So, it had been a while. Admittedly, I've been a bit stuck on this chapter, but I believe that this is the way to go.
It's finally time to move on to the next part of the story.
Please, enjoy, and see ya!
Night 11
Stay The Course
''Father of children without a home. Creator of vessels without a soul. Just stay the course, focus on my voice. I'll show you the way then you'll rejoice.''
– Stay The Course by NateWantsToBattle ft. CG5
xXxXxXx
What should I do?
Sam's eyes narrowed as she stared at the menu screen. The Blacklight Level Pizza Party had been set up for her, waiting to be opened. She knew that if she continued with the video game, she'd be able to find the last two Tapes and finally piece together Tape Girl's message. However, considering what she had just learned, she'd be also piecing together Glitchtrap, who had been broken apart via the Tapes and was slowly gaining control over the entirety of Help Wanted.
Sam knew that she had to choose now – either she could learn the truth and make Glitchtrap more powerful, or she could leave and hope that, whatever she had done wouldn't affect her.
''Fine,'' Sam muttered, sighing. She knew that she was too deep in this to turn her back. ''Let's go!''
As she entered the level, she found herself in the Five Nights at Freddy's 4 Bedroom. It was quite dark, with a purple curtain with white stars covering the back half o the room. Plush toys resembling animatronics were scattered all around the room, including a Spring Bonnie plushie. There were two doors in front of her. Sam nodded, staring at both silently.
''I see… I need to find a way out of this place by choosing the right door.''
She wasn't sure whether she was on a time limit or could just casually stroll through the place, but she decided that she didn't want to know. She gazed at the left door, then at the right door, wondering if she should throw a coin, before turning her gaze at the writing on the floor and wall.
FIND ME. THIS WAY.
''What if I choose the wrong way?'' Sam asked, looking back at the doors. ''What is going to happen then?''
''Follow me…''
Sam's eyes widened in surprise as she heard a voice coming from the left. It sounded like a deep whisper, sending chills down her spine. Her eyes narrowed, her mind blanking out for a moment. However, instead of going through the left door, she chose the right one. The room went dark for a moment, then she found herself at a hallway in Fazbear's Fright.
Frankly, Sam had no idea why she took the right door. She was aware that it was the wrong way the moment she entered it, but after hearing that whisper, she felt as if she needed to defy the order. She was convinced that Glitchtrap was telling her to follow him considering his earlier behavior and the fact that the whisper sounded incredibly similar to his own voice.
''Let's try to find a way out without…'' Sam gasped when the hallway she was in started to glitch suddenly. She lashed the flashlight around, trying to figure out what was going on. Everything around her was falling apart, with a purple glow and static overwhelming her. She felt a pounding headache, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she found herself back at the Bedroom.
''Oh, com'n!'' she cried out in annoyance.
''Follow me…''
Sam gritted her teeth as she stared at the right door and the Spring Bonnie plushie next to it. Even though she hadn't collected the last two Tapes, it was clear that she had gathered enough for Glitchtrap to manipulate the whole video game the way he wanted. If she'd go off path, he'd just bring her back.
''Fine! Then I'll quit,'' Sam said, grabbing the VR headset. However, the moment she did that, she was overwhelmed by static, followed by a pounding headache, causing her to cry out in pain and fall on her knees. When she lifted her hands away, the static faded, leaving her breathing heavily with a migraine. She bit her lip, sighing. ''Okay, I understand. I can't take it off until I finish the game.'' She gritted her teeth. ''Damn it.''
''Follow me…''
Sam got up again, choosing the left door, leading her to the West Hall of the original Five Nights at Freddy's game. As she explored it, she glanced into the office, then glanced down further, noticing the doors.
''Follow me…''
The whisper came from the left door once again. Sam lingered a while, only to see the left security door closing by itself. She turned around, realizing that Bonnie was slowly marching towards her. Eyes wide, she picked the left door, entering a new room.
