It was a disaster.
Soon, a general panic shook the restaurant. Charlie didn't have the courage to witness the monumental mess that followed Fritz's mistake. She sighed and closed the lid of her music box, plunging into complete darkness and silence. Today had been such a perfect day, but someone had to ruin it all...
Her only satisfaction was William's blood. But this impulsive act was not without consequences. She hadn't realized that a new soul had joined them.
...
Cassidy could still feel the unpleasant sensation of a very sharp object against her fragile throat... The pain refused to fade, and her memories were becoming more and more distant. Her heart was producing its final beats, and soon...
Nothing.
The taste of blood in her mouth was gone, and the sinister voice of the purple man too... there was nothing left of her. Was she really dead at such a young age? Or at least... was it really over? If it was over, if everything was over, how could she still think? How... did she feel the need to cry?
"Why, Fredbear... WHY?!" her own voice roared.
Strange. The last time she had uttered a word, she could only whimper. But now, she felt a cold ground and a long, spacious sky. Her voice echoed... She remembered the day her grandparents had talked to her about heaven and hell after... death.
"Am I really dead?" she murmured, her voice still there.
She instinctively opened her eyes and saw above her the darkest skies she had ever imagined. The young girl sat up and observed the complete black that surrounded her. There was no bright sunlight, no white moonlight... The only source of light in this place was... herself. She watched with fascination as her translucent hands glowed.
"What's happening?" she panicked, feeling her tears welling up.
She then felt a presence behind her... another source of light. It didn't seem to shine like her; it was darker... more discreet. Its steps were almost imperceptible. Thinking it was the purple man, she immediately turned around and saw him.
It was just a little boy with a striped T-shirt, holding a Fredbear plush. He had tear streaks on his cheeks but wasn't really crying. He did, however, look sad to see her here.
"Who are you, and where are we?!" she cryed.
The boy didn't even startle; he simply sighed.
"Just answer me, finally!"
He cleared his throat.
"Did Fredbear kill you too?" he asked simply.
She furrowed her brow.
"What? No! Well... I don't think so. It was a purple guy, a real asshole," she revealed, her rage gradually replacing her confusion.
The little boy then nodded and sat down on the ground, facing his plush.
"How do we get out of here? I... I want to see Mom and Dad again," she murmured before abruptly wiping her tears.
"I'm sorry for you, but you're dead," he clarified, trying to appear compassionate.
Cassidy wasn't ready to give up.
"What?! But there must be a way! I don't know... Walk until we find something!"
The boy continued to calmly play with his plush and shrugged.
"We're inside Fredbear's mind; you'll end up waiting for the end and bumping into it. You can't do anything about it, and... neither can I. I've been doomed to boredom and these... these nightmares for far too long."
"Wait. How long have you been trapped here?"
"Uh... I think it was in '83, but I'm not sure; I was eight at the time."
Cassidy widened her eyes.
"WHAT?! But that's a really long time! I... I can't..."
The little boy didn't cry with her. He was out of tears, anyway... and... he didn't think he could feel anything anymore. Not even fear or sadness. He slowly approached Cassidy, who was hiding her tear-filled eyes in her hands, and timidly got closer to her. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to comfort her... maybe she wanted to be alone? But that didn't seem to be the case. After all, it was just the two of them against this immense emptiness.
"You know? I cried a lot too when... when... I realized it was over."
"No shit!" she exclaimed through her tears.
The boy didn't move away. He remembered that he was really, really, REALLY angry at Michael. Anger was the first stage of grieving life...
"I hope that murderer pays for what he did to you," he affirmed.
"I hope yours does too. These people deserve to be in hell for the rest of their existence."
The boy cringed but decided not to delve deeper into the subject... He knew that, in his case, it was just an accident.
...
They stayed next to each other for a long time, forced to share a vast space. Through the darkness, they could trace their tragic pasts... both betrayed by a loved one.
"What was your name before your death?" she asked abruptly.
The boy took a deep breath.
"Evan Afton."
She stood up and reached out her hand to help him up. The boy accepted it timidly.
"Well, Evan Afton, I swear I'll get us out of here, and we'll settle the score with our killers before tomorrow!"
"It's impossible, Cass... and besides..."
I don't want to hurt Mikey.
