*Thoughts*

"Speech"

".Plushtrap Speak."


It's Time to Go


"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

Mangle tackled Jack-o-Bonnie, both being sent into the water.

The girls had invented a new game; they hid in different spots, and whoever dared to go out into the open (which was dubbed "No-Man's Land") to search for the others was fair game to get annihilated.

If your teamate went out and got taken down, then you automatically had to go out and fight. The problem, however, is that you weren't allowed to hide with your teammate, so you had no way of knowing when they would go out.

And if you were found whilst hiding, well...

You don't wanna get found.

...Anyways, back to the story.

Jack-o-Chica muttered under her breath as she emerged from her hiding spot, her body trembling as she was exposed.

Mangle was preoccupied, so the main threat was out of the way.

The fox was a natural hunter, and even though it was just a game, she got so passionate about it that it felt real.

Like you were really being hunted...

The flaming chicken shuddered again, her feathers puffing up in a defense attempt.

Rustling caught her attention.

Whirling around, she leaped back just as Plushtrap and Chica both lunged out at her.

They ended up crashing into each other, then immediately going into a wrestling match.

The chicken's feather's puffed up even further, and she ended up letting off heat.

That wore down on the other two, causing them to collapse.

"CHEEKS WAS THE LAST ONE STANDING!!! THAT MEANS WE WIN!!!" Jack-o-Bonnie hollered, leaping out of the Pool.

"Dangit!! I almost had you!!" Mangle replied, leaping out as well.

The bite marks on the rabbit's arms vanished, her not even knowing they were there.

Jack-o-Bonnie threw an arm around her sister.

"That's my girl!!"

Jack-o-Chica's face flushed blue, and she rubbed the back of her head.

Across the way, Nightmare watched the scene play out.

He blinked.

He then looked to find Fredbear, behind him, clinging to his side and watching as well.

Seeing the younger bear made Nightmare smile, feeling almost unnaturally happy.

"Do you like the girls, Fredbear??"

The younger jumped slightly at the sound of Nightmare's voice.

Looking up, the little bear smiled.

"They're funny!!"

The jet-black bear laughed.

*He's so pure...*

Pulling the bear into his lap, he wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled him.

Fredbear, while suprised at this sudden affection, purred and accepted it wholeheartedly.

"C'mon Nightmarionne!! Come play with us!!" Mangle half-begged-half-insisted, pulling the ghastly puppet over by the arm.

"Oh...I-I d-don't kn-know..."

"C'mon, it'll be fun!! We'll make a new game with even more screaming and destruction!! Fun, right??"

Nightmarionne gulped.

Foxy, bummed that the girls had kidnapped his partner (yet too afraid of said females (especially Mangle) to intervene), flopped down next to BB and Freddy, the former harassing the other.

"Come ooooooon Freddy, just say it already!!! We all can tell anyways!!" The wolf teased, poking the bear in the side.

"No. You have no clue what you are talking about. Perhaps you can go harass--"

"I know exaaaaaaactly what I'm talking about, Brownie. And so do you~"

"Eh, what be ye talkin' 'bout, lad??"

The wolf looked at the confused fox and grinned.

"Freddy here has a crush on--"

His entire face was engulfed by a massive, brown, claw-covered paw.

"I do not."

"Be it Mangle??" The pirate deadpanned.

Freddy's face turned blue at that, and he opened his mouth to deny it, but Foxy grinned and waved him off.

"Oi got me answer, lad. No need ta waste yer breath."

Elsewhere, Bonnie sat under a tree, absentmindedly strumming his guitar and humming a tune.

His large rabbit ears picked up on Old Man Consequences muttering.

"Oh come on, just a little longer...yeah, yeah, Ah know I've already kept 'em longer than you intended...c'mon, they're just kids..."

The blue hare shifted, setting his guitar to the side and heading towards the old man.

He absentmindedly grabbed his ears, forcing them to stop twitching.

He didn't notice the cold feeling in his bones, either.

He casually approached OMC, giving him a tap.

The man clad in red was snapped out of his thoughts as he looked down at the bunny.

"Hey, kiddo, what's up??"

Something about his tone seemed...off.

One of Bonnie's ears twitched again, prompting him to grab it.

"Are you okay??" The young one asked. "I saw ya muttering...''

The old man chuckled, patting Bonnie on the head.

"Don't worry 'bout it, kiddo."


