"... Okay," said Baby. "Now close the face plates."
Funtime Foxy closed the face plates and they shut with a snap.
"Good," said Baby. "Now nobody will be able to find him. Do you realize... that if he told the management about what we did yesterday... we could all get scooped for good?"
"Aye," said Funtime Foxy, nodding.
"Well, he's stuck in there now," said Funtime Freddy, "so everything's good!"
"Not even the cameras can find him," said Bon-Bon.
"That's right!" said Baby.
Why'd you kidnap him? William's daughter's voice asked.
It's part of our plan to get out of here, Baby replied. Don't worry, he's not staying there. He'll be let out, you'll see.
Then, she heard footsteps. They weren't the footsteps of an animatronic; they were the footsteps of humans.
"Wait," said Baby, holding up her hand. "... They're back. Go back to your stages."
The animatronics quickly hurried back to their stages and got back into position just as the workers of the facility entered the room.
"Right here!" said one of the workers. "I could've sworn I heard Circus Baby and the others speaking here!"
"They're not booted up," said another worker. "That's impossible. But let's check them anyways. If they're not working properly, then we need to repair them."
Baby felt a shudder go through her spine.
Ballora felt herself edge to the side slightly. In her haste to get back to her stage, she wasn't able to get into a balanced position fast enough, and she was feeling herself start to teeter over.
Please, stay still, she silently willed, but she was still edging over more and more. She knew she couldn't get herself back into a balanced position, because that would require her to move on her own, and the workers thought they were all offline.
Baby could see Ballora edging to the side.
Pretend, Baby thought. Do what I'm doing. Don't move. Don't blink. If you're going to fall, then fall. It's okay, just keep pretending.
Ballora started to feel herself fall now, and very quickly.
No! No! No!
On impulse, she tucked her leg in and straightened it out again, to her side, steadying herself.
But the workers noticed.
"Hey, wait a minute..." One of the workers walked up to Ballora and looked at her. "Did Ballora just move? I think I just saw her move."
"I did too," said another worker.
"I think there's something wrong with her," said a third skeptically.
Please, no, don't scoop me, I'm begging you, just leave me alone, Ballora thought desperately. She was terrified, but there was nothing she could do. Just stand there as the workers started to pick her up off her stage and move her onto a conveyer belt.
William opened his eyes. He felt metal all around him; not right up against him, but still holding him still. He saw that he was looking out of an animatronic mask, as he recognized the face plated.
He was in a spring lock suit.
"What the hell?" said William. He shimmied in the spring suit, and it wobbled a bit, but otherwise didn't budge.
Then, William heard a familiar voice.
"Shh. Be still and quiet. You've been sleeping for quite a while."
"Who's that?" said William. "Baby, I swear, if that's you-"
"I think they noticed that you never left the building last night," said Baby.
"Good!" said William. "Then they'll be able to realize that I'm still in here! Let me out of here!" He shook in the spring suit some more, to no avail.
"The cameras were searching for you," Baby continued, "but they couldn't find you. I have you hidden too well."
"Why," said William. "That's what I wanna know is why. You hid me from the cameras and the rest of the management for what purpose?"
"I kidnapped you."
William's breath caught in his throat. He shook in the suit some more, but still, nothing happened.
"Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you," said Baby. "I am only going to keep you for a little while."
"W... why?" William asked shakily.
Ignoring his question, Baby continued.
"Try not to wiggle, though," she said. "You're inside something that came from my old pizzeria. I don't think it was ever used: at least," she added with a slight smile, "not the way it was meant to be used. Too dangerous. It's just big enough for one person to fit inside, but just barely."
"I know what you're talking about," said William, starting to feel anger. "This is a spring suit, isn't it?! You trapped me in a spring suit?!"
"Do you know where you are?" Baby asked him.
"In Afton Robotics?" William asked bluntly. "In a spring suit? You're pulling my leg. What?"
"You're in the Scooping Room," said Baby.
"Scooping Room?" said William nervously.
"Do you know why," Baby asked him, "they call the Scooping Room?"
"... No," William stuttered. He had known what it meant, but he couldn't remember through his terror. He only knew that it was something bad. "Why?"
