A/N Hello again, everyone, and welcome to the aftermath of Night 2. Once again this is going to be not a lot of action, but a good amount of character development, hopefully. I hope you all enjoy this little breather. Here we go.
No one spoke on the drive back to the house. Where comradery was on the way to the diner that night was now replaced by a feeling of awkwardness, but who could blame them? They had all just found out that they were speaking to a blood relative of the psycho that put them in this situation. No one knew how to feel.
Freddy had the worst of it, however. Now that he had a clear picture of who he was, it was hard for him to deal with. All of Michael's memories coming back to him at once was not going to be the easiest thing to recover from. They all filled his head as he looked at the scenery passing by. The worst part of it, though, was thinking about what he should do with this knowledge, and how was he going to make things right, like he said.
The rest of them were trying to process how they were going to deal with this as well. They knew this was an unpredictable situation and didn't know what this friend turned stranger was going to do. They all had a longing to help him after what he had been through that night, but they weren't sure if they should. So, no one said anything until they got to the house.
Vanessa was quick to usher the group down to the basement and have Henry take a look at Freddy. To say the deceased businessman was shocked at what he saw would be an understatement, but he handled it in the way he knew he needed to. He instructed the bear to sit in the chair and began a scan of him to assess the damage. Then Freddy explained what had happened to him while Fifi was allowed to enter the data she obtained into the fabricator's computer.
When he was done listening, Henry paused for a moment.
"William never was above that level of cruelty," he said, "but I am surprised he has actually gotten willing followers for his schemes."
Vanessa sighed. "He can be pretty persuasive; I'll give him that."
"I guess you'd know about that, wouldn't you Vanessa?" said Gregory with a crooked smile.
The blonde nodded. "Yeah…probably not as much as some people though."
This was directly pointed at Freddy, who squirmed in his seat. "I suppose," he replied sadly.
Henry was quick to pick up on the nonverbal cues. "Ah…I thought your memory banks looked a little strange. So, you've figured out who you are now, huh?"
Freddy cast down his eyes as he nodded. "Yes, I have…It is good to see you again, Henry."
"Likewise, Mike…if I can still call you that."
Vanessa looked at the screen indignantly. "You knew?" she asked in a hushed tone. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I recognized a few of his mannerisms last night," Henry said. "It would have been best to find out on your own. You were already taking on a lot, and I didn't want to burden you with that right away."
"But we know nothing about him!" she was raising her voice now. "We don't know what side he's on. He could have killed us at any time once he found out! How can you honestly say he wouldn't have done that? How could you let that risk loom over our heads!?"
"If I thought there was a risk, I would have said so," he replied calmly. "I've known Michael for too long. I practically raised him! It would absolutely destroy him to do a thing like that to any of you. The last thing he would ever want is to become like his father, and his personality with this programming only proves it further."
Vanessa seemed to accept this answer, but was still clearly unhappy. After the way William treated her, she was automatically distrustful of any member of his family. Even with that, though, it was hard to say that she didn't grow a little attached to the bear over the month he was here. She was secretly hoping he could give her a reason to trust him again.
"Believe me, Vanessa," Freddy chimed in, "if I'd have remembered sooner, the last thing I would have wanted was for anyone to get hurt. I've seen too much of that already."
"Well, you can't just tell me that and expect me to believe it!" she said. "I don't know anything about you! Afton never even talked about Michael when I was with him other than the fact that he existed."
"That is because he wished I was never born. He's always seen me as nothing but a mistake. Nothing I ever did was good enough for him, and when I realized that, I had to go against him when I could. The things he's done to me, and to all those children are unforgivable, so he and I have always been at odds."
Fifi was listening intently the whole time, as much as she didn't want to, and finally felt it was time to speak up when she heard this.
"But Baby said before that you took a life once and regretted it," she said. "I'm guessing she meant when you were Michael, but what exactly was she talking about."
"I'd like an explanation for that, too," Vanessa replied with a scowl.
Freddy turned his head down again, "I don't like to talk about it."
"You might as well," said Henry. "You've gotten a lot of information here so far. Their bound to find out eventually."
Freddy then turned to Gregory, who was standing to his other side and had been uncharacteristically quiet the whole time. He looked like he was hesitant to hear what his friend had to say, but after a few seconds his pained expression softened and he nodded.
