A/N: Soooo…about the whole possible weekly update thing? Yeah, my med school giving me tons of online work, including a quiz every week that's somehow harder than an entire shelf exam that lasted 2 hours. So yeah, the possibility of consistent weekly updates is completely shot to hell with no possibility of ever coming back. Sorry.

I am very grateful for the song requests that you offered me, and I am very sorry that I didn't end up using most of them for this chapter. I can really only fit in two to three songs per chapter, and I didn't want to make all of them Freddy's related. In some cases, the song simply didn't work with what I had established in the story for one reason or another. I promise, however, that your requests are not being ignored, and that I'll come back to the them for future reference.

Once again, I don't own any of the songs that will be used for this chapter. And just by this disclaimer, I think you can tell what's coming next.

LM: Thank you for taking the time to present your requests, but unfortunately the chapter was almost done by the time you made your review. I will definitely consider your suggestions for a future music chapter though.

Nightwalker: Your request came a little late, but I'll keep it in mind for a future music chapter. And as for Glitchtrap and Help Wanted VR, you'll have to wait and see.

Glassenrp: Thanks for pointing out the typo, it has been fixed (theoretically).

Alpharizer: My response to your review is very long so I'll leave it at the bottom of the chapter.

Guest: I appreciate your support! But fortunately, or unfortunately, William Afton isn't coming back from Hell. Nightmare absolutely HATES HIS GUTS for all sorts of reasons and he would NEVER make a deal that would allow William to be freed from Hell, even if he had the power or authority to make such a deal. That particular possibility isn't on the table.

Glassenrp: I've never heard of RDR2. I think you're confusing my character's name for somebody else.

To those of you who wanted FNAF AR: I may incorporate some of the background story aspects of FNAF AR into the fic, but I don't think I'll be able to actually incorporate the game itself simply because I don't think it would translate as well. The idea that somebody would actually remake all the old animatronics (especially the Classics and Springtrap, who are very clearly destroyed beyond repair) and then send all of them to attack Mike's house is just…incredibly unlikely. Sorry.

ThatFNAFDude: I'm not sure if any of the kids will ever be able to see their parents before Mike's death (as there has to be SOME punishment for their actions in killing the innocent Night Guards apart from temporary denial into Heaven). And Mike's death will absolutely be the ending of the story.

To those of you who are saying Mike should buy Fazbear Entertainment: I'm aware of that solution, and there's a few reasons why I'm not going to implement it. The out-of-universe explanation is that it would simply be too easy, as with Mike running Fazbear Entertainment there is absolutely no way that he would allow a situation like Help Wanted to even become possible. And I do have an in-universe explanation that I will address eventually…when the time comes.

Chapter 101 – Jamming with the Schmidts 3

"Gah!" Mike shot up on his bed, shaking his head furiously as he tried to collect his thoughts. He had been ejected from the antechamber to the afterlife so suddenly, so forcefully, that the "impact" back into his own body and reality had outright woken him. He looked over at his clock and groaned. It was still only 3 AM, way too early to be doing absolutely anything. The house was utterly silent, indicating that his kids had retreated to their rooms and fallen asleep a long time ago.

Still, the wisdom and warnings that Old Man Consequences had passed on to him was resonating throughout his mind, and Mike knew that he wouldn't be able to get any sort of sleep at all if he didn't at least think about what he had just learned. Especially the crocodile-headed entity's warning about a possible Fazbear Entertainment return or the resurgence of his own dark side.

"Should I tell them?" Mike wondered. Such a simple question, and one that was so very difficult to answer. His kids deserved to know the truth, that Fazbear Entertainment could one day return, and the evil that had ruined and destroyed their lives could possibly come back. Mike knew his kids the way only a father could, and he knew that they'd want to do something, anything to stop that evil…and that they would NOT be happy if he tried to hide this revelation from them.

The real question, then, was not if Mike would tell the kids about his dream about Old Man Consequences, but when. And after several seconds of contemplation, Mike decided that telling them now would cause more harm than good. Fazbear Entertainment could rise again in the future, but right now it was nothing more than a forgotten shadow that most people in today's era didn't even know existed. There was not only no evidence of Fazbear Entertainment's resurging presence in the real world at this particular point in time, but there wasn't even the faintest trace or whisper of it anywhere. He had no leads to follow, and telling the children now would only cause them to worry needlessly. They had waited so long to be freed from the nightmare of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria, and Mike had no intention of forcing them back into it, even indirectly, when there was realistically nothing he could do about it right now anyway.

