Your Fault

New Harmony, Utah

Thursday 29th September 2016, 09:23 AM

It's all coming together, Mike thought to himself almost proudly as he took a good look at the front of his house. It went away when he recalled the fact that he wouldn't be able to continue until the next delivery of plywood arrived. Feeling his satisfaction drain, he went back inside.

It wasn't like he had little to do; ever since his discovery over at the old house of Henry Emily, finding that old robot buried in the basement, he had been putting off pushing any further.

He stepped into his makeshift office and dug out the files. There has to be something here about it, he decided. If Thomas had zeroed in on the identity of the Purple Man, surely he must have discovered something about a batch of animatronics resembling those which had terrorised Mike's dreams?

If they even were dreams, Mike bitterly considered. Perhaps it was a little too out there, yet it seemed to grow more certain every time he thought back onto it. Enough so that he felt he was searching for a sign, any clue that those nightmares were too real.

Scanning through the pages once more and digging for any more encoded secrets, Mike stumbled upon a certain section that he pieced together using a term which sent a shiver down his spine: Twisted. Biting his lip, he began to use the codeword to decode a section.

What he found was far bigger and world-shaking than he could have imagined.

Charlie Emily.

It can't be, Mike thought wistfully as he stared at his findings. It was a name that he hadn't heard in many years. Yet it had once been as familiar to him as his own brother's and sister's.

Charlotte Emily, he put together his own memories as best as he could, daughter to Henry and Lara Emily. Practically my cousin, as close to me as a sister. How is she still alive?

He tried to think back as far as he could, to the days when he was still a vindictive teenage idiot. He could recall Henry, the peaceful, lumbering man with big, careful hands who worked with Mike's father. Charlie had been born before Dave, though only a couple months apart. How old was I? Seven?

The part that disturbed him was the original question; how on earth was Charlie Emily still alive, according to Caine's notes? He had been keeping tabs on her until about 2005. From reading between the lines, Mike could tell that the detective had found it tricky not to lose her.

Sitting back in his chair, Mike still couldn't help but dwell on the fact that his cousin, who he had quite a lot of affection towards even back when he was an asshat, was still breathing. I thought for sure…

He couldn't recall Sammy Emily, Henry's other kid. Perhaps that was why? Had he assumed that it had been Charlie who suffered such a horrible fate in that alleyway, at the hands of Mike's own father, when it had been Sammy?

The thought sent a dull pain in his chest. Staring at the decoded passage, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The last time he'd seen her had been soon after Dave's death. Barely six months later, when he'd packed his bags, broke out that window, and fled from the place that no longer felt like home.

Would she even recognise me? He pondered, She must have been about five or six…

Yet he'd already been to that graveyard and looked upon the gravestones of his siblings. His adoptive parents were dead. The man, or monster, who had created him was rotting away in some hole. Truth was, Charlie was about the only family he had left.

If she wants nothing to do with me, I'll understand, Mike decided. But it can't hurt to go and say hello…

With his mind made up, he got himself ready and began the journey. Though he had no idea where Charlie herself was, he had one person he could go and talk to: Jennifer Emily, Henry's sister and Charlie's aunt. From what Caine had dug up, she still lived in Silver Reef.

Truth was, he was expecting her to either kick him out or call the cops the moment he turned up. The son of William Afton, who murdered her nephew and caused her brother to take his own life out of grief, turning up at her doorstep asking for the location of her niece? Even if he wasn't still technically a wanted criminal, it wouldn't be a great prospect.

So why am I not backing out?

Half an hour later, he was pulling into Silver Reef and heading for the address listed. He pulled up opposite of the road and watched the house for some time. First thing he picked up on was the fact that there were two cars in the drive.

Surely not, he nearly muttered. His answer came when he saw the movement through the window. Three figures, two women and one man. One of the women was wearing a charcoal jacket with a purple t-shirt underneath. When he saw that long brown hair, he took a sharp intake of breath.

Before he knew it, he was heading to the front door and rang the doorbell. Voices came from the other side and a moment later, it opened. An older woman was there to greet him, eyeing him cautiously.

"Oh, hello." She said evenly, "Can I help you?"

