"(Y/N)?"

"Oh, jeez, Emily . . ." You kneeled over to rest your hands on your knees. "You scared the absolute crap out of me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were a monster. Are you okay?" she worried, shuffling towards you and gesturing to your head.

"Yeah. You've got a strong throwing arm, though," you chuckled, rubbing the back of your head.

"What are you doing up here?" She tilted her head curiously.

"Oh, umm, I'm just- . . . just having a talk with those pesky monsters," you assured her, scratching the back of your neck nervously.

"Wait a second- . . . (Y/N)! Your pants!" Freddy blurted.

"Hm?" you hummed, looking over.

"What are you talking about?" Emily shrunk and looked around uneasily.

"They owe your dad for rent, and they haven't payed up yet this month. I have to tell them that if they don't, I'll have to ground them," you told her, putting your hands on your hips as you looked around dramatically.

"Oh." She giggled. "I'm sure they just forgot."

"Yeah, a likely story," you snickered. "I guess they're off the hook for tonight, though. I've got to get back to bed."

"Wait, (Y/N)--"

"(Y/N), your pants are on fire!" Freddy exclaimed, making you glance down.

"Will you shut up, Freddy," Foxy grunted.

"You should go on to bed as well."

"Okay," she yawned, rubbing her eye.

She walked down the stairs, out of sight. You listened for her to walk out of earshot.

"The hell are you talking about, Freddy?" you muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"He's trying to point out that you lied," Ballora replied.

"Yeah, in a stupid way," Foxy scoffed.

"Oh. Well, I had to. I couldn't tell her that I was snooping around," you grumbled poutingly.

"You didn't have to. You could've easily changed the subject," Freddy scolded you.

"Whatever."

You shuffled back and down the stairs. A yawn escaped your mouth as you stretched your arms above your head. The risk of getting caught was a good enough excuse as any to be able to go back to sleep. You could find what you were looking for when nobody else was there--and when it was brighter out.

~ ~ ~ ~

"(Y/N), wake up!" a voice called for you.

"Hm?"

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" a different voice--almost sounding like it was in your head--exclaimed.

You peeled open your eyes, groaning. You could feel the bed bouncing under somebody.

"Freddy, I think she heard her. You didn't need to yell," Foxy grumbled.

"(Y/N), I think Emily wants to play," Ballora spoke to you.

"(Y/N), come on!" the voice, which you could now recognize as Emily's, whined.

"What is it?" you croaked, lifting your head to look her way.

"You gotta get up," she gushed, pulling at your arm.

"And why's that?" you hummed, sitting up anyway.

"Do you want to sleep a bit longer, or do you want me to drive you over to the pizzeria right now?" Emily's mother wondered.

"You can--" You remembered that you still needed to look for evidence--". . . I'll sleep a bit longer."

"Okay--"

"Don't forget about our appointment!" Emily told you.

"Alright. Remember, though, if I'm too busy, come over to the pizzeria, okay?" you mumbled, blinking slowly, and she nodded.

"Come on, Emily. It's time to go." Savannah gestured down the hall.

"Okay, see you later, (Y/N)!"

Emily hopped off the bed and ran to her mother. She turned back to you and waved. You quickly waved back, getting the chance to do so before she darted around the corner. Savannah nodded towards you as her own 'goodbye' gesture. You nodded back as she started to close the door. When it was closed fully, you dropped your head back down on the pillow, closing your eyes.

"Hey, (Y/N), are you forgetting something," Foxy grunted.

"What, no. I don't think I'm forgetting anything at all," you mumbled back sarcastically.

"You're forgetting that you're supposed to look for 'the truth,' " Freddy 'reminded' you.

"Yeah, I know. It was a joke," you chuckled, pushing yourself up.

You hopped off the bed onto the floor. You groaned as you stretched your arms above your head and arched your back, leaning forward. You stumbled forward as you sighed deeply.

"Alrighty. Let's go back up to that inferno," you whispered to yourself. "I just need to find some papers, and then I can leave, and never go back."

Foxy scoffed. "Anyway, you were talking about a hospital last night? What did you mean by that?"

"James had told me when I woke up, that I had been in a coma for a few months, but if it had really been a few months, then it would've overlapped all of us meeting. I need to find the date of arrival and release, so I can tell," you explained as you shuffled out of the bedroom and down the hall.

"What about what happened to your 'car'?" Freddy questioned curiously.

"Right. I earned that car. I made the money to get that car--from our business, but still. I swear, if that asshole took that from me, I'm punching him in the face. I mean, it wasn't the best of cars, but it was still mine," you ranted as you went into the office and pulled down the ladder.

"You're only giving me more of a motive to kill him," Foxy growled.

