hiya there!! this chapter was definitely a favorite of mine to write. i enjoyed really getting into the characters while writing this. i would also appreciate feedback! thanks!
tw: murder + slight torture
William sighs as he pulls up to Clara's house. He hated how peaceful it looked. It showed the exact opposite of her personality. It pissed him off. First, she gets a good house and then takes his kids. How was this fair? Simple answer; it wasn't. William knew better than to just knock on her front door, it was how someone gets caught and he had zero plans of getting caught. He wouldn't get caught anyways. William gets out of the car and begins his trek to one of her windows, it was a bathroom. Perfect. He could also find something to knock her out with. Maybe. 'So stupid..' William thought, leaving the window unlocked as he slowly slid it open.
Seriously though. Who would leave their windows unlocked in the middle of the night? It was silly. Clearly, she didn't value her life much if she left entrances to her house unlocked like this. William groaned, that would make the killing less fun for him. A lot less fun for him but he supposed he could work through it. It was still killing someone and what kind of person would he be if he passed up an opportunity like this?
William silently closed the window before looking around the bathroom, smirking as he saw a metal rod. This would be perfect to knock her out with. He just needed to figure out where she was. Pressing his ear against the door, he could hear her talking on the phone. It sounded like she was in the kitchen which was perfect. "Yes, I'll see you later tonight. Of course, I will wear something nice. Yes, Alright, love you too. Bye." Clara hung up and sighed, sipping on her wine. She had a date tonight. If she wanted to survive it, she needed wine. She supposed he was an alright guy. He was rich. Attractive? No. It was a big turn off but when money presents itself to her, she wouldn't ignore it. William smirked as he snuck out, staying low to the ground. He stood up, finally behind her. "Hello, Clara.." He whispered, she turned around, eyes wide. William hit her over the head before she could mutter a word. He smirked. Now, he just needed to find something to tie her up with.
Michael looked around the house. It was boring with just him there he decided. He could invite his friends over but he did not feel like getting grounded by his father if William came home earlier than intended which was a normal occurrence. Michael walked into Evan's room, sighing. He found himself missing his siblings more than he thought he would. 'At least he has his plush..' Michael thought, smiling lightly. "Missing your siblings, eh?" A voice asked, venom clearly laced through their voice. Michael decided to ignore the souls, they only annoyed him now. They were no help at the pizzeria so why should they get any attention? If they knew anything, they would tell him but they aren't telling him anything so they do not get to hear anything from him. Michael soon found himself wandering to Elizabeth's room. Her room was bright pink. It hurt his eyes. Why would she want such a bright room? He had no idea. He wasn't sure why father allowed her to paint such a bright color either but he wasn't about to question William's reasoning. "Hey! Are you ignoring us?!" another voice shouted. Michael ignored it. Little did he know, this was beginning to piss off the souls.
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"Huh? Wha- William?! What the fu- WHY AM I TIED UP?!" Clara shouted, glaring up at her ex-husband. William chuckled darkly, twirling a knife between his fingers. "You should know why...Do not lie to me. Where are they?" William asked, moving closer to her and putting a knife up against her throat, smirking at the way she squirmed underneath him. "Wha- who are you talking about?!" William sighed, shaking his head. "The first lie...I told you not to lie to me. Yet you did. This is gonna hurt, love." William said softly, removing the knife away from her throat only to dig it into her leg as she let out a blood-curdling scream. William kept the knife there, relishing in her pain. "Let's not repeat the same mistake twice, yes? Now tell me, where are the kids?" Clara huffed, glaring up at the man. "Like I told the damn cops, I do not know!" William shook his head. "You really are playing this game, huh? Oh well. It's your funeral." William said with a shrug before twisting the knife into her leg, blood pouring out like an angry waterfall. Her screams echoed throughout the house, increasing in volume as William pushed the knife further into her leg.
"WHERE ARE THEY, CLARA?! I KNOW YOU HAVE THEM!" William shouted, pulling the knife out. He wasn't going to kill her yet, no. This was too much fun. Plus, he was going to make her suffer for lying to him. "William, I don't have them!" William shook his head, he knew she wasn't going to tell him the truth. That's fine. He was going to find out on his own, he had his ways. William smirked and stabbed her other leg, twisting the knife once more as more blood poured out of her. The screams only made him grin, a very sadistic grin. "You should know better, Clara!" William said before punching her, smirking at the way her face began to bruise up. He was enjoying this. "William, please. I swear I don't know anything!" William tsked, glaring down at the woman. "There's no need to keep your act up anymore, Clara. You're gonna die either way now. Actually, you were gonna die this whole time. I wasn't planning on keeping you alive if you told me the truth." William said and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a butcher knife this time. Running his thumb along the blade, determining the sharpness.