"Hi." Mike said kindly, "Does Jennifer Emily happen to live here?"

"You're talking to her, honey. Can I ask your name?"

"Michael." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Michael…Afton."

If Jen was freaking out inside, she didn't show it. Coolly, she responded, "Ah."

"I understand if you want me to go." Mike quickly followed up, "Just say the word. I just…is Charlie here?"

Before she could answer, another voice came from one of the other rooms. "Jen? Is everything alright?"

Jen wasn't able to respond in time before Charlie appeared by the doorway. She froze on the spot at the sight of him. Blinking, she asked quietly, "Michael?"

"Hey, Char." Mike responded, feeling happiness surge through him at the fact she recognised him.

"What…how are…" She stumbled, "What are you doing here?"

"He said he wants to speak to you." Jen explained carefully, never taking her eyes off him, "If you don't want to, just say so, and I'll make sure he never comes back."

Just as he was expecting for this journey to all be for naught, Charlie said, "It's okay, Jen. Give us a few minutes."

Though she seemed to find the thought distasteful, Jen nodded and left the doorway, shooting Mike one last suspicious, warning look. Then Charlie stepped outside and shut the front door.

"It's been a while." Charlie admitted.

Mike nodded at that, "It has. I'm sorry about that."

Washington County, Utah

Sunday 25th June 2017 17:25 PM

As he arrived in the town, Mike pulled over and checked the burner phone Henry had given him one more time. When he did so, Cassidy mumbled something.

"Sorry?" Mike asked as he put it away.

She shook her head, "Are you seriously going to check that thing every few minutes?"

"Well…yeah. Keep your equipment checked."

"You seem obsessed with it."

Dave couldn't help his nod. "It is a little weird."

"Alright, fine." Mike muttered, "When it turns out it doesn't work, don't blame me."

"No can do, Mikey."

"Anyway…we're nearby." Mike continued to drive into the shady part of town, keeping his eyes open as he did so. Though it had been over twenty years since he'd last been here, it hadn't changed too much.

Once he found the burnt building in the middle of one of the streets, he pulled to the side of the road and observed it cautiously. He could tell that Cassidy was staring at it uneasily.

"Bad memories." Mike spoke carefully.

To her credit, Cassidy staved from making a biting comment back. "A lot of regrets."

Dave blinked at that. "I remember last time we were here…I didn't realise you were there, Mike."

Her voice became subdued at that. "It wasn't…y'know, when we were moved here. It was after…when you weren't here."

"What happened?"

Mike shot a quick glance towards Cassidy and saw her stricken, guilt-ridden expression. Shamefully, he felt a tiny flicker of vindictiveness inside of him, but he locked it away. No point rehashing the past. "It was a long time ago, D. We've all made mistakes."

"Oh." Dave said quickly, as if sensing the turmoil in his best friend, "Okay."

"Let's see if we can get in."

Mike opened the door and went to step outside, but before he could, he heard her voice. "Mike?"

Freezing, he made eye contact with her. "Yeah, Cass?"

"For what it's worth…" Her voice trembled a little bit, "I'm sorry. About your dad…about Spencer."

"I…I appreciate that."

He continued climbing out and took one more look at the burnt wreck in front of him. Why on Earth the state had allowed Fazbear Entertainment to keep yet another smoldering ruin standing for so long was beyond him, though perhaps it was made easier for them by its location.

As he watched on, he shook himself back to reality and turned to see Dave hugging Cassidy, who still seemed subdued. She really meant it, Mike accepted. The last time they had both stood on this ground, it had been as bitter enemies.

Mike still wasn't sure what they were now.

Once Cassidy had regained her composure, she and Dave left the car and joined Mike as he walked around the side of the ruin. As they walked, Dave asked, "So what did Henry say? Who's here?"

"We don't know." Mike admitted, "The footage we watched was grainy, but it was definitely one of them. A Remnant."

Cassidy nodded warily, "And we still have no idea how many of them there are…or if they can even be destroyed."

"One step at a time. Let's work out which one it is that's here and go from there."

With the front entrance entirely blocked, Mike knew that they would have to go around the back and hope for better luck. That luck proved viable when he saw that the hallway into the building had been cleared just enough to allow him to get in.