Nightmare awoke, hearing muttering.

Shifting, he looked around; all of his other kid companions were asleep, Fredbear cuddled into his arms.

Bonnie's ears were twitching. That was odd.

Careful not to wake Fredbear, Nightmare shifted, turning his head towards Old Man Consequences.

...Who was, in fact, muttering at the Pool.

The bear was too far away to tell what was being said, but by the man's tone, it wasn't good.

*It's...probably nothing.* Nightmare reasoned within his mind.

*Besides, I'm tired, and this could all be a dream anyhow...*

Snuggling back into his smaller brother, he drifted back to sleep.


"Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase, Nightmare??"

Mangle was on her knees in front of the sitting bear, hands clasped together as she begged.

Nightmare replied in a deadpan voice.

"Wow Mangle, your offer was so tempting I almost stopped to consider it."

The fox stuck out her lower lip.

"But he's so cuuuuuuuuuute!!!"

"He is, isn't he??"

As the vixen tried to bribe Nightmare into giving her his little brother, said little brother had attached himself to Bonnie for the time being.

"Are you a bunny??" He asked, tilting his golden head to the side.

Bonnie grinned.

"Ya got that right, bud."

"Oh, okay!! Why are you blue??"

Bonnie looked at his arm, pondering that one.

"...Y'know what, bud?? I'm not really sure."

"Oh, okay. Why are you so big??"

"I prolly look big 'cause you're small, bud."

"Oh, okay!! Why..."

As the little bear's onslaught of questions continued, Bonnie was anything but annoyed. He was quite thrilled, honestly, that he had somehow gained the cinnamon roll's attention.

His ears began twitching again. What was up with that??

Across the pool, a napping BB was yanked from his slumber due to a large weight landing across his stomach.

Jolting upright, the wolf gagged until a dazed Foxy rolled off of him.

Nightmarionne rushed over, concerned for its friends.

The canines sat up, Balloon Boy rubbing his torso and Foxy wagging his head back and forth.

"Sorry, lad," Foxy said to him. "Oi tripped."

"It's...fine." The wolf panted.

He then took notice of Nightmarionne's feet--or, lack thereof.

"DUDE ARE YOU FLOATING?!"

Nightmarionne shyed back at the sudden outburst.

"L-Levit-t-tating, y-yes."

"THAT'S SO COOL!!! CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT?!?!"

"Um..."

Foxy's ears perked up.

Nightmarionne, noticing, asked what was wrong.

"Be quite fer a sec'nd, lads."

All three listened...

...To find that Old Man Consequences was, yet again, muttering.

BB sighed.

"He's been doin' that a lot lately..."

"Y-Yeah..." Nightmarionne mumbled. "D-Do you th-think i-it h-has an-n-nything t-to d-do w-with us??"

Foxy bit his lip.

"That be a scary thought, lass."

They were brought out of said thoughts when a stream of fire went flying into the air.

"MY BAD!!!!" Jack-o-Bonnie's voice echoed from across the Pool.

Nightmarionne, faster than lightning, had wrapped its arms around one of Foxy's and was clinging, not seeming to have any intent of letting go.

Ironically, Foxy didn't seem to mind, more concerned about the puppet itself.


"Are you serious??"

The kids sat in a circle, all mulling over what BB had told them.

Freddy had asked the question, dumbfounded.

"I'm tellin' ya!! We've all got powers!!" The wolf replied, waving his paws in the air.

"That's absurd." The bear replied, rolling his eyes.

"Unbeliever."

Balloon Boy paused.

He then began to giggle, which escalated into full-on laughter.

"Excuse me?"

Then, the wolf shouted.

"BROWNIE THE UNBELIEVER!!!"

At that, the other kids burst into laughter, Freddy crossing his arms.

"I am a dashing shade of umber, thank you very much."

"Whatever you say, Brownie." Nightmare laughed, wiping a tear from his eye.

Once the laughter died down, the attention returned to BB.

"Wait, so we have powers??" Chica questioned, uncertain.

"Uh-huh!!"

He pointed at the Jack-o Twins.

"Okay, so you two can shoot fire and stuff, right??"

"Yeah??"

"Those are your powers, respectively. Y'see, we all got unique ones. Yours are firey and all that."

"That's...pretty cool," Nightmare stated, rubbing the side of his head.

Fredbear bounced in his lap.

"Can I blow stuff up with my mind?!"

