This thing in front of him can't be Freddy. Mike doesn't want to believe that it's him; he doesn't want to believe anything like this could ever happen. How could it? Does Freddy still have the spirit's power and used it to look like this?
Gaping up at the thing, Mike's eyes open with uncontained fright. Not because it looks hideous, but he can sense the power radiating off of the creature in waves. He thought that the old Freddy was strong, but what about this scary twin of his?
The bear looks like something out of a kid's horror attraction. On the wall, like a spider, Freddy's long, thorn-like claws on his hands and feet penetrate the wall, keeping him intact. His mouth is slightly open, showing off his sharp, gleaming teeth. His once cleanly groomed suit now has rips and tears that are hastily stitched together, leaving his whole suit looking deranged and messy. Out of the seconds that he dragged Chica into the room and waited for the others to appear in search of her, he somehow transformed into this old, creepy thing.
What catches Mike's full attention are his teeth. There are three rows of them in his mouth, some jagged and others straight. The teeth have to be part of the endoskeleton. Freddy's teeth weren't anything like this creature's, so what's this thing standing in front of them? Could Freddy change his appearance?
That shouldn't be possible… Mike thinks, eyes still set on his teeth.
Either way, he knows deep down that this thing is undoubtedly Freddy. It's like the bear's body has flipped inside out. That fake personality he put up on the outside is now hidden inside. The real person that he is inside, now out in the open for everyone to see, is nothing short of terrible.
I have to get out of here! But Mike stays put, bracing his body while keeping up a frightened expression. Something tells him that if he tries to move, like an animal about to be preyed upon, he won't have a chance against Freddy and his sharp fangs and claws.
Chica ducks her head in submission, her body frozen in fear. Bonnie doesn't move, but covers his mouth with his hand. He, too, knows that Freddy is stronger than any of them, even with all of them fighting together.
It's a mutual feeling between the three of them; Freddy will win, if he decides to make a move.
Freddy's red eyes stare down at Mike with humor. Mouth twisted in an evil grin, he rasps in a voice unlike his own, "What did I tell you? You're not leaving." Using his claws, he leaps onto the opposite wall, the one right beside the guard's door where Bonnie lies, his harsh movements making parts of the wall crumble from the impact. Dust flies throughout the tense room, making Chica's shoulders tremble as she coughs.
"All of you are staying here, I will make certain of that. Foxy will return when he doesn't notice any of you outside. Upon his return, you will all be captured and remain in this building forever." Glancing at all of them, he adds while looking directly at Mike, "I will erase all of the bad memories you have of this place and replace them with good memories. You'll all comply with staying after that, I'm sure."
At Freddy's chuckle, Bonnie spits, "If you think we're going to go along with this, you've got another thing coming! God, I can't believe that I once liked being around you. This is what you truly are, right?" Bonnie glares at Freddy, his eyes practically scorching. "This evil, ugly bastard!"
"Now now, Bonnie, I'm sure you don't mean any of that," Freddy grins, his eyes still locked on Mike's. It's like he's waiting for any tiny movements, something to go off on.
Mike knows that Freddy's waiting for one of them to make a move. He can see it by the bear's tense legs and concentrated look. And Freddy's right. The first one to make that move will be me, I know it, Mike thinks.
"I'm sure he does, smartass," Mike pipes up, trying not to whimper when Freddy's red eyes squint. I haven't done anything too upsetting yet. I'll need to tread the water and hope that something from the outside saves us.
Cautiously, he leans against the back of Chica's chair, ready to move at any moment. "We all hate you so much that our feelings towards you aren't going to fade, even if you delete our memories. We're still going to feel those negative emotions towards you, even if we can't remember who you are, so prepare yourself for getting disowned twice," he continues, ignoring Chica's small whimpers.
Freddy's lip forms a snarl, but Mike continues with his heart finally open and unfiltered. "I've never told anyone about what I think of you, but I'm going to go ahead and say it. You think that that we need this pizzeria and this life. You know what? It's the other way around. You need us. Without us, you would rot. Damn you! Killing us for your own selfishness! Rot in hell and never come back!"
