A/N Took a while to get here, but it's that time once again. Hope you're all ready because this is it. This is going to be my final major arc for this story. The final night. I'm going to wrap up everything I've built up thus far and let it all go out with a bang. There'll be a lot to it; it'll be fun; and I hope you all enjoy it. Here we go!
They left for the diner a little later than planned, but still managed to get to there about twenty minutes before midnight. It was almost like any other night they had been through that week, at least starting out. After all, this was basically the last chance they had to get rid of William and set things right. No pressure. One would have expected them to be anxious. That they would be more afraid and uneasy about what they had to do tonight than anything that had come before. Perhaps, somewhere deep down, they were, but…they gave no sign of this as they stepped out of the van.
In point of fact, they all stepped out of the vehicle looking pointedly more confident than any of them had been before. Though they all had a certain level of fear and anxiety before, they all looked at the entrance ahead of them with determination, and what seemed to be a readiness for whatever would come their way. While hardly any words were exchanged, the looks they gave each other showed that they knew they were in this together and that they could rely one another. They walked onward and through the door with distinct swagger, not even waiting for an escort as they made their way through the dining room and down the hall.
As they made their way down the stairs, their hosts gave them looks of astonishment. Sun even seemed a little intimidated. They could tell this was no façade of bravado. This little orphan boy and his motley crew had all been through so much in the past week, and yet they seemed so ready to face further trials head on. Again, perhaps they were scared, but it was clear to everyone they had now learned how to properly handle that. That they were ready to face their fears. Looking at them with a sense of pride, Foxy let out his signature hearty laugh.
"You scallywags never fail to impress," he mused. "It weren't long ago that it was just three of yas walking through that front door up there scared stiff, but look at ye now. Six of you standin' here tall and proud. I think I even felt a chill up me spine from that entrance ye gave just now."
"You sure that wasn't just a short circuit?" Sun cut in. "No offense, but you've seen better days, my friend."
Annoyance sprang up on Foxy's face. "What'd I tell ya 'bout readin' the room, bilge rat?"
There was a short burst of laughter after that remark, which the fox couldn't help but roll his eyes at.
"Well, either way," said Vanessa quickly, "we've been pretty happy to have you on our side, at least. Probably should've told you before, but we really appreciate your help."
Foxy's mood picked back up at that. "Don't mention it, lassie. I do halfway wish I could've done more for ye, though. It's real hard on older models like us to get into too much excitement, ya know?"
"I can imagine," Freddy concurred. "But maybe things can change once William is finally gone."
"Yeah," said Gregory. "Maybe this could be part of starting this company over, huh, Vanessa? You said before, you wanted to learn from the past while trying to move forward. Don't you think there's a lot we can learn from these guys?"
The blonde considered it for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. I think these guys deserve better than just sitting around for spare parts. Especially you, Foxy."
"Ha, ha! You sure ain't related to ol' Bill by blood, Vanessa! Couldn't thank you enough for that chance, especially after all these years." The pirate then turned his attention to the Glamrock wolf. "Looks like I'll really be seein' you in action, Miss Roxy. I hope you won't disappoint."
She gave him a playful smirk. "Don't worry. I won't."
"Oh, that reminds me!" Fifi exclaimed as she took the Fazcam off her neck. "Chica! I wanted to give you this. I…don't know what's going to happen tonight, so…I wanted you to at least have an extra way to protect yourself."
The Glamrock chicken took the camera as it was handed to her.
"Fifi, are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, I don't think I'll really need it since Henry gave me that updated voice box. I can stun animatronics on my own, so…why me?"
The mouse shrugged. "Just…because you gave me a really good reason to trust you earlier. And…I want you to trust me back."
Chica noted how the short animatronic before her almost seemed like she was a little kid talking to her parent. Could she really feel that kind of relationship after just one day? Interesting. Well, if Fifi felt that way, then surely the bird could try to be like a mother for her.
"Alright, then," she said with a smile. "I'll keep it in one piece for you."
Fifi didn't say anything, but she was beaming when she heard those words.
