Ian looked round at his friends. Saw the terror on their face. Heard their pounding hearts. He took a deep breath. He reached up to his face, slipped his fingers round the lens of his shades...and slowly, so slowly, pulled them off...

Darkness. Heavy breathing. A disturbing laugh echoes round the pizzaria. I am still alive. Trapped in suffocating darkness. Alone. Surrounded by killer animatronics trying to tear my friends apart. Have to help them. I take control. I am in control.

Sky stared at Mark. His new friend wasn't scared; instead his eyes were narrowed, jaw set in determination, the rest of his pale face hidden in shadows. "You heard the purple dude. Time to get moving; we gotta get to the vents before Chica. Plus, we got that bear thing comin' for us." Pewdiepie shuddered. "I hate that chicken. It's her eyes...so...insane." "Let me take care of her." Everyone's heads snapped round to SSundee. Sky blinked. "Ian...are you-?" Light was shed on Mark's face as he opened the flashlight app on his iPhone and shone it on Ian. Derp raised his arm, shielding his face from the blinding light, his crooked pupils shrinking, adjusting from sudden exposure to it. "Woah, mind where you're pointing that thing." Sky and Pewds grinned widely. "Derp! We though the Marionette killed you." Derp grinned fiendishly, lowering his hand as Mark dimmed the light. "Takes more than a little puppet to kill me." The four smiled, feeling safe and happy for a few, short, precious moments. They were soon over. Pewds looked at Derp; his eyes stretched wide in terror. "DERP! MOVE!" Derp's head snapped round as Foxy's jaws clanged shut inches from where his shoulder had been seconds ago. The others backed away as his face twisted in anger. "Didn't I kill you enough times already?! You pathetic excuse for a mangled fox!" He grabbed Foxy's head as the decrepit animatronic opened its jaws wide again, lunging forward. Derp pulled him forward, swinging him round. Sky yelped as the fox's wicked hook came within inches of his face.

Mark turned round and shone his phone on the right hand door. He screamed, alarming Pewds and Sky. The Marionette grabbed Mark's arm, digging its talons into his yielding flesh. He cried out in pain and tried to tug away. Pewds moved too slow, darting forward to grab his friend's other arm as Marionette threw Mark to the ground, seizing the back of his neck, digging its claws into his skin. He was going to rip his spine out. Sky screamed wildly in panic and seized the nearest monitor, throwing it at the Marionette in desperation. He had a flashback to Ian and his' first night when his friend had thrown a monitor at Foxy, the very same animatronic that was having its face crushed in Derp's iron grip, blood seeping out of its eye sockets. Mark took his chance and leapt to his feet, grabbing Pewds and Sky and making for the other door; Derp saw them leave and went to run after them. ¡YoU'Re NoT eScApInG! The remaining monitor exploded, sparks catching on the posters on the wall, running the length of the room. Marionette grabbed Derp, his freakishly long limbs slipping round him, keeping his hostage in his grip. Derp snarled. "Let go of me you freak!" His anger instantly melted into fear though as the fire neared him, reflected in his wide, terrified eyes. "No! Please! Let go!" He kicked and struggled, the fire turning into a raging inferno, devouring the dead animatronic suits, melting their broken skeletons inside. He started coughing, smoke curling round his windpipe and squeezing it tight in its invisible fist. "H-HELP! ANYONE?!" Mark appeared in the doorway, eyes wide in fear, the flames' reflections dancing in his glasses' lenses.

He picked up Bonnie's old arm. "Derp! Duck!" Derp did so as Mark threw the limb with all his strength, hitting the Marionette square in the face. The puppet let go of Derp long enough for him to dart away, racing over to the door and with Mark's help, pulling it down. The last thing they saw was the puppet leaping at them, talons grasping, screaming wildly; the door slammed down on its face. Derp pressed his back against it, breathing heavily as the Marionette screeched and clawed at the metal as the flames consumed its wiry body. Mark and the others were watching Derp wearily. "You ok?" Derp nodded at Sky, who had asked the question. "Y-Yeah, I-I think so." Pewds smiled. "Good to see you back Derp." His friend smiled, crooked eyes dim in the darkness. "Thanks. Now how do we get out of here?"

