It was the middle of the night and the camera still wasn't on.
Chica's frown deepened. It was all the more fun when the atmosphere was tense; why hadn't Mike turned on the camera yet? Was the power out already? Couldn't be; it was barely one thirty.
Maybe he's already been caught? Chica thought, but that wasn't possible; everyone was gathered in the stage area as of now and not a drop of blood was to be seen. Freddy was looking in confusion at Bonnie, who shrugged. Foxy peered out of Pirate's Cove, as if questioning what was taking the night guard so long. Chica sighed and shook her head.
"I'm going to go see what's going on." Freddy finally informed the others. "You guys stay here in case the camera turns on."
The robots nodded their heads in sync, and Freddy started off down the hall.
Freddy played his music halfway down the hall to give Mike a warning, just in case Mike was playing tricks on them. However, no doors slammed shut. No lights flicked on. Everything was quiet.
Freddy leaned his head through the door, blinking. What he saw confused him even further.
Mike the night guard was sitting in his chair, pulled close up to the desk, his head buried in his arms, his longer black hair covering his face. There was no light whatsoever save the lit up screen of an ipod that wasn't even playing music. At first Freddy thought Mike was sleeping on the job, but that's when he saw Mike wasn't relaxed; he was shaking. It looked so familiar an action... Where did Freddy see this before...?
A hitched breath escaped Mike. Another one. He went quiet again. That's when Freddy remembered.
Crying. Mike was crying.
Freddy crept closer, curious. He peeked at the screen saver of the ipod. On the screen was a tan girl around Mike's age; seventeen, eighteen years. She had brown hair and green eyes and overall looked pretty good. Freddy wondered why Mike had some girl as a screen saver. Why not himself, or his family, or a pet or something? That was weird.
Freddy reached out tentatively with a mechanical finger and tapped Mike on the shoulder. Mike stiffened, but he didn't turn.
"Just kill me." Mike whispered.
Freddy blinked again. Mike wanted to die? That was weird, yesterday he didn't. What made him change his mind?
"Well, before you die, I've got a few questions," Freddy requested. Mike didn't move. There was no way Mike couldn't have heard him, so Freddy continued. "First of all, why are you so sad? It's making me uncomfortable. I don't like to see people cry."
"Why do you care? No one cares about me." Mike seemed so sure as he said this.
"That's not true. You have a family, don't you? They care." Freddy said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"No. I don't have a family. I live by myself. It-it's better that way."
"That's weird." Freddy said bluntly. Freddy had never experienced being by himself. Of course there were times when he was not with his friends, but they were always just a hallway away. It must've been lonely for Mike.
Freddy tapped his shoulder again. "Why do you want to die?"
Mike's head shot up and he whirled around in his swivel chair, glaring up at a shocked Freddy. His cheeks were wet and his eyes were red. But it wasn't what was around his eyes that captivated Freddy the most; it was what was in them. Mike's eyes had no glow, no expression. They were just... dead.
"I just told you!" Mike yelled angrily. "Because no one cares! Everyone has always hated me! I hate myself. So if you're going to kill me, then get on with it already!"
Freddy was about to carry out just that, but that was when this sheer guilt weighed on his chest that he never felt before. He hesitated. Something wasn't right about this situation. Something was horribly wrong.
"Mike-" Freddy began, but was cut off harshly by Mike standing up and grabbing his ipod off the counter, glaring at the screen with a mixture of emotions.
"Hear that, Amy? I'm dying. Good riddance, huh?" He seethed coldly, throwing the device at the wall with all his might. The ipod cracked into a spiderweb of broken glass as it flipped violently, shattered, to the ground. The room was thrown into absolute black. "Good riddance!"
Freddy quickly switched to night vision to keep an eye on a now active Mike. Mike sat down again and buried his face in his hands. His voice was shrill. "Stupid Amy! Stupid me! Stupid everything! I hate you, Freddy, and I hate Bonnie and Chica and Foxy and stupid Golden Freddy and-"
"Mike!" Freddy yelled, quickly kneeling next to him and taking his shoulders in his hands. Mike stopped babbling and looked at Freddy in defeat. Freddy sighed.
"Tell me everything."