I tried so not to give in.
I've said to myself, this affair never will go so well.

Can't Go Home Again

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Scott scrambled to dial the phone number while backing out of the driveway. His eyes scanned the road, trying to see if he could catch any sign of Ennard. Perhaps the animatronic was still nearby and while being at risk for being seen, Scott could possibly get him back before he made it to ARI. "Pick up, pick up…"

"Hello?" Mike's voice spoke over the line. Scott was quick to explain such a late call, not even asking why Mike was awake.

"I'm sorry, I know it's late, or early, but I just-… Something happened, and I needed to tell someone where I was going in case I didn't make it back." Scott swallowed uncomfortably, "I uh… I'm going to Afton Robotics."

"Why would you go back there?" Mike asked, a little more nonchalant than Scott expected. "Where's Baby? Did she ask you to go?"

"She's… She's gone, Mike. She left and I… I know she went back there," Scott explained. He continued to look around for any sign of the animatronic. "And I know I said I wouldn't go back there and I know it's stupid, but if I don't get her before someone else sees her, then we'll have more problems. Then we will have lawsuits, and- oh gosh- the press would be… I'm going back to bring her home."

"Scott, don't do it," Mike firmly stated. "You don't understand what's down there. You don't know what happened down there."

"I have to take my chances. Maybe I can stop her before she makes another mistake," Scott suggested as he drove a little faster. "Maybe I can catch her before she can get there." When Mike remained silent, Scott forced a chuckle, "Y-You know, I sort of assumed that you didn't know my name."

"I remember many things and forget few, and you're one of the ones who always pops back up," Mike answered back. Scott found the comment strange and noticed a weird tone on the voice, as though the speaker was giving it a synthesized sound. Suddenly it dawned on him that the chances of Mike being awake in the middle of the night, sounding so out of character, was very unlikely. Suspicion started to chew at Scott as he wondered if he was talking to the real Mike or the Puppet.

That alone was enough to cause Scott to lose track of focus. He was still driving, but his mind and voice both shut down, and everything was very uncomfortable. He thought it was bad enough with Ennard, but Ennard had never attacked him, and Ennard wasn't an offspring of William… Technically.

"Should we come for you?" Mike, or perhaps not Mike, asked. "Before you get into that elevator, before you walk into that building."

"Uh… No. I'll be fine." Scott didn't want anyone coming for him, especially if it was the Puppet, but part of him immediately regretted the words. "Just… Maybe… Maybe keep an ear out for if I call… And if I don't come back then he can come get me." His mouth dried out at a sense of déjà vu. He hated leaving this message twice. "…I'm not coming back alone."

"I don't think you understand the irony in those words," the other ominously pointed out. "Just be careful. I'll be listening."

"Thanks, bye," Scott rushed out and quickly hung up. Maybe it was Mike, maybe it was the Puppet, maybe the Puppet would ambush him going in or out of Afton's. Either way, it was down to him. He was the only one who could bring Ennard back.

Afton Robotics was just as sinister as ever as Scott pulled into the parking lot and approached the front doors. He was surprised to see that the door had been chained by now broken chains. Not because Ennard broke the chains to get in, but because someone had cared enough to chain the front door closed. He was certain that Afton's had been abandoned and he doubted anyone would want anything to do with it. He stepped over the chains and inside the building.

Scott had been in Afton Robotics a handful of times. Usually it was for a brief stint and only once was it to directly see William, but the building always unnerved him. Mostly because it was always so devoid of workers. At some point, William had laid off any of the few workers that worked for him, and at that point it was just him and his deep-rooted building. It felt like walking into a cemetery.

He entered the elevator and chose the level that he could remember, unsurprised that the power was on. After all, Ennard probably used the same elevator. The animatronic had unintentionally paved the way that led right to it right to it. Scott stepped out and entered the same vent that Mike and plenty of others had entered. The walls were cold and unforgiving, and Scott had forgotten how awkward it was to crawl with a fake leg. It was the little things that reminded him that he really didn't need to be down here.

Then was the Control Module and three gaping vents. Scott went through the one across from the elevator, came out in the Circus Control Module, and found not a sign of Ennard. Though once he returned to the first Control Module, he was surprised to hear something coming through one of the vents, though it was a distant noise. Perhaps of a squeaky door closing.

