{Ah here we are at the finale... well for now anyways, thanks for sticking around. be sure to stay tuned, the story doesn't end here ;)
end of note}
He hadn't expected the place to go up so quickly.
But maybe that was for the best, didn't have to linger longer than he had to.
The flames reached up and licked at his sides,
He didn't feel the heat as much as he thought.
Guess that's one bonus of having a robotic body.
He looked up at the ceiling, it'd soon collapse and cover his body with rubble.
But for a brief moment he thought he saw several souls float up and away.
One soul, that looked to be a woman with longer hair, looked back down at him. Then slowly waved before floating away on balloons.
Springtrap found himself slowly waving back.
They deserved their freedom.
Just as he deserved to burn.
He sat against a wall, briefly contemplating where his soul would end up.
He decided it didn't matter in the end.
He'd end up in whatever punishment he rightly deserved.
So he closed his eyes and let the flames consume him.
—
Ethan woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. Weird, he thought, that wasn't his alarm. He pushed himself onto his side and answered, with a yawn he spoke.
"Sup?"
"Fritz! Oh my god you've gotta get over here!" Justin was on the other line, Ethan almost forgot about him. Where had he been all week?
"Huh? Slow down, what's going on?" Ethan pushed himself up more, Justin was noticeably distressed but Ethan didn't know what would be upsetting him so much.
"It's the worst! I don't know what happened if it was an accident or or someone sabotaged the place and I haven't got a clew and neither do the investigators-"
"What's going on Justin?" Ethan demanded, slightly more serious. What Justin said nearly made him drop his phone.
"It's Fazbear's fright! It's up in flames!"
—-
Ethan has never gotten himself out of bed and dressed so quickly in his life, he only just managed to grab a cereal bar before jumping into his car and speeding his way towards Fazbear's fright, he could see the smoke rising as he turned the corner and pulled into a parking spot. Firefighters were putting out the last of the flames, but even still Ethan could see the wreckage of the building. How big had this fire been? His mind immediately jumped to Springtrap, was he okay? Did he know this would happen?
He looked so certain when he left last night... did he?...
And it clicked
he never did get an answer for if Springtrap wanted to atone... maybe this was his way of doing it.
"Oh my god..." Ethan whispered, he let it out forced, nervous chuckle. "The absolute madman, he actually did it!"
"Mister Smith!" Ethan turned and spotted Justin waving him down, jogging towards him. Ethan waved back.
"Do you know what happened?" Ethan asked, the younger man next to him shook his head.
"I'm not sure, I've heard investigators say it was an electrical fire or, or something I don't... maybe I shouldn't have gone so old school with this thing..." the man looked dejected. Ethan patted his back.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted" Ethan tried to sound calm.
"I-I'll be sure to send you your pay, though I doubt this place will be reopening... awww man and I found such good props too." Justin ran his fingers through his hair nervously. "And I even just had the t shirts delivered! I- I don't think I can get a refund on those''
"Wait t shirts?" Ethan looked over, Justin nodded.
"Y-yah I thought it'd be neat. Selling those 'I survived' yadda yadda style shirts would be awesome! I drew up a design and everything it was so cool! And now I can't even sell them here!... maybe I can pawn them off online?" He mumbles trying to think of a plan. Ethan pauses, then decides why nod?
"You got a few of those I can take home?" Ethan asked. Justin gave a small smile as he nodded.
"Sure, there's in my trunk, pick out as many as you'd like I Uh... I got a lot" Justin motioned as he jogged over to his car, he popped open the truck and opened a cardboard box. Ethan sifted threw a few and pulled out one in his size.
"What do you think? I drew up the design myself" Justin asked, smiling nervously.
The shirt had a circular logo for the attraction, in the center was a stylized depiction of Springtrap himself, though he looked more cartoony than usual, he had a snarl to make him look semi intimidating. Surrounding the logo were the words 'I survived Fazbear's fright! And all I got was this crummy t-shirt'
Ethan grinned. "Dude, I love it! I'll take ten" Justin let out a genuine smile and nodded.
So Ethan walked away from the truck with a handful of t shirts, and tossed them into his passenger side door. He took one more look over towards the remains of the attraction, the fire was out by now.
There was hardly anything left.
Ethan sighed. "Goodbye guys, see ya on the flip side" he gave a small wave before climbing into his car.