"I can do it for you!" Freddy volunteered.

"Why do you even care, Foxy? Aren't you the one that doesn't," you sneered, slowly crawling up into the attic.

"I can do it right now. All I'd have to do is open this door," Freddy continued.

"I don't care. It's just that everyhing went to shit when you left. I don't want that to happen again."

"Aww, are you saying you're worried about me?" you cooed mockingly.

"I'm not worried about you. I'm just looking out for myself."

"Your thoughts tell otherwise."

"Shut up, Ballora! Those are private."

"I could easily tear him apart . . . limb from limb," Freddy chuckled sinisterly.

"Okay, Freddy, we get it," you noted.

"Easily."

"What are those characters, (Y/N)? The ones that Foxy reminds me of?" Ballora wondered.

"A tsundere?" you murmured, putting your finger to your chin. "Wait, that would mean that he'd eventually soften up, and I don't see that ever happening. I think you may be talking about an 'asshole.' "

"Ah, yes, that's it," Ballora noted in agreement.

"Hey, fuck you guys!" Foxy huffed.

"Hehe~" Freddy giggled.

"What did happen to you guys, though? Baby was kind of interrupted before she could tell me," you questioned. "You can tell me while I look for evidence. That is, if you guys want to."

"I can tell you. I'll start when we were waiting for you to get back after you left to get those damned candles. It was about 15 minutes until the ceremony--I was pissed as fuck, Freddy was panicked as fuck, and Ballora and Baby were worried as fuck that they wouldn't be able to get you ready in time. We had James go check on you."

~ ~ ~ ~

"Where is he? Where is she? When is he- are they- is she coming back? I can't take it!" Freddy panicked.

He was pacing back and forth, squeezing his temples with the palms of his hands. Bon-Bon was crawling behind him, following every move he made.

"And I can't take you overreacting," Foxy snapped, making Freddy pause in his tracks and look over at him. "I'm sure she just couldn't figure out what kind of scent to get for the candles."

"See, Freddy. Even Foxy knows. There's no need to get worked up," Bon-Bon assured him.

"I mean, either that or she was kidnapped," Foxy mused, resting his feet up on a table.

"What?" Freddy blurted.

"I would've said that she could've been murdered, but she was already murdered, so that rules out that," Foxy continued, humming.

Freddy squeaked, starting to pace back and forth again, yet much faster this time. Bon-Bon glared at Foxy. He continued to follow Freddy, but struggled to keep up. A faint sound from outside immediately caught Freddy's attention.

"James?" he gasped, stopping.

"It's probably just another raccoon," Baby suggested, but when the sound started to resemble the rumbling of a vehicle, she stepped off her stage. "Maybe not?"

Freddy ran over to the doors. Bon-Bon puffed--'catching his breath'--then shifted into his human form. He followed behind. Freddy pressed his face against the glass doors, watching James's truck pulling up in front of the pizzeria.

"(Y/N)'s not with him? Why isn't (Y/N) with him?" Freddy started to hyperventilate.

"Don't know," Foxy replied bluntly, giving him a rough pat on the back.

Freddy winced, coughing some. Baby and Ballora walked behind them in curiousity. James hopped out of his truck and walked around the front of it. He widened his eyes upon seeing that the others were waiting intently for him at the front doors.

"Where's my hive of honey? My love? My meaning?" Freddy babbled as James walked inside.

" 'The bitch,' " Foxy seemed to be trying to correct him.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Fuck you too, asshole."

"It was true then, and it's true now."

• • • •

"Oh, uhm- . . ." James sighed, glancing over. "I don't know how to tell you guys this."

"Tell us what?" Baby squinted at him.

"Um . . . (Y/N) wanted me to tell you . . . that . . ."

"Tell us what, goddamnit?" Foxy snapped.

"She left you guys," James told them.

"What?" Bon-Bon gasped.

Bon-Bon looked over at Freddy, who was staring ahead with wide eyes. His face told no emotion, though.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny, James. Where is she, really?" Foxy retorted.

"She's gone."

"When will she be back?" Baby folded her arms and leaned on her hip.

"I don't think ever," he replied.

"What the fuck did you do to her?" Foxy growled, starting towards him.

"What- I didn't do anything to her!" James objected, backing away and running into the doors.

"I don't think any of us believe that she left us, James," Ballora pointed out calmly, trying to ease the tension.

"Are we going to have to kill you?" Baby sassed.

"N-no! Look- You don't have to believe me, but you'll know when she doesn't come back . . ." James looked between the five of them nervously. "I-I've got to go, though. My wife needs me, right now. She's nearing her due date."

