The Final Fix
By
End of Grace
Chapter 15: The Final Fix
Mike wasn't sure how far away he was from the main park or how far away he was from Net and his brother, but he was hoping it was enough as he was out of breath and in too much pain to run any further. He looked around at the tattered worn-down warehouses and staggered into one, still carrying the black cupcake by its candle in his hand, he quickly and as quietly as he could shut the door. He switched on the lights and was surprised when they turned on, having thought that the place was out of power as the rest of the park, he shrugged and thought it must be some kind of backup generator as he walked further in.
There was a large tool table with a computer and to the side a large workbench for animatronics. Mike placed the cupcake down hard on the table and started looking through drawers and boxes, finding spare optics, joints, paints and most importantly voice boxes. Mike picked up a few tools and glared down at the cupcake.
"This is going to be a very crude procedure and might even be painful. I usually careful and even power-down my animatronics for this but I don't think you deserve the same courtesy"
Mike quickly went to work and though he told himself not to be gentle or careful, his more professional side took over and before he knew it, he was placing the box gently inside the cake's base and sewing it back up and looking over the cake making sure everything was alright before placing it down on the work surface and taking a few steps back. Thick, black gas oozed out of the cupcake like a snake causing the hairs on Mike's body to stand on end as he quickly covered his nose as the smell of something rotting and poisonous filled the air. A shape appeared from the vipers. A middle-aged man in a scruffy shirt and pants sat on the desk, he seemed normal enough until he opened his eyes, which were two pools of endless darkness.
"My, My, what an honour this is, I was hoping I would get a chance to speak to the student of Fred McBear. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr Schmidt...or would you prefer Mike?"
"I would like to be called Mr Schmidt by you Mr Afton. I'm sorry to say this is not a pleasurable experience for me, as I would much rather not speak to the dead, thanks to you and your children that has not been the case"
"Yes, my boys, I have such mixed feelings about those two, I'm either extremely proud or incredibly angry with them. Annoyance with Ennard for killing his brother and my hire to being oddly proud of the little shit for stealing most of my powers without my notice. Then my sweet little William, my joy and pride as I watch him continue our family legacy. Battling against my absolute hatred of the brat that killed me and stuffed me into this useless body"
"My god and I thought the Dahl family was screwed up," said Mike sarcastically. "But I didn't give you a voice for us to speak about how you're never going to be the father of the year"
"Oh? Then what was it you wanted to talk about?"
"I want to know how to release the souls you have trapped. I want you to tell me how to undo the Joys of Creation"
The ghost of Afton blinked and stared at Mike for a moment before he started to shake, a small whine escaped his mouth before he burst out laughing. Mike clenched his fists tightly as he watched the horrible spirit finally control himself and wiped away imaginary tears.
"May I ask what is so funny?" Mike asked
"Oh, my goddess. I can't remember the last time I had such a good laugh. Mr Schmidt, if you knew anything about the joys of creation, you would most probably wouldn't release the souls anymore then I would. Then again I was a natural like you or Fred McBear. It was a gift like that….truly I should be the jealous one"
"I am not jealous" Mike snapped "Disgusted yes but never jealous. When did children's souls come into it? Why not adults?"
"Innocence mostly, they're not as corrupt as adults even the bad ones that I dealt with, the more innocent the more moldable they were. Unlike you and Fred I had to take the souls of children to make my creations work. Then I melted my creations down and made others and I found the souls I had used also followed the metal. A sort of immortality of a kind. Imagine it. No longer being bothered by old age, illness, hunger, of the pains of the flesh"
A penny dropped in Mike's head and he couldn't help but smirk. "Is that why your son killed you? Because you decided to be an immortal rather than return your son to life? He took your body….or at least the body you had ready for yourself...and took your life here in the park, where he stayed and took up your work"
The ghost frowned "My work? Heavens no. He had something much crueller and twisted in mind. That's why he needed so many souls…" The ghost looked thoughtful for a moment and leant forward, looking at Mike with a curious air. "Just out of curiosity, but what do you know about the Joys of Creation, how far have you gone with it?"
Mike fidgeted on the spot "I make animatronics...recently I've noticed a light sometimes flashing along with my fingers...and I can see spirits...at least once they have shown themselves to me, after that I can see them no problem"
"So you are only just awakening your gift. Interesting. Well, let me tell you this. The Joys of Creation is about the making, taking and using the power of the soul. Unlike me, you can make a soul and help it mature within your creations, while I needed souls for mine to come to life. The more souls I had...the more power I awoke...and even from here I can tell you are quite powerful...so how about I help you awaken that power inside of you?"
"And why should I accept your offer?"
"You said yourself that you want to release all the souls in the park, right? How can you do that when you can't even see the souls properly? Or even see the numbers? Or the colours….?"
Afton could see Mike frowning and chewing on his lip and smiled. Like all inventors and thinkers, when presented with the knowledge that they desperately needed, they become like drug addicts and you soon had them in the palm of your hand.
"What do I need to do?" Mike asked and Mr Afton smiled widely.
-Line Break-
William Dahl had thought he had been doing well as he wandered down the quiet main street. Yet as he got to the crossroads, seven cat animatronics had jumped out of the bushes and overpowered him easily and started to carry him like some sort of sacrifice. He looked left to his right and felt his heart sink as he saw rows of animatronics on either side and they weren't happy. Suddenly he was dumped on the ground in a slightly opened space and as he looked up he saw the face of a human woman and a floating head of an animatronic ghost. Before he could say anything, the woman's face curled into a snarl, her eyes full of disgust as she spat out his name like she was cursing. A roar echoed around him as the animatronics as they suddenly started to close around him.