"See there," Rockstar Bonnie pointedly said to Chica's Funtime counterpart. "That's how you build up a relationship, see? Let people know you can trust 'em."
"Okay, fine," FT Chica relented. "I guess I'm getting a bit more time to learn about that, though. Well…if everyone can make it out alive."
"Yeah," he agreed. "Speaking of which, what exactly is the plan for yous guys, tonight?"
Vanessa took a deep breath. "Well, that's what were trying to figure out. Let me explain…"
When she finished explaining the whole predicament, Foxy looked at her thoughtfully.
"I see…" he said. "Then…I think I have somethin' that might work. Ye've probably not figured this out yet, but there's only one way to get rid of Remnant-laden objects."
"And that would be?" asked Gregory.
"…Burn 'em, lad. Heat 'em up until there's nothin' left for a soul to stick around on. Nothin' left Bill can use to cling on to the life that should've ended decades ago."
Roxy suddenly looked really hopeful. "Well, that's no problem, right? There's an incinerator in one of the rooms down here. We can just throw him in there and—"
"That rinky-dink little thing won't get the job done, lass. He's come out of worse than that before. Besides, who's to say he ain't already put that virus in at least one of the bots being shipped here tomorrow. He's always thought ahead like that…which is why I got a better solution for ya. Back down on the lower level, there's a huge foundry under the floor that was used to melt all the scrap metal and make new parts. The company stopped using it when they found out they could just reuse the old parts, though, so, needless to say, it ain't been used in years. But, last I seen it, the furnace underneath seemed in good enough condition to get fired up again, if ye know what I mean…"
It was evident by the looks on their faces that they knew exactly what he meant.
"I must say," said Freddy, "it is just like this company to be smart enough to build a working foundry big enough to melt whole animatronics and dumb enough build the Pizzaplex on top of a sinkhole at the same time."
"Honestly, Freddy," Vanessa concurred. "I was wondering if this place was built on top of a sinkhole." She shook her head. "But anyway, it might take a while for a foundry that big to heat up. How do we know William and his lackies won't just rush us before we get it hot enough?"
"This may surprise ya, lass, but I'm actually pretty good with a diversion," Foxy explained. "Bill don't know it yet, but we got control back from him on communications earlier today. If we get him riled up enough, that oughtta give ya enough time to get things cookin'. Plus, we can call ya if anything goes wrong."
"And we can also take care of the S.T.A.F.F. bots on Sunday if everything goes well," Sun added.
Something seemed to be troubling Chica as this was going on.
"…What about Cassidy?" she finally asked.
Foxy hesitated, but finally said, "If she gets in your way, take her down too. She's driven herself mad trying to get back at him all this time. Much as I hate to say it…it would almost be merciful to release her from that…thing she's become."
The bird cast her eyes down. "…I know."
"We can't worry too much about it now," Vanessa commented. "You know that. Let's just do what we need to do and we won't have to worry about it again."
As Chica heard this, she felt a grip around her leg. She looked down and noticed Fifi holding onto it, looking at her with empathy. This boosted the chicken's confidence back up significantly and she gave an understanding nod.
Vanessa then turned back to the task at hand. "Okay, so how are we going to find and operate that thing?"
"There's a stairway to the main control booth at the end of the center hall," Foxy explained. "All the controls for startin' the furnace should be in there. And should ye encounter any opposition from the lower level while yer heatin' up the foundry, there's also a few cranes you can control from there that ye can hold 'em off with."
The blonde smiled and turned to the others. "Then I guess there's nothing left to discuss. Door should be open, and we've gotta go in now. If anyone's got anything else to say…now's the time."
Not a word was spoken as they looked on with readiness.
"Alright. Foxy…we're going in."
As they walked into the hallway, every eye in Gregory's group was alert. Though the six of them were basically going in a straight line, they knew they were still walking in a labyrinth where an adversary could jump out at any point. They took their time and treaded carefully, anticipating any move their foes could take with this golden opportunity, but when they were already halfway through the hall…nothing happened.
"Anyone else thinking it's too quiet?" Roxy asked, concerned.
Gregory shrugged in response. "I thought we'd at least see a S.T.A.F.F. bot by now."
