A/N: And now, for the second part of "Last Respects." I don't think the topic of this chapter will surprise any of you very much, considering the massive, blatantly obvious foreshadowing I dropped at the end of last chapter.

Since this is a funeral being presided over by a priest, there will be some Christian themes by necessity. However, I'll try not to be overly preachy in the sermon, and have it focus more on the general theme of atonement that's already been pervasive throughout this story rather than about Christianity specifically.

ThePencilDude: I'm sure they hypothetically could, but needlessly killing people with luck powers for no good reason is a fantastic way to piss Heaven off and get your ass locked up in Hell permanently. He doesn't really care when or how evil people end up in Hell, their souls will end up in Hell either way and he'll get his grubby claws on them one way or the other. Nightmare's not gonna rock that particular boat for no good reason unless Heaven specifically gives him instructions to…which almost never happens. As for the President, I'm deliberately avoiding answering that question because I'm not inclined to get into any kind of discussion about politics whatsoever.

Also, I'm not gonna be doing any rap battles for the simple reason that I can't rap, and I don't know the first thing about rapping.

Jack Kennedy: I'm likely going to pick my own explanations for Glitchtrap, Burntrap, and/or the Mimic since canon is a garbled mess at this point (one of the main reasons why I'm not gonna continue the FNaF timeline in this story beyond Ruin). If I do choose to go with Princess Quest ending (and combining aspects of multiple endings is certainly not out of the question), it's not gonna play out the way it does in the game.

FrostTheFrozenFox: If I was continuing this story in the long-term I probably would have that dynamic explored more thoroughly, but since I'm probably wrap up this story after Security Breach and Ruin I will tell you right now that this dynamic won't be explored as much as you probably want.

Chapter 198 – Last Respects Part 2

The end for Nelson MacGregor came even sooner than Mike or Charlie had expected. A little over a month later, Mike received the call from Brian that Nelson MacGregor had passed peacefully in his sleep over the past night, surrounded by friends and loved ones.

"It's honestly for the best this way," Mike remarked after telling Charlie the news. "I've heard about plenty of people who died in complete misery because of cancer. A peaceful, dignified death was the most Nelson could ask for, considering how bad his cancer actually was."

Charlie sighed and wiped her eyes with her arm. "I know you're right, dad. That still doesn't mean I have to like it."

"There's nothing pleasant about cancer, but at least Nelson doesn't have to suffer anymore," Mike answered soothingly, before continuing. "Brian also told me when they're planning the funeral. It's going to be in 2 weeks."

"We have to go, right?" Charlie asked, in a tone that made it clear she wouldn't take no for an answer. "There's no way we can just ignore his funeral."

"Of course," Mike quickly assured her. "No way we were gonna miss this. And while I might've brought you alone to Nelson so that you could have some time alone with him, for the funeral itself I was planning on bringing everyone in the family. Invisible and inaudible to everyone else, of course, but still present."

"I know we're not gonna be seen or heard by anyone, but I think we should wear proper clothes for this funeral," Charlie suggested. "Even if nobody else knows will there, it'd probably be incredibly disrespectful if we just showed up wearing the same clothes we always wear around the house."

"Lucky for you guys that you can change your clothes just by thinking of them, right?" Mike commented with a chuckle. "I was gonna suggest that anyway."

"Is there anything we need to do for the funeral specifically?" Charlie asked curiously. "Any gift that we need to bring or anything like that?"

Mike shook his head. "You can if you want, but generally most people don't bring things beyond flowers and cards. Something that I can take care of easily, and something that you unfortunately won't be able to sign without the risk of giving away your existence."

Charlie stayed silent for a few seconds as she tried to think of a way to get around the limitations that their secrecy imposed on them. "Then we'll pick out the flowers and let you buy them," she decided. "It's probably the best way that we can contribute to giving the gifts that Nelson and his family deserve."

Mike gestured towards the door of the study. "Then I'll leave that to you," he answered solemnly. "Go talk with your brothers and sisters, and figure out what gifts you want me to get. The sooner the better. 2 weeks can pass by faster than you think."

Two Weeks Later…

Mike drove his van towards the church where the funeral was going to be held in complete silence. His children were all in the van together with him, and for once the family was in complete silence. The rest of the ghost children might not have ever formed the personal relationship with Nelson MacGregor that Charlie had, but they all sympathized with him over the circumstances leading to his death and respected the help he had given them in enforcing quality control upon Fazbear Entertainment.