The same decision very much applied to whether he should talk about his dark side to them, as such a discussion would unavoidably darken their opinions of him, even if they would always love him no matter what. Mike had made a grave mistake by allowing Charlie to see him at his absolute worst, and as far as he was concerned, the less exposure they had to his darker side unless it was absolutely necessary, the better. Mike nodded as he finalized his decision. He would reveal his newfound knowledge to his children when he could do more than just chase vague shadows and omens of an uncertain, distant future. When he could actually take action and they could contribute to the effort to stop whatever evil would rise alongside Fazbear Entertainment. Until then, he would remain silent, and allow his children to enjoy themselves unburdened.

And fortunately, it seemed that this darkness was indeed far off in the future, as Old Man Consequences assured him. When Mike woke up the next morning, he hid his unease regarding the knowledge from Old Man Consequences well; none of the children, not even Charlie, suspected that there was something amiss in their father's thoughts. A month passed with the Schmidts living their lives as they had always done, without any incidents or major events to shake up the tranquility of their lives. But as they approached the middle of March, the ghostly children began to get more excited. It would soon be April, the month when they had first met Mike and started their new lives, and the month of their collective birthday.

"What are you going to get us, dad?" Susie asked one day as she finished sending a message to Alex and Meghan. "It's our birthday soon!"

"Yeah!" Fritz agreed eagerly. "It it going to be even better than the Rockstars?"

"Well, hold on for a second, Fritz," Mike interrupted, though he was trying not to smile. "You know that I can't give you guys all Super-Mega-Awesome birthday gifts every single birthday. Some years I may just have to give you guys all 500 dollar gift cards if I run out of ideas for a given year."

"That's fair and all, but…I kinda want something really special," Jeremy pointed out. "Especially since we've spent a couple of months doing pretty much nothing special in this house."

"We'll always be grateful for whatever you give us," Gabe quickly added, before sighing. "But, yeah…it'd be nice to get something really special."

Mike frowned and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…" he mused. "I MAY have an idea in mind." As the ghosts' faces lit up he added sternly, "…BUT. I have no guarantees if it will work out to begin with, or if this possible gift will be ready in time. You're gonna have to accept that your birthday present may come a little later than usual this year if you want it to be the best I can make it."

"That's fine!" Liz immediately agreed, the other ghosts quickly vocalizing their assent as well. Mike nodded, and as his eyes glanced over Liz he felt a brief pang of guilt. Out of all the ghost kids, Liz was so far the only one who truly didn't have an animatronic to call her own. Mike didn't mind having the ghosts wait a little longer for this year's gifts, but Liz had technically been waiting almost an entire year on his promise from last year, and he felt wrong for having made her wait this long as it was.

Charlie was the first to notice the uncomfortable look in her dad's eyes. "Dad!" she called out worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

Mike shook his head out of his stupor. "Nah," he smiled at them. "I'm fine." A determined look crossed his face. "I've just got some important calls to make."

Not waiting for a response, Mike turned around and walked back up to his study. He sat down at his armchair and immediately took out his smartphone, dialing a number on it. "Hello?"

"Mike?" Melody's voice echoed from the phone. Though she was happy to hear from her old friend, she was also clearly confused. "Oh, hey! I didn't expect you to call me while I was at work. Something I can help you with?"

"Yeah," Mike replied quickly, in a tone that made it clear that this wasn't just a social call. "I need to talk to you about something, Melody."

"What do you need?" she asked.

"You know how I wanted you to remake Circus Baby?" Mike replied. When Melody gave a quick confirmation, he continued, "I need you to create her as quickly as possible."

Though he couldn't see her physically, he could imagine her raising her eyebrow at this request. "How quickly are we talking?"

"Less than a month," Mike answered.

