A/N: Good night guys, and welcome back. I know it's technically not Sunday (it's Monday 1 AM for me), but I had some small issues with my Internet and I only managed to get it sorted out now; I actually finished this chap like three hours ago.

As always, thank you all for your invaluable support through PMs and reviews. The first exams are beginning to loom over the horizon for me, so my apologies in advance for any eventual delays. As of this chapter...

Guys, I promise you things will get better, but that will not be happening right now. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this one. And as always, happy reading!

Chapter 37: Discord

Sarah, Sean and me were forced to bow as all of the eight children that came to the reopening clapped for us, smiling with blissful ignorance at the show's ending. Their parents were sitting farther away from us, eyeing us warily, as if we would jump off the stage and hurt one of their kids in any way. With a twitching hand and greyer skin, Erik stood against the wall that separated the two twin corridors, disappointment and slight irritation visibles in his tired eyes. I was surprised as well; although it was obvious that the pizzeria would never stay afloat with this few clients, I was expecting nobody to come.

A few minutes after the last child left, Dave stepped out of the left hallway with big steps, looking much more carefree than his boss. We were still perched on top of the stage as we had been throughout the whole day; the little bit of free-roam that we had in the first weeks after our murders was now a distant luxery.

The headguard inspected us thoughtfully as he walked up to the manager. "Upgrading them with that computer system was a pretty good idea." he began in a casual tone, "We don't need to pay anyone to control them with that remote now. And everything looks pretty good in the security office. I feel like this new system gives us much more visibility."

A disheartened smile appeared on Erik's face. "Let's hope that's enough to keep our broken asses afloat." he grunted, "I was betting on more people showing up."

"They'll come." was Dave's casual reply, "We just need time."

"Will we still be in business when this 'time' comes?" muttured Erik, his fingers twitching anxiously again. "By the way, are you sure we need a night guard tonight? We can barely afford to keep the light on as it is."

Dave shrugged. "You know the law Erik, we have no option. After everything that's happened we're lucky to even be open." He turned to look at us once more. "And so are they."

"I thought you liked those older models." questioned the manager.

"Me too, but in the last place they were walking around at night, even though they were supposedly off." Dave finally turned his gaze from us to look at Erik. "Don't you think that's a little weird?"

The other man raised his shoulders. "Maybe they just needed a good fix. Shame about Pirate's Cove though." Both turned their heads toward the purple curtain that covered the small side stage, an 'Out of Order' sign already placed in front of it.

"Yin said it would be easy to fix up Foxy, but there was no way to do it without a new chest piece." said the headguard, "Problem is, they don't make them anymore."

"Yeah... I wonder how he was damaged in the first place." added Erik while Dave gave him a little nod, pretending to be as ignorant as him. "Anyways, let's go. I'm dying for a smoke."

When the manager started to walk speedily to the door, a still-standing Dave added "Funny that you say that, because those things will kill you some day."

"But not today!" replied the other man smugly as he opened the front door and stepped out of the building.

Moments later Dave began to follow him, but he stopped halfway to the exit. He turned around to look at us with crossed arms, a certain distrust and sternness in his stand, before fishing out a small remote control from one of his uniform's pockets. With some reluctance the man pressed a red button, and I forced back a sigh of relief as the strain that kept us in place throughout the day finally eased away.

"I'm only doing this to make sure you don't rust." whispered Dave seriously, "Don't give me trouble again."

He finally left the building after that, leaving us all in free-roam mode. I immediately stretched my arms above my head, enjoying the smoothness of my well-lubricated joints. Sarah did the same by twisting her body sideways, making her motors give out a low whir. However, Sean stayed still, his eyes still staring forwards blankly.

"What do you want to do brother?" I began in a talkative voice, trying to break the tense silence.

He sighed, before saying with that same fake joy "Whatever you want private. I sure love playing games before becoming a monster and killing someone else."

Sarah and I stared back at him, stunned. "C'mon bozo, we just want to have a bit of fun." she said casually.

"Because that makes everything better." scuffed back Sean as he turned around to face her. "Let's have a bit of fun before someone dies."

"Maybe this guard will make it out alright?" replied Sarah, not sounding too convinced herself.