He refrained from saying the last part. Fortunately, Cassidy didn't pay it any attention. The older girl smiled at him. Evan did too... or at least... he forced himself to. He had never really smiled in life or death.
"I just want to remind you that we're dead but not really. From now on, nothing is impossible, right?"
This time, a strange sound came out of the boy's mouth. Was that laughter? It had been an eternity since the only laughter he heard was that of a nightmarish Fredbear. But today, it didn't mean that a monster had entered his closet; rather, he was finally happy. Happy not to be all alone.
He still had a bad feeling. Was it really right to reveal his identity to her? At the time, his dad wasn't very well-received by the kids; he always seemed... to dislike them without going too far. Fortunately, Cassidy didn't seem to know William Afton.
...
Cassidy had suggested to Evan that they walk through this black expanse to at least talk a bit. The boy, who had never really moved since 1983, decided to follow her... before that, he was afraid of getting lost in the void. But now, he was with someone, and Cassidy seemed confident. The girl walked in one direction... north, south, east, or west, everything looked the same. Evan could see that Cassidy pretended to be brave and cheerful... deep down, she was probably heartbroken. Was it denial at its peak? He decided to break the silence.
"What did your killer look like?" he asked.
Cassidy shivered but didn't stop.
"I... I don't want to think about him... I already think about it enough," she replied simply.
Evan remembered how Michael would get angry when he insisted even a little.
"Oh... okay, sure."
The girl then turned her head toward him.
"And you, you never told me how you got killed, Evan," Cassidy remarked.
This time, Evan wanted to keep silent. But, unlike her, he agreed... He had always said "yes." Not because he was naturally kind, but rather because he hated upsetting others.
"Me? Well, it all started when my sister got devoured by an animatronic with a giant claw. I was the only one who saw it, and... and... no one believed me when I told them that Circus Baby ate Elizabeth. Not even Mikey," he murmured.
"Mikey?"
"Yes, Michael, my older brother. After her death, I think I was terrified of animatronics, especially Fredbear."
"But Fredbear is super cool! Well... that's what I thought before..." Cassidy corrected herself.
Evan chuckled.
"Yeah, but... I didn't like my dad's machines after I saw what they were capable of. Michael quickly noticed it, and I remember for almost months on end, he kept surprising me by roaring with his Foxy mask," he said in the quietest voice he could produce.
Cassidy's face softened. Before her death, she hadn't had to live through a real hell. Evan probably hated his older brother, but the boy only seemed disappointed.
"My... my birthday was coming up fast, and... uh... Michael had never been so aggressive those five days before my party. He even locked me up the whole day in the storage room with the animatronic parts," he revealed, biting his ghostly lip.
The girl could tell that the boy was approaching the tragic conclusion. Being taller, she tried to wrap her arm around his shoulder, but Evan pulled away. Being a crybaby had cost him his life; he had sworn never to shed another tear. He just stared at the ground.
"Then came the day of my..."
He never got to finish his sentence.
Another voice rang out; it wasn't Cass'. It came from the dark sky. It had the same echo as the day Michael had talked to him on his hospital bed. It was an external voice.
"I'm sorry, guys," a voice reasoned.
Evan furrowed his brow, Cassidy half-smiled.
"It's Foxy!" the girl exclaimed.
She looked around them, but there was no one.
"Cassidy? If you say it's Foxy talking, that... that means he's in the same room as Golden Freddy. But that's not possible since they store Fredbear in a basement. Unless..."
"Unless the purple guy put him here after using him to murder me!"
The conversation continued in the skies.
"Fritz! What on earth were you thinking? My god! Do you see the mess you've gotten us into?" Freddy exclaimed.
"I just wanted to save that child! That's all. I was the only one who wanted to save her..."
Cassidy seriously wondered if she was the child in question.
"It doesn't matter now; William will definitely survive, and we... we... are close to being thrown away," Chica lamented.
"Yeah! You should've just slit his throat; at least we'd be free by now," Bonnie pointed out.
Evan and Cassidy exchanged an amused look.
"They can't hear us; Fredbear has been deactivated since... since '83," the boy warned.
...
"I think I know where William Afton's new victim is, guys," Fritz revealed.
Cassidy widened her eyes and slowly turned toward Evan. Not because she was the one they were talking about, but because...
Evan Afton.
"Wait... you're HIS son?!"