Night 15
Rewind The Memories
''For once I tried to simplify, the facts don't let me sleep. I can't say, how broken we are, but I still holding up through the dark, but the suits still pushing on! Forget all the bad strings that the years just cut! On our hands, our scars, our memories unplugged! Through the guilty gift I got, thanks to you, how could you?''
– Guilty by GatoPaint (Five Nights at Freddy's 3)
xXxXxXx
It was late in the evening when Sam and Springtrap arrived at Freddy's, having borrowed Emma's car for their little trip. Speaking of Sam's mother, Emma was absolutely not happy when she realized that Springtrap wasn't leaving, and while she was glad that Sam's mood had improved, she was still worried in regards to what trouble her daughter was about to get herself into.
''Sam, are you completely sure about this?'' Emma asked when Sam grabbed the car keys and her jacket, due to the weather being rather chilly. ''You haven't really told me what's going on, but whatever it is, I don't have a good feeling about it.''
''Yeah, I'm 100% sure I'm doing the right thing. Also, I'm really sorry for keeping you worried, Mum, but this is something that needs to be done. I cannot back away from Freddy's, especially not when I'm too deeply involved in all of this,'' Sam responded. Emma sighed, rubbing her temple. Of course, she could just forbid Sam to be involved with anything in regards to Freddy's, but she knew as much as Sam did that it was too late.
''Fine, may I at least know what exactly is going on?'' she asked.
''It's… a bit complicated,'' Sam trailed off, with Springtrap picking up.
''We'll explain it later, but let's just say that I have some unfinished business, specifically with Fazbear Entertainment and the new Pizzaplex,'' he explained.
Emma stared at him suspiciously, clearly in doubt about whether to trust him or not. She then sighed, adding in a crisp tone, ''Okay, but I want to know exactly just how dangerous this is going to be and what I can do.''
Sam and Springtrap exchanged glances, a bit stunned that Emma let them off the hook so easily, with Sam then running out to get the car. Springtrap lingered at the doorway, staring at Emma, who frowned in response.
''I suppose you and I have a lot to talk about, especially since I'm staying here,'' he said.
''Yeah, we do,'' Emma replied. It seemed that she wanted to say more, with Springtrap even tilting his ears, waiting for a response, only to leave when she remained silent. He thought about the upcoming conversations with both the Showtimes and Emma, trying to form a coherent explanation for what is going on in his mind. However, he felt that this conversation would be all over the place.
Once they had arrived at Freddy's, they quickly went inside through the back door and into the dark main area. Sam, who was ahead, saw that the stage was empty, only to feel her skin crawl when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and quickly turned around, seeing glowing eyes staring back at her.
''Sam? What are you doing here?'' Freddy asked her, clearly stunned to see her. The lights suddenly turned on, with Bonnie, Chica, Foxy and Puppet approaching them and Springtrap also joining them.
''You aren't working today,'' Bonnie pointed out.
''Yeah, I don't, but that doesn't mean that I can't come here whenever I want,'' Sam responded, then gave them a confused look. ''Why were the lights off?''
''We thought it was an intruder about to pillage our restaurant,'' Foxy responded. ''We were about to show'em how we deal with such people.''
''Fortunately for your future victims, we are no intruders,'' Springtrap said. Foxy gave him a side eye.
''Nay, I still see at least one scurvy rat 'ere,'' he responded, with Springtrap shooting him a glare.
''Why are you here?'' Puppet asked, turning towards Sam.
''We need to talk about what is currently going on at Fazbear Entertainment and what might be going on at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex,'' she explained.
''Oh, boy, it's one of those conversations, huh?'' Bonnie said, him and the other Showtimes exchanging looks of concern. Chica glanced at Sam.
''Should I get you a drink or a pizza from the fridge?'' she asked. Sam nodded, well aware that this was going to be a long night.
''Both, and thank you,'' she replied. The Showtimes, Sam and Springtrap then sat at a booth, with Chica arriving with the food for Sam and sat down with them.
''So, what happened?'' Freddy asked.
''I have played through the Halloween DLC, and Springtrap and I believe that the woman who had sent me the initial version of Help Wanted, Vanessa, is working together with Glitchtrap,'' Sam told them. ''I had checked the official Halloween DLC published by Fazbear Entertainment, and the message I had found in the one Vanessa had sent me is not in the official version.''
