Epilogue: Wrapping Things Up

Four days later the police investigation neared its conclusion. The autopsy done on Christina's body revealed a striking similarity to a previous incident that occurred in 1987, and detectives arrived at the front doors of Freddy Fazbear's. Work on the kitchen had finally been completed to the point that Foxy was able to move back to his Cove. He was not, however, completely cleaned up, and had just been dropped off by Mike. When the detectives swabbed the animatronic's mouth for DNA, they found a match.

Thankfully for Freddy's, Trout had already confessed to stealing the robot fox, and had been caught in the fake "gang attack" alibi he cooked up to keep Freddy's away from the investigation. Now Trout was charged with theft and involuntary manslaughter for being indirectly responsible for Christina's death. Several New Wave technicians were questioned as well, and Nathan pointed the police in the right direction by saying that they were responsible for the programming Foxy used. The end result was predictable, at least for the people at Freddy's.

Pizza Baron was forcibly shut down, and Trout Entertainment came under fire for unsavory business practices and a disregard of employee safety. Many of the technicians caught up and injured by Foxy' rampage immediately turned and pointed the finger at Trout. The other animatronics were discarded, and Trout was arrested. Freddy's attempted a lawsuit, but were unable to afford the legal fees, happy to take a settlement from Trout in order to not go to the press about the incident.

It was with this settlement that the kitchens were completely finished, and the restaurant was finally able to give the animatronics one thing they never had before since the Bite: a bath. This was the environment Mike walked into when he reported for his shift.

The guard was late, still recovering from the bullet wound in his leg. He had dropped off Foxy earlier that day, as Pirate's Cove had been completely cleared out. It was a bit of a relief to not have to worry about Foxy being on his own anymore.

By the time he made it into his office it was already ten minutes past midnight. The animatronics weren't onstage, but Mike didn't care. He preferred to spend this shift sitting in the office and keeping weight off of his leg. Loud clanking footsteps slowly approached from the left side door. Mike looked up.

"Oh, hey Fox-oh my God!" Mike screamed, staring at the abomination in front of him.

It was not Foxy, nor was it any of the others. Instead, it was slightly smaller and entirely metal, with a flat, square-shaped head with bright red lights in the place of eyes. Two odd metal rods poked from the top of its head, with a joint in the middle. Its jaw looked more like a bent square, with small flat teeth set in them. The machine held up its hands.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" it said in Bonnie's voice. Mike stared back.

"Bonnie?"Mike asked, "What happened?"

Several pieces of Bonnie's skull shifted, trying to change the expression on the non-existent suit.

"Our suits are getting cleaned," Bonnie explained, "We get them back tomorrow."

Mike sighed in relief, and put a hand to his chest.

"No offense, you look terrifying," he said, unable to look at the robot for more than a few seconds.

Rapid clanking sounded down the hall, and another endoskeleton leaned around the doorframe. This one had two triangles set on the sides of its head, bright yellow lights for eyes, and lacked a right hand. The metal was more worn and rusted, especially around the legs, and Mike recognized it immediately. It was Foxy.

"Are ye alrigh', lad? I heard ya screamin'," Foxy said, endoskeleton's jaw opening and closing widely.

"I'm fine. Didn't expect you guys to be all metal. Listen, Foxy, I need to talk to you," Mike said, and turned to Bonnie, "Alone, preferably."

Bonnie nodded in understanding, and left, leaving Foxy standing in the left doorway. Mike rolled his chair more centered and turned it fully to face the animatronic.

"Wha'd ya wan' ta talk abou'?" Foxy asked, cocking his head to the side.

"You biting Christina," Mike replied solemnly.

"Wha' abou' it?"

"Don't you think that was a little… excessive?" Mike asked carefully.

Foxy pushed up his loose jaw with his right arm-stump.

"I 'spose," he said, "Don' tell me ye didn' wan' her ta ge' away wit everythin'."

"No, no, not that," Mike replied, "It's just… Jesus, you didn't have to kill her!"

Foxy's skull did its best to show a confused look, his red endoskeleton eyes rotating.

