Mable: Initially posted to AO3 but brought here when I found out there was an Indigo Park section! Hope you Enjoy!

...

Behind the Screen

Ed wasn't dumb, despite what one could assume from him breaking into an abandoned amusement park in the middle of the night and not leaving despite the fact that half of the mascots wanted to kill him.

He really wasn't, he just made a lot of dumb decisions.

Trusting Rambley was, so far, not a dumb decision.

It became clear after about ten minutes of being in the park that a lot of his close calls were spared by Rambley, not by his own doing. Shutting doors, opening doors, directing him around, giving him clearance; Rambley was the reason Ed wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere.

Hell, Rambley was the reason he hadn't gone ahead and tried that seriously expired can of Bird Up. That must've at least saved him a bad bout of botulism.

Over these hours, Ed had begun to trust Rambley more and more. Going from 'this guy's setting me up' to 'this guy is probably okay'. For someone like Ed who regularly ended up doing dangerous, dumb stuff and sometimes needed friends to bail him out, this was appreciated.

But he noticed something for a while. Something funky was going on. Not the rotten food or the strange meaty mascots who were trying to kill him- those were a lot worse than funky- but something… odd.

There was someone following him.

Or, more accurately, he was following someone. He would walk into an office and find it in functional condition, with cameras opened in all the spaces he had been, but with nobody there. At first it seemed like a coincidence, but then it kept happening. He kept walking into these offices and finding this same set up.

One time he heard the chair squeak before he got inside and found it pointing the wrong way like someone sprung out of it. VERY suspicious.

Ed didn't ask Rambley. In fact, Ed kept most of his comments and answers to Rambley rather brief. Even though he trusted him he didn't trust him that much. He had played enough games about AIs to realize that it was best to not say anything to set them off, so it was better to keep quiet.

So, Ed wasn't asking questions, Rambley wasn't talking, and there were weird obviously occupied offices. This was going to lead to a disaster.

And that disaster popped up out of nowhere.

Ed was heading out the backway of the Rambleberry Woods u-pick berry farm and arboretum and passing through the back offices when he stumbled upon another office. During which, Rambley was rambling.

"I can't believe that there wasn't even a single Rambleberry bush left! That's a shame… Oh, but we should be able to replant a whole orchard with the backup seeds once we get this place back in business! Rambleberries are exceptionally fast growers and once you get a bush going, you'll get enough for- oh hold on a second. Wait just a- wait, wait, STOP!"

Ed came to an abrupt stop at the yell. Further down the hallway, a security door slammed shut and blocked his way. He furrowed his brows and looked to a partially smashed screen to his right for answers.

Rambley appeared on the screen looking flustered and sweaty, in a cartoony way with wide eyes and little sweat drops all over his face. Now that looked like a dead giveaway to Ed.

"S-Sorry, but it looks like we're having some technical difficulties with the door in the next room! Just for safety safe we're going to have to hang out out here until I get it open. I'll be done in a jiffy!"

Ed quirked a brow and looked to the door sensor outside of the security door. Not all of them had them, but this one did. That meant he could've just used his cuff to head through.

"I see where you're looking, Buddy, and don't you think about it. Trust me, it's safer if you just sit tight and let me fix this. And in the meantime, would you like to see some secret super-special Rambleberry recipes? Check 'em out!"

Suddenly a clip show of recipes appeared on the screen along with elevator music. It was like Rambley put him on hold.

Ed lasted on hold for about ten seconds before he heard something bumping around in the office. He stepped up to the door and listened through it. Even though a heavy metal wall of a door, he could hear the quiet scuffling inside.

Someone was in there.

Ed squinted suspiciously and backed up to look at the screen again. It was showing a recipe for Rambleberry fritters…. Okay, maybe Rambley had a point about replanting the bushes.

But Rambley was doing something. He was eerily silent. Maybe he was hiding something.

Ed began to slowly reach his arm out towards the censor. Slowly. Slooooowly. Sloooooooooow-

"Hold it right there, Buster! I see what you're doing!" Rambley's head suddenly popped into the screen. He shook his finger with a tsk, playful but firm. "Now, now, I know you want to help, but leave this to me! I just need a few more seconds and then… Wait, what are you doing? I can't see your- w-wait are you-? STOP!"

Ed's arm stopped just away from the censor. Rambley was back to sweating bullets.

"You really don't want to do that!"

Ed cracked a smile at how flustered he looked.

"Ha ha, very funny," Rambley said and pouted a little. "Okay, but seriously, it's really important that you don't open that door right now. This whole save-the-park adventure could be at stake! So just don't."