Melody whistled on the other end of the line. "Wow. Umm…I mean, technically I could get Circus Baby done that quickly," she admitted after several seconds, "but here's the thing. Right now she's really low on the priority list for projects that we need to get done, and there's no way I'd be able to finish her in the time window that you're asking for. If you want that kind of speed, she has to go way up in the priority queue. And you're gonna have to pay a lot of money for that."

Mike chuckled humorlessly. "Melody, you and I both know that money means absolutely nothing to me whatsoever. I'll pay you whatever how much I need to if it means Liz finally gets her own animatronic before we celebrate the kids' next collective birthday."

"Collective birthday?" Melody repeated in confusion, before it finally hit her. "Oh, you're talking about when the ghost kids first showed up at the house, aren't you?"

Mike grinned. "Yep."

"Gotcha," Mike could imagine Melody nodding on the other line. "Okay, I'll talk to Mr. Santor about how much you'll have to pay to get Circus Baby done that quickly. Afterwards, just pay the company as quickly as possible and I can get started."

"Excellent," Mike breathed a sigh of relief he didn't know he'd been holding. "Thanks so much, Melody. You're the best!"

"No problem," Melody replied kindly. "I might not be those kids' mom or anything like that, but I like them too. They're good kids." The two adults disconnected, and Mike leaned back on the armchair, feeling much more relaxed than he'd been seconds earlier.

"Dad?" Cassidy's head popped up through the floor. "Are you all right?"

Mike smiled at his youngest daughter. "Everything's just fine, Cass," he assured her. "Finally taking care of some things that I should've a long time ago."

Three Weeks Later…

"Hey guys? Come over here for a second please," Mike called to his kids, who quickly flew into the living room.

"Yeah, dad?" Gabe was the first to address him. "What is it?"

"I've got a surprise for you," Mike declared. At the excited grins on the kids' faces, he quickly clarified. "No, it's not your birthday present. That's still in the works, and like I said before, it might not even be on time. Nah, I just wanted to tell you guys that Melody will be visiting us today, and I think this time you might be able to have a concert."

"Oh, that's cool!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"We haven't had an animatronic concert for her, have we?" Susie pointed out. "We should fix that!"

"Well, you have your chance now," Mike remarked. "I'm assuming you guys don't need any help picking out some songs?"

Fritz smirked. "Nah," he boasted, "we're pros at this by now."

Mike nodded. "All righty, But she's gonna be here in a little more than an hour, so make your choices soon." He got up from the sofa and left the room, leaving the kids to stare dumbfounded at his back.

"Wait, only an hour?" Liz was the first to break her stupor. "Crap!"

"If we're gonna do this, we need to pick out some songs for Melody fast!" Charlie pointed out.

"Let's not waste any more time!" Cassidy exclaimed. She and her siblings immediately took out their laptops and began looking up possible songs for them to perform through the Rockstars.

"Hey, guys?" Jeremy broke the silence after a few minutes of searching. "Do you guys think Melody would mind if we picked some songs about Five Nights at Freddy's? I mean…I know those songs are about all the…you know, what we did back when we were still hateful and murderous. But you have to admit," a conflicted look combining guilt and appreciation crossed the boy's face, "there are some really good songs out there."

Gabe thought for a moment. "I…don't see why she would?" he finally answered. "I mean, she knows what we've done. We've played One Night at Dad's with her, which is something we haven't even done with Alex and Meghan. If they're fine with listening to FNAF songs, Melody would probably be just fine with it too."

"Maybe add in one song that isn't related to that stuff though," Susie suggested. "Just so that we don't end depressing her. Or ourselves."

"I am more than okay with that," Fritz immediately agreed, as did the others. For the next few hours, they looked up and listened to songs on Youtube, and it was well into the evening by the time they had started programing the songs into the Rockstar animatronics. In seemingly no time at all, Mike was knocking on the wall outside the living room, attracting the attention of the ghosts who were engulfed in their tasks.

"She's here," Mike declared. "I just got the call from her now."

"Let's go meet her then!" Susie declared, her siblings looking just as enthusiastic. To their surprise, however, Mike held out a hand to stop them.

"Not this time," Mike denied them. "Why don't you guys stay here while I go get her?"

"Wait, what?" Jeremy raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"

"Trust me on this, guys," was Mike's only answer. "It's really important."

