Sorry about the delays, folks. Been busy with a bunch of assorted things, as well as flat-out laziness regarding my writing... Apparently hearing that Scott was releasing FNAF 4 early was enough to get me back into this. Though I doubt I'll get it done before 4's release... I honestly don't mind, because again - 4's story is only gonna come out once 4 has had a thorough shakedown by the fans. Regardless, I'm sorry for all the delays and I'm hoping to get this done relatively soon.

Thank you all for sticking with me through this. Now, on with the first fight scene... And we learn a bit about our adversary's plans for Alex...

The clock had hit midnight just a few minutes ago, and suddenly I heard a noise that threw me back in memory again, to my first night at the original pizzeria… The phone ringing. I glanced over to it, waiting patiently… Maybe someone was calling to try and get me to leave? It flicked over, and I groaned; another message. I listened through it – apparently the guys running this new place had 'found' the animatronic that now wandered these halls during their search for more things to add to the location, and had turned up… Tapes? Training tapes?

I listened for a moment more, hand on my revolver, my curiosity piqued for the moment… Before the Phone Guy's voice came over the line. "Oh, Hello! Hello, hello! Uh, welcome to your new career as a perfomer/entertainer, for Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Uh, these tapes will provide you, with much needed information on how to handle/climb into/climb out of, mascot costumes. Right now, we have 2 specially designed suits, that double as both animatronic-" BLAM.

I quickly swapped the used bullet from my revolver out with a fresh round and shook my head, re-holstering the gun and looking at the shattered remnants of the phone. I wasn't interested in mysteries this time, especially not regarding more mascot costumes. Fazbear Entertainment was gone, and I had one priority while I was here… Speaking of which, where was he?

My answer came as a booming voice came over the place's intercom. "Well, well, well… Glad you could make it, Mr. Redding… Although I don't appreciate you damaging the property. Do you know how long it took to pull the strings needed to make this place?"

Golden Freddy's voice. I recognized it anywhere. Except this time, it sounded more… Distorted, almost as if he was breathing heavily… I shook it off, deciding to think about it after I'd wrecked him one more time. He continued. "Ah, but I suppose that's not the point, now is it? After all, my machinations have brought you all the way here… And without even your police friend to support you! For shame, Mr. Redding… You should know I always have a backup plan."

I grit my teeth, brandishing a machete at what I could only think was a camera in the security room itself. "Alright you walking hunk of psychotic scrap metal, stop screwing around and let's finish this." I shouted my challenge, looking around the room and even stepping out to the hall. "Come on! You wanted me to come here, and I'm here. Let's go if we're gonna go!"

The voice boomed out laughter, filling the building. "Ah, but Mr. Redding… What would be the fun in that? You took away my Joy of Creation… You destroyed that infernal Puppet and then me… You framed my Withers for murder, even!" I froze at that, remembering what I'd done at the end of the last incident… "Oh yes, Mr. Redding… I know what REALLY happened. Did you honestly think that your story about using the robots as extra muscle and them disobeying your commands would hold up? I'm surprised more news networks haven't tried to expose you for what you are; a murderer who took justice into his own hands instead of letting the very system he believed in handle it…"

I shook my head slightly, trying to clear it. Golden Freddy was clearly just trying to get in my head, get me off my guard… But somehow, it was working. I felt oddly lightheaded, like something was wrong… As I staggered faintly, leaning against the wall to clear my head, his laughter returned.

"Feeling a bit off, Mr. Redding? Perhaps I should reveal what I've been up to in the six long, painful years since you threw me into that machine… In addition to organizing this charming little 'horror attraction', I was able to develop an interesting concoction… Call it a psychosis agent; it intensifies the fear centers in the brain while also altering the chemicals in other regions, thus causing schizophrenia-type behaviors, hallucinations, and possibly even more…" He laughed again, and I felt something cold slipping into my veins. "It certainly was enough to trick… Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself! One thing at a time, eh?"

I swallowed hard, shaking my head and trying to clear it. If what he was saying was true, then I was in up to my eyeballs. "For a man such as you, Mr. Redding… A man who has lost everything, and clearly blames himself for it – don't try to hide your alcoholism and emotional trauma, Mr. Redding, I've stayed well abreast of your situation – this gas will take all those little fears and doubts… And amplify them tenfold. I look forward to seeing the result." He chuckled once more, the malice in his voice clear. "Best of luck to you, Mr. Redding… And remember; it's all in your mind… Or is it?" He laughed once more, before the intercom clicked off.

I shuddered, eyes wide as I looked around, heart racing in my chest. Whatever this 'fear gas' of his was doing, it was clearly pumping through the ventilation system… I rushed over to the control panels, trying to find some way to shut the ventilation system down… No luck. It was all on its own circuit, all I could do was reboot the system… I made a mental note; perhaps that would get some fresh air in to circulate out the gas. It was my best chance, especially if I was attacked by…

My thoughts wandered off as I glanced at the cameras, eyes widening as I saw something. The Marionette, floating in a hallway… Followed closely by the Mangle. My mind clouded slightly as memory took over...

It was roughly a year after the Toy Incident, and I was talking to the redubbed 'Second Generations'. They'd apparently found an old location for one of Freddy Fazbear's competitors; a burger joint called… "Candy's Burgers and Fries? Seriously, guys?" Fred nodded, a grin on his face.

"Exactly! Apparently they were a competitor of Freddy Fazbear's, however they got their animatronics from a different source – Uncanny Valley Robotics! We're planning to check them out, see if there are any similarities between Uncanny Valley robots and our own endoskeletons. We'd love to have you along!" He seemed so excited about the idea of other animatronics; apparently their research into AI had them chasing down every lead they could.

