All the stories are true

by Dayfal

A fan of the "Five Nights at Freddy's" franchise is brought in a world where the events of his beloved video game series have yet to take place. Taken in by the Emilys, he slowly adjusts to his new life as he tries to stop the tragedies that will inevitably occur at the hands of William Afton, all while he figures out the games' extensive lore from memory.

22. Chapter 22

It's the Diner's second day out in the open, but something is amiss.

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Before we get to it, I owe a massive thank you to the wonderful r3dp4nd4ch1ld over on Tumblr for all the fanart they've drawn for this fic, as well as the freaking TRAILER they made! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for everything.

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Foxy-Kawai: You may be onto something with that. Who knows, we could very well see some interesting things about those two relating to the idea of "Life" ;).

mymomis1: Sorry for the very long wait, and thank you for your patience!

Dark0000: Mari is in a very difficult position, that's for sure. It's not easy in the slightest, but she's not one to give up, especially when it comes to his children. When it concerns them, she's on the mindset of "whatever it takes", even if that means self-sacrifice. Btw I'm happy you caught the always thinking part!

For Matt, you could argue the Puppet is a godsend. I mean, had he not been there, depression would've been the least of Matthew's worries, so he really is lucky that she's there for him.

That's what Matthew gets for teasing her :). The Puppet's not going to take that kind of attack lying down. Maybe now he'll think twice about using the bird thing in her vicinity.

I aim to please and it's always a delight to expand upon the characters in areas that were neglected in canon. I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed the part regarding her nature.

Sure, go ahead! One thing I like to do is be kind of ambiguous about animatronic genders, since so was Scott in canon, and I think it's a fun practice to keep alive that has kinda died in recent times. I mean, the Mangle gender debates will never leave my mind, and they need to be reference in some way XD

The Puppet's pretty powerful, and as the stakes increase, he'll only continue to grow stronger if she wants to survive. And speaking of that, I feel like lore-important characters in the series often get ignored a lot of the times, which leads to their abilities being quite limited for what should be angry spirits having supernatural powers. Like, what can Charlie do exactly, aside from enabling possession for other souls? It's not explained very well and neither is it consistent. I definitely plan to lean into that otherworldly aspect a whole lot more, because I think it can be a ton of fun to explore, so I'm really happy no know you enjoyed it.

Thank you very much for all your kind words and support, bud!

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Fair warning, this chapter will contain mentions of drugs and will get quite dark towards the end.

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If one of us is haunted tell me, which one could it be?

He dropped his backpack onto the chair and opened it, staring at the mask inside. The glowing, LED-looking eyes stared back, almost begging him to put it on. Perhaps it was his imagination, though he wasn't too inclined to believe that, but he was just about sure there was this sort of need to wear it. Ever since last night, when he'd suggested he sleep with the thing on, he'd been feeling like strapping it to his face and never taking it off. But who could blame him? Wearing the mask was like having Mari's calming presence at arm's length, but cranked up to eleven, and all he had to do was put it on. Just for that the Puppet had allowed him to doze off with it on after some debating, and he'd slept better. Not by much, to his disappointment, but noticeably so. And then he'd had to go ahead and tell Mari about this want earlier today before it left to fly to the diner…

Apparently, he was feeling that desire because the mask had been "enchanted" for him, so in a way the mask was calling to him- to its rightful owner, in Mari's words. Only the Puppet hadn't really meant for the calling to be so strong, if at all. Because of said fact Matt was forbidden from going to sleep with the thing, unless he wished to become too dependent on it, which… Well, neither him nor the Marionette wanted that, so he'd conceded, albeit reluctantly.

…Then Mari had to tease him about there possibly being other abilities to the mask. When pressed about them, the Puppet had refused to say what they were, stating that it would be better for Matthew to have some fun discovering them on his own…

As for why the mask wasn't as effective as he would've expected in his sleep- Mari's guess was that since the mask was made to be worn while he was awake and kicking, it didn't really focus on aiding him when he wasn't conscious. A bummer, since he'd been more than excited to be able to have normal dreams again, but he supposed beggars couldn't be choosers. Still, that did not take away from the mask's usefulness. Matt could definitely get used to putting it on and chilling when he was feeling too stressed and such.

It's pretty neat how Stripes' intent from yesterday plays a big role in how the mask operates, and the rules it like, follows, but I mean, when were superpowers not cool? Especially paranormal ones? He mused to himself idly.

The only real downside were the eyes. Always shining- which would instantly tip people off that something was wrong about it- except for when he was wearing it. Not that he was complaining, as explaining to everyone around him how he was able to walk around with lights in his eyes would've been a real pain. Was it convenient? In a way, yes, but if not for this how would he be able to wear the mask without being blinded? He already had to be careful where he kept it the rest of the time, since he couldn't have his sister stumble upon it and wondering what was up with the glowing dots. Matthew had figured keeping it in a backpack to hide the lights would be best. When asked why he'd carry a backpack with him to Fredbear's- he could simply say it was for storing the merchandise he planned to win. The most reasonable excuse he could cook up in all honesty. It was perfect.

He gazed down at the white plastic while turning away from Charlie, who was on the other side of the table. Even after so long, it still bewildered him. Those eyes were plain weird. Among the weirdest of the things he'd seen ever since coming here. There was no other word for them. The Puppet mask had this black mesh where the mouth gap and eye sockets were to replicate Mari's fabric while still allowing you to see and breathe. The pinpricks just floated there, in the middle of said mesh, disappearing the moment it would cover his face. They didn't flicker or lose brightness, and if he tried to snuff them out, they'd light up his finger the same way a torch would. Otherwise however, they appeared harmless, but he hadn't worn the mask for long enough to tell if there was more to it.

Matt looked around to make sure no one would spot what he was about to do. The couple of waiters that were chatting amongst themselves paid him no heed, and the security cameras weren't facing him at the moment. Nodding to no one in particular, he quickly pulled out the mask and put it on his head. The lights vanished, and he turned back towards his sister, whose features had a look of sudden realization. Matthew only chuckled in response, letting the pacifying feeling wash over him, trembling slightly under its effect. He'd never get tired of having clearer thoughts. Ever.

"So you brought that rucksack with you just for a mask…?" Charlie trailed off, gesturing questioningly at the aforementioned bag.

"I'm planning to hit the arcades and earn some prizes, so this is how I'll be taking them all home." satisfied, the girl let out an 'ah' before smirking.

"You really think you'll stuff that thing full by the end of today?" daring him, was she? Very well, Matthew could play that game. Although he'd have to settle for regular toys since the actual merch was too pricy for what he could gather in a few hours.

"Mhm, and when that happens, you're gonna have to, I dunno, get rid of that picture you have of me." when she attempted to play the fool, he didn't hesitate tilting his head knowingly, so as to make her aware he didn't forget about that. He'd won yesterday's bet with Cassidy, so Matt was feeling pretty good about trying another one. It surprised him that he was up for a challenge, but his mood was better than usual, so why not make the most of it? Here was hoping Charlie would accept.

"A bet? Sure, why not? And if you lose you'll have to do anything I want for a whole day!" his sister then leaned onto the table between them, all but glaring at him. "Including letting me paint your nails." she gave him a toothy grin, knowing how much he'd despise having his nails colored. But, well, he asked for it, so he didn't get to complain. On the plus side, if he won not only would he get some cool '80s toys but also have that embarrassing photo finally be destroyed. Provided Charlie would honor their deal, that was.

No one likes it when people have dirt on them, and a picture is like, the worst form of blackmail, he least his sister had been nice enough not to use her advantage against him… Okay, there was that one time but- Matthew ended the train of thought.

"Alright, you've a deal." sadly they couldn't shake hands due to the table blocking them.

With that, the boy headed for the counter, wanting to waste no time earning his tickets. Evan however decided right then and there to jumpscare the boy by passing in front of him, appearing dead-set on doing… something. Matthew raised a brow at the piece of paper in his hands. Noticing that he'd stopped, the Afton whipped around to apologize.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to startle you." Matt brushed it off, motioning to the paper instead.

"I'm good. What's that?"

Evan rubbed his elbow at the question, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up on his cheeks.

"Um… it's just a little drawing I did for- here!" gaining courage out of nowhere, the little boy thrust the paper into Matthew's hands, looking up at him expectantly. Matt smiled for a moment at the cute sight, before checking out said drawing.

A colored sketch of Mari greeted him, who coming out of its box while hanging from a marionette's cross, present in hand. The box itself was a proper cube, Mari's face shape was that cheeky circle he'd grown accustomed to, the pose wasn't butchered, and even the stripe count was right. And the whole thing was heavily stylized as well, to Matt's pleasure. He wouldn't have thought Evan to take after his brother and have an artistic inclination, but he more than impressed with the young boy. There were a couple of erased lines here and there, but besides that the sketch was clear, as was the line art. Technically, Mari's first ever fanart, and an awesome one to boot- oh, he just knew the Puppet would love it. How amazing was it that Evan had been the one to draw this, and that he'd done such a good job? The kid was so precious Matthew was sure he'd melt on the spot. Though, thanks to the mask he wasn't far from it, as his clear mind enable him to better appreciate the drawing. Part of it had been colored with markers- Mari's main body- while crayons and pencils had been used for the box, makeup and cross. It also seemed like Evan had been inspired by the Puppet statues they'd seen the previous day on the shelves, which… To draw that from memory with no reference... Wow. Matthew was more than a little envious. Ready to geek out, he handed the fanart back and proudly patted Evan's shoulder.

"Dude, dude, this is so very well made, and I'm not just saying that! Like I'm genuinely shocked- I didn't know you were so good at this type of stuff! I- I don't even know what to say, it's just- uh, props to you, man. If you keep practicing, you're gonna be able to do some jaw dropping art." Evan's blush intensified at his words, unused to the praise. The boy glanced to the side before biting his lips and speaking in a hushed tone.

"A- Actually, Mikey helped with the lines and the er- the po- position. I did the colors and… yeah. It was mostly him." Oh. Matt deflated a bit hearing that, but he still gave the Afton a thumbs up. It was nice to hear Michael was being decent to his sibling. That was the least he could do.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short. I stand by what I said, this is awesome. The fact that you didn't go over the outline and that you weren't afraid to mix things up is great. Good on Mike for lending you a hand, but I'm guessing you were the one with the idea to draw this, right?" The other nodded. "See? It's the thought that counts. This'll make Mari's day if you plan on showing him, trust me." He assured kindly.

From the look on his face Matthew got the impression Ev wished to refute the praise, but he opted otherwise, choosing to flash him a small smile. He hugged the paper to his chest.

"I wanted to make something for Mr. Marionette since he gave me my torch. It's been helping me with my dreams and mum said that when someone's nice to you, you have to be nice to them too." Behind his mask the older boy made an 'aww' sound.

"Don't let me stop you then. Go on." He encouraged Evan, happy to see him take charge and do this of his own accord. With a last nod the Afton turned back to where he was going, stopping before the giant present box. Swallowing his reluctance, Evan raised his hand to knock, only for the lid to slowly open, as if the being inside had sensed him there. The box already towered Ev by a few inches, so when the Puppet emerged the boy looked even smaller than he really was.

Gently, the Marionette tilted its head, eyes careful but eager to offer the youngest Afton a gift. The surprise was visible on Mari's mask when Evan held out the paper, nervously pushing it into its fingers without a word. There was a strangled sizzle of confusion as Mari looked around for help, spotting Matthew and quietly asking him what to do. He beckoned for it to accept the drawing, watching in silence as it did so a few moments later. Mari froze, but paid close attention to what it had received, its eyes studying every centimeter of the paper. Evan squirmed in place as he saw the Puppet stiffen that for a second Matthew was worried the boy would start crying. The fact that Mari lost control over its 'happy' expression did not help.

But just as Ev was about to ask if he'd done a bad job, Mari began singing. Without warning, it picked him up and cradled him in its arms, squeezing the boy tightly to its chest. It swayed him from side to side, uncaring that currently everyone in the diner was staring at it like they'd seen a ghost. Evan's following giggles were lost among the trilling and chiming, and Matt was certain he was starting to melt. Evan hugging Mari back right then was just the cherry on top.

"That's the cutest thing I've ever seen." Remarked Elizabeth from somewhere behind Matthew. He could do nothing but agree with her, and he didn't even try to resist the unseen smile that grew on his face. He briefly heard some of the employees call after William so that he'd come and witness this too, wherever he was, but before Matt could tell them all to shut up- as that was a terrible idea- Charlie did it for him. His sister shushed them, being very adamant about everyone keeping quiet. Matthew wouldn't have expected her to be against her uncle seeing this, but he wasn't about to protest. She probably just wanted to keep the adults from ruining the moment, which was a terrific move on her part.

For some reason no one questioned why a robot could just pick up a child and hug them. Maybe Henry had briefed them as to the Puppet's more advanced nature? It'd be great if that were the case. He couldn't exactly ask though. Whatever, what mattered was that his friends were happy. In fact, he couldn't recall when was the last time he'd seen the Marionette this joyful. With closed eyes and a smile worth the entire world. Matthew would have to personally thank Evan for that.

Seeing the two like that, it rubbed off on him, and he couldn't help being happy with them, but… He knew it was wrong of him to feel this way, but there was a lump in his throat. His breathing slowed and he could swear he felt a stabbing sensation in his stomach. The mask did its magic to help him remain neutral, but Matt couldn't lie to himself. As much as he valued and was glad for those two's cheerful moment, he was jealous of Evan.

