"Gentlemen…Let me express my gratitude for all of you being here and remind you of the important task that lies ahead."
Alison's cheery voice echoed in William's head when he entered his office. Cheery wasn't a word. Will thought he would discover Alison's demeanor anytime soon, but his initial shock as to what happened in the pizzeria, but here they were. Henry agrees to help them present an opportunity to end Gron's scheming and destroy the main source of rumors that have plagued Alison for so long now. Now that they convinced Henry who the main target of his revenge should be, all they had to deal with were logistics. He called in Will, Henry, and Dr. Stein for this exact reason. For some reason, Alison deluded himself with the belief that getting rid of Gron would end all of his company's troubles. William tried to explain that the allegations against them were too much and that Fazbear Inc.'s days were numbered, but as expected, Alison vehemently refused to listen.
"What, think that we're on good terms now?" Henry said before clenching his teeth. "Freeing Liam won't change that you forced him to live inside of this…Thing for two years."
"And yet it's a goal worth fighting for, don't you agree?"
"I…It's a waste of effort, anyway." Henry shook his head, and Stein was the next one to talk.
"I cannot wait for the moment when Frankburt finally returns to our hands…This will be the most extraordinary subject yet."
"That's the spirit, doctor." Alison nodded in approval. "But if I may, this is a subject which I will personally oversee. He is far too valuable to have any accidents happen to him. He is my key to immortality, after all…"
"Of course, be my guest!"
"Ahem…" Will interjected. "I'd advise you to focus on the task at hand, or else we might never get to the point."
"Quite true, Mr. Afton…Though when it comes to matters relating to you, you've already done your part."
"Then why am I here?"
"Would you not like to share this victory with us?"
"All I want is to finally go home to my daughter. You can make my friend suffer without my involvement; I have no doubt of that. And if you really want to reward me for a job well done…Just give me a few days off to spend with her."
"I'll consider it, Mr. Afton." Alison nodded. "Now, Mr. Emily, may I ask you to walk us through what your and Lockjaw's intended plan was?" He said with curiosity, making Henry take a deep breath. William got used to subservience, but he knew exactly how Henry must have felt. Despair, rage, and humiliation, the feeling of utter powerlessness in the face of Alison's control.
"Well…My goal was to help him get inside. When we've decided that you lot trust me, Lockjaw will allow himself to be found by your agents somewhere on the streets. They would take you to the facility, and eventually, I would free him from his chains."
"And what was to follow?"
"Mayhem and slaughter, probably. He despised you, Alison, and considered it his sacred mission to destroy you once and for all. With good reason." Henry said with retained spite.
"Let's keep opinions out of business." Alison shook his head. "It was a risky endeavor and a desperate plan, but I think we can turn it around in our favor. You will return to Lockjaw and pretend to follow through with a plan. Tell him that you followed one of us into the facility and were forced to sign a contract. I'm sure he will find it believable enough. Then, we will transport him inside the facility…Where he will end up right inside our trap. My men will welcome him just like he deserves." A cathartic smile emerged on Alison's face. "It's been a long time since he humiliated me and took away Frankburt, but now he will finally pay all he has done. Each of you will play a part…And Mr. Takaliken will regret ever daring to stand up against me."
"I'm sorry, Gron…" William uttered under his breath.
"Did you say something, Mr. Afton?"
"No…Nothing at all."
As Alison always expected of him. Stay silent and say nothing at all.
…
It has been a long while since Gron felt afraid of solitude. He got rid of that fear the moment the voice in his head went silent, and he became Lockjaw. Solitude was his strength and his ally, as were the shadows. He felt powerful when lurking within them, felt undefeatable.
But now that he learns Lynda's denial, now that Chris left and Mike's soul rested dormant within Frankburt's carcass, Gron realized that he did not want to be alone, and yet this was what he deserved. It took him two years and Lynda openly decrying him to realize the gravity of his own actions. He was too far gone, not just in the physical sense but in the sense of his moral deviancy, as well. He deserved the same gruesome fate he wanted to impose upon Alison…
Suddenly, Gron heard the garage door creak, immediately making the animatronic turn his head toward the door. The dark-haired woman was there, reluctantly making her way into the garage and making Gron feel like his non-existent heart was beating again.
