Hey all, firstly I am sorry for the long delay, I needed more time to make some final changes to this chapter as well as to fix any grammar mistakes, but at last here it is.
This is largely an action packed chapter for those of you who love that sort of genre, I hope that the length of this chapter will make it up to you.
Some interesting interactions, but I'll leave that to your respective imaginations.
There is another FNAF song in this chapter and it is Bringing Us Home by TryHardNinja, I think it suits the setting as does the chapter's title.
Enjoy...(sorry for the wait).
Chapter 20.
To Fight Or To Flee?
"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight."
Sun Tzu's Art of War.
"Well I would say we've got the easiest job Mike, two floors, fifty to one hundred rooms searched and not a single endoskeleton in sight," said Jeremy swinging his gun over his shoulder.
He smirked as he strode forward like a victorious conquer on a victory march. "I'm still nervous, plus it's bad luck to say things like that in such circumstances," Mike replied, feeling edgy.
Jeremy merely sighed and stretched his arms out. "Come on Mike, there's clearly no one here."
"We haven't see anyone or anything and we were thorough in our search."
Mike just shrugged his shoulders as he pulled out his phone. "Anyway, we must really make contact with the others, hang on, I need to use the phone, can you guard the corridor for a bit."
"Sure, gives me something to do," Jeremy replied taking up his guard position as he brought the gun sights up to his eyes. "If anything comes down that corridor I'll shoot it."
Mike proceeded to press the contact button for Balloon Boy and the Puppet.
However, it kept going to voice mail every time he tired. "Dammit, come on guys pick up," he groaned, even though the signal in here wasn't great, he expected them to have their phone nearby, ready to hand.
"Hello…guys, it's Mike and Jeremy, what's going on over there?" Still no answer, just white static once the automated voicemail had stopped talking.
"I'm going to try and call the Toys, to see if they're doing any better."
"You do that," Jeremy added, keeping all of his focus on the ground ahead of him. Then came the sounds of running footsteps at the far end of the corridor.
In preparation, Jeremy made sure that his eyes were aligned with the viewfinder. "Hang on, we have company," he said, expecting a fight.
The footsteps drew nearer as Jeremy steadily placed his finger on the trigger.
"Come on, come a little closer and feel my wrath," he whispered harshly, his eyes locked forward.
Suddenly Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy all burst out from around the corner, looking like something was hounding them at their heels. Luckily Jeremy could muster the willpower to prevent himself from pulling the trigger.
"Guys, what you doing here and where's Springtrap?" he asked, lowering his gun, surprised to see them. However, all of them were in no position to talk given that they stopped to catch their breath.
"Springtrap.…is keeping…Nightmare Fredbear busy, while…we search…for you…and the…Toys," Freddy answered, leaning heavily on Foxy for support.
"Nightmare what?" Jeremy asked, looking clearly confused.
"Nightmare Fredbear, we're too late, Goldie's…"
Freddy lowered his head and sighed deeply as if in regret.
"I don't want to admit it, but Goldie's…properly dead."
"BUT I DON'T BELIEVE IT FOR A SECOND!" he shouted, anger blazing in his eyes. "Easy there Freddy easy," Jeremy insisted, putting his hands on his shoulder to calm him down. "Look start from the beginning, who is this 'Nightmare Fredbear guy'?"
Although now saying it out loud gave him a pretty good guess as to who it was. "Guys I'm calling the Toys now," Mike said, tapping on their contact number.
"Things aren't going to plan."
Then came a loud electric, robotic shriek from somewhere behind them, the endoskeletons
"We better hurry up," Chica stated, looking back.
Bonnie took the decision to explain.
"Long story cut short, we got up to the sixth floor, found the main office, only to discover Vincent inside, but Nightmare Fredbear was with him and he attacked us with a horde of endoskeletons."
"Ok I'm with you so far," Jeremy replied trying to follow Bonnie's story. Again, came several more electric shrieks only this time they were a lot closer, Bonnie continued regardless. "We ran, the four of us nearly died at Nightmare Fredbear's hands, believe me he's strong, plus he has instant healing abilities."
"And now you've lost me," Jeremy stated to which Bonnie facepalmed herself.
"Anyway. . ." she muttered with clear frustration in her voice.
"Springtrap intervened, saved us and he's now got Nightmare Fredbear on his tail."
Then Foxy jumped in, pointing down the corridor.
"And the endoskeletons are chasing us as you can see."
Jeremy just rolled his eyes in response. "Why must you guys always bring the drama?" he groaned.
"Hey, we didn't ask for this!" Foxy argued.
Then Mike interrupted.
"Guys, the Toys are still on the second floor, in some sort of assembly area, they haven't found anything yet." He then resumed to press several more buttons on the phone's interface.
"I'll now try to speak to Balloon Boy for the fifth time, the signal in there isn't all that great, so could you quiten it down please."
"Try telling that to the endoskeletons," Foxy scoffed sarcastically, folding his arms.
Mike ignored him as he pressed the phone against his ear. "Yeah BB, how are you and the Puppet?" he asked, sounding satisfied that he had finally reached them.
The others could just make out the voice of Balloon Boy, but what he appeared to be saying made Mike's face go pale with worry as his eyes widen in disbelief.
"YOU'RE WHAT!" he shouted, the loudness of his voice made the others jump back in surprise.
"WELL HOW THE HELL DID YOU END UP DOWN THERE?"
Again, more talking from BB followed by more static.
"JESUS CHRIST, IS THERE ANOTHER WAY OUT?"
Balloon Boy sounded like a panicking child on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Mike sighed. "Alright, you and the Puppet stay put, we're coming to get you."
He then ended the call.
"Bad news, Balloon Boy and the Puppet are in the factory's basement, trapped by endoskeletons and they can't get out."
"You're kidding, how did that happen?" Jeremy asked, sounding dumbfounded and looking confused. "Well apparently, the pipes they were in collapsed and they were ambushed by endoskeletons," Mike replied, shoving the phone into his trouser pocket.
"What are the odds?"
"We were hoping to help the Toys," Chica stated, ignoring the electric screams of the approaching endoskeletons.
"Well, the four of us could go and rescue BB and the Puppet instead, while you two search for Springtrap, I don't like the idea of him facing Nightmare Fredbear alone," Freddy suggested.
"That guy is effectively a tank when it comes to raw strength."
"What about Goldie Freddy?" Chica asked, casting him a worried look.
"We came all this way for him?"
Freddy sighed, he was still in the clutches of disbelief when he saw what Vincent had done to his father figure. "He's not dead, I know he's not dead, he won't give in that easily, we...we need to capture Nightmare Fredbear and find a way to reverse what Vincent did."
Then the endoskeletons arrived at the far end of the corridor, running across the floor and crawling over the walls and on the ceiling. Soon they covered all surfaces from head to toe like a horde of ants on the warpath.
"Well, I see no alternative, you guys go, we'll hold them there," Mike ordered, pulling up his gun to aim.
"Good luck," Foxy cheered, grabbing Chica by the arm and sharply pulling her along with the others. "Finally, something to do," Jeremy shouted, aiming his gun to fire.
Freddy, along with Bonnie, Chica and Foxy ran further down the corridor and away from the fight already starting to take place. Quickly the combined sounds of shots being fired and electric wails filled the air.
"Come on the staircase is properly this way if I remember the map correctly," Freddy shouted leading the way forward.
Meanwhile in the main office, two floors up, Vincent was readying the intercom for his announcement.
"Checking the sound system, seems to be fairly operational."
He pressed a few more buttons, testing the connection between the sound console and the numerous loud speakers which were placed throughout the entire eight storey building. "Everything appears to be in working order and now to add the song."
He placed the disk into one of several disk drives with the main computer automatically popping up the file explorer, taking Vincent to the drive section. He clicked on the disk icon using the mouse, which brought a window up and selected the song he wanted.
Vincent pressed pause before it could actually play, double checking everything else to avoid any faults. Why was he doing this…well…sometimes a little music can go a long way in making things a lot more interesting.
