Greeting: The animatronics have started to wonder if what they saw were connected.
Bonnie saw nightguards, Storm Jr. saw Leslie and Chica saw Betsy.
Has anyone else seen anything weird? Let's see.

( Mike and Eclipse. Repairing room)

Mike used his strings to gently pull Eclipse's jaw open. Eclipse had lost lots of oil and it worried Mike.
He knew it was unlikely that Eclipse's jaw had been damaged, he just had to check it out.
Eclipse's shoulder was quite a sight right then.
Mike had stopped the bleeding but Eclipse could be still bleeding within. If his mouth had sustained damage, it could be bleeding.
Eclipse might have bitten some part of it accidentally.
Mike peered at his mouth like a dentist.
Eclipse was still unconscious and Mike did not understand why. Eclipse had to be bleeding from somewhere, there was no other way.
Mike looked into the throat but there was nothing there, no wounds. Seemed like the shoulder was the only crucially wounded part of Eclipse.
" Could he be fighting the magic? It could cause him to remain unconscious. The wound has not healed. It supports my theory", thought Mike.

Eclipse seemed to be sleeping but it was only his body. Mike could only guess what sort of hell Eclipse was going through.
Then suddenly Mike got an idea.
" I'll give him some of my oil. Maybe that will help", said Mike out loud.
It would hopefully give Eclipse some strength. The dark magic had drained Eclipse of his power, perhaps he would be able to defeat it with Mike's help.
Eclipse had to be cut to get the oil into him but it was not a problem. Mike cut his hand after cutting Eclipse's chest.
Eclipse's wound was not bleeding, some oil was coming out but not much.
" He barely has any oil left. Don't be dead, Eclipse. Faith would kill herself if you were", thought Mike.
He raised his hand and put it over Eclipse. Mike's oil was going into the wound but wasn't coming out. Almost every single drop was sucked in.
" Come on, Eclipse. Get up, pal. Have some strength. I know you have what it takes", pleaded Mike.
After a couple minutes, Mike healed the wound in his hand.
Eclipse had received litres of oil, it had to help.

Mike peered at Eclipse's face.
" Eclipse. It's time to wake up", whispered Mike.
He was smiling at the wolf. Eclipse's eye lids moved a bit.
He let out a silent groan.
" He's waking up. Good job. I know you could do it", Mike told himself happily.
Eclipse looked very calm. He was going to rise and stretch his limbs very soon.
There was nothing to worry about anymore, Eclipse was fine!
Mike got close to his face, which was a mistake. Eclipse's eyes shot open and his rose from the table.
He hit his head into Mike's lower jaw.
" Ouch! Eclipse", Mike was holding his jaw.
Eclipse was panting in fear like a child. He looked around himself, looking for something.
" Mom! Mom, where are you?", asked Eclipse.
Mike looked at him confusedly.
" Luna is not here, Eclipse. It's just me. Your friend. Mike", he told Eclipse.
The scared wolf glanced at Mike like he hadn't noticed him before.
" Mike. Where am I?", Eclipse's breathing slowed down.

Mike looked into his eyes.
" We are in the repairing room. Faith told me you got attacked by a monster. You were bleeding a lot. We were worried you were going to die", Mike explained to him.
Eclipse took it in for a moment.
He looked like he had just seen a ghost.
" I remember him. Did we win the battle? Is everyone fine? The kids? Faith?", panicked Eclipse.
Mike patted his arm for comfort.
" We're fine. The kids saw little violence but they're okay", assured Mike.
Eclipse was happy to hear that but he was sad nevertheless.
" Are you okay, Eclipse? Are you in pain?", asked Mike.
" Not anymore", answered Eclipse.
His chest wound healed and his shoulder was healing too.
" Why are you sad then? Everything's alright, I'm here", Mike comforted him.
" I was in a very dark place. Then mother appeared in front of me. She was so beautiful and shiny.
Mom kissed me on the snout and reassured me that I would be fine", explained Eclipse.
" She was right, you are fine", smiled Mike.
" She helped me wake up. She embraced me with her light. It was so real. Mom was back. Now, she's gone again", Eclipse's ears drooped.
" Come, lad. Let's go to Faith. She was so worried about you. Mangle said Faith was crying beside you when she came to you", Mike helped him off the table.
" Faith? Oh. That's sad", said Eclipse.
" Just imagine how happy she will be to see you're alright", Mike smiled at Eclipse.
" Really happy, I would assume", Eclipse smiled as well.

