When Sean arrived home, he was greeted by his father yelling at him and demanding to know where the hell he had been.
"I was just with some friends, ok?" Sean told him.
"Don't lie to me boy!" Mr Davies spat.
"I'm not lying Dad!" Sean said back with an offended expression. Mr Davies became more angry. Mostly because he felt that Sean had talked back to him. He raised his hand, whacking Sean in the face. Sean grabbed his face, looking at his father with hurt eyes.
"Don't talk back to me, boy!" Mr Davies growled.
"Yes sir" Sean said before walking off quickly to his room. Trying to contain the urge to start crying. Because if he had started crying in front of his father, it would've given him another reason to hit him.
As soon as Sean entered his room and shut his door, that's when he finally burst into tears. He slid down the back of his bedroom door and sobbed. Eventually sitting with his legs hugging his chest.
LATER, AT THE HOSPITAL
While Gregory was looking at Michael, anxiously waiting for Michael to wake up, Grace's father walked into the room after receiving a message earlier from her, telling him that she was in the hospital with Gregory because Michael had collapsed and she was with Gregory to support him.
"Hey dad" Grace smiled, standing up and walking over to him to hug him.
"Hey sweetheart" He smiled, hugging her back. Gregory looked at Mr Griffins and showed a small smile.
"Hi Mr Griffins" Gregory spoke.
"Hello son. How's your father doing?" Garrett asked as he walked over and sat down in the chair that Sean had sat in earlier.
"He's ok I think" Gregory answered, looking back at Michael.
As soon as he had said that, Michael woke up.
"Mike?" Gregory spoke, sitting forwards slightly. Michael's eyes fluttered open and immediately started darting around the room.
"Where am I? How did I get here?" Michael asked, pushing himself into a sitting position but instantly regretting it when he felt extremely dizzy. Forcing him to lie back down.
"Freddy…and I found you passed out in the kitchen. An ambulance was called and they brought you to the hospital" Gregory explained. Michael soon noticed the bandage on his arm. Before he could ask, Grace answered what his question was going to be.
"You cut your arm on a piece of glass when you collapsed. I bandaged it up before the paramedics arrived" Grace told him. Michael gave a short nod.
"Who called the ambulance?" Michael asked.
"Sean" Gregory answered. Michael's eyes widened in shock.
"The kid that hit you and gave you a black eye?" Michael asked.
"He's my friend now. We sorted things out. And he stood up for me at school" Gregory told him. Michael looked at Grace, who nodded with a smile.
"So, what happened? What caused you to pass out?" Gregory asked a few minutes later.
"I'm not entirely sure. The last thing I remember was hearing some kind of evil presence. Then, everything went dark" Michael answered. Gregory's brow furrowed a bit. He looked at Grace, who was as confused and concerned as he was. Garrett was as well.
"Is that the only time you've felt that?" Gregory asked. Michael shook his head.
"When you found me on the sofa when I blacked out. I felt that same presence" Michael answered.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Gregory asked with a shocked expression on his face and a shocked tone in his voice.
"Because I didn't want you to worry more than you already were. And besides, you're still in a wheelchair so you already had enough to worry about without having to worry about me as well" Michael answered. Gregory sighed a little.
Suddenly, the hospital room door opened and in came the same doctor from before.
"Mr Afton! You're awake!" The doctor spoke in a surprised tone as he looked at Michael with stunned expression. Michael, Gregory, Grace and Garrett all looked at the doctor.
"I've just come to check on you to see how you were doing. To see if you had improved at all. And look at that! You're awake!" The doctor smiled.
"Thanks for looking after me, doc" Michael smiled. The doctor nodded with a smile.
"I'm just going to check your blood pressure if that's ok" The doctor then said. Michael nodded. The doctor then proceeded to check Michael's blood pressure.
"I'm surprised you weren't shocked by my last name" Michael chuckled a little, looking at the doctor.
"I was at first to be honest. But it seems like you're nothing like William" The doctor said.
