Fazbear Escape

by Comedy Monarchy

Escape...everyone wants to escape the past, for Freddy Fazbear and the others, it is no different. Even though you may not be interested in the past, however dark and chaotic it is, it is most certainly interested in you. After all, one's interpretation of events are not so clear cut when you look at them again... (New cover image is by maskedhatterdoodles on Tumblr).

57. The Man Behind The Nightmare

(In William Afton's voice) "I ALWAYS COME BACK!"

Hey all, I'm back after four long months of inactivity, but this chapter and its successor were a challenge to write, with some scenes becoming larger than originally planned (that's writing 101) and I wanted to do a double upload, hence why there has nearly been a four month wait.

Chapter 57 is just about ready to be uploaded, some expect that to happen sometime next week.

A huge thank you to AugustFrost12 for their review for the previous chapter, I am glad that it feels like watching a film when reading the chapter and imaging everything as it happens.

Yes Vincent is pretty next to soulless and you're right that the loss of one's children is no excuse for murder, but the impact of that loss can push people past their breaking point and twist them beyond recognition.

Yet Vincent does have some limits, so he wouldn't have killed Michael for what he did to Thomas. In canon, William Afton didn't kill Michael for accidently killing Crying Child/Evan, if that's his real name.

Sorry about the cliff hangers though, they're just a nice way to end chapters, especially long ones. ;-)

I hear that the Fazbear Fright books are coming to an end with book 11 sometime in November. It has been a roller-coaster of a journey with those stories. I've both 'Blackbird' and 'The Cliffs' and man those were some great stories, I really liked 'Blackbird' with its constant dread, 'The Real Jake' was sorrowful and 'Hide and Seek' had an interesting take on the 'constant shadow hanging over you' trope which is basically what FNAF does to every human character who ever interacts it.

One simple interaction and you're dragged kicking and screaming into the abyss to join the animatronics. :-(

'The Cliffs' had alot of tension in it, but 'The Breaking Wheel' was great and terrifying, if you haven't already seen the cover for it! Although 'He Told Me Everything' was odd and bizarre, if you've read it then you know what I mean.

However, the epilogue for 'The Cliffs' was kickass and what an ending!

It certainly leaves alot of speculation in the air for what could happen next.

Meanwhile we're all waiting for FNAF Security Breach to eventually drop. I suspect that'll be released sometime next May, as it is meant to be released in early 2021 and June is the halfway point.

Finally, thank you to DannyPhantom619 for favouriting this story, glad that you're enjoying it, there's much more story left to come!

Apologies for any lingering grammar mistakes and do enjoy!

---

Chapter 56.

The Man Behind the Nightmare.

"The man behind the murders immortalised in here."

"Surrounding you in darkness, surrounding you in fear."

"Controlling everything and trapped inside a nightmare."

"Stalking you when you're there. . ."

Encryption (FNAF Glitchtrap Song) by Kyle Allen Music.

"It's time for one more revelation. . ."

Vincent smiled as he spoke, there seemed to feel a lot of power in his words, knowing full well the impact that they would bring.

His smile alone was making Toy Bonnie for one feel a deep pit form in her stomach. She prayed that his words didn't mean what she feared they would, but given who Vincent was, it highly likely that her fears indeed correct.

"In truth, keeping an eye on you lot wasn't that hard a task as it turned out," Vincent began, shrugging his shoulders.

Lefty then removed his hand from Vincent's head and within an instant all three of the plushies and the wooden musical box slowly faded away, leaving Vincent's hands empty.

Although he didn't show it, Vincent did feel sad to see them go, to disappear despite having them in the palms of his hands.

Just like his family, disappearing when he was meant to protect them.

However, he forced himself to focus on the moment, to maintain the role of being the 'puppet master'.

He continued to speak.

"Fazbear Entertainment for all of its investment in improving its security, didn't put much thought towards protecting its establishments from cyber threats such as remote hacking."

"It was so easy for me to gain access to the security cameras and watch you all from a safe distance for countless years."

Vincent then gestured over to the possessed prop suits, in particular Amy, David, Jessica and Phone Guy, given that they were the closest.

"The nineteen nineties were a fairly lacklustre period, unless you were a night guard at Freddy's of course and the stuff that happened at night could spawn thousands upon thousands of urban legends."

Immediately, Toy Bonnie's face went a deathly pale white, and she instantly felt the pit in her stomach become a chasm. Her eyes widen in an expression of horror struck realisation.

"No. . ." she muttered, sounding almost scarred, a sentiment shared by everyone.

Then Freddy spoke up, sounding confused, but there was an immense sense of alarm to his words.

"Wait, you were watching us through the security cameras, for all of that time!"

Vincent's eyes lit up, confirming Freddy's worst fears.

"Yes Freddy," he answered slowly, but he made no attempt to hide his joy in revealing this secret.

"I watched and listened to everything that happened in that decaying dump which you called a home."

He of course ignored the fact that he had made it that way.

"I saw the murders that you committed during the night, I heard many conversations that you thought were secret and how the circumstances that you were all in pushed you to breaking point and beyond."

Freddy's face steadily became ghostly white, as he fully realised the horror that had stuck Toy Bonnie earlier.

Vincent continued, nonetheless, enjoying the collective look of shock that was lay out before him. Yet in the end he turned to face Chica, whose face was deathly pale with horror.

"So, to answer your question from earlier Chica, about me knowing how and when you intended to leave the pizzeria."

"Thanks to the cameras, I came to know that you were intending to leave the pizzeria the moment you first agreed on it, giving me more than ample time to prepare."

He then chuckled to himself, finding his next words to be rather amusing based on how absurd they were.

"I even went so far to build my own airship to follow you across the earth, an extreme measure I know, but you also wanted to escape the same way, to avoid detection."

Then his eyes become cold and that vicious nature of his returned for a moment.

"If you think you can just get up leave the past behind, then I hope I've shown just how badly mistaken you all were."

One had to admit though, the whole escape by airship plan was a pretty ambitious and bizarre scheme to take. Yet it was a route worth undertaking, despite not being the most obvious one to use.

"Didn't you think that my return deserved curiosity, that I just happened to turn up as you were preparing to leave and then chased you with a freaking airship of my own?" Vincent asked curiously.

"Surely, one of you would have thought, something's up," Lefty remarked humorously, gesturing towards the Fazbears. His sole yellow eye had narrowed in plain amusement, seeming to be taking great delight in seeing the horror fully dawn on the Fazbears.

"I agree with Lefty, you lot must have realised that Vincent's arrival couldn't have been a coincidence," Funtime Chica said, shrugging her shoulders, although her amused smile strongly matched that of Vincent's.

"He always comes back, you didn't think that he might not return someday, after all did you hear about any other incident involving the murder or disappearance of children from anywhere else nearby?" she asked, with an undertone of curiosity, but her question was more intended to highlight how short sighted the Fazbears had been in believing that they could just walk away from everything. Despite going through a long period of relative inactivity from Vincent himself.

"It's unfortunate that you only now realise how little control you truly had over your lives, judging by your shocked expressions" Dee Dee stated dismissively in a cold tone, completely lacking her usual cheerful demeanour.

"Oh well, I'm sure that the illusion was nice whilst it lasted."

Then Rockstar Bonnie chuckled menacingly, knowing fully why the Fazbears looked so scared.

"Oh dear, it seems that your 'darkest' secrets, are no longer secrets and after all, what is the best way to use such information?" he asked, already knowing the answer and that everyone else did too.

Vincent answered Rockstar Bonnie's question, smiling as he did, he might appear to be smug in his tone, but he knew that in this case, he truly did hold all the cards.

"You see Freddy, Chica and Toy Bonnie I understood a long time ago, just how important information is, enabling me to always stay one step ahead of you lot."

He then gestured once more over to the Possessed Prop Suits, who had so far remained generally passive, more intent on listening to the unfolding conversation than seeking to satisfy their vengeful urges of blood. . .for the moment at least.

Yet one wouldn't be surprised at all if they were shocked to their core by the bombshell that Vincent had just dropped, only their twitching fingers gave away their sense of inner restlessness, colliding with the many great terrible emotions that surged throughout their broken bodies.

Vincent continued uninterrupted.

"Plus, I can easily imagine that law enforcement, let alone the media would have a field day over finding out the truth about the 'unexplained incidents' that happened at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria."

He smiled confidently, a stark contrast to the pale faces of the Fazbears as it began to dawn on all of them what he was heavily implying.

"I watched everything that happened through those low grade cameras, I listened to your words, your confessions, your secrets, your pain and I came to understand you all far more than I had done so previously, despite not even being there, but I suppo-."

Then Chica immediately cut in, shaking her head in immense disbelief.

"No, no, that cannot be right, only the nightguard or staff members could access the security cameras from the monitor!"

Yet Vincent's smile remained as he spoke.

"Yes, that is how it was supposed to be Chica, but like everything with Fazbear Entertainment they had holes and having skills in IT, it just made it easier for me to find a way inside."

"In a short time, I had figured out how to control the cameras remotely, turning them on and off, watching the cameras as the unfortunate night guards went about their night time duties and then most important of all. . .saving the footage."

