Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

   The Hunter was unsure what they were expecting of the Nightmare they had just forced open, but stepping through a door into a quaint and oddly-furnished house was a surprise. It didn’t look particularly rundown nor was the distinct Nightmare-scent very strong, but they attributed it to this one being far younger and smaller compared to those they had faced in Yharnam. 

   How the Nightmare had come to their attention had been odd in of itself, with them abruptly feeling it push against their Dream like an uncomfortable wool sweater, and it had immediately piqued their interest through both curiosity and concern. Sure it had seemed different to the other Nightmares that the Hunter had encountered, but it was still a Nightmare, same as any other, and the Hunter knew full well how much damage they could do to both their inhabitants and the areas in which they had been created if left unchecked.

   Actually making their way into the neighbouring Nightmare had proven a challenge of a different sort to getting into the Hunter’s Nightmare or the Nightmare of Mensis, but they, with their Moon-ascended status, had managed to eventually break through, finding themself where they now stood.

   They padded through the house carefully, taking note of the many doors that didn’t seem to open, with their attempts to hack them open only revealing yet more walls on the other side. The exceptions were a few that lead to empty rooms and a set that both opened to a singular bedroom at the end of the hallway, which they quickly decided to investigate. 

   The bedroom itself, other than the higher level of detail and some peculiar toys, did not turn up anything notable not present elsewhere in the house, which the Hunter found odd. One would expect the watching presence they could feel, presumably the Nightmare’s centrepiece, to reside there, but perhaps this was just a separate point of interest for whatever the Nightmare was based on. The Hunter recalled a few similar areas in the other Nightmares they had traversed, after all.

   With nothing else to do other than maybe returning to the Dream, they took their trusty Saw Cleaver to one of the windows to open up a way to the harshly shadowed outside.

   Michael was exhausted when he had gotten home from work that day, no thanks to the layers that were starting to get awfully warm as winter gave way to spring as well as the nightmares that had been plaguing him for months since Fazbear’s Fright had burned.

   He barely took the time to remove his shoes and jacket before trudging over to his room and crawling into bed, not bothering to change and leaving brushing his hair and teeth for the following morning.

   As had become the norm since they had started, he opened his eyes to another nightmare.

Chapter Text

   The Hunter found the outside of the house… intriguing to say the least. The sky was a brilliant crimson, swirled with slightly lighter clouds, and no sun, nor moon or stars illuminated it. Everything else, except for the occasional crimson window were stark, black silhouettes which seemed to bleed into each other, textures indistinguishable from one another and not a single hidden groove was found when the Hunter ran their hand along what should’ve been rough brick. The houses with illuminated windows appeared to be solid blocks upon further investigation with their weapon, but perhaps there would be something further along. The odd lack of beasts or other forms of monsters was off putting as well, for all that it made their investigation easier.

   As they continued along, an odd sight crested the horizon… the very house that they had emerged from.

   Evan nor Cassidy knew what to make of the intruder to the space they had crafted.

   Firstly, no one they didn’t pull in, so really no one other than Michael, should be able to get in, and no one had in the months that the space had existed. Yet, somehow, an oddly dressed stranger had managed to waltz in as if it were a regular occurrence.

   Secondly, the intruder had made a bit of a mess of the place, going so far as to break a window with an odd, serrated weapon practically covered in strips of fabric in order to explore outside, something not even Evan or Cassidy had done after they had made the passable facade of the neighborhood. The two of them had been left scrambling to reset the window to how it had been before Michael fell asleep for the night, though thankfully now he was being kept securely busy by the nightmare animatronics that Evan had proudly come up with all those months prior.

   Thirdly, the intruder was coming back right at that moment, and Evan had expressed genuine concern over the possibility of the entity being some sort of demon about to get them in trouble for creating the space in the first place. 

   Cassidy thought this was silly of course, since they hadn’t heard of a whiff of anything other than Remnant and ghosts such as themselves until now, but she still found herself slightly worried over what the presence of the intruder could mean.

   As they stood in front of the now good as new window, the Hunter was left wondering if they had assumed wrong and that the house was just a double instead of the exact same thing.

   Well, regardless, they could hear something making noise inside, something that could perhaps hold answers. They raised their Saw Cleaver above their head, which swiftly allowed re-entry as it collided with the glass and wood once more.

