Chapter 24:

Secrets of The Forest

Gregory teamed up with Sebastian, shortened for Seb, the ranger of the forest, to find his missing animatronic friend.

But… was it real – the infamous urban legend that had been bugging the culture for decades? Would the answer be finally revealed? And would the bear be alright surviving in a hunting ground for predators at night?

Meanwhile, Freddy woke up to only find himself lying near a broken fence. How would he get back to his friends?

The final fateful night had already taken its toll on the victims.

"Well… that was quick.", remarked Daniel, hands scratching the chin. "It's like your mood has just entirely flipped one hundred and eighty degrees."

Seb coughed. "And maybe it will flip again and that's when I will change my mind and send all of you to custody.", to which, the young man was forced to shut his mouth once again.

Lily rolled her eyes, seemingly irritated by her brother's immaturity. "How can we be sure that you wouldn't do harm to Freddy after you find him?"

The ranger sighed, he then casually took out a cigar, and used a lighter to light it up. "Good question. As a ranger, it's my job to keep people away from the restricted area, report forest fires, save the trees from being illegally cut down, et cetera. Other than that, I don't have any intent to send a robot to a local police station, much less try to get involved in a brawl with it."

"Weren't you the one trying to get him involved in the first place?", the girl argued.

The man absorbed the words and thought about them for a moment before returning back to smoking. "That was… uncalled for, back then. Anyways, I'm not really bothered even if you don't fully trust me. But, for your information, I have heard and witnessed too many supernatural shits in the woods from where I work. Trust me, seeing a random robot roaming in the middle of nowhere isn't as 'unexpected' as those things are… And Jesus Christ! What year is this? 2022? It's only a matter of time when people have androids do their house chores, walk the dogs, and change baby diapers."

Hm… He's not wrong, though. Gregory pondered, though he soon shook his head as he didn't want to get dragged into thinking mindlessly about unrelated topics while ignoring the fact his friend was literally moments from shattering apart. If the man wanted to help, then he would straightforwardly accept it. Normally, nobody would immediately accept such an offer coming from a person who had just tried to ruin your life. But, compared to his relationship experiences back in the orphanage, he had been through much worse than this.

White lie – a cowardly way to cope with reality.

Then again, there was no time to hesitate decisions when someone's life was at stake. Every. Seconds. Matter.

Daniel gave the old man a face similar to that of acknowledgement. "Well, I suppose we can't argue with that."

"Freddy… Freddy… Hm…", the ranger mumbled something which everyone could hear, "Freddy… Faz… bear.", then, realization hit as both of his eyes widened in utter shock and disbelief.

"Bingo.", remarked Daniel. "You got it, old man."

A moment to process, then: "Wait, really? Freddy Fazbear? The Freddy Fazbear?!", the man looked like his jaw was about to fall off. "Well… I take back what I said earlier about witnessing paranormal shits in this forest. This is a whole new level of black magic fuckery."

Daniel nodded positively. "Well, I can't argue with that either."

"Chit-chatting later, we have to get back to the campground, now.", the boy dismissed as he was the first one to start walking back to the camping area. "I don't think Freddy could hold himself together for long. He needs me."

"Need you?", Seb was greatly confused at first. "Why would a robot need…", then he stopped mid-sentence, realizing the puzzling situation he was currently involved in. "Okay, I think a helpful piece of information would do the job here."

It was the question that the boy had been expecting. "I'll tell you on the way back."

And so, everyone started running their way back to the campground, with Gregory began narrating the entire story from the very beginning once again, but not entirely from the very beginning. Since he had already told the siblings his seemingly unbelievable story twice, this would be the third time. Fortunately, that meant he would have the chance to carefully pick which words and which events to form this "seemingly unbelievable story" like a whole new edition – Security Breach of the Mega Pizzaplex: The less detailed and complicated version.

And besides, there was no time for investing in the storytelling. Right now, his friend was literally being held hostage by fate, balancing on the rope between life and death. How could he remain calm and slowly making each step back to the campground so ever relaxed?

There were parts he chose to not include, most of which were considered unnecessary, like him originating from an orphanage… but ended up telling it anyways as the old man would eventually question why wouldn't he return home, or where his parents were. Even though he doubt that the old man would take the dancing killer lady rabbit story seriously, he was somewhat positive about its legitimacy. If the siblings believed it, why wouldn't everyone else?

"You… climbed into his… belly?", asked Seb in pure confusion. For every word, his breath was disrupted. For every disruption, there was a gasp for air.

Tired as he was at the moment, the boy paid no attention to his legs, who were desperately begging him to stop forcing himself beyond capability. "It's called a stomach hatch. But y-yeah… I didn't even know why I did that in the first place. Guess I had no choice. But it's actually comfy, to be honest."

While he was telling Seb about the events that had taken place in the Pizzaplex during the time he got trapped in there after the closing, the man wouldn't stop bearing the face of both scepticism and bewilderment. The parts where he got to climb inside Freddy's stomach hatch and had to run for his life from killer robots got the man's fullest attention. But it was the mysterious rabbit lady part that stumped the man the most.

