Atem opened his eyes and found himself in the main hall outside the office, surrounded by the animatronics. "Hey, guys… what time is it?" He asked, but the only response he got was Bonnie holding up all eight of his fingers. At least 8AM then. That would explain why I can't see their spirits.

He stood up from the floor and dusted himself off, "Where's Yugi?"

Toy Chika pointed at the office, where the two Foxys and B.B. sat in the corner. Atem slipped under the still-slightly-open gate and looked over their shoulders. Yugi lay passed out in their arms, "Yugi! Yugi, wake up!" Atem worriedly started to shake him as B.B. and Lady Foxy got out of the way. Foxy still held him up. After a minute of Atem trying to call his name and shaking and poking and even a sleeping-beauty kiss (to which he could somehow still hear the children let out a mix of "awww!" and "gross!"), Yugi finally woke up when Atem was about to slap him for not responding to the kiss.

Too bad Atem hadn't noticed as his hand flew across his cheek.

"Hey! Atem what the hell was that for!?" He yelled, rubbing his now red cheek.

"Yugi!" Atem wrapped his arms around him, "You weren't waking up, I was worried… You always wake up when I kiss you…"

Yugi felt his face grow hot, "Sorry, passing out isn't exactly the easiest thing to wake up from… Wait, what happened to Golden Freddy?"

"I'm not sure, he's not with the others, and they're unable to talk right now… Let's go get some rest. Everyone, we'll be back tonight. Yugi and I both need to get some sleep before we try to help the Marionette."

The animatronics all bowed in agreement. Atem opened up the gate and let everyone out, then decided to just leave it up. Nobody left would be able to break it.

With another promise to see them that night, Atem and Yugi left the building with nothing but coffee and waffles in mind.


"God, I'm so exhausted my waffles look more like pillows," Yugi admitted as he stared longingly into his food. "Put some syrup on them, the idea of waking up with that on your face will deter the sleep a while longer," Atem chuckled as he passed the bottle. Yugi nodded and generously poured it onto his breakfast, "I can't say that the entire experience hasn't been taking its toll on me, even with skipping class to get more sleep, but last night especially… I feel like Lucas literally sucked the energy out of me."

"Lucas? Do you think he might have moved on already? I didn't see him with the other animatronics…"

"I hope so, he was so young… he deserves it as much as the rest of them."

Atem smiled in response, then his face fell again, "I'm sorry you're so tired. I know it takes much more than sleep and breakfast to recover from events like these. But I also know you won't give up until you've helped everyone there. Tell you what, let's finish our breakfast quickly. Then we'll get home and nap, and after that I'll treat you to a little something special," he winked.

Yugi's face flushed red, "Oh- okay," he shoveled another bite of waffle into his mouth, suddenly unable to make eye contact with his boyfriend. Yugi was never able to keep his cool after that wink. He heard Atem laugh softly on the other end of the table.


After Atem fulfilled his promise of sleep and a treat, they decided to sit down to a game of Duel Monsters. Neither of them tried very hard, it was just something familiar to take their minds off of everything. Or at least an attempt to get their minds off of everything.

"What if we can't save him?" Yugi asked as he played his next card.

"The Puppet? Yugi, don't worry about that right now. We still have a few hours."

"We should have a plan going in. You said he sounded insane. I know we've dealt with crazy people before, but those were people… Even Yami Bakura was trapped inside an item that took over Bakura's body. I could relate to that. Minus the evil part…"

Atem set his cards down and shifted so he was next to Yugi and pulled him into a hug, "He's the only one left now. All of his friends are saved. One of them may have even passed on already. They will help him to see the light and free his soul."

"You really think it's possible?"

"I've seen you do many impossible things, Yugi. So even if it isn't possible, I know you'll find a way regardless," Atem smiled, and laid a kiss on Yugi's forehead. Yugi smiled and snuggled into his chest, "Thanks, Atem. You always know what to say."

"Would you prefer it if we popped in a movie and moved this to the couch? It's difficult to play Duel Monsters side-by-side like this," Atem chuckled, and without waiting for a response he lifted Yugi up and placed him gently on the couch. They picked out a movie and heated up some TV dinners, enjoying what they hoped would be the last day they had to spend wondering if they would be alive to do this again tomorrow.


This time they showed up an hour later than usual. They knew they wouldn't need any set up time, the only remaining animatronic could not move to attack them. Plus they needed to be able to speak to their friends about him.

The first thing they noticed when they got in was the lack of Golden Freddy, despite all of the other animatronics having shown up.

"Where's Lucas- Golden Freddy?" Yugi asked them.

"At the prize counter, where he's programmed to be. His spirit is gone though, he seems to have moved on without us." Zephyr replied.

