A/N: The worst is over, at least where Nightmare Springtrap's attack is concerned. Mike has thoroughly beaten and broken him, and his mother has stopped him from going off the deep end. Now I think it's time we send William back into Hell where he belongs, and bring the ghost kids back in. It's been a long time since we've last seen them, after all.
BladesOfGlory: As far as this fic is concerned, Sammy is not canon or relevant. I may change my mind later on, but that's my stance at the current moment.
Chapter 84 – Farewell to the Damned
"Urrrggghhhh…" Mike blinked as he groggily opened his eyes. "Is it…is it finally over?"
"DAD!" Charlie's voice blasted through his ears. He barely had time to react before the ghost girl rushed over to her father and wrapped him in a tight hug, not caring even remotely for the physical barrier between ghost and living. "You're okay! You're all right!" she blubbered, tears flowing freely from her eyes.
Mike smiled tiredly at her and stroked her spectral hair. "I'm here, Charlie," he murmured into her ear. "The worst is over now." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the ghost of his mother floating a few feet away exactly as she had promised, giving him an approving smile. Mike returned the gesture to her, relieved that the evening might end on a happy note despite all the terror that William Afton had brought with him.
"IT IS INDEED," a demonic voice drawled. Mike and Charlie's heads snapped up to face Nightmare, who had an inhuman grin stretched across his face. In his hands, he was holding the broken, mutilated soul of William Afton, who was still groaning and whimpering in agony at the many attacks and torments that Mike had unleashed on him throughout their battles. Charlie shuddered and averted her gaze at the hideous sight. It was one thing to see her father brutally torture William's soul through the distance of a portal, as though she were looking at another world.
It was quite another to see the evidence of his potential for cruelty and darkness right in front of her very eyes.
"HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN," Nightmare continued as both he and Nightmare Fredbear sneered at the wretched corpse of a soul. "YOU THOUGHT YOURSELF FAR GREATER IN POWER AND IN STATURE THAN WHERE YOU TRULY BELONGED, WILLIAM AFTON, AND NOW THE RESULTS OF YOUR ARROGANCE WILL BE DISPLAYED FOR ALL TO SEE. AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS A MERE MORTAL WHO ACCOMPLISHED THIS, SIMPLY BY UTILIZING THE POWER OF IMAGINATION IN THE DARKEST POSSIBLE WAY, JUST AS WE DO…THE IRONY IS SIMPLY DELICIOUS."
Nightmare Fredbear grinned and held up a swirling fireball in his hand. "I RECORDED THE WHOLE THING, JUST SO THAT I AND THE REST OF THE NIGHTMARES CAN FALL ASLEEP TO IT EVERY NIGHT, LONG AFTER THE ACTUAL SHADE HAS STOPPED HIS PITIFUL SCREAMING."
"…I don't want my kids to see this, Nightmare…" Mike muttered. "Bad enough that Charlie had front row seats to the whole thing and I didn't even realize it."
"AS AMUSING AS I AM SURE THEIR REACTIONS WILL BE, I WILL NOT RISK THE WRATH OF HEAVEN FOR OVERSTAYING MY WELCOME," Nightmare agreed immediately, surprising both Mike and Charlie. It was almost enough for them to wonder if the demon lord had another hidden motive, but right now their desire to get William Afton out of their plane of existence was far stronger for them to care. "I HAVE DELAYED SENDING THIS MONGREL BACK INTO THE ABYSS LONG ENOUGH, AND IT IS TIME TO THROW HIM BACK INTO THE FIRE, THE COLD, AND THE EVERLASTING DARKNESS." He gestured towards the door with his free hand. "SHALL WE?"
/
"YES, YOU FOOLS! COME! COME TO YOUR DEATH!" Nightmarionne cackled as he reveled in the slaughter that he was unleashing upon his victims. "NO MATTER HOW MANY YOU SEND TO ME, NO MATTER HOW POWERFUL THEY ARE, YOU WILL ONLY FIND THE COLD EMBRACE OF THE GRAVE IN MY HANDS!"
"…you take this game WAY too seriously…" Jeremy muttered as he watched Nightmarionne maneuver Kratos into mercilessly killing hordes of undead warriors and Greek monsters. The rest of the ghost kids could only mutely nod in agreement, still stunned by the downright surreal situation that they were currently in.
When Nightmarionne had approached them and suggested that they play a game, the ghosts had been understandably and utterly terrified at the idea of playing what a demon lord would consider fun and entertainment. Knowing that whatever a Nightmare would do to them would be far worse if they refused his request instead of going along with it, the ghostly children had followed his "request" to sit on the couch, surrounding a still-wounded Liz who was being comforted by her brothers. Worried sick for their father's well-being and their own, they prepared themselves for whatever mental or spiritual torment Nightmarionne had planned for them.
And then the demon lord had zoomed over to Mike's shelf of video games, picked up God of War III, opened up one of their father's incomplete save files, and promptly started butchering the game's enemies en masse.
