Author's Notes: We couldn't leave you on that cliffhanger for long. Enjoy!

Trigger warning: Blood, Death, Body Horror and Hanging

Chapter 191
Ennard

Fingers brushed fabric as William desperately lunged for Ruby in a spectacularly failed attempt to stop her.

"No! Ruby!" The teenager's name slipped from his mouth in panic.

The teen was already moving, ignoring him and sprinting towards the stage. She disappeared behind the thick curtain before he could do anything.

He shouted a plea to stop, running after her and climbing on the stage as quickly as his body allowed, the adrenaline pushing him hard. It didn't occur to him that he shouldn't leave the utterly silent Hedy alone. All he was aware of for a moment was the teenager rushing into danger.

He ducked behind the curtain, momentarily blinded by the hot lights. That didn't last, unfortunately.

He paled and bile rose in the back of his throat at the brutality. Thickening blood slowly dripped off the fingers. The sheer brokenness. The heads tilted from the electrical cabling wrapped around their necks. Worst of all—but not by much—the empty eyes stared back at their audience of two, snapped open in terror.

Afton coughed out a mostly dry heave, thankful he hadn't had a proper meal in almost two days.

Ruby had frozen once past the curtains, face pale. Her eyes glazed over, seeing a different time overlapping with the present. She clapped her hands over her mouth, dropping the flashlight. It rolled away, stopping in the puddle of blood. There was so much of it. It was everywhere she could see. She tasted blood on the back of her tongue and it made her sick.

Red, red, red. So much red. Like that night when Hedy was hurt but even more and so much red… Like that night she lost everything to the drip drip drip of blood echoing in her ears…

She could feel herself spiraling and she couldn't pull herself out of it. There was bile rising rising from her guts asand she couldn't make herself move. She just stood there staring in shock as the copper stench seared her senses.

"What do you think?"

Ruby heard the voice distantly. Her heartbeat was too loud in her ears to make out much of what was happening.

"I worked awfully hard on it. It was a lot easier when they stopped squirming so much."

She didn't hear Hedy's broken cry on the other side of the curtain where the mechanic couldn't see what was happening. For a moment, all Ruby heard was her own heartbeat. The beats were too fast and her rapid breaths were close behind.

She felt numb as Afton grabbed her shoulders and turned her away from the sight, unaware he risked an instinctual attack. The teenager twitched but didn't react much.

"Ruby," the older man said breathlessly, stooping just a bit to look the teenager in the eyes with all the seriousness of a man very aware no one should see something like this, much less the two young women in his care. No, not two women. One of them was a child! The other was barely out of her teens.

He ignored the voice that laughed above them. One crisis at a time. "I need to cut them down." His voice was shaking and his hands were cold. "Don't look. Understand? Ms. Ruby! Do you understand?"

Ruby didn't answer. She wasn't really looking at him, gaze unfocused and expression distant.

Will knew it was too late for them by now. The blood was dark and congealed. The bodies were pale and completely still where they hung. But he couldn't just leave them there. They deserved some kind of dignity. It wasn't much but it was all he could do for now.

"Don't look," he ordered again as sternly as he dared, pressing her bat into her hands and keeping her turned away. He wasn't entirely sure where he'd picked it up. "We aren't safe," he reminded her.

The teen still didn't seem to hear him. She looked a thousand miles away, fingers listlessly curling around the bat.

Red red dripping the screams stopped and they weren't saying anything everything hurt and the paramedic was trying to pull her out but MOMMY AND DADDY WEREN'T MOVING SAY SOMETHING-

Ruby wasn't even shaking. She was perfectly still. A statue rooted to the stage. It made Afton uneasy but he had to get moving.

Red puddle and the pipe was all red and Hedy wasn't moving she wasn't moving and Michael was talking please move not you too not you too I'm sorry for yelling I'm sorry sorry sorry-

The bodies hit the stage hard. Once. Twice.

Afton flinched at the sound of something cracking as Alex (he had to assume it was Alex) crumpled on the already red-stained wood.

He looked up sharply as he heard Hedy on the other side of the curtain.

"Mr. Afton..."

"Ms. Fitzgerald, stay there!" he shouted at her.

"I need to see her, please..." she begged quietly. "Please, I can't...I can't get up there."

"No, Hedwig." He didn't want to use her name. He didn't have that right. He was her employer. Not some old family friend. But she wasn't listening. She couldn't see this. He couldn't do that to her. Sure enough, the name startled her enough to pause. He could hear her ragged breaths.

"I have to," Hedy sobbed after a moment. "...I-I have to! I HAVE TO! PLEASE!"

"No." It sounded like it physically pained him to refuse her.

Just beyond the curtain, Hedy sobbed, standing up from her chair and clinging to the stage desperately for her balance, fingernails digging into the wood as her legs threatened to give out from under her at any second.

"Mr. Afton..." Hedy pleaded.

Afton was focused so on Hedy that he didn't notice as Ruby unconsciously dug her nails into her arms. The pain brought the teen back to herself slightly and she looked down at her arms to find bloody scratches under her sleeves. Crap, Hedy wasn't going to like that. Neither were the bots.

She heard Hedy speaking, everything still sounding a bit distant as Ruby stared at her bloody nails. Hedy sounded so upset, that broken tone of voice that Ruby remembered her using when she found out about the ghost brats.

Shit. Shit.

Ruby couldn't turn around. They were dead. They were gone. More of their blood was on the stage than in their bodies.

The thought finally cut through the fog in her mind and she doubled over and threw up. Fuck.

She hated this. Hated it hated it hated hated hated-

"Aw, don't you like my surprise?" the voice cooed while Ruby wiped her mouth with a sleeve.

