A/N: Welcome back guys, hope you had a fantastic Christmas. Thanks for staying with me through a slow 2016, and best wishes for 2017. Hopefully you won't have to stick with me that much longer ;)

After much consideration, I decided not to write a Sister Location fic. There's just too much plot to cover in that game, and time to write is becoming scarcer for me outside vacations. I'm sorry if I disappointed any of you, but I don't want to commit myself to a long fic again. There's an idea, however, for a short fic after I finish this one.

I'm really happy about the way this chapter turned out. It's the last of a 'dark' period, and the start of something lighter. I'm currently trying to compress as much plot into a single chap as I can, hence the length. As always, your honest opinions are invaluable. Happy reading, and see you next year!

Chapter 41: Mirrors

My head throbbed and pulsed painfully as I opened my eyes. Unfocused gray blurs surrounded me, and I felt the world shift slightly as I came to my senses. Little by little, every object in the room came into focus, and I realized that I was backstage. I raised my head slowly, groaning in discomfort, and stared right into two empty eyes surrounded by blood-stained brown fur.

"No…" I shook my head, trying to deny the image in front of me. "Please don't let this be real." But the suit didn't disappear; it remained on top of its table, limp and lifeless like the body inside it. I lowered my eyes in defeat, only to see a simple leather wallet in my red right hand; my whole arm was soaked with dry blood and bits of torn flesh.

'Rise and shine!' Bonnie laughed with glee at my horror. 'It was such a nice night, we were wonderful! Don't worry, you'll remember everything soon enough.'

Swallowing down my disgust, I brought up the bloody wallet and opened it slowly. The red-smeared faces of a young woman in a wedding dress and a laughing baby greeted me with wide, happy smiles from small photographs.

'Do you like my gift?' asked Bonnie in mocking happiness, 'It was a bit messy, but I dug it out just for you! Aren't they beautiful? Just look at little Evie, her dress is so adorable…'

I threw down the wallet and stormed out of the room with weak legs, holding on to the walls to avoid tumbling down. The air felt thin yet heavy as I walked speedily to the bathrooms with shaky steps. In that moment, I felt sick in every possible way.

'Where are you going?' His voice rung all around me. 'There's nowhere to run Brandon, nowhere to hide. I am part of you.'

Shaking my head in denial, I stumbled into the bathroom corridor and opened the door to the men's room. I ignored everything around me as I went to the only sink and ripped out a handful of paper towels from the dispenser. "Okay…" I whispered while I wet them slightly. "He's messing with you. Don't let him win." Slowly, I rubbed my blood-stained arm with the towels; the paper became a moist pink mass. "Don't let him win." My voice quivered as I tried to hold down the sudden need to cry. "You couldn't help him. There was nothing we could do." Words we had repeated to ourselves on multiple occasions, yet they lost their meaning a little bit more as time passed. I raised my head to look into the mirror. "We…"

The words were snuffed out of my mouth as I stared at my reflection. A pair of glowing pink eyes looked back at me, imbedded in the fuzzy blue face that I had grown to recognize as my own. Its squarish muzzle protruded towards the glass, guarding a gaping mouth lined with cartoonish round teeth. Two long and articulated ears rose from the back of my head, and in the mirror they pointed to the sentence written in blood on top of my reflection. Its ugly red letters formed a slight arc at the edge of the glass, and read: MURDERER NUMBER 1! A couple of crude smiling faces to the left and right of the sentence completed the offence; dried blood dripped from their eyes and mouths.

'Don't you love your surprise?!' Bonnie cackled with joy. His familiar voice rung loud and clear through the room, like he was right next to me. 'It was a lot of work!' he wheezed between laughs, 'But I think you deserve it!'

My fist slammed into the mirror and shattered my reflection in a thousand fragments, distorted and jagged. I stumbled back before letting myself slide down miserably against the wall, and with my face buried in my hands, I heard him laugh for long minutes at the suffering he caused. Eventually, I had to clean up the blood on the mirror and walk back to the stage. As I took my place next to them, Sarah and Sean looked at me with worry in their colored eyes. "Do you want to talk?" asked my brother softly.

"No." I mumbled dryly, "I don't."

The manager used one of the control remotes from the show to lead me backstage as soon as he saw the bloodstains on my arm, anger seeping through his tired eyes. I spent the whole day locked up in place behind that grey door with Dave's body still in the suit, unable to move, hearing how an employee gave an excuse for the absence of the band's guitarist every time a show began.

