Mike's friends were cruel.

It was a long time since Chris felt so pathetic, weak, and humiliated at the same time. The children from his school were mean and abrasive at times, but it was nothing compared to the three boys that were older and stronger than him looking down and laughing at him and his fears. They were merciless, especially the one in Freddy's mask…This felt wrong. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica were characters he grew up with; they were kind, brave, and heroic; they'd never think of bullying those weaker than him, and yet those boys used their faces. It was wrong, all of it was wrong…

His friends weren't like this.

When Chris got home, he hid in his room, surrounded by plushies. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and Fredbear were his closest friends. The ones that would never resist him hugging them and finding comfort in their warmth, the ones that would never laugh at him for fear. The ones that would never abandon him, whatever happens. The ones that always listened…Especially Fredbear.

"Why are they so mean…" Chris whispered, looking into the golden plushie's eyes. They were hollow, yet Chris couldn't help but see shining white lights deep within them, shimmering and staring at him at times. "Why doesn't Mike believe me? I told him the truth, I… It's not fair."

"He believes you." A calm, ephemeral voice echoed in Chris's head. Usually playful and warm as in the show, now those emotions were completely stripped from Fredbear, instead leaving a cold, empty undertone. He often imagined Fredbear talking to him as a friend, and with each time, the voice grew more independent and realistic. "But he will never say it."

"Why?"

"Because he hates you."

Those words echoed like a blade piercing Chris's heart; he knew this to be true. The days of them having a warm, even if rocky, relationship remained behind as Mike completely lost his patience. Chris knew how he looked upon him, someone weak and powerless, an easy target to mock and force into witnessing his own fears.

"I…I don't want him to. I didn't even do anything; I just…I just want him to leave me alone!"

"Teenagers are cruel."

That they were…Kids were cruel, too. And with what his own father did to Lily, now Chris knew that adults could be cruel, too. Perhaps people were just cruel.

"They are," Fredbear spoke again.

"But not everyone…I am not cruel, Lizzy's not cruel, and Lily…She wasn't, either…" Chris had to hold back his tears as he thought of Lily. Sometimes, when he woke up, he'd forget that she was gone for a moment, but every time reality would sink in. He had no real friends left, instead stuck living in a house with a brother who hated him and a father who was a killer…It was hell without escape.

"Are you sure? You hate Mike too."

"What, no…I don't hate him! I'm tired and sad because he's so mean, but… He's my brother; how can you say that?!" The suggestion immediately made Chris agitated. Mike might have hated him, but he wasn't like that. He wouldn't hate his own brother even if he was cruel to him.

In the next instant, Chris heard a light knock on the door, it immediately caused Fredbear's voice to cease and the boy to look around. Please don't be Mike, please don't be Mike…When the door opened, Chris saw a young girl with strawberry blonde hair and curious green eyes, making him reflexively let out a sigh of relief. It was just Lizzy spending time at home, for once. Chris would feel safer when she was around, even though Elizabeth was the youngest of them. She would never hurt him; there was no doubt about it.

"Hi, Chris." She said gently. "Are you busy?"

"Not really…"

"I am a bit bored, and Daddy isn't home yet. Do you maybe want to play something?"

"Eh…" Chris looked away, not sure if he wanted to leave the room at all. Mike was somewhere in the house; he'd grow annoyed very easily if Chris was to disturb him.

"It's fine if you don't want to," Lizzy reassured him. "It's just that you seem so sad today; I really wanted you to have some fun…." She tried not to be pushy, and judging by fleeting warmth and concern in Lizzy's eyes, Chris knew she just wanted to make his day a little less sour. Maybe it was worth a try.

"It's fine; I wasn't doing anything anyway… Let's play a little." Chris said, hoping that perhaps this would distract him from painful thoughts, though he could hardly display any enthusiasm in his voice. Lizzy, on the other hand, smiled immediately.

"Yay! I promise it'll be fun; come here!" Elizabeth rushed outside, with Chris following her slowly.

