A/N: A bit later than I wanted to, but the last scene got longer than I anticipated and I couldn't get this out yesterday lol but here it is. So I may have gone a bit too alt-timeline but in the sense and scope this story has since become from Part 1, it seems warranted at least. And soon we'll have the actually events of what Malhare/Glitchtrap really is. Or more like whom it is (The way I'm thinking, it'll be a bigger shock to lore fanatics than anything, but at this point I've stepped over- probably- at least a handful of those feet in my plot and world-building as is lmao).

Chapter Three

Temporal Shifts

1998, Crystal Springs High School, Cafeteria..

Bianca's eyes were wide as she stared at Nick and Veronica, the duo having just finished telling her about who Nick really was and what had happened to both him and Veronica in their future. "Wait, so you," She pointed at Veronica as her sister took a bite out of her turkey sandwich. "Were a ghost of your mind, possessing his ex," She pointed to Nick now, pausing in his eating of a cup of pudding. "And somehow, the fact Nick is actually already an aberration in time itself as your son using your egg, Nick's own sperm and Rhiannon as the carrier doesn't matter to you because you're also in love with him because he's the same Nick who has already traveled back to this time, but where I didn't exist?"

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much it. Oh, but you forgot my evil boss who's been kidnapping children for years already and the fight we had to give him before we both wound up back here. I mean, I'm an aberration too, really. My mind shouldn't be here at all, not with the memories of the future, at least."

Bianca just looked at her incredulously. "You two know just how fucking insane that sounds, right?"

Nick raised his hand. "I admit I'm certifiable, but not in this case. This is all a hundred percent true. I don't know why I'm apparently back in this time again, but knowing how so many time travel plots go, I'm probably part of some recurring time loop. Most possibly because whatever I fixed the first time around, or set up or whatever, didn't stick and here I am on attempt number two, I hope, to fix them again."

"But how would you even know what to fix? What are you preventing that's so imperative for you to have been flung back in time six years before you were even born?"

Veronica sighed. "If we knew the answer to that, we would tell you. But, I at least have already started thinking of how we can make things different. Again, hopefully this time for the better."

"God, I can't believe this. So that's why you didn't seem to recognize me on Christmas?"

Veronica nodded. "Yup, exactly why. Actually, I was thinking about that. Nick, if you are a part of a recurring loop, then what if you don't go back to the future after this is said and done? Maybe, just maybe, you got flung further back in time to stop Afton before any of these current events could even happen. Or at least to try and stop them."

"Don't say that. I have to get home. Sameera needs me, and the longer I'm here, well I can't tell if time has been passing the same way, really. I could go back to the day I left or these past three almost four months could have already happened and I'm missing my girlfriend's pregnancy."

"I know, Nick. We'll get you back to Meera, honey."

Nick just sighed, finishing his pudding. "I feel like Beerus, I want more pudding."

"Beerus?" Bianca asked, definitely never having heard such a name before.

Veronica answered her question. "Character from Dragonball Z, but from like sixteen years in the future. Basically, he's a big alien cat who rules as the Universe's God of Destruction, and he fought with another former enemy over pudding at Bulma's birthday party."

Bianca studied her sister's face to try and see if she was lying, but her words were sincere. "This is all too much. Time travel, alternate timelines.. When did life become a fucking comic book? This is like something out of the Avengers or the Justice League.. it's absolutely fuc- is he even listening anymore?" She said, making Veronica look at him as well.

Nick had headphones in now, his head bobbing back and forth to something that sounded rockish, his hands held out at his sides shaped like guns. "Bang, bang, bang, pull my devil trigger." He sang, his voice in a mutter as he mimicked gunshots with his hands.

Veronica giggled in disbelief. "Nope, he's off trying to think things through himself. He doesn't do it often, but music helps him focus more often than not. To answer your question, sis, I know everything seems fucking insane, but you are proof things have already been changed from the first time I lived this shit, okay? Trust me, the sister you've known your whole life despite the changes I've gone through since Christmas. That means I can find a way around these.. issues that I'm facing on a more personal level and maybe still get the guy in the end. My old life, where you didn't exist? Nick was what made me happy and realize I wanted to give something back to the world even when it seemed it hated me. And I gave it Nick, this sweet, caring, infuriatingly loyal boy who has not once but twice already defeated Afton at his own game, risking his own life in the process, to protect those he loves. And in the future, the night before I woke up in my old bed with you hovering over me? He almost died doing just that, but I realized I couldn't let Sameera lose him, nor Rhonda or anyone else he was connected to. So I instead sacrificed myself, which still somehow brought me back here to live all this again. I don't want to become a pawn to him again, Bianca. I refuse to."

