A/N: Hey guys, I matched into residency! I've evaded the worst-case scenario for a 4th year medical student who's about to graduate, so thank goodness for that!
Mike might have triumphed over Glitchtrap, but his victory has proven more bitter and far less effective than his victory over Nightmare Springtrap. If he hasn't figured that out already, he definitely will soon…
But first, it's been a while since we've featured Nightmare in a chapter. But unlike some of the other chapters that focused more on Nightmare, this one is much more serious and will have a significant amount of plot relevance for upcoming chapters. You could even call it a "foundation" chapter in its own way…
Guest: I'll address your question at the end of the chapter instead of the beginning.
Kamikaze: Thanks! The fic usually updates every week to every other week, but once my residency starts the updates will probably start being less frequent.
A Courier: You are absolutely right, which is why this will be the LAST time I'll be using Dark!Mike for such a manner. There's a whole slew of reasons that I'll be going into great detail in future chapters of this fic to explain exactly why Dark!Mike won't work in-universe (one of the big ones being that Mike can't manifest Dark!Mike in the real world to begin with), but the plain and simple truth is that while using Dark!Mike twice was a calculated risk that for the most part paid off, there is simply no way I'll be use it a third time without it being bad writing.
SuperDescendant101: Yeah, it's from DeviantArt. And while the real William Afton may make an appearance later on, it won't be in the real world. There's no way Hell would let him escape a second time.
Properman: I dunno…you might be surprised by how the kids react to Mike's brutalizing of Glitchtrap.
Guest: Where the hell did that come from? No, I don't think humans have a moral duty to die. I DO think, however, that they have the moral duty not to become sociopathic asshats who slaughter innocents and betray their own family members in multiple ways, all to pursue an extremely flawed form of immortality. And that's if we're going with the most generous interpretation of William's character, because with all the evidence we have from the games, there's nothing to suggest that he was ever anything other than a monstrous, depraved piece of shit who killed children just for the hell of it. All Dark!Mike and I did was point out how utterly flawed and pointless the "immortality" Springtrap found turned out to be in the end.
Guest: This chapter will definitely have repercussions for future ones, that's for sure.
Jack0Lanterns: The threat of Glitchtrap is far more dangerous than anyone could have expected. And yes, everyone will have a LOT to think about in the upcoming chapters.
Fnaffan418: It certainly seems to be different than what we normally expect from FNaF games, and I'm definitely excited to see where Security Breach goes.
Guest: Given that Mike's very existence completely hard counters Glitchtrap for many reasons, it's basically impossible for Glitchtrap to ever pull a Vanny on him.
FrostTheFrozenFox: Like I told you in DMs, there's a reason why I rewrote that bit. I was really unhappy about it basically for the reasons that you described. Your solution wouldn't work in the long-term since PlushGlitchtrap would eventually be able to recover from his wounds. It would take a long time, but he would eventually rise again. And yeah, even Fritz knows when to not mess around. He's still an MCI kid, after all.
Thanatos D.E.M.: All in due time, friend. All in due time.
Slweaver119: If a demonically empowered Nightmare Springtrap couldn't do it, there was no chance in Hell a digitized soul fragment would've either.
TU4Q: Mike had direct exposure to William Afton's soul in the form of Glitchtrap, which is why he was able to access those powers. And since the VR game explicitly mentions "digital consciousness transference," that technically made a world where the mind and soul could traverse, however briefly. And yeah, the Schmidt family has a BIG problem on their hands that's gonna have to be dealt with very soon.
RicAlbuquerque: Right now the VR game only exists in physical copies, although that could very well change if the game is released unchecked. I also think it's entirely possible that a piece of William's soul was actually in those circuit boards thanks to Remnant fucking around with spirits and metal and whatnot. And I also don't actually think that there are two Glitchtraps, just one who can traverse throughout the deepest reaches of the game at will. Glitchtrap attempted to lure and trap Jeremy through Pizza Party, and when that failed he went with Plan B and became more proactive to try and take over Mike directly. I'll be going into more detail on that in a later chapter.
Numbnuts55: Yep, they do, all right.
Ari-Dexel13: William has NO right to talk about being a shitty parent lmao. And yeah, Mike doesn't even consider William human anymore and would have gladly gone through with it if he hadn't been stopped, so it's a good thing the kids (namely Charlie) were there to rein him in.
Clown2107: I can gladly take constructive criticism, but if you're just going to be insulting then there's no reason for me to give a shit about what you say. The vast majority of readers seem to like it, so that's good enough for me. I already stated that this will be the last time I'll be using Dark!Mike in this way, and if that's not good enough for you, too bad I guess.
Chapter 127 – Council at the Crimson Lake
"TELL ME EVERYTHING," Nightmare commanded, understanding that whatever had just happened to the Schmidt family was crucial in some way.