"I can't have you running off and telling the cops that I tortured you. Now that would be just stupid of me. I am not a stupid man." William said and began to sharpen the knife, Clara's eyes widening in realization. "You, on the other hand, Clara, are very stupid. I mean who leaves windows unlocked? At night? I mean, clearly you. You were always very stupid. At least the kids didn't get that from you. It would be a shame if they did. Of course, I would never harm them. They are my kids." William stated, checking the sharpness and smiling. It was the perfect sharpness. "Surprised you have a butcher knife in your kitchen. Now, I'm not complaining but I am surprised that even with your stupidity, you actually know how to work one. It's shocking, really."
William walked over to her, pushing her over onto the floor and grabbing her hand as he forced her fingers apart. "You have one more chance to tell me the truth before I chop each of your fingers off, one by one." Clara shook her head, staring up at William with wide eyes. "Now, you're probably wondering why I'm going through with the whole cutting your fingers off when it's so messy. Well, it is messy which is why I never did it with those brats those years ago. However, you are a different case." William said, glancing down at her. "You took my children, you know where they are but aren't telling me," William said with a tsk before holding one of her fingers out and holding the butcher knife over it. "This is your last chance to tell me the truth, Clara. Where are my children?" "God, William! I really do not know!" "Such a shame...you could've died in a much more painless way. Your death, not mine." William said with a shrug before slamming the butcher knife down on her finger, cutting it clean off. Clara let out an agonizing scream, tears beginning to leak out of her eyes. "William, please! Spare me! I don't-" She cut herself off with another scream as William chopped another finger off. "As I chop your fingers off, you are probably wondering how I am going to kill you," William stated, deciding not to cut off her other finger just yet.
"To make this much more fun for me, and painful for you, I'm going to let you bleed out. I will be pulling you apart one by one. Making it absolute hell for you. You don't deserve mercy." William growled before chopping off her other fingers in one clean swipe, chuckling. "Okay well, I didn't mean to cut off the rest of your fingers all at once but I must've gotten too distracted telling you my plans," William said before shrugging. "Time for your other hand!" William said with a grin, slamming his knife down on her thumb as she screeched in pain. "My god, Clara. I get it. You're in pain but could you at least try being a little quieter? Your neighbors coming here wouldn't be the best idea for you and them. So be quiet unless you want to die even slower, darling." William said, dragging the butcher knife across her arm. A broken sob escaped her lips, looking up at William with pleading eyes. "Please! Spare me! I won't tell the cops! I swear!" William chuckled lightly, deciding to cut another finger of hers off. "You really thought I would fall for that? I'm not as stupid as you. You know what? For that statement, all your fingers are getting cut off." William said before chopping the rest of her fingers off as Clara let out a loud scream.
"Sad I have to cut my fun short because you are being too loud," William said with a shake of his head before stabbing her in the stomach, grinning manically as he twisted the knife around in her stomach. Clara sobbed before beginning to choke on her own blood, blood dripping out of her mouth and dripping onto the floor. "Oh my my how your manners have gone down! Do you have the audacity to make such a mess when you have a guest over? Apparently so." William said with a sigh, stabbing her a few more times as blood spewed over him. "How unfortunate," William said with a chuckle as he stared down at her lifeless body. "Time to hide and clean this up.." William said before picking up her body and bringing it outside.
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"DON'T IGNORE US!" Cassidy shouted at Michael, standing in front of him. Michael really just wanted to ignore them and read his comic book but, clearly, this wasn't going to work. However, he was just too committed to not paying them any attention. Suddenly, all the souls appeared and began shouting at once to Michael. Flying all around him, even going through him. The noise hurt his ears. Michael sniffled and covered his ears, wincing.