Bianca had never seen her sister so serious before, but she nodded. "I understand that, sis. For what it's worth, I'll help you guys however I can, if even possible."

Veronica shook her head, biting her lip. "No, Bia. I can't ask that if you. Not when I know the risks involved with such things."

Bianca smirked back at her sister, arms crossed over her chest. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not asking, then." Veronica opened her mouth to protest. "No, Ronnie. You may not remember this, but we made a promise to each other when we were little, and if upholding that promise means I become an accomplice in this insane shit, so be it. You're my sister, Ro, and that means I'm always there for you." Veronica gave Bianca a small, tearful smile and nodded, Nick still playing air instruments next to them to their continued amusement.

2022..

It was Leon's turn in the therapy chair, and after what Sameera and Rhonda/Veronica had told him, it seemed their shared therapist may actually know something about the whole Nick situation. Leon thought the idea seemed a bit far-reaching, but other than knowing Nick was stuck in the nineties and that he and Veronica were trying to change time itself? It may have been one of the best leads they could get. Bianca walked in and smiled at him. "Ah, hello Leon. How has your week been? Everything with Rose going alright?" She asked, sitting in her own chair.

Leon had his eyes glued on the pocketbook she had left on the floor next to her desk. On the end of one of the zippers hung a suspiciously familiar charm or pendant, he'd never actually gotten an answer as to which it was considered. Actually, there were two, connected to the same cord. One was a purple head, cat-like in appearance while the second one was more obviously a piece of flan pudding. "Those are pretty random charms to have." He observed. "You a fan of Dragonball?"

Bianca laughed. "I thought it might be Sameera to recognize them, but yes. Or, more like they remind me of an old boyfriend. He had a similar tendency of loving his pudding."

Leon raised an eyebrow, as that description did sound a lot like Nick, who would always wind up stealing the others' pudding cups while they weren't looking. "Huh, bit odd to hear that, really. Sounds a lot like Nick, being honest."

This made Bianca smile, holding her pen up in one hand. "Really? Coincidence, I'm sure. Although, I must say, it's nice to keep getting more information on this otherwise mysterious Nick. All three of you teens I see related to the Pizzaplex and Cult Incidents have been talking about him a lot more this week. I wonder why?"

"All I know is Sameera:s keeping hope alive for him to come back from wherever or whenever he is, while Rhonda and Ronnie are both at odds with their shared migraines."

"Yes, I could see how. Now, let's get to the real meat of today's session. Last time you told me about seeing your old crush- Yuna, right?- get ripped apart on the camera feeds the police recovered from Nick's system upload at the subsequent trial. I'd like us to talk a bit more about that.." Leon sighed as he nodded.

Meanwhile..

She was six, maybe seven. She was at the park near her house, close enough for her parents never to worry about her too much, but she wasn't alone today. Next to her was a slightly shorter girl with light brown hair, the same hair as her father had. The girl held her pinky out with a smile. "We're sisters, whether blood or not, Ronnie. I'll always be there for you, I promise."

The young Veronica smiled at her sister as she clasped her pinky with the other girl's, giggling. "And I'll be there for you when you need me, Bianca. Always." The two girls hugged as the scene faded..

Veronica shot up in bed, gasping. She had only been taking a nap when the sudden memory surfaced. She fell back onto the pillows as her breathing calmed down. "Bianca is my.. sister? They said they were making changes, but.. wouldn't Nick have had to go back even further to make my parents adopt her?" She threw the sheets off of her as she went to Nick's room, where Sameera was swaying and humming to some of Nick's ridiculously varied music collection. "Meera.."

Sameera looked at her and smiled. "Hey, Ro. Are you two alright? It looks like you just ran a marathon." She said, noticing Veronica's slightly faster than normal breathing.

