Future me here: Stupid glitch. Hopefully this works now.

Sorry for the wait! I had an annoyingly busy week. But here it is, the final part! I'm very proud of this chapter.

Reviews!

MoonTheMagical: Happy (late) birthday! And yeah, it's so hard to choose between the two!

Notjeillen: thank you!

mixsii: woah, plot twist!

Naughtycat9: Excellent choice!

Perry Platypus: ...A-gent P! Ah, memories...

SombraShadow: I did know that, it's cool though!

Warning: for gore. You guys might be able to guess what happens in this one if you're clever enough...hehehehehehehe. I had to use the FNAF books for reference about a million times.

ONTO THE CHAPTER AAA

Chapter 45

The Battle, Part 3

"Ruby?!"

The man looked up from his sitting position in astonishment. Judging from his glowing blue appearance, and the fact that he was wearing the same clothes as the body in front of him, he looked to be a ghost - a pretty recently killed one too.

Now, only the animatronics, Jojo, Cassidy, and Ruby could see him. Ruby because of the red serum, and the rest of them because they were already dead. So Tulisa and Josh were a little confused why everyone was just standing there.

What didn't make sense to Cassidy and Mari, who were both very experienced in the ghost department however, was the fact that he was here, on Earth. The only way for a ghost to remain here and not cross over to the afterlife was if they had some unfinished business, usually revenge, that they needed to take care of. Either that or they needed to be possessing something. Due to that, there tended to be quite a few ghosts roaming around the world, with only the other dead to chat to.

The man stood up, not bothering to wipe the blood off his dark jeans, and ran over to Ruby. He searched her face, then nodded. "It is you! Yes, I remember! Oh my God, how- how did you get here? How did you find me?" There was a relieved look in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by confusion. "Wait, how can you see me? Please tell me you aren't dead either."

Ruby shook her head. "No, no, I'm alive- it's kind of a long story. But, um...who exactly are you?"

The man's face dropped for a second, but he picked it back up. Not literally, although some ghosts could technically do that. Cassidy had mastered that years ago, it was a fun trick to play on an unsuspecting William.

"Oh! Of course. So, I'm Steve Anderson, your...father." He grinned. "Sorry that I'm so energetic, it's just that I kind of thought you didn't know I existed, and now you can actually see me, and...yeah. You've really grown up, huh? I love the hair."

Ruby blinked. Yes, she had figured out that Steve, the man at the beach, was her father, but she'd never actually expected to see him again let alone down here. But it was terrible that he was dead, and she felt a ripple of repulsion sweep through her body. Did one of the scraps kill him?

"How did you die?" Ruby asked, taking a small step forward.

Steve's face shadowed. "Afton, who else? He's around here somewhere. One of these doors." He paused. "Listen, Ruby, I-" He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "What happened fourteen years ago, I just wanted to say that it was completely my fault, and I know that you have a new family now, and I don't expect anything to change, and you probably hate me for what happened to you, and I honestly-"

Ruby cut him off with a hug. She didn't quite know how to feel - after all, this was her birth father - but she knew that he truly did care for her. And even though she probably could never fully love him as a father, she had a new family now, Ruby could love him for the first three years he gave her.

Steve was clearly surprised, but his face softened and he returned the gesture.

"I don't blame you." Ruby whispered. "Even though I don't remember anything, I can bet that you were a great father. It was all William's fault. I might not be able to love you as a dad, but I can appreciate you for caring."

Steve smiled, a lone silver tear trickling down his face. "That's all I need to hear." His body brightened, stunning yellow sparkles surrounding it like a tornado, blinking and twirling like fireflies. Steve began to fade away, becoming more and more transparent by the second.

"That was his unfinished business." Mari said in a hushed tone. "Now he can pass on."

Steve sighed. Maybe his life didn't turn out great. Maybe it was more of a tragedy than he'd wanted it to be. But at least one good thing had come out of it, and it made everything worth doing. His beautiful daughter, Ruby.

And with a flash of bright golden-yellow light he was gone, leaving a simple black necklace on the ground. Upon further investigation, Ruby realized it was a beautiful black choker with a gold circle in the center. She smiled and fastened it on. Now she'd have something to remember both of her two fathers by, with the jacket and the necklace.

"So...what the hell just happened? Are you guys okay?" Josh exploded. Tulisa elbowed him in the side.

"Way to ruin the moment! Remember how Ruby told us she could see ghosts?"

Josh mouthed an oh, and Tulisa rolled her eyes. "Idiot."

Chica walked up and touched Ruby's shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asked gently, her blue eyes kind. Ruby sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve with an ugly snorting sound. Elegant.

