A/N: I have a bit of a unique problem. Sometimes I get so bored with being unproductive (eg. playing video games and whatnot) that I actually start studying med school stuff just to relieve myself of my boredom. Weird, right? Fortunately, in this particular case, I can write fanfic chapters instead! :D
Just to get this out of the way right now, in terms of the nature of the afterlife in this fic, I'm keeping the details deliberately vague. But it is based on the Christian idea of the afterlife (which is implied to be the case in the actual canon too). The good news is that this means Heaven exists, along with a benevolent God. But there's bad news too. After all, if there's a Heaven, then there has to be a Hell…
The last chapter was rather depressing, wasn't it? Fortunately, we can now return to a lighter and softer atmosphere. For now. Don't really have anything to say otherwise, so let's hop right in!
Chapter 6 – Honesty and Secrets
Mike leaned forward, propping his elbows onto his knees. "So, Elizabeth, what do you want to do?"
The girl glanced quizzically at him. "What?" she asked, confused.
"How do you want to introduce yourself to the rest of the kids?" he explained. "How much do you want to tell them about what happened to you?"
Her answer surprised both him and the Marionette. "I want to tell them the whole thing."
Mike blinked. "Wait, what?"
"I want them to know the whole thing from the beginning," Elizabeth repeated. "I want to show them I'm trustworthy despite everything I've done. The sooner they know, the sooner I can put the shadows of my past behind me."
The Marionette raised a slender finger to her chin as she pondered her words. "I did not originally intend to reveal your history to the others," she finally decided, "but now that you've brought it up, I do think it would be the wisest course of action for the reasons you described. We might as well do it now, the sooner this is resolved the better."
Before either of them could move towards the living room, Mike suddenly interrupted them. "Mary, I need to talk to you. Now. Elizabeth, would you mind waiting here?"
The girl nodded as Mike opened the front door and beckoned the Puppet to follow, shutting the door behind them. Once they were a safe distance out of eavesdrop, he looked at the Puppet worriedly. "Mary, there was something about Elizabeth's history that bothered me. The way she described the man who showed up at the Pizza Rental and at your dad's final trap…if she knew who that man was she would've told us. I don't think she knows she lied to and killed her brother."
The Marionette sighed. "Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. There was a reason why I stopped you from talking when Elizabeth started mentioning Michael Afton. I had suspected this and did not want you to reveal that to her." Mike opened his mouth to speak, possibly to challenge her decision, but she gestured at him to let her continue. "You saw her face. You saw how emotionally fragile and devastated she was. She already carries an enormous burden of guilt. How do you think she would react if she learned that she committed her evil actions against a brother who risked his life, sacrificed himself, and condemned himself to undeath to save her?"
Mike opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, trying to find an appropriate answer, but he couldn't. Mary was right. Dropping that kind of revelation on Elizabeth at the wrong time would end up destroying the self-esteem and hope that she was beginning to slowly piece together. "Urrrrgggghhhh…." he groaned, "as much as I hate to admit it, you're right." He looked up at Mary with a glare. "You know you can't hide this forever, Mary. Sooner or later, she WILL find out, and I'd rather she learn it from us than from something that we can't control."
"Let her become happier and a part of the family first," Mary replied. "Then the time will come."
"I hope you're right," Mike muttered as he went back to the front porch. "So, Elizabeth!" he greeted her like nothing was wrong as he extended a hand. "Why don't we get you introduced to the rest of the family?"
Elizabeth looked nervous, but she placed her hand in Mike's own and let him guide her into the living room. He knocked on the wall in front of the living room, catching all of the ghosts' attention.
"Hey, kiddos!" he called into them as Gabe hurried to pause the movie. "I've got a really important announcement for all of you. He gently pulled at Elizabeth's arm, bringing her into plain sight of the other ghosts. "We have another ghost who'll be joining our family. Allow me to introduce Elizabeth!"
He let go of her hand and she nervously stepped forward. "H…hello…" she stammered, before calming herself down and pressing forward. "I…I'm going to be honest with all of you. What my father did to you is inexcusable, but he's not alone in his guilt," the ghosts all tensed once they realized the implications of that sentence. "I've…I've done some terrible things in the past, things that you might hate me for once you learn of what I've done. But…I want to be a part of this family, and the only way I can do that is if I put my secrets out in front of me and show that I deserve your trust."
Without any further introduction, Elizabeth revealed the same tale that she had told Mike and the Marionette. Mike seemed to be leaning casually against the wall, but in reality he was carefully studying the expressions of the other ghost children. He knew full well that the ghosts' past attempts to kill him as a night guard and their guilt for those actions was one of the most powerful tools he had against them, and while he hated the idea of manipulating them in such a cruel and petty manner, he was ready and willing to do so if they began to treat her with contempt and hatred like she had feared.