"Wait… What did you say, kid?", Seb scratched his right inner ear as though he might have misheard the context.

Gregory felt embarrassed, for some reason. "Uh, yeah… Crazy killer lady wearing a white rabbit costume dancing around the hallways while holding a knife. You didn't pick up wrong or anything. I know it's… bizarre just like the rest of my story. But I'm not lying, you can choose to believe in me or don't. Neither of those options will do anything much to the situation itself. Children would still go missing. The lady would still go hopping her way around."

Seb blinked. "What happened to the security lady? Shouldn't she have already noticed her presence? What are the cams for? Display monitors for sale? And what about the robot guards? They didn't even see her?"

"Apparently, she was somehow able to stay 'invisible' to the eyes of the bots, including the Glamrocks.", said Daniel from behind. "Don't even know how's that possible. But yeah, technology like that exist."

Yup, definitely the most bizarre story ever been told.

The boy then continued his story – the less detailed and complicated version. He told the man about the nightmarish moment when trying to play hide and seek with the demonic animatronic with multiple personality problems. He told the man how weirdly and out of bounds, the robots acted as they tried to lay their sharpened grips on him. He told the man about the great escape with Freddy Fazbear, the famous robot celebrity, through a stolen company van. He told the man about their arrival at the campsite and the discovery of a dirty old shack in the middle of the woods—

"So it was the two of you who trespassed into my working place and used the generator without any permission?", exclaimed the ranger.

For a short three seconds solid, the boy stopped dead on his track, causing everyone else to do the same before going back to running again. He was speechless, too stunned to speak up. His rational side face-palmed itself.

Daniel wasn't, on the other hand. He might be also a trespasser, but he sure didn't commit the same crime twice in a single day. "Really? That's your secret base? Gregory told me that the place was a literal den for the racoons."

Seb tried to speak but the cigar smoke made him cough a few times. "It's not a secret base. You can blame it on my co-worker, the guy doesn't maintain his hygiene well. He recently decided to take a few days off, so I was asked to look after that place. He should be returning by tomorrow. Be sure to not get caught again. He's a monster hunter fanatic, always acting wild when something unusual was caught on camera even though it's just an animal. I am 'saner' than him, just to let you know."

"Saner". Yeah, right. As if… One security guard was alright. A forest ranger was enough. But another one? If there were something in common between these three aside from them having the job of looking after a place, then, he would gladly assert that they were all senseless and out of their mind. And if Seb here claimed that he was the sanest of all, well, he might have to be extra-extra careful from now on.

"S-Sorry for sneaking into your friend's working place, it's the only way for me to get power for Freddy.", said the boy, scratching the nape of his head.

"Oh, right, the reduced power protocol.", Seb acknowledged it, he sympathized with the boy's harsh situation. "It's surprising to me that you can ride a van and even knows how to charge an animatronic bear using jumper cables and the battery. Not many people around your age can do that… How old are you, anyway?"

"If I say ten, would you believe it then?", mused Daniel.

Seb said nothing. He took a deep inhale and suck half of the cigar before releasing white smoke through the nostrils. "Twelve. The kid's twelve."

The boy snorted. He found it amusing to see adults trying to cope with the fact that a child had more life experience than most ordinary human beings. If he were capable of taking care of a three-hundred pounds robot bear like a pet, what could he achieve when reaching adulthood? Artificial intelligence engineering? Professional mechanic? Robot therapy?

Later, as the group finally arrived at the campground, they came across a peculiar van being hidden in the bush – it was the one that Gregory used to escape the Pizzaplex with the bear.

Seb went to inspect it and saw the company logo. He then looked at the boy again, as though he was looking for confirmation.

The boy simply nodded. "You believe me now?"

"Thirteen.", said the man, changing his opinion from earlier, "You're thirteen."

Daniel tried to hold back the urge to laugh, he lightly hit Gregory with his elbow. "Say whatever you want, the kid's still ten."

The old man didn't seem satisfied.

But Gregory? He was fed up. "Please! This is no time to joke around! We have to look for Freddy! I'm not sure how much power he has left, but the quicker we find him, the faster we can get him out of there before his battery is completely depleted. When that happens, I won't be able to connect him through this watch anymore!"

Not every comical scene managed to distract its audience from the bigger truth. If even if they were meant for relieving those who were worried about the current state of one's wellbeing. Truths – the absolute. They could not, cannot, will not and would not be ever overturned. The cruel reality that a friend of his was in great danger, moments from bringing harm to themselves, was still there, just right behind the blinding curtains, behind the disrupting laughs.

Seb was about to question the boy about the distinctive watch he was wearing, but decided to dismiss it in the end. "Right… but I have to get to the shack first. There's some stuff I want to take before going into the restricted area.", said the old man as he promptly walked to his car, followed by the boy and the siblings.

