I Don't Own Fnaf

Fritz had no idea how things came to this, getting into the car had been a whole thing, and right now he was worrying about so many things that weirdly his brain settled on lamenting the fact that he had been talked into this, as Janet got into the passenger seat, while… Brookes had gotten into the back, laying across the backseat looking about as smug as an animatronic could, putting up a hand onto his hip like he were posing for something as Fritz drove to the newest Freddy's.

This whole thing just made him tense, Brookes was fully unknown, but the fact that he hadn't done anything to hurt them... Ignoring the many issues Fritz had and was no doubt going to bring up later on about apparently having the man's soul floating around him for months now without noticing. It just felt off, but then again, right now there wasn't a point in arguing about it either, they couldn't just leave an unknown and still dangerous animatronic alone in an apartment complex while they rushed off to see what was happening.

Goldie had been more than a little vague about it after all, Janet was already calling the bear back. Or at least trying to, she kept pulling her phone away from her ear in frustration, apparently the bear wasn't picking up at the moment, which just made Fritz all the more nervous. Sadly nervous Fritz was one that didn't really know how to keep his mouth shut, and even more sadly, it seemed Brookes was the same way.

"So... Uh... Brookes?" The animatronic perked up a bit, the lights for eyes seemed to glow a bit brighter, it was incredibly unnerving given the lack of lights, making it look like two pits of white in the darkness of his rearview mirror, which wasn't exactly inaccurate, even as Fritz continued on, "Uh, how did you... end up in the hand unit? It was yours's, I know that but... How?"

"Eh, tale as old as time I suppose. Got my insides reorganized to my outsides by a massive metal spike, and of course by re-reorganized, I mean yanked out like a garden hose" Fritz tried to not gag at the visual of that. He wasn't overly successful.

"I-I see..." The fox just sniggered at his reaction, like the casual mention of being ripped open wasn't was horrifying as it really was.

"N-Nah you don't, I don't blame yah. Talk about a mood killer! Ha!" Fritz let out a pained almost laugh, his eyes glancing over to Janet who still seemed focused on her phone, but even in the poor lighting of the car interior, he could still see her face was a bit more pale than before. He just took a deep breath before pressing on, anything was better than the silence, not knowing just what the hell they were going to find up at Freddy's he supposed, and the more he knew about the new animatronic maybe the less he'd stop constantly having to check the rear view mirror to make sure he hadn't moved to try and snap his neck or something.

"R-Right... Is it a trait of Michaels to make morbid jokes? Cause ours does the samethin-" Fritz did his best to not jerk the wheel and cause them to run off into a ditch as he caught the sight of the eyes in the mirror darken and change considerably into something his mind instinctive screamed as dangerous, shifting from the normal pits of white from uninstalled eyes to the spectral light that could not be mimicked, as a deep growl rang out from the animatronic.

"I said don't compare me to him" Fritz gave a quick nod, his eyes glancing to the side for as long as he was wiling to risk it on the road, to see Janet had pulled the phone away, her hand instead was gripping tight to one of the two tasers they had brought along, the other one was on Fritz's belt. He was very happy to see it already out given he couldn't comfortably get to his own, as he spoke back, trying to defuse the tension.

"Right, sorry... You still haven't said what you want to be called... Or how you ended up in that handunit" The animatronic didn't do anything for a long contemplative moment, before finally speaking.

"Lolbit"

"U-Um, what?"

"What you can call me. Lolbit, got a nice computer kind of sound to it doesn't it? All those bits and bytes, talk about a ironic twist, heh..." It wasn't the normal boisterous almost to loud laughter, just a quite amusement hum to himself. It... Fritz wasn't sure what to make of it, but it was something, Brookes... Lolbit, probably had more going on with himself than Fritz could imagine without all of this extra stuff going on... He decided to buck up and say one last thing before Janet, with a small cry of excitement quickly answered the phone from what must have been Goldie.

"I- uh, guess nice to meet you Lolbit"

"Heh, well you don't have to sound to excited about it buddy" Fritz could already tell this long night was only going to be getting longer.

