Five Nights at Freddy's Pt. 10

Darkness. Damp, heavy air. A moist cold biting at your skin. Bit by bit your body woke to the sensations around it, taking account of the damage it had sustained as it fought to resume operation. The wounds you had sustained still throbbed, but your blood pressure had dropped to the point where a gentle swell was all your heart could muster. Your eyelids were heavy, but with effort you managed to open them to a slowly focusing blur. From the wooden trap door above you, tiny beams of moonlight splashed through the holes punctured by nightmare Foxy and illuminated the cavern you found yourself in. There was no proper floor, just poured concrete surrounding you with wooden beams above your head. A boiler sat in one corner of the room with pipes and wires trailing along the ceiling off down a hallway and around a bend in the distance.

It seems you weren’t the first person here – graffiti had been scrawled across the walls. The usual skulls and dicks adorned the walls among more ornate tags from local miscreants. More importantly, it seemed you weren’t alone either. From the dim hallway a pair of glowing eyes topped a set of muscular shoulders that rose and fell rhythmically as the stranger breathed.

You’d barely woken up and already you found yourself in the path of danger. Your body pumped adrenaline through your veins in response, silencing the gnawing hunger in your stomach and raising the hairs on your arms as the primal part of you readied itself for survival. You knew there would be no such thing. Scrambling, you attempted to slide yourself up the wall since you lacked the strength and focus to stand properly. Your leg denied you the luxury of standing as it buckled beneath you, sending you toppling back to the ground. The figure approached through the darkness, leathery feet papping on the cold ground with each step it took. As it entered the moonlight, two feline ears showed atop its head.

“Leave me alone…” you manged to weep out, unable to do anything more than beg through teary eyes. You couldn’t even bring yourself to make eye contact with the creature as it loomed above you with a grin.

“You’re stubborn.” It said with a low rumble. Its leathery tail whipped behind its back with bemusement. “You just won’t die, will you?”

You didn’t know what to say to that. It sure felt like you were about to, if not at the hands of monster cat then from the blood loss or the lack of food and water, and if not that then from infected wounds. From the back of your mind you remembered that dying wasn’t even a luxury you were afforded – Sammy would put you in another body if this one stopped working; he had complete control over your existence if he chose to exercise it.

“Just who are you?” He asked. You didn’t want to use the strength to answer. Seeing that you weren’t going to justify his question, he continued. “You really did a number on everyone there. The odds were …” He paused, thinking of the right words. “Really not stacked up for you. Sammy’s quite impressed, really. He wants to make more of you.”

More? You hadn’t even thought of the possibility that this might have been a test in that sense – a feeling of disgust and confused violation came across you as you imagined him stealing away more children and inserting your mind into them. The things that made you who you were, simply copied as if it were nothing, robbing his victims of their body and themselves.

“Fuck Sammy.” You huffed. The cat released a toothy grin in response.

“You’re not a fan? What is it, the murders, taking away your autonomy, or you just plain don’t like the guy?” As he spoke he encroached closer and closer to you until you could smell the breath coming from his mouth between that sinister grin. A sudden realisation snapped into you.

“Wait – you… you’re not animatronic, are you? You’re breathing.” The others had been real to you, but there was definitely something more biological about the monster stood before you that seemed to set him aside from the rest.

“Oh.” He said, standing upright in surprise of your observation. “Not entirely animatronic. I’m the bridge between you and the rest of Sammy’s creations.”

“How much of you is …” you wanted to say real but decided against it. You wouldn’t entirely fit under that definition yourself if you were to use it.

“Biological?” He hit a fist against his chest. “Everything inside.” He leaned back in and shot you that creepy smile once more. “Just like you. I still have my brain, my lungs, the digestive system… There’s just a little more left of you than there is of me. We’re not so different.” You wondered about that. He still had a human brain trapped in that body, but you were computer code inside a body that wasn’t yours. You had things in common, sure, but you wondered which one of you was truly more human when it came down to it.

“There was another one like you… the rat?” You wheezed out between the throbbing of your limbs.

