Fazbear Escape

by Comedy Monarchy

Escape...everyone wants to escape the past, for Freddy Fazbear and the others, it is no different. Even though you may not be interested in the past, however dark and chaotic it is, it is most certainly interested in you. After all, one's interpretation of events are not so clear cut when you look at them again... (New cover image is by maskedhatterdoodles on Tumblr).

63. The Past Meets The Present

Hey everyone, it's the first chapter of the new year!

As I said previously, this chapter was previously part of the previous one, but needed to be expanded upon, hence why it was cut in two.

Everyone in tearing through Security Breach to uncover its mysteries and which ending is canon. Personally I think that the Afton ending is canon, as it is only one that is animated and allows Vanny to remain a threat. -Unless Steelwool was short for time and couldn't animate them all, which seems to be the case given how different the pregame trailers are from what we actually got.

Hopefully Steelwool will add various elements back into the game as they patch it with DLC.

A huge thank you to LittleGhostCat for both favouriting and following this story, really glad that it grabbed your attention. :-)

As I said in the previous chapter there would be a song in this chapter and it is 'They'll keep you running' by Ck9c and its dark ominous lyrics perfectly suit this chapter's content. I have tired to balance out both lyrics and stage directions, although it maybe quite fast in some sections.

Apologises for any lingering grammar mistakes and do enjoy.

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Chapter 62

The Past Meets The Present.

"These are strange circumstances that have brought us together."

Ballora from Ultimate Custom Night.

"It'll only hurt for a moment."

Vincent didn't know where he was, not a moment ago he was being held captive by Goldie and Puppet, whilst being surrounded by rows of motionless Possessed Prop Suits.

What were those blue string like threads that had poured out of Goldie's eyes?

It felt like burning agony when they penetrated Vincent's eyes, overriding any other bodily sensation. Now, Vincent could only see darkness around him, not Goldie or Puppet to be seen anywhere.

He was alone. . .

No. . .

No, he wasn't alone.

He could sense something, a presence, within the darkness that surrounded him, although he was not sure of where it was exactly. It didn't make him feel safe, most notably because he wasn't controlling the situation anymore and he didn't recognise where he was.

"Now. . .let's see what you know mister Afton. After years, decades of waiting for answers, it is finally time to reveal everything that you've kept from us," a determined male voice called out from the surrounding darkness.

Vincent knew it to be Goldie, but he still didn't know where they were. Yet the Fazbear's tone carried the sense of immediate danger to Vincent.

He had to get away, but how?

Vincent's sensation of Goldie grew, the latter's presence was becoming more obivious. As though it was pressing against him, like Goldie was reaching out for him with invisible fingers through the darkness. In fact, Vincent could feel his own mind being pressed down upon by something else, something foreign. He clutched his head with one his hands, feeling a headache flash through his mind, before it rapidly dispersed.

"You can't hide anything from me Vincent," Goldie called out viciously.

"Not in here anyway. . ."

Suddenly, Vincent sensed that there was someone in front of him, in fact he could see them.

A twitching pair of dark red pupils that burned out of the darkness, they looked angry and vengeful.

Vincent felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, he remembered seeing such an image.

Goldie's eyes in his memory had been two white dots, but they held that burning desire for death, staring through the fuzzy camera screens, as he shadowed the activities of the unfortunate night guards.

"You can't escape us this time Vincent, this time the tables have truly been turned, care to know how?" Goldie asked venomously.

"No," Vincent replied cautiously, but he knew that Goldie was going to show him anyway, nothing he said would change that.

"Too bad," Goldie remarked coldly.

"I think that it will help you to understand the full gravity of the situation."

CLICK!

Suddenly, where there had once been darkness was immediately replaced by bright white light.

It was so intense that it blinded Vincent momentarily, forcing him to cover his eyes with his hands, wincing at the sudden overload to his senses. Yet Vincent felt a throbbing pain rippled across his skull, it felt like a worm was trying to burry itself into his brain, desperately slithering forward.

Yet, the blast of light was merciful short, allowing Vincent to lower his hands.

The darkness had gone, so had Goldie, his eyes were nowhere to be seen.

"Where did you go Fredbear?" Vincent asked mentally, looking around in all directions.

It was whilst he was searching for Goldie, that he realised the space he was occupying had changed.

His heart stopped.

No. . .no that can't be. . .could it?

He was in his house, but everything looked fresh.

The blue curtains, the flower decorated wallpaper and the reddish carpet, it all held the appearance of being new and vibrant. He recognised the room, turning round on the spot, he saw a green set of drawers off to one side and an open set of shelves filled dolls and toys; with an active green lava lamp on top and an inbuilt double shutter closet on the other for clothes.

Finally, turning to look behind him, Vincent saw that there was a bed, with a pinkish strawberry coloured quilt with a few white pillows on top.

It wasn't unoccupied, for on top of the covers sat a young girl of roughly eight or nine years old. She possessed blonde hair that was slightly dark and green eyes which lit up once she saw Vincent.

"Hello Daddy!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Vincent recognised her immediately.

Elizabeth Afton.

Vincent stared at her, he found himself unable to speak, it was though all of the air had been sucked out of his lungs.

"Are you going to read to me tonight?" Elizabeth asked hopefully, clutching a particular doll to her chest. Vincent could recognise it anywhere.

Elizabeth's Circus Baby doll, handmade by for her nineth birthday. She desperately wanted her drawings to be real so Vincent decided to make her dreams come true.

The Circus Baby doll held dark green eyes and red hair ending in a pigtail on each end. Its dress was that of a clown girl, a soft red skirt with reddish tights on her floppy legs and red bell shoes, all stitched together. Circus Baby originally had dark green eyes encoded into her programming, but they had changed to being a bright green like Elizabeth's and Vincent had been unable to change them back.

Yet Vincent only got round to making one doll for Elizabeth, before he could make the other dolls. . .fate decided to play a twisted game with him.

"Look daddy, I have been trying to draw in Ennard!" Elizabeth exclaimed proudly, dropping her book to grab and hold up a drawing that lay alongside her, it depictured her 'Funtime Gang'.

She already had Circus Baby, Ballora, Funtime Foxy, Funtime Freddy and Bonbon all drawn in with their respective colours of red, blue, pink and purple. Only a detailed outline of Ennard with his mismatched metallic skeletal body remained uncoloured.

"What do you think daddy?" she asked, clearly eager for his approval.

Vincent still couldn't speak, he had no voice. It was a struggle to simply take in everything that he was seeing.

"How. . .how is this possible?" Vincent mentally asked himself.

This wasn't real, it couldn't be real, had he somehow travelled back in time?

No, that was too absurd, even for him to believe in.

The paranormal had already been proved to be true, but time travel was a stretch too far. This place could only have come from a memory of his, or at least that is what Vincent reasoned.

The next question was why. . .why had he been taken here?

"Fredbear. . .Goldie," Vincent wondered, whispering his thoughts aloud.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Why are you talking about Fredbear daddy?" Elizabeth asked, now looking unsure.

"And who is Goldie?"

Vincent shook his head dismissively and putting on a smile.

"No one in particular Elizabeth, just thinking aloud."

To say her name, to address her personally after so long felt. . .as uneasy as it was satisfying.

"Are you ok Daddy, you look nervous?" Elizabeth asked looking concerned as she leaned forward.

"I am ok Elizabeth, really I am, it's just been a long day?" Vincent said, reassuringly, burying his worries deep.

His words were enough to ease Elizabeth, as she hopped off the bed and stood fully upright.

"Well, I hope that you are not too nervous about reading the story that I picked out tonight," she eagerly, holding up the book.

Its title was 'The ghosts of Howling Castle and other terrifying tales!'

Vincent smiled, further hiding his concerns.

"Of course Elizabeth, I will read it to you soon, I just need to check on something first,"

Looking behind Elizabeth through her bedroom windows, Vincent could see that it was actually night, a cloudy one with the moon peeking out between the clouds. Everything felt undeniably real, the room, the warmth in the air and the appearance of Elizabeth, Vincent felt himself being drawn in.

"No. . ." he muttered softly to himself.

"This cannot be real."

Yet it was real, Vincent couldn't doubt his senses, but how exactly did he get here and where was Fredbear?

This had to be a memory and yet at the same time it wasn't, because he had merely sat down on the bed with her and read the book that she wanted.

This conversation had never happened. . .did that mean he was messing up his own memory?

"She's dead, how can she be here with me?" he whispered, low enough so his words were never heard.

Suddenly, there came the noise of shouts and the sound of feet hitting the carpet outside at running speed.

"It's mine!"

"Come and get it then you jerk!"

"Give it back Michael, it's my Fredbear plushie!"

"Well come on then!"

Immediately Vincent and Elizabeth turned around to see Michael Afton race past the open doorway, his feet thumping the carpet floor as he was swiftly followed by his younger brother Thomas Afton.

"Please don't tear it, Michael, give it back!" Thomas yelled, spiriting as fast as he could, but his little legs could only cover so much distance.

Michael's laughter, Thomas's shouting, the black hair of both boys, the thumping sound their feet made whenever they hit the carpet. It felt genuine and Vincent couldn't doubt his senses, as much as his mind protested against it.

