Another night, another dream, another circle of hell that the unfortunate child found himself amidst.
When Chris opened his eyes and felt the dark presence again, there was no doubt in his mind as to where he was. It was another dream, another nightmare that could not be distinguished from reality by virtue of its reach, undeniable and impossible to resist. He could not run, he could not hide, only try and hold the demons back along with his only friend.
Chris grabbed the flashlight and stood from his bed; everything around him was consumed by silence, suspiciously so. He looked at the window, half-expecting to see the dark manifestation of Chica lurking there, but there was nothing but an illusion of the outside forest. How ironic…He wished she would appear, wished something would show itself so he knew what it was he fought…
The closet.
This was the first time Fredbear spoke this night, causing Chris to turn around and look at the white closet, which was now covered by the dancing shadows. It was where he would keep his plushies, especially in the last few days as he desperately tried to hide them from Mike; Chris couldn't suffer to watch another one get damaged.
He's there.
As Fredbear said this, Chris's thoughts immediately raced to Mike. He thought of him hiding in the closet, giggling to himself menacingly, anticipating the moment of finally making his little brother suffer and cry; this thought scared him more than any monster.
"I…I can't…"
You must.
Fredbear's words were strict and direct, leaving Chris no choice but to walk towards the closet. When the boy finally pushed the doors open, he saw two crimson eyes staring at him. Moments later, a twisted, broken version of Foxy closed its jaws, letting out a violent bark at Chris and causing the boy to shake and look away. It was what he saw when Mike jumped out, if only for a few moments…The image that he created in his head, the ravenous beast that sought his flesh and blood and which would show him no mercy. It was a cruel, ruthless judgment, and he could not escape it, even in his dreams.
The light.
Chris clung to the flashlight and pressed the button, pointing it at Foxy. The beast slowed down and froze just after leaving its jaw wide open. Chris could see its face in great detail now; it looked like an animatronic, yet the killer instinct was much more evident than in any Chris saw in the restaurant. Those had a pretense of normalcy and friendliness, which they tried to maintain, but not this one…This was their true nature. The gushing of wind echoed in Chris's ears; he clung to his nose after smelling the rot on Foxy's body. This monster was disgusting.
You have the time. Close the door.
Chris couldn't stop his sobbing, yet he still ran to the door, praying that Foxy didn't try to jump out or strike him with his rusty hook. The boy closed the closet doors, knowing that the moment he stepped aside, they would open up again. He tried breathing, but the draining feeling of suffocation surrounded the child as the thought of the monster trying to break free still plagued his mind.
"Please, Mike…I don't want to do this…" He didn't know how else to plead, and his brother was the main orchestrator of those nightmares, along with his father. The family of sorrow and disdain was so different from how Chris remembered it from two years ago. Will they ever come back to their happy life again? Will those nightmares ever end?
His musings got interrupted by a creaky sound from the ceiling.
"Woof, woof…" It was reminiscent of the ones Dug the dog would let out at Circus Baby's, but those were much slower, and there was something else among them…A flow. Two small, yellow eyes emerged in the darkness and gazed at Chris from above. The small droplets of poisonous bile fell to the floor, tarnishing it. Those small drops got closer and closer.
Light!
Loud Fredbear's voice finally brought Chris to his senses, causing him to take the flashlight and point it at the roof. What he saw was a small, doglike creature with its mouth wide open and eyes turned towards him. The light caused it to screech and crawl towards the window, deeper into the shadows. Chris couldn't see it anymore, but he knew it was still hiding somewhere, waiting for a perfect moment to attack, all while Foxy still breathed heavily in the closet. One flashlight was not enough…He was not enough.
"Chris?"
Another voice, this time not from Fredbear. A voice that made the boy shudder and almost drop his flashlight to the floor.