Of course, thinking that left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he grimaced at how much of an ungrateful shithead he was, but Matt couldn't lie. The mask- that was how he felt. His thoughts were too clear for it to be a lie. He was older- he was way older than Evan! The kid could be his younger brother and he was jealous of him. It was pathetic to acknowledge, and yet knowing it he still didn't like that…

That Evan had been the one to make Mari this happy. On some level he couldn't quite fathom it didn't feel fair. Like Matt was the one who should've done so. Not necessarily be in Evan's place, but just… do what he'd done. The fact that he hadn't ate away at him when he thought of how Mari did so much to help without asking for anything in return. He'd thanked it hundreds of times by now, but when looking at the scene before him those thanks didn't feel like enough. Mari would deny such a claim, but of course it would. The Puppet was so unnaturally good that it would swear up and down it did not need any form of appreciation. It didn't want him to worry more than he already did- it'd tell him that he was just stressing too much for a "silly reason". The Puppet always put Matthew first before itself, and Matt…

The boy had tried his best not to take his friend for granted, when it was Mari who he trusted the most, who would share his nightly anguish, and who he'd rely on to save the kids from Afton. The Puppet was among, if not the best thing to happen to him since coming here if he was being frank. For that sole reason he had tried to show how thankful and indebted he was to it, being as considerate and accommodating as he could. When watching this however, Matt knew that in actuality, he hadn't done too good of a job on that. If it was this easy for Evan to raise Mari's spirits, then Matthew must've been doing something wrong this entire time. It was difficult to believe he deserved his striped friend when he'd been ignorant for months now. Saying he felt bad was nothing in contrast to how the Marionette must've felt like, to just… Gift out kindness without asking for nor ever receiving anything back. No wonder Ev's drawing had made it so delighted. But if a six-year-old could do better than Matthew, what did that say about him? Wasn't it his job to do better? Could he not even accomplish the bare minimum? He-

-No. He was comparing himself to Evan, and feeling guilty he hadn't met some imaginary expectations, Matt realized. As shitty of him as it was to let a kid be his example due to pure selfishness and ignorance, this was not the end of the world. He could see that. The mask did not allow him to spiral far into the dark. It was not too late to do what he should have from the beginning. Neither was it Evan's job to be a model when Matthew was the older of the two. It was his responsibility to both Ev and the Puppet to act his age and think of others first, which was why simple thanks weren't enough, despite what Mari claimed. The Puppet had given Evan that flashlight on a whim, merely wanting him to sleep well, and had received a proper "thank you". For all that it had done for Matthew though? More was required. This was the time for Matt to return the favor in full. He could still earn the right to have a friend and ally such as the Puppet in his life.

Silently thanking the younger boy for making him aware of his fault, Matthew downed his remorse and let the mask do its thing. He owed the Afton more than he could imagine for his help, unintended as it had been. When it came to the only person who knew Matt better than anybody else, there were very few things he wouldn't do. Just as he knew the same applied to him. The Puppet was brilliant like that.

The lingering pain in his chest slowly dissipated away the longer he watched his friend. He would've liked to admire the cute sight a bit more before Evan was let go but he had no such luck as a certain employee disturbed him unexpectedly.

"Look at it..." Matthew Virginia of all people muttered, leaning on the glass counter. "It's like the damned robot's alive… This is one of the strangest places I've worked in, and it's only the second day. Shit." The disbelief in his voice was palpable. "When it hugged you yesterday, I thought that was a little weird, and I've seen weird crap, but this?! Hell, er- heck no!" he corrected himself, whistling. "I've no idea how you could've let that thing touch you, honestly." Matthew ignored the 'thing' part, instead focusing on the rest of the statement.

"I didn't mind. The Marionette's great if you get to know it." He shrugged, wanting to let the employee know he didn't share his opinion.

"Maybe to you. That thing creeps me out to no end. I wouldn't be able to wear its face like you do, kid. Gotta say, you got huge guts." The compliment fell on deaf ears.

"I don't know. I don't see what's so creepy about it. It's great with kids and stuff." He would've liked to defend Mari to a greater extent, but that would arouse more suspicion than what he needed at the moment. Was he being paranoid? Yes, but it was better to be safe than sorry. This way he could keep things casual. Like an outsider looking in, rather than someone appearing to know more than they should, despite the fact that he was the owner's son.

"Great until it grabs your head and does a one eighty. That wide smile is like, the type that serial killers have, man- for real. You know what I'm talking about, those backstabbing scumbags that wait for you to let your guard down and then BHAM, you're dead. Way too many of them hanging around the neighborhood these days." Virginia- Miller shook his head, convinced as to the certainty of the 'words' coming out of his mouth. The boy just deadpanned, refusing to slap his own forehead.

"…You've watched too many movies or something."

"Eh, I think I just have too much experience. My line of work was, pfft, let me tell ya, you had to be smart to make it." He turned away from the Puppet and Evan, who were still being adorable, and sized up Matthew. "But enough about that. What can I do for you? Want some tokens for those arcades?"

"Yep. Ten please." The employee reached under the counter only to pause halfway through. He held up a finger, doing his usual customer service grin.

"Ah, almost forgot, show me your wristband first."

"Uh, I mean, didn't you see it yesterday? You know I'm…" your boss' son, he tried to suggest, but the guy wouldn't budge, set on getting his way no matter what.

"That doesn't mean anything so long as you don't have the wristband to prove it, kid. Sorry. Talk to your old man if you don't like the rules, I didn't make `em." Well, at least Matt could give him credit for standing up to his boss' kid- not like Matthew would really use that fact to his advantage- and respecting said rules. If those were even true.

The boy had no clue whether he was talking bull or not. Miller may've been messing with him for all he knew. Either way, no harm done. Sighing, he raised his arm, rolling his eyes at the guy's smug expression. On second thought, telling Henry his employee was an ass wasn't such a bad idea after all…

"Thanks. Here're your tokens. Have fun, I guess." He said in a very passive-aggressive manner. Matt wished he could glare through the mask, but he decided the other wasn't worth the time and effort. He pocketed his tokens and turned to go into the arcade room while the diner was still relatively empty. The boy was hoping playing some games before the show started would take his mind off things. To his annoyance, he hadn't even managed to take a step before he was called back to the prize counter. "Hey, uh, sorry to bother you again, but do you remember the thing we talked about? With your girlfriend and the little dude over there." The employee pointed to Evan, who was just now being let go out of Mari's loving grasp. "Want to sleep on it a little more or have you made up your mind? Or maybe you want to talk it over with your friends- I kinda need an answer, you know? Soon. No pressure though." The man sucked in a breath through his teeth. With his arms on the counter, he bounced from one foot to the other, awaiting a response. He was somewhere between impatient and understanding, oddly enough. An unusual mix for someone like him, but then again, this someone was Matthew Virginia, so anything was plausible when it concerned him.

Matt stared dumbly at the man for a short while, clueless as to what he meant, only to then recall the peculiar conversation they'd had a day prior. Well, more like Virginia's crazed rant about supposed boys in blue, his pals' adventures and generally just how 'cool' of a guy he was.

Wait… Why did he have a bad feeling about this, as if there was something terribly wrong here?

"The… thing. Right. Yeah, um... what was it again?" Miller's face dropped at the question.

"How could you forget? Kid, you wound me!" He clasped a hand over his heart dramatically, not missing out on his theatrics. The man leaned in closer and whispered so as to not be heard. "The smoking stuff."

And with that it all clicked. The changed last name from Virginia to Miller, the talk at school among older kids about some popular guy called Tony getting caught by the cops, the vagrant man named Jonathan found dead one night at some random bar on the TV, the Police's report on local news channels about illegal substances being sold to students at Hurricane Elementary... The one that Henry had tried to stop him and Charlie from watching a few weeks back. It all made sense now. What kind of man the employee standing before Matthew really was.

In the blink of an eye the boy's mind went blank with rage. Every ounce of pain, stress and anxiety from the last year was channeled forth, totally overwhelming whatever mental barriers he'd set up. Matthew's fists clenched so tightly his palms hurt, and his heartrate had skyrocketed almost immediately. He was also seeing red, but he didn't have it in him to care. He was hanging by a thread, with only the mask keeping him from lunging over the counter and strangling the man behind it. He was left wondering how long it'd take to explode. The seconds ticked by as the fury bubbled inside of him. Any moment now he'd snap. The crushing wait all but made him wish for the sweet release of letting go, despite what kinds of trouble that would bring…

…But nothing came of it. There was no catharsis, and Matthew found himself being somewhat disappointed in a sick sort of way. His vision flickered into blackness before returning to normal. A wave of quiet flooded his mind as if detecting its frantic state, easily subduing his emotions. It was comparable to bathing in freezing water, only without being able to feel the cold. The mask replaced his anger with a thousand thoughts, all fighting at once to be at the forefront of his mind so he could act on them.

Another worry atop the ever-expanding pile.

Matt could've given the guy the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was in a bad place and selling was the only way for him to make ends meet, maybe he hadn't known anything else growing up and this was how he knew to make money, but… that didn't apply to him. Firstly; he'd just said he'd had other jobs before, meaning he knew how to earn a living without dealing. Secondly; Miller- no, Virginia wasn't a homeless man forced to sell to get by. He admitted as much. He wasn't being obligated to sell if his story was true- that his friend had gotten killed- he was doing this because he wanted to. He'd gone so far as to ask Matt if he wanted to be sold drugs based on a misunderstanding. Worse still, Virginia had no qualms about selling to a minor. Not a teen, a goddamned kid that wasn't even ten in his eyes. On his first days on the job.

It was difficult to believe such a person could exist, that they'd try to do something like this at their workplace, a children's restaurant no less, to their boss' son. And yet here was Matthew Virginia, proving those types of assholes were in fact real.

There were many types of monsters out there. There were the ignorant, moronic ones like The Silver Eyes Henry, who'd abandon their children on their relatives' doorstep and disappear, expecting those others to drop their own lives for a problem that wasn't theirs to begin with. There were the disgusting child murderers like William Afton, whose horrid crimes had no justification, and then there were the ones like Matthew Virginia. The kinds of monsters that didn't even care that what they were doing was wrong, and not because they didn't know better. Because the only person that mattered to them was themselves, which in this case wasn't even the worst part. That would have to be the fact that the man wasn't asking for money.

He wants fucking tickets, he- he's just doing it for kicks! `Cause he doesn't give a shit! He thinks this is fun. Matt had to pause. He felt like puking. Is this the universe's way of being lore accurate to Dayshift at Freddy's!? Instead of Faztokens and fireworks here it's tickets and weed?! Fuck, the boy lamented internally. Those were only a couple of the thoughts going through his head in the span of a second.

Novel Henry, while deplorable in his actions, had at least been drowning in guilt for creating robot Charlie, leading to his abandonment of her. William had warped reality to give himself a reason that'd justify killing children, which was the 'pursuit of immortality'. What was Virginia's excuse for what he was doing? The answer was that he had none, to speak nothing of remorse. He was just twisted, plain and simple.

It was visible in the way that he smiled. That empty, masked smile where the eyes were glassy and devoid of a soul, not unlike William's. One belonging to a face equally fake, only meant to deceive and manipulate. While the boy couldn't call Virginia worse than Afton, the guy was pretty close, arguably closer than Novel or Game Henry ever was. While Game Henry had no problem lobotomizing innocent nightguards who he just assumed wanted to burn to death without asking, his intentions, suicidal as they were, were good. Virginia was knowingly trying to get children, small ones at that, addicted to drugs. There wasn't any shred of good in such an action.

Perhaps the employee wasn't all bad, if Matthew wished to be nice about it, but whether he could change or not didn't matter at the moment. The man needed to be fired, or at minimum prevented from selling to any children while he worked at Fredbear's.

Matt cursed himself for not figuring this out sooner. The signs had been there, crystal clear, but they'd flown over his head. He'd been too stunned by a Dayshift at Freddy's JPEG'S existence to ponder what the guy had been talking about. Thank God he'd realized this when he did, before anyone could've gotten… He didn't want to think about that, on top of everything else. The boy wasn't oblivious to what those things could do to a person. All he had to do back in his own world to see their effects was walk the wrong street or alleyway and he'd spot stoned teens in no time, among other things.

He also wouldn't pretend to be a saint and say that he'd never been curious to try and blow a joint with his old buddies, fourteen years of age as he'd been, but it hadn't ever gone beyond that. Drugs were everywhere if one knew how to look for them, in America anyway, and those that denied their presence had no clue about the world they were living in, in his opinion. Matt wouldn't want to see their effects on younger kids like Evan, who was far too trusting and innocent to know better… Actually, he'd like to believe Ev would know better than to trust someone like Virginia, given his reaction to the man from yesterday, but that wasn't the point. The point-

"-Yo! You alright there? You've been silent for like a minute now."

"Y- Yeah, sorry, I was uh, you know, remembering." Matt went the extra mile and kept his tone even. "And I… think I'm gonna give you an answer right now. Just, hold on a sec- I gotta think this through." He opted to make his intentions known to prevent appearing more suspect than he already was.

"I mean, I don't see what's there to really think about. Like, yay or nay, but sure. Do whatever, man. I ain't going nowhere `till my shift is over."

If not for the mask Matthew would've surely done something he'd regret as opposed to talking right about now. Using the mask however, the boy chose to focus.

Okay, you're calm. Think about this straight. You want to get this guy fired and hopefully in a jail cell, but how should you go about it? You could just tell Henry, but this guy said he would only have stuff on him in about two weeks. He doesn't have any now. Even if Henry calls the cops just based on your word, and even if Virginia has a history with the Police, without evidence, he can't be charged and brought in. Trying to convince Henry to fire him also wouldn't work. You could lie and say he was being mean or something, but there's too many people around that would've noticed if he was really treating a child wrong. No-go there… C'mon, dude, think! …The cameras? It could work, but… they can't be used for evidence when none are pointed towards the counter- who the hell thought that was a good idea?!...

Matthew cursed the inconvenience. Why did catching a guy as obvious as Virginia have to be so hard? He swore again, breathed in, and reinitiated his monologue.

Matt here talks too cryptically for anything he says to be incriminating. He's careful. He also whispers, so even if you got Mari to try and record him, it wouldn't pick up much when the whole diner is so loud all the time. Plus, Virginia's smart enough not to try and sell to multiple people at once. He does think that Evan and Cass are in on this as well, but even if you brought Cassidy with you, he wouldn't do it. It'd be too risky. That "under the counter" BS was more to impress you than anything. Most likely he'd try to sell outside the diner one person at a time. You could try to get him caught in two weeks when he said he'll be able to sell but in all of that time what's to stop him from dealing early to someone other than you? You can't wait that long, and neither can you trust his word. And ignoring all of that… If the Police did catch him with weed at the diner, Fredbear's would face serious trouble simply for employing such an individual.

Had the restaurant been any other business it may not have faced too many problems, but this was an establishment geared towards children. Matthew wasn't too knowledgeable on how the Police handled things, but he knew enough to be sure that Fredbear's future would be ruined. The Hurricane Police Department liked to make public announcements about the criminals they caught, it seemed. If the people of Utah heard about a drug dealer working at a kids' restaurant while being one of its very first employees, the backlash alone would drive this place into the ground. That kind of damaged rep would mean no money and no available jobs for Henry or William, which meant his sister and the Afton sibling trio would suffer because of it. Matthew couldn't gamble their lives like this. There had to be another way.

