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"Connection terminated."
Two simple words, two words that would be the start of the end for not only him, but for the man that was like his son, and the man with whom he had been in love with for so long.
Henry sat in his office, trying to go through with his speech. He knew that he couldn't turn back now, he had already started his speech, damned them all to this fate as soon as he had said those two words.
Instead of starting off his speech as he had meant to, he instead said another set of words that had not been pre-planned:
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Elizabeth. If you still even remember that name."
He took a deep, shaky breath, moving away from the microphone so that the souls inside the building wouldn't hear him.
"But I'm afraid you've been misinformed."
A few hours ago he had been perfectly sure this was the right thing to do, and deep down, he knew it was- this was the only way to free the souls trapped in these corridors, the vengeful spirits that are attempting to harm the wrong man, one of which knowing they're attacking the wrong man- as he is the one the souls are truly looking for, although he didn't commit the crimes they think he did.
"You are not here to recieve a gift. Nor, have you been called here by the individual you assume. Although, you have indeed been called."
His emotions were getting in the way again, his feelings for one of the souls trapped in the hallways that never became corrupted after death. One of the souls that had stayed the same as they always had been.
"You have all been called here."
Henry attempted to keep the tears from dripping down his face as he got ready to execute the next part of his plan. He wasn't afraid of his new impending death, he had accepted he would likely die to something of this nature a long time ago. No, he wasn't even crying for the man in the office that he had practically raised as his own son. He was crying for a soul he was about to set free in the worker's eyes, but a man he was about to kill in his own eyes.
"Into a labyrinth of sound and smells, misdirection and misfortune. A labyrinth with no exit. A maze with no prize."
His voice sounded monotone, but that was because that was the only way he would keep his tears from showing in his voice. Two people in the building would recognize this, a soul and the worker, Michael. The other soul that could possibly recognize this mechanism of coping didn't seem to remember him, or if she did, it wasn't in a fond light.
"You don't even realize that you are trapped."
His voice caught as he said this, thinking about one of the souls he was 'freeing'. He figured that the soul knew he was trapped, that he likely wouldn't escape this. Henry flipped through the cameras, hoping to find the animatronic that the soul possessed- the one that still had the rotting remains of the once human body that the soul belonged to inside of it.
"Your lust for blood has driven you in endless circles. Chasing the cries of children in some unseen chamber, always seeming so near. Yet somehow out of reach."
Henry remembered how one of these souls once worked with him in a children's restaurant together, their dream of working with kids mixing with their love of robotics in their location. He remembered how the soul helped him invent springlock suits, the cause of his friend's demise. Henry never forgave himself for not making the springlocks lock tighter, and for not checking the backroom sooner.
"But, you will never find them. None of you will. This is where your story ends."
Henry took a deep breath, trying not to sob as he said that. He pushed a button, putting the incinerators on overdrive. With each word of his speech, he was further accepting the fact he was about to kill the living soul of his best friend, the person with whom he was madly in love with. The person who he raised as a son's father.
"And to you, my brave volunteer, who somehow found this job listing not intended for you."
He attempted to steady his breathing as he spoke, hoping to help Michael feel comfort in his last few moments.
"Although, there was a way out planned for you, I have a feeling that's not what you want. I have a feeling you are right where you want to be."
He said these words, knowing they were true. Michael had told him that when his plan went through, he wanted to die along with them, along with the souls of his father and sister and once childhood friend, and to maybe make peace with the little brother whose life ended too soon due to his own faults.
"I am remaining as well. I am nearby."
He would be sharing this tomb with his best friend whom he could not save. He wouldn't ever truly leave the man with whom he had fallen in love with in college, the man he couldn't have before, and wouldn't get to have now, unless they both went to heaven together- if there was one as he believed, that is.
"This place will not be remembered, and the memory of everything that started this, can finally begin to fade away. As the agony of every tragedy should."
The issue was, he WANTED this place to be remembered. This was the legacy he and his friend had built for themselves, the legacy that got ruined by the lunatic that framed his friend for the murders they committed and the wrongful haunting of spirits that possessed animatronics they built. This was the legacy he and his friend wanted, successful owners of a children's entertainment chain, recognized robotic engineers, inventors, and men who could take care of their families.
"And to you monsters trapped in the corridors. Be still, and give up your spirits. They don't belong to you."
He hated calling he and his friend's inventions monsters. He knew that was what they became, but he still hated it- he remembered building these with his friend, he remembered the first circuit he made for each endoskeleton. He remembered the joy on he and his friend's faces, the excitement when they finally built a machine that worked, that could walk and move and even had its own music box. He remembered how excited he was as they hugged, jumping up and down like teen schoolgirls as they practically squealed.
"As for most of you, I believe there is peace, and perhaps more, waiting for you after the smoke clears."