"M…Mom…" He stuttered as he looked at the sound of her voice in his head over and over again. It was unmistakable, her soft, warm voice…Suddenly, the image before Chris changed. He remembered his younger years, remembered himself in tears as he saw another nightmare long before Fredbear. It was always his mother who held him in his arms and sang her lullaby.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky…"
He could never truly accept her passing, even though he knew exactly what happened on that day. Her death was the catalyst, the moment all of their lives started to become worse when the bonds in their family deteriorated and grew into spite and distrust. She held them together, brought her warmth and kindness, only for them to abandon all she toiled for, all she yearned for.
"Chris…Why are you crying? I can help…Please, just come to me; it will all be alright…."
It is a trap.
Fredbear's voice did nothing to stop the boy; his desire for a warm embrace was far stronger than any logical thought. It was her voice; it was Mother…She sang from the hall, wandering amidst the darkness, waiting for her children and husband, waiting for them to come back to her. It will all be alright with her around; it will all be alright…
With tears in his eyes, Chris opened the door that led to the dark hallway and made his way toward a shining ray of light. An angelic, beautiful woman swirled around on the floor with her closed eyes, and a soft smile emerged on her face. Her presence was enough to purge the darkness from Chris's heart; the boy even put his flashlight away.
"Mom…"
"Oh, my dear child." She danced and went towards him as the boy stood silent, watching her and unable to look away. A part of him knew that this was a nightmare and that it would not end well, yet in his dreams, he was nothing more than a slave to this existence. It was his mother, and she was real…As real as she could ever be. More real than Ballora could ever be. "How cruel it is to leave you alone in the darkness, how heartless…What did they do to you?"
She stood before him and kneeled, offering Chris a warm, sweet embrace. The boy sobbed in her arms, crying out what he desperately tried to hold in himself.
"Mom…I feel so lonely…" He sniffed as he couldn't force himself to look into her eyes. "I am scared…Mike, Dad, they…They don't care about me anymore and…I miss you, Mom…I want you to come back. Please don't leave me…I can't do it alone."
"Have no fear, Chris; I promise not to leave. I love you more than anyone else in the world…" She stroked his hair as the boy felt someone approaching from behind. Heavy, mechanical steps emerged again, coming slower and slower, forcing darkness and fear back into his heart. When Chris tried to look, he realized that his mother clung to him and didn't allow him to turn.
"Mom…Who is that."
"Hush now, you have no reason to fear. I will free you; I will be with you until the very end." Chris felt her shadow rising over him, growing larger with every second, dimming the light around. When the boy finally looked up, the woman opened her eyes to reveal the empty darkness inside of them. Her smile was no longer warm, her arms and legs became far too long to be human, and her nails became claw, all while she still didn't stop her dance.
"M…Mom…"
"You cannot run!" She screeched like a wicked witch, causing Chris to turn around and run as quickly as he could. He was ready to jump into any darkness as long as he didn't have to look at the creature that was once his mother. There were no allies in this realm, no one but Fredbear…
The moment Chris ran into one of the adjacent hallways, he saw another creature that blocked his path, the one whose steps he had heard from before. It was a feline monster with bloodied teeth and orange eyes, a twisted version of Kitty….But worst of all, her stomach was open with a large hole torn apart. It looked at Chris.
Ike is a predator ready to feast. The boy couldn't run, for he heard the soft step of a demonic ballerina getting closer with every second. He looked at Kitty, anything to not stare into her eyes.
And then he saw a claw made of rotten flesh reign over the darkness.
…
How could he be so careless? So outright idiotic?
Those thoughts plagued William for days now, even as he walked amidst the factory halls, always bringing him back to a single moment. When Mike told him the tale of the animatronic with a claw and Chris seeing Lily's death, William realized everything, and the thought made him shiver in the purest of horrors. His son caws it, probably hiding behind some crates or curtains; it would explain why Will couldn't find him for so long; he must have sneaked after Lily. And now he was as a precipice…
He failed.