The ghosts could only look at each other in bewilderment as Mike turned around and left to escort Melody into the house. Fritz and Cassidy both fidgeted in the air, so curious about what the two adults were planning that they would have seriously considered disobeying their father's order were it not for Charlie's watchful gaze stopping them from making any moves to do so. As it turned out, they wouldn't need to wait for long, as Mike soon came back with Melody following close behind.

"Hey guys!" Melody greeted them cheerfully.

"Hey, Melody!" the children called back as they rushed forward to give Melody a hug. Unfortunately, Melody couldn't feel the ghosts' embrace save for faint disturbances in the air around her, but she smiled and did her best to accept and return the hug all the same.

"I'm really surprised you're here," Gabe commented once the ghosts had separated from her. "Usually you're pretty busy at Dad's old work place."

Melody shrugged. "Eh," she responded nonchalantly, "Mike caught me at a moment when I had some free time, so why not? And besides," she suddenly grinned, "Mike told me you guys had a concert prepped for me, and I don't think I've heard one from you yet!"

Liz grinned back at her. "We do!" she declared. "Just give us a few seconds to start wearing the Rockstars, and we'll be good to go!"

Mike and Melody sat down on the sofa as the ghosts scattered throughout the house, flying up to their rooms or down into basement where their respective Rockstars were waiting. After a few seconds of silence, Melody started to hear heavy footsteps echo throughout the house as the ghosts returned to the living room, this time wearing the animatronics that were the closest thing they had to physical bodies.

"So, what kind of songs are you going to sing for me today?" Melody asked as the Rockstars moved into position.

"Well, some of these are actually based on the FNAF games," Rockstar Bonnie explained. "Some living friends we've made showed us Youtube videos of FNAF songs, and while we're not really all that comfortable reliving the things we did back then," he briefly shuddered as the guilt reignited, though he forced himself to calm down, "they're actually really good songs that we enjoy listening to."

"Really?" Melody asked, clearly surprised. "I haven't heard about this before."

"You probably don't really have time to look up random songs on Youtube with your job and all," Rockstar Freddy pointed out. "But that's okay. It's why we're performing them for you now!"

Music began to play from within the animatronics, a low-pitched, rocking beat that carried a special intensity within it. Melody watched transfixed as the animatronics opened their mouths and began to sing the first of the songs that they had engrained within the Rockstars' programming for tonight's show.

[[Song: "Just Gold" by MandoPony. NOTE: Imagine a combination of both the male and female versions of the song to account for the male and female animatronics.]]

Rockstar Freddy: "Time for the main attraction, the story must be told!"

Rockstar Bonnie: "Time for a chain reaction, it never gets old."

Rockstar Chica: "Some bots get satisfaction breaking the mold."

Rockstar Foxy: "Some bots are just distractions, some bots are just gold."

The four main Rockstars stepped backward as Rockstar Golden Freddy stepped forward, ready to sing the first verse of a song that had originally been intended with Golden Freddy in mind but was now being shared by the animatronics. Yet he was still the star of the song, a status that would be made very clear to all who heard his verse.

Rockstar Golden Freddy: "I'm not the bad guy, I'm just a bit surprising.

It's not worth losing sleep, it's not worth analyzing.

There was a time, not so long ago at all.

I was just like you, can you hear my call?"

The music began to pick up and the other animatronics began to intensify the pantomiming of their performances.

"Now I'm poppin' in over here, over there…" Rockstar Golden Freddy began to teleport around the room, catching Melody by surprise before returning back to the center of the living room.

"I'll be checking in, but you'll never be aware.

In the beginning I kept a keen eye on the state of affairs with the new guy.

Now I got a new gig, let me know if you dig.

Ain't going home so I better go big.

Just got to glance at Cam 2B, then you get a little surprise…IT'S ME."

Suddenly, Rockstar Golden Freddy vanished and reappeared right in front of Melody, causing her to jolt in shock.

"You may say that I'm breaking your mind," Rockstar Golden Freddy murmured, the music emanating softly in the background. "In my opinion you're much to kind."

The music blared forward in volume and intensity as Rockstar Golden Freddy returned to the center of the living room, this time joined by the other animatronics that hadn't performed yet.

