Author's Note: Hope you all enjoy!
Chapter 179
Take 5 Night 1
The heavy door flung open and Alex started babbling the moment she saw Hedy.
"Oh shit. Oh shit. Fucking hell, I think she's going to kill him!"
Hedy was wearing an expression like she somehow knew something bad had happened, just not exactly what. Her phone signal to Ruby had finally cut and all she had were crackles.
She followed Alex back to the elevator with a tense look. "What did he do?"
"The weird Hand-Unit thing was giving instructions and it told us to shock the robots." She glanced back at Hedy and added quickly, "I didn't, I promise. Just, he pressed the button, and it was really loud and the next minute she tackled him and she's got a taser out and she really looks about to murder him, Hedy!"
The elevator doors opened and now they could hear Ruby yelling while Andre was pretty much panicking incoherently.
"You fucking touch that button again and I'll shove this taser where the sun doesn't shine!"
"Get off me you psycho!"
"I will feed you through a woodchipper you moron! You hear me!? A woodchipper. And I'd get away with it because who'd search for your dumb ass?!"
Hedy surveyed the scene for just a moment.
Andre flat on his back and attempting to get the teen off him, but she had his arms pinned. She knew how to use his own weight against him. If he could get the slightest leverage, he could have pushed her off easily. He was panicking too much to do much more than yell and try and get away from the taser though.
"Ruby, back up," Hedy said, "Explain calmly what just happened."
Alex stared at Hedy. How could she be so calm? Ok maybe "calm" wasn't the right word. She looked closer, and realized there was anger bubbling under the surface.
At least Hedy wasn't the physically violent type (as far as Alex knew). Why was she asking Ruby what happened? Alex had just told her. But Hedy had her reasons…Alex could tell that, at least.
The woman was faced with the uncomfortable realization that this was another moment where she didn't know Hedy as well as she thought she did, even after all the time spent in classes together.
Despite the fact that the teen was practically foaming at the mouth, she still listened to Hedy, although she scowled fiercely.
She pushed off with her knee. Not enough to break ribs though.
Andre wheezed as Ruby shifted her weight off his lungs.
"He just shocked one of the bots. With enough voltage that it lit the entire room up!" she snarled while Andre scrambled back to his feet.
Ruby grit her teeth as she glared at him. She had always been very careful with how much she shocked the bots, even before Hedy arrived. And this expert had carelessly used far too much voltage on bots they barely knew anything about.
Hedy's mouth set into a thin line and her nails dug into her armrest as Ruby started pacing in the small space.
"Why would you do that?" she asked Andre.
Andre glared at her, casting a look at Ruby as well with his fright over. He flinched a tiny bit at her death glare. This was a rarely used look that even gave Puppet pause so he had no chance against it.
"The Hand-Unit said it's supposed to put her back on stage. Where she's supposed to be."
Behind them, Alex hesitantly pressed the blue button and they got their first look at one of the bots. At least partly. All she could see was a silhouette. The window and location of the control room were not well designed.
"I'm not even a mechanic and I know that amount of voltage damages them!" Ruby shouted, prowling around the room in a very similar way to Foxy when he was at his angriest Hedy was surprised that Betty hadn't made an appearance yet. "Do you have any idea how much pain that must put them in?!"
Andre paused, a small startled laugh catching him. Wait, was she serious?. "They're just robots," he said, his scoff almost sounding kind for once. Like he just had a realization about Ruby. He knew there might have been something off with her. Oh was this going to be one of those kinds of jobs? Where he had to work with people who clearly watched too many movies? Granted, he hadn't had to work alongside a literal child before, especially one that attacked him, but even his son knew the difference between fiction and reality at his age.
Her vicious snarl made him take a few steps back again. There was something about her that still made him very wary.
It took a lot to keep Ruby's mouth shut and Hedy forced herself to take a deep breath before speaking. She was hoping to ease the other two into this a little more subtly. They didn't have the Building there to make living robots seem like a normal thing. Alex, at least, had been exposed to the idea while under the influence of the Pizzeria's grounds.
"They are not just robots, Andre." She refused to call him "Mr." anything despite their age difference. She kept going before he could question her. "And even if they weren't, use some fucking common-sense. We're here because there are problems with this facility, one of which may very well be excessive damage to the bots on the part of the Hand-Unit system. Don't just fucking do what it tells you!"
Andre frowned, his lips pinching together as fake patience hissed through his teeth. "Ms. Fitzgerald. You always follow the client's native protocol and if there's a problem, you request a change officially and do what you're told until then. You would know that if you completed your studies and had experience in a professional environment."
Why did he feel the need to add that last part?
"He's kind of right..." Alex mumbled, wincing as Ruby whirled around to glare at her. "We had that contracting lecture...the one where you can get legally in trouble if you don't follow protocol and something happens. If it's on paper or a record of some kind, you aren't liable."
Ooh that touched a nerve. Alex regretted saying anything and winced again at the look Hedy shot her. Usually Hedy had better humor about Alex correcting her. That's what they did. That's how they studied together a lot. Hedy was weirdly intuitive about fixing mechanical issues. If it could move, she could look at something and just…know how it moved. But she couldn't always explain what she did. Alex was more of a coder. She was better at scanning and finding details in things that had to be read. Hedy often asked her (or Sarah when the mood suited the housemate) to check over the reports she had to write.
But at the moment Hedy looked irritated. "You both know applying an unknown voltage to any type of machinery without any thought is exactly how you damage a client's asset if you're stupid enough to do that without knowing anything."
