Raising Caine

The Sanctuary

Sunday 27th November 2016, 12:34 PM

A little cottage just on the north-eastern edge of town had been given to him soon after they'd all arrived. Despite his cynicism, it was a rather nice area. Quiet enough that he could be alone when needed and close by to the others in case he had something to talk about.

Thomas was sitting on his armchair, looking out the window with a book in his hands, when he saw her approaching. White mask, he mused, looks like a fox.

Getting up, he went to his front door and opened it. By the time he made it, she was already at his porch.

"Hi, Mr. Caine!" Mangle smiled up at him and he returned it.

"Hey, Alanna." He nodded, "How's it been today?"

Mangle, or Alanna, as he'd learnt to call her by over the last few weeks, shrugged, "Gabriel and the others have gone with him again. Mike seemed to be wanting a good chunk of the day to do his search. It should be clear, for now."

"Aye, hopefully." Stretching, he placed his book down and stepped onto the porch. By now, they had worked out Mike's schedule and he was able to plan around it. Is he out of town?"

She hesitated, "He is."

"Good. Good, should probably get moving, then."

They walked together deeper into town, towards the little square. Ever since David had led them here, over a year ago, it had taken time for the others to be able to call it home. Though it never would be for him, he could understand why it took time to adjust.

Having spent years suffering to find a spot of peace was never easy to accept.

"Um, Mr. Caine?" Alanna asked hesitantly.

"Aye? You alright?"

"I just…I had a question?"

"Shoot."

"It's just…" She took a breath, clearly worried, "Do you…not like Mike?"

That took him aback. "Why would you think that?"

"It's just, all this stuff with avoiding him and not telling him you're here…"

I guess I can understand why she came to that conclusion. "No, no, nothing like that. It's just…well. As best as you can, describe Mike Schmidt."

After a moment of thinking, she answered as best as she could. "I believe he's good. Loyal. He goes out of his way to help people. He'll always have your back."

"Would you say that, if he was on the edge and he saw someone close to it as well, he would prioritise helping himself first?"

"I'm not sure." Alanna admitted, "I don't think so."

He gave a small smile, "And that's why this is for the best."

Before they could discuss it any further, they reached the town square and Thomas could see all of the rest of the Fazcrew. Not that he referred to them like that, anymore.

The boy he once called Fred waved over to them. "Good afternoon, Mr. Caine!"

"Afternoon, Ron. How was everything this morning?"

Ron crossed his arms. "Michael seems to be on to something. He thinks that going through the Flipside may be his best bet."

"Ah." Caine titled his head downwards, "My own time down there bore little fruit. Hopefully he'll have better luck."

Chi bit her lip. "Do you think…you'd go with him?"

"That may not be the best option, Lisa." Caine admitted, "If I were to show myself and he suspected I might not be able to follow him, he could decide to stay longer. That's not what's best."

"If you're sure…"

Once upon a time, when Mike had first introduced Caine to the five who stood before him, the first thing that had popped up in his thoughts had been how many of them will I have to kill in the end? That had been nearly a lifetime ago, yet the thought still drove guilt into his heart.

Ron, he thought to himself, Jacob. Lisa. Alanna. Sam. They, alongside the others, pulled me out of that hell. That's something I will never be able to repay.

"Oh." Ron suddenly said, just remembering, "She's waiting for you at the town hall. I believe she thinks you may want to go over what Mike's plans are."

Caine nodded, smiling, "Thank you."

A short distance later, he was marching up to the town hall, just as the Marionette was leaving. Though standing not even at half his height, she still bore a certain level of wisdom which impressed Caine every time he spoke with her.

"Hello, Detective Caine." She smiled kindly at seeing him.

"Charlie. How are you doing today?"

"I suppose I could be doing worse." They walked over to the tree outside the town hall. There was a little bench nearby and they both sat at it. Sensing her worry, Caine grew concerned.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked carefully.

"It's just…" She sighed, "I'm still not sure if telling Mike who I am was the right move. He's been…I don't know. Distraught. Distracted."

"You would have needed to tell him eventually. At least here, he'll have time to deal with it."

She gave a heart-hearted nod and Caine felt a little bit of pain in his chest. As much as he tried to ignore it, he could feel the father in him leading his words.

"I know you have questions." He stated, "Please, ask them."

Taking a deep breath, Charlie said, "It's your decision and I respect that. I just wonder as to the reason why."

"It would be a distraction." Caine explained, "One he cannot afford."