He then connected the microphone to the intercom and turned the sound up to ensure that he could be heard clearly through the speakers. He tapped the microphone three times, testing the sound, his actions generating a loud electric sound which cleared upon stabilising.
Vincent with the microphone in hand turned to face the cameras, from here he could see everything.
He smiled and then spoke in a smug yet cheerful tone.
"Hello there Fazbears, Nightmares, Former Night Security Guards and Springtrap, how are we all feeling today!"
"What the fuck!" Foxy shouted looking around the sound's source.
"Is that Vincent?" Bonnie asked also searching for the origins of the noise.
"Yes," Freddy answered coldly, narrowing his eyes.
"It is…."
"By the looks of things, we have some kind of dispute going on in the basement, a chase going on at floor six, oh yes you run Springtrap," Vincent chuckled, watching Springtrap do his best to outdistance Nightmare Fredbear who was always three to two steps behind him.
He was like a rogue bull on the rampage.
"What the hell is going on?" Toy Freddy asked, as Vincent's voice echoed out of nearby loudspeakers.
"It seems that Vincent wants to have a go at broadcasting," Mangle replied trying to block the sound out by covering her ears.
"I see Mike and Jeremy fighting on floor four, I'm afraid ammo can only save you for so long guys."
"Is it me or does he love the sound of his own voice?" Jeremy asked, firing repeatly at the approaching endoskeletons.
"Out of all his characteristics your chose that to question?" said Mike returning the question, while hastly reloading his gun.
"And of course, we have the Toys on floor two going…into some sort of wreckroom, really imaginative guys, an't gotta find anything in there."
"Unless you look hard enough," he mentally smirked.
"And finally, we have the Orignals on floor four going…where to I have no idea," he muttered plainly, curiously watching as the four Fazbears made their across the floor.
"Now I know that things between us are…somewhat…tense."
"UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE FUCKING MILLENNIUM!" Toy Chica shouted shaking her fist in anger.
"ARE YOU HIGH!" Toy Bonnie shouted, glaring at any nearby loudspeaker.
"But…I think I can make things much more interesting for us, so here's a little music for the enjoyment of…"
"A selective few," he whispered, sinisterly.
Then he pressed the play button for the song.
The loudspeakers emitted a high pitch wail before adjusting to the volume.
(Begin the song here if you wish.)
"There is a legend, a legend born long ago."
"Come on, we need to reach the basement," Freddy urged racing off ahead of the others.
"About a wicked, a wicked man no one knows."
"COME ON, IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT!" Mike yelled shooting down several endoskeletons in one go.
"He went and unraveled, six innocent little souls..."
"HOLD THE DOOR!" Puppet screamed trying to prevent the endoskeletons from entering.
"I'M TRYING!" Balloon Boy shouted shoving his entire body against the door.
"The souls found bodies, the bodies started to move."
Springtrap looked behind him.
"Some say they still walk, walk these halls staying from view."
Nightmare Fredbear was still following him.
"I got one secret, that I am here to tell you."
The Toys mentally prepeared themselves for the worst.
"THAT PLACE IS THIS VERY PLACE, AND ALL THE STORIES ARE TRUE!"
"Everyone keep together," Toy Freddy ordered.
"This world is a scary place, were not monsters just changed, bigger hands for grabbing a hold."
"Guys hold up," Foxy yelled, trying to match their pace.
"We were lost to foul play, but we got an upgrade, lots more teeth for eating you whole!"
"They're trying to outflank us!" Jeremy yelled.
"Here comes another chapter!"
Then an idea popped into Toy Freddy's head.
"Your heart is beating faster!"
There's one place which they hadn't searched.
"'Cause you're the one we're after!"
He turned the phone's brightness up to maxunim.
"Five nights at Freddy's 4!"
And then shone it up at the ceiling.
"Thank you for bringing us home!"
The instant he did that all four Nightmares dropped down, landing right on top of the Toys… literally.
The Toys in the pitch blackness struggled to shoot their nightmarish counterparts.
They soon found themselves dicing with death as the Nightmares lashed out of the darkness with their glowing eyes, sharp claws and pointed teeth.
"EVERYONE STAY TOGETHER!" Toy Freddy yelled, turning just in time to face Nightmare Freddy's attack.
All the while the Originals were running as fast as their legs could carry them down the stairs towards the 3rd floor.
"COME ON, BB AND THE PUPPET ARE COUNTING ON US!" Freddy shouted, rocketing down the steps.
"We were just like you, like you just playing a game, that's when the wicked, wicked man led us astray, without a warning, our lives had been rearranged."
Springtrap barely dogged Nightmare Fredbear's claws as he sharply turned a corner.
"As for our story, the story's not over yet, there's still one secret, one secret left to be said."
Nightmare Fredbear smiled, watching him run.
"Tonight, when you are, safely tucked into your bed, CLOSE ALL THE DOORS THAT YOU WANT, WE'RE ALREADY IN YOUR HEAD!"
"This world is a scary place, we're not monsters just changed, bigger hands for grabbing a hold."
The basement door continues to buckle.
"We were lost to foul play, but we got an upgrade, lots more teeth for eating you whole!"
The Toys picked themselves up.
"Here comes another chapter!"
"DO THEY EVER END!" Jeremy shouted over the gunshots.
"Your heart is beating faster!"
"Getting tired Springtrap?" Nightmare Fredbear asked, pursuing his prey.
"'Cause you're the one we're after!"
"Is everyone alright?" Toy Freddy asked.
"Five nights at Freddy's 4!"
Something moves behind them
"Thank you bringing us home!"
The Nightmares leapt out of the darkness yet again, delivering all manner of pain to the Toys.
They bite, claw and slash like feral animals, while the Toys struggle to drive them back.
"Thank you for bringing us home!"
Vincent smiled, watching the chaos unfold from the main office.
The Originals were tiring themselves out, while Springtrap was struggling to out race his pursuer, Mike and Jeremy could barely keep the endoskeletons at bay and BB and the Puppet were awaiting the end.
"Here comes another chapter!"
Nightmare Bonnie bites Toy Bonnie, making her scream.
"Your heart is beating faster!"
Nightmare Chica slashes Toy Chica in the chest.
"'Cause you're the one we're after!"
Nightmare Foxy sinks his hook into Mangle's shoulder.
"Five nights at Freddy's 4!"
Nightmare Freddy strangles Toy Freddy by the throat.
"Thank you for bringing us home!"
Springtrap glanced back to see Nightmare Fredbear, still bearing down on him.
He turned another corner and spotted a door at the corrider's far end.
"Thank you for bringing us home!"
Upon reaching it, he tugs on the handle…only to find it's locked.
"What the, come on give me a break!" he exclaims pulling on the handle.
"Thank you for bringing us home!"
Then a large shadow falls over him.
Springtrap slowly turns round…straight into the hellfire eyes of Nightmare Fredbear.
"Thank you for bringing us home!"
Balloon Boy slid down the wall to the floor and sighed in acceptance of his impending fate.
"Well, I had an interesting life, sold balloons, entertained countless children…met you and the others...that's pretty much it," he muttered, recounting his life's history.
"Well, at least you did something with your life," Puppet added, sitting down beside him as she slumped back against the wall.
The basement door was still groaning from the sounds of the endoskeletons' attempts to break it down.
The boxes and cupboards were holding, but for how long was anyone's guess.
"At least I can die knowing that I wasn't alone at the end," Balloon Boy moaned.
Puppet smiled, turning to face him.
"Who says this is the end?" she asked.
Balloon Boy pointed at the door which was being subjected to all kinds of damage.
"They do."
"But why do they get to decide if we are at the end?" Puppet asked, feeling somewhat philosophical.
"They hold the upper hand, just like Vincent always holds the upper hand."
The Puppet closed her eyes and breathed out deeply.
"He doesn't always decide and he doesn't even always hold the upper hand."
"True, he killed eleven children and singly handily sent Fazbear Entertainment down the financial plughole, but even he can make mistakes."
The door shook as its hinges rattled.
"Pride before a fall."