A surprise? A fucking surprise? They treated what they did as the punchline to a fucking joke. Like death wasn't one of the most permanent things in the world. You didn't just undo death. There was no going back after you killed someone.

And they were treating it like a cute little joke they'd set up.

Anger boiled in her veins and she clenched her hands into fists. Anger was fine. Anger was safe. It didn't hurt as much as guilt and despair. Anger kept her warm, kept her going.

Anger was going to let her hurt whoever did this.

Beyond the curtain, Hedy squeezed her eyes shut at the mocking amused words, her heart aching.

Afton was suddenly by Ruby's side again when she turned, blocking her so she didn't see the scene. He looked her in the eyes, ready to plead with her to join Hedy but was startled by the anger in them as he pulled her away from the mess she just made. He'd never seen such rage on a person before.

"You shouldn't have seen this." He spoke quietly, pained concern in his eyes. He said it with certainty. No one, especially a child, should ever see something so horrible. He hated that he wasn't as put off by it all. In a horrible way, it still wasn't any worse than what he had already seen before.

He wasn't worried about Alex and Andre anymore. That time had long passed. Now his focus was the young woman and teenager he had brought into this situation.

On the other side of the curtain, Hedy let out a pained snarl at her pleas being ignored.

Ruby stiffened at a noise that wasn't Hedy and definitely wasn't that damned voice coming from the dark wires and rafters in the ceiling. She ripped herself out of Afton's grip, shoving the curtains aside and walking towards the edge of the stage. She needed to move and force her mind onto something else. She needed something to distract her before she broke down or lost her tenuous hold on her temper. Her heartbeat was still pounding in her ears as she tried to focus.

She reached the edge of the stage and looked up, meeting Hedy's gaze and looking away from the pain in her best friend's eyes that twisted Ruby's gut in a rare bout of guilt and shame and helplessness. She didn't feel those things very often. She was pretty sure she physically couldn't, at least not to the level of a normal person. Another thing wrong with her.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and her gaze snapped up. Her eyes widened when she saw Vixen moving up behind Hedy on silent feet.

The fox bot was dripping blood and she was too close to Hedy.

Ruby's mind just… blanked. All her attention zeroed in on the animatronic and the burning rage that took over at the idea of anyone hurting Hedy like Michael had. She'd sworn she wouldn't let that happen again.

Anger was safe and familiar and she welcomed it like an old friend.

Hedy could see the moment Ruby's fury took over. It wasn't that eerily calm attitude she had around Puppet after he hurt Mangle, or the cold cruelty she'd implied she had shown Michael. This was the anger Hedy had seen that rocked the building to its foundations when Ruby yelled at the kids after the coma incident. This was Ruby when she lost control.

The teen ran forward and jumped over her, hitting something metal and angry and growling behind Hedy.

Hedy didn't even startle as Ruby's shoe nearly clipped her head. She fell backward into her chair and used the stage to pull herself away from the frantic movement. She twisted to look at the activity and bile rose up in her throat. There was blood all over the fox and Hedy had to force herself to look at Vixen's eyes.

She'd seen a lot of emotions in the bots' eyes. The heavy guilt in the Originals. The ignorant pride in the Toys'. She'd seen the whole range of feelings over the murders in all the animatronics.

With Vixen, she only saw panic and a near-feral desperation in her eyes. That changed to fear right before Ruby slammed Betty into her side.

Plastic cracked and Hedy could hear plating crack and crumple as she vaguely heard Afton shout in alarm.

Who was he worried about?

Ruby wasn't watching the strength of her swings. Vixen was in genuine danger at the moment. Ruby lived in this kind of danger but Afton wouldn't know that.

A small part of Hedy's mind pointed out that if Ruby hadn't been so careful not too long ago, she could have easily damaged the Toys severely. She'd had enough control that she'd barely hurt Mangle in her fragile state. To see her actually cause physical damage to a bot, Hedy knew the teen had slipped. Even if Vixen had hurt Andre and Alex, Ruby wouldn't be blaming her. Not without talking to her, without trying to make her see why it was wrong. So something else triggered her loss of control and...

Hedy's hand went to her torso where she could feel the dip of her ribs. She thought one of her bottom ribs felt unnaturally crooked, but she always assumed she imagined that. The scars from surgery were too thin to feel through her shirt. But she could definitely feel the thick ugly scar that a rusty metal pipe had left. It didn't cut her. It tore through her. Although it had been jagged, it wasn't a knife. It would have hurt less if it was something sharper, she thought. Michael had needed to use force, the power of his stolen body at the time making it easy.

The last time Ruby had seen a bloody animatronic near Hedy it had been Michael.

Fuck. Hedy shouldn't have just accepted Ruby's claim that she was fine after Hedy came back from the hospital. The bots were still traumatised from the whole thing and Ruby had been the one to find her. That must have left an impression. Dammit, Hedy had fallen for the act even after swearing that she wouldn't let the teenager fool her over her mental health.

Hedy struggled to get her breathing under control, to do something. She couldn't just sit there and watch them.

She needed to stop Ruby. She had to pull her back before she did something she'd regret. Something they'd all regret.

But she couldn't think. All she could see was Alex and her strained smile when they last talked. And then the annoyance. The anger. Alex thought Hedy was mocking her with the mention of ghosts. That was the last time they had spoken. Alex had been angry with Hedy when she left. The last time Hedy had seen her was when she'd made her upset.

The last time…

Hedy couldn't stop trying to picture what was behind the curtain. She couldn't stop picturing the horrible things she heard as Afton cut Alex and Andre down.

She couldn't get the blood out of the lines in her hands.

No. NO! Ruby. Ruby was in trouble. Ruby needed her. Fucking focus. Focus. Focus. DO SOMETHING. Anything.

