Almost Feels Like Home

by Mable

(Sequel to Can't Go Home Again) Mike and Marionette's lives are suddenly thrown back off the rails when one devastating moment lands them with a responsibility they never anticipated. Now with the task of adjusting to an unexpected situation, the human and puppet must rebuild their lives around the loss of another's.

99. Chapter 99

Almost Feels Like Home

Chapter Ninety-Nine

"One minute I was getting comfortable in bed and the next I woke up in my bedroom closet. My bedroom back at the old house, weirdly enough, but I wasn't really in the house. My bedroom just led right out into a room full of doors. I kept going in circles until I eventually found my way outside and here," Charlie explained. She had her arms crossed over her chest and dug her fingers into her jacket uncomfortably. "It feels weird being human again. Feels like I'm carrying cinderblocks on my legs."

"You just summed up my evening," Mike remarked as he walked alongside her with Marionette between them. One hand lazily held his flashlight while the other dangled uselessly. "Woke up in your bedroom, got attacked by a box of tentacles, and got to listen to myself creeping on children," he said. Charlie slowly looked to him with a weird look. "I'll explain once we're out of here."

He looked to Marionette thinking that he would reveal his experience, but he seemed distracted. He was too busy looking at the surroundings and watching the alleyway stretch on between buildings, all of which looked like the backs of familiar pizzerias. It was then that Mike felt a chill down his spine and looked back to see nothing behind them. It felt like something was there.

"Mari saw a bear earlier. Might've been the same one you've been seeing in your dreams, or at least that's what I can believe," Mike suggested. Charlie turned to him with silent inquiry. "It was about six feet tall, faded golden color, and has dried blood around the mouth. No obvious tears or damage to the fabric, it looked mint condition." She furrowed her brows in concern.

"I never got a really good look at the bear. It's always foggy when I'm dreaming of it, so I don't have exact details… But the size matches up, and it might've been gold. If it was dark, dirty-brown gold," Charlie said. Mike nodded in agreement and she gave a worried hum. Not because she was afraid of the bear, but because she was now very afraid of what the bear really was. Before she could dwell on it, Marionette spoke.

"…How did you know what the bear looked like? I don't remember giving you that clear a picture," he asked as he slowly turned his head and looked back towards Mike.

"I saw it when we were back inside of the Magictime Pirate's Cove room. It was there when I went back to get a chair," Mike admitted. Immediately Marionette stopped in place, took a moment to process it, and then spun to face Mike, nearly stumbling in the process.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? It was following us this whole time?" Marionette asked with barely withheld alarm. The security guard reached for his arm to steady him.

"I didn't want to slow us down. This place is like a maze, if we hadn't gotten to Charlie quickly there was a chance, we wouldn't have found her at all," Mike explained. Marionette knew he was right. Worrying about the bear and trying to lose it would've probably slowed them down. Though it disturbed him that it was still pursuing him; he thought he already had by time he found Mike. Mike squeezed his arm and added, "But it's okay. I've been keeping an eye out and I haven't seen it since."

"If it followed us this far then it probably still is," Marionette whispered, his voice hushed with dread.

"I know, but not seeing it means it's not getting any closer," Mike pointed out. Marionette had to admit that he was right and nodded in agreement, and they stood there a moment before Charlie spoke up.

"It looks like it might open up at that dumpster at the end there. That might be where I came in, so we should hurry before it gets moved back any further," she said. The others agreed and they continued onward.

When the three finally stepped out of the alleyway they found themselves at the edge of a pitch-dark field. It wasn't until Mike shined the light ahead that they saw the true purpose of it, when the light fell on a tombstone jutting proudly from the grass. It was a graveyard.

"Yeah, this is what we needed to perk us up," Mike said with exasperation. He looked at the other two and could see that they shared his feeling, if Marionette's grimace and Charlie's frown were any indication. "We'll just move quickly. I'm sure just on the other side of this graveyard is something equally uncomfortable. Like the cave Fritz got stuck spelunking in or the parking lots I've almost died in."

"Not entirely helpful, but I get your point. Faster we pass through and the faster it's behind us," Marionette agreed. He took a deep breath and stepped into the dried grass. He noticed a name on a tombstone that looked familiar and decided to stop looking down at them. He kept his eyes up on the dark hill in the distance.

Which turned out to be a huge mistake as his foot caught on a small, square stone and he fell flat on his face in the grass, just barely dodging the edge of a tombstone. A long moment of silence followed.

Finally, Mike spoke up, "You look like you could use a light." The smirk was oozing off his voice even before it appeared, and Marionette huffed and pushed himself upright. Mike was still there to offer him a hand, carefully stepping over the same tombstone, but it could've very well just been to shoot him that smug look. The human turned puppet looked entirely unenthused before he glanced over his companion.

It was then that he noticed something. He got a confused look, looked again, eyes widened in realization, looked one more time and finally said, "Mike, I just realized something…" Mike quirked a brow questioningly and Marionette got an amused smile of his own. "I'm taller than you."

"What?" Mike looked between the two of them to judge for himself. "No, you're half an inch shorter."

"No, that's just because your hair's fluffed up. Look, if you measure scalp to scalp..." Marionette raised his hand to where the top of Mike's head would be and brought it back towards his own to measure. When his hand touched his forehead he paused, then began to feel over the bandages there, his amusement turning to shock as he realized how much Mike could see. Even if it was covered, he could see the aftereffects of the bite and Marionette's pale cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "I-I didn't know you could see this."

It was almost surprising to see him this self-conscious. Marionette got a strained smile as he shielded the bandaged wound with his hand. "Well, this is uncomfortable."

Without saying a word, Mike reached out and took him by the shoulders. He pulled him in and tilted his head down just enough to press his lips to the bandages enwrapping his injured forehead, kissing right over where his bite would be. Marionette gave a startled inhale, then a comfortable sigh as he wrapped his arms around Mike almost thankfully.

"I love you, Mari," Mike said in a low murmur full of warmth and assurance. "…Even if you are shorter than me." Marionette groaned and drew back to send him a playful smile.

"You still know how to ruin a mood, Love… Thank you for that," he said and chuckled. It was weird to hear him laugh without the chiming of his music box, but it was still nice to hear in such a place. Marionette noticed that Charlie was no longer with them and looked around quickly before spotting her at the base of the hill, looking at a line of tombstones. He tilted his head, "What's she looking at?"

"Probably our graves. Come on, let's go before we lose her again," Mike said. He eagerly took Marionette's hand and allowed himself to get let through the tombstones as he looked back to make sure the weren't being followed. He only wished that he could see well enough to be sure.

Charlie looked at the gravestones with a frown when she heard the other two approaching. She turned to them with an uneasy look of concern. "Mari, you might not want to see this," she warned. She could only imagine how much it would upset him, but unfortunately could see the curiosity that she unintentionally spurned. "It's nothing important. I mean, it's important, but it's not… You don't need to see it."

Unfortunately, Marionette was too curious to stop there and slowly walked up beside her, still guiding Mike behind him. He immediately realized why she had warned him when he saw the line of five graves stretched in front of them. The first one was broken beyond repair, little more than a fractured slab, but the second one was a dead giveaway to the owners of all of them. It proudly boasted the name "Marion Afton", but then gave a birth and death date for someone much older than him. It was his mother.

The next three graves were exactly what he expected. Michael's, Gabriel's, and Elizabeth's were all lined up in the dead grass, nothing carved into them but names and dates. He was only disturbed in the sense that seeing the graves was a somber reminder of his family's fate. This melancholy feeling was soon replaced by confusion when he realized that his own grave was not among them.

"Dad's is over there… And so is Sammy's," Charlie said as she pointed off nearby. She turned back to Mike and quietly lamented, "I guess that answers what happened to Sammy. No more doubt about it now."

"Depends on whose running this thing. That might just be something to get you on edge," Mike said. Though he only pretended to be an optimist to make her feel better. He had never been that confident in the possibility of Sammy still being alive to begin with, but this place seemed to know too much when it wasn't touting lies. He turned back to the tombstones and only then noticed the one missing. "Yours isn't here."

Marionette couldn't understand at first. He looked around to see if it had just been placed separately from these. He wouldn't expect anything less from this place, and he soon found something of interest waiting up the hill. He gently shook Mike's arm and when the security guard and girl looked to him, he nodded up at what he had seen.

