A/N: Well, my new residency job has finally started (or at least the orientation has), so this will probably the last time you see a weekly update for a while. I am SO fucking happy that I get to wear scrubs during most of the rotation and that there's a month dedicated to night float instead of 24-hour call. A month of night shift might suck, sure, but it's predictable, it's consistent, and you can plan around it. And I'd rather rip the band-aid off and deal with it all right away than wait with high anxiety around call, where you can literally be called into the hospital at any time and don't even get sleep as a guarantee.

I'm also sad to hear that Scott Cawthon has retired. He's poured his heart and soul into these games, and I can only wish him well with the future and hope that whoever he passes the torch of FNaF too is a worthy inheritor of that legacy.

Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Let's move on with the fic!

Rebiele: Thanks! And nah, you're not being political in your review, so that's fine. I'm gonna miss Scott too, he was really the one who brought FNaF to life.

Engineer gaming: At first, I had no clue what you were talking about lol. But then I realized that it was TF2 (thanks SoundSmith for teaching me about that term). And while the analogy isn't a 100% correlation, it surprisingly fits the sermon the more I think about it.

Ginopippofreebooter: I might take a look at it later when I have time.

Awesomesniper86: Thank you! And yeah, that was more or less my thoughts on why I'm deliberately keeping the nature and appearance of angels, Heaven, and God vague. As for the preacher, he was actually a guest preacher who was invited to give a sermon for one specific weekend. And his name was made-up specifically for this fic.

Chig Chug: Ah, I see. And yeah, that makes complete sense. I actually made another edit attempt on Nightmare's entry on Magnificent Bastard back when I still didn't know about this rule change, so please feel free to revert it.

Jack0Lanterns: Yeah, if the ghost kids were still in their vengeful state, Pastor Callahan's sermon would have flown in one ear and straight out the other. And it's a sermon that they most certainly needed to hear, to make sure they were approaching the problems of Glitchtrap and Fazbear Entertainment the right way.

MegaMaster78: I'm glad the chapter turned out so successful, judging by people's reactions to it.

TU4Q: Thank you very much for your kind words. I was actually really fortunate to hear this specific sermon last Sunday, as I don't think any other sermon would have been nearly as effective if I'd used another one instead. The lesson on humility and pride is one that I think everyone could use, whether they're the ghost kids or just your average person. And you don't even need to be a Christian to learn from it.

MothraRanger: I was getting wary at first, but I think your comment just narrowly avoids being political well enough for me to keep it in the reviews list. And yeah, I'm really happy that the sermon has been so well-received by everyone. It was something the ghost kids really needed to listen to as well.

Thanatos D.E.M.: Well, the ghosts were technically in Heaven itself for a short while, so it's kinda hard not to believe in God when you've literally been in His presence. But yeah, this sermon was important for making sure the ghost kids were approaching their redemption and the problems of the future with the right perspective. I don't think it would have turned out nearly as good if I didn't listen to that specific sermon last week.

RicAlbuquerque: Part of the reason why I wrote this Church chapter was because I needed a break from writing FNaF stuff. Literally the last 10 chapters (if not more) were all FNaF-related, and I needed to step back from it. As for the ghost kids, I wanted to give them a break from being around horror stuff and demonic influences (even if those demonic influences are allies), and I highly doubt taking a break one Sunday morning will change anything. I'll address some of the issues you brought up in the beginning of this chapter, and I won't reveal any details on Vanny until the family becomes aware of her existence (you'll see what I mean at the end of Curse of Dreadbear). I also don't intend on writing any "filler" or "theoretical AU" chapters at the moment, my schedule is already getting increasingly busy as it is.

FireFlamerx9z: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

AlchemyWriter: Thanks! I'm excited to write Curse of Dreadbear, especially since I get to (sorta) write about the Nightmares some more.

Chapter 136 – A Demon's Work

Despite the Schmidt family's resolve and their newfound perspective, they were unable to achieve any significant progress in the next few weeks as September bled into October.

The biggest problem that they faced remained the same: they had no idea who Glitchtrap's victim could be, let alone what they could be doing. Mike had contacted Nightmare, asking him if he had found more information, but the demon lord had not been able to provide anything new. His time had been fully consumed working on Fazbear Entertainment's VR game, and although he had the skill and knowledge to work on it, he could not do so in a quick and easy manner unless he forwent the technological aspects and went all-in on altering the game through magic, something that Nightmare explicitly warned against.

Putting in too much demonic magic in something was never a good idea, even if the demon had genuinely decent intentions behind it.

It didn't help that the ritual that had been used to scout out the one copy with an escaped Glitchtrap wasn't able to provide any details on its surroundings. Even if it had, the fact that the game copy had been inside an unrelated Fazbear executive's house had rendered the whole issue irrelevant anyway. No, Mike wouldn't be able to get any immediate help from Nightmare, and would have to pray that he found some other secrets within the VR game that he was currently working on.