''I don't understand. Why would she want to work with Glitchtrap?'' Chica asked.
''It is possible that Glitchtrap had somehow influenced her,'' Springtrap said, only to see the Showtimes staring at him. ''What?''
''Oh, nothing… It's just that you simply cannot return without making our lives more difficult,'' Freddy told him in a snarky tone, with Bonnie giving him the thumbs up for the sheer disdain in his voice. Springtrap sighed in exasperation.
''I don't care if you judge me for my crimes. I've already heard enough of that,'' he said, glaring back at the Showtimes. ''However, if you're already going to blame me, then it should be because of something I had actually done. Glitchtrap's existence is not something I wanted to happen. He's only here because of Fazbear Entertainment deciding to create shortcuts by using the shortcuts and my own soul being broken because that Ghost Kid wouldn't let me move on. I had no reason to create Glitchtrap, especially since I genuinely believed that nothing could destroy me.''
''I do believe you,'' Puppet said, much to the surprise of the other Showtimes. She then turned to her friends. ''Consider this – no one knew about Glitchtrap, not even Afton himself, at least until now. From what I understand, it appears that, while Glitchtrap is partially a construct of his own soul, it might as well be an entity of its own, existing as an individual separate from Afton.''
''You're correct,'' Springtrap replied, nodding in agreement. ''I had been trying to understand what exactly Glitchtrap is and figure out what he might be planning next, but all I can do is speculate based on what I would do.''
''All of that speculatin' boils down to murder, eh?'' Foxy said. Springtrap nodded sharply.
''That might be the most obvious answer, but I still have a bunch of questions left,'' Sam said, playing with the can of soda. ''For starters, how is Glitchtrap influencing Vanessa? I assume it has something to do with Help Wanted, which opens another can of worms for myself, considering how I too played that game and encountered Glitchtrap, but we can worry about that later. Also, more importantly, what does Glitchtrap's existence mean for the Pizzaplex?''
''Do you want to say that he might to try to take over the Pizzaplex?'' Chica asked. Sam shrugged, not completely sure about it either. However, it seemed to be the most obvious answer.
''But, he's just a virus?'' Bonnie said in bewilderment. ''How could a virus take over an entire establishment?''
''He could if he has someone who'd aid him,'' Freddy said in a grim tone. ''As Puppet mentioned earlier, we had no clue that we had been infected by Glitchtrap, so if someone put a virus in the system at the Pizzaplex, or even the animatronics themselves, the virus could easily take over everything, correct?''
He glanced at Springtrap for confirmation, who nodded in agreement. ''I assume that you can only imagine what consequences that would have. I don't know the infrastructure of the Pizzaplex or how it will be run, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fazbear Entertainment starts relying more and more on robots, especially if they're mass produced in a cheap manner, and computers. They are doomed even before they have opened the building.''
''I'm glad that Anthelm said that I'll be sent to the Pizzaplex. Since I'll be trained as a technician, it should allow me access to the new animatronics, and I and Springtrap could make sure they're not affected by Glitchtrap, as well as explore the whole place top to bottom to see if there is anything that is just shows how neglectful Fazbear Entertainment is, or whether there is something more sinister going on,'' Sam added.
''Hmmm, seems like you aren't as hostile towards Afton as you used to be,'' Puppet observed.
''Sam and I had a heart-to-heart conversation, and we managed to finally settle down that argument,'' Springtrap explained.
''Too bad,'' Bonnie replied, grinning in amusement when he saw Springtrap glaring at him. ''I'm just saying that it was fun seeing Sam being pissed off at you while it lasted.''
''At this point, I have a hard time holding grudges,'' Sam told him.
''Lassie, having a kind heart is great, but you need to stand yer ground,'' Foxy responded.
''Yeah, I know,'' Sam replied, exchanging glances with Springtrap. He looked slightly concerned, but she just smiled back happily.
''Speaking of standing one's ground, I assume that you still have no spirits haunting you,'' Freddy said, looking at Springtrap.
''No, and it still feels weird, maybe a little unsettling, but I'm not complaining about it. The last thing I need is to suffer from hallucinations or have any of the Ghost Children try to convince Sam that I'm dangerous by placing her in danger,'' Springtrap responded.
