Afton's bunker.

That is what they called this place, a dark and lonely place…The one where they took them took him soon after Chris managed to transfer his soul. The guards decided not to tell anyone else about the incident, and everyone assumed that the torture device simply went into sleep mode. By the time they get back to experiments and realize that it is empty, it will be too late.

His father's workplace…It was cold, but at least he was alone, with no one else to torment him; finally, a moment of respite. Circus Baby, Ballora, Sugar, Kitty…They put each Funtime animatronics into a separate gallery dedicated to them. Each looked like some kind of storage room with instruments and various technologies scattered around. This must have been where the father was doing the maintenance.

As for Chris, he tried his best to figure out what happened to his soul, and now he finally had some understanding. He could switch between four animatronics, from one gaze to another. He could control each of them to an extent, make Ballora dance and spin, make Baby activate her ice-cream-making program, make Sugar look at Dug…It wasn't the same when he was inside the torture device. The only logical answer that emerged in Chris's mind was that his soul got split by the pillar with a shard now attached to each animatronic. At least this made him feel more…Free. Feel like he has some control over his existence. Now all Chris had to do was to wait and hope…Freedom was within his grasp, but he still needed to prepare.

He used the time he had wisely and begun to explore his surroundings. He would search for cameras in each of the galleries, there were only a few, but Chris did his best to break them. He couldn't allow himself to be watched. After that, he looked for clues, for ways to reunite parts of his soul. The answer was not as clear as Chris hoped it would be. However, he found something of note. All rooms were connected with a conveyor that led to a single place that Chris could see on the map, the scooping room. It was a place to destroy broken parts; it must have had something that could break metal easily…There were some control panels, but Chris couldn't use them. The animatronic fingers were too large to press a single button, and the screens were unresponsive. If only there was a human to work on this…

Chris spent most of his time inside Sugar. His gallery was the closest to the exit. The boy looked at the walls in front of him, especially at the pale mask that hung on the wall. It reminded him of a human, of what he once was, of what he wanted to be again. Maybe he will get a chance soon…

"D…Dad…" Chris let out a quiet, yearning moan in a broken voice that mixed both his and that of Sugar. He tried not to make any sound, but the ability to talk again was cathartic. And that wasn't the end of it. Chris discovered he could make the voices switch between a mechanized version of his human voice and that of the animatronic he possessed. The boy didn't know how it was possible, but he could just do it anytime at will.

He wanted Dad to come; he waited for Dad to come. There will be no one to interrupt him here, nothing to prevent him from talking and explaining what happened to William.

And what would happen then? Chris could only imagine…Despite all his father did to him and Lily, the boy still believed he wanted to protect him. He would help him out, move all parts of his soul into a single body and make him…Of course, he could! He was the greatest inventor ever known to mankind. He will create a new body for Chris, the one that would be just like his old one, so he can…Can live again. A hope he desperately clung onto, even though a part of him knew how stupid it was to maintain faith in his father. And Lizzy will be happy to see him again, too…

But what about Mike?

Chris couldn't let go of the thought just yet. Every time he would try to think of his brother in a positive light, countless images would shine before him. The images of Mike jumping from u under his bed, him cackling at Chris's suffering, him always being so cruel and arrogant. How he laughed at Chris's suffering with his nasty friends, how they pulled one cruel joke after another…Alison was right on one matter. It was Mike's fault that Chris had to die and become an animatronic. His fault that he had to endure those monstrous experiments and suffer without seeing the light for days. Him and his friends…It was all their fault. And someday, somehow…

They will pay for this.

…

Come back home when father is away, sneak inside, and take the keycard from William's private desk. Easy, or at least Mike thought so.

As reluctant as Lynda was, she helped him with it by finding out when William got sent to "Circus Baby's" to work with the engineers there. That means he wasn't at home and not in the bunker. There was a chance that the keycard remained in his private desk where he kept all of his possessions relating to work.

When Mike entered the Afton household, the night had already fallen. When he left, he took the spare keys with him in case he had to return; they came in very handy. Liz must have been asleep by now, and as long as Mike remained quiet, she wouldn't even know he was ever here. There was no need to burden his sister any further, considering what she saw and knew. She didn't deserve to wrestle with it; Mike did.

