Ding-ding-ding-ding . . . bong-bong-bong-bong.

The clock chimed, signaling another victory for the night guard. Mike Schmidt breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair, still shaking a little.

"Looks like I win again," he said with a grin. The lights in the restaurant flickered on, transforming the looming hallways into colourful, happy runways that are perfect for racing and decorated with only the highest quality of art. Mike ignored the happy-go-lucky design choice, because as soon as you turn off the lights, they turn into something sinister. He briefly wondered if the power had ever gone out during the day time as he passed through the dining hall and glanced at the show stage where the monsters themselves waited, grinning innocently as if they wouldn't hurt a fly.

He gave the animatronics a once over, waiting to see if they would move after six AM had come and gone. He half expected the flicker of an eye or a creak of metal, but got nothing.

Then he shrugged and threw his jacket over his shoulder.

It's me . . . A haunting voice echoed behind him. He stopped and gave them a look over his shoulder.

"Really?" he asked, unimpressed. Freddy had turned his head to stare at him, his cheery eyes dead inside.

It's me . . . The voice echoed through the speakers again.

"It's getting old, is what it is," Mike said and waved over his shoulder as he turned to leave again. "See you tomorrow."

Come again real soon . . .

"That's a new one," he muttered. The animatronics had recently started using bits of audio from their shows to try and put him off his game. It had worked. Songs about sharing and friendship may seem harmless during the day, but when a couple of giant metal robots are trying to get to you while teaching the importance of telling the truth, it can get disturbing. Mind you, the audio doesn't actually come from the animatronics themselves, but is projected through the speakers spread out through the dining room. Luckily there were no speakers in the office, but he could hear it echoing down the hallway sometimes.

Mike pushed the door open and locked up. The morning crew would be in within the hour and the higher ups, what was left of them, preferred not paying him for the extra time and he was more than happy to get the hell out of there after nights like that.

He stretched his neck and grabbed the car keys from his pocket. The sun wasn't even up yet, and the street lights were still shining, pitching the parking lot into deep shadows. So maybe that's why he never saw it coming.

An arm suddenly snaked around his neck and cut off his oxygen. He started, but the grip was so tight that he couldn't even cry out. Then he felt the sharp prick of a needle on his neck and he tried to claw at whoever was holding him. Then someone else was in front of him, holding his arms down as his vision started to swirl and his gut twisted as whatever drug had been injected started taking effect.

"Das it," someone whispered.

"Easier den I thought it'd be."

"Let's just hurry up and get out of here."

Mike didn't even feel the two people pick him up and pack him into the back of a van.

Oo-oO

G. Kentoki was a man with very little patience. He didn't like it when plans go awry, especially when it's because of outside interference. It was for this reason exactly that he had ordered this job be done immediately. There was a very small window for his new plant to be built and there was one little mouse who had long ago decided that it would be a good idea to constantly get in the way.

It took some digging, a lot of hacking, a few bribes and even more threats, but he eventually found his little mouse. And even better, he found her little boyfriend. Why someone with her skills would go for some small-time outcast like this guy though, he couldn't tell. He didn't really care either way. He had leverage now, and that was all that mattered.

"You sure dis is da guy?" one of his men asked.

"Yea I'm sure," the other one confirmed. "Is da guy who works at the pizza joint with de animals. I like dem guys, dey's always so happy."

"Enough," Kentoki said and they shut up. "Rowan, where's our little mouse now?"

"She's in her hotel room," a third, scrawnier guy answered from his station where he was constantly monitoring anything and everything from his computers. He was Kentoki's most reliable man. The others didn't have anything more than muscle. "She'll be leaving tomorrow to report in."

"Does she suspect anything?"

"No reason to."

"Perfect. The we have plenty of time to prepare. Make arrangements to begin construction of my new plant."

"But, sir," Rowan spoke up. "Aren't you being a little hasty? What if she won't give it up?"

"Then she's colder than I gave her credit for."

G. Kentoki's gaze wandered over to the unconscious Mike Schmidt, laying on a cot and cuffed to the side. "Let's hope for your sake that your little mouse's feelings for you are real, and not another part of her cover."

Oo-oO

"Well done Agent Walker. With this, we have everything we need to put Kentoki away for a long time."

"Until he manages to weasel out of it again."

"I can assure you, that won't happen."

"That's exactly what you said last time."

"Ahem. That will be all for now Agent Walker. We'll send you a debriefing."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill. Just don't screw it up this time."

