Sorry for the wait gang! I've been pretty busy lately, but I'll try and keep chapters coming as usual. Also I've been sucked into Danganronpa, and I love Junko and Ibuki, they are the greatest ever.

I am currently almost done the second game! It's very good so far.

Also I finished Amphibia.

Sobbing.

Anyways.

Reviews!

JackalAfton: Oh, that's cool! October is great month, I love fall.

MoonTheMagical: Fantastic name for the skull. Me and my friends have a bunch of skeleton horses on our Minecraft server so I have quite a few names: Sans, Papyrus, Mortis, Sax-a-bone, Skull Emoji, Skeletor, and Gary…fantastic names, I know

SomeRandomRobo: I checked out that song and it sounds really cool, it totally makes good background music. And Easter is always really fun, I love all the different treats you can find inside the eggs!

Lydia-From-Limmet: Well, happy belated birthday! You have the same birthday as one of my friends which is cool. Also yes magic is awesome and I couldn't help but add some into this story.

Qxr: If you're wondering who Jeremy is, you can check chapters 21, 37, 68, and 78, and for Katy check chapters 73, 80, and 83 :)

Song: what I want by the living tombstone (yes, the fnaf song people)

Warning: smoking cough cough

Onto the story!

Chapter 88

What I Want

"Into the thick of it! Into the thick of it! Into the thick of- oww." Josh rubbed his forearm, pouting at her assaulter. "Liseyyy. That huuurt."

Tulisa rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatics. "Shush and keep getting the gas. I don't wanna be stranded getting groceries."

"I still don't get why we didn't just get gas at the supermarket," Ruby pointed out. "This place is super sketchy."

And Ruby did have a point. The run-down gas station was located on the side of a dusty road, complete with zero customers and peeling paint. It did, however, have a 7-11 attached to it, one that Josh was eyeing like a hungry lioness to a gazelle.

"I'll forgive you for elbowing me if you get me a Slurpee. Coke." Josh chirped, beaming pleasantly at his sister.

Tulisa rolled her eyes, but didn't see much reason to object. "Ugh, fine. But," she swiped the green denim wallet out of his back pocket, "you're paying."

Ruby leaped out of the car, throwing her arms in the air as she followed Tulisa inside. "Yay! Slurpees!"

Ruby pushed open the glass doors to the convenience store, a bell above the door ringing, signaling to the man working there who was turned around organizing a stack of candy bags that customers were in.

"What did Josh want again?" Ruby asked her friend as they walked on white linoleum past hundreds of eye-bleedingly neon junk food shelves and racks of gift cards.

Tulisa rolled her eyes. "Ruby, he literally just told us three seconds ago." When Ruby just gave her a blank look, she sighed and ran a hand through her straightened gray-brown hair. "Coke. He wanted Coke. And," she pointed an angry finger at a smirking Ruby, "don't you dare make a joke out of that."

Grabbing a lime-green paper cup, Ruby surveyed her choices. Grape was out of order, which was fine because grape-flavoured anything was humankind's greatest mistake. But there was Cream Soda and Watermelon and - yes, cotton candy! Cotton Candy, on the other hand, was humankind's greatest delight. She filled half her cup up with the baby-blue slush and got a few pumps of Blueberry Lemonade and Orange Crush, topping it off with a clear lid and a red-striped paper straw that always turned to mush in the liquid.

Tulisa helped herself to straight Watermelon and filled a blue cup with Coca-Cola for her brother. "You want anything else?" She asked, gesturing to the ovens of pizza and wings and racks of cookies and chips and anything a junk food lover such as Ruby would kill for.

But, Ruby knew she'd have to suck it up and decline the hundreds of choices in front of her. After all, you didn't get rippling biceps from eating surgary trash all day! (And if she ended up swiping a bag of sour gummy worms, that was a completely understandable and excellent decision.)

Ruby, who had slurped far too much of the freezing drink, was experiencing a less-than-mild case of brain freeze when it happened.

The man who'd been turned around working at the front desk turned his head to help the two girls.

Dark hair falling just past deathly pale ears.

Blue-gray eyes with heavy bags.

Tall, and freakishly so, with broad shoulders and a disheveled apperace.

Adrenaline pumped through Ruby's veins, and the straw fell out of her mouth as she placed the Slurpee onto the counter with trembling hands and pointed a shaking finger at the man. "Wh…what?" She uttered under her breath, horror lacing her words. This didn't make any sense! Snap out of it, she chided. There's plenty of dark-haired white men in Utah. It's probably just a coincidence.