"WAIT" shouted Freddy as he ran towards William and put his paws up. "This is WILLAM Dahl, the son of the man who is to blame...William here is the one that pushed for the Fantasy section to be shut down and rebuilt before his father and the board decided to scrap the idea"
"That's right friends," said Henry as he also came forward and pointed to the seven cats animatronics "We all heard that we were going to be fixed...and some of us were by the look of it. It was only when we heard the call did we learn that the humans had gone back on their word"
The animatronics stomped their feet and shook their servos "NO MORE! NO MORE!"
"So Mr Dahl...what do you say in your defence?" The Hatter asked, lifting his head slightly.
William staggered to get to his feet "I….I...can only apologise…"
"APOLOGISE?" Meg shouted her whole body trembling as she stomped forward and threw all her weight behind her punch that landed on William's jaw and sent him back to the floor.
"It wasn't just the animatronics you fucked over, was it? You, your dad and the board and Whoever else is in charge, treat the staff like shit, you tie us up in legal mumbo jumbo and make us too afraid to speak out in case we lose our jobs and in some cases our homes too. If you can even call them homes….nothing more than overgrown shoeboxes with bare essentials. It's almost like living in a dorm. We're made to work twelve-hour shifts, with hardly any breaks, have to wear costumes all-day in the boiling heat, taking abuse from both upper staff and customers all for a minimum wage. Sadly most of the staff took their frustrations out on these guys or just simply stopped caring about them because to them it just wasn't worth it and that bad vibe went around like a plague until that day when these guys said "No More". And what did you and your dad do? YOU LOCKED YOUR STAFF IN WITH THE ANIMATRONICS THAT WAS OUT TO KILL THEM"
"Woah! Time out! Hold your horses!" shouted Mike as he staggered forward since he had Tiny gripping on to his leg tightly. "He...William wasn't here when that happened. He was with us at Freddy's when his douche of a dad put a stop to his repair plan. He came down to us to see how you meant to look after animatronics, to learn from the best when he got the call that you guys had gone on the rampage and then asked us for help talking to you guys about it you know...he wants to put things right….don't you William?"
Mark could feel the optics of hundreds of animatronics on him and he suddenly felt like a piece of meat that had been thrown into the spotlight. A dog animatronic near him growled and snapped its jaws causing Mark to jump and cry out. Foxy rolled his optic and grasped Mark's collar by his hook and dragged the human over to Freddy.
"Be keeping an optic on his one Freddy. It seems he trying to be the hero"
"Will do," said Freddy as he placed his servo on Mark's shoulder and said softly "Leave the hero work to Jeremy and Mike. They have experience in these matters"
"Hey! I have experience...kinda….shut up" Mark muttered as he patted Tiny on the head as the small animatronic hugged his leg tighter as the other children quickly joined him. Willam got to his feet again and tried to straighten his suit as he looked around surrounded by the angry animatronics and one very pissed off employee.
"You have every right to be angry, all of you, human and animatronic alike, My family has failed you...and I failed you by not acting sooner. Dr Mike Schmidt told me of the dangers, told me you needed my help, I listened...but was slow to act and I should have stayed to make sure my family didn't interfere with the restoration project. I feared...I knew he would...I guess I just kind of hoped he wouldn't but he did and put you all and our human staff in danger. In a few hours, the human police are going to break into this park and they are going to destroy you….all of you...whether you mean any harm or not"
Meg went white and instantly grabbed Hatter's hand, Henry lowered his top hat as his fellow bears surrounded him, Mark quickly fell to his knees and tried to comfort the children that had burst into tears as Marton ran over to Adam and hugged him tightly. Jeremy and Fox both walked over to William both looking pissed.
"Did you know about this before you came to us?" Jeremy snapped "Or was it a good idea to get rid of our animatronics as well?"
"NO! I was...am...going to get you guys out before they get here, but that is not all they're coming for, they're coming for Mark!"
The humans looked confused as did the animatronics. What had Mark done?
"They know who he is!" William whispered urgently to Jeremy "They know he's the Biter and they are coming for him!"
Jeremy pressed his hand to his mouth as he snorted out of his nose as Foxy bent over forward, clutching his body as he laughed out loud. Freddy had his back turned to them but you could easily see the bear was laughing but it had more to do with the utterly dumbfounded look Mark was giving William.
"How can you laugh at a time like this!" William snapped "Your friend is going to be sent to the…"
"First off," said Jeremy "Let's sort out the animatronics and you...because if we can strike some kind of deal and have these guys all play nice before the cops come then that is at least 50% of our problems solved. "Second of all...Mark isn't the Biter...Matt is"
"Oh….Sorry," said William, blushing slightly "So where is he? And where is the Doctor?"
"Matt, Plush and Balloria are trying to find Mr McBear as for Mike...we have heard that he is dealing with…."
A sudden screech and the clanging of metal made the group jump. Suddenly an animatronic arm was thrown into the air and missed William by a few inches. A small group of animatronics, of thirty or so, were snarling and shoving the others animatronics.
"What the hell is going on now? I thought we were working this all out?" said Mark
"There are always some guys that want to cause trouble" Jeremy remarked as Henry and Freddy both walked towards the animatronic dog that seemed to be causing the most noise. "Looks like the bad dog is just trying to throw his weight around"
"I don't think so Jeremy," said Adam "He and that group seem pretty mad about something...do you think they have….like Suzie?"
