Darkness greeted them inside, almost a physical thing as they cautiously stepped forward. The moment the last animatronic walked inside, the doors slammed shut behind them on their own and seemed to disappear, leaving them alone in the dark void with only the glow of the protective charms providing any light.
That soon changed as a spot burst to life, followed by two more. They all pointed at and illuminated a large stage in the distance with a red curtain.
The group, not having a lot of other options at the moment, began slowly approaching the stage, tense and alert for anything that might try and attack them from the remaining darkness.
When they were only a few feet away from the stage, a figure threw aside the edges of the curtain and strutted forward dramatically. It was Mike, as easily given away by the visible animatronic hand and eye, but it also wasn't. He was wearing casual business clothes in various shades of purple and he carried himself in an arrogant that Mike never would. The hair was darker and styled differently than Mike's and the most damning feature was how the eyes were glowing a vibrant magenta.
"Mike's been possessed hasn't he," Gregory couldn't help but gasp quietly, hugging Helpy tightly who hugged him in return.
"Yes," Dipper confirmed with a frown. "And while I'm sure Mike's still in there fighting, the fact William has this much control means things are going to be so much harder."
"It's great to finally see you all face to face…" William mocked, making Mike's face smile widely and cruelly. "And welcome to my Lair! And soon to be your graves…"
"Like we're going to go down that easily!" Roxy growled sprinting forward and leaping at the possessed Mike on stage. "Now get out of him you stupid parasite!"
William just smirked and easily sidestepped Roxy's attack. The claws on her feet carved deep lines into the wood as she skidded to the top, but she was already gearing up to attack again. Before she could though, William casually waved his hand and a gaping hole opened up right beneath her. She had little more time than to yelp in surprise as she suddenly fell into the abyss, the closing over her head and healing itself as if it had never been there at all.
"Roxy!" The other animatronics shouted in fear and worry, making aborted movements to attack themselves, but holding back in case they'd be the next one to disappear so easily.
"Oh don't worry, she's not destroyed… yet…" William said easily, looking down on all the others from the stage. "I only sent her to another part of my lair to wander around for a little bit. I might even give her back if you just give me what I want…"
Dipper and the animatronics immediately moved to stand protectively in front of Gregory, making William laugh and roll his eyes, "Relax… I'm not after the little brat anymore as I have all the remnant I need right here…"
William placed his hand on Mike's chest to indicate just where the abundance or remnant came from.
"If you're not after me…" Gregory spoke up, both relieved and terrified that William didn't necessarily want to kill him anymore. "What is it you do want then."
"Why I want Mason's help of course," William said, shifting his obsessive gaze to the man in question. "I've been watching you and your little talent and have gotten to see a bit more of what you're capable of from the few of Michael's memories I've had the time to look through. I know with your help I'll be able to accomplish what I want so much faster."
"And what makes you think I will ever help you!" Dipper couldn't help but sneer in disgust, eyes glowing slightly in response to his feelings.
"Because I'm not giving you much of a choice," William smirked, casually displaying Mike's claws and admiring their sharpness and strength. "You can either help me willingly, meaning I will spare the little feral brat and all those machines you seem so fond of, as well as being able to return Michael's body to him that much sooner… Or you can resist, and I'll take pleasure in forcing Michael to tear them all apart one by one, saving the little look-a-like for last. If you are as close to Michael as you claim, then you should know how much it'll destroy him to have that blood staining his hands…"
Dipper did know and he couldn't help but falter for a moment at the threat.
"So you see why it's so much better for you to just give in and do what I want," William pressed on, sensing Dipper's moment of weakness. "You'll be able to spare Michael so much more heartbreak and will even be able to help to properly reunite him with his real siblings…"
"No," Dipper replied firmly, squaring his shoulders in determination and glaring at William with resolve and magic burning in his eyes. "No, I will not help you."
"I am patient man, but I've been waiting far too long to be with my family properly again," William said, voice calm and deadly as he glared at Dipper with growing anger. "So this is your last chance to help me willingly before I show you just how far I'm willing to go to accomplish my goals."
"And he told you no!" Gregory shouted back, glaring up at William as bravery burned within him despite the real danger he was in. "It doesn't matter how many times you ask because the answer will always be the same! We'll never help you, you jerk!"
"I agree with Superstar, we won't help you in your goals." Freddy agreed, standing protectively beside Gregory and tensing as he prepared to fight with all his strength.
"You've got a lot of nerve thinking we'll just lay down and let you walk all over us," Monty growled, purposefully showing off the many sharp teeth in his mouth. "We're tougher than you seem to give us credit for and we're not going to let you get away with all you've done!"
