I know a lot of you guys are sad that Spring and Gold are gone...but, it needed to be done. Don't worry, these next few chapters will be happier. Right now...little Robby's going to take an adventure of a lifetime...
Chapter 20
Little Robby new he was tired…but he wasn't expecting to fall asleep as soon as he hit the pillow. And he definitely wasn't expecting to suddenly appear in a dingy room. He looked around, seeing the dirty grey posters of children's faces with wide eyes and tears streaming while the words 'It's Me!' scrawled over the walls.
"What is this place?" little Robby whispered, stopping as a soft music box tune caught his ear.
"Ninety years without slumbering, tick tock tick. His life seconds numbering, tick tock tick. When it stopped. Short. Never to go again, when the old man died,"
"'My Grandfather's Clock'," he murmured as the soft tinkling of the music box continued to play.
He started forwards, brushing aside wires and tattered bits of cloth that hung from the ceiling…when he froze.
He'd found the source of the music, but it wasn't like anything he was expecting. There was a music box…but what else was there made his heart ache and his stomach want to throw up whatever was inside it.
It looked like a little stage where someone would have a puppet show…where the puppeteer would stand behind a curtain and have his little marionettes dance on their strings on a little wooden surface. Only instead of something small and built for children…this was completely life-size and the marionette that was being pulled around by the strings was not a little child's toy.
It was a girl…no older than seven, with limp blonde curls that rippled down past her shoulders to her mid back. She was dressed in black and white and was as pale as a sheet. She looked like she'd been starved to death…if Robby had so much as breathed in her direction, she would have crumbled into dust. The child was crying, silver droplets hitting the wooden floor of the stage as the strings tied around her wrist dragged her in circles, making her dance. But the girl…she looked like with every step, every drag of her tiny bare and bleeding feet, she was fading away…that her life force was being drained as she 'danced'.
Little Robby looked at the strings…seeing that they were somehow attached to the music box. If he could stop it…then he could free the girl.
He looked around, trying to find a pipe or baseball bat or switch…but all he found was a pocket knife.
"Well…it's as good as anything," he thought, picking up the knife and proceeding to smash the music box to bits.
The girl gave a shrieking wail with every hit…but she looked a bit brighter the more the box kept getting beaten up…so the boy kept at it. Finally, the place fell silent and little Robby ran towards the stage where the girl now dangled from her strings, hopping up and slicing through the delicate wires. The girl collapsed, unable to hold her own weight, and little Robby caught her, gently lowering her down so that he propped her up off the stage as he kneeled.
The broken and pale girl lay limply in little Robby's arms, the cut strings waving softly in the breeze. Her stormy grey eyes stared up into to her rescuer's.
"The…music b-b-bo-bo-box…stopped," she wheezed, her form flickering and threatening to fade away.
"Shhh," little Robby soothed, smoothing her blonde curls away from her pallid face, "It's ok,"
The girl reached up and touched his.
"Save them," she rasped.
And she disappeared.
Little Robby blinked as he stared at the empty space where she had been.
"What?" he whispered right as a door creaked open, letting through a soft, silver light.
Little Robby got up, looking towards the door. Something told him he needed to go on…
"Save them,"
"Save who?" little Robby wondered as he walked towards the door.
"Why don't you go and find out?" his inner voice asked…
And he walked through the door.
"Hey there!" a cheery, male voice laughed, making the boy look down at a chubby, child-like animatronic holding a balloon, "Would you like a balloon?"
"Um…not right now," little Robby blinked, "Who are you?"
"You can call me Balloon Boy," the animatronic beamed before the bright blue eyes widened, "Are you…here for him?"
"Him?" little Robby blinked and the little bot nodded vigorously, gesturing towards a child, completely in greyscale, standing alone in the corner, holding his right arm like it hurt.
"Out of all the children here…he won't cheer up when we come towards him," Balloon Boy explained, "He just turns away, crying,"
"'We'?" little Robby asked.
"Me and Vixen…I mean, Mangle," the little bot shrugged, "She's…well, the last time I saw her, she was trying to avoid some of the kids…they like to take her apart. She said she might have an idea of how to cheer the boy up. Hey! Maybe you could find her! I can't leave here…I'm supposed to keep the other children happy with balloons…but you can go see her. She's hard to miss,"
"Um…ok," little Robby blinked, walking towards a tall door.
He came inside just to see a kid in a green shirt running around like a chicken with his head cut off. The little boy started crying, reaching for a mess of metal and white fur that was up high on a platform.
"Can ye jus' leave me be fer jus' one lil' second, laddie?" the mess of metal and fur asked, tiredly, "I need t' get back t' tha other room,"
"Play!" the boy shrieked, grabbing onto a part of the poor creature and tugging, making it yelp.
"Hey!" little Robby yelled rushing over and taking hold of the child, "Hey, we don't play like that with toys,"
"But…play!" the boy whined.
"How about you go get a balloon?" little Robby asked, "Then you go play with that?"
"Okay!" the boy beamed, racing off right as the tangle of metal and fur slithered into a more comfortably position.
"Thank ye, lad…ye don't know how much I appreciate tha'," the creature nodded, "Tha name be Mangle. An' yers?"
