A Guard's life

Final Evaluation

A/N:
Special credit in terms of song choice to AsiawasiaPL, for introducing me to the song and making me see it in the context of Phoney. It's so dope- I meant to write an extra scene especially for this one, but this books is already bloated enough, so I'll just use it here to help me write this chapter.
I'm a confirmed sleepy boi, god save me. My USB drive broke, I suffered half a heart-attack-
It's by the way the longest chapter yet. >11300 word, like geez. Better make sure you have a long time to read.
Or... should I break this one off into two chapters? Give me your thoughts if you can.
Again not beta read because I don't have my shit together-
BUT I TRIED HARD!
ESPECIALLY WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT OH GOD, LAST MONTH ONLY HAS 29 DAYS.
So, remember, if I can DO this, YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO AS WELL! REMEMBER THAT!

----

Jeremy's morning routine had not changed in the last year.
Well, at least not much.
It started with him resting for a moment in bed, before worming his way out between the sheets and the long, black appendages that has been mixed in, now that he had a new housemate.
He usually let the music box by his bed play for a little longer, as he turned on the TV in the other room, having the Fredbear&Friends theme song sound through the apartment.
Next up was of course his hot chocolate, the one thing he ALWAYS looked forward to-
And while the milk was heating up, he sneaked back into the bedroom to slam down the lid of the music box and give the Marionette in the bed a kiss on the head, usually accompanied by a grumpy, muffled noises coming from somewhere within the machine.
Then he would get his hot chocolate, smell the delightful aroma and put on some clothes while letting the hot beverage cool down.
Which would make the perfect time to-
A noise sounded through the house, the ring of the bell.
Instantly Marion was at the door, hovering above it like an oversized, nightmarish spider, sticking to the ceiling.
Fantastic.
Jerry frowned at him a little confused, but decided to simply open the door and not worry about Marion's quirks.
Despite expecting nothing, he still was surprised to see the clown animatronic standing in front of it, giving him a small smile when their eyes met.
Her voice was quiet, trying not to draw attention to her from the other apartments. Pretty damn necessary seeing as her metal feet probably had been audible through the whole damn place all the way up. Even WITH shoes.
"May I come in for a moment?"
"Yeah, sure!" Quickly he stepped aside.
As she came in, Marion floated down behind her, staring her down.
She seemingly didn't notice though, as she entered.
"I don't have a lot of time, so can I ask you for a small favor?"
"Y-yeah! I wanted to be early anyways, so if it's short, then that's good-"
"It's a difficult favor though." Very sincere Baby stressed.
"Anything, it's fine..."
"Can you keep very quiet? Not add to anything. We can talk later after all."
"Okay...? I think... I think I can do that." There was a little bit of hesitation to his words. Despite trying to be his usual cheerful self, he WAS damn tense today, uncomfortable in every way.
He knew today's day would be bad at best, awful at worst.
The stress might kill him.
But he would try his best to not let his nerves show.
Everyone was tense today.
And now someone asks for his help.
"Great." She sat down with him at the kitchen table, next to Jeremy's cup.
For a moment nothing happened.
"It's a bit difficult to explain... so let me cut it short. You helped us a lot with freeing the souls. And... today you'll be busy, won't you?" The question was only asked theoretically. "They will leave today- I promise they are all fine now. We'll go there right after this. I'm sorry for having just left the restaurant despite what you said. But you can understand, right? It was for their sake. Staying would probably be no good for them."
Slowly Jeremy nodded.
He wasn't happy about it, but he could get it. At least he got an apology. She acknowledged she did wrong.
Despite wanting to speak, he stayed silent.
He wanted to come along.
He didn't want to miss it.
... however, they probably needed him in the restaurant, didn't they? Mike was hot-headed, Mr. Phone Guy a little... hesitant to do the right thing, the animatronics good at heart, but... y'know.
He wanted to ask if that was what the bag, which she was carrying, was for.
Quiet Jeremy.
They asked you for that favor.
As if hearing his thoughts though, Baby reached into her bag shortly and pulled out a party hat and a cupcake.
"We really appreciate your help, Jeremy." Softly she said.
Then her voice changed, accompanied by a heavy sigh.
Male and low, a familiar sound certainly. "Hello Jeremy. It's me... Ethan. Before you say anything-"
The boy had been gasping already, but tried to keep his mouth shut.
"- I'm sorry. I wish I could have told you before. But it would have been... too complicated, I think. You deserve to know I'm still here too. And... I might leave too after today. Then it will be on you to watch over the place. Can you do that?"
Finally the robotic clown leaned back, signing for him speak.
It was so weird to see this adult voice spill out of this metal form.
Jeremy's mind was jumbled and honestly, it hurt.
It would make more sense if he just was asleep.
Exhausted he pressed his hands against his lack of a face.
What was happening.
"... you actually died."
They lied to him.
"I was murdered, in fact."
"Why didn't you tell me...?"
"Jeremy. My mind was a bit more focused on the fact that my daughter was out there, suffering. Then I was thinking about my next steps. What if something happens to me? I had to make a choice. I didn't want to upset you. Or to fight with you about this."
"Someone murdered you and you- you just-"
"Despite all your strengths, you still have... some issues." He shook his head. "Jeremy. Please, I don't want to drag this out any further."
The boy glanced at the clock.
He was right.
Marion was hovering behind the guard at this point, gently placing his hand on his shoulder, helping him to calm down, at least a little.
So once more he fell silent, though not before letting out one last question.
"Who hurt you? Did you- did you catch them-?"
Too many questions. Too little answers.
"No, Dave Miller is certainly still working. We see him every day. Not that I had much of a choice in letting that happen..."
Two things happened at that moment:
Firstly, Marion's grip became tighter. "I TOLD you so!"
Secondly, Baby's voice had turned back to normal. "Stop painting him so awfully! You tried to burn down his home. He had a right to defend himself."
"That was anything BUT defending himself! Do you even know what that MEANS?"
"Shut up, you were the aggressor."
"I thought we were over this-"
"Fiiine, okay, so dad DID murder you and that wasn't QUITE nice, but did you DIE? No."
"I swear to the good god up above- we don't have the time for this."
Poor Jeremy looked close to fainting at this point, pale and concealing his shaking by pressing his hands onto the table.
Biting off more than he can chew.
Finally Ethan eased up and turned to Jeremy, his voice soft and a little pitiful. "I know this is much. There's... a reason we didn't tell you sooner. People ARE looking out for you, you know? We'll- I- if everything goes okay, you might not have to do anything. All you have to do is to stay mindful. Stay safe. Keep an eye on the Orange and the Purple Guy."
Wordless Jeremy nodded.
He felt sick.
The robot stood up. "We have no more time to waste. Thank you for your help, Jeremy. We will be thinking of you."
Again Jeremy nodded, not looking much better. "S-safe travels."
It's a long road to the other side.
Marion moved a bit though. "I-"
They all looked at him.
"... I want... to see them off too." Unsure he continued, looking at Jeremy. "But if you-"
"No! No, it's fine!" Quickly Jeremy spoke up. "I'm fine! Nothing bad is going to happen today. You- you SHOULD go and see them off. They probably would like that. Please."
Gently Marion put a claw on Jeremy's cheek. "Don't do anything stupid. Don't endanger yourself, okay?"
"I'd never!"
That answer didn't spark any confidence in Marion. Jeremy continued though. "See- everyone always gets in trouble looking out for me. I promise I can handle myself."
This sounded a bit more trustworthy.
Marion nodded. "Then... I will see you later. I'll- you know how to reach me."
Touching the green bracelet on his wrist, Jeremy nodded.
It would be fine.
As the three exited the place, Baby looked up to the ghostly "human" fella, while Marion quietly contemplated by himself.
"... you made your choice to leave?"
There was a small hint of somberness in her tone.
"I'm not sure yet." Ethan looked away. "... the only reason for me to stick around would be to stop William. And there is a certain someone in the way of that."
"Geez. You can tell me you cannot stand hanging around me." A little she huffed.
"That is not it. I want to help you. But I cannot bear staying around that... man."
The disgust was clear in his tone, prompting Baby to tense up. That was no way to talk about her dad.
"We will never agree, will we?"
"If you would try to see it from my side- he IS- BOTH of them are abhorrent- they are DANGEROUS. What they did to you is-" Sick. "- not right. And people like that won't change. The longer they're allowed to roam, the more people will get hurt, no matter how much "better" they are than before. There are things that can be forgiven, things that can be changed, but some people... some people can't do that. As horrible as it sounds."
"... that doesn't sound right." She mumbled, but didn't really try to argue. "Let's stop it here. Time for a party?"
"Time for a party. Though that shouldn't excite you so much."
"Well, it's a GHOST party. It's going to be actually cool for once!"
"Already tired of entertaining kids for all eternity?"
"... shut up old man, I only ask for some variety!"
They had their little back and forth the whole way back, until they were interrupted by the kids jumping out at them, demanding the party to be set up.
No robots in sight.
It was an incredibly strange feeling to Ethan.
Of course it was.
Just... Evelyn, running out of the darkness, screaming in excitement.
It felt like everything inside of him had stopped for a moment, as he leaned down to hug her tightly.
A bit of the yellow glitter she had put on was covering him too now, as he stepped away from Baby, trying to make do with his own ghostly body.
His ears were ringing as his mind was still pretty much shut down, while trying to follow along. Evelyn was talking fast, gasping halfway for air. Oh, he WANTED to listen, but this felt so unreal-
"... and Isaac came by, he hung out with Fredbear and he brought so much stuff with us and Fredbear is going to come too and now we all-"
She seemed a little older than when she had gone. Not much, but enough to distract Ethan even further, creating almost a sensation of panic.
This was real, right?
This HAD to be real-
A cold splash of water hit the back of his head. As he turned around a teenager, who somewhat resembled Timmy, stood there, grinning like an idiot. "What's up oldie? Quit staring into thin air."
"I wasn't-"
Another splash of water. "Nu-uh, no talking back. You gotta be a bit quicker on the uptake-"
Now Timmy was the one splashed by the smaller Evelyn, who giggled at his surprised and somewhat offended expression. "It's not about being quick, it's about being persistent and waiting for the right moment-"
"COME HERE!" With Timmy dashing after her, the two disappeared into the other room.
Wait.
Was it brighter than before?
Did he put up that birthday banner?
Shortly he looked around- maybe the Marionette did it, but he had already been dragged off towards the other kids who seemed to play-bully the long animatronic a little.
Baby was sitting there with a kid that Ethan could vaguely recognize as Isaac, thankfully he was the least changed of all of them, compared to the picture in his file. Happily he was chomping on the cupcakes.
... well, that would do away with the question on how to eat them as ghosts. Apparently, they can do that now.
It felt like they weren't where they were a moment ago.
Everything felt a little more... gold.
Shortly he glanced at the door they came in from, still shrouded in darkness.
All doors are portals. That's what they say.
"ETHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Jacob called out. "Oh- Mr. ETHAN! We want to play! Come on already! We're playing zombie tag, Marion has to tag for being mean to us before!"
This was finally enough to break him out of his stupor. Before he rushed off, he turned to Baby, sitting by the table, looking... disgruntled.
Softly Ethan called out. "... are you coming or not?"
A bit surprised she looked up, then nodded a bit.
"I'm- I'm right there!" Smoothly she heelied from her place at the table, showing off. A smile on her face again, finally. "Surprised you of all people would want me to play along. It's gonna be REALLY embarrassing to lose now!"
"It's okay, you don't NEED to be embarrassed by losing to me." Without batting an eye Ethan answered, then he broke out in laughter and made his way down to the others with her right at his heels.