Once he stepped inside, he looked around pensively. The office would have been down to the right, he recalled, and the dining area just down there…

At that point, he turned to his left and saw the entrance to what was once a parts and services room. Hesitantly, he approached and stepped inside. Perhaps the most well-preserved room in the ruin, he could even spot the ancient dried blood marks on the floor and wall up ahead.

Then he turned, saw the opened safe door to his right, and looked inside. There was a room, the size of a cleaning cupboard, which had once held mattresses and an abandoned teddy bear.

But that was when his eyes fell onto what the now-stripped room had hidden; a metallic grate that had been left exposed. Approaching it, he looked down into the tunnel it led to and might have gasped had he still the lungs to do so.

"Down the rabbit hole?" Cassidy inquired with a sniff.

Mike nodded. "Seems like it. Watch my back down there, alright?"

Crouching down, Mike dropped into the tunnel, landing with a thud. It was some sort of old maintenance tunnel he'd found himself inside, lined with pipes and concrete. A disturbing thought washed over him like a chill.

Is this how he got in?

He looked over his shoulder and saw his two companions behind him, both looking as wary as he was. Straightening, he marched onwards, eyeholes wide open. He reached the end of the maintenance tunnel and entered an open room he couldn't see the end of.

Dave whispered, "Where are we?"

"Looks like some old, abandoned railway." Mike answered quietly, "Maybe some metro project."

That was when he saw the scuttling mass in the shadows. Darting into action, Mike aimed his flashlight at the thing as it vanished further into the darkness. He was just about to give chase when he heard his brother scream.

"Mike! Behind you!"

He didn't think twice, didn't even go to look at whatever made his brother cry out. Without a second to lose, Mike threw himself out of the way as the hand of the monster swiped at him.

Yet as he darted up to defend himself, he wasn't able to evade the next swipe which sent him crashing onto the floor. Feeling a strange pain fill him, Mike forced himself to look at his attacker as the beast left the shadows.

"Oh, no." Dave whispered as the rabbit with its one arm and glaring eyes advanced on Mike, like a nocturnal predator stalking its prey. Aghast, Mike forced himself up to his feet and looked for something to defend himself.

All the while, Cassidy watched with fury in her eyes. "Afton…"

Then the worst thing, something so deeply terrible that Mike could have never been prepared for it happened. Stretching its scorched neck, the monster said, "Well, well. Look who came crawling back."

Mike stared in horror. "F…father?"

"You lost the right…" Afton drawled slowly, "to call me that a long time ago…Mikey."

Before he could even think of a response to that, Mike was forced to pull himself away as his father advanced on him again, maliciously slow and patient. Mike reached for his gun and grew in despair when he felt nothing there.

Quickly scanning the room, he spotted the old emergency case on the wall and darted for it. He smashed it open and grabbed at the fire axe, then turned to fight. As he did so, he saw the rabbit tilt his head, almost like he was appraising him.

"And what," Afton mocked, "are you planning to do with that?"

Had it been anyone else, Mike might have come up with a witty response. I'm certainly not planning on giving you a shave with it, perhaps. Yet in that moment, an ancient terror filled his heart and had he the tear ducts, he might have worried he would start crying.

"We…" Mike struggled, "Just give me a moment…please. We don't have to do this."

"Oh, we really do." Afton croaked, "This has been…a long time coming. The moment we met again back in that…damned haunted house, I knew this would only end with one of us…"

Mike watched in horror as his father spat out a laugh, "With one of us, looking down at the other, as they bleed to death. My only regret…is that you don't look like you have much left."

"I…I didn't know." Mike pleaded, "I couldn't have known."

"You left me to die." Afton growled, "You left me to burn there. How could you do that? To your own father?"

"I didn't-"

"You're a pathetic waste." As Mike found himself frozen on the spot, his father continued to approach him, "I hate you. I always have. You're a weak, spiteful little creature, possessed with low cunning. How on earth I could have ever produced you is one of God's best jokes."

Mike didn't respond. Couldn't respond.

"I'm going to kill you." Afton promised him, "It will not be quick. Do you remember…all the times you used to cry? When you used to beg me to stop? When I'm through with you, you will miss those times. And this time…" He chuckled, "This time, I won't stop."