"Yeah, I think so. Come on, we've got to find William. I actually want to kill him even more now." Ruby growled, wielding her crowbar like a club with it perched over her shoulder.

Everyone exchanged looks, then nodded. They were all brought here for a reason. Find and kill the man who'd ruined or complicated every one of their lives in some way or another. Well, maybe not the twins, they were mostly there for moral support.

Freddy and Bonnie checked the first door. Mostly empty with a few broken, discarded arcade machines on the floor. The next room across was empty but had shelves stacked full of large, marble-like glass animatronic eyes. Weird... Another room was filled with boxes, but none tall or wide enough to fit a grown man. The next room contained stacks and stacks of posters. Probably nothing, as they all had the dates of 2004-2005 on them.

The next two rooms just had a desk and closets in them, nothing special. When they got to the end of the hallway, there was only one door left. They all exchanged glances and nodded. Ruby took a deep breath and turned the handle.

Everyone blinked in surprise. This was a harsh difference from the dark rooms and cold gray walls they'd been seeing before. The walls were patterned with small, dainty red roses, and the room seemed sweet and somewhat fragile, like what your grandmother's bedroom would look like. Smelled like one too, with a calming honey-lavender-tea sort of scent.

It was clear that someone was playing the piano, due to the shape of a person on the seat. Chords and melodies flowed out from the speakers, surrounding them with harmonic symphonies with a sort of hypnotic calm.

But everyone knew who the person was. William Afton, who else?

Quietly, they wielded their weapons, many of which were simply their hands. Mari raised her fists, an odd bright green light surrounding them.

The song ended with three sharp chords. There was silence for a moment, and then William spun around on his chair, his arms raised with a delighted grin on his face. "Hello everyone! My, it's been quite a long time since I've seen you all! Some new faces I see, and...older ones. How's your night going? Pleasant, I hope."

Ruby raised her crowbar.

"Why did you kill Steve?" She asked, her voice deathly calm. Her eyes were lit up with a burning firey rage.

William waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, just a bump in the road. Had to smooth it out a bit."

Ruby growled, raising the crowbar higher. "You're outnumbered, you know. One against twelve, those odds are not in your favour." Sure, he was quite tricky, but he was basically cornered by several giant angry animatronics. There was no way he was getting out of this alive.

William smirked, then put a hand to his forehead, tilting his head back in an overdramatic fashion. "Oh, woe is me! What will ever become of this body I inhabit? Truly the horrific predicament I have gotten myself into…" He slumped against the wall, going limp for a few seconds, before springing back up quickly.

"Jojo, NOW!" He yelled.

Everyone froze and slowly turned around. They'd been so caught up with William, that they'd forgotten about Jojo...of course. William was a distraction. He was using their emotions against them, and Jojo had betrayed them.

The small girl stood beside a small rope dangling from the ceiling, and they could see the outline of some kind of trapdoor above. Whatever was up there, it was bad.

Jojo grabbed the rope, but stopped as she looked into Cassidy's eyes. If it had been anger, maybe she would have pulled the rope. After all, Cassidy got angry with her all the time, for the smallest of things. But instead, she saw a different emotion. Disappointment.

William was beginning to grow impatient. "Joey, dear, what are you waiting for? Pull it." He said, an edge to his voice. She still didn't budge. She was shaking, but managed a simple,

"No."

Anger flamed in his eyes. "Pull the damn rope! Don't you know what I've given you?! Before me, you were nothing. I gave you a life, a purpose. I rescued you from death! I saved you! I-"

"No, you didn't."

A small voice rang out from behind the animatronics, one that many had forgotten about. The animatronics and humans parted to let the small boy step through. He gazed up at Jojo with wavering blue eyes. "He didn't save you. He hurt you. I remember."

Jojo squinted. She recognized that voice. "M-Mal? Is that you?"

Malcolm nodded. "Yep."

Ruby almost laughed at his bluntness.

Tears filled up Jojo's eyes. She ran over and enveloped her little brother in a hug, squeezing him tightly. He yelped, trying and failing to squirm out. "Joey, you're squishing me!"

She sniffled and grinned, letting go. "Sorry."

Malcolm turned to William, crossing his arms as if pretending to me tough. William smirked, deciding to humour him.

"It was one year ago. Joey was walking the dog when you came up and offered her some dog toys. She followed you into a cabin, and then down into some secret place."

The older man narrowed his eyes, realizing what the young boy was trying to do. "Don't listen to him Jojo, he doesn't know what he's saying." William said, struggling to keep his voice even.

