Going Home in a Box

by Mable

(Sequel to Can't Go Home Again and Almost Feels like Home) Freddy Fazbear's has returned from the grave and brought something of hatred and agony with it. Their livelihoods on the line, Mike, Marionette, and the others must learn to handle this new threat. This is easier said than done once Foxy finds himself snared by the new location, and the white rabbit now pulling the strings.

89. Chapter 89

Mable: I'm so sorry this chapter took so long! There's a few reasons for this, but I don't want to get into them right now. I just hope that the length of the chapter- 28,000 words! -helps make up for the delay. _ Sorry again and I hope you enjoy!

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Going Home in a Box

Chapter Eighty-Nine

This was a huge mistake. She knew it, she knew it was a bad idea, and yet here it was. Here she stood in the dark with a flimsy flashlight in her hand that barely lit the pile of junk lying in front of her.

The dump. The junkyard. The so-called prowling grounds of the Hurricane Clown.

But she wasn't alone. Thankfully, elsewise she would be incredibly nervous standing in the middle of this dump.

Back when the clown and bear incident happened, Millie didn't have a friend in the world. Now she had three.

First was Abigail, called Abby by her friends. Abby was as smart as a whip and the type who'd do extra credit work without the extra credit. The typical 'nerd' stereotype perhaps but she had a good heart, she was very outspoken, and she had an interest in the environment that Millie could get behind. She was a skeptic, a realist, but otherwise was much more optimistic than Millie tended to be.

Abby had neat braids that went to her shoulders and wore gold frames glasses. She was currently wearing an oversized dark grey jacket with the hood up in an attempt to disguise herself in case someone caught them. Though Millie didn't know why. Sure, wandering around the dump in the middle of the night was sketchy, but she didn't remember it being illegal. Maybe she was worried her parents would find out.

Then there was Sarah. Sarah was nice but a little quiet and withdrawn. Largely because she was so self-conscious of herself. Anyone could see it, with how often she was attempting various beauty techniques or spouting off things she read from magazines. She was the sort of person the old Millie would've found shallow and self-absorbed, but now she saw past that. She saw someone who was lonely and wanted friends.

Millie understood that feeling well. She wasn't going to let either of them fall into that same trap. All it did was help get you alone, and then people would take advantage of you.

Sarah was also wearing a hoodie, but instead of for a disguise it was a hoodie she usually wore. It was a baggy dark fuchsia one that she often wore to hide herself in. Along with a pair of baggy jeans. Her hair was shoulder-length brown and unremarkable, as per Sarah's own words on it.

Finally, there was Mandy. Many was the oldest of the group and only just became part of it. She was new to their high school and because of that she didn't know anyone or have any friends, and that wasn't helped by her colorful personality.

Apparently, Mandy had come from some sort of stifling preparatory school, one of those kinds with uniforms and strict decorum. Somehow, she got away with dying her hair and even now still dyed it. She was excitable, outspoken- the type to walk around with a three-ring binder with a tie dye alien throwing a piece sign and not caring when people told her it looked tacky.

Her hair was currently dyed a somewhat uneven turquoise color and was pulled up into a high ponytail before they left the car. She was wearing a simple red t-shirt and jean shorts over plaid leggings along with a thick pair of brown boots. She was definitely not dressed to be out here.

Millie looked down at her t-shirt of a logo for a rock band she had never heard of that just happened to have a disturbing grinning clown on the front of it. That made two of them.

Now, it was Mandy who spearheaded coming down here, not Millie. She aspired to be a would-be journalist and the idea of catching video footage of this supposed Hurricane Clown was too good to pass up. Even if they were all sort of sure it was a hoax.

Abby thought it was a rumor meant to creep people out, Sarah thought it was a running joke, and Mandy was convinced that there was a guy actually dressing like a clown who was running around freaking people out.

Millie was the only one who knew the clown was real, that he was the one she saw at the fair, that he was the one who pulled her from the bear, and that it had to be him that was said to crawl around the junkyard.

She also knew it was a stupid idea to look for him, but she found herself a little too eager to agree.

She hadn't told many people about her experience with the clown and even her closest friends got an abridged version.

Days trapped inside of a tight coffin with a snide voice laughing at her suffering, telling her about all the things he could've done to her. What was her favorite method of execution? She looked like the type of girl who died a long time ago, he said. Up until she got inside that bear, she believed that too. That was part of the reason she was dumb enough to climb into that thing in the first place.

The hunger, the thirst, the humiliation of it all. The thought that she would die there, alone, with nobody the wiser to where she had gone. She was sure of it.

And then the clown came.

This clown- this clown who sort of sounded like the bear and then ripped it apart and pulled her out. She had been so out of it, but she remembered that clown, she remembered his face and his voice. It was like a robot, it had a white mask with a red nose, and glowing blue and yellow eyes.

In that moment it was like seeing a real-life Leprechaun, and then having it drop a pot of gold in her lap.

She had been frightened and confused. It wasn't until the days following in the hospital that she really processed what had happened and who had helped her. It was crazy, she should've been even more traumatized, but she wasn't. She was curious, intrigued.

Then she heard the rumors of the Hurricane Clown. It had to be him. She had been rescued by Utah's version of Bigfoot apparently.

Since then, things had changed. She had attempted a new lease on life. Which really meant to stop shoving people away. So, when she returned to school, overshadowed by the rumors swirling about what happened to her, and it was Abby and Sarah- two virtual strangers- who approached her with concern and care, she didn't shrug them off. Then when Abby suggested the offer a hand to Mandy, she didn't shrug that off either.

How insane that it almost took dying to get to that point.

She wanted to see him again, to prove it wasn't a hallucination from dehydration. To prove to herself that something so unexplained existed somewhere out there.

"Ugh, this place is gross," Sarah mumbled.

"And a breeding ground for tetanus and dysentery," Abby agreed.

"We should come here more often," Millie added sardonically.

"Hey, is this your clown?" Mandy called.

Millie shined her light around to look for her and spotted the top of her head, then carefully walked around the trash to reach her. Sarah and Abby following in a single file line to make sure it was safe.

They came around the corner of an old car to see Mandy shining her flashlight down on what looked to be a body. Millie's eyes widened and she hastily rushed over, only to quickly be disappointed.

It wasn't even really a clown, but some kind of old mannequin looking thing. The material of it was plasticky and sort of slick, likely having picked up oil or grease from the garbage around it. Its 'skin' was stark white, if a little dirty, and it had faded round pink cheeks and a delicately painted but faded pink lips.

It had red hair pulled up into two pigtails. What was odd was that while the body looked old, paint worn, and even the plastic rubbed down along the joints, the hair looked to be in pristine condition. Almost like it had gotten a new wig just before getting tossed into the dumpster.

It had a long neck that led to a slender body that was rigidly straight. Its only clothing was a pink tutu around its waist- one that looked small for even it, like a child would wear. Its feet were shaped like wide wedge heels and the pink on them too was scuffed and fading.

The only thing of value on it seemed to be a silver heart shaped pendant resting on its chest. There was a shiny blue jewel on it, but the design made it look like it could be costume jewelry, and it probably was.

Sarah stared at it with wide eyes. Millie looked on with disappointment.

"No."

Mandy pulled it up onto its feet with a heave. It was heavier than it looked, but she managed to balance it on the uneven ground. She hooked an arm around it to hold it up and popped a hand on her hip.

"You know what this looks like? Have you ever seen those life-sized dolls that kids dress up and do their hair and stuff?" Mandy asked.

Abby and Sarah both agreed. It certainly looked like that. If a little tall, being taller than even Mandy, the tallest one there.

Millie had another idea. She took one look at those pigtails and knew who it reminded her of.

"I think that's Circus Baby."

"Who?"

"There used to be a place like Freddy's called Circus Baby's Pizza World that closed down like Freddy's did. Circus Baby had pigtails just like that, except she was small and looked like a kid," Millie explained. She sized up the doll. "On second thought, never mind."

"You might want to put that down," Abby pointed out.

Mandy was about to when Sarah stepped forward and, seeing her interest, she let her take a closer look.

"It's actually kinda pretty in a weird way," Sarah said. "…You know what? I think I'm going to take it home."

"No, really?" Abby said with aghast instead of sarcasm. "A big doll? No, scratch that. Some kind of… animatronic, maybe?"

"Animatronic, eh?" Mandy said thoughtfully.

"I don't know, I kind of like it. Maybe we could clean it up and make her look good again. It seems like a major waste just leaving it here."

Millie gave a derogatory sound and nudged its leg with her foot. It wasn't responding to any of their movements, though the bear hadn't either until she was in it.

"You know who'd probably know about how to fix her up?" Mandy declared. "Shelly's brother."

"Who?" Millie asked flatly.

"Pickle," Abigail replied just as flatly.

Oh, Pickle.

Pickle was one of the smartest kids at their high school. That is, book smarts. He could read a dozen books and understand every word, but he couldn't read a room if his life depended on it. Of course they'd get stuck hanging with Pickle.

But Sarah was determined. It just had such a pretty face. It was a shame to see it go to waste.

So, with that resolve, they took the doll with them. Sarah and Mandy having to work together to carry it to the car. Millie stayed behind to keep looking around for a little while, with Abby following at her heels.

There was no clown.

Disappointed but unsurprised, Millie eventually decided it was time to leave. But she knew she would be back.

The doll was left in Mandy's car overnight, stretched out between the seats in the middle of the car. The next day was Sunday, and they found themselves showing up at Shelly and Pickle's house.

Shelly and Pickle were a couple of twins who both looked similar and yet looked leagues different. Same height- short, same hair color- dark, same smarts, but where Shelly was on the cute side, Pickle was pretty awkward. The personality didn't help. At least when Shelly was acting odd it was usually her chewing her hair or her nails, or her eraser off her pencil. Pickle just gave off oddball vibes.

Though that wasn't why Millie wasn't jumping through hoops to drop in. It was because Pickle's unsolicited opinions were never kept to himself.

Yet they toted that doll in and it was currently laying out on the floor of Shelly's bedroom with a cluster of teens staring down at it.

"So, what do you think? Think you can fix it?" Mandy asked.

Pickle did a double take. "Wait, you wanted me to fix it? I thought you just wanted me to see it. 'There's something you've got to see'?"

"Okay, that might be what I said, but this is what I meant. Come on, aren't you curious to see what it does when it's on?"

Pickle looked down at it for a long minute.

"…Not really."

"Can't you just take a look at it, please? You know a lot more about animatronics than we do," Abigail asked.

"Yeah, you build robots every day!" Mandy encouraged.

"I don't build robots, I build… Stuff. You know. Like, I build RC cars and stuff like that. Not actual robots!"

"Might be fun to crack it open though," Shelly murmured out of the corner of her mouth. That got his scruffy brows raising and she knew she had him, giving a little smile to the others to show she was on their side.

"…Okay, but this isn't a 'you break it, you bought it'. If anything gets broken, oh well," Pickle declared.

Within a few minutes he had grabbed a couple of little screwdrivers and was trying to get a panel on its back to open. He was knelt on the floor with Sarah, Abby, and Mandy standing over him to watch. Shelly sat on the bed with Millie, having quietly assured her it was okay to do so.

Finally, Pickle managed to pop the panel open with a funky cracking sound. It got a wince out of Sarah, but it didn't look like anything was damaged. Pickle shined a light into the opening and peeked inside.

"It looks like… Do you know what those look like?" he asked. He pointed at something that nobody could see past his head.

"No, what?" Abby asked.

"Battery terminals. Like, there used to be a battery inside that was taken out," Pickle explained. He thought long and hard before snapping his fingers. "I've got it," he said. Then he hurried out of the room.

"What?" Shelly asked.

"I've got it!"

They had to wait a good five minutes before Pickle returned with 'it'. Pickle lugged in none other than a car battery and some jumper cables.

"This is going to tell us how broken it is. We attach a battery and see if it comes on. If it does, all good! If it doesn't, it's busted," he explained.

"Where did you get that?" Millie asked.

"That's what I want to know," Shelly agreed.

"Ladies, don't sweat the details! Just know it's going right back wherever it came from when I'm done," Pickle brushed off.

He attached the car battery to the doll and waited for a response. There was none.

"We'll have to wait a little while."

A little while passed and he checked it again. Except the animatronic still didn't respond.

"Okay, so, there's is a problem," Pickle said.

"There sure is. This means there's more wrong with it than just missing a power supply," Abigail agreed.

Sarah was a little disappointed but strangely enough, mostly relieved. A pretty statue was definitely less creepy than one that moved around.

"It's okay. Thanks for trying. I guess I'm just going to use it as a mannequin to plan outfits with," she said.

"You're still keeping it?" Millie asked in mild disbelief.

"Why not? I didn't really think it was going to work. Besides, it's kind of cool."

Honestly, Millie did find herself warming up to it, but she blamed this whole clown situation. And she certainly wasn't warm enough to it to keep it in her house.

They didn't hang around for much longer before leaving Pickle and Shelly's. They loaded the doll back into the car.

"Anybody want to go get some pizza?" Mandy offered.

"Sure," Millie agreed.

"I already ate. Sorry," Sarah said.

Millie had doubts about that but decided it wasn't her place to embarrass her.

So, they dropped Sarah off at her house and helped her move the doll inside before taking off. Though only once they were sure Sarah was certain she didn't want to come.

With her mom still at work and likely not to be home for hours still, Sarah decided to focus her attention on cleaning up the doll.

First, she wiped it down with some cleaning spray and a wad of paper towels to get the dump germs off it. She removed the somewhat ugly tutu and threw it away before dragging it into the bathroom and propping it against the sink so she could wash its hair. The pigtails were a little stiff, but she was able to take them down and brush the hair out before washing it.

During this she noticed that it had a dark painted scalp hiding underneath. A closer inspection showed that the top of the head, and the texture of it, felt very much like a fashion doll and there were a few dark stragglers left amongst the red. Someone had switched out the hair. But why go through the effort if just to throw it away?

She could only assume that they must've been trying to refurbish it when they realized it was too broken to fix, and then chucked it out. What a shame. What a waste.

When it came to people, all they had to do to be useful was be pretty. A pretty face would never get thrown out, or that's how she saw it.

Once she was done, she dried the hair with a hair dryer and then replaced the ponytails. They looked a little childish but keeping them down made her hair sort of crooked, so she kept them in. She then searched her closet and found a tank top that looked like it would fit and a skirt that she always wanted to wear but never looked right. She used a thin belt to secure it on.

Then she propped it in the corner of her bedroom by her closet.

It really was a beautiful doll. Girls, women, people would kill to look like her. Her slim build and perfectly symmetrical face, with a tiny nose and full lips. Sarah would kill to look like her. Even if the doll didn't have the curves that would be preferable, she looked just like a model. She had the perfect physique, in Sarah's opinion.

Just looking at the doll made her a little more self-conscious about her own form. But what else was new? What didn't? At least in this case, she had a sort of model that she could go off of. If she really worked on it, she could get that skinny. She could use makeup to contour her face. She could use this as inspiration for who she wanted to be.

Except the nose. This was her "deformity" to bear until she got old enough and rich enough to explore plastic surgery.

All of this was making her feel itchy. Like that sort of wriggling itching feeling of being in the wrong skin. Being stared at by her corkboard laden with various pictures of models, fashion, and hairstyles didn't help.

She decided to go browse on her mom's computer for a while. She headed to the bedroom door.

She heard a slick snapping noise.

She didn't realize it was the head of the doll turning in her direction until it spoke.

"Hello there."

Sarah screamed and jumped, head whipping towards the tall figure in the corner of her room. It was looking at her. Its eyes glowed a pale green.

"Oh my God," she choked. "Did you just say something?!"

"Hello there. It's nice to meet you!" the doll repeated.

"You're alive?" Sarah backed herself into the corner beside the door. "H-How are you alive?"

"I was brought to life with magic and electricity!" the doll cheerfully replied.

Then it started to try and lift itself off the wall. It took two attempts, with its arms seemingly stiff and its legs rigid. It teetered onto its wedges before standing upright and then turned its waist to face her again. It took an equally robotic and careful step.

"Stop!"

It stopped. It stood there unmoving but watching her.

Sarah bolted out of the room and locked herself in her mom's room, and there she stayed for nearly ten minutes. During those ten minutes she listened for the doll, waiting to hear it coming for her.

