Welcome to arc three everyone!

Are you ready for angst? I'm ready for the angst! Granted I'm always ready for angst…hence the story…

But anyways! Bit of a shorter chapter but it sets the stage for the arc! So here we are!

Not much to say today…wait! No, I remember! Before I forget….again, I wanted to ask y'all something.

How would you feel about a prequel?

Granted the concept is pretty far off…but I wanted to propose the idea, and this wouldn't be a prequel that really includes Leo, as he doesn't get involved in this stuff till later on…but it will be my version of how everything started. Like, it would feature Henry, William, the Byrds and their respective children. It's still a vague idea in my head but it's been a lingering vague idea, idk, just wanted to see if you guys would be interested in something like that!

Anyways…onto reviews!

PK - SPRINGTRAP HUG MEH: Yeah…that was a big chapter, I started writing it and then boom! Big chapter. And that's a good conclusion! Yeah, they are both villains, just a bit different in the ways they go about it. And that is correct, Acidrew is not nearly as precise as his father. And oh yeah, William's ideology is terrible. Logically it makes no sense, and would only be something that a pure psychopath would come up with.

TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3: Yeah, Fox is certainly not like Leo, and is a lot more…malicious. With Leo already being a pretty emotional person, Fox is just that tenfold. Logic isn't really something the alter-ego is considering. William is going to regret underestimating Fox. And yes, William has a past of his own as well, and it did play a part in the man he became. And ah, it may very well play into that...but who knows? And yes, Elizabeth is still a child…but much like the children in the original…she is so very corrupted. I'm glad you like the concept of a long story! I know I personally enjoy stories when they are long so I'm glad to see I'm not alone! And thank you! I'm glad you like the story!

I own nothing but my characters and ideas

Credit to Selkiesong22 for all her help

Part Three

Chapter 54
Fear

Two and a half months later…

When Leo opened his eyes, he didn't recognize where he was.

The sky above him was dark, with faint wisps of clouds covering the minimal stars that he could see from the well lit town.

His body felt heavy…tired, he was sore in all sorts of places, his mouth was dry.

But his main concern wasn't about his body.

What the ***l had happened?

With a groan, he slowly sat up, trying to ignore how sore and stiff he was. Lifting his tired eyes he glanced around, and found himself in a alleyway, but not the one behind Freddy's that had been his temporary home.

…wait, Freddy's.

Scott…no, no William, William did something to him didn't he?

What had he said again? Something about using Leo's body?

At the thought, his eyes drifted to his hands…and his eyes went as wide as saucers.

…why were his hands covered in blood?

This discovery led him to further inspection of the rest of his body. He was in his uniform again…but that too was decorated in blood splatters.

Leo's heart rate increased tenfold, wh…what was going on?

What had W…William done?

Questions spun erratically in Leo's head causing it to throb angrily.

With a groan he hunched over and held his head trying to calm what felt like a hangover headache.

With a brief and panicked thought, Leo wondered if all these past few months had been a dream, or some fantastical hallucination.

But with a quick roll up of his pants and the sight of the long surgical scar there, he quickly concluded that it all was in fact real.

With a breath of relief that he couldn't place the origin of, Leo fell back on the ground again, holding his head and trying to gather his wits about him.

What the ***l had happened?

The last thing he remembered was being strapped to a table, with Acid and William before him. They were talking about…something. Something about William needing a body…and how Leo was so easily fooled…

****n. So it had all been a trick then.

Leo bit down on his lip to prevent it from quivering.

Stop that.

His mind commanded, and after a moment he took a shuddering breath and pushed aside the mounting emotions.

Was he surprised?

No.

He wasn't.

Did he feel a heavy weight plant itself on his chest and a hole carved out in his gut?

Yeah.

Closing his eyes tight, Leo took a deep and hard breath.

No Sco-William. No pizzeria, no bots, no Enix.

***k what did he have left now?

Letting his eyes open, Leo stared up at the sky, feeling hollow and yet at the same time completely weighed down.

It felt as though his world had grown narrow once more, isolating him from everyone else.

From everyone normal and civilized.

What more was he but a homeless ex-convict druggie?

He was no better then the scraps thrown in the trash.

Wasted potential.

Though saying he had potential in the first place was being generous.