"Maybe. Then they'll hire another one, and if he manages to survive they'll get another one. How long before one of them runs out of luck?" Sean paused to give Sarah a chance to answer; she didn't. He then said "And there is no way to end this. So again, what difference does it make? We'll never be happy again!"

"What's your problem?" I interrupted harshly. Sean immediately turned to look at me in surprise. "You said that we should never give up, that we should never let this change who we are and what we are to each other. I can't believe you can talk like that. You just broke everything you said!"

"What's my problem?" He pointed at himself sarcastically with a round brown finger. "I wasn't the one that lied for a year and a half! I wasn't the one that knew about the puppet but decided not to say anything!"

"I didn't know what he would do if I told you who he was. I was trying to keep you and the Toys safe!"

"And in the end that worked out wonderfully, didn't it?"

Those words cut through the air and hit me like a whip, but I was decided not to break down under my feelings. I wasn't going to be the crying baby brother that he had known any longer.

In the little pause that followed before my next reply, Sarah looked at me and at Sean helplessly, lost for words. At the same time I heard the sound of a curtain that's pulled, followed by metallic footsteps.

"Guys, stop." said Ferny calmly as he stopped in front of the stage. "I can imagine you're both mad, but please…"

"I was doing what I thought was right." I hissed at my brother, cutting off Ferny, "But you're not doing anything right now, and it seems like you don't want to do anything again."

"Don't you understand what I just said?" replied Sean with more irritation, "It doesn't matter anymore! Nothing we do will make a difference! What's the point of fighting and trying to be happy if we'll all disappear at the end?! Nothing matters if we'll never see Mom and Dad again!"

"We should at least try to make something out of this!" was my answer, "Do you have any idea how stupid and sad you sound right now? Do you think Mom and Dad would be happy if they saw you like this? You're shaming them!"

He recoiled at my words, his eyes visibly hurt. But then they filled up once more with the same anger that fueled our fight. "Don't you dare use them against me Brandon." He growled through closed teeth. "You have no right after what you did to Mom by lying about her."

"But you can make me feel bad about lying, right? I already said I was sorry you scumbag!"

"Saying 'I'm sorry' over and over won't make this okay, private! Nothing will!"

"Then why didn't you say so?! Why did you hide away like a coward from me yesterday?!"

"I didn't want to see you, you idiot!"

"And why is that, brother?!"

"Because I don't care about you anymore!"

For a couple of seconds there was no movement or sound in the large, darkened room. Sean and me only stared at each other intently, his eyes slowly widening and draining of anger when he realized what he just said. I tried to hide the pain from him, show him I didn't care, have the last word with a quick and snarky answer; but I simply turned around and walked away from the stage with a lowered head as I tried not to burst in wails, ignoring the dumbstruck gazes on Ferny's and Sarah's eyes.

"Don, wait." I heard him call out behind me as I scurried away between the long tables. "Please. I'm… I didn't mean it." Without looking back or slowing my pace I entered the west hall, feeling how his voice became more distant. "I wasn't thinking clearly! Don!" I jerked open one of the flimsy wooden doors of the office, stepped inside and slammed it shut. My eyes quickly adapted to the blackness of the tiny room, and I let myself slide down against the back wall, covering my eyes as I sat on the floor and sobbed silently.

Everything was quiet and dark for a few minutes, until I heard my own soft, slow and venomous voice all around me. 'He hates you now.' I buried my face in my crossed arms, trying to somehow escape from him. 'He was lying when he said he didn't mean it.'

"Shut up." I mumbled weakly, "P-Please, leave me alone."

'He will keep doing this to you Brandon. He will never love you again, and you know it.' Shaking my head, I tried to deny his words that were slowly inching themselves into my mind like worms. 'But it doesn't have to be like that.'

"What… what do you mean?" I asked as my sadness faded away into a strange emptiness.

'Show him that you're no longer a little baby he can boss around.' whispered Bonnie tentatively, 'We can hurt him just as much as he hurt you. Let me help.' I stayed silent for a while, feeling how he filled that emptiness with anger and spite.

Bonnie gave out a short laugh. 'That's right, don't fight me. Just let me make you feel better.' With a clouded mind, I obeyed him, enjoying the false sense of strength and control that he gave me. My mouth curved ever so slightly into a smile.