"The wench was abou' ta kill ya! Wha' was I 'sposed ta do?"

Mike threw his hands up into the air.

"I don't know, knock her out or something! You can't just kill people, Foxy! What about those other guards, huh?" Mike pointed out, "What happened to all of that?"

"Tha's differen', tha poor swabs didn' deserve it," Foxy countered, "An' I still be feelin' a migh' terrible abou' tha'."

Mike ran a hand through his hair, blowing air out between his lips.

"It's just… You guys didn't care. Somebody died, and yeah she was an asshole, tried to kill me and all that, but it was still a person," Mike said softly, "And you seemed to enjoy killing her."

Foxy thought this over for a long moment, processor whirring loudly.

"Mike, I was protectin' me crewmate, nothin' more. Yer takin' this too harshly, mate," he said, and walked out of the office.

Mike sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face with both hands. The guard was still in shock over Christina's death, and his confidence in Foxy had dropped. He was happy the fox wasn't living with him anymore. Loud clanking sounded from the right, and one of the others, Mike wasn't sure yet, peeked in.

"Hello Michael," Freddy greeted.

Upon hearing the bear's voice, Mike could recognize a few features, but it wasn't much to go on. The biggest giveaways were the small round ear articulators on his metal skull and blue-tinted animatronic eyes.

"Hey Freddy," Mike greeted in return.

"How is your leg?" Freddy asked, glancing down at the injured limb.

"Hurts like Hell, but I'll live," Mike replied, "What'd you say to Trout? He confessed to everything."

Freddy gave him a knowing smile. As good a one he could get with just his endoskeleton, anyway.

"I convinced him to reconsider going into the pizzeria business, as well as helping him realize the error of his ways. I think it worked rather well," the bear replied.

"Uh-huh, and the urine found in his office? That a part of your "convincing" methods?" Mike asked with a small smile.

Freddy chuckled, but didn't reply.

"It's nice having Pirate's Cove back to normal," Freddy suddenly said, "I missed having Foxy around."

"I won't. He snuck out practically every day. It's a miracle he didn't get caught," Mike replied, then after a short pause, asked, "Can I talk to you about something?"

Freddy nodded.

"Of course you can. People have told me I'm a good listener," Freddy said, and slowly lowered himself to the floor. He motioned for Mike to go ahead.

Mike took a breath, and began.

"It's about that whole 'bite' thing," Mike explained, "I mean, Foxy killed someone and hasn't given a second thought about it. It's a little… disturbing."

"That person was trying to kill you, he was just trying to protect you," Freddy reminded.

"I know, I know, and I am thankful for it, but it's just… he seemed so happy to do it, and…" Mike trailed off.

"And you think we're right back at square one, shoving unfortunate people into suits," Freddy finished.

Mike looked away.

"…Yeah," Mike admitted.

Freddy imitated a sigh.

"Michael, you know as well as I do that Foxy doesn't want to hurt anyone, not really. Yes, what he did was excessively violent and probably uncalled for, but I think you're looking at this the wrong way. Don't think of it as Foxy killing that terrible woman, but rather as Foxy saving you, somebody he most certainly cares about, as do the rest of us," Freddy explained,

"Was it the correct way to do it? No, but it's done and over with, and he believes he did the right thing. I think you should believe it as well, and not consider him or any of us deranged killers anymore. Remember your parents? They're alive and well, and they spent an entire evening with us. Or the mall? The incident with the police officers? I think we behaved ourselves rather well in the murdering department," Freddy joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Mike sat in thought, processing Freddy's words while the bear sat quietly, whirring and clicking as pieces moved across his endoskeleton. The guard finally sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I guess you're right," Mike agreed, "I guess I'll let it go for now, if I can."

"That might be for the best. If it still bothers you, we can talk about it some more later. But right now? I think Foxy is settling back into Pirate's Cove, so I suppose I better visit him," Freddy said, and stood up, different joints and servos working in tandem to keep his balance. He clanked off into the direction of Pirate's Cove.

Mike sat spinning himself back and forth slowly in his chair, before finally deciding to get up and join the others.