Their own investigations proved just as unsuccessful. The ghost kids had relentlessly searched for news on the Internet for any of Fazbear Entertainment's future plans, but had found nothing. Either Fazbear Entertainment didn't even have any future plans to begin with (a lack of forward thinking that wouldn't surprise them in the slightest), or they were keeping their plans tightly concealed for now.

After Mike reluctantly gave his permission, Cassidy and Gabe infiltrated the Fazbear Entertainment building itself to try and gather intel directly. But even here, their efforts were stonewalled. The only thing that Mr. Averus bothered to talk about was the VR game and how "Mr. Nacht" had to finish it soon, or else everything would be ruined. There were no written documents to be found anywhere, and going onto the computers was simply impossible. Not just because a computer typing by itself would have unleashed conspiracy theories about ghosts and hauntings, but also because they simply didn't know the password to get on them in the first place.

"We really couldn't find anything at all," Cassidy reported with a disappointed sigh. "I guess all we can really do is wait and hope something comes up."

It was a bitter pill to swallow, especially with the threat of Glitchtrap still out there, but for now the Schmidts had no choice but to wait.

At least they wouldn't have to wait for too long.

About a week before the end of October, Mike received a phone call on his cell phone. The moment he saw the number, he accepted it and then promptly tossed it onto the floor.

"Kids!" he shouted. "Nightmare's calling us!"

The ghost kids rushed into the living room right as a blast of flame spewed out of the phone, creating the now-familiar portal of hellfire with Nightmare's menacing silhouette in the background. In other circumstances, the kids would have seriously been questioning why they were unironically happy to see a demon lord, but right now all such thoughts were put to the side. "Hey, Nightmare!" Fritz called out eagerly. "How's the work on the video game?"

Nightmare bared his fangs in a sneer, satisfaction burning in his eyes. "I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE FIRST COPY OF THE ALTERED VR GAME HAS BEEN COMPLETED," he declared. "I HAVE ALREADY BEGUN THE PROCESS OF MASS-PRODUCING COPIES. REST ASSURED THAT I HAVE FOUND NO TRACES OF GLITCHTRAP WHILE I WAS CARRYING OUT MY WORK, AND THAT I HAVE IMPLEMENTED…SECURITY MEASURES…TO ENSURE THAT THIS TRUTH SHALL NEVER CHANGE."

The kids grinned, while Mike and Charlie both smiled at the first good news they had heard regarding this situation. "But did you find anything about Glitchtrap's victim?" Susie pressed.

Nightmare scratched his chin thoughtfully with his claw. "I HAVE FOUND…SOMETHING…" he replied slowly. "HOWEVER, I THOUGHT IT BEST TO KEEP THAT PARTICULAR SECRET HIDDEN DEEP WITHIN THE GAME, WHERE ONLY THE MOST AMBITIOUS CAN FIND IT. IN FACT, NOW THAT I DWELL ON IT SOME MORE, THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT MAY REQUIRE A …PERSONAL EXPLANATION."

The portal of flame disappeared, and seconds later the ghosts felt a surge of unholy energy outside of their house. A few seconds later, a knock on the door signaled Nightmare's arrival at the front of their home.

"Can you stop appearing in a pillar of flame outside of my house?" Mike greeted him with a deadpan expression as he let Nightmare in. "What if someone sees you?"

Nightmare scoffed. "PLEASE," he sneered. "THOSE INSIGNIFICANT MORTALS WOULD ONLY SEE WHAT I ALLOW THEM TO SEE."

"Whatever," Mike muttered. "So what have you changed about this game?"

"A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT, ACTUALLY," Nightmare replied. "FOR THIS FIRST PART, IT WOULD BE BEST IF I ACCOMPANIED YOU INTO THE VIDEO GAME WORLD. YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO BRING IN A CHILD WITH YOU. PERHAPS THE SAME ONE YOU BROUGHT IN WITH LAST TIME, FOR IT SEEMS AS THOUGH HE HAS A KEEN SENSE FOR SUCH THINGS."

Mike shrugged and gestured for Jeremy to come towards him, the former Bonnie inhabitant doing so without complaint. The family followed Nightmare into the basement, where he took out the copy of the VR game and set it up.

"THIS IS THE VERY FIRST COPY OF THE VR GAME," Nightmare explained. "ALL OTHER COPIES WILL BE MADE FROM THIS ONE."

"Gotcha," Mike nodded as Nightmare teleported them into the world of the VR game. The moment they were inside, the first thing they saw…was Glitchtrap, standing right next to the main level hub, waving at the empty space. "Wait, what the FUCK?" the man exclaimed.

Jeremy looked at Nightmare with disbelief. "I thought you said Glitchtrap was gone!" he all but shouted.

"HE IS," Nightmare smirked. "THIS IS NOT THE TRUE GLITCHTRAP. MERELY A HARMLESS COPY, WITHOUT ANY OF THE ORIGINAL'S ESSENCE. I ASK THAT YOU TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS PROGRAM, AND YOU WILL SOON SEE THE TRUTH."

