(In Funtime Foxy's voice) "A PERFORMANCE WAS DEMANDED OF ME, AND NOW I HAVE DELIVERED, ENCORE!"
Really sorry it has been a very long while, blame writer's block and alot of conflicting priorities, but I was always working on this amidst everything else. I am not abandoning this story, if I were I would issue an update declaring so, rather than leave you to conclude after months of nothing that I have abandoned this story.
As for FNAF itself, the Tales From The Pizziaplex are still going strong, I won't spoil them here, but their stories are of a better quality than the Fazbear Frights with their characters, interlinked plotlines and lore reveal/connections to the games. The only thing that I find to be of poor quality when compared to Fazbear Frights are the epilogues. It really feels like the writers are just dragging things out in a Scream Style murder hunt to avoid revealing too much. Maybe in the latter TFTP books the epilogues will get better. . .hopefully.
Equally, everyone is waiting on the Security Breach Ruin DLC and we are not far off from May now, when it was first announced last year. I hope that Steel Wool have learnt the lessons of Security Breach (scope creep), but time will ultimately tell.
A huge thank you to AugustFrost for their reviews, your reference to the film 'Monster House' (and I have seen it) does give me some creative ideas! ;-)
Thank you to both FanQuiet1991 and bruhbru for deciding to follow this story, glad that you both find it engaging.
Anyhow, this chapter was originally much bigger, but as usual, I have split it in half to make the pacing smoother and avoid overloading. The next chapter will be uploaded when it is properly finished.
Do please enjoy and apologies for any grammar mistakes that I have missed.
Chapter 66
The Inky Depths of a Nightmare Conspiracy.
"I see your mind as the truth unfolds. . ."
Bendy the Ink Demon from Bendy and The Dark Revival.
Much had changed since Foxy and Chica left the main room. . .and not for the better.
There was a mechanical shriek and suddenly a shadow fell over both Foxy and Chica as they swiftly exited the vent and re-entered the main room.
Chica only just glanced up, to see the large humanoid shape of a Possessed Prop Suit leaping through the air towards her.
Its face plates were fully open wide like an animalistic predator; leaping for the kill with its tattered arms outstretched, as though to mimic actual claws.
"FOXY!" Chica screamed, quickly swinging her hammer upwards to knock the Possessed Prop Suit aside.
However, it turned out that Chica had swung far too high, and the Possessed Prop Suit had leapt at too low an angle to either be hit or reach Chica.
Instead, it hit the floor on all fours, only to then leap upwards toward Chica again, this time though she was able to score a hit with another swing of her hammer.
The blow caught the Possessed Prop Suit on the right shoulder, heavily denting its degraded shoulder pads and knocking it aside.
Immediately there came another shriek, a second shadow crossed over Chica and Foxy again, they both looked left.
To see another Possessed Prop Suit twirling straight towards them like a ballerina at high speed. Its face was that of a wide grin, fully showcasing both its rusted metallic endo jaw and rotten blacken human teeth. Having black vacant holes for eyes made its smile appear more menacing as it glided forwarded.
Then at the very last moment it pounced, its seemingly stiff legs bent outwards as it propelled themselves forward towards the Fazbears with their hands outstretched.
Neither Foxy nor Chica could react to its movements before it impacted them in the side.
The force sent both Fazbears reeling, Foxy fell to side, bringing Chica with him and she was on his other side, so when Foxy hit the floor Chica really felt his weight; she groaned in pain, feeling it flared up from her earlier wounds.
That only worsen when the attacking Possessed Prop Suit quickly launched itself again, directly landing on top of the pair and its weight was felt immediately.
Like a spider it crawled over Foxy, pressing down on him with its bulky and heavy metallic bodily frame.
"I. . .t i. . .s h. . .i. . .g. . .h t. . .i. . .m. . .e f. . .o. . .r t. . .h. . .e j. . .o. . .l. . . l. . .y p. . .i. . .r. . .a. . .t. . .e F. . .o. . .x. . .y a. . .n. . .d p. . .a. . .r. . .t. . .y g. . .i. . .r. . .l C. . .h. . .i. . .c. . .a t. . .o b. . .e d. . .i. . .s. . .c. . .a. . .r. . .d. . .e. . .d l. . .i. . .k. . .e t. . .h. . .e o. . .l. . .d r. . .e. . .l. . .i. . .c. . .s t. . .h. . .a. . .t t. . .h. . .e. . .y a. . .r. . .e!" (It is high time for the jolly pirate Foxy and party girl Chica to be discarded like the old relics that they are!) the Possessed Prop Suit hissed vengefully, and it only took both Foxy and Chica to recognise the voice's owner.
Amy Crawfield.
"I am getting really sick of all this talk about us being remnants of the past," Foxy growled aggressively, almost snarling as he shoved Amy off him.
His effort was enough to knock Amy backwards, but she quickly adjusted, twisting her arms in an inhumanly manner to support herself before she could fully fall back on the floor.
If any living human had done what she had, both their shoulders would have been dislocated.
Amy narrowed her rusted eyebrows and hummed thoughtfully for a moment.
"Y. . .o. . .u n. . .e. . .e. . .d t. . .o s. . .u. . .f. . .f. . .e. . .r f. . .o. . .r y. . .o. . .u. . .r s. . .i. . .n. . .s," (You need to suffer for your sins) she remarked adamantly.
"A. . .N. . .D W. . .E H. . .A. . .V. . .E B. . .E. . .E. . .N W. . .A. . .I. . .T. . .I. . .N. . .G F. . .O. . .R S. . .O L. . .O. . .N. . .G!" (AND WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG!) another voice screamed out in delight.
Instinctively and against his better judgement Foxy gazed in the direction of the new voice, only to see it belonged to the previous Possessed Prop Suit who had attacked them.
Knowing what was going to happen, Foxy quickly tightened his grip on Chica and lifted himself up off the floor. The second he did so, he heard the mechanical clicks from Amy's direction and those from the second Possessed Prop Suit, whose voice's he now registered as belonging to David Adam. Both Possessed Prop Suit sprang forward towards the Fazbears, with Foxy jumping out of the way. Chica had her hammer ready, but there was no need as Foxy was able to move beyond their attackers' respective reaches. Both landed nearby and were close enough to rush in again.
Yet, they merely adjusted their method, with Amy rising to stand back on her own two ballerina feet. David did likewise, only he retained a crouched posture, ready to get back to crawling on his hands and feet like a metallic spider.
In taking advantage of the small pause, Foxy and Chica gazed around.
The entire room was engulfed in utter chaos, mainly with the Possessed Prop Suits attacking everyone, Fazbear or animatronic with an intense savagery.
Freddy and Bonnie were still locked in their battle with Lefty and his Freddy Heads but were also bested by both Ned Bear and Happy Frog, the latter of whom was giving Freddy a hard time with her sharp claws.
However, a group of seven Possessed Prop Suits were viciously attacking all members of the group, with two of them, having leapt onto Lefty and brutally beating him to no end.
