Chapter 26:

Extraordinarily Insignificant

Lost, confused, the animatronic bear must find his way back to the boy and his friends. But when the world was against him, how could a machine like him ever withstand something far beyond his comprehension?

Round 1: Freddy Fazbear versus Mother Nature.

Difficulty: NIGHTmare.

The world had its own secrets, secrets that were known by none. Being the first to discover it wasn't always a good thing, to say the least, especially when it was something alive, something dangerous, something vicious, bloodthirsty, barbaric…

A creature, hunter of the predators, a god whom the prey prayed to. The one who lied on top of all food chains, the one bearing the title the king of nature, the one being a rebellious descendant of mother nature…

When evil took the form of flesh and blood, when amorality took the place of righteousness, that was when it became corporeal, that was when it became reality. For he, arguably, was one of the only few to bear witness to such a presence, and with that, came the price – the price to pay in exchange for having "accidentally" stumbled upon the creature of the savages.

But there was nothing he could have given. How would the likes of him obtain something that was as precious as life itself, when they themselves couldn't even be regarded as living beings? He might as well be in debt in the afterlife, optimistically speaking.

The wind howled as its scream awakened the dark woods, tearing through the sky like echoes of the unheard. The trees were but black trunks against a blueish charcoal dome hanging endlessly from above. The paths were but covered in the deepest brown. And the stones were but bleached in moonlights.

"Isn't every painting of the woods at night all the same?" – It would have been the question Freddy ask himself if he were given the time. But right now, time was greedy, and time waited for no one.

He felt not of the air surrounding him, yet he knew how freezing they would be – cold, bitter, and perhaps, a bit threatening. It made him want to breathe more rapidly, even though he was not able to. Panic was trying to gain control once again.

The darkness pressed in on him from all sides, to which, his body screamed – a signal that he should have been getting on his foot right now… but he didn't. His body was as already heavy as any boulder, and yet, more than half of the weight didn't come from his metallic endoskeletons and electric components.

In front of him, the creature, whose height towered him by a head or two, stared through his soul with its pair of crimson red eyes. Freddy stared back. Both were motionless, readied to make their next move. Each side expected the other side to make a movement, but both were given silence as the answer.

Ah, yes, silence, an alternative answer to all the problems. Even if it was soundless, it had its own meaning, like a sentence without words, music without a voice, tunes without an instrument. Even the breeze and the grass had their own special song – both working together to create a feint noise of peacefulness. Even the word "silence" itself required people to make a sound in order to spell it out.

Quite ironic, was it not?

The bear chose to keep his distance – a wise choice.

The creature, on the other head, chose to show who was the real ruler of this forest by proceeding forward – neither wise nor unwise, though it sure put him at a disadvantage.

Seeing how it "intentionally" showed him the razor-sharp teeth of a true predator, Freddy knew he was being intimidated. It was a thing that the animals usually did whenever they felt threatened or wanted to assert their dominance. One thing was for certain, baring one's teeth at another wasn't always meant to be a good intention.

He needed to go, now.

Finally listening to his survival instinct, Freddy took one last glance at the dead bear lying lifelessly across the grass field while slowly stepping backwards. The black bear bathed in its own blood; to which, it was now but a lump of fresh meat waiting to be consumed. It reminded him of how cruel and ruthless mother nature could be when concepts such as right and wrong became meaningless to this world of both law and chaos.

And he wondered: What happened after death, if every living organism had a certain level of self-consciousness? Would that apply to him as well, even though he didn't seem to be more alive than a tiny insect?

First thing first, he had to save himself, then things could be discussed later… if he actually managed to get out safely, that was.

"Uh… I am just going to leave…", he said nervously, hoping the creature would take his cue, "… you can go on with your… meal."

The creature growled louder. Communication didn't seem to work, it would seem.

Freddy kept walking backwards until he was engulfed by the bushes. Even though the growl was still there, it did not become any louder, which was a good sign. When he finally came out of the bushes, it was then he started running for his life.

Care not if he ventured only deeper into the nowhere woods, cared not if the system warned him not to overload the components' capacity, as long as he stayed far from that thing, as long as the power wasn't depleted, he would make his way back to the campsite, he would see the boy again… hopefully.

He sprinted, seemingly as fast as when he was trying to outrun the old man from earlier.

His legs once screamed him to get to a safe place now begged him not to torture them any longer.

