Author's note 1:
Well, let's that we'll kick into action as soon as possible, yes?
Enjoy!
"Monkey? Monkey are you there?" After an eternity, William finally regained his senses.
He quickly rested the journal under his shoulders and proceeded for his apartment.
He still had his keys with him, he opted to bring them with hin in Greenland to make sure that no one would break in his home while he searched for answers.
Maybe he indeed made the right choice as the key perfectly slid inside the handle. He pushed the door open and entered inside.
His home was just like he remembered, from the various books he collected, resting on shelves, to the new television he provided with the few money he luckily possessed.
And yet… something felt off.
"You know… I had access to your memories of this place, but seeing it through my own 'eyes' is entirely different than what I expected…" Clarence hummed a tune as he probably looked at the decorations. "…you have a nice house, monkey."
"Thank you, I think." William cleared his throat and rushed to charge his powered down phone: he had no battery left.
The young man decided to use the bathroom for the time being, he unfortunately had to wait for his device to charge and he could probably send away the faint odor he emanated. In fact, he could almost remember Mike slightly shrinking back when he got too close.
"The wretching smell is part of the nature of you monkeys, William. I wouldn't pay much attention to that." And of course he ignored Clarence's comments once again, walking for the door leaning to his salvation.
He frantically washed his face, wanting to fully wake up from his half slumber. Until Clarence interrupted him again.
"Hey, monkey! Why don't you take a look in the mirror? Uncle Clarence has a surprise for you." The virus purred out those words, something that truly scared William.
But he chose to comply… and gasped.
The reflection of his face was completely changed: black eyes with white pupils and a disturbing smile greeted him. Although it didn't take a genius to know who he was looking at…
"Clarence?" He whispered.
The refle- Clarence's grin widened. "In the flesh, finally!" The virus scratched the back of his head for a moment. "Well, not really in the flesh, but close to it. Considering yours is actually the only body I can take over, this form was the only one available."
"W-wait a second! What you mean by 'Taking over my body'? Please, elaborate."
"Even though we are not part of the Hive mind and my consciousness is separated from that of my brothers and sisters, you and me formed a link between each other. This link provides the opportunity to switch places: either you in control and me trapped in the mind, or you trapped and me in control. And before you ask! No, I don't plan on forcing you out of what is truly yours, I'm only asking one thing…"
"Which is?"
"If something happens, something that might put you in danger, let me take over and I'll help ya in no time."
Tempting, in a way he was a scientist, this could be the perfect opportunity to learn more about Clarence's kind and produce as much notes as he could about the experiment. But he knew better…
"How can I exactly trust you? Perhaps my mind's resilience will cease to exist once you take over and I will be trapped with you free to roam."
Clarence raised his hands in the air. "Why? Monkey, because I realized that I'm sick of the collective, I just want to use this opportunity as a sentient and singular being to experience what lives truly gives you. Besides, you remember what I said when I chose my name, right?"
It took a full minute for William to finally answer. "Guardian angel, right?"
"Yep!" He rasped. "And keep that in mind next time, monkey. We need each other."
With that, his reflection returned to his normal state and he felt Clarence contently settling in the back of his mind.
His phone was half charged, he quickly opened his contacts and tried to call his mother.
But he was surprised to see that the phone did not recognize the number as one that existed.
"How peculiar! I could've sworn you typed the right number, how can this be?"
So, Clarence went back to his sassy attitude. Fair enough.
He tried to be call his father instead, despite being sick he always had a phone near him.
But once again the call was ended as the number did not exist…
William groaned and decided to take things in his own hands, grabbing the keys of his car and sprinting for the garage he possessed.
If the phone was broken, he could always visit his mother in person…
As he pulled out of the vehicle, he noticed the decorations outside the house were changed. His mother probably went through some sort of crisis and decided to experiment.
He knocked on the door and stuffed his hands in his pockets, patiently waiting, while Clarence hummed in the background.
It didn't take long for the entrance to open… but who greeted him wasn't his mother.
An old woman stood in front of him, clearly not expecting a visit while William stared in confusion at her. He did not knock on the wrong door, did he?
"Excuse me ma'am, I believe this was my mother's house, her name is Lisa Buchanon. Do you, perhaps, have informations about her?"
