Chapter 197

Night 5 Take 5

Things settled into a rhythm.

The only one who actually did anything productive besides just watching was Bonnie. He had left for the main room and returned with his guitar. He was tuning it while sitting on the Toys' stage, or pretending to tune, at least.

Toby felt a little silly but ended up copying him, grabbing his guitar from the Toys' backstage. Chi eventually sat down to watch.

As for the others, the minireenas and bidybabs were interesting to watch, like a little flock of birds. The human mechanics, not so much, even Hedy. That was hardly their fault, irrespective of the bot's opinions. The constant movement from the little bots was just mesmerizing. They did little tasks and helped each other with barely any talking but some sort of nonverbal communication the others couldn't understand. They seemed to keep an inventory of all the little animatronic pieces in their heads collectively.

They weren't a hive mind like Mike had suggested. They bumped into each other too often for that, sometimes hard enough for both parties to drop everything they were carrying, although they recovered quickly without a word and kept going.

Vixen's ears twitched every time something was dropped but she didn't turn around or seem overly worried.

Alex was uncomfortable being watched so closely but Hedy's presence was soothing enough for her to manage. Working was a little depressing. She kept forgetting she couldn't touch anything and on multiple occasions tried to hand Hedy a tool or a part. She just sat there and pointed most of the time.

Hedy on the other hand seemed to forget everyone else existed and was very focused on the puzzle in front of her, although she remained aware enough to hear Alex's suggestions while they figured out Baby's systems as they went. The little bots had done the broad frame of the work in a few minutes, but now there were dozens of smaller pieces that needed to be hooked up and slotted into place, and that was only if the pieces weren't crushed.

Vixen was helping the little bots move parts that were just too heavy, but she left most of the delicate work up to them. She occasionally looked over to see what the two engineers were doing and looked nervous, but she didn't comment. Yes, she could have told them to let the little bots do it all on their own, but it was going so much faster with mechanics larger than a cat. This usually took days (or whatever Vixen could guess were days), getting faster only after one bot was awake to help move the heavy things. But it was always still many days before everyone was complete enough to move without pain.

One of the minireena wandered closer, watching Hedy work the complicated wires that attached to different parts of Baby's face.

Hedy jumped when the minireena grabbed her sleeve. Dragged out of her focus, Hedy noticed that Afton and Puppet had returned, probably a while ago, the man not looking any worse for wear so it seemed Puppet kept his opinions to himself and off Afton's face for the time being.

Afton was also very focused. Ballora, Fred, and Bon Bon were all much further along than Baby, but Hedy had to suppose that made sense. She and Alex were learning while they went. Vixen was familiar with her set and Afton was well… even after so long since working on them he was moving like he had muscle memory despite some hesitation while he muttered to himself.

"No," the minireena said. "Wrong." She grabbed the microchip Hedy had been placing out of her tweezers and put it in a slightly different place.

"Okay, thank you," Hedy said as the minireena moved out of her way. She studied the chip to memorize where it went. She wanted to encourage the little bots to trust the rest of them so she kept talking. "How long does this usually take you to fix them? Do they wake up when you're done?"

"Long time. You faster," the minireena said. She looked at Baby, staring for a second. She pointed at a dented spot in Baby's chest where a cylinder device could just barely be seen through the separated and bent plating. "Power moddy there. Ennard didn't take it this time."

The full sentence sounded odd to those who had been getting used to the minireena's short way of speaking.

"The power module?" Alex asked.

The little bot nodded and shifted her weight anxiously.

Hedy wasn't sure why Minireena was telling her that, but she and Alex were making their way deeper into Baby's torso eventually so she assumed the little bot was helpfully telling her where it was.

"Thank you," Hedy said. She continued hooking the microchip up in Baby's face.

Vixen stiffened, her expression dropping to panic and dread when she processed the little conversation she was only half listening to.

Foxy sat up sharply, noticing Vixen's body language shift.

A little light blinked on in the microchip and Hedy perked up. That meant there was a good connection then. She noticed a similar small light peeking through the dent in Baby's chest where the power module was pointed out.

"Stop!" Vixen shouted, startling Hedy who glanced up for just a split second and then back down to see Baby staring back at her with wide eyes and a still split-open face.

There was a screech and whine of gears and sharp clicking. The face plates snapped closed. Hedy was suddenly yanked back by Alex, confused by the resistance when her hand stayed in one place for a delayed second and she and Baby were connected as if tethered. Then she was free and she barely missed an incomplete but very heavy arm swinging at her head.

Her hand was wet. Why was her hand wet? Her hand was very very numb suddenly too. She looked down even though that was probably a bad idea.

Well, all her fingers were still there despite the blood. Just not necessarily positioned in a natural way. They looked very wrong. And the bones were–

The observation cut through the haze and some dull version of the pain that probably wouldn't fully hit for another ten minutes or so partially slammed into her. Along with some nausea.

She bit her tongue to not scream and tasted blood. As if she didn't have enough of that where it wasn't supposed to be. "Shit…" she said shakily. She pulled her hand close to her chest and tried not to pass out or look too closely at her fingers or the blood. That's her blood.

Her reaction pissed her off a little. It seemed like such a tiny amount compared to what she had seen earlier…

Whatever terrified rush of emotion and instinct that had allowed Alex to actually grab hold of Hedy only lasted a second and Hedy could hear her friend's panicked voice while someone much stronger pulled her further away from Baby who had tried to scramble the opposite direction amidst the chaos.

Hedy felt like she almost accidentally ripped her own fingers off because she was holding her injury with the other hand and getting pulled by under her arms briefly yanking them apart. She might have yelped a little. She really wasn't sure.

Sound was starting to make more sense. Loud voices started flooding in through the shock.

"HEDY!"

There was someone pink in front of her pulling Baby further away and trying to get the bot to stop thrashing.

"Hah! Told you you couldn't do it right! Serves you right!" a very smug-sounding Bidybab crowed as she came closer to look Hedy in amusement while another laughed in vindication.

"Baby! Baby! You're okay! I'm here! I'm here! Stop, please! You've got to calm down!" Vixen's words cut off and she abruptly snarled viciously over her shoulder at someone when they tried to lunge at the pair.

Hedy was vaguely aware of a pair of eyes staring at her and the owner stopped fighting at Vixen's voice before shifting their attention to the chaos they suddenly found themselves in.

"I'm going to fucking- Foxy! Let go!" the young voice broke slightly. "She hurt Hedy! And that little brat-"

Vixen snarled again as they jerked a step closer in their scuffle and she held onto Baby tightly.

A louder snarl from someone else made Vixen draw back in shock.

"Teach those brats before I do," he growled, arms wrapped around Ruby despite her thrashing. The building was shaking and shuddering loudly around them. "And get them the hell away from our mechanic. I see one near her again and I'm not holding Ruby back next time."

He grunted and physically picked Ruby up, paying attention to her again after making sure Spring had Hedy.

"Foxy!"

"I know, lass." His voice was so much gentler and pained now, the growl completely gone. "I know."

"She hurt Hedy!" The lights above them flickered madly, half of them exploding.

A few tables spontaneously toppled over, one almost hitting the bidybab. She yelped and ran to Vixen and Baby for cover. Some of the tools Afton and Hedy had been using shot off the floor. One caught Baby on the shoulder and the wrench almost hit one of the other little bots who'd giggled at what the main Bidybab had said, making her shriek and duck. Goldy frantically caught the tools before actual damage could happen.

"They can't hurt her like they hurt Alex!"

Goldy made a pained noise at Ruby's words. The teen's walls had shattered and she was feeling everything from her. All the ghosts in the building were feeling it and it had knocked most of them to their knees and the sudden panic of most of them was making the storm worse. The bear herself felt lightheaded and her hands were shaking while she grabbed the tools. There was a moment of clarity as she made a rare request to the building to not let any of the ghost kids in the room. She wasn't even sure if she offered anything in return. Even as it shook and creaked like an old ship, it still sharply obliged.

She immediately felt the frightened anger in response to that but that was as far as her thoughts could take her while she tried to ride out the flood from two someone else's, one drowning out the other.

"I-I'm fine…" Hedy mumbled, then paused and hysterically laughed at herself at the automatic response. Even she heard how ridiculous she sounded.

She cried out when someone picked her up as carefully as they could. Someone yellow.

She weakly tucked a little closer to the tattered chest with all its holes and the thin remains of whatever fur there used to be.

He smelled better now, like cinnamon and apples from an air freshener he stuck somewhere inside his suit a month ago, but there was still a musty and metallic smell deep underneath that wasn't cat or the steel from his endoskeleton. It was so faint, but frustratingly there. Hedy could never get that smell to go away and it made her want to sob at her failure along with the guilt from her body wanting to throw up when she got the slightest whiff of it. She just wanted to feel safe with him. She wanted to feel like a kid again without her scars fighting against her. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

She saw a little shock of deep red smearing against the dull yellow and the guilt almost overwhelmed the confusion and the pain and whatever else was going on through the shock. She wanted to shift so she wasn't bleeding on him. But he was holding her too firmly, keeping her still so she didn't hurt herself more.

"S-Spring," Hedy said, having a hard time hearing her own voice. Everything was starting to sound like she was underwater. "I-I still have my fingers, right?" She didn't mean to sound so scared asking that.

"Yes, Wiggy. You have your fingers," Spring said gently, somehow remaining calm despite the shouting around them that Hedy didn't seem completely able to hear or maybe even process.

"O-oh good," she giggled weakly, her voice strained even though she thought she was doing pretty well all things considered. "Heh, I'm pretty much a waste of space with just one functional hand aren't I?" She meant to make a joke but Spring wasn't laughing. If anything, her words seemed to upset him. No no no, that wasn't what she wanted to do…

Ruby let out a wordless scream of anger and pain while Foxy carried her away and the ceiling above the Funtimes cracked, tiles dropping down on them. It didn't give way but Goldy knew it was only a matter of time if someone didn't calm Ruby down immediately. It looked like a poltergeist was rampaging through the room as more tables flipped and objects went flying.