James quickly turned back and opened the door. He bolted past them, speedwalking to his truck. When he got in it and started it, the rest looked to each other.

"Freddy, are you okay?" Bon-Bon whispered, putting his hand on his arm.

"Wha- You really believe him, Freddy?" Foxy sneered.

"I told you guys," Freddy quavered, his eyes starting to overflow with tears.

"Oh, come on." Foxy rolled his eyes.

° ° ° °

"Come on, Freddy. You heard what James said. She's not coming back," Foxy scoffed.

"You don't know that! We thought she was gone when William killed her, but she came back anyway," Freddy snapped.

"A couple minutes compared to a week, jackass," Foxy retorted, baring his teeth as he hit the elevator button. "Come on, now."

"I'm staying here. I'm waiting for her," Freddy grumbled, stepping up onto his stage and staring towards the front doors.

"What the fu- Fine. Piss off, then! Better yet: do piss off. If you're so sure she didn't actually leave us, why not go out and find her. Maybe she's trapped in James's basement, tied up and starving. Or maybe she's being used as a test subject for tortuous experiments," Foxy babbled, rolling his eyes and throwing his hands up dramatically.

"Shut up," Freddy growled, his grip on his microphone tightening.

"It was a joke . . . You know she wouldn't take that bullshit. She's a poltergeist after all, so she'd probably be able to get out of the shackles and chains and tie his intestines around the ceiling fan blades and watch him spin around . . . or something like that."

"What if he told her we didn't want her to come back? What if he lied to her?" Freddy mumbled nervously.

"You can go look for her, then. Don't come crying to me when you get lost, though. Oh, wait." Foxy squinted at him as the elevator doors opened.

Foxy stomped inside, turning around to stand in the center of the enclosed place. He pressed the button, watching as Freddy glanced back to him sadly. Foxy's glower turned into sympathy.

° ° ° °

The elevator doors opened, and Foxy immediately stomped out. "Alright, you shit. You better get your ass down there! I can't take Bon-Bon's bitching! It's been a month! She's not coming back! She only used us. For what, I don't know. She doesn't care about us. She never did. And she never cared about you--"

Freddy's head snapped back to look at him, a stupid grin on his face. "Shut the fuck up."

"Don't you dare fucking say that to me!" Foxy barked, making Freddy flinch.

"I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it--"

~ ~ ~ ~

"Okay, that's not at all what happened. If you're going to tell her, tell it right," Ballora sneered.

"What do you mean? That's what happened," Foxy mumbled, trailing off.

"Yeah, I was kind of surprised Freddy would drop an F-bomb like that," you chuckled.

"No, he said that."

"Really?"

"Do I really have to be honest here? Or better yet, I could skip that part."

"I'll tell the rest."

"Don't- . . . make it seem like I was a . . . pussy," Foxy whispered.

"I don't need to," Ballora retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Foxy grumbled.

• • • •

Freddy's head snapped back to look at him, a chilling grin on his face. "Shut the fuck up."

Foxy widened his eyes, recoiling some. Freddy stared at him, waiting for a snarky remark. Foxy opened his mouth hesitantly.

"Don't you- . . . tell me what to do," he seemed to be at a loss for words--and he was.

Freddy scoffed, his grin fading as he looked back to the front doors. Foxy furrowed his eyebrows for a second, before his expression took that of sorrow. He sighed, walking past him. Freddy watched him curiously as he kneeled down to sit on the edge of the stage.

"I understand."

"No, you don't," Freddy sneered, giving him a quick glare.

"I do. I do understand. I understand exactly what you're feeling. She- . . . I- . . ."

~ ~ ~ ~

"Let's skip this part!" Foxy interrupted Ballora.

"She wanted us to--"

"A time skip! We're doing another time skip," Foxy insisted.

"No, I want to--"

"Don't care. Time has been skipped," Foxy cut you off. "It's now to when Freddy decides to follow me back."

"Hey. No spoilers," you huffed, pouting.

"Oh. Sorry."

• • • •

"You coming?" Foxy wondered, looking back to Freddy as the elevator doors opened.

Freddy sighed, looking down to his hands. Eventually, he gave a feeble "yeah," as he pushed himself up from sitting at the edge of the stage. Foxy stepped into the elevator, holding open the doors for Freddy.

"Finally, Bon-Bon can shut the fuck up, now," Foxy sighed in relief. "He's been going on and on about how he's missed you. He's constantly asking when you were going to come back."

Foxy continued to complain as they rode the elevator, then made their way through the vent. The usual tolerable Freddy was starting to become impatient. Foxy stood up in the Control Module and ducked into Ballora Gallery.

"Foxy! Where's Freddy?" Bon-Bon jumped up from sitting on the floor--he was in his human form--and ran over to him.