In the actual location though, things weren't so rosy.
It was as though the happiness the party required was sucked from other places, until they were black and dead, like tar.
Mike was exceptionally twitchy and angry today.
It wasn't even ANGER, it was primal RAGE. So deep and burning hot, it crashed in waves into him, sat on top of his mind and was tearing him apart.
He wanted to SCREAM.
He wanted to bite, howl, break-
But he wouldn't.
Simon was by his side, gently holding his hand.
The only good thing about this whole situation.
Softly he breathed.
Everyone as quiet. If not because of the occasion, then at least because whatever had taken ahold of Mike was suffocating everyone.
Except maybe Simon.
While quiet, he was the only one standing tall.
Finally.
The doors opened.
Cold air flooded in.
Small and fragile, the woman entered, making her way deliberately, not too fast, not too slow, down the giant hall.
Her footsteps echoed, as the place was completely empty, taking anything, everything to fill it.
"Well. I see everyone is here. Very good. No more time to waste."
Cold and calculated.
Efficient.
Mike grinded his teeth, almost ready to go off and attack her out of the blue.
His mind was so full of frustration.
He HATED that look on her face.
Her entire existence.
Juliette took out a few notes out of a briefcase she had been carrying.
"Let us begin. I see you are here, Nemo. Nemo TotallyRealLastName." She gave him a judging look, in spite of the shades she was wearing that should prevent that. "You are too young to start with false names or with Freddy's. I mean it. You aren't fooling anyone with the false age on this form either. Please don't think you're sneaky by claiming your age is the one of the franchise."
He shrugged. "It's my age, if you believe it or not. I'm older than I look!"
".... yeah, yeah. I will have to fire you, mainly because I really would hate for you to get damaged by this place."
"You can't make me stop, you're not my MOM." He scoffed, crossing his arms, but he seemed uncomfortable, shifting a little on the spot.
"You don't seem too sure about that." A bit bemused she said, her voice now softer. "I am very proud of you for wanting to go and trying to take up a part time job and you did very well."
"I literally never did anything-" Half-hearted he tried to protest.
"It's the thought that counts. Go and find yourself a job that is actually good for you, alright? You would make the same wage and learn more, surely."
"You're so weird." With that Nemo just suddenly walked off, into another room. "I'm sick of this. Bye!"
Everyone watched him, staying quiet until Juliette coughed a bit.
"Well... that was something." Turning back to the lined up guards, she got ready to continue. "Jeremy! You're doing a stellar job. Always friendly, good with customers, even the difficult ones and overall a joy to work with. A bit... nosy, but you can work on that, surely."
Nervously Jeremy gave her a smile and a nod.
Going through formalities.
"Mike Schmidt. You do well-"
Something in the guard snapped. Being addressed, hearing his name awoken something vicious within him. "Cut this fucking SHIT OUT ALREADY!"
"Excuse me?" Slightly shocked and a bit frustrated she stopped.
"This is fucking USELESS."
Phoney tried to step in. "Mike-"
"NO. NO. Listen here, LADY, you can't just fucking DO this. You're trying to fucking take our friend "to the farm"- factory- whatEVER, like a fucking DOG, BUT YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST GO THROUGH THIS? PRETEND THIS IS NORMAL!?"
Juliette spoke up as well. "Mike-"
"NO. You have PROBLEMS. YOU ARE FUCKING ABOUT TO SEND SOMEONE INTO DEATH. EVEN THE ANIMATRONICS ARE AWARE WHEN THEY MURDER SOMEONE, SO WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH YOU!?"
"EXCUSE ME?!" Infuriated she responded. "YOU'RE ONE TO TALK. YOU CONSPIRED TO ALLOW ROBOTS TO BE TAKEN OUT OF A RESTAURANT. MACHINES THAT PROBABLY HAVE HUMAN SOULS- CHILDREN SOULS INSIDE OF THEM!"
Old Sport who has been leaning to the side was deciding to speak up. "Oh, they absolutely had children in them."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU ORANGE FUCK!"
Instantly Dave was out and about. "Don't 'cha DARE call my Orange BABY that-"
"SHUT UP PURPLE FUCK-"
Finally Phoney had enough. "ALL OF YOU, QUIET. AT THIS POINT I DARN WELL AM H-HECKING WILLING TO GO WITH HER TO GET AWAY FROM YOU GUYS."
Everyone paused at the sudden outburst, resulting in the wanted effect.
The Phone Guy relaxed again a little. "Good. Uh- Mrs- Juliette. Please reason with us. With ALL of us. Or, uh- at least with everyone except Dave and Old Sport."
"Hey!"
"They're... mainly there to make trouble as always."
Nice try.
It didn't appeal to Juliette though.
"What is there to REASON?! You are a DANGER. More so than any other employee. The worst they can do is shut down one location. You can ruin the entire franchise." She took a sharp breath. "... and without this franchise, where will- where will they go when they come back?"
Slowly Phoney reached to his side, letting go of Mike's hand in favor of petting his back.
For a second the hand stayed in place, giving Mike two taps.
A sign.
He didn't need more.
Shaking his head, Mike stepped away, while Phone Guy spoke up again.
"Juliette, please... you have to accept they won't come back. Some people don't. Waiting for them will make things only worse... I know that."
"What?! You know NOTHING! You had a CHOICE to FORGET!" Angry she stepped closer, making both Dave and Old Sport, who were still watching step back. Jeremy had long ago moved further away, his invisible eyes transfixed on the scene.
His voice wouldn't work.
He couldn't say a single thing.
Phone Guy took a deep breath. "You, uh- you know you ALWAYS have a choice, right? I know-" Something in him broke out. "Like he- heck. I've been backed into corners at every damn turn. Whenever I tried to deal with one thing, twenty other things seemed to happen. But y-you know what? I'm still here. Talking to you. I never thought- this- all of THIS-" He made a wide hand-movement. "- was a choice I could make. Things happen, but just because you can't control everything doesn't mean you can't still make choices."
Spitefully she looked at him. "Yes. I made my choice. And I won't let you ruin everything I worked for."
"What did you work for?! What did you really reach?"
"I MADE THE PLACE BETTER." Angrily she screamed out. "I KEPT A MONEY-HUNGRY BASTARD FROM DOING WHO KNOWS WHAT TO THE PLACE! I MADE SURE EVERY ANIMATRONIC WAS KEPT SAVE AND COMFORTABLE. THAT INCLUDES YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!"
At this point she was shaking, letting everything out that had been boiling up inside of her for years.
Decades maybe.
"Mrs. Miller." He quietly tried to start. "It's time to stop. Phone Guys aren't machines. Stop lying to yourself."
"They are. Otherwise Henry would have NEVER- he would- if Phone Guys were actual people, there is no way in HELL they would exist the way they do! Not only that- they wouldn't be so- heartless!"
"You call ME heartless?" Baffled Phone Guy asked, unable to even register anything past that point. "Are you serious!? I- uh- Ma'am, your husband was not quite honest with you. At all. Ever."
"Don't. You. Dare." Her voice was a hiss. "You have NO right to dirty my husband's name with your despicable lies."
Mike was looming behind her, bat in hand.
Ready for the second signal.
Perhaps there were some ethical concerns with this, but he really couldn't care. To be honest, he barely could even hear what everyone was saying right now.
All he knew was that he wanted nothing more to get her out of his life, once and for all.
Mindless.
Again Phoney tried to reach her. "I'm NOT lying, of ALL the times this would be the last place where I would lie. If I would be willing to lie about this, don't you think I would try to appease you? The fact that I'm not should tell you something. This is SERIOUS."
For a moment it stayed quiet.
Then Old Sport suddenly pointed behind the woman. "You might want to turn around."
That was when Jerry's glance moved as well, resulting in him screaming at the top of his lungs. "MIKE NO-"
And that chaos was enough of a signal for Mike to simply smash the bat down with all his force.
It's not easy to NOT kill a person when fighting with a blunt weapon. From breaking their neck, to cracking something, or hell- having a dangerous concussion could sometimes be enough.
Attacking with a blunt weapon was always dangerous and foolish, outside of self-defense, outside of the worst case.
Mike though didn't think about it in that moment. Didn't care for a second.
As the woman turned around he used all of his inhuman strength to crash down the bat onto her head.
It broke.
Splinters flew everywhere.
It even cause her glasses to fly straight off, making a quiet noise as they fell to the ground with the splinters or wood.
But the head kept turning.
No damage visible.
Her glowing pinkish-purple eyes stared into him.
But it wasn't that they were this odd color that confused him. Neither the fact that the "shine" in them was drawn on.
No, what distressed him the most was that he had SEEN those eyes quite often in his time at Freddy's.
Those were Chica's eyes.
It was enough to completely snap him out of whatever had taken ahold of him, he stumbled back a few steps.
"A- are you okay Mrs. Juliette-?" Terrified Jeremy stepped closer.
It was dead silent as Juliette took a short, shivering breath. Obviously she was trying to keep her voice calm, but it was clear she was affected.
"I... see. That makes two for two of you... just using my naivety against me like that. Is that FUN to you? WAS TELLING ME TO PLAY DEAD DURING THE BLACKOUT NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU?!"
A breathless "oh" was all Simon could muster in the face of this uncontainable fury.
Dave leaned over to Old Sport. "So I'm gettin' it right, we're gonna fight on her side?"
"Nah, no sides. Just wanted to get the party started." Old Sport snickered.
"Thank god!" Reaching into his pocket, Dave pulled out a Molotov cocktail out of his pocket. "I hate teams! It'd mean I gotta aim and I suck at that!"
Distressed Jeremy ran forward. "NO- NO FIGHTING! What is WRONG with you?!"
"Shhhhhh... shhhhh..." Wrapping an arm around the boy, keeping him in a headlock, the Orange Guy was trying to "reassure" him. "... they're gonna be fiiiiiine. How about you go and check on the teen? I bet he'd LOOOOVE some company."
"Let- let me go- I need to call for Marion-" The poor boy was trying to get out of the grasp, trying to twist his body in ways that would allow him to slip out.
"Huh? What do you mean by that? Where is he?" Mildly curious Old Sport asked, completely ignoring what was going on in front of them.
Juliette was currently turning her hand into a fist, hissing at the two guards around them. "Enough. Enough! ENOUGH! I will put YOU out of commission RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW! And YOU-" She turned to Mike. "You will take his place. It will prove that our new system is WORKING. A maniac like you doesn't even deserve to LIVE! I'M GOING TO DO THIS WORLD A GODDAMN FAVOR AND REMOVE TWO PARASITES WITH ONE BURNT MATCH. I won't like it, but sometimes things like that are necessary. Any last words?"
"FUCK YOU, BITCH." In typical Mike fashion he spat out, before both of them starting going at it.
It's not quite fair to fight a robot in any case, but a robot with the dexterity of a normal human?
That wouldn't stop Mike though, seemingly immune to the pain of having his arm turned, probably broken.
Thankfully, Phone Guy, after standing by for a second like froze, shook himself out of it and jumped in bravely. No, he didn't nearly had Mike's fighting power, but- "I WON'T let you hurt HIM!"
A heavy tug from Old Sport ripped Jeremy out of his shocked staring.
"I asked you where he IS right now."
"I- he's freeing kids- but we have to- if this continues, Mr. Phone Guy will-" Stumbling over his words, the poor guard sounded close to crying.
Abruptly Old Sport let go of him. "He does WHAT?"
"Y-yeah, he and Baby-"
"He and who?"
"What's with you-"

