[ Creak . Creak . The sound of wood splintering and cracking โ The sound of scraping metal โ A rhythmic thumping growing closer . Footsteps. Heavy, limping footsteps.
Michael Afton is tired.
So , So tired.
{ LOCKED THREAD }
[ Creak . . . Creak. He hears it again. This time, he does wrench himself to his feet and look around. Thereโs a sound, like tapping against wood โ but thereโs nothing. Likely just a hallucination.
He doesnโt care to look further. He doesnโt care to do much of anything. ]
"Them fighting back and watching their fear only adds to the thrill, it makes the hunt more entertaining."
//it's probly obvious by now but i should clarify scrap baby and ghost elizabeth are technically two seperate entities, but are connected and do share memories
โIโm.. not sure. I donโt know that theyโd believe me. I look too much like him.โ
[ The last bit makes him feel sick to acknowledge out loud, but itโs not like it isnโt true. As heโs grown older, heโs come to look more and more like his father. ]
[ Another bout of dizzying laughter. ]
{{OF C0URSE_WE KNOw. IT D-D-DOESNโT MATTER. HEโS SO MI-ISERABLE HE H4ARDLY FIGHTS_BACK!}}
[ They slump over, leaning to one side, grinning ear to ear. ]
{{ITโS A-AMUSING. ITโS LI-IKE A GAME THAT WE W1ILL NEVER LoSE.}}
"You truly are an interesting lot."
"It should be obvious by now that body is not who you think it is, and yet you return to it, continuing to make him suffer... I don't know whether to respect or pity you."
[ At that, they double over laughing. ]
{{WE_ARE EVERYTHING N0W. UNBURDENEd BY-Y YOUR WHI1NING.}}
{{M-M-MAKE NO MISTAKE_THIS IS NOt TO GR0W STRONGER. IT IS_TO READJUST . IT IS LIESU-URE . }}
[ A deep, shaking breath to calm himself. Never in a million years would he ever imagine Evan asking him to be merciful to himself. He.. couldnโt fathom it. ]
โ . . Okay. I.. I promise. Someday.โ
[ Frowning, just a bit. A realization hits him. ]
โTheyโre.. probably hiding because youโre with me, actually. They think Iโm Father, s-so theyโฆ they donโt like me very much. They probably hide when youโre here because they wouldnโt like you to see them being angry with me.โ
*She's clearly referring to the spirits inside the robots.*
*She's not even sure if they can leave their vessels like she can sometimes, it's mostly just wishful thinking on her end.*
*She's also hoping they won't be mad at Mike, like they are when he's alone with them here.*