"Why?" Ed asked.

"…Why?" The fact that Ed asked seemed to catch Rambley off guard. His smile got tense and he briefly glitched out, his face twisting up, flickering the wrong colors, and returning to normal. "Because I said so."

Ed challenged him with a look.

"Oookay, okay. That's not a great answer, I guess. But umm… You have to trust me on this! It's me, Rambley! Would I lie to you? -No, wait, STOP!"

Ed halted just inches from the censor. Any closer and that door would open.

Rambley stared with wide eyes and twitchy pupils before sighing. He slumped in defeat with his ears drooping.

"I guess you're really determined, huh? Okay, Rangler. I guess… I guess I can tell you the truth. And the truth is… there's uh… there'sanothermeinthere."

Ed's eyes went wide. Another him? That could only mean… one like the others. Like Mollie, like Lloyd. Another oversized mushy costume full of meat. Ed silently pointed at the screen questioningly.

"Yup, that's right. Me. Rambley the Raccoon. Right inside that room right there. And let me tell you, it's not a pretty sight… So, let me just get that door open and that thing out of the way and then we'll be on our way!"

Ed didn't really want to get chased around again, or risk having another… Mollie incident happening. Monster or not, seeing that was hard to stomach. It was like watching his childhood die. Seeing it happen to Rambley would, well, it would make these little chats one hundred times more tense.

Though… he was sort of curious to what Rambley might look like. Would he be that weird funky realistic look like Mollie was? Would he look like a real raccoon? Would he be gangly and weird like Lloyd? It started to make him very, VERY curious at what this thing could look like.

Maybe he could take a peek and Rambley could just shut the door back. He already did when he first walked up. He could make it look like an accident and then wouldn't have to get Rambley on him about it.

…Wait, what was he thinking?! There was a difference between stupid and suicidal, and this idea was honestly a little of both. He already saw enough of Mollie, inside and out. He could pass on Rambley.

He would just wait until the coast was clear and move along. Odds were he'd just run into Real Rambley later anyways. Probably in a tight corridor or hiding in the back of his car when he finally tried to leave.

"Uh… Soooo, it's looking like, uh… Hrmm… Oh, hey! I have a fantastic idea! How about we walk back through Rambleberry Woods and go out that way? That way we can get a lay of the land for our BIG replanting project! Way more fun than some boring backdoor, right?"

Ed translated that to Rambley not getting that door open.

…

Screw it. If he was going to have to hike back anyways, he wanted to see this mutant raccoon.

Ed thrust his wrist to the censor and the door opened with a beep.

"Wait, did you just-?!"

He ducked through before the door could slam shut, nearly closing on him.

"NO, NO, NO! STOP!"

The room looked like the offices he had went through before, save two things. One was the multitude of security screens that were all lit up with Rambley's panicked expression. They flickered, flashed, and glitched up. Secondly, there was no mutant raccoon.

But there was a wall that blocked off what he guessed correctly was a short hallway leading to the back exit, and he could hear scuffling back there.

Ed braced himself and waited, but nothing came out. So, he began to step forward.

Rambley was unusually silent and sparing a glance at the monitors showed the multitude of faces staring back, all petrified. That made Ed a little more nervous about this decision, but still he stepped towards that wall.

The frantic scuffling stopped, and he paused to listen. Then he began to peek around the corner, expecting to find a monster waiting to ambush him on the other side.

What he found instead was shocking.

It was another mascot, just like Rambley had warned. But it was nothing like Ed had expected.

A green body suit covered in white censors barely held in the overflow of puffy fur that stuck out around the ankles, the wrists, the neck. A matching green censor-dotted cap was tugged over the head, with two large, fuzzy ears poking out. An oversized poof of a striped tail stood tall with its fur on end, bushy and fluffed.

A pair of purple-pink eyes met his. Wide and filled with fear. They were different than Mollie's. They weren't the blacked eyes of a soulless animal. They were a brilliant, glassy, almost like the eyes of a doll or toy.

It wasn't just a mascot of Rambley. It was an incredibly accurate mascot of Rambley. More accurate than Mollie or Lloyd had been. The only thing not on model- other than the motion capture getup- was that his hands and feet were a little bigger and more proportionate to his body. Everything else was as dead-on as it could be with him not being flat.

Also, there was one other thing. It was short.

The other mascots had been grotesquely oversized. Large enough to take Ed down without much effort. Rambley was barely pushing four feet tall. It might've not even reached it, might've been three or three and a half. It was hard to tell with the fur and the cowering.

But it hadn't attacked him yet. It was just staring at him. Staring at him with the same look the Rambley in the screen had.

