The three plushies were unable to move from shock and awe.

Nightmare backed away with a pained bellow, and Plushtrap and the Fredlets froze when their eyes met their defender.

Yet another new animatronic.

Even though, that one didn't look like an animatronic at all. A terrifying smile that would haunt those whom it was directed at for ages and glowing, slit-shaped pupils drifting in the sea of black its eyes were, the skeleton-like creature let out a hushed, prolonged bubbling hiss at the shadow-cloaked bear.

The awe increased when the damage that creature had done was noticed. Nightmare's right eye had a large gash over it, going from the top of the once glowing orb to the side of the muzzle. He snarled furiously before looking at that who had the ridiculous courage to actually attack him, and his remaining eye widened when he felt a wave of hatred crash against him.

He didn't know who that puppet-like entity could be, but he did know one thing: he despised it.

The feeling, unsurprisingly, was mutual. Increasing hatred was all that could be seen in those glowing, thin slits for pupils. That thing looked anything but friendly, and Plushtrap backed a step when he noticed it. What if it wasn't there to help them? It could've been pure coincidence, and he was aware of the feelings the two animatronics were showing. He recognized that kind of anger, that kind of irritation.

They were rivals.

The bunny uttered a low trill when he came to a realization, and the Fredlets gave him concerned looks. If that unnerving creature was there to replace Nightmare himself, the most dangerous, cruel and cunning of the animatronics, and it happened to not be on their side… What if it was even worse than the shadowy bear? None of the three plushies wanted to think about it.

One of the Fredlets chirped alarmingly. They had to go get help. If they just stood there, they could be harmed by either of the two terrifying creatures facing each other in front of the hallway. Plushtrap didn't think twice before dashing down the hall, trying to go past the dark shapes as fast as possible, the Fredlets right behind him. He started cawing as loud as he could.

Nightmare Fredbear raised his ears when he heard the erratic caws and barks, and immediately turned to face the entrance of the salon as so did everyone else. Plushtrap made a rough stop when he entered, barking what the Nightmares understood as 'danger' over and over again; the gigantic worry on his eyes couldn't go unnoticed. The two small bears darted past him and immediately hid within their larger version, who gave them a preoccupied glance. The last Fredlet chirped questioningly, but the other two were too terrified to respond.

Ryan didn't need a translation to tell what was happening, the look on Plushtrap's face and the worry beaming from his caws said enough. His first thought was that Mangle had snapped, but he erased that idea when he overheard Nightmare's unmistakable, deep bellow. He sounded mad, even more so than when he was unable to find the kid.

The plush toy stood cowering next to Ryan; the tips of his ears were almost completely folded, showing uncontainable fear. The Nightmares would've sneered at him in any other occasion for being so afraid, but they knew that it was Nightmare what they were talking about, and Plushtrap had almost been attacked by him while he had no way to defend himself. The animatronics suddenly entered in thought at that. If Nightmare had attacked him, how had Plushtrap even managed to escape from him unharmed? And why hadn't he followed? Nightmare Fredbear wouldn't hesitate to figure it out. It wasn't like he wanted his demonic counterpart around, anyways.

He gave Ryan a sideways glance as he sternly said, "Stay here."

The kid didn't really want him to against a very angry-sounding Nightmare. Few times had he heard such angered, hateful snarls and bellows coming from him, and he knew it was too dagerous to go face him alone. He slightly shook his head. "But he's-" He was cut off when the golden bear repeated his order more severely. "Stay."

No more words came from Ryan. Nightmare Fredbear only acted like that when danger was too close and needed to be fought off, and he knew it. The bear wouldn't risk having anyone harmed for not having acted when the situation required so; he carried enough guilt already. He knew better than anyone that when Nightmare had too much hatred around him, he could go on a rampage and be completely unstoppable. He would kill and destroy everything and anything around him unceremoniously. A berserk Nightmare was too much of a problem, and no one would say anything against that.

When it became clear that the boy wouldn't try to interfere with the problem, Nightmare Fredbear directed the Nightmares a firm growl before disappearing into the darkness of the hall. Ryan couldn't hide his worry, and neither could Plushtrap hide his fear. He had never seen the plushie so terrified, his jaw was even slightly shivering.

The animatronics, even Nightmare Foxy, who seemed to have been pulled out of his thoughts after the alarm call was heard, only gave him intrigued looks. Even though they weren't used to feel fear among those of their kind, Plushtrap's was understandable. The odd case was that Mangle's, however, wasn't. Why was a creature with powerful jaws and a downright eerie appearance be afraid of anything? The lack of answers irritated the Nightmares.

BB looked at the half-open door. He heard the whispering screech and the menacing bellows, and he wanted to know what was going on. He wasn't so fluent around the Nightmares' language, but he understood more than Ryan did, being one of them, and knew that those battle cries meant that a fight was about to take place. It sounded dangerously close to the bedroom, and he had heard Plushtrap give the danger alert. Were his friends in trouble? He had to get out and at least have a look at what was happening. If he could help somehow, he would be there to do so.

