A/N: It's time to continue the torture of William Afton. As you can see, Mike doesn't have a single shred of mercy for the child-murdering bastard, and neither do I. And for those of you who wonder what Demon!Mike's evil laugh sounds like, I imagine something like this:
[[Youtube – BFME2: The 1.09 Patch – Isengard has been Unleashed!]] by RuudDevil, at 32:06
Unlike many arcs in this fic, I've had this one planned for MONTHS. And during that time, I came up with two possible explanations for what's going on behind the scenes, and why Mike is so insanely powerful in his mind compared to William. And even with so much time and thought put into this arc, to this day I have no idea which explanation is better. So I'm going to put both of them right here, without explicitly confirming them in the fic, and let YOU decide which interpretation is better/more fitting.
The first is that Nightmare gave more than just advice when he came to warn the man about William Afton's escape. He also offered to teach Mike how to wield unholy magic and sorcery, powers that he wouldn't possibly be able to use (let alone control) in the real world, but would have zero issues using in his mindscape. Hellish powers that Nightmare Springtrap would ultimately be powerless against, when wielded by one with the skill and the hatred to utilize them to their fullest. The only thing that Nightmare asked in exchange for teaching Mike how to utilize hellish magic in the dream world was a promise to make William Afton suffer…a bargain that Mike willingly accepted.
Or alternatively, Nightmare didn't give any help outside of his warning to Mike, and everything that Mike did and will do to William is entirely of his own doing. Every use of dark power, every act of cruelty, every hideous torture. Mike is invoking the powers of imagination and creativity in the absolute worst way possible, and doing it entirely by himself, because he hates William just that much.
Whichever interpretation you choose, neither of them has pleasant implications.
On an unrelated note, I am frankly amazed and overwhelmed by the many reviews and positive responses that you've given the last chapter. Not only there over 30 reviews in this one chapter alone, but we've officially passed 300+ favs and follows for this fic as a whole! Thank you so much for all your support, you guys are one of the main reasons why I am motivated to keep writing despite my busy schedule!
I'm going to be changing the Zalgo Text to be less blurry and only affect the middle instead of middle + bottom. It will make the text less eldritch but hopefully also easier to read, since I know at least one person complained about that.
There are a few of you who wanted Nightmare Springtrap to get stronger and overwhelm Demon!Mike. I'm sorry to say that this just won't happen. Not only would that be incredibly dissatisfying to a vast majority of my readers and it would derail the path I have established for this arc, but it wouldn't make any sense since Demon!Mike has WAY too many advantages over Nightmare Springtrap for our rotten murderer to even fight decently against, let alone counter.
Rockstar Ballora and ImAFanficAddict: I will probably not write a sequel or spinoff, but every game that Scott releases gives me more material to work with.
Chapter 82 – The True Face of Hatred, Part 2
William groaned in miserable pain as he stared at the broken, ruined mounds of ethereal flesh that had once been his hands. With movements that were as cruel as they were methodical, the phantom of Scrap Baby that Mike had summoned had used her menacing claw to crush and mangle each one of his fingers and claws, one at a time. Scrap Baby had mutilated them slowly enough for him to experience the full agony of each destruction, and quickly enough that he would not have time for that agony to subside. Corrupted essence splattered from all that remained of Nightmare Springtrap's claws, proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that the animatronic that had once worshipped her father above all else now cared nothing for his fate.
And all the while, the demonic abomination that Mike had become looked on, amusement glowing in his infernal eyes. "̢I͝ TH͞I̸̧̛N̕͘K̢̀ T̶҉HAT̕ ̀T̢́H͜͠͡I̸S̛͡҉ ̸IS̷ ҉̴̴A̷̛N̡͘ ̢E̶X̷C͘͏E҉̷̧L̴ĹE͞͡N͜͞͏T́͘҉ ͏͡ Ẃ͘͏A̢͜Ý̷ ̧̛͟F̵̸̨Ò͢R̵͠ ̛ Y͜͞OU̕ ̡̕ A̧͠N̛͘D̵͢ ̵͜Y͘͡OÚR͡ ̷̕͜D͢Ą͡U͟G͏͝H͘҉̕T҉͘E̷̷R͝ ̶̨͘ŢO͏̸͟ RE͡S͘ÒL͠V̡̧E ̢͟͜YOU̷͜Ŗ̵ ̵͢ DI͟͠F̛́F̶̛E͠R̡EŃ̡C̸͢ES,̧̛̛ ͟W͡O͏͝U̵͢L̀͝͝D̛͢N̨'̛T̡҉ Y̨͏OŲ͟ ҉̸͘A͝G͠R҉̛҉E̢͢E̢͏͟?̴" Mike drawled as he let out a guttural laugh. "̨́Y̕͘O̴͡͡Ù ̸͝W̷È̢ŔE҉ ͏S̵̀E͏͟P͠A̴̕R̀̀A̶T͜͡E̛D ̸͘ FROM̶ ̸͢͏H͢͝҉E̛͠R̸̛͞ ̷FO̷̢R̴̷͟ ͢S͝O͜ ͡L͞͝O͡N̷G̨͝, ͏͘̕A̵N͡Ḑ̸ Ń̢͢O̵͟Ẃ ̴̶͟Y̵OU̢̡͘ ͜҉K͜N҉̡͝OW ̡E̷̸͢X̡͜͡À͡CT͜L҉Y͝҉ ̵̕͝W̡̢H̶̷̷Ą̀T̢ ̡ŚH̛͘E̷ T̨H͏I҉҉Ņ͝K̶͠S͏͜ Ǫ͏F̛͝ ͘҉̵Y̛͞O҉͟U̧͏͝.͢"҉
(I THINK THAT THIS IS AN EXCELLENT WAY FOR YOU AND YOUR DAUGHTER TO RESOLVE YOUR DIFFERENCES, WOULDN'T YOU AGREE? YOU WERE SEPARATED FROM HER SO LONG. AND NOW YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT SHE THINKS OF YOU.)
Nightmare Springtrap gritted his fangs in pain and impotent rage. His claws were now destroyed beyond any hope of repair, and he knew that this was just the beginning. But he would not give Mike Schmidt the satisfaction of facing defeat like a weakling, helpless like he had been in the trap pizzeria that had led to his death.
No, even if Schmidt held all the cards and victory was inevitable, he would make that victory as irritating as possible.
The demonic rabbit animatronic suddenly raised his head and unleashed one last blast of hellish flame from his jaws, aiming his final, desperate attack straight at the demonic Mike's face. His fleeting hope that he had somehow managed to surprise Mike was quickly dashed as Mike raised his black clawed gauntlet and caught the flames squarely in his iron grip. Realizing that his final gambit, William immediately tried to cease his attack. But to his astonishment and growing dread, the flames kept spewing from his mouth, no longer under his control for the first time. Mike curled his fangs into a grin as he forcibly pulled more and more flame from his enemy's mouth, causing William to start frantically clawing at his throat with the broken stumps of his former fingers as the flames started choking him even as Mike ripped them from their source. It was only after Mike finally stopped pulling did William finally gasp for air, utterly drained and exhausted. In seizing control of his flames, Mike had claimed almost all of William's demonic power, and his only other means to fight back. Now, he had almost nothing of the essence that he had stolen from the Nightmare children left, only just enough to maintain the increasingly powerless form of Nightmare Springtrap.
William waited for Mike to throw the flames back at him and consume him in fiery agony, but instead of unleashing them immediately, the man took a different approach that was both baffling and, in its own way, almost more disturbing than a direct attack would have been. Mike lifted the hand holding his infernal flames and essence up to his scythe, and lowered his scythe so that the weapon's skull head was directly next to it. The eyes of the skull suddenly glowed intensely and it began to hungrily devour the offering of unholy energy, consuming the power as though it were a vampire feasting on blood. The moment the last of the flames disappeared inside the skull's mouth, the entire scythe blade suddenly erupted into hellish flame, a miniature but no less deadly firestorm that churned and roiled around the blade with a raging strength that was far more powerful and far more chaotic than any other time Mike's weapon had been wreathed in flames. Mike chuckled menacingly as he approached William, who could feel the heat as though it was melting his flesh even though it had not even touched him yet. "͞͡W̡H̸͘Y, ͜TH̨A̛̛N͠K͝ ̸͝Y҉̢O̷U̢,́͠ ̡W̨̧͠IL͝LĮ̵͜A͏͜M ̴͡Á̵́F̶T̷̡O͞N̛.̷̢҉.̶́."͜ Mike addressed him with mocking appreciation and gratitude. "͏́Í ͢͟H̷͢Á͡͡D ̀N̕͡O͏̡ ̸͟҉I͢D̵̡E͜A͢ ͝TH͞A͡͞T͜ ͞Y̢O͜͜U̶ ͞WA͜͢N̵̡͘T̕E̶͘D̵́͜ ̧͞T̶̸̵O̵̢ ̢M͘͡҉A̴͞Ķ҉E̶̢ ̛M̧Y̛͢ ̶J͜͡͞O̧̡B̴͜ ̀͟EV̷E̷N̵ ̸̕E̛ASI̷̧͠E̡͢R̵̶̀.͜͠ I͞ ̛͢͢Ẃ͝AS͟ ̵J̧̀U̢S̶Ţ̕ ̶͜͡ĢO̧͡I̸N͠G͘͟ ̡TƠ͟ ̨͠F͢L͜͟AY̵̕ T̢͞͡H̷͞E̡҉̵ ̧̧̕M̨É̵͢TA̸͡͞L ̨͠A͢͠ND̷ S̸K̸̀I̸N̴͠ ͟O͟F̷̀F͏ ͡͞Y͜O̶͞UR͏̛͟ ̡̡S̵̀Ơ̵U̕͞L̶̀,͘ ҉̴B̡U̴̕T ̵͏N̷͏Ǫ̕W̶̴͟ ͟I̸͝ ̷G̴̀ET T͟Ờ̡ D̶O̴ ͟҉̶T̀HA̴̕T͝҉̸ A͏̵N̶͝D͢͟ ̴S̶̀E̢̕T̕ ̸YOU̕͟͡ ̨͘͡O̧͟N F̡͡I̷R̶̕E̢̛͠ À̸̷T̕ ̛͟T͏͟H̡̛E ҉S͟͡A̸ME ̸̡T̸I͞ME͠!̕͢"҉͜ Catching the terrified and nauseated look on Nightmare Springtrap's face, Mike's demonic visage smirked in anticipation. "̸̨͟B́͘U̵̕͡Ţ̀͜ ̨D͜͠O̕͟͞N͢'̸͞҉T͢͞͡ ͏͡D̶ES̛͝P̨͜͞A̷̸ÌR,̛͢ ͝M̨Ý̛ FRI̧͜͞E̢̕N͠҉D́҉̨…" he offered false comfort, ̨̕"͟IF̢ ̀C̷̷O͘͟RP̵͟O͘R̷E͞A̵̢L̢ ͘͘S̶̷͘O̢ÚL̕S ͏̧W͜OR͠K̡̨ ͢͞T҉H̢͟҉E̡̢͏ S͜͠A̴͡M͢Ȩ̶̛ ̢͡W̶͟A̢͡͝Ý̢͞ ̢͝AS̵ ̴̷P̵H͏̛Y͞S̷̸̵I͘C̢AL̨ ҉B̡ƠD͠IE̢͜S̸, ͏T͞͏HE͟ ͝͏F̸҉Ļ͠A҉̛͡M̶ES̢͡ W̸I̴̡L҉͡L͘ ̨C̵̵A҉̵U͜T҉͞E̶̕͟R̸Ì̕Z͘͝͝E͟͜͝ T̷̨͢H̴̨̛E̶͠ ̸̛͝W҉O̧͠U̧͘͝N̸҉Ḑ.́ ̸̕͝ A͠͏Ņ̀D҉ ͘W̛͟H̴͠O͏ ͝͝ K͜͡N̶O̶W̸͢҉S̕?̵ M̡̛AY͟BĘ Y̸O̵̢U'̀͝Ļ͝L̸͡ ́B́͜E͜͠ ̵T́O͘͡O BU̢͝S̢Y͠͏ ͏S͡Ų͟FF̛͡ER̸̡͜I̸̵N̴͡G̀ ̨̡F͢R̨͡Ơ̵͘M҉͟ ̧O̷̧̨N̡E̶ ̡̛ T͡Ơ͠͠R̸MĘ̸҉ŃT̷̡ ͝ ŢÒ̀ ̷͞Ņ̛OT̶Į̵C̸͜E ͘ T̴͞H̕͠E̡͝ ̡O͞T̵͜H̨̀͞E̷͟R͏̧.͢͝ ̸ ҉T͘͜HĘ̀RE̵̵̡'̷S̶ ̵̧O͏N̵LY O͠N͘͢E̴̸ W͠A̶Y̡͟ ҉͟͠T̵O͜͡ ͏͜F̷̛͜I҉͘ND̢ ́͡O͟U̵͝T̡͝,҉̶ I̵S͘҉N͞'͠T̷̀͡ ̨̀ T̸H̵E͞R͘E̵͠͠?̷̡͏"̸