Up at the top of the hill was a single dead tree with two tombstones sitting at its base.

"Gee, I wonder whose graves those are," Marionette said quietly. His words were playful, his tone and voice was painfully serious. He slowly started to approach the hill and Mike followed along, unwilling to release his hand when he looked so distant. Charlie was a little more reluctant to walk into something that looked so staged.

"This could be a trap," she reminded. "Two graves sat separately from all the others? It looks suspicious."

"Can't trap us anymore than it already has. If it is still playing mind games, then it must be threatened by something. It might be worth trying to figure out what," Marionette said. He didn't even sound like he believed it; it was just an excuse to see what was hiding at the top of the hill. They went with him, not willing to risk being separated.

As expected, the tombstones that greeted them had familiar names, Charlotte Emily Johnson and Marion Enoch Afton.

Marionette eyes glazed over as he looked at them, but then he noticed a third one hidden behind the tree and down the hill. He released Mike's hand to go look, giving him an assurance of, "I'm not going far. Stay with Charlie."

Mike wasn't sure if he was trying to protect him or Charlie but agreed with a nod and watched him descend the other side of the hill. He felt uneasy just standing there in that graveyard, what with the empty sky and stagnant air that smelled more like a closed in warehouse than being outdoors. In fact, it smelled a lot like the stuffiness of the warehouse, and on a hunch he quickly shined his flashlight up past the branches of the dead tree. He could see black sky, empty darkness, and just the edge of what looked like a hanging light suspended on nothing.

"So, we didn't even go outside. It's just a repainted room we've already been in, just like all the others," Mike reflected. He considered warning the others when he was interrupted by the other's return.

"This place has a twisted sense of humor," Marionette muttered as he climbed the hill again. He stopped alongside his companions momentarily before turning to Charlie. "Are you alright, Charlie?"

"Me?"

"You've been through so much today and tonight, and with this." Marionette shot a wary look at the tombstone before looking back to her. "I just want to make sure that you're not getting overlooked."

"…There's a lot of things I'm going to have to work through after today," Charlie admitted. Surprisingly, she still gained a natural smile. "But we've done that before. As long as we get out of here, we'll get through it."

"Right," Marionette agreed with an equal smile. He held that smile even as Mike started to walk past him, even as he stopped him with a hand to the chest. "Don't look at it."

"Why, what did it say?" the man asked suspiciously. "If it just said my name then I'm not exactly spooked. I think I take threats pretty well all things considered."

"It's not your name on that grave," Marionette said. There was a hesitation and he knew that was the wrong answer. He recognized that insatiable curiosity he just tempted; it was what dragged Marionette himself up this hill. "It's just going to upset you."

"Well, I can't not look at it now that you've built it up," Mike said with a touch of smugness. He then continued down to the gravestone and looked to the opposite side where the name was carved. It had been caked thickly in dried out moss before Marionette had removed it, so all Mike had to do was shine his light on the stone to read it.

Daniel Schmidt. It took him completely off-guard to see the name. That shock wore off quickly and was replaced with a surge of anger. "Is this some kind of sick joke?!" he blurted out, clenching his fists and teeth tightly. It was worse than any half-baked threat, it felt like something had been violated in seeing it. Mocking someone completely uninvolved with Freddy's, dragging their name through the dirt.

Marionette sighed and returned to his side. He reached for his arm and began to pet the back of his free hand gently, trying to comfort him. The man exhaled slowly and tried to get his emotions under control.

"I don't even know why I ask. Of course it's a joke," Mike muttered. "But I'm not going to let it get what it wants." He took another deep breath and felt his pulse ease. "It's just trying to get a rise out of me."

Charlie came down the hill after them and stepped behind Mike to see the grave. Judging on his reaction, she would be playing with fire in prodding him about it, but she knew this had to be of some importance. "Who is Daniel Schmidt?" Charlie quietly asked.

"That was my dad," Mike answered. Charlie understood right away as he had told her about his father before. She just hadn't known his name. "Dragging him into this when he wasn't connected with Freddy's…"

"You said it before, it's just trying to get a rise out of you. It can't mock your own death when you're still alive," Marionette soothingly assured. He used his free hand to rub Mike's upper back. "Let's keep going. There's nothing here for us except names."

"Right…" Mike agreed in a mumble. Marionette squeezed his arm again, so he moved his flashlight to his other hand and used the free one to take his hand, squeezing it back. "It'll take more than this to stop me."

They all shared the sentiment. Charlie started up the hill with Marionette following while leading Mike by the hand. The man looked back at the tombstone one last time and went along with him. Or he tried to when something caught his ankle and he suddenly faceplanted into the hill.

Marionette turned back to him quickly and once he saw that he had just stumbled he got a playful smile. "Have a nice trip?" he teased. Mike looked up at him with a flat look. "You couldn't have thought I would let that one go after how merciless you were with mine," he said in a partial singsong tone.

"That was different. That was funny," Mike defended. The former puppet only beamed wider and the man rolled his eyes with slight amusement. Then he pushed himself up and looked back to see what caught him.

There was a sharp, scythe-like hook caught around his ankle and connected to a crooked arm sticking out of the dirt. None of them heard it. Mike barely felt it.

"What in the…?" That's all Mike got out before another arm erupted from the dirt. His breath hitched as he pushed himself forward and yanked his leg out of the creature's grasp and staggering to his feet.

The animatronic's upper half exploded from the dirt and revealed its true grizzly form. It was a Foxy, body hollowed and full of gaping holes, and fit with sharpened teeth and claws. Its head twitched and tilted as it stared at the two without eyes to see, studying them until it threw its head back with a guttural bellow. Flames suddenly burst from its interior and began to pour out of every single hole and tear.

Marionette stared in terror at the flames brewing in the Foxy's belly before being snapped out of it by Mike shoving him back up the hill with a firm, "Run!" He didn't need to be told twice before both were flying up the hill and after Charlie. The fiery beast ripped itself the rest of the way out of the ground before charging after them.

Right as they got to the top of the hill, the Foxy got a burst of speed and charged into them both. The heat was overwhelming, but they weren't burned. Instead both were just thrown aside by the force from the charge as the grim creature plowed ahead across the graveyard. It was clear who had just become his target.

"Charlie, keep running!" Mike called after them. He got back to his feet quickly before helping Marionette, who had trouble standing in a reluctant body. "We've got to figure out how to distract that thing!"

As soon as these words came out of his mouth, they heard another loud bellow and looked over to see what looked like a ball of flames charging through the graveyard back towards them.

"Never mind," Mike choked. He grabbed Marionette by the wrist and started to run through the tombstones to try and slow the creature down. It kept up at their heels and closed in.

Meanwhile, Charlie hadn't stopped running. She swore she could hear the footsteps behind her and continued to press on blindly. She felt so slow in comparison to how she was as a puppet, but she pushed herself onwards without any fatigue, weaving around graves and jumping over the smaller stones. Eventually she saw the edge of the graveyard and the iron gate that surrounded it and ran towards it. It didn't take her long to find the entry, left wide open, and she ran through.

This turned out to be a mistake. She knew this as soon as she heard the loud clatter of the gate slamming behind her. Charlie looked back and only then realized the Foxy was no longer behind her. There wasn't any sight of Mike and Marionette either. She had become separated from them; it almost seemed too planned. She tried the gate to find it locked.

"Mike?! Mari!" she called through. There was no answer and she looked up at the height of the gate. "I'm just going to have to climb over." She jumped up, grabbing onto a horizontal metal bar, and began trying to pull herself over. Her boots had little friction on the gate with how muddy they had gotten, but she knew she could've made it.

She would've made it too if not for the light that suddenly fell on her. Charlie flinched and looked back to see a single, round source throwing the light on her. From this angle she couldn't see what held the light, but she assumed that it was a large flashlight. She cautiously let herself slide down the bars of the gate and stared into the light almost transfixed.

She found her voice enough to give a timid, "Whose there?"

It responded by turning on a second light that shined at her. With creeping horror, she realized it was not a flashlight she was staring at. It was pair of headlights. A loud revving was he only warning before the shadowed car careened towards her. Charlie had only a moment to react and just before it hit her, she threw herself away from the gate and onto the road. It crashed into the bars without damaging them or itself significantly, and Charlie got a better look at the car. It was pitch black, featureless, a shadow of a vehicle.

