Greeting: Silent night isn't so silent and calm after all. This chapter is just more weird stuff. Let's get on with it.
( Pizzeria. Around 1 AM)
The air was dry and there wasn't any signs of an incoming storm or rain.
It was a perfect night for anyone, who wanted to stroll along the roads and breathe in the fresh air. Nobody seemed to be doing that.
Everyone was probably asleep. That's what people do in the middle of the night. Animatronics weren't different from humans in that regard.
Freddy was snoring between Bonnie and Chica. Bonnie's arms were pushed against her chest.
Freddy was facing away from her, so the snoring wasn't bothering her. Bonnie's ears were on the sides of her head. They nearly blocked her eyes.
Chica didn't have ears, but she was subconsciously trying to cover her head with a pillow.
Chica couldn't face down, because the beak was in the way. Sometimes she wished, that Freddy would do something to the snoring.
Chica wasn't awake, but she wasn't fully asleep either. Tonight many animatronics were ill at ease. Foxy and Vixey were on the deck of their ship.
Their daughter was between them like usual. Crystal was loved. After what happened to Storm's beloved daughter, they had become paranoid.
Crystal was sleeping peacefully and she felt cosy. Foxy and Vixey were closer to her than usual. Their snouts were touching Crystal's neck.
The toy animatronics were in their tiny room. Golden freddy was between Toy chica and Mangle.
The two females had their own reasons to be so close to him. Toy chica had been there every night. It really wasn't anything special.
But Mangle, was a completely different story. She had abandoned her usual sleeping corner, because of two reasons.
It was getting pretty cold for some random reason. She thought it was just the insulator failing.
The pizzeria was old and the insulator inside the walls hadn't been changed in a long time. The second reason was the fact that Golden freddy was a Legend.
The creature, who attacked Storm Jr. had spread fear among the animatronics. Golden freddy could defeat that thing and save them, if it came.
Mangle felt safer and she was warmer. There was a low chance for the thing to come to the pizzeria.
Plus, if it was as powerful as Marionette had said, Golden freddy couldn't do anything about it. Mangle couldn't say why she felt safer with Golden freddy.
It was just an instinct. On her other side, Toy bonnie was staring at the ceiling. She fell asleep sometimes, but woke up soon.
There was no need to sleep, so Toy bonnie just rolled with it. Lying there was boring, but she had time to think.
If Toy bonnie found it hard to sleep, the night was tormenting to Storm. She was in the repairing room beside to table.
" I love you. I love you", Storm repeated. She was holding her daughter's hand tightly. Storm was sobbing a little and she hadn't slept at all.
She couldn't close her eyes knowing that Storm Jr. was dying. She wanted to be there for the entire night. Storm listened to the machine.
The timer was ticking and tocking. Every seven minutes the timer made a bigger tick as it reached zero and Storm heard an electric noise.
Then the timer rewinded itself and continued with the normal ticking.
" There you go, dear. That will help for the pain. Good girl", Storm whispered to Storm Jr. She was sure that her daughter could hear what she said.
Maybe Storm Jr. wasn't able to answer, but she could hear it anyway.
" You can focus on the ticks and tocks. Aren't they nice? As long as this machine works, you are alive", Storm whispered to her.
Storm's only friend was the ticks. Storm Jr.'s life was ticking away. Every second brought her closer to death.
In the Circle of the hidden treasure, Fang and Willa were side by side, sleeping softly. Storm thought of them from time to time.
" My husband and my two sweet daughters. Everything a Legend could hope for. A family, who loves and cares", Storm whispered in the room.
She hadn't done anything else except talking to her daughter comfortingly. Some others were awake as well.
Eclipse was worried about Leslie, Storm Jr. and Shadow. He felt bad. Someone was missing.
He had been quite attached to the new Shadow, who had been sleeping with him. Shadow felt like a brother now. Eclipse glanced at the door.
It was far away, but he could see it. There was a corridor between him and the door.
The corridor was only six meters long, but it felt like fifteen kilometers to Eclipse.
He felt like he wouldn't see Shadow ever again,even though Shadow was in the door was open and there was light coming from the room.
Shadow was sitting on a chair, looking at Leslie. He had his katana out. Shadow was protecting Leslie like always.
He had lost his purpose in life after Leslie had died. Now that Leslie was back again, Shadow had gotten his strength back.