Jojo shot him a glare and kept listening.

"He- he locked the doors. And then he pulled out a knife. He killed you. I had already died there a day before... I think. I'm not sure, I can't quite remember."

"He died there two years before her. He went into Shadow, which messes up your sense of time." Mari whispered into Ruby's ear, just out of Mal's hearing.

"He wiped your memory, took you somewhere else, and left me down here. I had toy cars, but it was pretty boring otherwise."

Jojo's eyes widened. "Is that true?"

Malcolm nodded earnestly. "Mhm."

She turned back to William, her eyes brimming with tears. "You...you killed us? You said that you would protect us."

William shrugged. "I needed you and Cassie for experiments. You're still kind of alive though, right? What does it matter?"

Jojo's eyes widened in shock. "What does it matter?! What matters, is that you put Mal through so much torture, an' completely brainwashed and manipulated me! You stole so much from both of our lives." She shook her head. "I can't believe I trusted you. I thought you were a pretend-father to me, but I know now I was very, very wrong."

Jojo pulled the knife from her pocket and sliced off the rope. She tossed the blade to Cassidy, who caught it with ease. Now nobody would get hurt...except for William.

Everyone turned to him. Now he was cornered... with no defense at all.

William laughed, crossing his legs as if engaged in a casual conversation. "Well, this is awkward, isn't it?"

They advanced slowly, murderous looks on their faces. He rolled his eyes. "Okay, guess I have to do everything by myself. Fine with me." From the inside of his vest pockets, he pulled out a small handgun. He pointed it up, steadying it, and fired.

There was a sound of shattering metal as the small silver bullet struck Mari right in the chest. She yelped and fell to the floor, coughing. The animatronics gasped and ran towards her. William laughed and, quick as a lightning bolt, sped out the door and ran into the hallway. They could just barely hear a door slam from down the hallway.

Mari groaned and sat up. "I'll be fine. Go get him! Please!"

Cassidy hesitated, but nodded and sped off, with Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and Mangle following behind her. Ruby was about to follow them, but Mari placed a spindly hand on her shoulder.

"This is their battle to fight. Stay here." She told her gently. Ruby nodded and sat down with Jojo, Malcolm, Tulisa, Josh, and Mari to wait in anxious silence for their friends to come back.

Cassidy skidded to a halt. If she was a soulless murderer running from five seven-foot-tall animatronics and some vengeful spirit, where would she hide?

They split up, each checking a door. Cassidy selected the one that had led to the room with arcade machines. She grabbed the handle and turned the knob.

The room was pitch black, with two arcade machine screens lighting up the room. They read in flashing red text, GAME OVER. Water dripped from the ceiling and pooled in reflective puddles on the floor. Wet papers littered the checkered tiles.

And when she saw that in the corner stood a tall figure holding some sort of mascot head, she backed up. "HE'S IN HERE!" Cassidy yelled. The five animatronics sped over and immediately grouped behind her.

The shadow stepped out, and the six ghosts immediately got a sense of terrible nostalgia from nine years ago, or four in Mangle's case. William was wearing the golden yellow Springbonnie suit, dusty from age and disuse. He had yet to put on the head, which was cradled in his arms like an infant.

He grinned when he saw Cassidy, a manic glint in his eyes.

"Hello there, dear Cassie. Fancy seeing you here. I assume you want me to die?" His tone was lighthearted and pleasant, as if they were discussing the weather.

"More than anything." She growled, speeding towards him, blade in hand. William dodged easily and put a finger to his chin.

"Hmm, now why would you want that? Killing isn't justified." William pondered.

"It is when it's you!" Cassidy muttered, swinging blindly. She was fueled purely by her emotions, by the burning rage she had for this man. All the torture, abuse, manipulating and pain. All the drugs and serums, murder and dark magic. He would pay. He needed to pay, and Cassidy knew that she would never be satisfied unless she was the one to carve out his heart, shoot a hole through his skull, even rip out his intestines and use them as a noose to choke the air right out of him and have him hang on the wall. Cassidy didn't mind how graphic or clean it was she just. Wanted. Him. Dead.

William twirled away from her swing like a ballerina, surprisingly agile in the bulky mascot suit. He just barely dodged her swing and she sliced off a bit of yellow costume fur. That was a victory in her mind. She managed another hit, causing an amethyst bruise.

"You're quite amusing. But do you really think that you'll win this fight?" William asked, chuckling lightly. He spun into a corner and took the opportunity to slide the golden rabbit head on. He placed his outstretched hands by his face.

"Ta-da!" He sang, twirling around. One ear flopped down, as if to say, Oh, I'm a cute little bunny! Follow me and I'll give you some candy!