"Boys?" he called out, stepping forward, he actually wanted to see them and stop their fight, to break it up.

"This isn't real!" his mind called out, but Vincent ignored his inner voice.

He had to see them, just once.

"Boys, Michael, Thomas come here!" he called, stepping out into the hallway.

"They're in trouble again aren't they, or rather Michael is, isn't he Daddy?" Elizabeth asked curiously, quickly following him out of her bedroom.

"That depends on what exactly happened Elizabeth," Vincent remarked observantly, his eyes locked on both Michael and Thomas, as the latter struggled to catch up with the former.

"Boys!" he yelled, raising his voice with a firm tone, it was enough to get their collective attention.

Both Michael and Thomas stopped in their tracks and turned to face their father.

Michael's brown eyes were filled with worry, with him being caught in the act of tormenting his brother. Tommy's blue eyes were also filled with concern, mostly for his precious Fredbear plushie, but the firm tone of his father had him on edge, despite not actually having done anything wrong.

"Come here please?" Vincent demanded quietly, walking forward with Elizabeth following on close behind.

"Michael, give me Tommy's Fredbear plushie," Vincent ordered, holding his hand and Michael begrudgingly compelled.

Examining the Fredbear plushie, Vincent could see that there was a tiny tear on its right arm. He could easily stitch it up and it make it look good as new.

He looked at Thomas, seeing the worried expression he held.

Vincent got down on his knees and placed a hand on Thomas's shoulder.

"Don't worry Tommy, it's nothing serious, I can repair him and give him back to you later today."

Tommy's worried expression rapidly faded to be replaced by a relieved smile.

Michael meanwhile looked worried, or at least he was trying to appear unconcerned by the situation, trying to be tough.

"Michael, why do you keep on tormenting him?" Vincent asked, now turning his gaze towards the boy in question, before adding on.

"And I've told you before about taking his plushies, they are delicate, you cannot be rough with them."

Michael went quiet, his eyes went straight to the floor, and he gave a small shrug, his customary habit, he didn't know.

No, he did know, he just didn't want to admit it openly.

He was angry about the death of his mother. . .Evelyn.

Vincent knew it, but he wouldn't say it out loud.

This matter had to be treated in private, he knew that Michael would feel uncomfortable if he tried to discuss it. When it came to personal matters such as this, Michael would become quiet, choosing to cry on the inside. Tormenting his younger brother Thomas was merely a distraction from the pain. Although Thomas did at times make himself a weak target with his tendency to cry and Vincent wished that he would be tougher.

Elizabeth was the strongest of the three, outwardly smiling all the time and being easy to please.

That didn't mean that she couldn't get upset with the grief of losing their mother sometimes, when strong emotions would rise to the surface. Maybe she was coping for the sake of everyone else, trying to strong and support her brothers because someone needed to be resilient in the family and it couldn't just be Vincent.

Vincent reached out and gripped Michael by one of his shoulders. The physical act forced the boy to look up at his father.

Their eyes locked, a worried brown staring headlong into a firm green.

"Go to your room Michael, I'll come and talk to you shortly," Vincent ordered, his tone was firm, but there was a degree of softness in it.

He wasn't mad, just disappointed.

Michael turned away, appearing to head off to his room, keeping his inner thoughts to himself.. .as always.

Vincent looked down at Tommy's Fredbear plushie, once more noting the tear of its right arm.

From the corner of his vison, he could see Tommy's worried expression returned.

"It's ok Thomas," Vincent said reassuringly, lightly tracing the tear line on the Fredbear plushie with his finger.

"If Fredbear were to be in bits and pieces I could still put him back together, with a lot of sewing."

Tommy smiled again; his blue eyes lit up.

Vincent felt a slight throb of pain pass through his head, causing him to winch a little, but the sensation immediately faded.

"When you really mean it daddy, the goodness in your intentions shine through," Elizabeth commented happily.

Yet her odd choice of words threw Vincent off.

"What do you mean Elizabeth?" he asked curiously, his eyes glancing in her direction.

"Whenever have I not been genuine in my intentions towards you three?"

Elizabeth's smile faded, now she looked sad.

"Since you committed such monstrous deeds in our names and tainted your love for us in innocent blood."

She said so effortlessly that Vincent had to do a double take, looking at her with a shocked expression.

A record scratch couldn't measure up to the sudden jolt that Elizabeth's words had caused.

"Sorry?" was all Vincent could say, before Thomas joined in.

"You created soulless, plastic and metallic puppets to try and recreate us, which you have poured your sorrow and agony into," he added coldly. Thomas's eyes had narrowed and he looked annoyed.

The more he talked, the more ominous his voice became.

"You love them, the Funtimes as though they were us, yet you left them to rust in silence and darkness because they weren't perfect enough."

He then shook his head dismissively.

"You couldn't us back together, regardless of how hard you tired."

"Just look at where your good intentions have brought you dad," Michael said, his voice was low, but in his brown eyes there lay a burning well of restatement and disappointment.

He hadn't gone off to his room, instead he had remained where he was previously, stating at Vincent with an expression of smouldering anger.

"All you do is bring death, murder and immense pain to everyone around you and you corrupt everything you touch."

Then his voice became sinister and the blazing fire in his brown eyes seemed to grow, becoming brigther.

"Even what you've created with good intentions can always end up going bad and rotten."

"Why are you saying all of this?" Vincent asked, sounding very bewildered.

His heart beat against his ribcage felt like a war drum, his green eyes had gone wide with shock.

This whole experience was surreal, how would any of his children know what he had done in their name?

"None of this is real!" his inner voice screamed, begging him to recognise reality.

"Goldie is tricking you?"

"He is using them as puppets to get to you, there is no way in which they could have known."

"They're all dead anyway, this scene never happened, this isn't a memory!"

Vincent put his head in his hands, speaking with an exhausted tone.

"This place isn't real, you three are not real, Goldie is trying to mess with me."

"We are real father, as are your crimes," Michael said coldly.

"You cannot get away from them in here," Elizabeth added firmly.

"No matter how far you run," Thomas remarked sternly.

Technically that was true, but Vincent had always found a way to avoid suffering the conquences and in a way, knowing that this place wasn't real was somewhat comforting.

"There cannot be any real conquences in here, nothing matters inside a dream," he mentally commented.

He then felt someone take hold of his arm.

"Why did you do it father?" Elizabeth asked softly, gone was the coldness in her voice, as she tugged away at his arm.

"Please tell us why you did everything, why did you keep on maintaining the nightmare?"

Vincent felt strangely compelled to answer Elizabeth's question, even though he knew that she wasn't really here.

She looked like Elizabeth, sounded like her, had all of her mannerisms down to the smallest detail. She was a memory, beautiful persevered and yet he couldn't bring himself to confess his darkest deeds to her.

"I cannot, you wouldn't understand and you would hate me for it," he said slowly, keeping his voice as stoic as possible.

That was as a close as he could get. He had no issue with confessing to the Fazbears, but where his own children were concerned, whether they be real or not. . .he just couldn't cross that bridge.

He didn't want to in all honestly, for he had never imagined himself to be in this position where his family suspected the very worst of him. He just couldn't bear to see the realisation in their eyes that what they heavily suspected was indeed true, even though none of this was actually real.

He knew that Goldie was undoubtedly puppeteering the whole scene. Michael, Elizabeth and Thomas only knew because Goldie had planted the knowledge in their artificial minds.

They knew what he knew and Vincent didn't wish to give the Fazbear anymore information.

"If none of this is real, then why hold anything back dad?" Michael enquired cautiously, stepping forward.

"I mean why did you go to all the effort to make the Funtimes as a way to bring us back only to then abandon them?"

"Instead, you choose to continue spilling blood in our name, you could have stopped?"

"No, no Michael, I couldn't stop what I had started, I am too far gone to back out now," Vincent mentally remarked, but he felt a tinge of fear.

He knew that he wouldn't be joining his family when the end finally came.

"The pain. . .of losing you all, it was too much to burry, this tormented existence with moments of joyful bloodlust is all that I have."

Suddenly, Vincent felt a sharp stab of pain ripple across his skull, he gripped his head as the agonised sensation raced through him.

"Dammit!" he growled in pain, unable to contain the feeling.

The expressions of his children changed, as their gaze shift to look behind him.

They now looked puzzled, with Elizabeth tilting her head in wonder.

"Daddy, why is SpringBonnie here?" she asked, sounding mystified.

The pain quickly subsided and Vincent turned to look behind him.

Elizabeth was right, for here further down the hallway was indeed SpringBonnie.

He looked to be observing the Afton family, yet his glare looked intense.

Then Vincent realised that SpringBonnie didn't have any eyes. At least none that could be seen, but his eye holes were just two black holes. Aside that odd detail SpringBonnie looked exactly as Vincent remembered him, golden suit and golden trousers, although he had sometimes worn black ones, all topped off with his signature purple bow tie.

Springtrap in his glory days.

Not to mention his deceptive human appearance, if this was the animatronic version of SpringBonnie and not the real one.