“There was another one like me, yes. That suck up would do anything for Sammy - it’s like he forgot who he was. I never liked the guy, but I guess that doesn’t matter now.” The cat moved to the wall next to you and leaned back on it. “You know, this was a big test for Sammy. Seeing which one of his creations was the best and you had his backing from the start.” You weren’t sure if you should be flattered. The cat’s tone suddenly changed and his voice quietened to a whisper with a glimmer of anxiety that he tried to hide. “I think there are too many of us now. It’s too much work for him to keep us all operational while still pursuing his goals.” He glanced over to gauge your reaction. “Out with the old, in with the new. It’s nothing personal kid, it’s just survival.”

You wondered if he felt any remorse for killing the rat - the only other creature on the planet like himself. Clearly he didn’t have warm feelings for the guy, but you shuddered at the thought.

“And I survived.” You said.

“Hm, I wouldn’t go saying that just yet.” The cat retorted, eyeing your wounds. “You’re still here, and you’re still leaking.” You winced through the pain and tried to stand in an act of defiance to the Cat, to your wounds, and to Sammy. Holding the majority of your weight on your undamaged leg you held yourself up, pushing the wounds on your back against the wall to quell the swelling pain.

“You’re going to need help if you want to get out of here alive, or I could kill you now and send you back to Samuel. It’s up to you. Maybe you’ll get a fancy new body.” As delightful as a new body sounded in that moment, it was out of the question. You shot the Cat a glare, biting through the pain.

“As you wish.” He purred. “Do me a favour and stay put - not that you’re going anywhere in that state.” The cat skittered out of the room down the hallway on the other end and vanished out of sight. Once again, you were alone. With a deep breath you closed your eyes, trying to focus on anything other than the searing pain you found yourself in. Through the holes in the trapdoor you could make out a gentle wind whooshing past and a steady, rhythmic drip of water from a pipe in the ceiling as it hit the floor. Your thoughts found you here, but it was a welcome distraction from your injuries. You wondered why Monster Cat wasn’t trying to kill you now, and what problem he had with Sammy other than the obvious. You wondered why they all swore fealty to him, when just one of them had the power to destroy him. Perhaps, you reasoned, he was protected by too many for one of them to go rogue. With enough of them turning against him they would stand a chance, but knowing Sammy he’d have prepared for that. Questions ran around and around in your head, but you couldn’t find the answers on your own for any of them.

Abruptly you were pulled from your monologue by a familiar but unexpected voice. Startled, you felt your heart nearly explode as your body pulled itself into an alert state.

“You exi-exist between life and dea-death, between man and machine.”

Your eyes flickered open at the sound and began to dart around the room looking for where it came from. Two tiny glowing dots lazily glid around through the shadows on the walls, watching you as it spoke in a nightmarishly low, glitched and garbled voice.

“Within you e-exists a du-duality. To live witho-without being born; to die – to die and yet remain.” The sound seemed to echo around the concrete, bouncing around and toying with you.

“You were produced, a-and yet you gr-grow. Immor-ortal…” It appeared from the shadows as if as flat as they were, sliding up and manipulating its shape before your eyes until it stood erect and motionless before you. “… Yet not invin-invincible.”

As it spoke, its mouth stayed entirely still. Tiny, sharp teeth protruded from the hole in its mask and shimmered in the reflected moonlight. You weren’t sure of its intentions, and with Cat gone you tried to keep it talking rather than encroaching on you further.

“… what are you?” you questioned softly. When you met this creature earlier, you had wanted to ask how it was possible that something like this existed.

“I’m the crea-creature from your-r nigh-nightmares, the beast be-beneath your b-bed.” It let out a stumbled cackle that echoed around the walls. You would rather have the Cat back rather than this strange creature. Its frightening visage got you to, the way it spoke without moving its face, the wide toothy grin and those beady eyes that locked on you – you were terrified, and that’s exactly what it wanted.

“Are you here to finish me off?” You asked finally. A booming laugh resounded as your reply.