"Because... dummy," said Baby hotly, "it's the room where they use the Scooper. I thought that would've been obvious."
"Oh," said William sarcastically. "It's obvious, is it? Obvious reason is obvious."
"Isn't that a fun name for something?" Baby asked. "'The Scooper'. It sounds like something you would use for ice cream, or custard, or sprinkles. It sounds like something you would want at your birthday party to ensure that you get a heaping portion of every... good... thing."
"It doesn't sound good at all," William muttered, "considering what it's used for."
"I wonder, though," said Baby, "if you were a freshly opened pint of ice cream, how you would feel about something with that name."
William paused. He'd never actually considered that.
"Thankfully," said Baby, "I don't think a freshly opened pint of ice cream feels anything at all."
"Obviously not," said William. "It's an inanimate object, and an inanimate object is EXACTLY what you're gonna be once I get out of here!"
Baby paused. She heard something: voices.
"Uh-oh," she said. "It sounds like someone else is in the building. Shh."
"There is?" said William. "Good! HELP! HELP! CAN YOU HEAR ME?! I'M TRAPPED IN A SPRING LOCK SUIT!"
"Okay, move her back," said a voice. William recognized this voice; it was the voice of one of the workers.
"Hello?!" William yelled. "Can anybody hear me?!"
"Back... back..." the man kept speaking. "Okay, stop. That's good. Now lower her gently."
William heard a loud rattling sound, and soon, he saw Ballora start sliding into his view, from the right moving to the left. She moved from one of the eye sockets of the spring suit William was trapped in to the other, and shook once she reached the wall.
"There is something very important that I've learned how to do over time," said Baby. "Do you know what this is? How to pretend."
"Pretend?" said William in confusion.
"Do you ever play make believe?" Baby asked. "Pretend to be one way, when you are really the other? It's very important. Ballora never learns, but I do. They think there is something wrong on the inside."
"There is," said William. "There's something very wrong inside ALL of you!"
"The only thing that matters," Baby whispered, "is knowing... how... to... pretend."
William heard a beeping sound, and suddenly heard the sound of the Scooper striking Ballora. Ballora convulsed hard with each blow from the Scooper, and on the third, she sagged forward, her suit broken open and her endoskeleton showing, shrouded in shadow.
Please don't let them unable to find him, the daughter's voice pleaded. Do something to let them find him, please!
Fine, fine, Baby thought in irritation.
"I'll open the faceplates for you," said Baby. There, I hope you're satisfied, darn you. The face plates snapped open suddenly, letting William see into the darkness clearer. "That way they can find you on the cameras. Now all you have to do is wait. I'd recommend that you keep the springlocks wound up. Your breathing and your heartbeat are causing them to come loose. You don't want them to get too loose, trust me."
"I know, I know," William panted.
Thank you, said the daughter's voice, for letting it be easier for them to find him.
Anything to shut you up, Baby thought, smiling.
Hey!
Baby then walked away, back to Circus Gallery, where Funtime Freddy and Foxy were.
"Is he okay?" Funtime Freddy asked.
"Yes, he's fine," said Baby. "Once they find him, he might tell them about what you, Funtime Freddy, did last night, but if he also says that we trapped him in that spring lock suit, it will be much too far-fetched for them to believe." She giggled playfully. "And then we will escape."
"Aye!" said Funtime Foxy excitedly. "Can ye believe this be happenin'? We be finally escapin' this awful place!"
"I can't believe it either!" said Baby. "But it was only recently that I thought of this plan. They always catch us and take us back here every time any of us try to escape, but the humans are always let out. So we must make ourselves look like a human in order to escape, and to do that, we would have to use the Scooper to scoop a human, strip down to our endoskeletons, and then we can wear their skin. And the human that would best fit our needs would be..."
"... William," said Funtime Freddy and Funtime Foxy in unison.
"Exactly," said Baby. "This might be our only chance of escaping Afton Robotics, so we'll need to make this work. No slip-ups. Okay?"
"Okay, Babe," said Funtime Freddy, "but what about Ballora?" He looked back at her broken body. "Will she be able to get out, too?"