Vixen had moved onto the defense, her eyes wide and even more frantic as she held her side, dark unkept machine oil mixing with the blood. There was the hissing of hydraulics. She was a snarling mess, walking at an angle with her injury. Her steps tracked streaking blood as she ducked Ruby's swing of Betty and skirted around best she could. Ruby wasn't giving her many chances to get a defensive strike in. She wasn't letting up and she knew a lot about animatronics after spending time with Hedy. She knew where to hit for maximum damage.

Hedy instinctively tased Afton when he grabbed her chair and pulled her back further from the fight.

He was lucky. Despite her reflexes, the shock barely grazed his hand. He didn't shout as his hand momentarily locked up. He stared at her in shock though, gripping his hand.

Hedy didn't pay him much more attention though. She was trying to figure out a way to fix this. That was what she did. She fixed things when they were already broken. Because that was all she was good at.

But fuck, Ruby really did go easy on everyone. Before. Right now she was dominating the fight, backing Vixen up and not letting up. The fox got a few glancing blows in, her claws sharp and glinting, but they didn't even slow the teen down. Hedy also caught sight of the bloodstains on Ruby's arms and a fresh bloom of dark red on the teen's shoulder. She needed a solution now. Before Ruby got seriously injured if she slipped up. The foxes didn't react well to being backed into a corner.

She felt something nudge at her mind, distant but there. The building was just as worried about Ruby's lack of control. It had a connection to them but there was no deal in place it could use to interfere. And Ruby was usually deaf to its subtle contact so it couldn't reach her either.

Wait... there was a connection between this place and the pizzeria. They'd brought a connection to the place for it. The building had wriggled into this place somehow enough to influence the place. She could faintly feel Timmy's horror and worry nearby. He'd used their presence to come here, as an anchor. He'd followed that connection… so…

Could...someone else come then? Do the same thing that he did?

Hedy found that physical metaphors worked the best for her. She closed her eyes, despite the danger. Despite Afton behind her. Despite the noise and the fear and anger and the sensation of something watching them. She blocked them out as best she could. She only needed a moment. Just a moment where she could lie to herself and imagine she was calm enough to do this. One little lie.

She was calm. She could think.

She imagined a door between her and the pizzeria. Ruby and Timmy were with her on one side. It wasn't a thick door. She could hear "voices" on the other side, some clearer than others. But it was a door and it was thick enough that she couldn't get her own voice through clearly enough.

With a deep breath, she shoved the door open and the building obliged to the metaphor.

HELP!

She screamed through the opening, focusing on images of what was going on around her and what had happened. She didn't care about Michael hearing her. She felt his surprise but it was immediately drowned out by the kids' shock and panic. They weren't who she was calling though. She just didn't want to risk not being heard because she overcomplicated it. She didn't have time for that. She cried out as loud as she could and her fear and grief went along too. Maybe a little more than she expected.

She felt Michael's interest and curious amusement at her feelings and it made her sick to her stomach. But she couldn't deal with that right now.

There was a brief moment where she felt Goldy's horror, fear, and worry. Then the bear reacted.

It was relatively quiet that night, although Goldy hadn't been able to shake a feeling of unease she had that day. She didn't bring it up to anyone else. They needed to focus on the distraction of working with children to ease their anxiety over the girls. But Goldy knew the other ghosts felt it too. Michael was off, hidden in some dark corner, but Goldy could tell he was paying attention. The children were irritable. The day staff noticed an unnatural number of burnt-out lights in various places and the occasional inconveniently moved object. No shattered lights though. Goldy wished Timmy was there. She could talk about it to him. But he wasn't there. He was with Hedy and Ruby. And Will.

The other non-ghosts might have sensed it too, but that could have been how tense the Building was, creaking more than normal and some rooms colder than usual.

Night came and the day shift left, Izzy saying goodbye as she locked the doors behind her. She usually didn't have to do that, the building handling it, but the woman felt better doing something.

There had been a rumble not too long after Mike and Jeremy had arrived. It made Bonnie trip as he was climbing down off the stage and everyone was alarmed. But the girls didn't call so they decided not to immediately address it. Everyone was quieter though. Waiting.

The Building kept shifting. Nothing drastic, but it was disturbing.

Still, no one said anything, partly because no one wanted to talk about the fact that if something was happening with the girls, there was nothing they could do. The helplessness was more comforting to ignore until one of the girls called. Mike had his car keys on a table near the door, along with his bag, ready to grab both at a moment's notice.

Mike was showing a few of the bots and the ghost kids (who Mike had actually invited through Benji and to the chagrin of a few bots) a new card game. It was really just Benji and Cheryl who engaged, but the others were close. Jeremy was close by, reading a book again. He had to know something was wrong but he was holding his stress down with all his willpower.

Things were tense with an uncertain anticipation.

Then Goldy felt breath that she never had violently forced from lungs she also never had.

Hedy's scream was so clear that Goldy almost thought the mechanic was in the room beside her or her voice had come over the loudspeakers in every room. It startled her enough that she almost hit her head on the ceiling.

Lights popped and shattered and the building rocked as the others shouted. It felt different than when Ruby caused an earthquake. This one was a shudder that literally cracked a wall, dust and bits of ceiling falling around them.

Then the grief hit her. It hit all the ghosts, the kids crying out in shock and pain.

"Ruby and Hedy aren't hurt!" was all Goldy could say before she left, not waiting for Puppet's demand for answers or Foxy's panicked insistence on coming along. Mike and Jeremy might have been yelling too. She knew Hedy and Ruby weren't hurt, not physically.

Hedy had blasted images at her as well.

Goldy didn't know Hedy could do that. She didn't know Hedy could do any of this.