"Good god I hope not"
"Now friends, FRIENDS, What seems to be the problem here?" said Henry trying to calm down the angered Dog animatronic that started to snip and snarl, pointing at Meg and William with a deep suspicious growl. "I agree with you sir, we have no proof of what he says and such, but I will rather be functional then dismantled if you get my meaning"
Several other animatronics started to grunt and snarl, shaking their servos and snapping their jaws while Freddy held up his servos in a defence position.
"We will talk to the humans for you and see if something can be done" the brown bear tilted his head back to William and Jeremy with Henry walking behind him looking very concerned.
"What's happened now, Freddy? Are they demanding a wage? Better health care? A dental plan?" Jeremy asked, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice but failing.
"It's worse than that. They don't want to work here anymore. They want to be free"
Jeremy groaned as did Adam while poor William and Meg looked confused.
"Free? As in "Free" not following humans around or obeying their programming?" William asked the thought whirling around in his head.
"Well that is what they are doing now," said Mark "I guess these guys just had enough of humans and want to spend the rest of their remaining operational time doing what they want to do"
"But...but...how...I mean…. What do I…?"
"I think we need to sit down and get around a table and hammer out some sort of agreement quickly because they are all getting pissy and we only got a few hours. Freddy, you, Fox and Foxy go find us a place to sit down and sort this out, Henry you tell the other animatronics to select a leader or some to speak on their behalf so we can hear them out, then you, Meg and William and whoever they pick will sort this out while we act as mediators or referee" ordered Jeremy as he looked to the sky that was starting to brighten up. "We haven't got long"
-Line Break-
Matt sighed as he looked around another sharp corner and saw nothing. Where the hell was McBear? Surely he hadn't gotten this far? He couldn't tell from the footprints on the ground, something or someone had come through here but the prints were going in two different directions and he wasn't even sure if one of the prints were human. Damn it! He should be with the others, looking after Mike, making sure he was ok, not looking for some bitter old man. He jerked to a stop when he heard the sound of metal being kicked towards him and quickly pushed himself into a dark corner to hide in case it was Net. Oh please be Net! He reached into his pocket and gripped the hunting knife he had hidden there. He wanted to rip that puppet apart and smash that masked face of his for what he had done to Mike. Making love to Mike, he had seen the damage to Mike's leg up close, along with all the scaring, and he wanted nothing more than to end the puppets life for damaging such a kind and gentleman. A shadow cast over the floor as Matt took a deep breath through his nose before lunging out with the knife at the ready.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!"
"PLUSHTRAP! YOU MUPPET REJECT! I could have destroyed you!" Matt snapped as he looked at the tatty golden bunny.
"FAT CHANCE OLD MAN!" Plush growled back as he rubbed his chest plate where his pump was beating a dozen times a second.
"Take it you didn't find McBear then?" said Matt as he put the knife away and tried not to look embarrassed.
"Oh, I found him. Dead. A rogue animatronic that is working with Net killed him"
"Oh great. Something else to look forward too…. waits a sec how did you know about the rogue…"
"He told me before he bled out" Plush snapped not wanting to talk about McBear's ghost or his dad, that was a private memory for him alone.
"Right…" Matt didn't believe him but decided it could wait "Did you see Balloria on your way here?"
"No...I take it you didn't either?" Matt shook his head "Great. Now we got to look for her too"
"Yeah. We better…" Mike paused when Plush's ears went up and placed a digit to his muzzle for quite. It was the sound of something that was using the wall to lean on. A slight squeaking, grinding sound, followed by footsteps, too heavy to be human but still very light for an animatronic. Both quickly went into the shadows and waited. A weird humanoid shadow stretched across the hallway with the lights flicking around it. Matt and Plush shared a look and after the count of three they both jumped out.
"GOT YOU!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" came a high pitched scream from Balloria before she pulled her hand back and then slapped Matt and Plush as hard as she could across their faces. "What in the name of heaven do you two think you are doing! Scaring me like that!"
"Sorry Balloria," said Matt as he rubbed the sting side of his face from the floor as Plush seemed to be having trouble adjusting his jaw.
"Damn it Balloria! You didn't need to hit us! I think you've buckled my jaw….uncle Mike is going to be pissed!"
"Not as much as I am" snapped Charlie as she appeared over Balloria's body. "If I wasn't already dead the two of you would have killed me with a heart attack! What were you thinking of jumping out at me like that?"
"We thought you might have been Net or even this rouge animatronic that's killed McBear," said Matt as he struggled to his feet.
"Well, with what little I can see with my optics, there is hardly anyone around to the west side of the warehouses. Someone or something has gone through them but the dust makes it hard to say when or how long ago"
Matt nodded and sighed "Let's go and get McBear's body and get back to the others. Mike will know what to do…"
"Excuse Me...but could I come through please?"
The man and two animatronics jumped and turned to see Net standing a foot away from them, looking ripped and dirty, with his tentacles wrapped around something large and heavy, since he was dragging it across the ground. Forgetting themselves for a moment the three of them stepped aside, pressing themselves against the walls to allow the marionette to pass.
"Thank you"
Net walked as if nothing was amiss past them and only stopped when Plush quickly grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait right there Net!" He snapped "Who is it you got wrapped in your tentacles?"
"No one of your concern kit," said Net with indifference before he looked over at Balloria and bowed his head sadly "I'm sorry to see you have ended up like me little Sister…though I don't think you remember me…"
The ghost of Charlie Afton blinked back tears "No...but I do know of you...from father and Mike...It's Ennard isn't it?"