''Well, at least I was right about my assumption that I'd be on a timer- oh, no…'' Sam stared at Mangle hanging in the Five Nights at Freddy's 2 office, who appeared the moment her flashlight turned on. The light suddenly flickered, with Mangle vanishing. Sam, however, had a feeling that it would return.
''Follow me…''
Sam was confused when the voice echoed from both sides. It appeared that she was supposed to pick her favorite flavour of cake, either chocolate or vanilla and go through the door at either Party Room 2 or Party Room 1. She went for vanilla, finding herself at the outside of the office from Five Nights at Freddy's 3.
''So, there is a pattern or something?'' Sam muttered as she observed the five doors in the Hallway. Before she could take her time to examine the hallway, she saw Plushtrap making his way towards her. She pointed the flashlight at him, noticing an X mark on the floor. However, she didn't want to know whether she'd be able to win this game by letting Plushtrap stand on the X mark. She looked back at the five doors, wondering which one to take. ''Uh, a little help?''
''Follow me…''
Sam's eyes narrowed as the whisper became louder, sounding quite amused. It came from the door on the farthest right, leading her to the Funtime Auditorium. There, she saw three doors at the end of it. She turned back and saw Funtime Foxy slowly making his way towards her. ''Now where?''
''Follow me…''
''The far right…'' Sam muttered, rushing towards it in order to escape Funtime Foxy. She frowned when she found herself in the Elevator room. As she came across four doors, she had to wonder whether she'd be able to replay the game and actually read all of the instructions strewn across it.
''Follow me…''
As Sam took the farthest right door, leading her to the kitchen. To her surprise, she found a pizza on the floor and Chica lurking in the back. She surprised Sam by walking over to the pizza and grabbing a slice, then disappearing.
''So, this is another timer?'' Sam muttered, observing the ''cheese'' and pepperoni'' doors. She went with cheese, finding herself at the Game Area. ''Oh, no…''
While there were only two doors, now she had to deal with Balloon Boy and the Puppet. Fortunately, the Puppet was currently inside the gift box, with Pop Goes The Weasel playing. She knew that she needed to get out of this room as soon as possible.
''Follow me…''
Sam felt chills when she heard the voice once again, this time louder, colder, laughing at her misery. She took the right door, her heart racing. To her surprise, she was back at the FNaF 3 office. She was confused for a moment, only to see the door to her left glitch out, covered in a purple hue, and open. She went inside, finding and opening the ventilation shaft and climbed in.
''How much further?'' she asked, turning the flashlight on and finding the Spring Bonnie plushie with the words WHAT GOES UP? next to it. She looked up, with a metalic hatch opening above her.
Once she exited it, she turned the flashlight back on and found herself in a small room, with children cheering her on and balloons and confetti flying around as if she had just won something. In front of her was a curtain, with a HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner hanging above it. To her left was a cake with seven candles and to her right was a bunch of gifts and a pizza on the top of a desk, with a Tape next to it. At the other end of the room were Bonnie and Chica. Relieved, Sam grabbed the Tape, figuring that she was at the end of the game.
''Now, how do I leave?'' she muttered, as nothing happened. She interacted with the cake and the pizza, eating a piece of each, only to notice something moving in front of her. Her blood ran cold when she saw Glitchtrap, now fully formed, drawing the curtain to the side, waving at her and gesturing to her to follow him.
Sam was hesitant. Should I really do that? It is my only way out, but…
She looked around, staring at the set up. While she rushed through the other rooms, mainly due to Glichtrap's insistence, she now had a bit of time to take in where exactly she was. Admittedly, the room looked fairly innocent and simple, resembling some kind of Party Room, obviously set up for celebrating a child's birthday party.
A child's birthday party… and a man in a bunny mascot suit…
Sam shuddered, shaking as she processed the thought. An icy chill ran down her spine and her heart started pounding. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears, wanting to turn around and return back to the other animatronics, not caring anymore about any of the jumpscares.