Mark shrugged. "No idea, just got in." Sky raised his eyebrow. "Well we've been here for 3 days now and we still don't have an idea either." Derp frowned, looking up. "Didn't that purple douche mention the air vents?" Pewds nodded as Derp's gaze went to him. "Yes. He also warned us that Chica roams the vents though so we could bump into her." Sky looked at Pewds. "You got a better idea?" Suddenly, a deafening screech spiralled through the corridors towards them, soon followed by the harsh rattle and clatter of metal feet skidding on the tiled floors. Pewds' eyes widened. "NO!" Derp leapt upwards, grabbing the air vent and pulling the grate off it as he fell. The grate hit the ground with a bang, denting the tiles. Sky jumped up, swinging from the rim before hauling himself up into the vent above, as did Pewds. Mark flashed a worried glance at Derp before following them. Derp snarled as Foxy rounded the corner, running at him full pelt before leaping into the air, teeth and claws fully extended as he was set to collide with Derp; he waited till the last second, then ducked. Foxy soared over his head, smashing his head into the wall behind him. Derp laughed in crazed glee at finally defeating his old foe, before going up to join his friends in the vents. Sky stared at him as he urged Pewds forward, giving him enough room to be on his hands and knees. "What the heck was that laugh for?" Derp grinned maniacally. "Never you mind Sky. Now lets get moving shall we, hmm?" Mark exchanged a worried glance with Pewds. Great, just what they needed. 2 animatronics after their blood and Derp seemed to be losing his mind. Mark sighed heavily, crawling after Sky through the stuffy blackness. "I have a bad feeling about this..."
***
Chica's gears ground loudly in her metal head as she forced her weary body forward. Foxy's' was lying crippled on the ground, head smashed in, hook snapped and splattered in his oily blood. Chica sighed sadly, the sound surprisingly childlike. Golden Freddy lurched out of the shadows behind her, his monotonous laugh echoing around her; he stopped, studying their decapitated friend without emotion. Chica turned her head to him, the flickering bulbs in her head for eyes going dark briefly before switching back on, purple irises dim. "P-p-p-poor F-F-Foxy." Her damaged vocal cords stuttered on the first letter of each word as she spoke to Golden Freddy. He nodded. "Yeah, poor Foxy." Chica's eyes widened and her jaw opened to screech but Golden Freddy lurched forward, grabbing her metal teeth and yanking them out of her head. In an explosion of blood and organs, her entire head imploded and Golden Freddy was left with her entire endoskeleton in his dull gold hand. He turned, eyes flashing on for the first time in years. They were brown. "Foxy got what he deserved." He tilted his heavy head down to stare at Chica's mutilated head. "And so did you. Rest In Peace chicken."
***
"Derp...dude...can we like...slow down?" Derp sighed, turning his head to look at Sky. "Why? Do you want to escape or not?" Mark groaned. "My neck is killing me." "I copy that." Pewds said. Derp rolled his eyes before smashing the vent below him down into the corridor before jumping down. He seemed...angry. Sky followed him, Pewds and Mark dropping out last. "What's the matter Derp?" Derp answered with a guttural snarl, making Sky step back. "I'm sick of this place, that's what. Sick of you all depending on me all the time. I'm not a weapon! I don't want to kill! I've only done it to survive and now it's getting into my head, changing me! And I've got all you dumbasses around me...it's annoying!..." He crossed his arms, sighing heavily, his tone underlined with sadness as he swallowed hard. "I-I'm sorry...I'm not used to having friends...people who, care about me. I didn't mean to insult you guys." Pewds knitted his brows together in sympathy as Mark laid a tentative, then reassuring hand on Derp's shoulder. "Hey, we're all stuck in this hellhole together; we understand your frustrations if anyone does." Sky sighed, smiling a little. "We're your friends Derp, not your burden. Don't put the heavy weight of our responsibility on your shoulders; we're all here for eachother. We're all going to survive, together." Derp nodded, biting his lip as it trembled a little. Pewds gave him a quick bro hug, drawing away he looked him straight in the eyes as best he could. "We owe our lives to you Derp. So don't think we're not grateful for that. You're not a cold blooded killer, you're a hero!" Derp blushed a little at the sudden rush of compliments, bowing his head weakly in modesty.