As he made his way towards the living room, the first thing Chris witnessed was a TV with a far too familiar cartoon displayed on it. Chris knew "Freddy and Friends" very well and could immediately recognize any scene from it, especially the more famous ones. Seeing wounded Chica cowering to the cavern's wall as Kragara's disturbing shadow rose over her was iconic.

"Please…Have mercy!" Chica pleaded as she looked up at the beast.

"Ha-ha…Mercy? After all the trouble you've caused me? After all, you took from me? I gave you chances to turn back, but you refused them like the arrogant pests you are! Now there can be no mercy, for I will have all the power, and you will all die!" Her voice grew angrier and more furious by the second; she was caught up in her monologue so much that she didn't even notice the mischievous glint in Chica's eyes, not until she began to giggle. "What are you laughing at, fool?"

"Huh…You should follow your crew's advice from time to time; at least Saber doesn't waste his time talking!"

"What are you…"

This was the moment Freddy attacked from behind, throwing a heavy rock charged with the magic of the youthful waters at Kragara. The beast would scream and recoil as this hit would be enough to break the magical cages she built around Fredbear and Spring Bonnie, releasing the two magicians so they could help. Finally, they would battle evenly, eventually leading to the inevitable outcome of the heroes winning…Chris would always cheer during this moment, but not this time, not this time.

"So…" Elizabeth spoke up. "Who do you want to be?"

"I don't know…What about you?"

"I'll be Circus Baby, of course!" The girl said enthusiastically. "She is the best and also has a lot of ice cream."

"But she isn't even in the show…."

"Why does it matter? Daddy made her along with Kitty and Sugar, which means she's a character, too. "Lizzy always got very defensive when it came to Circus Baby, her most beloved character. Ever since Dad created her, Chris's sister was absolutely obsessed with her; her dream was to visit the restaurant and be okay with the real Circus Baby herself, though her father would always delay this trip, much to the girl's disappointment. "She can be a new guest for the valley, someone from far away…Everyone would like her, though!"

"Fine, if you want to." Chris shrugged.

"So, who do you want to be?"

"Well…I guess I'll be Freddy."

"Great!" Lizzy exclaimed. "Let's play, then."

"Alright…"

They would begin another role play; Chris had done those countless times before, both with Lily and Elizabeth, but never before did they feel so empty. His imagination would always work flawlessly; he would focus on the characters and envision them in his head; the room around Chris would turn into a beautiful valley, but not today. All he saw was a boring, empty place with his sister, the only one still engaged in this game.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen, we have a new arrival at Freddy's concert!" Elizabeth exclaimed, making an obvious cue for Chris, which he didn't react to. After noticing this, the girl looked toward her brother. "Psst…Introduce me."

"Oh, yeah, sure…This is…Circus Baby! She is very fun and cool and will be a great friend to all of you…" He knew how weak and faint his voice sounded; nobody would get convinced by it. At this point, Chris began to regret his choice of coming to play. He wanted Lizzy to be happy and help her have some fun, just as she wanted him to feel better, but they needed different things.

"Are you sure you are alright? "His sister took a breath and dropped her act; she couldn't pretend like nothing was wrong, considering how obvious Chris's behavior was.

"I am…" Chris sighed. "Really."

"But you're really not." Lizzy shook her head and came to her brother, gently holding his hand. Her soft touch soothed Chris a little, but it wasn't enough to make him forget Mike, Lily, and her father's actions, even for a moment. "Please, I see you're feeling really sad…Can you tell me what happened? I won't be mean, I promise." She only meant the best, and Chris knew she'd never hurt him, but he didn't want to tell her. She might not believe him, and even if she did…She loved Circus Baby and other animatronics so much; she loved their father so much…How would she react if she were to hear about what he did? Chris didn't want to ruin the illusion for her, not yet.

"I don't want to talk about it." Chris sighed, knowing that he wanted to talk, just was too scared to admit to it.