So, this is what happened… Sam frowned, feeling sick. Is… Is this something Fazbear Entertainment put into the game… Or is this Glitchtrap's doing?
''Follow me…''
The whisper was faint, calling out to her, having a friendly undertone to it. However, Sam knew that the one who talked to her had sinister intentions. She glanced back at Bonnie and Chica, noting that Freddy was missing, then followed Glitchtrap.
The screen turned black and the music faded, causing Sam to gasp. She winced when she heard HandUnit speaking.
''Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, Fazbear Entertainment would like you to put your hands together for the one, the only, the only, only, only-''
She clenched her fist when HandUnit suddenly started to glitch out and the curtains opened. Looking up, she realized that she was staring at a microphone and that in front of her was the dining area.
Now I know where Freddy was.
As the music started playing, she credits slowly passing by. She tried to move, but could only look around, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw a figure dancing at the other side of the room.
Glitchtrap…
Frankly, Sam had no idea whether to feel terrified or weirded out to see the mascot dancing lightly in the room, obviously happy that he had managed to stuff her into a Freddy Fazbear suit… just like his other victims. Sam lowered her head, feeling a chill spreading through her chest.
''Congratulations on completing the Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience. You did an amazing job! you might be wondering if you missed anything or if there's anything left to see, so just take my word for it, you didn't miss anything, and there's nothing left to see. We're looking forward to a fresh start with you now that we've all had a good laugh at these tall tales, and now that you realize that Fazbear Entertainment is a safe family friendly brand with no skeletons in our closets. So goodbye for now and we'll see you on the toy aisle, bye bye, bye bye, bye bye, bye bye, take care now-''
Once the credits were gone, HandUnit started to speak again and while what he said gave Sam more insight into this part of the game, it still didn't help against the knot that was forming in her chest. It appeared that they were the ones who created this stage of the game, but she still felt sick that they made fun of the horrors that had happened. She had witnessed what those events did to one of the children and the company just didn't care. Sure, she made fun of Fazbear Entertainment's laziness and their main action being covering everything up, but making it part of a video game for the wider public – it was really messed up.
Finding herself at the dining area, Sam looked once again at the menu screen, noticing a new button next to it. She pressed it, being transported to The Gallery, and area with screens on the left and right, featuring the animatronics. There was also a stage with a red curtain in front of her. She had figured that this was just an extra option for those who'd finish the game, showing the animatronic models. She then looked down, noticing a Tape in the cabinet below the screen on her right.
''I guess those are all of the Tapes,'' Sam muttered, returning back to the main area before entering the glitchy Tape Room. She turned her head, surprised to see that Glichtrap was nowhere in sight. She frowned. ''One would think you'd also want to listen to those Tapes.''
She turned back to the Tapes, her hands shaking as she stared at the complete set. She knew that she now got what she wanted, but she took a huge risk. Whether it would pay off, she had no idea. Sam then placed Tape 15 into the tape player, listening intently.
''Hello. You don't know me. I'd created a series of logs for you documenting the troubled development of this VR game that you're now testing in hopes that you, whoever you are, and whatever team you are with, will abandon development. Now I fear that those logs are being used as a Trojan horse. If you're unable to abandon development, hide all traces of these logs that I've created. I fear that finding them and reassembling them will also reassemble the very thing I've tried so desperately to destroy.''
''Unfortunately, that's just what I did…'' Sam muttered coldly. She felt chills on the back of her neck, feeling as if someone was observing her. She turned around, but no one was there. However, when she turned back, that unnerving feeling of being observed had returned. She then attempted to switch to Tape 16, but it fell out of her hands. Cursing, she attempted to grab it again, but it glitched out, the Tape appearing suddenly in the tape player.
Sam was stunned for a moment, with the tape player glitching again and starting to play.
''There is a way to kill it. It wants to escape. To escape through someone. Someone plugged into this game. That's... you now... You have to let it begin the process of leaving through you, then use the disconnect switch that I've embedded by the main stage. Let it approach you. Let it begin to merge with you. Play the music and flip the switch. That will cause a hard restart of the game and flush the memory, effectively killing it, I hope. I don't know when it will come for you.''