When it suddenly careened in reverse, Charlie got to her feet and began to run down the road alongside the gate. The asphalt smelled strongly like it was soaked by rain and all she could hear was the car and her rapid footsteps. She could hear exactly when the car started to peel out again and ran out of the way just in time to have it skyrocket past her. She staggered to the side towards the gate.

Or where the gate had been. Somewhere along the line it had stopped and now she just stood in an endless voice of darkness and concrete. But she could still hear the car, only seeing its headlights when they turned towards her. It made another attempt to hit her and she began to run blindly once again. She wasn't sure how long she ran, but she knew if not for this being a dream, she would've exhausted herself by now.

Right when she was starting to think it would continue indefinitely, Charlie started to see a building in the distance. She aimed towards it and quickened her speed as the car fell quiet behind her.

"If I can just get inside…" Charlie thought as she closed in on the building. Unfortunately, fate was not kind to her in this regard. It wasn't until she was right outside that the darkness thinned enough for her to see the boards nailed over the door. Once a comfortable but empty diner, it now looked abandoned and foreclosed. She realized she wouldn't be able to get inside.

The squeal of tires was a painful reminder that her pursuer was still right behind her. It peeled out and drove at max speed towards her without giving her a chance to try and escape.

There was an enormous crunching noise as metal bent inward and glass smashed.

The deafening sound rung in Charlie's ears. It was such a shock to the system that it took her a moment to realize that she hadn't been hit. She turned back slowly and saw that the car had stopped only a few feet away, having crashed into a form that was now draped over the hood of the car. She knew it was an animatronic immediately, but she didn't realize which one until it lifted itself off the crushed hood.

It was the bear. Staring with those same empty eyes and gaped mouth, and now at this distance she could clearly see the stains of old blood and the coloring. It lifted itself fully from the hood and watched her with an intense gaze. Just being around it made her feel overwhelming waves of fear and anxiousness, along with a strange inward tug.

As if pulled on a string, Charlie felt compelled to turn her head and look back across the parking lot. Her eyes fell on the path into the woods that she had seen from her dreams. Last time she had been unable to make it down the road, but this time she thought she could make it. She had to.

She could feel it behind her and looking back saw it only a few feet away, frozen in place by her line of sight, and ran faster as she darted onto the road. The trees closed in around her and somewhere from behind she heard something like heavy breathing. A hand grazed the back of her jacket but was unable to grab her. She kept her eyes fixed ahead and pressed onwards, forcing herself forwards. Until it felt like something changed. The air seemed to grow thinner, the weight bearing down on the back of her neck lightened, and she looked back once more.

The bear was no longer behind her. Charlie finally slowed to a jog and then to a complete stop.

"…Was that it?" she asked herself. She honestly wished it was but considering that she wasn't awake and both Mike and Marionette were missing she doubted it.

She didn't feel safe going back towards the bear. Hoping that she would find her way to Mike and Marionette regardless, she continued down the road and felt more at ease the further she went. The darkness started to lighten up as well and soon the dark trees began to regain color, turning a rich, autumn red. The grass followed suit beneath her boots until the world was aglow in bold color.

It was then that she saw the ending of the path and the clearing beyond it. She steadied herself and stepped out from the safety of the trees.

Charlie knew where she was the moment, she saw the red pond in the center of the clearing, and the red creature sitting alongside it. Its back was aimed towards her and she couldn't see its face, but it matched up too well to Mike's description of the red pond in his dreams. As she hesitated, the red man turned his head to acknowledge her.

"I was wondering when you would find your way here," Old Man Consequences said. His voice shook her to the core, but his presence alone felt comforting. "Don't be scared. He can't reach you here."

While Charlie did feel safer, she couldn't help but be hesitant. Marionette had wary of the man after all, and while Mike had mentioned numerous safe visits, they still knew little about him. She approached him cautiously and stayed on guard. If it came to it, she could always start running again.

"Are you Old Man Consequences…?" Charlie asked as she stopped a few feet behind him. He nodded slowly in her direction. "…What are you doing here?"

"I'm always here. Just a simple fisherman working with what I have," he answered. He then set his fishing rod aside, not even caring to reel it in, and patted the ground beside him. "Come sit with me a while. It has been so long since I've had someone to talk to…"

…

The Foxy- which Mike was torn between calling Grim Reaper Foxy or Inferno Foxy- was relentless in its pursuit. Without any viable weapons, he and Marionette needed to lose the animatronic so that they could get away and meet up with Charlie. Except that the fiery fox would not let up even for a second. Once it saw them it would charge, and even getting in the vicinity of it would throw them aside like ragdolls.

They were scrunched up behind a wide two-person grave with a stone cross mounted on it and peeking at their pursuer when Marionette noticed something. He nudged Mike and pointed across the graveyard.

"There's a gate. Maybe we can climb over and escape. It looks heavy enough that he might not be able to break through," he suggested. Then he frowned and added, "Though I'm not exactly fit to climb anymore…"

"We'll just do what we did earlier. I'll boost you up and then throw myself over before Fire Hazard Foxy gets to me," Mike said in agreement with the plan. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he looked at the distance between them and the gate, the graves leading to it, and then at the glow from the beast about ten rows down. "But if we're going to make it, he can't see us until the last possible second. We're going to have to stay close to the ground and move quick."

Marionette nodded in understanding and Mike led the way. He nearly crawled on his belly behind the line of graves beside them. He peeked out between the stones to make sure Foxy hadn't gotten wise to them and continued moving along. He could already foresee an issue when he realized the line of graves would stop at least fifteen feet from the gate. It would have to be a sprint; he just hoped it was an easy climb.

Right when he was halfway down the line and preparing for the moment to run, the Foxy let out an unnatural shriek. Mike swore inwardly, believing it had seen them, and tried to regain cover quickly. He turned over on the ground, grabbed Marionette, and yanked him down to his chest to hold him protectively. Marionette stayed poised over him, limbs bent and tensed, almost like he was preparing to strike like he would as a puppet. Probably not as effective in this state. They stayed still and silent.

But the Foxy didn't charge to their location. It continued snarling and growling, and running around the area it was in. It was burning so strongly that they could hear the fire and see the glow past the tombstones.

Then something very unexpected happened. There was a loud crunching noise of some kind before the graveyard went silent. No screams, no more howls from the nightmare fox, just that loud crunch and then silence. The glow of the fire was still there but the shadows no longer moved, as though it had gotten stuck in place. It took about thirty seconds without movement before they got curious enough to look.

Mike looked through the crack between gravestones and his brows suddenly raised. Marionette saw the reaction and slowly dared to peek over the top of the grave.

There was the Foxy sitting slumped against a broken stone headless. It was still burning bright through its chest.

"What?!" Mike sat up quickly to look closer. Any fear was dashed when the creature didn't immediately spring to life and try to hunt him down. "Where's its head?!"

"I don't know. Maybe it broke its neck running into something…? No, that doesn't make any sense," Marionette muttered as he scanned the area. He seemed just as paranoid as he noticed how quiet the graveyard had suddenly become. Like even the smallest noise had been sucked away. "Something else did it."

"Then let's not wait around long enough to see what," Mike said. He jumped to his feet, pulled Marionette up with him, and ran to the gate like they were still being chased. He helped Marionette over first and after a few tries managed to get himself over and onto the road on the other side. He shined the flashlight down both ways of the ongoing road. "Which way do you think she went?"

Marionette couldn't even think about it before he was suddenly hit by a strange sensation. His body seemed to seize up as intrusive thoughts forced their way into his mind. Mike's voice faded out as sounds began to appear inside of his head. The squealing of tires, the sound of running, all thundering down the road in front of him, like an auditory hallucination. Or a memory of something that had just happened. As soon as it started it recoiled and the thoughts were gone, leaving him staring down the road, Mike's hand waving in front of his face.

"Still with me?" Mike asked. Marionette snapped to attention and nodded quickly. "Good. You had me worried for a second. Do you think she went that way?"