"Robby," little Robby said, "My name is Robby,"
"Tha' be a wonderful name, lad, a brave name," Mangle smiled, baring her sharp teeth, "Ack, I need t' be getting' me parts back together…BB is goin' t' be wonderin' where I be,"
"What if I help you?" little Robby asked, "He sent me to find you,"
"Tha'…would be mighty kind o' ye, lad," Mangle sighed happily, "Thank ye,"
"No problem," little Robby said, searching for the parts.
He did find them all, thankfully. And when he started putting them back together on the creature…he realized that Mangle was once a fox.
"A pretty fox like you can't have been called Mangle all these years," little Robby started, smoothing the last of the snowy fur down on the female pirate.
"Nay, lad…I be called Vixen back in tha glory days," Mangle smiled sadly, "But until tha day comes, I will be Mangle…until I get t' sail again with me Capt'n. Ol' Foxy an' I used t' be good friends. I was 'is first mate…an' then tha Incident…"
She shook her head sadly.
"'e was ne'er tha same after tha'," she whispered, "But…we best be gettin' a move on…BB is waitin',"
"Right," little Robby nodded as the two walked out of the room.
As soon as they entered the other room, the little bot grinned happily, waddling over to them both.
"You found her!" Balloon Boy beamed, "Vix…er…Mangle…do you know how to cheer him up?"
"Aye," Mangle nodded, "But this lad here needs t' be tha one t' do it,"
"What?" little Robby asked as Vixen gently poked him with her hook.
"Follow me lad," Mangle said, "But be careful…it's a mighty long way t' fall,"
Little Robby followed the fox, hesitating slightly when she jumped off a platform and into a swirling scarlet abyss. But, he figured that she wouldn't hurt him…so he jumped off, following her. The two sank through the clouds like they were sinking through thick liquid. Little Robby could see a dark shape to his right, but couldn't make out what it was. When they reached the bottom, they went left…revealing red balloon platforms. Mangle nodded towards the balloons and the two followed the platforms…until they reached the last one, revealing a large cake decorated with pink frosting.
"This is it?" little Robby blinked, "A cake?"
"Ye'll see, lad," Mangle replied knowingly, "Go on…take it,"
Little Robby shrugged and reached for the cake…just to reappear in the party room where Balloon Boy tried once again to comfort the grey child.
"Go on, lad," Mangle told him, "Give tha lil' 'un tha cake,"
Little Robby blinked before walking slowly towards the child. Balloon Boy saw him coming and backed away, leaving little Robby with the boy.
"Hey there," little Robby said with a smile, making the child sniff and wipe his little nose on his sleeve, "Um…would you like some cake?"
The boy froze, slowly turning around, his large, pale silver eyes swimming with tears…most of them dripping down his cheeks.
"It's…it's for me?" the child whispered.
Little Robby's heart ached as he heard the broken sound. It sounded like the faint rustle of the leaves in the fall…dry and cracked as if he'd screamed his little voice hoarse.
"All for you," he replied, holding the plate out for the boy.
The boy's tears dried up and he reached out with his left hand…sticking his index finger into the icing of the cake and sucking on the finger. His eyes lit up happily and he let out a soft laugh.
"Taste good?" little Robby asked and the boy nodded vigorously, "That's good…wait…what happened to your hand?!"
The boy's grey form darkened slightly as he held up his right hand…or rather, what was left of it.
"I…I don't remember," the child whispered as dark, black liquid dripped from his wrist, "It was bad…I don't remember how it happened…I don't…"
He closed his eyes.
"I don't remember anything,"
"Not even your name?" little Robby asked and the boy gave a choked sob, shaking his head, "Hey, don't cry…it's ok…"
He drew the child into a hug, ignoring the liquid that was getting on him.
"Don't worry," little Robby crooned, "I've got you…I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. I promise,"
A creaking door caught the two's attention.
"What's that?" the boy whispered.
"I don't know," little Robby admitted, "But we'll find out, how's that?"
The boy shook his head violently.
"I don't want to go in there," he stammered, "I…I'm scared,"
Little Robby looked at Mangle and then the boy.
"Do you like pirates?" he asked.
The boy blinked once, twice, three times before slowly nodding.
"Well, how would you like to be one?"
The boy's eyes lit up as a smile started to form on his face and he nodded even harder.
"Ok, Capt'n," little Robby smiled, "You know, Pirates aren't afraid of anything,"
"Anything?" the boy breathed.
"Anything," little Robby grinned, "So, Capt'n, are we gonna go through that door together? Or are you going to leave your first mate to go on alone?"
"I'm going with you, first mate!" the boy beamed, reaching up and signaling for little Robby to pick him up.
The boy had to be about twelve…but he was very, very light. So, little Robby picked up the boy and set him on his shoulder…
And the two walked through the door.
And so the freeing of the souls begins. I bet you can guess who this first little soul was! The others are just as easy. And yes, I'm taking off of the FNAF3 minigames. Originally I was going to have this as one big chapter, but then I decided to split it up into three parts so that two spirits would be freed for each one (well...next one not so much. There's three). Anyway, I'm probably not going to get the chance to write tomorrow seeing as how I'm getting everything packed up for college...and then I move back to campus on Saturday, so that'll be fun (and have a late chapter possibly). Anyway, until next time!
I hope you guys liked it, if you did send in the reviews! (Along with ideas because I will need them eventually!) :)
Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)
Máriessë ar mára tecië
Farewell and fair writing
Elhini Prime signing off.