Mike felt various emotions as he landed on the creaky, wooden boards that made up the stage. Chief among them was anger as he watched the bear hold Jeremy with his large, mechanical arm around the human's neck. Jeremy struggled in the animatronic's grasp, kicking his legs ineffectually at the bear holding him hostage. His hat had fallen off at some point, leaving his disheveled, revealing blonde hair.
Tunnel vision set in as adrenaline mixed with anger in his mind. He felt his fist tighten and hearing shorten until the only thing he could hear was the sound of Jeremy's struggles. Without any deliberation, he kicked off the stage to hit the ground running. His arms pumped with purpose as he went to save his best friend.
Almost as soon as his shoe hit the ground, Mike heard a sharp intake of breath come from his friend. He stared up in horror as Foxy's hook dug deep enough into Jeremy's neck to draw a trickle of blood. However, the sight of the dark red liquid only served to spur Mike on. He was certain he could get there and save his friend. He just had to move a bit faster.
Teeth grit in concentration and drive, the vivid nightguard put as much force behind his legs as he could. The image of Freddy's caved in face flashed through his mind as he rocketed towards the robot. He faintly saw Jeremy's lips moving, but he couldn't hear the words through his fugue. His fist was brought back in preparation to knock Freddy's block off again.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mike saw something glimmer in the air. He payed it little mind as he reached the middle of the room.
Then, pain lanced throughout his entire body.
His momentum abruptly came to a stop as long, black wires, completely hidden within the darkness of the room, hugged his body until they covered him from head to toe. A soft, stretching sound echoed through the room as the taut wire cut into Mike's skin. Faster than he could see, the wires were pulled back and brought him to a screeching halt.
Mike, his tunnel vision gone in the face of the pain and bleeding, grunted loudly at the sharp pain he felt. His entire body was on fire, his movements were restricted, and his hat had fallen from his head again. His right hand involuntarily opened, dropping his lighter to the ground with a soft ding against the floor. Mike twisted in his bonds to get out, but all it accomplished was digging the wire deeper into his skin. He grunted out, eyes flicking every which way to find the one who did this.
It couldn't be anyone of the animatronics he fought earlier. Each and everyone of them was in too much disrepair to do anything save aimlessly wander the perimeter of the room. Freddy and Foxy were in front of him, their permanent smiles mocking him as he struggled in the web of cables. That Balloon Fucker was no where to be seen, and he wouldn't be able to do anything like this anyway. That leaves—
"You acted just as I predicted," the low, mechanical, menacing voice came from behind Mike. He tried to turn his head to look behind him, but he could hardly move with the amount of coil around his neck. He was forced to watch as the Puppet elegantly floated above the wires and down in front of the captured nightguard.
Mike's eyes looked up and stared at the strings that connected the Puppet to the machinery in the roof. Jeremy understood more about the inner workings of that shit than he did, but that didn't mean he couldn't understand how this mechanical fucker managed this.
The Puppet daintily lifted Mike's chin with one hand. The wires connected to its fingers shifted, but not enough to let the human snap them in two. The animatronic examined Mike's face like he was a piece of meat much to his frustration. Eventually, the machine let his head drop, "You're not him."
Mike attempted to reply, but the coils around his neck tighten to silence him. He still manages to growl with enough threat to make the Puppet unwillingly step back. The room is filled with the sound of the other animatronics trying to put themselves back together. While Mike hand bent their outer shells in multiple places, some of which had wiring sticking out of the side, he hadn't put them all out of commission. Old Bonnie and Chica put their associated body parts back on with ease, while Toy Chica and Toy Frieddy started to pull themselves out of the ground. Even the Mangle was slowly making its way back into the ceiling. Part of its head was caved in, but most of the damage had been negated by the Puppet's intervention.
The Puppet floated towards Jeremy, its hand outstretched to grab him by the chin. Jeremy looked terrified but he didn't flinch when the Marionette got close. He stared down the white pinpricks that acted as its eyes without averting his gaze once. The Puppet got close enough to prick the smooth part of Jeremy's skin…then turned away.
"I know this one. It's not him, either. Foxy, Freddy, you know what to do," the Marionette said as it floated over Mike's body towards the stage, "We'll take care of Mr. Schmidt here. Make sure to hide their bodies everyone, kids shouldn't see thing like th—"
As it landed on the floor behind Mike the Puppet tugged on the strings wrapped around its fingers…and was confused. It tugged them again and felt…slack in them. But the only way for that to happen is if…
That was when he heard the snapping.
And the sound of blood dripping to the ground.
Everyone in the room watched as Mike Schmidt, slowly but surely, walked to his best friend.
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Jeremy had a front row seat to what was happening to Mike. Freddy was gripping him hard enough to make sure he didn't slip away, but not enough to crush his windpipe…along with the rest of his torso. He could've gradually slid his way out of the bear's grasp if it wasn't for the pirate's hook stabbing into his throat.