Freddy felt his heart skip several beats when Vincent said that last bit, whereas Puppet felt her blood go ice cold as she realised why Vincent seemed to be so confident. Bonnie's eyes widen in disbelief, Chica looked terrified and Foxy went even more pale in the face. Balloon Boy felt deeply insecure due to a combination of the presence of both Lefty, the Fazbear animatronics and the Possessed Prop Suits, but he was also frightened by the very notion that Vincent knew what had truly gone during afterhours in the pizzeria.

Yet it was how he intended to use that information that truly scared BB, a feeling shared by everyone else around him.

Meanwhile Toy Freddy staggered back a little in his shock, feeling greatly threatened as like everyone else he too caught onto what Vincent had revealed. Toy Bonnie gasped, she simply couldn't help herself, instinctively expressing her surprise as well as dread, whilst quivering on the spot. Toy Chica looked very afraid, knowing all too well what Vincent's words meant, she clung to Goldie like a life raft, seeking comfort in his physical presence; despite him still struggling to fully absorb the reality of Vincent's motivation as well as this new information that he had in fact been watching them for years. Goldie felt many things, confusion, shock, fear, but he desperately wanted to push those feelings aside, to stand tall and confront Vincent, as he was truly the monster in this story.

What had happened to Thomas Afton was honestly in accident, yet Goldie still felt a great deal of regret because he couldn't stop it.

He couldn't save him, and it was worse to know that Thomas's afterlife consisted of him being endlessly hounded by nightmare interpretations of bullies who were in fact far worse than his real life bullies ever could be.

Yet that was the nature of nightmares after all, to make everything seem more terrifying and for Thomas there was no relief in waking up, just stuck in constant circles inside his own hell.

He didn't deserve that. . .Vincent definitely deserved such a fate. . .but not his children.

"I feel great sadness at what has happened to all of us, and I won't lie that I do feel a small pang of sympathy for you Vincent, losing your child, but it doesn't justify what you did," he mentally commented, looking at Vincent directly.

"The truth is that in the end, I didn't intend to harm your son, I tried to save him, it wasn't enough, but I did try, and I intend to save him from his nightmares. . .after we've dealt with you."

Goldie felt his eyes instinctively narrow, as his anger at Vincent's attempts to label him as being wholly responsible for what had happened; and for using a tragic accident as a just cause for murder slowly rose within him like a raging storm.

"You won't stop, you've made that very clear, you don't want to move on, because you have nothing left but this cat and mouse game that you've created and I am willing to bet that you are secretly afraid of what awaits you at the end of all of this," he mentally wondered.

"For all your talk of wanting to make the ending perfect, you've always put your own safety above everything else, before everyone else. So, I have to wonder Vincent, if you truly intend to be sacrificial, should you be able to bring about the end that you deeply crave?"

He knew that he needed time to properly process what Vincent had revealed to him, to reflect on what had happened with fresh eyes, but right now, he needed to take Vincent on.

He needed to stop whatever it was he intended to do and if possible, bring about the end to this nightmare. . .on his terms.

Yet Vincent kept on talking, in fact he seemed to have registered Goldie's change of expression from worry and confusion, to one of firm resolve, although there was no doubt within Goldie himself that he still felt immense fear.

"I know that I am responsible for your pain Fredbear and I know that you won't accept the part that you played in creating this agonising existence that I call my life and that you desperately want to get away from it, but I won't let you," Vincent said firmly, but he didn't lose his smile, fully understanding that in this moment he held all of the power.

"And if you ever try to run from me," he said in a cold tone that only underlined his serious and vengeful nature.

"Then all of that footage which I've saved over the years could somehow end up in the hands of law enforcement and given the mysteries that already surround Freddy's Pizzeria, I can imagine that everyone would love to know the truth of what really happened during afterhours."

"You have no proof of my misdeeds, of my works of art, no hard evidence anyway, I mean you have my confession back in 1994. Yet that's just your word against mine and I don't have a mass grave right outside my home."

Everyone all wanted to object immediately with great vigour, but they knew that in truth they didn't have any real evidence to go on and they felt as though their lives had shrunk down to compose of only this moment. Their hopes for the future didn't matter because Vincent if he so desired could just take it all away again and their past hung over all of them like a foreboding shadow that threaten to fall upon them like a hammer against glass.

Freddy couldn't help but feel his rage start to build again, and he was sure that he wasn't alone in feeling the red mist begin to slowly descend on his mind.

It wasn't fair, how the hell could Vincent wield so much power over them and they have next to nothing on him?

It was genuinely scary knowing just how far Vincent had gone. His level of dedication was as terrifying as it was impressive, not that anyone would want to admit it and feed the man's ego.

Vincent continued speaking, feeding the Fazbears' fears with his words, whilst he stroked the fires of anger that were steadily burning within all of them.

"And even if you did find any actual evidence to tie me in with the murders at Freddy's, I can easily leak the proof regarding your crimes and all of the attention will suddenly shift away from me and it's all over for you alot."

All the while the Possessed Prop Suits still said nothing, but from their perspective, given their bloodlust it seemed that having the Fazbears going to jail wasn't the ideal outcome that they were seeking. They had waited too long for their killers to simply get the electronic chair. . .that wasn't true justice. In fact, it would literally be a crime for the Fazbears to die by someone else's hand and not theirs. . .even Vincent's, despite his equally iron will to make it happen anyway.

Amy slowly turned her head away from the likes of Puppet, feeling her weathered neck joints click, before having her unseen eyes come to rest on Vincent; as he stood alongside Lefty, looking on with a sense of interest and possible rivalry.

She had heard Vincent's words, his pain at losing his child to Fredbear, his burning desire to make everyone pay and how far he had gone to bring everyone towards this particular moment.

Despite feeling an all consuming bloodlust Amy had to admit to herself that she was shocked by Vincent's use of the security cameras as a means to spy on the Fazbears and that no one had picked up on it. Granted every nightguard including herself would have been too busy fending off the approaching possessed Fazbears to notice the cameras acting funny, but it did make her start to realise something.

Amongst the raging storm of negative emotions that threaten to overwhelm her and that were held only in check by her budding curiosity in the ongoing conversation, Amy found herself feeling resentful towards Vincent. He had been watching her and her comrades get slaughtered, as they were dragged off to their demise and imprisoned inside the metal spring locked coffins that they now wore.

He knew what was going on at the time and he didn't do anything about it, allowing them to die as he just observed the Fazbears from the safety of the outside world.

They were just collateral, even their deaths were being used as a weapon by Vincent to attack the Fazbears. If their deaths had nothing to do with Freddy's, then Amy was pretty sure that neither Vincent nor his Nightmare allies would have bothered bringing them in.

They were all only united by their hatred of the Fazbears and their collective desire to see them suffer for their 'perceived' crimes.

Yet the fact that Vincent didn't do anything to save them burned fiercely within her soul, with her metallic eyebrows slowly narrowing as her sense of distrust began to grow.

"We knew you back in the day, we helped you with your tasks and you aided us in ours, we thought that we knew you Vincent Afton, but in the end, we were just your tools when it became relevant for you," Army thought to herself as she glared at Vincent from where she stood, her suspicious expression going unnoticed by all those around her.

Although considering how far Vincent had gone and how much he had lost, perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising that his mindset on the world and the people within it had become so twisted and cold.

"You allowed us to die, why, was it to satisfy your curiosity as to the supernatural elements that gave birth to the urban legends that surrounded Freddy's, or was it to simply protect yourself from the wrath of those whose lives you cruelly stole?" Amy questioned mentally, suspecting that it was properly a combination of both ideas.

Yet her hatred for the Fazbears and the ghost children was even greater than her hatred for Vincent. In reality he hadn't actually taken her life, but he had in a sense allowed it to happen. He did create the circumstances for such monsters to be 'born'.

His agony, his pain reached out far, casting a wide net, infecting numerous people, luring them into his messed up world and making them as tortured as he was on the inside. Vincent's next words brought Amy out of her thoughts and back into the ongoing conversation, but she didn't forget what she felt.

"The choice is rather simple," Vincent remarked, clasping his hands as though in prayer.

"You can either play along with what I have in mind, or try to run away from me, but I will send you all down either way."

There was next to no reason to doubt his words, given his tenacity.

"It won't be my ideal form of revenge, but perhaps seeing you get the electric chair might put a smile on my face."

"Why?" Freddy asked, his tone was demanding and filled with unbridled rage that was thinly veiled by a curiosity to simply know more.

"Why can't you just leave us alone, this has clearly gone far beyond the tragedy that it originally was."

His fists were shaking, not with fear, but with rage.

"Why can't you just go away, you've got what you wanted haven't you?"

He then gestured to the scenery and everyone else around him.

"We have nothing left, no liveyhood, the children you've murdered are all feeling Tommy's pain, you destroyed Fazbear Entertainment, why not just stop?" he asked determinedly.

Although Freddy already knew the answer, they were all too deep into this madness to simply stop and turn away.

