After telling everyone about what was going on, they all snapped into action mode immediately. We all were quick to rush back to the dock and start to take the boat that was there back to Camp Lakebottom. We needed a plan, and with the whole 'all of Camp SunnySmiles being held hostage', we needed a good plan.
I was on the first trip back to camp, and as soon as the boat stopped at the dock, I jumped off and ran towards the TARDIS, Maple gripping onto my shoulder and Gladius staying close to my side. The blue box opened her door as soon as I approached, and I dashed inside and into the guy's bedroom. I ripped open the nightstand next to my bed and pulled out a journal Maria got me back in Gravity Falls that was unused.
Until now.
Grabbing a pen, I rushed back out and right into the central room just as The Doctor and Zomboss rushed inside, quickly getting to work with the console. They were setting scans to full power to try and see what we were up against with a fully captured SunnySmiles. Based on how Buttsquat's yacht was… I was worried this would be no different than breaking into Fort Knox.
"So, how bad is it looking?" I asked, walking up between both scientists.
"Bad", Zomboss growled. "The entire campground is outfitted with a high end security for both convenience and safety."
"And you have to wonder why", The Doctor spat sarcastically.
"Because adults can't be bothered to watch their kids?" I bluntly said.
"Exactly, my boy", Who responded. "But it looks like Mr… Buttsquat… didn't waste a single expense. The ground itself is armed with alarms, sirens and other smaller traps, while the lodge…" His eyes widened. "Yowza."
Zomboss leaned over, only for his jaw to drop. "There's turrets! Either pioletable or automatic turrets that fling high velocity mud as intruders."
"Oh well that's wonderful!" Gladius groaned sarcastically. "So now we have to deal with a kidnapper who has a weaponized summer camp at their full control."
"This will be hard, but not impossible", I muttered in thought. "It's one person, and we've got Galacta, Dry, Ralph, Jenny and Star. Our side will be able to draw fire and disable everything."
"Wait, can't your sonic screwdriver disable tech?" Zomboss asked, pointing at The Doctor.
The man hummed and studied his handheld device. "Depends on the tech. This camp's security system, probably."
"Then that's something else we have that our opponent doesn't", Gladius said in determination. "We'll rush them and overwhelm them."
"Best plan we got right now…" Zomboss mumbled. "So let's do it."
I nodded and made my way outside to give the others the news, only to stop when I saw Star cast a spell that sank the entire imitation Wawanaka. Izzy was facing away from it, looking dejected, only to perk up when she saw me start to walk over. She raced up to me, giving me a hopeful look.
Before I explained the plan, I noticed five missing people. "Where's Buttsquat, Susie and the counsellors?"
"They went and barricaded themselves in the mess hall", Ralph said, jabbing a thumb at the named building.
"Okay, good." I took a deep breath. "SunnySmiles has a high tech security system with turrets at the lodge. Considering what we've handled before, this is nothing, so we'll just rush them with everything we have."
"Now that's a plan I can get behind!" Majima roared in excitement.
"Wait wait wait!" Maria frantically said, waving her hands. "Did you say turrets?"
Everyone frowned at the idea.
"Turrets that fire mud", I corrected.
That made everyone look at me in dumbfounded shock. "Mud???"
I nodded. "Honestly, it's a summer camp in Canada. What else would it have been?"
"I was expecting dirty laundry", Flowey said.
"Expired food", Vanellope admitted.
"Random scrap", Amy said, like it was the obvious choice.
I shrugged. "Yeah, that's understandable." I looked out to the lake, now empty with a clear view of our destination. The sun was starting to set, but this time around it felt more tense. The sky was an ominous red, and SunnySmiles was almost swallowed by a dark shadow. Only the lights from a few of the raided cabins shined bright.
"So, we're basically raiding a prison?" Corey asked.
"Yep", Laney answered.
"Rockin'!"
Most of us rolled our eyes at his obliviousness, but didn't press as The Doctor and Zomboss walked over and joined us.
"So, how are we doing this specifically?" Jenny asked.
"We'll take two boats", I began. "One boat will be filled with those of you who can handle the security system, while the other will have me and a few others that'll sneak around into the lodge and free any captured campers we find. We'll also try to hopefully disable the security system, but that's still up in the air."
