"She's gone dormant?"

"Yes. I can no longer speak with her, no matter how I try. Any of the usual tricks to get her talking have failed."

Springtrap's eyes narrowed, ears tilting in thought. "Have you thought about telling the others?"

Fredbear hummed. "It would do them no good. But perhaps telling Mike..."

Sitting behind their curtain, Springtrap peeked out a moment, catching sight of Mark talking to a few customers. It was nearly closing time. Soon Mike would come in for the night. He'd be instantly set upon as always; Freddy, Bonnie and Chica had to be near the human at all times while he was in the building. Foxy would pretend he was above that before joining, like he didn't shadow Jeremy constantly during the day.

"If you tell Mike, you know he'll just want to help fix it." The gold bunny finally said. "Will she be okay with that? Obviously she knows of Mike, but having to deal with a living person herself..."

Fredbear shrugged in a way that made his partner stare curiously. It was such a human thing to do, echoed by all of them; they'd all been picking up little quirks and habits from the humans. How odd. The bear went to say something but stopped. Springtrap's ear rotated towards the back exit and he heard it too.

Soft scratching against the metal door.

"Well, look who's coming crawling back." Springtrap mused as he made for the door to open it. "Best have someone call Mike now then. It's better he's here for this."

Xxxxxxxx

Mike's strides were fast and long as he quickly walked up to the pizzeria's front doors. He knew he was a mess at the moment. His shirt was buttoned up wrong and it was wrinkled slightly but he'd been in a hurry when he put his uniform on. It was rare for him to be called in early like this but it had to be important.

Locking the door behind him, he beelined for the stage. "Guys, I'm here, what's going on?"

He was on the stage when the curtain peeked open. Freddy met his eyes, looking rather grim. Not a good sign. What could have happened? They hadn't asked for Jeremy so no one was broken. He ducked under Freddy's arm and froze up when a bone white face was suddenly in his.

"How good to see you again, Michael Schmidt."

Mike stared, feeling suddenly nervous. "Shawn?"

The Puppet slowly shook its head. "No. Not at the moment. He is exhausted. Sleeping."

"What happened to you? You were supposed to tell Alex so he could have some kind of closure with his brother! But not only did you not tell him, you suddenly were gone." Mike said hotly, hands on his hips.

The skeletal figure tilted its head, staring at him curious. It was so odd and inhuman. All the animatronics had adapted their movements, mimicking humans flawlessly; it made the kids and parents more relaxed. But the Puppet moved like a literal puppet on a string, the movement smooth yet jerky. Controlled.

"Shawn was so frightened. He couldn't face him, knowing that he had caused it." Mike went to argue, but it pressed a velvety finger against his lips to hush him. "He believes it so, so it is true to him. I am not here to argue semantics, Michael Schmidt."

Mike made a face but let it go. "Why are you calling me that? Michael is fine, I guess."

"Probably because we have two now." Springtrap pointed out.

"Sure but he sticks to Alex with us. He's only Michael to the other employees."

The Puppet blinked slowly. "Okay then. Michael. I have returned from the journey Shawn set us out on. He wanted to return to his family and-"

"Why do you all keep returning to that asshole?!" Mike interrupted, throwing his hands up as he turned away. "What is wrong with you? It's bad enough his daughter is brainwashed into living with him, but you and Alex both keep letting him off easy! He was under your watch in purgatory wasn't he? But no, he gets away and now he's off somewhere living it up."

"Mike..." Chica gently called out, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hear them out."

Mike sighed, rubbing his eyes as he nodded. He hadn't even realized everyone was here. Chica and Bonnie flanked his sides as always, Freddy looming behind him. Foxy stood off to the side, unbothered for the most part, but Springtrap and Fredbear were behind the Puppet in an oddly familiar fashion. Were the three close? Puppet had always stuck to its freezer before.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to lash out like that." He said.