A screwdriver–not the one Hedy took from Bidybab–embedded itself into the drywall and Chica had enough thought to move in front of Mike while Bonnie grabbed the man to prevent him from bolting over. Mike let out a startling string of swear words and he demanded Bonnie let go of him. They were already too late to stop Jeremy who had ducked flying tools to skid next to Spring and his sister while still keeping an eye on Ruby and all the potential threats in the room.

Hedy thought she was more coherent than she really was. She was having such a hard time thinking through the shock and the emotions she vaguely knew weren't hers drowning her. "I think there's… bone poking out…." she said, slurring slightly. "Bones a-are supposed to stay on the inside."

"Yes they are, Wiggy. You can't take them out like mine," Spring said. "Don't touch them."

His kid hadn't even noticed she had almost tried while she fought so very hard to stay conscious, somehow still refusing to cry. He wished she wasn't so stubborn. It would scare him less if she was screaming and crying from what had to be incredibly painful.

"But I need… I need to… I-I can just…" Hedy wasn't sure what she was trying to say over Ruby's screaming.

The Toys were trying to rush over to her, stopped by the other Originals and Mike begrudgingly after Bonnie had said a few words to him.

"Staffroom, take them to the staffroom," Puppet said, raising his voice to be heard over the chaos. He barked at Spring and Foxy. "Go. If the night guard stays in the same room, it's only going to get worse."

Neither bot argued with him and Foxy was out the door before he'd even finished speaking. They could hear Ruby shouting and screaming pleas and curses even as they got further away.

Spring kept speaking softly to Hedy and she nodded along, having a difficult time keeping her head up, looking pale and seconds from passing out at any moment. She was trying to argue, mumbling something about needing to finish working, to help Ruby. And where's Alex? Was she okay?

"Go with them," Puppet snapped at Jeremy and Mike. "Hedy's in shock and needs the hospital and the night guard needs to be calmed down before she brings the pizzeria down on us. You need to take her and make the call on whether Ruby needs to leave or not."

Neither man needed any more permission. They were freed of their responsibility to stay when they desperately didn't want to. Mike caught up to Spring while Jeremy sprinted ahead, genuinely worried that Ruby would send the ceiling crashing down. He had to trust that Mike and Spring had Hedy because Foxy definitely needed help.

"Toys, out," Puppet ordered shortly. They were yelling at Vixen and Baby, Mangle stalking forward like she was ready to fight the other fox and snarling with static. Her voice box that Hedy worked so hard on was pushed to its limits. "Out." Puppet repeated with a familiar ring of authority.

The Originals took the brief moment of hesitation and shock to physically grab the Toys and drag them out.

"Puppet's right," Freddy said tightly, grip on Mangle firm while he dragged her. The differences between the two sets' designs were very clear as Toby and Chi were pulled along with little trouble by Bonnie and Chica despite how they struggled and screamed like little children throwing the worst tantrum imaginable. "Teddy, move."

Will pressed against a wall and immediately got the hell out of the way while the Toys were dragged out past him.

"Get off me!" Mangle screeched.

Freddy grabbed her by the back of the neck when she tried to twist out of his hold or bite him, he wasn't sure which. After a moment of her continuing to struggle, he physically picked her up and carried her out over his shoulder. She couldn't get proper leverage to get free but she scratched at his suit while screaming at him to put her down. Even this didn't push through her coding enough to allow her to scream obscenities. With the agony in her voice, Freddy found himself actually wishing she could if it would give some release denied to her.

The combination of Puppet's order and Freddy backing it up got the younger bear moving, glancing back once with clear fear before disappearing through the door. Goldy watched it all shakily, still riding out the waves of emotion from Ruby and the dawning pain and fear from Hedy. The unfamiliar emotions from Alex were not helping either.

"Shit shit shit shit," Goldy chanted, panic creeping up on her. "Her hand, Puppet, her fingers are broken!" She had heard the sickening crack of bone that was almost lost in the simultaneous clicking, hisses, and screech of Baby's faceplates violently shutting. Most of the room had heard it, the horrible sound dragging up nightmarish memories for the Originals and Goldy of bones breaking as night guards met their end. There has been another reason beyond protecting his kid that had sent Foxy blacking out and tearing into Toby when he heard that sound come from Ruby's arm what felt like ages ago, and it was far more instinctual than just retaliation.

Only Spring really was close enough to see the damage through the blood and hear most of Hedy's mumbles over the shouting. His expression at the sight had not eased anyone's worries. Goldy worried if he was remembering how Michael died. Even under the shock, Goldy could feel the part of Hedy that was always thinking like a subroutine that never quieted. Hedy was aware her hand was in bad shape and terrified of losing her ability to work on her bots. Goldy couldn't help the tiny thread of irritation at Hedy at those feelings. The animatronics would be okay. They could figure that out. Losing Hedy as their mechanic paled in comparison to Hedy losing a great deal of her independence. Goldy hoped Hedy had not come to that realization yet. She couldn't tell for sure through Hedy's muddled emotions. Goldy hoped doctors could help Hedy before that even crossed their mechanic's mind. The shock was drowning it all out while the young woman slowly started to feel exactly what delicate finger bones on the outside of her thin human skin felt like.

Alex was leaning against the wall, breathing fast and hard and starting to panic because she couldn't feel any breath enter her lungs, and that freaked her out even more. She didn't know what to do. Was she supposed to follow Hedy? Why wasn't she fast enough? She saw. Hedy might lose those fingers and it was her fault. She slid down the wall and tucked her head between her knees. She trembled and hyperventilated in terror that was quickly spiraling out of her control. No one was helping her. No one knew how. It was Hedy she needed, unfortunately, and Timmy and Goldy were both very much in a state that wasn't much better than Alex to begin with. Nobody in the room would even look at her. Was this her existence now? Unseen and unheard, pacing this old building until she was the only thing left? She wanted a hug. She wished her Mom was here.

"Goldy, gather her tools please," Puppet said, voice much softer when he spoke to her. "You know she worries if they get thrown around."

Feeling numb, Goldy did what he asked, the gentle prompting holding the panic back a bit while she kept busy. A small shape ran past her and up to the Funtimes to scream in their faces.

Vixen tensed away from the small bot and wouldn't let go of Baby who still never spoke a word and had not blinked once since her eyes opened. It would look eerie to a human.

"She just wants to help you! Why'd you hurt her? Why?!" BB demanded, looking at a wide-eyed Baby with more anger than Puppet had ever seen from him. "And you're so nasty," he snapped, looking at the Bidybabs. "You're horrible and I wish Hedy never brought you back. I wish she left you there! This is all your fault! If you'd just asked to use her tools and worked together, none of this would have happened! I hope they throw you out!"

Puppet knew BB was shouting from a place of fear and anger but that wasn't helping right now. He didn't want to risk Vixen or Baby lashing out. BB was much too close to them, not caring that they absolutely dwarfed him.

"BB," he said, voice stern. "Stop it. That's not going to help Hedy. Will you help Goldy find her tools?" There wasn't a point in telling him to leave. He wouldn't.

BB glared at them a moment longer before stomping off. "Stupid brats. I'm never letting them touch Hedy's tools ever. They don't deserve how nice she was."

Puppet didn't doubt BB could hold true on the promise. The only ones who could get batteries away from BB once he had them was either Hedy or Ruby. Hedy cheated with the building, Ruby reminded BB of the craft box in "subtle" ways or used other methods. If BB redirected that protectiveness to Hedy's tools, the newcomers had no chance.

Aside from his angry muttering, the room descended into sudden silence. The building had stopped cracking and nothing was flying around anymore. Which meant Ruby wasn't in a murderous rage at the moment.

Vixen was shaking. She was tightly holding Baby, who was little more than a heavily damaged torso with upper legs and a single arm.

One of the bidybabs opened her mouth and Puppet looked at her sharply to no effect except a scowl of defiance. The little bots didn't know him. There was no past to influence them, unlike the older bots of their group.

"No," someone else cut off Bidybab from whatever snark might have gotten her attacked by BB.

The minireenas had scattered in the chaos, running to hide in vents and under chairs to escape being stepped on by bots who would forget they were there.

One was standing next to Hedy's chair where Hedy had left it. The minireena set the screwdriver that caused all this carefully on the seat, stepping back quickly at BB's warning growl and step forward. She was glaring at the entire group of bidybabs, especially the one that had argued with Hedy.

They could tell each other apart even if no one else could. Even Ballora and Baby resigned themselves to not always knowing. But the little bots always knew.

Her entire tiny body was vibrating in anger, clenching her tiny, mitten-like hands as she stared.

The Bidybab sneered, understanding whatever silent rant she just received. "Just because she was nice to you doesn't mean she didn't deserve it!"

BB growled again–a sound far less a mimicry of a human voice and closer to the sound that usually came from the fox-looking animatronics while he usually pretended to be more human. He almost dropped the tools he had gathered to dart across and teach the Bidybab exactly what he thought she deserved. His thought process was derailed before he could. A pair of human legs blocked his view and his way. He stared cross-eyed at the unconventional pattern in the trousers that were probably part of a stupid looking suit. They were wrinkled and darkened in spots with blood and oil beyond saving. The pattern was far more subdued than the eyesores the man used to wear on a daily basis and the tiny purple stars were unseen unless someone was as face-to-face with them as BB suddenly was. BB distractedly wondered where the jacket half of the suit was since he only saw the man wearing a beige dress shirt that really did absolutely nothing to hide the stains. It was probably still sitting in the driver's seat of Hedy's truck. He glared up at the silent Will who calmly looked down at him and shook his head. BB cussed at him under his breath but Will didn't look bothered by the string of words BB definitely shouldn't know and BB didn't try to get around him. He did step to the side to keep a distrustful watch on the newcomers while Puppet didn't interrupt the interaction between the little bots.

"Mean!" the minireena suddenly yelled, dragging their attention back. She shoved angrily at the Bidybab, only succeeding in losing her own footing and falling back while the sturdier bot barely shifted and rolled her eyes at the attempt while one or two of the others snickered. Minireena just got to her feet again. "Mean! Hedy nice! Help! You mean like- like- like Ennard mean!" Her voice cracked at her words at the end with something that might have been a sob. It hurt to say but she was unrepentant in her harshness.