Cassidy wouldn't fall for that. She'd given up trusting people a long, long time ago. Plus, she was growing tired of this battle. Tired of fighting, constantly fighting for her survival. She was tired of living. But before she could give up, she needed to end this.

"You know what's truly pathetic about you? You think you're some big shot killer. So agile and strong, you can kill anyone you want. Well, guess what? You were just the one holding the knife." Cassidy advanced. "You held the knife that day, and that gave you the power. But what gave you the right to end all of our lives?"

The spark was starting to fade from his eyes. "My family, of course. Elizabeth, and Evan. I-I needed to keep them there." He caught the stutter in his voice, anger flaming up inside him. This was just some little brat. He'd killed her once, he'd do it again.

From behind Cassidy, Susie shook her head. "Not good enough. Your family dying is sad, of course, but how does that give you the right to end all of ours?"

Gabriel stepped forward. His suit fell to the ground, and his body turned a bright shade of blue. "I had six younger siblings. Who will they look up to now? Who can they turn to for advice? My grandmother was ninety-nine, and I'll never get to see her on her birthday. I'll never be able to share my hopes and dreams with her before she passes on."

Jeremy was next. "Sure, my parents were terrible, but that didn't mean my life was worthless. Far from it. I wanted to have a chance to prove them wrong, to show everyone that I could be successful, that I was just as meaningful as everyone else. Now I'll never get that chance."

Susie stepped forward boldly. "My father had left us, and my mother was already unstable. What would she do now that I'm gone? What if she couldn't handle it? What happened to my big sister?"

William shook his head. His body was shaking like a rabbit in the snow. "St-stay away from me."

Fritz was up next. "I was in an orphanage. I was going to be adopted next week. Imagine how my possible parents would have felt. What happens to Violet? Who protects her now?"

Maggie stood up. "My mother was dead and my father was in the army. I was staying with my aunt. How do you think my dad felt, getting a call that his only child was dead too? Do you think he blamed himself? I'll never know."

Someone stepped out. It was Charlie. She'd followed them here, despite a gun wound to the side. She stared right at William, her gaze unblinking. Her warm brown eyes were just like her father's. .William felt that right in his heart.

"My father was your best friend. And you used me as an experiment. He killed himself because of you. Because of your actions, he blamed himself. You ruined a friendship for a couple minutes of fun. How do you feel about that?"

William shook his head and backed up. Lies. Lies. Lies. These were all lies. He did it for his family. For science. He was dangerous, he was strong and brilliant and nothing they could say would change that. Henry meant nothing to them. Their lives meant nothing to him. He felt nothing.

But lying to himself couldn't change that.

And finally, it was Cassidy's turn. Her eyes were black, little white pinprick pupils filled with golden flame, a hatred with no chance of redemption.

"It was my birthday. And I was lured to my death in a place where I should have been safe. You killed them all, all of my friends, right in front of me. Do you know how horrible I felt? I blamed myself, every single bloody day and night. Every second on this godforsaken planet is pure agony, a living hell. So go ahead and kill me. Kill all of us. Grab gasoline and a match and light the whole damn world on fire for you to sit and watch. But just know that nothing will ever make you happy again. You'll never feel love, or true happiness, not anything. You've screwed up your life so bad at this point that there's no return. So I've just got one thing to say to you, Afton."

Cassidy leaned forward. She was perfectly calm. For once, she felt no fear, no regret. She didn't care if she died, because at this point, death was a luxury. There were no risks, no stakes. Just pure nothingness.

William, on the other hand, was feeling so many emotions that it was overload. Happy. Sad. Regret. Anger. Fear. Hatred. Love. Agony. Thoughts swirled around his head like a tornado. Nothing made sense, everything was terrible. Colours and sounds and sights and smells and tastes and feelings. Honey-scented fire and neon pink screams. Sugary heartache and melodic bloodscent. He just wanted to curl up in a ball and forget everything. He wanted to rip off his skin, cut everything into pieces. William almost craved death, even though it was the one thing he feared most.

Cassidy leaned forward and uttered three simple words. "You fucked up."

William shook his head. The empty look in his eyes gave Cassidy a surge of victory. But then he bent over. And he began to laugh. And laugh, and laugh, the sound echoing off the walls. He clutched his stomach, his shoulders shaking. Then he looked back up at them, a dangerous gleam in his gray eyes. He was giddy, an insane sort of confidence radiating off of him. He was the powerful one in the scenario, he was the one who got to play God. These brats couldn't do anything! And he would tell them that.

"You can't-"

Snap.