"We're fine. But, I know what's changed in the past. Who Bianca, our therapist, is; and if I'm right then she already knows how things end in ninety-eight."

Sameera gasped at that, grabbing her keys from the desk feet away from her. "Let's go, then. Leo's her last patient of the day. If we want answers, then she's the best place to start."

As Sameera left the room, Veronica called after her. "Wait, Sameera! We don't know if-"

"It doesn't matter. We may not be able to help Nick here and now, but I'll be damned if we cant get some fucking answers about this time travel shit."

Veronica sighed as they went into the garage. Sameera was a woman on a mission, and Veronica needed those answers just as desperately as Sameera did.

1998..

It was now after school, and Nick could honestly say he would never have thought Sameera's father had been a stoner in high school if it wasn't for the teenaged Bayek taking a hit from a blunt as Nick, him, the Fitch sisters, his mother's past self and Leon's father Jason, the trouble-magnet of their little group. Bayek held it out towards him, to which Nick accepted the offered item and brought it to his lips. Veronica gasped, having never seen him smoke pot before, and obviously that triggered the motherly instincts still resonating between her and Nick. Nick! Smoking pot?!

Nick smirked as he heard her thoughts in his head. There's still a lot you don't know about me, mom. Before you were attached to Rhonda, this was more or less a usual weekend thing for us teens.

Well I still don't like it. She thought as she took her own hit as Nick passed it to her, being next in turn.

Fucking hypocrite. Was all Nick thought back as Bayek nudged Nick's shoulder. "So, stranger, where are you from?"

"I'm local, actually. Born, at least. My family moved out of town when I was really little, around the time the Afton kids got killed."

"Oh, yeah. I could understand that. Pretty gruesome shit, their deaths. Most parents around here wanted to get out of town around then, really. No one wanted their kids to be next, especially when Freddy's opened back up soon after. The Pizza Place is the.. fourth, maybe, Fazbear restaurant opened in this town, and every one has been shut down after more missing people's cases. I want to be a cop after school so I can try to figure out why they keep getting away with things like that, because it's definitely suspicious they'd allow the place to open again and again after things continuously go wrong."

"I totally agree.. Ronnie?" Nick asked as Veronica leaned over, her head resting on his shoulder with her eyes closed.

"Hmm?" She hummed, cracking one blue eye open at him.

"You good? If you're tired, we can always go back to your place."

"No, I wanna just stay like this for a bit, as tempting as taking you back home is."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Ew, sis."

Veronica flipped her sister the bird as Nick smiled. It really was strange how Veronica conveyed similarities between both Rhonda and Sameera, and how comfortable Nick found himself around the older Fitch sister. Even if said sister was adamant in her feelings for Nick, the boy she at least knew as her technical son, being more than the platonic nature found between most mothers and their children. Feelings strong enough to make her want to change that fact, even. Nick's reluctance probably didn't help much, if at all, since Veronica already knew he was attracted to her thanks to their more recently developed abilities. But, Veronica saw that it wasn't Nick being an asshole about it, far from it. Nick just didn't want to make things complicated, or maybe more so than they already were. Especially considering he still had Sameera, and their upcoming baby, and another woman added into that wasn't the best thing they could do, unless Sameera had decided to do something about that. However, the two teens in the past couldn't just reach out to Sameera or their friends in the future, and so the answer to such a question could only be left blank at their current point in time.

"Stop worrying so much, love. We'll figure it all out, I promise." Nick realized Veronica had slipped her hand into his, squeezing it as she spoke.

"I know, Ronnie. I have no doubt we will. Thank you, for dealing with me, by the way. I know I can be a bit much at times."

"After being one half of your ex-girlfriend? I can say with total honesty that I wouldn't be anywhere else but with you, no matter the circumstances." The two were whispering now, the other teenagers there except Bianca still not knowing anything about where Nick or this exact Veronica had actually come from.

Jason saw the whispering and smiles the two sent each other, even while Veronica still had her eyes closed. "Hey, lovebirds? Whatcha talking about over there?"

Veronica leveled one eye at him. "Just discussing the best place to hide your body when you piss me off badly enough."

