The jack-o-lantern animatronics gaze at the other animatronics curiously due to wondering why they were surrendering the human. Saphira looked at each animatronic curiously. It was intriguing that each animatronic had the distinct, jack-o-lantern glow coming from their bodies. She didn't know how Afton had done that, if she was honest. They had a similar design to the nightmare animatronics, due to them being about the same size with long claws and teeth, though their skin were an orange. Jack-O-Chica had a lighter colour, due to more yellow in her colour, Jack-O-Foxy had a deeper, red colour and Jack-O-Freddy seemed to have a brown shade to his colour. Only Jack-O-Bonnie was orange.
Their eyes were also interesting. Their sclera area of their eyes were a light brown, instead of white, like most of the others. Only Springtrap and Nightmare had a different shade to their sclera area. Springtrap's was a dark, dusty brown around his silver irises, and Nightmare's was black around the red irises. The irises of the jack-o-lantern animatronics were also smaller than the others, and their irises were also glowing lightly too, giving them a more intimidating appearance. Though, they did have different colours. Jack-O-Foxy had red irises, Jack-O-Bonnie had pale blue irises, Jack-O-Chica had golden irises and Jack-o-Freddy had bright, brown irises.
Jack-O-Foxy's hook was also longer, and sharper than the other Foxy's. He sniffed the air, making Saphira more nervous as she knew that he was sniffing her scent. Saphira at least knew that people were going to love these animatronics, or they were going to be terrified of them, just like the nightmare animatronics. At least their natural glow will let people know they are there in the Bedroom of Nightmares.
"Welcome, jack-o-lantern animatronics…" The animatronics look at Bonnie as he began to speak to them calmly. "We are all very happy to meet you tonight. I hope you will enjoy our company, as we help you through learning how to through each day and making sure that this secret remains hidden from most humans of this world." Jack-O-Foxy glanced at Saphira curiously, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked at her. "We have all experienced what you are experiencing right now. I have no doubt you are confused and hungry."
"And yet…" Jack-O-Foxy began to speak slowly, his voice seemed to have a natural rasp, dry sound as he spoke. "You stand around that human. Saphira, right?"
Bonnie seemed surprised that they knew her name. "I am surprised that you know her name. But yes, Saphira is out long time friend, Jack-O-Foxy. She is not food." The jack-o-lantern animatronics glance at each other with frowns. "We do have some bodies that you can have, though. We have had an influx of trespassers, and we haven't eaten all of them. I think you will enjoy that instead…"
"You want to give us old meat?" Jack-O-Chica interrupted bluntly. Her voice also seemed to have a natural dry, raspy tone. Saphira guessed all the Halloween animatronics will have that voice to them. "That's a little unfair. Besides, we have been told a few things about that girl. And we know our instructions."
Instructions? Oh no…
"I am not sure what instructions you have been given, but you should know that Saphira is under our protection." Fredbear moved to stand closer to Saphira while she remained clinging to Springtrap's arm. "However, I am curious…who gave you the instructions? Was it Afton?" Jack-O-Chica shook her head. "Mike?" The jack-o-lantern animatronics nod affirmatively. "Mike has been trying to have Saphira harmed since she's arrived. It's strange you were given instruction, but I know Mike has been wanting to get rid of Saphira."
"He claimed to be speaking on behalf of Afton. So I am not sure if you are correct, Fredbear." Jack-o-Bonnie licked his teeth as he glanced at Saphira. "It's a simple instruction. If we don't get you tonight, we cannot touch you from tonight. I think that's reasonable."
Saphira swallowed nervously and shrugged. "Maybe…but…did he say anything about me that might make you happy to try and kill me?" The jack-o-lantern animatronics did not respond to her as she asked them curiously. "I would like to hope that we could be friends…since you will be here with all the other animatronics. I have known most of these guys since I was a child, and I know that you aren't monsters. But I don't know what you have been told about me. Mike has been…less kind for a while…"
Jack-O-Freddy tilts his head slightly as he listened to Saphira. "Mike simply said that you were making life difficult for him, and he wants you gone. I am not sure what that means, to he honest. But…" He sniffed the air again and sighed deeply. "But your scent…it is hard to resist…and I want to know what your flesh and blood tastes like…"
Jack-O-Freddy ran forward suddenly, making Bonnie and Freddy lunge forward to push the animatronic back, but this made Jack-O-Foxy run forward eagerly. Toy Bonnie, Foxy and Chica prepared to stop him, but they weren't expecting him to jump suddenly, and he stepped on Chica's head as he lands behind her, standing right in front of Springtrap. The agility of this animatronic had not been expected at all.
