Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

June 22, 1995

"Michael! Get in the damned truck!" she shouted, ushering her brother to leave the monster alone.
"Just go, Hayley! It wants me, not you!" he shouted between shaken breaths as he reaches the truck window, grabbing her arm, "listen to me, it doesn't matter what you've done. Dad started this, so I'm going to finish it-" the tangled amalgamation of eyes and wires drew closer, "-step on the gas! Go!"

***
August 7th, 1987

"Do you understand?" he stated. "no one is to remember or speak of what happened in the old location. It is prohibited."
"William, this is not something people will forget. This is not the first time one of your robots killed an innocent child-your innocent child!" Henry countered as Michael sat at the other end of the table with his hand covering his face as Hayley passed him another beer when he had quietly muttered a "thanks" to her, trying to not disturb the conversation between their father and his business partner, Henry Emily. The conversation has soon turned quite heated with William and Henry throwing insults at one another, "Say, Henry?" Hayley quipped, "how are those facial scanners coming along for the new animatronics?" William's face flushed, his expression dropping to become one of concern as he raised his hand up in protest, "Hayley, I don't think-" her father was quickly cut off by Henry's interruption, "Fantastically," he answered, "they should be ready within the next week as well as the animatronic suits!"
Soon after Henry's departure, Hayley had found herself pinned to her bedroom door, a heavy force pressed against her. "What are you playing at? Do you want us to get found out?" William growled, holding an arm on Hayley's chest, preventing her from escaping. "Put her down, Dad" Michael attempted to reason with their father, showing concern for Hayley's safety. "No, Michael! I want to know what her fucking problem is!" William yelled, his grip tightening on his daughter before Michael grabs a hold of William, forcing him away from Hayley; his back hits the a small table behind him, the vase atop of it toppling over, the water sloshing inside and onto the carpet. "Is hurting her truly the way to do it, Dad? You forget that you are the reason that we are in this mess to begin with! You need to get a grip on reality!" Michael had countered, sticking up his sister in attempt to put his father in his place. Michael let out a huff, watching his father use his arms to push himself up from the table before retreating to his own bedroom, slamming the door shut. Hayley had reached a hand out towards her father, offering him assistance when he holds up his palm to prevent her from doing such, his cold, grey eyes looking up at her through his dark fringe, "Remind your brother who was the real cause of Garrett's death" he sneered before pushing himself to his feet and leaving the red-head on her own as he enters his study. Hayley's mind was filled with emotions, sympathetic towards her brother but also her father's position and outburst. He was right. Michael did in fact kill their younger brother Garrett, but she was also one to blame for their sister's death.

***
March 15, 1985

"Daddy, why won't you let me go play with her?" A young girl with bright red hair, wearing a frilly pink dress asks her father. "Didn't you make her just for me?" Her large green eyes reflect her innocence as she stares up at the tall man with his back towards her as he stands above his desk, looking over some blueprints.
"Not now, Elizabeth" he says, "maybe some other time. She's not completely finished."

