A Guard's life

Timmy

A/N:

Me: Boy, now I'm back into stress mode, I won't get to write anymore!
Me: *Proceeds to write much more than usually, instead of actually learning or anything*
I have bad priorities.
Anyhow, here's a late chapter!
Thank you:  WaitINeedAUsername, AsiawasiaPL (ALSO FOR THE NICE DRAWING!), PsyiaDaFluff and PinkHorsePro...
...who all commented some reassurance for me! It means a LOT!
Here's the chapter! Plenty long, as it should be!

-

There was obnoxiously cheery music in the background, obviously, as two very dedicated factions were busy staring at each other.
On one side was Juliette, her eyes still hidden behind her sunglasses and a small, polite smile on her face, on the other were two colorful Serial Killers, both standing with their arms crossed, seemingly ready for some sort of dance-off.
Tragically enough they were probably too far away to actually initiate one, as they stood on each side of the giant hall, with a good amount of people in-between them.
Simon checked the clock.
They have been at it for an hour by now.
They'd probably spend their entire day staring at each other if this would continue like that.
Slowly the Phone Guy approached them, catching Dave talking to Old Sport.
"I swear to ya, Sportsy, I know her. I don't know if she's been in the factory for long, but I sure as FUCK know her." He seemed really bothered by it. "It's kinda MY place Sportsy! I feel like I hardly even know it anymore though! For shame! I abandoned something Henry left behind, that's just-"
Now he snapped his neck around though as he felt him approaching, looking at the guy behind him. "What'cha want, Phoney?"
"I- uh-" Simon was a little taken aback and concerned. In the beginning he wanted to ask them to at least to pretend to work in order to stop drawing Juliette's attention, but now he was a bit more invested in what they had to say. "You... you do know her?"
"I mean, I should, I think!" Again Dave complained. "I've lost a bit of sight of the thing, since it kinda needs some consistent work and I've been busy tryna takin' it down... but it USED to be my place! A little, I think. Henry didn't take me there too often."
Old Sport was curiously looking over to the lady, who was now talking to something he could only assume being some sort of a representative of the police, because nobody else would really dare to approach her.
Not because she was creepy... okay, she was a bit creepy.
She didn't move.
No swaying, or twitching fingers, no itching her skin of moving her head.
Completely distracted he mumbled, "Couldn't you go over and tell her who you are? Take control again of the place?"
Dave scoffed. "Then I gotta kinda prove who I am, don't I? And I have pretty much no way to do that. They ain't getting my fingerprints!"
"Couldn't you show her the picture of you and Henry?"
"I mean... maybe? But ya know, I like to not leave trails. And it ain't guaranteed that I'll be believed." He moved around. "... also, I've been... y'know. Some people think I've kinda been at fault for Henry's disappearance."
Shortly Dave paused, looking somewhat gloomy.
Simon was a bit torn. "You gave me the blue prints... with the signature and all. They believed I had at least some sort of contact to William Afton... uh-"
A moment Dave hesitated. "That's true. I 'spose. I could. But then what do I do? If they ain't blamin' me for Henry's disappearance, they'll probably demand me to do some borin' work. I don't like the factory and everything about it. I get why Henry put the thing together, but the people were fuckin' sucky. Henry always said if they weren't such cowards, they'd try to murder him. I ain't one for stress like that, especially since I ain't planning to keep that stupid place runnin' for much longer. Kinda grew into a tumor when Henry left."
Orange Guy gave him a small nudge. "Just SAY you don't want to close them down like that. I'd like to see the factory sometimes though, sounds like a place that'd be GREAT to sabotage."
"It would be! But it wouldn't be too easy. Many people, so easy to dive in, but only few with authority." The guy had started, just to be abruptly interrupted by Simon.
"Uh- that's all well and good, but uh- y'know. It would be, uh- really convenient if you, uh-" No, he couldn't really ask for this. He had already asked for too much from them, he had taken up any and all good will they ever had for him.
Asking for murder was one thing, it was as natural to them as being nuisances, but this would take more.
"Uh- y'know. Maybe, uh- explain what an update like that entails? Or WHY phones get updates...?"
"Can't say I know much anymore." Grumpily Dave said as he fully turned to Phoney, OS turning too. "It's been ages since I've last worked on any Phone Guy outside the casual messin' with cables. Updates and that shit? Henry didn't want me near 'em. Thought that I'd be doin' mischief if I knew too much."
Simon listened to him, a bit surprised that he wasn't seemingly counted as a Phone Guy anymore. Not going to ask about it, just going to take the compliment and not push his luck. "... uh... would that be true?"
"Yeah, probably. Ain't a fan of those fucks. Would have made a lot of things easier while shutting the places down though."
Old Sport chimed in. "Let's just go over and ask her. She MIGHT not answer, but what is there to lose! Maybe she thinks we're too stupid and then we'll-"
Shortly he broke off and looked where Juliette had just been standing a moment ago, now gone.
Behind them was a polite cough. "... so, what are you boys doing?"
"Boys?" Simon was baffled.
"THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN!" Old Sport screamed as loudly as possible. "TO KILL YOU!"