Hesitantly, Jeremy did so…and he immediately noticed the differences.

The Glitchtrap he had seen had emanated this aura of wrongness, malice, and horrible familiarity, and he had moved with a disturbing sort of life that he had no right to. None of that was present in this "new" Glitchtrap. An outsider unfamiliar with the Fazbear tragedy or Glitchtrap wouldn't have been able to tell, but Jeremy and even Mike could. The way this Glitchtrap moved was completely robotic, waving his hand back and forth without even registering the fact that he was trying to greet empty air. His eyes, while certainly unnatural-looking with their glowing purple light, lacked any of the same life that the original had. And even the garbled sounds, when Jeremy paid closer attention to them, he was uttering were repetitive and meaningless.

And most importantly, the aura belonging to the true Glitchtrap was completely gone. His instincts sensed no danger at all.

"I RECREATED A FASCIMILE OF GLITCHTRAP, ONE THAT WOULD POSE NO THREAT TO ANYONE. AND IF BY SOME IMPOSSIBILITY, THE TRUE GLITCHTRAP ATTEMPTED TO MERGE WITH THIS COPY, IT WILL SELF-DESTRUCT," Nightmare boasted. "CONSIDER IT AN…ANTI-VIRUS, OF A KIND."

"Okay…" Mike replied slowly, "…but why did you recreate a fake Glitchtrap to begin with?"

"TO SPREAD AWARENESS OF HIS EXISTENCE," Nightmare explained. "THOUGH THIS GLITCHTRAP CANNOT DO ANYTHING, IT WILL ALERT OTHERS TO HIS EXISTENCE AND SERVE AS A HIDDEN WARNING. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A FEW WHO BELIEVE GLITCHTRAP IS REAL, AND EVEN MOST DO NOT, EVEN THE AWARENESS THAT THERE WAS EVER A GLITCHTRAP TO BEGIN WITH IS BETTER THAN NOTHING. IN FACT, I HAVE EVEN CRAFTED AN EXTENSIVE NARRATIVE WITH THIS FALSE GLITCHTRAP TO SERVE AS AN ENDING OF THE GAME. OR SHOULD I SAY…MULTIPLE ENDINGS?"

The demon lord turned to face the main level hub. "I BELIEVE I SHALL THIS TO YOU PERSONALLY, AS I AM QUITE PLEASED WITH MY WORK. THE REST OF THE FEATURES I HAVE INCLUDED IN THIS GAME, YOU CAN DISCOVER ON YOUR OWN. AS YOU WILL SOON SEE, I HAVE BEEN QUITE BUSY."

Mike and Jeremy moved over to the main level hub, noticing a few changes as they did so. There was now a bucket that looked like Chica's cupcake over on the right where the Tape Recorder had been that had a metal panel with a button poking out of it. The FNaF 1 screen on the front had also been rearranged, with only Nights 1-4 present and Night 5 seemingly missing.

Nightmare reached over to the left, towards the strange metal box with a level that didn't have a function as far as Mike could tell. The moment he switched it on so that it was pointing towards the green arrow, the entire room plunged into a world of unnatural colors. Now, the room was coated in an eerie purple light, with the fake Glitchtrap's appearance looking even more bizarre and supernatural. The level screen had also been cleared out of the first 4 nights, with only the missing monochrome Night 5 replacing them. And the cupcake bucket had been replaced with the Tape Recorder, which now flickered with an eerie and distinct purple sheen.

"I HAVE TAKEN THE LIBERTY TO REARRANGE THE LEVELS PER SECTION TO MAKE THEM MORE ORGANIZED," Nightmare explained. "NOW, ONLY THE FIRST 4 LEVELS WILL BE FEATURED PER SCREEN WHILE THE BLACKLIGHT SWITCH IS OFF, AND ONCE IT IS TURNED ON, ANY EXTRA LEVELS WITH INCREASED DIFFICULTY WILL BE FEATURED INSTEAD."

He scrolled through the levels, and as the demon lord did so Mike and Jeremy noticed levels that had decidedly NOT been there back before Nightmare had gotten to work. The FNaF 2 section of the Blacklight levels now had an additional "Withered" level that prominently featured Withered Foxy on it in addition to the Night 5 that had already been present, and there were two additional levels that had been added to the Dark Rooms levels called "Plushtrap" and "Nightmare B.B.".

Jeremy immediately stared at these two levels. "Wait a minute…are those…NIGHTMARES…in those two levels?"

Nightmare smirked. "YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE, LITTLE BRAT," he hissed. "I WAS FORCED TO UNLOCK ALL THE LEVELS SO THAT THE PIZZA PARTY WOULD REMAIN OPEN. YOU CAN PLAY THROUGH THE OTHER LEVELS IF YOU WISH, BUT I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO PLAY THEIR NON-BLACKLIGHT VARIANTS FIRST. UNLESS, OF COURSE, YOU WISH TO MAKE THINGS HARDER FOR YOURSELF."