Net smiled for a brief moment before becoming serious again "That's right but I'm sorry to say the person you thought was our father was actually our nasty little brother William who had taken his body"
Charlie looked even more confused and looked down at the bundle that Net was dragging around. "Is that him?"
"It is"
"Likely story! Before McBear died he said you went off to rescue Uncle Mike. So who is really in their Net?" snarled Plushtrap as he tightened his grip as Matt held up his knife.
Net sighed with some exasperation and undid only some of his tentacles to show the metal body beneath them.
"Satisfied?"
Plush sneered and wiped his paw against his chest while Matt only lowered his blade.
"So you "Rescued" Mike then? Where is he? Or has he already escaped you?"
"I did indeed save Mike from a burning building, he was unconscious when I found him and slightly injured, I did what I could…"
Matt lunged pressing Net against the wall, his knife pressed against the puppet's throat, his body shaking with rage.
"Where is he?"
"I do not know but I do know he is in danger. He took the animatronic that held our father's soul inside of it"
"The real Mr Afton...the child killer? Why would Mike be in danger?"
"Because Mike is naive and trusting and my father is a master manipulator. It wouldn't surprise me if he convinced Mike to give him a new body. Look, right now, you and I have the same goal….to rescue Mike, so put down your blade and let's go look for him shall we?"
"And why the hell should I trust you?"
"You can't…" said Net smiling knowing how it irritated the man in front of him.
"Matt...please can you let him go? I want to talk to him...and my dad...and other brothers...please?" said Charlie as she placed Balloria's servo on Matt's shoulder.
Matt looked at her then at Plush who nodded his head before stepping back and putting his knife away.
"Fine, you can come with us but only until we find Mike. Then all bets are off"
"Whatever you say, Matt," said Net as he followed the small group, his half brother still unconscious and in pieces in his tentacles, being dragged behind them. It would be a lot easier to leave the worthless thing here but Net knew better than to trust that he would remain there.
-Line Break-
Mike's eyes were closed, his face was slightly creased with concentration, his fingers flexing with a slight blue glow around them. Mike could feel them tingle, feel a burning sensation behind his eyes as he listened intently to Mr Afton words.
"When you open your eyes, focus on me, the colour of my soul, then above my head, see the numbers. Force your eyes to see them. Now open"
Mike did as asked and tried to quickly blink away his tears as he looked over at the spirit of Afton. He was a lot more solid-looking, more streamline, but still black as sin but there was a dark purple hue there as well, mostly around the chest area. He flicked his eyes upwards to above Afton head and felt a small lump form in his throat. There were three separate dates and a clock. There were a birth and death date and the third Mike could only guess was the date and time his soul was imprisoned. He wanted to be sick.
"Well? Did it work? What do you see?"
"You. Your a lot more in focus then before, I can see the dates too but I don't understand why your chest is sort of glowing purple"
"Ah...the colours. Certain colours will tell you the state of the soul when the person died. You have the obvious black and white but the colours are a lot more personable. Purple, for example, shows that I was seriously ill at the time of my death. Can you guess?"
Mike looked at the chest again "Cancer...of the lungs"
Afton smiled brightly and actually gave Mike a small round of applause. "Bravo. Hence why I needed a new body. I did not plan to wither away but my son didn't like the idea of me going first, after promising him for so long that it would be him"
"So since I can now see the numbers and...the colours" Mike swallowed feeling disconcerted. "Can I now perform that spell? The one to release the children"
Afton frowned and snorted "Even if there was such a spell what makes you think I would give it to you? Besides, why would I allow the children to leave their prisons? They are only there because of their evil ways...had they been good little boys and girls...I would not have to punish them"
"Bad? Good? What do you know about good and evil? As children we learn what good and evil are, we learn by making mistakes, by following the rules but sometimes kids can lose their way, or life is simply just unfair but that gives you no right...No DAMN right at all to act as judge and executioner. Who are you to decide what children should live and what children should die? Are you God? You're a disgusting, weak, small, cruel man. You couldn't pick on people your own size so you went after children. You enjoyed their fear, their pain before ending their lives and feeding their souls to your awful machines"
Afton's eyes widened as he looked at Mike, power flowing around him, his gentle green eyes now flashing with white light. He could feel the current and the heat of Mike's anger and he shivered. What had he unlocked? What in god's name had he unleashed?
"You're a monster! The darkest pit of hell is waiting to swallow you whole and the devil is sharpening his pitchfork." Mike felt like his mind and body were on fire and he was going to burn Afton out of existence. He was furious! He could see Afton's face and he was afraid. Good. He reached out his hand, blue sparks dancing over his fingertips as his body shook with the effort of keeping control. No...NO..it was too much….he couldn't. The lights around Mike faded as he fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around his body, his face twisted in pain. Afton started to laugh hysterically, he couldn't believe he had been frightened of his stupid man in front of him, the man couldn't even control his gifts. A deep growl echoed around them, drowning out Afton's laughter followed by the crashing of metal being thrown to the floor. Mike couldn't see, his eyes were stinging and everything was blurry, then he heard Afton scream followed by another roar as something big and dark attacked the cupcake that held Afton's spirit. He could hear something being smashed and Afton screams echoing all around him. Then it was silent. Mike whipped his eyes furiously to try and clear his sight, his heart pounding in his chest, as he strained his hearing to try and catch anything that would tell him where whatever had attacked Afton was. He could hear something padding towards him. It was animatronic, he knew from the footsteps, it was alone too but that didn't mean anything. A single animatronic could cause a lot of harm if it knew how, even more so if it was one of the larger ones, this one Mike guessed was about the medium size which meant he was in serious trouble. The footsteps stopped in front of him, he could hear it growling in its voice box, there was a strange almost rotting smell coming from it. Mike forced opened his eyes, the image was blurry at first and then he saw a broken down rabbit animatronic on all fours glaring at him, ready to pounce, but then his eyes became focused and what he saw made him want to scream to the heavens. It was human-shaped but made up from the pieces of dozens and dozens of children's souls. Each tiny joint, every inch of skin, belonged to another soul, eyes of various colours and sex glared out at him, all of them weeping from their pain. The black miasma swirled around it like a thick fog and all though the being in front of him was mostly white, there were black and even grey patches, dates and numbers by the score floated around almost aimlessly as if struggling to find the child they were connected too.
