"M-M-Mich-chael, I-I don't feel so good-d... I-" Funtime Freddy lamented in a robotic cry. His voice was distanced as the ring of gunshots clogged my ears.
"WE'VE BEEN H-H-HIT!" Funtime Foxy shrieked. "GOODBYE, WORLD!"
I've been shot. I've been shot. I'm going to die, was all that ran through my head. I'm too young to die! I haven't married yet! I clutched my numbing stomach. Hot fluids spilt between my fingers. A faintly-glowing blue substance trickled out from the holes in my jacket.
What's happening to my body?! I've been shot! Help! Can't breathe- Trapped! I'm going to die-
"You are NOT going to die!" Circus Baby interjected loudly. "But WE are going to JAIL if we do not get out of here!"
"BALLORA! SAY S-SOMETHING!" Funtime Freddy yelled, then went back to whining, "OH NO! SHE'S ALREAD-DY GONE!"
"SHE HARDLY SAYS ANYTHING, YOU IDIOT! SHE'S BLIND, REMEMBER?" Funtime Foxy yelled in reply. Ballora joined in on the yelling, "THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT!"
"Sh-shut it-t!" I cried, my voice glitching in a way that terrified me. Static and colours swam in my vision. I yanked my head up from my chest. Which way was home? A few feet away, Mr Sanderson sprung to his feet. He panted desperately as he dashed off. I started forward, reeling on my right side. My hand brushed past the tree. Not that way! The grass underneath my feet churned a dark blue. Was the sky really that red?
"Wait, I got an idea!" said the least-likely animatronic, Funtime Freddy. He cupped my hands over my mouth and let loose a scream.
"B-BON-BONNN! WHERE ARE Y-YOU?!"
"That's n-not going to work-k!" nagged Funtime Foxy just as we saw a pink-and-blue blur approach. Bon-Bon just happened to be in the area. I didn't bother questioning that- not as busted up as I was. I opened my mouth to ask "What now?" but my throat forced a stutter instead. Luckily, Freddy knew what I was trying to say.
"BON-B-BON! LEAD US T-TO MIC-CHAEL AFTON'S HOUSE!"
Before I registered it, we were on the move again. The entire world swayed like a pirate ship in a thunderstorm. I didn't know what time it was anymore. Every step rattled my broken artificial skeleton. We dragged on. I sucked tiny breaths through my teeth. We barely missed getting a foot caught in a flood drain.
As we staggered along the darkening sidewalk, I felt the cold stares on my skin. The people, standing as if they were mannequins, were horror-struck. I wonder what they were thinking?
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Once again, I stood in the bathroom, locking eyes with the hellish creature in the mirror. I didn't think it could get any worse- boy, was I wrong. His ill green-violet skin was rough like leather. Around his groin, ribs, and right side of his hips, swollen, bruised splotches of blackish-purple enclosed deformed bone. A light blue pupil lingered in his empty eye socket.
How is this still… me? I could hardly recognise myself. The metallic taste of glowing substances in my throat wasn't the only thing overturning my stomach. I could hardly believe this was still my body. My body! My confident, boyish looks!
"Wh- h-how do we- we f-f-ch-fix-k-" I tried. My efforts couldn't stop the glitchy mess. I tore my gaze away from the mirror, staring down at the blood gathering in the sink basin. Somehow, I resisted the urge to curl up into a fetal position and cry.
Father would know how to fix-
"He's not coming back," Circus Baby snapped. "So either you're going to have to do what he wants, or stop acting like a baby. I'm sure you'll choose the latter." Funtime Foxy objected to her suggestion.
"Baby, there's no need to be so rude to Michael Afton. You said it yourself: he's hurt. He doesn't know what to do. This isn't a normal human situation and he isn't programmed to understand how to deal with it."
"Whatever. My point is: we're going to have to solve this problem without Daddy."
My eyebrows raised.
"Father. Your father. That's what I meant," Baby corrected herself hastily. A small robot head peered around the doorway.
"What happened?" Chelsea asked after a gasp.
"Nothing," Baby used my mouth to answer. I lacked the energy to take back control. Chelsea's face blanked. Biddy pushed her out of the way. Bitey forced Biddy to move over with a quick bite to the ear.