I mean, who knows what William would do if Fredbear's ends up a failure so early and he a shamed public figure? That's a worst-case scenario waiting to happen. Yeah, in the games Freddy's stayed open despite children going missing, but that's the key word here. Missing- never actually found and reported dead. Some rebranding, PR and sweeping under the rug could keep Freddy's open through at least three locations, but Henry and Willian don't have those resources right now. Something awful goes on like Evan getting bit and Fredbear's is dead, just like in FNaF 4. Not to mention how this isn't a game anymore. Scott's more lackluster writing like nobody checking bad smelling suits won't fly when this is real.

Matthew couldn't afford to get the restaurant under pressure in its early days, so exposing Virginia wasn't possible, but the guy had to go. What to do then?...

No doubt did his conundrum made him look funny to the others, frozen there like a statue. Evan certainly giggled as he passed the boy, asking for his own tokens. Wait- that was it! Matthew almost jumped in happiness as it occurred to him. He could ask Mari for help! Virginia was already scared of the Puppet, so all he had to do was ask his friend to spook the employee into quitting his job. Matt couldn't control what happened outside the diner, but in it he could make sure no child got dealt drugs, and this- this was the perfect way to do so.

"I'll do it." He spoke up without hesitation. "But it's only between us, otherwise I tell my father." Virginia eyed him skeptically but shrugged a second later.

"Ha! If it makes you feel better, I'll have you know I'm no amateur. I don't cheat my clients like that. There's a reason I made you the offer, but- aren't you gonna discuss it with-" the man nodded to Evan, who was looking between the two of them disoriented. "- you know who?"

"No." His curt response made the employee snort obnoxiously.

"If you wanna be that guy… I can't stop you, kid. In two weeks then. Be ready with your tickets, hm?"

"Alright." Mari would be thrilled to get rid of this asshole, later though. Matthew wasn't about to wreck his friend's morning when said friend had a whole day full of gift-giving ahead of it.

With nothing more to say, Matt gestured for Evan to follow him, the boy complying shortly thereafter. They walked to the arcades in silence, but not before Matthew picked up a chair for his younger friend. Ev fiddled with his sleeve for a little while, and against all wishes, asked what that had been about.

"Well, uh… you know how some people try to get you to do bad stuff? This was the same. I accepted to do it just so he'd leave me alone, but I'm not actually going to do it. He'll think I will, but I won't. Is that weird or…?" He was lying out of his ass, but somehow in Evan's mind it made sense. Boy, was Matthew glad for that. "-And please, don't ask what it was. I'd be in hot water with Henry if you did."

"O- Okay, I won't." The unsure expression on Evan's face made Matt want to kick himself over the head.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Let's use this time to have some fun at the games before it gets crowded. Where do you want your seat?"

"At that one." The boy pointed to the Donkey Kong arcade. Neat. Nodding, Matthew set the chair down at the indicated machine and helped him up. "Thank you, but… you haven't ordered pizza!" He said, visibly concerned.

"I ate way too much of that yesterday. I think I'll skip it for now. I'm sure Charlie's gonna be kind enough to share, if she doesn't order mushrooms again." Too bad the boy couldn't see Matt wink, but he still laughed at the joke as he got ready to start his game. "Need any help?"

"Nah, I'll figure it out. It can't be too hard." More and more was he surprised by the young Afton. He kept forgetting this wasn't just a pixelated character on a screen but a real boy that could grow out of his shell. In this case, not having his expectations be met was a hell of a thing.

Matthew was glad they were friends.

"Suit yourself then." Taking the arcade next to Evan, he didn't fight the grin that quirked the corners of his lips upwards. He supposed some classics couldn't be far from one another.

Putting in one token, the screen lit up, and soon after, he was met with a blue maze full of dots. That backpack would be stuffed before the show even began.

o0o

The plastic pistol was the last toy he'd stored inside before he closed the zipper. The strategy he'd developed was to buy the largest toys that would take up the most space and then fill in the gaps with the cheaper stuff. That way his tickets would be spent evenly for the number of toys he'd get. With how well he was doing thus far his bet with Charlie was already won. By the end of the day his sister would have to honor their deal and destroy the photo. At long last Matthew would be able to sleep soundly at night, knowing that blackmail could no longer be used to threaten him. It felt good to finally have the upper hand on her. Sort of…

Matt took a seat in front of Evan, who was too preoccupied by the cube in his hands to look at him. They had ended their gaming session once the kids had begun to pour in. Elizabeth and Charlie had yet to return from their Air Hockey match, which left the two boys alone to reap in the fruits of their labor. Evan had gotten himself a Rubik's Cube that hadn't left his fingers for about ten minutes now. He kept trying to figure out the red and blues sides but would get stuck halfway through. Matthew couldn't offer him much assistance besides telling him about an algorithm that was supposed to solve those things. The problem was that Matthew had no idea what that algorithm actually was, so Evan had to do it all by himself.

The young Afton sighed for the ninth time in a row. Waiting around for the show to start was never fun. Deciding to ease some of his friend's frustrations, Matt spoke up.

"So uh, I wanted to thank you." The boy perked up, letting go of the cube momentarily. "I told you, giving Mr. Marionette that drawing would mean a lot to him, and given how me and him are friends it means a lot to me as well. Thanks for that, bud." Evan hadn't anticipated that to be his opening line, indicative by his flushed cheeks.

"You're welcome, I think? Um, I told you- I wanted to do something nice for him… the flashlight has been great and, you know…" He finished by shrugging, palms up as if to say that's it.

"He's not gonna forget it, so from now on you can consider yourself one of his favorite persons. That comes with a lot of benefits, believe it or not. Way more than you'd think." Evan nodded, reaching for the cube only to stop and stare at it. Concluding that he was done playing he pushed it away and looked back at Matthew. "Anyway, wait- what was I gonna ask next? …Oh, that's right. How come Michael isn't here? Don't think I've seen him at all yet."

Evan bit his left cheek at the mention of his brother.

"Um, well, he's grounded. Dad wasn't happy with how his friends had been and uh, s- said Mikey was banned along with them from Fredbear's for a week." Matthew frowned behind the mask. That seemed too extreme even for those asshats. Not that he was unhappy- he had been hoping to get them banned if they got physical, but all those three had done was cause a ruckus. Wasn't that kind of thing a regular occurrence at children's establishments? And why did Michael have to get coupled together with them when he hadn't participated? "…Well, at least he can look after Snuggles?"

"...Right." It appeared like William would use any pretense he could to put his eldest in a bad light. Why was he not surprised?

After a pause, Evan continued.

"Well, they were mean to me most of the time, and always pushed Mike to act like a jerk, so I don't miss them."

Silence descended between them.

Even the mask wasn't enough to deter the shock of hearing such a declaration coming out of Evan's lips.

"Wow, dude… Hehe, I mean, I can't argue with you there. They're not exactly pleasant company."

"I know, right? They say they're Mikey's friends but they keep getting him into trouble." Evan shielded his mouth as if he was telling a secret. "Um, five- f- four weeks ago Mike was punished because they gave him some bad green stuff at school or something. That's what he said anyway. I don't know what he meant." Uh oh. Had it not been for Evan telling him this Matthew would've never suspected the green stuff being so wide-spread in such a small little town like Hurricane. At least he planned to talk to Mari about it, which did provide him some amount of consolation. "Dad took away his allowance for a whole month. Now he's not letting him at Fredbear's because of them… The weird part is that Mike, uh, well, h- he talks a lot about how people don't want to be your friends and how you should leave them when they start being mean, but he's still friends with those three. I- I don't get it. They don't… they don't treat him right."

A sliver of worry dripped into the younger boy's tone. It was so sweet of him to be concerned for his older sibling, especially when said brother wasn't the best when it came to basic decency. Matt got the urge to get up and hug Evan, but he decided against it. He didn't want to add invasions of personal space to the list of bad things Ev had to go through. Elizabeth took great care of that…

"Sounds to me like he doesn't listen to his own advice. Yeah, people are like that sometimes. I guess- you know he means well when he tells you that kind of stuff, so there's that." He really would've loved to believe that was all Michael told his brother, but Matthew knew that wasn't the case. Things could never be that easy. He was at least glad Evan went out of his way to confide in him.

"Yeah… I just wish he wouldn't change so often. One moment he's nice and then he's angry, and he never talks with anyone. Not even mom. It's so con… confu… c- confusing!" Ev hugged himself. All of a sudden he looked tiny in that chair.

A pang of guilt pierced at Matthew's heart, and so he had to reach over and give the boy a pat on the shoulder. Evan refused to meet his gaze.

Way to go making him sad, dumbass. For all intents and purposes, Matthew had yet to get used to seeing Evan behave differently than in the games, specifically because of the large gap between a crybaby and a downcast little boy, so he felt like he was missing important context here.

"Uh… so how's your mom been lately?"

Why would you choose that for a change of subject? He cringed at his poor attempt of shifting the conversation. Unimaginative, but since Matt didn't know what Ev wanted to do, maybe this could get the Afton to talk about something that wouldn't upset him. Matthew could always let him be, but he happened to know just how bad one could spiral if they were left alone with their thoughts, so he could at least try this before giving the boy some space.

"She's fine. Mom's usually very busy with ballet. That's uh- her work, y- you know. It's why she couldn't come today. Sometimes she takes Liz with her but she hasn't done that in a while. She's… pretty tired if I think about it." He went quiet afterwards.

Something was wrong with Evan's mother and the boy knew it as well. That was worrying. Mrs. Afton's lack of presence in the games had been theorized to no end. It could've been as simple as a divorce or as horrible as a murder. Hearing Ev say she was not well- Matthew couldn't assume that was a coincidence. She could be everything from sick to stressed about how the diner would do to horrified of her husband's nature but hiding it. Any number of things could get her to never be seen again, and without information it was difficult for Matt to plan to save her, if she would even need saving in the first place. Curse Scott for never explaining what had happened to her.

It was clear that Evan wouldn't go into details, and Matthew wasn't close enough with his sister to grill her about what was up with her mom. He'd have to keep an eye on the woman too. That was his biggest disadvantage; not having the manpower to watch multiple places at once. He'd figure it out. In the meantime, he could speculate if William had built Ballora as an homage to his late wife, a possibility many fans had suggested over the years. He would've preferred it if the robotic ballerina was a unique concept based on no one at all, but given how Mrs. Afton was named Laura and the confirmation that she taught ballet… Things were not looking too good for her.

That being said, he should not think of the worst outcome. Her and William could just have a divorce in the near future and share their kids like split parents did. That hadn't been expanded upon in the games, which was precisely why it could be a thing. The room for interpretation meant not every event had to be bad, presuming this world was faithful to the games. So far, it more or less had been.

Any more theorizing was cut off however when he'd spotted Cassidy entering the diner among some other children. Matthew waved at her, and it took her a moment to realize it was him, but she waved back smiling. She looked pumped and ready to have some fun, but there was an uneasiness in her eyes that was hard to miss. Matt hoped she hadn't slept too bad.

"Hey, nice to see you're back. I knew this place left a good impression on you."

"You kidding? Yesterday made this the most fun spot to hang out in the whole town. I wasn't gonna miss coming here." She took a seat to Evan's left, the boy brightening immediately upon noticing her. "Hey there, Afton."

"Hi!" Was his timid response.

"So, how'd you get that mask? Did you ask your dad for it?" Cassidy teased lightly, amusement in her voice at the prospect of Matt cheating to get it. He just chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

"I didn't really ask for it. The Marionette gave it to me right after you left."

"Heh, lucky you. Well, it does look cool up close. Does this mean you won't take it off unless necessary?" Matthew coughed into his palm. Cassidy was scary when she read him like that. Although, to be fair, his fanboyish display the other day over the plushies had been very clear as to the bias he had towards the merch.

"Ahh, you got me." He mocked a surrender, raising his hands. "In my defense I can't pass up an opportunity to wear this. That'd be a crime against nature."

The girl let out a laugh before clicking her tongue.

"Nerd." Matt scoffed. The nerve of her.

"How is that being a nerd?" The you know why look she gave him spoke volumes. He made sure to huff as loud as he could.

"Um, if you still want a mask, you could just ask Mr. Marionette?" Evan suggested, looking away the moment Cassidy glanced down at him.

"Eh, I can wait to get mine. With how expensive they are, it's gonna be a while before anyone can gather up the tickets to buy `em. Those shelves aren't running out of merch anytime soon."

"That's true. So… how'd you manage to get your mom to let you wear regular clothes?" Matthew noted the absence of her golden dress. She instead wore a yellow turtleneck with long sleeves.

"First, I had to promise I wouldn't run around making a fool of myself. It's bad enough that I have to be around such noisy children, she said." Cassidy leaned her head back, rolling her eyes. "Then I had to swear I wouldn't sit next to you- er, no offense, dude." She said to Evan, who only shook his head.

"Ouch. Glad to know I'm high up on your mom's naughty list."

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure you'd love to meet her. In fact, she may just go talk to your dad if she saw you looking at me for too long. What did you say women like her were called? Karens? Yup, my mom's a Karen. I've even seen her ask to speak to managers when something's not up to her standards."

"I'm sure she's not so bad. Maybe she just worries a lot about you. My mom does that all the time." Evan offered kindly, though from the girl's face she did not really buy his explanation.

"Maybe… I- wait! Why's that guy from the counter smiling at us?" She pointed behind Matthew. When he turned to look, he saw that Virginia was indeed giving them his award-winning grin even as he was handing out tokens to the kids lined up before him. "The heck's wrong with him?"

Matt bowed forward onto the table, rubbing at his eyes beneath the mask. The employee would've died without taking the chance to ridicule him for their deal.

"He wanted to sell me some stupid crap and I agreed, and now he's acting all smug about it."

"Like he did yesterday? What did he want to sell-" Cassidy cut herself off mid-question, her eyes going wide as she connected the dots faster than Matthew could've predicted. "Dr-…!" She was only stopped by his finger flying to the mask's gaping maw in a clear motion that told her to shut up. He tilted his head to the side the tiniest amount towards Evan while still looking at her. Cassidy sealed her lips quickly, catching on to what he meant in no time. She mouthed the word back to him to confirm it, to which Matt nodded solemnly.