''What?!''
Sam was stunned. She had to wonder whether she actually understood what exactly Tape Girl's plan was. So, you want me to allow Glitchtrap to possess me, and then hard reset the game? Is that how this game ends?
Admittedly, Sam was all for finally getting rid off Glitchtrap, but there was a problem. It was one thing assembling all of the Tapes, but it was another thing allowing Glitchtrap to possess her. Not to mention, she also had no idea if it would work. After all, if she was the one who had come up with the solution, why didn't Tape Girl try it out? Maybe she failed. Then, there was Vanessa, the one who had sent her the game. Had she managed to get here and delete Glitchtrap? Had she failed as well? Maybe she never found all of the Tapes?
''I can't do this,'' Sam said quietly. She took a deep breath, her voice now steady. ''I don't know everything yet, so how can I trust this to work? I can't just take the risk, not now.''
xXx
''Tsk, tsk, tsk,… Sam should've stayed the course,'' Glitchtrap said, standing on the stage and being illuminated by stage lights, glancing at the audience of one in front of him. The room around him, aside from the immediate area, was completely black. ''She wouldn't have been harmed at all if she had followed the instructions.'' He crossed his arms, grinning as he gazed at the only other person in the room. ''It might not matter anymore though.''
He snapped his fingers, with the stage and the room vanishing, leaving him standing in the void, seemingly alone. His grin was wide as ever as he stared at the darkness.
''There is one more thing left to do,'' he said. ''After all, the process had already been completed once before.''
xXx
''Stay the course.''
Sam just shook her head in response. ''I'm not going to do that until I'm sure that it would work.'' She paused for a moment, then furrowed a brow. ''Wait, why are you telling me this?''
Before she could get an answer, the room had glitched out and she found herself standing at the main area, with the screen in front of her. Her surroundings started to darken, taking a shade of purple, and she froze when she saw Glitchtrap suddenly appear right in front of her. What is going on?!
Glitchtrap's eyes were glowing purple as he reached out for her. Sam panicked, looking at the screen in front of her and trying to recall Tape Girl's instructions, but before she could make her move, her vision started glitching out and went black. She looked around, trying to figure out what to do, only to realize that she found herself in a dark room. In front of her was a steel door with handprints and scratches all over it.
There is no way that this is part of Help Wanted's video game part.
Sam interacted with the sliding hole in the door, only to wince when Glitchtrap suddenly appeared on the other side. She frowned as he shushed her and waved at her, backing into the darkness behind him. The room then glitched out and Sam found herself holding a green Spring Bonnie plushie. The plushie then glitched out and broke apart into data particles.
To Sam's surprise, she found herself back at the main area. She looked around for any sign of Glitchtrap, but he was nowhere to be found. She then removed the VR headset, still baffled by what had happened. She rubbed her temple, trying to comprehend what Glitchtrap just did.
He took complete control over the game. Or maybe, he had control over it all along? Sam shook her head, feeling an oncoming headache. Glitchtrap didn't even give me the time to decide whether I would follow Tape Girl's instructions. Instead, he just forced the decision on me and then… What did he do? Locked me up in that room? Turned into a plushie? She felt her something inside her squirming as she remembered Tape Girl's message. Did… Did he win? Am I possessed?
Sam certainly didn't feel as if something was wrong with her. As a matter of fact, she felt nothing but exhaustion.
I think… I think I need to go to sleep.
xXx
Sam sighed, leaning her head against the table. It was Halloween evening and she had been scheduled to work at Freddy's. She didn't really have any problems with that, as she needed to get her mind off what had happened in Help Wanted. She still had no idea what Glitchtrap had done and when she went back to the game to get another clue, she only found a green plush toy of Spring Bonnie. It seemed as if Glitchtrap had vanished. She had no idea how to feel about that.
''Sam… Sam?''
