Marcus wiped at the blood on the floor with a towel, double-checking to make sure it was truly gone. There wasn't anymore coming out, or at least, he hadn't needed to replace the tissue he stuck up his nostril to plug it up. He removed the paper and tossed it into a nearby trash bin before sitting down against the wall. He closed his eyes and began to rest.
"Marcus, we need to talk," Freddy said. Marcus tried to pretend he had fallen asleep, but the bear just grabbed his shoulders and began to shake him awake.
"I'm up, I'm up!" the night guard said, rubbing at his eyes, "What do you want?"
"Can we go to your office?" Freddy asked, "I want to speak with you in private."
"Fine." The duo walked over to Marcus' desk, where the guard sat down and looked up at the animatronic. "What's up?"
"Something's not right with this whole Charlie situation," Freddy said, his mention of Charlie snapping Marcus out of his stupor, "I mean, she's never acted so rashly before. Even during your first confrontation, she only attacked when she felt you were threatening us, and even then, she only began strangling you as a last resort."
"I would argue that actual communication could have come before choking me to death," Marcus replied, "But I think something was weird about it, too. I mean, she was a lot stronger this time, and like you said, a lot more intent on killing me. Not to mention her eyes."
"Her eyes?" Freddy asked, "Her eyes were normal."
"Not when she was throttling me. She had tiny white dots for pupils. Normally she doesn't have anything."
"White dots?" Freddy said, his eyes widening, "That means—" Before he could finish his thought, the bear doubled over and began twitching uncontrollably, grabbing at his head and groaning in pain. Marcus nervously felt at the stun gun he had installed under his desk as a part of his request. He searched his memory for other weapons he could use if the little device directly at his disposal wasn't enough to topple the large bear. Freddy suddenly stood up straight and turned back around to face Marcus, his eyes now a pitch black with the same white pinpricks for pupils.
"I find it cute how willing you are to admit you were beat up by a girl," Freddy said, his voice suddenly accompanied by an electronic crackle, "That said, I'm sorry to say that you're not following the rules here at Freddy's. We specifically ask all endoskeleton performers to remain in costume while not backstage, and you aren't in costume. Let me fix that."
"Oh, hell," Marcus groaned, sliding the stun gun out of its holster as the robot bear leaned over to pick him up out of his chair. Freddy lifted him into the air and began to carry him over to Parts and Service. Marcus pressed the device in his hand against the animatronic's left shoulder and pressed the button on the side. Freddy stumbled back as he grabbed at his shoulder, dropping the human onto the floor. Marcus quickly recovered, but so did Freddy.
"Ow! Why, you sneaky little…" Freddy began, before composing himself and starting over, "Now, now, we wouldn't want to have a scene, now would we? So just come with me quietly, and everything will be back to normal." Marcus turned and ran down the hallway into the main area, where he found Foxy, Bonnie, and Chica moving towards him.
"Lad, we heard the commotion!" Foxy said, "What's going on?"
"Something's happened to Freddy! He's trying to stuff…" Marcus trailed off as he realized the Foxy and Chica had the same black eyes with tiny white pupils as Freddy and the Puppet. Bonnie didn't have eyes, but the lights that stood in for his eyes were also white.
"Well, I know why," Bonnie droned, the crackle in his voice just barely audible over his already glitchy voice, "You aren't wearing your costume. Come on, let's get that problem fixed."
"Uhhhh, Marcus?" Toy Bonnie called, "The older models are acting kinda weird."
"Good to know," Marcus said dryly, then jabbed Foxy in the stomach with the stun gun, causing him to fall over. He ran through the opening in the animatronic wall towards the Toys.
"Marcus, what should we do?" Mangle asked.
"Get the closet open," Marcus replied, "I'm gonna have a chat with the only person who might be able to help." The Toys played with the door for a few seconds, then pushed the door open.
"We'll try to buy you some time," Toy Freddy said, "Just get what you need, and get out." Marcus nodded and ducked inside, closing the door behind him. He looked over at a file cabinet and shoved it in front of the door to barricade it shut.