…But it didn't. It was still standing silently in her room.

Sarah considered her options. She didn't really want to call her mom. Even if she did believe her then she would have to come clean about prowling the dump. She would never trust her again. Calling the others was a better idea. Abby always answered her cellphone so she would pick up.

Problem was, Sarah did not have a cellphone. Due to the tight budget, she didn't have one- she was lucky they had a computer, though it was old and usually for her mom's work. Which meant she would have to leave the room to get to the phone. Which meant she would have to walk past it, in a matter of speaking.

After a long while of waiting, she decided to go for it. She carefully opened the door and started to creep past, listening carefully.

She dared to peek into her bedroom to see if it was still there. She could see its shadow on the floor and realized that it hadn't actually moved. It was still standing there.

She watched it for a long while expecting it to suddenly move and scare her, but it didn't. And when it didn't curiosity started to win out. She inched closer and peered in through the edge of the doorway.

The doll was still standing exactly where it had left her, even in the same position. Though it was watching her as she came in, which she did. She stood close to the door and prepared to run at any time.

"W-What are you?" Sarah asked.

"I am here to take care of you. I can help you with anything you need help with and play with you. I hope we become best friends," the doll said. "What is your name?"

"Uh… Sarah."

"That's a pretty name… Sarah."

The lingering pause gave the impression that her name was filled into a blank more than the robot was actually saying it.

"What's your name?" Sarah asked.

"You can call me whatever you like! My last assigned name was Eleanor and Sissy."

"How about we stick with Eleanor?" There was no way she was calling this thing 'Sissy'. "What were you doing at the dump?"

"I don't understand."

"I found you at the dump. Why were you there? Did somebody throw you out?"

"I don't know."

Sarah scrunched up her face. Was it playing dumb with her?

"What is a dump?" she asked.

"A- dump- is a- place to throw away trash."

That was definitely automated.

"I found you at a dump."

"Oh, I see."

"Do you know how you got there?"

"I don't know."

"Where did you come from then?"

"I was created by magic and electricity to take care of you."

"…What's my name?"

"Your name is… Sarah!"

Sarah was starting to get it now. At first, she thought it truly was a living doll, but now it seemed like it was some sort of advanced robot. It couldn't answer certain questions because they weren't part of some pre—designed conversation she was made to have. It just didn't understand that it had come out of the garbage.

If anything, that made Sarah a little more comfortable knowing that it wasn't some haunted doll or anything.

"You're very pretty," she said.

"Thank you! You are pretty too!"

Sarah gave an incredulous, stressful laugh. "I don't think so."

"What's wrong?" Eleanor asked.

"What?" Sarah processed a second before being a little more honest. "No, I was just saying… I'm not really like, pretty. I'm plain at best, but you know."

"I can make you pretty," Eleanor volunteered.

Sarah felt a mix of curiosity and uneasiness. "How?"

"We could: do your hair in a new style, pick out a lovely outfit, pick out matching shoes, and even put on matching accessories. You will look just like a princess!"

Oh, okay. The oversized doll wanted to play dress-up with her. That was… nice, she guessed.

Though one of those options suddenly appealed to her a little more than it should have.

"…You can do hair?"

"Yes, I can."

"Could you help me do my hair?"

"I would be happy to do your hair!" Eleanor finally stood straight again, like she was given permission to do so. "Would you like your hair done in braids or in puffs?"

"What? No, I was thinking… Hold on."

Sarah snatched up a hairstyle magazine off her dresser and flipped through it, then another, and then found a dog-eared page with a pretty but feminine bob-ish cut. A much more mature style, and it would draw attention away from her head shape and nose. It would be perfect.

She showed the picture to the doll.

"Can you do this?" There was a long pause. "…Eleanor?"

"Processing."

"Oh, sorry."

"…Yes! We will need to straighten your hair first. Your hair is already straightened. Excellent, now we can begin!"

With a rattling creak, the seam down Eleanor's belly opened and the plates separated to reveal a shallow cubby.

Inside were scissors, wraps of gauze, and even what looked to be a scalpel hidden in the back- though she couldn't tell because there was a plastic cover on the top.

"What are those for?" Sarah asked uneasily.

"This is my first aid kit. I can take care of you if you get hurt."

"That's a lot of stuff."

"It is in case emergency surgery is required due to an accident or spontaneous heart failure."

Who exactly was this doll made for? Must've been someone very young and sick if this was any indication.

Eleanor reached in and pulled out a pair of scissors. "I will need: one hairbrush and one comb. Can you find one hairbrush and one comb?"

Sarah quickly got her a hairbrush and a comb, and Eleanor got to work.

The process took an excruciating amount of time. Sarah was sitting on the edge of the bed perfectly still out of fear that the bot would make one wrong cut and clip off a big section of her hair. In hindsight, it might've been a dumb idea to trust a random robot from the trash with her appearance, but she was desperate. Even a disaster would look better than plain, dull Sarah.

"There. Take a look and see the new you!"

Sarah swallowed thickly as she got off the bed. Her legs stiff and her heart pounding as she walked to the mirror on her wall, and she was surprised to see that her hair looked very close to what was shown in the magazine. Not perfect, but close, and much better than her old hair.

"Wow… Thank you!" Sarah broke into a smile. "It looks like it could've come from a salon! Thank you!"

"You are welcome! It makes me happy seeing you happy," Eleanor said.

She teetered over to her with steps, somehow both wobbly and somewhat graceful and rested her hand on Sarah's back.

"Whenever you want to be beautiful, tell me and I will grant your wish."

Sarah got a somewhat embarrassed smile at the childish phrasing.

"Well, thanks."

"I have a present for you," Eleanor said unexpectedly.

"You did?"

Eleanor stiffly reached up and removed her necklace. The claps at the end seemed to be magnets as they easily pulled apart. She held it out.

"This is a magical friendship necklace. As long as you wear it, I will be able to do anything you wish!" Eleanor said.

Sarah highly doubted that, but it was a pretty necklace. Even if it was likely fake.

"Okay," she agreed.

Eleanor put it on her. It was a little heavier than it looked, but certainly not enough to detract from how much the blue jewel glistened in the light. Sarah admired it in the mirror and it actually, maybe, sort of kind of emphasized her blue eyes. For once in a long time, she almost felt pretty.

Her hair looked so nice; she couldn't wait to show it off tomorrow.

"I need to start planning my outfit now," she said.

"I can help you plan your outfit!" Eleanor volunteered.

Considering the work she had done, Sarah wasn't about to turn her down.

She stayed in her room for the rest of the afternoon, only coming out in the evening when her mom came home. She asked Eleanor to stay in her room and she did.

Her mom was shocked at first, but Sarah quickly lied and said that she had gotten her hair done with her friends. While her mother didn't appreciate her going behind her back and making a major change, she was supportive of what she saw as Sarah 'coming out of her shell' and having an encouraging friend group.

She had no idea how right and wrong she was.

Sarah considered telling her friends about Eleanor then but then decided to wait until the next day. Going to sleep with Eleanor in the room was… odd, but with her in the corner and the lights and her eyes dimming as the lamp was turned off, it wasn't too hard to pretend that she wasn't even there.

…

Until she awoke to her alarm going off, pressed the snooze, went back to sleep, and then woke up again preparing to hit the snooze only to find Eleanor standing beside her bed.

Sarah gasped and jumped back, rendered wide-awake instantly.

"Good morning, …Sarah!" Eleanor greeted. She gave a sort of little curtsy bow. "It is 7:05AM. Would you like to sleep for another five minutes?"

"Uh, no thanks…" Sarah shuffled to the other side of the bed and got up. "I've got to get ready for school."

She reflexively started to scratch her head only to notice the amount of bedhead and gasp, "Please tell me I didn't ruin my hair sleeping on it!"

"You did not ruin your hair sleeping on it," Eleanor said. She picked up the brush that she had used the night before. "Please let me brush your hair."

Sarah didn't argue. She was too close to panicking about 'ruining' it, but within a few minutes of styling they managed to get it back in order. Then Sarah was able to start working on her makeup.

"You look beautiful without makeup, Sweetums."

Sarah cringed a little bit. "Thanks, but do you mind maybe… not calling me that?"

"I apologize… Sarah. Would you like another nickname?"

"…Let me think about it."

"Okay! Until then I will keep calling you… Sarah."

"Also, don't say anything to my mom. Just pretend you're a statue, and don't do or say anything until I tell you to, okay?"

"Okay. Have a good day!"

Eleanor retired to the corner and seemingly turned off as Sarah was driven to school by her mother.

…

Millie was getting her stuff out of her locker when she first caught sight of the new Sarah. She shut the locker door to find her standing behind it and jumped.

"You hate it," Sarah guessed.

"No, you just scared the hell out of me," Millie said. But now she got a look at the new hair style. Wasn't what she would wear, but it looked nice. "You look good. Did you get that done yesterday?"

"You really like it?"

"Yes. Honestly. It looks good."

"Thank you!" Sarah got a little smile. "I got it done last night. I just thought it was time I made a change and actually, uh…"

She trailed off as she noticed something down the hallway. Millie glanced back.

Coming down the hallway were four girls in matching expensive clothes. The girl's hair and skin couldn't be anymore different, but they matched in what they wore, and the aura of dignity and confidence that followed them. They were the most popular- and if you asked Sarah, most beautiful- girls at the school. They acted like they owned it, and really, they did.

Sarah referred to them as 'The Beautifuls'. Something that took Millie all of her willpower to not roll her eyes at.

They were about to pass by. Sarah straightened up and tried to look as tall and slender as she could, hoping they would spot her new hairstyle and acknowledge her if even for only a second.

…but they walked right past. Just as usual.

But of course, she thought. It was just a new haircut in her old, dull color and with her dull, old face underneath. She needed more than just that.

So, she decided to take it a step further.

When Abby and Millie offered to hang out after school, Mandy was busy with her club, Sarah declined and instead chose to head straight home- and then head straight to the store.

She convinced her mother that she needed to buy some personal items and got a little while alone, and then she bought a few things here and there. Flashy red nail polish, a new bottle of volumizing mascara, concealer… and a box of blond hair dye. She knew her mother wouldn't agree with it, so she would do it that night and by tomorrow it would be too late to take it back.

Because her mom was there, Sarah waited until late that night after she went to bed before beginning with her plan.

"Eleanor?"

Eleanor, who had been standing in her corner silently, immediately stirred to life.

"Good evening, Sarah. It's past your bedtime."

"I don't have a bedtime as long as I get up in the morning. So… Tonight I want to dye my hair with this and restyle it so it looks like this, and then I got more makeup so that tomorrow morning we can fix my face. We'll start with the dye. Let's see…"

"I can't do that."

Sarah snapped her head up. "What?"

"I will need permission from your daddy before I can do that."

This startled Sarah. Largely because 'daddy' had never been brought up- specifically because 'daddy' wasn't in the picture. Save when he called twice a year.

It filled Sarah with a mix of sadness and anger, but she held back her emotions. "I don't have a dad."

"Oh! I am sorry. Did daddy go away?"

"Yes, he did," she said through tight teeth. "…Mom said it's okay though. She bought it for me," she lied.

"Oh! Okay, then I have permission to continue. Can you read the directions to me?"

With that little convincing, Eleanor began to help her with her hair. They headed into the bathroom, and she helped her do her hair in the sink. Surprisingly, even though she was a robot, she was able to put her hands into the water. She also had some sort of built in timer as she was able to call thirty minutes exactly before rinsing it out.

It came out a soft blond color that was a little uneven in places but leagues better than what she had before.

But that's not where the transformation ended.

Sarah got up two hours early the next day to get ready. She got out the magazines and showed them to Eleanor, allowed her to process them, and then handed over every piece of makeup she had. Even ones that she had swiped from her mother's makeup bag in the bathroom. It took almost the entirety of those two hours to get herself 'presentable'.

This included wearing her nicest clothes- and then a jacket to cover the bulges that Sarah swore she could see- and getting Eleanor to paint her nails.

By the end of it she could look in the mirror and say that she was dressed well. She couldn't necessarily say that she looked good, but she looked significantly different than she had a few days ago, and that was perfect.

Sarah slipped out of the house quickly while her mother was in the bathroom, calling that she was leaving. Her mother offered her a ride, but Sarah would rather walk than risk getting caught. Besides, she could afford to burn the calories.

…

Millie caught sight of Sarah in the hallway before her first class but didn't get a chance to approach before the bell rung. It was almost like she was avoiding everyone, and no wonder. It looked like Sarah went through yet another radical makeover the night before.

Millie wasn't entirely shocked Sarah dyed her hair. She often complained about how 'boring and plain' it was, which she understood that feeling too. It was the fact that Sarah changed so much overnight… it was a little concerning.

Apparently, Abby agreed, because she looked almost stunned when they sat down together at lunch. She looked at her with her mouth slightly agape.

"Sarah, wow. You dyed your hair," Abby said.

"Bleached," Millie corrected.

Sarah turned away self-consciously before flicking her hair in fake confidence.

"There wasn't much point in changing my hairstyle and keeping the same old, mousy dull brown. So… My mom helped me dye it last night."

"You guys did a good job," Millie complimented.

"Y-Yeah! Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like I thought it was weird. I was just surprised. It looks good!" Abby added.

Sarah smiled.

They began to eat. Sarah had got a salad and wasn't so much eating it as she was picking around and pretend the food was disappearing. Half-heartedly listening to Abby talk about some sort of vacation or something while Millie listened and ate steak nuggets.

It was normal. Too normal for her major transformation.

Then she saw the Beautifuls sitting down at their preferred table in the off-center of the lunchroom. They were all wearing red shirts and white shorts. Deceptively basic, as they were probably designer clothes.

They hadn't noticed her. Of course they hadn't. How could they when she was fading into a sea of people? It disappointed Sarah, after all this work she was almost- maybe almost…

Maybe if she made them notice…

"They look like a bunch of ketchup packets," Abby said.

Sarah gave her annoyed side-eye.

"Nobody thinks that except you."

"Let me check," Millie said. She turned around and looked, and then turned back. "I see the resemblance."

Sarah huffed a little and looked away. They didn't understand, what did she expect?

The Beautifuls were loved for a reason. Everyone in school looked up to them as the pinnacle of perfection- or at least, that's what Sarah truly believed.

She wasn't as pretty as them, but maybe if they noticed her, maybe they could help her become even more popular. Maybe they'd see her improvement and offer her tips, or a makeover. Maybe they could become friends, and she could be the newest Beautiful member, the ugly duckling who was able to beat the odds and become a swan.

She made up her mind, she needed their attention. But she couldn't just walk up…

But she could walk by.

"I'll… I'll be right back," Sarah said.

Then she got up, with her tray, and began to walk. Millie and Abby both looking surprised, noticing where she was going.

"Is she really going to try and eat with them?" Abby asked. She didn't sound offended but confused by the sudden boldness.

Millie looked back quickly before looking back at her food quickly. She didn't want to see how this was going to go.

Sarah wandered across the lunchroom in a daze. Trying to focus on walking perfectly. No stumbles, no fumbles, poised like a model, making sure everything was perfect.

She started to walk past their table- a table away, of course, so it wasn't weird or obvious- keeping her eyes straight ahead and holding her tray tight. She flipped her hair back just a little and kept on.

They were going to notice her. They were going to see her progress. And then-

And then-

And then she walked into the edge of a table.

She hadn't been paying attention, too caught up in trying to walk like a normal person that she didn't notice where she was walking. It resulted in a noticeable thump and a painful jab in the side, which she could've still recovered from if she didn't drop her tray. In her struggle to keep ahold of it, it landed on the edge and soon her salad was tossed up onto her shirt.

It clattered to the floor loudly and she stood there like a deer in headlights.

And then the laughing began. Across the cafeteria, echoing in her head louder than it really was, it felt like everyone was laughing.

She looked to the Beautifuls and saw two of them snickering too, though in their repressed elegant sort of way. One of them had her lip wrinkled in disgust, and the last one just looked sad. No, sympathetic.

No, pity. That one had to hurt the worst. Pity. Pity for the dull little mouse who tried to get their attention and made a big fool out of herself.

Sarah wanted to curl up and die.

But before she could, Abby was at her side. She could vaguely hear her asking if she was alright and starting to try and clean her up. Millie arrived too to help, but by then it was too overwhelming.