"Here, of all places…" She sighed incredulously. "So that was what he was on about… What a dick." Ev did a very good job pretending not to hear her.

"You know about that, huh." He said to himself more than anyone else.

"Spend your time outside long enough and you start to see some messed up stuff. Parts of the neighborhood is full of it."

Yeah, that's normal. It's her, after all. Matthew winced at the fact that an eight-year-old girl would know about those things, in Hurricane Utah no less. If he'd been doubting himself, he wasn't now. Drugs were everywhere.

"Guys, what are you talking about?" Evan's desire to be included into their chat was apparent to both Matt and Cassidy, but they couldn't allow his young mind to be corrupted. They shared a wary look with each other before Matthew gathered up the courage to explain to him why he couldn't be clued in.

"It's what I told you about; me agreeing to do bad stuff but not doing it. But since I agreed to it, now that guy's making fun of me `cause he's a bully. I know you can keep a secret, but we don't want to get you in trouble just because you know what it is. And uh, well, you'll figure it out on your own. Once you get a little older. You really don't have to worry about these things right now." Matthew was aware that every child hated to be kept out of the loop just because they weren't old enough, but Evan had turned six only a couple of months ago. Minimizing his exposure to assholes like Virginia was mandatory if he wanted the boy to not have it worse than he did every day.

"Yeah, just have fun and don't pay too much attention to anything. It's not worth it." Cassidy added stoically. Matt could see that she too felt bad about misleading him, but what Ev didn't know couldn't hurt him. It was the same reason why Matthew had barely told anyone about William's true self. Therefore, as the older kids, him and Cass had to look out for their friend.

Evan was far from pleased about it, but ultimately, he nodded, somewhat understanding the motive behind their actions. He'd opened his mouth to reply but whatever he was going to say was drowned out by his father's voice over the intercom, announcing the start of the show. Faster than the day prior the children rushed to take their seats. Among them, Charlie and Elizabeth could be seen coming out of the arcade room. His sister sat next to him while Liz to her brother's right.

"Surprised to see me back, Emily?" Cassidy tested his sister, who looked happy that the girl had liked the restaurant enough to return. Elizabeth meanwhile was watching her like a hawk, scowling as if she wanted her to leave. She hadn't had a problem with Cass yesterday, so what had changed? Was she of the opinion that the table they were at should only be reserved for the owners' kids? Matthew could not figure it out.

"To be honest, I didn't peg you for the type that'd be interested in this whole robotic performers thing, but the more people coming here the better. I'm glad to see dad's dream a reality." She answered easily.

"What can I say, this place rocks. Your old man should be proud."

"He did work a bunch, but you know, that's not even-…"

Matt tuned out once the girl talk started, instead paying attention to the still-glaring Elizabeth, who'd called a waitress over. Except for him, they all ordered their food, with Evan assuring him that they could share since he did not think he'd be able to eat an entire pizza.

The buzz inside the dining hall slowly diminished into a suspenseful stillness after the ambient music had ceased. The lights above followed suit, dulling until the whole room was an almost perfect black. There was a pressure in the air as children and adults alike stared intently at the curtains, having seen what Fredbear's had to offer and wondering if it could deliver a second time. If its Golden Duo could enthrall the audience now that they'd been presented to the wider world. Knowing whether Henry and William could feel the anxiety would've been interesting, but Matthew trusted his sister's father. The man had gotten people to come back, that was a feat in and of itself, and due to his drive and passion, the boy was certain the opening hadn't been a fluke.

Finally, the spotlights shined a powerful white on the curtains. The sound of the animatronics powering up was heard and then, to the confusion of all guests present, a cough.

Nothing. The lack of response prompted another cough soon after, but it was met with the same silence.

"Buddy, are you planning on making us the town's laughingstock?" Springbonnie's exasperated voice dripped with sarcasm as it questioned his bandmate.

"Ugh- go bother someone else, Bon. Can't you see I'm… super… busy at… the moment…?" Fredbear trailed off, his speech sluggish and unclear. To make his point, he let out the loudest snore he could muster, to his partner's great bafflement. The rabbit got over his stupor quite quickly however, groaning at the injustice he had to deal with.

"I'm gonna die early because of you, you'll see, and then I'll say I told you so and you won't be able to weasel yourself outta this one." The rabbit whispered as it stomped around on the stage, closer to where his friend was positioned. "What did I do to have to look after your lazy butt- I didn't sign up for this! C'mon Fred, don't be difficult `bout this, get up!" metal whined as one animatronic seemingly wrestled with the other. "Let's apply for this restaurant, he said. The younglings will love us, he said. But he never SAID that he would let ME handle things while he took a break in the middle of-…!"

Evan was rocking himself in his seat listening to the exchange, the vague beginnings of a smile at last starting to appear on his face. The rest of the audience was struggling to keep quiet, most kids looking as if they were praying for the curtains to be lifted so that they could see just what exactly was going on. Sensing their prayers, "All-Father William" probably felt bad, and so, very slowly, the curtains were drawn to the sides to reveal…

The comical sight of Springbonnie attempting to pull a sleeping Fredbear off of a sunbed.

By their reactions, the adults were most likely asking themselves how a frail-looking sunbed could sustain a robot's weight. The children on the other hand were attempting to contain their giggling to varying degrees of success. Shellshocked, Bonnie stared right back at them, his gaze going over each and every one while his lower jaw was higher than normal. It was as if he was biting his lips, not knowing what to say. He blinked, carefully glancing to his sleeping companion, then back at the audience, only to give up and let go of the bear. With his eyes closed, the rabbit backed away from his friend, holding his hands up in defeat. He inhaled and exhaled repeatedly to calm himself down before fixing his bowtie while admiring the ceiling. Springbonnie shook his head as he stared off into the distance, his hands behind his back. He tapped on the nonexistent watch on his left wrist and bent his ears forward to make himself look sad. Once he started sniffling the public lost its composure, the whole room erupting into mad laughter. Bonnie just stood there, upright in the middle of the podium, watching the checkered floor with pain plastered on his face.

"This is who I have to deal with, people..." He said in a tone that threatened to spill tears. "A respectable, upstanding, hard-working- I- I'm sorry, I can't do this..." He wiped his eyes, breaking the façade. "This is who I have to deal with, people!" Bon repeated, this time sounding more serious than heartbroken. He pointed to Fredbear, or more specifically to the sunglasses that covered half of his face, and sighed. "The nerve of- okay, here's a funny story. This morning, you know, I was having the most awesome of dreams, when suddenly sleeping beauty here comes barging in, demanding that I wake up otherwise we'll be late for the show." The rabbit kept his hands behind his back as he spoke, his crying mood having evaporated in an instant. "Now, we weren't in any real hurry, but Fred likes to be punctual, so I listened to him and got ready. I got dressed, I prepared my singing voice, I didn't even eat my breakfast- and then I was set to start today's show… Then I come up on the stage." He paused for dramatic effect; voice almost harsh with displeasure. "My disappointment was… immeasurable, and… my day was ruined."

Matthew gasped, unable to control himself from shaking Charlie. She grinned at him and turned back to watch the performance.

Henry did a funny without knowing it! Let's go!

"Guys… I… can't do this on my own." He went back to sounding guilty. "Nope, I need uh, well, I need this wonderful individual to accompany me and… I have to ask for your help. Can I count on you guys to help me wake up my incredibly reliable bandmate?" Right away he was met with dozens of nods from kids at all tables, including Evan.

"Yeah, we're doing this together, Bonnie!" Someone shouted from the middle rows.

"That's fantastic. Thank you, truly." Approvement laced the robot's words as he scanned his spectators' expressions. He raised a finger and, with confidence in every step, walked over to his colleague, kneeling down beside him. "Better pull out your cameras, people, because this is the sighting of a lifetime. Here we can observe the golden bear in his natural habitat, napping without a care in the world." The rabbit explained like a skilled teacher, flawlessly replicating the tone used by narrators in documentaries. It was more than impressive to witness the range of emotions an animatronic as primitive as Springbonnie could display with his movements and voice lines. He was like the perfect actor, instantly switching between personas to fit his role. It was both terrifying and amusing how he so easily outclassed many actual actors, despite only being a machine running mere code. "Let us proceed and see how the bear reacts when disturbed from his slumber." Spring leaned in closer then spoke. "Fredbear…" He dragged the word for as long as he could. "What do you see?"

"Leave me alone…" The bear grumbled, turning on his side. Unfortunately for his hat, the movement caused it to fall off. Some more cackling was heard among the tables. The scene was definitely absurd, but not only was it entertaining to watch, it was also funny thanks to the script and exaggerated movements, so things balanced each other out. Additionally, the fact that these were robots performing served to further sell people on what they were seeing.

"No, Fredbear. Tell me, what do you see?" Bon asked again as he picked up the other's hat.

"Hrrr… There's… honey and-" He began, only for his co-star to speak over him.

"-And younglings, ain't that right, pal?"

"Y- Yeah… Little cubs… eating honey…"

Springbonnie mumbled a rebuke under his breath too low to be heard, and continued his- whatever this was.

"Yeah, sure, little cubs. And what else are they doing? Are they perhaps asking you to wake up?" The rabbit waved his hand in an invitation for kids to play along. A couple braver ones began whispering, telling Fred to wake up.

"…Yeah, they're asking…"

"To wake up, because you have a very important day ahead of you. You're gonna sing, and tell jokes and stories and just be your usual self, but you need to wake up for that." Again, Bonnie invited for their onlookers to participate and this time, more children joined in, eager than before. "Wake up, Fredbear…" He exemplified, and the others followed.

More people joined, repeating the phrase over and over, their numbers steadily growing until almost everybody was chanting for the bear to wake up. Someone clapped their hands as they spoke, and soon, most were doing so too. Evan chanted as well, his delight visible from a mile away, with Cassidy repeating after him and clapping her hands to the forming rhythm to hype him up. Springbonnie looked satisfied as he set the tone for them, one which he continued to raise the more Fredbear stirred from his sleep. Even some parents joined in on the fun to encourage their kids, and thanks to them they all got that much closer to succeeding.

Fred's fingers twitched, his snoring stopped and his eyelids seemed to quiver, but… He still remained asleep. The excitement died down after a little as the expected reaction did not occur. But then, without a moment's notice, Fredbear sprung to his feet- almost jumping off the sunbed- dropping his glasses in the process. His partner flinched but nodded at the fact that they'd managed to awaken his friend. The first thing Fred did was check the top of his head for his hat, and upon seeing it in Bonnie's grasp, he snatched and slapped it on its rightful place. The resounding cheers that ensued were so powerful they drowned out the bot's opening line, leaving a very energetic golden bear to shake his colleague for dear life.

"-Where are the instruments, Bon!?"

"Whoa, calm down there, old pal." Springbonnie released the bear's grip on his shoulders. "There are no instruments. You know why?!" He snapped out of nowhere while still maintain a happy-go-lucky tone of voice. "Because you were too busy taking a nap instead of telling the staff what they should bring us so we can perform!" Fredbear took offense to that, pressing his fingers against his chest and resting his left fist on his hip.

"Now, we both did some things that we're not proud of, but it's rude to go around throwing such accusations." Quick-witted as ever, he gaslit the rabbit, showing no signs of remorse.

"What did I do? I've been trying to get you to wake up for ages now. If it weren't for our graceful audience, you'd still be in dreamland."

"Well, you should've tried harder instead of relying on our guests. That way we wouldn't have been late to the show." Fred chastised him, missing the mark entirely. In the wake of his statement a flabbergasted Spring was left to look at him with his jaw hanging open. "Chop, chop, gentlemen. We can't lose any more time." Upon saying so, several employees that had been standing off to the side got onto the stage and dragged the sunbed behind the back curtains, to everyone's surprise. "Um- please excuse these minor technical difficulties, we'll get on with the show in a moment. Ahem… You see… it's written in our contracts that we cannot get off the stage until breaktime, so this is why our good friends in purple had to go bring us our equipment. We would've done it ourselves in any other case, but… we can't" He excused politely.

"…Can you believe this guy? Don't be like him when you grow up, kiddos. He's not the kind of bear you should be looking up to, literally." Bon joked, receiving a couple of chuckles in return. His co-worker did not find him funny however, only puffing out his disapproval for the pun.

"Now that's just uncalled for." The bear crossed his arms, disappointed.

"Is it? You'd be lost without me, pal. You need me, more than you know."

"Not that much." A few kids "oohed" at the roast, while others burst out laughing.

"Right. Well, I guess that means you can't afford me. Sorry, bud, but you ain't got the dough for little old me." Springbonnie shot back, doing a little dance with his eyes closed as he said so.

Fredbear chose to ignore him after that, opting to mutter to himself on the opposite side of the wooden platform. After a few seconds of talking under his breath, he checked behind him to see the employees that had left return with perfect timing, carrying a piano keyboard stand and a guitar. Bonnie was handed the guitar while the piano was planted a few feet near him. Having no choice but to get closer to his long-eared friend, Fredbear moved to the stand, but not before thanking the employees.

A last glare was shared between the two, causing more kids amongst their dear viewers to laugh. Finally, Springbonnie struck his chords, and they started signing.

o0o

Talk about unheard-of interactivity. To be able to identify the objects handed to you and wait around for them to be brought up- Matthew was speechless… If yesterday those two had been incredible, today they had once again proven just how "up there" they were in terms of, well, everything really. Their expressiveness, gestures, how they talked and reacted to the world around them. It was kind of sad how only he and their creators could truly recognize them for the technological marvels that they were. Despite it being alluded to in FNaF 3, both Fred and Bonnie were more advanced than they had been portrayed in the games. The Springlocks were said to follow sounds and the Toys could interact with customers, but besides that, nothing. These two? They weren't stuck in one spot, gauged listener interest in their acting, could take things from others and each other- they were almost on par with the Security Breach band. The only thing they were missing was the sentient artificial intelligence, but they may as well have been possessed from how they moved and spoke. And to think all of this had been achieved in the backwater time of 1982.

It gave Matthew hope. Hope that once he got William out of the picture, Henry would be able to keep the brand going and turn it into something truly astonishing. Without the baggage and tragedy of William's killings, Fredbear's and Freddy's could move away from their status quo of being child murdering grounds. Henry could shape them into being memorable parts of many childhoods that people would remember fondly. Wouldn't that be a wondrous thing? For the restaurants to be as they were originally intended? Places where fantasy and fun came to life, and not in the ghostly way.