Mike pretended not to believe and used it as leverage to bully his younger brother, but William wouldn't be surprised if doubts slowly formed in his mind, making him doubt his father's goodwill. Now, Chris saw him as the murderer that he was. All his attempts to shield his children from this nightmare have now become ash. If he explains it to Chris, he will break the contract with Alison, and his goons will find out…And same will happen if he tells Alison the truth.
William rarely cried, but now he felt a lone tear roll down his cheeks as he realized that the only way to try and control this situation would be to lie. Chris had a rich imagination, and everyone was aware of that, but he didn't have the strongest of backbones. If William continues to deny it and pressure Chris into believing that all of this is in his head, perhaps one day, the boy will believe it. He will be traumatized for life, but he will be safe…As far as William was concerned, Chris saw nothing. And because of this, there was nothing Alison needed to know.
When William reached the doors of his boss's office, he knocked quietly, trying to maintain his composure.
"Come in." A calm voice echoed from beyond the door; the engineer opened it and saw Alison in his seat, reading a newspaper. "Ah, Mr. Afton…Good, I've been expecting you. Come in."
"I assume you want to talk about Lockjaw."
"Many things, actually. I had plans for opening a new restaurant in the near future; there are still many characters children would like to see like that rascal Roxie…But we can leave that for later." A smile emerged on Alison's face. "Mr. Afton, I must regretfully inform you that during your visit to Circus Babies…Your dear daughter disobeyed your orders and tried to approach Circus Baby without you."
"What?!"
"She didn't tell you?" Alison chuckled, pretending to be surprised. "Yes, and she could end up getting clawed if it wasn't for me noticing this and saving her just in time." William didn't know if this was true or not, but he knew where this was going. "I understand that with how busy you are, you cannot afford to always look after your kids, and so I maintain our part of the contract…Perhaps you should say a word of thanks."
"If you truly saved Elizabeth, then thank you." William sighed. "But I am not going to trust you without any second thoughts."
"Huh…Good for you, Mr. Afton, good for you." Alison nodded. "Remember, though, they are in my hands, and I protect them as long as you're loyal. But moving on to a more pressing topic…Yes, I do want to talk about Lockjaw; we never got a chance with how tight our schedules are."
"Haven't you read my report?"
"I did, but I prefer to hear of it in more detail. So, tell me what happened there."
"There isn't anything more to tell." William shook his head, he learned to lie with confidence, and that was his only saving grace. "He lured us into the depths of that abandoned warehouse and attacked from the shadows, killing all others one by one and then disappearing. I can only assume he left me alive because he still thinks of me as his friend."
"Hm, yes, that's likely." Alison pondered, although William could easily sense the rising annoyance and anger in his voice. "And what of his physicality? How did he act?"
"Very smoothly and quickly. He was like a monster one would see in horror movies, smart and powerful, completely merged with the suit. Even a grenade couldn't hold him back."
"Oh, Mr. Takaliken…" Alison took a deep breath. "To have you take away my prize, to have you tamper with it so flawlessly after all the time I've spent on it…DISGUSTING! "He let out a furious screech that caught William by surprise; he rarely saw Alison in such an unstable state. "This freak thinks he can challenge me, take away the work I've spent years on, years! And even that is not enough; he wants to undo everything I've built, still trying to outdo me! This is blasphemous, blasphemous!" Alison swung the table with one angry fell swoop, causing some of the smiles to fall on the floor between him and William. Amidst those, there was a photograph that immediately caught the engineer's eye.
There were five people there, a couple of an adult man with a fedora, grey hair, and a cane with a smiling woman in a black dress beside him, clinging on to his shoulders. Near them stood a tall and smiling man in a lab coat with two younger men by his side wearing the same clothing. One of them had an Asian appearance, the other was Caucasian like the rest, and there was something very familiar about him.
"Ah, my memories…" Alison calmed down as he picked the photo up. "Already looking at my private photographs, Mr. Afton. Some things don't change."