Sarah suddenly turned and walked stiffly across and out of the cafeteria. Abby followed her, leaving Millie in the center of the cafeteria.

She hated this. As dumb as Sarah was acting- dumb was an understatement, this whole drastic change thing was very alarming to someone who went through a mental break of her own- she hated that it hadn't worked out. That she hadn't just walked by. That it had to become a big scene that everyone was going to be talking about. Sarah couldn't handle that.

…But Millie could. And Millie was fired up enough that she thought, "What the hell, why not?" and turned towards the Beautifuls' table.

She didn't really have anything against the Beautifuls… That was a lie. She used to hate them for how shallow and phony they were, but therapy following the bear incident had helped her see that these feelings were more so just based off appearances. She was no better calling them shallow than they were calling her a freak, even if she knew they were pretty shallow.

The bear incident showed her that life was too short to be picking fights with anyone or worrying about high school drama.

But picking fights for a good reason? That was totally on the table. Everyone already whispered about her anyways, time to give them a reason to.

She looked directly at the Beautifuls, focusing mostly on the two still snickering, and put on a big clownish grin.

"Heey, sorry to interrupt the skank convention going on over here," she said.

The girls looked offended. One especially puffed up with a sharp, "Excuse me?!"

What would the clown say?

"You're excused. It's all good," Millie said. Wasn't enough though. She needed more. What would the clown say? "Also, I toootally love the matching shirts! I always thought that matching clothes were the sort of thing you grew out of after kindergarten, but you guys are really bringing it back!"

All except for one girl, who still looked shocked, got very offended. The pretty blond who Sarah idolized the most shot up in her seat. Her hands slapping onto the table with her pointed, red-painted claws.

"We're not going to sit here and take that from Bozo's beyotch," she snapped. That got one of the others snickering and another looking smug.

"The word is bitch. You should know since you are one."

The blond evidently did not expect this as she got a look of utter offense. Like she never expected it, even though Millie considered it a long time coming.

"Ms. Fitzsimmons!"

Of all times for there to actually be a teacher in the lunchroom paying attention. Thankfully, she sounded to be clear on the other side of the lunchroom, and rather than risk getting chewed out like a child in front of everyone-

"Looks like the circus caught up. Time to split,"Millie said. She then turned and quickly hustled off towards the door to the lunchroom, purposefully not looking towards the direction of whoever yelled at her.

Well, at least she got the last word in. She liked to think Mr. Clown would've been proud.

Meanwhile, Sarah had made it out into the semi-empty hallway and soon into the nearest bathroom to try and clean herself off. She tried to resist looking in the mirror, she didn't want to know what everyone saw. Abby followed in shortly behind her.

"Are you okay?" she asked. She already started to get some paper towels out and wet them.

"I can't believe I just did that," Sarah choked.

Now she dared to look at herself. Her almost professional makeup, her nearly perfect hair, her utter flawed face now punctuated by salad drenched in low-fat vinaigrette all down her front.

"I blew it! I ruined everything! Now they're never going to see me as anything but some clumsy ugly geek! They're going to start calling me Salad Girl!"

"Hey, no. Don't think like that. So, you dropped a salad. Big deal! Remember when Olive Peterson threw up on the teacher in second grade? Sure, she got picked on for a while, but then her mom brought in cupcakes for the class for almost a whole month and then she became 'that girl who brings in cupcakes all the time'. One good thing will always cover up a bad one!"

"This isn't second grade, Abby! I can't just bring in cupcakes and make people forget that I'm a screw-up!" Sarah shouted back. "I don't know why I'm even trying to explain it to you! You don't care! You've never even liked them!"

Abby was taken aback by the harsh tone. "No, but that's because they're just a bunch of girls who dress up like a bunch of fashion dolls, and then act like they're better than everyone."

"They ARE better than everyone!"

"Why?! Because they can match clothes and strut around like they're on a runway?" Abby challenged. She did a mocking little waddle with her hands on her hips.

She didn't get it. She was too immature to get it, Sarah thought. Everyone around her was immature and here she was a mature mind trapped in an undeveloped body.

Abby gave an impassioned plea, "You don't need them, Sarah!"

"That's easy for you to say! You don't care how you look!" Sarah snapped.

Abby was startled. "What do you mean?"

"You're wearing overalls!"

Abby looked down and back up. "They're comfy!"

"They're something a broke toddler would wear!"

Abby scrunched up her face, unsure if she was offended or confused.

"Millie's a goth and Mandy dresses like a space cadet! None of you are ever going to be anyone like that, but you don't care! You don't care that you're totally singling yourself out as freaks!"

Now Abby was offended. "Hey, just because we're not dressing up in designer clothes and putting on a bunch of makeup doesn't mean we're nobodies! OR freaks!"

Sarah scoffed and started to storm out of the bathroom. "You keep thinking that."

"You're the one acting like a toddler, Sarah!" Abby snapped back.

"You keep thinking that!" Sarah yelled. She then shoved open the bathroom door, almost walking into a wide-eyed Millie that almost got hit. Sarah looked away, still with a peeved expression, muttered a "Sorry" and stormed off down the hallway.

Millie looked after her with a confused look, and then looked to Abby as she came out of the bathroom.

"What happened?"

"She told me I dressed like a broke toddler," Abby said.

"What?"

Abby just looked down at the floor. They stood there awkwardly a second.

"Aren't most toddlers broke?" Millie asked dryly.

"That's what I thought."

But it was clear that Abby was upset. Sarah had just unloaded on her and while she understood why, it still hurt.

Millie wanted to be angry. She wanted to cut her loses there and just let Sarah act like this all on her own, but she forced herself to see it from her point of view. No matter how wrong it was.

"She's just upset. She didn't mean it," she said.

"I know… I should've stopped her before she got up. I knew it wasn't going to go well."

"I could've stopped her too."

"It's just she's always had a problem with obsessing over the popular girls," Abby said.

"Ugh," Millie groaned. "I know a lot about that."

"What do you mean?"

"My ex-best friend was a popularity leech. She used to obsess over what the cool kids were doing and decided one day that I wasn't cool enough and went to become a popular kid."

"Did she?"

"No. She just followed them around all the time, but she wasn't ever part of them. That was in sixth grade and I think she moved because she didn't come back to school the next year."

"Ouch," Abby sympathized.

"But I don't want Sarah doing the same thing. It doesn't matter how much she makes herself change; they're not going to care."

But she already had, hadn't she? Sarah appreciated the friendship of those ditzy dolls more than her actual friends. That was hard to swallow, but she was better coming to terms with it now and not getting hurt later.

"Ms. Fitzsimmons."

Millie looked over her shoulder to see one of the teachers halfway stepped out of the lunchroom. He had a stern look on his face, beckoning her back with one finger. It might've not been the lady who called her out originally, but she knew it wasn't going to be good.

She sighed. "They've come for me."

Abby furrowed her brows. "What did you do?"

"Called a Beautiful a bitch."

Abby's brows then shot up.

"It was worth it."

But what the two didn't see was that Sarah didn't simply rush off to another bathroom or go pacing the hallways. No, she made a beeline to the exit.

The exit out the back of the gym had a faulty fire alarm that didn't trigger when the door was opened. Usually some of the older students would use it to sneak outside and smoke, but today Sarah used it to escape the school and began the long hike through Hurricane back to her house. She didn't even have her backpack. It, like her studies and concerns of getting caught, were left back at the school.

The hike under the warm sun made her sweat and between it and her tears her makeup had run everywhere. Her hair felt exceptionally hot due to the amount of hairspray she had applied to help it keep from getting messed up. She probably looked terrible. Not even the hot type of terrible either. Just a hot mess. No, a cold mess.

She finally made it home. She had left her key in her backpack at school, but she used the spare to let herself in. She slammed the door closed behind her, knowing her mother wasn't home yet.

"THAT'S IT!"

She broke down sobbing instantly and stormed into her bedroom. Eleanor was already alert and waiting for her. Her eyes were glowing brighter than they usually did and her head kept tilting, like a confused dog trying to hear something.

"…Sarah? Is everything alright… Sarah? Are you hurt?"

"My life is OVER!" Sarah choked out.

"Oh… Sarah. No, no. It will be okay. Did somebody pick on you?"

How was it that a robot who was treating her like a young child managed to hit the nail on the head? But she wouldn't fess up to it. She dropped her arms to her sides, her back rigid, shaking with sobs.

"I-I try. I try SO hard and it just doesn't matter! I don't understand, everybody else- effortlessly beautiful- even Abby! She doesn't eVEn care! But I have to look like THIS! And I'm poor, and Mom doesn't care! Nobody cares but they ALL look better than me?!" Sarah vented. "And all Dad left when he left is my stu-stupid potato nose! UGH!"

She dared to look in her partially covered mirror and saw her smeared makeup, and bland face, and the nose that looked like Dad's, and she broke down again.

She felt Eleanor's hands resting delicately on her shoulders. She dared to glance up and saw her face above hers in the mirror. Even she was beautiful. A robot prettier than her.

"Oh… Sarah. You are beautiful! You should not be trying to grow up so fast. You don't need makeup. You should only wear pretty dresses when you want to," Eleanor affirmed. "But I will be here to help you no matter up. Allow me to clean you up and you will look more beautiful than ever. There is a pretty girl hiding under all those tears."

No, there was a pretty girl hiding under a misshapen face. Trying to hide under a bunch of makeup, but there were some things that couldn't be covered. They had to be fixed.

The thought that she would have to live like this forever was overwhelming, especially when piled onto what school would be like now that she embarrassed herself in the lunchroom. Ugly and clumsy, flat and fat, sheepish little Sarah, the frumpiest girl in school.

She could fix it! Dye wouldn't work, makeup couldn't cover, but if she got plastic surgery- if she could afford plastic surgery she could totally fix everything. She could be trimmed and shaped all over her body until she looked just like a model. Especially her face. Maybe it would cost less if she would do one piece at a time.

But who would do surgery on a teenager without her mother's permission? And at a price she could afford, with her having blown through most of her money just for her makeup?

…

…

She noticed the pretty face above hers. The pretty robot who would do anything for her.

Eleanor could do surgery. She said so herself, she even had the supplies to do it. She did hair well and that took a lot of skill to style it. She had to have the hand control to do so, she was a robot! Elegant and precise.

…A nose job would be an easy surgery, right? To start with, at least. All you do is cut in, fix the inside, and then wrap it up and wait for it to heal. After a few weeks you unwrap the bandage to see a brand-new face.

She could tell her mother she broke her nose when she tripped, and someone drove her to the ER. That they bandaged her with instructions to not remove them until it was time. The new nose would just be a happy accident caused by it healing the right way. She would never have to know.

It could be the first step to replacing all the unsightly parts of her. One piece at a time.

"Eleanor…"

"Yes… Sarah?"

Sarah stared at the pretty pictures from the magazine for a long moment before solemnly asking. "You can do emergency surgery, right?"

"Yes. If you were in an accident I could perform surgery."

"What if I am an accident?"

"I don't understand."

"I need you to- Look." Sarah pulled away and ripped one of the magazine clippings off her clipboard, knocking down others in the process and not caring. "I need you to fix my nose and make it look like this. And make my cheeks thinner too… Okay actually, let's just start with the nose."

"How?" Eleanor seemed confused. She tilted her head. "I don't understand."

"It's not that hard. You just cut into the nose and take out all the fat and the bone until it's small, and then you fold the skin so that it doesn't leave a scar."

Eleanor seemed to finally process what she was saying. "I cannot do that."

"Yes, you can! Look at the great job you did on my hair, and you're built to do surgery!"

"I can only do surgery in case of an emergency."

"This IS an emergency! If I don't- If I can't get myself… I need this or I'm going to die."

Or more so, her life would be over as she knew it. But she would say anything to get this, and Eleanor reacted.

"You will die? Oh no! We should take you to a hospital immediately. I will contact your daddy."

"NO! The hospital won't work on me! Please, Eleanor, I need you to help me! If you're thinking I'll change my mind, I won't! I NEED this!"

Eleanor stared at her for a long moment.

"…Eleanor?!"

"Processing."

"Oh…"

Eleanor stared at her for a long second before her eyes flickered.

"Request confirmed. I will perform your emergency because: the hospital will not perform the surgery. Your daddy will be notified- rejected. Daddy is not accessible. Your mother will be notified. Error, cannot approach mother."

"It's okay. She… She already knows," Sarah lied. "Can we do this now?"

"No. You will need to fast for at least eight hours before the surgery can be performed. You will have to stop all food intake at midnight and clear fluid intake two hours before we perform the surgery. The surgery will be performed tomorrow morning."

"Okay," Sarah said. Somewhat disappointed but realizing it would be best to do it once her mother was at work. "But no backing out. Promise me."

"I promise… Sarah. I will take care of you."

Eleanor proceeded to help Sarah clean up. Sarah herself didn't care so much anymore, mostly just sitting around in her room.

It wasn't until her mother came home that she started to get nervous that she would find out about her leaving school. Nobody had called, had nobody known? Of course, nobody would notice her.

Except for her mother, who noticed her silence and came knocking on her door.

"Sarah, honey? Is everything okay?"

Eleanor went quietly into her corner while Sarah called out, "I'm fine! Just not feeling good…"

"Can I come in?"

"No! Uh, I'm not dressed! Give me a second, please…"

Sarah raced to grab her hoodie and tugged it on, pulling the hood up to try and hide her hair.

"Okay…"

Sarah's mother opened the door and let herself in. She was one of those naturally beautiful types, the ones that were pretty inside and out- despite the fact that she didn't wear makeup. Her only flaw being that she refused to wear enough makeup to cover up aging. Sarah pointed it out in the past, but her mother shrugged it off. She was pretty enough to shrug off efforts to make her look even better.

She was a kind woman, one who was always supportive of Sarah and managed to keep a sense of normalcy even after their family dropped from three to two.

…But they weren't as close as they used to be. Sarah grew up and because of that it was harder for her mother to understand her. You would think being a counselor that she would understand why it was so important to fit in, but instead she was more focused on Sarah not meeting a calorie quota.

Oh, and also, she never okay'd her dying her hair. Sarah never even asked.

Her mother came in and sat on the bed beside her. She had a little smile, but concern was etched on her face, and Sarah sort of sunk into herself.

"How was school?" she asked.

Did she know? She couldn't. There was no way.

"It was okay…"

"That's good." She gave her a softer smile. "Can I see your hair?"

Sarah looked up in surprise. "You know?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm sorry. I know you didn't want me to do it…"

"I didn't want you to do it without telling me, no."

Sarah pulled down her hood and let her mother briefly fiddle with it, looking it over.

"You did it with your friends?" she asked.

"Millie and Mandy," Sarah half-answered.

"Alright." Her mother sighed and switched to petting her head. "I'm disappointed in you for going behind my back and doing this, don't get me wrong, but I think I'll let it slide today as long as you promise to ask me the next time, you're considering something so drastic."

Sarah was surprised by this. "Really? I'm not in trouble?"

"No. And that's because I said we could talk about you getting your hair done and we never did, and I'm sorry about that. Work got in the way, but I don't want to lose these lines of communication." She grew a little firmer. "That being said, you're not totally off the hook. I'm just pardoning you this time, but you need my permission before you start making major changes like this. What could've happened if something went wrong?"

"…I would've had to shave my head?" Sarah guessed.

Her mom laughed a little. "Well, maybe not that, but it could've ruined your hair."

Sarah forced a little bit of a smile, but it wasn't convincing.

"Is something wrong, Hun?"

"No… I tripped in the cafeteria today and embarrassed myself in front of everyone. That's all."

"Ouch. I'm sorry, Hun, that must've been awful. But it happens to the best of us. I'm sure it'll blow over quickly, and until it does, you have your friends. They'll have your back."

Maybe not now that she screamed at Abby. She had forgotten all about it until now but now that she thought about it, she really did feel bad about it. But she couldn't do anything about it now.

"Do you want to come out and watch a movie with me?"

"…Okay, Mom."

She was feeling guilty and needed to waste some time, so she agreed. They got up to go and when her mother turned back towards the door, she finally caught sight of Eleanor out of the corner of her eye.

Throughout the conversation, Eleanor had been watching the two with glowing eyes. Sarah caught sight of them out of the corner of her eye, but they dimmed just in time to be missed by her mother.