Then he looked away from Mike, "And the two of you…will bear witness to it. Just how he stood by and watched as he let his own brother die…you will do the same."

"Yeah, that's going to be a no from me, Mr. Afton." Cassidy spoke up as she stepped in front of the despondent Mike, "Don't get me wrong, I don't like the guy, but I hate you a lot more."

Finally, Mike found his response as he nearly hissed, "You…cannot say anything. You accuse me of that…after all you've done?"

Afton tilted his head and his mask cracked into what might have been a smile, "Have you ever questioned…what might have happened? Had you not killed him that day? Three months later, I killed Henry's little bitch and two years later, I slaughtered little Miss Brooks and her friends. So the question is, Mikey…"

Only able to glare at Afton as he finished his response, Mike felt himself sundered. "How much of it is your fault?"

It was Cassidy who retorted. "Just typical of you, Mr. Afton, to try and place the blame onto someone else."

He turned his oversized head to glare daggers into her. "As for you, Miss Brooks…I owe you quite a bit of pain, too."

She snorted at that. "Well, you're right about that. You did a lot of screaming during our last encounter. Was music to my little ears."

"But you would know all about screaming…wouldn't you?" He growled. "I will admit…you were the toughest one. Never stopped fighting…right until the end."

"Eh, what can I say?" Cassidy shrugged, though she seemed a little unsteady, "I wasn't about to just let some Walt Disney wannabe kill me without a fight."

"Didn't work out for you in the end, though, did it?"

She stayed silent at that.

"Because in the end…" He cracked his neck, "You still screamed. You still cried. Just like the others…begging like a dog."

If Cassidy had been in a position to defend herself at that, she didn't get the chance. Clenching his hands, Dave stepped forward and said, "Leave her alone."

For the first time in the last few minutes, Afton seemed to lose control. He looked at his youngest son up and down, his expression almost pained.

Then it hardened. "You, my dearest boy…are in no position to make demands."

"Please." Dave nearly begged, "Dad…just please tell me why. Why do this? Why do any of this?"

Afton gritted his metallic teeth and didn't respond.

"I know by now that you were never a saint…" Dave admitted, "You were always angry…but killing people? Killing kids, just like me? Why?"

Slowly, Afton shook his head and glared at him. "You were always too inquisitive for your own good, David…always going a little too deep. I was proud of you because of that. Had you never been in that room…never saw it happen…you would never have become so…irrational."

Hesitating, Dave blinked. "Dad?"

Afton, eerily relaxed, began to get closer to his son. "I blamed Henry for it at first…then I blamed your disappointment bastard of a brother. Eventually, though, I realised that there was only really one person to blame…" His mouth twisted, "Myself."

Mike clenched his jaw. "Stop."

"Dad…please…"

Ignoring his words, Afton stepped even closer. "After all, I brought you into this world. Thought you were more than you were. Because I didn't see you for what you truly were."

Stepping forward, Cassidy spat out, "Don't you dare."

"Because all you really were, in the end," Afton finished softly, stopping just shy as Dave stared up in distress at him, "was just another faulty experiment."

In that moment, the robotic beast in front of him wasn't his father. It wasn't the man who had tormented and beaten Mike countless times until he ran away. He wasn't the monster who had killed countless lives, young and old, in his insanity. He wasn't this arbiter of everything wrong with Mike's life.

In that moment, a mist of red overcoming him, the thing in front of Mike was nothing more than the one who had just hurt his little brother.

Screaming out his rage, Mike lunged, twisted, and prepared to swing the axe in his hands straight into Afton's skull. As he did, he didn't notice the air shimmering as Cassidy's own fury lashed out.

Even in his own anger, however, Mike found his instincts leading his strike. Twisting himself, he aimed for the left side of Afton. Only one arm, he growled internally, try defending yourself from this!

Yet Afton seemed to understand his own weakness and darted out of the way, but not fast enough; Mike's axe seared into his side, cutting into the suit. Before his father could respond, a metal pipe launched itself and impaled him. Afton fell to the floor, howling.