Mike proceeded to explain everything that had happened within the past few days. How Fazbear Entertainment had somehow clawed its way back into existence, despite the horrendous reputation of the business's past incarnations and Henry's attempts to destroy all traces of the Fazbear tragedy once and for all. He explained how he had heard about the VR game that would soon be released, and how he had manipulated and essentially blackmailed the management of Fazbear Entertainment into giving him a copy of the VR game and beta testing it. How his children had played through the game as the first step on their path to atonement, playing through the levels and hunting for the secrets in the game, only to discover Glitchtrap and the Tape Girl's chilling story behind his existence and sinister presence in the game. Mike concluded his story with how Jeremy had narrowly avoided being trapped by Glitchtrap in Pizza Party (as well as the disturbing way in which Glitchtrap had altered the environment in that particular corner of the game), how they had discovered all 16 Tapes, and how Glitchtrap's attempt to possess Mike directly had led to the activation of Nightmare's Anathema Curse.
"I suppose I should be thanking you," Mike commented once he had finished updating Nightmare on the recent events surrounding Glitchtrap and the VR game. "That infernal blessing you put on me gave me the power to deal with Glitchtrap a lot more cleanly than I would've been able to otherwise."
Nightmare immediately noticed that Mike wasn't smiling like one would expect from a triumphant warrior, nor was his tone satisfied with his victory. "YOU DON'T SEEM PARTICUARLY CONTENT WITH YOUR VICTORY, FOR ONE WHO HAS RECENTLY TRIUMPHED OVER YOU MOST HATED ENEMY," the black bear demon observed.
"That's because that victory doesn't solve a much larger problem," Mike countered. "Nightmare…there's thousands of Glitchtraps out there. Those idiots who scanned Springtrap's circuit boards into their video game must have used that game as the base foundation for every single copy of the game to ever exist." He didn't even try to disguise the fear and worry over the implications. "If that game gets released to the public, we could easily have THOUSANDS of people possessed by Glitchtrap running around doing who the fuck knows what!"
"AND THUS, SOCIETY AND POSSIBLY HUMANITY ITSELF WOULD COLLAPSE INTO ABSOLUTE CHAOS," Nightmare finished Mike's thought. The demon lord scratched his chin with his claw. "YES…I CAN ABSOLUTELY SEE HOW THAT COULD BE A GRAVE CATASTROPHE." Though he would never admit it in front of his peers, even he was disturbed by the implications if Glitchtrap was unleashed into the world unchecked. That, and of course, his complete and absolute hatred of William Afton continued to blaze as powerfully as ever for reasons both personal and on principle.
"You're the most powerful supernatural being I know who I can immediately contact and get an immediate response from," Mike explained. "I was going to pray to God afterwards, hopefully for some divine intervention, but I figured that you have a right to know too."
"INDEED…" Nightmare mused. "I SUPPOSE THERE IS LITTLE YOU CAN DO TO DELAY THE RELEASE OF THIS…VR GAME?"
Mike frowned. "I've already managed to delay it for like a month," he answered. "But given how Fazbear Entertainment is full of greedy fucks who'll do anything to save their reputation for a quick buck, I don't think that I'll be able to hold it back for much longer."
Nightmare tapped his claws together thoughtfully. "I SEE," he replied with a scowl. "THOUGH I AM LOATH TO ADMIT IT, I AM STRUGGLING TO COME UP WITH AN ADEQUATE SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM, AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT. I WILL NEED SOME TIME TO DWELL ON THIS MATTER."
"Don't take too long," Mike warned. "Given what I know about Fazbear Entertainment, I wouldn't be surprised if they went fuck it and released the game to the public earlier than what we agreed."
Nightmare scowled. "NORMALLY I WOULD BE IRRITATED BY YOUR LACK OF RESPECT," he growled, "BUT GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES I CANNOT BLAME YOU FOR CURRENT DEMEANOR." He fell silent, stroking his chin with his claws for a few seconds. "I BELIEVE I MAY HAVE TO CONSULT WITH OTHERS," he eventually decided. "CONSIDERING THAT THIS IS A SITUATION THAT HAS NEVER BEEN WITNESSED BEFORE, I AM NOT SO ARROGANT TO BELIEVE THAT I CAN DEVISE A SOLUTION WITHOUT ANY ASSISTANCE."
Mike nodded grimly. Part of him had hoped that Nightmare would be able to provide immediate help, but he understood that the demon lord needed some time to figure out how to deal with William Afton's pseudo-Horcrux. Given how thoroughly Glitchtrap's existence violated the laws of life and death, he doubted that Nightmare had come across such a situation either, despite his many centuries if not millennia of life and experience.