Despite all those months…all that working, all that trying.

He was back where he started.

Except now he was covered in blood, with a hangover and no recollection of who knows how much time.

Taking a deep breath Leo forced himself into a sitting position. He had to get out of here, who knows if the cops were looking for him. And at this point he didn't care what he did.

He was not going back to jail.

Forcing himself to his feet, Leo was soon hit with a dizzy spell that left him stumbling to the wall for support.

Once there he leaned heavily on the old bricks, taking hard and deep breaths eyes on the ground as he tried not upheaval whatever was in his stomach.

***k, what the ***l did he take this time?

And for that matter, whatever happened with the whole Sco-William and Acid situation?

What did William mean by 'take your body'?

Clearly Leo was still here…so did he fail…?

The last thing he remembered was screaming…

Shaking his head slightly to dismiss it, Leo took a hard breath and pushed himself off the wall and more onto his feet.

He had to get out of here, before it was too late.

The previous guard was about to turn the corner and head down the sidewalk, to hopefully skip town before anyone noticed him…

But familiar voices caught his ears.

"…***k this. I don't know why we came all the way to this stupid town." A voice grumbled, and Leo found himself quickly pressing up against the wall as the people drew closer.

"Fox called us up, you know the rules." Added a second voice, and for some reason, both the voices and the name rung loudly in his head as familiar.

But for the life of him he didn't know why.

"***k that! That was six ***King years ago! Snake will have our heads if he knew that we were still following Fox's orders." Snarled the first voice, and Leo's mind began to throb painfully.

***k…he knew those voices…those names…how did he know them…?

"…yeah. I know." Muttered the second one, and Leo slowly lowered to a crouched position holding his throbbing head.

He watched their shadows dance over the opposite wall as they crossed next to his alley.

But like so many times before, the passerby's didn't notice him.

Leo caught a glance of them when he finally dared to raise his head.

But just as he suspected, he did not recognize them.

Was this from his blackout? Or was this about his elusive past?

Leo didn't know, but he didn't want to find out.

Why did he feel like he was responsible for their appearance?

All in all, it took about a hour for Leo to step out of the alley. He heard no police sirens, and nor were there cops searching the streets with dogs.

Who knows, maybe this was his blood.

Leo wasn't as panicked at that thought as he probably should've been.

Before he left the alleyway, he did unbutton his blood stained and ripped shirt. He let his eyes flicker over his torso until they landed on the large gash over his chest.

So that's where the blood came from.

But what had caused it?

And shouldn't he be in more pain…?

Oh, right, drugs.

With a breath, Leo buttoned up his shirt again and stepped out of the alleyway, nightfall had fallen, and so it was less likely for someone to see his bloodied and likely haggard appearance.

So many questions swirled within Leo's mind, but no answers came to him. As he headed down the sidewalk he went to investigating his pockets to try and find anything that might give him clues as to what had happened to him.

But to no avail, all he found was burnt out cigarette butts, a lighter, and to his slight alarm a bloodied pocket knife.

Had he done this to himself?

The pocket knife was promptly closed and put back his pocket to be forgotten forever.

After a bit of walking and spotting some familiar landmarks of the town, Leo concluded that he was near Freddy's.

Which of course only raised more questions.

The most prominent was…

Should he make the trip? Apologize? Beg for their forgiveness of his ignorance?

He had groveled before, he wasn't against doing it again.

But, it was then that Acid's words rang in his ears.

"Those monsters…those bots. They are real…the originals. They asked me to make them. Because they wanted forms that would scare you…they are in there. In those bots…in that room. That's them. Your Bonnie…Chica…Freddy…Foxy…the Puppet…that was them."

Leo stopped in his tracks, staring at the ground, hands trembling as he intently studied the crevices in the concrete.

…and then a spot of the concrete darkened as a drop of something wet fell onto it.

It wasn't dark enough to be blood.

Knowing what it was, Leo's hands immediately went to his eyes as he held his closed fists to them, taking deep and shaky breaths as his shoulders hunched up high.

"***king ***l…pull yourself together Byrd…" he growled to himself through a broken and clogged voice.

***k it, ***k it all to ***l…

He wanted to go home…he wanted to go back to the bots, forget all of this happened. Forget the nightmares, forget Scott…forget everything.