"WhO aRe YoU?" they hissed. Mike wished he couldn't hear them, it was too horrible, so many young voices coming out of such a monstrosity.
"He did this to you" he spoke softly not wanting to frighten them "That monster did this to you"
The children screamed. It was blood-curdling and so loud and high it shattered the glass windows. It gripped his shirt and threw him as hard as it could across the room, Mike's body slamming hard into the wooden desk before hitting the floor with a thump. The bunny stomped over to him and slapped him across the face with its claws before bringing its other claw down on to his stomach, digging in before twisting it wrist and Mike's flesh with it. Mike cries out but doesn't attack or even resist, instead, he wraps his arms around the creature's shoulders and pulls it forward so it lays against his body. For a moment it laid stunned as Mike stroked it's head softly.
"I'm so sorry"
The bunny let out a cry and started to struggle against Mike's now tightened grip. He wrapped his arms and legs around it, continued to coo and whisper to calm it down, trying to ignore the roaring pain as the Bunny continued to claw at him. The bunny could have easily escaped Mike's grasp but it was like it was fighting against itself...maybe it was...when was the last time any of these children had known comfort or kindness? It stopped struggling and laid hiccuping and silently crying on Mike's chest as the man petted it and stroked its ears.
"WhY?" it crocked out, its clawed hands now gripping Mike's tattered shirt tightly as if afraid to let him go.
"Why what?"
"WhY sO kInD?"
"Because I can see you are in pain. I can see you are scared, angry, lost and I want to help you"
"WhY?"
"Because I'm a doctor and where I come from we do everything we can to protect children"
"EvEn BaD oNes?"
"I don't think a child is ever bad. Naughty yes but never really bad" Mike noticed the confused look and remembered to keep it simple. "but yes...I would even protect the bad ones too"
The bunny sighed and completely relaxed into Mike's arms and sobbed. Mike struggled to sit up but once he did, he gently rocked it in his arms, humming a lullaby that he used to sing to Shadow when he was small. Both froze as the warehouse door opened and the sound of a group of animatronics came in. The bunny started to panic but Mike held firm and soothed it.
"It's ok. I think it's my guys" said Mike "And if it's not I'm going to protect you alright?"
The creature curled up on Mike's lap, still clinging to him as the footsteps got louder.
"Mike? Are you in here?"
"Over here Matt but keep a small distance ok? I've got a very skittish friend here"
The footsteps became a run and quickly Matt, Balloria and Plushtrap appeared a couple of feet in front of them.
"Hey, guys….oh shit…" Mike had started to smile but his new ability kicked in and instead of seeing the two animatronics and friend, he saw the spirit of Charlie Afton, a bright while soul with a golden hue and the dates of her birth and death floating above her head. Matt's had his date of birth but also a running egg timer floating above him, while his soul was a mixture of white and greys, with a few areas of black. Plushtrap surprised him most of all, he too had a date floating over him and like Matt an egg timer but inside his chest plate was a round glowing orb. It was so white, it was almost hard to look at it, there was no blackness or hue to it, just a pure simple soul.
"Mike, you ok?" Matt asked, "Do you need a hand?"
"Huh? No...I'm...kinda ok...just a few cuts here and there. These poor little ones need help, so we need to find Net or even the other Afton kid…"
"I'm right here Mike," said Net as Matt stepped aside to allow him to come through.
The bunny hissed loudly, baring its teeth, Mike quickly starting to rub its back while glaring at Net or to be more accurate Ennard. Ennard was a teenager maybe late sixteens or more, with short messy black locks, black eyes with scruffy black clothes. Unlike Matt, Ennard's soul was split down the middle, one side as black as night while the other as white as a dove. Ennard glared down at the bunny before looking up at Mike and smiling slightly.
"It's good to see you again Mike. I rather hoped our reunion would be a lot more private and uneventful" He looked back at the creature and ordered "Get off him"
The bunny poked out its tongue and curled up closer to Mike "No"
Ennard's animatronic body snapped it tentacles against the floor angrily and looked like he was ready to rip the animatronic bunny off of Mike's lap.
"I wish I could say the same Ennard," said Mike ignoring the little exchange "I sure you want to know about Baby…"
"She found you? Wonderful. I look forward to seeing her growth"
Mike took a deep breath and tried to hold back his anger as he needed Ennard's help, though he would rather have Net destroyed rather than let him anywhere near Baby again.
"What makes you think you will be seeing Baby again?" asked Plushtrap, his voice full of suspicion as Matt was already reaching for his knife.