His eyes once granted him the sense of vision now invaded by the imaginary colourful squares, preventing him from seeing the path ahead.

His processor once aided him in analysing information now flooded with an uncountable amount of warning popups telling it to fix it right away.

His core once pumped the electric flow to keep the gear running now turned into a self-destructive device which could fail and shut him down at any moment.

His body once performed so perfectly now succumbed to the unforgiving assault of the panicked.

The bear could only pray and hope that his own "organs" wouldn't give up on him. At last, he realized how grateful it was to be functional in these blissful moments. If he couldn't maintain it, he wouldn't be able to see what the outside world looked like, experience sensations he had never felt before, and learn new knowledge every now and then.

Gregory was right, the most precious thing in this world, from his own perspective… was himself. That was why the boy never stopped reminding him of it.

The woodland circling him changed so ever quickly. He had only run for a minute or two, and he already felt as though he had just stumbled into a whole new world.

The trees were the same yet so bold and gracefully withstanding the intoxicating peril. Their hundred arms with hundred hands and hundred fingers stretched out to the cetacean blue veil from above. The night sky was embedded with vivid, little specks of dots as they created a majestic piece of art by none other than the universe itself.

Once again, he received a message from reality – "You are nothing. You are insignificant. No matter how weak or strong, how small or big, how ordinary or influential, you are but a part of the inevitable passage of time, bounded by the rules made by the world, belittled by the concept of death and infinity. You may be eternal, but only "nothing" is truly eternal."

A minute later, the bear stopped by a nearby tall slope. His body thanked him for not killing himself while trying to save himself… Although his legs were still trembling and his processor was still "stuttering", they were grateful for his decision.

He turned to look at a path formed by stones and boulders varied in size and height leading up to a rocky platform protruding from a straight cliff. Might as well get up there so that he could know where the hell he was in this inescapable labyrinth.

Having learnt some experiences back when he attempted to climb up a steep slope only to end up almost bashing his head into a rock, fewer mistakes were made, and he was now able to perform more efficiently. The first thing he did when he got to the top was to contemplate the night sky, after that, he zoomed his eyes to the far distance, expecting to find any familiar indications that would hopefully lead him back to the campground.

Things would have been much easier had it not been for his glitchy eyes.

"Come on! Please, work!", he cried in desperation.

Frantic, he kept searching. But the more he looked, the more he was met with the unfamiliarity – it was the sense of loss, the loneliness from within. He felt as though he had truly wandered into an entirely new realm of nowhere, where the trees stretched infinitely from all directions, where ranges of mountains became gigantic waves, where the sky would remain absent of the warming presence of light…

A strange, indescribable feeling hit him right in the core. He noticed how things looked oddly familiar to him, yet so strangely unrecognisable at the same time. It reminded him of the pictures of the outside world that he came across in the magazines given by Vanessa: green trees covered the ground, "white soil" blanketed the top of the mountains, and endless blue sky or black space… No wonder everything in this forest seemed the same to him no matter the context.

Not exactly identical, just unusually familiar.

Freddy was getting fed up with his components not working normally, for his patience had its limit. "Work! You useless piece of—", just before he could finish, the glitches ceased and he could now zoom in and out naturally. "Yes! Finally!"

With his eyes returning to their "healthy" state, he quickly scanned the surrounding.

A tree. Another tree. Many trees. Many more trees. Even more trees. Trees! Trees everywhere!

Panic was getting in control. His vision disfigured as if he were looking through a fish-eye lens, to which, the trees distorted into uneven ripples. Blotches of colours began to appear as they multiplied at a crazy speed. And then:

A deafening ringing sound reverbed back and forth inside his head. For a moment, nothing, no ruffle of the leaves, no howls of the winds, no rumble of the earth, no vibration whatsoever… Seconds later, his hearing sensors boomed into sounds again, but the sound was like standing next to a lightning strike.

"Argh!", he yelped, hands covering both of his ears.

What just happened!? He thought anxiously. Did my ears… Was it because of the fall? No… No no no no. I have to get back as quickly as possible.

Once again, his eyes darted around to continue looking while he continued to pray for something good to occur. "Come one! Come on!" Fortunately, fate had not given on him just yet, perhaps, it wanted to observe more of him surviving the elements.