Meanwhile, Toys Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Balloon Boy were nowhere to be seen, regardless of where Foxy or Chica looked. Yet, from a large gaping hole in the room's southern wall, there appeared a large and red or orangish ominous glow. It looked a lot like. . .fire, open flames spreading outwards in all directions and propelling a gloomy black smoke forward like grasping hands.
The absence of Music Man, Pigpatch, Orville Elephant and Dee Dee was also noted with grave implications.
"I can only hope that the Toys are doing ok wherever they are?" Chica mentally wished, gazing around at the surrounding madness that appeared have taken hold of everyone present.
The main action however, seemed to be occurring around a small dome of stone in the centre of the room.
A crowd composing of the remaining Possessed Prop Suits was tearing into the dome, smacking, punching, battering, and trying to rip the stonework away. Their collective focus was both murderous and desperate.
The Rockstar animatronics, plus a few others like Candy Cadet, Candy, and Cindy, seemingly lead by Rockstar Bonnie were either bashing the Possessed Prop Suits aside like filmily rag dolls or trying with equal desperation to break inside the stone dome.
Speaking of which, where was Puppet, Goldie and Vincent Afton?
"Are they. . .inside that dome, if so, why?" Foxy mentally asked, feeling perplexed and surges of dread, although in truth he could only guess where either Puppet, Goldie or Vincent really were.
The sounds of gears clicking nearby, quickly brought both Foxy and Chica's focus back to Amy and David.
"Y. . .o. . .u l. . .o. . .o. . .k i. . .n. . .j. . .u. . .r. . .e. . .d C. . .h. . .i. . .c. . .a; d. . .i. . .d y. . .o. . .u h. . .a. . .v. . .e a h. . .a. . .r. . .d 's. . .h. . .i. . .f. . .t' w. . .i. . .t. . .h F. . .u. . .n. . .t. . .i. . .m. . .e C. . .h. . .i. . .c. . .a?" (You look injured Chica; did you have a hard 'shift' with Funtime Chica?) Amy asked mockingly, glaring daggers at the Fazbear in question.
"I c. . .a. . .n t. . .e. . .l. . .l y. . .o. . .u h. . .o. . .w i. . .t f. . .e. . .e. . .l. . .s t. . .o h. . .a. . .v. . .e y. . .o. . .u. . .r m. . .u. . .s. . .c. . .l. . .e. . .s s. . .t. . .r. . .e. . .t. . .c. . .h. . .e. . .d b. . .e. . .y. . .o. . .n. . .d b. . .r. . .e. . .a. . .k. . .i. . .n. . .g p. . .o. . .i. . .n. . .t." (I can tell you how it feels to have your muscles stretched beyond breaking point.)
She took a few steps forward, clenching her degraded metallic hands into fists.
"B. . .u. . .t i. . .n. . .s. . .t. . .e. . .a. . .d, I w. . .o. . .u. . .l. . .d m. . .u. . .c. . .h r. . .a. . .t. . .h. . .e. . .r s. . .h. . .o. . .w y. . .o. . .u." (But instead, I would much rather show you.)
"E. . .N. . .O. . .U. . .G. . .H T. . .A. . .L. . .K, I. . .T I. . .S T. . .I. . .M. . .E T. . .O D. . .I. . .E!" (ENOUGH TALK, IT IS TIME TO DIE!) David yelled and he immediately leapt forward, quickly followed by Amy.
Foxy turned and ran, with Chica having the luxury of watching David chasing them, Amy did too, but she took a different direction. . .
David simply crawled straight after Foxy and Chica, trying his best to match their speed, with all four of his limbs working overtime. He screamed a high pitch mechanical wail that was largely drowned out by the surrounding noise. His rusted eyebrows had narrowed, giving his relatively blank face an angry, if not murderous expression.
"We need to reach Freddy and Bonnie and help them!" Foxy exclaimed, rushing forward as fast as his legs could carry both himself and Chica.
"By bringing two more vengeful night guards with us?" Chica asked confusingly, briefly turning her head back to look over Foxy's shoulder.
"They're just night guards in old stuffy coffins," Foxy replied, keeping gaze forward.
"Not so much of a challenge, we can easily tear them to shreds if needs be."
"Well," Chica began, turning to look back at David, who was, despite the wear and tear of his metallic body maintaining his speed.
"David's body is still holding up remarkedly well."
The sudden rush of adrenaline that she felt had caused her pain to subside, which she was thankfully for at least.
Foxy's pain equally had reduced its frequency, but he had received considerably less punishment than Chica had.
Still, it hurt to run somewhat, with his muscles complaining after having been put under significant pressure when going up against Blank, but Foxy ignored it and kept running.
"Where is Amy?" Foxy asked concerningly.
"I don't see let alone hear her over all of this noise, this place has gone completely crazy, like a hurricane on the high seas."
Chica ignored David and looked both left and right, yet amidst the ongoing carnage; the mass of both multi coloured animatronics and the rusted grey painted Possessed Prop Suits all seem to blend into one another.
"I don't see her!" Chica cried, frantically darting her gaze in all directions, but being slung over someone else's shoulder did limit her mobility.
"Well, we're almost there," Foxy called back, as they neared Freddy's group. . .well Freddy's and Bonnie's multi-layered fight with Lefty. Multi-layered because it wasn't just them attacking Lefty, a group of Possessed Prop Suits were equally going berserk at the Nightmare possessed animatronic, grabbing, crawling and trying to tear him to pieces.
"FREDDY, CAPTAIN!" Foxy yelled desperately, waving his hook hand.
Somehow, despite the constant onslaught of noise, Freddy turned in Foxy's direction.
He had heard him.
Freddy still held his morning star and pistol and he looked both energised and tired by the struggle, but one could see the light in his blue eyes when he saw Foxy and Chica.
"Guys, thank Scott Cawthon you're still alive!" Freddy shouted with glee.
Suddenly, there was the swipe of a claw from behind him, Freddy sensed it beforehand and sidestepped, but the blow still caught him on one of his shoulders, resulting in a considerable flesh wound that drew blood.
"You better be more careful Freddy Fazbear, or Happy Frog here will steal the show!" Happy Frog chimed with sadistic glee, as she raised his razor sharp claws again for another strike.
The blow came down, but Freddy was more alert this time and ducked, with Happy Frog's strike missing him completely.
Having extended her arms out to hit him, Freddy took full advantage of the twisted animatronic's position and with his morning star, smacked down hard on her left claw, hitting it at the joint that connected the animatronic's claw to her arm.
There was an audible metallic snap, as the spiked ball broke through the joint and the claw fell to the floor with a heavy thud.
Happy Frog screamed with her pink eyes going wide; but she was not screaming in pain, rather in frustration. Quickly using her other claw, she punched Freddy hard in the chest, knocking him backwards, with the act making Freddy grunt out in pain.
"Hang tight, we're coming to the rescue captain!" Foxy shouted, pushing himself to the limits.
They were almost there, just a few more steps.
Foxy was so focused on the fight between Freddy and Happy Frog, that he didn't see the approaching danger.