The bear took a deep breath and began. "It was 1983, the year everything was going wrong for this company. I didn't know it at the time, but William was conducting experiments to test the effects of Remnant on a human subject. He would place this subject in a room that looked like theirs and conduct torturous experiments on them each night after exposing them to Remnant. Using killing machines modeled after his own characters, he would threaten them with death if they failed. But the worst part of it was…that human test subject was my little brother, Evan."
Already, everyone was looking unsettled.
"You're kidding!" Vanessa exclaimed.
"I wish," Freddy continued. "I didn't know it was happening at the time, like I said. I did notice changes in Evan's personality, though, as this was happening. He loved his father's creation so much before this, and he was so full of life with everything he did. But I noticed he began to act scared almost all of the time. He would steer away from everything having to do with Fazbear Entertainment except for the toys he had in his room, and eventually, not a day went by that he wouldn't burst into tears at the slightest mention of it. I didn't know how to take it. This wasn't how my brother was supposed to be, and I couldn't understand why he was acting like this…so, I wound up bullying him for it.
"I did so many things to him that I do not even want to talk about. I'd run around in a mask and scare him, threaten to lock him in one of the pizzerias. You name it I did it. I think I may have actually even enjoyed it all at one point. But nothing ever really got that bad until…that day."
Fifi knew by the way he said that it was going to be bad. "What do you mean?"
Freddy did not want to continue, but he knew he had to. "We were having Evan's birthday party at the diner. It was where he said he wanted it for the longest time. But this was months into the tests he was going through, and he was freaking out at everything he saw. He fell into a lump on the floor crying again, and…something just snapped in me. My friends were there, and I called them all to help me torment him again at this point.
"That's when I saw he was hiding away from the Fredbear animatronic on the stage…so I thought it would be funny to put him in its mouth and watch him squirm. So, my friends and I picked him up and carried him over there. We waited until just the right moment to shove him in…"
It sounded like the bear was beginning to cry. "I thought it'd be some sick comedy show for me…I didn't think it would bite down on him that hard."
As he said this a newspaper article appeared on Henry's screen. The title read "Fazbear Founder's Child Rushed to Hospital After Animatronic Malfunction."
The eyes of the humans in the room were wide as they read this, and Fifi brought her hands to her mouth. Though she didn't have a heart, she felt this was the moment where it would have dropped if she did.
All she could squeak out was a stunned "Oh my…"
"The damage to his brain and skull was too much for the doctors to handle," Henry said. "…He died the next morning."
Vanessa put her hand to her forehead. "Just when I think this can't…This wasn't anywhere in the company files I found before this. I couldn't even find this online."
"William threatened the papers if they didn't recall the story immediately," the founder replied. "This is probably the only copy of the article that was left. Any other information on this is hearsay and rumors. Some people don't see the difference in this and the Bite of '87, though, which William approved of because it helped keep the incident hidden."
Freddy began sobbing at this point, and all eyes were on him.
"I should have figured out what was happening," he said tearfully. "I should have helped him…I was so stupid! Why did I do that to him? He-he didn't deserve it after what he went through! I…I-I'm such a horrible brother…"
Gregory looked at his friend now and began to feel a sense of familiarity. Losing someone he cares about. Having the opportunity to help and not doing it. That is the mindset he had ever since he left the Pizzaplex. He knew the one speaking may have been Michael more than it was Freddy, but he couldn't let him feel alone in this issue. The boy knew how it felt to be alone, and he didn't wish it on anyone.
Holding in his feelings no longer, Gregory jumped onto the chair and wrapped his arms around Freddy, who gave a surprised jolt. He closed his eyes as he tightened his grip.
"I don't care who you are or what you've done," he said. "You've done more for me in the past month than anyone's done in six years. You were kind to me, gave me the first present I can remember, kept me safe for the longest time. I can't imagine being without you anymore. What you did before…that's not you anymore. I know it. You're my best friend now, and no one can change that now."
The bear just stared at him. He realized how close he had become to this boy after so little time. Maybe this was another chance. Maybe he could get back what he lost before. Maybe…they could help each other finally find some peace. He was overwhelmed at these thoughts for a moment, until finally he returned the boy's hug.
"Oh, Gregory…" Freddy breathed, taking in the boy's embrace.
Vanessa was now beginning to feel a bit guilty about the suspicion she held before, seeing the connection between the two of them. Still, she knew things were going to be different now that Freddy had these memories. She decided from that point on to just make sure her unfortunate brother was going to keep his head on straight, both figuratively and literally. But for now, she decided to let the two of them have their moment.