For the first time ever since they had discovered the ability to change their clothes, the ghost kids were all wearing completely formal attire. The boys were all wearing black suits with white undershirts and ties, while the girls were all wearing black dresses that reached down to their legs. In the back of the car was a boutique of white, pink, and red flowers that the ghosts had coordinated together to pick for Mike's funeral gift, along with a white funeral card featuring Mr. MacGregor's face containing a message offering thanks to Nelson and condolences to his family that Mike had written on their behalf.

"So…" Fritz was finally the one to break the silence. "What's this funeral gonna be like?"

It was a fair enough question, since none of the ghost kids had ever been to one before. They'd never had one of their own, after all, since Mike had gone through great lengths to have the remains of the ghost kids buried quietly and discreetly. "They're usually low-key affairs," Mike explained. "The casket containing the deceased person is featured. Sometimes it's open, but more often these days it's usually already closed with a picture of the person over it instead. Sometimes the funeral is in the church and they bury the casket afterwards, but for this particular funeral it's gonna be out in the cemetery next to where they're gonna bury Nelson. The priest, family, and friends say a few words about the deceased, and then they give final farewells before moving on. Sometimes they lower the casket during the funeral, and other times they lower it afterwards."

"Sounds like they do these things in a lot of different ways," Cassidy commented.

"Yeah, there's no one single way of doing a funeral that's inherently right or wrong," Mike agreed. "As long as you're respectful to the dead, that's what matters. "And speaking of being respectful to the dead, I don't think I need to tell you that you shouldn't be playing around or doing something stupid like that during the funeral. That would be incredibly disrespectful and I would not be happy with anybody who does that."

The words were spoken calmly, but there was a tone of underlying warning that made it abundantly clear the consequences wouldn't be pleasant for anybody who dared to violate the solemn nature of the funeral. "You don't have to worry about a thing, Dad," Gabe quickly spoke for all of them. "We know when to take things seriously."

"Just making sure," Mike replied as he drove the car into the parking lot. The family got out of the car with the ghosts turning invisible and silencing themselves. Just like Mike had stated, the funeral itself was being held out in the cemetery next to the church, and they could already see a procession of people all wearing black suits and dresses similar to what Mike and the ghost kids were wearing.

"Looks like we're right on time," Liz commented telepathically as Mike moved to join the group of people waiting for the funeral to begin.

Most of the people at the funeral were not anybody that either Mike or the ghosts recognized, but Brian glanced up towards him and smiled once he recognized him. "Mr. Schmidt," he greeted quietly and cordially. "Thank you for coming. This is my wife, Sarah."

"Pleasure to meet you," Mike briefly shook hands with the woman, before turning his attention back to Brian. "I hope I didn't miss anything?"

Brian shook his head. "No, you're perfectly on time. We'll be getting started shortly."

As the three adults exchanged conversation, the ghosts flew over to the coffin to study it. The coffin was an ornately carved wooden structure with gold handles, and like Mike had suggested, it was fully closed. There was a marble picture frame sitting neatly on top of the coffin, showing a smiling Nelson as a much younger man. Charlie couldn't help but marvel at how much younger and healthier he looked, compared to the old and sickly man she had seen a month ago. The picture frame was surrounded by a wreath filled with white flowers, which starkly contrasted with the dark clothes that everybody was wearing at the funeral.

"Hey, Charlie?" Susie suddenly sent a message to her older sister's mind. "How come I can't sense him?"

"Huh?" The former Marionette replied, baffled by the question.

"How come I can't sense Mr. MacGregor?" Susie clarified with a curious tone. "Shouldn't we be able to sense his soul, since he's passed on and no longer in his body?"

Gabe shook his head. "I don't think so, Susie," he answered in the negative. "I don't remember all that much about Heaven from the short time we were there, but one thing I do clearly remember is that souls aren't supposed to linger on Earth for very long. Almost all of them immediately move on to the afterlife, whether it's in Heaven or in Hell."

"I do remember that too," Jeremy agreed. "We're the exceptions, not the rule. God bent the rules a lot for us to live on Earth with Dad. And now that I'm thinking about it, every other time we've seen a human soul on Earth they were briefly visiting from Heaven for a few hours…or William Afton breaking out of Hell for a few hours. I don't think God has any reason to keep Nelson out of the afterlife."