They walked out of the room and Eclipse was blinded by the lights.
It had been dark in the repairing room and the main hall was bright.
Eclipse's eyes adjusted soon and he could see everyone. There were some kids as well as the animatronics.
Marionette, Bonnie, Chica and Storm Jr. were by the stage on a couch.
Eclipse saw only a glimpse before his view was blocked. It was a big, happy kitsune.
" Eclipse! You're fine", Faith cheered.
She was jumping like a happy dog.
" Faith", Eclipse smiled at her.
Faith rubbed her cheek against Eclipse. Eclipse rubbed her chin and head.
" You didn't die", Faith was slmost crying in joy.
" You didn't die either, my loyal kitsune. We both made it", exclaimed Eclipse.
" Shh", whispered Mike.
Eclipse and Faith looked at him. Then Faith remembered what it meant.
" Perhaps we should not say things like that. We made it but so many of the basement animatronics didn't. They are really sad right now", whispered Faith.

Eclipse nodded to her.
He saw that there were some basement animatronics nearby. They looked sad and their ears were droopy.
He felt bad for them.
Faith calmed down a bit. She was walking beside Eclipse.
" What did I miss?", Eclipse asked her.
Faith smiled.
" I made the monsters run. Mangle finished the job for you. She attached the flamethrower and it worked flawlessly", Faith was proud of herself and Mangle.
" Good to hear. You no longer have to be afraid of those creatures", nodded Eclipse.
Faith grinned nervously.
" I am still afraid of them. They make my spine itch. They are so cold and creepy", Faith told him.
" Well, everyone has something they are afraid of. Even dragon-kitsunes", shrugged Eclipse.

They went to their friends.
" Eclipse! Good to see you're fine. You got us worried there", Bonnie smiled at him.
" It was close but I managed to save him from death. Hopefully, your case is not as tense, Chica", Mike glanced at Chica.
" I hope so too. I am like an alcoholic right now", Chica held her head and shook it.
She seemed to be rather fine otherwise. Chica had a smile across her face and her eyes were not looking different directions.
" You poor chicken. You have had a rough day. Let's go fix you up. Storm Jr. has to wait. That will be her punishment for causing trouble", Mike told them.
" I can wait if you want to. Like said, it wasn't your fault", Chica glanced at Storm Jr.
" Go ahead, Chica. I'm not in great pain anymore. Go get yourself fixed up", replied Storm Jr.
" Okay. But you don't have to wait just because you made a mistake", Chica told her.
That reminded Marionette of the visions.
" By the way, guys!", said Marionette.
Mike and Eclipse looked at him.
" You didn't happen to experience anything weird during the fight, did you? Like ghosts of your enemies or your loved ones", Marionette asked like it wasn't important.
Eclipse looked at him weirdly.
" How do you know that? You weren't in the room with us. How can you know?", asked Eclipse.
" Excuse me", Marionette frowned.
Eclipse came closer to him. Eclipse seemed to be shocked by Marionette's words.
Everybody realized that Eclipse had seen something.
" My mom. You are referring to her, aren't you? How do you know I saw my mom?", Eclipse asked him with widened eyes.
Marionette sighed a little before speaking up.
" Storm Jr. was not seeing things, not disguised enemies anyway. She saw something else.
Chica saw Betsy and Bonnie saw the nightguards, she killed", explained Marionette.
" They saw things too?", pondered Eclipse.
" Three is a possible coincidence, four is too much", Mike guessed Marionette's train of thought.
" Eclipse proves it! Something is going on with ghosts in here", nodded Marionette.

" It could be memories instead of ghosts, you know. Apocalypse is the era of mysteries.
Mind world is breaking down and could cause us to see memories", suggested Mike.
Marionette pondered that idea for a while.
" Memories do not speak to you, Mike! Those nightguards saved my life. I would be dead without them", said Bonnie.
" That's true, Bonnie. I bet those nightguards didn't say things like what you described when you killed them", Marionette told her.
" They just screamed and tried to break free of my grasp. Their last moments were painful so they didn't say a word, just looked at me with their..", started Bonnie.
Mike felt uncomfortable.
" Okay, Bonnie. That is enough for now", he said, chuckling stressfully.
Bonnie went quiet. That could have been Mike's future if he hadn't been smarter than the rest. No wonder Mike didn't want to talk about it.
" Sorry", apologized Bonnie.
" We should dig into this, guys. Ghosts, memories, whatever could help us defeat the beast witches", continued Marionette.
" Let's do that after I have fixed Chica and Storm Jr. They are still very broken", Mike pointed out.
" Yea. Do that. We'll meet you in the basement. That room, Leslie was in", suggested Marionette.
Everybody agreed with him.