Thin, yet firm.
The web of a spider is one of the strongest things there are. Almost too thin to see with the naked eye, yet strong enough to withstand a storm.
The void was somewhat like it, if you thought about it.
With its connection to the real world.
Almost invisible.
Seemingly ridiculous to think it could influence anything.
Those thin, loose ties.
Yet once enough of them come together, it made a bridge.
Emotions were a sticky thing.
Melting, sloshing around in the host's body. Not born from the body, not born from the brain.
Anger. Betrayal. Desperation. Spite. Sadness.
It was easier to pull on them from here. They were waiting to be pulled on. Dancing erratically as soon as they appeared.
Not real, not at all.
But if he wanted to see them, they were there. There was little difference between fantasy and reality here. Neither existed after all.
This was his chance.
Gently he wrapped the clutter of strings around his fingers.
And pulled.

Old Sport was LOSING it.
This wasn't SERIOUS. Baby, just on her way to take the souls HE had wanted to play around with?
Just ruining HIS fun?!
After ALL he did for her?
There were few things that made him this mad. But he was sick of people going behind his back. Of people conspiring against him.
They were supposed to be your family. And now look where they got you.
Sharply he took a breath.
"I need to have a word with her."
Promptly he rushed off towards the door, ignored by the fighting group.
Jeremy was too confused, too overwhelmed to say anything, but he activated his bracelet, hugging himself as he continued watching the scene, his hands feeling numb and useless in the face of the chaos.
At least until Dave threw the fucking cocktail into the group.
"DAVE, DON'T-"
Within an instant Jeremy jumped him, managing to push his arm away, making him miss the group, instead hitting the tiles, where a fire quickly erupted.
This would be great, if not for Mike and Phoney, seeing this as their chance to grab the woman and throw her inside of it, instantly lighting her on fire.
"NO, NO, WHAT THE FUCK-" For once Jeremy didn't even care what came out of his mouth, the scene to him seeming ripped straight from a nightmare.
Juliette was crying out, more in emotional pain than physical, but the genuine anguish was still there. Her body was still burning as she stepped out of the fire, her hair turning to ash in a bright flame, her clothes and skin melting away, revealing the machine underneath.
It was in that moment the Marionette suddenly bolted from the shadows, wrapping himself around Jeremy and shielding his eyes. For once the young man didn't complain about it, as Marion scanned his surroundings, quiet like an animal, ready to attack any threat from any side.
He wasn't sure what was going on, but by GOD, he was ready to fight.
As long as nobody did anything though, he'd remain in place. Waiting. Protecting. Watching.
As always.
The screams had attracted Nemo again, who was standing in the door. "Okay, Jesus CHRIST, what the HELL?"
For a second he ran off, grabbing a nearby fire extinguisher.
Despite the fire firmly eating away at her body, she didn't stop, she didn't falter, continuing to move towards her enemies, though out of her throat came only sobbing noises.
Mike and Simon moved backwards. There was no way in hell they could even touch her right now.
Both of them were out of breath at this point.
Trying to wrestle down the terminator wasn't really an easy exercise, being flung about like ragdolls while not even being able to dodge at all without being incredibly quick.
And they HAD to be quick, before she simply ripped off either of their heads.
Despite that though...
... she sounded pathetic.
Pitiable.
Something seemed to be damaged in her voice box her voice was glitching out, sounding longer with some reverb.
"I dooon't desEEerve THIS!"
Her body was shaking, she was slowing down.
"I nEeEveEr wWantedD ANYThiing lIke thhhhis to HhAppen!"
Mike didn't show any sympathy though. "You fucking threatened to kill me, LET ALONE the fact that you wanted to kill Simon all this damn TIME."
"WHAAT'S WrONg wiTh G-GETTinG RID of tWwO d-DANgerouS, cRUuueL pe-ople?! YouuuuU pUut chiLDreN aAaT RISK-"
"We don't." Phone Guy firmly answered.
"LLOOOKiNg thE oOOThER WaAAayY i-IS juUust as baaA-!"
"We fucking DON'T." This game out of Mike's mouth without thinking, but a bit of unease grew inside of him.
They didn't, right?
Not really.
Right?
The teen was rushing up at the group, spraying thick white foam onto everything burning.
Juliette just slowly sank to the ground, hiding her face.
As the flames had stopped, her electronics calmed down as well. "I don't LIKE doing this... no matter how AWFUL you two are..."
Phone Guy stepped a bit closer, carefully. "... it wasn't me who got you here."
"It- it DOESN'T MATTER!" Between her hiccups she tried to form words. No tears ran down her face. She lost her ability to cry a long, long time ago. "You were so ready to g-get me killed while talking right to my D-DARN face! Don't try t-to get out of this."
While looking onto the scene, Mike suddenly felt tired.
Everything was drained from him. "... and you were cheerfully talking about putting my best friend into the incinerator or whatever you were planning. We're both fucked. How about we stop?"
"I'm not giving up on my chance to find my family. No matter what."
"They're both DEAD." Simon forced out.
"WHERE IS YOUR PROOF!?"
Silence.
She started again, her voice once more shaking. "... Henry disappeared. Raphael disappeared. They can't be- it's not possible- what if they're out there- my little Raph always was rebellious, what if he ran away and-"
Nemo, who had been standing by was speaking up, quietly. "Would the body suffice?"
"What the everloving HELL are you SAYING?" She turned back to look at him.
He had put down the fire extinguisher, or more so was dropping it the last bit to the ground. Staring down at it, a desperate grin spread over this face. "... fucking... my god. This is so stupid. This is- I can't- this shouldn't be that way. What the hell."
Slowly Nemo looked up, giving her a wide-eyed stare. "... what did dad do to you, mom...?"
"What the hell are you TALKING about?!" Slowly she stood up and moved back as she watched the boy taking out his dark contact lenses to reveal those bright, pale green tone that she hadn't seen in ages.
It almost punched her imaginary breath right out of her chest.
It TERRIFIED her.
He couldn't be here.
Not- not like this.
"... you... that can't be... h-he's- he would have to be an adult by now- your- your f-fake age-"
The teen slowly took off his scarf, revealing a very deep, clean cut. "Oh, I would have been. If dad would have let me. But he didn't, did he?"
Everyone stared at the clear and certainly deadly wound.
It wasn't as big of a surprise as it was irritating to the others around that neither of them had REALIZED what this teenager was really beneath his sarcastic façade.
Okay, perhaps Jeremy was in genuine shock. Peeking out between Marion's grip that had softened a little due to the surprise, he watched the scene, his horror not stopping him from feeling a bit relieved that nobody was at the direct risk of killing the other anymore.
Nobody spoke though. Nobody but Juliette.
"... you... you aren't serious..."
Just as slow as before, he began pressing a finger into the slit on his throat, pushing it apart. "Dad never liked me. I think. But he REALLY started hating me when I grew smart enough to realize there's something wrong with him."
"STOP- STOP THAT!" No longer able to look, Juliette turned away, disgusted and terrified by the display. "How- how can I KNOW-"
"Remember when you woke up to me screaming and it turned out there was a small nest of spiders next to my bed- that fell into it somehow? I think it was dad. I didn't want to tell you though. I was scared if you knew anything, he'd- he'd do something horrible. I'm sorry mom."