"Well, that hurt…" Alex muttered, glaring back at Hedy a little. Hedy had a good point though…
Ruby scoffed quietly, standing near the window now with her back to them. Hedy knew just from looking at her that she was itching to go check on the bot, a tense set to her shoulders and arms crossed. She was sticking to their "watch and wait" plan though. Shockingly, no pun intended. The teen spoke again after a moment and Hedy also recognised her tone. This was Ruby's 'I actually paid attention to something I was taught so shut up and listen' tone. It very rarely made an appearance, although it got used on the manager the most. Hedy had been subjected to it once when she made the mistake of asking about Ruby's contract.
Ruby couldn't care less about schoolwork but she got positively gleeful about legal stuff.
"One, Afton is the one who hired you. You're supposed to listen to him." Ruby looked back at them once she had a handle on her temper, expression telling them exactly what she thought of their argument. Hedy never got the dreaded 'older sister is disappointed' look that the bots did. She blamed Andre for breaking that streak.
Ruby continued speaking when Andre and Alex had unconsciously wilted under her glare.
"Instead of using common sense and waiting to check whether that was the right course of action with the guy who hired you, you listened to a pre-recorded message that could have been made by literally anyone. So, technically, you could get in trouble legally for damaging the animatronics on the word of a message you don't know the origin of. Afton could sue you."
Andre had paled a bit. Moments like these reminded Hedy that Ruby knew a few very good lawyers. And she could make a damn good argument when she kept her volatile temper under control. Girl would be a menace as a lawyer and thankfully she'd shown no inclination to that career path.
Subjecting the courts to Ruby would be cruel. And a very bad idea considering her skewed moral compass.
"Besides," Ruby looked back out the window after a beat of silence. "Say the message was made by the company and it's 'official'. The company doesn't own the bots. Afton does. He never sold them to the business, just lent them out via a contract. A contract that very specifically states that legal action would follow if any of the animatronics were damaged."
Alex glanced at Hedy, silently wondering where the night-guard-turned-assistant had found all of this out. And why a teenager was lecturing them on contracts embarrassingly well.
It was the first time Hedy had ever heard about this but she nodded as if she knew. She trusted Ruby to know her legal stuff. Honestly, the girl would make a terrifying lawyer.
The revelation did cause Hedy to think of all the crap she had to fix over what was quickly approaching a year by now though.
Mangle. The Originals. That virus-like programming in the Toys. Fucking what happened to Goldy.
Ruby (and Goldy) could explain it to her a thousand times but Hedy would likely always have the uncomfortable feeling that Goldy was actually dead, basically gutted by the company. The bear wasn't really a ghost. She was just different, like Hedy. She was still alive. But it didn't feel that way, especially after Goldy finally started letting Hedy look at what damage she might have. In a way, Goldy disturbed Hedy with how much more "human" she seemed at times. The other bots only had feeling wherever electricity ran. Pressure was the sense of their suits touching the conductive endoskeleton underneath. Pain was direct damage or trauma to wires or the endoskeleton. But with Goldy? She was more sensitive. Her suit felt like skin and fur to her. A tear in the fabric felt like a cut, although admittedly not as painful as it would be for a human. She could feel hot and cold. She'd admitted to Hedy that for many years she wasn't even really aware she was sensing temperature because she had no idea what it was or how to describe it, although she knew she felt strange. It had actually been Ginny that gave her a frame of reference for the strange sensations. Goldy was used to the way she was now, but Hedy knew it had to have been traumatic in some way for the bear to wake up like that one day.
Hedy was really hoping Afton was actually a decent person. There was some vindictive hope hearing that he hadn't just turned his children over to the restaurant with no protection for what little rights he could have carved out for them in a world that didn't see them as alive, much less people. But she didn't dare dwell on it for too long, except to mentally note it was a small good point in his favor .
"Ruby, maybe come away from the window. They might think you did it if they see you," Hedy pointed out.
"We'll just have to ask Afton about it when he arrives then," Andre said, talking over Hedy at Ruby.
"We should have waited for him in the first place," Hedy snapped. She was fine checking out the place without Afton. But she wouldn't have touched anything! It was the same thing she might have done at a normal job.. But this wasn't normal. She and Ruby were better prepared and even they were trying to make this first shift just a reconnaissance until they figured out what was going on. Then here comes this arrogant man waltzing in like his degree was going to save him from getting killed if that was the danger they were in.
Sure, he didn't know about the possible danger. But he also ignored any comment they made and acted like he was the only one who knew what was going on. She hadn't missed the condescending look he'd flicked both her and Ruby when they mentioned the bots being in pain. Was it too much to ask for an open-minded co-worker?
"You're the ones that suggested starting without Afton first!" Andre retorted, breaking into her thoughts.
Hedy hated that he was technically right. "Looking is completely different from shocking them!"
Ruby shot Andre a dark glare that had him faltering in his argument. As much as he tried to act like it didn't bother him, there were very few people who could handle that look being directed at them. Hedy was immune through sheer exposure and Foxy because he knew that she was never actually angry with him. Ruby had too much of a soft spot for the fox and he knew it.
The teen moved over to the left panel again and pressed the light's button, but the bot wasn't in sight anymore. Hedy could tell she was more worried about the bots here now which was temporarily distracting her from the person she wanted to punch.
The Hand-Unit's voice came through the speakers again, startling most of them.
"Excellent! Ballora is feeling like her old self again and will be ready to perform again tomorrow. Now, view the window to your right. This is the Funtime Auditorium, where Funtime Foxy encourages kids to play and share. Try the light! Let's see what Funtime Foxy is up to."
"Fox?" Ruby's eyes lit up and she darted to the other side and turned on the light. She looked a bit disappointed when there was no bot in sight again.
"Looks like Funtime Foxy is taking the day off. Let's motivate Funtime Foxy with a controlled shock."
Ruby growled. "Oh hell no." She shot a dangerous look at Andre who didn't seem too willing to go near her again. Maybe he had more of a brain cell than 'I've got a degree'.
