelled to his little friend, "HEY! IT'S BEEN A WHILE, FRIEND! We watched the tiny bunny dart out of the living room.

"Let's follow Bon-Bon!" Funtime Freddy declared. I took two steps and my shins slammed into the coffee table.

"Oh, that smarts…" I hissed through my teeth. Ennard straightened my pained posture and stumbled after Bon-Bon. He rounded the hallway corner in a flash, but soon after, so did we. My shoulder hit the wall. A portrait of Father barely missed my toes.

Why are we doing this?! my brain yelled. He's too fast!

"She probably messed around with the breaker system, Mike!" replied Funtime Freddy. "We GOTTA catch her!"

"What?!"

"The breaker system? Don't you remember? Not your birthday?"

Bon-Bon peered around the next corner, his eyes glowing a vibrant magenta among the shadows. That smug-ass grin of his confirmed Freddy's theory. I swallowed back the mental imagery of the Breaker Room.

That was Bon-Bon who shut the power off, then he did it again here, now here again?!

With a growl and without Ennard's assistance, I pounced back into a run. Bon-Bon startled at my haste. He shimmied underneath the hall table, his white tail catching on the edge. The vase on the table tottered in its place.

"Gah!" I yelped and instinctively halted for the vase. In my rapid lunge for it, I shoved my hands too far outward. Both the table and its fragile pottery crashed against the floor. I screeched a swear. Bon-Bon ducked into my room. I followed suit.

"UNDER THE BED!" Funtime Freddy hollered as excitement increased his volume. Before I could do it myself, he yanked my arm right for the bed's base. The rest of my body flopped onto the ground.

"Freddy…" I wheezed, spitting out carpet fibres. He muttered a quiet apology. Rolling my eyes, I pushed myself upright and felt around the space underneath my bed. My fingers brushed past a cold, smooth, and rectangular object. What's that? A bouncing robot forced itself into my grasp instead, immediately shifting my focus. Got him!

"Yay! You got me!" Bon-Bon sang and waved his paws around. "Wasn't that fun?"

"No," I grunted promptly. The rabbit bot rolled his eyes. I stood up while still holding him. My knees buckled from the sudden movement. I noticed little animatronic legs dangling past my arms. Bon-Bon's lower half gleamed a bright pink in contrast to his blue skin. That seemed wrong. Before I could examine the oddity any further, one of my hands shot up into a wave. A greeting spilled cheerily from my mouth: "Hi, Bon-Bon! It's me, Freddy!" The awkward switch in control left a buzzing throb in my head. Ugh…

"Hi, Freddy! Are your friends also inhabiting this humanoid?" Bon-Bon asked, cocking his head. I felt my eyebrows scrunch at the way he'd just referred to me. Humanoid?

"YEP!" Funtime Freddy answered his little pal. Bon-Bon jumped out of my grasp and onto the edge of the bed. I took back control of my body, clenching my fists at my sides.

"Turn the power back on so I can mindlessly continue doing nothing!" I said with a forced frown. Bon-Bon tapped what would be his chin.

"Mmm… what's the magic word?"

"Shit goblin," I spat, because I was tired and honestly just wanted a reaction.

"Nope!"

"Oh, here's a hint: the magic word is please," Funtime Freddy whispered in my ears. I sighed like a grumpy teenager.

"Please turn the power back on."

Bon-Bon immediately hopped back onto the carpet, which took me by surprise.

"Okay!" she beamed. Her ears wiggled with a little rhythm as she added, "But first!" The bunny approached my foot. I watched her jam her paw into the back of her throat with a thin scowl on my face. Bon-Bon took out- not a Minireena, to my expectation- a wrinkled mass of a pink rubber-like material.

"I brought this for you!" he smiled as I dared to grasp his "gift". My eyebrow raised slightly.

"What is- is this bubble gum?"

"Yep!"

My mouth began to water as my nose scrunched in distaste at the gum's dusty appearance. I deserve that. I considered tucking it away in my pocket. It's already got lint on it. Might as well just-

"Don't you dare," Baby said, which did not deter me from shoving the old bubble gum chunk into my mouth anyway. A few tough chews rehydrated the gum. I didn't actually mind the bitter aftertaste- or maybe I just lost my ability to care. I took a breath. For a second, everything felt kinda normal.

"You do know that we could've bought more chewing gum?"

"You're just jealous," I mumbled to Circus Baby, and to Bon-Bon I gave a respectful, "Thank you." He beamed. My lips thinned at his jovial smile and bouncing frame.

What are these robots playing at- being so annoying one second, then nice and cute the next?!

I watched Bon-Bon leave the room, focused again on his new pair of legs. I stroked my chin thoughtfully. Did he always have- no, they were blue? No, it was-

"What was that object you touched underneath the bed?" Funtime Foxy broke my confused internal dialogue. I shrugged.

"I dunno, a shoebox? I don't really care."

I turned to one of two bedroom exit doors, my teeth clenched together again. My foot stopped once it touched the edge of the doorway. Nobody controlled me.

