Chapter 13: Goodbye

Springtrap remained still. Something about the Marionette's words sent a nagging tug through his mind. The former murderer's hand hovered so close to Kenneth's shoulder that the Guard could feel the unnerving cold that radiated off of the metal endoskeleton underneath the rotting fur. Blinking slowly, as if coming out of a daze, Springtrap turned his head towards the Puppet.

"...Why...why would I need to make you proud?" the rotting rabbit questioned, addressing the thin creature. "Who are you to me?"

"Me?" A gentle little laugh came from the Marionette. "Why, I am your friend, of course. Your best friend. In fact, I'd say we're the closest companions one could ever find."

"W-What do you...mean?" The half-animatronic found it harder and harder to think clearly. Ever-so-slightly, he lowered his hand away from Kenneth's shoulder, eyes narrowed in confusion. Amid the Marionette's strange choice of words, that mysterious thought bubbled up in his mind again: What was the...

...what? He still couldn't find the answer.

"Why..." Did the Puppet walk nearer, or did it glide? Teleport through the shadows? It slowly put its hands on Springtrap's shoulders. "We help each other. And we trust each other." One finger traced down the side of the rabbit's face as Kenneth meekly peeked an eye open. "...I daresay we care about one another, through thick and thin."

"I...I never cared about you." The former murderer flinched away from the Puppet's touch, but the thing had a surprisingly strong grip on his shoulders. "That's...that's why I..."

"I care so much, you see. And this-" It cast its gaze on Kenneth, who quickly shut his eyes again and struggled to look comatose, "-child...Is interrupting our friendship. Rude, isn't it?"

"...You don't care." Springtrap's eyes narrowed, and he placed his hands on top of the Marionette's. "After what I did to you...why would you suddenly care about me? And...and why are you so intent on me killing him?" His eyes flickered to the Guard and back to the other creature. In the split-second that he was able to catch a glimpse of Kenneth, he could tell that the man was, unfortunately, already awake.

The Puppet's voice lowered to a comfortable little purr. "Why, you're just as intent. You hate loud, pathetic, screaming things. After all..." It willingly leaned all the closer. "...Look. We're still here. He's a failure."

"What..." As if the fog in his mind had miraculously been lifted, the thought that had been plaguing Springtrap finally became clear: "What...What's the point?" To the Puppet's surprise and slight concern, the dead man let out a dry laugh. "What's the damn point? I went on a killing spree thirty years ago, and look where it got me: impaled in a suit with my own-literal, in your case- demons to torture me...Yes, it would be so easy to rip him apart..." He spared the Guard a cold glance, and saw that the human was now noticeably trembling. "...But it wouldn't give me the same...satisfaction that I would have gotten before. The satisfaction of knowing that I got away with it..." He laughed again, staring back at the Marionette.

"Obviously, I didn't get away with it, in the end... And so, now, the only thing I have to look forward to is... you. Whether I kill this Guard, the patrons of the attraction, or anyone else... I'll always end up with you, egging me on from the shadows." His grip tightened around the Puppet's hands. "I killed those kids because it gave me satisfaction at the time. However, what would give me the most pleasure now is doing exactly what you don't want. And, to that effect-" The rotting rabbit gestured his head towards the shaking boy. "-he's no longer on my hit list."

Kenneth's eyes almost bolted open, some weak and shaky smile crossing his face. However, the lingering fear of impending danger forced him to shut his eyes again.

The Marionette pulled on its hands, its own eyes flickering. It shook its head with a dark little laugh. "...Oh, look at you. Aren't you brave? Noble, even. And yet, we're both still here, and he succeeded in nothing, and really, you wasted your time. So there's that. Hope you're pleased that this is what you're spending time doing."

"As long as it pisses you off, I'm as content as I'll ever be in this hell-hole," Springtrap responded. He gripped the thin hands tighter, grinning as he heard a crack and saw the Marionette flinch. "...Oh dear, you were still recovering from before, weren't you?" Roughly, he pushed the Puppet away, feeling proud as it glared and held its now-injured hands to its chest. "You might want to take another little time-out, don't you think?"