***
August 7, 1987

Hayley had found herself walking in the direction of her younger brother's bedroom. Something had not felt right about the hallways of their home for quite some time, the green patterned wallpaper no longer made her believe in family-hers was broken. Her fingertips brushed against the walls as she walked across the wooden floor, her feet scraping past the rug that lay in the centre. Holding her breath, she pushed open the white door which separated her from Garret's room and kneeling herself at his bedside as grief painted her face, looking at the IV bag that still stood at the left, abandoned. "Hey, Kiddo" she whispered, pushing her arms up onto the beds as though someone was laying atop, her palms feathering over the fabric that once covered him during the nights, "I hope that Charlotte is keeping you safe as she always did...I just wish that I had the strength to do that too" Hayley had then reached into the pocket of her hoodie where she pulled out a plush of a small, yellow bear with a purple top hat and bowtie to match, "I carry him with me sometimes," her voice is sincere as she holds back the tears that she has been fighting since they lost him, "you know that me and Mikey never meant it, right? For you to die? We never wanted you to get hurt...but I guess you just think of us as a set of assholes" she sighs, chuckling slightly at herself as she continued to speak to the empty bed until sleep took over her.
A sudden rustling had awoken Hayley. She opens her crusted eyes groggily, rubbing them with her knuckles as she yawned. Sitting up from the plush pillows, she discovers that she had returned to her own bed some time in the night. She turns her head towards the alarm clock that sits upon her bedside table, finding that it had completely shut off. "What the f-" she begins before being cut off by the faint sound of clanking metal coming from somewhere down the hall. "Dad...?" She slowly gets out of bed, grabbing the flashlight from her old childhood toybox as she begins to tip-toe towards the door, "Mikey...?" Slowly opening the door, she holds her breath in order to keep as quiet as possible, should it be someone not meant to be in the house. All she can see is a shadow on the wall with a large beak and sharp teeth. Before she can take a closer look, the loud ringing of an alarm sets off in her ears.
Hayley shoots up out of bed, sweat framing her forehead. Confusions runs across her face as she believed she had already been awake. She takes in her surrounding, noting that she is still at her younger brother's bedside. She never returned to bed after all. She runs her fingers through her red hair before standing up and making her way out of the bedroom, gripping the door handle with a shaken hand as she steps out into the hallway and makes her way to her twin brother's door. As she softly knocks on Michael's door, she opens it without a response, entering his room.
"What do you want, twat?" He asks, grunting at her as he tosses a yellow tennis ball into the air before catching it again. She remains still, trying to string together a sentence in her head. "I said: What do you want?"
"Mikey-" she begins, "did I ever leave Garrett's room last night?" She asks him as she picks at her nailbeds, a horrible habit she had developed when nervous or anxious.
"Why the hell were you in there?" Michael asks as he raises an eyebrow, his tone one of slight annoyance and disbelief. "Bloody hell, Hayz, you really need to stop believing in ghosts. He's gone! He can't hear you!"
"But what if-?"
"What?" Michael snaps, getting impatient with his sister.
"What if he can?"
Michael pauses, staring at her, looking for any sign she may be pulling his leg, "Did you get another stash of shrooms from Jeremey or something?" He accuses her, attempting to find a solution or reason as to why she constantly feels the need to express her theories on the supernatural.
"What? No!" She protests, not wanting to believe what Michael was suggesting, "I haven't had or taken anything for weeks!"
"Okay, chill! I was only asking because you're making yourself look Schizophrenic."
"Thanks..."
"You're welcome."
Soon after, the twins find themselves heading downstairs. There is no sign of their mother and father. Heading into the kitchen, Michael spots a small, purple post-it-note attached to the very front of the refrigerator.
'Suits came early, food in the fridge' - Dad
"He normally takes us with him." Michael states as he pulls down the note with his fingers.

***
June 22, 1995

Hayley has been speeding off into the night, the road lights above barley making their way into the truck as she continues to recklessly drive home. The streets of Hurricane are ones she wishes to forget. Maybe one day that day will come. Coming to a halt, she pulls up the handbrake and quickly exits the vehicle and up to the front door of the complex, punching in the pin to enter the building. Once inside, she races herself up the winding staircase to the seventh floor, leading to her apartment '2465'. Blood and sweat still drips down her skin from her forehead, mingling with her wild mane of unkempt orange and purple hair. All she could do was cry. Cry for the night. Cry for her brother. Cry for her sister. Cry for Michael. And somehow...Cry for her father. A thought runs through her mind, a thought of which could either change or make the situation she had found herself in worse. But she finds herself taking the risk anyways. She knew she had to regain contact with Henry one way or another; but she knows that Henry won't speak without a good cause, nor will he cooperate if he so much sniffs the words of an Afton.

***
June 12, 1995

"You pathetic, worthless pieces of shit!" Yelled William as the pale apparitions of five singular children draw nearer to him. "Look how puny you are! How worthless you are!" He taunts as he finds himself cornered against the concrete wall of the backroom of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, "I made you!"