( Basement. An hour later)

Marionette glanced at the others as they came in. He was sitting on the table, waiting.
" Are you fixed now?", he asked Chica and Storm Jr.
" I'm like a new animatronic. These new plates feel good", smiled Chica.
" Same here", giggled Storm Jr.
She was happy to feel the new plates on her.
Mike had done good job with everybody.
Bonnie was fine too.
" So what do we do now?", she asked Marionette.
Bonnie was full of energy, kinda like Toy bonnie. Marionette got off the table and looked at his friends.
" I've been thinking a lot about this. I am the only one who can go far enough to find the origin of the ghosts.
I need to go inside someone's head first though", explained Marionette.
" You want to explore the ghosts' origin using your telepathy. You could get lost when you go that far, Marionette. Who knows what is in there", said Mike.
" Maybe but that's the risk I have to take. It's scary but necessary", he replied to Mike.
" If we lose you, we have no leadership", Mike pointed out.
" You and Goldie can manage. Freddy too. You don't need me", Marionette assured him.
" So! Who wants to be my subject?", asked Marionette, looking at the others.
" I can be your subject", answered Bonnie instantly.
She stepped forward, towards him.
" Thank you, Bonnie", thanked Marionette.

Bonnie lay down on the table and the others came to her.
Marionette warmed up and got his mind ready.
" This can't hurt me, can it?", asked Bonnie, grinning.
" In the worst case scenario, you could go insane and get lost in the mind world with me", said Marionette.
" Nice. That sounds lovely", Bonnie grinned in dread.
Marionette walked to that end where Bonnie's head was.
" Bonnie. I need you to work with me. If you are not willing to take the risk, say now. For this to work, I need your mind to work with mine", Marionette told her.
" I can do this. I'll be with you to the end", grinned Bonnie.

Marionette went into trance and closed his eyes.
" Try to relax, Bonnie. It is easier that way", Mike informed her.
Bonnie closed her eyes too and Marionette's hands grasped the sides of her head. Bonnie was not going to resist.
Marionette's energy got into her mind.
She let it flow through her thoughts and memories. Marionette's hands began to glow and Bonnie took a deep breath.
" Are they okay?", asked Chica.
" It went fine. Bonnie didn't resist", answered Mike.
Everybody was staring at Marionette and Bonnie. Both looked peaceful and relaxed.
Marionette's mind fused with Bonnie's.
" Come with me, Bonnie. Let's see what we can find. Can you guide me to the nightguards?", Marionette grabbed her hand in the mind world.
" Sure. They came before I began to fight alongside Goldie. You'll see them", Bonnie took him with her.
They went along the line of Bonnie's memories. They went past Bonnie's repairing process.
Marionette saw Mike, looking at him.
" There you go, bun bun. Those nasty holes won't bother you anymore", Mike had told Bonnie.
" Just follow me, Marionette. I can assure you I'm right about them being real", she claimed.
" If they were something else, we'll just let it be", nodded Marionette.
" They were really the nightguards. They have forgiven me. They said it themselves", Bonnie sounded distant.

It seemed like she was talking to herself more or less.
" You are worried, Bonnie. You are wondering if they were real. You want to believe it but you can't be sure", Marionette read her thoughts.
Bonnie sighed.
" I don't want it to be just my imagination. Those nightguards have been in my mind since we became friends with Mike.
They are a haunting shadow from my past.
The thought of them forgiving me is beyond relieving", explained Bonnie.
" I understand how you feel. I've been there too. Jenner had a reason to make your nightmares about them.
I know that guilt is one of the worst feelings on earth", Marionette patted her on the back.
" If it makes you feel better, everyone has done something wrong", he added.
" But it's all over now, right? They were real, they couldn't have been anything else than real", claimed Bonnie.

She was trying to assure herself that she was right. Once Bonnie had tasted the nectar of forgiveness, she didn't want to lose it.
That was the reason Bonnie volunteered as a subject in the first place.
" I bet they were real, Bonnie. We just have to track them down and see where they came from", Marionette supported her.
Bonnie nodded to him.
" Think about it, Marionette! All these years I've been thinking about them and now I got the answer. They forgave me my mistake.
They have not been planning revenge like I thought. They have been watching me with smiles on their faces", Bonnie was delighted.
" Only a fool would think you meant what you did. Everyone should know you were innocent", Marionette told her.
" I was not innocent. That's why I respect their forgiveness so much", corrected Bonnie.

