One second, I fell into silence. The next, I heard children's laughter faintly as it drew closer, echoing across the void. Finally, I touched the ground—the laughter louder. I opened my eyes and found myself in another party room, except this one was monochrome. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't going colorblind or something. However, the room was still the same. The only color I could perceive was the kids running around in different-colored shirts and party hats. Still, one group stood out at the end of the party room. Some of the kids at the table were grey and sad; tears dripped from their pixelated faces. I walked at a steady pace over to the secluded party table, avoiding the crazy kids who ran around mindlessly between tables–almost like an arcade game. I was a few feet away when I was stopped. I tried to move forward, pushing my arms and hand forward, but something was in the way—an invisible wall.
"You Can't." A wall of words suddenly appeared in white.
"The time is not now. You have not completed what is required." The words faded, replaced with another message.
"They are waiting."
"For what?" I asked.
"Their Happiest Day." The wall responded.
"Happiest day?" I asked. What the hell is their happiest day?
The wall of words faded slowly, and so did the saddened children. The laughter behind me disappeared. The crazy children were gone. The monochrome party tables were gone. There was nothing but an empty void that surrounded me. Then, the entity slowly appeared, sitting in front of my vision.
"You're not supposed to be here," the entity said. "How did you even get inside these memories?"
"I don't know," I replied. "If I had to guess, maybe you did."
The entity stared at me with its silver eyes for a moment, watching for any change in my behavior.
"That's impossible. I buried these long ago. When I gave up pleading with people to heed our cry for help," The entity said.
"I won't say it's entirely your fault I got access to this. Apparently, I did something to make this happen."
"Is that so?"
"That's what Susie said."
The entity's eyes flickered at the name.
"It's been a while since I've heard that name. Or any of their names, for that matter." The entity said.
"So, you haven't spoken to the children?" I asked.
"No. I've only been commanding their systems."
"The systems I managed to break."
The entity's head tilted slightly to the left at those words.
"It would seem so." The entity said.
The entity and I became silent for a minute. What's the next question? What do I say next without it becoming hostile? I mean, can the entity kill me here? I opened my mouth to speak.
"Cassidy talks highly of you." The entity said first. I was surprised that the entity spoke first.
"It was to the point that I believed even she was coerced by your manipulation." That's good. At least it's talking rather than breaking out.
"That's the part you're mistaken about," I said calmly. "I haven't manipulated or tricked anyone. I've tried my best to stick to my promises."
"And that's why you kept coming back despite knowing you can die at any given moment?"
I nodded in response.
"And if you weren't relevant to the Aftons, would you have still stayed?" The entity asked.
"If I wasn't related, I don't think I would've been here in the first place," I replied.
"I wouldn't be so financially stripped. I would have a family to turn to. I wouldn't have to move out at sixteen or get emancipated."
"Let me guess, this is your way to gain sympathy?"
Really? That's all you had to say?
"I don't seek sympathy or your empathy. Not from you. Not from Cassidy. Not from the children. Nobody." I said coldly. "I've been on my own for all my life. What do I gain from your perspective other than death?"
The entity didn't speak. It remained silent.
"I already told you. And you have my memories to back it up. I seek answers to unanswered questions." I said indignantly.
"What makes you think those memories prove your intentions?" The entity challenged.
"What makes you think you can still dictate whether or not I'm the bad guy you want to kill?" I countered
"How do you still want to kill me after you've seen my story?" I asked. "How can you bear to kill another innocent bystander? A hidden tear slid down my cheek, the words pouring out of me.
"Don't you feel guilty at all? How many more innocent people have to die to satisfy your thirst for revenge?" My voice strained.
The entity didn't speak. It was at a loss for words for a while, and the room's silence became deafening. The eyes of the entity scanned me, over and over again. It was almost as if it were contemplating something. A decision?
"Well?" My voice shook. "Say something!" I shouted, my voice cracked. The entity remained silent. As I thought, it was nothing but a murderous machine. There was no point in reasoning with it. And I was going to die here. The entity suddenly began to twitch. It was small, then it got noticeably faster and more aggressive.
"I do feel guilty," The entity finally spoke. "There were so many hard things I had to do that I didn't want to. But in the end, I was forced to."
The void began to shake aggressively. There wasn't much to observe, but the void was becoming unstable. Glitches formed, painting the surroundings in their familiar, interchangeable colors. This was bad. I don't know how to get out of here.
"It was hard trying to give an answer to children who wanted to see their families."
Is this how I'm going to die? Stuck in the mind of someone who wants me dead? A restless, vengeful soul trapped in a creation my father created.
"W-what else was I supposed to do? Tell them they can't ESCAPE from this hell? I gave up once I realized nobody cared to look for us. Even their beloved parents." The entity's twitching worsened with each sentence. The void eventually filled with colored glitches that reached the top. The void floor vibrated so hard I couldn't stand properly—my father's creation—the reason why I'm in this mess in the first place. But you know, dying doesn't seem so bad now. This nightmare can finally end, and I wouldn't need the answers I sought.
I'm so tired. I can finally sleep. Forever.
No. Not yet.
One moment, I was covered in the glitches. The next, I was back in the security office. The gadgets that shut down when the power went out now hummed back to life as if nothing had happened. I looked around, finding nothing unusual except for the security tablet missing from the table. Now, two things could've happened.