Springtrap widened his eyes, watching Chica, Toy Bonnie and Nightmare Fredbear move to grab Foxy to hold him back. The jack-o-lantern animatronic moved to avoid the hands reaching for him, and Springtrap shoved Saphira away from him suddenly as he lunged at Jack-O-Foxy, grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him to the ground.
Saphira backed away nervously, moving to stand next to Nightmare. Springtrap held the new animatronic to the ground until Bonnie, Chica, Toy Chica and Golden Bonnie piled on top of him. "You need to control yourself! Yes, I know, it is hard to resist your desire to eat! But we have a solution!" Hearing Springtrap's angry voice sent shivers down Saphira's spine. She has not heard his angry voice for a while. "So try and resist!"
Jack-O-Foxy hissed at him with a smirk. He kicked at Springtrap's leg, making the animatronic stumble back before gasping as Jack-O-Chica punched Freddy in the face and yanked Foxy off her shoulders. Springtrap couldn't help but notice these animatronics seemed stronger then them, but Nightmare Chica pulled Jack-O-Chica aside and the two began to fight, and the nightmare animatronics might be evenly matched with them.
Nightmare turned to Saphira. "It might be best that you take this opportunity to find somewhere to hide. Find vinegar somewhere, or anything to cover your scent. These animatronics are going to take a bit of convincing to calm down." Saphira was reluctant to run, but she yelped as Jack-O-Freddy jumped and landed on top of Nightmare Freddy, making the nightmare animatronic fall to the ground, and that make Jack-O-Freddy slide off Nightmare Freddy's shoulders directly in front of Nightmare. Nightmare growled at him and kept himself between the animatronic and Saphira. "It seems you four have very nimble bodies, that's impressive. But you need to stand down."
Jack-O-Freddy sneered gleefully as he walked towards Nightmare, ignoring Nightmare Freddy as the animatronic tried to grab at his feet. "I can't ignore my instincts." He glanced at the girl who was backing away slowly. "The fact you all are willing to protect her means she must be a good person…but I am sorry…" Jack-O-Freddy sniffed the air loudly and smiled. "I can't stop myself from getting what I want…"
Nightmare punched Jack-O-Freddy's face, and looked back at Saphira. "Get out of here! Mangle!" Saphira shrieked as she felt Mangle grabbing her and pulling her from the ground. "Find a place somewhere she can hide! We will handle these four, and attempt to get them to calm down."
Mangle nodded and quickly moved along the ceiling with Nightmare Mangle and Phantom Mangle. Saphira clung to Mangle's arms tightly because this has never happened before, and she didn't enjoy it at all. Though Mangle was moving very fast as she made her way out of the room. Saphira didn't know where she could possible go to hide, because the jack-o-lantern animatronics could easily get to her if they wanted to. And she knew that they did want to. They were driven by hunger and the scent of her flesh, and it was a bad combination to try and reason with them.
Mangle carried Saphira out of the main dining room and began making her way down the hallway. "There might be a spot for you to hide in, Saphira. It is in a locker room, with a wide enough gap for a human to crawl into, but too small for one of us. I am not sure if they would be able to reach you, but I will take you there. It is the only place I can think to hide you, which we will help the others."
"Right…what about vinegar and smelly stuff?" Saphira really didn't want to be caught by the animatronics. She would hope smelling bad would calm them down, so they could talk. "Do you think…"
"It might deter them, but…when we are so driven for prey, the smell won't matter. Not as much as you might hope." Saphira frowned as that meant the suggestion to rub vinegar over her skin might have been a bad idea from the start. "Especially while they are in hunt mode. I am mostly shocked at how agile they are compared to the rest of us. We are too heavy for that kind of agility…Springtrap, to a point, is agile, but not like that."
"Even compared to Foxy?"
