the finale has begun... only a few chapters left!

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"Are you sure you're up to this?" Henry questioned. "You don't have to do this."

Michael stared at the Parts & Service door which stood like a looming challenge, goading him on. "I'm doing it," he stated firmly.

The man beside him nodded and took a step away, dimming the hallway lights. "Then good luck."

Michael adjusted the corner of his coat disguise and opened the door, the cassette tape and form in his hand. As he closed and locked it behind him, his eyes landed on Springtrap, who was where he'd last left him, propped on the chair opposite his. Unlike his formers, he seemed to have a little more posture as he was straight in his seat instead of slumped.

This was something Michael had been somewhat worried about. His father, converse to the others, still abided physically in the Bonnie suit. He wondered how much daytime control he had over it, and made sure to keep a hand close to the tazor trigger.

He sat down and set up the tape, pressing play.

"Before you is an animatronic found in the back alley; we are unsure of its origins. It is your job to complete the maintenance checklist before claiming it as salvage. Or, if you choose to ,you can put it back in the alley where you found it and forfeit payment. Please make your choice now."

Michael remained silent, watching his father. The shadow cast from the ceiling light masked his eyes, and he couldn't tell if the man was even conscious.

"You have chosen to proceed with the maintenance checklist," continued the tape. "Remember, use your company-issued taser to return the animatronic to a neutral state if you feel that it's becoming unstable or aggressive. You can only use it three times before it begins to damage the animatronic and decrease its value."

"Begin audio prompt in 3, 2, 1."

The prompt began, the usual sounds of grating metal burning Michael's ears, but with a dispassionate expression, he stared down Springtrap.

"Document results."

He looked down and crossed "no" and looked back up. His movement was small and subtle, but the man had straightened up to face him better.

"Begin audio prompt in 3, 2, 1."

The light flickered and the room felt colder. A chill prickled his skin like electricity.

"Document results."

As he looked back up from making another note on his sheet, he noticed the man's head had lifted from where it was propped on his chest. He could better see the rusting teeth of the Bonnie mask he wore, eye sockets still dark like gaping black pits.

"Begin audio prompt in 3, 2, 1."

Something more musical began to play from the cassette, and though Michael almost missed it, he saw Springtrap's head tilt just a fraction, as if he were straining to hear it better. But it was over as soon as it came.

"Document results."

He again leaned down to mark his sheet, but his ears perked at the sound of creaking metal and looked back up to see that the man was hunched forward over the table.

With a small frown, Michael pressed down on the tazor, and electricity spat as Springtrap was jolted back to his former position.

"Hmph." He couldn't help a tiny smile at this small satisfaction.

"Begin audio prompt in 3, 2, 1."

Again, chiming music sounded underneath heavy audio. Michael straightened as the same feeling of dread he'd felt in their scuffle with Charlie filled the room like a static that made the hairs on his neck stand up. He frowned, the pencil loose in his grip, and he thought he might have heard Springtrap let out a small exhale.

"Document results."

He blinked, almost forgetting to write anything down as he hurriedly made his notes while the final prompt began, too preoccupied with the curious aura filling the room at that moment.

"Begin audio prompt in 3, 2, 1."

Michael watched Springtrap, and heard him chuckle darkly as the music came to a stop.

"Document results."

He looked down and made his final notes, eyes widening with surprise to see fog from his breath- was it really that cold?

"What the..." he muttered as more white air fell in clouds.

"You have completed the maintenance checklist and may proceed with the salvage, well done. End Tape."

Michael flexed his hand to get some feeling back into it. He wondered if something was wrong with the AC, and couldn't help but feel he was being watched by something or someone more than the animatronic across from him.

Without taking his eyes away from Springtrap, he got to his feet and backed to the door. He glanced down momentarily to find the key when he heard the man speak.

"What a deceptive calling..." he crooned in a grating, low voice. "I knew it was a lie the moment I heard it, obviously... but it is intriguing nonetheless."

Michael looked over and watched him.

Springtrap remained frozen, but as he stared back at Michael, he thought he saw dimly glowing eyes in those black sockets. Without another word, he stepped out and made double sure to lock the door behind him.

He started back down the hallway, clipboard under his arm as he flipped the lights back on, eventually coming into the dining room where the others were managing supplies. Henry, who was opening boxes at one table, saw him as he entered and waved him over. Michael took up his own box cutter as he sat across from him.

"How'd it go?" The man asked.

The boy drew a slit across the tape covering one of the last boxes. "Just fine," he answered. "Still the same insufferable twit he ever was."

Henry only hummed as Michael began unloading the contents of his case. This one happened to contain gas canisters, two of six that they had ordered. The others must have held the fire rope and starters that Dana and Laura were currently winding around the walls of the pizzeria.

He frowned a little as he watched them. "Do you really think Charlie is going to be here this soon?" He questioned.

Henry didn't look up, but hesitated for a moment.

"I don't think anything about it, Michael. I just hope." He answered.