"AH, THE CYCLOPS KILL!" Nightmarionne declared as he commanded Kratos to viciously reach out and rip the eye of a Cyclops on the TV screen, causing blood to spew all over Kratos' body as the now blinded giant flailed about and collapsed onto the ground in a broken heap. "ONE OF THE MOST BRUTAL THERE IS…AND THEREFORE ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITES! COME, TELL ME CHILDREN, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE KILL THAT YOU HAVE SEEN SO FAR, HMM? I AM EAGER TO KNOW!" The fact that Nightmarionne seemed genuinely interested in their opinions only added to the ghost kids' confusion.
"Uhm…uh…" Fritz mumbled incoherently. Up until this point, Mike had only shown them children's games, innocent ones like Pokémon. He had no idea that his dad had more mature games stashed away…or that those games could be so bloody and violent. "The Centaur kill was kinda cool…in a really disturbing way…I guess?"
Before his siblings or Nightmarionne could respond, they were all interrupted by the rumbling of loud, heavy footsteps walking above him towards the stairs. Nightmarionne looked up and his grin widened in anticipation. "AH…IT APPEARS THAT MY BROTHERS ARE ABOUT TO FINISH THEIR…BUSINESS." He paused the game and tossed the controller carelessly aside. "LET US SEE HOW EVENTS HAVE UNFOLDED, HMM?"
The ghost kids waited anxiously as the footsteps clamored down the stairs, fearing the possibility that William might have gotten his claws on Mike and committed unspeakable and horrific atrocities to him. Their nervousness only increased as Nightmare's silhouette appeared and stepped into the light of the living room…
…and just as Charlie had when she had first directly witnessed Mike's vengeance, all of them gasped in horror as one when they saw what Nightmare was holding in his hands.
The children clearly remembered Nightmare Springtrap's terrifying presence when he had first invaded their home. They remembered his power, his malice, the fiery cruelty in his eyes and the lethal sharpness of his claws. That image had nothing in common to the mangled, burned, and bloodied carcass that was all that was left of William's soul. Never, in all their years of existence as ghosts, had they seen such a display of horrific violence in their entire afterlives. Not even the sight of their own broken corpses or the victims they had forced into animatronic suits had ever been so grotesque and nightmarish.
Even Nightmarionne, a demon whose entire existence was based on torture and violent death, was surprised by the sight. "WHAT IS THIS, NIGHTMARE?" he asked. "WERE YOU SO EAGER TO CLAIM YOUR VENGEANCE AGAINST WILLIAM THAT YOU UNLEASHED THE FULL FORCE OF YOUR FURY UPON HIM BEFORE YOU EVEN DEPARTED FROM SCHMIDT'S MIND? IF SO, I MUST PROTEST…IT SEEMS SO UNCOUTH TO CONDUCT INFERNAL BUSINESS IN SUCH AN UNSUITABLE ATMOSPHERE."
"OH, I WOULD DEARLY LOVE TO CLAIM CREDIT FOR THIS, NIGHTMARIONNE…" Nightmare replied, a vicious grin spreading across his face, grabbing William's broken soul and lifted it into the air. "YOU AND I BOTH KNOW THAT I WOULD LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO RAISE THE MUTILATED SOUL OF WILLIAM AFTON BEFORE HEAVEN, EARTH, AND HELL, FOR ALL OF CREATION TO SEE THE TORTURES INFLICED UPON HIM, AND DECLARE THIS MOST NOBLE WORK AS MY OWN. BUT ALAS," he lowered William's soul back to where it had been previously, "I CANNOT. I CANNOT, IN GOOD FAITH, DO WHAT I HAVE JUST PROCLAIMED. BECAUSE THIS WORK WAS NOT MY DOING."
"NOR WAS IT MINE," Nightmare Fredbear added with a hiss.
"THEN WHO…" the answer hit Nightmarionne like the force of one of Nightmare's most powerful attacks, and if he was already surprised before, it was nothing compared to his expression now. The demonic puppet's eyes were flashing erratically in pure shock, and his jaw had outright dropped open, a sight that would have been amusing if not for the situation that they were currently in. And around him, one by one, the ghost children slowly began to realize exactly who had been responsible for William's current state, and their expressions turned into horrified disbelief that mirrored Charlie's almost exactly. The only ones who didn't react this way were Mike and Evan, whose faces showed nothing apart from a grim, solemn acknowledgment that their father had reaped what he had sewn in his arrogance.
"…YOU MUST BE JOKING, BROTHER," Nightmarionne finally spluttered. "MIKE SCHMIDT, A MERE MORTAL…DID THAT?"
"YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT, BROTHER!" Nightmare Fredbear replied, as he stepped into the living room behind Nightmare, a hungry and eager look in his eye. "SCHMIDT PLAYED WILLIAM FOR A FOOL, DANGLING THE POSSIBILITY OF VICTORY IN FRONT OF HIM WHEN IT WAS NEVER ANYTHING MORE THAN A DELUSION THE MOMENT AFTON SO FOOLISHLY CHOSE TO INVADE HIS MIND. AND ONCE HE GOT TIRED OF PLAYING WITH HIS TOY…I MUST SHOW YOU AND THE OTHERS THIS WHEN WE RETURN TO OUR DOMAIN IN THE ABYSS."
"How…" Susie whispered in disbelief. No matter how much she despised William with every fiber of her being, to see such horrible violence inflicted upon another soul, by her own father… "how is this even possible?"