(WHY, THANK YOU, WILLIAM AFTON. I HAD NO IDEA THAT YOU WANTED TO MAKE MY JOB EVEN EASIER. I WAS JUST GOING TO FLAY THE METAL AND SKIN OFF YOUR SOUL, BUT NOW I GET TO DO THAT AND SET YOU ON FIRE AT THE SAME TIME! BUT DON'T DESPAIR, MY FRIEND…IF CORPOREAL SOULS WORK THE SAME WAY AS PHYSICAL BODIES, THE FLAMES WILL CAUTERIZE THE WOUND. AND WHO KNOWS? MAYBE YOU'LL BE TOO BUSY SUFFERING FROM ONE TORMENT TO NOTICE THE OTHER. THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT, ISN'T THERE?)
Mike lifted his scythe to William Afton's arm, and impaled it deep into his wrist, just proximal to his hand. The burning blade sliced through the rotten metal that comprised William's ethereal flesh as though it were melted butter, his mouth curled into a menacing grin as he heard William Afton scream. And with the same methodological cruelty that his phantom of Scrap Baby had employed, he began to peel.
/
Charlie stared in transfixed horror as she watched her father flay the skin off Nightmare Springtrap's arm, tearing out metal and skin to expose the frail shade underneath. Even now, she did not understand what her nature as a ghost was truly like, but she was completely unprepared to see the exposed flesh and bone of William's arm with essence spewing out of it like blood, exactly as though Mike was flaying a living mortal. She only had a glimpse of William's exposed innards before the flames of Mike's scythe blade incinerated them, drowning her murderer's arm in an unholy, ravenous inferno. When the flames finally died down, William's entire arm was scorched and covered in horrific burns, yet somehow hadn't disintegrated to ashes. It was only after Mike grimly smiled and moved on to his other arm did Charlie realize that her father had kept the limb intact on purpose.
And of course, Nightmare Fredbear was immorally delighted by the grisly spectacle. "WELL DONE, SCHMIDT," he praised. "YOUR PLANNING AND EFFICIENCY IS TO BE ADMIRED."
"Efficiency?" Charlie repeated weakly.
"BUT OF COURSE," Nightmare Fredbear chuckled. "BY FLAYING THE SPIRITUAL FLESH OF WILLIAM AFTON'S SOUL FIRST AND FOREMOST, SCHMIDT IS ENSURING THAT WILLIAM AFTON WILL SUFFER ATROCIOUS AGONY IN A MANNER MOST VICIOUS, WHILE LEAVING THE REST OF THE SOUL INTACT FOR HIM TO REVISIT ANY…FURTHER TORMENTS, IF HE SO CHOOSES. WERE NIGHTMARIONNE HERE TO WITNESS THIS DISPLAY, HE WOULD MOST CERTAINLY APPROVE. WHEN IT COMES TO OUR CLAN, NONE ARE MORE EXPERT IN THE ART OF FLAYING THAN HE."
"Nightmarionne…" Charlie's eyes widened in horror, this time for an entirely different reason. "Oh my God!" she shrieked. "My brothers and sisters! I've been so caught up with watching Mike's battle that I've completely forgotten that I've left them with a demon!"
"Charlie?" a familiar voice snapped her out of her frantic rant. Both she and Nightmare Fredbear looked towards the bedroom door to see Gabe standing there, looking worried but otherwise completely fine.
"Oh, thank God…" Charlie floated over to her brother and wrapped him in a hug. "I'm sorry, Gabe…" she murmured, "I completely forgot I left you guys with another demon."
"It's all right, Charlie…no really, it's all right!" Gabe insisted after seeing the unconvinced look on Charlie's face. "I know it's a bit weird to think about, but Nightmarionne…he's really not that bad at all. If it weren't for the fact that we're all worried sick about dad and Nightmarionne absolutely refuses to let us the leave the living room outside of letting me check up on you, I'd even say he's kind of a fun guy to be around." Gabe's eyes turned to look at his unconscious father. "How's dad doing?" he asked.
"Nightmare Springtrap tried to possess him to invade his mind and attack his soul," Charlie replied. Seeing the horrified look on Gabe's face, Charlie quickly reassured him. "He's fine. Remember how dad can lucid dream and warp reality in his dreams? He used that to kick William Afton's ass. I'm sure he'll be up soon, you should go back down to check on the rest of our family. Especially Liz, she did NOT look good when I last saw her."
Gabe grimaced. "Liz got hurt bad, but with both of her other brothers looking after her I think she'll be okay." He was about to say something, when suddenly a hideous, agonized scream bellowed out from the fiery portal in front of Nightmare Fredbear. Gabe jumped in the air in frightened shock at the terrifying sound. "What was that?" he demanded.
Charlie immediately moved in front of her brother, blocking his view of the portal. "DON'T LOOK!" she shouted with uncharacteristic harshness. When Gabe flinched, she forced herself to calm down. "Please, Gabe…" she pleaded. She could not allow Gabe to see the nightmarish tortures that Mike was inflicting upon William, no matter what. "Don't look in there. You don't want to see what's going on in there."
"I thought you said that dad was winning against…"
"…it's not dad that's screaming," Charlie tersely interrupted him.
Gabe's eyes widened as he realized the implications of that scream. Still, he had not seen what Charlie had seen, and there was still some vicious satisfaction that his father was beating the crap out of their murderer. Still, even he couldn't deny that the scream he had just heard had chilled him to the very core of his soul. And since William wasn't the one causing the screams, that only left Mike… "How…how bad can it be?" he asked, though his tone betrayed his nervousness.
It was Nightmare Fredbear who answered him instead of Charlie, his familiar fanged grin stretched across his face. "DO NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO, LITTLE BRAT," he warned with a growl. "YOU HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT YOUR FATHER POSSESSES DARKNESS IN HIS HEART, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. DO YOU TRULY WISH TO SEE EXACTLY WHAT HE IS CAPABLE OF, WHEN HE ABANDONS THE LIGHT AND EMBRACES THAT DARKNESS? THINK CAREFULLY…"
Even as he finished, another tortured, drawn-out scream echoed from the fiery portal that Charlie was now blocking. Gabe looked between Charlie and the portal, torn between curiosity at what was going on within and dread at what he would find.
"Trust me, Gabe. Please…" Charlie begged one more time.
Gabe sighed. "All right, Charlie. I trust you." He turned to leave, before stopping to say one last thing. "You shouldn't be so worried, Charlie. No matter what dad does to William, at the end of the day he's still our dad." The former Freddy inhabitant snorted. "And it's not like anybody cares what dad does to that bastard anyway." With those words, Gabe departed from the room.
Charlie turned back to face the fiery portal, and the horror show that was being displayed on it. "I've hated William Afton from the moment he killed me in that alleyway, and I know you hate him just as much. But would you say the same, if you could see what I have seen?"
/
Mike lifted his scythe away from William Afton's bound and broken spirit, having finally finished his grisly work. "̧I̢̛ ̶S̀̕͢W͟͝O̵R̢͘E͡ ͜T̶H̴A̢͘͢T̀ ͢I̛͜ ͠WO͡U͏LD ̛͘C͡A̢RV͡E͟͟͟ ҉̨͟T̴̀́H̀E ͝͠F̴E͟͝A̶R O̴͘F̵ ́M̨̀̕E̵̶͢ ̀͢I҉̀͢NT̨̨́Ó̡ ̀͘͟Y͡O̷͟UŔ ͠SÒUL̡͠, ͢͠W̡̧I̷̴̡L͡Ļ̶͏I̸͝AM̡ ̵̛͠A̸F̡T̶Ò́N̶͟.̴̛͡.̵̧.҉" Mike's voice rumbled like a volcanic rocks clashing against each other, "̶̧A̴͞͏Ǹ̸͘D ̧͠I̸ ̸̨́M̶E̛͜Á̛́N̡͞T̵̵͝ W̛͢H͘A͘͞T̨̧͠ ̸́͞I҉̵ ͜͠S̷A͜͡I҉̕D͝, ̷I̶͞N̸̸̶ ̴̢M̡̀͞O̵͢͞R̶̷Ę̸͠ ̨W̸͠A͘̕͘Y͠S҉̡ ̴T̨͢H̡͟Ą͞T̛͢ ͘͏̸ON̛É.̶"̵̨
(I SWORE THAT I WOULD CARVE THE FEAR OF ME INTO YOUR SOUL, WILLIAM AFTON. AND I MEANT WHAT I SAID, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.)