***
June 22, 1995

Hayley recalls the animatronics being broken down into pieces, sections of their endoskeletons missing as she and her brother entered the pizzeria the following morning after their father's unseen demise.
The phone is laid out in front of her on the dusty kitchen counter of her apartment. 'What do I say to him? Will he think I'm crazy?' She shakes her head, trying to dispel the negative thoughts that plague her mind as she slowly reaches over to the telephone, dialling 0100-555-637 into the wheel. The phone rings.
"Hello? Emily residence!"
"Henry!" Hayley exclaims, a little too boldly than what she would've liked.
"Afton?"
"Yeah. Its me. Look, I know this is short notice, but would you be able to stop by later? It's important, I swear!"
Henry sighs through the phone, the same, rough tone he used to use when she would get into trouble when she was younger, "Hayley, I know it's not as simple as that considering you've called at this ungodly hour," - 5AM- "What happened? And don't lie to me, young lady."
"Michael is in trouble."
There is a pause, and then "What kind of trouble?" Henry asks, suspicion sinking into his voice. From when they were little, the Afton twins often found themselves in the midst of trouble and mischief, but there is a certain sense of concern in Henry's tone that shows that maybe the severity of this phone call is worse than he thought.
"Me and Mike found tapes in Dad's study shortly after he died. He told us to go to his Rentals facility below the house, and..."
"And what, Hayley?"
"We found Lizzie..."
It had been years since Henry had found himself on an Afton's doorstep, one he believed was a mistake. He steps out of his car and makes his way inside the apartment complex and up to Hayley's. He did not welcome with open arms, however.
He sits across Hayley on the worn couch, leaving the coffee mug she had given him untouched. The clocks ticks away painfully, almost overshadowed by the running of the refrigerator as the two sit in an uncomfortable silence.
Henry sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, slightly pushing up his glasses, "Hayley...you can't just-"
"Do you think I'm fucking lying?"
"I never said that," Henry sighs, "I was going to say that you can't just tell me that your dead sister is alive."
"Who said she's alive?" Hayley muses, fixing her gaze from the coffee mug to Henry's eyes.
"What did you and Michael do?"

Chapter Text

November 10, 1987

Two weeks prior, the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's pizza had finally opened to the public. All seems to be going well. Rumours still spread amongst customers and guests of the old establishment, fearing the idea that more children will go missing. In the backroom - Parts and Services - sits the animatronics from the past pizzeria, including two from the old diner. They had been kept for parts rather than scrap, for anything that Henry deemed "salvageable". The new robots have been a success! Their new cute-sy design had proven great for Fazbear Entertainment's ratings and stocks. All except...Toy Foxy. The children have now been referring to him as "The Mangle", used as a tear-apart-and-put-back-together attraction. The employees have simply given up repairing her. True to Henry's word, the new and improved animatronics now have built-in facial scanners to detect any criminal activity, putting many of the establishments patrons at ease.
Hayley had found herself at the prize counter, her frail fingers grazing over a large, blue box topped with a red bow-tie. Inside lies a robot that had come from the old diner - The Puppet. The very one that had been tasked to protect the children, and the very one that had almost destroyed itself when looking over Charlotte Emily.

***
October 31, 1983

Henry Emily is a man known and beloved by all who enter Fredbear's Family Diner. He is a man who always had a smile on his face, happy to answer enquiries and engaging to all customers. Henry took pride in his work and his restaurant, unlike his business partner who only seemed to have an eye on the finances. Nonetheless, Henry was a great man; and he took the most pride in his daughter, Charlotte.
Charlotte is a young girl and quite bright for her age. She always followed the rules, never being one to cause trouble or a disturbance.
The rain was pouring down thick outside of Fredbear's. Charlotte had sat herself close to the "Security" Puppet her father had made. Her gaze often drifts from the thin robot down to her wrist where a small, green band sits.

"Hey, Charlie!" a young boy sneers behind her, "still got no friends that you decide to hang out with a robot?" Four young children stand behind him, all wearing the same wrist-band as Charlotte but in different colors. They seem to find the boy at the front amusing, and let out smalls laughs and snickers as they watch the young girl stand up from her knees.
"My Daddy owns this place!" She says, putting on a brave face and puffing out her chest to make herself seem bigger; but all the other children do is laugh.
"Oh really? What is your Daddy going to do?" The boy continues further, slowly moving towards Charlie and backing her up towards the red doors.
Unfortunately for the girl, the other children had forced her outside of the fire exit, laughing at her through the window as tears stream down her rosy cheeks. She bangs her small fists on the doors, yelling for anyone to come to her rescue as she watches the children leave further into the diner. And just when she thought all hope was gone, bright, yellow headlights slowly make their way towards her. Charlotte wipes her eyes on her sleeve, sniffling as the car comes to a halt. A very, familiar car. "Uncle Will!" she cries, wrapping her arms around the tall man's legs once he gets out of the car.