Nathan had spent the last few days in the now shut-down Pizza Baron fixing the damage the band had sustained from the fight. Well, "fight" was a strong word for what happened to Maxwell and Drake, but Baron had quite a few "wounds."

Maxwell was completely fine, and Drake needed his left leg replaced, as well as a new sword. Baron needed a new jaw assembly, suit, ribcage supports (Freddy had warped them with his weight), and other little tweaks for bends and dents.

"I still cannot believe zhat Herr Trout did zhose zhings," Baron said as Nathan finished replacing his suit.

"Yeah, well, he certainly didn't want you to," Nathan replied.

"Why'd he do it, though?" Maxwell asked from his spot onstage.

Drake snorted from the foot of his tower, not wanting to climb back up.

"It matters not as to the why, not at present. Nay, what is important now is what fate shall bring upon us now that the pizzeria doth be closing," Drake reminded.

Nathan finished tugging the suit over Baron's arms, ensuring all the necessary connections were made.

"I actually got that figured out," Nathan said, "I got a buddy who works at this amusement park called Adventure Park. Crappy name, I know. Anyway, they're opening this new ride that's like a time travel thing or whatever. I figure you guys'd fit right in."

Maxwell was immediately excited.

"Whoah, an amusement park? That's so cool!" he cheered, "What's an amusement park?"

Nathan and Baron chuckled, while Drake snorted and shook his head, a smile peeking through the façade of disappointment.

"It sounds better zhan being taken apart for parts," Baron agreed, "Vhen do we go?"

"He should be picking you guys up in the next few days. You'll get your whole charging rigs and stuff, so you'll be fine. It's not too far away either, so I might come visit," Nathan explained.

"Can you?" Maxwell asked, "It'd be awesome to see you again!"

Drake nodded.

"Aye, doth have been the greatest of assistances towards our band," he agreed, "A happy return would be most welcome."

"What he said," Maxwell added.

"Don't worry, I will," Nathan assured, "But now? It's getting late, and I better shut you guys off. Goodnight everyone, good luck with the park."

"Goodnight," the animatronics chorused, and Nathan threw the master switch, the animatronics heads hanging limply as they were shut off.

"Foxy, it's been three hours can you please quit the sea shanties?" Mike pleaded, whacking his head against the back of his rolling chair. The fox was so loud the songs carried throughout the restaurant and not even closing the security doors could drown him out.

"No!" Foxy called, and continued to sing.

Mike groaned and leaned back, subconsciously humming along. He jolted upright, incredibly upset.

"Damn it!" he shouted, frustrated. Foxy paused.

"Wha' now, lubber?" he called from his Cove.

"It's stuck in my head!" Mike yelled back.

Foxy's laughter rang throughout the building and he dove back into song. Mike sighed and started humming along again, finally giving in.

"Just another freakin' night," Mike sighed, and got up to hobble over to Pirate's Cove and join in.

A/N: And there you have it. The epilogue. To sum up where we stand right now, Trout's screwed, Freddy's got some extra cash, Pirate's Cove is back to being like before the fire, Foxy's moved back, and their suits are all getting cleaned. This has been one heck of a night to write, and certainly the most intricate in terms of plot and characters. I'm putting the Pizza Baron gang on a bus so I can bring them back for cameos or such things, since I couldn't just kill off reader submissions. That'd be uncool. Nathan's probably going to stick around the area, maybe even get a job at Freddy's, I don't know.

A lot of you guys wanted the PB gang to join Freddy's, but that would just result in way too many characters for me to juggle at once, as well as not be practical at all for the restaurant in universe. So, yep, it's back to the original gang, with Nathan probably showing up a bit more. Some of you were disappointed that Trout didn't die, but I actually did write a death scene before dropping it for the sake of plot. So, in honor of finishing another night, here's how the man you all hated would've gone out. I probably don't have to say this, but gore and violence ahead, so be forewarned.

Deleted Scene: Gutting the Trout

"That scoundrel!" Drake shouted, "And I would haft given mine life for him!"

