The time had come for a rather serious discussion, and William was more than ready.

Jeremy returned for another night, of course, but this time, William expected him. He stayed late, hoping that the conversation wouldn't take long and he would be able to come back to Elizabeth soon. The guard came almost half an hour before the start of his shift, trying to impress his new superiors. William wondered if Jeremy understood that they suspected something, or perhaps he was genuinely oblivious to the attention placed on him…It was time to find that out and establish their 'first contact.'

"Jeremy!" William paused the new night guard, trying to sound innocuous at first. Alison's instruction was to make an impression, and William planned to go through with it.

"Will?" He said with faint reservation in his voice. "Don't you finish your workday, like…Way earlier?"

"Oh, I'm not working; I just wanted to check in with you," William reassured him. "How was your first night? I hope my guidance was helpful…Any problems?" William wondered. He saw the recordings and knew exactly what happened on Jeremy's first night, but he wondered what his reaction to this question would be.

"Well…" He hesitated. "Not really. I think I've settled quite well. You said it yourself; it's a simple job, but I'm still going to do my best." It was a perfect response, something every employer would like to hear, assuming it was genuine.

"Easier than your previous jobs?"

"Hm…Yeah, I'd say so." Henry responded awkwardly.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Excuse me?"

"You see…" William took a deep breath. "I've checked your track record, the parts of it that you didn't show me. You know, before 1985." He began to reveal the truth piece by piece, slowly dropping the pretense of an innocuous question. He saw Henry's eyes begin to run and avoid eye contact; it was clear that he wasn't as prepared for this infiltration as he might have believed. "Here." William took out a sheet of paper with some places he was able to trace in which Henry worked before he became entangled with Fazbear Inc. A name that only recently disappeared from the records, paving the path for Jeremy Fitzgerald. "That must be familiar to you."

"I…" He took a few steps back. This must have been the moment when he realized he was cornered. "I don't have the slightest idea of…Of what the fuck are you talking about!"

"Calm down, your act isn't convincing." William crossed his arms; he wasn't impressed. "There never was any Jeremy Fitzgerald. It's a persona you've created to avoid certain questions when applying to Fazbear Inc. You might go through a dozen plastic surgeries, and I will still recognize you…Henry." William looked him right in the eyes as the night guard froze in a state of shock and fear. Will expect it. Henry might have been a marvelous engineer, but acting wasn't one of his talents. "Alison and I have a lot more track records when it comes to you; I'd advise you not to deny the obvious."

"Shit…" He said quietly, his eyes fell to the floor, a gesture of admitting one's shameful defeat. "Didn't think it would happen that fast…Listen, if you or your boss want to kill me…"

"We have nothing of the sort in mind." William quickly denied the accusation. "To be honest, we didn't even plan on letting too big you go from the job."

"Really, now? That sounds far too generous to believe."

"We are a generous company, you should know that…" William clenched his teeth, realizing how disgusting this sounded. "And besides, I have reason to believe you have motives other than earning money."

"What's it to you?"

"To ensure the safety of the business, that is all. I think you've come here to learn about something, to discover something that you think is a secret…Is that right?"

"Perhaps…"

"For yourself, or are you in league with someone else?"

"I don't need anyone to help me do a night job," Henry said with restored confidence. It wasn't surprising that he would deny Lockjaw's involvement, and William decided not to bring it up just yet. "God, Will, not that I ever expected us to meet again, but if we did…That's hardly the setting I imagined."

"I can say the same."

"I know you sometimes doubted your inventions, but surely you can do better than this shady company that's on the brink of falling apart?" Henry shook his hand, finally recomposing himself after revelation.

"Do you think I have much choice?" William said with a grim voice, enough to make Henry understand.

"Guess we found ourselves in the same trash pile." Henry sighed. "I heard about what happened to your son; it was all over the news for a few days…I'm sorry."

"What's done is done," William said with feigned indifference, pretending that he no longer cared. "I heard you had a son, too…Though I wish I knew it before he died." It was not pleasant bringing up his dead child, but they both knew Liam was the reason Henry came here.

"Died within those walls." Henry clenched his fist, trying to hold back his rage.

"So this is why you came? To learn of what happened to Liam?"

"Do you know who killed him?"

"Perhaps."

"If you're going to play those fucking games with me, Will…"

"It's not for me to decide." William shook his head. "You'll have to ask my boss about it. He didn't intend to hide it from you for too long."

"I'm tired of this!" Henry couldn't hold back any longer. "I honestly to God wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, Will, but you've changed for the worse. You're just Alison's lapdog, and I know you probably have your reasons, but I don't give a damn…I could go to the police right now and tell them about all this company is hiding, and then what? Are you going to beg me not to?"