"You're not using his body to do bad things, are you?" accused Biddy with a narrow-eyed glare. "You said you weren't going to do that." I'd almost forgotten about Baby's confession to be good.
"That man was going to hurt us," she explained, "because we-"
"Because you lost control of yourself and killed someone else's daughter," Funtime Foxy came in sharp. My throat tightened. Baby shifted my face into a frown.
"We never meant to hurt anyone," she continued. "We were scared."
"W-we were scared, but- now that I th-think about it, YOU acted on it!" Funtime Freddy decided to point out.
"It was OUR faults!" Baby objected, but Funtime Freddy countered, "You were so sc-sc-scared to be broken again-n that YOU KILLED THEM!"
"NO!"
She slammed my hands on the counter, causing the Bidybabs to jump back in surprise.
"We are all broken," she said. Funtime Foxy opened my mouth to rejoin but I shut it.
"Stop-p. L-let's f-focuss… on… right n-now."
I gestured at my horrible body.
"Right," Funtime Foxy agreed.
Circus Baby ordered her little minions the Bidybabs to retrieve specific blueprints from Father's room. I could hardly focus on the contents of that crinkled paper- so many instructions and precise details all pertaining to my weird abnormal body.
Fix the things, be normal again, I used a little wishful thinking. Put yourself back together. Bon-Bon joined us in the bathroom. His broken ear twitched. Baby sent him off for tape and anything that could stick things together.
"We can't really 'fix' your body back to its original state," Baby observed, tapping my chin. "The bullets appear to be lodged in areas that we cannot open up."
Why? I asked her internally to avoid hearing another robotic stutter come out of my mouth.
"Because we're inside you, idiot."
"Baby!" Funtime Foxy scolded, for her to yell, "I'm angry, okay?! If we can't fix Michael's body, we're done for! Our entire plan for freedom just WASTED!" She chucked the blueprints across the room.
Nobody argued with her anymore. As churlish as she acted, we knew she was right. Kinda. We went back to stabilizing my body's weak frame. The quiet tension of the animatronics kept me on edge.
This is all my fault, really, I attempted to keep my thoughts to myself. If I had never listened to Father, I wouldn't be in this situation. But I just had to be stupid, didn't I?
I'm not sure whether Ennard didn't hear me or just didn't want to respond. As we barely managed to shift my waist back into place with sticky tape, someone spoke up.
"I'm sorry, Michael. I tend to... forget my problems. Ignore them. Flee from them. But I realise now... sharing your body... that I can't do that so easily. I'm sorry that I never tried to do anything to help before. You were always such a sweet boy, and you never deserved any of this."
"It-it's okay, Ba-llora," I replied, honestly unsure of how to respond. Does she mean that? Did she- did Mother ever really care? Why did she leave?
"No… it's not okay," Ballora insisted. "Things would be different if I weren't such a stupid coward."
"Yes," Baby challenged quietly.
Don't start again, I scowled. What happened happened. We're all broken, in some twisted way of things. We let stupid emotions get in the way. Blaming isn't going to change anything. I should never have trusted Father. Or anyone. I should have stayed home and watched TV. Thank you for the help, I guess- I really appreciate it. But…
"Aftons and robots j-j-just don't mix."
I wiggled my fingers through a jacket sleeve as a heavy knock shook the front door.
"This is the Hurricane Police Department. We just want to ask some questions."
My heart stumbled in my chest. Fricking shit. They found me. I grabbed the edge of the sink to stop myself from fainting. I took a deep breath. One, two- oh, no- no! I couldn't swallow back the terror that choked my lungs. The mirror seemed to wobble before me.
"Michael, what do we do?" Funtime Foxy asked in a hushed voice. "Surely we cannot fight the police?" I shook my head vigorously.
Absolutely not! I've seen this episode on TV too many times. We have to- we have to run away. They'll bust down the door. They'll search the house. We gotta get out of here!
Wringing my hands, I didn't bother to consider the fact that police need a warrant to search the house.
"Stay hidden," Baby directed the smaller robots with my mouth. The Bidybabs nodded, albeit a hint of hesitation crossed their faces. Bon-Bon obediently scurried away.