"THE POWER OF IMAGINATION, OF COURSE!" Nightmare replied with a cruel laugh. "TWISTED TO A DARKER PURPOSE. WERE YOU UNAWARE OF YOUR FATHER'S DARKNESS, LITTLE GHOST BRAT? YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED BY THE DEPTHS TO WHICH HE IS WILLING TO SINK AGAINST THOSE WHO HAVE TRULY EARNED HIS HATRED."
The ghost kids looked at each other with growing unease. Just what in the hell HAD happened up in the bedroom while they had waited, fearing for their father's fate?
"It's not something that they have to worry about," a familiar and most welcome voice gruffly interrupted him. "Now, or ever." The children's eyes lit up as Mike stepped out of the shadows into the living room, looking heavily fatigued but otherwise completely unharmed. There were two ghosts, one on each side, holding him up to keep him from falling. They immediately recognized one of them as Charlie, but the other was a woman they had never seen before. As Mike dragged himself into the living room to sit down on his couch, Nightmare stepped aside to allow him and the ghosts holding him to pass. The children didn't recognize the significance of this gesture, but Serene, Michael, and even Evan certainly did, the latter two gazing sharply at each other and then at Mike but otherwise remaining silent.
"DAD!" the children screamed out exactly as Charlie had done, only even louder than she had. They immediately scrambled off the sofa and rushed to wrap their father in the tightest, most adoring hug they would have ever given him. Mike's eyes slightly widened in panic, but before he could get overwhelmed the woman who had been holding him stepped in front of them and held out her hands to stop them.
"Children…" she began, her voice soothing and compassionate, but also carrying with it the authority of a parent. "Calm down. Mike has spent the last few minutes battling the demonically empowered shade of William Afton within the depths of his very mind, a battle between souls in which Mike was able to use several critical advantages that he would not have had otherwise." She gestured towards William's broken soul. "As you can see, my son won his battle, but it has left him utterly exhausted. Please do not overwhelm him with your enthusiastic greetings, as tempting as it might be. I'm worried that you'll completely knock him out if you do."
The children stopped, their faces falling slightly. "You're right…" Gabe admitted. "The last thing we want to do is accidentally hurt him." Her words suddenly clicked in his brain, and his eyes widened in realization as he looked sharply back up at the woman. "Wait a minute. You just called Dad your son." The rest of the ghosts' expressions began to mirror their brother's as they came to the same conclusion. "So…so that means…"
"THIS IS ALL VERY FASCINATING…" Nightmare interrupted with that same condescending, disinterested drawl, forcing everyone's attention back to him. More than a few of the children gave him dirty looks, but it was clear that he didn't give a damn in the slightest, "BUT YOU CAN SAVE YOUR INTRODUCTIONS FOR A LATER TIME. FOR NOW, THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS TO TEND TO. NAMELY…" he lifted up William Afton's throat again, "RETURNING THIS WRETCH TO HIS RIGHTFUL RESTING PLACE."
"Yeah, let's take care of this now," Mike agreed with a faint growl. "I don't want to see this fucker in my plane of existence any longer than I have to."
Nightmare grinned. "IT HAS BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME SINCE I HAVE DIRECTLY THROWN A SOUL INTO THE PIT OF ETERNAL DAMNATION DIRECTLY. I THINK I AM GOING TO ENJOY THIS." He stomped his way across the living room, dragging William behind him. The Nightmares, ghosts, and Mike followed him out of the other living room doorway, through the hallway and the kitchen, and out the door into the backyard. Nightmare didn't stop moving until he was directly in front of Mike's pool, and Mike suddenly had a foreboding feeling that he knew what was going to happen.
Nightmare lifted his hand to the sky, and immediately the sky began to grow thick with heavy clouds and a dense, shadow fog began to surround them, doubtless to prevent any outsiders from viewing whatever ritual the demon lord was about to do. Once he was satisfied with the results of his sorcery, Nightmare lifted William's mangled and grievously wounded spirit until he was holding him directly above the serene waters of Mike's pool.
"THE EMPEROR OF THE WOEFUL REAM IS EAGER TO RECEIVE YOU IN HELL, WILLIAM AFTON…" Nightmare hissed, his eyes burning with a malicious glee. "HE WILL BATHE IN THE TATTERED REMNANTS OF YOUR ESSENCE, DRINK DEEP FROM THE UNSPEAKABLE AGONY THAT HE SHALL CAUSE YOU. ALL OF HELL WILL WEEP AT YOUR FATE, EVEN AS THE DAMNED WHISPER PRAYERS OF GRATITUDE THAT THEIR FATES ARE KINDER THAN WHAT YOURS SHALL BECOME." His voice, which had already been growing louder with each word, escalated into a deafening, volcanic roar. "MY LORD! OPEN THE GATES OF HELL, FOR I HAVE A GIFT FOR THEE!"