"Considering you threw them to my feet, I couldn't resist the temptation," William answered with light sarcasm. Alison didn't reach, instead clinging to the photo. He looked at it meticulously and with interest, as if he never saw it before, all while coming close to William and showing him those people. "You're curious, admit it…Well, considering that you've been quite a loyal employee, I can share this story."
"Is this one you?" William pointed at the young man in a lab coat.
"Good, Mr. Afton, I see you're paying attention!" Alison smiled. "Those aren't my brightest days, for I was still a naive and hopeless idealist back then. As for the others…" His gaze shifted to the couple to the left. "Edward and Helena Bairren, the crime lords of Utah and my parents. Most of those partners you saw at the meeting had worked with my father before I took his place…And while few of them say it outright, they wish he was still here." The spite in Alison's voice was not unlike the one he displayed during his speech.
"And why is that?" William played along while hoping to learn more.
"Because he was always the ideal lord…The one who held authority over his people, who always had plans and was eager to fulfill them, whose confidence and certainty were unmatched, the one who would put fear in all people of Utah when they heard his name. The one, even some in the local government, treated like an equal." Alison clenched his fist. "I was…Not that. Not when I was younger, at least."
"I remember you saying you had a scientifically inclined mind…And your father didn't approve?"
"Alas, he didn't."
"How familiar." William sighed, thinking of the fear that emerged in his heart when his father used to come home, the times before he got sent to an orphanage…
"Had family problems too, Mr. Afton? Care to tell me?"
"Nothing to tell…My father was an abusive drunkard, and my mother wanted to leave him for another man. Neither of them cared about me. Not even a pretense." William looked away and clenched his teeth. He did not grow so reliant on having a simple life.
"And so you've vowed not to repeat your parents' mistakes…Commendable." William hated to admit it, but Alison saw right throw him. When he chose to start a family, one of Will's resolutions was that he would never become like his parents. How ironic that in an attempt to avoid them, he became something even worse. "My father always demanded the most of me, and my mother would always choose him in our conflicts despite trying to be the mediator. He didn't think science was the way forward; he wanted to make an heir to his criminal empire out of me…He succeeded, somewhat." Alison chuckled. "And I did not study science just for the sake of it, no…I was ever the grateful, loving child, wanting to find a cure for father!"
"A cure?"
"Yes…He had an illness, one that would eventually cause him to deteriorate. Weaken the immune system, he'd become weaker while the poison would kill him from the inside all because of some faulty gene…What our news dubbed 'super-cancer,' even though it's a new type of illness, unseen before. He did not believe he could be cured, though he could only leave a legacy worthy of the Bairren name." Alison shook his head. "I saw it differently. I tried to find a formula, find anyone who could help out the family…And I did, much to my father's surprise. Gilbert facility, far away in Japan. It specialized in finding the treatment for this illness, the project that they called 'Give gifts, save lives.' I inquired into it and ensured the meeting."
"Is this that scientist?" William pointed at the older man in a lab coat.
"Alei Gilbert, a brilliant mind…And his apprentice, Chun. Those were the ones that met our family and agreed to find the cure for my father. It was also when we learned that they had another way for people to survive, and this fascinated…Control over the soul."
"Transferring them into a mechanical body…"
"Yes, exactly! Because his apprentice, along with Chun, learned all their secrets, those discoveries were beyond anything one could imagine. Can you understand it, Mr. Afton? Souls exist, and we have proof."
"Does this mean Heaven and Hell exist?" William crossed his arms.
"It's likely, though I prefer not to think of them…What point is there when we can have control over souls with the new metal Alei discovered? No God, no Devil, just some samples of viridium are more than enough…The three of us worked night and day to create a perfect body, a perfect animatronic suit to become a vessel of new life, but we didn't succeed in time. My father was dying, and I returned to the States to witness it." Alison sighed. "I didn't care for him, not after his lack of belief. I saw him perish in his bed and felt nothing…I listened to his words about continuing on, living a legacy, and ensuring Bairren's name persists forever…I felt nothing." Alison tossed the photo towards the table. "But his Empire is of use to me for other reasons."