"…Yes, I do," Marionette agreed. Part of him was wary to accept a suggestion that seemed forced upon him, but he had a feeling it wasn't a trick. That Charlie really did go this way, really was being chased by a car. "We should hurry. I have a bad feeling she's in danger." Mike didn't even have any vision and he had a similar suspicion.

The two began to jog down the road, unknowingly following in the footsteps of Charlie before them. They eventually arrived in the same parking lot with the same diner and both were uneased to see it.

"That's the diner from her dreams, isn't it?" Mike asked. He knew that Marionette had heard more about them than he had, and he nodded in agreement. "So, the whole time she was having those dreams…" He finished the comment with a simple exhale. He didn't need to clarify, just staring at the diner as Marionette looked around the parking lot, stopping abruptly when he saw something.

"Mike, it's the bear."

Mike immediately spun around to look and soon saw what Marionette was looking at. Across the parking lot, beside the opening to a road leading into the woods, there stood the bear suit. Except that it wasn't facing them like earlier and instead was staring down the path towards whatever lay down it. Neither could see down it from where they were standing.

"She must've gone down that way. Why else would it be looking down there and not at us…?" Marionette quietly asked. Mike silently agreed as they continued to stare. The bear didn't move from its spot. "What should we do?" the former puppet asked. His companion responded by taking a deep breath and striding ahead.

"Stay close," Mike forewarned. He then raised his voice and aimed it towards the bear, "Is that you, Henry?"

He expected to get a reaction, but the bear didn't move. It just continued to stare down the road blankly. Mike was walking ahead so he didn't notice Marionette slowing down behind him. The closer he got to the bear, the more his head began to ache in protest, through his bite wound and piercing into his skull. Almost like something was trying to keep him away from it. He still pressed on, swaying a little as he walked.

"Henry, if that is you, I want you to know that you've put Charlie through a living hell tonight," Mike hissed as he walked boldly closer. "And look, Mari and me? We've dealt with your issues before. We've gone through you trying to kill us and came out of it fine, but she's not going to. I'll have you know that we've been giving her a good life, and I'll be damned if you're going to swoop in and take her from us."

The bear did not react to the words. It only looked over once Mike was only a few feet away. It slowly turned its head to stare at him with those empty eyes.

Suddenly the man was hit by an uncanny rush of fear. A deep-set dread triggering every fight or flight reflex in his body and made him feel like he needed to run. Suddenly he just knew that the bear was the cause of all this. It was the bear's fault and he needed to get Marionette and run. He had to get away, something was telling him to abandon the path and get away, and then-.

The bear was gone. It completely vanished from where it stood and with it went both the fear and the crippling headache. Marionette groaned at the release in pressure and Mike slightly turned back towards him while looking where the bear had been suspiciously. "Everything okay back there?"

"Looking at the bear gave be a headache. I feel better now that it's gone," Marionette assured him. He looked around and saw that the bear had disappeared completely. "…That was strange. It left so willingly."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say the bear's just another scare tactic of this place. Not sure why it gave up so quickly…" The bear disappearing made Mike more wary than if it would've stuck around. He tried to ignore it as he turned his attention down the road it had been blocking. "But I think our best bet is that she's down there." Marionette nodded in agreement and walked over to take his wrist.

The two cautiously started down the road. Following the single beam of light from the flashlight, the two followed in the footsteps of the young woman until the colors started to change.

That was when Mike realized that he knew where they were.

…

There was nothing in the pond. Charlie realized that as she sat down alongside it. There were no fish, no plants, not even a bottom to the endless hole. She still preferred looking at it than at Old Man Consequences, who was still staring directly at her. Looking for a distraction, she noticed light tugging at his fishing line and pointed it out.

"You, umm… You have a bite," she said uncertainly. The line went so deeply that she couldn't see what it had hooked.

"It's fine. It isn't going anywhere," the red man assured. "There's no need to be frightened of me. I'm sure Mike told you that I mean no harm. None to you or him."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to trust anybody right now… Especially not here," Charlie admitted quietly. "What is this place really? It can't just be some sort of dream realm, can it? That can't exist."

"No, that's not what this is, but one has to be less… Attached to their body to reach such a place. Close down the mind and open the soul," Old Man Consequences explained. She seemed confused and he was more than willing to explain. "This is a place between life and death. The edge of going too far. As long as you have a body it will keep you afloat- a life preserver if you would- but without one…" He turned towards the water. "There is no coming back once you go too far."

"…Did you go too far?" she asked cautiously. He stared into the water for a long time before his chuckled, the laughter rumbling in his deep chest.

"Very perceptive. You could say that, yes, but I do have a tether." There was another long moment of silence. During which, he slowly turned towards her again, staring at her with his empty eyes. "Forgive me for my bluntness, but you grew up to be such a beautiful young woman. And puppet as well. You've adapted to your new body perfectly… I'm very impressed."

Charlie suddenly noticed him reaching for her and defensively shifted back. Though not far enough to avoid his reach as her cupped her opposite cheek and chin in a large red hand. He gently turned her to face him.

"I never thought that you would become such a success…" Old Man Consequences said with a distant tone. His voice sounded gentle and full of adoration, but the comment made her feel claustrophobic.

It was then that Charlie noticed someone out of the corner of her eye and looked back behind the red man to see a familiar couple walking up. She used their arrival as an excused to turn her head out of the red man's hand. He didn't seem to notice them walking up until now and slowly returned to his previous position. He turned his head to acknowledge them as he did her with his sharpened grin.

"Guys, hey! I'm over here!" Charlie called. She waved in the hopes that signaling them would spur them to hurry up. Mike saw the scene, her sitting with Old Man Consequences, and was relieved.

Just being in this place lifted a heavy weight off his shoulders. Warmth spread over him like he had stepped out of a winter night and into the summer sun. He felt comfortable and safe here, and he wondered if it would be possible to hide out here until morning. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Old Man Consequences' rumbling voice.

"I'm surprised you made it here in one piece with the day you've had, Mike," Old Man Consequences greeted. "How are you holding up?"

"Don't act like you weren't watching and laughing the whole time," Mike said with slight amusement. He clicked off his flashlight and considered sitting down to rest his legs. "Let's just leave it at the worst night of our lives and go on from there."

"That seems fair," the red man agreed. He turned his head just enough that his sharp toothed grin could be seen much more clearly. "Hello, Marionette."

Mike was suddenly snapped out of his comfortable daze by fingertips digging into his arm. He looked over at the other man and it was as though a wash of cold water rushed over him. Just seeing the look on Marionette's face sobered him up immediately and rinsed away what had been such a reassuring glow.

Marionette looked petrified. It was worse than when he had seen the bear; his eyes were so wide that purple tears were starting to drip out again, his mouth was slack in shock, and he was trembling. His whole body writhed as he stared at the red crocodile sitting with his back towards them. He spoke not a word, he didn't even acknowledge Mike looking at him, and just stared aghast.

It was only once he saw this reaction that Mike recognized that something was very wrong here. He hadn't thought about it at first because he had felt so safe the moment he walked into the clearing, but this didn't add up right. It made sense that Old Man Consequences would be in his dreams, but to be here now when they were already being chased by something. Chased by the bear, the bear that couldn't even walk towards this clearing, that had been following them this whole time and watching them.

Then again, Old Man Consequences had been watching too. He had been watching everything.

"Something on your mind, Mike? You're not usually this quiet," Old Man Consequences pointed out. He patted the grass on the other side of his fishing pole. "Sit down for a moment and get your bearings."

"I think I'd feel better standing up," Mike muttered. He began to feel much less safe but swallowed his suspicions momentarily, if only so that he could keep up the façade a little longer. "Something's been chasing us down for the last couple of hours… You've seen a bear walking around?"

"Him? Yes. It would be hard to miss him. Don't worry yourself, he can't come this far in," Old Man Consequences reassured. He then looked back to Charlie with that fixated gaze. "Lottie here was worrying about the same thing. Leave him to his demons and you can all stay here until you wake."

"Yeah, see, that's the thing. Charlie's not going to wake because something's keeping her asleep," Mike pointed out. He paused a moment before deciding to do more fishing. He crossed his arms across his chest, Marionette still gripping tightly to him, and tried to sound a little more casual. "But who knows. I'm starting to think maybe we're all just worn out from what went down with Burke. You saw that right?"