Much to their surprise, the man raised his hand up, implying that not all were able to come with him. "I'm not letting all of you risk your life going inside the forest during the night, especially you two, kids.", said Seb, gesturing at Gregory and Lily. He then turned to look at Daniel, who was standing next to them, "You, Daniel, you will come with me."

The boy was the most dumbfounded. "Excuse me!?"

The girl almost choked on her own breath upon hearing it. "What!? That's just ridiculous! Freddy is his friend! Our friend! How could you not let Gregory come with you? You will need his Fazwatch to locate Freddy, else it would take forever to find him other than having to shout his name and end up attracting all of the nearby animals instead."

"Well, you heard the princess.", added Daniel as he shrugged casually. "She doesn't like repeating things twice, though."

"Oh please. Why don't just give the damn watch to your brother already?"

"I don't know how to use that thing!"

"Well, ask the kid!"

"This ain't no time to learn! There's a robot to save!"

The old man sighed as he massaged his temple. "Fine, if that's the case, then only him will come with me.", he declared, pointing at the boy. "You two, stay and look after each other. And don't even think about using that van to go in there. Capiche?"

It was true that he didn't want to blame the ranger for his carelessness. But, as mentioned earlier, he was fed up. Impatient was trying to tempt him, he couldn't wait any longer. "Why only me? Why not them as well?"

The boy wasn't the only one being fed up – everyone was. "Do you think it's reasonable to let people wander around a hunting ground full of dangerous predators at night? Give me one good reason that you won't do anything stupid and have yourself become a buffet party for them."

And Daniel would always be the first to suggest. "Uh… we're not stupid enough to try to confront a heavy-ass animatronic bear that has nothing to do with our life whatsoever…?"

While Seb and the siblings were having a heated argument, Gregory was having an intense brainstorming of the choices he was about to make and all of the possible outcomes that he might end up with after each taken path. Since there were an infinite number of choices to decide and execute, he manage to come up with a few possible and most logical options and their respective aftermaths.

Okay… Okay. Calm down, Gregory. You can do this. Think. Think! Just like what you have always been doing back when being chased by killer robots… Well, not really killer robots, maybe they just got hacked or something… Okay. Scenario one, Daniel and Seb, absolutely terrible idea. Without the Fazwatch, can't even find Freddy whatsoever. Scenario two, all of us, but chance of encountering an unwelcomed bear increases. Too risky, too dangerous. I can't have Lily involved and I can't leave her here all by herself so that Daniel can come with me either. Scenario three, Seb's final solution: him and me - have leads, and a lower chance of getting hurt. I can find Freddy quickly and get him out of there as soon as possible… Huh, guess that settled then.

"Guys!", exclaimed the boy, putting the quarrel to a halt, "Stop fighting already!" After some deep breaths, he began speaking again, "I… I think Sebastian's plan is the only best possible choice we could choose right now. There isn't any time left to come up with another one."

"But Gregory,", objected Lily, "it's really dangerous out there! How can you be so sure that you would come back without a scratch?"

"I have been working here since the 90s, ma'am.", Seb protested. "This isn't my first time encountering bears or guiding lost people out of the woods."

"And I have got quite a few of experience on how to outrun murderous animatronics, making my way through the guard bots without getting caught, hiding from the security guard and the lady rabbit, managed to not get killed by a 'moon', fixed a robot by reattaching its head manually just by listening to instruction… So, yeah. I'm not gonna die that easily. Don't worry.", he smiled – a sympathizing smile.

"Well, I can't argue with that…", remarked Daniel. "… the third time.",

The girl wanted to argue back, but decided not to. She was smart enough to know her own limits. Eventually, a sigh of defeat – an arm was crossed. "Right… You have had quite a night back in that… place. I understand. Just… be careful, alright?", her soft voice eased the boy's tensed mood.

"Yeah, I will, definitely."

But the girl wanted to make sure. She wanted an oath, a vow of guarantee and absolute certainty. "Promise?"

From the perspective of the boy, time seemed to stop. Funny, he would mutter to himself, as a ticklish sensation traversed throughout his entire nervous system, tingling him every now and then. The question itself was rather familiar, too familiar to be exact.

An individual was concerned about another's well-being so much that they started asking for an assurance to ensure one's guarantee of safety? Of course! That just seemed exactly like what he had done back then when the bear got too devoted to a child's sake and almost completely his own life.

An oath above all was a bond of love, for love protects and nurtures. An oath was an eternal bond of love, breaking one broke both, all or nothing ride or die. When one made an oath to another, they must keep it evermore if they wished to keep the other evermore.

He used to be the one asking the question, now, he would be the one answering that same one.

"I promise."

"Oh! Freddy, how was today's work?"

"Hello, Bonnie! I have just celebrated a child's birthday, and it was dazzlingly great. I and Chica had had so much fun playing with the children and interacting with the adults. It has been a while since I had a chance to celebrate such a big birthday party as that one."