"THANK YOU FOR INFORMING ME OF THIS…LATEST DEVELOPMENT, SCHMIDT," Nightmare thanked the man. "YOU CAN BE ASSURED THAT THE PROBLEM OF GLITCHTRAP WILL BE MY HIGHEST PRIORITY." The demon lord raised his hand and clawed through the portal, dissolving it and cutting the connection.
Mike watched as the portal dissolved into nothing and his cell phone stopped rattling, its screen returning to its normal glow. He could feel the adrenaline surge and the dark power that had given him the strength to fight Glitchtrap fading away. And there was nothing now to stop him from feeling the sheer, overwhelming exhaustion of dealing with the day's events.
"DAD!" the ghosts cried out in shock as Mike slumped to the ground, unconscious before he even hit the floor. "Is he okay?" Susie asked frantically.
Fritz rushed forward to check, but Jeremy grabbed his arm. "Hold on," he warned. "I want to make sure that he's safe to touch." The former Bonnie inhabitant cautiously approached Mike's body and carefully extended a finger out to poke his body. He felt a surge of relief as his finger didn't immediately start to burn on contact with him. "It's all right," Jeremy called out, before confirming to make sure that Mike was still breathing. "The worst is over, I think."
Liz looked over at Charlie with worry clear in her green eyes. "How are your hands?" she asked quietly. The fact that Mike's aura had been dangerous and malevolent enough to outright hurt one of them, even by accident, was one of the most disturbing things that she had ever witnessed. And it rattled her in a way that even being singled out for attacks by Nightmare and Nightmare Springtrap hadn't.
"They're fine," Charlie quickly reassured her. Upon seeing her family's unconvinced expressions, she showed them her hands. The burns were already fading away, although the blisters and red skin was still present, a sharp contrast to the rest of her spectral body. "I can probably heal most of it by tomorrow."
"I can't believe that actually happened," Cassidy mumbled. "I thought that Dad's plan was to let Glitchtrap possess him like he did with Nightmare Springtrap, and then deal with Glitchtrap in the world of his mind or something. I sure as hell wasn't expecting THIS."
"It was because of Nightmare," Gabe realized. "Remember that dark blessing he gave to Dad before he left after he took care of Nightmare Springtrap? He said that Dad was going to be the bane of William Afton's existence or something like that." He looked over at Mike's sleeping form. "I'm 99% sure that's what happened."
"That would explain a lot," Susie murmured. "Dad's cool and all, but he's just a normal human. There's no way he would've been able to do that by himself."
Gabe moved over to Mike's head, Liz coming over and doing the same once she realized what he was doing. Together, they lifted Mike up and placed him gently onto the sofa, giving him a more comfortable surface to sleep on and recover.
Charlie gave them all a thin smile. "Well," she offered weakly, "now you guys know why I didn't want to tell you about how the battle between Dad and Nightmare Springtrap went down."
"No kidding," Jeremy muttered. "I don't know if we should be thanking Nightmare for helping Dad beat down the Glitchtrap thing that was hiding in this game, or hate him for turning Dad into a horror show."
Nobody could give him a proper answer, and they all fell into a brooding silence as they watched Mike sleep on the sofa, hoping that when he woke up, he would be back to the father they all knew and loved.
Meanwhile in Hell…
The moment he had cut his connection with Mike Schmidt, Nightmare stood up from his black throne and stomped down the halls of his palace.
"NIGHTMARE?" Nightmarionne asked in surprise as Nightmare barreled past him. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
But the demon lord barely paid him any attention. The other Nightmares present could only watch in confusion as Nightmare marched down into the dungeons, only stopping once he was outside William Afton's cell.
William Afton looked up, wondering what mocking taunt Nightmare would offer him this time, but for once the demon lord wasn't in any mood for games. He shoved the cell door open and entered, glaring down at the damned shade with undisguised contempt.
"What are you…" That was all he had time to say before Nightmare shoved his claws into William Afton's skull and ripped it open, exposing his brains. Unlike most of his other tortures, however, which had been purely for his twisted amusement, this one very much had a practical purpose behind it. His attack being just as much of a mental one as it was a physical one, Nightmare proceeded to search through William Afton's memories, starting with when he had awoken as Springtrap for the first time. He quickly zoomed past the earlier memories, including the moments in Fazbear's Fright and Henry's trap pizzeria, slowing only when the trap pizzeria burned to the ground. With a grimace, Nightmare retreated from William's mind and shoved him to the side, leaving him comatose on the ground. His mental attack would leave the murderer a drooling vegetable for the next several days, not that he cared.
Snarling in frustration, Nightmare left the dungeon and returned to the throne room, the other Nightmares looking uncertain as to whether or not to follow him, especially given his foul mood. Given that William Afton's memories had yielded nothing useful, the events that had led to the creation of Glitchtrap must have occurred after his final death in the trap pizzeria, which was unfortunate since it didn't tell Nightmare anything useful about the creation of Glitchtrap. So far, he only had Mike Schmidt's description to go on, and while it was certainly useful, he would have liked to have a complete picture and understanding from his own investigation.