Oof. Did that damn bunny split a wire? ...No. Careful prodding confirmed he didn't. Good. The Puppet's fingers gently flexed. "...You never cease to vex me." It shook its head before slipping off into the darkness, seeming to walk straight through the wall. Then, there was nothing but blessed silence, save for Kenneth's shallow breathing.

It was gone. For how long was another question, but for the time being... it was gone.

As soon as the Puppet was out of sight, Springtrap collapsed against the wall next to the Guard, trying to control the nervous twitching in his hands. Standing up the Marionette like that had been much more nerve-wracking that he thought it would be. It was just a dead child, after all... so why did it unnerve him so much?

Kenneth, meanwhile, worked to steady his breathing. His eyes peeked open, looking at the drawing in his hands, almost halfway torn. He swallowed hard, his gaze moving to Springtrap. Quietly, breathlessly, he murmured: "Th-th... Thank... Thank you."

The former murderer's eyes met the Guard's, and he felt an immediate stab of guilt. For a moment, he had been seriously considering the Puppet's suggestion. "...You really shouldn't be thanking me, trust me."

"You st-still... Saved... Me." Kenneth swallowed, hands suddenly shaking again, the paper crumpling. "...I...I g-got th-the... The ending... Th-there wasn't any cake, j-just a party..."

The rabbit's shoulders slumped, but he attempted a tired sort of grin. "Well...I said it was pointless, didn't I?"

Kenneth looked back, trying to smile as well. "But... Sin-since I got all the cake, it... It was a nice party. And...And everyone was...Th-there..."

"'Everyone?'" Springtrap tilted his head questioningly.

The boy glanced down at the drawing. "There... There was Freddy, and... Foxy... Ch-Chica, Bonnie, ev-even... Even th-the yellow bear. And..." Here, he started shaking again. "Th-the P-puppet w-was th-there. I... c-controlled it. In... the dream."

"...Interesting." The man in the suit let out a small sigh. "But, unfortunately, it looks like all of this was for nothing." He glanced at the Guard, whose eyes were beginning to water. "...Sorry."

"And they were all little k-kids!" Kenneth, however, seemed not to hear him. "In th-these masks, and th-the masks fell to the floor..." He hung his head, starting to cry. "S-Springtrap, th-they... they g-got to go!"

The rabbit fully turned towards the Guard, eyes as wide as they could be. "...What are you talking about?"

Kenneth let out another sob, then sniffled loudly, coughing. "Th-the Marionette was this little gr-grey child, and... I moved it to...to th-the party, with a big c-cake... When I d-did that, I s-saw th-the others, and-" Sniff. "-they were children, in little masks, of Freddy and Bonnie and you know who else..." Sob. "Th-the one at th-the head of th-the table was a lighter b-bear, and he w-was crying 't-till I came near, and then his mask went on... A-and the kids... Th-they vanished. Their m-masks fell o-off and... landed on the ground." He wiped at his eyes with a dark blue sleeve. "And... And the balloons on the ceiling... R-rose up."

Springtrap pondered this for moment, frowning and muttering to himself, "Then... maybe that means they're... But... but you were awake before the Marionette left, and it was still crazy. So, maybe... it didn't work?" He shook his head. "I don't know..."

"Did I miss a dream?!" Kenneth, remarkably, began to shake even more, a fresh batch of tears streaming down his face. "Th-There has to be another dream and-I-I have to go to sleep, and there has to be another dream!"

"Kenneth!" The man in the suit said loudly, mildly concerned. The startled Guard jumped a tad, and Springtrap lightly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever happened, it's not going to get better if you freak out..."

"...I need to g-go to sleep." Kenneth sniffled hard, appreciating the gesture. Though the half-animatronic paw was cold and strangely squishy due to the rotting fur, the sensation was at least enough to ground him back in the present. "...Th-there h-has to be one more d-dream, and, and if I have it, then..."

Nervously, Springtrap glanced down the empty hallway. "Do you really want to sleep here?"