"Oh, I'm glad he's okay then. So, onto the task of the night. Chichi, you're the one who spoke to him the most, right? Do you have any idea how we can save him?"

"I wish I did, Yugi. But as Atem mentioned before, he's crazy… from loneliness, sadness, anger, regret, betrayal… He tried to save us from the purple man. That's how the rule started… to be without a suit is to be vulnerable."

Yugi sighed, "Then I guess, we'll just all go down there and let him know you're all saved?"

The children looked at each other, then shrugged. Collectively they began walking down the hall towards the basement.

Once again the memory of James's death gripped Yugi, and he had to pause to shake it off. Atem placed his hands on his shoulders, and Yugi looked up at him with a half smile, "I'm fine, sorry." "No need to apologize. If you need a minute, then take one."

Yugi nodded and pushed his face into Atem's chest. That always calmed him down. After a moment he broke the embrace, "Okay, I'm ready." They continued down the stairs.

The music was still playing, but somehow the air in the dark room felt wrong. "Wait, did anyone turn off the lights?" Atem asked after reviewing his memory. In his haste to get the hell out of the room he certainly had not done so the last time he was here. He didn't remember having to even turn them on in the first place.

Nobody else knew why they were off, either.

Whoever was bringing up the rear took it upon themselves to try the light switch, "It's not working," Annabelle's voice rang out in the darkness.

"Guess we're relying on flashlights…" Atem muttered under his breath as he pulled his out, and Yugi followed suit. He immediately shined it where he remembered the puppet being.

Just as some part of him deep in the pit of his dropped stomach had expected, he was gone.

Over the loudspeaker he could hear the familiar inconsistent pitch of the Marionette's voice, "Lose something?" Laughter, "I've survived IN THIS PLACE for years! A dozen places just like IT! I'VE PICKED up a trick or two! And I REFUSE TO LET ANYONE take me ever again!"

Atem and Yugi shined their lights at each other and the children, "He wants us to split up and look for him… I can't figure out how he moved when he was in working order, but now? He could be anywhere… The place is too big for us to move together and expect to find him even before dawn." Atem shook his head, "Damned if we do and damned if we don't…"

"Let's split up," Yugi replied, "There's ten of us, even if we split up we can do so into larger groups."

"I'll only agree to that if you're okay with not being in the same group as Atem. You're both… squishy. I'd feel better if we had two groups of three animatronics and one of each of you in the other groups. That way you each have three bodyguards. Whoever the two are should be okay on their own as long as they watch each other's backs." Zephyr reasoned.

Yugi sighed when he realized he was right, "Alright, fine. You, me, Takeshi and Chichi?" They nodded.

"Can Morgan and I go with Atem? We still feel awful about what happened…" Robin asked shyly, "We wanna make it up to you."

"I'm alright with that," Atem replied, trying to shove his initial memory of them back down his throat. It wasn't about forgiving them for what they did, it was simply a newly developed primal fear that he would have to learn to overcome.

"Can I come too?" Annabelle asked, Robin looked at her and smiled.

"Guess that leaves us, Hailey." Riley turned to her counterpart and smiled. "God, I know we got stuck inside the Freddy suits, but I didn't think that made us best friends or anything," Hailey laughed. They all began their walk upstairs and split up as promised, and also agreed to meet back in front of the basement in an hour.

Hailey and Riley decided to give the hallway maze a run-down and check the bathrooms and kitchen.

Atem's group took to searching the arcade and main hall. They checked behind all of the arcade cabinets, under the tables of the main hall, and behind the stage curtains.

Yugi's group checked Pirate's Cove and the private party rooms. They started by checking under tables before Yugi found an open door at the bottom of the stage and asked his friends about it. Zephyr answered, "How do you think I get down from the stage, and back up there in time for the place to open?"

"You mean it's not locked?"

"Not at night. Cecil lets me roam more places than just the stage, and as long as I don't give anyone any trouble getting back up there it'll probably stay that way."

"That's nice of him. I guess we should check it out though, huh?"

"Yeah, I'll do it." Zephyr made his way over to the door and disappeared within its frame. A moment later he appeared atop the stage, and Yugi watched him look around. Just as Zephyr turned to face Yugi again he shouted, and before Yugi realized what was happening his feet were off the ground and the world was spinning by very quickly, he felt ropes around his body and neck, immediately making it difficult on focus on getting away. He couldn't figure out how he was doing it, but the Marionette had him not only tied up in his limbs but was also carrying him across the ceiling. Then again, maybe he didn't need his stubby legs for walking.