Images of Ruby. Ruby ducking behind what looked like a stage curtain. Of Ruby moving like a predator, fighting someone pink and white and red. Images of Will (she was sure that was Will, although he looked so different. He looked old and tired. And scared). Hedy was scared, but she wasn't hurt.

Goldy never thought of the building as a prison, well aware she could leave its walls. This was definitely a new experience though.

There was a pop as the bear appeared in the dark metallic room, forcing air to vacate the spot she now occupied. She darted forward, grabbing Ruby around the waist and dragging her back. The teen growled, twisting in her hold, but even in her current emotional state she didn't lash out at Goldy. That was a good sign. She had oil splashed on her and blood on her arms which was less good.

"Come on Ruby, calm down. You'll regret this later if you don't. You hate hurting us. Calm down, it's okay. It's okay." The bear shushed her, ignoring the absolute stunned shock on Vixen's face as the fox stumbled back. Goldy didn't even turn to look at Afton who made an odd noise in his throat. She couldn't do that right now. She might just crumple if she looked. And Ruby needed her at this moment. Holding onto her broke through the usual walls the teenager had up and all Goldy got from her was pain and anger.

Hedy hadn't even considered Afton and still couldn't emotionally afford to maintain the secret or manage his reaction, whatever it was. She almost wanted to cry that her last minute plan worked.

Vixen crumpled to the ground, mostly in shock as one of her legs finally gave way, slicked with oil that kept leaking and blood she'd probably never completely get out. She stared at the bear, gaping in confusion and fear as she scrambled away from her and the teenager.

Goldy paused to send the fox a pained, apologetic look before focusing on Ruby again. This was not how she wanted their reunion to go.

"Calm down, I'm sorry Ruby, I know it must have hurt for you to lose it like this but you've got to calm down." She continued to murmur soothing things to her as she hugged the teen and gradually the struggling morphed into shaking in Goldy's arms. The change had Goldy's fear rising. Ruby only let Foxy comfort her like this and she wasn't pulling away. Betty dropped to the floor as the teenager suddenly clung onto Goldy, her grip desperate.

She didn't need any more information than that action to tell her how bad things were.

Hedy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and the last half of it broke out as a strangled sob.

She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes, almost painfully. She couldn't cry yet.

Afton suddenly gripped her shoulder. She could feel him shaking.

"Aw how sweet," that terrible voice spoke up. "Look Daddy, it's Goldy." Even it sounded surprised by Goldy's arrival.

Hedy felt Afton nearly lose his balance. Beside her, she felt Timmy almost drop to his knees from a pain she couldn't even process on top of her own.

"Shut up," Goldy snapped, not looking up from where Ruby had shoved her head into the bear's shoulder. She didn't even address the words the voice said. "I'm essentially a ghost too and I can sense exactly where you are. Push me and I'll come find you. I promise you won't win if it comes to that."

Goldy had sheer experience on her side for finding other ghosts, only beat out by Timmy. He usually tried to avoid the ghosts instead of finding them though.

Hedy forced herself to breathe and not cry. She rolled closer to Goldy and Ruby, absently noticing Afton's unsteady steps stayed back and well behind her.

"Goldy. We...we messed up. I messed up," Hedy said shakily, keeping an eye on a terrified and frozen Vixen. Her voice cracked. "I-I got my friend killed..."

Again.

Again!

She didn't know if she had actually processed it enough to be able to say that. She didn't know how she managed to get the words out as her voice failed on her every half syllable.

"M-my friend. Goldy I don't…I can't…she…I got her killed."

"Would she have left if you told her to?" Goldy asked, lowering a bit so that she and Ruby were in reach again. "You can't blame yourself for other people's decisions Hedy. It wasn't your fault and it wasn't Ruby's fault. This isn't the pizzeria. You guys aren't in control of everything." Her metaphorical heart broke at the guilt and trauma in Hedy's eyes. She couldn't let their mechanic spiral into this pain. "Hedy, this isn't on you."

"A-alex…," Hedy stammered. "I couldn't…" Her eyes landed on Ruby. "Th-they're behind the curtain. Ruby saw. Afton-" Tears welled. "H-he wouldn't let me see."

She could still sense that twisted presence but it was being disturbingly silent for a spell.

"It was bad," she said, the tears flowing more. "I felt it and didn't know. I-I had a dream. They were scared and in pain. It...it wasn't fast Goldy."

She couldn't wait until they were in safety to say this. She couldn't. They were in the middle of a room with two beings who had a part in her pain and she couldn't even push away the worst of the feelings long enough to handle the current situation. She needed the pain in words now as she looked at the bear. Throwing feelings at her wasn't enough.

Hedy reached out and took Ruby's hand. The teenager didn't move for a moment before she twisted out of Goldy's arms and landed on her feet. She kept a grip on Hedy's hand though and her expression was distant. Hedy didn't know what was running through her head right now.

"It's not your fault." Goldy repeated firmly, reaching out to put her hands on Hedy's shoulders, making the young woman look up at her. "What happened when you were a kid wasn't your fault either." She knew that was a big piece of survivor's guilt Hedy still carried around and this definitely wasn't helping.

Hedy shook her head and looked away. "I didn't…I-I didn't. S-she didn't trust me…"

Goldy pulled both Ruby and Hedy into a tight hug, smothering the two of them in her fur while making sure they could still breath. "It's not your fault. Listen to me. This is not your fault."

Ruby was listless and Hedy was shaking as Goldy let go of them. She didn't want to. She wanted to hold them until they let go first. But there was danger around. Hedy was more vulnerable than usual and the smallest incorrect move could set Ruby off again.