Agent Walker snapped her phone shut on her boss with a scowl on her face. This wasn't the first time she's managed to dig up enough dirt on this Kentoki character. He's always managed to slip away or wriggle his way out with his smooth words. He was a creep that needed to be put in his place and at this point, Walker had deemed it her life's work. As soon as she was sure Kentoki was put away for good, she'd quit. She'd had enough of this life.

For a long time, she hadn't cared. It was a job and it was all she'd ever known. That was, until she became Addison "Doll" Heller. It was meant to only be for a few months while she infiltrated a bowling alley that was suspected of running an arms business. It took little to no time to take out the whole operation, but she lingered after bumping into this one goof ball who worked there. Of course, he didn't have anything to do with the backdoor business, and they surprisingly hit it off really well.

At first, he was just a cover, an excuse to sneak into the bowling alley after hours on a 'date'. She'd sneak in, ditch the guy, stop the bad guys and be on the other side of the country within the week.

But then something happened that night and when she got her next assignment, she stalled as long as she could. But after four months of skirting around the system, she gave her excuses as she left Doll and her life behind.

That was just about a year ago. The last she'd heard, the guy had gotten himself some new job as a night guard somewhere. He'd moved on and so should she. And she would, as soon as Kentoki was put away for good.

Oo-oO

The darkness pulled at him from everywhere, calling to him to stay within its throws. But something was wrong. Something had happened. What was it? Did they finally get to him? Did he lose? Was it Bonnie? Chica? Did Foxy finally break the door? Or did he run out of power and Freddy got to him?

He heard movement nearby; shuffling, talking, typing? Something. His brain processed a flicker of colour as his eyes cracked open.

"Hey, I tink e's wakin' up."

"Oh lemme see."

"Back up, I was 'ere first."

"Both of you just shut up for one second!"

". . . Wha?" Mike fully opened his eyes and saw two fully grown men leaning over him, but the shock of it didn't seem to fully register in his head.

"Back it up, lug heads."

The two men complied and took a step back. Mike managed to lull his head to the side and he saw another guy sitting in a cheap computer chair with an impressive set up. "Drugs are probably still in your system," he said before turning back to his monitors. "Just try to relax, and don't freak out too much."

"Drugs?" Mike slurred and the cogs slowly started turning in his head. "You. . . You guys. . ."

"We kidnapped you," one of the bigger guys said.

"Boss's orders," the other one said.

"Wh-what do you. . . what do you want?" Mike asked, feeling the cobwebs start to dissipate as the situation became clear.

"We is tryin' to catch a little mouse," the first big guy said.

"A mouse?"

"Yeah, and you's the bait."

"Huh?"

"Back up, you morons," another voice barked and the big guys instantly backed up, opening the way for a tall, lean man in a sleek black suit and grade A douche bag sun glasses. He lazily removed the glasses and folded them before tucking them back into his chest pocket, all the while not taking his eyes off of Mike. "Welcome back to the world of the living," he said with a cheap grin.

Mike would have commented at how lame he sounded if his head would stop spinning. But with a grunt, he managed to sit up on what he realized was a cot. That's also when he noticed his new bracelet that chained him to the edge of the bed.

"Hope you're comfortable," the douche man said.

"Not the word I'd use," Mike said back, rattling the handcuffs with a furrowed brow. "What's going on again? Something about a mouse?"

"Ah, yes. We're trying to catch one. Been a constant bother for quite awhile now."

"Uh huh. Who were you again?"

"I am someone who is better left a mystery."

"If your going for mysterious, you're poorly missing your mark," Mike said, trying to get his eyes to stay focused.

"What?"

"Your coming off so cliché right now. Is it even possible for you to give a straight question? Question? Answer!"

An eyebrow twitched. "I can see our little mouse has rubbed off on you."

"I don't know about any mouse, but I know a certain bear definitely has," Mike offered as the room stopped spinning. "Oh, much better."

"You know, I think I'm going to enjoy shutting you up."

"Probably," Mike agreed, then stopped for a second. "So, why am I here again?"

The man grinned and pulled a phone from his pocket and Mike instantly recognized it as his own. "Like the big guy said before, we're catching a mouse and you're going to be the cheese."

Oo-oO

Agent Walker found herself standing on the balcony of her hotel room staring out over the city. She wondered if this was truly the end. Would Kentoki really be taken in for good or will he find a way out of it again. She cast glance inside where a briefcase lay on her bed. It held all that she had compiled against the bastard and she was due to submit it to head office tomorrow as soon as she left.