The moment he finished his final word, the surface of the pool suddenly began to ripple and churn frenziedly. A light began to glow within its depths, but it was the orange and scarlet light of flames, and the very sight of it cast a chill into the core of every soul that bore witness to it. The hellish flames and the now chaotically roiling waters of the pool began to spread and unite, until the entire pool was no a longer a pool, but a portal straight into the depths of Hell itself. Flames roared upward from its surface, grasping hungrily at William's feet even as he desperately tried to struggle and resist, and as they dared to look into the portal's depths, everyone could see a maelstrom of fire and shadow leading down into unfathomable depths, surrounded by storm clouds that crackled and blasted hellish lightning all around the edge of the maelstrom. Screams, roars, moans, and wails bellowed from the depths of the portal, destroying any doubt that the portal that Nightmare had created led directly into the afterlife of eternal suffering and damnation.
Even as those not of an infernal nature tried to comprehend the horror of what they were seeing, the flames billowing out of the portal suddenly erupted into a massive pillar of fire that spiraled towards the sky, an unholy pyre that consumed William within its depths. The murderer's agonized screams echoed throughout the entire backyard, causing the ghostly children to turn their eyes away in a terror that overrode even their hatred of William and their desire to see him suffer. Charlie was particularly overwhelmed by dread at what she was seeing, for the column of fire that Nightmare had summoned to engulf William was almost exactly like the final spell that Mike had unleashed to annihilate the last of William Afton's demonic legions.
With one final, cruel laugh, Nightmare released his grip, and everyone watched as the murderer finally fell through the pit and into the infernal vortex, back into the damnation that he so rightfully deserved. Even through the roar of flames and the other wails coming from the portal, the others could swear that they could hear William Afton scream incoherently as he fell further and further down, long after he had disappeared from view. Nightmare clapped his hands and continued to laugh as the portal diminished in size and disappeared, leaving only the tranquil waters of Mike's pool and a faint memory of terror behind.
"CONGRATULATIONS, ONE AND ALL," Nightmare declared once he had finally calmed himself. "YOU HAVE JUST WITNESSED THE DAMNATION OF ANOTHER SOUL. WHAT THOUGHTS ARE ECHOING IN YOUR MINDS, NOW THAT YOU HAVE SEEN WHAT YOUR FATE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAD YOU FAILED TO TURN BACK TO THE LIGHT?"
Everyone was silent for several moments. Then, Mike spoke up in the dry tone that his family was now so familiar with. "I'm thinking that I'm excavating this pool and getting it the fuck off my property as soon as possible."
His words defused much of the tension that had been generated by William Afton's second descent to Hell, and a few of the ghosts even giggled nervously. "YEAH, THAT'S A FAIR REACTION," Nightmarionne commented agreeably to the bafflement of everyone besides the Nightmares. "I'D PROBABLY REACT THE SAME WAY IF A DEMON LORD OPENED UP A PORTAL TO HELL IN MY POOL."
Nightmare rolled his eyes at his brother but said nothing as he dispelled the dark magics that he had used to conceal his damnation of William. The clouds and fog parted to reveal the familiar starry night sky, which to the children appeared even more beautiful in comparison to the vision of horror they had witnessed seconds earlier. The demons, ghosts, and man returned the way they had came until they had congregated back in the living room, the only major difference being the obvious absence of William Afton now that he had been sent back into the Abyss where he belonged.
Liz let out another pained groan as she sat back onto the couch, and it was only then that everyone realized just how badly she had been wounded by William compared to the rest of the ghost kids. There were vicious slashes all over her body and on her claw, some of them with ghostly essence spilling out of them, and her eyes were flashing erratically with pain. Michael and Evan both immediately moved to try and comfort her, but Serene got there first.
"I've got you…" she murmured as she sat next to her adoptive granddaughter. She lifted Liz and placed her gently on her lap, either not noticing or ignoring her bulky frame, and wrapped her arms around her from behind in a hug, making sure that her hands were being placed over some of Liz's wounds. Immediately, the girl felt a soothing warmth emanate from Serene's hands, and much of the pain from her injuries began to fade away. Though Liz could still feel the wounds themselves, the ghostly essence stopped spilling where she touched them, and Liz could feel the wounds begin to heal themselves, however slowly. "Better?" Serene asked gently.
"Y…yeah…" Liz answered as she let out a contented sigh. Michael and Evan both looked noticeably relieved that Serene was taking care of their sister, and much more effectively than they could. Michael's worry quickly reignited, however, as he realized that Evan had even more wounds on his body than Liz did, and all of them looked just as grave as hers had been.
"What about you?" Michael asked his little brother. "You look absolutely terrible."
"It looks much worse than it is," Shadow Freddy brushed his concerns off. "Remember, Old Man Consequences made me into something…different…when he transformed me into this. I can handle his attacks far better than either you or Liz ever could."
"If you say so…" Michael didn't look convinced in the slightest, but he didn't press the topic further.
