Chapter Text
“No! King!” Luz yelled as her younger brother’s yell forced her and her friends through the collapsing door. Luz barely looked over as she heard King say “Goodbye Luz” before the door shut in her face. She jumped top her feet and stumbled to the door, swinging it open only to see… an empty, rotting room of the abandoned house. Thoughts ran widely through Luz’s mind as she continually opened and closed the door, praying for it to once again showcase the Boiling Isles… but that would never happen. The portal door had shattered and broke, causing Luz and her friends to be trapped in the Human realm.
Luz stared at the empty room for what felt like forever, although it was only a few minutes. Her breathing staggered as she slowly turned to face her friends with teary eyes. Amity stared back at her with wide eyes and Willow examined their new surroundings; all the while, Hunter was comforting Gus who lightly sobbed, struggling to process what just happened.
Guilt. All Luz felt was the sheer guilt as she stared at her friends, all of their mental states shattered from the Day of Unity. And what was worse? It was all her fault. Those stupid time pools, her naivety with helping him get his desires, the way they were now all stuck here, her found family probably being dead, the genocide they barely escaped.
Rain poured down on the group as Luz helped her friends back to their feet, her hands trembling but she put them before herself. She let out a shaky exhale before starting to examine their surroundings. Wait… this wasn’t Connecticut…
”Wh… where are we…?” She mumbled as she stared at the unfamiliar abandoned house in front of them. This wasn’t the same shabby wooden house in the woods… it looked newer, but still rotting, it was larger and looked like a much more advanced building type then that of the wooden home. The forestry surrounding the house was different and a large, concrete clearing sat under their feet.
”Luz… what do you mean?” Amity asked her girlfriend with concern.
“This.. this isn’t my home… this isn’t where my house is. We’re not anywhere near my mom. This is the Human Realm but…” Luz trailed off.
”But it’s somewhere else?” Hunter guessed, getting a nod from Luz.
”We need to find someplace to shelter… somewhere where we can find help. This place is old; we wouldn’t find a way back unless we find someone else,” Luz stated. “Plus, it’s probably private property. We shouldn’t enter.”
”That makes sense but, if you don’t know where we are, then where are we going to go?” Willow asked.
“We are just gonna have to look,” Luz asserted before following the concrete road leading out of the clearing.
The others followed Luz down the path, walking behind her and letting her lead them. Amity cast a small light spell to illuminate the way as they walked as Willow used plant leaves to make make-shift blankets to cover them. Hunter had his arm around Gus’s shoulders to help comfort him as they walked. No one said a word as they walked, still processing the traumatic events that brought them here. They didn’t know if their families on the other side of the portal were safe or the sort of chaos the Collector was causing to the world they called their home.
5%, 5am. Just a few more minutes until the shift was over. The time felt impossibly slow as the seconds ticked by and the power drained. It was only Michael’s third night working at this location and he’s already had too many close calls. Too close for comfort.
The power got lower and lower when suddenly, the animatronics pounding on the large security doors just… left. They looked almost as if they had a weird, direct path towards something. Michael glanced at the doors in confusion before shaking his head and clicking both door buttons. The doors shot up with a metal clank before he went back to checking on the cameras.
Flipping through the different feeds, Michael barely passed one before returning to it as he processed what was on the screen. In the party room was a group of seemingly lost, disheveled teens. Now it was obvious what the animatronics were moving towards. Without a second thought, Mike snatched up his flashlight and made a mad dash towards the party room, trying to get ahead of the animatronics.
Moments earlier…
”I think this’ll work… We can rest here for the night, grab some first aid things and wait for employees to find us,” Luz stated as she and her friends stood outside of a building labeled ‘Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza’.
“Are you sure this place will have that?” Gus asked in a hushed voice.
”It should. Most restaurants have first aid supplies,” Luz answered. “Only issue is if it’s locked.”
”Easy enough,” said Amity. She drew a circle in the air with her finger and shot a spike of abomination goo at the lock, piercing its mechanisms.
“Thanks, Sweet Potato,” Luz thanked, nuzzling Amity’s cheek before pushing the door open.
The group stepped into the building, glancing around at the dark area. They could barely make up the shapes before them due to the lack of lighting; causing them to stick close to avoid stumbling into something. They glanced around before collectively tensed up as loud, clunking footsteps started to barrel towards them. The group braced for impact, anticipating attack yet… it didn’t come.