The teenager tiptoed upstairs, careful not to make a single sound. He wasn't very religious and rarely thought of praying, but now his soul couldn't help but sing the prayer he heard of as a child, like a broken, stained song on repeat. Lynda could've been wrong, and William might have returned home already…Mike wasn't quite sure what he was going to do in this case. Would he run? Try and explain himself? Maybe if he was sleeping too, Mike could leave quietly, but Father would often stay up late…So many possibilities, none of them reassuring.

But when Mike stepped into the room, he could finally breathe in relief. The bed was empty, as was the entire room. Father wasn't here. This gave him some time…But he still had to hurry; he couldn't have guessed when William would turn up. The teenager walked towards the desk and tried to see what was inside. It was locked…Of course, it was. Father wouldn't leave something so important for everyone to take. Mike brought some tools with him for such an occasion, but he couldn't think of a way to use them quietly.

"Mike?" A meek girl's voice echoed from behind. Mike jumped in horror and turned around to see her standing right before him…Elizabeth, a tired girl with shocked and fearful eyes, stood in the doorway, watching him as if he was a mysterious alien creature. Mike didn't have to ask or guess if she was alright or how those days have gone for her, the girl's eyes said enough. There wasn't much point in lying. Better her than father.

"Yes…That's me."

"You…You're back!" She spoke up in excitement. "I…I'm not asleep, right? You're really here!"

"Y…Yes." Mike looked away in shame.

"W…What's wrong?" She immediately noticed his reluctance. "Does Daddy know you're here?"

"He can't know." Mike shook his head. "Listen…I wish I could say that I'm returning for good, but I am not. I can't come back yet."

"But…Why? It was so lonely without you…" The heartbreak was evident in her eyes. "Daddy has so little free time, and I-I have nothing to do!"

"Hey, it's alright, just…I need to do something important." Mike admitted, hoping that she would see where he was coming from. "When I left, I worked with what you and Chris told me; I looked into what father's company worked on what they were hiding…And I know now that Chris was right. All this time, he spoke the truth, warned us about what those machines…What our father was doing and I…" Mike closed his eyes, desperately trying to hold back tears. "I hate to ask you if something is yet again, but I must."

"W-what is it?" Liz took a few steps and walked into the room, closer to her brother.

"I am going to take Father's keycard from his bunker, the one where he keeps the animatronics…I will try and get inside, see for myself what it is he is hiding, find some proof of what the company is doing to all their victims…"

"You…Didn't want to wake me up, did you?" The girl understood, once again reading Mike like an open book.

"No, I hoped neither you nor father would know, but now that you do…Please, don't tell him this."

"What? You want me to lie?"

"Well, not really, I mean…Yes." Mike clenched his teeth. "When Father comes back and sees his keycard missing, pretend like you were asleep during the night and that you didn't hear anything at all. He trusts you, and I think he'll believe you. I just need him…I don't him to think about me too much."

"I don't know…"

"Please, Liz. I am not too happy about this, either, but we have to do it for Chris's sake…To do right by all the people who died because of Father."

There was a moment of silence between them; Mike would not force her to make the decision too quickly. Choosing between her loyalty to her father and brother was no simple choice.

"I…" She took a deep breath and looked up at Mike. "Is it…Is it true, Mikey? That daddy is a murderer?"

"It is…Though perhaps he's forced to do it." Mike had to say honestly. Both he and Elizabeth were passed, pretending that every faith they had left in their father was not misguided. They were on their own now.

"Alright." For the first time today, Mike heard confidence in her voice. "I promise I won't tell him."

"T-thank you!" Mike sighed in relief. "I promise I will return when I can. I won't leave you like this…I would never do it." He said as the girl rushed into his embrace once again. With how uncertain tomorrow was, they truly needed this moment.

"Be careful out there…Please."

"If I wasn't careful, I wouldn't have lasted this long." Michael chuckled, realizing that so far he had luck on his side, it could not last forever. And yet he still had to try his best…

When Elizabeth let go, Mike took out the hammer he had brought with him and looked at the desk. It was time to make some noise.

