“Circus Baby,” she said, suddenly recalling the sign outside the restaurant. The animatronic girl smiled wider, her face threatening to split in half. “You’re not as cute as you are on the sign,” Jessica said bitingly, and the girl stopped smiling instantly, turning her body toward Jessica like she was aiming a weapon. A high-pitched ringing rose all around them, and Jessica edged backward. That’s her chip, Jessica thought, bracing as if for impact. The animatronic girl held out her arms as though in a gesture of welcome.

Thin, sharp spines like porcupine’s needles began to grow from her metal skin, each capped with a red knob like a pinhead, spaced a few inches apart, and extending from her face, her body, and her arms and legs. They grew slowly outward, lining up perfectly with one another to create a false contour all around her body. The girl looked expectantly at Jessica.

“Give it a minute,” the girl said. “Let your eyes adjust.”

The humming sound grew louder, rising higher in pitch until it became painful to hear. Jessica covered her ears, but it did nothing to dampen the sound. Suddenly, a new image snapped into place: where the smooth, slim redheaded animatronic had been was a gigantic, cartoonish child, her green eyes too large for her face, and her nose and cheeks painted a garish pink; she was a perfect image of the girl on the neon sign. Before Jessica could react, the childish image vanished, the needlelike extensions snapping back into the girl’s body with a metallic snap. The humming stopped. The animatronic girl had returned to her former appearance. William Afton watched her with a gleam of pride.

Jessica turned again to the sleek, shiny girl standing at the man’s side. “How did you create her?” Jessica asked, her eyes filled with curiosity for a moment before snapping herself back to the immediate danger surrounding her.

“Ah. A woman with a mind for science. You can’t help but to admire what I’ve done.” He braced himself on one arm of the chair, hoisting himself up to sit straighter. “Although …” He looked up at the gleaming girl for a moment, then turned away. “I can’t take complete credit for this, unfortunately.” He reclined his head again and let out a sigh. “Sometimes great things come at a great cost.”

Jessica waited for him to go on, confused, then looked at the animatronic girl, recalling all that she’d said minutes before.