"You knew my father?" Michael asked.
"My uncle did. And your mom as well" The doctor answered. Michael smiled slightly, bowing his head a little. Tears slowly filled his eyes.
"I'm sorry about what happened to her. My uncle told me she was the best person ever" The doctor said.
"She was the greatest" Michael smiled, sniffling a little.
Once Michael's blood pressure was finished, the doctor checked a few more things with Michael.
"So, do you remember passing out?" The doctor then asked.
"Sort of. But mostly I remember getting an awful feeling" Michael answered.
"What do you mean?" The doctor asked, curious.
"It felt like someone was standing right next to me. Breathing down my neck" Michael answered. Gregory's brow furrowed at that. The way Michael explained that, felt similar to how he felt when he was possessed by William Afton five years ago.
"Anything else?" The doctor asked.
"Apart from that and the blacking out, I'm getting these really bad headaches that are accompanied by these high-pitched squeals" Michael answered.
"Have you hit your head in the past? Something that might contribute to that?" The doctor asked.
"No. Not that I remember anyway" Michael shook his head.
"Well, we've got you in here over night for observation so, if you feel like something's wrong and you're going to have one of those blackouts again, press the call button and we'll come straight away" The doctor told him.
"Thank you" Michael said, nodding. The doctor smiled, nodding back before leaving the room.
"I'm gonna go and grab some coffee from the cafe downstairs. Anyone want a drink while I'm down there?" Garrett asked. Gregory, Grace and Michael all shook their heads. Garrett then left the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Michael, the way you described how you felt before your blackouts, it sounded kinda familiar" Gregory said to Michael a few short minutes later.
"Familiar how?" Michael asked, looking at him.
"All those things you felt, I felt those things when William possessed me back at the Pizzaplex" Gregory answered. Michael looked at him, now concerned.
"You don't think it might be him do you?" Gregory asked.
"No. It's impossible. He's gone. You said it yourself after you defeated him five years ago" Michael said.
"But what about the remnant? It's a possibility he could've done something to it when he took it from you" Gregory said.
"Maybe but, I'm not too sure" Michael said back.
LATER THAT NIGHT
While Michael was asleep, Gregory was texting someone on his phone. That someone was Sean.
"Hey Sean. Everything going ok at home?" He wrote.
"Not really but, I'm dealing with it" Sean wrote back a few minutes later. Gregory's brow furrowed at that. He began feeling concerned about Sean.
"What's going on? Did your dad do something to you?" He wrote.
"Yeah. But you don't need to worry about it, Gregory" Sean wrote back.
"I'm worrying about it right now. You've told me and Grace what's been happening at home and just that is really worrying" Gregory wrote.
"Gregory, please don't worry about it! I don't want to make a big deal of it" Sean wrote.
"Can I at least let Michael know? He won't say anything to anyone if you don't want him to" Gregory asked. The typing icon reappeared on the screen and seemed to stay there for a bit before disappearing a few minutes later. Maybe Sean didn't want to talk after that. Gregory was about to put his phone back into his pocket when it buzzed. He looked down at it and saw that Sean had replied.
"Fine. Tell him. Just make sure he doesn't tell anyone unless I want him to" Sean wrote.
"I'll make him promise me not to tell anyone. For your sake" Gregory wrote back before finally putting his phone away.
"You ok?" Michael suddenly asked. Gregory looked at Michael and saw that he had woken up.
"I was just talking with Sean. He's having a pretty rough time at home" Gregory answered, bowing his head slightly. From the tone in Gregory's voice and what he had said, Michael instantly knew what he meant.
"Do you want me to tell someone?" Michael asked, slowly sitting up. Gregory shook his head.
"Sean doesn't want anyone knowing at the moment. If someone is told about it and CPS is called, his father will have more ammunition to hurt Sean. And I don't want him getting hurt by his father because of something I've done" Gregory said. Michael sighed a little.
"Well, we can't just sit around and do nothing about it. That's negligence" Michael said.