"That sounds good", Rory said, sharing a glance with Amy.
"Alright everyone", Galacta said. "Prepare, then meet me at the dock."
The knight hovered over to the dock, with Dry, Flowey, the Powerpuffs and Majima following after him. The others all ran back to the TARDIS, hoping to gather a bit more supplies, while McGee and Gretchen ran off towards their cabin. Squirt seemed very apprehensive about tagging along, so he bid us farewell and dashed back to the mess hall.
I watched him run off, before facing Gladius and Maple. "Are you two ready for this?"
"I'll always be ready for anything, Caleb", the sword said confidently. The Wasabi Whip, still perched on my shoulder, nodded with a determined look.
I nodded back, and walked over to join the others at the dock. I hopped into the smaller boat, ready to ship off as soon as I was joined with my team. I quietly conversed with the others as we waited, the sun seemingly frozen so the sky would stay blood red.
The lake was just as red because of the reflection, which only made this that much more intense. But when the others all joined us, we knew it was time.
In my boat, I was joined by Corey, Laney, McGee, Gretchen, Vanellope, Hilda and Twig. Those of us more ready for battle went into the other boat, while Ruby, Alfur and Iris chose to stay behind. We waved at them as the boats raced across the water.
Stealing my nerves, I faced SunnySmiles with a determined glare.
This had to go well.
Because I didn't want any blood spilt today.
~X~
I made sure to slow my boat and steer it away from the centre of the camp, watching as the others on the second boat triggered the alarm and began to dance around the fired mud and robot claws. It seemed endless, so I mentally told myself we needed to disable the system ASAP before my friends got too overwhelmed.
I ran the boat aground on the beach, and quietly and carefully led my group along the back of one of the cabin rows. Periodically, as we passed a pause between the cabins, we'd see our friends tackling the security system like they were wrestling a giant octopus. It was honestly really badass.
But I didn't let that distract me, pressing onward till we reached the end of the row. We all peeked around the corner, witnessing the lodge in its imposing glory. Like Buttsquat said earlier, all the windows were sealed behind thick metal, with no easy way to get inside. But when I felt like this was fruitless, Vanellope nudged me. We all looked at her, and she pointed at a large vent at the side of the building.
"There's our entrance", McGee whispered.
"Do you know your way around?" Hilda asked in concern.
The boy nodded. "Since me and Susie coming here was supposed to be what happened, I read up on the camp thanks to a pamphlet our mom gave me. While it wasn't detailed like blueprints, it was enough of a map to help figure out what was where."
"And I'm guessing that vent goes to the basement?" Corey asked, looking out to the forest just in case.
"Yes! Maybe… Hopefully."
Gretchen sighed. "It's the best we got, c'mon." She gestured for was to follow, and as carefully as we could we tip-toed into the shaded open and pressed up against the outer wall.
Corey, Gretchen, Laney and McGee tried to tag team and rip the grate off, but it wouldn't budge. Vanellope offered to glitch inside the vent and kick the grate off, but Hilda said we needed to make no noise.
So that left me and Gladius.
"Gladius, I know you're not a crowbar, but we need to get in", I said.
The sword nodded. "Saving these kids is much more important than my image, Caleb. So get that grate off."
I pursed my lips and nodded, grabbing the sword and carefully wedging him into a very thin gap between the vent grate and wall. I took a deep breath, and with all my strength I pushed. The metal cover bent out a bit, surprisingly being very quiet despite the fact that it was bending metal.
With the bigger gap I wedged more of Gladius through, and with both of us giving it our all, we ripped the grate off. Hilda caught it quickly so it didn't make any sound, and gently set it against the wall.
With our opening now accessible, I gestured for the others to all head inside before me. Maple hopped off my shoulder and made his way inside, and once all the kids were through, I began my crawl.
Now, I don't have extreme claustrophobia, but trying to slip through this somewhat small vent was making my anxiety peak. I swallowed my tension and crawled after McGee, Gladius thin enough so he could wiggle past us and head to the front of the group.
A distance ahead, I heard another vent grate get ripped off, and followed the train until McGee slipped down a hole in the bottom. I slid after him, tumbling out of the vent and onto a large pile of dirty sheets.
I breathed a sigh of relief, Maple climbing onto my shoulder again.
