A/N: Hiii everyone! I know the updates have been sporadic— to say the least, I'm very inconsistent when it comes to them. I hope that's not an issue! I'd like to settle on a day to upload chapters; like once or twice a week, but I really can't come up with anything right now. I might try Wednesday and Saturday (no promises!), just to keep things a little more organized.
Well, without further ado, here's the next chapter of William's descent into Hell.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Dearest Friend
Chapter II: His Birthday
William wore exhaustion on his face as though it was the mask of a mascot. Heavy, dark bags outlined his gray eyes, giving him a ghostly appearance that did little to reassure anyone— not even the guests who kept giving him glances of disgusted concern. While he had carefully ignored and dodged the questions of said guests regarding his condition, he could not avoid the look of worry in Spring Bonnie's green eyes.
She was not letting him get out of this one.
"Have you slept at all?" she asked almost innocently, her arms folded against her chest. "You look dead."
William rolled his eyes.
Fredbear was rehearsing, she thought, which did buy her time to ask William some questions about his health. She noticed it; the sadness in his eyes. She had not seen Mrs. Afton in quite a while, too... As if she had completely vanished. Left the city, erased her names from everyone's lips before exiting in silence— which was not particularly surprising coming from that vile woman. Spring Bonnie had ears everywhere; she heard the rumors regarding her domestic violence toward the Aftons, and most importantly toward William himself.
A control freak, Henry said.
William passed a hand over his face, refusing to acknowledge her question for a moment and only focusing on clipping a brand new, sparkly bowtie to her chest area. It was one he created for 'special occasions' such as big birthday parties, conferences with the owners of the franchise... What was it called? Fazbear Entertainment?
Something ridiculous like that.
He made sure that the bow was in its proper place, straight and shiny, before he turned away from the animatronic rabbit. Spring Bonnie frowned at his reaction and gripped his arm, which caused him to jerk back and yelp. With a twitch of her right ear, the robot tilted her head to the side and hummed. Had she hurt him? She could not tell, since she had no idea of how strong she was— though she assumed it was a lot considering she was made of metal.
For a second, William avoided her eyes, until he could no longer pretend to be deaf. "You're going to force me into confessing, aren't you?"
Spring Bonnie nodded. "I can tell that you have cried, William. Why would you cry? Crying is terrible."
William clicked his tongue and pulled his arm out of her hand. It took an additional minute for him to muster up the courage to speak; minute during which he frantically glanced between Spring Bonnie and the door, as though he was hesitating to run out and not to talk about it at all. Though, considering Spring Bonnie's built-in insistence, he cast the thought aside and cleared his throat. "Right... Yes, it is terrible."
"Who is it that made you cry?"
"Is everyone a good answer?" William retorted, his voice sharp and unamused.
'Everyone'?! Spring Bonnie thought, blinking her eyes in surprise. She knew that William exaggerated sometimes, but the choice of that word seemed deliberate on his part. Was it everybody that bothered him? Was he stressed? What was happening in his life for him to... blame everybody for his sorrow?
And... when he said 'everyone,' did he also mean her? Henry? What exactly had happened for William to say something like that? What about his sons, were they responsible too? Where were they? Spring Bonnie wondered, because in spite of her enhanced hearing, she could not recognize Evan's voice. Was he not supposed to come to his own birthday party?
William sighed when he noticed her shock, and shook his head to himself. "Don't take it so personally. It's about my wife— my ex-wife."
"Clara?"
"Uhm, yeah, I guess," William nodded. After a moment of recollection, he sat down on the table behind Spring Bonnie and looked up at her. He was a lot more serious all of a sudden, and she knew something had gone terribly wrong from that expression alone. "She... She... after she lost the custody of the kids, she couldn't take it."
"The kids, Michael and Evan?"
"Michael, Evan and Elizabeth," William corrected— Elizabeth? "I didn't think she'd do this... It's really taking a toll on me."
"Who's Elizabeth?"
William raised an eyebrow. "My youngest— Spring, are you listening to me?"
Spring Bonnie frowned. "I've never seen her around, I mean, Elizabeth... Where is she?"
"With her friends attending another birthday party today," William claimed; could she believe him though? What kind of a sister would not come to their brother's birthday?
Before the animatronic could question it, William cleared his throat. "Can I rant now? This is a very serious topic, but... I need to talk."
Although she nodded, Spring Bonnie had to admit that she did not understand much of the conversation that followed. Programmed to be around kids and provide entertainment for them in the form of innocent fun, she could not understand the process of a divorce and what it meant for both parents involved, though she listened. She listened, and listened, until William had said everything that was on his heavy, human heart.
He smiled between tears and buried his face in his hands. His whole body was trembling; she did not recall ever seeing him in such a pitiful state. But even though she was concerned about him, she chose not to intervene, letting him do the talking that he desperately needed out of his head. He sniffled between strangled sobs and continued, without looking at her, "And I don't know how to process it... I don't know how to tell the kids about it. Everything just became so much more complicated..."