Jeremy was doing his best to not panic, it was a hard thing to achieve as Foxy just stomped forwards, into the darkness as he called for the fox to stop. Foxy just snarled back as he practically pounced into the darkness-

"I'll catch that bile rat myself!" It wasn't a surprise that it did nothing to actually get a response as the man himself was to busy to actually chase after the animatronic, his hand coming out to grab Charlie to make sure she didn't rush off either, she was no where near as durable, even as his other hand, still in a death grip with his flashlight, roved around the room as fast as he could, looking for the Nightmare before it got to them.

"What is that thing?!" Jeremy just grimaced at Charlie's question, wishing he had an answer, and really wishing he had asked Mike about the thing beyond just hearing how the man described it, apparently this wasn't the first run in with the thing for the group, but that didn't mean he had any idea what it's deal was. Just that it... probably, wasn't alive. Which also served to make his one good part of his ability, knowing where things were around him, practically useless beyond feeling the amount of terror radiating off the room and walls.

"Remember what Mike said about Nightmare BB?"

"Balloon Boy but awful?"

"That's the one, do you have a light? A taser?"

"Y-Yeah, I got both" Jeremy was so very glad at the very least Charlie did at least some thinking before charging into this situation.

"Get them out and try and find the thing, if it tries to get close shock the hell out of it. Got it?" Charlie gave a jerky nod as she pulled out her own light as Jeremy let her go to get the taser out as well as his eyes shot back to the room, painfully aware he didn't have a taser himself, just the light, the only thing he already had on him before he had to rush after the two. But if anything happened then Jeremy felt better with her having it over himself.

"W-What do we do after that?" Jeremy wished he knew, but right now he couldn't think that far ahead, to busy grabbing onto his sanity to hold him in the moment to be able to think through and try to come up with a plan past just getting through the next few minutes, still, he tried his best to assure her, she thought he knew what he was doing, and he wasn't going to let her or anyone here down.

"Working on it, don't worry, let's just-" Whatever comfort that he was more or less improving out was interrupted by the sound of a crashing sound, accompanied by a screeching fox... Only for that twisted distorted laughter to play to the far right, as both he and Charlie spun, their lights shining and flickering in that area... Only to find nothing, just a set of debris, the entire floor was littered mess that made making anything out difficult already. Jeremy couldn't help but wonder if that was intentional for anyone who tried to stop whatever was happening.

The sweat was still building on his burrow to the point he had to make the choice to whip it away, the heat was still building, more and more, until he realized with a start he was panting with overheated exhaustion, Charlie didn't seem to be in a much better spot, as their lights continued to dance around, moment after a moment, another crash, another screech of enraged animatronic fox.

Once or twice he was sure Foxy had caught the Nightmare, but not to longer another laugh would play. They caught the thing a few times, but it seemed like it was made to avoid the light, only being able to clip the sides of bulky short kid-like animatronic a few times, it looked to be in worse and worse condition every time, it was awful. And it meant that Foxy had managed something at some point.

A long dragging rip into the plastic of the animatronics' head, revealing a twisted and rusted interior of an endo's head, making the thing look even more nightmarish, but that wasn't the only thing, it was the heat of the room and the clear cheap materials that the outer layer of the animatronic was made out of, cheap plastics that were beginning to wrap and twist and melt from the overwhelming waves of heat pressing down on them all, making the thing look more and more twisted, more and more demonic, and more and more horrifying to hear, the speaker twisting up and becoming more distorted and broken, the laughter coming out as gasping static groans that chilled something at the man's core even in spite of the blazing heat.

It felt like the minutes were just passing by, everything getting worse and worse as it dragged on with nothing being able to do anything about it, but something had to finally change, and it was Foxy who caused it to be the case. Yelling out in a sound of victory, both lights shot over to show the sight of the animatronic, who was showing serious signs of damage himself, his suit ripped and clawed at in multiple places, one of his ears roughly bent down, his eyepatch and hat no where to be seen... But in his grip, holding up was... not Nightmare BB, but something completely different.