''So, it's just us then?'' Freddy said, and when he got a few puzzling looks, he added, ''I mean that it's just us who actually know what's going on and want to prevent another tragedy from happening.''
''Yeah, but what can we even do about it?'' Bonnie asked, his ears twitching. ''We're stuck here, and the main action is going to happen at the Pizzaplex.''
''Do you guys really want to help us out?'' Sam asked.
''Of course. I think we owe it to you since you had told us why we were glitching out and being aggressive towards the previous technicians, as well being transparent with us about what is going on,'' Puppet responded. ''Not to mention, the obvious motive of us not wanting blood on our hands like the previous generations.''
''Thank you, but unfortunately, I won't be able to bring you to the Pizzaplex. I will keep you informed about what is going on, though,'' Sam promised.
''What about your friend?'' Bonnie asked. Springtrap rose an eyebrow, glancing at Sam.
''What friend?'' he asked suspiciously.
''The friend that had been coming over for the past few weeks whenever Sam was working,'' Chica explained. Springtrap gave Sam a questioning look, with her sighing.
''They mean Matthew Dearth, a new student at my school, who also has an interest in the Five Nights at Freddy's games and franchise,'' she explained, taking a sip of coke. ''He can be a bit weird, but he manage to put up with me during the past months, and I told him a bit about what happened at Ricky's, although nothing in detail. I also told him about Glitchtrap. However, I didn't tell him everything about what happened last summer in detail.''
''Wait, you told him about Glitchtrap?'' Springtrap asked her, a mix of surprise and suspicion on his expression. He didn't appear to be angry, but he certainly didn't look happy with the news.
''I didn't really have anyone else to tell besides the Showtimes, and I wasn't going to involve Mum into this mess,'' Sam responded, giving Springtrap a questioning look, her brows furrowed. ''Matt is someone I can rely on. He never pressured me to share more than I was comfortable with and he is really supportive.''
''Perhaps you should let him on this,'' Puppet suggested. ''After all, if he knows about Glitchtrap, but isn't affected like the rest of us is, he might be able to help you more than we do.''
''So, you're saying that it would be fine to involve this person in this mess as well,'' Springtrap said, leaning against the table and clasping his hands as he stared at the Puppet. Puppet, in response, was silent as she realized what she just said. ''Considering how you want to prevent another tragedy from happening, this suggestion is quite hypocritical.''
''I… I didn't mean it…'' Puppet stuttered, only for Sam to interrupt.
''I believe that Puppet is right,'' she said, much to everyone's surprise. ''I think I should give Matt the full rundown in regards to what is going on and let him decide whether he'd be fine with being part of this or not. After all, I too had all of the information necessary to decide what I want to do. Of course, everyone was telling me to just drop the matter, considering Springtrap's reputation.''
''So, are you going to call him now?'' Bonnie asked. Sam took out her smartphone, with the clock on the screen indicating that it was 11:54 PM, and she lingered a bit on it.
''It's really late, maybe he's already asleep…'' she muttered, but then decided to call him anyways. ''If he doesn't answer, I'll just send him a message.''
She put the phone on speaker so the Showtimes and Springtrap could listen to the conversation. The phone was ringing several times, and on the last one, Matt picked up.
''Hello? Sam, do you need anything?''
''Hi, Matt! I'm sorry for calling you so late, but I need to talk to you about something important,'' Sam said. Everyone heard shuffling on the other side, as if Matt just sat up.
''What do you want to talk about?''
''Remember how I told you about Glitchtrap and Help Wanted, and all that stuff in regards to Five Nights at Freddy's…''
''Yeah.''
''Well, something happened and… Let's just say that I'm willing to share way more information about FNaF than any normal person should even know about. I also know who exactly Glitchtrap is and what he might want, and that he is connected to the Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex… So, if you are interested, I can tell you everything,'' Sam explained. There was silence on the other side for a moment.
''I see… Do you want me to come over now so we can talk?''
''Wait, you really want to come over now?'' Sam was surprised.
''Yeah, sure. My parents won't mind me being out at this hour. Besides, it's a weekend.''
''I thought about waiting until morning, but if you're fine with it- I'm currently at Freddy's,'' Sam replied, feeling a little self-doubt. She now wondered whether it was a good idea to tell Matt everything. ''I will warn you, if you decide to get yourself involved, you might end up getting seriously injured or even murdered at some point.''