“Wh-where’s the fun in th-that? You b-bested me, so I will allow y-you to survive for now-ow.” It tilted its head to the side inquisitively. “Sammy’s pr-prized cre-creation. I see a dest-st-stiny in you now, how your sha-shadow falls on things to co-come. Breaker of-of chains, I offer you my servi-vices in excha-change for my free-ee-eedom.”

Broken, in full sight of this monster, expecting nothing but death – it honestly offered you assistance? It wanted freedom, but you’d seen what this demon was capable of. You eyed its pointed tendrils at the end of its arms, sharp, deadly, and considered what it might be capable of it if were free. If you could outsmart it and destroy it once your uneasy alliance came to an end…

Suddenly the trapdoor opened above you, dropping little specks of soil and dust onto your head. Above you, shining eyes peered down and feline ears glowed softly in the moonlight. He jumped his way down, clutching something beneath an arm. You were glad to see him and realised your surprise at that – but he was a more welcoming sight than the marionette.

“I see you’re acquainted.” He purred, untucking a small fabric bag and opening the zipper. You figured this might be a chance to ask some more questions.

“So… you’re biological, but how does this guy work?” you questioned the cat as he took out a roll of bandages and a little vial of spray disinfectant. He began working on cleaning the wounds on your leg, wrapping tight the woven fabric around and around.

“Remnant. Far, far more than you’d find in the regular animatronics. Samuel was testing varying concentrations of remnant to blood.” He glanced over to Nightmarionne. “He’s essentially a leather tube filled with blood and remnant. There’s a brain in there too, somewhere.” The cat joked. You managed to piece together that remnant was what made them all susceptible to illumination – like film in a camera, the remnant itself must react to the presence of light.

“So … like a jellyfish.” No sooner had you said this than you found yourself surrounded by his tentacles pinning you against the wall, those glowing eyes pressed up against your face and the shining teeth being displayed threateningly close.

“Don-don’t make me reconsi-sider my off-offer.” He backed away slowly, maintaining eye contact and only releasing his tendrils from the wall when he was satisfied you had realised your mistake in comparing him to a jellyfish. The cat turned you around and started disinfecting and patching the rest of your injuries. You were thankful that he was largely biological, you presumed he’d done first aid before. Pure animatronics would have little need to know how to repair a biological creature, after all. When he was finished he stepped back and examined his work.

“Any better?” he purred, his tail flicking back and forth. Truthfully, you didn’t feel much different. The pain was still intolerable, and you assumed you needed a blood transfusion as you looked down on the puddle you’d left behind. You were lightheaded and incredibly sore, but you had little choice but to press on; at least now you were not alone.

“Thanks.” You said, trying to move your leg. “So what happens now?”

“Now, we cl-claim our freedom.” Nightmarionne replied. You thought it a little premature given your injuries, but you didn’t have months to wait until you had fully recovered.

“Samuel is coming himself to assess the damage and recover the animatronics. And to recover you, of course.” The Cat added. He took your hand and placed it around his shoulder, allowing you to rest your weight on him. Nightmarionne slunk into the shadows and moved ahead, little whisps of light from his eyes trailing around the corner ahead of you. “If you want to end this, now is the time.” You weren’t ready for this. Not now – not in this condition. Especially not after what you’d just been through. Even with these two on your side you were still outnumbered, and you wouldn’t be able to offer much to a fight anymore.

Cat carried you along the dark hallway past a boiler room and generator, beyond a storage cupboard and through to a little staircase with a dim light fixture filled with the desiccated corpses of moths and flies from years gone by. You came out to a small staff room connected to the ticket booth just outside of the main doors which now sat fully open with an indistinct white van parked just outside of them. He was here already. You stared back into the maze. Everything within you told you to run as far and as fast as you could, the survivalist part of you wanting nothing more to do with that place. Yet, step by step, the cat dragged you back inside.

A familiar thudding sound came from around the corner before you, coupled with a flickering light that illuminated the plywood walls and decoration. A scythe appeared from around the corner followed by the same bare muzzle you saw just before you escaped this place before. Foxy. He clapped eyes on you and began to storm your way, but Cat hissed as he approached with fangs bearing.

