A/N: Welcome back guys, thanks for waiting me out again. This chapter was very hard to write: I had many ideas that seemed like repetitions of things that I did before, and it took some time to put it all in words. The length will hopefully make up for the wait. Also, I decided to break my own rules and update on a Monday, just because I finished this chap late last night. In between making you wait another week and just breaking a little rule one time, I think we can all agree that the latter is a better option.

If you're looking for a good FNaF fic before the next update, I highly recommend House of Swords by Primal Arc. I usually don't advertise stories, since I feel that's unfair, but that story is so well written and so tragically underrated that it deserves another rule break. Have a good week everyone, and happy reading!

Chapter 43: Four nights at Freddy's

"Why is he taking so long?" Sean sighed impatiently, glancing over his back to the clock on the wall. It was almost 11:30 at night, and Mike had yet to show up. Everyone, except Jack, was grouped together in front of the window by the front door. "He was supposed to be here at ten!" grumbled my brother.

"Maybe he got stuck in traffic?" suggested Ferny, tapping his foot.

"Profesor, it's almost midnight on a Tuesday." was Sarah's teasing reply, "Not only that, but he uses a skateboard."

Ferny smiled smugly at her, and answered with confidence "If he doesn't have a car, how is he going to drive away with Jack?" He then turned around towards me, and asked with more seriousness "Do you really think we should let him do this?

"I don't think we could change his mind anyways." I replied, right as the growing rattle of small plastic wheels stole my attention.

Mike's figure hovered past the window and stopped by the front door. He fumbled with his keys for just a second, making Sean give out a small exasperated sigh, before finally opening the door and entering the room. The young man finished buttoning up his purple uniform as he walked to us. "Sorry I'm late." he started in a mechanical tone, "I had to get some sleep and the alarm wasn't loud enough. Were you all waiting for me?" His eyes scanned the room quickly. "And where is my little brother?"

I put my hand on the back of my head, looking back towards west hallway. "Still in the kitchen." was my dry reply.

"He's still mad at me, isn't he?" asked the young man. I nodded.

Jack had locked himself up in the kitchen since the previous night, when Mike told him that he'd have to take him away from us. It was the first time I had seen him so upset since the few days after our murders.

Mike took a deep breath as he ran a hand though his dark hair, eyes turned low, and said with conviction "I'll try to talk to him later. For now, we have something to do."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Sarah feebly, glowing eyes filled with concern. But the man was already on his way to the office. We followed him as he started to turn to the west hallway.

"I know what I'm doing." he answered in mild irritation as he quickened his pace, "This place has been my obsession since Jacob and you were murdered. I can't turn away when we're so close to an end, when there's so little time left." We stopped in front of the office door.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Ferny, tapping his foot on the hallway's tiles.

Mike shrugged as he leaned on the doorframe, a giant piece of rectangular steel above his head. The lonely lightbulb of the office gave his purple uniform an odd hue, and the smell of bleach still lingered in the air. "Try not to die." he answered casually, seemingly unfazed by his surroundings.

"Well, good luck then." I said from the other side of the door, trying to conceal my nerves.

Raising his shoulders, Mike replied "I would normally say 'Good luck to you too', but since you will try to kill me, I don't think that's a good idea."

My brother huffed in amusement, and said with genuine concern "Take care of yourself, Michael."

"Don't worry, I will." After giving us a confident smile and nod, the man stepped into his office, pressed a button by the door, and immediately a thick slap of steel came down to separate us from him.

We walked back to the stage silently, not knowing what to expect for the following nights. Would his power run out? What if one of us decided to be more aggressive? But when I took my place on the stage and felt my brother's hand on my shoulder, those thoughts disappeared.

"Don, we have to trust him." he told me, looking at me in the eyes. "Like we trusted Jeremy."

I gave him a small nod as I heard the curtains of Pirate's Cove open and close. "I don't want to hurt anyone again, brother."

"I know you don't." He let my shoulder go, allowing me to see the clock on the wall. There was less than one minute left.

'Is it time again?' Bonnie's voice was strangely soft, almost lazy. He was still satisfied from his last kill. 'What a nice surprise: a new plaything for us.'

"You won't win." I whispered, "You won't hurt anyone else again."

He chuckled. 'Let's see about that. After all, it's just night one.' And with those words, the world turned black before my eyes.

