Begin Prompt in 3, 2, 1…
My Friend, my Nightmare
Prompt: Nightmare whispered to the children that their suffering would only begin.
The bear stopped seeing them for what they were a long time ago. That was why when she began to cry, begging to go home, tired of being stuck in the repeating cycle of pain, he saw weakness. He saw another one of them who would let their murderer walk out the door and escape to freedom.
"You're not going home," the bear growled to her as he grabbed her by the wrist. It was the arm holding her plate and nearly knocked the cupcake to the floor. He didn't care; such childish things. "Stop crying. We're here for a reason and you're wasting our time."
"I-I don't want to do this anymore," she begged him. Chica's voice started to wane and her voice began to leak through. "Why are we still here? He's gone!"
"He's not gone. He'll come back, he always does," the bear insisted as his hand tightened its grip. She flinched underneath it. Only now did another step in.
"Leave her alone! Yer hurting her!" Foxy called out. The other two watched but didn't have the bravery- or insolence- to step forward. "An' she's right! He ain't been here fer years, an' we're still stuck here! How's about we go find 'im then? Or better yet, let's just leave!"
"You would say that, wouldn't you?" the bear spat back. He looked past Chica and glared down the fox. "But why am I not surprised that Afton's little murderer wouldn't want to keep hunting him? You're translucent. I can see right through you. Now get back behind your curtain where you belong."
Foxy was shaken by the comments. He stared for a moment before dropping his head in defeat. Not out of fear, but out of guilt, and now there was nobody left to defend Chica. The bear yanked her arm in, forcing her to look into his eyes.
"You and the others are not going anywhere until we bring the Purple Man to justice for his crimes. I will keep you here until he has been put through the same pain that I have, mark my words. Stop crying, get back on your stage, and when Midnight comes you better find a way in that office."
Chica nodded numbly at the bear and the others followed suit, but he wasn't finished yet. "This isn't the end. Your suffering has only begun, but this is for the greater good. This is so that the one who killed us will be subjected to the same agony that he put us through. Until that has happened- until he has suffered enough- the hunt will continue.
Off to the side, the Puppet watched on in horror. While the bear saw him straightening out a reluctant animatronic, the puppet saw what was really happening: a grotesque monster had its claws tightened around a little girl's arm, unwilling to let her go. Unwilling to let any of them go.
It was only now that the Puppet realized his worst fears were becoming true: his friend had become a living nightmare, one that they couldn't wake up from.