Author's Notes: The next few chapters should be posted fairly close together if everything goes according to plan. For those in the discord, it's time for the 'Everything Goes to Shit Graph' spike to happen.

Trigger Warnings: Blood, Death, Body Horror and Hanging

Chapter 190
Night 4 Take 5

Hedy had woken up with a stifled scream and a gasp. When she realized she was awake, she glanced at the tableside clock past the silhouette of the Minireena. It was still the afternoon. They weren't supposed to wake up for quite a few hours.

"Hedy?" Timmy asked softly in the dark. He had heard Hedy toss and turn in her sleep, mumbling sometimes. He knew she sometimes had nightmares just the same as Ruby. But she had been mostly fine the last few days.

"I'm fine," Hedy whispered, more out of habit than truth.

Timmy didn't question it. But he could feel fear and anxiety bleed through their tenuous connection.

Hedy didn't fall back asleep even when Timmy fell silent again. She should have just gotten up to eat something or work on something rather than waste the hours. Instead, she just stared at the ceiling desperately trying to remember what nightmare had woken her up.

She rolled out of bed when Ruby stirred and went straight to combing her hair with a distant expression as she stared at the Minireena.

Ruby didn't sleep very well either but neither of them shared the reasons why. Ruby just had a very bad feeling. No nightmare though. She had a sinking suspicion that her bad feeling had to do with tonight. She raked her fingers through her hair as she climbed out of bed, hoping that for once her feelings were wrong.

Hedy didn't look so great as she forcibly combed out her tangled hair while Ruby silently laced up her boots. The teen tested the movement of her shoulder with a wince but decided the stitches wouldn't hinder her much. She'd worked through worse. Hedy wouldn't be very happy if she ripped out her hard work though.

Timmy just watched them, feeling the tension build between the two.

Before they headed downstairs to meet up with the others, Ruby paused. She tightened her grip on the door handle, staring at the wooden surface.

"Remember that night I ran into Nightmare?" she asked softly.

The other two tensed. Ruby never talked about Nightmare. And no one ever brought him up around her.

"I had a bad feeling all day before that." She hesitated. "Before he showed himself. I've got the same feeling now."

Hedy stopped moving for a moment. "I had a ni-a bad dream. I can't remember it, but I remember I was scared and in pain. I haven't felt something like that in a long time." She wasn't even sure what that meant.

Ruby held her gaze for a long moment. "Something bad is going to happen tonight." She grabbed her bag, knuckles white.

Hedy nodded quietly as she picked up the minireena, cradling the little animatronic like a baby doll. She watched her own hand tremor for a moment before clasping both together and taking a deep breath. She wasn't worried about herself, much less Ruby. Cautious yes, but despite the bad feelings, she couldn't nail down what she was afraid of specifically.

They both headed down a bit early, too restless to settle. They were both avoiding each other's gaze, not wanting to see the same dread they were already feeling.

Afton was also already down there, but that wasn't strange. He was always early, usually sipping the strongest tea available. He didn't seem to like coffee. He offered the two a tired smile when he spotted them before his eyes landed on the tiny bot lying across Hedy's lap.

He stood up from his chair like he was bitten. "What happened? Where did she... Where did you..." He knelt in front of Hedy to look at the bot. "Is she all right?" He looked up at two of them, a tiny bit of fear and suspicion flicking behind his eyes. He didn't ask what they had done to her and he didn't try to snatch the bot away from Hedy.

"We had a stowaway," Hedy said.

"What did..." he trailed off and took a deep breath. Was he mad? Ruby raised an eyebrow at his reaction but didn't comment.

"I didn't hurt her," Hedy assured. "She started panicking so I turned her off so she wouldn't hurt herself."

Afton seemed to deflate a little but now he was staring at them in curiosity, clearly wanting a more in-depth explanation.

"She trashed our room," Ruby added cheerfully, shoving her negative feelings away for the moment. It probably wasn't the explanation he wanted, but it was the only one he got.

Hedy knew Ruby could appreciate that bit of harmless spite. It was a childish move and Hedy frowned a little but Afton cut off her thoughts. She wasn't going to call the teen out on it though. Ruby coped in unhealthy ways and being a bit mean wasn't the worst thing she could do.

"She was here all day?" he asked.

"All night too," Hedy said, "She came back with us the previous night." She glanced back at the elevators.