"Ain't doin' nothin' govna!" Suddenly Dave was standing completely straight, making him a head bigger than usual.
Giggling Juliette looked at the three. "I was just getting curious why you three are bundling up like this. I'm always curios about the things going on in this place!"
When Dave realized how close he was standing to Simon, he pushed him away without a second thought. "We ain't buddies by the way. We just feel bad for Phoney. Me 'n Sportsy are actually cool!"
Another snicker from Juliette followed that. "You seem to get along great. That's rare to see for Phone Guys!"
"Yeah, uh... I mean... I try my best with my staff..." Phoney mumbled. "We, uh- we wanted to ask-"
As always Old Sport chimed in. "What do you plan to update him with?"
A tad surprised she looked at them. "My, it is nothing much... that's why you cluster together like sheep in front of a wolf?"
There was an insulted noise from both Old Sport and Dave, while Simon just sighed.
Meanwhile she continued on, ignoring their insulted faces. "The smallest upgrades to the hardware, we will fix an issue with the magnets that has come to our attention and a little bit more... adherence to the rules of this restaurant. There was quite a bit of police activity going on during your time."
"I- uh- well- a-at least, I, uh- the kitchen is up to standard." Nervously Simon laughed. "So that should give me some points, uh- right? I'm doing better in that regard than most..."
Juliette wasn't laughing. No, she seemed confused. "... what do you mean?"
"Oh sweet summer child." Simon would be pale if he could be. "You, uh- don't- okay, never mind that. It was supposed to be a joke."
"... we can't sell bad food here. It would poison children!" She argued. "I respect your attempt at humor, but the lives of children are no joke."
At that OS and Dave shortly exchanged a glance and Simon turned away fully.
It was silent for a few awkward moments.
Juliette spoke up again. "Like I said, just a small personality overhaul, perhaps we will take the information of the day automatically instead of letting it first be stored on the computer too. Less likely that... confusing situations happen. We like to be informed, for everyone's safety and recently it seems to not be working out right, otherwise we would have prevented this whole debacle in the first place."
"Miss, no offense, but I, uh-" Without thinking he had started talking, regretting it now. But stopping wasn't an option, was it? "... uhm- the detective going missing was a tragedy... but, uh, y'know. This might just be... a set-up? He always, uh- wanted to get us in trouble..."
"And the fire was probably his fault too?" Sarcastically she asked, before sighing. "I know. But the fact that the police is even taking this so serious is a bad sign. You should be able to make them laugh the idea off. Wasn't he... unhealthy obsessed... beforehand? Shouldn't that give him less credibility in the eyes of quite literally everyone?"
"They, uh- probably feel like they owe it to him?" The Phone Guy pointed out.
Slowly she shook her head. "... perhaps that is true. Perhaps it isn't. But... as one of our most successful Phone Guys, we should ensure you stay safe and on top, which includes your technical features!"
There was a smile accompanying her last words.
Simon still wasn't sure if she was crazy, sadistic or just plain stu- unaware.
Suddenly both Dave and Old Sport looked up and walked backwards- it became clear as to why, when Simon looked behind him after a second of regretting life choices.
Behind him the puppet loomed, staring down at the group.
It was silent as a grave for a moment, despite the chaos going on around at them.
Juliette still smiled however. "How may we help you?"
For a moment he just floated on the spot, before reaching out and putting his claws on Simon's shoulder. "... can I talk to you for a bit?"
Dave gave a thumbs up. "Sure, take him, keep him for HOWEVER long ya need. We were JUST about to leave anyways-"
Instantly the woman of the group snapped around, her smile completely unmoved from before. Indeed, had her smile changed at any point during this conversation? Or from before? Sure, she had stopped smiling, but you couldn't tell it from how she looked now. "Ah, you were? Fantastic. Mind if I come along? I'm VERY interested in how a workday here tends to be."
Both Old Sport and Dave exchanged a look.
Simon though gave a thumbs up, his face seeming even blanker than it usually was. "Sure, go with them, stay with them for H O W E V E R long you want."
"Phoney, I'll strangle ya with your own cord."
"I'm standing right here, coward, go for it."
Neither of them moved for a moment, then Simon turned to take the Puppet along, leaving the three others behind to be legally forced to do an at least semi-acceptable job today.
It was nice not being the one forced to breathe down their neck for once, even if only for a few hours before they would close down and leave.
Shortly he checked the clock.
Damn, it was later than he expected.
The Puppet had only taken him a few steps out of earshot, before he grabbed his shoulder harshly, the claws noticeable through the thin fabric of both its cloth and Phone Guy's work uniform. "Where is Jeremy?"
For a moment Simon blanked, then he frowned. "... what do you mean?"
"Where is he?! I can't find him!" It was clear the Puppet was freaking out. "I was just making an extra round while Jerry kept an eye on the group of kids- and when I came back he was GONE!"
"... gone?" This was just as concerning to him as to the animatronic. "But- uh- Dave and Old Sport- they were around-"
"Did you SEND him somewhere?!" Enraged Marion leaned down to him.
"No, I didn't!" Unsure he looked around. "Maybe he went to the bathroom?"
"... I already looked there." The answer came way too late.