"NOW THEN…" Nightmare's unearthly voice drew their attention back to him. "BEFORE WE DEPART, I FEEL THAT I SHOULD SPEND A BRIEF MOMENT TO CELEBRATE THE MAN OF THE NIGHT." He turned to look at Mike. "SCHMIDT…THE NIGHT WE FIRST MET, WHEN YOU FIRST RAGED AGAINST WILLIAM FOR MAKING A DEAL WITH ME TO BREAK YOUR FAMILY, I ONCE CALLED THE DARKNESS WITHIN YOU IMPRESSIVE FOR A MORTAL SO FIRMLY ENTRENCHED IN THE SIDE OF GOOD. I WAS WRONG. YOUR DARKNESS IS NOTHING SHORT OF INSPIRATIONAL." The demon lord's mouth stretched into a fanged grin, and unlike the malicious sneer that had twisted his face almost every other time the family had seen it, this was the closest thing his grotesque visage could give to a true smile, one that displayed honest respect and even admiration. Somehow, that expression was even more disturbing to the ghost kids than his usual predatory rictus. "THE CRUELTY AND VICIOUSNESS YOU UNLEASHED UPON YOUR MOST HATED, WRETCHED ENEMY WOULD BE WORTHY OF DEMON LORDS WITH CENTURIES MORE EXPERIENCE IN THE ARTS OF TORMENT AND VENGEANCE. TO WITNESS YOUR RETRIBUTION AGAINST AFTON WAS A RIGHT AND A PRIVILEGE THAT I AM HONORED TO HAVE WITNESSED. AND FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT I HAVE SEEN IN CENTURIES, I OFFER YOU A BOON, GIVEN WITHOUT PAYMENT AND FREE OF THE MALICE THAT SO OFTEN TAINTS THE GIFTS OF DEMONS."
"Cruelty?" Cassidy repeated numbly. "Viciousness? What are you talking about?"
"He did something to Afton," Gabe replied quietly. "I mean, did you SEE what let's of him?"
"What did Dad do?" Fritz asked his sister. "Charlie, you were there, weren't you? What did Dad do to him?"
"You DON'T want to know, Fritz," Charlie cut him off, her eyes frantic and her tone intense with her warning. "You really, REALLY don't want to know…"
"It can't be anything worse than what we did…" Jeremy began, but his voice trailed off at the thousand-yard stare in Charlie's eyes, "…can it?"
The raw fear in Charlie's eyes made it abundantly clear to them all that they really didn't want her to answer that question. Deciding to quickly change the subject, Susie turned to Nightmare. "What…kind of gift are you talking about?" she asked, unable to fully hide the distrust in her tone. Nightmare might have helped them and Nightmarionne had been outright pleasant, if insensitive in forcing them to watch his video gaming, but that didn't mean she trusted any of the Nightmares in the slightest.
"LET US CALL IT A…BLESSING," Nightmare replied cryptically. At the utterly baffled looks on everyone's face, he smirked. "THE FORCES OF HEAVEN ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN BESTOW POSITIVE ENCHANTMENTS UPON OTHERS. THOUGH AS YOU CAN ASSUME, THE NATURE OF INFERNAL BLESSINGS IS RATHER DIFFERENT. WHAT I SHALL BESTOW UPON SCHMIDT WILL BE A BLESSING TO HIM…AND A CURSE TO ANOTHER."
Nightmare raised his hand, and it began to engulf itself in a scarlet glow, similar to but not exactly a flame. The ghosts gasped as Mike's entire body began to glow with the same crimson light. Mike's eyes widened in confusion as he frantically looked towards his mother, but Serene merely smiled peacefully at her son and gave him a gentle nod, assuring him that everything was all right. Mike forced himself to calm down and accept Nightmare's mysterious and sinister gift, whatever it might be.
For several seconds, Mike's body continued to glow with the same red light, the other ghosts watching with nervousness and uncertainty as Nightmare channeled his spell. Then, to everyone's shock, the ghoulish image of a gigantic black, demonic skull with two ram-like horns appeared above Mike's head, engulfed in blood-red flames with eyes burning with malice. The symbol flashed with a dreadful intensity and then faded out of sight almost as quickly as it had arrived, but not before leaving behind the sound of demonic laughter that echoed long after the demon's head disappeared.
"͓̯͍̺̥̀HEH͇͎̝̱̻̘ ̢̣̩͓̯̀H͚̫͔͍̙͟E̸̡͉͡H͔͓͡͠ ̱̗͍̥̥͚̤H̠̬̟́͟EH̵̡̼͍̤̙͍̜̼̠͢ͅ H̘͕E̵̸̳̝̟̯͓̠̗̕H͕̤̠̞̟͙͟ͅ ͏̘̲͈̺̦̼̖̰̣͝H̩͞EH͖̻͔͚̟̝̯͚͞ ̸̢̼̥̘H̙̱͟A̛̮̲͙̳̬̘͡ ̢̪̹̗̣̠̗͉͕H͇̖̝̝̺̰͇͍͎A̜̘̜̫͡ ̢̡̺͝Ḩ͍̺̺̼̟͟A̜̗̥͎͖̥̝̘ ̠͖͇͢H̷̰̗̘͙̜̻̯̀͞A̵̭̹͓̭̕͢!͏̷̗̮̮̼̪̻̞"͕̠̭̙͍̞̞̠
Everyone stared silently as the ghoulish laughter finally faded away. "What…what the hell was that?" Fritz was the first to break the silence.
"That laughter…" Jeremy shuddered. "What the hell was that laughter?"
"Obviously it has something to do with the Nightmares," Cassidy pointed out.
"That must've been a vision of Nightmare's true form," Liz speculated, wincing as she felt her wounds flare from her efforts to speak. "A way for him to mark that spell as something he did."