"Wow, the family sure have a lot of money to spend. Much as I wanted to join the two of you, I still have works to do in the Bowling area. And as far as I'm aware, we never celebrated a party together, right? Or… more like, never worked together."

"That is… true. How odd."

"But hey, at least we are still able to perform together on stage every weekend. That'll fill up."

"Maybe I should ask the staff if they could rearrange the schedule so that we can work together?"

"Oh! You don't have to do that! I can't stand the chaos made by the little kids, even though I was primarily programmed to entertain them. Interacting with teenagers and adults is more enjoyable to me, for some reason. Probably because I spent most of the time hanging around the Bowling area where most of the adults are."

"That might explain why you have a liking for them. I cannot blame you if you do not like children. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, after all. And I respect that!"

"Not that I don't like children, they're just… what's the word for it again? Pesky?"

"Pesky? Hm… Sounds a little too harsh, don't you think?"

"Haha! Yeah, maybe you're right. Annoying is enough."

"…"

"Hey, Freddy?"

"What is it, Bonnie?"

"Have you… ever thought about what would it feel like to be able to leave this building and see what lies beyond these… walls?"

"Are you referring to the outside world? If that is so, well, I cannot say that I am not invested in thinking about it. All of us have never had a chance to see what the outside world looks like asides from the images in the magazines Vanessa gave us."

"You know, it just sounds crazy to me that the world out there is so huge and vast. There are so many people from all around the world – billions of them! They built so many kinds of buildings that can almost touch the sky above, made so many kinds of transportations that could travel under the ground, on the ground and above the ground, created so many kinds of artistic work, and left so many kinds of artefacts from the most distant past. Not only that, there are so many trees and animals and flowers of all kinds that come with so many combinations of sizes and shapes and colours. There are so many stars in the sky that we cannot count them all! Can you imagine it? The number of places we could go and explore ourselves? You, me and our friends get a chance to have a performance on a stage outside the Mega Pizzaplex? Maybe a world tour even?"

"O-Oh… I see… I… I have never realised… I-I have never noticed that… I thought I would already be happy living the rest of my life within these walls serving my purpose, bringing fun and happiness to the children, giving gifts to those who are in need, and cheering them up whenever I could… I have never thought of such a thing, ever before. This is something far much bigger than I anticipated!"

"Glad you're starting to get it. I just hope that one day, we would be able to step outside, or at least get a glimpse of it. Working nonstop is pretty tiring, even as a robot. You know, burned out, it's a term used by the humans whenever they feel tired after working too hard. Do you… ever feel burned out before?"

"Recently? I do not think so. I do not think I have ever experienced tiredness before, let alone our capability to feel any sensation. What does it feel like to be tired?"

"Well, I have been observing the staff and the mechanics lately. After each shift, they often stretch their back, yawning, sighing, scratching their eyes, speaking with a heavy tone, and sometimes even lack concentration. You must have noticed that, too, right?"

"Mhm, I do, in fact. You are correct. They often express themselves in those ways after each shift. But… as you can see, their expressions are mostly physical."

"What… do you mean?"

"What I mean is that their behaviours are mostly related to their physical physique, like stretching and yawning, for example. They can do that because they have an organic body, whereas ours are made of metal and hard plastic, or in this case, non-organic components. So you see, we lack the necessary 'sensory', that is the reason why we cannot feel tiredness. But, is it not great to not feel tired at all? I see that as a win for us. We can do anything non-stop, that is, until we run out of power and needed charging."

"You don't get it, Freddy. I have a feeling that I can feel the tiredness within me. It's just that… I don't know how to fully explain it to you, to my friends, to the mechanic, to anyone else!"

"Maybe… you have used the wrong word to describe your current feeling? What if 'burn out' was not the appropriate word to suitably point out your… 'tiredness'?"

"I… Yeah, maybe 'burn out' isn't the right one. Or maybe I'm just hallucinating stuff."

"Can we, though?"

"Uh… never mind. I think I need a break."

"Do we really need one, though?"

"Oh, Freddy… Heh."

Am I… dead, yet?

It was the first thing the bear asked himself, just moments before realizing that if he were to be dead, he wouldn't have been asking such a question already. Apart from that particular reason, the bear immediately jumpstarted his gear, forcing his pathetic arms to lift his heavy crushing body up in an instant.

"Ah!", he… scream? It was not really a scream, but rather a low-pitched squeak out of pure fear and panic.

Freddy blinked, a blink of utter awe and confusion. As he managed to stand balanced on the dry soil, he diverted his head, taking a quick scan of the surrounding: still the same evergreens, still the same patches of grass, still the same smothering darkness… but something was different, something out of touch, something that wasn't supposed to be here.

He took an inspection of the cloak. Hm… Looks like you are owning the siblings an apology, Fazbear…

Yikes, not good, not good at all.