Charlie looked to him in confusion, not understanding at first the change of tone. Old Man Consequences either didn't catch on or wasn't bothered. "Of course. It is such a shame it had to happen like that. Clay has always been an unstable one, but at least he is no longer in your way. Aren't you happy about that?"

"I don't know. Should I be?" Mike asked challengingly.

"You should. Clay knows how to destroy businesses. If not through bad press, then through his constant reopening of old cases."

"That's funny, I was more concerned about him trying to kill us," Mike remarked. This got another rising chuckle out of the red man. "That wasn't exactly a joke. The man set up an elaborate plan to frame me and then started firing off bullets."

"Just as well. Someone ought to have shot that clown ages ago," Old Man Consequences murmured as he looked back out at the water.

Marionette's fingers dug tighter into Mike's arm as he looked up at him with a panicked look. It was that comment that finally cemented their beliefs. Mike took a deep breath and took the plunge.

"…Is that why you shot him?" he asked.

There was a long paused that followed it.

"…It was you, wasn't it? You were controlling Burke," Mike accused more boldly. Now Charlie caught on to what he was doing and started to slowly stand and back away from red man. Thankfully, it was no longer watching her, but it didn't make her feel any safer. "Tell me the truth," Mike pried. "You owe me that much for lying to me. Dragging me in here for friendly chats and then trying to kill me."

"I never tried to kill you, Mike."

"Then what would you call it?!" Mike snapped. "If you had Burke, then you had Glenn and Dave too! All three of which were looking to either kill me, kill my friends or staff, or ruin Foxy's! Is that what this is about?!" He started to put pieces together. "You said Burke could ruin a business, so you sent him to drag up all that he could on Freddy's to set me up. Glenn you just had try to kill Fritz! What was Dave, framing me for murder?! All of this because, what, you're angry that Foxy's opened so you're trying to sabotage it?!"

"I'm not trying to ruin Foxy's, Mike," Old Man Consequences said calmly. He was completely unphased by the man's accusations. "I am protecting it."

"By having Burke drag up all of Freddy's dirty laundry?! Ha, yeah, great plan! Worked out like a charm!" Mike spat sarcastically. "Do you know what's going to happen when the rest of the world sees what was left in the facility?! Sees all of the things Burke has stashed in his basement?!"

"Here is a better question, Mike. If you saw everything he left behind- his shrines, his writings, his plans on how to trap a confession under any means possible- what would you think? What would you see?" The red man stared down into the water once more. "…You would a detective so obsessed with a case he could never solve that he's gone half mad from it. A dangerous man who cannot control himself. Unfit to be in society, let alone serve as police chief." Old Man Consequences turned his head to partially look back. "And then the case at Freddy's disappears."

"…You weren't trying to frame Mike, you were trying to frame Clay," Charlie said in breathy disbelief. "That's why his plan didn't make any sense. You were just trying to make him look insane."

"Such a bright, young woman. I feel like you would have seen right through it if not for Mike's discovery," the red man complimented.

"Yeah, well, that doesn't explain Glenn," Mike pointed out. "Or Dave. Unless you are Dave, in which case I'm guessing this is all an elaborate scheme to get revenge because you blame me for your death. But Glenn, why him? Why try to attack Fritz if you were so worried about our restaurant?"

"Why would I attack Fritz? He's a polished technician whose worked with numerous aggressive machines. Why would anyone think that one corpse of an animatronic would kill him?" Old Man Consequences asked rhetorically. "We didn't need someone to die. Chipper's has always been on wobbly legs; any event would topple it over. Which is for the best. Anyone dining at their subpar restaurant won't be at yours."

"So, you were trying to get rid of- Oh God, that's why Dave- You possessed Dave and had him kidnap the kids so that he could reenact the Missing Children Incident and take out Magictime Theater," Mike choked out. It was now that the dread was catching up to him. It felt like that sensation that grabbed him when he got too close to the bear. This person who he thought was an ally had been there the whole time working behind the scenes, and now they were trapped with it.

"You are only half-right. Dave was always meant to get caught, but things got out of hand," Old Man Consequences easily explained. "You can't control someone whose mind is already lost to so many vices. Once things became too risky, Dave was no longer a viable option… And I had to cut him loose."

It was all laid out on the table. They already knew so much and Old Man Consequences not only didn't hide it, he said it all without shame. There was no guilt in his deep voice. There was no longer that familiar comfort either as Mike realized that he had no idea who he was talking to. Charlie looked shocked and aghast; Marionette was still silent.

"Why?" Mike finally asked. "What do you get out of this? What sick thrill do you get out of this?"

"This isn't about me, Sport," the red man said in an almost patronizing way. "I'm protecting you from the world. Your business couldn't have grown so successful with the shadow of Freddy's and its competition looming over it. Now you are the only safe, reliable establishment in the area." He lifted the fishing rod again as though preparing to return to fishing. "Consider it my way of repaying you for all you've done."

"What does that mean?" Mike asked cautiously. He had a horrible suspicion growing in his gut. "Repaying you, I never did anything for you."

"I never thought you would make so much progress. Opening a new establishment, gathering my creations, taming them, keeping my work alive even once I was gone. My greatest accomplishment- he looks at me with such fear and still I cannot feel anything but joy in what he has become. All because of you." Old Man Consequences' voice lowered like he was becoming emotional. "You have exceeded all of my expectations for any employee."

Then, slowly, Old Man Consequences rose to his feet. He towered as tall as any thickened springlock suit and turned around stiffly with slow footsteps. He fully faced the two behind him and his hollowed face looked more lifeless than ever, like the head of a suit. His wide grin of sharp teeth slowly separated as he opened his mouth to let the truth come forth.

Purple viscera spilled from its mouth and spattered onto the grass at its feet. Beyond the flow, the glow of eye lights stared out from the depths of the suit's open mouth.

It was him.

"You did everything I could've asked for and then more. I cannot begin to express my appreciation for your efforts," William said as clumps of purple entrails dripped through the suit's teeth. "…But I'm afraid it is time that I ask for repayment. Nothing you haven't already provided. You already gave me exactly what I wanted."

Mike reaction was severely delayed as he stared transfixed and watched as the worst possible outcome came true right behind him. Both him and Charlie had this same reaction, but Marionette did little more than flinch. It was then that Mike knew why he had been petrified: he already knew. He recognized him the moment they had come up. He saw straight through the ruse that Mike had not.

"No," Mike finally said. He swallowed thickly and continued, "No, wait. This is just another lie. You're dead." It had to be Dave pretending to be him. Dave, who had known so much about Freddy's, who had been obsessed with the animatronics, who had called Afton's name before he died. Who had stared distantly just like Burke had, seeing something that wasn't there.

It had been William; he was there the entire time. He had them all fooled and Mike fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

"Don't be afraid, Mike. You've done well. I gave you my most successful creation and you gave me a lifeline in return. You can rest easy knowing that I am proud of you." That must've been some sort of sadistic joke, Mike thought. It sent a chill down his spine. "And the same for Marionette. He has become… More than Henry would've ever allowed. Henry was a brilliant man, an excellent partner, but lacked ambition. He could never see the bigger picture of what we were creating."

"So, you killed him?" Charlie spat out unexpectedly. "He did everything for you. He trusted you!"

"I never killed Henry. I never wanted him dead," William admitted distantly. "…But with his death I was shown the true possibilities of creation. Like a toy that can be broken and put back together again. Give them a reason to stay, force them if needed, and they will become something remarkable… Just like you did." He slowly turned to look at her. "…You did well with this one, Marionette."

"That's not my name," Marionette finally spoke. His voice filled with growing anger. "My name is Marion."

"Such an unexpected turn of events. I never thought I would have a second chance with her…" William became fixated on her and Charlie's anger melted as she felt the rising fear return. She took another cautious step back and towards the side, planning to loop herself back around to Mike and Marionette. Only stopping short when he added, "She is more than enough repayment for getting rid of your competition."

"Now you wait just a God damn minute," Mike snarled lowly. This managed to get William to look at him again, which Mike rewarded with a look of pure hatred. "Let's get one thing straight, Fredrick, I didn't do any of this for you. You've been literally dead to me up until two minutes ago. Everything I've done I have done for Marion, and Gabriel, and the rest of the people you wrecked the lives of. If you think I'm just going to hand over Charlie to you, you've got another thing coming."

