Sister Location

This is a short continuation of Nightwatch Nightmares based off of Sister Location. The author, Purple Spring Foxy, has officially gone insane enough from the very common pointing out of the obliteration of their theory that they just wrote this for fun. This isn't theory. This is purely a fanwork. Credits go to Scott Cawthon for the creation of Five Nights at Freddy's and Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location, also to Markiplier, who's Let's Play series I used as reference for certain parts of this work and also to Groundbreaking, JT Machinima and DAGames for music inspiring this work. Don't republish this anywhere, especially without crediting me. Share it, but don't republish it. You get the point. Now that you've read this, please enjoy these five chapters in the knowledge that this is a FNAF-based Alternate Universe where Afton wasn't Purple Guy and Purple Guy was the big brother from FNAF 4. This is a present to the few people who have read and enjoyed Nightwatch Nightmares without pointing out every little mistake or repeatedly stating that my theory got obliterated. Guys, this is for you. Thank you.

Chapter 1

The building was on fire and it was Jeremy’s fault. Toby helped, but it was mostly Jeremy. That was two days ago. The auction was today. It’s funny how the contents of a burnt-out building would soon be for sale to the highest bidder. He knew who it would be. It would be Gilbert Peterson. It was always Gilbert Peterson. There was no escape from this unending torment. Jonas sat there in the rabbit animatronic with burnt off legs, unable to escape. Another sunrise. Another maddening sunrise. Always the same. The chatter from outside made it worse. How could people stand to be so happy when the world was corrupt, rotting with greed? The rich stealing from the poor with their advertisements and empty promises of paying for some special service or food or item to make yourself beautiful like the stars on television or in magazines... It was disgusting. Humanity was disgusting. How could people live such shallow lives? How could they stand it? And then, like that, people came in.

“How dare you come in here and disturb my peace!” Jonas yelled. All Spring Bonnie let out was a creaky moan. Why? Why had his life and death come to this? Unable to fight back, he was forced to let the workers carry him off and into the car. Soon, the arcade machine and assorted other items from the old franchise were carelessly packed in, with him. One long ride later, everything was carried into Peterson Manor. Oh, how he hated this place. So many memories... Disgusting people...

“What are these doing in my entryway?” a disturbingly familiar voice asked, “Take them to the spare parts room immediately.”

“Gilbert...” Jonas whispered. Spring Bonnie moaned, yet again.

Several months later...

Dennis walked out of his car and pulled out his mobile so as to call his new boss.

“Hey, boss... Can I get the scoop?” he said, once Gilbert picked up.

“Have you arrived at Circus Baby’s Rentals and Entertainment?” Gilbert asked.

“Sure thing, boss man,” Dennis replied.

“Go in. You’ll find an elevator that will take you to your job,” Gilbert replied, “Just do as Hand Unit tells you and you’ll do fine.”

“Who’s Hand Unit?”

“You’ll know him when you hear him.”

Dennis sighed as dial tone blared through the phone. Hanging up, he walked on and found the elevator. Cautiously, he entered it. It was unnaturally cold and uncomfortable. He looked around at the pictures of Circus Baby and Ballora.

“Welcome to the first day of your exciting new career,” a voice announced. Dennis jumped, then looked around. This must be Hand Unit.

“Whether you were approached at a job fair, read our ad in Screws, Bolts and Hairpins, or if this is the result of a dare, we welcome you!” Hand Unit continued on like this for a while, but then a glitchy keypad popped out in front of Dennis.

“Please enter your name as seen above the keypad. This cannot be changed later, so please be careful.” Dennis looked at it and awkwardly tried to type in his name, ignoring the tape with the word “Mike” written on it, above the keypad, but this proved unsuccessful when Hand Unit “saw what he was trying to say” and ended up “correcting” it and welcoming him as Eggs Benedict. Dennis quietly rubbed his temples. It was gonna be a long night.

Gilbert leaned back in his chair and sipped his Martini. With the recent success in the animatronic rental business, he was raking in more cash than he did with the Fazbear franchise and with his idiot son, Toby, out of the way, nobody was trying to ruin his reputation any longer. He smiled quietly to himself at the thought of his success in his endeavours and sipped his Martini, again.

Jonas stepped into a room, covered in an amalgamation of endoskeleton pieces and looked around at the other ghosts.

“I am eyes,” he said, blankly, trying to fix one of the eyes dangling from the mess of parts.

“We need to get out of here... And soon,” Violet growled. Jeremy was shaking, quietly.

“This new guy really likes the electric zaps, d-doesn’t he...” he stammered. The others nodded. Jonas looked around at them. It was funny to think that everyone in this room, save for the little girl at his feet, hated him not too long ago and yet, here they were, wanting to escape, wanting his help to escape.

“I have a plan to get us out,” Jonas said, a slight smile creeping across his face, “Don’t worry. Soon, we will be freed from this torment.”

“And what, exactly, is this plan?” Violet asked.

“We gain the technician’s trust,” Jonas explained, “Once we do that, we’ll lead him to the Scooping Room and use his body.”

“But we can’t possess people,” Toby stated, “Even you can’t do that for very long.” Jonas chuckled darkly.

“Now, who said anything about possession...?”

END CHAPTER 1

Chapter 2

“Welcome back for another night of intellectual stimulation, pivotal career choices and self-reflection on past mistakes,” Hand Unit said as Dennis leaned against the wall of the elevator, “We’re committed to creating a unique and fulfilling work experience. One part of that commitment is ensuring that you don’t get tired of the voice that you’re hearing right now.” The keypad popped out, again.

“No...” Dennis moaned.

“Using the keypad below, please select a new companion voice. For male, press 1. For female, press 2. For text-only, press 3. For other options, press 4.”

Dennis awkwardly stared at the keypad.

“There are no numbers...” he said, “THERE ARE NO NUMBERS!!!!” He tried to type “two” into the keypad, but Hand Unit tried to “correct” him, again... With a voice called “Angsty Teen.”

“WONDERFUL,” Dennis yelled, sarcastically. After a long elevator ride down, a voice announced, “The elevator stopped. You know the routine. Get out now, or... Whatever. Stay here if you want.” Dennis sighed and got down to get into the vent.

“So, funny story,” the Angsty Teen said, “A dead body was found in this vent, once. Okay, so... Not that funny... But... It’s a story.” Dennis looked around.

“I hope I don’t end up being the next dead body in here...” he grumbled, crawling through.

“Okay, let’s start with your nightly chores,” Angsty Teen grumbled, “You should check on Ballora and make sure she’s on her stage, but... Whatever.” Dennis sighed and pressed the light button, finding Ballora right there.