Lefty: "Time for the main attraction, the story must be told!

Time for a chain reaction, it never gets old."

Security Puppet: "Some bots get satisfaction breaking the mold."

Some bots are just distractions, some bots are just gold."

Melody waited for Rockstar Golden Freddy to start singing again, but contrary to her expectations, it was Rockstar Freddy who stepped forward while Rockstar Golden Freddy joined his fellow animatronics in the background. In the back of her mind, Melody surmised that the animatronics had divided the role of singer to give more of them the spotlight at a time.

Rockstar Freddy: "You did a good job watching those little screens.

It warms my servos and circuits to hear some fresh screams.

But don't get me wrong, you were very brave.

When faced with friendly singing animals you never caved."

"I can hear some shade being thrown at us," Mike drawled under his breath, forcing Melody to suppress a snicker. Rockstar Freddy suddenly snapped his head towards them, drawing their attention back to him.

"I'm finished training, done explaining.

No more facts are left remaining.

Now you know the gist of it, you're a perfect fit.

I don't want to hear no more complaining.

I'm passing down this golden opportunity, eternal scrapyard immunity.

Take it with pride and join the ride! You'll forever be a part of this community."

Rockstar Freddy marched forward until he was a few inches away from the two adults, tilting his head down to stare into their eyes. "You may say that it's all in your mind…"

"All in your mind…" Rockstar Bonnie murmured in the background.

"But in the end, I think that you will find…"

Rockstar Freddy abruptly stepped backward, allowing the rest of the animatronics to rejoin the song.

Rockstar Bonnie: "You are the main attraction, your story must be told!"

Rockstar Chica: "You are a chain reaction that never gets old."

Rockstar Foxy: "Some bots get satisfaction breaking the mold."

Rockstar Golden Freddy: "Some bots are just distractions, some bots are just gold."

Lefty: "You are the main attraction, your story must be told!"

Security Puppet: "You are a chain reaction that never gets old."

Rockstar Freddy: "Some bots get satisfaction breaking the mold."

Rockstar Golden Freddy: "Some bots are just distractions, some bots are just gold!"

The song ended, and all of the animatronics bowed in front of Mike and Melody. The two adults immediately broke into fervent applause, Mike giving the Rockstars an expression of combined amusement and approval while Melody looked positively delighted.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "That was absolutely incredible! And you're telling me that somebody made a song that amazing based on a video game?"

"Yep!" Rockstar Golden Freddy giggled. "It's amazing how many songs there are out there based on the two FNAF games so far."

"How do you coordinate that so well?" Melody asked incredulously. "You split the verses among each other perfectly! I've been working on animatronics for a long time and I have no clue how you guys are so well synced together!"

The Security Puppet's eyes flashed with mirth. "Call it a combination of complex programming and magic," she replied merrily.

Melody gave her a dry look. "That doesn't really answer my question," she deadpanned, causing both the animatronics and Mike to laugh.

"Do you want to hear another song?" Rockstar Bonnie asked once they had settled down.

"Oh, absolutely!" Melody immediately answered in the affirmative. "That's why I'm here!"

"Perfect," Rockstar Freddy nodded as he beckoned towards his companions, a signal for them to get into position. "This song…well, this one's different from our last one. It's a lot more serious, even sad. But it really captures the atmosphere of the FNAF games well, and there's a part of it that really hits home with us."

"This should be interesting, then…" Melody murmured. She looked up and, to her surprise, Rockstar Chica and the Security Puppet were taking the stage while the other animatronics were moving to the background. "Wait, why are you guys…?"

"This song has a female lead," the Security Puppet explained, "so we're the ones doing most of the singing for this one."

"Okay," Melody nodded in acknowledgement. The Rockstars got into position, and began their second performance. Unlike the first song, however, there was no music at the start of the song. Instead, the echoes of people chattering indistinctly emanated from the Rockstars, followed by a voice from Rockstar Freddy that would have fit quite well with the Freddy Fazbear of old.

[[Song: "Welcome to Freddy's" by Madame Macabre]]

"Hey everyone," Rockstar Freddy declared, "and welcome to Freddy Fazbear's pizza! So let's strike up the band. One…" the animatronic bear's suddenly started jittering and shaking erratically. "Two…"

"Kill me…" a dark whisper suddenly rasped from Rockstar Bonnie's mouth.