"I don't think you realize your lack of say in this situation, Mike," William said. He sounded only slightly more irritated, but he stayed as confident as ever. "I'm being generous. If I had wanted to, I could have severed her tether already, but I'm giving you a chance to make this easier for yourselves." His voice grew lower. "I could've taken her any time I wanted."

"No!" Charlie denied quickly. "No, I'm not- I'm not yours! I don't even know why you want me- I'm not like my father at all!" She then broke into a run to quickly get over to Mike and Marionette, the latter detaching himself from Mike and circling around to protectively hold her arm. He kept his head lowered, unwilling to look the red suit in the eyes. Charlie, filled with fear and defiance, spoke for them both. "I don't care if I have to stay awake forever, you're not going to keep me here."

The red suit twitched only lightly but stayed very much in composure. He instead looked towards Mike and asked, "Are you sure this is the path you wish to take, Mike? You are just delaying the inevitable." He got his answer from Mike's cold look alone and sighed. His jaw abruptly snapped shut, staving off the flow of poison dripping through the teeth of his mask. "Then go on. Run and hide if that's what you desire." He turned back to the pond once more. "I will give you a head start."

He wasn't letting them go. They all knew this but decided to take the bait anyways. Mike made a motion to push Charlie and Marionette back, and within moments they were running back towards the path. Mike was starting to follow when he heard William's voice again.

"I suppose I should thank you again, Mike," His voice shifted and changed, no longer the deep false rumbling and now much closer to the one he remembered. "I will enjoy every moment of this."

"God help me," Mike thought before running after Marionette and Charlie. He had a bad feeling that he had just bit the hook again.

Behind him, Old Man Consequences reeled in his line and then recast across the water. Within moments he had another on the line.

---

Baby straightened in alert and looked around the room. Something had changed but she wasn't sure what, so she looked at the three on the bed. They were still unmoving, Charlie laying comfortably, Marionette hunched over, and Mike half sprawled on the bed half off. It would've been amusing if they had fallen asleep like that naturally, if she wasn't standing alone in this room waiting for something to happen.

Her green eyes were drawn towards Charlie's face and she rolled up beside her side of the bed and looked down at her almost curiously. She looked serene in her endless slumber, completely oblivious to the desperate efforts to wake her up. Baby wondered if she would remember any of this by time she woke up. Perhaps she was dreaming while all this was going on, she wondered about what.

"Her old life. She misses it more than ever. She misses her friends, her college, her home, her real family. Now she has none of it. This sleep is an escape from her horrible reality."

But Baby wasn't entirely sure if she agreed with that thought. Charlie seemed so happy with her life, and now she had even reconnected with her old friends. That was something that Baby herself could never do, considering that she had never had long lasting friends as a child. Besides, Charlie had the business, her performing, so she doubted she was that miserable.

"Hasn't Charlie hidden her feelings before? She feels unable to tell anyone the truth. She feels like a burden, trapped in this body."

Again, Baby wasn't sure if she agreed with this thought. The Security Puppet smiled too much and it always seemed sincere. A sweet smile that made even Baby herself feel a little better, even when the situation was grim. Besides, her body wasn't that troublesome. It suited her well.

"It is a beautiful body, and children adore her for it. She lifts out of her box and lights up a room, stealing the show from the other performers. You never had that chance. You were always trapped in plates."

It was only now that Baby started to become a little more uncomfortable with these intrusive thoughts that were prying at her. She started to tighten her hand into a fist and her claw clenched.

"And because of that, she's replaced you entirely. Look at this bedroom. This was once your room and now every part left from you is missing. She's the sister your brothers always wanted, she's filing the space at the family restaurant that you could've been filling, and she's taking songs that you could be singing and using them for her own voice."

As riled as the words got her, Baby was not stupid. Even if Charlie wasn't in the picture, she knew nobody would trust her around children. At least, not yet. Maybe once she started to look better, maybe once she practiced on a stage, someday. She was happy for Charlie. Charlie was her best friend so of course she would be glad to see her success. She wasn't jealous.

"She has other friends, her old friends, the children who adore her; she doesn't need you. Eventually, she will leave you like all the others. Look at how quickly she forgot you today, after all the two of you have been through. After all the times that you have saved her. She should be yours, but she doesn't care about you. She will leave you."

But that's not true. Charlie cared about Baby. She said as much when assuring her that things wouldn't change between them. As worrying as it was that she had her perfect, human friends back, she wouldn't leave her. Not after all they had been through. Baby tried to blame her possessiveness and assure herself that the thoughts were wrong.

"Elizabeth."

All at once the intrusive thoughts suddenly had a new voice and Baby jolted upright in alert. No longer staring at Charlie, she focused on the voice coming from inside her head. It sounded so familiar to her.

"…Daddy?" she breathily whispered.

"It's me, Princess. I'm here."

Baby turned around in alarm and looked over the room like she expected him to be there. But he wasn't, he was just a voice inside of her head. A voice that seemed to take root inside of her and invade all her thoughts. She didn't understand where he could've come from or how she recognized him so well, but she knew it was him. "Where are you?" she asked.

"I'm here. I missed you so much, Princess… And I need your help."

"You abandoned me," Baby said. Almost immediately afterwards it was as though her brain started to slow down. Her focus narrowed on his voice and she felt so giddy from hearing it that she could no longer think about what he had done to her or anyone else. All that was important was that her father had finally come back for her.

"I know, Lizzie, I know… But if you help me, I promise I will be able to stay and make up for lost time. We can be a family again."

It sounded so sweet. Perhaps because it was followed by visions of birthday parties and gifts, and a man she admired lavishing her in affection. Even if she couldn't even recognize the details of his face. She imagined him looking something like Scott and that seemed to fill the blank well. It all sounded so perfect, even if something in the back of her mind was questioning it.

"What do you need me to do?" Baby asked softly.

"I need you to destroy Charlie's body."

It caught the clown completely off guard. "…What?!"

"It is the only way to release her trapped soul. All you need to do is use your claw on her neck and break the chains."

"But… She's my friend. I don't want to hurt her…" Baby replied. She then got a moment of clarity and grew more defiant, "She's my friend, why would I hurt her?"

"Charlie has suffered for too long and nobody will set her free. Every moment she is forced to stay in this body is unfair to her. You would be showing her mercy, something none of the others will do for her."

Like with the thoughts before, this didn't sound right to Baby. She stared down at Charlie's peaceful face. She couldn't be suffering, not when she had such a loving family and friends. She seemed like she had the perfect life compared to Baby. Besides, she would've told her if she was in pain.

"There are many things she doesn't tell you, but that was how she was raised. She doesn't know how to ask for help."

That almost sounded like Charlie. "But… You… You want me to break her body… And it will set her soul free? Where will she go?"

"To a wonderful place, Princess. She can have parties every day, and all the old characters are here and dying to meet her. Every day will be a new adventure. Only you can give that to her."

Something twisted Baby's thoughts as her claw tightened and she leaned over Charlie. Maybe he was right, maybe she was in pain. Charlie had mentioned before that she had trouble opening up to people. Something about her aunt not taking conflict well, so Baby could believe she would hide this. She was still hesitant. "But what about the pizzeria? She's a star now, I can't take her away."

"You will be able to fill her spot. Imagine, Princess; you performing on a stage in front of dozens of children cheering your name. Your image on posters, your dolls on shelves, and the name Circus Baby overshadowing the name of Freddy Fazbear. That was always what was supposed to happen, and now you have a chance for that. With Charlie out of the way, you can regain your glory. The spotlight is waiting."

That was what finally did it. That offer sounded so tempting and wonderful, so convincing, so sure to make her happy…

But the moment he said, "out of the way", she suddenly saw something darker behind the veneer. It was like something she would've said to Ennard, or to Benedict and Michael, sounding so sweet and then revealing its true intentions in only a few words- and did he say "here?" She started to sober up quickly and while the thoughts assuring her that it would be wonderful were still there, one of her own came through.

"This is wrong."

"Lizzie, you have to do this for her. For me."

"I don't even know who you are," Baby spat. The anger started to resurface and reminded her of everything he had done to her and their family. "Except that you abandoned me."

