Chapter Text
☆★☆★☆★☆
VANESSA
”That's gross.” Gregory affirms, having set Freddy's head on the still warm hood of the worn out car. As he stepped closer to Vanessa now, he kicked snow at the gross mess and Vanessa could still only stare in its wake.
She had to snap out of this weird dazed stupor, but no matter how much she recognised it, she could grasp it well enough to yank it from her nerves.
“Vanessa,” Freddy tried awkwardly and Vanessa turned to look at him, finally breaking her vomit induced trance. “Perhaps you should drink some water… if… it is not frozen.”
She hesitated a moment before sucking in half a breath and motioning Gregory over so she could dig through his bag.
Pulling out a bottle she frowned a bit at it, it was starting to turn solid. She decided it was probably best to heed Freddy's advice before it was completely frozen.
She held the bottle a few inches above her mouth and poured the half slush half liquid water in. Something about it made her feel like a highschooler again, she briefly toyed with the thought as she swished it around in her mouth before spitting the mouthful the opposite direction of Gregory.
Gregory gave a huff as he looked at her.
“Feel better?”
“No.” She replied bluntly as she turned and snatched Freddy's head from the car hood. She shoved the bottle roughly in the side pocket of the bag Gregory had and turned to look at the building.
“How do you think he got in?” She mumbled to no one in particular as her eyes scanned the disheveled outer face of the building.
…
Vanessa would have insisted on pushing her way in before Gregory, but he had managed to shove past her and slip through the broken glass with ease from his small size. Vanessa frowned, but she couldn't really argue with it if he was already inside. She exhaled a plume of steam into the cold air before shaking her head a bit and working to fit both herself and Freddy's head through the same broken glass.
Vanessa was not as lucky as Luis and Gregory as it caught stray hairs and scraped at her clothes and face. She made a face at the stinging pain mixed with the numbing cold, but did her best not to verbalize it as she got out onto the platform so they could match Gregory in staring at the destroyed lobby in awe.
“It's kinda sad…” He mumbled, “Seeing it like this now…”
Vanessa couldn't think of a proper reply so she bobbed her shoulders in a shrug.
“I'm going to go look…” Gregory said already a few steps down the ladder before Vanessa could stop him, and she sucked in a breath, holding it for a second before blowing it out in another plume of steam.
“Fine.” She decided, seeing as she knew she probably wouldn't win, or atleast, Gregory wouldn't listen.
“Just be careful.” She called after him as Freddy waggled his ears.
“Yes. Please be careful, Gregory.”
“Where's the fun in that?” He called back, already halfway down.
Vanessa huffed once again. Freddy had squinted a bit, his eyes on the ladder even as Vanessa had turned away from it to look at the lobby.
“Do you think I was right..?” Vanessa mumbled to Freddy, her eyes blindly taking in the sight.
“That he's here..?”
Freddy's ears bobbed a bit.
“I think he is… I can smell him in here…”
“You can wHAT ?”
Freddy bpbbled his ears.
“Gregory told me there are no bears in nature, so I assume you don't know much about them.”
Vanessa was caught a bit of guard,
“Hu- I, no… I guess not..?”
“ Aaah-!” Gregory's voice rang out as the platform shook and Vanessa had moved so quickly she nearly flung herself over the edge of the platform and dropped Freddy's head. The mechanical bear had gasped, but probably more so at Gregory's expense than his.
Both of their sets of eyes fell on the teenager standing at the bottom of the ladder, both hands latched to it and the brunette staring up amused with a smile. Vanessa nearly dropped Freddy again as she yelled,
“You little shit!”
And with that she had flipped around and started down the ladder at a speed you wouldn't expect from someone with one arm and a bear’s head in hand.
“Oh god-” Gregory got out in a mumbled gasp as he started to dart, but Vanessa was too quick and got to him before he was more than 10 ft from the ladder. She had grabbed the back of his shirt and jacket collar and yanked back with a force that made him gag.
“Ack-! OkaYWAITTRUCE-” He coughed out.
“I'm not even 16 yet, you can't kill me now!”
“Ha ha.” Vanessa mocked
Gregory tilted his head back at an odd angle to see her better, “I just wanted to make sure you weren't freezing to death up there.”
Vanessa's face was twisted oddly with a frown.
“Ta-da, not dying, job done-!” He said waving his palms a bit by his face like jazz hands as if it were raining confetti.
It was annoying, sure, but endearing in an unconventional way,
Vanessa blew out a harsh huff that plumed into a steam cloud around her face that caught in fractals with the morning light.
She pushed him forward a bit annoyed, giving another huff.
“Come on, brat, let's go.” She grumbled as she readjusted her hold on Freddy.
“Vanessa, I do think you should take kinder to the notion. It was… Unconventional… But well meaning.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Maybe.” She mumbled.
The morning light lit the lobby well enough they could see most of the way in, but needed a light as they reached the deeper areas of the lobby.
It was a wonder Luis made it through here…
Not only was it eerie back here, but it was nearly pitch black…
Walking up to the half opened elevator Vanessa frowned at it.
“You said his scent goes this way?” Gregory had joined her now, standing at the blonde's side to look at the elevator with curious eyes.
“His scent?” Gregory said, making a face. “Like cologne? He always smells like cologne.” He added with a huff.
“Gregory, how do you know about bears? Freddy says you know about them.”
Gregory bobbed his holders in a shrug.
“Google.” He responded a bit flatly.
“Liked them, looked ‘erm up.” He said, not clarifying much of anything.
…
Vanessa gave a sigh as she looked to the elevator again.
“I hate to admit it but squirming into a broken down elevator seems like some stupid shit he'd pull.” Vanessa mumbled as she pushed past Gregory and into the elevator with Freddy in hand.
“Easy enough, right?” Gregory mumbled as he followed her into the dark elevator, Freddy's LED eyes being the only thing to fill the darkness.
“Elevators usually have a service hatch at the top,” Vanessa mumbled, turning boys herself and Freddy to look at the top of it, “if he didn't come back out of here then he probably went up.” She added scanning the ceiling and locating the opening with ease as the light of the atrium was peeking in through it.
“There,” she pointed before glancing around.
“How'd he get up there, though…” She half mumbled.
“Gregory.” She addressed as she looked to the chocolate haired boy,
“You're about Luis' height, how would you get up there?”
The boy looked to her curiously at first but his face then twisted in annoyance,
“Thanks for calling me short.” He said in a mocking tone before looking at the opened latch. He then glanced around the elevator’s interior a moment before stepping closer to the hand railing and hoisting himself up onto it.
He examined the opening and how his fingers fell just short of it. He frowned before ( impulsively and recklessly, obviously ) lurching forward in a jump grabbing at the edge of the cold metal and clawing his way partially up. He stopped to regain himself with the metal jabbing at his ribs under his arms through his coat, but quickly regained himself enough to finish clawing his way up. Vanessa could only watch in awof his determination. He always did what he could to follow through
A bit out of breath he turned to peer down through the opening.