Nightmare Mangle nodded. "It would seem that way. Foxy, Toy Foxy, Phantom Foxy and Nightmare Foxy have good agility, but while Toy Foxy can leap, he can't jump the way those animatronics can. And that makes them quite dangerous, maybe more than the rest of us." Saphira could not help but wonder what Afton had done to the animatronics to make them like this. "No matter, the others should hold them back."
Saphira hoped for that, as she did not know what the Halloween animatronics would do if they were to catch her. Luckily, she had Mangle, Phantom Mangle and Nightmare Mangle to help her. Even if she was worried about being dropped from the ceiling, though she was confident that she would not be dropped intentionally. Saphira flinched as she heard loud thuds and shouting coming from the dining room, and she thought she heard a table snapping in half as well.
This was not how I had hoped the first meeting would go.
Mangle brought Saphira to the Haunted Classroom, and she guessed that the closet that Mangle had told her about was here somewhere. She looked at the doors of the hallway to try and spot it herself, though she knew she would only be making guesses. And she didn't particularly want to be wrong if she happens to point out a random closet, and look silly when the animatronics correct her. But that didn't mean she wasn't really wanted to find it.
Saphira frowned as Mangle stopped suddenly and turned her head to look at the doors they had come through. She was frowning as her ears twitch. Phantom Mangle and Nightmare Mangle were the same. Saphira didn't like it. "Um…we should probably keep moving, Mangle…I really don't like hanging from…" She let out a surprised yelp when the doors slam open, and four masked men ran into the hallway. "Woah! Trespassers!"
"Perfect timing!" Nightmare Mangle immediately dropped to the ground, shifting her body to stand as a fully formed fox-like animatronic. Saphira still didn't know how they could do it, since they had flesh instead of robotic parts, but they could do it. Phantom Mangle jumped down beside her as the four men stare at them. "We have one for each of our new animatronics too…"
"Indeed. You go and take Saphira to ensure she hides." Phantom Mangle growled as she stepped towards the men, only to pause when she noticed something odd about them. "Hey, do you see their eyes? Something's weird about them."
Saphira took a brief moment to look at the eyes of the men, and Phantom Mangle was not wrong. Their eyes were bloodshot, shaky and they seemed to be…unfocused? Though it was hard to tell. However, they all pull out a knife, and Mangle quickly proceeded forward, knowing that these four were here to attack her. And Saphira guessed these men were here due to Afton. He must be brainwashing them somehow, and making them come to this attraction to attack her. And she didn't know why.
Nightmare Mangle and Phantom Mangle both stood side-by-side to prevent the men from getting around them, but all four ran at the animatronics at the same time. Saphira watched, and that solidified her guess that they were brainwashed somehow, and were also being controlled. She watched as Nightmare Mangle and Phantom Mangle managed to stop three of the men, but one managed to slide themselves under Phantom Mangle, between her legs. The phantom animatronic was shocked as she had not expected that.
But before she could react, she hissed as she felt the man she had pushed away stab at her elbow, and the knife blade had successfully sliced through the casing, cutting her vulnerable skin underneath. Saphira was shocked, but the animatronic quickly pushed the man away and slammed him against the wall, breaking the man's back and neck instantly. She turned to Nightmare Mangle as she slashed and swiped at the other two men, slashing their throats, causing them to bleed out. With the three men dealt with, the two turn to run after the fourth man.
Saphira watched as the man ran quickly towards her before he jumped suddenly, making Saphira scream and pull up her legs, but not in time, as he grabbed her right ankle and pulled her down hard. Saphira yelped as the yank down hurt, and she felt herself slipping from Mangle's grasp. She grabbed the animatronic's shoulders as Mangle panicked and she tried to keep a hold, but Saphira slipped from the animatronic's arms. Saphira shrieked as she felt and landed hard on the ground, landing on her back.
She grimaced upon feeling the impact, immediately feeling dizzy from hitting her head and hearing a loud ringing in her ears. She sat up slightly with a groan to see Mangle dropping to the ground, but not before the man lunged at her with the knife raised. Saphira instinctively kicked the man's crotch, making him stumble and fall forward, almost hitting her with the knife as he fell onto his side beside her. However, as Mangle reached for the man, he raised the knife to stab her again.