The other little bots stiffened at the insult, looking stunned, frantically glancing at the two conscious big bots.

Vixen made a pained little choked hum while Baby frowned. The others in the room might not completely understand, but the Minireenas and Bidybabs had literally no other frame of reference for anything worse than the one who tormented them and their caretakers their entire lives.

That seemed to make something snap in the Bidybab and she suddenly lunged at the smaller bot with a scream that was a frustrated mix of anger and hurt that Minireena would say that!

"LIAR! TAKE IT BACK!" The other Bidybabs actually looked too stunned to move and Puppet could hear other minireenas shouting in fear and warning for their sister.

Baby, despite her sorry state, suddenly wrenched out of Vixen's hold and moved with speed that they thought wasn't possible when her arm snatched the Bidybab by the back of her neck where her torso connected. It seemed like a very precise, well-practiced move. "That's enough," she hissed, her voice a little stuttered and with far too much static. She was going to need a new voicebox. "What the fuck just happened?!" she demanded, dumping the Bidybab next to her with a sharp look. She lifted her now free (and currently only) hand to touch her face, pulling it away to look at the fresh blood that was streaked across part of her faceplates.

Hedy's blood. It made something deep within Puppet tighten in anxiety. He chased away many bad memories, one of the worst of them involving Baby.

Will hadn't looked directly at Baby since the blood first ended up there. Despite how little there was (in comparison), that was not a pleasant image he could really handle being reminded of right now.

The minireena that had shouted at the bidybab had fled at the aggressive action, ending up behind BB who she thought was safe because he was angry too. The bot looked surprised but bent down to pick her up, still eyeing Will grumpily. BB didn't carry children because of how small he was, shorter than a lot of the customers, but his three-foot height carrying a tiny bot that was no more than 12 inches from the top of her head to the tiny ballet shoes painted on her wooden feet had a proportion that looked almost natural.

"Baby," Puppet said, "Do you know what you did when you woke up just now?"

"... Wow," Baby said in irritation. "Wow. Hi, Puppet! Greetings and salutations, Circus Baby. How are you?! I'm doing fucking terrific! How about you?! You and Goldy are looking pretty good for being dead. The floating thing is definitely new."

BB was a bit caught off guard by her bluntness and how everyone else wasn't surprised. Not even Will. So that was just how she was then…

Goldy bit back a sob while she put the tools into Hedy's bag. She wished that the reunion didn't end up going this badly. With BB somewhat calm with the minireena, Will had tentatively approached her and she didn't shrug off his comforting hand on her shoulder, floating down a little until she was close to the height he remembered, her feet brushing the ground.

"I'm sorry," Puppet apologized. "Hello, Baby. It's great to see you, even with the circumstances. I'm sorry this wasn't sooner." He shifted. "Also, greetings and salutations mean the same thing..."

"And you're still a nerd." Baby sighed as if disappointed in him.

Goldy cracked out a staticky weak laugh and she knew Baby heard her.

"Ennard lied… " Vixen said quietly.

"Yeah, I fucking gathered. Where are we? What happened?" The lack of answers was making her more frustrated.

Puppet seemed to consider his answer for a moment, gaze darting to where Alex was still in the room, silent and desperately trying to calm down because she definitely wasn't in a state to get herself out at the moment.. "Did you ever see the… technicians that were recently at your location?" He asked carefully. He didn't think he should be the one to actually give the explanation but Goldy wasn't in a state to. Hedy wasn't available for obvious reasons and the Originals were busy with the Toys. And he definitely didn't want Will to do it.

He was the best option for the moment.

Baby's expression grew cold. "Five. Hand Unit kept saying there were four though, but I could hear five voices. I didn't see them. I know one was Will." Her eyes flicked across the room, landing on the man. She stared at him blankly for a second before looking away. "We weren't sure what Ennard was going to do this time."

Puppet nodded slowly. "Two of them are… friends," he settled on.

Goldy let out a hysterical giggle. "Did you just call Ruby a friend?"

He shot her a look before focusing on Baby again. "They went there to find you all and bring you home. The other two with them were there to work as well. The woman who was near you is our mechanic, Hedy. The feral rage demon who Foxy caught is the night guard, Ruby."

"You… you hurt Hedy," Goldy said softly. "Not on purpose but you broke-" her voice cracked. "You broke her fingers. And Ruby's very protective. They found the other technicians, Alex and Andre, they found them dead tonight. Ruby's a teenager. She's only sixteen," she pleaded, more talking to Vixen now. "She saw you almost hurt Hedy tonight and now saw Baby hurt her. You can't blame her for trying to protect Hedy. You'd do the same for Baby. You would have if Foxy didn't catch Ruby. She doesn't usually hit as hard as she did with you, but after what she saw tonight…" She trailed off, looking pained. "I'm not surprised she broke."

Vixen shifted uncomfortably. "And Foxy cares about her. Enough to yell at me."

Ah, there was the jealousy slipping in. Puppet had wondered just how long that would take.

"Ouch, you got replaced," Baby said idly, taking in the information.

Vixen glared at her.

Baby rolled her eyes. "Oh please, he cared enough to keep the feral rage demon from caving your head casing in. Or mine I guess."

Goldy looked at them helplessly. "She's his kid. And Hedy is Spring's."

Baby understood what she meant on a level that hurt.

Vixen flinched and looked at Baby in concern.

Baby allowed the thought to stick around for a second before redirecting her attention. She looked at the Bidybab who hadn't moved from where she planted it even as the others had subtly scooted away. "You."

"Me…?" Bidybab mumbled with a note of dread.

"Why did that girl deserve me eating her fingers?"

Will nearly laughed at her sarcastic wording but kept quiet. He was still listening. He hadn't been invited into the conversation.

Bidybab scowled. "She wouldn't let us help fix you!"

BB gave an angry little growl but didn't do anything when Puppet shot him a look and the minireena shifted.

Baby frowned, tensing just slightly before forcing logic through. "Uh-huh. How come?"

The Bidybab was not expecting the need to back up her claims. "W-what?"

"You made one of the Minireenas mad," Baby said as if that was enough explanation. "So I'm clearly missing something."

"They—" Vixen started helpfully.

"I would like Bidybab to answer," Baby interrupted without breaking intense eye contact with her little charge.

Vixen blinked, then looked faintly amused. Goldy smiled weakly at the words. Puppet had used that line many, many times when they were young. On every group and every bot in the groups.

Bidybab squirmed a little and shifted on her feet in frustration. "Tools…"

"Tools?"

"She wouldn't let us fix you!" Bidybab insisted.

Baby gathered enough. "You tried to take the technician's tools and she said no."

Bidybab nodded.

The minireena with BB hissed. "ASK! New rules! You ASK!" she yelled from across the room, waving an arm and nearly smacking BB in the face. Her hand hit his "hat" propeller, and she was startled then immediately distracted by the free-moving part.

BB pretended he didn't notice as she batted at it, keeping his stare at the other group.

Bidybab jumped to defend herself and the other bidybabs. "You… you said we can take the technician's tools!"

Baby frowned. "After they lose the game," she said casually while Vixen winced with a panicked glance across the room at Alex.

Bidybab faltered.

"Did she lose?"

"No…"

"Hmm."

Baby let it get awkwardly quiet until the Bidybab broke eye contact and looked at the floor. She nodded decisively. "We need new rules anyway," she said after a minute, glancing at Vixen. "A lot…" There was a note of worry in her tone that made Puppet slightly concerned just what they were in for with the little bots.

Vixen grimaced and nodded.

"We'll figure that out when the others are up," Baby sighed. She looked back at the little ones. "Until then, just a couple changes. No more taking anything that belongs to someone else until you ask and they say yes. And if they can't say yes, then that means no. If you do, then that's something called stealing and it's bad."

"But technicians…"

"Yep. Technicians who lost can't say you can use their tools, so all their tools are off limits now."

BB was listening to the whole thing, pouting a bit when Baby turned out to be perfectly reasonable in comparison to Vixen and the little bots. It was harder to stay mad at her now. "Are you going to say sorry to Hedy?" he asked, voice a little challenging when he interrupted.

Baby ignored the confused complaints and questions from the gaggle of little bots and looked at him, a little curious. She didn't recognize him. "Depends on if she wants it," Baby said, with a small shrug.

BB glared at her. "You should still say sorry even if she doesn't want it. You should always say sorry if you hurt someone. That's what we teach the kids so we've got to be good role models too. Ruby says you always lead by example."

"And she's a hypocrite," Puppet said under his breath.

Baby was suddenly distracted by what BB just said. She sharply looked around. Her eyes focused on a bunch of children's drawings tacked on a corkboard Ruby had put in the Toys' room ages ago. "We're in a restaurant," she realised with dread.

BB looked irritated he didn't get an apology for Hedy out of her. "Don't change the subject!"

"Shush new kid," Baby snapped at him and turned to Vixen with a note of panic in her voice. "Foxy, this is a children's restaurant."

Vixen tensed and nodded.

"No duh!" BB snapped. "We're freaking children's entertainment animatronics. Puppet, is she stupid?!"

"I may be stupid but you look like a bowling ball so which of us really loses here?" Baby said without even looking at him. There wasn't any real meanness in her words but Puppet doubted BB would realise she was playing with him, even if she was avoiding his question. "Foxy, you didn't tell them?!"

BB scoffed. "I'm the best bowling ball," he said proudly. "Ruby always gets strikes when I help her with bowling."

Puppet rubbed his mask tiredly. "She is such a bad influence."

"It was my idea!" BB defended.

Puppet shook his head and focused back on the two Funtimes. "Tell us what?" he asked calmly.

Baby faltered for only a moment, a brief flash of pain in her eyes when she glanced at Will.

"You can't let children around us," Baby said firmly. Will, Goldy, and Puppet all stiffened in horror while BB was confused and the little bots just looked a little scared. Baby looked away. "I-it's worse now too." She glanced at Vixen in guilt before her eyes flicked to the other Funtimes. "They… all have it now. Not just me."

"Everyone?" Puppet asked, tense.