Then the man spoke in a sarcastic, gravelly tone as he spat the pink gum he was chewing into a nearby trash bin and crossed large arms that were crossed with the pale scars of a tough life. "Hey, ginger girl, are you going to pay for those gummy worms or am I going to have a fun little chit-chat with the 911 operator?"

Oh my God.

He's freaking British.

Something snapped inside her, and Ruby slammed her palms down so hard on the counter that they'd probably bruise, her voice so furious it came out as a snarl. "What the hell are you doing here, William? How did you get out of the suit? Why are you working here? And no, I am not going to pay for these gummy worms!"

The man scrunched his thick eyebrows together in confusion, then understanding swept across his face and he let out a ragged sigh, pointing to the name tag on his black apron. "Name's Mike Schmidt. People think I look like that Afton guy all the time, but we've got plenty of differences. For one, I'm more handsome." He flashed her a crooked grin not benefited by braces. "And two, I'm not a mass child murderer. That clear things up?"

"No, it most certainly does not!" Ruby snapped. "I know what you're trying to do, with all this mind-trickery manipulation stuff! I know this is you, William! And besides, nobody else would know about the murders." Ruby knew from Jared that, while he was suspected, William Afton had never been convicted of the Missing Children's Incident…s.

The man who called himself Mike fixed her with a tired look akin to that of a parent who'd told their child five times already that no, they couldn't have the shiny toy in the display case. "Listen, lady, I know I look like that creepy dude, but I'm not, I swear. I can show you my driver's license or somethin'." He dug around in his wallet, then paused. "You a cop?"

Ruby growled under her heavy breath, nails scratching on the counter like it was a chalkboard. "You're probably faking it, you freaking monster. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't waterboard you with this Slurpee."

'Mike' glanced helplessly at Tulisa. "Help me out, would you? I don't want her goin' all batshit crazy on me."

"Ruby, maybe you should listen to him. He really doesn't look like William when you look at him close enough." Tulisa coaxed, placing a gentle hand on Ruby's arm in an attempt to soothe her.

Ruby squinted disbelievingly at the mildly pissed-off man in front of her. Now that she thought about it, he did have bluer eyes than William. Contacts, she reminded herself.

Browner hair. Dye.

More freckles. Makeup.

Ear and nose piercings. Self-explanatory.

Missing scars. Again, makeup.

Ruby shook her head, face creased in suspicion. His face and build were still identical to William's. There was only one real way to tell if it was him. Ruby turned around and walked to a nearby shelf, rummaging around in an aisle until she found what she was looking for.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat, holding the bag out with a smug grin plastered on her face. "What would you call these? Three seconds."

Mike raised a disbelieving brow.

Ruby gave him a wide-eyed look. "Two seconds!"

"...Chips?"

And Ruby let out a heavy sigh of defeat, dropping the bag of potato chips onto the floor. "It's not him."

"Yeah, no shit. A blind centipede could've told you that." Mike griped, playing with the silver necklace he wore and glaring down at her. "Now, ginger, can you tell me what you're doing screaming your head off at random minimum wage workers about a guy who was relevant a decade ago? You some kind of true crime buff or something?"

Ruby grinned and gave him an a-ha look. "So you know William killed the kids, hm? Why don't you explain how you know that if he was never convicted?"

Mike snorted. "Oh, please. Anyone who lived in Hurricane at the time knew it was him. He owned the place, after all, plus he gave off total creep vibes."

"His own kids went missing, too." Ruby countered. "You said you lived in Hurricane?"

Mike shifted uncomfortably. "Look, can we just drop this? Why are you even bringing this crap up, it's completely irrelevant."

"How old were you during that time, Mike? Did you ever visit the pizzeria? Did you ever notice anything suspicious going on?" Ruby drilled, eyes bright with energy. Something was up with Mike, something he wasn't telling her.

"Just drop it, okay? You have no right to be blathering on like this, you were a fetus when all this happened!" Michael snapped.

"'All this', huh? What would you mean, 'all this'? The Missing Children's Incident? The Bite two years ago? Elizabeth Afton's disappearance?"

"Ruby, can it." Tulisa hissed, casting a worried look at Mike, whose face was reddening by the second.

Ruby ignored her friend. She was on a roll now, and maybe if she got all the pieces to this puzzle, she could help her friends! And besides, this guy needed to be taught some manners. "Hey Mike, what about the Bite Of 2006?"

"I SAID, DROP IT!" Mike roared, his voice a feral cry as he grabbed Ruby's wrist on the counter and squeezed.

Tears pricked at Ruby's eyes, but she fought them down. "Let me go, you jerk!"