He was tough and there weren't any tears in his eyes. The old Shadow was back again. Eclipse shook his head sadly in the other room.
" Shadow? Can you hear me?", Eclipse asked in his mind.
" Of course I can. You are suppose to be asleep", Shadow answered.
" I miss you. Leslie will survive on his own. Come here, so I can sleep in peace", Eclipse begged.
" I can't. I let him die once, this time anyone, whoever kills him must get through me first", Shadow said in an angry tone.
" Nothing will hurt him. He's right there. You will see, if someone walks in", Eclipse tried to talk some sense.
" You are right! Why do you miss me then, if I'm right here?", Shadow asked mockingly. Eclipse couldn't answer anything.
He was broken. Would he have to pretend again to become Shadow's friend? Was he suppose to act tough and do things he didn't want to do?
He just wanted to live in peace and leave the war behind. He had lived in war for his entire life.
In the pizzeria he had realized that the war wasn't the only way to live. Eclipse had changed a lot, since he had been woken up by the cats.
Eclipse wasn't sure, if he even could pretend anymore.
" Maybe I should go there to guard Leslie with him. I don't see what he would have against that", Eclipse thought.
He stood up slowly, so he wouldn't wake up anyone else. He tiptoed through the corridor. Shadow hadn't moved from his chair for several hours.
Eclipse's appearence surprised him. He didn't say anything. Just glanced at Eclipse and then looked back at Leslie.
Eclipse looked around the room, but couldn't find any chairs. He gave up and sat down on the floor next to Shadow.
They sat there and guarded the sleeping boy. Leslie's mouth had opened and they could hear his steady breathing.
Michelle had put a monitor beside the table that served as Leslie's bed.
Michelle had found some quilt and softened the table with that, so Leslie didn't have to rest on a hard table.
The monitor was checking his heart beat. Eclipse saw the line on the monitor rise every second. 60 beats per minute.
That was a normal heart rate. Everything seemed to be fine, but Shadow was ready to fight at any moment.
" Has anything changed?", Eclipse asked. Shadow glanced at him. He didn't understand.
" In Leslie's condition, I mean. Is he getting better?", Eclipse clarified.
Shadow shook his head: " I don't think so. He looks normal, but he doesn't wake up.
Based on what Michelle told me, Marionette found something very odd about him. He might be more wounded than he seems. I don't know".
Eclipse took that in. It was worrying. What had that mysterious thing done to him? Had it been after Leslie all along?
Eclipse realized that it made sense. Storm Jr. would have tried to defend Leslie to death, and perhaps that is exactly what she did.
Eclipse hadn't believed that the thing would come into the pizzeria. Maybe by bringing Leslie, they had invited destruction into their home.
" I will stay here and protect Leslie with you", Eclipse told Shadow.
" Thanks! Two guardians are better than one", Shadow answered in a happy tone. After a while Eclipse opened his mouth again.
" You believe that the thing, who killed Storm Jr., will come for Leslie?", Eclipse asked.
He wanted to know, if Shadow had thought about the same thing he had.
" Leslie was its target. I'm sure of it. Storm Jr. was just in the way. It's coming here. I can feel it", Shadow said to him. Eclipse nodded.
They sat there for an hour. Eclipse lit a few candles and turned the lights off. Shadow didn't resist.
Eclipse wanted to make the room prettier. He slowly started to lean against Shadow's leg.
" What are you doing?", Shadow asked when he noticed what was happening.
" Me? I want you to be my friend again. I wish you didn't change so quickly. Yesterday you were close to me.
Now, you don't want to be anywhere near me. Why?", Eclipse explained.
" I was broken. You comforted me. Thank you for that, Eclipse. I am grateful, but now I don't need warmth anymore.
I have gotten my purpose back", Shadow answered. Eclipse sighed.
" I am still broken. I need love and affection", he said.
" You have Luna. Your mother is surely more comforting than me. I am a warrior", Shadow replied.
" My mother is too. I'm a warrior as well. I just wish that there was room for sweet things in our lives as well", Eclipse told him.
" What? There is! We haven't been in a fight in a long time. You have had the time for all the children. Isn't that enough?", Shadow said, confused.
" Children don't understand what our lives are like. It's happy, but I want someone, who is like me. Someone, who understands", Eclipse explained.
" Please! Don't say that you have fallen in love with me. Cause, I'm not gonna walk down that path", Shadow jumped back.