Alex was late. Late for her, that is. She liked to be at least ten minutes early to everything.

"We only found her because of said trashing of the room. And then she stabbed Hedy."

Afton wasn't expecting the casual utterance of that part. "What?"

"My hand," Hedy shot Ruby a look. She was riling the man up for no apparent reason. Which wasn't out of character but wasn't always helpful.

"Wh- " The man sputtered a bit. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Hedy said, waving her bandaged hand. "I spooked her."

He seemed torn between concern for Hedy and the bot. And confusion. That too. However, that seemed to be his default state through most of this week so the girls mostly ignored it.

He looked back at the minireena, the concern twisting to amusement for a second before he steeled his expression again.

The girls caught it of course, both deciding not to ask after sharing a brief glance.

"Where are the others? We're going to be late," Ruby grumbled, rolling her shoulder as she tried to work the stiffness out and test the stitches. "I've got to start walking, remember?"

Hedy fidgeted and looked at Afton. "Have you seen them?"

He shook his head. "You're the first two down here."

That...feeling Hedy and Ruby both had in their own way worsened.

Hedy wordlessly started heading toward the doors, pulling out her phone as she scrolled through her contacts. She halted. Why had her first thought been to head outside? Ruby's sharp gaze followed her.

"Should we go bang on their doors?" Hedy asked when she stopped moving. "They might have slept in. Yesterday was...difficult. Andre at least probably took some pain meds that knocked him out." That was a reasonable explanation right?

"I can pick their locks?" Ruby offered, glancing at Hedy and ignoring Afton's conflicted expression.

Hedy hummed. And then worried over why she didn't think that was a bad idea.

Ruby darted off without waiting for permission and the other two waited in awkward silence. Three, technically. Timmy stayed with his father and Hedy. Ten tense minutes later, the teen returned.

"They're not in their rooms." She sounded unusually serious, hand gripping her bag's strap tightly.

"What?" both Hedy and Afton said. "They went out for food perhaps?" Afton suggested immediately.

"Alex would be back by now," Hedy insisted. She put her cell phone up to her ear to call her friend, already worried. All she got was Alex's cheery voicemail, telling robocallers to f-off, professors to email her, and friends to sing a song.

It rang completely through, so it wasn't like Alex was ignoring her and hanging up. She tried again, watching Ruby's face and trying not to look as concerned in front of Afton as she felt.

There wasn't annoyance or irritation in Ruby's expression which was alarming on its own. Hedy could read some worry in her eyes. She was hiding it as well as she could though. This clearly wasn't just Hedy being paranoid if Ruby was also concerned.

Hedy closed her eyes, phone pressing into her cheek. Pick up, Alex. Please! "Where are you..." she whispered.

Ruby's expression twisted into something frustrated and angry as she read Hedy's body language. The mechanic struggled to hide her feelings from the teen and before she could say anything Ruby shot out the door, sprinting towards their temporary workplace.

Afton was watching Hedy and startled at the teen's abrupt exit.

"Get in the car," Hedy ordered, stuffing her phone in her pocket.

Afton looked away from where Ruby disappeared in confusion. "Ms. Fitzgerald-"

"Get in the car!"

Afton fell behind her in shock as she ignored the hotel staff wishing them a good day and followed after Ruby. He politely thanked the staff while Hedy arrived at her truck.

A piece of paper fluttered, pinned under her wipers, and blindingly white against the windshield.

Hedy froze.

Afton snatched the paper for her and handed it over as they got in.

Hedy harshly pushed his hand away as she got in and internally cursed the slow movements of her chair lift as she got situated.

"What does it say?" Hedy asked, her even voice contrasting her sharp movements. She started the car and drove out of the parking lot faster than reasonable.

"They-" his voice caught. "They felt we were biased in the situation. That the animatronics were dangerous. Andre went to dismantle them. Alex went with him."

The curses that slipped out of Hedy's lips startled the man, not because of her anger, but how her voice cracked in pain.

"Stupid. Alex, why on earth would you..." She glanced at the paper, catching a glimpse of unfamiliar handwriting. Andre wrote it then.

Alex wouldn't do this. She knew the bots were alive. She wouldn't go to help Andre with whatever stupidity he was attempting. She would go for answers, maybe. But she wouldn't agree with Andre about the bots. So what…

A thought came to mind. Andre clearly didn't trust the rest of them. He might have gone on his own. Did Alex go with him to stop him? If that was the case, why didn't she tell Hedy?

