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“Do you just like faking suicides?”
“Oh, I do find it a little funny. People who are thought of to be strong, morally bound, emotionally stable and seeing them... just reduced to something they’re not. I find it hilarious.”
–Freddy & Molten, Old Friends, Molten's POV
***
He didn’t know where the fuck he was.
Correction, he knew generally where he was, just not sure how he was supposed to get out of here. Running for his life has never been so unnecessarily difficult. It's not like he wanted to be running for his life. He started this portal hopping bullshit with the intention of figuring out a way to get rid of Afton. But of course, nothing goes his way and no matter what he does his past is going to climb out of the depths of hell to hunt him down.
It's actually laughable– how he got himself into this situation. He has no idea how to use the portal, the thing has no controls. He thought that if he just searched around by jumping through a few dimensions he’d eventually run into someone who'd know something. He should’ve known the portal taking them to minigames so often wasn’t a coincidence. Really, he should've thought more on what his plan was jumping in here.
Unfortunately, instead of finding a place that had answers like he hoped, he ran into some hotel that had weird alternate versions of everyone he knew. Especially that version of Baby. She certainly wasn’t normal, hardly similar to the Baby he's been talking to all this time. Throughout the entire time he was near her she kept mentioning something about telling someone named “Molten” he was there or that he was messing with “Molten’s” portal.
How the fuck was he supposed to know that Molten was Ennards stupid new name and that he had the controls to the portal?
Let alone his Ennard. There's an entire multiverse out there and somehow he ran into the one universe with people who knew who his Ennard was? Yeah. No shit the portal has no controls. Ennard somehow rigged it so he’d go wherever he wanted him to go. It's ironic that the second he manages to meet a more put together, less chaotic version of the Ennard he knew– he meets his own and gets thrown through multiple dimensions.
How did he even survive? He didn’t understand. How could he just pop out of nowhere and chase him like he's the main character in a horror film? How did Ennard even know this many people from other universes? Last he checked, Ennard was from their dimension. How would he have been able to have this many connections? None of it made sense.
He saw Ennard die. He watched that building go up in flames while they were still inside. He remembered watching the vents the whole time, and he never came out. He knew now that Ennard had burned it himself, keeping himself locked inside like the fucking suicidal maniac he was. He was so sure they would melt and he would never see them again. He didn’t know Ennard was made out of titanium. The only thing they ever said they were made out of was “prototype parts.” How does that translate to titanium? He should’ve known Ennard was never that stupid. Hell, he's the one who's stupid.
He didn’t know why he didn’t just check if he had actually died. He swore when he checked the rubble he saw his body, his broken and burnt body. The body that matched up to his appearance now. There wasn’t a way he could’ve possibly escaped anyway– There were no windows and the doors were basically glued shut; there was no way out– or, there shouldn’t have been. How could he get out alive?
He felt so stupid. He had made peace with his death like that was the right thing to do. All this time he's been offline hes thought that he got someone close to him killed, and he mourned him. As disgusted as he was with what Ennard had done, he had grown to care about him. In his own fucked up way he did care. He thought he had a partner, someone that understood him. A friend, even. He didn’t realize that Ennard took it all so seriously. He should’ve stayed. Then maybe he wouldn’t be here. Running for his life.
But regretting it does nothing now. He watched the building burn until the fire department came to put out the fire. He thought it was over, that he got away with everything, that he'd never have to kill again. But somehow, Ennard found some other way of survival and made it out. Its like this pizzeria is one big reunion party where everybody whos ever known eachother just happens to gather in the same place. That certainly couldn't be a coincidence. Who's been watching them all this time?
From what he can figure, Ennard has apparently chosen to collaborate with Afton. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Why would Ennard work with Afton? After everything? Everything he's ever done? He thought he killed Afton, locked him in that backroom so he could suffer for eternity. He should've burnt that suit when he had the chance. Now hes back along with everybody else.
He's been gone practically a day and suddenly it's like everything has gone wrong back at the pizzeria.