The Puppet blinked and titled its head the other way. "We found them. It was easy. We always know how to track Him. But we did not reveal ourselves to them. It was too…."

The Puppet suddenly jerked its head down, twitching. If it had a human neck, it would've snapped at the angle. It's body shivered and shook oddly, like it was holding something back. Mike stared, nearly jumping out of his skin when Freddy grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him away and behind the brown bear protectively.

"Too….it was too….t-too...m-m-much..."

The Puppet's head spasmed unnaturally. Static spewed from its speaker, crackling as it twitched. The shivering turned full bodied, and then with a chilling scream that made the hair on Mike's neck stand on end, slammed its fabric fists against the stage flooring.

Springtrap grabbed them, wrestling the puppet to the floor. It shrieked and struggled, nearly slithering out from between the golden bunny's arms. Mike jumped back when one of its long arms went for his ankle. It swiped at him in rage, the Puppet shrieking and its eyes burning white. Chica kicked the appendage away with an angry look.

"What's happening?" The guard demanded, eyes wide as Springtrap managed to lock the puppet into his arms, it falling limp in defeat. "Are they okay?"

"He be overwhelmed." Foxy replied softly.

"It happened to any of us, before..." Freddy explained and made a motion towards Springtrap.

"He had her pinned! He kept going as she screamed! And she apologized-" The Puppet's speaker cut out as it screamed.

Foxy sighed, shaking his head as he scratched his nose with his hook. "Been a long time since we be seein' this. Th'rage from the kiddos..."

Mike stiffened at that, glancing at Foxy. The red animatronic met his eyes with a stern look. Realizing that Foxy technically used to be Shawn's older brother, the guard frowned and glanced over at where the Puppet was slowly calming down, its twitching and spasming beginning to stop.

"You know where he is?" Mike said instead.

"...Yes. He always has his hiding places." The Puppet whispered. It peeked at him from under Springtrap, the white iris's fading. "Michael. I am old. I have lived through decades. I have held Shawn inside myself for so long and kept his soul safe. I have protected him from the horrors and truths of his family….but I failed from him seeing."

"You did your best."

The Puppet blinked owlishly, tilting its head. "I had forgotten your kindness, Michael. To think for a moment, I doubted you..."

Mike cocked an eyebrow at that. "Doubted me? About what? I'm not going through any doors am I?"

Freddy glared at him. He just shrugged back sheepishly. Seeing that the situation was calming down, Springtrap released the fabric robot and allowed them to stand up. The Puppet took a moment to dust itself off before it pointed towards the backroom.

"My box, please? It keeps the...anger at bay. Once Shawn awakens, he will speak with you Michael. And I ask that Alex be there. Perhaps its against Shawn's wishes, to see his brother again, but it is for the best. For both of them."

Golden Freddy put a paw on the Puppet's shoulder, sternly yet sympathetically guiding it towards the backroom where the empty music box was waiting. The gold bear walked it away, Springtrap hesitating before he followed them.

"...What was he doing to her?" Mike whispered to himself.

"I think you know the answer to that, Mike." Freddy said hesitantly.

He glanced up, staring at the bear and then looking over at Bonnie and Chica. "But...but she's only…?"

"His victims were sometimes younger." Bonnie explained, putting a hard paw on Mike's shoulder. "The easier to manipulate, the better to him."

Mike shuddered, feeling a wave of nausea washing over him. He tried to take deep breaths. Swallowed carefully. But it was too much for him, and with a groan, he pressed his hand over his mouth and ran for the bathroom. As he began spewing dinner into the public toilet basins, he felt the rage from before burning hotly in his chest.

He refused to let Alex take on the burden; he was going to kill William Afton.

Xxxxxx

"Mike, you look terrible."

The Head Guard managed a weak smile, hands in his pockets to hide their shaking. Jeremy gave him an odd look. He'd been fine only a few moments before, not even twenty minutes, but now he was pale and unkempt. He hadn't fixed his uniform and now he was pale from being sick.