Coming straight out of left field was Amy, still twirling on her tiptoes like a ballerina with her arms raised elegantly above her head.
As she rapidly closed the distance, she learned backwards and stretched her legs out, like ballerinas do when stretching in mid motion.
Putting one of her feet out far forward, Amy opened her faceplates, revealing a rotten mummified human skull impaled all over by metal rods and permanently stuck in an expression of complete horror.
She rolled forward at full speed and Foxy only noticed her at the last second.
Amy's feet sharply collided with those of Foxy's, who was still running at full speed.
The collision resulted in Foxy being propelled forward as he tripped; effectively doing a series of somersaults as the momentum carried him forward, dragging Chica along with him.
At one moment, he was looking straight ahead, then at the floor, then behind him but only upside down, followed by the ceiling and then straight ahead again as the cycle rapidly repeated itself.
Chica had an equally terrible experience, seeing her entire world spin and in doing so she let go of her hammer, as she was suddenly flung backwards.
The pain of hitting the floor several times echoed throughout both their bodies and fuelled the pain that they already felt from previous wounds.
Finally, though the cycle mercifully stopped once the momentum had been lost.
Foxy and Chica landed in a heap on top of eachother.
There was came the squeak of mechanical wheels and a shadow fell over both, looking upwards revealed that the shadow belonged to Amy, now holding Chica's hammer.
"O. . .h d. . .e. . .a. . .r, y. . .o. . .u t. . .w. . .o t. . .o. . .o. . .k a r. . .a. . .t. . .h. . .e. . .r n. . .a. . .s. . .t. . .y t. . .u. . .m. . .b. . .l. . .e, d. . .o. . .n't y. . .o. . .u r. . .e. . .m. . .e. . .m. . .b. . .e. . .r t. . .h. . .e r. . .u. . .l. . .e. . .s a. . .t F. . .a. . .z. . .b. . .e. . .a. . .r's P. . .i. . .z. . .z. . .e. . .r. . .i. . .a, a. . .l. . .w. . .a. . .y. . .s w. . .a. . .t. . .c. . .h y. . .o. . .u. . .r s. . .t. . .e. . .p." (Oh dear, you two took a rather nasty tumble, don't you remember the rules at Fazbear's Pizzeria, always watch your step.)
She then stomped down hard on Foxy's hook hand, making him scream out in agony.
"S. . .t. . .i. . .l. . .l, a. . .l. . .l. . .o. . .w. . . m. . .e t. . .o p. . .u. . .t y. . .o. . .u b. . .o. . .t. . .h o. . .u. . .t o. . . f y. . .o. . .u. . .r m. . .i. . .s. . .e. . .r. . .y," (Still, allow me to put you both out of your misery.) Amy sneered with fake reassurance.
Amy reached down and roughly grabbed hold of Foxy by the head with her free battered hand, before raising the hammer up high with her other hand. Despite her lack of expressive facial features, her tone of voice was one of pure delight.
"N. . .o. . .w i. . .t i. . .s t. . .i. . .m. . .e f. . .o. . .r t. . .h. . .i. . .s o. . .l. . .d r. . .a. . .g. . .g. . .e. . .d s. . .e. . .a. . .d. . .o. . .g t. . .o r. . .e. . .t. . .i. . .r. . .e t. . .o D. . .a. . .v. . .y J. . .o. . e's l. . .o. . .c. . .k. . .e. . .r p. . .e. . .r. . .m. . .a. . .n. . .e. . .n. . .t. . .l. . .y!" (Now it is time for this old ragged seadog to retire to Davy Joe's locker permanently!)
"NO!" Chica yelled, quickly thinking up of something to dream into reality, she had an idea, but just then another shadow fell over her.
She turned to her right and saw David in mid leap, arms so far outstretched that they looked like claws. His faceplates were wide open, fully showcasing his degraded skull, which just like Amy's was pierced by various metal spikes when the metallic skull of the suit's endoskeleton snapped back into place.
"G. . .O. . .O. . .D N. . .I. . .G. . .H. . .T C. . .H. . .I. . .C. . .A!" (GOOD NIGHT CHICA!)
BLAST!
Suddenly, David's right arm vanished, breaking off into several smaller pieces as his suit was seemingly peppered by many holes. The blast had knocked him back, if he had been alive all the wind would have been forced out of his lungs.
David fell backwards, screaming a high pitch wail of agony, as a recognisable pair of feet step out before Chica.
"Good night yourself David, sorry it has to be this way. . . truly," said a bittersweet voice, being one which Chica immediately registered. She looked up and standing defiantly above her was Bonnie, holding a shotgun.
She was covered with cuts and scratches of varying degrees, with her clothes torn in numerous places and her two bunny ears were decorated in bloodied bite marks.
WRACK!
Amy meanwhile was smacked viciously in the side with a spiked metal ball tied to a chain, Freddy's morning star. The impact forced her to stumble sideways, with her trying to recover, but Freddy didn't let up and swung again, this time, hitting Amy's legs and managing to seriously damage, if not break the knee joint of Amy's right leg, shredding off the protective metal casing and fully exposing the joint. A third swing by Freddy at the same joint caused it to snap right off, taking Amy's lower right leg with it.
Immediately she became unbalanced, staggering about on her one good remaining leg and using the hammer as a support staff to keep herself upright.
"ARRRGHHH!" Amy screamed, as Freddy landed a hard kick to her chest, knocking her over and sending her straight to the floor with a mechanical clatter.
"Sorry Amy, I don't want to harm you, but try to do that again to my family and I will be destroy you. . .utterly!" Freddy warned menacingly, looming over Amy, who backed back, quickly staggering backwards to create a safe distance.
Yet, Freddy sharply kicked the hammer out of her hand, the act making Amy fall over and using her hands to crawl weakly across the floor. Freddy pushed the reclaimed hammer back towards Chica, who instinctively grabbed it.
"Are you ok Chica and Foxy?" Freddy called out, not taking his eyes off Amy who continued her retreat with David quickly following her lead.
"We are still alive, but aching everywhere at once captain," Foxy groaned, slowly picking himself up off the floor. He then turned to help up Chica. Once she was fully upright, Foxy slung her over his shoulder again, with her hammer once more in hand.
"How long do we have to stay in this wretched hellscape for again?" Chica asked wearily, turning to face Bonnie.
"Until Goldie gets what he wants from Vincent," Bonnie replied factually, looking everywhere at once, as another small crowd of Possessed Prop Suits started to surround the four Fazbears.
"This will be your grave, no one leaves!" said a cold and serious voice, but it wasn't from a Possessed Prop Suit.
The group turned to see Lefty approaching them. He was missing an ear, an arm, the casing on his legs were cracked revealing the endoskeleton joints beneath. His chest had several large gashes that had broken parts of his animatronic shell, exposing his internal joints. His sole yellow eye burned with a murderous intent.
Happy Frog stood beside him, glaring killer vibes at any Possessed Prop Suits who dared to think about trying to either attack her or Lefty again. Minus her left hand and parts where her suit was dented, she looked relatively intact. Equally poking their heads out of the holes in Lefty's chest were his three Freddy Heads, their dark red eyes glaring out of the darkness and hissing aggressively.