However, she seemed to be stuck in a trance, looking at him like he was an alien.
"Ma'am? Ma'am, are you alright?" He touched her shoulder but she recoiled back in surprise.
"O-oh! I'm sorry, y-you look like someone I knew years ago."
William raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "Must be a genetic change, ma'am. Sometimes people might look like other people…" He cleared his throat. "…now, could you perhaps provide me informations?" He smiled and clasped his hands together.
The woman put a finger to her lips. "Lisa Buchanon, you said?" At a nod, she shook her own head. "I'm afraid I have never heard of that name before, I'm sorry."
William huffed and thanked her, though before leaving he turned back. "Oh, and, just out of curiosity, who was the person I look like?"
A sad smile plasted over her lips. "He was my husband, William Afton. My name is Emma, Emma Afton."
When she looked back, the young man was already in his car, quickly turning the engine on and sprinting away.
"Well, monkey, this is the second time we have heard about another William Afton and now we apparently met his wife! This, of course, added to the fact that your mother and father do not exist anymore makes things spicy! Shall we begin to uncover the secrets, Mister Sherlock?"
He paid no attention to Clarence as he quickly took his laptop.
Once Google appeared on his monitor, he searched for this "William Afton" and placed the journal near him for multiple informations to find.
Immediately he was bombared with pages: from the creation of "Afton Robotics LLC" to a child bitten in 1983 at a restaurant called "Fredbear Family Diner", precisely William Afton's son. From his daughter, Elizabeth Afton, disappearing and declared death to the death of multiple children and the "Bite of '87".
And it wasn't over… he found other pages talking about a horror attraction, "Fazbear's Fright", and to a last known pizzeria destroyed by a fire.
He spent a good two hours reading as much as he could and writing everything in his notebook.
"Clarence?" The virus's voice was a bit startled a first, but the coughed for William to continue. "We should have died, right? But we found ourselves here. Could that be that, somehow, the process transported us to another…. universe?"
Normally he would expect Clarence to respond with sarcasm or vwnom in his voice. But the tone he used surprised Wiliam. "Maybe? I'm no expert in science, monkey. Even through your memories. But if we did cross dimensions, this world's William Afton surely had a crazy ride to begin with! Though, I assume you did a good choice by using Buchanon as your last name…"
He huffed and pulled his hairs in desperation. Now what?
"…now we can investigate! Quick, get a look on the previous page!"
He did.
The new pizzeria is also looking for a night guard!
Here is the "Help Wanted" request:
"To further ensure the safety of our location, we will search for a night guard to check the place from 12 am to 6 am.
Unlike previous owners, we are willing to raise the paycheck, which will be 250 dollars per week.
The nightguard will be equipped with a taser and all the other equipment in case a breach-in expires.
The news ended with a "Call the number:".
Aside from discovering the truth itself, William hadn't much money left to continue living in the house. He had his parents covering up the majority of the bills while he paid university studies, then after getting a proper paycheck he would continue on his own.
Despite graduating, he did not have time for a professional job anyway. This was his only shot.
He took his phone.
Ring…. Ring….
"Hello, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. How may I help you?"
He gulped while Clarence snickered.
"Hello, I saw the job offer on internet and on newspaper for the night guard position, I would like to apply and I believe my experience will be useful to properly guard the place at night. Is the position itself still available for me?"
He heard shuffling in the background and a few whispers. "You are lucky! The position is indeed empty, the only thing required is an interview to properly know the place and check if you have everything to start the job…" The man on the other hand seemingly grabbed a pencil or a pen. "…I will write your name, just in case another person believes he can steal your chance." He nervously laughed along.
"So, you are Mister?"
"Buchanon, William Buchanon."
"Alright, we can enstablish an interview tomorrow morning, is that okay for you Mr. Buchanon?"
"Excellent. I will come tomorrow, have a good day."
"Have a good day Mr. Buchanon."
He closed the call and jumped on his bed in his bedroom, burying his head between the pillows. "Well! That went better than expected, monkey."
"Shut up, Clarence."
The virus only snorted.
Author's note 2:
Third chapter and action will soon commence!
I know that Wlliam's wife's existence has not been confirmed but whatever.