From the far distance, a tree naked of leaves stood lonely caught his attention. As he zoomed further, he could see some sort of object hanging on its withering branches. They looked like a five-pointed star, more accurately, they looked like human figures but were made out of sticks.

Hold on… could it be?

Realizations were made, to which, his eyes widened in glee. "It has to be that place!"

The place he had just found was where a dying tree was situated. It was also where he found a dead bear as well… But if he managed to get there, then he might be able to find a way back since there was a path nearby which could lead him straight to the gate.

With that in mind, Freddy quickly headed down. He almost tripped but didn't, thankfully. He couldn't imagine how worse his body could turn out to be if it made another deadly impact again. Death, perhaps? Sounded harsh, but still plausible, which was something he really wanted to avoid.

He checked his power percentage – it was enough for him to make it back in time.

"Stay safe, Gregory. I am coming back for you."

The cold air closed in around Lily. The girl held her legs close to her chest so as to keep the warm air to herself. Despite sitting in front of the campfire, its blazing flames alone couldn't produce enough heat for a girl who was overwhelmed by stress and worry.

She stared silently at a piece of grilled marshmallow on a stick. The smell sure was appetising, but she didn't feel like eating sweets at the moment. Her stomach was churning, filled with butterflies, aching sharply every now and then to the point that she even felt ill.

"What's the matter?", asked her brother, Daniel, "Full already?"

"Huh?", she blinked in confusion, "O-Oh! N-No, I can still fit some more in my stomach… I think."

The man blinked back. "Well… it's not like I'm forcing you to eat them. And you look like you were about to throw up."

Eyes rolled; the girl huffed in annoyance as she handed the stick to him. "Here's your precious marshmallow."

"Don't mind if I do.", Daniel accepted her offer with grace. He then put the grilled marshmallow between two pieces of biscuits and squished them tightly before giving a bite. "Hm… So good. People just don't understand their godly taste, you know."

Lily shook her head. "You really need to eat soup, though.", she advised. "Eating them alone won't give you enough nutrition. Besides, mom's going to kill you if you don't eat anything other than marshmallows."

"Just don't tell mom. How about that?", said her brother, mouth full of food.

A smirk grew discreetly on her face. "Sorry, I'm not dumb enough to pass that opportunity. Can't wait to hear mom's lecture about overeating marshmallows again."

Daniel raised a brow, his eyes narrowed. "You're not gonna make me beg again, aren't you?"

There were giggles. And then: silence.

Other than the absence of sound, the crackle of the fire remained unchanging. Lily found herself gazing obliviously at the dancing flames. Their bright, glowing hue of orange tentacle-like arms struggled to get a hug at the fragile branches, some even looked as though they were giving her a wave of greetings.

Her ears pricked up at the popping noise produced by the snapping of the logs while they were being swallowed whole by the small yet so violent fire. Their roaring blaze traversed into her ears, to which, the processed vibration was sent to her artistic mind. Too immersed in her own thought, she almost mistook the cracking sound for the screaming of the damned.

The smile and her face soon faded away. She hugged her legs closer than ever. Her stomach felt weirdly itchy again, she wanted to do something in order to suppress that distracting sensation. So, she grabbed a nearby stick lying on the ground and began sketching.

"What is it?", asked the man, who had taken notice of her behaviour. "Worrying about your boyfriend and Freddy again?

A sigh escaped her lungs. "You know he's younger than me, right?"

"Uh-huh, like one year apart. Doesn't really matter nowadays.", he shrugged. "Don't push yourself. I'm sure they'll be fine. The old geezer is a professional ranger, he got the guns. Gregory once survived being trapped in the Pizzaplex, a place filled with killer robots and a crazy lady in rabbit costumes. And Freddy has a pretty sturdy body, it's not like he'll explode after rolling down a hill."

Daniel's speech somewhat relieved her, shockingly. But it just wasn't enough. Unwanted thoughts infiltrated her peaceful sea of mind, causing rough tidal waves to form and thunderstorms to darken the entire sky. Unless she saw her friend return safely with her own eyes, nothing could ever calm her down.

"I don't know. W-What if…", it was when the horror finally struck. "Do you think… what the old man said earlier about a monster living around these woods was true?"

Her mere question nearly choked the soul out of her brother. After a series of coughing, the man finally calmed down as he gave her a pair of wide eyes.

"I'll… take it that you didn't buy it?"