However, SpringBonnie's whole posture looked threatening, supported by the continuous glare that he was maintaining.

"Dad, why is he staring at us?" Michael asked, sounding uncomfortable.

"He is scaring me Dad," Tommy whispered worryingly, steadily moving behind Vincent.

"SpringBonnie why are you here?" Vincent asked firmly, slowly moving forward to stand between the animatronic and his children.

"Why are you in our house?"

"This is Goldie trying to trick you again, none of this is real, your children are already dead!" his inner voice reminded him, it was practically shouting at him by this point.

Vincent knew that none of this could be real, despite the fact that all of his bodily senses were telling him the exact opposite.

SpringBonnie didn't answer, he just kept on staring.

"What do you want?" Vincent asked, sounding firmer this time, but in his mind, he asked a different question.

"What are you trying to achieve Goldie?" he mentally questioned.

"Your ruination mister Afton," a vengeful voice replied, from seemingly inside his mind, it sounded like Goldie's.

"All of your fears are in here. . .with you."

Vincent didn't expect an answer, but he suppressed his surprise nonetheless, he wasn't giving Goldie any satisfaction.

Yet he couldn't respond as SpringBonnie started to walk forward, approaching the group.

As he did so SpringBonnie smiled, dropping the intense stare. He grinned in fact and it wasn't a reassuring one, as it stretched from ear to ear, making him look ultra creepy.

"Dad, make him go away," Michael urged, his voice was low, but the fear in his voice was evident, as it was in his brown eyes which had widen.

"He is super creepy Daddy," Elizabeth cried, clearly voicing her fright, as she now clung on his trouser leg. Her bright green eyes only expressed worry.

"I don't like him, I really don't," Thomas remarked timidly, also holding onto Vincent for comfort, as his blue eyes held a deep seated sense of dread.

SpringBonnie kept on walking, his feet hitting the carpet floor with a steady pattern of thuds that sounded heavier than he looked.

It sounded deeply ominous.

Then the mental voice returned to Vincent's mind.

"How about we have your children meet the real you mister Afton."

"They missed out on the 'treat' that you gave the other children."

Vincent's heart stopped, his blood immediately when ice cold.

He instantly knew what the voice was referring to.

It had to be Goldie, it couldn't be anyone else.

"They got spoiled and isn't fair that your kids missed out."

"Wait. . .why?" Vincent mentally asked, feeling the dread rise up from the pit of his stomach.

"If you're are correct and none of this is real, then why should any of it matter?" the voice asked smoothly, there a strong degree of enjoyment in its tone.

Goldie was mocking him and all the while SpringBonnie neared the family group, ever making the Afton children more and more unsettled.

"Daddy, he looks threatening!" Elizabeth yelled, ducking in fully behind Vincent for protection, as did Thomas, clinging tightly to his dad's trouser leg.

Only Michael remained beside his father. Even though he stood in a posture that gave him the ability to back away if he so desired. Despite doing his best to look brave, he was in all probability debating on whether to fight or flee.

It was with SpringBonnie now being closer to him that Vincent noticed something. The hallway behind the animatronic was dark and impenetrable to the human eye. It was just a solid wall of liquid blackness and when Vincent briefly checked behind him, he noticed that it was the same.

Where there had been once been lights and doorways, now it was just more blackness.

It felt like they were being penned in. . .deliberately.

Vincent felt SpringBonnie cast a tall shadow over him as he stopped before them.

"Hello kids, do you like party tricks?" he asked curiously, whilst sounding delighted at the same time.

Yet it felt more unnerving, if anything else, mostly because Vincent recognised the mannerisms as his own.

SpringBonnie raised his eyebrows, as he looked at Vincent.

"Oh, we have an adult in the room with us, sorry but he can't stay, my type of fun is certainly not for adults, they won't get it."

Vincent knew that things would only escalate, he wanted to get out, to escape this nightmare. Yet, he didn't want to leave his children in the company of what Goldie described as his 'real self'. . .the implications were obivious.

What else had he used the SpringBonnie animatronic for. . .besides committing brutal murder.

"They aren't your kids, your children are dead, these are just memories of them, none of this is real!" his inner voice yelled at him.

"Just run and don't look back!"

No sooner had the thoughts appeared in his head, Elizabeth tugged at him.

"Please don't leave us Daddy," she pleaded.

"Not with him."

"She isn't real, not anymore, just run!" his inner voice screamed.

"Get rid of him Dad," Michael urged.

"He is unsettling."

"Unsettling?" SpringBonnie questioned, before laughing.

"My my my, you sure do judge a book by its cover."

He then held his hand out to Michael, his black vacant eyes seemed to stare right through the boy.

"Ok, so we got off on the wrong foot, how about I entertain you guys with my acts."

SpringBonnie then turned to face Vincent.

"Are you still here?" he asked, looking at Vincent with a confused expression.

"You can walk away from this trap!" Vincent's inner voice urged.

"None of this actually matters in the real world, whatever hell Goldie intends to put you through, it isn't real."

That doesn't mean it can't feel real. . .

Yet, wasn't that what Goldie desired to achieve, to break Vincent?

If his fears were in here with him then it stood to reason that Goldie's aim was to harm him.

"I think I have my banjo with me somewhere on my person, give me a minute folks," SpringBonnie remarked, as he started to search his trouser pockets.

"I know I have it with me, wait, did I leave it back in the dressing room. . oh darn it."

SpringBonnie then signed, sounding despondent.

"Oh well, we can still do without it."

He then looked up. . .straight at Vincent.

"Besides, I can still preform my main act, even your father can join us."

He then smiled, it looked unsettling to say the least, not the least bit friendly.

"It's called passion's fury and it is all about revealing one's true self. . .as will I."

Then SpringBonnie's eyes which had been two vacant black holes glowed a bright purple.

"Get away now, right now!" Vincent's inner voice screamed and Vincent obliged.

He slowly stepped backwards, passing his children by, they in response turned to watch him.

"Dad, where are you going?" Michael asked, barely able to hide his discomfort.

"Daddy, please don't go, SpringBonnie scares me," Elizabeth said fearfully as she began to shake.

"Dad, why are you leaving us?" Tommy enquired nervously, his eyes going wide at the realisation that his father was effectively abandoning him and his siblings.

Yet Vincent continued to walk backwards, creating a reasonable distance between himself and his children, driven by his instinctive insistence that this was all false. Nothing in this place was real, it was all just repurposed memories being twisted for a sinister purpose at his expense.

"Don't worry about your father leaving us, you're with me now," SpringBonnie remarked in a joyful tone.

"And I have just the means to cure your blues kids."

He reached behind his back and pulled out a sharp knife.

Vincent's eyes widen upon seeing the knife, but it was Elizabeth's blue murder screams that tugged at his heart strings.

"DADDY!"

Pushing his own desire to escape aside Vincent stepped forward, now intending to launch himself at SpringBonnie. He knew that his children weren't really here, but he felt the sudden urge to protect them.

Only to discover that he couldn't move forward, there was something blocking his way. He moved his hands forward and came into contact with what could only be described as a see through glass mirror that made getting closer impossible.

Realising that he was cut off from them, Michael, Elizabeth and Thomas ran headlong for it slamming into the glass to try and break through, to escape the approaching danger.

"DADDY BREAK THE GLASS!" Elizabeth yelled; her green eyes were welling up with tears.

"DAD, GET US OUT OF HERE!" Michael screamed, banging on the glass with his fists, trying to break through, but to no avail.

"DAD PLEASE HELP US!" Thomas wailed, frantically clawing away at the smooth glass that refused to give.

"Oh goodie," SpringBonnie chuckled, walking forward with his knife in hand.

"This is more than ideal."

His smile only grew, becoming more and more psychotic.

"It will all be over soon children, just let it happen."

"DADDY PLEASE!" Elizabeth cried, hammering hard on the glass.

"WE DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

The words torn and conflicted weren't enough to describe what Vincent felt in this moment.

He knew that none of this was real, at least he largely suspected it to be entirely false.

Yet, he felt equally compelled to save his children, as he had been unable to do so before; but he knew that if this place was fake, then anything he did in it wouldn't matter. He could leave them to their fates and move on. Right now, only he was real in this world.

His heart however thought differently and pulled at him urgently. It begged him to not lose what he desired most and the loss of which had hurt him most terribly, having led to many destructive outcomes.

Despite his better judgement to not give into the emotional waves that swamped his mind, Vincent pounded away against the glass, trying his hardest to break through.

"Stop it, let them die and escape yourself!" his inner voice cried.

"Goldie wants you to react this way, he wants you to feel his pain!"

Vincent knew that to be the truth, but he was struggling to contain himself as emotion and logic clashed chaotically in his mind.

"Goldie stop this!" he yelled, feeling pain spread through his fists as the glass refused to break.

"You want to me stop Vincent?" a voice asked mockingly from inside his head.

"You want me to stop SpringBonnie from slaughtering your children?"

"If you want to torment me, do it to me personally, freeze me to death, drop me in a pit of fire if you want to hear me scream for mercy," Vincent mentally replied firmly, trying to hide his desperation.

