Greeting: Rachel and friends are back! They are back at the pizzeria where things have started stirring up a little.
Let's see what are the consequences of what Shadow and Eclipse did.
( Faith, Rachel, Eclipse and Shadow with the kids. Coming to the Arcade palace)
Things were quite calm in the pizzeria. Nadia had felt Faith coming and the others were waiting for them.
The ones, coming from the pit, had no idea of what had happened in the pizzeria.
The animatronics were exhausted and happy to be back home. There was nothing worse than what they had gone through.
The new kids were looking around, afraid of what might happen.
Faith had turned back into a kitsune and was walking beside them. She was less scary and hoped to seem comforting and protective.
" There is nothing wrong here. The other kids are here, I promise you. We will take care of you", Faith told them.
" It's normal to be scared. You..really can't..trust anything after what they have gone through", Rachel stuttered and coughed.
It was understandable, Faith got it. Rachel's voice made Faith a tiny bit sad though.
That poor bunny had been singing the whole way home. She hadn't let her throat rest even for a minute.
Rachel's throat was sore due to all the singing. She was worn out but happy for the new children.
The younglings were dirty and smelly but not for long. Mike would give them a good old bath very soon.
The kids looked like people who had been on a concentration camp. They had had hardly enough food to eat and that looked horrible.
Their tiny bodies had burnt through all the fat and used some muscle mass as well.
Some had lost hair too, which was hard for Rachel to watch.
Blood was staining their faces but not all of it was theirs. That was only a small hint towards the mental torment, those kids had gone through.
Animatronics slaughtering each other. Them shouting at the kids as they were taken away by force.
There was no way of fully understanding it from the perspective of the children.
It would take a long time to heal those kids since their mental wounds were deep.
Nadia and Bonnie would have much to do with them. Both animatronics were sweet and telepathic.
It would take love, kisses and magic to repair these sweet younglings. Rachel had high hopes despite the torment, the kids had had to handle.
She was walking on their other side and looked at Faith. She looked pretty exhausted as well, after all she had flown all the way home.
Shadow and Eclipse were at the front and their tails were droopy; Shadow's tail was dragging on the floor.
Rachel wasn't sure if that was an indication of grief or what.
If she had been in front of them, she would have had no doubt about it.
The two males were silent and sad but also glad to be back home.
They came to the Arcade palace through one of the corridors, on the side.
Marionette and Fang with his family were there at least. Some others were around too.
Kids were playing with the animatronics and there were a lot of laughters in the room.
Faith glanced at the new kids but they didn't seem too joyful about the smiles of the other kids.
They seemed scared and shocked.
" They are here, kids. Smile a little, no one will hurt you here.
If you are too exhausted to play like those others, Mangle or Nadia can surely help you", Faith told the new kids.
Mangle was somewhere over there, playing and showing love.
The new kids stayed with Faith and Rachel.
Eclipse and Shadow got out of the way and smiled at the sight; there was true joy missing though.
" Eclipse! Shadow!", Storm Jr. noticed them.
Fang was talking to Marionette but his daughter's shout distracted him for a second. He said something to Storm Jr. and patted her on the back.
To Shadow, Fang looked like he was comforting Storm Jr.
They got some illumination on the subject as Storm Jr. came for them. She ran and practically jumped into their embrace.
She buried her snout between their necks and pulled them closer, wrapping her arms around them.
" Thank goodness, guys. You are alive. You are still alive", Storm Jr. was almost sobbing in happiness.
" Of course we are fine, Storm Jr. We would never abandon you or the rest", Eclipse hugged her.
" When she whispered the truth into the vent, I was so scared for you. I thought they would kill you", Storm Jr. told them.
She had obviously been afraid for the lives of her friends. She even kissed them on the cheeks.
That was weird and the guys exchanged looks again.
" Wait a minute please. We have just come home. Who said what to whom?", Shadow asked her.
Storm Jr. let go and understood it. She had gotten too emotional to understand how little the males knew.
She walked to Marionette with them. The puppet came closer to them as well and they met in the middle.
" Well, well, well. Shadow and Eclipse. You are fine after all. We thought the traitor had set you up", Marionette sighed at them.