She sighed and looked over the familiar landscape of the city she had lived in only a year ago. From her vantage point, she could just barely make out the old bowling alley where she had once worked, where she first met Mike.

No, no, no.

She pushed the thought out of her mind.

It's almost done. Just gotta focus until tomorrow, then you could dream all you want.

She returned to her room and closed the doors. The she heard her phone go off. She dug it out from her bag and had to take a minute to read the caller ID.

"Mike?" She had to read it out loud, make sure that it was real. She pressed the green button and a video chat opened. She waited, breathless, wondering why he would call like this.

The call connected and the video feed popped up.

Oo-oO

From across town, G. Kentoki grinned as a look of surprise crossed their little mouse's face, then a flash of panic that was quickly covered by that stone cold face in an instant.

"Hello, little mouse," he greeted.

"How did you get this number," she asked, no non-sense.

"A friend gave it to me," he tossed out casually and then bent down to loop an arm around Mike's shoulders. "Your friend, actually."

Mike was tied to a chair and a cloth was bound tightly around his mouth. Kentoki took a small delight in seeing his little mouse struggle to keep from reacting. Mike wasn't as well versed in hiding his surprise. He tried shouting around the gag, when he recognized who they were calling, but all that came out was a garbled muffle.

"He's got your annoying side," Kentoki finished, tightening his hold on Mike, who grumbled into the gag again.

". . . And?" Walker demanded after a short pause. "What's it got to do with anything?"

"Now, now, don't be like that. I like to think I know you better than that. So well in fact, that when I learned that you'd stuck around for a full four months after completing an assignment that something had to be up. Imagine my surprise when I found this little gold mine here," he slapped Mike's cheek then straightened up. "Now, you know what I want, so are we going to do this quickly or do you need more convincing."

". . . I can't give it to you."

"Is that so?" Kentoki asked mocking an expression of regret. Then signaled one of his men, then Mike screamed through the gag. Kentoki watched as Walker flinched. "Oops, looks like one of my idiotic hunch men slipped." He flipped the camera to show her the new dagger that stuck straight out of Mike's leg.

Walker grit her teeth and watched as Mike's breathing hitched and he squeezed his eyes shut against the new pain.

"So, four months," Kentoki prompted, flipping the camera back to himself. "What was it like? Were you just taking a vacation, a break from you exciting life as an agent? Or were you pretending to be normal person? Living a normal life?"

"That was a long time ago."

"It may seem like it, but it hasn't been all that long."

"What does it matter at this point?"

"Because you spent that time with him. Now, you know the deal. Do you need more convincing? Because I can keep going."

Walking stared at him hard, not giving anything away. Kentoki smirked again and Mike screamed into the gag again as the knife was twisted farther into his leg.

"Stop," Walker said, quietly.

"What was that?" Kentoki asked. "I think you friend is trying to say something. Let him speak." He bent down again so Mike could be in the shot, too. Then the gag was ripped away and the knife twisted again. This time though, Mike managed to catch the scream and bit deep into his lip, his eyes screwed shut and a sweat starting to break out. Blood seeped around the knife and dripped onto the floor in a steadily growing puddle.

"Just stop it," Walker said again, more forcibly this time.

"Oh, are we seeing your true feelings?" Kentoki asked.

"C-c-cliché much?" Mike managed to stutter, drawing attention to himself. He spat a bloody loogy on the floor before continuing. "Like seriously, are you actually hearing yourself talk?"

"Mike, shut yur mouth before it gets you into trouble," Walker warned.

"Nice to see you too, Doll," Mike smiled weakly. "Gotta say, you should choose your friends a little better. Actually, I kinda like the big guys."

"Cute, but that's quite enough out of you," Kentoki said standing up, and one of the big guys slapped him across the face.

"Sorry, 'bout dat," the big guy mumbled to him.

"It's okay," Mike mumbled back. "I still like you guys better."

"Really?"

"No, not really."

"Alright, alright, fine," Walker caved, staring past Kentoki at Mike; the knife still sticking out of his leg, the blood soaking his pants and dripping on the floor, the red slap-mark across his face, but despite it all, he had that stupid almost annoyed look on his face and just a hint of a grin. It was all so Mike. And she'd missed that. "Tomorrow. I'll have it ready for you tomorrow."