But that would be impossible wouldn't it?

Well, perhaps not impossible….but stupid.

If he went back there…they would kill him wouldn't they?

His breath hitched, and his shoulders hiked up higher. He grit his teeth together and pressed his fists hard against his eyes. As if that would clog up the water flow.

It didn't.

Here, Leo stood in the middle of town, a blubbering and idiotic mess.

His legs gave out from under him and he dropped to his knees, heaving for breath and wiping harshly at his face. He choked on unreleased sobs and curled up as tight as possible trying to restrain and control the emotion bursting out of him like a shaken soda.

***king ***l…he wanted to go home…****it! How did this all happen? What made him so horrible that everyone around him hated his guts?

Why was he like this…?

Leo wasn't sure how long he stayed on that sidewalk, trying to get control on his emotions.

How long he sat there curled up, inhaling shaky but sharp breaths.

But it must've been awhile, for when he did lift his head and pant for breath, the moon had risen high in the sky, and the cool night breeze had settled into his bones.

Exhaustion weighed on him like an ankle chain. He wanted to curl up and stay in this spot forever. He was tired…more tired then he had been before, and he didn't see what the point of getting up was.

He had nothing.

He was back to where he started.

Just…with a whole lotta memories and regrets.

No more tears came, and his body ordered him to get up and get water, but his legs did not move, his head fell, and he curled up in the middle of the sidewalk holding his head.

He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to face the world around him, the world with the darkened corners. The unfriendly and unkind world that liked to chew him up and spit him back out again.

Leo was overwhelmed with decisions he had to make. Where was he going to go? How was he to survive now? Should he just brush off what William had said?

The previous night guard didn't know, and as he lay on the cool concrete he realized he didn't really want to know. He wanted to lay here, curled up tight and let the elements take him.

Maybe once he was gone, everything would return back to normal, with his corrupted piece of existence no longer there, perhaps the pizzeria would find a better guard, Enix would find a better roommate.

Maybe, they would be happier.

Leo didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he felt sunbeams hitting his face and feel a presence above him.

It was the presence that made his eyes snap open as he looked up at the sight of a masked person standing over him.

Leo let out a cry and jerked up into a sitting position scrambling away from this masked stranger.

"What the ***?!" He cried, ignoring the pulses and spasms of pain that flashed through him at all this movement.

The masked person jerked back with a cry as well, raising his arms defensively.

It was then that Leo noticed his hands were gloved as well.

What the ***k.

"I'm not here to hurt you! I just…recognized you! From the p..park…" the man stammered, hiding his masked face, his eyes wide but hidden behind sunglasses.

"The…the park…?" Leo questioned, his mind spinning as to when he had been to the park anytime recently.

Then his mind flashed to the sight of a oddly behaving man eating full sticks of butter.

With widened eyes, he lifted them to none other then Michael.

"B…butter guy!" He stammered, and for a moment Michael just stared at him before letting out a breath.

"Yeah…I guess I'm the butter guy…" he rubbed the back of his neck, "it's uh…Leo right?" Leo gave a sight nod getting to his feet.

That's when he took in the appearance of the man before him.

Something about him seemed different, perhaps it was the odd way he covered up every bit of possibly exposed skin.

On his hands were gloves, on his face was a mask and sunglasses around his neck was some kind of scarf, no his hair covered the rest of possibly exposed skin.

Did he not like the sun…?

Then why was he in the park?

"Y…yeah…" that was all he could mutter, and Michael nodded, before pausing and taking a breath.

"R…right…well, can I ask why you were uh, sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk?" Michael asked hesitantly and Leo cast his eyes down on the spot he had been previously.

"…it's a long story." His eyes lifted to Michael and he raised an eyebrow, "want to tell me why you are covered head to toe?" At that Michael paused and looked down with a breath as well.

"Also a long story." Leo nodded and stole a breath shoving his hands in his pockets.

A moment or two of awkward silence descended upon the pair, and Leo almost opened his mouth to ask him about the other location when a familiar voice made him freeze.

"Fox! You freakin' *****d!"

Leo didn't have to turn around to know it was Enix.

But who was Fox?