Hedy knew why. She didn't want to think about it.

They passed Ruby on the road, Hedy honking twice. The teenager was in a full run and Ruby lifted a hand to acknowledge Hedy before she decided to take a shortcut, disappearing into a stretch of forest alongside the road. Any other scenario and Hedy would be worried about animals or people in an unfamiliar forest. Instead, she just sped by.

Afton only caught a glimpse of the teen. As his eyes roved over the paper in his hands he felt a terrible feeling settling in his chest. He'd felt it before, the moment he stepped into that deathtrap of an attraction, but this was different.

"Ms. F—Hedy," he said.

If she was surprised by him calling her by her first name, she didn't show it.

"You seem to know more than I do...strangely enough. Please. If you know why my animatronics want to hurt us, now would be the time to explain."

Hedy's eyes never left the road.

"I don't know," Hedy said. She was honest, mostly.

There was a different light in Afton's eyes.

She shivered and couldn't help glancing his way. He was staring with barely restrained anger and annoyance.

"Miss Fitzgerald. These are my children."

Hedy flinched at the sudden aggression in his tone.

Afton continued, firmly. "I came here to save them from something I don't know about and I cannot do that without your help. Do you understand? I don't know what coincidences have aligned that you and Ruby are under my employment, but you are clearly more aware of the situation than I, so I must insist you fill in the blanks for me. I have resisted addressing this up to this point, trusting you will come to me when you deem it necessary. However, it is necessary now!"

"I can't!"

There was silence. Hedy's knuckles gripped the steering wheel and her shoulders were hiked with tension.

"Miss Fitzgerald!"

"My dad used to work for you!" Hedy smacked her hand on the steering wheel hard enough that her wrist ached. She shot him a look. "Joseph Fitzgerald. He told me…stories."

Afton stared. He got the sense she was lying about some part. He couldn't understand why. It wasn't the most important issue at the moment.

"He kept those old manuals you made for some of your animatronics. I know they're alive, but not why, and so does Ruby. Happy?!"

She was surprised at the silence. She glanced away from the road for another moment. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened at the look the man was giving her.

Afton stared. He didn't look…surprised. "I suspected," he admitted.

Hedy breath caught a little. "Y-you knew?"

"I suspected," he reiterated. "I couldn't be sure when I hired you. However, with your rather distinct name, it was a bit too much of a coincidence, dear," Will said. He cracked a weak smile despite the stress. "We've met before." He looked back at the road as she did, the situation too tense for real reminiscing. "You were very little. You wouldn't remember."

Hedy winced. She knew there was a risk of this. Afton hadn't revealed anything though. He was better at lying (or more accurately, not mentioning certain things) than she'd assumed.

It was quiet for most of the ride as they each adjusted to the new dynamic.

Afton cleared his throat when it was clear Hedy wasn't going to continue the conversation. "You…actually…met a few of my animatronics when you were little. Other models, of course. You were about a year old last I saw you, so I'm assuming your father didn't bring you around after…" he trailed off.

"Oh," Hedy said, more because she felt like she needed to say something to that. She hoped she sounded surprised enough. Hedy could guess what Afton was about to say if the way she felt Timmy tense was a clue. The little boy had carefully wiggled into her lap while she was driving, huddling close in panicked comfort. He was shaking. Hedy could tell he was struggling to maintain his touch with her since she was too distracted with driving to focus on him. It made her posture weird and it felt awkward (and a little unsafe) to drive but Afton didn't seem to notice.

"That's not important, " the man said quickly. "I didn't want to assume you knew anything, even if you were Joseph's daughter. I know your father no longer works for the company." He frowned a little at that, for a moment looking confused. "Do you keep in touch with your Uncle? How is Scott?"

As they approached the building, Hedy wasn't surprised to see that Ruby beat them there. That girl could be fast when she wanted to be. She was slow on the days before to conserve her energy. The twisting roads Hedy's truck was forced to take had something to do with it too.

"He passed away." Hedy said shortly as she got out of the car. She didn't even see Will's stunned reaction.

She saw Andre's car parked close to the elevator entrance.

Ruby was winded from her run but still vibrating with energy. She shifted her weight restlessly as Hedy got to the door.