Vincent stared back at Freddy, seeming to be surprised by his question, but he answered back in a calm tone that held a degree of vengefulness.

"I can't let you find happiness, not if I can't have it anyway and I have no life left to go back to."

There it was, the pure vindictive nature of Vincent Afton, he would never stop unless they killed him outright.

His green eyes then darted about at everyone, now expressing an iron bound determination.

"Remember this Fazbears, you try to take me down by exposing the truth of my murders, then I'll take you down with me with the hard evidence of your 'unwilling' killings of the nightguards."

"No matter how well we've tried to cover up our dark deeds, the truth will always remain in some form, unless you can't see it of course."

"Well, in this place, memories are keys to the past," Lefty said in a knowing tone of voice, before smiling mischievously.

"And the evidence to past misdeeds can always be relived within dreams, whether you truly remember them or not, but for you lot, I am sure that your memories of the past go way back."

He then clicked his fingers in the manner of a showman.

"Allow me to demonstrate fellow Fazbears."

He then reached over to Vincent and once more placed his hand on the man's head, whilst reaching out with his other hand, as though he was dictating something through thin air.

Yet sure enough a large black screen double sided monitor slowly appeared out of the ceiling, looming over the Fazbears, like those score boards that you would see in bowling alleys, but only much bigger.

"Let's take a little trip down memory lane, shall we?" Lefty asked sinisterly not expecting anyone to really answer. Although it would have satisfied him to see any of the Fazbears protest, but none did.

Returning his focus on the matter at hand, the Nightmare within Lefty began to search Vincent's memories, searching for the right one until he found it. He immediately recognised the surroundings of which the memory originated from; having been in the same place at one point back when he had just been released from his decades long prison. Having grasped it, the Nightmare began to project Vincent's memory through the monitor, showing the scene from both sides so everyone could see it and relive those dark days that they would rather hope to forget entirely.

Yet for the Fazbears their past would never leave them, no matter what they did. . .it always came back. . .

---

Greenfield Indiana mid-August 1992. . .

Vincent smiled as he cracked his fingers whilst he approached his array of monitors. The cold air bit at his skin as the area was situated near an air vent that constantly blew cool air from the outside. It was a simple addition that Vincent had added to his growing lair down in the basement, although compared to what else he had built down here the air vent itself was trivial.

Pulling out the chair that he always used, Vincent seated himself, combing his hand through his purple hair and feeling his body relax a little.

After maintaining his creations, through physical maintenance or checking their programming and watching them preform; he was ready to begin what had become one of his favourite activities. . .watching the dark deeds that the Fazbears seem to indulge in every night. He was fascinated in death and the supernatural elements that seemed to exist within this world and Vincent felt that through his curiosity he was discovering something that was unknown to everyone else and he was only recently realising its possibilities.

Yet that there were many boundaries that could be pushed or forced aside and his observation of the Fazbears were a part of that; as well as an effective means of gathering information on them when his physical presence alone would set them on him like a pack of ravenous wolves. He could never go back, they knew now and he was smart enough to not gamble too much when it came to his own life.

A master of the game remains standing until the final round. . .

Vincent smiled at the thought, but he quickly pushed it to one side, now he had to concentrate.

"Let's see what Freddy, Puppet and dear old Fredbear are doing tonight," he muttered casually to himself, switching the monitors on with the flick of a switch.

There was a faint hum before the array of monitors fully powered up, showing nothing but static. Yet Vincent merely typed in a few commands into the keyboard console that was situated before him and the static quickly vanished to be replaced by various live feeds of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.

With the task completed, Vincent laid back in his chair. Given that it was roughly 11:15pm, he knew what to expect, having seen similar scenes play out before, but each time he learnt something new, even if it would be viewed as insignificant to anyone else observing.

"Now we play the waiting game," Vincent remarked amusingly, folding his arms, as his eyes became glued to the various monitor screens that projected live images of Freddy's back at him.

He knew that there was little chance of anyone detecting a security breach in the system, let alone a bug, given how easy it was for him to hack into the camera system. Fazbear Entertainment had long since ceased to care about its systems, after what had happened in 1987 it had just given up trying. It only seemed to get its act together when it really needed to defend itself from accusations of scandal and poor management.

Meanwhile, Vincent slipped in like a fox sneaking through the hatch to the chicken coop and he was just fine with that arrangement.

Suddenly, a display of activity on cam 1B aka the main dining room caught Vincent's attention and he immediately instructed the camera to zoom in, turning up the volume so he could hear. The scene before his eyes consisted of virtually everyone, both the Originals and the Toys. Although it was a scene that Vincent had witnessed several times previously and he could already guess to the contents of their group conversation.

Despite it being mostly dark due to the pizzeria's shabby lighting and the poor quality of the camera's footage Vincent recognised their forms well enough.

They were huddled together in a group, with only Puppet and Mangle being outside the group, with the former standing a fair distance away, whilst the latter was sitting on the nearby main stage, a sign perhaps that neither person was really partaking in the ongoing conversation. However, none of the Fazbears expected the cameras to be recording right now and with almost barely any staff members on the premises at this time, the Toys could afford to be out in the open without the fear of being spotted.

"We need to find a way to stop these god forsaken murders from happening, we can't maintain our cover and if the police ever do investigate, what is our defence!?" Chica asked, she was on the verge of breaking down, barely being able to compose herself.

Foxy hugged tightly her by the shoulders.

"Shhh, lassie, it'll be ok," he muttered reassuringly, trying to calm her down, although Vincent could hear the panic in his voice as he continued.

"Given that nothing has turned up so far despite everything that has happened, we can assume that Fazbear Entertainment hasn't raised the alarm."

Vincent found himself nodding in agreement with Foxy's words and he wasn't too surprised that Fazbear Entertainment hadn't provided the police with any further reason to keep digging. Self-defence was evidently their foremost priority, given the immense damage of the 'missing children's' incidents Fazbear Entertainment couldn't afford to suffer from anymore scandals.

It was ironic how everyone actually benefited from the current situation, himself included, as it protected them from further scrutiny and suspicion.

Just as long as the dark truth remained uncovered. . .yet the fact that they had to solely rely on that approach clearly worried Freddy.

"I would really like to agree with you on that Foxy," Freddy begin plainly, but Vincent could detect the worry in his voice. . .the fear that they would one day be found out.

Freddy continued.

"Chica is right, we don't have any real means for defending ourselves should the worst come to pass."

"Unfortunately, being possessed by murdered children isn't a viable defence in court," Toy Freddy said sarcastically, although there was a great deal of annoyance in his tone.

He then seemed to turn to look directly at Puppet and said in a sneering manner.

"If only someone hadn't decided to make us hosts without asking us first, maybe then we wouldn't be in this 'mess', but even then, that's putting it lightly isn't it, Puppet?"

Given how dangerous their situation was, that was indeed putting it lightly and Vincent smiled at Toy Freddy's tone, enjoying seeing Puppet isolated.

Despite her best efforts to stop him, she had truly messed up and was now paying the price for it. Puppet herself didn't answer, but instead she simply turned and left group, knowing that they would mock her further if she stayed. She had only attended this group meeting to hear what was to be said and even then, she would mostly just linger on the outskirts listening in.

"Yeah, that's right Puppet, just walk away from your problems and leave us to deal with the fallout, like always!" Toy Bonnie yelled venomously after her, watching Puppet disappear into the Parts and Services room.

"When we undergo our 'night time ritual' then you can join us!"

"Honestly, I don't know why she hangs around us anyway, she knows that we don't want her company, not after the hellhole that she dropped us in," Toy Chica remarked dismissively, rolling her eyes.

Only Balloon Boy stared after Puppet with a sombre look, watching her disappear further into the Parts and Services room. However, his sympathetic expression didn't last for long as he sighed, revealing an exhausted look with tired eyes, before turning back to face the others.

"Still, returning to more pressing matters then degrading Puppet as fun as that is," Bonnie muttered observantly glancing over at the Parts and Service doorway.

"We need to widen the pit out back, there are just too many bodies and the smell is. . ."

She looked away with an expression of disgust on her face, as she recalled the more disgusting details.

"Getting stronger to phrase it nicely."

"Agreed, I can smell the decaying flesh from the back door and it isn't coming from the back room itself as we've cleaned it thoroughly during afterhours," Freddy said, quickly glancing over his shoulders to see if anyone was indeed listening in on their conversation.

Vincent found himself instinctively leaning in, for he had the strong sense that this could be another vital piece of information that he could use.

Another confession of their crimes. . .

Although understandably there shouldn't be anyone watching them; the only other person on site was the cleaner and he was just cleaning the front windows before he officially finished for the night.

Nor would he want to stay any longer than 11:30pm, just before the night guard arrived to begin their nightly duties.

Appearing satisfied that he could see no one, Freddy returned to face the others.

"Listen, when Phill comes back, we need to grab the shovel from the supply locker and then some of us go out back and dig a new hole next to the old one, we can merge the two holes together to create more space and that should keep the bodies away from the surface and thus reduce the smell. . .that's one way to lessen the tension around here."