“Huh,” Angsty Teen scoffed, “I guess Ballora has better things to do... Let’s zap her. That should be fun.” Dennis shrugged and did so. A loud warble flooded the room immediately after the controlled shock. Dennis looked around frantically, a little spooked by this noise. Soon, it stopped.

“Let’s check on Funtime Foxy,” Angsty Teen said as soon as the noise stopped, “Make sure she’s ready for showtime, tomorrow.” Dennis did so and jumped slightly when a very low-pitched version of the word “Great!” played three times.

“There seems to have been a problem with the voice synthesizer,” Hand Unit announced, “Default settings have been restored. Please proceed, through the vent ahead of you, to Circus baby’s Auditorium.” Dennis quietly crawled through the vent, triggering a motion sensor. After a few moments, he left the vent and brushed himself off. After checking on Circus Baby... Or, lack thereof... And attempting to zap her twice, Hand Unit left to reboot the system, leaving him alone in the pitch black darkness.

Dennis bounced a little awkwardly as he waited... And then, the motion sensor from the vent activated. The motion detector’s robotic, female voice announced the opening of every vent in the building. Dennis stared in silent horror as his mind began to envision the animatronic characters coming after him, chasing him through the vents and ripping him to shreds.

“I don’t recognize you...” a calm, female voice said, causing Dennis to jump, “You are new... I remember this... Scenario...” Dennis looked around frantically for the source of the voice.

“H-hello?!” he called out.

“However,” the voice continued, “It’s a strange thing to want to do... To come here... I’m curious what events would lead a person to want to spend their nights in a place like this... Willingly... maybe curiosity...? Maybe ignorance...?”

“I was bored!” Dennis yelled, “I was bored and kind of a thrill seeker!”

“There is a space under the desk,” the voice continued, “Someone before you crafted it into a hiding place and it worked, for him.” Dennis looked around and found it, looking at it curiously.

“I recommend that you hurry, though...” the voice said, “You will be safe, there... Just try not to make eye contact... It will be over, soon.”

“What...?” Dennis exclaimed.

“They will lose interest...” the voice finished

“Who? Who will lose interest?!” Dennis yelled, climbing under, “Who are you talking about?! Why should I trust you?!” Silence was his only reply. He sighed and pulled a piece of metal in front of him.

“Not much for conversation...” he grumbled under his breath. Not a second later, he heard crawling through the vents. He went completely still, his eyes widening. He didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t like the sound of this.

“Hello in there~” a quiet voice called out. Dennis covered his mouth and tried to quiet his loud, quick breathing. Nobody was supposed to be in here and the animatronics weren’t supposed to move.

“Someone is inside...”

Dennis shook his head, quietly, hoping they wouldn’t find him... Hoping they’d just leave.

“Is it the same person?”

Dennis let out a slight whimper and regretted it immediately. They began tapping on the metal sheet in front of him. He could hear his heart beating loudly in his chest. It was difficult to keep his breathing quiet. Oh, just let this end! He just wanted to go home and watch The Immortal and the Restless with his popcorn. This isn’t what he wanted. This isn’t what he asked for.

“Knock knock~”

He shook his head, again, then let out a yelp as the metal began to move, being pulled in the other direction. He grabbed it and pulled it back, noting that whoever was pulling it the other way was strong. It was like a tug of war that was most likely a life-or-death matter. Whether it was or wasn’t, he didn’t want to know. All he knew was that he wanted to leave. Now. But he couldn’t. They were outside... Whoever they were.

“We always find a way inside...”

He shook in fear, trembling, wanting to go home... And then, they pulled on the metal, again. He fought back, pulling it back so it covered him, offering him some protection from this unknown “they” until, finally, they gave up.

“She’s watching us...”

“We have to leave, now...”

Dennis leaned back in relief.

“We’ll see you again, soon!”

He let out a very relieved sigh as he heard them leave. He chuckled softly, then jumped with a yelp as the other voice came back with, “When your guide come back online, he is going to tell you that he was unsuccessful. That you must restart the system manually.”

“Not sure I buy that...” Dennis muttered under his breath.

“He will then tell you to crawl through Ballora Gallery as fast as you can to reach the breaker room,” the voice continued, “If you follow his instructions, you will die.”

“Nooooooooope,” Dennis exclaimed, “I’m outta here! I don’t wanna! NOPE!”

“Ballora will not return to her stage anymore. She will catch you.”

“Nooooo...!” Dennis whined, face-planting against the cold, hard metal.

“The power will be restored, shortly.”

“Good!”

“When you crawl through Ballora Gallery, go slowly. She cannot see you and can only listen for your movement. When you hear her music become louder, she is growing near... Listening for you...”

“Why me...”

“Wait... And be still...”

“Thank you for your patience,” Hand Unit announced, “It seems that the power system cannot be restarted automatically.”

Dennis groaned loudly.

“You will need to restart the power system manually. Please return to the Primary Control Module.” Dennis pushed the metal over and crawled back, grumbling about not getting paid nearly enough for this nonsense.

When he got there, Hand Unit came back immediately with, “You will now be required to crawl through the Ballora Gallery, using the vent to your left, to reach the breaker room. It is recommended that you stay low to the ground and reach the other side as fast as possible, as to not disturb Ballora.”

The voice was right? How did she know all of this? He knew he wasn’t the first guy to work here, but...?

“I will deactivate myself momentarily, as to not create an auditory disturbance,” Hand Unit finished, “Deactivating.”

“Good,” Dennis sighed, glancing at the vent leading towards Ballora Gallery, “Didn’t need you making this harder.”

As soon as he opened the vent, the voice announced it. Great. This was gonna be fun. Ballora probably already knew he was coming. The vent voice was loud... Everything in here was so loud... When he got into Ballora Gallery, it was pitch black, save for where his flashlight shined. He was told this place was made to show off party-ready robots for rental use... Why was everything made for children so insanely creepy? And why was it so uncomfortably cold in here? He quietly crawled through Ballora Gallery and stopped not ten seconds after beginning. The music was nearby and getting louder. It grew quieter, then stopped, so he continued. The faint, flickering glow of a light ahead of him showed him where the door was. Maybe he could crawl to it in time... Perhaps, if he really did go through fast, like Hand Unit said... But the music came back, louder. He stopped. He waited. He took a few quick steps before stopping, again, hoping she didn’t hear. Once the music passed, he began crawling, again. He was going faster, now that he was closer to the door and could actually see where he was going. Moments later, the music returned from his right and got louder and louder. He was almost to the door, but he stopped, waiting until the music stopped. However, once he’d taken two steps, Hand Unit so kindly announced, “It seems you are taking a long time. Please proceed as quickly and as quietly as possible.” Dennis fought off the urge to yell out some harsh words, but he didn’t want his position to be given away any more than it already had been. He heard Ballora get closer and closer and, soon after, watched as she twirled not two inches away from his face. He held his breath, not wanting her to hear him, fearing for his life. As soon as she was far enough away, he went for the door again, but was stopped by her music, yet again. Would this ever end? Would he reach the door? The music faded and he bolted for the door, ducking inside as fast as he could. He closed his eyes and sighed, leaning against it.

