Fantom Knight: I'm glad you've been enjoying the story so far! Also yes, William is one heartless sonofabitch. I feel like I've just taken it to the next degree. :)

Surprisingly, a lot of people are liking this... Which was something I wasn't expecting. But anyways, I've been doing a lot of reading. Catching up on the Fazbear Frights short stories in the meantime and HOOOLYYY CRAP some of them are DARRRRRK! I won't spoil any of them, but just know that they've given me some inspiration for more specific plots regarding how Michael handles life moving forwards. :))

Anyways, enjoy!

Michael was never able to ask when his father planned to put him into court. Henry left immediately after he told Mike what he needed to. Mike hadn't heard anything about the older man until on the news, a body was found. The body was easy to identify. And it wasn't murder.

Henry had killed himself.

That day, Mike couldn't be in the room any longer. It was too much for him. The beeping of the heart monitor made the air drain from his lungs. Nurses came and went. His mom came, a doctor with her. He didn't say anything as they checked up on Evan. Still in a coma. But he had been stable enough that the doctor was ready to issue a team to put him back together.

He didn't like the way the doctor phrased that. It made it seem like Evan was a broken toy. But he wasn't. He was a human. That was more complicated than a broken toy.

The night after the doctor and his mom left, Mike was plunged into another dream with his brother.

"A lot of people like to talk to me," Evan said once. He had a smile piercing through all the blood. He looked very happy. Mike couldn't remember when his little brother was so happy. Or even when he smiled.

"Are they nice?"

Evan nodded. "They are. But they say some weird things sometimes..."

"Do you know any of their names?" asked Mike, curious.

"Only one. She talks to me the most. She's very nice. Her name is Cassidy!" And then the dream ended.

When Mike went back to the dream the night before Henry's body was found, the doctor's words left him feeling sick. Not actually sick, but in a much more hypothetical sense. The words left a bad taste in his mouth.

That dream, Evan wasn't there. It shocked him, the oddly comfortable image of his wounded little brother gone. In Evan's place, though, was a girl. She looked nothing like Evan, her hair long and black and running down her back like a river of shadows. Her eyes were a shimmering silver, very haunting. Mike didn't notice himself staring, but he also couldn't find it in him to look away.

The girl smiled at him. Her nose was small. Her eyes were a little too big. Her mouth was dainty. She looked like a doll.

But her voice did not have the same accent Evan also had. "You saved him."

"Are you Cassidy?" Mike asked.

Cassidy nodded her head. She didn't seem to care that he ignored her statement. "You save him," she repeated. "You saved him when he wasn't supposed to be saved."

Mike's brow furrowed, the confused one now. "What do you mean?"

"Did you find them?"

"You-" She dodged his question with one of her own. Mike wanted to ask his again, riddled with questions he wanted answers to. But he just shook his head. "Not yet."

"You should. They're not hard to find. And he's saved now. You don't need to watch him anymore."

"But I-"

"You don't need to watch him anymore." Cassidy placed one of her hands on her chest. "I will watch him for you."

Mike's lip twitched. "That's kind of you-"

"Thank you."

"-But where do I find them?"

"They're not hard to find," the little girl repeated. "They're really easy to find. You just have to look. He hid them in plain sight. Most people aren't very good at finding things that are in plain sight."

Mike just looked at her. Thoughts ran through his head. The type of people Cassidy mentioned was definitely a type Michael was. But then he thought about his father, always good at finding things. Always thinking ahead. A strategist.

Cassidy must've known what Mike was thinking about. "When you find them, they will be angry. Tell them you know me. Tell them my name."

"Cassidy?"

She nodded. "The one he should not have killed."

And now Michael was awake. And now Michael had to leave the hospital room.

And now he had to find the children.

Right when he woke up, he exited Evan's room and rushed to the kind gent behind the receptionist desk. The gent smiled at him, with Mike smiling back as best he could.

"Can I use the line?" Mike asked. He was sweaty and gross and hadn't taken that shower yet. He hoped he didn't smell too bad.

"Of course," the gent responded, glad to be of assistance. "Calling anyone specific?"

"Just my mom."