"... you didn't, did you?" He sighed. "... let's go and check on him."
Shame though that Jeremy wasn't there.
Or anywhere else in the restaurant for that matter.
Yes, he seemed to be nowhere at all.
A little bit beforehand, Jeremy had been making his rounds, watching a group of kids that he considered a bit concerning due to how close they were to the doors, until Nemo caught his eye heading towards the exit. Accompanying him was another figure, wearing a pretty big jacket.
And that was suspicious.
A lot of things recently were suspicious.
And honestly?
He was SICK of it.
The police was around, despite Phone Guy saying-
He should have directly known that nobody would tell him the truth.
So with a few swift steps he came in-between the door and the two people. "So, where do you plan to go?"
No, he wasn't angry or harsh. His voice sounded curious and he tried to give a genuine smile, even if he felt a bit hurt.
Nemo seemed irritated for a moment, stepping to his side in front of his companion. "Just going to grab a bite to eat."
"It's not long until the shift ends." Jeremy smiled. "You could just wait a little bit and you wouldn't get in trouble!"
"... I'm going early today, what are you going to do about it?" The guy simply responded.
"Who's your friend there?" Boldly he stepped past Nemo and was met with two surprised, glowing, green eyes.
Angry Nemo crossed his arms, his voice as obnoxiously passive-aggressive as always. "We have something important to do unlike you."
"Where are you going?" The question was directed at Baby, who finally had recovered from the shock.
She attempted the sweet route. "I simply really, really wanted to go on a walk... it is so crowded and stressful, so I-"
"Great! I want to come along." No, he wouldn't just take their word for it. He was sick of it.
The way their faces became blank told him he was indeed right to do so. Nemo moved a bit on the spot. "And miss work-time? You could get in trouble, or whatever. Goody-two-shoes need to maintain their ap-"
"No, it's okay." The smile on his face became a bit bigger. "I think the same as you do! It's really crowded, but they're all busy with the other animatronics, so I'm not really needed either. Even less so than one of the MAIN animatronics, don't you think? Hell, if I go with you, I bet there's even less trouble for all of us because I kept an eye of you!"
Neither knew what to say for a few seconds.
Then Baby leaned forward, her voice sounding weird. "Listen, kid, we really have to go and you'd be better off not being mixed up in it. It's nothing that you should put-"
Innocently as ever, Jeremy answered, feeling good about letting the frustration out. "I don't care. I don't care if it's a walk, I don't care if it's an assassination attempt. If you don't let me come along, I'll tell Mr. Phone Guy you're sneaking out."
Irritated Nemo raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't care if we were out to assassinate?"
"I'd try to stop you of course, but I would still want to come along." Earnest the boy responded.
Both of the others looked at each other.
Nemo shrugged.
Baby hesitated.
Then both turned to Jeremy and Nemo groaned. "Yeah, sure. Hop into the truck, we're busy freeing souls. Maybe your existence will irritate them though, so perhaps you'll die during it, but whatever."
"A risk I'm willing to take!" Shortly Jeremy paused, then laughed to himself. "... so the animatronics are still around, huh?"
The laugh wouldn't stop.
Yes, how STUPID could you be.
Believing the same fucking lie twice.
He laughed at himself whole-heartedly, but was aware enough to turn around and quickly leave for the outside, so nobody would notice his behavior. The other two just followed, mildly concerned.
Alas, he had calmed down, now out of breath, as the other two stepped past him, leading him to the car.
His throat hurt.
But he tried to swallow his issues.
"... so- where are w-we going?" His voice was shivering for NO damn reason. There was anger at himself for this, but he tried to ignore that too. "The machines- the kids... are they- okay?"
Baby sat down in her spot, looking out. "... depends on how you define okay, I suppose. You will see. They're in a safe place now."
"O-okay." Deep breaths, Jeremy.
The rest of the drive was pretty much going on in silence.
Oh lord. He really had just left the restaurant while on duty, didn't he?
Cold fear grew in his stomach, as he thought about the things that could happen. If something bad would happen, nobody would know. Neither the people at his job, nor Marion, nor his family.
Quietly he wondered which of them would realize it first.
... perhaps he should take his dad's calls more often.
Now he felt even sicker to the stomach.
Another breath.
No. No, he wouldn't let himself be scared off like this.
Yes, the situation wasn't a happy one. But he had to become active. He had to DO something.
This time he would prove himself, away from Marion or anyone else.
This time he would do something of actual use.
... or die trying...?
Silently he hugged himself.
This line of thought wouldn't be of any use.
"Are you okay back there?" Nemo asked, it sounded mocking to the paranoid boy sitting behind him.
... he had to be stronger than this. If he forced people to constantly worry for him, they'd of course never talk to him about the harsher stuff or involve him in anything. "... yes, I'm good! Just- thinking!"
"Don't do that too much or you'll crack open your head like an egg."
Again, it was quiet between them, until Nemo put on some loud, wild music.
Slightly Jeremy smiled. At home he would have never heard this type of stuff. It was rude and angry. He had been told music like that would make him like that too... but somehow he was feeling better now instead. Not angrier.
Anger.
Would the children still be mad too?
They really scared him when they attacked them the first time around.