The Hand-Unit kept repeating the instruction every few minutes while they waited for a change.
"We can't do anything with this," Andre snapped, after ten minutes of nothing else but that voice saying the same thing, over and over.
Alex hesitantly pressed more buttons while Ruby tried prying open the other vents but they were stuck, with the seams too thin to stick even a pocket knife in. None of the buttons responded.
"Maybe we can bypass it," Hedy said, studying the control panel. "Cut the control to whatever does the shock, but not the relay to the computer so the systems just thinks we did it."
Alex came over as Hedy took off the back panel, despite Andre's noise of complaint. She squinted at the circuit board. It was completely unlabeled. No manufacturer information or any electrical warning imprints. Wire connector points were covered by an internal plate.
Any hope Hedy had that the wiring colours would follow some kind of standard died when all she saw was black. "I don't recognize this." Faintly, she imagined she could hear Mike's voice reminding her to treat all wires as live, even though she knew that already. Black wires were supposed to be outlets. Or switches. So they could be for the button. But not all of them! And how was anyone supposed to tell where the fucking connections were if there was another panel covering it up?!
Hedy frowned and pulled her voltmeter out of her bag, touching the probes to a wire and the control panel casing. "Hit the light." A lot of the bot's circuit boards weren't correctly marked either. She figured it out by testing where the voltage went when different things happened, like which wire took the electricity when Foxy wanted to lift his arm.
Bonnie joked that he was more electrical tape and permanent marker now, but Hedy still occasionally called him Spaghetti Guts. No one else knew about that nickname yet. Not even Ruby. Bonnie threatened to tell Ruby about the time Hedy stole the last of her Halloween candy and blamed it on the twins if the mechanic ever told anyone else about the name. In trade, she promised not to tell anyone so long as he helped her get Foxy to sit down for a maintenance session at least once a month.
To be honest, Foxy probably knew something was up. But Hedy figured he knew he needed an excuse to sit still for her. If that meant he pretended like he didn't know Bonnie was faking 60% of his anxiety over Hedy's check ups while asking Foxy to go first, then so be it.
Did Hedy feel guilty about the manipulation triangle? Maybe a little. But, hey. Foxy only sounded like a screeching sliding door after a race with Ruby, and Bonnie was letting her handle the wiring closer to his face. Progress was progress.
Alex tried to do as Hedy asked, but the light wasn't even responding now. Hedy couldn't tell which wire connected to what.
"This place really doesn't seem like the best care was put into its creation," Ruby muttered and then smooshed her face against the right window and squinted into the darkness like she could will the fox into sight..
The Hand-Unit repeated itself again and she scowled. "I'll shock you, you stupid machine, if you don't shut up."
Hedy muttered at the wiring. "What if I just freaking rip out the whole thing out..."
"That would absolutely be damaging property outside of our purview," Andre said.
Hedy glared at him.
"We are on a schedule. Even without Mr. Afton here yet. We either have to push the button, wait until he gets here–which he may not tonight if his flight was delayed..."
"Or I have to just pick a wire and hope it's the right one so I don't hurt the animatronics, however long that might take," Hedy snapped.
"On second thought, I think I'll just tase mister shock-happy over there," Ruby growled.
Hedy mumbled in agreement then froze as a wire popped out from where it wasn't as secured as she thought.
The electricity crackled and the lights flashed. Alex screamed and jumped back in fright at the sudden loud noise.
"Shit. Ruby, my pliers!" Hedy shouted, dropping the voltmeter with a harsh crack of plastic against a metal ground to free her hand.
Ruby darted over to hand her the tool. "What happened?" she asked, backing away so she wouldn't be in Hedy's way.
"Knocked something loose," Hedy said, too focused to make full sentences. She stripped the wire as the electricity kept crackling, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Mike yelling at her as she fished out a rubber glove to hold the wire without putting the thing on. "Wire not screwed. Popped out." She cursed herself. It was a simple mistake, but it was one she should not have made and the fox was paying for it for far longer than the few seconds Ballora got. She kept her eyes on the box and shoved the copper of the wire roughly into the right place, even if it was dangerous to do while the wire was live.
Sure enough, there was a crack and blinding sparks that erupted in her face and she felt a punch in her chest that left her chest hurting and her lungs straining for breath, but the wire was in place and she yanked herself away as the flashing stopped. She took a breath and made sure she was still alive before using her small screwdriver to secure the wire in its new place. Then she sagged back into her chair and took a deep breath while rubbing her aching hand.
It was quiet for a moment as everyone processed the fact that Hedy nearly died.
"I'm so telling everyone you managed to electrocute yourself before I even got into any trouble," Ruby deadpanned, and Hedy could hear the disapproval in her voice. And the worry.
"Oh fuck…," Alex breathed. "Oh fuck! What the hell, Hedy? Are you okay?!" Alex was looking at Hedy like she couldn't figure out whether she was supposed to be angry, worried, or relieved. She looked at the control panel like it might jump up and bite her.
"I'm not dead," Hedy said, shaking her numb hand as an ache went up her arm. She winced, breathless and not willing to admit how stupidly close that was for her. She should stop by a local hospital in the morning…
Some little part of her was aware that she wasn't as concerned about what just happened as she should be.
"Ah, so she can electrocute the animatronics. Got it," Andre said and glared at Ruby after he had a moment to check that the young woman hadn't just killed herself. He looked backat Hedy. "And yourself while you're at it. Basic safety, Ms. Fitzgerald! Why on earth would you touch a live wire!?" Even he sounded a little freaked, which gave Ruby an idea of just how bad that could have been. He actually seemed more angry than before. Or maybe it was the fact he was justified for once that made it harder to ignore.