Kenneth nodded meekly.

"I-I can't wait until I'm home t-to have another w-weird dream. I...Y-yes."

The rotting rabbit shook his head, returning the golden paw to his side. "You're an idiot... What if the Marionette shows up again?! You're not just going to be hallucinating; you'll actually be asleep. You're a lot more defenseless in that state, you know..."

"...I-I need..." Kenneth coughed, nodding, his eyes reddish. "Everyone e-else in my dreams are br-broken and I...There has to be..."

"Okay, okay," the former murderer relented, knowing full well that the Guard wasn't going to give this up. He also didn't like the way Kenneth's whole demeanor had changed; he was frail before, sure, but this never-ending trembling was actually a bit concerning. Gently, Springtrap unwrapped the scarf from the boy's neck and draped it over his own shoulders, not wanting a repeat of earlier, and lightly pushed Kenneth in the direction of the office. "Your office is probably the best place, I guess. It has a comfy chair, at least."

Kenneth nodded again, stumbling a little as he began to walk. There had to be another dream. "...S-sorry. It'll wo-work th-this time, I...I promise it...It will!" But his voice cracked and he didn't seem that sure of himself anymore. There has to be another dream, there has to be...

"Hey." Abruptly, the rotting rabbit stopped and ever-so-gently grabbed Kenneth's shoulders, angling the Guard so that he was facing him. His grasp was non-threatening, yet firm. "This isn't your job, Night Guard. Nowhere in your employment contract does it say 'free the souls of six dead children and their murderer.' If...If you can't do it, don't worry. This really has nothing to do with you; you're just an unfortunate person who got swept up in this mess."

The pale boy's breathing steepened momentarily when he was touched, but he soon exhaled, relaxing. Springtrap... He was right, but... He still... Slowly, Kenneth nodded. "...And i-if I can't, um...I'll st-still come b-back. F-for work...And...To s-see you guys."

The half-animatronic rolled his eyes.

"You just can't take a hint, can you? If you can't free us, which isn't your burden in the first place... then you should be free. There's no need for you to stay in this horrible place any longer than you have to; I'm sure even a wimpy guy like yourself could find a bunch of other jobs." Jovially, he released the Guard's shoulders and gave his tousled hair a slight ruffle.

Kenneth allowed himself to meekly smile. At least Springtrap seemed to be in much better spirits. "I'll... I'll s-see if I can... Find s-somewhere else to work. You'll be okay? Without me? And-And you'll k-keep the scarf, right?"

"Well, it is my color, after all."

That comment certainly made the boy break out into a grin. He laughed, wiping his nose, smearing away leftover tears. "Thanks, S-Springtrap. Y-You... You're really n-not so bad." He turned away, starting to walk again. "...I'm still gonna get th-that last dream, though!"

The former murderer blinked at the sudden compliment.

"...That's a first," he mumbled but by the expanding grin on Kenneth's face, he knew the Guard had heard. As usual, he trailed along as the boy made his way to the office, keeping a watchful eye on the shadows as they walked. Meanwhile, Kenneth rubbed his face, peeking around the corner, slowly entering the office door. Nothing was there except that box of old parts, of course. Slowly, he made his way to his chair, sitting down.

"So...I'll t-take a nap, and, um...Y-You'll protect me. Right? L-Like usual."

"I'll do my best." Springtrap cast a worried glance through the window. "Although the Puppet... Well, it almost... it got pretty close to you last time, so I might have to wake you up if things start to get too... crazy."

Kenneth gulped, steeling himself up a bit. It wouldn't be so bad. It wouldn't. He curled his arms up, then rested his head on them, shutting his eyes. Springtrap leaned against the desk, creating a barrier between the Guard and the door. Of course, he knew by this point that the Marionette could come from any place there was a shadow, but at least he could protect Kenneth from the most obvious entrance.

Slow, slow, gentle breathing. There was a small noise as Kenneth shifted, getting comfortable. One very thin finger hooked a wire poking out of the back of Springtrap's neck.