Sam looked up at Matt, who was dressed in his casual clothes, even though she had told him that he might get a discount if he came in with a costume. He refused, noting that the pizza was on him after commenting on Sam's sour mood. Admittedly, Sam hadn't told him what happened either, so he could only speculate.
''You look like you really had a rough day,'' Matt added.
''You have no idea,'' Sam replied, leaning against her hands and propping her elbows on the table. ''Do you ever have those dreams where you're just paralyzed and you cannot move at all, even if you are in grave danger?''
''I did have a couple of those,'' Matt noted, giving her a curious look. ''Did you also have that kind of dream or is this something that actually happened? Because, if it's the latter, that's a huge problem.''
''Well, it was less about me getting paralyzed and more something else making decisions for me,'' Sam replied, staring at the table. ''Remember Help Wanted? I completed it, but then it completely glitched out. Then, a character in the video game took control over it.''
''No offense, but that sounds like the start of every cliché video game creepypasta,'' Matt noted, giving her a look of concern. ''Although, this is real life.''
''Yeah, and from what I've learned, that video game character wasn't even supposed to be part of the video game,'' Sam replied.
''So, something like a virus? Or hacked content?'' Matt asked.
''Honestly, I don't know,'' Sam told him.
She wanted to tell him about what she believed was going on. However, she herself wasn't sure either what Glitchtrap truly was. She associated him with William Afton, but he was gone and there was no way for him to return. Glitchtrap had to be something else, an entity that just took on the mannerism of William. Honestly, she didn't want to discuss any of this with Matt, not wanting him to have to deal with the fears and nightmares she had. She was confused, unsure what to make of the information she had.
''Stay the course.''
Sam felt chills going down her spine as she remembered those words. It was just a video game, but at the same time, she had to wonder what would happen if she applied it to real life. However, one thing she was certain about was that she wouldn't be following any of Glitchtrap's demands. She noticed Matt staring intently at her and gave him a questioning look.
''What's wrong?'' Sam asked.
''It's a bit hard to explain,'' Matt said, observing her carefully. ''It's like you have some kind of negative energy around you, but it's flickering in and out of existence.''
''Really?'' Sam gave him a curious look.
''Yeah,'' Matt replied. ''It would explain why you feel so awful. Besides, it's Halloween or Samhain, depending on how you want to call it, and the next day is All Saints' Day, followed by All Souls' Day. This is the time where the barrier between the physical and spiritual realm is the weakest, allowing ghosts to interact with people.''
''It is also the time when a deranged serial killer terrorizes babysitters,'' Sam added in a deadpan tone, both her and Matt bursting out laughing. For a moment, Sam felt quite light, having no worries. Still, it was only a moment.
As they calmed down, Matt added, ''Nevertheless, if you are very sensitive to spiritual activity, you will feel like carrying some kind of weight, even more if you have an attachment.''
''Honestly, I don't… feel like I have one,'' Sam paused for a moment, a bit hesitant. Only because she couldn't feel or see an attachment, it didn't mean that she didn't have one. She knew that spirits could linger without making their presence known. Still, it was really weird. ''I don't think I'm dealing with a spirit either. I can't explain it right now, but I'm sure that I would've known if that was the case.''
''Sam? Is your break over? We need help over here,'' Just as Matt wanted to respond, one of Sam's co-workers walked over. Sam glanced at her smartphone, sighing when she realized that she needed to get back to work.
''I guess we'll talk later,'' she told Matt, who nodded. She then joined her co-worker, with Matt leaning back, staring at Sam until she went to the back of the building, vanishing from his sight. He crossed his arms, glancing at the animatronics on the stage.
Should I have told her? We both have our secrets, don't we? But, she already has a lot on her mind and this might only burden her. Still, this is a little disturbing. Matt furrowed a brow as he saw a strange dark aura lingering behind every animatronic, flickering in and out. However, unlike in Sam's case, this one was much stronger. It seemed as if a shadow-like figure was standing behind them. When Matt stared directly at the figure, to the point where their eyes would lock, if the figure had any, it didn't acknowledge him. He had to wonder whether it was aware of his knowledge or whether it just didn't care. He felt that he needed to remain cautious in the presence of the animatronics, not because of the mascots themselves, but because of the figure hovering behind them. It was quite unnerving.