…

"…I see. So, going off by that, what is your conclusion, Mr. Afton?" Alison's intrigued voice echoed from the phone that William carried in his hands on the way from Circus Baby's back home. Far too many calls had to be made during the day for him to simply leave it behind, most of them with Alison…William wasn't sure whether he should be glad that his boss made sure to distract him from facing the dire reality of his broken family or feel the most sincere spite towards him for continuing this cycle of exploitation.

"He is an interesting fellow who claims a lot about himself. I can see some of the qualities you cited, his dedication being one of those. I've yet to see the results of his actual work; that would be a fitting moment for a final conclusion." William recounted his most basic impressions, even though those were far from the reason why Jeremy seemed interesting to him. It was a distant sense of familiarity, something that William could hardly explain.

"You've hired him, didn't you?"

"I saw no reason to refuse. He will use it after the Christmas period."

"Good, we should both watch him and see whether he's a good fit for our family." 'Family'…William despised it when Alison used this word to refer to the company. It felt grotesque and unnatural. And yet, as ironic as it was, this was a family that thrived even despite the setbacks like what happened to Chris…All while William's own family was broken beyond repair. "Anything else to note?"

"There is…Though I am not sure if it would be of interest to you."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"There's something 'off' about him, a strange feeling that I couldn't shake off during our meeting." William didn't think to hide it; some secrets, like what Chris saw, were worth keeping…The same could hardly be said for this one.

"What feeling, exactly?"

"Familiarity, as if I know this man or knew at some point."

"Hm…Does the name ring any bells?"

"No, I'm certain this is the first and only Jeremy Fitzgerald I ever knew."

"Perhaps those are facial features…You should take a good break this weekend, Mr. Afton, or who knows what else you'll imagine yourself seeing." He said with a quiet chuckle.

"It wasn't the face," William responded sternly. "It's the voice, very familiar. Might be just similar to someone I already knew before, but if that is a coincidence, it's certainly a first."

"Who does it remind you of?"

"Hm…" William thought to himself about this and realized that it was a complicated question. The answer evaded him at this point, and no matter how hard he tried, he always got a mixture of a few people from his younger days. "I am not sure yet. Give me a weekend to think this over."

"You were right, Mr. Afton, this is hardly worth my attention…Don't speak of this unless you'll have something concrete to offer."

"I thought you'd react this way. Now, may I finally get a day and a half free of your nagging? It's weekend, after all."

"Yes, Mr. Afton, you may. I have other matters to attend to, the ones to do with the recent loss of…Ah, no matter, we'll discuss this later."

"Good, just the break I need," William said and put his phone down. He had more than enough of that man for many weeks to come, although he couldn't even dream of having a break that would last this long. Poor Elizabeth had to spend almost all night and morning alone after William got called to Circus Baby's to oversee the cleaning and maintenance of the building while the animatronics were away. The first thing Will would have to do on Monday would be to descend into his bunker and prepare Funtime animatronics for even more performances…Performances that would go uninterrupted until another child gets caught. Elizabeth didn't know any of that for better or worse, and William barely had any time to comfort her due to his never-ending work. She was an independent child, independent enough to stay on her own…But she still yearned for love and understanding, people to talk to. All she got instead was silence.

When William opened the door, he could hear a quiet sob of a girl coming from the living room, immediately making his heart sink. It was Elizabeth, and dozens of thoughts ran through William's mind at this very moment. The thoughts of something horrible that could happen to her while he foolishly left her alone.

"Elizabeth!" William shouted and rushed to the living room to see her on the sofa. The man felt the urge to let out a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't harmed, except for her eyes growing a little red due to tears.

"D…Daddy…" She looked up at him sheepishly.

"I'm sorry I came so late, I…What happened? Are you alright?"

"I…I am." The girl took a deep breath as William sat beside her. "It's just…I am sorry!"

"Hey, calm down." William put his hand on his daughter's shoulder before offering her a warm embrace. "You're not alone now, you're safe with me…Just tell what happened."

"I should've done something…"

"About what?"