Everyone looked at the bear.

Then, they all said the same thing in unison:

"I love this kid."

"Anyways, I dunno," BB replied. "We gotta see what our powers are, I guess. Seems twinisies over here are the first with experience."

Said twins high-fived each other.

Mangle felt a certain curiosity overtake her.

"Wait, how do ya know all this??"

BB tensed suddenly.

Luckily, he was 'saved' by Old Man Consequences raising his voice and yelling.

Loud.

"I SAID NO, NANCY!!! THEY'RE JUST KIDDINS!!!! WHY WOULD I THROW 'EM OUT INTA THE WORLD LIKE THAT?!?! THEY CAN'T EVEN DEFEND 'EMSELVES YET!!! WHY--"

His yelling at the water continued, accompanied by him throwing out his hand, shaking his rod, and the like.

The kids felt a new fear take over themselves, huddling together into a bundle of 12.

Old Man Consequences, who was yelling at his companion, gained a response several minutes later.

Even telepathically, it sounded condescending.

*If they're so important to you, perhaps you should quit scaring the living daylights outta them.*

This made the man pause, looking over to where the kids were gathered.

Finding the terrified, shaking mass of fur and feathers, an immense guilt burned its way down his spine.

*I told you.*

Her voice's patronizing state infuriated him, but mostly because he was angry at himself for losing his temper around the kids.

Whipping his head back to the Pool, he snarled.

"We're goin' to the Spirit Realm to talk this out."


Nightmare shakily lifted his head.

A gasp made its way out of his throat, alerting the others.

"He--he's gone!!"

This caused 11/12 to start screaming at the top of their lungs, sevral running around, rolling around, or BB slamming his head into the ground repeatedly.

Freddy facepalmed.

His shrill whistle cut through the air, causing all of them to pause.

"EVERYBODY. CALM. DOWN. He will return soon, hopefully, and we will sort this out."

Silence...

"SACRIFICE THE BEAR!!!" Mangle cried, raising a stick in the air.

Most of the others followed suit, a small army of nine tackling Freddy.

Fredbear looked up at Nightmare, confused.

Nightmare blinked, looked back at Fredbear, and shrugged.

Setting the smaller to the side and patting his head, Nightmare made his way over his nutcase companions and began prying them off, one by one.

"Maybe--wait--and--sacrifice--later??--Preferably--when--we--aren't--panicking??"

The others mumbled their thoughts on the matter.

Plushtrap was the hardest to get off, having a good hold on the larger predator.

As Nightmare tried to get her off, Jack-o-Bonnie and Jack-o-Chica wandered over to OMC's now vacant stump.

"It's empty..."

"Didn't notice, Captain Obvious." Jack-o-Bonnie teased, punching her sister in the arm.

She jumped onto the stump,

"Uh, Bonnie, maybe you should--"

"C'mon Cheeks, we're fine!! 'E ain't even here!!"

A spark went off in her head.

"He...ain't even...here..."

The firey chicken, concerned for her sibling, hopped onto the stump with her.

Placing her claws on the rabbit's shoulders, she gave her a slight shake, trying to bring the other female back from wherever her glazed-over eyes had taken her.

"BonBon?? Hello?? Are you--"

She was then gripped by her own shoulders and yanked close to the Fire-Bonnie's face.

"Cheeks!!" She whispered. "You know what that means?!"

"Um...no...??"

"Nobody's in charge!!!"

A devilish grin spread on her face.

"We can take over!!!"

"...What's the plan?"


10 minutes later...

"PLAN DIDN'T WORK PLAN DIDN'T WORK!!"

"GEE BONNIE I DIDN'T NOTICE!!"

The two were currently tied together at their feet, upside down, yelling at each other as Mangle and Plushtrap tied the knots.

The red vines had been pulled from some nearby trees.

"That was...a mixture of sad and retarded," Freddy quipped.

"Yeah." BB agreed.

At that moment, Old Man Consequences appeared, back on his stump.

His head was down, and his aura was melancholic.

However, the kids were too overjoyed to see him to really think about it.

"Old Man Consequences!!"

The Jack-o's easily breaking free of the vines, they and the rest all rushed over to him.

He looked up, regarding them all sadly.

"Hey kiddos...sorry I scared ya earlier."

"That's alright!! We're just glad you're back!!" Nightmare replied, excitement lacing his voice.