Puppet tensed momentarily when Balloon Boy rested his head on her shoulder, his light brown hair interlocking with her jet black.
"So, the four of us are going to die right, counting the two children's spirits that reside inside us both?" Balloon Boy asked.
"Yeah, unless Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy get their arses down here," Puppet groaned, to which Balloon Boy laughed.
"You laugh like a girl," she stated, moody rolling her eyes.
"So what, besides you are a girl," Balloon Boy replied playfully.
Puppet gave him a small smile.
"With a dead boy's soul inside."
"That properly explains a lot," Balloon Boy answered, shifting about to make himself more comfortable.
Puppet however just gave him a shocked expression, wiping the smile off her smile.
"And what do you mean by that?" she asked sternly.
"Your tomboy attitude," he replied, turning to look forward.
There was a large thud against the basement door, making the metal boxes rock temporary from their holdings.
They wouldn't have long...ten minutes at best.
"Well you've properly got a girl's spirit inside of you," Puppet muttered, resting her head against the wall.
"That may explain a few things," Balloon Boy muttered, scratching his head.
That sentence caused the Puppet to blink twice.
"A 'few', more like everything about you."
She sighed as the thuds grew louder.
"Besides I know who I am."
Then Balloon Boy shot her a look of…mischievous intent.
"Do you…really?"
Puppet rolled her eyes yet again.
"Of course, I do, I'm a moody; grumpy, traumatised, vengeful bitch of a person."
"Well I don't think so," Balloon Boy stated, there was something smug in his tone.
"What do you mean?" Puppet asked, just where was he going with this conversation.
Balloon Boy leaned in, breaking into her personal space as he did, Puppet could feel a tight knot form in her stomach.
"You are a tomboy in some ways, especially with the attitude at times, however..."
He smiled sweetly.
"There are moments when I've seen you adopt a more…girlish manner."
"BB, you're creeping me out, the endoskeletons are right outside, now's not the time for sweet talk," Puppet whispered, shifting away.
Balloon Boy merely shook his head.
"That doesn't matter, I've seen you flutter your eyelashes, smile sweetly, seen your eyes widen when you encounter certain boys."
"Oh, okay BB, now you're going too far," Puppet stated, narrowing her eyes, now really wasn't the time for mischief.
However, her gaze crumbled the moment Balloon Boy took hold of her hands, interlocking her fingers with his.
"And I know that behind those fierce ghost like eyes is a girl simply wanting company."
Balloon Boy smiled even more.
"I saw that look when I sang twinkle twinkle little star to you on the airship."
Puppet could feel her cheeks blushing, heat was flowing into them.
"And I can see it now," Balloon Boy whispered, sounding ever more confident.
Good God he was good, how the hell was he able to get under her skin, when so many else had failed?
There was another loud clang at the door which shook from the endoskeletons' momentum.
"I want to be with you…Mari…I maybe a kid, but I know you have a softer side."
Puppet looked down at his hands they were small, smooth and white, unlike her hands which looked like black gloves, yet felt like human skin.
Balloon Boy smiled at her widening expression.
Ignoring the screams of the endoskeletons outside, Balloon Boy reached up, pulled the Puppet closer and kissed her softly on the lips before withdrawing.
"The real you…is what I fell for, watching you at Prize Corner, looking abandoned, sad and distant from everyone else."
The Puppet reached up and touched her lips, no one had gotten this close and to think it would be the person she'd least suspect to look past her cold brittle nature.
She slowly turned to look at BB, feeling tears build up in her eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered, although it sounded more like a sob.
Balloon Boy looked confused yet also concerned.
"What for?" He asked.
"For allowing me to open up to world…again."
"What do you mean?" BB asked again, was he deliberately being navie?
"I lost faith in the world since the murders, the injustice of it all, watching that bastard walk in with a knife and leave with it covered in blood," Puppet sobbed, now wrapping her arms around herself for comfort.
The door shook again, this time causing several cupboards to tumble backwards, thus weakening the door.
All the while electric screams could be heard nearby, muffled by the thickness of the door, but still clearly present.
"No one stopped him, no one questioned him, they didn't do anything," Puppet snarled
"They were a shifty company Fazbear Entertainment that's for sure," BB added, putting his hand on the Puppet's shoulder for support.
"My experience left me angry and bitter, just like the spirit trapped inside of me, but most of all I could never understand why he did it, for what purpose, sick pleasure or something else?"
She sighed deeply as she raised her head, undeniably sad and angry at the same time.
"And I'm been asking that question since the beginning."
"But you don't have to seek it alone, you never really did," Balloon Boy stated warmly.
"We're still here…I'm still here."
Puppet turned round and pulled him into a hug, engulfing him into her chest.
"I know," she whispered, her voice croaking with emotion.
"And thanks to you it's clearer, at times in the past I've blamed myself for not being able to save them…I've hated myself."
"Yet you were able to give them a second chance within us," Balloon Boy replied, resting his head against her shoulders.
"It was the best I could do."
"You cared about them and it hasn't gone unnoticed."
More electric screams were heard as a loud metallic groan cried out, signalling that the basement door was losing strength.
"You shouldn't blame yourself for the past," Balloon Boy whispered into her ear.
"It is what it is and Vincent will get what's coming for him...all tyrants get their just desert."
"You know that's just a fairy tale lesson taught to children, the idea of good always triumphing over evil," Puppet muttered sully.
"Then why are we here, if not to do just that?" Balloon Boy asked with a smile as he held her close.
Within the confines of the room, it was just them, no Nightmares, no endoskeletons and no Vincent…just the two of them and their shared memories which had lasted over nearly a lifetime.
One of the cupboards toppled backwards, making it slam onto the floor with a loud crash, causing it to break apart with hundreds of wooden splinters flying in all directions.
The Puppet, broke out of the hug and reached out, grabbing hold of one of the many wood splinters that had become scattered on the floor.
"I've always wonder why evil succeeds when it shouldn't, all we wanted was to live peacefully and entertain children…was that too much to ask?"
In her anger, she tossed it upwards…only for there to be a loud metallic clang from somewhere up above.
"What was that?" BB asked immediately looking upwards.
He pulled the phone out of his pocket, turned its brightness setting up to its highest and shone it upwards at the ceiling.
"Is that…a vent?" he asked, trying to get a better view of the object.
"Yeah, I think it is, hang on, can you give me a boost up?" Puppet asked, now standing up straight and stretching her legs.
BB nodded and allowed the Puppet to climb onto his shoulders.
She reached up, grabbing onto the vent's sides and pulled herself inside.
"Yeah this is a pipe and I think it goes all the way up to the top floor, maybe even the roof."
"So, we can escape?" BB asked, clearly excited at such a prospect.
"I think so," Puppet replied slowly lowering herself back down onto BB's shoulders.
"What about the endoskeletons though?" BB asked, as the Puppet jumped back down onto the floor.
"The door will keep them busy for a while," Puppet answered, examing one of several boxes.
Her curiosity took over, so she opened it.
"What the…" she muttered, unable to take in what she was seeing.
"What in the name of Scott…"
"What?" BB asked, coming over to look.
Inside the box were several stacks of dynamite.
Puppet looked round and opened another box only to find even more dynamite.
"Why would anyone keep this stuff down here and in large amounts, if anyone were to set this all off it would…"
"Level the building's foundations and bring it swiftly crashing down," BB added, finishing her sentence for her.
"That'll kill everyone won't it?" he asked, turning to face her.
"Yes…unless we can control the direction of the blast…call Freddy and tell him that we've found an escape route and to get away from the basement as fast as possible, " Puppet ordered, picking up a box.
"Ok and what will you do?" BB asked, already interacting with the phone's contact menu.
"Pile this stuff up against the door of course," Puppet replied, smiling as she proceeded to pile every box she could find before the door which would at best guess last for about five more minutes.
BB meanwhile called Freddy.
"Hello?" a voice called amidst the static.
"Hey Freddy, listen we've found a way out, don't come down to the basement, go and help the Toys."
There was a brief pause
"What…BB are you sure that you've found a way out?" Freddy asked.