Cassidy stepped forward, her eyes downcast, as she lifted her hand up to raise another pipe from the nearby abandoned construction.

But then, as Afton ripped the pipe out from his costume with a scream and climbed back to his feet, they all heard it.

Thudding.

All of their eyes fell onto the source and saw the movement from the shadows. It revealed itself, a clean-looking robot. Though it left the shadows, the darkness never left. Shaped to resemble Freddy, yet the bear that Mike had always known had never been dark as night.

The bear, a red hat on its head, looked at them blankly.

"What the…" Mike breathed.

Stepping a little closer, Dave strained his eyes, "I think…I think that's one of them."

A remnant, Mike realised. Yet he had never seen it before.

"I know…" Cassidy said shakily, "I recognise that feeling…that's…that's Charlie."

"Charlie-" Mike felt confusion wash over him, but then understood. "Charlie…the Marionette?"

"I…I think so."

As he began to process that thought, Mike felt his own grin growing. Charlie. The Marionette, or her old body, now soulless. Empty. Yet still on the move, fuelled by what Henry had told him.

Still grinning, he glared at Afton. You're screwed, now.

Yet the bear didn't advance. Merely stared between them. Examining Afton thoroughly. Then, it turned its head and stared at Mike.

His grin faltering, Mike felt his confusion return. That was when his eyes fell onto his scarf, the one he used to hide his face, on the floor. Touching his face for a moment, he then looked down at the new hole torn into his coat's sleeve at the rotted skin underneath it.

Then he looked up in horror. "Ah, crap…"

With a frightening speed after having stood still for so long, the bear rushed from the tunnel it had been standing in. Yet it completely ignored Afton and went straight for Mike.

I'm not evading this one, Mike quickly decided and instead raised his weapon and swung. Out of all the colours…why did I have to be bloody purple?!

It was the wrong decision. With ease, the bear swatted the axe out from Mike's hands and then grabbed him by the collar, screeching in his face.

As the bear attempted to strangle him, Afton, having watched on with faint surprise, laughed. Then, he turned and strided back into the darkness, vanishing from view.

"Cassie!" Dave pleaded, "We need to help Mike!"

But Cassidy yelled out, "We can't let him get away!"

"We won't have another chance if we lose Mike!" Gritting his teeth, Dave tried to negotiate with his best friend, "Please, help him!"

All the while, Mike struggled against the bear as its hands squeezed down on what was once his windpipe. Although it hadn't the effect it once would have, Mike feared what having his metallic neck crushed would entail.

Fortunately, that never came to be. Screaming out in rage, Cassidy turned her attention from the fleeing Afton and instead threw another pipe straight at the bear.

Then was stunned when the bear caught it. However, that was exactly the chance that Mike needed. He ripped himself out of his hoodie, out of the bear's grasp, and ran.

I'm not beating that, he accepted and continued running. Into the shadows, all the while hearing the bear's own footsteps as it pursued him.

He saw the end of the tunnel leading into the open, but as he reached it, the bear caught up. It grabbed Mike's leg and practically swung him into the ground. Before he could roll out of the way, he was grabbed once more and could only stare widely into the bear's eyes.

But then, before it could finish him, a piercing sound that Mike recognised came from somewhere behind him and the bullet struck the bear's left eye. It gave another screech, recoiled, and then fled back into the darkness.

Rolling up, Mike found cover by the wall. I know that one. That sound. That's…

It was a rifle. When he heard the voice call out from somewhere, he felt no relief. No feeling that he was safe.

"Been looking for you, Mikey!" The voice called out, "Bloody hard man to find! Now how about you come out already so we can put an end to this charade?"

Out of the frying pan, into the fire, Mike mused.

Tyler Caine had found him.

Santa Clara, Utah

Sunday 25th June 2017 18:08 PM

Pursing his lips as he stood at his porch and looked amidst the desert, Henry was growing restless. He should have reported back by now. That had been the plan, of course. Once his new partner had confirmed what it was they had been surveying, he would use the phone.

A brief thought that he had run into more trouble than he'd been ready for was quickly dismissed. The man came back from the dead. He'll be fine.

