Author's note: Sorry that it took me so long to get back to writing more of this. During November, I was working on a collaborative NaNoWriMo challenge with several other people, and that occupied a great deal of my free time. Now that November is over, I'll be able to continue writing this story and I aim to finish before March. No guarantees, though, since I'm still a college student.
Something felt off.
William wasn't sure how he knew, but he could tell that those two men he'd seen last night had moved him. He wasn't in Freddy's anymore.
William looked around The Perfect Day, nothing had changed here. The place still looked like the old restaurant after decades of decay, but he could feel the things around him shifting location in the outside world. Someone was taking souvenirs from Freddy's and moving them all to the same place.
One of the children walked past him, distractedly gazing into the distance. They'd all been acting like that for almost a week, as if trying to figure out what was happening outside of their small, enclosed reality. They walked around, muttering about 'someplace new.' None of them even seemed to notice William anymore.
Well, he thought, almost. Two of the children sat on the stage, glowering at him. Michael and Sammy had hardly left that spot since things started getting moved. It almost seemed like the stage was some sort of refuge to them, a place to hide from whatever was happening, but still be able to watch it all happen.
"You two can't stay up there forever." William said, earning him a deeper glare from Michael, "We're all in a new place now, and I'm the only one who still has a suit that's still in one piece. You do know what that means, don't you?" The children continued glaring at him, not moving from their place on the stage. "It means I'm still free." William explained, "I'm still free while you remain trapped in this place."
"I still remember." Michael said, standing, "They forgot again, and they're looking for you, but I didn't. I won't ever forget!"
"And that little fact has clearly not helped you accomplish anything." William shot back, "I'm too far gone to feel your pain anymore, so your little trick doesn't affect me. You can't kill me, since I've already died twice. I'm as much one of you now as I was before I died!"
"NO!" Sammy screamed, jumping to his feet, "You can't be! You can't EVER be one!" He leapt down from the stage, pressing his tiny form up against William, trying to make William feel his painful death, like he could before.
It didn't work.
"You can't hurt me anymore, Sammy." William shook the child off of his leg, which now shed a brilliant white mist from its edges, just like the children's spectral bodies. Sammy slumped into a heap on the floor, just at the foot of the stage. The red glow faded from his tearlines, and he sobbed quietly.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no." The child muttered as he cried. William watched for a moment, feeling no pity, before looking up at the stage. Michael stared back, tiny pinpricks of light shining out of his hollow eyes.
"You can't be one of us." Michael stated coldly, "We hate you."
"So you do." William replied, "Perhaps I'll just have to settle for the other children." Michael stiffened, clenching his tiny fists. William grinned. "I trained Dunn to help me break your suits, and he was an adult when I killed him. You children shouldn't be too hard to teach."
"Henry won't let you." Michael countered.
Michael had a point, Henry had a way with the children. They trusted him, flocked to him, believed him. Children had always loved Henry, even before Freddy's. Henry had always been perfect. Too perfect.
"Henry and I made Freddy's." William retorted, "Together. Henry is going to help me."
"No." Michael shook his head, calling William's bluff, "Henry hates you."
William opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he felt it. The pull. Another place began to flicker into view. A room piled high with rotted pieces of the old suits. He could feel his consciousness being pulled from this limbo and back into the world of the living.
It was almost midnight.
The appearances of the other place began to grow more frequent, showering William with the sensations of a physical existence. Michael looked on jealously, folding his tiny arms and shifting his weight back and forth.
"It's such a shame that you don't have much of a body anymore." William gloated, "I guess that I'll just have to roam the halls alone, without any of you to bother me."
"We can still hurt you." Michael declared, taking a step towards William. "We can still hurt you."
William smirked. "Cute. You sound more desperate than threatening." He leaned forward, towering over the small child, despite the fact that Michael was standing on the stage. "You can't touch me now, Michael." He said, "And I'll build my family again, with or without you."
Michael shook his head defiantly. "No!" he shouted, "I won't let you. They'll remember, I'll make them remember!"
"Can you?" William asked, fixing a glare on the boy, "I'm going to have my creation back, and I won't let a single, stubborn child keep me from it! I'll-"
The other side flashed into view again, and William stopped short.
He'd seen something.
Michael started to speak, but William didn't listen. He waited, straining his senses, until he saw it again. The world of the living passed into his vision, giving him a clear view of a face. A person, who was staring directly at him.
William grinned wickedly. "You know what? Forget you children. I was never really cut out for parenthood, anyway." He turned back to Michael, who took a cautious step back, "I'll start over. I can begin a new creation." He raised his hand, pointing to where the face had been. It flickered back into view.
"Starting with him."