"OH!" She jumped, a hand on her chest. "Oh my goodness. What is that?"

"That's, uh… It's a mannequin!" Sarah quickly said. "I- I got it from Abby's friend Pickle. He was trying to fix it but couldn't so he said I could keep it."

Thankfully, her mother seemed to buy the explanation.

"Well, that's nice of him. It just startled me a little." Her mother regained her smile, brushing it off as nothing but a weird doll.

She would no doubt ask more about it later, but Sarah was prepared to stretch the truth like taffy if she had to.

Eleanor was silent and her eyes dim. But as Sarah looked to her as she followed her mother out, she noticed her head slightly turning. She was still watching.

Sarah didn't know why, but it creeped her out a little. She hurried out quickly and told herself it was nothing.

…

The next day was the day. Sarah got ready for school but didn't put on as much makeup- there was no need, she wasn't going to get there.

The plan was to pretend she was going to school and then skip and return to the house as soon as her mother left for work. That would give her plenty of time to have IT done and to recover.

Just thinking about IT made her squeamish, so she kept trying to not think about it. Just reminding herself that this was how it had to be. That it would be so much better when it was done.

She tried to say she wasn't hungry to keep fasting, but her mother wouldn't have it.

"You have to eat something. At least have a banana and a cup of yogurt."

She ended up having a cup of yogurt. That was pretty much liquid, it would probably be fine. It was better that her mother didn't get suspicious. Besides, it helped soothe her clenching stomach.

"How about I drive you to school today?" her mother offered.

"Why?" Sarah asked, a little paranoid.

"I'm going to be working late tonight so I was hoping to squeeze in a few more minutes. I'm also going to leave pizza money on the counter in case you want some."

"Pizza?" Sarah scrunched her nose.

"A slice of pizza isn't bad for you. You're too young to be on such a strict diet anyways," her mother kindly reminded.

That's what she thought, and Sarah wasn't feeling up to correcting her. So, she let her leave the pizza money on the counter with no intention of using it.

Then she drove Sarah to school. The whole time Sarah's stomach was churning, and she didn't know if it was spoiled yogurt or her anticipating the surgery.

She had to remind herself that Eleanor was a robot. A robot couldn't get a surgery wrong, and a robot would do it without pay. She had been tending to her well already, she knew she would take care of her again.

It would be fine. This would be fine.

Sarah was dropped off and waved before making her way towards the front doors. Her mother waited until she was with some other teenagers, ones she didn't necessarily recognize, before driving off. Then it was time to slip off. It surprisingly wasn't hard as the two girls were chatting and barely noticed her, and the guy just looked spaced out. Guys had a way of not noticing her, she rationalized.

She began the long walk home. Thankfully it was still morning, so the air was cool, and the sun wasn't bearing down. She took her time walking though to make absolutely sure her mother would be gone.

She arrived home to find the car gone and knew she would be alone with Eleanor. Taking a deep breath, she used the spare key to let herself inside.

This was it. This was what she wanted. By the end of today she would be on her way to being beautiful.

And by next week she could work on something else. Maybe slimming the cheeks. Maybe fixing eye shape. Maybe making her ears smaller. Someday she could even get a tummy tuck. Maybe she could use the fat from her belly to plump her curves. Every week she could be a step closer to a better her!

And then she walked into her bedroom.

Eleanor had stripped all her bedding off the bed except for a singular pillow and covering it and the bed was the shower liner from the bathroom. Her first aid tools were lined up on the corner of the bed, along with a couple of syringes already filled with clear liquid.

And suddenly Sarah didn't care how she looked. She couldn't do this. Something inside of her snapped and all the fear she had been withholding filled her entirely. She couldn't do this.

"Oh… Sarah! You are just in time," Eleanor greeted. She sounded just as cheerful as she would preparing to do Sarah's hair. It should've assured Sarah, but instead she was a little creeped out.

"Why's the shower curtain in here…?" Sarah asked. She knew, but she still asked.

"For sterilization purposes. I cleaned it thoroughly last night while you were sleeping," Eleanor explained. "I also picked out a set of clean undergarments. Why don't you put those on and lay down on the bed? I will then cover you with a towel for modesty. Then we can begin."

Blood. She was worried about blood. If it wasn't obvious, which it was to Sarah.

Funny, it wasn't until she thought about the blood that she realized that a surgery would involve her being cut open and bleeding and bleeding a lot if the liner was any indication.

"…M-Maybe this is a bad idea," Sarah muttered. She stared at the glistening sharp scalpel and made her decision. "Let's not do this."

"We must."

"…What?"

"You said that we needed to do this, no matter what. We must, or you will die," Eleanor said simply.

Sarah felt her heart start to raise. "I was lying."

"You were not lying. I could tell that you meant it and now I can tell you are afraid, but there is nothing to be scared off! I know how to perform emergency surgery. I will not hurt you; I will make you beautiful."

Sarah was beginning to hyperventilate.

"I can give you something to relax you," Eleanor offered.

She reached down and picked up one of the filled needles and Sarah felt her stomach lurch.

"What is that?!

"Calming medicine. This will make you feel better. Then I can change your clothes for you and we can begin."

Eleanor took a step forward and reached for Sarah's arm, but she quickly fumbled a few steps back.

"Wait, no! I don't want that!"

"It will make you feel better. And besides, I cannot perform while you are awake. This will help you sleep."

With another step, Eleanor's shadow was cast over Sarah. Her eyes were wide, and her heart pounded, and her stomach was churning. She felt like she was going to be sick…

Wait, the yogurt!

"WAIT! Wait, I ate something!" Sarah shouted.

This stopped Eleanor in her tracks.

"What?... Sarah, you were supposed to fast."

"I know, I'm sorry, but my mom made me!"

This seemed to change Eleanor's tune immediately. She set the syringe back down on the bed.

"That is a shame. We will now have to wait until three o'clock to be safe. Please do not eat again. You may drink clear fluids until one o'clock."

That bought her some time, but her mother still wouldn't be home. She had to get out of her and away from Eleanor.

"I'm feeling sort of bored. I think I might go take a walk?" she rushed out, her voice squeaky and panicked.

"Outside? I am sorry… Sarah, but that may compromise your health this close to your surgery! I can suggest indoor activities. I could brush your hair again or we could watch a movie like you did with your mother. Or we could look at magazines-."

Eleanor continued to list off ideas, but the message was loud and clear. Sarah wasn't going anywhere, and when that timer ran out that shot was coming back.

She needed help. Maybe her friends? She could call her friends and get them to come by! Eleanor had instructions to not move around anybody- if she didn't, Sarah could tack them on- and that could give her an out! But would Abby come after everything she said?... Of course she would. Abby a good friend, she would never abandon her. Which made her feel even more guilty for how she acted.

"H-Hey, I have an idea," Sarah began. She swallowed thickly. "I'm really nervous about the surgery. Is- Is it okay I invite my friends over? I need them here with me! I can't have surgery without them. I need them here."

"Oh, of course! You need your friends," Eleanor said simply.

"RIGHT! My friends are in school until like three-thirty. I'll call them then and they'll come by and can help me calm down for the surgery. Is that okay?"

"That is okay! I can postpone the surgery until after they arrive. Can you wait until then?"

"Sure. It'll give me time to, uh, l-look at my… magazines."

"Let us do that."

The next few hours were grueling. Eleanor was monitoring Sarah carefully. She brushed her hair and looked at magazines with her, but the mood had changed. She was no longer Sarah's magical robot friend but her captor. She let her leave for the bathroom but would now follow her. As though she knew Sarah would make an attempt to escape.

The bathroom window was too high and too small to fit through, giving her no option but to wait.

The hours crept by until time finally ran out.

"…Sarah, it is three-thirty. When will your friends be here?"

"Uh… I should call," Sarah said. "Let me go get the phone."

"I'll get it for you. Wait here."

She waited until Eleanor left and got up, hurrying over to the doorway and trying to skirt out before she returned. Alas, Eleanor returned too quickly. Having a cordless phone meant she was able to grab it and return quickly. Soon Sarah was stuck in her bedroom again.

She tried to call Abby first, but she wasn't there. Unless she was purposefully ignoring her call, but that wasn't like her. Though then again, she hadn't ever yelled at and insulted her before…

Mandy was no doubt at one of her after school clubs, so that meant the only one left was Millie. Sarah dialed her number and waited… and waited…

And she answered.

"Hello?"

Sarah nearly choked. "Millie! Thank God, I need your-... I-I need to talk to you."

"What? Want some fashion advice from a broke toddler?" Millie asked flatly.

"Oh… you heard that."

"Some of it."

And Millie was not happy

"I know I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean it. I don't mean a lot of the stuff I say," Sarah fumbled. "I need you to come over. I know you're mad, but please."

"Why?"

"I'll- I'll explain when you get here."

"I'm not driving all the way over there unless you tell me why. What's going on?" Millie snapped.

Sarah didn't dare even look at Eleanor. She could feel her eyes on her but didn't want to look suspicious. She was listening though. Anything Sarah could say might tip her off.

"I can't tell you why unless you come over here. Please. I'll explain when you get here. Please."

While that was still not an answer, Millie picked up the tone right away. Something was wrong, and it wasn't just fashion disaster.

What did she do? That was the first thing that passed Millie's mind. Sarah did something she regretted. Millie just had a hunch.

"Fine. I'll be over there in a few minutes," she agreed.

"Thank you!"

Then the call abruptly ended. Something uncharacteristic of Sarah.

Millie walked over to her grandfather's study and called in.

"Grandpa, I'm going over to Sarah's! Can I borrow the car?"

"Sure thing, Girlie! Just make sure not to lose it!" he joked.

"I'll try!"

Soon she was driving over to Sarah's house. Something felt weird about this already. Maybe it was having come home to relax only to have to leave right afterwards, but something seemed off in Sarah's tone.

She had gotten herself into something, that's for sure.

She pulled up to Sarah's house. As expected, her mother wasn't home. Millie walked up to the front door and tried it. Locked. She knocked.

Sarah heard the knocking and shot up from her seat on the bed.

"That's Millie! Let me let her in."

"You should stay in bed," Eleanor reminded dotingly.

"But I'm the only one who can answer the door. Don't worry, I'll be right back."

Sarah all but ran to the front door and unlocked and yanked it open, somewhat surprisingly Millie. Especially when she began shout-talking.

"Millie, you came! Thanks. Uh, why don't you come in? Let's- do you want to- L-Let's go get you a snack! I can't eat, but you can!"

Sarah grabbed her by the arm and all but dragged her into the kitchen. At this point any of Millie's remaining annoyance had been replaced by confusion. This was not normal.

"Where's the fire?" Millie asked. She then immediately cringed. That was one of her grandpa's sayings and it didn't sound any better coming from her.

"Uh. Ha! Yeah, umm… Snack food's in there!"

Millie looked in the pantry to see rice cakes, little bags of mini-muffins, granola bars; a bunch of sweet stuff and nothing salty. She helped herself to a bag of croutons, ripping it open and popping a few in her mouth. That got a weird look from Sarah to which Millie retorted with-

"So, what's up?"

Sarah tried to think of a way to say this without tipping off Eleanor. She could hear her movement in the hallway- Millie must've too as she looked back out of the kitchen- so she was probably listening.

So, she had to be careful. She took a deep breath, eyes wide and fake smile gone, and began.

"I have made the decision, me and nobody else, that my face is a problem, and I need to get surgery. So, my friend ELEANOR is going to perform SURGERY on me. And I wanted YOU to come here and HELP ME, by being there for me during my surgery," Sarah said stiffly.

Millie was understandably surprised. "…Are you joking?"

"No, I'm being serious. Eleanor is in the other room waiting and we're going to start my surgery soon," Sarah said.

Her face gave it away. That fearful look on her face.

Millie, meanwhile, was having trouble coming to terms with what she was hearing.

"Sarah, that's insane-!"

Sarah shook her head quickly and placed a finger on her lips. She tapped on her ear, signaling that Eleanor was listening.

And with that, Millie realized that this wasn't something Sarah truly agreed to do. This was something she somehow got stuck into.

And that begged a new question.

"Who's Eleanor?"

"My new, umm, best friend sort of? She takes care of me, does my makeup and hair. You remember! I- We found her at the dump together," Sarah said. Her eyes big and pleading.

And Millie's went wide too as she suddenly connected the dots on what was going on here.

It was just like the bear.

She had to act quickly and be smart. She processed it for a long second before muttering a low, "…Follow my lead."

Sarah was surprised but nodded.

"I mean, are you sure? I think you look fine as you are. Are you really sure about surgery?" Millie asked in an almost theatrical way.

"Uh… sure! Why not? I only have one, uh, life."

"Yeah, true. Alright then, I'm sold." Millie took another bite of crouton trying to sound casual. "Hey! You know what? I've got a first aid kit in my trunk. That might help."

"Really? That would be great!"

"But you've got to help me get it out. The trunk only pops if someone's lifting it while I'm pulling the release."

"Okay! We have to be quick because I can't be outside long," Sarah rushed out while she was rushing out.

She noticed Eleanor now standing in the doorway to the hallway and paused but kept going when Millie brushed past. She followed her to the front door and outside, expecting Eleanor to stop her, but she didn't.

They walked over to the car and Millie, still carrying the bag of croutons, immediately got in the driver's side. "Alright, let's go."

Sarah looked back towards her house. She could see a shadow standing in the window.

"Wait!" she said. "…Pop the trunk."

"What?"

"Pop the trunk."

Millie went ahead and got in the driver's seat, and Sarah pretended to lift as she popped the trunk. She then looked around inside.

"I don't see it back here! Did your grandpa take it out?"

"He could've."

"We'll go get it, hold on!"

Sarah bounded back up to the front door, Millie whispering a frantic, "What are you doing?!" after her. But Sarah opened the door and looked in.

Eleanor was standing in the corner of the living room, her eyes glowing ominously.

"Hey, I'm just going to run to Millie's and get her first aid kit," she said.

Eleanor didn't seem enthused. In fact, she was surprisingly quiet.

It took her a few painfully long seconds before she spoke.

"But… Sarah. You are not supposed to be outside in this state…"

"I'll be fine! I'll- I'll be back."

Silence.

Sarah began to slowly shut the door. "…Bye."

"Goodbye, Sarah."

Sarah slowly shut the door, stood there for a long second, and then turned and stiffly walked to the car and got into the passenger side.

With her head turned down she plugged in her seatbelt and gave a quick and quiet, "Go. Go. Go."

To which Millie promptly backed out of the driveway and began to drive away.

"Okay, now you can tell me what in the hell's going on," she said.

To which Sarah did. She recounted the entire story of Eleanor waking up, about doing her hair and makeup, about the pleas for the surgery and the eventual realization of what she had asked for, to now.

Millie kept her eyes on the road and her face neutral, but on the inside, she felt her anxiety slowly creeping up.

It was just like the bear. Sarah had been trapped with that mannequin thing while it whispered in her ear, plotting to torture her. And Sarah fell for it. It made Millie feel sick.

Thank goodness she only had detention yesterday and not today too. Thank goodness grandpa was chill enough to let her off the hook once she told him what happened yesterday. If she couldn't have come, Sarah would probably be laid out on a bed sliced to pieces by now. She didn't trust any robot that looked like a bandmate of the bear to stop at a nose…

"Hey."

Millie realized Sarah had been asking her something and looked at her.

"What should we do?" Sarah asked again.

Well, what could they do?

"We'll go to my house and hang out there. When's your mom coming home?"

"Late. She has to work late."

"Does she know about Eleanor?"

"No. She's seen her, but she thinks she's just a doll. I told Eleanor to not show herself to Mom and she usually does what I say…"

There was a long pause. Millie gave a little exasperated huff.

"How could you-?"

"Would you've believed me?" Sarah interrupted.

"Yes, I would! How could you trust some random robot? I told you what happened with the bear!"

"Oh…" Sarah sunk into her seat a little. "I don't know…"

"I just don't-!" Millie interrupted herself with a huff. Anger was just a reaction; it wouldn't get them anywhere. Deep breath and process. "What we're going to do is go home and I'll ask Grandpa if he knows those guys who got me out of the bear. As soon as your mom comes home you call her and have her come over, and we tell them what happened."

"She's not going to believe this."

"Maybe not, but I bet those guys who were with the clown will."