"Aw how pathetic!" It said while giggling, still flying around. "He's crying!" Michael was beginning to shake, whispering to himself. The front door then opened after what felt like hours. "Michael? I'm home!" William said, putting his keys down. Frowning when he didn't hear Michael. "Mike?" William called, walking upstairs. His eyes widened when he noticed Michael. "Hey, Mike. It's me. You're alright. What's wrong?" William asked, placing a hand on Michael's shoulder who flinched but looked up. "Dad?" William nodded, "Yeah it's me. What's wrong?" William asked, it was clear he was worried. "I...I have something to tell you." Michael said, William only nodded and urged Michael to tell him. "Something did go down that night in the office," Michael said with a sigh. "These souls they..they know where Elizabeth and Evan went to. But, they only told me something very vague. I was just told that there is something at the pizzeria that has the powers of time travel and that they jumped into it.." William nodded slowly, what in the world did those brats mean by that? William wasn't sure but he was determined to figure out what it meant. "We'll figure it out, Michael. I promise."
"You know.." Bonnie started, causing the kids to look over at him. "Monty has a pretty cool mini-golf area that we could go to." Monty nodded, suddenly seeming excited. "I do! We can go unless you are too chicken to beat my high scores.." The kids gasped, this seemed to gain their interest. "Oh, we will kick your butt! Freddy, do you want to join us?" Gregory asked, looking up at Freddy. "Sorry, Superstar, But I cannot. I need to do something first but I will meet you there! Have fun!" Freddy said and ruffled Gregory's hair before walking away. "Come on, you three!" Bonnie said with a grin as the two animatronics led the three kids to Monty Golf. "So..how do I play?" Evan questioned, looking up at the alligator. "Well, you hit it like this!" Monty stated and took a golf club, gently hitting it as the ball rolled to the hole. Evan nodded and followed exactly what Monty did, grinning when he got a hole-in-one. "Way to go, Rockstar!" Monty said and gave Evan a fistbump as the child giggled. "My turn!" Elizabeth said, gently pushing past Evan and beginning to put the ball down.
Freddy sighed as he made his way to Vanessa's office. The bear was confused. Why would Vanessa become Vanny again? She was getting help and Freddy put a lot on the line to make sure that Vanessa would still have a stable income. "Freddy? What are you doing over here? Is everything alright?" Vanessa asked as she pulled her blonde hair up into a ponytail, her flashlight beside her. "Good afternoon, Officer Vanessa. I would like to speak to you about something." Vanessa nodded slowly, allowing him to ask her. "Is uh- are you doing well?" Vanessa only grew more confused but figured she would answer the question anyways.
"I am doing well..why?" Freddy looked at her, seeming upset. "Are you Vanny again?" "What?" Vanessa stepped back slightly, why would he think that? "Are you her, Officer Vanessa?" Vanessa sighed, shaking her head. "No, I am not. Not anymore. I have been getting some much-needed help and I am far away from being that bunny anymore. I have made extra precautions, too, he wouldn't gain control over me again. Why are you asking me this, Freddy?" Freddy had to think of a lie on the spot. "Oh- uh- Gregory had a nightmare and just wanted me to ask is all." Vanessa nodded, still confused but she figured that it did make sense. "Alright well if that is all then I need to go start my shift. I will see you later, yeah?" Freddy nodded and said his goodbye's before leaving.
Freddy was hesitant about if he should believe her or not. She did seem like she was telling the truth. Freddy was always told he is great at knowing when someone is lying but he was unsure here. Freddy began his trek to Monty Golf, his mind still clouded with thoughts. Eventually, he made his way there. "Hello, Supersta-" Freddy cut himself off as Gregory hit one of the balls too hard and it bounced off the fake Monty mouth, breaking a window.
Bonnie snickered but quickly covered his mouth from the look he got from Freddy. "Gregory! You apologize to Monty immediately!" It was clear to everyone but Freddy that it was taking everything in Monty's system to not start laughing. "Monty, I am really sorry that I broke your window. Can you forgive me?" Monty accidentally let out a laugh before clearing his throat. "Yes, Gregory. I accept your apology!"
Freddy nodded in approval before gently leading Gregory off to the side. "Gregory, you do not ever break something like that! Not only is it against the rules, but it is also a safety hazard! You could've gotten hurt, Superstar!" Gregory sighed and nodded, looking up at Freddy. "Fine..okay I'm sorry, Freddy." Freddy knelt down to Gregory's height and ruffled his hair causing a giggle to erupt from the small child. "It is alright, Superstar. Just be more careful, yes?" Gregory nodded immediately as Freddy stood up, putting a paw against Gregory's back as they walked back over to the others.