"Maybe then don't tell them."
"And I keep hidden the fact she...?"
Spring Bonnie nodded. "If it's just going to hurt them, they don't need to know. Sometimes, you have to keep some secrets to protect your family, you know? At least, I guess."
William frowned, hesitant to retort, though he stopped himself. Instead of the question that was burning his tongue, he asked, "Where did you get such knowledge of family matters?"
"Oh, kids told me. They say to lie to protect their loved ones... I suppose this applies here too," Spring Bonnie said, leaning against the wall next to the shelves supporting several endoskeleton heads and arms. "Telling them she's dead isn't going to make them feel good, is it?"
"Of course not... She was their mother."
"Then don't tell them."
William thought about it for a minute, completely still and silent. He understood that she could not relate to anything he said, surely. But he appreciated the gesture of her actually being there for him, unlike everyone else that he knew of. Henry had not... paid much attention when he had explained the whole situation and how it was eating him up. He had simply dismissed it and spoken about work; the only thing William did not want to focus on. While he was busy taking care of his crumbling family, Henry dissed him for not showing enough dedication to their establishment, not enough involvement in Spring Bonnie's repairs that started to accumulate.
All in all: Henry had been a rather bad friend.
William pushed the thought aside, grinned at Spring Bonnie and nodded in her direction before standing up to make his way out. "I trust you'll be ready for the party: everything has to be perfect."
"Oh don't say that," Spring Bonnie actually smirked. Smart machine. "You're going to make Fred even more stressed."
"He's always nervous, isn't he?"
"Part of his IA surely."
William snorted and shook his head, then he pulled at the door to open it. "And you're the carefree rabbit. Figures."
Spring Bonnie watched him leave, and allowed herself to sit down when the door shut. Carefree, he said... Perhaps he was right: unlike Fredbear, she was confident that she could make parties better with her mere presence. The kids loved her! They all spent their time around her asking her questions such as, "What's your favorite show?" or "What's your favorite dessert?" to which she always answered she liked chocolate the best. Carefree... Afton was not wrong, she was not one to be concerned over small details.
Meanwhile, Fredbear... worried too much. He kept singing the same songs every day after-hours, as though to make sure that he would not forget one line of them during the night. Did Henry program him to be such a perfectionist? Not that it was a flaw, but... the bear did not live well with it.
And Spring Bonnie was worried about him.
The screaming, giggling and— evidently— crying of children woke her from her mechanical trance. She blinked her eyes twice, as though to awaken her jolts, and spun around when Fredbear burst out of the back room with a worn out expression on his face. He lowered his ears and mimicked a sigh, before shaking his head. "I can't do it. I know what's going to happen."
"I told you, Fred, Evan is under my protection," Spring Bonnie reminded him. "Nothing bad can happen!"
"Nothing at all?"
"Of course not!" Spring Bonnie cheered, and she tilted her head to the side when Fredbear hesitated to pick up his glittery, silver microphone. She pushed herself in his direction and picked it up for him, handing it to him while adjusting his purple tie. "Just trust me, I watch everything. Just three songs, and you're back inside."
Fredbear groaned. "Three songs... I'll panick and forget them."
"You've never done so before!"
"Doesn't mean it can't—"
"Ready for the show?" a familiar voice interrupted their exchange, causing Spring Bonnie to spin around and grin. Henry stood in the doorway, tapping his fingers along the metal door while he looked at them expectantly. When Fredbear did not respond, Henry furrowed his brows and stepped inside, after gesturing toward the main show area, which let Spring Bonnie know that he was telling someone he would be right back. "Fred? What's happening, you're not feeling it?"
Fredbear slumped his shoulders.
If animatronics could cry, Fredbear would be sobbing.
Spring Bonnie decided to intervene, smiling at Henry in the fakest way possible— she did not like him very much, why would she pretend to be his best animatronic friend? "I'm handling the situation, Mr. Emily."
"Poorly."
"He'll be ready in five minutes. Five minutes?" Spring Bonnie suggested.
Henry sighed through the nose but returned to the dining area, while Fredbear paced in the Parts & Services room, his fingers fidgeting as he nervously bit his lower jaw. "Are you sure? It's going to be okay?"
"Three songs. What could go wrong?"
"A lot."
"Well, don't think about it!" Spring Bonnie beamed. "Come on, big bear, we've got this! It's not the first time we're out for birthday parties and we've always handled that well!"
Though he did not seem convinced. "What if this time it doesn't go well?"
"And what if it goes well and you just worry over nothing?" Spring Bonnie responded, her arms crossed.
Fredbear looked at her in surprise, but he nodded his head lightly and grabbed his tophat. He stared into it, tapping his left foot on the ground in anticipation, but locked it into place before he walked out to the show area. Yes! A win for Spring Bonnie, yet again!