Fifi similarly wore a sad smile looking at the pair. There was so much she still didn't understand, not just about this whole situation, but about humans and their connections. But she was touched by the scene in front of her, and it was something she longed for too.
It was a solid minute before Gregory finally pulled away from the bear.
"We're in this together from now on, okay?" he said.
Freddy was still unsure of himself, but he finally smiled and nodded. "…Okay, Superstar."
Vanessa smiled too, in spite of herself. The Freddy she knew was in there all along, and she was relieved for that. Still, there was some business to finish and she was going take care of it.
"Well," she said, "now that that's out of the way, how'd you wind up like this?"
The bear took another breath. "Dad was furious at me after the incident, not out of love for Evan, but because I took away what he thought would be his perfect test subject. So, as his twisted punishment, he made a test subject out of me. He forced me to take so many injections of Remnant, and eventually, he took some too. This went on for years, and during that time, he had me work at different Freddy Fazbear locations under a different name as a night guard to make sure his secrets were kept. On each assignment, however, I did subtle things to try to get those secrets exposed, and find out for myself what they even were. Every time, though, I was caught and got fired, and then it was back to more torture and testing.
"Eventually, he had me work in maintenance for the Circus Baby rental company, where those two workers died, for one last task he said would be vital. For my troubles, though, my insides were scooped out by the machinery, but I didn't die. There was so much Remnant in my body at that time that somehow, I stayed alive for years afterward. The bad thing was, though, it had a similar effect on Dad after he was killed in a faulty springlock suit."
"So, you're saying his goal is immortality?" Fifi mused. "That seems a bit cliché."
"Well, I don't really know if it was," Freddy continued, "but at the time I didn't care. I just wanted things to end for us. So, Henry helped me open a franchise location for Fazbear Entertainment, and we lured him and a few other animatronics there, for the purpose of destroying them. We succeeded in this, and we both chose to burn with them, to be released from our torment…The pizzeria we opened was the place we found under the Pizzaplex, Gregory."
It was easy for everyone to piece together what he was saying.
"So, some of the parts from the animatronics in that place were recycled, and now you're Glamrock Freddy," Vanessa concluded.
"Correct," the bear confirmed.
"Is it really that easy, though?" Fifi asked. "Just some human contact and a bit of Remnant is enough for us to get possessed by ghosts?"
"It's not really that simple, Fifi," Henry interjected, "but there is definitely a correlation…When my daughter was killed, we were the first to receive pictures from the police report. I found one of the pictures in the data you brought me tonight. Take a look."
The screen instantly changed to a photo of a bloody little girl, presumably Henry's daughter, lying on the sidewalk, but next to here was something unexpected. An animatronic designed like a marionette, wearing a white mask with what appeared to be purple tears streaming down the face. Gregory was first to recognize it.
"That's Charlie!" he exclaimed. "She's at the diner, too! I saw her! Wait…didn't you say your daughter's name was Charlotte? Did…you call her Charlie for short or something?"
"Yes," Henry replied, "and I'll confirm what you're thinking right now. This puppet animatronic is now being controlled by my daughter…By the sound of things, I'm assuming you two are now well acquainted, correct?"
"…Well, kinda," the boy exclaimed. "She's been trying to get us to leave before we could find anything the past two nights."
Henry paused for a few seconds. "Yes…That's just like her. It was always in her nature to protect the innocent. I think she will be a great help if you explain things to her, though…But then, there's also this…"
Another newspaper article appeared on screen: "Major Malfunction Causes Death of Young Girl on Opening Day of Circus Baby Pizzeria."
Vanessa was slightly taken aback. "Well, this I knew about, but I could never find out about who the victim was or what exactly happened. It's like she never existed when I look online about it."
"I think it will make more sense once you take a closer look at this article," said Henry.
He zoomed in until everyone in the room could clearly see the victim's name: "Elizabeth Afton."
"What the…" Vanessa croaked out, "That's Afton's birth daughter!"
"Yes, and this was the one killing that was completely an accident," Henry continued. "William cared for her more than the rest of his children, because she was so obedient. And the one time she disobeyed him was when she got killed."
Fifi turned to Gregory with a dark realization. "Freddy and Afton were both calling Baby 'Elizabeth' in there."
"Which means…Aw, man!" Gregory exclaimed.
Nothing more needed to be said. It was clear to everyone that Circus Baby was, indeed, Elizabeth Afton, and she was a real chip off the old block.