He really didn't want to face either scenario, but it would be far better to suffer those fates then to witness this tragedy.

"No," the voice replied scornfully.

"Did you stop when those eleven innocent children begged to be let go, on all three occasions?"

"Did you feel regret and try to free them from their spiritual prisons, to rescue them from the darkness of their own souls?"

"Did you attempt to help us after plunging us all into this nightmare, halting your vengeance fuelled crusade against me and my family?"

"Did you confess your crimes to the law, to the families that you destroyed and try to pay penance for the lives that you so cruelly shattered, let alone stole?"

"Did you do anything of those things Vincent Afton?"

Vincent was silent, trying to keep himself calm, but in his green eyes various emotions burned and collided with eachother, it was an utter maelstrom. The screams and cries of his children continued unabated as SpringBonnie's shadow fell over them.

Vincent knew the answer to Goldie's many questions and he knew why Goldie was asking.

"No, I didn't do any of those things," he mentally muttered, again trying to hide his feeling of helplessness. He felt foolish for having even tried to make Goldie stop, he knew that he wouldn't if their roles were reversed.

"Well. . .at least you're being honest," the voice replied thoughtfully, before suddenly adapting a dismissive tone.

"It isn't good enough though and it never will be, you know that, don't you Vincent?"

Vincent gave no response; he wasn't willing to give Goldie any further satisfaction, as before him SpringBonnie loomed over Michael, Elizabeth and Thomas. As the dreaded realisation that they were completely trapped dawned on them, the Afton children turned round to face SpringBonnie.

Elizabeth and Thomas were now gripping Michael by the arms, clinging onto their elder sibling as though he was a life raft.

Even though they all had their backs to him, Vincent could easily deduce that they utterly terrified, physically shaking on the spot.

"Don't worry kids," SpringBonnie stated in a mockingly reassuring tone.

He then put his free hand to his chest.

"It'll all be over soon. . .I promise."

The Afton children stood there, their backs pressed against the glass mirror, frozen to the spot and whimpering in terror.

They didn't believe SpringBonnie's words and the latter knew it. His purple eyes glowed brightly with the anticipation of sadistic enjoyment.

Then he lifted his gaze and looked directly at Vincent.

"Sometimes, the only way to understand how far you've fallen," SpringBonnie began, now speaking softly, as he lifted up his free hand to grip his face.

"Is to see how the ones you care about react. . .when they see you for what you've truly become."

The face section of SpringBonnie was then lifted upwards, breaking the illusion that his human body maintained and revealing the wearer behind the mask. Vincent felt lost for words, his green eyes went wide, even when they shouldn't have done as he should have expected this.

It still didn't make it any less shocking though.

The wearer of SpringBonnie was himself, an exact replica with the psychotic glint in his green eyes.

"Hello kids," the other Vincent said contently, although any warmth in his words paled when compared to the coldness that his eyes held.

"You never thought that your old man was thee SpringBonnie did you?"

None of the Afton children reacted, they were either too fear struck or shocked to mount any kind of response.

"You look confused?" the other Vincent questioned, his eyes then looked over at his knife, clenched tightly in his right hand.

Although he couldn't see their faces, Vincent knew how they must be feeling; confusion, fear, the dread realisation of what their father was and what he had done. This whole scene was something which Vincent never wanted to happen and logically it couldn't happen at all. Yet Goldie's words from earlier, his determination to expose his actions had lodged themselves deep into Vincent's memory.

"When I do find Thomas Afton, I will tell him absolutely everything, as you've stated before nothing must remain behind and no stone can be left unturned."

"Including your crimes."

The same haunting chill that Vincent had felt when Goldie first uttered those words resurfaced, racing up his spine once more. What he was seeing before him was Goldie's commitment to making those words a reality.

Yet, for all effort thrown in Vincent knew that this exact scenario could never happen.

Elizabeth and Michael were gone, their souls didn't linger . . as far as he knew and hoped.

Thomas was still locked up in Limbo, surrounded by his literal nightmares who would do their upmost to prevent any outsider from getting close to the boy. They didn't protect him out of a sense of duty, but rather due to self preservation, so he was well guarded beyond the reaches of Goldie.

Yet the faint possibility of this exact scenario happening still terrified Vincent, straight to his core. He had been shaken and the fear which had been awaken couldn't be completely lulled back to sleep.

"It really is you dad, you're the one responsible," Michael exclaimed, yet his voice was small, restrained by fear

"Why dad?" Thomas asked quietly, he seemed to be the most shocked.

"Did you do it just to try and bring us back somehow, to make you feel better after losing us?"

"Daddy, please put away the knife, you're scaring me," Elizabeth begged, gripping Michael tightly.

"Please don't harm us, didn't you do it all for us?"

"I won't harm you kids," the other Vincent answered and although he now spoke calmly, the psychotic glint in his eyes still remained. The hand that he held the sharp knife in consistently twitched back and forth. . .restless.

"I have always cared about you not matter what actions I took."

"I won't let you live with the emotional agony of knowing what I've done."

"Instead, I'll spare you from it, by sending you all somewhere safe from me and everything else."

"Somewhere safe?" Michael asked sheepishly, quivering in his father's shadow.

"Where is that?"

The other Vincent's eyes narrowed, his expression harden, his knife hand suddenly ceased twitching.

Vincent felt his heart skip a beat, his blood went cold. He knew exactly what was going to happen next and he couldn't stop it. And yet at the same time, he didn't want to, for he knew that it would cut short the scene that he feared ever becoming a reality.

The inevitable outcome would keep him safe from confronting the conquences of his actions. The devil could torment him, hell could consume him, but as long as his family didn't know, then he could endure.

"Heaven Michael," the other Vincent stated coldly.

"I am going to send all three of you to your mother, I know that she would love to see you again. . .forever."

His knife hand moved, so fast that it was a blur.

Blood splattered across the mirror glass, there were high pitched screams and the heavy thuds of bodies hitting the floor.

Thomas was first, then Michael and lastly Elizabeth, one fatal blow for each child, be it in the chest or across the throat, but in the same order as they had died in real life. Their slumped bodies now lay on either the floor, or were partially propped up against the wall, with their blood starting to pool around them.

"There," the other Vincent uttered, he sounded both exhausted and satisfied. He sighed as he lowered his shoulders, adopting a more relaxed posture.

"It's done, our secret, your secret is safe."

"This isn't what I would do," Vincent stated adamantly. He kept his eyes focused on his doppelganger and not on the numerous smears of blood that coated the mirror glass.

"Really, you're not cowedly enough to try and evade retribution, like you have been doing ever since you started your quest for vengeance and to sate your dark desires?" the other Vincent questioned dismissively and his eyes narrowed.

"There was always something of a darkness within you, within us, there's no use in denying it when you enjoyed giving into it so much."

"Still, why don't we change things up a little in here, there are some old friends that I've found of yours, who probably feel very neglected by you."

Then he smiled, but he didn't unnarrow his eyes, speaking with an excited tone.

"Are you ready, because here they come!"

Suddenly there was a rush of immense pain that blast right through Vincent's skull. He gripped his head, trying in vain to contain the wave of internal agony that enveloped him. It felt like something was burrowing its way into his brain, something foreign.

Then, as always it passed, ending abruptly. In its immediate aftermath, Vincent picked up a new sound, it was faint at first, but it steadily grew in strength.

Something mechanical and it was moving towards him at a fast pace.

It was coming from behind the other Vincent, the latter smiled excitedly as he pulled down the SpringBonnie face mask and the illusion was restored. The purple glow from animatronic's eyes shone back at Vincent.

"We lost them," the other Vincent muttered, sounding a bit mournful, but it was swiftly replaced by a confident tone. The SpringBonnie animatronic suit being in perfect sync with his body, flawlessly replicating every single movement.

"However, we can put back together as you had once envisioned."

He then pointed his knife hand at Vincent in an accusatory manner, it was still dripping with blood, his children's blood. The mechanical sounds had now morphed into footsteps approaching from behind the other Vincent, who smiled as he spoke.

"Don't deny that you entertained the notion, you thought about it, as well as how to make them a part of your schemes."

His eyes remained narrowed, his expression harden, but his smile still remained.

"You seriously considered it, drew up the blueprints to give them 'special accessories', voice mincing, distraction centred programming, radar tracking."

He then adapted a thinking posture, putting his free hand to his chin and looking rather reflective.

"Then there were some strange storage tanks built just big enough to hold a child inside and dare we not forget the claw mechanisms used to pull any lone child inside; let alone the chloroform tanks designed to knock out anyone one close enough like a light."

Vincent knew exactly who his doppelganger was referring to. . .the advanced blueprints for his creations.

Deep below ground, where memories sleep. . .in a silent mechanical tomb, as he had left them, undisturbed by the agony he had unleashed.

"I never went through with it though, did I?" Vincent asked, knowing that there was only one answer. The other Vincent conceded on that point, shrugging.

"True," he muttered causally.

"You didn't, but you came so close to going down that path and the thought has never truly left your mind."

The other Vincent turned back to look behind him, as three figures now came into view, making the other Vincent remark.

"And look here they come, fanaticising isn't it, what they have become."