"But why would it be a distraction?"

That made Caine laugh. "This is Mike Schmidt we're talking about, here. If he realises I'm still around, that I could possibly come back with him, he'll insist on staying until we both can leave. That's not what's best for him."

She thought about that for a moment. "Good point. I do have to ask, however…is there any resentment? For what happened."

"No." He said honestly, "What happened back at Fazbear Frights was just the way things are. I made a decision, that's what happened. Mike and I, we go back a long time. I want him to succeed in this campaign he's starting."

Though she seemed to accept that, Caine could still sense the worry in her. Straightening a little, he raised an eyebrow, "Y'know, I never apologised."

She blinked, "For what?"

"Well, where do I start? Calling you a bloody clown, for one."

"It was in the heat of the moment. I've been called worse."

"Nevertheless, I'm sorry. For how I treated you…and how I treated the others."

With a warm smile, she nodded, "It was forgiven a long time ago, Detective."

St. George, Utah

Sunday 25th June 2017 18:32 PM

"Now!" Tyler yelled out from whatever building he was using as his vantage point, "Come on out! There's no point running!"

I'm surrounded, Mike told himself as he desperately searched for any sign, any direction he could go. Yet he knew that if they had caught up with him, there wasn't much use in trying.

"Great." Cassidy scowled in the direction of Tyler, "Now Mike's stupid friends are going to kill him and we'll have to go back home."

"You're not helping!" Mike seethed.

On the other side of Mike was Dave, who was scanning the area, a grim expression in his eyes. "Mike, I…I can't see a way out."

"I know." Mike accepted, "There isn't one. Not now."

Shaking her head, Cassidy took a glance behind them. "How about back in the tunnels?"

But Mike wasn't convinced. "Even if I get in there without getting shot…they'll be after us. Besides, if that damned bear finds us again…"

She scoffed, "So what? You're just wanting to give up?"

"No." Taking one careful look back towards the open area between himself and Tyler, Mike sighed, "I don't want to give up. But…I'm sorry, guys. I led you on this mission and it was probably for nothing."

Trying to smile reassuringly, Dave said, "It's not so bad in the Sanctuary, Mike. At least we'll all be together."

Despite her clear annoyance, Cassidy gave a good-hearted shrug, resting her arm on Dave's shoulder with a smirk, "Even if there's some you might not like seeing…there's those who make it work."

Even as he felt the crushing weight on failure, Mike knew in his heart he agreed. Shakily, he climbed to his feet and raised his hands up in the air. Then, with heavy steps, he left his cover and slowly approached the open area.

All the while expecting to feel nothing all of a sudden.

"Do what you must." Mike called out, "But please, if it meant anything, anything at all…let me explain myself before you do it!"

"Bah!" Tyler stood up, revealing himself, "And hear you talk? Not bloody likely…"

Why did it have to be him? Out of all of them? "I know why you're doing this. Just please…give me just a minute."

"Mike." Gritting his teeth, Tyler looked down upon him with a flicker of anger, "What the blue bloody hell are you talking about?"

Before he could respond to that, Mike heard the footsteps coming from his right and saw Spencer pacing quickly in their direction. Not even looking at him, Spencer eyed his uncle with some frustration. "Ty, what the hell are you doing?"

Tyler sounded almost offended, "What? Just giving ol' Mikey here the AESIR secret handshake."

"And wasting all of our time doing it." Spencer scowled and shook his head before turning to Mike, "Hey, Mike."

Not even thinking of anything else, Mike pleaded, "Spence. Your mom, is she-"

He raised his hands up, "She's fine, Mike. Coming this way right now, in fact."

Oh, thank God, Mike raised his hands to his face, feeling relief flood his broken body. More so when he saw her coming down the same alleyway Spencer had just come down from. As she did, Spencer gave him a weird look. "Look, I've got to ask…why has it taken us this long to catch up with you?"

"I'm good at running." Mike answered simply.

Even at that distance, Mike could see the hope in Samantha's eyes. Yet suddenly, he felt himself clinging a little more into the darkness, realising what this meant. Unable to make eye contact with her and keeping his hood a little tighter against his head.

She stopped a little away from him and hesitated. "Mike?"

"Hey, Sam." He responded, still unable to look at her.

It was as if she sensed his reticence. Stepping forward, she got a little closer, reaching for his hood with a careful hand.

"Don't." He stated, pained, "Please."

Though she stopped, she didn't back away. "Michael. Look at me. Please."