For a second, she thought that he had left. He was so quiet, and she felt back in control, but it was suddenly taken from her again. She was suddenly awash with a familiar sensation that coursed through her body. Her mind filled with thoughts of cool, sweet ice cream. Creamy ice cream pouring from her maker and spilling into a cone, where if would then be handed over to someone. Her chest tightened as the counting began. Five people confirmed in the house, four in this room, three asleep, two between her and Charlie, one if it was just Charlie.

Her claw tightened as she felt a familiar ache in her chest. She raised her arm and went along with her programming, slowly aiming it down at the Security Puppet, and then lowering it towards her. She knew exactly where it was going, the claw was aimed directly at Charlie's neck. Panicked at her lack of control, Baby got enough control in her free arm to grab the base of her claw and try to pull back.

"Stop. I'm not going to do this. You can't make me," Baby growled. She didn't want to give him the luxury of hearing her grow frantic, but as the claw continued to move without her control, she became more frantic. She tried to move her legs to roll back but was stuck in place. Her left arm was the only thing she could move willingly, and it wasn't enough to stop herself. "Stop it! Leave me alone!"

"Don't be selfish. You would be making me happy, and you would be giving Charlie a chance for something better than wasting her potential in a pizzeria. Don't you want her to be happy?"

"You're lying! This won't make her happy!" Baby cried as she continued fighting. She grabbed one side of her claw and tried to rip it away.

"Do you want me to leave again? I'm the only one who cares about you, Baby. I'm the only one who can put you back together. Don't you want that? Don't you love me?"

"You abandoned me! You broke me! I don't love you!" Baby denied, throwing whatever insult she could think of. She looked down at the Security Puppet as she fought her own body. Everything he had said went straight through one ear and out the other. Everything about jealousy and betrayal hadn't taken, because it was Charlie, her friend, her fixer, her forgiver. Someone who had let her in where others hadn't, who was worth fighting this hard for. "I love Charlie."

She could feel his anger in the way he jerked her forward and forced her to lean far over the puppet, her claw pressing against the pillow. Now he had a whole new reason to puppeteer her body; to spite her. To use her like he used all the others and then toss her away like he did before. He had her in position; when her claw closed it would snap onto her neck. Possibly straight through it.

This was it. Baby knew she had run out of time and that she could no longer hold back what her body reluctantly wanted to happen. All the while Charlie was completely oblivious, trapped in her dreams, unable to defend herself. Any hopes that she would wake up before anything happened were dashed as Baby felt the final stage of her programming kicking. Grab the child, in this case Charlie, and make them disappear.

Baby only had a split second to act before her claw slammed shut on metal. She gave a metallic choke, static humming through her speaker, as she looked down at what she had done.

Her claw had snapped shut on her own arm. In the last second, she had shoved her hand entirely through and let the teeth close on her forearm instead of Charlie's neck. It hurt, but it had saved her. No matter how hard the claw closed it couldn't break past the plates on her arm, not since Ennard had replaced them. It still hurt, it was still enough to peel the paint away, but it had saved Charlie's body. It was worth it.

The presence continued trying to maneuver her body. It tried to coerce her into removing that left arm, but couldn't, and because of it the rest of her body was practically worthless to attack with. She could feel it growing more furious with every passing second and continued to resist. Then, all at once, the fighting stopped. He was still there but no longer clamping her claw.

"After all I gave you, after all you took from me, you still turn your back on me…"

It was jarring how quickly his voice changed from sugary tone that promised love to a bitter one that held nothing but distain. Somehow it reached a part of Baby that she never expected to react to it and rattled her. She had forgotten how much she hated hearing her father angry. She said nothing and waited to see what he would do. After another long moment, maybe he was waiting for her to do something, he reacted.

"You are nothing to me. My daughter is dead."

He released her without warning. Baby was struck by a sharp pain in her core as her vision faded into static and her servos scrambled. It took her a few moments to fight through it and she still felt its effects after she no longer felt his lingering hold upon her. Her father was finally gone, and she cautiously loosened her claw and removed her arm from its hold.

Now Baby was alone again. Still reeling from it all, she looked down at Charlie who was still unconscious. As confused as she was, she knew she had made the right decision. Her father was always a liar, manipulating all of them. He probably just wanted Charlie for himself and would've taken her under any means necessary. He hadn't wanted anything to do with Baby until he needed her to get what he wanted.

He really hadn't ever loved her, had he?

Elizabeth took it a lot harder than she could've ever expected. It felt like a knife through her heart. She fell to her knees beside the bed before collapsing onto it, burying her face into the bedding just beside Charlie and breaking down into fractured sobbing. She wept into the silence uncaring if anyone saw or heard her. Years of pent up despair all drained at once in this bedroom that used to be hers.

It had never felt so final.

---

A loud banging from outside had taken all of them off guard. Their nerves still frayed, and their minds filled with paranoia, they all stared at the back door with uneasy glints.

"Ha ha. That didn't sound friendly," Max said in a strained tone. He turned away from the door and looked back to the others. They were all still crowded around Jeremy, who was still pinned to the floor but now with his hands bound by his belt. Foxy was sitting against the wall beside the kitchen door with his crossed legs over Jeremy's back to keep him held down. Thankfully, Jeremy had been mostly quiet save the occasional fitful muttering. Though Max expected they had bigger problems to worry about. "And it's getting closer."

"How close?" Foxy asked.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think it was digging in the trash," Max pointed out. "It could still be the world's biggest possum, but I think you should take a look."

"I be a lil' busy here," Foxy said as he pointed his hook at Jeremy. The others all looked at him worriedly and stared silently. It would've been unnerving if it wasn't obvious that they were trying to goad him into looking. It was only once Daisy climbed off Jeremy's back and placed her hand gently on his arm, looking up at him hopefully, that Foxy abruptly caved. "A'right, fine! Max, get yer dead weight over here and hold Jer'my down."

Max hobbled over and dramatically fell across Jeremy's lower back. The man gave a small gasp and began to shift and flail underneath him uncomfortable, muttering under his breath. Daisy gave a discontent noise and came over to pat his head. He was feverish and his hair was drenched in sweat. Foxy didn't like seeing him in this state but they were out of options, with a sigh he stood and headed down the hall.

He was almost at the door when he heard footsteps pattering behind and looked back to see Balloon Boy standing at his heels. "Stay here, Lad," Foxy warned. Balloon Boy responded by dropping into a sit in the middle of the hallway. Good enough, he supposed, and he turned back to the door. He cautiously unlocked it and started to peer out.

At first, he didn't see anything and leaned out to look towards the dumpster. It was left open, oddly enough, but from this angle it didn't look like there was anything inside. Foxy hummed and stepped out farther.

It was then that he heard a scraping noise and suddenly a clawed hand hooked onto the corner of the dumpster. It was too large to belong to an animal, if the prominent separations in the joints and internal metal pieces weren't a dead giveaway on their own. Then a pale blue eye peeked out above the claw and Foxy knew it was some sort of animatronic even before it suddenly charged the door.

"Blimey!" Foxy yelled as he ran backwards through the door and tried to slam it shut on the animatronic. Unfortunately, it had a running start and crashed right into the door, slamming it open and knocking Foxy to the floor. The pirate sprung back to his feet quickly and saw the full form of what had broken into his pizzeria.

The animatronic was covered in a tangle of grey faux fur that split at its neck to show its beastly face and a wide grin full of sharp. An invisible line seemed to go down its middle, with one side looking like a typical, if somewhat large and muscular molded animatronic body while the other was a mess of torn fabric and exposed endoskeleton. Each claw on its paw was as long as one of its sharp dagger-like teeth.

It looked strikingly like Silver Wolf from the Foxy cartoon, but from its age and body shape Foxy second guessed this. Instead, it looked like some sort of wolf.

The Bidybabs and Minireenas shrieked from far behind as they saw what had broken in. Balloon Boy sprung back to his feet with a startled, balloon popping noise and only barely restrained himself from running. Foxy had no choice in the matter, as the only thing between the others and this rogue wolf he knew he had to take it down alone. Especially since he knew it couldn't be a coincidence that it arrived.

