Several Nancy Drew soundtracks and some hundred goldfish later, and this chapter is finally done!

If you're a fan of spooky music, or want a little atmosphere while you read this chapter—or this whole story in general—I suggest these songs: 'Haunted Carnival' (from The Haunted Carousel.) 'Spooky Ghosts' (The Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake,) and the entire Ghost of Thorton Hall soundtrack. Haunted Carnival, in particular, is very much the theme of the knight guard series.

Author's notes will go back to the bottom after this, because it didn't make sense to suggest music AFTER the chapter. Happy reading!

ACT II
10. Them Nightshift Blues

Mike straightened his back up tiredly and arched it until he felt some vertebrae pop into place.

"Ah don' think humans er' supposed ta make tha' sound, son."

The night guard shot Freddy a dry smile. The bear was such a mother hen. "Probably not. But I'm feeling a lot better than I did last night, Freddy." He admitted as he walked over. "I think I need to take a break from moving stuff, though."

"Might be best. Ah, ya might want to give Drummond that call now." The bear's comment was sly, and Mike knew it wasn't aimed at him. Freddy had only told of Drummond's visit this morning, on the grounds that Mike hadn't been well enough for that man's garbage to bother with him. Mike had taken it in stride, knowing Freddy was only looking out for him. He just hoped Drummond wouldn't be too pissed he had been kept waiting.

That aside, Mike also knew the normally welcoming bear had a sadistic streak a mile wide, and it was often taken out on Drummond. And any other adult unfortunate enough to cross the paths with Freddy.

"Good idea. How taxing could a phone call be?" Mike paused, suddenly caught with an image of his only known predecessor in the job. "…forget I said that."

Freddy shot him a look, but Mike was already headed for the back door anyway. Sometimes it sucked not having a signal in the old building, and a lot of days the phone on his battery got absolutely murdered just trying to look for a tower. He hit dial on Drummond's name just as he took a seat on the four cement steps that led down to the back parking lot.

Waiting for the line to pick up, Mike stared out over the sad block of cement with the faded paint lines. There were only two rows of spots; most of the prime parking was in the front, which made sense. Well, that, and this door was never unlocked during working hours. It used to be, but on that note, there were a lot of lax safety measures the restaurant used to take that had caught up with them and left lasting damage. Now, the back door was locked from the inside, and only Mike and the chef had a key.

Finally, the dialing halted.

'Hello?'

"Heey Mr. Drummond, its Mike."

"Schmidt. About time you called me. What have you been up to over there? The fire didn't do that much damage, I heard."

"Well, noo." Mike took a breath. Gold's grip would probably crush his cell phone if he Switched. Besides, he already a story lined up for the fallout of what happened when they went through the door into what Mike now assumed was Arthur's mind.

"The Marionette got damaged…in the fire. He's…he didn't make it." Mike finished rather lamely, feeling there ought to be more a build up for the courageous puppet that had saved their lives at the cost of its own.

"No? That's too bad." Mike tried not to look into the man's cold tone too hard. He was of a different mindset, and had a different job than Mike did. And certainly, and this thought was how Mike was able to keep his temper, a different opinion of the restaurant's animatronic workers. "It isn't salvageable at all for parts? I suppose we could just get a new one built."

Mike's hand shook. "You can't replace him!" He shouted hotly, then stopped himself before Gold made him growl. "I mean, no, sir. He was already so old, it wouldn't work. The restaurant is closed obviously, for now. We don't have to worry about the Prize Counter until then."

Not that Mike particularly gave a flying rat's ass about who was going to run the Prize Counter in Mari's place. But he could tell that was about all Drummond would be concerned about.

"Good point. Even if the restaurant does get opened back up, the Prize counter will still be a little problem."

"Why did you say if?" Mike asked slowly.

"There's been some shady things going on at that place, Schmidt. You're no stranger to it." Drummond didn't know the half of it. You couldn't get much shadier than the ghost of an old suit haunting your own bones. "But the biggest thing is what happened to that horror attraction. Fazbear's…what was it? Night?"

"Fazbear's Fright." Mike corrected, feeling dread start to seep into his already tired limbs. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Yes. That's the one. They contact us. Ask for some robots. And then the place gets set on fire? The day you visited?" Drummond sounded mildly bothered, if a little accusatory.

