Baby waited, listening. She heard a loud buzz and a cry from Ballora.
Yep, Baby thought sadly. He's back.
Shortly then, she heard another buzz, followed by a yell from Funtime Foxy.
Just resist it, guys, Baby thought. Please don't kill him for this...
Then, she heard the HandUnit speak, this time in Circus Gallery.
"Press the blue button to see if Circus Baby's on her stage," said HandUnit.
Oh no, Baby thought in worry.
William pressed the blue button and the light turned on, revealed that Baby was absent from her stage.
"It looks like Baby isn't on her stage," said HandUnit. "Press the red button to give her a controlled shock."
"With pleasure," said William, smiling as he pressed the red button. Baby tensed herself, waiting for the terrible jolting force to discharge within her body.
But nothing happened.
"Huh," said William. "Why isn't it working?"
Baby paused, looking up. What's happening?
"Press the red button again," said HandUnit. William pressed the button, but once more, nothing happened.
"It seems that the control panel is malfunctioning," said HandUnit. "I can repair it, but I will have to shut the power off while I do so. During the power outage, the facility may experience some side effects, such as loss of light, sound, or oxygen."
Thank goodness, Baby thought in relief.
"Oxygen?" William exclaimed. "Isn't that kinda important?"
"Commencing system restart," said HandUnit. Then, the lights turned off, leaving the place dark and shadowy.
"Oh, geez," said William quietly. "I really hope nothing bad happens..."
Me too, Baby thought. I've got to make sure he doesn't die. But maybe... She looked at her Bidybabs. Maybe I will test him. Give him a little torment for what he has given me, and also make him better prepared in case any of the others disobey me and attack him.
"Bidybabs?" said Baby quietly. The Bidybabs looked at Baby.
"I want you to go to Circus Control," said Baby. "Pretend that you're looking for William there. He will be under the desk, and one of you should look through the crack in the drawer to see if he's there first. Got it?"
"Yes, Baby," said the Bidybabs in unison.
"And one more thing," said Baby. "When I start coming, you must quickly retreat. Okay?"
"Yes, Baby," said the Bidybabs again, and they turned and scampered off into the darkness.
"Perfect," said Baby, smiling in satisfaction, then she looked into the window. She saw the silhouette of someone in there, but for some strange reason, she couldn't recognize him as William. She thought it might be because she couldn't get a good look at him through the darkness, but she wasn't sure. She dashed over to the window, went under it, and started to speak.
"I don't recognize you," she said. "You are new. I recognize this scenario, however."
"What?" said William in shock. "Baby, is that you? Get back on your stage!"
He sounds like William, Baby thought. Is he William?
"It's a strange thing to want to do, to come here" said Baby. "I'm curious what events would lead a person to want to spend their nights in a place like this... willingly. Maybe curiosity? Maybe ignorance..."
"Yeah, I wonder too," William muttered.
"There is a space under the desk," said Baby. "Someone before you crafted it into a hiding place, and it worked for him. I recommend that you hurry, though. You will be safe there. Just try not to make eye contact. It will be over soon. They will lose interest."
Obediently, William dove to the floor and clambered into the cabinet under the desk. Panting hard, he pulled the metal cabinet door shut. He turned on his flashlight, waiting.
Then, he heard a small voice outside the cabinet. He looked and saw a blue eye peering at him through one of the cracks in the cabinet door.
"Hello in there," came a sing-song voice.
"GAH!" William yelled, looking away. Don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact...
"Someone is inside," said the voice in a whisper.
"Is it the same person?" asked another voice, different but similar.
Why doesn't anyone recognize me? William thought. Baby doesn't, whatever these things are don't... what the hell is going on?
The eye vanished, and the door started to slowly open, but William grabbed the door and forced it closed again.
"He is under the desk," said the voice in a whisper.
The door started to open again, but William wasn't able to close it. There wasn't just one animatronic trying to open it this time; there were more, and their combined strength evened out with William's.
Finally, with one last desperate effort, William tugged harshly and the door slammed closed. He rubbed his arms, massaging his battered muscles and wincing.
Then, he heard the voices speak again, but what they said were unexpected.
"She is watching us. We have to leave now."
"See you again soon."
Scurrying.
Then silence.
William waited in fear, his hand gripping the door, half-expecting it to suddenly start to open again.
Perfect, Baby thought. They were perfect. She started to speak again.
"When your "guide" comes back online," said Baby slowly, "he is going to tell you that he was unsuccessful, that you must restart the system manually. He will then tell you to crawl through Ballora Gallery as fast as you can to reach the Breaker Room. If you follow his instructions, you will die." She shifted uncomfortably. "Ballora will not return to her stage anymore. She will catch you."
William felt a chill go down his spine.
"The power will be restored shortly," said Baby. "When you crawl through Ballora Gallery, go slowly. She cannot see you and can only listen for your movement. When you hear her music become louder, she is growing near, listening for you. Wait, and be still."
"Got it," William muttered. "Thanks." He opened the cabinet door and climbed back out.
Baby breathed a sigh of relief as well. She was glad that he wasn't dead yet. She just hoped that he followed her instructions, because she really didn't want Ballora to kill him.