"That's better." he and I said at the same time, forming an unnatural chorus of cold voices. "Stand up." My body obeyed and soon I was up on two feet. "Good boy. Now, let's go."

Slowly and mechanically, I went to the door and opened it, just to see a tall golden figure looking at me with worry. "Don't l-let him do this." whispered Jack urgently, "P-please."

I sighed in annoyance, before saying slowly "Get out of my way. I want to do this."

"You're l-lying." he said, visibly struggling with every word. "He's m-making you think t-that, but you d-don't."

"Didn't you hear what I said?" I hissed, taking a few threatening steps toward him, "Get out of my way or I will kick you out of my way."

With slight fear in his pinpoint eyes, he shook his head slowly. "Come back, p-please. He wants to t-take you away. Don't l-let him."

I tightened my fist, readying myself for the first blow, when he suddenly leapt forwards and put his hand on my arm, shaking it roughly. "Come back, now!"

It was like someone suddenly woke me up from a dream. I looked all around me, eyes wide open in surprise and confusion. For a moment, I wondered how I got there in the first place, until little fragments of memories started to build up in my mind to a clear image of the last few minutes.

Jack pulled back his hand from my arm, and asked quietly "B-Better?"

I sighed before looking back at him. "A little bit." With slow movements I sat down on the tiles of the hallway, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"I know you d-didn't want t-to do that." Jack sat down next to me. "When you t-two were fighting, I s-saw something d-dark all around you. I was afraid he would d-do what he did."

"It wasn't him." I muttered dryly as I turned my head to him. "I let him take over. It was me." He stayed quiet, knowing I was right. "One day I'll really hurt someone, I know. Is this really all there is now?"

Shrugging, Jack stared solidly at the floor in front of him. "M-Maybe there's another way out."

"I hope you're right." Pushing myself against the hall's wall, I rested my hand on the back of my head and scratched it idly as I thought about Sean. It wasn't our first fight; we were brothers after all. But as I remembered the anger that we felt for each other and that still lingered deep inside me, I knew that I had lost his trust, and he lost mine.

Maybe it would be better if we stayed apart for a while.

As I pondered my conclusion, I noticed the lack of sounds from around me and from inside me; a somewhat pleasant silence reigned over the dark building. My eyes went over to Jack, whose finger slowly glided over the polished tiles in circles, and I realized something.

Whispering, I told him "You're keeping Bonnie away. When you shook my arm he let go of me, and I haven't heard him since."

Jack's finger stopped and he turned his head to stare at me for few seconds, before looking back at the floor. "I c-can stay if you want." he said casually.

I smiled in gratefulness. "Thank you. I… I really need some silence right now."

He gave me exactly that while he stayed by my side, tracing his circles on the floor as a clock traced his own somewhere in the office, telling about the hours that passed and brought us closer to the dreaded midnight.

There were two kinds of sleep for us. There's mechanical sleep: being shut-down like a machine by an employee or by that hungry monster in your head, which is more similar to being dead or comatose; a dreamless state where you know nothing of yourself, and when you wake up you feel like no time has passed at all.

Then, there's the rare human sleep: the closing of your eyes, perhaps some snoring and movements, maybe even a dream or two. When you wake up you know time has passed, because you feel different, mostly better.

I woke up from this second sleep, slightly surprised that I had slept at all. Jack was curled up in front of me, black eyes devoid of any light. Intrigued by the silence that lingered on I stood up and shook his shoulder. Two white dots of light immediately appeared in those empty eyes.

"I think we need to go buddy." I whispered anxiously as he looked up at me blearily, "I don't know how long we have before midnight."

Just then, the silence was cut off by the creak of an opening door seemingly right behind us, followed by a terrified scream and an inhuman screech. It was past midnight, my friends and my brother had been taken over, and they were in the office.

I quickly pulled myself up on two feet, and as Jack did the same I put a stretched finger in front of my mouth: stay quiet. He nodded and followed me as we crept quietly back to the dining area, when another desperate and chilling cry from the man echoed through the darkness, followed by a door that's slammed open. I turned around and saw the unknown guard's head sticking out of the room, eyes wide open in panic, droplets of sweat reflecting the multicolored lights in the office; the glowing eyes of the animatronics.