"Don't let your guard down," Henry's voice suddenly came from his watch. "Anything can happen in a situation like this. Believe me, I know."
"I'm not questioning that," the boy responded. "I'm just saying it's a bit weird—"
He was cut off by sirens. The group jumped to action and looked around to see at least ten S.T.A.F.F. bots rushing them from all sides.
"Had to open my mouth, didn't I?!" Gregory complained.
"Hey, Freddy!" Chica called out. "I think it's time to try out my new upgrade!"
"My thoughts exactly," the bear replied. "Everyone! You know what to do!"
The other four members of the group immediately ducked and covered their ears. Then Freddy and Chica stood back-to-back and let out the animatronic stunning frequency from their voice boxes. Just as the bots were encircling the group, they all shuddered and fell over as soon as they heard the noise. When the onslaught stopped, the group slowly straightened up and took a moment to process how quickly it all happened.
"Well, that worked better than I thought it would," Chica noted.
"That couldn't have been it, could it?" Fifi asked in confusion (and perhaps a little disappointment.)
"I don't know, but we better not stick around and find out," Vanessa said, motioning for them to follow, which they did, quickly.
They bridged the gap to the end of the hall in record time, fearing they had only just been through the first wave of William's attack. When they did reach the end, they were quite surprised when they were met with a wooden door. Vanessa even let out a laugh when she saw it.
"The only wooden door left in this place, I think," she commented, and she grabbed the doorknob to try to turn it. "And it's locked. Of course, it is."
Roxy then slightly shoved the blonde aside. "Outta the way, I got the key to that."
And she effortlessly kicked the door down, shattering it into pieces. Then she stared at her handiwork with her arms crossed, looking quite proud of herself, as everyone looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Boy, am I glad you're on our side now, Roxy," Gregory commented.
"Yeah?" she said. "So am I."
Not saying anything more, and minding their steps, the group went down the stairwell on the other side of the door. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they found another mechanical door, like they were used to, standing wide open, and it seemed the control room was on the other side.
"So, they lock the flimsy wooden door, but they leave this one open?" Fifi said suspiciously. "That doesn't seem right."
Freddy took a few seconds to look through the walls. "Well, I'm not seeing anything indicating that it's a trap."
"Me either," Roxy confirmed, looking as well. "Maybe someone just…forgot?"
"Wouldn't surprise me," said Vanessa, matter-of-factly. "There were definitely some idiots at the Pizzaplex like that. Almost makes me glad most of them were replaced with bots, not that they were any better, though."
The mouse sighed. "Okay…I still can't believe I'm saying this…but I'm really starting to hate the company that made me."
The other animatronics gave her a knowing look, showing they felt the exact same way.
"Don't worry," said Henry. "Despite everything, I think there is still some hope for Fazbear Entertainment. I'll be the first to admit, I lost hope in it a long time ago, but…that doesn't mean a new generation can't turn things around. Maybe tonight will be the start of that, so…for once, let's look forward for what's to come."
Vanessa looked at her watch with tired eyes, but put on a small smile. "We'll try." She breathed.
"Now," Henry continued. "I was able to analyze this room when I was stuck in the computer you found me in before. Go on in, and I'll give you some guidance on what you can do."
They obliged, and slowly walked into the room. Looking around, it seemed that Fazbear Entertainment had really gone out of their way to make their equipment look like something out of a science fiction movie. The room was about the size of a standard classroom. Flashing control panels lined the bottom of each of the three walls opposite the door, and screens lined the top of them. Most notable was the plexiglass window on the wall directly in front of them, from which the whole of the lower level was viewed in the dim light.
As Chica was the last one in, she pressed the button to close the door, but then everyone froze when they looked straight ahead out the window. On the other side of the piles of rubble, they could clearly see the Blob's hulking mass as it stood there, barely moving as if it were breathing. It almost seemed to be…dormant, as it hardly seemed to be reacting to anything, though the eyes on the animatronics it was composed of still shone a bright red. If that was the case, then one wrong move could earn them all of Cassidy's wrath.
"…You think she can hear us?" Gregory whispered into his watch, not moving a muscle.