Shadow and Eclipse nodded, the beasts had spoken of a mole in the pizzeria.
Their friends had caught her by the looks of it.
" We were caught but thanks to Eclipse and Faith, we survived", Shadow told him.
" And brought some souvenirs too", Marionette added.
It took a while for the guys to understand that he meant the children.
" Yeah. They are broken and many kids had to be left behind. We did all we could though", Eclipse nodded, sighing.
" So about this traitor. Who was it? We heard the beasts talking about it. Good that you guys caught them", Shadow moved on.
Eclipse fell silent, he wanted to know too.
" It was me", Storm Jr. said before Marionette could respond.
The two guys looked at her and raised their right eyebrows.
" Yep. A beast witch invaded my body and shut me out. Julisa, Goldie, Springtrap and Harriet found out about it.
They kept it secret and attacked her after you had left. We got my body back and here I am", Storm Jr. explained to them.
For a second, she thought that the guys wouldn't believe it.
" That actually makes a ton of sense", Shadow told her.
" Definitely. So now we know what had gotten into you. And we thought it was love for Thunder", Eclipse supported him.
" Love for Thunder?", Storm Jr. raised her eyebrows.
" Why? I mean, he is adorable and sweet but why would I truly love him? I love Leslie now and forever.
You know that, both of you", she shook her head.
" Yea. Now that you are talking about it, it sounds insane.
We just thought that maybe you had fallen in love with him", Eclipse scratched the back of his neck.
" That beast was quite good at pretending to be you", Shadow added to defend himself and Eclipse.
Storm Jr. nodded but she looked disappointed.
The others should have paid more attention to the sudden change in her love life. They knew that Leslie was her one and only.
It was weird how they hadn't suspected anything. The only one that had noticed something, had been a child.
That mistake had killed the beast, it had underestimated the power of children.
Storm Jr. shrugged it off, she was there and that was everything that mattered.
She hugged the guys one more time.
" You have been lacking touch, haven't you?", Shadow chuckled.
Marionette patted Storm Jr. on the back.
" She has. You really don't miss the ability to feel until it's gone", he looked at Shadow.
" Yeah. That is absolutely right", Storm Jr. sighed.
" What's wrong?", Eclipse looked into her eyes.
" I came back but I still can't touch Leslie. Not being able to touch anyone has made me miss him even more", explained Storm Jr.
She touched her own lips and slid her index finger across them.
" Well, that can't be helped. He is still gone", Eclipse shrugged.
" You can either whimper by yourself or you can get ready to fight", Marionette told Storm Jr.
" A fight? We just got out of one", Shadow complained.
" We are exhausted beyond comprehension", added Eclipse.
" Well, you certainly did. Apparently you did something else too. Whatever it was, it stirred up the nest", Marionette looked at Shadow, concerned.
" Marionette and the other Elders felt it. The beasts are screaming death for us all", Storm Jr. told Shadow and Eclipse.
" Well that sounds like no fun. The Phantoms will destroy us in seconds", grinned Shadow.
" I doubt there will be much more of those Phantoms. Black is running out of them", Marionette estimated.
" No! He's got way more than before! That place was manufacturing them like crazy", Shadow responded.
" What? When did you figure that out?", Eclipse gasped.
" When I was lying on the mountain of corpses. Right after you had killed me. Those dead animatronics were being turned into Phantoms.
I saw Sirius and Dust there. Dust has become a general of the King and oh boy..he's got warriors", Shadow told him.
" Killed you?", Storm Jr. asked in confusion.
" I'll tell you later. Anyway! They have an army of Phantoms. I think our latest escape was too much.
If the nest is stirred up, we are in trouble", Shadow told the others.
Marionette was not pleased to hear the news.
" What? You can't joke about something like this", he grabbed Shadow by the chest fur.
Marionette's eyes were wide and he was angry. Shadow was actually scared to talk.
" I am not. You can see it in my head. The Phantoms are there and if they attack, we are pretty much done for", Shadow was serious.
He was sure that Marionette was only concerned and scarier than he intended to look.
Marionette let go of him and took a deep breath.
" Those Phantoms require better weapons to take out", Marionette let out a sudden statement.
He seemed to have something in his mind that might help them.