While Juliette was staring, still frozen, Raphael started to cry. What a lucky boy, he still had his tears. "I'm- this is so stupid. This feels so wrong. I thought you moved on- I thought you were dead. When I came back, when that thing came to make its offer, I thought- I was never told- and now here- like this-"
For a moment Juliette stood there, swaying on the spot, patches of her burnt down to the metal, clothes and hair in patches, everything about her looking like a corpse.
Then she stumbled forward, tightly pulling the boy into his arms. "Raphael, oh god, oh my god, what- where have you been- I'm so sorry, I'm not... I never wanted you to see me this way- dear l-lord..."
Tightly he hugged her back, burying her face in her shoulder. "... I haven't really made myself look all that great either, did I?"
"You have to tell me about what happened." She mumbled. "You- you have to tell it to me."
"Oh you mean aside from dad dismembering me?"
"Raph. Please. Don't joke about this. Y-you're dropping something on me that I can't- that- it's a lot at once. I'm-"
"... it's okay. You went a few decades thinking he was the best thing since sliced bread, I know, I know-"
"No. I went a few decades thinking he was the best thing since- right after you. If what you say is true- if I- i-if I-"
"Shhh, shh, it's... it's okay now mom." Sorrowful he tried to hold her up, but ended up going to the ground with her, bit by bit. She couldn't keep herself up and he wasn't strong enough to hold her like that.
Instead they sat next to each together.
"... you have... to explain. Who- what brought you back? You sound like you've been... on the other side before, and..." One of her eyes shortly lost power, flickering for a moment. "Oh- sorry. I'm just a little- a little tired-"
Shortly Raph looked up, at the people surrounding them.
"I... mom?"
"Yes, dear?"
"... what are you going to do after this?"
Hesitantly she tried to sit up straight and glanced about too. "... depends a little on... on what you tell me. If what you said- if those... those scars... if HENRY actually-" She paused to take a deep breath, her voice calmer, almost cold now. "If Henry did these to you and what they said was true... then I will hunt him down."
Again her eyes flickered, she sunk into herself. "... I might... took a bit more damage than I thought..."
"What- what about the factory?"
A look of terror crossed her expression, but she tried to sound confident anyways. "I'll- I'll deal with them somehow. It's not a problem. Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
Mike spoke up. "Are you sure about that? You don't look in the best shape."
"Who's the reason for that I wonder." Slightly sarcastic she responded, grabbing Raph to softly hug him again, petting over his hair.
"Just because it's MY fault doesn't mean I can't fucking tell you're doing bad. Sorry!" The sarcasm in his voice was something, alright.
"I'm... simply a little tired. Nothing... nothing more. I'll be back to form in no time."
Raph sat up a little too, shaking himself free. "That's no good. You know that staying down here... it's kinda bad for you?"
Marion scoffed. "Kinda is putting it well. It's negligible."
Curious Phone Guy stepped close to Mike's side gently taking his hand. "... uh... really?"
"... it can really... mess you up." Raph shook his head at the animatronic's comment. "Like, yeah, I'm not a pro on this topic of whatever, but... I've been a bit there behind the scene. And if you slowly become black sludge? Bad news. You turn into... stuff. Less into a person. It doesn't happen to everyone, but y'know." Again he turned to Juliette. "You have to leave."
"I have no problem letting my soul decay." Instantly she answered. "I'm not leaving you behind. No. No way in hell. I'd actually rather go there than leave you like this with these maniacs."
"Moooooom, I can handle myself! Stop embarrassing me!"
"Who are you calling maniacs?" Phone Guy complained.
Distracted by that, Juliette gave him a confused frown. "You? I thought I was expressing myself clearly-"
Not allowing him that to continue, Raph spoke up again. "... then we have to leave together, I guess."
"What?" Surprised Juliette looked at him.
"What?" Mike and Phone Guy said at the same moment.
"What?" Asked Marion. "You- can't just leave like that. Henry is still-"
"You're on it, aren't you? And he isn't REALLY here anymore. It's more like... his ghost, legacy, whatever." Instantly the boy snarked. "What? Can't do it? Can't even deal with a bit of vague energy?"
That shut up the Marionette well enough.
The boy stood up, stretching himself. "I have to be honest. I'm not really into it anymore either. At first I thought it would be so cool to be here and ruin whatever fucked up thing dad planned, to really stick it to him. But I'm just miserable. It WAS fun... for a while. It became tedious though. I shut down a lot of places. But y'know-"
"Shut down?" Incredibly alarmed Juliette looked at him. "Did you KILL people, Raphael-"
"What?! NO! What do I look like, some old pink boomer?! Do I look like my DAD? I wouldn't do that!" It hit a bit harder than he expected, his words were a bit of a hiss at the end.
"I'm- sorry, but usually Freddy's only shuts down when-"
"Well, I'm not usually, am I?" He asked, but then thought better. "Sorry for interrupting mom, but seriously. The heck. What do you think of me? Anyways- I did what I could, it's wasn't much. Leading souls around. Changing forms is cool! Though it reminds me of how I have like... no actual body and I get really depressed and uncomfortable. I'm tired of a bitch telling me what to do."
"Raphael!"
"What, mom? It's literally a bitch! It's LITERALLY a dog. Might be a female dog for all I know, I don't look at dog-balls, that'd be gay."
"RAPHAEL!"
"WHAT, MOM?"
Both of them stared each other down, before Juliette started to giggle as she turned away. It broke out of her, fully unfitting to the situation, yet she couldn't fight it. Hiding her face she sat there, snickering as though drunk. "... I am so glad to have you back."
"Ew, stop being so affectionate, it's so awkward." His voice was over-the-top, he was smiling like an idiot too by now. His voice turned softer. "... the other side is nice, I promise. We can talk there. Let's... leave."
"Should I REALLY trust your promises? Whenever you promise me to get to something later-"
"Moooooom-" Overdramatic he opened his arms in a tormented gesture and rolled his eyes.
Stepping forward, Mike spoke up. "So, we fucking get NONE of the exposition?"
Simon shook his head. "... who likes exposition anyways. Uh. The less of that the better."
Rubbing his empty right eye, hidden under his hair usually, he considered. "There isn't... like, okay, dude, I know there's a shitton I could tell you and I'm LITERALLY the most interesting person you ever met, but-"
"Fuck off."
"- but I gotta be honest, I MIIIIIIIGHT have a LITTLE problem?"
"You have a fuckton of issues-"
"No, I mean, ACTUAL issues. Issues like... I don't know if I might get murdered for this."
A tad Juliette frowned. "... Raphael... this isn't the time for being so dramatic..."
"No, I'm serious. So when I said I struck a deal, it was-"
The light flickered shortly.
"Of course, why did I even open my mouth-"
A low growl sounded through the location, a noise that wasn't as much a noise as it was a feeling, a shaking in everyone's bones, vibrating through mind and body.
As the light flickered again, a monstrous shadow was freeing itself from the dark patch under a table, dripping with a viscous liquid that instantly vaporized as soon as it separated from the main body.
Dark smoke surrounded the beast as it slowly stepped closer.
