"I want to see my son."
That was the only request Henry made when Alison revealed the truth. It was the only one he could think about. Liam was the driving force behind all of his actions, all his attempts to bring justice upon Fazbear Inc., a single life that they stole. Henry was convinced that he was gone forever, but Alison disproved his fatalistic belief. Liam's soul was in one of the animatronics that roamed the halls of "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza" and upon his request, William took Henry back to the restaurant.
As they drove back, Henry felt his heartbeat grow faster with every moment. The behavior of the animatronics during the night could easily be explained by souls possessing them, just like he assumed after the first night and had Lockjaw deny his assumption. Was he mistaken, or did he lie on purpose? What if this was not the only thing he lied about?
Soon after they arrived at the restaurant, William got to establishing the connection, unlocking the voice system of an animatronic and allowing it to talk, something that he called 'the voice of the soul.'
"I suppose we're of one mind as to whom we should talk to first," William said as he began the preparation. Henry nodded.
"Bonnie was the least aggressive out of all of them and once even saved me from Foxy. It has to be Liam…It must be."
William prepared Bonnie for the talk, connecting a few wires to the generator a few guards carried from the car. After this, he activated the animatronic itself with Henry standing by his side. Bonnie's eyes gleamed with light, and began to run around, trying to retain a focus. He began to move his hands, though the restraints William put on Bonnie's metal legs did not allow him to move freely.
"Can you hear me?" Will looked into the animatronic's eyes.
"Yes…" Bonnie responded in a meek voice before pausing in shock. One single word, highly disturbed and robotized, yet it was enough for Henry to recognize his son's voice. "I…I can talk?"
"Oh my god…" Henry felt his hands shaking, tears swelling up in his eyes.
"I connected you to the system which allows you to speak freely, yes," William explained.
"I don't want to talk to you…You caged us and kept us here even though you always knew who we really were!" The animatronic's voice grew angrier. "Do you understand how lonely it was, how…" He was pushed to the brink, making a kind boy give into his justified rage. If only there was something Henry could do to save him, to undo all the suffering that others inflicted upon him, to undo his failure.
"I…I am not the one who wants to talk." William sighed. "You're Liam Emily, correct?"
"Y…Yes…"
"Then you two will have something to discuss." Will stepped aside and allowed Henry to take a step forward.
"I remember you," Bonnie said with suspicion. "You are the new night guard. Jack tried to kill you, but…I don't know why, but you just don't seem so bad."
"Liam…" Henry spoke quietly, swallowing his own tears. "It's me…Henry. Your dad!"
"W…What?" The animatronic's voice became confused. "No, you…You don't look like him, not at all!"
"Listen, I…I had to do plastic surgery to get in here so they won't find out who I am, but…I swear it's me. Do you remember? I said that I needed to do some work and left you in the pizzeria for a while. I…Thought you'd be safe." Henry looked down in shame; one tear after another fell on the ground.
"D…Dad?" The animatronic spoke in disbelief and a breaking voice.
"Yes, yes! I…I finally found you!" Disregarding all the precautions William mentioned, Henry rushed directly into the animatronic's embrace. Now, both of them were certain. Two long years, all for the sake of this single moment…It was worth it.
"Dad, I…I missed you!"
"And so did I." Henry's tears fell on Bonnie's blue feet. "I spent two years looking for you, I couldn't let go, I wanted to find you…What have those monsters done to you? God, I should've come sooner…I should've come sooner. I'm sorry…"
"It's okay, Dad, I forgive you," Liam responded in a soft, kind voice.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but if that's okay…How did it feel? To be one of them?" All those times he came to the pizzeria, he was in the same building as his son and failed to realize it. All the more reason to curse his blindness and foolishness.
"It…It was dark. And lonely. I wanted to sleep all the time, but I couldn't. I had to sing again and again, and I…At least I still had my friends." The other three children must have kept Liam company; Henry couldn't imagine how maddening it would be for either of them if they had to go through this alone. "We help each other…Even if we're very tired."
"It's horrifying…None of you deserved this." Henry's lips quivered, and voice trembled. "Do you remember who killed you, Liam? I'm sorry, but I have to ask…" Henry sighed. "The bastards who imprisoned you say that they didn't kill you, and it…It makes sense. I don't know if I should trust them or…"
"I'm sorry, Dad, but…I don't remember his face. It's all very murky." He said with shame. "He wore a golden rabbit suit and made me and Jessica go into the secret room…I don't think I saw him." This coincided with what William and Alison told him. Could this truly mean that Lockjaw was the murderer? "He was very scary…Why would someone do something like this? Why was he so cruel?" Liam asked in a shaking voice, and Henry wished he knew the answer to this question.
"I'm sorry…I will bring him to justice, whoever it is." Henry promised and looked at William. "Do you think it was this man that killed you?"
"No…Jack thinks so, but I disagree. We met him in the bunker, his presence…It was different, I think…It wasn't him. It was the one who played a character, sometimes Fredbear, sometimes Spring Bonnie…He tricked us."