The rotting rabbit winced as the wire was tugged, but resisted the urge to turn around. He wasn't sure what the Puppet had latched onto, but he wasn't too keen on finding out by it accidentally being broken. Quietly, he hissed: "...Yes?"

"Oh, nothing. Not this time," the creature muttered, fumbling with something in its other hand. "I'm done with your talking."

"What are you-" Springtrap's eyes widened; whatever the Marionette was doing, it certainly was not good. Despite knowing that this was probably a bad idea, he attempted to swipe a hand behind him and knock the Puppet off-balance.

The attempted attack worked; the creature did teeter. But, it still got what it wanted. The wire was slit. It chuckled, slowly slinking out of the room, hands still damaged and loosely gripping a box cutter. "...Why didn't I decide to just slit the wire powering your voice box to begin with? Oh, I'll never know."

The rotting rabbit tried to call after the Marionette, desperately straining to make a sound... but to no avail. He remained totally, and utterly silent, save for the noise of the suit itself, endoskeleton straining as he reached back and tried to feel around and figure out exactly what the Puppet had touched.

At that moment, Kenneth made a little noise, shifting again. He was dreaming, certainly, giving another small shift. Then he paled a little bit, another small sound coming from his half-open mouth.

Of course, the clumsy hands of the suit, with no actual feeling in the fingertips weren't able to find the one, tiny wire that had taken Springtrap's speech away. Frustrated, he shook his head angrily; he would get that damn Puppet for this... Glancing at Kenneth, he noticed that the Guard looked a bit distressed. However, he was afraid to touch him and bring him out of his slumber, unsure of the potential repercussions.

A small tremble, another noise, then silence. The boy comfortably shifted, going back into his semi-restful sleep. Then, suddenly, the swivel chair tilted off-balance with his weight, causing him to fall to the ground in a rather spectacular fashion.

The rotting rabbit opened his mouth in a surprised exclamation, though no sound came out. Instinctively, he bent down and grasped the Guard by the underarms, lifting him to his feet in one swift movement before releasing him and taking a step back. Kenneth rubbed his head, moaning a bit. He blinked, collecting his bearings momentarily before glancing around. Almost on impulse, he gasped and jumped away at the sight of Springtrap right behind him. He stopped himself, looking down.

"Um-Sorry. I...It...Wasn't a-a good dream. But, um, t-thanks for picking me up."

You looked like you needed some assistance, Springtrap wanted to say, trying as hard as he could to make the words come out. But, all he could manage was to let his mouth hang open in an ironic grin, his eyes revealing an emotion that he had only experienced once before in his lifetime: desperation.

Kenneth blinked. "Um..." He wasn't all too keen on the look in the former murderer's eyes. He fumbled with his hands, coming a pace nearer. "A-Are...you alright?"

Quickly, the rabbit shook his head. He pointed to his throat and made a slicing motion, then gestured from his mouth outwards in an attempt to silently portray his current situation to the confused Guard. The boy's head tilted even farther for a moment, completely confused.

"Um... N-No throat? I mean... can't you t-talk, why the p-pantomime?"

Springtrap shook his head again, trying to think of a way to explain. Suddenly, he had an idea; gesturing for the Guard to follow him, he walked down the hallway to the torn-up poster of the Puppet. He picked it up, shaking it frantically, and then turned sideways so that Kenneth could also see his back, pointing to a spot near where he presumed the slit wire was located.

Kenneth merely gazed from the picture to the half-animatronic, still utterly stumped on what the creature was trying to say. Then, suddenly, he had a guess. To confirm his theory, he tilted his head up and peered into the back of the golden neck. "Oh! It-It sp-split a wire?"

The man in the suit's shoulders slumped with relief and he nodded. Luckily, his silent explanation had worked.

"Um...I-I think we still have a roll of tape-Stay right there!" Quickly, Kenneth sprinted down the hall, knocking a few things over in his haste before coming back with a roll of black electrical tape. "Hah! Okay! St-stay still!"