…Wait a minute.

"IIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"

Ed jumped as the Rambley shrieked and hid behind its tail, backing into the corner between the wall and stuck corner.

"NO! NO! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SEE ME!" he yelped. He hugged his tail to his chest and continued to try to push at the stuck door with his other hand. "Stay back! I'm- I'M RABID! I'll bite 'cha!" He chomped.

Ed's mouth just dropped open as he pieced together exactly what was happening. It wasn't hard to put two and two together, especially when there was a chorus of voices from the monitors behind him that were mimicking the same voice in front of him.

This wasn't just some Rambley the Raccoon mutant mascot. This was Rambley.

That is, this was the Rambley behind the screen.

No wonder he kept seeing abandoned offices- Rambley was leading him along from them!

With Ed staring in shocked silence, Rambley became even more uneasy. He gritted his teeth and sunk further into the corner.

"…Are… Are you going to say something?" he squeaked.

"…Wow."

"…Is… Is that a good wow?!" Rambley perked up only to instantly droop. "Ugh, no. Of course it's not a good wow." He began to pet and comb at his tail, mumbling as he did, "I didn't even get a chance to comb my hair…"

"I- so, wait…" Ed put a hand to his head as he let it sink in. "So… You're just…?"

"Rambley the Raccoon! That's me!" Rambley said with phony enthusiasm and a strained smile. "Nice to meetcha! No- No flash photography, please! Heh, uh… Sorry."

"No, but I mean- you're the guy I've been talking to this whole time. That-." He pointed back towards the screens. "Is you."

"As a matter of fact, it is! I'm sure you're confused but- wait, d-don't come any closer." Rambley squished himself into the corner again as Ed dared to take a step forward. "Please?"

"Easy, I'm not coming any closer… But I'm not going to hurt you either," Ed said. He lowered his volume as he realized how skittish the mascot was. "We're friends, right?"

"Are we?" Rambley asked distantly.

"I think we are. You've saved my neck like five times now. Least I can do is be your buddy."

Rambley slowly lowered his tail. He had an unsure look. "Do you still trust me?" he asked quietly.

Ed didn't know how to answer that. So, he gave the only answer he could think of.

"Uhhh… Eh?"

Rambley lowered his eyes with disappointment. "Oh."

There was a very awkward silence. Ed looked back at the screens to see that most of them were a little glitchy but the ones that were clear were copying the mascot's expression, though in a more cartoony way.

"How've you been doing all of this…?" Ed asked in quiet disbelief.

"Oh! Funny story! I've got a chip in my brain!" Rambley pointed at his temple. "It lets me hook up to the screens and the security system! I can run the whole place from inside the safety of this spiffy green bodysuit!" He pulled the green suit away and snapped it back. "Isn't that neat?"

"That's one word for it," Ed half-agreed.

Another would've been crazy, or unbelievable, or bizarre, or bat sh-

"But cool! Right?" Rambley asked. His eyes shining almost like they did on the screens.

It would've been terrifying if he didn't make it so cute. Ed nodded.

"Gee, thank you! I know this must be a lot for you to take in, but I really do appreciate the- w-wait!"

Ed dared to take another step and the second he did Rambley shirked back again.

He really was genuinely afraid. It wasn't some sort of drawn-out act; this cartoonish mascot animal thing was really scared of him.

They weren't going to make any progress with Rambley cowering in the corner like that. Realizing this, Ed finally snapped out of his shock enough to do something about it.

"Buddy, it's okay. I promise I'm not going to hurt you. Come on. Come on out," he coaxed. Rambley still seemed hesitant. "Here, how about this?"

Ed knelt on the dirtied floor thinking that maybe it was his size making Rambley so nervous. Now he was the smaller one in the defenseless position.

Surprisingly, this seemed to work. Rambley slowly released his tail and began to inch closer. It wasn't until he was standing right in front of Ed that he finally became convinced that he wasn't going to get blindsided.

Rambley waved with one hand and tucked the other behind him. "Hey! Heh. You know, you're a lot bigger in person."

Ed gave him a warm smile and Rambley giggled nervously.

"Well, Isn't this something? You and me in the same room- no screens or anything!" he chirped. He leaned in just a little more and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The cameras don't do you justice! Let me get a good look at you."

Ed could've said the same thing, all things considered. Now up close, he could see more of the mascot's details. That is, he could see how much of the 'mascot' looked less like a suit and more like the real deal, just not as cartoony as expected.

Some of the mascots Ed had sworn he had seen before. Just seeing Mollie brought up distant memories of seeing her in the park.