Happy that she managed to cheer him up, Spring Bonnie followed after him, and both of the golden animatronics made their way to the stage; although it was slow and steady, because Fredbear was panicking. Between mumbles and heavy 'breaths' emanating from his voice box, Fredbear only took a firm step when Spring Bonnie managed to comfort him. She always knew what to say, did she not? Was she not the smartest bunny in existence?
While Spring Bonnie helped Fredbear on the stage, she noticed Evan was crying at a table with his father. William tried to show him drawings of the robots, surely made by children, in order to reassure him. It worked, for a while. Evan calmed down and snuggled to his father's side as the first song played, for all the guests to enjoy and celebrate. Some sung along to the lyrics, while Spring Bonnie played her instrument to guide the children in the rhythm.
All was well.
Until William stood up at some point during the party.
Spring Bonnie could not remember when, could not tell why either; he had not spoken to anybody, she would have heard him. Evan immediately tensed up, and curled up in his chair. Spring Bonnie would have joined him, if it was not for another song to be requested and played. She could not leave the stage, her programming would not allow her to free-roam while a song was performed. She was locked into place, watching as a group of teenagers wearing animatronic masks— the ugly, Fazbear ones— walk up to Evan to taunt him.
They spoke between themselves, words that she could hardly decypher: something about bringing Evan closer to the stage. Evan screamed and wiggled to get away from them as they lifted him off the chair. Spring Bonnie's systems roared and creaked as she attempted to make a move; she needed to step in before something bad happened. She could tell that those kids were not going to spare Evan a good scare... and was scared of what that implied.
Fredbear briefly stopped singing, though his programming kicked in and forced him into continuing the song. He glanced toward Spring Bonnie, alarmed, though she nodded to signify that she was also trapped and forced to watch.
The teenager wearing a very recognizable fox mask lifted little Evan up to the stage, and Spring Bonnie felt every joint in her body spring into action. She wanted to help Evan, to scold the kid, whoever he was, for bringing him up to the stage area, which was restricted to the staff. She parted her jaws, her voice box emitted a strong static noise as her eyes locked with those of the teenager holding Evan up. Though that did not seem to faze him, and the kid turned to the group following him.
"I think he wants to give Fredbear a big kiss!" he claimed, much to Fredbear's horror.
Before anyone had time to do anything to stop the group of rebellious teenagers, they lifted Evan up until his head sank in Fredbear's mouth. Fredbear stopped all motion, his eyes wide open in blatant terror, while he tried to fight back his system's multiple failures due to the moisture coming from Evan's tears.
Spring Bonnie gasped; more static came past her jaws, and soon enough, Fredbear could no longer fight it: an inevitable springlock failure shut his mouth and crushed Evan's skull between Fredbear's plastic teeth. The teenagers responsible for the incident froze, and the child wearing the Foxy mask sunk to the ground, in shock.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" came the voice of William from the opposite end of the restaurant.
Henry stood in the doorway to his office, tears flowing down his cheeks while he muttered, "Oh my God, oh my God no..." over and over, as though he was hoping he would wake up from this horrible nightmare.
Spring Bonnie forced her systems to function and rushed toward Fredbear, helping him open up his jaw so that she could extract Evan from it. Fredbear dipped his head before turning away from her; he felt betrayed, she could tell from the way he had glared at her for a short second. She had sworn that nothing would go wrong...
William hurried up to her and picked up his son. He checked on his pulse, sighed through the nose and immediately faced the culprit of the act: a teenager who looked exactly like William did. Was it... Michael? Spring Bonnie wondered, but she took no notice of it since she was caring for Evan.
She heard Henry on the phone with the police.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" William yelled at the teenager, who slumped his shoulders and teared up.
"I'm so sorry... I didn't want this, Dad, I didn't!"
"GET BACK TO THE CAR AND WAIT FOR ME!"
"Dad, NO—"
William stood up, which took Spring Bonnie by surprise. She looked up in fright; she sensed his anger... None of this would end well. His shadow loomed over that of his crouched son below the stage, as he repeated, in a calm, almost cold voice, "Get back to the car. And wait. For. Me."
The teenager gulped and hurried to the car parked outside, his friends watching after him as though it was the last time they were seeing him alive.
Spring Bonnie hugged Evan while William waited for the ambulance to arrive, outside with Henry and clearly yelling at him too.
Fredbear began to cry.
To be continued...
A/N: This chapter is shorter than I had anticipated, but that's okay. I think I want to leave it at that, and move on to some other things, since you guys already knew what would happen. It's not that big of a surprise, so I thought this would be enough to make it significant enough in the story's course.
Thanks everyone for your kind reviews! To answer some of your questions: the main story of the games isn't going to be changed. Yes, William will kill children, yes he'll conduct experiments with remnant energy for his own personal gain. That part is going to be unaltered, it's more so about Henry's involvement that I'm considering what to do. I have yet to decide if I want to follow the "Henry knew all along" route or not... because it's kind of intriguing to me.
A fun idea to explore.
I'll be letting you know more in the future! Until then, see you next time! Next chapter is going to be... hm, I should keep it a surprise :)