Vincent smiled, they were giving him all the proof that they needed to convict them, the proof that the urban myths that surrounded Freddy's were indeed real.

Yet the others weren't so convinced by Freddy's words, Foxy, Bonnie and Toy Chica especially.

"Listen Freddy," Bonnie began cautiously.

"I like the idea, but I don't think simply digging a bigger hole is going to solve it, I mean at the end of the day hidden or not a body can't vanish by burying it and who's not to say that if we leave this place one day; someone later stumbles across it and then that leaves us dangerously exposed-."

"Bonnie, Bonnie," Freddy hastily replied, cutting in and sounding rather weary as this was the forty time that they had held this conversation. He clutched his head to ward off an impending headache.

"We can't destroy the bodies, we don't have the means to do so and even if we tried to get some chemicals that deal in dissolving bodies, it'll just raise people's suspicions on what is already a conversational issue, we have enough rumours going on about this place as it is."

Yet Bonnie simply argued back, gesturing with her hands to outline how serious the situation had become, not that Freddy wasn't already aware.

"We can't just keep burying them Freddy!" she said in a worried tone, her cautious demeanour had vanished, to be replaced by her inner worry that she usually kept bottled up.

Yet years of enduring an ever increasing body count had caused her worry to steadily rise, alongside the tension that continually tighten its grip over the pizzeria.

"One day, we'll end up killing one too many and then people will seriously investigate us and FE won't be able to defend us let alone themselves and then the bodies will be discovered no matter how decayed they are within those prop coffin things!"

"Bonnie, we can't do anything other lie low and try to avoid attracting any more attention to ourselves, our options are extremely limited as it is!" Freddy replied, now sounding greatly annoyed, but there was also a significant deal of exhaustion in his voice. The strain of trying to keep things and everyone stable had been taking its toil on Freddy and what happened to himself at night wasn't helping his day to day mood. Yet Bonnie simply went on the attack, frustrated by their inability to dig themselves out of this mire that they had been unceremoniously dumped into.

"Well, we can't keep them buried forever Freddy and we don't have enteral life to stand guard over them and even if we did, it isn't how I saw my future!" Bonnie yelled, now fully venting her anger for all to see.

"None of us foresaw this as our future Bonnie," Foxy remarked plainly, but the exhaustion in his voice was highly evident.

"I would love to cut and run Bonnie, and I understand that you want to dispose of the bodies by acid, but we just can't do that without raising further suspicions,"

He then looked away, staring headlong into the distance and growling.

"Dam Puppet, why didn't she tell us sooner, foolish girl."

"She is far more than foolish," Chica remarked coldly.

"What she did was outright diabolical, keeping us in the dark for so long."

She then sighed, sounding greatly irritated.

"We could have helped had we known, the second missing children incident could have been avoided outright, but no. . ."

"She had to take on Vincent all by herself, besides dragging you into it Freddy at the last moment."

Freddy sighed, remembering how he and Puppet bitterly fought Vincent back in the Toys' Pizzeria, whilst the latter was disguised as some golden form of Bonnie. Vincent himself didn't react to Chica mentioning his name, but he made a mental note to edit that part out, to remove his name and thus avoid suspicion. He stared intensely at the screen and despite the low quality of the camera footage, he could pick up the general mood in the room.

Anger. . .all directed at him.

"Regardless of what we think about her, we still need to sort out our 'storage' problems," Toy Chica remarked, bringing the conversation back to its focal point.

"Goldie, you remember your part, once morning comes?" she asked, although she was pretty certain that he knew.

"Yes," Goldie replied, sounding calm, but his downcast undertone was evidence of his feeling of tiredness from the constant strain and stress of their new found roles.

"I'll preform my IT trick just like clockwork and no one is the wiser. . .for now at least."

Vincent internally smiled, he knew that they thought deleting the camera footage would enable them to successfully cover their tracks.

Yet by then, he would have already made a copy of the footage, ensuring that their bloodthirsty acts were preserved for his potential use someday.

In truth, he had just wanted to keep an eye on them, but given what happened at night, this 'surveillance' as he called it had become something much more interesting. Should they ever dare to try and expose him for his crimes, then he possessed the evidence to reveals theirs. It was purely vindictive, and Vincent knew it. The only thing that he would gain out of what was a desperate move was to take them down with him, regardless of the Fazbears' mutterings of ghosts and being possessed.

Although in truth, he hoped that he didn't have to use that option, if it was unavoidable.

Then someone else spoke, drawing Vincent's attention to them.

"For now. . .it's always just for now. . ."

All the Fazbears turned to look in Mangle's direction, seeing her sat on the stage, with her arms wrapped tightly around herself and looking mightily depressed.

"We'll never be able to outrun this. . .I'll never be able to forget what I did, what I allowed to happen," she muttered sorrowfully.

"There's no escape for us, the children, they cannot find peace, as long as Purple Guy remains hidden."

She stared longingly ahead, maintaining her sombre expression as she spoke slowly, sounding utterly crushed.

"This nightmare will never end, I suppose death will be like this, just a long continuing existence with no real meaning or joy."

"We both share that belief Mangle, more than you'll ever know," Vincent muttered solemnly to himself, pausing to briefly glance at a plushie of Circus Baby, which was propped up against the screen of an inactive monitor.

Elizabeth. . .

She was gone, but he remained, left to suffer alone in both this life and undoubtedly the next, when the time eventually came to pass on.

However, right now, surrounded by echoes of a life that he couldn't return to or fully recreate despite his best efforts. Vincent felt almost completely empty, focusing solely on the only thing that seem to give him any purpose as twisted and monstrous as it was.

Without the Fazbears, he was truly nothing. . .

Upon hearing Mangle's depressed words, Toys Bonnie and Chica steadily moved over to hug her, to give the guilt stricken Fazbear some form of comfort, however fleeting it might feel to her.

"We will get through this Mangle, one way or another," Toy Freddy stated, trying his best to sound reassuring. Yet in the light of their depressing reality, his words felt empty of conviction that things would eventually get better.

He then lowered his head and placed his hand to his stomach, as though he was trying to physically feel the presence of the ghost child that dwelt within him, but to no avail.

"Damit, Puppet," he mumbled harshly under his breath.

"Why didn't you tell us all sooner."

There was no running away from this hell it seemed, all they could do was try to find some measure of balance within the unfolding chaos that was their lives.

"All we can do is look out for eachother," Goldie said, firmly putting his hand on Toy Freddy's shoulder, before turning to face everyone else.

"We can at least find comfort in that."

Once more he was taking on the role of being 'grandfather' of the group, as it often suited him.

He spoke slowly, with a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

"When tonight comes, let's hope that the children don't. . .prolong the agony this time."

"When the morning comes, we do our part quickly, push through the pain, then we can move on and find enjoyment in our 'actual' jobs."

Although everyone knew that the pain would never truly fade away, only temporality diminish during the daytime to come back with a vengeance once night fell. Vincent loathed to admit it, and it took an immense amount of willpower to shove his hatred to one side, but he did somewhat admire Goldie's attempts to reassure the others, despite living in the darkest of times.

He was a family man, though and though, something which Vincent could relate to.

Well. . .used to.

Then Freddy sighed deeply, putting his hand to his head before saying in a quiet yet serious voice, as he looked around at everyone else.

"Ok, let's do what we have to do quickly tonight and have all of the necessary clinical stuff nearby, so we're ready to deal with tomorrow's 'leftovers'."

There were several firm sets of nods from the others, which seem to immensely relive Freddy for a brief moment.

"Good, that's one thing sorted," he muttered, sounding pleased, but it was weighed by a tone of exhaustion.

"Freddy, do you think anyone would understand that we truly don't want to harm people?" Balloon Boy then asking, tugging lightly on Freddy's shelve.

Looking down at him, the toil of the past few hellish years could be clearly seen. Even on the poor quality of the live camera footage, Freddy's near exhausted expression could be seen quite clearly by Vincent.

"I hope so BB, one day" Freddy sounding both tired and frustrated, there was no warmth in his voice.

"Yet right now, no one would try to understand our predicament, to them it would be obvious as to what has been going on without consideration for anything else."

Visibly, the others could see his hands tighten to become fists.

"I hope sincerely hope that however Vincent Afton meets his end, his time in hell is even worse, it's the least he deserves for what he's done."

Freddy's voice became more vengeful with each passing word.

"I just pray that he is shaking with fear at the horror of what awaits him!"

"Although, maybe he is scared of us finding him, exposing his dark deeds and making him suffer as much as we did and more. . .much more!"

Vincent couldn't help but smile in the face of Freddy's threats, here in the relative safety of his underground workshop, the threats felt hollow. There was little to nothing that Freddy and co could do. They didn't know where to find him and unless he couldn't avoid it, he wouldn't be returning to Freddy's Pizzeria anytime soon.

Plus, it was highly unlikely that the Nightmares would ever betray him, he was far too important, too integrated into their schemes for freedom for that outcome to happen. What could they possibly gain from 'removing' him, unless of course they sought to only use his help to a certain extent, but Vincent had good reasons to highly doubt that possibility being true.

Given how much they had achieved together, why let all of that cooperation go to waste?