"Nah, just a little.", remarked the man as he held up his hand to make a gesture. "And by little, I mean this little. Don't tell me even a person like you believes in those camping stories. I'm gonna dry up my tears of happiness."

"It's obvious that most people don't believe it. But… that tree back when we stumbled upon? The claw marks? The dead bear corpse…? A-And those strange-looking stick figures as well! Can't you see how they all seem connected?"

The man hummed, hands scratching the chin. "Not to mention the geezer said that the urban legend itself attracted lots of people to come and look for this… whatever it is. Bigfoot, probably?", he added, a sudden wave of goosebump travelled all over his skin. "Jeez, now that you have said it, I'm getting chills now."

"Why would Uncle Joe even pick this place for a camping trip?", she wondered.

"Adding the atmosphere to his storytelling? He really got those vibes when it comes to telling a story, especially the horror ones. Man, I wish I had that same vibe as him."

"Well, maybe you should become a comedian. I don't see how you're not fit for that job."

"Really?"

"No, I was joking."

Freddy didn't know how long he had been wandering through the forest. Since the canopies were so dense that they blocked most of the light, the area below was blacker than pitch black. The only sources of light were the tiny holes scattering across the canopies and his pair of shining eyes cutting through the ominous darkness. And yet, nothing would ever be enough to bring back the once greenery covering these lively woods. Until the Sun rose from the other side, which was hours to pass by, the dark would continue to claim its regal throne and govern this world in terror and despair.

The night came, a time when the preys were at their most vulnerable, and so was he. Some hid under a cave they dug themselves, some rested in a nest they made themselves, some slept inside a tree trunk… and he had no idea how they even managed to create such a space just by using their beak. Nature sure was fascinating, but not at the moment.

Right now, nature was but a hunting ground for the bloodthirsty, a feasting festival for the midnight hunters. And there he was, a defenceless target for the savages who wanted to test their brute strength on him. He might not taste good, but he sure worked well as a punching bag. Even some of his components were already slightly damaged while his shell was yet to appear with a scratch or a dent on it.

A strong shield didn't mean anything when itself couldn't even fulfil the purpose of protecting what was concealed inside. That's just how vulnerable he was in this realm of madness.

While on his way back, his hearing sensor caught a certain frequency being produced from ahead, it sounded like a muffled gurgling noise of a flowing brook. Wasting no time, he promptly raced to the area in front of him, passing the blocking bushes as though they were clouds, cared not if some of them were stuck on the cloak. Although he knew the siblings wouldn't blame him for having wrecked the cloak, the burden of guilt might as well haunt him for a good while. If the price for this piece of clothing was sky high, say, somewhere above a hundred bucks, then the burden would multiply its heavy-crushing weight by a magnitude of a hundred.

As expected, when he arrived, a brook could be seen rushing right past him as though it was always running out of time. Their sharpened movement cut through even the most narrowed corner. Their once thought to be relaxing melodies now turned into a series of loud and intense screams and shrieks when their path was obstructed by the "rocky commoners" popping from below.

The brook showed no sympathy to whoever stood in its path, and the bear stood motionless, gaping at how fragile and helpless he was at the mercy of mother nature.

On second thought, was this even a brook? It was no bigger than a river. Conflictingly, the fact that the mere possibility of him being swept away so easily just by jumping into it… No matter, if it was meant to get him back to the boy, then he wouldn't hesitate to dare the devil.

"Well, here goes nothing, I assume. You can do this, you are a Fazbear.", he muttered in a way that he hoped he could cheer himself up… if that was possible.

I cannot believe I am doing this. But… what choice do I have? Again, a reminder of his vulnerability.

A light bulb of realization flickered from within, his eyes widened as he hurriedly took off the cloak, folded it, and put it inside his chest compartment. Just in case. I cannot let the cloak get torn anymore…

Then, another realization. Freddy facepalmed. Why… did I not do this earlier?

Slow and steady, the bear trudged to the bank. The closer he got, the feeling of being swallowed whole gradually manifested itself. Although he couldn't feel the moisturized mixture of soil and sand sticking under his massive foot, he could still feel the ground trying to pull him into the earth.

It seemed that the forest was aware of his otherworldly presence. For every land he marched upon, nature would do its best to get rid of him. To the eyes of this woodland's inhabitants, he was but a leech greedily sucking all of the vitality of the organisms, cared not the number of bugs whom he accidentally stepped on. All he had done was brought plague and disease, killing all the innocent lifeforms. Perhaps, it was the reason why up until now, all the bears he met were visited by Death?