"See, that's not gonna work," Kentoki said, striding away but still keeping Mike in the frame. "In order for the construction of my new plant to begin, I'll be needing it tonight."

"That's not enough time."

"Make it enough time!"

"You do realize what you're asking right?"

"You know what? You're right. I suppose I'm being unreasonable," Kentoki suddenly said, calmly. "How about this instead?" He grinned and pulled out a sleek revolver from an inside pocket of his jacket. He showed it to the camera and Walker felt the blood drain from her face.

"Wai—no!" she screamed as the gun went off.

Everyone flinched at the sudden explosion, then Mike went still. After a moment, he managed to look down at the new hole in his gut, leaking thick red blood. He stared at it and began to feel light headed. He no longer had any wit to offer, in fact, he was starting to find it hard to breathe.

"Nothing too vital was hit, I can assure you," Kentoki said casually, breaking the silence and wiping off the barrel of the revolver before replacing it in his jacket's inner pocket. "But if he doesn't get some real treatment in say, oh probably four hours, then there's no hope for him."

"Mike!" Walker yelled through the phone, clutching it with white fingers and trying to get his attention.

"But look at the time, it's getting late and Mike here needs to go to work soon. I presume you know where that is? Be at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria at 11:45, or I will break your boy toy."

Satisfied that she'd gotten the message, Kentoki ended the call and tossed the phone to Rowan, who hadn't given the scene behind him a second glance. "Get rid of this, would you?"

"Sir," Rowan responded and spared one hand to pick up a nearby hammer and smash the phone to pieces.

"Now," Kentoki addressed his other men in the room. "Patch him up, wouldn't do for him to bleed out before we meet our little mouse."

Oo-oO

It was almost time as Agent Walker stood alone in front of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria. The restaurant was dark and there was only one car in the lot that she recognized a Mike's.

Must be where they grabbed him, she concluded.

Suddenly, the building's lights turned on, signaling 11:45 and inviting her in.

She squared her shoulders, gripping the briefcase tightly, and mentally tallied off her hidden weapons, making sure they were all in place. Then she took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

The smell of overcooked pizza and sweat wafted over her as she walked over the worn down carpet and came into the dining hall. Kentoki was waiting there, with his two big henchman, right in front of the show stage. It was probably for some sort of dramatic effect, with the three friendly animatronics looming over them, but Walker drew her attention towards Mike who wasn't looking too good. He was flanked by the two henchmen, each standing on either side of Mike, who was once again tied to a flimsy chair. He was pale and his head lolled to the side. Some sort of patch had been tapped around his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but it was taking its tole.

Mike seemed to perk up when he heard her arrive and he somehow managed that smug smirk. "Hey Doll, it's been awhile."

"Sorry to drag you into this Mike," she said with a look of regret on her face.

"How touching," Kentoki spoke up, then nodded to one of his henchmen. "Make sure the doors are locked."

"You mean we're not having a party?" Mike asked. "Isn't that usually why people come to this place?" The remaining henchman yanked on his hair to quiet him down.

"Mike could you shut up for five minutes?" Walker asked, eyes not leaving Kentoki.

"How about ten?" Mike asked. His tone had her stealing a glance at him and she saw that same gleam in his eye that he wore the night they had snuck into the bowling alley after hours; their first date. It was probably that look that had made her stick around, because it was the look he had gotten when they discovered that the arms dealers had a big shipment passing through that very night.

Stabbed and shot and he's still got a plan, she couldn't believe this guy. Ten minutes huh? So, something's going down at midnight.

The henchman returned after locking the doors and took his place beside Mike again. Kentoki took it as his signal to start.

"Let's get right down to business," he said, his black suit sleek and pristine. "You brought it?"

"It's either that or a bomb," Walker said casually, laying the briefcase on a table, knocking over a couple of shiny party hats.

Her calm demeanor on top of her casual mention of death was off-putting and Kentoki adjusted his neck tie. "Then you wouldn't mind being the one to open it."

"Certainly," she popped the latched, and saw the henchmen reaching toward where she guessed they had concealed their weapons. Good, now she knew where they were. The lid opened with a squeak of leather. "Huh, looks like it's all clear. Must have left the explosives in my other case."

