We all dash to the Prize Corner to wind up the music box, but by then, the music has already stopped.
"Guys..." Freddy says, nodding to Bonnie, who has begun to slow down. I stop and tell Molly and Chica to go on.
"Bonnie, what's wrong?" I ask.
"I-it's Clyde," he gasps. "Go wind up the music box." He coughs and has to take a knee. I kneel down by him.
"Freddy, go join the others. I'm gonna stay with Bonnie," I say.
"F-foxy, you can't do anything," Bonnie says.
"Yes, but I can stay by you until you're gone," I reply. Bonnie smiles at me softly, and then goes rigid. I stand up and take a step back. Then, Bonnie stands up with me. Or should I say, Clyde.
"Hey, Foxy, it's been a while," he says in that greaser voice of his.
"Hi, Clyde," I say, smiling nervously.
"Oh, uh, listen Foxy... I gotta catch up with the others. I gotta show em somethin'." He heads over to the Prize Corner, leaving me behind in shock. I race to follow him.
"Clyde, what are you doing?" I ask as he walks over to the music box and begins to wind it up.
"He's gotta come out if you want him to talk to you," he replies. As the music plays, I can hear Molly softly singing along with the tune.
"All around the merry-go-round, the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought it was all in good fun..." The last five notes creak out slowly, and Molly doesn't sing. The Marionette rises out of the gift box, yawning.
"Ahh, how good it feels to be awake once more," he says in a cool voice. "Some pesky fox kept winding it... up." He stops when he sees Molly. "Hello, Molly," he says.
"What? How do you know my name?" She asks. He just laughs.
"I know everything about you. Same for everyone else as well." He steps out of his box and sits on the edge. "You see, those like me are known as Soul Seekers. I don't know if any of you will remember this, but what was the last thing you saw before you had died on that day?"
No. No way.
It all comes rushing back to me now, all at once. The party, the man who was standing there, the empty suits, and... and the Marionette. I stumble back and crash into the counter, knocking down all of the animal plushies.
"So it seems one of you remembers what happened," The Marionette says, grinning. "Foxy, would you like to tell the rest of us, who are less fortunate than you to remember, what had happened?"
"It-it was you," I say. "You killed us and put us in these suits!"
"Well, my friendo, you're half right," he says. My skin crawls. "Yes, I did put your souls into these suits, but I am not your murderer. The one you would be looking for on that subject would be Vincent."
"Who's Vincent?" Freddy asks.
"He would be the one behind your murders," the Marionette says hesitantly. "You probably know him better as the Purple Guy. After he killed you, I saw your souls. You were so scared and alone. I needed to get you into bodies quickly, but the only ones available were the animatronic suits. It just so happened by coincidence that your human bodies were stuffed into the suits as well. Quite a good place to hide a body, if I do say so myself."
"Wait a second, you can move souls?" Chica asks.
"Yes, it's quite an easy task, too. Well, with some practice, of course," he says.
"What happened to Vincent?" I ask.
"He was arrested the next day," the Marionette replies. "He was tried and found guilty for the murders. The strange part was, however, there wasn't much evidence against him. Nobody could find the bodies, let alone any evidence in general proving that he did it. The only testimony against him wasn't able to see anything from the actual crime scene, as she claimed he had blinded her. But there was even less evidence proving he didn't do it, so he was concluded to be guilty of the crimes. They were to give him the electric chair. But he wouldn't die. He seemed to enjoy it, even, laughing the entire time. They resorted to lethal injection. It worked."
"So he's dead then?" Chica says.
"He faked it. Dashed out of the morgue the next night. No one ever even knew. He's been in hiding since. No one knows where, since he's constantly changing spots. But every now and then, he returns here at night. I'm not sure what he does, but if you're here, he most likely will remember you."
"So what does this mean for us?" I ask.
"Nothing more than a warning," he says, "to watch your backs. Oh, and Foxy..." He reaches into his gift box and pulls out a tape and a Walkman. "This is a recording of Vincent's trial. I thought you'd want to hear it."
What the hell? Why does he want me to hear this?
"Now, I'd suggest you all go back. The others are up and about, as our little seer Molly can easily tell us. But they climb in the air vents from time to time. Better for them not to see you, in my opinion. But if our seer could stay back for a moment...?"