He knew he couldn't do anything from the position he was in.
But that didn't make having to watch the events unfold hurt any less.
Jeremy had watched as Mike ran straight to him, saw the Puppet stretch out its fingers, then saw the gleaming wires reveal themselves in Mike's path. He yelled out a warning, but Mike couldn't seem to hear him. He was forced to stand by as the wires coiled around his friend's body and drew so much blood from him. He couldn't act at all as the Puppet proceeded to pass judgement on the both of them without so much as a second thought. As if their guilt had been decided from the start.
However, he hadn't given up. As they had seen, Mike can take more punishment than a normal human should be able to. Based on what the Puppet had said, the animatronics were planning to stuff them into suits. Jeremy couldn't survive that, but Mike could. He would wait until Freddy and Foxy left the room, find some way to slip away, and hide out until 6:00 AM. He hated the thought of leaving his friend behind but gambling on Mike's powers was their best option right now.
That plan was made through Jeremy's logical and rational thinking.
It was soon drowned out by the immense dread he felt at watching Mike force his way through the wires.
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"Stop! Mike, stop! Y-y-you're going to die!" Jeremy renewed his struggles within the bear's grasp, not caring about the hook poised to piece his flesh. He did have a plan to gamble on Mike's powers, trust he could survive the pain, then break out of the suit to escape, but this was too much. The wires were stretched thin enough to slice through bone given enough time and Mike's actions expediting the process! And based on the steadily increasing trail of blood at the older man's feet, his powers couldn't help here.
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Jeremy kept yelling, pleading for Mike to stop and let his body rest. However, every step Mike took snapped more and more wires every time. By the time he got past the tables, both of his arms were completely freed. However, they weren't clenched in fist of anger as the black strings fell from his hands. They hung limply at his sides, completely useless. His legs were next, followed by his torso, and finally his neck and head, until all the black coils snap and fall to the ground lifelessly.
Mike, blood staining his uniform black lumbered towards Freddy, his eyes firmly set on Jeremy. Foxy made to step in his path, before a weak but firm shove from Mike forced him back. The pirate was forced back slightly behind the bear as the nightguard stepped up to Freddy.
Jeremy stared into Mike's blood covered eyes. Where once there was life and vibrant expression, there was a blank stare. But his eyes were still shining with the embers of defiance, ready to perform one last action.
He reached up, grasped the arm that was holding Jeremy, ducked under the hook from the right arm, and pulled.
Jeremy hit the ground with a soft thud, standing in front of Mike.
Mike placed one hand on Jeremy's chest and smiled.
Then he pushed him out of the room, just when Freddy grabbed him by the back of his collar. Mike was thrown backwards into the Party Room, where he hit the ground hard. All the animatronics that could still move closed in. He managed to get to his knees and stare up at the various robots coming his way. He saw a shadow fall over his face as the Puppet descended into his field of view.
"Impressive, but ultimately futile," its mask was still smiling, "Don't worry though, we'll deal with you here before going after your friend. Any last words, Mr. Schmidt?"
Mike stared into the eyes of the Marionette as the other animatronics (sans Toy Bonnie and Balloon Boy) surrounded him. His head swiveled in a circle as he looked at each and everyone of their blank faces, before finally turning to their leader.
He lifted his head up and spat blood on the Puppet's face.
He smiled as the Puppet's mask shifted into a frown.
Next thing he knew, he was knocked to the ground by a fist from his right.
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Jeremy scrambled to his feet outside of the room, using the wall as support to get to his feet. The room was too dark to see into from the hallway, but he could here the sounds of Mike being beaten to a pulp. A constant, wet, crunching and mechanical sound that echoed into his ears. He was breathing heavily, head whipping to and fro, trying to think of what he could do here.
His first thought was to run, so he started to make his way to the office. The Puppet had said that he would be next once they were done with Mike and it was obvious his best friend had done everything in his power to make sure he lived through the night. He didn't know what time it was, but he could easily find that out from the office. All he had to do was get into his chair and hold out. The music box was gone, but he could probably find something to fend off the Marionette.
As he got closer to the office, the sounds from the Party Room kept getting quieter and quieter. His pace was quick at first but slowed as he reached the corner that connected to the main hallway. His hand was on the wall while the other was held at his sides. Though he could hardly hear the beatdown, every little noise that reached his ears made him feel the pain. He flinched at each smack or crack that came his way. Eyes closed, teeth clenched, he tried to force himself to the office.
'Mike'll be fine,' he told himself as the crunch of bone came to him.
'He'll survive this,' he told himself as a bloody smack made his stomach churn.
'He can survive anything, he can—' at this point he stopped telling himself things.
Slowly, he stepped into the office. With its fan, tablet, chair and table.
He stared at the items on the table and reached out one hand.
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Mike's eyes could hardly stay open anymore.