Hedy rolled her eyes as she kept shaking the feeling back into her hand, pausing to inspect a burn on her knuckle and a couple fingers. That was going to hurt in a minute. "And have Funtime Foxy suffer several long minutes to an hour while we figure out how to cut the power? That's if her system can handle it for more than a few seconds. No."
"Hedy shocked the bot accidentally. You're an ass that would do it on purpose," Ruby snapped at him, not liking anyone talking to Hedy like that. Only Mike and the bots were allowed to.
The room had dropped a few degrees in temperature and Ruby felt the cold air sting her nose as she sucked in a breath.
Timmy was scared.
That did it. Ruby was making Hedy find a hospital nearby to get checked out. If anyone could get a sense of how close that was, it was Timmy. He was the one with the stronger connection to Hedy at the moment.
Their potential argument was interrupted by the Hand-Unit.
"Looks like Funtime Foxy is in perfect working order. Great job! In front of you is another vent shaft. Crawl through it to reach the Circus Gallery Control Module."
The vent opened and Ruby muttered about just hacking the stupid thing. Then she moved into the vent after grabbing the keys for the connecting doors again in case there was an entrance Hedy could get to.
Hedy resigned herself to waiting again, still shaking her goddamn numb hand and massaging it like a pound of clay. It was tingling a bit.
Andre muttered under his breath and followed next, not willing to let Ruby go on her own where she might break something.
Alex scowled at the weirdness, then at Hedy, then sighed. Alright. Get it together. This is still a job. A weird job if Hedy and her terrifying coworker teen were here but still a job. Hedy sort of implied this had something to do with those bots at Freddy's, so Alex was content to wait for an explanation from Hedy for just a little longer. She followed them after a moment.
As Ruby came out into the new area, the Hand-Unit spoke again.
"On the other side of the glass is Circus Baby's Auditorium. Let's check the light, and see what Baby is up to."
Ruby sighed and pressed the button for 'lights' while Andre and Alex clambered out of the vent. Nothing happened and the teen frowned.
Hedy's phone pinged as she got a text from Afton apologizing for being so late. He was almost there. Enough of a cell service down here to text but not call, apparently.
Timmy lightly touched Hedy's arm. She could feel him shaking slightly.
"Looks like a few of the lights are out, but we can fix that later. Let's encourage Baby to cheer up with a controlled shock."
The vent behind them made a clang noise as it apparently locked them in.
Ruby rubbed her temples. "I will break my way through that window before I let another shock happen."
She pointedly looked at Andre in warning.
He was a bit preoccupied with alarm toward the shut vent, but he heard her nonetheless.
The Hand-Unit repeated itself. But only once. They expected another repeat, like before with Funtime Foxy, but a different script played instead.
"We're sorry. It appears there's a compliance issue and records show possible evidence of tampering with the system. Don't worry. It's only your first day and we understand you may have misunderstood us. Allow me to demonstrate per company policy. Please understand that all maintenance must be completed manually for your safety and the wellbeing of our robotic entertainers. You are marked for non-compliance by use of automatic tutorial services."
Ruby's head snapped up. "Oh, don't you dare. I will find your servers and wipe them you stupid Hand-Unit! Don't you fucking dare!"
Hedy heard the sound of the elevator activating along with Ruby's angry shout.
Ruby's words fell on a deaf machine and there was a crackling buzz of electricity as the red button lit up.
Hedy heard the sound as the lights pulsed and stiffened in anger as her eyes shifted from the vent that lead to the elevator. If Andre did it again, he was dead and hopefully Alex wasn't that stupid.
She could hear Ruby's raised voice, but couldn't make out the cusses and threats. Moments later a man came out of the vents, standing up and muttering about 'absurd building designs'. He was in a black business suit with soft, purple pinstripes paired with a lavender and silver patterned tie. A pair of purple, tie-dye patterned socks poked out of his shoes. He was wearing a pair of faded but comfortable looking sneakers with the suit… honestly they were the only thing about his attire that made sense.
The man blinked at seeing her, a little startled it was just her. "Ah, hello," he gave her a tired smile, his voice still a little hoarse. He had the same colour eyes as Timmy, but he didn't resemble Michael much. So Michael probably looked more like his mom. His features were soft but tired, he was fairly handsome for an older man despite this. He actually looked older than his age. Goldy said he was only 60. Hedy could only guess it was stress that aged him.
William also had a rather nice mustache, which Michael could never pull off. Not without making him more obviously a creep, at least.
"Hello..." Hedy almost tripped over saying 'hello' twice. But if Afton remembered Scott, she didn't want to tip him off with the verbal habit. Her voice was tight from listening to the shocks but she forced herself to be polite for a moment. "H-hi. I'm Hedy. Mr. Afton?" She held out her hand, cursing that it was shaking slightly. She noticed the temperature drop a few more degrees as Timmy panicked a little but she sent him as much reassurance as she could.
Afton shook her hand. "That's me. You would be Ms. Fitzgerald? I remember your voice from the phone." His tone was gentle as he addressed her, likely mistaking her shakiness for nervousness.
He was looking around the room with a slight frown.
"Yeah. You should probably go ahead," Hedy said. "I think you may need to clarify some things with Andre. And the rest of us," she added. It generally didn't look good talking about coworkers negatively behind their backs with the boss. Besides, she didn't know if she could trust Afton to side with her. If he didn't, this was going to be a very difficult week.
Before he could move forward, Ruby wiggled out of the vent again, followed by the other two with Alex almost falling out as she misjudged the distance between the vent and the floor. The teen looked murderous and immediately started ranting about Hand-Unit, servers and a sledgehammer. She didn't seem to notice Afton who looked startled at her anger. Or probably the words coming out of her mouth. Her language was… something. Freddy would be horrified by some of the new curses she was spouting. Apparently she did hold back somewhat around the bots. Some of that sounded like a language Hedy hadn't heard before, but the meaning was coming across clearly.