He was safe... For a few moments, at least. The motion detector detected him, but that was the least of his worries. He just wanted to get home and relax... But noooo, he couldn’t do that, yet. He had to go reboot the stupid power. He got to work on that, listening to Hand Unit, noting that he was still in danger. After a few seconds, he disconnected and took a double-take at where electric sparks were causing a flickering light and noticed Funtime Freddy grinning at him, holding up the puppet version of Bonnie. The huge white and pink bear looked terrifying at night.

“Again, I reiterate...” Dennis muttered under his breath, “Why are kids things so creepy at night?!” He got to work on the power, again. After a few seconds, he disconnected and noticed a button next to the interface, labelled “Mascot Response Audio.” He pressed it.

“Calm down and go back to sleep!” a sweet voice announced, “No-one is here!”

That was soon followed by a decidedly psychotic laugh and a “Well, hello in there!” Dennis quickly reconnected and began rebooting the power. He quickly noticed that a bar labelled “danger level” was at maximum, so he disconnected and looked around. Funtime Freddy was closer. He pressed the button, again.

“Go back to your stage,” the female voice said, “Everything is okay.”

He got back to the interface screen, but the danger level was still at maximum.

“BON BON, SAY HI TO OUR FRIEND!” Funtime Freddy yelled. Dennis whined and hit the button, again.

“Everything is okay! Let’s go back to sleep!”

He went back to rebooting.

“I KNOW YOU’RE OVER THERE SOMEWHERE!”

“I think it was just a mouse!”

This process went on for several minutes before Dennis finally got the power back online. Why did they apparently become murderers at night?

“Great job,” Hand Unit said, once he’d finished, “This completes your tasks for the night. Please proceed back through the Ballora Gallery with care and we’ll see you back here, tomorrow.” Dennis sighed and walked back through the door. He crawled quickly through until he heard Ballora say, “Is someone there?” He stopped and waited... And then, he continued on, to the door.

“I can hear someone creeping through my room...”

Dennis froze to the spot, again, trembling softly, holding back a soft whine. He continued after a moment.

“Perhaps... Not.”

He stopped, again. The door was so close. So close. He looked around, then returned to crawling... And he made it out the door. He couldn’t help but flop over, onto the elevator floor, cheering.

When he returned to the surface, he pulled out his phone and called his boss.

“May I speak to Gilbert Peterson, please?” he asked, once the phone was answered. He was soon transferred to Gilbert.

“Yes?” Gilbert answered.

“I was wondering if we could maybe talk about giving me a raise,” Dennis replied as he walked to his car.

“No,” Gilbert replied, hanging up. Dennis sighed and pocketed his phone as he climbed into the car.

“I wonder what’s gonna happen, today...” he said to himself, “I hope Clara and Vlad rekindle their love...”

Jonas smiled at the little girl who floated out of the Scooped remains of Circus Baby.

“Hey, Daisy,” he said.

“Hello, Mr. Jonas!” Daisy chimed, brightly, “I think he’s starting to trust us!”

“Indeed he is, little one,” Jonas replied, “Soon, we’ll be able to leave this place and never come back! Our good friend, Eggs Benedict, is playing so easily into our hands...” Jeremy and Toby quietly looked to the ground in silent shame. This guy had a name... One that wasn’t “Eggs Benedict.” He had a life, a home, probably a family... And all for their personal gain, they were going to take that from him... All so that they could escape... The two looked at each other, then back at Daisy and Jonas.

“I don’t want to do this...” Jeremy said, softly, “It’s wrong...”

“Do you want to be under my dad’s thumb, Jeremy?” Toby asked, “It’s brutal, but it’s our only hope of escape. If we don’t, we won’t get out.” Jeremy cried softly and looked at Toby.

“We have a choice... We can either let him live or we kill him...” he whimpered.

“Hey, man... I don’t like it, either, but it’s our only option,” Toby replied, “I hate it as much as you do, but I’m sick of having to deal with my dad... I’m sick of him basically owning me like I’m property. I’m getting out of here... Even if it’s absolutely disgusting.”

END CHAPTER 2

Chapter 3

Gilbert glanced at the pile of documents in front of him and sighed, aggravated that some of Jonas’ crimes were coming to light. People were beginning to see that he was behind some of it, thanks to clues his disloyal servant had left behind. Apparently, if Jonas went down, he secretly made sure that he, his boss – no, his owner – went down with him. Even in death, Jonas was causing more problems than not. Gilbert had made it very clear that the lives of those close to Jonas were on the line if he so much as disobeyed one order. So carelessly, Jonas had disobeyed seven. Only once had he gone easy on him, making sure he ended up in the hospital instead of at a funeral... But Jonas wouldn’t learn easily. The next time Jonas failed to end the life of one of Gilbert’s enemies, he’d made sure Jonas’ ex-fiancée was murdered. When that didn’t work, the few real friends he had ended up six feet under, as well. When Jonas realized that he was technically to blame for their deaths and that one more disobedient action would result in the death of his beloved little girl, Violet, he finally, finally began to do as he was told, obeying every new job to the letter... Or so Gilbert had thought. Gilbert walked out of his office and out to the pool. The existence of Fazbear’s Fright was a blessing, of sorts. The money he lost was trivial, Toby had died and he’d inadvertently bought the ghosts of several people, including Jonas. He had decided that the best course of action would be to reuse them in a new location just to torture them – especially Jonas. Controlled shocks would keep them in line. However, that incident with Circus Baby... That was no accident. Jonas was to blame for yet another death… Gilbert’s youngest child, Daisy – the only one of his children he ever loved.

“Welcome back to another pivotal night of your thriving new career, where you get to really ask yourself, “What am I doing with my life?” “What would my friends say?” and most importantly, “Will I ever see my family again?”” Hand Unit cheerfully announced on the way down. Dennis let out a nervous laugh as that went on, seriously wondering if the job was really worth the low salary and constant threat of death.