His arms and legs were broken in numerous places. His chest hurt and he had trouble breathing, he was pretty sure a lung was punctured. His back was covered in bruises, and everything was red with the color of his own blood. He had been in plenty of scrapes and been beatdown plenty of times. But he had to admit, this one was the worst of the bunch.
Didn't help that the animal fuckers knew how to follow up. One would punch him in one kidney, then the other would kick him in the second. They always followed each other's strikes ensuring that the pain never dulled. His body was destroyed, and he doubted that he'd even survive this. He could already feel his heart pumping slower and slower by the moment.
'Damn,' he thought as Mangle's teeth bit into the shoulder it couldn't damaged before, the skin weakened by his injuries, 'Was hoping I could last till 6. Sorry, Jere, but at least you're safe. I'll be seeing ya—"
A loud CLANG sound caused all of the animatronics to cease their attack.
They all turned to look at Freddy, who slowly turned around to look behind him. Mike lifted his head up as much as he could to see what had happened. His eyes were blurry with blood running down and catching in his eyelashes, but that didn't stop him from seeing the familiar form standing behind the bear.
Mike felt his stomach drop at the sight of Jeremy, entire body shaking in fear, holding the fan from the office in his hands like an impromptu weapon. The device was bent from where it had hit Freddy, but the younger nightguard still held it out in front of him for dear life.
He stood his ground, gulping as he tried to look threatening, "L-l-l-leave m-my best friend alone!"
Mike tried to tell him to run but all that would come out of his mouth was blood. He coughed as he tried to get to his feet. Pain shot through his body that nearly caused him to pass out. He heard Freddy's footsteps and ignored it.
'Come on! Come on! Get up!' he shouted in his head even though his body wouldn't listen. He looked up at the sound of Jeremy yelling, watching the blonde nightguard rush at the bear with the fan raised high.
Freddy backhanded him and sent him flying into the wall to the left.
Jeremy slid down the wall and slumped against it.
The bear turned to continue the assault against Mike…until the sound of metal being ripped open screeched throughout the room.
Freddy, feeling a change in his weight, looked down at this chest.
It was the last thing he saw being his entire body was ripped in half by the bare hands of Mike Schmidt.
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The Puppet, completely floored by how this human was still moving, directed everyone to attack the nightguard. However, none of them would listen to the Marionette. His eyes kept swiveling between his friends, wondering why none of them would move. Mike was still bleeding enough to leave a trail on the floor, and he had just destroyed Freddy. Shouldn't they all be piling on top of him by now?!
The Puppet shout a furious glare towards Mike…and then he understood everything.
As Mike walked over to Jeremy, checking the younger man's pulse, the Puppet saw something behind Mike. The nightguard's golden glow was back and brighter than ever before. It illuminated the entire room, giving off enough light to burn away all the shadows in the room. The mark on his forehead was back and literally projecting its symbol onto the walls as Mike took his friend's body into his arms. But it wasn't any of this that gave the Puppet pause.
No, it was the figure standing behind Mike.
The Puppet had never seen anything like it. It stood tall enough to touch the ceiling, was armored from head to toe, and had gauntlets that looked like they could punch through even the thickest of walls. It followed Mike's movements exactly, as if it was an extension of the smaller man. As he stared at the transparent thing, the Puppet felt the exact same feeling he had yesterday when Mike had spoken to him during the day shift. The feeling of needing to apologize for everything that it had done. To go to the authorities, bear its heart to them, and be punished for the crimes it had committed.
For, as it caught a glimpse of the apparition's eyes hidden within its helmet, it understood one thing very clearly.
There would be no mercy from here on.
Only execution.
In the blink of an eye, Mike was at the entrance to the room, where he set Jeremy down on the floor. Then he was back in the Party Room, bending over and picking his lighter from the floor. In a panic, the Marionette tried to think of a way to escape. It remembered the vents and attempted to head for the roof…but its legs refused to obey it. They remained rooted to the spot as Mike picked up the lighter, wiped the blood from it, and turned his attention towards the remaining animatronics.
The six remaining animatronics finally got a full view of Mike's face.
His eyes were shining gold.
And, with one glance into those swirling pools of light, they knew they stood no chance.
With a battle cry that shook the very foundations of the restaurant, Mike shot forward towards the sinners he would bring judgement upon this night.
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When Mr. Fazbear came to his establishment to welcome the day, he beheld a horrible sight.
In one of the Party Rooms, his two nightguards were slumped against the floor. One was lying in the hallway, his chest rising and falling steadily. The other was in a pool of blood with lacerations and bruises all over his body. His uniform was destroyed beyond any reasonable repair.
But what truly caused him to be furious, the primary cause for his distress, was the state of the animatronics.
There was hardly anything left of any of them.
No bodies.
No endoskeletons.
No wires, gears, or oil.
Nothing except for their severed heads impaled on the stage itself.