Absently, she wondered how many languages Ruby knew. Sign Language obviously. And she was fluent in Japanese. No one believed Hedy when she tried to bring it up, but she knew.
"Mr. Afton," Andre greeted cheerfully, correctly assuming who the man was. He quickly dusted himself off as Alex shook Afton's offered hand and quickly introduced herself as professionally as she could.
"It's nice to meet you," he said to them both before looking at Ruby who was growling and pacing like a caged animal. "Is this your assistant?" he asked Hedy, pretty calm about the growling teenager.
"... Yes," Hedy said. She turned to the teenager warily to pull her out of the mutterings. "Ruby. Afton's here."
Ruby spun around and studied him with a critical eye.
Hedy watched her size the man up in a second.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Purple," Ruby deadpanned. "Purple? Why the purple?"
Everyone but Hedy blinked at her in confusion at the random statement.
Afton looked confused and lifted one foot to glance at his socks as if to confirm he was indeed wearing purple.
"I am personally offended and this is a terrible first impression," Ruby informed him. "Also, did you know this place is electrocuting the animatronics regularly as 'motivation'?" She didn't even say hello.
He had been looking amused until she said that last bit. Hedy had never seen someone pale so quickly.
There was a pause as he processed her words. "They're what?!" He looked almost ill.
Hedy gave him another good tally mark in her mind. Still didn't negate that they were in this situation in the first place.
Ruby nodded curtly, probably also giving him a brownie point for his reaction. Although he probably had a 'demon from below' point for the purple. Ruby's mental brownie point system was strange. She had a 'fox approves' column and a 'demon from below' column. Also, she kept track in a notebook no one got to look at. It made some people nervous when she pulled it out.
Back to the matter at hand, Hedy focused back on Afton who looked and sounded horrified and she took a bit of delight in Andre's uncomfortable shifting. The man looked a lot more nervous now.
Ruby's eyes narrowed but his response had been acceptable to her so her temper was temporarily switched to 'simmer' instead of 'explode'. The teen hissed out an explanation through her teeth.
"The stupid automated program taking us through the tasks automatically zapped them since Hedy and I vetoed any more shocks." She shot Andre a dark look.
Afton looked kind of panicked, rambling a little, his gaze became unfocused and he began to pace in the small space. "The damage that could be doing to their more delicate circuits, or worse if it's prolonged! The Funtime group especially since they have more small, moving parts." Was he beginning to hyperventilate?
It took them a moment to realize he was really speaking to himself.
Hedy wondered it that was just him or speaking aloud was a habit he picked up from being alone all the time. He hadn't seemed the best at socializing the few times she'd spoken to him.
Andre looked like he was about to ask why Afton said this "group" especially. Were there more?
"This seems regular," Hedy interrupted with a hint of malice in her voice. "There's probably already quite a lot of damage." She glanced at Ruby. "It's possible we can't get close to them to fix it."
Afton was clearly too distracted to really notice how naturally she and Ruby were taking the situation. Or the implication they were aware of the bots' pain. That was a little on purpose.
They had both decided that they weren't going to tell Afton about who they were or where they worked until they knew they could trust him, but pretending they knew nothing would be a lie too hard to keep straight. It was risky, but they decided that acting like they believed his bots were alive from the beginning was the way to go. If he got suspicious, Hedy would stray as close to the truth as possible and outright say that their only choices were to either believe him or believe they were hired by a madman. And one of those was better than the other.
Andre's eyes slid to Hedy in irritation. "And why would that be, Ms. Fitzgerald?"
Hedy glared. "You freaking think they would let us after electrocuting them?" There was a hint of guilt in her voice. She doubted those were entirely one way windows. The bots probably saw them already and she didn't think that was such a good thing. She knew what assumptions she would make.
While Andre and Alex didn't seem to get it, Afton looked distressed by the whole situation.
"What must they think…" He muttered, running his hands over his tie. "They won't trust us…I wouldn't trust us…" back to rambling to himself.
"Well before we try that, we've got to figure out how to stop the program from shocking them automatically when we refuse to," Ruby pointed out.
Hedy rubbed her hand. "We need to find the server room. Or the control room. Some place where the Hand-Unit's computers are." She looked at Afton. "Do you know where that could be... Mr. Afton?"
The name still felt strange to her.
Afton shook his head, trying to compose himself. "I didn't design this place. I only did the animatronics." His voice was soft, like he was in shock. He hadn't even been there more than five minutes… They had just sprung this on him and he genuinely didn't seem to have expected any of it.
His eyes darted to the windows in a panic and he shifted as if to approach them for a glimpse at the bots, like Ruby earlier. But he didn't move.
"Well at least we can't blame you for this messed up building," Ruby muttered.
"It should be on the plans though," Afton told Hedy. But even he didn't know how well the blueprints could be trusted. It took a few too many bribes than he was comfortable with to get his hands on them. Them and the keys. The fact that certain people in a company he had a part in were so willing to take anonymous bribes disturbed him greatly.
"That concludes your duties for your first night on the job," the Hand-Unit spoke up.
Afton startled, looking around in alarm before his eyes settled on the ceiling and an outdated camera in the corner of the room.
"We don't want you to leave overwhelmed. Otherwise, you might not come back." The voice sounded slightly optimistic at that. "Please leave using the vent behind you, and we'll see you again tomorrow."
"What? We just got here," Alex said, trying to pry open another vent but failing miserably. She looked up. "We have the keys though."
Hedy frowned, her irritation going up as she remembered something from the plans. "Some of the doors have electronic locks. Access to the animatronic's rooms definitely do, at least. We can get to the customer hallways and the exit with the keys from this side of the doors, but not the places we need to get to. We need to bypass the system to use these service vents without that thing's permission."