Before he shut the door he felt a cold chill crawl up his spine. Ethan shrugged it off as the wind, though his mind wanted to argue otherwise.
In the end he decided not to worry and started his near silent drive home.
—
Ethan was back home and laying on his bed, he had a few of those novelty t shirts tossed haphazardly into his closet, 'for my collection' he thought. He idly looked over towards his phone. From what he gathered nothing would have survived that fire.
Springtrap was gone.
...something in his gut told him that wasn't entirely correct. But even if the rotten robot was still alive Ethan had no idea where he would be.
He lost someone yet again.
Ethan grabbed a pillow and shoved it into his face, feeling the uncomfortable pressure of his glasses pressed against his nose. He didn't want to but his mind started to spiral into negatives. He was alone, he wasn't getting them back, he'd be stuck in this too big house alone for the rest of his pathetic life.
...
But was he really?
He tossed his pillow away and picked up his phone. There was still someone out there he could reach out to.
And it was about time he stopped hiding.
So he sat up from his bed, slipped on his shoes, and started walking.
The spot was a distance away, but he needed the exercise so Ethan didn't mind. Soon enough he was down a hiking path and crossing a dirt road, the gravel crunches against his shoes as he approached a stone bridge, it was old and had vines growing around the columns, but it still held one of the nicest views Ethan had access to. A small creek flowing down a forest path into the horizon.
He remembers when he and his twin would sneak out here to play, they'd be pirates or superheroes, sometimes secret agents traveling into dangerous territory to save the damsel in distress.
Ethan pulled out his phone,
He was vaguely aware of how his hands shook holding the device. Stifling his fear he dialed an old familiar number, he held the phone to his ear as it rang.
And it rang.
And rang.
And rang...
"Hi you've reached the phone of Fritz Smith. I can't come to the phone right now but if you leave a name and number I'll get back to you. Thanks! Have a great day."
Voice mail. Of course it was a voicemail, he was probably asleep. Time Zones. Ethan debated just hanging up then and there, but he forced himself to stay on the line until he heard the tone.
"Hey Fritz! It's me Ethan, yah I know it's uh, it's been a while but hey I'm not dead yet. Haha. Uh... sorry I've taken so long to reach out I Uh... I've had some stuff I've needed to work on... for myself really. Hope you are doing well! Love to talk with you again sometimes. Just call when you're free." Ethan hesitated, then added "love you bro. Bye" and he ended the call. Ethan sighed and leaned over the railing of the stone bridge. He pocketed his phone and looked out over the creak.
"It's a start" he nodded to himself. He stated in place for a long minute before finally deciding to turn back and walk home.
By the time he was back through the door his feet hurt. Ethan sighed and moved to the living room, he flopped back onto the couch and sighed. He really just wanted to pass out then and there.
But something felt off.
It felt colder than usual, not uncomfortably so but still cold. He sat up and looked around. The only other time it was that cold was when...
When Mari had followed him home.
He sat up a little straighter, it couldn't have been one of the kids, they had moved on, he'd seen them fly off. He doubted it was the purple bunny. He just had a great feeling that guy was gone along with William.
So that only left.
"Holy shit. Billy?" He called out, he didn't get an audible response, but the lights dimmed ever so slightly. Ethan laughed, then shook his head.
"You know when you said you'd find somewhere else to stay I didn't think you'd room with me." The man crosses his arms, he definitely felt some presence that was in the room with him, but for some reason couldn't see the green ghost anymore.
Maybe it was because mari had moved on? He wouldn't be surprised if she was the reason he could even see the phantoms in the first place. The man shrugged.
"Alright, you can stay, only rules are don't break my stuff and stay out of my bedroom and bathroom." He leaned back into the couch cushion, and he could swear he heard that gremlin laughing. But despite everything he didn't feel threatened.
Ethan just mentally prepared himself for some colder rooms and maybe flickering lights in his future.
After spending the evening watching bad horror movies and making one sided conversation with his demon roommate Ethan decided to call it a night. He pulled on something comfortable and crawled into bed, passing out soon after.
—
He was surrounded by stars.
He was seated in a bench in an open field.
The glowing orbs lighting the sky were of multiple colors.
He felt like if he reached out he could grab one.
So he held out an arm and reached.
But his arm was caught by a blue grey claw.
He looked over and saw another man sitting with him, Ethan blinked, he had a bob haircut that was shorter in the back, but two strands of hair shot to the side against the rest of the due. Ethan almost though the outfit he was wearing looked Victorian. Then the man opened his mouth to speak.