"So if he's not lingering on Earth, then he's passed on," Liz summarized. "To whatever afterlife is waiting for him. I hope he's in Heaven."

"He has to be," Fritz replied confidently. "He might not have been the best person after, but he ended up doing the right thing in the end and helped us out in a big way." He conveniently neglected to mention the much less pleasant alternative, although none of them were understandably keen to even think about that particular possibility, let alone dare to vocalize it.

"Guys!" Cassidy pointed at the crowd of mourners, who were beginning to fall silent. "I think the funeral's starting!"

The former Golden Freddy inhabitant's words proved correct, as the conversation had begun to die down as the funeral attendees took their places surrounding the coffin. A priest wearing white robes with a purple cross stitched on the front approached the edge of a pulpit located directly behind the coffin, holding a Bible in his hand.

"Welcome, everyone," the priest greeted the mourners with a cordial yet solemn tone. "We have gathered here today to bid a final farewell to Nelson MacGregor, a fellow child of God. He battled an insidious and deadly disease for several arduous months, but his suffering has finally ended and he is now at peace. May his soul pass on to join with the Almighty Father and bask in the light of Heaven."

"May it be so," Charlie murmured. Having never actually seen Heaven herself, she could only imagine the joyous sights and sounds that her siblings must have witnessed, however briefly.

"While we may lament the death of Nelson MacGregor, we must not allow his death to crush our spirits and our hopes," the priest continued solemnly. "I will not deny that Nelson suffered in his final moments. Pancreatic cancer is, after all, no disease that any decent man would wish upon another. And even without this diagnosis, there is pain, loss, brokenness, and sadness that comes with the death of every human being. Yet as grim as death may be, it is not the end. The tragedy that comes with death lasts for but a moment, and God is greater than death could ever be. He is always present around us, even if we cannot sense him in our moments of darkness. And when the moment of death itself comes, He is waiting to call our souls into His warm and loving embrace, so that we may bask in his eternal light and experience the eternal joy and love that awaits the virtuous in Heaven. Death may have claimed our brother Nelson, but even death must give up those it claims to the Almighty."

"It feels weird," Jeremy thought, "hearing the priest talk about God and Heaven, and knowing there's so much more to the afterlife than that." Even discounting the fact that Hell was very much real, he was fairly certain that nobody on Earth knew about the existence of the Crimson Lake that served as the last destination before Heaven and Hell. He couldn't help but wonder if Nelson's soul had already made its way through the Crimson Lake, or if was wandering through that particular aspect of the afterlife at that very moment.

And of course, none of the living there besides Mike knew that it was possible to outright keep souls trapped and chained to the earthly world, in ways that would horrify anyone with even a basic sense of morality and decency. "Thank God that secret is gone forever," Charlie thought grimly. It was a secret that Nelson would take with him to the grave, and that her family would keep hidden in the shadows for the rest of eternity. A secret that could be, and had been, abused all too thoroughly in the wrong hands.

"Though Nelson may be gone, though he may have joined with the Heavenly Father in eternal paradise, the impact and presence that he left behind on his friends and loved ones will not be forgotten," the priest continued, completely oblivious to the thoughts of his ghostly audience. "I now invite his son, Mr. Brian MacGregor, to say a few words on his behalf."

"Thank you, Father Alger," Brian thanked him, stepping up to the podium as the priest stepped aside. "Greetings, everyone. As would be expected for any son, I wanted to give a brief eulogy for my father. It should be no surprise to any of you that I would describe Nelson MacGregor as a good man and a loving father. I never wanted for anything under his care, and he strove to take care of his family as well as he could. Even when I became an adult and forged my own path in life, he always had my back and was ready to support me in any way he possibly could."

There were murmurs of approval and agreement amongst the assembled crowd. The ghosts could clearly tell that Nelson, while he might not have had the largest circle of friends and family, had been respected and loved by those who had known him. "He'll be dearly missed," Susie murmured, with the ghosts nodding in agreement.