It was crazy to Jeremy- someone becoming so upset and so hurt that they would ever want to hurt someone else, someone INNOCENT.
Someone trying to help.
They weren't in their right mind.
Thank god Mike showed up, or Marion might would have gotten seriously hurt.
He had apologized afterwards, when they were home and it really hit what had almost happened. It hit HARD. Without Marion, they might would have died.
Were they better now? They had to be. Otherwise these two wouldn't go up to them so relaxed.
Maybe Baby made them feel better this time around.
... Jeremy wanted to do better than last time. To actually be of use.
Paul, Timmy, Jacob, Evelyn and Isaac.
Five children that never had gotten to go home.
Now, what was their plan?
Comforting them?
It was probably the best they could do.
And Jeremy WOULD do his best.
They stepped out of the car and walked a small route towards a fairly hidden entrance into the ground, entering a metal elevator. When Jeremy looked down, he couldn't see the ground and he felt himself shudder a little... but at least the escalator was extremely roomy.
Lights passed them as they moved towards the ground.
"We appreciate your eagerness to help, Jeremy..." Finally Baby started, the voice coming still sounding distorted in some ways. Like two people were trying to talk at once, with a good dose of static mixed in. "... but there's nothing you can do."
"I- there has to be SOMETHING to do..." Quietly he plead. But he clenched his fists. Even if not, he would FIND SOMETHING to do.
"... we ourselves don't quite know what to do, so there's nothing you can really do to help." Baby admitted. "We will review some of the case files to find something that could give them the strength to move on... or at least we HOPE there will be something."
Something in her voice sounded awfully familiar in the weirdest way. "... why are you glitching so bad, Baby?"
She laughed, now sounding normal again. "... uh-" A pause. "Well, it's my voice when I get REALLY serious and nervous."
"... you're lying to me again, aren't you?"
The elevator stopped and Jeremy just walked past them inside without another word.
It was okay. When he proved himself people would be HONEST with him.
Finally.
At least that was what he could hope for.
... and even if not, he could do this by himself, if he absolutely had to.
Right?
"Jeremy, wait!"
He stepped into a long hall, which a few doors were going off from.
At least that was what it looked like in the little light that he had in here.
Motors roared to life from all sides, eyes beaming out like headlights, freezing him into the spot he was in.
Machines clicked and made some pained noise as the old metal was strained abruptly.
They stepped forwards, twitching.
There was breathing.
The same situation like in the darn forest.
But this time he wanted to do this on his own.
He would cry if he had to be saved again.
They seemed upset and he could understand why, at least a little better than last time.
He ripped the hat off his head and threw it away before stripping himself from his work uniform, revealing the thin shirt under it.
The cold air clashed against his skin, making him shudder, but he clenched his teeth and tried to refuse it.
The jacket was thrown down too and stomped onto shortly.
It hurt his heart to disrespect his beloved franchise, but finally he could say it completely. "What happened to you was unforgiveable."
And it didn't matter who did it.
The machines stopped, and both Baby and Nemo joined him, but staying behind. That at last finally made the eyes dim down a little more, looking only mildly terrifying anymore.
It was silent for a moment, before Baby wordlessly stepped forward and Chica rushed closer, shaking but leaning in.
Talking without words?
Suddenly Jeremy felt really sick to his stomach.
If they could talk without words, then did that mean Baby had-
No, he didn't want to believe it.
She had to be a machine build to free souls.
Yes, okay, that made sense- nobody went missing under his supervision- not as far as he knew- but these machines were newly made by Dave and Old Sport- who knew about the haunting.
What was the alternative after all?
He didn't feel good at all as he remembered Marion's repeated warnings.
But Marion tried to kill everyone. Hell, apparently he even considered him to be the killer before they started to talk!
... otherwise he wouldn't have tried to kill him.
Nothing felt right anymore.
All of the animatronics had now gathered around Baby who was looking from one to the other and smiled.
Then she turned on her heel, and continued as if nothing happened. "We have the files here. We should first check out what we can dig up of their past, perhaps it will be a very easy task!"
There were even recordings on the table, but she hesitated to touch them.
Naturally, with the animatronics in the room...
... but she seemed to have an idea.
"Jeremy, can you stay with them for a moment, we need... a bit of peace and quiet."
Nemo nodded slowly. "... would probably be for the best."
The boy didn't mind. It was a bit insulting that Nemo, who he thought was younger than him was allowed to do things that he wasn't and directly help out, but he felt better staying with the kids anyhow. "It's okay. Take your time!"
"Thank you."
And thus they left, disappearing into the darkness until their footsteps weren't audible anymore.
Shortly he looked the others who were just wandering around, seeming a little aimless.
Only Bonnie had been standing there, staring down.
He decided to approach him.
"... hey there...!" Softly he called out to him.
Bonnie cracked as his head turned, his red eyes burning Jeremy's a little. Don't look into lasers.
On the drive here, he had managed to ask once more who was who, just so he had it down.
"Timmy?"
The Bon shuddered. But it seemed to be correct.
"Ah, hello! I'm Jeremy. But maybe you know that already." It was weird. "Uhm... how much do you... remember from the dayshifts?"