He did genuinely hope that he would never to ask that question though, as his eyes remained glued to the monitor screen.

Slowly, a concerned Bonnie took hold of one of Freddy's fists, gently prying it open and interlocking her fingers with his. She gave his hand a soft squeeze, trying to remind him of what he still had, in this dark world of crumbling dreams.

The act seemed to have a gradual calming effect on Freddy, with his other fist loosening itself and morphing back into a hand. No one else said anything, for there was no need to, they all shared Freddy's sense of grievance, anger, and mental exhaustion.

"I just hope that in the end Vincent gets what's coming for him and that our forced crimes are hidden until long after we're dead," Freddy muttered, sounding more like his tired self with an undertone of bitter determination.

Again, Vincent made another mental note to edit his name out. If they ever did try to expose him, then he didn't want to make it easy for them.

Steadily, Freddy looked at one Fazbear to the next, reading their sombre expression.

"Right now," he began, speaking firmly.

"Exposure is the last thing that we all need, yet, as long we keep this secret safe and cover our tracks well enough, then we can all rest a little bit easier."

Once more there was another set of firm nods from everyone else, with Foxy waving his hook in confirmation.

"Aye captain, we're with you every step of the way," he said confidently, resulting in Freddy expressing a small, but relived smile.

They would follow him to hell and back if needed, it was a great comfort to know how strongly unified they had all become, even though it was largely brought about by shared trauma.

Suddenly, there came the sounds of steady footsteps from somewhere nearby off camera, causing everyone to look in its direction.

Even Vincent briefly looked at the other active monitors to see that Phill the cleaner had finished with his nightly chores and was making his way back through the reception area, probably to say goodbye before officially ending his shift

Swiftly, Freddy turned back to face the others, quickly saying.

"Ok, we know what to do, hurry let's get to our assigned positions and. . ."

He sighed once more before finishing with.

"Just try and get through the night. . .like always."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did everyone immediately clear the main dining area, with the Toys speedily making off for the hidden back room that they were forced to call home; whilst the Originals set themselves up to look casual when Phill arrived, so he didn't get suspicious.

It was all part of the act, trying to portray themselves as they once were back in the good old days.

Before the 'change' happened. . .

CLICK!

Suddenly, the entire live image of the main dining area at Freddy's disappeared, being replaced by a grey static screen that constantly emitted a steady stream of white noise.

Surrounded by the clutter of his workshop basement, Vincent Afton smiled to himself, fully understanding the trinity level of importance in what he had just heard.

Firstly, it was another addition to his growing pile of evidence of the Fazbears' crimes, even though the truth was far more complex than that.

Second, it just shown the impact of his actions and they were having the desired effect, slowly consuming the Fazbear's lives and tearing them down.

Although Goldie wasn't as broken as Vincent would have liked but strengthening his sense of complete despair was a constant work in progress.

"Now you know how it feels to be utterly helpless," he muttered in a satisfied tone.

"To have your life dedicated by factors beyond your control, to have it take away what you hold dearest and leave you with nothing without even sparing you a moment's glance."

"However, the show isn't over just yet."

His smile grew insidious.

"This is just the interlude. . ."

Suddenly, he couldn't help but laugh, feeling a mighty wave of excitement rush through him as he loved the immense feeling of control that the situation gave him.

Here, in the safe confides of his underground workshop, away from his vengeful victims he could truly feel secure and take pleasure in how he still held the upper hand. Although deep within the depths of his soul, he did feel a tinge of fear, knowing exactly the kind of retribution that karma would in store for him at the end.

Yet, it would be a price worth paying, he had accepted that truth a long time ago.

Moving quickly, Vincent copied the recent camera footage twice for good measure. He couldn't afford to lose such an advantage due to simple clumsiness.

Once he was sure that the footage was thoroughly secure, Vincent glanced over at the clock, it currently read as 11:35pm.

"You may get through tonight Freddy, and the next one, just like you have done countless times before; but in truth, it is only because I don't want to share your dark little secret with anyone else, less they ruin the fun that we're currently having," he remarked determinedly.

"Yet these. . ."

He gazed longingly at the array of files that each contained valuable camera footage.

"Are the best insurance policy that Fazbear Entertainment could ever give me."

He smiled, genuinely, but he held a sinister glint in his eyes.

"Sleep well Freddy and you too Goldie."

"We've only just begun. . ."

CLICK!

---

The giant overhanging monitor screen immediately died, replaced by blaring static, before going dead entirely.

There was a tense silence in its wake, as both the Originals and the Toys slowly returned their collective gaze towards Vincent. He spoke calmly, but there a threatening undertone to his voice.

"You cannot outrun me, I will always find you and I won't stop."

His green eyes then narrowed, with him looking firm, if not outright cold in his demeanour.

"This doesn't end until nothing remains of either of us."

"I am a man of my word."

"Should you ever try to expose me for my crimes, then I can easily turn the tables."

He then folded his arms, his face was unreadable, save for that it projected a strong aura of perception.

"Granted, it's not the outcome that I would personally like to see, but it'll be quick."

"Law enforcement sees the footage, they then investigate and discover the bodies, you're all found and arrested, there's a trial, but it an open shut case with the mountain of evidence and you'll either get the death sentence or life imprisonment."

He then smiled slightly, as he turned his gaze towards Puppet and Balloon Boy, the latter who remained hiding behind Puppet.

"Not even you two would get off lightly, probably be placed in juvenile jail for life, kept in isolation and locked away. . .left to rot in silence."

Balloon Boy looked terrified by such prospect, remaining behind Puppet for protection, as the latter's white dots for eyes narrowed, giving off a vengeful expression as Vincent continued to speak.

"Perhaps the nightguards here might prefer having you waste away in prison, alive but unable to live, left waiting for death's sweet release as they have been."

"I would find that to be fitting. . ."

Puppet about to speak, ready to announce that in truth, she was willing take Vincent down with her regardless of whether their wretched became public knowledge, when there came a slight metallic chuckle.

It was raspy, strained, but it contained undeniable sense of humour, relief and. . .disgust?

The chuckle was joined by more like it, a rising tide of broken voices all laughing together in a unison of enjoyment, acknowledgement, and distain. The Possessed Prop Suits finally voiced their opinion on Vincent's jaw shattering revelations.

Phone Guy turned to face Vincent, his movements being so fast that it forced his faceplates to momentarily open, revealing his disfigured and deteriorated facial features. His mouth was stretched into a sinister grin, revealing his rotten blacken teeth intermixed with the rusted metallic endoskeleton jaw.

"Y. . .o. . .u a. . .r. . .e o. . .n. . .e s. . .n. . .e. . .a. . .k. . .y b. . .a. . .s. . .t. . .a. . .r. . .d V. . .i. . .n. . .c. . .e. . .n. . .t, o. . .b. . .s. . .e. . .r. . .v. . .i. . .n. . .g t. . .h. . .e F. . .a. . .z. . .b. . .e. . .a. . .r. . .s' c. . .r. . .i. . .m. . .e. . .s, c. . .o. . .l. . .l. . .e. . .c. . .t. . .i. . .n. . .g t. . .h. . .e e. . .v. . .i. . .d. . .e. . .n. . .c. . .e, w. . .h. . .i. . .l. . .s. . .t k. . .e. . .e. . .p. . .i. . .n. . .g y. . .o. . .u. . .r. . .s. . .e. . .l. . .f a. . .n. . .o. . .n. . .y. . .m. . .o. . .u. . .s," (You are one sneaky bastard Vincent, observing the Fazbears' crimes, collecting the evidence, whilst keeping yourself anonymous,) he remarked in both a humoured and yet bitter tone and the latter emotion only increased.

"I. . .t's s. . .u. . .c. . .h a p. . .i. . .t. . .y t. . .h. . .a. . .t y. . .o. . .u d. . .i. . .d. . .n't u. . .s. . .e i. . .t r. . .i. . .g. . .h. . .t a. . .w. . .a. . .y, i. . .n. . .s. . .t. . .e. . .a. . .d o. . .f l. . .e. . .a. . .v. . .i. . .n. . .g u. . .s t. . .o r. . .o. . .t a. . .n. . .d l. . .i. . .n. . .g. . .e. . .r f. . .o. . .r s. . .o l. . .o. . .n. . .g, f. . .o. . .r. . .g. . .e. . .t t. . .h. . .a. . .t w. . .e w. . .e. . .r. . .e y. . .o. . .u. . .r c. . .o. . .m. . .r. . .a. . .d. . .e. . .s, o. . .f o. . .u. . .r f. . .r. . .i. . .e. . .n. . .d. . .s. . .h. . .i. . .p a. . .n. . .d h. . .o. . .w y. . .o. . .u c. . .o. . .u. . .l. . .d h. . .a. . .v. . .e s. . . a. . .v. . .e. . .d u. . .s b. . .e. . .i. . .n. . .g i. . .m. . .p. . .r. . .i. . .s. . .o. . .n. . .e. . .d i. . .n L. . .i. . .m. . .b. . .o!" (It's such a pity that you didn't use it right away, instead of leaving us to rot and linger for so long, forget that we were your comrades, of our friendship and how you could have saved us being imprisoned in Limbo!)

