So, I think I know what I want to do for the next little while of writing. My plan is to finish up this story alongside the Undertale one, and then write a couple one-shots before writing out Jurassic World. I'm going to be busy for the next few years.

Also, if anyone is worrying if I would just end the story without telling you… Don't. I will tell you about how long I have left, and I won't end the story really suddenly.

I really can't thank you enough for your support. You have no idea how you all make me feel. I'm just glad you enjoy what I'm doing. Keep on reading, and I'll keep writing.

By the way, a few people seemed to be mixed up about who was singing in the last chapter. Mike was singing to Foxy, about the song his mother used to sing to him whenever they were in trouble.

One last thing: if you are in need of high quality reading material, and are interested in space-age stories, and the Aliens franchise, please check out CelfwrDderydd (I know, it's a mouthful). He is an amazing author, and his Aliens Fanfic, Astral Link is amazing. I definitely recommend checking it out. I wouldn't have come this far without him, for both inspiration and wonderful ideas.

Blah, I don't own this blah. Copyright, blah, Scott Cawthon, etcetera.

Chapter 13

[Mike P.O.V.]

I winced at the pain in my side as Foxy suddenly darted to the left, ducking into the doorway of a small business. She stood quietly, and I held my breath. I could hear the whirring of her internal mechanics as she stood quietly, waiting for the car to pass us by.

We were about a two minute walk from the pizzeria, maybe less due to Foxy's longer legs.

I felt the vibrations of the vehicles sound system as it drove closer towards us. The glass panes around us shuddered to the bass.

I rolled my eyes at the vehicles absurd volume, and immediately regretted it. My headache spiked, making me feel nauseated. I tried to take deep, slow breaths to keep from vomiting, which was a bad idea due to my broken ribs.

I was a mess. My right arm was broken and bound tightly in a poorly constructed sling, throbbing painfully. The left side of my ribs were probably broken, and made it difficult to breathe. My lower back was extremely sore, numbing my legs, and I had a splitting headache. That, in addition to being starving, thirsty, as well as emotionally and physically exhausted… I felt like a wreck.

I shuddered in the below freezing temperatures, goose bumps appearing all over my arms. I winced at the twinge of pain in my side.

Foxy looked like something was gnawing at her. She would look down at me for a moment, open her mouth, before seeming to think better of it and turning to look down the street instead.

I shuddered as the cold began to get to me, my t-shirt and jeans doing little to protect me from the elements.

"Why didn't you tell me…?" Foxy asked quietly, out of the blue. The glare of the headlights grew brighter, and the windows shuddered harder.

I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, but she beat me to it.

"Why didn't you tell me you tried to kill yourself?" She asked. I almost missed the last few words she said; the vehicle drove past us, it's speakers blasting its music.

I watched silently as the vehicle took off down the road, looking like it was going twenty over what was legal.

"It never came up." I stated, trying to drop the conversation. I didn't want to start arguing, or fighting. All I really wanted was to go home, have dinner, and sleep next to Foxy.

The red fox would have none of it, and pressed the question.

"Do you not trust me?" Foxy asked, cocking her head to gaze at me with her orange eyes.

"Of course not!" I told her incredulously. She looked at me as if I had just slapped her: she seemed angry, shocked, and upset all at once, making me worry she took it the wrong way. "I trust you with my life!" I elaborated quickly. She visibly relaxed, and I felt her tail brush against me with a light, happy flick.

Foxy opened her mouth to say something, but I interrupted her. I shifted around in Foxy's arms, and moved my left leg to her hands. I slid my leg out of her grip, wincing in pain as my leg jolted with a dulled smack when it impacted the snow.

"Wait." Foxy protested, awkwardly holding me up as I tried to move. "What are you doing?"

I inhaled sharply as my right arm bumped against Foxy, sending a sharp stabbing pain through me. She hastily moved her arms, adjusting her grip on me to avoid jostling any injuries I had. She nearly tripped over her legs as she moved to set me down gently, stumbling a little to the side.

"I'm walking." I said bluntly, still a little upset about her questioning. Why didn't she believe me? I was content with life after I had met Foxy, and I was no longer depressed. I had something to look forward to every day, instead of the dreary, consistent, dull life I had been living.

I had someone who cared about me, after what had seemed like an eternity. It seemed like the others shared my feeling to some extent.

"I can carry you." Foxy began, a small frown showing itself. She brushed herself off after her awkward stumble. "You're not exactly that heavy." Foxy did a quick shoulder check down the snowy street before turning to face me again. "It's no trouble to… help... you…" She trailed off, as if something had clicked.

I began limping out from the cover of the doorway, onto the snow cover sidewalk. I grimaced as the snow crunched under my feet, making an irritating grinding noise.

"You think you'll trouble people, don't you?" Foxy asked.

"Ooh… She got you, didn't she?" The voice in my head began.

"Shut up!" I shouted mentally. "I've been perfectly fine without you constantly babbling in my… Head."

"Ouch..."