Jason looked shocked as the others all laughed. "That's fucked up, what with that little girl getting kidnapped the other day."

"She's not alive anymore." Nick said grimly. "Most likely? She's possessing one of the band now. Possibly giving the night guard at the Pizza Place some trouble." Veronica looked at him, amazed he would just blurt out such things while most of them assembled didn't even know about Afton still working from the restaurant.

"What the hell are you talking about? Do you mean William, the one they found dead stuffed inside that old Bonnie suit like eight years ago?"

That was news to Nick. They found the body and he wasn't alive? What?! "I thought I was. I mean, William Afton is the only local legend that would do something like kidnap kids. Then kill and shove them into the animatronics. Like the kids from the turn of the decade."

"Yeah, Afton isn't alive at all, as far as we know. But, now that you bring him up; Ronnie, doesn't your boss look a lot like Afton did?"

Veronica hadn't been listening until Jason had said her name, her own mind a whirlwind. Afton's already dead? Then who is Dave Miller, if not William? "Yeah, I guess. I haven't really noticed, honestly. I just try to do my job and stay on his good side." Now for even more reasons.

"I guess that's true, seeing as how us teenagers get no respect doing our jobs as it is. Still, it's weird you didn't know about that, Nick. It was widely celebrated by everyone who lives or even lived in town."

"My parents hated the news, something I inherited for the most part from them. Hearing new things from word of mouth has always felt more appealing to me, is all."

Bianca cleared her throat, passing the blunt back to Bayek. "Alright, stop interrogating Ronnie's little boyfriend, Jason. He's still new to being back in town, cut him some slack. How about we stop talking about the Murderer and just have some fun? I heard that Kat Rojas was having an open invite party tonight.."

Jason perked up at this, Nick looking at him curiously. Leon's mother. They got together around now, come to think of it. Came Veronica's voice in his head as he nodded. "Alright, cool. You guys can show me how you party in Crystal Springs."

Jason pumped his fist in victory. "Yeah, let's go!"

As the teens all got up from where they sat in the middle of the woods, Veronica stopped Nick. "Are you sure about this, Nick? You could change things even more than they've already changed, without any second trip to the past or whatever fucking theory you've been cooking up in that head of yours."

Nick smiled. "We'll be fine. I know how to hold my tongue. And, if it comes down to this weird magnetism I have with women these days and this Kat tries something with me, then I'll just be a bro and wingman her over to Jason. Imagine the ripples in time that sort of chaos could cause for the future."

Veronica frowned. "Nicky, that's what I'm afraid of. We're half-blind in this situation as it is. You know what they say: whatever can go wrong.."

"Will, I know. But still, if I'm going to be stuck here in the past with no clue as to how to get back home other than the ball pit I woke up in, then shouldn't I have some fun? Plus, you're the one pushing for us to find another mother for me." He said mother with air quotes, but Veronica rolled her eyes in response anyway.

"Yeah, well. I don't think many of these girls would be a good fit being your mother. Otherwise, you'd be related to any one of your classmates, God forbid even Sameera."

"Oh.. Yeah, I guess I didn't think about that that far ahead, did I? Well, unfortunately, for what you want, it might be something we need to do, in the end."

"Yeah, I understand that. I guess one of these days we'll figure it out. Soon, before Afton or whoever is actually kidnapping these kids does even more of a number on this town."

"Or worse, kill you." Nick said, squeezing Veronica's hand reassuringly now as they caught back up to the group, Nick separating from her to 'learn' more about town from Jason.

Veronica sighed, head in her hand as she watched Nick, Bianca pulling back towards her now. "You know, I'll do it."

Veronica looked at her like she hadn't been paying her any mind. "I'm sorry, do what again?"

"Don't play dumb, sis. You know what I'm talking about." She said, nodding towards Nick.

Meanwhile..

Dave Miller was not as old as he looked, especially when some people had already told him how he looked so much like the late Murderer, William Afton. They were all fools for thinking the current kidnappings were just the work of a copycat killer, however. Not when the only ones who knew the truth were already dead.