"Y. . .o. . .u w. . .a. . .t. . .c. . .h. . .e. . .d u. . .s g. . .e. . .t s. . .l. . .a. . .u. . .g. . .h. . .t. . .e. . .r. . .e. . .d!" (You watched us get slaughtered!) Amy growled viciously, as far as her battered voice box would allow.

"W. . .h. . .y d. . .i. . .d. . .n't y. . .o. . .u t. . .i. . .r. . .e. . .d t. . .o w. . .a. . .r. . .n u. . .s!" (Why didn't you tired to warn us!) Lauren demanded, her voice was strained due to her aged voice box, but her tone was undeniable one of rage and betrayal.

"W. . .e a. . .r. . .e j. . .u. . .s. . .t t. . .o. . .o. . .l. . .s f. . .o. . .r y. . .o. . .u V. . .i. . .n. . .c. . .e. . .n. . .t, e. . .v. . .e. . .r. . .y. . .t. . .h. . .i. . .n. . .g a. . .n. . .d e. . .v. . .e. . .r. . .y. . .o. . .n. . .e i. . .s j. . .u. . .s. . .t a m. . .e. . .a. . .n. . .s t. . .o g. . .e. . .t s. . .o. . .m. . .e. . .t. . .h. . .i. . .n. . .g!" (We are just tools for you Vincent, everything and everyone is just a means to get something!) David screeched viciously, pointing at him accusingly.

"Y. . .o. . .u a. . .l. . .l. . .o. . .w. . .e. . .d u. . .s t. . .o s. . .u. . .f. . .f. . . e. . .r i. . .n s. . .i. . .l. . .e. . .n. . .c. . .e, w. . .h. . .i. . .l. . .e y. . .o. . .u e. . .s. . .c. . .a. . .p. . .e j. . .u. . .s. . .t. . .i. . .c. . .e!" (You allowed us to suffer in silence, while you escape justice!)

Amidst the Possessed Prop Suits' howls of rage, the Nightmares within their possessed animatronics stepped closer to Vincent, mentally ordering the other animatronics to follow suit.

Just in case the Possessed Prop Suits decided to turn their wrathful anger onto him instead of the Fazbears.

Henry pointed a long rusted and skeletal arm at Vincent with his entire body creaking and groaning as it tried to comply with his demands for movement.

"I. . .f w. . .e k. . .n. . .e. . .w w. . .h. . .a. . .t y. . .o. . .u h. . .a. . .d d. . .o. . .n. . .e b. . .e. . .f. . .o. . .r. . .e. . .h. . .a. . .n. . .d," (If we knew what you had done beforehand,) he remarked firmly, only just containing his inner rage.

"N. . .o. . .t e. . .v. . .e. . .n t. . .h. . .e D. . .e. . .v. . .i. . .l w. . .o. . .u. . .l. . .d d. . .a. . .r. . .e t. . .o i. . .m. . .a. . .g. . .i. . .n. . .e y. . .o. . .u. . .r f. . .a. . .t. . .e a. . .t o. . .u. . .r h. . .a. . .n. . .d. . .s, m. . .u. . .r. . .d. . .e. . .r. . .i. . .n. . .g c. . .h. . .i. . .l. . .d. . .r. . .e. . .n, j. . .u. . .s. . .t t. . .o a. . .v. . .e. . .n. . .g. . .e y. . .o. . .u. . .r o. . .w. . .n, t. . .o 's. . h. . a. . .r. . .e' y. . .o. . .u. . .r g. . .r. . .i. . .e. . .f w. . .i. . .t. . .h o. . .t. . .h. . .e. . .r. . .s." (Not even the Devil would dare to imagine your fate at our hands, murdering children, just to avenge your own, to 'share' your grief with others.)

"T. . .h. . .a. . .n. . .k G. . .o. . .d, y. . .o. . .u n. . .e. . .v. . .e. . .r h. . .a. . .r. . .m. . .e. . .d o. . .u. . .r c. . .h. . .i. . .l. . .d. . .r. . .e. . .n, d. . .i. . .d y. . .o. . .u j. . .u. . .s. . .t p. . .i. . .c. . .k a. . .n. . .y r. . .a. . .n. . .d. . .o. . .m k. . .i. . .d?" (Thank God, you never harmed our children, did you just pick any random kid?) his voice was harsh and sounded beyond disgraceful.

Yet Vincent's reply was not what he or anyone else expected.

"Mostly," Vincent began slowly, his expression was now plain, and he spoke in an almost factual manner, ignoring the absolute horror that he inflicted onto those children.

"It was just random chance on which kid I lured away, whoever was easier to manipulate, but I did specifically pick out one child in particular when the time came."

He then turned to face Lefty.

"Sammy. . .Henry Emily's son, I tore his entire world asunder."

Suddenly, a sense of shock seemed to ripple through the Possessed Prop Suits, it was like a waterfall had descended on their rage, suffocating it.

"Y. . .o. . .u t. . .o. . .o. . .k H. . .e. . .n. . .r. . .y's l. . .a. . .d?" (You took Henry's lad?) Jessica asked curiously, all sense of anger seemed to have left her and her facial expression was now one of complete shock.

"Y. . .o. . .u m. . .u. . .r. . .d. . .e. . .r. . .e. . .d S. . .a. . .m. . .m. . .y?" (You murdered Sammy?)

Yet Vincent just looked confused at her words, answering back in a surpised tone.

"I'm surpised that it didn't click with you, once the Nightmares revealed the truth, but perhaps you were all too engrossed in your bloodlust to realise the connection."

"Don't you remember Jessica; Henry Emily was the animatronic designer for Fazbear Entertainment."

He then gestured to all the animatronics who surrounded them, resulting in the Possessed Prop Suits seeming to take in their surroundings as though it was for the very first time.

"Everything you see here is from his designs, his blueprints, they are his creations."

He then placed a firm hand on Lefty's shoulder.

"With Lefty here being his pride and joy, originally intended to be made for Sammy's birthday the year that he 'vanished'."

As Vincent spoke, his tone had become even plainer, almost without emotion, just stating events with a cold demeanour that didn't seem to register their true significance.

Although like Vincent had said previously, why regret what you cannot change, why add any emotion to it.

Doing so would only hinder one to what mattered in the moment and starve off any sense of doubt.

"I made his death quick, but I couldn't make it completely painless," Vincent remarked, if he held any true feelings over what he had put Sammy though, then he was keeping it well hidden deep within himself.

"B. . .u. . .t y. . .o. . .u a. . .n. . .d H. . .e. . .n. . .r. . .y w. . .e. . .r. . .e g. . .o. . .o. . .d f. . .r. . .i. . .e. . .n. . .d. . .s," (But you and Henry were good friends,) Phone Guy remarked, sounding very stunned with this revelation.

"We were, he was a good man," Vincent replied, now sounding reflective, for once there was a spark of emotion in his words.

If he felt anything like regret towards what he did to his old friend, he certainly wasn't willing to show it.

He continued regardless.

"I'll give him credit for being genuine in his intentions to help me, but he was too oblivious to the cruelties of life and in order for me to have an impact, I had to make Henry realise the conquences of being so. . .optimistic."

His words only got a single response from Phone Guy, but he seemed to speak for all the other Possessed Prop Suits, as they shared his expression of unbridled hatred and disgust.

"Y. . .o. . .u're s. . .o. . .u. . .l. . .l. . .e. . .s. . .s, a. . .n u. . .t. . .t. . .e. . .r m. . .o. . .n. . .s. . .t. . .e. . .r!" (You're soulless, an utter monster!) he said in both profound shock and barely subdued rage.

From Freddy's perspective, it seemed as though Vincent's confession, had somehow jolted Phone Guy and his comrades, like it had brought back an echo of their humanity, of their sense of morals. In fact, Vincent's emotional detachment to his actions seemed to spook the Possessed Prop Suits, as those closest to him cautiously stepped back, as though his physical presence disgusted them.

It was then that Freddy interjected, recognising what he hoped was a golden opportunity.

"Don't you all see, he doesn't care, he would have taken your kids that day if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"If he didn't care about Henry Emily, then why would he hesitate before destroying your lives as well?"

He deliberately asked the question to get them to think clearly, while they seemed to be lucid enough to separate what was fundamentally right from wrong.

"If your children were there at the pizzeria that day, he would have killed them," Freddy added.

"You have to know that."

Yet he also recognised from an earlier moment, the smiles of recognition from the possessed animatronics when he had mentioned to the Possessed Prop Suits about what they would have done if Vincent had murdered one of their kids. He now realised that they were smiling because they knew how true his words really were, with Vincent having killed Sammy Emily, Henry Emily's son, an employee at Freddy's.

"At the end of the day, despite the hell that the children mistakenly have put you all through, you know us, we wanted no part in this," Toy Freddy stated sincerely.

He then looked at Vincent with a stern disproving manner.

"But he did, and he is continuing it. . ."

