Chapter Text
The fire roared like a living beast, its orange tongues licking the walls of the pizzeria, consuming everything in its path. The air was thick with smoke and the acrid stench of burning wood and plastic.
She barely noticed.
Charlie sat slumped in her chamber, her animatronic body battered and broken, the once-pristine Lefty suit now scorched and crumbling. The heat pressed against her metal shell, making it groan and crack, but she didn’t care. She had done what she needed to do. Her friends, her family. They were safe. Cassidy was safe. That was all that mattered. So why did it feel like she had lost everything?
Her glowing eyes flickered weakly as she stared at the flames creeping closer. Her mind drifted, unable to focus on the present, slipping into the past—the fight, the betrayal, the heartbreak.
It had all happened so quickly.
Cassidy, her beloved Cassidy, had been consumed by rage, her once-bright spirit twisted into something dark and unrecognizable. She had fought Charlie with a ferocity that had left her reeling, both physically and emotionally. Cassidy’s screams still echoed in her mind, raw and guttural, filled with desperation that had cut deeper than any blade.
“Cassidy, stop—please—”
Charlie had tried to reason with her, to calm her, but Cassidy was beyond reason. Her eyes, those beautiful, familiar eyes, had been lit with a fire that had nothing to do with the flames now engulfing the pizzeria. She had lunged at Charlie, clawing and thrashing, her movements wild and unhinged. Charlie hadn’t wanted to fight back. She had begged, pleaded, but in the end, she had no choice. The memory of shoving Cassidy's animatronic body into the chamber, sealing the door as she screamed, made something in Charlie crack all over again.
It wasn’t just the fight that haunted her. It was the promise they had made to each other, so long ago.
*****
"Cassidy, please." Charlie’s voice was soft, but there was no mistaking the urgency in it. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached out, her fingers hovering just above Cassidy’s shoulder. The tension between them was thick, and it wasn’t the first time they’d found themselves at a crossroads, but this felt different.
Cassidy stood before her, arms crossed tightly against her chest, eyes narrowed; not with anger, but with frustration. A simmering rage had been building inside her for too long, and it was hard for Charlie to ignore the way her shoulders were rigid, the way her fists were clenched like she was ready to strike. Charlie had seen that anger before. It had been there ever since she first offered the gift of life to the girl. But she had hoped, hoped that they could move beyond it. That they could both leave the pain behind.
“You don’t understand, Charlie,” Cassidy snapped, the words heavy, laced with pain. “He took everything from us. Everything. He tortured us while you were gone and destroyed our friends. He made me watch as he hurt the others. And now you want me to forget all of it? You want me to just forgive and move on? To let him move on after everything he’s done to us?”
Charlie’s heart ached hearing it; seeing Cassidy, the girl she loved, struggling so much. The fire in her eyes wasn’t the love that had always been there, it was the darkness that Afton had forced on them. She had failed her once before, left her to suffer alone. She couldn’t let that happen again. She wouldn’t.
“Cassidy,” Charlie whispered, her voice cracking slightly. “I’m not asking you to forget, and I’m not asking you to forgive him. What I’m asking you is to let go of this hatred. It’s eating you alive, Cassidy. I can see it."
Charlie reached out, her hand trembling as she finally placed it gently upon Cassidy’s shoulder. Her words seemed to take immediate effect, the rigid tension in Cassidy’s frame easing ever so slightly. Her shoulders relaxed, and for a moment, the fire in her eyes dimmed, replaced by something softer, something familiar. But even as the anger faded, a flicker of hesitation lingered in Cassidy’s gaze—a quiet, unspoken doubt that refused to be extinguished.
“I don’t know if I can do that, Charlie. I don’t know how to let go of this… this hate. It’s all I have left. All I’ve had for so long.” Cassidy’s voice wavered, just for a moment, before she hardened again. “He deserves to suffer. He deserves to feel what we’ve felt. All the pain. All the loss. I need him to feel it too.”
“I know, and I know you want revenge. But Cass…” Charlie’s hands reached up to cradle Cassidy’s cheeks, her touch gentle but firm. “I don’t want to lose you to this. I love you too much to watch you destroy yourself over someone who isn’t worth it. You don’t need to carry this anymore. Let me help you. Let’s heal together. For us.”
Cassidy flinched slightly at Charlie’s touch, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she closed her eyes for a brief moment, as if the gentleness of Charlie’s touch was both a comfort and a reminder of everything she was trying to push down.
“I... I don’t want to lose you either.” Cassidy’s voice was barely above a whisper, and it was the softness that made Charlie’s heart ache with tenderness. She stepped closer, nudging their foreheads together, her breath mingling with Cassidy’s.
