Five Night's At Freddy's: After Hours

//9//

Jeremy found himself unfazed. This was a familiar creature to him now. Even as his heart was beating, he could for the first time in a long time ignore such a human reaction to terror. No. This wasn't terror. It was like being surprised by a family pet.

"*Whistle* Mangle. Sit," It came naturally. As if the teen had done this before.

And so did Mangle react accordingly. The canine within also felt familiarity.

Knowing Afton, I doubt he was a good owner, was a thought that amused him.

So much of what was frightening began to be nothing more than an obstacle. An obstruction. Akin to a rock on the side of the road.

"The hell...? When did you...never mind. Kid, let's get going. We have no way of stopping him now,"

"..." Jeremy looked ahead at the Mangle, curious in what the blonde would do in this scenario. "...no. He's not going to mess up a second time. I am sure of it. We're going back,"

"Jeremy? The hell you talking about?"

"Afton spent all this time creating a robot that wears people's skin. George's skin. All to get us in one place to die. No way we are just getting out alive,"

"...Look, that's a brave sentiment. But two of your friends already died trying to stop him. What makes you think that a literal lanky teenager— and me, the middle aged security guard— have any chance against the actual undead?"

That made him pause for a moment. But then of course he quickly looked over Mangle. The fact that Baby— no, Elizabeth— was flustered by his revelation also remained fresh in his mind. There was a chance. A faint spark that a cold hearted man like Afton could not and would not understand.

"If it makes you feel any better, you can call the police. Get that shoulder stitched up. And I do have a chance; I have my friends...Mangle? You doing alright, girl?"

The stomping of other animatronics followed them close behind. Figures of Freddy and Foxy emerged. From how things went earlier, they are far more damaged than before.

"Please deposit five coins..."

"Argh~! Ye found yer selves in Davy Jones' locker!"

Their shells were practically split open from the carnage within the central area. An endoskeleton without the trademark bright colors. The branding that had lulled so many into complacency despite being the center of an unmitigated amount of tragedies. They no longer seemed willing to be amicable hosts as they were intended so long ago; vengeful agents for a vengeful man.

That wasn't where Jeremy lingered as these creatures approached them. No. There was a third just behind them. A black rabbit that always seemed to be an unwilling observer of the menial tasks that happened in these establishments. Only now led to an extraordinary task as a guidepost. Knowing that made the decision all the more easier.

"...Mangle. Attack," A brief utterance. One that the shadow before him mimicked as if a darkened mirror of his own corporeal flesh. Perhaps it helped or simply a coincidence?

The results were the same.

Rockstar Freddy was first to be felled without so much as a word or a gasp by Jeremy. The Mangle didn't hesitate for a moment once the order was given. As if there was an unidentifiable amount of wrath that this creature suddenly had unleashed. Being of a superior intellect and capable of much more irregular movement, this stiff automaton couldn't possibly react accordingly.

Grasped and torn away from the ground into the air as many joints whirred to rip apart the metallic frame. Bits of hydraulic fluid flying high unto the ground as few remaining parts only just barely reacted with a light flinch.