"Charlie, my dear. What are you doing outside in the deluge all by yourself? Not misbehaving, are you?" William asks her, a sly gleam in his eye making Charlotte recoil slightly.
"No, sir. The other children were being mean to me, and now I'm outside!" she explains as she begins to cy again. William crouches down to her level, placing his hand on her back as if he was trying to console her. He gently speaks to her, although, there is something sinister in his words as he speaks. Charlotte could feel herself getting a little frightened, by why would she? This is her Uncle Will, after all. The man she has known since she was born, a good friend of her father's. William slowly begins to lead Charlotte around to the back of the building. Through her haze of tears, she doesn't know what is happening until she feels a sharp, cold object sink into her back, causing the young girl to scream in pain as William twists the blade deeper into her skin. Her blood slowly begins to pour out, staining her pretty pink shirt and overalls in the back. She feels weak, beginning to go limp in her Uncle's arms as she lets out silent screams, blood pouring from her mouth.

William lets go of Charlotte's body, leaving her to lay between the two dumpsters to soon be found by Henry's security Puppet as he steps back into his Purple Dodge and drives away; the body of the little girl becoming smaller and smaller in his rear-view mirror.

***
November 10, 1987

The new Fazbear Band have been performing for almost the whole day before William eventually finds Hayley, sat by herself in a storage closet. "Hayley? What on earth are you doing, girl?" he asks her as he crouches down in front of her. William gently brushes stray parts of her hair away from her face, his thumb lingering on the raised scar on her cheek.
"I just...wanted to be alone, Dad." she sighs, slowly making eye-contact with him.
The tall man places his hands under her arms, pulling the teen up from the floor, "Well, you can't mope around in here for the rest of the day. Come. Walk with me."
Hayley reluctantly follows her father out from the supply closet, allowing him to lead her through the now quiet restaurant. Almost everyone had gone home for the evening, including the staff. Her eyes linger on the show stage, staring at the animatronics displayed. Of course, they are much different from their predecessors and they play the part well. But something feels...to different. Williams voice slowly pulls her from her thoughts.
"What?"
"It's 'pardon', young lady. And I said; one day I hope you or Michael will take over this business."
"And why would we want to do that?" she snorts, rolling her eyes as she turns away from him, staring at the 'new' Freddy and his rosy red cheeks.
"Because you are family, my dear. And that is what family do, I have built this empire so that we could live comfortably. And one day, I would like you and Michael to revel in that glory." William's tone is sharp, not one she's never heard from him. The dark gleam in his eye is enough for her to understand that this isn't just one of her father's 'heart-to-hearts'. She knows well enough what he expected of her and her brother, and she does not like it one bit. As he leaves her side and exits the building, she finds herself gravitating towards the robots once more, "This was never your empire, Dad. It was Edwin's'..."

***
June 22, 1995

Earlier that day...

"Where the hell did you find this?" Hayley asks Michael as she touches the cold metal of what seem to be the doors of an elevator. Michael had already pushed the bookshelf away.
"I-I- There were the tapes," he stutters, "I found them after Dad went missing. They lead me in here. He asked me to go down there and find something. I've already been down there five times."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Did you find something, dumbass?" Hayley sneers, never taking her eyes off of the mysterious elevator in their father's study. "Why the fuck is this thing even in the house?! Is this not a hazard or something?"
"I won't tell you what I found...but I'll show you." Michael then pulls his sister inside of the elevator that is adorned in posters and strange lights. One of the posters catches her eye, and Michael finds himself looking at it too - a shiny clown animatronic with bright green eyes and bright red hair. He gently places a hand on her shoulder, squeezing just a tiny bit, "It wasn't your fault..."
"Is this why you're fucking bringing me down here?! Is this where he's been keeping this fucking thing?" she snaps, eyes blazing with fury, hurt, and fear as she stares down her brother.

"Welcome back to your last day on the job."

"What the fuck is that?!" Hayley screeches, looking around the elevator as Michael chuckles before reaching behind him and pulling out a small, yellow device.
"Relax, it's just my Hand Unit." Michael says as Hayley continues to glare at him.
When the elevator comes to a stop, Michael motions for Hayley to step out first, watching the way her face scrunches up as she observes the vent in front of them as if it were a joke. Rolling her eyes, she gets down onto the floor and begins to crawl into the vent, Michael following suit.

When they reach the primary control module, Hand-Unit speaks again, "Let's check Ballora, and make sure she's on her stage."
After the four previous nights, Michael had found himself stuck in his new routine; checking the animatronics, and if they are not on their stages, administering a controlled shock. With practised ease, Michael shocks Ballora.
"Great! Now lets check on Funtime Foxy."
"Mike...are you even looking? What is this? What are the shocks for?"
Michael ignores Hayley, moving over to the right side of the room and giving Funtime Foxy the same treatment as Ballora. But Hayley could see neither of the respective animatronics. Michael's sunken eyes tells her that he has lost his care on whether they are there or not.