" No no no! I just like all the stories we can tell each other. I finally have a friend, who doesn't want me to pretend all the time", Eclipse said.
" Have I ever told you how I watched six slaves get butchered?", he asked.
" Thousand times! You had to rip his head off. He was begging for you to have mercy, but Salazar didn't allow you to", Shadow told him.
" It was horrible. Mom was the only one, who came to see me after that. Just like always", Eclipse remembered.
" Yes, I was. Helping my sweet son", Luna was by the door. They turned around and looked at her.
" Hi, mom. Did we wake you up?", Eclipse asked.
" No! I woke up on my own and saw that you were gone. I heard chattering and came to see what it was", Luna explained. She stepped forward.
" We are talking about our friendship", Eclipse told her.
" It's a lovely thing. Who has friends, has the world's most magnificent gift", Luna said, smiling.
" You are like two brothers keeping your third brother safe", she added.
" Me and Leslie are not brothers. We never were. I'm just a guardian. And Eclipse definitely isn't part of our family", Shadow corrected.
" Of course he is. We are all part of one family. The Fazbear family. I know that you want to keep Leslie safe.
Why do you abandon everyone, who loves you?", Luna chuckled.
" I just.. I don't want to be weak. My purpose is to keep Leslie alive and away from the bad guys", Shadow explained.
" You don't have to dedicate your life to that. We help you, so you don't have to worry all the time. Just look at Eclipse.
Why would he come here, if not because he wants to make you feel better. Ease your worries", Luna told Shadow.
He looked at Eclipse and Luna. Then he looked at Leslie.
" Antonio told me not to trust Legends. I can't be close to you. You are the enemy. The others are with you, so that makes them enemies as well.
I can't fully trust any of you", Shadow told sadly. Eclipse came behind him and patted his back.
" I don't think of you as my enemy. You are a lovely fox and you listen to me. Leslie is a lucky one, because he has you", Eclipse said to Shadow.
" You don't really know much about Leslie, do you. He never hugged me more than once per day. Emotions trigger the powers.
It means that he can't live a normal emotional life.
You can cuddle all you want without having to worry about killing everyone in the room", Shadow shook his head.
Luna walked between them and looked at Leslie with them.
" We are a family. It seems weird, but we are. Shadow, we are not those Legends Antonio told you about. We are on your side.
We are the guardians now. You don't have to take all the responsibility to yourself. Trust us! Please!
I know I kept this from you, but I did it, because I love you just like Eclipse does. Just like everyone in here", Luna looked at him.
They stood there and watched the heart rate. The candles were lighting up the room nicely. It was calm with a tint of romance.
Luna liked that atmosphere. It was dim, but not too dark. She could still see Shadow in the light. Only his silhouette.
His power was working in the dim light as well. Luna couldn't help it. She began to think, what had been done to him.
The way he disappeared in the darkness was awesome. Luna wrapped her arms around the two boys and held them close to her.
Eclipse leaned against her snuggly, but Shadow didn't really care. Eclipse seemed to be bored and tired.
Eclipse's sleep mode was trying to activate while in silence. There was no action. Luna wanted something to happen.
" Shadow!", Luna said.
" What?", he asked.
" Could you tell us about yourself and Leslie? We know you, but we really don't know your past all that well", Luna suggested.
" Okay!", he answered. Shadow told stories to them and remembered the amazing years with the Summers family.
All the books they read and all the trips they made to the nearby forest. Eclipse chuckled and nodded every once in a while.
They chatted till it was almost morning.
Around 4 AM. Luna was the first one to sense something odd.
" Wait! Boys! Quiet down", she said to them.
" But this is where the exciting part begins", Shadow said to her.
" Shh!", Luna commanded. Shadow and Eclipse listened to anything, because Luna seemed to be doing it. Her ears turned to all directions.
" What? I can't hear anything. Is the thing here? Is it coming?", Eclipse asked in fear.
" No! Can't you seriously hear that? Ahh!", Luna grunted and held her head.
" Mom!", Eclipse looked if she was okay. Luna sensed a weird tension in the air. It's like the atoms, in the air, had gotten heavier all of the sudden.
" Ah. It hurts. What is that?", Luna asked.
" I can feel it too. Something's happening", Shadow noticed. They were so focused on the feeling that they didn't notice that Leslie was moving.
He was muttering something.
" Look! It's Leslie. He is awake", Eclipse noticed. Luna and Shadow peered at the boy. Leslie was breathing quickly.