There was another pause on the other end, with Sam trying to ignore the looks the animatronics were giving her. She knew well that she sounded like the Ghost Children or Henry, but she knew that she needed to be as transparent as possible in a place where covering the truth up was prevalent.
''Okay; I'll see you soon!''
Sam cancelled the call, looking at the animatronics. ''Now, we're now waiting.''
xXx
It had been about 20 minutes since the call, and while Sam didn't really know where exactly Matt lived, she figured it would take him a bit to arrive. So, she spent most of her time pacing around the restaurant, trying to figure out how to explain the whole situation to Matt, as well as questioning her decision. Sure, it would be nice to have more support, but at the same time, she was worried about his own safety. However, instead of pretending to know better, like others did for her, she decided to give him information and let him do whatever he wanted with it.
Sam then looked up, noticing that one of the animatronics went missing from the main area, and upon realizing who it was, she went straight for the kitchen. There, she found Springtrap, who was staring at the kitchenware, being a bit startled by her appearance.
''Has your friend arrived?'' he asked. Sam folded her arms across her chest.
''Not yet,'' she said, giving the animatronic bunny a knowing look. She waited for a few seconds, then sighed and extended her hand. ''Okay, William, give it to me.''
''Give you what?'' Springtrap asked, acting confused. Sam shot him a glare that sent a shiver down Springtrap's spine. It reminded him of that those Emma gave him.
''William, I'm not an idiot. Give me the kitchen knife you're hiding,'' Sam demanded. Springtrap stared at her apprehensively, only to sigh in defeat and take out the huge kitchen knife he was hiding and giving it to Sam, who just glared at him as she took it. ''I wasn't going to use it, you know. It was supposed to be an intimidation tactic.''
''Yeah, I don't care. I may have forgiven you for abandoning me, but I'm not dealing with your antics,'' Sam replied, placing the knife back into the drawer.
''Sam, I just want to make sure he doesn't take advantage of you like your former best friend,'' Springtrap explained. Sam rose an eyebrow.
''Matt is absolutely nothing like Tessa, so there is no reason for you to do anything,'' she told him in a firm tone, then walked out. Springtrap remained, pouting.
He had to admit that he was a bit stunned to hear that she made another friend, and while he knew that her having a friend she can hang out with was a good thing, he couldn't help but feel a bit… well, he certainly wasn't jealous. He knew just how important he was to Sam. Perhaps, ''overprotective'' was the right word. Yeah, it certainly was. He simply felt overprotective given her history with other people. He also didn't like the fact that it was a guy, as he didn't feel that he was quite trustworthy. Sure, it was ridiculous to think something like that about a kid he hadn't even met yet, but he was dealing with teenagers, and he knew that those were just pure trouble.
He walked back into the main area, noting how Sam got alerted by Foxy, who was keeping an eye out at the street by looking through the shutters at the window. She immediately ran out through the back door, finding Matt at the parking lot as he tried to place a padlock on his bicycle. ''I'm sorry about all of this.''
''Hey, it's fine,'' Matt replied. ''After all, I asked you whether I could come over.''
''Yeah…'' Sam trailed off, with Matt joining her after he made sure his bicycle won't be stolen. ''It'll be better if we talk inside the restaurant. It's cold here.''
''Right… You wanted to talk about Five Nights at Freddy's, didn't you?'' Matt asked, with Sam nodding in response. The two then walked in into the main area, where the Showtime Animatronics were waiting for them. Matt looked curiously at the Showtime Animatronics, well aware that they were robots with a high level of sentience built for entertainment, but the way they looked at him, a look of anticipation, made it clear that there was much more to them.
''I suppose that a proper introduction is in order. Guys, this is Matthew Dearth, a classmate of mine. Matt, these are the Showtime Animatronics, the current generation of animatronics created by Fazbear Entertainment,'' Sam explained. ''They are way more self-aware than any other animatronic that isn't possessed by a ghost, and they had been helping me keeping my own sanity in check for the past few weeks.''
''It is nice to meet you formally, guys,'' Matt said, extending his hand for Freddy to shake it. ''I don't believe we really interacted with each other.''
''No, we didn't,'' Freddy replied. Matt then placed his hands on his hips, looking at the Showtimes.
