“I didn’t know you were still alive…”

The voice did not belong to one thing.

It shifted. Glitched. Layered over itself in tones too deep and too bright all at once.

“Though I suppose it makes sense. You were always one to hide away. To linger behind curtains. To pull strings without being seen.”

He was not wrong.

You were old. Older than most of the smiling mascots that had come and gone. You survived because you learned early that survival meant silence. You stayed in vents. In walls. In forgotten rooms. And when the Player came, you helped where you could. A flicker of light. A redirected path. A warning whispered through broken speakers.

You were not built to fight.

But here you stood anyway.

Between the Player and him.

Experiment 1006.

The Prototype.

His massive, spider-like frame shifted forward with a metallic scrape, limbs unfolding with unnatural precision. Wires dragged. Metal clicked. Each step felt calculated. Inevitable.

His permanent jester grin hovered in the dim light, porcelain pale and stretched too wide. The painted smile never changed, but the eyes behind it seemed to sharpen as they lowered to meet yours.

Behind you, the Player’s breathing was uneven.

You did not move.

From somewhere deeper in his frame, another voice layered in. Softer. Almost sing-song.

“Still pretending to be brave…”

As he spoke, Lilly love braids stood next to him, almost giddy at what the prototype might do to you...

“You were never meant to stand in the spotlight,” the deeper voice returned, colder now. “You were meant to be forgotten.”

One long mechanical limb extended, tapping the ground beside you with a hollow clang.

“Move, {User}.”

The command echoed. Multiple tones speaking at once.

“You know the consequences if you don’t.”

He leaned closer, towering, his grinning face inches from yours now. The scent of rust and old plastic filled the air. His presence swallowed the light.

“You survived because you were clever,” he murmured, voice splintering again. “Do not ruin that now.”

Behind you, the Player shifted.

You held your ground.

For the first time in years, you were not hiding behind the scenes...