“Give it up, you blind oaf.” The cat ordered. “You had your chance.” Still, Foxy approached. Cat set you down gently, letting you stand on one leg while he made quick strides towards Foxy.

“I said stop.” Cat commanded again. He got down on all fours and broke into a sprint, pouncing out of the way as he came into range of Foxy’s glimmering scythe. He swung it in front of him, expecting to hit the Cat but missed and threw himself off balance. Cat hopped to the side and behind him as he recovered, jumping onto Foxy’s back. He swung his legs around to topple the metal monstrosity.

“It’s over, he won.” Cat added, staring down at the grounded Fox. Foxy let out a rumbling groan with a twinge of distress to it. “… come with us. He’s not entirely bad.” Cat squatted down next to Foxy and stared into the flames lapping from his eye socket. Foxy took Cat’s hand and stood up with him. “You don’t have to be afraid of Samuel anymore. Blake here is going to set us free.” You wondered what Sammy could have done to these monstrosities in order to make them afraid of him, and had no intentions of setting them all free just yet.

“I didn’t agree to that.” You muttered to the Cat, who shot you a scowl as if to remind you that you were in no position to be making demands and to simply play along with it all. Nightmarionne certainly had freedom in mind, perhaps the rest of them would want the same.

“Alright Foxy, friends?” Cat asked, leading the two of you together. Foxy’s gaze didn’t quite meet your own as flames flickered gently out of his socket. As you reached out a hand to greet the towering animatronic you couldn’t help but stare right into its maw past those razor sharp teeth and you were reminded of exactly what this thing was going to do to you. Your blood was still stuck on the scythe as an unnerving memento of its capabilities. Its claw wrapped around your hand and covered it entirely with a residual warmth from its flames. “Good. Now let’s go.”

Together you made your way back into the maze, treading carefully and moving quietly in case you bumped into anyone else. You passed through the area with the overturned fountain that had been reduced to rubble but there was no sign of the Nightmareish iteration of Fredbear that you’d zapped here. It’s Nightmare shadow was nowhere to be seen either – no longer trapped beneath the gargoyle’s lantern. A feeling of dread rose up in you at their presumed reanimation, their freedom to still hunt you down. There was only as mild comfort in the fact that you had allies with you now.

“Cat…” you mused. “Why help me now? Why not just stick with Sammy?” You kept your voice to a hushed whisper in case Sammy and his goons were nearby.

“Way I see it… he’s continuing the work of the person that ruined his life. He thinks he’s doing it in a more ethical way, but still makes us slaves. He gave us life, but that doesn’t mean he should be allowed to control it. I’m not the only one that’s sick of this shit, but you’ve never put up with it. Seeing you try to put a stop to him gives the rest of us hope. Maybe you are more human after all.”

You were thinking of what to reply to this, but you noticed those two glowing orbs skulking through the shadows. Nightmarionne was back, but this time he wasn’t alone. Rising out of the shadows cast by the walls as if they were a deep pool of murky water it appeared directly before you followed quickly by Nightmare, his eyes glowing a deep maroon in contrast to Nightmarionne’s white. The disparity between the two of them was stark; one spindly and creepy looking, the other bulking and fearsome, but both made in a similar fashion. His appearance immediately struck fear into you, but now you had a better idea of what exactly he was. ‘We only fear what we don’t understand’ you reminded yourself.

“Th-they make for the cas-castle.” Nightmarionne instructed. Nightmare simply stared at you, his eyes unblinking through the twinkling darkness. You wondered what was going through that mind, what twisted thoughts might be occurring in there. There wasn’t one of these creatures that you didn’t fear but getting a chance to study them close up was starting to help you plan for the worst.

“We w-will obs-observe… and strike-ke with you-ou.” Just as suddenly as they came, they were both gone back into the shadows and drifting off along the walls, slinking around the corner out of sight in the direction of the castle at the back of the maze.