"Yeah," Vixen whispered before the others could respond, her voice shaking.

Puppet asked a question he was sure he didn't really want an answer to. "How do you know?"

"The counting," Baby said. She looked at the Bidybabs in guilt. "And it gets triggered if we're alone with one of them. I don't know why it seems to think they're children, but it does…"

BB still didn't know what she was talking about but he couldn't help but look at Baby in bewilderment, then the bidybabs, which he still would kick across the room despite what he had realized. He looked back at Baby. So she was stupid. He didn't get a chance to point out the obvious.

"No…"

Puppet glared at Will with hate while the man spoke for the first time since Baby woke up surrounded by her family screaming and blood on her face.

"No. N-no, dear, I… I fixed you," the man looked panicked. "That… th-that code was never in any of the others. I checked. I removed it from you, Baby. I-I was so sure–" Will shifted on his feet, swaying a bit.

Goldy grabbed a shoulder to steady him, worried.

"Apparently not!" Puppet snapped, his stress spiking. He realized the implications. How many children died because Will screwed up?! How many could?! Jeremy was absolutely no longer allowed to bring the twins to visit and once he knew why, Jeremy would completely agree. And Puppet was not in a million years allowing Ricky or any of the other orphanage kids for a sleepover again. He was sure Ruby would back him up she knew. They had to tell her right? Could they even risk locking the Funtimes away in the day? He couldn't think of any other solution. What about Ruby? She was sixteen. She was a child. She… she said Vixen acted strange when they were alone. They couldn't just–!

"Shut the fuck up, Puppet," Baby snapped, interrupting his racing thoughts. "It's not Will's fault. We were fine when we left. But something happened. We woke up and the counting thing was back." She growled and shook her head, the broken pieces that were supposed to resemble hair clicked loosely. "It… it never shuts up…" There was a bit of exhaustion in her voice as it cracked.

"Okay," Goldy breathed, barely holding her own panic back. "Okay, everyone just… just calm down. You guys need to make sure your kids aren't going to say something wrong."

Vixen and Baby both looked confused for a second, unsure what Goldy just said but she continued before they really got to process it.

"-Because no one is going to let it go if they say something about Hedy, or anyone else, again. We'll explain everything to you Baby, I promise. But we've got to make sure the others are okay." She looked at Puppet. "Can you go check on them? Please?" Her tone bordered on begging which was very unfair but she needed him to walk away and calm down before he started yelling at Will. It was going to happen regardless of what she did, but not now.

"I'm not going anywhere," BB said stubbornly. "I don't trust those little bots. I'm going to watch them." He looked down at the minireena he was holding. "These ones are alright though," he admitted. "But those other ones are terrible."

The bidybab grimaced at him but sheepishly quit when Baby flicked her in the head.

BB just glared back.

Goldy grimaced. BB was going to be stubborn about this.

"Please," she repeated to Puppet softly.

Puppet was almost vibrating, his control slipping. His attention was briefly caught when the tiles under his feet nudged him slightly towards the doorway. The building didn't do that for Goldy. It only did that for one of the girls. Which meant someone was looking for him.

Baby had a flash of shame as he left, even if she knew he wasn't angry with her. A moment later she slid a mask over it and tried to focus on what Goldy said and not the pain she was starting to notice. Why couldn't she have woken up with all her limbs and not a bunch of exposed wires. Not like she hadn't had worse, but being used to it didn't really make it hurt less.

The bear lowered to sit on the floor near them. "Why don't you take a moment to talk?" she suggested. "Maybe get you more comfortable? Or Vixen can keep working, if Will doesn't mind lending us some tools?"

She knew there was no way BB was letting them touch Hedy's right now. This was such a mess…

Baby nodded, not having the energy to be any sort of snippy after seeing Puppet that upset.

Will sucked in a short breath, still shaking a bit. He tried to focus. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his watch. "I don't have any tools," he admitted. "Of my own. I will need to run to a hardware store before doing any more work on the others." He did not try to convince BB to let him borrow Hedy's tools either. Even if Hedy might have lethim borrow them without her there, it didn't feel right.

Goldy nodded.

Baby looked over the mess that included Ballora, Fred, Bon Bon and quite a lot of her own pieces. She looked at the bidybabs and expectant minireenas before nodding.

With much more hesitation than before, the little bots went back to doing as much of the repair work as they could without screwdrivers and wrenches to tighten connectors or clippers to clean up the wires or anything that could be used to straighten out torn and dented plates.

Will watched for a moment. "Circus Baby?"

She looked up at him, a tiny bit of nervousness in her gaze.

Will crouched down in front of her to look at her and Vixen at eye level. "Would you prefer me go get tools right now?" he asked and Goldy's heart ached at how familiar his patient tone was while he set aside his horror and grief to take care of them.

When Baby looked at him a little confused, he continued. "I understand it might be hard to talk to me right now. I want to give you the time you need, but if you prefer me to stay here, I will figure out some way to get the right equipment here." He glanced at Goldy. "The business is closed, correct?" It was dark outside by now but not necessarily late enough to close.

She nodded. "Mike called all the staff and told them not to come in today. We scared the manager off."

Will nodded and looked back at Baby and Vixen. Neither of them had answered him yet.

"We… we should get the others awake as soon as possible," Baby said, although she seemed hesitant for some reason and had trouble looking directly at him. "The Minireenas are getting stressed."

Vixen nodded, but stared at the floor.

Will frowned. "However?"

Vixen shrugged a little but didn't look up. The fox lowered her voice so that the little bots hopefully wouldn't hear her. "Please don't leave again." She backtracked quickly at Will's guilty expression. "Yet. The last few days… when you and the technicians left. It… it was just really hard. We didn't know if you were coming back the next night. We didn't know. Ennard didn't know… " She trailed off, a little terrified she was allowing herself to sound so vulnerable. They couldn't do that. Ennard might be watching. They couldn't be afraid, even if they were.

She stole a glance at Baby. However, Baby wasn't shooting Vixen a warning to be quiet. Baby was just staring unfocused at a speck on the cracked wall above and behind Will's head. She looked tired, which felt so unnatural. Baby never let herself look tired, or sad, or angry, or scared. Nothing, if she could help it. Ennard would find some way to use anything. But Baby seemed to know Ennard wasn't watching them now. They were safe for now.

Will was quiet, the guilt weighing in his voice. "I'm not going anywhere, dear," he said.

Out of the corner of her eye, Vixen saw Goldy relax just slightly. The fox looked Will in the eyes and nodded.

"...Well that's inefficient."

"Baby," Will said in exasperated amusement. "I believe we were having a moment. I was about to apologize for leaving you in a horrible situation."

"Sucks. Too bad. What are you gonna do? Move in and sleep on a cot in Parts and Services again? How well did that go last time?"

"Baby."

"And how are you supposed to go buy tools if you're 'not going anywhere'?" Baby ignored him to maintain her deadpanned ramble. "I guess Funtime Foxy is just going to keep leaking oil everywhere. And forget about ever waking the others up. You get to explain that to Minireenas. Good fucking luck."

Goldy wheezed out a strangled giggle and BB just stared from across the room, really not sure what he was supposed to think about the exchange. He hadn't felt like such an outsider before.

Vixen hummed. "The… uh… feral rage demon…" She paused as if she couldn't actually remember Ruby's name, which Goldy hoped wasn't actually the case. Then again the way Hedy and Ruby had described the "controlled shock" made it unfortunately very possible there was damage to their computers. Vixen continued, "She gave me a new name."

"Hm. Awkward. What is it?"

"Vixen."

Will could see Baby formulating the thought and considering whether to actually say it. "So… your name is Bitch, but the fox version."

Vixen blinked, then she frowned in dismay. "... damnit."

"Eh. Still better. Will, you sucked at naming us."

Will wasn't sure whether to agree or be offended.


The silence in the building was tense instead of the usual peace that Ruby liked to disturb with her chaos. It wasn't long before Puppet almost walked into Mike. The man looked stressed and shaken and Puppet was surprised he was still here.

"Jeremy took Hedy to the hospital," he told Puppet before he could ask. "She's- she's going to need surgery." He ran his hands through his hair anxiously. "How are the others?"

"The Originals may need help with the Toys," Puppet said carefully. He didn't interact with Jeremy or Mike very often, especially not alone.

Mike nodded. "I'll go help. Ruby's looking for you," he pointed down the hallway. "I don't know why but she's really insistent. She was arguing with Foxy over it. Try and send him back as well, especially if Mangle's not listening."

Mike didn't give Puppet a chance to answer and hurried towards the Cove, where the Originals had taken the Toys, and out of sight. Why on earth was the night guard looking for him? He would have expected her to stick with Foxy and not argue with him. Unless she wanted to go back and take her anger out on Baby…

He certainly hoped that wasn't the case. Without Hedy there, the building could enable some dangerous things if Ruby wasn't in control of her temper.

He found the night guard and fox just outside the staffroom and still in a heated, whispered conversation.

"I'm fine Foxy, I'm not going to lose my mind again," she told him tightly. She sounded annoyed but mostly exhausted. "I know it's not Baby's fault, just seeing Hedy hurt-" she cut off and took a deep breath. "I'm not ready to go back yet. But you need to because you know the Toys aren't reacting well. The others are going to need you. And you need to check on Vixen too."

"Lass-"

She shook her head sharply. "Would I like my emotional support fox right now? Yes. But the others need you more. Especially with Hedy—" she swallowed hard. "Hedy not here right now. I promise I'm not going to do something stupid, I just can't be near them for a bit. I will definitely send those little shits flying if I do and that's not going to help anyone."

She rubbed her face, exhaustion in every line of her body. The shot of adrenaline from earlier had probably made it worse.

"Someone needs to check on Spring too. I'm worried he's just standing in the parking lot."

That was an alarming thought and Foxy wavered in his argument. Ruby reached up to grab his snout, making him look her in the eyes.

"I'm going to be fine. And once everyone is taken care of, then I'm going to steal you for the rest of the day. You're still my fox and I have dibs."

Foxy gave a weak chuckle and pulled her close in a hug. "I'm giving you an hour. And then I'm coming looking for you."

