The authorities came quickly, though not necessarily because of Henry's call. The entire town of Price had seen the red glow in the sky and had called. If anyone wondered about his delay in calling, they wrote it off as him being traumatized or having an issue escaping.
Logan came soon after that. Henry had already been cleared by the paramedics. The worse he had was smoke inhalation but they judged it would clear up. Henry was happy they didn't look too deep lest they find the bruises most likely forming around his neck.
He absentmindedly rubbed his neck, wincing at how sore it was. Subconsciously, he made sure the collar of his flannel was flipped up to hide the worst of it. He wouldn't know how to explain them being there and especially the size of the hands that dealt them.
He watched sadly as Logan and Ness stumbled out of their car, staring up at the smoldering wreck. They were both still in their pajamas, Logan in a pair of sweats and a robe and his cousin in matching bunny pjs. They both seemed upset, judging by how Logan looped his arm around his cousin and pulled her in for a hug. A pang of sadness washed over Henry. Sure, the pair was a little grating and didn't consider the implications of the place but he didn't necessarily want them hurt when the place burned.
"Mr. Emily, how are you doing?"
He was startled from his thoughts, finding the pair standing over him, Logan looking concerned. He supposed Ness would be too but she looked dead on her feet. He nodded, "Little rattled but the docs cleared me."
"Good," Logan smiled, "I'm glad to hear. When my buddy called me and said the place was on fire, I was, like, so worried."
He looked at the smoldering wreck of the attraction, "What about Fazbear's Fright?"
"Psssh," he waved him off, "It sucks and I don't know if I'm going to get anything from the insurance but hey, you're alright! I don't know how I would have coped if you died because I made a shoddy place."
"Y'know. You're a good guy. I admit I wasn't sure how to feel about you and your operation at first but I admit I was hasty."
Logan beamed. They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching as the firefighters made sure the entire place was put out and that none of the surrounding area was in danger. Soon the cops showed up and they were pulled over to be questioned.
Henry had to lie, something that was easier than he thought. He told them he had been in the office, checking the cameras when he saw the fire start because a fallen over arcade machine. He had high-tailed it out as fast as he could in the maze of a place. They didn't seem to question his testimony.
Poor Logan was railed into for his building's less-than-par safety conditions and how he could have put others in danger. But considering the only thing that had been damaged was his own property, he was let off with just that. He retreated back over to ask the firefighters something, his cousin trailing behind.
Henry lingered, though he probably didn't have to. He didn't really want to be the first one gone.
Soon, Logan returned, practically jogging up to him. "Did you hear? The firefighters couldn't find Spring! I'm sure they would have found his endoskeleton or something but no!"
Henry looked up, feigning bewilderment, "Really?"
"Mhm! It's like he just walked right out!" he nodded vigorously.
"Huh," he shot him a crooked smile and shrugged, "Maybe he was haunted after all."
"Maybe," he turned, his eyes roving over the ruined building, the fairgrounds then the woods.
He turned back, rubbing his arms, "Actually, that gives me major heebie-jeebies…"
"Maybe don't go camping or out of town alone for a while. Just in case."
He nodded slowly and turned to his cousin, "You hear that Ness? You see Springtrap or anything like him, stay far away."
She nodded slowly, yawning as she did, "Whatever you say, cuz."
Henry hauled himself off the ground where he was sitting, "I reckon I'm going to head out. I gave the cops my number in case they need anything else or something comes up so I don't think I'm needed here anymore."
"You heading back to Hurricane?" Logan asked.
He shrugged, "Where else can I go?"
Logan nodded and held out his hand, "Shame about everything that happened but sir, it really was an honor to meet you."
Henry's cheeks flushed, embarrassed, but he returned the shake, "That's really flattering. It was nice to meet someone like you."
He paused then held up one hand, "Hold on one sec actually."
Logan and Ness exchanged a glance but didn't say anything as he disappeared into his truck. He returned with a check and pressed it into Logan's hands, "Listen, it definitely is not enough to replace everything but it's the least I can do."
Logan's eyes widened, "Dude...dude, I can't accept this."
"Of course you can," his eyes glinted mischievously, "It's rude to refuse a gift."
Logan looked back at the check then back at him. His voice cracked as he said, "Thank you, Mr. Emily…"
He smiled warmly, "Now, you two be safe."
With that, he left. Once back at the hotel, he found Michael in his hotel room, dozing in the chair. His head was set on his chest and he seemed peaceful, cradling the Fredbear plush close to himself. Henry frowned softly. Michael had probably been disappointed. The answers he so craved had been snatched from him. Perhaps that disappointment was so profound he'd rather sleep than dwell on it.
He shook him awake, "Mike. Do you want to go to bed and head out later?"
He looked back, blinking blearily. He nodded and stood, shambling out back to his room where he practically collapsed into his bed.
Despite him being tired, Michael's sleep was restless. In his dreams, he stumbled through endless flaming hallways until his father, as he was in life, appeared at the end of one, promising the answers he owed Michael. But when he dashed after him, the hall, the fires and most importantly, his father dissolved into darkness. A dead flashlight sat in his hands, holding no help to navigating the pitch blackness. He stumbled through, calling for his father. He only quieted when he heard something following him, the sound of wires sliding over tiled floor. Even when he broke into a sprint, it still pursued as if it was right behind him.
"Mikey!"
He startled awake, frantically looking for the threat, "Huh, wuh?"
Cassidy sat on the bed beside him, "Are you alright, Mikey?"