I remember the first three nights as a hazy, slow blur. I was always the first one to move, followed by Chica. Freddy remained on the stage, eyeing everything with curiosity and mild interest, until the third night. The dark-brown figure then started his own version of the game, creeping through the darkest shadows of the restaurant slowly and taking pleasure in stretching out the night. Even Foxy ran to the door one time, but he was too slow. We were too slow. Mike always managed to close the door right on time, using a minimal amount of power to get through his nights. But we weren't too suprised by his skills. After all, he had been taught by the best. And in the few minutes of free time and free will before each night, the calm before the storm, we got to know him better.

Mike groaned as he stretched himself on the floor until he lay comfortably on his back, his eyes staring up at the ceiling of the dining area. "So, did any of you listen to Real Fear?" he asked without looking at anyone.

I sat on the floor a few feet by his side, with my back leaned against a table, and said "Jack and I did it all the time before I broke Jeremy's radio." I turned my head to the yellow figure sitting farthest away from Mike, his shoulders slightly sagged and his face turned away from us. Although he was sitting with us now after three nights of isolation, Jack wasn't ready to talk to his sibling. Mike knew better than to rip his little brother out of his comfort bubble, and gave him the time to come out of his own instead. "They mentioned us and interviewed someone."

"Yeah, I know. I heard that interview and tried to get a hold on the guy, but I couldn't find him." replied Mike as he turned his eyes to me. "But did you actually hear it for fun?"

"Of course." I said, "At some moment I just started to enjoy short horror stories a lot, and the show was entertaining, whether you believe in those things or not."

Mike furrowed his brow. "Wait, you guys are still skeptical about ghosts?"

"Well, yeah!" Ferny looked down at Mike with confidence from his sitting spot at the edge of the stage. "There is absolutely no proof, and scientifically speaking there is no way such a thing might exist."

The young man smiled and incredulous smile, pointing at the red mechanical body. "No proof?!" he blurted out, "You are a ghost! You're dead, but you're still in this world."

"We're not ghosts." was Fer's serious reply.

Mike grinned, raising his opened hands defensively. "Sorry, I didn't know 'ghost' was an offensive term amongst the dead." Sarah held a hand in front of the beak as she tried to stiff down a chuckle, earning a stern glare from Ferny.

My brother, who was sitting close to Fer, took the word. "Mike, we know we're not like we used to be. We were killed, and now we possess these bodies. But we like to think we're not that different from any other human in this world. We're just people."

"I was only kidding." grumbled the young man, "I'm just happy to be with my little brother once again, and to help you out. It's what's inside that counts."

Sean's eyes glowed with genuine emotion."Thank you, Mike." he whispered.

The guard shrugged casually, before looking back at Ferny. "So, you're just a regular human?" he asked. Our friend answered with a nod, and Mike smirked as he teased "Normal humans don't look like a robot pirate fox."

Ferny returned his grin, and said "Normal humans don't hang around with a robot pirate fox."

Mike clapped his hands. "And the prize to the best comeback line goes to...!" He pointed at the mechanic animal in question, who raised his hook high in appreciation. A short, small laugh took over our group, but Jack stayed quiet. An all too common silence then filled the room for a few moments.

"How does it feel like?" asked Mike suddenly, his eyes focused on nothing in particular.

"What do you mean?" replied Sarah.

"How does it feel to be like you." explained the young man, "To have the body of a machine."

We all stared at each other, dumbfounded by the sudden question. 'He really doesn't have a filter' I thought. Even Jack looked back at his brother, confused and slightly reproachful.

"That's... a strange question." said Sarah flatly after a second or two. "It happened so long ago. We can barely remember anything from before that day. It feels like more than eight years."

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." assured Mike, not a trace of humor in his voice. "I don't want to bring back bad memories."

"It's okay." she said, "We don't really think about it that much. In fact, we distract ourselves from it. But I guess it's part of who we are now."

"Sarah's right." continued Ferny, "I miss being able to do the things I could do, we all feel like that. The easiest way to deal with a problem is ignoring it. But that won't help us get out."

"It wouldn't be so bad if we could actually leave this damn place." added Sean bitterly, "We can't eat or drink, we can't smell or taste. Our bodies always feel cold, and there's nothing we can do about it. We could still sleep until a year or two ago, now we lost that as well. But we're never sleepy, not even a bit."

Mike nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds weird. Have you ever been outside?"