"Sorry kids, but Bonnie is giving a concert with some new friends in our new location! He'll be back tomorrow."

"We're sorry, Bonnie's guitar broke and he's out to get a new one."

"Bonnie ate too many carrots yesterday and is feeling sick right now."

That was said for the last show right before closing time, and I let out a small, amused smile when I heard it. Every single one of the children couldn't look past the veil of pretty lies that the company set up. Although I was happy for them, in a way I envied their innocence.

A hot wave of anger suddenly came over me. I envied more than their innocence. I envied their lives, their families, their friends, their future hopes and dreams. All that was meant for me, and was taken away by a madman with a grudge against my father.

"Little brats." I muttered, "You don't know how lucky you are. At least you can move." Irritated, I tried to do exactly that: move any part of my body. Groaning and huffing, I focused all my strength on standing up, just to remain in the same uncomfortable position. "Useless! Body!" I spat out, "Move!" The tantalizing sounds of the clients leaving for the day came into the room, accompanied by the seemingly mocking laughter of children. "Erik, get me out of here!" There was no answer. "Sean, Sarah, get me out of here or I'll gut you open like pigs! Do you hear me?! Get me out of here!"

An indifferent silence followed, and I slowly began to realize what I just said. My ragged, angry breathing quieted down along with the building. Finally, when I had calmed down enough, I whispered in a broken voice "What are you doing to me?"

Bonnie let out a short chuckle before saying 'I'm taking over you, idiot. Didn't you know already?'

I raised my eyes to the suit, examining the lines of dried blood that cascaded down its neckline, shoulders and belly. "I won't let you hurt more people."

'You are so naïve.' He sighed. 'Don't you see that you can't win against me?'

"I don't care. I am not giving up."

Bonnie remained silent for a few seconds, then asked with faked empathy 'What's the point Brandon? Here you are, fighting and suffering, for what?' He paused for a moment, as if giving me a chance to answer. I declined. 'You will never escape this now, none of you will, so why don't you just give up? I'm the best option you have left and you know it. It's inevitable now.'

He was right, even though I refused to admit it. Sensing this, Bonnie continued in a sweet tone 'I can make all the pain disappear if you just let me. Your friends don't have to know anything either; I will imitate you so well they'll never know you've gone. I'll even take care of little Jack for you! And you will rest, like you always wanted. Everything will be okay. All you need to do is surrender yourself to me. We're alone here. We can do it right now. What do you say?'

The room was dark and silent. A clock ticked in the distance, accompanied by some faint footsteps. Cars drove past the building every few seconds. "Do you really think I'm going to trust you after everything you've done?" I said eventually, "I'm not that stupid. You're a psychotic, disgusting, treacherous killer. And I'm never going to surrender to you."

More silence followed. A car stopped outside the pizzeria. 'You never learn, do you?' Bonnie huffed in disapproval. 'I gave you such a great opportunity, and you threw it away. What a shame. Oh well, guess I'll have to do things differently from now on.' Someone opened the front door of the building. 'I see that you no longer care about all the people you've killed over the years. Why would you? You didn't know them at all. You only felt bad about Dave because of his family, and you are already getting over that. But I know what will break you.' He let out a low, sinister chuckle. 'What would happen if you did something to your friends? How would you feel?'

"What the hell are you talking about?" I spat out in anger, "You can't hurt them. The things they become at midnight, their own other selves are your friends as well!"

'Oh, please. 'Friends' is a little bit too much. We're playmates at most, but nothing else. It's a relationship based on mutual gain, you see? I guarantee we wouldn't mind betraying each other if we got something good out of it. We don't need friends. If destroying every single one of them will make you give in to me, then I'll do it.'

Multiple sets of steps neared the room. "I won't let you hurt them."

He chuckled in amusement once more. 'We'll see about that.'

The door swung open hastily, and three men soon entered the backstage. They were all dressed in black, and sported long housecleaning gloves along with mouth covers. One of them went to the suit, and immediately started to remove its head. Another readied a large, black plastic bag. The last one turned to the door, and said in a grave tone "Were you two close, Erik?"

I turned my eyes to the door and saw the manager shrug nonchalantly with a lit cigarette in his mouth. "Long time colleagues." he muttered, "He was a good person."