"See?" William's voice echoed from behind, and as much as Henry despised it, it served to confirm his story. There were too many facts that aligned and were impossible to ignore.
"I…" Henry turned back towards Liam.
"Dad…I want to be free. We all want to be free." The animatronic pleaded. "We are all very tired. It's horrible to live like this. I want to move on…Go to heaven." His voice was utterly broken, as was his spirit. He went through pain that no person deserved to live through, least of all an innocent child. He was failed by everyone around him, and most of all, his father. There was only one possible way to end his suffering.
"Will…" Henry sighed and looked at the anticipating engineer. "I will help you."
He was willing to do everything to for Liam, and the time has come to prove that.
…
The rest of the night was spent in a rather dull and haunting atmosphere. Lynda allowed Mike and Gron to stay in her garage to avoid being caught, but she didn't want to see them, at least for now. Chris went surprisingly silent while Gron simply sat by the wall, brooding about his own pain. Mike didn't want to disturb him, though he felt a desire to ask him whether he genuinely expected something else. Lynda had strong morals. Even Gron's outburst when he nearly took a life shook her; what was there to say about murdering children?
And yet, as Mike was left alone to ponder on his thoughts while sitting in a cramped hall with Lockjaw in front of him, he still dared to hope that everyone involved would prove reasonable. Gron's crimes were grave, but he wasn't the only one with stained hands. Mike and Chris were no longer the innocent children Lynda would remember them as. They had to put all of their grief and differences aside, no matter how hard it was, and remember how it all started. That was their only hope of ending the ordeal.
"Gron…" Mike looked up at the stained animatronic. "You alright?"
"I wish…" He scoffed. "I should've been ready for this. I thought I was ready, and still…Well, you can see. I'll talk to her a bit later…At least to ensure that she's safe while we follow through with the plan."
"Speaking of which, are you sure this isn't risky?" Mike wondered. Gron told him more on their way to Takalikens' house, and it seemed like a very fragile scheme. "What if they find out that we aren't actually deactivated? What if Henry betrays us? I mean, they can tell him the truth at any point."
"He might…I was hoping he'd make it very transparent in this case, but it's something worth considering." Gron said with disappointment. "We better have an extra trick up our sleeve…A third soul that can morph with one of the torture devices will do, the one Henry will not know about." Gron raised his eyes at the animatronic. "Can you hear me, Chris? We might need your aid."
There was a moment of silence following those words, but then Mike finally heard Chris's faint voice.
"Mike…"
"What?"
"I…I wasn't sure how to tell him, but…I don't want to go back there." He said meekly.
"What?" Mike couldn't help but raise his voice. "What do you mean?"
"I've spent some weeks there…It's horrible. They hurt me, it was horrible, like in hell…" His voice trembled with genuine fear. "There are a lot of them, and they're strong. They can get us again and…"
"No one said it will be easy, Chris; that doesn't mean we can just back out of it!"
"What's going on there?" Gron said with curiosity.
"Chris is whining about the plan, says he doesn't want to ever return to that shithole."
"Really? Hm…Let him speak, then."
"You sure."
"Yes."
Mike had to oblige, forcing himself to submerge back into slumber and allowing his brother to claim control.
"Chris?" Gron asked calmly.
"Hi…Mr. Takaliken." A meek robotic voice emerged from the animatronic.
"You can just call me Gron," Lockjaw reassured him. "Mike says you don't want to go there again after being trapped there…Right?"
"Yeah…I'm sorry. I know you wanted me to help, but…" He stuttered. "I just can't. Every time I think of it, it's all so dark and scary, and I just…There are so many evil and cruel people there. I just…Please, I…"
"Calm down, Chris," Gron spoke up. "I won't force you to do it if you don't want to."
"Really?"
"Yes…I've done enough already." Lockjaw looked away in shame.
"But didn't you say that…"
"One spare soul is more than enough to have an advantage, and I know Mike will gladly help."
"W…" Mike's voice pushed through. "You will just let him go? Just like this…Coward? Chris, this is your fight, too, it's…"
"Enough." Gron undercut him. "It's your choice, Chris. If you really don't want to return…"
"I don't." He admitted.
"Then come here," Gron commanded before extending his hand, further shocking Mike just by how accepting he was of this decision. Reunion with Lynda must have awakened something in him, some sense of regret and reflection. "Both of our bodies can absorb souls…I will take Mike's soul onto me, and you will be free if that's what you truly want."
Perhaps it was for the best…Mike realized how hypocritical of him it was to beg for Chris's help after calling him an unprepared child when he tried to wrestle control from him. Now, both of them would finally get an opportunity to separate like they wanted…Chris would roam free, and Mike would get an opportunity to fight for his family. Whatever he wished the outcome to be, this was the only way Mike realized it. It would be better for him to focus on what was ahead instead of the wedge that remained between him and Mike.
He could feel Chris and Gron hold their hands with the golden animatronic absorbing his soul.
"You have your freedom now, Chris…Enjoy it."
This was Mike's last thought before they separated. They got no opportunity to talk again…Mike simply watched the animatronic escape and disappear in the shadows through Lockjaw's eyes.