"Yes positive, we'll be fine, don't worry about the endoskeletons, we'll deal with them, just get away as fast as possible," BB replied.
"Why?" Freddy asked, his heavy breathing indicated that he was running.
"Something along the lines of…boom," BB muttered, struggling to piece his words together.
"Boom, you mean explosive, right?"
"Yes."
"BB, please tell me that you're not thinking about blowing up the building...are you?"
Balloon Boy could hear several shouts of disbelief obviously coming from Bonnie, Chica and Foxy.
"Maybe…look we'll try to contain the blast-"
"BB you can't contain a blast, it'll go off in every direction at once, wait where's the Puppet?" Freddy asked, his tone was one of immense disbelief.
His comment made Balloon Boy replied in a sassy tone.
"You sure do like to ask questions, don't you Freddy."
Which propped an angered tone from the Fazbear.
"Hey, we're trying to save your arse, where's Puppet, where is she?"
"Oh she's," Balloon Boy turned round to see the Puppet humming cheerfully to herself as she pilled more and more boxes of dynamite up against the basement door.
"She's creepily ok with the whole idea."
Freddy sighed before speaking again.
"BB, we can come and get you, we're only three floors up and are heading down as fast as we can."
Balloon Boy shook his head.
"No need Freddy, you and the others go and help the Toys, we'll be fine…trust me…just this once."
"Pleaseeee," he cooed in his most childlike voice.
There was a long dramatic pause, before Freddy spoke.
"Ok…I trust you…just get out alive ok."
"Ok…see you soon."
Balloon Boy then cancelled the call.
"Ok, ready to go?" he asked firmly.
"Almost…just need to find a timer or a box of matches," Puppet answered, suverying her handy work.
"Hm...I'm actually proud of that."
She opened the last box she'd used and looked inside, searching about with her hands.
"Ah, how convenient, I've found the timer, wait there's something else."
She pulled out two objects, the first being a timer and the second being an instructions booklet.
"Ok…" she muttered examining the two objects.
"Now what?"
The instructions booklet was clearly for the timer.
There was a loud groaning noise as the door bent forward, slowly being pushed apart and through the gap being created appeared several pairs of white glowing eyes…endoskeletons, all edger to get inside.
They reached forward and try to grab hold of Puppet, who jumped back in shock at their sudden success
"QUICK, YOU HOLD THE DOOR, I'LL FIGURE THIS OUT SOMEHOW!" she shouted, backing further away as the door continued to groan in metallic agony.
BB ran to the door, intending to use his momentum as a way of keeping it close.
It worked…for the next ten seconds as the endoskeletons started pushing back, regaining ground and forcing the door to open again.
"Ok, your using the 1,000 dynamite detonator, warning this stuff is made to kill, yeah no kidding," Puppet muttered, scanning the instruction manual as she flipped through its pages.
"To set the timer, press the green button on the left-hand side."
"PUPPET, COULD YOU PLEASE HURRY UP!" BB shouted, struggling to keep the door closed as his feet were losing their grip.
"Hang on, I'm nearly there!" she shouted back.
"THAT'S…GREAT!" BB screamed, trying his hardest to prevent the endoskeletons from breaking through.
"Twist the dial to set the time you wish, detonator time ranges from one to ten minutes, mmm, I'll set it for five to be safe."
Puppet turned the dial to the selected time, attached the timer to one of the stacks of dynamite and pressed the green button to start the countdown.
"Time to go," she said cheerfully, shoving one of the last remaining cupboards in the room towards the door.
Using all her strength she tipped it, making it fall forward and crash into the door, pushing it shut and forcing the endoskeletons back to square one.
She then grabbed hold of Balloon Boy and quickly pulled him away.
"I'll go first, then I'll pull you up," she stated, climbing onto his shoulders.
She reached up, took hold of the vent's sides and pulled herself inside, before turning round and grabbing onto BB's arms and pulling him up to join her.
"Come on, we need to get away from here right now."
So, they climbed upwards as fast as they could, going so fast that they're unable to tell how far they've climbed.
They only stopped when they heard an almighty earth shattering boom from down below.
Both Puppet and Balloon Boy turned back to see a bright orangey reddish light, it soon became so bright that it filled their vision completely.
"We may have just killed everyone," Balloon Boy muttered with concern, stating the obvious, looking away to protect his eyesight.
"If we all die, but take Vincent and his Nightmare friends with us, then I'll consider it to be a pyrrhic victory," Puppet replied plainly.
One after the other, they turned round and continued to climb upwards towards the roof.
4th floor, ten minutes before the explosion…
Springtrap had been in better situations that was for certain.
However, this was by the far worst situation he could ever be in, for standing before him was a nightmarish version of his former best friend and best co-worker…Nightmare Fredbear.
The last thing to top it all off was that the door behind Springtrap was locked…how unfortunate.
"Well, well, well, what an ironic twrist of fate," Nightmare Fredbear chuckled darkly, eyeing Springtrap as he pushed himself back against the locked door.
"And how exactly this is 'fate'?" Springtrap asked sarcastically, whilst his eyes searched for an escape route.
"Because if Goldie's memories serve me correctly, he was in your position right before his capture with his back against a wall," Nightmare Fredbear answered, ready to deny Springtrap any opportunities to escape.
"It was only two to three hours ago, so it's fairly recent."
"Why are telling me this exactly?" Springtrap asked again, still looking for any opening to be exploited.
"This isn't good, he's gonna kill me and then he's going to murder everyone else," he mentally panicked.
"I'm telling you this, because you'll know his pain, knowing that there's no one around to save you."
"Then go on, kill me, bite my head off." Springtrap dared gritting his teeth in strong defiance.
Yet Nightmare Fredbear merely shook his head in dismissal.
"No…not yet, death is something which must be prolonged…not shorted."
He appeared paused, thinking his next words over.
"Why are you helping Vincent?" Springtrap asked, deciding to get to the heart of the matter.
Nightmare Fredbear's eyes widen at the question.
"There must be some reason why you've teamed up with him…so what's in it for you lot?"
"There is…but I'm not gonna tell you," Nightmare Fredbear answered sternly.
He grabbed Springtrap's arms and pinned him up against the door, trapping him even further.
"You're not ready to die and even if I do tell you, I can't have you running off to tell the others and I'm not an idiot."
The Nightmare opened his mouth, revealing his full set of razor sharp teeth, clearly aiming to crush Springtrap's head into multiple pieces.
"Get ready for hell!"
Springtrap just laughed, catching Nightmare Fredbear completely off guard.
It was…a strange reaction for anyone to give in the face of their impending death.
"What's so funny?" he asked, narrowing his scarlet red eyes, how dare his victim laugh at him when certain death was fast approaching.
He was a Nightmare, terror incarnate, how dare he laughed at like a jester.
Springtrap stopped laughing and smiled.
"I've just come back from the hell that is my own mind, I've lived through it for the last three decades, your threat is nothing to me...compared to what I've seen."
Then he smacked Nightmare Fredbear right between the eyes with a solid headbutt, this caused Nightmare Fredbear to stumble backwards, allowing Springtrap the opportunity to deliver a swift kick to the Nightmare's stomach.
After knocking him backwards, Springtrap ignored the pain which was screaming from his head and broke free, skirting around his confused opponent, before taking off.
However, Nightmare Fredbear was not so easily subdued and with his lighting reflexes, he reached out.
He grabbed hold of Springtrap's leg and pulled back sharply.
The result was Springtrap being brought down, crashing to the floor, bringing a wave of pain to his kneecaps.
He turned round, just in time for Nightmare Fredbear swipe him with his claws, which he only just blocked with his arm, giving it several deep scratches which made him hissed out immediate displeasure.
Springtrap kicked his opponent in the shoulder causing him to grunt briefly in pain.
He then proceeded to punch Nightmare Fredbear, but he caught his fist in his claws.
"Bad move, but still, I'm impressed, you fight well most of the time, it's as if you got nothing left to lose," Nightmare Fredbear muttered, smiling as his dark golden hair partly hung over his scarlet red eyes.