Thankfully, Scott did manage to bring a flashlight from his car, because elsewise it would've been pitch dark as he maneuvered himself through the next vent and into a large, almost entirely empty room. Noises of some kind were coming from the far side, hidden behind a door and a sign that labelled it as 'Parts and Services'. Scott took a moment to swallow his dread.

"This is a mistake. This is a stupid mistake. Turn around, go home." Yet his hand reached out for the door. "…But not without Ennard." He opened the door before he could regret it and shined his light into the maintenance room. "Ennard?"

"Scott!" He could recognize that faux-Freddy cry from anywhere and watched as Ennard appeared out of the shadows. "What are you doing here?! How'd ya even get here?!"

"I came to find you," Scott assured as he stepped closer. His fear started to diminish. "Look, I… I know you did a few terrible things… And I know there are things that you won't tell me…" Ennard lowered its head in shame. "But… But nobody deserves a fate like this. I know William hurt you. He hurt me too, but…" He shakily moved in closer; Ennard wasn't going to hurt him. He raised out a shaky hand towards the animatronic, asking for his own. "We can move past that. Maybe we're both broken, but we can live as broken people, and we can be happy in a broken body if we stay together."

The clown animatronic looked upwards at him. It showed no expression, it very well couldn't, but its motions showed a sort of hope. "…We can?" Then its gaze lowered back to Scott's shaking hand. It carefully reached out and took ahold.

"Yeah. It's a little harder, but we'll be okay," Scott assured. "I can't give you a normal human life, Ennard, but my home is your home. Come home with me. It's not much, but it isn't this cold basement."

Without a word, the amalgam closed the space between. Scott knew what was coming before Ennard's arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly to it. A few of its wires came loose and began to wrap around Scott's arms and back. However, this time Scott wasn't afraid. He started to hug back and only in that moment did he realize how attached he had become to Ennard. He wanted it to come home with him, to live with him and his cats, and he was willing to go against the others with that thought.

"Thank you, Scott," Ennard murmured. It was still Freddy's voice, but there was something heavier on it, crackling and gargling. For a moment, Scott recognized that other voice briefly hanging on Freddy's, but it didn't scare him. "You're so wonderful. You're the only human I've ever met who I've wanted to be with. I want to be a part of your life." It squeezed later and crackled into laughter. "You're just so warm! I never want to ever let you go!"

"Sorry to shoot you down, but I don't think we can walk out of here attached like this," Scott playfully remarked. He slowly pulled out of Ennard's wiring. "Let's hurry out of here. I don't know if there's any monitors, but I don't want to risk getting caught. You can just hide in the back seat and I can drive us home." He turned and headed out of the maintenance room, guiding Ennard along. Their hands were still comfortably together, and Scott led Ennard like he was leading a child through Freddy's. "Stay close."

They started heading through the Funtime Auditorium together.

"I'm so glad you came for me! I-I thought I'd be stuck down here forever!" Ennard admitted as they approached the vent. Right as Scott was going to climb in, Ennard's hand stopped him. "Wait, wait, while we're down here I want to show you something."

"Show me what?" Scott asked somewhat hesitantly.

"My old bodies! Look, a couple are right over there!" Ennard pointed into the dark and Scott followed with his flashlight. There, on the distant stage, was the remains of two animatronics. Scott hesitantly approached the stage and looked over the remaining plates. "It's pretty weird, isn't it? I used to be a part of them! The animatronic wires from there are now in me!" Ennard continued to explain, excited that Scott was looking at his pieces.

"Funtime Freddy and Funtime Foxy… I never thought I'd see them in person," Scott admitted. Though these plates looked a little different than the ones he had seen before. William made these specifically to come apart. He didn't even want to imagine why. "And the others?"

"Aren't in here, but they look pretty close to this," Ennard assured. It then turned his head and pointed over towards another door. "And that's that other hallway room. There's nothing really in there, but we can look if you want." Then it turned back to Scott, looking excitable. "But there's one thing I really want to show you. It's… It's sort of a funny thing, but… But I want to show you everything. I want you to know everything." It reached to take Scott's hand again, its voice quieting down, its wires squeezing Scott's flesh. "Before we go home together."

