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“So.” Vanessa folded her arms across her chest-- her crowbar was hooked at her belt again, a flashlight swinging from a strap on her wrist, and she looked much more prepared than Cassie felt. Wasn’t that typical, though? “We’re finding the warehouse, yeah? I... think I remember where that is?”
It was dark out here, just outside of Parts and Service with no generators to keep the power on, but that was good. Cassie figured it was safer here than anywhere else in the crumbling Pizzaplex, because at least the tunnels were intact and unaffected by AR. She and Gregory had been fine down here earlier, at least, but... the Mimic hadn’t been quite so close back then.
And at least Vanessa was here now, or she didn’t know what she’d do. Gregory’s older sister, on the other hand, always seemed to know what to do. She was cool like that, with her super-awesome crowbar and rainbow-streaked hair, but somehow always so nice....
Shaking herself from her thoughts, Cassie turned to point at a large object obstructing the dark corridor; the forklift she and Gregory had driven earlier on their way back from the warehouse. “We can use that,” she offered. “We need a way to carry supplies, anyways.”
“Good thinking.” Vanessa ruffled her hair as she passed her toward the forklift; Cassie flushed, hugging herself tighter, and followed.
At the forklift, the young woman reached out to brush some dust off the wheel, then paused, glancing back at her. “Pretty sure this wasn’t here the last time I was....” An amused smirk crossed her lips. “Oh, wait... I’m guessing you and Gregory used it earlier?”
“Yep.” Cassie followed her to the vehicle, hopping up onto the passenger seat with a tiny smile of her own. “He hot-wired it. Then we smashed through a gate,” she added matter-of-factly.
“That sounds about right,” Vanessa agreed, climbing on beside her and leaning down to replicate Gregory’s earlier work. A moment later, they were moving- not at full speed, like before- but fast enough that they couldn’t be chased on foot. For now, at least.
Vanessa navigated easily through the tunnels to the warehouse, and Cassie curled up on the seat and lost herself in her thoughts. It was getting impossibly hard to stay awake, she’d been here so long...
...at least they were finally safe, for now. Vanessa and Freddy were here, and they were going to get out soon. Roxy and Eclipse and even Bonnie would be okay, just as soon as they could get supplies for repairs. And Gregory would recover, too... she hoped. They were close to escaping, and she was close to never having to face any of this again, and she was so ready to leave.
...just as long as she didn’t have to think about what she had done, who would be left behind when they escaped.
Except, as Vanessa shut off the engine and Cassie started to get up, the young woman dropped her head against the wheel and sighed heavily. “Okay... hang on, Cassie, just...”
She winced, sitting back down. “Yeah?”
“Look, do you know what’s going on?” Vanessa hesitated, then answered her own question- “No, of course not, of course...” She rubbed her forehead tiredly. “We all want to get you and Gregory out of here. You’ve done enough... way more than you should’ve had to.”
Cassie fidgeted, looking away. “I’m fine.” Better than saying why she wasn’t...
“No... Cassie, you’re exhausted. And Gregory is...” A shadow crossed Vanessa’s face at the thought of her brother, who had fully broken down before they found him. “You seem to be holding up better than he is. I don’t know how much more he can take-- both of you need to leave.”
She wanted that. Except she could hear the contradiction in the woman’s voice. “But...”
“But... we can’t. Because we can’t come back after this, it’s not safe, we should never...” Vanessa chewed her lower lip, looking around at the dark, disastrous passage just outside of the warehouse with clear frustration. “I hate this place. I know it used to be... it used to be pretty great. It was their home.”
There had been a time when it felt like home to Cassie, too. She wrapped her arms around her knees and nodded-- what else was there to say? She didn’t feel like she had a home now, not after seeing what it had become.
Vanessa exhaled, and repeated, “But it’s not safe. We got Freddy out of here and I can tell Roxy and Bonnie and Eclipse, they all want to leave too. We can’t come back here, none of us. Not... not for a long time, anyways. If I can help it, never. The place needs to be demolished.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Cassie squeezed her eyes shut. I don’t know what to do.
It had looked so hopeless before they’d gotten in contact with Vanessa, before she’d arrived here and helped her find Gregory in the sinkhole. She didn’t know what to do, she never knew what she could do, and everyone else had suffered the consequences before now...
Vanessa glanced over ruefully, shrugging. “I’m sorry. I know this is a lot to deal with. We just... we can’t leave without making sure the Mimic is locked away forever... I need to go back into the sinkhole and find a way to trap it there for good this time, and that should delete the virus from the Glamrocks’ code entirely.”