Mike smiled inwardly. She hadn't changed a bit. Guess it wasn't just cheap employers that she wasn't afraid to stand up against, but he kind of figured that. It seemed to work in their favour for now. She'd be the distraction and stall for time. From where he sat, bound to his chair, he had a perfect view of the clock that was set on the wall opposite of the stage and was watching with growing apprehension as the minutes ticked away. He was also very, very aware of how close he was to the main stage and risked a look behind him as the douche bag and Doll were exchanging their pleasantries. He looked up at the looming band to see that none of them were looking back. He wasn't sure whether that was relieving or disconcerting.

11:54

"Alright, bring it over here," Kentoki ordered.

"Hold up, there," Walker stopped. "This is a give and take situation we have here. I showed you the stuff, now untie my boy toy."

"I don't think you're in a position to make demands," Kentoki said, eyebrow twitching.

"Humour me."

"Alright," he felt what little patience he had dwindle away to nothing. "How's this for humour?"

In one motion, Kentoki was in front of Mike and ripped the pseudo bandage right off, pulling at the skin and re-opening the wound. Mike cried out and doubled over, moaning as blood started dripping down his stomach.

"Hey!" Walker started forward but the cock of a gun held her still.

"Stay where you are," Kentoki commanded, his revolver in one hand as the bloody bandages in the other fell to the floor.

"Come, stay, make up your mind!" Walker yelled back.

"You are trying my patience, Walker," Kentoki snarled.

Mike grit his teeth against the pain and watched as the stream of blood kept spilling out. He started to shiver and prayed that he would be able to last long enough.

11:56

"This isn't a game, girl!" Kentoki was saying, his patience now gone and his gun waving around. "You will give me the documents or Michael Schmidt will die!"

"Okay, okay," Walker held up her hands and slowly reached into the briefcase to pick up the manila envelope. She held it up as she slowly walked toward him and stopped with three feet between them. "What happens after I give this to you?"

"You'll just have to stick around to find out," he answered cryptically and snatched it out of her hand.

11:57

Mike tried taking deeper breaths to calm himself down and slow his heart rate, but it was hard with midnight quickly approaching. He cast another look over his shoulder and could of swore he saw a flicker of movement in Freddy's eyes, but then the bear was staring straight ahead like always.

Suddenly, the lights flickered for a couple seconds before returning to normal.

"What was that?" Kentoki demanded.

"Was da lights, sir," one of the big guys answered.

"I know that, you idiot!" he screamed back. "Go find out what caused it!"

The big guy quickly ran across the dining room and disappeared down one of the halls that most definitely did not lead to the fuse box. Either way, Mike knew that the lights flickering had nothing to do with a power shortage.

11:58

"Nothing is ever easy with you, Walker," Kentoki snarled waving the envelop in her face. He basically shredded the envelop, nearly ripping the documents it held before quickly scanning over the contents. As he finished, he took a deep breath and seemed to calm himself. He ran a hand over his dark hair, making sure every strand was in its place before turning to the remaining henchman. "You can untie him."

Taking it as her cue, Walker scurried over to Mike's side, taking off her jacket and gently pressing it against the bullet wound to try and stop the flow of blood. He grit his teeth and breathed out harshly against the pain. He was already sitting in a considerable puddle and he was starting to shake. But despite it all he grinned at her. "Are my ten minutes up?"

"Mike, you idiot," she leaned her forehead against his as the ropes fell away.

She somehow managed to tie off her jacket so that it somewhat stayed put and looped one of his arms over her shoulder to slowly ease him up from the chair. He stumbled and she remembered that it was only hours ago that a knife was sticking out of his leg.

Damnit, she swore in her head as she took on more of his weight.

"You're so strong," Mike said as he tried to make his feet work properly, but the blood loss was starting to get to him. And he was getting cold.

11:59

They continued on their way, making it half way across the dining hall before Kentoki started laughing again, a crazed sound that sent chills down Walker's spine.

"Do you really think that after all this time that you've been a pain in my ass, that I'm just gonna let you walk out of here?"

"Really not the time," Walker mumbled, but set Mike down on a different chair, as far from the mad man as she could. Mike tried to grab her sleeve, he had to tell her. It was almost time.

The lights flickered again, this time longer as the hour approached, but Kentoki didn't seem to notice this time.

"For months now, I've had a little mouse stealing from me."

"Yeah, you should check your security better," Walker replied, drawing her own gun from her belt.

A haunting laugh suddenly boomed from the speakers, causing everyone to start.

"Hah, hah, hah, hah."

Mike recognized it instantly and his gaze whipped to the show stage. They were all looking his way.