"The party is not over yet," Lefty declared sternly, still projecting an imposing presence, despite his damaged appearance.
"You lost control of this party a while ago," Freddy stated with scorn, gesturing to the ongoing chaos.
"You don't get to call the shots anymore 'Lefty'."
Lefty narrowed his eyes, well, his sole yellow eye. He tightened his grip on his sword, having long since discarded his microphone when he lost his other arm.
Bonnie aimed her shotgun straight at Lefty, with her finger on the trigger.
"You can either die a quick death by my hands, or be torn apart by the vengeful nightguards, the choice is yours Nightmare Freddy, I know it is you under that suit."
"I reject both choices!" Lefty snarled, his sole eye darting from one Possessed Prop Suit to the next.
"Deal breakers, you only had to wait for a little while longer to get your vengeance, why attack us?"
"Y. . .o. . .u p. . .r. . .o. . .t. . .e. . .e. . .t a c. . .h. . .i. . .l. . .d k. . .i. . .l. . .l. . .e. . .r; y. . .o. . .u a. . .r. . .e n. . .o b. . .e. . .t. . .t. . .e. . .r t. . .h. . .a. . .n t. . .h. . .e F. . .a. . .z. . .b. . .e. . . a. . .r. . .s!" (You protect a child killer; you are no better than the Fazbears!) one of the Possessed Prop Suits declared angrily, pointing at Lefty accusingly.
Freddy mentally screamed in frustration upon being compared to Vincent again, there was a clear difference. Yet, in their rage induced state of mind the night guards could not be reasoned with.
"Y. . .o. . .u a. . .l. . .l n. . .e. . .e. . .d t. . .o d. . .i. . .e; o. . .n. . .l. . .y t. . .h. . .e. . .n c. . .a. . .n w. . e t. . .r. . .u. . .l. . .y b. . .e f. . .r. . .e. . .e!" (You all need to die; only then can we truly be free!) another Possessed Prop Suit cried murderously.
"Whatever happened to killing the one person responsible and then accepting the need to move on?" Bonnie dared to asked.
"Y. . .o. . .u d. . .i. . .d n. . .o. . .t t. . .r. . .y t. . .o s. . .a. . .v. . .e u. . .s; w. . .e h. . .a. . .v. . .e h. . .e. . .a. . .r. . .d y. . .o. . .u. . .r e. . .x. . .c. . .u. . .s. . .e. . .s B. . .o. . .n. . .n. . .i. . .e a. . .n. . .d w. . .e r. . .e. . .j. . .e. . .c. . .t t. . .h. . .e. . .m u. . .t. . .t. . .e. . .r. . .l. . .y!" (You did not try to save us; we have heard your excuses Bonnie and we reject them utterly!)
"Y. . .o. . .u a. . .r. . .e j. . .u. . .s. . .t a. . .s g. . .u. . .i. . .l. . .t. . .y a. . .s V. . .i. . .n. . .c. . .e. . .n. . .t A. . .f. . t. . .o. . .n!" (You are just as guilty as Vincent Afton!)
"Well, you can't say that we didn't try to reason with you and work things out first," Bonnie uttered coldly under her breath.
"This is a complete waste of time, let's just immobilise them and protect Goldie until he has done his integration of Vincent and then kill the bastard," she mentally remarked sourly.
Her purple reddish eyes wandered over to the small stone brick dome that was site din the centre of the room. It was surrounded on all sides by blood lust crazed Possessed Prop Suits and puppeteer animatronics, all brutally wrestling with eachother to get inside.
"Come on Goldie, hurry up and scan Vincent's mind so we can get away from this freakish place!" Bonnie mentally begged, but with underlying feelings of both frustration and exhaustion.
"I'm done with being stuck in the past, it is time to move on. . ."
Goldie stared head long at the figure who started back at him, only he knew it couldn't really see him.
This was just a memory, being replayed from Vincent Afton's past, one that Goldie was examining in his hunt for answers.
He knew that he couldn't stay in here forever, so he had to be careful with which memory he picked. Although that was easier said than done as every memory seemed important.
The figure that he was gazing at currently was almost completely shrouded in shadows, save only for their scarlet red eyes which partly lit up the area around their eyes, not revealing much. The figure appeared to be male, at best guess, although their deep voice largely confirmed Goldie's suspicions.
"What part have you played in all this madness?" Goldie asked, never expecting an answer, just voicing his own thoughts.
"Let's see then what 'wonders' you showed Vincent from Joey Drew's studios."
The name stuck out to Goldie, granted he had ever rarely heard of a 'Joey Drew'; it felt like it belonged to someone of importance though; certainly, in relation to everything which was ongoing.
"I'll need to fact check this with Jeremy when we return," Goldie muttered to himself, before snapping his fingers, allowing the reminder of the memory to play out before him.
Immediately the scene continued right where he had left it, unalerted by the pause.
"Possession is merely a general description, but like I said there are many different forms of it, which I and the other Nightmares have encountered in the preceding years," the figure announced factually, now looking away from Goldie and down at the blueprints for the Ink Machine.
"Sometimes emotions are all that possess an object or person, there is no 'person' behind the emotions, it is just feelings attached to a vessel."
They then turned to look directly at Vincent, who stared back at the figure, clearly intrigued in the ongoing conversation.
The figure continued, seemingly enjoying Vincent's curiosity. It was hard to tell accurately due to being shrouded in shadows. Yet, their tone despite being low was undeniably factually, like a college professor teaching a lecture on the very subject.
"Often or not, it is negative emotions that remain behind and the more intense the negative emotions of the person who died are, then those emotions manifest in both a spiritual and physical presence."
"For example, heavy or cold air, a feeling of being watched by unseen but vengeful eyes, or a blood or oily stain at the site where the person died that causes any onlooker to feel uneasy, sick or disturbed."
"We call those events, hauntings."
The figure continued speaking in a low and deep voice, whilst carrying a degree of professionalism in their tone, like they were recounting from actual experience rather than mere fact.
"The most powerful of all emotions is agony mister Afton, for it leaves behind the strongest residue."
"And this relates to Joey Drew Studios how exactly?" Vincent asked curiously, gesturing over to the Ink Machine blueprints.
"I would also like to know the answer to that question," Goldie remarked inquisitively, his dark red eyes flickering back and forth between the two individuals as he stood before them.
The figure smiled, or at least its scarlet red eyes seemed to emit a smile with how brightly they glowed.
"Because it turns out that the feelings of a creator can be passed onto their creations," they answered impressively, as though Vincent's question had pleased them.
They then bent down and seemed to reach for something underneath the metallic table.
"Clear away the blueprints, this will need all of the space," the figure said authoritatively, followed by the sounds of it lifting something heavy off the floor.
Vincent immediately folded up the blueprints of both the Ink Machine and Soulstealer neatly, before filling them away in his trouser pocket.