Music finally began to play, but unlike the energetic beat of "Just Gold," it was a spooky, haunting cadence that seemed to flow through the room, sending a chill down Melody's spine.

Rockstar Freddy spoke up again. "Is everyone enjoying some delicious…delicious flesh?" the bear's jovial tone ended with a menacing hiss, causing Melody to shudder. The music flared up again as Rockstar Freddy retreated to join his companions. Lefty flicked the light switch off with his hand, plunging the room into darkness, save for a faint glow emanating from the animatronics that Melody couldn't identify as electronic or supernatural. Rockstar Chica didn't seem to notice, however. She stepped forward, taking Rockstar Freddy's old place at the center of the room, and began to sing.

Rockstar Chica: "I can see you there, warmth and life why don't you share?

It's been many years stuck here living with our fears.

Please do pardon me, I can't help it, can't you see?

In this misery, you can join our family.

Why'd you lock the door? Don't you like us anymore?

This game's lots of fun, you look funny when you run.

Eyes up on the wall, well that's just no fun at all.

Watching us in there, using cameras hardly seems fair."

The animatronic chicken advanced even further until she was only a few inches away from the adults, staring down at them with the same intensity that Rockstar Golden Freddy had a few moments earlier. But with the different nature of the song, Rockstar Chica's action was arguably creepier despite her normally comical appearance.

"Stalking hallways, getting closer. Got you now, it's nearly over.

Found your blind spot, lurking within. Sooner or later we'll get in.

Careful not to waste you power, you've still got to last an hour.

I can hear your heart pound heavy. Here we come I hope you're ready."

The other animatronics joined in Rockstar Chica's song, supplementing but not overwhelming her vocals with their own.

"Shouldn't have come here to this house of fear,

Pray that those doors hold steady.

As the clock ticks on you pray to reach dawn.

Can you last five nights on Freddy's?"

"Geez, this song is really creepy," Melody muttered as the music continued to echo around them. "It really fits the atmosphere of the games, all right." She noticed the Security Puppet advance forward, floating in the air, while Rockstar Chica turned and walked back to the rest of the Rockstars. Melody guessed that the Security Puppet was about to sing the second verse, and she was proven correct a few seconds later.

Security Puppet: "They don't let us out, all the people scream and shout.

After they go home, that is when they let us roam.

Once we got a taste, but they shut us down in haste.

Called us things of Hell, blamed it on the rotting smell."

Was it just her imagination, or was there an undercurrent of hostility in the Security Puppet's voice? Melody genuinely couldn't tell if it was just how the original singer had vocalized that particular line, or if there was still some latent frustration and anger in Charlie's voice that had manifested for the briefest of moments.

"Who's that on the phone? You're supposed to be alone.

You're not playing fair, we'll just have to break in there.

You can join the crew, we have got a suit for you.

With you I'll confide, it's no use to run and hide."

Just as Rockstar Chica had done, the Security Puppet advanced until she was staring down at Mike and Melody. Unlike the chicken animatronic, however, the Security Puppet was much more agile, allowing her to move her limbs in an erratic, chaotic manner that only added to the creepiness of the song.

"Stalking hallways, getting closer. Got you now, it's nearly over.

Found your blind spot, lurking within. Sooner or later we'll get in.

Careful not to waste you power, you've still got to last an hour.

I can hear your heart pound heavy. Here we come I hope you're ready."

All: "Why'd you come back here? you should have fled dear.

Pray that those doors hold steady.

You've made it quite far, it's rather bizarre.

Can you last five nights on Freddy's?"

The Security Puppet retreated, and for a while no animatronic took her place while the music played on. "Hey kids!" Rockstar Freddy called out. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Aye!" Rockstar Foxy added. "You'll be walking the plank for that!"

Then, Rockstar Chica retook her position in the center of the stage, but what came out of her mouth wasn't a threatening message or a programmed line from Chica the Chicken. The music dimmed and quieted as Rockstar Chica gave a haunting, sorrowful call for help in the form of a song lyric.