Kentoki began looking around wildly, the one henchman drew his own weapon and was pointing it at random places, but the sound came from everywhere. The lights were flickering again, growing dimmer and dimmer as Mike counted down the seconds in his head.

Fifteen . . . fourteen . . . thirteen . . .

The laughing stopped, plunging the dining hall into silence. Then in a small voice it whispered:

"It's me."

"Who's there!" Kentoki shouted and his gun went off. It hit one of the speakers, which only set to garble the sound coming out of it.

"iT's mE." It whispered again, this time in multiple voices piled on top of each other that echoed around the restaurant.

"Five . . . Four . . ." Mike found himself counting out loud, drawing everyone's attention. He managed to stand up, clutching at his stomach and grabbing Doll's hand. "Three. . . Two . . ."

With a final flicker, the lights went out and the sound stopped.

"One."

The restaurant was absolutely silent for one second before the old clock struck twelve.

Ding-ding-ding-ding . . . bong-bong-bong-bong.

Mike grabbed Doll's hand more firmly and began pulling her away from the show stage.

"Mike?" She questioned, thoroughly freaked out by what was happening.

"Run!" he yelled back as the animatronics started grinding and creaking as they entered "Free Roam".

"WHAT DA HELL!" the henchman screamed as Freddy, Bonnie and Chica turned to look at him as one. Kentoki fell back as Bonnie took the first step off the stage, sweeping his eyes across the room, silently calculating. Chica did the same on the other side, clanking loudly.

Oo-oO

Walker could hear the distant screeches, screams and gunshots as Mike led her down a hallway, and began tripping over his own feet. Walker then noticed the considerable trail that he was leaving behind.

"Mike, damnit, stop! You're gonna bleed out!"

"Worse will happen if we don't get to the office," he said between breaths that were becoming more and more laboured.

With an irritated frown, she scooped him up in her arms, much to his dismay, and sprinted the rest of the way down the hall, skidding around the doorway of what she assumed was the office. It was cramped, cluttered and . . . had two doors? What kind of design plan was that?

But there was no time to contemplate architecture, she had to stop the bleeding. She dumped him in the cheep rolling chair that clattered around and bent down to examine the wound. Her jacket seemed to be working well enough, but the blood had already soaked through. She tried adjusting her makeshify bandage but, to her amazement, Mike pushed her away and reached for something on the desk.

"What are you doing?! Keep still!" she yelled at him.

"Those sleaze bags won't keep them busy for long!" Mike snapped back, then went back to panting.

Walker took a moment to try and comprehend what was happening. She watched as Mike tapped a screen that had flipped up from the desk and powered on. A camera feed came through and Mike tapped through the cameras until he came to the dining hall.

Walker went rigidly still as she saw the big bunny robot and the big bird robot just standing there, in the middle of the room and very much not on the stage. And that wasn't all. There was blood. And not Mike's blood. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she saw a shiny leather shoe poking out from behind a table, Kentoki's foot, and it wasn't moving.

"Mike," she said, slowly. "What's going on?"

"The animatronics don't really like people," he glossed over, leaning back in the chair and pushed her toward the screen. "There's a map here, it shows where the cameras are. You-you gotta watch them and close the doors when they get close."

"What are you saying Mike, we have to get out of here! You need to get to a hospital!"

"Can't. Too . . . late. They'll stop at. . . at six. It's when they shut down again," Mike closed his eyes and groaned as his stomach spasmed.

"Don't keep doors closed too long," he kept going on, despite the difficulty. "Gotta conserve power or they'll all come at once."

"Mike?" she pressed a hand to his forehead. It was cold, way too cold.

"And . . . watch Pirate's Cove. He's tricky. Comes out if you're not looking," Mike's voice started slurring and getting quieter.

"Mike? Mikey? Come on, you've made it this far, you can't pass out on me now!"

"Sorry to get you mixed up in this, Doll," he said with one final smirk, repeating the same thing she'd said to him only a few minutes ago, before his eyes fully closed.

"Damnit!" Walker pounded on the arm rests of the chair. She took looked frantically around the room, but it was so small that there was nothing to use. She threw open the two small drawers on the desk, but there was only office supplies and a sticky lollipop that had gotten stuck to the bottom.

She was beginning to panic now. Mike was dying right beside her, but she, for some reason, had to stick it out here until six?! He's not gonna last forty minutes, let alone six hours.