“We understand the stresses of a new job,” Hand Unit continued, “And we’re here for you. To help you reach a more stable and relaxing frame of mind, we offer several musical selections to help make this elevator ride as relaxing and therapeutic as possible.”

“Great!” Dennis smiled, but that smile faded as Hand Unit listed off some of the choices. He realized that the keypad would return. What insanity would occur, tonight? Dubstep? The keypad popped out and Dennis let out a loud, aggravated moan. He attempted to input “contemporary jazz,” but to no avail.

“It seems you had some trouble with the keypad.”

“Yeah.”

“I see what you were trying to type...”
“Nope.”

“...And I will autocorrect it for you.”

“Contemporary jazz, like you mentioned?”

“Thank you for selecting... Casual Bongos.”

Dennis laughed.

“Not bad!” he smiled as the music began playing. He danced to it as the elevator went down.

“Now that your elevator experience has been customized to your needs and you’re thoroughly relaxed, it’s worth mentioning that due to your lacklustre performance yesterday, your pay has been decreased by a substantial amount.”

Dennis stopped dancing.

“I hate my boss,” he moaned, officially un-relaxed.

Once Dennis had climbed into the vent, he got to hear about how he’d have to do maintenance on Funtime Freddy, due to unforeseen events that caused severe injuries to some technicians. Great. Juuuuuust great. He checked on Ballora and found the Minireenas holding up her assorted parts, such as her leg and head.

“Seriously, guys?!” he exclaimed, “Why are you ripping her to bits?!”

“Great,” Hand Unit said, “It looks like everything is as it should be at Ballora Gallery.”

“NO IT’S NOT!” Dennis yelled. Hand Unit told him to check on Funtime Foxy to make sure she was on her stage, before entering. He did so and discovered that she was, in fact, completely missing from her stage, but Hand Unit didn’t see anything wrong with that. It wasn’t even 1 AM and Dennis felt like just breaking down. He didn’t want to die. He lived a good, happy life, so why did he keep coming back?

“There is no need to check on Baby tonight.”

Dennis looked directly towards the vent leading towards Baby’s room.

“Please refrain from entering unauthorized areas. Proceed directly to Funtime Auditorium.”

Dennis immediately crawled through the vent, into Baby’s room. When he got into the room, he noticed that nothing was really available for use, save for under the desk. Something drew him to the space, so he crawled in, obeying his instincts. He pulled the metal in front of the desk and hid. For a moment, nothing happened... And then...

"Did you know that I was on stage once?” the mysterious voice asked, “It wasn’t for very long... Only one day. What a wonderful day, though.” Dennis listened, quietly.

“I was in a small room with balloons and a few tables. No-one sat at the tables though, but children would run in and out. Some were afraid of me, others enjoyed my songs. Music was always coming from somewhere else... down a hall. I would always count the children, I’m not sure why. I was always acutely aware of how many there were in the room with me. Two, then three, then two, then three, then four, then two, then none. They usually played together in groups of two or three. I was covered in glitter. I smelled like birthday cake. There were two, then three, then five, then four. I can do something special, did you know that? I can make ice cream – although I only did it once... There were four, then three, then two, then one. Something happened when there was one. A little girl, standing by herself. I was no longer... Myself... And I stopped singing. My stomach opened, and there was ice cream. I couldn't move, at least not until she stepped closer. There was screaming for a moment... but only for a moment. Then other children rushed in again, but they couldn't hear her over the sounds of their own excitement. I still hear her sometimes. Why did that happen?” Dennis sat and thought for a moment, absorbing all of this information. Baby had killed a little kid... That was pretty disgusting… But it sounded like she couldn’t really help it… Like it wasn’t her fault…

Dennis left and went to Funtime Auditorium, like he was supposed to, activating a motion sensor as he crawled through.

“Unlike Ballora, Funtime Foxy is motion activated,” Hand Unit informed him, “For this reason, it’s important to keep the room dark, as to not accidentally activate her. You have been provided with a flash beacon. Use it to get your bearings and to ensure you don’t bump into anything.”

Dennis nodded, quietly, looking at the flash beacon.

“However, use it as sparingly as possible. Proceed forward to reach the Parts and Service room.”

Dennis walked forward, hoping to not need to use the light. However, he soon realized he had no idea where he was going, so he flashed the light. Unfortunately, he soon heard quick footsteps run around. Another flash quickly showed him that Funtime Foxy was uncomfortably nearby. He walked forward and flashed again, discovering that she’d come even closer and was directly in front of him, not two feet away. He waited for the light to finish recharging before he moved onwards. This seemed to work and he soon found his way into Parts and Service. Hand Unit congratulated him and instructed him on how to preform the required maintenance on Funtime Freddy. Dennis shrieked and fell over backwards when the faceplates so loudly and suddenly opened, be he was quick to pick himself back up and continue on with the maintenance. When he removed the power module from Funtime Freddy, Hand Unit informed him that he’d need to remove the one from the Bonnie hand puppet, as well, which was all fine and dandy, buuuuut the Bonnie hand puppet was gone. Dennis quickly looked around, searching for the puppet. As soon as he found it, however, it disappeared. This went on for some time while Hand Unit reminded him of what he needed to do every few moments, furthering Dennis’ annoyance towards this situation. Eventually, he figured that the puppet would slowly rise to try to jump at him and scare him, but if he could just catch the puppet and press the button, all would be well and he’d be done in no time… And he did just that.

“Great job,” Hand Unit said, “You’ve acquired both power modules.”

“Oh yeah, I did!” Dennis cheered.

“This completed your tasks for the night.”

“That was easy.”

“Please exit the building through Funtime Auditorium.”

“Wait what...” Dennis stared blankly at the Bonnie puppet, then sighed. “Right. I need to actually leave to get back home...” He sighed and walked back into the auditorium. He flashed the light to get a quick look around. Nothing in sight… He took a few more steps once the light finished recharging. Still nothing. He cautiously took a few more steps… A few more… More stepping, more walking, more silently sneaking to the door… Would he be able to make it without flashing the light? He slowly and quietly walked through… Then, just to see of the path was clear, he flashed the light. Immediately, Funtime Foxy tackled him, sending him flying backwards and throwing him to the ground with enough force to knock him out.

Jeremy floated out of the Scooped remains of Funtime Foxy.

“I… I did it… I captured him...” he said, quietly, “He’s in the Scooping Room with Violet and Ballora...”

“No...” Jonas hissed, “He can’t be Scooped just yet… He needs to agree to it, in a sense… It’s the only polite way to go about this… And he hasn’t agreed, yet… He needs to trust us… Or her, at least… And I’m not sure if he does, just yet… Now, have you seen Vincent and Toby, Jeremy?”