Mike's eyes glinted. "Bitch. You need to learn when to shut the hell up."

"HEY!" Tulisa yelled, holding her phone up in the air. The screen showed the phone app with three numbers displayed on it - 9-1-1. "I'll have you know that that girl is seventeen years old, and I could have you charged with assault against a minor if you don't let go of her this instant!"

The dangerous shine in Mike's eyes faded instantly, his body going rigid as he dropped Ruby's arm, who immediately sprung back, rubbing her sore wrist. "...what? She's…oh my God, I didn't know you were a kid - I thought you were at least twenty."

"So?" Ruby spat venomously. "You can't go around hurting complete strangers, you freak!"

A slow, disturbing smile split Mike's face, and he fell onto the desk chair behind the counter, fist coming up to hit his forehead with surprising force. "I'm just like him, aren't I? I can't even control it." His fist came back down on his forehead again, streams of curses falling from his mouth.

Ruby and Tulisa shot each other a freaked-out glance. "Uh…can we just take the drinks and go, or…"

When Mike didn't seem to even hear them, just kept repeating the motions, the two girls slowly backed out of the store, keeping their eyes trained on him in case he tried to jump them.

"Oh, hey guys!" Josh chirped from inside the car, some indie pop song playing on the speakers. "Did you get me a…aww, it's all melted!" Then he noticed their horrified expressions and did a double take. "Woah, you guys good?"

Ruby buckled her seatbelt, gummy worms tasting like sawdust in her mouth. "Let's just go home."

~lll~

"BARK BARK HOWL BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK!"

The cheerful barking of the dog next door rang into Ruby's ears, echoing inside her skull and causing her ears to metaphorically bleed.

"That owner seriously needs to train their dog. It's been barking all night ever since we got here!" Ruby complained.

"I'm telling you, I still don't hear it." Ducky said with a shrug. Ruby, Tulisa, and Ducky were chilling in the living room, the soft golden glow of their desk lamps shining out of the night time window.

"That's 'cause you're deaf from all that edgy music you listen to." Ruby countered, but she went back to her book. It was a pivotal moment in her chapter, the main character had just discovered that her father was alive and was about to find out his identity! Drinking in the words, Ruby eagerly flipped the page to find out the father's name and-

"BARK BARK BARK BARK HOWL BARK BARK BARK!"

Ruby slammed her book shut and stood up with a start. "Alright, that's it. I'm going over to talk some sense into that owner."

"Be careful, Rubes." Tulisa said, a brush of worry in her tone. "And try not to…you know, Ruby it up."

Ruby squinted at her friend. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing, go yell at that neighbor." Tulisa replied airily, turning back to her cheesy reality show.

Crickets chirped as Ruby walked barefoot on the soft green grass, summer night air covering her body like a warm blanket. She could hear the familiar, lulling crash of waves on the beach in front of the houses. Ruby climbed up the creaky spruce steps, the barking getting louder as she knocked on the door, crossing her arms and assuming what she hoped was an intimidating stance.

The dog scratched its nails on the door, and a muffled voice, raspy from sleep, sounded. "Hold on, I'm comin'."

Ruby frowned, eyebrows pinching together. That voice sounds familiar…

The door swung open, and suddenly Ruby knew exactly who's voice that belonged to. "You!"

Mike's face turned from sleepiness to severe annoyance as he glared down at her with cobalt eyes. "You."

"What are you doing here?" Ruby snapped, glaring back at him with as much anger as she could muster.

Mike snorted, leaning his arm against the doorframe. He wore a white tank top and black flannel drawstring pants, his coffee-brown hair ruffled and messy. "What am I doing in my own cabin? Maybe you should be the one explaining why you're banging on my door at eleven at night, hm?"

"'Cause your dumb dog keeps barking when I'm trying to read." Ruby replied tartly.

Mike's face creased with confusion and a drop of suspicion. "Huh? I…don't have a dog. You must be hallucinating."

But just as he said that, a gigantic orange fluffball barrelled from the living room, cherry tongue lolling and onyx eyes sparkling.

Any previous obnoxiousness melted like honey in the microwave and Ruby bent down on one knee, cooing with hands ready to scratch behind triangle-shaped ears. But when she reached for the dog's ear, her hand phased right through it, and it was only then did she notice the faint blue aura surrounding the canine.

"What the hell…?" Mike whispered in a hushed voice. "How…how can you see her? Are you dead?"