"Is that why you didn't tell me?" Foxy pressed, taking a couple of quick strides to stand in front of me, blocking my path to the pizzeria. I stopped mid-step to glance up at her. "You're worried about troubling me?" She looked down at me with a compassionate gaze, her eyes flickering across my face. "Mike, I can handle-"

"It never came up." I insisted, feeling a little worse than before. If she didn't want to believe me, that was her choice; I wasn't going to spend the next hour convincing her I had been fine. "I swear that's all."

I made a move to step around Foxy, which was a terrible mistake.

Foxy growled, and lunged towards me, grasping hold of my shirt with her right hand. She looked extremely angry.

"Stop hurting yourself, Mike!" She snarled, a strange mixture of hurt and rage reflecting from her eyes. "Do you think keeping everything bottled up will somehow help you?" She tightened her grip on my shirt collar, not even pausing when I heard the snapping of threads. "I care about you. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica care about you! The others care about you too, even if they don't know you well!"

I grimaced in pain as Foxy accidentally jerked her arm to the side, forcing me to take a step in the other direction.

"What do you think will happen if you die?" Foxy glared at me, bending over to look directly into my eyes. "Things aren't just going to go back to normal." She straightened up, and relaxed her grip on me. She released my shirt and placed her hands on my shoulders. "I care too much to let you hurt."

I broke eye contact with her, and looked down at the ground near my shoes. I grimaced as she gently squeezed my shoulders, stifling a small gasp of pain.

"You're hurting me…" I told her quietly. I shuddered as a breeze picked up from the South, making my shirt lift and ripple slightly.

Foxy immediately let go, taking a few steps back and holding her hands to near her chest. I looked up, and she seemed halfway between looking horrified and shouting profanity at me.

After a moment Foxy shook her head, her expression settling in some sort of upset fashion. She scowled at me, and made a sound incredibly similar to a sigh. She crossed her arms over her chest, and began to walk in the direction of the pizzeria.

I began to walk towards her, grimacing whenever I took too hard of a step that shook my arm or bumped my ribs. I almost had to jog to catch up to her.

My right hand was beginning to feel numb from the cold. I stuck my left hand in my right armpit to prevent any form of frostbite from occurring.

I managed to catch up to Foxy quickly enough. She turned her head to the right slightly, and glanced down at me with a raised eyebrow, before giving a faint huff and turning her gaze back down the road.

I glanced over my shoulder for a brief moment, before shaking my head slightly.

I couldn't shake the feeling we were being watched… Not since I had seen that one glowing yellow eye when Foxy carried me out of the police building. I felt it fall right on me, and watch me curiously, analyzing every detail about me instantly. The singular yellow eye blinked, and I watched the faint outline of something vanish over the roof of the police station.

I checked near the tops of the surrounding buildings to see if 'Mangle' was following us. I didn't spot anything out of the ordinary, but I couldn't shake the foreboding feeling. I knew from first-hand experience how sneaky the animatronics could be.

We continued on in silence for a small while, the snow crunching under foot and the sound of cars entirely distant.

"…Are you alright?" I finally asked, breaking the silence of the empty winter streets. I waited a moment, and when Foxy didn't respond, I turned my head to look at her. She was glaring at me, ears laid back against her head.

"No." She finally growled, turning her gaze away from me and picking up her pace down the sidewalk.

I was already moving as quickly as I could without causing myself incredible pain. I became worried as I fell further behind her, suddenly expecting a fear of being ambushed. I felt a kind of fear in my chest was left behind.

I kept my eyes solely on Foxy. I didn't want to look anywhere else for fear of spotting something I didn't want to see. I could only see her outline now, which was fading quickly as the wind picked up further. Lighter snow began lifting due to the wind, and began whipping around the city.

Every light I passed under made me feel as if I had a spotlight shining down on me, declaring to everything that wanted me dead where I was.

Just as I exited from under another light, the glow from behind me flickered, flashing brightly on and off before shutting off entirely. Every light turned off, and I was plunged into darkness. The hum of the city slowly died, pitching the city into a silent, shadowy night.

I began to panic. I could no longer see Foxy, let alone two feet in front of me. The clouds were blocking out the moon, giving me almost no light to see.

I was lost. I wasn't sure where I had seen Foxy walk away from, and couldn't tell now. I was all turned around in the dark. Which way was the pizzeria? Maybe I would have to take shelter in some back alley dumpster I would stumble into. Maybe I wouldn't even make it that far.

I began to walk again, heading in the direction I thought I had last seen Foxy. I shuffled my freezing feet through the snow, taking precautions to not trip and burying myself in frozen flakes of water.

The area in front of me became darker, and more solid. I reached out to touch the solid object, and try to identify my position from there.

My hand grazed a freezing brick wall.

This didn't help me at all.

I was lost. Sure, it didn't help I couldn't normally tell which direction North was, but this was worse. I had all of my possessions taken from me when I was arrested at the police station.

"Foxy…?" I called out quietly. If there was anything near me, I didn't want it to find me. However, that put me at a disadvantage: Foxy wouldn't be able to hear me either.