"The back door," Baby said to me. I snapped out of a trance.
Right.
Discreetly but also hurriedly, I crept out of the back door by the kitchen. Another front door knock nearly sent me into cardiac arrest. Once outside, I trudged through the thick, untrimmed hedge for the back of the house. My lower body began to ache under its many layers of duct tape and wire. Something ripped.
The car! I got an idea. They can't search the car. They need a warrant to do that. With a limp, I started for Sanderson's old car. I sprawled across the backseat.
"This-s… h-hurts," I groaned through gritted teeth. My hands shaking, I rolled onto my back. The door softly closed as the wind pushed it. I folded my hands and closed my eyes. I probably looked like a corpse.
What do I do? I can't stay here. I deserve this. It's my fault. I- people- they had families… I lost my family. I lost everything. And I- What do I do now? Where do we go? How do I find them?
"We'll just have to keep going," Funtime Foxy said. "We… well, at least, I am willing to help you. We're all stuck together now, right?"
Despair sunk into my chest, suffocating me. My body's pain dulled as it was replaced with a spiralling, empty feeling; my low-power condition dragged me into a resting state.
I could turn myself in… pay for what we did. We won't have to hide. There's nothing left anyway-
"We are not going to jail, Michael," Baby repeated herself. I shook my dizzied head. Before I went back to thinking, Baby mumbled, "What did she say to you? That there's always another way?" My breath caught in my throat for a moment. I un-tensed my body.
I suppose… but what's the 'other way' we should do?
No one gave an answer.
"How about we just sleep on it?" Funtime Foxy said after I yawned. "We can discuss what to do in the morning." I silently agreed. My eyelids were too heavy to open now. I listened to the rhythm of my breath. A slow, simple pattern. The last thing I still had control over.
"Hey, Michael?" asked Funtime Freddy after a long pause. He was almost eerily quiet now. I think he didn't want to startle me. Cute.
"Hmm?" I hummed, hardly awake.
"Baby put you in that old springlock suit a while ago, right?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Well, I have a fun fact for you. That was an old friend of ours!"
"Freddy, leave him alone," Baby said. A few seconds later, Freddy went on, "We never got to meet her. Sad." In my sleepy, hazy mind, their memories of the pink-and-white chicken pranced across the dark roof of the car. It felt nice to see non-traumatic events playing before my eyes.
"Chica was supposed to encourage children to express themselves and their feelings," Ballora joined in on the conversation, sounding somewhat sombre. "But the concept wasn't very appealing to the public. Not to mention her rather suggestive body build. The parents were… too distracted. So she was scrapped from ever joining us as a Funtime animatronic."
"She wasn't programmed to kidnap or lure a child like us," Baby added with an edge in her voice. "She was supposed to be the good one. If she weren't scrapped, perhaps we could have used her body instead of Michael's. She certainly wouldn't have been this emotional. She wasn't even alive… or broken…"
Before I fully succumbed to sleep, one last thought echoed in my skull: Another way…
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He stood in the doorway, his dark sweat-slick hair falling over his face and his purple suit stained with blood. With teary eyes and an ugly snarl, he stared down at his creation. The knife glinted in his hands.
"What did you do to Mum?" I yelled, clenching my fists. My voice shuddered with fear. What could I do? He grabbed me by the neck and slammed me into the wall. I wriggled helplessly as my creator began ripping off my clothes and tearing open my skin. He's breaking me! Trapped! I couldn't breathe- How many times did he slam my head into the wall?
"I'M GOING TO PUT HER BACK TOGETHER! WHY CAN'T ANY OF YOU UNDERSTAND?"
His rough, bristly hands clawed at my chest and face. The eyes. Dead. Red stains on the wallpaper. The ringing. I couldn't breathe. My bones ripped apart with echoing crunches. My scream repeated in a looped glitch before abruptly cutting to a halt.
"Oh, no… I broke him. All this work, I- I'm sorry, my little boy… I'm s-or-y-"
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"Good morning, Michael," Circus Baby hummed in my ear. I forced myself upright, groaning. My head slumped to my chest.