The rotting rabbit bent down so that it was easier for the Guard to reach the wire, hoping that it wouldn't accidentally give him some sort of shock. Kenneth still had to lean forward a bit, breaking off a bit of tape and grabbing the wires, quickly attaching them together. "O-Okay! Um, is this right?"

Springtrap attempted to speak, but all that came out was a disturbing crackling, static-like sound, almost like some sort of demented scream. Immediately, Kenneth let out a real scream of his own, jumping back and going as white as a sheet. Springtrap held up his hands non-threateningly, as if to say, Sorry for scaring the crap out of you!

It took a moment for Kenneth to gather himself. He looked away, mumbling quick reassurances, steadying his breathing. Geez. That was... too much. He looked back to Springtrap, quickly putting on a smile. "I, ah, I-I know, you didn't... m-mean it. But, um. D-Does it work? I'm... n-not much of a mechanic..."

Hesitantly, the rabbit tried to speak again. Quickly, though, he shut his mouth as the crackling screech once again tried to escape, effectively cutting off the sound before it could scare the Guard too badly. Shoulders slumping, he locked gazes with the slightly-trembling human and shook his head. Kenneth had to cover his mouth to keep from screaming again, shoulders falling as well. After a moment, his hand lowered.

"...But-D-did I tape th-the wrong... two? I...I could try a-again, a-and..."

Springtrap waved a hand, as if to say, don't bother. Losing his voice was the least of their concerns at the moment. And besides, if the Guard ever got in contact with PD, they would probably have it fixed right away. Keeping his eyes locked with the Kenneth's, he lightly tapped the boy on the temple, tilting an ear downwards questioningly. Was the dream successful? he mentally asked, hoping the boy understood.

Kenneth flinched rather violently at the touch on his head. He backed away a few steps, looking down in shame. He swallowed. "I... I-I'm sorry, it... I had a-a dream, right, y-yes, but, I mean, it wasn't, it w-wasn't good, and... U-ugh. Sorry."

The rotting rabbit pulled his paw back, not liking the look on the Guard's face. Yes, the frail human had always shied at his touch, and for good reason. However, recently he barely batted an eye at the close proximity. So why, then, was he suddenly reacting so violently? Something must have happened in that dream to make Kenneth afraid of him again.

The freckled boy swallowed hard, taking another step back.

"It... Y-You... probably want t-to hear it, and..." He didn't wait for an answer, quickly shaking his head. "O-Okay, th-these last few nights, um, I'd have dreams, and they were all like the hallucinations-Little g-games o-or something, I'unno, lucid dreaming? Well, er, see, it'd be w-with the robots and... No matter what, th-they'd always end with th-this purple sprite man d-destroying them, and, well... Didn't think m-much of it, but... then...tonight w-wasn't like that."

The rabbit's eyes hardened. A "purple sprite man" destroying animatronics? It wasn't hard for him to figure out what that imagery meant, despite how vague his current memories were... But why, and how, did the Guard know about that?

"...But, see, t-this time, I mean..." Involuntarily, Kenneth began wringing his hands together. "Um, y'know how m-my hallucinations, there were crying kids? I was one of them this time, just... t-there. And... there w-were m-more of them, four, and... there he was, th-the purple sprite man, and he was in a p-panic... All I could do was r-run to him. And he ran back. And forth. And back and forth and forth and back and until-" Here, his breath gave a little hitch, and he looked Springtrap up and down before sharply turning away. "...I-I can't..."

The man in the suit closed his eyes, knowing what the Guard must have seen. He recalled a night many years ago in which he himself had been trapped in a room with five children. Only, they weren't human anymore. They were simply spirits, tormenting him once again for taking their lives away. It was something that the man had experienced many times before this, and he always escaped to repeat the cycle over again.

This time, however...Vincent hadn't been so lucky.