"I'll…keep that in mind…" Jeremy muttered as Nightmare continued to scroll. There was an entire new set of levels for Parts and Services in the Blacklight mode, all of which showed the four animatronics in different colors that definitely wouldn't have existed in the real world. Jeremy barely had time to process the neon and multicolored Bonnie in the first panel before Nightmare scrolled over to the Pizza Party, the one level under the Blacklight mode of Night Terrors.

"Let's see what you've done then," Mike mumbled as he pressed the level. As it turned out, Nightmare had not made any modifications to the Pizza Party level itself, the layout of the maze and the details of the rooms being exactly the same as they had been the first time. All of them still remembered the correct path that led to the end, and they were able to make it through the maze in seconds. When they arrived at the party room with the cake and pizza, Glitchtrap pulled open the curtain and beckoned towards them, just like the true Glitchtrap had done. Jeremy immediately tensed at the unpleasant memories, but like before, he could not detect any danger or aura of malice from the fake.

"IN WE GO," Nightmare beckoned, and with no other choice in the matter Mike and Jeremy followed him behind the curtain. This time, the announcer gave his speech introducing the Freddy Fazbear show before the curtain opened, and when it did so automatically, the three of them could see Glitchtrap dancing in the background near the Prize Corner as the credits rolled.

"Is he…" Jeremy stared at the dancing Glitchtrap incredulously, his mouth hanging open, "…is he…dancing?"

"What the hell am I looking at," Mike was just as shocked and bewildered as his son was.

Nightmare couldn't quite suppress a snicker as he watched Jeremy and Mike stare blankly at the dancing Glitchtrap, the credits and music passing by ignored. Once HandUnit gave his final message insisting that everything was fine and nothing suspicious was going on, the dancing Glitchtrap vanished and they were back in the main level hub.

"Okay…" Mike shook his head to clear his thoughts, "can someone kindly please tell me what the fuck I was just looking at?"

Nightmare laughed, greatly amused at their baffled expressions. "ONE OF THE ENDINGS THAT I CAME UP FOR THE GAME," he explained. "THE NORMAL ENDING TO BE PRECISE. IN THIS THEORETICAL SCENARIO, GLITCHTRAP MANAGED TO COMPLETELY AND SUCCESSFULLY SWAP PLACES WITH THE PLAYER, LEAVING THEM TRAPPED ON STAGE WHILE HE IS FREE TO TAKE OVER THEIR BODY COMPLETELY. OF COURSE, THE GLITCHTRAP THAT I HAVE CREATED IS OF NO REAL THREAT WHATSOEVER. MAKING HIM DANCE WAS MY WAY OF INSULTING HIM BY TURNING HIM INTO A JOKE."

"Why would you come up with something like this, even if it can't actually happen?" Jeremy asked incredulously. "That's morbid as hell, isn't it?"

Nightmare sneered at him. "THIS ENTIRE GAME IS, BY ITS VERY NATURE, A HORROR GAME," he retorted. "ENDINGS SUCH AS THIS WOULD NOT BE UNCOMMON TO SEE IN ANY HORROR GAME, WERE YOU TO PLAY THEM."

Mike opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. "As much as I want to argue with that, I really can't."

Jeremy decided to backtrack to something Nightmare had said earlier. "You said this was one of the endings," he commented. "Which means that there are more than one."

"AN ASTUTE OBSERVATION," Nightmare complimented. "YOU ARE CORRECT. THERE IS MORE THAN ONE ENDING THAT I HAVE INTRODUCED TO THIS GAME. THERE ARE TWO MORE POSSIBLE ENDINGS, BOTH OF WHICH REQUIRE ALL 16 TAPES TO BE COLLECTED. FORTUNATELY FOR US, ALL 16 HAVE ALREADY BEEN UNLOCKED ON THIS SAVE FILE. UNFORTUNATELY, THE EVENT THAT WILL TRIGGER BOTH ENDINGS OCCURS RANDOMLY."

"What's going to happen if it triggers?" Mike wondered.

"THE ANSWER IS IN THE GIRL'S FINAL TAPE," Nightmare replied cryptically. Mike thought for a moment, and then decided to visit the Tape Room one last time. As he listened to the Tape Girl's final message, the realization hit him. The endings that Nightmare had recreated…were ones in which Glitchtrap attempted to take over his body.

Just as the real Glitchtrap had tried to do to him.

"Nightmare better be right when he says that his fake Glitchtrap can't do anything like that," he growled under his breath. "Or I'm going to be really pissed."

He clicked the button to return to the main hub…and the moment he did so, he found himself standing right in front of Glitchtrap, the rabbit abomination reaching out to him just as the real one had done as the area around him began to glow purple.

"DO NOTHING," Nightmare ordered from behind him. "LET EVENTS UNFOLD AS THEY ARE. NO HARM WILL COME TO YOU."