Vanessa crouched down in exasperation. "The last thing I expected or wanted out of this was a family reunion," she breathed. Then she realized how close she was to Freddy.
"No offence," she quickly added.
Freddy knowingly looked down. "None taken."
The blonde stood once again and composed herself.
"Either way, this just goes to show that we've got to stop William, and fast," she said. "We still don't really know what he's trying to do here, but if we find more information, we might have an idea. Question is, how are we going to find it?"
"Well, I don't have any further suggestions for places you can look," Henry replied, "but something interesting as I was scanning Freddy's eyes. It seems they have the capability not just to see through certain objects, but to detect certain pieces of data as well. Perhaps this could be used to locate further traces of the information you're looking for. Have you tried utilizing this?"
Freddy's eyes were widened slightly. "I did not even know that was a feature…but even so, I do not think I could access it. These eyes were not originally mine. They belonged to another animatronic from the Pizzaplex, Roxanne Wolf. They wouldn't be fully compatible to me, so I wouldn't be able to use their full capabilities."
A realization suddenly hit Gregory. If Roxy's eyes had that feature and they could reconstruct them, maybe that meant a shot at redemption. Not just for her, but for himself as well.
"What if we found her and got her fixed?" he called out. "If she can access that feature in her eyes, maybe she can help us!"
"That is a big 'maybe,' kid," Vanessa retorted. "I worked with her for quite a while at the Pizzaplex, and let me tell you, she knows how to hold a grudge. You can't forget that you're the one who hit her with that go-cart and took her eyes. I don't know if she'll even listen to you after that."
"She is right, Gregory," Freddy said. "And just look at what happened between me and Monty. There were more things than Dad's manipulations that was driving him. He did not want our help, and as much as I hate to admit it, Roxy might feel the same way."
A look of determination came up on the boy's face.
"That's a risk I'm willing to take," he responded. "I've spent the past month wondering to myself if there was a way that I could have followed your advice and helped the other animatrionics. If I can't help all of them, fine, but now, I've actually got a chance to help one of them, and I'm going to take it, even if it kills me…I can actually make things right, here."
Everyone went silent for a moment after this sudden outburst. Had he really been harboring those feelings for that long? He gave absolutely no hints that he did…but who really knew what the kid was thinking.
Fifi finally broke the silence. "You know, Gregory," she said, "I was ready for a few kids to be scared of me when I was getting ready to start at the Pizzaplex…but I also never expected to find one as brave as you."
The boy smiled at her. "Only because I had to be for the longest time."
Vanessa and Freddy took a look at one another at this exchange, and a nod from each of them confirmed that they knew they were going with Gregory's plan no matter what. Who knew? It may be a huge help.
"Well, if we're going with that plan," the blonde went on, "there's still one issue we need to address. What are we going to do to get rid of the viruses Afton's put in her?"
"Funny you mention that," Henry chimed in, "because in the files you've brought me tonight, I've located some of the data for an antivirus I was developing not long before I died. I can finish it for you today, but I only have enough data left for one copy."
"Which means we'll only have one chance to take care of that on her," Vanessa finished. "Pretty high stakes, but we knew that going in…What'll we need to do."
"If you have a spare thumb drive, I can download the antivirus on there," he replied. "I've found some blueprints for the newer models on here, and it appears they all have USB ports at the base of their necks. All you'll need to do is put the thumb drive into that port, and the download should begin automatically.
The former guard turned back to the group. "Everyone clear on that?" she asked.
They all vehemently nodded.
"That's settled then," she went on. "Tomorrow, we find Roxy and see if we can find anything out along the way. Gregory, Fifi, you two get some rest. Henry, we'll leave you alone so you can work on Freddy."
"Much appreciated," the founder replied. "It will give us an opportunity to catch up."
Freddy closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah."
So, the others made their way back upstairs as Henry began his work.
"Hey," said Fifi as they walked, "maybe we've got a better chance at this than we even think!"
"I hope so," said Gregory. "I am kind of wondering what Roxy's been up to for the past month, though."
A/N That's all for now, folks. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one. I'll be honest with you all, I have been itching to get to Night 3 since I started writing this story. Why you ask? Because, Roxy's my favorite, obviously. I'm so excited to start writing her in the context of this story, and I can't wait to share that with you all. I've got to thank everyone again for the positive feedback I've been getting, and I'm ready to do the best I can for this story. Thanks everyone again for reading, and I'll see you next time!