“Okay, pass me Freddy's head…”
Vanessa glanced at Freddy a moment before complying and bobbing on her toes a bit to land Freddy in Gregory's outstretched arms. He took the bear in hand and tilted his head so the light shined into the dark cavity of the elevator. Vanessa then took to quickly hoisting herself up similar to Gregory in order to reach the latch opening. It was a bit easier for her, having a few extra inches on him, but no less a struggle with upper body strength. She had more than Gregory, sure, but she wasn't really repaired for pull ups at like 10 am,
She succeeded in pulling herself fully onto the elevator's roof and with the newfound dim light filling the shaft took a second for her eyes to fully adjust before locating the maintenance ladder and waving to it vaguely.
“From here we can only really go up.” She mumbled as she watched Gregory shuffle over to the ladder.
Climbing the ladder one handed was rough, and Gregory half wondered how Vanessa had gotten down the last one so fast. He squinted a bit as he came closer to an opening and the light poking through it became brighter as he neared it.
“Gregory…” Freddy's voice caused the boy to stop and look down at the bear tucked to his chest.
“Luis scent does not go up any farther, I do not think he climbed the entire ladder.”
“He- what do you mean doesn't go up the ladder?” Gregory huffed, scanning the elevator shaft. The only thing he found that wasn't a solid wall was the opening to his right.
He groaned.
“What is it?” Vanessa asked as she reached the rung just below his feet.
“I think he went through there,” Gregory said, nodding in the direction of the opening. “Freddy says he didn't go all the way up the ladder.” Gregory grumbled out.
“ Wonderful .” Vanessa remarked sarcastically as her green eyes looked to it.
“So how d-”
Before she could finish Gregory had pushed off the ladder with a force that shook it as he threw himself forward. He hit the floor of the opening between his hips and midsection and produced an ‘oof!” As he made contact it shoved the air from him. The force had made Freddy tumble from his hold, the mechanical bear’s head rolling out of Gregory's grasp and forward a couple feet. The wide eyed bear had come to a stop, and though a bit dizzy, was trying to force his distracted sensors to focus on listening behind him, hoping the boy didn't fall.
Thankfully Gregory had managed to claw himself the rest of the way up on the dirty tile before shoving himself up in a stumble to run at the bear's head and snatch it up from the floor.
“Freddy!” He called nearly falling as he clumsily shoved himself forward and grabbed at the animatronic.
Vanessa was watching where Gregory had been with a frown but a bit of awe.
“Like that, I guess…” she mumbled, but cursed a bit, she now had to find a way over there because she couldn't just let Gregory run loose in a crumbling building
Vanessa swallowed a huff as she climbed a few rungs higher and looked to the opening. Much like Luis had, hours before her, she looped her arm around the ladder and swung an arm over to catch the opening. The handful of inches she had on Luis were helpful as she was able to grab it with more ease, and swinging a leg over was much easier as well. The hard part would be pushing off the ladder with enough force to stick the landing but glancing up at the chocolate haired boy watching her with hopeful amber eyes and the light orange bear with glowing gold ones, she was filled with a new sense of determination. She was their leader of sorts, and she had to start acting like it.
Vanessa shoved herself off the ladder much like Gregory had, but the extra arm and leg span helped her to land both feet on the dirty tile. She stumbled forward with the impact and fell over an indeterminable chunk of debris, but at least she wasn't laying near the bottom of an elevator shaft with a broken back and legs.
Vanessa blew out a huff of steam that disturbed the dust and dirt resting on the tile as Gregory inched closer with Freddy as the bear spoke,
“That was great, I'm so proud of you two!” He cheered happily. Gregory smiled a bit sheepishly as Vanessa pushed herself up off the cold and damp floor.
“Sorry I dropped you earlier,” Gregory mumbled, trying to readjust the bear in his arms.
“That is alright superstar, I know it was a rough landing.” Freddy answered happily, bobbing his ears and squinting a bit at Gregory. His eyes then flicked to the side looking toward the attractions lining the wall.
“I do not… know… but … I can smell so much fear seeping in from over there…” Freddy tried to stifle the frown in his voice. “Why is it..?”
Gregory and Vanessa were now looking the same direction Freddy was indicating, and their grim silence was enough to set the atmosphere unsteady. Gregory inched a bit closer, with Freddy in hand and they both stared at the Fazer Blast lobby with unease.
Vanessa shuffled a bit closer to them, her green eyes probably concealing the same questions Freddy was mauling over.
All three stared in silence for a long few minutes before Freddy finally spoke again, jarring the two at the sudden break in the silence.
“I can tell… Luis went in there…” Freddy then paused as if collecting his thoughts.
“There is a more recent trail exiting though… so he appears to have made it out as well…” Freddy added a little more quietly.
“He-” Vanessa started unsurely and cleared her throat.
“If… its as bad as you say.. maybe that's a good thing…?"
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Luis took a deep breath of the cold air as he looked to Ballora. He said nothing as he leaned forward, clumsily grabbing at one of the brittle wire armatures poking out of the seam of her shoulder and arm, and yanking it with the force of his entire body's weight. Ballora’s gaze was confused and concerned as it watched him. The action caused it to pop off, but as it disconnected, the momentum of it shoved him backwards and his back hit the outer wall of the cylinder harshly in a way that made the impact force reverberate in his shoulder blades and rib cage as it pushed the air from his lungs.
“Uuf-!”
The recoil of his own arm almost caused him to punch himself directly in the jaw or impale himself, but luckily fell short a few inches. Ballora's lilac eyes instantly fell on his figure fully, as that was a surprise to her. She glanced at his hand, and his prize before the space now missing a wire chunk. Luis threw it to the side and it skittered on the concrete under the table next to him. He then sat forward again to grab at another wire protrusion but Ballora braced his shoulder to keep him at arm's length… Her arms length… It was a bit longer than his. The annoying tune that had quieted out was starting to trickle back in.
“Based on that recoil I do not think you should do that again.” She said to him quietly with a slightly confused face as she tried to figure out exactly what it was he was doing.
She clenched and unclenched her jaw as she mulled it over, her free hand crossing her body diagonally to feel at the remaining wire frame that was poking from the shoulder seam of the shell.
She was confused but slowly it clicked through her mind as she mouthed a silent ‘oh-’ and her fingers gently pinched at the piece of the brittle frame before plucking it off with far less effort than it took Luis. She then held it out, as if presenting it to him. She assumed the act was to remove the dessicated wire skeleton much like her tutu earlier.
Luis took in hand and looked at it with a bit of awe.
“How’d y’do that s'easy?”