And before Mike can move, Freddy tenses up his muscles and pounces.
Claws dig into Mike's suit, impaling clean through to the other side. Freddy's weight topples him over, and Mike cannot feel any strength to fight back. It crashes on top of him, claws still embedded deep into his skin, fangs inches away from his face.
Screaming as Mike crashes into her, Chica topples over in her now demolished chair, her body still contained by the wire. She can barely breathe due to Freddy's weight crushing Mike onto her.
Through the intense pain of his chest, Mike notices Chica's wheezing and struggles to get off of her, with Freddy's claws still intact. His red eyes continue to glare into Mike's, and Mike winces when he rakes a paw across his face, sending blood to drip down his cheeks. My pain doesn't matter. I have to get off of Chica!
Using all his strength, Mike finally lifts himself off of Chica and slams onto the ground, his head snapping against the hard floor. Probably from the impact and his frayed mind, he hears something loud explode. It seems to get closer and closer to the building with every boom.
While Chica weakly rolls away to safety, Freddy stares in fascination as he pulls a claw out of Mike, blood coating it a crimson color.
"You're no match for me. I'm not human, not even a little bit. Therefore, I contain all mechanical strength. What's a human like you going to do to save everyone?" Another growl, and Freddy hisses inches right into Mike's sensitive ears, "You're not the hero, Mike! Not every story has a good ending!"
Weakly looking up at Freddy, Mike feels the blood drain out of him from his numerous wounds, making him weak. Chica can't help, being weak from being smashed into. He doesn't know where Bonnie is. And Foxy, for all he knows, could already be down the street, exploring this new world that he was sheltered from for so long.
And at that point, with Freddy over him, it's hard not to feel any confidence or self-assurance. He's basically lost, hasn't he? That's right. I am human, just like Freddy said.
What was I thinking.
"Heroes die too, you know," Freddy continues in a softer voice, ignoring the clatter behind him. "Look at you. You're bleeding everywhere. If left you like this, you'd die. Now, if you think I'm so evil, would you believe that after I capture all of you, I'm going to repair you all fully? That I'll stitch you up perfectly, so that blood will never again be shed?"
"Bonnie," Chica whimpers, her weak body still lying on the floor. The confinement that was around her waist is now gone, she probably wrenched it off herself, but it left a nasty red mark in its wake. Her eyelashes flutter as she tries to stay conscious. Seeing something so innocent lying helplessly on the floor, crying out in pain, twists something sharp in Mike's chest. "Help…"
Mike flinches as something from behind Freddy smashes him directly in the side of the head, making a sickening cracking sound. It breaks apart when it impacts, sending wood flying into Mike's eyes. From the looks of it, it's a chair. Shocked, Freddy slowly turns his head around to meet Bonnie's determined but slightly afraid gaze.
"Get off of him!" he growls, backing up towards the hole in the wall.
"Bonnie! Get out!" Mike hollers, struggling to get up. He can breathe better when Freddy removes his claws from his suit, but it's not an assurance. His rage will be directed towards Bonnie, and Mike prefers it when Freddy is only mad at him.
"You're staying here." With that said, Freddy takes one of his claws and digs it deeply through Mike's chest, and much to Mike's confusion, twists it, jolting pain up his spine. When Freddy rips himself off of Mike and Bonnie jumps through the window and dashes down the hallway, Mike notices that the claw Freddy twisted into him is deeper than the other wounds.
When he tries to move, the claw keeps him down. Freddy must've impaled it into the ground! Mike thinks shakily, gripping the claw in the center of his chest and desperately trying to pull it out.
After a few minutes of struggling and almost fainting, Mike finally rips the bloodied claw out of his chest. Gasping from the pain in his body, he takes a moment to take a deep breath and calm himself down.
I've got this. Just have confidence in yourself. I won't allow Freddy to erase our memories. "Wait," Mike says aloud, a realization hitting him. "Does that mean the spirit still exists, if he can erase our memories?"
What's even going on? Everything's happening too fast.