The bear not only could sense one oddity within the situation, but there were also more, much much more than he could ever calculate. Other than the fact that he had just gotten up from the ground, indicating that he must have tripped over something and fell down a sharp steep, he could feel it – the peculiarity, the abnormality of a certain kind of substance floating in the air.

Something was definitely off, and his assumption wasn't wrong. As he turned around, a large piece of metal which seemed like a part of a chain fence could be seen lying on the dirt, just right next to where he got up from.

It was when the flow of memories finally entered his processor.

It was when he finally realised everything and started panicking again.

That's right - he fell… and almost died in the process, to say it exaggeratedly. The damage made by the impact had dealt quite a blow to an innocent inanimate object who was just trying to do its job of preventing people from venturing further. It might have also harmed some plants and crushed bugs, too. But Freddy didn't want to think about it, much less care about it either. Not because he was a sociopath, for he could still feel guilt, it was merely because he was too busy worrying about his own sake to have any time to think about lesser beings than him.

Unaware, he chuckled – a voiceless chuckle of his own mentality – a chuckle full of contradictions. For he was created with the purpose of helping others, he began growing more distant from himself as time passed. And so, he became the most selfless being in the world. Being selfless was a part of one of the heavenly virtues, no doubt. Being too selfless did not mean more positivity, on the other hand. Too much of a good thing is harmful, as the old ones had said.

And they were never wrong.

Now, realisations hit. He felt awfully terrible for not being selfish when had a chance to.

Freddy stared at the sharp slope where he had tumbled down. He couldn't calculate how it was possible for him to survive such a life-threatening event. Nevertheless, his shell was fine – no scratch, no dent, no broken pieces. That was a new record since the last time he accidentally fell down the stairs back in the Pizzaplex…

"Gregory… I need to get back to him.", the bear mumbled to himself, not knowing how to even climb up the sharp slope.

An attempt could never do any harm, right?

He carefully placed his gigantic foot onto a large rock before placing another one of his. The poor rock had to withstand the extreme pressure caused by the metallic animatronic bear. It jiggled back and forth, right and left, preventing the bear from properly balancing. After what seemed like ten seconds of trying to stable on the rock, he reached his hand out for another rock, but didn't expect to pull all of it entirely out of the dirt.

The bear blinked, had he been this strong all this time? Nobody ever told him that. Anyhow, he shook his head and tossed the rock to the side before looking for something else to grab onto.

After multiple attempts of almost tripping and falling, he managed to climb his way up a decent height. He wasn't built for mountain climbing, but he sure was getting the hang of it. As he was about to grab a nearby stone, his foot slipped… and he started rolling down.

As a result, the bear fell and slammed his body hard right onto the ground with a loud thud. His head made an impact, to which, his vision glitched for a second.

[Core instability: 52% ~ 55%]

"Ugh!", he grunted, not out of pure pain, it was more like a reflex.

Well, it would take him forever trying to get back from where he came from. He might even deplete his power before he could even make it halfway. The boy must be very worried about him at the moment, he could be searching for him as well. If that was the case, then the boy must be using the Fazwatch to locate his position, which was great news!

But… how was the boy supposed to get down here to help him get up without ending up like he was now? That was not great news, not at all.

What should he do? Informing the boy to let him know that he was alright and trying to get back to him through the Fazwatch? That'd do.

"Gregory, can you hear me? I think I have managed to outrun the man from earlier and I now am currently in the middle of the woods. Do not go look for me. I will find my way back to you through the… Faz… watch…", the bear stopped, he noticed something was not right. "Gregory… can you… hear me? Gregory?"

Seconds later, no answer. Nothing.

It was then he realised that he had been talking to none other than himself from the beginning.

This… could not be possible. The bear never expected his connection to the boy's Fazwatch to be abruptly disrupted. It had been working so perfectly just a day ago. And now, it just… stopped working. How? How come he was unable to reach the boy by any means?

Was it because of the fall? It was non-fatal, but it might have damaged some of the internal components, perhaps. What about the other possibilities? What if his ability to connect was not compromised? What if… it was the Fazwatch that he could not connect to? But, if that was the case, wouldn't it mean the watch was damaged in some way? Moreover, could the boy got involved in some unwanted dilemma? No, Daniel was there with him, the man wouldn't let anyone in danger…

… What if… all of them were in danger?

"No… No no no no… I need to go back…"

Easier said than done, it was impractically impossible for him to climb up this hill. He had to find another way.

Panicked, the bear anxiously forced his processor to come up with the most reasonable, most logical and least "selfless" solution in order to overcome this seemingly hopeless obstacle. While he was brainstorming, his eyes landed on the broken fence, and he would keep looking at it for another five seconds. After those five seconds of intense CPU usage, an idea popped up like an electric lightbulb.

The broken fence had the same textures as the ones he had come across when he went to… uh, trespassed the restricted area. Were he to follow them, he might be able to find some kind of gate or try to climb over them if possible. He wasn't going to knock them down like last time again, that'd be stupid.