Ballora smiled kindly at him. Something in he mechanical build clicked a bit in response to his upbeat reaction.
“I have concluded I have more arm strength than you.” She replied before finally pulling her hand from his shoulder and grabbing at one of the remaining wires poking out of the thin crevice line.
“Hm.” Luis responded, rubbing at his eye with his free hand. “‘M not weak or anythin’.”
“Oh-!” Ballora responded as she looked to him better, pausing her actions, and gave a smile as she moved her hands to clap them together in front of her chest.
“I know! Surely i-if you were weak you would not have made it past the obstacles you have tonight!” it's day.
Luis was silent, maybe she was right? But he couldn't quite tell.
He simply nodded again with a soft ‘Hmp!’ noise, almost like a grumpy child, Ballora assumed.
He reached out again though, having to stretch a bit oddly to grab the scrappy remains of a neck piece that clung to her neck, the brittle wire with dirty, frayed, and torn polyester attached to it popped off her neck much easier than the wire framework of the leftover sleeve had. Maybe it was like the skirt… Again, he wasn't sure as he looked at the trashed wire collar in his hand, he pivoted his wrist a bit to examine it but couldn't quite tell what it was. A necklace of some kind, maybe? Long rotten, unrecognizable.
He tossed it aside like the other scrap bits, and it too skittered over the cold concrete to rest under the table beside them. Annoyed, he batted at his eye again, a bit impatiently.
In the time Luis took to examine the neck piece, Ballora had managed to remove most of the remaining wire from her once flamboyant sleeves. Luis managed to take little time to act once again as he leaned forward, this time jabbing a finger unintentionally harsh into her cheek. The action had made her involuntarily clench an eye shut but she suppressed making much of a face.
“D’these hurt? He questioned
“My-y… My cheeks?” She responded a bit confused
“Yea- but,” he tapped a finger on the light pink plastic that covered both her cheeks in little domes as he was unable to find the words to describe what he meant. The tune that jarred Ballora's mind annoyingly spike a moment as a response, but thankfully quieted back down.
“S'cracked and stuff…” He tried to lean forward and adjusted his legs a bit so he could balance his weight on one knee to lift himself higher to look better.
He succeeded in tipping forward, falling into her with a quiet clang and impact that rattled the pieces of her loose casing a bit. Ballora did her best to catch him and try to brace his fall but though she tried the impact still successfully pulled the air from Luis’ lungs and he remained still a moment trying to regain himself. Thankfully he seemed relatively unhindered as he tried pushing himself up right using her shoulders.
“Think ittcan come”ff.” He mumbled, sticking his hand up there again to attempt to mess with its seam. This time Ballora did make a face that was accompanied by a gasp as she straightened stiffly and leaned back in a motion that pulled her face from his reach and rattled his balance. He was barely able to keep himself upright.
That had hurt, she didn't like that.
The tune rose in volume again, it's annoying whisper now a low hum.
Luis was making a face at her, but lowered himself to sit on his bent leg. That must have hurt, he could at least register that.
“Oh,” Luis responded softly as Ballora finally drew herself back, with a hand pressed to her cheek. Her motor had started working a bit harder now, similar to an increased heart rate, and it put off a soft whine as a result.
“My apologies, i- I hadn't expected that… to hurt…” She mumbled, shaking her head to try and chase away the lingering pain and velcro like music.
“Ah,” Ballora glanced at him and was silent as she gathered thoughts. She had to do the thinking for both of them, it seems… Surely she was capable… “Luis,” She started, “I noticed earlier when you switched th-the casing on my arms, that I could not feel the casing once it was off.. Do you think everything works like that…”
He made a puzzled face, a hand again rubbing at an eye as he responded,
“Like pieces of th'shell yea-” He was quiet a moment before the realization hit him.
“Oh, y'r’face!’ He exclaimed dropping his hand from his face dramatically to his thigh to create a slapping noise before looking up at her better, “Yea that shou’ be’a shell…” He mumbled out and took a moment as if trying to remember how to function enough to move and he forced himself upward again, trying to balance on one knee. The other stiff leg grounded him, but made it hard to move around. He pivoted at the waist again and reached out with both hands to line up with either side of Ballora's face. She had bent a bit to bow her head to help him reach it properly and his fingers clumsily traced the seam along it as if unsure of where it was, other than along the hairline and just in front of her ears. There was finally a soft click! that sounded, ejecting the part forward into his hands.
He was poorly prepared for it to eject like the others and barely caught it. He didn't want to break it. Wait… why didn't he want to break it?
They only had one… right?
Trying to recover he started to pull it back and released a gasp seeing the endoskeleton underneath, nearly dropping the face plate and falling backwards a few inches. Without much thought Ballora had flung a hand to the face plate, pulling it from his weak hold and shoving it back against the endo. The tun incredible loud now for a solid few seconds.
“I apologize,” she pushed the words out roughly ,”I didn't think it'd startle you-” She got out, her mouth moving out of sync to her words, she was actively trying to mentally will the music quiet again. Luis hadn't noticed though, he was trying to refocus. It took a second but he finally shook his head.
“Gimme this, jus… wasn't expectin't…” He mumbled and Ballora slowly released the pressure she had holding it to her face as the phantom noise started to quiet sgain.
Ballora's facial endoskeleton looked nothing like the more modern ones, and instead resembled a tarnished metal plated skull, and for some reason the existence of her lilac eyes in the eye sockets made it more unsettling.
Pulling it back, as well as himself, he kept his eyes on her exposed face, willing her nervous eyes to look less unpleasant.
Slowly he turned to look at the faceplate in hand and started poking at the cracked and chipped pink domes capping each cheek. It kinda reminded him of a porcelain doll.
He wasn't sure how to approach it, so he simply just reached out and with enough pressure on his palm, the semicircle popped free in his cupped hand. Oh, great! This was honestly a nice success. He brushed it away, the damaged plastic falling into his lap. Without realizing as much he brought his hand up to run at his face again.
Why were his eyes bothering him so much?
He brought his hand back down and tried clenching and unclenching his fingers a bit before pressing his palm to the other one. It had a bit less visible damage, and as a result was much harder to break free, so Luis had to work harder to try and break its seal.
…
A loud clattering ran through the spacious area and bounced off all of the concrete walls and floor of the corridors. It jarred both of them, the shock had made Luis unintentionally apply much more pressure against the cheek of the face plate than intended, and the little pink piece shot off the faceplate with the rough nature of the motion and past the dim light line and clicked into a roll somewhere in the darkness. It had made Ballora lurch forward to try and shield Luis with herself. They couldn't tell how long it lasted; and honestly for Luis it felt kind of like a blurred daze, but it left an eerie silence in its wake that was only broken by the soft hum coming off the cylinder and Ballora’s own mechanics whirring and wheezing. It was quiet for him, sure, but she was experiencing a headache inducing play that only she could hear.
