Summary: Throwing off the shackles of his family name has never been more difficult. Especially when those shackles are the deaths of hundreds of children that are still very much upset. But Michael Afton is dedicated to undoing all the wrong his father has done, and thankfully he has help.
Warnings: violence, death, molestation,
Xxxxxx
He'd forgotten what rain smelt like.
Standing there, on the porch, he realized how much he'd taken for granted. Taste, smells, touch…He took a deep breath. He then exhaled slowly, eyes glowing as he looked over the dense forest that surrounded the home he'd hidden away here. The stars were bright overhead and the moon was a yellow crescent. He'd never seen such a beautiful sight.
"Daddy?"
He turned, seeing his daughter pushing the screen door open. "What's wrong, baby girl?"
She quickly reached out and held his hand, leaning her cheek against his arm. "Are you gonna head into town again soon? Can you get me more books?"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "More? Ya have a full bookcase at this point…sure ya don't want anything else?"
She giggled, swinging his hand playfully. "Maybe I need another bookcase!"
"Spoiled brat."
He knelt down, pressing a kiss against her forehead. She smiled at him. Carefully, he rubbed his knuckles against her cheek, caressing her as he eyed her face. He'd missed her so much. Seeing his little girl again felt like a blessing. One he knew he didn't deserve, but he'd take full advantage of.
"When will we see Alex again?" She whispered suddenly, forcing him out of his thoughts.
"…When he's ready to come to us."
"But that could be forever! I miss him…" She whined. "He read me a book you know. But he didn't know it was me yet."
"I know, sweetie. But soon we'll be a family again, okay?"
He kissed her again. Dejected, she went back into the house. He watched her go before sighing, turning back to the desolate forest. The mention of Alex left an emptiness in his chest despite his body being mostly hollow already.
"We miss him as well."
He huffed. "Not the way I do."
"And for as long as We are connected, you will not touch him the way you hope."
Grinning, he rolled his eyes before stepping off his porch and making a beeline for the trees. His daughter wanted new books, and he'd get them for her. But thinking of his dear Alex and having the sensation of touch back set off a yearning that he hadn't felt in a long time. One he'd need sated away from his still mentally young child.
He licked his lips eagerly and disappeared into the forest.
Xxxxxxx
"Bonnie, Freddy, have either of you seen my hat? I know I left it on the table earlier." Mike called from the stage.
The huge brown bear huffed near him. "We don't usually make a habit of moving your clothes, Mike."
"Found it!" Chica called, peeking from the kitchen hallway. She held up a small golden brown bunny. "Plush took it Mike."
Plushtrap hissed at her, struggling in her arms. Mike rolled his eyes. "Thanks Chica. Plush I told you, if you wanna wear my hat, just ask me."
He took it off the small robot's head and put it back on his own. Plushtrap glowered at him in a childish manner. Chica patted his head before setting him down. The bunny ran off towards the vintage stage where Springtrap and Fredbear were sitting for the night. The Head Guard had noticed Plushtrap seemed to prefer his lookalike's company to anyone else.
"With your raise, does that mean you'll be able to eat more? You were starting to look a bit thin there, Mike." Bonnie said.
"Well, I'll be eating healthier that's for sure…between Jeremy's lack of appetite and Eggs wanting nothing but popcorn it's been a mess. Plus all our schedules are different. I barely see either of them except on Sundays." Mike replied easily, dusting himself off.
"Aye, th'ole boy Jeremy be complainin' the very same!" Foxy pointed out. "He be missin' ya, Mike."
Mike rolled his eyes playfully. "I doubt he said that."
"Course not! But a pirate always knows."
"Has Alex been okay?" Springtrap suddenly asked. He and Fredbear had wandered over at the mention of the younger man. "Thanks to the new connection between Circus Baby's, we get updates from the others. But he hasn't come in for weeks."
"He's been fighting with some of the stockholders lately so he's been busy. But don't worry, he'll come in to visit you soon." Mike promised.
He got his things together. Bonnie handed him his laptop bag and Chica had a pizza made and ready for him as he headed for the door. He waved goodbye to the animatronics as he left the restaurant, locking it up behind him, and went for his car. Driving to the house only took ten minutes and as he parked in the garage, he saw a light come on in the living room.