Jeremy hadn't forgotten the Mininera he had saw literally get ripped apart, but he hadn't known just how many other animatronics could possible be in here with how it seemed like the fox and BB were the only ones moving, he had hoped there hadn't been anything else, but in Foxy's one hand, gripped tightly was... Not a Minireena, no, that was a... small decaying plush like toy, a bonnie of some kind, a chittering sound echoing out from the writhing... animatronic? As it thrashed around in the fox's grasp.

The echoing thrumming sound of air was still to loud to make out any real sound that wasn't incredibly loud, so Jeremy had no idea just what Foxy said, but he could see something else on the fox's body. This time is was a Minireena, sitting down on Foxy's shoulder, it's small little doll limbs flailing around, like it was trying to express something, another one was half hanging out limply from the small opening between Foxy's chest and head, not moving, but still there.

Had... Had Foxy been going around trying to find the animatronics that Nightmare BB had been hunting down?

Jeremy didn't have time to think about that though, instead the sound of Charlie screaming yanked his attention away from the fox just in time to watch as his eyes, which had just barely adjusted to the dark, saw something shoot out of it right towards the girl. Barely having time to think, he spun around, his hand coming up as he grabbed onto her shoulder and bodily yanked her out of the way of a swiping claw like hand, only to grit his teeth as a suppressed scream tore itself from his chest as his arm was slashed into, stumbling back, as he clutched the limb as Charlie seemingly getting over her fear lashed forwards.

The crackling buzz of the taser shooting out and making the things retreat, and for something not alive, it sure knew how to plan and escape... At least it did until it had targeted one of them, as one of the most gut clenching feral sounding snarl he had ever heard escaped from Foxy, and before he knew it, the animatronic that had been half way across the room was suddenly just there, rushing forwards at a speed that Jeremy didn't know the fox could move that fast.

His light only just glinting off the metal hook as it swung up, the tiny animatronics on the fox's body just barely hanging on, as the pointed metal lashed out, catching on the upper lip of Nightmare Balloon Boy, as it's own rushing backwards and the sheer strength of Foxy caused only on possible outcome, as Jeremy stumbled back as he watched as the top half of the BB's face plate was snapped off, leaving half of the upper face and jaw left, as the right side was torn off, as Foxy flicked it off his hook with a huff before charging forwards again as the BB let out a screech that once had been a laugh.

Jeremy didn't know what possessed him to move as well, shoot forwards and just managing to slam his foot into the side of the thing, just barely sending the thing fumbling on it's way to run again, and then Foxy was there again, taking advantage of the moment by full body football tackling the animatronic, his hook stabbing itself into the animatronics chest and hefting it up for his other could grab onto it as the fox went sprinting at full force into a nearby wall.

The two could only watch as Jeremy yelped, feeling a weight on his chest as he looked down to see one of the Minireenas gripping tightly to his shirt, probably not wanting to go on the Foxy express any longer as he just blinked as the thing creepily stared up at him. He barely had time to get the thing in his hand and look up in time to see the impact. BB had went in and then half way through the wall, it's body thrashing and bucking, clearly about to get out, as Foxy reared back to do something, when suddenly Charlie was there, with a vicious jab, slamming the taser right into the animatronic's chest and held down the trigger.

The thing lit up like a Christmas tree, screaming and screeching as it's entire body spasmed and twitched in a way that looked to visceral to be comfortable watching. Jeremy only gritted his teeth and watch as Charlie stumbled back, almost like she was in shock herself at what she had done, before suddenly being pulled back by Foxy as the hole that BB's body had created in the wall burst and blasted out bouts of fire as both screamed out in shock of, Foxy himself using his body to cover the small of the two, bodily pulling them away, as Jeremy let out a yell of worry, rushing over, using his jacket that had been off for a while now to smack at the poor Fox's box which was had catch a few flames, as the animatronic let out a sound more akin to a pined animal's whine as he pulled the both away and back to the door, yelling over the rushing flames that were now actively spreading throughout the small room.

"Do we have everyone!" Fox took a second to answer, but when he did his voice was filled with a satisfied confidence that was only a bit undercut by the fox's own worry and current pain, making it sound much more grim.

"A-Aye!" Jeremy just gritted his teeth, as he turned back to the door, it was still locked... Turning back to see if it was possible for anywhere else to get out, the only thing he saw was the flames roaring ever closer, and the plastic literally melting off of the endoskeleton of Nightmare BB, dripping sludge into it's own body in a frankly nightmare inducing visage.