"BROTHER?" this time it was Nightmare Chica who called out to him. Nightmare looked up from his throne to see that all of the Nightmares were gathered in front of him, no doubt trying to find out why he was acting in such an erratic manner. "WHAT IS GOING ON?" she asked.
"COME INSIDE AND SHUT THE DOOR BEHIND YOU," Nightmare commanded. Once all the Nightmares were in (excluding the children and Nightmare Mangle), he explained everything that Mike had just informed him a few moments ago. By the time he was finished, the other Nightmares were in just as foul of a mood as he was.
"UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE!" Nightmare Foxy snarled. "HOW THE FUCK DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN TO BEGIN WITH?"
"WILLIAM AFTON HAS A HISTORY OF PLAYING AROUND WITH THINGS THAT HE SHOULDN'T," Nightmare Freddy muttered with a curse. "NO DOUBT THE FACT THAT HIS OLD SPRING BONNIE SUIT WAS COVERED IN REMNANT HAS LED TO SOME CONSEQUENCES EVEN HE COULDN'T HAVE FORESEEN."
"PERHAPS YOU CAN TEAR THE ANSWER OUT OF AFTON?" Nightmare Chica asked.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK I WAS JUST DOING A FEW MINUTES AGO?" Nightmare growled. "SEARCHING THROUGH WILLIAM AFTON'S MIND YIELDED NOTHING. THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LED TO THE CREATION OF GLITCHTRAP OCCURRED AFTER HIS DEATH IN HENRY'S TRAP PIZZERIA."
Nightmare Bonnie tapped his claws pensively. "OH, IF ONLY I COULD GET MY HANDS ON SUCH A COPY OF GLITCHTRAP…" he mused. "THE EXPERIMENTS I COULD CONDUCT, THE INFORMATION I COULD COLLECT. SUCH FASCINATING POSSIBILITIES!"
Nightmare Fredbear snorted. "ALTHOUGH I WILL ADMIT THAT I TOO AM CURIOUS TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THIS…GLITCHTRAP'S TRUE NATURE," he interrupted, "IT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT THAT WE DO INDEED HAVE A RATHER SERIOUS PROBLEM ON OUR HANDS. THE FACT THAT WILLIAM AFTON HAS CHEATED DEATH YET AGAIN AGGRAVATES ME TO NO END, EVEN IF THIS TIME IT WAS NOT DUE TO ANY NEGLIGENCE ON OUR END."
"LUCIFER WILL NOT PLEASED," Nightmarionne hissed, zero amusement on his face for once. "HE HAS MADE HIS THOUGHTS ABUNDANTLY CLEAR: THE DAMNED STAY IN HELL, SO THAT THEY CAN SUFFER THER JUST PUNISHMENT. NOT THAT I DISAGREE WITH HIM." The last demon lord who had acted to the contrary had been Vucarik, and his fate…well, let's just say that there were more than a few damned souls right now praising both God and Lucifer that his punishment wasn't theirs.
"AT ANY RATE, I WAS PLANNING ON GATHERING YOU ALL HERE ANYWAY," Nightmare continued. "GIVEN THE UNPRECEDENT NATURE OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS, I MUST CONFESS THAT I AM AT A BIT OF A LOSS AS TO HOW TO APPROACH THIS SITUATION. I DO HAVE A FEW IDEAS IN MIND, BUT…" His voice trailed off, his crimson eyes widening in surprise. The other Nightmares felt it too, and as one, they turned their heads towards the new arrival in their throne room.
Their visitor had not snuck into their chambers while they had been speaking. He had not entered the throne room invisible, for the Nightmares would surely have sensed such an intrusion long before then, and even if they hadn't, the new security measures would have immediately reacted to an intruder and reacted very violently. One moment the throne room had been empty save for the Nightmares, and the next second he had materialized out of thin air, floating in the air opposite Nightmare at a respectful distance.
Nightmare was about to demand who dared to intrude inside his domain, but the words died in his throat once he saw who the visitor actually was. He was not another demon lord, nor any type of demon at all. He was something…other…his true nature unfathomable, though for the time being he had taken on the form of a shadow. Specifically, the shadow of an animatronic from the Freddy Fazbear franchise, though unlike the Nightmares his reasons for doing so were unknowable to any save for a select few.
Shadow Bonnie raised a hand and pointed his finger at Nightmare. "You have been ordered to the Crimson Lake, Nightmare," the figure rasped. His voice was as quiet and as unnaturally serene as a faint ghostly wind, but at the same time carried undeniable authority and gravity. "The master has summoned you."
Nightmare Foxy got to his feet with a growl. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, GIVING US ORDERS LIKE THAT?" he roared, raising his hook menacingly.