"He was a good man, but he was a burdened one," Brian continued solemnly. "Not just with the pancreatic cancer, but also with his own past. He was once an executive and board member of Fazbear Entertainment, a company which both needs and deserves no introduction given the number of scandals it has been embroiled with in the past. My father never stated that he directly perpetrated that company's worst crimes, and I refused to believe that he was. But I cannot deny that he was at the very least guilty of inaction, and he suffered tremendous guilt that affected him all throughout his life because of it." The son sighed briefly, before continuing with a slight smile. "But he was able to make amends, in his own way. Though it might have been several years after the fact, he was able to expose Fazbear Entertainment for the corrupt business that it was. He finally revealed the truth that he kept hidden to himself for so long, and did so in a way that could make things better for the future. He found atonement and peace in his own way before his death, and for that I am forever grateful. After all, when death is inevitable for all of us, the best we can ask for is a peaceful passing with no regrets." Brian's eyes fell onto the coffin and the picture on top of it, and tears appeared in his eyes. "Goodbye, Dad…I hope Heaven's everything like they say it is."

"If it's anything like what we saw, Mr. MacGregor's son doesn't have anything to worry about," Gabe murmured. Even though the details were foggy, he could still remember the overwhelming sensations of warmth, light, joy, and love…sensations that at his core, he still yearned to experience once again. He dearly hoped that even now, Nelson was experiencing the eternal happiness that came with Heaven…happiness that he and his siblings still had yet to earn.

Brian stepped away from the podium, allowing the priest to take his place at the head once again. "It is always a beautiful thing, to see a lost soul seek and achieve atonement," Father Alder proclaimed. "Thank God that our brother Nelson found his way before his passing. His story provides a valuable lesson to us all, that we can always rise above our guilt and strive to be better, with the grace of the Lord behind us."

"Amen to that," Susie thought. She and her siblings had been given their own second chance like Nelson had, even if the circumstances themselves were very different. And just like Nelson, they wouldn't waste it.

"Let us now pray together," Father Alder proclaimed. Everyone at the funeral, whether it be the priest himself, the mourners gathered, or the ghostly children spectating, closed their eyes and bowed their heads. "Heavenly Father, we are gathered here to give our final farewells to our brother and Your son, Nelson MacGregor. We are thankful that his passing was peaceful and without pain, despite the horrid affliction that had wasted away his body. We are thankful that he found the opportunity to make up for past wrongs, and with his atonement carve a path toward a brighter future. We are thankful to you that he was able to spend his final moments in peace and free of regret, so that his soul may be cleansed of shadow before being passed on to Your eternal light. May He join with You in eternal paradise and bask in Your glory forever and ever. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen."

"Amen," the mourners, Mike and Brian among them, all intoned in one voice.

"Amen," the ghostly children spoke the single word, adding their voices to those of the living mourners.

"Let us spend a moment of silence as we prepare to lower Nelson's coffin into the grave," Father Alder declared. "If any of you have any gifts or flowers you wish to give Nelson, now is the time."

A few mourners approached the coffin, gently placing flowers and cards upon the surface of the coffin. Mike was one of the last to do so, opting to wait until other people more familiar with Nelson had gotten their turn, before quietly and solemnly lowering the boutique that his children had picked upon the coffin right next to the picture showing Nelson as a young man. Once everyone had finishing laying down their flowers and other gifts, Father Alder wordlessly gave a signal with his hand, and the coffin began to lower.

Some of the ghosts watched the coffin silently sink deeper into the grave, while other studied the reactions of the mourners around them. While a majority of them simply watched the coffin lower with expressions of silent grief on their faces, a few individuals including Brian started openly weeping and crying. Even though nobody outside of Mike and each other could've heard them, none of the ghosts said a single word. It would have felt wrong to do so, in what was arguably the most serious moment in the entire funeral.

"For what it's worth, Mr. MacGregor…we're grateful for the help you gave us," Charlie thought as she watched the coffin finally slow to a stop at the bottom of the grave. "We promise your efforts won't be in vain."

"Farewell, Nelson MacGregor," the priest concluded in a somber tone. "May you rest in peace." He lifted his eyes towards the mourners. "And thank you all for coming. Our ceremony has concluded, and may you go forth with your lives with God's blessing."

And with those last words, the mourners began to slowly maneuver away from the gravesite where the funeral had been held. Several of them began to speak with each other rather than outright leave, and Mike even shared a few more words with Brian. But ultimately, Mike didn't have any real reason to linger, and after only a few minutes he called out to his kids to follow him back to the car.

None of them said anything until Mike had already driven away from the church and back to their home. "What did you guys think?" the man asked his kids, his tone noticeably more somber than when he usually asked this question to his kids whenever they experienced it for the first time.

"That was…different than I expected," Fritz admitted. "I thought I'd see Mr. MacGregor's soul fly out of his body and go into the light, or something."