Turning around, Henry went back into his house and returned to his study. More reports had come and to his chagrin, they weren't all good news. His feeling that his cover was falling apart and the mercenaries that had essentially taken over since the imposter had quite literally fallen apart were close to finding him did nothing to stave his anxiety.

Especially since it would take a little time to get moving if it came down to that.

No point worrying about possibilities, he reminded himself. In the years he'd spent underground, he found that what kept him going had been relying on facts. Facts such as how it seemed that those mercenaries, or Blackwood as they preferred to be called, had more than one target.

That was a concern. Moving to his laptop, Henry looked into it and was satisfied to see that Charlie had still not left Salt Lake. At the very least, Blackwood seemed to be staying in Utah so as long as she didn't cross the state border, she wouldn't be in the crossfire.

Once he was absolutely sure he was correct, he moved on to his surveillance around his old house. Little did Mike Schmidt know that he had seen the guy go sniffing around his house, to end up finishing the job Henry had been prepared to do by burying the last of those abominations. They had been Bill's designs, of course, monsters created for the sole purpose of torment.

Just another bizarre experiment by an evil man, Henry mused. Of course, the fact that those very same creations had been built with his materials and his technology, with his plans modified to suit his old friend's disgusting perversions was a cut deep into Henry's chest. Not the first and far from the worst, yet no less significant.

Grumbling, Henry stepped away from his desk and rubbed his beard thoughtfully. I should return there, before I do leave. I probably won't have another chance to pick up the cache at my house. He always made sure to leave pieces of his work around in different areas, in case they were ever discovered.

After all, if he couldn't have it, he needed to make sure that nobody else would find any real use from it.

Henry did his rounds and was satisfied, knowing that his only choice was to wait for Mike to report back and explain just what it was he ran into. Of course, Henry reminded himself, even if he prevailed, we still have no idea how to eliminate one of them for good.

That would have to come later. Sighing, Henry left his study and headed to the small door leading downstairs. He stepped into the makeshift clinic that he had put together with the help of the actual doctor, his old buddy Fernandes. Naturally, Fernandes had been disgusted by the state of the basement and demanded Henry help him with making it livable.

Even a corpse deserves a nice little tomb, Henry mused as he pulled back the medical curtain. The Burnt Man, as Henry had referred to him as since he had been dragged into this very building, was wrapped in the bandages Fernandes had been kind enough to redo earlier that day.

Fernandes was the doctor; whilst Henry was very nearly the best in the country when it came to robotics, he understood human anatomy nearly as much as a farmer understood how to fish. So when he saw the dumbfounded expression on the doctor's face during his first examination, he had been relieved. It's not just me, then, he'd thought.

This man, Fernandes, this man should not be alive. It makes no sense.

That, at least, had been something Henry could work out. The moment he'd seen her, standing by the Burnt Man's bedside, he knew it had been her doing. This had meant to Henry the understanding that he needed to do his part, too.

My brave girl, Henry smiled sadly as he sat down to read his book, I'm so proud of you.

For a few minutes, he read, giving himself that time to breath; to escape. To not feel the fear that had been lurking over him for so long. Escapism, he reminded himself, that even a haunted man like himself needed to relax.

That relaxation was cut short and he nearly yelled out in fear when the Burnt Man suddenly spasmed in the bed, gasping for breath.

TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3: The connection that allows the souls to appear is definitely going to be explored a little more as the story progresses; it's the issue with making things a little less linear. A lot of it will be hinted at in the little flashforwards. In regards to the war that's about to unfold, it's the knowledge that with AESIR being fractured, lives will be lost and others won't learn of it until much later. Bringing in Henry was a long time coming and he will have a lot to do in this story. More than that, his partnership with Lawson is also going to be elaborated on, since Henry has been waging his own little war in the shadows for a long time. Speaking of the Hell's Herald, he's quite the romantic killing machine. He and Caine have been having it out for each other for three decades and there's only one way that war will end. Now, witht he Remnants in mind, there's a lot of issues that their introduction will bring especially with the idea that possessed animatronics may not be the only type walking around, as the introduced Lefty is shown. That, alongside with Caine's own growing friendship with the souls, is something I'm hoping to explore a little more before the first act is done. Same thing with Marionette Charlie and totally-a-human Charlie.