"I guess so," Chica agrees quietly, her breathing calmer. She must've collected her wits, too. "Freddy must have all of it, because I still can't feel it in my chest." When she says the last part, she gives Mike's bloodied chest a terrified look.
"Me neither," Mike agrees, his words lost in the sound of a loud boom. Shakily getting up and helping Chica to her feet, they both stare down the hallway. Every second watching is wasted. They need to find Bonnie quickly and end this all together.
They'll need to use something more than strength to take down Freddy. Wit? Friendship? Mike doesn't know. Actually, all his life, he's never known how things would turn out. Fights, relationships and tests are a small portion of things he's had to deal with that contained no preparation beforehand. Why waste time worrying? he'd think. Why not live for the moment and worry later?
Most of the time, he would enter a situation with no plan at all. And several of those situations failed, with the main one being his relationship with his father. There wasn't any effort on his part, and thinking about it now, he doesn't know why he didn't try.
And it took me this far to realize it, he thinks.
"Let's do this. We can do this if we work together," Mike says, motioning Chica to leave through the hole first.
Jumping out the hole, Chica admits, "Even when we're in peril, you still act like a gentleman. You're a good man, Mike. You're better than anyone I've ever known."
"Let's find Bonnie," Mike quickly says, feeling a little embarrassed at the confession. His heart freezes up when he hears the bunny's scream. The two share a horrified glance that underlined their concern. Freddy is not one that you can prepare for. Many things he does are out of the ordinary and completely unexpected.
Just what Freddy is doing to Bonnie, the two don't really want to know. But they have to; maybe they can save him before it's too late.
"Now!"
They follow the screams. Every step makes Mike feel a little more anxious. What could Freddy be doing to him? he wonders, his ears twitching when another huge explosion comes from outside. This one lights up the whole room an aqua blue color.
"I hope Freddy hasn't hurt him," Chica voices her concern, huffing as they dash into the main hall. Blood hits their noses, sharp and sweet. A line of the liquid runs from their toes towards the parts and repair room. It's thick and wide, as if someone dragged themselves across the floor.
Mike doesn't answer, for he can't bear to confirm her suspicion. To confirm it will cause more worry, and Mike wants to avoid that. But Chica must know that Freddy's doing something to him, because why else would Bonnie be screaming?
Entering the parts and repair room, Mike taking the lead, he almost throws up at what lies inside. One of Bonnie's arms is completely ripped off, lying close to his head. He's slumped against the wall, unconscious, his eyes slightly open. His neck is stained red, as if someone grabbed him around the neck with bloody hands.
Chica wails and covers her eyes. "We were too late!"
Mike feels anger and sadness course through him. Why had it come to this? Bonnie was completely innocent. "This wasn't needed," he whispers, looking at Bonnie's dismembered arm, flesh wringing the inside, bloody and ripped apart.
If only he hadn't left for the outside world and regained parts of his humanity. Flesh and blood can't win against metal.
Mike doesn't say any more in fear of crying. There's a realization that hit him then, that they can't win. And if they rebel, they will end up like Bonnie. Mutilated for nothing other than to be a pawn in his sick game.
Both of them snap towards the door as it's suddenly slammed shut. There stands Freddy, blood soaking his chest. From Mike's blood or Bonnie's, no one's sure. Dust clings onto the blood, giving Mike an idea of where Freddy got the key.
He wants to ask why he mutilated Bonnie, but nothing comes out.
Using the key in his hand, he locks the door and swallows the key. Mike can hear it clink at the bottom on Freddy's metal stomach, unobtainable and unreachable.
With disinterest Freddy watches them, calmly leaning against the door, as if they were in an elevator with cozy music playing on the speakers. He doesn't need to say anything; he already reads the disappointed emotions on Mike's face.
Still wailing, Chica sinks beside Bonnie and closes his eyes for him. How much she looks like a child doing so, as she lies there and rocks back and forth on the floor, hardly able to keep it together.
Another boom outside and the lights above flicker. Mike stares at them with his full attention, unable to cope with the internal and external pain. Maybe if he concentrates on something else, then this pain will go away. The lights continue to flicker with every passing second, even after the boom.