The other Vincent stepped aside and allowed Vincent to see fully who the figures were and even though Vincent knew who were already, his green eyes still widen with shock.

Circus Baby, Funtime Freddy and Funtime Foxy all stood before him as clear as day. The red ruby dress that flowed elegantly off Circus Baby's form, to the smart white and purple suit with a matching bowtie that hugged Funtime Freddy with his black top hat; whilst Funtime Foxy's white pinkish suit with a pink bowtie cloaked him in a display of majestic finery. Even Bonbon who stuck out of Funtime Freddy's left hand dazzled in the light with his green eyes.

Circus Baby's red clown shoes closely matched the crimson colour of the blood that was slowly spreading outwards from the bodies of Thomas, Michael and Elizabeth.

The mixed pairs of green, blue and yellow eyes all stared back at Vincent and the joyful expressions on their faces initially looked peaceful, but Vincent could sense that something was off.

They looked happy and were smiling. . .but it wasn't a warm smile.

Vincent knew himself well enough to recognise certain looks in others. The feigned and framed looks of innocence and compassion which were merely a veil for dark desires.

It was even worse if it was coming from someone who held the image of being sincere and friendly.

Sometimes, the worst monsters of humanity looked like the most beautiful of angels.

"Well," Funtime Freddy began, laughing joyfully as he spoke. His deep blue eyes fell upon the lifeless bodies of the Afton children, noting the blood that pooled beside their crumpled forms.

"Isn't this a sight to behold, so much mess!"

"Gosh!" Bonbon muttered, mocking horror as he put his paws to his face, whilst gazing at the lifeless forms of the Afton children.

"That must have been a dreadful end, one could only imagine the intensity of the pain that they felt."

He then giggled, it sounded cute, if one ignored the insane mentality that lay behind his bright green eyes.

"A dead audience, probably the result of one of Baby's performances," Funtime Foxy joked, chuckling to himself as Circus Baby momentarily gave him a deaths' glare, but returning her focus to that of the dead Afton children.

"Such a pity, I would have liked to have seen their faces before they died," Circus Baby said, speaking softly, she sounded dreamy, but then her green eyes rose to meet Vincent's and she happily smiled.

"I have always wondered what it looks like to see the light fade from someone's eyes, as they become empty, hollow. . .soulless."

Her eyes narrowed, but her smile remained, giving her a rather ominous expression and her next words only reinforced that feeling.

"You might have to do instead."

Vincent felt a chill run up his spine, he knew of the old phrase about the eyes being the window to the soul and with the threatening look that Circus Baby was giving him the saying had never felt more relevant than it did now. She was a wolf in sheep's clothing, as were the others, but there was something deeply disturbing about Circus Baby's demeanour.

Something twisted that resided in her core.

"However," Baby began smoothly, her eyes now looked to that of Elizabeth's lifeless body that was only now starting to turn pale.

"We can restore what has been lost."

"You wanted us to do this master Afton, you did everything for them," Funtime Freddy stated cheerfully, but there was a seriousness to his voice that betrayed his dark intentions, supported by the cold gaze his eyes now emitted.

"Let's fix those broken dreams master Afton," Funtime Foxy remarked, clasping his hands together, as his fox ears twitched with great anticipation.

There were a series of mechanical wiring noises, as the chests of all three Funtime animatronics unlocked. Their chests being made out of a series of interlocking plastic and metal plates that maintained the illusion of them appearing human. That illusion was broken when the chest plates opened up like the wings of a butterfly.

As a result, Vincent could fully see their mechanical insides, wires coiled to look like muscle tissue, shifting gears and cogs that acted as veins and finally countless electric components that all relayed information with both the animatronics' 'brain' for a better word; and their central power core that kept them going almost constantly.

Yet the space inside of them was big enough to house a child, or even a small adult if certain modifications were made.

Suddenly three metallic claws launched out of the Funtimes' chests, one each and they moved so fast it was like a snake lunging its head forward when striking its prey. The claws immediately grabbed the motionless forms of Michael, Elizabeth and Thomas, before lifting all three children up off the ground. Blood dripped from the fatal wounds that the other Vincent's knife had created on their persons.

Speaking of the other Vincent, he was watching the ongoing spectacle with pride, as SpringBonnie's eyes continued to glow purple. The mechanical claws steadied the children, turning them round so their backs were facing the Funtimes. It allowed Vincent to gaze upon the horrified expression that each child held, frozen in the moment of their passing.

It was enough to make him physically shudder, to see the same lifeless bodies once more brought back a treasure trove of traumatic memories. The only differences were that Thomas's head hadn't been badly crushed, Michael didn't have a rope around his neck and Elizabeth didn't have a sizable hole straight through her chest.

Yet Vincent could still hear Thomas's frantic screams for help from Michael, he wasn't with Thomas at the time of his death, but he heard his son's cries far off in the distance across the pizzeria that was Fredbear and Friends. He could recall the sicking creak made by the rope that held Michael up above the floor, swinging slightly to and fro as he hung there with a vacant look in his eyes. Vincent could recall the simmering hum of machinery as he looked down at Elizabeth's blood stained body on the cold metallic floor of the scooping room in his underground workshop.

Vincent still didn't know how she got down there, the cameras revealed nothing and seeing Elizabeth now with her dead green eyes; as Circus Baby's claw held her firmly in place, just brought that painful memory even further back to the surface of Vincent's mind.

It felt like he was losing them all over again, even though a part of him knew that none of this was actually real, that it just Goldie messing with him, torturing him to be explicit.

It was why Vincent restrained himself from any emotional outburst, he knew it was what Goldie wanted. He couldn't intervene even if he wanted to do as he was locked behind a glass mirror, forced to watch.

Well, he wasn't being forced to watch. He could just walk away from it all, as his inner voice often kept telling him to do, screaming at him mostly to cut and run.

Yet. . .Vincent didn't want to, he felt obligated to stay and watch, to see where Goldie was taking things. Although given that this place existed solely inside his mind with his thoughts, hopes and fears, he had a very good idea as to what was coming next.

Half baked ideas and restrained thoughts which he never acted on despite the sweet temptation to do so.

Goldie knew that and he was prepared to seize those thoughts and twist them into as close as to reality as he could get. . .all for the want of seeing Vincent's displeasure and dread.

"Initiating restoration procedure, oh this'll be a happy reunion I'm sure of it!" Funtime Freddy laughed, his laughter more manic than it was cheerful.

Quickly, the three pairs of metallic claws pulled the bodies of the Afton children back towards the Funtimes, who in turn further opened up their chest capacity to their widest extent possible.

Michael was pulled into Funtime Foxy, Thomas was placed into that of Funtime Freddy and Elizabeth was tugged gently into Circus Baby, creating a perfect fit. The motion however had caused the blood from each Afton child to stain the Funtimes' internal mechanisms, the dark red almost glistening off the polished grey metal.

"Let's bring them back master Afton," Circus Baby remarked smoothly, but there was something ominous in her tone that made Vincent feel unsettled.

"You are the intended audience for a grand show of this calibre," Funtime Foxy added confidently in a manner fitting that of a showman.

The other Vincent meanwhile had been quiet, watching through the purple glowing eyes of SpringBonnie with a satisfied grin.

However, he now decided to speak.

"You desired to have them back," he said smugly, confident in his own words as he glared at Vincent.

"Yet, if you hope that you might be able to perverse them as they once were, you are sadly mistaken."

"Especially with how the emotions of murdered souls can influence that of their vessels, remember how the Originals acted after the first MCI?"

Vincent nodded, already knowing where his doppelganger was heading with this conversation.

"That my children upon returning would go mad, get angry and turn the Funtimes into murderous animatronics that could only feel agony," Vincent replied firmly, folding his arms in defiance.

"Yes, I remember thinking about this with my observations on how the Fazbears were faring with their possession."

The other Vincent shook his head, dismissing Vincent's answer.

"Yet you still held the faint hope that your children wouldn't go the same way."

"It was why I didn't attempt to bring them back this way, I only wanted to set them free, not bring them into my misery," Vincent answered stoically, keeping his emotions at bay.

He wanted to go psychotic on these puppets of Goldie, but now wasn't the right time to do so, only if he got the chance to wrestle back control. Vincent could feel his darker nature taking hold, it felt so comforting in a time like this, but he held it back.

He needed to focus, try to win and then get back at Goldie for his machinations.

"My actions are mine to bear and mine to enjoy, my children can have not part in it." Vincent stated, being both cold and firm in his demeanour.

His words made the other Vincent laugh, he gripped his stomach as he laughed manically, clearly entertained.

"When it comes your own children, you are willing to be a good man, just not with everyone else, how noble," he exclaimed.

He then looked back at Vincent; his face had suddenly become serious; the laughter had abruptly ceased.

"We are such a hypocrite, would your children accept you, accept us?" he asked, now sounding restless.

"The questions they would ask and if you believe that they wouldn't somehow catch on what we've done then you're wrong. the same problem will still haunt you, haunt us both."

"Again, that is why I decided not to bring them back, as much as it pained me to refuse that happy reunion," Vincent answered, being extra careful with his words. He didn't want to give Goldie any more information than the Fazbear already seemed to already possess.

