Lily:

After being carried through the vents, Lily was brought to a smaller rectangular room that led to a balcony without railing. There was a closed door on the left side of the room, and the room itself was empty besides two sitting stools. One stool stood near the balcony, while the other stood a few feet behind that one.

Crow brought Lily to the further-from-the-balcony stool and sat her down on it, as he stepped back from her, while holding her guns in each of his hands. Lily's eyes widened as she checked her back and hand to see that she no longer had her guns.

"I wouldn't want another incident with a gun. The first ended up putting me in this suit," Crow said, as he took a seat on the stool that was closer to the balcony.

He placed the magnum in a pocket under the pancho he wore, and he laid the shotgun on the wall next to him, but on the opposite side of where Lily was seated. Lily was able to get a better look at Crow, and she saw that his poncho had dark colored bands across it, the Sombrero hat was made of straw, and his feathers were all black as well as his beak, and his legs were dark orange with white talons.

"Why did you bring me here? What are you planning?" Lily asked.

Crow's eyes reverted back to gray as he replied,

"I'm letting my group and yours decide how they wish to approach each other. Also, I want to see how far your group gets, especially with the right incentive."

"What's the point of all of this Crow? I don't understand why we're even fighting. I don't want to fight, and I know you don't want to either. Your people respect you as mine do for me. They'll listen to us if we tell them to stop. What's the point of letting your people fight, especially if you could stop them?" Lily asked.

Crow stood silent for a while, and then he replied,

"Miss Lova, if you knew what lies in the shadows, what stays awake as you sleep at night, what haunts the corridors and halls beyond this land... beyond this world... then you would realize how futile your efforts are if your own team cannot keep up with you. If they can't stand together, none of them will survive the world that awaits all of you beyond this night. As I've seen, you have the fire in you to survive, the drive to get up, the will to live no matter what. I want to see if your team has the same thing, or something similar. If they don't, they'll die. If they do, they'll make it."

Lily pondered what he said, as Crow looked towards the balcony, hearing distant struggles heading towards the very large square room where the balcony was connected to.

"Sir, they are approaching," a voice spoke through a small speaker embedded within Crow's hat, as he reached up in the hat and pulled down a mouth speaker to his beak.

"Hold them off," Crow replied.

"Alrig- -POP!- I'm not sure how long we can last," Ravena said over the speaker.

Crow grew silent as he flipped up the mouth speaker. Lily looked at Crow, and noticed that he seemed deep in thought. Although she wanted to go back to the others, hearing that they were giving Crow's group a bad time filled her with hope that they would be alright.

The Others:

"Nonononono! We are supposed to win! Not y-" an animatronic bird was saying before Ethan shot him in the mouth to his head.

Foxy and Dog, who were holding the animatronic bird, dropped him to the floor.

The Midnight Fighters were roughed up, but Crow's group were in worse condition. Ethan, Mike, and Sarah received a few cuts and scraps on their arms and legs, although Ethan had a small cut near the upper left side of his head. The animatronics had deeper cuts, and some on their torsos and backs, but they were still pressing forward to take down the other animatronics. Perry was momentarily disabled because his leg was badly damaged when he took a hit to protect Mike, but it wasn't so bad since the others were still fighting like beasts. Out of the seven on Crow's team who were fighting, only two remained.

Sarah had both of her guns pointed to an animatronic bird that was being held by Chica and Bonnie.

"No. NO! I will not relent!" The animatronic bird said, and Sarah shot two bullets at it's head, since Mike instructed her of that when the fight started.

"Nighty night, birdy," Sarah said, as Chica and Bonnie dropped the animatronic bird on the floor.

Mike was aiming his shotgun to the head of a bird animatronic that Freddy and Mousie had captive. He fired his shotgun, and then Freddy and Mousie dropped him to the floor. Mousie and Dog then went to Perry, as they lifted him up, and helped him walk with the others.

Crow and Lily, a moment before:

As Lily and Crow waited in silence, the door on the opposite wall opened, as Ravena came out from behind it.

"Crow! They're too strong. All of ours are being taken down! We need you," Ravena said, as she stood before Crow.

Crow stood up and said, "Ravena, what's the point of us fighting anymore? It always ends the same way. Someone gets hurt, someone dies, and everything is washed away with bleach... I'm tired of this madness and not being able to do anything about it... but..."

Crow made a side-glance towards Lily, as Ravena did the same, while Lily shifted in her seat a little bit.

"When I saw them through the eyes of Allen, Penelope, Leroy, and Kitcat... I couldn't help but... actually FEEL something. As if watching them survive together, fight together, and even befriend each other... made me feel something I thought had died a long time ago," Crow said, as he reached his hand over his chest.

"What's that?" Ravena asked.

"...hope," Crow said, as his hand dropped, and Ravena's eyes widened.

"But Crow... you let them break...?" Ravena asked.