"Wait. Are you saying the doors open one way?" Alex asked in disbelief.
"Unfortunately," Afton said with a frown. His voice sounded a little distant. Apparently, he hadn't completely recovered just yet. "It was explained to me as a security feature. Security staff or maintenance has to come through from the service elevator with the…Hand-Unit logging their entry, then that staff member has to unlock and open the regular entryways from within to allow other employees and customers in."
"..,That's the stupidest most convoluted system I've ever heard of!" Alex blurted out. She flinched apologetically at her boss, but he barely noticed. He just nodded with a serious frown.
"What the hell is with this place?" Ruby threw her hands up. "It seems more like an automated prison than a place for kids to have fun."
She exchanged a brief and uncomfortable look with Hedy. From what they could see the bots were separated into different rooms and the doors between them were kept locked. Then the electronic shocks to get them to behave in a certain way...
Ruby was genuinely becoming uncomfortable with the setup. Killer ghosts were one thing. This... was something else.
Hedy caught the look and shook her head slightly. She didn't know. None of this was making sense. Well, it sort of did, in a very dark and nearly malicious way, but at least the problems with the pizzeria on the infrastructure side were a decades-long process of layers of cover-ups and paranoia on the board's part. This was feeling...intentional from the beginning. It didn't feel great, and if they were back home, she might have confused the twist in her stomach for a warning from the building that something was very off. It was weirdly off-putting to have to rely on her instincts alone. At least the building couldn't lie, not in the way people and feelings could.
"Tonight," she said hesitantly, giving Mr. Afton an apologetic look for having likely just crawled through the vent for nothing. "There might be nothing else we can do. We can go back to the hotel and figure out a plan for tomorrow to get into the control room and hack the system when it lets us close to the area we need."
"We are on a schedule, Ms. Fitzgerald," Andre said, not wanting to sound like he was willing to give up like her so soon after just starting.
Ruby scoffed and crossed her arms. "You keep saying that but do you even have this 'schedule'?"
She glanced at Afton who was looking at Andre in confusion. He didn't even look upset. Just even more confused than any one of them could be.
"Schedule? Goodness…What are yo–What schedule? I don't know the state of the animatronics so I cannot create a schedule yet. How?"
Andre looked a bit nervous. "Ah...sir, y-you contracted us for one week..." He suddenly realized that made him sound like he didn't want the job.
"Minimum, as I'll pay you for at least a week of work if you decide to stay whether we finish early or not. But the contract I sent you says 'period to be determined'," Afton didn't sound angry, just still incredibly confused. "You are welcome to break the contract if you wish, but I have to ask for the advance pay back for the portion of the week you don't stay." The older gentleman actually sounded apologetic asking for money back. He seemed uncomfortable with the prospect of not having a good relationship with his contractors.
"N-no sir, I just...ah... was under the impression this job was estimated at a week."
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry if I wasn't very clear...Considering all of the unknowns I thought it best not to have a desired time frame other than as soon as possible. Though it may be even longer now with…" He glanced at the windows. "What we've discovered…"
Was that anger slipping in his tone?
Alex and Hedy shared a slightly bemused look. They both thought the contract was pretty clear and he had been pretty clear (and apologetic) that the job would take as long as needed. He estimated a month at most but promised they could quit after a week or he would find some way to arrange around their schedules as needed.
Afton hadn't used legal jargon to trap them like a lot of other employers might. It was kind of funny how the older man was talking as if it was his fault Andre was being an idiot.
Honestly, in her mind, Afton's contract was more risky on his end than hers (or theirs). Almost like he was desperate to hold onto anyone who agreed. Desperate for help. He was practically begging for them to stay.
He had them for a week. That was all he really asked, with many incentives to stay longer if necessary.
Hedy wouldn't put it past Andre to be trying to pressure them into moving faster to make mistakes. Who knows?
"Now that that's cleared up," Ruby broke in, getting the feeling that this wouldn't end quickly if she didn't. "Are we actually leaving? We didn't do anything. We barely got a glimpse of the bots." The way she looked out the right window told Hedy Ruby just wanted to see the fox.
Afton did not look too pleased for a man who literally just got there but he huffed slightly and nodded. "If you've done all you think you can, perhaps it's best to head back to the hotel for the rest of the night." He looked disappointed and glanced at the windows in concern, tensing slightly. Or was it a flinch? "We'll review the plans and figure out where the control-or server room is."
Ruby gave a heavy sigh before grumbling an agreement. Her posture screamed a disgruntled teenager. Surprisingly, Afton smiled at the sight. He hadn't seemed very bothered by a teenager being present actually.
It took Hedy a minute to recognize the look as one similar to an expression that her dad use to make when he thought she or Jeremy weren't looking. It was a look that appeared when he was supposed to be disapproving but couldn't help but be endeared by something they did. It made Hedy wonder what kind of flashback Afton might be having, if any.
Her thoughts went to Michael without meaning too, and she had to resist the shudder.
Andre looked on the verge of giving a lecture on respect.
"Let's get out of here," Alex said, ducking to the exit vent, not exactly hiding that the place was starting to creep her out. Barely an hour and she needed to sort her head out. She and Hedy needed to talk about this job, more specifically. Hedy knew more than she was saying.
Andre followed after a moment of hesitation.
Ruby chose to head out through the door with Hedy. Afton did too since his knees were still complaining. The doors would lock behind them, anyway. They would just have to go down the elevator to get in initially each night, then Ruby would unlock the place from inside to let Hedy in. But they couldn't see any reason why they couldn't just leave out the easy way. Maybe if Alex had waited a moment, she wouldn't be stuck with Andre leaving through the creepy elevator.