Freddy glances at the lights as they flicker, his jaw twitching. He growls when another boom comes from outside, leaving the room in darkness for seven seconds. Then, he stares at Mike like it's his fault.
"I didn't do anything," he explains, letting out a groan as his chest suddenly burns. He clutches his chest and ignores Freddy, instead concentrating on the lights above. Vision swimming, he tries not to fall to the darkness.
If I become unconscious, there's no hope left. I will wake up with my memories erased. From what, a dream? Mike thought it was a dream, convinced himself that it was so that he could bear with everything easier and wouldn't worry, but he knows that it isn't. There is no coma or dream to wake up from. This is reality.
His thoughts scatter when there's another boom, but this one is different than the others. It makes the light completely turn off and the smell of fire drifts throughout the room. Crackling and hissing comes from outside the door, making Mike's ears perk.
"No way," he whispers, using the last of his strength to lift himself off the ground. The muskiness that was in the room intensifies. Now he can feel the intense heat from the other room. At Freddy's horrified look, he knows what's happened.
Get out of here! Mike wants to scream as he stares at Freddy. Why isn't he moving? Doesn't he want to get out before the fire spreads to this room?
Well, if he isn't going to do anything, then Mike will have to take the lead.
"Chica, could you carry Bonnie?" Mike commands, his hands against the wall. Through the wall, he can feel the heat. It's a huge fire, humongous enough to swallow the place up. "It will make this a hell of a lot easier."
Sensing the confidence in his voice, Chica sniffles but nods. Since she hasn't stepped outside yet, she should still have all of her mechanical strength, enabling her to carry Bonnie's weight.
"You aren't leaving," Freddy snaps, eyeing Chica as she carries Bonnie in her arms.
Giving Freddy a look of disbelief, Mike throws up his hands, wincing when his chest burns. "What the hell is it with you? This place is on fire. It will burn down. We will, too, if we don't leave now!" Impatience enters his voice as thick aromas of smoke hits his nose.
"I already told you, you're not leaving!" To prove his statement, Freddy guards the door with his body. His hands grip the side of the doors, clutching onto the one thing that he can control. "You will never leave me! Do you hear that!? I already know that right outside this door, there's fire. We can't leave! And if we try, then one of us will definitely perish. I won't allow that to happen. If one of us is going down, the others must, too."
He's mental. "We can break down this wall and leave! Don't you get it? There are other ways to escape! No one has to perish!"
"I DON'T CARE! This building is burning down, and it's the only place that we can live at. Without it, we can't live in peace as a family. Humans will get in our way. We won't be protected from their world. So we're all going to die together and live as a family elsewhere!"
Hearing those words, Chica shakes her head, disbelief on her face. At least Mike's not the only one that thinks he's crazy.
His voice dies as another boom slams the building. When Mike glances away from Freddy to Chica, she gives him a small nod. This time, Mike doesn't hold back. Ignoring the nausea, he takes a running leap and slams into Freddy's body headfirst, right as the door is blown open and flames attempt to burst through.
Mike's and Freddy's eyes lock as the bear's body pops and hisses. Chica and Bonnie are protected from the heat by being in the back of the room while Mike is practically right in front of Freddy, guarded by his huge frame. The fire is blocked by his body, saving the others inside. The only one being damaged is the one in front of the door, the one intent on saving his family.
Freddy gives him a tortured look as the flames burn his suit, but he doesn't move or cry out. He seems to accept it. Mike doesn't know what to say, but his eyes are shocked. How quickly things can spiral out of control.
Why isn't he moving? Why is he standing there and taking the heat?
Finally, when Mike hears the groan of the wall, he snaps his gaze away from Freddy and commands, "Let's get out of here."
Everything is a blur. The smoke clouds everything, making memories hazy. Not a person is really sure of what happens next, except for one yellow rabbit.
The wall quickly crumbles under Mike's attempts, showing how fragile it really is. Something that looks so tough can be broken so easily. When there's a large hole in the wall and the flames are starting to enter the room, they start to move out.