The only way out was through the door, but the thing was locked down tight, how would they-

Whatever thought he had next was broken from it's train of thought as a new voice suddenly played out over the speaker system that was was still somehow working.

Mike was fighting back the urge to panic, it was more difficult than it sounded, as he rushed through the vents, all of which were getting hotter and hotter, the acrid smell of smoke beginning to hit his nose making him just give up on breathing for the time being, as the same voice that had shaken him to his core at first, Henry's voice, came back over, bouncing off the metal walls and reverberating from where the speakers were located.

"You should know now, there is no escape, you and the rest of the empire of sorrow that has been built on your family's name will end tonight, do not resist, do not run, it will not help... As for those around you, the ones here and ones who will fade with your passing, be still. Give up your fragments of those who came before you that you have twisted and mutilated into something worse than they should ever have been. Give up your souls and rest"

Mike gritted his teeth, as he turned, pulling himself out of the vent, the metal of which was getting past the point of comfortable to touch, his natural resistance in noticing heat doing nothing at the moment, he could feel just how hot it was beginning to get. Dropping into the next room, he barely thought about what he was doing, just readying himself, turning to the new dry wall that separated this maze from the rest of the pizzeria trap, a slammed a foot forwards.

He cursed immediately as pain laced up his foot as he stumbled back, a dent and break of the dry wall revealing a thick slab of corrugated sheet metal, this... This whole place was built like an oven. The 'maze' where he and the rest of the 'dangerous' animatronics were stuck in were the heating coils of an oven, and they were starting to heat up. He wasn't sure just how long he could stay here, his body wasn't built to handle the heat anymore.

Just the thought of that, the fact that Henry's voice was the one that came out from the speakers, the fact that he had be here in the first place, the blame in the man's voice, speaking as if everything could be placed on the Aftons, and so Mike should just lay down and die. It made something buckle and snap in his chest, as he roared out just as the man had stopped talking up to the ceiling where the voice had been coming from.

"You fucking psychopath! Give up our souls? Bold talk from someone who should be as dead as the rest of us!" He wasn't expecting an answer, he wasn't sure he cared to hear one, but one came back surprisingly quickly, telling him that there was microphones as well placed throughout the building. Probably for monitoring purposes, the thought of which made him a bit stick to think about.

"Please don't disparage the idea that I don't understand the gravity of what has happened here, throughout all the business's that William's vile touch has had the horror of reaching. Rest assured Michael, he is here as well, this will be the last of the evil either of you will be able to inflict on the world" Mike gritted his teeth at the confirmation that Spring Bonnie, whether they were empty or not, was in fact here, somewhere. That alone made something twist in his gut, as he called out, while getting back on the move, needing to find Mari and the others first before he could start trying to come up with something clever to get them out of here.

"So you decided to commit mass murder to make up for the mass murder? Glad to see upper manage really learned from their mistakes" The sharp sarcasm wasn't as helpful as he wanted it to be, as he got into the next room only to balk a bit at the sight of an entire wall that was covered in wires, familiar wires. Just being this close already set the hairs on the back of his neck straight, as he and Ennard, as the mass of wires, twisted about to stare at him, making eye contact. Whatever his thoughts were, it didn't matter as he just snapped at the thing, "Scott's down straight that way to the end, take a right and get him the hell out of here if you can't get this hell procedure shut off"

They shared eye contact for a frankly unnerving amount of time, before the wires ripped themselves off of the wall and bounding into the vents without a single comment, he had no time to just wonder what that meant as two things happened next, first Mike realized just what the reason for Ennard making themselves look like a piece of wall art was for, as he stared blankly as the rabbit he had just been told was here collapsed for a moment onto the ground, the weight of the wires being pulled away dropping... it, to the ground.

The second being Henry's voice echoing out around him, which his brain was barely able to focus enough on to hear what was being said.