I thought about it for a moment, before shaking my head. "Sorry guys, but I'll pass. No offense, but I think I've had enough scrapes with new and unpredictable animatronics to suit me for a long time. Call me if something comes up, though; curious to see what you'll find!"

They looked disappointed, but nodded and collected themselves. "I… See. Well, Mr. Redding? I'll make sure you're the first to know what we find over there." He put a hand forward and I met it in a firm shake. I thought they'd be out a day, maybe two… But in reality it was a week, and when they came back every report they had was immediately put into Top Secret and blocked from anyone not 'in the know'. Even I was only able to gather one thing… Apparently Golden Mile wasn't the only group to have defective animatronics.

We'd fallen a bit out of touch since then, only seeing each other in the aftermath of… Those incidents. They didn't know what I was up to…

And yet somehow, I found myself staring at a VERY worn and desiccated Mangle, as well as the Marionette standing in the background. Black streaks, looking like burned and brutalized marks on their 'suits', lined hem… And their eyes glowed an unsettling white. I readied my machetes, figuring my first 'challenge' had just found its way to me. Mangle and the Puppet stayed back, and I waited for them to make the first move…

Mangle charged me, assorted limbs flailing as she leaped towards me, jaws wide and dripping blood. I ducked, threw an upwards slash that caught along a few bundles of assorted pipe-limbs, sending her clattering to the ground. I immediately spun to look at the Marionette, just in time for it to throw a long, slender limb around my throat and began to squeeze.

"YOU DID THISSSSSSS…" It hissed out in a hellish tone. I jabbed upwards with a blade, chopping its limb off and allowing me to breathe long enough to charge it, shoulder-ramming the gangly bugger against the wall. I raised a machete, prepared to drive it through that burnt mask…

And got tackled in the side by the Mangle, pipe-limbs flailing and creaking as it began to claw at my coat, my shirt… I felt a claw digging into bare flesh before I fished out my lever-action shotgun, shoving it into the animatronic's maw, and squeezing the trigger. The blast carried it off of me, leaving a sizable hole in its primary head, the other one turning to hiss at me.

"H-HAD YOU COME WITH USSSSSS… YOU WOULD HAVE FOUND HIM SSSSOONERRRRRR…" I froze. The thing had just vocalized one of my fears; that had I gone with them to Candy's, I would have found something – anything – that would have pointed Golden Freddy's survival out… And, considering the fact I heard mention of a second Marionette somewhere in Candy's assorted hard drives, it was something I'd thought many a time. I wavered…

And found myself pinned to the wall by the Marionette. A loud, static-filled squealing filled my ears as well as the Mangle positioned itself above me, preparing to swing down and take a bite out of my skull – before I headbutted forwards, driving my forehead into the puppet's mask and getting it away from me. I reached up, throwing the Mangle into the Marionette with one quick movement. They bowled over and landed in the office, upturning the box of assorted 'relics' and scattering them everywhere.

I didn't waste time, stepping over and grasping the Marionette by its slender 'neck'. "It… Wasn't… My… FAULT!" I threw it into the wall, smashing its face even more and following it by a stab of the machete, jamming into its 'skull' and pinning it to the wall. I took my second blade in my right hand, pulling my revolver with my left just as Mangle got back up and hissed at me.

I gave her something to hiss about as I opened up with the magnum, sending heavy slugs into its assorted limbs, one after the other. "I-" BLAM. "Couldn't-" BLAM. "KNOW!" BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM. I emptied the gun into it, sending it writhing away… "I had no way of knowing what you'd find. Don't blame this on ME!" With that, I raised my machete high, and brought it down towards the Mangle's head –

And the blade impacted nothing but the tile flooring. My eyes widened and I immediately looked around, wary for any further attacks from the Mangle… Nothing. It was gone. I turned to where I'd pinned the Marionette…

It was gone as well, just leaving my blade pinned into the wall. At that point I looked around, seeing that the overturned box of 'relics' was in the same spot I'd found it, and the only changes to this room were the six new bullet holes in the wall… And I remembered what Golden Freddy said.

"…All in your mind…"

I shuddered. Whatever his toxin had done, it was making me hallucinate, see desiccated remains of my old friends… I shook my head slightly, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, before punching a button on the security console and resetting the ventilation. I got a few gulps of fresh air in the room, helping to clear my head as I looked around… And sighed.

Apparently, Golden Freddy had decided to make this little adventure all about my own psychoses instead of his personal attacks. His form of 'poetic justice', I'm sure; instead of fighting me normally – a battle he'd lost twice before – he decided to use these hallucinations to make me doubt what I was seeing, doubt my own drive and willpower, and sap my abilities and strength fighting nothing but ghosts. I rose to my feet… Before hissing sharply as I felt a pain stabbing through my chest.

I knew what it was, it was only logical. The adrenaline was coursing through my body, my heart was racing… I'd heard of people being literally 'scared to death' before. That had to be Golden Freddy's plan; either terrify me to the point of me getting myself killed, or send me into cardiac arrest from the terror he was unfolding. Guess there's not many choices in this matter…

I shook it off, reloading my revolver and recovering my machete. By now he'd locked up the exits and had me right where he wanted me… The trick was, he didn't know all the tricks I had up my sleeve. I'd come prepared for this fight…

All that was left was to survive long enough to finish it.

Seems like Golden Freddy's got some new plans for Alex this time... Hope he's up to the task!

Read and review, folks!