Much as he didn't want to get water into his components, he needed to get past this brook, or else he would be stuck here with no way back. "One. Two…", the bear began counting as he raised his right leg and hovered it over a stone.

"Three!", in a span of under a second, he leaned forward. The right leg of his immediately became the support pole for his entire body. After attempts of balancing on a tiny stone, he finally managed to make his first step across.

Freddy blinked in awe; a nervous chuckle escaped from his voice box. "Just… Just a few more. I can do this… hopefully."

Using the earlier technique he used, the bear made another wide step forward. The steam's current slashed under him so ever sharply. Tiny sparks of droplets were formed from the impact between an immovable object and an unstoppable force. Since there was no light strong enough to penetrate the water surface and ventured to the very depth, all he could see was the emptiness devoid of matter and colour - a bottomless scar of the earth. He might as well sink for forever were he to fall inside it.

Thinking about such an outcome shivered the endo out of him.

Jump and balance. Jump and balance. He had been repeating these actions three times now, each of them lasted about half a minute with an occasional delay of ten seconds.

One more, one more jump and he would make it to the other side.

The bear stretched his arms and legs, the gears inside him were turning and the joints had never been moving this smoothly. It was going to be a wide jump, so he would better make it.

"One. Two… Three!"

Jump and balance. Same old technique… but the outcome was different this time.

He made the jump… but failed to balance.

Oh no…

The force of gravity overwhelmed his mechanical power as it continued to pull him forward.

He was about to fall into the water.

Time seemed to slow down until it ultimately ceased to proceed. Every movement, every vibration, every beat of his pumping core turned static and motionless. The world turned into a still picture taken by the cosmic camera, capturing the exact moments where everything and everyone became one thing. For a time that stretched infinitely like a line without two ends, without an observer, the concept of eternity was but a finite series of numbers. Given the time and they would eventually be counted to the end.

The stress indicator exceeded the final limit, but it continued to rise up in spite of the impossibility. Too fast to process, yet, too slow to not be neglected.

Out of pure reflex, the bear wasted no time as he sent out the electrical signals to move the pathetic arms of his to the front. In an instant, they phased right through the water surface, bypassing the barrier between two worlds so ever effortlessly.

And he prayed; he prayed for the god of the void to heed his plea, grant his wish – an urgent request from a non-living being.

Gregory examined the firearm mindfully. He never thought tranquillizers could be this tiny and not as long as a rifle when they were used on big animals. It reminded him of many action movies where the protagonist was shot with a sedative needle and went to dreamland right after that. Crazy how's that worked, huh?

Still, he wondered: how many of these shots would it take to bring down a gigantic, hairy beast that was twice the size of a grizzly? Three? Five? Ten? What if he shot too many and ended up killing it? Overdosing was also a problem, too. Although Sebastian didn't seem to care about keeping that creature alive, which was reasonable since it was the reason for the missing cases back then, he just found it "too harsh". But… if it meant for his friend's sake, then…

"Careful with that thing. You don't wanna shoot yourself…", said Seb, who was turning the steering wheel. "…or me, especially. Since it was designed to bring big animals like bears down, its dose could be dangerous to a kid like you."

He nodded rapidly; eyes still locked on the gun with fascination. "Right, I'll be careful."

I mean, it's just like using a handgun, right? He pondered amusingly while contradicting the fact that he had never laid his hands on any guns ever before.

Being able to hold such a tool made him feel like he was carrying a thousand tonnes equivalent of responsibility behind his back. Whenever he held the gun, loaded with ammo or not, his hands and legs would start trembling. He would put his fingers as far away from the trigger as possible. Even though this thing wasn't lethal, having accidentally shot someone with this thing as a little child was enough for him to have a trauma about guns for the rest of his life.

Now, if it was actually a handgun, the one which the police used, imagine how stressful he would turn out to be.

"Do you remember the instructions I told you earlier and how to reload it?", asked Seb, to which, he gave the man many more nods. "This thing doesn't have a long shooting range like other guns, so you would need to stand near that thing, but not too close if you don't want to get torn to pieces."

"H-How close do I need to be?", he demanded, not being aware of his stammering.

"Eighty to a hundred feet." The answer was rather unexpected.