I kept my left hand on the brick wall, and began to walk forwards.

A particularly strong gust of wind kicked up some snow, and blew it into my eyes. I shook my head and blinked, trying to clear my blurry vision… Not that it would help.

"Foxy?" I called a little louder. "Where are you?"

I paused in my movements when I heard another set of footsteps alongside my own.

I turned around quickly, turning a little too quickly and bumping my right arm against my side. I inhaled sharply, and grimaced in pain.

I could see nothing other than a flurry of snowflakes whipping around, and the little bit of brick wall to my right.

The footsteps became louder, approaching me. I couldn't determine the direction the sound was coming from. I backed myself up against the brick wall, trying to make myself as small as possible. I began shivering from the cold, as well as fear as the footsteps drew closer.

I could hear the snow crunching under their feet. I held my breath and pressed back harder into the freezing brick.

The footfalls stopped directly in front of me.

I shut my eyes as the sound came directly towards me. I had no chance of running in my current state.

I couldn't see whatever was directly in front of me, although I could feel its presence due to the way the wind changed direction.

My heart was pounding in my chest, so loud that they could probably hear it above the wind.

I looked down at the ground, trying to ignore the tightening feeling in my chest. I some movement from the corner of my eye, causing me to tense up in fear.

I felt a hand grasp my left shoulder.

"Mike?" I heard a thankfully familiar voice ask.

I forced myself to look upwards, finding a stunningly beautiful pair of orange eyes looking back down at me. I let out a sigh of relief, feeling a little light-headed from holding my breath for so long.

She narrowed her eyes at me, and the light from her eyes illuminated her muzzle. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and smiled gently, her eyes softening.

"Why were-" Foxy stopped, and cocked her head slightly. She sighed, and took a moment to think about her words. "You're going the wrong way, Mike." She finally said.

"Of course I was." I thought to myself, mentally face-palming.

"C'mon." Foxy took my hand, and began leading me in the exact opposite direction of where I had been going. She kept at a slow pace, but refused to look at me more than was necessary to make sure I was still there.

Her grip on my hand was secure, but gentler than when she had grasped my shoulders. I could tell she was still upset with me, but I had no way to ask her about it for fear of being left alone in the dark.

I really didn't understand girls.

Fortunately, Foxy's thoughts seemed to be in the same place, for she answered my questions without me asking her.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, Mike…" Foxy sighed, finally looking at me.

We took a left, and continued on down the street. I had complete faith in her, even if she didn't completely believe in me.

"It's f-fine." I lied, shivering in the cold. I felt terrible that she didn't trust me. I felt as if something was gnawing at me from the inside.

"No, it's not." Foxy said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze as we crossed what I assumed was a street. Foxy lifted my and slightly, indicating I had to take a step upwards. "I just… I promised I would protect you, and I-"

Foxy paused for a moment, the two of us walking along in silence in the snow. Another strong breeze blasted snow into my eyes. I was shaking harder now. If we didn't make it to the pizzeria soon, I would have some kind of frostbite. Unlike Foxy and the others, I couldn't just replace my body parts whenever I needed to.

Speaking of which... I glanced down at her right hand, finally realizing that instead of a hook, she had a fully functioning appendage. However, that answer could wait until later.

I tried to clench my teeth to prevent them from clacking against each other, but failed. I kept my lips firmly sealed in hopes of muffling the sound. It seemed like I had failed though, because only moments later, Foxy pulled me closer to her side, and wrapped right arm around me, careful of my injured arm. She brought her tail partway around me, acting as a kind of poofy shield from the wind.

"I promised myself, and you that I would keep you safe." Foxy finally continued. "But I can't keep you safe from yourself."

Was that what this was all about? She was worried about me hurting myself? I could easily think of about nine things that were more dangerous to my health than my own thoughts.

"D-Don't worry about m-me." I told her, smiling slightly. I gently nudged her with my hip, chuckling through any pain I just caused myself.

Foxy just smiled back down at me, seeming genuinely happy for a moment. She nudged me back, taking extra care not to jostle me too hard.

"I'm supposed to worry about you!" Foxy said a little too loudly. She frowned about how her voice carried and echoed back at us. She continued, her voice near a loud whisper now. "You're my… I just…" Foxy seemed stuck for words.

I felt her tail give an irritated flick, brushing against my neck for a moment, making me jump at the ticklish sensation.

"You don't know how much you mean to me." Foxy concluded. "I was frustrated because you keep getting yourself into these ridiculously dangerous situations."

"Hey!" I protested, smirking a little. "I-I s-swear it's n-not intentional."

"I know." Foxy smiled, looking down at me. "But… I might not be there to help you one of these times…" Her smile vanished, replaced by a solemn look.

"Hey, c-cheer up!" I told her, bumping into her gently once more. "L-let's j-just get t-to the pizzeria, and then F-Freddy, Bonnie, and C-C-Chica can c-come home. W-we'll find a w-way t-to d-destroy those T-T-Toy animatronics, and then w-we can a-all have p-pizza and c-call it a d-day."