Sarah gave her an almost exasperated look, but didn't say anything. Instead, they slipped into silence as they drove back to Millie's.

The plan ended up falling apart almost immediately as Millie's grandfather did not have the contacts of the specific 'men' who helped her. And because she asked about them under the excuse of wanting to thank them, not that there was a wannabe robot surgeon running around, she couldn't really press. He said he would look around and she could only hope one of his many papers had the right number on it.

In the meantime, he was fine with Sarah staying over. They even had dinner together, with Sarah managing to nibble a little despite nervous her stomach still was.

She was just waiting for something to happen. For Eleanor to suddenly show up and run in to grab her. Or for her to call her. Or to get a call from her mother, or from the police telling her that something happened to her mother. She was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Finally, it started to get dark out. Sarah tried to call home, but nobody answered, meaning her mother wasn't home yet- not that's she expected her to be. She had no idea what she was going to tell her…

She was sitting on the couch watching a reality TV show. Millie was also sitting on the couch, but she was doing her homework. With her cat curled up beside her. Her grandfather had headed into his study for some reading- likely to let the girls have their slumber party, as that's what he thought was going on.

It wasn't much of a slumber party, but it was nice to not be alone. And for a while, Sarah convinced herself that maybe it was over.

But what would she do now? Her only option to become the new her was out the window. She would still have to return to school tomorrow, face everyone with this face, but… maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

…

Tap, tap, tap.

Sarah had sort of zoned out so she didn't notice the soft tapping until it started growing louder. It made her nervous and instead of looking towards it, she looked to Millie, about to voice her concerns.

Millie was staring past her with her pencil clutched in her hand and her eyes wide.

Sarah swallowed thickly, her throat dry and stuck, and slowly turned her head in the opposite direction. She located the source of the tapping at the window.

It was Eleanor. Standing outside of the window tapping on the glass with a delicate finger.

Sarah didn't scream. She just leapt up from the couch and ran for it, running into the bathroom and locking herself inside. Not meaning to abandon Millie but unable to think of anything but getting away.

Until Millie rapidly knocked on the door with a frantic but low, "Let me in. Let me in!" Which Sarah did.

Unlike Sarah's bathroom with the too-tiny window to escape out of, Millie's bathroom didn't have a window at all. This meant they were safe from Eleanor trying to climb in, but they were technically cornered.

"Oh my God, I knew it! I knew she was going to find me!" Sarah babbled with fear. "What do we do?!"

"We hope to GOD Grandpa found that number!" Millie hissed back. She listened at the door for the sound of breaking glass, but there was none. "Okay. I'm going to- I'm going to run into Grandpa's study and tell him what's going on. Lock the door. Don't open it until I get back."

With that, Millie skirted out and ran into her grandfather's study, pushing open the door and coming in to find him…

…Asleep on the futon.

Millie was about to get very panicked and annoyed when she noticed his notebook set out on the table nearby. She looked in and saw a list of phone numbers. Various family members and people he knew. There was a creased but unfolded piece of paper on it with two phone numbers, one for someone named Clay Burke and one for someone named Scott Caldwell.

Were these guys connected to the clown? She couldn't be sure. She could start calling, but with Eleanor waiting right outside- well, it was worth a shot.

Millie crept into the other room to call. Thankfully, the windows were clear of any signs or sounds of Eleanor. Then she dialed the first number, and someone answered after a few rings.

"Chief Burke speaking."

Chief Burke? Like a cop? This must've been the phone number for the police officer who her grandfather had called. There was no way a cop was going to believe her about this.

"Sorry, wrong number! I, uh, my grandpa has this book of numbers, and I got a few of them mixed up."

"Not a problem. You have a good evening."

At least the man sounded friendly. They hung up and she dialed up the next number, hoping it wasn't another cop.

This one took a little longer to answer, but just before it could go to voicemail someone picked up.

"Hello! Uh, hello?"

"Hey, umm, who is this?" Millie asked.

"Oh, sorry. Scott Caldwell speaking! Sorry, I'm half-awake over here."

Well, there was no point in continuing to beat around the bush.

"Uh… What do you know about clowns?" Millie blurted out.

"…What?"

"Y'know, clowns… A clown. Living at the dump?"

"I uh… Can't say I know what you're talking about." Scott sounded a little confused, maybe even a little nervous.

"The Hurricane Clown! I'm looking for the Hurricane Clown!" Millie hissed as quietly as she could. She watched the kitchen windows, waiting for something to walk by.

There was a pause, the Scott quietly asked, "Are you okay?" He sounded concerned.

This had been a mistake, Millie realized. She tried to back out quickly.

"Not really. Umm, never mind. Sorry."

"Wait, if-."

Millie hung up immediately.

Of course it couldn't be that easy. Her only chance to find that clown was to prowl the dump, cross her fingers, and hope that she really hadn't been hallucinating when she saw him. She couldn't have been!

She had to get Sarah away from the house, Eleanor was obviously following her. Maybe if she went back to the junkyard- it wasn't that late though. Would he even be there? Would he ever be there?

Well, there weren't any other options now. Millie headed back to the study, planning to wake her grandfather. But once she got there, she hesitated.

If anyone, he would believe her. He believed her when she told him about the outburst in the lunchroom, even let her off the hook with a warning- a joke warning to not get caught, perhaps. She didn't know if he believed her about the clown, but he had always listened, and hadn't ever told her she was just imagining things. He would believe her.

Heck, he would believe her as soon as he saw Eleanor standing outside the window.

He was loyal. He was so loyal that he would've fought off Eleanor himself, and likely would get hurt in the process. He couldn't run that fast if she chased him. He wasn't in the best of health, so what if the start gave him a sudden heart attack? Or just made him a target for her.

This thing was after Sarah… Millie could handle it. She checked the window to make sure it was locked and nobody was outside before drawing the curtains. On the way out she turned the door lock from the inside, so he could easily get out but nothing could get in. She could only hope Eleanor would be too distracted in following them to even notice he was there.

She left a little note on the desk. "Grandpa, driving Sarah back home. I'll explain later. Love you."

Then Millie returned to the bathroom. Giving a curt knock and a, "Let me in," before Sarah did.

"We have to drive back to the dump," Millie said.

"The dump, what- wait, are you talking about the clown again?! Millie, this robot's going to cut my face off and you're still thinking about that stupid clown?!"

"That stupid clown's the only chance we have! And I know how dumb it is, but we've got to go somewhere anyways, we can't stay here!"

Sarah didn't believe in this plan for a second, but getting far away from Eleanor sounded good to her. "What about your grandpa?"

"He's asleep. I locked his door, so she won't get in to him and left a note. But we've gotta get out of her. Got to get you out of here."

Sarah nodded stiffly. The idea of leaving the safety of the bathroom being a frightening one, but she was equally afraid of getting trapped in here.

The two carefully exited the bathroom and Millie edged towards the living room and looked inside to check the window, only to find that Eleanor was gone.

"Shoot!"

"What?!"

"She's gone," Millie said. "She's got to be trying the other windows or hanging out outside the door."

"What do we do?!"

"…Okay… Okay, I have an idea."

Soon, Millie was creeping out the back door and trying to sneak down the end of the house and around the corner.

She had just gotten past the tree when she saw something shaking in the darkness in front of her. At first it almost looked like a trembling tree branch until it suddenly ran up to her, the gangly body breaking straight through the bushes as it staggered to her on legs like posts.

Millie tried to scramble back and tripped over the ridge in the dirt caused by rain spilling from the gutters. She might've not fell entirely if not for Eleanor flying up on her, in which case Millie had to fall just to avoid her. The mannequin bent over with its neck twisting around as its face swiveled and stared down at her.

"…Sarah? Sweetheart?" Eleanor asked.

She leaned in closer. Her head tilted sharply with a low creak.

Millie's heart pounded in her chest as she stared up at the towering clown. She almost lost her nerve, but barely managed to call behind her, "Sarah, run!"

Eleanor shot straight over her. Her long spindly legs stepping close to her arm and head as she hastily staggered past and around the back of the house to find Sarah.

Millie scrambled to her feet and made a dash around the house and for the car.

Right as she ran past the front windows and up to the driver's side, Sarah, who had been actually waiting by the front door, came running out of the front door with the car keys and tossed them to Millie, who quickly unlocked the car. They got in, peeled out in reverse, and were soon zooming away from the house.

Millie could only hope that Eleanor's willingness to ignore her for Sarah meant that her grandfather was safe.

The drive to the dump was extremely tense and deathly silent. When they arrived, Millie pulled up beside the front. Likely nobody would be there to question them this time of night.

"I'm going in," she said. "Wait here."

"Okay…"

Sarah didn't want to be alone, but hiding in the safety of a locked car was much more appealing than running around the junkyard. Millie got out, locking the doors behind her, and ran inside. Sarah watched her leave before locking the doors and sinking into the passenger seat, wrapping her arms around herself.

She sat there for a while in silence, alone with her thoughts.

All of this was so unreal. She thought she could trust Eleanor- but why? Why did she think that? Because she brushed her hair and did her makeup? She was a robot. She could only do what she was told to do.

And Sarah told her to perform surgery without thinking of the repercussions. How stupid.

The sad part was that part of her still wanted the surgery. Part of her was severely disappointed that her idea to save her face had fallen apart. But she didn't want it like this, bleeding out on a shower curtain on her bed. Alone with Eleanor.

She was yanked out of her thoughts by a van peeling by. She peeked out to see it driving down the road leading around the back. She wondered what that was about…

She sighed and sunk back into the seat again. She wanted to disappear into that seat. She felt like she ruined her whole life.

She sat there in an empty silence stuck with herself.

Until something slammed into the window.

Sarah jumped and her head snapped over, and her eyes went wide.

There was Eleanor with her hands on the window, her nose nearly touching the glass.

Sarah couldn't scream, her throat tightened, and nothing more than a squeak could make it out.

"…Sarah? Please don't run from me. You scared me running off like that. Please come home with me, it is not safe out here this late at night."

Sarah started to hyperventilate immediately. She wanted to run, but she knew the car was the only thing holding Eleanor back. She was trapped.

"Just go away! I told you; I don't want the surgery anymore! I lied! I'm not going to die!" Sarah yelled.

"…Sarah, I know you are scared, but I will take care of you. I am here to take care of you. Please, let me inside so I can take you home."

"I'm scared of YOU! I don't want to do it anymore! Aren't you listening to me?! Don't you care?! I said NO!"

Something changed in Eleanor's eyes. There was that hesitation she got when she was processing something, and for a second Sarah thought maybe she was finally grasping it.

"…Sarah, if you keep acting erratically, I will need to sedate you for your wellbeing. However, I may not have enough sedation remaining for the entirety of the surgery if I do. So please, come out and let's go home so I can fix you."

But she didn't understand anything.

Sarah covered her ears and closed her eyes, and screamed at the top of her voice, "Shut up! SHUT UP! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Silence.

Of course, she had her ears covered so she couldn't hear anyways, but there seemed to be silence.

She was afraid to look so for what felt like ages she sat there with her eyes tightly closed and her hands on her ears, frantically wondering how Eleanor caught up to them. Had she ran after the car? Had she been fast enough to run the whole way here? How did she even find the place, had she heard them talking through the window? All these thoughts were racing as she sat there, feeling Eleanor's eyes on her.

Finally, Sarah couldn't stand it anymore and she dared to look.

But Eleanor was gone.

She whipped her head around to see if Eleanor had just gone to another window. No, she couldn't see her. Could she had really given up? No, there was no way. She had to be out there somewhere. Waiting.

Or she was going to find Millie. Would Eleanor hurt Millie? Maybe, if it was to lure her out of the car. That sounded like something she could do. Or maybe she was looking for something to break a window with.

Sarah swallowed thickly and carefully unlocked her car door. Her only chance was to make a run for it into the dump and find Millie, or maybe run for the front office and see if someone was there. Somewhere other than here. Before Eleanor got back.

She stuck her head out and looked around. Then carefully peeked up onto the roof. Nothing. It looked like Eleanor had truly run off… but she would be back.

Taking a deep breath, Sarah stepped out of the car and stood up.

And a cold hand grabbed her ankle.

Sarah screamed and jumped away, trying to rip herself free but in one sharp yank being pulled to the ground.

Eleanor crawled out from under the car, twisted and contorted, her head upside down turning back upright as it poked out from under the car. She clawed at the ground with her free hand to help herself out.

"…Sarah, please! Don't be difficult!"

Sarah shrieked and kicked at the dirt, scrambling back until she was all but dragging Eleanor out underneath her. She brought her foot down on the doll's head. Eleanor made a staticky noise and her eyes flickered, and Sarah scrambled up onto one foot-

Only to be yanked roughly to the dirt by a painfully tight grip on her ankle. She screamed as she fell and was yanked back roughly.

She looked back at Eleanor to see that something changed. Her eyes were now smaller, irises glowing yellow, and seemed to shake as she squeezed tighter and began to drag her towards the car.

Sarah began to frantically kick at Eleanor's arm and hand, pulling and fighting until finally she got free, turned over and climbed to her feet. She broke into a sprint towards the entrance to the dump.

She could hear the cracking of Eleanor's joints as she untwisted herself and began to run after her, but once she got past the fence and into the piles of junk it became harder to tell how close she was. Sarah didn't dare to look back, instead screaming for Millie and running blindly.

She didn't get far.

Suddenly Sarah was grabbed in a strong hug from behind. She yelped, but her scream was silenced with a hand over her mouth and shushing.

"It's okay… Sarah. I'm not angry with you. Everything's going to be okay. You need to calm down. You are going to hurt yourself."

Sarah managed to turn her head enough that her mouth was freed. "GET OFF OF ME! GET-!"

The hand clasped over her mouth.

"I'm sorry… Sarah, but your blood pressure is much too high. I am going to have to sedate you. Take deep breaths. One, two…"

The needle sunk into her thigh, and she cringed at the burn of fluid filling into her muscle. She was panicking, thrashing, trying to fight even harder until Eleanor had to hug her with both arms, rocking her and shushing her until the world started to shake and spin.

For a few terrifying seconds Sarah realized she was slipping before suddenly she wasn't thinking of anything at all. Still partially awake but no longer aware, groggy and loose in Eleanor's grasp.

And that was when something swung in and clattered against the side of Eleanor's head.

Sarah couldn't see, but it was Millie standing behind them with a piece of metal pipe clutched in her hands, having heard her screams and coming just in time to see what was happening. She snuck up and swung with all her might, and it easily knocked Eleanor's head aside.

But it didn't do much else.

Eleanor's dangling head turned to face her. Millie gritted her teeth and held up the pipe threateningly.

The mannequin's eyes locked onto the pipe. Then its neck straightened and lifted its head once again.

Eleanor's eyes changed again, now for Millie to see. Its green irises flickering out and smaller yellow ones replacing where its pupils once were once more.

"Violent threat detected. Warning, warning. Entering self-defense mode. Stand down."

"Yeah, right," Millie hissed. She swung again. This time it stepped forward and the blow fell harmlessly on its back.

Eleanor stumbled a step before straightening back up. She then carried Sarah to a nearby car and laid her on the truck. Millie was still in pursuit, planning to take another swing when Eleanor turned on her.

It was in that moment that she realized she was in trouble. When it looked at her like that- this slender robotic thing that barely resembled a human- Millie felt no safer than she was in the stomach of the bear.

And then Eleanor rushed her. And Millie swung the pipe, only to have it caught in the animatronic's hand. Eleanor pulled it out of her grip in one sharp tug.

Millie decided she could keep it and instead turned and ran for it.

She darted into the piles of trash, trying to outmaneuver her. She dared to look back over her shoulder and saw that Eleanor was somehow keeping up. Her wobbly legs so loose and clumsy, wedge heeled feet twisting in ways that would've broken a human's ankles, and yet moving so fast that she staggered after her. Her arms stiff at her sides, her yellow eyes locked onto Millie.

Millie looked ahead and ran as fast as she could, but she could hear Eleanor catching up. Her arm outstretched and reaching for the back of Millie's neck.

She could feel the fingers brushing through her hair and tried to knock it away only to have the cold fingers clamp tight around her wrist and yank. It was so harsh it sent Millie spinning and staggering. Her shoulder wrenched, her wrist aching under the firm grip. Eleanor's fake molded nails digging into her skin as she reeled her in.

