Ok ok, the title is a Deltarune reference. (Deltarune is basically the new Undertale game - it's cool, go play it). Anyway, who is yelling this time?
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Fedelma reached the source of whoever had screamed. It was the fix room. She reached it at the same time as Springtrap, Mangle, Bonnie and Toy Freddy. The fox felt a rush of dread. The scream had been feminine. “Open up! What’s happened? Toy Chica!” Bonnie banged on the door. He sounded panicked. Only then did Fedelma realise that Bonnie and Toy Chica were a couple. A strange couple, and she couldn’t really imagine Toy Chica in love, but everything made sense. Fedelma steered her thoughts away from deep thinking. The door swung open and Boswell peered through, he looked worried and a hint of confusion was flitting across his face. Bonnie shoved him aside and went up to Toy Chica. Fedelma went cold. Toy Chica was lying beakless passed out on a chair. Fedelma saw a flash of colour flit across her vision before was gripped by a vision. Toy Chica, beak on, tied up, gagged. A Purple bear looming over her with a crowbar in his paws. Fedelma gasped in shock, but everyone assumed this was because of Toy Chica. Bonnie gasped and held her in his arms. “No,” mumbled Toy Chica limply. “Get… out...of … MY HEAD,” she pushed herself up with difficulty and Bonnie put her on the chair. Toy Chica clenched her fists. “I said, get out of MY HEAD,” she yelled. “Toy Chica? What’s wrong?” Bonnie looked more concerned and protective than Fedelma had ever seen him. Toy Chica shuddered violently as a flash went out of her and into Cleo’s costume. Cleo sat up.
“Holy! CLEO! CLEO!” Fedelma bounded joyfully across to the yellow cat. “CLEO!” Cleo was rubbing her head. She easily swung off the table and turned to Fedelma. Her jaw dropped. “Fedelma! What happened? Who are these animatronics?” Cleo hugged Fedelma. “Um. Yeah. We have about,” Fedelma counted everyone to arrive so far. “11, I think. Toy Chica, Chica, Toy Freddy, Freddy, Toy Bonnie, Bonnie, Mangle, Foxy, BB, JJ, Cupcake, Springtrap, and Cupcakea. Wait, that's 13” Cleo held up her paws. “Woah. Let's see.. Um,” she looked at Fedelma. “Toy Chica,” supplied Fedelma. Springtrap went to Fedelmas side. “Who is she? Is this Cleo?” Fedelma nodded. Was it just her, or did something flash across his gaze? Nah, it was just her. She jerked her attention to Bonnie yelling at Cleo. “For all we know, it could have been you that caused this! Don’t try this on me-” He sighed suddenly. Toy Chica stirred. “Ugh. What the? I swear there was someone- Holy! Get away!” she gabbled. She raised a shaking hand and pointed at Cleo. “She - she was in my head! I know your voice!” Fedelma gasped. “Cleo, what?” Cleo scowled. “Damn. Could have kept my disguise longer, but. Springtrap!” Cleo’s eyes went glossy black and Springtrap sat bolt upright. His eyes started glowing a strange purple and he lumbered over to Cleo’s side. “What? Cleo! What are you doing?!” Fedelma lunged for her friends arm, but Springtrap stood in her way. “Get out of her way, didn’t you hear?” he sneered. He picked up an axe lying nearby and swiped. If Fedelma hadn’t been dragged out of the way by Bonnie, she wouldn’t have a head. Mangle exploded. Fedelma blinked. That was so random that Fedelma didn’t move for a few seconds, then Springtrap came at her and she moved out of the way and Mangle swung down from the roof and lunged but Springtrap’s eyes glowed even more and a version of Freddy appeared beside him. Fedelma leaped back into an automatic fighting stance. This must be Toy Chica’s fighting chip. Cleo strode forward, put her hand on Springtrap’s shoulder, and they teleported away. The ghostly burnt version of Freddy looked at them and disappeared. Fedelma remembered Mangle and looked over to where she was last. Mangle was poised upright, but she was in her endoskeleton form. As the danger passed, Mangle’s costume reattached itself to her endoskeleton. Mangle looked down in disbelief. “Um,” she said. “What. The. Flip. Just. Happened?” Fedelma could feel her vision clouding up. “Uh. Woah. Huh? Guys, I feel weird!” Toy Chica jumped up. “So. Cleo, who had been Fedelma’s friend, I think her consciousness was hiding in Toy Chica for a small time! And when she went into her old costume, she turned into a psychopathic cat who just summoned Springtrap, who we need to know more about. Also, we all seem to have certain abilities…. Did I get that right?” Bonnie gulped. “Yes. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go get a pizza from Chica,” Fedelma took wobbly step towards the door. “Stop.” Toy Chica’s voice was clear and authoritative. “We need to talk.”