"You're nothing but a spoiled brat!" Moon spat. "You need to be put in time out. Permanently."
There was a moment of silence as the group waited for William's response, only to startle a little when the man threw back Mike's head and began laughing loudly.
"You really think you can stand up against me in my lair," William chuckled, looking at all of them with manic glee. "Oh, I'm going to have so much fun picking you off one… by… one… Do try not to die too quickly. It's been so long since I've been able to hunt personally and I want to enjoy playing with you all for a bit before I finally finish you off."
Before anyone else could respond, William raised his arms and began waving them smoothly through the air, almost like a conductor before a grand orchestra. The ground began rumbling and a wall bust upright in the middle of the group, forcing them to be separated with Freddy, Dipper, and Gregory on one side with Moon and Monty on the other.
"What's happening?" Gregory asked in surprise, yelping as another wall burst up behind him and the others in his group.
"I think he's trapping us in a maze," Dipper shouted to be heard over the noise, looking around as he quickly analyzed the situation. "Come on! We need to move together as a group to make it harder to separate us. With luck, we'll be able to get to the others before the maze gets too complex."
Freddy and Gregory immediately began running with Dipper, forced to turn sharply whenever a new wall rapidly rose in front of them. Despite Gregory's best efforts, he was still a small kid, one that had been up nearly all night in a fight to survive. He was quickly losing energy and was starting to lag behind. Freddy noticed first and slowed down to pick Gregory up, but that created a clear gap between them and Dipper, prompting a wall to start rising between them.
"Keep Gregory safe Freddy!" Dipper shouted back just before the wall cut them off completely. Now completely alone, Dipper decided to switch tactics and moved at a much slower and stealthier pace, keeping an eye out for whatever else might be lurking in William's maze.
Freddy and Gregory stared at the wall in stunned silence before Freddy turned away and began going down another path, Freddy still holding Gregory protectively in his arms.
"Do you think the others are alright?" Gregory couldn't help but ask quietly, feeling every bit the scared kid he was. "What are we going to do?"
"I'm sure the others are fine Superstar," Freddy assured gently. "They are quite capable of handling themselves after all. We just need to find them and once we're reunited, we'll come up with a plan to free Chief Pines. I'll keep you safe the entire time Gregory. I promise."
"And I'll keep you safe too," Gregory promised, holding his Fazer blaster up in emphasis. "You, me, and Helpy are a great team! We'll make that stupid bunny ghost regret messing with us."
"I'm sure we will," Freddy agreed with a chuckle and got a firm nod from Helpy. The three of them kept a sharp eye out as they continued walking through the maze.
"This can't be good!" Moon had declared as soon as the wall had separated him and Monty from the rest of the group.
"It won't be a problem for long!" Monty roared, punching the wall with all his strength. His fist made several impressively large cracks, but they were already starting to heal even as Monty reared back for another punch.
"You're only going to damage yourself if you keep trying," Moon stepped in, stopping Monty from attacking the wall again. "Save your strength for when we can actually use it. We should see if we can find a way around."
Monty reluctantly nodded and started following the other animatronic down the newly created hallway. While the alligator was certainly strong and fast, he was nearly as agile as the daycare robot. So when they suddenly had to change directions because of a wall suddenly rising before them, Monty was not able to turn as quickly or as smoothly as Moon, creating a gap between them. The path Moon had started down immediately sealed off, separating the animatronics. With no other choice, Moon and Monty began heading down their different paths in opposite directions, hoping they'll be able to find each other and the rest of their group soon.
William floated in the black void above the maze, enjoying watching all his new little playthings panic and scramble as his maze settled into place. Suddenly William's eye twitched, flashing purple briefly and the human limbs jerked randomly for a moment. It quickly passed, leaving William in full control once more.
"Really this is your own fault, Michael," William informed out loud with disappointment and cruelty, adjusting the sleeves of his shirt unnecessarily. "If you hadn't been destroying all my hard work so often over the decades, I would have already accomplished my goal by now. But because you insisted on being rebellious and standing in my way at every turn, all of them got dragged into our family's issues. And now they won't be able to escape it."
There was no response, seen or unseen, but William hadn't been really expecting one. Instead, William focused once more on his soon-to-be victims and thinking over which one to attack first and what to do with them.
"Don't worry Michael, I won't destroy them immediately," William grinned viciously. "I much rather make them suffer and struggle for a while. And why don't I start with the one that will be the most irritating in this current setup? And it's only fair as she attacked first."
William vanished from sight, the darkness of his lair following his command and concealing him from sight.
He had a wolf to cage.