"I know but at the moment, it's the only option we have. Until Sean is ready for everyone to be told, we don't tell anyone of his situation" Gregory told him.
"So, who else knows?" Michael then asked a few minutes later.
"Me, Grace and you. And for the moment, it needs to stay that way. For Sean's safety" Gregory answered. Michael sighed again a little before nodding.
"Is there any way to help him without telling anyone? Maybe talking to him about it?" Michael asked.
"Probably. And probably someone who's been through the same thing" Gregory answered. Michael nodded. Growing up, Michael was subjected to pretty much the same thing Sean was currently being subjected to. And all of the abuse was, like Sean's, being inflicted on him by his father.
THE NEXT DAY, AFTON FAMILY HOME
After getting home from the hospital, Michael went to his room to have a bit of a rest. Which Gregory was ok with. It gave him the opportunity to talk to Freddy and watch the TV for a bit. However, as he was about to turn on the TV after having a conversation with Freddy, there was knock at the front door.
Wondering who it was, he wheeled over to the door and opened it. He was greeted by Sean. And he was supporting a pretty awful bruise just under his eye.
"Sean!? What the hell!? Did you dad do this!?" Gregory asked in shock. Sean put his finger over his closed mouth quickly, telling Gregory to be quiet about it.
"Can we talk for a bit?" Sean then asked, taking his hand away from his mouth. Gregory nodded and brought him inside, closing the door shortly after. They both then went down the hall and went outside to the back porch. They both sat at the back porch table and began talking.
"Turns out my father wasn't so happy about me being out for more than just the hours I was spending at school" Sean sighed, looking down at his hands, which were fiddling with the cuffs of his jacket sleeves.
"Why does he do this to you?" Gregory asked, wanting to know.
"It started after mom died. When she died, he began drinking and became really depressed. Eventually that turned into anger, which he took out on me. Apart from blaming your family for what happened to my mom, he also blames me because I was with her when she died" Sean answered.
"Her death isn't your fault" Gregory told him. Sean sighed slowly.
"I know. But sometimes, when my fathers anger really gets to me, I feel like it is my fault. Like I should've done something more to help her" Sean said back to him, looking at Gregory with tears slowly filling his eyes. Gregory put his hands over Sean's hands and gently rubbed them with his thumb.
"How old were you when she passed?" Gregory asked.
"Seven" Sean answered.
"You were a kid. There was not a lot you could really do to help her. The only thing you did, which I'm pretty sure she was grateful for, was being with her and comforting her when she really needed it" Gregory smiled. Sean smiled slightly at Gregory's words. He sniffled a little, eventually wiping the tears from his eyes.
"I just….I don't know what I did to deserve it" Sean said, eventually breaking down into tears. Gregory rubbed his back, trying to comfort him and calm him down.
"It may be because you probably remind him of your mother" Gregory said. Sean looked at him.
"What do you mean?" Sean asked.
"Michael went through pretty much the same thing growing up. I know that because I saw a lot of his memories while I was possessed by William Afton a few years back. Michael shared a lot of qualities with his mother. Qualities that after her death, William was reminded of. Which made Michael a target for his father's anger. His siblings death's didn't exactly help the situation" Gregory told. Sean then looked at the little potted plant on the porch table.
"Some people have told me that my compassion and kindness for people came from my mom. Same with my sarcasm" Sean said, eventually smiling a little about his qualities that were like his mothers. Gregory smiled as well.
"I didn't know you were sarcastic" Gregory smiled.
"Yeah. I can be pretty sarcastic when I choose to be" Sean told him.
Suddenly the porch door opened, startling Gregory and Sean a little. They both looked and saw that Michael was awake.
"Hey kids" Michael smiled.
"Mike? Shouldn't you be resting?" Gregory asked.
"I'm feeling a little better. Besides, I just wanted to come and see how you two were doing. Especially you, Sean" Michael said, looking at Sean.