Yugi grabbed at what he assumed was his arm and tried to pull, to no avail. He heard a scurrying noise coming from behind the puppet and looked in its direction. Past the puppet's apparently floating body he could see Takeshi trying his best to catch up, being the only one who could traverse the ceiling. Unfortunately the Marionette had lost any physical limitations it had left and simply sped up when it realized it was being followed. Lights it passed by began to shatter, and he heard the other children begin to shout at each other below him. He heard a few cheers for Takeshi, but also the mix of panic that came with the realization that Takeshi wasn't going to be able to keep up. Yugi tried pulling at the arm around his neck again, but this only made it tighten. Soon the commotion faded out and Yugi felt them come to a stop in the pitch blackness. He then felt the arms loosen and he tried to stand, but he hit his head and dropped back to the floor quickly. He rubbed the newly forming bump and opened his eyes. All he could see were the two white pinpricks of the Marionette's eyes, which made him attempt to back up but he only managed to immediately end up in a corner. He tried to scramble in the other direction, but smacked into yet another wall. His conclusion was that they were inside of a box.

The idea of being trapped in a box with this thing made him instantly claustrophobic. Suddenly he remembered the taser in his pocket and reached for it.

"WHAT'S WRONG, Yugi? I thought you wanted to save me?" it laughed, causing Yugi to freeze.

"I- I do. I'm sorry. I just don't get kidnapped every day." I miss when Atem could bust out and kick their butt as soon as they tried!

"Aah, I'm sorry. Forgive my IGNORANCE. SO, HOW about a game?"


"Goddammit, how could we lose them!?" Atem shouted angrily as he swung his flashlight around the room. "I'm so sorry, Atem… He's moving using only spirit energy, I can't race that…" Takeshi replied in defeat.

"I'm sorry, Takeshi, don't feel bad… I'm just… He's my boyfriend, and my best friend and my partner and my light and my savior and my lover and my world and I fucking let something take him! Again!" He kicked the nearest thing to him, which happened to be a chair. He took in a deep breath and held it before letting it go, "I'm sorry… Any idea where he might have taken him?"

"Well our first thought was the Marionette's box, but… it's not where it should be," Chichi responded.

"Great," Atem sighed again. He closed his eyes and focused on seeing Yugi's light, but as he expected the whole restaurant was covered in the puppet's darkness.

"Let's split up again."


The next thing Yugi knew he was standing outside in the rain. He turned around and was met with a large window that allowed him to look in to what appeared to be another Freddy Fazbear's restraunt. Freddy quickly walked to each of the children at a party and held out a large plate of cake to each child, who promptly took a slice. They looked like they were having a lot of fun.

That was when Yugi heard a car roll up behind him. He turned to get a better look, but only managed to catch a glimpse of purple before his world filled with pain and then quickly faded to black. Just before it faded completely he caught a glimpse of the puppet's mask in the glass, reflected where Yugi should have been able to see his face.


When he awoke he felt very stiff, he tried to move around to loosen up but quickly realized he was an animatronic. Panic overcame him initially, but it subsided when he realized he should be dead if he were really inside of a suit. What's going on? He tried to ask aloud, but no voice came out. Having another look at his hand lead him to conclude that he was inside of one of the Freddys. He looked up and saw the puppet leading him out of the room, somehow floating as it had when it had kidnapped him. Yugi followed it as best as he could on clunky legs. What kind of game are we playing? He didn't explain any rules. Heck he didn't even wait for me to answer, I just passed out…

He followed the Marionette through several rooms, spotting Hailey, Robin and Annabelle on the way. Not their animatronics, or spirits. But their actual bodies, clearly broken and bloodied. Yugi swallowed and tried not to stare at them for too long. Don't worry guys, we'll save the puppet and then you'll all be free, Yugi thought. Just then he saw a purple blur and his world was one of pain once more. He heard "you can't" whispered to him before all became nothing.


He opened his eyes and still felt stiff as a board. Checking his hands again, he concluded that he was now in Foxy's body. Yugi decided to just roll with it at this point.

He stared out from purple star curtains and decided to step beyond them. Standing in the corner of the room was a man dressed in purple, just smiling. Panic overcame him again and he took off in the other direction, but the next sight made him wish he had kept his cool better.

The bodies of Hailey, Robin, Annabelle, Zephyr and Lucas were all sprawled out on the floor, drenched in blood with tears making clear paths in any blood that had made its way onto their faces. Once again, Yugi succumbed to darkness.


This time when he awoke his body wasn't as stiff. For a moment he thought he might be back in reality, but it still didn't feel quite right. He decided to have another look at his hands. He was shocked to see the long, black and white three-fingered hands of the Marionette. Looking down, he was floating. Somehow this was just the way the puppet got around? Was it really acceptable to the original owner for it to just float around powered by spirit energy?