She looked up at the towering mannequin with wide eyes and watched it lift its other hand. Finger seams split apart to open and let pointed tips like darts slide out. Her head twitching and her yellow eyes glistening menacingly as she pointed her fingers together preparing to stab.

Only to get clocked by a car rim that flew out of nowhere. It hit her head so hard that her neck buckled, and her head fell back and clunked against her own back. Millie took this moment to yank and just managed to slip free, with Eleanor's nails leaving shallow cuts down her skin.

A deafening clattering noise came from the mound of junk to her right as she pulled free and then came a heavy thump behind her. She turned back and saw a white face and green clothing-

And then she saw the world tilting as something hooked around her legs and suddenly, she was thrown over a shoulder and watching Eleanor fall into the back and disappear as she was carried around a wall of garbage.

Millie tried to struggle free, but it was no good, with an arm tight around her waist holding her in place. But the panic receded as she looked down and saw a green suit and looked back at the back of his head.

The exposed metal of the back of his head, the edge of his white mask, his party hat.

It was a clown. It was THE clown. She hadn't seen his face, and the details were fuzzy, but this had to be him! THE CLOWN! He was real!

And said clown ran as fast as he could to a shed hidden in the back of the dump and shoved his way through, breaking the flimsy little lock on the door, and swinging it shut behind them.

He then bowed over in a smooth swoop and set Millie down before recoiling back quickly, leaned back with his hands up defensively. As though he was trying to show that he wasn't any sort of danger.

"Shh-shh-shhh…" the clown shushed. Him waving his hands for her to keep quiet.

Millie could only stare at his face with wide eyes because it had to be him. She recognized his mask instantly.

There was a noise outside. The clown's eyes shot to the door and back, and then he kept them on Millie- squinting as though smiling- as he leaned over and nudged open the door with a finger.

He peeked out, and then noticed the broken latch and the padlock hanging off it.

"Uh oh," he mumbled. He poked at it a little and it slid down even further, dangling. He winced and slowly shut the door back.

The clown looked to her again. Millie opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't figure what to say. Part of her was afraid- he was so much taller than her and clearly a robot too- but she didn't want to run. She just stood there, mouth agape.

His sharp toothed mouth opened as though in a grin before he beat her to the punch.

"Say, do I know you from somewhere?" he whispered. He tilted his head coyly, blue and yellow eyes glowing almost curiously. "Maaaybe the inside of a nasty ol' bear?"

That was the voice she remembered. The one that sounded like the bear's but different. The tone, the inflection, it was just like she remembered…

It WAS him.

"It's you…"

"It's me!" he chirped. He gave her a double thumbs up.

"I… I can't believe this. It's- It's actually you. I… I didn't think you were real."

"Ha, ha! Unfortunately for us both, the Hurricane Clown is very real! But don't believe all the stuff they say about me. You can rest assured that I have eaten zero dogs or children that I am aware of."

He then waited. Apparently, that was a punchline, but Millie was too in shock to laugh at that joke. If that was a joke? The clown eyes skirted around awkwardly before he continued.

"What're you doin' out here getting chased by Cider-hell-a?" he asked, sounding justifiably alarmed.

Millie matched his tone. "Look- Looking for you! I need your help. My friend, Sarah, took that thing home with her and asked it to fix her face-."

There was a rapid tapping on the door. Millie immediately backed up, remembering Eleanor at the window, but the clown snapped his head towards the door with familiarity.

"One sec!"

He crouched down and opened the door a crack, and then a little more. A small, pink, animatronic rabbit without legs quickly crawled in and the clown shut the door behind it.

"You almost stepped on me!" the bunny squeaked in betrayal.

"Aww, sorry, Bon-Bon! You okay? No scuffs?" He picked her up and began to turn her over.

"No, but that scary Baby didn't even notice me when I tried to distract her. I couldn't see where she went!"

"Well, she's not he-re. That's what counts."

The Clown held the rabbit like a baby and began to pet it like a cat before looking back to Millie.

"Okay, so you said something about your friend trying to fix its face?" he asked.

"No, not it's face. Her face. My friend- Sarah- she has this thing… It doesn't matter. The point is, she asked that thing to make her beautiful and somehow that turned into it agreeing to do surgery on her nose, and she said no but it's not taking the hint, and I took her home. It followed us there. I brought her here. It followed us here. And now it's drugged her up with something and could be dragging her off or cutting her open right now!" Millie rushed out.

The Clown stared for a long second. His hand stilled, and Bon-Bon too gawking at her.

He broke the silent stare with tense laughter.

"Oh ho WOW, that is way worse than I was thinking! Heh, YIKES!" His eyes were wide, and something seemed to be twitching and flinching under the arms of his suit. "Oh geesh, we've gotta get rid of that thing lickety-split or we're gonna be looking at a real big disaster. Uh… B-Bon-Bon!"

"Here! Whatcha need, Ennie?" Bon-Bon asked, looking up at him.

"Are you up to a little sneaking?"

The bunny nodded eagerly.

"Go find the Easter Bunny and the Great, Big, Beautiful Doll and tell 'em we've got another Scarecrow Baby on our hands."

Bon-Bon lifted her arm in salute and the Clown set her down, opened the door a little carefully, and nudged her through. Millie could hear her scamper off.

The Clown shut the door and stood up as he looked back as Millie.

"Alright, kiddo, you just hang out in here and sit tight! We've got some trash we've gotta take out," he said. He winked and opened the door.

Millie could've let him walk right out and had it out of her hands, maybe. But she couldn't, and she didn't know if it was out of loyalty to Sarah or the thought that the Clown might walk out of this shed and disappear again. She had to hold onto both.

"No."

It came out as firm as she hoped it would. Firm enough that he looked back in surprise.

"I want to come with you. She wants to kill me, so if anyone needs to be bait to keep her away from Sarah, it's got to be me," Millie said.

"Oh, don't you worry!" the Clown assured. "You're still going to be bait."

Millie blinked in surprise when his voice suddenly shifted to hers.

"But without putting your neck on the line! It's bad enough your friend's face is on it, eesh."

He was about to slip out again, but still Millie protested.

"Okay, but… I still want to come with you. I can't just wait here. Please."

The Clown stared momentarily, just as confused as she was to why she was fighting so hard.

"You sure about that, Kiddo? I'm positive I can tick her off enough to get her gunning for me."

"I'm sure."

The Clown stared a little longer, as though trying to read her reasons. But then finally caved.

"Well, okAY! Ha, stay close and let me do all the talking," he said.

He propped open the door. Millie came over, still a little hesitantly despite her protests. He slipped out first, making sure the coast was clear, and beckoning her along.

They exited the shed and started to creep into the junkyard. The Clown, despite wearing a lime green and yellow suit, kept low to the ground. Crawling along with the dexterity of someone willing to break their bones to not get that suit dirty. Inhuman yet not entirely as creepy as Eleanor had been.

He found the wreckage of another car and took cover behind it, waving Millie in. She hurried over and ducked down, nearly cutting her jeans on some jagged metal. She looked at the Clown questioningly and he was tilting his head listening, but she couldn't hear anything. Probably Eleanor was back with Sarah.

What was that thing he said earlier? Scarecrow Baby? He apparently knew about Circus Baby… wait.

"Hey," she whispered. He turned his head towards her, though he was still looking around. "You said another scarecrow. Was there another one?"

"Eh, sorta. Long story. But this one-." The Clown gave a sympathetic hiss. "You found it here, right?"

"Right…"

"Yeah, that's the one. Somebody dumped it off here 'bout a week ago but I got a weird vibe, so I've been steering clear."

"You got a weird vibe off of that?" Millie asked doubtfully. He caught her looking him over and snickered.

"Ha ha, I know! But who wouldn't? But something was buzzing on it. I've had a weird history with humming basements and zinging pizzerias. They either catch on fire or the spawn of Satan crawls out! So, yeah, not touching the knock-off Baby."

"But… you can stop her?"

"Suuuure," the Clown stretched out. Tapping his fingers on the car as he did.

"…You don't sound sure."

"Oh, I'm very sure. I just don't wanna touch it," the Clown assured. "Trust me. Everything's got a weak spot, my lil crouton!"

Crouton? Why would he- Oh God, her breath.

She didn't know what was worse, the fact that he said that with so much certainness or that he was somehow able to detect croutons on her breath alone. She covered her mouth with her sleeve.

"Hey, wait a minute…" The Clown's head snapped to her again. "You said her name was what again?"

"Eleanor."

"Eleanor? Are you sure it wasn't Elizabeth?"

"Uh… No? Sarah said it was Eleanor."

"Thaaat's weird. Huh."

The Clown had a distant look in his eyes like he was processing something, though it somehow looked much more human than any of Eleanor's stares. Though maybe it helped that he wasn't staring directly at her.

Suddenly there was the sound of voices. The Clown must've heard better as his eyes widened and he shot up and began to rush off.

"Showtime!" he called over his shoulder.

Millie was quick on his heels behind him.

Meanwhile, Sarah was still on the brink of consciousness. She couldn't really move and everything she saw was blurry, but there was still part of her mind awake. Awake enough to be afraid of Eleanor returning. Not awake enough to comprehend that she would've been half-conscious for the entire surgery if she had gone along with it.

But then she heard voices.

"…get her to the van before it gets back."

"Can you carry her?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem."

"Thank you. She's been through enough as it is."

"Stop that."

It sounded like two men and distinctly not like Eleanor.

Sarah tried to struggle and yell, but instead could only shift a little and groan. She felt trapped in her body, scared. She wished her mom was here.

One of the men rushed over and she could vaguely see him but couldn't make out much detail except he had brown hair and maybe glasses.

"It's okay! I'm going to help you. We're going to get you out of here and get you some help," he assured. His voice was gentle and comforting.

He took off his coat and covered her up before starting to pick her up. She groaned a little and tried to move, but her body was limp. She couldn't have fought back even if she wanted to.

"Here, uh, grab my phone and call Clay," he said to the other man. She couldn't see him but heard something shuffle around to get the phone from his pocket.

Suddenly there was the sound of quick, crunchy footsteps rushing up from around the trash.

Scott knew he was in trouble when he looked up and saw what looked to be another fake Baby. His eyes went as wide as saucers when he realized how much it looked like the one that had broken into his house- twice. But it wasn't the same one. That was clear enough from how it was designed, details were different.

And Ennard and Baby were nowhere to be seen.

But thankfully, he wasn't alone. As he and the girl were suddenly blocked by Michael stepping in front of them.

"…Sarah?!... Sarah!" the mannequin cried. Her head twisting loosely and swiveling until she could see part of her feet.

She hobbled in quickly before coming to an abrupt stop and going rigid, straightening her back and standing tall. Her green eyes turning yellow as they leveled on Michael.

"Abduction in process. Warning, warning. Entering self-defense mode. Stand down. Release the child. Stand down."

"Get back to your stage. Now," Michael hissed back.

He hoped from the Funtime-like design it would back down, but the thing didn't even flinch.

"Entering self-defense mode. Stand down. Stand down. Stand down."

She lifted her hands and her fingers split for little points to come out of their tips. Michael recognized them as taser darts and swore under his breath. This was going to hurt.

This was when Ennard and Millie made it there. Millie caught sight of the scene- trying to ignore the giant rabbit standing there- and instead focused on what Eleanor was saying. It was the same warning she had gotten. She was about to attack again.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time she almost died tonight, she thought. In a rush of pure adrenaline, Millie suddenly ran out into the open, ignoring the Clown's efforts to stop her.

"Over here!" she yelled. "Here! I'm here!"

Eleanor's head spun on her and those eyes went yellow again.

But that was all Millie saw before she was blocked by green, and then shoved into that green as the Clown reached behind himself pulled her tight to his back.

"Yeesh, Crouton. Trying to get yourself killed?" he muttered over his shoulder.

But he kept his eyes locked onto the slender animatronic before him. His unwavering stare holding an amount of silent warning that his voice did not. Waiting for any wrong move to pounce.

But that's when something peculiar happened. The strange, Circus Baby-like robot stared back before twisting her body to face him. And then…

"It's you!"

The glow in Eleanor's eyes filled in until her iris were large and doll-like, doe-like. She took little steps in place and reset her wedge feet, and one of her hands closed up before she clasped them together.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! I knew there was someone out there like me," Eleanor said with a saccharine innocence.

"Ha ha, you, uh- you were looking for me?" Ennard asked uneasily.

His eyes briefly passing her to dart between Michael and Scott's. Both looked alarmed. Mille, who was still behind him, looked confused.

"What?" she whispered.

"Yes!" Eleanor said. She took a teeter step towards him, swaying as she walked. "I'm just like you! I too am a person trapped inside of an animatronic. Long ago I was a caretaker for a little girl but an evil man tried to take her away and I lost my life. I was put inside of this body by a black and white doll with a white mask. I heard that you were here, so I came to look for you, and here you are!"

"And here I am!" Ennard repeated with strained emphasis.

Everything she said checked out, but something about it didn't feel right. He knew it, Michael knew it from the way he was staring, and even Scott knew it- who was currently inching further away with Sarah in tow.

"The hell? Sarah didn't say any of that," Millie mumbled.

This didn't feel right. Didn't say anything before? The way she was speaking and looking at him… He decided to take a little risk.

"So, uh, whaddya think about my friend here?" Ennard turned and hooked an arm around Millie before pulling her forward.

Yellow flickered in Eleanor's eyes.

Ennard blocked Millie with his other arm protectively.

The yellow returned to full green once more.

"Oooh, that's some nasty programming there," Ennard muttered.

There was something very wrong with this one.

"I'm sorry! I don't know what is wrong with me. I think I might be broken," Eleanor apologized. "But maybe you can fix me? I need help, please. I know where there are others who need help too. If you come with me, I can show you."

"Go with you where?"

"It's not far. There are others like me who are trapped and broken and need help. I was looking for you so that you could help me save them and then I wouldn't be alone," Eleanor explained.

A strange pitch filled the air. One that made Michael shudder and Ennard's wires twitch. It was intrusive and sharp.

"Please. I need your help. There are children there too who need our help. Maybe if we work together, we can save them."

"Huh. Really? I dunno, I'm sort of needed here."

Ennard knew right then that it was a trap. If the strange pitchy noise making his wires crawl wasn't an indication. She was trying to lure him off- and in front of a group of people! Nobody would buy it.

But as long as Ennard could keep playing along and keep her eyes on him-

Clink.

It was, unfortunately, not Scott who made that noise. It was Bonnet, who had been trying to crawl over the rubble nearby. She took a corner, and a jutting metal sheet got shifted and just barely tapped her on the head. So subtle, so innocent that anyone could've noticed it.

Yet despite where the sound came from, Eleanor's head pivoted, and she ended up looking dead on past Michael and at Scott who was now almost out of sight with Sarah.

That was when the jig was up.

"…Sarah?! …Sarah! Warning, warning, ssssarah STAnd down! Come back! Stand down! Sarellllle Abduction in processarahsarah!"

Eleanor's eyes flickered between yellow and green until both illuminated at once and she made a lurch and sprint towards Scott.

One that was unceremoniously stopped by Michael running and body slamming into her, catching his arms around her to subdue her.

"Get out of here! Get her to the car!" he called back. As she resisted, he squeezed her tighter to keep her under control.

Instead, her body fell apart.

Or at least, that's how it felt. Limbs detaching and loosening, going limp momentarily only to suddenly coil around him. In reality the limbs hadn't dropped off but simply popped out, and hidden coils and wires took their place. Allowing her to squirm and slither around him.

And from those metal coils came a searing heat that was very familiar. That burning pain that climbed one's arm and sunk into their soul. But no mutters, no screams, no feeling like it was someone else's pain being sucked in. Just a pain without any semblance of humanity. Soulless.

It wasn't like that thing in the basement. When that thing in the basement grabbed him, it was as though he was pulled into another plain of existence. This burned, but it was a low burn. Dull, faded.

But then his springlocks seized and suddenly that burning was the least of his problems.

Michael shouted, his voice crunching and catching as his body lost control of itself. Ennard was on them in a second, ripping Eleanor away by the arm, only to have the plates sheer off and spill out the wirey mechanisms inside that immediately latched to his wrist and tried to climb under his cuff. He twisted and wrenched his arm to yank free, but her limb stretched and followed.