One of its ears twitched.
"Ah, okay, that makes sense. I guess it makes sense that you just forget your past during the day... if that happened?"
It shrugged a little.
"... uh. Okay." He wasn't really sure what that meant. "I hope nothing I said hurt you. It must have been hard."
A rough noise came from Timmy and he moved abruptly.
That seemed to have upset him.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be... insensitive." Worried he looked up at him, hoping to calm him down.
It didn't happen, the soul was already aggravated.
He wasn't sure what to say that would be the right thing to do. "I want to help you. I want to- make you feel better, you know? I like you Timmy, from the way you acted I know you were a good kid. But- I need some hint? What do you need?"
For a moment it stared down at him, and I say it, as it was mortifying and inhuman in that split-second it moved closer.
It grabbed him by the neck, raising him with ease from the ground.
Behind them the other machines started to screech in shock, short, hard noises as if to tell him to stop.
In that second it was clear to Jerry how HEAVY his own body was, as it dragged itself down. He didn't struggle in the grip, just tensed up.
The person he used to know as Bonnie- Timmy- never had been so aggressive. Quick to act and sarcastic, but not actually particularly prone to harm others, unlike Freddy who would get quickly defensive and Foxy who was accident-ridden due to his constant anxiousness.
And this time too, after a few seconds he softly placed him back down, shuddering.
Timmy dripped some sort of black liquid from throat and the open maw. It looked awful.
Moving from side to side, shaking in a silent fit, the thing hugged, clawed into himself, damaging the metal on his upper arms even more.
Feeling pity for the tormenting soul, Jerry reached out to his face.
"You can be angry you know?" He wasn't sure where exactly that suddenly came from. But this silent screaming was all too familiar to him. When he was locked into his room, climbing into his closet and then open his mouth without anything coming out.
Too afraid for them to hear.
The anger turning like a boomerang against himself, chastising him for daring to be mad at his parents who were just looking out for him.
How dared he be mad at those that were trying their best? It wasn't THEIR fault that he wasn't helped by it!
Without noticing he clutched himself too.
Shaking.
Everyone coming in, telling him right from wrong, betraying his trust and then arguing it's for his best.
Always taking their side in his head, because it was intention that mattered right?
Oh, he was feeling mad inside and it scared him.
He didn't want to be angry.
Shortly he looked in front of him, seeing suffering.
No more. "You CAN be angry with me. It's okay, I can take it."
Because he wanted to, to get it all out finally.
Sure, it wasn't his fault Timmy was in this situation- but he could have also done things to make it better, couldn't he?
Sometimes the anger must be let out.
Show people that you're unhappy. Even if it hurts their hearts, sometimes that has to happen to show how BAD it really is!
Or is this wrong?
No. Nobody could carry everything around forever.
Anger wasn't a sin. Wrath perhaps, but anger only turn to wrath, when you can't feel anything else anymore.
And if you carried anger around with you for too long, that was exactly what would happen.
Timmy screamed out in intense rage and grabbed him once more, shaking him like a doll. Then he threw him to the ground.
For half a second he heard a guy call out for him then everything was black.


Black, white, black, white.
He counted the tiles.
Black, white, black, white.
Then he let his eyes only wander over the white ones.
White, white, white, white-
Shortly he looked up.
He sat on a bright red plastic chair, and was looking at the things on the table, towering in front of him.
A pizza, cups in different colors, party-hats...
Music was blaring and everyone around him was screaming.
Finally his mom came back in, shortly rummaging in her purse to take out a pen and notebook. She always carried it around with her for important calls.
"... mom, I want to go home." He pleaded.
It was boring and he was getting a headache.
"Oh, Timmy, what are you saying? Isn't it GREAT here?" She said back with a smile, her eyes back on the phone as she typed a number.
How would you know? You weren't even in here for more than five minutes.
But he didn't say that.
"I'm tired." He said instead.
"Oh, nonsense... go over there! Do you see those hoops there? You can play that and win a nice price! Doesn't that sound GREAT?" And she was off again.
"No, it doesn't." He said to nobody.
No, he wasn't upset. His mommy was very busy and that was good, because it was the reason they had so many nice things. He had to be a very good boy and help his mommy so they could keep have nice things.
That meant not interrupting mommy during a call.
Or when it was really late.
To be quiet while playing, or best to go outside and play somewhere else.
Somewhere safe of course! If he got in trouble, mom would be very stressed out.
It meant getting good grades for mommy, so she didn't have to worry about a tutor.
Not to talk back and say things that would make mommy sad.
It wasn't that he didn't liked making her happy. It was great. But sometimes he was feeling... very bad. And then he had to sit in his room and wait it away.
Even when he wanted to ask for a hug instead.
For another while he sat there, looking at the doors of the restaurant, waiting for her to come back in.
It didn't happen anytime soon, so he accepted it and sighed, standing up from his place.
There were two robots on the stage. He could tell they were robots, because they moved so weird. And because mommy told him.
She said he was very mature for his age and should know stuff like that. They weren't alive, they were just pretending to be.
A brown bear and a blue bunny.
It was really weird, because the golden version of the same was walking around too.