"Charlie," he said, prompting her to look up, "I know that you wouldn't break your word on purpose, so I need you to explain what's going on." The puppet shook her head. "Please," Marcus added, "Your family is going to tear each other apart if you don't do anything."
"I found five dead kids the night I gave them their new bodies," she said, "You know the first four, but the fifth one possessed a character called Fredbear, but he was out of commission at that point, so it's really just an avatar. All you really need to know right now is that she can take control of the animatronics and wants revenge for her murder. The problem is, she doesn't really care whether or not the person she attacks actually killed her. All she cares about is if they work for Freddy's."
"So how do I stop her?" Marcus asked.
"I…I-I can't," Charlie said, "I made a deal with her not to interfere, and she's too powerful for me to risk crossing her."
"Of course. I understand."
"What?"
"Yeah. You're scared your family is going to get hurt if you don't do as she says. It's kind of your main weakness. Well, guess what?" He gestured at the door. "Your family is already going to get hurt because for some reason, she didn't possess the Toys. They're going to kill each other anyways."
He glanced at a rusty crowbar lying on the floor and took it into his hands. "I'm going to try and stop that. And I'm gonna try to keep everyone intact. But if I can't get them to a point where the original four stop fighting, then I'm going to have to scrap them to protect the Toys and myself. You can save them, if you realize that the risks of obeying this Fredbear spirit outweigh the risks of trying to defy her."
Charlie remained silent. Marcus shrugged and started to push the filing cabinet out of the way. He managed to get the door unblocked, and was about to turn the doorknob when the puppet grabbed his wrist. He turned to see that Charlie had gotten to her feet, and actually was floating a few inches off the ground.
"The animatronics are built to cut off all power from their systems in the event of an energy surge," she said, "She'll probably abandon them once they shut down."
"What could I use to give the energy surge?" Marcus asked.
"That stun gun should work. You'll have to stay in contact for a while, though."
"Alright, let's go." Marcus turned the doorknob, then turned back around. "Since when have you been able to float? I've never seen you do that."
"Have you ever actually seen me move around?"
"Good point." Marcus pulled the door open and ran out into Kid's Cove. He looked over into the dining area to assess the situation. The Toys were being forced back towards the night guard. Mangle looked over her shoulder, doing a double take when she saw the Puppet.
"Charlie?" she said, "What's she doing here?"
"Don't worry about it," Marcus replied, "Just get clear of the original four."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine, just stay in one piece!"
Marcus scanned for his first target, finally settling on Chica. He ran over to the chicken and ducked under her swinging arms, avoiding the whip-like wires that probably could have slashed at his skin if they connected. He pressed the button on the stun gun and pressed it against the robotic bird's thigh. She spasmed from the electricity moving through her, but Marcus continued to hold the device to her fabric skin.
The guard looked to his left to see Foxy's hook swinging down towards him. He was forced to disconnect from Chica and rolled onto his stomach to get back to his feet. He turned to knock away Bonnie's arm, which was reaching out to grab him from behind. He sidestepped another swipe from Foxy's hook and pressed his stun gun against Bonnie's side.
Before he could press the button, Bonnie's hand closed on his arm. What followed was a fierce stinging pain that caused him to lose his balance and fall over. Bonnie was fine, however, and began to advance on the disoriented human. Charlie grabbed Marcus by the shoulder and yanked him backwards, sliding him across the floor over to the Toys. Toy Bonnie grabbed the man by his shoulders and stood him up.
"Marcus, are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine, just stay where it's safe," he grunted. He shook his head to clear his mind before charging back into the fray. Foxy swung at his neck, but Marcus slid under the attack and caught himself on the pirate fox's leg with his crowbar before yanking. Foxy fell forward onto the tiles, and before he could get up, Marcus brought the stun gun's prongs down into his neck and pressed the button. The resulting zap seemed to put the fox down in a few seconds, rather quickly compared to his attempts against Bonnie and Chica.