"I just want to go home," Rockstar Chica murmured, and Melody felt a deep sadness and pity for the ghost girl within, as well as all the ghosts who had suffered the same fate as her.

"Don't want to be alone.

Please don't cry or scream out…"

Rockstar Chica abruptly looked up, and the menacing glare she gave, so in-character with how she would have reacted 30 years ago, nearly caused Melody to jolt in shock and fear.

"You won't ever get out."

The other animatronics burst into action, but unlike before, where they had waited for the lead singer to retreat, this time they all walked forward until they were in line with Rockstar Chica to deliver the last segments of the song together.

"Shouldn't have come here to this house of fear,

Pray that those doors hold steady.

As the clock ticks on you pray to reach dawn.

Can you last five nights on Freddy's?"

"Why'd you come back here? you should have fled dear.

Pray that those doors hold steady.

You've made it quite far, it's rather bizarre.

Can you last five nights on Freddy's?"

Rockstar Foxy opened his mouth in a fanged grin. "What have we here?"

Rockstar Chica smirked. "Wow! I sure am…kill them…am hungry!" she declared. "Let's eat!"

Rockstar Freddy let out a laugh that was as joyful as it was sadistic. "Thanks for coming to Freddy Fazbear's! I'll see you next time!"

And with his final words, the song drew to a close. Melody was overwhelmed by the sheer, darker intensity of the song that the Rockstars had chosen to perform, and this time it took several seconds for her to break out of her stupor and applaud. Mike, having long been accustomed to horror, reacted much more quickly, though even he was surprised by the song's heaviness.

"Wow…" Melody finally breathed out. "That was…really intense in a whole different way from that other song. Not to mention a lot creepier…and more depressing."

"All the crap that happened at Freddy's wasn't a fun time," Rockstar Bonnie pointed out. "For anyone."

"Yeah," Rockstar Freddy agreed. "But this song really did a good job capturing the atmosphere of Freddy's, and it's the reason why we picked it."

"You guys seem to be picking a lot more solo pieces this time around," Mike observed. "Before your songs used to be pretty generic in terms of who was singing them."

Rockstar Foxy shrugged. "Just wanted to try out something new, matey," he answered, unable to resist the urge to add a little pirate speak. "Seems to be working well so far."

"I think so too," Melody agreed, earning some appreciative smiles from the Rockstars as she looked at her watch. She frowned upon seeing the time. "Hmm…hey, Mike? When do you want us to talk about the…real reason why you came here?"

"Real reason? Aww…so you didn't come here to listen to us perform songs" Rockstar Chica asked, feigning a hurt expression that caused the others to desperately try and contain their snickers.

"I mean I did," Melody answered, "but there's a more important reason why I came in here today."

"We'll talk about it soon," Mike assured her. "But I think we can wait a little longer for that. I think the kids want to sing one more song for you first."

"Oh?" Melody raised an eyebrow. "I hope it's a little lighter than the last one."

Rockstar Golden Freddy grinned. "Oh, don't worry!" he promised. "It absolutely is." There was something in the way he said it that seemed a bit off to Melody, but before she could dwell on it any further he turned to his fellow Rockstars. "Rockstar Bonnie? Rockstar Foxy? It's your turn now."

The animatronic bunny and fox stepped up to the center of the living room. And the moment the music hit her ears, Melody instantly knew what Mike and his kids had been planning…and let out a drawn-out, exasperated groan.

"Really, Mike?" Melody glared at him. "Out of all the songs, you had to pick, you had to pick THIS one?"

Mike grinned. "Yep. Absolutely had to."

"I hate you," Melody deadpanned. "I really, really hate you right now."

Mike smirked as the other, non-performing animatronics chuckled at their exchange. "Get Rickrolled, Melody!"

[[Song: Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley]]

Rockstar Bonnie: "We're no strangers to love…

You know the rules and so do I.

A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy.

I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand."

The other animatronics joined in, and even though the songs themselves were emitted from pre-recorded audio, Mike and Melody could tell that they were clearly enjoying themselves.

All: "Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."

As the song transitioned to its next stage, Rockstar Foxy stepping up to join Rockstar Bonnie at the center of attention. The pirate fox winked at Melody and Mike before continuing with the second version.

