In Retrospect - A Zajcu37 fanfiction

Chapter 2: The Journey

They must have been walking for hours and she began to feel it in her joints as they started to creak. She had lost count by now, having already stopped for a few hours of sleep once, which was basically pointless since she couldnt rest with everything on her mind. He hadnt been much help with the situation either. Sure, it was nice to have company, but she wished it could have been just a little quieter.

As they continued through the dense woods in eerie silence, Toy Chica managed to relax a little, she had straightened her posture, loosened her shoulders and began to take in the world around her, it was overwhelming and sort of beautiful. She came to notice the scene unfolding before her. She took notice of the earth beneath her feet, each step was cold but comforting, the soil was refreshing and organic, and she felt uplifted at each leaf or twig that satisfyingly snapped beneath her trek. It was strange, unknown, but she liked it, she was especially fond of the earthy scent it produced, and from the damp sensation underfoot, she realised it must have recently been raining. She began to feel uneasy, rain would be bad right now, and she couldnt afford to rust. The melody created by her walk was paired with the attention she gave to the soft glare protruding ever so slightly from the foliage above her, she realised that the sun shone brightly today, at least to her, she didnt enjoy bright lights, but this wasnt too imposing, for the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt at peace. The diluted light from above reminded her of a certain spotlight she used to stand in front of on stage back when-

"Everything alright, Toy Chica?" Scraptrap questioned, breaking her from the small world she had created for herself and she jumped a little. Scraptrap had an eager eye and noticed this.

"Sorry, I shouldnt be so loud!" He scratched his neck anxiously and ran a few small steps up to where Toy Chica was walking. She immediately snapped back to her usual demeanour and train of thought.

"Im fine" She paused for a few seconds. ...Thank you Scraptrap stopped in his tracks and smiled a little.

"Thank you?" he replied before continuing:

"Someones in a good mood today!" Toy Chica - now in front of him - let herself smirk, and even giggle a little under her breath (not letting Scraptrap have the satisfaction of seeing any of this of course). Maybe she had been a bit harsh on him, maybe he did just want to be helpful.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a large visual obstruction up ahead.

Toy Chica noticed that the light in the area began to dim and something had blocked out the sun ahead of them. She had to admit it was a relief for her eyes. She slowly got used to the darker scene before her, as the shapes around her began to morph and gain some detail. In the distance, a scene began to display itself. Before the two lay a large industrial building amidst the vegetation, which had taken over the crumbling infrastructure after the 100 years that this new world had existed. The top or sides of the building couldnt be seen because of all the shrubbery it was shrouded in, but Toy Chica assumed it must have been huge in full view, which meant large enough for danger, this had to be it, they had reached the factory. She briefly surveyed the monolithic structure before them, searching for some sort of an entrance. After walking to one end of the structure, she noticed a small crevice near the bottom of the wall. She silently ushered Scraptrap over to her and he slowly jogged towards where she was standing after briefly tripping over an exposed root and piece of concrete but catching himself.

"Well get in through here." Toy Chica gestured to herself and then the opening whilst trying to whisper. Scraptrap quickly nodded while making eye contact, showing that he got it. Toy Chica crouched down to peer through the gap before she was about to make her way through when she felt her body stop itself. She took a second then looked in Scraptraps direction and averted her gaze with an uncomfortable look growing on her face.

"I dont know whats past this point, Scrap. It could be dangerous," Scraptrap knew she only used that nickname when she was worried or usually about to criticise his behaviour, but this time was different, he felt her unease.

"I want you to stay here and wait for me," She said whilst sternly pointing at the ground. There it was, the nickname this time was because she was trying to sugarcoat her words, but he was used to it, this was nothing new, he thought of himself as a liability to her, just another variable that could and would go wrong, nothing but an additional, unnecessary risk. It was hard to not be emotional when this happened, but he knew he had to agree for her sake, and he tried his best. He sat there in silence for a few seconds, perplexed, before finally fishing for the words in his brain to string together.

"Oh. Right. I. Uh-" Thats not what he wanted to say, but he could rarely get out the words he truly wanted to express. He thought of everything he wanted to say: Im sorry that Im so useless, I wish I could be better for you, I care about you but I dont think you appreciate me as much His mind was spinning and he felt a headache coming on, in that instant, there was so much he wanted to get off his chest, but he refrained.

"Alright, be safe my friend, Ill be waiting for you here!" He chose instead while smirking and speaking in an upbeat tone while giving a cheesy thumbs up to keep things positive for his friend, and for himself a little. He knew Toy Chica could easily handle herself, but reminded her anyway. Toy Chica just sighed and didnt show any emotion, but she was thankful for his understanding. She was again about to make her way through the tight squeeze before she realised Scraptrap looked upset. She made sure to smile slightly and hold his shoulder for a few seconds, which seemed to cheer him up a little. Satisfied, she finally started to navigate the crack. It was pretty tight, and she couldnt get through at first. She hesitantly and carefully manoeuvred the sword through the hole first, which made it easier to then push herself through as well. She didnt make much noise when she landed (for a 1000-pound animatronic) - since the gap wasnt too far up - and carefully and silently resheathed her sword on her back before gathering herself and hastily looking around for any signs of danger. She took a breath, straightened her gait and began to move forward.