The ghost kids began to speculate and even argue, not noticing Charlie shudder in fear and glance sadly at them. She was relieved that they had been spared the true horror of seeing the full extent of Mike's brutality against William, but it was cold comfort in the face of the truth.
For she knew that it had been the head of Mike's darkest and demonic aspect that had manifested above his body, and Mike's unholy laughter that had echoed through their ears and into their very souls. The sickening grin that Nightmare Fredbear gave to her and only her did nothing to improve her temperament in the slightest. For they both knew full well what those accursed symbols represented, and it was as though Nightmare Fredbear was mocking her with the fact that she would have to bear this knowledge alone, or risk ruining the innocence of her brothers and sisters.
Mike seemed to realize the truth as well, and his lips contorted into a grimace as the ugly realization churned in his stomach. It really was fortunate that Charlie had been the only one to really see what had happened in his mental world between him and William. Even though they hadn't yet spoken a word to each other about it, he could already tell that Charlie was taking it badly, and she was both the oldest ghost and the one who had arguably seen the most horror in the first, accursed part of her afterlife.
He did not want to think about what would have happened if any of the other kids had seen him at his worst…or what would have happened if his mother hadn't stopped him.
It was almost relieving to hear Nightmare speak again, his voice cutting through and silencing the arguments and dark speculation. "I HAVE INVOKED A RATHER UNIQUE SPELL UPON SCHMIDT. ONE THAT I CALL…THE ANATHEMA CURSE. THOUGH IN THIS CASE, YOUR FATHER IS NOT THE ONE WHO IS BEING CURSED." He continued before the ghosts could let out gasps of horror or outrage at the idea of their father being cursed. Nightmare's scarlet eyes flared with the authority of a true lord of Hell as he spoke his next words. "FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, MIKE SCHMIDT, YOUR VERY EXISTENCE SHALL BE THE BANE OF WILLIAM AFTON. YOUR BODY, MIND, AND SOUL SHALL BE ANATHEMA TO THE MURDERER OF YOUR CHILDREN BY THEIR VERY NATURE. TO MERELY STAND IN YOUR PRESENCE WILL DOOM WILLIAM AFTON INTO UNSPEAKABLE AGONY AND SUFFERING, THE LIKES OF WHICH CAN BE ONLY FOUND IN THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL AND IN THE BLACKEST CORNERS OF YOUR MIND. TO LAY A FINGER UPON YOU WILL RISK THE BREAKING OF YOUR GREATEST ENEMY'S VERY SOUL TO SCATTERED FRAGMENTS SCREAMING ENDLESSLY INTO AN UNCARING ETERNITY, JUST AS YOU SO NEARLY BROKE HIS SOUL UPON THE ALTAR OF YOUR VENGEANCE. EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR VERY BEING, BODY AND SPIRIT, SHALL NOW BE WILLIAM AFTON'S HELL ON EARTH. SO I HAVE DECLARED THIS BLESSING AND CURSE, THIS LITANY OF BENEVOLENCE AND MALEVOLENCE ALIKE, AND SO IT SHALL BE!"
The house seemed to shake with the authority of Nightmare's words, everyone besides the Nightmares overwhelmed by the demon lord's declaration. Once they had gotten over their initial shock, Mike and the ghosts began reflecting over the words that Nightmare had uttered.
"Wait a minute…" Jeremy was the first to speak. "So…if I'm hearing what Nightmare said correctly, he just made it so that William Afton can't ever come near Dad again, or otherwise he'll be, to make a long story short, completely and utterly fucked."
"I…think that sounds about right?" Liz agreed with a little hesitation.
"…so why didn't Nightmare just do this BEFORE William Afton decided to try and break into our house?" Gabe finished, only just barely managing to throw the demon lord an accusatory glare.
Nightmare only smirked. "A SPELL OF THIS NATURE CAN ONLY BE BESTOWED PERSONALLY FROM ONE TO ANOTHER," he replied. "AND BESIDES, IF I HAD SIMPLY CAST THIS SPELL UPON SCHMIDT, I WOULD HAVE DENIED MY BROTHER AND MYSELF SUCH WONDERFUL ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT."
"…you jerk…" Fritz muttered under his breath.
"WE ARE DEMONS, LITTLE BRAT," Nightmarionne retorted with a mocking grin. "DID YOU REALLY EXPECT ANYTHING ELSE?"
There was nothing any of the ghosts could say to argue against that. Even they could, Mike was beginning to speak, and they didn't want to interrupt whatever he was going to say.
"When I first met you, Nightmare, when you attacked the dreams of my kids, you came very close to being the first person I have ever truly hated in my entire life," Mike began. "I thought you were just a coward and a jackass hiding behind darkness and demonic power. But then you revealed that the whole thing was a plot that was really William Afton's fault, and when you agreed to let me get my revenge on him I knew that there was something…different about you, and what you really had in mind."
He sighed and shook his head. "To be honest, I still have no idea what to think about you. On the one hand, you're very clearly an evil bastard. You torture the damned without any hint of remorse and thoroughly enjoy doing horrible things to people around you."
"A FACT THAT I TAKE GREAT DELIGHT IN DISPLAYING TO ALL," Nightmare interrupted with a smirk.