"Fine," she sighed, stepping back. "Just make sure those brats know to keep their mouths shut by the time I'm back."

"Oh I will," he growled. "I told Vixen that either she does it, or I will."

He reluctantly turned to leave, but stopped when he saw Puppet. The fox studied him suspiciously before a gentle push from Ruby got him moving again. The teenager sighed when he was out of sight.

"Come on, Clown. We've got something to do."

The name lacked any heat at this point. He didn't think he'd ever seen the Night Guard this tired before.

"What would that be?" he asked carefully while he followed her. Ruby had already proven that her control was shaky. He didn't want to end up on the wrong side of her bat if she snapped again.

She took a deep breath. "Ennard."

His steps wavered slightly. He had done a fantastic job up to that point of ignoring that issue that he almost forgot. He never would have forgotten it for long.

"Elizabeth," he corrected after a moment of them walking. He did his best to hide it but he was paranoid that the grief might have slipped into his voice.

"She seems to get upset when I call her that. I don't care, but you might." She looked over her shoulder at him. "I need to make a deal with her."

Puppet nodded slightly, not pleased, but he had been expecting it. He had been planning on doing it himself if the Night Guard didn't. He had been thinking about it all day during the agonizing wait for them to arrive.

Ruby continued talking when he stayed quiet. "I'm exhausted and emotionally drained beyond my limit. So you've got to make sure that the deal is air-fucking-tight. I'm not going to have a repeat of Michael."

"Is she…" Puppet hated that he hesitated. He reset. "Is she really as awful as Michael? She wasn't like him. She was stubborn. Sometimes her games went a little far but she eventually apologized and whatever it was never repeated. And she could be a pain in my side. But she wasn't… Michael."

Ruby stopped and he almost ran into her. She was quiet for a long moment.

"...No," she said eventually. "No, she's not Michael. She's not Timmy either. She's… cruel and she's enjoyed what she did. But I mentioned her brothers and she was… scared that I'd done something to them. I don't think she knows that they're, well, dead. I got her to behave for a bit by telling her that she'd see Timmy soon enough. That's the only reason she didn't shriek the whole way home."

She crossed her arms and turned to face him.

"I think there's something left to save."

"I hope you're right," he admitted before he really had a chance to consider her words and what they meant coming from her.

"Me too," she murmured. "For Timmy's sake, if nothing else."

Puppet stilled when she turned and continued towards the guard office.

"Night Guard," he said sharply.

Ruby stopped again and looked over her shoulder at him, mild irritation in her expression now.

"... I need you to understand something," Puppet said. "Elizabeth's death. That was the beginning of the end for us." He paused. It was before, but the Aftons as a whole at least were holding together despite Michael and his grief. "It will not be good for anyone having her here. The Originals knew her. She… encouraged some… amusing... bad behavior in them, shall we say. Timmy might have been the closest to Goldy, but Goldy and her were close. And Will…" It was incredibly difficult not to sneer at the name. "She was very much a 'daddy's girl'." This hurt to say but he refused to let his voice waver.

He didn't mention his own relationship with the girl that had accepted him so fervently after she finally understood what he really was. She thought he had been a toy in the beginning. A plaything. It had been rocky at first, although the younger him wasn't entirely aware of that. When she finally understood he was a person, she was there to hold him tight. He was her little brother, just like Timmy. She was his sister. Puppet had always been a constant in Timmy's life as long as the boy could remember and so there was never much of a question for him. And Michael was Michael. Lizzy had been given the choice and she made it with enthusiasm.

Ruby turned her head forward again, expression out of sight. "I know," she whispered. "But what other choice do we have? Lock her up in a warehouse? There isn't a good choice here, Mari. Only the least awful. Every option is going to hurt one way or another."

She started walking again, steps slower than before like she dreaded arriving at their destination.

He waited a moment, stunned by the use of a name only Hedy really used these days, and usually only when she wanted his attention. He shook himself out of it and forced himself to move. He wasn't sure why he wanted to tell her all that. It felt like he was warning her of something, but he wasn't sure of what. Maybe it was a warning of grief that was about to be ripped open again in the others, like when Timmy showed himself.

The office was silent when they approached and Ruby squared her shoulders. She entered, footsteps louder and more determined, a confident act so that there wasn't a weakness to exploit.

"Hello Lizzy."

Puppet said nothing. He was planning to, but when the moment came he wasn't quite ready to draw her attention to him.

There was no response for a moment before suddenly Ennard imitated the sound of a vehicle and hit the wall of the crate.

Ruby physically flinched back and anger darkened her features when Ennard giggled.

She started humming 'Wheels on the Bus' softly, interspersed with more giggles.

"Had the whole drive to come up with that?" Ruby asked dryly, expression closing off suddenly in that way it did when she needed to be 'The Night Guard' instead of just Ruby.

"You lied," Goldy's voice said after a moment. "You said I'd see Timmy. You lied."

Puppet caught himself almost looking around for Goldy before realizing she was mimicking voices.

Ruby let out a tired sigh that was so soft only Puppet heard. "You still will. We're still cleaning up the mess you made."

"Humpty dumpty sat on the wall-" That was Alex's voice…

It was a small blessing that Hedy was not there. Or Alex herself. Even if he didn't know the woman, and therefore tried not to care, he was aware this was cruel.

Ruby slammed her hand down on the crate and Ennard shut up. "We are not playing any games right now Lizzy. I said you'd see Timmy, and you will. And you'll see Michael too, though that's much less of a pleasure." She leaned against the crate, putting most of her weight on it. "First, we need to make a deal. I'm going to let you out and you can go find them yourself. But not without a deal."

"A deal?" Ennard asked dubiously, sobering up at the mention of both her brothers again. There was a tinge of desperation to Vixen's voice.

"A deal," Ruby confirmed. "In this place, deals are absolute. The building doesn't let you break them. You can't break them. So if I say I'm going to let you out, then I have to. That's how the deals work. I'm sure you haven't lost all the brain cells you carried while alive so hopefully you don't need a detailed definition?"

Ennard hit the wall of the box again angrily. It was a harsher comment than Puppet liked, but Ruby had said much crueller things to the ghost kids when she was cutting through their bullshit. Her temper was also hanging on by a thread so she could have said something much worse too.

Still, he wasn't expecting to feel so uncomfortable. What was wrong with him?

"You can hit the box all you want. You're not getting out Lizzy. Not without a deal. I'll hide you somewhere where no one can find you and you'll be stuck there with no one to talk to. No one to torment. Just you by your lonesome since I won't be visiting either."

She sat down in front of the box now, propping her chin in her hand.

"What's it going to be Lizzy? Are you going to play nice? Or not at all?"

Ennard giggled derisively, sticking to Goldy's voice for a minute. "You lied. Timmy isn't here. I'd rather rot away here than talk to you anymore."

Puppet was a little confused by the choice in words but Ruby responded before he could consider how strange they were.

"And what if he is here?" Ruby asked, covering a yawn. She certainly sounded only half invested in the conversation, hiding how much she apparently cared. "Are you going to take that chance? Sitting in the dark wondering if maybe, just maybe, I'm not lying. I'm not going to offer a deal again. It's a once off offer."

"There's nothing really in it for me," Ennard said, matching Ruby's lazy tone. "Why would I agree to anything without proof? That just seems stupid."

"Why do you think I need to give you proof when you can't do anything about it? I don't need anything from you Lizzy. I'm offering because there are some here that would want me to. You're stuck in there, Lizzy. That glue isn't going to dissolve on its own. You can't give me anything that I want. So the deal's already more favourable to you. If I just want you to behave, I'd just need to leave you in there."

"Fine. See you never then!" Ennard said. Ruby actually rolled her eyes at the very childish statement, rubbing her face and looking entirely done with everything.

Puppet was about to speak but stopped. He wondered if Elizabeth could really out stubborn the Night Guard.

"I can still hear you out there. What are you still doing here? You said you were going to leave me here, so do it."

"I'm thinking," Ruby said, stifling another yawn. "Where would be best? Not outside of course. I don't want someone finding you and letting you out. Underground maybe? The building would make me a cellar if I asked. Underground seems like a good idea. I could brick up the entrance."

Puppet thought of Edgar Allan Poe. It was a welcome distraction, although too brief to be very useful.

"I think you're a coward. I think you don't want to leave me here. But you don't want me hurting any of your friends," Ennard giggled. It didn't sound right with Alex's voice, even if Puppet was unfamiliar with it.

Puppet was getting worried. He didn't see either of them giving an inch and that did not bode well for Lizzy. He knew Ruby was hoping the best for her, but that would not stop the night guard from putting the girl through a very harsh lesson.

"Or maybe that room," Ruby mused, ignoring what she said. "Michael liked that room. He did a lot of work in that room. You could spend the rest of your existence in the place of 'his greatest work'." She sneered the words. "Maybe that suits you Lizzy. Heh, suits."

Puppet rubbed his mask. He was starting to think Ruby was half delirious from lack of sleep and whatever medication the doctor had given her. That level of morbid humour was not helping. And he'd really prefer if she didn't ask the building for a replica of that damned room in the pizzeria. Spring might not remember but the children did and he could think of nothing more cruel than one of them wandering into there accidentally.

A horrible thought struck him of Hedy accidentally finding it.

Ruby met his glare and rolled her eyes. 'Not really,' she signed. 'I'm not that much of a psycho.'

Puppet harshly signed back. 'I was fooled.'

She stuck her tongue out at him. Just… how had he reached the point where this was his life and the resident terror was being that childish towards him?

He was startled when Elizabeth started screaming, the mention of MIchael in such vague terms and with such a disgusted tone setting her off. She was throwing a proper tantrum now, hitting the box, mostly the lid, in her anger.

"WHERE IS HE?!" she screeched, the sudden switch to rage actually making Puppet step back. He hadn't even noticed he did and he hoped Ruby hadn't noticed.

Why was he acting like this? He should have spoken up by now. His voice would have startled Lizzy into listening.

Ruby stared at the box with a certain kind of exasperated exhaustion that Puppet had seen on parents with young kids on their first sugar high.