"The laundry room…" Vanellope muttered, eyeing the row of white washing machines lined up against a wall. "I'm not seeing a staircase anywhere, so I guess this basement is bigger than we expected…"
"Hopefully not too big", McGee whispered. "If it was, we'd never see Buttsquat again because he'd keep getting lost."
I smiled at the attempted joke. "Funny, but let's focus on this, McGee."
Everyone nodded, and we all carefully made our way towards the only door the room had. Laney carefully turned the job and opened it, with me, her and Gladius peeking through the crack. It was a fairly empty hallway with only some miscellaneous janitor equipment leaning against the walls.
"It seems like the whole automated system is focused outside", Gladius mused. "Which is good. We already have a clawed kidnapper that's supposedly lightning fast."
"Let's try and track down the campers first…" I whispered. Looking back into the laundry room I rushed over to a bin filled with sheets that clearly weren't washed yet. "Twig, can you sniff one of these sheets and try and track down the campers?"
The deerfox's ears perked up, and he dashed over to my side. I held out a sheet, and he took a few careful sniffs. With the scent now in his system, he began to sniff the air, letting his nose lead the way. We all watched as Twig carefully walked out of the room, heading down the hall. We all followed after him, peering to the other rooms the hallway was connected to.
It was just storage and a second laundry room, with not a single camper in sight. With the basement completely vacant, we followed the deerfox to a door he was scratching his front hooves at. Hilda opened it, and we looked up the somewhat cold staircase that went up what seemed to be three stories.
"Looks like we're going up…" Gretchen mumbled as Twig began to climb up the steps. Maple crawled ahead, joining the deerfox at the front of the pack. The dim emergency lights were all we had to help us see in the darkness. As we scaled the steps, the sounds from outside could be faintly heard through the steel reinforcements. It sounded like World War III.
With a sigh, I returned my attention to the climb, stopping when Twig sat down and stared at a door. The rest of us all shared nervous looks before Vanellope walked forward and very slowly and quietly opened the door. It was luckily around a corner, so we all filed out and peered around the end of the short hall into the main room.
My eyes bugged out when I saw all the SunnySmiles campers, tied up together in the very centre of the room. They were all silent, but I could just barely see the tears in most of their eyes. And then I noticed the other person with us. It was the kidnapper Buttsquat described.
It wore roller skates, elegantly making its way around the group of terrified campers. Its left arm was exposed metal with broken plastic plating, with its right arm becoming a giant claw with sharp teeth elbow onwards.
It had a skirt, broken fan on its stomach, and what looked like traffic lights in its chest. Its face was horrific, featuring mismatched blue and orange lipstick over a cracked and ruined face.
In fact, the thing's whole body looked like it was thrown together in a junkyard. But yet it was moving and stable, no signs of falling apart at all.
The thing's head was a bunch of orange wires (with some blue and yellow) styled like pigtails. Odd looking pin protruded from the false hair, with a metal frame tiara to finish off the whole look.
The thing's face was frozen in a hollow smile, the razor sharp teeth from the inter skeleton gleaming under the light the thing's perceiving green eyes glowed.
It was Scrap Baby, the child murdering scrapyard robot.
I fought back a squeak as I scrambled back to the end of the hallway. "I knew it was her! As soon as Buttsquat told me about the claw and roller skates, I knew!"
"Caleb, who is that?" McGee asked as everyone scrambled away from the corner.
"Scrap Baby", I began in a hiss. "Long and complicated story short, she's a robot that's possessed by the spirit of a serial killer's daughter. She's programmed to kill kids, and without any adults here to mess with her programming, she was allowed to run free."
I could see everyone visibly pale. "She… she kills kids…?" Laney repeated in horror.
"Yep", I responded, punctuating the 'p'. "But I know how to beat her. We need to find a way to zap her. She's weak to electricity, so if we find a taser or rip a wire from the wall, we're golden."
Corey spied out into the lobby. "I don't see anything here, so how about we head up to the next floor and find something there."
"Good idea, Core", McGee said.
"I'll stay down here", Vanellope whispered. We all stared at her wide-eyed, but she just flashed us a reassuring smirk. "I'll play distraction. If she's a ghost, why not give her some paranormal activity?" She glitched off, disappearing behind a counter.