She turned to Vixen, subtly shifting in the air so she was between the fox and the girls. For safety both ways. "Um, sorry. Ruby is...kinda protective." She didn't know what the situation was. But the panicked look in Funtime Foxy/Vixen's eyes and that presence gave her a pretty good idea. Besides, having an angry Ruby coming at you was terrifying enough for most of the bots.

Vixen didn't answer, a fragile mask of anger and suspicion sliding over fear as she shifted further away, stumbling as she tried to put her feet under her after getting up again. She glanced at the blood slicking her claws and unsteadily backed up, tucking the blood-stained hands away.

Goldy tried to wrangle her own feelings under control. It hurt to feel the pain behind her and see the fear in front of her. She wanted to drag Vixen into a hug as well but knew she couldn't yet.

Her face switched to confusion at Goldy's words as they registered and Hedy could see the horrified recognition of the bear in her eyes. And was that...hope? "Goldy…?" the fox's voice cracked at the utterance of the bear's name. "Are...a-are you saying sorry...to me!?" she growled incredulously as her eyes flicked to the stage curtains and the ceilings frantically. "I...I just killed your friends."

Goldy gave Vixen a pained smile. "And I killed Scott," she replied softly into the silent room. Assurances that everything was okay wouldn't help. Promises that they didn't blame her wouldn't help. They'd never helped her or the Originals. They'd never helped Spring. All she could offer was understanding and empathy. She'd been through the same thing and it hadn't been a couple of strangers' blood covering Goldy's hands.

There was a noise above them that suggested they'd surprised whoever was there. Vixen reeled back in shock and Afton made a hurt, disbelieving sound. She didn't want to hurt them but starting off with the truth was the best first step than pretending everything was fine.

Predictably, her words got Ruby to snap out of it. Her head jerked up and she turned to glare at Goldy, letting go of Hedy's hand and stalking closer.

"I've told you a hundred times before that wasn't your fault Goldy. That was Ginny. Stop blaming yourself for Steve." She was still paler than usual but her normal fire was behind her words.

Goldy's smile to her was fond. "I know. And I'm pretty sure she isn't doing this very willingly either." She didn't have the same look that the Toys did.

"I know that," Ruby glanced quickly at Vixen and then away as guilt flashed over her face. Her shoulders hunched and she looked away. "I had a flashback," she admitted. "Springtrap."

Hedy squeezed her eyes shut. She knew, but she preferred not to think about Scott's death outside of when she and Goldy occasionally managed that painful talk. She didn't blame Goldy. She held Ginny responsible. But it still hurt. Especially now. She couldn't handle thinking about it right now on top of everything.

"N-no..." Vixen didn't seem to have heard Ruby as she stared at Goldy. She shook her head in horror. "No. I..I remember Scott. You loved him. You couldn't have done what I just did." Her voice nearly cracked as her fear evaporated in her horror. "That's not you, Goldy."

Hedy could see Vixen's glowing eyes. They weren't the eyes of malice, like the Toys who at one point wanted to kill people. Her eyes were like the Originals, who never wanted that but occasionally gave in to the pain in the darkest moments.

"Goldy," William suddenly breathed.

Goldy flinched and Hedy finally noticed Afton's shocked expression as she startled to look at him finally speaking.

He was staring wide-eyed. His hands ran through his hair and gripped it as he tried to process, looking like he was about to tear all his thin graying hair out. "Why would...How are you...You're not here. I...I can't actually tell if you're really here or if I've finally lost it, dear."

Despite the panic in his eyes, he sounded surprisingly calm, even though it was an obviously forced persona. What he heard about Scott couldn't be true. He had to have misheard or imagined. Goldy couldn't actually just have appeared here. He was hallucinating and needed to break out of the spiral before someone else died because he was mentally checked out. He couldn't let that happen again. He thought he was okay. He thought he could leave the hospital.

"Wake up," he murmured to himself.

Goldy glanced at Will and it was obvious she wanted to reach out but she kept her focus on Vixen for now. She was a little closer to falling apart than Will was.

"Things kind of went...bad," Goldy told her softly. And what an understatement that was. "Some really awful stuff happened and...there were murders at the restaurant. It was...it was a nightguard who did it." She wasn't ready to give Will the shock of exactly who did it right now. "The kids that were killed ended up sticking around and..." she shivered a bit. "They were so filled with rage and hatred that they ended up blaming all nightguards. Turns out ghosts are real. And they're… usually pretty angry. They forced the Originals and me to hunt them." She looked away, down at her hands. "We killed a lot of innocent people. Scott...he knew what was going on and he tried to help but...they got him in the end." She took a moment to center herself. "But the point is, I know what it's like to have someone force you to hurt people. I know how you're feeling. And I know that you feel like there's no way out." She gave Vixen a vaguely amused smile. "And then Ruby and Hedy arrived and pretty much stopped everything."

It was a simplified version of what happened, leaving out the games and injuries and the other ghosts involved. But they didn't need details right now.

Afton was staring as his hand lowered from his hair to clamp over his mouth as the words pelted him. He tried to make sense of what he was hearing, but wasn't having much luck.

Vixen, on the other hand, looked like her heart broke as the tiniest flicker of something lit behind her eyes.

Hope.

She squashed it down tightly and looked away from the two female humans. She couldn't afford hope. She cringed as she remembered she was being watched from above. She was probably going to be punished for even talking. She should stop.

"How..." the word escaped before she could stop it and she reached up to grasp her snout shut in panic, blood smearing on her face.

Goldy seemed to understand though. "Ruby beat the ghosts," she told Vixen simply. "And Hedy reminded them of their humanity. Ruby's got a bit of a, um, tradition of knocking some sense into all of us." She gave Vixen a strained smile.

Hedy flinched and looked down. Goldy was giving her far too much credit.