The crash has directed a wave of cold air into the concourse and Luis couldn't stop a shiver from rattling him as they were blasted with cold air, he was unsuccessful in halting his shaking figure as he hit his back against the cold cement of the floor.
Luis was admittedly cowering beneath Ballora's form, and surely the cold tremors made it seem like he was frightened, but he was more or less unconcerned with the crash and more so the jarring fall against the floor that blurred his vision a bit. In response to the silence, he slowly pried open his clenched eyes. He tried to peer around her, but it was difficult as her shoulders and chest were literally inches from his face. He slowly inhaled the cold air, holding it a while, and releasing it in a soft plume.
The metallic smell was unsettling, he half wondered if it was age.
Age of what?
The building?
Ballora?
Ballora was rotting, right? At least…he thought so?
But could she rot? She was a machine? Why did she smell like…
Organic?
Better yet why hadn't he noticed before?
Too much going on, maybe.
They had forgotten how dangerous this place could be.
Well, Luis had forgotten, at least.
Luis took a breath, trying to focus his gaze a bit, only really able to take in Ballora’s blue chest casing streaked in rust.
…
Or…
As he looked at it , he was now realizing it was not rust. The splotched pattern was too fluid in nature to be where rust oxidized and developed. Not only that but the patterning broke into drips as if it were wet at some point.
Why was he only just now realizing this?
He had overlooked it earlier as rust or dirt… all the times he grabbed her, pulled her around, or even when striping down the casing of her arms.
They were covered in brown and crusted splotches.
And he didn't think to question it…
The freaky skeleton composition of her endo only seemed worse now.
“It…
Must’ve been…
Part’f the foundation… settlin’… “ Luis said quietly as he sheepishly moved the face plate between them, only just now remembering they were underground.
Ballora was a bit hesitant but she did slowly reel herself back, nervous eyes looking over her shoulder at the source of the (louder) noise. Luis’ dazed eyes tried to look past her but he wasn't really comprehending what he was seeing well, and instead moved to sit with his back fully against the cylinder, offering the face plate out for her to take. He didn't much want to look at her endo any longer.
Ballora looked back to his desaturated and shaking figure and frowned though the endo didn't express it well.
She took the faceplate and idly wondered how to best help him…
She pushed herself up to stand now and pushed the face plate into place at the same time. The click it produced signified it latched back into place. Luis looked at her a bit questioningly.
“Stay here..!” She hummed out in a gentle tone (with a face much easier to look at than the freaky terminator one) before turning to start trailing off past the cylinder into the maIn parts and service area.
Luis had awkwardly slumped back against the cylinder, he wanted to think on what he observed but the thoughts were cloudy and it frustrated him. Ballora returned moments later holding a metal folding chair.
“Here,” she chimed happily, “Sitting on something other than the floor has to be helpful.”
“O-oh,” Luis gave, having to clear his throat a bit as he looked to her from his gaze into space, his mind still caught on his earlier observation as that was all his brain would let him focus on. He moved slowly to push himself up. When she offered him her arm, he ignored it, not sure he wanted to take it. The little plastic piece from earlier fell from his lap and clattered on the concrete, bouncing a bit in some unknown direction. It halted him a moment as he watched it but he eventually returned to what he was doing.
It was unclear whether Luis ignoring her offer bothered her or not though, as it was quickly covered by a smile as she unfolded the chair and presented it before setting it to rest against the outerwall of the cylinder.
The sound of her motor whining was apparent now.
Luis cleared his throat better.
This was a problem he's sure he could solve… it might take a lot of focus to figure out how to though…
Dirt…
Clean..
He took another breath of the cold air.
“Do y”think there’s any runnin’ water?” He mumbled and Ballora seemed to perk up at the question.
‘Why do you ask, are you thirsty?”
“Hu- oh, no…” He mumbled shaking his head a bit. Don't think about all the alternative uses of water…
You'll only forget your objective…
“Wan'ed…” He paused as if trying to remember what he was saying.
“Wanted..?” Ballora edged on to get him to continue.
“Ta’...
…”
Luis then emitted a razing noise in his own frustration, and the childish gesture provoked a small laugh from Ballora.
“Clean y'off… the dirt… and stuff…” He got out taking a semi deep breath before turning to look at the chair Ballora had set down and inching over to it. Taking a seat felt like a relief to his legs as he relaxed a bit in the chair but was shaken with a shiver soon after. He made a face trying to fight it off.
“y'keep th'water movin’…” He started in a mumble before looking up to her, “t'won't freeze…” He got the thought out and was thankful for that, as the slowed state of thinking really irked him.
Ballora nodded with a smile, idly circling her wrists to keep the joins from locking.
“There is moving water.“ she confirmed. “I could hear it in the walls as we descended.” She tilted her head a bit.
“Since no one is actively using it I doubt any of it is fresh…” She added
Luis was silent for a moment, trying to think. Again, his hands pawing at his eyes that were only getting progressively more red with irritation.
“I can find some.” Ballora cut into the silence, leaning in a bit. She figured her doing the moving around was better than him… well at least in the way of his leg, moving around seemed to help his body adjust better to the temperature.
She made a face for half a second as she thought but quickly covered it with her same warm smile.
“Actually, I think it would be better if you walked with me…” She corrected as she offered an arm to him again. He looked at her arm, then her face, then her torso. He sucked in a breath and held it as he tried to decide. He reached out and very loosely placed a hand on her forearm and tried to provide most of the effort into standing so as not to rely on her.
Ballora tried not to think much on it as they slowly started toward the deeper cement labyrinth of parts and service, he own haunting bgm refusing to let her walk in peace. The majority of the basement area was significantly darker than the area around the cylinder, and to combat it a bit she had shifted on her soft LED optics into a light glow to dimly light up the path they'd walk.
It was clear that the deeper into the cold basement and the farther they strayed from the cylinder area that the temperature was affecting them, though probably Luis more than Ballora.
It was painfully obvious from how he stumbled as they walked.
She tried to shake the volume increasing music from clinging to her mind.
Luis lost his footing for the third time in succession, clearly tripping on his own feet. Ballora had an arm around him to stabilize him but noticed his own movements hindering him.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
The music was getting louder.
She had moved, reaching out to grab under both his arms and scoop him up. He squirmed the entire way from ground to against her chest, though it was a fruitless attempt at freedom.
It was clear he did not want to be in her arms, but she didn't see a more efficient way to make sure he didn't face plant into the cement.
“No- ugh-” Luis struggled.
Ballora y’... covered i’blood.“ He barely got out in a huff as he made a face, letting his head fall forward against where her clavicle would be with a harsh clang! As his forehead hit it. The seam of the metal cut into his forehead a bit but his hair did well to mask it, not that he could feel it, though.