“You? Just you?” Cassie sat up, frowning. “Wait, what about... what about everyone else? Me- Roxy and I can go.” She wasn’t about to suggest that Gregory should go anywhere near that place again-- not if she could help it, not after how she’d found him. “We can help you.”
“I’m not making you go back there.” Vanessa shook her head firmly. “And Roxy is too susceptible to the virus. Something about Gregory being around gave the Mimic the ability to control the virus a bit more, which was why they attacked him... but if it really tries, it could take over Roxy if she comes down in the sinkhole, near the source...”
Her chest tightened painfully, and Cassie gripped the edge of the bench. “I- I can still go.” She couldn’t let Vanessa go alone, not like this, not to that awful place where they had found Gregory, bloodied and broken and terrified out of his mind, not in those tunnels where the deepest holes were open in the blackness, too easy to trip into, too easy to fall and fall and fall forever- “I can. You have to let me.”
“No,” Vanessa whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder; she winced at first, but didn’t pull away from the gentle touch. “Cassie, you’ve already done so much. You went into those tunnels to save Gregory, and that- that’s more than I could ask of anyone. I know them, at least... I can navigate them, and I’m better-rested right now anyways. No one else should have to go.”
“You shouldn’t have to go alone!” she insisted, jerking away at that. “If none of the others can, then at least let me go. The- the Mimic could kill-”
“It could kill all of us.” Vanessa’s voice was quiet. “I’d rather it be me than any of you.”
“But it would be safer if you weren’t alone. Please.” Cassie took a shaky breath. “Please, Vanessa, I don’t want you to- I don’t want...” I don’t want you to die.
Vanessa stared at her for a long moment, drawing her arms back to herself. Her hands might have been shaking, but Cassie couldn’t tell. “...I’ll think about it,” she relented. “But no promises. Not if I don’t think I can keep you safe.”
She relaxed a little, shoulders slumping. “Thank you...”
“Though I’d have to talk to Roxy about it, too,” the young woman added quickly. “She might tear me to pieces if I let you come without her permission. You’ve got a good guardian.”
Cassie didn’t answer. She was reminded of earlier, of... when Roxy had attacked Gregory, nearing taking out his eye to protect her... Roxy, always looking out for her while they camped out in the Pizzaplex, hiding from the Mimic and waiting for help... holding her back when Gregory was taken, to keep her safe if not him... Roxy was always trying to keep her out of danger, always going to the extreme.
She would hate it if Cassie went back to the sinkhole. That wasn’t going to stop her.
“...there’s more,” Vanessa sighed, and glanced back over. Cassie stiffened-- she knew that look. “About the others. Monty and Chica, we... they want to find them. And help them, get them out of the Pizzaplex.”
Seeing the stricken look on Cassie’s face, she quickly amended, “I know, I know. Trust me, I have mixed feelings too. It’s weird enough getting to know Roxy and S- and Eclipse without the virus affecting them. And it took me a while to warm up to Freddy... I know Gregory won’t be too comfortable with it.”
“...he and Roxy warmed up to each other,” Cassie whispered. “It took a little while, but... she started to forgive him. And Gregory started trusting her more. I think things are better...” But then again, how would she know? She didn’t know a thing about this place, didn’t know anyone as well as she thought... everything seemed to be a lie in one way or another. Even her best friend had so many secrets yet to share.
“That’s good... Cassie?” Vanessa glanced over, trying to catch her attention again. “I know how I feel... but what do you think? About Chica and Monty, I mean? I know that...”
...Monty. Monty was... he was in the flooded tunnels with her. It was so dark, and so narrow, and the water was murky under flickering work lights, but he was there. She could see him...
“Cassie?”
...right there, his silhouette under the water, and in her hurry to keep moving, Cassie lost her footing and slipped right off a moldy wood pallet into icy water that closed over her head before she could react. Cassie broke to the surface again a moment later, shivering, gasping for air and desperately paddling for the concrete platform ahead. The door, the way out, it had to be, please...
He was silent, swimming behind her, but she felt something nearly brush her ankle, just missing her leg, and a panicked scream escaped her lips as she kicked away, dragging herself back out of reach onto the concrete platform, just before he could reach her on the dry surface.