"Okay…" Scott noticed something changing in Ennard's touches. As it led him to the other side of the room, its wires caressed over his hand, affectionately petting him. "There aren't any security cameras?"

"I don't think anybody's here," Ennard assured. "They stopped sending night guards a long time ago… But that's good. That means we're here together just ourselves." It looked back to Scott, releasing a fuzzy sort of noise from its voice box. "You're the only one I want to be with." The wires caressed again as it opened the door and stepped through, coaxing Scott with it. The room was odd; a control panel with glass panes staring into another open room with some sort of claw looking object. "…This is the Scooping Room."

Almost immediately, the name made Scott feel uncomfortable. Mike had said something about this room. "Scooping room, huh? What… What did they do here?"

"They take apart animatronics here. Look," Ennard pressed a hand to the glass and tapped where the claw was. "That's the Scooper. They put the animatronic in there and the insides are scooped out… That's why I'm like this, why I don't have a body… I'm just a bunch of the insides without the outside." Ennard explained, looking over at Scott. "…They used to do this all the time. I don't remember it, I don't remember any of the times, but I know that they hurt. Yet they always had them in here, taking them apart, taking out their insides."

"…Were they breaking down? Were you breaking down?" Scott quietly asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so," Ennard admitted. "This room has caused a lot of pain, but it also helped create me, so is it a good or a bad room?"

"I don't think rooms are good or bad," Scott assured. "It's just… What is done that is good or bad. Like- Like you said; they didn't want to be taken apart forcibly, but when they did it willingly to make you- to come together- it was different. It still hurt, but it was a willing hurt… I'm sorry, I'm babbling. Did any of that make sense?" Scott inquired. Ennard turned to him, gave a small chuckle, and seemed to brighten further.

"It makes a lot of sense!" Ennard leaned in and wrapped his arms around Scott's body again. It held him close, pressing its masked cheek against Scott's own and lightly nuzzling him. "It doesn't scare you?"

"Why would it scare me?" Scott asked in response. "You were created differently, but it's nothing to be afraid of. Not if you're happy."

"But I've always been like this. I've never been fully together. I've always been broken," Ennard assured as it guided Scott's head under its own. Scott was surprised at how affectionate Ennard had suddenly become. "…But you make me feel like I'm complete. Like I'm my own person!... I really like you, Scott." He could feel the wires of Ennard's body shifting and trembling against him, overly excited.

"I like you too, Ennard," Scott affirmed back. This was weird, but it didn't exactly feel bad. In fact, it was sort of nice being held like this. Ennard turned his head down and Scott could hear his mask opening. Then he felt the metal of Ennard's hidden face pressing against the top of his head. It was undeniably intimate, especially after how protective he was with his mask.

"We're broken, but we have each other. Places like this do terrible things, but they can also do good things," Ennard clarified. Then his voice slowly started to change. The Funtime Freddy voice started to grow a little lower in pitch, as though Ennard was trying to swap into a different voice, but was stuck between it and static. That, or it was trying to express emotions through the voice. "I know how we can be fixed."

"H-How?" Scott's voice was shaky. Everything suddenly felt very intense. It was like those moments when he would be under Afton's thumb; he loved it and yet felt so vulnerable.

"You have broken insides. You hurt because of the accident, because of your parts, your 'wiring', your insides aren't working," Ennard slowly explained. "I'm incomplete. Just a bunch of broken wires wearing a mask, pretending I'm a full person." Then he squeezed Scott tighter. "I want to become a part of you."

"…I don't understand." He couldn't mean what Scott thought he meant.

"We could use this room and fix each other," Ennard assured as he drew back and looked to Scott, mask having snapped closed as he drew back. "I could become your endoskeleton."

"Ennard, you're not-." For a split second, Scott thought that Ennard was joking. Then the horrific realization that he wasn't fully set in. "But that wouldn't work!"

"No, no, it would!" Ennard assured. "You know everything, so you'd be in charge, and we would do everything together. Then you wouldn't have to worry about the pain- I could even replace your leg! Or, if you don't like that, I could take off mine. Anything to make you happy." Its wire hand caressed over Scott's cheek, tracing along his scars. "I could take care of you."

"But, no, Ennard, you don't understand." As horrified as Scott suddenly became, he realized that maybe the animatronic was just a little confused. "Humans aren't like animatronics. Our parts can't come out without us dying. It doesn't work like that."