"Do not act as if you have not made a point of killing the ones that have caused you problems Michael. Nor act like it hadn't been wholly effective, if only you had been strong enough to finish the job, to get rid of all the things in this world that should no longer be here, we are remnants Michael, of a time that needs to be forgotten for good, and the only way to do so is to wipe the board clean of all those that would risk spreading this tale further" Mike would have had some clever comment snapped right back about hypocrites, but his eyes were to busy watching as with shaking, twitching limbs, the springtrapped suit shifted and rose to it's feet.

Mike nearly felt himself gag at the awful odor of decay rolling off the thing only made worse by the heat, as he felt something in him wither as he could see the body that was still pinned and ripped into through the sui. Time had not be nice to it, the decayed yellow now more a rotten green, mold from the blood eating holes into it's fabric all over, showing the horror show of a body trapped inside. It had done it's job, and it was still doing it. As he couldn't help but ask, his bravery rallying as to not sound as horrified or as bothered as he really was.

"So, who's in the control seat?" A horrifying raspy groan was the only response he got, as the two just stared off at each other, Mike idly wondering if those eyes were cold silver because of the apparent Afton need to have their eye color right, or if it was because the green paint had been corded off, either were as likely. He didn't end up getting his answer, as Springtrap lunged right at him. Dad or not, frankly the idea it might have been his old man only served to help him, as the towering animatronic rushed forwards, while Mike rolled around the side, the bulky thing slamming into the wall with such force it felt like the room shook.

Just like Evan, incredibly strong but slow, and no matter who was in there, the body inside was making each and every movement sluggish and forced. One hit and he'd probably be out, but it trying to land that hit wasn't going to be easy. Especially as Mike, without a hint of hesitation, shot forwards, as his hand shot to his side, pulling out a taser as he swiping the sparking device right into the bunny's neck. Only for the thing with a surprising amount of cleverness to use it's closeness to the wall and it's incredibly strong arms to just push itself back with enough force to completely dodge the hit, as Mike just growled, feeling old anger prying itself up into his chest as he spun around, uncaring as he charged forwards to try again. The room was only so big, and both of them weren't close to on the small side.

"Not going to speak? What, rabbit got your tongue?" Okay, maybe he was getting a bit to worked up about this, but as he ducked under a punch that put a hole through the wall where his head had just been located, he figured that it didn't really matter who it was on the inside, he had some... things he needed to work out and a whole lot of parental trauma to work out. Of course that thought was mostly had in the background of his mostly hazy mind that was being pumped with unrelenting fury, but that was very much besides the point.

The ducking of the blow instead of throwing himself to the side had put him in close, but Springlock suits, while bulky, where also deceptively light, so he didn't think twice about just ramming his entire weight into the bastards as the two went half tumbling into another wall as he roared out in effort as the thing just continued to make death rattling noises. He really hoped it hurt like hell, as he was unceremoniously tossed off of the animatronic, slamming into a wall for just about as long enough as it took to get his feet back properly under him as he was more than ready to charge right back in, his mouth already moving even as he stumbled to his feet, ignoring the way his vision darkened for a second.

"What! Say something you piece of shit!" The words were more screamed than anything, as he stumbled a bit as he tried to get into a run, barely keeping himself on his feet as he swayed, not that he cared, but it was annoying, as he stared as Springtrap slowly lifted itself with twitchy limbs back up to it's own feet, when a new voice spoke up.

"Michael, I told you not to come here" Both turned to look at the sound where the feminine voice came from as Mike felt the anger in his veins turn to ice as the two looked at each other. Those bright green eyes staring into his own blue, and suddenly he could practically see her, Elizabeth, his kid sister standing there, half hanging out of the vent, but it wasn't her, or at least that version of her. Instead there was a monstrous combination of ripped up metal plates, exposed wires, and broken parts. He found his voice before he even realized he was speaking.

"Elizabeth" She just stared, whatever reaction was hidden under that unmoving broken face, as the the faint rattling of Springtrap both caught their attentions as the thing twitched and spasmed before jerking towards the scrap baby, Mike snarled before he even thought of what he was doing, snarling out "Don't you fucking touch her!" as he rushed forwards slamming the twitching rabbit into a wall, his taser coming out when suddenly he was thrown off. His body crashing against the back wall as he gasped in pain, his hands coming up to his chest where the rabbit had slammed an open palm into.