"Welcome back…" Gron said quietly.
"I'm…Just checking if you're still here." Lynda sighed. At least she was in a calmer mood now. Gron realized that she needed time to think and compose herself. "Where's Enn…I mean Mike?"
"He separated from the body. Chris took control of Ennard and left god knows where. Mike merged with me now, but his soul is…Sleeping, so to speak. He needs a good rest before we infiltrate."
"God…" Lynda sat by the wall in front of Gron. "I hate it that you're here…I wish I could still pretend that you're…That you're him. That what happened that time was an accident and that you were genuinely getting better." She shook her head as a few more tears fell from her eyes. "Fuck, fuck, fuck…"
"How is Charlie?" Gron asked quietly. "I take it he's not here, probably for the better."
"I am not letting him come near you."
"I don't expect you to. But he's my son, too…I want to know if he's alright."
"He's with my brother and his wife, away from all…This." Lynda sighed; there was no relief in her voice.
"Good."
"Do you understand that I will have to tell him about you? About everything?" Lynda looked into Gron's eyes; she had no strength left to even cry. "I don't think I can; he loves you so much…He hoped that you would come back to us."
"You weren't the one to shy away from uncomfortable truths.." Gron said, making Lynda chuckle.
"You're right…You're right. Charlie is a strong kid; it will be hard, but he would want to hear it, too. I just…I just want to spend time with him again, to let go of this, but I can't."
"Then go to him," Gron spoke with a hopeful voice. "Mike, Henry, and I will take care of Alison and Fazbear Inc. We chose to take on them; we all have our failures to atone for. Take Charlie and leave Hurricane, go somewhere else…Out of Utah would be the best, but if not, try to find a small, remote town to wait it out. Whatever will happen here in a few days will not be pretty…And I intend it to be that way." Gron said grimly, bracing himself for yet more inevitable bloodshed.
"Huh…Are you really asking me to run, Gron? Didn't you insult me enough already?" Lynda sighed and said in a voice with growing internal determination. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay and help; I'll go down there if I have to…"
"It's too dangerous, Lynda. You are still a human; you would be vulnerable. A single precise shot can be enough to kill you…"
"I've survived this far," Lynda responded. "I might be just a 'human,' but so are the bastards down there, and I'm a good shot…I've spent two fucking years trying to figure it out and find a way to stop them." Lynda's said in a quiet, broken voice. "And so did you. I want to be by your side when we bring them to justice…I want to kill them all as much as you do." She said sternly. "And that's why I'm going." Gron missed her confidence and resolve, always headstrong and brave, oftentimes pointless to argue with. Gron gave Chris a choice to stay or leave; it stood to reason that he would allow Lynda to make her own choice, too.
"Very well." Gron gave in, unable to get the inkling feeling that he would regret this in due time. "We will have to get you in somehow. According to our initial plan, Henry was supposed to call Alison and say that he discovered me near my warehouse; I could enter sleep mode and pretend to be offline. You can't do that."
"We could call them directly to our house," Lynda suggested. "Say that Henry couldn't come into contact with you and eventually found you in my garage. I will say that I have found you in this state, offline."
"And what if they decide to shoot you on sight?" Gron worried.
"Well…You know Alison better than I do, right? From what I heard, killing directly isn't his style. He'd want to take me down there, too, make him one of his 'subjects,' torture me like all others…And he wouldn't want to leave a dead body behind, too."
"You're right…" Gron had to admit, considering the possibilities in his mind. If Henry frees both Lynda and Mike's souls, they will be at an advantage.
"So?"
"I am not going to deny you. If you want to be by my side as it all finally ends…I will be honored."
"Thank you, Gron…"
Finally, they were of one mind, at least for the coming day. For the first time since his first descent, Gron was able to speak honestly and without hiding the truth. After all, it did not matter when they were about to toss themselves into the pit.