“Great, it looks like everything is as it should be in Funtime auditorium. Your task today will involve more maintenance work. Circus Baby had a rough day, and is in need of repair. You will be required to reach the parts and service room by once again sneaking through Funtime auditorium. As always, please proceed with caution.” Hand-Unit explains as the right vent door opens; and Michael, paying no mind to Hayley's protests, begins to crawl through the small hatch and inside the Funtime Auditorium.
Reluctantly, Hayley follows Michael into the auditorium, her boots squeaking against the cold tiles of the floor as she slowly begins to walk towards Michael on the other side of the room. The show stage is just barley lit, the colorful lights surrounding it seemed to have dimmed with years of neglect despite the reoccurring maintenance checks. Funtime Foxy is nowhere in sight. Michael watches his sister with a close eye as she moves towards him. He places a finger over his mouth, signalling for her to be quiet as he opens the door to Parts and Service.
Inside the unlit room sits an almost empty shell of a large animatronic with red pigtails, causing Hayley to take a step back as recognition and regret builds up in her stomach. Here it stands a decade later, the same robot she had allowed to take their little sister.

***
March 15, 1985

"Daddy won't let me play with her..." the young girl weeps, her small fingers digging into her older sister's battle jacket that is adorned in pins and badges.
"Well, I'm not Daddy, am I?" Hayley smirks, pulling the young girl along with her as they make their way to the main show stage of their father's new restaurant, 'Circus Baby's Pizza World', hosting new animatronics such as: Funtime Freddy with a Bon Bon hand puppet, Funtime Foxy, Ballora, the Minireena's, Bidybab's, and last of all...Circus Baby. Circus Baby was absolutely beautiful in little Elizabeth's eyes. She loved how the robot was so shiny that she could see her own reflection. She was covered in glitter and smelled like birthday cake.

Hayley roughly shoves Elizabeth inside of the room. "Go on, go say hi." Hayley encourages, "I'll be just outside the door keeping watch for if Dad comes." and with that, she slams the door shut, leaving the young girl on her own in such a large room for a very big robot. Elizabeth shyly begins to walk towards it as it sings and dances on the stage, the faceplates slowly lifting with each small jitter of movement. Once the girl is close enough, the singing stops. The music keeps on playing in the background, Elizabeth's eyes completely focused on this wonderful animatronic before her, completely mesmerised by the way the stage lights bounce off of the shiny metal and reflecting onto the walls like the disco balls she had seen in movies that Michael had shown her. Her eyes widen as Circus Baby's torso begins to open up, and a claw-like hand springing forth holding an ice-cream cone. Elizabeth giggles at the sight, completely overjoyed that after all this time, this is what her father had made for her. Her father. She happily steps closer to the animatronic, reaching her small hand out until the claw drops the ice-cream, and then...
screams.

Chapter Text

July 22, 1983

"But I don't wanna stay with Hayley and Michael, they're mean to me!" Garret, a young boy with brown hair and blue eyes cries as he clings onto his mother's skirt. His mother gently kneels herself down to his height, taking his small hands in hers, her touch as light as can be as her pink lips upturn into a warm smile that matches her kind, green eyes, "It's only for a couple of hours, sweetheart. Your father and I will be back before you know it." she places a gentle kiss on his forehead before standing back up, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders, "Charlie and Lizzie will be here too for you to play with. Don't you worry, everything will be alright." She takes her brown, leather purse from the coat rack, matching nicely with her teal polka-dotted dress, and places it over her shoulder. To Garret, his mother was the most kindest, sweetest, most beautiful person he knew and he always looked up to her for guidance and comfort. "Okay, Mommy..." he wraps his arms around himself as his slightly older sister prances into the room to say goodbye. Elizabeth throws herself into her mother's arms, squeezing as hard as she can around the older woman's neck. William descends the wooden staircase wearing his usual purple suit. Elizabeth giggles upon seeing her father, "Mummy, Daddy looks like grape juice!" she laughs, her red curls swaying with every little giggle.