Ballora froze at his childish tantrum, though more so his words in general.
He was right… she was covered in blood…
Her gaze moved from him to look at herself as best she could. Her arms were clean, sure, but her entire torso was not..,
Maybe this was a bad idea…
The music was getting so much louder...
This was not a good response.
This was not a good situation.
This was shifting uncomfortably fast.
She just wanted to help him as he helped her, and now he was uncomfortable, now she could recognise he was uncomfortable…
She could barely think.
Her motor started whining annoyingly again and her hold on him had loosened but not enough that he'd fall from her grip.
“I-i apolo-ogize…” the words bubbled out almost unsurely as she pried her own hold off of him to distance them and attempt to set him down steadily and not give in to the ears plotting noise.
Luis huffed, but more in frustration with himself than the situation between them. As soon as Ballora had removed her hands he could feel his stability die, and though he managed to stand fully for a solid few seconds he ended up teetering a bit, ultimately falling under his own weight and hitting his butt on the cold cement ground a bit harshly.
There was a thick silence between them as Ballora fought with herself as to whether to help him up or not while trying to focus fast the tune ringing in her ears.
…
Luis partially wondered why he was acting like this.
…
In all honesty, Luis was lucky Ballora was here.
Sure if he hadn't found her then Ballora likely would have rotted in silence until the building caved in on itself; but surely without her, Luis wouldn't have made it very far from the interior of Fazer Blast. He likely would have froze to death in the barren room.
…
Above all, he liked Ballora. He liked her company.
…
“M"sorry.”
The silence was finally broken as Luis spoke in a mumble, his eyes frustratedly focused on his legs sprawled in front of him. Ballora was at a loss for how to respond and looked to him confused, her mouth a bit agape.
Finally the volume started to decrease and ballora was glad...
If a boy could suffer a migraune she though this might come close.
Luis rubbed at his eyes again and then his entire face as if the entire thing was uncomfortable.
Fallout from an irritated eye manged to be shaken off but they still stung/itched.
“Jus’...”
He tried to gather enough thoughts to properly string together.
“Don' understan’ why n’one cleaned y'off…” He added in a mumble of words.
Ballora remained silent as if taking a moment to think. Luis moved again trying to push himself up from the ground. His elbows refused to lock so his movements were unsteady as he wobbled. This time, Ballora did bend down a bit and reach out, offering a hand to him once more. He hesitated a moment before locking his arms as best he could around hers and she successfully pulled him to his feet.
She was unsure if keeping hold of him with his clear defiance was the correct decision, but he seemed latched to her arm.
Perhaps this was a good sign...
Maybe from the was the tune still bubbled into her thoughts it was...
There was silence again, but it was enough time for Luis to register the earlier events a bit better.
“You've good hearin’..?” He asked in a mumble as they started walking again.
“I believe so…” She answered in a quieter tone, her lilac eyes watching him with more care.
“It helped me locate people within my attraction with ease. I had to figure it out myself… tho-ough after a few instances of hearing things others could-d not, it became clear mine was more adva-anced.” She answered and Luis let out a hum as he nodded, only half hearing her.
Looking at Luis, he seemed dazed, Ballora pursed her lips a moment before bending a bit at the waist to match his height better. She then pointed down the corridor.
“Do yo-ou see that broken pipe the-ere? It has some water flo-ow.”
Luis’ gaze followed the direction her hand was pointing and he seemed to perk up a bit seeing the broken pipe poking out of the collapsed structure of the wall. It probably stood about the height of his shoulders.
They approached it to examine it better, and Luis made a face.
The water smelled old, like stagnant pond water, but at least it didn't smell like the bowels of a landfill.
The circulation of water through the building's drainage system had kept the water from becoming rancid from being stagnant too long.
Glancing over the cluttered debris and then the pipe poking out of the rubble Luis reached out to it only for Ballora to swat at his hands like an annoyed parent.
Oh no it was coming back again...
“I-I don't thin-nk you should do tha-at.” She said quickly trying to correct her hasty actions as she stepped around him to stand between him and the crumbled pile of drywall and metal rebar that housed the pipe. He made a bit of a face in confusion and frustration.
“You a-are already tolerating the cold-d poorly,” Ballora supplied, seeing his confusion.
The dastardly hum was getting louder again...
“I do-o not thi-ink getting into water would positiv-vely help that much.” She answered, trying not to make a face as the water falling from the pipe bounced drops in a soft spray against her back as if it were a backslash of a sink. Luis produced a huff of a breath that gathered into a cloud of steam in front of his features before dissipating into the air.
“Per-erhaps we should fin-nd something to put the wat-ter in.” She supplied the suggestion with a smile
“Like what.” Luis mumbled, his eyes back on the water steadily flowing from the pipe as best he could around Ballora.
The sound was now relaxing, thank god...
She glanced around, almost as if nervously to find something among the piles of cluttered toppled shelves and debris.
Ballora emitted a soft ‘Hm,’ as she looked at the rubble around them, her LEDs flickering on a brighter setting. She sidestepped a bit, trailing her arm in a wide radius around him as she did, but ultimately trusting he was deterred enough not to get in the water she left unguarded as she began pushing the rubble around to look through it and around it.
“How mu-uch water do you think is-s needed?” She asked quietly as she dug through the fallen contents of a shelf that held containers of some sort of cleaner at one time.
“Oh,” Luis replied, turning to her fully. He then looked to his hands trying to think. He flexed the stiff joints of his fingers open and closed a few times. There was little doubt the skin was cracking and maybe even frost bitten but that was too much to focus on at the moment.
“I've t'fit a hand innit, y'know?” He looked up to her with the question. She had looked back to him with his words, and her LEDs bobbed with a nod as she smiled at him.
He looked back to the water running from the pipe and where it collected on the floor streaming across it.
Ballora had dug enough to reach the original contents of the bottom most level of a shelf and with that had found a dusty and dented tool box. She pulled it up to examine its scratched and bent exterior. Maybe this could work? She fiddled with the locking mechanism at the front, and despite getting it open she realized the lid was still jammed to the body.
“Oh,” She whispered quietly as she readjusted her hold on it in order to grab it from both sides of the hinge and pry it open.
The result of getting it open was a shower of tools and metal hardware falling over her feet. The clatter of it was enough to break Luis’ daze and make him jump a bit as he looked back to Ballora.
For a moment her mind blurred with the dumb song and she had to shake it off.
Ballora took a second to recoil, mentally shaking it off a bit before reaching into it to start pulling out any remaining pieces still clinging to the inner drawer before presenting it to Luis. She emitted a staticy sound that fell in place of clearing her throat despite the fact that it wouldn't help with the cold voicebox skipping.
“Do-o you think this wil-ll work?” She asked despite knowing it was likely their best bet.