To everyone's surprise, Nightmare immediately turned to glare at his brother and subordinate. "BE SILENT AND TAKE YOUR SEAT!" he viciously snarled, the demonic fox so shocked by the order that he couldn't do anything except obey. Nightmare returned to looking at Shadow Bonnie, and when he spoke next his voice was oddly cordial, the natural malice diminished to almost nothingness. "AND WHEN HAS HE CALLED FOR ME?" he asked, his tone as polite as a demon lord's could be.
"Your presence has been requested immediately," was the shadow's only answer.
The words were phrased politely, as though it was a request. But Nightmare and Shadow Bonnie both knew that it was anything but. Just as they both knew that this was a meeting that Nightmare neither could nor would ignore. Insolence and an egregious lack of manners might have been the typical behavior for demons unless they were trying to cajole or manipulate their peers…or they were Nightmarionne. But disrespecting and insulting the wrong individual still had fatal consequences. Shadow Bonnie's power might have been inconsequential and miniscule compared to him, but that statement couldn't be further from the truth for his master.
And Nightmare knew full well that if he ignored that particular entity, he might as well divide his kingdom between Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne, imbue his claws with as much destructive power as possible, and use them to slit open his own throat.
The end result would be the same either way, only faster and much less painful.
"TELL LORD CONSEQUENCES THAT I AM ON MY WAY," Nightmare gave his answer. Shadow Bonnie merely nodded and faded away, his presence completely gone from their realm in just a few seconds. The demon lord, in the meantime, turned to Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne. "I HAVE BUSINESS TO ATTEND TO," he declared. "THE TWO OF YOU ARE IN COMMAND UNTIL I RETURN."
"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" Nightmare Bonnie asked, completely confused as to what had just happened. "WHO WAS THAT?"
"A MESSENGER FOR A BEING GREATER THAN EVEN I," was all Nightmare said in reply, before he disappeared in a pillar of dark flames.
/
The realm of the Crimson Lake had changed very little since the last time Nightmare had visited it, though that wasn't much of a surprise given that its relatively static nature. Nightmare made his way past the red trees until he had reached the clearing where the lake sat. Predictably, the entire area was deserted save for Old Man Consequences, who was humming as he cast his line into the lake.
Unlike most circumstances, however, the entity wasn't smiling.
"AH, NIGHTMARE," the guardian greeted him as he arrived. "SHADOW BONNIE TOLD ME YOU WOULD BE ARRIVING SOON."
"I CAME AS SOON AS I RECEIVED THE SUMMONS," Nightmare replied respectfully. "MAY I ASK WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME HERE?"
"YOU MAY," Old Man Consequences answered. "THERE HAVE BEEN SOME…DISTURBING DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE RECENTLY COME TO PASS. DEVELOPMENTS THAT THREATEN TO VIOLATE THE SANCTITY OF THE LAWS GOVERNING LIFE AND DEATH."
"YOU ARE SPEAKING OF GLITCHTRAP," Nightmare interrupted, his answer seemed to surprise OMC given by the small tilt of his head. "MIKE SCHMIDT RECENTLY CONTACTED ME AND PRESENTED TO ME ALL OF THE DETAILS SURROUNDING HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE ABOMINATION," he quickly explained.
"AH, SO YOU HAVE ALREADY HEARD OF IT?" OMC asked, clearly pleased. "THEN THAT SAVES ME SOME TIME ON EXPLANATIONS. AND I PRESUME YOU ARE INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THAT IF GLITCHTRAP IS ALLOWED TO SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD UNCHECKED…"
"…IT WOULD CAUSE CHAOS AND CATASTROPHE ON AN UNPRECEDENTED SCALE," Nightmare finished, nodding. "THOUSANDS OF CLUELESS INDIVIDUALS POSSESSED BY A TWISTED FRAGMENT OF WILLIAM AFTON'S SHADE…IT WOULD NOT BE AN OVEREXAGGERATION TO STATE THAT SOCIETY WOULD COLLAPSE. MIKE SCHMIDT WAS ABLE TO FIGHT OFF GLITCHTRAP BECAUSE HE HAD THE AWARENESS, THE WILLPOWER, THE EXPERIENCE, AND MY BLESSING UPON HIM TO DO SO. MOST HUMANS WOULD BE FORTUNATE TO HAVE EVEN ONE OF THESE ADVANTAGES, AND THEY MOST CERTAINLY WOULD NOT HAVE THE THIRD OR FOURTH."
"RARELY HAS INTERVENTION FROM THE WORLD OF THE SUPERNATURAL BEEN PERMITTED BY HEAVEN, LET ALONE MANDATED," Old Man Consequences continued. "BUT GIVEN THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION, IT HAS BEEN DEEMED NECESSARY IN THIS ONE SPECIFIC CASE."