They didn't speak for a few moments as they unloaded the rest of the small boxes and began unwinding the remainder of the fire rope. "I don't suppose I've told you much about when Dana and I were investigating your father's murders," Henry eventually spoke. Michael shook his head. "Not really, no," he responded.

The man hummed with a nod.

"Well, I didn't know until a few months in, but Charlie of course was haunting the puppet as she is now," he began. "Little did I know that during that time she was trying to stop William herself, and to exact revenge for all those he'd hurt. Well, she was visiting Dana without my knowledge... I think that must have been going on for a week or two," he continued, splitting the end of a starter contemplatively.

Michael thought on that; hearing stories about their investigation was a little strange just because he never thought Henry would talk about it... but he felt a welcoming inclusion as he did.

"Either way, she brought Dana some tapes for us to watch since she didn't want us directly involved," he relayed before chuckling once as a small smile tugged at his mouth. "Ever selfless she was. But we caught up to her eventually."

Michael uncoiled more fire rope, listening with interest.

"She never stopped fighting to do what was right. I don't think she ever will," Henry said quieter. "And I believe that Lefty is exactly the call she's waiting for, and I don't expect her arrival to be delayed much longer."

The boy glanced over at Henry, who seemed to look a little older than usual in that moment, the lines in his face deeper, the shadows under his eyes darker. He looked incredibly tired.

Michael rested the items in his hands to look over at him. "Henry..?" He asked.

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure you're going to be able to let her... die?" He questioned quieter. "For real this time."

The man paused, looking forward as he considered that silently. "It's time she finally rest," he murmured softly. "As she always should have been allowed to do. I won't hold that from her any longer," he continued, looking down at his hands. "I couldn't save her that night, but I will try to save her now by letting her go. I'll join her in my own time."

Michael's mouth parted at his words. He could hear the pain in his voice, but he could also hear the peace that he knew would come from this. And as he thought on these things, Henry turned to look up at him with a small smile on his face.

"Besides. It's not like I'll be alone this time," he offered softly.

At that, Michael provided a smile of his own.

"I'm not a replacement?" He asked hesitantly.

Henry looked at him sincerely. "You never were."

Before Michael could say anything else, Laura rounded one of the hallway corners to face them. "Hey, we think they're acting up- you might want to get your shift started," she advised, looking at him.

"Oh, fun," he answered sarcastically, getting to his feet with a small grunt. "It'll be a little family reunion."

He made to start down to the office on his own when Henry stood. "Actually, I think I'll come with you... at least for the first little while. Is that alright?" He spoke.

Surprised, Michael blinked before nodding. "Yeah, sure."

The two proceeded down the hallway as Dana and Laura moved to ready things for the first party that day, closing the office door behind them. Michael flipped on the air filter, and the loud fans began to whir. "So," Henry began. "How does this work?"

He turned on the computer monitor and opened the vent display.

"You watch the vents," he answered, leaning over to close the left shaft. "And try not to die."

"Ah. Concise. I like it," he commented lightheartedly, pulling up an extra chair. Michael's eyes surveyed the monitor. He pressed the lure button for the far right corner.

"Does it work?" Henry asked, watching him press it.

The boy nodded. "Like a charm. They fall for it every time."

But just a moment after he spoke, there was a creaking from the vent adjacent them, and he heard the familiar sound of his father's voice, cackling.

"How rich..." they heard him utter, and Michael hurriedly opened the vent system, trying to locate where the man was. "You may not have recognized me at first, but I assure you, it's still me," he continued. His voice dripped with a smug malice as it echoed ever closer.

"You know, I'm pretty sure I did since you just radiate 'pathetic,'" Michael muttered to himself as both he and Henry scanned the vents. Springtrap did not appear to hear him.

"A deceptive calling indeed... but how can I resist a promise such as this?" He continued in a drawl, sounding even closer than before. They could hear Funtime Freddy's growl of anger as he apparently found the dead end the lure sent him to, and perhaps Baby's skates grinding into the vent walls. Afton laughed again, the cruel sound echoing over and over through the metal tunnels.

"Fascinating... what they have become..." he pondered aloud. "Almost as fascinating as you'll be when we're done with you."

They heard a sudden sound in the right wing and Henry pointed at one of the last shafts between it and the office. "There!" He shouted, and Michael hurriedly pressed the button to close it off where they heard a clang as something ran into the barrier.

The boy's heart pounded ferociously as he hurried to set a lure at the back of the vents. It resounded, and they heard metal scraping against metal away from the office.

He finally glanced up at Henry, who had one hand over his chest as he caught his breath.

"Goodness, I'm too old for this," he exhaled. Michael smiled a little. "Too much for a geezer like yourself?" He teased.

"The only geezer here is your old man, his joints are far creakier than mine," he replied nonchalantly as he ran his free hand over his beard. "Besides, I prefer to describe myself as seasoned."

Michael snorted. "Yeah, okay."

Henry only smiled a little as they continued to watch the screen.

