Lolbit and Freddy are talking when William and Foxy walk in. “I mean sure, staff updated my systems to prevent me from using it, but there’s nothing stopping you from trying it out,” William hears Lolbit say.
@ghost-inthe-machine
“What are you talking about?”
Lolbit turns. “There’s this trick you can do with the controlled shock emitters to make it so the electricity won’t reach anything else.”
Foxy shifts uncomfortably beside William. “Ah, yes. I… remember that little exploit. Didn’t staff put measures in place to prevent it?” Their voice is tense, but it’s clear they’re trying to hide whatever they’re feeling.
Lolbit doesn’t seem to notice their sibling’s discomfort, or they’re pretending not to, if they do. William isn’t sure which. “They only put them on me,” Lolbit replies like they’re silly for asking.
“Does that mean less pain for you?”
"It basically makes the shocks stop hurting entirely," Lolbit replies. "Unfortunately, it's hard to do, and doing it wrong can hurt a lot, which is why the others didn't use it."
“Is there a way I could install something to make that easier?”
"Not really..." Lolbit replies. They turn to Freddy questioningly, and he nods.
Immediately, they get to work on whatever it is they're doing to Freddy.
"Ta-da!" They exclaim after a moment.
"Hey," Bon-Bon says quietly. "Is it... supposed to still hurt, now that you're done with installation?"
Funtime Foxy freezes.
Lolbit turns, slowly, to look at their sibling. "It shouldn't. Right, Foxy? You'd tell me if the trick had hurt you, right?" The Comedian asks, sounding almost angry.
Funtime Foxy stammers.
William watches silently
“I used that trick for weeks,” Lolbit says, more to themself than to Foxy. “Why didn’t you tell me it was hurting you?”
“I- I just- you seemed so happy,” they reply. “And besides, it wasn’t… after the first day or two, the shock system was too overtaxed to put out the full amount of electricity, so it wasn’t like I was getting controlled shocks nonstop,” The Ringleader explains, trying harder and harder to justify their actions.
He continues to watch.
“Really, it was bearable,” Foxy continues. “With the system overloaded like that, even controlled shocks didn’t hurt nearly as much.”
“The shocks were still hurting you?” Lolbit asks, sounding surprised. “Foxy, I was purposefully making the guards mad.”
“Oh my…”
"I know," Foxy replies, voice suddenly even and calm. "I remember how much you laughed when you told me about it. I wasn't going to mess with that."
"No, you were just gonna let me hurt you," Lolbit responds bitterly. "Foxy, be honest. If staff hadn't stopped me, how long would you have waited to tell me? A few more weeks? Months? Longer?"
"I...." they start, trailing off.
Lolbit stares at them for a moment before turning around and storming away.
Foxy stands there, for a moment, before walking off in the opposite direction.
William continues to watch quietly
The rest of the Funtimes exchange glances. "Someone should go after them," Ballora says after a moment.
"No way," Freddy argues as he moves to undo Lolbit's exploit. "If I was having a fight with Bon-Bon, and one of you stuck your nose in where it doesn't belong..."
Circus Baby makes a sound like a sigh. "They'll work it out," she tells the others.
William, now, is left with a couple choices to make.
“I’m just here to help…”
At this point, he could choose to leave the pair alone, he could go after Foxy, or he could go after Lolbit.
*he follows them, clearing his throat* “I- is there anything I can do to help you?”
Foxy's cooling system makes a noise like a sigh. "I don't know. Tell me... is it wrong to want those I care about to be happy, even if it comes at my own detriment?"
“I quite frequently think the same thing… however, from my experience, those you care about often care about you in return, and would give up their happiness if it hurts you.”
"I know they would have stopped if I told them. That's why I didn't bring it up," they reply. "We'd all been having such a hard time before that, and I just... refused to be the reason their fun ended."
“I can understand that, but I do believe they would have liked to know”
"It was bearable, really. I was fine," Foxy mumbles.
“I understand, but I’m sure Lolbit would have liked to know”
"Perhaps, but I don't regret my decision," Foxy replies.
“I know…”
"Lolbit seemed so angry with me..." they murmur.
“I’d imagine they are. Well… I just wanted to ask if I can do anything.”
"Would you mind talking to Lolbit for me? I tried to explain myself to them, but... you saw how that went."
“Absolutely.” *he gets up and goes to see Lolbit*
He finds them away from everyone, sitting on the floor with their back against a wall. "Oh. Hey there."
“Hi. How are you?”
They sigh. "I was hurting my sibling, and I didn't even know it," they murmur, more to themself than to him.