"Okay, that's the hardest one down," Marcus panted, "Without that damn hook, this should be a breeze."
"Look out!" he heard Mangle shout. He looked up to see Chica's arms being brought down on him. He had enough time to instinctively close his eyes before the wires lashed at him like a whip. One hand went to his cheek while the other retaliated with a swing to the bird's head with his crowbar.
The hand on his cheek fell to retrieve the stun gun from Foxy's motionless body. He lunged at Chica with the device, but Freddy grabbed him and threw him down the hallway. Charlie tried to grab Marcus and pull him to safety, but Bonnie grabbed her arm and swung her into the wall.
"Well, well, here we are," Freddy said, calmly walking towards the guard, "Not so tough without that shocking thing, are you?" Marcus felt around and realized that the bear spoke the truth: the stun gun was on the floor next to Foxy.
"I liked it better when you didn't talk much," Marcus spat. Freddy and Chica continued to advance on the young man. He couldn't do much with the crowbar without hurting them. He retreated back towards his office. "Let's see how you like the last trick I have up my sleeve," he muttered.
Freddy rounded the corner and searched for Marcus, but his sensors found nothing.
"Come on now, Marcus," the bear said, "We're your friends. Don't you want to help out your friends?" The night guard gave no reply. "Let's not make this difficult, Marcus. Just come quietly and no one has to get hurt."
The human remained silent. Freddy growled in frustration. He had to be hiding in the chair. There was nowhere else to go.
He didn't need to communicate with Chica what to do. They were both under Cassidy's control, after all. They moved around the desk on opposite sides, boxing the guard in. Freddy grabbed the back of the chair and turned it around, only to find empty space.
"Where the—" A garbled bleep replaced Cassidy's word of choice. "—did he go?"
"Ahem." The two animatronics looked up at the ceiling to find Marcus carried in Mangle's paws. "Hi there," he said, pointing a long cylindrical device at the pair. Cassidy came to realize too late that the flashlight on the guard's desk was gone.
Marcus switched on the flashlight, staggering the animatronics as they shielded their eyes from the beam. He pocketed the flashlight and took out the stun gun, which Mangle had so kindly retrieved for him. He leapt down from the ceiling, landing on top of Freddy, and began to electrocute the bear through his neck.
Freddy went limp and began to fall backward due to the added weight, sending Marcus tumbling to the floor. Chica advanced on the human to avenge her fallen ally. Marcus readied the crowbar, then swung at the animatronic's neck. The straight part of the tool impacted her throat, allowing Marcus to hook her neck and pull her downward, bringing her close.
Chica's downward angle allowed her to lash at the night guard's leg, prompting a shout of pain. Marcus fought through and prodded the bird in the forehead with the stun gun, downing her even faster than Freddy and Foxy. Marcus took a deep breath, then looked up at Mangle.
"Thanks for the help," he said, "Let's go. Charlie could probably use some help." The two of them ran back down the hallway and into the main area. Marcus' guess was confirmed as the Puppet was thrown past them by Bonnie.
"Need a hand?" Marcus asked.
"Maybe a little," Charlie replied, "Cassidy's anger can amplify the strength of whoever she's possessing. The less spread out she is, the stronger each host becomes."
"Thanks for the heads up. You two stay back. I'll finish her off."
"Hate to break it to you, Marcus," Mangle said, "but the last time you tried taking Bonnie on, you almost got taken out pretty quick. And that was when her power was split in four. Not to mention that your leg is injured."
"I'll be fine." Marcus ignored the animatronics' protests and charged the damaged bunny, crowbar raised to deliver a finishing blow. Bonnie positioned his arm to catch the oncoming swing, but Marcus either didn't notice or didn't care. The crowbar came to a halt, but Marcus kept moving and before anyone could intervene, Marcus let go of the crowbar and slid past his animatronic foe before coming up from behind and zapping Bonnie in his metal spine.
