Chapter Text
The panic attacks he had experienced subsided a little, but he still couldn't stop the panic that was still high in his head.
That's not, Michael, right? All the dreams he had, they were all about... Michael?
It all couldn't even make sense, how could he dream about Michael. When even Ethan himself doesn't know much about Chestnut? What does it all mean?
After all, Michael couldn't have experienced all of that. Right? There was no way that after experiencing that, Chestnut could still stand up and defy the world. What really happened?!
His thoughts were interrupted when Michael suddenly turned around, displaying an alert attitude, something was wrong. Ethan widened his eyes in terror as slowly the room around him began to distort horribly.
This was absolutely crazy, Ethan saw how the entire room started to distort horribly before a strange black liquid seeped from the walls and roof of the room, slowly filling every inch of the white walls with black liquid. Everything was painted in black, which featured sickly purple pulses, flowing everywhere like a river with still water.
By pure instinct Ethan immediately stood up from the bed before approaching Mike's back, his arms tightening around Rose. Staring warily and with pure fear in his gaze.
His eyes stared in horror as a feeling of déjà vu filled his body. This feels the same as The Baker, even though the entire house isn't filled with pulsing black goo that flows everywhere. The air felt very heavy, with white noise painfully filling his ears.
Michael in front of him was no better, Chestnut's shoulders tensed with suddenly heightened alertness. Black eyes with purple polish looked around him with a trembling gaze, Chestnut stood in front of him with his arms slightly outstretched, giving a protective gesture.
Ethan hugged Rose tighter, his body stiffened when he heard the sound of creaking metal breaking the sickening silence around them before a giant claw came out of the wall accompanied by a very distorted metallic roar, Chestnut with very fast reflexes turned around and pulled Ethan out of the way, Mike positioned his body as his back hit the bedroom wall hard.
This coincided with the giant claws hitting the bed, causing the object to crumble under the pressure of the claws with terrifying nails. Ethan stared at the claws with terror flooding into his head, his eyes staring in trembling fear as a giant animatronic over 10 feet tall emerged from the wall.
Its metal casing was filled with jagged holes making the endoskeleton inside visible, a mouth full of sharp and pointy teeth that glowed frighteningly, enough to tear apart anything that had the misfortune of falling prey to it, its appearance looked extremely mangled. Terror filled his mind even more with adrenaline when he realized that the animatronic's body also had a mouth with equally large teeth. Adding to the fear of what would happen if it caught him. His hug on Rose tightened, which made the little baby whimper softly as if she felt her father's fear.
Helpy on Mike's shoulder squeaked warningly, snapping Ethan out of his thoughts as he stifled a startled yelp as Chestnut pulled him into his arms and darted past the roaring animatronic bear to catch up with the two with a stomp of mechanical hooves that echoed eerily against the walls of the house. Mike quickly ran out of the guest bedroom, his feet stepping on a puddle of black liquid all over the floor of the house, producing a splashing sound that filled the scary atmosphere.
The giant bear that had tried to attack them earlier broke open the door with its huge claws, causing the entire wall to collapse and producing a loud crashing sound. Its eerie red beady eyes glowed dangerously before it roared loudly and started chasing them. Its large claws scratched the walls of the house during its chase.
Mike ran quickly, carrying Ethan in his arms without feeling burdened, Ethan sometimes thought how much strength Mike had to be able to carry him everywhere in his arms without getting tired. Rose in his arms whimpered softly, making Ethan turn his eyes to his daughter, trying to calm her even in a critical situation.
Mechanical footsteps echoed eerily against the walls of the corridor, their heavy steps in rhythm with Ethan's heart which was beating very fast, his adrenaline was racing even though he wasn't the one running.
Ethan let out a muffled scream as Mike leapt down the stairs, the impact of shoes and the floor echoing in the eerie silence, with heavy footsteps chasing them not far behind. Chestnut ran again the moment his feet touched the wooden floor, speeding across the living room towards the front door.
Where the front door was covered in some kind of black liquid that spread like vines over every inch of the worn wood, giving Ethan thinking that the door was locked which Mike also seemed to know.
Chestnut quickly put him down when the door to their escape was in sight. With a soft apology escaping his thin lips, Mike grabbed Helpy who was on his shoulder before moving him on Ethan's shoulder, making the little bear look at Mike in confusion.
Mike told him to step back a little which he quickly did as Chestnut lifted one of his legs and kicked the front door with great force. The thud echoed through the house, showing how much force Mike had used to kick the door open but to no avail, the door wouldn't open no matter how hard Mike tried to kick it.
"Why won't it open!" Chestnut's voice sounded frustrated, his breathing heaving with adrenaline. It's really bad, they can't get out of this house.
The sound of metal snapping that suddenly sounded closer made Ethan look around him warily, the younger blonde didn't expect it when his gaze landed on a child-sized robot with long rabbit ears and a casing full of holes running towards them, its sharp teeth clashing against each other. when his black eyes seemed to stare directly into his soul. Ethan held back a scream of fear when the robot lunged at him only to be kicked back by Michael who was suddenly in front of him.