William could only let out a pitiful mewl in response. With his scythe and the demonic energies that he had seized, Mike had flayed the metal and skin off of William Afton's entire body, just as he had done with his arm. He had started first with the right arm, and then the left arm, before proceeding to peel the flesh off his legs, chest, back, and abdomen. Even as Mike tore off the last of William Afton's stolen power and revealed the innards of the pathetic shade underneath, the flames of his blade consumed the chosen body part in a roaring inferno that roasted it as thoroughly as possible without actually destroying it. Only William Afton's head and face had been spared from Mike's special treatment, but by now William wasn't foolish enough to believe that he had spared them out of mercy.
"̴̧̨I͞͡ ̡WO̸N̸̴͟D́ER̡,͜͠ ̷̢H̵͟ÁŚ̵ ̴̸͝N̡I̵̛G͟H̡͜T҉́M̷A̛͟͞R͢Ȩ ́ÀL̵҉R̕͠ÈÀ̕D҉͜Y ̸F̷̨L͘͟͠Ą͟Y̸E̵D̕ ̸͝ŢH̡E̵ ET̕HE͟R̷͞É̢A͜͢L ̧͡F̀Ļ̧EŚH̢͘ ̀͝ O͘F̧̕ Y̛Ơ̢UR̨ ̵S̸͟OU̴͡L̛?̶͜"͠ Mike mused. "H̨A͞S̶̡ ͡͏H̷͟͡È͜ ̧͡A͘L̕͡RE̸A̶̴D͠͡Y ̶̸̧T̷Ơ̵̡ŖT̶͝URÈD̕͘͞ ̷̨Y̕͠O͏Ù͠͏ ͝͏ I̸N ̷T̵͜H̴E̵ ̸̧́SA҉͡҉M̴̡҉E̢͏ ̨ W̴̵͢A̵YS ̨T͢H͞AT̀͞ ̵͏I ͢H̵̵A̕V̧̀E̛?̶̢͢ ̷̛͜Ó̡͜R ҉̵W̸͏̕Ǫ̴U̴͟͝L̢̛D҉ ͢I̡ ͠S͏́Ú͡͏R҉̨͢PRI͞SE̶̛͢ E͠V́͘É̸N ͡H͞Į̷͝M̨͜͝ Ẃ̶͘I̸T͜͡H̷ ̴̨̛HƠW̶̸̶ ̡͜͟L̴OW͟ I̧ ̷̀͜A̷M̕͘ ̕W̛I̸L̷̀͠L̡҉͞I͢N̷͝Ģ T̶̸͜O҉ ̢S͜͝I͜NK͟͜͜?̨̀ ̶҉Ş̶̧U͘C͞H ͜͠A͏ ̷͝S̷͘H̴AM͏̴E̡ ̸̛H̵̕E̢ C̴Ó̶UL̵D ́͜N͞O҉͠T̴̵ ͜B̴̷́Ȩ̴̵ ͘H̕E̴͟R͠͡E͝ ̢́T͟͜Ǫ ̷̵S͘E̕͞È͏̴ ḾE ̷̛F̶Ù͠L̸F̶I̡ĻL̡҉ ̛͟T̛͏HE̵̷̢ ̵͠P͟͜R̨̧̛O̴̕MI͠S̀͠E͜͏ ̢͟I̢҉̴ ͘MAD͝Ę̷̵ T̨͠Ó ͢H̶̸̡I̢̢M̴͢͞.̴̡"
(I WONDER, HAS NIGHTMARE ALREADY FLAYED THE ETHERAL FLESH OF YOUR SOUL? HAS HE ALREADY TORTURED YOU IN THE SAME WAYS THAT I HAVE? OR WOULD I SURPRISE EVEN HIM WITH HOW LOW I AM WILLING TO SINK? SUCH A SHAME HE COULD NOT BE HERE TO SEE ME FULFILL THE PROMISE I MADE TO HIM.)
He reached down and tucked his gauntlet under the broken soul's chin, tilting his head up so that William was forced to look into Mike's burning eyes. "̶̨I̵̷͝S͢N̨'͘Ţ̵͡ ̸̢THÍ̕Ś̛ ̕҉W̵̛͡HAT ̸̡YO̧͜͡U̶͢͞ ͟W̷̵͠A͘͡ǸT͡͝E̵D̴͘ ̸͞ T̶͝O ̸SE͏͞E҉?̢̛" Mike suddenly asked, "W͏̀͡HE̵͠N̢͟ Y͘͏̕O̶͞Ù̷ ̷͢͟Ś͜҉ȨŃ͘͞T̀͠͠ ̶N̴I̧͏G͟H̴͟T͠M̵̛A҉RE̢ ̵A͟͡FT͏E҉R͜ ̵͞M̀̕Y̵̧ ͏͡͠C̡͘ḨI̧L͞D͘͝R̢̨Ę͢͞N ͞A͡L͞L͠ T̸͜H͘O̸S̴̨͜E̴ ̵Ḿ͢O̷N҉͜T̶̡HS̢͝ ̸A̶͡G̨͢O? Y͟O̶U͞ ̀̀͢W̷̡Á͢͏NT͢͟È̸D͠ ̵̸͝ T̢̢O ͟͠͏SÈ͝͝E͘͜ ̶͢͠T҉H͟͝È̀ ̨͢͡M̸͢͞Ǫ͟NS̛̛͘Ţ͡ER̕͘ ̨̢ IN̶͜ ̷̕M̡͜͞Ȩ͘͡.̴́͏ W̶̴E͠LL̨̨ ͘͡C͟ON̴G̴R̸Á͘T̛U̕͜LA̢T̶̕͝I̸̡͞O͏N̸̡S̷̀̕,̸̕ ̢͡W͞҉I̢̢L̸L͢͞IA̡͘M͠͞ AF͞T͡ỚŅ!̵"̡̀͞ he mockingly applauded the murderer of his children as his voice descended into a hateful, venomous hiss. "̸͜CO̵̕҉N͠GR̸͞͠A̸͠͝T̷͢U̡L͝҉A̶T̴̀̀I͜ON҉̀S̡̛͟ ͏̵̡O͏̶͝N̛ ͜YO̧͘UR͢͞ ̵̴̢S͘͜U҉Ć͢C̶ESS̛.̵͢͠"͢
(ISN'T THIS WHAT YOU WANTED TO SEE? WHEN YOU SENT NIGHTMARE AFTER MY CHILDREN ALL THOSE MONTHS AGO? YOU WANTED TO SEE THE MONSTER IN ME. WELL CONGRATULATIONS, WILLIAM AFTON! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESS.)
Before William could give any kind of response, Mike spat on the murderer's face. The murderer writhed and flailed in his chains, the sheer disrespect shown to him by Mike enough to temporarily enrage him even through his terror. But there was no way for him to retaliate, and he could do nothing but seethe as his new tormentor straightened back to an upright position. "̛LE͢T̵'͞҉̀Ş̛ ̨G̵̀E͜͡T̨ ̧̨B̸Á͘C̛͏K ̕͡T̷͡O͡ ̧B̢͘U̴̴S̨ÌN͏̷́ESS̵҉,̨͏҉ ͞Ş͝͝H͟A̕L͟͞L ̢W̕E҉?̨"͏̡͢ the demonic manifestation declared. "́Y̸̨O͘͢U͏̸̶R ̴T̶̶͡O͡R͜͝M̡E̶̶N̶̛͠T ͝I͟S̕͞ ̧͢N̷͞͡Ó͘T̸̵ ͘҉̸ȨV͜E͠͞N̶͘ ̧͞Ć̵L͡҉OS͏̀҉E̷͟ ҉T̵͟O̷̸̢ ̛EN̕D̨IN̸̵͜G͝.͜͟ ̷N̡͏͞O̢͝T ̵͟͡W̴H̴ȨN̢ ̛̕͜I̡ ̴H́͟A̵̡V͢E̵ ̸A̴̛͘N͘͝ EǸ̨T͢I̡͡R͟͡E͟͝ F̡̕A̸Ḿ͢IL̛͟͜Y̶̷҉ ̶̧҉O̵F̛͢͟ ̸͝͡À͟N͜I̷MA͜T͡R̷͟ON̢̛͠I͘C͏͏̕S͘͜͞ ̸̀T̢O̶̢͡ ҉̢ȨX̶͘͡PRES͠͞S T͞HE̛ÌR̸.͏͏.̶̡͡.D҉Į́Ś̴͘P̡̡LÈA̶S̴UR͞͠E̶..̀.W̕͟I͏T̡͠H̵̀̕ ͡҉̀Y̡̛͡OU̡̡, ҉̧͠ ̡A͟N̴̢͢D̢̧ ́W̛H͡A̡̛T ̵YƠU͡ ̕H͏̶͢A̡͞VE҉̸̡ ̢͜D̀͢O̧͞͏Ń͟Ȩ̧̕.́ ̀LE̷͠͠T҉'͠҉S̸̀҉ ̵͞B̛EGI̸̧͢Ǹ͞.͠..̢͟͠W͏҉͝I҉̢T̡̛̀H̴̀ ̢͢͝BO̶̡͜ŅN͘͝IE,̧̛ ͜S̷H͘A̷̷L҉̧L̷̶̛ W͜E͝҉?͘̕͟"͝͠
(LET'S GET BACK TO BUSINESS, SHALL WE? YOUR TORMENT IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO ENDING. NOT WHEN I HAVE AN ENTIRE FAMILY OF ANIMATRONICS TO EXPRESS THEIR…DISPLEASURE…WITH YOU AND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. LET'S BEGIN…WITH BONNIE, SHALL WE?)