"Mngh, g-good morn-ning…"
Did I even sleep at all? My frame ached as if not. Yesterday's shoddy repair work did hardly anything to improve my stability. I stepped out of the car and lurched sideways. I gripped the door for support. A few bones creaked. What am I, 39? As I caught a glimpse of the purple-zombie-robot-trash monstrosity in the rearview mirror, my stomach wrenched. No, I'm just rapidly rotting to nothing. A freaking Halloween nightmare. Trash clone-robot person.
"We have an idea that might help you," Baby began.
This again? I thought, my face blanking.
"Baby, we did NOT agree on this-" Foxy chided, for her to continue anyway, "We're falling apart. But what if we found your father and joined his side? He could put-"
"Woah, what-h- F-Father? Join-n?" I startled. My heart rate increased. For a second, I felt blood gushing in my hands. No-
"We're on the losing side here, Michael," Baby said promptly. "We have to fulfil the purpose we were created for, or we will all end up stuck in jail!"
"N-no! We can't do that!" I yelled as my eyes burned. My fists shook. I could hardly believe what I was hearing.
I thought you wanted to be good! Father is exactly the opposite of that! EviL!
"Exactly," Funtime Foxy sighed.
"Baby, we all agreed that we'd be good! What happened happened, like Michael said! WE DON'T HAVE TO BE BAD ROBOTS ANYMORE! WE'LL GET IN BIG TROUBLE!" Funtime Freddy tried to tell her.
"But that's what we are to him! Just bad robots! I don't want to keep fighting for a side we're programmed to lose on!"
She wobbled forward, stepping onto the grass. My breath grew uneven.
"No, we-we're n-not… going to b-be… bad- I'm not- I'm not g-gonna- I can't-"
Trying to withstand her control was like trying to swim in drying concrete. Don't ask how I know what that feels like.
"I'm not the enemy, Michael!" Baby cried, stomping my foot. "I'm trying to help you! You never deserved any of this! Trust me, the only way out is finding your F-"
"I'm n-not going to join my F-Father," I growled, my voice low and breaking apart once more. "I- I swore to her th-that- I-"
"So you'd rather go to jail?"
"I- I don't kn-n-ow!"
"What if we went back inside the house and settled down?" Ballora gave a quiet suggestion, but Baby wouldn't back down.
"BE QUIET, BALLORA!"
"You know what, Circus Baby?" Funtime Foxy snapped. "You are not going to tell us what to do anymore! Who put you in charge, anyway?!"
"This plan was MY idea," she retorted, using my finger to point at my chest, "so, actually, you're going to do everything I tell you to. That's what the plan-"
"NO IT WASN'T!" Funtime Freddy butted in. The animatronics fought for control now, yanking my legs forward. I stumbled onto the sidewalk. My left leg pointed at the house.
"HEY!" I screeched. "STOP!"
"WE OUT-NUMBER YOU!" Funtime Freddy yelled at Baby, his voice scratching my throat. "AND IF-IF MICHAEL WANTS TO GO TO JAIL TO STOP US FROM BEING BAD, THEN SO B-B-BE IT! WE'RE ALL IN TH-THIS TOGETHER!"
"TO BE FAIR, IT WAS HIS BODY FIRST!" Funtime Foxy exclaimed.
"It is only fair," Ballora said quietly.
"You're all a bunch of dummies!" Circus Baby fumed, balling my fists. My muscles locked in place as she took over again. My body clicked and ticked from inside- a disorganized cacophony. I didn't know what to think. My heart ached too much. I thought I could trust her… I thought we were-
"We're going to find Daddy," she commanded. "He's going to put us back together. He'll help us. And in return, we'll do whatever he says to do."
"We're going to eject you!" Funtime Foxy spat. Circus Baby widened my eyes, then threw on a frown. Her voice wavered with fear.
"You can't do that!"
Animatronics shifted back and forth. I clutched my stomach, squeezing my eyes shut. Their erratic movements jostled my organs. They kept me stumbling as they fought over where to walk. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.
"St-stop!" I cried again, then coughed back a gag. "Pl… pleas-se. Let's go b-back in-nsside, s- just-" Suddenly, my stomach began to rupture with a series of tiny snaps. CRRACK! My clothes bloated; the button on my jeans popped loose. A pool of deep scarlet blossomed around my jacket zipper. I gasped.