William crawled as fast as he could muster. He suddenly heard ballerina music off to his right and froze.
"Why do you hide inside your walls," Ballora sang, "when there is music in my halls?"
Gee, there's like a million reasons, William thought, crawling again. He stood still once he heard the music again.
"All I see is an empty room," Ballora sang. "No more joy, an empty tomb."
Good, William thought, crawling again. I wanted to make it like that for you. He was very close to the door at the end of Ballora Gallery now. He heard the music again and stopped.
"It's so good to sing all day," Ballora sang. "to dance, to spin, to fly away."
What kind of weird song is this? William thought in confusion as he crawled. Why did I ever install this programming in her? What was I thinking?
William heard the music and stopped. He saw Ballora's legs tiptoeing right in front of him, moving from the right to the left. William waited for Ballora to pass him, then continued, making it to the door. He got to his feet and entered the Breaker Room.
"He's coming!" said Funtime Freddy. "I can hear him!"
"Just stay put!" said Bon-Bon. "Baby told us not to kill him."
"I know, but..." Funtime Freddy twitched. "He's right there!"
"I know how you feel," said Bon-Bon, patting Funtime Freddy's arm, "but we need to stay put. We can't disobey Baby's orders, and we can't just kill him outright or we'll be scooped. And remember: don't talk outside your programming if you want to say anything!"
"Okay, okay!" said Funtime Freddy. "Just stay still. He's coming."
Just then, William entered the Breaker Room, went to the monitor, and lifted it up, starting to reboot the power.
Funtime Freddy then decided to speak, following his programming.
"Bon-Bon," he said, "say 'hi' to our friends!"
Funtime Freddy then got off his stage, using the flickering light to his advantage. When William lowered the monitor, Funtime Freddy spoke again.
"BON-BON," he said, more insistently, "SAY 'HI' TO OUR FRIENDS!" He was starting to feel too strongly towards ending William's life where he stood.
William quickly picked up a small device and pressed a button on it. Bon-Bon felt a strange feeling shimmer through her body, and then she spoke without making herself.
"Calm down, and go back to sleep," she said in a cheerful tone. "No one is here."
Funtime Freddy instantly felt his adrenaline fade away and felt more relaxed. He went back to his stage.
"How did you do that?" he asked in the smallest of whispers.
"I didn't mean to," Bon-Bon replied, so quiet she could barely be heard. "He pressed a button, and I felt strange, and then I just said it all on my own. It's like he controlled me or something."
"Oh," said Funtime Freddy quietly, "but I was really asking about what it did to me. It made me, like... not want to kill him. It made me go back to the stage. How are your words able to do that?"
"They're... not..." Bon-Bon paused. "Oh, wait! It's because he pressed the button! The thing I said must've made some sort of special radio waves or something, and that might've made you go back!"
"Oh, no," Funtime Freddy muttered. "Hold on, let me try again." He started to get off the stage, and as he did, he spoke again, following his programming once more. "I know you're over there somewhere!"
William cringed with fear, then pressed the button on the device again.
Funtime Freddy laughed. "I know you're over there somewhere."
"Shhh," said Bon-Bon soothingly, "go back to your stage. Everything is okay."
Involuntarily, Funtime Freddy went back to his stage.
"He keeps using you to say that audio," Funtime Freddy muttered.
"It's okay," said Bon-Bon. "I'm sure you'll be able to reach him eventually."
Funtime Freddy spoke another bit of his programming. "I see you over there in the dark, come on out!"
"N-no!" William stuttered, pressing the button on his device again. "I'm just trying to reboot the systems! Cut me some slack!"
"Oh calm down," said Bon-Bon, "I think it was just a mouse."
"Why'd he press the button?" Funtime Freddy murmured. "I didn't even get off the stage... okay, then, let's have you taste this... hey, Bon-Bon, I think that's the birthday boy over there. We should go give him a surprise!" He got off his stage as William pressed the button again.
"Nope," Bon-Bon's programmed voice countered in a sing-song voice, "no one is here."
Funtime Freddy resisted it this time and spoke again. "Well, hello again!"
"Oh, for-" William lowered the monitor and pressed the button again. "I'M STILL TRYING TO REBOOT THE POWER!"
"Shhh, it's bedtime," said Bon-Bon. "Let's go back to our stage."
Not this time, Funtime Freddy thought, getting off his stage again. He laughed. "Well, hello again!"
"Almost... done...! C'mon...!" William held his finger down on the last button on the screen, rebooting the power for the Control Module. "Aaaaaannd... done!" He lowered the monitored and quickly activated Bon-Bon's audio again.
"You must be hearing things, silly," said Bon-Bon, giggling.
Funtime Freddy went back to his stage as William set the monitor aside, dusting his hands off.
"There!" he said. "Finally done rebooting the system. I'm outta here." He went through the door and back into Ballora gallery.
"Shoot," Funtime Freddy muttered. "I didn't even get to scare him. That's completely unfair."
"Oh, well," said Bon-Bon, shrugging. "You'll get another chance on another night!"
"If he comes back, that is," said Funtime Freddy.