   The action seemed to attract the attention of something within the house, but with the Hunter electing to try to keep out of its sight, they were unable to get a good look at it. After they heard it begin to walk away, they began to make their way through the broken window, carefully stepping over the glass. It seemed there were indeed monsters out and about, the Hunter thought to themself as they took stock of their surroundings, finding that the layout appeared to fortunately still be the same. Turning around the corner of the hallway with careful steps, they spotted exactly what they were up against.

   It’s colours were muddled in the near-pitch lighting, the Hunter barely even able to make out any details, but the creature stood tall, ragged, and humanoid, and from its head emerged two very distinctly rabbit-looking ears.

   The Hunter adjusted their grip on their weapon. If it turned out to be aggressive to their approach, it could no doubt be dealt with in the same manner as any beast.

Chapter Text

   Michael was startled into motion by a sudden, loud sound in the hallway. He had tried not to linger on the sound of shattering glass earlier, passing it off as one of the nightmarish animatronics either being clumsy or trying to get a rise out of him, but, with the sound of conflict emerging from the hall opposite to the side of the room he was in, it was now clear that it had been a sign of something more deeply wrong. 

   He took a second to ensure Chica wasn’t about to get him where he stood post, and then carefully rushed across the room, shooing off one of the small, sharp-toothed Freddys that had made its way onto the bed on the way. The last thing he needed now was for one of the more familiar dangers to sneak up on him while he investigated.

   Speaking of which, this would no doubt allow Foxy an opportunity to sneak into the closet, but Michael supposed you couldn’t win at everything.

   Bracing himself, he pointed his flashlight into the hallway.

   It quickly found one of the sources of the noise, illuminating a person dressed in dark, rough fabric. They winced at the beam shining in their face, which reflected off pupils that Michael could swear were glowing as they struggled to adjust to the sudden light.

   By the flames, that’s bright.

   The Hunter inwardly hissed to themself as the bright light assaulted their eyes. It appeared that the tradeoff for eyes best-suited to night was that sudden pieces of daylight like this were far, far worse. They tried to push their discomfort aside, for there were far more important matters to pay attention to.

   Namely, the not-quite-slain monster at their feet and the seeming teenager staring at them wide-eyed from the doorway.

   Before the Hunter could get a good look at them however, they found the door promptly slammed, blocking both their view and access to the scared teen.

   It was… extremely concerning, to say the least, that someone who was potentially untrained in combat, and appeared to be at apprenticeship age rather than an adult by any measure, had wound up within this Nightmare. Hopefully, the room was somewhat safe and they could bring the teen to safety once they explained the situation.

   Their train of thought was interrupted by hearing the distinct creak of metal from below their line of sight, reminding them that their duty as a hunter was not yet finished.

   Shit, Michael thought to himself as he scampered to check the closet. The door he slammed would no doubt slip open within a few minutes, but it was all he could think to do to put a barrier between him and the new, far more humanoid threat. A quick shine of his flashlight to check the closet revealed a familiar red fox plush sitting upon the floor. Double shit .

   He found himself slipping into a pattern of closet, right hallway, bed, ignoring the continued sounds from the left hallway, repeat. As much as he wanted to get a proper threat gauge on the new entity, he really needed to try and win enough sleep for himself tonight.

   Inevitably, the previously-slammed door had started to creak open, but bracing himself to get hacked to bits couldn’t prepare him instead for a voice that sounded like it hadn’t seen much recent use to call out.

   “Hello?”

Chapter Text

   When the teen didn’t return their greeting, the Hunter couldn’t help but feel a tinge of concern. They called out again as they opened the door further.

   “Hello? I mean no harm.”

   The opening of the door revealed the teen, the light they had been carrying no longer present as they stood frozen at the creaking noise it caused. The Hunter hoped they hadn’t scared the poor child too badly with their voice, though they didn’t blame them for it, after all it had been one of the harder things to recreate properly.

   “My name is Blodwyn, though I find many have taken to simply calling me by my role of hunter.” They offered, along with a hand for a shake as they stepped forwards.

   The teen paused.

   “It’s… a bit too dark to see you, whatever you’re doing.”