"I can imagine." was the other man's answer. He then turned to his coworker by the suit. "Hurry up Andy, we don't have all day."

Andy, who had just removed the suit's head, laid it down on the table before murmuring "I'm on it Boris, it's just that this guy is really torn up."

Boris immediately glared daggers at his subordinate. "Hey! Didn't you just hear that he was a longtime colleague of Erik? Have some damn respect!"

Andy sighed a low "Sorry" as he slowly but surely released Dave's body from its prison of wires and gears, but the manager remained stoic. Little threads of smoke rose from his cigarette, seemingly orange in the dark room. The low, warm light accentuated his wrinkles. Was he always this old?

They worked in silence under Erik's cold, tired gaze. Eventually, Andy managed to hoist what remained of Dave out of the suit. The corpse's skin was white as snow, ignoring the dried blood that seemed to cover it almost completely. His eyes were half-lidded, giving him a deceivingly peaceful expression. The body's arms and fingers, stiff as wood, scraped stubbornly against the suit's sharpest parts as Andy finished pulling him out. The third member promptly opened up the bag, allowing his companion to put the body in it and close it with a unfittingly cheery zip.

"We'll clean up the place in a moment." Boris told Erik, "Do we put him in the county dump like the others?"

The expression of the manager immediately changed to one of repulsion and disapproval. "He deserves something better." he replied, saying every word with deadly seriousness. "We'll bury him somewhere half decent."

Boris shrugged. "That's gonna cost ya."

"I don't care. I'll help if you want." If Erik hadn't been so serious, I would think he was kidding. Everything always revolved around saving money.

Andy and Boris soon dragged the body out of the room between the two, while the third member cleaned every nook and cranny of the floor, table and suit with bleach, destroying all evidence. He then took care of my arm, scrubbing it clean whilst I tried not to hiss from the burning, scraping sensation. After a few minutes it seemed like nothing had happened at all. In the eyes of the children, nothing ever did. The four men left shortly after and drove away accompanied by their unusual cargo. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of story Erik told Dave's family, assuming there had been a story at all.

Letting out a deep breath, I counted the faint clicks of a distant clock. Either Dave or Erik always left us in free roaming mode, to make sure our servos didn't lock up. However, I still couldn't move an inch of my body, so I simply resigned myself to an uncomfortable night of solitude. In that moment, I felt like that might be the best for everyone.

Then, the door opened once again with a long, low creak. Two glowing blue eyes loomed from the dining area, inspecting me with worry. "Brandon, are you awake?" asked Sean as he finally stepped into the room.

I followed him with my own glowing eyes as he stepped closer to me. "What is it?" I muttered dryly.

His eyes took a sterner look. "No hello for me?"

"No."

Sean shook his head. "We raised you better than this, private."

I flinched back inwardly at his words, and hissed "Don't call me like that."

"Why?" he whispered, confused.

"Because that is not what we are anymore!" The quiet night amplified my words as they echoed in the cramped room. "We are not friends anymore! They give each other nicknames, but we are over that."

He simply stared at me intently with patient eyes as the clock ticked away a few more times. I turned my eyes away from him, feeling the need to squirm under that stare. "Let's try that again." said Sean after a while, "Why can't I call you private?"

I sighed, closed my eyes and waited a few seconds before murmuring "Because it reminds me of better days with you. And I want to leave that behind."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because they're never coming back. Because I messed up, then you messed up, then I messed up some more. And now you hate me."

Sean leaned himself against the shelf in front of me as he thoughtfully turned his head to the cleaned-up suit. I could see he held a hand behind his back awkwardly. Raising his shoulders, he eventually said "I don't love you like I used to private, but I don't hate you. I can't hate you, and believe me, I tried." Surprised, I raised my eyes to him; he answered with a single slow nod. "Some weeks after our last… talk, I decided it'd be easier for me to just hate you. That way, I wouldn't have to think about how to make things up, or feel regret. I thought it'd be better than being stuck in the middle like I am, not knowing what to think, not knowing what to feel. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't bring myself to hate you. And when I saw your eyes this morning… it hurt. It hurt so much that I couldn't ignore it like we've been doing for six years."

"What are you saying?" I asked, my voice quiet and unbelieving.