And for the next few hours, they continued to monitor the vents, being diligent to keep Freddy and Baby busy, but Springtrap did not appear to move again. Eventually, their motion activity subsided enough that Michael decided to call it early and be done for the evening. Henry checked his watch as they powered off all the office machinery.

"Six-thirty..." he commented. "Why are they so immobile this soon?"

Michael turned off the computer as they started back into the hallway. "Call me crazy, but I think maybe they're trying to figure out how we do this so they know how to get around us," he muttered. "So it'd be preferable if we could finish this sooner rather than later."

"I hear you," Henry agreed. "But unfortunately that isn't really up to..."

He slowed to a pause as he glanced down the left side of the corridor. Confused, Michael craned around to see where he was looking to see Dana and Laura leaning out of the back alley-door.

"Guys..?" He questioned aloud.

Dana turned back to look at them. "We only just heard it..." she spoke. "We thought maybe..."

Henry and Michael strode to the end of the hallway where the girls were, and they stepped out onto the concrete steps so they could see. Leaning against the brick wall of the pizzeria, underneath Freddy Fazbear posters and propped next to an empty garbage bin was Lefty, looking a little more worn than how it'd left them. But it was unmistakably the animatronic Henry had sent out the week earlier.

It was a strange sight, as though none of them had expected it, and no one said anything for several moments.

Michael finally looked at Henry, who was gazing at Lefty with an unidentifiable expression on his face.

"Henry..?" He asked quietly.

He swallowed, still looking at it. "Bring her in." He said in a low, flat voice.

Without another word, they all descended the steps, each helping to lift Lefty from its place as they brought it inside. Michael could see the familiar black and white stripes beneath Lefty's body shells, scuffed and filthy. But it had completed its objective.

"This way," the boy urged, passing Parts & Service. They made their way to the fourth closet in the corridor where he opened it and they set Lefty on the chair inside.

"I'll just go get the recorder, and then I can evaluate her-" he spoke, about to go back to his office when Henry put out a hand to stop him, still looking at Lefty.

"No." He said lowly. "We don't need it. We know this is her."

Michael and the girls exchanged glances before he nodded. "Alright... alright."

He took one last look at the animatronic, at its missing eye, its dead expression, and the elongated, striped fingers of its hostage stretching through its own.

Henry was right. It was time to put this to rest.

He eased the door shut and locked it, and Laura broke the silence between them.

"But that's it, then... isn't it?" She asked, the surprise evident in her voice. "They're all here?"

Michael nodded slowly, realizing what exactly that meant. "Yeah... everyone's here for the party. Everyone..." he murmured. "But that means..." Dana continued. "That we could do this as soon as tomorrow, right?"

Henry nodded, eyes narrowed at the closet door. "We won't waste any more time. Tomorrow evening, this place will go up in flames."

"Tomorrow," Laura murmured. "But then we've got to go get our gas canisters filled up- like, now."

"Then lets go," Dana asserted, and the three started back to the main dining hall. Michael, however, hadn't moved, standing alone in the corridor where they'd unknowingly left him. His eyes were on the end of the hallway. And if they did not deceive him, a figure was sitting at the end of it.

But that was impossible.

Michael stared. He had to be tired, dreaming, hallucinating again, something. Because Golden Freddy had gone missing years ago and couldn't possibly be slumped against the back door.

A chill ran up his spine, much like the one he'd felt in Parts & Service earlier that day.

Golden Freddy looked as it had all those many years ago, though the sockets were absent of the green eyes that had once filled it. There was no blood coating its mouth, no child dangling from its jaws, but Michael's imagination fixed that for him. He felt frozen. He couldn't move.

Whispers tickled his ears, uttering one phrase over and over.

"It's me. It's me."

It was like the hallway was closing in, bringing the animatronic ever closer, and though it frightened him, Michael couldn't help but feel the whispers sounded less vindictive as they had in his dreams. More desperate... more childlike.

His feet were rooted to the ground, the air gone from his lungs, and he wasn't sure what to do... when a gentle hand touched his arm, and suddenly Freddy was gone.

Michael looked over, gasping softly to see Laura looking at him with concern.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

He looked back at the corridor, but the animatronic had disappeared as though it were never there. He must have been imagining it.

"Y-Yeah..." he answered hesitantly. "Let's go."

...

Evan stared back at Michael through the dark eyes of the Golden Freddy suit, behind a mask that separated them like an impenetrable wall. He didn't know if his brother could see him, but as the boy turned to leave with his friend, he felt his heart sink.

"No..." he murmured to himself, feeling tears prick his eyes. "It's me. It's me, Mike... don't leave..."

He heard Cassidy sigh somewhere in the host they shared.

"It's no use, Ev. I want control back."

Evan frowned, feeling more hopeless than ever. Cassidy had been taking control of Freddy a lot lately, and being in the dark helplessness of their host was eating away at him. He never knew what his companion was doing in all those hours he spent up here, but he wasn't sure he cared anymore.

He was never getting out.