It took him some time to muster up the strength for that request. When he did, he was expecting her to at least cringe her face at the sight of his own. Ever the embodiment of internal strength, she didn't.

"I know what you do." Mike quietly said, "I know how something like me needs to be handled. If you have to do it, just please get it over with. That's all I ask."

At that point she recoiled, out of finally understanding. "We're not here to kill you, Mike."

She means it. "It wasn't me. Last year, I mean. What happened-"

"I know."

Having made his way down from his vantage point, Tyler approached them quickly. "Hate to spoil the reunion, but Lincoln just said that convoy's about ten minutes away from us. We better get moving."

Looking up at him, Mike narrowed his eyes, "Convoy?"

"Blackwood." Sam explained, "They're all over the place. Our intel told us they were on your trail. Mike, come back with us."

But Mike wasn't sure. "I've got a mission."

"And we'll help you." Sam assured him, "But right now, we need to focus on surviving the next twenty-four hours."

It was Cassidy who stepped in next, unseen by the three living souls around them, "If we leave now, it could take us months to find Mr. Afton again! We need to get back in there!"

Yet Dave argued, "I don't think this is something we can do alone."

She sighed, "If we lose him for good this time…"

"We won't." Dave smiled, "We tracked him down once, we'll do it again."

Though Mike could tell that she wanted to argue further, he could also read someone running out of steam like the back of his hand. "Okay. Fine. Let's go with Mike's idiot friends and fight this guy Blackwood."

"Blackwood's a merc group." Mike said quietly, conscious of the others with them.

"Lame."

Before Mike knew it, he was climbing into the back seat of a black SUV, Tyler at the wheel. As she got in the front seat, Samantha gave Mike an easing yet subdued smile. Spencer got in next to Mike and Cassidy, just outside the car as Mike prepared to shut the door, scowled.

"So where do we sit?"

Trying his best not to be as subtle as possible, Mike shot her a what do you want from me? look and that only deepened her scowl. Then she and the sheepish Dave disappeared. For a moment, Mike was worried they'd left, until he saw her reflection pulling a face in the rear view mirror.

At least the trunk's big enough, Mike thought coyly as he took a glance behind him to see them both there.

"So," Tyler muttered just loud enough for them all to hear, "Michaelangelo. What, er, what happened?"

With a grumble, Mike slumped, "Afton. My…absolute piece of crap of a father…he was down there. We almost had him dead to rights and the next thing I knew, that damn bear shows up, sees us fighting, then decides I'm the problem."

"Huh." Tyler snorted, "Thought the two of you were getting along fine. Course, that wasn't what I meant. Mike, why the hell are you back?"

Sam narrowed her eyes, "Tyler."

"What? I'm just saying. Usually when us guys die, we don't pop on back up looking like…well, that."

"It's…" Mike hesitated, "A long story."

That was when the thought popped in his head. Story. Damn it, Henry's waiting to hear from me!

"Guys, I've got to take a call quickly."

Sam turned with a raised eyebrow, "Who?"

For a moment, he didn't know if telling them was the best choice. Though not by his own will, his hands had already stabbed Henry in the back before. Was he really willing to risk the partnership with him when he'd gotten a lucky break?

Yet he looked in the rearview mirror and saw the shrug Cassidy gave and the slight nod by David. Once upon a time, I trusted these people with my life. They've never done anything to make me question it.

"Henry." Mike explained and could sense the confusion before they showed it, "Henry Emily."

Staring at him, Sam asked, "Henry Emily? Your…your dad's old partner?"

"Yeah." He grimaced.

"But…how?"

"He faked his death. To wage his own little shadow war. I'm not sure how deep this goes…but I suspect he's been involved in some way since the start."

Tyler scoffed, "Jesus. Everyone's coming back from the dead, huh?"

"I need to warn him about Blackwood." Mike explained, "They're after him, just like they're after all of us."

He could tell that Samantha was deep in thought, plotting something. After a moment, she nodded, "Tell him. Tell him we found you and we're no friends of Blackwood. Mike…do you trust him?"

"Honestly?" Mike admitted, "Yeah. I do. I have a good feeling I'd have been dead several times over were it not for him."

"Then we'll trust your lead on this."

Grateful, Mike found his burner phone and turned it on. As it successful flashed up and allowed him to select the only contact listed, he nearly sighed in relief.

"Oh, look." Cassidy sniffed, "It works. Guess your active maintenance worked, huh?"