What a nice dream.

"-And if you're feeling up for some real sweets, make sure to order our limited-edition Golden Cupcakes! They come in all sorts of different flavors that are guaranteed to please even the most exquisite of tastes." Bonnie advertised happily. "For the families that have purchased our top package deal, they can be ordered freely up to five times. But don't worry if you haven't bought our top deal, due to our daily discount, the price per piece is only three dollars! So don't miss the opportunity, kiddos, `cause after today they'll be gone for good." The rabbit winked impishly at the end.

Those are a thing here? Neat callback.Just as he was going to order one, a hand was placed on Charlie's backrest. It belonged to Henry, who'd come to check up on them.

"Hey, how's everyone doing?"

"Hi, Henry. We're good. Just- hanging around. Um, this is Cassidy, you met her." Matt presented the girl to him, who looked up from her plate to wave. The man studied her weirdly for a second before snapping his fingers.

"Ah, right, you were at the arcades, weren't you?"

"Mhm." She said, not really listening to him.

"Hope you had a fun time. So, uh, you guys liking the pizza?"

"It's great, uncle Henry!" Liz chirped joyously. Her little brother concurred in a heartbeat. Cass had her mouth full, but she tilted her head in agreement.

"You know we like it, dad." Charlie replied next with unusual bite. Henry laughed, but it came out pretty short and strained. He took his hand off her chair, directing his attention to Matthew.

"What about you, kiddo? Did they not bring yours yet?"

"Oh, no, uh- I didn't order `cause if I did, I couldn't have stopped eating and, well, I didn't want to be sick. Evan's sharing with me though, so it's okay." Henry snickered good-naturedly at that, patting his back.

Strangely enough, he did not question Michael's absence.

"Well, I'll leave you kids to it then. If there's anything you want, just ask one of the employees. I'll be with some of the parents by the entrance."

Matt was about to resume watching the show, but a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Um- actually, I have a- two questions, if you don't mind. The first is more like a suggestion…" He stopped the man in his tracks, catching him by surprise.

"What's up?"

"Well, uh, I don't know if you and Mr. Afton are planning this, and I know it's not in my right to ask, but… is there a way we could get some chairs or stools put in front of the arcades? For uh- kids like Evan? I mean, we were playing this morning and uh- I had to bring him a chair `cause he couldn't reach the arcade he was playing at… And it's still pretty hard even for me to reach the buttons. I think it'd be great if there were some stools or something, but- no erm… Sorry if that was rude. Just…" He may have been Henry's adopted son, but that did not make it any less stressful to request this of him. Matthew was doing it for Evan however, who'd asked him earlier to bring this up to Henry once the man came by. It'd have been too embarrassing for Ev to do it, he'd said, so Matt had agreed to help him out.

Henry though… He looked puzzled as he shifted his gaze between the two of them, mentally comparing their individual heights. He inhaled through his teeth once he realized one of them was taller than the other, and facepalmed. Cassidy snorted without shame.

"Oh, uh, yeah… Yeah, I get what you mean, don't apologize- you have a point. I uh, this is pretty humiliating to admit but… me and Bill kind of assumed only the older kids would play at them… for the most part. You know, that's the craze these days, boys and girls that are Mike's age are the ones interested in video games, or at least that's what we thought. Uh, yeah, no- I'll talk to William about this. Heh, sometimes these kinds of things just fly past us, old people. Thanks for letting me know, kid. What was your second question?"

"I uh, I was wondering if you could explain how Fred and Bon move? You know, they're so cool and stuff, and I'd get a headache trying to think how you and Mr. Afton got their servos to move so fluidly." That was a random thing to ask, but the boy figured since Henry was here, he may as well try and get an answer. Maybe the others wanted to know too, so there was that.

The man paused to consider his words, being very conflicted by the look of it. He was probably debating whether he should break the illusion with Evan and Cassidy around, but neither of those two appeared like they didn't already know the mascots were machines. Ev too was aware of that, but he didn't care, and none of them really did anyway. Even if no one besides Matt would understand, they'd still at least get an inside on how it all operated, so what did Henry have to lose by telling them? They weren't going to spill his secrets to the rest of the children.

Eventually, the side Matthew was hoping for won out, and Henry knelt down to answer him.

"Hehe, alright, sure, if you guys want to hear it." It was funny how easily he'd been convinced... but he may have just been dying for someone to ask him about the Springlocks. They were his most prized creations, so of course he'd be eager to discuss them. "It's complicated but I'll try to keep it as simple as possible. So, the process me and Bill have developed for this is rather interesting. First thing's first, we write how the show's gonna be. Everything that'll be said and how it will be said. Then, we put what we write into a program that reads it and makes Freddy and Springbonnie speak. Now comes the tricky part. Behind the stage is where we the magic happens. William gets into either Fred or Spring, we plug `em with a few cables that are hooked up to a computer, and then Will starts acting. While plugged in, the suits are in what we call a Recording Mode. When that mode's active, however William moves will be remembered and stored in the computer. There are sensors in the mask that know when your eyes are closed, and by how much, so that's how those two are able to express. The jaw's movement is also recorded-…"

It hadn't taken Henry long to start rambling. Get the man to talk and he'd never stop, but Matt wasn't protesting. Most of what he was saying flew right over Liz's head- she was staring through her uncle like he wasn't there, while Cassidy wasn't doing much better. Evan understood some of it, but he was still struggling to comprehend all the information. Admittedly, it was a lot for him to wrap his head around. Charlie was following along alright, but from how she was watching her father, she'd have loved to be doing anything else. To Matthew however, Henry's ramblings sounded awfully similar to motion capture.

Walt Disney had done it first with animatronics more than ten years ago, but still, Henry… He was so casual about having recreated literal motion capture! And to a level that surpassed any existing technology in that niche field!

He's way too nonchalant about his achievements. Like, man, don't downplay what you've built- you're so awesome for doing something like this, is what the boy wished he could've said.

To think that this was the in-universe explanation for why the next gen animatronics were less mobile than the Springlocks despite being newer…

"-Now, the voice lines are played over a speaker as Bill performs so he can react accordingly. It's all done live, and it has to be in one take or we start from scratch. That's the hard thing about it. There's no room for mistakes if we want it done in a timely manner. Thankfully William is great at acting, so we don't run into too many issues. He does his thing and I press the buttons. But anyway, once he's done, he takes the suit off and does the same for the other one. At the end, we combine the audio with the movements, put them on a special tape, upload it in the suits and we're golden. That's all there is to a Fredbear's Show Tape. Pretty rad, huh?"

If he'd had a red beer cup Henry would've been the perfect stereotypical uncle. The kind spotted only at backyard barbeques and awkward family gatherings.

"Th- That's amazing! I mean, this is- there's like no lag between the movements and it looks so natural!" Henry was touched by the praise. He'd earned it, but was he really not used to it after the first day? Everyone should've congratulated him on his realizations, so why was he so taken aback by Matthew's words?

"I could talk with Will to let you guys come in one day to see him act." He jumped at the self-proposed idea. "Like a behind the scenes tour! I'm sure you'd love it- but not today. Regardless, um, sorry for going off like that- I hope I didn't bore the rest of you." The man apologized sheepishly to the others.

Aside from Charlie, no one appeared too bored, mostly just confused. If she would only tell Matt what was bothering her- what had happened between her and Henry… Well, he supposed he shouldn't expect that of her when he didn't share what was plaguing him.

"No, we're okay, sir." Cass assured for all of them.

"Alright... Welp, don't let me keep you guys from having fun. Thanks for listening to this old man. I'll uh- I'll be around if you need me."

"You're not that old, dad." Charlie said, a tiny smile finally gracing her lips. She received a hair ruffling for her troubles.

Out of curiosity, the five of them ordered a few of the advertised Cupcakes after the man's departure. Having no eyes or candles atop their golden frostings, it was only natural to conclude that they weren't yet "accessories" for the diner's mascot duo. Just simple desserts that weren't anything groundbreaking, but that weren't bad either. Elizabeth had been the one to discover that despite the brown baking liner they sported, the cakes themselves were made out of white chocolate. Due to such a finding, Charlie had finished hers in seconds. Understandable when considering the control she had to exert over herself. The poor girl had to suffer the unfortunate mix of having quite the sweet tooth but a strong allergy to anything cocoa powder related. Luckily, even with that in mind, it seemed like at Fredbear's she'd no longer have to be as careful about the sweets she ate. Matthew was glad for her. It was a nice gesture on Henry's part.

"-But stay tuned, kiddos! Me and Bon will be right back after the break, so make sure you don't go nowhere, `cause today's show has just begun!" The yellow bear announced the end of the first segment.

"That's right, folks! We're just getting started. Now, you heard the man, take care and don't be late if you don't wanna miss out." Recent beef with his partner forgotten, Springbonnie waved as the curtains closed in front of them.

That was the cue Matt, Evan and Cassidy had been waiting for to leave their seats. They'd decided to check out some of the other arcades they hadn't gotten around to playing the day before. Cass in particular wished to test out a couple that looked interesting while Ev wanted to play more Asteroids. Before they could do that however, the boys had to wait for the girl to get her own tokens.

That would've been fine, had it not been for the kid ahead of them, who had collected a gigantic amount of tickets. So many in fact, that the employee behind the counter was obstructed by the pile, which was only a few feet away from touching the ceiling. How the kid had gotten what must've been tens of thousands was anybody's guess. He was a dark-skinned boy about Matthew's age, wearing a green sweater over a white shirt. From the way he was gawking at the merch-filled shelves in deep thought, he was probably thinking about what to pick with all of his cash.

But the single thought going through Matthew's mind was that he'd been dethroned as best local gamer.

Hacks! If there was one thing he'd learned after raging at tryhards who'd snipe him from across whole maps and dominate casual servers, it was that getting rid of his frustrations was as easy as throwing around misplaced accusations.

"How'd you get so many so quickly?!" Evan blurted out after his initial shock wore off.

Startled, the kid turned to face the Afton and rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, putting his other hand in his pocket.

"O- Oh, well, I watched others play some games yesterday and I uh, figured out the best way to get the highest scores. I think I may've emptied like… two arcades? Hehehe… ahh, sorry about that." He expressed his regret to Virginia, whose voice could not be heard well from behind the pile. The man's response was most definitely a curse however, as he struggled to put the tickets into the Ticket Eater. "I'm Gabe by the way." The boy then extended his hand in a formal greeting.

By now he'd gotten more accustomed to the odd curveballs the universe threw at him, but that did not keep Matt from freezing momentarily.

The world's a small place, ain't it? But what can you do? I suppose sooner or later I would've had to meet every missing kid victim. Strange how I met the second bear-possessing person the exact same way I did the first. Must be something about them both ending up as bears, he joked to himself as he returned the kid's greeting.

Cassidy crossed her arms when it was her turn to shake Gabe's hand.

"Right, we already know each other." The boy backed off, trying and failing to maintain eye contact with her.

Oh, yeah, she'd said something about them being classmates, didn't she?

"So, what're you planning on buying with those?" Matthew showed him the metaphorical out from his dicey exchange with Cassidy. From her scrutinizing gaze, he could tell the other boy was walking on eggshells. There was some tension there between the two that he'd rather not get involved in.

Gabriel did the smart thing and stopped minding her.

"Uh, I was thinking of getting one of each. A Springbonnie plush, a mask, figurine, and um, my brother asked me to get him a Fredbear mask, so that too." A goal that wasn't as unobtainable as it would've appeared at first glance.

"Mhm, yeah, alright- but hey, if you're gonna have any tickets left don't be afraid to fork some over to us, poorer people."

"Actually- tickets that are being counted can't be shared! You can exchange them before you come to the counter, but once the machine starts counting them, they belong to the person who brought `em." Virginia proved he did not understand the joke by poking his head out of the pile. Or perhaps he just liked to ruin people's fun.

Gabe shrugged remorsefully and turned around.

Aww, nice of him to be cool with donating.

It took a considerable amount of time for the entire stack to be consumed, but once it was the boy ordered his toys straight away. Too bad his remaining eight thousand tickets couldn't be traded.

"…Thank you for asking uncle Henry about the stools…" Ev said to Matthew while they were waiting on Cassidy.

"It was nothing… and I mean, that was a good idea. If anything, you should thank yourself." Evan didn't take that to heart from how his lips tightened. Well, Matt would be happy to change the subject if this one was making his friend uncomfortable.

"Want to have a sleepover?"

"Yeah… Wait- what?"

"A- A s- sleepover?" He stumbled over his words, raising his shoulders in embarrassment like he'd spoken out of turn.

Matthew stared down at him in wonder. Evan did the same, unblinking and keeping his hands close to his chest like he was praying. He wanted to pick the younger boy up and hug him like Mari had done. Of all the kids- Evan Afton, the crying child, trusted Matt enough to want to have a sleepover with him. That he was fine and wanted such a thing only served to melt Matt's heart further. It wasn't far to say that he thought of the boy as his younger brother… And maybe Ev didn't think of him that way, but Matthew couldn't help it. He'd sworn to protect the kid with his life, and the boy had grown on him the past year…

Accepting would be a certified way to get Shadow Freddy's attention. Imagining what kind of nightmarish hallucinations he'd experience sent shivers down his spine, because of course the Shadow would take advantage of them having a sleepover. That sounded exactly like something it'd do. However, accepting would also mean a whole lot to Evan. He'd gone out of his way to be the one to ask this- he didn't feel like he was close enough with anybody else. Not even Charlie was this close with him, or at least Ev didn't regard her as that good of a friend. He was alone and yet he thought of Matt… How could Matthew possibly refuse?

"Sure thing, bud." And Evan's beaming smile assured him that it was worth it. If it meant his friend would be happy, he could take whatever the Shadow would throw at them. For Evan, his friend, he'd do it. Even spending a night away from the Marionette's soothing embrace that he was so reliant upon.

"Tokens acquired, guys!" Cassidy called out, ready to set off for the arcades. "Wait- Afton, why are you holding your chest- are you hurt?!" She asked abruptly, voice raised a little too high, catching both boys off guard.

A beat of silence enveloped the three of them as no one answered Cass. Matt and Evan watched her as if she'd grown a second head. The more seconds that passed the more unnerved she grew by their stares, and they too couldn't bring themselves to speak due to her bewilderment.