William and his wife bid their goodbye's to their two youngest children just as Henry and Emilie pull up in front of the house, allowing their daughter Charlotte to exit the vehicle to join Garret and Elizabeth inside the Afton residence for their couple's date-night. "I'll go tell Hayley that Mummy and Daddy have left!" Elizabeth says, jumping up the old staircase to her older sister's room. Elizabeth dares not tell Michael. Garret dares not tell Michael. Charlotte dares not tell Michael. He scares the children, always pulling all sorts of pranks just to see them cry, tormenting them relentlessly as he'd pull off the head of a teddy-bear or lock them inside a dark closet. Thankfully, Hayley was more reasonable and the preferred babysitter. Indeed, she could be just as ruthless as her twin, but she would at least keep them safe and make sure they're fed.

Garret finds himself in the playroom, his small hands clutching onto his little golden bear his father had given him. Keeping the small bear close, he opens up his toybox as Hayley strolls into the room with Elizabeth and Charlotte in front of her. Her red eyes tell him that she's been naughty again. Garret never understood why their father would get angry at her for "eating lettuce" as she'd told him, but it makes their father mad, nonetheless. "You guys stay in here. I'm ordering take-out and you can share. Bedtime's at 7, ya hear me?" the sharpness of her tone makes Garret's skin crawl, but at least she isn't shouting for once. "Yes, Hayley." the children say in unison. The teen girl takes one look around the room before shutting the door behind her, her footsteps fading as she walks back down the hallway.

As promised, Hayley had ordered pizza, making sure the children are all fed before sending them back upstairs, making sure to listen for their tiny footsteps scattering towards the bathroom to brush their teeth. Elizabeth clings onto her older sister's leg desperately, begging her to allow them to stay up just a tiny bit longer. Hayley's green eyes darken at the young girl, roughly shaking her leg in hopes to get the small red-head to let go. "Get your fucking ass to bed, Lizzie!" she growls, grabbing the young girl by her elbows and hoisting her over her shoulder as she kicks and screams at Hayley. Charlotte has already placed herself into Elizabeth's bed, using the pillow that her father had brought with her to rest her head against the footrest. "Elizabeth, fucking please, god-damnit! I can't deal with your fucking tantrums!" Hayley practically screams, gripping onto her little sister's legs as her fingers grip onto the doorframe to her pink bedroom. Elizabeth screams defiantly, causing Hayley to smack her leg in retaliation, leaving a red handprint on Elizabeth's pale calf.
"Get to fucking bed, you little shit!" Michael yells, storming out of his bedroom and towards Hayley and Elizabeth. Elizabeth swears that she could see steam coming out of his ears as his hands clench into fists. He roughly shoves Garret out of the way as he grabs Elizabeth and throws her onto her bed. "Now fucking stay there!" he growls as he slams her bedroom door shut, the pictures on the walls swaying from the rough bang. Garret quickly rushes himself into his bedroom through his haze of tears, tossing up his blankets and crawling beneath them as he listens to his older siblings yell at one another.
"I had that handled!"
"Clearly you fucking didn't, knobhead!"
Their yells seems to grow more quiet as the twins make their way down the stairs to wait for their parent's return. "It's not my fault that Mom enable's Lizzie." Hayley sighs as she plops herself down onto the worn couch that has indeed seen better days - even years! "What Mum wants to do isn't our business, Hayls, you just need to be more tough with her." Michael pushes his brown hair out of his eyes as he looks at his sister. Hayley huffs, folding her arms across her chest, "I smacked her, but clearly that isn't enough these days".

By the time their mother and father had returned home, the children are fast asleep - including Hayley and Michael, who are sat next to one another on the couch, heads tilted back as the pair let out soft snores. Their father quietly removes his coat as their mother makes her way upstairs, once peering into Elizabeth's room, seeing that she and Charlie are curled up together on Elizabeth's pastel pink bed; and then peering into Garret's room. Upon seeing the young boy hidden beneath the covers, she sighs to herself, her eyes dropping and a frown forming on her face. She pulls away to the blanket to reveal her son's sleeping form with red rims around his eyes that show he had been crying. She gently pulls his body along the bed till his head rests on his pillow, making sure that he is still grasping onto his yellow bear. She tucks him back inside the blanket before pressing a kiss to his forehead. She looks towards the analogue clock, noting that the time is now 00:24 and she smiles softly, turning back to the sleeping boy and whispering, "Happy Birthday, sweetheart."