Half of him was tempted to just run, but he knew full well that Enix could easily overtake him.

But maybe he was talking to this Fox person…?

All hopes of that were dashed when a hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

Leo's shoulders hunched up and he cast his gaze up to Enix without lifting his head.

Enix however frozen and lifted his hand with a furrowed brow and a deep frown. "…something the matter Fox?" He asked, and that caused Leo to frown for two reasons.

One, the cautious tone to Enix's voice.

And who the ***l was Fox?!

"Been so long you forgot my name already?" He attempted to try dryly, but the quivering of his voice gave him away.

Enix blinked at him brows furrowing even lower.

"Well whose fault is that? You're the one who snuck out last night, for 'booze and girls!' You claimed, and threatened anyone who dared to try and follow." Then Enix frowned deeply, "you don't remember that do you?"

However Leo could only stare incredulously.

Booze and girls?

What the ***k?

"….wait." Enix said before Leo could gather his wits enough to respond.

His eyes had fallen to the blood stains on Leo's hands and uniform.

At realizing what he was referring to, Leo tucked his hands under his arms crossing them over his chest.

"W…wait! It's mine I swear!" He claimed, not sure why, but he felt a urgent and desperate need to convince Enix that this blood was his, and his alone. "I can prove it!" He claimed, and shakily started unbuttoning his shirt.

Only for Enix to grab his wrists, Leo froze and swallowed before lifting his gaze up to him.

This time Enix looked concerned.

"Fox…what did you do?"

Leo wasn't sure why the look on Enix's face panicked him so, it was a mixture of concerned and disappointment.

And it hurt more then a animatronic hit to the face.

"I…I'm not…I'm not Fox…I…I don't know who that is…" Leo stammered out, he wasn't going to take on the crimes and misdeeds of this unknown man!

At that Enix stiffened and gazed at him carefully, "…so who are you then…?"

At this point Leo was getting frustrated.

What was going on with Enix!?

"I'm Leo! Who the ***k else would I be!?" He demanded, fed up with whatever game Enix was playing.

However he froze at the widening of Enix's eyes.

"L…Leo?" He stammered out, and Leo frowned deeply, thoroughly confused.

"Yes. I have and always will be Leo." He said this slowly, as if Enix was having trouble comprehending the concept.

But the blue haired man before him just looked to be in shock.

Finally, making Leo stiffen and gaze up at him guardly, Enix planted both hands on his shoulders and gazed down at him with a look that was a mixture between pain and relief.

What the ***k…?

He let out a startled yelp as suddenly Enix pulled him into what could only be described as a hug.

Leo's arms were out as he helplessly didn't know what to do as the substantially taller man hugged him.

"I…uh…Enix…?" He asked confused, but Enix's hold only tightened as he took shaky breaths.

"***king ***l Leo…you ***n idiot." The taller man huffed, and Leo frowned deeply at the insult, but Enix wasn't done. "****it Leo…I didn't know if you'd ever come back! Don't ever do that again!" He pulled away and held him by his shoulders, leaning down to be eye level with him. Which Leo couldn't help but recoil slightly at not used to the direct eye contact.

"What the ***k are you talking about!?" Leo demanded hiking up his shoulders.

Enix however wasn't fazed by the change in demeanor and frowned a bit, looking confused, "do…you not remember?"

"Well obviously!" He barked, and Enix frowned before taking a breath.

"Well…I mean it's kinda a long story…but we should get back first. The others have been worried." He paused and looked to the side pulling out a flip phone, "I'll need to call Ashford and Jamie…"

But Leo jerked away and backed up, stomach doing backflips as his eyes widened and his breath came out in hitches.

Enix looked up from his phone and frowned before his eyes widened in realization.

"No…***t Leo, no, they aren't going to hurt you." He attempted but when he took a step forward Leo took a near leap back.

"No! I'm not going back there!" He shouted, before his hands flew to his head, eyes wide as he clawed at his skull trying to be rid of the feeling of teeth sinking into his flesh and breaking through his bone.

"Leo, I swear they aren't! T…they are still stuck in their nightmare forms until Joey wakes up but I swear they won't do anything! Colt is even working on returning them to their original bodies!" He tried, but that only caused Leo to give a strained whimper as he heaved for breath.