She took Marionette past her and Golden freddy's fight.
" Get ready", said Bonnie.
She saw the roof and the monsters. The man appeared in front of her and Marionette.
" There he is", said Bonnie.
" A real ghost", Marionette's eyes widened.
" They were real like I said. I was right", Bonnie was happy.
Marionette examined the memory. He had to dive.
" Hold on tightly. This will be a roller coaster", warned Marionette.
" What?", asked Bonnie.
Marionette took off with Bonnie. They dashed through the mind world. Marionette went inside the ghost and traced its origin.
They went past flashing lights and screams of pain.
They were not memories.
" Where are we going?", asked the scared bunny.
" I don't know", answered Marionette.

Bonnie was not a fan of that place. There were black figures, screaming everywhere. They were surrounded by memories of their loved ones.
" These are the black-eyed monsters! They are corrupted souls! The beast witches force them to work for the Apocalypse witch", noticed Bonnie.
" Help us!", one figure tried to grab Bonnie's arm.
" The ghosts! The afterlife has been opened", said Marionette.

He was scared but also..interested.
" Take me back. I don't want to be here anymore", begged Bonnie.
Marionette was going deeper into the blackness. There were two eyes in the dark and Marionette's gaze was fixed on them.
" Marionette! Turn back! It's going to eat us!", begged Bonnie in fear.
Marionette was not listening anymore. He was in stasis.
The black figures grabbed Bonnie's arms.
" Stop!", she shouted at them.
They ripped her off Marionette. He left her behind.
Bonnie's mind was not strong enough to break free from the figures' grasp. In there, corruption was king.
Bonnie was trapped.
" Bonnie! You two shouldn't have come here! Now your souls will be eaten", said one figure.
It was the nightguard which Bonnie had seen.
" I want out of here! Help! Someone help!", screamed Bonnie.
Her voice was drowning in the screams of everything around her.

" Wait. What is Bonnie saying?", Eclipse noticed something.
" Help me. I want out", whispered Bonnie.
" She wants out", Storm Jr. heard her.
" Something's wrong. Look at Marionette's face", said Mike.
Marionette looked shocked and he had opened his widened eyes.
" Him. He is here", whispered Marionette.
He was lost in the screams, inside the eyes. The eyes were sucking him in. He didn't want to leave.
That place was nice. The eyes were calling to him.
There were thousands of souls trapped inside them.
" Wake them up, Mike", exclaimed Chica.
" I'll try", promised Mike.

He went next to Marionette who was locked in place.
" If I disconnect them, it could kill them both", he said.
" Go there then! I'll come with you. Let's rescue our friends", Eclipse grabbed his arm.
Mike and Eclipse went in and followed Bonnie's screams.
" Let me go", Bonnie told the nightguard's figure.
" I'm so hungry. They'll take me, I have to eat you now", it answered her.
" The beast witches?", asked Bonnie.
" Their red eyes are so welcoming. You have to obey or suffer", answered the figure.
" Marionette!", Bonnie reached out for him.
Marionette was descending to the abyss of nothingness.
" We'll lose this", cried Bonnie.
She was giving up.
" Hang on!", she heard Eclipse's voice.
" Watch out, Eclipse!", shouted Bonnie.
Eclipse had to stop the figures from grabbing him. Eclipse fought the figures and won.
He came to her and freed Bonnie.
" Let's go get Marionette", Mike told them, flying past them.
All three went deeper and tried to get Marionette.
Eclipse fought the figures and Mike grabbed Marionette.
" Let's get out!", he shouted and turned back.
They fled from the realm of screams and returned to their bodies.
All four seemed to be okay when they woke up.
" Bonnie!", Chica came to her and hugged her.
" I thought we would lose you", sighed Chica.
" You almost did. Thanks, Mike and Eclipse. You are the best", thanked Bonnie.

Marionette shook his head to clear it.
" What happened in there?", Mike asked him.
" They bested me. I was not able to handle it. The eyes subdued me", explained Marionette.
" The figures almost tore me to bits", said Bonnie.

" I'm sorry. We found the ghosts and the corrupted thoughts but maybe we shouldn't have. That place was messed up", Marionette shook his head.
He tried to get over the shock.
" What was that place? Everyone was suffering in there", Bonnie was shocked too.
" Sounds cruel and horrible. Who could make such a place?", asked Storm Jr.
Mike sighed.

" Storm Jr. I think these guys just found the source of all this. The Apocalypse, I mean. We were in the Apocalypse witch's lair", he looked at Storm Jr. in terror.

Farewell: A lair? That's a good place to leave it. Now everybody's getting some light shone on things.
Hopefully you liked this, I loved making it like always. See you!
THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE IS TO WRITE.