"But no matter how much I hate to admit it, I do respect you a lot more than I ever thought I would," Mike grudgingly conceded. The ghosts looked at him in shock, and even Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne seemed a bit surprised at how easily he revealed this. Nightmare's face betrayed nothing, and Mike took that as his cue to go on. "You've been oddly honest and open with us, telling us exactly why you chose to attack us in the first place even though you had absolutely no reason to. And much more importantly, the only reason I was able to fight back against William Afton so effectively in the first place, and the reason why I was able to prepare my kids for his attack with as low a risk of them getting hurt as possible, was because you gave us the warning ahead of time that he was coming. I'm not sure that I would've been able to prepare my mind and control over my dreams quickly enough to be ready for him if you hadn't, and my kids would've definitely been taken by surprise."
"HE DARED TO INSULT ME AND MY KIN BY ESCAPING OUR GRASP WITH THE HELP OF ONE OF MY ENEMIES," Nightmare retorted. "AND I DO NOT TOLERATE SUCH INSULTS."
His mouth contorted into a sneer, but not quickly enough for Mike to notice the brief expression on his face. "Is that all there is to it?" he mused aloud, a faint smirk on his face. "I think there's something more. And if I'm right, which I think I am, then that's the biggest reason why I respect you out of all of them." Mike hadn't missed the brief flash of grief and rage in Nightmare's eyes that suggested much more than the term "insult" would suggest, and he hadn't noticed the hints of genuine camaraderie and brotherhood between him and his brothers, either. "But if you and your kin agree not to reveal the full details of what I did to William, then I won't mention that one, overarching reason."
"A FAIR BARGAIN," Nightmare accepted. "I ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT, SCHMIDT."
Mike smiled with relief. "Good. No matter how evil you might be, Nightmare, you made a statement when you came to give me your warning. You proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were never as despicable as William Afton, and that unlike that murderous bastard, you actually have qualities that I can respect. So thank you, Nightmare. Thank you for warning us about what could have been an absolute disaster. Though I doubt we'll ever really be friends because of our opposite moralities, I forgive you for attacking us last year."
Everyone stared at Mike as he finished his speech, even the Nightmares unable to fully hide their surprise behind dismissive sneers and contemptuous glares in time. The only person who wasn't gaping at Mike was Serene, who was smiling approvingly at her son.
"Did Dad just forgive Nightmare? Just like that?" Susie gasped.
"I…I think he did!" Jeremy murmured in disbelief.
"Even after he attacked us in our dreams last year?" Fritz whispered agitatedly, unable to fully keep his anger down.
"That was nothing compared to what William Afton would've done if Nightmare hadn't warned Dad about his attack in time," Gabe countered, defusing Fritz's frustration immediately.
In the midst of the chattering ghost children, Nightmare was silent for several seconds, clearly in thought. Nobody could tell if he was trying to think of something to say or pondering Mike's words. Finally, he turned to face his brothers. "NIGHTMARE FREDBEAR, NIGHTMARIONNE," he addressed them. "WE ARE DEPARTING FOR HELL NOW. THERE IS NO REASON FOR US TO REMAIN HERE ANY LONGER."
The two demonic animatronics nodded, and with his claws wreathed in flames, Nightmarionne tore open a fiery portal that, despite its much smaller size and intensity, unmistakably led to the same Inferno that Nightmare had dropped William Afton into minutes before. Nightmare approached the hellish rift and was about to step through, when he suddenly stopped and turned to face Mike again.
And the expression on his face surprised everyone in the room, including the Nightmares. For the malice that was normally prevalent on his face had receded to a near minimum, and instead there was something akin to understanding in his eyes. Understanding and, if the ghosts dared to consider the possibility…respect.
"SCHMIDT," Nightmare spoke, and just like his eyes his voice was entirely different from what they were used to. Mike had a feeling that this was the closest that Nightmare would ever come to expressing warmth and appreciation for a mere mortal. "YOU DID WELL THIS NIGHT. IT HAS BEEN CENTURIES SINCE A MORTAL HAS EARNED MY RESPECT, AND EVEN LONGER SINCE I HAVE FOUND THE NEED TO EXPRESS THAT RESPECT OPENLY. YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED TONIGHT IN BOTH, AND I SALUTE YOU." Then, as everyone watched in stunned silence, Nightmare clenched his right hand into a fist, raised it until it was over his chest, and bowed once. Sensing the importance of what was occurring even if he couldn't understand it, Mike reciprocated the motion, raising his own fist over his chest and bowing in turn. Then, without another word, Nightmare turned and stepped into the portal, vanishing out of sight and returning to the fiery underworld that his kind called their home.
Every single being in the room stared at the portal in blank shock, from the ghosts of the murdered children to the terrifying Nightmares. Even Serene, who seemed to possess a higher wisdom that the others around her lacked, was just as surprised by the united action of her son and the demon lord. "Did Dad and Nightmare just…salute each other?" Liz finally dared to posit the question. Even though she had been put through many surprises tonight, many of them most certainly unpleasant, this was the one that shocked her the most of all of them.
And judging by the reactions of everyone else, it was clear that she wasn't the only one who felt this way. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT OUR BROTHER JUST DID?" Nightmare Fredbear asked incredulously, all malevolence forgotten and not even bothering to hide his astonishment at Nightmare's actions.