"Jeremy?" He called as he entered the house.
"Who else would it fucking be?"
He rolled his eyes. Jeremy was sitting on the couch watching TV as he sipped a coffee. On the cushion next to him was a slightly beat up Fredbear plush that Eggs kept calling PF for some reason. Mike put his laptop down on the dining room table and walked into the living room. He gently moved the plush and sat next to his friend, offering the pizza box.
"Save some for Eggs."
Jeremy rolled his eye and took a slice of pizza. "I'm not a goddamn garbage disposal you know. He's still sleeping. Looks like he had a rough day though."
"He usually does. Who knows how many of those assholes knew about what was going on behind the scenes…" Mike grumbled.
"Probably all of them. It'd be hard to hide all the deaths they've gone through and the weeping families looking for their missing loved ones." Jeremy shrugged it off.
They sat there for a bit eating. The blond engineer mumbling a comment now and then about whatever they were watching on TV, mostly about how stupid or ridiculous it was. Mike just smiled. Lately Jeremy's insomnia had been getting worse for whatever reason and Eggs was more and more stressed out. But for Mike things had been going well and he was starting to feel guilty about it.
"Morning." Eggs greeted them as he stepped out of his bedroom.
"Morning Omelet. Your breakfast is pizza." Jeremy greeted.
Mike rolled his eyes at them. "Only because Jeremy keeps forgetting to buy cereal."
"Fuck you. I bought cereal last week and neither of you touched it."
The youngest went straight for the coffee machine. "Don't have time for breakfast anyway."
That made Mike pause, eyes narrowing at the other's back. "You didn't eat anything last night before I left. Did you at least have lunch?"
"Yes Mike. Geez. You're not my mom." Eggs hissed at him grumpily. "I'll stop on my way home with dinner okay? I'm sick of eating nothing but pizza. If my new plans go through, we're adding more food to the menu. Maybe burgers."
"Don't you need a new mascot for burgers?" Jeremy asked.
"Nah. We're just adding them to the menu so we're not just a pizzeria anymore. At least with Baby's we are. Freddy's will still be a pizza only place."
"Ballora's Burger Joint." Mike offered proudly.
He saw Eggs rolling his eyes. "Ballora has made it very clear she'd rather not be a star attraction. She says too many Dad's get…weird around her."
Jeremy snorted, hiding a grin. "I wonder why."
"Anyway, I need to get going. I'm firing a few people that aren't going to walk out happy so I'm having Foxy nearby just in case."
Mike frowned at that. "Maybe you should have Freddy with you too? Just in case? You should hire some kind of body guard or something."
Eggs grinned at that, laughing. "Foxy is all a body guard I need. Trust me. She's the fastest one of them and if anyone tried anything, he'd be quick to rip them apart."
"Good. Make sure you punch them in the face if you gotta, remember when you almost broke my fucking nose? You got this." Jeremy added helpfully.
The younger man flushed at that. "I told you I was sorry…."
He then quickly left the house for the garage. Mike watched him go, finishing up his pizza. "We need to get him to take a break. He needs a vacation."
"Mike. We've been dealing with this fucking bullshit for how long? We all need a vacation." Jeremy grumbled.
"Good point…"
Xxxxx
Eggs was about to head out for the night when he noticed Ballora motioning towards him. He hesitated. The only reason she'd have him stay is something going on. It had been a long day; she and the others had been performing and looking after the children while he had been trying desperately to weed out anyone connected to his father from the company. He just wanted to go home and have a quiet night to himself for once. Sighing, he wandered over to the stage where she and Freddy were waiting.
"Yeah?"
"You have a call." Ballora explained softly, listening for anyone nearby. "Your…sister, Mr. Afton."
Eggs gaped at her, then Freddy. "W-what? But it's not the sixth…"
"It seems like its just her this time." Freddy answered.
That…had never happened before. He glanced around Circus Baby's, seeing that it was mostly empty before he went for his office. He locked his door and ran to his computer. After a few seconds, a window popped up and his little sister was staring at him.