“So. What do you know about Cleo? You seem to know the most about her,” Toy Chica and Fedelma were sitting in Fedelma’s cupboard. “Cleo was one of us and back when we first woke up, she was in where my place is now. I was in the Pirate Cove. Cleo could do things that we couldn’t do. She was stronger than all of us put together. She could teleport. She could disappear. She taught us so much. And I was her best friend,” Fedelma sighed. “Then one day she went for a walk, we heard a yell, and she disappeared. We never saw her again,” Toy Chica took out her beak and fiddled with it. “What was she like before this?”
“Wouldn’t squish a fly. She was smart, and also kinda funny when she wanted.”
“Then what triggered this change?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then that makes it all the more disturbing.”
“Ha,” Fedelma giggled hysterically. Toy Chica got up, stumbled, frowned. “What?” Fedelma felt slightly dizzy. And then she felt as if a fog had been lifted off her mind. “Oh. My. God. What just happened?” Then the chicken and the fox looked at each other and said the first things that came to their heads. “Well, we’ve been idiots.”
“Guys! We know! We know what happened!” Fedelma glanced at Toy Chica. “Do you think kicking down the door was a little dramatic?” Toy Chica shrugged. “Probably.” Bonnie looked up. “Is there something wrong?” Toy Chica raised an eyebrow. “Bonnie! Come on. Don’t tell me you don’t know? We’ve all been deceived!” Fedelma facepalmed. “Uh. Guys? Toy Chica, are you alright?” Mangle frowned. Fedelma sighed. “We think we were being blinded by Cleo. It explains how we were able to spend three weeks without finding the others. And how Deliah managed to lose Springtrap. And how you guys don’t understand. We’ll leave now.” Fedelma steered Toy Chica outside. “We are the only ones who understand. We’re gonna have to be the heroes in this story.”
Toy Freddy opened the door. “What were you talking about earlier? About Cleo?” Fedelma blinked. “We are going to have to go for a bit,” she said. “Where? I’m sure there’s no need to go anyway,” Toy Chica grunted. “Listen, we are going somewhere and unless you want some sense knocked into you, move!” she considered it for a moment. “Actually, that might not be a bad idea,” Toy Freddy moved away. “You are not going like that. We need weapons,” Fedelma sniggered. “I know where they are. Come to my cupboard. I have something you might like.”
“Omg! This is so awesome! Where did you get this?”
“No idea, just found them.”
“Cool. I like the the plasma gun.”
“I prefer the glowing sword.”
“Get away from my stuff!”
“I’m sorry?”
“What? That wasn’t me!”
“Then who is it?”