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The three children rolled around, unable to sleep. "Psst..hey! Can you guys not sleep either?" Gregory whispered as the siblings looked over, nodding. "We should follow Vanny! Maybe we could get some answers!" Gregory said, Elizabeth nodding but Evan seemed more hesitant. "I...I don't know. It could be dangerous!" Elizabeth sighed, looking over at her younger brother. "Oh come on, Ev. We need to find out more information about her! Maybe we could figure out a weakness of hers and stop her for good!" Gregory nodded in agreement. "Yeah! We won't be gone for long either, I swear!" Evan sighed, caving in. "Fine. Let's go."
The other two grinned and pulled Evan up, the three running out of the room. "She probably still has her old hideout...This way!" Gregory said, leading the other two to Fazerblast. "Is this where her hideout is?" Elizabeth asked, Gregory nodding in confirmation. "Well, it is not very well hidden..." Evan nodded in agreement. Gregory sighed, nodding as well. "Yeah...It was pretty easy for me to find which was shocking. If you were a killer, wouldn't you have a better hiding spot? Makes no sense to me!" "There she is!" Evan suddenly said, the others freezing as they saw her. They quickly began following her, making sure they were quiet.
Vanny was much smarter than they took her for, however. She knew they were there the whole time. She just needed to wait for the perfect moment. Or until one of them made a mis- a snap was heard suddenly. There it was. "There you three are..." Vanny said as she turned around, her knife glistening as the three took a nervous step back. "Aw, now where did all that bravery go to? You three were so confident about finding me! Now that you have you are scared?" Vanny questioned with a laugh, shaking her head.
"Oh man, this is great." She said before running at them, tackling Evan to the ground. "Hey! Get off of my brother!" Elizabeth yelled, jumping on top of Vanny but Evan let out a cry of pain as Vanny cut his leg. "Don't hurt him!" Elizabeth yelled, before letting out a yelp as she was thrown. "Oh, this is going to be easy." She said with a snicker before facing Gregory, the two siblings unable to move currently. "G-get away from me!" Gregory shouted which only erupted a laugh from Vanny. "You truly are so stupid, Gregory." Vanny said as she stepped closer, Gregory stepped back but hit the wall. "You ran from me only for it not to work in the end. How upsetting. That stupid bear will miss you. Too bad I won't be able to watch him crumble from the pain. Goodbye, Gregory." Vanny said, making a lunge toward Gregory and cutting his leg before suddenly getting knocked out.
In front of them stood Moon, looking at the children. "It's alright Starlights. You are safe now." Moon said, immediately picking up Evan and Gregory. "Elizabeth," Moon said, Elizabeth looking over at him as she stood up. "Are you able to walk?" Elizabeth nodded, "Alright..follow me then. These cuts look like they only need bandages which is quite a relief.." Moon said softly, leading the children to the main daycare entrance.
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Michael sat at a booth with Henry, his leg bouncing. William needed to come to the pizzeria to sign a few papers that he needed to look at. "Michael? You doing alright there, kid?" Henry questioned, Michael was about to respond before the phone started ringing in the other room. "I will be right back, Mike. Stay here." Henry said as Michael nodded. Michael wasn't planning on going anywhere. Michael must've zoned out because suddenly the animatronics began heading toward him. Michael panicked and got up, slowly walking towards the office his dad was in.
Michael didn't notice the ball pit he was dangerously close to. "You.." One of the animatronics seemed to say, walking closer to Michael. "You ignore us..." Another said, Michael looked scared. "You do not ignore us!" It shouted, Michael wincing and covering his ears. "This will teach you!" Freddy's arms began to raise toward Michael, preparing to push him. "Wait- please!" Michael said, breathing shakily. "Don't hurt me! Please!" Michael shouted and suddenly let out a scream. William heard the scream but became nervous at the sudden silence afterward. "Michael?!" William asked and ran out, looking around. "Michael?! Where did you go?!" William shouted, Henry running out of the other room. "He was just here- where did he go?! All the doors are locked!" Henry said, William nodded. He looked over at the animatronics, they were all on stage. Exactly where they were earlier. What was going on and where was Michael?