"Cindy! Are you okay? Did something happen?"
She beamed at him. "Alex! I've been trying to figure out Daddy's programs for a while and I got it!"
He blinked at her. "…Wait, you're calling me without Dad knowing?"
"Yep! He went into town to buy some stuff so I snuck into his office!" The reddish blond-haired girl giggled. "Oh, you won't believe what happened yesterday. I got an A on my test! And Daddy mentioned upgrading my brain and maybe getting me a taller body. I told him I'm tired of being so little."
"…Cindy, not that I'm unhappy to see you, but calling me at work is dangerous! You guys are supposed to be hidden and dead, if someone found out…" He scolded.
Cindy frowned at that, looking hurt. "But I miss you…When are you gonna come here with us? It's nice out here. We got a TV and some games and books and we can finally be a family again! Maybe we can even start over and have new brothers and sisters."
Eggs sighed. "I'm still fixing things out here. Remember what Baby did? I gotta make sure nothing like that ever happens again, sweetie."
"I guess…but I want us together. Daddy and I have been having fun but it's not the same without you and Shawn and Caleb."
"I know, but they're gone. Okay? Now I need you to get off Dad's computer so he doesn't find out you did this or you'll get into trouble." Eggs said softly.
Cindy frowned. She glanced off to the side, thinking. Her green eyes were beginning to glow slowly as she sat there in silence. Eggs winced. She was getting upset. In the few times he'd talked with his dad, he knew that the eyes only did that when they were getting worked up. A flaw in their programming. But there wasn't anything he could do to sugarcoat things to her.
"Daddy's trying so hard, Alex." She finally said. "I can see it in his eyes. Something is bothering him. And I think having you around would help. But you don't want to come, do you? You said Daddy had hurt you, but what could he have done that you'd hate him?"
Of course, having him around would help, he thought irritably. But he kept his mouth shut. Swallowing roughly, he just sighed and tried to think of how he could possibly explain this to her.
"It's not about me. He's hurt so many children, Cindy-!" Eggs tried but she shook her head childishly.
"No! No no no no, I don't care! I've hurt them too, Alex! I tried so hard not to, but I did, and I remember all of it! For years I was stuck and now things can be like they used to but you won't let them!"
"You couldn't help it though." He said.
She pouted at him. "If I can't help it then maybe Daddy couldn't either."
Eggs sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wished he could explain to her. But how, when she hadn't experienced anything except being a small child and then being trapped inside a murder bot for so many years? He shook his head. But keeping her holed up in some house with just their Dad wasn't helping either.
"Things don't always work out, Cindy." He whispered.
"You just don't want them to!"
She slammed her hands down on the keyboard and suddenly the video feed was gone. Eggs sat there for a bit. He stared at his screen before slowly getting up from his chair and leaving his office. Foxy saw him and waved but stopped when he saw the expression on the technician's face.
"I…should get home." He mumbled and made for the door.
"Eggs, we wish we could help." She said softly.
He nodded. "I know. But I think I'm getting closer to fixing his shit. And once that's done…"
Foxy glanced over at where Ballora and Freddy were standing. "You know we'll help you kill him. Whatever it takes, Eggs."
He stroked his snout. "Yeah…Part of me doesn't want to. He's still my Dad. But there's no other way I can make sure he'll never hurt anyone again."
"You can't kill him until you figure out how he keeps returning." Ballora pointed out.
Eggs gave a laugh at that as Freddy gently patted his shoulder. "Yeah good point. Killing him only for him to stalk me down a few months later…There's still so many files to go through underground and I'm starting to worry he might realize what I'm looking for."
"We've been looking too!" Bonbon suddenly popped up, pulling on Eggs' pantleg.
"Good, thanks guys." He hesitated. "I might have to ask Henry…but then I risk letting him on to things. What if…"
"You cannot do everything. You're trying your best on fixing up the company and giving us the means of righting our wrongs. It's best you focus on that." The ballerina offered.
He glanced at her before turning away. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."
Xxxxxx
When Eggs took over Fazbear Entertainment, he had no idea the rollercoaster he was in for.