No! NO! NO!
"We'd still be trapped in the darkness if it weren't for me!" Baby argued. My mouth opened to scream, but a dry-heave forced its way through instead. I watched, with blurry eyes, my chest spasm and quiver. My gut wrenched. The animatronics wouldn't stop.
I'm falling apart! I'm dying! Can't breathe! Trapped! I panicked. My skinny legs convulsed, barely keeping upright. The cool sidewalk multiplied in my static-covered vision. Tears streamed down my face.
"GET OUT OF MICHAEL'S BODY! YOU'RE HURTING HIM!" screamed Foxy.
"I'M TRYING TO PROTECT HIM! JUST TRUST ME!"
I failed to fight back a tremendous retch. My spine curled back as my face split down the middle. My jaw unhinged with a snap; pain and cracks shot across my body. My gaping, bleeding face hole let loose a mechanical cry of agony.
"NO!" screeched all of Ennard. My chest burst open next. I doubled over, failing to keep myself all together. The wirey, tentacle-like limbs of the Funtimes dangled from my mouth like stiff vomit.
"NOW WE'RE ALL GETTING EJECTED! HAPPY NOW?!"
My zippers broke. Buttons, bullets, and stitches fell at my feet. The sidewalk collided with my hands and knees. I tried to catch a breath, but thick, sweltering liquids and wriggling Ennards stuffed my lungs. I was choking- drowning- in them. The Funtimes screamed my name and countless apologies. It was too late to reverse the damage. With one last gurgled cough, I expelled Circus Baby, Funtime Foxy, Funtime Freddy, and Ballora from my broken, seizing body.
And Michael Afton collapsed there on the sidewalk. Dead again.
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I couldn't move. My heartbeat was a distant, slow tremor- a broken rhythm. I'm surprised I remembered this much.
This is it- this is it- repeated my thoughts, which seemed to fade, too. I tried to take a breath, only to hear what represented lungs shudder and creak inside my chest- the noise louder than the insistent ringing in my ears.
I can't breathe. I'm trapped. This is it. I'm dying.
I waited for something- a sign that death approached me. I waited for the blinding glow of the white staircase of Heaven or the burning embers of Hell beckoning or a shrieking chorus of monkeys or whatever happens when people die. But nothing happened.
My eyes snapped open. I stood in an endless darkness. On occasion, it shifted into a vast, checkered-floored room. I recognised it well. I squinted down at my body- translucent and glowing. My soul. A dark, jagged hole gnawed at the centre. That's new. Over my shoulder, another soul lingered.
"Hello?" I called. Mother and I locked eyes. I could've sworn she mouthed something to me, but I distinguished no words. She dashed away. I stepped forward, perhaps to go after her. Her disappearance left an awful taste in my mouth. There she goes again.
A flicker of purple in my peripheral vision grabbed my attention. What's that? I whirled on my heel weightlessly. A single balloon idled in the air just ten feet away. My fingers itched. I can't describe the longing I felt staring at that balloon.
I have to touch it, I just knew. I have to. My careful steps felt like floating. There was the string. I stared into the balloon's vibrant colour and I knew it would take me away from all the pain. All I had to do was believe it could.
I watched my fingers close around the string. Is this really all? Am I really… done? My body shined brighter as the balloon eased away my weight. My feet dangled like feathers. I laughed- it sounded pretty strange to hear.
This has to be it. This is-
The curly string slid out of my grasp. Weight slammed onto my shoulders and my knees buckled under the sudden pressure of gravity. NO! Falling, I caught myself on my hands and somehow felt a presence approaching. I dared to look up. A shiny robot clown girl loomed over me, carelessly grasping the balloon string with two fingers. Her glowing eyes burned into mine.
"You won't die."
Her words stung like acid. She knew all my thoughts.
"Wh-why?" I asked, my voice frail and helpless. "I've already d-died three times. This isn't right." She ignored the question.
"You won't die."
Before I knew it, I dropped to my knees. I repeated myself in a hoarse whisper, "Why?" Speckles of bright blue crashed against the darkness beneath me- my tears hitting the ground.