He started to crush Springtrap's hand, slowly increasing the pressure, bit by bit, as his long bony fingers encased his.
"Just what are you?" Springtrap asked, trying to break free, which was an uphill struggle as he could feel his bones begin to buckle.
"How can you exist?"
Nightmare Fredbear leaned in close, still maintaining his steel like grip.
"I belong to someone who should have died a long time ago, an event that's best left forgotten."
Even in a situation like this, Springtrap just rolled his eyes.
"Oh, fuck you and your riddles."
With his free hand, he smacked Nightmare Fredbear in the elbow joint, hitting a nerve which caused Nightmare Fredbear to unconsciously let go as a numbing sensation quickly took hold.
Now free, Springtrap broke off and ran, Nightmare Fredbear swiftly followed after recovering from the initial shock.
"Somehow, I've got to stay alive and bring Goldie back," Springtrap muttered to himself as he ran blindly through numerous hallways.
That was a lot easier said then done.
His heart was pounding, his lungs were being pushed to their limits and worse still Springtrap didn't know where he was going.
"YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE SPRINGTRAP, YOU'LL GET TIRED…I DON'T!" Nightmare Fredbear roared, from not too far behind.
"I just need to maintain my momentum," Springtrap whispered, as he inhaled rapidly to keep up his speed.
Then and without warning, Nightmare Fredbear reappeared right in front of him out of thin air with his claws open wide.
"Shit!"
He only just avoided colliding into him by putting the brakes on his feet.
Yet Nightmare Fredbear just smiled as he took a swipe at him, his claws cutting the air like a hot knife through butter.
Unfortunately, he couldn't doge it in time with the claw craving into his shoulder as he attempted to side step.
"Got you," the Nightmare whispered smugly, watching Springtrap's pain stricken reaction, as he moved in time with his enemy's movements.
Up close, Springtrap could see that there was little in terms of difference between Nightmare Fredbear and Goldie.
They looked almost alike, removing the eye colour of course.
Yet Nightmare Fredbear was perhaps a little bigger and taller than Goldie was.
However, he was undeniably the more powerful of the two, when it came to strength.
Properly not intellectually though Springtrap was willing to bet.
So, he was decided to test that theory.
He made it looked as if he was going to try and make a break for it, heading off further down the corridor, like he was trying to do previously.
However, instead he back peddled, diving backwards just as Nightmare Fredbear made his move to drive his claws into his chest, expecting him to rush forward.
"Just as I thought," Springtrap mentally smirked as he continued to carry out his flanking attempt.
"More brawn than brain, is his mindset."
He then ran forward down the other side of the Nightmare, who would have his back to him by now and wouldn't get the chance to react.
Springtrap's eyes glanced left to see if he was still there.
He wasn't…only empty space.
"Wait…how the-"
Suddenly he was shoved sharply in his side, making him lose his balance as he fell sideways into the wall, with his shoulder baring most of the impact.
He turned and saw…only empty space.
Then he kicked harshly in the back, forcing him to fall onto the floor with his chest serving the worst of it.
"But –"
Another nasty kick came in from the side, making him roll over onto his back, but again he couldn't see Nightmare Fredbear anywhere.
Then something grabbed hold of his bunny ears, he hissed in immense pain as he was pulled upwards off the floor.
He spun round to come face with Nightmare Fredbear, who for once wasn't giving him his smug sadist grin.
Instead, he was looking rather serious and authoritarian in his manner.
"How the hell did you-"
But Nightmare Fredbear proceeded to cut him off mid-sentence.
"Haven't you figured it out yet Spring…I can teleport, one of many powers which I possess for being a Nightmare," he sneered.
"Although, it would appear that my ability has been clipped," he mentally noted to himself.
Normally he could teleport to anywhere as long he held the image of his destination within his mind's eye, but here on Earth, it would only appear to work if it was within his direct line of sight.
Springtrap tossed and turned in his attempts to break free, but the Nightmare just held him there with his feet kicking about in the air.
"Were you always this stubborn?" Nightmare Fredbear asked curiously.
"You have Goldie's memories, so you should know idiot," Springtrap shot with a tone of clear anger.
The Nightmare smiled as he spoke.
"Trying to enrage me now, are we?"
"Unlike my brethren I am not so easily provoked into taking rash action."
"I'm more…laid back about things."
"Really, because to me your all alike, aggressive, hedonistic, mentally disfigured and evil to the core."
Nightmare Fredbear just chuckled to himself as he held Springtrap tightly in his grip.
"Oh and not to forgot that-"
And then he threw aside and into the wall.
"This isn't a personality contest Spring," the Nightmare cooed in dark satisfaction.
"You like…to…toy with…your enemies…before killing them," Springtrap croaked, forcing himself off the floor
"Well…you are right about that," Nightmare Fredbear muttered playfully as he approached the now dazed Springtrap.
"And I only get one try in killing you…"
He then kicked Springtrap full on in the stomach, crushing him up against the wall again.
"So, I want to get as much joy and time out of it as possible."
"Also…you're a…sadist nutjob," Springtrap whispered, gasping for air as it has been kicked out of his lungs.
Nightmare Fredbear just laughed heartily.
"Well, that's goes without saying."
He felt one of the Nightmare's monstrous claws grabbed his throat and begin to cut off his airways.
"How many times have I've been beaten up today now…going on five," he mentally noted as he could feel his life being squeezed out of him.
He couldn't keep this up, withstanding this level of agony, he needed to get away…and somehow defeat this demonic son of a bitch.
In his peripheral vision, he could spy out a lone corridor leading off to one side, it was empty.
"I must say and I will be entirely honest with you Spring, I do admire both your determination and fearless to face me when it obvious what the outcome will be."
Springtrap pushed against Nightmare Fredbear's grip, but he only pushed back even harder, slamming his back into the wall.
"You should have stayed asleep…my old 'friend'."
"MIKE, TO YOUR LEFT!"
Upon hearing Jeremy's warning, Mike spun round and fired point blank at the endoskeletons which were rapidly crawling across the wall in an attempt to out flank him.
His first shot destroyed the face of the one closest to him, the bullet tore through its head, impacting into its central logic unit and rendering it completely dead.
The second shot cut into the leg of the third endoskeleton, loosening its grip on the wall and slowing it down.
It was then finished off with a clear shot the head.
The third shot went straight into the chest of the second, hitting its power unit, resulting in a mini explosion which ripped through its mechanical insides.
Sparks and small flames burst out from its chest as it fell to the floor dead and lifeless as its companions before it.
"Cheers Jeremy," Mike called, switching his focus back to his front, his eyes meeting a swam of mechanical beings.
"Just how many of you bastards are there," he muttered scornfully under his breath as he loosens off more shots.
He didn't need to bother aiming so much, because they filled the entire corridor from back to back.
"How did Vincent make you lot?" He asked himself, meeting their grey, lifeless eyes which moved and blinked like that of a normal human.
But a human being has a soul, these things were just empty to the core, a hivemind, a mass of robotic zombies.
Just a mechanical body of metal and wires, which looked humanoid in appearance.
"Jeremy, watch out, grenade," he shouted, pulling the pin out and tossing into the horde, any blast would be devastating.
"Three, two…"
Then the unexpected happened, one of the endoskeleton threw itself down onto the grenade, encasing it inside its chest as it pushed itself down onto the floor.
And then it went off, with the resulting ripping it apart as mechanical body parts went flying off everywhere.
But no other endoskeleton had been destroyed in the blast.
Endoskeletons don't sacrifice themselves willingly…do they?
Could they think for themselves and make their own choices?
Humanity having advanced so far and yet the closest they got to an A.I, was a voice interaction system on your smart phone.
Yet somehow, Vincent had fully fledged robots in the dozens at his commend…that alone made no sense.
Jeremy unleashed a spray of rapid fire, taking five endos out in one go, all hitting them in the chest.
These things, didn't wear armour exactly, some did through, having a reinforced ribcage, stronger arms and legs.
