Traveling across the lands of Utah in the back of a garbage truck while being a zombified cyborg himself was certainly not the way Will envisioned his return to Hurricane, but it was better than nothing. The driver ended up being compliant and, after a few threats, agreed to bring Will wherever he wished to go. This was the moment when Springtrap realized that he had no idea where exactly Elizabeth was or if she was in Hurricane at all. He had no time to decide on where to go, but he needed to start somewhere. The only place he could go was the old home of the Aftons…This was where they set off.

During most of the journey, Will remained silent and lay in the trunk. He tried to dream again but found himself unable to relax, not when his potential reunion with his daughter was so close. Eventually, all of this turned into a long, dragged-out wait, giving William plenty of time to conjure endless ways in which this reunion might go in his own mind. He was afraid that Elizabeth would see him as nothing more than a monster and push him away, or worse, recognize him as a traitorous father who does not deserve her trust. Perhaps she has a family of her own already, a loving husband who takes care of her and helps her to move on; perhaps his showing up at her doorstep will do nothing but reawaken some old wounds. Or, at the very worst, all of this search was pointless, and she was already dead…Perhaps by Alison's hands, though, thought of her taking her own life after the trauma she suffered loomed over William as well. In that case, he will have no one to blame but himself, no one to torment in a fit of vengeance.

"Ey…You asleep, lad?" The driver's voice interrupted Will's musings, making the animatronic turn around and look forward. He couldn't see his face either way, only hear the voice.

"No."

"You doing alright there?" He said with simultaneous worry and curiosity.

"I asked you to drive me home, not to bother with my well-being." William undercut him.

"Hey, no need to get jumpy; I'm just curious, you know?" William heard a loud sigh. "You know, traveling to Hurricane wasn't on my list of things to do, so I might as well try and understand why the hell I'm doing it. I mean, wouldn't you do the same if you were me?"

"Perhaps," William responded, realizing that there was no need for him to release his anger towards himself and Alison at an innocent man. "Thank you for help…Really. I had no other way to get home."

"Home, huh? So…How exactly did you end up like this, if you don't mind me asking?"

"End up like what?"

"I mean…You know you're a little weird, alright? Going around, threatening people in that suit…That's a suit, right?" He said cautiously.

"I…" William stuttered. "I have…Had a family."

"What, like a normal one?"

"You think I always looked like that?"

"I'm trying not to presume…"

"Well, yes, it was a normal family. Not just normal…It was amazing. I had a wonderful wife. Beautiful, smart, talented, kind, ambitious…Anything a man can dream of. We had three children who we loved dearly and wanted nothing but the best for them."

"Lucky you…" The driver sighed with sadness. "So, what happened?"

"I was too naive, too ambitious." Springtrap tried to explain without getting into details. "Got in with the wrong but very powerful crowd. They forced me to do messed-up things just for the promise of staying away from my family. When I tried to challenge them, they killed my wife…Didn't even hesitate."

"Jesus…"

"And it was all my fault. I shouldn't have tried." Springtrap clenched his fist in fury. He will get his hands on Alison soon, and then there will be no mercy.

"Don't be that hard on yourself; you tried to do what's best for them."

"I tried to take the easy way out! And in the end, it was all for nothing, anyway…I couldn't tell my children the truth; I was too consumed by my work while they had no parents to look after them, and I still believed that I was doing it for their sake…Thought it was worth it."

"I'm sorry, man…And what happened to your kids?" The driver said with interest, not shying away from learning more of this horrifying story.

"My oldest son began to bully my younger son, the spite that he had for me neglecting him and forcing him to take all responsibility…Thought I taught him enough of a lesson until he killed him…Accidentally, in a prank."

"God, I don't even want to know what kind of prank that was."

"I…I was furious and broken. I began drinking, hurting my oldest son as revenge for what he did. It didn't feel good, but I still did it to release my anger…And then he left and tried to do what I couldn't. He got himself killed, and it was my fault once again. All because of my abuse and how neglect…"

"Holy fuck, that's horrible." The driver exclaimed, but there was no judgment in his voice. "And your last kid?"

"My daughter…I left her alone again. Promises to come back after I deal with our tormentors and free us. I planned to return, but…I never could. I abandoned her for twelve years. Because of this suit, because of how careless I was, because of…Everything." William looked at the dirty darkness before him. "Until someone finally freed me."

"Do you want to meet her in Hurricane?" The driver wondered, immediately understanding William's motives.

"Yes…Yes, I want to find her. She'll be an adult by now and will have a life of her own without me, a life I left her to…I don't expect her to forgive me, but I just want to see if she's alright. After all this, I finally want to tell her the truth."

"Huh…" The driver chuckled as if trying to hold back his pain. "You're braver than I am, man."