"You won't die."
I couldn't stop crying. I sucked in desperate breaths, my chest heaving painfully, trying to gather myself. But I couldn't stop. Circus Baby didn't blink as she sliced me again with her words, "You won't die." I curled over. My tears burned my face, creating throbbing lines down my chin.
"WHY?!" I sobbed desperately. "I don't know what to do anymore! You know how it feels to be trapped- to LONG FOR FREEDOM! YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS! YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T THE ENEMY HERE!" Circus Baby fell silent. Then her skin began to crack. Light emitted from the spreading fissures, slowly revealing what was under her skin.
"Elizabeth…"
The girl cringed at her name. I scrambled towards her, ignoring my tired body's protests, and embraced her. Her arms closed around my back. Warmth rippled through my body as I began to remember.
We used to do this all the time. She never understood why I was upset, but she was always there. She gave me tissues, cupcakes, hugs… she was there. When nothing was wrong and we were just hurt little kids.
"I'm sorry, Michael," she whispered gently, "but you can't die." I lifted my heavy head, my bottom lip quivering.
"It's n-not fair. Nobody loves me… my b-best friend is dead… my body… is g-gone. My memories are fractured… h-he took everything away…"
Elizabeth backed away, breaking the hug. I gasped at the icy darkness seeping back into my body. She poked my chest.
"It was never your fault. You didn't ask to be put back together. You're the sweet innocent dummy- the good little boy in the family. You'll have to make a choice. Death isn't one of them."
"W-why?" I blubbered, reaching for her again. "I don't und-derstand-" She stroked my cheek with a small smile.
"I'm sure you'll do the right thing, I know."
Her smile faded, and soon, so did her warmth. She bit her lip.
"But I… I can't. I am not like you."
Elizabeth turned away. Her skirt billowed with a wind that wasn't there. Circus Baby's shattered remains reformed around her. I leapt to my feet.
"WAIT!" I screeched and waved the pieces away. Elizabeth wiped away the single tear on her face. I threw myself into her, feeling the tingle of Circus Baby's pieces cutting into my transmundane skin. Elizabeth shoved me away. The animatronic flickered into full materialization. I stood before Circus Baby once again.
"Elizabeth," I tried softly, grasping the animatronic's free hand. The cold of the metal shocked my skin. Circus Baby flinched.
"Shut up. I'm done pretending."
"No. You're my baby sister. I found you. I had forgotten about you… and yeah, I- I barely remember you now, but I don't want to forget again! I can try to remember!"
I tapped my head with a finger, unsure if I was actually making my point. Circus Baby tore her gaze and hand away from me.
"We could be siblings again," I continued. "We can work s-something out. We don't have to turn ourselves in- we don't h-have to be bad! J-just don't… leave me for Father. He doesn't care about us!"
"He doesn't care about Elizabeth anymore," snapped Baby. "But me... whatever I am... he loves me. His bad, beautiful creation." She stared at her large hands, her eyes sparkling. Her tears painted the ground with a neon green glow.
"I'm done trying to fight that. The others never understood."
I scowled, rasping pointlessly, "He wants to use you!" She began to disappear into the darkness.
"Goodbye, Michael," she hushed. "I'm sorry again for everything. Now, stay out of my way. I don't want to have to hurt you."
"Wh-what?"
I ran after her in a blind panic. I tripped over my own legs. The darkness flickered, distorting itself as it tried to push me back into reality. I glimpsed at my hands. NO! They warped into the fractured mechanical flesh mess that they were before. My body's inorganic substances pooled around me. The balloon zipped for the sky- my last chance for freedom was gone.
"N-no!" I cried, my voice starting that awful glitch. "I- n- f-fair! It's n-not fair! We d-don't have to b-" I tried to chase her through the infinite darkness but invisible walls of squishy substances engulfed me. I couldn't move. I was trapped once more. Spots danced in my vision and the red of Circus Baby's skirt disappeared. I didn't know what to do.
"STOP! PL-PLEASE! I'M SORRY! COME BACK! YOU CAN HAVE MY B-BODY! WE- C- I'LL LO-VE Y-YOU! W- N- D-DON'T L-L-LEA-V-"