There was a loud snapping sound as the movement and moisture dripping from the roof was finally too much for the springlocks and after a few moments to soak in a horrible, sinking dread, everything went to hell.

It started with the legs. Sets of sharp metal blades sliced up and down like a meat cleaver. William screamed, a horrific sound. It was the sound of a man who'd lost everything, done unspeakable acts, and was finally getting what he deserved.

Plastic parts stabbed into his vital organs, nails drilling deep into his chest. The pain was unbearable, and he writhed back and forth in agony.

William could faintly hear someone screaming, the noise echoing off of the walls.

It was him.

His hands and arms were chopped to pieces, a long bolt shoved through his neck. He could faintly hear a repeated popping like popcorn, and bloodcurdling shrieking cut short by cold metal severing his voice box.

Then the face. Oh, God. How he wished he'd never put on the mascot head. Spears stabbed past his hair, driving into his skull and maybe even reaching all the way to his brain. A needle-sharp pole sliced through his cheeks, chipping teeth and right through his tongue. He spat rose-red past his gums onto the floor, lips bright red. Rusty nails stabbed right into his eyes and he cried out again. This was pain worse than anything he'd ever experienced, even worse than his daily, nightly mental torment.

And now that the springlocks were all off, all that was left to do was wait in torture and agony to finally die. The suit moved back and forth without his control, slamming up against the wall three or four times before moving on to writhing on the floor in a pool of his own thick, dark, sodden blood. He choked up ruby red, the metal-like saccharine taste clogging his mouth, drowning in it. William let out guttural choking noises, The stench burned through him as he coughed up splotches of wine-red, his eyes rolling to the back of his mutilated skull in the horrific agony.

He gagged again. Somehow, he was still able to see, despite the spikes in his eyes. He stared at the seven pairs of shoes and managed to stretch his arm out, still covered with the stained golden suit. It was a final grasp for help, that of course nobody took.

And finally William Afton went limp, giving in to the closing blackness that enveloped him.

The seven ghosts stared at him. Some with disgust, others with hatred, and some with nothing at all.

Cassidy gave what was left of his body a last distasteful kick with her black sneaker before turning and leaving the blood-splattered room.

"Rot in hell, sick bastard."

"So he's definitely dead?"

The seven ghosts nodded. They'd filled in Ruby, Tulisa, Josh, Malcolm, and Jojo in on what had happened, minus the gruesome details for the children's sakes.

"There's no way he could have survived that. Thousands of knives being driven into your body, spearing all your vital organs..." Freddy assured them.

Cassidy was sitting alone in the corner, fiddling with the hem of her dress. There was something so odd about his death. It almost felt like it shouldn't be over, even though it was. So many years of torment and now...

And suddenly, a bright blue light lit up the room. Foxy gasped.

"What's happening?"

Charlie smiled. She knew exactly what this was.

"We're...going to the afterlife. He's really gone. We're free!" She felt elated, giddiness filling her soul. This was all she'd ever wanted. And now, she'd finally be reunited with her beloved father. Oh, all the things they could do once they were back together.

Cassidy checked her watch.

"Five fifty-eight. We have till...six AM."

Ruby shook her head.

"Wait, you guys are disappearing? Like, forever?" Her eyes brimmed with shiny silver tears threatening to spill out.

Gabriel, Jeremy, Susie, Fritz, and Maggie spun around. They'd been so happy about finally being free, that they'd almost forgotten about Ruby.

"Oh gosh...yes. I'm so sorry, Ruby." Gabriel said, eyes shimmering. Ruby gave them a watery smile.

"It's- it's okay. Really. I am happy for you guys. I'll just miss you, that's all. Remember all the adventures we had, okay?"

"Having sleepovers."

"Making pizza."

"Battling robots."

"Watching movies."

"Throwing parties."

Ruby sniffled. "I love you guys so much. Stay safe."

She ran forward and wrapped her arms around them in what could be their final group hug. There were tears, but also laughter and happiness at the memories the six friends shared together. And as the sun peeked over the horizon and the ghosts disappeared in a flash of blue light, Ruby knew that her friends were finally at peace.

A/N

WOOOOOO! FINAL CHAPTER! I hope that death scene wasn't too gory for y'all, I tried to make it as accurate as I could to the book's description hehe.

This book is not over, far from it! Next chapter is an epilogue, the last chapter. And then a QnA with the characters! Plus, there are still tons more games! Fnaf 3 is up next.

This chapter was so much fun to write!

Challenge: what's your favourite insect? o ees, they're so fluffy and cute :D

Have an amazing day/night!

~Ghost