It didn't feel like anything was broken, but he also... kind of couldn't really feel a lot of things at the moment, so that didn't really mean anything as the rabbit stumbled up and began to move back towards him, towering over the man, as he just glared up, his eyes focus fading again, for a moment it felt like the rabbit's image was replaced with a portly man standing over him with a look of familiar rage on his face and a slurred word on his lips.

It disgusted Mike that it was the first time in this whole situation that he felt fear for himself genuinely race through his heart as a large hand reached down... And was stopped suddenly by a massive familiar claw. If he could go paler, Mike would have, as he watched as Elizabeth twisted the claw, which seemed to be attached to her arm, and half dragged half-flung the rabbit away into another wall. The room itself looking like it was half a step away from crashing down on them at this point.

But Mike's eyes weren't on that, it was on the claw, the thing was monstrous looking, but most of all the fact it was there, in front of him, with that voice that haunted his nightmares made something in the back of his mind scream. He had no interest in even the chance of getting scooped again... Maybe that's why he did what he did, when Elizabeth spoke up.

"You are here for the other's correct? If it means you will leave, you should hurry and find them, I do not know where they are... But I can handle this one well enough, you two don't seemed to be friends" He just stared, an out being offered, as he couldn't help but still say, as he clambered up to his feet.

"It's slow, take it down or get away if you have trouble, and get the hell out of here, you hear me Lizzy, get out of here the second you can" She didn't react for a moment, the two animatronics, who seemed to be locked up against each other in an struggle for a long moment as Springtrap was slowly pushing back against the hold Circus Baby had it in, when she just spoke up carefully calm.

"Go Michael" He was going to hate himself for this later, he already hated himself for it now, but he couldn't do anything else, Mari was still missing, who knew who else was in here as well, and even with that hold, if he shocked Springtrap now it would just get Elizabeth as well. He hated it, but he turned and threw himself into the next vent, he needed to find Mari, then he could get everyone out, he just had to find them all first, and he wasn't blind to the fact he was running out of time.

The heat was killing him, slowly, those fades of focus and black spots in his vision were from heat stroke. He couldn't take much more of it, his body couldn't regulate the heat, so he had to hurry, had to prioritize, had to ignore the self-hatred burning just as loud as the flames around him, as he left his sister behind once again.

He had no idea where he was going though, and he had no idea if he was going to be able to make it at this point to go and check all the other rooms... Of course thta's when another surprise visit showed up, as he half slumped out of the vent, crashing to the ground with a groan, the flickering visage of something caught his attention, causing him to scramble to get up to his feet, only to blink in shock as he looked at Bonnie, who was in front of him. Not normal Bonnie, Shadow Bonnie, with it's creepy silhouette outline and white spots for eyes, as he just stared at the thing, before asking suddenly.

"Y-You, you know where Mari is right? That's how you're doing this, Mari's here so so are you... Take me to him" The thing just stared, as he waited and waited until it pointed straight up at the ceiling before moving as Mike just hurried to follow.

Mari felt himself struggle a bit more and more, but it was pointless, the bear trap began to crackle if he struggled to much, and he knew the second he tried to trigger any ability that song would play again, and he refused to be put to sleep in a moment like this, as he listened without the ability to do anything else as his father spoke into a microphone on the desk in front of him, with the crackling static sound of Mike's own voice responding back.

Back and forth until Mike stopped responding, his father didn't seem to care or notice, instead just leaning back, facing the cameras, where something seemed to play out on them. Was he watching everything going on? How could he do something like this? He hadn't been told just what was happening, but the way Mike screamed his words at Henry who just responded like it was all just... justified, it made something deep in him sink in crushing weight.

Was this really his father? It couldn't be, Charlie wouldn't lie to him like that, she hadn't lied about their mother or their aunt, so they him? She had said it had been suicide, but... But the man certainly looked alive... Yet... Even as he squirmed and stayed bound to the bear trap, he couldn't help but stare harder at the man. His face... It hadn't been right. Not really.