The Twisted Wolf took a swing at Foxy and he ducked to the side and took a swing with his hook, only to miss entirely as he had swung at its damaged side. It brought another heavy blow down towards him and he smoothly stepped back, making it to the broom closet that he threw open and reached inside. The first thing he grabbed was a mop and snatched it into his grasp.

"En garde!" he snarled as he speared it into the Twisted Wolf's middle. It thumped against its chest without doing much more than a stagger. With a single swing of its claw, it shattered the mop handle it two. Foxy looked down to it in dismay, noticed the now sharpened end of splintered wood, and smirked. "Heh, thanks mate!" Then proceeded to stab at the wolf again, now with a slightly more dangerous weapon.

But just when the fight was reaching a fever pitch, and all of them were watching in either awe, of Foxy, or horror, at the wolf, fate dealt an unfair hand.

Max had been leaning upright to see when the lethargic Jeremy suddenly slung himself to the side, knocking the magician off and toppling him onto his back. With him off, the man rolled onto his back and began to fight with the belt holding his hands together. The look on his face was terrifyingly focused, like he knew exactly what he was about to do. By time Max had rolled himself over enough to get up, Jeremy had slid his hands from the belt and was getting up. He ran for the kitchen.

"Girls, stop him! Don't let him get the knife!" Max called so loudly that he caught everyone's attention. Including Foxy's.

"What?!" Foxy looked back for only a moment and was rewarded by a blindside hit that stuck his upper back so hard that it caused him to fall into the wall. He ducked down quickly enough to dodge the next strike, which left long claw marks in the wallpaper, and was forced to return to the fight with only the knowledge that something terrible was going on.

Jeremy stumbled into the kitchen and looked around with blurry eyes before his focus landed on the knife sitting on the counter. Foxy had thrown it in their earlier to quickly get rid of it but hadn't had time to put it away since he was too busy making sure Jeremy was secured. The man grabbed for it and wrapped his shaky fingers tightly around the handle.

Just then, the Minireenas ran in behind him, jumped onto his legs, and began to rapidly scale his body. He swung the knife down at them to try and knock them off, but they were quick. Rose dropped off before she could get hit, Lilium climbed further back out of his reach, and Forget-Me-Not was so bold that she jumped onto the knife wielding arm to climb it. He knocked her off with his free hand.

"Get off of me," Jeremy snapped. It was his voice, but it sounded nothing like him. They knew that it still wasn't him, and they tried to sabotage his efforts to get out of the kitchen.

The Bidybabs were right behind him, each one throwing themselves on one of his feet and trying to weigh him down as he tried to force his way out of the door, which Balloon Boy was trying to close on him.

"Daddy, don't!" one of the Bidybabs yelled. "Don't let the bad man out!"

"He's not listening! He can't hear us!" the other cried in despair. She was the one who got kicked off his foot and back onto the tiled floor.

Jeremy squeezed his way through the door and held it shut to keep Balloon Boy in. With his free hand, he ripped Lilium off his shoulder and callously threw her across the room. This was rewarded by a sharp pain to his lower leg. He barely reacted to it but still looked down, seeing Plushtrap biting onto his ankle. He took him a few shakes before he was able to kick the rabbit off. The small ones continued trying to come back and climb his legs and he continued to ruthlessly fight them off.

Meanwhile, Foxy was starting to slowly lose whatever upper hand he had in his duel with the Twisted Wolf. It had managed to knock him back against his hooked arm and dislocated it, which would've been an easy fix if not for the fact that he was currently fighting for his life. Now with only one usable arm, Foxy looked desperately into the closet for something to use. He threw open a large toolbox and that was when his yellow eye fell upon the taser they kept in the pizzeria.

Foxy had been the one who said they didn't need one. He was going to have to thank Fritz later. He snatched it up, turned it on, and turned around just in time to have a heavy claw hit him and knock him back against the shelves. Things fell around him as he landed on the tiles on his backside, and the Twisted Wolf was quick to step into the small space with its teeth bared like it was about to strike.

Foxy didn't even give him a chance. He lashed out and plunged the taser into his exposed side, hitting the endoskeleton dead on. The animatronic wolf was wracked in tremors as it seized and flailed. The second the taser shut off, having to recharge, the animatronic lost control of its body and fell forward onto Foxy.

The pirate grunted and fought to get out from under the heavy beast, just managing to climb out of the closet before turning back to look at the fallen body laying face first on the floor.

"Bloody 'ell…" Foxy muttered. He didn't even take a moment to catch his breath before trying to reset his arm. Once it was back in working order, and he was sure the wolf wasn't getting back up, he turned back to the dining room to deal with whatever catastrophe was going on in there.

He came face to face with Jeremy with the knife raised and prepared to strike. Foxy didn't have even any time to react.

…But Jeremy didn't do anything. He was poised to stab the pirate- not that the knife would do much beyond hurting- but he didn't bring it down on him. He just stared at him with his eyes still glassy and unfocused.

"…Lad?" Foxy tentatively tried. He raised his hand and hook cautiously. "Jer'my? Ya with us, Lad?"

It was as though he was waking from a fog. Slowly Jeremy started to see more clearly as whatever had ahold of him loosened its grip. Only then was he conscious enough to see what was going on around him, or some variation of it. The man in the foxy mask standing in front of him- he was hallucinating, he realized. It had to be Foxy again.

"Foxy?" Jeremy choked out. He slowly glanced over and noticed the knife in his hand. He threw it down immediately and began to hyperventilate as blips of memories came back. "O-Oh God, Foxy, what did I do?" It was clear that he was back in control again, but Foxy wasn't sure how long it would last.

"It's okay, Jer'my. It's gonna be okay," Foxy assured him. He kept his voice even and he put his hand and hook on the man's shoulders. Both to comfort him and to be able to stop him if he went into another fit. "Yer safe, we're safe, and we're all just standin' in the pizzeria."

"But I- I… I didn't hurt anyone, right?" Jeremy asked in a panicky tone. Foxy quickly shook his head to assure him. "Oh… Good, I thought- I saw the knife and I thought…" He looked down at the small animatronics still standing around his feet and his eyes widened further. "I'm imagining these children, right? They're not- We're not actually open or something, right?"

"Just yer mind playin' tricks on ya," Foxy dismissed. He then noticed Balloon Boy standing back by the kitchen door, lifting the discarded belt, and nodded subtly to him. Then he turned back to Jeremy, lifting his chin so he would look up from the fearful children crying at his feet. "Here's what we're gonna do, okay? We're gonna sit down, get ya secured, and ride out this storm together. Think ya can manage that?"

"Uh, yeah. O-Of course, Captain," Jeremy agreed. Foxy moved behind him. "What are you-? Oh…" Then he felt the belt tightening around his wrists. "Err, never mind…" Normally it would've startled him but seeing the knife still at his feet made him unwilling to ask questions. The pirate made sure the belt was tighter than before, but loose enough to not be painful, then gently turned him around.

That was when Jeremy saw all of them. Blue eyes widened as he saw how many people were in the pizzeria. Two older ones were adults like Foxy, the rest were much younger looking, looking him with concern as Foxy guided him over and sat him down on a dining chair. Even through his hallucinating, Jeremy realized that these were his animatronics, and seeing them was a jarring reminder that they had all been someone long ago. It was too much. Jeremy closed his eyes and swallowed thickly as he heard Foxy pull out a chair beside him.

"I'm sorry," the blond said, choking on a half-sob. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Jer'my. All that matters is that ya beat it," Foxy said. It helped that he was staying in character; Jeremy clung to his voice since he couldn't trust his eyes. "And we ain't goin' anywhere. We're gonna get through this night together, a'right? Yer crew's right here."

Jeremy took a deep breath as Foxy put an arm around him and a few of the Minireenas climbed into his lap. He could feel Plushtrap patting his lower leg, which was hurting for some reason, and the Bidybabs whispering at Foxy's feet- "Is the bad man gone?" "I think he went to sleep." Max was standing at his right, he could hear his wobbly footsteps, and he guessed the sound of a moving stool was probably Balloon Boy. They were all there and they would make sure he wouldn't do anything he would regret.

Jeremy started to feel a little better. Foxy started to think maybe they had beaten it for now.

Neither knew that the only thing that stopped the nightmare was Charlie's arrival to the red lake.