"Right, but I—"

"We're being investigated." There was a pause."Or should I say, YOU are."

"Er, yes sir. I didn't have anything to do with that fire, though." Well, that WAS the truth. Gold and the spirit of the murderer had started it, or maybe it was just the faulty equipment that had been the cause.

But then, if it had been that last one, there wouldn't be any cause for suspicion in the first place. Mike swallowed, trying to ignore the dry clicking in his throat.

"Oh, I know that Schmidt. I do believe it was an accident, but the fire department doesn't think so and the cops sure as hell don't." Drummond cleared his throat, "You answer their questions, whoever shows up that is. And try and keep the pizzeria out of the limelight, would you? We can't afford all this bad publicity."

"We can barely afford any publicity." Mike mumbled to the cement.

Come to think of it, there had been a fire here too. Had it been coincidence? How had Nightmare Chica known?

For some reason, this thought scared Mike more than the thought of some Detective coming to investigate him. He made a mental note to tell the others, lest they get the wrong idea and treat the detective like they treated every other night guard who had walked through those doors. Swallowing nervously once more, Mike tuned into whatever Drummond was saying now.

"Just try not to go starting any fires yourself, alright Schmidt? We're hanging by a thread as it is." Drummond snapped crisply.

"Uh, yes'sir." Mike was instantly glad he wasn't in the vicinity of the robots to have them hear that. As far as they were concerned, Mike didn't call any one sir. It was the other way around or else.

Mike hung up and let his little fold up cell hit the step beside him. Laying his face in his hands, he rubbed into the sockets, trying to get out the ache that was threatening a full blown migraine back there. They didn't need this right now. Mike wasn't really sure what the restaurant needed anymore, but it sure as hell wasn't this. He didn't go inside for a long while, because he knew his first instinct would have been to go to the now silent present box still sitting in his office.

For the first time since Mike started this godforsaken job, there would be no listening ear and warm advice waiting for him, and that was the worst thing of all.

Plushtrap was pretty happy for a ghost bunny.

Interestingly, he was tangible as ever after crossing through the Door and ending up in this strange new place.

He trotted over the black and white tiles, peeking in and out of rooms curiously. The place was quiet, and dark, but Plushtrap didn't really need light to see. His ears bobbed as he wandered into a room with lots of tables and a big old stage. Upon further inspection, they were deemed just as boring as everything else he had encountered. Worst of all, none of the rooms where a good layout for his Game. Not disheartened in the least, Plushtrap wandered on.

Why was this place so empty?

Not that he had much comparison, considering he lived in a place devoid of humans himself save for one, but. Still! This seemed like the sort of building that should be filled with souls. Where were they? Had they been eaten, like the little boy had? He hoped not. The bunny became acutely aware of a little moving box in the upper corners of the rooms. There was even a few in the long hall he was headed down. His ears pricked toward it cautiously, but it made no move or threatening disturbance to cause him to scatter under the nearest table. Giving a few absent minded chomps with his needle long teeth, the tattered bunny avoided the sweep of the cameras on instinct. It seemed like the best idea for survival.

Plushtrap wasn't sure why or how he knew this, but he also wasn't too concerned by it.

Thoroughly bored by now, he ambled entirely past two double wide swinging doors that were blocked with tape. This would have been the most exciting room for him, no doubt, but it was too late now. Following a strip of tile led him past the bathrooms, and down an even thinner hallway. The little yellowed rabbit paused at the start of it, considering his options. It was almost identical to his hallway!

This would be a great place for the Game!

Though it lacked any open rooms for him to duck into, which was a shame. There was one room at the end of the hall, light streaming out into the darkness. Plushtrap wandered down the long hall, looking around for any good hiding spots. He peeked around the threshold into the tiny room. The bunny paused as it noticed the large white present box sitting on the desk. The bow was faded and limp, the walls rather thin and crumpled in some parts. Again, Plushtrap chomped his teeth up at it, almost hopefully. It was his only way to communicate.

But when nothing happened, he turned his attention away from the present box.

Not much else besides that to be found there, except…a chair—perfect!—and another door into yet another hall. This one had more doors, closed though they were, so Plushtrap pushed the chair into that hall. He backed it up to the end, its wheels squeaking, and hopped on it.

