...
...Thu-Thump
...Thu-Thump
...Thu-Thump
It was slow, but there nonetheless.
Nightmare exhaled, pulling his hand back.
*He's alive...thank goodness.*
Moving both arms under his brother, he stood, carrying the other like a baby. (Which, in essence, he is one)
The jet-black bear turned aiming to head back down the path.
...Were the trees that close when he first entered the clearing?
Carefully, he moved around, trying not to trip on roots jutting out of the broken ground.
*I must've blasted this place up more than I thought...*
Finally passing through the seemingly moved trees, he reached the spot where the path was.
Key word: Was.
The tree branches were fusing together, the entryway almost completely obscured.
Panic filled Nightmare as adrenaline rushed through his veigns once more.
As the bear bounded over to the aforementioned trapping, he could have sworn he heard creaking sounds behind him.
He spared a glance back--
A pack of roots exploded out of the ground before him, causing the bear to skid, yelp, and stumble back, falling on his rump.
The mound before him emitted snapping sounds as the tightly-knitted roots unwound themselves.
Nightmare instinctively hugged Fredbear protectively.
His eyes darted around.
Suddenly, more packs began sprouting up, the mounds beginning to surround him.
*Okay, yeah, this is bad. Like, REALLY BAD.*
He squirmed, pushing himself off the ground and into a shaky standing position.
He jumped back as he felt the ground underneath him rumble, a cluster bursting out just as he got out of the way.
He made a mad dash around them all, the roots snapping at him and bursting up, trying to catch the bears.
While a bit sluggish, Nightmare had a good evasiveness stat, and was able to get around them post-haste.
He spotted a hole in the roots blocking the path; it was quickly swelling up.
The jet black bear made a mad dash for it, leaping through.
The others gazed down the path, waiting for Nightmare.
Freddy sighed, breaking his gaze away.
"Maybe we should get going," Chica muttered, looking away as well.
Foxy jumped, turning to them with a worried look.
"But 'e ain't back yet!"
"He isn't, but...Chica's right, we should probably get going." Mangle conceded, rather dejectedly.
In the backround, Plushtrap tackled Jack-o-Bonnie to the ground.
The scarlet fox's ears pinned back.
"Can't we wait a few m're minutes?"
Mangle bit her tongue and looked at the bear.
"Freddy?"
The brown bear glanced at the path, then around at their half-injured group...
Then at Foxy, who whimpered.
He sighed through his nose, as the pain in his throat was adamant about preventing him from using it.
Then,as if by a miracle, Nightmare burst from the path, coming to a stop, falling on his rear and panting.
"NIGH'MARE!!" Foxy cried, rising and sprinting to him.
Freddy rubbed the side of his head while Mangle giggled; Chica gaped.
"Guess we ain't gotta wait after all!!"
The bear glanced at the vixen, a small smile breaking onto his muzzle.
They too went to Nightmare.
The black bear clutched his brother, finally regaining his breath.
"Ye alright, Nigh'mare?" Foxy asked, concerned.
He inhaled, then responed.
"This forest is completely insane."
The children trecked once more, at a quicker pace than before.
Nightmare's concern for them all grew more and more, as the unconscious members seemed to show no signs of waking up anytime soon.
The awake members fared no better; their tiredness dragged them down, and their injuries gained from earlier weren't exactly helping.
He looked down at his brother.
The smaller bear was still asleep, breathing slowly.
Nightmare bit his lower lip.
*What did that tree do to him...*
And then he tripped.
Shrieking, the bear positioned himself so as to not land on Fredbear, skidding on the cold, hard ground.
He groaned, the others rushing to pull him up.
*Great.* He thought to himself. *More scratches...*
Thanking his companions, they dragged on.
The temperature in the forest had dropped significantly, leaving the children shivering.
This change had affected Jack-o-Bonnie the most, as she had ceased aimless wandering around in favor of clinging to Plushtrap's fur.
The smaller bunny did her best to manage under the weight of the other--and her unconscious sister, of course.
The further they pressed on, a fog began to appear.
Nightmare paused, turning around to his companions.
"Should we go ba--"
He cut himself off at the sight.
The others turned around, finding that the path they had been using had been randomly obscured by trees and rocks, blocking any way of going back.
Reluctantly, they continued on.
The fog became worse and worse as they went, getting colder and thicker.
The forest was becoming obscured the thicker it got.
The kids paused again, getting closer together for warmth.
"G-Gotta try and st-stay together," Nightmare uttered through chattering teeth.
That they did.
Well, for a while.
The forest was almost gone.
The fog was so thick that the kids could barely make out the outlines of trees surrounding them, which gradually faded away.
And then they found the light.
It was a glowing rip in reality, almost like...a portal.
The fog was leaking out of it, thicker than ever.
The kids shared looks of confusion and slight fear.
Oddly enough, they could still see each other clearly.
Silence...
"So who's gunna touch i'?" Foxy piped up.
All heads whipped to the fox.
"...What."
Foxy repeated his sentence to Nightmare.
"Who's gunna touch i'?"
Freddy, unable to talk, was still able to facepalm.
"That's...probably a bad idea," Mangle pointed out.
Silence...
"I'm totally gonna touch it."
"No way, I wanna touch it first!!"
"Oi, I brou' i' up!!"
"Oh come on, let me touch it!!"
".Ree ree Scree mrir!!"
Freddy facepalmed again.
Nightmare eventually won the argument, playing his "I'm the oldest!!" Card.
Handing Fredbear to Mangle, he carefully reached out his hand.
The light pulsed more as his hand got closer...
His claws became absorbed in the light, and when he fully touched it, it gave a sort-of explosion.
Light blew out from it, blinding everybody.
When it dissipated, Nightmare was gone.