"He's misled you for years, he didn't try to help you guys out when your lives were threatened, despite having access to the cameras."

A sliver of great anger towards Vincent for that transgression passed over Amy's mind, her entire body momentarily jerked at the thought that Vincent had watched her demise but had barely lifted a finger to help.

Toy Freddy's blue eyes narrowed as he spoke with conviction.

"What we're feeling towards us, is what the children felt back in their darkest moments and we felt it too alongside our own feelings of torment."

He put his hand to chest, displaying his empathy.

"Trust me, we know what you're going through and we want to put the children and yourselves to rest. . .the right way."

"We're sorry for unintentionally dragging you into this mess."

"Fine words Toy Freddy, but I am not the source of their rage, I'm not the guilty party in this particular instance," Vincent replied firmly, feeling confident that his former work colleges would recognise the Fazbear as their primary enemies.

Trying to kill him would be a waste of effort, regardless of his central role in events.

In their deaths, he wasn't holding the smoking gun. . .

"You know," Puppet remarked softly, but there was a degree of determination in her voice and a thinly veiled aura of anger.

"I would gladly go to hell, if it meant taking you with me."

Her words completely caught Vincent's attention, as her own eyes narrowed, and her expression became utterly hate filled.

Yet she equally sounded exhausted by the whole ordeal.

"There aren't any more words left in the universe to describe how I feel about you, or for what you have done."

"It's pointless to try, we've been in this mess too long."

However, during Vincent's many revelations she had come to realise something intriguing and useful.

Something which she could fully exploit if she played her cards right.

Her eyes directly locked with his.

Vengeful white dots staring into green pupils that expressed interest, if not curiousness and perhaps a sense of wariness as well.

"I think you're blind Vincent Afton."

Hearing her say his full name sent a shiver of uneasy racing up Vincent's spine.

"This whole 'game' of yours ends soon, very soon, you keep hunting us, hounding us, causing more misery, you don't care about the fact that you are going to hell, you have nothing left to lose."

The exhaustion in her voice faded to be replaced by a rising vengeful furry.

"Yet did you ever stop and think that the pain which you've deliberately created, might end up hunting you down instead."

Her eyes narrowed, with her white dots for pupils becoming even brighter with emotion.

"You've controlled things for so long, but you cannot remain on top forever, no one can."

"Things, events, they can all take on a life of their own, you can't control how this 'game' is played, eventually the other side is going to recognise your tricks and suddenly, you'll be the one on the ropes."

Vincent's expression slowly turned to one of suspicion, wondering how Puppet could try to turn the tables on him and she immediately recognised his confusion.

"I know that you're confused, given how much power you've held over us for so long and the means that you have gathered at your disposal to carry out your sick idea of closure, but as you would like to say. . ."

She then gave him what simply amounted to the sadistic gaze of a predator, before announcing.

"A hunter can become the prey."

Slowly, Vincent shook his head, clearly in disagreement.

"Regardless, I can still hurt you Puppet in many ways and I don't care what becomes of my reputation as small as it is, but I know that you care about yours."

Puppet smiled, feeling humoured by his words.

"I don't care about it, you've destroyed it," she replied firmly, but her vengeful smile didn't fade.

"Would I like to see it rebuilt, yes, but that can't happen unless you're dead, we all know it."

"We cannot start afresh, until nothing remains."

She then gestured to him.

"We now know your motives, but I can only pity your children and wife, if they are aware of what you've done in their name."

"Regardless. . ."

"This nightmare needs to end; we've been going round in circles for too long."

"I am done running from you Vincent, if you want things to end now, then I'll help you reach that final point."

She then quickly gave Goldie a brief look, but he immediately recognised what her expression held.

Intent. . .deadly intent.

Regardless of whatever Vincent's intentions were with just about everyone being present at this particular moment, she was going to make the moving move.

Not giving Vincent or any of the Nightmares a chance to react and Goldie knew that with her new found lucid dream abilities she would do her upmost to gain a definitive advantage. The time for talk in her eyes was over, but Goldie had realised something else, something which Vincent had shared with them and of which he deeply valued.

It was like an open wound, be it one that seem to have gone unnoticed by everyone else and Goldie was more than willing to push the knife in. As far as Puppet was concerned the time for talk was over, but Goldie had gained the same realisation as her, yet from a different perspective and he wanted to exploit it for all that it was worth.

"You said earlier Vincent that you can hurt us more than we can hurt you, but that isn't entirely true, not when you really think about it," he remarked curiously, holding himself back from openly expressing his desire to cause Vincent pain.

Vincent's wary filled eyes turned in his direction, looking straight at him, his attention had been gained and so Goldie continued.

"It's true that we have very little left, apart from one another and our dream of restoring the damage that you've inflicted."

Then Goldie's dark red eyes narrowed.

"Yet you do care deeply about someone, your son Thomas Afton, you've said yourself, everything you've done is all to help him move on, besides satisfying your desire for vengeance against me."

"He's still present, trapped and you want to set him free, he's the centre of your world."

Like a skilled, but merciless hunter, Goldie slowly pushed the verbal knife in, steadily increasing the amount of pain that he could cause.

Pain that would soon be turned into pure agony.

"In order to achieve your aims, you've literally reached out to your son's demons," Goldie said sounding both somewhat amazed and disgusted by Vincent's choices.

"It's ironic really. . ."

"Using his nightmare interpretations of his bullies and your other son Michael, to free him, when they were unintentionally responsible for putting Tommy into his own hell in the first place."

He then slowly shook his head as though in disapproval.

"If you want to free him so badly, then why all the wait Vincent, couldn't you have returned and killed us much earlier than this?"

Yet everyone already knew the answer. . .

"You wanted to take your time, fuelled by some nihilistic urge to destroy everything about us, before actually killing us, but I can only imagine the toll which all of that waiting is doing to poor Thomas."

"Left in Limbo with only monsters for company in enteral darkness, and hounded by them relentlessly; I must ask if you really do have his best interests in mind?" Goldie remarked coldly.

Vincent's green eyes narrowed, with his hands twitching ever so slightly, a nerve had been pushed, so Goldie continued unabated, sounding evermore firm.

"Then again, considering what you've done already, it shouldn't be so surprising that you've joined forces with literal demons, they help you free your son and in return you help them find enteral freedom; but if only four of them are here, how do you know that the other five aren't torturing your son right now, given their deceitful nature?"

"They lied to me," Balloon Boy said honestly, stepping out from behind Puppet.

"They said that they would let me go, once I completed their little game, but they tricked me and kept me as a hostage until I agreed to their terms."

"Aye, they promised to hold a meeting, but they could very well attack us before this thing is over," Foxy remarked harshly, displaying his hook and showing to everyone present that he didn't intend to be taken as a fool, should the Nightmares try to double cross everyone.

Yet despite the strong impact of Goldie's words, Vincent didn't take the bait, probably aware of the questions that he would be exposing himself to if he did.

However, at the time, allying himself with Thomas's nightmares was best option he had in making sure that both his revenge and Tommy's salvation could be fully assured.

Allowing Thomas to remain in a state of near constant torment was in truth a small price to pay, compared to the reward of eventually freeing him by wiping the entire slate clean of everything.

Nothing could be left behind. . .

His dealings with the Nightmares wasn't ideal at first, but in time it had certainly proven its value and Vincent knew that he couldn't have gotten this far without their help.

Then Freddy interjected, speaking firmly, but internally he smiled, having realised what Goldie was trying to do.

"Lefty told us earlier that you could have easily returned to our dump of a home so many times in the past and killed us all, but you didn't. Because you don't want to end this feud quickly, but instead you wanted wear us all down and strip us of everything that we value."

"You put your desire for vengeance ahead of your son, Puppet is right, you've become blind to your desire in making your 'revenge' perfect."

Freddy then shook his head, before speaking sombrely and he truly meant it.

"If Elizabeth or Michael are still out there, then they're still suffering, lost in the dark and you've kept them in that state Vincent."

"God help them, if they know what you've done to 'gain' their freedom."

Despite his rising anger, Vincent refused to allow their words to get the better of him. He knew that they were toying with him, trying to point out the flaws in his thinking, how he had in part continued his children's suffering to provoke a reaction.

Although he knew that Thomas still lingered in the afterlife, he couldn't say the same for either Michael or Elizabeth.

He sincerely hoped that both of them had been able to move on and join Evelyn.

However, Goldie wasn't finished, the knife hadn't yet been pushed in as far it could go, but his hopeful and remorseful expression fully hid his vengeful intentions as he spoke again.

"However, you have gone to great lengths to keep this nightmare going, even accessing a place like Limbo, you have made myths real, and I know it myself having to travelled to such a place."

"Are you congratulating me now Fredbear, a surprise from you indeed, but a welcome one nonetheless," Vincent remarked, sounding humoured, but he still felt angered by the Fazbear's words from earlier. Goldie wasn't intending to pay him any respects and he didn't answer his question.

"Yet," Goldie continued, now sounding rather firm, allowing his remorseful expression to drop, replaced by a very calculating look.

"If you've figured out how to unlock all of this, then why can't someone else do the same and travel to Limbo?"