The heart rate was getting faster and faster. All three got startled by a mug hitting the floor. It shattared into tiny pieces and the coffee spread across the floor.
The table had been flat. The mug had moved on its own. Telekinetic force! Shadow shook Leslie trying to wake him up.
" Wake up, Leslie. I'm here. Your friend is right here", Shadow said to him.
" We are all here. You don't have to be afraid. Calm down", Eclipse said to Leslie.
" He isn't awake. I think he has a nightmare. Look at him shake in fear", Luna said her own opinion. Eclipse and Shadow sighed. Luna seemed to be right.
Leslie tried to run in his sleep. He was mouthing words and his legs moved rapidly. Eclipse held him down, so he wouldn't hurt himself.
He tried to get into Leslie's mind, but it didn't work. There was a lot of emotion in the nightmares, so Leslie got very powerful during his dreams.
" Mom! We need to calm him down together. You are the Elder. We can't do this without you", Eclipsed asked for help.
Luna placed her hands on her temples and focused on Leslie. Suddenly the candles went out. Shadow helped Eclipse keep Leslie on the table.
They needed to use straps or something. Eclipse held him down with his hand and the other hand reached for the straps on a nearby table.
" Can you reach it? Is it too far away? Do you need help with it?", Shadow asked. He was literally lying on Leslie by now.
He pushed Leslie against the table with his own weight. Eclipse got the straps just barely.
He gave the other one to Shadow and they strapped Leslie to the table. Luna was trying her best. It seemed to work a tiny bit.
Luna was trying to talk to Leslie. She didn't have a chance to force him to calm down.
Leslie's mind couldn't be affected by anything coming from outside the body. Shadow looked at his old friend, worried.
He tried to figure out the words Leslie was saying. He noticed that Leslie kept on mouthing the same sentence. He was speaking the old witch language.
Luckily Shadow had learned a few words.
" Let me go. Let me go", Leslie was mouthing. Luna ran out of breath and was forced to give up. Eclipse had grabbed a third strap.
Now Leslie was barely able to move. Luna was helping the boys to push Leslie against the table. He wasn't calming down. They needed to do something else.
" Oh god! I wish Storm Jr. was here", Shadow told the others.
Luna got an idea.
Storm Jr. and Leslie had been very calm while sleeping on Faith's back. Storm Jr. was able to calm Leslie down. Too bad, she was in bits.
They couldn't bring her there. Luna tried to think. She was a lot bigger than Storm Jr. Leslie was sleeping.
He probably couldn't tell the difference between her and Storm Jr. Luna didn't have any other choice.
She pushed Shadow aside and kissed Leslie like Storm Jr. would have done it.
" What are you doing?", Shadow asked in shock. Luna stopped and looked if it worked. Luna felt happy as Leslie smiled and stopped moving.
" Storm Jr.'s kiss would have done it. I'm not her, but I guess I'm close enough", Luna explained. Eclipse and Shadow sighed in relief.
The nightmare was finally over. Shadow realized that they hadn't woken up anyone. At least he hoped so.
They hadn't made a lot of noise. The most horrible noise had been the mug crashing to the floor.
" Please, don't tell Storm Jr. about this, if she wakes up. I don't want to cause a love triangle", Luna chuckled.
" She can thank you. Because of this, she will be able to kiss Leslie a thousand times", Shadow told her. Eclipse turned the lights back on.
They cleaned up the mess and caught their breath. The situation amuzed Luna. She had wanted some action, but this wasn't what she had in mind.
She hoped that everything was alright. Leslie was calm again, but it could change very quickly. She wasn't gonna give another kiss.
Luna had kissed Eclipse sometimes, but to the snout. A kiss of mother's love.
Passionate kisses reminded her of Salazar and the cruelty she had seen, because of her husband. It creeped her out.
But there was still something nice left. Salazar wasn't dead. He was just lost. Luna had faith in him. That's the reason she had named her pet Faith.
That was the source of her hope and life. She lied down to the floor with Eclipse and Shadow again.
They couldn't leave Leslie be. Luna felt the boys snuggle against her.
" Don't be afraid. I'm here for you. We are a family. Family members love and protect each other. Sleep tight my little guys", Luna whispered to them before falling asleep.
Farewell: This chapter became entirely something else than I tried to make it. See you! THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE IS TO WRITE.