He doesn't know why he bothers thinking of all that's happened in the last 24 hours. He doesn't have the time. This place is wrecked and he can hear the ugly sound of metal scratching against metal. He's not as agile as Ennard is, if he catches up to him there's no way he's getting out of here. He barely made it out of their first confrontation. The only reason he escaped was because Ennard thought it would be funny to see how he survives across multiple dimensions. For all he knows, it could've been weeks back in his dimension.
He's pretty sure this place is barely an actual dimension, some other wrecked area between worlds. Probably a planned encounter between them on Ennards end. This could just be where he dies and no one would know where to find him.
Distracted looking for a way out, he didn’t realize the metal screeching sound had stopped. “Hi~ Did you miss me?” A glitchy, broken voice said right by his ear, his high pitch voice making his ears burn.
It sounded like the Ennard he knew, not the monster he knows now. He startled when he realized what was happening, that the voice was real. He quickly moved away and turned around to face the very mangled bear. Shit. He’s out of time. He created as much distance as possible.
Ennard laughed at his reaction, tilting his head innocently, “You should really get better knowledge of your surroundings!” Ennard said, his voice registering to one deeper like he was mocking his old self to get to him. He returned to standing up straight, his singular red eye glaring into his soul. Did he get taller? He was basically his height now. He hadn’t noticed if he was that way before.
“Ennard.”
He glared, “Not my name anymore, you don't get to call me that.”
Freddy huffed a laugh, “I’ll call you whatever I want.” Was there a way out of here? He looked around noticing nothing but broken parts so far. There seemed to be an area behind a few boxes he could get too, that had to be the way to the portal out of here. But how could he get there before Ennard kills him?
“Do you really think you're in a position to threaten me? I'm the one who can control the portal, not you!” Ennard stepped closer, anger already rising in his voice. Barely takes anything to get them riled up does it?
The lack of stuttering threw him off. Really, the confidence threw him off more than anything. Even in the minutes before he left Ennard was a stuttering mess. How did he manage to change so much in what felt like so little time? Has he been online for all these years? It's been decades.
He stepped away again, looking the burnt bear up and down. Talking always distracted Ennard, maybe if he just kept talking he would hesitate to hurt him. He clearly still has some of the same instincts and personality. Maybe he can turn this around– As long as he plays his cards right, that is. “Why can't you just leave me alone?”
“Why? You have the audacity to ask why?” Ennard asked disbelievingly, “I should be asking why. You abandoned me! You said you'd be back and you never showed up!” Ennard tried again to close the distance between them as he backed away, pointing accusingly at him like that did anything.
“Do you hear yourself? Do you remember what you did?” He snapped back, remembering the content of his “gift.” He had every right to leave after that. Nobody who was in their right mind would ever do what Ennard did. It was fucked.
Ennard's eyes widened like he was offended, “I did it for you! I did everything you liked and gave it to you on a silver platter and you just ran away?” His voice did that weird thing where it deepened for no reason. Like it did when he blew up on him at Christmas. That couldn’t be normal. But what did it matter if it was normal? Nothing about Ennard was normal. Normal animatronics aren’t made out of fucking titanium. God why the fuck did Afton make this thing?
“Everything I liked? Ennard, you dismembered those kids that were your friends and wrapped them up in boxes!" It felt weird to say it out loud. Like acknowledging what actually happened was some taboo thing he shouldn’t speak into existence. Hes done some fucked shit, but nothing would ever amount to that.
Ennard sputtered, “How can you act like this? You did the same thing for months! You made me do those things!” Ennard accused, his voice getting higher again. He's been a lot of things, but he doesn’t want to be a killer anymore. He spent a long few years thinking back on his life. He doesn’t know why he listened to his programming, why he let it influence him. It turned him into someone he didn’t recognize, like he was just Freddy and not Jeremy. He had a life once, he's not just some mindless animatronic who preforms all day.
He huffed a laugh in disbelief, “I didn't make you do anything, that was all your decision. You’re your own person, you can make your own decisions," If he could lure Ennard to the other side he could make a run for it. But there's always the possibility he just sends him right back here. Ennard does have the upperhand here.