"No." I said dryly, "We haven't." The plastic rose in my chest felt heavier when I remembered the green eyes of an erased soul; the little boy that never got to know the outside world.

"Yeah, I can see why you're tired of this nonsense." said Mike with slight disdain, "I would go crazy if I had to go through that kind of stuff, but you guys are holding up through everything. That's amazing."

Ferny tapped his foot slowly, smiling wryly at him. "I think you overestimate us. All of us broke down at least a few times. We're not heroes."

Mike shook his head. "Don't get cocky. I didn't say that you were heroes, I just said you were strong. And even when you broke down, you managed to pull through. That is quite amazing for a bunch of kids."

We exchanged awkward, satisfied glances as he said those words, before looking back at him in gratefulness. He then raised his opened hands again, and said jokingly "But you didn't hear that from me! Now get back in place you creeps, it's almost time."

The clock on the wall confirmed his words: we had fifteen minutes until midnight. I stretched my legs to unlock my servos and stood up slowly, seeing how my friends did the same. Jack didn't stand up until I was right next to him, his eyes fixed on the circle he traced lazily on a tile. "We need to hide you now, buddy." I said.

He stood up without saying a word and began to walk to the kitchen, not waiting for me. Speeding up my pace, I came up to his side. When I tried to step closer to him he recoiled sideways. Sighing, I waited until we were in front of the kitchen door before taking his hand in mine.

"Let me go." he muttered, white pinpoints cast sideways.

"Believe me, I'm feeling what you feel right now." I told him, "But your brother is doing what's best for you."

Jack shook his head, and whispered weakly "I don't want to l-leave you."

I forced out a smile. "You're gonna be okay."

It was then that a few quick, light footsteps approached down the hall. Mike walked up to us in a brisk place, his head lowered. He stopped when he was next to me, and said to his brother "Jack, there's no use in being mad at me. That won't change anything. But I promise you that we will find a way to help your friends, okay?"

I looked back at Mike, wondering how he was planning to do that. If that was a false promise, why was there such conviction in his eyes?

Jack looked up at his brother shyly, before giving him a little nod. "Okay." he whispered.

"And remember that you cannot leave this kitchen, for anything." added Mike sternly, "Promise that no matter what happens to me, you won't put yourself in danger, okay?"

Looking at him with apprehension, Jack answered with a nod of his head and a reluctant "Okay."

Smiling, the guard laid a hand on his brother's dark-yellow shoulders. "Just two more to go. Take care little brother."

"You too, Mikey." Jack returned his warm smile as he opened the door and stepped into the kitchen, before closing and locking it behind him.

"So…" Crossing his arms, Mike turned around to see me. "Night four, huh?"

"Yes." I answered uneasily.

"Has anyone made it this far, besides Jeremy?"

Sighing, I scratched the back of my head. "No. They always quit after two nights, or… you know."

Mike nodded, before giving me a quick pat on the shoulder and walking to the office. "Go easy on me, bunny boy." he called out from the bottom of the west hallway.

I raised my hand, waved at the purple silhouette and walked back to the show stage. Two more nights, and this hellish routine would be over.

Two more nights, and our last chance to kill would disappear.

I was sitting on the wood of the show stage, annoyed and impatient. Why was it so hard to get this guard? Sighing in irritation, I took a quick look at the clock on the wall: 4 AM.

"We need a plan." started Freddy, arms crossed and voice low. "We can't win like this."

"We need to get him!" protested Chica, "We're wasting time playing with his power, going to his office and back like a bunch of idiots!"

The bear sighed. "What's the fun in murdering someone if it ends quickly?" His square teeth formed a sinister smile as he looked at her. "It's always better to build a bit of tension."

Chica groaned in irritation, before glaring at Pirate's Cove behind me. "How many times has he dashed tonight?" she demanded harshly.

"Three." was Freddy's calm answer.

"It's always better to build a bit of tension." I whispered to myself, as an idea formed inside my mind.

"Why can't he go again?" questioned Chica.

"Because he's waiting for the right moment." replied Freddy, slightly less patient. "I'm going now, before it gets later."

"Wait a minute." I stood up from my spot, energized by the promises of my idea. "Maybe there's a way to beat this guard, without ruining our fun.

Chica turned around slowly, until her purple eyes were fixed on me. "I'm listening."