The other Vincent eyed him suspiciously, before replying with.

"You denied yourself that opportunity simply of a love for them and not to save yourself from retribution."

He shook his head dismissively, making SpringBonnie's bunny ears shake about.

"I think we both know that the truth lies somewhere in the middle."

"Don't worry master Afton," Circus Baby remarked supportively, but her tone felt hollow. In her bright green eyes that shone like emeralds, Vincent could sense a malicious intent as Circus Baby continued, with her tone becoming more menacing.

"We'll bring your children back home for you regardless. . .with all of the baggage associated with traumatised souls."

"You know that isn't how I wanted it to happen, if ever I tired," Vincent stated firmly.

Circus Baby's eyes narrowed, yet she kept her smile and it made her look all the more threatening.

"True," she said, maintaining the menace in her tone.

"However, you're not in control anymore master Afton, and sometimes, things just gain a life of their own. . .free from your demands."

"You can't control everything; the past will eventfully catch up to you and secrets do not remain secrets forever."

Those words, it could only have come from Goldie, with the way it was spoken. Circus Baby was just a puppet, a mouth piece in this world of real and false memories mixed into one.

Then Circus Baby's chest plates closed shut with a series of metallic clangs, locking the corpse of Elizabeth Afton inside, intermingling with the Funtime animatronic's mechanisms.

At the same time, the chest plates of both Funtimes Freddy and Foxy followed suit, sealing the pale lifeless bodies of Thomas and Michael within a metallic cage, or perhaps coffin was a better word for it.

"Initiating restoration protocols," Funtime Foxy announced, as his body started to shudder, with the other two Funtimes soon displaying the same behaviour. From where he was starting Vincent could hear the animatronics' mechanisms rattle, breaking the illusion that their human appearance otherwise strongly maintained. . .the illusion of living.

"Get ready for an 'electrifying' show," the other Vincent remarked coolly, still holding a serious expression through the SpringBonnie facemask.

"And witness the joy of creation."

Suddenly electricity sparked to life, flashing into exitance as white and bluish arcs of what appeared to be lighting enveloped the Funtimes, rippling across their skin.

The shuddering noise created by the Funtimes grew larger as did the sound of cracking electricity. It grew so loud that Vincent needed to cover his ears, which was turned out in hindsight to be a good thing, because the Funtimes started screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It was a mixture of low and high pitch, a long drawn out scream that sounded so painful it forced Vincent to push his hands further into his head as though he wanted to force his ears into his body and render himself deaf.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It sounded convincingly human and mechanical all at once, no doubt the Funtimes' voice boxes were being strained to the limit, as they struggled to cope with electronic overload was no doubt engulfing their systems.

Their faceplates opened up, with Circus Baby's faceplates stretching the widest, fully revealing her skilfully crafted endo head, with was composed in entirely of coiled metal wires that formed a humanoid shape, alongside her bright green eyes.

Funtime Freddy's faceplates constantly twitched back and forth, exposing his large endo skull for a better word, as his blue eyes shone like the full moon did on a clear night, enhanced by the power surge he was experiencing. Even Bonbon was feeling the immense strain, as electricity wracked his small body, whilst his shrieks of pain.

Funtime Foxy's faceplates meanwhile persistently snapped back and forth, showing his rounded humanoid skull, as waves of electricity washed over his face, overloading all of his circuits.

All the while the other Vincent smiled, seeing to be satisfied with what was occurring.

The screams grew steadily louder, so loud that nearby lights started to go out, their glass containers bursting and showering the hallway that was rapidly becoming dark. Then the glass mirror started to creak, multiple cracks quickly appeared across its smooth surface, spreading wildly in all directions.

And then it shattered, breaking apart into countless pieces before Vincent who could only look on in utter horror as the dreadful scene climaxed before him. The final lights went out, making the entire hallway descend into complete darkness, save only for the white bluish sparks of electricity that greatly illuminated the Funtimes, alongside the bright glow of their eyes and those of the other Vincent.

The latter merely watched with a satisfied expression as the light from his purple eyes ebbed and flowed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Funtimes screamed again, although it had been one long scream. It had now become so loud that to Vincent the whole hallway appeared to be shaking, much like a bag caught in a hurricane. He had to prop himself against one of the walls to keep himself steady, as the storm of noise seem unrelenting.

Then. . .it stopped; the wall of sounds just abruptly ceased to be.

All three Funtimes fell deathly silent, with their bodies leaning forward as they appeared to shut themselves down. The coloured lights from their eyes rapidly died out and an uneasy silence quickly descended amidst the tension.

Not if even the other Vincent spoke, choosing to remain silent.

The only light in the entire hallway came from his SpringBonnie eyes, which now glowed a dim purple. The other Vincent turned to face Vincent, illuminating the latter. He smiled and as he did Vincent heard that voice again, speaking coldly, but not hiding their enjoyment of the situation.

"Dreams do come true Vincent, as do nightmares, yours in particular. . ."

"None of this is real Goldie, you cannot hurt me in here," Vincent mentally argued.

"As hard as you may try."

Goldie's response was both dismissive and yet eager.

"Mmmm, let's find out if that's really true together."

"It'll be fun. . ."

Suddenly, the eyes of all three Funtimes turned on, lighting up the hallway. Their eyes glowed brightly, as all three pairs turned in Vincent's direction, their gaze immediately hardening.

"Daddy, why did you let us die?" Circus Baby asked harshly. Her voice, it was Elizabeth's but it also sounded like Baby's, as though both had been thoroughly mixed together.

"Daddy, why did you leave us?" she asked again, emphasising the seriousness in her voice.

Vincent opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He couldn't speak, in truth he didn't what to say right now.

"You're a horrible father for what you did!" Funtime Foxy roared, opening up his faceplates with his yellow eyes narrowed in naked rage. His voice, it carried so much of Michael in it, the anger and disappointment that he held towards Vincent.

"Oh dear, looks like someone needs to have a heart to hear with good old Freddy, to confess his sins," Funtime Freddy bellowed, laughing manically as he spoke. His laughter, it sounded an awful a lot like Thomas.

Bonbon giggled and even that carried a degree of Thomas's laugh.

"Maybe we'll have to burn him like the wicked man that he is," he added hopefully, yet there was a threatening edge to his voice.

"Now there's an idea," Circus Baby muttered menacingly.

"What is wrong dad, has guilt got your tongue?" Funtime Foxy enquired humorously, but with an aggressive undertone.

Vincent didn't know what to say, anything he did say would be shot down, but at the back of his mind he knew the truth. He wasn't meant to win here, there was no point, all of this was just Goldie messing with him.

He needed to get out, to fight back and escape the dreamworld altogether.

Events outside needed him urgently, the memory stick, the critical information that it contained.

Fredbear Diner and what had become of its founder. . .Vincent had to make sure that it was delivered to its intended recipients.

He had devoted too much effort in this game of his to be beaten now, when he was so close to the endgame itself!

Vincent wasn't going to be beaten by his own demons or fears, no matter how hard Goldie tried to unsettle him. Although saying that was the easy part, there was still a significant challenge ahead of him.

Vincent just hoped that the Nightmares would be able to keep the Fazbears distracted long enough for him to get things securely back on track.

There had to be an exit to this place, if this was his own mind, then Goldie couldn't have complete control over all of it.

He needed to run, to put as much distance between himself and the Funtimes and the other Vincent. Because they all looked murderous, especially the Funtimes.

"I won't let you escape, if you are thinking of fleeing Vincent," Goldie replied, speaking seriously, as the three Funtimes begin to take big steps towards Vincent.

Even the other Vincent had turned to face him and his gaze was cold and threatening. His smile had vanished to be replaced by a dark frown.

"You'll stay right here inside this hell that I've made for you," Goldie ordered, sounding very direct in his tone.

"However, I will thank you for one thing though."

His serious tone didn't waver.

"Oh really, and what would that be exactly?" Vincent asked seriously, but with a hint of mockery.

"Given our history, you're certainly not one to give me actual praise for anything."

Goldie didn't significantly change his demeanour, but there was a degree of vengeance in his voice.

"True, but thanks to you and your obsession in dragging out every bit of enjoyment you could acquire from your quest for vengeance, by you by letting us live, we were able to finally catch up to you and look at how the tables have turned."

Then the vengefulness in his voice became very clear.

"Admit Vincent, you should have killed us all long ago."

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Funtime Freddy screamed, letting out an ear piercing mechanical wail. His faceplates shifted back and forth in quick succession as his walk rapidly turned into a full blown charge.

Funtime Foxy burst into action, with the humanoid fox running on all fours across the carpet floor like an animalist predator.

"Do you want to see the scooping room Daddy?" Circus Baby asked, her voice was low and the way she smiled sweetly only further enhance the creepiness factor.

"Or sing a song with me on stage, you'll be my special guest of the show," she offered, quickly walking forward, evidently not feeling the need to rush like the other Funtimes did.

Vincent's instincts yelled at him to run and he did so, turning on his heels and sprinting headlong into the darkness that surrounded him.

