A/N: Hello, everyone! A quick note before you exit out of this chapter: as of now, Kenneth, Springtrap, and the Marionette only have one more night in Fazbear's Fright... but it's going to be a big one! The timeline of the story will slow down from here on out, but the characters and events certainly won't. Thank you again for reading~


Chapter 11: Almost There

Though Springtrap knew that he shouldn't give a damn what happened to the Guard, he couldn't help the feeling of icy terror that shot up his metaphysical spine when the Marionette made such a startling suggestion. Clenching his teeth, he snapped, "...I'll think about it."

"Good," the Puppet said, reaching out and tapping Kenneth's nose before gently turning away. "I'll keep monitoring your progress. Best of luck..." And...Ugh, did it walk away, or did it just melt back into the darkness, as though it was never there at all?

After waiting a good thirty seconds just to be safe, Springtrap nudged Kenneth's shoulder, asking quietly, "...How're you holding up?"

Kenneth gasped, wincing. He'd been holding his breath the entire time, and, as usual, he shook a bit. "I'm, I mean, I-I think I bit my tongue h-harder than, than, than the last, um, time, but-I'm, I'm fine."

"...Another blatant lie, but I'm certainly not one to judge." The rotting rabbit glanced at the Guard's face and did indeed see a bit of blood when he opened his mouth. "...Do you want to go check that out? There should be running water in the bathroom, I would assume, if you need it."

"No! No, I-" Kenneth smacked his lips a few times, awkwardly laughing. "I don't, don't need it at all, I'm fine. W-What if it finds me and starts p-poking me again...? I'm fine."

Springtrap sighed lightly. "That thing is way too...touchy-feely for my liking. But I guess you have to expect that now. I'll act if it actually does something to hurt you, but it seems like, for now, it still thinks I couldn't care less about you. I feel like we should keep up that front, at least until you can finish all of those dreams, and to do that... you'll have to let it get close to you if it wants to."

Kenneth's shoulders slumped. "I-I wa-was really afraid you'd say that..."

The former murderer paused for a moment, and then lightly patted the Guard's shoulder. "Hey, it's either that or let it find out that you've been listening in on our conversations...which I have a feeling it wouldn't be happy about."

A sigh. A rock and a hard place, certainly. "O-Okay, um, I'll...I'll let it...p-poke me or... something." A small smile crossed the boy's face. "But, um, I d-did get the cake."

"Oh, that's good!" The man in the suit surprised himself at how genuine this enthusiasm was. He frowned, ears tilting downwards; there he went, getting his hopes up again... This all meant nothing to him, so why did he even care? Maybe... maybe the Puppet's words had a ring of truth to them. He was obviously prepared for the Guard's failure, but what if, somehow, Kenneth actually succeeded? Would he really be able to handle the fact that everyone, including the horrible Marionette, would be freed while he remained trapped? Understanding his past mistakes certainly didn't mean that the former murderer wouldn't be able to feel the pangs of bitter jealousy that came with once again being left on the back-burner in favor of someone else more important than him.

After all, hadn't that always been the case? Vincent always got the short end of the stick, so to speak. There would always be someone more important than him, someone more interesting and valuable, and frankly, it was getting irksome. Maybe he should just do away with this silly boy before he had the chance to-

With a shudder as if he'd received a system-wide shock, Springtrap broke through his mental reverie. Instantly, his gaze fixated on the only living presence in the room; Kenneth was staring at him, still wearing that dopey look of mild satisfaction at having completed yet another "game." The rotting rabbit took a step back, giving his head one firm, hard shake. What the hell was he thinking?!

That Puppet's influence was a powerful thing, indeed.

"Ye-yeah. Two cakes left." Kenneth said, ignoring the rabbit's strange behavior. Then he paused, before adding in a quiet voice, "Um...I-I'm, I won't, I'm not gonna... Letcha' rot. Or anything. Just... so you know."

Springtrap froze; how in the world had the boy known the exact thing that the man in the suit had been worrying about? Then, he realized: Kenneth had heard everything since he and the Puppet came back into the room, including the conversation that had triggered Springtrap's mental lapse in the first place. Heavily, he sighed.

"Good luck with that. But... it's fine, really. Like I've said time and time again, I'm expecting it. Just..." Here the former murderer paused. No, he was not going to revert to his past self. There was no point. "Try not to let the kids suffer with me. They've... been through enough already. As much as the Marionette doesn't want to accept it... I do want them to be free."

Kenneth blinked, an eyebrow craning slightly. But he still smiled. That was exactly the sort of thing he wanted to hear. "H-hey. Um. If you don't, um, leave, and the a-attraction opens...I'll st-still be here."

"Really?!" Springtrap barked a laugh. "After all the shit you've gone through? You'd still work as a 'Guard' here?"