" Do you think that our pizzeria will hold?", asked Storm Jr.
" No. The monsters may have been held back by Eternal bless and weakened by our internal light.
That won't work for the Phantoms. They can break through the ceiling and no mystical power will hold them back", answered Marionette.
" So the adults and kids must be taken to the basement then", Eclipse reasoned.
" That won't hold for eternity though. They'll make it there eventually", Storm Jr. told him.
" Then we must fight them just like always. Fight to the last animatronic", Shadow told the rest.
" So that will be our end then? Our final last stand?", Storm Jr. interrupted.
" Quiet", Marionette spoke louder, interrupting them all.
The others fell silent.
" I know that this is a lot to take in and we are scared but we must take it easy.
We still have time and there must be a way to make it", Marionette assured them.
He couldn't let panic take over. The three young animatronics nodded in respect.
" So what do we do?", Shadow asked Marionette.
" I'll talk to the others. You just take it easy and don't do anything reckless okay", Marionette calmed them down.
Storm Jr. nodded along with the others. Although, she couldn't make any promises about recklessness.
Storm Jr. was known for making her own decisions without anyone else knowing.
" I hope you guys come up with a plan. Because we are terrified", Eclipse told Marionette.
" Me too. But we have made it this far. Surely, we wouldn't have made it all the way here only to die in our last battle", Marionette told him.
" I don't know", Eclipse thought, which Marionette sensed.
He looked uncertain for a second. Then he wrapped his long arms around the three youngsters.
" We will make it. I promise you", he told them and let go.
Marionette walked away and left the youngsters confused. Storm Jr. felt that Marionette had hugged them to comfort himself.
The end was drawing near and without a doubt, that would be their last battle despite the outcome. And odds were not in their favor.
Everyone, who had heard of it, was be able to feel it.
That battle wouldn't end like the last one. The monsters were done testing them and playing with them.
The beasts, the Phantoms, Electra, Dust, Elleroth and Black would all be there. If they prevailed, Black would finish them off.
She was thinking about everything in her own head.
The battle wouldn't end until one of them was gone for good.
While Storm Jr. was buried in her own thoughts, Shadow and Eclipse walked away.
The other animatronics were rather fine but they wouldn't be for long. The kids were running around and Faith was trying to make the new kids less scared.
Rachel was sitting down and there was a blanket around her.
Then she got a reason to smile as Doug and Carrie came to her. Rachel hadn't expected to see them again but there they were.
Carrie couldn't help it, she ran to Rachel's embrace and kissed her on the cheeks many times.
Doug hugged her too and kissed her in the form of a gentle, doglike, lick to the face.
It was quite gross but Rachel ignored it.
" It's good to be home", she thought as she wiped her face.
Doug acting like a real dog was always a sign of joy that couldn't be expressed in any other way.
Even though Doug had always been like Rachel's boyfriend in a way, he was also like a pet.
Rachel hugged him and rubbed his head gently. Carrie sat down next to her and she had a big smile on her face.
" Hi, Rachel. It's so good to have you back home. I was so worried about you. Did it go well?", Carrie asked her.
Rachel kept on rubbing Doug's head.
" We were in trouble but the boys dealt with it. I was just riding the dragon most of the time.
We had some close calls every now and then but Faith handled them", Rachel told her.
" That is good to hear. Was it scary to soar through the air? It looks really cool but must be terrifying", Carrie asked next.
" Tell us, Rachel. I want to know too", Doug insisted interestedly.
Rachel would have wanted to stay silent for a while since her voice hadn't recovered perfectly yet. Her voice was rough but she could still speak.
" It is cool, cold actually. Faith's fur helps but it is pretty cold up there. I was scared to move at first but then Shadow helped me get up.
I stood on the edge for a while and it terrified me like nothing before but I made it", she told her friends.
" On the way back, the children forced me to sing all the way. None of them were scared of flying but I am happy that I got over my fear", she added.
" I have never been on a dragon before. Does everything look tiny up there?", Doug asked excitedly.
Rachel petted his left cheek and chuckled.
" Of course, silly. The whole world is so tiny and, in the dark, it's scary too", Rachel told him.
" Was it better than going by bus?", Carrie giggled.