“Then please, promise me. Promise me you’ll try to let go, that you won't let it consume you. We can’t change the past, but we can choose our future.”
Cassidy hesitated, her breath hitching in her throat. For a moment, she said nothing, and Charlie could feel the tension in her body, the way she seemed to be fighting against herself. But then, finally, Cassidy let out a shaky breath and nodded.
“I promise,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I promise, Charlie.”
The words hung in the air between them, heavy and fragile all at once. Charlie’s heart swelled with relief, but there was a part of her that couldn’t shake the unease lingering in the back of her mind.
“Say it again,” Charlie whispered, her voice barely above a breath. She needed to hear it, to believe it. “Please, Cassidy. Say it again.”
Cassidy hesitated, her gaze dropping to the floor. Her fists trembled at her sides, and for a moment, Charlie thought she might pull away. But then Cassidy took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up, her eyes meeting Charlie’s.
“I promise,” she repeated, her voice stronger this time, though it still carried a hint of that same pain. “I promise, Charlie. For you. I’ll try.”
The words felt like a balm on Charlie’s soul. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t perfect. But it was real. Cassidy was choosing her, choosing them. And in that moment, Charlie knew they could get through this together.
She pulled Cassidy into a tight embrace, feeling her warmth, her heart racing as their bodies pressed together. “Thank you,” Charlie whispered, her voice breaking as she held on to Cassidy, to the promise they had just made. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Cassidy whispered back, her arms wrapping around Charlie, holding her tightly as the weight of their shared promise anchored them together.
*****
That promise had been a lifeline for Charlie. A beacon in the dark. The only thing keeping her afloat in this endless sea of tragedy. Now, as she sat in her chamber, watching the flames crawl closer to the claw marks riddled across Lefty's body, she felt that lifeline snap.
Cassidy had broken her promise.
A loud crash jolted Charlie from her thoughts. Her head snapped up, eyes scanning the room. The foundation, she told herself. It’s just the foundation giving way.
But then she saw it.
The door to her chamber, slightly ajar.
Her heart skipped a beat.
No. It couldn’t be.
The door creaked open further, and there, standing in the doorway, was Cassidy.
Her silhouette was shrouded in shadow, but her eyes, those haunting, glowing red eyes, burned like embers in the darkness. Charlie’s breath hitched. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak.
Cassidy stepped forward, slow and calculated, the heat curling around her like she belonged to it. Her once-familiar face was now a mask of cold indifference, expression devoid of the warmth Charlie had once cherished. She tilted her head, studying Charlie as if she were a complete stranger.
For a moment, the world stilled. The fire, the smoke, the crumbling walls…all of it faded away. It was just them. Charlie’s fingers twitched, barely lifting as she reached toward Cassidy in a silent plea.
Stay with me. Please. Don’t leave me.
Cassidy’s gaze flickered to Charlie’s outstretched hand, and for the briefest moment, just a second, just a breath… something changed. A crack in the armor. A flicker of recognition. A hesitation. For a second, Charlie swore she saw her Cassidy again. Not the vengeful, hollow spirit standing before her, but the girl she had laughed with. The girl who had reached for her hand when she was scared. The girl who held her those lonely nights. The girl who had made a promise.
But then, just as quickly as it came, it was gone.
Cassidy stepped back, her fingers curling at her sides. Her lips twisted into a sneer, cold, cruel, final.
Charlie’s hand dropped. Her hope crumbled.
She wanted to scream, to beg, to tell Cassidy that they could still fix this, that she still loved her. But her voice was trapped, smothered by the heat and the weight of her despair.
All she could do was watch as Cassidy turned her back on her.
At the doorway, Cassidy hesitated, just for a fraction of a second.
Say something. Charlie silently begged. Please. Please look at me.
But Cassidy didn’t. Without a backward glance, she stepped into the smoke, disappearing from view, and Charlie could only watch her go.
Her heart broke all over again. She wanted to follow. To drag Cassidy back, to force her to remember. But her body refused to move. The fire had taken its toll, and she was powerless to stop it. The flames curled closer, the heat searing and suffocating.
Charlie exhaled, the last of her strength slipping away.
"We promised."
The words barely formed in her mind, just a whisper, a wish, a plea that would never be heard. Somewhere in the smoke, she swore she saw Cassidy again; not the girl who had left her, but the one she remembered. A memory. A ghost of what once was. Cassidy smiling at her, bright and warm, like she used to. Before the anger. Before the betrayal.
Charlie let out a soft, broken laugh.
Just a memory.
Just a dream.
Her eyes fluttered shut. The fire raged on.