"It's way too late for that," Liz replied with a shake of her head. "If you were going to see that, that would've happened the moment Mr. MacGregor died. This is way after the exact moment of his death."

"Besides, the way souls pass on is a little bit different than what we expect anyway. Most souls probably go the Crimson Lake first before going onward to Heaven or Hell," Charlie pointed out, "and who knows what THAT looks like. For all we know, the soul just simply vanishes away to the afterlife the moment the body dies if it isn't anchored by something like Remnant. We haven't actually seen anyone physically die, so there's no real way for us to tell."

"It's still really sad though," Cassidy sighed morosely. "It really hits you hard that this is somebody who died and moved on, and won't ever be seen on Earth again by people who care about him. I didn't really process that until just now."

"It was nice, hearing Mr. MacGregor's son give his speech like that," Susie commented, trying to make the tone a bit more positive. "You could really tell that he loved and cared about his Dad."

"And that's really what funerals are there for," Mike remarked as he kept driving. "One final chance for a deceased person's friends and loved ones to gather together, both to mourn that person's death as well as commemorate and reminisce on their life and everything good that came with that life. Even people like us, who really weren't all that involved in Nelson MacGregor's life in the grand scheme of things, could show respect for the good that he did and how it's helped us with our current battle against Fazbear Entertainment. Nobody's going to pretend that a funeral is a happy celebration, but there's more to them than sorrow and grief."

"You're definitely right about that," Jeremy agreed. "I could tell that the priest was trying to lift everyone's spirits up during that whole sermon."

"I'm kind of surprised that his son even brought up that past with Fazbear Entertainment, to be honest," Fritz admitted. "Wouldn't that kind of thing put him in a bad light?"

"Not necessarily," Mike answered. "If anything, it's refreshingly honest. A lot of times, eulogies completely brush over a person's negative aspects. Understandable, since you don't want to disrespect or insult the dead. But Brian wasn't harsh at all when he described those negative parts of Nelson's life, and in the end he used them to create a positive message that honestly had more weight to it than just someone singing the guy's praises and doing nothing else."

"Yeah," Gabe agreed. "His speech really did give me a more complete and nuanced picture of Mr. MacGregor's life."

"What do you think your funeral is going to be like, Dad?" Cassidy asked innocently. "Do you think it's going to be like this one?"

"Who can say?" Mike replied with a shrug. "If I had to guess, I'd say that it'd be pretty similar to Nelson's. I'd be surrounded by friend and loved ones, in a nice but not overly extravagant coffin, with someone like Ryan or Melody giving a eulogy for me. I'd like to think I'm a pretty down-to-earth guy overall. I've never really felt the need for things in my life to be particularly extra, and I doubt that would change with my death."

The ghosts fell silent again at the sobering reminder that one day it would be Mike himself who would lay unmoving and lifeless inside a coffin. A day that they could not outright prevent, only delay for as long as possible while making sure that end would come naturally, not at the hands another being like William Afton, Glitchtrap, or any of his foul creations.

"At least Mr. MacGregor can finally rest," Liz murmured. "He doesn't have to fight that cancer anymore."

"Like his son said, the best death one could have is a peaceful one with no regrets," Charlie commented. "And while I'm sorry that he's gone, I'm glad that he was able to achieve that peace in his final moments."

"Yes," Mike agreed solemnly. "And when the time comes for me to pass on to the afterlife too, I can only hope that I'm able to say the same…and that you guys will be by my side when I pass on from this world to the next."

/

A/N: And there you have it, everyone. Nelson MacGregor's funeral. Unsurprisingly a rather solemn affair…but as somber as it might be, there are still gleams of light to be found. Despite the horrible disease eating away at him and the guilt he had over working with Fazbear Entertainment in the past, he was able to pass on from this world peacefully and with no regrets. The type of death that I'm sure all of us would love to have when our time comes.

It was also a bit of a unique experience for the ghost kids to witness the funeral. Most of the time, whenever the ghost kids experience something for the first time, it's usually lighthearted and fun. And whatever you could say about funerals, they're generally quite the opposite of lighthearted and fun. But whatever their thoughts on the matter, they know how to act appropriately – not even Fritz would dare to try anything funny in an event as serious as this.

That's all I have for now. Whether I proceed with Security Breach (FINALLY) or put in more filler for the next chapter will depend entirely on how much time I have available.

That's all I have for now. Hope you guys enjoyed!