"You need me right? Or at least something from me?"
"Yes…" said Mike "And I'm guessing that is what you want? Access to Baby? Visiting rights?"
"Well that is included I guess but not exactly what I want" Ennard smiled and made Mike shiver "I want to be with you, Mike. Yes, I know you're with Bonnie but I'm suggesting more of a...I loathe the term but "Mistress" will do"
"You sick son of a bitch!" snapped Matt as he pulled out his knife only to have Ennard slap it away with his tentacles.
"No one asked for your opinion Matthew" Ennard eyes with fixated on Mike, which were swirling with a green light, which Mike could only guess was his greed. "I will give you what you want in exchange for being in your life again, in the most intimate of ways, along with my word to have nothing to do with the workplace or the animatronics"
"A tempting offer Net but you have yet to hear what I want," said Mike petting the bunny as a way of keeping himself from having a panic attack.
"Whatever you want I will give...if I get to have you in return"
"Including whatever spell I have to do to release all the trapped souls in this place?"
Ennard's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. His body started to shake slightly before he gained control of himself again. "I'm sorry...I must have misheard…"
"No, you didn't Ennard. You want me, then you will give me the spell or whatever it is I need to do to release every soul that you, your brother and fucking father have trapped and tormented in this hellhole. Do that and you can come and live with me back at my flat under the condition you allow me to continue work and be with Bonnie"
Ennard's confident swagger was gone, exchanged with the look of fear and panic. "I can do that for you, I know the spell, I know lots of things, I can teach them to you"
"No thanks," said Mike, already regretting agreeing to Afton's little test "Secondly Ennard, I know you can not be trusted, you say you will release the souls but does that mean all of them? Or will you leave some for your amusement? Like your brother maybe?"
Ennard tentacles twisted and slapped the ground with frustration. The Bunny seemed to sense that Ennard was getting angry with the kind man, and started to rise into a defensive stance. Plush and Balloria also started to edge around Ennard as well should he try and attack Mike they were there to pounce.
"Where is your brother by the way? I'm guessing you left him in pieces back there?" Mike said sarcastically.
"What? Oh. No. He's in too bad a shape to move but he is still within the body" said Ennard his mind racing "And Father? I know you took him, Mike. I trust you did not speak with him"
"BaD mAn Is DeAd," the bunny said smugly "We SmAsHeD hIm To BiTs"
Ennard arched his eyebrow "If you think that simply smashing my Father's host body is enough to kill him, you are mistaken, that man will hide in the tiniest of shadows and wait for years if not decades to attack again, I know him"
"Well they do say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," said Matt who Ennard then slapped across the face with one of his tentacles.
"I am nothing like him" Enndard snarled, the intensity of his hate caused his spiritual image to wrap grossly before turning back to normal and looking pleadingly at Mike "I will release every soul, every single one, that you ask me too, just never…."
"NO!"
The scream echoed off of the warehouse walls as Ennard cried out in pain as several of his tentacles came flying forward badly injured. A half-human, animatronic monstrosity staggered forward, one red optic glaring out from its ripped human flesh, one leg was buckled so badly at the knee it was a wonder it hadn't fallen off. Everyone backed away as it made its way towards Mike and Ennard.
"You will not undo my hard work! I will get my paradise and my friends…" with each word oil spat out like black blobs of ink over the floor.
"What do you mean? What could you possibly want with so many souls?" Mike asked his hold on the Bunny tightened as he leaned his body slightly over it, protectively.
"He wants them to use their power to warp reality," said Ennard as his brother's snarled at him.
"Warp reality? You can do that with kids' souls? That's nuts!" stated Plushtrap.
"You can do anything with a soul and we're not talking about a world-changing reality here, just a small part of it...say like an amusement park...with all the animatronics under his control"
William's twisted soul was as black and twisted as his father's but with him, the miasma was thick and greasy, it made it hard for Mike and Matt to breath, as they both started to cough and gasping for clean air.
"They are going to be my friends! This is going to be our playground! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!"
William tackled Ennard into one of the warehouses main beams, causing the already decaying building to rattle as various roof panels slid out of place and came crashing to the floor. Bunny and Balloria both leapt to follow the fighting animatronics while Plush and Matt ran over to Mike to help him up.
"Mike we need to get out of here," said Matt as he started to pull Mike away but the man held his ground.
"We can't! We need one of them to tell us how to release the souls! Otherwise, we're going to have to gather all the animatronics that have souls trapped within them and melt them down to release the soul. It will take too long and it means more pain for the children as well"
"You'll be no good to the kids or the animatronics if you're dead!" snapped Matt.
- Line Break-
The Crystal Garden's restaurant was one of the few places that the animatronics had not attacked or damaged during their rebellion. Mostly because they thought it was a beautiful place and it was. It was like a beautiful English garden that you saw in the movies with the sweeping mansions or castles in the background. Colourful flowers everywhere, with stunning statues and water fountains, the tables were covered in white satin tablecloths and the furniture was all polished oak giving it that final extra fancy look...though if anyone looked in there now...they would think differently. William Dahl, Jeremy and Meg sat down around the round table with Henry, Freddy, the dog animatronic called Jupiter and the Hatter, whose head was resting on the table. Around them were Adam, Mark, Matron, the little children, the rest of the Freddy gang and a large amount of the remaining animatronics from the park. Jeremy had a piece of paper in front of him and had already written several things on it, such as who gets what breaks, a new repair system, maintenance (done nicely, gently and more importantly done at all or ELSE). William already looked like he was going to be sick over some of the demands but tried to keep face as they continued to talk.