Mark smiled, glad the situation had been resolved peacefully. Pewds turned to him, heart pounding at every little sound in the desolate resturant. "I hate this feeling, of being...hunted." Sky nodded, taking Derp's arm and gently steering him back to join the rest of them once more. "Tell me about it." Mark looked round at his battered friends. Clothes scuffed, splattered in oil and blood, faces grimy and streaked with dust and grease. The setting around them, dark corridors and ripped, peeling posters. Faded crayon drawings and discarded rusty bolts in the corners. Then back at the 3 men standing before him. At the desperation in their gaunt faces. At the fiery light of determination and courage in their eyes. Derp's bravery. Sky's quick thinking. Pewds' stubbornness not to give up. And what did he have? Mark smiled. He had a chance. A chance to survive with these fiery individuals. He wasn't giving up, he thought as they prepared to clamber back into the vents and resume their taxing journey. Never ever giving up.
***
Creak. Grind. Creak. Grind. The noises were infuriating now, torturing me. I forced my heavy body forward, my weak limbs in their thick metal encasings slowing me down drastically. Crossbeams shifted uncomfortably in my body as the wires threaded through my head sparked and burnt. How was I still alive? My body was slowly decomposing, but my soul and mind somehow still intact. I had my memories. Remembered scoffing at Ian and Sky's stories of their horrific night shift. Remembered the tension, the hopelessness. Thinking we were going to make it. The cold metal hands seizing me, dragging me into darkness. Why were they still here? I had killed off Chica and Foxy had smashed his own brains out, stupid fox. I could hear their hushed voices in the vents above me as I tailed them to the last vent. I heard a bizarre voice, one I was not familiar with. It sounded a lot like Ian's, if Ian had decided to stick his head in a blender. And two more I didn't know. Bashur must've quit the third night. Wish I coulda done the same. "Ok guys, down here." A vent was smashed out. I stayed in the shadows. Two figures dropped to the ground. One was tall and had floppy brown hair; Ian. The other was a little shorter and wore a pair of grimy pink headphones; unknown. Ian scanned the area around them. It was then I noticed his eyes. They were pretty messed up. The pupils were pointing in opposite directions and swivelled lopsidedly as they moved. How the heck had he managed that?

Two more people dropped out of the vents above. One I recognised instantly. Sky; my old friend. The other was half a head shorter than 'Ian' with fluffy black hair and glasses. "Where are we?" Sky scrutinised the darkness, unaware of my presence. "Dunno. Looks like backstage or something." The one with the headphones turned to the fluffy haired guy. "You ok Mark? Your neck still got cramp?" 'Mark' shook his head. "No Felix, I'm good thanks." Felix; an uncommon name. Sky looked at the strange Ian. "The vents end here; d'you think we took a wrong turn Derp?" Derp?! What sort of name was that?! A spring in my neck snapped suddenly and I groaned as a spasm of pain went through me. The group went rigid, Sky staring straight at me. "Did you hear that?" Felix swallowed hard. "Y-yeah, what was that?" Derp frowned, crooked eyes suspicious. "Chica doesn't sound like that; Foxy is dead and the Marionette was toast last time I checked." Mark's eyes widened. "Do you think it's...?" I forced myself out of the shadows, groaning again as the piercing whine of the internal circuits made my ears ache. Pewds gasped and Derp's jaw dropped. Their eyes were all wide in fear. I staggered towards Sky, shaking inside the suit from exhaustion. "S-Sky...Sky..." My vocal cords faltered as he stared at me in horror and awe. "M-Mitch...is that you?"
***
Sky was frozen in shock. Mark backed up with Felix and Derp's lips had peeled back in a snarl; he was suspicious and ready to fight if things turned nasty. Suddenly, a dreaded sound was heard. Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap. An oh too familiar grotesque form appeared. Body swaying, long thin limbs blackened and charred. ¿YoU tHoUgHt YoU wErE fReE dIdN't YoU? .fOoLiSh HuMaNs, ThEy NeVeR lEaRn. Derp's head snapped round, staring straight at Marionette as it stepped into the light from Golden Freddy's glowing eyes. "Oh really puppet face? Well I've learnt one thing, and that's not to let you live this time." Before his friends could stop him, Derp's face contorted in anger as he leapt at the puppet, going for its throat. But the Marionette's ash streaked body was boiling hot and scalded Derp's flesh on contact. He reeled back, hissing in pain as the puppet went for his face, striking him hard. Derp cried out as it singed his skin; he hit the ground on one knee, whimpering as the smell of his own burning flesh filled his nostrils. The puppet went to hit him again but was intercepted. Sky and Mark pulled Derp to his feet and Pewds rested the cold base of Stephano against his burning skin, hoping to soothe it somewhat. Sky looked back at the puppet; his eyes grew wide. Golden Freddy had stopped the attack and was fighting it off. The Marionette screeched in fury. ¡BeTrAyAl! ¡YoU wIlL sUfFeR fOr ThIs!