"I don't like this," she growled, fingers twitching like she wanted a weapon. Betty wasn't out though. The mechanic was a little surprised that she hadn't already run inside. Not having the keys had hardly stopped her in other situations. No one bothered locking doors at the Pizzeria anymore and that didn't have anything to do with the building's fondness for the night guard.

Locked doors were nothing more than an invitation to beat a challenge for the teenager.

Hedy could only give a jerky nod to her as she shoved the keys in Ruby's hand while Afton opened the door to the stupid elevator, which was already on the surface as if waiting for them.

"Something is wrong," Afton agreed. "At the very least, they should have informed me they were planning to do this." He spoke quieter as the door opened. "I would fire them for this..." he admitted, almost ashamedly.

"Alex wouldn't have gone against you as our boss unless Andre convinced her," Hedy said, but her instinctual defense of her friend was hollow with distraction and worry. She stared into the elevator room as Afton and Ruby went in. "Hurry..."

Ruby gave a short, sharp nod at Hedy before they disappeared.

The elevator ride was completely silent, the Hand Unit didn't speak up once and that made Ruby more suspicious. Why would it suddenly change? Did they find the server room and turn it off?

It still didn't say anything as the ride stopped. They crawled through the open vent and Ruby unlocked the side door for Hedy.

Hedy could feel the building's presence and even it seemed anxious, for her. It was weaker in this place, despite having taken over the system, so Hedy's connection to it wasn't as strong. She wasn't sure how much influence it had here.

"The Hand Unit is down," Ruby told Hedy quietly.

"The Building disabled it," Hedy reminded. She sorted her thoughts for a minute, getting that far off look when she was concentrating on the building.

Ruby blinked. "I thought it was controlling it."

Hedy shook her head. "No. Well, sort of. The Hand Unit is still running the life support and the doors if we need it. But it's supposed to behave. The Building doesn't care to let it talk."

"Pardon?" Afton asked.

"I'll explain later," Hedy said. She wasn't lying to him. Intentionally. She'd explain if she got the chance to.

Ruby was pacing back and forth, something Hedy only saw her do when she was really worked up. She was thrumming with tension.

"So, do we just start looking?"

"I don't know," Hedy muttered.

"That might be best," Afton said. "What if—"

"The lights aren't working," Ruby cut across what Afton was saying. She was standing by the panels and pressing the lights button. It just buzzed in response.

"Where in this…hole in the ground would they have gone?" Afton mused.

Hedy stared at her own reflection in Vixen's window. "They wanted to scrap the bots right? Or disable them at least. They'd have to figure out a way to get close."

Ruby glanced into Ballora's gallery. They couldn't see anything without the lights. "The vents are all open," she noted.

"Don't like that," Hedy said with strained sarcasm as she eyed the vents.

"Miss Fitzgerald, is there a way they could have figured out how to reverse however you disabled the controlled shocks?" Afton asked.

Ruby scowled at the thought, glancing between Hedy and the vent. She just knew the teen was itching to dive through but she was uncertain about what was happening. It was all enough to make Ruby hesitate. And that said a lot.

"I'm not sure. Maybe. I just...disconnected a few things," Hedy admitted. She hadn't considered that anyone would have tried to reconnect them. She had only been concerned with the Hand Unit forcing the shocks at the time.

"We should go check," Ruby decided. "Just standing here isn't going to get us answers."

Hedy and Afton both nodded.

"Agreed, I would like to get a better idea of how these rooms are set up. What was the...trick... for Ballora again?" He sounded almost pained asking.

"She's blind. But she's got great hearing. And those little bots are all over the place." Ruby moved towards the vent. "I'll head through and let you two in."

Hedy nodded, reaching for her bag. "Wait a minute." She unzipped it and carefully pulled out the stowaway Minireena, flipping her over to the panel on her back.

Ruby was pacing near the vent now, eyes on the dark room beyond the glass.

"Perhaps I should..." Afton said, reaching for the small bot.

"I got it..." Hedy snapped, pulling the minireena away from him a little.

Afton blinked at the sudden aggression and stepped back to wonder if he heard right. He only conceded because the harsh words seemed more protective than malicious.

He watched in confusion and interest (and a little anxiety) as Hedy's fingers moved deftly.

Ruby glanced over at Hedy's sharp voice before going back to pacing.