Despite her panic, she flicked through the cameras, seeing that the robots were still occupied in the dining room, and almost screamed out loud when she changed to the show stage and saw the creepy bear staring right into the camera. A little more flipping and she saw that there was a storage closet, right next to the office. And. . . she squinted at the screen, yes! A first aid kit was in there.

She took a chance and leaned out the left door. Peering down the hall, she saw no movement. With a final glance back at Mike, she zipped to the closet. She was in and out in less than ten seconds with a spare blanket draped over one arm and a first aid kit in the other.

She closed the closet as quietly as she could, but a loud clank drew her attention to the end of the hallway. She whipped her head around and saw the bunny just standing there, staring. What had looked cute and friendly on the stage now looked dark and sinister in the poor lighting. Walker took a deep breath and then slowly inched back toward the office. But the movement must have triggered something, because all at the once, the bunny screeched something horrible and started charging.

Walker reacted instantly, rolling into the office and slamming her fist on the button labeled 'DOOR'. She jumped back when a solid foot of steel cam crashing down, nearly taking off her leg in the process. But she was up on her feet and peering out the window in an instant. She watched as the bunny stood and stared at the closed door for a while before slowly turning and heading back down the hall.

Walker slowly let out the breath she was holding. And turned back to Mike.

Shit, she swore and froze in place again. Shouldn't have left. Shouldn't have left. Shouldn't have left. Shouldn't have left.

Standing right in the doorway was the bear, staring at her with dead eyes. The door behind her was still closed, but the other one was wide open. Why two doors?! She silently cursed whoever designed this stupid place.

The bear was just standing there perfectly still, staring into what felt like her soul. She risked a look at the screen, that was still displaying the dining room. It showed that the bird thing was still hanging around there, and the bunny had somehow made it back there in the little time.

It was a quick glance, no more than a second, but when she looked back, the bear was in the room! The thing had moved so silently, taken a step without its metal feet slapping on the floor or any of its joints creaking. And it was now looking at Mike.

Walker felt her sense of caution leave as she watched the bear inch forward. "Freeze!" She yelled, gun suddenly in hand. The bear stopped, then slowly turned its head to look at her. Then it moved its arm, reaching for her.

"Shiiiit!" she screamed and emptied the whole clip into the bears face.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

It knocked it back a few steps, but it was enough. She leapt across the room, bumping into Mike's chair, and slammed the door shut. It fell down half way, then stopped.

"Noooo, no, no, no, no, no!" She slapped the DOOR button repeatedly, trying to get it unstuck, only to realize that the reason it was stuck in the first place was because a large brown hand had caught it before it could be shut all the way.

With a heave, the door sparked and started smoking as Freddy forced it open.
Walker grabbed the chair and rolled it behind her, half catching Mike before he could fall to the floor. The empty clip fell to the ground and another full one was loaded in a matter seconds. She leveled the gun at the animatronic again, but he only stared at her with those dead eyes. But this time, there were holes in the face and sparks flying between bits of metal as the electric pulses searched for an outlet. Other than that, bullets seemed useless against these monsters. Unless she could hit something vital. But she didn't know the first thing about robots and their weaknesses.

Behind her, something started pounding on the left door, making her jump and whirl around, half expecting something else had managed to get inside. But the door had held and instead she saw a flash of red retreat back down the hall.

Again, it wasn't more than a few seconds, but when she realized her mistake and looked back, Freddy was in the room again.

"Stop!" She said in what she hoped was as strong voice. "Don't get any closer!"

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. There was supposed to be a fight, yes. But it was supposed to be a gun fight, interspersed with knife segments, maybe a grenade or flash charge. Not . . . whatever the heck this was. She was supposed to come out on top like she always had in the past and save Mike, even if he never wanted to see her again. Especially with how she'd left.

And, damn, after all this time, this is how their reunion went? Just her freaking luck. Those four months she'd spent with him were by far the best she'd had in years. Of course, she hadn't wanted to go back to pretending and sneaking and lying all the time. When she was with Mike, it was all so much simpler. . . or at least, it was supposed to be.

Now she was standing in a half locked office with a giant robot bear staring at her with bullet holes in his face and his little buddies outside had more than likely killed Kentoki and his goons. To top if all off, Mike was bleeding out and in serious need of a hospital. Great freaking reunion.

She felt her eyes water as her world started falling around her, as she realized that she couldn't be the hero she'd wanted to be for who was probably the only guy she'd seriously had feeling for in, like, ever. It was bad enough saying good bye the first time, knowing that he would be better off without her around, but to have him die because she'd taken time to get to know him? She wouldn't be able to live with herself.