The sound of the steel door closing was music to my ears. In the last 90 minutes, Foxy and I had seen how our two playmates focused all their efforts on one side of the office. The west hallway's door was shut almost permanently, but they never just lingered outside the office. Chica and Freddy took turns, going to the door one after the other. The human couldn't afford the luxury of shutting the east hallway's door, and the constant attacks from the west made him forget about Foxy and me; a grave mistake.

"It's time, don't you think?" I said to the faux pirate.

He grinned in joy, sharp fangs peaking from red fur. "It was a good idea, Bonnie."

I stared at the dark hallway in front of me, and hissed in warning "It was, so don't ruin it now. Don't give him one chance."

The grin disappeared off Foxy's face, and with one swift pull, he parted the curtains. Not one second later, he was running as fast as he could down the hallway. Naked metal feet battered the tiles in a fast rhythm, going farther and farther from me, and with one smooth turn, they entered the office before the man could close the door. Victory.

I walked speedily to the room, a smile growing on my face, and arrived by the opened door just in time to see Foxy's hook trace a silver arc in the air and a deep scarlet gash in the man's face.

The human fell down as he held a hand on his bleeding cheek, glaring daggers at the fox. My playmate promptly laid a foot on top of the guard's heaving chest whilst I opened the west door. Freddy and Chica stepped inside, surprised by our success.

"Brandon, come on."pleaded the man, turning his eyes to me. "I thought we were friends."

I walked up to him triumphantly as he tried to escape from Foxy's weight, with no results. "Are you a friend of that kid?"

He smiled at my question. A few thick blood drops reached the corner of his lips. "I like to think I am."

"Then we'll make you suffer even more."

An incredulous expression replaced the man's smile as Freddy and Chica grabbed him by his hands. Foxy raised his foot, allowing them to drag him out of the office and into the west hallway. The man kicked and flailed uselessly as a spark of pure anger burned in his eyes.

"Look at the bright side!" I taunted when he laid that furious gaze on me, "You made it quite far!"

We walked merrily through the hallway, until something in front of the kitchen made us stop abruptly. I stepped to the side of Chica, and scowled when I saw a golden suit standing awkwardly in our way.

"Bucky?" I asked, hoping for a yes. He shook his head awkwardly, and I tightened my hands into fists. "So, you're the kid that won't let him out."

"L-Let him go, please." he begged miserably.

"Jacob, what are you doing?!" The man turned his head around to look at the figure. "I told you to stay away!"

"Listen to him, kid." I muttered, "And get out of our way. It will be over soon."

But the child didn't move. He simply muttered an uneasy "No."

I shrugged. "Don't say we didn't warn you."

When Freddy let go of the man and took a couple of long, threatening steps to his golden counterpart, the child raised his opened hand at him. "Stop!" he shrieked, and the brown animatronic did as he said. I stared at Freddy's paralyzed body from behind for a second or two, ready to yell at him to do something, when he fell to a side like dead weight without glimmer of light in his blue eyes. The kid let out a low sigh, leaning against a wall with his hand as if recovering from exhaustion.

His blood seal. I thought, Freddy's going to be one of the dead brats again in a few minutes.

Chica growled in fury as she let go of the man and started to walk to the kid, slowly and menacingly. The guard tried to stand up and escape, but Foxy was faster. In two steps, he had his foot on top of the young man again. Meanwhile, the yellow figure stepped closer to the suit, her balled fists trembled at her sides. "How many can you take out, huh?!" she bellowed, purple eyes glowing wickedly.

The child only raised his opened hand at her slowly, and I saw her body lock up just like Freddy's, staying still as a statue for a couple of seconds before falling sideways with an echoing bang. Panting heavily, the kid slid down against the wall, his tiny eyes of white light fading in and out slowly. His head hung to a side; it seemed like he would give out at any moment.

"He's done for." I told Foxy, "He's too tired to do anything to us. Take that piece of meat to the backstage. I'll deal with our friend."

He nodded in agreement as a familiar hint of bloodlust shone through his eyes, and started to drag the man away by his feet. When I walked up to the exhausted yellow bear he slowly raised his opened hand to me, barely managing to keep it up for a few seconds, before letting it fall again. Nothing happened.

"What's the problem, fake Bucky?" I teased, staring down at his slumped-down body. "Too tired to help that guy?" He didn't answer, only turned his head with great effort to the man, who was trying to take hold of anything with his hands as he was dragged through the dining area. "Do you remember what I told you all that time ago, when you tried to stop our game?"

