Work Text:
'Little Bear:
Little Bear, where are you? Mom is looking for you, Mom is watching you.
Little Bear, little child. Where did you go? Mom doesn't want to, Mom doesn't allow it. You ended up beyond the river, Mom will be very angry.
Little Bear. Where are you? You can't play with princes and princesses. It's really improper, Mom really hates it.
Little Bear. She will look for you, the strange boy will find you. The blond rabbit will take you out, the strong bear will lift you up.
Mommy's little bear.
Cry, little baby, don't say any more, I understand your fear of the dark. Cry, little baby, in the basement, fear will kill you for anywhere you are. Cry, little baby, don't say any more, Mom will look for you until the end.'
...
The man closed the book as he looked at his daughter. The girl had the sheet up to her head, looking at her father expectantly.
"I'm sorry, Nessa," the man placed the book on the table and turned to his daughter. "That's where it ends."
"What??" The girl gasped, surprised. "The story can't end there."
The man sighed and gently stroked his daughter's blond hair. A small smile spread across his face, and his eyes softened.
"Stories sometimes don't have an ending, Nessa," the man explained. "Sometimes they're meant to last forever."
"How can something last forever?"
"Actions aren't something you can easily forget." The man had an idea. "You know, there's a legend, or myth, whatever you want to call it."
The girl quickly settled into bed, ready to hear another story. The man laughed.
"In Hurricane, Utah," he continued. "Based on one of the most traumatic events in the area."
"The five missing children!" Vanessa said quickly, using her hands to pull the blankets further around her.
"Exactly." He smiled. "The fifth missing child, Cassidy. Nicknamed "the forgotten one" for being the only one whose body was never found." He continued. "She was so angry with her killer that on the day of his death, she took him to hell on his own. But not a normal hell, her own hell." The man emphasized that part. "By torturing him for, so they say, thirty years. The only way to get the killer out of there was to cross the river, which would take her to limbo, where her friends were waiting for her." The man paused for a second and looked at the television screen, where his daughter had been playing with the virtual reality headset. Princess Quest was on the screen. "Cassidy didn't do it, and instead, she escaped. And because of that recklessness, she was trapped again. She became a princess, in her own childish mind, waiting for someone to save her." The man fell silent.
Vanessa was terrified, her fear reflected in her eyes. Perhaps it wasn't something terrifying, but the similarities between that story and the Princess Quest game frightened her.
"Can I sleep with the light on tonight?"
The man laughed. "Of course, honey." The man stood up, kissed his daughter goodnight, and walked over to the door before turning through. "Remember, the princess is always protecting her subjects."
He left. Vanessa stared at the ceiling for a second. Cassidy's story couldn't end like this, could it?
[×]
Vanessa and Gregory ran quickly, Freddy following behind them, like an escort. The lower part of the store was collapsing; they didn't know how that girl had ended up so far down. Freddy was holding an unconscious girl in his arms, Gregory's friend, Cassie.
The girl looked strange. Her skin was paler, as if she had suddenly lost color; she was still brunette, but not so brunette anymore. Her brown hair had strangely shaped blonde streaks, as if instead of dyeing it, it had been there forever. And then there was the fact that her hand was clumsily clutching a Fredbear doll. She repeated the words "Charlie," "Dave," "The man is here," "I'm scared," and "Vanessa, you must help me" in a haphazard and labored manner.
The three of them were genuinely concerned about the girl's mental state since that fall Gregory had caused. The Vanny-like rabbit mask clinging to her face prevented them from seeing if she was asleep. Or just delirious.
Vanessa stopped abruptly before leaving through the door...
Princess Quest.
The screen of a machine, well, SEVERAL, Princess Quest machines. I, II, III, and IV.
And they all said the same thing.
'Congratulations!
You've won!
You've saved the princess!'
Vanessa stared at the scene for a moment, puzzled. Gregory's voice brought her back to reality.
"Vanessa! Let's go, now!"
Vanessa moved quickly and headed back toward the return race, leaving with the boys before the basement collapsed. The three of them sighed in relief.
As the elevator rose, Vanessa's mind returned to the strange scene of the Princess Quest machines. Suddenly, her mind flashed back to an old memory from years ago, when Mimic hadn't yet taken control of her brain, the story, the myth. The little teddy bear, the princess.
Her mind connected the dots, suddenly her body tensed completely. Her breathing quickened. The story, the myth. The little teddy bear, the princess.
Gregory and Freddy noticed her strange shift in emotions and looked at each other in surprise.
'Little teddy bear. She will look for you, the strange boy will find you. The blonde rabbit will take you out. The strong bear will lift you up.' Vanessa's mind repeated that part of the story.
Vanessa's body froze, and she slowly turned to where Gregory and Freddy were standing. They looked at her in surprise. Her gaze ignored them as she focused on the little girl. The little teddy bear, the princess.
She began to sweat. That girl, that...thing, wasn't Cassie. The little bear, the princess... Cassidy.