"Sub Bitch?"
Ethan nearly jumped from how different the tone was from his attire. The man blinked.
"Oh? So now you're invading my dreams too?"
"Don't Get Used To It. You Can't See Me Anymore So We've Gotta Talk Somehow." Billy grinned and leaned back on the bench. "You Gotta Nice Place. Might Stick Around For A While" the demon grinned.
"I mean, you can, I literally can't stop you... unless I called an exorcist... but like why my place? There's plenty of old warehouses and mansions that are ripe for demonic haunting." Ethan asked, he looked back over to the field, spotting a lake, it reflected the stars on its surface. Just at the edge there was a small fishing dock. He wondered if anyone used it.
"Been There. Done That. Think I Might Try That Vacation Thing You Humans Always Brag About."
"Oh so my house is a vacation home now? Charming" Ethan rolled his eyes. Billy huffed.
"Shut Up! I Don't Know Any Other Humans Who'd Tolerate Me." He looked to the side, briefly glancing at the lake, it almost looked a shade of red mixed with the deep blues and blacks of the night sky. "Besides, You're An Interesting Human. Nobody Else Has Ever Tried To Name Me Before" Billy fidgeted with his hands. Ethan moves before he really thought about it. He pat the other on the back.
"Yah well I've never had a demon roommate before. Stay as long as you need to buddy. Just uh, don't try anything too crazy on me okay?" Ethan chuckled. "My life is already enough of a mess"
The other grinned back at him, then stood up. "I'll Remember That. Sweet Dreams Ethan Smith~" he laughed before floating off into the distance.
Ethan looked back over towards the lake. He could swear he saw someone on the dock fishing.
He shrugged and looked back up towards the stars.
If he looked hard enough he could see the balloons the kids used to float away.
He smiled, hoping they're happy wherever they've gone.
—
Cassidy looked down from her spot above the clouds. The others had eagerly run off to greet other dead relatives or friends, some strangers with wings greeted them with open arms and joyful smiles.
But Cassidy wasn't happy.
She should be, she had her happiest day, her killer is dead, she's moved into the afterlife.
But she isn't satisfied.
She looked down at the remains of the horror attraction. Her fist tightened against her leg.
She wasn't satisfied.
Her killer got off too easily.
She was told what happened that week before. About Ethan and how he was insistent on helping everyone.
How he almost got killed himself.
How he tried to be kind to the monster that destroyed her life.
"It doesn't make sense" she mumbled under her breath.
"What doesn't make sense?" Another voice asked, Cassidy looked up and spotted Marigold standing near her. The younger girl looked away and sighed.
"It's not fair, why do we have to forgive him? He took everything from us" Cassidy whined, trying to not let her anger boil over in front of the older girl. Marigold hummed and shook her head.
"Nobody said you had to forgive him" Cassidy looked back surprised.
"What? But I thought that-"
"I haven't forgiven him, I'm not sure I'll be able to '' Marigold looked out across the plain they existed on, the fluffy pinks and soft oranges of a morning sunrise spread across the cotton clouds. "But I've decided to move on. To move forward. I don't believe he will be of danger anymore"
"How are you so sure of that?" Cassidy demanded. She shook her head. "How can you be so sure he won't hurt anyone again"
"Well... I just have this feeling." Marigold hummed. "He's got someone looking out for him. Maybe he can come to understand exactly what it was like for us all those years. Maybe he will improve?"
"Or maybe he will just spiral even further and kill again" Cassidy darkly grumbled. Marigold shook her head. "You weren't there, you didn't see how he reacted that night." She looked over to her younger companion. "I think that was him starting to realize what he's done." Cassidy stayed quiet. Marigold sighed and stood up. "Whatever his path in life... it's no longer our responsibility, we shouldn't stress about it anymore." Marigold smiles at her younger friend. "Come on, Susie Found her dog Cookie, she wants everyone to meet him" Cassidy looked up, then back down towards the earth.
"I'll be there in a minute" Marigold seemed satisfied with the answer and walked off.
Cassidy looked back down. She crossed her arms.
"I'm not satisfied yet. He hasn't suffered enough." She grumbled softly. Shaking her head she turned and followed after marigold. She decided there wasn't much she could do now.
But she could wait.
And she could plan
Because one day she was sure,
He'd get what he deserved.
Even if she had to do it herself.