I really hope you know what you're doing, Sam.
xXx
''Sam, are you okay?'' Showtime Freddy asked Sam as she grabbed more packets of candy for the animatronic to distribute among the children. He and the other animatronics had seen her tired expression and at some points, she acted as if she was more on an autopilot, not responding until a person tapped her on the shoulder.
''No, I'm not,'' Sam replied. While she couldn't talk to Matt about what was bothering her in depth, she could at least tell the animatronics what was going on in her mind. ''I feel like there is a huge pressure against my head and I feel really tired.''
''I see…'' Freddy muttered. ''Did something happen?''
''Yeah, I played Help Wanted again and I was given the instructions to delete Glitchtrap, but I didn't want to do that before thinking things through. I had actually hoped that I could talk to you guys about this, but before I could make my decision, Glitchtrap suddenly took control of the video game, did something and then he just disappeared,'' Sam explained.
''Did he hurt you in any way?'' Freddy asked in a concerned tone.
''No, he didn't, which is really weird,'' Sam replied. ''The Tape I had listened to told me that I would have to get possessed by Glitchtrap in order to perform a hard reset, and I think Glitchtrap tried to do that to me, but I don't think he really succeeded… I mean, I didn't do anything to stop him, and I feel like there should be something wrong with me, but there isn't anything. No black-outs, no nightmares, no hallucinations. I'm just tired and worried, but that's it.'' Sam rubbed her temple. ''Maybe I'm just being paranoid.''
''I don't think you are being paranoid,'' Freddy told her in a heavy tone. ''You know, even if you don't feel like anything is wrong with you, stuff that you just cannot explain might happen. You might do things or events that are completely out of your control might occur.''
Sam fell silent for a moment. ''You know, I've been wondering just how much of the gameplay had been under my control and just how much was Glitchtrap's doing. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I won the mini-games on my own, but the issue I have is that the video game went through several hands before it landed with me and seemingly no one noticed Glitchtrap?''
''I guess they must've thought he was just part of the video game,'' Freddy noted.
''Yeah, probably,'' Sam responded. ''Although, I feel that I had just scratched the surface of what is going on and my gut feeling tells me that I should remain careful.''
''I agree that you should listen to your instincts,'' Freddy told her. The two then heard a knock on the door, with Bonnie peering inside.
''Hey, guys, could you hurry up? The crowd is getting wild here and, while I feel sorry for the parents, the kids need their sugar rush.''
''We're on our way,'' Freddy replied, glancing at Sam. She smiled back, but when he looked away, a shadow fell over her face.
xXx
''It's finally time to wake up.''
Glitchtrap grinned widely, staring into the void. Despite being completely alone, he knew that there was another presence there, a man who desired to return. His own will was Glitchtrap's will and all that was necessary was to convince him to return to the realm of the living. Glitchtrap had already managed to create several strong attachments, which should make the return easier.
Sam was, basically, his ticket out of the void.
Glitchtrap crossed his arms as he heard steps, approached by a man with dark hair and grey eyes. His body was scarred and his gaze was empty, but he was determined. It took Glitchtrap a while to convince himself, or rather, his other self, that he needed to return. After all, he still had more work to do. His spirit was still restless and until he was done with what he had started, he wouldn't be able to move on.
''Sometimes, it amazes me how the human soul works. There is so much that can be done with it, so much that still needs to be explored,'' Glitchtrap noted, with the man just staring back at him silently, hands in his pockets. ''You want to see her again. You still have regrets, don't you?''
The man lowered his gaze, then looked back at Glitchtrap, his expression cold, with a purple glow in his eyes, matching Glichtrap's.
''I always come back, don't I?''