He was so excited; he nearly forgot to go limp when he heard footsteps approaching.

"Hey, kid."

"Dan. Ee. Danny, you bucket of bolts!"

"Like I said, kid." Bonnie made an amused noise as Danny threw up his hands and made an aggravated noise. "Take these plates and stuff into the Prize Room, okay?"

"All this stuff is from the kitchen?" At Bonnie's nod, Danny looked impressed. "Wow, you guys got this place packed up fast."

"Robot, remember? We don't need breaks like you little fleshbags do." A giant purple paw poked Danny's shoulder playfully, and he swatted it away.

"Get out of here!" Danny laughed, dodging another half hearted swipe from a paw that was about as wide as his entire head. "Just these, then?"

"Yeah. Should be able to do it in one trip." Bonnie jerked a thumb at Foxy. "I'd ask Captain Kitty to do it. But he can't carry nothing with that hook."

"I be a fox, ya varmit!" Foxy snarled, "An, it don't take two hands ta skin yer suit off that blasted mouth a yers, rabbit!" He brandished his hook and abandoned the job he was doing to clean the top of the stove. The soggy, slightly dripping yellow sponge pushed onto Foxy's bronze hook took some of the intimidation out of the threat, though Danny wisely didn't comment on this. Bonnie's ears bobbed as he mocked the fox right back.

"Oh yeah? C'mere and say that, you old seadog!"

Danny snorted, but hurriedly stacked the boxes—whoa, heavy—and scooted from the vicinity. For one, he did not want to get in the line of fire if Freddy showed up and scolded them. Second? No matter how friendly he was with Bonnie, Danny wasn't sure he would ever not jump when Foxy growled, or Freddy glared. The rest of them still freaked him out, just enough. It was in the eyes, Danny assumed. Though the noises they made didn't help much either. Rolling a shoulder to soothe the shiver from his shoulderblades, the teen headed toward the Prize room like Bonnie had instructed.

Danny was carrying too many boxes to see properly.

Because of this—and because Fate likes to smile because she rolls dice when everyone else is playing chess—Danny did not, could not, notice when he walked over a threshold and out of this world.

And into the next.

By the time he recognized the dark hall, the sizzling gold line was already sealing the door back into reality.

"Bonnie?"

Boxes went crashing to the floor, but it was too late. Danny whirled in place, thoroughly panicked now.

"Bonnie! Help!"

The teen scrambled clumsily to the doorway, grabbing at the wooden frame and tugging. The thick oak didn't budge, and no golden glow came to his rescue. He was back in that Other World, the Mindscape, his boss had called it.

He was back in this strange and dangerous Hell, and he was alone. It was his worst nightmare come to life.

"BONNIE!"

And, well. All that shouting had gotten the attention of Bonnie.

Just…not the Bonnie Danny was calling for.

The teen felt more than heard the Nightmare Bonnie coming up toward Plushtrap's abandoned hall. It just so happened that the hall to Plusthrap's territory was connected to the same side Bonnie skulked around. It was sheer coincidence, and Danny thought he was going to throw up when he realized that all his shouting had gotten him nothing but a one way ticket to being mauled, or worse.

One look at those swiveling ears aimed at him, and Danny's stomach raced his heart to take up residence in his throat. Those horrifying eyes gleamed from the murky black as the rotted rabbit's figure was caught by the light. Nightmare Bonnie lurched closer, hissing between large sharp teeth, and Danny let out a low whine. He had nowhere to run, and any place to hide in this dinky little hall suddenly seemed useless when he remembered the rabbit's ability to find things. And just like that, Danny understood how the anaimatronic traits could be deadly as they were cool.

God, he was going to die.