Then she casually reached up and flipped the latch on the box. The lid flew open and Ennard actually lost her voice briefly in surprise. It looked like Ruby had used her entire supply of glitter glue to trap Ennard in the box and he really doubted anyone could get her out without the right solvent.

Puppet was completely frozen. He couldn't really process what he was looking at. Even after being told by Hedy that Elizabeth was possessing some sort of body and even after hearing her beat against the wood, he was still surprised, as if he expected a little girl to pop out staring at him.

Ruby didn't say anything. She just sat there, staring at the box in front of her dully as Ennard found herself staring at Puppet. She was out of sight for the moment so he was all the girl could see.

"...Mari?" the voice that came out of that… thing… was suddenly very very quiet to the point Puppet wasn't sure he heard it.

Lizzy?

He instinctively stepped back, then again, staring in horror. He couldn't help himself. He always had better control than this. What was wrong with him? Every gear and wire in his body was straining against him, telling him to run away and hide. It physically hurt. No, he was better than that.

This is wrong.

This is wrong.

Ruby frowned slightly, turning her head to look at him like she expected… something.

"Y-You're not Elizabeth," he blurted out, his voice taking on a weak tone that he hadn't heard from himself in years and he genuinely forgot that Ruby was there and could see him like that. The words fell out before he could stop. Before he could even think. "You're not her."

Not her.

The night guard's eyes widened, head snapping up to face him fully but he didn't really notice.

Ennard's face–not Lizzy!– jerked back slightly at the words. "... Mari… " she mumbled again, still using that voice that was just too familiar but still wrong.

Not her.

Puppet found himself shaking his head. "No. No. You… She's gone. She's gone. I saw what happened. Will didn't want me to see but I didn't listen. I should… I should have listened."

Not her.

He didn't realize he kept stepping back, trying to put some distance between whatever this thing was and him. He had no idea how Ruby was reacting to him acting like… like a child. He heard her mutter a quiet 'shit' as he ran into the frame of the right side door, nearly hitting the button that would have crashed the door down on him. His damaged arm clipped the frame and pain shot up the arm and through his wires. He wanted to scream but he just couldn't. He couldn't tear his eyes away. They glowed brighter than they had in years. He knew he was acting wrong. But… "She's gone. You're not her."

Ruby pulled herself into a standing position quickly enough that she got light-headed and pushed Puppet back into the hallway with a surprising amount of gentleness, getting between him and Ennard. She stared at the twisted form and tried to imagine Ricky or any of the kids from the orphanage in Elizabeth's place. Maybe she made a horrible mistake in asking Puppet to come. She assumed he could handle this, because Goldy hadn't broken down and she was always more sensitive and honest with how she felt than Puppet ever was. If Goldy could hold it together long enough to get what was needed done, then of course Puppet would. Puppet was stable, or at least he was always fantastic at pretending to be these days.

She had made too many mistakes that night and other people kept paying for them. She didn't mean to hurt anyone else. Not even Puppet deserved this. She rubbed her face, needing to focus too much to keep on her feet.

They were all falling apart and no one seemed put together enough to stop that, least of all her.

"Ruby, that's not her…" Puppet said, his voice dropping to a tone of desperation that seemed so out of place as static almost took over his words.

Not Lizzy…

He sounded like a scared little boy and it was disturbing. Ruby dropped her head forward for moment, taking a deep breath before looking up at Ennard again.

"They grieved for you," Ruby said softly, overly aware of yet another of them giving out under the strain behind her. "They cried for you. They hurt so much when they lost you. Are you ready to see them grieve for you again?" She wondered if Ennard was going to think she did this on purpose. Probably.

Without waiting for an answer, she turned to look at Puppet.

"I'm sorry," she said. It was all she could say. "I'm sorry." There was no fixing this, no making it better. Nothing could possibly make the truth anything but agonisingly painful. "That is Elizabeth."

Puppet stiffly shook his head even though he knew she was telling him the truth. He wanted to run. He needed to. Nowhere in the building would be far enough away. He would run until he fell apart.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again. He had warned her this would happen, whether he really knew it or not. She considered whether she regretted it and decided that this was better than the alternative. He was going to react like this regardless of how much time he had to process it. Either it was here, alone with her. Or in front of everyone later, while everyone else fell to pieces as well. "You can leave, if you need to." She felt the need to offer the out. It was the decent thing to do.

She wasn't surprised when he took it. If someone had offered her the chance to run when she lost herself to her grief, she would have done the same. And there was nothing wrong with that. Facing your grief before you were ready was often more harmful than anything else.

She looked back at Ennard, at Elizabeth, and wondered what she thought of everything that just happened.

Ennard shifted, as if she wanted to follow the bot. But she didn't have a choice in the matter, still stuck in the glue.

"Look what you did."

The voice startled Ruby, because it wasn't her. It wasn't Puppet and it wasn't Elizabeth. It took her overtired mind a moment to realise who spoke. She looked to her left to find Timmy floating beside her, looking so so sad and also so very angry at the same time.

"I've never seen Puppet like that," he said, voice quiet. "And you did that to him, Lizzy."

Ruby closed her eyes and tipped her head back. Could this entire thing get any worse? She'd never even heard Timmy this angry with Michael. She dropped her walls a little and let herself feel the grief and anger and pain from him. And said nothing. If this was what he needed, she wasn't going to interfere. She hated to see him so upset though. She hated everything about this. She hated how much LIzzy's existence hurt everyone in the building.

She looked forward again and caught a glimpse of black and white just outside the door, sitting on the floor. Huh. The stickman was braver than she was then. In his place, she would have fled the building by now.

Ennard was staring at Timmy. It was very hard to read any sort of expression from the face but the eyes were wide. It was far easier to see the clawlike mismatched fingers dig deep gouges into the wooden edge of the crate.

Timmy stared her down, letting her look at him for a few seconds. Letting her see that he was a ghost. "Ruby doesn't lie about the really important things," he said, breaking the silence. "I was there."

Ennard was clenching the wood but still didn't move.

Timmy's expression didn't change. "We heard you. I heard you following Hedy and Ruby. I knew there had to be a ghost. I sensed you. But I didn't want to believe it. Because there was only one person that could have been haunting the Funtimes."

The silence that followed was almost painful and Ruby itched to give the kid a hug. But that wasn't what he needed. Not yet.

"I wanted to believe I wasn't alone," Timmy said. "But not if it meant you stayed just to HURT PEOPLE!"

The sudden shout made Puppet outside the room stiffen and duck his head. Ruby actually flinched at the sound, rapidly pulling her walls up at the wave of emotion that hit her.

Ennard finally reacted, jerking back as far as the glue would allow.

"You. Didn't. Have. To," Timmy ground out, clenching his fists, and forcing his voice to lower. "You didn't even have a reason, even a stupid one to lie to yourself. You weren't doing it for revenge. You didn't kill Hedy's friend because of revenge. Even revenge pointed at the wrong person. You did it because it was fun!"

"A game," Ruby said quietly. "All one long game."

"Why didn't you come home?" Timmy hissed. "I could. I could go to the hospital where I died…" He let the word hang for a second to make sure Ennard heard him. "I could go where my body was. First the hospital. Then the morgue. Then the funeral home. Then the cemetery. I could go to the restaurant, even when it moved. I could go home! So why didn't you?! I looked for you!"

Now Ruby looked to him in concern.

"I couldn't…" Ennard finally spoke, all the snark and simpering giggles gone and just… quiet shock. "I couldn't…"

"DID YOU EVEN TRY?! Or did you just start murdering people?" Timmy snapped. He closed his eyes and looked away for a second. "I don't really want to talk to you right now. I don't really want to know why. Not yet. Something happened. Something really bad happened to you after you died, because my big sister would not be this. She wouldn't be a monster."

Ennard finally looked away, staring at the wall behind Timmy's head. If Ruby looked closely, she could see the slightest little tremor in the cobbled together hands. She watched Elizabeth, waiting. Just like Timmy. Waiting for something. They didn't get anything from the quiet girl though.

Timmy snarled in frustration. "But I… I am too angry right now to feel sorry for you," he said coldly. "So you need to tell us what happened."

Ennard didn't speak.

"Fine," Timmy floated a little closer. "Be that way. But you're are going to make a deal with Ruby," he said. "And if you don't, you will never see me again." He said it so simply that it took even Ruby a moment to understand.

She could feel that he meant that too. He was ready to just leave her. Forget about her and ignore her. He was giving her one final chance and he wasn't bluffing.

"This place is alive," he explained. "I know you can feel it. I will ask it to kick you out and you will never be able to get back inside. I don't care what you are. I don't care if you have nowhere to go. There is a forest. There's a sewer. You will cry and scream and beg to come back inside and nobody will listen. I. Will. Not. Listen. You will never see me ever again and Michael is stuck here and he can't leave like I can so you will definitely never see him again either. So make the deal, or get out."

Ennard did not answer for a few seconds and Puppet's heart sank.

He lowered his mask onto his knees and tried to be anywhere else. He wanted to say goodbye… Timmy wouldn't even let the rest of them say goodbye…?

Please let me say goodbye.

"Goodbye, Lizzy…" Timmy said, the harsh tone dropping away to a sob as he prepared to follow through with his promise.

"NO! N-no! I'll stay!" Ennard jerked forward, trying to reach for him. "I'll do it. I'll do it!"

Ruby let out a subtle sigh of relief. Damage control was the name of the game now. For both Timmy and Puppet. Everything was such a mess. She reached out automatically to touch Timmy's shoulder. He was shaking now, and not only from anger.

"You'll make the deal?" she asked Ennard, tone neutral so she didn't set anyone off.

Ennard made a vague movement in her best approximation of a nod, her eyes wide and frantic. "Yes! Yes, whatever you want." She repeated herself, whispering. "Whatever you want…."

"It'll be fair," she felt the need to assure. "They're always fair." She looked at Timmy and dropped her voice a bit. "Do you want to be involved? In the deal. Do you want to be part of it?"

Timmy nodded shakily after a moment. "I want to make sure she can't hurt anyone else."

