"Here we are." Mitch breathed out. He swallowed a lump in his throat or, rather, he tried to as it refused to budge. A shudder ran through him as he focused on his wavering breaths. That vaguely helping, the teenager turned his head to the passenger seat. Mike was sitting there, staring out ahead at the pizzeria. He looked empty, driven by only a single objective. They'd arrived a little over an hour early, to get some time to enact their plan before the animatronic's woke up. But, now with what they'd learned, Mitch wasn't so certain things would go well, and he was well aware it was risky to begin with. Moreover, Mike didn't look much better than he had prior. "Mike are you sure you want to go inside. You don't-"

"I have to." Mike interrupted.

Mitch's tone became insistent with worry, "But he knows we're coming!"

"I KNOW." Mike yelled loudly and with enough force that he needed to catch his breath afterwards. The forcefulness silenced Mitch for the moment. Frame trembling, Mike continued, "If we don't do this now. That monster will continue killing and the kids will suffer. Who knows what torment he'll put them through. It's either tonight, or never." He frowned grimly, "Besides, he'll come after me anyway. I'm on that list." Mike looked at the teen driver, "You're the one that should leave."

"I'm already involved, remember?" Mitch responded wryly. Mike only shook his head in response. He looked to the back seat where Jayden was sitting. The other teen looked awkward about overhearing everything but said nothing regarding it. "Least, we got everything we needed, right?"

"Yeah." Jayden answered, stiffly. He cleared his throat, "Got enough to light this place up." The boy shifted in his seat, looking out the windows. Clearly uncomfortable about a crime, even if it was supposed for a good reason. All his intrigue into the Fazbear rumors seemed to have die upon being recruited to help put an end to the perpetrator once and for all. The knots tying his stomach could be seen on his tense expression. Silence wasn't helping so, Jayden asked, "Who are we waiting for, again?"

"A dayshift guard." Mitch answered, then added, "He's bringing two others. Another guard and the guy who burned down Fazbear's Fright."

"Isaac Vargas?" Jayden seemed surprised by this. "How'd you get ahold of him?"

The question was directed at Mike, who answered, eyes still locked on the pizzeria, "I didn't. Harriette, the other guard, and the janitor knew where he was. He didn't want to get involved again. Needed proof that the killer was back."

"What'd you send him to prove it?" Jayden questioned. His curiosity somewhat revived, although unease wavered on the edge of his voice. Mike didn't answer. That was answer enough and neither teen pushed for one.

Anxious silence was only broken again when another car pulled in and Mike popped open the passenger door, saying, "Looks like they're here."

Quietly the two teens followed Mike as he walked over to the other car. Out from it came two other adults dressed in guard uniforms, one man with ginger hair and one woman with black curly hair, a middle-aged janitor woman, and a short rough looking man. The teens identified him as Isaac Vargas quickly, having seen him on the news for burning down the horror attraction. That left the red-headed guard as Leroy from the morning shift, the other as Harriette, and the janitor as Karen. Who looked none too thrilled to be here.

"You must be Mike." Isaac guessed. Noticing the tattered uniform on him and his general battered condition, he looked vaguely impressed, "I see you've met that bastard, huh?"

"Yeah, we chatted." Mike dully responded. Isaac didn't press for further details, the injuries evident enough as to how it went. "Sorry for dragging you back into this, I heard you didn't want to deal with this further."

Isaac huffed, "Don't be. I apparently didn't do it right the first time. If that monster's back, I'm happy to put him down properly." He looked to Karen, "Pop the trunk." Karen pulled the lever in the driver's seat and the back popped open. Curious, the three followed him as he went around the back and pulled something from the trunk. It was a fireman's ax. "And this time, I'll make sure he can't cower in a hole."

It was obvious that Isaac wanted to bash apart the killer's vessel. This, however, conflicted with Mike's plan. He held up a hand, motioning for the arsonist to pause. "Wait, let me explain my plan."

Isaac seemed annoyed by this, "What plan? I thought you called me here to burn this bastard to ash."

Mike shot a look at Karen. The janitor crossed her arms and replied, "Hey, you didn't explain to me what your idea was. Just that me and Leroy had to get people out safely then contact this guy."

The flat response earned an eye twitch from Mike. But she spoke the truth. He pulled his irate gaze from the cleaner and looked back to Isaac, "Look." He started bluntly. Then he exhaled, wanting to keep things civil, "Much as I want to do that, I don't think it'll really solve anything."

"And why not?" Isaac questioned. He appeared impatient, no doubt wanting to just get things over with but not headstrong enough to just charge in.

"Because I learned that it'll just free his spirit." Mike answered. This got not just Isaac to hold pause but everyone else as well. Save, Mitch who'd already heard this. "I... had a dream," his voice wavered some, knowing how it sounded aloud, "and one of the kids told me how he wrecked them, in the last Freddy's. Before Fazbear's fright. I know it's sounds crazy, but it's one of the things I'm certain of."