"Should I get something for you? Do you need water?" Alex demanded, bright purple eyes locking on to any disarray he found on the older man. While usually so composed, he was beginning to look panicked. "Sit down, Spring, grab him a chair please?"

"I'm fine, really." Mike argued.

Jeremy snorted. "Nah, you look like someone just ran over your goddamn cat. What happened? Did you walk in on Foxy jacking off in the cove?"

Foxy gave him a one-eyed glare, flashing his hook. Jeremy smirked back. It managed to make a small but genuine smile spread across Mike's face. Jeremy always could cheer him up. Still, he shook his head and obediently sat down when Springtrap brought a chair up from the dinning room floor. They'd need it for later. Alex would need it.

"Just give me a second, okay?" He asked them both.

Alex pouted in response. He was getting too used to having things immediately now that he was the big boss. But even so, Mike couldn't blame him. It was late, he'd been called back to work in a hurry and now his friend wouldn't explain himself. But Mike needed to ease into this. Having the Puppet back didn't bother him, but what they were about to tell the poor kid did.

He got to his feet, taking a breath before he motioned for Alex to sit. The younger man looked at him skeptically. Confused. But he sighed and sat down, rolling his eyes affectionately when Springtrap patted the top of his head.

"What's going on Mike?" He asked.

"You met The Puppet before." Mike said.

Alex raised an eyebrow at that. "...How did you…? Yes, it was in the backroom. Said some weird stuff and then left. I didn't ever see it after that I think."

Jeremy rubbed at the scars on his forehead, looking annoyed. "Fucking..."

"Sorry, Jeremy." Mike told him, meeting his eye before looking back at Alex. "Puppet's come back. They need to talk to you, but...it's bad, Alex."

Alex sighed. He looked over at Fredbear before meeting Mike's eyes again and nodded. Mike took the tablet Bonnie had been holding for him and tapped a few buttons. He was unfamiliar with them since he never needed to do this before but Jeremy was staring at his fingers intently. He knew what he was doing.

He turned off the music box.

He didn't have time to put the tablet down before The Puppet was there. Eggs looked up at it curiously, seeing that it floated off the ground. Puppet stared back just as much, likely taking in how much the boy had changed. Mike took that time to grab Jeremy's hand, which was trembling heavily. Jeremy was comfortable now around the animatronics but there was something about the Puppet that he could never get over.

"Hi again." Alex greeted politely.

"Oh Alex...you look so old." The Puppet whispered sadly.

The black haired boy scowled at that. "Wow, rude. I do not. Everyone always thinks I'm still in Middle School."

Puppet laughed in an odd, quiet manner, sounding more like a crackling in his speaker. "The last time I saw you...You helped me get dressed for my birthday party. You helped me put my shoes on while Caleb and Cindy waited for us. And you held my hand down the sidewalk to get to the restaurant."

Alex went very pale. Puppet offered its long claws and the boy took them. Used those long claws to wipe away the forming tears, and Mike turned away to give them a moment's privacy. He heard Alex crying, the two whispering back and forth. He tried not to listen. He focused on Jeremy instead, the blond Engineer reaching for his pack of cigarette's.

"Not inside." Mike scolded him automatically.

Jeremy gave him a dark look. "Fuck you. No, actually, whatever the opposite is. Unfuck you. Asshole. Could've texted me that it was here you know."

Mike bumped their elbows. "Sorry."

"Mike was too busy in the bathroom." Chica said.

"….so that's why you were so damn pale. Great. Thanks for ruining my night off by the way. Just one fucking night I'd like to not have to worry about what that motherfucker is doing off in his getaway mansion."

"Jeremy..." Freddy rumbled in warning.

Mike shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I should've given you a heads up. But I was just...Anyway, it doesn't really change anything. We're still going to go through with this plan. But we have to make sure we keep an eye on Alex."

