As the last few pieces of Burntrap clattered to the ground, the environment glitched and warped. The dark security office with its many monitors faded away to show a simple old computer on an old rickety desk. Cracks and old burn marks appeared on the once pristine floors and walls. Random rubble was scattered across the floor with a charging station in once corner and a random cot in another.
"Is he gone?" Gregory asked as he looked around the changed room. "Is that why everything looks different?"
"He's definitely lost a lot of power, hence why this old pizzeria looks more like how it did after I helped burn it down," Mike replied as he stumbled over to Dipper and helped his brother drink a health potion. "But I doubt he's completely gone yet. The stubborn bastard has a nasty habit of coming back from things that should have ended him. How are you feeling Dipstick? Think you're up to doing a full exorcism on this place before we burn it to the ground?"
"I don't know," Dipper answered tiredly as he rubbed his healing wounds, mentally accessing his energy levels. "I wasn't expecting to have to purify a place of this magnitude… and breaking free of his little prison took more out of me than I like to admit… I'll use everything I have left and hope the fire helps purify what I can't. Then once I've had a chance to recover and get a few more supplies we can come back and perform another ritual on the remains just to make sure…"
"Sounds like a plan," Mike said, getting up and helping Dipper up as well. "Alright Fred… You take Gregory back upstairs while we set up the ritual and then we'll…"
"Not good enough!" Cassidy's voice cut in as the ghost faded back into view, the wounds on her neck from William using Mike's claws still dripping shimmering silver blood. "He needs to be gone for good! NOW!"
"Trust me, Cassidy, we want that too," Mike assured with a grimace. "And we're going to do all we can to make that a reality, but it's going to take time…"
"You were right you know…" Cassidy said, ignoring Mike in favor of looking at Dipper. "I didn't want to admit it, even to myself, but you were right… This is my fault because I didn't want to just let him go without getting my own revenge… so now I'm going to make things right…"
"How exactly?" Dipper asked cautiously. Her words should have made him hopeful, should have made him think she was going to help them rather than just use them, but his instincts developed over years of adventuring were giving him a sense of foreboding. Subtly Dipper shifted into a defensive stance just to be safe and Mike did the same beside him.
"By making sure HE doesn't have the escape again," Cassidy declared, energy gathering around her hand as she raised it. "I'm going to make sure every trace of his legacy is DESTROYED!"
The ground rumbled slightly as the sound of distant explosions reached them.
"What are you doing!?" Mike demanded, but again Cassidy ignored him.
"Guys!" Roxy shouted in worry as she and the other animatronics arrived in the room. "Multiple fires have just started and they're beginning to spread!"
"What!?" the humans and Freddy said in surprise and panic.
"Cassidy! Stop!" Dipper whirled back to look at the spirit, hoping she would still respond and listen to him. "We're still in here! We'll die if you don't give us time to escape!"
"That's the POINT!" Cassidy replied with a manic grin, jabbing a finger in Mike's direction. "All of you have traces of HIM clinging to you now, his SPAWN the most of all. Plus all the other REMNANT I can feel pumping through good old Mikey's veins. It needs to be cleansed… Every last piece needs to be destroyed now before HE's able to slip away again! I've killed nightguards before and my actions have now led to the deaths of several more children. So a few more lives are worth it to make sure that MONSTER is gone for the rest of eternity!"
Another explosion was heard somewhere else in the building and smoke started to waft into the room
"Run!" Mike ordered once it became clear Cassidy was serious and there wasn't time to reason with her. Mike grabbed onto Dipper to pull the other with him as Freddy headed out of the room with Gregory still in the animatronic arms. The other animatronic follows after them too.
"I'M NOT LETTING YOU ESCAPE!" Cassidy shouted, her hair getting even more firey in her anger. "BECAUSE LETTING YOU ESCAPE MEANS HE'LL ESCAPE! AND I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"
The spirit came flying after the group, flames springing up behind her as she snarled at them. Dipper threw up a hand behind them as they fled, eyes glowing as he shouted, "Contineo!"
An energy barrier encircled the vengeful spirit, keeping her contained.
"NO!" Cassidy shouted, banging and scratching at her prison. "YOU ALL NEED TO DIE! ESPECIALLY MIKE! IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO END THIS!"
