AoN: Countdown to Madness

Shadows

"I can't just sit by and watch Josh do this.", Nightmare said sullenly, "He wouldn't be so dead set on vengeance if it weren't for me."

"But he also wouldn't be alive had you not changed him.", Mari interjected, "You saved him from death."

"Maybe so, but that still doesn't change the fact that he's losing his mind.", Fredbear said, "If he doesn't stop, he may not have any humanity left."

A scoff made them look over to see Springtrap sitting in the office chair, "Why bother stopping him, anyway? Kid wants revenge on the guy who got him here. Is that so wrong?"

"You say that as if you actually care.", Mari stated in an almost sarcastic tone.

"I don't.", he said with slight irritation, "I'm just stating the facts. It's not that hard to tell what he's feeling, y'know."

"You of ALL people shouldn't be the one saying that.", Phantom Freddy appeared clenching his fists.

"Hey, he's the one who's making his emotions an open book, alright? I'm just telling it how it is, so sorry if you think I'm some softy or something."

"You're missing the point!", the ghost bear yelled, "He at least still has his humanity, and they don't want to see him throw it all away!"

"Okay, say I actually cared a tiny bit about all this. I'd still say the same thing: Let the kid do him. It won't hurt anyone if he goes through with it—"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!", Nightmare bellowed suddenly, slamming its fist into the wall and bringing everyone to silence. It panted before letting out a breath.

"It's not what worries us.", it said quietly, "He reminded us of the child we cursed...lonely, isolated, alone. We became attached to him as we taught him our ways, but I didn't want this to happen to him. I don't want him to suffer the same fate as..."

    It trailed off, ears lowering as it sighed. No one said anything after that, already knowing what the dark bear was getting at. Josh is digging himself deeper into an already endless hole. It started when he first found out about Jack, and now he's slowly moving to the point of no return. If he does carry out his revenge, he may very well lose his humanity.

~~*~~

Josh POV

"That was amazing!", I said with a grin, "I never felt such a thrill in my life!"

"The look on his face when you grabbed his shoulder. Priceless!", Plushtrap laughed.

    I can't believe how well that went— for us, anyway. I can't say the same for Adam, but I could care less about him. It felt amazing to give him such a fright! If only he could see the grin on my face when Foxy came in, he would've broken down in tears! I look at myself at the arcade machine screen and my grin vanished quickly.

Looks like you're getting comfortable with your situation., the wolf said, I'd have to wonder if you're really opposed to this.

"It's not that I'm comfortable with this.", I crossed my arms, "I'm just making the best of it— and I'll be happy when Jack gets his comeuppance."

But can you really do it? Sure, the Nightmares could, but they were created with that goal in mind. You, though, are a simple human.

"I am not—", I slammed a fist onto the console, "—a simple human. I'm more than a human now, and if you think you can dictate what I am, then you got another thing com—"

"Lad?", Foxy's voice broke my rant, making me look over to see him with his head tilted, "Ye alright?"

I shook the irritation out of my head, "Yeah, just...thinking."

He didn't seem to buy it, "Ye sure? Things haven't been right with ye lately."

I suppressed the urge to growl and start to turn away, "I'm fine, just haven't been thinking straight for awhi—"

    He stopped me halfway through— well, his hook did. It spontaneously caught my arm, turning me to face him before he forced me to look him in the eyes. I already knew he could see right through me, just by the look he had. I heard from somewhere that the eyes are the gateway to the soul— going by that, I'm pretty much an open house to him. I didn't shift or struggle, knowing he's probably going to make the same spiel about my going through with this.

"Lad, ye ain't foolin' me. I can see through teh' charade.", he said plainly.

I grit my teeth, "And what? Are you gonna try and change my mind like everyone else?"

His expression went deadpan, "This fox may be crazy, but he ain't stupid, lad. Ye ain't backing down from this, that's clear. I'd be goin' against meself if I tried to stop ye!"

"You mean the whole 'skewer the landlubbers' thing?"

"Aye! I be true to that, y'know. If it weren't for ye, that other lad's head would've been me trophy.", his gaze softened slightly, "I ain't trying to talk ye out of it, nor am I edgin' ya on. This be yer ship, and I be but a stowaway."

"I'm still not sure where you're going with this."

The fox groaned, "Me point is...ye be the one on top now. Nightmare and the others may try, but I know ye ain't stoppin'. Yer scared, though, ain't ye? Ye keep talkin' about what'll happen to Jack, but do ye' even know what yer gonna do?"

    I'll give Foxy that, he did have me there. Despite all that I've said and done so far, I still don't know what'll happen when Jack and I end up face-to-face again. Will I lose my cool like with Springtrap? Will I back out of it and let him go on with his life?

What will I do?

"If yer really goin' to do this, there's something ya need to make clear."

He brought his muzzle to my ear and whispered something in a low voice...

"What are ye really after?"

~~*~~

A.N: Y'know, it's actually kind of weird writing Foxy as a neutral force. In most cases, he's more on the evil side than the good side. Even when he's not, he still has that aggression lingering in him. It's the same here, but he isn't on any side. It's strange when you think about his presence in the games.