A Change in Fate

Chapter Eleven: Shattered Dreams

     Gregory grasped Michael's hand, walking forward briskly, as per Circus Baby's instructions. It felt like they barely got to move, before her second command came. "Stop." Gregory halted, swallowing hard. Darkness closed in on them from all directions; no matter how many times he entered this area, he never felt any better about it. He could see nothing, not even the floor or Mike whose hand he kept in a death grip. Gregory despised the thought of what lurked around the darkness, the hidden animatronic he'd spotted behind the conveyor. It was here...somewhere. With nothing but another animatronic's instruction, they had to press on through pure black, practically doomed to be caught by whatever this animatronic was. It was actually Ballora, right? Gregory gnawed on his bottom lip anxiously. How many times had something like this happened now? He could hardly bear it.

    He gulped as Circus Baby's voice returned. "Go forward and left." He tensed, not entirely sure what that meant. He didn't have time to think; Michael headed forward, veering to the left. Gregory went with him and edged as close to the man as he could, anything to keep far away from their unseen hunter. The sound of their footfalls echoed loudly in his ears. Past this faint echo and the hum of distant air vents, he could just barely detect something else. He couldn't quite tell what it was, but the faint clicking and wriggling made his skin crawl. "Keep going," said Circus Baby. This felt wrong; it all did. Somehow, even with a voice speaking to him, even when he literally held Michael's hand, Gregory felt alone—stranded in this darkness. At the same time, though, he was far too aware of an unseen presence.

    "Stop," Baby said, startling him into an immediate halt. "Be silent." Gregory grinded his teeth so hard they hurt. Now even his breaths sounded too loud, merging with Mike's own labored breathing, and filling the unsettling silence around them. For these stretching, horrifying seconds, Gregory was left with his thoughts. Why did Circus Baby tell them to stop again? Did this mean Ballora crept in front of them? Had they almost run into her? Why did they even have to stop so much? He tried to steady his breaths, his other hand clenching into a tight fist. His eyes flicked around, but he still saw nothing. Only black. Where the heck is that thing? he thought. Please tell me we'll get there soon. Please tell me we won't run into it!

    Finally, the next instruction came. "Go forward and left." Michael and Gregory continued on their way. He moved on instinct now, step after step, taking deep breaths and glancing around fervently. Funtime Auditorium seemed to stretch on, each moment in the deadly quiet black making both their paces quicken more. "Stop," Circus Baby said, and they did. Another silence fell over the darkness, although now Gregory could distinctly hear something else, something...quiet...moving. A chill ran through his body, and he just barely registered Circus Baby's next words to them. "Go forward. You are almost there." They continued, Gregory slowly exhaling through his nose. Almost there, he repeated to himself. We're almost there.

    As usual, they fought on for only a few meager seconds, before Circus Baby said, "Stop." Gregory froze. Something about her voice had changed; it sounded quieter, more urgent. "She is right in front of you. Don't move." He seized even more. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up; he was unable to tear his eyes away from the darkness before him. He saw nothing, only black. But there it was—that presence. He felt it, the shape of a figure in front of them. It tingled at the base of his neck and sent a shiver up and down his spine. It took everything in his willpower not to simply dash away as Circus Baby calmly spoke to the unseen predator, "He is here to help, Ballora. He is not here to hurt us." A small pause. Gregory trembled with the urge to move, but his locked muscles kept him in place and his breath back in his throat. "Ballora, he is here to help us. They both are." He let his breath back out when Baby's next sentence was directed at them. "Go forward again. Ballora is behind you." With a shudder, he continued to walk with Michael. "She is afraid of the scooping room; she will not follow you."