With that in mind, Freddy turned around, he found himself staring at the ominous woods, helpless like a prey hiding from its predator. He turned to the side and started following the trail of the hill.

Gregory wouldn't stop glueing his eyes at the Fazwatch. The fact that the symbol indicating Freddy's current position kept blinking and flickering every now and then greatly tickled his nerves. He feared that the longer it took him to get to the bear, the higher the chance the symbol would completely disappear from the map. When that happened, he didn't even know what else he could do to find him.

"Could you drive faster?", asked the boy, he was sitting in the front seat by the window next to Seb.

"This is the fastest I could.", said the man, sounding a little irritated. "You wouldn't want the car to roll down the hill, would you?"

"Yeah, like my friend back then…", he spoke dryly, emphasising the last two words.

The air fell dead silent.

Even though Gregory wanted to take responsibility for causing nothing but pain and panic to his animatronic friend, the boy remained a strong dislike towards adults, especially the middle-agers. With the apparent fact that he was left abandoned by whoever his parents were, who also were adults, his spite for these kinds of people only grew more and more hatred after each day. Of course, not all of them were the same, but the majority sure was the exact same. They always forced their old-fashioned view, indoctrinated their fairy tale beliefs onto him and his friends at the orphanage.

If God were real, his life would not have been this miserable, he wouldn't have gotten stuck in the Pizzaplex, he wouldn't have almost died multiple times, and he wouldn't have been involved in this mess… But, if his life didn't start being an orphan, how would the future play out for him? Would he still meet Freddy? Would the bear remain the same, just like before he befriend him? And what about Daniel and Lily? Would he still have a chance to meet them?

Seems unlikely…

The two did not utter a single word during their whole ride to the old shack. The air remained the same, dusty, pungent, and of course, the scent of the used cigarettes. It was not often that he got to smell the cigars since they were prohibited in the orphanage. He was unable to cope with the fact that people even become addicted to smoking them every day when the smoke itself was literally suffocating to whoever inhaled it. That was why he had decided not to smoke ever.

He might change his opinion on beer. At the same time, though, he didn't want to become an alcoholic.

Roughly two minutes later, the car slowed down until it eventually stopped in front of the old shack - the dirty, old wooden building where he and the bear first came across in this forest.

"Stay here while I go get some stuff… or you can come if you want. I'll be quick.", said Seb.

Gregory had already made his choice. "I think I need some air…"

The man said nothing, he then opened the door, to which the boy did the same. As he did so, fresh air started swarming into his face and nostrils. Yep, definitely better than being inside that car.

After taking some "cool medicine", the boy noticed the man already opened the front door. He followed him inside, it wasn't a great decision – it was the same dusty air combined with the smell of the moulds and damped woods. At least there were no cigarettes… thankfully. He continued following the man, woods creaked with every step he made. The two then arrived in front of a locked door, the one he tried to open just yesterday when exploring the place. Behind him was the kitchen, where the purple generator could be seen lying on the floor, still the same just how he left it.

A thought occurred in his mind. It wasn't a pleasant one, to say the least. "Sorry for… uh, using the generator without permission."

Seb was about to use the keys, but turned to look at him. "Oh… Well, sorry for ruining your night and causing all the troubles."

He could feel the awkwardness climbing behind his back. "That makes us even now, I guess. Heh…"

"Not… exactly, kid. Tampering with other people's stuff doesn't usually end up threatening their lives… like earlier…"

Right… the awkwardness. How came everyone he talked to have difficulty making conversing? Daniel was an exception. The rest? Certainly not.

"Yeah… let's not talk about that right now. We have to hurry."

The man nodded as he hastily turned the keys and pushed the door wide open. The sound of a switch could be heard. A bulb busted into radiant light, banishing the dark from their regal throne in an instant.

"What 'stuff' are you getting any… way…", he spoke, but trailed off halfway through. He was too stunned to say anything right now other than a "Woah".

The room was the most unexpected thing he could ever come across up until now. The first thing that hit the eyes of his was a large desk situated at the opposite end of the room. And it was no ordinary desk: Newspaper covering most of the walls, drawings of a strange-looking creature bearing a pair of red crimson eyes hung just below the ceiling, a bunch of complicated handwriting written on tattered notes served as a pile of rubbish… and much more bizarre stuff for him to behold. All of them were connected by lines of red threads as they interconnected around the pins, creating a complex network of "traffic routes".

In the middle of them all, where all paths interchangeably met and came across each other, there was a picture.

The picture was the same as any other taken image of the woods at night, other than the fact that he could see a large shadowy figure between the trees in the far distance giving its most unsettling stares of all time with its red crimson eyes.

The boy shot the man a gaze, a demanding one.

"That's the closest thing we can get to see its appearance… And yes, kid, it's, fucking, real. Unlike any other Internet creepypasta or children's bedtime stories, this is reality."