Isaac, to Mike's surprise, didn't scoff at this. Instead, he dropped the axe onto the pavement, hand still holding onto the handle. "Dammit." He swore, "So even if I did burn that monster, it wouldn't have solved anything?"

"Probably?" Mike replied, sounding surprised. He scratched around his bangs. "I'm surprised you believe me."

"He's had dreams since his experience too." Harriette explained, looking at Isaac. The man only glanced at her for answering in his stead.

"Right, everyone gets them." Mike said. He was still too tired to keep things completely straight in his head.

"I also had something kind of like that." Isaac added. His agitated expression fell from his face, softening to a mournful sadness, "When I worked at that- disrespectful place, I had dreams. About them being smashed up by that monster." A dry grin crept up on his face, "And how he bit it to that rabbit suit."

"He died to the Spring Bonnie suit." Harriette questioned, perking a bit the mention.

Isaac nodded curtly.

Harriette scoffed wryly, saying to herself, "Good."

Moving along, Isaac asked Mike, "Okay. So, torching him isn't how we're going about this. What's this plan of yours?"

As Mike was about to answer when he halted, seeing Karen moving herself back to her driver's seat, "Where are you going?"

"Home. Where else?" Karen answered simply.

Leroy's eyes widened in alarm. "You're leaving? Aren't you going to help us?"

"Look." Karen started. "I helped you out because I didn't want anyone who wasn't involved to die. Okay? But I ain't going face to face with him." She pointed to herself then to the fire axe Isaac was holding, "I remember when he was going around chopping people up with that axe. I've seen what he does to people- and I'm not going to be around for it." She sighed when Leroy gave her a disappointed expression, one of reproach, "I'll call the cops, paramedics or whatever, if you don't get back to me. Alright?"

Before Leroy could decide to try and convince her more, Mike spoke up, "Let her go. Can't force her to put her life on the line." More bluntly he added, "Don't need anyone choking."

The logic apparent, Leroy stepped back. Karen, ignoring the sour tone of Mike's, got in her car and left after Isaac pulled his lighter fluid from trunk. She didn't slow or stop as her vehicle disappeared down the road.

"Can't say I blame her..." Jayden remarked as he watched her go. Mitch nodded beside him.

Isaac didn't share their understanding, "Coward." He huffed. He looked back to Mike, "You were going to say?"

"Pacing back and forth isn't going to speed things up." Jayden remarked as Mitched passed him by for the umpteenth time.

"I know!" Mitch snapped. His outburst caused his friend to arc his brows in surprise. Realizing his tone, Mitch apologized, "Sorry. I just. I hate this, standing outside while they're getting things done. Or are in danger."

Jayden shrugged in understanding, "Hey I get it dude." He flashed a sympathetic grin, "You know we're kids to them, ya'know. They're not gonna let us go up against the town's undead serial killer. Not a chance. They gotta be the responsible ones."

"I know..." Mitch conceded as he leaned back against Mike's car.

"You know what that means though, right?" Jayden asked.

"What?"

Jayden grinned. "As teens, we don't have to do what they say."

Mitch laughed softly. "Yeah." He looked to the pizzeria with worry, "Hope it doesn't get to that."

They both perked up as there was a powerful crack of thunder above them. It was strong enough that they felt the force of it in their bones. On reflex they both snapped their attention to the sky. Right after, a heavy downpour of rain pelted them. Alarmed, the two teenagers ducked into the car. Though it'd just started, by the time they were in the safety of the car, both were thoroughly soaked.

"Jesus!" Jayden exclaimed. He sputtered, wiping off the water from his face, "That started up out of nowhere!"

"It was cloudy all day." Mitch remarked as he climbed over to the driver's seat. Thankfully, Mike had left the keys in the ignition.

"You know what I mean!" Jayden yelled indignantly.

As the car came to life, Mitch flipped on the wipers. Even with he set them to go at their fastest, the rain quickly refilled the windshield. "I can barely see through all this." Mitch remarked, he frowned, "It's going to be tough to tell when they'll need help..."

Still wiping himself off, Jayden held a pause. From where he was it was even tougher to see outside. His stomach tensed. He could only say, "Going to have to keep watch and trust our guts."

Mitch didn't respond. It was all they had, and he didn't like that.

Inside, the lights were all off. Even the security office, which was usually left lit, was dark. On the desk, the tablet was snapped in two. When the group tried to turn the lights on, nothing. The power was shut off. While the group all had flashlights for this occasion, it and the tablet confirmed that killer was indeed waiting for them. Somewhere in the darkness.

As the group moved towards the back, the four kept clustered together. Isaac, the one with the weapon, stood just behind Mike as he pointed his flashlight forward while Harriette looked to the left, Leroy to the right, staying alert for the murder. Thus far, the side rooms were vacant of anything but their furnishings. It was clear that the cleaning hadn't been finished due to the leftovers left on the tables, whether on plates or on table surfaces. Mike was relieved that, even though two had possibly died, at least most of the staff had left alive. Now they just had to make sure they'd stay safe.

