Hope dies last... The important thing is not to die yourself

On behalf of Goldie (Goldie's POV)

It's finally done and Yuki has accepted us. It was the hardest decision for me, even the work I've done in these 4 days can't compare to it.

His last words were full of despair, but afterward that feeling was replaced by humility. It was worth it for me to push him, to show him that each of us was stronger than him, that this was all just part of our plan and once he realized it all, he understood - it was pointless for him to fight us. Of course, if there was another way, I would have chosen it, even if it was 100 times harder, but alas... there was no such way....

But it doesn't easier from these thoughts, because it was akin to taking away from the child his favorite candy, only in this case the price of this candy is very high... So much so that it is simply impossible to describe.....

And after all this he just looked at us, and then with a smile on his face, but with tears in his eyes he said those words....

- You know, after what you said, I've been thinking about it, and I think you're right. It's funny, isn't it? The other day I was yelling, and now I'm standing here talking to you. Well, it doesn't matter, you probably saw this coming too, which I'm not surprised about. Obviously you won't let me pass the 5th night, which means one thing - I'm here forever. So the only question is, why would I try to pass it?

- Ha ha ha ha, I don't know why, but I find this whole thing so funny, and at the same moment so sad....

- Do whatever you want! I won't bother you anymore, ha-ha-ha.

That's when he finally "broke down".

I immediately dropped my mask of "indifferent" bear and a wave of emotions came over me. But only a little later I was able to notice one problem that scared me a lot. Something that shouldn't have happened.

I don't feel Yuki's emotions...

There can be no mistake, we're all connected to him now and the flow of this energy that's coming to us speaks for itself, but along with that flow should have come Yuki's emotions!

But I feel nothing! Absolutely nothing! Emptiness and nothing more, as if we had no connection!

In fear, I quickly teleported to him, but he was already unconscious. Once again, there was no trace of his emotions! Why?! What went wrong?!

Third-person narration.

- Phew, it's finally done, isn't it Goldie?

The yellow-haired girl, whose name was Chica, said. But she didn't hear anything in response, which made the others tense up a bit.

The atmosphere in the room was quite strange: on the one hand they should be happy because each of them felt the flow of this energy again, but they all felt as if something was missing....

- Goldie, fuck, tell me it went well, right?

Foxy's already talking. She was the most impatient of them all, which always hindered her and even hurt her in some situations. Now, because of her slightly aggressive nature, she is worried that something went wrong, because their leader is just silent and does not react to them....

- Goldie...don't be fucking silent.....

The others decided not to say anything, because they either didn't know what to say or just didn't want to stir things up.

Marie was the only one who made some conclusions, but decided to keep silent so as not to contact the other Nightmares again. After all, they had given up on her because they were weaker than her and didn't want to admit it... So why should she help them?

Meanwhile, Goldie was desperately trying to find something and it was evident in her anxious eyes. She completely ignored Chica and Foxy's questions. It seemed like she had completely forgotten about the others right now and the only ones who existed right now were Yuki and her.

- Goldie, are you okay? Tell us what happened?

This time it was the girl with the bear ears who spoke up. Her name is Nightmare Freddie, or as the others call her, Freddie.

But she also received only silence in response, which began to alarm the others even more.

After standing like that for a while longer, she decided to approach Goldie because the situation was getting stranger and stranger and there were no answers.

- Goldie? Hey Goldie, wake up!

She had already started to raise her voice, but she didn't get any reaction in return. Only silence, which began to unnerve the others more and more, except for Marie, who had a small smile on her face.

- GOLDIE, WAKE UP ALREADY!

Only after these words she raised her head and stared at Freddie with angry eyes, as if she wanted to kill her.

Goldie's first-person perspective (Goldie's POV)

No, I'm definitely missing something! This can't be happening! Why didn't I do anything?!

I've done everything the way it's supposed to be done! We are now directly connected to his consciousness. You could say we've merged with him. We've become part of him and he's become part of us! We've never done that with anyone before, because you can only do it once, and then you can't get away from it!

- GOLDIE, WAKE UP ALREADY!

Huh? Freddie? Why the hell is she yelling at me?! Has she forgotten who's in charge?!