The simulacrum of Bonnie stepped forward as Scrap Baby had done, eyes glowing with a malevolent red light as he glared at William. "̶̶T̴҉H̷̴E̸͞ ͏̡À͘͜NÍ͞M̶͠A̶҉̛T̵R͏̴O̢͢N͢Í̡ÇS̡ ̛͜WE̵͝Ŕ̨Ȩ ̛LÉ͟͝F҉̵̀T ̧T̴O͢͡͠ ҉R̡͏͟ǪŢ͟ I̸N 1̧9͜͞8̕͠7,̕ C͢ÀS̷T͏ ̶A̧͞S̵Ì̷̛D̛E͜͡ ҉̷Ą́͘N͠Ḑ͟ ̸̷À͝B̢͘ĄN̴͘D҉̷҉ON͢E̸̢͢D̷̵͟ ͏A̶S͟҉ ́͏P̸͘A̸̛̕R̀T̢̡̧S̴͜ ͜҉̵O͘F͏̶ T̸͠H̛EM͠ W̶̧É̛͡R̷̡͠E̵ ̷̀̕T̨A͞K͝EN̡ F͏̨͠OR̵͘ ̨͝A͡ ͟N҉̀͜E҉̵̢Ẁ̵ ̶̀ĢE̵̡Ǹ̕E̵R̀͘A̛T̴I͠O͝N͜͠ ̷T͟͟H̡͠AT̵̴ ̵̨͜PR̶OV̷E҉̵҉D̢͡ ͞N҉͢O̸͡ ̧̀B҉E̕͢TT҉E͟͢Ŗ͘ ̵̛͠T̕H̶͘͞A̷̴̸N̢͟ ͜T͘͞͝H͠É͟͠ ̕͞F҉͡I͝R̵͠͏ŞT̨́̀,"̸ Mike spoke in an almost conversational tone. "́A̡N҉̀D̢ ̴Ó̢U̷T̴̛̛ ̢͡ỚF͝ ̴͟͟A̷̶L͝L͟͝ ̶͠O͏F̷͟ TH̸̢͜EM̛͠,͟ B̛͠͡OǸ̡NI̵É ͘WAŚ̷ ̵͢͝ONE͟ ͢O̷̕͝F͠ T̸̸̕H͝E͏̛ Ơ͝NE̢S͝ ͢͝T͡H͡A̛͢T ̕ SU̵̡FF̶̨Ȩ̶͟RE̕͢D̢͢ ͢͝͞T͡H̷͟É͟͞ ́WORS̨͢͝T̨̡.̕ ̴͜H͠I̶̕S̷̸͜ ́L̨E̡F͟T̀ ̵ARM ̧͡ W̕Ą̶͏S͠ ̴T̛̕Ó͜R͟͝N̷̸ ̸̧҉ Ó͠F͏F̛, A̡N̴̨D ̛HI͟S̛͜ ͜͞͠V̶̡̀É̵͞ŔY͏̡̀ F́͞A҉C͏E҉̡ ͏̨̢W̸A҉S͞ R̴͡I̴P̶P̶͡E̶̶̡D҉ ̕A͏́W̧AY͏.́́"̶͡͞
(THE ANIMATRONICS WERE LEFT TO ROT IN 1987, CAST ASIDE AND ABANDONED AS PARTS OF THEM WERE TAKEN FOR A NEW GENERATION THAT PROVED NO BETTER THAN THE FIRST. AND OUT OF ALL OF THEM, BONNIE WAS ONE OF THE ONES THAT SUFFERED THE WORST. HIS LEFT ARM WAS TORN OFF, AND HIS VERY FACE WAS RIPPED AWAY.)
As he spoke, Bonnie's form flickered and changed. Though the transformation lasted for only the briefest of moments, it was enough for William to see the dilapidated form of Withered Bonnie, the endoskeleton parts underneath his face now fully exposed and his left arm completely missing. A horrific thought suddenly entered William's mind as he realized exactly how Mike Schmidt was going to get his revenge.
Mike saw the realization in William's eyes, and a malicious grin stretched across his face. "̴̀҉Ý̢͡Ơ͝U ̡F̡Ì̷N̴̛͞A̢͝L̶̕͟LY̨ ̀S̷̛EE҉͜͞ WH̛ĄT́ I͏̸̵ ͏͡H́͜͝À̸V̧È͜ ̨̛ P̸͘͟L̸͞͝A͢N͝N̢͜͜ED̵͟͡ ̡NO̢W͞͞,̡͟ ͏ ̷̢͘D͢͡O̸̧͡N̨͟'̷̕͞Ţ͝ ͏̵͜Y̴̨͡O̷̸͜U̧?̛ ̢ he hissed. "͘T̶H̸͜Ę̶͘ ̨A̵N͝ÌMA̴T͜͡R̡͘O̶͡N͟͡Í̡̛Ç͘S̶,̵ ̸̸͝À́Ń͝D̨̕͞ ̶͢M̸̀Y̡͞ ́C҉̢H̴̨IL̢D̛R̵͟E̵N͢͞͏ ͘͠TH̵R̡O̴̕͟U͢G͠Ḩ̸͟ ̢́T̴̛HE̸̢M͡͏,̧̀͢ ̷̕S͠͏Ų́̕F̵͘FȨ̛R̛E̸̴̕D̢ Ỳ͡Ȩ̶AR̡͜S̡͟ ͘O̸̴͡F̕ ̢͏A͏ ̵̨̀C̡̀͘U̴͟͢R̀S̷̢͢E͝D̛,͘͠ T͠҉͢O͟R̷͜T̨U҉͘RED̨ ͝EX͘I̷͡S̛̕͠T̴͟Ȩ́N̸̶C̨E̴ B҉E͘C̛A͠͡҉U͜͝S̴̀E͏ ̸OF͠ Y͡͡OU͠R͝ ͟ A̕͏RR̀O͏G̨ÁN̶C̷E AŃ̶̨D̸͘ ̛B͘͘L̶̷AS̷P̨H͜͠E̢M̵Y.̢̧ ̴ÀND̵ ͜͞I҉T̴͝ ͢I̶̵S̀ ̷O͝N̴̴L̶͠Y҉̢ ̴͘҉RI̶̶G͢H̵͢T̵ ҉T͟͝HA̶T́͘ ͞T̷H̴̢E̛̕͠Y̴͜ ҉A̵̡Ŗ͡E͘ ̨TH̢͡E҉ O͢͟N̕ES̵̢͟ T̶̢͟O͜ ̸̀͞C̸͟A҉͜R̷͞R̡̢̕Y̷̸ ͘͏O̕͢͞U̷T҉ T̷̕HE̢͢ ̛̀͜RȨ͟T҉R̷͝I̛͡B́UT̴́ION͠҉ ́͠͡T̸̷̛H̷͡A̵͜T̀́ ̷̢͡Y҉O̸̧Ư̴͡ ̶̸͢S̀Ó̴ ̶͞R̡I͠ĢH̕T̨F̡͢͜ULL͢Y ҉ ̷̢D̸̢͠ȨS̷E̴͘͠R҉̴V҉҉E҉.͝ ̡͠Y̧͞Ǫ͝͏U W͠҉O͝͡N҉D͏͝E̶R̴ ̵Ẁ͞H̛͘Y I̸̡ ̡͜S̸͜͏PA̶R͏̸E͠D̷̢́ ̡Y͘O̸͜͞U͘R͏̷ ̀̀F̡́A̡C͞E ̀͜FR͝O̧͏M͘͜ M̨͠Y̢ ̡B͏L͘͟AD̷̀E̴?̶́͢ ̧͡BEC̡Ą̢̛ŲS̸E̛̛ ̕NO͜Ẁ͞,̷̸͘ ̷̢MY͟͜ L̡͡҉O̧͘Ǹ̴G-̷҉E͏̨A͜͞R͠E̷̷D́̕͡ ͘FR̷͝IE̶̷N̨̕D̀͡ ́͝W̛͜͠IL̛҉L͘͡ F̵̧͠I̶͜͢N҉I̛S͟H̀͝ ҉͡W̨͞HÀ̴҉T ͠҉Í HA̸V̡͠E̢͡ ̶̧̀ ̴S̴̀T͟A̛͞͏RT̛̀E̴D̷̷."̶̵͢
(YOU FINALLY SEE WHAT I HAVE PLANNED NOW, DON'T YOU? THE ANIMATRONICS, AND MY CHILDREN THROUGH THEM, SUFFERED YEARS OF A CURSED, TORTURED EXISTENCE BECAUSE OF YOUR ARROGANCE AND BLASPHEMY. AND IT IS ONLY RIGHT THAT THEY ARE THE ONES TO CARRY OUT THE RETRIBUTION THAT YOU SO RIGHTFULLY DESERVE. YOU WONDER WHY I SPARED YOUR FACE FROM MY BLADE? BECAUSE NOW MY LONG-EARED FRIEND WILL FINISH WHAT I HAVE STARTED.)
Even as he finished his words, the specter of Bonnie screamed into William's face and reached his right hand out towards his head, his form erratically shifting between his Classic and Withered forms with increasing speed as he did so. William could only watch and struggle futilely as Bonnie grabbed his face and squeezed. In the midst of his panic, the murderer briefly wondered if Bonnie was going to crush his head in his hand, but the bunny animatronic and Mike had something less "fatal" but more sadistic planned. Instead of squeezing, Bonnie began to pull at Nightmare Springtrap's face, unraveling the last vestiges of demonic essence that had allowed William to assume the demonic form of the animatronic that had once defined his existence. With one mighty pull, Bonnie ripped the faces of both Nightmare Springtrap and the face of the damned soul underneath, revealing the grotesque visage of a decayed and ruined corpse underneath. William's face exploded into pain at having his very face mutilated so thoroughly, but that was just the beginning. Not even bothering to look at the remains of William's face in his hand, Bonnie crushed his fist over them and squeezed with savage, unyielding might. Almost immediately, as though the face of Nightmare Springtrap was still connected to William's soul through an invisible psychic link, his entire face began to crumple in on itself, blood-colored essence spurting from hideous wounds that tore themselves into existence with every second that passed. William screamed in atrocious agony as he desperately tried to claw his imploding face off with his hands, so great was the suffering that he had completely forgotten that he was bound in chains that prevented any movement, or that his hands were useless, mutilated stumps.
Right when he felt as though his entire head was about to be crushed outright, Bonnie's grip suddenly loosened and the overwhelming pressure imploding his face vanished. William couldn't help himself; he let out a humongous gasp of relief as Bonnie stepped away from him and returned to join the other animatronics. He had carried out his purpose, and it was now time for another one of his kin to carry out his.