Raph stepped backwards. "Listen, big guy, I don't want to start trouble, but... y'know. Enough is enough."
Everyone began moving.
A primal instinct telling them to keep an eye on the dog, to not let it get anywhere near their neck.
Marion finally let go of Jeremy, as he felt him shake again, bravely venturing forward to stand by Raphael's side.
It gained him a confused, but grateful look from the boy.
Juliette had also stood up by now, still swaying a little, but not hesitating to step beside her son too, protectively. "What the hell is that, Raphael?"
"My boss."
Marion scoffed. "No. He isn't anyone's boss. He's just-"
It barked loudly, for a moment each of the attending people saw it completely flash up, obstructing their vision.
Mike, who was the first to shake himself out of the shock snapped around, once more trying to keep the THING away from his vulnerable side.
It snarled slightly as their eyes met.
Marion's throat felt sore from a scream that never made it out. It was a horribly familiar sensation. "... he isn't anyone's boss... he one day showed up to "help out". At least I think that's what this thing wanted. I didn't question it too much at the time. Henry made many enemies."
"So you're fucking telling me... that some fucking WEREWOLF crept out of some dark slit and you FUCKING DIDN'T ASK ANY QUESTIONS!?"
"DID YOU WHEN YOU ENTERED THIS PLACE AND SAW AN EGGPLANT MAN?"
Dave spoke up, he was the only one who wasn't really following the dog with his eyes. "It's ACTUALLY Aubergine man, but ya know. I give it to ya, it's hard to see the difference."
Raph was still staring at the animal, calling out. "Seriously- what IS it with you? I don't even get what you want from me half the time. What good am I really doing that you can't get someone else to do? Let me LEAVE!"
It growled once more, making cracking sounds in the back of its throat.
Mixed in with painful seconds of sudden, absolute silence, no, the antithesis to noise, mixed into this mess of noise.
Words?
Numbers?
Somehow Raph managed to understand what it was saying.
"Take it back if you have to! I won't need it wh-"
Promptly it jumped forward, its maw open, teeth sharply shining for a second-
Then it was already over.
Slowly Raph reached up to his face.
Nothing seemed out of order.
A bit unnerved, Dave looked at him. "... you doin' alright there, Raphy-boy?"
Looking up at him, distressed, he tried to say something, but nothing except a thick, black liquid came out of his mouth.
It ran out of his eyes too, lingering for a second, then evaporating.
Juliette instantly panicked, gently grabbing him. "Raphael?!"
The boy coughed. "It's- I'm- I'm fine..."
Angrily the woman turned around, eying the dog that had clouds of smokes run out of his mouth.
Didn't seem to intimidate it though.
Again it snarled again and jumped forward-
Just to be roughly attacked with a baseball bat.
"FUCK THE FUCK OFF TO THE FUCKING EDGE OF MY FUCKING DICK!"
Naturally, Mike couldn't help but to sprinkle all the fucks in he could.
Despite not having any fucks left. Oh dear.
The bat was surprisingly effective, considering that it fazed through most of the animal. Still, somehow he managed to throw the shadow off.
Distressed Dave stared at the scene. "You ain't gonna be able to do that for long."
"WHAT? WHY?"
"'Cause he eats ya. Duh."
Irritated Mike glared at him, before starting to cough, a few black droplets ending up on his hands, instantly disappearing again.
At that sight, Dave turned heel and ran away.
Simon loudly called after him. "WHERE THE H-HECK ARE YOU GOING EMPLOYEE-"
Nope, no luck. He's gone.
Stressed out the Phone Guy turned back to the scene at hand.
The dog was still focused dead on his prey, making a move for it again.
Instantly Juliette tried to move in front of him, to protect him, yet it was useless, it jumped THROUGH her without an issue.
Teeth glowing bright, as the lights flickered.
There was an indescribable noise coming from Raphael, as he was hit the second time.
That noise was nothing in comparison to the sight he was now.
His body was losing... consistency.
"F-fuck-" His voice cracked, high-pitched in his panic. "What the hELL are y-you doing to me?!"
Instead of animalistic noises, now there were electronic static and beeps, ringing through everyone's ears.
Mike held his ears, unable to bear the piercing noise. "Stop this MADNESS!"
Marion was moving, in the blink of an eye, trying to force the other creature to back off with a sudden attack.
"Back off, mutt! You know this is MY domain! Your help used to be appreciated, now you are going to far!"
It didn't back off though.
Instead it was trying to bite.
A low growl unfitting to its body's actions accompanied it, forcing Marion to move back. "What has gotten INTO you? What are you even doing this FOR?"
Jumping past him, the beast tried one last time to hit Raphael, getting irritated as Juliette had suddenly grabbed into Phone Guy's pocket, taking out the taser and trying to jam it into the animal's body.
The flickering lights made him jump back, as for a second his body seemed more similar to a stormy cloud than a shadow.
Didn't seem to deter it though. Slowly it crept closer, ears close to its head its eyes fixated on the lady.
It wouldn't go through- Mike was back in action, despite everything in him screaming at him to step back-
Turns there was nothing he had to do.
Dave's loud voice boomed through the whole location. "HEY DOGGIE! LOOK WHAT I GOT'CHA! YOUR FAVORITE TOY!"
What he was holding up in a victorious pose was hard to make out- but there was no way anyone in the room didn't know what it was.
All hairs on Dave's body were standing up, he looked even more feral than normal, but his grip was tight as the waves of terror washed over the location, plunging it into a room without air and time-
The dog instantly howled, jumping forward- yet instantly moving back, nervously moving on the spot.
As though someone had infected it fully with rabies, it threw its head from one side to the other, seemingly unclear about what to do-
Dave stepped forward. "You ain't hurtin' Henry's family. Not on MY watch!"
It screamed out, for a split-second sounding almost human-
Then it was gone.
The Purple Guy was grinning as he kept moving closer, his arm really starting to shake now. "... I fuckin' hate this thing."
"Put it away then." Dull Phone Guy answered, sinking to the ground.
Mike was almost instantly next to him though, leaning against him.
Sharing each other's warmth for the time being.
Neither would be able to withstand another escalation like this.
While the weird syringe was removed, Jeremy moved closer to the mother and her son, trying to offer them a smile. "S-so... that means... you are free to go now, huh? You- you better hurry it might come back..."
Somewhat unsure Juliette looked at him, finally turning away from the door Dave left again through. "I- that was... William. Right?"
"... Ma'am, I have no idea." He mumbled. "I'm just the newbie."
Raph tried to break him out of his gloom. "... hey, you still were the one instructing ME, I'm the only newbie around!"
"... whatever."
"I taught you well!" The teen laughed. "It's a word of pow-"
Breaking off, he was caught in another coughing fit accompanied by smoke, his form shortly going blurry.
Instantly he was grabbed and hugged by Juliette again.
Both of them were in a terrible state.
Looking down his hands, Raph still smiled though, despite everything. "... look at that. Bet that's the kind of thing dad wished for me. That I'd turn into a puff of smoke."
"Don't say that..." Out of habit these words sounded from Juliette, before she stopped looking at her own burnt and flayed flesh revealing the mechanic construct beneath it.
She shuddered.
"I can say what I WANT!" He exclaimed, tiredly blinking.