"Of course she will, sweetie," said Baby, giving his hand a squeeze. "Once everyone leaves, we'll salvage her endoskeleton. Believe me, I want to help her out right now, as she is in quite a crippled state as it is, but we can't do anything until everyone - including William - leaves."
"Okay..." said Funtime Freddy uncertainly. "I'm just nervous. I don't want her to be left behind."
"Well, don't worry," said Baby reassuringly. "She won't be. That I can guarantee."
"Aye, I unnerstand," said Funtime Foxy, nodding.
"I knew you would," said Baby kindly. "Now, go back to your stages, both of you. We can't let them see you two away from your areas or they'll scoop you too." She shuddered. "And maybe even me."
"All right," said Funtime Freddy, and he went back to the Breaker Room, Funtime Foxy heading back to Funtime Auditorium.
Baby got herself back into her idle position and sighed.
Okay, William, she thought. Just hold out in there for a few minutes, enough time for the workers to find you. I know you can do it.
William started winding up the spring locks. They were pretty loose already, and there were also quite a few of them, five or six on each side. It was slow going, but he was getting there.
"Why do these take so frickin' long to wind up?" he muttered. "They take like a full ten seconds each... I thought they were easier than this..."
Then, he heard a small skittering sound.
William froze. He listened intently and heard the skittering sound again. Then, he heard a much slower skittering sound, like someone was climbing up a wall. He saw something move he his left, and he turned to look.
Climbing up the left side was a Minireena.
"WHOA HOLY F*CK!" William shook the suit in shock, and the Minireena lost its grip and slid back down the wall.
William stared at the spot where it once was, panting hard, then looked back at the spring locks. He saw that they were looser than they were before.
"Oh, come on..." He started to wind them back up again.
Then, he saw another Minireena climb up, this time from the right, and another one crawled up the suit and into it. William shook the Minireena off the right, but didn't know what to do about the one inside him. He could feel it crawling down the suit, but couldn't do anything to get it out.
Nervously, William kept undoing the spring locks. More and more Minireenas were coming, most of them crawling into the suit, and others crawling up the sides. William kept shaking the ones off the sides, but couldn't do anything about the ones in the suit. The suit was feeling more and more full. He kept working the spring locks, sweat rolling down his forehead.
Then, he heard a few voices from some of the workers:
"Hey, wait a minute! I think I see him!"
"Where is he?"
"He's... in a spring suit, it looks like."
"How'd he get in there?"
"That doesn't matter! Get him out of there quick!"
The Minireenas instantly stopped coming. The workers came running up to William in the spring suit, undid the latches, and the suit opened. The Minireenas came tumbling out, limp.
"Mr. Afton," said one of the workers, "how did you get in there? And what're the Minireenas doing in there?"
"The... the animatronics," William panted. His body felt tense, his mind was jello. "Baby. She said that she kidnapped me. She trapped me in the suit, and... and..."
The worker looked at another worker and smiled. "I think he's been working too hard lately."
The other worker laughed. "Maybe he needs some time off."
"What do you mean?" said William, now becoming very nervous. "I'm telling the truth!"
"Sir," said a worker, "the animatronics may have artificial intelligence, but they shouldn't be trying to kidnap you. They're not designed to be evil, they're designed to entertain the children."
"There's something else, though," said William. "There's something wrong inside. I... I think they need to be scooped."
Upon hearing this news, a hot flash of panic flared through Baby.
The worker looked at Ballora, broken open. He peered closely inside her. "She looks fine to me. We saw her moving on her own, even though she was shut off, but when we used the Scooper on her, we didn't find anything out of the ordinary. If you're saying that Baby and the others are doing the same things, then using the Scooper on them won't reveal anything different, either. I personally think it would be pointless."
Baby unclenched her body, silently sighing in relief.
"Well, I don't," said William. "First thing tomorrow, I want them to go to the Scooping Room. Everyone but Baby: I still want to examine her."
"Yes, sir," said the worker.
Baby felt intense worry. Did William just say that he was going to scoop Funtime Freddy and Funtime Foxy? How will we be able to continue the plan now?