The expressions of the ghost children shifted as Elizabeth revealed more details about her past, but thankfully none of them were of hatred. From what Mike could tell, Susie and Cassidy seemed to be sympathetic to the tragic existence that Elizabeth had been forced into, though both of them shuddered when Elizabeth revealed that she had given in to her father's depravity during the last few moments of her life as Baby. On the other hand, Jeremy and Gabe both became more guarded and wary at that part of the story, but there was always some level of pity in their eyes and they were never openly hostile either. The only person Mike couldn't read at all was Fritz, whose face remained completely neutral throughout the whole story. The former night guard had no idea what to make of him, and that slightly worried him.
"I know that Mary could come up with a lot of reasons as to why I became what I became," Elizabeth concluded, "but I'm not going to make any excuses. Free will or not, at one point, I was just as bad as the person who killed you. All I want to do now is to make things right, and put my past as Baby behind me. Please," she pleaded, "give me that chance."
The ghost kids all began to look at each other, waiting for one of them to say something. Finally, Gabe decided to take charge and stepped forward. "You know, just looking at you right now, I wouldn't have recognized you at all. But now that you've told us everything, I do remember. I remember what you were like as an animatronic in that trap pizzeria, and yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, you really were as evil as that murderer."
Elizabeth started to lower her head in shame, but Gabe wasn't finished yet. "You could have kept all of that hidden from us, but you didn't. You were open and honest, and that's definitely something I respect," a faint smile flickered on his face, and he sighed. "Elizabeth, I really, REALLY do want to trust you, but it's hard to. Especially since I know who you're related to and what you and your dad tried to do."
"I believe her," Susie interrupted and everyone looked over at her. "She's been through a lot worse than any of us, Gabe, and that's saying something. Considering how evil her father was, I'm honestly shocked that she didn't turn out worse from the beginning. None of us ever had a terrible parent like that. Can any of us really say we would've turned out any better?"
Elizabeth smiled gratefully and was about to thank her, but her eyes caught the look of pain that appeared on Mike's face for the briefest of moments. "Mr. Mike?" she asked, concerned. "Are you all right?"
All of the ghosts turned to Mike, who groaned. He was normally good at keeping his emotions hidden, but meeting the ghost kids and hearing Elizabeth's story had weakened his mask. "I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it right now," he finally mumbled, and it was clear to all the ghosts that that was the end of the discussion.
"You know what I think, Gabe?" Jeremy suddenly asked. "We should ask Fritz. He's the best one to tell if Elizabeth is trustworthy enough to join our family or not. If he's okay with her living with us, then I am."
"Fritz?" Mike asked, confused. "What's so special about Fritz?"
"Fritz is the toughest judge of character out of all of us," Gabe explained. "He doesn't trust people easily compared to the rest of us; the only people he really bonded closely with are you and us. It's the same reason why he was always so unforgiving and aggressive towards the night guards, running out of Pirate's Cove and banging at the door."
At the mention of his name, Fritz stirred. "I could have explained that to Mike myself, Gabe," he interrupted, and the former Freddy inhabitant rolled his eyes. "I heard everything Elizabeth said, and I already know exactly what I think about her."
A look of sadness and resignation entered Elizabeth's face. Gabe and Jeremy were already reluctant to trust her – there was no way she could have ever hoped to convince Fritz. She waited for his inevitable condemnation and rejection; it wasn't any less than she deserved, after all.
But it never came. Fritz grinned at Elizabeth and then looked Gabe directly in the eye. "I trust her. Completely."
Every single person stared at him in utter shock. Mike's mouth was hanging open, and even the Marionette seemed noticeably taken aback. "Wait, WHAT?" she asked, still trying to process his words. She remembered when she had tried and failed to stop the ghost children from their rampage against the night guards at the 1990s pizzeria, and it had been Fritz/Foxy who had been the most vengeful and rage-filled of them all.
Jeremy was able to collect his senses enough to say one word. "Why?"
"You weren't there," Fritz thought as he took in their confused expressions. "You didn't see the guilt and misery on her face when she showed up at Mike's doorstep. You didn't see how close she was to breaking down with how much she hated herself before Mary started snapping her out of it." But he didn't say any of it, and he didn't need to. "For starters, you guys are all forgetting something," he answered coolly. "If she really WAS evil and lying to us, she wouldn't be here. She'd be downstairs, enjoying the eternal barbecue with her dear old dad as part of a 2-course meal for whatever the literal Hell is down there."
Everyone's eyes all widened as they realized what he was saying, and Mike smacked his forehead at his own stupidity. The Marionette had brought up this exact same argument only minutes before, and yet he'd somehow forgotten both that and the fact that God existed.
"Even if we take that little detail out," he continued, "I've been looking at her closely while she was talking. I'm absolutely certain she's telling the truth. She really does regret everything she did, and believe me, after she told us that she decided to follow Springtrap, I paid attention VERY carefully."