"…I- I'm fine, just, you know-" Ev finally managed to say, dropping his hands to his sides to show her he was alright. "-talking to Matt… I- Why would I be hurt?" He mirrored Matthew's thoughts perfectly.

That seemed to break the girl out of her daze once she began pondering the question. She cursed, inhaling deeply before holding her forehead in ire at herself.

"Are you okay…?" Matt dared to ask. "You're uh, pretty out of it." He said tentatively, noting the exhaustion on her features. It was as if she'd grown older by a few decades. Her eyes had that look that said: I've been through some stuff. If he had brushed her anxiousness aside, he couldn't do so now.

"Y- Yeah, no, sorry, that was weird, wasn't it? I just… didn't have the best morning." So her dreams had been awful then… "I saw you holding your hands to your chest and it made me think of my dad." She froze after uttering the last word. Shaking her head, she begged the boy not to press her into elaborating, but Evan was unable to stop his curiosity.

"Is he hurt?... Um, never mind that."

The genuine concern in Ev's tone earned him a look full of guilt out of the girl. She only sighed in return.

"No, not really. Just uh- well, I mean, that freaked you out for no reason, right? I didn't mean to. The least I can do is tell you guys what's up."

As far as Matthew could remember, he hadn't ever seen her act so out of character unprovoked. Whatever had prompted this radical of a change in her attitude he'd had to get to the bottom of, but he did not want her to explain herself

"You don't have to talk if it makes you-" He began, but Cassidy cut him off almost immediately.

"-I want to, okay?" She raised her voice more than she meant to, causing the younger boy to shrink in on himself. "Sorry…" When neither one of them argued back, she took it as her cue to start. "So uh, the long and short of it is that my dad has heart problems and… chest pains are usually a bad sign, you know? He used to do boxing when he was younger- that was his passion, but he suffered an… accident during a match. He fainted, basically, which isn't that bad but- anyway! Afterwards he had to take things easy and quit sports so that he wouldn't have one a second time." She said quietly. "So when I saw you holding your hands like that I… kinda… panicked. Heh, saying it out loud sounds pretty dumb, doesn't it? But I've been um, more than a bit stressed since I woke up… Uh…"

…She's never mentioned that about her father… Can't say I would've shared something like that if I was in her place, but she is oddly forthcoming with it now that she's brought it up. Maybe it's `cause she hasn't had the chance to talk with anyone about it and she feels like she has to, to get it off her chest? Yeah, that might be it. What solace he could've offered Cassidy however, whose worried-induced anxiety had been clear as day, was cut off by Evan, who'd beat him to it.

"Maybe if you play some games for a while it'll pass? Or, no- wait, that's backwards, maybe if you sit down-"

"-It's nothing that serious, I've just had a rougher time than usual sleeping, and then when I woke up it wasn't much better. I'll be good once I take my mind off of it."

"Okay… Um, and well, since you're strong, your dad must be too! So, I- I'm sure he's gonna be fine as long as he stays away from the scary stuff. And even if he doesn't, he can handle any pain no problem, don't worry!" Evan sweetly encouraged despite not really understanding what the girl had meant.

There was that flash in her eyes that appeared whenever she perceived someone as pitying her, but Cass managed to keep herself from snapping. Evan was only trying to help and she recognized that. Instead of saying it was not so simple, Cassidy settled for giving him a nod. When she looked at Matthew, the boy did the same for her, and that was enough to let her know he shared Ev's sentiment and was there if she needed to talk. Her reluctant smile seemed to raise all three of their moods.

…It's funny how you can spend months with one person and still know next to nothing about them. Looking back, it's a wonder we became friends, but I suppose Cassidy was always the type to look out for the little guys. Just wished she didn't have to… Wait. A couple of memories from years prior had been stirred in the back of his mind. If Cass would've ended up as Golden Freddy after going missing, a character who is commonly associated with the phrase "It's me", as in: Don't you remember me? …First introduced in FNaF 1, where it'd been theorized that the security guard had heart problems because Foxy's "checking in on you" jumpscare still killed you… Could she really be…? As if on impulse, his mouth spoke on its own, giving voice to his inner realization.

"Is your dad's name Mike?"

"Uh, yeah. Michael Schmidt, why?"

Hah…

"Oh, just, ah… I'll tell you later."

"No way, your last name is Schmidt?" Evan shouted excitedly. "My mom's parents are named Schmidt too!"

Huh!? What the fu-

"Really? Well, I guess it is a pretty common surname." As opposed to Matt, Cassidy did not find the coincidence all that bizarre.

So that's where Mike Afton got his inspiration from...

"Yeah, but who knows, you two might actually be distant cousins."

A shudder visibly passed through the girl upon hearing that. When Matthew saw her gaze frozen on William, who was near the reception arguing with a group of three angry women, he instantly understood why.

"Err, yeah, no thanks. I- I mean, I like you, Afton, but I already have a bunch of cousins and um… Nah, I- I'mma shut up now." She tried anything but looking at Evan.

"Uh, it's alright? It'd be a bit weird if we were cousins. Mikey said cousins can't really be good friends. A- And I don't think my mom's parents had brothers or sisters. I know I have some relatives in England but they're pretty far away, so..."

"Mhm. Yup, that ah, it's good to hear it." Cassidy dangled on her feet a little, staring curiously at the hanging stars above.

Damn. Harsh rejection for Evan but also not? Who would want to be related to Willy of all people, right? He's got more of a chance with her though. I mean, yeah, a crush on your cousin can happen, but given how young Ev is and the fact that he's more than just infatuated with Cass here… maybe it's better for these two to not be distant relatives. They'd have some dreadful family dinners otherwise... Oh my God, Evan Afton's girlfriend, the Vengeful Spirit, sitting at the same table with her killer, the Purple Man, who's like, her sort of extended family and pretending it's all fine- no! Stop laughing, that's not funny!

"You know what just occurred to me?" He asked to stop the laughter that would've escaped him. Cass raised a brow, inviting him to go on. "You never told me what your last name was- in the… what, months that we've known each other."

"What?"

If her face wasn't making him laugh the absurdity of the situation definitely did.

"You heard me. You've known what my surname was since like, day one, and I- I've been living in the dark all this time."

"No- that's… that's not true, I- no, I remember telling you… right?... Stop playing mind games with me, I know I did."

"Nuh uh. You didn't. Granted, I also didn't ask and after a while the thought just passed my mind entirely, but you've been holding out on me. No one at school called you by your last name either. Dunno how many people know it if I'm being honest. Like, you were known as just Cassidy the Menace, you know? Hehe." Saying it out loud made him cringe, but they could all use the chuckle.

She paused to hold her hips in thought before scoffing.

"…Not my fault. You should've asked- is this how you treat every girl you meet? Not bothering to know something that basic? Acting like a complete dumbass?" She may've been trying to sound offended, but the mirth in her voice gave away her true feelings on the matter.

"One, I'm not blaming you, and two, don't make those assumptions, okay? We're- we're both at fault here, don't shift the blame on me-

"-I refuse to take responsibility for you being a-"

"-And now you're attack me and making me feel-"

"-Oh, that is just rich coming from someone who-"

Evan could do nothing else but spectate their feud. When left to his own devices his mind couldn't help but wander into those darkest pits of oblivion, cooking up "plans" to watch everyone around him burn. Having the potential to make those that hurt him suffer like never before… Or at least that's what his Shadow friend said about him. Well, Evan didn't pay him much heed, the Shadow was just being silly. What with him saying things along the lines of;

"You don't know it but you take after your father more than your siblings do. You both have a flame born out of oppression inside of you that could turn the weak to ashes. But where your father's would do so in the physical sense, you, my dear boy, could break people down in a couple of words. Take your brother for example. If only you'd let go of that fear with which you live and give in to the hate you feel for him, after all he's put you through, it'd take but a few sentences to turn him into a shivering mess. Honesty kills more than a knife through the heart ever could. Everyone despises the truth because it makes them realize how small they and their concerns are, dear boy. Never forget that." In that funny voice that he always used. His Shadow friend did have a tendency to sound like a Disney villain, but he wasn't a bad guy.

He'd laughed when Evan had compared him to Darth Vader! On top of that, he was always there for him if Ev was feeling down and needed to talk! And, sure, most of the things he said were pretty wacky, but that's just how the Shadow was. Ev wasn't too big on roleplaying, that was more Lizzie's thing than his, but if the Shadow liked that sort of game, then who was Evan to deny it? It was all talk and no bite after all. In fact, those kinds of talks were liberating more than anything else.

And just as he thought that he saw Cassidy's hands inching closer and closer to Matthew's neck. For a second, he imagined his sister and brother in the two kids' places, only now the resentment and hate were gone.

He wished Mike and Liz could be like this. Pretending to be mad at one another while having fun instead of actually hating each other's guts. It was sad how much his siblings resembled their parents whenever they fought.

Evan giggled at his friends' antics. Welp, better to intervene before Matt got chocked to death.

He cleared his throat before speaking.

…

"You guys fight like an old married couple."

The next second Cassidy let go of Matthew's collar, crossing her arms and puffing her chest out.

"How do you know what that looks like?" She asked, managing to keep a straight face.

"I got mom and dad to show me every other day."

Matt's left fingers twitched, and though he tried to hide it Ev could almost see the pity on his face behind his Mr. Marionette mask.

"Huh. Well, I don't know, man, I feel we're more of a medium married couple…" He played it cool, as if he hadn't just pitied Evan. "Um, middle-aged? M- anyway, point is we're kinda past the whole honeymoon fine and dandy phase but we're also not quite at the point where we're sick of each other but just don't care anymore. We're somewhere in-between." He made a so-so motion as he leaned on Cassidy's shoulder, much to her feigned dismay.

Evan let it go. He wasn't here to grow a grudge on a friend for being concerned about him. The Shadow had been right when it had told him that he overreacted too much. Kinda like Michael.

"Whatever you say. So… Aren't we gonna get going, now that…?" He pointed with his thumb at the arcade room, gesturing towards Cassidy's pocket where she'd put her newly acquired tokens.

"Yeah, let's-"

"-You go on ahead, Afton. We'll be right behind you." The girl spoke over Matthew, grabbing him by the collar once again. "I've got a score to settle with this punk here."

Boy, he was in trouble now.

"W- What?"

"Just don't hurt him too bad." Matt shot him a withering glare, struggling to escape the girl's grip for dear life, but Evan merely winked back. He'd waited around long enough- his eagerness to beat his record at Asteroids outweighed the responsibility he had to make sure his friend made it out alive. Evan was not risking his butt to save someone twice if Cassidy was involved.

Matthew desperately tried to shout after him, but he'd already passed the ball pit and was heading straight towards the arcades, getting lost in the sea of customers.

…

"That little traitor- wait, you're not really planning on, uh… Hehehe. Er…"

"C'mon, dummy. You know me better than that." She smiled cockily as she punched him in the arm for daring to doubt her so. A few seconds later however the tough exterior she put up had been dropped, her eyes turning grim. "I wanted to talk to you. Alone. I mean, I like that little dude, but I don't think this is something we should let him in on, you know? Or are you for some reason planning to include him into this whole… mess? He's like, six." She said with a raised brow.

"No. No, no- the whole point is for this to be an under the radar type of deal." "Since paranormal stuff is happening to him too and I made the mistake of telling him about all three of us having nightmares he's gonna ask questions. We won't be able to keep him completely out of the loop, but no. The less people know about what we're gonna do the better."

"Good. Yeah- that's good." Cassidy rubbed her arm, casting her gaze upon the game room's entrance, frowning slightly as she did so. "I'd hate for him to have to find out what kind of man his father is, even if it might help him to know…" She said more to herself than Matthew.

He refrained from patting her shoulder while the silence carried on.

"So... What'd you want to talk about? Is it the…?" He left the subject unsaid, though if that's what Cassidy wanted to discuss he knew there wasn't much point in shying away from it. On the other hand, consent was never a bad thing. "If so I'm-"

"-Yeah, we're not thinking about the same thing. No, I meant my nightmares- or uh, the lack thereof."

"Wait, so you didn't have any?!" To think that Shadow Freddy would give up just like that… No, was this a trick to get their guards down so they could be punished later?

"Well, it's not so simple. But first, here. Take this, otherwise I'm gonna forget and I don't like owing people." She took out four one-hundred-dollar bills and handed them over like they were nothing.

Despite knowing she came from a rich family, his mouth still hung open behind the mask.

"…Are you stalling- I feel like this is a bribe- is it weird that I'm shocked you kept your end of the deal and just… donated this much…?"

"A bit." She answered smoothly without clarifying as to which question. "Of course I'd keep my end of the deal. And don't complain, I had to pay you with my allowance money since I couldn't tell my folks I lost a bet with someone. They'd have gone mental."

"So you're just gifted four hundred bucks on the regular?"

"Eight hundred per week, actually. This was half."

"Half?! What the heck can you even do with that much money? School's over until like, the twenty-first. There's nothing to do in Hurricane that's worth this much."

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you."

"Ah, I see. I was wondering when you'd succumb to the habits of the stereotypical rich girl. So, I take it you've started spending your days in malls and money on- what? Bags of makeup and boxes full of shoes? Dresses and expensive jewelry?"

"D'aww! Look at your pretty little head, having no idea how much that stuff costs." She leaned forward to pat his head mockingly. "If you must know, I only go to the mall when my mom takes me there. And I don't pay for my stuff. Yet. But here's a piece of advice; if you ever want to treat your girlfriend to something nice, never offer to take her shopping. With that attitude it's just not worth it. She'd suck you dry in under fifteen minutes. That is, if she doesn't get lost trying out ten dresses that look the same but are colored different. God, I hate it when mom does that."

Ignoring the unintended dirtiness, Matthew nodded, finding himself with his back against the wall.

"Uh huh. Woe is me, noted."

"Right then." She backed off, the remains of a smirk still present on her features.

"Okay. Uh- let's forget about the… sucking- whatever- Um. What's up?" And with that it was gone.

Cassidy opened her mouth to speak, but her words were caught in her throat. She faced away from him and leaned on one of the nearby tables, hugging her middle section. Matthew took the opportunity to do a sweep of their surroundings, making sure the kids that were hanging around the main hall were not close enough to hear them. Once he confirmed they were relatively alone, he sat down next to Cassidy on the table's edge.