His mom called it lazy, but nothing much else.
Apparently it was part of a reveal chain or something. There were more to come. He hoped for something cool, like a shark.
Robot sharks sounded really great.
Slowly he stood up and began wandering around, it would make the time pass faster. Not that he had any particular place he really wanted to go to- he had played on all the machines already. Then gifted the rest of the game tokens he owned away, because he really, really didn't want to play anymore.
So, now he had nothing and while some games were free to play, there as a long line in front of it, and they weren't all that fun to him either.
Maybe he should lock himself into the bathroom, it was quieter there. But then again, it smelled not nice and he didn't really want to spend more time there than he had to.
So... where to go...?
"Why, good day to you, little one." A deep, soft voice came from behind as he turned around, a bit scared.
Over him towered the golden bear, Fredbear- he thinks- and looked down at him, a smile on his face.
He had dark, dark eyes.
They kind of reminded him of the button on his Teddybear at home.
"U-uh- hello?" This wasn't a robot, right?
It moved so... naturally, he wasn't sure.
"You seem a bit lost. Is everything okay?" Sweetly he inquired, crouching a bit down to him. "Are you looking for something?"
"No, I'm- just looking around." A bit he fidgeted with his hands.
"That is okay too! You can always find something new when you look around carefully." His voice was very kind and warm, it helped him to relax a little.
"Yeah... but I've been a while here already. I think I might have seen already everything."
Shortly Fredbear stood back up, tapping against the snout in a thinking manner. "Everything? That cannot be! Did you find the secret room?"
"Secret room?" Surprised Timmy perked up.
"Only VERY few know of it. It is my secret place where kids can go if they do not feel happy here in the big rooms! It is fantastic there... full of special treats and a show, just for kids like you!"
It sounded nice, but he hesitated. "... I think mom wants to go leave soon though- I-"
"No problem at all." Kindly he said. "You do not have to come along. But if you wanted to... there are riddles around this place that will lead you right there. If you want to start, well... do you see the party hats on top of that shelf there? I wonder if perhaps Freddy knows the secret location of the next hint and will tell it to someone who can tell him a secret code..."
Shortly Timmy looked up to the hats, then suddenly Fredbear was gone.
... okay.
He looked at the door again.
Mommy wasn't there yet.
Well- he could at least search a little for it, right?
And so it began.
The first riddle was easy enough.
Red, blue, red, blue, blue, yellow.
The colors of the party hats.
Freddy leaned forward to him, clicking, then the weird, distant voice out of him laughed and told him. "O-On a mission?! Very gooood! Your next clue is there where the music plays!"
Speaker?
The bear leaned back, continuing to perform, ignoring him now.
Fine.
The second riddle was harder.
It was the music box.
At some point he finally found a little piece of paper, with a few numbers and a bunny next to it.
Bonnie wouldn't take them.
The bright-eyed golden bunny however suddenly approached him.
"What are ya doin' young sport? Tellin' Bonnie some numbers? I wanna hear 'em!"
And he did, driving a little dance out of the big bun. It looked really funny, Timmy had to snicker.
Finally he applauded the kid.
"On a secret mission, eh?! Well, on with you!" He handed him a picture of the pizzeria, with a certain wall marked.
Now he had to only find the wall that it was.
This was weirdly fun! He enjoyed it!
It took another while, but finally he found the wall.
With shaking hands he gently pushed against the marked spot and almost choked in excitement as it opened up to a small hallway, opening directly into a room.
There was cake!
And balloons!
Confetti!
And- two other kids?
Surprised he looked at them. One of them was seeming like he had been crying, the other one was holding his hand and still trying to reassure him.
"Hello?" Confused he asked. They seemed really distressed.
"Hello." The brown-haired boy responded, waving a bit with his free hand. "What are you doing here?"
"I... found the place?" More or less? "I wanted to search around... what about you?"
"We're looking for his brother. Fredbear told us he would help, and we should wait in here." He signed at the boy who's hand he was holding. "I'm Paul, this is Jacob."
"I'm Timmy." Shortly he looked around again.
There were suits sitting in the corner-
He gasped. "Wow! That one is cool! Is that a new one?!"
A red fox was laying in the corner. It had an eyepatch!
Jacob didn't seem too concerned with it, just sniffling.
It was a bit sad in here, but somehow he liked it. It was quiet and smelled like cake, and there was a lot of stuff laying around.
Curiously he began to rummaging it.
Then the door opened again.
Another boy looked in, curious, smiling widely when he saw the others and rushing in. "Hello! I'm Isaac! How are you? Oh, cake!"
Without another bit of hesitation, he took himself a slice.
Paul frowned. "You shouldn't just eat that. You don't know if it's for you."
"But I found the place!" Out of a full mouth he answered, making Paul frown even harder. "So I get to eat it! This is my reward!"
One last time the door opened.
Fredbear was looking in.
Laughing. "Four of you! Almost enough for a party!"
"Sir, I really want- where's my brother?!" Anxiously Jacob pleaded.
"He will be back in no time, I am certain." Reassuring he answered. "You just have to be a bit more patient. He will come to pick you up, so be a brave boy, okay?"