The first one out is Chica with Bonnie in her arms. Grunting as she leaps out of the hole, Bonnie's head accidently smacks against the side of the wall, causing her to apologize to the unconscious rabbit.
By that time, Mike's head is dizzy from the smoke and every step is a struggle. The dried blood and dirt on his body stinks horribly. His nose aches from inhaling various amounts of smoke.
Before he takes a step outside, he glances back. Freddy's frame is still guarding the room from the fire. Flames are eating his suit, turning it a crispy black. It's already moved from his back to his shoulders.
This is the old Freddy. His suit is no longer deranged. Fur tidy and hat sleek, this is the Freddy he saw when he was a kid. This was the person who he liked seeing as a child, when his father was starting to hate everything about him and started disconnecting from the world.
Maybe, at one time, Mike thought this place, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, was an escape from his unusually lonely life as a child. Maybe Freddy picked up on that and wanted to protect Mike from that loneliness.
Now he can understand.
Mike's not sure if he imagined it, but he swears he sees Freddy give him a small nod.
Even if he imagined it, Mike returns the nod. Something passes between them, a mutual understanding. Roles pass between them, some sweet and some bitter, Even though they both have battle wounds from each other, there's still a level of understanding. Fear and acceptance makes people act differently, and this is one of those cases.
Already, Mike can feel himself letting go of everything.
Foxy reunites with them as they dash away from the burning building. Hands black from who knows what, he makes a whooping sound, his hands raised in victory. "We did it!" he grins, his teeth sparkling from the moonlight. "We can go on an adventure!"
"We can start over," Chica smiles, grunting as she arranges Bonnie in her arms.
"Finally," Mike agrees, his heart aching slightly. Seeing someone moments before they die, regardless if you held hatred towards them, you can't help but feel pity for them. Especially Freddy, one of those unfortunate people to have a terrible life in childhood and death.
At least Mike can put that all behind. Freddy will be a part of his past, a nightmare, possibly even in a calm dream. But the bear will never take another breath on this earth.
But questions pop up. Is that really what you think? Mike's mind seems to tell him. You can't be certain.
"It will be a long journey, getting you all ready for the human world again, but I know we can do it. We'll stick together and go through this together," Mike assures, shaking off the questions. They will be answered in due time, he's sure.
As sirens ring in the distance, shrill and waking everyone in the neighborhood up, four figures slip into the forest, unnoticed by those who are watching. Flames continue to lick the air. In the sky, stars twinkle. There's a flash of golden, but it quickly disappears when the building starts collapsing.
When the sun rises and the moon disappears, the fire trucks and police will have already come and searched every inch of the wreckage. Questions will arise. Who, exactly, started the fire? Was it someone, or merely an accident? What will happen now? But questions always will be answered. In how long of a time, it's never certain.
The place will be badly damaged, dust flying through the air like raindrops and black painting the grass a sickly color. Inside, they will find one badly burned suit, but nothing else. Every memory that was held and cherished, every book, every picture is gone. Nothing is left.
Early the next morning, newspapers will release their daily issues. On the front page will be a picture of the burned down pizzeria and the information regarding the fire. No one will know of the four others who lived there, who walked down the hallways and saw the world pass by in their own little existence, one that was forced upon them by someone who they thought was an entirely different person. All that the newspapers will admit to finding is an endoskeleton in the building. And just like any other popular story, the buzz of the burning will eventually fade, until people have forgotten about it entirely.
But Mike and the others don't know that. They won't know any of this because soon they'll be far away from this city, free of the chains that once bound them. They'll continue to look over their backs, wary of those who have might known them before the fire, for the people who might try to bring them back.
A/N: I know I'm going to get questions asking, "Is this it?" "Does it end here?" I'll answer right now; No, I'm planning on continuing. I received a comment from someone that really changed my mind on ending it with them entering the outside world without explaining how they adapt to the human world, if Mike finds someone to love, his father and what happened between them, Golden Freddy and Peru, etc. Thanks to that person, I'm going to give answers to most of these questions in the next chapters.
Thanks for reading!