The nightmares were there…that meant Acid was telling the truth…that they were real and the bots wanted to hurt him like that…

"***king ***l Leo! Why don't you ever think of anyone besides yourself!?" A sudden, familiar, and yet foreign voice demanded, and Leo flinched jerking away as he lifted his gaze to a figure dressed in pants, a tank, and suspenders. His face was scratched out but Leo knew one thing…that this guy had dark eyes…

Very dark eyes that were glaring at him.

Colt…

His mind supplied, and as he stared at the strange and blurry figure wide eyed, he suddenly felt jaws clamping down on his shoulder and a cry of pain escaped him as he jerked away and looked to the source, only to find Enix there looking confused and deeply concerned.

What…?

"Leo? Hey…hey talk to me…what's going on?" Enix implored, and Leo opened his mouth to explain…but slowly shut it again as he looked around and there was no sign of this mysterious Colt…and whatever had bitten his shoulder.

He looked around the fairly empty main street seeing normal people going about their normal lives.

And *****it…he nearly started crying again.

"Leo…?" Enix ventured, taking a step closer, but a flare of anger burst from Leo's chest and he whipped on him.

"You're ***king crazy if you ever think I'm going back to that cursed place!" He shouted, and Enix jumped but took a hard breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"Leo…please, let me explain what happened…" Enix tried, but Leo didn't want to listen. He turned and quickly walked away, his mind spinning.

What had been that back there? Where had that man come from? Had something really bitten him?

"He's weak, tiny, what harm can he really do?" The words came from the mouth of a passerby as he talked on the phone.

Leo froze in place watching him go wide eyed.

Had he really said that to him?

"Leo! It's me Chica! I want to help you! Open up the door!" A familiar and haunting voice made Leo look immediately to the source. There he found a blond woman talking with another woman.

The feeling of fangs piercing his skull begin again, the scratchy feeling of cotton as it went down his throat resurfaced.

"Well. Your purpose of course." A sudden voice to his right made him turn and look up at the face of Sc-William staring down at him, his grin far too big, even for the Spring Bonnie suit. Leo couldn't help but recoil as he stared up at him wide eyed, now trembling. "The reason I spent all that time with you." His ears pulled back as Leo stared on in fear. "Pandered to your needs and listened to all your whining." Leo couldn't help but whimper, as suddenly William before him turned into a nightmarish decaying Spring Bonnie and Leo fell back holding his arms above his head and hyperventilating.

"Leo!" A voice shouted, but it was crowded out by the other voices screaming at him.

"Leo! Where the ***l did you put them!?" "***king ***l good job kid." "Leo Byrd, convicted for selling drugs, and first degree murder, how do you plea?" "Plea!? You think I'll plea!? HAhAHa! I'm guilty! Didn't you see the camera's?! Talk to the witness!? What you gonna let a murderer roam the streets!?" "New guy here huh? Well, if you shut up and don't talk back, maybe you'll get out of this alive." "Someone vouched for you, convinced the judge to post bail and even paid it. Lucky you huh?" "You want to be both night and day guard?"

"LEO!"

"Ha! Didn't mean to scare ya there laddie!" "Uh…hello…? Hello?" "He's so frustrating sometimes!" "Leo…we are just concerned…" "How do we know you guys aren't related to the murders huh?" "You remind them of him."

"Leo! Look at me!"

"You remind them of him." "You're gonna take my body?"

"***nit Leo! Look at me!"

"You better make daddy proud."

Leo suddenly found himself being held and shaken. By his shoulders. His eyes returned to focus and he gazed up at Enix's for a moment…someone solid…someone there.

And before he knew what he was doing he was clinging to Enix like a lifeline shaking and trying to hide from the fading voices.

Enix froze before slowly embracing him and putting a hand on his head. "Shh…shh…it's okay…it's safe…it's safe."

Whew. Leo isn't doing so great is he?

I guess that kinda thing would happen after everything that he's been through. Hopefully he can get back on his feet! Before…something else happens of course.

What did you guys think of Michael? Fox's mysterious friends? Do you think Leo will be able to recover? Or is he too far gone? What happened in those months? Why was Leo slashed across the chest? Why would Fox suddenly let Leo out again?

I'd love to hear what you think!