"I'm doing ok, Mr Afton" Sean smiled a little. Michael wasn't convinced. Only because of the bruise on Sean's face.
"I'll be back in a second, I'm just gonna grab something from the kitchen" Michael said, walking inside and coming back a few minutes later with an icepack from the freezer.
"Here you go kiddo. Put it on the bruise" Michael smiled, holding out the icepack to Sean. Sean smiled slightly, thanking him before grabbing the icepack and pressing it against the bruise.
"So, Gregory's told me what's been going on with your father" Michael said, eventually sitting down at the table beside the two boys. Sean gave a slight nod, bowing his head again. Michael put his hand on Sean's shoulder.
"You're not alone in this" Michael smiled. Sean looked at him, smiling slightly.
"Gregory just told me that the same thing happened to you when you were a kid" Sean then said. Michael looked at Gregory before looking back at Sean.
"My dad wasn't the best father ever. Even before my mother died, he would hurt me. For a while, I never understood why he was hurting me. Until I realised why" Michael explained.
"Why?" Sean asked.
"Because I was the oldest child. I was nothing like him. I was more like my mom. And I hated Freddy Fazbear-related stuff at the time. Mostly because it used to scare me. And because I knew what he was doing in his spare time" Michael answered.
"You knew he was the Hurricane City Slasher?" Sean asked with semi-widened eyes. Michael nodded.
"And when he found out that I knew, he threatened me that if I had told anyone, he would kill me and stage my "disappearance". So, I never told anyone a thing. Which felt awful. A fourteen year old kid with the biggest secret ever and being unable to tell people. I felt especially awful about it because while I was keeping that secret, more kids were getting killed and going missing" Michael answered, sighing a little.
"But you wanna know what I learnt from all that?" Michael then asked Sean. Sean just looked at him.
"I learnt to be brave. And to be strong. Despite being trapped in the darkness by him, I learnt to be brave and not let him get the better of me" Michael told him.
"I've tried being brave and being strong but….it's really hard" Sean said, looking down again.
"We're here to support you, Sean. Every step of the way" Gregory smiled. Sean slowly lifted his head up, looking at Gregory. A smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Thanks Gregory" Sean said.
"You're welcome" Gregory said back, smiling.
A bit of a pause happened soon after before anyone spoke again.
"So, have you found who did this to you?" Sean asked, gesturing to the wheelchair Gregory was in.
"No. Unfortunately" Gregory shook his head as he looked at Michael.
"We're still trying to find out who it was. Same with the police department" Michael said. Sean took a bit of a pause before speaking.
"I don't know if he had anything to do with it or not but, my father was out for hours the night you were attacked. I don't know if that really means anything to you guys" Sean told them.
"It's certainly suspicious. Do you know where he went?" Michael asked. Sean shook his head.
"He was gone by the time I got home from school. He didn't leave a note or anything. He had just taken off" Sean answered.
"Well unless he's got a solid alibi, he's a suspect in the case" Michael said. Sean was about to say something when Michael spoke up.
"Don't worry. Until we know for sure, I won't tell the police about it. It'll just make life more hellish for you and I don't really want to put you through that" Michael said.
"Thanks" Sean said back to him, grateful for Michael choosing not to say anything. At least until he was certain. A bit of silence happened after before they spoke.
"Do you know what cause you to pass out?" Sean then asked Michael.
"Sort of I think. Right before I passed out, I felt this evil presence near me. It felt like it was practically breathing down my neck, trying to fill my head with all these awful thoughts. Thoughts of murder and chaos" Michael answered.
"And when Michael explained that, it felt all too familiar to me" Gregory added.
"How so?" Sean asked, now looking at Gregory.
"When I was possessed by William five years ago, I felt those same things" Gregory said.
"But isn't he dead or something?" Sean asked, confused.
"As far as we know, he is" Gregory answered.
"But like Gregory said to me at the hospital….there's a possibility that he's not all gone" Michael said. Sean gave a short nod.