The authorities were correct in assuming an Afton was behind the crimes, but it couldn't be Wlliam, since Dave had killed his sorry excuse of a father days before the police had found the body, and it had been the same day Malhare had become a part of him, saying it was what had driven William to strive for immortality through his numerous crimes, and now it was Dave's turn to continue the dark Afton legacy. He laughed as he watched the camera feeds for the restaurant, searching for the next victim in his experiments.

2022..

Veronica almost knocked the door to Bianca's office off its hinges as her and Sameera entered, scaring Leon and the older woman, who held a hand over her heart. "Sameera? Rhonda? What's the meaning of this?" She asked the two girls.

Rhonda shook her head. "Don't play dumb, sis. We figured out who you are, and now we want to know why you're here."

Although surprised at the method of getting those answers, Bianca didn't look nearly as surprised as the girls figured she would be. "Oh, so the shifts are starting to reflect back to the present, then?"

"What shifts?" Sameera asked as Veronica answered.

"Temporal shifts, or in basic terms, Nick and I are trying and succeeding at changing things in the past. But, that still doesn't explain why I suddenly have a sister. Nick got sent back to ninety-eight, not earlier.."

Bianca clapped slowly. "Bravo, big sister. And it barely took any excess effort on my part. I'm just surprised the shifts hadn't affected your memories until now."

"Don't avoid the question. If things have changed, then where is he? Nick should-"

"Nick is exactly where and when he needs to be, Veronica. This is much bigger than you both initially thought, and Nick had to act on that to ensure ninety-eight happened differently, take me for example. It was only on the insistence of a stranger that our parents adopted a sweet baby girl only months after having their first child, after all."

Sameera was confused but Veronica had it all figured out, or so she thought. "That idiot.. He had to go back further?! What the fuck happened in ninety-eight to make things escalate?"

Bianca shook her head. "It wasn't that year that screwed things up. No, something happened before you or him woke up in that time, long before then in fact. Nick went back further in time from ninety-eight to begin the changing of history you practically begged him to. And all for the love you felt for him."

"Don't psychoanalyze me! So Nick never comes back? Is that what you're saying?"

Bianca frowned, seeing the beginning of tears in her sister's eyes. "I wouldn't say never, but the first Nick to go back in time? Yeah, he put himself in our parents' teenage years permanently, but only because his powers stopped working after he went back that second time."

"What? But, if he was out to stop things, he would need those powers!"

"No, he doesn't, for Afton in the time he's in has neither become the killer we all know him to be or lost his own children. Yet. No, he only went back to ensure there was another Fitch daughter, most preferably not related by blood." She looked at Veronica, waiting for the older of the two of them to piece together what she was saying.

Veronica was wide-eyed as she repeated Bianca's words in her head. "No.. He didn't.. I was against it!"

The therapist shook her head. "Sorry, Ronnie. You told me what you wanted most was Nick- not as your child but your lover- and I gave you that choice. Hell, Rhiannon didn't carry him to term, either. Not in this new twist of time and it's events."

Sameera had finally figured out what was being unsaid between the two sister's words as she gasped. "Rhiannon adopted Nick now, and you're his real mother."

Bianca nodded as there was a knock on the door and a head of blonde hair poked into the doorway. "Mom, are you ready to.. go.." She asked Bianca, making the three teenagers look between the two. "Oh, I didn't know you were starting group sessions again."

Bianca giggled. "Nonsense, Rika, this is just a.. surprise interrogation, if you will."

Sameera looked at the girl, recognizing her from school. She had only just transferred in at the beginning of the new year, telling everyone she had been homeschooled. During those hours, whenever Sameera had looked at her, the new girl would seem all but familiar to her, and up close Sameera could tell why. Erika, or Rika, was their age, but it was her eyes that made the connection obvious as anything, since she had looked into the same eyes for years. "Nick has a twin?!"

Erika tilted her head. "Oh, you know my.. Oh.." Rika said, realizing just who Sameera was by the size of her belly. "You're his baby mama, aren't you? Big brother's, I mean."

Sameera sneered. "I am his girlfriend, not some fucking baby mama."

"Meera, enough. Bianca, what is this?"

"What it obviously looks like, Veronica. Not only did we agree on a new plan for Nick's conception, but I wound up blessed with twins. And that meant there was a backup in case things somehow went wrong before Nick got thrust back to the nineties."