"They will not believe your word, especially when they learn you have your own ties to the underworld. Not to mention that you will risk never knowing what happened to Liam." William simply stated the facts, reminding him that they weren't in Henry's favor. The engineer took a deep breath and looked away.

"I…Perhaps. So what now? Simply going to wish me luck on my second night?" He let out a pained chuckle.

"Yes. I'm not an enemy to you, Henry, no matter what you might think. You came here to prove your usefulness and loyalty to Alison, so go on, carry on with the duty." He said coldly before turning around; it was time for him to leave. He knew that Henry would comply; he was driven by the same father's love that caused William to sacrifice everything.

"Whatever you're hiding here…People will know one day. They will make all of you pay."

"I wish I could be as convinced…I was, once." William sighed. "And I had to learn the hard way. Good night, Henry. I'm sure we'll get to talk about this soon enough."

And so the cycle began. William hoped that Alison was right and Henry would change his mind when he learned the truth…They will know soon enough.

…

Another guard.

Another guest.

Another victim…

Though this time, he might not fall to the evil people of the company but to the wretched souls that it enclaved and made to suffer. For the first time in an eternity, they finally allowed the animatronics to walk at night, and Liam could barely believe that this was genuinely happening. Being able to move his robotic legs and roam the restaurant at their own will. It should've felt good, but what it ended up being was nothing more than another painful reminder of what he and his friends lost when they got killed. An echo of humanity that they could never reach again.

All Liam could do was walk among the shadows and try to enjoy what little freedom he had…But even so, they were watched by the night guard. Someone who Jack wanted to kill…To him, everyone was guilty. Everyone here was a murderer. Liam didn't take any interest in their new overseer before he finally got an opportunity to see him from the hall.

There was something familiar about him…It was the man who had come to Freddy's before and stood out among all the others. He was so concerned, always thinking he did not enjoy the fun others were having during the day. He wanted solitude. Now he was alone here with them, and Liam couldn't help but feel a familiar presence in him, a warm and fuzzy feeling that made him want to go him closer and closer…Until he put on the mask. Liam's vision changed, immediately creating an image of an animatronic sitting on the table; he couldn't continue for reasons that were still unclear to him. Yet every time he tried to come close, he would have to turn away without looking the night guard in the eyes.

This night will be no different.

All he could do was walk around and hope. Hope that something, anything at all, will finally change. He never thought they would be allowed to walk at all, yet they could now. Maybe, just maybe…

"Are you alright?"

Jessica's ephemeral voice echoed in his head as Chica approached closer. They learned to speak without opening their mouths, using only the mysterious energy in their heads, and as time passed by, they talked less and less…Sometimes, Liam felt that they themselves were becoming robots.

"I'm fine." The boy responded, unsure if he wanted to talk at all.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm tired," Liam said, knowing that this was a phrase each of them repeated many times over.

"It will be alright."

"No."

"We just have to wait…We will be free. Jack is looking for a way."

"Jack will make us kill someone…And this means we go to hell."

"No…Only bad people go to hell; we aren't bad people."

"For now…" Liam didn't want to talk about this. Whatever future had in store for them, it was not hopeful. "I want to see the night guard again."

"Why? To help Jack?"

"No. I just…There is something about him. He didn't seem…He didn't seem so bad."

Another quieter voice joined their chorus as the Freddy animatronic walked behind them.

"Do you think he might be good? Why?" Gabriel wondered.

"I don't know, it just seems like it…" Liam couldn't quite wrap his head around it. Why would he feel drawn to a random night guard? Maybe he just wanted more human contact after having to spend his time in a mechanical body? It was two years, according to the pizzeria calendars, two years… "Maybe we should go and try to talk to him?"

They got interrupted by a stark, pained voice.

"It doesn't matter." Jack's words echoed from the hall; his soul had already guided Foxy to attack the night guard. No matter how much Jessica tried to calm him down, he only wanted revenge, even if it meant killing everyone in the pizzeria, every single worker, even though some may be innocent… "If he works for those monsters, I will make him suffer."

Liam didn't like it, but he wouldn't stop it either. Somehow, Jack wasn't stopped by the animatronic mask, though the guard found other ways to force him away. Liam tried to reach him, as did Jessica; maybe Gabriel would join them tonight, as well…But Jack went straight for the kill.

Liam heard his steps echoing from the hall, and he attempted to run forward again. Liam saw the echoing flashlight and heard Jack's furious roar of retreat. He will come to the hall and rest, then try again…Again and again until the clock chimes. In the end, both they and the night guard will simply return to where they came from, realizing that they simply wasted energy and will never reach the answers and absolution they wanted. This was their fate.

A fate without hope.