- Don't you know no one has the right to yell at me, Freddie?!

I only saw a little fear in her eyes in response, but she still didn't move away from me like I expected. Normally she would have apologized to me by now, but something was wrong.

- Sorry Goldie, but you've been ignoring our questions for a while now, so I had to yell at you to get you to pay attention to us again... Again, I'm sorry....

What? But I hadn't heard anything. Have I been so absorbed in myself that I'd stopped paying attention to the others?

I quickly looked around at the other girls and realized from their worried faces that I had indeed stopped noticing them. But only Marie seemed to look like nothing was going on, maybe she knew something? No, it can't be, I'm just really stressed out right now, I should calm down.

What the hell just happened to me now...?

Taking a couple breaths in and out, I looked at the others again. They're still waiting for me to calm down because they're afraid of me... But it's not just that, they've realized something's wrong a long time ago. Should I explain it to them?

- I'm sorry, girls, I was just a little distracted, so I didn't hear you. -Sorry. So, what did you want to ask me?

- Did everything go okay? It's just that you've been ignoring us for a while, so you didn't answer that question.

Freddie asked a question that confused me. Can't they feel that energy flow? Did our plan fail?

- Yes, it was a success. Don't you girls feel it, the flow?

- No, we feel it too, I'd say it's like a glass of water when you haven't had a drink all day. But you looked like you were missing something.

-...

- Goldie?

-...

- Tell us, what's wrong, Goldie?

This time it was Mangle who entered the dialogue, as she was the most intuitive of them all.

- Girls... Do you feel anything else besides this energy?

Am I missing something..?

Third-person narration

Everyone was puzzled by the question because they didn't understand what Goldie was getting at.

...

Everyone except Marie. She stood there smiling, looking at the rest of the Nightmares until they couldn't see. It was the first time she was having so much fun, because it wasn't her who was suffering, but the others.

She was the only one who could feel Yuki's emotions. No one else could feel them but her. And the reason was quite simple. Last night was the first time they had met in a while.

He had never seen her before, so when he felt her, he wasn't frightened by her, but rather puzzled by her, for she had never come to him. Even as a child, she never gave any indication that she existed. Because of that, Yuki simply didn't know about her

That was why he subconsciously perceived her as a being that could be his ally. But that didn't mean he didn't treat her with caution, so she decided to help him first to lower his guard, allowing her to "attack" him.

She showed him that she did not wish him harm, but rather she was in the same situation as him. This allowed him to accept her as a new "friend", even though she was one of the Nightmares.

Thus Marie is someone that Yuki is no longer afraid of, but rather can't figure out how to relate to her. Right now his brain is trying to figure out what she wants from him. Should he be wary of her or should he trust someone for the first time..?

Goldie's first-person perspective (Goldie's POV)

They were all silent, which stressed me out even more. Did we really fail?! But what had I done wrong? Everything was going according to my plan!

- You must be referring to his emotions, right, Goldie?

....

Those were the words I didn't expect to hear the most. One of them had figured it out!

As soon as I lifted my head again and looked at the source of those words, I immediately saw the one I had hoped for the least...

It was Marie...

The others looked at her in bewilderment, not understanding what she was talking about, but it didn't matter now. How had she guessed that!!!

- Marie...How.... How did you guess that?! Tell me!

The room was silent for a few seconds because of my screaming. I didn't expect this from myself, it felt like I was out of control, although that shouldn't be possible.

Had I changed so much because of this situation?

But I couldn't think about it for long, because Marie's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

- Well, you see, Goldie, how can I put this...

- I can feel his emotions...

What...?

What did she just say...?

No... it just can't be. She? Why her? Of all people it could be it's her! WHY?!

I DID EVERYTHING I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO, BUT IN THE END, MARIE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO MERGED WITH HIM!

WHAT THE HELL WENT WRONG?! DID GLITCH TRICK ME?!

Wait, what's happening to me? Why did I just go into a rage for a few seconds?

Is it also a consequence of not being able to feel Yuki's emotions...?

But Marie was able to do it...

She was able to do it...

So... all I have to do is find out how she did it. Why didn't I think of that in the first place?