Was there any other way to run out of here? Maybe this portal has a control panel he could find. He tried his luck by beginning to back up subtly. “How can you say that? You threatened to kill me! Why did you suddenly change? Why didn't you tell me? If you had just told me I would've listened!” Ennards hands hesitated at his sides, like he was so frustrated he was fighting with himself to keep calm. His fingers were forced so tightly into fist it looked like he might break his own hands. He didn’t know if he felt comforted by the knowledge he still had the same nervous habits. He always did that when he was anxious.
He scoffed, “When have I ever done that? You're making this shit up in your head! Are you just a dog who follows orders? Is Afton putting you up to this? Why are you working for him?” He didn’t understand why Ennard even worked with Afton, or talked to him. He was pretty sure he remembered that Ennard hated Afton too. It's like he's doing it just to get to him. Like his own hatred is second next to humiliating him. He knows what Afton did to him. How petty could he be?
He doesn’t know what Afton's plans could be, but they certainly aren’t going to be good. He must have something or be doing something Ennard wants, but what that could be, he didn’t know. He wonders if theres some ulterior motive from Ennards end. Surely he plans to double cross Afton somehow? There's something hes missing to all this. He just doesn't know what.
“I thought we were friends! You told me we were friends. You were all I had!” Ennard sounded… distraught.
He shook his head, why did that matter? “Bullshit. No one was forcing you to stay with me, in fact I wouldn't have even stopped you if you had decided to leave.” Except he would’ve. He knows he would’ve. Ennard changed something in him, made him feel like something else other than a machine. He doesn’t know if he could’ve truly handled it if someone else he considered a friend left him.
God, maybe he is a coward.
“Then explain Freddy! Why?” Ennard exclaimed, his singular lit eye flickering in the dim light. Was it a joke that it was the eye he punched out that he was missing? A reference only he would understand? Does he keep himself broken because he hoped it would make him feel guilty?
He sighed deeply, looking around like it could save him from this conversation.“The things I did to you? Yeah I can admit I messed up. But I didn’t need you, I didn’t want to be friends or whatever you thought we were. We weren't anything,” He said, whispering the end like it was a threat. He stepped closer to Ennard, surprising him enough for him to stumble backwards.
So Ennard was still scared of him, huh?
Ennard sputtered, “Then–Then what did you want from me? I listened to you and did everything you liked exactly how you liked it. I looked up to you, and then you just— left.” If Ennard was human would he cry? He sounded so exasperated and tired. For someone who was supposed to just be an emotionless robot, he acted so human.
Sometimes he forgot he was supposed to be angry at him too. He needs to get the fuck out of here.
He backed away, “I left my first pizzeria for a reason. No one fucking liked me. I'm an asshole. I’ve told you how it went, I’ve poured my whole heart out to you. And I continued to be an asshole, especially to you– I’ll admit that,” He sighed, trying to shake off the nerve that went through him when he realized how much Ennard knows about him, “But you can’t blame me for what happened to you because that was your fault, you shouldn’t have stayed.”
Ennard was so obedient. It was almost too easy. He just listened to everything he said without much question. All he ever needed was a little push. Why wouldn’t he keep him around? He's useful in that way, someone who's loyal is always nice to keep around. It’s also why he's so dangerous now. He's decided to pledge his loyalty to Afton, and something tells him that won’t be good for Bryan.
He needs to get back to the pizzeria.
“But I did! Does that mean nothing to you?” Ennard finally seemed fed up with their conversation, closing in as he roughly pushed him back, “Do you just throw out everyone who cares about you? No wonder Foxy hates you! You left him and never gave a good reason why! I bet you’re so glad he doesn’t remember it fully– that he’ll never fully remember it. Does that make you happy? That you can get your stupid friend back after you threw him and all your other friends to the dirt? Is that right, Jeremy?” He laughed hysterically, spitting his name out like it was some curse. What right did he have to call him that?
He honestly wasn't sure who threw the first punch but all he knew was that suddenly his back was against the wall and the sound of metal clashing was hitting his ears in every direction.