"Do you need her number? I'm sure we have it in the systems... Afton, right?"

Mike bit his lip. Fast technology. Information traveled fast. "No sir, but thank you."

He didn't look at the second smile he was given as he was passed the phone. Not wasting any time, Mike dialed the house number. The gent must've noticed the digits were different from the ones on his screen, but he didn't say anything.

Mom's voice ran out from the other end. Her voice sounded raw. "Good evening. Afton residence- who do I bid the pleasure of calling?"

Her voice was so thick with that accent despite the rawness, so proper. Michael missed it so much. He responded, throat tight with possible tears. "It's me, Mom. It's me, Michael."

"Oh. Michael." Why did she sound a little disappointed? "Good evening."

"Good evening," he repeated back, a custom.

"You sound well. How is Evan?"

"Evan is-" Cassidy's voice ran through his head. You saved him. "...He's fine. Still unresponsive. But not dead."

A sigh shuttered through the speaker, full of relief. Mike balanced the receiver in his hand. He knew she was worried about Evan's wellbeing. She'd lost one child already. She didn't want to lose another. And neither did he.

"But Mom- I wish to come home. Today, and just for a little bit," he paused, choosing his words carefully. "I want to grab something for Evan. I think it's at the house. A good luck charm."

"I'll bring it. And for you, a change of clothes."

He didn't mind that she didn't say yes to him coming home. A part of him expected that. She didn't really want him home right now. Especially considering how everything was falling apart. She needed her alone time. And Mike understood. But he smiled nonetheless. He couldn't help it. This was the mom he remembered. British all the way, kind but also tough. A toughness that seemed to have vanished ever since Elizabeth died. It was back temporarily.

"Thank you Mom."

"What's it you want for Evan?"

I will watch him for you. And Mike knew how to make that feel true. "His Fredbear doll," he said. "The yellow one with the purple-"

"I remember what Fredbear looks like Michael."

It was the second time Mike bit his lip that day. "Um... Thank you Mom."

"You're welcome." Something in the background of her call made a crashing sound. Mom's gasp was sharp even when she pulled the microphone away from her mouth. "That wretched bloke... Goodbye Michael." And then the call ended. The unbearable sound of static blared into Mike's ear.

The ending was a little too sudden for Mike. He slowly pulled the phone from his head, staring at its blackened reflection of the lights above. That was odd. A little too odd. But eventually he shrugged it off. Not wanting to make a fool of himself any longer, he placed the transceiver back on its stand and let himself back into Evan's room.

Nothing had changed since he exited before. Mike didn't know whether to feel relieved or full of dread. Both, he decided. It was easier to feel both.

He took his rightful place back on that chair, lounging. Maybe it was a little disrespectful to casually throw his legs over one arm and rest his head against the other, but Evan was saved. Alive, specifically. Cassidy had said so. And Mike got a very strange but also strong feeling she would keep up to her word.

As predicted, Mike was thrown back into that dream. Evan was once again replaced with Cassidy.

"I take it that since he's alive, I'm seeing you instead of him," he asked, a finger pointed at her.

Cassidy smiled. "You're very smart."

His answer was a grunt. "So, how long do I have to find the children's bodies?"

"Why can't you now?" Cassidy asked. A small hint of annoyance wavered in her voice.

"I don't know which restaurant, for starters," Mike said. "It could be a different location. A different state!"

"It's not."

He looked at her, tired. Apathetic. Sarcastic. Very teenager-like. "Reassuring."

Cassidy smiled again. "Thank you."

"I also can't just waltz right into one of the restaurants and start searching through anything I can find. It would look very suspicious."

"Why not do it when nobody is there?" she asked.

Mike sighed. "Can't. Doors are always locked after closing time."

"What if you're already there?"

He looked at her. Slowly, he realized where he was coming from. "Like... Take the night shift?"

Cassidy's eyes glistened like stars. "You're really smart!"

"But I can't." And her exhilaration was deflated instantly. "I'm too young. The job requires me to be at least eighteen."

"Five years..." Mike nodded. The stars were still gone from her eyes, but Cassidy smiled. "Until then, remember."

And he woke.