With the table completely cleared, the figure pulled up what appeared to be a large metal jar. . .or a can. . .or. . . was vat a better description for it, Goldie couldn't be sure.
THUD!
The metallic jar was indeed heavy looking whilst the figure placed it on the table.
Goldie guided by his curiosity stepped closer, particularly moving to now stand between both Vincent and the figure.
Now under the pale white light from overhead projectors, the jar's details could be seen.
The words 'Fragile Property of Joey Drew Studios' were printed all around its cylinder frame, but they appeared to worn and aged.
The figure reached out and gripped hold of the cylinder's top and slowly twisted it, revealing it to be a screw cap.
Once the cap had been removed, the cylinder's inner contents were revealed with both Vincent and Goldie leaning in to get a better look.
It was ink, black, gooey ink. It was thick enough that it gleamed under the overhead lights.
"Creations, this is just ink," Vincent commented, sounding both confused and disappointed.
The figure slowly shook their head in disapproval, before speaking with an ominous tone.
"Appearances can be deceiving mister Afton."
Slowly, they took hold of one of Vincent's hands and pulled it towards the ink jar's opening.
"Sometimes we need to take a closer look to see beyond the veil and witness the joy of creation, watch it break free of the illusion of living by becoming. . .real."
Suddenly, several ink human hands, child sized rose out of the ink reaching for Vincent's hand, followed by a loud chorus of groans, moans and screams.
"WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL!" Vincent and Goldie yelled in unison with both instinctively leaping backwards, Vincent broke free of the figure's grip on his hand.
"ARE THERE PEOPLE IN THAT INK?" Vincent cried in disbelief.
"No, not people any more really," the figure replied calmly, before their tone became authoritative.
"Just remnants, some are more intact than others though, but they are stuck in a well of torment, negative emotions feeding one another and creating an absolute cesspool of misery."
The ink hands continued to reach out, grabbing nothing but air, although they didn't cease wailing. Their voices whilst sounding as though they were drowning, where a mixture of sheer agony, desperate pleading, and ruinous anger.
"The dark puddles are endless!"
"I can see nothing but running torrents of ink!"
"Save us from the Ink Demon!"
"Ink Demon?" Vincent muttered, clearly confused, as well as shocked by what he was witnessing.
"Are they. . .by chance referring to Bendy?" he asked curiously, turning to face the figure.
"Everyone has their own horror stories mister Afton, Joey Drew created his own nightmares when trying to literally bring his creations to life," the figure replied factually.
"The results were disastrous as you can see for yourself."
"And how does this ink from Joey Drew help us exactly?" Vincent asked, cautiously gesturing to the vat of ink from which the array of ink hands continued to reach out from. Goldie meanwhile just stared at the grasping ink hands, listening attentively to the figure's word as they spoke convincingly of the ink's nature.
"It helps us because although the ink recreates, or tries it to recreate the intended character, it has an interesting quality of manifesting one's inner nature as well. Throw someone into the ink and they remerge as a mixture of both the intended character design and their own original form with their mental baggage."
"Regarding agony, it has a similar outcome, where the negative emotions of one person can physically manifest as their worst characteristics; although there is little to no soul inside, just a mindless beast in human form. . .or worse."
"You speak as though you have experienced it first hand?" Vincent asked, not taking his eyes off the link jar, as the array of ink hands continued to reach outwards.
"I have," the figure replied stoically.
"Seen it with my own eyes, the horrors of the Ink Machine, its malformed creations and the machinations of Bendy and Alice Angel."
"Wait, Bendy and Alice are actually real?" Vincent asked, sounding astonished, but he still didn't take his eyes off the ink jar.
"Oh, they are mister Afton," the figure replied delightfully, with an invisible smile evident on their shrouded face.
"As real as this ink, walking deranged embodiments of agony stalking the hallways of their former home, locked into an endless cycle with thousands of other unfortunate souls, although Bendy is unique in that he is soulless."
"And it is through the ink that we can strengthen the process of enabling the Nightmares to take over their host bodies and have them reform to match their own original forms."
"I understand the logic," Vincent answered, although there was a degree of hesitancy in his tone, which the figure immediately picked up on.
"I think a live demonstration would help show you what I truly mean, do you have a spare plushie?"
"I. . .I only down here, I have plushies of Bendy and the gang," Vincent muttered, immediately turning towards his work desk.
"I mostly just have Bendy down here, but sometimes I bring the others to have more company."
He immediately walked over, paused as he looked over his mini collection of black and white coloured plushies.
"I have a few spare plushies of Bendy," he said, picking up one.
"That'll be perfect." The figure replied, evidently pleased, as Vincent quickly re-joined them.
"Drop it into the ink and observe," the figure commanded, and Vincent obeyed as such. He let the plushie fall into the ink, quickly grabbed by the array of ink hands as it fell.
It was pulled into the depths of the ink jar with the hands, disappearing completely from sight.
Goldie meanwhile has been watching with both fascination and dread. To see the depths of horror that Vincent had descended to when making his alliance with the Nightmares left him deeply troubled. Ink demons and deranged angels from a cartoon studio?
How come no one else knew about such monsters?
He had never heard of urban stories like this; but it was right up there with the nightmare stories emitting from Freddy's Pizzeria.
"Why does this rabbit hole have no ending," Goldie muttered frustratingly, feeling exasperated.
"I want answers, not more questions."
Suddenly, a blob like form jumped out of the ink and landed on the table before the ink jar, much to the shock of both Vincent and Goldie. The figure however seemed to be completely unfazed.
Immediately, the blob began to take shape, turning into a small humanoid figure as a pair of signature devil horns emerged from the top of its head.
Succeeding the horns were a pair of legs and white glove hands.
A creepy smile with teeth looking like a series of piano keys made up the mouth; yet the eyes remained covered by a mess of ink. It was Bendy, who did a small showman's bow before the three onlookers.
A quick glance from Goldie in Vincent's direction revealed the man to be completely dumbstruck and so was Goldie himself.
"Bendy?" Vincent asked cautiously, to which the little Bendy figure gave Vincent an intense stare.
"As you can see mister Afton, the ink has completely recreated Bendy from the plushie, by infusing it with either a soul, or it has absorbed the emotions of those souls present in the ink," the figure stated unconcernedly, its bright scarlet red eyes bore down on the little Bendy.
"And like I said earlier, it knows nothing but agony and if it comes into contact with any other being. . ."
The figure reached forward with one of their claws and immediately Little Bendy (as Goldie named him) stared to growl, frowning aggressively at the shadowy figure. It even raised its hands, which had now morphed into claws.
Little Bendy only started to scream when the figure's claw closed in, the scream being a low pitch cry, a warning.
Yet the figure ignored it, swiftly grabbing Little Bendy and held it tightly between its sharp fingers.
Little Bendy responded by biting down on the figure's fingers repeatedly, but the figures paid no mind to Little Bendy's actions.
"It will fight instinctively, regardless of the odds, it will try to kill you because all it can understand is the urge to do so," the figure continued nonchalantly.