“… Cat, can we trust them?” You asked.

“As long as what you want is what they want. You want to get rid of Samuel, and so do they. The bear isn’t exactly smart, but he’s strong. What he wants is a bit more simple than Nightmarionne.”

“And what does he want?” you asked, taking the bait but Something inside told you that you didn’t really want to know.

“Blood.” Cat answered with a smug tone, that coy smile squeezing its way onto his lips again. Foxy let out a staccato laugh at this, opening his mouth wide. It seemed he was in agreement.

“Why would Sammy create things purely to murder and kill?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He doesn’t want to do the dirty work himself. It helps to have some protection, too.” It seemed to make sense, but what a horrifying existence that must be. You stared at Foxy as you hobbled along through the winding maze, wondering exactly what Sammy must have done to their minds to make them this way. You realised he could do it to you, too.

You passed through the area of the maze with the guillotine and remains of Monster Rat. It was still hard to see in the dark, but the dancing flames from Foxy’s innards illuminated just enough of the scene to churn your stomach. Sure enough, there was blood everywhere. Most of the body parts seemed to have been removed, the head entirely missing from where it was last, but scraps of flesh and skin still littered the area. Sammy had already been through here to collect what he could find useful, you reckoned.

It wasn’t long before you cam back to the castle entrance. It had been unlocked, but the hole in the wall remained. You peered through it as you approached, trying to see if Samuel was inside. From the corner of your eye you noticed Nightmarionne’s twinkling eyes glancing at you through the shadows, the rest of his face appearing for a second before he vanished over the top of the wall.

“Are you ready?” The cat whispered to you. It’s not like you had any choice anyway.

“No. I don’t think I ever could be ready for something like this.” You thought back on how you wound up here, how you were just a simple night guard expecting an easy job. You thought back to the girls, Freddy and Monty, your new family and what they must be doing right about now. You looked back into the maze and stared over the side to find the water tower that had been your guiding beacon before. Beyond it, along the milky horizon laden with clouds, colour was appearing on the horizon. The stars not covered by clouds were beginning to recede as the night drew to a close, and you wondered if you’d even get to see this coming day. There was no point fearing now, the illusion of free choice had been shattered and your path chosen for you. It was now or never, live free in rebellion or have that same freedom die with you.

Foxy moved his head in your direction and let out a soft grumble. You had no idea what it was supposed to mean, but … the tone if it seemed comforting, which was strange given the fact that he was trying to kill you just hours before. The three of you walked forwards through the castle entrance, past the broken barrel of rainwater that still pooled on the ground. Looking straight on, you saw him.

There on the centre of the dais at the end of the room, Samuel had thrown Dreadbear into the throne to get a better look. The exoskeleton coating its head had been removed and placed on the ground with the bolts from its neck, leaving the skull casing and inner workings of its face exposed. Samuel held a tool in his hands and tinkered around on the inside, Dreadbear giving tweaking flicks of motion as he poked and prodded around inside. It looked like electrocuting a corpse to make the muscles twitch. Standing over a toolbox was the nightmarish rendition of Chica, a few tools readied on her platter arranged around her cupcake. Nightmare Fredbear stood on the other side of them, body limp and still, watching them with unblinking eyes. He caught glimpse of you and stepped forward slowly. “They’re here.” He mentioned to the others in a static-laden, hissing voice.

Sammy stood up to full height and turned around with a blank face that developed into a warm smile.

“You made it!” he cheered with open arms. “And you figured out some of your upgrades. I bet you’re coming around to the idea now. You know, there’s so much more I can offer you if you’d just let me.” He fiddled around in his pocket with his free hand and pulled out his phone. He tapped away with his thumb for a second before sliding it back.

“Congratulations are in order.” He began descending the little steps on the dais to approach you. “Though in your condition, you probably should have just stayed put.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and gauged your reaction as his glimmering eyes peered through the gloomy dark. “It looks like you’ve made some friends too. I’d keep an eye on that cat though, if I were you.” You didn’t quite know what to say to him now. You wanted to scream, to shout, to release the concentrated hatred you felt for him but you just didn’t have the energy.