Something didn't feel right to Timmy. Suddenly it felt all very locked up in here.
The walls were tall and grey.
He couldn't hear anything from the outside.
Uncertain he moved. "Uhm- I- I think I heard my mom call for me. I think I have to leave. Thanks for showing me the room, Mr. Fredbear-"
"No, she is not even inside yet. There is a little more time... time for a cake at least!" Again he laughed warmly, but it didn't seem to fit his words. "We are only waiting for one more guest, little one. Then we can play and eat and do all the fun things in here until we are tired."
It sounded nice, yes, but-
Isaac interrupted. "Can't we eat cake already?!"
"... yes, you can. Even if it is a little impolite!" With that the bear picked up the knife and cut them some pieces.
Hesitant Timmy took one.
It was sweet, and really tasty.
But that didn't make him feel all that better.
Paul didn't really look okay either, not even accepting his slice. "... I need to go to the bathroom..."
"Give it another moment." Fredbear demanded. It sounded nice regarding to the tone, but the words seemed like a demand to Timmy. "They will be here shortly. You do not want to miss out on the surprise, right?"
The tension rose and Timmy was certain the others could feel it too.
"I'm not so wild about surprises-"
And with that, suddenly Springbonnie was there. "SURPRISE! HELLO KIDS! IT'S ME!"
They weren't happy.
And seemingly, neither was Fredbear.
"William, where is the girl?"
"Huh?" Springbonnie tried to play innocent, but it was clear he knew.
"The GIRL, William. That you have been leading around. Where IS she?"
Suddenly Fredbear didn't sound nice at all anymore. He sounded really scary.
"Oooooooh, yeaaaaaaaaah..." Awkwardly he laughed. "So... her parents came and she had to leave."
"Are you SERIOUS?" Angry the bear answered. "We put so much effort into this and you just- fine."
Jacob was trying to dash past them. "I WANT TO LEAVE-"
Like a snake one golden arm went forwards, grabbing the boy right by the face, resulting in screaming.
"The party has just begun, Jacob. How RUDE of you." With that the kid was thrown back, before even Paul could step closer to grab them.
Fredbear took his head off, revealing a guy with no eyes inside.
Timmy wanted to scream.
Springbonnie laughed. "Welp, kiddens, let that be a lesson! Strangers are dangers! Don't let yourself be lured into weird wall-places!"
"I- I won't again-" Timmy pleaded. "I'm sorry- I want to go back-"
Want to go back to his mom, he was sorry for the bad things he thought, he was sorry for being such a bad, needy kid, he just wanted to go back and he would be better, he promised that to some higher being that he hoped could hear him-
All of them tried to reason with the two guys now, mortified.
Jacob was in the corner bawling his eyes out.
The Pink Guy looked at them, then leaned closer to Timmy, who happened to stand nearest to him.
"... it is okay. Please do not cry. It will only hurt for a moment. And then... I will make you into your idols." With that he reached out.
Please don't touch me-
Please DON'T, PLEASE DON'T, PLEASE DON'T-
It became incoherent and RED, RED IN HIS EYES, HE COULDN'T FEEL HIS ARMS, HE WAS BEING SMASHED INTO SOMETHING-
Can't breathe, can't breathe, can't BREATHE-
He was struggling in the cage, scratching against metal, ripping off his fingernails as he wiggled against the rubber thing along his neck, he was getting dizzy and his clothes felt stick and wet, as he tried to get OUT, the thing around his neck was getting smaller- or did he imagine that? Either way, he couldn't get enough air anymore as he started to scream with everything his little body gave out, to trash around, kick and getting it all out, he was about to puke, WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO HIM-


Jeremy woke up, screaming and shaking.
Tears were flowing down his cheeks, he was trashing about, against something metallic that only made him scream even more.
He'd SUFFOCATE, HE'D DIE HERE, HE'D-
Finally he could hear again.
A guy.
"JEREMY!"
That voice was familiar.
Baby was holding him, he could finally properly see again from out of his tears.
Hadn't that been-
"... Mr- Ethan...?" Quickly he crawled away from Baby's cold grip.
Nemo was sitting there on a table, staring him down. "... are you okay again? We thought we had to hide a corpse for a minute, don't scare us like that."
Scrambling to get to his feet, the boy looked around, seeing the many eyes looking at him concerned... and then saw Timmy sitting at the edge of it all, turned away.
Jeremy rushed over.
And simply hugged him.
It was silent for a moment, until Timmy started shaking again.
It must have been hard, having your last emotion be anger and feeling endless guilt for it.
"It's okay. You can be mad at her. You can be mad at everyone. Maybe it won't fix the situation, but if you're mad, let it burst out of you once- then you will feel better. I promise."
Timmy touched Jerry's arms shortly, carefully trying to get them off.
When he managed, he stood up and stepped back, looking at each of them.
And then he SCREAMED.
Loudly.
Painfully.
Seconds passed, then suddenly Jeremy screamed too.
Screamed all his feelings out.
All the pain, all the sadness.
Like a wolf pack, the other animatronics joined now too, the noise becoming unbearable for a few seconds.
Then it was quiet.
Timmy started crying again.
Black liquid dripped out of him, oil and dirt.