"I'm right here, buddy," Freddy croaked as Foxy stepped out of the way for him.

"Freddy!" Bon-Bon exclaimed as he tackled him in a hug; Freddy chuckled, lifting him up off the ground to hug him back. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too. Has it really been a month, though?" Freddy worried as he set him back down.

"What! A month?" Bon-Bon chuckled nervously. "It definitely hasn't. I wouldn't've been able to last that long."

"But Foxy told me it was a month." He glanced over to him.

"I mean . . . it felt like a month--with Bon-Bon's whining." Foxy crossed his arms.

"How long was it, then?"

"Only a few days. But it felt like an enternity!"

"Yeah, so did the trip here."

"Hm?" Foxy hummed, raising an eyebrow--not getting the intent of the comment at all.

"Can we go back to the Breaker Room?" Freddy mumbled, glancing over to the door.

"Y- Wait, uhh . . . I don't know." Bon-Bon looked to the rest.

"Why not?"

"Err- We kinda haven't gotten to . . . moving things yet."

"Moving things? Why would that matter?"

"I mean- . . . I guess."

Freddy nodded, starting towards the room. Bon-Bon shared glances with the others, before jogging to catch up to Freddy. He opened the door and stepped inside. He looked around

"What's wrong, Freddy?" Bon-Bon worried, noticing that he was crying.

"She used to sleep here," Freddy wailed, running over to land face-first on the foam pads.

"That's why it matters," Bon-Bon sighed, slumping his shoulders.

"Alright, I'm just gonna close the door and let you two deal with each other," Foxy said, before slamming it shut.

"Yeah, thanks, jackass," Bon-Bon scoffed, then immediately turned his attention to the now sobbing Freddy. "It's okay, Freddy! It's okay."

"No, it's not," Freddy whined, lifting his head, to reveal his tear-covered face.

"Well--"

"Oh- This--"

Freddy crawled over to the suitcase that laid against the make-shift matress. He opened it up, then started bawling, rummaging through things. He leaned over the edge and buried his face in the clothes.

"Freddy," Bon-Bon cooed sadly, kneeling onto the pads and crawling next to him.

Freddy sniffled, pushing himself up some. He noticed something on his head. It was a pair of laced underwear.

"Cap-tain dumb-aaaass!" Freddy cried, plopping his head back down.

"This is just getting sad, and in more than one way," Bon-Bon mumbled to himself. "Come on, Freddy. You don't need to be sad. Cheer up, please."

"But (Y/N)'s gone," Freddy's voice was muffled.

Bon-Bon opened his mouth, but didn't have an argument to counter. He hated to see him like this. He put his hand on his back.

". . . Oh- Who cares?" Bon-Bon scoffed, having an idea.

"Huh?" Freddy shot up, looking over at him. "I care."

"Well, you shouldn't. You've got freedom, now that she's not tying you down," Bon-Bon jeered dramatically, rolling his eyes.

"We didn't have freedom before she came, Bon-Bon," Freddy argued sadly.

"Er- Touché . . . I guess."

"Why would you even think that?"

"I didn't. I was just trying to make you feel better," Bon-Bon mumbled, looking down bashfully. "I don't like it when you're sad. It makes me sad."

"Then we can be sad together."

Freddy sniffled, sitting up and hugging him. Bon-Bon's eyes watered. He blank them away, gently pushing Freddy away as he slowly shook his head.

"But, I don't want to be sad. I want to be happy. I want to be happy having even known her. I want to be happy about all the times we spent together. About her helping us, when nobody else would. 'Don't cry that it's over; smile because it happened.' She's in the past now, Freddy. We- . . . You need to move on. You need to . . . forget about her."

Freddy dropped his head, sitting back. He stayed that way for a moment, letting his tears drop and soak into his pants. He gulped as he let out a shaky sigh.

"You're right, Bon-Bon."

"I don't want to think that it's not okay to be sad, though, Freddy," Bon-Bon said, hugging him. "I just think it's best if we think of this as a good thing, even if it doesn't seem like it."

"Mhm." Freddy hummed, hugging him back tightly.

° ° ° °

"Foxy, Baby, Ballora, I need help!" Bon-Bon burst through the Breaker Room door, startling the rest.

"What happened?" Ballora fretted as she stopped dancing.

"It's Freddy!" Bon-Bon sputtered.

"Is he still doing it?" Foxy was referring to what Freddy had been doing the past couple days--sitting in the center of the Breaker Room, mumbling and giggling to himself.

"No--"

"Is he dead?" Baby questioned nervously.

"Worse!"

"Wor- What could be worse than death?" Foxy squinted at him.