Chestnut seemed to put a lot of strength into his legs as the robot flew across the living room and hit the wall across the room from them very hard. A loud crash resounded everywhere, producing a painful echo into his ears.
Ethan took a shaky breath as he stared at where the robot landed, the hole in the wall showed how scary Michael's kick was, he was sure that the robot could weigh tens of pounds and Chestnut just kicked it like that? Mike also didn't seem to be in any pain at all, as if his legs could handle kicking something like that.
Ethan's thoughts were interrupted when Chestnut pulled him into his arms to avoid another robot that came out of a pool of black liquid near them, a feeling of goosebumps entered his body slowly as his blue eyes stared at the robot which this time looked like a doll with very long arms and sharp, angular fingers. white covered its thin body like paint on black paper, the robot crawled out of a pool of black liquid with its long arms trying to reach them. The robot was approximately 12 feet tall, looking at half of its body sticking out of a pool of disgusting black liquid.
Ethan let out a muffled scream filled with terror when a metal wires hit the puppet robot that was almost approaching them with great force, making the robot bend unnaturally towards the back, giving a frightening view of what would happen if that happened to a human. Several sharp metal wires shot out from Chestnut's back, hovering defensively around them.
Mike's eyes looked around him quickly before his purple-polished eyes widened in surprise, Mike raised them up in his arms making Ethan let out a muffled scream before Chestnut shot past the giant bear that had caught up with them. The impact of the sharp claws on the wall resounded loudly, tearing the wall from where it was. At a glance, Ethan saw the same black liquid that had pooled on the floor covering the entire outer wall which had a hole in it, it didn't go inside but looked thicker. Purple pulses were visible for a moment before calming down again.
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Where...
Where...
Where...
Michael continued to run with Ethan following behind him, the younger blonde tried to avoid the giant claws that flew quickly right above his head, Michael used his metal wires to block the nightmare giant claws that were trying to attack them.
Nightmarionett suddenly appeared from the ceiling of the hallway, making Michael slip on the black liquid that filled the entire house as he tried to avoid it, with panic filling his head Michael could still hear the rapid footsteps coming from in front of him, Mike jerked his head forward just to see nightmare Foxy ran very fast towards him, the hook in the fox's right hand rubbing against the wall of the house produced a sound that disturbed his ears, making his panic immediately rise to the extreme.
Helpy, who was on Mike's shoulder, didn't remain silent, the little bear jumped towards the fox and dug his claws into the fox's shoulder, which immediately struggled and growled, trying to get the little bear off his shoulder. Michael was panicked when he saw Helpy just jump. What if Helpy gets hurt?!!
Michael had not prepared himself at all to see how Helpy sent high voltage electricity from his claws that made the fox jerk uncontrollably with a very loud mechanical scream before falling with a loud echo. Slowly but surely smoke began to rise from Nightmare Foxy.
Michael froze in his tracks when he saw what his little bear could do. Did Helpy just deliver a controlled electric shock?!
"Are you okay Mike?!" The younger blonde approached Mike, snapping Michael out of his panic, adrenaline still filling his head and body. No time to think!
This is all too crazy, absolutely crazy. How could he possibly get Ethan trapped in this condition?! He thought his house would be safe, this was really bad. Helpy returned by jumping down from the collapsed fox's shoulder before running over to Mike, his little paws helping the little bear to climb back onto Mike's shoulder.
"No time, we have to hurry!" Michael stood up again with Helpy who was standing again on his shoulders, his legs started to run across the hall of his house, which for some time felt very long. Ethan followed right behind him, Michael tried to protect himself as well as Ethan and Rose in the younger blonde's arms by moving his metal tendrils. Occasionally Helpy will help by sending high voltage electricity to the nightmare animatronics that attack them.
That was completely unnatural, he didn't equip Helpy with electric shocks in his claws! Michael shook his head violently, banishing the thought from his mind. He would think about what happened to Helpy later.
Now the most important thing is to find a way out of this nightmare. But the nightmares still kept appearing from various places and tried to attack him again. It seemed like they couldn't be stopped with just a normal attack, something had to really stop the nightmare animatronics from continuing to appear. White noise still filled his ears with terror as his head thought ahead, strange purple lines still filled his vision wherever he went, heading somewhere. Wait! Perhaps!
Michael didn't have time to think when his feet were tripped by his own wires, his face landing right on the black liquid that covered the floor. Making him feel a strange taste on his tongue, what the-?! The liquid tasted bland but also very bitter. Ethan's muffled scream made terror hit his system hard, without cleaning the black liquid that was flowing down his face, Michael immediately turned his head back.