Saphira shrieked as she grabbed the knife suddenly, managing to yank it from his hand, slicing between his index and middle finger in the process, making the man shout in man. Saphira was shocked as she had not expected to injure him, and she scrambled away from him, dropping the knife as Mangle grabbed the man by the neck and snapped it. At the same time, Saphira heard the sound of heavy footsteps, and she saw an orange glow coming from the doors, and she knew the Halloween animatronics had managed to get around the others.
Mangle shifted her body to a full form, like Phantom Mangle and Nightmare Mangle, and walked over to help Saphira to her feet. "Come! We haven't much…" She paused as Saphira took a step, but when she put weight on her right ankle, she yelped and slumped suddenly, holding her right foot up from the ground in pain. "Oh no…what…what's wrong?"
"Ugh…my ankle…it's sprained…" Saphira grimaced as now was not a good time. She took a deep breath and leaned on Mangle's body. "You can be crutch while you take me to the closet to hide…I didn't even notice the pain until now." Saphira groaned as Mangle moved her arm around Saphira's waist and began to walk while Saphira hopped on her foot. "Sorry…"
"It isn't your fault…Afton clearly wanted to put pressure on you tonight…" Mangle was unhappy as this was not how she wanted this to go. She flinched as she heard loud thuds and shouting in the hallway before the door to the Haunted Classroom. "Good thing it is just right here." Mangle opened a closet door to the right and stepped inside with Saphira. "There's the gap."
Saphira looked at the left side of the room to where Mangle pointed, and Mangle wasn't wrong. There was a gap in the wall large enough for a human to slip into, but small enough that an animatronic could not. She smiled a little as Mangle moved her close and she placed her hands on the walls. "Thanks, Mangle. You go and deal with the new animatronics. Hopefully, those fresh bodies will be…uh…more tempting than me…"
Saphira shivered as she was quite scared of these new animatronics right now, and seeing the four men being killed in front of her was still not fun for her. She used the leverage she had now with the walls either side of her to hop towards the back. It wasn't too far, but it would make it hard for any of the animatronics to reach. She did guess the animatronics knew of this, because they might have found it or a trespasser had managed to find it and tried to remain hiding. But they probably were caught eventually.
Mangle left the closet and closed the door, but Saphira could still hear the sound of scuffling, so she moved as fast as she could to the end and turned herself around before she slid herself to the ground. She didn't want to be standing on one foot, and she wanted to take her shoe off her right foot. She managed to with a bit of effort and pain, and she rubbed her ankle to try and soothe the pain, but she was immediately distracted as the door of the closet was slammed open.
She stared at the gap as she saw the bright orange glow and flinched as she saw Jack-O-Freddy peering into the gap. She took deep breaths and frowned at him. "Why are you still coming after me, Jack-O-Freddy? It makes no sense. There are fresh bodies right outside in the hallway. You don't need my flesh…do you?"
"Perhaps not…but your scent is addictive…" Jack-O-Freddy reached his arm into the gap, and Saphira held her legs to keep them away. The animatronic grumbled as his claws were still too far from the girl as he tried to reach her. "Ugh…eh…"
Saphira shivered as his desire for her scent was strong enough that he was ignoring the fresh bodies out in the hallway. "Look…I am not sure why I have such a sweet smell, I wish I didn't have it. But please, I would like to be your friend." Jack-O-Freddy paused for a moment as he listened to her. "I would like that chance. You will feel better once you eat, so take the fresh bodies outside and leave me be."
Jack-O-Freddy relaxed his arm slightly and glanced away for a moment. "I…I have to…I have to, or she will do something worse…"
"She?" Saphira was immediately curious. "Who is she? I don't remember any females close to Afton…" She paused as she thought of Hayley. She widened her eyes as she realized that Hayley must have met the Halloween animatronics, and informed them of what she wanted to do. "Jack-O-Freddy, are you trying to kill me because of someone who is not Afton or Mike?" The animatronic glanced back at her before he growled and tried to reach for her again. "I know who you are talking about, Jack-O-Freddy. You don't need to try and kill me to…" She yelped as she walked the animatronic get slammed into the wall and pulled out of the closet. She trembled as she didn't know who had done that until she saw Springtrap, making her sigh in relief. "Springtrap."
Springtrap glanced at the door for a moment before looking back at her with a worried expression. "Are you okay?"