Hedy didn't expect how hard it would be to just say something with just the three of them walking.
They were all startled when Hand-Unit spoke up again.
"There seems to be a discrepancy with the number of employees leaving through the correct elevator. This has been noted and all technicians' pay will be docked accordingly."
Ruby and Hedy shared a look and rolled their eyes while Afton looked confused.
"But I'm paying you?" he said in befuddlement.
That made Ruby snort in amusement. "I say we ignore the thing. The program probably assumes that we're working for the company. Nothing it threatens would affect us since we didn't sign a contract with the company."
"Scummy that it would punish everyone," Hedy said.
Afton nodded but he was still frowning like the existence of the Hand-Unit bothered him. He was quiet for a few moments.
Timmy was staying beside her, gripping her sleeve lightly, but Afton wouldn't have noticed the pinch in the fabric.
"How long have you known her?" He asked when he shook off whatever had been bothering him.
Hedy stiffened at being spoken to and had to remind herself to keep turning her wheels. "What?"
Afton cleared his throat. "...Ms. Isaacs. I hired you both from the same school, but I didn't really expect you two to be friends."
"Oh...ah...Alex and I have the same friend group. We've had a few classes together."
Ruby wasn't even bothered to try and fill the awkward silence, but Hedy knew she'd be listening to them talk. She confirmed that the door locked behind them as they headed towards the "customer" elevator.
What customer would want to use this janky looking thing to see robots in a hole in the ground?
"Quite the coincidence," he offered with a smile.
Ruby rolled her eyes behind them. He didn't know the half of it.
Hedy was very quiet for a moment. "...If you don't mind me asking...this is your property, right? If you're the owner, why not send us on our own. I can't imagine most...uh..CEOs care to come see the state of things like this in person." She didn't mention how she knew the bots were alive or that she and Ruby were hoping he was there because of them. As far as he knew, she was just a student engineer who knew nothing about what was going on, and was just a bit opened-minded about sentient AI. "I'm not saying I don't appreciate the guidance, I suppose, but it's a little strange, sir. Much of this place seems very strange."
The man nodded in understanding and corrected the assumption quickly. "Oh no, I don't own the building. This place belongs to a branch separate from my robotics company. I founded it. Own a large part of it. But it runs…fairly well without me." Good thing Hedy didn't make a face and he missed whatever reaction at the ironic statement Ruby might have had behind him. "I was never very interested in the business side of things, though, even with the company I do fully own." He sounded a bit self-deprecating. "An old friend of mine designed this place. He's got very...interesting tastes." Now he just sounded bewildered. "My interest was always in the animatronics." he smiled sadly. "I...haven't seen them in a very long time. I … was pulled away. However, I heard something odd about this location, how they seem to go through mechanics very quickly and I grew concerned. I do still own all the animatronics and I have neglected my duties relating to taking care of them, so I decided to step in personally." He stopped for a moment, as if realizing he'd said too much. "Ah, but please keep that from the board? I'm doing a...surprise inspection I suppose."
"Right..." Hedy said, glancing at Ruby. "These animatronics of yours. You talk like they're special to you. I've never gotten that attached to any of the robots I've built," she paused. She didn't like talking about the bots as if she didn't know they were thinking and feeling and more than a complicated feat of engineering. "But I suppose if you work on anything long enough, you start to think of it like your child. In a way."
Shit. Even saying "it" instead of "them" left a foul taste in her mouth. Ruby's expression suggested the same, her face gaining a pinched look.
"They are very special." He got a soft smile on his face. "I always did consider them my children." Ho boy, that was definitely guilt that twisted his mouth and made the mustache curl weirdly. "I haven't been a very good father though."
Timmy tightened his grip on Hedy's arm, his thin nails almost cutting into her like little icicles.
Hedy shared a glance at Ruby. She was starting to feel a bit better about this man, though she was still upset he had no idea what had happened to the bots and everything they had been through. It was neglect, even if not malicious.
But Ruby could hold a severe grudge in defense of the bots for a very long and she suspected the bots wouldn't be as accepting of his words.
Ruby's expression was carefully neutral now which told her that the teen wasn't sold on his regret yet. But she was withholding judgement for now.
That's not to say Hedy was fully won over either, but she listened nonetheless.
They got into the elevator and rode up in silence, meeting up with Andre and Alex outside.
Hedy made a show of letting them out ahead of her so she could maneuver her chair. In the elevator, she whispered to Timmy when Afton was busy speaking with the others.
"You want to walk back with Ruby or come in the car with us? We'll talk when we get back to the hotel, but if you need a hug right now you should go with Ruby."
"I'll walk with Ruby," Timmy whispered. He seemed pretty shaken.
"Okay," Hedy whispered back, pulling him into a tight but fast hug while the others were turned away, and went to join the others. She was just thankful that Timmy was better at being 'solid' for her than the other kids were. She didn't need Ruby to be in contact with him, too. He couldn't do it for very long though, and she had to focus more as well.
Afton seemed to have taken a taxi, but luckily, there was another seat in her truck.
He seemed shocked and nearly insisted on calling another taxi and it took a moment for them to realize he thought Ruby was going to have to sit in the flatbed. He was absolutely not okay with the teen riding back with them like that.
Ruby waved a dismissive hand, thankfully not taking offence for once. "I don't do cars. I'm walking back."
That wasn't much better for the man, and it didn't help Afton's sense of ease at all. He was even less okay with a teen walking back in the early hours of the morning alone.
Ruby just looked annoyed when he tried to convince her otherwise.
"I walked here in the first place."
"What?" He looked at Hedy with a hint of disapproval. "Miss...Ruby..." He realized he didn't know her last name. "This city isn't the safest at night. I can't, in good conscience, let you walk an hour back alone."