He left his question hanging in the air and the Possessed Animatronics immediately picked up it.

"What are you driving at?" Dee Dee asked curiously, but there was a great deal of suspicion in her voice.

"Don't tell me, you're thinking of traveling to Limbo?"

Even the Possessed Prop Suits seem to be interested, their collective attention having fully been gained.

Goldie sighed deeply and his calculating look faded, he genuinely felt what he was about to say, besides his powerful desire to make Vincent pay for all the evil that he had unleashed.

"Give it to him," Toy Chica whispered, softly enough that only Goldie could hear her. She had an instinctive sense of what he was about to say, having remembered her earlier conversation with Goldie back in Jeremy's attic.

"Make him fear us, as much as we fear him."

"Everyone will support you, it's the best route out of this living nightmare."

Her supportive words pushed aside any potential doubt over the path that Goldie was about to go down, it was like throwing dice on a major gamble.

Standing tall and feeling resolved and gripping the imaginative verbal knife, Goldie spoke with great determination.

"I am truly sorry Vincent, I'm sorry that I was unable to save Tommy, I wished that I had been able to save him and the children whom you brutally murdered."

"I couldn't save Thomas then, but I can try to save him now. . .through forgiveness."

Now Vincent looked unsure, but his eyes there was a great sense of wariness.

"I made a promise to myself earlier that I will set him free, to give him his happiest day."

Before Vincent could even attempt to reply, Goldie continued unabated.

"I was not responsible for his death, but I will do my upmost to help him move on, to find peace."

Goldie's eyes narrowed; his conviction was undeniable to all of those present.

"The slate must be wiped clean, it must be perfect, as you have often stated and so I will not hold anything back."

"When I do find Thomas Afton, I will tell him absolutely everything, as you said before nothing must remain behind and no stone can be left unturned."

"Including your crimes. . ."

Vincent's eyes widen, his hands immediately formed into fists, the very thought that Thomas could know what he had done for him. . .sent a haunting chill racing up his spine.

Even though the possibility of Goldie being able to reach Thomas was slim, given the significant array of obstacles that one would face. The first involved accessing Limbo itself and then confronting the Nightmares and the house itself, the very idea that his darkest secrets would be revealed to Thomas terrified him to his core. In his shock, he couldn't control his expression, showing his disbelief, but most of all. . .his fear. It was seen through his eyes and the worried look that passed over his face, he couldn't hide any of it.

It scared him, it truly did, regardless of how small a chance it had of happening.

Yet Goldie wasn't quite finished, pushing the verbal knife in even more as he spoke with further determination. He looked stoic and undaunted, a sharp contrast to Vincent's growing fear of having his worst nightmares come true.

"I also promise to do the same for both Michael and Elizabeth Afton," Goldie said with unrivalled conviction.

"Should they still linger, I shall heal all of those old wounds that this chaos has created."

"Vincent, this has to stop eventually."

"No," Vincent remarked firmly, his expression had immediately darkened, all sign of fear and unease had vanished from his face, but he still felt such things deep within himself.

"You cannot reach Limbo, and nor can you save Thomas through mere forgiveness, it isn't that simple Fredbear."

"So is everything that has happened since you slit Charlie's throat outside Fredbear's Family Diner back in 1978 and yet here we all are," Goldie replied, equally determined, looking undeterred by Vincent's malicious expression.

"I'll find a way, anything is possible, as you have proved Vincent."

Yet Vincent looked dead set against what Goldie was suggesting. It wasn't how things were meant to end, how he wanted them to end. Although he couldn't fully deny Goldie's reasoning, given what had happened over the preceding decades. Soul possession, the living embodiment of Nightmares, the existence of Limbo and parallel planes of existence, the power of emotions, the strength of willpower and the technical yet ritual methods to making all of it a reality, had been his achievements.

Why couldn't someone else use such methods for their own intentions, he wasn't too naïve to dismiss the possibility that someone else might also succeed in exploring the same field.

Yet to hear Goldie muttered those words with such conviction that it opened his mind's eye to the possibility of Thomas and his siblings ever discovering the truth behind their accession into heaven.

It would break them far more than anything else had. . .and that terrified him, so much that his hands were shaking from the fear of it.

He couldn't hide it, despite trying to rein himself in.

Then Bonnie interjected, speaking confidently with folded arms.

"You said that you could still take away a lot from us, but clearly we can do the same."

Then her tone became vengeful, as she stared at Vincent with a chilling expression that was akin to a predator in the wild.

"An eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth, a fair trade, given the hell that you've made our lives."

"If you're being hoping to secure an easy win, then you are gravely underestimating the perils of Limbo, let alone trying to get through to Tommy," Funtime Chica said determinately, her cheerful features stood in sharp contrast to her cold demeanour.

"You haven't seen us at our worst, and we won't give him up without a fight."

"Your worst?" Toy Bonnie exclaimed, sounding both surpised and yet somehow humoured.

"You mean that you've been going easy on us since we first met?"

"I would highly doubt that, this entire experience has been anything but easy," Chica muttered venomously, eyeing Lefty with a murderous expression, remembering every well her encounter with Nightmare Freddy.

Payback was dangerously overdue.

Yet the cold and determined words of Funtime Chica reassured Vincent, feeling his fear gradually subside.

It was true that the remaining Nightmares were guarding Thomas, maintaining a close eye on his activities and that should anyone or 'anything' dare try to claim the boy, then they would face more than a 'frosty reception'.

No one should be able to reach Tommy, even if the Fazbears somehow managed to make the trip to Limbo, they would be throwing themselves into an unforgiving realm. Tommy was safe and that was all that mattered to Vincent.

Yet the distant possibility that they might succeed in doing so, no longer felt distant.

Right now, in this singular moment it felt very real, burrowing itself deep in his heart. It would subside, but it would never truly fade away, he now felt less secure than he ever had been before.

"I will fix the mess that you've made, I promise you that Vincent Afton," Goldie said, his determination was still strongly evident in his voice.

"Thomas and his siblings will be set free, as will everyone else to the very best of my abilities."

"And you shall get the justice that you truly deserve for your crimes."

Vincent felt unnerved still, despite feeling reassured about Thomas's secrecy.

Where had Goldie's newfound confidence come from, he looked crushed earlier when he found out that he had killed his son. He had argued it that was an accident, but Vincent knew better.

No one had tried to save Thomas, or at least they didn't try hard enough.

He remembered the insult he felt when the pizzeria's first aid team came along and offered to begin applying bandages to Tommy's traumatic and bloody head wound.

Bandages, god dam bandages, that was the very best they could do!

Not even SpringBonnie's supposedly child priority programming had enabled him to save Tommy, with the bunny human animatronic being stuck in performance mode, due to an unexplainable software error.

Nothing had gone right that day.

Yet thinking of SpringBonnie, where was he?

Shouldn't he be present alongside Goldie, given how he had returned to save Goldie from Nightmare Fredbear back at the factory?

It appeared that they had forgiven eachother for past slights.

Vincent had also noticed the absence of Mangle and he found that to be odd, normally the Toys were always together. Perhaps, they hadn't decided to pull everyone in, with SpringBonnie and Mangle remaining on the side-lines with Mike and Jeremy as a reverse of sorts.

Although if they all feared this meeting being a trap, then they hadn't done themselves any favours by bringing in almost everyone from their group.

Not exactly a smart move.

Still. . .glancing at his hands which had continued to tremble, Vincent felt a continuous sense of unease. Looking up, he found himself locking eyes with Puppet and she looked at him with undeterred will and a burning desire to utterly end him and his schemes.

"Like I said earlier Vincent," she said bitterly.

"You cannot remain on top forever and we all have our buttons which can be pressed for harmful purposes,"

She then smiled coldly, and it sent an unsettling shiver racing up Vincent's spine once more.

"But, now it's your turn, starting with your biggest mistake."

Goldie immediately readied himself, he knew what was coming and there was no stopping it now.

Silently, Toy Chica let go of his shoulder, also mentally preparing for the challenge that lay straight ahead.

"And what mistake is that exactly, do please enlighten me, Mari?" Vincent asked with mock curiosity, using Puppet's informal name for effect.

If he desired to push her over the edge, then he need not try, the lid had already been lifted.

Puppet's eyes narrowed and she spoke in a low and dark tone.

"Not killing us when you had the chance. . .back when we knew next to nothing about what was really going on."

"And for that particular mistake, I thank you Vincent Afton."

"I really do."

She threw the 'dice' and made her move. . .

---

Finally, we have gotten to this point, the gloves are off!

I have based Vincent Afton around the idea of the puppet master, always dictating the game and deciding how and when it should end, hence the great efforts he has gone to maintain control by effectively blackmailing the Fazbears into playing along if they dare to break the 'game'.

Yet he has a weakness as clearly shown and in the dark brutal world of FNAF, weakness is exploited to its fullest! ;-)

As I said previously chapter 57 will be uploaded next week, while chapter 58 should be uploaded sometime in May, it's currently 40% completed.

Thank you for reading and please do review, I appreciate your thoughts.

It's great to be back!