"W-Wait… what!?", he was completely speechless, yet he must express his feelings, or else they would burst into an emotional crisis. "I… I thought—"

"Everyone thought the same thing, kiddo.", the man interrupted. "I don't blame them for not believing in this kind of stuff. Even I had my doubts back then… Not until this was taken."

"H-How… W-When did you take this picture?", he probed. "I thought you said that you were unable to catch it using the cameras?"

"My co-worker, the guy who uses this as his… secret base, got its… picture just a few months ago. This isn't actually a picture, though. It's more like a screenshot of a single frame where the… whatever it is, was caught in the line of sight. After the discovery, the guy wouldn't stop spending his time alone in this room figuring things out. In the end, we both decided to keep this a secret… for now. Wouldn't want to cause chaos on the media, especially the Internet."

Unable to grasp, unable to keep up, the boy stood firmly in front of the wall filled with notes and red threads. He examined the picture carefully. The shadow, although blurry, had a faint outline distinction – a coat of fur. The shadow, although fuzzy, had quite a large size compared to the bushes and trees surrounding it. And yet, much as he wanted to believe, scepticism sure did a great job preventing him from doing it.

"But… It could have just been just a bear… right?"

"That is another possibility.", remarked the man. "But that wouldn't be possible."

"What? Why?"

The man gestured his finger at the wall full of threads. "See it for yourself."

His eyes drifted to the torn pieces of newspaper pinning around the picture…

"MISSING PERSON REPORT. LAST SEEN AT XXXX CAMPSITE.", said one.

"THE INFAMOUS LEGEND OF XXXX.", said another.

"MULTIPLE MISSING CASES STILL RISING. POLICE COOPERATE WITH THE FOREST RANGERS TO FIND THE REMAININGS.", and another.

"THE CREATURE OF XXXX : IS IT REAL?"

"MISSING CASES RAISE SUSPICION OF WILD ANIMAL ATTACKS."

"BIGFOOT, OR SIMPLY A BEAR?"

… and the notes:

"Always hunt at night.", said one.

"Leaves a large footprint, similar to a bear's footprint, but bigger.", said another.

"Intelligence: high. Cannot be lured by traps.", and another.

"Cameras are useless. Microphone works.",

"Makes strange grunting noises. No other animals have the same sound."

"Bigfoot? Skinwalker? The Rake?"

"A giant bear?"

"Distinctive feature: Red, glowy eyes."

"Size: as large as a grizzly. Maybe even larger. "

"Has fur, colour: presumed to be dark."

Then, the boy stopped looking at them. He wouldn't dare to think about the bear, even a single thought, about the current situation he was involved in, about where he was right now. The bear must be aimlessly wandering in the restricted area, knew not of the creature that inhabited the place. If the creature was said the be as tall as a grizzly bear, given the height a grizzly could achieve, that thing might even be as tall as the animatronic himself… or even taller.

"Shit… Have you gotten your stuff yet? We have to go, now…", said the boy as he turned to look at the man, whose hands were holding a long-barreled piece of metal. "Woah, is that a… is that a rifle?!"

Seb blinked. "Isn't it obvious?"

"I… Is killing it really necessary? What about a tranquillizer?"

"I have those with me back in the car. But what do you think this is? This ain't a zoo, kid. How can you be so sure that one dart would slow that thing down instead of ten or twenty darts?"

Well… the man wasn't wrong, though.

It's official, he was officially lost in this maze of trunks and blocks of bushes.

The plan didn't work, instead, it backfired him, leading him to this nowhere section of the woods. So, here he was, with no clue about his surroundings in a place he had never been before. Being in a forest all alone with nothing but a tattered piece of cloak which had just been brought this afternoon.

The sky had been blocked by the dense and expanding canopies, making the woods submerged in pure darkness, with an occasional stream of lights hitting the ground through tiny openings.

The wind didn't howl, it screamed.

The trees didn't sway, they creaked, bent and moan as their limbs slowly withered and decay from life.

The air felt mischievous and full of intent. Despite not having the ability to breathe, he speculated, that if he could breathe, he might as well suffocate himself due to how "toxic" the air was.

By "toxic", it was meant to imply the disquieting anxiousness beating unevenly in his core, it was the stress indicator trying to warn him not to get any higher. Whenever he felt ticklish, something ominous sure was lurking somewhere behind the bush, observing somewhere from afar, dashing somewhere from trees to trees.

Being followed by children versus being followed by something that was not a human? Boy, just how significantly different would those two statements be?

The darkness of the unforgiving woods was something that he had come to greatly fear. A fear from and of instinct. A natural fear of the unknown, of what might be, of what could be, of what was about to come.

Fear brought him thoughts that like needles jabbing his sensitive sensory, they often caused what was known as "phantom pain" – pain that seemed non-existent yet the sensation was both real and surreal at the same time.

Fear sent him a brusque bolt of shock throughout his circuit boards, causing him to turn around instantly in fright and panic for every minute of silent walking.