Luis took a moment to stare at it but soon nodded, offering a smile. Part of him wow'd she had even asked his input at this point.
He didn't realize Ballora was literally built to observe. Copying and responding to human action was becoming easier and easier, and the situation they were in temperature wise was probably Ballora’s best bet for speed running the learning process. She had at least half a decade to catch up on…
Ballora handed off the box to Luis as she carefully stepped out of her boxed in and cluttered prison of debris and whatever was on the shelving that had built up around her as she was searching.
Luis looked to the box in his hands to then up to the pipe protruding from the crumbling wall. He took a moment before shuffling a couple steps forward and holding the box out toward the pipe in an attempt to catch the green tinted water.
He stumbled forward a bit, resulting in a panicked response from Ballora nearly falling over herself as she fumbled a step forward to grab his shoulder and pull him back. Luis had lost his hold on the box lined about an inch with water, it tumbled forward and hit the floor, slashing water up at them with its contact.
Ballora emulated breathing out a harsh breath as Luis squirmed a bit to try and straighten himself.
The noise was incredibly loud now...
“Ple-ease be care-” Ballora started
“I'm f i n e.” Luis huffed dramatically and Ballora stiffened a bit.
Glancing to him a moment she tried not to take it too abrasively… despite the jarring tune filling her mind she stepped around him and bent to retrieve the box from the ground.
VANESSA
Vanessa took a deep breath of the cold air pooling into the atrium with the sunlight of the morning through the gaping crater of a roof. She glanced up at the exposed sky with a frown. The blue sky with scattered cloud cover seemed oddly deceitful to their situation. She looked back to what was in front of her and let out a shocked gasp as she came to a sudden stop before stumbling backwards and falling onto the dirty and damp tile. One step further and she would have fallen directly into the basement level. She almost couldn't believe the sight in front of her.
The entirety of the main show stage and a lot of its surrounding floor had succumbed to the crumbling foundation structure and fallen in on itself. Nervous eyes bounced over the hole a bit before turning to focus on Gregory and the bear across the atrium. They looked so small across the cluttered and crumbling expanse despite being half way through its wreckage.
She suddenly wondered if wandering over here by herself was a good idea. She pushed herself up and shuffled back a few steps and glanced back to the two again, she was relieved to see they were headed this way now. She exhaled a long breath as relief flooded her for an unknown reason, the breath clouded into a steady plume in front of her face before dispursting and dissipating into the air around her.
Okay… she thought as she idly rubbed her freezing hands along the, equally as cold, surface of her denim covered thighs. She took another glance at the two and started back toward their position at the middle of the atrium. Her footsteps echoed in a way that reverberated through her mind scape, and to escape it she ended up pushing herself into a half jog through the dirt and sporadic piles of snow dusting the floor, back to them.
Vanessa approached the two as they trailed closer, so luckily it took less work, and in response to her concerned look Freddy spoke up,
“Luis has definitely been this way…” he said a bit loudly as she approached.
“I can tell he passed along the ground floor of the atrium…”
He paused again, squinting a bit as if questioning his own concern. Gregory shifted a bit, readjusting his hold on the bear but Vanessa had reached out taking the animatronic’s head in her hands, barely prying him from Gregory's grip.
“He passed through here, that's good news.” She tried, mostly attempting to reassure herself as she looked down to Freddy in her arms.
“I do not think he is alone…” Freddy said in a quieter tone that was closer to a mumble now. “Luis’ scent is accompanied by a scent… but I am unclear on its meaning…
Mechanical…
But faintly human..?”
Vanessa tried not to make a face as Gregory broke in a “Hu-” but then Vanessa cut him off.
“What do you mean faintly human? ”
“I do not know…” Freddy responded, and upon closing his mouth clenched his jaw a bit.
“There is… a strong smell of blood, as well…”
“Blood?!” Vanessa and Gregory asked in unison with a heightened volume.
“It is not his blood.” Freddy clarified, eyes shifting a bit over the dirty tile floor.
“There is none on the floor despite smelling it so closely entwined with his scent… I think it may be… older…” Freddy said as he shared a look with Gregory, who then glanced at Vanessa.
The two were very clearly trying to make sense of the information.
“Mechanical… like an animatronic?” Vanessa replied a bit quietly.
“I thought there were none active..?”
Gregory shifted a bit on his feet.
“None show activity on my network basis, I am not sure what Luis has with him…” Freddy responded and paused again.
“Though, I do not think it is following him… The trail is… Not staggered, it is right beside him…”
“I-” Vanessa got out in a cough and had to clear her throat.
She was silent a moment, and glanced around the dusty atrium blowing a breath from her nose that clouded around her features as she looked at the relatively unmoving surrounding cluttered landscape.
“A-Alright…” she decided, readjusting her hold on Freddy but thinking better of it, she handed the bear’s head back to Gregory before stooping down to crouch at eye level with him. Gregory wasn't expecting her to shove Freddy back into his arms but he adjusted accordingly to hold the bear again.
“Alright.” She confirmed again.
“Can you tell where he's gone then?” She asked as she looked to his golden eyes with an unreadable expression though surely it held a bit of a plea.
Freddy was silent for a moment as if calculating something.
“Yes.” Freddy replied as his eyes shifted to land a gaze across the rest of the atrium on the area the stage once was. He was, admittedly, a bit shocked, and momentarily distracted by the gaping crater.
Vanessa gasped, “He wasn't on the stage was he?!”
“N-No-!” Freddy stammered as his mechanics tried to catch up fully to his emotion and his eyes shifted back to Vanessa quickly. His ears bobbed a bit as if to try and help reassure her.
“He was not…
I…
Can smell his scent wafting up from it though, I believe he is underground… It seems likely he used the utility stairwell.
“Oh, yeah… if the elevators don't work…” Gregory mumbled.
Vanessa nodded before taking a deep breath of the cold air. After a long pause she rose through the frigid air to stand again.
“Freddy, how's the cold affecting you?” She asked, shifting the topic slightly.
“I am alright, I believe… nothing seems too stiff, but I would assume that is because one of you is constantly holding me…” he answered and Vanessa nodded before looking at Gregory.
“And you, kid? Are you too cold?”
Gregory looked up to Vanessa with vaguely unreadable amber eyes before shaking his head.
“No.” He mumbled and started past her now, walking toward the stage as Freddy previously hinted at being the needed direction. Vanessa frowned at this, but thinking logically he was probably as uneasy being back here as Vanessa was…
“There's a utility stairwell in Rockstar Row, right?” He mumbled to Freddy as he walked, his footsteps kicking up the dirt on the floor enough to toss it into patches of half melted snow.
“I'm surprised you remembered, superstar!” Freddy responded with a smile in his voice, and the small excitement was a little contagious as Gregory's lips curved at the corners into a slight smile, his hold on Freddy tightening a bit like a hug.
