Treasures of The Damned

10. Distant Shadows

"My papa? What-?" Briar looked over at Mingi with wide confused eyes. She shifts a bit, looking both confused and worried.

"Yes, dear..." he hummed softly. "Remember how I told you that our souls were just left wandering the world until these animatronics were built?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, since I and your papa died together, our souls were connected. Even if we argued, we still loved each other. So, when my soul came to inhabit this animatronic, Logan didn't have one to inhabit."

"But you said that this is him."

"Yes. It is. Logan's soul inhabited this endoskeleton. But without power, or all the parts, like mine, he can't move."

"So-...papa has just been stuck here since this theme park was built? How did you even find him?"

"Listen, Briar," Mingi said softly and pressed his lips together, huffing. "Because our souls were connected, I could sense that he was somewhere around here. So, those first few nights, I searched. Then I found him. Here."

Briar took a small step forward, pausing and pressing her lips together, not saying anything as she set her hand on the animatronic cold cheek. "So you've been...putting him back together...?"

When she glanced back at Mingi, he nodded his head ever so softly. "Yeah. I've been using different parts, and making him just like me...that way he can live..." He said. "He's almost done, too. That's why it took me so long to become active today. I came to power him up. Everything else is done. He's your father...just rebuilt, like me."

"So...is he charging now...?"

"Yeah. He should be done charging soon."

"Will his voice box...?" Briar trailed off for a few moments, not saying anything and glancing at her father.

Mingi slowly nodded his head. "The animatronic parts are just there as his body. His soul might take a few moments to learn how to operate the body, but it's kind of like just having a body as well. The voice box may be the most tricky part, but it should be okay."

A few moments after they spoke, the same small, robotic voice they'd heard earlier spoke up from in front of them. "Powering on-..."

Both Mingi and Briar turned to look like the shortest, newer animatronic slowly lifted his head, looking around the room as his deep green eyes seemed to spin like a loading screen as he processed everything around him.

"Mingi...?" Logan's voice was a little broken and glitched, but he tried his best. In the next moment, Mingi was being pulled into a tight hug by his husband, and they hugged each other tightly.

"Logan-...I'm so sorry for our argument. I missed you so much...I caused everything-" Mingi was cut off when his very short husband pulled him down and shut him up with a kiss.

"I forgave you long ago...you know this." Logan hummed as he pulled away from the kiss. "Don't worry about that..." He then seemed to notice Briar, who was standing off to the side a bit, having their moment.

"Hello! What's your name, dear?" Logan asked, obviously not recognizing his daughter. That made sense, it had been 39 years since they'd last seen her, and she'd looked 5 years old then.

Mingi let out the smallest of chuckles. "Logan, dove. This is Briar..." Her father hummed, slowly stepping away to let his husband see their daughter.

Logan paused for a moment, staring at Briar for a few moments before he rushed forward and enveloped her in a tight hug. "Oh, my gods! Look at you all grown up!" He beamed happily and examined her. "Still looking so young..." He chuckles softly.

As much as Briar tried to stay strong, the moment she was hugged by her papa, she let go and started to cry softly, letting out a small noise. "Papa..."

"Oh, my dear Briar...you've come so far...I'm so proud of you." Logan smiles, before slowly stepping away, giving Briar a chance to wipe her tears.

Just as she was about to say something to her parents, another voice seemed to resonate throughout the room. "Ah. So this is where you've been hiding, Mingi."

Briar turned around quickly, coming face to face with Hongjoong, who snarled at her and her parents with mild boredom. "Rebuilding your husband. Makes sense. You never could live without him."

Mingi stepped forward and gently pushed Briar behind him. "How'd you even know I came down here, Hongjoong?"

"I heard you and Briar speaking. I thought I'd follow you down here. I thought the instructions were to kill her."

"But she's my daughter, Joong. I can't just kill her."

"I don't care if she's the damn President of South Korea. Kill her. Now." As he spoke, his eyes flashed a bright red, and his voice box seemed to glitch. Briar took a small, slightly scared step back.

With eyes wide with horror, she watched as her father slowly turned around to look at her, his eyes the same red as Hongjoong's. That must be his power...controlling the other members... She thought to herself, not saying anything as she stared and watched silently.

Then, to her horror, Mingi lunged forward at her, trying to attack her and get her. He was only following the commands given to him, of course.

Just as she stumbled back, Logan grabbed her waist and held onto her, not saying anything as he pushed her to the side and took the full force of a lunging Mingi onto himself, holding the other animatronic close and keeping him from following their daughter.

"Go, Briar! Get out of here! Find someplace to hide!" Logan called, keeping his arms tightly wound around Mingi. She snapped out of the shock and surprise to turn away and run out the door, Hongjoong was already long gone after giving the command. He probably thought that Mingi would have gotten her, and she was dead.

So, she ran. Ran out of the main building, looking around. If she could get somewhere high up, she'd be able to hide there, right? Yeah. That could work. She made her way around the main building, where she found a ladder that was probably used for roofing work.

Setting it against the building, she quickly climbed up it and crouched down low, very gently pushing the ladder back down so an animatronic couldn't follow.

She settled down against one of the air-conditioner units ad looked around, taking gasping, panting breaths, trying to settle down her calming heart rate. Then she heard it.

"Briar~...come out..."