"... how do you... how do we leave?" Unsure she asked.
"It's easy. You'll get it. In a minute." He attempted to point at the people around him. "Today was the WORST day of my life. And I DIED a while before, so that MEANS something. You guys, during the whole day, I got to see over and over what DYSFUNCTIONAL IDIOTS all of you are. Like seriously. How do you even DO it?"
Before anyone could answer, he laughed.
"... seriously, there's nobody I'd feel better leaving the world to. You'll be nailing it. I'm sure. Give everyone still willing to kill kiddens for their psychotic delusions HELL, will you? It ain't the eighties anymore, time to find a new trend!"
Again a pause ensued, as the boy took a breath. "... okay, but that dog might become a bigger problem. He's NUTS." Looking around, he tried to figure out anything he forget. "... any last words before I leave you losers behind?"
"I fucking HATED working with you." Mike growled.
Snicker Raph nodded. "... sure, I'll miss you too. It's been... good."
Nobody else said anything.
Something in the air changed, as if pressure was finally relieved.
The teen turned to dust and smoke.
The machine holding him slumped over.
Shut down.
Everyone left behind was simply sitting or standing there, lost in thought, trying to process the last... how long as it been...?
Dave returned. "Oh- she's gone?! But- I wanted to talk to her some more!"
"You knew her... didn't you...?" A bit unsure Simon asked.
"Well- I met her once! Henry was PISSED, boy. Family is family, business is business. One ain't mixing well with the other. But she was really nice! Looked... softer, back then. Steel bones really make a difference! And his kiddo was this lil BOY back then, THIIIIIIS tiny-"
"... sure he wasn't pissed because you probably broke into their house?" Mike asked, sarcastically.
"Yeah, might was that."
"Wait, you SERIOUSLY- oh god, why am I even surprised."
Jeremy looked about. "Hey... would anyone mind if I... am a bit loud for a moment?"
"Uh... no. Knock yourself out." Phone Guy vaguely accepted.
"Thanks, sir." First he sat down, then he laid down and then he proceeded to SCREAM THE LUNGS OUT OF HIS TINY BODY.
It lasted quite a bit too, everyone was impressed by his volume. How much lung did this kid have?!
Finally it subsided into a breathless croak. "... okay... doing better now..."
"That's, uh- wonderful Jeremy." Phone Guy slowly got back on track, at least until Mike grabbed him and suddenly picked him up bridal style. "Hmpfs-?"
"We're going to PARTY. I think we did fucking AMAZING today."
That "PARTY" sounded more like "take a long nap", though hey, that wasn't all that bad right now.
"We deserve it. Shut up Simon, you already look at me like you want to disagree. No. Fuck it. We're going to spend the rest of the day UNWINDING."
A bit Phoney had to laugh at that weird way he said that and he went limp in his grasp.
He's right. No discussion anymore.
And with that they were gone before something else could go wrong.
Dave looked about. "... is Old Sport still out?"
"Granted, seeing as he was going to... uh... check on baby..." Tired Jerry answered. "... perhaps he has to wait until the party is over to get in."
Marion slowly nodded, he wasn't worried about that.
Nobody could break into the sacred halls of the happiest day.
Nobody.
Gently he grasped his little human friend, who promptly cuddled against him. "... how was it, actually?"
Marion wasn't quite sure how to answer that. "Oh- it was nice. We played a lot of games. Ate a few cupcakes..."
They talked about older memories and things they wanted to try out "next time", if reincarnation was possible.
Generally shared a few fun facts that they found out while being there.
Letting out the residue guilt and anger- lots of it had also gone against Marion, for making them believe murder was the only way.
Thankfully, the Puppet took the guilt with grace and help them get through it, at least partially.
Then he had been called away...
... there wasn't much of the party left though.
They let it flicker out, those warm glints in the candles, going until the end of it.
However, the time came eventually.
Everyone grabbed their mask, lining up.
Almost in the same second, Baby turned to the door and tried to leave.
Confused Ethan stopped her.
"Where are you going?"
"I don't want to be present for this." A bit shamefully she whispered, looking away. "... I don't want to risk them... taking me along."
Even more confused Ethan laughed. "W-what? If you don't want to leave, they can't make you. You want to leave though, don't you...?"
Stubbornly she shook her head. "NO! No I don't! SOMEONE has to stick around here anyways. Without us, the place is probably getting set on fire. Might be happening RIGHT NOW! You don't know!"
"I'm-" He wanted to say he wasn't leaving, but he couldn't.
"Mr. Ethan?" Paul was walking up to them. "We... will you...?"
"I'm there in a minute." Quietly he answered, before he put a hand on Baby's shoulder. "... be brave, will you? You're not alone. Please, I know you're sick of hearing it, but- you know right from wrong. Take a step back and listen to yourself. If you wouldn't have... you might would have been a good detective! You have the potential, use it for something."
"... I WILL become a detective, SOLELY to spite you." Huffy she answered, then stepped out, guarding the door from any interruption.
Ethan meanwhile walked to his kids.
They were quietly talking among each other, before realizing he was ready and straightening up.
The ritual was on.
Breathe slowly. Calm down. This was the end.
And that was okay.
"It takes quite a bit of courage..." Paul started as he took off the mask. "... to admit to weakness..."
Jacob gently removed his mask next, looking at his friend. "... to admit guilt..."
"... to finally stop forcing down the anger..." Softly Timmy whispered, gently petting over his own mask.
"... to have trust!" Isaac smiled a bit sadly, mask-less from the get go.
Evelyn took it off last, looking at her dad. "... to accept that there is nothing left to do, nothing to go back to. To let go."
Full of pride and almost crying, Ethan looked at the children. "But you did it. All of you."
A golden glow filled the location and they looked behind him, staring to cheer.
As he checked behind himself, a giant golden bear towered over him, standing on his hind legs. It would probably be pretty scary, if its eyes weren't so gentle.
The kids instantly rushed towards it, hugging him, happily screaming.
"FREDBEAAAAAR!"
The bear raised his paws a little to let all of them hug him, petting them a bit. "Are you ready, kids?"
His voice was low and booming, but soft and kind.
Unsure Ethan watched the creature. It was hard to distrust it, even if his mind told him that technically he had NO idea what this thing was and what it wanted to do.
"We're ready!" Jacob called out.
The bear made a humming noise and as the kids stepped back, he fell on all fours. This was the sign, the group climbed on his back.
Everyone except Ethan.
And Evelyn.
Looking at her dad, Evelyn softly nudged the bear. "I... I need a little longer. We'll... come later."
"Understood." Fredbear checked over her shortly and nodded at the adult.
Timmy scoffed. "Hurry though, alright? This isn't supposed to be a sob fest."
"You won't even SEE it!" Rolling her eyes, the young girl dismissed him.
"Come on now, everyone. No fighting." Fredbear turned away, the kids holding on tight. "I will come back to check on you if you aren't there in five minutes."
"Thanks Fredbear."
The group disappeared in golden mist, slowly vanishing in the distance.
For a moment, the two remaining spirits stayed silent.
"I'm sorry."
"I know." She took his hand with her smaller one. "... in the end, you were here for me though. I forgive you. So please, forgive yourself."