Ennard bit his glove and yanked it off with one sharp tug before grabbing her around the flimsy neck with his hand. Then he delivered a sharp jolt of electricity. He knew there was a risk of him getting hit by his own controlled shock, but he was willing to take that risk.

And he took that jolt right back up his arm within seconds. Eleanor shook from the shock, fake teeth chattering, eyes glowing, but it had done nothing to subdue her. If anything, her coils grew tighter so Ennard could free his snared hand as the electricity went right back into him. It hurt- not as much as a controlled shock, but it certainly didn't feel right.

And from the way Michael seized either it went into him too or his springlocks were still going off.

And that wasn't the only thing going in, as Eleanor twisted herself and contorted around, and suddenly her free hand was crawling up under Ennard's jacket. He reached down and grabbed her forearm, and her hand and wrist slid forward free of it and embedded her sharp tipped fingers deep into the wires of his belly.

He felt gutted, gutted, feeling himself begin to reluctantly heave and digging into his wires trying to get out the prongs she was leaving behind. She began to tase him, but the panic of having her grabbing his guts somehow won out over the pain. He wrenched her head away and it detached back and dangled.

"GOD!" Michael choked. He grabbed at her leg and yanked and had it come undone into wires. "G-G-GOD DAMMMNIT-T!" He ripped her foot free and it did little to stop her.

And then proceeded to get smacked in the back of the head by something. "UGH!"

"OH, CRAP! SORRY!" Millie yelled. She was swinging a short piece of rebar to no success.

She started trying to stab at her, only to have the rebar lodge into something and start getting sucked in. As it was pulled out of her hands, Ennard released Eleanor's neck and pushed Millie back out of the way.

If he said anything then she didn't hear it. All she and them could hear was Eleanor. At first her voice had been skipping commands and begs for Sarah, but it fell apart as quickly as her body had. Soon it just became a shrill warble of screams and noises, beeps and shrill rings and tones.

Both Ennard and Michael recognized those noises from the tape recorders in the interview at the false pizzeria. It had been so long, but both remembered those warbles instantly.

But they weren't the only one. It wasn't until Millie stumbled back from the Clown's push that she realized they weren't. Across from her, past them, stood another form lying in wait.

She could see glowing green eyes and an enormous claw-

"Everyone, get down!"

Millie and Ennard both looked up and saw the end of a gun aimed at them. Millie darted out of the way and dove behind the trash. Ennard grabbed up Eleanor's head and stuck it out as far as he could.

There was a sharp bang and suddenly half of the plating on Eleanor's face shattered. The pieces of her cheek falling away and revealing a metal jaw and porcelain teeth. Her mouth forced open as wide as it could go and stayed gaped open as her head was blown to the side.

Her eyes flickered before suddenly going fully into stark yellow. The warbling crackled before amping up into something like a scream. Her head snapped back and her eyes leveled on Scott, still holding the gun.

Suddenly she lurched right out of Ennard and Michael's grasp. Her wiring pulling loose, shedding her shell like it was useless. Ennard tried to catch her as the pieces pulled free and only held her back by the taser progs still left in his belly, her hand's wiring and coil laden endo left stretched between them as she stepped over Michael and staggered at Scott.

One leg a metal post below the knee snared with ribbed wiring, the other twisting to compensate, and her head bouncing as she raced for him. Through her slurry of noises, he could hear her mechanized voice shouting out warnings, dipping into lower octaves.

"Dang-g-g-gerrrrous weaponnn waaarrrrning warrrrningwarningwarning deaaaddly forcccezzzzt."

She was just held back in her unraveling. She pulled her shoulders back before swinging them forward, her loose head lurching forward. Coils of wires shot from her mouth and caught the gun and over his fingers, to which he hastily fired another shot into her chest which ricocheted off of her remaining plating and into the trash. The wires tightened into his skin.

Ennard raced forward and sprung towards Eleanor and would've thrown himself upon her if something hadn't smashed into her first: Baby.

Baby strode in with three long strides and caught her around the neck with her claw and with one somewhat clumsy, somewhat elegant spin threw her like a ragdoll onto the trunk of the car. Her claw tightening like a vice to hold her still.

Ennard fell over the two and rolling on the ground, snatching at the wires now grabbing at Scott and yanking with all his might, giving him enough leverage to pull free before diving back into the fray.

Baby was trying to keep Eleanor pinned, but she wriggled and resisted under her grip. The slender animatronic gave a graceful kick and threw her leg wires into Baby's wire hair and began to weave into it before yanking, pulling it back. Baby fought against it, the heat of the wires burning up her body, tugging at her neck and forcing her head back.

And then she spun her claw and twisted up Eleanor's neck until her head popped free and dangled from the loose wiring. It didn't stop her, she still kept fighting. Almost like her head too was a disposable object.

Baby's free hand dug at her chest panels and started to try and pull them loose. No good, so she threw her weight down on her elbow and cracked open Eleanor's chest.

Deep inside she could see a mechanism at the center of the coil of wires. They were evenly laced together and set into spools, fed out into the limbs and mounted in a makeshift ribcage sealed against a metal spine. And in the center of that mechanism was a core. A red light started to flicker on it and a loud beeping began to screech from inside, burning into Baby's head just as the wires burned her metal.

She needed to let go. She needed to let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. Let go. NOW. NOW. NOW.

She nearly screamed and pinned Eleanor with her claw while snatching the wires of her half-broken arm in her free hand and shoving it down to pin it open. Leaving the broken open middle spread before her.

"ENNARD!" Baby shouted.

And Ennard came in over her arm with the piece of rebar Millie had previously been wielding and stabbed it right through the mechanism.

"B-BEGONE YE F-FOU-LL DEMON!"

And then he was promptly electrocuted by it but managed to dislodge his hands from the bar. His singular glove burned and his other hand smarted in a way only slightly worse than earlier.

The box at the core, likely some sort of battery, sparked and short-circuited sending the mannequin body and her multitude of coils shaking in malfunction. A dull orange glow appeared deeper in her casing, indicating something had caught fire.

The noises rattling out of its chest were joined with Eleanor's now slurred and slowing voice. She sounded like a toy whose batteries were running out, or currently on fire.

"ERRRRRWAR-R-R-RNNNINNNG FAI-I-I-crtz-URRRE ACTiiiivaaaate backup-backup-backup baaatteeeeerrrr…."

The voice faded out before the shaking slowly stopped. Now only twitching when its guts sparked.

Baby and Ennard stood over it staring down at it, waiting for it to say something or spring back up. But it didn't. The strange false Baby was down for the count.

The real Baby looked to Ennard.

"A bit overdramatic, wasn't it?"

"M-Maybe a little, ha ha!" Ennard agreed. His compulsive laughter betraying his anxiety.

"Apologies for stepping in late. I needed a clear shot and couldn't have either of you caught in the crossfire."

Ennard waved it off with a dismissive, "Eh."

Scott hustled over to check on them both.

"Are you both okay? No burns? What about your stomach?" he asked.

"What about your hand?" Ennard said, looking at him attentively.

"It's fine. Just a little squeezed, but it's okay." Scott started pulling up his jacket to see the damage, considering that part of Eleanor was still dangling from him, but Ennard stopped him.

"Wait, wait, wait. Michael? Buddy?" Ennard asked. Scott looked over as well. Baby might've but couldn't afford to take her eyes off Eleanor in case she was faking.

Michael was lying on the ground. He groaned.

"Michael?!" Ennard rushed to his side, laying a hand on his shoulder. Michael tiredly shrugged him off- not that Ennard let go.

"I'm fine," he mumbled.

"Yeah, you look fine."

"Just let me lie here."

"Yeah, just- just stay there, okay? Don't try to get up yet. Just sit tight," Scott assured. He picked up his gun and crouched beside them, putting his gun back in his holster as he did. He patted Michael's arm as well.

"You came in clutch with that."

"I'm just shocked it worked. Or, well, sort of," Scott said with a dry chuckle. "I've got to go move the girl. I've got her sitting over there on a bunch of- bunch of… You know, stuff. I've got to, uh, move her into the van, call Clay, and I'll be back," Scott fumbled out. He was clearly on edge, and Ennard lent him a shoulder to help him up. Only to then catch his hand.

"Hey, Sc-Scottie," he said. He gave him an adoring look. "Would you be a peach and go get the gasoline?"

"Oh yeah, that too. Thanks. On it," Scott said with a wag of his finger. He gave Ennard a quick one-armed hug before racing off.

It was as he jogged away that Millie began to finally step out of hiding. She was still reeling, silently staring, looking between the plethora of peculiar characters. The Clown, some sort of funky Bonnie… and Ringleader Lizzie. Millie recognized her from the fair and yet seeing her here was unexpected.

Were they all alive? Were all the animatronics in town sentient beings with thoughts and feelings?

Well, there were at least three of them. Four when counting the little legless rabbit who came hastily crawling up to the Clown's side.

"Ennie, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to ruin everything!" she apologized frantically. She covered her face with her hands. "I thought I was being so careful and BOOM! I blew up the whole plan!"

"Aww, don't worry your little, pink head," Ennard assured, patting her head. "It wasn't like we were getting out of here without a scuffle anyways."

"But your belly!"

"It's fiiiine! I've been through way, WAY worse, Little Bit!"

Michael's eyes snapped open, and he started to lift himself onto his elbow. Groaning a little through his teeth as he beckoned for Ennard to lift his jacket. "Let me see."

"Hey, hey, what happened to sitting tight? You had a huge springlock failure a good two minutes ago!"

"And yet somehow I am still alive," Michael muttered. He gestured again.

"Okay, yeesh. Always gotta worry about me," Ennard tsked. He started to unbutton his jacket.

"I have good reason for that- Oh dear God."

"It's not that bad. Just a little ehhh."

"Not that. Her. She's still here, watching us," Michael hissed. He had spotted Millie standing there staring and stared right back like a deer in headlights. Millie held her hands up in defense.

Ennard snapped his head back. "WHAT?! Oh. Oh! Her! I thought you meant Skelenor over there! Ha ha, everybody, this is Crouton! Crouton, this is everybody!" Ennard briefly introduced.

"Crouton?" Baby asked, eyes narrowing doubtfully.

"Uh, Millie," Millie clarified.

"Millie, this is Michael and Baby! You've already met Bon-Bon," Ennard properly introduced. He then quietly added in, "Don't worry. She's not gonna tell."

Millie heard this and quickly added, "R-Right! I'm not going to tell anyone…"

She couldn't be too sure that his friends were as friendly as he was. Not with how Lizzie- wait, did he call her Baby? -was eyeing her… Baby. Circus Baby? Was that Circus Baby?

"I'm not concerned. You're a teenager, who would believe you?" Baby said matter-of-factly.

"Babydoll, your abrasive side's showing," Ennard chimed up.

"Ben, there's a dart in your stomach," Michael said.

Baby turned to them with a start. "What?"

"That explains why I'm dragging around half of that thing's guts around with me, ha ha," Ennard said, then sighed as he fiddled with it. "Oookay, this isn't coming out."

"Let me try."

"No, I'm not having you poke around live wires after you just got fried. Let me just…"

Ennard fiddled with it a little longer and managed to get the other ones free, but this one had somehow pierced the metal wires and stuck itself in. It tingled when he touched it, almost like something inside of it was on. It wasn't just a taser prong, he realized, but something much more worrying.

"The whole wire's gotta go. Can't trust it anymore. Give me a second," Ennard said. He then called back, "Don't look, Kiddo, or those croutons are coming back up."

"What?" she asked.

He proceeded to retch and the exposed wiring on his stomach shifted around. Slowly working the darted piece of wire in and up and out.

At this point, Baby seemed to decide that she didn't like Millie starting and walked over, her skates sinking into the dirt as she did, to stand blocking him. She kept her eyes back on Eleanor's broken remains.

"What happened here?" she asked. Her eyes briefly darting to Millie to signal she was addressing her.

Michael too leaned up attentively, and Bonnet, who was now holding Ennard's hand, swiveled her head around to look.

So, Millie had no choice but to explain. And it wasn't a little explanation either, it was the full explanation. She couldn't stop- even after the Clown hacked up a section of wire and started listening fully too.

Finally, Millie could unload everything and now hearing it back, it was nightmarish. It was shockingly similar to her encounter with the bear, Sarah had been lured in, trusted Eleanor, and then agreed to something crazy. That wasn't entirely the same as her situation, but Millie could imagine the moment Sarah hid Eleanor to herself as the moment she herself climbed into that bear.

By time she was done, she was shaking. Baby's eyes were open wide as she listened before closing solemnly, and then directing her gaze back on the broken bot with a pointed gaze.

"How terrible… I can imagine how it would feel to desire something so much and only lose what you have in pursuit of it. We have gone through something similar," Baby said.

"You have?"

"I suppose there's not much risk to telling you. Nobody will believe you and those who would know it is best to keep all this hidden… We were humans once. Human beings who lost our lives and bodies in one matter or another."

"Wait, all of you?" Millie asked in surprise.

"That's right, Kiddo! Turns out that the Hurricane Clown here's a big fraud. I-!" Ennard pressed a thumb to his chest. "Am actually an animatronics technician."

"I was just a child when I died, but not anymore," Baby said.

"I went into the wrong room," Bonnet quietly added.

"I would rather not say," Michael dismissed, instead busying himself in studying the dart Ennard coughed up.

"We were all, in one way or another, victims to machines. And then we became them," Baby continued. "And we are not all created equally. There are some of us who would do anything to survive, but there are others who would do anything they could to cause suffering. I know about the bear who tried to murder you. I knew his kind well."

"Oh…" That was enough to send Millie reeling. That made sense, she guessed. They weren't just super-smart living robots but… ghosts? It was enough to leave her second-guessing a lot of this, but it made a little more sense. But Eleanor… She looked over towards her remains. "So, she was a human too once? Is that why she was doing this to Sarah?"

Baby looked over at Eleanor again almost warily. Almost second-guessing herself for a moment. That thing HAD said she was a person too, she had even mentioned Marionette, but was she?

"…No. She was lying," Baby decided. "About being alive, I think. It sounded like a lie. And had she truly been one of us, I doubt that rod alone would have stopped her."

"There's nothing in there," Michael remarked.

Baby tilted her head at him. "You know for certain?"

"Call it a hunch."

That's all it really was, but he stood by it. From how it acted to how it felt, it didn't feel real. He would clarify it later in the back of the van.

"Speaking of which! Mikey, I'm starting to think this might, ha ha, be a different doll," Ennard said. He gave Michael an uneasy smile. "Which is crazy because that would mean that we've had a total of two dolls who look like Baby who came creeping on us now. And THIS one fessed up to being here to look for me."

Michael stared at the ground for a long second…

"And this-." Ennard held up the wire he rejected, tapping his thumb on the dart. "Sounds like it's on."

Then he swore under his breath, or lack of one.

"This is crazy…" Millie mumbled to herself.

Before Baby could assure her that this was very real, Scott cleared his throat, revealing that he was there. They all looked at him.

"I called Clay. He's calling an ambulance and they're going to take it from here. At least, with the girl- your friend. He told me to go ahead and burn the fake Baby. Just in case something is in there. But before that…"

He stuck a hand in his jacket pocket and fished out a necklace that he dangled from his fingers. It was a heart shaped pendant.

"Doesn't this look familiar?"

"That certainly looks familiar," Baby said. She took it in her hand and studied it close. "It looks different than the other one, but it has the same weight. The same soft buzzing."

"Let me see it," Michael requested. Baby dropped it into his hands and he began to turn it over. He held it out to Ennard. "Same sound?"

Ennard leaned in, listened, and nodded. "Same buzz."

Michael swore again and started to pinch at the pendant. When he couldn't force it open, he held it up to Baby. "Pop this open, would you?"

She stuck out a claw. Michael carefully placed it in, and she easily cracked it open.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome."

Michael opened the pieces up in his hands and shifted through them before noticing a little chip. Pulling it out he studied it close. It was impossible to notice anything from the chip itself, but there seemed to be some sort of logo printed on it. He would have to study it when they got home. For the moment he kept it clasped in his palm.

Scott noticed the small bundle of wires that Ennard was holding and stepped over to him.

"You lost wires? Are you okay?" he whispered with concern.

"Oh this? Nah, this is nothing. In fact, I feel way better with it out," Ennard reassured. He leaned into his side, still crouched but giving and getting another half-hug. "I'll top up when we get back home."