"Oh… that's a bit too far to even be considered "close", don't you think?", he mused. "Why do I have to stay that far?"

"That is, unless you can outrun it?", the man reasoned back. Giving no time for a reply, he continued quickly after: "For bears, it takes roughly three to five minutes. But this thing is a lot larger than a grizzly. How long do you think the sedative will take effect even if you shot all of the darts in one go?"

Right, never argue with a professional, Gregory. You only embarrass yourself… Noted, the boy decided to keep his mouth shut. But if he needed to know more, for the sake of himself and Freddy, he must ask questions. "W-What if I miss? This is my first time using a tranquillizer."

"Try not to miss, then.", the man replied casually.

Absolute silence other than the humming of the engine.

Gregory blinked. Sebastian blinked back.

"What? What did you expect? Use aimbot? Cast a spell and increase your aim magically?"

"O-Oh… never mind, then."

Well, that went smoothly. He sighed as he raised the Fazwatch up for inspection. Thank gosh, the mark is still there. Don't worry, Freddy, I'm coming for you…

Oh. My… God.

A surge of pure horror and panic constricted his neck, creating an illusion of suffocation, a distressed cry for oxygens. A tingling dread crept through his body. A wave of imaginary goosebumps swept over him.

I am… I am still alive!

The programming codes fought their best against the rising terror, but they were no match for something too out of their grasp of knowledge. The processing unit alerted the defence system, only for its signal to be rendered useless since the threat with self was something both physical and ethereal. Everything the system had done, had tried, had executed… they were all for nothing.

For a moment, fear had taken full control of him. And he knew for sure it was something he feared the most: Thanatophobia – the fear of death.

[Core instability: 70% ~ 81%]

Lights from his eyes could not penetrate the pitch darkness residing under the surface. Probably it was because of the strong current which was constantly sweeping everything drifting under.

His face had received quite an amount of water from the impact earlier. He could even feel some of the droplets sliding between his wires. Hopefully, his eyes wouldn't go blind after that, considering how they were constantly bombarded by countless sparkles of water being fired off from the stream.

So, the brook was not depthless, nor it was really that deep, after all… Or perhaps, he was just simply fortunate enough to not have both of his arms sank all the way to the elbows. He could feel the numbness slowly taking over his fingers, bit by bit. Some of it might have even found its way up to the rest of his arms.

From panic to relief and back to panic again. It seemed nature was aware of his inability to feel any sensation, which included physical exhaustion, it never let him have a moment to process and relax even just a second. And he seemed to acknowledge it as well. The more he stayed still and do nothing, the chances he would lose his hands permanently skyrocketed dramatically.

Right in front of his eyes, there was sand. Oh, land! How he missed them! He felt like he had been drifting aimlessly on the sea for days and almost drowned while trying to get to the shore. With the land in reach, with life dangling on the rope of death, the only thing he need to do was now to get there before he lost his precious hands forever… somehow.

He would either: risk it by dumping his entire foot, or even legs, into the water and bolt out of it as soon as possible… or find something big enough so that he could use it to put his hands on and pull it close until he could stand up and jump to the bank.

Usually, he was the "carefully patient" type, unlike his alligator friend. Much as he wanted to get the hell out of this mess right now, he was still sane enough not to do something outrageous only to end up losing more limbs.

Panicked but calm, he turned his head to look and spotted a stone situated near him, the one which was big enough to have its head partially emerged from the surface. He stretched his right arm to reach while his left arm was crumbling from both his own crushing weight and the current's intensity. It felt so strange when moving under the water as though he was being slowed down in time. He marvelled at how the fishes managed to swim so fast and freely with such a speed that he could not compete.

Then he realized that his body was mostly constructed of metal and heavy elements, it's no wonder why it took him so much effort just to move an inch.

Having his hand on the stone, the bear pulled it to him until he was able to put his other hand on top of it. Now, came the hard part…

Freddy carefully dragged the stone close to his chest. With both of his arms relying on it, he just hoped that they wouldn't slip, else he might bolt into the water headfirst. That wouldn't end well.

The closer the stone was to his chest, the deeper it sank. Water began flooding into the space between his finger's joints once again, slowly taking away the remaining sensation that he so dearly loved. Just a little more! The bear cried in silence.

So close, he was so close to escaping the grip of death. And he wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Yes!", the bear burst into joy, it's been quite a while since he had that kind of feeling after the trip into the forbidden woods. He stood up hastily and waited no longer to hop onto the sandy bank.