The kid couldn't help but cling to some semblance of hope. Something about those sizzling white eyes was making something stir in the pit of his stomach. Something besides the growing fear, to be more exact. All the air left the kid's lungs and he forgot to inhale to refill them. Tiny little white spots danced in the corners of his vision. It was just him and this two ton purple rabbit, with the glowing white, should-be-red eyes. Those eyes…

Something—

The feel of his hand gripping a thick, stubby purple crayon as he lay belly down on the cool floor, surrounded on three sides in the enclosed shelter of the large desk. The low footfalls of some gargantuan creature as its wide purple paws slapped the floor. If he peeked out, he could see who was coming to the office, and the toddler squealed and bolted out from under the desk. With any of the others he ran and hid, but not for this one. His father's laughter and then his little, barely walking toddler self as he bolted toward the visitor. Big thick legs, fur crinkling, pizza grease and motor oil hitting his nostrils. White pinpricks swiveled down to him and focused. Paws bigger than his torso spread down on either side of him, waiting only for him to run into them. Danny beelined right for—

Was painfully familiar about those eyes.

Danny's vision swam, his train of thought coming right off the tracks as he froze.

Purple.

Ears.

Paws.

—Bonnie.

Danny's jaw went slack.

This new information didn't exactly save him, no matter how interesting it was. Mostly because the Nightmare visage of his friend—his long lost best friend, to be exact—was still staring at him and making threatening, low noises. Despite this, Nightmare Bon had yet to make a move. He seemed more calculating than Nightmare Chica had been. That, or maybe he simply hadn't ever seen a human like Danny, and didn't know what to make of the tall teen just yet. Plushtrap certainly didn't seem to know back then, come to think of it.

Danny swallowed and slid back until his weight rested on his back heel. If he had to bolt, he wanted to be ready. He fought a shiver, those white eyes weren't the same ones he had grown up around, Danny knew that much. Just because the horrifying monster had jogged his memory, didn't make this Bonnie and the original one in the same. There were two of him, and Chica.

But only one of the puppet and BB.

Something nagged the back of the teen's brain, but before anyone else could make a move…

The floor shook.

Bonnie turned to look to his right at the approaching noise, while Danny slipped without a noise into one of the black, empty rooms. Just in time too, because as he ducked down to peek out, the same black bear that had torn apart the Marionette came from seemingly nowhere. Danny clapped a hand over his mouth to prevent any noises, noticing for the first time that Nightmare Bonnie suddenly seemed…hesitant. Nightmare snarled at the other, then unceremoniously grabbed Bonnie by one of those long ears and bodily threw the fellow monster into the wall.

"WHAT DID I SAY? ABOUT LEAVING YOUR SPOT?" His roar was partly obscured by the crashing noise the Nightmare rabbit made when it landed, but it was nevertheless effective. Nightmare Bonnie let out a garbled noise, almost like a yelp.

The rabbit didn't—or couldn't—answer in any language Danny understood. Nightmare Bonnie did make a couple warbling growls, though they sounded uncharacteristically meek. And those piercing white optics were trained submissively on the floor. Nightmare seemed satisfied—or a little less pissed off, anyway—and settled for one final kick to the side of the rabbit's head. An ear went tumbling, sparks flying briefly as the Nightmare Bonnie wobbled dangerously and tried uselessly to get to its feet. The ear stopped with a dull thud, as fate would have it, much closer to Danny than Nightmare Bonnie.

Danny watched this, having to tense himself to not speak against the unfair brutality. It was then he remembered a conversation he'd had with the real Bonnie less than a week ago.

"How come you move your ears so much when you move?"

"Eh, it's kind of an automaton feature, kid." A gesture to his flat feet and then up to his ears as they cranked comically. "I mean, I walk fine with them both, true. But ya take one ear away and I'll be top heavy. No counter-balance."

"They are pretty big," Danny had laughed as he watched one flick toward a far off noise.

Bonnie had chuckled, making his ears wag on purpose at the kid playfully. "Biggest ears in the west, Tex."

Well, it seemed Nightmare Bonnie suffered from the same weakness too. The ragged, torn body was tipping precariously on the side the ear had fallen off, and it couldn't find the balance to stand. Every time it got a knee under it, the bunny swayed dangerously away from the wall it was trying to lean on and had to start all over again. It was kind of pathetic, and suddenly the bunny didn't seem so scary. Just…lost. Danny chewed his lip, glancing between the discarded ear and the rest of the animatronic to which it belonged. Stubby clawed fingers gouged the carpeting uselessly, searching for the missing ear that was out of its grasp.

Finally, Danny pushed out of the hall and tip-toed slowly toward Nightmare Bonnie.