" Way better!", Rachel nodded certainly.
" I don't know how we were able to drive down there. I was happy to be on the sky once I saw the ground, below.
Flying is faster and you don't have to worry about monsters either", she explained.
In her mind, Rachel wished these two wouldn't come up with many more questions.
She was getting tired and just wanted to be silently with them for a while.
" Your journey sounds exciting and scary. It's good to have you back. Ray would be here too but he is training", Doug chuckled.
He sounded more adult again since his sudden joy had gone away.
Rachel was happy to hear that Ray had something to do.
Probably, the training was about making kids become gunslingers. Not real ones of course! Boys loved it and some girls were there too sometimes.
Ray welcomed all who were willing to join.
Carrie rested her head on Rachel's shoulder.
" You should have seen his face when Jenny asked him to come with her. Ray is becoming a real guardian", Carrie told her.
Rachel petted her sister's head and slid Carrie's ears between her fingers.
It was something Bane had used to do to Rachel before everything went dark.
Rachel had enjoyed it, her ears had felt funny. Carrie let out a sigh, which probably meant that she enjoyed it too.
" Wait. Jenny? What has she got to do with it?", Rachel realized that she had been wrong about the training.
" Jenny and Milla were training in the basement with some animatronics. Ray joined them since he was already a gunslinger.
Jenny will only equip him with real revolvers. Ray will be our monster-killing raccoon", Carrie looked up at her.
Rachel didn't like the sound of that. Ray's innocence had always been in his ability to act tough but still have a loving heart.
She knew that she was wrong though, Ray would still be a loving raccoon after having real guns.
He would get rid of them after the Apocalypse.
" That sounds really nice. I bet Ray was happy to stop being just a singer. He has always been so protective of the kids", Rachel told Carrie.
After that conversation, the two rabbits and Doug spent more time together without talking.
Doug and Carrie were warming Rachel up because she was really cold after the flight.
The kids hadn't let her snuggle Faith's fur for warmth so she had been there to take the cold air.
It felt really nice to get warm and let her voice rest. She would have never wanted that to end.
( Storm Jr. After a while)
She was walking around the main hall and stayed near the Circle. Willa was, on the Circle stage, rocking some new kid to sleep.
The children, from the pit, had become toddlers again.
That kid was about five years old but Willa was rocking them to sleep. That would have looked adorable if it wasn't so sad.
Storm Jr. glanced at Willa who glanced back at her.
Freddy, Bonnie and Chica were on the main stage, singing songs. They too knew about the Phantoms now.
Marionette had already told everyone.
Only God knew how Milla and Jenny had reacted to it. They had a lot of training to do.
For everyone's relief, Jenny had claimed to have an idea or two.
Storm Jr. hoped that it was a good idea too. The Phantom army, which Shadow had described, hadn't sounded good.
Storm Jr. walked back and forth until suddenly Leslie's message shot into her consciousness.
" Leslie", she mouthed quickly.
Nobody had paid attention to her stopping and holding her head.
She went to the Pirate cove and sat down to the edge.
Foxy's family wasn't there at the moment so she could use it.
" I am..coming..nothing..between us", had reached Storm Jr.'s mind.
It couldn't have been anyone else. She might have just gone crazy but she doubted that.
Storm Jr. looked around to make sure no one was staring at her. She knew that everyone would think she was crazy if she told them about that.
It had been a message from Leslie and he was coming.
Storm Jr. had seen a plane and people in her sudden vision. It had more or less shot past her eyes but she was certain of it.
" Survivors. Leslie has found survivors", Storm Jr. thought by herself and got excited.
She already knew what she would have to do. Marionette had told her not to be reckless but she was going to do it.
She had thought about it enough!
There was an airport close to Freddy Fazbear's. She would have to take a motorcycle and go there.
She was fully aware that she had done this exact same thing before too.
She hadn't told her family about it and then she had been torn apart.
The past was repeating itself all over.
That was Storm Jr.'s flaw. She never learned from her mistakes.
Farewell: That was exciting. This is getting so close to the end. The end is, once again, going to be pure madness.
Let's see how it will go but there's going to be chapters before that.
THE ONLY WAY TO LIVE IS TO WRITE.