"But I want to help, Chris! Please." Elizabeth pleaded, but the boy shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I just…I can't play right now." Chris moved back towards his room as Lizzy continued to watch him in silence with pained eyes. Chris wasn't entirely sure what this word meant, but he heard Dad call Elizabeth an empath. When people around her got hurt, she got hurt too, and Chris didn't want to prolong this anymore. Instead, he chose to rush back to his room and hide away from the world again; it was so much easier with imaginary friends…

"Chris, wait!" Lizzy followed him, but the boy did not even look back. All he wanted was to be alone and cry himself to sleep, then wake up in a world where nothing went wrong at all, where his mother and Lily were still alive, where dad was still spending time with them, and Mike wasn't so mean and cruel…Was this beautiful world simply too much to ask for? He just needed to sleep, to calm himself down and not think of the humiliation he suffered. Those were the thoughts running through Chris's mind as he approached his bed; it was time for…

"RAAAGH!" A fearsome screech pierced the boy's ears as it echoed from under the bed, causing Chris to recoil in the purest of horrors; two vile eyes stared at him from under the bed, both hidden behind the Foxy mask. Mike jumped out from the darkness of Chris's bed, his animalistic scream quickly turning to sadistic laughter, his shadow rising above Chris. "Caught you by surprise, didn't I?" He said proudly as Chris's hands shook, and tears finally started falling from his eyes. "Oh, are you going to cry again, seriously? Can't handle a prank, bro?"

"Please…Stop…" Chris fell on the floor and continued to sob. Just when he thought he might have a break, Mike decided to utilize the opportunity and stalk him again.

"What's going on?" Elizabeth rushed into the room only to see her brother crying on the floor. "Mike!" She turned towards her older brother with an annoyed look, incredibly brave for her young age. Chris wished he had the very same resilience.

"What? Going to defend him?" The teenager crossed his arms.

"He's our brother; how can you do this to him!?" Elizabeth shouted. "Can't you see he's scared? He had a rough day; leave him alone."

"Do you think I care after how many 'rough' days I had to have because of his constant nagging?" Mike clenched his teeth. "He won't learn if he doesn't get used to stress and fear; he'll always be the momma's boy otherwise…And you better stay out of this, Liz."

"This is cruel!" The girl retorted, coming to help Chris get up. "Are you alright?"

"I…Yes." The boy sniffed and stood up while Mike turned towards Chris's plushies with eager eyes. This was enough to make the boy's heart sink yet again. "No, don't!"

"Huh…" Mike picked the Foxy plush from the ground. "What's this doing here, I wonder? You like Foxy as well, I take it? Well, he wouldn't like you! Not a crybaby who will get scared at first sight of danger. Doesn't seem like you've done enough to deserve this toy…" Mike clenched Foxy's neck and began to twist it, unleashing his full force. Soon, the cracks began to emerge as even more tears fell from Chris's eyes.

"Please, please! Leave them, please!"

"I can't hear you, sorry."

"Mike!" Elizabeth called out to him, but it was too late as Mike tore Foxy's head off and tossed it to the floor. From there on, Chris couldn't help but weep. This was one of his friends, the one he spent his time with, and now Mike broke him…He couldn't be put back together.

"P…Please…I'm sorry…I'll do anything…"

"Now, who should the next one be?" Mike looked at the other plushies. "Perhaps…"

He got interrupted by the loud ringing of the doorbell.

"Daddy!" Lizzy exclaimed with relief; Chris hardly knew how to feel. If he sees this and asks them about it…What if he finds out that Chris saw Lily getting captured? Will he make him disappear too? Surely, he was his dad; he loved him…Chris wanted to believe those thoughts but couldn't. It seemed that he never knew his father at all anymore.

"Well…" Mike sighed. "Guess we'll have some explaining to do. Want to share this ridiculous story with Dad, perhaps?"

"I…"

"Thought so. Father might be a workaholic, but he's not some psycho…" Mike shook his head before both of them heard Elizabeth's hasty voice.

"Daddy, Mike is making fun of Chris! He jumped from under the bed and scared him and…And he broke his toy!"