"It's better if they are broken. Even if they weren't truly alive, at least they're free," Crow said.

"B-But Crow... what... what do we do?! I don't know what's going to happe-" Ravena said, and Crow cut her off as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Caroline. Don't be afraid. Just let go. It may hurt at first, but just let go. Be free my friend," Crow said, coolly, as Ravena looked at him in surprise.

Then Ravena slowly smiled, as she nodded to Crow, and he removed his hand from her shoulder.

"No matter where I go next, I will never forget you Cr... Mr. Kass," Ravena aka Caroline said, and Crow nodded.

Ravena quickly exited the room where she came from and closed the door. Crow looked towards the ground, as Lily looked at him with widened eyes as she thought,

'Caroline... Mr. Kass... they're both alive. But I thought Crow was the last one, unless she was-'

"She was a secret. Caroline used to work here at the bar, but she started poking her nose in the backstage room. I found her and trusted to let her live. The more we spoke after work, the more she wanted to help us in anyway she could... like you... but she was mostly alone in her attempts to learn more about us... then Sofia and Zack caught her since they were visiting each place... and I was forced to keep her silent, forever," Crow said, as Lily's jaw dropped.

"After placing her in the animatronic 'Ravena,' I told her more about what I was forced to hide, like how Zack and Sofia blackmailed each place. Although she was sad for a few years, I took care of her, and she stood loyal to me... but... I felt the harsh pain of my last hope being diminished when I was forced to put her into the suit… she was the only one I knew who could have helped us all..." Crow said, as he looked directly into Lily's eyes, and she looked at his.

"But seeing you and your group of humans... it gave me hope that there are people who are willing, and can, make a difference for us lost souls. Thank you, Miss Lily Lova," Crow said, and then he turned his back towards her as he faced the balcony.

An echoing scream of a raven animatronic was heard from where they were, as Crow's hand curled into a fist and his shoulders tensed up. After a moment, Crow relaxed his shoulders and hand, as he walked a few steps forward. He slightly turned his head to Lily and said,

"They are approaching here. Although the humans I will let escape, I will not let Freddy and the other animatronics go. They betrayed us after all, and it's best we break here and now. I'll trap them once they enter the room and take them out," Crow said, as Lily's eyes widened while she stood up.

"What? No, you don't have to break them. I promised Freddy that I would help him and the others find a way to free themselves from the suits. It's possible for them, even you," Lily said.

After a moment of silence, Crow said,

"You don't understand what we are. They may never get out of those suits. I've been in this one for fifty years, and I still haven't gotten out. The only way I see possible is to be broken, and that's what I intend to do to them!"

"Are you doing this to free them, or are you doing this for revenge for the other heads and Caroline? Because if it's for that reason, will they really be free?" Lily asked, in a stern tone, as Crow turned to her with dark eyes.

Crow didn't reply and he walked forward on the balcony to see that Ethan and the others just arrived into the room on the lower level. Lily became nervous by Crow's silence, feeling that his actions now were compelled by revenge. The others gathered near the center of the large room, as they looked up to see Crow on a balcony that was about thirty feet up on the wall.

"There he is," Ethan whispered, as he looked at his phone and saw that the time was 4:45.

After putting his phone away, Ethan took a step forward and said, to Crow,

"We're here Crow! We made it with time to spare! Give Lily back to us now!"

Crow looked at them with narrowed eyes and said, "I have to say, I'm impressed! You all survived and took every other animatronic down in time! Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Then give Lily back!" Freddy said, as he stepped forward next to Ethan.

"Oh, I will! But there's one thing I need to do..." Crow said, as he whispered his last sentence.

Crow brought his hand behind his back as long claws sprang forth from his fingers, which alarmed Lily.

'He's going after Freddy first!' Lily thought, as her lips tightened and her eyes widened in realization.

Crow slowly moved his foot towards a pressure button on the ground. Lily wasn't sure what the pressure button was going to do, but she knew that Crow was serious about taking down the animatronics, especially Freddy.

'He... he can't hurt him. I can't let him hurt them! I promised to help them! I promised Freddy,' Lily thought, as her hands curled to fists and slightly shook.

Lily quietly moved a few steps forward as she was just able to see the others, although they couldn't see her. In that moment when Lily looked at Freddy, a memory flashed in her mind, as she saw Freddy not as himself, but as a young boy. Her eyes widened when she saw him, and then she started to see Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy not as themselves, but as kids. Her eyes quickly darted towards Crow in panic, knowing that he was going to hurt them, as her brows furrowed and her adrenaline sky-rocketed.

Crow was about to hit the switch, when he felt a force behind him, as his eyes widened in surprise and shock.

I'm sorry for the cliff hanger, but it had to be Done!

Also, for those who are reading Ninjago: Ninja's Way, I won't be posting the next chapter until later. I need time to write it out.