After a minute Afton spoke up. "Ms. Fitzgerald please...please be careful. If the chips short..."

"I know," Hedy put the wires back in place and closed the paneling just as the little bot's white eyes began to flicker.

Afton watched the little bot anxiously, wringing his hands like he wanted to be holding her.

The bot looked around wildly once she fully 'woke up'.

"Hello. Remember me?" Hedy asked. "We brought you back like we promised."

The bot stood up on Hedy's lap to look at her, grabbing her shirt for balance. "Back? Anyone broken? Not safe. Not safe." She didn't seem to have noticed Afton or Ruby.

"Shh. I don't know if anyone's broken yet."

Afton stared, a little startled at how gentle Hedy sounded and how she spoke to the bot like a person. A child specifically, but still a person. He froze, wanting to move, to make his presence known, to say something. But for a moment, he couldn't.

"We know it's not safe. I was actually wondering if you would like to help us a little bit." Hedy asked.

She could tell that Ruby was rapidly running out of patience, wanting to get moving. She bit her lip and kept silent for the moment though.

"Do you think you could go through and let Ballora and the other minireenas know we're friends?" Hedy didn't have high hopes but it was worth the shot.

The minireena didn't look sure. Her face wasn't very expressive but the hesitation was obvious.

"Hedy, we can't wait too long," Ruby muttered, practically vibrating with tension.

"I know," Hedy said.

The minireena flinched at the tone.

"Sorry," Hedy apologized softly.

The bot stared for a moment then turned to look at the vent Ruby was by, startling as her eyes landed on Afton.

He studied the little bot anxiously, giving her a weak smile when he had her attention.

Ruby shut up and bit her tongue when she realised her sharp tone would only freak the minireena out. She went back to pacing, trying to see anything in the dark beyond the window.

The bot continued to stare at Afton for a moment before climbing off Hedy.

She walked over to the man, poked his leg and tilted her head a little.

"Hello darling," Afton said softly. "It's…lovely to meet you properly." His voice was soft.

The minireena stared at the man. She suddenly let out a strange static noise.

Hedy wondered if it was a sob or a croon. It sounded like a noise Mangle had made before her voice was fixed. Did the Minireena actually know Afton? He seemed surprised by the little bots' existence but it was possible they still knew who he was.

Afton reached out to the bot but she stepped back toward Hedy and looked away from him. She wordlessly walked to vent, passing Ruby before she crawled inside.

Afton looked heartbroken while Ruby was back to vibrating in place. Her eyes kept darting between the vent and Hedy. The mechanic guessed they had maybe a minute before the teen was gone. She was still surprised the girl was waiting at all.

The bot was back right before Ruby dove into the vent herself, thankfully.

Hedy was about to speak before she noticed the little bot shaking and several other pairs of white eyes staring at them from the vent.

"Gone," The minireena said. She sounded very upset, like she was moments from crying. "'Lora gone. Come."

That was all it took. Ruby's patience snapped and she was through the vent in seconds, clambering over the little bots without hitting them despite how they scattered in fright at her sudden move. They didn't attack her. She was gone before either Hedy or Afton could say anything.

The remaining two went around through the hallways to the other door silently as the stowaway and a little gaggle of more minireenas followed them with cautious curiosity.

Just how many were there?

They seemed skittish. Frightened even.

Ruby was unlocking the door in moments, flashlight scanning the room. She was on high alert tonight which made Hedy anxious. Everything was putting her on edge.

Hedy's eyes glanced at Ballora's stage as Ruby's flashlight went over it. The curtains were drawn but she didn't see any sign of the bot at all. Where could Ballora have "gone"?

The minireenas scattered into the dark of the room but didn't bother the three of them. Even the stowaway disappeared but Hedy knew she was nearby, watching them quietly. Pairs of little stars sparkled in the dark corners.

"I don't like this," Ruby was muttering to herself. Her instincts were screaming at her that something was wrong. Something had happened and she knew it was bad.

"Come on," Hedy said quietly, heading to the power room. She didn't hear Ballora's music playing.

"Ms. Fitzgerald..." Afton whispered as Hedy opened the door.

She paused and glanced back to ask him why he wanted her attention, but the words died on her tongue at the sight of what Afton had picked up.

Afton held Alex's shoe gingerly, looking disturbed as if he regretted picking it up. He turned it over without saying a word, inspecting it for damage.