"We Nightmares however are different beings; we are no longer mindless beasts, we have our own minds, despite our strong animalistic tendencies."
"So, we should not be affected by the process, unlike our little friend here."
"Shouldn't it make more sense to somehow I don't know, purify the ink to remove these tormented souls first before using it on the Nightmares?" Vincent asked curiously, he still wasn't taking his eyes off little Bendy, who continued to trash away in the figure's grip to break free, but to no avail.
"There is a way I think, although it is not as straight forward as I would like it to be," the figure muttered, their words carrying a tone of mild annoyance, but they also sounded reflective, appearing to think back.
"Fire, at an intense high level, supposedly from my own observations it can break down the remaining cohesion in the souls that linger in the ink, the remaining qualities however are not as badly affected; but in truth I do not know the full extent to which fire can affect the ink, depending on the flame's strength."
"Yet, I get your point, to avoid there being a fight over who gets to possess the body; there only needs to be two souls present, the original and the Nightmare and the latter one needs to win."
"And what if it doesn't win?" Vincent asked, there being an undertone of worry in his voice.
"Personally, I would kill it if I thought that it was going to attack me."
"I agree, in the end the Nightmare will be forced out, it doesn't matter what happens to the body then," the figure replied firmly, their scarlet red eyes glowing softly.
"We would just need to find a fresh one and restart the process, an easy fix."
"You can literally disappear into the shadows, but I cannot despite being good at covering my tracks; especially when people start to ask questions about the disappearances," Vincent remarked plainly, but there was an element of annoyance in his voice.
"Then for your benefit mister Afton, we best make sure that the first attempt works perfectly," the figure replied confidently, their scarlet red eyes glowed brighter as they spoke with an ominous tone.
"I hold you to it Nightmare," Vincent muttered authoritatively, narrowing his green eyes at the figure.
"You promised me anyway and I will not forget your vow."
"Nightmare?" Goldie asked outloud, turning to face the figure in question.
Indeed, the figure was a Nightmare and name 'Nightmare' alone suited them perfectly, seemingly made entirely out of shadows.
"So, that's your name," Goldie whispered coldly, staring hard at the figure.
"You are the one who gave Vincent the means to bring the Nightmares into our lives and just so you could be free of Tommy."
Nightmare then turned in Goldie's direction, looking directly at him and although Goldie knew this to be all a memory; it did feel like Nightmare could see him, piercing right through Goldie's soul.
The haunting scarlet red eyes of Nightmare made Goldie feel. . .uneasy and on guard.
"I promised you Vincent and I make that promise again; the method will work and together we will both get what we want, freedom and vengeance," Nightmare said confidently, walking forward. The little version of Bendy was still biting down on Nightmare's fingers, struggling to pry himself free from the Nightmare's grasp, but Nightmare continued to ignore him effortlessly.
"Still, changing the subject slightly," Nightmare muttered curiously, as he walked right through Goldie, who only saw darkness swallow him whole before emerging on the other side. Goldie turned round to face the Nightmare, who continued walking forward.
Nightmare's attention was solely set on the four animatronics on the nearby show stage, which was dimly lit up under the dulled colourful stage lights.
Goldie followed the Nightmare's gaze, focusing on the four animatronics. They were frozen in place on the stage, leaning forward, properly because they weren't powered on and their weight was pulling them down.
"Are you firmly set on keeping your Funtime animatronics down here, in the dark, locked away and unseen by anyone forever after?" Nightmare asked curiously, yet there was an element to his voice that Goldie could only describe as devious.
Nightmare turned back to face Vincent and in doing so he ended up looking directly at Goldie again.
The expression in Nightmare's eyes was one of curiosity, but there was something else as well, but Goldie couldn't describe it.
Annoyance, sadness, something between the two perhaps?
"It is such a shame for your decent craftwork, to consign them permanently to this state of limbo," Nightmare said solemnly.
"They will remain here, where they are safe from my actions, from any of the chaos that I have unleashed," Vincent answered firmly.
"We are not using them in any capacity, I did think about it, draw up the blueprints, but I made my decision not to include them at any level."
"I made Circus Baby, Ballora, Funtime Foxy, Funtime Freddy, Bonbon and Ennard for them; they were Elizabeth's dream; I made it a reality and I won't let them become tainted."
"One's emotional taint can manifest in many forms Vincent, as I explained a short while ago," Nightmare replied reflectively, but there was a sternness to his voice.
"Our grief, anger, sorrow and ambition can leave marks behind, both shallow and deep."
Vincent looked away, with his voice becoming noticeably sorrowful as he spoke.
"My anger and grief will not result in the Funtimes going rogue and attacking others; I wanted to honour Elizabeth, Michael, Thomas. . .Evelyn."
"I did it for them and nothing else, the Fazbears and Fredbear can suffer as much as I can make them, but my Funtimes are strictly off limits."
Nightmare sighed, he seemed to give the impression of lowering his shoulders, before asking reflectively with a degree of seriousness.
"Fair enough Vincent, I won't push on it anymore, but remember what we wrote to you in that letter when I first made contact with you?"
"Which part specifically, you described everything that I did and how I did it with vivid detail," Vincent replied. Goldie immediately turned to look at Vincent, the Fazbear's eyes were alight with intrigue.
"A letter, so that's how they reached out to you," Goldie muttered to himself, mentally noting the word. He had to go further back into Vincent's memories right now!
"The part where 'we', spoke about using all tools at our disposal to achieve our aims and to make the outcome. . .decisive," Nightmare answered, almost purring at the last part with a demonic edge.
A ravenous bloodlust desire lurked in his scarlet red eyes, which made Goldie feel deeply nervous.
"I know," Vincent muttered solemnly, turning around, and gazing in the direction of the half bulit machine they had dubbed 'Soul Stealer'.
"I have done all I can to make Fredbear and his family suffer and yet I know that I can keep digging, to reinforce the pain and push them beyond their breaking point."
"The last thing that they have left, even if they feel abandoned by it. . .is hope."
"They still have hope, a chance to be free of me and everything. I want to give them one last fleeting grasp for that opportunity, before crushing it completely."
"I know you do Vincent," Nightmare said calmly, but his scarlet red eyes held a delightful, if not ominous expression in them.
"We have the means to make the Fazbears beg for death, when we take away their last hope for true happiness," Vincent added coldly.
"You. . .heartless wretched man!" Goldie yelled, particularly screaming blue murder at Vincent; yet it counted for nothing in a memory such as this.
Vincent merely continued to speak uninterrupted.
"When mister Freddy Fredbear or rather 'Fred' sold Fredbear's Family Diner, largely because of the PR nightmare with Charlie's death that I caused. . ."
"You loved the act you mercilessly monster!" Goldie growled venomously, as his hands turned into fists.
"And you drove SpringBonnie into a coma!"
Then Goldie's shoulders slacken, and he unclenched his fists, forcing down his rage.
"What I could give to just speak to SpringBonnie. . .just one more time. . ."
Yet Vincent's next words brought Goldie right out of his sorrow like a blot of lighting.