He knew that this place was based on his memory of his house. Yet he didn't doubt for a second that Goldie wouldn't have either laid some surprises for him, or could change the environment to suit his vengeful desires.

"COME ON DAD, WHEN WE FIND YOU, WE'LL GIVE YOU WHAT A FATHER LIKE YOU DESERVES!" Funtime Freddy yelled sadistically at the top of his lungs. His voice, it was blend of both Thomas and the animatronic.

They had become one and the same.

THUD!

There was a heavy thud against one of the walls, followed by the sounds of something quickly scampering across it and Vincent had the uneasy suspicion that Funtime Foxy was now crawling across the wall in a bid to hunt him down. This act left the hallway free for Circus Baby and Funtime Freddy to race down in their own pursuit of him.

Vincent forced the door ahead of him open, he could barely make it out in the pitch darkness. He nearly smacked it off its hinges as he burst through with tremendous speed.

There were no lights ahead him or anywhere for that matter.

He would have to survive by feel alone, whilst trying to find a way out of this trap that Goldie had set up for him.

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The sounds of something thundering down the hallway behind him and that of something else rapidly crawling across the wall further back forced Vincent to continue running headlong blindly down the corridor, searching in vain for a safe haven, let alone an exit.

He had no options really, he just had to survive.

He couldn't think straight and his need to keep moving forced him to continually breathe to maintain his stamina and he soon found himself on the verge of losing his breath. His adrenaline kept him from collapsing in exhaustion though and the primal fear instinct drove him onwards. It was partly successful in subduing the screams from his strained muscles, especially his legs to stop and rest.

His awful predicament fuelled Goldie's amusement, earning Vincent another mental comment from his tormentor.

"You can run Vincent, but you cannot hide," the Fazbear remarked confidently with immense satisfaction.

Vincent gave him no reply, he just kept on running as fast as his legs could carry him. The sounds of thuds and bangs echoing from behind him never ceased, driving him further forward.

He couldn't stop running, if he did, then he was as good as dead.

He just had to keep running. . .

---

(Begin the song here if you wish).

We see the long gloomy hallways of the Afton house seemingly stretching on forever.

We see Vincent constantly running to keep ahead of his pursuers, bursting through numerous doorways.

Behind him we can see the growing colourful glare of the Funtimes' eyes as they get increasingly closer.

"They'll keep you running."

Manic laughter rings out.

"They'll keep you running."

Hands reaching out to grab.

"They'll keep you running."

Heavy footsteps echo constantly.

"Running, running, running."

Funtime Freddy looks determined, as he peers through the gloom.

"You're back again I see."

Faceplates twitching.

"You're perfect for this occupation."

The thirst for blood hangs heavy in the air.

"With a general disregard, for your own self-preservation!"

Circus Baby's eyes illuminate Vincent when she spots him.

"Oh our newfound friend, we're glad to see you've made your way into our haunted tomb."

She quickly advances on him.

"Close your eyes, now let us surprise you, as we fix you up to join the crew. . ."

She screams, opening up her faceplates.

Vincent runs terrified beyond measure.

"You'll just keep running."

Circus Baby follows.

"Yeah we'll always catch you."

The chase never stops.

"Catch you. . ."

Funtime Foxy crawls overhead on the ceiling.

"You'll just keep running."

Angrily searching for Vincent.

"But we'll always catch you."

His faceplates shift in uncontained rage.

"Catch you. . ."

We see Funtime Freddy searching the hallways with eagerness.

"You can keep hiding, but we'll always find you."

His eyes narrow sinisterly.

"Find you. . ."

He bashes a door open.

"You can keep hiding."

Peers inside.

"But we'll always find you."

He smiles coldly.

"Find you. . ."

Vincent feels his way through the pitch darkness.

His heartbeat is like that of a marathon inside his chest.

"Running, running, running."

He bumps into 'something'.

It immediately turns round, revealing itself to be Funtime Freddy.

His blue eyes bore down into Vincent's.

"Running, running, running."

He looms over Vincent.

"Don't be still, everyone is waiting!"

His chest plates rattle.

"Quite the thrill, even you must agree."

He and Bonbon growl angrily.

"It's not fair, just to keep us waiting."

Their gaze is piercing.

"Watch us stare, quietly calculating."

The chest plates open up.

"How we intend to. . ."

Revealing the chest claw.

"Get revenge!"

Funtime Freddy advances on Vincent.

"You needn't worry because I'm sure you'll be dead soon!"

Vincent backs away.

"Keep delaying."

Funtime Freddy advances further.

"But we're staying."

Vincent turns and runs with the Funtime quickly giving chase.

"The tables have been turned and now is your time to learn the truth!"

We see Circus Baby searching the hallways for Vincent.

"You'll just keep running."

Her shadow dances on the walls.

"Yeah we'll always catch you."

She glitches between herself and Elizabeth.

"Cat- catch you. . ."

We see Funtime Freddy reaching out to grab Vincent.

"You'll just keep running."

His blue eye glow menacingly.

"But we'll always catch you."

He glitches between himself and Thomas.

"Cat- catch you. . ."

We see Funtime Foxy drop down before Vincent.

"You can keep hiding, but we'll always find you."

He glitches between himself and Michael.

"Fi- find you. . ."

Vincent ducks his attacks and runs.

"You can keep hiding, but we'll always find you."

Vanishing further into the darkness.

"Find you. . ."

Vincent finds himself in a dimly lit room that is completely lined by TV monitors emitting endless static and there is a metallic table sited before him.

On it he sees blood covered plushies of Fredbear, Circus Baby and Foxy.

There is the wooden music box with the small figure of a ballerina twirling away.

Vincent notes crude reddish writing on the table.

'The past can still haunt the present and yours will consume you'.

'You are your own worst enemy'.

Then the table abruptly vanishes, but it is replaced by someone else.

Vincent looks up to come face to face with SpringBonnie. .no, it's himself.

SpringBonnie eyes narrow as he grabs Vincent by the shoulder and stabs him in the lower abdomen with his knife hand.

Vincent falls backwards in immense pain, as the overhead lights flickers and the Funtimes suddenly appear beside SpringBonnie.

"You'll just keep running."

They all wear murderous smiles.

"Yeah we'll always catch you."

Glitching between themselves and the Afton children.

"Cat- catch you. . ."

They loom over Vincent like ravenous vultures.

"You'll just keep running."

One part of the monitor screen wall falls apart.

"But we'll always catch you."

Possessed Prop Suits crawl through the gap.

"Cat- catch you. . ."

Another part of the TV wall falls away.

"You can keep hiding, but we'll always find you."

The Possessed Fazbears march through.

"Fi- find you. . ."

All groups immediately converge on Vincent.

"You can keep hiding, but we'll always find you."

Multiple hands reach out to grab him.

"Find you. . ."

The hands withdraw, as everyone steps back.

SpringBonnie gradually steps aside to reveal Goldie standing behind him.

Goldie smiles coldly, feeling the power at his fingertips.

He laughs sinisterly at Vincent's plight.

"So is this your reality?"

The environment suddenly changes to that of the Originals' Pizzeria

"Or are you just stuck in a dream?"

Before shifting to the spacious Toys' Pizzeria.

"Have you been here before?"

Vincent looks arounds in confusion.

"I can tell you're unsure."

Goldie mockingly taps his head.

"Keep questioning everything."

No place left to run.

"You try to run we'll be there!"

No place left to hide.

"You try to hide we'll be there!"

Goldie steps back.

"You can't escape we'll be there!"

The others close in, reaching out for Vincent.

"Keep running we'll be there!"

Goldie's smile grows, whilst fading away as his puppets begin tormenting Vincent.

(Song ends).

---

Goldie smiled to himself, feeling beyond satisfied with what he had achieved so far.

Vincent's mind held no mental barriers, he was completely unprepared for Goldie's attack.

Once he was inside the murderer's mind Goldie met no resistance, allowing him to easily access Vincent's memories and they were a treasure trove of information.

As images and sounds flew across his mind's eye, Goldie could see countless items, environments and people that he didn't recognise. Yet he understood their potential, to finally uncover the full extent of Vincent's vengeance driven activities, it was all at Goldie's fingertips and he was going to exploit his supremacy to the absolute limit.

Torturing Vincent was at the top of his list, alongside gaining as much relevant information on what Vincent's future plans were and solving any past mysteries.

In particular Goldie wanted to know more about the Nightmares and their history with Vincent.

As various images flickered through his mental vision, Goldie could hear Vincent's shouts, cries and even screams from inside the little 'nightmare bubble' that he had created for the man behind the slaughter.

It was about time Vincent knew how it felt to be hounded. To constantly feel the need to look over one's shoulder.

Goldie could feel Vincent's terror emitting from the 'nightmare bubble' as the man fought against a combination of his inner demons and worst fears. It hadn't taken Goldie long to find what those were, as Vincent's recent confession had given the Fazbear all he needed to know on what would terrify him the most.

It had been long overdue, but Vincent was finally getting what deserved and yet to Goldie it didn't feel like it was enough.