Saphira shrugged as she didn't know how to respond to that. "I just had four animatronics wanting to kill me, and four, brainwashed trespassers wanting to kill me as well. I think I am doing just great." She knew she was being sarcastic as Springtrap's expression turned sad as he listened to her. "I think the Halloween animatronics are…wanting to eat me, but also not wanting to hurt me…if that makes sense."
"That is what they have repeated. They seem to say that someone has told them someone will do something worse to you, so they seem to think they will do you some kindness." Saphira nodded and sniffled as tears fill her eyes. Springtrap sighed deeply as his ears droop slightly, knowing that he has been going through a lot of pain recently. "Look…I think it is best that you be close to us at all times. I don't care to pretend to be a robot during the day anymore. I'm happy to stay close, in case something happens during the day."
Saphira gave him a surprised expression. "But…Springtrap…I thought you wouldn't want to…given that I hurt you…"
"I know you hate hurting me, and I know I am also pushing for an answer from you. But I still care deeply for you, Saphira. I don't think I ever will stop caring." Springtrap took a deep breath before turning sharply with a growl. "Leave, Jack-O-Freddy. We are more than capable of protecting Saphira if someone does come to attack her. You go and eat. We understand now that you are clouded by thoughts of wanting to eat, and also wanting to give mercy, but you need to eat the bodies for a clearer mind. So leave this room, now!"
Saphira heard a sigh from Jack-O-Freddy, and waited as she stared at Springtrap. He was standing protectively in front of the gap, even though the animatronic could not reach her. It took a moment before she heard the Halloween animatronic turn to walk out of the room. Springtrap relaxed a little bit, as he was glad that the Halloween animatronic left, giving him and Saphira the time alone, even though it was more for the new animatronics to devour their first meals.
Springtrap looked at Saphira kindly as the girl trembled. "Also, I know that deep down, there is something there." Saphira looked at his silver eyes and looked away from him. "I will protect you as best as I can, Saphira. Tonight, is the eve of Halloween. Tomorrow, I fear, that this plan Hayley has for you is when it will happen. That is what I am suspecting from the new animatronics."
Saphira nodded in agreement. "I think so too." She wasn't looking forward to it. "Maybe…staying with me won't be a bad idea…" She looked at him and smiled a little. "At least…you are free to relax on the bed beside me." Springtrap tilts his head slightly in surprise at the offer. "I imagine you would like that. Considering you don't have comfortable places to sleep."
Springtrap really did not know how to respond to that offer. He had wanted to just remain in her room while she slept to protect her, but she was okay with him sleeping next to her. Now that was something he had not expected. And that showed another part of her feelings to him, even if she does not admit it to him verbally. And he actually liked the offer. He most certainly wanted to take it, as being close to her like that will feel special.
"Well…I think I won't mind. I have not slept on a mattress…I have always thought I would sink." Saphira let out a light giggle at his comment about a mattress. "However, I am more glad that you won't mind…" She blushed a little before she moved to try and stand, before she grimaced with a groan as she put weight on her right ankle. Springtrap was immediately worried. "You are hurt. Where does is hurt, Saphira?"
She looked at her ankle and rubbed it. "My right ankle is sprained…one of the men grabbed it when Mangle tried to get me away, but she never had a good grip on my feet when she picked me up." She pressed her hands on the wall and placed her left foot on the ground to carefully pull herself up. "Though…" She grunts as she slowly rose from the ground. "Is it even safe for me to leave this room yet?"
Springtrap shook his head. "No. Not until the Halloween animatronics have left. I imagine you don't want to see the blood bath out there." She shook her head immediately, as she didn't want to see it. "I will tell you when it is safe. You should sit back down. I will see if Bonnie can get something for you in the meantime. You need to do something for that ankle before I take you to the office."
"Okay. I think that would be good. And ice pack would be a start."
Springtrap nodded and walked out of the closet while Saphira sat back down. She felt silly for standing, but she thought she could leave. She was willing to wait though. She was glad that the Halloween animatronics didn't actually hurt her, but she wondered what exactly Hayley had told the animatronics that made them believe they would be merciful to her. She could only think of a few things, since Saphira knew how manipulative Hayley could be when she wanted to. Besides, from Hayley's social media, she knew that Hayley had a plan for something, and she had no doubt that the night of Halloween would be when it happens. If not, then it will be the day after.