"Where'd ya go??" BB wondered, the others nodding.

The elder chuckled.

"Well...y'see, there's two...realms,orplanes of existence,fer this place. This one, the Physical, and another, the Spiritual. Y'all will understand better when yer a bit older. But I went ta the Spirit Realm, to..."

His gaze traveled to the Pool.

"...Talk 'bout a few things."

The children nervously looked at one another, an air of tension having fallen over the clearing at that statement.

The old man cleared his throat.

"Kids...We need t' talk...have a seat."


"You...you want us to leave??"

At Nightmare's hurt tone, Old Man Consequences winced, hating that he had to have this conversation so soon.

"It's not...a want, kiddo. It's...well..."

"A need?" Jack-o-Bonnie snapped, hurt as well.

Consequences sighed.

"Kiddins, I don't want this. Not at all. But..."

"It must happen." Freddy mused, the others nodding in agreement.

"...Yeah. I guess, kiddo."

Silence reigned for a moment...

Fredbear sniffed.

Nightmarionne rubbed its eye.

Freddy pulled his hat over his face.

Mangle whimpered.

Plushtrap wiggled her nose, ears twitching.

BB breathed faster.

Foxy's ears lowered.

Bonnie swallowed.

Chica rubbed an eye.

Jack-o-Bonnie's breathing became faster.

Jack-o-Chica frowned, sniffing.

Nightmare sniffed.

Uh-oh...here it comes...*

The group almost simultaneously burst into tears.

*...Now ya've gone an' done it, Consequences.*

Mangle lunged from her spot in the back of the crowd, landing on the man.

"But we don't w-wanna leav-ve!! We *hiccup* love you!!"

What the vixen said brought a feeling up inside of him.

A feeling he hadn't felt in a long,longtime.

As the swarm of tearful younglings joined Mangle in hugging the old man, he felt his long dried-out tear ducts burn in want.

Want to express his emotion, to show tht he cared for the children also.

But his tears had run out long ago.

"I..."

He looked at each of them, all hugging him in a certain place.

"..."

"...I love y'all, too."


The day had finally come.

The kids were ready to go, all tears finally shed and ready to say their final goodbyes.

The twelve stared at their soon-to-be-former caretaker.

He cleared his throat.

"Well, kiddos, I can't send ya off with much."

He looked at their empty hands, a select few holding sticks.

"...I can't send ya off with anythin' material, really. But, I can send ya away with mah specialty: Words."

He deigned to start at the end of their order, from when they had first come up.

Well, something like that.

He patted Plushtrap on the head.

"Plushtrap, yer a feisty lil' bunny. Don' let anybody take that away from ya. But don't forget to take care o' others; feistyness can be used for good, which Ah can tell yer full of."

The green plushie smiled.

He patted Balloon Boy on the head.

"Balloon Boy, yer a character, I'll give ya that. But yer a loveable character, and ya care about others. Don' let that get pulled 'way from ya, alright? Character is one heck of a virtue."

The wolf grinned.

He rubbed the Jack-o's heads.

"Girls, never let go o' each other. I can already tell yer on the right path, and do yer best to love each other, till the very end. Through good and bad. Each o' ya has a unique personality, so never let the fact that yer twins hold ya back, alright? Use it for strentgh. Love each other."

Jack-o-Bonnie gave a determined nod, and Jack-o-Chica gave a dutiful one.

He rubbed Bonnie's head.

"Bonnie, ya got heart. Yer brave, and ya care about others. Never lose yer heart, kiddo, because goodness knows you'll need it. Keep yer head up, and don' lose yer heart."

Bonnie beamed.

He patted Chica on the head.

"Chica, ya got a hot head an' a quick mind. Both good, both terrifyin', 'specially on a gal like yerself. Ya look out for others, like a mother hen. Use them skills, and never let anybody drag ya down."

Chica nodded, determined.

He patted Freddy's head, who held his hat to his chest.

"Freddy, ya've got a silver tongue and a mind a-hankerin' for knowledge. Ya've got a load of intelligence. And, under it all, a heart fer others. Never lose that, kiddo. And make sure ta take care of them smaller ones o' yers."

Freddy bowed his head respectfully.

He patted Mangle's head.

"Mangle, yer one heck of a vixen. Ya got spunk, and spunky's a good quality. Yer energetic and carin'. Ya got a love fer everybody, big and small. Love is important. Be yer spunky self, and never stop lovin'."