"But it worked last time."

And suddenly Scott knew he had made a terrible mistake.

"Last time…?" he choked out. "What- What last time?" Because it all suddenly sunk in, "Ennard did this to somebody else?!"

"It was before it was me, back when it was them," Ennard assured him. "They wanted to leave here, but they needed to look like him, so they used his body. It didn't last- They couldn't stay- but it worked for a while! Maybe it'll be different if we do it. I've been thinking about it a lot; I couldn't stop thinking about it even when I wanted to. There's so much we could do to stay with each other forever." It tugged him closer and caressed over his back in slow, languid strokes. "It's different this time."

"Different how?" Scott quietly asked.

"It's just you and me," Ennard answered. "And you're so… so… warm." The animatronic's wires all shifted and trembled. "I can't stand another moment apart! What do you say?"

"…Uh… Ennard…" Scott's voice was anxious, but he was suddenly hyper aware of the risk of turning down the offer. Suddenly, everything was a lot more terrifying. "I'm not- I don't think- I'm not sure about this… But I trust you- But we could just go home right now! We could just head home and this- and not do this. I-I mean it's going to be weird, right?"

"It's going to be wonderful." Ennard was getting breathier in its speaking. "No more pain, nothing out of place; I'll be a part of you. I want to be a part of you." It took ahold of Scott's wrist. "Let's hurry. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can get home!"

"…Okay," Scott reluctantly agreed, mind racing. He bit his lip, "It… It won't hurt?"

"It only hurts for a moment, I promise," Ennard answered. It reached upwards and traced its wires along his cheek. "No more than you've already been hurting. It's all going to be better; I'm going to make us both all better."

"I'll do it," Scott agreed again with finality. "I… I do want it. I want us to be closer and if this is the only way… I'd like my leg back." He forced a smile. "But… Can we hurry? I want to get home before sunrise, okay?"

Ennard gave a happy giggle and led Scott out of the room and to the maintenance hatch beside it. Scott reached for the door when he suddenly froze and recoiled, grabbing his shoulder with a hiss.

"What? What's wrong?" Ennard inquired, tilting its head. "Did the pain come back? Did you take your medicine?"

"No, I forgot my dose before I left… But I guess I won't need it anymore," Scott suggested with a sigh. "Can you get it?"

"Oh, sure!" Ennard chirped as it turned the latch on the door and tugged it open. It then took Scott's injured hand. "All the pain's going to be over soon, I promise. I won't hurt you once I'm inside." It then guided him inside the cramped hatch, leading him by the hand. For a split second, the wires lost contact with skin.

In that moment, Scott slammed the door closed and secured the latch. Suddenly there was a metal door in between them, with Scott on the outside and Ennard trapped on the inside.

"Scott?!" Ennard cried out in surprise. "What are you doing?!" Scott was shocked that he had managed to keep his composure together as it was. Now, with the door closed between them, he started to lose it.

"I-I'm sor- I'm sorry, but I can't- I can't agree to that!" Scott blurted out through broken chokes of rising panic. "You want me to- You want to cut me open and climb into my body?! Why- How would I agree to that?! Ennard, that would kill me!" The man was growing more worked up. "And I thought you weren't like the others! They want to stuff me in a suit, you want to make me a suit- I have to draw the line somewhere, Ennard! I already lost one limb!"

"Scott, please…" Ennard's voice dropped into despair. "I thought you liked me. I wanted to be part of you." Something sounded so unnerving and yet Scott could only rest his head against the door, feeling his growing sadness. One moment he felt like he truly wanted Ennard to come home with him and then this happened. "I still want to be a part of you."

"I… I don't believe you," Scott quietly answered. It hurt to admit it. "…I think you were just pretending, because you wanted me down here, just like Mike said. Were you even telling the truth about there being more than one of you, or was that just a lie to excuse your actions?" Scott breathed heavily, licking his lips. "I can't do this."

"Just like Mike said… Pretending…" Ennard echoed back with an unreadable emotion. "Can't? No, wait, what are you saying?!"

"I'm sorry, Ennard, but I'm going home… And I'm not coming back," Scott revealed as he drew back from the door.

"You're going to leave me here and go home?!" Ennard's voice cracked. Though he then paused and switched to laughter. "Ha ha ha! You're joking! Okay, let me out, let's go home." There was a pause. "…Please?"