Ennard was fighting like a mad man, not really aiming at anything and just fighting with pure rage. Despite all he'd taught Ennard, he never taught him to fight. He easily blocked all the punches, with Ennard only managing a good hit when he unexpectedly changed directions and yanked on his body parts. His own rage fueled him enough to continue the pointless fight.
He punched in the areas that mattered, breaking his face plates one punch at a time as the fight dragged along. Ennard kept yelping out in pain and grunting as he got more and more hits on him, but it was like the pain invigorated him; no matter how hard he hit him he just kept coming at him. Ennard laughed maniacally at the heat of the fight, his focus shifting as he aimed for specific wires on his body that would take him down.
Unfortually that was his mistake, his aim making it easier to predict where he would attack next. He finally caught his flying hand that aimed for his neck, yanking it to the side and hitting his face with his right elbow. As he held steady in controlling his arm, he swept Ennards feet out under him as he forced him to the ground, Ennard let out a loud grunted screech in pain as he fell down with full force.
A loud crack sounded throughout the room as Ennards back harshly hit the floor, and instead of running he dropped down to pin the wired bear down, trying to arrange his body in a way where Ennard couldn't get out from under him without a lot of force. With the sounds of it, he had broken his back and Ennard wouldn't be able to move to throw him off of him without his full strength. He just had to deactivate him within the next few minutes if he wanted to make it out of here alive. Even if Ennard had barely any clue how to fight, he knew mechanics. If he had kept going there was a chance Ennard could've ripped the wrong wire and killed him.
He continued to hold him down, shoving his wrist further into the floor to keep them from moving. Anger and fear flooded Ennard's expression, wrestling against his hold as he flinched violently. He let out a grunt of effort, threatening him to keep him down.
He didn't know if he truly wanted to deactivate him. That’d basically be to kill him. And as much as he's gone through now and what Ennard did, he cared. He fucking cared. He hated him but he couldn’t help but care. What was wrong with him? He's never had to deal with a situation similar to this before. Even with Foxy he never dealt with this shit. All he did was for the protection of himself and others, and Ennard was a threat. In all scenarios, the best thing to do is put him out of his misery before he got to Bryan.
He can’t bring himself to try. But he has to.
Suddenly, Ennard started laughing, the volume increasing the harder he shoved him into the ground. It barely even sounded like laughter, his pained grunts making it sound awful. He went slack, letting him pin him down. He looked completely monstrous, with bunches of his wires torn out of him and half of his faceplate gone, his singular red eye staring directly into his soul. He shook his head in trepidation, “Whats the matter with you?” He asked incredulously, “Why are you doing this?”
Ennard continued laughing, delving into higher pitched cackles, “You left me,” he laughed so hard it came out like a wheeze, “You’re a coward!”
It pained him how different this version of him was. He was right. He's not Ennard. He's Molten. Ennard died. This can't be Ennard because he burnt himself alive and created this monster. This maniac didn’t play piano with him or clean his hands back before he knew how to. Molten took the real one and corrupted everything.
Freddy tried again to search their expression, trying to find something of the person they used to be, because surely he's wrong. Except he's right, and Ennard was really gone. All thats left is some fucking replacement Afton sent to haunt him. Someone with all his memories that's been tampered with to want to kill him. He didn’t want to think it was true, even now. “I thought you killed yourself. I— you died in that fire. I saw your damn body, Ennard.”
Molten laughed harder, his grip faltering as they cackled, rolling their head to the side, “Why don’t you just finish me off then?"
“What?”
“Kill me, Freddy.”
“I-“
“What? Are you suddenly scared?” They laugh sadly.
“Ennard—“
“Kill me Jeremy.”
“What are you—“
“Kill me. You know where my cpu is right? Just bash my skull in! It's no different than those kids you killed,” They said, their voice quivering like they were smiling. Except when he really looked all he could see was an animatronic who couldn't show real emotion.
He stared down at them, dumbfounded, unable to move. Molten completely relaxed against him, apparently waiting on him to make a move. His red eye seemed like it was looking through him. “Why would you want me to do that?” He asked, fearing the answer.