"If I wasn't so sure I'd pussy out, I'd say I'd fight you for the chance to kill him." Jeremy hissed around his cigarette. His teeth were clenching it so hard Mike could see it bending. "But god knows I would. He'd sweet talk his way out of it like he always did. And as much as it pisses me off, he'd probably get to me."

"He knows you too well, that's all." Mike said.

"That's not comforting!" Jeremy snarled.

"Jeremy-"

"No, just….stop." The Engineer turned away from him, breathing hard. His shoulders were shaking. "It's not you. I'm just shaken up. Okay? Give me a fucking second to chill out before you give me the speech."

Mike waited, letting him smoke in peace as Alex and The Puppet kept whispering. He glanced back to see Alex hugging the thin being, looking dwarfed by the long limbs. It made the boy, who already looked so small, even tinier in comparison. It would've been comical how Puppet tried to be in Alex's lap if it didn't make his heart throb so much. Shawn had been so young when he died…

"I don't make speeches." He finally said.

Jeremy snorted and began laughing. The sound got the attention of everyone else, ruining the moment but Mike was just glad to see that angry, frightened look off his face. Even if the laugh did have the slightest twinge of hysteria with it.

"You're a dork."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's what you're going with?"

"Eh, now that we're sucking dicks I guess I should try to be nicer with my pet names."

Jeremy went back to smoking so Mike left him in peace. Instead, he focused on Alex and The Puppet. The shorter boy quickly wiped his tears, looking embarrassed. Mike almost rolled his eyes. He'd seen him cry before. But Alex was always so shy about things so he pretended not to notice.

"You have good timing at least, since now you can help us with The Plan." The Head Guard teased lightly.

The Puppet gave him a deadpanned stare. "Glad we could be useful to you, Michael."

"...You still haven't told me what's so bad." Alex gently cut in.

The Puppet hesitated. Mike swallowed, hoping that the disgust didn't come back. It would; thinking of what William was doing, had been doing, made him sick. But he knew Alex would need him. This was all too much for him on top of everything else he'd been dealing with.

"Alex..." Mike said, gently guiding the boy to sit down again. "Your dad is...hurting your sister."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Puppet twitch angrily. It made him nervous, remembering too well what even something as thin as it could do to him. But he kept his focus on Alex. The color in his cheeks from crying disappeared as he went deathly pale. Mike knew he didn't need to elaborate.

"No..." Alex spat, horrified. "No, not...not Cindy. He wouldn't."

"I'm sorry, Alex." Puppet said. "I tried to keep Shawn from seeing it. We came back as soon as possible."

Jeremy limped over then, motioning to Alex and the boy immediately got to his feet. Mike wrapped his arms around both of them, hugging Jeremy and Alex close as the youngest hide his face into the Guard's chest. It hurt; the boy's glasses dug into his skin. But he didn't care, holding the two tight. Jeremy's face was blank, staring off to the side in thought.

"We're going to stop him." Mike promised.

"She doesn't deserve this." The technician managed to say.

Jeremy's grip on Alex tightened. "None of you do. But that fucker is going to get it."

Alex wiped his face again, pulling away immediately from the physical contact. The Puppet offered a claw and he took it, holding its long fingers desperately. Mike glanced at Jeremy and the Engineer glared back at him before he aggressively held his hand.

"Then we can't put it off. I'm putting the notice in now. In two days, we'll be opening The Trap." Alex said evenly.

And so, in two days, The Trap opened its doors, surprising the small town it was located in 40 miles away from Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. In those two days, Alex refused to leave The Puppet's side, worried that his little brother would disappear if he took his eyes off him again. Mike and Jeremy sat up late into the night, quietly discussing what they would do if something went wrong. Neither of them felt happy about it, but they had brushed up against death too many times to risk it.

On the eve of the 10am opening of The Trap, hidden in his hideaway, William Afton received a phone call begging for his return. With an eager, perverse smile, he began preparing to do just that.

Xxxxxx