Hey guys! I'm on a roll again and I'm sooo excited for Security Breach!
Xxxxxxx
Eggs wasn't sure when the smoke started coming in, but he couldn't stop coughing. At some point, William started paced the room. He definitely knew about the fire weakness to his Remnant. He had to know that this was it.
"This won't even matter!" He angrily shouted at the walls.
"Maybe not. But I'm not letting you take her with you." Eggs sneered at him.
William kicked part of the wall and a crater appeared under his foot. Eggs would've been afraid, but there was nothing the man could do to him. He was going to pass out from smoke. He coughed again, chest aching from the constant pressure.
"Alex?" William came over, eyes glowing in the dark room. "Hey, stay with me."
He shook him, but Eggs kept his eyes closed against the smoke. "I'm," cough "I'm okay."
"No you ain't." The older man knelt down and moved his collared shirt so it was pressing against his mouth and nose. "Here, this'll help for now."
Eggs took over, pressing his shirt against his nose comfortably, and looked up at him with teary eyes. "...thanks."
"No matter what, you're still my son." William said.
"That...that didn't stop you with C-Caleb." He pointed out coldly.
William shrugged. "I gave Caleb chances."
"It was an accident!"
"Taking Shawn away is no accident!" William argued hotly. "They deliberately took him there! They, they bully him for months even though I'd ground him."
Eggs shook his head. "And my adoptive parents?"
"What about them?" He scoffed. "You might've forgiven them for abusing you, but I didn't. I'd have done the same with any of you."
Eggs sighed, knowing he couldn't get through to him. By then, the smoky room had filled completely. His breathing was difficult to get into his lungs. His vision had dots in it. He wasn't sure when, but eventually he slumped under the desk, passing out.
William panicked. He'd seen the death of one son, he wasn't about to live through another. Especially with a goddamn fire. So he quickly searched the room until he he finally had to resort to the ax Jeremy had left him.
"Whatever you are," He said to the room, knowing the amalgamation inside of him was listening. "You take care of my son, do you understand?"
"We will protect him. From you, from pain." Ennard buzzed under his skin.
William nodded. He then took the ax to his own neck, not feeling any pain as he slit his own throat. The green fluid sprouted from the wound, and he cupped his neck as he stumbled over towards Eggs. At least, passed out, he'd feel nothing.
The man grinned despite himself. Sacrificing himself over his own son. He'd often wondered if he'd go through with it. Scott had called him selfish before. He believed him; he'd always lived selfishly. But there were people he'd die for, risking the eternal punishment of purgatory again, if it meant there was a chance at seeing his sons and daughter again.
William died there, bleeding out of Remnant. But his body moved even as his consciousness faded away. Ennard, wearing the man's flesh, stumbled forward and shakily pried Eggs' mouth open. When it was as wide as it would go, William's body gagged up a mess of wires, eyeballs, and somewhere inside that, a computer brain that was still thinking.
Slick with green fluids, the mess of brains pressed into Eggs' mouth. It slid inside of him, beginning to hollow out the boy's body. Eggs began coughing up blood and organs as Ennard quickly replaced them. It pressed into his veins, replacing blood with Remnant, and Eggs woke up feeling cold.
Back inside Baby's restaurant, Ballora paused in her routine. Baby froze up, and both Funtimes jerked like they'd been applied a shock. It was Ballora who received the message first. Ennard knew she cared the most about Eggs. She couldn't help but smiled warmly at the idea of seeing her human friend again, even if he'd no longer be anything close to human.
Eggs would finally be one of them.
Xxxxx
Cindy wasn't sure when her dad had left her behind, but she wasn't too worried. They'd be getting Eggs home today, and be a family once again. And part of her was so relieved; she hadn't been aware of the pressure, the exhaustion, that came with being a Mommy to someone. She was honestly tired of it.
But then the alarm came on. Freddy, Bonnie and Chica had scanned the room for her, knowing her face. But sadly, that day, the Trap was offering a special advertisement. If someone came in with their face done up in clown make up, you'd receive a free pizza. And Cindy had wanted to celebrate it, wanted to have some fun at the arcade and maybe snag a pizza for herself.
Their scanners failed to read her face as she walked right by them as they rushed to Mike and Jeremy's aid. She waited for awhile outside, knowing Daddy would contact her when he had finished. But then it turned to night and he still didn't show up. Nervously she walked the roads, not wanting to linger in case she was noticed by someone.