It looked... the same, that wasn't right, right? It was hard to think through to many complicated thoughts, his mind had one long throbbing pain piercing through it, but even if it had been a while, he still knew people didn't just look the same after so many years. So... So why did his father look the same as he did a decade ago? The exact way he had from the memories he had slowly pieced together over the last four months he had spent reconnecting to Charlie. From the photos he had been shown...

He looked tired, but that was more how he moved than anything else.

What... What was happening here? It couldn't be him, but how could it not be? Who else could have known his name? Known to call him that, talk as if he knew Mike personally, using his full name, calling Phone Guy an old friend of all things, knowing about who had been trapped in Spring Bonnie... It had to be, but it couldn't.

Because this man wasn't the one he could remember giving him a kind smile, could just barely remember the feeling of him ruffling of his hair, the warmth that came from feeling safe, if overprotected... Until one day it wasn't enough. He couldn't be him, and yet, as the man finally turned back to look at the puppet, tiredness lacing his expression but still not looking a day into his forties like he should have, he slowly moved closer, the sound of heavy thudding steps pressing the moment into something more sinister as he got closer and closer.

Staring into the gap of the teeth of the bear trap, seeing just the barest hint of the marionette's eyes, before finally looking away, towards a nearby wall, as the puppet tried to not struggle, fighting back the instinct to ask why. It would do nothing but make his words turn to distorted screams, he wasn't sure he could speak even if he wanted to.

The small room they were in felt like it was getting uncomfortably warm, the man must have noticed as he seemed to shift about for a moment, before turning back to look at the bear trap, not quite at the puppet inside, before speaking, his tone grave and heavy with every word spoken with a dreadful weight to them.

"My son... I'm sorry it had to come to this, I'm sorry that this is what is has to happen for us all to find peace... I made this place for you, for the others as well, for none of this can rest until those who have caused this cycle to continue are put to rest, to have their souls cast away to the darkest of pits where the devil awaits, but it was you who brought me here... I drifted for a time... after... Constantly only just the barest hints of aware, uncertain of anything that was happening, uncertain if it matters... I had failed in what I wanted to do, had given myself up as the price as a just punishment, and had assumed this was my reward, an eternity of nothing"

Mari felt like his mind was being assaulted, each word said slowly edging on the fringes of calm, almost tender, yet they held such awful awful meanings. Every sentence building a picture in the puppet's mind he wished to not see, but he knew to well the descriptions he was being told, even if he didn't understand how it was possible, as his father continued to speak, after just the briefest of pauses, his eyes drifting down enough to stare once more truly at Marionette.

"I didn't know what it was at first, but looking back it must have been you, it was always you, lifting the souls of those with protective arms, all this time without me ever knowing... I didn't know then, nor did I know on that day, the day you were shut out and left to die, no one was there to lift you up in their arms, not like how you lifted them. You hadn't been content to disappear, and so it seems neither had I... I knew what to do after that, after that moment, when everything came... back"

Mari wanted to thrash, wanted to do anything, but it was no longer fear of the machine around him that kept him trapped, it was the slowly building shift once more holding in the man's tone, the gentleness fading into something more sharp, harsher and determined, something at hurt his soul to hear, being talked to like his, unable to respond, to do anything expect listen as his father spoke back his own actions to him, spoke of his death in that tone. The suffusing the room only seemed to build the building feeling of burning in his chest.

"I needed to finish it, that was the only reason I was here, I am the end... You've tried your best to do so much good, but you continued when you could have rested, because they continued to walk... I understand and forgive you Sammy for being tricked by the Afton's lies, William was much the same, it was... to late for me to understand the nature of that man for what he truly was, to late to do anything about it, even when the vile nature of Michael was revealed, I waited... And as such a wound first inflicted on me was passed on to many, until I could no longer bear it... I have to bear it now, I have to finish it, for all of us to rest, they need to go, and we need to go with them, to arrive somewhere else... Somewhere better, peaceful... something... warm"

He tried to thrash this time, the words, it sounded like Henry thought he had been brainwashed, had- He didn't get to think more, the pain spiking through his body, his vision blurring out into nothing for a long moment...

He didn't know how long he was out, but he did know when his focus returned it was to the disappointed look of his father, as the man turned away the second he seemed to realize Mari's attention had returned.