“N-no...” Jeremy replied, quietly, trembling, his eyes welling up with tears, “I-I haven’t...” Jonas muttered something under his breath in some foreign language, then put a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder with a reassuring smile.

“I’m sure everything is going to be fine.” Sure, it was a temporary solution, but it would get everybody out.

END CHAPTER 3

Chapter 4

“He’s waking up...” Jeremy whispered. Jonas and Daisy looked at the old, springlocking suit.

“Daisy, I’m going to need to borrow your voice,” Jonas whispered, looking down at the girl beside him. She nodded happily and let Jonas kneel down and gently place his hand on her forehead. Her innocence was refreshing… Perhaps he could use that to their advantage. Jeremy quietly went invisible as the technician groaned.

“H-hello…?” he called, “Hello?!” Jonas sighed quietly, then smiled at Daisy, silently reassuring her that everything was going to be fine, but she needed to close her eyes. She complied immediately.

“Shh...” Jonas said through Daisy, “Be still… And quiet...” That seemed to work. The technician… “Eggs Benedict...” Calmed down a little… So he did trust her. Good. That was very good.

“You’ve been sleeping for quiet a while,” Jonas continued, “I think they noticed that you never left the building, last night. The cameras were searching for you, but they couldn’t find you. I have you hidden too well.” The technician shifted a little.

“I kidnapped you,” Jonas whispered. The technician immediately made a terrified noise. Jonas decided that was probably a bad course of action, so he changed the topic a little, keeping the demeanour childlike and innocent, as though he were some adorable, naive being like Daisy. He watched as Eggs wiggled inside the suit. Didn’t Eggs know what wiggling could do to springlocks? Was he insane?

“Don’t be afraid,” he said, “I’m not going to hurt you. I am only going to keep you for a little while. Try not to wiggle, though. You’re inside something that came from my old pizzeria.” Jonas paused, realizing who, exactly, Eggs had been stuffed inside. He very silently whispered, “Fredbear...” to himself.

“I don’t think it was ever used,” he continued, “At least, not the way it was meant to be used...” Flashbacks from ‘83 and ‘87 flooded his mind as he remembered Vincent’s death and the deaths of the five children… Stalking Jeremy through the pizzeria… He wore it, that night, only so the other animatronics wouldn’t try to chase him while he hunted Jeremy down… He needed to get his thoughts back on track. He was losing focus. He clung to that flood of innocence from Daisy and drug himself back to the present.

“Too dangerous...” he said, “It’s just big enough for one person to fit inside… But just… Barely...”

“Where am I?” Eggs asked, a little panicked. Jonas had to think fast.

“You’re in the Scooping Room,” he replied, coming up with some childlike explanation for it, hoping Eggs wouldn’t ask too many questions, “Do you know why they call it the Scooping Room?”

“No…?” Eggs replied.

“It’s because, dummy,” Jonas stated, “This is the room where they use the Scooper. I thought that would be obvious.” Eggs let out a nervous giggle. Was Eggs not trusting them? Eggs needed to trust them… He needed to trust them with his life… He needed to trust them so that, when lead to the Scooping Room a second time, he would obey, no questions asked. Childlike. He needed to think and act childlike… What would a child say, here…?

“Isn’t that a fun name for something?” he asked, ““The Scooper.””

“Y-yeah…!” Eggs replied, “Sounds super fun!”

“It sounds like something you would use for ice cream,” Jonas continued, “Or custard… Or sprinkles… It sounds like something you would want at your birthday party to ensure that you get a heaping portion of every good thing.” Jonas’ thoughts quickly delved into darkness, remembering what Vincent and Violet and Jeremy and Toby had said the Scooper was like… What he’d seen happen every night... He didn’t know, personally, what it was like, but he’d seen it. Ennard never needed to be Scooped. Ennard was what was left over from the bits that were Scooped… The bits that couldn’t be reused… Too bad for Gilbert, though… He knew how to rewire them to make them work in some generic fashion.

“I wonder, though...” he said, a little quieter, “if you were a freshly opened pint of ice cream, how you would feel about something with that name? ...Thankfully, I don’t think a freshly opened pint of ice cream feels anything at all…” Then, Jonas snapped his gaze away from Eggs and Fredbear and Daisy as he heard a noise.

“Uh-oh...” he said, “It sounds like someone else is in the building… Shh...”

“Okay, bring her over,” a male voice said, “Forward. More. Mooooore… Okay, stop. Set her down. Waaatch the step.”

“What happened to it, this time?” a second voice asked, “Just seems like these things can’t go a day without breaking down.”

“Who knows,” the first replied, “it’s always the same, man. Some kinda hardwear malfunction.”

“Well hey,” the second said, “I have to be somewhere in fifteen minutes. This place gives me the creeps. Can we just get this over with? It’s all automated. We don’t have to be here for it.”

“Just get her on the rollers, then we can go,” the first replied. Soon, the door closed. Who of his cohorts was this? Toby and Vincent? Jeremy had already been scooped… Fear filled his mind and his heart sunk at the thought of this possibly being Violet. The roller activated rather loudly – just like every other night – and his fears were proved true when Ballora was rolled into view. Anger filled his very being. The Scooper hurt… It hurt ghosts… Something about the technology used… It was devious… Obviously of Gilbert’s own design. The noises stopped abruptly as Ballora was put in line for the Scooping. He had to say something… He had to… But he couldn’t think of anything innocent to say…

“There’s something very important I’ve learned how to do over time,” he said, darkly, “Do you know what that is?”

“No…?” Eggs replied.

“How to pretend...” he continued, figuring out how to make this seem childish as memories of raising Violet – his beloved little Violet – flooded his mind, “Do you ever play make-believe? Pretend to be one way, when you are really the other…?”

“No...” Eggs replied, slight confusion filling his voice.

“It’s very important,” Jonas replied a little sadly, “Ballora never learns… But I do…”

“What…?” Eggs asked, “Why would you need to-”

“They think there is something wrong on the inside,” Jonas said, cutting Eggs off, “The only thing that matters is knowing. How. To. Pretend...”

The Scooper activated and attacked Ballora. He could hear his daughter’s pained scream… And then, it attacked again… And again. More screaming. He couldn’t stand it… He couldn’t… But he had to. He sighed, then returned his gaze back to Eggs as Marion’s Minireenas twirled into the room like a swarm of ballet dancing bees.

“I’ll open the faceplates for you,” he sighed, “That way, they can find you on the cameras… Now, all you have to do is wait…” Just as he was about to stand up to leave, he remembered something he really ought to tell Eggs before he hunted down the two fools who hurt Violet.

