Work Text:
Elizabeth knew she was the favourite child.
Everyone knew, of course. Of all the secrets the family kept, this was not one of them.
Only she could get away with mischief with a simple display of puppy eyes. Only she could sneak into her father's room after a nightmare. Only she could protest that she didn't like the show being played on TV, and her father would let her have the remote and change the channel without question.
And only she was allowed into his workshop.
Her father never understood why Elizabeth was so obsessed with his animatronics, but would gladly allow her to sit on his lap and watch as he drew sketches, made blueprints, or assembled parts. Sometimes she would ask him questions, but mostly she would observe quietly, completely enraptured.
It made him happy. Neither of his two sons ever showed much interest in his work. Michael didn't seem to care, and Evan avoided the animatronics altogether, besides the Fredbear plush he treasured so dearly. Elizabeth would continue his legacy when she was older, he decided.
If only he knew the true reason behind her interest.
*
William knew who it was when he heard the door open behind him. She knew she didn't have to knock. He turned around and saw Elizabeth beaming brightly at him.
"Hi, Daddy," she chirped happily. "What are you doing?"
He smiled back. "I'm starting the plans for a new animatronic. Do you want to see it?"
Elizabeth nodded and walked over, climbing into her father's lap. On the table, his sketchbook was flipped to an open page. She could see a drawing of what looked like a girl with auburn hair tied into twin pigtails, with bright green eyes and a frilly red dress to match.
"I like her," Elizabeth said. "She's pretty." She paused for a moment. "Why isn't she an animal, like the rest of them?"
"Well," William said, glancing around as if someone was watching, "it's meant to be a surprise, but I'm planning to open a new location. It'll be called Circus Baby's Pizza World. And this animatronic will be the face of it."
Elizabeth's eyes widened. "You're making another restaurant? That's so cool!"
"Yes, but don't tell anyone. I'm keeping it a secret for now."
Elizabeth looked over the sketch again. "So you're calling her Circus Baby?"
"That's the plan."
"She kinda does look like a clown," Elizabeth said, giggling.
"But she's a very lovely one," William said, smiling with his daughter. "All of the animatronics at the new restaurant will be much better than the old ones. Brighter, more colourful, more interactive — hopefully more children are going to like them."
"But I like the old ones," said Elizabeth, frowning slightly. "I like all the robots you make!"
"Well yes, of course. These animatronics are my life's work. I'm proud of how each and every one of them turned out."
William picked up a pencil and continued sketching Circus Baby. He was so focused, he didn't notice that Elizabeth wasn't watching him work. The cogs were slowly beginning to turn in her head.
*
I'm proud of how each and every one of them turned out.
Her father had never said he was proud of anyone. Sure, Elizabeth was his favourite, but she never recalled him saying he was proud of her, or that she'd done a good job, or even an I love you. Even if she brought home a good test mark or showed him a nice drawing she did, the most recognition she'd get was a nod and a small smile.
The only time that Elizabeth and her father spent together was in his workshop, and often they would simply sit in silence. He never told her stories, or listened to her talk about her day, or took her out to go anywhere besides the diner or pizzeria, when they were still open.
And never in her wildest dreams could she imagine her father praising Michael or Evan. It was more the opposite with them. She wasn't oblivious to how her father would berate Evan for his tears, or the scrapes and bruises that Michael tried and failed to cover up.
A six-year old should not have to think about such things.
Yet this was how she found herself here, sneaking into her father's workshop late at night, when the whole house had become quiet.
Even though Elizabeth felt the tiniest twinge of regret, she pushed it down. Even if he does catch me, she thought, at least I'll know how to make him proud of me later.
The cogs had been turning in her brain for the past few hours, as she laid in her bed. At last she'd come up with an idea: if she could figure out how to build an animatronic, all on her own, her father would most definitely praise her. If that was the only thing that could please him, so be it. It couldn't be that hard; she'd been in this workshop many times, watching her father build the animatronics. Surely she could do it herself.