"IF I MAY BE FRANK, MY LORD, I WAS GOING TO SEEK YOUR AID OR THE AID OF SOMEONE WITH SIMILAR AUTHORITY AND WISDOM ANYWAY," Nightmare replied. It irked him to admit his failings, but the idea of falling into the delusional arrogance that consumed so many other demons was far more galling. "I HAVE NEVER COME ACROSS A SITUATION LIKE THIS BEFORE, AND I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY GUIDANCE YOU COULD OFFER ME."
Old Man Consequences' fanged mouth stretched into a smile, although unlike most of the time there was very little good humor in that expression. "AND I HAVE SOME TO OFFER YOU," he answered. "YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS FROM HEAVEN ITSELF TO HELP DEAL WITH THE PROBLEMS THAT HAVE AND POTENTIALLY WILL BE CAUSED BY GLITCHTRAP. FAZBEAR ENTERTAINMENT HAS CAUSED A COLOSSAL MESS WITH ITS UNFATHOMABLE STUPIDITY, AND YOU WILL BE ONE OF THE FORCES THAT WILL HELP TO…CLEAN UP THAT MESS, SHALL WE SAY."
Nightmare stroked his chin thoughtfully. "WILL I BE COOPERATING WITH MIKE SCHMIDT FOR THIS MISSION?" he questioned.
"PERHAPS," OMC replied cryptically, "ALTHOUGH TO WHAT DEGREE I CANNOT BE CERTAIN."
Nightmare nodded, fighting not the urge to grin. While he had every intention of obeying this command, with wariness of God's wrath and his deep hatred towards William Afton being only some of his primary motivations, the opportunities this presented were vast indeed. "IT MAY BE NECESSARY FOR ME TO MAINTAIN MY PRESENCE ON EARTH FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME…" he began, keeping his voice as smooth and as pleasant as possible.
"GRANTED," OMC cut him off, so quickly and sharply that even Nightmare was cut off-guard. "DO NOT THINK YOU ARE FOOLING ANYONE, NIGHTMARE. WE ARE FULLY AWARE THAT YOU UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE ULTERIOR MOTIVES IN MIND. BUT THE SITUATION IS GRAVE ENOUGH THAT WE ARE WILLING TO CONCEDE SOME MINOR INDULGENCES AND FREEDOMS…ASSUMING, OF COURSE, THAT YOU REMAIN FOCUSED ON THE TASK AT HAND."
"BUT OF COURSE," Nightmare bowed his head respectfully, trying not to express too much delight at the privileges he had just been granted.
If Old Man Consequences was irritated by Nightmare's selfish nature momentarily poking through, he didn't show it. "THERE ARE…CERTAIN METHODS THAT ONE CAN USE," the master of the Crimson Lake explained. "CERTAIN RITUALS THAT COULD MAKE THE TASK OF DEFEATING GLITCHTRAP SIGNIFICANTLY EASIER, THOUGH THEY ARE NOT INFALLIBLE BY ANY MEANS. AND I CAN ALREADY FORESEE THAT ANY INTERVENTION WE ATTEMPT WILL NOT COMPLETELY ERADICATE THE PROBLEM. FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE, IT WILL BE THOSE WHO DWELL IN THE LIVING WORLD WHO WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH AFTON'S TAINTED LEGACY."
The very fact that OMC hadn't simply said "the living" gave Nightmare all the information he needed on exactly who would be dealing with said legacy. "SO LONG AS I CAN CONTINUE TO UNLEASH MY VENGEANCE AGAINST WILLIAM AFTON, I CARE LITTLE FOR SUCH TRIVIALITIES," he scoffed.
"INDEED," OMC mused, before continuing. "NORMALLY, THE USE OF SUCH RITUALS WOULD BE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. HOWEVER, THE DANGER POSED BY GLITCHTRAP TO THE REAL WORLD IS GREAT ENOUGH THAT HEAVEN IS WILLING TO LIFT THOSE RESTRICTIONS FOR THIS PARTICULAR PURPOSE."
"WHAT SORT OF RITUAL DO YOU HAVE IN MIND?" Nightmare wondered, confused for the first time in a long time. The very fact that those rituals were forbidden in the first place naturally meant that even a being like Nightmare had very little to no experience with them.
"I WILL EXPLAIN LATER, ONCE WE HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THE PLAN I HAVE IN MIND IS A VIABLE COURSE OF ACTION TO BEGIN WITH," OMC answered mysteriously. Nightmare could have sworn he could see a glint of amusement in the entity's dark eyes, and he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes or growl in annoyance. "FOR NOW, HOWEVER, THERE IS ONLY ONE THING I NEED YOU TO DO AT THE MOMENT."
"WHAT MUST BE DONE, MY LORD?" the demon lord asked.