"You're right about that, Cass." Mike said quietly by instinct and immediately realised his mistake.

Looking at him with a blink, Spencer asked, "You say something, Mike?"

"Uh…nothing. Sorry."

"Who's Cass?"

"Honestly, Spence? You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Before he could inquire further, Mike quickly called the contact. After a couple moments, he got an answer. "Hello?"

"Hey, Henry." Mike said tiredly, "Sorry it took me this long."

"I was getting worried. How did it go?"

"Um…could've been better. Henry, listen, we're gonna need to put a pin in this whole Remnant thing. Blackwood's all over the area. They're looking for us."

"I know." Henry agreed grimly, "Whole network's on fire. Good news is, we're not the only targets. Bad news, it's not going to take them long to go after us."

"About that." Mike hesitated before elaborating, "I met up with my old friends."

"Ah. I suppose they're the ones who kicked up this hornet's nest?"

Mike sagged, "Probably. Not intentionally. Henry, they can help us. If we're wanting to all be alive by morning, we need to come together."

"Mike, I didn't survive this long by running with amateurs."

"These aren't amateurs." Mike promised, "If anyone can survive a bunch of jumped-up mercs, it's these guys. I know it's asking a lot, but I'm asking you to trust me on this."

At first, he thought that the hardline answer was going to be no. Yet, with a weary sigh, Henry said, "Where should we meet?"

Mike looked back up towards the front, "Where's our heading?"

"We'll meet at the Bunker." Tyler answered firmly, but Samantha shook her head.

"No." She said, "It's too risky for him. Mike, I've got coordinates."

"You're not giving him our Red Flag-"

"Yes." Sam stated, "I am. Mike, forty, thirty-four, fifteen-point-nine north."

"Henry, write this down." Mike urged, "Forty, thirty-four, fifteen-point-nine north."

"Reading you."

"Oh, for God's sake…" Tyler muttered.

Yet Sam continued, unperturbed, "One hundred and ten, thirty, forty nine-point-two west."

Mike repeated the last few numbers. "You've got all that?"

"I do. Once I'm packed up, I'll meet you there."

"Got it. Keep your eyes open, Henry. I have a bad feeling these guys are not messing around."

"Will do. Keep your head on a swivel."

With that, Henry dropped the call.

The rest of the drive was quiet, with Tyler close to seething. A little bit worried, Mike tried not to do anything to annoy the man any further.

Cassidy seemed to have little regard for that, though. "Hey, do you think I can get him from here with this pebble?"

"Where did you get that?" Dave asked her, befuddled, "Also, please don't."

"I wanna see if his head will explode if he gets angry enough."

"Not while he's driving. Do it later."

"Aw, fine. Spoilsport…"

Even as they drove into New Harmony, a trip that produced a certain level of heartache and anxiety he knew Dave shared with him, Tyler still remained silent. At first, Mike thought he was furious with Samantha.

That's not it, though, he realised. It's because it's me she listened to.

They marched up a hill he was unfamiliar with until they all reached what seemed to be the entrance to a prepper bunker. Before he could even think to question it, the door snapped open and slowly pushed itself to reveal the staircase it was hiding. Mike followed them down into it, gobsmacked by the operation they had running inside.

"When was this a thing?" Mike asked and was hoping for Tyler to at least give another antagonistic comment. This time, the Scotsman ignored him.

"They established it sometime after we found you during our war with the Nightingales." Spencer explained, "It was only made into this after last year, though.."

"Ah."

"Sam!" A voice that Mike was sure he recognised shouted, "We've got a problem!"

Hurrying over to the man by the console in the middle of the room, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"They know!" The man quivered, "I think they know! Our area's just been flagged up on their radar! We've got about four different patrols heading our way!"

This is bad, Mike understood as he watched Samantha spin on the spot. "We need to get this evacuation sorted. Now."

Tyler nodded, grim, "Lincoln, how long?"

"At least forty minutes!"

Wincing, Mike asked, "How long can we hold out?"

"With the forces on hand?" Tyler grumbled, "I can't say any more than thirty. Any longer than that, we'll start losing people."

"What if we split up?"

It was Lincoln who spoke up at that, "We could do it, but there's a risk people will be left behind."

Mike hesitated, "Do we have any other options?"

"No." Lincoln admitted, "We don't."

"Then we all know the risks." Tyler decided, before looking at the armed guards with him, "Any of you want out, say it now."

None of them, despite their clear anxiety, said anything.