Not to mention a tougher head for withstanding a lone bullet or two.
Not perfect, but clearly stronger than last time.
"JEREMY, UP TOP, ABOVE YOU!"
The man in question looked up to see four endoskeletons drop down.
Mike had to cover his own front as well as Jeremy's, whilst the latter fought off his endo attackers.
Jeremy abandoned any attempt to open fire and went straight to melee, swinging this rifle around and smacking one of the four endoskeletons right in the face.
The impact was strong enough to dislocate its jaw and snap it's neck sideways.
Yet the other three took their chance and before Jeremy knew it, he had an arm come in from behind and wrap itself around his throat.
The endoskeleton was choking him!
Before he could even mount a response, the third punched him hard in the stomach, it's metal fist ramming into his innards, making Jeremy hissed out in pain.
"Shit, you just don't give up do you?" he grunted, remembering that he still had hold of his rifle.
Using all his strength Jeremy swung rifle up and pulled the trigger.
It worked like a charm with shot rendering the endoskeleton headless with its lone head falling to the floor in shattered pieces.
However, Jeremy didn't get a second chance, as the fourth endoskeleton just grabbed the rifle, he fired, but the endoskeleton had pushed the rifle upwards, making the shot impact into the ceiling instead.
And then it ripped the rifle out of his hands, he tried to resist, but the first endoskeleton only further strengthened its grip on his throat, cutting deep into his airways.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mike could see his friend's situation and right now he was only thing holding the endoskeleton horde back, if he gave way now, they would all flood through.
They needed to retreat and fast.
Wait, was that a door?
Somewhere behind them, he could spy out the hazy outline of a doorway…it was open wide.
"That'll do."
Quickly he turned and fired, with all of the shots hitting the endoskeleton which was holding Jeremy by the throat.
It's arm which had been squeezing his airways, fell dead as it slumped down to the floor with its head and jaw still twitching amidst its death throes.
Being released, enabled Jeremy to punch the last endoskeleton square on in the face, it was enough to make stumble backwards into the wall.
Jeremy upon picking up his rifle, fired, soon putting an end to it.
Mike ran past, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him along.
"COME ON, WE NEED GO, THERE'S TOO MANY OF THESE FREAKS!"
And like a pack of hungry wolves the endoskeletons followed.
"Go where if I may ask?" Jeremy enquired, trying to keep up with Mike's speed.
The electric wails and howls greatly disturbed Mike's ability to think clearly.
"You go first, I've got an idea," he said, shoving the other man forward.
Jeremy sprinted through the open doorway, by the looks of it was a failsafe door, heavy, bulky and very thick, designed to withstand any serious attempts of breakage.
Mike followed, but he stopped before the doorway itself.
Instead he threw his rifle through and pulled the door in close.
He turned around and faced the oncoming tide of living metal.
They were everything at once, surging forward like a swam, running and crawling over anything in their combined haste to get at him.
Mike merely took all of the grenades out of his pocket, pulled the pin out of one of them and then proceeded to roll them all forward.
Then he leapt back and closed the door shut, locking it tight and secure until it was sealed.
There was a loud earth shattering boom and the whole corridor shook from the resulting blast with door being bent from the outside pressure.
"Jesus Christ, I hope that was worth it," Mike muttered under his breath, he turned to look at Jeremy.
"You ok?"
"I'm mostly fine, but those dam endos can really dig in when they want to," Jeremy replied rubbing his neck.
"Yeah, they can really do so damage if they're able."
Mike slowly rose upwards and put his ear to the door…listening…there was nothing.
No electric screams, no mechanical grinding or anything else for that matter.
Just cold deathly silence from the other side.
"Either the blast destroyed them all or they've wised up and have now backed off," he stated, still trying to make anything out.
"Or searching for another way in," Jeremy remarked, rising to his feet, using his rifle to steady himself.
"I wonder how the others are doing,"
He sighed as he rested himself against the wall, allowing his strength to return to him.
"Hopefully better than us, although it's fair to say that BB, Puppet and Springtrap are properly in an even worse position, being trapped or chased by a nightmarish fiend."
He turned to face Mike, who was still listening out for anything from the other side.
"We should properly search for Springtrap with them off our backs."
Mike maintained his gaze forward, but he slowly nodded in silent agreement.
"Ok, so there should be a way up by means of a stairca-"
A loud metallic groan ruptured through air, followed by several more.
"What was that?" Mike asked, trying to listen through the door.
"Can't hear anything through here."
Jeremy looked around, there was no side entrance to be seen and the only other doorway was the one situated at the corridor's far end.
Another metallic moan came…but Jeremy couldn't pin-point its location.
Metal collapsing, struggling to cope with something...something heavy.
Then it dawned on him.
Slowly, he looked up with his rifle at the ready, to see the square tunnel layout of the ventilation system above him.
Another groan came…from directly above him.
"SHIT, THE VENTS, THEY'RE COMING THROUGH THE VENTS!" he yelled, firing as he did, with bullets penetrating the metal covering and sure enough he heard electric screams of agony.
Mike joined in, grabbing his rifle off the floor and firing nonstop.
Very soon the vent covering was filled with countless bullet holes like Swiss cheese.
Yet their firing had the direct effect of seriously weakening it, with the loosen joints cracking under the strain of too much weight.
"We need to leave now before they fall out and trap us," Jeremy urged, leading the way forward.
They couldn't have wasted any more time as the vents just collapsed, breaking off from one another and out poured endoskeletons, scrambling over one another in their desperation to break free.
Both men fired back to slow them down which worked for a short while as they gained more and more distance.
"Looks like Springtrap will have to hang on for a little while longer, not until we get these guys off our back," Jeremy cried in a frustrated manner, putting all of his focus into running.
"Yeah, a blast door would be very handy about now," Mike joked, running alongside.
"Blast door?"
"I had blast doors remember, when I signed up, to keep them out of the office."
Jeremy didn't answer, you could swear that a sea of cogs was going off in his head as he tried to remember.
"This is common knowledge, you should know this," Mike stated, looking back to see the endoskeletons having already picked themselves up and were now giving chase.
"Oh yeah…that didn't exactly work for you did it."
"No, not always."
"Well, let's keep going, at least they're distracted from Freddy and his lot."
"What about Springtrap?"
"Well…if I know Spring, he's probably doing ok."
Jeremy's statement couldn't have been any further from the truth as Springtrap was shoved once more up against the wall by Nightmare Fredbear, who held him in place, using just one arm.
"Why don't you just kill me now and be done with it?"
"In truth, I am distracting from the others, keeping you off their tail."
"Oh, I knew that from the very start Spring, but you'll do as my first kill," Nightmare Fredbear remarked, using his free hand to squeeze Springtrap's chest, he could feel his ribcage.
So many delicate bones to break…
So, this was it, he would be killed by a nightmare version of his best friend…what are the odds.
Springtrap laid back, fully embracing his fate.
His arms hung by his side as his legs hung in the air, sometimes catching the floor and anything else.
Wait…what was that thing he could feel, just underneath his left foot.
Metallic….
He knew that if he looked down then Nightmare Fredbear would do the same, following his movements.
Yet he was curious, even though he had bigger priories right now.
Slowly he peered down, looking through his peripheral vision, from what he could tell it was an object.
A metal object…then his eyes widen when he recognised it.
It was his metal bar from previous use, when he first knocked Nightmare Fredbear out.
Wait, so he had just been running in a circle this entire time?
If he could just lift it up with his foot and then get it into his left hand which wasn't trapped, he could use it with deadly force.
"You seem to be accepting your death, how strange," Nightmare Fredbear muttered, noticing that he had suddenly become distant.
"I can't have that."
He then punched him sharply in the stomach, making Springtrap groan in pain as he gritted his teeth in defiance.
He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of beating him senseless.
"Come on, come on, just a little bit more," he mentally pleaded, trying to get under the bar with his foot so he could push it upwards into his hand.
"Don't give out on me now."
Nightmare Fredbear chuckled to himself as if in amusement.
"Still I might as well kill you, this has gone on for quite some time and I want to move onto other targets."