Hedy swallowed and shook her head as Afton hurriedly put the article down where he found it.

Hedy shoved the next door open, shining her flashlight inside. It wasn't sparking like before. Her eyes landed on a toolbox near the control panel. It looked like Andre's. Hedy had seen it in the car trunk a few times while they were carpooling. Alex's was spray painted green. She didn't see it around though.

Ruby was tense. "Bad shoes for running in," she muttered, stalking around and inspecting the room. Fredbear and Bon Bon weren't there either. Where were all the bots?

Hedy checked the control panel she had previously messed with to cut off the shocks while Afton looked around the room, appearing disturbed.

"The design of this room is...strange," he commented. "And the organization of these wires is awful."

Ruby didn't contribute anything to the conversation, tapping the walls and sliding her hands over the surface to find any clues towards the building design in the dark. Some spots sound hollow.

Suddenly she spoke up. "More vents."

"Where?" Hedy asked, looking over.

"Here, behind the wires at the back." She pushed aside some cords. "Too small for the normal bots to fit in. I mean, I could fit in here no problem but an average man would get stuck."

Hedy and Afton both studied the space.

"Scratches..." Hedy pointed out. "Someone uses it."

"Hmm," Ruby ran her fingers over them. "Not something human fingernails could make."

Afton shifted restlessly. He looked back at the dark room. "I suggest we don't linger any more than necessary. Ms. Fitzgerald, can you please finish checking if they reactivated the electrocutions' system?"

Ruby eyed the vent for a bit, debating with herself whether she should go in. Thankfully, she decided to wait. At this point, Hedy wasn't sure she'd be able to convince Ruby otherwise if she did choose to act.

Hedy took a couple of minutes to study the panel before she gave an answer.

"Th-they tried," she finally said, as she sorted the wires and settings. "But it's not plugged in." She glanced at the toolbox. Did something interrupt them?

Ruby had prowled back around to the door and was listening for any sign of a returning bot.

She frowned and looked up after a moment. "Did you hear that?"

The other two froze.

Silently, Afton shook his head while Hedy strained to hear.

Ruby was staring at the ceiling, eyes tracking whatever she was hearing. She'd always had better hearing, being able to track the bots to a scarily accurate degree. Mike had joked that she was part bat once. Ruby had spent that whole shift running around, declaring herself 'Batguard'.

"Sounds like...slithering?"

"What is that?" Afton whispered.

Hedy covered her mouth, suddenly feeling a little nauseous and tense in her chest, although it passed quickly. She was suddenly cold. Very cold. It was hard to breathe. It hurt.

Whatever it was "stopped" and Hedy felt something like tendrils reach out to her. The "feelings" were wrong and off and twisted in amusement and hate and a desire to hurt. She recoiled and a moment later the feelings of whatever it was were slammed behind their own barrier. It was a ghost, or something like it. But something was…off. It didn't feel like a ghost, but it was a spirit of some kind. Maybe? She couldn't tell. It felt 'fake." Somehow. The sensation was familiar despite that. She had felt it before but hadn't known how to look for it so she hadn't really noticed. The building making her connection stronger tonight helped. She knew that Timmy had sensed it too. She didn't know exactly what it was and she doubted he did either.

Timmy was keeping himself completely hidden. She could barely sense him tonight. He was usually close to her though.

Ruby was twitching in a way that told Hedy she'd sensed something too. Not as strongly as Hedy did since she didn't do 'ghosty feelings', but she still noticed something.

"There's nothing in here," the teen lied tightly. "Let's go check Vixen's room. They might be in that maintenance room."

Hedy frowned, wincing at the presence she had felt. It had left already, but the feeling lingered like a stain.

"We need to find them, Ruby," she whispered weakly.

"Ms. Fitzgerald, are you alright? I'm sure there is...nothing we need to be too concerned about. We shouldn't make the worst assumptions just yet."

"All due respect sir, you don't know what I'm assuming," Hedy said as Ruby opened the door for her.

"I would if the two of you enlightened me," he said.

"Not the time Mr. Afton," Hedy told him tightly as she headed out, gripping her taser.

Afton looked anxious but didn't further insist on an answer.

Ruby scowled when she saw Afton hesitating. "We've got to move," she snapped.