"What?" Gabe inquired, his curiosity overriding his fear of the Nightmares. "What did he do?"
"HE JUST GAVE YOUR FATHER A WARRIOR'S SALUTE," Nightmarionne answered, his eyes flashing erratically and his tone filled with awe. "THAT IS THE CLOSEST I HAVE EVER SEEN HIM COME TO ACKNOWLEDGING SOMEONE ELSE AS AN EQUAL. I DON'T EVEN REMEMBER THE LAST TIME HE GAVE THAT KIND OF RESPECT TO ANOTHER DEMON LORD!"
"WHAT?" everyone gasped. "He respects Dad THAT much?" Charlie exclaimed.
"But why?" Liz spluttered, ignoring her pain. "What did Dad do? I know you keep saying you don't want us to know, Charlie, but WHAT DID HE DO?"
"I can think of a few reasons," Serene answered quietly, all eyes turning to her, "a lot of them related to the reason why my son respects Nightmare despite what happened last year. But since Mike chose to respect your master's privacy, I will too. But the main reason I can think of besides that, and the reason I think you will care most about, is because he accomplished something that nobody else has done. He did what a horde of rampaging, vengeful animatronics, a bloody and gruesome death in a springlock suit, two burning buildings, his son, and his business partner failed to do. Mike accomplished what even Hell itself could not, at least not to the same level of success."
All eyes turned to Serene, fully engrossed in the intensity of her voice and in her eyes as she revealed the truth that they had been waiting to hear.
"He broke William Afton."
/
A/N: In the beginning, the relationship between Mike and Nightmare was not a positive one in the slightest. Sure, Mike might have offered tips on how to torture William in Hell that Nightmare was receptive to, but it doesn't change the fact that the demon lord still tried to attack the minds and psyches of his children, even if William was ultimately the reason why that happened in the first place. But by coming to warn Mike of William's attack, and being the biggest and possibly only reason why Mike and his kids were able to defend themselves against Nightmare Springtrap so effectively, Nightmare made an incontrovertible statement that as evil as he is, he is nowhere near as despicable as William Afton, and is most certainly NOT on his side. Not only that, but Nightmare and Mike have recognized the positive qualities in each other, even if Nightmare will try his damn hardest to keep them secret. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether Nightmare's salute towards the end of the chapter was because of seeing Demon!Mike unleash unholy vengeance on William Afton, or if he saluted Mike for a different reason.
And yes, this DOES open up the possibility of future encounters between Mike's family and Nightmare that are, if not positive, at the very least non-hostile.
I was originally going to have the Aftons leave in this chapter, but I think I'll wait until the next one for that. I'm pretty sure Liz would love the chance to finally talk with both of her brothers for the first time since her death, and the kids' reactions to Serene's presence and the revelation of who she is should speak for themselves.
Here's a description of Nightmare's damnation of William in spell form. I'm writing this not just because I'm in a huge "Age of the Ring" phase (it's a mod for Battle for Middle-Earth II: Rise of the Witch-King), but also to give you a hint to how powerful Mike would be if his powers in his mental world translated to reality.
Abandon All Hope: Nightmare grabs an enemy champion by the throat and opens up a fiery portal leading directly into the depths of Hell itself underneath them, engulfing his helpless victim with the unbridled, unrestrained wrath of the Inferno. Any enemy champion targeted by this spell is instantly killed. If the target is Evil-aligned, the victim is damned to Hell and permanently removed from the battle (this does not happen to Good or Neutral-aligned characters).
Does only 50% max health damage to Nightmare Fredbear, Nightmarionne, and Dark!Mike.
Does only 25% max health damage to Demon!Mike.
Has no effect on beings of a greater power level.
Well, the Nightmares and William are gone, and it looks like the first rays of sunlight are finally breaking through the dark clouds of this arc. But, I don't want to leave you guys TOO happy, so I have just one last thing to leave you with.
This will not be the last time you see Dark!Mike.
.͞҉̟͎̼͓̗̩̟͞.͎̥.̀͏̣͕͈O̷̶̩͞ͅR̵̴̹̻̦̤̣̩̱ ̥̮̮̯̣͉͡͡T̷̪̼̞̩̜̗H̶̼̪̠͜E̷̞̼̠͎͘ ̶̫̥͓͟͜Ḻ̙̺̳A҉̴̘̪̲̘̫̺͠S̶͓̩̖͢ͅT͕̼̭̭ T̢̥̩͚̫̠̺͍̙̕Ị̺M͖̲̻̖̀͞E̞̱ ̨̼̤͈̕Y̸̥̹̣O̴̯̥Ṷ̢̠̳͖͙̳ ͈̥̩͟SE͙̱͔̹͟͜E̮̣̻͚̳͔͔͔͙͠ ̴̴̣͍͉̖̟̱̭̥̤DEM҉̠̮̳͙̲͜O҉͉̠̞͍N̟̝!̷̴̮͞ͅM͓͎͈̤͈̭͓I͢͏̜̥̙͟K̳͚͢͡E̼̙͓̥̕͜.͎̞̲
(…OR THE LAST TIME YOU SEE DEMON!MIKE.)