He lowered his eyes to me once more, and I was struck by the warmth and regret that came from them. "I'm sorry Don." he whispered, "I wasn't there before when you needed me, but I'm here now." He brought the hand behind his back to the front, showing me a second remote control. "We were looking for a way to get you out of here, and Sarah found this in the guard's office." Sean pressed one of the red buttons, and immediately all the paralyzing tension in my body flowed away. Gasping in relief, I let myself slide down against the wall until I was sprawled on the floor. He chuckled, shaking his head. "Feels good, doesn't it?"

I nodded with half-lidded eyes. "It does." We remained in comfortable silence for a moment, before I stared up at him and whispered "I'm sorry too."

"I know you are." He eagerly stretched out his opened hand to me. I hesitated for just a moment, then wrapped my fingers around his and let him pull me up. He smiled as I steadied myself on two feet, and said "You can leave if you want to."

I stared at the door tentatively, eager to spend time with my friends. Then, I remembered Bonnie's threat. "I have to go." was my reluctant answer as I took some steps away from him. When Sean started to follow me, I murmured "I have to go alone."

He eyed me warily, and said in disappointment "I thought we could spend some time together."

I opened the door and stared at the lonely, dark and silent dining area. "I want to, Sean. I really do. But it's better if you leave me alone. He wants to use me to hurt you, and I couldn't bear it if anything happened." Turning around to look at him in the eyes, I added with a smile "Thank you for coming here. Even if we can't be together anymore, I hope you can forgive me for everything. And I hope we can be friends again." With brisk steps I walked away from the backstage, across the dining area and past the empty stage, until I found myself in front of the window by the main door.

Staring at the full moon, I let out a sigh of relief when he didn't follow me, and took a deep breath when a sob tried to leave my throat. "He's safe." I whispered lowly to calm myself, "They're safe. That's all that matters."

But not one minute later, calm and heavy steps approached me from behind, accompanied by the wheezing and whirring of servos and pistons. They grew louder and louder, until they stopped right behind me. "Turn around private." instructed Sean quietly.

I did as he asked, looking at him with slight reproach. "Brother, don't be so stubborn."

He shrugged as he closed the distance between us. "Guess I can't help it."

I was about to give him another warning, when the curtains of Pirate Cove parted open, revealing glowing purple eyes. "What's going on?" asked Sarah aloud as she stepped down from the Cove. Ferny came right behind her, wearing that same curious expression.

"It's complicated." I replied, "But you shouldn't get too close to me."

"Why?" Sarah asked again. She only started walking to me after I told her not to.

"Is there anything wrong?" continued Ferny.

"Why is everyone here?" I turned around to see Jack step out of the kitchen as I heard his voice. "Is everything o-okay?" He slowly came up to us, eyeing his surroundings somewhat warily.

In less than a minute, I found myself completely surrounded by my friends: the exact situation I was trying to avoid. "Guys, please listen to me." They all stared at me curiously as I said these words: "From now on, I want you to be careful of me. I'm… I'm a danger to you, all of you." I swallowed down a bitter knot in my throat. "You're my friends. You're the only good thing I have left, and I can't imagine losing you because of my own bad side. So please, leave me alone. Stay away from me."

I glanced at each one of them individually as a heavy silence took over the room. Sarah and Ferny stared at each other, more surprised than confused. Sean looked at me somewhat incredulously, but not as much as Jack. However, they never seemed to be afraid of me. Eventually, my brother came up to me, and laying a large brown hand on my shoulder, said with confidence "Don, that's not going to happen."

"We are all dangerous." resumed Ferny, coming next to Sean, "But isolating ourselves is never a good idea. That'll only make this worse."

"He's right." added Sarah as she followed him to my right. "We're a team. We always were, and we won't stop now. And don't worry about us…" A mischievous spark shone in her eyes. "If Bonnie ever tries to touch me, I'll give you both an ear yank you'll never forget."

Grinning, I brought my ears up and down a few times, and chuckled "They are not happy to hear that!"

Jack slowly came to my left, raising his eyes to mine. "You're kind to m-me, even if I'm weird." he whispered with a warm smile, "You've never left me alone. You're… you're l-like my brother. Thank you."

I barely managed to hold back a sob. "You're… serious?" I stuttered out, overwhelmed and overjoyed. He nodded casually. "I'm… I just…" Laughing, I shook my head. "I don't know what to say. Thanks buddy, but don't say you're weird."