"Let's do this", I hissed. The others nodded, and we headed back into the stairwell, quickly but quietly scaling to the topmost part. I opened the door and saw we were in what I assumed was where Buttsquat slept, based on the bed and pictures of him and Susie.
"Try and find something."
Everyone fanned out and began to carefully search the space while I leaned over the edge. Scrap Baby was still eyeing the captured campers, not making a sound. But then, the sound of pots and pans being banged together came from what I assumed was the kitchen, making the killer robot snap her head towards the sound. Still absolutely silent, she rolled off to investigate.
"Any luck, guys?" I whispered.
"No", Gretchen whispered with a frustrated edge.
"I found a pair of hedge shears…?" Hilda whispered in confusion.
"Just some weird shirt cannon here", Corey muttered.
I pursed my lips, trying to think of something that we could use what we found. But it was too dangerous, with any one of us capable of being fried by mismanaging electrical wires.
With that idea down the drain, I looked at Gladius. "Do you think you could try and tap into some sort of electrical spell?"
The sword shrugged. "I don't know. I'll try…"
He trailed off when the door to the kitchen slammed open, and we all froze. Dead silence swallowed us as Scrap Baby's skates squeaked as she moved.
"I know you're here…" She said, her voice hollow with a slight British accent. She almost sounded like she was right behind me. "There's no reason to hide, children… The party isn't complete without you."
I carefully looked over the edge again, and saw Scrap Baby standing at the opposite end of the room…
Staring right up at me.
"There you are."
"Run!" I cried. The killer robot made a beeline for a set of stairs at one end of the open bedroom, with the rest of us dashing for the separate staircase we used. But Scrap Baby was impossibly fast, making her way up the stairs in a second and blindsiding me with her claw.
However, I seemingly doubted my own reflexes.
Like I suddenly had The Matrix shot through my veins, I ducked under the claw and jumped over the railing, landing on the floor below. I looked up, staring Scrap Baby right in the eye, and gave her my middle finger.
"YOU BRAT!" She roared.
"I'll distract her!" I called out as she chased me. "The rest of you disable that security system!"
Baby was on my side in a second, ready to cut me down right there and then. But thanks to the captured campers gasping, I knew to duck and avoid the fatal blow.
The killer robot spun around and snarled at her prisoners, which gave me a chance to pick up the office chair at the front desk and throw it at her. She staggered and whipped back to me as I stood at the kitchen door.
"C'mon, Chucky Wannabe!" I taunted her. "If you can't kill me, then why even try with a bunch of kids you tied up!"
She snarled just as I dove into the room, ducking behind one of the stoves. Vanellope glitched next to me, and she opened her mouth to say something, but I put my finger to her lips when the door slammed open.
We were both dead silent as the sound of the roller skates glided across the tiled floor. Baby's eye shot out an intense beam akin to a spotlight as she looked around for any sign of me.
I shared a look with Vanellope, and made hand gestures at her, telling her to follow my lead. She nodded, and the two of us tried to stay in line with the killer robot, still hidden behind the counter. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and sweat dripping down my face as the silence became unbearable.
"I know you're in here~" Scrap Baby hissed out in a faux sing-song tone. "You can't hide from me forever~. I just want to make my daddy proud~."
I felt a chill run up my spine.
"This camp was a perfect target for me. With no adults and the whole place automated, it was easy to lure my prey to one place~"
Vanellope instinctually glitched in fear.
There was the sound of metal snapping. "I heard that. You just gave yourself away, you brat."
"Yeah, well maybe just shut up!" Vanellope roared, glitching on top of the counter. She threw a pan at Baby as hard as she could, and when the pan collided with the robot's face, she staggered back and let out a rage-filled cry of shock.
With our pursuer stalled for just a bit, the two of us ran out of the room. McGee and Gretchen had already freed the captured campers, and were filing everyone up back to where Buttsquat's bed was. I pointed at Vanellope to go with them just as Scrap Baby came barreling out of the kitchen. She blasted the doors off their hinges and lunged at me, only to be intercepted by Gladius.
The sword clashed with the claw, sparks flying out.
"YOU TOUCH A HAIR ON HIS HEAD AND YOU ARE DEAD!" Gladius snarled.