The Marionette had no idea why Fritz had started to support Elizabeth so fervently, but she gladly took hold of the opportunity that he had presented with his arguments. "All of us are here to atone for the crimes of our past," she stated sternly, looking at each of the other ghosts in turn. "None of us are innocent, and while our motivations may have been less sinister than Elizabeth's, there was no corruptive force to influence our desire for revenge. Mike gave us all a second chance. We have no right to deny Elizabeth hers."
Fritz nodded. "I'm with Mary," he declared. Gabe and Jeremy looked at each other. The doubt in their minds had lessened considerably with Fritz's arguments, though it wouldn't fade away completely. And the Marionette was right – Elizabeth deserved a second chance just as much as they did.
"Sorry we didn't exactly greet you with open arms," Gabe finally said. "I guess now's as good of a time to introduce ourselves." He held out a ghostly hand. "My name's Gabriel, though everyone calls me Gabe."
Elizabeth smiled, relieved and happy that the worst was behind her. "Don't worry," she replied, "I wouldn't either if I was in your shoes."
As the ghost children all started introducing themselves, Mike audibly breathed a sigh of relief. He still had no idea why Fritz had jumped to Elizabeth's defense, but he had single-handedly changed the entire dynamic of her introduction to the family and made everything much easier in the process. The Marionette too seemed visibly pleased with how things had turned out.
"I would have gone into full detail about how Baby's programming corrupted her soul if I'd needed to," the Marionette quietly whispered to Mike as Cassidy shared a joke, causing all of the kids to laugh.
"I would've guilt-tripped or threatened them if I'd needed to," Mike replied just as quietly, causing the Marionette to shudder. She had gotten an entire year to know more about her adoptive parent, enough to know that he related to Elizabeth more than he was letting on and that he was not joking.
"So when did you get here?" Elizabeth asked.
"Not much earlier than you did, actually," Jeremy replied. "We got sent back by God to make things right with a night guard. Took us some time to actually find Mike, but now that we're here we're glad we did."
Elizabeth frowned. "Strange…I never saw God or Heaven or anything like that. When I woke up after Baby was destroyed, it was still on Earth. I just felt something telling me to come here."
Susie scratched her head. "That's kinda weird," she shrugged. "Doesn't make anything Fritz or Mary said less valid though."
"We were playing board games and watching movies," Cassidy said excitedly. "Mike has so many cool things in his house! He's the best old guy ever!"
"I'm not THAT old," Mike grumbled audibly, and everyone burst out laughing. The former night guard looked at the clock on the wall. "Wow, only 7 PM? Seems like time was flying by, what with everything that's been going on today. Okay, well, I'm going to take care of some boring adult paperwork nonsense that none of you probably give a crap about. You guys can do whatever you want, but I'm going to bed at 11 tonight and I want a quiet house when I do. Not a problem for you guys, is it?"
A chorus of "No"s greeted him, and Mike walked out of the living room and up to his small library/study. He was about to open the door when he felt a small ghostly hand pointing at his back. A quick turn of his head revealed Elizabeth staring up at him.
"Something wrong, Elizabeth?" he asked. The kids had all started getting along pretty well when he'd left, and he dearly hoped something hadn't gone awry that quickly.
"I have a question, Mr. Mike," she explained. "You and the Marionette went inside the house to talk to yourselves a couple of minutes ago. And you didn't want me around to hear it. Do you…do you know something about me that I don't?"
Crap. Mike furrowed his brow and scratched his head, trying to think how to go about this. He didn't want to outright lie to her, especially since at this point he wouldn't be able to tell a convincing one anyway. "Here's the thing," he finally explained, "there is a detail about your time as Circus Baby that we don't think you know about. But I really, REALLY don't think you're ready to hear it right now. You were going through some serious depression when you showed up at my door, and right now it'll probably send you straight back down there."
"It's that bad?" she looked torn between wanting to know right now and wanting to stay as far away from the full truth as possible.
Mike sighed. "Trust me, Elizabeth. Get adjusted to your new life first. Once Mary and I are sure that you can handle it, then we'll tell you. Remember, it's all in the past, right?" he asked with an encouraging smile.
Elizabeth gave him one back. "Yeah…" she repeated, "all in the past."
/
And thus, Elizabeth has been fully introduced to the rest of the ghostly family. I could have made her acceptance into the family a lot more difficult or dramatic, but I wanted to give her a bit of a break after the colossal amount of shit she went through after her death. Fritz really made things a lot easier for her here. As for Mike and Marionette…they may be keeping Mike Afton's role in the events of FNAF 5 and 6 secret from her for her own good, but they better not wait too long. Secrets have a tendency to show up when you don't want them to, after all…
Speaking of secrets, there's one thing that Elizabeth is still hiding from everyone. Can you guess what it is? The only hint I'll give you is that even it doesn't innately bring any harm to the family, it's still a major source of her shame.
Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter or two will go back to being lighthearted fun for the family before I start tackling the serious plots again.