Chapter Text

June 22, 1994

Tick tock tick tock. The old grandfather clock rings in the ears of many, a sound determined to break all manner of silence. The chimes and ticks suspended by rusted gears, creaks against withered maple wood that should be accompanied by a warm hearth blazing bright, reflecting ve;vet curtains. At least, that's what Hayley wished it was, rather than the plastic clock that sat in her kitchen, or the broken boiler that once kept the room warm. Henry sat quietly, ever the attentive Uncle, keeping his eye on the young woman's cheek, the scar of old denting her soft, pale skin. He's afraid to speak, not wanting to make her feel worse, but he builds up that courage, "You and Michael found your sister...inside a machine?"

"That's the problem, Hen. I don't even know if she was in there. I saw the empty shell." her voice breaks, letting out a small hint of vulnerability, a feeling she has kept buried for more years than she would ever admit. Hastily, she stand up, legs shaking as though she is caught in a blizzard and is seeking shelter. Henry watches as Hayley carries herself towards the kitchen. He carefully stands up in case she may need some assistant. She appears as though her legs are about to give out beneath her as she takes every slow step. She grips the handle of the refrigerator, twisting and opening it up before she reaches inside to grab a bottle of off-brand beer, "Want one?" she asks Henry, her voice timid and shaking as she turns to face the older man. Henry shakes his head; she shrugs and begins to look for a bottle opener.

Henry sighs, running his hand through his greying beard as he sits back down on her worn couch. His fingers prod and pull at the fraying fabric as Hayley sits back down besides him, taking a large swig from her beer bottle.
"What's happened to ya, kid?" Henry asks sincerely, gazing from her green eyes and down to the bottle in her hand that matches. She snorts, face scrunching up with a hint of disgust, "My father being a dick happened. And the fact that I basically just watched my brother get murdered!"

***

Beyond the fog that seeps through the city lights, passing through dark ally's and deep into the forest below the old Afton home, Michael struggles as he wheezes and writhes in pain, dark crimson spilling down his jaw and neck from catching himself on a wilted tree branch not too far back. "Now we can be complete," the voice of a young girl splits through his dazed mind.
"Elizabeth...no...it's me...Michael!" he tries to back away, fist clenching into the dirt beneath him in a failed attempt to fight back. The twisted mass of wires and eyes continues to move towards him in jagged movements, holding out it's metallic hand in an almost friendly gesture.
"I will put you back together." from the amalgamation, the sweet voice of the long-gone child had drowned in the whirring of the machine's voice box, distorting as it speaks. Michael screams as it lurches forwards, grasping his legs in the tangles and pulling him along the deadwood and detritus. He fails to hook his bloodied fingers into the foliage to anchor himself to a halt, but the Funtimes are determined to take him into their personal hell as Michael's head crashes against a rough boulder that brings darkness to his vision before slipping into unconsciousness.

A slam of pressurised metal doors awaken the young Afton, pulling him from the darkness. He blinks in an attempt to clear his vision, his body is bound against a hard, cold slab of steel. He thrashes his arms against the leather restraints as panic surges through his body, till he hears the voice of his guide. The one he trusted. The one that brought him back to this place.

"Why didn't you trust me?" the AI's effort of sounding upset is overshadowed by it's hollow nature. "Why didn't you believe me?"

"Elizabeth-"

"I thought you liked me. I thought I did everything right."

Michael's mind was frazzling by the second. Why was he so keen to believe that this monster is his dead sister? Why did he allow himself to get caught in another trap laid out by his father...again?

"We need you, so we can leave. We need you, so that we can look like you."

Static rang in his ears as he tried to wake himself up. This has to be a dream. This MUST be a dream; a stupid dream where he will wake up in his own bed, warm as he listens to the echoes of city traffic just beyond the town.

"Isn't this why you came here? To be with her again?"

He slowly lifts up his head to peer at the clown-face beyond the glass, watching as it twitches and jostles with every small movement. His weakness is apparent, even to him as his throat closes up from holding back the tears that threaten to cascade down and stain his cheeks.

"The scooper only hurts for a moment..."

Sirens ring, the light blazing red that flashes through his vision before his breathing stops. The metal rod lurches forwards and crashes into his chest, piercing his skin and hooking under his ribs, following by pulling backwards and ripping his chest open. He tries to scream, but all he can release is silence as blood ascends up his throat, mingling with his choking breath as it pours down his chin. His ribs have been shattered and ripped apart, his body open like flower petals that have finally bloomed when his heart stops beating and his guts spill onto the tiles below. A perfect home for the monster to live inside till it frees itself from it's fleshy vessel.