Outside of the room, Baby perked up in confusion as she heard the elevator moving.
Its clicking and rattling came to an abrupt halt, as it seemingly arrived on the lowest level.
Baby tensed up, her faceplates opened a bit.
Whoever came down here to this time wouldn't be allowed inside. Nobody would interrupt what was going on in there.
... though, how bad could it really be?
It was probably just Jeremy or something. Maybe he solved whatever had been going on in the restaurant. She wasn't concerned- her dads would handle themselves, she knew them.
Intently she listened to the steps moving towards her.
... too heavy to be Jeremy, but...

Evelyn giggled a little. "... you know what, I think mom will be just fine. She always said you'd one day disappear under mysterious circumstances if you kept going like this."
"... she sure will. She's a very capable woman." Solemnly he agreed. "... it feels still bad."
"Yeah... I wish I could have... told them. At least John."
"He's doing okay. He's with mom."
Again she laughed a bit. "You think he might one day be the one trying to solve your disappearance?"
"Oh god, I hope not. Don't joke about this."

The doors flung open and Old Sport stood there, seeming angry, but his mouth carried his grin like always.
"What are you DOING here, Baby? You didn't tell Dave or me about it." There was something sweet in his voice, something that rang all of the girl's alarm bells.
"I don't HAVE to tell you everything, do I?" Stubbornly she answered, crossing her arms.
"Of course not. Not EVERYTHING."
Old Sport stepped closer and once again Baby was in this ridiculous situation where she felt the need to step back from him.
Why?
This was her DAD.
Though it was hard to recognize him with his flickering eyes.
He continued on. "... though, going behind MY back, freeing souls I MIGHT wanted to do something with still... does that fall under "everything" to you? Don't you think you should have asked Daddy if he was DONE here?"
"I- you CAN'T just- be DONE with souls! What are you saying? They're not playthings-"
"I can do whatever the HELL I want." Angrily he snarled. "I'm SICK of people like YOU telling what to DO!"
"I don't-"
"You don't WHAT, Baby? You don't think fucking me over is such a big deal?"
"I didn't-"
"You doing THIS shows you're WILLING to!"