It took a second for Vanessa to catch up to him but she kept pretty even pace as they pushed through the snow patched tile of the atrium toward the doors to Rockstar Row. When beside the area that once held a stage Gregory came to a stop and Vanessa had to stop herself from running into him. Gregory and Freddy both seemed focused on the crater.
…
“If the stage fell in on itself I think we need to find Luis before the whole ground floor caves in.” Vanessa said in a lower tone to try and encourage them to continue once more. She then looked over to the doors leading into Rockstar Row,
“Why did he go so deep into this God forsaken place…”
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Luis sat on the cold cushion of the chair, his eyes locked on the green tinted swirling water in the metal box. It hadn't frozen yet and if he had enough cognitive function to think on it he might wonder why, but right now his thoughts were muddy. Only slightly better than before due to the low grade heat lamp of the cylinder. He looked up hearing Ballora’s approach, and she offered a smile as she entered the cylinder and set what she was holding on the chair in front of him and the container of water. It consisted of a couple rags, a towel, and a couple t-shirts.
Luis looked at her haul with curious eyes but then back up to Ballora.
“You're… Okay aroun’ water... Right?”
Ballora smiled and nodded.
Yes Luis, how else would she survive after being drenched in some poor guy’s blood.
“Yes,” she answered with the patience that Luis so desperately needed. Luis has been the only person Ballora has been around in quite some time, but being attached at the hip with someone for around 12 hours can really cue you into their mental decline. And boy was this man having one…
The tune softly chimed in on her thoughts...
She learned a lot more about the human psyche the past few hours than they could have ever programmed into her. She didn't think it all came from the odd symbiotic relationship with Luis though…
What she did understand fully, though, was that Luis had gone far out of his way to help her, and now it was her turn to do her best to help him.
Ballora reached out to grab one of the t-shirts from the small pile on the chair and shook it out generously before holding it out to him.
“I kno-ow” She paused. She wanted to clear her throat but wasn't sure it'd actually do much.
“I know everything here smells old and dusty, but I-I found these shirts and thought they might help… I think the extra layers may he-elp… Will you please put the-em on?” She finished with the question as Luis took the shirt from her hands and looked at the dinghy neon design on its front.
“I… M’okay, r-”
It was getting a bit louder now
“Please.” Ballora cut him off as she was shaking out the other shirt she had found. She wondered if this reckless and self neglecting behavior was a result of the cold exposure. Surely if it were much colder it'd be frying the circuits of her brain too.
Luis made a face as he looked from the shirt to her. After a long pause and a deep breath he set the shirt in his lap and started to pull off his jacket.
He had tothe music started to dull yo a low hum..
try and brace himself against the cold that latched onto him immediately causing him to shake violently with a shiver. He made a face shaking his head a bit.
“Both…” He mumbled to no one in particular as Ballora handed him the other one as well to have him slip it on over the first.
He managed to pull both on and his jacket over top of them, and to be honest, these shirts smelled gross… but it was a bit warmer with them on…
He took a second, silently revealing a moment in the new mild warmth before turning back to Ballora,
…
He was silent a long moment before pulling together words.
“Thank you.” He mumbled out as his hands found their way to his steadily reddening eyes to rub at them again. Ballora's face lit up as she smiled at him, happy to have helped. She hesitated a moment before stepping closer, pointing to the small collection of a couple rags.
“It's ha-ard to find many things in here not-t tainted with oil or coolant… but I did fi-ind those,” she then pointed to the towel, “I foun-nd a towel too, I believe you should dry your ha-ands often if you plan to dip them in water…” She said clasping her hands together and bringing them up to her chest.
Luis sucked in a breath and held it. It took so much mental processing to pull everything she said, but ultimately his mind was distracted by the most unobstructed view of her he's had tafter hours of being stuck with her. There were a lot of things, he realized, that he was noticing about Ballora.
He tried to focus on her now, he'd not really iooked at her in detail of light since meeting her, and he felt odd for not trying to gauge her appearance. Tall, like all of the animatronics, but her slender form was taller.
He reached out to grab a rag and the towel she had brought, and set the latter on his legs as he went to dip the rag in the water.
Without meaning to, he recoiled harshly like it bit him, not expecting it to be so cold… not expecting to feel it be so cold. Watching him, Balloez was starting to question her choices a bit as the annoying tune picked back up.
He took a deep breath to try and prepare himself better and busied himself with shoving his sleeves up his arms to avoid soaking the fabric of the wrists.
He took a second to stare at the swirling water and sinking rag before giving a mental count down and plunging a hand in to grab the cloth.
He made a face as he wrung out excess water and looked back to Ballora.
…
“Sit down…” He mumbled just barely gesturing to the empty space across from him.
Ballora was hesitant a moment, but despite the mind jumbled sing blurring her thoughts, she approached and sat on the edge of the chair. She was close enough he could reach out and run the damp cloth over her torso to try and get it somewhat clean.
Up close again Luis could see better the segmentation seemed different, and the arm casings he had replaced actually looked as if they didn't fit the body well, they seemed shorter than her other ones… he wondered if the endoskeleton could readjust itself to fit the parts better.
What a wonder of technology.
Phenominal, but he couldn't brung himself to think much of it as his attention turned back to his freezing and stiff hands trying to wipe at the crusted over shell. Ballora was watching his movements and after getting the base chest plate mostly cleaned off she shooed his hands away.
“I believe it be-est if you take periodic breaks.” She said, pulling the rag with ease from his locking fingers.
Despite her tune added mind, she would do her best to help him.
She pointed to his hands now to emphasize the discolouration.
“Your hands were not that bright of a color earlier,” she clasped her hands around the rag and brought it to her chest.
The internal mo olohie of music climbing in volume again.
“It's clear that things like your hands are more at risk.” She reached a hand out and cold damp fingers brushed the hair away from his one ear enough to see it a little more clearly.
“Ah they a-are discolored too…” She gave in a quieter tone. His ears, nose, cheeks, and hands matched. She hoped it wasn't painful… discolored things usually meant pain… Right? She thought so.
She thought so but it was hard to focus with the noise. Her eye twit he'd a bit as the LED of it flickered.
She wasn't a medical expert but that seemed to be a running trend with humans.
Little did she know, Luis was past that stage of temperature effect.
Luis huffed, shaking his head a bit so she'd pull her hand away.
“Fine.” He started flatly, pulling the towel up from his lap and clumsily rolling it around over his hands. He then raised the towel and began pressing it to the top chest plate he had just ran a rag over to try and collect leftover moisture. His movements were clumsy, like a bumble bee running into everything, but Ballora felt it best to let him try to do it himself. He's repeatedly gotten frustrated with her trying to assist.