Foxy looked at me, horrified, before shaking her head as if remembering something. She smiled down at me, nodding her head in agreement. She obviously wanted to say something else, but she seemed to think better of it, and let it go.

"Yeah…" Foxy sighed. "Sounds like a plan." She didn't seem too sure of that.

~{o}~{o}~

[Foxy P.O.V.]

The clouds finally peeled away enough to allow some light down on the streets, although the power was still out. It didn't seem like much light to me, but to Mike it was the difference between being able to see, and stumbling around in the dark.

The rest of the trip to the pizzeria was uneventful, besides the moment when Mike tripped over a curb crossing a street, forcing me to lunge forward to catch him. Unfortunately, I managed to put pressure on his cracked ribs, causing him to make a small pained sound, similar to a whimper.

It hurt to see him like this.

Mike was usually happy, and had little worry of anyone that didn't care for him. To find out he had been suicidal beforehand was devastating. Just imagining Mike going through so much emotional and physiological pain scared me. I was determined not to let that happen again.

During the first few days after the incident at the pizzeria, I had expected all life threatening things to leave Mike's life after the others had been snapped out of their bloodlust. To think that he could have intentionally killed himself while I was waiting for him to return the next night terrified me.

I felt bad for walking away, but I thought that if I worried him enough he would spill any detrimental thoughts he had, allowing me to dispel his depression. I thought that if I began to walk away, I would hear him shout "You were right!" and proceed to tell me what I had wanted to hear him say.

Why did I want him to tell me he was depressed? Why couldn't I be happy that he was fine, and that he had no problems with himself or any of us? What did that make me? Was I selfish for-

"Watch o-out, F-Foxy." Mike warned, leading me to the side.

I snapped out of my trance, looking up from whatever I had been looking at. I finally noticed Mike's vehicle extremely close to me, off to my left slightly. I would have run into it if Mike hadn't said anything.

"Oh, sorry." I apologized, blinking and shaking my head to clear out all negative thoughts. I lifted my gaze to the pizzeria in front of us.

The building looked dead, in a sense. The bright sign displaying the pizzeria was completely dark, barely noticeable due to the colored glass. The windows (or what was left of them) were dark, and hollow looking.

It seemed haunted, to say the least. It seemed as if it should be boarded up, and inaccessible to the public.

The two of us stepped through the gradually deeper snow, which seemed to have built a snow drift up against the front of the building. The snow began to cling to my fur, forming weird snowballs on me.

The front door was still half covered by the thick snow, making it impossible to open. We would have to climb through the window.

Mike let go of my hand, and walked around to the driver's side of his sedan. I followed a short distance behind him, looking around at the empty parking lot. Once he reached the door, he grabbed the handle and pulled. The door remained shut.

"C-crap." Mike sighed, shivering. "I'm g-glad I-I remembered t-to lock my c-car this one t-time… And my k-keys are at the s-station…" Mike muttered something unintelligible, and shook his head.

He turned from his vehicle towards the pizzeria. I took a few quick steps, coming to stand on Mike's left side. We began walking towards the shattered window at the front of the building.

I squinted, trying to spot anything out of place inside through the window. No matter how hard I focused, I couldn't see inside; it was too dark.

I looked down to my right at Mike. He was shivering harder than ever, his whole body shuddering, though from pain or cold I wasn't sure. He seemed so fragile. Just looking at him reminded me of the mortality of people; that he would eventually die and I would live long past him…

We would cross that bridge when we came to it.

I held out my arm in front of Mike, stopping him when we reached the immediate area around the window. The dim moonlight gleamed off the shards of glass, showing me exactly where to step.

Many sets of footprints were leading to and from the window, making it difficult to see if anyone had been here recently, and if anyone was in the building currently. I would just have to deal with it if anyone was there.

I took the first few cautious steps, wincing whenever glass crunched under my feet. Getting glass slivers was not high on my priorities list.

I reached the shattered window, and peered around the corner.

There was nothing in the immediate vicinity of the window, other than an overturned chair. There was a small amount of snow on the inside of the building near the window.

I stepped over the ledge, swinging my leg over the window sill. I heard the sound of crunching snow and shattering glass, and I turned around to see Mike just on the other side. I took his hand, and helped him into the building. I had to resist the urge to lift him up, due to his broken ribs and arm.

Mike had grazed some of the glass still intact around the edge of the window when stepping into the building. It made a tinkling noise when it struck the floor. The sound was so much louder than it should have been because everything else around us was too quiet.

Mike and I walked towards the center of the dining area. I gazed around the room, looking for anything out of place, while Mike just had trouble keeping from knocking into tables and chairs. The further into the building we went, the more he stumbled around.

There was almost no light in the building, save whatever reflections bounced off the glass and snow.

"The g-generat-tor should b-be running…" Mike whispered quietly to me, glancing in the general direction of the backstage area.

I did another check over my shoulder before taking Mike's hand gently in my own, and began to lead him towards backstage. I made sure to lead him around any obstacles in the way, which consisted mostly of destroyed tables and overturned chairs.