For one second we made eye contact, allowing me to feel his fear. Then, a massive yellow hand grabbed his face and tore him effortlessly back into the cramped office as he let out a muffled scream. With a heavy heart I turned around and sneaked along with Jack toward the dining area.

"Where are you Bonnie?!" Chica's cheery and excited voice rung through the room, followed by a short giggle. "You're missing out on all the fun, doofus! This one has spirit!"

When Jack and I were in front of the stage the inevitable happened: a sharp and painful burning in my chest made me gasp in pain as I leaned on a dining table for support. At the same time, dark laughs and painful growls escaped from the office.

Jack came closer to me as I fell on my knees, fighting to push back the cold, creeping darkness that was taking over my mind. "G-Go." I hissed as I lifted my head up to look at him.

"I c-can help." he stuttered back in haste, "I… I h-held him back t-today, and at t-the other p-place, maybe I…"

"Go now… or we will tear you apart." I growled lowly, making it painfully clear to Jack that I was losing control. My hand slipped from the table and my body doubled over as his footsteps faded away in front of me and new ones approached me from behind. The noise in my mind grew to a powerful roar as I lost control over my twitching body and fell flat on the floor. I closed my eyes and finally gave up.

After a few seconds I opened them slowly, and smiled as I regained full control over myself. Unmistakable heavy footsteps became louder as I stood up and flexed my hands, before turning around and seeing three sets of glowing eyes against the black backdrop of the darkened dining area. I only noticed the limp figure that Chica was dragging across the floor when they were closer to me.

Huffing in disapproval, I crossed my arms at her, and muttered "Don't tell me that you didn't wait for me before killing him."

She giggled in amusement and shook her head before raising the bruised man by his arm, showing him off to me. "It was tempting, but no. We had a bit of fun though; he put up a good fight for a human." Her smile widened with pride. "He sounded so funny when I broke his arm, almost like a little mouse."

"Should we get going?" interrupted Foxy, "I'm getting impatient over here."

"That's two of us." I added with enthusiasm.

Freddy sighed, closing his cold blue eyes in mild annoyance as he mumbled "You're so impatient. Fine then, let's go." The man squirmed uselessly in protest while he was dragged to the grey door of the backstage. When he tried to speak, his words fell out into incoherent groans of pain, making me wonder just how many hits he took.

The headless suit was sitting innocently on the grey room's long metal table, in the perfect position for the final goal of our short game. As we stepped inside with our bruised prize, our eyes bathed the small space with an eerie mix of colored glows.

Chica threw the man on the table, next to his soon-to-be murder weapon and tomb. We hovered closer and watched attentively in morbid delight.

"What's your name?" she cooed in apparent sweetness after the guard had recovered his breath, but he only managed to get out a weak, panicked groan. With anger in her eyes Chica grabbed a hold of his left arm and twisted it roughly; the man opened his mouth and shut his eyes in a mute scream. "It's rude to ignore someone when they ask you something." continued Chica as she let go of the guard. "Let's try again." She took a deep breath, and repeated with that same sweet tone: "What's your name?"

"M-Mark." panted the man weakly, his broken voice barely audible. "Please… p-please…"

Chica rolled her eyes. "That's enough begging, Mark." A vicious smile then replaced her annoyed grimace as she grabbed him by his neck and lifted him above the suit's opening. "I want you to scream for me now."

Her wish was granted.

Mark let out a blood-curling scream when she crushed his body into the suit, pushing his chest deep into the nest of twisted metal and sharp plastic until his head and feet were sticking out of the opening. The man's screams began to die down, but they returned with a vengeance when Chica slammed all of him into the suit with blow after blow of her fist, smiling with glee. The sound of metal battering meat soon combined with the wet noise of tearing flesh and cracking bones to form a beautiful symphony.

Soon, the drops of blood leaking from the suit's joints turned into little streams that snaked across the brown fur. The viscous red liquid pooled on the table, reached its edges and dripped steadily unto the floor like tiny waterfalls. And as the man let out his last groans of pain, we laughed in joy at our victory.

Good times were coming.