His form splashed over the surface again, roaring once before disappearing into the murky water, his faded mohawk the only visible thing in the dark tunnel as he swam off again. But he was going to be back... and he would eventually get tired of waiting and climb out after her with those razor-sharp teeth and jagged wiry claws that had already pierced through her skin before...
“Cassie, listen to my voice, it’s not real- Cassie, please...”
...the metal security door was locked, and she couldn’t reach the conduit panel without... Cassie took a shaky breath and plunged back into the water, wading over and slamming her wrench into the slot. Filling it as fast as she could with shaking wet hands, she glanced warily over her shoulder every few seconds because he could be on her at any moment, please, please don’t mess this up, come on...
The panel glowed to life-- the steel door slowly opened and Cassie pulled the wrench out and clambered back onto the concrete floor again, crawling toward the doorway before a sudden violent roar from the water drew her attention.
The room was... brighter, it was brighter, the panel activated the door and some weird neon sign, and the wires were in the water, and... Monty...
“...Cassie!”
He lunged once out of the water, claws nearly grazing her face-- she fell back with a panicked scream, and Monty fell back into the water, having just missed and swimming closer... ready to pounce again. This wasn’t him, he would never be like this, but all that was left was a shell of what he’d been, and yet Cassie wanted him to stop, she wanted to help-
-the tunnel grew bright with electric currents sparking off the surface as streams of crackling energy raced off of the door and into the water, and Cassie scrambled away to avoid the shock that raced through the flood, toward...
“Please, you’re okay, it’s okay! Cassie!”
...Monty shouted in panic with his damaged voicebox, struggling to get out of the water as his remaining wiring, his exposed endo, the shell that was left of him was entirely electrocuted... with a flash so bright that Cassie had to look away, covering her head and sobbing.
And then the tunnels fell silent and dark again, and the water stilled, and her last image of Monty was his head sinking below the surface, eyes dull and lifeless... before the door slammed shut and plunged her into the blackness-
-Cassie found herself curled up on the bench, her head pounding and heart slamming against her rib cage and her lungs aching for air. Eyes burning with tears, she curled tighter around herself, hands moving to grip her head. It was her fault, it was her fault, she had done this, she-
“Cassie.” Vanessa’s voice cut through her thoughts again, but it wasn’t as frantic as before. “Can you hear me?”
-no, she didn’t want to answer, she just wanted it to stop, she wanted to leave-
“Cassie?”
-it hurt, it still hurt, she didn’t want to talk and she didn’t want to have to do anything, but Gregory had told her that Vanessa was okay. She was good, she was safe, she was...
Cassie nodded slowly, eyes still squeezed shut. Something touched her hand- she went to pull away at first, but Vanessa’s voice accompanied the touch, a warm hand wrapping around hers to keep her from digging her nails into her scalp. “Is this okay?”
Both hands were being held away from her head, even though all she wanted to do was hide, but it didn’t hurt so bad now, so she nodded again. “Okay.” Vanessa took a breath. “Do you think you can tell me three things you can hear?”
Nothing, nothing but screaming, her own screaming, electricity sparking and humming as a shock ran through the water, the desperate incoherent shouts and splashing as-
“No, Cassie-” Vanessa pulled her hands back away from her face when she went to hide again. “Three things you can hear. Take your time, it’s okay.”
Her eyes were still squeezed shut, but... okay, it was fine, she could hear... her own frantic gasps, heart pounding in her ears... but also the quiet beep of the radio, muffled inside her backpack. “The radio,” she murmured, listening hard for something else. “Something dripping...” From somewhere, anyways, there was a steady drip, drip... but a third thing?
“Yeah, it’s pretty quiet in here, huh?” Vanessa whispered back, having guessed her dilemma. “But you can hear me, right?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Okay, then. That's three. Good job.” Cassie could hear the smile in her voice, and her stomach stopped twisting itself into knots and she took a deep breath, and another. “How about three things you can feel?”
Vanessa managed to walk her through that, too, as she hesitantly reached out, her fingers brushing the rough edge of the bench, and pieces of her own frizzy hair, and her own tears dripping down her cheeks. And then it was three things she could see, and Cassie gritted her teeth and warily opened her eyes, squinting as her eyes readjusted, and there was the flickering light on the wall and her backpack lying on the ground and Vanessa, who was still gripping her hands, keeping her there, in that spot on the bench and not back reliving Monty’s death over and over again...
...and Cassie could breathe. It was with a trembling exhale that she sat back, closing her eyes again without seeing memories, and finally stammered, “I- I killed him.”