Mike grimaced but allowed whatever was happening to continue. The Anathema Curse inflicted upon his soul wasn't reacting even slightly to the fake Glitchtrap, which was reassuring its own way. As Glitchtrap reached towards him and his eyes started glowing, Mike's vision became covered in a glitchy purple mess. A second later, when the light faded, he was standing on the show stage similar to how he had been in the first ending. His eyes caught Jeremy's and Nightmare's, but before he could say anything he was teleported away to another room. Mike had technically never been here before, but his kids had described it to him well enough for him to recognize the Game Over room. The only difference from their descriptions was that there was only 1 button that would send him back to the main menu.

"Are you all right, Dad?" Jeremy asked worriedly. "That fake Glitchtrap reached out to you, then it vanished and you took its place, and then you got sent somewhere!"

"I'm fine, Jeremy," Mike reassured him. "I was just teleported over to the Game Over room." He looked over at Nightmare. "Was that another ending?" he guessed.

"YOU ASSUME CORRECTLY," Nightmare confirmed. "IN THIS ENDING, IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW THE TAPE GIRL'S INSTRUCTIONS, THEN GLITCHTRAP WILL MERGE WITH YOU, AND THEN YOU WILL BE SENT TO THE GAME OVER SCREEN. THIS IS THE FATE THAT I BELIEVE FELL UPON THE UNKNOWN VICTIM WHO ACCIDENTALLY FREED THE TRUE GLITCHTRAP FROM THIS COPY OF THE GAME, AND WHILE THE EVENTS MAY NOT BE 100% ACCURATE, IT IS CLOSE ENOUGH TO REALITY FOR ME TO CONSIDER IT AN ACCEPTABLE REPRESENTATION."

"I'll take your word for it," Mike muttered. After all, it wasn't his family who had done extensive and likely horrific experiments on Glitchtrap to gain some insight on his true nature.

"Okay, that makes sense," Jeremy mused. "We already knew that Glitchtrap likely pulled off something similar to this with whoever he possessed. So I'm not surprised that this was an ending." He looked up at Nightmare. "But Mike never followed the Tape Girl's instructions, and I don't think that whoever got possessed by Glitchtrap did either. So what happens if you do?"

"AH…" the demon lord grinned. "THAT IS THE FINAL ENDING TO BE DISCOVERED. SCHMIDT, RETURN TO THE TAPE ROOM AND THEN COME BACK. THE FALSE GLITCHTRAP WILL STILL BE PRESENT AFTER THE PIZZA PARTY AND THE 16 TAPE ENDING IN WHICH YOU DO NOT FOLLOW THE GIRL'S INSTRUCTIONS."

"The way you say that makes me think that there's an ending you created for if you do," Mike commented.

Nightmare's grin widened. "WHY DON'T YOU FIND OUT?" he asked. "RETURN TO THE TAPE ROOM, AND THEN KEEP ALTERNATING LOCATIONS BETWEEN THE MAIN AREA AND THE TAPE ROOM UNTIL THE GLITCHTRAP EVENT IS TRIGGERED FOR A SECOND TIME. FOR THE PURPOSE OF SIMPLICITY, WHEN GLITCHTRAP APPEARS, PRESS THE SHOWTIME BUTTON AND THEN FLIP THE BLACKLIGHT SWITCH ON. AFTERWARDS, WAIT UNTIL YOUR VISION STARTS TO FADE INTO PURPLE, AND THEN PRESS THE BUTTON ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE MAIN COMPUTER," he pointed the button out just in case Mike didn't know what he was talking about. "THAT SHOULD TRIGGER THE FINAL ENDING."

Mike repeated the instructions aloud to make sure he understood them, then went back to the Tape Room. It took about 3 cycles between the Tape Room and the main level hub to finally trigger the Glitchtrap event again, and when it did Mike followed the directions that Nightmare had given him to.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't what happened next. Instead of Glitchtrap disappearing or something to indicate that he was being deleted, like Tape Girl had promised, Mike found himself being teleported again. Only this time, it was to a location he had never seen before. He was standing in front of a metal wall colored with a sickly greenish hue, a door with a large window that had a keyhole directly ahead of him. All around him to the sides and behind was only darkness.

Mike barely had time to process what was going on when the window in the door suddenly opened. The fake Glitchtrap's head poked out of the darkness, staring directly at him with his sinister grin. Seemingly without a care in the world, the rabbit raised his finger to his mouth, making a "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh" sound. Then, the rabbit receded back into the darkness, shutting the window and leaving Mike alone.

"The hell?" was all Mike had time to think before he teleported away, finding himself back in the main level hub, where Jeremy and Nightmare were waiting.

"What happened?" the former Bonnie inhabitant immediately asked. "We saw you do the whole Glitchtrap thing again, and then you just disappeared!"

"I don't know," Mike admitted. "I got teleported to this weird metal wall with a sealed door. There was a window in the door with a keyhole that Glitchtrap opened. He popped his head out, shushed me, and then disappeared behind the door. I have no clue what the fuck just happened."

"ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN," Nightmare interrupted. "THIS IS THE FINAL ENDING, AND THE ONE THAT MAY BE THE CLOSEST TO A VICTORY THAT THE PLAYER MAY HAVE OVER GLITCHTRAP. SHOULD THEY FOLLOW THE TAPE'S INSTRUCTIONS, THEY WILL BE TELEPORTED TO AN ISOLATED SECTION OF THE GAME THAT CANNOT BE ACCESSED THROUGH ANY OTHER MEANS. GLITCHTRAP IS SEALED AND TRAPPED IN THAT CORNER, BUT UNLIKE WHAT TAPE GIRL'S INSTRUCTIONS WOULD HAVE SUGGESTED, GLITCHTRAP WAS NOT DESTROYED. MERELY QUARANTINED AWAY. AND GLITCHTRAP KNOWS FULL WELL THAT HE CAN BIDE HIS TIME, AND WAIT PATIENTLY UNTIL HE CAN FIND ANOTHER WAY TO ESCAPE. THE PLAYER HAS ACHIEVED A VICTORY, YES, BUT IT IS ONLY TEMPORARY IN THE LONG RUN."

"That's…disturbing," Jeremy commented with an uneasy expression on his face. "But still a lot better than the other options."

"OF COURSE, THIS GLITCHTRAP IS COMPLETELY FAKE, SO IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER," Nightmare added dismissively. Then, his expression unexpectedly turned contemplative. "HOWEVER, I DID NOTICE SOMETHING RATHER INTERESTING…AND ODD."

"What's that?" Mike asked.

"THIS…ISOLATED CORNER OF THE GAME…IT WAS PRESENT BEFORE I INTERVENED," Nightmare explained, and Mike could have sworn that for the first time, the demon lord's expression was almost…uncertain. "WHICH SUGGESTS THAT THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE TAPE GIRL'S INSTRUCTIONS WOULD HAVE HAD A SIMILAR INTERACTION WITH THE TRUE GLITCHTRAP, SHOULD ONE CARRY THOSE INSTRUCTIONS OUT. HOWEVER…"

Jeremy really didn't like the way Nightmare was saying his words. "What?" he pressed.

"THE TRUE GLITCHTRAP IS LONG GONE FROM THIS GAME, SO THERE IS NO WAY FOR ME TO TELL," Nightmare answered after several seconds of thought. "HOWEVER…IT IS POSSIBLE THAT, IN THE ORIGINAL STATE OF THE GAME, IF THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE FOLLOWED…THE PLAYER WOULD HAVE BEEN TRAPPED IN THE DARKNESS, RATHER THAN GLITCHTRAP HIMSELF."

Both Schmidts' eyes widened in horror. "That's…oh, my God!" Jeremy exclaimed. "That's even WORSE than the Pizza Party ending! At least there you'd still be on the Show Stage and kinda close to where you started, but here you'd be trapped all alone in the darkness where nobody can get you! And Glitchtrap would still be able to escape with your body completely!"

"INDEED, IF THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO IS INDEED THE CASE," Nightmare agreed. "FUNNILY ENOUGH, WHOEVER GLITCHTRAP'S POSSESSION VICTIM WAS, THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN LUCKY, AS BIZARRE AS THAT MAY SOUND." He scowled. "NEEDLESS TO SAY, I COMPLETELY DISMANTLED THAT CORNER OF THE GAME AND REBUILT IT FROM NOTHING SO THAT IT IS COMPLETELY HARMLESS."

Mike breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so very much for that," he muttered. Then, he suddenly looked back up at Nightmare. "Wait…if that's the case, then…does that mean Tape Girl was evil all along? Or that she was possessed by Glitchtrap too?"

Nightmare shook his head. "I DO NOT BELIEVE SO," he answered. "INSTEAD, I BELIEVE THAT GLITCHTRAP MIGHT HAVE FOUND A WAY TO IMITATE HER VOICE WHILE HE WAS STILL IMPRISONED THROUGH THE SEPARATION OF THE TAPES. WHILE INFERNAL BONNIE WAS CONDUCTING HIS UNHOLY EXPERIMENTS, HE DID A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OF GLITCHTRAP'S MEMORIES. AND HE FOUND ONE GARBLED LINE THAT, ON FIRST IMPRESSION, MAKES LITTLE SENSE. HOWEVER, IF ONE WERE TO DECRYPT THE LINE…"

He snapped his claws, and the words suddenly echoed around them, as though summoned from the void. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

Jeremy's eyes widened with recognition. "That's Tape Girl's line!" he shouted. "From the very first Tape we found."

"THAT IS CORRECT," Nightmare confirmed. "THOUGH I HAVE NO WAY TO CONFIRM, I BELIEVE THAT GLITCHTRAP MIGHT HAVE ATTEMPTED TO FALSIFY ONE OR MORE TAPES."