A pool of spilled soda covered the checkered floor between them. Cass made it the focus of her attention, unable to look anywhere else but at her reflection in the dark liquid. Matt didn't hurry her, keeping sight of the stage curtains ahead while he waited. It took a little for the girl to gather her composure, but once she was ready she nudged his side, signaling that he could start listening.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning, right?"

"Yep."

"Hmm. Alright, let's get this over with…" Even now her eyes were wandering around as if she too was awaiting answers. "So, heh, I remember most of what I dreamt and it was… I wouldn't say unusual. It's just that nothing really… happened. Nothing extreme. That creepy version of you wasn't there at all, so there weren't any nightmarish scenes. I was just… alone. I know I woke up in my bed thinking it was morning and… being excited that I'd slept well, but when I checked around the house no one was home. Dad's cars were missing and- it was empty. So I went outside to, I dunno, search around? See what was up? But I didn't find anyone- anywhere. Like, the whole neighborhood was silent. No birds chirping, not dogs barking, nada. As far as I could see there were empty houses with no activity. I don't know what my thought process was but I started knocking on doors, hoping someone would answer."

"And no one did." He completed for her.

"Yeah. I looked through a few windows but… Nope. Things were left- frozen in time, I guess. Plates filled with half eaten food were abandoned on tables, television sets were left on, stuff like that. It was as if everyone had disappeared in the middle of the day, you know? Even weirder though, whatever cars were supposed to be parked on the sidewalk were gone too. Not just at my house."

So far… so good? It didn't sound too bad from what she was saying, Matthew concluded. More like a liminal sort of dream, which were pretty common all things considered. He was however getting a vibe that is was supposed to feel specific.

"So what'd you do?"

"Well, I figured that if I went into the more populated areas, I'd eventually stumble into someone. That was dumb, `cause I didn't. I must've walked for hours and I still didn't find anyone. I could swear I was going in circles `cause everything looked the goddamned same. I mean, I would visit a place I had been to before, leave but then wind back right at it. A- And the sky was clear too. Like, unnaturally so. It looked like, um- one of those pictures you'd see on the covers for house advertisements. Like someone had cut out one of those imagines with clear summer skies, stretched it out and hung it up real high, you know…? I- It was fake, is what I'm trying to say. And, uh- it- it was a bit eerie, but I can't say it was spooky. It's um- when you're dreaming, you don't really think about the… consequences, and what it all means, you know? You just go through with what's happening and forget all about it when you wake up."

"Mhm, I get what you're saying. You're not uh, conscient, but you're still there, in a sense. You just don't think about what's happening like you'd normally do."

"Exactly… So, as I was walking around- I started hearing um- sirens and stuff."

"Sirens?"

"Yeah, from ambulances. Oh, and cars driving around. You know, what you'd hear on a regular day… But no matter how much I'd search for them they'd never be there. They were like echoes that were so far away you couldn't tell where they were coming from. All around me but like, distant at the same time… It made me pretty paranoid. I'd catch glimpses of moving shadows that weren't really there and I remember looking over my shoulder every couple of seconds thinking I was being stalked. Some sort of presence that hung over me wherever I went."

Right, well, the boy couldn't say he hadn't been expecting to hear that.

"Did you feel like you were being watched too? I know those two go hand in hand but I mean, more like; I know someone's watching me- I don't know where they are. Not in the way of; oh, someone's following close behind me."

"Uh, I- maybe? It didn't feel like I was truly alone, but besides the lack of people and shit I never saw anything out of the ordinary to make me go; that ain't right. I told you, I never spotted anyone…" She trailed off, biting her lip. Whatever else she was going to say Matthew didn't get to hear as she appeared to change her mind at the last second. Instead, she spoke lowly "I don't want to make such a big deal out of this. It was a random-ass dream, but I- it's been pissing me just off thinking about it, trying to make sense of, well, everything. Can't say I'm used to stuff like this."

No one could be. There wasn't much he could say to convince her otherwise either.

"And it's okay to be freaked out. You didn't sign up for any of this. It was a series of unfortunate events and circumstances that led to, you know… It sucks but it is what it is." He cringed at his own words, thanking Mari for the mask since it muffled his voice well enough that any cracks which slipped through wouldn't be so easily discerned. Cassidy's half-grimace proved him right however. He wasn't doing the best of jobs at comforting her…

"Anyway, it didn't stop there. No sir. See, at one point I started hearing voices... Hah- I bet I sound like some crazy old hag, don't I?" She asked with a bit more desperation than she probably meant to.

"What!? No, you're- it's a dream. We're talking about-"

"-Of course I do. You can't just say that as if it were any other Monday. I- crap…"

Cassidy stopped, narrowing her eyes as she stared ahead, watching the occasional kid walk by them to the counter. She looked exhausted. Like she'd fought a losing battle and only now were the effects begging to show themselves.

Matthew had gotten used to the lack of rest and knew what to expect, but Cass? It must've chipped away at the girl, each day taking more energy out of her than the last. Even if her dreams were tamer in comparison, the impact they had were maybe just as prominent. And pretending it was all good when things were shit wasn't one of Cassidy's strong suits. She wasn't as invincible as she thought herself to be and, clearly, she despised that.

Matt sighed, letting his mask work its magic, and slowly put his hand atop hers to stop her from clutching the table cloth so tightly. He half expected her to pull away, but… she didn't. Instead, the girl eased up and squeezed back, allowing his hand to linger there for a little while longer. Only when she shifted in her seat did he let go, but not before noticing the faint smile she'd sent his way.

"Hey, you're gonna be alright." He said, hoping she would pick up on the encouraging smile he'd returned her from his tone alone.

"I know. It's just- working my way through how it happened and- knowing that this isn't the end- I… I'll manage." She said with enough conviction that he almost believed her. "Forget it. What was I talking- oh, right. Okay, so I was heading towards a bench, and as I was approaching it, I heard two people talking. I couldn't make out their words- it was all gibberish, but I could hear them clear as day. The thing was- when I got close, it was gone. Dead quiet. And that kept on. I'd pass by an intersection or something and I'd hear a bunch of chatter but when I'd turn to take the corner it'd stop. I made it to a playground and it was full with laughter, shouting, but- you get the idea."

He did. And it felt like he'd heard this story a thousand times by now. In actuality, he found it more familiar than he would've liked to admit, but… He didn't know why that was.

"And…?"

"That's how the rest of the dream went. Towards the end I remember thinking; it's like a ton of city sounds have been recorded and they're playing over while I'm walking through a memory. Something… from the past, if you can call it that. At least that's the impression I got... And that was it."

And hearing it worder so gave Matthew a pause. What Cassidy had described, the entire structure of her dream and how it had unfolded, sounded almost identical to a popular but unintentional horror trope he'd seen far too much of.

When one logged on to a dead server or empty map that was supposed to be played with other people, with friends, but found themselves alone with only the ambience track of environmental sounds to accompany them. Snippets of random conversations, alarms, cars- meant to populate an otherwise vacant world. Noises that, upon closer inspection, did not have any discernible origin.

Or when one viewed a picture of a long-abandoned building, forgotten and left to rot as everything else moved on without it or its memory. A cleared shop, a desolate office space, an old outdated hotel, a closed down mall maybe. A deserted neighborhood. The nostalgia they'd invoke in all that viewed them, knowing- or at least feeling that such places should've been bursting with life and energy. And yet none of those things could be found. Only the faux memories of other, earlier lives no one had lived. The liminality within it all…

It wasn't lost on him, just how closely that matched with what Cassidy had dreamt.

The connection should've been silly, right? Would anyone else even be able to take it seriously? Dreams where people were completely alone in places that resembled those of their lives weren't uncommon in the slightest, after all, but… How come Cassidy's dream had so many specific details?

A dream where you explored your empty hometown was one thing. Hearing stuff that wasn't there as if an ambience track was being played in your mind was another. A copy-and-pasted sky like a stock image skybox in a video game was too distinct for this time. 1982 was a year where graphics were just starting out, pixelated and simple, not… Not so realistic that a ghost shadow monster would be inspired by and replicate them to spook his victims.

Cass should've never had such a dream no matter what supernatural presence was influencing her in her sleep. What was the point of it? If anything, what she'd experienced sounded more like something Matt would be exposed to. Because… why have Cassidy dream that when she wouldn't be able to draw the connection- to recognize the clues around her and be frightened by them?

It wasn't a regular nightmare so the scope wasn't to terrorize her. It was just- like she'd said, a random-ass dream that broke the formula for what her dreams were supposed to be up until now.

…So just how did Shadow Freddy know to shape her dream like that? And why?

It was preposterous to even consider. That- That her dream had been a demented recreation of something not of this world, but he couldn't chalk it up to coincidence. This was the monster behind all of their nightly terrors. The same one that took inspiration from the horror media involving animatronics Matt had consumed and used it to haunt him every night. In his case, it was understandable. Henry built anthropomorphic robots, so SF could search Matthew's memories for anything involving those, and use his knowledge of all things FNaF-related to make his nightmares the way they were. Haunted robots, dark atmospheres, implied gore and analog/VHS-styled stuff. Late eighties early nineties stuff. It hadn't branched off into other, modern types of horror. Not to this extent and nothing outside of what this world reflected back in Matthew's own. Nothing so personal, so unrelated and alien to this universe like what had been used in Cassidy's dream.

Why?

"Do you think it means anything?" She finally asked, no doubt reading his thoughts.

How could it not? It had to. A coincidence- there was no such thing here- was a prettier way of saying one could not see the strings being pulled behind the curtain.

Did he learn about this shit while going through my mind? Did he just stumble upon it and thought it'd be useful? But if so, why only use it now- a- and why on Cass specifically? It's not personal to her. It's unsettling, sure, but there's no deeper meaning- no subtext for her to pick up on, since it's not from this time period! She couldn't know so it wouldn't hurt her. Why- I don't understand.

"It… could, but it could just as well be something random made to mess with you."

Unless of course… it hadn't been intended to mess with Cassidy.

It clicked. The hair on his arms rose the more he thought about it. It made sense, didn't it?

Matthew's only outside reaction was expelling a short puff of air, shivering under the mask.

Oh… God, don't tell me she was just the messenger. Used and manipulated to… Fuck.

"I don't know anymore!" The girl threw her hands up in defeat. "`Least I woke up well rested. But um, something else happened this morning as I was having breakfast… My folks… They weren't okay. Dad looked like he hadn't slept all night and mom, she… She wasn't all there. She just stared off into space a lot of the time and seemed kinda distracted. I didn't ask `em what was wrong. Do you think they-"

"-Seems to me like they uh, well, paid the price for you having a good night's sleep. I guess that's the tradeoff for any one of us catching a break… Someone'll suffer no matter what. That's just Mr. Shadow's MO." He told her bluntly, seeing no reason to beat around the bush this time.

"Well, fuck him and fuck his bullshit voodoo magic whatever."

"Amen."

Cassidy buried her head in her palms, shaking it helplessly. She groaned as she rubbed her eyes, a tired laugh escaping her, perhaps in distraught awe at their predicament.

"And, yeah, I mean, that wasn't pleasant, but it could've been way worse. No, see, the real kicker came after I woke up." She sighed. "When you told me about all those things you went through, I thought… You know, that the ghost stuff was like how it's shown in the movies. Whispers, premonitions, objects moving around on their own- that's what I imagined it'd be like for us too. I never expected I'd wake up holding cryptic messages on a piece of paper when I sleep on the second goddamned floor!" She half-shouted half-muttered.

"What?"

"Yeah. Check this out." From one of her pockets, Cassidy produced a crumpled piece of paper, a faded yellow in color, and gave it to him. "I was literally holding this with my own two hands when I woke up. Like, I was on my back with my hands on my stomach and that thing was in-between. You know that pose- the way they put people in coffins? That was me." It wouldn't be long now before Cassidy started punching someone out of sheer anger. She inhaled deeply, shaking her head. "I almost screamed…" She said while Matt uncrumpled the paper.

He turned to look at her, only she didn't meet his- the mask's eyes. Gently, he reached out to hold her hand once again. Cassidy didn't stop him, but she didn't face him either. A quiet thank you was her sole response. Matthew nodded. With a last pat on the shoulder, he returned his attention to the paper, frowning at its messy text written using a pencil. Both the front and back were filled with sentences that looked like they'd been made in a hurry, so not only were they scribbled on to the point where they were nigh illegible, they were also small enough that one had to squint to be able to fully read them. The mesh in the Puppet mask's eyes didn't help him either.

"I've no idea what it says though. I mean, I could make out a few words here and there but like, a lot of letters are the same. Like here-" She pointed to the single sentence at the top of the page. "-I think it says; Do you su- uh- suffer maybe? From… something phobia… Yeah, I dunno what that last word is."

As he studied it more closely, he found that Cassidy was right. A bunch of letters merged together with almost no distinction between them. The u's, n's, m's and e's looked pretty much the same, short lines with a curved one in the middle to connect them. A style which was… oddly similar to his own handwriting.

Okay, okay, I know for a fact I did not write this, so why- I don't… Just what the hell is going on? On the upside, due to the mask his internal panic remained concealed.

"…I think I got it. It says; Do you suffer from eisoptrophobia? And then a little below that it's; No? You will… Uh, alright, yeah- I've no clue what that is supposed to mean. Can't say I've ever seen that word before."

"Me neither. I mean, the only phobia a know about is arachnophobia, but I'm not afraid of spiders…" She leaned back on the table, pursing her lips. "You know, this being cryptic doesn't bother me as much as the fact that I woke up with it in my hand and I can't tell what it says, `cause the writing's just so ugly. I feel like I'm supposed to decipher it, but… And if we do manage that- who knows when that's gonna be- thinking about what it'll say- ugh. I hate it."

"I know what you mean. This is… No, I got nothing on this." The question that bothered him however, was why did the style in which it was written resemble his own to such a degree? The only difference was its smaller size and rougher appearance. "Ah, let me see what I can make out at least…" But then he started reading the short paragraph underneath.

It's a vicious cycle, you know. But then, most things in life are. The pendulum swings one way, then it swings the other. Now we return to darkness. Something terrible is coming.

The rest after that trailed off into meaningless black lines.