White eyes tracked the teen, who stooped to pick up the broken off ear.

A low growl escaped the back of the rabbit's throat, but Danny steeled himself. Keeping his boss in mind, he took slow, careful steps toward the downed nightmare animatronic. Eye contact. Be honest.

Breathe.

"Uh…here…" The ear was set on the floor, and toed into the deadly reach of Nightmare Bon's drill-like fingers. Better he lose a foot than a hand if the monster should strike. At a loss for what to do, Danny rambled.

"You shouldn't let him treat you like that." Danny stumbled over his tongue. He glared at the hallway Nightmare had vanished down. "He's just a bully. Bullies are jerks, okay? And…and they're afraid of something, too. That's why they act like they do, cause they're scared."

But the rabbit merely stared at him, then down at its ear.

With slow, careful movement, Nightmare Bonnie grabbed the ear and raised it to his head.

After a moment, during which Danny could only stare in fascinated horror, the ear had attached itself. Servos whined as the ear cranked in tune with its twin. Left, right, side to side, back, forward. Once Nightmare Bonnie seemed satisfied with the repair, it started to get up again. This time, it moved much faster, albeit lacking any grace. But the motor control was back, and it occurred dimly to the teen he had just given the Hunter a chance to prey on the Hunted, which was him. Great job, Fitzgerald.

Regret threatened to swallow Danny whole as he realized how tall the rabbit was. And how close he happened to be standing.

"Uh, eh…" The teen breathed, backing up against the wall and trying to manage a smile. "Nice…bunny—Bonnie—"

And, oh. This gets a new reaction. The monster lifts its head, the gesture subtle and almost imperceptible. But Danny caught it, by trick of the light or by chance, he didn't know. All he knew was that Nightmare Bonnie knew its own name. At least, part of it. Emboldened in the way teens sometimes foolishly are, Danny took a step forward.

"Bon?"

This time, the Nightmare rabbit made a clicking noise by shutting its jaw once. The soft noise was less threatening and more questioning. When Danny stared back, his fingers curling nervously, the rabbit tilted its head back and gave an almost brutal, low noise. Surprisingly, it sounded like it started with a B sound, and ended with a long eee. When the noise had finished, Nightmare Bonnie was looking down at him again, one ear leaning forward. The horrifying monster looked almost expectant.

"Huh." Danny hadn't even noticed the tension was easing from his shoulders, or the little look of confusion and wonder.

Mindless, horrible killers? Maybe not...totally.

At the very least, the rabbit understood when he owed someone.

Danny tore his gaze from those glowing eyes and down to stare level through the robot's exposed torso. Coils, cogs and wires jutted and tangled within the monster's body. It was a miracle the bunny was moving at all, let alone with as much control as it seemed to posses. After all, the Nightmare had been able to sneak up on him relatively easy. Danny shuddered to think what might have happened if he hadn't turned around in time. Mike was right; this job did give you reflexes video game players would be jealous of. The rabbit's jaw couldn't seem to close all the way, must have something to do with the rot of its suit and the strange amalgamation of teeth the bunny possessed.

A frog croaked woefully somewhere to their right, and Danny watched in astonishment as the Nightmare Bonnie—no longer deeming Danny a threat or a thing to hunt, apparently—turned to look out the window curiously. Danny looked too, but he couldn't see much from the angle he was at.

Well, they couldn't stand here all night. (Just then, the teen had the worrisome feeling that time did not pass it was supposed to here, which would be bad.) He edged back into the room he had entered by, marked only by the mess of boxes lying on the floor from the pizzeria. The teen stooped to right a few, stacking the lightest on top in an effort to make himself seem busy.

When Danny gets to the last one, which was by his waist and caused him to twist toward the door, he notices the gleaming pinpricks looming down from the threshold.

Damn, how did that thing move so stealthily!?

Swallowing some air on accident in an attempt to soothe his rattled nerves—maybe the Nightmare animatronics only attacked if you acted like something they ought to attack?—the dark blonde teen continued his action of grabbing the box. He tipped it right side up, before slowly putting it atop its siblings.