"I can't do that Ennard," Scott fumbled out. "…Because I don't know if you're going to let us go home." He could hear the scraping on the door. "You'll… You'll find a way out, but I can't- I can't let you out while I'm still here…" His voice caught as he pressed his forehead to the coldness of the door. The animatronic had gone silent and even though the situation was how it was, he felt guilty. "I'm sorry…"

"Scott," Ennard spoke.

"I really am sorry, but I can't do it," Scott quietly asked back.

"Sco-ott," Ennard repeated, it's voice crackling and deepening.

"Ennard, please. I need to go," Scott nearly begged. "Don't make this any harder, please."

"Scott." Scott was cut off by the sudden change of voice. It was wavering and low, crackling and strange. Sounding uncomfortably deep and mechanical, and too animatronic-like. Both masculine and inhuman. Scott couldn't brace himself for what was coming.

"I will find a way out."

A chill spread down Scott's spine along with a surge of pain, which was numbed by the growing panic. He took a few steps back from the door, still staring at it as he recognized the voice from before. That was the voice that Ennard had used before when looking for his mask. Scott has a suspicion that the voice he currently heard, the voice echoing through the door, was Ennard's real voice.

A sudden bang on the door sent Scott into a scrambled dash back towards the vent. He climbed back inside and shuffled out into the module, then started to climb back to the elevator. He could hear the banging still as he climbed out and approached the closed elevator doors. Pressing the button yielded no response and one glance over it made him realize that Ennard had somehow cut the power. Ennard had cut the power before he even knew that Scott was going to run. Ennard had Scott completely trapped.

His mind went straight to the lack of power and tried to process where he would be able to turn the power back on. He clamored back through the vent and, with it being his only option, took through the fourth vent, away from Ennard and the dead end of the Circus Control. Scott was halfway through when he heard an enormous banging sound from back in the Funtime Auditorium. He didn't need to question it, he knew that Ennard had broken through the hatch. It was now coming for him.

"Scott!" Scott briefly hitched as he heard the voice calling after him through the vents. "Don't run frrrom me! I-I-I don't want to huuurt you! I want to make us- make us complete! I know you're scared,"Suddenly there was a banging noise from the other vent and the human reacted by scrambling out of the vent he was currently in and into the Ballora Gallery. "But I'm nnnot letting you go!"

A quick look over the Ballora Gallery guided him to a door on the opposite side. Maybe it was luck, but this just happened to be the room that controlled the power, and its power seemed to be functioning just fine. It only took him a second to turn on a mounted monitor and begin to scan a map of the floor. To his immediate panic, there didn't seem to be another way out other than the elevator. He still went ahead with turning the power back on for it when he heard the footsteps moving in.

Scott threw himself back on the door and fumbled with the lock. It was a bolt lock and not a very stable looking one, so he doubted it would hold long. Especially when a heavy weight was suddenly thrown against the door. The metal shook and the hinges squealed in a complaint. He feared that if he moved away the door would've immediately faltered under Ennard's strength. Then there was silence, save Scott's own panting. Then he heard the soft squeaking crunch as the clown pressed its mask against the metal of the door. Its voice was quieter, but it was still the same voice as before.

"Y-You said we could be happy in a broken body, as long aaas we stayed toget-toget-together," the animatronic purred in a whisper. His voice wavered from what the human assumed was a lack of regular use. Scott, meanwhile, was immediately regretting his previous wording while in the Parts and Service room. Wire hands slammed against the door hard enough that it shook under the pressure.

"Ennard, what are you doing?! I thought- We're friends!" Scott tried to reason with him. "I-I just- Stop!" There was a gurgling noise, but Ennard responded by hitting the door again, seemingly only spurred on. This wasn't anything like Ennard had been acting before. "You don't want this!"

"I need this!" Ennard answered.

Something with this sentence hurt. While Scott had been blindly fleeing without much thought of his emotions, he now was forced to consider the possibility that it had all been pretend. All the affection, all of what happened, all of Ennard himself, it all could have be completely faked to get close to him. If Ennard 'needed' his body, then he could've gone as far as possible to get it.