The boy paled. But slowly, timidly, he nodded. Springtrap was absolutely dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open almost comically. All he could muster was a quiet:

"...Why?"

"Si-since I'd o-owe you, for, for, um, getting your hopes up." Kenneth fumbled with his hands, looking down. "F-for protecting me"

"Oh, for-" The rotting rabbit let out a frustrated sigh, clenching one hand into a fist. "When are you going to get it through your head, Kenneth?! You don't 'owe me' anything! In fact, if it weren't for your intriguingly strange reaction when you met me, I probably would've killed you right then and there!" He locked gazes with the Guard, his eyes dark. "...Do you even realize how close you were to death at my hands that first night I started walking around?"

Kenneth gave a small, staggered step backwards. He paled further, sinking down a little. "I...I just...Sorry, I, I just...I wanted to..." His eyes shut. "...I wanted to help."

Springtrap remained silent for a second, before sitting down heavily next to where the Guard currently trembled, staring begrudgingly at the floor. "No, I... shouldn't have said that. You just... you have this strange need to 'help' that I can't seem to understand...I just...I don't get why you want to do this so badly."

Gently, feeling the presence next to him, Kenneth opened his eyes and looked down at the rabbit. "...Since...Well...If I was stuck in there...I'd want someone to help me."

"Well, obviously. But... why you?"

A small, small smile. "We-well, it...It won't be M-Marionette, right?"

Springtrap couldn't hold back the ironic chuckle that escaped his throat. "Definitely not."

"And, uh, it won't be PD...And...And s-someone else won't...So it has to be me, ri-right?" Slowly, he reached down, patting Springtrap's head, desperately hoping that he wouldn't come to regret the gesture. The half-animatronic seemed docile enough, but something about the soul inside was definitely more... off than usual. "But...I'm sure you'll g-get out."

Springtrap resisted the urge to flinch away at the touch, simply letting his hears tilt downwards. "...We'll see."

The tilted ears made Kenneth exhale slowly. Thank God he hadn't horribly misjudged the attempt at physical contact. "...And y'know, o-offer st-still stands, i-if you...If you need anything...I'll get it for y-you."

"...Thanks." The man in the suit mumbled the word quietly, still not one hundred percent used to the Guard's overly-generous nature.

"...Two more c-cakes, and-And then we'll know for sure." The corner of Kenneth's mouth went into a smile.

"Yes..." Abruptly, Springtrap stood up and glanced down at the Guard, ready to move on. There was no use dwelling on such a frivolous topic. "...So, where are these mysterious cakes? You don't have to bang on any more walls or posters, do you?"

"Uh, f-for one of them! The other, um..." The boy paused, looking away, suddenly talking fast, "I have to find these little gray cupcakes by running around about half the building."

"'Gray cupcakes?'" The rotting rabbit tilted an ear in confusion, but then shook his head; he should know better than to question exactly how the Guard accessed these delusions.

"They're...Gray and...Cupcakes." A pause, as though this were obvious. "Um...With eyes."

Springtrap simply stared at the Guard. "That's... I'm not even going to question it. Let's just go find the easier game, alright?"

"...Um, right. That's- it's actually..." Kenneth blinked, as though suddenly remembering something. "...It's...Attached to a drawing o-of that puppet."

"...Great." The rabbit's shoulders slumped. "Let's hope it isn't hanging around the picture, admiring itself..."

"How is it even-I-I don't... get that thing. You s-said it's a kid, but..." Kenneth sighed, starting to slip out of the office.

"Well, it was a kid..." Springtrap followed closely behind, keeping a watchful eye out for their current topic of conversation. "But I suppose being brutally murdered and then trapped in an animatronic suit for decades has a way of messing with your personality and mind."

Kenneth gave a yawn, rubbing his face, looking back to Springtrap with a small frown. "Um...H-how long have you been in there? Y-you're not...Being messed w-with...Right?"

"Well..." The half-animatronic blinked, gazing at the Guard questioningly. "Remind me: what year is it?"

"Um, t-twenty...Seventeen?"

Springtrap paused for a second, letting that sink in. He knew it had been a long time, but actually hearing the year so casually stated was still a shock. "So...I've been trapped for about...I guess, thirty years, give or take a few..." He began walking again, shaking his head. "Honestly, a lot of my memories from before this thing-" He gestured to the decaying suit. "-are hazy..."

Kenneth's shoulders fell, eyes looking down. "...I-I mean...You'll get all of th-that back when...when I get you out. Right?"

"Who knows? But...I'm not sure if I want to, in all honestly." The boy looked at him, confused, so he once again gestured to the golden suit. "This...the person...thing...you're talking to...this isn't the same person that killed those kids. At least... I don't think he is. Or...or I don't want to believe that he is. I mean...my personality, is...I know it's different that it was back then."