Vanessa stiffened at her words, she could feel her grip adjust on her hands and pulled away. “What?”
“Monty, I- I- I killed him,” she choked out. “He’s g-gone.”
The dam opened, and she sobbed, dropping her head into her arms... Everyone was going to hate her, everyone would be so mad....
Vanessa’s hand touched her shoulder again, and when she didn’t move away, Cassie was pulled into a hug, the young woman rubbing her shoulder soothingly. She whispered something-- something about breathing, again, so Cassie kept breathing through racking sobs, leaned into the embrace...
The story spilled out, mostly unintelligible though tears, and Vanessa listened. She seemed to get the idea even though it couldn’t have made much sense, and though she seemed stricken, she didn’t push Cassie away, both arms still wrapped around her, and she didn’t sound mad. She wasn’t mad.
“It’s okay,” Vanessa was whispering. “It’s going to be... you’re okay, Cassie.”
She was, but Monty wasn’t. He would never be. Gregory had explained as much, that his AI chip had been electrocuted beyond repair. He could never be brought back. It hadn’t even been his fault, that he was attacking her, it wasn’t his fault.
And the others... even if Chica could be saved... the Glamrocks would all be devastated when they found out about Monty. They wouldn’t- they would hate her, they were going to hate her-
“It’s not your fault,” Vanessa told her softly, rubbing her back as she lapsed into another wave of tears. “I promise it wasn’t your fault, it... it happens. There was nothing anyone could do.”
“It’s my fault,” she croaked, burying her face into Vanessa’s shoulder. The young woman didn’t push her away. “M-my fault.”
“It’s not your fault. Okay?” Vanessa squeezed her hand, which was shocking enough to bring her back to earth, at least for a moment. “It... it sounds like he was too far gone. I know he was in bad shape... and you didn’t know what was going to happen. It was an accident-- it was never your fault, Cassie.”
Somehow, at some point, she managed to calm down. Vanessa kept her wrapped in a hug until she pulled away herself, eyes swollen from crying. It was... okay?
The young woman nodded encouragingly, helping her down from the bench to the stable ground when she was ready to stand. Even then, Cassie clung to Vanessa’s hand like a lifeline, because it was the only thing keeping her grounded.
Everyone would understand... it had been an accident, like Vanessa said. She would never do it on purpose, never. It would be okay. But... how to tell them?
“I’ll tell them,” the young woman offered, as though reading her thoughts. “I’ll explain everything to the others. I know you don’t want to talk about it.”
She really didn’t want to go through it again. But... “Shouldn’t they hear it from me?” Cassie whispered, swallowing against the lump in her throat. She could keep it together now. She was okay, she’d... be okay, eventually.
“I don’t think so.” Vanessa sounded uncertain, and there was something else, something nervous in her tone that Cassie decided not to argue with. “I should be the one to explain, if anyone.... But it’s okay. I’ll take care of it, I promise.”
“Okay... thank you.” Cassie shut her eyes again. It was easier than facing her own breakdown... which she’d had right in front of Vanessa. So embarrassing...
Vanessa squeezed her hand again, drawing her out of her constantly spiraling thoughts. “You feeling okay?” she whispered, and leaned down to get a better look at Cassie. “We can go back to Parts and Service if not, and you can get more rest if you need it... you definitely need it.”
She flushed. “I’m fine, Vanessa,” she muttered, and finally pulled her hand away (and regretted it as soon as she did, heart pounding faster by the second.) “I don’t need to rest right now.”
The young woman pursed her lips, studying her. “Mmhm.” After a moment, she sighed and straightened up. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” I’m not a baby. But maybe she’d been acting like one, so... Cassie sighed, shrugging her shoulders back. She didn’t know how to feel, but nothing felt right. This place was so messed up.
Vanessa might have spotted her growing anxiety again, or maybe she was just the best (she was), because she offered her hand out again even though Cassie had pulled away before, and she gratefully took it. “C’mon, let’s... let’s walk for a bit.” The young woman managed a tiny smile. “You know, we are pretty close to getting out of here.”
Cassie nodded wordlessly. Vanessa led the way forward into the warehouse, a flashlight in her left hand and holding hers in the right. Somehow, she felt okay. Confused, and scared, and still anxious despite it all, but... okay. Vanessa was still here. And she was safe, and she was good. She didn’t hate Cassie.
...Gregory was so lucky to have her as an older sister.