"Huh. I guess Ballormau has better things to do. Let's zap her. That should be fun."

"Aphmau?"

Adam's voice felt so small. There was nothing he could do. He wanted to see her, to tell her that it was going to be alright. 

All he could see was his tear-stained face in the glass.

"Jess..."

He was numb. It was like he had been turned on to autopilot. He could barely hear his own words over the mental screams to turn around, to run, to get to that elevator as soon as possible.

Instead he pushed the button.

The zap that followed hurt him more than it hurt the animatronic. His tears exploded once more. He couldn't do it. He turned to go back to the elevator.

But something stopped him.

"I have to see her," he told himself. "I have to see her just one more time."

So, before he left, he decided to press the light button.

It didn't work.

All that came was a warbled noise, like the robotic voice that was trying to speak was drowning in liquid. At first Adam was confused. Then he realized.

Jess did not want to dance.

he remembered back when she was still a human. He had tried to get her to dance with him. She had refused. 

So why, out of anything, was she the dancing animatronic?

The sounds continued on, making the sweat on Adam's face grow.

Then it stopped. "Let's check on Fun-Time Maxy, make sure he's ready for show time tomorrow."

Sky was more than sad now. He was scared. He was really, really scared. 

Jess hated dancing. Max hated playing stupid games. Shelby hated clowns.

He was worried that they would blame him for their misfortune. He was worried that they were coming for him.

He wondered if they could hear his sobs.

He slammed his hand on the light button. He needed to see what Maxy was doing. He stared at his friend's looming figure in the glass. He felt the air of something he hadn't felt in a long time.

He remembered this atmosphere being there when he would call Max names. Jess and him would gang up on him and tease him, and he would get so mad.

Fun-Time Maxy was mad.

"Greeet~> .'. graat ~~//> gret -_'~" The voice became warbley once more. Sky stared wide-eyed and afraid into the glass. 

"Max I'm sorry!" Adam practically screamed. He stood with his hands up towards the glass in a defensive position.
"There seems to have been a problem with the voice synthesizer." The return of Hand Unit made Adam jump. "Default settings have been restored. Please proceed through the vent ahead of you to Circus Baby's Auditorium."

Adam looked around, confused. "What is happening?!" There was nothing left to do in that room. He started crawling through the vents as fast as he could. Something deep inside him told him that those weren't his friends anymore, that they were lost the day that they became animatronics. 

He stood up cautiously. It took a nerve racking second for the robotic voice to come on, but it did. "Circus Baby had a busy day today. Let's check the light and make sure she's in proper, working order."

Adam checked the light. Nothing. "Shelby, it's me," he whispered. "It's Sky!"

"Oh Circus Baby, we aren't here to play hide-and-seek. Let's encourage Baby to come out of hiding with a controlled shock."

Adam touched the glass. The last time he was here, Shelby had helped him. She knew him. She trusted him. Shelby had always been very conscious of strangers. She would never help anyone out unless she knew them. She even said his name. He whispered to her. "I don't want to do this, Shelby. It hurts me so badly. Ty is going to help you too. He's going to find a way to free you, I promise. The sooner you get back to your stage, the sooner you, Max and Jess can be free." He paused, holding back tears. "Let me help you."

He pressed the button.

Nothing happened.

Adam's eyes widened. "H- hello?!?" He felt something watching him. 

"Let's try another controlled shock."

Adam didn't want to. He knew Shelby had done this. She didn't want to be shocked. He stared into the glass. "I- I can't-" he felt the hot tears streaming down his face once more. "Why me..."

He remembered what he had said earlier. He pressed the button. 

Still nothing.

"There seems to be a power malfunction that seems to be a power malfunction that is effecting our ability to properly motivate Baby." Adam gulped. "Please stand by, while I reboot the system. I will be offline momentarily during this process. Various other systems may be offline as well, such as security doors, vent locks, and oxygen."

Adam was frozen. "Oh, no no no no. Please no..."

"Commencing system restart."

It was silent.

Adam's eyes darted around. His voice was barely audible. "Shelby, are you-"

"Motion trigger; entryway vent." The female automated voice scared Adam so badly. He jumped in the air slightly. "Fun-Time Auditorium maintenance vent opened. Ballormau Gallery maintenance vent opened."

The eerie silence was deadly. The tiny metal-sounding noises ricocheted off the walls, leaving Adam afraid for his life. He wished Shelby was here now, to help him out. But there was only silence. 

But not for long.

"I don't, recognize you."

"You are new."

~~~~~~~~~~

So, um,

I did not know that Fun-Time Foxy was a girl. 

That is a big mistake on my part.

Oh well.

There's not really anything I can do about that now (not that I want to change it).

Welp.

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Enjoy!

~LaterGaters~