"I built this place for you, for all the others, a labyrinth of sounds and smells, misdirection and misfortune, using their... baser instincts, of lust for blood driving them into endless circles unable to see the nature of themselves or the place they have been called to... I wished I didn't have to call you, wished you knew to come, but I suppose there's nothing an Afton wouldn't do to hold onto what they don't deserve... What did he do to you Sammy? What has he put you through in that sham of a pizzeria? To... To think it was his house that held you..."

The man's face twisted up in disgust as Mari hated his inability to speak, the way his voice box seemed to be willing to break itself before he could manage to say anything, being able to do nothing to defend the man who had given him everything, to try and plead for his father to understand, to try and beg for him to stop this all... To not act like the life Sam had made for himself was something revolting.

"It doesn't matter, we will go on soon... I-.. I'm sorry for the measures to keep you here, but I couldn't save you then, so this is me saving your now, from everything this world had done to you, let it burn away... I simply wished to say goodbye, to let you know, as much as you can understand, the truth of what is happening, that there is no need to be afraid, this was all for you Sammy... It's time to rest, all there is to do is wait, and know that I understand"

He felt sick, he never felt more awful in his entire time of existence... And it only got worse, as the man he couldn't no longer recognize as his father, seeming reaching up to nothing, tapping a random point on his chest without an apparent reason, before, just like that, a faint shimmer appeared, or more accurately vanished... As standing in front of him was no longer a human, but machine.

An ancient mess of an endoskeleton was laid before his eyes, older than even the ones in the original four, with bulky incredibly long mismatched legs, one covered in half exposed wires and another with a metal brace that seemed to serve no purpose, a short chest held together and seemingly powered by a large battery pressed into it which glowed now an ominous red from a singularly attached bulb.

A box metal head with things that looked like teeth and circular milky white eyes, both of which were just barely covered to make the features hard to make out by a white mask with a crude smile marked onto it, the itched teeth shark like. It's entire form coated in a faint patchy layer of rust, but that too was hard to make out with the dark overcoat that the metal frame wore, draping down near to it's knees. Obscuring it making finer details almost important to make out.

But it was none of that was what really caught the puppet's eyes or made his heart still in terror, no, that was the arms, both long and as bare bones as the legs, but while the left arm was almost what one would expect from an endoskeleton, the right, in replace of a hand, instead was mounted a long silvered blade that was simply to big to really call a knife. The thing covered in rusted blood that must have been years old, and yet also covered in fresher red...

That was the blade that he had watched the man turned animatronic use to kill the former day manager Sheldon.

That was the blade that Henry had used to kill himself. Charlie had mentioned once his father had killed himself...

She never mentioned he had used an animatronic to commit the deed.

OH MY FUCK IT'S FINISHED!

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, it was so, so painfully hard to write, like, I can not express enough just how many times I restructured it, rewrote whole sections, and spent time just straight up not even looking at the document holding this chapter. This is very easily both one of my favorite chapters that I've written, not only for this story but in general. It is also easily the longest I have ever spent on a chapter in this story. I started this chapter at the start of August, it is very close to the end of said month now and I am only just now at a place that I am fine enough with calling it done here so I can finally start working on the next one.

I love this chapter, and there is a lot to talk about here, all of which is technically canon by the way if you look to the books which was a fun thing to plan out ahead of time. But, it's been... difficult as well, this section is very hard to pin down the right mood for, the right tone, the right everything really. It's insanely gritty and dark and so unbelievably tense, and it's been that way for a while now. And I can only get myself into the right headspace for that for so long before I just can't. It's why the first half of this arc was so unbelievably soft for the most part, I knew it was going to be a while until I got to have nice things again, so I loaded myself up on it and hoped it would be enough...

It wasn't, but with this one done, I only have four chapters left... Holy fuck there's only four chapters left... That's kind of intimidating... There's something scary about reaching the end of something, just like how there's something scary about starting something, and considering there is a sequel planned after that... Oh man, I'm all kinds of terrified... I hope everyone is continuing to enjoy this, because even with all my nerves, I have to admit, I'm honestly kind of thriving on it over here in a really weird way. Anyways, See ya!