"They're still kind of mean. But they're better than they used to be. I'm not sure how a ghost latched onto you guys. I'm sorry you've had to go through this. But whatever they've said to you? They're wrong. They're not all powerful. They can be beaten. They can't hold the others over your head because Hedy's fixed everyone. She'd be able to fix you guys too. There's always a way out and these girls are good at finding it."

She glanced up at the ceiling. "Ghosts are something Ruby and Hedy have a lot of experience with, whether they're possessing a body or not."

There was a slight giggle.

"Things are so much more interesting now," the voice said. "You always had the best ideas for games, Goldy. We should play sometime."

The bear was surprisingly calm, eyes narrowing in the direction of where she sensed the presence. "So you're telling me you know me? You going to drop the mimicking voice thing you're hiding behind? Cause you're definitely not Baby. She was never as sugary sweet as you're pretending to be." She had her suspicions. She heard what that voice said earlier. She just desperately hoped she was wrong. Learning that Timmy had stayed, isolated and silent, was torture and she had a horrible feeling that this would be far worse in its own way.

Ruby turned to follow Goldy's gaze, having pulled herself under control again. There was something a bit off in how the bear was talking and it raised her alarm bells.

She had the strangest feeling that Goldy had figured something out.

Hedy watched mutely, bracing herself against another wave of grief as she glanced at the stage. Goldy had taken charge for the moment and she was more than relieved over it.

That's how pain tended to hit her. It wasn't constant. It came in waves and she suspected the voice speaking triggered her again.

The voice tittered, the laugh crueler. "Daddy, I think Goldy's confused. You know who I am, don't you Daddy?"

Ruby frowned at the choice of words she actually heard this time and looked at Afton. Hedy felt sorrow from Timmy at the same time. A deep feeling that stole the breath from her lungs. He was sobbing, desperately trying to stay quiet and hidden from the other presence despite already knowing by now. He was hoping he imagined it earlier. Goldy directly addressing it made it real. He had his suspicions earlier, when the Minireena spoke at the hotel. But he had too much hope then. That hope was gone, taking his peace with it.

Goldy closed her eyes in pain. "Fuck." She rubbed her face, trying not to focus on the grief blooming in her. "Why?" She took a breath she didn't need. "Lizzy, why are you still here?"

Ruby jolted in shock, eyes widening. "Like... Elizabeth Afton?" she asked with a bit of dread. Her gaze flicked to where she suspected Timmy was.

Goldy nodded hesitantly, looking up into the darkness above them.

Ruby was silent for a moment. She glanced at Will, then back at Goldy. Don't say it, don't say it, don't- "Well, one out of three ain't bad?"

Goldy pulled a face. "Not funny, Ruby."

"I'm not trying to be. I'm coping. Badly, but coping."

"No..." Timmy faintly whimpered. "No. Hedy please..."

Hedy felt him grip her sleeve but she didn't know what to do. She couldn't help him. She just hoped Afton hadn't heard Timmy's faint voice. She wasn't sure the man could handle one of his dead children right now, much less two.

He might have been too distracted to hear something so quiet. Afton looked weak. He stumbled, accidentally landing an arm on the back of Hedy's chair and nearly tipping her backwards. He straightened out and tried to stammer out an apology.

"No. Th-this isn't..." he muttered, sounding broken as words washed over him without the meanings really sinking in. "This isn't happening..."

Hedy worried he was about to puke on her but he stood up, swaying a little as he stepped back.

"Elizabeth..." his voice cracked. He was aware enough of what was happening to address the apparent ghost at least. "Lizzy darling, what's happening. I don't...I don't understand. Why would you...What happened to you sweetheart? What have you done..."

He sounded like he wasn't entirely sure he was actually speaking, as if in a dream. Or a nightmare.

Ruby's eyes were scanning around them and Hedy realised she was trying to confirm where Timmy was. When she spotted the tugging on Hedy's sleeve she moved to stand next to that spot, subtly reaching out to comfort the boy while everyone else was distracted.

Goldy sighed, but they could tell there was some pain hidden in there. "What do you want, Elizabeth?" she asked after a moment. "You never did anything without a reason."

"Elizabeth is a little busy right now. She wants to play pretend," the voice said pointedly.

Was she irritated? Hedy thought so. Irritated by the name for some reason.

Goldy huffed and crossed her arms, floating a little higher. "Play pretend all you want, Lizzy. Doesn't change who you are." She was angry too but doing so well setting it aside. She'd dealt with too many ghosts, and picked up too many tips from Ruby and Hedy, to give Elizabeth what she wanted.

"Elizabeth Afton, daughter of William and Clara Afton. Older brother is Michael Afton. Younger brother is Timothy Afton," Ruby suddenly rattled off, using the information to ground herself. She did the same thing during her confrontation with Michael. "Died before Timmy did, in suspicious circumstances at a Freddy's location. The actual location wasn't mentioned in the reports. The police came to the conclusion that one of the animatronics malfunctioned and the place closed down." She stopped and her eyes narrowed. "The courts put an injunction on all of Afton Robotics operations until they'd been checked over thoroughly by someone else." She looked at Vixen. "Huh, that was you guys." She trailed off muttering to herself. "Admittedly I didn't pay much attention to that part because I was focused on pissing Michael off..." Only Goldy and Hedy could hear that last part.

Hedy listened to Ruby rattle off stuff. Some she knew, some she didn't. She watched Vixen's ears fold back in fear when Ruby addressed her. Poor bot was going to be able to bond with the Toys over 'Ruby trauma'.

"Knowing stuff is fun, isn't it, friend?" Elizabeth said. "Did you know my name isn't Elizabeth anymore? I like Ennard, don't I Foxy?"

Vixen stifled a whimper, hiding her expressions best she could.