"Especially Freddy…although that would be to just see the look of jealous rage on N-Freddy's face when he sees that I took out his preferred target."
"Just a little bit more, almost…" he mentally strained.
It took a lot of his strength to lift it up off the ground, if it were to slip out of his grip and fall, it would make a noise and Nightmare Fredbear would notice.
"You're an old relic SpringBonnie, you have no purpose here…it's like what they always say."
The Nightmare smiled, fully revealing his array of sharp teeth which matched that of a Great White Shark.
"Almost there…come on dam you!" Springtrap mentally screamed, growing evermore frustrated as Nightmare Fredbear muttered his next line.
"Out with old and in with the new."
With the last throw of the dice, Springtrap kicked the bar upwards with all his might, it was enough for him to grab hold of it.
"I am new…I AM REBORN!"
And then smacked Nightmare Fredbear right in the side of the head.
The impact was devastating, with the Nightmare being knocked off his feet and onto his side, his hands flaying about as he landed on the floor with a heavy thud.
Springtrap of course was dropped down onto the floor and he legged as fast he could, not daring to look back.
He had never been so happy to see a metal bar in this entire life!
He turned and ran down the corridor which he had spotted earlier.
Looking further down, Springtrap saw an open door at the far end which was great, but further down he spotted an open vent...even better.
He could escape into the ventilation system re-join the others.
As the thought of meeting up with Freddy took up residence in his mind, a loud demonic roar of rage was heard not too far behind.
Nightmare Fredbear was mad and this time, he wouldn't fool around.
Sprinting as fast as he could, Springtrap burst through the doorway, slamming it shut behind him and jamming it with the metal bar to deny Nightmare Fredbear entry.
It wasn't perfect, but it'll do, even though the Nightmare could just teleport and bypass the blockade.
Then suddenly a face appeared in the door's little circular window, looking up, Springtrap could see that it was Nightmare Fredbear, staring back at him.
He looked angry to say the least, his expression being very stern and murderous.
"What's wrong, can't you break down a door, some Nightmare you are!" Springtrap shouted, smiling at Nightmare Fredbear's enraged expression.
Although, he knew it would be foolish to dare him into breaking through.
However, the Nightmare suddenly sighed, dropping his expression and tilting his head from side to side.
By all appearances, he seemed to be stretching his neck, properly because it had been damaged when he was hit with the metal bar.
His jaw moved in an unsettling manner, as he opened his mouth and reached in with one of his claws.
Then he slowly pulled out three teeth, all coated in blood and gore.
And he smiled at Springtrap, revealing the holes were the teeth once stood, a bloodily mess surrounded by bleeding gums.
He must have struck him hard enough to break his teeth…dam.
"Well…I'm dead," Springtrap whispered to himself as he could hear the Nightmare growling from the other side.
Then he just turned around and walked away.
"Yeah you can't do it, gotta find another way to get to me," Springtrap laughed.
Although, he knew that laughing wasn't wise.
He relaxed and then turned to observe the vent entrance which hung from the ceiling, judging by its height he would have to jump up to grab it.
"Easy done than said this time I think," he scoffed, cracking his fists.
He jumped only to fail, he jumped again only to fail, and he tried again, only to fail.
It took him five more gos to finally grab hold of the side.
It was a struggle, trying to pull the rest of him up, as he did, something caught his attention.
Through the door's small circular window, he could see Nightmare Fredbear, standing at the corrider's far end with his head down.
He appeared to pushed his left leg out backwards stretching it, before pushing his right leg forward which he then bent.
He put his hands down on the floor and looked up…directly at Springtrap.
Only now wearing a psychotic grin and his eyes appeared to be glowing with enthusiasm.
Then it suddenly dawned on Springtrap what he was about to do.
"He's gotta charge it!"
And he did, with Nightmare Fredbear racing down the corrider, his eyes fixed solely on the door.
"HERE COMES FREDBEARRRRRR!" he roared, barring his teeth, of which the missing three were starting to grow back.
This not too surprisingly urged Springtrap hurry up with getting into the vent.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" he whispered, panicking internally.
He was almost in when Nightmare Fredbear made it to the door.
The door wasn't blown open, it was thrown right off its hinges with a loud metallic snap, as it was thrown down the corridor, making several loud metallic clangs as it impacted with the floor.
The metal bar had also snapped in two, bouncing off the walls, before finally landing on the corridor's far side.
Nightmare Fredbear, having just busted his way inside, looked up, frantically searching for Springtrap.
He instantly spotted, Springtrap not too far down, making his way inside the vent.
So, he marched over to where the vent entrance was, jumped up and…
CHOMP!
Springtrap screamed as he felt a sudden burst of intense pain in his right foot.
He turned and looked down to see Nightmare Fredbear gripping onto vent's side handles and with his teeth embedded deep into his right foot.
The pain was beyond anything he had felt previously, way beyond anything in his life, he couldn't think straight, the agony was too much.
With gritted teeth, he proceeded to free himself from Nightmare Fredbear's grasp by grabbing his jaws and trying to pull them apart.
Yet Nightmare Fredbear having already got a grip on the vent itself, attempted to pull himself inside.
"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME YOU BASTARD!" Springtrap shouted, stomping on Nightmare Fredbear's hands with his as of yet undamaged left foot.
"JUST FUCK OFF AND DIE!"
He thought it couldn't get any more painful, but it did as he pulled Nightmare Fredbear's teeth out of his foot, with blood dripping out of the holes left by his teeth.
Skin, blood and pieces of shattered bone came out with them.
He tore Nightmare Fredbear's hands off the vent's side handles, critically weakening his grip.
With gravity pulling him back to the floor, the Nightmare had no choice but to let go of Springtrap's foot.
It brought sheer relief to Springtrap, as his foot became free, allowing him to pull himself back inside the vent and away from his enemy.
Nightmare Fredbear, angry at his failed attempt, leapt back up with renewed strength and grabbed hold of vent's side handles, pulling himself inside.
Springtrap looked on, eyes widening in horror as Nightmare Fredbear emerged from entrance smiling with his blood covered teeth.
"Hello there 'bunny', the children want to hear you play sole, come I'll take you to them, or are you gonna shout and hit me like the good caring coworker that you are?" he asked venomously, crawling forward.
"YOUR NOT GOLDIE, YOU NEVER WERE SO WHY ARE YOU USING HIS MEMORIES AGAINST ME!" Springtrap shouted in both rage and fear as he desperately backed away as fast as he could.
"Because I can," Nightmare Fredbear answered smugly, making the pipe groan as he moved forward on his hands and knees.
"Because I know that I'm making you suffer inside, you won't admit it, but I can see it's having an effect."
Springtrap immediately increased his speed, kicking Nightmare Fredbear away if he got too close.
Nightmare Fredbear for his part just seemed to torment his opponent, lashing forward to bite him, but never actualy intending to.
It was obvious to Springtrap that he had a slim chance of surviving this encounter, so he had to somehow distract Nightmare Fredbear.
"Are you the leader?" he asked, eyeing Nightmare Fredbear's teeth and claws should he attempt to rip him to pieces.
"Maybe yes…or maybe no, I know your trying to distract me Springtrap, so quit playing dumb."
However, he knew he could just easily rush forward to close the space between them.
"Goldie isn't dead, you may have taken over his body, but he's still in there!" Springtrap shouted to which Nightmare Fredbear laughed, his deep laugh bouncing off the pipe's surrounding walls.
"HE'S DEAD SPRINGTRAP, HE DIED IN AGONY AS I TOOK OVER, ALL OF HIS MEMORIES ARE MINE NOW!"
"YOUR LYING!"
"NO YOUR LYING TO YOURSELF, WHY, BECAUSE YOU FEEL GULITY KNOWING THAT GOLDIE'S GONE AND YOU'LL NEVER GET TO SAY THAT YOUR SORRY FOR HURTING HIM AND THAT THINGS WILL FOREVER BE LEFT UNRESOLVED!"
Springtrap looked shaken, eyes widen as the Nightmare's words hit their mark.