Golden Freddy proceeded to grab the puppet's mask regardless and tear it off. The four men stared in horror as the mask revealed a human face. Rotting flesh gave way to oozing blood, wide staring eyeballs ringed with red irises. The lips had rotted away years ago, revealing yellow and black teeth. The mask had strings of flesh attached to it, breaking like trails of saliva. Even Derp was shocked into silence. Then the face opened its mouth wide, revealing white bone beneath as the decomposing sinew stretched too far; and began to scream. Pewds, Mark and Sky clutched their ears in agony; Derp was transfixed on the grotesque spectacle, unable to force his gaze away. "Oh god kill it Mitch!" Sky screamed, his mind panicked by horror and abject shock. Golden Freddy obliged, smashing his fist into the puppet's human face. They all shut their eyes, not wanting to see the outcome. Silence. Dark, thick silence. "M-Mitch...is it gone?" Golden Freddy's dark laugh was all the reply they received. One by one they uncovered their eyes, breathing sighs of relief when they saw the puppet's burnt, lifeless body on the ground; unmoving. Freddy placed the mask back on its face, hiding its disgusting, mutilated face beneath once more. Derp got to his feet shakily, face throbbing as he helped Pewds and Mark up too. Sky was already on his feet, approaching Goldy cautiously. "Mitch...is it really you?" "Yes Sky. It is." The shock on his face was immense. "You're alive?! But...but...how?!" Golden Freddy sighed heavily. "I don't know Sky. All I know is I don't have much time. But you have to get out of here. He's coming back." Derp scowled. "Who is?" Mark went pale. "The purple guy..." Pewds raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?" Golden Freddy started panting. "Guys, just, p-please listen to me. I'm running out of time. You have to get back into the vents. Go back to the kitchen and turn left. The exit grate is there."

Sky rested a hand on the side of the animatronic's face, wishing he could set his friend free. "I'm sorry for not believing you Sky. This is no more than I deserve." Sky shook his head, smiling sadly. "No Mitch. You had reason not to, and no one deserves a fate such as this." Golden Freddy buckled a little, panting harder. "Y-you have to g-go! N-now!" "Thankyou Mitch." Sky whispered before running back to the vent and leaping up into it, followed by the others. "C'mon guys, you heard him. Go back and turn left. We're nearly out!" His friends followed him with reignited enthusiasm. Through the stuffy vents they became claustrophobic, backs and necks aching from cramp, lungs struggling to cope with the stale oxygen. Then, Sky, who was at the front, felt a cool breeze against his face. He pulled his shades off, gazing in disbelief at the first light he'd seen in hours. "Guys..." He whispered; then louder. "GUYS WE MADE IT!" A chorus of whoops and cheers followed as they made their way faster to the exit. Cold fresh breeze hit their hot faces, their bodies rejoicing at the sweet air. Then Sky reached the grate, slamming the heels of his hands into it, it gave and collapsed outwards. He tumbled forward onto hard concrete, but he'd never been more grateful. The others followed shortly after. Ian was the first up, shades back on. Pewds looked up at him. "We...we made it..." He grinned. "Yeah, we did. Derp says you guys are good friends by the way. And if he was to die...he would've it been in there with all of you by his side." The others gave him soft glances as they helped eachother up, warm smiles and grins on their grimy faces.

They were alive. Gloriously alive.