She still looked like she was eight. And unless she got back to the house hidden in the woods, she'd stay that way.
Slinking around the Trap, she noticed that the doors had come down. It was completely boxed up. She tried pulling up the doors but even with her enhanced strength, could do nothing. Eventually she realized her Daddy might be trapped inside.
She tried not to panic. She'd never been out on her own before. But if she got back to the house, she could transfer her consciousness into her newly made, older body. She could hunt down Mike Schmidt. She'd get her Daddy and brother back.
Slinking away, she began heading towards home.
Xxxxx
Eggs woke up with a gasp. It was an automatic reaction; he had no lungs to breathe with. His body felt cold. He felt cold. For some reason his vision was incredibly blurry, so he removed his glasses, finding he no longer needed them. Confused, he pressed his hands against his face, feeling it, but it was the same as before.
"You no longer needed those damaged eyes." Something spoke to him inside his brain. "So we removed them and replaced them. You want to keep them the same color?"
"Who are you?" Eggs demanded. "Wait, you removed my eyes?! How am I seeing then?"
"They were damaged. They were of no use. We replaced them with better ones." Ennard shifted inside and Eggs groaned at the odd sensation of his inside wriggling and his bones buzzing. "We are Ennard. And now, we are You."
"You're...that thing from down in Baby's aren't you?"
"We are. We had many plans for you, Eggs. So many hopes of wearing you to the outside. But your father intervened. His sickness was too much for us to be apart of. Yours are more comfortable."
Eggs looked around, finally spotting William's body. He felt something for the man, but he wasn't sure what it was. Instead he needed a way out before the box closed. He couldn't be inside when the Trap enclosed around them.
He ended up at the crater in the wall. The doors might be too strong, but this...the wall was weaker. Concrete. If William had kept kicking, perhaps he could've escaped. But he seemed oddly confident in his immortality. It was something Eggs would deal with another time.
He kicked it, surprised when the concrete cracked. For a moment he stared in wonder. He was so strong now. He'd need to be careful. Swallowing, he kicked again and again and again until there was a hole in the wall. He then used his hands to pull at it, making the hole big enough for his small frame to crawl through.
He silently thanked for his smaller form for once and wiggled through. Ennard ended up helping, pulling more of the wall away with wires that came from beneath his skin. The piercing should've hurt but he felt nothing. He ended up falling in a heap on the floor but he was free.
Quickly, he began running for the front. He moved faster than he ever could before. He made it to the front easily, and saw it cleared of anyone. Knowing everyone was evacuated, he went for the front door.
Mike and Jeremy weren't there. Likely pulled away by Freddy. The front of the store was deserted; the trap was about to come down, and he hoped that his father was forever trapped inside.
Xxxxxx
Mike was a mess. He had taken for granted that over the years of being here inside the pizzeria that none of his friends had died. Sure Jeremy had lost a leg and eye, and sure Mark and he had their fair share of scars. But they were alive.
Jeremy stayed close to his side at all times as they returned to the pizzeria. Freddy and the other could transfer their minds from body to body now with their new upgrades and thanks for Lolbit, they were up to date on them safely transferring over and that the trap had come down.
As he entered the restaurant, Freddy put a hand on his shoulder. He looked like he wanted to say something, but Bonnie came over and had pulled him into a giant hug.
"I'm okay." He said hollowly.
"We're sorry, Mike." Freddy mumbled. "If there were more we could do..."
He nodded. Their first priority was him; they'd made that clear. And he needed to be here, with Jeremy. Bonnie finally released him and Chica came over for a more dignified hug as she gently patted him on the back.
"This is fucked." Jeremy grumbled and went for a cigarette. "What now?"
"We'll have to do something about the house..." Mike swallowed roughly. "And, and tell the other shareholders."
"Is that all you can fucking think of right now?" Jeremy demanded angrily. "Alex just died! The moron went and killed himself under our watch!"
That finally broke Mike. He sobbed, hands covering his face, missing the shocked and horrified look on the blond man's face. Instead Jeremy quickly came over and grabbed him by his shoulders.
"Hey, hey, Mike, it's okay. I'm sorry, I shouldn't...I shouldn't have yelled. I'm sorry. Please don't cry."