Catching his breath, he croaked out "You would b-break me apart. Until I looked… like the pile of trash I was."

"Well done! That's exactly what I said!" I beamed, before kicking his torso and sides. He let out a low whimpers of pain, grinding his teeth together with each blow. "You know I don't like to break promises." Pulling back my leg, I saw how he squirmed miserably at my feet. "If I said I'll tear you apart, I'll just have to keep my word."

"Don't hurt him!" The man screamed desperately from the dining area. I turned around to see him still trying to free himself from Foxy's grip, glaring at me with watery blue eyes. "Leave him out of this, please!"

"Too bad he decided to get himself in this in the first place!" I yelled back, "Don't worry, this will be easy and quick!" Turning my eyes back to the figure at my feet, who was whimpering softly on his hands and knees, I whispered "You're not even going to fight back? How pathetic. Is it because you don't want to hurt your little friend?" He didn't answer, he didn't even make a sound. "After we kill this guard and after I tear you apart, he will no longer exist. If Walther killed his body, I'll kill his spirit."

"I'm t-tired of you." hissed back the figure at my feet.

His sudden, hard blow to my lower leg took me by surprise. Having lost my balance I fell on my knees, just to receive a harder punch against the side of my face.

"I'm tired of you!" he cried out in pain and anger, "I'm t-tired of what you're doing to him!" A round metal knuckle connected with my jaw. "You make him hurt others all the time! He's n-not like that!" I fell flat on my chest when he brought his fists down on my head. "He is my friend, but I hate you! I hate you!"

Groaning, I watched him stand up on shaky legs in front of me and take a few steps towards the dining area. He limped in the direction of Foxy, who was almost at the backstage door, his hand wrapped securely around the man's ankle as he eyed us warily. I tried to stand up, but my leg still stung from that single blow fueled by hate. On my hands and knees, I saw how the golden bear raised his opened hand at the red animatronic. Foxy's glowing eyes filled with surprise for just one second, but that glow soon faded away like a candle that was snuffed out. He fell forward like a dead tree, and the man promptly pulled his feet out of his lifeless hand. Scrambling up to his feet, the young man stared at his savior with wide, unbelieving eyes.

The child let out a long, tired sigh as he lowered his hand. He stayed completely still for a few seconds, then he fell on his knees, before his body collapsed to a side; those pinpoints of light in his eyes had disappeared completely.

I finally managed to put my body on my weakened legs. The guard took a few steps back as I walked past the inert bodies of Freddy, Chica and at last Bucky. He kept glaring daggers at me as I went through the dining area, before finally opening the door of the backstage and stepping in. I quickened my pace as much as I could, limping and stumbling between the tables. But when I reached the door and tried to open it, it was locked.

"Coward." I growled, pulling on the handle with all my strength. "Open the door!" Seeing red, I banged my fists against the wood; the door rattled on its hinges. "Open the door!" I took a few steps back and rammed my body against it, ignoring the pain. A blood-thirsty chuckle escaped my mouth when I felt the lock give out slightly. One more hit, and the prize was mine.

But a pair of massive arms wrapped themselves around my body and arms, pulling me away roughly. Stunned, I tried to force myself out to no avail.

"So, you're the thing that's trying to take over my little brother's mind." a familiar voice said in my ear.

"That brat is dead!" I spat back in anger as I twisted in his arms, "Let me go and help me kill this guard!"

Freddy pretended to hum thoughtfully, before saying "I think I'm over that. Don't worry Don, you'll be back to normal soon."

Groaning and growling, I struggled against him for long minutes, until exhaustion finally got the best of me. I raised my head to the clock on the wall weakly, just as it was about to read 6 AM. "So… you two are brothers?" I huffed, out of strength.

He was panting himself, but his grip was strong as ever. "Yes… we are. And I love him."

Some church bells rang in the distance six times. As soon as the chime was over, I felt a familiar tiredness come over me. "You still love him after everything?"

"You would never understand." was his stern answer, "You are nothing more than hate."

Shaking my head, chuckling softly in amusement, I whispered "You're fools." A deep, dark sleep took over me. "Your days are numbered… ours have barely started." My body gave out in his arms as I finally lost consciousness with a comforting thought in my mind.

We still had one chance.