Evelyn leaned against her dad, sighing.
"Don't tell the others, but... I don't know if I'm that excited for the next life. I know that... staying around... I don't want that either, but... it's just..."
"I get it. It feels like a lot is getting lost, doesn't it?"
"Hmhm." She hid her face a little.
"It's fine. Somewhat we always end up missing out on things. No matter what we do, there's always a different route... it's life. No, it's existence. Remember though, even if you miss out now, there will be something new waiting for you, whenever you decide on a path. You don't have to act like this is happiest thing, but maybe you can think about it like... a pathway. You don't leave everything behind. And maybe, eventually you can come back to some previous choices, when the time is right."

Angrily Old Sport dug his short and sharp nails into the flesh on his palm.
"I'm fucking SICK of it. You kids are all the same. You think you're better than me, don't you? You think I'm a joke."
A pathetic, miserable existence only there to further her entertainment and plan.
A tool.
A handpuppet.
Aren't you done?
Whatever you will try to do, they will get in the way.
The only way around it is to MAKE them listen.
"No, no I don't think that at all!" Baby argued.
Despicable. She is merely sorry she was caught.
If she cared about you, she'd let you enter and do as you please.
"Oh, you DON'T?" Old Sport didn't care about his volume. "REALLY? Well, then there should be no problem if you let me go in there and do whatever!"
NO- no, you can't do that! They're leaving! You're SCARING us recently with your weird behavior, even Ballora says-"
So it is not too late.
Dangerously quiet, Old Sport spoke once more. "Let. Me. In."
As he stepped forward, Baby's stomach opened a little, the scooper ready to go. Her voice full of worry and desperation. "Don't come any closer. I can't let you do that."
She is willing to attack you.
She does not care for you.
She does not love you.
Why did you ever think anyone would care for you?
For a soulless, unwanted, useless husk?
Old Sport's mind was running wild with wordless thoughts.
He wanted to HURT her for being willing to ATTACK him.
He needed SOMETHING, ANYTHING-
Allow me to help.
Smoothly Old Sport stepped back, grabbing a giant crowbar from under the table, well-hidden, yet somehow he knew it was there.
It felt natural to know things like that.

Both of the spirits were interrupted as the gentle golden glow returned.
The bear stood there, smiling sadly. "We need to go."
Evelyn sighed. "Okay. One... one more moment."
She stepped away and opened her arms to soak in reality for a final time.

"D-dad, what do you want with that thing?" Now actually stepping back, Baby stared at the tool in his hands.
"Something I should have done the very first time I saw you." He smiled. His eyes lightless. "I will break you."
Cracking and clicking, a machine being taken into pieces.
It's not easy to take apart a robot from the front, but it is VERY satisfying.
He didn't feel the pain the other side caused.
Elevated, floating above it all, only the noises and shrieks we managing to get through to him, music for his ears.
Metal, blood, it all mixed together.
Was it even blood?
Never mind.
Mangle.
Rip.
Snap.
Tear apart and swallow it whole.
When he made it out of his frenzy, the machine was an electrified mess of pieces and parts. Everything was damaged, the endo had been snapped in half.
Wow. He was stronger than he though.
Causally he strolled towards the door now.
Another obstacle gone.
Enjoying the moment, he closed his eyes and pushed against the door.

With a creak it swung open, letting artificial light flood the room.
...
... it was empty.
Quietly Old Sport sighed.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Then he spotted something on the ground.
Golden glitter.
Carefully he pressed his hand into it, admiring how it looked against his orange skin.
Taking a deep breath.
Then laughing.
Laughing in utter joy and happiness.
About the floor on the ground.
About the air against his skin.
About the quiet humming of the machines.
And he laughed.
And laughed.
And laughed.

------

A/N:
I hope the """twist""" wasn't feeling too out of nowhere, I tried my best to hint at it plenty times before.
Also, I actually want to APOLOGIZE for the long chapter. I really can't pace. I'll strike you a deal, next chapter is going to be SHORT. Some nice, clean, short read. Sound good?
Tidying up things, answering a few questions (if there are any things you really want to know, feel free to mention them in the comments, I'm lowkey forgetful recently. So even if it's obvious I need to elaborate on a topic, please still mention it, I'm worried I'll mess up.)
But gosh! Look at us!
How far we've come, Henry is actually out, now there's gonna be a few chapters to establish him nice and slowly and then bam. Endtimes.
Feels weird. I hope I'll nail the last bit of this journey.
AND I HOPE YOU WILL ENJOY IT ALL!
Until next time!