Bonnie twitched uncontrollably before shutting down. Marcus released the death grip on his crowbar and stun gun, realizing that his knuckles were turning white. Now that his adrenaline levels were falling, the injuries on his cheek and leg became agonizing. He looked down and saw that in the location where his leg had been lashed, his uniform was cut open and his leg was lightly bleeding.
"Huh," Marcus said, breathing heavily, "Can…can someone get the first aid kit?" Mangle and Charlie just stared at him in terror. "What?" he asked, glancing over at the Toys to see they were staring at something behind him. He turned around to see a worn yellow bear suit in a sitting position, head slumped limply forward as if it was a corpse.
Marcus crouched down and picked up his crowbar from the floor, stepping closer to the apparition and preparing to finish it off. The other four were different. This bitch had to die. He brought the curved hook end of the crowbar down into the bear's forehead.
The crowbar passed harmlessly through the golden bear, coming to a rest at the night guard's side. It was at that moment Marcus recalled Charlie's description of the spirit: the bear was just an avatar, no more solid than any other ghost. Marcus backed away slowly from the empty suit, whose head lifted to meet the guard's gaze. Then the head flew through the air at him, engulfing his sight and dragging him into the void.
"Marcus, wake up! Say something!"
Marcus groaned. "Please tell me Freddy's offers good health insurance." His remark prompted mechanical sighs of relief.
"Glad to have you back, Marcus," Toy Freddy said.
"Thanks." Marcus sat up before finally opening his eyes. He was no longer in the main area. Now, he was in the main hallway, right outside of Parts and Service, surrounded by the Toys, Mangle, and the Puppet. "How'd I get over here?"
"Cassidy can possess more than animatronics," Charlie said, "As long as they're in a strong enough state of emotional instability, she can take control of them with ease. You were exhausted, and in some pain, so you were able to be possessed."
"She was probably gonna make you put one of those suits on by yourself, but we didn't let you get there!" Toy Bonnie said proudly, "Even Charlie pitched in!" Marcus looked over at the Puppet.
"Sounds like I'm starting to grow on you," he teased.
"Your survival happened to coincide with the survival of my family," Charlie replied curtly, "Don't flatter yourself." Marcus nodded in mock thoughtfulness.
"What happened to her?" Marcus nodded over at Toy Chica, who sat deactivated against the wall.
"When it was clear that you weren't getting to Parts and Service on your own, Cassidy took over Toy Chica and tried to get you in there by force," Mangle replied, "Long story short, we know that the stun gun trick works on the new models now."
At the mention of the stun gun, Marcus' eyes widened. "The stun gun. Give it to me, now," he barked.
"Marcus, calm down," Mangle said.
"GIVE. ME. THE STUN GUN." The night guard scanned for the crowbar or his flashlight, but found nothing.
"Cassidy isn't a threat at the moment," Charlie said.
"Like hell she isn't. There's still four bodies active and ready for possession."
"Cassidy is powerful, but even she has her limits. She can't just keep possessing things again and again forever. She can run out of energy, especially if they're harder to possess. There's a reason why she didn't just possess you and kill you before anyone realized what was going on. Gabe, Fritz, Susie, and Jeremy were more vulnerable to her manipulation."
"If they're so much more vulnerable, and Cassidy was and still is so vengeful, why the hell did you give her so much power?" Marcus asked, "Even with those limits, she's more powerful than you can handle."
"I had no control over her abilities."
"Yeah? You had such an instrumental role in bringing them back."
"Not her." Charlie floated over to the clock hanging overhead. "We should probably get the older models back to Parts and Service and Toy Chica onto the stage. They'll be able to boot up again by morning." She began floating off towards the main area.
"Wait!" Marcus shouted after her, "If you didn't bring her back, who did?" Charlie paused, turning back around to stare at the only human face left in the building.
"It's obvious enough, isn't it? She did it herself." She resumed her previous course, making a beeline for her box. "Goodnight, everyone."
I have made the decision to upload this chapter with the previous one, since it was kind of short, due to the cut. Hopefully this can hold you over until the next chapter, whenever that is. Although, if it isn't, I'm flattered that you care so much about this story I've written.
