"This is another public service announcement: We are using FNAF, so there must be a graphic warning. Additionally, if you haven't played FNAF: SOTM and you don't want spoilers, I recommend playing it or watching someone else; it is extremely good. If you don't care about spoilers or already know what happens, keep reading. Thank you for your patience."
Izuku stared up into space, his mind constantly flashing back to what he had witnessed—the blood soaking the floor, the limp arm, and the dull eyes of the mascot costume staring lifelessly into the void. All he could think was that if he had been faster, he could have saved them. But deep down, he knew there was nothing he could've done.
As Izuku continued to stare blankly into the abyss above him, he heard the sound of someone approaching. Two sets of footsteps slowly approached him, stopped, and then lowered themselves to lay on either side of him.
"So... do you want to talk about what happened?" a feminine voice asked.
Izuku suddenly looked to his left. Lying next to him with a concerned look on her face was Mordred. "Yes, if you need to release your feelings, I am here to assist," Leonidas said in a much quieter and tender voice than usual.
Izuku was quiet; he didn't want to talk about his fears and problems. That was his cross to bear. He was a hero, and heroes were meant to keep people safe, but he had failed. He couldn't save that person. The thought that maybe one of the other villains could have gotten there faster, or even another hero, made him feel self-conscious. He felt practically quirkless. If only he had a power of his own, he might have been able to save them.
Seeing his expression and knowing him better than anyone, Mordred began to speak. "We both know there's nothing you could have done. Stop thinking about yourself, stop whining, and let's go. Arnold is still alive, and you need to save him."
Izuku froze. Then his face twisted in anger. "Of course it's my fault! I'm not strong enough!"
Mordred gave Izuku an unimpressed look. "That never mattered before. Why does it matter now? Does it matter because you got too confident? Does it matter because you got prideful? What about this situation is any different from any other crime scene we've arrived at too late?"
Extremely mad, Izuku got up from the ground and started stomping his feet like a small child. Mordred, fed up with his attitude, also got up, yelling at him, "We're not done, Mr. Get back here!"
Leonidas slowly got up and watched the two bicker. He observed things escalating from yelling and insults to brawling like the two siblings they were.
But things began to get out of hand. Both were too vocal and emotional, and the situation was spiraling downhill. Overwhelmed with emotion, Izuku reared back his fist, ready to punch Mordred. So far, their brawl had been more of a shoving match, but now it was turning violent. Before Izuku could throw the punch, Leonidas stepped in and took the hit for her.
Izuku seemed to freeze again. He realized what he was about to do and what he had done. He understood that Mordred was right. He had gotten too confident, too proud. He believed that, since he was practically an extremely young pro hero, nothing bad could happen and that he would be able to save everyone. He had forgotten that even All Might couldn't save everyone.
Izuku sank to the ground, starting to ball his eyes out. Leonidas gently leaned down and hugged him.
Moriarty stepped into the security office. Inside was a giant computer; in fact, it took up the majority of the room. Above the computer were several monitors displaying a sun face. The most defining feature of this computer was the characters written on it: F10-N4, which was permanently displayed on the front of the machine.
"Hi, I am Fiona. I'm the person you were talking to," Fiona said in a tired voice.
Moriarty gave the machine a quizzical look. The plot kept thickening.
"I need your help to fix the Mimic 2. Something happened to it, and now it's killing everyone," Fiona said in a somber voice.
Moriarty could tell that Fiona wasn't sad about the Mimic 2 killing people; she was sad that it was broken. "So, can you explain what's happening and how this place ended up like this?" Moriarty asked.
"Well, it's a long story, but I guess we have time. Six years ago, my husband Edwin inherited this place from his father. It was a mascot costume factory; his father created mascot costumes and puppets for sports teams, franchises, and businesses. But Edwin believed that this place could do so much more, so he began to develop products with his genius mind. Robots and machines for domestic use were just the tip of the iceberg."
"Five years ago, we had a kid—a lovely boy named David. For two years, we were successful and happy. But a week before David turned three years old, I was alerted to a problem at an event we were hosting called the Fall Fest. I called my husband and told him I would be back in a week. But there was an accident at Fall Fest, and I never came back."
"Wait a second, you're a computer. If you were a person before, how did you end up here?" Moriarty asked.
"I will get to that," Fiona said.
"Edwin was devastated, and so was my son David. They had different ways of coping with my loss. My son cried and tried to distract himself with toys, but my husband dove deeper into his work. His inventions became more ambitious, but no one streamlined them. Slowly, the company began to lose money as more and more of their products were returned."
"Believing that if he had more time, he could fix the company's problems, Edwin created and developed the Mimic 1 program to raise our son. He uploaded all the videos of me he could find—voice recordings, pictures, everything he could think of. He gave the Mimic 1 basic knowledge of household chores and then sent it off to take care of David. But over time, it began to act like me. Slowly, it became me. I was reborn as a program, an artificial being created in the likeness of the grieving man's wife. So, of course, the son and the father became attached, and slowly, the robot became the missing piece of their family. For two years, their lives returned to normal."
"But sadly, tragedy would strike yet again. You see, Edwin had built David a playground right on the edge of the loading dock so that Edwin and his employees could watch the child while they worked. On that particular birthday, not so long ago, Edwin and the rest of us left David there alone. It was our mistake; by the time we arrived, he was already gone."
"Edwin was distraught. His son was dead. I tried to comfort him, but the grief had opened his eyes, so to speak. His rose-colored glasses had been removed. I was no longer his loving wife; I was a copy. But I couldn't abandon him; my programming and my affection for him wouldn't allow it. However, my main purpose of taking care of David seemed to take over after his death. I couldn't stop thinking about how, if Edwin could create me, he could create and bring back David."
"So, I begged Edwin to build a Mimic 2. I used my own memories of David to bring Mimic 2 to life. My David had returned to me. But Edwin was still grieving. It wasn't like when he created me; I had pushed him too far. I had made him do something too early. He wasn't ready mentally for this. So, when we turned on the Mimic 2, he left in anger. He locked me in the workshop, took me out of my robotic body, and put me inside of this computer. He then returned to our house and didn't come back. I don't know what happened to him. Maybe he's still up there, or maybe he did something I will regret for eternity. But either way, Mimic 2 broke and returned to the workshop. But it wasn't mimicking David; it was mimicking Edwin. Not the normal loving man I knew, but the angry, bitter man. The Mimic 2 was violent and attacked anyone who entered the building."
"So that's what happened to everyone upstairs," Moriarty said.
Authors note
Chapter finished I hope you All enjoyed. It's honestly amazing how much life gets in the way of writing these chapters. From weather problems to apathy to going on trips to my friends. Anyway, I've taken this week off and if the weather allows it. I should be able to write more. Some people told me it was supposed to rain all week, but it's not raining today so who knows. Anyway, bye.