He intended that possibly some of these souls would go to have a happy afterlife. He didn't know if any of these souls deserved to go to hell or wherever else, but he hoped they would go to heaven if possible.
"My daughter, if you can hear me, I knew you would return as well. It's in your nature to protect the innocent. I'm sorry that on that day, the day you were shut out and left to die, no one was there to lift you into their arms, as you have lifted others into yours."
He wanted to sob as he spoke to his daughter, Charlotte, feeling horrible. He knew that his business partner had been outside with her when it rained outside, hoping to bring her inside, when they were locked out. He had been trying to get his keys from the storage unit in the side of the building outside and had his back turned to her. The security puppet had managed to get outside, and because Henry had forgotten to code William's face into its database as to who were the guardians of Charlie, the puppet attempted to grab Charlie and bring her back inside to her dad. It was horrible, the rain had caused the puppet to short-circuit, and, being made of wires and electricity, electrocuted his daughter when it touched her. His friend was too late when he turned around, and the scream he let out was horrible when he realized what happened right behind him. Henry had run outside soon after, finding him sobbing over the poor girl. He explained, and of course, Henry forgave him, it wasn't his fault.
"And then, what became of you. I should have known, you wouldn't be content to disappear. Not my daughter. I couldn't save you then, so let me save you now. It's time to rest. For you, and for those you have carried in your arms. This ends. For all of us."
He took a deep breath. The speech was supposed to end here, but he couldn't help but continue. The fire hadn't reached its potential yet, and he still had time. He wanted to say a few final words.
"For one of you... William, I know you can hear me. I'm...I'm sorry, old friend. I should've made sure that the locks were tighter, that they weren't so sensitive. I should've checked that back room sooner. And now, here you are- trapped in a hallway of air vents, possessing the same suit in which you died, the same suit I built. I wish I could've spared you from this fate, Will. Just know that I will not leave this building, that I will burn to ash here with you, that you will not be alone in his tomb."
Henry took a shaky breath, letting out a sob. This time, he didn't bother to move away from the transmitter, and everyone inside could hear him.
"Maybe if I had known that this would be our end, I could've fixed our mistakes. I could've fixed the puppet and saved Charlie, I could've found a way to clear your name, I could've fixed the springlocks better so that Evan would have survived, I could've done so much to help our families. But now, here is our final night alive- for all of us. I'd say let's make it a good one, but what good is there about dying in a burning building?"
A laugh without humour escaped his lips.
"Maybe I could've confessed how I'd loved you since college. This isn't really the best time to let that secret out, is it? Sorry to make you hear this, Michael."
All sense of formality had dropped from his mind, all kind of confidence leaving him, returning him to his usual college self. He could've sworn he'd heard Michael yell back a "It's fine Uncle Henry!" in response to his apology, but it could just be wishful thinking.
"Perhaps I'll see you again in the afterlife, William. Maybe we'll be reborn in a timeline where we can redo this project, meet all over again, and recreate the life we had set out to make for ourselves- just this time, we won't allow it to mess up. We'll have our legacy, a legacy untarnished by some random murderer."
A soft smile dawned on his face.
"I love you, William V. Afton. Sorry I basically claimed your son as mine, I sort of lived out a fantasy there, didn't I?"
This time, the laugh wasn't empty. He hoped he was humouring William with this random ramble-on as well. Maybe the slight bit of Elizabeth's spirit that was still there was giggling at her Uncle's antics. Maybe Michael was jokingly pretending to throw up at the sound of his Uncle going all lovey-dovey and mushy over his dad. Maybe Charlie, somewhere inside, was smiling at how her dad seemed to be happy right now.
"In another life, we'll have a better reality. I swear it, Will. We'll all have a better life. Elizabeth will be there giggling over an ice cream sundae, Michael will be joking around with his sister, Evan will be happily laughing and sitting on your shoulders, and Charlie will be on mine calling Michael short. Me and you will have the life we wanted, and it'll all be great. We'll have a good life, I promise that."
It was wishful thinking, he knew it, but it was all comfort for himself, because he knew that in a few minutes time they'd all be dead.
"Rest easy, everyone. It was nice to have you all in my life at some point. And Will, I know you were never one for pain. Just remember the times in college where we were idiots if you want to think about something. Michael, think about you and Jeremy messing around at the diner every now and then. And Elizabeth? Picture a bunch of ice cream. Charlie, just imagine me there with you. I'd hold you right now if I could. We'll have a good life someday, I promise."
The heat started to burn so much, and Henry spoke his last final two words into the transmitter before breaking the connection and playing a song instead.
"Connection terminated."
He pushed play, allowing a song he and William once knew to play over the speakers as they began to burn. They would die in this tomb together, and maybe they'd have some sort of good afterlife together. Maybe.
"I love you, William Afton," Henry spoke, allowing those to be his last two words before he closed his eyes and allowed the fire to take him to death.