"Fredbear tried to buy the business back from Fazbear Entertainment a few years later, but they refused his 'generous' offer."
"This development, the fact that someone else, the original owner no less was seeking to buy back the franchise from them; which in the business world could be interpreted to mean that FE was easy pickings with a failing enterprise pushed Fazbear Entertainment to bury all correspondence with mister Fazbear."
"Mister Fredbear tried to get us back?" Goldie remarked astounded, turning to face Vincent, and letting his words sink in.
"They didn't bury it deep enough if you know about the offer Vincent," Nightmare said assumingly to which Vincent nodded with a knowing smile.
"Indeed, I found it after taking a long thorough look through Fazbear Entertainment's files when I was visiting their headquarters back in 1985 when collecting a few fiscal files for Henry Emily, regarding future funding for his animatronic creations."
Vincent's smile grew as he continued, evidently pleased with himself.
"I wasn't meant to see it, but the lady managing the records desk had to leave for some reason, an emergency call regarding family I believe; anyway, they left me alone in the room and my curiosity got the better of me."
"Someone had thought to save a copy of it in the company's 'negotiations' folders, despite it being marked down for shredding, their interns weren't the brightest of people."
Vincent turned to face Nightmare, but the man's eyes seem to gleam with sinister delight and his tone was one of unbridled pride, but his overall expression of enjoyment was chilling given his ominous intentions.
"Yet, that file's contents were a goldmine of information, and they gave me exactly what I needed to render the Fazbears completely devoid of any desire to live."
Goldie's eyes widen in open horror.
"I need to see that business offer and the letter which Nightmare sent him," Goldie whispered urgently to himself, swiftly turning to go.
He had heard enough, whatever was left in this memory could be guessed at another time.
Goldie ran by Nightmare, taking a quick glance at them, but despite running right next to him, the Nightmare's physical features remained hidden deep in shadow.
It was like a personal shadow, a black cloak that wrapped itself around the Nightmare, as though it treasured its true appearance like a well guarded secret.
"An interesting little secret for you to have uncovered Vincent," Nightmare remarked, sounding rather impressed and sharing the corrupted sense of joy that Vincent felt.
"However, whilst we are dreaming big for the future, let's return to the present and laid the groundwork for those dreams."
Goldie stopped in mid-step and looked back; his interest had been earned again.
Nightmare's scarlet red eyes looked down at Little Bendy, who was still trying to wiggle free and had been for quite a while.
"Starting by getting enough hosts down here, we only need four to get the job done," he said determinedly.
"I have chosen Nightmares Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy to help you; Plushtrap, Nightmare Fredbear and myself will remain watching over Thomas, we'll keep him safe."
"Your kind Nightmare are not what I would describe as ideal guardians for my son," Vincent remarked, with a degree of annoyance.
"To be honest Vincent, you have no choice in the matter," Nightmare replied with an undertone of both smugness and dominance.
"Besides, we will protect Thomas with our lives, having monsters as protectors in a place like Limbo is a Godsend; I have said enough already for you to know the kinds of 'people' that call Limbo home and they will see your son as a meal. . .or worse."
Vincent visibly tightened his hands, trying to compress his inner rage and Goldie swore that he heard Nightmare emit a pleasing growl before he continued with.
"We'll be guardians instead of Nightmares to your son and we will remind him of his boundaries, you alone know that some children don't recognise danger."
Then Nightmare chuckled, his laughter being deep and yet clearly dismissive.
"Their nativity was an advantage for you in your SpringBonnie suit, but don't worry we won't let Thomas be snatched by a stranger," he added firmly, restraining his laughter.
"Which reminds me, have you finished those drawings of Puppet, Mangle and Balloon Boy that I requested?"
Vincent visibly relaxed, shrugging off his anger enough to reach across to his work desk and grab something before holding it out to Nightmare.
A claw nearly shrouded in shadows grabbed it, swiping it from Vincent's grasp in less than a second.
Nightmare's scarlet red eyes lit up the picture with a luminating scarlet red glow, but Goldie could see the coloured figures of Puppet, Balloon Boy, and Mangle. Even Little Bendy seemed to be momentarily distracted by the drawing's appearance. It was more than enough to stop him struggling in the Nightmare's grip.
"Ah, yes, very detailed, with this we Nightmares can make more guardians for Thomas, to fill in for Nightmares Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy," Nightmare noted, evidently pleased.
"Combine these with Joey Drew's ink and Thomas's mental fears, the end results for these three Nightmares should be fascinating."
Nightmare folded the drawing up and placed it somewhere on his person, with the item disappearing into the shadows that cloaked him.
"Now, let's focus on getting those hosts, do you know anywhere in town where someone disappearing won't cause any concern?" Nightmare asked curiously, but there was now a great deal of sadistic mischief in his voice.
"I have thought about potential locations. . ." Vincent murmured, casting a glance at the constructed machinery of Soul Stealer, it being merely a shadow of its intended form.
"Have you selected one at least?" Nightmare inquired, clearly intrigued.
"I have, it is probably the best of the bunch," Vincent answered, turning to face Nightmare directly.
"We will go when Soulstealer is complete though," Vincent added with a degree of firmness.
"I don't intend to keep people locked up down here for too long, certainly not long enough for people to get suspicious, we bag our four contestants on the night that we activate Soul Stealer."
"We certainly cannot have any witnesses, you especially cannot afford it," Nightmare replied, nodding as he did, with his eyes again falling onto Little Bendy.
"Speaking of witnesses, I believe it is now closing time for our little darling devil Bendy here."
Little Bendy seemed to understand the implications of Nightmare's words, as he immediately resumed thrashing about violently in the Nightmare's claws. Yet, Nightmare merely tightened the pressure until the little ink demon could bear no more.
There wasn't a crack of bone as Goldie expected, but rather a mini explosion of ink. What was once solid rapidly turning in liquid that ran through Nightmare's fingers. The Nightmare then exhaled deeply, sounding relived as he spoke.
"Considering that I didn't get to pay the real Bendy back for his actions, like I did with Alice Angel when I took out her right eye, this act compensates me nicely for his devious backstabbing."
Vincent then looked at Nightmare oddly, his expression being a mixture of confusion and mild amusement.
"He is a literal devil, were you actually surpised that he backstabbed you?"
Nightmare seemed to sign and drop his shoulders, or at least he gave the impression that he did. When judging by his embrassed tone of voice that was only marred by annoyance.
"I was not surpised, but I should have caught on that he secretly knew I was using him earlier than it was. . .convenient."
Nightmare then marched forward towards Vincent, seemingly shrugging off the matter.
"Anyway, past betrayals aside, show me on a map where this ideal first location of yours is mister Afton."
Goldie quickly turned to leave, he had seen more than enough already, although he did want to stay and see more of this interaction. Yet, he reminded himself of what his priorities were.
Gather as much information as he could out of Vincent, particularly of what his future plans were and then quickly depart to re-join Puppet. This memory was one of countless others and it didn't hold all the answers that Goldie sought.