"Then what am I?"

"You're you. And you should be proud of yourself. I know I'm proud of you." His smiled grew even wider, and I let his joy infect all of me.

"So…" Sean crossed his arms as he looked at me expectantly, and asked jokingly "Do you still want to be alone?"

I turned my eyes away from him, scratching the back of my head. "I'm sorry." I murmured awkwardly, "It was a long day, I wasn't thinking clearly." Sighing, I looked back at my friends. "You're amazing guys. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me." I paused for a moment, trying to keep down my emotions; I was determined not to cry in front of them. "Thank you for this. I m-mean it."

Smiling, Sean shook his head. "Private, it's okay to cry sometimes." he reassured, as if I was suddenly eight years old again.

I huffed back in response, trying to sound tough while I wonder how he could look straight through me. "Brother, I'm 16, remember?" I bragged, "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Yeah, right." he scoffed, "Come here big man." Sean opened his arms, and before I knew it I found myself wrapped in a tight, warm hug. As I slowly wrapped my arms around him, he laid a soft hand behind my head, inviting me to lean my head on his shoulder. I did exactly that, leaning myself completely on him, and suddenly I found myself crying and sniffling like a baby. Burying my face in his felt, I bawled my heart out: for Dave, his family, the others we had killed, Jeremy, the Toys, and everything else. I cried for the years that I had spent building walls to keep him out, not knowing how much I needed him; walls that he tore down with a single hug. I cried, because I felt vulnerable and exposed, but that was okay: we were brothers once again. I cried relentlessly while he patted my back, not letting go once. I cried and cried like a small child in my brother's arms.

After long minutes, my sobs finally subsided into small sniffles. He kept his hands on my shoulders as I gently pulled myself out of his hug. "So, we're good now? Do you forgive me?" I asked meekly.

"I forgive you, private." answered Sean solemnly, "Do you forgive me?"

"Of course I do, brother." Smiling, I nodded a few times. "Of course I do."

"Finally!" shouted Sarah, raising her hands up to the sky dramatically, "And it only took five years!"

"A little bit more, technically." corrected Ferny with a proud smirk, "You forgot to count the months."

"Shut up professor." She grinned back at him as she stretched her yellow hand, holding it flat and somewhat low. Fer didn't wait to put his hook on top of it.

"It's been way too long." I said, putting my previously-bloodstained hand above the hook.

"Better late than never." added my brother, laying his hand on top of mine.

Jack hesitated as he held a yellow hand above Sean's brown one, not daring to touch it. "We wouldn't be complete without you buddy." I assured, "Don't be afraid."

"I know." He flicked his eyes to mine, and mumbled shyly "It's j-just that… can I put my hand on yours and not his?"

"Sure." Sean pulled back his hand, and I laid mine on top of his. Jack then put his hand above mine.

"All together?" suggested Ferny.

"All together." answered my brother decidedly, giving us a little nod.

"Three! Two! One!" we shouted in happy unison, "Friends till the end!" Whooping and chuckling, we raised our hands to the grey ceiling. A second wind of hope and resilience took over our hearts, filling us with determination. If we were to fall soon, we would all fall together.

"So, what now?" asked Sarah after a while, a child-like eagerness coming from her eyes. "There's still not much we can do together."

My brother held a hand under his chin, looking down thoughtfully. "We can read in the same room." He suggested eventually.

"That's actually a great idea." beamed Ferny, "Everyone, grab your books. Jack, you can bring a puzzle if you want."

Sarah, Jack and Ferny split up and went to different rooms to grab their items, but I stayed in place, staring out the window. Noticing this, Sean tapped my shoulder, and asked "Don, aren't you going to grab your book?"

I shook my head. "I'm kinda tired of reading to be honest, but go ahead. I'll stay with you."

Shrugging, my brother turned around and walked towards the kitchen. I suddenly found myself alone, admiring the full moon hanging on some thin clouds like a silver mirror. Smiling, I opened my chest and took out a crumbled, battered, dirty plastic rose. "Hello TB, it's been a while. Right now there's a beautiful night outside my window, I'm sure you would love it. The moon never looked so pretty." A small, nostalgic sigh left my mouth. "I miss you little me, you and your friends. I truly wish you could be with us right now. For the first time in a while, I feel that something good is coming our way. Something wonderful already happened."