Michael saw the younger blonde cornered by Fredbear's nightmare, Ethan tried to protect Rose in his arms by curling up protectively over the baby. Michael, without thinking, immediately ran and stood in front of Ethan when he saw Nightmare Fredbear intending to stab Ethan with his large claws. The pain was immediate but not long, Michael could feel how the claws pierced his body deeply, tearing his skin, damaging his flesh and tearing his nerves. With confused thoughts Michael moved his wires to restrain the bear, giving Helpy a chance to jump on the bear before giving it a controlled electric shock. Making it spasm with a mechanical scream and fall out of commission due to the high voltage.
Michael held back a scream in his throat when he felt how electricity flowed into his body from the nightmare's claws and started to burn his body from the inside, taking a deep breath. Michael blinked his eyes several times to focus his vision.
Michael tremblingly pulled out the giant claws that were still piercing his body, adrenaline was draining his strength, his breathing was very irregular and heavy. This wasn't good, he was going to hyperventilate again.
The attack sent back memories he wanted to forget, memories of how much pain it had felt when the Nightmares destroyed him, tearing his body apart, crushing his head, breaking his arms, and ripping off his legs. It hurts too much. It was all too much.
He knew it was just his imagination, just a crazy illusion that Williams had created for him. But still, it all felt too real back then. The pain, the lurking terror, the overwhelming fear, it was all too real for his young brain to digest. The air felt away from him, his body felt numb and hot everywhere, he wanted this to stop, he wanted all these nightmares to stop right now.
"Mi-!..."
What.
"Miche-... Can... Did you hear..."
Wha-who? what's really going on.
"Michael!!"
The fog in his mind immediately disappeared when Ethan's voice penetrated his head, his breathing felt intermittent and irregular, his body felt like it was sinking very deep into mud. Wait- what?!
"Michael! Those things-! They're affecting you!" Ethan sounded panicked, Michael saw the younger blonde sitting in front of him with one arm around Rose and his other hand gripping his arm in a strong but not painful grip.
"W-what--?" Michael noticed now, the black liquid that had initially filled the floor of the house began to rise up his body and almost drowned him. The golden streaks along the black liquid that rose up his body glowed faintly and moved down to the bottom of the house. Remnant! This thing tries to steal his remnant by affecting his head and mind.
Michael grimaced softly when he felt how his remnant was being forcefully pulled from his body, trying to move his legs, Mike moved his hands to rest on the floor before pulling his body up with a little more effort when the black liquid turned against him by pulling him back down.
Ethan helped him by holding his arm with his one empty hand, it must be difficult when you have to carry your daughter and help someone at the same time. Groaning in frustration, Michael tried to get the thought out of his head, this was no time to feel guilty for bothering other people.
His ears heard a mechanical scream near him, making Michael jerk his head towards the sound, only to see Helpy send a controlled electric shock to Nightmare Chica on her shoulder, as the chicken fell with a loud thud onto the floor. Helpy also jumped down and stood in a defensive and vicious stance in front of him. Was the little bear trying to protect him? That thought was interrupted when Ethan's worried voice came into his head.
“Are you really okay?” Ethan’s voice sounded worried and stressed, a hint of frustration laced in his tone. It snapped him out of his daze, again. Michael shook his head before looking at the younger blonde.
"I'm fine... Yeah... I'm fine..." he tried to reassure the younger blonde, although his words were more like trying to convince himself. Michael moved his arm to cut off the stream of remnant that was trying to be stolen, causing the slightly shining golden stream to stop flowing and retract into his body. He was still confused about how it worked, but at least he knew how to pull the remnant back.
Ethan, who was in front of him, stared stunned at how the golden flow that had been flowing in the black liquid slowly began to return to Michael's body, making it easier for him to untie the black liquid all over his body.
"What... How does that actually work?" Blue eyes full of curiosity looked into his own, Michael could see that Ethan was trying not to panic, judging by his slightly shaking shoulders and slightly wavering gaze.
"I don't really understand how this works either..." Michael answered honestly, because he also only discovered Remnant in his body not long ago. The moment he accidentally burned his own arm with fire.
"We don't have time... We have to hurry..." Michael stood up again after all the black liquid on his body was released, his hands caught Helpy who was jumping towards him before placing the little bear on his shoulders again. His eyes looked up at Ethan, where the younger blonde understood his gaze by nodding his head, whereupon his arms tightened around his daughter. They started running back, avoiding the Nightmares who started appearing trying to hunt them.
His gaze stared at a closed door next to Williams' office, the purple lines he saw entered the door, disappearing behind the closed door. Without much thought, Michael immediately moved his hand to open the door which was actually locked and immediately pulled it off its hinges.
In his own panic, Michael put too much force into his grip, which accidentally tore the door from its original position. His eyes widened in surprise before shaking his head and throwing the broken door somewhere behind Ethan. Where it drew a muffled scream from the shocked blonde.
Michael rushed in with Ethan following right behind him, his black eyes looking at the various things around him before focusing on the purple lines leading to the underground door.
Right where the Basement is.
Michael doesn't like where this is taking them.