Yet, as he swiftly ran pass the Funtimes, Goldie suddenly remembered Vincent's earlier words about them being inspired by his deceased children and wife.
Deciding to take a quick look, Goldie snapped his fingers, freezing the memory.
With everything now paused again, he steadily walked over to Vincent's animatronic creations. Upon doing, so the individual characteristics of the Funtimes stood out, along with the heavy circus theme that accompanied their overall design.
The Circus Clown girl, aka Circus Baby looked real enough, baring a white skinned human face with red hair that was tied on both ends as ponytails. Her soft looking red dress skirt seem to gleam under the low hanging lights. Yet, it was her vibrant green eyes that held Goldie's attention, something about them looked odd; not off putting, but mysterious in that there was a real life like quality to them.
If Goldie's inner instincts didn't tell him that Circus Baby was an animatronic, then he could have completely believed that she was human. The same could be said of Ballora when Goldie's eyes meet hers. The ballerina animatronic held her eyes closed, as she stood as still as a statue in her purple skirt, blue tights, and ballerina décor. Funtime Foxy in his smart pink and white suit with accompanying gloves looked impressive with his dulled yellow eyes. He was frozen in a showman's pose, despite leaning forward, with his arms reaching out. Funtime Freddy looked rather imposing in his equally blazing white and purple suit, attire. His bright blue eyes, coupled with his shining black top hat and the green eyed blue rabbit hand puppet; who Goldie deduced to be Bonbon certainly did the trick in making Funtime Freddy every bit the entertainer of children.
The entire Funtime lineup towered over Goldie, with Circus Baby seeming to be the tallest as she loomed over the dimly lit show stage. Despite this all being a memory, Goldie felt a streak of nervousness run up his spine, as the Funtimes seem to be looking directly down at him.
"I hope that Nightmare's words on one's agony infecting things around them doesn't come true with you four," Goldie muttered determinedly, shifting his gaze from one Funtime to the next.
"However, if you have indeed fallen to Vincent's corruption, then we'll find you guys and shut you down permanently, I promise you that."
When he returned his eyes to those of Circus Baby's, he felt resolute in his determination.
"Henceforth nothing of Vincent Afton's creation will be allowed to cause any more harm."
Then Goldie noticed an outlier, someone was missing in the Funtime animatronic line up.
"Where's Ennard, there's only four animatronics?" he asked out loud, never expecting an answer, but he did look around to see if there was any 'fifth' animatronic.
Upon seeing nothing else worth his time, Goldie signed and turned to leave.
"The absence of an animatronic matters little right now," he remarked dismissively.
"Still, if those Funtimes have turned rogue and gotten loose from this place, then it only makes everything more complicated."
"I don't fancy chasing down murderous animatronics, but such is my life."
Then he turned to leave, walking away from the Funtime stage.
"I need to find that Nightmare letter and mister Fredbear's offer to Fazbear Entertainment, I need go back deeper into Vincent's memories," he whispered to himself, focusing his mind as he left the memory.
"After that, I'll go straight ahead to present day and see what Vincent has in mind for the future, he'll have drawn it up at some point."
Mentally moving forward, or what he thought was forward as there was no real sense of direction when wandering between memories, Goldie did his best to travel through Vincent's memories.
He passed by images and moments of both distant times and recent, Vincent's mind was a goldmine of information; but Goldie knew that he had to be selective about where he went due to time constraints. Although he couldn't really feel the passage of time whilst he wandered this literal head space.
Puppet couldn't keep potential intruders at bay for long though, regardless of her determination to give Goldie as much time as it was humanly possible. Puppet knew it was a big ask, but she understood the stakes, and this was as good a shot as any in taking Vincent down, or at least severely comprising him.
Forcing Vincent to be brutally tortured by his own family, his animatronic creations and all his past mistakes was a good place to start in breaking him down.
Yet as Goldie travelled, looking at everything at once to decide whether a passing memory was worth visiting; he couldn't help but think about Nightmare and what he had said about the nature of souls and agony, not to mention the strange qualities of that sentient ink.
The Nightmare certainly possessed a significant amount of experience in what they spoke about, clearly a first-hand account.
"Still though," Goldie pondered out loud.
"How did they come by the likes of Bendy or whatever, are the Nightmares merely constructed of ink, they are very much flesh and blood when harmed."
"And why did Nightmare want a drawing of Puppet, Mangle and Balloon Boy, to boost the Nightmares' numbers sure, but why a drawing of all things?"
He mentally paused, thinking back to the Nightmare's exact words, on combining the drawing with Joey Drew's ink and Thomas's mental fears.
"Was Nightmare. . .aiming to literally bring the drawings to life, as Joey Drew attempted with Bendy and Alice Angel?" Goldie muttered with dread in his voice.
"Did he pour the ink onto the drawings and somehow make the drawings turn into real Nightmares, but then how did Thomas's fears play into their creation?"
He shook his head to temporarily clear his thoughts.
"In the end it worked, as Nightmares Puppet, Balloon Boy and Mangle are undoubtedly real."
"There seems to be a nightmare version of everyone these days, me, Freddy, Chica, Puppet, Mangle, even SpringBonnie if that is really Plushtrap's connection."
Then he realised something, another outlier.
"Who does Nightmare represent?" he asked himself curiously.
"Who is he based off?"
Goldie quickly went back through his mental list and discovered that Nightmare didn't match anyone in the Fazbear family. Despite not knowing the Nightmare's true appearance, it could only be someone that Tommy knew. At least that was the theory given how the Nightmares looked and what truth they had openly revealed about their origins.
"Nightmare is an unknown, but he certainly has a leading role in all of this chaos," Goldie mused, shaking his head as he cleared his thoughts yet again.
"I need to know more; a reoccurring theme in this place, but I must find that letter Nightmare gave Vincent, as well as Mister Fredbear's offer to buy us all back and if I have enough time, find out what Vincent's plans are going forward."
His hands tighten into fists as he walked forward, feeling the frustration rise inside him like a howling storm.
"You have kept us in the shadows for ages Vincent, but I will uncover everything, you'll hold no more secrets from us," he said angrily.
With resolute determination and a burning rage, Goldie continued marching forward, peering through countless memories to quickly determine if he was on the right track. He would be relentless and find his answers, no memory was safe from his vengeful gaze.
All the while, the distant pained shouts of the real Vincent Afton echoed about Goldie like cries in the wind. Hearing the infamous 'Man Behind the Slaughter' scream in tortured agony brought a smile to the elder Fazbear's face.
It always feels nice, Goldie reasoned, when the shoe is on the other foot. . .
The deeper you go down the rabbit hole, the more complicated it gets and Vincent Afton's memories are no exception.
The lore and plot connections between FNAF and BATIM have been planned long in advance, although implementing the actual plotlines does bring about a few changes that one misses when initially planning them out. I always enjoy writing them in though and we'll certainly be seeing more of Vincent's past as the story progresses.
Meanwhile, we'll see the acceleration of events unfold in the next chapter, amongst other things. ;-)
Thank you all for reading and do please review, I appreciate your thoughts.