That did not feel like a shoebox, I knew this. Shaking my head, I half-stomped out the door. Stop investigating everything. Then I groaned and whirled back to the bed. I crouched down onto my knees, ignoring an internal robot fox questioning my actions.

I have to know. I hope it kills me.

Once I felt the slick object again, I grasped its plastic edge and dragged it out from underneath the bed. My heart rate jumped.

"It's a fish tank."

"Why is there a fish tank underneath your bed?" Baby asked.

"I- I have no idea."

I really had a fish? My face twisted in incredulity. I examined the pile of rainbow-coloured rocks at the bottom of the tank. A light blanket of dust coated its interior. The pace of my gum-chewing increased. There isn't a fish in here now. I dipped my fingers in the rocks, pleasantly surprised by how smooth they felt.

"Do not put those in your mouth, too," sighed Baby. I yanked my hand out of the tank.

"I'm not."

I squished the gum between my back teeth, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. My body was heavy. I can't remember what happened to him. I can't remember. I don't want to remember. But I do. I shoved the tank back in its rightful place.

"It's like Jumanji," I grumbled. It made sense in my head. As I left the room, the floor groaned. My heart jolted in my chest. I whirled, raising my fists involuntarily.

"Michael, he isn't coming back," Funtime Foxy said. I furrowed my brow.

"I know that."

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I didn't bother checking to see if Bon-Bon really turned the power back on; I stuck the old gum wad to the table and slumped back onto the couch. Intrusive thoughts blended into incoherent mush as I fell asleep. I didn't mean to.

"You think we should wake him up for this?"

"No, he won't like that."

My legs stumbled past the coffee table, my shins hardly missing its sharp edge. Two knocks against the door. Again? My lips moved and my own voice spilt from my mouth. Who's there? Why can't I move? Am I still asleep? I zipped up my jacket. Can't breathe. I'm trapped!

"Of course, Miss… Holly! That's your name."

She spoke to me. What is she saying? Why can't I- Her features were hazy in my vision- a memory. I'm watching a memory. I can't see. Wake up! Wake up! In a box- no, I'm not! I'm sleeping. Wake up!

I opened my eyes and frowned at the ceiling. A gnawing ache spread like spilt blood from my nape to my temples. I sat up, gripping the couch cushion for support.

"What happened?" I asked. My jacket had been zipped up to my neck to the point of nearly choking me, and the hood was tight around my head.

"What are you talking about?" Circus Baby replied. Something in her tone told me that she knew exactly what I was talking about. Still with a lack of pants, I stood and pointed at the front door.

"Someone- someone came over. I saw it happen. It wasn't a dream, I think, or I- No, you were- you did something. My voice."

"Oh, you saw what we did again!" Funtime Freddy pointed out. I clenched my fists.

"What did you do?" My voice cracked on a word as I tried not to choke. You didn't hurt anybody. You didn't hurt anyone else. You didn't-

"No, we didn't hurt anyone," Baby's voice softened at my panicked hysteria. With slow, calculated movement, she used my hand to unzip my jacket. My shoulders relaxed at the relief of tension.

"Tell him what happened, Foxy," directed Baby. The mentioned robot spoke up, "That large woman you seem to have mixed feelings about- Holly Greene? She-"

"She came over again. Because I keep… not… um… I-"

I couldn't scowl away the fog that overtook my brain. "I'm sorry, I can't even- I don't know what-"

"It's okay, Michael," Funtime Foxy said, then continued with what he was going to say, "She wanted to apologise for her previous behaviour. Apparently, she planned to last time she came over, but you were so distracted with your 'new pets' that she decided not to." My eyebrows lifted.

"She… apologised?"

I almost didn't notice myself rubbing my cheek- where she'd hit me for a mistake I didn't mean to make.

"That isn't even the BEST part! Tell him, Foxy!" Funtime Freddy bubbled.

"Well, alright," Funtime Foxy gushed. "We didn't want to alarm her; at least, not more than she already was. Our appearance is quite alarming at the moment-"

"Anyway," I sighed, ready to hear what could be a horrifying truth. Funtime Foxy growled in annoyance before resuming: "I spoke to that woman using YOUR voice."

"H… huh?" It took me a moment to process that. I tried to focus on the memory.

I put my hand on Holly's shoulder. Her concerned gaze softened as I told her I was okay for what seemed to be the umpteenth time. My voice sounded off.

"Your dialect is very unique, alright?" Foxy explained, poorly hiding his offence. "It was an amazing performance regardless."

"Okay," I said- a mindless reply. I couldn't remember any further information. After a short pause, Foxy added, "That lady also gave us her phone number." My heart stumbled.

"What? Wh-why did she do that? Why didn't you mention that?" I asked in a weak breath. I already knew the answer.

"It's in your pocket," Baby stated. I reached into my jacket pocket, finding a folded napkin inside. The faint and sweet combined smells of alcohol and fresh linen wafted from the napkin when I unfolded it. There was the phone number, dead in the centre. My body's blood ran thin in my veins.

Shit.