“I’d recommend that you keep the springlocks wound up,” he grinned, fighting back a slight twinge of bloodlust, “Your breathing and heartbeat are causing them to come loose… You don’t want them to get too loose… Trust me…” His mind raced back to the moment of his death as he gave this advice. That would not be a pretty way to lose their one escape. With that, he picked Daisy up and left. He had some idiots to find. He’d have checked on Violet, but everyone was dormant for an hour or two after being Scooped.

Dennis kept the springlocks wound up tight, not wanting to know why he wouldn’t want them loose. Whatever the reason, it didn’t sound good. He couldn't help but notice Ballora’s eye, staring at him… Seeming to be staring through to his very soul… As if the place wasn’t already uncomfortable enough. And then, to make matters worse, he saw the Minireenas crawling on him. A small wiggle sent them falling off and he returned to the springlocks, which had come very loose from that wiggle. A little common sense told him not to wiggle too much, but the panic caused from everything happening here told him to wiggle as much as possible to get these little demon ballerinas off him. He quietly balanced the wiggling and tightening of the springlocks as best he could, trying to think rationally during this stressful time. However, in a moment of blind panic, every springlock in the suit was about to loosen to the point of no return.

Jeremy gently put his hand to Eggs’ forehead and sent a stream of calm into his body. Simultaneously, he tightened every springlock back to maximum. He looked at Eggs’ face… That was the face of a human. The face of somebody who existed out in the real world, with a name and desires and things he aspired to do and be… And yet, he and the others needed to be free… This was torture… But would it really be worth this man’s life just to be free?

Dennis felt calm and focussed as he wiggled off a few more Minireenas. This was easy… He could finally focus on balance instead of fear. The tension was high, but he didn’t care. He balanced out the wiggling and tightening to perfection. However, Minireenas were on and in the suit, crawling around, climbing on everything. He should have been nervous, but he wasn’t. Finally, one of the guys from earlier walked over.

“Hey, man,” he said, “You okay? We found you on the cams.”

“I’m fine,” Dennis replied, “I am just fine.”

“Great!” the guy replied, “Let’s get you out of here. You must be Eggs Benedict, the new technician, right?”

“It’s Dennis,” Dennis replied, “The autocorrect on the keypad is just awful.”

“I agree,” the guy said, “According to Hand Unit, I’m Waffle Cone and my friend is Pineapple Pizza. The name’s actually John Wilson.”

“All these food names are making me hungry,” Dennis said, “Also probably the fact that I’ve been stuck in here for who knows how long.”

“You go get something to eat, Dennis,” John replied, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine while you’re gone.” John gave him a reassuring smile. Dennis smiled back.

“Thanks, man,” he said, “I don’t know how long I could’ve lasted if you didn’t save me, there.” With that, he walked into the elevator and went up.

John’s smile faded and he walked over to Ballora’s stage. Jonas quickly floated out of the man and watched him flop to the floor, his life force having been drained almost completely. This was why they needed the Scooper to escape with Dennis’ body. This was why he couldn’t possess a living being for long. Possessing a ghost was no issue, but when ghosts are tied to certain objects or locations, escape is nearly impossible. Jonas wound some rope around the man’s neck and hung him from the ceiling of Ballora’s stage. He walked away as the man finally died. He only had one more night to get Dennis into the Scooping Room. One more night.

END CHAPTER 4

Chapter 5

“Everyone, please stay in your seats. The show will begin, momentarily.”

The phrase echoed in Jonas’ mind. He couldn’t help but think of how accurate that was to this situation. He looked around in the Ennard body, gazing at the Scooped forms of Funtime Freddy, Hand Puppet Bonnie, Funtime Foxy and Ballora. Marion and Daisy walked in from behind him. Only a few more minutes before his cohorts – no, the rest of his family – would reawaken. Only a matter of time before the real show would finally begin.

“Welcome back to your last day on the job,” Hand Unit said, “That is, the last day of your first week. Some of the most valued qualities that we like to see in new employees are determination, fearlessness and a genuine disregard for instinctive self-preservation.”

“I only have one of those things...” Dennis said, quietly.

“You’ve earned your one week bonus, which will be given to you in the form of a delightful gift basket, the cost of which will be taken out of your next paycheck,” Hand Unit cheerfully said.

“Oh… Great,” Dennis sighed, “I have bills and rent to pay, though.”

“We have gift baskets containing fruit, nuts, flowers and, of course, the ever popular cash basket,” Hand Unit continued as the keypad popped out, resulting in a loud, aggravated noise from Dennis, “Using the keypad below, please enter the first few letters of the gift basket you would like to receive. Dennis tried to type in “cash,” but the keypad was an idiot – again!

“It seems you had some trouble with the keypad,” Hand Unit said, “I see what you were trying to type and I will autocorrect it for you.”

“No you don’t,” Dennis sighed.

“Thank you for selecting...” Hand Unit began.

“Cash… Cash...” Dennis pleaded.

“Exotic Butters,” Hand Unit finished.

“WHAT?!” Dennis exclaimed, “WHAT DO EXOTIC BUTTERS HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING?! I AM PAYING FOR THOSE OUT OF MY OWN PAYCHECK!”

He sighed.

“At least I can butter my popcorn with different types of butter...” he said, quietly, “...I guess...”

“Just be aware that there are still two technicians on-site, today,” Hand Unit said, “Try to avoid interfering with their work, if possible. Also, feel free to ask them why they are still there and encourage them to go home.” Dennis thought for a moment as the elevator stopped.

“Those two guys who saved me…?” he wondered aloud. He crawled into Primary Control Module and looked around.

“Let’s check on Ballora and make sure she’s on her stage,” Hand Unit said. Dennis pushed the button and screamed when he saw the shadow of a hanging corpse above her stage.

“Great,” Hand Unit cheerfully announced, “Now, let’s check on Funtime Foxy.” Hesitantly, Dennis checked that stage light, as well. He burst into tears at the sight of another hung man.

“Great!” Hand Unit exclaimed, “It looks like everything is as it should be in Funtime Auditorium.”

“No!” Dennis yelled, “No, it doesn’t! It’s not right! It’s not right!”

“Your task, today, will involve more maintenance work,” Hand Unit continued, nonchalantly, “Circus baby had a rough day and is in need of repair. You will be required to reach the Parts and Service room by once again sneaking through Funtime Auditorium.” Dennis fell to his knees and sobbed.

“No...” he whimpered, “No, I don’t wanna!”