   The Hunter retracted their hand somewhat sheepishly at that comment. “Apologies, I forgot that seeing in the dark is more of a… ah… unique skill. I was going for a handshake, but one isn’t necessary for a proper greeting anyways.”

   The teen steeled themself before responding.

   “My name is Michael.”

   “Nice to meet you, Michael. A Nightmare is certainly no place to linger, so why don’t we try to find you a way out of here?”

   Cassidy and Evan were at a loss on what to do about this Blodwyn , even moreso at what being a “hunter” could feasibly mean in this context. Either way, it was clear that they’d have to come up with something if they wanted the man out .

   “I think we should take the animatronics out for now.” Evan suddenly piped up.

   “How come? Wouldn’t that be giving up on the point of all of this?”

   “Well,” Evan started. “That new guy, the hunter or whatever… if he breaks more stuff it’s going to be really really reallllly annoying to repair.” As he pictured the process he and Cassidy would need to undergo to repair Bonnie, he started to understand why his dad (and less so— but still sometimes— uncle Henry) always got so huffy about people even just fiddling with his prized animatronics.

   Cassidy seemed to reluctantly accept this explanation, sighing before she responded. “Ok. I’ll help you remove them for now.”

Chapter Text

   Michael wasn’t sure what sort of dream logic would be used to get him out of this quite literal nightmare, but at least it looked like the man wasn’t looking to harm him, as foreboding as the twin crescents of glowing red that framed his pupils were, and above all else, Michael was glad for something to just be different this time after all the weeks of restless nights and sharp pains he no longer could feel in the waking world.

   Blodwyn had started leading him by the hand at some point while they walked, as Michael bemusedly noted. It felt nice, if a little odd, with Michael being more used to being the one doing the leading, in admittedly rather old memories of his siblings. As they walked together, he drank in the break from what could truly be called a nightmare, and barely noticed when Blodwyn paused in front of his destination, startling him out of his thoughts when he began to talk. 

   “The place I’m taking you to is called the Hunter’s Dream. You’ll probably find it a bit odd— in a different way to this Nightmare— but it’s safe, and it’s where me and a dear friend live.” The hunter explained as he gripped the handle on the front door.

   The door opened to what resembled a quaint workshop, basked warm woody tones and walls lined with bookshelves and tools. A tenseness in Blodwyn that Michael hadn’t been able to notice in the prior darkness seemed to immediately evaporate at the sight, and he made a motion for Michael to follow him to the door that seemed to serve as the main entrance, gesture all the more clearer in the warm candlelight that reflected off the dark, oily muck that spattered his clothes, no doubt drawn from the animatronic he had put his blade to.

   Michael followed.

   The Hunter was, admittedly, proud of themself. They had hardly been given the opportunity to save the victims of Nightmares before their ascension, and now they had managed to easily rescue a child from the mess that the Hunter could only presume the kid’s higher-ups had made of things. They were glad Michael seemed to be taking to the workshop well already in the few moments since their arrival, a warm feeling blooming in their chest at the teenager’s trust.

   “Now,” They announced with their rusted voice as they settled their weapon in its holster, punctuated by clasping their hands together afterwards. “If you’re ready, Michael, I believe it is time to introduce you to the dear friend I mentioned earlier.”

   The adolescent cocked their head to the side, which the Hunter took as a sign to continue. “She is called the title of Plain Doll, and I have known her for nearly as long as I have known this dream. Her make is that of an automaton, but don’t fret, she’s much different than the beasts that stalked the Nightmare I found you in. Think more— well you’ll see her soon enough.”

   If Michael weren’t already curious, his interest would have certainly been caught by that statement. The vagueness of Blodwyn’s description left much to the imagination, but if this so-called Plain Doll followed in the footsteps of Blodwyn’s kindness, then Michael found no issue in following the man through double doors at the far end of the workshop.

   The immediate outside of the building led to a curved stone stairway, at the bottom of which lay a rather plain dirt path, but from the workshop entrance’s slight vantage point, Michael could make out what seemed to be a garden. More interestingly however, were the dark pillars he could see in the distance, sole occupants of the void that lay beyond this quaint earthen platform.

   Blodwyn seemed to spot something he himself couldn’t, as the man gave a wave, and then in the span of a single blink, a tall, pale woman walked into view, clothed in a rather bulky, ornately-detailed brown dress.