"What do you mean?"

"Had a fling with a lass once. Nothing serious, you know, just some fun for both of us…Forgot about that for a long while. Learned she has a son from me not so long ago." His voice grew quieter as if on the verge of breaking. "Wanted to see him, but she pushed me away…Said I was too poor, filthy, or some shit like that. Tried to at least talk to him, but she forbade me from it and threatened me with a restraining order. Still haven't seen him…I don't know the kind of things she told him about me, probably nothing good, but I want to see him someday, no matter what." William could hear him dropping a few tears and a gentle sob.

"One day, you will. I know."

"You know, whoever…Whatever you are…I hope you find your girl in there. Tell her you love her, okay?"

"I will…I promise."

If William could still shed tears, he knew he would.

…

Calling Jim's current condition bizarre would be an understatement. Not only was he still barely able to process the fact that Ennard had given up on killing him, but the animatronic had nowhere to go and simply decided to stay in the same room as the priest. Jim wasn't in a position to argue with someone who could still kill him at any moment, and he owed Chris for his unexpected mercy. Now that they had time to think about what to do next, Chris also finally agreed to tell Jim the truth of what he saw.

The story shook the lone man to his core. Even though he said it defies science and faith, he still naively expected it to have some logical explanation. Perhaps there was, but Chris clearly didn't know all of it. Jim listened attentively to all parts of Chris's path after the bite. His rebirth inside Fredbear, his torment at the hands of Alison and his workers, his escape, contact with his father, and the murder spree…It was hard to comprehend, especially the sheer depths of Alison's depravity and the scale of the demonic operations.

"God save us all…" Jim prayed as this story of horror finally came to its conclusion. Alison wasn't just corrupt; he was a complete monster, rotten to his very core. "So…Your father took part and knew about all of this? To protect you?"

"Yes, he killed my friend and then pretended like nothing happened…I talked to him about it already." Chris said with spite.

"And Mike? Did he find anything out before you…" Jim asked, only to have his new metal companion shrug.

"Not much, only what Lynda, Gron's wife, knew. They worked together, and she helped him get into the bunker, I think. He did genuinely try to make right by me when he realized the truth…"

"But you still killed him."

"I needed skin to hide among other people," Chris explained. "I was glad it was him at the time…I could have my perfect revenge. But that is all I am good for…Killing powerless people while they ask me to stop. I had a chance to go after Alison, but I was too scared…Maybe I could've stopped him once and for all. And I just…I was a coward."

"It takes guts to do what you did, even when it's just one escape," Jim said with some reassurance. "And tell me…Did you want to kill us all straight away? The moment you awakened?"

"At first, I just wanted for this to end…Until I finally realized how strong I could be in this body. I felt powerful, felt like I could do absolutely anything…And I wanted revenge." Jim felt his stomach churn at the eagerness with which Chris described this. There was a lot of hate and untamed rage within his heart that Jim couldn't help with, for he wasn't human anymore. "Don't pretend like you forgive me; I know you aren't. I killed your friends, after all."

"I can't forgive…Not fully. Mike and Lamar became distant memories to me, forever tainted by what happened with you and Blake…I wonder if he knew anything about Alison's true nature. Perhaps it was too late to turn him away from that path, perhaps not…But I still wish he could've lived." Jim spoke truthfully.

"Thank you for being honest, at least…" Chris said in a calm tone of acceptance. "So, what do we do now?"

"Find your father, perhaps? Or that animatronic you mentioned seeing…"

"Fredbear will kill us the moment he sees us; he's strong." Chris shook his head. "We need to get out of here, go back to Hurricane, and then…"

They were interrupted by the sound of the ringing doorbell. This was likely some hotel attendant, yet Jim couldn't help but grunt in annoyance, knowing that he could expose the animatronic's presence.

"Chris, hide behind that wall, okay? I'll be quick." Jim said, making the endoskeleton move in the pointed direction. Jim opened the door, expecting to see a clean-up worker, but he saw a familiar face that he did not expect to see. A man from the church whom he saw praying for a friend, Jim recognized him almost immediately.

"Hello, Jim." He said with a welcoming smile on his face. "I'm glad we can meet in a less formal setting."

"Mr. Akira? That's a surprise…Are you staying here, as well?" Jim wondered.

"Yes, but not for long. See, I've realized something since we last met…And I want to talk to you about it. Might I come in?" He said innocuously, making Jim's eyes run in chaos.

"Eeeh…Maybe I can come over to your room?"

"Don't worry, Jim. I know that you have an animatronic inside. If he doesn't mind, I'd like to speak with him, too." He said, making Jim recoil in shock.

"H..How…"

"So, may I come over for a cup of tea?"