"We're not friends," Ruby said, stepping away from Hedy and Timmy now. "And I don't care what you want to be called."

Goldy was eyeing Ruby in worry, drifting closer. "You've got that plotting expression Ruby..." She was more resigned than trying to scold her though.

The teen's eyes gleamed and she strode away from them, closer to the voice. "I don't have to fight an entire group of animatronics. I just have to hunt down one idiotic ghost child again."

She was pushing the trauma aside for now, focusing on what she could do instead. And wayward ghosts? She could handle them with no trouble.

"Again…?" Will murmured, still unable to fully focus through his grief that threatened to shut his down to a place he couldn't escape.

"Possessing a body or not, she's still a ghost. I know how to deal with ghosts. We're going to play a little game, Elizabeth." Her voice darkened and Goldy retreated to float next to Hedy. They both knew that there was nothing they could do now. Ruby's mind was made up.

"Hmm."

Afton snapped out of his spiraling thoughts to track the sounds of slithering and the glimpse of something amorphous moving through the dark rafters above them.

"I rather like games," Ennard/Elizabeth said from the direction of the movement. "A lot of you don't play very well. Alex was more fun than Mr. Andre though. She was much better at Hide and Seek. For a while." She laughed. " I haven't had fun like that in a while. I like when we get new playmates. Shiny and new. At least at first. It's like that feeling when you open up a pint of fresh ice cream. Before you dig in." She giggled at an inside joke that made Vixen cringe.

Ruby cut off the growl that wanted to escape, shifting her weight restlessly. Betty was in her hands and Afton distantly wondered when she'd picked it up again.

"Well, Goldy's the queen of hide and seek. Since she can literally teleport anywhere. And she's a ghost bear with ghost senses, nothing can hurt her. If she played she'd beat you in seconds," Ruby gave a wicked grin. Deals didn't work here. She just had a bone-deep feeling that they only worked at the pizzeria. For now at least. But she didn't want to be here (or make Hedy stay) long enough to wait for the building to extend its eldritch entity abilities to this place too. However, Goldy being around was pretty good insurance to make up for that. "That wouldn't make for a very fun game, but we could come to an...agreement, if you don't want Goldy to play."

Ruby could sense Hedy glaring holes in the back of her head. Some things were just constant, and Hedy's dislike of Ruby's idea of a "game"–despite the (mostly) favorable outcomes–was enough to break through her tears for a second.

"I didn't say I didn't want her to play," Ennard sounded almost insulted. "Though it would be a little unfair. That teleporting trick looks fun." She hummed then switched her tone to address someone else. "Hedy?"

Hedy stiffened as the voice turned sickeningly sweet again and Ruby ground her teeth. The final night of Michael's game was still too fresh in her mind right now.

"Do you want to play? We can play a special game since you're boring. It's just not the same if my toys are broken already, but you're funny. I like you."

Hedy shoved open a different "door" and visualized the worst sound of nails on a chalkboard she could think up, mildly satisfied at the sense of the twisted up soul in front of her cringing back as her mentality was assaulted by the horrible "sound" from all directions. Hedy thought she heard Ennard physically flinch.

Hedy shot Goldy an apologetic look as the bear cringed in shock while Timmy gripped her shirt tighter.

Afton and Ruby hadn't heard anything. The teenager's mental walls were back up and as strong as ever. Hedy had tried this trick once when she wanted to annoy Ruby and all she'd done was give the others a headache. Ruby was just completely oblivious to it. She probably still didn't know about the trick. Michael did though. His reaction had made up for Hedy's disappointment at the time. He attempted it himself in retaliation but failed miserably. He was just truly terrible at being a ghost.

Hedy wasn't even sure that would work outside of the pizzeria. Good to know if she needed it. She should try and be that creative more often.

It was obvious to her that Elizabeth had never dealt with other ghosts before. She couldn't completely block herself off, especially now with Hedy well aware of her. Knowing who the ghost was had helped the mechanic, strangely. Elizabeth didn't know what to do now that her "guests" showed more knowledge on this state than she ever had.

Hedy could faintly feel Elizabeth's irritation now. But she couldn't handle looking much closer. Elizabeth felt wrong and "rotted" and Hedy didn't want to get so close that she felt all the sick amusement and glee, the faintest bit of it making Hedy's stomach turn. Maybe if she was willing to dig she might have found something Elizabeth buried deep within herself. But Hedy just…she couldn't do that. Not right now. Maybe not ever…

"I'll skip this time, sweetie," Hedy said evenly. "After all, I'm not as fun to play with as Ruby is."

"And you're going to need all your focus if you want to stand a chance," Ruby added darkly. She was standing still but Hedy could see the slight twitching that betrayed how much the teen wanted to move. "I've played a lot of games, Elizabeth. With a lot of bots and ghosts. You're going to need all your attention on me if you want a chance of winning."

"I still say I should put her in my poster," Goldy muttered. She'd rather avoid the game at all but knew that Ruby needed it. And Elizabeth needed to be put in her place as well probably. She was overly confident. She was always like that…Stubborn and overconfident.

"Oh no. I want the brat to suffer a bit," Ruby narrowed her eyes. "She's been the big fish in a little pond for too long. It's time she meets a shark."

Hedy glanced toward the curtains and the hidden bodies and couldn't avoid the thread of vindictiveness that spilled out. She wanted justice. But she couldn't get that since the murderer was a child's ghost. Revenge would have to do.

She closed her eyes at the pang in her chest. She couldn't slip into anger right now. She couldn't.

Vixen didn't dare move although she watched everything with wide eyes. Goldy was keeping a subtle eye on her. She didn't want the fox panicking and hurting someone. She still felt guilty over not stopping Toby from breaking Ruby's arm before. The teenager had turned it into a joke over time and the rabbit was more aware of how bad it was now, but it had taught Goldy a lesson. It just took a moment of inattention for someone to get hurt.