"Okay," Ruby tugged him close in a brief, tight hug. "Okay, I'll put you in charge. I'll make the deal but she'll need to listen to you. Is that okay?"

He nodded again. She had a feeling he needed the ability to do something. He'd been helpless with Michael but now he had a chance to stop Lizzy from becoming the same.

"I'll make it airtight," she promised him. "No loopholes. No mistakes."

She let him go to grab a notepad and pen from the desk and dropped into the chair. She wasn't going to leave anything to chance. This was going to be the most detailed deal she'd ever made. She wouldn't have a repeat of Michael. She refused to make that mistake again on top of all the other mistakes she'd made.

"First off," she started. "You must do everything Timmy tells you. We'll get into specifics but in general, he makes the rules. And when he can't, Puppet or I do."

She continued to speak but Puppet had a hard time hearing much after that. He was shaking and the sound of his cables faintly vibrating inside him seemed so loud. He did his best.

"You'll have free roam of the place bar a few specific areas, you can talk to everyone on the night shift but you can't hurt them or cause any harm to come to them."

She see-sawed between restrictions and privileges, crafting a deal that the building found acceptable. It had always been a little off-putting how easily the deals came to her. She never struggled with making them fair and experience had taught her about loopholes.

"You can't talk to anyone on the day shift or let customers see you. You can only talk to the bots if they're not near any of the day employees or customers. You can talk to the ghosts day or night."

Timmy helped her with wording or clauses since his experience with Elizabeth let him predict some of what she might try. The deal took twenty minutes to make and then they still spent time reading over it again.

"Mari?"

Timmy's soft voice startled Puppet and he looked up sharply, eyes wide.

Timmy didn't like to see him like this. It felt very wrong to see Puppet so much like… well… Timmy.

"Can you come look over our rules?" Timmy asked. "Please?"

Puppet nodded, standing up. He brushed himself off. "I'm fine."

Timmy frowned. "No you're not… "

Puppet scoffed quietly, glancing inside the guard office at Ruby and Ennard who were looking at him. He pretended they weren't there for a moment so he could look back at Timmy. "Perhaps you're right," he admitted. He turned to go inside.

"You don't always have to be okay," Timmy said behind him.

Puppet walked over to Ruby and gestured for the notepad, which Ruby handed over. His steps were steady and his hands didn't tremble. "I don't wish to speak about this in front of them," Puppet said with no emotion as he read over the list in a few seconds.

Ruby didn't give any indication that she was hurt by his words. She also didn't comment on what happened. There was no snark or mild insult. She just crossed her arms and waited, looking… just tired. She didn't seem to have the energy to be her usual annoying self.

Puppet already had a few notes from the bits of the rules he had been able to hear. He was pleased to see that Timmy had caught one potential loophole and included Kitty. Thank goodness. Spring would be devastated if Ennard had been willing to cross that line.

Elizabeth had fought tooth and nail fruitlessly trying to convince her parents to let Spring keep the baby raccoon he found. This was not Elizabeth. This was Ennard. They shouldn't risk it.

He glanced over a part that included Will, trusting Timmy would have checked that.

They weren't able to say that Ennard couldn't hurt customers because the building had resisted. That was just too huge and vague of a group of people. The compromise was that if she wanted to hurt a customer, she needed to ask permission from Timmy and at least Hedy or Ruby. It was an odd exception, but Timmy's rules would also cover that. Timmy couldn't think of any scenario where that would be acceptable but Puppet and Ruby could.

"You need to include any guests we might have overnight and any idiot who might attempt to trespass or break in." He wasn't ready to tell Ruby or Timmy that they might never have their usual guests again because of the Funtimes. The part of him that maybe was still a little murderous didn't really care about thrill-seekers breaking in to play stupid games and win stupid prizes, but more blood was more trouble than any of them needed. "She can't be allowed near Jeremy's children."

"I don't hurt kids!" Ennard suddenly spoke up. She sounded angry that Puppet would even suggest it.

So there was a line she apparently wouldn't cross, even like this. It should have given Puppet some comfort but he couldn't find it.

"You hurt the Minireenas and Bidybabs," Puppet retorted coolly. "You went after her," he tilted his head towards Ruby.

The night guard paused in her writing, but continued a second later without looking at him.

That seemed to throw Ennard off. A moment later her body language shifted again and she scoffed. "They don't count."

"They do," Ruby agreed with Puppet. "We're going to need to add in that all of this applies to our definitions of the words, not hers. The little bots are kids, so you're outvoted L- Ennard." She changed the name at the last second. It annoyed Elizabeth but would likely only hurt Puppet right now. "Anywhere else that needs to be called off limits?"

They'd kept that limited for the sake of a fair deal, but they needed to make sure they weren't missing anything. The guard office, Parts and Services and wherever the Funtimes ended up calling 'their room'. Ruby rubbed her face after a moment with an aggravated sigh. "We're going to need to add in poisoning attempts," she realised. "Or outright ban her from touching food."

Timmy patted her arm in comfort and Ennard watched the action closely. She was watching anything Timmy did intensely, like she feared he'd disappear.

"My rules can cover a lot of this too," he pointed out softly. He was a bit worried over how focused Ruby was on the deal. She was genuinely afraid of a repeat of what happened with Michael. He knew this was important, but he could catch some of the smaller stuff with his rules. They could be more flexible. He could add or take away any as needed. She didn't have to make the deal a perfect contract or something. It just needed to have the basic solid unchangeable protections in place.

Ruby kept her hand on her face, standing still. Then she let out a breath and dropped into the office chair, leaving the notepad with Puppet. She didn't say anything but she did nod, ceding control of that to Timmy. She knew she was being a bit of a control freak right now but she didn't want to risk her negligence hurting someone again.

Hurting Hedy again.

She shook the thought away and pulled her phone out, shooting a text to Jeremy to let her know how Hedy was doing when he had a chance. Selfishly, she hoped Mike would need to be the one to keep everyone updated on what was happening. She felt stretched thin at the moment.

Timmy stared at Puppet meaningfully and then down at the notepad. It was surreal for him to be the most put together in the room at the moment when he had more reason than anyone to fall apart.

A benefit of being a walking computer was that despite whatever Puppet was feeling, there was always a rational part of him present if he could make it focus on a task. Which meant he could study the deal, snagging the pen, and add stuff as well as crossing certain parts out which he added to a separate list for Timmy. With more than a few passes through the words, they had a much more concise and specific deal crafted between them.

He passed it back to Ruby once they were finished. She read through it as well before nodding and pushing herself to her feet again.

"Let's get this done," she sighed, walking over to the box. "You are going to shake my hand and if you try and hurt me before the deal takes effect you aren't going to like the results," she warned.

"Not even a cut," Timmy added tightly. That anger was back at the reminder that his sister hurting anyone was a genuine problem that they'd just spent almost an hour trying to solve.

Ennard gave that awkward sort of nod again but didn't say anything. She was mostly staring at Timmy but her eye flicked over to Puppet more than once.

Ruby read through the paper once more before dropping it and snapping her fingers in front of Ennard's face. Her attention snapped back to the teenager as she recited the deal word for word, maintaining eye contact.

"As long as I'm employed at Freddy's, or any other location that is connected to it, this deal stays in place."

That was a strange deviation from every deal she'd made so far. Employed. That took away the need for her to be at work every night out of the equation. Puppet absently wondered how she pulled that off since the building didn't complain. Then again, the sheer amount of give and take in that deal actually hurt to think about and he didn't want to think about how Ruby's mind worked to be able to handle that part easily.

"Do we have a deal?" Ruby asked, holding her hand out.

Ennard flicked a look over to Timmy again before carefully lifting her hand. Ruby had long since gotten used to the cold feeling of metal but there was something that felt off when she shook Ennard's hand. She was too tired to really think about that yet so she mentally shelved it for the moment as Ennard spoke.

"Yes, it's a deal," she sounded much more subdued now.

The building shook around them, visibly startling her, and Ruby dropped her hand and took a step back. There was a noticeable lack of tension in her now as she stretched, careful of her shoulder.

"That's done, thank fuck. I don't have the brain power left after this entire shit show to think that hard much longer." She looked at Timmy. "Want me to stay while you make your rules?" she asked.

Timmy shook his head. "Foxy's going to have a meltdown if you don't show soon."

Ruby grimaced at the reminder.

"You should both go," Timmy added. He knew Puppet really needed a break from being near Ennard now. "Puppet, can you make Ruby get medical attention too?"

Ruby froze, shooting the boy a glare as he snitched on her.

"The stitches in her shoulder tore and she hasn't asked anyone to fix them. She can't reach them either, no matter what she says."

"I'm fine," Ruby said tightly.

"I'm surprised you haven't passed out from blood loss!" Timmy exclaimed in frustration. "The only reason no one has noticed is because that shirt is black."

Puppet couldn't help but look at the shoulder himself even when Ruby turned away. He did catch a glimpse of the crusty texture of dried blood and was a little bothered neither he nor someone closer to her like Foxy had noticed. Her pain tolerance and ability to hide injuries was just absurd.

"You are such a snitch," Ruby growled.

Ennard was watching the entire conversation silently and they couldn't tell what she was thinking. Ruby had decided to entirely ignore her now that she didn't have to watch her like a threat.

"Mike should still be with the Toys. The Originals as well if they're staying together for now," Puppet said. "He will help with Ruby's shoulder." Puppet could do it himself and maybe if he absolutely had to he would, but he didn't want to be the first option. He just wanted to crawl into his box and shut down for as long as he could. But he couldn't let the Night Guard just continue to bleed. Not when her well-being was so important for many of the other bots' sanity right now, especially with Hedy's state mostly unknown.

"It can wait," Ruby insisted. "I'll ask Mike when everyone's sorted."

Timmy stared at her dubiously.

"I was going to ask Jeremy," Ruby sighed. "Then… shit happened. I'm not just ignoring it, Timmy. There's just more important stuff to do."

Like getting the Funtimes home. Like introducing everyone. Like fixing this disaster. Like making sure Hedy was okay. Like dealing with Ennard. Like making sure the bots and everyone else were going to be fine and diffusing any tempers.