Mike snapped his fingers. "That would explain the inconsistencies I noticed," he commented. "I always thought it was kind of weird why Tape Girl introduced herself twice in the Tapes, especially since one of those introductions was much clearer about warning us than the other one. And I also thought it was kind of odd that Tape Girl unexpectedly found a solution at the very end, when she seemed to just give up before."

Jeremy shook his head. "That means one of two things could have happened," he muttered. "Either Tape Girl did find a solution near the end after she gave up, and managed to put it in before the game was moved…or Glitchtrap faked that last Tape…and that means the solution was really his trap all along."

"EITHER OPTION IS POSSIBLE, AND THERE IS NO WAY FOR US TO KNOW," Nightmare replied. "THAT BEING SAID, THIS LITTLE DISCOVERY ULTIMATELY PROVED MEANINGLESS. THERE WERE NO OTHER GLITCHTRAPS THAT MANAGED TO ESCAPE THEIR COPIES, AND EVERY OTHER COPY OF THE VR GAME WAS DESTROYED. INCLUDING YOURS, SCHMIDT. I DESTROYED IT SINCE IT CONTAINED THE UNALTERED VERSION OF THE ISOLATED CORNER."

Mike scowled. "That might give me trouble with Fazbear Entertainment later."

Nightmare sneered. "IF THEY TRY, I WILL MAKE THEM REGRET THAT DECISION," he promised, before continuing. "WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE THAT ONLY ONE VICTIM FELL TO GLITCHTRAP'S SCHEME, AND THAT THEY WERE POSSESSED AND MERGED RATHER THAN COMPLETELY TRAPPED IN THIS GAME. NEEDLESS TO SAY, IN THE EXTREMELY RARE CHANCE THAT A TINY PORTION OF GLITCHTRAP REMAINS IN ANY OF THE VR GAMES, THERE HAVE BEEN EXTENSIVE COUNTERMEASURES IMPLEMENTED TO ENSURE THAT THEY WILL BE DESTROYED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE."

The statement was a massive relief to Jeremy, even though the idea of Glitchtrap's victim being merged and corrupted with the virus form of William Afton was plenty disturbing in its own right.

"Thank God for small mercies," Mike muttered. At least he and his kids didn't have to worry about some poor soul being locked away behind that metal door, screaming and begging to be let out of a prison they never deserved to be a part of.

"Why didn't you simply have the successful ending have Glitchtrap destroyed?" Jeremy wondered.

Nightmare scowled. "GIVEN THAT THERE IS INDEED A COPY OF GLITCHTRAP OUT THERE IN THE WORLD, THE IDEA THAT GLITCHTRAP WAS FULLY DESTROYED IS AN UNFORTUNATE MESSAGE THAT WOULD BE…INADVISABLE…TO SPREAD AT THIS CURRENT POINT IN TIME."

"Yeah…" Mike agreed. "That would defeat the purpose of creating a fake and harmless Glitchtrap to spread awareness of his existence in the first place."

"INDEED. AND ONE MORE THING…" Nightmare pointed a claw towards the base of the main level hub table. "COMPLETING THAT LAST ENDING WILL YIELD YOU A PRIZE THAT IS UNLOCKED FOR THE REST OF THE GAME."

Jeremy and Mike followed Nightmare's gesture, their eyes landing on a plushie. A Spring Bonnie plushie of the same sickly green color as the Glitchtrap itself, with lines of energy pulsating through it. "Is that a…Glitchtrap plushie?" Jeremy asked dumbly.

This time, Nightmare burst out laughing. "HA HA HA HA HA! YOUR EYES DO NOT DECEIVE YOU," he declared, amusement flashing in his red eyes. "THAT GLITCHTRAP PLUSHIE IS YOUR PRIZE FOR COMPLETING ALL THE LEVELS OF THE GAME AND DISCOVERING THE ENDING OF THE LOCKED DOOR. YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU PLEASE WITH IT…INCLUDING ABUSE IT BY DROPPING IT AND HURLING IT WHEREVER YOU PLEASE. IF YOU WISH TO EVER EXERCISE YOUR FRUSTRATIONS WITH GLITCHTRAP, YOU NOW HAVE AN OUTLET TO VENT THOSE FRUSTRATIONS."

Both Schmidts couldn't help but laugh at the idea. "Okay…" Mike admitted, once they had gotten over their mirth. "That is actually pretty damn hilarious."

"Oh, hell yes! I'm definitely gonna tell the others about this," Jeremy declared with a mischievous smirk that Fritz would have been proud of. As counterproductive as it might have been to letting go of their hatred, the cathartic factor of beating the crap out of William Afton in the form of a plushie was too good to pass up. So long as they didn't go overboard with it.