"I have endured Hell," William challenged, even as he was still reeling from Bonnie's torture. Neither he nor Mike missed the fact that his voice no longer held the infernal, roaring echo associated with the Nightmares; Bonnie had ripped the last part of his demonic essence away from him, leaving only the damned shade. "I have endured Hell, and I can endure you!"
"THÈ̸̸ ̵͞W̛͢͝A̴Y ҉̡YOỨ̸ ̛T̛RY̷͜͜ ͡S̴͟͞O̸̕͢ ̕͟Ḑ͟E̵͞S̴̸͘P̀E̕R̸͡A̷̴T̢̨E͢͡LY̨ ̷͞TO ͏̧C̀͞A̸͞T͏CH̴ ͏Y͘O҉U̢R͏ ́͞B̡̨R̷̕Ę҉A͜T̛͠H̶ ̵̷S̸̴͏Ę͟E̷̷͟M̴̀S̛ ҉̧̕T̨Ò̴ ̷S̸̢͜U̧͜G͠G̛Ę̵͟S͟T̀ ͜O͏͘͝T̨HE͟͝͞RWI͘͝S̡E͡҉̨,͡҉͞"̶̢ Mike retorted. "B̢͘U͜͜͞T ́EV̶͝E̴͝N̡ ͏̢I̢̡F ̀Y̶̷͜O͘U̧҉̕ ̷͟C͢͢A̸̢͝N̕͟͜ ̵͞ I̵Ņ͡҉D̀É̡͘E̕D̀ ͘͏ WĮ҉͟TH͏Ś̀T̛̕͘Á͜ND O҉́N͝E̴̴͡, ͞T̡͡H̷͞ER͜Ę̛ Ą͜R҉̀È ̵͞S͟͟T̕͡I̶͘LL̕ ̡͜҉S͘͡O M͡A͘͢N̡͘Y̵ ͘͝M̷̡̛Ò͟Ŕ̢E ̷̡̨T̨O ҉̕͡Ǵ̴͜O͝͏̵!͘"̵̵
(THE WAY YOU TRY SO DESPERATELY TO CATCH YOUR BREATH SEEMS TO SUGGEST OTHERWISE. BUT EVEN IF YOU CAN INDEED WITHSTAND ONE, THERE ARE STILL SO MANY MORE TO GO!)
The moment he finished his words, the specter of Chica stepped forward, her image shifting between the classic form that Mike had faced against and her decrepit, withered form of her past, her jaw mangled and dislocated and her arms completely missing from their sockets. William suddenly felt the chains ensnaring him fling him downward, smashing him facedown on the ground. The chains began to shift and pull, dragging his arms and legs outward until they were stretched to their limit, as though he were about to be drawn and quartered.
"CHA̶͟R͡L̡I͠͏E ̸̡ON҉CÈ ҉D̸̢͠ȨS̕̕Ć͠͠R͏Į͟͝B̨͟Ę̶̸D̡͠ ͜TH̸͟͠Ȩ̕ ̶͠S̀̀E̴̕͠C̢҉́O͏̶Ń̴D͜ ̴͞F̡Ǫ͘R̨̨M̡ Y͠͝҉ƠU ͞WO̶RE͢͟, ̡͢ I̸N̶͟͞ ̶T̶̢͡H͟E͢ ͞W̴E̕EĶ̛́ ̴҉҉L͢͢É͠Ą͝D̀͢I̶͡͡N͏G̴̸ ͞Ù̕͠P̛͡ ̸́T̶͜O̧ Y̴O͘U̴̕̕R̸̢͠ ̀D͏҉É̡A̛̕T̵H̡͠.̀ ͝W̢̨͠H͟͝É̢T͠H̷E̴͜͏R ͘B̴͘Y̛͟ ̴̛Ń̕E̕C̵̕É̢͞S͟SI͞͠T́̀͡Y͘͘ O̕͢͏Ŕ̡ ̶B͟Y̡͟ ͝C̶H҉̸̢ƠI͘͘C̴̨̢E̵͟,̶͡ ÝO͏̢U̷ ̨͢҉R̵̨̀I̸͝PṔ͝E̵D̸ ̸̧͜O̶F̡͡҉F̨͘ ͜͝Y̢̛O̢UR̡ ͘͡L̡̛EF͞T̴ ͝ĄRM̨ ̢A͘ND͘ ̕R̷̕EP͞L̛͢A̡Ç̴̶È̷D́ ͘͟I̷Ţ҉҉ ̷͏Ẁ̸͟IT̨H A̸͏ ̢͢D̛͏A̵̴G̡͟Ģ̷͡E̢̕͘R̕͞.҉̧ ̧̡Y͝͏͞ỚƯ̕ ̷̧ L̕͟Ȩ҉AR͟͟N̷E҉D ̧̀T̢͡O͏ ̶L͢Ì̷V͝͡E̢ ҉͠҉W̵̶I҉T̸̢H̴̷́O͘UT ̨͘ON̴҉̕E̸ ͡L̕͠I̛͟͝M̵͡B̷̡.̸," the unholy glow in Mike's eyes flared as Chica stepped closer to William's prone form, ̨"Ņ͝OW ̵Y͜͠O̴̶U̸ ̴̡͘WIĻ̴͡L̶̀ L̸͏E̴A̵͠R̷̶͠N̷͟ ̢͢ W̡̨҉H̡̧A͘T͝ ̶͢ĮT̨ ͢͞I̶̢͜S L̡͡I͞҉͏KĘ ͏҉T̶O̕҉ ̶̴͘L̷IV̸̷̷E̡͘ ̸̸W̵͜Į͠T̵H̸͘͠O̷͠UT̨͘ ̷̡A̵͠N̵̴͜Y̸͝͞."̢̀͘
(CHARLIE ONCE DESCRIBED THE SECOND FORM YOU WORE, IN THE WEEK LEADING UP TO YOUR DEATH. WHETHER BY NECESSITY OR BY CHOICE, YOU RIPPED OFF YOUR LEFT ARM AND REPLACED IT WITH A DAGGER. YOU LEARNED TO LIVE WITHOUT ONE LIMB. NOW YOU WILL LEARN WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LIVE WITHOUT ANY.)
With an earsplitting shriek of rage, Chica stomped her foot down upon William's right arm, shattering the bones of his corporeal form to pieces. William howled in agony as the animatronic trampled on every bone she could find from the carpals of his hands, all the way down to the very edge of the humerus, mere centimeters away from his shoulder. The bloodied, broken remains of his arm now matched the state of his fingers in grotesque unity, engulfed in pain that was every bit as torturous as anything he had experienced in Hell. But neither Chica nor Mike was content to mutilate merely one arm, however. Drawing out every ounce of pain that she possibly could, the animatronic proceeded to repeat the process in William's left arm and both of his legs, leaving all four of his limbs mangled and shattered almost beyond recognition. The murderer was now groaning and cursing unintelligibly, the agony of his shattered arm now shared by all four of his limbs, utterly unable to move any of them. "Just rip my arms and legs off and be done with it, bastard!" he snarled.
"͟͠A̸̸N͢D̷́ ̢E͏̷N̡D̵ ̶̧Y̢̧̧O̷Ų̕R̀͠ S̢̧̛ŲF͡F̶͟ĘR̶I̶̛͠N҉̸̵G̷̡͞ S̕O̢ ́҉S̨̧ƠON͢?̕͝"̨̀̀ Mike drawled with amusement. "̸͘N̕OW͡ ̨҉͢W͠͝͞H̸͞Y̨͞ WƠƯ̢͢L̢̕҉D I͠ ̷̀DO̵ ̀T͜H̶AT̸̴̨?" As if to emphasize his point, the Puppet's chains pulled on his arms and legs and lifted him back to his original upright position, the pressure on his now mangled limbs aggravating his pain. "̶̕I͠͡ ͏̛S҉́̀W̵O̸̢R͢҉̧E ̨̀̀A̴̢N ͘Ó̵̧ÀT̴̛H̷̢̡ ́͜T͟͏O̵ ̴N̡͞IG̡͘H̛͢T̸̀͟M̢͠͞A͢͠R͘E̕͟ ͢T͠H̸̨͘A̵T̸͢͢ I͞ ́͢W̵̧͘OU̷̡͡L͘͟D͡ ̵͘͢ M͏́A͏͡͠ĶĘ̷͜ ҉͜Y̸̵͞O̧͞U̸ ́̕͠S͢Ù̴F̸̧F̵͠E͜͝͞R F̢O͠R͝ ̷Y̴̡͡Ǫ̶͘UR̀͟͏ ̸͡C̵͘͡R̴I҉͘M̡̧E͘S͝,͘͞ AN̶̷̡ ̢̕͝O̕ATH̶͟ ̵Ì̶ ͏͠W̷̢͡Ǫ͢U̢͡L̶҉D̢͘ H̕A̢̧͝V̴E̴ ̀͜B҉ĘÈǸ̛ ̸ M͟Ó͞RE̡ ̶̸T͘H̶͘͞Ą̵͢N̵ H͏̕A̡͝P͏P̡Y͜ ̨T̷̸Ò̕ ̸̛F͏҉̸U̵L͏̷̨F́ILL̷͡͡ E̷̢V̨̨̛ĘN̸ ̶̷WI̧T̴́H̀O̴͞U̕T̢ ҉͢H̨̕͟I͡M҉͝ ̸̛I̸N͏V̵̛O̢͠L͠͝V͏ÉD.̶"̶͢͞
(AND END YOUR SUFFERING SO SOON? NOW WHY WOULD I DO THAT? I SWORE AN OATH TO NIGHTMARE THAT I WOULD MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR YOUR CRIMES, AN OATH I WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE THAN HAPPY TO FULFILL EVEN WITHOUT HIM INVOLVED.)
"You will regret this!" William spat, a show of desperate bravado with no real power behind it. "One way or another, you will regret enslaving me to these chains and torments!"
A guttural, inhuman laugh answered him. "O̸͘H͠,͞ ̷҉I ̀͞VER̵̀Y͏ ̶҉MU͏CH̵̢ ̡ḐOU҉͏B̡͠T҉ ͠͞T̷̡͢H̴̡AT,̀ ̕͡W̶̶͞ĮL̀L̡͘I͡A̡M͜ ̶A̡͝FŢ̛́Ǫ̸N̶͞," (OH, I VERY MUCH DOUBT THAT, WILLIAM AFTON.) Mike hissed in response. By this point, Chica had returned to her original position, and now it was Freddy who took her place. Unlike Bonnie or Chica, the changes in form between Classic and Withered did not have as much of an impact on William, for there had never been much difference between the Freddy of 1987 and the Freddy of 1993.