"I doubt it," Henry explained. "This room is pretty well sound-proofed, but we need to make sure to take the right steps at the right times. Otherwise…we'll regret it." A sigh emerged from the watch. "Alright, now the controls for the furnace and the opening to the foundry should be on the right in front of the window. As you can imagine, it will take a lot of heat, fuel, and energy to ensure things melt, so well need someone good with numbers to monitor how much we use."
"Guess that's me, then," said Vanessa. "Just so you know, you've helped a lot with that too. Thanks."
"That's what I was hoping for…and you're welcome," Henry continued. "Moving on, though, the crane controls should be on the other side. They should be simple enough, mainly a control stick, but it's still going to require a steady hand."
"That shouldn't be a problem for any of us," said Fifi, "but I'll do it. It's time I finally faced this head-on."
"Very well…Then Gregory. Would you mind going over to the center terminal? Just let me download onto there and I'll explain the rest."
Gregory gave a confused and concerned look, but reluctantly said, "…Okay."
Then he, Vanessa, and Fifi stepped into their positions, the others sticking closely behind. As Vanessa and Fifi began deciphering their control schemes, Gregory set the watch above the active control panel in front of him. At the press of a button on the watch Henry was downloaded onto the terminal, and his voice echoed from the speakers.
"Now, I'll have to be honest with you Gregory," he said. "Roxy was not the only one I had to ask a favor of this week. I truly hate to have kept another secret from you, but…when we realized Freddy was Michael, I needed to be sure I could still trust him. I really should've realized that sooner from the way he treated you, but I just wanted to cover all my bases. So, believe me when I say that I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this sooner."
Gregory heaved a quiet sigh. Another adult keeping secrets from him…but at least this time, he was good enough to own up to it.
"It's fine, really," he said. "Anyway, what'd you make him do?"
"I realized that if anything went wrong when we had to deal with William directly, I may have to take matters into my own hands, and it is hard to do that when you're in my current position. Therefore, on Wednesday night, I asked Freddy to…basically find a host for me so I could intervene if the need arises. He's placed a port in one of the animatronics here that I could take over, and this terminal will allow me to download myself wirelessly into their system."
The boy's eyes went wide as he heard this crazy plan. "So, we're going to do that right now?"
"I believe so," Freddy finally spoke up. It seemed he had been working to start this program while they were talking, as there was a command line on one of the monitors prompting to 'execute'.
"Before we start, though," the bear continued, "are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"
"I'm positive," Henry confirmed. "I know the risks, and I have to take them…for her…and for all of you. Again, this will be our failsafe if anything goes wrong, but for now, this is in your hands."
"Henry, I—" Gregory started to protest, but then… "I guess there's no stopping you, huh? Well…before you go…thanks for everything."
"…It was no trouble…Alright, I'm ready."
Freddy took this as his cue to type 'yes' into the command line, and the monitor shut down in front of him. Seeing this, Gregory prayed that the stars would align tonight and everything would turn out alright for them. If they didn't, he might've just lost another new family member. Chica and Roxy were watching intently from behind, concerned about what just happened.
"Well, did it work?" Chica finally asked.
"…I don't know," said Freddy. "I'm not getting any signals from him yet. I think it may take some time, though…hopefully…"
"W-Well, what's going to happen if we can't find him by the end of the night?" Roxy inquired anxiously.
"We cross that bridge when we come to it," said Vanessa. "I just got the furnace going, and it'll take some time for that foundry to get up to temperature. For now, we're just going to have to keep an eye out for him and stick to the plan. So, Freddy, just so we know who we're looking for, what animatronic did you try to put him into?"
The bear took a moment to think, "Well—"
"Greg? GREG! Come in, lad! QUICKLY!"
Gregory jolted when he heard Foxy's voice on his watch. He rushed over and grabbed it off the control panel.
"Foxy, I'm here! What's the matter?!" he called back.
"We got a problem, lad. A big problem!" Foxy continued. "Remember I said that shipment of bots was comin' tomorrow night?"
"Yeah?" came the dubious reply.