So she stood between the monster and her beloved with a weapon that was as useful as a water gun. She was shaking and crying and frustrated, but she'd be damned if she let this thing have its way. But why did it just keep staring!?

"What do you want?" she asked the machine as the first tear leaked out of her eye. "Don't you know what he's been through already? Just let us leave!"

Freddy stared at her, then his eyes slid to Mike. He started moving again, silent as ever, and music could be heard from the dining hall.

"Helping a friend in need makes you feel happy, indeed!"

Freddy's eyes locked with Walker's as the same line started repeating over and over again.

"Helping a friend in need makes you feel happy, indeed!"

"Helping a friend in need makes you feel happy, indeed!"

"Helping a friend in need makes you feel happy, indeed!"

"That's . . . not a glitch," she realized as Freddy continued to stare her down. Her gun lowered a fraction as she examined the bear once again. At the motion, though, Freddy started moving again. He took a silent step forward and Walker leveled her gun at him again. "Don't!"

But Freddy kept coming and in the cramped room, there was no where else to go. She couldn't back up, the door was still closed. And when she checked, she saw that bunny again, peering in through the window. That's also when she noticed the bird peeking in through the open doorway behind Freddy.

This is it, she thought bitterly. This is how I die? Not in a blaze of glory, but in some run down pizza joint at the hands of a robot that sings to kids.

Freddy loomed in front of her, the gun pressed firmly against his gut. Her trembling arms finally gave way and the gun clattered to the floor. But Freddy was still looking past her at Mike. She turned to look at him, too.

He was pale. He was cold. He was barely breathing. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but was it too late? The question almost overwhelmed her as a new set of tears overflowed from her eyes and splashed onto his blood soaked shirt.

"He deserves so much better than this," she sobbed and fell to her knees, clinging to his pant leg.

Freddy bent over at the waist, as if he was getting a closer look at Mike. Then his arm came up and offered a small piece of paper to the unconscious man. It was so outrageous that it took Walker a second to register what was happening. It was even more ridiculous when the giant bear somehow managed to open the package and apply a band-aid with a picture of a pizza, onto Mike's cheek.

Then the bear took a step back and waited.

"You-you're trying to help?" Walker didn't want to believe it. Mike had seemed to adamant about keeping the robots out of the office. But if they're here to help. . .

"He needs a doctor," she tried and Freddy's eyes rolled to look at her. "He needs help."

After a full minute of silence, Freddy turned around and left the office. Chica and Bonny were no where to be found and she never did see that flash of red again.

It was with shaky steps that she found her feet again and carried Mike through the pizzeria. She didn't give Kentoki a though as she rushed out the door and tucked Mike into the passenger seat of his own car. She found the keys on the ground nearby and within minutes, she was racing across town toward the nearest hospital.

Oo-oO

Eight Days Later

It was a cloudy day, off set in a grey tone that seeped into your mood. The wind blew to the point where long hair was constantly a problem and the temperature seemed to be dropping. Even so, Mike found himself leaning against the railing on the roof top of the hospital.

It had been eight days. Eight long days with no word of anything. No police had shown up wondering why he had a bullet in his gut, the nurses seemed to know less than he did, heck, his boss hadn't even called wondering why he wasn't showing up for work! It was disconcerting. He wanted answers, but had no way to get them.

So he looked out over the city's landscape, waiting for something to happen. Most of all, waiting for her. It wasn't anything new, he'd already been waiting. But now he wondered if she was ever gonna come back this time. Was she gone for good? Would he ever know how he got out that night? How it all ended?

Then he tried not to think about the alternative. Is she even still alive?

Oo-oO

"It's all set. Are you sure you want to go through with this, Walker?"

"Yes. I finished what I said I would, not it's time for you to hold up your end of the bargain."

"I suppose there's no way to change your mind."

"Nope."

"Then this is goodbye, Walker."

"Don't contact me again."

"I can't promise that you'll be safe. There are still many who know what you look like."

"I'll deal with it if I have to."

". . . Are you going back to him?"

"What?"

"That Schmidt fellow. I had assumed that you were doing this all for his sake."

"Assuming gets you killed."

"Yes, alright. Then I wish you luck, Miss Addison Heller."

"Please," she said smiling. "It's Doll."


A/N: Lookit me, got dragged into FNAF. No plans to continue it but could possibly be persuaded.