   So this must be the Plain Doll.

   As she approached, Michael started to understand what Blodwyn had meant earlier. While the animatronics were well, animatronics , the Plain Doll was very much aptly named when it came to the latter half, her jointed hands and the ceramic-pale skin of her face reminding him of some of the dolls that his sister used to own. As for the descriptor of plain , Michael was curious as to how the descriptor had made its way into her name, seeing as the ornate embroidery present on most of her clothing seemed anything but .

   “Welcome back, Good Hunter.” She said with a slight bow, voice coming from unmoving lips.

   “And good to see you in turn, Plain Doll.”

   While outright disuse permeated Blodwyn’s raspy voice, the doll’s voice carried an almost musical lilt to it in contrast. Michael waved hello from where he trailed behind the man, prompting the Plain Doll to turn her attention to him.

   “This is Michael,” Blodwyn introduced, “I found him in the Nightmare I pried open, so he’ll be staying here for the next while.”

   Blodwyn’s head turned to look at Michael, his covered mouth obscuring his expression but the crinkle of his eyes suggesting that a reassuring smile lay underneath.

   “Good to meet you, miss.” Michael supplied, grinning somewhat nervously. While the porcelain woman by every measure seemed polite, his own brain had clearly spared no expense at making her carved, stoic face look slightly uncanny up close, even if it was preferred to the shades of smiles carried by most of the animatronics Michael had become far too familiar with.

   She bowed her head as she had done for Blodwyn. “Welcome to the Hunter’s Dream, Michael.”

   Blodwyn straightened up slightly, one of the man’s hands moving to give Michael a hearty pat on the back.

   “Well then,” the black-clad man started, “I’m afraid that the Nightmare won’t end itself, and the sooner I do it the sooner I’ll be back myself, so! I will be seeing the two of you again later.”

   As Blodwyn excused himself, starting on the path back to the workshop, he and the Plain Doll waved bye at each other, Michael’s own hand delayed in its response. When the man moved out of sight, Michael paused for a moment, his head swirling with thoughts. While he was still in the grips of his nightmare, the knowledge of its falsehood had been a comfort, here all it served to do was dampen the reassurance Blodwyn and the Plain Doll’s kindness provided.

   In an attempt to distract himself as the silence began to weigh heavy, he turned his attention to the rest of his surroundings. The warm fog, combined with cobblestone walls with moss filling the crevasses and the soft dirt underfoot lent a comforting presence, barely fettered by the eeriness of the distant pillars he had noticed earlier in the background. 

   “Would you like to come back inside?” The Plain Doll eventually asked, breaking the silence.

   Regardless of its status as a dream, Michael hoped he’d be able to return the following night.

Chapter Text

   Cassidy glowered at the intruder’s return.

   “The “Hunter” is back again.” She announced with a huff. 

   Met with silence, she repeated herself. “The “Hunter” is back again.”

   Evan grimaced, but didn’t respond as he inspected Bonnie.

   Cassidy began to tap her foot while glaring at the boy as the silence dragged on, crossing her arms as she spoke again. “I saiiiiiiiid that the “Hunter” is back again.”

   “You deal with it,” Evan whined. “I’m trying to fix Bonnie.”

   “Fine!” Cassidy responded with a huff, turning on her heel and walking away.

   The click of boots sounded upon wood as the Good Hunter once again made their way through the halls of the Nightmare. Unsurprisingly, barely anything had changed in the short time they were away, but the still-broken window they had initially used to get outside of the house now curiously looked into a yawning void.

   It was even clearer now that whatever was in charge of this wanted things to stay firmly within the house, but following the will of a Nightmare’s creator is never the way to break one, and thus investigation of this new feature took clear priority.

   Angling themself out of the window, allowing their hands to slightly warp to maintain as firm a grip on the awning as possible, the Good Hunter surveyed the vast blackness.

   Oh— is that?—

   Cassidy froze when she looked up only to see the trespasser looking right at her. Even from this distance, she could tell there was something off about the hands gripping the windowsill and—

   One of the hands had snapped back into proper shape by the time the hunter had raised it to wave at her.

   “Hello. Are you lost?”

   The long-dead ghost girl didn’t know how to respond.