Their eyes narrowed, “Maybe this time it'll work if you do it.”
He tried not to think about what that implied for too long, caught up in the moment of his situation. What the fuck was he supposed to do here? He had the intention of killing him but what use was it if he wanted it?
“Kill me. Do you want me to beg for you Freddy? Kill me, please,”
“I— I—“
Molten laughed almost knowingly, “Do you suddenly care about me? You were so ready to hurt me two minutes ago.”
He tightened his grip unintentionally, frustrated. He hated that they could read him. They really did know him too well. “You can't just- ask me to do that,”
“Why not? I want to die, and you want to kill me. I give my full consent, you're the only one hesitating right now.”
“Ennard—“
“Kill me, Freddy, please. I can’t—“ They laughed so quietly it sounded fake, “-I can't feel anything anymore. I've tried for so long, Freddy, I'm scared,”
He didn't say anything, debating his choices. There was no way he had a way out of this. If he let Molten go they'd just kill him instead. But giving them what they wanted had consequences of it's own. He's taking too long to think it over. He has to make a choice. Molten laughed sadly, “I knew you couldn’t do it.”
Suddenly his world was spinning, with Molten leaning over him instead, his arms pinned and Molten atop of him. They'd learned what he did to them and mimicked him exactly. Molten flinched at the movement, almost collapsing back on Freddy. He heard a quiet curse as they attempted to keep themself up. Fucking Bastard. They waited until he let his guard down to counteract him. Was it all just a distraction? “Hah— you broke my back I think...”
He could very easily turn them around, Molten could barely hold themself up, clearly in pain. The hold they had on his wrist was weak and without them knowing the proper technique Molten wouldn’t be able to keep him down for very long. He needed to leave, he couldn't stand to be in the same room as them anymore, couldn't stand to face the consequences of his actions or whatever Molten wanted to do to him.
If given the time, he doesn't know what he would’ve done. Maybe he really would’ve killed them. Does Molten think he would’ve done it? Was it all a facade? Was anything he said real?
The moments over, he doesn’t need to kill him in this position, that would be like kicking a dog when they're down. It's time to get out of this fuck ass building.
After deciding on his choice, he unlocked one of his wrists, punching Molten and falling forward with them to the side. Molten hissed, grasping Freddy's arm and forcing him to follow. Suddenly a blinding pain shot through his body as Molten began to pull on his arm, the wires snapping the more they pulled. He cursed, not used to the overwhelming feeling of pain, he hit Molten back, causing Molten to scratch a giant gash into the sides of his arm as they tried to keep a hold of him.
He backed away from the scrambling pile of wires, grimacing as he held his own arm in pain. Just looking at Molten struggling with his back made his hurt. He started stepping away, keeping his eyes on Molten in case they got up again. He could leave through the portal now. This was his only chance.
Molten laughed in pain, a sound akin to a cough dropping from his voice box. “Fine. You win, leave. I’ll find you again.” Molten stated, pointing at the portal in the far corner he was already making his way too. Molten laid back on the ground. wincing and flinching as their back hit the floor. He must’ve broken something internal, since oil was now leaking out of their circuits that he hadn’t noticed before. They’d have to crawl back to whatever hell they came out of.
Fuck he just had to trust the portal would actually lead him somewhere else. It really was his only option. This place was basically collapsing now, their fight causing more damage than it could probably stand. He took one last look at Molten, watching as they struggled with their systems. It took watching Molten rip wires off his legs for him to turn around.
He sighed deeply, grasping his arm like a lifeline and running towards the portal and refusing to look back. He hopes Bryan is equipped to handle that mess of an animatronic while he figures something out.
If they meet again, and he knows they will, he won't hesitate the next time.
He just needs more time.
***
“I lost my best friend. And then I taught him to kill.”
“And that just keeps with ya?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think that the person he was before you made him do that would make you want to be this upset about it?“
“Listen, it doesn't matter anymore, I've had this talk a thousand times...”
– Freddy(TFF) & Freddy(FNAF Adventures), Early Shopping, FNAF Adventures (Freddy)