The Puppet was watching from the shadows, letting the children finally exact their true revenge. The leader of the little group of ghosts had been very active that night, and managed to corner Vincent in the back room. The purple-suited Security Guard was hesitant to escape through the wall of children, so he decided to find a place to hide. Lo and behold, leaning innocently against the wall was a spring-lock Golden Bonnie costume. Quickly pulling the locks back- he was known among his employees as the go-to person to ask about how to operate these dual purpose suits-, he stepped inside and secured the suit around himself. The metal casing protected his fragile human body from whatever the kids decided to throw at him next. Unfortunately, he had not noticed the rain leaking through the ceiling. He stood up, laughing hysterically at the ghost children's fruitless plight, when, suddenly, he felt something in the suit give way. The locks snapped, and the endoskeleton reverted back to "animatronic mode," trapping him inside.

As the memory faded, Springtrap collapsed onto the ground, shaking, his position eerily echoing the way he had looked all those years ago.

Oh-Oh god... Kenneth still remembered the little red squares moving all too well, the blood, so much pixelated blood, and-

The sound of metal collapsing against tile caught his ear and he quickly looked over, dropping to his knees and crawling closer to the fallen rabbit. Even if he himself was shaking like a leaf, the other man was obviously in much worse shape.

"...A-Are you okay?!" Kenneth asked quietly, but he knew the answer before the words left his mouth. Still, why was the rabbit shaking like that?! Springtrap never shook! Ever! "Sp-Springtrap?"

The memory was too much; "sensory overload," the former murderer thought with a wry, mental chuckle. He couldn't bring himself to focus on Kenneth, even though he knew the Guard was right next to him. There was just... so much blood. Blood and pain. So much pain, everywhere. Never ending, ever-lasting pain... These words repeated over and over in his mind as the suit continued to spasm, now beginning to twitch so violently that a few of the exposed wires that Kenneth had yet to tape up were shooting off tiny sparks.

The boy instinctively backed up again, a few sparks landing on his hands and making him yelp. Oh-Oh god, oh god, was he okay?! What was he supposed to do? Kenneth didn't know, he-He-

"I'm sorry!" He babbled out the apology without thinking. Oh, this was his fault wasn't it? He shouldn't have even brought it up, now Springtrap was having a meltdown and who knew if he'd be okay...

Slowly, ever-so-slowly, the violent twitching began to subside. Springtrap's eyes opened slightly, and he was able to catch a glimpse of the terrified Night Guard before an intense pain shot through his head, making him wince and close his eyes again. Now that the spasms had more or less died down, he expected that his mind would begin to clear as well. Strange, he thought, as a dark cloud began to encompass his thoughts. The darkness wasn't scary, though; it was almost... calm. Inviting. It was like the calm that he had only felt once before, in those precious last few seconds before he-

Shit, he thought, struggling to keep his eyes open and not slip into the darkness, am I...dying? Again? No...no, that's impossible...right? I'm... I'm already dead! Nothing was fixed! The dreams were only dreams! So why... why is this memory making me...

The robot had stopped sparking, so Kenneth allowed himself to crawl closer. He would not, however, allow himself to touch the creature just yet. It didn't seem right; too much fear was eating at him. He reached out, timidly pulling on the scarf, which made Springtrap rock a bit. "I'm-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to bring it up, I won't talk about it, not now, not ever, just-C-can you hear me, are you, are, are you okay? D-do you n-need me to help you st-stand?" He still couldn't talk, but, well, maybe he could nod, and maybe he wasn't... fried.

...But what if he is?

Kenneth chomped down on his tongue again. No, no, no, don't think like that! "I'll help y-you up!" Springtrap blinked, slowly; the effort of this simple action was horribly obvious to the shaking Guard.

At least... at least I can focus on him now, Springtrap thought, watching the boy desperately tug on his scarf as he crawled around, with obviously no idea of what he was doing. It seemed as if the cloud in the former murderer's mind was a little better. He still couldn't move his body, but at least he could control his mind enough not to sink into the darkness completely; it did indeed appear as if his thoughts were slowly, slowly clearing. As long as he didn't focus on...that.