Luz was the first to open her eyes and, through dim light, saw the silhouette of a man struggling to hold back a large, felt cover hand from hitting the group.
“Get out of here!” He warned with a strained voice.
The group instantly took action; not running away but choosing to fight. Just as they were about to rush in, another animatronic came closer. With holding back the current one, the man hadn’t noticed the animatronic’s entrance, immediately regretting it as the animatronic snatched him by the collar before ruthlessly tossing him into one of the party tables. They all gasped in fear before going back on guard. Willow, Hunter, and Amity teamed up to subdue the foes while Luz and Gus rushed over to assist the man.
Spiked vines shot up from the ground and wrapped around the animatronic’s limbs as abomination goo formed as ropes tied around the other animatronic’s wrists, being pulled on tightly by Amity. Hunter teleported in a flash of golden light, kicking down the animatronics.
Luz and Gus skidded to a stop, throwing chairs out of the way before kneeling down in front of the barely conscious man. They both quickly noticed the flickering white pinpricks of lights he had for eyes but paid no mind, focused on trying to help him from the harsh attack.
“Are you okay? What can we do to help?” Luz quickly asked, rifling through the pockets in the grudgby jacket Eda gave her.
“N-no, I’m fine,” He stated in a weak voice, slowly sitting up and holding a hand to his head. “I’m more concerned about what you kids are doing here. It’s dangerous! Even more so at this hour.”
”We’ll explain later but first, we’re getting out of here,” Gus stated, offering his hand to the man.
“No it’s okay. Prioritize yourselves and go somewhere safer. You shouldn’t be here,” He stated with pure concern flooding his tone.
”We don’t have anywhere to go so we’re in this together,” Luz asserted.
“And we aren’t gonna leave you here if it’s as dangerous as you say,” Gus added.
Michael took a moment to process this, his eyes widening as he realized the severity of this issue. He was instantly snapped back to reality, however, when two loud crashes could be heard across the room. Looking over, the three teens were able to subdue the animatronics long enough for the clock to tick 6am, powering them off.
”Muy bien!” Luz congratulated as Willow, Hunter, and Amity joined back up with them.
Michael looked at all the kids with concern before using the table he was rammed into to stand back up. “Really, what on earth are you doing here?!” He asked. “Y’know what, don’t tell me right now. Your safety is my main priority. We need to get you kids out of here.”
”Well, we can’t argue with that,” Gus shrugged.
”Hm, you said you didn’t have anywhere to stay and since you came here of all places, I doubt you’re from around here…” Michael theorized.
”How could you tell? Is there… something bad about this place..?” Hunter asked.
”Yes…” Michael answered sorrowfully. “I’m afraid I can’t explain; and even if I could, this wouldn’t be the place or time.”
The Hexside squad exchanged suspicious glances but none of them wanted to ask further. Luz was the first one to speak up. “So then uh, do you know of any place to stay?”
Michael hesitated, trying to think of any places that would be best for them. Coming up with nothing that would work, he started to think out loud. “My house is probably the safest but I’m not quite sure I can fully afford it… not to mention the stigma. Henry’s off on his revenge plan, few people live here, they’re still on the loose… hmm…” His ramblings only made the teens more suspicious of him then they already were; what was he even going on about?
”Look… you kids can rest at my home until I can find a more proper solution; are you fine with that?” Michael asked, not wanting to force them to follow.
The Hexside squad glanced at each other before giving a collective nod, knowing this was their best option for the time being. “Right,” Luz nodded.
”I do apologize that there isn’t really any other option right now. I’ll see what I can do to help more but this is all I can do for now,” said Michael.
”It’s more than enough, sir,” Willow answered. “Thank you.”
”Please, just call me Mike,” Mike asked.
“Alright Mr. Mike,” Luz nodded. “I’m Luz and these are my friends Willow, Gus, Hunter, and Amity.”
”Well then, it’s nice to meet you all. How about once we get to safety, I make you all a snack and then you can rest. It’s not incredibly late or so but the sun will be rising soon; I suggest resting for a while considering…” Mike drifted off as he looked at the teens, growing more concerned. “Oh… goodness, are you lot okay?!”
None of them responded, just avoiding eye contact as they thought over the horrors they had narrowly escaped and the pain they saw. The answer was obvious just by how they reacted to the question… they desperately needed help and comfort.
“C’mon, lets get out of here. You can explain things later,” Mike said as he led the Hexside squad out of the building and towards the single car in the parking lot, silently vowing to protect these kids.