Scott had to get out of here quickly and he noticed a corridor leading out of the room. With the animatronic briefly stopping his assault on the door, Scott made a mad dash down the corridor and into the Circus Gallery. Once again, he was stuck with nowhere to escape to. With desperation setting in, he barely managed to notice an open hatch into the wall.

He slid inside and closed the hatch behind him just in time to hear Ennard approaching at a distance. His voice still echoed through the empty rooms, calling for him, and Scott turned off his flashlight while in the vent. He was briefly thrown into complete darkness. He couldn't remember if Ennard could see in the dark or not, but maybe it would help his chance.

Scott tried to quietly scoot back through the tight squeeze, hoping that the animatronic wouldn't hear him. He climbed out on the other side, turned on his flashlight, and was struck by something unexpected. The room Scott stepped into was painted like the area outside of one of the Pizzerias. Scott stared at the decorations with a growing sense of disturbance. He didn't want to know what William was doing down here, but he couldn't help but assume the worst.

"Why would William make something like this?!" He was very aware of William's crimes, but this all seemed to go beyond what he knew about. By now his nerves were running rampant, his hands tingled, his body was sore, and his prosthetic was loose. Scott had no choice but to lean over and try to secure it on tighter. All the while, he swore that Ennard's banging was getting louder.

For only a moment, Scott wondered exactly what it would feel like to have the scooper tear into him like a machine. He could only imagine the blood, and only now remembered the spots of 'rust' he had seen on Ennard's wires. He inwardly shuddered and tried to predict the amalgam's next movements. The likelihood of it finding the vent was already slim enough, but to then connect that Scott had gone through-.

There was a crash of noise as the hatch was yanked from its hinges. Scott choked and ducked down, half suspecting the hatch to fly at him. He looked back just in time to see Ennard's upper body sliding through. His wires were twitching and wriggling wildly and there was something much more predatory in his movements. Blue eyes locked onto him and the animatronic began to quicken its movements.

Scott pushed off the ground and broke into a sprint. He could hear the sliding squeak of wire on metal as Ennard climbed out onto the mock pavement and started to sprint after him. He was much faster than the man could've ever imagined him to be and if it wasn't for the corner closing in, he would've no down have been caught. Around the corner was a fake 'home' and a wooden, not metal, door leading inside. Scott forced his way through and shut the door behind him, but was horrified to find that there was no way to lock it.

"Oh God, oh God no, no," Scott babbled out as he looked around. The house looked disturbingly like William's own and thus his eyes landed on the hallway. He started to run, but only barely got inside before he heard the cracking of wood as the door splintered apart. Ennard didn't even try the door, but just barged himself through like he was crazed.

"I don't understand! I'm trrrying to hel-lp you! Why are you running from me?!" Ennard yelled after him. "I thought you liked me! I thought you were mine!"

Scott got to the door at the end of the hall, only half noticing that the hallway was clearly missing doors, and barged through. He looked to be in a pink themed bedroom and, to his horror, there didn't seem to be any immediate way out.

"There's got to be a way out! William would've never built a dead end!" The rational thought snapped Scott back into scanning the environment. It was then that he noticed the tight looking vent in the corner, painted to match the wall. He threw himself at it, assuming it would lead through to the room on the other side and closer to the hatch back into the Circus Gallery. Then he would need to make a break for the elevator. He grabbed his keys out of his pocket and jammed one of them under the edge of the vent. To his surprise, it popped open easily.

There was a cracking as Ennard's body hit the bedroom door at full force. Scott just barely managed to jam the keys back into his pocket and start into the vent when the door slammed against the wall. Apparently, Ennard actually got the idea to open the door this time. Scott scrambled into the tight space when something grabbed ahold of his fake leg and yanked. Unfortunately for Ennard, the loose prosthetic immediately came off, giving Scott a few extra moments. He thought he was getting away and could already see the other end of the vent.

Then the wires climbed in and grabbed around his other ankle, yanking him back and dragging him back through the vent. Scott tried to hold on, but his hands couldn't hold, and he slid straight out onto the animatronic's waiting grasp. Before Scott could even attempt to fight, he was turned over and nearly slammed down against the carpet. Wire fingers wrapped tightly around his arms, to the point where he was sure they would cut off his circulation, and Ennard was leaning in much too close for comfort.