Nightmare Fredbear himself just smiled at Springtrap's shocked expression.
"And there…we have it."
Springtrap's response was delivering a swift kick with his unjuried foot to Nightmare Fredbear's head.
He was so quick that Nightmare Fredbear, for all his reflexes didn't get the chance to react.
The kick caused him to bang his head against the metal ceiling making him lose focus monetarily and allowing Springtrap make his escape.
It took a few seconds for his vision to stabilize and for the ringing sound in his ears to fade away, all the while Springtrap was crawling as fast he could through the ventilation system.
Scorned that he had allowed Springtrap to pull such a risky move, Nightmare Fredbear decided to take a different approach and proceeded to pursue Springtrap with renewed vigor.
All he had to was follow the trail of blood left by Springtrap's bleeding foot as well as the noises he created while crawling through the pipes.
"I'm a little tea pot short and stout," he sang, mocking happiness.
"Hey kids, do you want Spring Bonnie to give you a piggyback, careful now he is a person…not a robot."
"Welcome to Fredbear's Family Diner kids, where fun and fantasy come life and your 'safety' is granted."
The Nightmare laughed his head off, reliving the climax of Springtrap's and Goldie's stormy argument.
"I will do whatever it takes to regain your trust and love, I will spend forever with you to make things right, be the family member you deserved, make up for those lost thirty seven years."
Springtrap could feel the guilt in his heart grow with each passing word, once they were Goldie's and now they were Nightmare Fredbear's.
"Although you won't believe me when I say this and I don't blame you for it, but I do care about you, you are family to me and I will not let any more harm come to you...my friend."
Springtrap looked back to see Nightmare Fredbear not far behind, chuckling to himself, finding the situation to be somewhat humorous.
"But you let harm come to him and look what you got in return…ME!"
"AND I'LL SEND YOU BACK, I WANT A REFUND!" Springtrap shouted, narrowing his eyes in anger.
"THE DINER DOESN'T ACCEPT REFUNDS!" Nightmare Fredbear shouted back, crawling ever forward.
"WELL I DO!" Springtrap roared, crawling forward, he knew that maintaining a gap between him and Nightmare Fredbear was his best bet for survival.
The pipe system was hard to maneuver through and it all looked the same, it was like a maze.
His foot ached, pulsing with pain that set his nerves alight, but Springtrap kept on moving forward.
"How do I kill him and bring Goldie back?"
That was in itself an enigma, his best idea was that somewhere inside Nightmare Fredbear was Goldie fighting to reverse the process which had befallen him.
All Springtrap had to do was help him or at least weaken Nightmare Fredbear to the point where Goldie could hopefully regain control.
However, that was only a theory and Springtrap didn't want to risk getting killed, he had been through a lot today and right foot hurt like hell.
He turned a corner and went down another seemly identical pipe to one which he'd just used.
"I suppose the one good thing about all of this is that it's just me he's focusing on and not the others."
Then again, he could just abandon his chase and go on after the others.
Upon reaching the pipe's end, he turned around the bend…only to see that halfway along the new pipe was a grate, blocking it off from the rest of the system.
"Oh shit!" he cursed, because now there was only one way to go and that was back the way he'd just come…and guess who was following him.
He turned around to see Nightmare Fredbear crawling round the corner of the last pipe before the one he was in.
It was a tight squeeze given the Nightmare's bulky size, but he was managing to pull himself through.
Nightmare Fredbear looked up and saw the fear in his eyes and he instantly knew that he was trapped.
His eyes soon glowed with excitement as he approached Springtrap, like a cat on the hunt.
Springtrap wasted no time rushing up to the grate, grabbing hold of it and trying to pull it off it's boltings.
"COME ON!" he screamed, rattling the grate's metal bars like a young child would do.
He glanced back and saw Nightmare Fredbear's shadow on the wall, getting denser and denser as he approached.
He used all of his strength, but the grate remained shut and bolted fast to its holding…it wouldn't give.
Springtrap's heart froze when he heard Nightmare Fredbear's deep laugh behind him.
He turned round to see him crawling round the bend.
"Trapped are we now?" he cooed mischievously.
In sheer panic, Springtrap rattled the grate in his desperate but clearly pointless attempts to escape.
Nightmare Fredbear just rolled his eyes, he could see that Springtrap had reached his end.
"Why bother Springtrap, there's no need to delay the inevitable."
Springtrap turned round and backed away as far as he could, pushing his back into the grate's hard cold metal bars.
"You know, you would make a lovey addition to the Nightmare crew…all of that anger and rage," Nightmare Fredbear remarked, smiling as he reached out his claws to stork the man's hair.
"I'll never join you," Springtrap hissed, putting on a strong face.
"In fact, I would rather die."
Nightmare Fredbear narrowed his scarlet red eyes.
"Fine, I'll only be merciful once."
He opened his teeth once more revealing his sharp teeth, now all fully reformed.
"End of the line SpringBonnie."
The pipe creaked and groaned as he moved forward, his eyes locked with Springtrap's.
Springtrap was shaking, he couldn't deny that Nightmare Fredbear was properly the scariest or the most intelligent being he had ever come across.
Well…expect for Vincent perhaps, but it wasn't him this time round.
Nightmare Fredbear was worst kind of evil, cruel to the core, but always smart enough to outwit his foes and to deny them any sense of justice.
In fact, rather ironically, his mean nature reminded Springtrap of his demonic self, the one with purple glowing eyes.
The groaning increased as Nightmare Fredbear rose as high as he could in the cramped space, his purple top hat being compressed against the vent's ceiling.
"You're a tragic figure Springtrap, all alone, no real friends, no actual connection to the world which your currently in," he snarled, very word was a bullet of pure bitterness aimed directly at his heart.
Then he lashed out, with Springtrap just being able to cover his eyes, knowing that this was the end.
Or…was it?
Amidst Nightmare Fredbear's screams of demonic joy there was a large snap, followed instantly by more screams which were suddenly cut short by a loud thud.
Springtrap slowly uncovered and opened his eyes to see...that Nightmare Fredbear was gone.
He then noticed a large hole in the vent's floor before him and through it he could the Nightmare having landed on his back on the floor below.
The vent must have cracked under their combined weight and he fell right through.
"Ohhh…what just happened?" Nightmare Fredbear groaned as his body instantly set about repairing any damage.
Springtrap saw his chance and he seized it, dashing across the gap and crawling down the vent.
"Now to hide away and plan," he thought, ignoring the pain that was screaming from his bleeding foot.
Nightmare Fredbear raised his head, allowing his vision to fully clear.
"Blasted wretched vent, I'm putting on a poor performance today, it's a good thing Nightmare Freddy can't see me like this."
He knew that he'd missed another chance to kill Springtrap, but he was learning and he learnt fast.
Although the change in his environment had thrown him somewhat off, on Earth he wasn't a God anymore.
So, he decided to continue his pursuit, but from now on, he would follow from a distance, not letting Springtrap know that he was still onto him.
"It's time for some mind games," he growled menacingly.
Looking up at the hole in the vent from which he had recently fallen, he smiled.
"I can make mistakes, but I'll learn and come back even stronger."
He got back on his own two feet and jumped up, grabbing onto the hole's sides with his claws.
He carefully pulled himself through the hole and once inside, continued with his pursuit of Springtrap.
"So now we're playing hide and seek, no worry, I've played that game before."
His eyes narrowed as his other senses heighted…patience was key to winning this particular game.
Past experience had taught him well.
"And I'm a master when playing it in the dark of night."
Then he instantly reconsidered what he'd just said.
"Although the other guy is pretty good at it too…with his black suit."
And he wasn't referring to Nightmare Freddy…
The next chapter which I've got planned is even more action packed, although with a change on perspectives.
Hoped that you guys liked it and again, it's simply about trying to write good quality chapters, (I don't want to rush them), and fulfilling the weekly instalments on time.
If chapter 21 doesn't turn up in a week's time, then you know why.
Please Review...I would love to know your thoughts on the story so far.
Until next time :-)