Fedelma heard a whistle of air and moved to the side as something rushed past her. “Keep away!” Toy Chica grabbed the gun and stepped in front of Fedelma. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Who are you? Where am I? What am I?” Fedelma turned on the lights. She sighed. “Why are there so many counterparts of the same animatronic?” Toy Chica turned. “It’s not another Foxy is it? Holy Flipping Pizza Slices!” Fedelma cocked her head quizzically. “Since when did you start using that expression?” “Ever since my head cleared. Look, I’ve changed, my voice is higher, but I’m still me,” she said. “Ahem. Hellooo?” Fedelma jumped and lashed out behind her. “Ow!” The other animatronic was a version of Toy Chica, with one turquoise eye, one endoskeleton, wearing a belt, a sword pack, and two guns hanging from the belt. She was currently beakless, and looked minorly confused, but suspicious. Her waistband was the same turquoise colour as her eye. Her cheeks were black and so were her eyelids. “Wow. You’re….. Me,” Toy Chica reeled. “I think I’m the same model as you. My name is Celeste. And you are?” Fedelma had her eyes wide. “I’m Fedelma and she’s Toy Chica,” Celeste put her beak in. “Don’t hurt me for this, but I saw what happened with the rabbit. The green one. You want to find him? Get him back?” Toy Chica’s eyes narrowed. Celeste dropped her cupcake. Fedelma hadn’t realised she had one. She sheathed her sword. “Are you going to come with us or not?” Celeste nodded. “Although there’s something you should know about me.” Toy Chica made for the door. “What’s that?” Celeste followed Fedelma to the window. “I was once part of Cleo’s band of shadows.” Fedelma grimaced. “We won’t hesitate to use you against them, you know.” Celeste nodded. “I understand.” Fedelma opened the window. “Where are you going Toy Chica?”
“Uh, the door?”
“Doors are for people with no imagination.”
“That’s a quote.”
“I didn’t know you read Skulduggery Pleasant.” (Author’s note, this is a nod to possibly one of my favourite young adults books ever)
‘“What, they’re good books!”
“Oh, hi Bonnie.”
Toy Chica looked at Fedelma, halfway out the window, and Celeste. “No time to explain, Bonnie,” she ran over and hugged him, then launched herself out the window.
Fedelma shivered. “It’s cold,” Celeste sped up. “Left turn, and here we are. Fazbear’s fright. Springtrap’s home. And Cleo’s base.” Fazbear’s fright had a horrible atmosphere. Fedelma could see occasional flashes of light through one window. “We are going in quietly, Toy Chica. We want to sneak up, grab Springtrap, do a bit of snooping, and get out of there. Ok?” Celeste looked frightened but excited. They entered through the exit. Why not? Inside, there were various parts of the original four animatronics. “Look, I need more phantom created on the double!” Cleo’s voice rose from the next room. Celeste dived behind a Bonnie stand, Fedelma climbed up the wall and spread her arms and legs across the roof. Toy Chica froze, then dived into the next room. Too late. Cleo stood in the corridor looking at Toy Chica. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
“Flip.” Toy Chica desperately tried to run, but Cleo teleported in front of her. The green tinged walls were too close together. Wires brushed her back as she dived. Cleo easily overtook her and Toy Chica back up against a wall. She took her beak out and held it ready. Cleo scoffed. “You think that’s going to work?” Toy Chica easily ran up the wall, something Mangle had told her, and took off running.
Fedelma’s arms were beginning to ache slightly. Springtrap emerged from an intersecting corridor and passed under Fedelma. She let go and dropped onto him with a thud. Celeste crept out and grabbed his axe, Fedelma dragged a dazed Springtrap to his feet, turned as Toy Chica kicked down a prop as she scrambled to get away from yellow cat chasing her. Cleo. “Stop! One move and he dies!” Fedelma bluffed. “Yeah! We have weapons!” Celeste stepped up beside Fedelma. Toy Chica dived behind them, panting. “She’s faster than she looks,” the exhausted animatronic said. Cleo cackled. “Take him back then! We have our shadows. We have The Purples. And Toy Chica’s arm just short circuited,” “Ow!” Toy Chica clutched her shoulder. Celeste went forward slightly. Springtrap tensed, Fedelma tightened her grip, and Springtrap knocked her feet out from under her. “Oof!” she went down in a cloud of dust. A spindly figure appeared in front of them, put its hands on their shoulders, and the world evaporated.
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Dammit Cleo. I originally had you down as a good character but....well. It was too irresistible. 😁