He had a look around the room. The same bodies. He felt compelled to give them something to cheer them up. Feelings Yugi had to assume weren't actually his, because there's not much that would cheer up a dead child… Still, he picked up cake, prizes from the prize counter, anything he could find that might make the children happy. They never even moved. Finally, he picked up Hailey and carried her over to Freddy. Yugi tried to stop himself, but he knew now that he wasn't actually doing anything. He was watching through the Marionette's eyes. He forced the body into the Freddy Fazbear suit, and did the same with the rest of the bodies and suits around the pizzeria. "Why would you do that? Why would you hide the bodies for him!?" Yugi cried.

"I only wanted them to be happy… I only remember being so sad… I didn't want anyone to be as sad as I was."

"How was putting them in the suits supposed to help!?"

The puppet's laugh reverberated through the memory, "I didn't say it made sense… I had experienced death, but I still couldn't comprehend it… Especially not when I was still here. Every one of them is still here. …But, I guess that's not what death is supposed to be, is it…"

They sat in silence for a moment, and the memory faded out. Yugi found himself staring at a small boy with very short blond hair and a blue shirt, and large tearstains running down his cheeks. Yugi knelt down and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, "Do you feel like you comprehend it better now?"

"Not completely… but better…"

"Nobody will ever completely grasp it… but, you and your friends should move on if you have the chance. I'm sure you've felt as though you don't belong here anymore."

The boy nodded, "You're right… We're all dead, and I accept that. And whatever that guy in purple did killed us, sure, but there's nothing that we can do about it. Vengeance or justice won't make us feel any better at this point. Besides, I'm sure karma got him for us long ago!" The boy laughed before everything faded to white.


"So nobody found anything?" Atem lamented after they met back up in the main hall. It was almost 6AM. Nobody else had disappeared, but Yugi also hadn't turned up and they all feared the worst. Just then the blond boy appeared to them, "Hey, guys. I'm really sorry about everything I might have done to you guys… can we all just be friends, and get out of here?"

"Y-yeah, but where's Yugi?" Zephyr replied shakily.

"Oh, sorry. My box was still in the basement the whole time, but I moved it to a cupboard. Yugi should be on his way here now," he smiled.

"We can't go until we know he's safe," Zephyr looked at him sadly, "But I'm really glad to have you with us again," he smiled before turning to run towards the basement with everyone else.

They found Yugi reaching the top of the stairs and tried not to run him over with hugs, realizing that that much metal colliding with a human at once would most certainly cause some sort of irreparable damage. Only Atem actually allowed his body to slam into Yugi's in one of the most anticipated hugs Atem could remember. "Hey guys! I thought you all would have moved on with the Mari- er, with Scott by now," Yugi choked out through Atem's iron hug.

"Scott? Me?" The boy asked, pointing to himself.

"Everyone else got names! You deserve one too," he smiled. Scott laughed, "Only you could have triggered everything that would lead to us moving on and being happy, Yugi. I knew something good would come from contacting you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

This started the eruption of "Thank you!" and "you're the best!" and so on, directed not only at Yugi but also at Atem. Yugi began to blush, "Oh no, I just want you guys to be happy. Everyone deserves to be happy."

"Indeed, please have a wonderful afterlife," Atem added.

"Now get out of here before something crazy happens!" Yugi joked. With one final thank you, the children said their united goodbye to their two mortal friends and faded into white light.

Once it cleared, Atem pulled Yugi into the tightest hug he could without suffocating him, "You're really the best, most caring person I've ever met. I wish it didn't cause us so much stress and near-death experiences, but I really love your empathy, loyalty and irrational, irresistible need to help others. After that ordeal however, I must beg you to give me a month to recover before you decide to save someone else's soul."

Yugi giggled, "I'll try not to jump back in too soon. Ready to go home?"

"Yeah. Do you know how long you were gone for? It's just about breakfast time."

"Really? Scott showed me some crazy stuff that kept knocking me out… I guess I'll tell you about it over breakfast. Can we get burgers? I really need something different."

"Anything, Yugi. Anything but pizza."


Before they left the pizzeria office for the last time, Yugi paused and said a small prayer for the children and James, and gave thanks that nobody would ever have to suffer any number of nights at Freddy's again.


There's still the epilogue left, but I think even without that I ended this on a good note. You could take or leave the epilogue, I felt compelled to write one but honestly I feel like it makes for a weak ending. I couldn't figure out how to make it stronger than this one but the story felt unfinished to me without one... Oh well, at least it's cute. Thank you again for taking the time to read my work!

To kuaispeed: Thank you so much for your review! I am quite proud of it, and it always makes me happy to hear that people enjoy my stories because I do work really hard on them.