"Okay, good. Do that. And, uh…" Scott looked back towards Millie. Ennard let him go so he could approach her. "The police are coming. The same guys who dealt with your… situation. They're going to come and they're going to get your friend to a hospital. Why don't you come with me and we'll wait with her?" He paused a beat and then added in, before she could answer, "And I know you're probably a little nervous trusting someone you just met after all of this. If it makes it any better, I'm the guy you called. You know, when you asked about the clown?"

"Wait, you are. I recognize your voice," Millie said in surprise. But then she grew suspicious. "Wait a minute. You said you didn't know anything about a clown."

"Right, that. I was lying. Sorry about that but I've got to protect these guys- but we came as quickly as we could. It sounded like something was up so we just… packed up the whole circus and raced down here to see what was going on. You mentioned the dump so that was a lucky break." Scott paused his ramble to clear his throat. "So, yeah. That's what happened."

"Oh."

"So, uh. I guess let's go wait for the cops and let them take care of the rest."

"The rest of what's left of her," Bonnet remarked.

"Ha! Cute," Ennard complimented.

"Not cute, but mildly clever," Michael corrected.

So, that was it then. That was the end of the battle. Now it was time to deal with the fallout. Wait for the cops, explain the situation, and go home.

But for some reason, despite not wanting to be stuck in this situation in the first place, Millie didn't want to leave. And she knew that was because of the Clown. Because she knew she wouldn't see him again.

She had to do it right this time. She had a second chance.

"Alright, but before I go. Can I just- I just need to say something. Please," Millie said awkwardly. They were looking at her expectantly, so she looked to the Clown pointedly, and made a sort of 'get up' gesture.

"Oh! Yup, here I go." Ennard got up, cracked his back, fixed his jacket, and strode over. He hooked an arm around Millie and led her off. "We're going to mosey on over there so you guys can pretend to not hear us. Maybe someone could find my glove before I get back? That would be great."

"On it!" Bonnet chirped back.

Ennard didn't take Millie far, but he had gotten the direct impression that she wanted to talk alone. So, they stopped in the middle of some trash, just beside an old refrigerator that looked like it had been sitting there for twenty years.

"Well, well, well. Looks like somebody was right about having everything having a weak spot!" Ennard chirped. "Gotta admit though, I was really banking on it being the head. Not some boxy battery sitting there like a square meatball in a mound of metal spaghetti."

Millie got a tense half-smile.

"Oh, come on! I know that was bad, but surely, I can get a bigger smile than that!" Ennard vocally nudged.

That got a much more honest smile out of Millie. It was weird, he was VERY weird, but she couldn't help but like it. She had always imagined he would be nice.

"Okay, but don't call me Shirely," Millie answered.

That took Ennard totally off-guard if his choke-like laugh was any indication. An almost hysterical laugh that would've been off-putting if it was anyone else. He got himself together and pointed at her.

"And you can call me Ennard! In case those guys didn't bring you up to speed," Ennard replied. "So, whatcha want to talk about?"

Millie rubbed her arm and looked at the ground.

"It's just… okay, I know this is weird, but I just wanted to thank you for saving me."

"Aww, you're welcome, Kiddo! But I can't take credit! It was really a group effort. 'Specially once Scottie brought out the firepower."

"That's not what I mean. I mean, thank you for that. You saved my life and Sarah, but I meant… back with the bear."

It was hard to notice a change in Ennard's facial expression. His mask was stuck in a constant smile after all. But it did seem like his eyes softened a little when she dared to look up at him.

"I heard that if I had been in there another few hours, I would've been dead. I don't know if that's true, but I know you saved my life and if it wasn't for you I… I don't think I'd be able to be normal. Not normal, but okay. It's hard to get out what I mean, but knowing that you tore Freddy apart- it sort of gave him less power? I think I would've been afraid of him forever, and I still sort of am, but you… Thank you for killing Freddy. That's what I'm trying to say," Millie forced out.

"Thank you for holding out long enough for me to getcha," Ennard said a little more sincerely. "You're a pretty tough girl, you know that?"

"I don't know about that…" Millie admitted. She smiled a little. "I was too out of it to know what was going on. I didn't even know if you were real, but I believed you were. Everyone was telling me you were a hallucination and I guess that made sense, but I believed that you were like some sort of guardian angel. The only reason I came here was to prove you were real… I guess that sounds dumb."

"It doesn't! Don't worry so much."

"Thanks. And thank you for saving my life. Twice."

"I'd do it a third time."

"I really, REALLY hope you don't have to," Millie admitted. "…But I hope I see you again."

"Yeah…"

That was the non-committal 'yeah' of someone who knew they'd probably never see each other again. Millie felt her heart sink, but she kept that little smile up. That was okay. She got her second chance.

"…You know, I'm not entirely against being pen pal buddies! Only catch is that it'll have to be our little secret."

Okay, never mind. Apparently, this wasn't goodbye.

"I won't tell anyone. But how would I send it? Do I just, I don't know, leave it here at the dump?"

"Got an email?"

Even easier and less need to drive back and forth to the dump. Millie gave him her email and he said he would remember it- she hoped he wasn't just placating her. He really hoped she would keep this hush-hush.

"Alrighty, Crouton! Then let's getcha back to Scott and back to the van so you can be there when the cops get here," Ennard said. He started to usher her back out. "And really watch your step. Whatever THAT is is really slick."

"Uh, right. Sure. I'm going," Millie fumbled. She considered one last thing.

Ennard looked at her questioningly.

Oh, what the hell. She almost died tonight.

Millie stepped in and hugged the Clown. He must've been a little surprised as he jumped and lifted his arms for a second.

She was hugging the Clown. It was almost like hugging the bear really. Just hugging this tall robot clown until his arms fell on her back and he returned with a tight, but not painful, squeeze. It was so bizarre, but it felt safe.

Her guardian angel was a haunted robot clown and she was fine with that.

Scott, who had been spying on the encounter, smiled a little and returned to the others. He couldn't say he wasn't nervous- this meant another person knew about Ennard, and a teenager at that- but he had a feeling that maybe this wouldn't totally blow up in their face. He came back in time to assist Baby in helping Michael to his feet.

"Do you think we can trust her?" Baby asked.

"I think so. She seems like a good kid. I think it'll work out alright," Scott assured.

Michael teetered to his feet and held out a hand to signal that he was good to stand on his own. Scott leaned down to pick up Bonnet into his arms, along with Ennard's glove.

"I'm going to go sit with the girl until Clay gets here. Think you two can handle things back here?" he asked.

"Yes. Worst case scenario, we set ourselves on fire and use it as an excuse to get a better body," Michael remarked.

"We're in a trash dump. I don't expect we'll find anything that constitutes 'better' here," Baby remarked. She looked back at Eleanor for a long moment before sighing. "Wait here for a few minutes, Scott. There is something I must do first."

Scott raised his brows. "Alright. What's that?"

"Is the van locked?"

"Yes."

"Then hand me the keys."

Laying in the back of the van situated on cushions and the like, Sarah was slipping in and out of consciousness. Never to the point where she was in danger of suffocating, but more just falling into a light sleep before waking herself up. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know what was going on.

Then the back of the van opened and there were a pair of glowing green eyes staring down at her.

She thought it was Eleanor. She groaned but couldn't make any effort to fight or escape.

"Calm down. You are safe now. She's gone."

That was a different voice. She was too out of it to consider whether or not she could trust the voice, she just took it at face value. Eleanor wasn't here.

"You were lucky this time. If she had gotten her way, you would have been ruined. Maybe you made that decision yourself, but I know you did not understand what you were asking for. I know you didn't want this."

The figure leaned forward. She couldn't make out much of her face except something didn't seem normal. Was she a doll?

"I need you to listen to me. You will never be perfect. Nobody can be. Nobody is perfect to everyone, and nobody is beautiful to everyone. But what you have now is a beautiful thing. You have a living body. You have your own hair, your own eyes. You can grow up as you are supposed to, and when you decide to change you have the chance to change yourself. You almost lost all of that today."

She felt her hair being pet. For a fleeting second, she mistakenly believed her mother was there, but no, she couldn't be.

"We don't choose the bodies we are given. We must learn how to live with them. How to make ourselves happy, because chasing the dream of beauty is exhausting and pointless."

The hand stilled.

"But for the record, I do think you are a beautiful person. There was a time that I would've killed for a body like yours."

The hand pulled away. The eyes lowered and the voice softened.

"And that is why I had to learn how to be happy with what I am."

With a sigh, the figure moved away and began to shut the back.

"Go to sleep, Sarah. This is all a bad dream."

And she did. And she only awoke once she was being taken out by paramedics shortly afterwards.

And finally, finally, the ordeal was over.

…

The days and weeks following the incident were rough for Sarah. She had remembered everything before she was drugged and a chunk afterwards. Blurry memories of some men finding her and a woman coming to see her. She remembered what the woman said, but not too much of what she looked like. She thought she had glowing green eyes, but it wasn't Eleanor, so it couldn't have been.

She even asked Millie if it was the clown. She had awkwardly gave a no, but did discreetly tell her the clown had been there. This time, Sarah choose to believe Millie. I mean, why not? Could've been anything.

But she remembered what the woman had said. Not everything, mostly the gest of it. Nobody is perfect. She was lucky. She was beautiful. So much more. It stuck with her.

Recovering from the sedation was quick. By time she woke up at the hospital she was able to see straight, if with a massive headache and some wobbling. Within the next day the medicine fully left her system.

But recovering from the ordeal itself took so much longer. The first night home her mother slept alongside her in bed. The second Sarah assured she was fine, but found herself checking the corner so often that she barely slept. On the third night she snuck out and slept on the couch, which somehow felt safer. It took a while before she felt safe in that house, and it was always worse at night.

She lived in fear for a while, and it was no wonder that she found herself under the care of a therapist, which turned out to be a step in the right direction. She began to open up about her feelings of insecurity. They were still there, but now she was able to see for herself that something wasn't right.

They had also stumbled across her disordered eating. Despite her feelings about her weight, Sarah had begun to make an effort to start eating more. Her mother had even been going out of her way to make extra nutritious meals to help her make up for what she was lost. They were baby steps, but Sarah was genuinely trying.

Because now Sarah knew something was wrong and it wasn't just how she looked.

Of course, she couldn't tell the full truth. Largely because she knew she would be labelled as crazy since Eleanor seemingly disappeared- Millie said that she was supposedly burned, but Sarah couldn't be so sure.

The story they stuck to was one very close to the truth. Sarah met a new friend who helped her do her hair and makeup. The new friend tried to perform surgery on her and wouldn't take no for an answer. It was outlandish but she had the fact that she had been drugged to back her up, as did whoever it was that found her. She didn't know and she didn't ask.

It was probably for the best that her mother didn't know the full extent of what almost happened. Instead, she thought it was just some maniac who befriended her daughter and tried to cut her open. Throwing in the fact that she was a living robot probably would've been too much.

There was one thing she had trouble dealing with though, and it was something she really couldn't talk to anyone about. She had guilt.

She knew that Eleanor was the monster here. That Eleanor did this to her and would've done so much worse… but part of her blamed herself. Wondered if only she had been happy just having her as a helper if she would've never done that. It was, after all, a command she had given Eleanor. She told her to do it. She made her into that monster.

She brought it up with Millie once shortly after the incident, but Millie assured her that Eleanor would've eventually turned. That the whole thing was a trick. Sarah wasn't entirely sure…

On the plus side, Abby and Mandy visited her in the hospital- Millie was already there when she first woke up. She apologized to Abby and the two reconciled. Abby didn't care about the fight anymore once she wound up in the hospital, but it still bothered Sarah, and soon the four of them were back to normal as far as friendship was concerned.

Maybe even more so. Due to Sarah trying to eat more and not wanting to go back to the house, she would often hang out with the group whenever they offered- and they offered more now. It was nice.

It was two weeks before Sarah returned to school. She was dreading it, remembering the incident in the lunchroom and expecting to receive a few cracks at her expense, but that didn't happen. No, instead most of the kids seemed awkward around her. The story on the news had been that a girl was kidnapped and somehow it got out that it was her, so she became popular for the worst reason.

Some came up to offer their support, many avoided her, but thankfully nobody was asking too many questions. And when they did, Mandy would usually shut them down or insert herself in to deflect the conversation.

A couple of people sent her cards. Specifically Shelly and Pickle, but also one of the Beautifuls, the one who looked at her with sympathy. She had hoped that maybe the other Beautifuls would reach out, but they didn't. Sarah still sometimes longed for the attention of the Beautifuls, but now she sort of hoped it would go away.

She didn't want to be beautiful. Or well, she did. She still did somewhere in her mind. It was still there haunting her, but now there was a new voice too. One telling her that she really just wanted to be okay. Okay with herself. Okay with who she was. She didn't want to BE beautiful, she wanted to FEEL beautiful- though maybe that was just the therapy talking.

She had at least come to the agreement that despite what she saw, she was prettier than she thought. And she kept telling herself that. And maybe eventually it would make a difference.

But she wasn't the only one who felt like things had changed.

Millie felt different. She had a new lease on life after her near-death experience and now finding out about the Clown- Ennard, and all of the living animatronics in Hurricane… It should've scared her, but it didn't. In fact, it was almost like she had seen a unicorn in the wild. It was like the world had some magic left after all.

A weird thing to say about dead people stuck as animatronics, but it just added a sort of mystery to the world that she didn't think was in it. To think that her parents were travelling the world seeking adventures and she had snagged one here in the town they dumped her in. It was almost vindicating, but more so reassuring.

And she had gone ahead and emailed him. She didn't expect him to respond, but he did. She knew it was him because he typed like he talked, randomly using all caps to emphasize various words and randomly sprinkling in 'ha ha' throughout the message. He also used a lot of code names- Baby was always 'Sis', Michael was always 'Mike', Bonnet was always 'Bon-Bon', and the only one referred to properly was Scott.

Also, apparently him and Scott had a thing going on. That explained some things. She was happy for them.

He checked in on Sarah too, and Millie kept him up to speed on her recovery- the things that she knew Sarah wouldn't mind her saying, not the things told in complete confidence.

In his third email Ennard had thrown in an odd suggestion. He suggested that after she finished high school she should get a part-time job at Foxy's Pirate Cove. At first she thought it was a joke, but then remembering the amount of animatronics who had been there that night… now she wondered if it was a hint.

Maybe she'd take him up on that offer. Someday. She could always use a little more magic.

…

"What do you know about Talgart Industries?"

"…I'm sorry, what?"

Michael would normally be frustrated to reiterate but seeing that it was Jake he found patience easier. He readjusted the phone in his grip, holding Scott's magnifying glass in the other. Gesticulating with it now that he was done looking at the chip.

"Talgart Industries. Looks like something that may have been found in Afton Robotics, but the name is unfamiliar to me. You?"

"Uh… Well, sort of. Remember that scientist who I mentioned? The one who trapped me and Andrew in our endo body? His name was Dr. Taggart."

"Interesting. And I am aware that there is a man named Dr. Talbert working at the Pizzaplex."

"Do you think they're working together?"

"Perhaps… But the similarities in name suggest that they may be a bit closer than that."

"You mean?"

"The same man under two different identities." Michael looked at the chip again, making sure he hadn't been wrong with what he saw. "It would not be a first for Freddy's."

"I guess. But if so, that'd be a really bad choice of name for the company. It blows the cover!"

"My father, the murderer, went as Fredrick Fazmann."

"…I… Okay, I stand corrected."

Michael chuckled, but then paused. He pondered for a long moment.

"…The doll had been left in the dump and said it was looking for Ennard… That doesn't bode well."

"Do you think someone made it to spy on Ennard?"

"Taggart was your mad scientist and you lived at the dump for how long?"

"…Oh, that's seriously creepy… But I'm- I'd be shocked if Taggart's still alive. He wasn't exactly spry and then we threw a shelf down on him. We sort of panicked."

"You don't have to explain a thing to me, Jake. I understand," Michael assured, his voice warmed. "But be careful. Especially with Andrew on the run. There is something very wrong here."

"You don't have to tell me. I'll be sleeping with one eye open from now on. The good one."

Michael chuckled dryly and crunched the chip between his fingers. He'd have to get rid of it properly after he was off the phone.

He had a hunch this wasn't over yet.