"YOU WILL NEED TO CAPTURE A COPY OF GLITCHTRAP, AS WELL AS THE MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH HE HAS GAINED EXISTENCE," OMC explained. "WE WILL REQUIRE BOTH, OR ELSE THIS OPTION WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE TO US."
"HMMM…" Nightmare stroked his chin thoughtfully with his claws. He knew that Mike had encountered and crushed a copy of Glitchtrap, but had he outright destroyed the copy or merely wounded it gravely? He would need to have another conversation with Schmidt to confirm that brief but crucial detail, this time face to face. "ANYTHING ELSE?"
"NOTHING THAT I REQUIRE OF YOU AT THE MOMENT," OMC replied. Nightmare was about to leave, but the crocodile-headed entity stopped him. "BUT I DO HAVE ONE THING I NEED TO SAY BEFORE YOU DEPART."
The tranquil smile on his face vanished. "YOU WERE CHOSEN FOR THIS TASK BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE OF THE VERY FEW DEMON LORDS WHO HAS PROVEN TO BE RELIABLE. SHOULD YOU COMPLETE THE TASK, AND HELP MIKE SCHMIDT AND HIS FAMILY COMPLETE THEIRS, YOU WILL BE RICHLY REWARDED FOR YOUR SERVICE."
Old Man Consequences bared his fangs, and suddenly he looked far more menacing than Nightmare could ever remember him being. "BUT DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EXTORT ANY PRICE FROM SCHMIDT OR HIS FAMILY FOR YOUR SERVICES. ANY HELP YOU PROVIDE WILL BE FREELY OFFERED AND UNCONDITIONAL. AND SHOULD YOU DARE TO BETRAY US, SHOULD YOU ABANDON THIS MOST CRUCIAL TASK IN THE NAME OF YOUR OWN PETTY AMBITIONS…"
The crocodile-headed being raised a hand and then clenched it into a tight fist. Nightmare felt power rush around him, and then suddenly felt his throat being crushed by an unseen but unmistakable force. Nightmare gasped and clawed at his throat, desperately trying to breathe as he felt himself being lifted into the air by Old Man Consequences. The entity gazed at him calmly even as he casually and effortlessly strangled Nightmare with his power mid-air, the demon lord completely unable to do anything but flail about helplessly.
"̶̛̜͚̻̪̯͉̭̪̻͎̪̀̅͆̈͜Ŷ̷̨̭̟̐̎̈́͂̏͆̕͜Ö̴̙̙̜́͗́̌̅̋̋͂̽̍̿͘͘U̶̢̻̖͈͍̞̝͍̓̔̈́̽̏̽͂͊̑͘͠͠ ̵̹̼͊̃Ẉ̷̧̨̢̞̹̹̤͉̥͎̟̖̿I̴̖͈̓L̸̻̤̗͙̙̇͋͋́̈́͠L̸̨̧̻̞̬̰̖̺͚̘̰͖̈́͆̋̓̀̎́͛̕͜͜ ̸̢̱͕̝̹̰̩̤̞͖̈́̊̽̚N̵̗̩̪̬͚̜̞͖͍̳͎̭͔̋̈́͜ͅƠ̸̡̨̛͕̬̦̤̭̪̖͚̞̣͕͔͍̔́̀̋̍̄͋̈́̋́̑͠͝Ţ̸̨̛̹͉͎͓̑͂̏̈́̈̏̍̋̕ ̶̢͉̹̭̖̣̩͎̻̜̄́̌̈́̌̇̐̈͒̍͘͝ͅĘ̶̮̻̣͔̝̀̆̒̊̀͘ͅN̴̯̖̻̠̜͋͌̓̍̀͂͗́̓̒̅̽̑̇́J̴̞̭̝̓̿̽̏̈́̈́̐̐͊͝͝O̶̧͉̹̙̼͇͈̖̟͂ͅY̵̧̳̺̖̩̪̹̔̇̑ ̴̢͍͓̙̟̩̫̯̜̙̯̼̰̣͓͊́͆T̵̢̢̥̭̼̻͎͖̜̖̬̼̳̪͈́̀̀̊̓̏̂̔͘H̴͚̤͓͇̪̼͈̘͔̖̯̍̈́̌̓͜E̴̡̨͍̩̠̻̹̪̱͓͓̓̓̌̑̕͠ ̴̜͙̼͇̙̪̜̉͆͐̔ͅC̷͍̼͇͛̀͗̅̏͆̄̃̅̽̑̕͠͠͝O̸̢̨̢͉̘̗̞̞̰̱̯̜̺͗ͅŅ̵̛̼̝̲͈̦͈̟̳̩̞̝̤̀̆͌̾̋̃̈́̽̀͋͑́̽̕ͅS̶̘̣̍̈́̀̍̍̿͑̇͒͌̔͂̋͆͠Ȩ̵̧̨̡̬͚̪̻͇̼̯̺̠̠͓̀̽̈̇̕Q̵̡̨͍͇͙̼̭̗̣̳̻̱͍̤̯̄͛́̊͛̋̕Ȗ̶̘̦͖̥̆͆̿͌̓̄̿̃͋͋̚Ȇ̶͔̳̺͍̗͖͇̘͉̲̺̓̽͛̄̈͗̏̃̄̏̓͛̕͘N̴̨̧̧̢̜͇͔͈͍̬͖̻̫͎͈͆͒́͠C̷͍̃̅̍͝͝É̸͖̗̺̦̺̱͎̰̌̂̈͛̿̔͋̔͌͘͜͝͝S̷̛̠̫̻̥͕̺̹̱͕̜͓͖͎̓͊͘͜͠.̷̹̮̭̦͎̤̬͈̗̼̖̽͐̀̽͌͜͝"̸̧̳̱͒̊̇̓͑̎͑̍͋̀̉̚
(YOU WILL NOT ENJOY THE CONSEQUENCES.)