"P...People...People change, right?" He tried to sound confident, but Kenneth's voice wavered a bit as he shuffled to the side. "I me-mean, on-once you're free, you won't, I mean, you promised n-not to h-hurt me, and that isn't g-gonna ch-change, right?"

"If I'm ever 'freed,' then presumably I'll either disappear to wherever people go when they die, or, at the very least, I'll just be a ghost who can't actually do anything...so I doubt I'd be able to hurt you even if I, for some reason, felt inclined to do so." A mildly terrified expression lurked behind the Guard's eyes, so he quickly added, "But, for now and for as long as I'm in control, my promise still stands."

Kenneth let a weak smile cross his face, rubbing his arms to get rid of the goose bumps. His heart was still beating a little too hard, though. "...Thanks, I...I-I don't wanna die."

"Oh, geez..." Springtrap rolled his eyes and roughly patted Kenneth on the back. "Don't get so worked up; you should be more used to this topic of conversation by now."

"I knooow, but-" A small whine. "M-maybe I've just been up too long, since now I'm worried about you, a-and Mari st-still want, wants me dead..."

"Then stop worrying about me, idiot." The rotting rabbit shook his head. "Focus on your own problems...like, for starters, trying not to mutilate your tongue every time you have to listen to the Marionette and I have a chat." He knew that this slight discomfort was the least of the Guard's worries, but he didn't want the frightful human to dwell on the topic of "death" for much longer, lest he have a panic attack.

The boy paused, rubbing his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He winced. "Well-I-I mean, I don't bi-bite it that hard..." Springtrap tilted his head in an expression of unamused disbelief, so Kenneth clarified, laughing a bit. "We-well, okay, I mean, maybe I-" Then, he paused, looking at the wall. Actually, he stared at it for a while. He counted the drawings, then, quietly, he muttered:

"...I-It's not...here."

Springtrap looked at the wall as well, and though he searched every childlike drawing he could, there was definitely no poster of the Marionette. He glanced back at the Guard. "Are you sure this is where it was?"

"O-Of course! I mean, th-the cameras get really staticy most of th-the time, but-" Kenneth took another look around, just to confirm, "-this is the right h-hall! It w-was right there..." The boy sighed. "I-I could try to find the cupcakes, but...But wi-without the dr-drawing, we'll only have f-five cakes..."

The rotting rabbit sighed, looking up at the ceiling as if wishing for some sort of answer to be painted on the generic tile. Suddenly, his gaze snapped to the Guard's. "Wait, what time is it? We've been doing this for...well, for a long time, right? Is your shift almost over?"

The boy gave another small yawn. "I-I should hope, it has been a-a while...'m kinda tired... Why?"

"I was just thinking... You probably have to go soon, right? Maybe...maybe the poster will magically re-appear tomorrow night, or something...You said some of the games were hard to get to, anyway, and besides, look at me." The man in the suit put a golden paw to his chest. "Anything is possible in this place, right? Maybe the picture will come back."

"I-Right." Kenneth smiled, nodding. "You...You're o-onto something there. And-And m-maybe th-this time PD will pick up the phone a-and we can get you fixed!"

Springtrap let out a half-hearted chuckle. "A nice thought, but I'm not getting my hopes up...At least my 'daytime mode' still won't be activated...I hope."

"Yeah, p-probably for the best..." The Guard laughed as well, shaking his head. "He-He hasn't even called me since he sent th-those weird tapes over."

"Maybe this place scared him off before he was able to open it." Springtrap shook his head. "...But, I have no idea how other people think. Whatever his reason may be for ignoring you, you might want to at least try to tell him about the Marionette. My repairs come second to making sure that that thing is known to the public, if PD still plans to open this damned place..."

Kenneth reached up, rubbing the back of his neck. "...Wh-what if it took th-the drawing?"

"...Then good luck getting it back."

"But if we don't ha-have it-We-We ca-can't get the cake and...And..."

"Look, I have a feeling that the Puppet didn't take it. It's intrigued by what you're doing, and...wants to see how this turns out."

"But-It hates me, and you, wh-why would it bother..." Kenneth frowned, to himself. "...Maybe i-it wants t-to get out too?"

Springtrap chuckled darkly. "It's only other option is to torture me for the rest of its eternal life, which I'm sure it would love to do... But I have a feeling that if it could get out, it would jump at the chance. Still, it really doesn't believe that this will work; it thinks that this is all in your mind. This is just... something to entertain it, for the time being."

"I just-I mean-I, I want this all to work, and...I want you to get out. I do. So, so I'm just w-worried it's sabotaging me."

"Well, if it is, there isn't much you can do except talk to it-" The half-animatronic locked gazes with the Guard. "-which is a bad idea, by the way, so don't even think about it. It's not a fan of... strongly-opinionated people, like yourself."

This stern warning didn't stop Kenneth's eyes from wandering away, as though thinking over the idea. "...I-I mean...M-maybe it could he-help; it's obviously important..."

