"I'm sorry?" you said, unsure you heard her right.

"I'm dead," she said, as if you should've known.

Getting a better look at her, you saw that she had green eyes and a red bow set in her blonde hair. She wore a pink shirt--with two cute buttons--and a blue skirt. The only odd thing about her was that she was covered in blood.

"Where are your parents?" you asked the little girl.

"You will be too, if you don't leave," the girl said, ignoring your question.

"Okay, kid, that's a bit creepy. But seriously, what are you doing here?"

She just sighed and looked around, not responding. She seemed sad.

"I'm sorry for having to hurt you. You were getting too attached to those animatronics," the girl confessed.

"What?" you wondered, your eyes wide with shock.

"I also gave you the dream and vision. And I may've knocked you out- But it was only to help you. I promise," she added.

"But how? What? Why?" you spoke, dumbfounded.

"Like I said, I'm a ghost. The animatronics are not good. I'm surprised they haven't already taken your skin--they tried to do that to the last technician. It could be anytime that they decide that they don't need you anymore. And I don't want that to happen to you. You seem nice," she explained.

"But, we've become good friends. They won't hurt me. Although, I don't know if I could say the same about Foxy."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too." She sighed.

"What do you mean?" you murmured, noting the pain in her voice.

"My daddy made Baby, just for me. She was so pretty, and shiny, and she could even make balloons. Daddy never let me play with her, though. I didn't think it was fair, so I decided to play with her on my own. She seemed wonderful--she even gave me ice cream. But when the other children left, something grabbed me and pulled me into Baby's stomach. It hurt, but only for a moment. And then everything was dark and quiet. Daddy didn't just make her for me. Daddy said he used her and the rest of her friends to take children . . . and hurt them. There was this one time I went with Baby to a party. I wanted to play with the other children, but they never seemed to notice me. When Baby had to leave, so did I. I felt alone and scared. There were other times Baby went to parties, but . . . Baby did it to other children. Some kids didn't have time to react when she grabbed them. Others cried and screamed, trying to get away, but Baby didn't stop, and they were met with the same fate." The little girl sniffled.

You knelt down in front of her, feeling bad for the kid. You tried to comfort her by putting a hand on her arm. She sniffled again, her eyes glistening as tears started to form. She bit her lip, trying not to let out a whimper.

"It's okay, kid. I'm here," you assured her.

She couldn't hold it anymore, as tears started to fall down her cheeks. She put her face in her hands and you pulled her towards you. She whimpered and moaned. You held her head to your chest. You tried your best to stay strong for the kid, but you couldn't help let a tear slide. The little girl sat helpless in your arms as she bawled. It wasn't the type of crying that kids do when they pout about not getting what they wanted--the little girl was literally shaking in grief.

You felt so bad. She'd been here the whole time, alone and without any kind of comfort or happiness; and now, finally, she had a shoulder to cry on and support her. You wished you could take her back to before all this had happened to her. The animatronics had probably affected more than just this little girl. You could only promise her one thing that would at least take some sorrow off her mind.

"Kid, I promise, I will stop this. No more children will have to go through what you've had to go through. If I have to, I will devote the rest of my life to putting a stop to this," you promised--you may have sounded cheesy, but you didn't care.

"B- . . . but they'll hurt . . . you- . . . you too," the girl said between sobs.

"Don't worry about me, kid." You pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"But--"

"Kid, I'll be fine," you assured her and smiled.

She sniffled, a small smile creeping onto her face. She rested her head on your shoulder and sniffled once more. She took a deep breath and stood up, rubbing her eyes. You slowly stood up and smiled.

You headed towards the elevator, looking back to guide the little girl, but she was gone. You looked around the room, then started questioning if you had just imagined that. Your tear-stained shirt told you otherwise.

~ ~ ~ ~

You sat on your foam mattress--you were still planning out how exactly you were going to stop anything. You hadn't said a word to the animatronics. Half of you was disgusted that they did such things and upset that they had been keeping such a dark secret from you; the other side felt that it wasn't their fault--and they even wanted to run away from what they were being made to do. You felt so conflicted. You were so deep in thought, that you didn't notice the stare you were getting from across the room.

'Is (Y/N) okay? He's been acting weird lately,' Freddy thought.

'Maybe we should go talk to him?' Bon-Bon suggested.

'But what if he thinks I'm too clingy--maybe he needs some space. Maybe the problem is me! I could be bothering or annoying him too much! Ooh!' Freddy fretted.

'Freddy, relax. I doubt that's the case. Let's just go talk to him.'

Freddy started to shyly walk towards you. He gulped, able to feel his gears start up. Freddy stood next to the mattress and tapped his fingers on his leg. He sat next to you and slowly started to shift closer to you. He looked around, avoiding your eyes. Surprisingly, you didn't notice the bear sitting next to you. Freddy occasionally shot glances at you--each time, he could feel his motors heat up.

'Well, come on, now,' Bon-Bon thought impatiently.

'I am, I am,' Freddy defended himself.

Freddy thought for a moment on what to say. He didn't know whether to be subtle about it, or to just ask you what was wrong. He blinked a few times and Bon-Bon sighed aloud.

"Hey, (Y/N)!" Bon-Bon waved to you and you blinked out of your trance.

"Oh, hi, Bon-Bon. Hello, Freddy," you said.

'See,' Bon-Bon teased him; Freddy blushed, both at your soft voice and Bon-Bon's mockery.

"How long have you guys been here?" you asked.

"Not long. You seem awfully quiet, is something wrong?" Bon-Bon asked.

"No- Well, I don't know. Just thinking." You sighed.

"Oh, if you don't mind me asking: what about?" Bon-Bon asked.

'Maybe he's thinking about you,' Bon-Bon teased Freddy again.

Freddy blushed and his ears twitched. Bon-Bon laughed in his head and Freddy cleared his throat.

"It's kind of complicated," you mumbled.

"O-okay," Bon-Bon replied.

"Sorry," you apologized.

"You don't need to apologize," Bon-Bon said.

"Would you guys ever keep a secret from me?" you said, afraid that you were starting to dig yourself into a hole.

"Only if it were to protect you," Bon-Bon told you.

"Well, what if, let's say: if you guys were to be stealing apples, would you tell me?" you asked him.

"Yes," Bon-Bon said.

"Now, what if you were stealing apples for someone else?" you added.

"What do you mean?"

"If you were forced to steal apples for somebody else, would you tell me?" You gulped.

"Yes."

"Now, what if, when you steal these apples, they stuck with you forever? What if their farmers and buyers are really sad that you took their apples away from them? Would you tell me then?" you asked.

"Yes. Where are you getting to?" Bon-Bon wondered.

"Freddy, would you?" you questioned, looking in his eyes.

Freddy gulped and looked at Bon-Bon. Bon-Bon stared back, waiting for a reply. Freddy then looked back at you. You eyed his behavior.

'What's going on?' Freddy asked Bon-Bon.

'I don't know,' Bon-Bon replied.

'Do you think he knows what they make us do?' Freddy worried.

'That's impossible. Why would he think we kidnap children for another man's pleasure?' Bon-Bon noted.

'Well, I don't know. It's just that this story sounds way too close to it,' Freddy said.

'Just hurry up and say something,' Bon-Bon snapped.

"Freddy?" you asked him, giving him an innocent look.

"Y-yes," Freddy responded.

"Good. I would do the same," you said; although you were a bit hurt, you couldn't blame him.

You knew Freddy knew that that sounded familiar. Freddy felt his motors heat up--it wasn't from him feeling awkward around you, but from shame.

Photo is by kawacy on DeviantArt