I glanced to my left at Pirate Cove, my home for around a decade now. I looked at the purple, star covered curtains with a sense of resent, and longing. Things were so much simpler before all this, but I'm not sure I could go back to simple now. Everything had changed so drastically, simple would feel alien to me.

I turned my gaze further to the side and peered down the West hallway. Flashbacks of me rushing previous security guards jumped to the front of my mind. The feeling of sprinting down the hallway, and diving in through the door before they could close it. The feeling of their flesh tearing around my hook and hand as I-

I stumbled over an object I hadn't seen, forcing myself to recover quickly. My recovery was far from graceful, nearly shoving Mike over several times. I let go of his hand, and took a step back. I shook my head, forcing myself not to think about those times. The past was the past, and there was nothing I could do to change it, no matter how much I wanted to.

I looked behind myself at the object I had stumbled over. It was the box of parts Xavier had used to fix us. It was overturned, bits and pieces scattered across the tile.

I took two quick steps forward, stepping in front of Mike. I took his left hand, and began leading him toward Backstage once again, Mike behind me.

Once I reached the door, I slowed my pace and took softer steps. I released Mike's hand, and made him stop in his place. I crept towards the large metal door, and placed my hand flat against it.

I began to push against the door, intending to open it a crack to peer inside.

Crrrrrreeeeeaaaa-

I locked up the servos, motors, and pistons in my arm when the door made the squeaking sound. I focused, trying to listen for any new sounds that may have been caused by the door.

…

I could hear nothing other than Mike's rustling clothing and shivers, the wind picking up outside, and the gears and motors inside me whirring. I paused for a moment, confirming that there was no one on the other side of the door, before pushing it open more.

-eeeaaaaaaakkkkkk…

I opened the door halfway, quickly checking over my shoulder at Mike before peeking through the door.

I gasped and nearly leaped out of my "skin." Lining the back shelves in the room were tens of empty replacement heads for Chica, Bonnie, and Freddy; each of them were angled to face the doorway. The light from my eyes reflected around the inside of the masks, making it look like their eyes were glowing.

It was probably some stupid prank from Bonnie before anything too insane had happened. He was the only one to ever come into this room, let alone touch the masks. That was surprising considering he was afraid of completely irrational things.

I mentally swore I would get Bonnie back for that, and turned my attention to the rest of the room.

Sitting on the end of the table was the recently returned endoskeleton, "Andy," as Bonnie called it. Considering what had happened, it was unnerving to see it sitting there once again. Underneath the table was a small panel that had been shifted to the side slightly, exposing a hidden hole in the floor.

I looked around quickly before entering the room, casting a quick glance at the door to the south side of the room. The brown wooden door was shut, as always. I had never actually seen the door open during my time here.

"It's empty." I called out behind me, shattering the silence of the building. My voice echoed slightly.

I turned around and held open the door for Mike. His eyes focused on mine and the area around them, and he walked hesitantly forwards. His gaze flashed behind me quickly, before focusing on me again.

I could understand why he was nervous. Being brought twice to the same room to die would do that to someone.

I flashed him a quick smile, and nodded. Mike seemed a little more confident as he stepped up to the door frame. He froze for a moment, unable to decide if he really should go. I didn't give him a choice as I stepped back into the room. He swallowed nervously, before following me into the room.

As soon as he was clear of the door, I released it, allowing it to swing shut noisily. Any light from the other room was cut off completely as room was pitched into darkness.

The room was fairly cold. I could see water vapor every time Mike exhaled. I rubbed my arms to use friction to hear them up a little; I couldn't have my servos getting too cold.

I needed to get the generator running, but I was curious about the panel that had been moved. I had a mental battle with myself, debating on whether I should start the generator first, or check under the panel.

For security reasons, I decided to check under the panel first. I took several small steps towards the table, eyes focused on the metal plate.

"W-What are y-you d-d-doing?" Mike asked, shivering. I felt a pang of guilt, realizing I could go start the generator and heat up the building faster. "The g-generat-tor's through th-the d-door."

"I'm just checking something…" I answered, dropping to my knees once I was standing beside the table. Mike came to stand beside me, looking at the faintly illuminated panel I was looking at.

I crawled under the table, and slowly reached for the panel. My fingers slipped under the shifted edge, and I slid the plate to the left. A dark hole was revealed when the panel was moved. It was only large enough to fit several small boxes, or a large one with some extra room. I leaned further forwards to peer into it.

Sitting in the bottom was a single silver hook, lined with scratches and caked with dust.

"This must have been where Vicky found the box." I reasoned.

With nothing else to see in the pit, save some extra screws and some dust bunnies, I quietly slid the metal plate back into place.

I crawled backwards, and stood up, coming close to smacking my head on the table as I felt my ears brush past it. I brushed off my legs, and turned around to check on Mike. He was standing directly in front of me, so close I could feel his shaky breath on me.

"W-what d-did you f-find?" Mike chattered. He looked up at my eyes and took a step back when he realized how close he was to me.