But visual changes meant nothing in the face of the entirely real threat that the animatronic now posed to his very soul, as Scrap Baby, Bonnie, and Chica had so thoroughly proved. And this time, Mike did not offer any sort of speech or preamble before silently ordering Freddy to strike. Having expected that very thing from his tormentor, William was completely unprepared when Freddy, moving far more quickly than the lumbering animatronic that he remembered, raised his fist and smashed it into William's face. The man's head was blown backward by the force of Freddy's punch, and without the mask of Nightmare Springtrap to protect him, the damned soul's head exploded in pain as he now experienced the full force of the blow. Before William could clear his thoughts, Freddy turned his sights on the murderer's body, the one part that had been spared the wrath of the animatronics that had come before. Letting out the laugh that had once haunted the Night Guards of Freddy's 1993 pizzeria, Freddy pummeled William's spectral chest and abdomen with his fists and microphone, smashing ribs to pieces and crushing the organs underneath. William's tortured screams, which at first echoed throughout the empty void of Mike's mindscape, were soon cut off as Freddy pummeled his lungs to pulp, at which point the murderer was struggling to simply breathe. Blood-red essence and pieces of his spirit splattered onto the ground underneath, the animatronic's hands drenched in blood as he ruthlessly pummeled William again and again. As the murderer collapsed on his mangled knees, compounding his already excruciating torment, Freddy drew his microphone back, and with the most force out of all his attacks, slammed the instrument and the fist behind it straight into William's head for a second time. The murderer was sent sprawling backward, the Marionette's chains around his body finally loosening to allow him to fall, and collapsed onto the ground in a bloody, motionless heap.
William could only let out a pitiful whimper as he struggled to think in the midst of his suffering. He was no stranger to pain; indeed, he had experienced it many times over as his body was springlocked, in the fire that had led to his destruction, and in the pits of Hell afterward. But never once, not even at the hands of the Nightmares, could he remember so many cruel and vicious torments unleashed upon him in such a short time, one after the other heaped upon his soul, each as terrible as the last. Forgetting that it had been already been shattered and mutilated, William tried to reach out his arm in the opposite direction of Mike, anything to try and escape from the terror that Mike had become.
Then a black, clawed foot stomped onto the ground in front of him, and William slowly tilted his head up to stare into the hate-filled eyes of Nightmare. And as he beheld the demon lord's visage, he felt the last of his hope wither and fade into oblivion.
"FROM THE GRASP OF ONE TORMENTOR AND SWORN ENEMY, TO THE FEET OF ANOTHER," Nightmare sneered. "SO, YOU FINALLY UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WERE DOOMED FROM THE START. I CAN SEE THE DESPAIR IN YOUR EYES. IF I HAD SO DESIRED, I COULD HAVE ENDED YOUR ASSAULT ON SCHMIDT'S SOUL LONG BEFORE IT COULD TRULY BEGIN. BUT WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING, SCHMIDT AND I. I SWORE TO COME TO HIS AID AT HIS MOMENT OF NEED, A MOMENT THAT WOULD NEVER COME TO PASS. AND I CONFESS THAT I FOUND MYSELF CURIOUS…I KNEW OF SCHMIDT'S POTENTIAL, AND I DESIRED TO SEE HOW HE WOULD USE HIS COMMAND OVER THE WORLD OF HIS MIND TO DO BATTLE AGAINST YOU." The demon lord laughed. "I KNEW OF THE DARKNESS THAT LURKED WITHIN HIM. I KNEW HE WOULD NOT SHOW ANY MERCY IN BATTLE. BUT THIS?" He gestured towards the broken remains of William Afton's soul and Mike's demonic aspect, a tone of genuine admiration and approval in his voice for the first time that either of them had heard him speak. "THIS IS SOMETHING FAR BEYOND ANYTHING THAT I COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED."
"Please!" William pleaded, unable to even move his arms so he could hurl himself at Nightmare's feet. The unholy combination of Mike's attacks and tortures had finally broken him in mind, body, and spirit. "Take me back to Hell! Save me from this monster! I won't ever try to escape again, I'll suffer any torment you want me to! Just get me away from HIM! PLEASE!"
Nightmare was silent for several moments, and then he bent down, grabbing William Afton by the throat and lifting him until he was looking directly into his eyes. For a second, William thought that Nightmare was going to take him back to Hell. And then his mouth stretched into his cruel, fanged grin, and the damned soul realized that he would do nothing of the sort.
"AND WHY WOULD I DO THAT?" he asked, his voice a menacing hiss. "WHY WOULD I INTERRUPT SCHMIDT, WHEN HE IS DOING SUCH AN EXCELLENT JOB? WHY WOULD I STOP HIM FROM DOING AS HE PLEASES, IF SUCH IS THE BRUTALITY OF HIS VENGEANCE THAT HELL ITSELF SEEMS MERCIFUL IN COMPARISON? BEFORE THIS MOMENT, I WOULD HAVE LOVED NOTHING MORE THAN TO DRAG YOU BACK INTO THE DEPTHS, TO UNLEASH SUCH HORRORS UPON YOU THAT HELL ITSELF WOULD WEEP AT YOUR FATE. BUT NOW, I CAN BE PATIENT. I CAN WAIT. BECAUSE AFTER SEEING SCHMIDT'S WORK FIRSTHAND, I BELIEVE THAT LEAVING YOU AT HIS TENDER MERCIES FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER WILL BE SO MUCH MORE ENTERTAINING!" He lifted William higher into the air, ignoring his screams of denial and pleas for mercy, and turned his gaze to Mike. "COME, MIKE!" he called. "CLAIM YOUR REVENGE ON BEHALF OF YOUR FAMILY, AND ON BEHALF OF MINE. YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY MY ENCOURAGEMENT, TO TAKE AS MUCH TIME AS YOU WANT! HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
Nightmare hurled William's broken soul back towards Mike, laughing sadistically all the while. Even before he could fall back to the ground, the Marionette wrapped her chains around his broken arms and legs, leaving him strung up in the air.
"́͢Ą̀͏L͏L̷O̷̵W̕ M̢E͘ ̶̀͘TO Ţ̵HAN̷̢Ķ ̵Y͜͡O̸Ù ͢F̨̕͟OR̷̡͞ ́͝P̨͏R̨̀̀O̸͟VÌ̸͘D͟͠Į̵N̢͢G͟ ̀͝M̧E̵͠ ̨͠W̶͘͡Į̕͢T̵͘H̵̕ ҉͞ŢH̀͢I҉̢͞Ś ̷̨OPṔ̸̛OR͟T͞͏UN̶I̛͟͝T͘͞Ý̀, ̷̀̀ NIG͏H̀͏̵T͏Ḿ̛̕A̵̛͜R̛҉E̛͏,͟"̀ Mike replied with no small amount of amusement in his voice. "̶I ̵̴P̵͟R̶̡O̵̧M̵ISE͏͜ ͝ YO̷̢U̷,̷͢͡ Y̨̕͘Ò͘͘U͟͞R̢ ҉͡G͠I͘F̀́T̷ ̡͢W̕O͢͟N'͏T͏̷͘ G̀͡Ǫ ̡̕TO ̡҉W͢A̵̴̧ŚT͡E̕͢.̶"̀͟
(ALLOW ME TO THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THIS OPPORTUNITY. I PROMISE YOU, YOUR GIFT WON'T GO TO WASTE.)
As if on cue, the simulacrum of Foxy stepped forward. Both William and Nightmare immediately noticed that this animatronic was different from the others. The others had been calm and stoic apart from the occasional scream, looking upon the child murderer with quiet, cold fury as they methodologically and carefully attacked and crippled his soul. But Foxy had always been different from the others, and those distinctions were more evident now than ever before. Foxy was snarling and frothing with rage, his eyes flashing in the darkness and his teeth gritted in fury as his limbs twitched maniacally. Just like the others, he switched repeatedly between his Classic and Withered forms, his savage nature complementing the rapid transitions to strike fear into William despite the lack of major differences between the two. It was as if he could barely control himself from leaping at William and tearing him to pieces.