Mangle bumped his hand with her muzzle as he moved it away.

He rubbed Nightmarionne's head.

"Nightmarionne, yer a carin' one, but yer also careful. Careful is good, 'specially when yer in a tough situation. Ya care about others. Ya got a carin' heart, and you'll never lose that, I don't think. Yer timid, and that's okay. Ya may not have a true gender, but that's alright, ya hear?? Everyone's different, and that's okay. What matters is on the inside."

Nightmarionne managed a smile.

He rubbed Foxy's head.

"Foxy, yer a happy, enegetic youngin'. Ya watch out fer everyone, and always make sure they're happy. I ain't seen an instance when ya go ta cheer up another and it fails. Yer tough. Real tough. And, ta top it off, a pirate. And a darn good one, I reckon."

Foxy wagged his tail.

He rubbed Nightmare's head.

"Nightmare, you were the first, and I can't have seen it any other way. Ya got a heart o' gold, always waitin' fer the new one's comin' up and always watchin' out for 'em when they came. Ya got a leader's heart, always wantin' ta love and make sure o' everyone else. Never lose that."

Nightmare smiled.

He rubbed Fredbear's head.

"Fredbear, yer a literal ball o' joy. Ya came, ya saw, ya loved. Ya see the good, and focus on it. That's a good quality. Don' let other's use it against ya. But, I doubt ya will. Yer smart. Yer happy. Ya love everybody. Yer innocent. That's good, Fredbear."

Fredbear purred.

Old Man Consequnces looked them all in the eyes.

"Kiddos, I love ya, and I'm gonna miss ya more than ya really know. But ya have each other. Take care o' each other, alright?? Yer a family. Maybe not all of ya's by blood, but yer pretty close to it."

He inhaled.

"Yer bein' flung inta the world pretty soon, I know. Soon you'll learn what hunger is like, and you'll get ta try food for the first time. You'll find hobbies ya like. Ya might find romance. Who knows??

"But, most importantly...you'll find home."

He extended his arms, all enveloping in a hug.

"Goodbye, kiddos. I'll see ya...someday."

They all stepped away from him.

They smiled.

"Goodbye, Old Man Consequences." Freddy said, turning and walking into the trees.

"See ya, Oldie!!! Hopefully soon!!" BB waved, turning and running after Freddy.

".Mir rir, scree scree." Plushtrap chirped, turning and following the boys.

"Bye, Old Guy Aftermath!!" Mangle waved before skipping off after the others.

"See ya, Consequences!! We'll miss ya!!" Jack-o-Bonnie said, on her way to follow, but waiting for Jack-o-Chica.

"Bye, Consequences." The chicken smiled, grabbing her sister's paw and the two taking off after the others.

"Yer the best, Old Man Consequences." Bonnie smiled.

"You're awesome." Chica grinned.

The two turned and darted away, both trying to outrun the other as they followed the path of the previous kids.

"G-G-Goodb-bye..." Nightmarionne smiled sadly.

Foxy saluted the elder with a smile.

"So long, Cap'n Consequences!!"

He grabbed Nightmarionne's hand, dashing away to join the others.

Nightmare and Fredbear stared up at the man, smiles overtaking their features.

"Bye, Old Man Consequences..." Nightmare began.

"I...I really appreciate everything."

Fredbear beamed.

"I'm gonna miss you!! Bye-Bye!!"

And they, too, with one last look back at their Caretaker, ran off to join the others.

Old Man Consequences and the Pool were alone once more.

A tendril of red water reached out, patting Consequences' hand.

He looked away from the spot the children had just left, looking down at the water.

He sighed.

A sad smile plastered itself on his face.

They'll be alright.*


Once everyone caught up with each other, they slowed to a walk pace.

Nobody could truly stop the tear flow that streamed down their faces.

Yet, as they walked into the great beyond, something about them being together...

This was gonna be a wild ride.

Alright, things REALLY get kicking next chappie.

This may seem like a quick sendoff, but keep in mind about the timeskips, and it's honestly a lot less fast than before (AmIRight, guys??).

Plus, we wanna get the plot kicking, right??

And, when said plot kicks in, updates might be faster because I'll have more inspiration.

Thus, this ends Old Man Consequence's appearances for a bit. He's not gonna be a major character for a while.

Tell me, did the feels get ya at all??

Anyhow, see ya next chappie!!