"So it is all agreed that Ms Meg here is now the animatronic liaison. She will go around each section and speak to all of you and if there are any problems, she will deal with it or bring it to William's attention. All Agreed?" said Jeremy and looked around and noticed everyone nodding as he added that to the piece of paper. "Ok, the next thing was about closing time and allowing the animatronics to foam the park during those hours…"
"I have no problem with them wandering around after hours if they like the Freddy group help with cleaning up and keeping up standards in each of their sections," said William "But closing times….I agree to nine for most of them, but I ask the Fridays and weekends be a bit later as these are the days we take a lot more people and during the summer months too"
"That is still a lot sir," said Henry "plus during those months, it's almost too hot for us animatronics, it's one of the reasons we broke down so much"
"Well, how about this," said Meg "How about just for those three months of summer we close at midnight and then during the day we will organise the rides to have breaks and allow you guys to replenish oil and to cool down. So for the rest of the year, save the weekends, we close at nine and you guys agree to help with the cleanup?"
"I find that more except able and it will be more agreeable with the hopefully new board members," said William.
There were several grunts, snarls, barks, and such from the group of animatronics, Henry listened to them all and eventually nodded.
"We are agreed and I'm sure we can haggle over the smaller details later"
"Of course," said Jeremy before William could say anything and wrote this down as well. "Now let's get to the other main point which is Jupitar and the group that does not wish to continue working here….or in general"
Jupiter barked out several things and the large group around him nodded in agreement. Freddy leaned forward his head resting on his servos.
"I understand what your group has gone through. There was a time even myself and fellow animatronics were treated badly but surely you do not believe that all the humans, including the small children, are in your terms evil?"
Jupiter bristled and barked harshly at Freddy causing Foxy to growl and pull out his sword.
"Ya speak to Freddy with respect ya flea bag or I will cease ya function here and now"
The group around Jupiter growled and attracted their claws glaring at Foxy while Henry and Juptiar held up their servos for calm.
"Come now, this here is a democracy, not a kiddies playground for name-calling," said Henry. "Now I know there are some unsavoury humans out there but we also know that not all are like that and I'm sure Mr William here is one of the good ones"
William didn't know whether to thank Henry for defusing the situation or strangle him for putting him on the spot.
"I have been thinking about this situation. None of you knows this though I'm sure Ms Meg has heard the rumours of part of the park being uninhabited"
"You mean "Neverland?" that small island across the poisoned lake?" said Meg leaning forward.
"Neverland? Wait, wasn't that like one of the first attractions here in Critter County but due to heavy storms and some sort of radiation leak that's poisoned the water it was completely cut off from the rest of the park?" said Mark excitedly and then blushed when everyone turned to him "Look it's a huge internet theory thing...you wouldn't understand but anyway is that the place you're on about?"
"Yes...as you said the water is poisonous, no one can swim out there, the only way to the island is by boat. No one has been there in years, but the buildings are still standing and I can get the electricity put back on there quite easily, and you can send someone at night to gather supplies or anything else you may need. All I ask is that you stay there and do not draw attention to yourselves...and of course, do not harm anyone while you come back to the mainland...what you do on that island is your call"
Jupiter stood up and leaned over the table with his servo held out and growled softly.
"He says it's agreed on the condition that should you go back on your word then they come back for revenge" Henry translated with slight distaste "Be warned".
William looked at Jupiter's sharp teeth and resisted the urge to shudder as he stood up and shook the servo. The animatronics cheered and clapped, some even hugged and started dancing out of sheer joy, things were looking up for the second time and this time it looks like they were going to stay that way.
"So what are we going to do first, boss?" Meg asked jokingly at William as he flopped back into his seat.
"The whole computer system is going to need an overhaul and that is only the tip of the iceberg...but first I think we need to clean the whole park and...bury the dead and make amendments to both families and employees," said William rubbing his face before sighing "No, the first thing I need to do is hand myself and my father into the police and go from there, I know it's asking a lot Meg, but could you stay here and look after everyone? I'll make sure you will be paid of course…"
"No problem sir. I'll make sure the park is in top condition by the time you got everything sorted out, plus I have a friend in the main computer unit, Vanessa, who knows the system inside and out, she will be up for a challenge" said Meg optimistically "I'll go to my place and pick up some supplies and change of clothes too…"
"Ok! Ok! Before we all skip down the yellow brick road" shouted Jeremy making everyone look at him "There are two things that need to be sorted, now, any animatronics and I mean any of you that have human souls trapped within you, come and stand with Adam and Mark now, please. You know who you are and know we can help you so please come forward"
There was an uncomfortable pause and for a while, nobody moved. Then a small duck animatronic walked forward and stepped up to Adam and took a hold of his trouser leg. Adam bit his lip to stop himself from crying as he patted the duck on the head softly as oily tears rolled down its beak. There was a shift in movement as dozens of animatronics started to move forward and soon a large group of the animatronics were surrounding the human's guards. William raised a hand to his mouth to stop himself from being sick. So many. There were so many. He was going to hell...he was sure his father and uncle were too. How could they have turned a blind eye to this? The devil must have a private hellhole for his family to burn-in as well as a welcome mat for when he got there. No! He was going to right all of this. He will not go down with the rest of his family he swore to himself.
"Jeremy, I need to sign that piece of paper, so does Ms Meg and…"
"One moment William. There is one more thing we need to discuss with Jupitar here" said Jeremy as he left the animatronics, Adam and Mark to deal with the haunted machines. Jupiter stood proud with his servos crossed his body as he looked down at Jeremy.