Well, crap. There goes my 'average schoolgirl' cover. At least this proves my point about something weird going on with Mike…Ruby internally cursed herself. She bounced up, beaming smugly. "I knew there was something you weren't telling me! So, how'd it happen? Did William experiment on you, too? Are you dead…nah, you aren't glowing. Was it some kind of freak accident?"

Mike gave her an exhausted look, a hand raking through his hair as he sighed. "Okay, whatever. Come in." After a hesitant look passed Ruby's face, he rolled his eyes in an overly dramatic fashion. "I'm not gonna murder you, kid. You'd probably come back to haunt me or somethin', and I definitely do not have the energy for that right now."

Ruby paused, quickly running over if this was a good decision or not. I mean, Tulisa and Ducky know where I am, and I've got my phone in my pocket.

So, throwing all common sense out the window, she stepped into his pitch-black cabin, awaiting answers.

~lll~

"You want me to light you one?" Mike asked, cigarette dangling from his lips, smoke pluming from the tip.

Ruby shook her head no. "I'm seventeen."

"Kid, I started when I was four years younger than you. I really couldn't care less if it's illegal or not." He gave her a leery smile, filling up a bright blue kettle with tap water and placing it on the black stove, turning the dial to high and rummaging through a cupboard for cups. She sat at a granite kitchen counter, identical to the one in Ruby's cabin, as the fluffball lay on a couch, chewing up a tattered old sock.

"So, you're a victim of my dear old dad, eh?" Mike said as he set down a pair of Christmas-themed mugs, and Ruby could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke those words.

Ruby raised a skeptical eyebrow, refusing to give him the reaction he so obviously craved, even though inside she was screaming with questions. "Really. You're one of William's kids."

Mike bent over in a fancy bow dripping with sarcasm. "Guilty as charged. The only creature with a pulse to speak more than three words to him and live to tell the tale." He gave her an impressed grin. "As well as you, apparently. How'd you do it?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't remember much, but I was kidnapped when I was three and locked in a basement as a kind of test subject, I guess. He gave me some ghost-seeing serum which turned my hair red-"

"So it's not your natural hair colour?" Mike cut in with faux shock, slapping his palms on either side of his face with his mouth a surprised O.

Ruby rolled her eyes, instantly reminded of all the ginger jokes William used to make, especially as Springtrap. "I can see you've inherited more than just looks."

Mike lurched forward, a deathly intense look flashing in his eyes, and Ruby instinctively flinched back. "Watch your tone, kid. I'm already reminded of that bastard enough whenever I speak or look in a mirror, it's bad enough to have my personality compared to him, too."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak a tangled mess of apologies when Mike interrupted her, pinching the flame out of his cigarette and letting it fall to the floor. "Go on with your story, now."

So Ruby continued with a summary of how Charlie helped her escape, where she was then adopted, and ten years later got a job at Freddy's, where she befriended the animatronics, solved the mystery of her past, and together with the animatronics, Jojo and Mal, Cassidy and Mari, and Tulisa and Josh, managed to…and that was when she trailed off.

Mike gave her a wide-eyed look, gesturing wildly with his left hand. "And then you what? C'mon, ginger, things were just getting good!"

Ruby chose her next words as carefully as she could. "Well, um, me and my friends stayed behind to watch the kids, and everyone else followed William into a, um, storage room. And then Cassidy, um, was trying to fight him while he was wearing a springlock suit, and the roof was leaking, I guess? 'Cause we were in a sewer and stuff. And then he, um, got springlocked." She paused, waiting with tensed muscles for his probably explosive reaction…after all, this was William's son.

But instead, a joyful smile stretched across Mike's face and he burst out laughing, the sound eerily similar to his father's own maniacal laughter. "He seriously got springlocked again?! Oh my God, he's such a fucking idiot! Christ, sometimes I wonder how he was smart enough to build a billion-dollar empire and yet somehow dumb enough to do shit like this!" He shook his head, giggles escaping his mouth. "Oh my God, ginger, you just made my day a zillion times better. What was your name, again?"

And it seemed his joy was infectious, because she couldn't help but grin as she reached out to shake Mike's ghost-pale hand. "I'm Ruby."

A/N

MIKE MIEK MEKEKE MIIEKE MEIEK MIKEE OMGG I've been waiting for SO LONG to write him. You guys have no idea how excited I am!

Also just found out that Utah is kind of…desert-y. With no oceans. Uh, yeah. At least this story is fictional LMAO.

Question/Challenge: If you could travel back in time, when would you travel to? I'd go to the late 80's/late 90's, it seems like an interesting time to live in, plus a lot of my favourite TV shows are from that era

Have an amazing day/night!

~Ghost