“Let them go, Sammy.” You muttered. “Let us all go.”

He raised an eyebrow and took another step forward. “I’m sorry, don’t think I quite heard you right.” He cupped a hand to his ear.

“Release us. Stop this.”

He feigned surprise and made motions as if he was about to give a well-thought out speech, but simply replied with a solid “No. See, you’re in no position to be making demands. Besides, if I set my creations free… well, you’ve seen what they do. They can’t live out there in the real world.”

“Not after what you’ve done to them.” You interjected. “Undo it. Let them be free to live their lives.”

“Ooh, you see I just can’t do that. Maybe you don’t understand how this all works, but it’s not like that.” He turned his back to you and walked back up towards Dreadbear before facing you again. “More importantly, I make the decisions here. You are my creation, so you belong to me. It’s in your interests to remember that. Honestly after all I’ve done for you, I can’t believe you’re still so stubborn.”

You’d heard enough. The rage inside you had built to a point that you couldn’t hide it anymore. You looked up at cat and gave him a subtle nod, who then motioned to Foxy. The two of them stepped forward, Foxy releasing a screeching wail as he opened his mouth wide.

Nightmare Fredbear and Chica stepped forward to the edge of the steps, blocking Sammy who now was pulling his phone back out. “You don’t want to do this, Blake. You really, really don’t want to do this.” He thumbed away at his phone again and in the distance a thundering cry followed. Thundering footsteps rumbled beyond the walls and you realised you’d have more company soon. He was right on that, you really didn’t. You wanted to sit down and have a nice meal, something to drink and finally sleep off the pain and fatigue.

“And you two… I thought you’d have known better.” He threw his hands up in defeat. “At least put on a good show for me.”

Cat dropped down on all fours and lurked towards the dais in a hunting pose, stepping forward bit by bit and locking his eyes on the others. Foxy stomped ahead much less gracefully, but they took one side each. Foxy looked to be about to brawl with Chica, while the Nightmarish Fredbear was going to tangle with Cat. Sammy looked on as you stood there helplessly, wondering when you might spring into action.

“Don’t tell me you’re just going to stand there. You’re seriously picking a fight, and you’re just going to mope around like an idiot?” He called through the growling and screeching. There was a sudden flash of shadow and glowing eyes as Nightmarionne and Nightmare materialised from behind the throne, appearing from either side of Sammy. “Here!” he called out, stepping between his animatronic guards. Quickly they turned around to face their new threat.

Nightmarionne struck first, gliding forwards through the shadows towards Nightmare Fredbear and circling around him in a swift flight while running the sharpened tips of his tendrils against his already-tattered exoskeleton. Fredbear wasted no time in pushing his arms out and grasping the hose-like body of Nightmarionne, holding him up to throw him but the puppet simply returned to shadow, his eyes slinking back behind the throne. Nightmare stomped towards Chica, his claws raised and ready. Chica responded with a hollow, deafening screech and sprinted towards nightmare in an attempt to tackle him. He vanished into a plume of shadow and reappeared behind Chica, arm outstretched and swiped down across her back. The force knocked her forward, struggling to keep her balance. She turned and cried out again, rushing forward into another tackle. Perhaps not the smartest move, but Sammy shouted up. “Both of you, back to back!”

They followed his order and pressed their backs up against each other to avoid getting flanked, watching for sudden movements from the shadows. Cat and Foxy now stepped up to the dais, Foxy ready to swing at Chica. As his sickle fell she caught it between her pointed claws, gripping it tight and yanking a stunned Foxy closer. As he fell into her pull the blind fox stumbled forwards and Chica caught his head between the rows of her needle-like teeth. Crunching sounds of buckling metal popped from his skull but Foxy flailed with his free hand and forced flames through his torso and eyesocket in an attempt to break free. It may have been the heat or the light, but she let go and screamed. Foxy stumbled back and held his head in pain as he tried to regain his senses.