"Kenneth..." Springtrap's tone grew darker, more serious, his eyes flashing. "...Don't."

"...Wi-with the statue, the crying kid th-that looked like him..." His voice went into a mumble. "C-could be worth it..."

"Fine." Springtrap threw his hands up into the air, entirely done with trying to convince the idiotic boy to not do something probably life-threatening. "If you want to risk your life by trying to talk to that disturbed thing, go right ahead. But if anything happens, it was your decision."

"I-I mean-No! I just-I want-And if it doesn't work and..." Kenneth backed up a step. "I...It...I-I just...I don't want you getting hurt again."

"Again, thanks for the concern, but as long as I'm stuck in this suit, I'm going to be 'hurt' in one way or another." The former murderer shrugged. "It's just the way things are."

"...That's...That's why I'm ge-getting you...Out. No more hurting, right?"

Springtrap closed his eyes for a moment, tired of arguing. Nothing he could say would convince Kenneth to go, it seemed. Eventually, he half-shrugged and simply agreed, "...Right."

A big smile crossed the boy's face. "And even if you can't move on, I'll-I'll letcha' haunt me and stuff!"

This comment took Springtrap so much by surprise that he accidentally let out a loud, barking sort of laugh, before responding sarcastically, "Oh, great, that's exactly what I was looking forward to!"

The laugh made Kenneth jump, but then he chuckled at himself for being so tense. Relax, Kenneth. You're making progress with him; he's joking around a little bit. Keep it up! "Th-that's good! You can h-hang around and t-tip my chairs, I w-won't mind!"

The rotting rabbit grinned so widely that the mummified face underneath nearly showed through. "I'm sure I would get on your nerves after a while."

"Well, I mean...Pr-probably not." Kenneth did his best to ignore the near-face-reveal, matching Springtrap's grin with an even bigger smile of his own. "Unless y-you break all my plates."

"...Then you'd better hide them in a really good spot."

"You-After all I've done-" Another small laugh, "-you're going o-out of your way to break my dishes?!"

Springtrap rolled his eyes, strangely unable to wipe the grin off his face. "Alright, alright, I suppose I could leave you one or two."

"I ca-can't eat everything out of bowls, d-dope." Kenneth paused, and then added, "...Don't b-break those too."

The rotting rabbit merely shrugged, holding up his hands palm-up in a non-confirming gesture, "No promises, Night Guard."

The false Guard gave a teasing little smirk. "W-What's with you and my dishware?"

"Hey, you're the one that suggested it."

"Th-that doesn't mean t-to go through with it."

"Well, this is all based on whether I'll be haunting you at the end of this, anyway." A bit reluctantly, Springtrap tore his attention away from the Guard to check down the hallways for unwanted visitors. To his surprise, and vague unease, he felt almost..."happy" wasn't the right word to describe this, certainly, but he was significantly less depressed as he had been for as long as he could remember. It was a bit unnerving how easily he had just participated in a semi-normal (at least, normal in the fact that they were both smiling and laughing) conversation with the overly-emotional boy in front of him. "...You should probably be going."

Kenneth rolled his shoulders back, nodding. "Hope that drawing comes back. But, but I...I need sleep." Another small yawn, the Guard turning around, slowly making his way to the exit door. "Hey, you n-need me to get anything f-for 'ya when I-I'm out?"

The rabbit tilted an ear. "What could I possibly need?"

"...I dunno, m-maybe you have s-some human possessions of sentiment-tal value? Th-that's a ghost thing, right?"

"The only 'human possession' I care about is trapped inside this suit, along with my soul." Springtrap let out a dark chuckle. "And I wouldn't advise trying to get that out..."

Curiously, Kenneth blinked, then leaned just a hair closer. "Um, wh-what is it?"

"...My body, idiot." He lightly flicked the Guard between the eyes. "Along with the custom uniform I worked so hard to get..." He chuckled to himself, as if remembering an inside joke. "Purple isn't a very common color for a Security Guard's uniform, you know."

The flick made Kenneth stumble back, rubbing his forehead. "Um...Ew, y-yeah, I don't-" A shudder. "No. Can't he-help there."

"I didn't think so."

"Hopefully you'll be human when we get you out of there, though!" Cheerfully, Kenneth briefly ran into the office to grab his back on his way out, then continued down the hall, pausing near the exit door. "...Just, y'know, hopefully not rotting and scary!"

"Yeah, that would be ideal..." As Kenneth began to turn the doorknob, the rotting rabbit added a little hesitantly, "You are going to try and come during the day, right? I mean, the poster might be back, so..." Plus, I don't want to be stuck by myself with that damn Puppet for hours and hours, he mentally added.

"I'll try!" Kenneth promised, waving goodbye as he pushed the door open. "I really will this time!" Then, slowly, he walked out, letting the door swing shut behind him.