Matthew raised his head. The stage was as it had been since leaving their table. The dining hall on the other hand was quieter than it should've been, but he may've been imagining it. Exactly four seconds later, he felt his heart skip a beat, reaction perhaps delayed by the mask. This hadn't been for Cass to decipher, had it?

He turned the page the check the other side. Another short paragraph, but this time written in a spiral, with the text getting thinner as it got progressively more crammed into the middle. He had to slowly turn the paper around to be able to read it.

Just wait 'til we're alone together, then I will tell you something new, something cold, something sleepy, something of cease and peace on the long bright curve of space.

He could almost hear the piano and the long trumpets as he read. The distorted audio along with the ringing and the narrator's voice, only this time there was no physician called in to make sure everything was alright. There was no Paul Hasleman to think of the snow outside. It was just him, and his memory of something that should not be known. He read further.

Banish them, refuse to speak. Leave them. Go upstairs to your room. I will be waiting for you. I will surround your bed.

Not even a proper quote, and that was more significant than he would've liked, because there was no ark to find. No man behind the camera to want revenge yet escape the Operator's influence. He read further, knowing how it would end.

Close the windows, so that none will ever again be able to enter.

Nothing moved around him. That or he didn't perceive it. He could only hear the remote sounds of steel beams crashing underwater, like he was in a submerged factory. Accompanying them, a low hum trying to blend into the background, spiking in intensity on occasion. Oh, and a ticking clock. The most obvious of them all.

He could feel a glare being burned into his back as well, but he didn't dare look, lest he saw what wasn't behind him. No, because the pause everyone had took was a more pressing matter. Every single child throughout the hall had stopped moving, most stuck mid-walk in positions that should've tipped them over. The employees didn't fare any better. Cassidy too, her expression frozen into one of expectance. She didn't blink or talk when he pinched her to make sure she was still real- she just sat next to him, oblivious to what had just happened.

It was a fairly unpleasant sensation, feeling Mari's mask straining itself to keep him calm. He'd compare it to a straight jacket being put over his heart and having his lungs be switched to autopilot so they'd intake air at a snail's pace. He could almost feel its pain too, but it was subdued… Censored, in a way. It didn't allow the situation to get to him, but to be honest he wasn't sure if that was for the best. Was it better to freak out and go berserk instead of agonizing over every minute detail of what was going? He'd rather take the mask off to spare himself the suffering of thought, because he couldn't predict how much he could tank before he cracked.

At the end of his racing mind and waves of denial, Matthew asked himself if all those nights had finally gotten to him. Had this been what made him snap, in spite of the mask pacifying him? If that was it, insanity really wasn't all it was cranked up to be, although he could only say that thanks to said mask. Briefly, he also wondered if he should check on the Puppet, but judging by how time had stopped, it wouldn't be worth it. Something was telling it wasn't temporary.

The boy closed his eyes. The clock was louder throughout the silence. It was counting down. To what, well, he only saw one possible answer.

"I guess this is it then... Hah." He said to no one. "Was this your plan? This- I don't even know what to call it… Hitting me with something I would've never anticipated so I'd be vulnerable to you? Make me weak enough so you could kill me?... Well, here I am, you asshole! What are you waiting for- isn't this what you wanted!?" The words got out before Matt could stop himself, the utter rage laced within almost shocking him. Almost. "To get me out of your way so you and Willy could go screw each other? I enjoyed my fucking tomb then! If this is it don't drag it out, fucking kill me already!"

…

But nobody answered him. The diner stayed quiet.

He got up, whipping his head around in search of the shadow, thinking that the presence he'd felt behind him must've belonged him. There was no one else inside save for the already present partygoers.

Matthew laughed, and the mask's phantom pain got stronger. It hurt him too now, but he couldn't stop laughing. It was the best joke he'd heard in months. He'd never imagined accepting death would come so easily to him, but he'd lost everything once. If the universe wished him dead, how could he hope to fight against it? He really should've thanked Mari more for the mask, otherwise he wouldn't have had this last laugh.

But just like that, it stopped being funny when dark purple began staining his shirt. Confused for a moment, he touched the mask to find liquid trickling down its cheeks.

D`aww, how nice. Look, ma! The freaking mask's crying- isn't it cool that it's starting to match the lore? Though perhaps it was more accurate to say they both were.

He sat down on the floor against a random table, facing the podium.

"Hehehehehehe…"

God, did he miss his mother. Would she feel at ease knowing in his last moments her son had thought of her- no, no mother would want that for her child, would they?

…Matthew was disappointed. In himself mostly. Stolen and brought here to do some good but murdered before he could even get started. Saved no one. Prevented nothing. Died to a damned reference. Leaving behind another family. Cass, Henry, Charlie…

"Mari…"

One thing was for certain. He'd severely underestimated just how much Shadow Freddy could get in his head, and this was him paying the price for that mistake. Well, at least he could use the remaining time to reflect on what had led up to this.

How exactly SF had used what only Matt should've known to cause this…

It shouldn't have been unexpected- it was bound to happen at one point. SF was certain to find something like that while exploring Matthew's mind, because there were no real barriers to stop him from doing so. Despite there being no correlation between that and everything else around them- not to the Springlocks, not to Afton, the diner, nothing- SF had found an advantage somewhere in the back of his mind. Despite there being no suggestion about…

Of course, nothing could've stopped that monster from searching if he really wished it, but… why? To tell Matthew that he knew he wasn't supposed to be here? He'd done that ages ago, on the first day of school. He'd made it pretty clear how much he wished Matthew dead. So then, was this just to add fuel to that fire? Have fun before ending him for good? Was the monster so petty as to use literally anything it could to taunt him with?

Matthew wanted to say yes. That indeed, Shadow Freddy was so desperate as to scour his mind for any "weaknesses", even when the easier alternative was to just kill Matt and be done with it. That he was purely a monster of agony, not nearly smart enough to look for things with no connection to FNaF. But… this was not how he'd operated thus far. The difference was staggering. This was a far cleverer approach. So much so that Matthew considered this had to be someone else taking a turn at the wheel. Because- and perhaps this was a flaw in his judgement- he couldn't see Shadow Freddy being the one behind this debacle. If the monster could've ended him with a bad "memory", it would've done so immediately. The longer he waited the more that helped Matt.

No, it couldn't kill him just like that. It would have if it could. Meaning a third party had come into the fray. Something smarter, stronger and with the unique ability to know things from the "real" world.

Cass' dream made sense all of a sudden. She'd been but the carrier of a message, one intended for him. You are not alone, it most likely said. But as for who or what was with him, and where or when they were from… the answers could be endless. He wasn't comforted by any of them.

It made him intrigued to know who/what he'd pissed off to warrant this kind of reaction. He could very easily see this being the world's way of repelling him, like an immune system would repel a virus. It'd take a while to identify the foreign substance, but once it was identified, well, that was that in most cases.

"I'm just shooting in the dark right now…" He let out a sigh. All that was left was to wait.

He supposed there wouldn't be a soul left of him once this was done. Allowing him to possess a robot wouldn't do well, so even if the soul would be left alive by his killer, Shadow Freddy should take care of him definitively.

Could souls even be killed though?

Well, it's not gonna be long before I find out.

He prayed they'd have the decency to get rid of his body as well. Make the whole missing child shtick true in every sense of the word. Henry having his son fall over and die would put him out of business, and then…

Matt clenched his fists, preferring not to imagine the consequences of his failure. Something stabbed his fingers while he did so.

Ah, he'd held onto the paper.

For a moment, he weighed whether he should rip it apart or not. It wasn't like it'd do anyone any good… No reason to leave it out, and besides, it'd be cathartic.

Yeah, that was for the best. Determined, he held onto both ends of the page, but before going through with the ripping, he gave it a final once-over.

"…Wait, what?" He said as he furrowed his brows.

The text had changed. In the spiral's place a was a single, curt question.

Are you watching the stage?

He snapped his head upwards, finding the curtains to now be opened, revealing a depowered Fredbear standing there staring down, bent forward at the waist. Springbonnie was nowhere in sight. As he scrutinized the scene further, he caught a glimpse of something moving. Past Fred's motionless form into the slight parting of the curtains that led to the backstage area, there, in the shadows, a vague silhouette resided. Its body- if one could call it that- was a light shade of gray. Flowing from the pits of dark that were the holes it had for eyes, were streaks of black, pouring onto the floor. An unrelenting smile adorned its face, showing white teeth not unlike those of a skull's. Laughter filled his ears, the noise digging deep into his bones. Young and playful, belonging to either a boy or a girl- the line was too blurred to tell.

He chuckled too, though his laugh came from the mask being on its last legs. He didn't miss the twitch of his fingers either, but he chose not to focus on that particular aspect. Although, being acutely aware that you were at the mercy of… whoever that spirit was, made it hard to keep an "even mind".

The suffocating aura it emanated- the heaviness that had descended upon him made it even harder to pose questions such as where it had come from. Any of the obvious suspects he could've chosen were too old to sound like a child, but then again, the spirit may've been manipulating its voice. There was no telling what it could not do. An angry Cassidy could keep William in purgatory and kill the man over and over, bringing him back and, supposedly, simulating what it'd feel like to be shredded apart by metal monstrosities. Charlie enabled possession. Regular spirits interfered with technology, could modify pictures and drawings, could potentially teleport or move really fast…

How quaint. There was some comfort in that, knowing Shadow Freddy was probably small fry when it came to an angry ghost. But just who could that be? Someone actively aggressive to a kid aside from William or Vanny. An amalgamation sort of like what Ennard was, if he excluded Baby- split souls put back together in one? But who had died for that to happen, and when had William killed? Who had he failed to save?...

Some questions are better left unanswered forever, aren't they, Scott?

Seeing as how the ghost was content sitting there in the dark, Matthew tried tearing the page, but found himself unable to move. At that exact second, padded footfalls rang out from a couple of tables behind him. The hair on his neck stood on edge. A pit settled in his stomach. A moment later, Springbonnie revealed himself and knelt down before Matt, with so little effort that only a person wearing the suit could've done. But there was no one inside.

Fitting, he figured.

Matthew saw the spirit emerging into the hall, floating above the floor and a few dozen feet away from them. Its smile seemed to grow even wider. Without any direct command from the ghost, Springbonnie leaned in closer, taking up the entirety of Matthew's vision. There was nowhere to look other than the void of Bon's eyes, which were missing their glassy covers.

The robot placed one hand on the boy's neck, and used the other to hold his chin. The spirit laughed again, but Matthew refused to beg or offer it the satisfaction of seeing him afraid. He'd go down with dignity if nothing else.

Tick, tock, the invisible clock counted down.

He nodded, then closed his eyes, letting it know he appreciated the quick method of killing him. Matthew waited.

…

..

.

The clock stopped ticking.

"Did you really think I'd put you out of your misery so soon… when I could let you live with the implications?" A deep, cynical voice asked, and immediately afterwards Springbonnie's hands had been removed from his head. All of his thoughts ceased.

"What?!"

"Ugh- you don't have to shout, man!" Cassidy snapped right back at him. "I asked you if you managed to read any of that."

Matthew didn't react for a good while, only staring at her in shock. He wanted to reach out and hug the girl with all his might, afraid this would be the last time he'd ever see her. But his neck wasn't snapped the next second, and Cassidy wasn't frozen in place. She was moving. She looked pissed, but she was moving, and she was real. So were all the other children going about their business. The diner's hectic sound had returned as well. It was real.

"Dude, er, you alright? You're shaking."

"What- oh, yeah, no, I'm okay. No, I didn't get much, but I'm gonna keep it and try to figure it out at home if you don't mind."

"Sure. I'd rather have that thing as far away from me as possible if I'm being honest. No offense."

"It's cool… Um, was there anything else?"

"No. That was it, and uh, I think I'm ready to just forget about all this for the time being." She said before getting up and stretching her arms.

"Yeah, that- that's a good idea. Yup."

"We've kept Afton waiting long enough. You coming?"

"I'll be there in a sec. I gotta, just- yeah…"

Cassidy regarded him for another moment before shrugging and making her way to the arcades.

Once she was gone, he gave in to instinct and reached for the back of his neck. To his diminishing relief, nothing was broken. He exhaled a fidgety sigh and took off the mask, not caring for its glowing eyes- no one was paying attention to him anyhow. There were no tears staining the white plastic, but his own threatened to spill any second.

Then, a single, strangled chime reached his ears, prompting him to turn around towards the prize corner. Mari was out of her box and wearing an anxious grimace on her porcelain face. It hurt to meet her eyes, seeing the green waver with worry. He made a motion for Matthew to approach, which he struggled to refuse. The boy didn't want to ruin his friend's day, though at the same time being near the Puppet may've been the one thing that could salvage his.

He hated to see the pain in those green eyes, and he knew that's what he was about to cause his friend if he obeyed, but he still took the selfish option of doing as he was asked. He hated himself even more for the next thing to come out of his mouth.

"I thought I was going to die."

---

After four long months I'm back! Thank you all for your patience. I want to begin by apologizing for keeping you all waiting with this unannounced hiatus. Long story short writer's block, burnout and life got in the way, but I've had my break and I'm ready to get back into the swing of things, so you can expect to see updates posted semi-regularly. I can't promise a clear schedule for when chapters will release, but I plan to post previews on my Tumblr as I work on them so you can have something to look up to in the meantime while I write, as well as to show what progress I'm making. So feel free to check my Tumblr from every once in a while, but, of course, only if you are interested and have the time to spare.

During the hiatus I was able to finish most of the planning for the future of this fic. All that's left is getting there. My current estimation is that it'll take around 100 total chapters to reach the end, but given my average word count per chapter I do feel that may be too much. Because of this, I'm considering splitting this fic into two parts once we get to chapter 50 for a less clustered and more available reading experience, but I'm not sure yet. I'm curious to hear what you guys have to say about that. I know it's a bit early, but I'm trying to get a feel for what would work better, so I'd really appreciate it if you guys could let me know what you think of this. Thank you.

Funny story about this chapter, originally it was supposed to be the first half of a two-parter, but since it proved to be longer than usual, I had to split it, so now we'll be having a trilogy. The next two chapters will round out this mini-arc, but it's gonna be the most significant one we've had so far, so stay tuned ^_^!

Having said that, I wish you all a very good day, and I'll see you next time👋. Thank you for reading!

Tumblr: dayfalwastaken

Chapter title from "Secrets That We Hide" by ConnorCrisis.