"Well…may have miscalculated a wee bit on that…they just got here."
"WHAT!?" everyone called out in terror.
"And here's the kicker: they've all got the virus! They just killed the guys that delivered 'em and barged through the door before we could do anything! THEY'RE HEADED RIGHT FOR YA!"
That's when they noticed the rising sound of sirens just above them, and in that moment, they all knew they were in trouble.
"AW, CRAP!" Gregory called out in abject horror.
"What do we do!?" exclaimed Fifi panicking.
"I don't know!" Vanessa replied. "I'm not seeing another way out of here! If there's as many as I think there is, I don't think this door's gonna hold!"
"Oh, come on! There's gotta be something here that can help!" Gregory said as he began frantically looking around.
"Hold on, Gregory!" said Freddy. "We need to think for a second here—"
"I am thinking!" the boy interrupted. "This is Fazbear Entertainment here! They oughtta have more protection here than a couple flimsy doors! There's gotta be like a…like a secret hatch we can close on them or something…AHA!"
Before anyone could react, he bolted right for a button on one of the panels with a picture of what seemed to be a hatch on it. Once Vanessa registered what he was doing, she tried to run forward to stop him.
"Wait! Gregory! Don't—"
It was too late. He already pressed the button, and when he did, what happened was, in the least, not what he expected. Instantly, there was a loud rattling coming from the other end of the lower level. Despite all the chaos that was going on around it, that seemed to be the thing to wake the Blob from its apparent slumber. After a few seconds of what seemed to be confusion, it suddenly lurched forward. That's when it became apparent that the floor under it was opening, and a bright light, like a flame, emerged as scrap fell into the opening.
"That was the opening for the foundry!" Vanessa exclaimed.
As Gregory saw what had happened, the look that appeared on his face was one that every child had when they knew they'd really messed up. All he could say at the sight before him was a dread-filled, "Oops."
The Blob had clearly also realized what was happening. Seeing the control booth from afar, it gave an intense growl, followed by a deafening roar. Then, it raced towards its newfound target with speeds it hadn't pulled off before, every black tentacle pushing forward with urgency and fury.
"Well, so much for that plan!" Chica cracked as she saw it hustling ever closer, tentacles now extending toward them.
"EVERYBODY, HANG ONTO SOMETHING!" Roxy called out.
They all rushed to the nearest control panel, Freddy instinctively keeping Gregory close to him. They held on to what they could and braced themselves as the Blob reached them. The booth began to shake violently as the tentacles grabbed the sides of it. Everyone struggled to keep their grip as the shaking continued and the chorus of voices from the Blob began to berate them, Cassidy's being the loudest.
"YOU IMBECILES! YOU'RE RUINING EVERYTHING!" she howled. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST STAY OUT OF MY WAY!?"
Suddenly the room tipped forward, a loud crack indicating that the wall and ceiling had been torn off with it. The sudden shift caused the rooms occupants to be thrown forward, but they maintained their grip on the control panels they were currently holding. Keeping the booth on a forward tilt, Cassidy laughed cruelly.
"You're not weaseling your way out of this one," she mocked. "Play with fire, and eventually you get—"
CRACK!
Since the floor above the control booth no longer had support, it broke away under the weight of all the S.T.A.F.F. bots, and they all came tumbling down on top of the Blob before the last sentence could be finished. The shock of it as well as the sheer number of bots falling upon it caused the amalgamation to lose its grip on the booth and it soon came hurdling towards the ground. The room's occupants all screamed as they saw the rubble below coming closer through the window. Moving quickly, Freddy held Gregory close and braced for the impact to come.
They all held on for dear life as the booth met the ground.
A/N And that's it for now. Another cliffhanger! Yay! There was a bit more I wanted to include in this chapter, but I ran into the same problem I had in night 5 when I realized the chapter would be too long if I put in everything at once. Furthermore, I've kept you all waiting long enough. A combination of holiday stuff and sickness in my family kind of resulted in my longest interval between chapters. But hey, that's life, and I still had a good Christmas regardless. Either way, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, be sure to leave a review if you can. See you all next time, and have a Happy New Year!