Old Man Consequences unclenched his hand, and the constricting pressure on Nightmare's throat abruptly vanished. Nightmare fell to the ground and slowly climbed back onto his feet, gasping for breath. "THAT WARNING WAS…RATHER UNNECESSARY," the demon lord muttered.
This time, the guardian entity's grin had a touch of dark humor in it. "YOU OF ALL PEOPLE KNOW FULL WELL THE VALUE OF TAKING PRECAUTIONS, NO MATTER HOW UNNECESSARY THEY MAY SEEM."
"A FAIR POINT," Nightmare admitted.
"YOU HAVE YOUR TASK," OMC declared. "ONCE YOU HAVE DETERMINED WHETHER OR NOT IT IS POSSIBLE TO CLAIM WHAT I HAVE REQUESTED, THEN WE WILL RECONVENE HERE."
"AGREED," Nightmare had no reason to counter OMC's suggestion. As he departed from the Crimson Lake, he couldn't help but chuckle dryly. He hadn't missed the irony that, thanks to his involvement in the aftermath of the Fazbear tragedy, he had more often than not technically served more as a force for good than a force for evil.
Unlike many demons, however, he had no qualms about this state of affairs. If ensuring that his plans succeeded meant playing nice with Heaven or even with mortals, then that was a sacrifice he was more than willing to make.
"NO MATTER HOW EVENTS PLAY OUT IN THE NEAR FUTURE," Nightmare mused. "THE EXISTENCE OF GLITCHTRAP WILL BE SURE TO MAKE THINGS VERY…INTERESTING…"
/
A/N: After writing chapters about the Schmidt family and VR Help Wanted for so long, I needed a break and wanted to write about something else. But as you can see, the "something else" still has a very high degree of plot relevance, which will come into play in a few chapters.
On an offhand note, the fact that OMC was able to force-choke Nightmare without even trying speak volumes about how much you do NOT want to fuck with him.
Next chapter will go back to the Schmidt family and how they deal with the fall-out of Mike's actions and the revelation of Glitchtrap.
Hope you guys enjoyed!
And to the guest who asked about the afterlife system:
Guest: I won't give away full details (I think I'll save that for an actual chapter), but the way Hell works is that how much and how frequently you're punished depends on how many sins you've committed, the gravity of the sins committed, and whether or not you're repentant of those sins. The circumstances surrounding the sins is also taken into account. A mostly decent person who only committed a couple of minor sins throughout his life will mostly be left alone and have an afterlife largely similar to Earth (think the first Circle, Limbo, in Dante's Inferno), possibly with the occasional punishment dispersed here and there depending on their sins (and said punishment would be relatively lenient). By contrast, eviler souls like murderers, malicious deceivers, and betrayers get tortured hideously every day. And as a general rule of thumb, the deeper you go into Hell, the eviler the damned, the more brutal the tortures, and the more powerful the demon lords ruling those parts of Hell become.
The most important requirement for getting into Heaven, believing and having faith in Jesus Christ, is mostly put to the side in this fic since the ghost children have already seen Heaven and pretty much had the existence of God, Jesus, and Hell confirmed. Their circumstances are very much an exception to the norm, since all the sins they committed happened AFTER their death and enslavement in animatronics (which by itself violates the natural order of life and death and thus should never have happened in the first place, blame William Afton for that bullshit). I should also say that to get into Heaven, you have to be genuinely repentant of your sins and willing to become a better person (to those readers who have pointed out that the children's continued hatred and viciousness towards William Afton goes against that, yes I'm aware, and yes, I am planning on addressing that topic very soon, so please don't jump down my throat in the reviews). So all those religious extremists who only use religion as an excuse to commit genocide and atrocities will be in for a very unpleasant surprise when they die.