The dragon stomped in circles, ranting about how nobody seemed to have honor anymore. Maxwell and Bonnie made up immediately, and the wolf-dog noticed the large red smears on Foxy.

"Hey Captain? What's that stuff?" he asked.

"'Ts a weird gunk tha' humans have in 'em," Foxy explained.

"Oh. What?" Maxwell cocked his head.

"Later, Spark," Nathan said.

"Yes. Now we find Trout," Freddy said, and strode purposefully for the office. He was cut off by the chiming of the large clock in the dining area. It was midnight. The Pizza Baron animatronics visibly jolted, and looked at Nathan and Mike with a complete lack in recognition, and Baron turned to the mechanic.

"Was? Vhat are you doing vithout jour suit?" he asked.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"Oh crap," Mike said, "We need to go."

Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy nodded in unison, and the rabbit and chicken each grabbed a human.

"We got these, don't worry," Chica said, lifting Mike and carrying him bridal style.

"Yeah," Bonnie added, doing the same with Nathan.

"Really? Thanks guys. Hey, we'll see you at the show, okay?" Maxwell said, and waved as the Fazbear gang took Mike and Nathan to safety.

A noise from Trout's office caught the Pizza Baron Band's attention, and the door opened to reveal Trout standing there.

"Is it over? Are they gone?" he asked the robots. Drake walked up to him.

"Most uncouth, carousing 'round our fair hall without the proper attire. Come with me," he said, and grabbed Trout's hand, dragging him towards the stage.

"What the-, what is the meaning of this?" Trout demanded. Maxwell walked beside him.

"Hey, it's okay, we just gotta put you in your suit, and it'll be all good," he said comfortingly, punching Trout softly in the arm. He winced at the still strong hit.

"What? But I'm a human, damn it!" he protested, and struggled in Drake's grip. Baron shook his head.

"Nein, our programming states zhat no one is allowed after hours, so jou can't be. I vill say, it vas a nice try," Baron said, and held the door open for Drake.

The animatronics said nothing further as the dragon continued to pull Trout towards the animatronic service area. Maxwell walked ahead and pulled off a spare suit of the Baron's.

"This'll work, right?" he asked.

"Aye, it shall fit," Drake said, and Maxwell handed the suit over. Drake opened the back and held it open expectantly. Trout made no move to wear it, staring at the many crossbars and pulleys.

"Come now, ve can't have jou out of uniform," Baron said, and gave Trout what he thought was an encouraging push.

Being moved closer to the mass of metal cause Trout to panic, and try his hardest to push away. Baron frowned, and pushed him towards the open suit harder, overcoming Trout's resistance and forcing him into the unyielding metal. Trout screamed as the wires cut into him, and with a final shove and a terrible squish, the screams fell silent and red splashed everywhere.

"Ew! He leaked!" Maxwell whined, the mess from the growing pool on the floor off of his foot. Drake took his helmet off and polished it furiously.

"Disgusting," he grumbled. Baron nodded, having much of the fluid end up on the front of his torso.

"And it also appears he malfunctioned," Baron observed, staring at the limp suit lying on the floor.

"Such shoddy construction," Drake agreed, "I shall take my leave, I want nothing more with this." Drake walked back towards the dining area, trying to wipe off the red stains.

"I'm going too," Maxwell said, and followed the departing dragon.

Baron frowned at the mess on the floor.

"Vhy was it made zhat vay? I'll never understand it," he said to himself, and left the room as well, leaving Trout's corpse to be found in the morning.

A/N: So yup, that's how Trout would have died. Thanks for joining me on this grand adventure, and stick around for the much lighter Golden Years oneshot and Night Six! Here's a sneak preview, take it away, Mike:

"There's not even a door to this office," Mike observed, pointing to the large doorway leading out into the long, dark hallway. He shined his flashlight down it, seeing Foxy standing at the end, looking back after walking down the hall. Mike flashed the light a couple of times.

"Stop it!" Foxy complained, shielding his eyes with his arm, "Yer makin' me lose me bearin's!"

See you guys later, and as always: Have a good one! –DeltaV, Director's Cut.