Taking over was easy. There was a man that had been a puppet head, a fake CEO, that Eggs decided to keep as an assistant. He was a smart man, hard working and totally innocent and oblivious to the wrongdoing going on in the background. Simon Flynt was an invaluable help and he taught Eggs the reigns.
The hard part was the stockholders and the scientists that had been involved. Money hungry, empathy-lacking business men and people in lab coats that were too interested in the experiments his dad had allowed. Eggs wished he could do more than fire them. He had found a list of children that had died underground in the Rental and it kept him up at night, remembering the names.
Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria was getting more popular now though and it was moving away, slowly, from the rumors and whispers of the kids that had died there. There was also the new restaurant, the Toy Chest, where the Toy versions were kept and now there was Circus Baby's. They were making money again, going in the green, and everyone of the staff that Eggs kept heralded him as a godsent.
But Eggs wasn't happy with just that. So, he kept going to the old Rental and tried desperately to find what his Dad had made. It had brought him back to life, had healed Eggs himself when he needed it, and gave his sister a body. Surely there were notes? A paper trail? But he couldn't find where it was hidden away and he was scared of revealing his plan in case his Dad retaliated.
The stress was getting to him. He wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating, couldn't focus. Mike and Jeremy were noticing as well. The problem with having roommates, of course, was the difficulty in hiding anything from them. Jeremy kept trying to get him to come hang out with him at home, likely to get him a break, and Mike kept bothering him to eat more, sleep more, stop working.
But how could he? Both of them had suffered fighting his Dad. Jeremy had recently gotten a glass eye, trying to look normal, and Mike's scars were hard to not see when the man changed his shirt. On top of them, there were the animatronics. Ballora, Freddy, Foxy, Plush and Bonbon…all sentient from the screaming ghost that had possessed them. And then the other robots that had been possessed…
Eggs let himself into the home that night. Mike was getting dressed to leave for work, pausing to glance at him and wave, while Jeremy was against the dining room window smoking. The youngest glared at him but didn't argue. So long as he kept it to the window.
"Heya Alex! How was work?"
"Fine. Grabbed dinner, you got time before you leave?" Eggs asked, setting a couple bags on the dining table.
"What they gonna do, fire him?" Jeremy snorted, smirking at the two of them.
Mike laughed at that. Eggs rolled his eyes. The three of them sat there together as they ate. Eggs had stopped by and gotten Chinese. Mike and Jeremy rambling about little things and Eggs mentioned what had happened at work beside the incident with Cindy. He'd rather not remember it himself. And Mike especially was still iffy about bringing up the connection he had to his Dad.
"Tell Spring I'll come see him soon, okay? I plan on holding a meeting about the new changes coming out." Eggs said.
"Good. That fucking chatterbox won't shut up about you." Jeremy grumbled.
Mike rolled his eyes. "Changes? Anything interesting?"
"Mostly corporate shit. But Monday the raise goes into effect. And I think we'll be opening up more positions. We need more guards for one thing, at all locations, and I want Jeremy to train a new Engineer for the Toy Chest." Eggs explained.
"Fritz mentioned he'd interviewed a guard. Anyone good?" Jeremy asked.
"Some kid. Looked like a thrill seeker, I wanted Fritz to make sure he wasn't trying to 'expose' any secrets or ghosts or some crap." The younger man shrugged.
"Oh shit I gotta get going. Freddy will get pissy if I'm late."
Eggs watched Mike go, mumbling a goodbye as Jeremy waved. Once alone, the blond sighed and put his leftovers in the fridge. "I'm getting some fucking sleep. You better sleep too kid."
"Yeah yeah. Just don't fall asleep on the couch again." Eggs teased him.
Jeremy smirked at him. "Shouldn't have bought an expensive, comfy couch."
He waved and went for his room. Eggs watched until he was gone before retiring to his own room. The large master bedroom was mostly empty since he hadn't had time to decorate. But he ignored it and went to the bathroom and opened the hidden hatch door in the tile. He hesitated. But with a sigh, he descended into it and decided he'd get sleep another night.
Xxxxxx
FFPS has come out, and Scott's seemingly ended the series. And it's given me a decent enough idea on how to finish my own.
Hopefully with more gasoline.