Freddy's foot stood firmly on the ground, the first thing he did was hold both of his hands up and took a throughout inspection. "Damaged components: None. Movement: Fluid. Connection to the main system: Online. Conclusion: I… still have my hands! A…Haha… Hahaha…"

Never before did he want to kiss the ground so badly. Never before did he acknowledge how grateful it was to be functional and not die in the most horrible way possible for any robot. His hands wouldn't stop trembling and so were his legs. They were shaking not from the freezing cold, but from being greatly overwhelmed by fear and relief.

This would be his first and last time hopscotching on a stream that had the ability to flush him away. An epic tale to pass down to generations, to say it proudly. And for obvious reason, he would never recommend it to any of his animatronic friends or any robots he came across. But still, he doubted any bot with a conscious and sane CPU would dare to perform such a daredevil stunt.

With the nightmarish experience with water being done, nothing else could get in his way anymore. He just needed to head forward until the withering tree appeared in sight, that was when he had finally made it, that was when he had finally conquered nature for the very first time.

"I am almost there, Gregory—"

A growl was heard coming from behind, followed by a wave of deadly stillness. His hearing sensor rang again. The deafening ringing vibration muffled the noisy babble of the brook, hushing the rustle of the leaves into silence, muting the howling of the wind into quietness.

There was a lick of fear going up his spine as if there was something moving behind his back.

The bear turned around, to which, he spotted a pair of red crimson eyes hovering above the ground and between the dark. Immediately, a sense of intimidation encircled him like dark tentacles, wrapping his body tight and preventing him from making a single movement. He let himself fall into the clutch of dread and horror. The sight of that thing alone slowed the "blood" within his circuit.

Fear seized him harder when the creature moved slightly. Its glowing eyes shifted among the dark, leaving a fading trail of red light whenever they drifted.

Has it been following me the whole time!? Freddy screamed, a scream of his inner voice.

He slowly retreated while keeping his eyes locked on the creature standing on the other side of the brook. Numerous questions wouldn't stop popping up, infiltrating the processor. And more than half of them did not have an appropriate answer.

What was the creature's purpose for stalking him? Was it out of pure curiosity, or was it something that most predators would do when hunting preys? Surely, it would realize that the "prey" it was looking for was something too otherworldly for the inhabitants of this woodland. On top of that, he was not made out of flesh and bones, something that the predators fed upon. They must have noticed right away thanks to the distinctive smell of metal lingering around his body.

Now that he started thinking about it, were animals supposed to possess such large sizes? He might have been told about the elephants with their interesting long trunks as well as the grizzly bears with their towering height and brute strength. But this creature… it was something else… It might be able to break down fences effortlessly. And when it got to the other side…

…No, he dared not to imagine such an outcome.

Freddy was alerted back to reality by the sudden movement made by the mysterious beast. After the bushes covered him from its view, he quickly turned around and made another run, once again. While running as fast as he could, he began giving answers to the questions that had been flooding his systems back then.

If this thing really was following him, he might as well lead it straight to the campground and threaten the lives of the innocents, including the boy, when he returned. That… He couldn't let that happen. No… he could not. He must not!

But… What else can be done? The bear asked himself, but the thumping beat of his core had been distracting him since. If he did not get back to Gregory, his power would eventually deplete, and he would become nothing but a piece of worthless junk.

But he did not want to die, either. There was something, a kind of feeling, a certain aspect of consciousness that was speaking to him in soundless whispers, telling him to stay out of danger and keep himself together. There was no voice, and yet he could hear it. The instinctive urge to live had never been this overwhelming since the last time he took notice of his own well-being.

It was then a bulb of revelation flickered within the dark, an idea was formed from his analytic central processor.

It was then the bear stopped being the intended prey and evolved into the predator.

Nobody programmed him to be a selfless individual, the choice was his all along… that was, as far as he was aware. Although, he once eavesdropped on a conversation between the mechanics about how he was coded to always prioritise human lives over himself and his friends whenever they were caught in an inescapable dilemma. It was contradictory, and somewhat hilarious as well, considering how selfish he had become during these stressful moments.

He was supposed to save many humans as possible, whatever it takes.

But he wanted to save himself, whatever it takes.

He was a protecting shield for both the people and he, himself.