Afton startled and nodded. He glanced at Alex's shoe that he had left where he found it. He frowned and picked it up again.

"Mr. Afton..." Hedy said but cut off as she saw the man pale under the light of her torch. "Mr. Afton?"

He hadn't noticed the tiny specks of blood on the shoe before. He stood silently and swallowed as he wordlessly set the shoe down, deciding not to worry the girls just yet. "It's just...disturbing to find this here," he lied by omission.

Both girls frowned at him but let it go for now.

Ruby turned back to close the door and stilled as the flashlight caught something on the ground. She slowly followed it from the door to Hedy's chair, tracing it with the light beam.

"Hedy?" her voice was tight and there was an odd tone to it.

Hedy froze at Ruby's voice and stopped moving, her hands gripping her wheels.

"...what..." she asked. She didn't want the answer but at the same time she needed it.

Ruby opened her mouth to reply and had to swallow hard before she could speak. "There's something on your wheels."

Hedy's eyes fell to Ruby's light on the floor and the brownish-red that streaked behind her left wheel. She felt sticky wetness and looked down at her hand. She choked at the sight of blood slicking her palm. She covered her mouth, barely having the presence of mind to check that the other hand didn't have blood on it before it touched her face.

Afton murmured a stunned curse under his breath.

Ruby took a deep breath as she followed the trail up to Hedy. The teen had never liked blood, which conflicted with her love of horror movies, but she made do somehow. The streak of red made her stomach flip.

"Ruby..." Hedy murmured behind one hand as she stared at the other, not able to move. She had rags in her bag, probably even wipes. Maybe. She couldn't remember. But she couldn't move to get them.

She looked up at Ruby as the teen came to her side. "It's Alex's...I think. I can't tell if I'm imagining it and I'm paranoid or..." Hedy trailed off. "It's not good if it's Andre's either, but..." Her eyes darted to the shoe.

Afton had no idea how she could possibly know that it was Alex's.

"One of them was injured," he said kindly. "But this isn't too much. Until we find them, we can't make assumptions. We just have to find them and get them help. Alright Ms. Fitzgerald?"

How was he so calm? His voice was gentle, fatherly almost in its comfort. What kind of fucking irony was that?

"You don't und-" Hedy's voice cracked.

Ruby reached out and grabbed her shoulder, a solid and grounding presence. She understood what Hedy meant but there was no way to explain it.

She dug in Hedy's bag for one of the rags without comment. "I'll push you," she murmured.

Hedy took the rag and tried to scrub the blood from her skin as she nodded mutely.

Afton opened the service hall door for them when they reached it.

Ruby was more careful in scanning the floor for any more blood this time. They found a couple of scattered tools that they'd missed on the way there as well.

Afton was silent but his footsteps beside them didn't falter as he lit the way for them since Ruby didn't have her hands free.

Ruby pushed Hedy as the engineer tried to desperately wipe the crusting red out of the lines in her palm, shaking slightly.

The teenager rarely pushed her chair so it only added to how surreal the situation felt. How wrong it felt.

Hedy took a deep shuddering breath as they moved. She needed to focus. This wasn't like her, she was usually good at compartmentalizing if she had to.

But also...there'd never been someone else's life on the line like this. It wasn't like with Ruby who'd had the Originals on her side by the time Hedy got there and was fiercely able to protect herself. It wasn't like Jeremy who was far from helpless nowadays.

This was her close friend and an unlucky stranger that they had kept in the dark, hoping to figure out what was going on without anyone the wiser.

She should have tried harder to explain things to Alex. She shouldn't have let her leave the car that morning. She shouldn't have…assumed that Alex still trusted her just enough to not do something so stupid. Alex… Alex wasn't stupid…

Ruby would probably disagree as all she remembered of Alex before this was ages ago when the woman tried to pressure them both into drinking on the job during Hedy's birthday party. That was still Alex. The Alex that just wanted a friend who she knew was stressed to unwind. Encouraging a teen to drink was a lapse in judgement but not malicious.

But what did she call this? Alex wasn't stupid. Did she not understand at least that this place was dangerous even if not fully why?

Hedy should have tried harder.

"Hedy?" Ruby's voice was low but enough to jerk her out of her spiraling thoughts. The teen's eyes had a flicker of concern in them as she leaned forward. It was all she was willing to show in the situation but it was enough to make Hedy focus again..