"THAT WAS THE ONLY NEW FEATURE THAT I BELIEVE I NEEDED TO EXPLAIN IN GREAT DETAIL," Nightmare concluded. "I HAVE INTRODUCED MANY NEW ELEMENTS TO THIS GAME, BUT I DO NOT NEED TO CODDLE YOU THROUGH THOSE. THE ADDITIONAL LEVELS THAT I HAVE CREATED IN THE MAIN LEVEL SELECTION DO NOT SERVE ANY PRACTICAL PURPOSE BEYOND REARRANGEMENT OF TAPE AND COIN LOCATIONS, AND YOU ARE FREE TO ENJOY THEM AT YOUR LEISURE. HOWEVER…SHOULD YOU PRESS THE BUTTON ON THE CUPCAKE BUCKET, YOU WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO AN ENTIRE NEW WORLD WITHIN THIS VR GAME THAT WAS CREATED BY MYSELF. A WORLD WHERE I HAVE CAREFULLY HIDDEN A VERY IMPORTANT DISCOVERY THAT I HAVE GONE THROUGH GREAT LENGTHS TO KEEP SECRET, A DISCOVERY THAT WILL PROVE BOTH RELEVANT AND HELPFUL TO OUR MISSION."

"Any help is good news at this point," Mike commented, before asking with a raised eyebrow, "but why aren't you just simply telling us about it?"

"FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES, IF FAZBEAR ENTERTAINMENT FINDS THIS SECRET TOO EASILY, THEY WILL MOVE TO DESTROY IT BEFORE KNOWLEDGE CAN SPREAD TO THE PUBLIC," Nightmare explained, before his mouth stretched into a fanged grin. "AND BESIDES, I DON'T WANT TO MAKE THINGS TOO EASY FOR YOU. ESPECIALLY IF DOING SO MEANS YOU WON'T EXPERIENCE THE WORK I HAVE DONE TO IMPROVING THIS VR GAME."

Mike rolled his eyes, but didn't complain. Nightmare had already been tremendously helpful in taking care of Glitchtrap, and had realistically done far more than he or his kids had done to deal with the William Afton virus at this point. Humoring him and playing through the new features that he had brought into this game was the least they could do in return. And it wasn't like a day or two playing this game would really delay anything in the long run.

"Fair enough," he replied. "We'll play through the levels you brought into the game. Is there anything else that you need me to be aware of?"

"SIMPLY THIS, FOR NOW," Nightmare replied. "FOR THE PURPOSES OF KEEPING THE SECRET I FOUND CONCEALED, YOU WILL HAVE TO FINISH EVERY LEVEL IN THE NEW WORLD THAT I HAVE CREATED BEFORE YOU CAN ENTER THE LEVEL THAT ACTUALLY CONTAINS THE SECRET. CONSIDER IT A SITUATION SIMILAR TO PIZZA PARTY. YOU WILL RECEIVE FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS LATER."

"Receive further instructions later?" Mike wondered, baffled. How was he going to get further instructions later if Nightmare wasn't going to be the one to tell them? He shook his head. Nightmare might have been many things, but incompetent certainly wasn't one of them, and he highly doubted the demon lord would have overlooked such a basic yet important detail.

"Well, from what I've seen, you've really done a lot of good work so far," Jeremy praised.

The demon lord grinned. "YOU WILL QUITE ENJOY THE ADDITIONS TO THE GAME, I ASSURE YOU," he promised. And Mike was genuinely surprised to realize that he really did look forward to it.

Still, it wouldn't do to get sidetracked. They had to remember that, as much as they might enjoy the new levels that Nightmare had introduced to the VR game, they were playing this whole thing for a reason. With the endings out of the way, Mike's interest was focused almost entirely on whatever secret Nightmare had discovered and protected.

And he could only hope that whatever Nightmare found would help them out in the end.

/

A/N: I only needed a week's break from the FNaF stuff, we're jumping right back into it!

I was genuinely shocked by how long this chapter ended up being. I honestly thought that I'd be going straight into some of the "new" levels that wouldn't have made sense in this universe, such as Plushtrap and Nightmare BB. Instead, it ended up being a full-blown exposition chapter that covered the three possible "endings" and my thoughts on them. Those endings are also Nightmare's way of "alerting" the population at large about Glitchtrap's existence, despite the actual Glitchtrap in the games being completely fake. Even if 99% of the population dismiss Glitchtrap's existence as a hoax and a "cool fictional story" that the VR game revolves around, it's still better than nothing.

In case you're wondering, no, I will not have Glitchtrap "come back" through the VR game. There isn't going to be a future plotline in which a tiny fragment of Glitchtrap somehow escaped the notice of the Nightmares and somehow manages to come back through possessing the "fake Glitchtrap" or anything like that. I don't have the time to write another plotline in addition to Special Delivery and Security Breach. As far as the VR games are concerned, Glitchtrap is gone. All of them were destroyed except for the one that escaped through that one victim. Period. The extensive security measures Nightmare placed into the VR game are my way of making that crystal clear.

Anyways, next chapter we get back right into the VR game levels that I was missing previously. And I can tell you right now I'm really looking forward to getting to work on these.