He still didn't think it was alright to leave Mangle alone in the darkness, but there was something wrong going on out there and BB knew that was more important. As long as the firefly was there, the white fox would be just fine. That was pretty much the only thing that didn't scare her.

He tried not to overthink it all before he would change his mind, and carefully walked out of the bedroom, following the source of the noise, but not without giving the obscure bedroom a last glance. He hoped the glowing bug wouldn't go away during his absence.

Nightmare Fredbear let out a commanding bellow as he arrived at the scene, and was surprised to see yet another new animatronic there. The slender creature didn't even flinch at the sudden roar right beside it, and kept its position as if nothing had happened – it didn't even look at the one who came to assist. The golden bear didn't take it as a menace, yet, and glowered at Nightmare; his eyes widened inadvertently when he noticed the large gash over the right side of his face, and assumed that the skeletal being next to him was responsible for the damage.

He silently thanked it; that was exactly what he would've done if Nightmare dared to challenge him. Of course, he knew his dark side wasn't stupid enough to engage him into a fight without a proper reason. Nightmare Fredbear was a worthy opponent, and Nightmare wanted to leave the strongest one for the end, when he got rid of all the others, or when he had no choice left other than fighting against him.

"Get out of here." Nightmare Fredbear growled deeply, his eyes showing a fiery flame of bright scarlet. Nightmare narrowed his remaining eye. He wasn't content with leaving the one who had damaged his valuable sight go unharmed, but he couldn't do anything else.

He couldn't help the small chuckle from escaping, though. "YoU StiLL acT As if yOU haD No CluE. I am AlwaYS HeRE. You alWAys RuiN AlL The fuN. WHy do yOU CaRE So muCh ABoUT tHEM? It'S UseLESs."

Useless? Nightmare Fredbear knew he was up to no good, and was certainly reluctant to even ask. Before he could do so, Nightmare continued, "ThESe tRaiTOrs havE beEN CReaTED wITh only ONE PuRpOsE, but THEY chOSe to Not boTHER folLoWinG ThEIr oRDers." He lowered his voice. "TheY prEfeR to Be FRienDS WitH thEIR prEY OVer KILLING. So be iT tHen. I will Be the ONe to Put THeM in thEIr rigHTfuL plACE."

Nightmare Fredbear hardened his threatening look as he snarled, "What do you mean?"

Nightmare gave no reply, and only chuckled as he disappeared into the shadows. The golden bear still heard his last words, though.

"You wILL sEE."

The golden bear feared he was planning on getting rid of the other Nightmares, he was fully capable of doing so. After all, he knew what had happened, and that was certainly not good. If it was true that he was always around, nothing could be kept a secret. Few things were harder than trying to spot Nightmare in the darkness; it was the same as looking for a needle in a haystack. No one would know when he was there, listening, taking note of everything. He would use the animatronics' weaknesses against them, and all he had to do to know them was hide and wait.

It was worrying how much he already knew. If he was aware of the other rivalries between Nightmares, he could easily undo Ryan's progress; that was a very fragile thing that could easily be manipulated.

Small, glowing red pupils stood hidden within the darkness, trying to figure out what was happening. BB remained silent as he observed the brief conflict. When he had seen Nightmare, he could feel an all-too powerful desire to kill coming from him, and that was more than enough to leave things clear. He was definitely not good, and he'd be sure to remember that. It rather shocked him how that shadow-cloaked monster was identical to Nightmare Fredbear, only with changed colors – and of course, they were one and the same. Something within Nightmare made him look even more terrifying, but the humanoid couldn't tell exactly what. He guessed it was his constant anger what made him more unnerving.

He didn't see any signs of danger, thing that calmed him down, but he was wary about the somber figure next to Nightmare Fredbear. Just what on Earth was that even supposed to be?

The golden bear stared at the darkness. He was glad he didn't have to draw Nightmare away himself, he had highly doubted his hateful counterpart would just turn around and leave, but that was exactly what he had done. It was partially thanks to the new entity, though. Nightmare had been damaged, and in a normal case, he wouldn't have left just like that.

Nightmare Fredbear looked at the nerve-racking creature next to him when it uttered a small hiss. Its gaze softened, and the slit-shaped pupils soon shifted back to a rounded shape. He took a step back. He wasn't sure about considering it a harmless being. It had saved Plushtrap and the Fredlets indeed, but it didn't look like that was its intention. The bear was sure that thing only wanted to show off in front of Nightmare, leaving it crystal clear that he had something to worry about.

There was no telling about the hostility of that eerie creature.

A/N

Anon – yes, it's a certain type of light they are content with. The firefly will remain among us for quite a time.

Mia – not yet.

MidnightMorpher – you see, it wasn't Mangle who came to the rescue ;) Plushtrap won't carry any weapons, though we should all agree that he won't walk around alone anymore! I watched the FNaF World trailer over 9000 times.

Guest – the firefly is not part of something really big, but may help later on.