Fear darkened his eyes with worries – darkness gathered his eyes and filled them. The light was there, shining brightly from his robotic eyeballs, eyes that could not be deceived, for the eyes themselves always perceive the truth in plain sight.

And the fear would continue to slowly consume him as he could only venture deeper into the unknown.

Then… a disruption in the air, a sudden vibration of sound caught by his sensor. It was a rustle of the fallen leaves, sounding as though they were stepped on and pressed against the ground. Freddy was startled; he began analyzing.

That must have been an animal. The bear thought.

Much as he wanted to find a back to the campground, curiosity was both a blessing and a curse, for he was pulled by an invisible force, urging him to step through the bushes and see the animal for himself. It might be a kind he had stumbled upon, or a kind he had never stumbled upon before. Regardless, both outcomes would still satisfy the curiosity side of his.

Slow but somewhat excited, he gently pushed his way through the blocking branches. He tried to be as quiet as possible so that he wouldn't unintentionally scare the animal away. Though he wouldn't blame them for having run away after seeing him – an alien outsider.

The closer he got, the louder the noises were. He could hear odd grunts, groans, shortness of breath, and especially growls.

Strange… He pondered. Do animals usually make these kinds of sounds?

When he finally emerged from the bushes, he saw… a black bear across a small empty field. It looked vaguely similar to the same one he came across just this afternoon, except this one was alive and sound, while the other had its… organs spilt out.

The bear was alerted by his appearance and began to recede back. Freddy noticed it, he raised one of his hands as though he was attempting to make a gesture – a gesture to show that he was friendly and meant no harm. The bear remained his distance with both of its pure black eyes locked on him.

Of course! What was he even thinking? How could he assume that an animal would understand the signs he made? Nevertheless, at least the bear didn't run away from him.

Great… Now what? Staring at each other until one side started to feel uncomfortable and decided to walk away? Well, if it were to be like that, then he would love to spend some moments with his distant "organic" relative.

Under the night sky where it wasn't obstructed by the canopies, the moonlight was the brightest of all. It brought a comforting beauty to the graphite night as it came to a clear and starry night, whispering rainbow hues into the dreaming grey. It shone platinum-gold amid the starlit heavens as it travelled through the night with graceful ease, lightening the rising path.

Freddy now realized, that he had never been alone when wandering through the dark woods, that there were also the inhabitants of this peaceful greenery, that there were also his real-life animal counterparts that he could befriend if he tried hard enough.

The world was unbelievably vast and seemingly unending from all directions. Though he might not able to explore every corner of it all, the memories he made, and the experience he felt would live on until the time he ceased to exist – especially this unforgettable moment.

He had found peace – a peace that was more tranquil and harmonious than lying down on the floor and listening to the songs that the neon lights made. And he wished this moment could last forever.

As expected, it didn't.

The black bear raised its head high, turning left and right in such a manner that made Freddy feel no less worried. Then, came the growls, just like before. What could have explained these sudden changes in its behaviour?

The bear was high on alert again. Was it normal for bears to do this? Or was it trying to tell him to leave it alone? Freddy might be a bear, but he was not a real bear or anything close to it. He was just a robot built to somewhat resemble a cartoon bear. How come he could understand their languages, much less their bodily gestures?

"H-Hey… I… I come in peace…?"

The bear paid no attention whatsoever. Well, at least he tried.

Just then, a large shadowy creature suddenly jumped from a nearby bush, hurling at the defenceless black bear. The bear tried to fight back, letting out painful groans every time the shadow forcefully pinned its body against the hardened soil.

In an instant, it ripped off the bear's throat with ease, immediately ceased the growling, and immediately ended a life.

Blood was presented.

The creature then began feasting upon the now dead bear. Its razor-sharp teeth punctured the meat so easily like a blade cutting vegetables, tearing big pieces of flesh so effortlessly as though it was playing dough with its mouth. Streams of drools wouldn't stop pouring down, some even splattered everywhere whenever the creature shook its head while trying to bite off a chunk of meat.

Freddy witnessed the entire scene, from beginning to end. His processor "stuttered" for a moment before it could process anything. His eyes widened as they stopped blinking. His jaw was left dangling. He was petrified, unable to utter a sound. The shock brought a quietness within, a moment to feel his emotions change gear and girder his soul for what was to come.

The shadowy creature was larger, it might be even taller than him if stood straight. It bore a set of the sharpest claws, wore a coat of the darkest shade of black as fur. Of what combination that mother nature had put together to create such an abomination? A predator that fed upon another predator?

… The apex of predators.

He was standing in front of the king of nature, a god of brutes and beasts. He was one of the few to claim witness of His Almighty majestic act of "mercy killing" as he fulfilled the purpose of the unforgiving food chain.

And he couldn't withstand it any longer. He raised a hand, lightly clasping his throat.

He wanted to puke.

[Core instability: 55% ~ 70%]

The creature finally took notice of his presence as its red crimson eyes met his shining blue ones.

"Oh no…"

"The first to deviate, second to be enlightened."