One swipe being too hard caught his hand on the jagged metal line running along the upper chest plate and the opening of the hatch to the cavity housed, and the rough metal sliced at the side of his hand. Ballora acted with more concern than Luis, because noticing it, Luis couldn't help but stare at the red collecting on his pale and irritated skin.
Balloras minde was raked over as the noise filled her mind, and she wore almost a pained look as she acted
The warm blood falling to hit Ballora’s legs was enough to have her quickly reach for the other rag sitting on the chair and shoving it to the wound.
Blood wasn't good, she knew nothing good about first aid, but she did know blood wasn't good… it was a hard lesson, thinking back. Seeing it initially she thought nothing of it, but she realized now, blood was supposed to stay inside .
“A-Luis you must be more care-eful,” she said, peeling the rag back slightly to assess how much blood was actually actively gushing out. It seemed like so much… she pressed the cloth to it again and pulled his hand toward her chest and looked at him concerned.
It sounded like someone was holding her head to a speaker as the tune broke into her mind.
“Does it hurt, does holding thi-is on it hurt?”
Luis took a moment but a quiet laugh bubbled out of him.
“I can' tell.” He answered
“Haven't been’ble t’feel my hands or feet since b’fore we got outta Fazer blast.” He answered amused, a smile gracing his features but it was not making Ballora feel better, in fact it had her horrified.
Her entire system felt like it froze up under and error message, the metal chord progression trying to implod he audio receptors not.
She made a pained face.
“H-Huh?” She stammered and he nodded a bit, producing a small laugh like her response was just the funniest thing in the world.
This feeling she had, this twisted one, like she'd vomit if possible… She wasn't sure she liked it…
“You can't…” Ballora started, almost dumbfounded,
Ballora could barely focus.
well… at least she had a definitive answer as to why he could barely get around without help.
Luis shook his head, still smiling and rocking forward a bit.
“Fros’ bite, m'sure.”
God why was it so loud can someone please just turn it down?
This was likely the last piece of helpful information Luis would provide, the amount of cold exposure was truly seeping into his cognition at this point, and needed much more help than the Luke warm air of the cylinder.
Ballora sucked in a bout of air that wheezed as it wormed through her compressor and into her inner systems as she tried to properly take in the information and respond to it.
Her motor whined a bit as it started to push itself into working harder and Ballora’s lilac optic eyes bounced around the interior of the cylinder nervously .
“Canna finish cleanin’ y’off now?” Luis cut into her chaotic pressure building thoughts as he reached with his free hand to grab the cold damp rag from where she had dropped on her legs in trade for the dry one. He then dropped it back in the green tinted water.
His unconcerned nature was not helping how loud this was.
“Oh- i-i…” She stammered as she stumbled over static, her hold on his hand tightening a bit as she pressed her hands better to it.
“Can-” She tried to clear the static from her voice box, “Can you do it with one hand…” she asked, not filtering her words well.
“... I can h-help , I believe- I… I cannot put my hand di-irectly in the water but…” zBallora answered inimtentionally distracted by a noise Luis couldn't hear.
“Hm…” Luis emitted as he reached back into the container to retrieve the rag. The excess water fell from it in a thick stream and he tried squeezing it, though the failing motor functions of his hands did little to relieve the soggy rag of the water soaked into it.
“Yeh,” He gave a ‘heh!’ Noise, “Canny
Wring itou’ well.” He confirmed as he looked back to her.
She forced another breath, this one smaller, before peeling the rag from his hand to see the damage. The way the fibers clung to the drying blood and reopened the wound as they pulled away was fascinating in a way… but now it was bleeding again… she pressed the rag back to it unsure of what to do though she was sure if she didn't keep hold of it Luis would try to use it despite bleeding everywhere.
She was the brains of the operation right now, whether she liked it or not.
Parasitic music attacking or not.
She decided to try and swallow her concerns and pulled his hand close to her chest again, resting it against the metal partition between the upper segment and her waist with one hand tightly over it holding the rag in place. With her other hand she let it glide over to his struggling one, and with a prayer of water resistance she helped to wring the rag out.
Ballora watched his hand nervously, and each time he dipped the rag back in the water she regretted allowing it more and more. Between the occasional tremors and slow movements of his stiff joints, she couldn't stop herself from disliking the decision to let him continue. Based on the majority of her interactions with him, though, letting him act independently seemed to be the proper way to approach anything, but still her programming conflicted with it at every turn, she was fighting not to take the rag from him. She'd do it herself but she wasn't certain she was waterproof, and really didn't want to test the limits of any water resistance she had, especially not in this worn of a state… Mentally and physically.
Her concerned gaze took in the sight of his skin hardening and cracking, getting it wet only progressed the process. Even though she made him dry his hand off after almost every time he touched the water, she could still see the unpleasant effects. The only thing she really could say, is that in a way she's glad Luis couldn't feel his hands… Though, it was bittersweet because that only meant she'd get to watch his physical state deteriorate before her. It'd be similar to herself, if she weren't in rest mode for as long as she was. Maybe that was a good thing, not witnessing that for herself… though watching it happen to someone else was just as horrible, she thought.
She tried not to let the brain scrambling music effect her too much, she felt like the fog it cast was leading her toward unpleasant thoughts...
…
As Luis swiped over the still wet blood on her thigh, Ballora's head jerked to the side.
“What is tha-at-?” She hissed, not quite expecting an answer but Luis bobbed his shoulders in a shrug as he dropped the rag in the box to abandon it, tapping his hand against the towel that rested on his thigh.
What a curse, the music had seemed to just be dying in volume, but soiked with her panic.
“Prolly th'foun'ation again…” He mumbled trying to look at his now blistering fingers.
“No…” Ballora responded quietly looking in the same direction as before. “It's coming from the stairwell… I can't…” she furrowed her brows a bit trying to figure out what she was hearing.
“More than one…” She mumbled and stiffened a bit as both sets of feet hit the floor at the bottom of the stairs.
Luis leaned in a bit toward her before slipping off the chair onto the floor unsteadily. The movement jerked Ballora's attention back to Luis as the only steady thing he had was her hold on his hand. She shot up,and the movement mixed with her hold was enough to offset him.
“Woah;” He voiced a bit amused as he stumbled forward and fell into her waist.
“Ah- I'm- my ap-pologies!” She stumbled verbally, not for the first time, as she lowered his hand to a more tolerable height, but not letting it go as she was certain he'd abandon caution.
Ballora glanced in the direction of the previously fallen rubble to see what she could see from the viewing window in the dim flickering light over the room.
“They're over there,” she mumbled.
She had little time to react as Luis stumbled a bit, pulling her to the frame marking the entrance of the repair cylinder.
Her entire system almost blue screened seeing a child stumble out of the rubble. She could have sworn Luis could hear the music she did, especially at this volume...
☆★☆