Timmy wondered when she was going to run out of 'more important' things before she finally dealt with her shoulder. Usually Hedy was around to call her on her shit, and Foxy did it when she wasn't here. But Foxy had to focus on Vixen too and Ruby had taken advantage of that to hide her injury from him.

He also wondered how long it would take before Ruby realised she still came first in Foxy's priorities list. Vixen was his sister but Ruby was his kid. He didn't think Ruby understood that completely past a surface level of 'favourites'.

"Baby is sorry," Puppet spoke up. He sort of blurted it out, but he felt the need to make something clear to Ruby, especially after seeing her rage, before anything else happened. "About hurting Hedy. Maybe she can't say it right now. But once she meets Hedy she will." Baby somehow hadn't changed as much as Puppet had expected. She was more anxious. And her jokes had a thread of misdirection in them. She was afraid. She was hurt. But she still felt like the person Puppet knew. Puppet resisted the urge to glance at Ennard.

Ruby paused and turned to give him an odd look. "Baby woke up after being violently pulled apart, after years of abuse, to a stranger with her fingers in her face. Don't ever tell her I said this, but Hedy was lucky. If Baby lashed out with her arm instead of first closing her face, Hedy's skull would be caved in right now."

Ennard watched Timmy's little flinch and brief shut of his eyes while Ruby continued.

"Alex saved her life by dragging her back like that. And while Hedy puts too much of her worth into her ability to work, her death would have broken more than half the people in that room. Now, if Baby turns out to be as much of a bitch as her children, then I might end up having a problem. But I know trauma Puppet. And I know trauma responses. You can't blame someone for how they react when it comes from the part of the mind that's still afraid of the dark. If Mangle swung at me from the ceiling, the best case scenario is that she'd lose her jaw or one head. I'm not going to be besties with Baby. But I understand. I won't hold that against her. I don't know if the guys will, and I know the Toys will, and I know Hedy won't, but I won't either."

Puppet nodded, a little relieved. "How… bad is it? Her hand." He hadn't been close enough to see. He knew how powerful Baby's faceplates were and he had steeled himself to expect the worst.

Ruby grimaced. "...bad. But fixable. I've broken a few fingers pretty badly, not as bad as this, but fairly severe. It's a rough road to recovery, but it's fixable. Hedy's going to hate it though. She won't be able to work for a while, a long while. And we can't let her. If she doesn't let it heal right, she might not ever be able to move it properly again." She frowned. "Jeremy is already annoyed that she doesn't do the exercises she's supposed to do for her back."

Timmy let out a weak groan. "She's going to be a bitch."

Ennard looked a little stunned by her little brother's swear.

Puppet pretended not to hear. "She won't be able to move around on her own," he pointed out. "She needs both hands to do many things. To use her chair. To drive. Her right hand is her dominant one."

Ruby nodded with a sigh. "Mike'll be good with her. The Toys won't, they're going to hover and try and smother her. We're going to have a lot to watch out for."

"We?" Puppet asked dubiously.

"Oh shut up. I'm too tired to do the dance tonight. We'll put aside everything for Hedy and you know that."

She turned to head out of the office, giving Timmy a quick hug when she did. She paused in the doorway to look at Puppet again. "Speaking of trauma responses, for the record, if you spontaneously sprout tentacles at any point, you're going through the window, truce or no."

It was hard to tell if that was her usual brand of Ruby-ness or the lack of sleep.

"Noted," he'd rather just accept it. He remembered how she'd described her coma nightmares. It was a reasonable fear with that context. It was just surprising that she would admit to it.

Timmy grimaced at the words, having seen that entire week up close and personal. He shook his head and focused again.

"Go. And don't forget, Puppet. She'll try to distract you so you do forget."

Ruby huffed in annoyance and ducked out of the room without waiting for him.

Timmy crossed his arms and gave Puppet a meaningful look before turning to Ennard. His expression visibly hardened when he did. That anger wasn't going away any time soon, but it was more manageable with the deal in place. The fact that Elizabeth accepted the deal in the end meant something. It was small, but it meant something.

Puppet left.

Timmy and Ennard looked at each other for a long moment.

"...she didn't let me out," Ennard said, tugging at the glue.

"I'm not done telling you my rules," Timmy said firmly. He then paused. "And you want to ask me a lot of questions."

Ennard was watching him carefully.

"When?" she asked. She was still using her real voice. It hurt to hear her but it was better than stealing someone else's.

"Two years after you did," he answered, his tone neutral and making him sound far older than he looked. "It's been twenty-two years since you died and twenty since I died."

Ennard made a noise. "...how…?" she finally asked.

Timmy really debated not telling her but she was going to find out one way or another. She wasn't going to believe him. Not at first.

Michael was near. He wasn't getting close despite his need to know. To see for himself. But he didn't know where Ruby was and didn't want to risk running into her yet.

Timmy knew it was only so long before Michael couldn't help himself. Did he warn Lizzy about him now or let her see for herself?

Was he angry enough to choose the second option?


Puppet walked a little quicker to catch up to Ruby as she headed toward the Cove.

"How long until Jeremy processes that Mike is going to officially move in with Hedy now?" Ruby asked thoughtfully. "Because Jeremy is definitely not going to be able to just drop his life for at least a month. That's going to go down like a lead balloon."

"What?" Puppet asked. He didn't understand why that was a concern.

"They've been sneaky up to this point and there's not much of a trace of Mike in the house but there's no avoiding it now." Ruby made a face that was a mix of disgust and amusement. "Jeremy can usually pretend to ignore they're dating because they have a rule of no PDA in front of you guys. Or not much. But they're going to be together pretty much all the time now while Hedy gets better. She's going to be annoyed and stressed. He's going to be a puppy helping her with every little thing."

He hadn't really thought much past Hedy's inability to work for a while.

"And it's going to be awful at work too. That no PDA rule is gonna go out the window now. He's going to be all soft and sweet trying to get her to smile or cheer her up or something. He's going to do that sappy shit like kissing her forehead." She groaned at the idea.

Puppet squinted. He didn't exactly like seeing it either but he was aware that was what couples did. He did his best not to think much past that. He wasn't as bothered like Jeremy was but he often didn't like thinking that Hedy wasn't exactly still the little girl he helped raise for the first few years of her life.

"And the Toys are going to make it unbearable. They're going to be children who don't like seeing their mom flirt. So they're going to be throwing tantrums and trying to interrupt. Which means Hedy is going to entertain herself by being even more sappy. Not like she can keep herself busy with work now. She's going to get bored out of her mind."

He hadn't considered that aspect. Hedy didn't really do much to entertain herself besides work and participate in the odd game when she got competitive. All her usual activities were going to be out.

"And you know what's going to be the worst? Goldy and her photos. She's going to take hundreds of photos and add them to her scrapbooks. Which means every time Goldy pulls them out to be nostalgic, we're going to have to see those photos. Because none of us can say no when she asks if we want to look too."

He wanted to groan at that. Goldy was definitely going to do that. It was how she coped. She focused on the positives and she might make an entire scrapbook to cope with this.

"If Hedy really figures out how to block herself off from all the ghosts for some proper privacy, then that's really going to be asking for trouble."

Puppet stilled for a moment but Ruby kept walking like she didn't notice. He had a sinking suspicion that Ruby was getting to something very specific but couldn't put his finger on it.

"I caught them making out once, you know? Really traumatic stuff. They were in the staffroom and Timmy and I ducked in there for something. He said he didn't sense Hedy at all. I think she's been practicing blocking everyone off. Mike might encourage that kind of thing to distract her too," Ruby mused. "I swear, if I walk in on them making out, or something even worse, I might just lock myself in the Cove for several months. Or maybe make a deal. The building could make me forget whatever trauma I might see."

Puppet's mind stalled. "Something worse?" he echoed, at a loss. The denial hadn't quite let him really work out the very simple equation.

"Yup," Ruby nodded her head. "They sometimes forget it's a children's restaurant since they're never here during the day. And well, everyone's caught some adventurous customers wanting the thrill of messing around in public. Perverts. Hedy and Mike wouldn't go that far with actual kids around. But, you know. There's a lot of empty rooms at night. Throw a movie on and almost everyone stays in place, leaving the rest of the pizzeria completely empty. Hedy's bound to get bored at some point."

"Ahh!" Puppet let out a strangled cry of disgust and dismay in a rare display in horror as he nearly tripped on his own feet. "RUBY!"

Ruby watched him out of the corner of her eye. "What? You know It's going to be absolutely awful. You might want to brace yourself now."

Puppet dragged a hand down his face and shuddered. "Humans are disgusting… " he whispered in horror.

She hummed in agreement. "She knows where all the cameras are too. So we'd never know until we walked in-"

"Stop!" he was pleading.

She fell silent but it was too late. She'd said enough and he was never going to be able to forget it. He was never going to be able to distract himself-

Wait. Distract. Oh for fuck's sakes…

"You're still getting that shoulder looked at," he hissed, one hand still running over his eyes as if that was going to wipe the horrible images he was trying to chase away.

Ruby's expression dropped into a scowl. "Dammit. Honestly thought that would work."

"No," Puppet said, growling almost. If the night wasn't already essentially ruined, that would have done it. They could hear the others from the Cove as they approached.

"Ugh," Ruby threw her hands up, winced when it pulled at her shoulder, crossed her arms and stalked ahead of him.

Puppet was about to follow but hesitated. "You were just trying to distract me, correct? They wouldn't actually…"

Ruby paused and looked back at him. She grimaced after a moment and kept walking. "You'd be amazed what people resort to when bored. I'm too tired to come up with a clever lie today," she threw over her shoulder.

"Damn it," Puppet muttered to himself. "Damn it all, Hedwig. Don't do this to me. Please." He was still genuinely upset as he followed and he really wasn't sure he'd be able to hide it from the others. He was just going to tell them he saw Ennard if they forced the issue. He was never going to explain this. Ever.

This was karma, he realized. Karma for teasing the Toys with their innocence when they borrowed the day shift's bodies that one time. Joking about it was one thing, it being a real possibility where he could run into it was completely different. He shuddered.