Kenneth grabbed both ends of the scarf and heaved, fumbling and pulling until Springtrap was put into a shaky, tall, sitting position. The boy sighed, slumping. "...Sorry." He rolled on his knees until he was sitting down, too. "Sorry I me-mentioned it. And... And s-sorry it all didn't work. And s-sorry I, I made... made you... protect me. Even though it was for n-nothing. I... I thought... It would've worked." He pulled his knees to his chest, laughing quietly. "...Guess I just looked stupid, banging on objects. I don't kn-know. Thought w-we...We really... had something."

Of course it didn't work, the man in the suit thought, mentally rolling his eyes. All that did was almost kill me-

Suddenly, his train of thought froze. His eyes swiveled to the sniffling Guard as his mind worked furiously to put things together. Keeping the encroaching tiredness at bay as much as he could, he desperately tried to work out what exactly he was feeling.

Wait, maybe it isn't... "killing" me. Maybe... This is what I felt before the Puppet put me in this thing, so... so maybe...maybe, if I let the darkness take me... Then I can... get out?

He closed his eyes briefly, steeling himself; what did he have to lose? If it didn't work... well, then he would either remain trapped in the suit or simply be dead. Truly dead. Gone for good. But...but if he was somehow freed from this metal prison...what then? Would he still be roaming around the attraction, or would he be sent straight down to hell to continue his eternal torment? Keeping his gaze on the Guard, he used his last remaining strength to reach out and place a hand on Kenneth's shoulder. He would never know unless he tried.

Kenneth looked up suddenly, eyes snapping to the hand on his shoulder. A small laugh, a small smile. He leaned forward to rub the top of the robot's head. The fur really didn't feel as bad as it looked, as long as he was careful to avoid the really rotted parts.

"I-I guess th-that means you forgive me, huh?" His smile grew, despite himself. "And... And I mean-If you're okay, I'll s-still come back! Since we're friends, a-and all. And-And I really...I think... I t-think you've c-changed. F-For the better." He leaned back to his starting position, still grinning wide. "D-don't worry; even if you're not okay, I'll get you fixed and... p-patched up a little! Make sure you're not in pain all th-the time. Right?"

This time, Springtrap actually did roll his eyes. Damn this overly-empathetic child for making this decision harder than it should be. He desperately wished that he could explain what was going on in his mind, but alas, his voice box was still broken. Rather than unnecessarily scare the Guard yet again with an attempt at talking, he decided to let the boy figure it out for himself. Kenneth was, as Springtrap had learned over these past six nights, a lot smarter than he looked.

He locked gazes with the Guard again, hoping to convey his, possibly, final message:

Thank you. Thank you, you big idiot, for whatever the hell you've done to the little scrap of conscience I still had buried underneath all the anger. Nothing will change what I've done, but I hope that at least you'll be spared the wrath of those poor, trapped kids.

Kenneth merely stared back, looking utterly confused. He could tell that the rotting rabbit was trying to say something, but he couldn't fathom a guess as to what this message might be. Springtrap gave him a wide grin, gripping his shoulder tightly for a brief moment before painstakingly bringing his paw up to the Guard's head and gently ruffling his hair one last time. Then, gladly, he gave into the fog and let the darkness encompass his mind. His hand slipped back to his side, his eyes dimmed, and the golden rabbit suit slumped forward.

The freckled boy felt an icy shot of pure dread travel up his spine. Wait-Wait! What-

"...S-Springtrap?" Kenneth's voice cracked a bit, staring at the robot who'd just-

Darkened, dimmed, was he-What-What did-

What did he do?! He broke him!

Kenneth reached out, grabbing the scarf, yanking the robot closer as best he could and feeling for... Oh, he didn't even know. Something. A whirring of motors or a metallic creaking of joints, anything! At one point, one of his fingers slipped into a rotted-out hole to try and find something still moving, still warm with electricity, and he ended up touching the body below. He gave a screech, letting go, Springtrap crashing sideways to the ground.

Oh god.

Oh god, he broke him. He dragged the robot along on his stupid adventure, and now he was broken, and what did Kenneth even have to show for it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He turned away, pulling his knees close, desperately trying to hold back another batch of tears as he quietly murmured:

"...I s-should've quit when you t-told me to. I... I-I'm s-sorry."