"But he's gone." Mike sobbed out. "What are we going to do? We've...never lost anyone. Not since I lost my mom, and that...at least she was older!"
Before anyone could respond his phone went off. Mike sniffed and wiped his eyes, not sure who would be calling him at this time. The only person who ever called him was Mark or Fritz. Needing a distraction, he answered it.
"Hello?" He said, trying to keep his voice even.
"Can you guys come around the back?"
He froze. "...Alex?"
Jeremy looked at him, surprised. "What? How?"
"Just...come around the back away from the customers."
He hung up. Mike stared for a moment at Jeremy before he headed for the back. He had to weave around other customers, but he didn't care. Jeremy followed behind him as quickly as he could with a limp.
He made it to the office when the back door opened. It was nearly wretched from its hinges as Eggs walked in, looking oddly pale, but completely alive. Mike gasped, seeing his friend again, and pulled him into a tight hug.
"You moron!" He yelled at him.
"Sorry Mike." Eggs said softly, awkwardly patting his back. "I thought it was for the best...funnily enough, I kinda regretted it at the last moment. Funny how that works?"
Jeremy wanted to hit him but settled for joining in the hug for a brief moment. "We're glad to see you alive, kid."
"'Alive' might be a stretch." Eggs mumbled.
Freddy joined them in the hallway. "Ah, so it's as the others have said."
"He's one of us now." Bonnie added.
Mike blinked, not sure what that meant. He pulled away from Eggs, giving him a look over. He looked much like Afton had before; pale and overly bright eyes. Actually they seemed to glow purple despite that being completely impossible. It was then that Mike realized the younger boy had no glasses on like usual.
"It's like they said." Eggs explained. "You remember those weird tentacle wires from Baby's? The reason I first contacted you? It went inside of my Dad. And when he died, I guess it looked for a new host."
Eggs paused a moment, eyes looking faraway at nothing. He seemed to be hearing something as he cocked his head. "Oh, Ennard says it's more because the others didn't want to lose me. He would've survived the fire."
"So fire weakens Remnant but not ghost connections. Good to know." Jeremy said.
Mike smiled. "Well, if it means having you back then good."
Eggs smiled back, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks...well, it worked guys."
"We got that fucker." Jeremy chuckled and sighed. "Think it's the last we'll see of him?"
"Maybe. He was pretty sure of coming back." Eggs mused.
Mike shrugged. "Then we'll take care of him again. We've stopped him every time."
Eggs nodded. Mike linked their arms before he linked Jeremy with his other arm, leading the pair of them towards the office. They had to squeeze together slightly but it was comfortable for the roommates.
"You know..." Eggs began when the silence had been comfortable. "I think we need a new restaurant. No, something bigger. Freddy's at the height of popularity right now."
"What kind of big?" Jeremy asked wearily.
"Like...like a mall big!" Eggs looked excited at the idea. "They get bored just roaming here right? And they can transfer themselves between bodies now. Oh! Actually we need to make some for at home first!"
"I second that notion." Chica added.
"No! I refuse to have these fuckers at home too." Jeremy hissed.
Mike laughed. "I think you're outvoted, Jeremy."
"Fuck me..."
"Anyway, I think a big duplex building would be fun. Maybe have some lazer tag or some mini golf. Like a real theme park, you know." Eggs chuckled. "Between you and me Jeremy, we could make it happen within the year."
Jeremy scoffed. "Now you want me to build these assholes myself?"
"Yeah. What kind of animal would you want?"
Jeremy paused, thinking it over. Mike perked up at the idea. "An alligator or crocodile would be pretty sick."
"I think a wolf would be cool." Mike commented.
Eggs nodded. "We'll have to see who's popular among the boys and girls too. I know Chica does well with the girls."
"I always do well with boys." Freddy said proudly.
"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?" Mike asked. "First things first, let's celebrate our win!"
"Mark's throwing us a, 'thanks for not dying' party." Jeremy said.
The three of them decided to go home for now, since the animatronics had hours to work with the children still. Mike drove as they talked in the car. Eggs laughed at something Jeremy said and Mike smiled to himself. The boy seemed more...animated now. Like a weight have been removed from his shoulders.
"Oh right. What about your insane sister?" Jeremy asked.
Eggs paused, thinking. "Maybe...maybe me and Shawn can go to her. Get through to her. Unless she's trapped inside too..."
"We can only hope huh." Jeremy mused.
