*Thoughts*
"Speech"
".Plushtrap Speak."
Looking for Home, Part 2
Fredbear hugged his knees, burying his face in them.
The small bear had concealed himself in the bottom of a tree, the inside rotted away enough to provide a small space of entry and a nicely-spaced hovel to hide in.
He'd been hiding here for seemingly ages, after his trek had drained him of his energy.
The bear sniffed, shaking all the while.
All the while, he hoped...and he prayed...and he wondered...
If his brother would come for him.
Nightmare dizzily blinked his eyes open, the blur in his vision gradually fading.
He found several faces staring down at him.
Once the blur faded, he found that it was his companions, whose eyes were full of worry.
"Uh...guys?" He croaked out, voice hoarse.
They all gave exhales of relief, backing up to give him some air.
He sat up slowly, blinking in confusion.
"Uh...what happened?"
"Ye passed right ou', lad!!" Foxy yipped, twitching.
"Yeah!! We thought'cha were a goner!!" Mangle barked.
The others nodded along.
The black bear suddenly felt himself tackled and smashed to the ground.
"Hehehe...blacky bear-bear not dead, hehehe...tha's good..."
Nightmare carefully pushed the limp twins off of him, placing the semi-conscious rabbit in a sitting position, the chicken tied to her back slumped over.
Nightmare sat back up and found an orange paw shoved in his face.
"Sticky bear, hehehe..."
He carefully pushed her paw down.
He then felt his face.
*I am a bit sticky from the blood...gross.*
"Uh...how long was I out?"
"Few hours, give or take." Chica replied, kicking a rock off the path.
Nightmare's eyes widened.
The odd memory of the 'dream' he'd had was blurry in his mind, but there nonetheless.
*That sure didn't feel like hours...*
The words that the strange fox had told him lingered in his mind.
"I may put words on the page, Nightmare, but ya gotta write your story, too. And, like, ya ain't supposed to die yet, so...yeah. See ya!!"
Shaking the weirdness from his brain, he glanced around again, ears folding down.
"Wait, I just...passed out?"
Freddy nodded.
The older bear frowned.
Foxy placed a hand in his shoulder.
"Aye, we'll jus' rest a bit mer, then ye'll be good 'nough t' find Fre'bear!!" He tried to console.
Nightmare shifted, eyes widening.
"I...we didn't find him yet...?"
Freddy shook his head sadly, Foxy sighing.
"Nay..."
Nightmare buried his face in his hands.
"Crud...crud crud crud..."
Plushtrap came over and sat next to him, giving the bear a nuzzle.
She trilled, causing him to move his hands down and look at her.
".Fribir mrir mirir scree, Nimr reem ree."
He sighed and looked back down.
He continued to stare down, lost in thought; the others gained looks of sympathy and gathered around him, leaving the remaining unconscious members only a couple feet away.
Mangle reached forward, placing her hands on his.
"Nightmare, we know you're worried 'bout him. If it makes you feel better, we are, too."
He looked up, gazing into the vixen's eye.
He looked back down.
"I appreciate it...really, I do. Knowing that I'm not the only one that wants to find him...well, I'm still a wreck, but that does give me a little hope."
Chica gave him a pat on the back.
"I think hopin's all we can do right now, Nightmare. Other than look."
He nodded sadly.
"I know, I know...I just..."
He sighed.
Freddy opened his mouth to speak, but that searing pain returned in his throat, rendering him only able to give a grunt, and lay a hand on Nightmare's shoulder.
Nightmare closed his eyes again, breathing; he could vaguely hear the sound of his own heartbeat.
He suddenly felt something embrace him.
Then something else.
And another.
And another.
And another.
And something flop itself on top of him.
When the bear opened his eyes, he found all of his conscious companions hugging him in some way shape and form.
"It'll be a'ight, Nigh'mare. We're with ye t' the end."
And with ten words from the pirate, Nightmare broke down.
Fredbear rocked back and forth, whimpering.
He had barely peeked out of the hole, praying to find Nightmare, or any of his companions at the very least, but alas, none were there.
However, he could have sworn he caught a glimpse of a shadow resembling one of the canine creatures, thus making him tremble more.
He licked the inside of his dry mouth, mind adrift.
*Nightmare...I'm scared...*
After some more--slightly forced--resting, the group were on their merry (lol nope XD) way.
Nightmare moved slower than before, but determined nonetheless.
His mind was on Fredbear, and wasn't leaving until he found him.
As long as they did
Fredbear tried desperately to stay awake.
He heard noises every now and again, startling him; he prayed silently that nothing came after him.
He definitely wouldn't be able to escape it anything did.
Nightmare looked up.
The thick connection of the trees overhead that never seemed to break seemed to stare right back.
Fredbear crawled over and peeked out of the hole; hoping that his brother was nearby.
Nothing.
He whimpered, pulling his head back in.
He yelped slightly as his ear snagged on a stray peice of bark.
Wasn't the hole larger when he first came in?
Nightmare tripped over a gnarled root that jutted out of the ground, snagging his right foot.
He hit the ground with an "Oof", Foxy and Mangle rushing to help him up.
"Gah...thanks, guys..."
He glanced down at his foot, a small cut remaining on top of it.
He craned his head around, wanting to warn the rest...
...Huh.
Maybe there wasn't a root after all.
Fredbear curled, hearing howling.
However, it was extremely faint; nowhere near him.
It still scared him, though, and he nestled himself deeper into the rotting wood.
It was...oddly comfortable, in a weird way.
He glanced over at the small opening.
...How big was that hole again?
Nightmare picked a leaf off of his head.
There was no wind, but a few leaves had fallen here and there--
A giant clump landed on Mangle and Plushtrap.
The others found a small reason to chuckle; however, the girls seemed to have a bit of a hassle getting out, and the others had to pause to dig them out.
That was a deep pile of leaves.
Odd.
As they progressed, Mangle and Plushtrap plucked leaves from their fur, the odd stickiness making it a small hassle.
Fredbear sluggishly shifted, peeking out of the hole again.
However, he didn't focus.
He couldn't.
*Tired...*
Nightmare stopped, taking a breath.
He turned back to his companions.
"Are you guys okay? Need a rest?"
The gave a few nods, the group officially pausing for a few minutes.
Nightmare looked to the path ahead.
*I'm coming Fredbear...I promise. Wherever you are, please hold out as long as you can...*
Fredbear breathed in.
He was so tired.
So, so tired...
He remained curled as far in the back as he could, pressed against the rotting bark.
He thought of Nightmare, wishing that his brother was there to hug him and tell him it was okay.
Even if it wasn't.
The smell of the tree he was in fully consumed his senses, lulling him into a daze.
Fredbear's eyelids drooped once more.
*Nightmare...*
His eyelids drifted shut, and he slept.