The others didn't bother replying, just leaving the angry and screaming ghost behind as the flames continued to spread and grow.
"This way!" Roxy directed, using her eyes to find a safe path through the burning building. "Monty! We're going to need you to bust through some beams that are blocking the doorway!"
"On it!" Monty nodded, charging forward to do just that.
The group continued like that, Roxy guiding the way while Monty helped clear out debris. The fire was intensifying and the smoke getting thicker, making the humans cough and start to flag as their bodies struggled to get going. Dipper did cast a spell to help them have a bubble of breathable air and protect them from the worst of the heat, but it was clear he wouldn't be able to maintain it for long. By the time the group made it out of the old pizzeria and into the more cave-like area of the sinkhole, Moon was supporting Dipper who was concentrating most of his energy on keeping the group protected. Mike wasn't fairing much better as all the remnant in his body was making him more susceptible to the high temperatures, warnings about various systems overheating flashing across his vision before he nearly collapsed, Monty's support the only thing keeping him upright and moving.
"Oh Faz… the elevator's fried…" Roxy gasped in horror as they arrived at it, uselessly pushing the button. "I'm not seeing another way out… And I think Monty and Moon are the only ones that'll be able to climb it…"
"Then you two get Gregory out of here!" Freddy said, handing the boy to Monty and having Mike lean on him instead. "He's our biggest priority."
"What! No!" Gregory immediately protested, squirming in Monty's grip. "I'm not just going to leave you guys behind! I don't… I don't want you to die!"
"Freddy's right kid…" Mike said with a sad smile, reaching over from where he was leaning against Freddy to wipe away the tears forming in the boy's eyes. "Getting you out has always been our biggest priority… We're not going to give up… but we're not going to risk you dying with us…"
"But I don't want to leave you!" Gregory shouted, tears flowing freely now. "You're the first people that have genuinely cared about me… that saw me as more than just a burden or some troubled kid… I don't… I can't lose that…"
"I'm sorry Gregory…" was all Mike could say before he nodded at Monty. Monty nodded back, ignoring Gregory's pleas and shouts as he prepared to leap up the elevator shaft.
"Wait!" Roxy shouted, her tone full of growing hope as she stared up. "We have help coming! Looks like no one's sacrificing themselves today!"
The others paused and looked up, hearing the creak of metal above them. A moment later a giant hand reached out of the smoke towards the group.
"Is that DJ Music Man?" Mike asked in disbelief.
"It is!" Dipper laughed. "I forgot I had made him fireproof after I had cleared his systems. "Guess he woke up and realized we needed help!"
The group scrambled onto his palm and squeezed close together so they could all fit, Music Man pulling the group up. As they were pulled up and out, they would see the face of the DJ with Chica and Vanessa sitting on his back.
"We ran into Music Man on the way out!" Chica cheerfully informed as the group joined her on Music Man's back and the DJ began making his way out of the burning plex. "I told him what was going on and when he heard explosions, he knew you would need help getting out."
"We appreciate it," Mike laughed, holding Gregory close as the burning debris started raining down around them. "We would have been toasted otherwise!"
"I can't believe you just said that," Gregory half laughed, half sobbed in response.
"Shouldn't the celebration wait until after we're actually out?" Vanessa asked in disbelief. "Because in case you haven't noticed, we're still in a burning building!"
"Not for long!" Mike grinned, pointing at the approaching sunlit entrance.
The animatronics shielded the humans from falling glass as Music Man smashed his way through one of the large windows.
"We did it!" Gregory cheered as they moved away and watched the building burn. "We escaped!"
"Well I'm fired," Vanessa said, clearly having trouble processing everything. "And probably going to jail for a long time because I no one's going to believe 'I was possessed' as a good defense…"
"Don't worry we'll help you out," Mike promised. "We're not going to let my father's madness ruin another life. We'll help you get back on your feet."
"Thanks," Vanessa mumbled, a blush dusting her cheeks.
"What's going to happen to the rest of us?" Chica wondered fearfully. "Do you think they're going to scrap us?"
"They'd never scrap someone as perfect as I am," Roxy scoffed, hiding how she was worried too.
"We'll take you with us remember?" Mike replied easily with a smile. "And trust me… You're all going to love Gravity Falls."