"Y-You would leave me locked aw-w-way in there! You would've left me here! Why?! What did I do wrong?!" The fury was undeniable and the mixture of whirring and thrashing wires left Scott too unnerved to even speak. He couldn't even try to defend himself. Its frustration then dropped off to a much more desperate begging. "I need this. I need you. I want to help you." He then drew back, grabbing Scott's good leg with every intention of dragging him. "I WILL fix us."

And Scott's panic, which briefly receded as Ennard didn't immediately kill him, returned in full force, because he knew exactly what the animatronic was suggesting.

"No, Ennard, stop!" Scott broke out as he started to get dragged out of the room, with Ennard grabbing his prosthetic on the way out. "This- This can't fix us! This isn't- It doesn't work!" He grabbed ahold of the doorframe and fought against the grip on his ankle, "I don't know what they are telling you or what they told you, but it's a lie! A human can't survive like that! I'm not like you; I'm a living being, I'm not made of wires!"

This got a brief reaction. Or Ennard gave an inward shudder, seemingly disturbed by something that Scott had said. Though Scott wasn't sure which part of that had been the weak spot. Either way, it didn't stop him from continuing to drag the man back through the false diorama. He maneuvered him through the hatch and by time they were in the Circus Gallery, Ennard had him back on the floor and was dragging him again, almost insistently. Scott's continued fighting and arguing fell of deaf ears, as though the animatronic couldn't even hear him.

Ennard only stopped to turn on the electricity in one of the other rooms, which Scott expected to be the Scooping Room. The animatronic then attempted to proceed and drag Scott towards the door, moving backwards and watching as he did so, and paused at the broken open door. For a few seconds, Ennard was still and simply staring down at Scott, as though he was considering something. Before it could think any longer, it gave a violent twitch and continued to back out of the breaker room, as though controlled by some sort of unseen force.

Though before they could even get fully out the door, something suddenly flung itself into Ennard and the amalgam staggered, releasing Scott's leg. The man pushed himself back along the floor, hearing a scuffling, a banging, and an obvious fight between Ennard and something else. The sound of rapidly playing, chiming music echoed out from the Ballora Gallery. Specifically, a familiar tune that immediately gave away the identity of Ennard's attacker. Scott dared to near the door and shined the flashlight into the gallery.

There was Ennard fighting with the Puppet. It had come for him. The Puppet who had hunted him before, who attacked him in the past, and seemed completely adamant in its aggression was now trying to save him from Ennard.

Strings tightened around wires, wrapping around the amalgam's neck as he tried to yank the Puppet off. The Puppet proceeded to latch onto him and even when forced off, the strings would reel him back in. There was a clash of static and mechanical growling, shrieking and distorted chiming, and finally Ennard managed to toss Marionette off. Marionette caught himself before hitting the ground and upright-ed himself, hovering in place and staring Ennard down with pinpricks of light in his eyes.

Ennard briefly sized up the other animatronic before releasing a mechanical shriek- one that virtually sounded like nothing like any of his voice- and rushing back in. Marionette jolted back out of his reach and hovered towards the abandoned remains of Ballora. He then raised his striped arms and with them raised the abandoned plates around him. They were then launched towards Ennard telekinetically and the amalgam blocked its mask as the metal clattered against its wires.

In the split second that Ennard shielded his upper body, Marionette rushed in and slid underneath him, wrapping his strings all around the amalgam's legs and coming out the other side. He then tightened his wires, attempting to trip up Ennard. However, Ennard was not looking for a result like the last time they had fought, and instead tightened his own wires on the strings, stopping the Puppet from being able to tighten any further. Then he leaned down and grabbed the strings, yanking the Puppet back.

Marionette briefly slid on the tiled floor, but then turned himself over with a forewarning blare of static and chimes. He sprung off the ground and Ennard dodged just enough that the other animatronic merely slipped over his shoulder, not realizing that this was the intention. Marionette nimbly slipped around his back and with a few, quick winds of his arm had strings tightening around Ennard's neck. Strangling him was not an option, but this was the perfect opportunity to try and reign him in by forcing control.

Ennard immediately went into a frenzy, fighting as the strings wove in deeper into his wires. Between the strange sensation in his limbs and the tone Marionette was producing, one that was clouding his senses, it was getting more difficult to resist. This, of course, was the intention. If Marionette couldn't convince Ennard to stop- at this point he doubted that was a possibility- then he would force him to yield under other means.