''I also remember seeing one more animatronic last week…'' Matt suddenly froze when he heard a deep, growling tone from behind.
''That would be me.''
Matt turned around, stunned to see Springtrap suddenly standing behind him, his eyes glowing menacingly in a dark purple. He didn't even see him a moment ago as he walked through the entrance, and he noticed the smug smirk on the animatronic's expression, clearly pleased by Matt's startled reaction.
''The name is Springtrap,'' Springtrap said, keeping his hands folded on his back. Matt blinked slowly, processing what he just heard.
''You mean, William Afton…?'' he asked carefully.
''The one and only,'' Springtrap responded, clearly enjoying the fear creeping across Matt's expression. Then, Matt's demeanor suddenly changed, and he extended his hand, with a look of interest on his face.
''Nice to meet you, Mr. Afton,'' he said. Springtrap was baffled by the sudden change, as any sign of fear had been wiped and Matt was genuinely curious about him. He glanced at Sam, who just gave him a smug look. Matt waited for a moment, then lowered his hand when Springtrap didn't react. He turned to Sam. ''So, is this why you told me I might get murdered? Because you have an undead serial killer walking around freely?''
''Well, yes,… and no,'' Sam replied, rubbing her temple. ''It's a long story, but I can assure you that William won't hurt you… right?!'' She gritted her teeth, hissing the last part as she glared at Springtrap, who gulped nervously and nodded in response. Sam then turned back to Matt. ''You might want to go sit down. This is going to be a long conversation.''
''No problem, I have time,'' Matt replied, sitting down together with Sam and the animatronics at the booth. He also smiled at Chica as she brought over a free drink and a hastily microwaved pizza from the fridge. ''Okay, so, what's going on here? How did you even meet Mr. Afton?''
''I came across William last summer, when Ricky's Wonder Shack was still open and before Freddy's opened,'' Sam explained. ''Basically, I was just taking a peek at the restaurant because I was curious and I saw a figure inside, and the next thing I knew, William had grabbed me and threatened to murder me.''
As if right on cue, everyone, both Matt and the Showtimes, automatically looked up at Springtrap, who had an annoyed look on his expression. ''In my defense, I had just escaped Hell and had no clue what else I should do aside from the obvious.''
''That is no defense,'' Chica pointed out, frowning. Springtrap just stared at her, not responding, but clearly displeased.
''Wait a second, does this mean that what was shown in those FNaF games had really happened?'' Matt asked.
''For the most part, yeah,'' Sam replied, glancing at Springtrap. ''William had confirmed that they are indeed based on real events, and not just rumors Fazbear Entertainment spread to save their reputation.''
''Huh, that must've been a shocker when you found out about it,'' Matt said.
''I don't really remember her having much of a reaction, but she did grill me about what I had done and what had happened,'' Springtrap explained.
''I'm sorry, but I still don't understand something,'' Freddy suddenly rose his voice, addressing both Sam and Springtrap. ''How come you even decided to work to together? You, Springtrap, said that you wanted to kill her, but that obviously didn't happen.''
Sam and Springtrap exchanged glances, seemingly anticipating a question like that, with Springtrap answer, ''Sam had managed to get away from me and lock herself inside the security guard office, and we had a bit of a back and forth, with me threatening her and her responding to my threats.''
''Eventually, things went quiet, and I managed to escape the office and found Springtrap sitting on the ground,'' Sam added, addressing Springtrap. ''If I remember correctly, you were suffering from hallucinations, courtesy of the Ghost Children who had returned along with you to make sure the torture continues.''
''Right.'' Springtrap nodded.
''We talked a bit, and I eventually took pity on him and suggested that he could do better and offered him to stay at my place until he figures things out, and he accepted,'' Sam continued.
''Does your mother know?'' Matt asked.
''Yeah, she does,'' Springtrap said in a slightly bitter tone. ''She almost immediately figured everything out and threatened me. I will admit, Emma can be scary when angered.''
''I believe you. There is nothing scarier than a mother's righteous anger,'' Puppet said, clearly amused by Springtrap's strife with Emma.
''As I was figuring things out, I had been contacted by both the Ghost Children and Henry Emily, my old partner, who had been doing his best to convince me to literally go back to Hell,'' Springtrap continued. ''Of course, I never listened to him, especially since my attention was on the ongoing events at Ricky's Wonder Shack.''
