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It was the end.
That’s what he was telling himself, even as the red on the thermometer climbed higher in the small office. The flames hadn’t quite reached here yet, but the smell of burning had long since permeated the room.
The speech Henry gave was touching, and Michael, not having anything to add, simply kept quiet. His sister didn’t recognize him, clearly, and at this point, he didn’t have anything he wanted to say to his father.
In the years it had taken him to find the man, he had come up with a lot of things he thought he had wanted to say, but now that they were all here, he was tired. He didn’t want to get up and hunt the likely burning springlocked man down just to say words he wasn’t going to listen to.
It would be over soon.
He could hear the crackling fire and collapsing furniture through the vents on either side of him. Given how the vents were connected, it didn’t tell him exactly where the flames were, but he could only imagine it wouldn’t be much longer before they reached him.
If his brother was here, he hadn’t shown himself at all. Henry had mentioned that other spirits might be there, but Michael didn’t have a way to know for sure. He could only hope that the poor child would finally be at rest.
Besides, with Michael dead, Evan’s killer would finally be gone, and that had to count for something.
He flicked off the computer for the last time and leaned back while stretching his arms and legs. Coughing cut off that action as smoke leaked through, and the heat burned his lungs. Or whatever was allowing him to breathe. He admittedly didn’t look too hard into his anatomy after The Scooping Incident.
As he tried to catch his breath, he took off the bear mask that he often wore at work and tossed it to the side. It was making things more uncomfortable than he wanted to deal with, and he didn’t want the thing melting to his face in death.
He didn’t need it anymore.
The action caused a sharp simulated gasp, and Michael whirled around to look for what made it. It was difficult to see anything above the smoke flooding in, but the source of the sound clambered down to the floor and looked up.
Helpy. The animatronic that came with the management package with the express purpose of aiding new managers start up their own pizzeria. He had aided Michael with everything. Playtesting attractions, organizing the building itself, managing schedules, and supposedly even possessing a dealing with lawsuits feature.
The animatronic’s white shell had dark smudges on it already, but Michael wasn’t able to comment on it before Helpy started talking again. “That’s why they came here. You look like-”
He knew exactly where Helpy was going with that thought and flinched at the reminder. “Please don’t finish that sentence.”
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Helpy all but cowered under the desk, and the action immediately sent a pang of guilt into Michael’s chest.
“You didn’t know, it’s fine,” he said while trying to properly kneel down. Waving the awkward topic away, he had a more pressing concern. “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you get out?”
“Mr. Emily dissolved Fazbear Entertainment last night, Mike. There isn’t anywhere for me once this place burns.” It was eerie how the designed to be adorable creature managed to say that with a neutral expression.
Despite the sweat forming on his face, he felt as if someone dumped a bucket of cold water on him. “What?”
“I-I finished my job, right? Did I do well?”
“Of course you did! But that’s not the point-” At this point, he heard something explode, and he lunged towards the small animatronic.
Helpy winced, but allowed Michael to pick him up. Even though Helpy’s body transmitted heat very well, Michael ignored the blistering pain as he cradled Helpy close to his chest. With his friend in tow, he pulled up his shirt to cover his mouth and stood.
“What are you doing?”
Staying low, but taking quick steps, Michael hurried down the hallway. “Getting you out before this whole place goes down.”
“Why?” Somehow the question made Helpy seem even smaller than he was.
“You don’t deserve to die here.”
“But- I don’t have a reason-”
Michael shoulder checked a door to knock it open before continuing. The escape route was clearly marked, and it appeared to be built to hold up longer than the rest of the building. “This is a place for killers and their victims to finally be put to rest. You’re not either. You’re-”
The image of Helpy playing on the rocket ride came to mind. The wild glee as he operated the game built into the controls seemed almost out of place on an entity only meant to assist in business matters.
An eager grin plastered across Helpy’s face as he prepared to jump into the ball pit in order to “test” it.
Joyful shouts of excitement as he showed Michael how to operate the arcade games.
The horror when they both saw visions of the secrets hidden within.
“-Innocent.”
Before Helpy could reply, a flaming clawed hand reached through an opening in a desperate grab. There was only a small gap in the metallic door, but Michael could see that the hand was attached to a familiar figure.
The burning Spring Bonnie suit could only be one person. Michael protectively clutched Helpy closer to his chest as he backed up. “MIIIIKE! HEEELP!” His father screamed in agony.