But he did not want to be used as though he was but merely an inanimate object whose value was worth less than a grain of sand.

He deserved to be saved, too… Right?

No longer running from fear, Freddy loosened his fists as he turned around. As expected, the creature really was following him all this time. Whether it was curious or simply just a predatory instinct, both would lead to a devastating consequence.

The sky was free from the obstructing canopies, making paths for beams of moonlight to kiss the dampened ground. Now that he had a clear look at the creature again, he noticed how it was oddly similar to that of a bear's body structure, other than the fact that this "bear" possessed a much sharper and stronger set of teeth and claws. Not to mention how terrifically large it was compared to the black bears, which were all dead, that he came across.

Were bears supposed to look like this in their "prime" form? He didn't recall having been informed anything about this…

Why would the humans create him based on these kinds of creatures?

Why would they create him from a creature who fed upon the fear of others, who feasted the flesh of their unfortunate prey, who drank the blood of their fallen enemy?

Did they not know, or were too arrogant since they viewed themselves as the supreme beings standing on top of all the food chains?

"Why are you following me?", asked the bear so ever calmly, but he knew the fear was still in control. "What is it that you want from me?"

No response – A still silence. The creature raised its muzzle, sniffing the air so thick that a knife could be used to cut it.

Freddy knew the creature was aware of his unusual scent. Metal was not something an animal would stumble upon within these vast lands of trees. But why just for a smell? Why would the creature be so invested in this particular strange smell that it decided to stalk whoever was carrying it? Was it supposed to finish munching on that dead bear it mercilessly killed earlier?

The growl happened again. He couldn't understand. He couldn't understand what it was trying to tell him. The biggest problem at the moment was language and it would take forever until a solution was brought up. What was he supposed to do?

"Please! I just—", before he could utter anything more, the creature began charging at him all of the sudden.

With a speed that cut through the air, the creature was inches from having his claws tearing the outer shell of his. But it underestimated something: When it came to reaction speed and reflexes, robots were perfect in all aspects. The only thing preventing them from achieving that limit was their own confining body.

What the…!? The bear managed to dodge the abrupt confrontation just barely as he fell hard onto the ground. His body stuttered for a second before he could be aware of the current situation. Numerous demands for an explanation almost halted his core from keeping him functional.

Needless to say, his stress was now twice the maximum value the indicator could have given. It would have been impossible to achieve such numbers, but sometimes, the numbers really could tell lies.

For what reason did it try to attack him?

The creature was rather surprised how an enigmatic, furless animal like him could dodge its attack in mere milliseconds. Its growls became louder as it bared its razor-sharp teeth at him while streams of drool were constantly pouring out from its blood-stained mouth.

While slowly stepping backwards, the bear noticed a large branch of a tree lying next to the bushes. He stared at it, glanced at the creature, and then stared at the branch again. Without hesitation, he immediately made a dash for it as the creature was alerted of his movement and began hurling at him.

When he had his hand on the giant branch, he held it as though his life depended on it. Then, he turned around and waved it like a sword at a speed faster than the framerate of his eyes could perceive.

A snapping sound as loud as a clap of thunder could be heard right after that. The branch once so sturdy now broken into halves and pieces. He turned to look at the creature, who had been pushed back to the side for quite a distance trying to regain its balance while shaking its head in disbelief. Heavy breaths escaped its lungs, which were followed by the act of spitting an object out of its mouth.

It was a tooth tainted in blood.

He blinked in both astonishment and awe. He didn't know. He didn't know that a mere robot like him could have been made with such raw strength that even he was afraid of. If he could do that to the king of predators, how would things turn out if he attempted to do the same to a human? Break their jaws? Shatter their bones? Or simply killed them off?

With a mouth now starting to drool red from one side, the creature raised its head to the sky… and roared. Upon hearing it, Freddy felt as though the air was trying to crush him, to compress him into a cube of metal junk. He felt as though all the crews and nails and bolts were wriggling inside him as if the ground was shaking beneath his foot.

There was something to the roar itself that he understood not. The roar was more than just a roar, a certain type of sound, a specific kind of noise: The rumble of the world.

It only took him seconds to realize that it was not the ground that was shaking, it was him who was shuddering from the absolute fear.

He had truly enraged the beast.

"I am weak, I am insignificant.

A stray belongs nowhere, where the Earth I wander."

A/N:

Stayed tuned for the final chapter!