"Aye, then it's decided." With a quick look over the others, Tyler said, "I'll lead it. We'll take the fire until the rest of you can get to the evac point. From there, assuming any of us survive, we'll meet you at the Red Flag. Any questions?"

Then Spencer stepped forward and Mike knew immediately what he was going to say. Before he could, Mike stated, "Spence, you go with your mom and the others. Keep them safe. I'll stay with Tyler."

"But-" Spencer tried to argue.

"Nah, I agree." Tyler nodded, though his eyes told a different story, "Keep your mom and your brother and sister safe. That's an order, Spence."

Then Spencer sagged and Mike could see the clear and obvious gratitude in Samantha's eyes as she mouthed, thank you.

He returned that with a nod, then looked at Cassidy and David. Both had stayed quiet during the exchange, the latter nearly trembling. If this is a suicide mission, Mike accepted, then let's make sure we don't make it easy for them.

Santa Clara, Utah

Sunday 25th June 2017 18:32 PM

All Henry could do at first was watch with wide eyes as the burnt man tried to sit up, looked around in a daze, and nearly stumbled off his bed. When he saw that, Henry found his energy and rushed to stop him.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Henry gasped, halting the man with a gentle hand, "Easy, easy, you're safe!"

The man's head was almost completely bandaged on one side, with the other exposed enough for his left eye to see. The eye, brown and piercing, stared at him for a moment, "Where…where am I?"

"You're in a safe place." Henry promised him as he tried to settle him back down to the bed, "Just…take it easy. Okay? What do you remember?"

Though the man glanced at him, unsure, he remained cooperative, "I…damn it. How long? How long have I been here?"

"Just over two years." With a weary sigh, Henry told himself over and over, let me think, let me think. Fernandes was not going to arrive quickly enough to handle this. "Listen, I know you're probably confused. Just…work with me here, okay? Do you…do you remember your name?"

The man grunted. "Aye, just about. Thomas. Yourself?"

"Thomas…Thomas Caine?"

"At risk of negative consequences…aye, that's correct."

Okay, Henry breathed in, I can work with that. "Okay…I will admit, I'm not a medical expert in any means…but I can't see anything wrong, aside from muscle weakness. How…are you feeling?"

Thomas snorted, "Like I got set on fire…which, if my memory's correct, isn't far from the truth…"

So he's retained a sense of humour, Henry mused. That's positive. "Do you think you can sit up?"

"Let me try…"

Though it seemed to be a struggle, Caine slowly sat up with Henry's help. Slowly, Henry disconnected him from the IV, watching him carefully the whole time. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"From here?" Caine frowned, "Being pulled out of Fazbear Frights…I lit the bloody place on fire. Got myself impaled on some halloween decoration before that."

With the first comment, Henry hesitated. "From here?"

Caine winced, "Eh, probably just the anaesthesia."

"I'm sorry to say, but there is none. Due to your…condition…my doctor acquaintance decided there wasn't any need."

"Probably explains a few things…"

"How do you feel?"

"Honestly?" Caine grumbled, "I think…I could be a lot worse. Of course, I can't bloody move in all of this…"

Henry nodded, "Right. No harm in taking some of these casts off, I suppose…"

With a careful hand more designed for machines than people, Henry took the main casts off. Then he took a breath. "Suppose we should start with the head." He began to unwind the bandages slowly, patches of unscarred skin at first prevalent. Then, as he got further and further, it became scant.

When he finally unwound the last of the bandages, he had to steady his breath. Fernandes had trimmed the beard during his first assessment and had kept it that way since. From the right cheek onwards, the skin was matted and scarred, all the way up the right temple and half of the forehead.

It was the right eye that stood out, however. Part of the skin overlapped slightly and the iris, once a piercing brown like the other, had become milky white.

"Anything?" Henry asked him softly.

"Blurry." Caine admitted, a little gaunt, "Too blurry. Can't make anything out…"

Deflated, Henry patted him on the shoulder before wrapping the bandage back over the eye.. "You've still got the other one, at least."

A little more tense than before, Caine nodded and shuffled, "Would you mind helping me up? I'd like to get out of this basement."

"Of course." Slowly, Henry got an arm over his shoulder and lifted the man up. He step by step helped him upstairs, one step at a time.

As they began to reach the top step, Caine mumbled, "So…tell me. How is it that I find myself in Henry Emily's basement?"

Henry had to stop for a moment before he could continue, bewildered, "How on earth…?"