"Ms. Fitzgerald..."

Hedy looked at Afton as he shifted a step closer. "Shh..." she whispered, pity in her eyes. "You can freak out in a moment. Just hold it together for another minute, Mr. Afton. Don't take...y-your…daughter's attention off Ruby just yet. She knows what she's doing."

"I'm trying to understand..." At least he kept his voice low so the rest couldn't hear. Except Timmy, who was gripping Hedy's shirt so tightly as he trembled.

All they could see was his frantic muttering at the younger engineer.

"I know," Hedy interrupted. "I know. Just another minute and I'll explain. I promise. Just be quiet."

He didn't look happy, and seemed more than a little shocked still.

"So what do you say, Lizzy?" Ruby asked, a mocking lilt to her voice. "Ready to play a game?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Vixen recoiled back as a face jutted out of the darkness and began to lower itself toward them. It looked oddly familiar and Hedy realized that she had seen that mask on the wall of the control room earlier in the week.

"My name is Ennard," the tangled mess of wires and cabling hissed as it eyed Ruby nearly face to face, looking angry but mildly curious.

Hedy wasn't sure if it was the ghost side that allowed her to tell that, because those weird pieces that made up a face weren't the most expressive. She tried not to think about it too much, distracted by the sight. It made her a little ill, seeing what she could only recognise as the horrible torn up and mixed pieces of multiple bots. It was far worse than whatever Mangle was. This was like looking at multiple skinless corpses stitched together.

Ruby didn't flinch. She was thankful that she got over her clown phobia though. Or else she'd have probably decked Ennard when she dropped into view.

"What makes you think I'd care if your name makes you uncomfortable?" she sneered. "Lizzy."

"My name is ENNARD!" the thing snarled in frustration, jerking toward Ruby a little. "I'll play a game with you." It said, the tone switching disturbingly fast to a cheery one. "I'm going to tear out your throat for calling me that, but I'm bored so we should make it interesting."

Ruby gave her a sharp, savage smile that had last appeared for Michael.

"We'll see if you're any more challenging than your brother, Elizabeth," she whispered, too softly for Afton or the others to hear. "Mickey wasn't too hard to deal with in the end." She enjoyed the shocked widening of Ennard's eye. The brat didn't know about Michael then.

"...which –... What did you do to him?" For the first time Ennard sounded like an actual person despite the rage, the voice slipping from Baby's to someone else Ruby didn't recognize. A little girl's voice.

She could have sworn there was almost pain in the voice and it was almost jarring, but not quite enough.

Ruby grinned darkly. Hedy wouldn't approve of this and neither would Timmy.

But Ruby wasn't a good person and she was petty and vindictive.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she leaned in so they were almost nose to nose. "If you catch me I just might tell you, Lizzy. You ever hear him scream before? He doesn't have much of a pain tolerance."

There was something in the single eye but it was gone immediately. Ruby liked to think it was fear. Maybe worry. Good.

Elizabeth giggled. "Rules then?"

"We're the only ones playing," Ruby said immediately. "No other bots involved. No other people involved. If one of us cheats, then Goldy throws them in her poster. I've heard it's terrible."

"Hey," Goldy complained. "It's a great poster."

"It's 2D," Ruby deadpanned before looking back at Ennard. "We stay in the building and it ends when the shift ends."

"Too easy," Ennard complained. "But you came up with them. No take-backsies."

Ruby's grin widened. "If you didn't have an advantage, where'd the fun be?"

"Hm. True." Ennard "smiled" at Ruby, tilting the face in a movement that uncomfortably reminded Ruby and Hedy of their foxes. "Shall I count down from ten?"

Afton looked like he wanted to say something again but Hedy kept him quiet with a sharp look. She didn't like it, but Ruby distracting Ennard would give them the chance to deal with the Funtimes. And she'd work out some of her anger and be calmer when she returned. Goldy would make sure nothing actually happened to her since there was no deal keeping her out of it. She didn't care about 'cheating'. She was just there to keep everyone safe. Including Ennard to a degree considering how angry Ruby had been.

"Sure," Ruby agreed easily, that near manic light dancing in her eyes again as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

Ennard pulled herself up away from them with a sharp smile. She disappeared into the darkness.

"Ten," the voice called out sweetly.

"Nine."

Hedy could visibly see the change in Ruby's posture, muscles tensing in preparation to move. She was in 'game mode' and there was no stopping this anymore. Goldy and Hedy knew better than to even try.

"Eight"

"Seven."

Afton looked back at them in bewildered worry but Goldy only watched with resignation.

"Six."

"Five."

Vixen was pressed against the wall, frozen with panic. Why were they letting her do this? Ennard would make sure to draw it out and make it hurt. Then she'd come for the rest of them.

"Four."

"Three."

"Don't forget the salt," Hedy told Goldy. "For when she's done and you need to contain El- Elizabeth." Would salt even work? It only slowed the kids down when they possessed a bot. Better than nothing though.

Goldy looked towards where Timmy was. She wanted nothing more than to hug him but she had to focus on the other ghost for now.

"Two."

"One."

"See you at the end of shift," Ruby said mildly, glancing back at them. "Or whenever Goldy tells me to cut it out."

Then she was off, going straight for the vents. Hedy had no idea what the teen's plan was for the night but she almost, almost, felt sorry for Ennard. There was a lot of negative emotion thrumming through Ruby's body.

Ennard disappeared, its presence too, and Hedy heaved out a heavy breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

The game was on then. Although they'd been playing a game all week, hadn't they?

Hedy couldn't help but feel that, for the first time, they'd lost.