"Just a storage space." I answered, bending the truth slightly. He didn't need to know that there was a hidden compartment that held spare animatronic parts. He might become paranoid and check the rest of the building when he should be resting.

I took hold of Mike's left hand, and gently led him towards the South end of the room. I looked down at him, a tinge of worry sprouting when I realized his skin had taken on a blue-ish hue.

I needed to get that generator running soon.

I slowed to a stop just before the dusty wooden door. Mike squinted into the darkness, his eyes focusing on a small patch of the door my eyes were illuminating.

My eyes traced the lines of the door, coming to a rest on the faded golden paint of the doorknob. For such an important part of the building, it wasn't very well secured.

I reached out and took hold of the doorknob, which made a quiet clink and rattled a little. I gingerly turned it, almost worried it would snap right off the door.

Click

The door opened slightly. I gave it a small tug, and the rusted hinges protested loudly as the door swung open. I winced at the loud noise, which echoed back up at us from the depths of the silent basement.

There were metal stairs leading down into the dark area, which seemed to be a little steep. Mike was in no shape to climb them, and if something happened, he wouldn't be able to get out fast enough.

"Mike…" I began, not wanting to tell him. "You're going to have to stay up here for a bit while I start the generator. I'm just worried about you getting hurt."

"A-alright." Mike said, shivering lightly.

"I'll be right-" I stopped as Mike released my hand, and shuffled towards the table. He stayed facing away from me, walking around to the far end of the table and sitting on the end, nearly mirroring the endoskeleton.

Was he still upset with me? He seemed distant, and a little… Closed off. Could it be because of his injuries or his fear, or was he still thinking about our argument?

"…be right back…" I told him quietly, turning to face the doorway. I cast a worried glance over my shoulder for a moment, before stepping into the darkness.

Of course I could see, but the first step was still disorienting. The metal shook and creaked as I stepped onto the stairs.

I began thinking to myself as I descended the stairs, not paying too much attention to the path before me.

"Why doesn't he see that we care about him? Does he even know what will happen if he… If he dies?" I felt a pang of sadness as I thought about him being gone; the motors and servos in my throat tightened. "Bonnie would probably become depressed, blaming himself for Mike's death, and would eventually kill himself. Poor Chica… She would probably lose the will to live after Bonnie died, and just stop. Freddy would eventually give up as well, after the loss of us." I couldn't even imagine what would happen to myself if Mike died.

The stairs shook and rattled, supported by thin metal structures affixed to the walls. I snapped out of my thoughts, returning to the task at hand. I peered over the railing, able to see the metal stairs continue downwards after it doubled back on itself.

I reached the bottom of the stairs shortly, and without incident. However, there were several instances where a step seemed too flimsy, so I had to skip it.

My padded feet made contact with the cool concrete floor of the basement. Normally, I would have jumped at the cold feeling, but now I was used to it after trekking through the snow.

Sitting in front of me in the dark, silent and unmoving, was the generator. The floor around it was dusty, and the entire basement smelled old and unused, with a faint hint of gasoline. There were several wrenches, screwdrivers, and other tools, none of which had the same dirty look. They seemed to be brand new.

There was a trail of footprints leading directly towards the generator, disturbing the dirt and dust. I followed them, able to feel my tail swishing nervously, thanks to one of my passive commands. The trail stopped at the generator. There was a large circle around, and then they led back towards the stairs in large steps. There were small flecks of blood splattered on the floor and the edge of the generator.

There was nothing visibly wrong with the generator. All of the levers were in the automatic position, and the small LCD display indicated that the gasoline levels were still above half. Everything was still connected to the building (as far as I could tell), and nothing seemed broken.

I approached the front end of the generator. Thankfully, the instructions were printed out on the metal, so I would know what to do. It seemed like it was intended for night guards to start it, before it was set up to start automatically.

I grasped hold of the lever indicated by the instructions, and pulled it downwards. It gave a loud groan as it revved up, the low rumble echoing through the silent basement. I pulled the handle two more times, going higher pitched with every pull as it charged up. A small click sounded, and a green LED beneath a button began to flash slowly. I moved my left hand over the button, and pressed down gently with my thumb.

I jumped a little as the machine roared to life, vibrating in its place bolted to the floor. The lights overhead flickered for a moment before shining down on me, lighting up the basement. After just a few seconds, I heard the rumbling of the heater beginning to build up, until a steady sound of rushing air ran through the vents above my head.

The lights above me dimmed a little as more of the building had its power restored. Finally, after several seconds, the power levels evened out.

I straightened my back, and have a sigh, brushing my dusty hands off on my shorts. I could feel my tail give a happy flick at the completion of the task.

With the generator started, and the heating currently on, I had no reason to be in the basement any longer. I turned around and began heading up the now lit metal stairs, which were caked with mud and rust. They rattled as I began my ascent, creaking and groaning loudly.

I took the stairs three at a time, climbing much faster than when I had come down. A stray thought crossed my mind: if anyone else was in the building, they would have noticed the power come back on, and went to check the generator. I mentally smacked myself for my stupidity, and bolted up the stairs.