"When I woke up, I…I checked your office to see if you have returned already, and…" Perhaps it was too early to let go of his fears. "Your desk is broken, the one you keep all your work stuff in…It's all missing."

"Someone was here?!"

"It must have been when I was sleeping; I didn't see anything…"

Immediately after those words, William charged upstairs to see his office. When he finally reached, all of his worst suspicions have been confirmed.

…

Previous evening

And here he was, the gates of Fazbear Inc. Late on Friday, when most of its workers have left to their homes, even though the lights inside the tall building were still on. Mike wondered if there were still some guards that remained to observe the place overnight, there must have been. If they were truly keeping so many secrets here, Father and Alison would not leave this place untended.

The teenager sighed. This was still an incredibly reckless and even stupid act. He talked to Lynda about it before breaking into Father's possessions and taking the card, she thought it was too soon and careless, but Mike didn't see anything worse than interrogating people and holding hostage on the streets. Their only alternative was to continue trying to search for Lockjaw, even though the few minutes Mike spent beside him were enough to understand that he didn't want to reveal himself just yet. That was his choice, and Mike has left no choice but to jump right inside the beast's maw and confront the secrets his father was hiding.

When he was ready, Mike finally walked inside.

The white halls were very quiet, but Mike heard some steps echoing from both sides; he had to be very careful. The teenager tiptoed towards the wall with the mapping of the place, and wherever the directions pointed, he needed to find Father's bunker as quickly as possible. Mike wore a coat with a hood that masked his face, he didn't want anyone to authenticate him, but even so, he did his best to sneak past the cameras. Apparently, after 'going out' with Lynda, Mike acquired quite a skill for it. He was always a quick learner. Eventually, he discovered the directives towards a 'restricted zone,' the place where he should be heading. There was no way back now.

Mike walked up the stairs, following the directives as carefully and calmly as possible. When he is inside, he will be able to breathe out; all he will have to worry about are cameras, if there are any at all, his father definitely wasn't there, and other engineers had a weekend ahead of them, as well. But what if there is someone else guarding the bunker in case anyone chooses to infiltrate? Did they consider the 'upper section' important enough to spare guards for it? Mike wasn't sure, but he would find out the hard way. Lynda didn't approve, but he wondered what other people he cared about would say. Father would call it suicidal, and so would Jim; Lamar'd probably scoff at the mere suggestion…Perhaps Gron would have approved. Perhaps the monster he saw in the shadows would approve. It was an oddly comforting thought. As Mike pondered on what might await him, he wandered through the halls and finally reached his target.

The elevator.

It seemed innocuous and was colored in the same way as the wall was, pale white, almost merging with its surroundings, but Mike knew that it must have been the one.

"Hey, wait a moment!" He heard an intrigued yet stern voice echo from behind, making Mike immediately freeze, and his heartbeat increase drastically. Just when he thought he was lucky enough not to get caught, a watchful gaze of one of the guards immediately came to haunt him. Mike took a deep breath and turned around. "Don't think I've seen you around here. Why are you just strolling around like it's nothing?"

"Oh, hello there." Mike tried to remain calm and collected. "Don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble."

"Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm…I'm an intern, here to help the engineers with the upcoming maintenance of the Funtime animatronics."

"Really?" The man raised an eyebrow. "You don't really look like one." Mike gulped quietly, realizing that he was about to get uncovered…All he could do was to react as confidently as possible, so much so that that guard wouldn't even question him. He was tough with his brother and Mike's pals. How was this supposed to be any different?

"Listen…I know Mr. Afton. He requested that I watch over the animatronics, okay? And if that's not enough for you, look at this." He took out the keycard. "I have clearance, and if you are going to make a fuss about it, I'm gonna take it up with Mr. Afton; you don't want to deal with him, don't you?"

"No…I suppose not."

"Then can we both go on about our business?"

"Fine, do whatever…Kids these days, no respect at all."

Mike waited for him to leave before letting out an all-encompassing sigh of relief. That was too close.

He couldn't have something like that happen again. Mike walked to the elevator; it was time to descend into the darkness and see the secrets of Fazbear Inc for himself before uncovering them before the whole world.

For Elizabeth's future.

For Chris's past.

For his redemption.