But not Rambley. He was something completely new. He didn't look like a prop at all.

Rambley the Raccoon was real.

"Not half bad!" Rambley complimented.

…And apparently flirting with him. Huh.

But he could unpack that later. There were more important questions to be answered now that Ed had him in the room and didn't think he was going to go nuts if he asked.

"Rambley, what happened here?" he asked with concern.

Rambley's energy deflated instantly.

"I guess I owe you the whole truth now…" he mumbled. He wrung his hands together before holding them out like saying 'enough is enough'. "Okay. So… A long time ago there were all of us. Me, Mollie, Finley- and the rest, yadda yadda. We were characters for the park! Like, on the screens like I was. It was our job to keep the place running and show everybody a good time! But screens aren't that cuddly. You can't hug a screen. And taking pictures? Puh-lease, the reflections are a nightmare. So… the clever minds behind the park decided that it'd be best to get REAL mascots."

"Oh no…" Ed mumbled. That didn't bode well.

Rambley gave a nervous giggle. "Heh, you're not too far off… So, they grew bodies in some sort of science-y thingamajig and then we were uploaded into the bodies. First couple of 'em didn't work. BUT then they finally had success and managed to move Mollie into a new body. Ta da! Now the park had a REAL Mollie the Macaw! Then Finley and… Lloyd. Because they just HAD to have Lloyd," Rambley muttered sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "They gave Lloyd a body even before me…" he muttered.

"So, they came first? Is that why they're… different?" Ed asked.

It would be a bad time to offend Rambley, but instead he just perked up.

"That's right! As a matter of fact, my first body looked a lot like theirs. But it didn't work right, so they had to farm another one. By time I finally got out into the park… let's just say that I didn't have to worry about flash photography all that much…"

His eyes down-casted sadly. "You know… This is the first time I've left my home in a really long time. Normally I just hide in there and stay plugged to the front gate, waiting for someone to come by. But once you came and we started working together, I wanted to make sure you were safe and that I wouldn't be locked out by any electrical failures or anything, so… So, I came back!"

Rambley put on a toothy grin. His pointed pearly whites looked too clean to be real, with little pointed incisors to match his cartoon counterpart.

"Now I know that you're probably thinking 'Oh boy! Wow! Rambley was… lying to me the whole time'." Rambley sighed and rubbed his arm. "I understand if you don't trust me anymore and if you don't want to help me, but I think we still have a chance to work some magic here! The only difference is that I'm not as cute."

Despite everything, there was a part of Ed's heart that was still soft for the Rambley he grew up with. So, having the real deal standing in front of him looking so sad pulled at those strings.

"You're still pretty cute. But I-."

"I AM?! Thank you! You should see me with my bandana on! Or I guess you already have, heh… Oh, sorry! Keep going, I'm listening. You were saying?"

"I was saying that it's okay. I know why you didn't tell me about… this." Ed gestured to him up and down. "But I need you to be honest with me. Is there anything else? I don't want any more surprises."

"Nope! Nothing that I can think of," Rambley assured. He looked and sounded relieved. "I'm really sorry, Buddy. I know it's hard trusting someone who's not been totally up front… again. But you've gotta believe me, and you can trust me! We're a team." He tapped his chin thoughtfully, a hand on his hip. "There's gotta be something I can do to make it up to you."

"You don't need to do that."

"Oh, I know!" Rambley snapped his fingers. "Are you tired? Do you need a break?"

Ed was wide-awake and full of adrenaline and instinctual fear of wild animals creeping up and attacking him around every corner. He couldn't have slept even if it was safe. So yes, he was exhausted.

"Well, I have just the place when we can hunker down and get a quick snack! How about you come back to my house with me?"

"You have a house?"

"A house, a den, a burrow- whatever you want to call it! The important part is that it's not too far from here- and totally safe!"

There was a spot in the back of Ed's brain that woke up and reminded him that no, he couldn't trust Rambley. He really shouldn't go to an even more secluded area with him. He really, really shouldn't go to any 'totally safe' location when Rambley had been lying through his teeth since the second he started pretending to be an AI on the screen.

But it was that or keep walking around and he could really use a breather. Was it worth the risk?

…

Eh, he could probably take him.

"Sure."

"Whew! Am I glad to hear that. 'Cause I'm bushed," Rambley said, pretending to wipe his forehead. "Ooooo, this is so exciting! You're going to be my first visitor ever! *Gasp* And you'll get to see my train!"

"I already saw your train back when I rode it."

"No, no! My little train! It's so cool, you're going to love it. I could tell from how much you enjoyed the big train. I've never seen anyone over the intended age group smile so much! Well, except for me."