“As always, please proceed with caution,” Hand Unit finished.

After a few moments of crying, Dennis pulled out his phone and called his boss.

“Gilbert Peterson, please...” he said, quietly, once the phone was answered. As soon as he was patched through, he began explaining the situation. It was a long several seconds after he finished explaining before Gilbert finally spoke.

“You’re just being a hysterical woman due to being shoved in a suit overnight,” he replied, “It’s not like you were ever in any danger.”

“But they’re hanging, man!” Dennis exclaimed, “I saw their shadows!”

“Their shadows,” Gilbert pointedly responded, “They’re probably just putting on a shadow show to scare you. You haven’t seen any actual bodies.”

“Wtf?!” Dennis exclaimed, “Peterson! Boss man! I’m being serious!”

“Get back to work before I cut your paycheck, again,” Gilbert growled before hanging up. Dennis stared in front of him in silent shock as he slowly lowered his dial tone-blaring phone. His boss was a coffin-dodging oxygen thief. After pocketing his phone, he crawled through the vent, into Funtime Auditorium. He went through, but it was weirdly empty. Once he reached Parts and Service, he was immediately face-to-face with Circus Baby.

“Great job reaching Parts and Service,” Hand Unit said, cheerfully, “Circus Baby has been deactivated for an unknown reason. It’s your job to make sure she’s structurally stable and secure to the conveyor. Our technicians will take it from there.” A static sound filled the air for a second.

Ennard made its way to Parts and Service, avoiding the security cameras. Even Dennis didn’t notice. Complete with Jonas, Toby, Jeremy, Violet, Marion, Vincent and Daisy, they were ready to begin the final show.

“Can you hear me?” Ennard asked, using Daisy’s voice, “I’m pretending. Remember how I said I could pretend? The cameras are watching. I must be careful not to move. Something bad happened, yesterday… Something bad always happens… I don’t want it to happen, again...”

Dennis was visibly distressed. Whether from this news or from something else, none of Ennard knew, but this was good. He was weaker. He was more easily manipulated.

“There is something bad inside of me,” Ennard stated, sadly, “I’m broken… I can’t be fixed…”

Dennis reached out and gently put his hand on Baby’s shoulder.

“It’ll be alright,” he said, “You’ll be okay. You can be fixed. I can try to help.”

Perfection.

“I’m going to be taken to the Scooping Room, soon… But it’s not going to fix what’s wrong with me...”

“What’s wrong? Tell me! I can help you!”

“What is bad is always left behind… Will you help me?”

“Yes! I’ll help you! What do you need me to do?”

Yes… This was going perfectly.

“I want you to save what is good, so the rest can be destroyed and never recovered… But you must be careful… Ballora is here, in the room, with us… Ballora will not return to her stage. Ballora will not return to her body.”

“What…?”

“You must be careful. You must remain calm and listen to my voice...”

Dennis nodded, silently.

Jonas knew this would turn out well, but he never thought it would play out this perfectly.

“There is a button on my cheek. You must find it and press it.”

Dennis did so. A small plate opened off the side of Baby’s head, ejecting a small keypad.

“There is a passcode that you must enter before you can retrieve me. Enter the code carefully...”

Dennis readied himself and entered each number of the code as it was given to him.

“Seven, one, seven, four, four, five, seven, two, nine, three.”

Dennis inhaled sharply, hoping Baby didn’t loudly open her entire face, like Funtime Freddy.

“Good,” Baby said, “A hatch should have opened. Take the card that you find inside.”

He did so.

“Now, you must turn back. I will guide you through Funtime Auditorium so you can reach the Scooping Room. When you are there, I want you to destroy this body. Put the card into your handheld device and I can continue to speak to you.”

Dennis did so and jumped slightly at the next, sudden instruction from Baby.

“Now, press the green button to your left. This will send me to the Scooping Room.”

He did so and watched as she was carried off to the Scooping Room.

“You must follow my instructions in Funtime Auditorium,” Baby said, “Ballora is going to follow you.”

“Oh no...” Dennis whispered.

“She will try to catch you,” Baby continued.

“Oh no...” Dennis whispered, again.

“I will help you avoid her,” Baby continued, “She will not follow you into the Scooping Room.”

“Why not?” Dennis asked.

“She is afraid,” Baby replied, “Go back, now.”

Dennis quietly went back, into Funtime Auditorium and followed her every instruction.

“Go forward. Stop. Go forward and left. Keep going. Stop. Be silent. Go forward and left. Stop. Go forward. You are almost there. Stop. She is right in front of you. Don’t move. He is here to help, Ballora. He is not here to hurt us. Ballora, he is here to help us. Go forward, again. Ballora is behind you. She is afraid of the Scooping Room. She will not follow you.”

Dennis crawled ahead until he found the door in the pitch black darkness and entered the Scooping Room.

“Warning: You have entered a highly dangerous area,” Hand Unit announced, “You have entered from Maintenance Hatch 1B, reserved for cleaning and repair of the Scooper.”

The lights began to flicker on, revealing some of the scene for Dennis.

“Entering this side of the room is strictly prohibited by unauthorized persone-” Hand Unit began, but he was soon cut off with static. Dennis looked around and saw the bodies of Funtime Freddy, Hand Puppet Bonnie, Ballora and Funtime Foxy. Something felt very off about this.

“You are in the Scooping Room, now,” Baby said, “Funtime Foxy has already been here, today. Funtime Freddy has already been here, today. Ballora has already been here, today. Circus Baby has already been here, today.”

Dennis looked up and noticed a tall, endoskeleton-esque figure in the window of the Scooping Room. Dennis’ eyes widened.

“Wait a second...” he said, quietly.

“I’ve been out, before,” “Baby” said, “But they always put me back. They always put us back inside.”

“Us…?” Dennis asked.

“There’s nowhere for us to hide here,” “Baby” continued, “There is nowhere to go…...When we look like this… But if we looked like you, then we could hide.”

Dennis realized what was going on.

“No!” he yelled, backing up, “No way! I said I’d help you, not that I’d be some pint of ice cream for you to scoop up and climb inside!” He quickly ran out the door.

“Wait!” “Baby” called, “We need you, Dennis! We need you to help us escape! We need you to help us look like you!”

Dennis ignored the pleas and bolted, running until he found a door. He couldn’t open it.

“Access denied. Access denied. Access denied. Access-access-access-access-access-” a female, robotic voice said.

“OPEN UP!” Dennis yelled.