No screaming, only tears.
More and more a puddle on the floor...
... until they turned gold.
For a moment Bonnie was gone. Only a young, golden boy was standing there, his face young, his eyes old.
"... I have been wronged. Everything that happened to me was so wrong and- nobody was there to help. What they all did was wrong. Everyone was blind and stupid, partially egotistic. I don't need to forgive them. I don't need to excuse them. But that doesn't mean I let it keep on haunting me. I'm done here. I will leave when my friends are too. I won't have to wait for anything anymore. I can fix myself."
"You don't have to." Jeremy weakly argued.
"Maybe. But I'm done waiting for some way of this making sense. Of some reason it happened. For someone to step up and just say that they were fully at fault, making this happen. I hope my mom is suffering."
Nemo snickered. "Spiteful words for a freed soul!"
Timmy looked at him. "I'm done with being nice. I'm going to care for myself now. And that also means that while I think she deserves to be suffering from what happened to me, I'll never go out and try to make sure of it. Or that Henry is suffering. I'm done with revenge and shifting the blame. You're all guilty, and it's not my responsibility for you to find that out."
Shortly he hovered, then he smiled a little. "... I always wanted to say that. I- feel much better now. What's done is done. I won't think about it any further."
He dissolved, revealing the broken Bonnie again.
There was a little golden shine to his eyes now.
Peace reigned, as the other animatronics came by to hug him- well, to the best of their abilities- and he hugged them back.
It was filling Jeremy with happiness, as he still was busy wiping some tears from his face.
Gently Nemo tugged on him.
"It's getting late, we need to go back."
"Already?!" Shocked he answered.
"For your own health, yeah."
Baby looked weirdly... gloomy, but she too joined them, waving to the animatronics as the left the hall.
They stepped into the elevator, going back up.
Jeremy looked against the wall that seemed to be moving.
"I heard Ethan."
Just throwing it into the room.
Again, it was quiet.
"We'll explain this to you next time." Baby whispered. "I promise. We don't really have the time anymore."
"It's okay. I just wanted to say that. I heard it and you can't pretend I'm stupid and didn't for any longer."
"We're sorry."
"It's okay. I accept it."
The road back home was quiet as well, for some reason Baby was driving. Pretty wild, but nothing Jeremy would say something about.
He entered his home and Marion was almost strangling him, he hugged him so tightly. "Where have you BEEN!?"
"... doing what you always do. And as your example, I didn't bother telling you about it." It was passive-aggressive, but he think he deserved it for tonight. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."
Marion was shocked at his new tone, but allowed it.
The next morning was beautiful.
Clear skies, birds in the distance.
Jeremy still didn't explain anything to Marion.
Instead he waited for the phone to go off, as it always tended to do and answer.
"Yeah, hello, it's me!"
His voice was cheerful.
The voice on the other side was loud and booming, too distorted for Marion to understand from the distance.
"... I was busy with work."
More loud noise.
"You don't even know if I work there still." Jeremy had a weird smile on his face and just as the booming started again, he took a breath. "I wanted to ask about my family, but it's okay, if you don't want to do anything other than to scream at me, we can talk later too. Either you stop or I will hang up."
Another ten seconds, then he put the speaker down, looking at Marion, still smiling.
"... I feel REALLY good today. I should have done this sooner." And with that he prepared for work, promising Marion he'd tell him a little later what was going on.
After all, Marion always took his time with explanations too.

-

Darkness.
Was it darkness?
Well, certainly.
The lack of light meant darkness.
But even if there was light, there was nothing to shine on, aside from one lonely soul, floating through the nothingness.
Suddenly, he snapped up, moving his body, staring at his fingers.
Moving each of them on their own, then all of them together.
A cold shudder ran over Henry's back.
He was drifting off.
Mentally.
That was dangerous.
Usually, attaching himself to Dave for a while and watching the world from his side helped against it, but despite doing that today, his mind still had shut down bit by bit, without him noticing.
His end was approaching.
It was terrifying.
Why was it so hard to focus on things!?
It was like everything around him was breathing in synch with himself and it felt WRONG.
That couldn't be. Only he was breathing.
He wasn't part of the void.
Something had to be DONE.
Reaching out, he grasped on the thin connection he had to his potential vessel.
His time was running out, quicker than he liked.
He needed to finalize him, fast.
He needed Jack to resemble him once more.
As soon as possible.
Someone had to be killed, in gruesome fashion, someone he, Henry, would kill himself like it for one or another reason.
Or hurt. Experimented on. Used.
Perhaps she.
She wasn't of any use of him anymore, he had been pretty baffled when she showed up in the first place anyways.
Or perhaps some kid. Any kid.
Or maybe the robots.
William.
Something's got to give.
FAST.
Quietly he pulled on the strings, careful not to overuse them.
Whispering to them.
Of violence and glory.
Or knowledge and thrill.
Come back to him.
And the Orange Man would hear them.
Not with his ears.
Not with his long gone soul

With his heart.

-

A/N:
Oof, thank you all for reading. The thought that I make people happy with this seriously is the only thing keeping me going. You guys are amazing! Please continue to be like that! Until next time!