3rd person narration

While everyone was trying to figure out what had just happened, Marie kept her eyes on one bear.

She already realized that she was thinking about something, and she already knew roughly what was going to happen next.

Namely, Goldie will target her to get answers on how she was able to connect with Yuki

The scary part is which way she'll choose...

Mari was now hoping that she would only want to talk and not act in any way, otherwise no one in this room would have any fun. No one had ever seen Goldie in a rage before, no one but Marie.

She had only seen her in that state once and that was enough to make it clear that Goldie should not be driven to a state of rage.

But in this situation it is difficult to avoid it, so she hopes that she only wants to talk to her, even if in a rough way....

Just a couple seconds later, Goldie raises her head and the next moment she is standing in front of Marie.

Her gaze was a little frightening, but so far she didn't do anything, which was good. It's a very precarious situation right now because any wrong word could turn into a disaster.

Marie should be very careful right now....

But who knew she wasn't afraid of Goldie... but saw her more like a rival.

Goldie's first-person perspective (Goldie's POV)

I want answers... And she's the only one who has them.

She has to tell me everything or else....

- Marie... tell me everything you know... right now....

- Mmmm... I'd love to tell you, but it would be easier if you asked the questions that interest you.

- How were you able to feel his emotions? How did you feel his emotions? And what are you feeling now?

- Well, you already know the answer to the first question, thanks to your plan, I was able to feel them. As for the second, it's easy, he's feeling humility at the moment, but for your information, while he was conscious there were other emotions predominating - fear, despair and anger...

- Marie...don't mess with me...you still haven't answered the first question!

The others realized that this was a very tense situation right now, so they all dispersed to different parts of the room so as not to anger one of them in any way, even Plushie decided to sit quietly next to Yuki right now....

But one thing they all knew was - Marie had never been afraid of Goldie, but no one knew why...

- Well Goldie, how come I didn't answer? It's pretty clear, but if you want details, ask a more specific question.

- ...Marie... Okay, what's so special about you that you're the only one who can feel his emotions? Explain that.

- Oh, so that's what you're interested in. Well, it's pretty simple, too, Goldie. He didn't know I existed until last night.

- ...What?

- Very well, Goldie, I'm not gonna play games with you anymore and I'm gonna tell you straight. You see, you may not have noticed this small but important detail. Until yesterday, Yuki and I had never crossed paths in our lives. In other words, he never knew about me. On the other hand, each of you appeared in his dreams at least once, and he remembered you, albeit unknowingly.

- I think you know what William did to stop us from seeing Yuki. I'll be honest, it was a very good move on his part because every single one of you fell for it. Everyone but me, haha.

- He's been showing Yuki horror movies since he was a kid, I think you know they're not good for a kid. Then Mike came along and scared him with a scary mask. Feeling a little logical? But that's not the end of it.

- After that comes the animatronics, who also scared Yuki. This could be called an unfortunate factor caused by the previous two actions. In other words, his mind unconsciously became afraid of us. And considering our appearance, we inspire fear at first glance.

- You, because of your anger at William and his actions, began to appear too often in Yuki's dreams, which turned into Nightmares. No matter how often you appeared to him, once was enough for him to remember you. And yes, right now I'm talking about you Goldie.

- You could say it was your own fault that you stopped getting energy from him. You're the one who gave him the impetus to fear you. All his dreams have been replaced by Nightmares, and some of you have even materialized right in front of him. Yes, yes, Plushie, I'm talking about you.

- It's also unlucky for you that Yuki is a pretty smart and capable boy. He adapted to you quickly, even though he was afraid of you. But that's a plus, because we got a good host.

- But now you're wondering why I told you all this. Well, from the look on Goldie's face, she's already figured it out, but I'd better explain it all.

- If you'll notice, I've never once said anything about myself. And that's just because, as I said before, he never met me until last night. That's exactly what I wanted. When I saw you and the way you blamed him for everything, I knew you were bound to do something like this game. I was surprised that Goldie was in on it, but then I realized what she was doing. Except that's where your first problem came in, which helped me a lot.

- Goldie, you remember what you did to his "protective self", don't you?

And then I had an idea that I hoped was just a hunch and nothing more.