"Yeah...yeah…," he sat up, drawing his knees to his chest and propping his head on them.
He slumped and sighed, "Fuck. That was a crazy night."
"Yeah. It was."
Michael brooded for a few minutes more, his brother sitting in comfortable silence with him. He glanced over at the digital clock on the night stand. It was morning, nearing seven o'clock. As such, it was still dark outside and inside the room. He asked, "Do you know if the children moved on?"
Cassidy nodded solemnly, "I...felt them move on last night. Me, Charlie, Elizabeth and father are all who remain."
"And the other Funtimes but I'm not actually sure if they're possessed," Michael closed his eyes and sighed deeply, "At least we got something done. Oh well. Those poor kids really deserved being freed."
Cassidy nodded in agreement, "I'm happy for them."
Michael turned to him, "Do you...wish you could have gone with them?"
"No," seeing Michael surprised, he elaborated, "I want to be here with you. I want to get rid of Dad. Then I can go."
He could tell his brother was taken aback as he stared silently back. Then a small smile formed on his lips, "When we go, we go together."
Cassidy returned the smile and nodded.
Then, as if they didn't just have such a touching moment, Michael hopped up out of bed, plush in hand, "Let's go for a walk, get woken up before we head home."
"Sounds good to me."
Michael grabbed the plush and headed on out into the cool, still dark morning. Cassidy floated after, unseen to anyone but his brother.
His planned walk was brought to a pause. Through the curtains of Henry's room, there was a lamp on. The two shared a glance then went over instead to knock on the door.
"...Mike, is that you?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing awake?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing?"
There was silence then the door clicked. "Come on in," he called.
The brothers shared a curious but concerned glance before heading on in.
Inside, Henry was sitting in the armchair at the little table in the corner. A composition notebook and many pages tore from it were spread out in front of him. They could tell that some held notes and others held sketches. In the corner of the table, the coffee maker burbled as it brewed coffee. By the paper cup beside it, it seemed this wasn't the first pot it had brewed that morning.
He walked over. Some of the sketches included an animatronic bear. He turned to him, "Have you slept at all?"
Henry chuckled sheepishly, "No?"
Michael scowled, crossing his arms, "Alright. What's all this then?"
Contrary to what he expected, Henry's face lit up. Hell, he looked brighter than he had for a while, even before they came here. Michael couldn't stay mad. "So I had a realization," he pointed to a diagram of the Marionette, "The Marionette's prime directive is to find and protect children using bracelets. Essentially, she did this by receiving and sending signals in certain frequencies. Now, you, Elizabeth and Charlie had special bracelets, all with their own unique frequency,as you might remember. So if I find the right frequency…,"
His annoyance melted, "You can find Charlie!"
Henry nodded enthusiastically, "Now there's a few problems with this. Mainly that the Marionette's radius for receiving signals isn't all that large. We didn't really ever need it to be that big. Thus, that's where this guy comes in."
He handed him a sketchy diagram of an animatronic bear, who resembled Freddy. The diagram showed how it could open and store something. "What's this bear have to do with it?" he asked.
"Eveything. This bear will have similar capabilities of sending and receiving signals. He'll be hyper durable and weatherproof, to protect her on her way back home. He will comb the area, "calling" for her then capture and bring her home. Admittingly, I'm going to be borrowing some design elements from your father's creations."
"Wouldn't that be really scary for her?" Michael set the papers down, "The Funtimes aren't known to be comforting."
Henry nodded and turned, jotting down "How do I make it a comforting experience for Charlie?" on a piece of paper. He grinned at him, "See, this is why I'd like you to help me design and build our friend."
"Me?" he pointed at himself, "Really?"
"Of course! You're artistic and I'll eat my hat if you didn't inherit at least an ounce of the ol' mechanical prowess. Plus you're smart as a whip."
"I dunno," he bowed his head, "I wouldn't say that."
Cassidy floated in front of him, "C'mon give yourself some more credit, Mikey! Can I help, Uncle Henry?"
"We'll need all the help we can get!"
As he cheered, Michael's attention returned to the papers, specifically a diagram of how the Puppet's signal ability worked, "Y'know. Dad's tracker might as well be busted at this point but who says we can't co-opt the technology for ourselves? Plus, we can use your idea to find Lizzie and the other Funtimes since they must have similar stuff if it can track them."
"Of course! And it has a larger range too!" he began frantically jotting down notes, "Like I said, smart as a whip! Maybe we can lure them somewhere we want them to be?"
Michael grinned, "Yes! That only leaves Dad then!"
"I'll have to see if maybe I can find a frequency the suit can follow...maybe even use the sound of children, like the lure in Fazbear's Fright," he stopped writing and smiled at him, "Michael. I think we can end this. If we can find them, we can end this. Once and for all."
Michael grinned back, his excitement infectious, "Then let's not wait. Let's get going so we can get started."
AN: happy 7th anniversary of fnaf! i didnt mean to post the end of this today but it worked out nicely! ngl this is my favorite so far (but fun stuff is coming up!). i didnt anticipate how much i was gonna love logan so im definitely gonna keep a hold of him to see if I can use him for something else.
this fic was originally going to have michael as the protag but early on i decided to use henry instead because I wanted him to get some attention. and turns out, this is going to lead wonderfully into the next fic (which isn't quiteee pizza sim yet but its laying the foundations). i was also going back n forth having logan join the group but that would kind of solve a lot of problems too soon. though im considering doing a one-shot exploring that sometime!