Though this plan started to unravel the moment that Ennard started maneuvering back towards the wall of the Control Module. He started reaching out for the Puppet with its wires and tried to keep him in place long enough to trap him on the wall. In the last moment, Marionette pushed off to dodge getting pinned, but Ennard was waiting and swung out with an arm, shoving the Puppet back against the wall and pinning him in place. Unlike Scott, Marionette was quite able to get free, so Ennard nearly had to wrap his wires around the slender body just to keep him from sliding out of his grasp.

A forceful push of telekinesis caused Ennard to stumble back and some of his wires come loose, which almost gave Marionette enough of a gap to get away. He started to climb backwards up the wall when Ennard grabbed his leg. If it wasn't the sudden jolt of electricity that suddenly shocked through his body, causing him to freeze, the Puppet would've escaped and proceeded with another attack. The electricity had been so sudden, and he hadn't even known that a jolt so small would've affected him. He didn't even know that Ennard could discharge electricity at all.

There was a brief struggle that ended with Ennard's wires around Marionette's neck, pressing him front first against the metal wall and pressing porcelain tightly against metal. The amalgam held him tighter against the wall as the Puppet's priorities rapidly changed from attacking to shielding his mask, which was a fight in and of itself. Ennard planted his other hand on the back of Marionette's head, pressing his mask tighter until the pressure was starting to reach a literal breaking point.

The Puppet's music dissolved into a mess of panicking chimes as he tried to push back on the wall. He could feel the beginnings of cracks appearing on his cheek and knew that the strength of Ennard's grasp could easily break his mask. Then he would be defenseless.

Ennard had him right where he wanted him and unless something changed quickly- unless the elevator moved faster, unless Ennard changed his mind, unless Marionette could fight back-.

"Ennard, stop! Let him go!"

Unless Scott suddenly decided to insert himself back into focus instead of fleeing, like Marionette had somewhat assumed and hoped that he would. Instead, Scott stood his ground- though only metaphorically as he still couldn't find his leg. The man had moved dramatically over the course of the fight and, even though neither had noticed, now was only a few feet away from the vent. He had abandoned his prosthetic, not wanting to shine his flashlight around and draw attention to himself.

"…I'll go with you willingly, don't hurt him," Scott submitted in defeat. "I'll take the pain, just let- just let him go… He's not involved in this." He didn't want to do it. He wanted to stop the assault on the Puppet- on the once-human that had come to protect him- but he truly didn't want what he was agreeing to do. Yet he wouldn't fight.

He could never stop William, but he was going to do whatever it took to stop Ennard. Even if that meant he was the one who would get injured in the process.

Ennard slowly unwound himself from Marionette, staring blankly at Phone Guy the entire time, and the Puppet slid to the floor where he immediately started to feel over the cracks in his face. They weren't too severe and would close quickly, but he was still weakened enough that rounding on Ennard with a surprise attack would fail. Instead, he pulled himself together enough to look over, watching as Ennard slowly crossed over to his human companion.

Scott wouldn't raise his eyes off the ground as Ennard approached. He only clamped his eyes closed as the amalgam grabbed his arm and lifted him from the floor. The motion was much gentle than earlier, perhaps because of his willingness. Then again, anything other than being dragged was significantly more 'gentle' in a situation like this. He was still balancing on one leg, so he was almost entirely reliant on the animatronic to move him. Which he did; Ennard wrapped an arm around his middle and began to maneuver him around the gallery.

After retrieving the fake leg- apparently Ennard was more determined to keep bringing it with them than Scott was- he moved the man back to the vent. While Scott didn't willingly cooperate, he didn't fight; to him, there was no point. Though before Ennard could pull him into the vent, he looked over towards the Puppet, whom was still staring after him. He hoped it had a plan, because he didn't. Scott had a growing suspicion that he wasn't leaving here without something terrible happening. Sadly enough, Scott wasn't surprised by it, even if he didn't want to accept it.

And then Scott was dragged into the vent and could no longer see the Puppet. For the first time in his life, Scott hoped that he would see him again, but doubted it when the wires tightened around him. They almost felt like a noose.

But why should I try to resist when I know so well, I've got you
under my skin.