"I think I know." William looked up. "You said this was a faulty gene that brought the illness, right?"
"Yes…"
"You said that it made one weak, slowly forcing them to deteriorate from inside…You have it too, don't you? This is why you need a cane at this age; it is hereditary!"
"Very shrewd…" Alison sighed. "But who am I to deny the obvious? Yes, I am ill. And worse yet, it is worse than that of my father. I already feel weakness, some of its effects, the aching…I don't have too much time left, alas. Ten, fifteen years at most. Nature made its choice; perhaps it is God's punishment to our family for them choosing a life of crime. Perhaps it is just a product of chance…Either way, I will not submit to it." Alison smiled proudly before switching his gaze from William to a nearby door. "Come, Mr. Afton, I will show you something."
"I…"
"Before you ask, no, I do not seek to harm you. Only to make you see."
He couldn't deny Alison. With a heavy heart, William followed in his footsteps. The opened door led towards a darkened staircase that led to the lower level, the one William never visited before. Alison himself looked excited as if he was preparing to show something important and downright glorious.
"And what happened to the clinic? I heard Gilbert's facility went down in flames."
"Its fate is far from kind," Alison explained as they stepped down. "Alei met an untimely end when some lunatic on the streets murdered him at night, probably heard rumors about him having a cure from death and snapped after Alei denied it. From there on, it was left to Chun and me to work on the project…Eventually, we created him. Frankburt." Alison said with awe in his voice. "A marvel of technology, a machine that can house human bodies and souls alike, the one that can imitate its movements and even the voice of a soul! It was a marvelous creation, an undeniable masterpiece. And then Chun betrayed me…He found out about my desire for immortality and that my agents were taking the information and spreading it beyond the clinic's walls, something that Gilbert was always against. Chun, that freak…" Alison spoke with rage in his voice.
"Did he send you away?"
"Yes…He said I couldn't be trusted anymore; what nonsense. He left no room for compromise, and so I contacted one of the more gullible scientists who allowed me to take Frankburt. I killed him and burned down the clinic so that no one can have this knowledge but me." He was proud of his atrocities, and William wasn't surprised by anything anymore. All he wanted was to piece the puzzle.
"And what of Chun? Does he still live?"
"I don't know. Hopefully, he died in that fire. But if not, I hope he is wallowing in purest despair as he realizes how much his betrayal cost him. Now this facility is the new RADSLA, the new heir to Gilbert, the future of the 'Give gifts, save life' project. And there is no other control over it but mine. Isn't it…Wonderful?"
"All to claim immortality, I take it. All for this deranged goal…"
"Not deranged, Mr. Afton. I am a visionary, and I also will hold on to the promise that I gave to my father. Bairren name will indeed live forever, along with me." They finally approached another door which led to a room from which William heard a powerful, bustling noise. It was as if a mechanical creation would work without stopping, creating something more terrifying, as it was deranging life itself. "You were a good listener, Mr. Afton…Now witness my greatest invention. Witness the machine!"
Alison opened the door and allowed William to see it…A room filled with identical brown animatronics with vaguely humanoid forms, the ones Alison called torture devices. There were dozens of them, standing silently and staring at the floor with their empty, mechanical eyes like members of some maniacal cult waiting for their dark rituals to conclude.
Behind them rose a conveyor belt that had many mechanical parts sent into it. Arms, legs, torsos, heads, all were sent into the pit to which that conveyor led. A mechanism that connected multiple systems, it would consume the details and create animatronics, sending them in another conveyor.
"This is the beating heart of my empire, the machine that ensures endless experiments, a machine that works without end, my masterpiece. Do you like Mr. Afton?"
It was the place where all hopes met their demise, the rotting poison that would slowly consume not just their family but the entire town of Hurricane. William was never religious, and yet somehow…
He felt that the Devil was nearby.