The four held a pause at the entrance to the main party room. There on the stage stood Freddy, Bonnie and Chica. From outside, lightning flashed, partially illuminating the animatronics. In that moment, Mike nearly expected them to snap their attention to them. Even though this didn't happen, he felt no relief. They'd wake up if they didn't end this fast enough. Even Isaac, who'd soothed them in the past, made no promises that they'd recognize him. Nor that he'd be able to pacify them again. For their own safety, they were still to be considered dangerous.

The silence of the ac units alerted Mike to another possible issue. He turned to Leroy, "Is the music box still going?"

While confused as to why this'd cause urgency, Leroy checked without questioning. He stood not far from the prize corner, so he simply turned his flashlight to check. The alcove was indeed silent. He didn't hear the playful tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel," but he did notice a new addition to the marionette's home. "There's a lock on the box." He reported.

He doesn't want the Puppet out tonight. Mike thought in dismal relief. He looked around the party room, the cleanest area pizzeria by the looks of it. Not that the establishment would be having another day of business by the end of tonight. He kept his eyes pinned on the stage then asked, "Check the storage room."

Leroy did just that and reported it empty shortly after, further strengthening Mike's hunch. Silently, he gestured to the group to follow him. Without the electricity on, the killer wouldn't be able to see them through the stage cameras. This blackout tactic of his would backfire on him too, but Mike wasn't going to be too confident. He surely knew this.

Mike led the group up to the stage, the thunder resonating through the air, and flashes of lightning lighting their backs. They all tried to keep their footsteps quiet as possible, but two out of three of them didn't have experience in staying light-footed and the others too weren't experts. That, or the tension made any noise sound all the louder. Mike hoped that the thunder would muffle their steps. He looked at Leroy then gestured to the back wall. Outside, Leroy said he had an idea where the hidden door to the main stage control room was. He'd seen the mechanic go in through the security cameras and once while he did his rounds. However, he warned that he didn't know the exact section or if there was a specific way to open it.

The day guard nodded stiffly, clearly fearful, but inched his way carefully over to the wall. Harriette, Isaac, and Mike followed just behind him. The three were careful to keep their flashlights pointed away from the wall, in case light leaked underneath the hidden door (if that was possible). Leroy had switched to his phone light and was inspecting every inch, trying to recall which portion was the door. Every so often a flash of lightning gave him a slight second of extra light, or a peal of thunder would make him jump. He tried to keep his shaking to a minimum, try as he might though the pressure made it persist.

Harriette willed Leroy to hurry but held her tongue, watching him from where she stood. She was at the divide between the backstage and the mainstage, the show curtain just behind her. Watching the man paw at the wall was making her impatient, so she turned her attention to keeping a look out. Mike had been certain that the murderer would be hiding in there, his only point of certainty was the fact he'd done it before. With the tablet busted, there wasn't a sure-fire way to know where he was hidden. Harriette darted her eyes back to the wall. She hoped it was true. She itched to punch him in the face. The fact that he was possessing Gregor was beside the point. She needed this.

She stiffened a bit another roar of thunder from overhead. Harriette looked up at the ceiling, checking that the roof wasn't leaking. It was still solidly holding the rain out, but she could clearly hear the individual drops pounding away regardless. To Mike, who stood only a couple steps beside her, she muttered, "How are we going to burn this place with the storm like this?"

Mike cast a glance at her, disapproving of her breaking the silence, but answered anyway, "Doesn't matter. Long as the inside is torched."

Satisfied, Harriette resumed silence, picturing the place burning. Maybe then her family and the lost souls could rest, while the bastard that'd ruined everything rotted in the middle of nowhere. Left to be forgotten. She exhaled, softly, trying to settle herself at least a little and cast her gaze and flashlight elsewhere. While they'd checked the place over as they'd entered, they hadn't checked the whole building. They were just going with this off Mike's hunch. Not that she'd doubted him, too much, but there was a whole other section they hadn't inspected. She wanted to, at least, keep an eye on the other side.

Her light moved over to the right side of the building, casting a spotlight over the other wall and dipping into the nearby side party rooms. She couldn't see anything from where she was. Aside from some arcade cabinets, it looked like that was the arcade room. She hadn't come into the building before this. She'd submitted her resume online and did her interview over the phone. Harriette felt her disdain would be too evident if she'd come in. It was almost sad how her love for the franchise had twisted, almost. It needed to be destroyed.

Another boom of thunder. This time it shook the building; she could feel the air and floor shudder at the raw might of it. All four of them jumped to varying degrees. Harriette felt momentary alarm, her shoulders jumping and her attention snapping upwards again. In her back pocket she felt her phone buzz. Fishing it out quick, wanting to check if it was her family, she saw it was a storm alert with a power outage warning.

That bad huh? She thought to herself, hoping her family would be spared any trouble. This would help them though, everyone in the town would be inside tonight. Perfect night for a crime. However, she viewed it as public service. She put it back in her pocket. Then stilled, her eyes stuck on something. It was Chica's clunky feet. They weren't pointed forward.