Rockstar Foxy: "We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it

And if you ask me how I'm feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see."

All: "Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."

"Man," Melody shook her head in amusement, unable to hide her guilty enjoyment of one of the Internet's oldest and most iconic meme songs. "This song is never gonna go away, is it? No matter how years it passes, there will always be someone somewhere getting Rickrolled."

"Some memes will never die," Mike replied happily as he put an arm around Melody's shoulder. The woman smiled back and eased into her friend's arm as the two listened to the animatronics finish their song.

Rockstar Bonnie: "Never gonna give, never gonna give."
All: (Give you up – Ooh)

Rockstar Foxy: "Never gonna give, never gonna give."
All: (Give you up)

Rockstar Bonnie: "We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it

Rockstar Foxy: "I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand."

All: "Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you!"

"Whoo!" Melody cheered as Rockstar Bonnie and Foxy both bowed at their audience of two, the rest of the animatronics following a few seconds later. Any annoyance she had at being rickrolled at the beginning of the song had been all but forgotten. "You guys rock! Wonderful job!"

"Thanks!" Rockstar Bonnie replied with a huge grin on his face. "Sorry about rickrolling you, but Dad told us about this song and we just couldn't resist!"

"Pffftt…." Rockstar Foxy snorted dismissively, flashing a confident smirk at Melody. "You enjoyed it, lass, didn't you?"

"Yeah, all right, I did…" Melody admitted, though she couldn't hide her smile, "…a lot more than I thought I would."

"See?" Rockstar Foxy crossed his arms and grinned. "Nothing to worry about!"

"So what's next?" Rockstar Chica asked. "Those were all the songs we had. Do we try to come up with another one, or…?"

Melody looked down at her watch just as she had done before the last song and glanced back up to meet Mike's gaze. The two nodded wordlessly, an unspoken agreement between them. "All right, guys…" Mike turned back to face the animatronics. "As much fun as this has been, Melody didn't come here just to listen to a concert."

"There was something else I needed to do," Melody added, adopting a more serious expression on her face. "Something that we both thought was much more important."

"Really?" Lefty tiled his head, staring at the two adults with obvious confusion. "What would that be?"

Mike pointed out of the hallway towards the front door. "Let's head outside, guys," he declared. "It's time we took care of something that I should've taken care of a long time ago."

/

A/N: I think I've left enough clues to guess what that something is…😊

I'm amazed at all the reviews you guys left me on the last chapter! I really enjoyed reading through all of them, and I hope I can continue to provide high quality writing to you guys on a relatively timely manner.

Also, sorry if the formatting for "Never Gonna Give You Up" is different from the FNAF-related songs, I don't know how to fix it.

I don't have much to say apart from my response to Alpharizer, which I'll leave at the bottom. Hope you guys enjoyed!

Alpharizer: I won't ever get angry for honest, respectful, well-thought out criticism. I can't satisfy every reader, and I'd be the first to recognize that making the Nightmares into demon lords was a creative direction that was not without risk (although fortunately most people seem to like it). As for the ghost kids' personalities, part of that is because the MCI kids were kinda clumped together even in canon FNAF, and while I do try to establish SOME differentiation between the ghost kids I acknowledge that I've developed some significantly better than others. As for Mike's "perfect protagonist syndrome," I think that's because a lot of this fic focuses on "slice of life" style chapters more than anything else, and most of the challenge he has faced so far is just trying to be a good father to his kids (barring a few major exceptions like William Afton's escape), something that he absolutely wants to try his hardest to accomplish after the absolute garbage of his child. I do intend to give the family some more genuine challenges in the future, but the whole point of the fic is to make the ghost kids' lives better (dark moments are absolutely meant to be in the minority), and throwing more hardships their way goes against that. That being said, while I wouldn't necessarily make them mentally unstable, I do acknowledge that I could and probably should have given the ghost kids a few more angst moments earlier on in the fic (in the form of nightmares and such) to showcase them overcoming their trauma. I do appreciate the time and effort you put into writing your review, and I would never claim that my story is perfect or that everyone will love it (especially since being in med school means I'm usually focusing on one chapter at a time, and don't really have much time to do some long-term thinking about the story as a whole barring exceptions like the darkest arcs).