"THEN I'LL JUST KILL YOU TOO!" Baby snarled back.
The killer robot swatted Gladius away, but I caught him just in time before Baby pinned me to the ground.
"I'm going to enjoy this!" She hissed in sadistic glee. "My daddy will love what I've done!"
She raised her claw high…
The others all screamed my name…
I jabbed Gladius right into her chest…
And a powerful blast of electricity coursed through the blade and into Baby.
Scrap Baby let out a roar of agony and pain as purple electricity coursed all throughout her body. Her face plates all split apart as she threw her head back, her voice becoming a broken static. Her arms locked up and seized, unable to stop me.
With one last battle cry, me and Gladius unleashed one last blast of electricity, throwing Scrap Baby off of me.
Smoke raised from her body, her eyes dark as her body laced limp on the floor.
I stared at the scene wide-eyed, hands still shakingly clutching Gladius as everyone else came down to join me. Hilda, Maple, Twig and Vanellope instantly rushed over and hugged me, pressing their faces into my body.
"How do we turn off the security system?" McGee asked frantically.
"There's a remote", one of the freed campers said meekly. "Behind the main desk." McGee acted quickly, rushing behind the desk and pulling out the remote. He pressed one of the buttons, and just like that everything returned to normal.
The lodge's lights clicked on (nearly blinding all of us), the metal blockade retracted, and everything outside deactivated. I looked through the window and watched as the others all rushed through the mud covered campgrounds and nearly broke down the door as they came inside.
I shakily stood up, and that immediately had Manolo and Maria in a frantic panic, as they dashed over and wrapped me into a crushing hug. But I didn't care, rather returning the hug and burying my face in their shoulders.
"Damn, this is one ugly motherfucker", Majima said. I lifted my face and looked over at him, watching as the yakuza, time traveller, zombie scientist and teenage robot all looked over the unconscious Scrap Baby.
"So that's the one that caused all of this?" Flowey muttered from his perch on Dry Bowser's shell.
I nodded. "Y-Yeah. She i-is."
The others who were outside all looked at me in massive worry. "Kid, what happened?" Ralph asked.
"S-She… she pinned m-me and nearly…" I paused to calm down, but that failed. "If G-Gladius didn't zap her…"
All the adults had their eyes widen in horror, then all went to glare at the unconscious robot. "This bitch is fucking dead!" Majima growled.
"Please, everyone", Gladius started firmly. "We can worry about that tomorrow. I think Caleb needs rest, so I say we go back to Lakebottom. We can tie her up and lock her away somewhere in the TARDIS."
"I agree", Steve said. "This day has been way too long, so let's just rest up and recharge."
Everyone else grumbled in agreement, and with Jenny making quick work to make sure the still unconscious robot was restrained, we bid the SunnySmiles campers goodbye.
I clung to Maria all the way back, still in such a state of shock and terror I barely registered the boat ride back, being practically carried into the TARDIS, and gently placed onto my bed. What I was able to register was Gladius wiggling under the covers with me in his scabbard, so I hugged him close.
Maple crawled onto me and snuggled right up, which helped make more of the tension fade.
But then I suddenly felt someone else crawl into bed with me, and looking over my shoulder I saw Maria.
"I asked The Doctor", she whispered, "And he gave us this spare bedroom just for tonight. Rest, mijo…" She kissed my cheek. "Everything will be fine."
She clicked off the lamp on her side's nightstand, then rolled over so she could hug me as tight and close as she could. My heart swelled at this feeling, the love and safety Maria was exploding with lulling me to sleep.
~X~
Wow, this is a bit of a weird chapter. Yes, the focus of this arc is Scrap Baby from the Five Nights At Freddy's series. Specifically FNAF6, Pizzaria Simulator. She's my favourite character, so I just had to include her.
But yeah, Scrap has already been bested, so what's left? Well, since Scrap Baby isn't anywhere near the same level as Galacta, Flowey or Dry, her arc will be a little bit different. I won't spoil what, but just trust me, it'll be awesome.
But yeah, chapter 72. Almost done with the main chunk of the story. That's just… so surreal. Ain't slowing down, though!
Up next: With her plan completely shattered, Scrap Baby is confronted by the group. But some lines are crossed that shatters her world and reveals things even she didn't know about…
~Caleb~