

Mike returned to the dark room, this time with a small bag of chips in hand. He walked over to Francis, who was still trapped in the springlock suit. "You'd better eat up," he said, unfastening one of Francis' arms, giving him the bag of chips. "Wouldn't want you to starve."

Francis sighed, and managed to open the bag using his teeth, and began eating. "Michael, what's wrong?" he asked. "I know you, and what you're doing...what you've done...isn't you."

"Not like that has ever mattered to you," Michael hissed. "You've always hated my guts. I could've dived off a cliff for all you'd care." Francis paused, then replied, "Look, I was maybe a bit...unfair to you. You were a new guy to the group. But Michael, our Michael, really cared about you, he saw you as a companion he could trust. He...he's been worried sick about you...doesn't that matter to you?"

Mike clenched his fists, and yelled back in rage, "This isn't about your friend, jackass! You have zero idea what I've been through! None! And yet all you care is about your friend!" "Dude...you have me in a literal death trap, kinda hard to sympathize with you." Mike grew more furious, his permanent grin widening. "And yet you ask why I'm like this? Even though, in the long run, you won't give two shits?" he hissed, giving a slight chuckle. "I see why you were one of the ones picked. Your ego, your selfishness, your overall douche-bag personality deserved to be purged...hell, it's tempting to finish my father's work now." Francis leaned back, trying not to nudge any of the springlocks. "That's not me anymore, Mike," he said. "Then why did you bail on your friends, hmm? Why'd you bail on a bunch of kids you knew needed your help? Cause you were afraid? Were you concerned about your safety? Or was it because you just didn't want to? That you were too high above a pizza place to have any more involvement, hmm?" Francis was caught off guard by this question. He always thought he was afraid, that he only ran away to not get hurt, yet...was it true? Did he only leave because deep down, he felt like he was above Freddy's? It's not like he hasn't acted that way, either in the past or present day. "Dude...look..." Francis replied. "This...isn't the way things have to be. You...you've always wanted to help them, the kids. You always knew, deep down, that it was your responsibility to. After all, isn't your brother one of them? Isn't he trapped here with the rest?" Mike hesitated, genuinely caught off guard. His hands trembled, and his breathing got heavy. "What is this?" Elizabeth asked. "Don't take this from him! Just finish him now!" "Elizabeth!" Alice yelled. "How could you say something like that?" "...be quiet..." Mike mumbled. "No, Elizabeth," Alice replied. "You are way too controlling! Please, just calm down for a bit!" Mike stood in the same place, trembling heavily. Francis leaned his head to the side, confused. "Uh...Mike?" he asked. "We will not lose control like this!" Elizabeth said. "We have a job to do!" Mike slowly began trudging out of the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving Francis in a state of utter confusion. Mike continued to tremble, his legs becoming heavy. "He will hurt us again if we fail!" Elizabeth yelled. "Don't you want to leave? Don't you want to be free?" "Elizabeth, come on!" Alex yelled back. "Do you really believe any of the crap your father says?" "I don't think he's too trustworthy," Ann added. "Since he made the bots that killed us." Mike fell to his knees, gripping at his skull. "I will not be hurt by him anymore!" Elizabeth screeched. "He's hurt us for too long!" "He's only going to hurt more people if you get all of them here, Elizabeth, can't you see that? These are your brother's friends you're trying to kill!" Alice yelled. "Kenny's friends are dead, as well," Elizabeth said. "They're all here, can't you tell? Poppy, Miranda, Jamie, Doug...all of them! And he isn't complaining!" "HE CAN'T COMPLAIN AT ALL, YOU MORON!" Alice replied. "HE IS A BRAIN DEAD, DUMBASS FREAK! HE'S PART OF THE REASON WE'RE LIKE THIS!" Mike's head turned sideways as he gritted his teeth, growling through them. "...you...." he muttered. "....you....take....that....back....." "No, Elizabeth! That's what he is! He's suffering, and it's all because you won't let Michael go! You hold onto him like a doll! He's mind-wiped, and you are keeping him that way!" "...I...said..." Mike muttered, his trembling hand slowly reaching for the taser on his belt. "....take...it...back....now...." Mike's other hand quickly grabbed the one with the taser, gripping it tightly. "If you cared for either of your brothers, you'd let Michael regain control...for all of our sakes..." "...be...quiet!" Mike screeched, as he ripped his hand from his other, activating the taser, and stabbing it into his chest. A horrific screech filled the room and jolts of electricity through his animatronic endoskeleton, sending everything into a hard reset. He collapsed to the floor, twitching. After a few moments, he slowly brought himself back up to his feet, grinning. "I am in control," Elizabeth said, panting. "Father has given us a mission, one that I need to complete." Michael moved his fingers, reassuring himself he still had some sort of control over them. "We will find the others, and bring them all here," she hissed. "They won't have any suits, but that's what they get for hurting our father." Michael, slowly returning to normal, began walking out the door. "Don't worry, though. His brain will restart soon, then he'll be in full control again. Until then, I will be working the show, just as Father intended. Michael was always...rebellious. He never did anything like how Father asked." He walked down the street in a very unusual fashion, catching the attention of anyone nearby. "To bash him into shape, I'll make sure he...has the proper nightmares...then everything will fall into place. I will make Father very proud."