"I'm fine," Hedy lied automatically. "No use worrying."

"We'll find them," Afton said.

Hedy wondered where the sudden optimistic tone came from.

Once back in the control module, they checked the lights again but they were still off.

Ruby crouched down by the vent and listened for any sign of movement. She glanced at the mechanic now and again with worry.

Hedy was still obsessively scrubbing her hand with a red-tinted rag. "The light controls weren't disabled in the power room," she said. "Something else is wrong with them."

"Perhaps there are fuses elsewhere," Afton said, "However, I...don't think we can afford to waste time looking."

"We can if Andre and Alex were the ones to disable them for some reason."

Ruby scowled. "I'll go through and let you in again."

Afton huffed. "Be...careful, please." The blood had really affected him even though he was desperately trying to hide that.

The teenager barely glanced at them before darting through the vent without another word.

Afton waited a moment. "Ms. Fitzgerald..."

"..."

"Hedy, are you all right?" He noticed how she jumped at the use of her first name.

Hedy was still looking at her palm. Eventually, she looked up. "I'm fine, sir."

"...I'm not," Afton admitted.

They fell into an uncomfortable silence until Ruby opened the door. She was practically vibrating from tension now, shifting her weight from foot to foot restlessly. The sight made Hedy's heart drop. Ruby was getting much more worked up than she'd seen in a while.

"There's definitely a bot here, I can hear them," she hissed.

She turned suddenly and shoved a taser into Afton's hand, ignoring when he tried to pull away from it.

"Take it," she said sharply.

"I can't..." he tried to insist.

"I don't care. If you have to, then use the damn thing."

She didn't give him any time to argue further and walked ahead of them again. Her steps were almost silent as her flashlight moved over the floor around them. She was fully in 'game mode' now and Hedy knew she'd dart off at the slightest hint of danger. Towards the danger, of course, never away.

Afton's hand holding the taser left it clammy as he followed, his eyes roving over the shadows. Where was Funtime Foxy? Would she actually attack them? Attack him? He didn't think he'd be able to tase her if it came to that.

"Oh, how sweet, visitors."

They all came to a sudden stop at the voice.

That wasn't Vixen.

"Baby?" Afton uttered in startled confusion before he could stop himself.

Hedy stiffened. She could sense the presence that felt "wrong" but it was still hiding itself. She couldn't get a good lock on it. Ruby scanned the room, wound tight and trying to see any movement. She couldn't see the speaker without leaving them though and she was reluctant to move away from Hedy.

"Are you looking for someone?" the voice asked innocently.

Afton hesitated before speaking as it seemed neither Hedy nor Ruby would. They were clearly listening though.

"We are, dear," he answered into the dark. "I don't know how much you've seen of us, but we're here to help. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. It's just us and two other technicians. We're looking for them." Something was off, more than what was obvious. He couldn't identify what though.

Whoever it was, giggled. It made Ruby's and Hedy's instincts flare up immediately. Hedy gripped her taser tightly and Ruby shifted her weight to the side. She was on a hair trigger and ready to dart off within seconds.

"Oh dear," the voice simpered. "You juuuuuust missed them."

The voice giggled again.

"Where are they?" Hedy snapped, rapidly losing patience. She wasn't in the mood to play games. For once, neither was Ruby.

Afton grabbed Hedy's shoulder, getting a brief glare from the teenager when she glanced back at them. "That's not Baby," he whispered. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but while that was Baby's voice, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like it was her. She wouldn't talk like this.

Hedy swallowed and Will could feel her start to tremble. Ruby scowled at his words, turning back to staring into darkness.

The giggle morphed into a cruel laugh. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes!" Hedy suddenly shouted at the ceiling in rage and grief. She needed to know, (she already did). "Where are they!? Where's Alex!?" Some kind of dam broke within her, the illusion of calm washing away in an instant.

Afton felt his heart plummet, hearing the young woman break as if some part of her soul knew something before the rest of her did.

Ruby was being strangely silent, shifting back and forth on her feet but not running off like he'd seen her do before. She was alternating between looking around and back at Hedy, clearly concerned. Her grip on her flashlight was tight and her grim expression was out of place on a teenager's face.

The voice laughed again. "As you wish."

The lights flickered on and Afton suddenly couldn't breathe. There were silhouettes behind the stage curtains. Hanging.