"̡̛F̛OX̨̨͝Y̷̛͟ ̸̧Ḩ͞͞A͜͜S̵ ̸͡A͜L͏̀W҉̀͝AYS̡̛͘ ̸B҉̀Ȩ̶̵É͜N҉̵ ́Ą̸͠ ͢͞͝R̷Á̷͏T̢͝͡HE͢͟͞R ҉͝S̵̢P̸EC̴͟IA͟͞L ̴̢͝B̛O̡Y͘͠,͟͝ ḨAS̢̛N'̵͝͠T̸ H̴̴E̵҉?̨̕" Mike mused. "A҉̶L͏͝͡W̴̨̛Ą́Y͢S̸͘ ̴C̨͟H̨͟Á̴R̛G͡Ì̶NG̡ ̵̴A͘͜T̢̡͟ H̨͟Í͝S͞͝ ENE̴M̴I͠E̛͟S͟ ͘W͝͞H͢E̕͏N̷̛E҉V́ÉR͡ ͏H̡̨E̛͏̛ G͘҉O̵T ̕͏T̕HE͏͢ C̷͞H̛ANC̀͝Ę,͞҉̡ ̴̴ S͏O ̛È̴͡Á̛͟G̛ER͜ ͏̶͘T̡̕͢O̶͜ ̶̕T̵͢ÉA̢͟͝Ŗ̡͢ T̀͞HE̶͠M̶̴ ̶T̶O̧͟ ̡҉P̧Į́EC͝͞ES̷͜ A̸҉N̡͟D̴̢͠ ̛P̨̀LĄ̀͟Y͞I͏N͢G̡͝ ̴͝B̢́Y ̡N̸̵O͡͡͡ ̡ON͝E̷͠'S͜͞ ̸R̀U͢L̡̕E̴S ̴B́U̷̶T H̨͞Í͠S͘͞ ̸O͘W͞N͝.̸͘͝ His maw stretched upward into a malicious grin. "̛͠T͢͡HE͏͢Ŗ̴E ̸̧̕I̢̛S̀͝͡ ͟N̴͢Ò C̕͜Ą̶M̕͢EŔÁ͏͏ ̷͝O̴͠R̛ ͢DO̧O̴̶R͢͏ ̢̀͘T̷O͘̕ ͢͞H̡́͡O̶̴͝L̢D̶̛ ̀̀H͟I̷͢͠Ḿ ̴B̕͠A̶̛C̴K͟ ̕N͘OẀ̛,̷̛ ͏̡WI̶LL͢I̴AM̷̕͠ ̶A̛F͠T͟͝ÓN̴̨.̶͘͟ ̡͏ǸO҉̕͝ F̸̡L͞A̡͝S͘H͞҉L̸͠IĢH̨͝T̛͢ ̴̢͟T͘O͜ ̴B̢͝A̷N͟I̶S͡͠H͏͠ ̵̀͟HI̛M̷̨͡ ̶͏BA̢C̶Ķ̵ ̨͜Í҉N̸̢TO̴̴ ̕͝TH̢̕͠E͡ D̡A̕͢R̀Ķ̡. ̛̛ F̧O̴X́Y ̸͞F͜͜IN͜͠A̴͏LL͏͡Y̡ ̶̕͡H́A̕S̨͢͢ ͘͠ Y҉O͠͠U ̷̢̢ÀT ͞H͟͞I̧̧͟S̀ ̕͜Ḿ̸̛E̶̴͜R̵͘C̡͜Y͡͞͏.҉̷҉ ̶̶͘A̛͞Ǹ͜͠D ̢͠Y͟Ǫ̶̀Ú̶ ͡͝W͝I̧͝L͘͞Ĺ̴͢ ̨N̕͡O͞W̢͘ ̛LE͡͏ÁR͡N ̵̵T́HE͠ F̸̸A͜T̴E͡ O͟F ̨́T̨H́͠O҉S̛E ̴̢̀W̢H҉́Ǫ̛ ͏҉D̷͠͡AR͜͏E҉ ̴̛TO͏̴͟ ̢̛͠WR͢͡O̢҉N̷̛G͢ Ą̴ ҉͘C̶̕͘A͡͞P͢T҉͠A̢̕I̸̴̶N҉͟'̴̡S ̶̢CR͞E̴W!"҉̶̀
(FOXY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A RATHER SPECIAL BOY, HASN'T HE? ALWAYS CHARGING AT HIS ENEMIES WHENEVER HE GOT THE CHANCE, SO EAGER TO TEAR THEM TO PIECES AND PLAYING BY NO ONE'S RULES BUT HIS OWN. THERE IS NO CAMERA OR DOOR TO HOLD HIM BACK NOW, WILLIAM AFTON. NO FLASHLIGHT TO BANISH HIM BACK INTO THE DARK. FOXY FINALY HAS YOU AT HIS MERCY, AND YOU WILL NOW LEARN THE FATE OF THOSE WHO DARE TO WRONG A CAPTAIN'S CREW!)
Foxy let out a hideous screech and, unlike every other animatronic that had marched up to William Afton to deliver justice, he pounced at William with his jaw hanging open and his hook and hand outstretched. Foxy collided into William, knocking them both to the ground, and immediately began to slice his hook into William's soul. This imitation of Foxy was far more powerful than the other copies that Mike had summoned during the first stage of their battle, created with the intent to kill rather than merely harm. And more importantly, Mike had destroyed the armor and protections that Nightmare Springtrap had enjoyed when he had flayed and burned them off William's soul, leaving him completely exposed to the full force of Foxy's wrath. Foxy impaled his hook into every part of William's body that he could find, ripping vicious and horrific gashes into what was left of the damned soul's ethereal flesh, bone, and internal organs, all while the murderer howled in horrific agony and begged for mercy, for the brutality to end. Where the other animatronics had attacked one part of the body, Foxy attacked everywhere at once indiscriminately and without care. If Freddy had covered his hands in the supernatural equivalent of blood, Foxy positively bathed in it, his entire body was drenched in the spiritual ichor of William Afton that splattered on his form. After only a minute had passed, William's face and body were covered in hundreds of gaping wounds with his organs all but torn to shreds, surrounded by a pool of his bloody essence far larger than any of the torments caused by the other animatronics. Foxy finally finished his violent assault by raising his hook to William's throat, just as his Nightmare counterpart had done to his son decades ago, and slashing it wide open. The fox animatronic finally retreated as blood splattered from William's neck, completing the most gruesome torture out of them all.
"Damn…you…" William gasped heavily, unable to even breathe properly anymore. "What…more…can you…take…from me?"
"͏Y̵͜͝O͝U̴͠ ̡̀S͢H͘O̸̕U͠L̀͞D̴̡͟N͡'T͢͏ ̨B͠Ȩ́ ̴A͜S͞K͏̵̛Į̕N̨̕͟G͜ ̛͘͝QUE̶̵̶ST҉̕I̕O̵̕N̸S ͟͜T҉ḨA͡T̢̢ Y̡O̴͠U͜ ̸̨D̀O͞N̢͡'̨T͏҉̴ ͠W̵A̵͏̢ǸT̴̨҉ ͜͏҉TO͠͡ K̸Ǹ͜O̷҉̸W͜҉ ̸́T̵H͡͡͝E AǸ҉S̡W̵͏E̴̢̡Ŗ҉ ̵́T̶O͏,̵̶ ̸"̵̡ Mike growled as Nightmare grinned in the background, having already come up with one answer and wondering if the vengeful father would come up with the same conclusion as he. "͡I͢ ̧͢C̢͘̕A̛N͝ ͢͞T̷̀H̢͘̕INK̷̨̛ ̴̴̢OF҉͡ A͏T ̶L̵͠E͢͠͠À̴ST̷҉͡ ͞ O̴̧N̵͢͝Ȩ̷ ̧ M̵̸O̢҉R̨̨̧Ȩ̡͝ ̵̧S͜PO̡I̷L̀ ̵͘TO͡ ̶͢C̷̢L̛͜A̧͠I̕̕M̧,̶̕ ̷͟͜ON͟Ę ͏M̸̴O̷͘Ŕ̸͜E̵͜͝ ̸̸T̀͏̡Ó͘͝Ŗ̀ḾEN̢͠T͝ ͜͟T͞O̶ ̨̛́D͘E̷͡ST͠R̕͢O̶Y̡͜ ̕̕͢W̧͜͟H̕A̵T̸ ́҉Ļ̷͞I̷T̡TL̀E͜ ҉̶Y̴͜O̷̡U͡ ̡̕͠H͢Á̶̕V͢͞E̢ ͜LE̴̡̕FT̶̀. ̡͡A͠Ǹ͡D̀҉ ҉I̧͟T͝҉ I̡̕S̀͠͡ ҉͡ON̢͢L̵Y̨ F̸͞IT̢̧TI̶͟͡N̢̢G͡ ̡T҉H͢A̕͜T҉́͞ T̵͡H͜Í͘S̴ ̴͝L҉͘A͜S̷͢T̨͢ ҉Ţ҉̡O̶͢RM̕E̢N̨̢T́ ̶͟B̧͠E͘͏̸ ̴̛͝D̕E͝L͝͠I͘V͜͢ÉR̡̡E͢D̨͝ ̕͜͟U̧P͡ON̸ ͘Y҉Ơ̡Ù̷̕ ̵̶B̵́Y̷ ̢͠TH̸E F̢͘I̶͞҉N͠A̸͞L̡͢ ̷͝A̶͏̴N̡I͟MA̴̶TR̵O҉N̢͝I̵̛͜C͏͞.̢͝"̸͜
(YOU SHOULDN'T BE ASKING QUESTIONS THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO.I CAN THINK OF AT LEAST ONE MORE SPOIL TO CLAIM, ONE MORE TORMENT TO DESTROY WHAT LITTLE YOU HAVE LEFT. AND IT IS ONLY FITTING THAT THIS LAST TORMENT BE DELIVERED UPON YOU BY THE FINAL ANIMATRONIC.)
Golden Freddy, the last of the animatronics, suddenly vanished and reappeared in front of William, glaring hatefully at the murderer. Just like his normal counterpart, he too laughed, only this time with the demented laughter of the child that had once possessed him. Then, instead of punching at William, he reached out his left hand and placed it behind William's head, tilting it upward so that the damned soul was looking up at him. Then, the animatronic's expression hardened, and he lifted the butt of his microphone onto William's left eye…and pushed. Ichor splattered out of William's socket as he screamed and flailed about, his vision ripped away from him and leaving only the overwhelming pain behind. Not giving the murderer even the slightest second of mercy, Golden Freddy moved the bloodied end of his microphone to the other eye and smashed it through eye, socket, and the back of William's skull, blinding him completely. William tried to clutch the ruined remains of his eyes, unable to even see the mutilated remains of his arms, let alone move them. He never saw Golden Freddy grab him by his head and legs until he had lifted him up into the air. Then, with a ferocious roar of triumph, he smashed William against his knee, smashing his spine and dropping the mangled carcass of what was left of William Afton's soul into the pool of bloody essence that Foxy had created.
William barely had time to recover his senses before Mike unleashed one final blast of corrupted black and red lightning from his palm, causing the damned soul to bellow with the loudest shrieks of agony and sorrow that he had ever screamed during the entirety of their time in Mike's mind. He was merely a defenseless damned soul, with no more protection and no more power. The lightning ravaged through William without restraint, amplifying the pain of his hundreds of wounds while melting what little flesh he had left and shriveling the innards that had been crushed and sliced by the animatronics. Mike blasted William with several seconds of unending, unholy electric torture, the scarlet glow of his power reflected in the cruel gleam of Nightmare's eyes, and when he finally ceased his attack, all that was left of the once mighty Nightmare Springtrap was a grotesque and unrecognizable carcass, blackened and broken, that put even the corpse in the original Springtrap to deep and everlasting shame.