"Even death itself is too good for you, you've stolen so much from us and I would really like to steal back the time that you've taken away," Goldie remarked coldly, as he focused his mental energies to bring in as many horrors from Vincent's past as he could reasonably think of, adding to the man's torment.

"Yet, I intend to make good use of the time that I do have, let's see what you've been hiding mister Afton."

He then ceased his concentration, allowing the nightmares that he had planted for Vincent to run their respective course. He knew that the nightmarish forms of Vincent's own children and the Funtimes hit several nerves with the man, but Goldie wanted to further explore those memories, without Vincent himself to distract him.

Then there were the other memories that caught Goldie's attention, words whispered to him at breakneck speed when he was speedily searching Vincent's memories earlier.

Ink Machine?

Bendy The Dancing Demon?

Something about the Illusion of Living?

That last meaning could refer to animatronics, as they were often made to look realistic to children. Who was Bendy the Dancing Demon though, an old animatronic dreamt up by Fazbear Entertainment on where to expand next during their golden years?

He remembered catching a glimpse of Vincent standing in a metallic room, presumed to be underground and he wasn't alone. Someone had been standing opposite him, all black and it looked as though the two were talking to one another.

Yet Goldie had been so utterly focused on seeking specific moments of torment for Vincent that he hadn't paid sufficient attention to the rest of the memories that he visited. As a result he didn't fully know which words or scenes connected together, it was all a jumble of memories.

However, some of them besides the ones referring to Bendy had equally intrigued him, even if it was just a single word.

Demogorgons?

The Upsidedown?

The Hawkins Conspiracy?

The name 'Hawkins' had an extremely vague familiarity about it, but Goldie felt that he had heard the word from somewhere, maybe in passing, but he couldn't remember from when.

Still, it was worth investigating and Goldie intended to gain as much information as he could on everything that was available to him.

He may never get another chance as good as this, he owed it to himself and to everyone else.

"I need to be fast though," Goldie reminded himself, ignoring Vincent's screams.

"Puppet and the others can only keep the Nightmares, animatronics and the Possessed Prop Suits at bay for a limited time."

Goldie knew that for as long as his attentions were directed inside Vincent's mind, he was vulnerable in the dreamworld. So was Vincent in fact, but obviously he was less at risk, given how most of the people present were on his side.

At the moment though he and Vincent had effectively gone down another level, to the actual mind of a person. The dreamworld in which they had just come from was as it currently stood a shared space created by the minds of the Originals and everyone had mentally flocked to it.

It had been chaotic when Goldie and Puppet ambushed Vincent and Goldie didn't know if spending a minute in here somehow transferred to being five minutes outside.

"Be quick and don't delay unless it concerns Vincent's future intentions," Goldie told himself, mentally reaching out to access more of Vincent's past memories.

He figured that he would have a much better understanding of events if he tried to follow a chronological path, but he would still need to move fast to save time.

Vincent's shouts and yells of both frustration and fear echoed around Goldie. It brought a feeling of enjoyment to Goldie, but he largely ignored it, focusing on the matter close at hand.

He soon found one memory that had previously caught his attention. He dived right into it and soon a scene developed before Goldie's eyes.

"Now Vincent," Goldie stated firmly, inserting him into the memory, watching it play out before him.

"Just what are you planning to do when the end finally comes, because this nightmare has to end eventually."

His dark red eyes narrowed in determination, in here he was merely a ghost. Invisible and undetectable to all within the memory as it repeatedly ran its course.

"You've dictated the game for too long, now it's our turn and things are going to change."

The scene playing out before Goldie situated Vincent standing in front of a figure as the two of them stood before a metallic table that had what were obviously blueprints laid on top.

The lightening wasn't good, so Goldie stepped forward, physically walking towards Vincent and the figure.

"Despite obviously working underground a lot you think that Vincent would have gotten himself some better lighting," Goldie mentally remarked, glancing around at the collection of IT equipment that ranged from TV monitors, computers and consoles. Not to mention the amount of technical gear, show lights, conveyer belts and metallic stages.

He noted the Funtimes off to one side on what appeared to be the main stage, all stationary and silent as they stared motionlessly forward like statues. Goldie could only see them due to the stage's colourful lights being on.

Yet it was Vincent and the figure that held Goldie's attention, the figure's voice was unrecognisable to him, despite appearing to occupy an important role in what was the background to this waking nightmare.

"The Hawkins Conspiracy," Vincent said, he sounded shocked, a realisation of sorts was hitting him.

"That town where government agencies were supposedly conducting conversational experiments, including ones on children?" he asked curiously.

"The very same mister Afton," the figure replied, their tone was low and soft, but there was unsettling edge to it.

"And that monster who invaded the house, it was related to those experiments?" Vincent enquired, leaning against the table.

The figure looked away as they spoke reflectively.

"You could say that, although it wasn't made by the people in Hawkins, it came from the Upside Down."

The figure's act of looking away from Vincent meant that they were looking directly in Goldie's direction.

The figure's eyes, they were a deep scarlet red that burned fiercely and it only made Goldie feel more unsettled.

This figure, there was some disturbing element to their nature and Goldie was naturally intrigued as he was made uncomfortable by the observation.

Then Vincent interjected.

"And you guys fought this leader of those monstrous creatures to a standstill and made a deal with it?"

"Yes, we had no choice really, but it was beneficial for everyone involved," the figure replied, sounding both reflective and slightly irritated.

"Once we've finished building Soulstealer I can show you what we gained in the trade off."

"I would naturally demand that, given how I need to know to how operate this machine," Vincent replied causally.

Despite that Goldie was now standing before both Vincent and the figure, he still couldn't see the latter clearly. The poor overhead lighting wasn't helping, but the figure seemed to almost cloaked in a natural darkness that hid their form, whereas Vincent Afton could be seen as clear as day.

Looking between Vincent and the figure, Goldie spied the blueprints on the table, there were two of them.

The one on the left was titled 'Soulstealer' and Goldie could see most of its specific components in good detail. It was impressive that Vincent had been able to engineer such a device, even if it was for horrible intentions.

The second set of blueprints interested Goldie greatly for he had never seen any machine quite like it.

The it was titled 'Ink Machine', with various scribbles dotted around its various diagrams.

The name Joey Drew was cited somewhere at the bottom, Goldie made a mental note of it.

Yet, despite the immense level of detail Goldie couldn't work out what the Ink Machine's purpose was.

Did it pour out ink as the name hinted, acting as a massive ink reservoir?

Who would need a machine as complicated as this for such a simple task?

It wasn't simple though and knowing Vincent's interest in it, the machine had to hold a more sinister purpose.

Goldie now turned to face the figure, bringing his focus back into the ongoing conversation.

"We can begin work on the electronic generator when the time comes," the figure remarked nonchalantly, yet there lay a degree of command in their tone.

"As I said before it needs more support to be wielded in place before we can even start on the electric generator," Vincent replied firmly, but he nodded in agreement with the figure's words.

"Besides mister Afton, I can show you the wonders that I gained from Joey Drew Studios."

"How are they wonders?" Vincent asked, clearly intrigued, to which the figure's eyes glow brightly, they appeared to be smiling as though satisfied by Vincent's question, replying with.

"The term 'possession' has many variants and 'living' examples."

Despite standing right next to the figure Goldie still couldn't them out, there was little to any distinguishable features to their build. Yet when the figure turned to look in Goldie's direction, the Fazbear snapped his fingers and the entire scene stopped immediately, freezing in mid-motion.

Goldie leaned in, he had nothing to fear, this was just a memory and he was merely a ghost among shadows. Even though it looked as though the figure was looking right back at him, studying him in turn.

"Now," Goldie whispered firmly, staring intensely at the figure, trying to further uncover its appearance, whilst ignoring the glare that their scarlet red eyes created.

"Who are you and what's your role in generating all of this chaos?"

"Because I have been dying to get some proper answers. . ."

---

The past can still haunt, but your fears are only as real as your mind makes them out to be.

However, what Goldie has trapped Vincent in is effectively his own Ultimate Custom Night.

I would add that going inside the mind of another person is as far as one can go in the mental world, with the dreamworld itself being either a shared or individual space and the individual within the dreamworld represents their soul/mind. Any direct interaction or harm to said person would have an effect on their body in the physical world, as shown through both Puppet's, Chica's, Foxy's and Goldie's earlier encounters with Nightmare Freddy.

If this complicated world building happens to remind you of the film 'Inception' then that is because it is very similar. I only realised the similarity when I was halfway through writing this chapter.

In my head canon the Funtimes are based off the Afton family, especially with how both Circus Baby and Ballora were made with Elizabeth and Miss Afton in mind. There is sufficient evidence from both Sister Location and UCN to prove that this is the case, especially with the voice lines from both Ballora and Circus Baby/Elizabeth Afton.

Therefore, it is easy to extend the idea that Michael and Thomas were the inspiration behind Funtimes Freddy and Foxy, particularly with how in canon both Michael Afton and Crying Child/Evan are attached to both Fredbear and Foxy.

Do please review, I appreciate your thoughts.

A minor spoiler for the next chapter, but we should be heading back to Springtrap and the ghost children. . .alongside other things. ;-)