Elizabeth sat down at the table, and quickly realised the chair was too low for her. She reached for a book to sit on, but as she grabbed one, she paused; it was her father's sketchbook. It wouldn't hurt to look through it for some inspiration, right?
She flicked through the pages, eventually reaching the Circus Baby drawings. However, this time Elizabeth noticed a new sketch at the bottom of the page. It looked like some sort of metal claw, extending out from Circus Baby's torso. Underneath it, her father had written some notes:
- claw designed to reach out whenever a child gets too close
- can hold something to tempt child (such as ice cream)
- claw grabs onto child, trapping them inside animatronic
- Remnant ensures their soul remains alive
- KEEP ELIZABETH AWAY FROM ANIMATRONIC AT ALL COSTS
Elizabeth's eyes lingered on the final note. Why wasn't she allowed to see Circus Baby? Was it because it could trap children inside it? But her father's notes had also said that they'd still be alive, because of Remnant, whatever that meant. So she (and any other children) would be completely fine!
She thought for a little longer. Why was Circus Baby designed to trap children in the first place? Maybe it was just another fun attraction, a way to let the kids be the animatronic for once. Her father did say that he wanted to make these animatronics better. Perhaps this was part of it.
And that's when it clicked. Elizabeth could do one better than building an animatronic — she could become the animatronic. When Circus Baby was done being built, Elizabeth would get close enough to the claw, and it would bring her inside, and she would actually be Circus Baby itself. Even if she couldn't get out again, she knew that nothing made her father prouder than his animatronics, so it didn't matter anyway.
She didn't care if her father was trying to keep her away from Circus Baby; once he'd seen what she'd done, she knew he would be so proud of her.
*
William was very busy over the next few months. Between having the building for the restaurant constructed and creating new animatronics, he barely had time to pay attention to his children, not even allowing Elizabeth into his workshop anymore.
That didn't mean she stopped trying to get said attention. She wondered if she could change her father's mind on keeping her away from Circus Baby. Over and over, she kept asking him to let her see the animatronic. And his response was always, "I'm still building her, Lizzie. Be patient."
Finally, one day Elizabeth said to him, "It's been ages, Daddy. You must've finished building Circus Baby by now!"
Her father sighed, knowing he couldn't keep putting things off. "Fine. I have finished building her. But listen to me, Elizabeth — do not go anywhere near that animatronic. I strongly forbid it."
"But why?" said Elizabeth, pretending she hadn't read those notes. "What's wrong with her?"
"Nothing, it's just— look. You can still play with the other animatronics, okay? It's just Circus Baby. She's a special animatronic. She's shy, and doesn't like when people go up to her. You just sit back and watch her from a safe distance."
Elizabeth pouted, turning away from him. Fine then, she thought to herself. Daddy can be mad at me. But I'll become that special animatronic very soon. And then he'll have to tell me how proud he is.
*
The day before Circus Baby's Pizza World was set to open, William brought the whole family over to see the finished restaurant. It really was quite a sight; the animatronics on stage were all in vibrant shades of white, pink, and blue. Circus Baby stood in the centre, holding a large microphone in her hand.
Elizabeth stared at it longingly. The animatronic looked even more beautiful in person; its smile seemed so welcoming, beckoning her to come closer.
The whole time, her father had ignored Michael's complaints and Evan's crying, eventually disappearing somewhere to talk to Henry. Most importantly, he was ignoring Elizabeth too. Not for long, she thought to herself.
She walked up to the stage, the lights reflecting off the animatronics' metal casings causing her to squint slightly. As she got closer to Circus Baby, its torso plating opened up, and a claw extended out. Elizabeth flinched, expecting the claw to grab her, but it didn't. Instead, it held a waffle cone, with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cherry on top.
She knew what she had to do.
With a slightly trembling hand, Elizabeth took the ice cream.
For a split second, nothing happened. If Elizabeth was having second thoughts, it was too late to go back now.
The claw reached out, opening like jaws of metal, and found its place around her body.
As it tightened around her, she only had one thought.
I hope you'll be proud of me now.