''Sam had told me about it,'' Matt interrupted. ''She explained how one of the employees, Connor Davis, went on a murder spree, even using the animatronics for his misdeeds, and he eventually died.''
''Yeah, but I didn't tell you all the details. When I and William learned about Connor and what he had done, we decided to investigate him, and one of those investigations led us to the factory where William ended up stabbing Connor to save my life. Unfortunately, being inside a Ricky suit, Connor's soul had managed to possess it, and he sent his own creations – the Drawkill Animatronics – after us, while using the Misfits at Ricky's to murder more people. Unlike the Misfits, the Drawkills also have a higher level of sentience, similarly to the Showtimes, but neither animatronic group had been possessed by anyone, save for Raven,'' Sam continued.
''I remember you telling me about Raven…'' Matt muttered.
''From what we learned, Raven had been possessed by whatever remained of the soul of Connor's former co-worker, Bran Crawford, but eventually, his soul left, and all that remained was Raven with Bran's memories. Connor kept him around because he was obsessed over learning how to achieve immortality in a similar manner to William,'' Sam added.
''That's also why he had targeted me and Sam. He was an arrogant idiot who thought he knew better,'' Springtrap added. ''Not only that, but he also kept torturing both Raven and the Drawkills, who decided to turn against him and aid me and Sam in stopping him. Eventually, Raven and I had managed to corner Connor and Drawkill Freddy set the whole building on fire, with all three of us burning to ashes.''
''I see… but, you being here doesn't make sense then,'' Matt pointed out, only to raise an eyebrow. ''Right, you always come back, don't you?''
''Correct,'' Springtrap replied. ''Although, that's a whole another matter.''
''So, are the Ghost Children still here?'' Matt asked. Springtrap shook his head.
''No, which is something we had already discussed. Last time I had been here, I've been constantly hounded by either the Ghost Children, Henry, and even my own children. However, everyone's gone now, and while I suppose that is good news for my own sanity, it does feel a bit unsettling at times,'' he explained.
''As a side note, I can also see the spirits of the deceased after an unfortunate accident with Remnant,'' Sam quickly added.
''I see…'' Matt was a bit surprised, but quickly moved on to his next question, ''I suppose that didn't really help your own mental health.''
''Let's just say that the Ghost Children went so far to threaten my life in order to 'save me' from Springtrap, and with me being able to see and talk to them, I now had to listen to that as well,'' Sam explained.
''That's understandable. However, it appears that you're doing much better than before,'' Matt pointed out. ''Still, you have that dark and heavy aura surrounding you, but it is a bit lighter than before.''
''Aura?'' Springtrap rose an eyebrow, glancing at Sam. He saw nothing.
''It is just a way for me to describe what I sense,'' Matt explained. ''I know that there was something heavy and cold placed on Sam's shoulders, and I believe that her strong involvement in the supernatural was what caused it. Not to mention, the loss of someone close to her, a tragedy in her life, made things even worse, to the point she had issues with sleepwalking and constant nightmares.''
''I remember you literally asking me if I had something tragic happen to me the first time we met,'' Sam said. Matt smirked.
''So, I was correct in the end,'' he said in a triumphant tone. ''Dead or not, you still lost someone close to you.''
''Wait a second, I have a question here,'' Bonnie suddenly said, cutting off Sam's attempt at a response. ''How come you can sense stuff like that? Are you a medium or something?''
''No, because if I was a medium, I would've been able to communicate with spirits and see them the same way Sam does. I can only sense the supernatural and see whatever aura they have, and then I draw my conclusions from there. That's why I like to visit places that have this lingering sense of something tragic happening at them in the past, which is then preserved, either through the spirits that refuse to move on or the living who refuse to do the same,'' Matt explained. ''There is something nostalgic about places like Ricky's, even if it was a place of tragedy and only abandoned a couple of months ago.'' He then looked at Sam and Springtrap, with a soft smile spreading on his lips. ''I'm also glad to know the truth behind my brother's killer.''
''WHAT?!''
Not only Sam and Springtrap, but even the Showtimes were shocked by this bombshell, staring at Matt in stunned silence, who didn't seem to be perturbed at all by the sudden attention he got. Instead, he just took a bite of his pizza, calmly eating it.