"I see…" William's stern voice echoed from behind, putting fear in Chris's heart. "Go to your room, Liza, I'll deal with this."

"I…Alright." The girl ran off as their father's silhouette emerged in the doorway of Chris's room. He looked tired and drowsy, his eyes stripped of energy and emotion, as always. Only annoyance. Both brothers looked at William in silence, unsure what to say.

"I'm waiting, Mike," William spoke commandingly as he looked over the room, catching the sight of a broken Foxy toy. "Why in the world would you do something like that to your own brother?!" Finally, he showed his anger, Chris could see Mike flinch lightly, and for some reason, it was a pleasant sight for the young boy.

"Are you going to scold me now, Dad?" Mike spoke up with emerging spite in his voice.

"For being so bloody cruel to your brother? "William retorted. "Yes, of course, I will. You are setting an example for him; you're supposed to protect him and Elizabeth… That's why I left you in…"

"Yes, exactly, you left me! "Mike interrupted and spoke up. "Wanna talk examples, father, then what about yours? Where's the sad who cares for his family and spares time with his children instead of being consumed by his work? What happened, I wonder? Or do you think we do not need your presence in our lives? I had to deal with Chris's annoying derangement all this time so you could lock yourself in a room and build your robots day and night…And when I finally decide to teach him a lesson for his arrogance, you decide to appear and…"

"Enough!" William spoke up. "All that I do is for your own benefit…Everything. And this why I will not tolerate abuse in this house, not for a moment."

"But…"

"No 'buts', Michael! If I see you treating Chris as cruelly as you did again, there will be consequences; I promise you that." His voice grew menacing and controlling, only adding to Mike's rage.

"How…Do you even know how much retardation he spouts? Have you heard that fucking story about the claw? He wants me to believe it!"

"The claw? "Suddenly, William's voice grew quieter as he looked at Chris with his eyes wide open. The boy felt like he could fall to the floor and faint at any moment; his heartbeat became so quick that it was impossible to concentrate even for a single second. "What are you talking about?" Those words were spoken calmly, and with some mild curiosity, Father got his reaction under control almost immediately, even though Chris knew he had unveiled something he should've been.

"Oh, this ought to be rich." Mike chuckled. "Come on, Chrissy, tell Dad about the murderous robots that scooped his friend."

"I…" Chris looked up at his father's eyes, trying not to shake. "I didn't see anything…I don't know what he is talking about."

"WHAT?!" Mike clenched his fist. "Liar! He is bullshitting; he told me about how he saw that girl Lily approaching the animatronic at Circus Baby's and how she was apparently taken by a fucking claw inside of that robot!"

"He couldn't have seen it," William said coldly. "One of our workers saw Lily run out of the pizzeria, she has gone missing on the street, and everyone knows that."

"Yea, that's exactly what I mean!" Mike added. "Do you know how many stories he would come up with about people disappearing and monsters and another kind of shit? All the fucking time! And then he's going to lie about it like a little bitch he…."

"Enough," William repeated, not as loudly as before but still confidently. "It seems that your brother is…Tired." He turned towards his younger son. "Have some sleep, Chris; I will have a talk with Mike about respect and understanding."

"O…Okay…" Chris sobbed as William grabbed Mike's hand, forcing him out of the room before closing the door. He was alone, alone with his closest friends in the darkness, shaking from the realization.

He was no longer safe in his own home.

…

They are out there. They are coming for you.

Those were the words that echoed in Chris's mind when he opened his eyes. The boy was lying in his bed, alone and in complete silence, yet something had been wildly different. He was cold; the chills would send shivers down his entire body as Chris would begin to involuntarily shake. He wasn't alone…

The loud howl from the outside caused Chris to jump up in horror, trying desperately not to scream. It was a wolf or a dog, just a regular animal…But why did it sound so horrifying? Chris could barely understand; all he could feel now was the most primal of fears.

You cannot cry.