I leaped through the doorway, quickly scanning the currently lit room for anything out of the ordinary. Other than the endoskeleton staring at the camera, nothing had changed. Mike was currently shuffling around, leaning on one leg more than the other, readjusting the heads on the shelf. I grimaced at the loud squealing sound of metal sliding against metal.

I looked to my right, watching some cobwebs and a loose piece of cloth flapping wildly over the vent currently pumping warm air into the room. Thankfully, the building was quick about heating the air through the building. I feel the temperature slowly rising in the room.

I slowly walked up behind Mike, making sure I made just enough noise while walking to avoid startling him. I could still see his breath in the cool air of the room, although it was becoming less visible by the second.

"Hey, Mike..." I began, slowly placing my hand on his uninjured arm. I felt the muscles in his arm tense for a moment, before relaxing. "It's not going to get much warmer up here with the window, uh, open. Why don't we go to the office?"

"S-Sure." Mike agreed, turning towards me after nudging a mask gently to the side. He looked up at me, able to see properly again, and I watched as his eyes began to focus and move to different areas of my face. He didn't seem to be upset, although it was difficult to tell. His eyes seemed slightly glassy, but he didn't seem to have trouble focusing on anything. Was he in pain? (Of course he was). Was he thinking about something a little too hard? (Probably).

I gently took his hand with one of my own, resting the other by my side, and began to lead him out of the room slowly. He couldn't currently keep up with my longer strides due to his injuries, so I settled for a slower pace to keep is easy for him.

I could see his breath rising in front of him, floating a ways before dispersing. He was still shivering, and the purple-ish hue his skin had taken on wasn't that comforting.

We began down the hallway, the brightly lit areas making it easy to spot any intruder. However, I could hear or see nothing out of the ordinary. Suddenly, I remembered Xavier. He was supposed to be in the security room, but if the power had gone out, the doors would have opened. Was he still there?

The area around us became warmer the further we went down the hallway. I could no longer see Mike's breath, although he was still shivering from his lowered body temperature. I tried my best to provide as much contact as possible, making my tail wrap gently around his midsection to warm him up. Although… It didn't seem to help much.

I was craning my neck to look through the office window, trying to see anything out of place, when Mike suddenly turned to the right. His sudden turn caught me off guard, and I couldn't help stumble a little. I was beginning to feel tired, and fuzzy.

Warning: Low Power

"Of course…" I sighed to myself, quietly cursing my inefficient battery. I received an odd glance from Mike, before he pushed open the supply closet door. I was half expecting Bonnie to leap out of it, scaring Mike and I.

Mike shuffled his way toward the back of the closet, accidentally knocking over a mop on his way across. I managed to catch it, narrowly avoiding making a noise that could alert anyone in the building. Not that… Restoring the power wouldn't do that. Or turning off the lights…

Ugh. No matter how quiet we were, someone would eventually notice we were here. I hated the feeling of not knowing. It made me feel helpless.

Mike opened the old control panel with a bit of a tug. He made a small pained sound, and rolled his shoulder, which made small popping sounds with each movement.

"I-I need t-to turn of-f the power t-to c-c-save energy." Mike explained, still shaking. I needed to warm him up quickly. I have no idea what to do in a medical emergency, other than stemming blood flow and bandaging cuts. I had the same knowledge as a seven year old, with the exception of anything important.

Mike flipped the switches into the "OFF" position, causing the building to shut off in certain locations. Mike kept power to the storage room where the furnace was, and the office. The light above us stayed on for some reason. Mike turned the switch to the "ON" position once more, before shutting it off again.

"It must have it's own battery." I mused, looking at it.

"Yeah…" He sighed, only shaking slightly.

The door to the room sealed is off from the rest of the building, and was beginning to become warm as the air pumped through the building. I briefly wondered if the furnace would deplete the energy produced by the generator faster.

I felt incredibly awkward as the two of us stood silently in the small closet, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible. Mike took a small step towards the door, and I couldn't stand the quiet guilt I was feeling.

"Hey, Mike?" I began, feeling unsure of myself. "Listen… I'm sorry about not trusting you, and… And freaking out earlier. That was… Unneeded, and dangerous. I-I'm sorry." I couldn't help stuttering at the last of my apology.

I began to realize that I was being selfish, and dangerous, and would just further push Mike away from me. I couldn't live live without him. I depended on him for everything, if he realized it or not. He kept me sane; he gave me a reason to continue on.

"I'm sorry too, Foxy." Mike said quietly, turning to face me. His eyes no longer seemed glassy, and he wasn't shaking much at all. As he spoke, he slowly walked towards me, looking me in the eyes. "I-I should have trusted you, and told you what was happening before. I… I shouldn't be ashamed of that, thinking about suicide. Plenty of people think of it, and all they need is someone to count on; to be there for them. You're always there for me, and I realize I shouldn't keep anything from you. I'm sorry." Mike was standing directly in front of me, looking up at me with his brilliant blue eyes. My own eyes began to tear up while listening to him.