1. Someone came here when they weren't supposed to.
The damn thing got trapped in the entity's memory, and I didn't notice.
But what do I care? It's my last day here anyway.
I quietly peeked outside the office into the dark hallway.
Nothing.
I stepped out into the hallway, scanning for anything unusual. I cautiously walked down the hallway toward the dining room. A familiar static sound came from the dining room. I finally reached the dining room. The entity sat there, blocking the pizzeria exit. The entity wasn't in its usual calm, assertive position; instead, it was glitching vigorously. That might explain why it was unstable in the entity's mind. In the end, I guess I should be thankful it didn't kill me.
"What do you want now?" I asked.
"I want to trust you. But you need to give me insurance," the entity said. "I need to know that you can truly help the children like you said you would."
I looked at the entity, whose twitching seemed so...painful. It looked like it could give in at any minute. I walked forward, closing the distance. I took a chair nearby and placed it in front of the entity—I sat down, looking directly at the entity with sincere eyes.
"You don't have to forgive me," I said. "I am part of a family that seems to have a terrible past."
The entity's white eyes met mine, searching for lies.
"Me and you…We have the same enemy. All this time, you spent hating and trying to kill me could've been directed toward the man that trapped you here first. I can't change what happened to you or bring people back."
"If you couldn't change anything. Why did you come back? What good are you at something you can't fix?"
"It's because I got to live while you didn't. Your anger is what led to many innocent people dying ruthless deaths." I gave a reassuring smile.
"I can't remember what I did to cause this, but I can still make things right," I said. "To bring you to your happiest day."
The entity's eyes lit up brightly.
"You're just as broken as I am. Let me help you put you back together."
The entity's eyes suddenly began to fade slowly as the words echoed across the room.
"You promise?" The entity's voice cracked. I stood up from the chair and loomed over the entity. I placed my hand on top of the entity's head.
"I promise. You won't be forgotten."
The entity stopped twitching and became still. Its jaw hung open wide as it stared directly at me.
"You can rest now," I whispered, setting my hand to the side. Its eyes faded into darkness, then the body slowly disappeared. The entity was no more. Maybe I'll see the entity later. Perhaps maybe even catch its name.
I looked up from the floor and realized the animatronics were gone from the stage.
"Huh? Where did they go?" I muttered, looking around the dining room. I checked both hallways leading to the security office. Then I checked the kitchen and backstage, but found no animatronics. That's when I spotted the broken animatronic parts in the bathroom hallway. I walked over quickly, the animatronic parts becoming more visible with every step.
"What the fuck happened?" I said, inching closer to the entrance. However, before I could get any further, Cassidy appeared before I could enter.
"Cassidy? What's going on?" I asked, concerned.
"It's time for you to go home now, Michael," Cassidy calmly said.
"But what about the children? Why are they in pieces?"
"You don't need to worry yourself with us. We're okay." I looked over Cassidy's shoulder, slightly unconvinced.
"Are you sure?" I asked. "What is behind you that I can't see?"
"Something we should've done ages ago. A job that needs to be finished." Cassidy replied coldly. I wonder what job that is.
"I see," I said. "I-I'll be going now." It was best not to push too hard. If I did, it would only lead to bad things. I'm almost home base, and I'd rather not die at the end. I turned toward the pizzeria exit and walked up to the doors. I went outside, closing the doors behind me. The pizzeria doors suddenly locked behind me.
Something tells me that this night wasn't truly over for the children. But that's no longer my concern.
My new job now is to figure out their happiest day.
And I can help with that.
Epilogue: Salvaged Rage
The drive back home was silent. The thought of Cassidy's earlier insistence didn't sit right with him—let alone the strange behavior of the doors that locked behind him. It felt like the children were hiding something. Was it someone in the building destroying the animatronics? Maybe they were destroying themselves?
"Well, it's not my problem anymore. That's what they would've wanted anyway," Michael thought. The morning sun peeked through the horizon, warming Michael through the car window.
Meanwhile, Detective Patterson sat on the couch in the dormitory where Robin and Michael had lived. The dormitory where Robin, a young kid with a bright future, had been decapitated by a rogue robot from Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. To Detective Patterson, it was gut-wrenching seeing the amount of blood that soaked the carpet–the blood that sprayed on the walls. Even his colleagues were horrified more than he was. It's been a while since Pat had seen this much blood.
The robot, known as the endoskeleton, couldn't be found after a search of the area.
Even after a massive uncovering of bodies from the franchise, they still had the nerve to believe the animatronics weren't the cause and that William Afton was the problem—which, in a sense, is true but an unlikely story, especially if you consider how the fuck a human could tear apart a human head from its body without the help of tools, which weren't present during the investigation. But this doesn't change the fact that Afton made the endoskeleton in the first place. The fact that the company hasn't shut down at all, let alone gone bankrupt, is absolutely absurd in Pat's eyes. It's almost as if no one cared unless it happened to them. The thought alone pissed Pat off.
If only he could do something about it. But who was he kidding? Pat was only a detective, not some superhero. After reporting the incident, Detective Patterson had been placed on critical incident leave.
Buzz!
Detective Pat's phone vibrated in his pocket. Pat took it out and read the notification on his dashboard. It was Michael Afton.
"I need your help." The message read.