"It's a half-hour walk," Hedy corrected before Ruby bristled and lost her temper. She was still a bit off even being this close to the car. "Mr. Afton, Ruby will be fine. She knows how to defend herself and she'll call me if there's anything wrong. She has personal reasons for not riding with us."
Afton hesitated as he looked between Ruby and Hedy. Rolling her eyes Ruby pulled out her taser and pushed the button, making Andre jump at the crackle.
Good. He should be traumatized by the sound.
"I'm fine. I've walked longer distances in less pleasant places."
That really didn't help… Afton did not have much of a choice though. He had no authority over her. Technically, she was Hedy's employee as the assistant. Overstepping on the way a contractor did things rarely ended well. He didn't seem to know how to handle the situation as Ruby pointedly turned away from the truck.
Once they were in the vehicle and pulling away, Afton watched Ruby quickly disappear in the rearview mirrors and frowned.
"How long has Ruby been your...assistant?" He asked as Hedy turned onto the next road.
She could hear the disapproval in his tone. He wasn't pleased she was letting Ruby walk alone.
She took her eyes off the road for a few brief moments to glance at him and ignored Andre muttering about the foot room behind her. "I've known her for a while. She's got a knack for electrical work and mechanics and I'm trying to get her interested in college." It wasn't a total lie and nothing Alex could inadvertently unravel. "She made that taser herself."
Afton looked surprised instead of worried. "That is impressive. Is she not interested in college currently?"
That was the look of a man who just realised he hadn't just let a teenager walk back alone, but potentially a child. Seemed he assumed she was older than she was, which was new. It was usually the other way around, given Ruby's…height.
She sighed as he seemed to forget everything she'd just told him and focused on that again, once more expressing concern. Sweet, but not something Ruby would appreciate.
Hedy flinched, randomly sensing something painful from Timmy, though the sense was rapidly fading with the distance, but she answered Afton's questions as she drove. "She's very shortsighted," Hedy said, and Afton could hear the exasperation. "She only cares about things from day to day. It's really irritating. She fakes her grades because she doesn't want the attention."
When Hedy had figured out what she was doing, she'd been more than a little pissed, but Ruby refused to talk about it.
"Fakes her grades?" he sounded shocked. "Do her parents know?"
Hedy's grip on the steering wheel tightened as did her chest, and she hoped Timmy and Ruby were far enough away now they couldn't sense her. She was quiet for a moment, wondering if she could even say. "Please...don't mention her parents in front of her," she said eventually, despite knowing Ruby would be upset with her for even slightly sharing her business. She'd rather those in the car knew to avoid the subject than have Afton accidentally bring it up, not knowing any better.
There was a cough from the back seat. "I don't know Ruby that well, sir," Alex said. "But… ah… Ruby lives in an orphanage." She shifted uncomfortably, remembering the not great time they first met.
"She lost her parents," Hedy clarified, so no one thought Ruby came from a bad home or anything like that. She didn't dare imply anything against Derrick and Rose. She glared at Alex through the rearview mirror for her spilling that so easily.
A heavy silence fell over them for a moment.
Even Andre didn't say anything.
"I won't bring it up," Afton promised. "Are you family? You act quite a bit like sisters."
Hedy chuckled before she realized it was a serious question.
"Well, ah, we're very close," Hedy said. "She's like my sister, but we aren't actually related as far as I know. My older brother and his wife knew her parents. Her dad was like a second father to my brother when he was going through some stuff. I didn't know them though..."
She swallowed a painful lump at the technical lie. She didn't remember them, more accurately.
"I see," Afton murmured before falling silent again. It wasn't hard to realise from those bits and pieces that Ruby was pretty alone. The father in him recoiled from the idea of a child or teenager dealing with that so young. Old habits, he supposed, even if he was such a failure at them.
But it wasn't his business, he had to remind himself…everything he touched came to life, only to die… It was best he stayed away.
Don't get involved.
Ruby immediately pulled Timmy into a hug when the car was out of sight. They didn't talk about what had happened, not yet. The ghost just clung to her hand as they started walking back a few moments later. It was comforting that he didn't have to focus just to touch her, it was easy to just hold her hand. She was never bothered by the icy feeling.
Timmy didn't really want to talk, anyway. He just cried quietly and tried to wipe the tears away with his free hand, too upset to worry if he was losing control and flickering like a half-dead lightbulb out where any passerby in the middle of the night could see him.
The night guard's hand was the only anchor as they walked along in silence.
They were almost at the hotel, but still alone, when Ruby picked him up and let him bury his face in her shoulder and cry. The sound of a busier street was just a little further up the road.
"I've got you kiddo," Ruby murmured. She couldn't say it was alright because it wasn't. "I'm here. I've got you."
"He looks…Ruby h-he looks so old," Timmy whispered shakily. "I thought I was going to be okay. I dealt with worse than just...seeing him." He sounded guilty for being upset.
Ruby rubbed his back comfortingly. "You didn't expect to see him again, Timmy," she murmured. "Of course it's going to be shocking. It's alright to be upset about it."
Timmy was so quiet as he sorted a particular thought that had bothered him since his father had called Hedy.
The panicked words spilled out. "How…" his voice cracked out a sob. "How do we tell him?"
Ruby didn't immediately respond as he sobbed.
"H-how are we going to tell him Michael and I are still…here?" Timmy whimpered. "What Michael did?" He sobbed a little harder. "What he did to Hedy…T-to the other kids. Ruby…it's going to break him, Ruby. I don't want him to leave again. I'm going to break him! I don't know how to tell him? What do I do?! What do I…" he trailed off as it got too hard to speak.
The teen was quiet for a long moment as she approached the hotel. "I don't know Timmy," she admitted quietly, rubbing his back soothingly as she stopped to stare up at the dim stars in the night sky. "I don't know."