''Matt, are… are you talking about Ricky's?'' Sam asked in a baffled tone. Matt nodded.
''Me, my younger brother and his friend went to Ricky's, and one moment he was there, and the next one, he was just mangled mess of flesh and blood,'' he said in a quiet voice.
''Matt, I'm so sorry, I had no idea… I knew about every disappearance and murder at Ricky's, but the news didn't release any names…'' Sam apologized, feeling awful for Matt having such a horrible experience. However, instead of showing any emotion, be it guilty or sorrow, Matt just shrugged.
''I never told you, so there is nothing to feel sorry for. Me and my brother were never close, and frankly, this wasn't the first death in my family. I also had a younger sister, but she died when I was 7. She had been playing at the pool we had outside our house, running around until she fell and hit her head on the pavement, then fell into the pool and drowned,'' he continued, ignoring the looks of horror on everyone's expression, sounding almost indifferent. ''My parents were devastated, and we moved from Hurricane to New Harmony because they couldn't get over her death, before eventually moving back. Mum always wanted a daughter, so this hit her really hard and she started paying more attention to my brother. I suppose it was a way for her to fill the void my sister had left after her death. However, now, they act like they have no children and a teenager roommate. I didn't hear them blame me for what happened though, but I do believe that something is going through their minds,'' Matt's tone was surprisingly bitter, but his expression showed nothing but serene indifference. ''I still have my sister's doll she played with when she died, as well as the Ricky plushie my brother held when he died. I had to clean off the blood, though, but I suppose this is one way to keep them around even if we were never close to each other.''
''Matt… I…'' Sam had no clue what to say, feeling completely numb, only for Matt to interrupt her.
''So, what's the deal with Glitchtrap then?'' he asked.
Recognizing that Matt wanted to move on from the topic about his own past, she quickly answered, ''Right, well… William had told me that Glitchtrap is most likely a broken piece of his soul, having found his way into the Help Wanted video game due to Fazbear Entertainment using the circuit boards as a shortcut for the programming, and is now influencing Vanessa, the one who sent me the Glitchtrap-infected games. I'm now certain that their next objective is to cause chaos at the Mega Pizzaplex.''
''A broken piece of soul…? How did that happen?'' Matt asked, turning to Springtrap.
''It was because of the constant torment I suffered in the Hell created by one of my victims,'' he explained.
''I see… So, what can I do to help you?'' Matt asked, observing Sam and the animatronics.
''You don't have to do anything,'' Sam replied. ''I told you this so you could make your own decision to either back away or be involved into a mess that might end up in your own death. This is a warning.''
''Fine, I'll get involved then,'' Matt responded in a blunt tone. Sam snorted, having already expected such an answer.
''Are you completely sure about this? Sam had been part of this for a while and she almost died on multiple occasions,'' Chica asked.
''Yeah, I'm certain. It sounds like it's going to be interesting, and I would love to participate in this horror show,'' Matt replied, shrugging. ''It's not like I have anything better to do.''
The Showtimes were about to argue back, but when they saw Sam shake her head, they realized they were fighting a losing battle. After all, Sam absolutely refused to back down, and if Matt was anything like her, he would power through this as well. Springtrap, on the other hand, didn't appear to care that much about Matt's safety.
''If you think that's the best decision, then you do you. However, don't think I'll be looking out for you if you do something stupid while exploring the Pizzaplex,'' he told him. Matt leaned against the table, placing his chin on his hand as he stared at Springtrap with a sudden interest. His eyes then flicked towards Sam.
''Sam, I don't think your father likes me very much,'' he said.
The reaction was instant. Both Sam and Springtrap were stunned by the bold statement, with Sam sputtering, ''W-Wait, that's not- He's not- I didn't-'', while Springtrap's eyes suddenly started to glow a dark purple, clearly plotting how to murder Matt for stating something so bold; something that was also quite true. As for the Showtimes, both Freddy and Chica were bewildered by the statement, while Foxy and Bonnie were amused by Springtrap's reaction, while Puppet just shook her head, clearly aware that there was something more going on than either of them wanted to admit. Matt just grinned cheekily, clearly enjoying himself.
Springtrap, on the other hand, was glaring daggers at Matt. Just when he hoped that Emma would be the only person he'd have to deal with, now he had a sassy teenager who was a bit too close with Sam for his liking to contend with.