"Mike, I-I just can't-" My protest was cut off as Mike suddenly wrapped his uninjured arm around me, angling his body to keep his arm from being hurt, and pulling me into his embrace.

"Shh, Foxy." Mike said quietly. "It's okay. I'm okay."

I suddenly felt small in his embrace. Mike was no longer that "kid" that was being toyed with. He had grown so much in the few weeks he had been here, and faced hardships that no one should ever experience. I suddenly forgot how fragile he could be as I gazed into his eyes.

I wrapped my own arms gently around his upper back, being careful of his sling and broken ribs. I could feel his heart beating strongly in his chest, a steady rhythm that calmed me.

Mike reached his arm towards my face, and tilted my muzzle downwards further. He stood up slightly higher, visibly wincing from the pain, and pressed his lips against mine.

I was not expecting him to kiss me. I recover from my surprise, and slowly shut my eyes, pressing back against his cold lips. I could feel his breath on my muzzle, reminding me of just how alive he really was.

I felt his back and sides warming up through the physical contact, heating the clothing he was wearing. I watched as he shivered, and small bumps began appearing down his arms, and on the back of his neck.

I couldn't help but let my tail move back and forth, my excitement visibly apparent. He wasn't upset with me, and I didn't mess up!

Mike turned around, holding my right hand in his left, and approached the door to the storage closet. I reached forward and opened the metal door for him, holding it open until he passed through. I followed him out, not once letting go of him (even though it made for a slightly awkward tangle of limbs.)

The deadly situation Mike and I were in completely slipped from my mind as the two of us walked (and limped) towards the office. How could anything be wrong when Mike was away from Him (battered and bruised, but alive), with me for protection, and no immediate dangers to us. The others just had to meet us back here, and we could take out "Purple Guy" once and for all.

I looked into the office through the window, checking for any threat while walking with Mike. Xavier was gone, the metal doors wide open and no sign of the man anywhere. The only sign of Xavier was the office chair, which was pushed further back and angled differently than the last time I had seen it.

I cautiously entered the office, my eyes flicking over every item in the room checking for any sort of threat, before I allowed Mike to enter. Nothing was out of place, and everything was exactly as I remembered it.

I led Mike to the large leather office chair, about to sit down, before I remembered the large, warm blanket that Mike had brought last week. I approached the desk and opened the (cleaned out and bleached) bottom drawer, retrieving the large soft square of fabric.

Without saying a word I sat down on the office chair, stiffening at the freezing cold material. I held the blanket in my left hand, while gently grabbing his wrist with my right.

"You need rest, Mike." I told him, more of a statement of facts than an option.

Without protesting, Mike gingerly sat himself upon my lap, just at the edge of my knees. I pulled him backwards, making sure not to move too fast to keep him from jostling his arm. Once he was settled against me, his head braced on my shoulder, I let my tail rest over his lap.

Mike had been running solely on adrenaline and fear the last two days. I wasn't at all surprised when he became limp in my grasp. Softly, I tucked the large blanket over top of us, pinning the fabric beneath my shoulders and legs to encompass Mike's entire body.

The extreme cold of the outside couldn't reach us here. The building was silent save the rumbling of the generator, and Mike's soft breathing.

I grasped his uninjured hand with my own, slowly rubbing my thumb over his knuckles. I leaned downward, and gingerly kissed the top of his head.

Mike's breathing eventually slowed, turning into deep, calming breaths. I hugged him just slightly tighter to myself, ensuring he was safe and comfortable in my grasp.

I would keep us safe while he slept.

No one was taking Mike tonight. Not from me.

Authors Note

Hey everyone! It's uh… Been awhile. I'm not going to get too much into why it's been so long, other than saying it's been a rough couple of months. Sorry about the wait.

So, yeah. This chapter is kind of short. I lost the will to write a while back, but had about 90% of what I wanted to have in this chapter finished already. I needed to get something out, so… Here it is. Sorry once more.

The next chapter's gonna be shorter than normal, as what I wanted to put here has to be moved over to the next one.

I promise I'm not giving up on writing, or this story, or anything else. I may just take a little longer than normal.

There's a whole bunch of news I should talk about with you all, but I don't think I will. Maybe sum it up here:

Zootopia was an amazing movie! 10/10 (thinking of 1 short fic for it)

Deadpool was a hilarious movie! 10/10 (wanna watch it again)

Ori and the Blind Forest was a great game! 9/10 (played it twice)

Currently writing a long-as-fuck story for How To Train Your Dragon, so look forwards to that in the future. (At about 30k right now)

New Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau! 8.5/10 (much, much better than Harper, though not much in the news about him)

Scared for the US. Trump still scares me. 1/10

Depression is great! 0/10

New school semester: Communications Technology (7/10) Math (9/10) English (6.5/10) Chemistry (9.5/10). All of it is homework intensive.

Great Grandpa passed away. Was close-ish to him. I feel no emotions whatsoever when anyone passes away. I dunno what to say.

Anyways, sorry for the wait, and I hope you have a Spring break!

Thanks!

InfamousVenous