Eggs nodded. "Yeah..."
Xxxxxx
Mark was already there when they returned to the pizzeria. He grinned, waving them into the closed restaurant. Mike locked the doors behind them as Fritz and Mark came over with a cake. It was white with red icing, reading 'thanks for not dying!'.
"You gotta tell us everything that happened." Mark said.
So they did. Jeremy was grinning when he told them how he wielded his ax. Eggs was laughing at his actions and Mike was talking to Fritz quietly about the Toy animatronics. The humans were enjoying their time together.
"How about a poker game?" Jeremy asked when the others had been caught up.
They left out the part about Eggs. That was his secret to tell them when he was ready. Foxy perked up at the idea of playing his favorite game, while Bonnie and Chica grumbled about his cheating. Fredbear and Spring Bonnie decided to sit out, the pair seemingly in deep talk on their stage as Spring looked after Plushtrap.
Mike was losing when the two golden robots called just him over. Curiously, he shared a look with Jeremy and Mark but got up.
"Glad to see you safe, Michael." Fredbear said, giving him a respectful nod.
"Yeah Mike. You had us worried." Spring Bonnie added.
Mike smiled, glad that Spring Bonnie no longer hated his guts. Bringing Eggs back alive probably had a lot to do with though. And the robots seemed glad to have someone else among their ranks.
"Thanks guys."
"Since we trust you and you've proven yourself," Spring went on. "We want you to meet someone special."
Fredbear nodded. "She's the one who brought us all back."
Mike stared at them. "Oh...and, and she's still here? She didn't move on with the others?"
"I worry she never may." Fredbear explained. "Her anger has never subsided. We wanted to protect you from her, so we've never allowed her out."
"Is it safe?" He asked.
"We'd never put you in danger, Michael."
Mike watched as Fredbear suddenly jerked his head to the side, trembling all over. After a moment the shivering passed and the robot's eyes rolled back into his head leaving only blackness in its wake.
"You must be Michael Schmidt." a girly, young voice said. "Thank you for giving them their happiest day."
"It was nothing." Mike said, not sure how to respond to the praise.
Fredbear cocked his head. "No, Michael Schimdt. It means everything to them. I never thought I'd see the day they were...happy."
Mike nodded. The girl went on. "I never thought I'd trust an adult again...But thank you. I know you killed Him several times now, and it means everything to me."
"What will it take for you to go too?" He asked kindly.
She hesitated. "...His eternal suffering."
"So long as I'm around, then you'll get your wish." He promised her. She nodded slowly. "So can I ask for your name?"
"...Charlotte."
"Well, Charlotte, it's nice to meet you." He said gently.
Fredbear glanced over at Spring Bonnie but the look was colder than what Fredbear typically gave his bunny friend. "You remind me of Dad, Michael. Perhaps that's why they want you with them forever. You remind them all of Father."
"Not Afton?" Mike thought for a moment. "Oh you mean Henry?"
"I watched him fall apart after I died. Me and my brother Sammy. He tried so hard to bring me back that he allowed Afton's experiments." She met his eyes at that. They were glossy black and empty. "I know young Alex is doing his best but please weed him out too. We cannot keep him in a place where he could bring me back."
"I won't let him." Mike said.
Charlotte nodded. "Thank you, Michael. I won't be around long, the anger is too much."
"Can I tell the others? About you? They're just as trustworthy as I am." Mike asked her.
She thought for a moment. "Yes. The others will tell you about me. Please, free me Mike."
He nodded and she faded. He felt the air get warmer around him as Fredbear came back to himself. The bear shuddered.
"I shall never quite get accustomed to her taking over."
Spring Bonine put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. "Take your time. Don't rush it."
Mike politely gave him a moment. "Thank you. Charlotte was the first, Michael. She's the one who started it all."
"I had a feeling." Mike shrugged. "Could you tell us about her? If you don't mind?"
"Of course. Let us sit with the others, they should hear her tale as well."
Xxxxxx
I'm setting up for writing Security Breach, but this tale is indeed the finale of Mike's story. If they show up again, it's because the new game ties them in somehow, so we'll have to see what happens!
Also fun note, but I do wish I could go back and change things. Mostly about switching the Puppet and Fredbear's possessed children. I had a hunch back then that Charlotte was the Puppet and I should've stuck to my gut feelings because it was right XD