Cat pounced like lightning onto Fredbear, wrapping his legs around the bulking monster’s neck and wildly swiping his claws into his fabric. He quickly noticed his attacks were largely ineffectual. The nightmare Fredbear swung a thick arm around and gripped the Cat from the back of the neck and tried to pull him off but he clung on tight, now biting at the bear’s neck. Nightmare swiped again at Chica in an attempt to draw her attention from Foxy, knocking her down to the floor in the process. He took a thunderous step and looked down at her, raising his foot above her head. As he stomped down she turned quickly and snapped row after row of teeth right down onto Nightmare’s leg. Her head trembled as she applied more and more pressure, gnashing at his shins when he tried to free himself. There was a sharp crack as the plastic shell around his leg fractured. The translucent fluid filling him seeped out as thick globs before wafting off as a black dusty gas. You knew this was bad.

Too busy watching the scene before you, the approaching animatronics had left your mind. You turned to the sound of two animatronics fast approaching through the castle gates, Jack-o-Bonnie and Jack-o-Chica. Thankfully they were both blind but the sight of them advancing on your position was enough to send you hobbling away for safety.

“That’s more like it.” Sammy shouted. “Took you long enough!”

They let out grumbling moans as they continued sprinting with an encumbered gait. There was nothing graceful about either of them, but there was definitely a raw power in their bulky mass. Nightmarionne whipped back out of the shadows to attack Fredbear again as he finally removed Cat from his neck and held up the scrambling feline to his teeth. Holding his tentacles as far back as he could, he lunged them forwards with a heavy attack right at the back of Fredbear’s neck. The sharpened tips plunged all the way through his body and protruded from the other side stiff and pointed. It only bought a little time when, unphased, the bear brought the wildly flailing cat down into his mouth. Panicking, the puppet ripped the tentacles out sideways, exposing a large portion of the bear’s endoskeleton. The fur around his face remained, but his inner workings now glistened in the rapidly rising sun.

With a flick of his head, Fredbear chomped down on monster cat’s arm and ripped it right off as if it were held there by string. A strong yelp and yowl screeched through the castle area as spurts of blackened blood splashed and sprayed across the stone floor. Fredbear tossed Cat aside, hauling him far enough to blast him against the wall with a heavy thud and crunch of bone.

“Shit – shitshit!” you huffed as you stumbled and hobbled your way towards the dais yourself. The other two animatronics approached quickly, too fast for you to be able to run from in your current state. Bonnie managed to catch you, sinking those razor claws right into your collarbone before slashing right through as they tossed you to the ground. The flaming, hellish Chica caught up and stood over you menacingly and bellowed flames as a show of power.

“Just leave the head alone.” Samuel called through the chaos. “I’m not done with him yet.”

While Nightmare still tangled with Chica Foxy turned to face your aggressors. One blind animatronic against two – not the greatest of odds, but you’d seen what Foxy is capable of. He lunged and swung wildly, managing to knock Chica’s pumpkin from her hand. The rabbit bellowed flames above you in response and tried to grasp at Foxy’s arms in an attempt to hold the sickle out of attacking range. He held Foxy’s arm aloft and lunged his free hand repeatedly into his middle, grasping away at anything loose inside and trying to rip it out. Scraps of his fur dropped around you with little bits of wire attached.

Nightmarionne managed to slink through the shadows and come to Foxy’s aid, slicing through the back of Bonny’s exoskeleton as he rose directly up through the shadows. He wrapped his tentacles around the rabbit’s ears and pulled, flicking him to the ground. He began to move in for Chica, but scarlet morning light rose up above the walls and cast itself against the ground. With a gasping breath, Nightmarionne retreated to the shadows. The other animatronics cowered in light, holding their arms aloft and shuffling through the searing pain with a sudden lightheaded stumble back into the darkness.

With a frustrated panic, Sammy stepped to the edge of the dais and held his phone aloft. “That’s enough! The night is over!” He depressed his thumb against the screen. The animatronics stopped in their tracks. Every single one, suddenly brought to a standstill as though time had stopped for them. The glowing fierce eyes faded into darkness, their lapping flames silenced and dulled - all at the touch of a button.