He couldn’t help but freeze at his father’s voice calling his name for the first time in years. For once, not in anger or that playful way his father spoke when hiding something. But in pain and begging for help.
“Mike, if you’re going to leave, you need to run now.” Helpy’s voice snapped him out of his trance, and with one last painful look at the monster his father had become, Michael dodged around the flailing limb and booked it.
Once they were out of sight from the burning man, Helpy asked, “You knew him?”
“Yes.” Maybe one day he’d fully explain what happened there. If they survived this. There was an unspoken agreement to drop the subject, as there were more immediate concerns.
The next set of doors opened easily, but on the other side, Michael loudly swore.
The remains of the flaming ceiling blocked their path, and the groaning above them did not bode well for the integrity of what remained.
He didn’t have time to think. Backing away from the obvious danger, he turned to find another path. There weren’t many options.
A loud rumble overhead made his decision for him, and he took the first open door that he could. This hallway wasn’t part of the trap that Henry had laid, but he wasn’t counting on the burning wall to hold up for much longer.
As he ran through more and more hallways, the smoke was making it harder to see, and the fire was growing ever larger.
He almost didn’t notice the big black and gray bear on the floor until he almost tripped on them. Startled, he gave the animatronic distance and edged his way to the other door. Lefty appeared to not even notice the intrusion and laid still with their body curled around something he couldn’t quite make out from this angle.
Not wanting to chance the animatronic waking, he slipped out the door quietly. Once they had some distance, Helpy muttered, “… I think Lefty was holding onto Mr. Emily...”
While that raised questions, Michael wasn’t in the right space of mind to ask, and even breathing was getting difficult now.
At this point, he didn’t think there was a way to escape. But if they could survive until the fire burnt out…
With that thought in mind, he bolted towards the only open door that wasn’t leaking smoke. However, smoke was definitely pouring in, and it took him a moment to realize where they were. It was this building’s Parts and Services.
And he knew that there should be a fire extinguisher in here.
He didn’t get to muse on that thought for long before screaming echoed through the halls. It was much closer than he expected, and he immediately hid under the first desk that he could squeeze himself and Helpy under.
As he frantically tried to decipher what was being said, he could feel heavy footsteps through the floor. They were as quick as something with that much weight could move, and Michael held his free hand over his mouth in an attempt to quiet his own breathing even more. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Helpy mirroring him but with using both hands.
“Where did you go? Daddy, help me!” It was Circus Baby’s voice for the question, but the shout sounded much closer to what he remembered Elizabeth sounding like.
Despite everything, the pained call flipped something deep in Michael’s subconscious. He didn’t even notice that tears started to slip down until he felt the shirt covering his face become damp. No, he absolutely was not her father, but he knew she was looking for him and not the decrepit Spring Bonnie suit.
“Better find him quick! I have a-a-a surprise for him!” The sing-song voice of Funtime Freddy wasn’t as loud, but it sent a chill down Michael’s spine. Despite there not being much room, Michael promptly scooted himself as close to the wall as the desk would allow.
As he did, the footsteps grew louder and faster, and the room’s temperature rose even higher. Something was heavy was thrown against the wall as the steps came into the room, and he could hear the crash knocking over several shelves before something thudded against the floor.
It was Circus Baby. His eyes met hers as she laid on the floor, burning.
“Found you.”
His vision was then filled with wires, metal, and even more fire as the amalgamation of three animatronics approached the desk and bent down to look. The Funtime Freddy Faceplate opened a little as the one working eye looked him over. “Oh it’s the birthday boy! Trying to pla-a-ay hide and seek! Come o-o-on ou-out!” One hand was ready to pull him out.
Until the entire building started to rumble. It didn’t affect Michael and Helpy in their position, but it unbalanced the unstable animatronics enough to knock them back to where Circus Baby was laying. They tried to untangle themselves from each other, and in the chaos, they didn’t notice that they were slowly migrating away from their original target.
They also didn’t seem to notice the feeling of gravity losing hold on them as if they were all in an elevator that lost its cable and safety protocols.
As if the world itself decided that this whole building needed to be dragged to hell.
All Michael could feel was falling, falling, falling. He had failed. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know if Helpy could even hear the apology, and it was a useless gesture. But he felt he at least owed him that much.
The impact knocked the breath out of him, and before he could catch it, something heavy landing on top of him, and he knew no more.