"It's not a big thing and in fact, it could very well help you since I'm guessing you know nothing about building things or even repairing yourselves. You see we the Fazbear company need a little favour of you…"
-Line Break-
Just as Matt, Mike and Plushtrap got to the main doors, the whole warehouse rocked again, a large metal beam fell along with the roof panels, blocking their exit and sending them crashing to the floor. Mike cried out in pain as his leg spasmed, dust and dirt irritated his wounds, his poor head throbbed but still, he rolled over and struggled to get up. Suddenly he was spun around and punched hard in the face sending him flying back. William human spirit glared at him with such intense hate that the miasma he was giving off swirled around him and Mike, imprisoning the human in its poisonous hold.
"This is all your fault! Everything was going great until you turned up! I was going to make this my paradise. I was going to have hundreds of friends to do my bidding! I was going to be the king of my world!"
"Friends? Don't make me laugh '' Mike snapped as he tried to sit up pointing a finger at William "They are your prisoners. They wouldn't have followed you and if they did it would have been out of fear. Your no king! You're nothing but a bully! You're a BAD KID!"
William's black eyes widened in fear before turning to slits if anger and he started to stamp his feet and scream.
"I AM NOT! NOT! A BAD KID!"
The thick black mist spun around Mike as if to choke the life out of him as the young spirit stood over him and watched with delight as Mike panted for breath.
"Only the naughty children shall be punished" William laughed as blood started to drip from Mike's nose and mouth.
Suddenly several tentacles broke through the miasma and wrapped around William's body and one around his neck. William howled in rage as Ennard walked through the wall of raging darkness, his body was twisted, his mask was cracked all over but he stood over his brother his eyes gleaming with malice.
"I will see you in hell brother. Be sure to keep father company till I get there"
With a final snap, Ennard broke the animatronic body, sealing his brother soul away into its rotting corpse. The black miasma disappeared and Mike laid there fighting for breath as Matt, Balloria, Bunny and Plushtrap fell to his side as Ennard fell to the floor too weak to hold himself up.
"Mike! Mike, we need to find a way out of here! The whole place is about to collapse on us" said Matt desperately as he tried to lift Mike.
"We need to take Ennard…."
"Leave him! He deserves to rot ..."
"NO! THIS END NOW!" Mike pushed them all back as he staggered over to Ennard's body and fell beside it and rested his head on his lap. "Ennard…"
"Mike...are you safe?"
"Yes. But your damage beyond repair and you will be left in limbo again if you don't give me the spell to release you and the other souls"
"I don't want to go...I want to stay with you…"
"I know...but your time here is over...but before you go do the right thing...it might just save you from damnation with your brother and father...give me the spell...let me put you to rest…"
Black tears rolled down Ennard's face "Will you kiss me goodbye if I give you what you want?"
Mike nodded his head and leant down and pressed his mouth to the spirit. It was so soft and so full of sorrow and regret.
"Forgive me, Mike. I really do love you so but I'm afraid my family has damned you with its knowledge for it is addictive and dangerous...promise me...you won't use it for the wrong reasons"
"I promise…"
Ennard lifted his head and whispered into Mike's ear. Mike listened, absorbing every word, every instruction. Ennard's tentacles stroked Mike's body softly as his hands cradled Mike's face.
"You have such a beautiful soul Mike….I love you so much…"
The marionette's body back limp on the ground, its arms falling to its sides, Mike tried to wipe his face to hide his tears but they continued to fall. He got to his feet and turned to his friend and family.
"Matt...may I borrow your knife please?"
Matt handed it over without saying anything though Plushtrap fidgeted on the spot not sure on what to do or how to help. The Bunny animatronic looked out at him with such hope that it was painful to look at.
"Are you guys ready to go?"
"YeS. SeT uS fReE pLeAsE"
"Ms Afton? Are you ready to go?" Mike asked as Charlie looked at Mike though Balloria's optics.
"Yes...I'm ready...is this going to hurt?"
"No….no it won't," said Mike as he cut his index finger and made a small odd symbol on the ground before placing his hands together as if praying with his eyes closed. Matt frowned after a couple of minutes passed and Mike had not moved.
"Er...Mike? Is everything ok?"
Mike's eyes suddenly snapped open, the usually green eyes were now pure white, a faint white glow started to surround him. Matt and Plush back away slightly as Mike stepped forward and kissed Balloira's cheek and spoke in Latin. The ground shifted violently as Mike sent a tremor through the grounds of the park. A bright light engulfed Balloria's body before it flew upwards leaving the metal body behind. Bunny's body slowly fell to pieces as soul after soul floated from it and ascended to heaven. Elsewhere in the park the humans and animatronics panicked slightly as the ground moved beneath them.
"What the hell was that?" William snapped as he helped Meg get to her feet after the ground stopped shaking.
"I don't know...maybe an earthquake…?" said Jeremy looking slightly dazed.
"Guys! Look!" shouted Adam as he pointed to the group of animatronics that held the children's souls. They were glowing and suddenly the spirits of children filled the air, the sound of their laughter echoed around them, as their metal prisons fell to the floor in a heap before they too disappeared into the morning light.
"Does that mean it's over? We won?" Adam asked.
"It's not over yet kid...we still have one last battle to fight…" said Jeremy as he looked over at William.
To be concluded in Chapter 16 "It's Over It's it?"
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