Your panic rose when you realised your body wasn’t moving. You could feel, see, think, but the power to move that you, like so many others, took for granted was suddenly robbed from you. All you could do was stare, unblinking as he casually stepped down the little stairs towards you.

“They put up a good fight. You didn’t do much, but, well, look at you.” He observed the scene around him. Tattered animatronics lay strewn about the place, fur and fabric littering the stone. Cat’s blood still oozing from the arm that lay in the rising sun. Then he looked back at you with a deep breath.

“You should’ve known better than that.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead onto his sleeve. “You’re good – of course you’re good, I made you that way. I mean to say, I’ve got a special place in my heart for you.” He circled around you slowly, eyeing the damage that had been done to your flesh. “Which is why it hurts me so much when you think you’re better than me!” His voice grew into a furious shout and his mechanical foot tramped down on your chest. Again and again, he stomped and stomped until he was out of breath. He paced around for a moment before squatting down next to you.

“Do you know how long it’s going to take for me to repair all of these? Weeks?” his tone returned to normal. “Months? Longer than that?” his nerves left him with an awkward chuckle that he didn’t see coming. “No – no. I would have stopped it sooner if I was going to bother doing that. I still have the others, but you’re the production model now. Congratulations.” He took your limp hand and shook it. Inside your mind your terrified mind repeated ‘fuck you – fuck you fuck you fuck you’. You wanted nothing more right now than to scream it right in his face.

“I’m going to be honest, Blake.” He shuffled around in his pocket again and pulled out his tool from earlier. “I’m not a doctor. You’re going to have that new body after all.” He started pulling at your hair, parting it and looking for something. “Can’t have you going to a hospital, no, no. They’re not ready for you yet.” You could feel him pulling back the skin from your head and pushing the tool against your skull. Unable to move, to speak, there was nothing left for you to do except fear. You couldn’t even roll your eyes to try and get a better view at what he was doing.

“Maybe I can boot you up into a kid, so by the time the body’s ready you can learn a whole lot more. Immortality is a wonderful opportunity.” He waved the tool in your face as he spoke. “You should learn to be thankful. People have killed for less.” As he got back to work you could feel him tinkering around inside your skull, pushing at things that he shouldn’t be pushing. You had no idea what he was planning to do next. “They wanted to be free… out in a world they know nothing about, psyche damaged beyond repair, unable to walk around in the sunlight with no means of supporting themselves…” he muttered to himself. “They’re not ready yet. Not yet.” Another voice called out to reply to his monologue from just out of your sight.

“We were ready before you took our bodies from us.”

Sammy didn’t expect that. He dropped to the ground as he turned to face the voice, his tool slipping out of his hand. “Shit!” he stammered, scrambling back with kicking feet. Two legs walked into your view and a long, leathery tail. It was Cat. Though Sammy had altered his body, his mind was still complete.

“You robbed us of life once before, now we’re taking it back.”

Sammy turned to get up and run but Cat pounced, gripping his neck between his teeth and holding his head up for you to see. He looked right into your eyes from behind Sammy’s head, held up his remaining arm and placed his claws one by one against his neck. Samuel choked back stammering sounds as he tried to think of the right words to reason with Cat, but it was too late.

With one simple movement, he put an end to all of it. Cat’s long metal claws sliced with ease through Sammy’s neck and opened his windpipe, his arteries, and blood sprayed and spewed out like a fountain of carnality. Monster Cat gripped one of your arms and dragged you along into the shadows. In the periphery of your vision Sammy’s body lay hunched over on its knees with its rear high in the air and face down on the dirty stones. It was over.

Cat slumped against the wall next to you and nursed his open wound as he stared down at you. The fatigue had gotten to you. At last, with Samuel Emily finished, you could stop pushing, you could recuperate, eat, rest, and recover providing you made it out alive after your injuries. In the shadows, your mind fell blank and shut off into a desperate slumber.