The Fredbear plush remained by his side, and his voice still echoed in Chris's mind. It was the only sound that could soothe him, at least temporarily.

Take the flashlight.

Chris reached out for the torch on the nearby shelf, although he was too scared to press the switch. What is he going to see if he shines some light upon this darkness?

"M…Mike…Dad…Liz…" Chris pleaded faintly, but no one responded to his cries. Instead, he heard swift steps echoing from the hall. Chris shivered as he realized that they were far too heavy to belong to anyone in the family…Who or what was it?

They are scared of the light. See for yourself.

With great reluctance, Chris tiptoed to the door with his fingers shaking. He couldn't drop the flashlight; the child didn't feel like he had any power to pick it up if that occurred.

Shine the light.

"I can't…"

Shine the light.

Finally, Chris pressed the switch. He stared into the hall that was unlike the one he knew. It was far longer, so long that he couldn't see the end of it. Instead, there would be holes in the walls all around it, and in one of them, there was a lone silhouette of a creature that moved away the moment it got exposed to the light. Chris didn't have time to look at it closely, only noticing two bright white eyes and ears. The boy immediately turned the flashlight off after that; he couldn't bear watching the horror any longer.

The bed.

Chris turned towards the bed and noticed a small monster sitting on it. It was not larger than Frebear plush, but its eyes were as pale as those of the monster in the hall, and when Chris shone a light on it, he saw its teeth and warped flesh. The small creature roared before disappearing. They were afraid of the light…

The window.

Chris looked at the window, and this caused him to freeze in fear. A monstrosity approached slowly, a beast with one bright eye and a beak, beneath which arose multiple layers of sharp, bloodied teeth. It was reminding him of Chica, and yet…He could not imagine her in such a horrible condition. Against his better judgment, Chris rushed to the window and immediately closed it. It was only not that he realized that there were no locks on either window or the door, and if he wanted to keep them closed, he would have to hold them himself, even though he could be only at one place at a time.

Chica walked towards the closed window. Chris didn't look into her eyes, but he could hear her mechanic steps, could hear her reaching out towards the glass with her claws, ravenous and hungering. At least she couldn't break through, or else she would've done it already…Chris felt his tears falling down his eyes, he shook, and this caused his grip to slowly weaken. A bit more, and he will release the window…But thankfully, moments before it could happen, the sound dissipated, and Chica was no more. A moment of slight relief…

Chris turned around towards his bed, seeing two more small bear creatures sitting on there, the ones he quickly forced away with more light. He was inside a horrible nightmare, and he had no idea for how long it could go…Chris fell on his knees and began to shake, trying to think of prayers he remembered from the time their family still visited the church.

"God, please…I…" He could only beg, and yet the only voice that would respond was Fredbear's.

If you stop, you die. They know there you are.

"I…"

The door.

Chris looked at the door, he heard more steps, and they were closer this time than before. The boy rushed to the corridor, but he was too afraid to shine the light, not when the monster was so close to him. He just stared into the darkness, thinking about his next step…Until he heard heavy breathing. This elicited an immediate response in the boy; he clung to the door handle and forced it shut without looking at the monster. He leaned onto it with his entire body while still shaking and sobbing.

"Please go away please go away please go away…" He would whisper to himself while the breaths still continued. The monster wouldn't go away; it hounded Chris down to his very last breath. The boy dreaded to imagine what would happen if one of them broke through…They would tear him apart; they would plunge their claws into his heart and unveil their bloodthirsty eyes. There would be nowhere to run…

He is here.

When Chris saw him, he could think no longer. Not while he saw a long, clawed arm emerge from beneath his bed; it scratched the floor, letting out a painful creaking sound that tormented Chris's ears. The silhouette of a nightmarish bear slowly emerged from underneath the bed; both of his pale eyes glowed in the darkness and focused on Chris. There was some movement within his body, as if there were smaller creatures parasitizing this monstrous bear. Chris had no power left to scream, cry, or run. All he could do was to submit to his nightmare.

He was at their mercy now.