It wasn't what Rambley said that embarrassed Ed but the fact that he was right. That he had enjoyed that stupid little train ride and that Rambley had noticed.

"Well, let's get this show on the road!" Rambley said. He turned around and posed like he was going to stride off, only to halt as he looked at the door. "…Or yeah, the door's broken. Eh… Let's get this show on the road that'a way!"

He rubbed his neck with an embarrassed smile and waltzed by towards the door they came in. With a snap of his fingers and a wink the door opened once again.

Just a little reminder that Ed was getting the behind-the-scenes experience, he guessed. He followed along, looking at the security screens as he passed and noticing the numerous Rambleys watching with eager but frozen smiles. More like screensavers than the friendly cartoon figure from earlier.

Guess he wouldn't really need a cartoon when the real deal was standing right in front of him. Strutting along like he was a cartoon character, save the amount of realistic fur.

He wasn't sure if it was the brain fatigue or what, but he had the strange urge to touch his tail. Not grab and yank at it like an eager toddler would, but maybe just a little bit. Would it be like teddy bear fur or animal fur? The real questions worth asking, he guessed.

"Hey…"

Rambley spun on his heel so quickly and attentively that it startled Ed.

"Whatcha need, Rangler?" Rambley asked. His eyes big and glistening. So cartoonish that it reminded him that he was an adult asking to pat a talking raccoon.

"Can I just… You know what? I'm good."

"Aww, come on. Don't be shy! Conductor Rambley reporting for duty! So, whatcha need?"

Well, he tried to back out. Guess he had no choice but to go for it.

"Could I… touch you?"

"…Can you what now?" Rambley squeaked.

"Sorry, that came off creepy. I meant it in a very non-creepy way."

"O-Oh! No, no, that's not creepy! That's a very reasonable question. I'd- I'd guess kids would be asking to do that all the time if they were here! I mean how could you resist? I'm adorable!" Rambley said, quickly pulling it back together enough to put his hands on his cheeks and wink.

Ed couldn't tell if he was purposefully mocking him or just really flustered.

"…You know what? Sure! Why not?"

Much to Ed's further surprise, Rambley pulled off his green censor hat and tilted his head forward. He wiggled his ears.

"Give it a shot! And don't worry, I don't really have rabies. And if I did, I would only be able to transmit it through saliva. Which I can't, because 'I don't bite'," he joked. "Unless you're made of Rambleberries, which I'm going to take an educated guess and say you're not. Heh, heh."

That was a nervous babble if he had ever heard it, but he decided to go ahead and take the offering. He gave Rambley a pat on the head. Then laid his hand flat on the top of his head to feel the fluff.

Well, there was another big difference between him and the other mascots. Ed didn't get direct hand-on-head contact with Mollie, but her feathers looked almost fake. Like they would be rough and stiff. In their brief one-on-one, Llyod's fur had been short and dirtied. And Finley… he didn't want to think of that texture. It was sickening, ugh.

But Rambley was exceptionally soft. It didn't feel like fake fur but instead like a really soft plush fur. It really did feel like teddy bear fur but not so fake. It was hard to describe it. He was warm too.

"Oh wow…" Rambley gasped. He inhaled through his teeth. "I forgot how it felt to be touched. That's weird. I wonder how that happened…"

Ed smiled back. He started to pull his hand away, but Rambley followed it, pressing back into it like a cat might. Turning his head as much as he could until his super fluffed cheek was in Ed's palm.

He looked up at Ed through squinted eyes. Ed's brows raised. Rambley's eyes went wide. He jerked his head back and yanked his cap back on, keeping his face low and covered.

"S-Sorry about that! Looks like I'm the one making it creepy now. But it's not my fault! Like I said, I was made for hugging." Rambley peeked up at him. "I give excellent hugs."

"I give okay hugs," Ed joked.

Rambley laughed a little but seemed a little disappointed by something. He turned around quickly.

"Right!" He pointed down the hall. "Off we go! Next stop: home!"

Now at this point Ed wasn't sure if it was a good call to go to Rambley's home. That sounded like the sort of place that could either be secretly dangerous or, even worse, would get him stuck staying overnight in some kind of employee breakroom with musty couches and no coffee. Either of those could be a nightmare.

But he was way too invested to leave now. If not for the park and the mysteries behind it, then the key to both: this funky little living raccoon cartoon character.

Kid Ed would've killed for a chance like this, Adult Ed wasn't going to let him down.

So, he trusted Rambley again. Now all that was left was to see where it took them.