With Nightmare Bonnie's back to what little light there is, Danny can see the damage to his suit just a little bit better. Either claws or rot had eaten away the fur, exposing limbs, fingers and one foot. To name a few places. There was a section of his head that was nothing but a big hole, and the same ear that had come off so easy didn't look much better than when it had started. One wrong move and it looked like it would come off again. Danny moved to sit back against his little impromptu fortress of boxes, for all the good they did. They wouldn't slow down anything really determined to get him, but they might offer a few moments of distraction he could use.

The rabbits' strange black whiskers—almost comical in their placement and pose, but for some reason mimicked the cords sneaking from his haggard, torn body—remained stiff as he leaned into the room. One ear was cocked again, which Danny correctly interpreted as curiosity.

"It's okay." Danny coaxed softly before realizing he had said anything at all.

Nightmare Bonnie spared him a quick glance at these words, and answered with a long drawling thrum. Somehow, the nightmare's noises are as familiar to him as his own heartbeat. Danny realized distantly, feeling just a bit lightheaded, that no wonder he understands the animatronic in this state. If he was used to the faceless original when he was barely able to speak himself, no wonder. He couldn't put his finger on why the Bonnie he remembers didn't have a face, but that was certainly more incentive to get the hell out of here, and live to ask Bonnie. What bothered him more was that the Nightmares understood human speech.

"You wouldn't happen to know how to get back to, I dunno, the pizzeria? Earth?" He tried, feeling lame. How could he explain this to the animatronic…

Nightmare Bonnie lowered his optics at him fully, and this time rolled its massive head to the right shoulder, ears swinging.

"Taking that as a 'no,'" Danny sighed, briefly disappointed. As relieved as he was that Nightmare Bonnie didn't seem out to shish-cabob him, what the kid really wanted was a way to get back to the restaurant. But only BalloonBoy and Nightmare could open Doors, it seemed.

And the Marionette was long gone…

With a frustrated groan, Danny tugged at his hair and rested his arms on his knees, sitting among the assorted paraphernalia from the restaurant's kitchen.

Nightmare Bonnie's ears crooked toward him at the noise, and the towering bunny took a few steps closer. Adrenaline fading and leaving him drained, Danny only quivered a little bit. He bucked up his courage and tried a smile.

"It's okay." He repeated again, in what he hoped was a soothing tone. "You wanna, uh, hang out with me for a while?"

For a second, he wasn't sure Nightmare Bonnie was going to respond. Until a sudden noise, a low trilling warble through those clenched teeth sounded. Danny stared a second, before realizing this was, apparently, a friendly agreement. That, and the Nightmare rabbit was hauling itself closer, but not angrily. It seemed a little calm, all things considered.

Well, looking and being were two different things, and Danny was wise to not forget that too quick.

"Right. Uh, A for effort, dude."

Nightmare Bonnie only seemed a fluid creature when stalking, because now it was walking with the normal, sheer exertion the normal Bonnie possessed. This familiar sight caused Danny to relax, if only just a fraction more.

The Nightmare rabbit slid down the wall with obvious effort. Long legs stuck out, the pose eerily similar to the same one the human was now resting in. The floor shook from the sudden plop the giant robot did as he landed, and the teen's teeth still rattled. Danny looked behind Nightmare Bonnie, wincing at the dent in the plaster it had left when it mimicked his slouch against and down the wall. The teen lifted his gaze to see Nightmare Bon staring at him rather expectantly, ears up and eye sockets raised on the bottom. If you covered the rows of deadly teeth, the bunny almost looked like he was smiling as if to say 'See? I can do this too!' But a thought struck Danny, and he asked curiously,

"…do you know how to get back up?"

Nightmare Bonnie's expression dropped to one of quizzical concern and realization at that, his great head lowered to stare at his spread out limbs. Both silently came to the same conclusion that, no. He did not know how, and for some reason this was sort of funny to the teen. The teen hid his laughter but couldn't quite contain a small smile.

"So we'll just…just sit here. And, uh. Enjoy each other's company." Danny spoke quietly, deciding not to address the stuck robot in the room just yet.

"And just hope Nightmare doesn't come back." The teen muttered quietly to the bunny.

Nightmare Bonnie made a chopped 'sshing' snort that Danny took as disgust when Nightmare was mentioned. Danny didn't blame him, and was a little relieved to have a common enemy.