"A backup? You mean she.."

Bianca nodded. "Yes, Erika has the same abilities as both you and Nick. But, thankfully, Nick was here to stop Afton and his plans. But, tell me, do you remember everything about Dave Miller, yet?"

The name made Veronica freeze on the spot as she looked at Bianca with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean?"

Erika, meanwhile, went over to Leon. "That means you must be Leon. I'm sorry our meeting had to come as such a surprise."

Leon shrugged. "When it comes to anything to do with Nick? There is no such thing as surprises. Just new developments. We could have used your help during the Pizzaplex and Cult debacles, though."

Erika nodded. "Yeah, I know. But, Afton doesn't know I exist, and mom was supposed to let me out to meet up with you all when Nick brought him and the Cult down, but she told me plans had changed."

"That's right, they had. Your father forbid me to send you into that, because he knew things would still need him in nineteen ninety-eight even after we became part of his life. He didn't want to inadvertently send two teenagers twenty something years in the past, or alert Afton that something had changed."

"But, mom-"

"No buts, young lady. It's bad enough I had to let your brother go through the adoption with your aunt Rhiannon just for the Pizzaplex and Fazbear to be taken out of the picture. I lost these seventeen years with him, too."

"Yeah, but you didn't feel all the pain he's gone through." Erika said, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at her mother.

"Ugh. Yes, Rika, I know. And I hate that you both still have that twin sense even while never having technically met."

Veronica huffed. "So technically, while I've been living in Rhonda's body while having somewhat false memories, I haven't been Nick's mother? In any way?"

Bianca laughed hysterically, holding her head as she shook her head. "Oh, Veronica, such a one-track mind with you sometimes. Yes, ever since Nick and the others brought you out from Afton's thumb, you haven't actually been his mother. It was just a matter of when you would remember or realize that."

Sameera facepalmed herself as Veronica threw her hands up in the air. "Fuck! I could have been fucking hi- mmph!" The pregnant girl put her hand over her best friend's with a sigh.

"It's alright, Ronnie. Jeez, we need to work on a filter for you."

Bianca just smiled. "She's just being her passionate self, although I believe that's a more recent development in her personality."

"Oh, fuck you, then!" Veronica said, stalking out of the room.

Sameera looked at Bianca. "I don't fully understand everything that's been revealed or said today, but I expect you'll fill me in if she doesn't, right doc?"

Bianca nodded. "Yes, and you can go too, Leon. I can see you've got a lot you may want to talk to your friends about."

Leon nodded dumbly. "Yeah, that may be best this week. See you next week then, doctor Fitch."

"Same time as always, Leo." Bianca smiled as the last of them left the room, leaving her and Erika, the young girl watching her mother as Bianca deflated in her seat. "I told you not to enter if I was in session, Rika. Especially not with antly of your brother's friends."

"And why not? Mom, you keep me hidden l, and I get why because of what you told me about dad and my brother and everything they've both gone through. But Nick finished Afton off once and for all. My powers allow me to know this, mom! There's no more Remnant tainted with Afton's aura at all in town since Christmas, and that alone should mean that I can go fully out of hiding. It may be a secret, but I'm not ashamed of my family and I want to actually have friends. I'm sheltered and lonely, mom."

Bianca sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Yes, love. I know. I know Afton is gone for good now, but without your brother here, I cannot in good conscience let you scream the fact you're Nick's twin from the rooftops."

"I won't! I just want to go hang out with teenagers for once. Is that so much to ask?"

"No. No, I guess it isn't. Fine, but I don't want you going straight to ten when trying to integrate yourself. Go slowly, wait for one of them to initiate it. Right now, as peaceful as everything seems, those teenagers are anything but relaxed and enjoying their lives. And knowing there's another member of their little crew who they've never known is quite suspicious. They need to warm up to the idea that there's another Negron sibling, that's all I'm saying."

Erika huffed. "Fine. I'll wait for them to come to me, but I'm still upset with you."

Bianca chuckled. "That seems to be the opinion towards me right now. Well, like your father always says, even these days: one step at a time." Nodding, Erika led the way out of the office, Bianca following close behind. Now the cat was out of the bag, and only time would tell how the other teenagers would see these new developments.