- Don't tell me that you--

-That's right. After you "deleted" him, I took his place. That's genius, isn't it? Or did you think you were the only one who could think, Goldie?

-So you really--

- Yes again! I helped you realize your plan, which allowed me to merge with Yuki even more!

- And you know what's funny about all this, Goldie? I'm so connected to him that if anything happens to you, I won't even feel it! At this point, I can say I've completely lost touch with you, Goldie!

- MARIE! YOU-

I was about to use my powers when I realized I was half as weak as I had been

- Now, now, Goldie, I suggest you don't make any rash decisions right now.

- You may not know this, but I've never been inferior. I was your equal from the start, but I chose to hide it. In the meantime, you decided to match everyone by showing them that you were far superior. I decided to play along, but you should have realized that I was different from the others, but I overestimated you.

- The moment the other Nightmares started "testing" me, I thought you would have guessed everything, including the fact that I was just like you, but to my great surprise, you just ignored it, thinking that it was my specialty not to be inferior to the other Nightmares.

Everyone in the room was stunned by this information, including me, because I really thought that Marie just had a specialty of not being inferior to the other Nightmares....

But I never thought she was my equal, for why hide it?

- I won't deny that Goldie is smart. Very smart, in fact. But my cunning and cleverness are a level above yours, but that's not important now that we're off the subject.

- Now I'm much stronger than you, and the reason for that is simple. I'm almost completely merged with Yuki, right now I'm diving into the deepest parts of his mind to, shall we say, "settle" there. I'll become his new defense mechanism.

- MARIE YOU-

- Yes, yes, Goldie, I "used" you all for my own gain and I don't regret it. Don't think I did it just for me. No, no, I'm doing it for Yuki, too. You see, I liked Yuki from the beginning as much as you did. Only I was able to control my feelings, unlike you all. And trust me, Goldie, there's no way you can stand up to me right now, so I suggest you don't piss me off, okay?

Ha-ha-ha.... now it all makes sense. Marie just outplayed me... What-what, but this outcome I didn't expect... She just did everything faster than me....

And what is she planning on doing now, interfering with us...?

- ... What are you going to do now?! Subjugate everyone to yourself?! Answer me, Marie!

- God, why would I do that? I don't need any of you, I got what I wanted. Keeping track of all of you is such a pain in the ass for me. Keep them all, Goldie. Just know that you have no more influence over me. And I'm not gonna stop you from doing what you want, because now you can't do anything dangerous to Yuki. And I advise you not to try anything dangerous..

After these words, the whole room fell into silence...

No one could believe what they had just heard. Marie is the one who is the most dangerous to them all right now. No one expected this outcome, not even Goldie...

- But-- But what do we do now?! How do we finally connect with Yuki?! Explain, Marie!

- .... Mmmm, good question Goldie. I can help you with that, but you realize it won't make much difference. All you'll get out of it is the ability to sense Yuki's emotional state, nothing more. You will have no access to his mind without my or his permission. And believe me, Yuki certainly won't let anyone else.

- And the more important question is, are you sure they all want to do this, Goldie? Let's check it out. Girls, those who want to feel Yuki's emotions, raise your hands.

The result was very surprising, only a few nightmares raised their hands. That's Plushie and Mangle. The rest just lowered their heads...

- ... But why?

- It's easy and simple, not everyone wants it. It's just you and these two. But it doesn't matter, you want to know how to realize your plan, don't you?

- ... Uh-huh...

- Well, you know this "game" consists of five nights. So, your task is quite simple, but at the same time, it's complicated. You need to make Yuki stop being afraid of you for one night. That will be your main goal, Goldie.

- BUT-

- No "buts" Goldie, you have to do it because you're the one who started it all. Be thankful that I'm even helping you...

- As for you two, I'll talk to you later. But I promise you I'll help you with everything. I hope you realize that you don't have to do anything strange...

In response, they only nodded their heads with a smile on their faces.

- I think that's the end of this short conversation. I hope you understand, Goldie.

After saying that, Marie vanished into thin air, and after a couple of seconds the others followed suit until there was only one bear left in the room.

- ....FUCK!

To be continued....