"Please…no more…" William begged. He could not see. He could not move. He could not even breathe. Never once had his very being been so thoroughly destroyed and ravaged in every conceivable manner all at the same time, not even at the hands of the Nightmares. "Please…mercy…mercy…please…I'm…sorry…"
"̶̸Ş̸OŔ̡̛R̕͢Y?"͏ Mike repeated mockingly as he and Nightmare laughed at his apology. "̢W̢̨HA̶͘T̷ ̢̕ǴÒ͡O̕D ́D͝͞O͢E͏S YÓ͞U̵͜R͠ ͘҉̢A҉̛PO͞͡L̀͏O҉̴G̴͟Ý͞҉ D́́͠Ớ?͟͝"̢ he demanded. "͞W͢H͏̛A͞T̶̵͝ ̶̕G̷͢͡O͟O̸͢D̢͘ ͏͟ W̷̢IL̛L ҉ ͟I̡̡T͡ ́͜͝D̢O̕ F̨͏O̷̸R̴̡̧ ̡̀T̴HE͝ ҉̶̶CH͡͝Į͘L̛͢D̷͞Ŗ̵̕E͟N͟ T͘͜H̀Á̛T͏̸ ̡̛Y͘͡O̡U̡͏ ̨̀B̀͡U͢͞T̨CH͝EŔ̕͟E͟͠͡D ̶A̶͡͞ND̵ ̧͢E̷NS̨̛LA͝͠V̸E̕D̴̢͢ ̛͡I҉̷Ń ̶̷͢T̕҉H҉͏̢E̷̛͠I̛R̛͡ M͢҉E̡͘TA̶L̴͢ ̀͢͝P̴̴Ŕ̸͠Ì͝S̛͜ON͢͡S?͢͏ ̡͝WH̵̢̀A̸Ţ ̷̧Ǵ̴̢OO͏҉D̡̡͟ ͝W͏҉I͜͡Ĺ͘͡L͏ ̨IT͞ ̀D͢͢O͘ ͘F͝Ó̸̧R͏̀͟ ̶̕TH̸͢Ȩ̴͟ ̵ON͏͟E ͠Ş̵̢O͠N T̵̛HA̶T҉̵ ̵̴͠ Ỳ͘Ó̴U̴ ̴ D̸E͠C̢E͘I̷̛͏V͘͟E̢D̵͏̡ ̴̢IN͘͜T̕O͠ ̸̀͡BĹI͏҉ND̡L̢҉Y͏ ͏̕͢E̢̛͞NT̵̢́ÉR͏͞IN̕G̷ ̸͢Ý̨͏OU̢R̷̴ ̵F͢͢A̛CT́O̴͝R̨̛͡Y̸͡ ҉Ó̸F ͟H̶Ǫ̨͡ŖROR̛̀S͜, ͟͟T̕O͝ ̷̛T̀͘͞HȨ Ǫ͞T̵́H̕͡ER͘ ͟S̡̀͟Ǫ̸̀N̡͠ ͟T̀HA̵̛T̛̀ ̡Y͠OU̷ ͞L͝E͠F͘T ̵̀T͠O͟ ̶ḐI̵̕Ę IN ̛̕T̴H͘Ę̀͜ ̡͜H̨̀̀O͞S̴̢͜P̨̕I͏҉T̢͟A̴L͡ ҉͢B̸͟͟E͟D ŞO̵̸̢ T͟H͘A̴T ̵́͠Y҉͝O͘͏U ̢ C̡O̶͏Ù͟L͢D̛̕҉ ̕H̡ID͏̵̢E҉ ̢T͝H̴̢͡E҉͞ ̡͘E͜͝XT̴E̷̵͡N͜҉T͡͞ ̸̶O̵̵F ͢Y̷O͢U̶R͢ C̷RIM҉E̢Ś?̢ ̨W̴͢͠H̡A̷̢̕T̨̢ G͘͜͟O̵̕Ò̢D͏ ͘W͏͝I̸͞L҉Ļ͢ ̶͜I̡̕T̢ ͘D̵͞O ́T́́O͟ T͘͡H̷͜͞E͜͜͡ ̕D̨͟A̷͞͞UGḨ͞TȨR̷͞ T̷H̶̀A̢T ̧͟Ỳ̨O̡U͏͘ ̵͡Á̛B͟A҉͢N̡D̕O͢N̛Ȩ̀D̡ ̴AN͘D͠ ̵C̢̛O̧͡Ŕ͡Ŗ̕U͏̸P͞T̷ED?̸ ̛̛Y̕͟O̷͘҉U͠҉̧R͘ ̀͝A̛̕P͏͜O̴̡͠LÓ̵G̀̀Y ̕I͢Ş ̕͜A̕͝S͘͏̡ W̢͠O͢RT̕͠H́LĘSS̨͜ ̶ÁS ̸̨T̴H̶E͞ ̷͢M̀̕ÒU̵̢͟T͠H͜ ̷͜͡T̷H͞AT͘͢͟ ̢́UT̴̶T҉͝È̷R̸͘Ę̸D̶͘ ̴̸I͘T̢́.̶"̶̨̀
(SORRY? WHAT GOOD DOES YOUR APOLOGY DO? WHAT GOOD WILL IT DO FOR THE CHILDREN THAT YOU BUTCHED AND ENSLAVED IN THEIR METAL PRISONS? WHAT GOOD WILL IT DO FOR THE ONE SON THAT YOU DECEIVED INTO BLINDLY ENTERING YOUR FACTORY OF HORRORS, TO THE OTHER SON THAT YOU LEFT TO DIE IN THE HOSPITAL BED SO THAT YOU COULD HIDE THE EXTENT OF YOUR CRIMES? WHAT GOOD WILL IT DO TO THE DAUGHTER THAT YOU ABANDONED AND CORRUPTED? YOUR APOLOGY IS AS WORTHLESS AS THE MOUTH THAT UTTERED IT.)
The demonic aspect's burning eyes turned to gaze at Nightmare, who gazed impassively back. "̛M̨̡͞Ỳ̴̀ ͘͡A͏P̢̧͠O͟͟Ĺ͟O͢G̡͘I̢É̀S҉́ ͜ T҉̶̛Ò͝ ̵͞Y̸̷OU,̢̡ ̛͘͢A͡N͝D ̀T̷͘O̶͜ ̛̀T́͡͝HE̶ D̨͢EV͘ĮL̀͢.̧ I̵ ̡͜D҉̷͠O ̸҉̢N̶ǪT̢́ ͞҉҉ KN̡O̢W̸ ̶̡҉WH̛A̢͟͢T ͡ Ỳ̸O̴̕͟U̸ ̧ H̸҉A̕V̛̕E͘͜ ̵͜P͏҉̡L҉A͟͏N̷̨͟N̸E̸D́͜͜ ̷̶͝ F͏̴̡OR̵ ̧W͜͢͞I҉L̵̕͝L̨I̢A̧̧͜M̛͞ ̀͞A͢͞F͟͟͡T̕͞E҉́R̀͢ Y̵̕O͜҉U̸ ҉͘D͘͞R͘͢͡AG̨̀ ͘͡H̛͞I̕S҉ ̷́͡Ş̧Ǫ͜U͢͠͡L͘͠ ̵̡ B̵̕A͠C̡͡Ķ̀́ ̡I͝NT̨O̡͠ ̶͟TH̴̴E̛̛͜ P͢I̵T͞.̨͘͜ B͜U҉͘T͜ ̵́͟I̶ ̴̴ ẂIL̴Ĺ̶̀ ̵̨B͏E̵͝ ͜S͟͞͠Ȩ̸͡N̢͡D̸̵I̢͟҉Ń̷͝G͟ ͡HÌ̷M͏̧ BA̵̧͘C̶̕K͝͠ ̛͠W̛҉IT́͞H͝͡ ͢ YO҉U̵̧.͢͟.̸.̨͏҉I̧N͢҉͢ ̸P̀̕͟IEC͢É̢̡S͠!͢͢"̸̛͘ He raised his scythe, the black blade burning with scarlet flames as its skull head growled hungrily at the victim that it would soon claim.
(MY APOLOGIES TO YOU AND TO THE DEVIL. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR WILLIAM AFTER YOU DRAG HIS SOUL BACK INTO HELL. BUT I WILL BE SENDING HIM BACK WITH YOU…IN PIECES!)
"No…NO!" William screamed desperately, able to sense the doom approaching him even if he could not see it. "NO MORE, PLEASE!" High above, in the world of the living, Charlie turned her head away, tears of fear pouring out of her eyes. For the first time in her entire existence, she felt the barest traces of pity in her heart for the one who had murdered her and so many others. And she could not see the monstrous being that her loving father had become for even a second longer. Even Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmare, who had for so long expressed immoral delight at the suffering of William Afton and the darkness of Mike Schmidt, had fallen silent.
"̷͢Y͢Ớ̴U̷̧ ̧T̡RI͠͡E̶͜D ̴͘TO͜͠ BRE̵͘A͞҉K̷̕ ̶M͘Y ̧͘F̵A͝͝M̸I̡͟L͟Y͏̸.͏ ́N͏̵O̕͞W̸̕͞ ͏I͞'L͞Ĺ ͟͝B̷͢RE̢͝A̡̛Ḱ YO̡U҉͡R ̴͜S̛O͘͡͞Ư͘L̴̵!" (YOU TRIED TO BREAK MY FAMILY. NOW I'LL BREAK YOUR SOUL!) Mike roared, looking every bit like the feared demon lords of Hell that he had fashioned himself into. And just as he prepared to swing his deathly blade down upon the broken form of William Afton, a voice echoed into his head. A voice that he had not heard for over forty years. The voice of a loved one that had long since passed into the world beyond, striking a chord deep within Mike's soul that not even the ghost children nor Oskar could have ever penetrated. The one person that Mike had loved from the very beginning of his life, and the only one that could have stopped him from completing his hateful vengeance.
"Enough, my son. No more."
/
A/N: Wow. Despite this chapter being technically shorter than the last one, it feels like I put WAY more effort into it overall. There you have it. Each animatronic that Mike summoned, all based on his adoptive ghost children, carried out a different form of torture to slowly break down William Afton in mind, body, and spirit. A few of you hit the nail on the head: while they might not have been as powerful or as vicious as the Nightmares individually, the fact that Mike and the "animatronics" heaped their torments on him without any respite, one after the other, is what makes the whole thing so gruesome and brutal.
It was so bad that even Nightmare was impressed. And not merely "huh you might not be a disgrace just like the rest of your entire species after all" kind of respect, but full-blown, sincere respect and admiration. Keep in mind that Nightmare hates William even more than he used to thanks to his collaboration with Vucarik, and he would have PLENTY of reason to grab his soul immediately, drag it back to Hell, and start torturing the shit out of it with the other Nightmares. And yet, he didn't. He chose to be patient and wait. He chose to let Mike continue William's torture instead. Because he thought that it was the CRUELER option. That fact should scare you more than anything else.
Who was the voice that stopped Mike from utterly tearing William's soul to pieces at the very end? The character's not someone I've brought up in a while, but if you do some digging and thinking, I think you'll be able to figure it out.
Anyways, that end this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed!