"I'm a detective, my friend." Caine shrugged, "I had you on file for a long time, just as I'm guessing you had me in your own files."

"Touche." Clearing his throat as they reached the top of the stairs, Henry helped him into the hallway, "I'm sure you would understand that sometimes fighting a war in the shadows, while awkward, is sometimes your only choice?"

Caine nodded, "And is that why you ended up hiring Dutch Lawson?"

"A necessary evil. Truth be told, he had me in his sights, too…but I believe that his dislike for Fazbear Entertainment and having learnt of what my intentions were, he compromised."

But Caine shook his head, "Dutch doesn't compromise. He has a reason for everything he does, trust me."

"Perhaps. I sensed that the two of you…knew each other. He would come around every once in a while, demanding to see what your condition was. There rarely was a change."

"Aye." Caine sighed as Henry helped him onto a chair in a spare bedroom, "What was his condition? After the fire, I mean."

"Rough, but not too bad." Henry answered, "I saw blood, but couldn't tell whose it was."

"What about the fire? What about the burns?"

Henry blinked, "Burns? His clothes seemed singed, but that was about it. Why?"

Staring down at the ground for a moment, Caine clenched his fist. "Nothing. It doesn't matter."

It was clear that Henry sensed he wasn't going to elaborate, so pointed towards an old wardrobe. "There's some spare clothes back there. See what fits, then come see me-"

A phone started to ring and Henry quickly took it out of his pocket. He walked away, saying, "Come see me when you're done, I've got to take this."

As the man left, Caine gave himself a moment to feel sorry for himself. Then, once he was done wallowing, he climbed back up and limped over to the wardrobe. Sometime later, he'd put on a black t-shirt, jeans, and a red flannel shirt. Satisfied, he left the spare bedroom and went to find Henry.

Before he saw him, he heard him speaking.

"I do. Once I'm packed up, I'll meet you there."

Caine stepped into the room just as Henry finished the call. "Will do. Keep your head on a swivel." Then he turned to face him and nodded, "Good. You're ready. Hope you're good to travel, because we've got to get going."

Narrowing his eyes, Thomas could sense the trouble. "Why? How bad?"

"Merc army about to be on our doorstep at any given moment, bad."

Aye, that sounds bad, Caine mused. "What can I do to help?"

"You don't have to do anything." Henry assured him, "We're just going to have to make a stop before we get ourselves to safety. I've just gotta do one last check over everything…"

Darting into another room, which Caine followed him into, the older man began to check through his many systems. Just as he was approaching the last one, he turned to leave, froze, then returned, shaking.

"Oh, no." He breathed, "Oh, no, no, no…"

"What?" Caine demanded, "What's happened?"

"She's back in Utah." Breathing heavily, Henry raised a hand to his forehead, "Damn it, she's come back to Utah!"

"Who?"

"My daughter." Henry explained, almost angry, "Charlie. These people that are after us, they're after her, too."

Charlie, Caine thought to himself. That's quite the can of worms. No time to open it, though. "Where abouts?"

"Just outside of Salt Lake, by the looks of it." Henry sighed, holding the bridge of his nose, "If I know, it won't take them long."

Though he knew he was not fit enough for such a task, the thought would have never come to him to refuse to help. "I get it, I'm a father, myself. You get what you need done and I'll make sure your daughter's safe."

"Thomas, I can't ask-"

"It's what I do." Caine stated, "Just…I could do with a favour."

"If you do this for me," The other man promised, "anything. Anything at all."

"I'm trying to find my own family." Caine requested, feeling a deep longing in his chest, "I have a feeling that I'm going to need all the help I can get…"

The next three chapters are going to get quite chaotic.

TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3: I've been toying with the idea of Mike finally confronting Springtrap once more and having him speak for the first time was something I just couldn't pass up. The reason howhe's speaking may be explored a little later down the line. It's also been my longest thought trail that whilst Afton may have finally snapped as a result of Dave's death, it stopped being the reason for his actions a long time ago. Lefty's early introduction was only planned recently, though once again, far from the last time we'll be seeing the mysterious bear. Fortunately, Mike's fears that his old friends were out to kill him proved to be untrue and the gang's back together. I'm wanting to have a little more time around Mike and Charlie's relationship over the course of the story, especially with as you said regarding the fact that he technically betrayed her and John. And yep, it's great to finally have my boy back after all this time. Sadly, he's not got much time to recover from his awakening, though he may find that he's not as physically fit as he once was.