HOTEL LEX - FLOOR 5 (32/?) (DEADEND) (Patreon)

DEADEND REACHED

Your hand finds a handle and with all your might, you pull. The mechanical latch clunks, followed immediately by a yelp. You and the Timekeeper look up to see a bunny fall out of the rafters with a thud. He lands ten feet away from both of you and groans.

"Looks like that plan didn't work out," chuckles the Timekeeper who proceeds to drop you to the floor. The swarm of mice covers your arms and legs while the grandfather clock sits on top of you. A detached metal hand pulls out a metal marble that glints against the sunlight streaming in from the clock face. He digs out stuffing from your exposed chest and you feel yourself losing consciousness.

"I have held on to this for a long time now," he says as he drops it into your chest. "No toy has withstood its tremendous power but you-" he grabs you by your scruff again. "No, you, you are different."

A shock runs through your body as you feel exactly where the marble lands. It feels like a stone dropped inside your stomach. The change starts to happen immediately as you feel the general warmth inside you being replaced by the cold, hard kiss of metal. Your body jitters from the waves of electricity that shoot through you. Your soft interior is digested by whatever chemical or substance the Timekeeper has put inside you, resulting in your chest hardening into metal. Rivets and bolts appear along your torso and are then encased in plating. You let out a cry, your voice much harsher compared to before as the change ascends up your neck. You try to pull away but the mice gnaw at what little stuffing is left in those flimsy arms. You look pleadingly over toward Emmett who is still trying to get back on his feet from having the wind knocked out of him.

The Timekeeper pulls out a silver wind-up key from within himself. He holds it against the center of your chest, which opens a slot for the key to be inserted.

"Hold still for me, yes, just like that." He twists the key once and your head goes empty. What feels like a heartbeat in your chest is really the ticking of a gear. Your thoughts become fuzzy like TV static; you fight the feeling by trying your best to solidify an identity but the static just gets louder. Your arms grow cold, followed by your hands. You feel pressure behind your eyes and your vision begins to shift as colors fade into black and white. It is as if someone placed a neon light filter over your eyes. Your head spins violently and you feel the urge to throw up. You gag and cough with a slight reverberating edge to your voice that echoes into the space. You lift a hand to rub your aching head which clinks on contact. Your hand snaps away from your head as you look at its dark outline through glowing eyes. Somehow, though you know you should be panicking, you feel oddly at ease.

"Marvelous, simply perfect," the Timekeeper coos as he taps against your metal frame. Your new body is much heavier than before and trying to hold your arm out in front of you feels like trying to hold up weights. You open your mechanical mouth to shout for... for... who? You try your best to remember but there seems to be a disconnect between you and your memories. Memories? As far as you can remember, you don't have any. You were just brought into existence and now stand before your maker. So, what is your function?

> You are here to follow orders.> You are here to fix toys.> You... need a purpose.

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