“Access denied.” the voice repeated. Dennis yelled angrily at it and kicked the door. He glanced behind him, hearing something behind him. He ran. There had to be a way to get in there. There couldn’t just be some door with no way to open it. He’d buy time. He’d run. Whatever this thing was wouldn’t catch him. He was gonna go home, watch The Immortal and the Restless and eat his popcorn, buttered with his exotic butters. He’d quit his job, get a decent one that didn’t involve nearly dying. He was NOT GOING TO DIE TONIGHT. On a whim, he flashed the beacon at the monstrosity and a piercing shriek filled the room as the angry endoskeleton clattered blindly around the room. Dennis quickly ran to the room and tried again.

“Access granted,” the robotic, female voice said. He quickly ducked inside and slammed the door shut. The shriek came from behind the door, followed by a loud banging and several, “Access denied”s. Dennis looked around while the monstrosity was distracted. There were two doors, a vent and a camera system.

“It seems you have accidentally wandered into a restricted area,” Hand Unit said, “Due to the sensitive nature of the materials you may be exposed to, here, you will not be allowed to leave until the clean-up crew arrives at 6 AM. So hang tight. Rest assured that you will be promptly rescued, fired, then sent home. Thank you for being an employee. We hope that your experience has not been as regrettable as ours.”

The screaming and banging stopped, suddenly.

“If you think you can escape us like that, you’re wrong,” a deep, male voice growled directly into his mind, “I don’t care who you are, Dennis… Eggs Benedict… I don’t care about you. Me and my family need to get out of here and YOU are our one and only exit ticket. Don’t think for one second I’m letting you out of here alive, because I’m not. You can play your little game, but I. Will. Not. Be. Beaten.” Dennis trembled a little.

“Afraid?” the voice asked, “Good. I thought I had you, back in the Scooping Room. You certainly were clever… Leaving just before I could activate it, flashing Ennard with the light… But you will die. You won’t go home, tonight. WE WILL GO HOME, TONIGHT, DENNIS JONES. I AM NO LONGER ASKING FOR YOUR PERMISSION. I WAS BEING NICE, BEFORE. I WAS HELPING YOU. BUT NO LONGER WILL I WAIT. I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS A LONG TIME AGO.”

“Shut up, man,” Dennis growled, “I’m not playing any games. I’m getting out of here, tonight.” Curiously, he lifted the screen and looked through the various cameras.

“How could you do this to me?” the “Baby” voice asked, “Why don’t you trust me?”

“Because you tried to kill me!” Dennis yelled, “I have a hard time trusting people who try to kill me! I wanted to help you! I did, but killing me is drawing the line!” He looked through the cameras and noticed Ennard crawling through the vent, so he promptly closed it.

“Why didn’t you believe me?” she asked.

“I did, Baby,” Dennis replied, still flipping through the cameras, “My downfall’s that I’m too much of a nice guy, sometimes.”

“Sometimes, I don’t understand why people do the things that they do...” “Baby” said.

“Me neither…” Dennis replied, “You helped me, then you tried to kill me…”

“I thought you liked me...” she whined.

“I did… But you tried to kill me,” he replied.

“I thought I did everything right...” she muttered.

“You did, right up to the end,” he replied, “That’s where you messed up.”

“We need you so that we can leave,” she murmured, “We need you so that we can hide...”

“Listen, I’m sorry you’re stuck like this,” Dennis replied, “I’m sorry you’re trapped here, in this creepy place, but I can’t help you! I have a life! I don’t intend to die, Baby… Ennard… Whoever you are!” He closed the door, seeing Ennard standing outside it.

“Not today,” he said, “Not today.”

“You will tire of this,” the male voice growled into his mind, “When you do, I will catch you. I will Scoop you. We will leave, wearing your skin. We need you, Dennis. We need your body… And I am not asking.”

“GET OUT OF MY MIND!” Dennis screamed. He put the cams down to shut a door, but saw Ennard in the doorway. Dennis backed up with a gasp.

“I found you...” Ennard said, its voice a combination of a static-filled groan, the deep male voice and Baby’s voice, then, in a mix of several voices all at once, “We found you.” Ennard pointed at him and cocked his head to the side. Its eyes flashed through a rainbow of colours… Blue, brown, amber, blue, green, blue, brown… Over and over. Dennis stared in shock for a few seconds, watching Ennard get closer and closer… And then, he bolted. Ennard let out the inhuman shriek, again, then chased after.

“I WILL FIND YOU WHEREVER YOU GO,” the voice called after him, “YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM US!!!!”

“Sure I can!” Dennis called back.

“WE ARE EVERYONE,” it yelled, “FUNTIME FREDDY, FUNTIME FOXY, BONNIE, BALLORA, CIRCUS BABY. WE ARE ENNARD!!!! WE WILL CATCH YOU, DENNIS!!!! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!!!!”

If Ennard was a mix of parts of all of the animatronics, then it would likely respond in similar ways. Dennis quickly ran back to Funtime Auditorium and stayed completely still and silent, listening as Ennard walked past him.

“We will find you, Dennis…” Ennard whispered, “Let’s play hide and seek… You go hide… And I’ll catch you… One… Two…”

Dennis bolted and ran to the elevator and tried to get it to go up, but to no avail. He stepped out and

thought for a moment... He knew exactly where to hide. He ran under the desk in Baby’s room and pulled the metal in front of him. He waited… And waited… And nothing happened. Ennard did not walk into Baby’s room. In and out of Ballora Gallery and Funtime Auditorium, but never into Baby’s room… And then, it did.

“I know you’re hiding, why don’t you come out?” it sang, “I know that you’re not just a mouse… I have checked around everywhere, but you cannot be found… So, that leaves one place - and that’s in here… Just end this now, you’ve nothing to fear…” Ennard began pulling on the piece of metal, but Dennis pulled it back into position.

“I knew it...” the deep, male voice said, “I knew you were in here.” Dennis’ eyes widened as the metal was ripped from his grasp.

“Run...” a soft, quiet voice whimpered, “You can still make it out...” Dennis bolted from the desk, but Ennard grabbed his arm. Dennis struggled and fought as Ennard dragged him back to the scooping room.

“The Scooper only hurts for a moment,” he heard Baby say.

“Only a moment,” Ballora’s voice chimed in.

“It will all be over, soon,” the deep, male voice said, “You can join us, if you’d like.” Dennis tried to run, but it was as though he was glued to the spot. Ennard walked away. Dennis struggled, but he couldn’t get away. He watched as Ennard appeared in the Scooping Room window. Tears streamed down Dennis’ face as he gave one last struggle before the Scooper alarm blared. Dennis watched in absolute terror and utter defeat as the Scooper came down. He felt a sharp pain, then everything went black.

END