After the little " accident", the remaining customers were shooed out of the building, and the 'special' janitors were called to clean up the mess. They had all done this before. You, along with Mike and Vincent, were told to go home. On your way out of the building, you stopped Mike and Vincent. " We need to talk. All of us. " You told them.
Mike nodded. " I agree. " He said, not meeting your gaze. He obviously felt ashamed at the actions his friend had taken. Vincent was a little braver. " I don't think there is anything to talk about. The only thing we need to talk about is when we're going to bandage my arm. " " You can bandage your own arm, purple-boy." Mike butted in, taking a step towards Vincent. You put a hand against Mike's chest. " Let's leave the bad beef at the pizzeria. Vincent needs medical attention, and that is, I'd say, a little bit important. " " Glad to see someone can see reason..." Vincent mumbled, glancing at the building. " I'll take him there. Then we'll talk. " You said firmly, wanting no argument to sprout up.
(...)
Vincent's wound wasn't as bad as it had first looked. It was mainly just waiting to see if it got infected. There wasn't much else they could do, except give him a large bill. You had returned to your apartment, looking around the cramped interior. You were already having doubts, not sure if you actually wanted to host Mike, Vincent, and Scott at the same time. They seemed to really have it out for each other. Your eyes drifted back to the table, where you had set down the gun. You had taken the time to get a concealed carry holster, and you were practicing your technique. You weren't the greatest at it, but it was something. Besides, you doubted an animatronic would stay standing if it had a few dozen bullet holes in it.
In the end, though, you didn't really think you had the nerve. Sure, you could pull a gun on someone to intimidate them, but actually pulling the trigger... Payne wasn't just a metal hulking monstrosity, he was a human being. Used to be. That line seemed to be growing thinner and thinner in light of his recent actions. The sheer delight that seemed to cross his face was inhuman as he ripped that poor girl's head apart. It gave you chills just thinking about it. You took another glance around your apartment, then back at the gun on the table. You grabbed it, putting it into your holster. You needed to get away from this for a while. You needed some fresh air.
" I'm going out for a walk, just so y'know. " You said as you put on a jacket. You didn't know why you said that. There was obviously nobody there. Though... it felt like someone was there. Watching you. A few ideas leapt to your mind, one of them being the child that you kept seeing. You shook your head, trying to push those thoughts away. You stepped outside, taking a breath of the cold night air. It wouldn't be cold for very long, as was custom in Arizona, but it was nice while it lasted. You started to walk down the sidewalk, not a single soul in sight.
After a few minutes of walking, you found yourself looking up towards the stars. They made you feel so small. So unimportant. Everything that happened here could just be a grain of sand upon an ocean beach. And yet, it wasn't. You kept walking, shivering slightly in the darkness. It slowly began to rain; a light drizzle at first, but it soon started to rain harder. You didn't mind much, deciding to take cover under a tree. Soon, the streetlights flickered out, and you were left in darkness.
A pair of footsteps alerted you to the presence of someone. Immediately, your trance was broken, and you were tense and alert. Your hand slipped down to grip the revolver. The man raised his hands, which were covered in white bandages. " Hey! Hey! There's no need for that. I just uh, wanted to talk. " It was Scott. You laughed, a shrill, barking laugh. No matter how hard you tried, it just all came gushing after you. You would never be able to get away.
Your laughs soon turned into sobs. You couldn't escape. People would keep on dying, people like that poor innocent child earlier today. What was her name again? Ella? Or was it Elly? Scott sat next to you, his hand on your back, watching the rain pour down. " It just isn't fair. She was just a girl! Why did he have to do that? It just isn't fair..." You babbled. Scott shifted uncomfortably. " I know. She wasn't the only one who was bitten. There was a bite of 83', where some kid got his frontal lobe bitten off. He died later, to my knowledge. People are already calling this recent one ' The bite of 19''. The thing is... I knew what Afton was doing the entire time. And yet I didn't do anything about it. " You had stopped crying, listening to Scott's story.
" By the time I wanted to do something, I was in too deep. I couldn't drag myself out of it, and I hated it. I hated myself. With every fiber of my being, I wanted to kill myself. I cut myself every night, cutting myself for the children I've condemned to death. " Scott slowly unwrapped his bandages on his hands, showing the criss crossing lines of scars. He had them everywhere. On his legs, arms, stomach, chest... face. " I tried killing myself. Almost succeeded too, when Cal came in. He was a good kid. Talked me out of it. Told me his secret was safe with him. " Scott trailed off, looking up at the stars that shone through the clouds. The storm began to let up, and slowly the clouds drifted off, showing the full nightly view of the stars to those out to see them. " He said he'd keep them to the grave. And he did. He made good on that promise long before he thought he would. Before he died, he gave me this. " Scott reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold chain. On the end, was a cross.
" He told me that there was a god. And that he'd come down to help me when I most needed him. I've held on to it ever since. But I grew self conscious of my scars. I started wearing a mask. Something to cover up what I hated. When Cal died... Couldn't help myself. I felt lost. I almost died that night, (Y/N). I cut myself. More than I ever had. I was bleeding in what felt like twenty eight different places. I was ready to move on. Then, Mike came in. He bandaged me up, and he told me something. Something that I will never forget. " Scott turned towards you, his green eyes seemingly glinting in the starlight. " He told me this: Life's a bitch, Scott. But you've overcome it, and made friends. Friends that love to see you every day. Friends that care. So when life wants you to take that trip up to the clouds, I'll stand in front of you and flip life off. " Scott went silent for a few moments before taking a deep breath and resuming. " That was as sentimental as Mike was going to get, but coming from him, I knew. And now I'm telling you. "
" I know you thought about it. Killing yourself. You had that look that I recognized from myself looking into the mirror every morning. So, just remember, stay here. Stay with us. " Scott stood up and stretched. " I'll leave you be. " And with that, he walked off, giving you quite a bit to think about. You realized Scott had left his bandages beside you. You picked them up, staring a them. Then, you put them into your pocket. The streetlights flickered for a few seconds, then turned back on, pushing the light from the weaker stars in the sky back. You stood up and stretched, taking it as a sign that it was time for you to leave.
You began to walk back to your apartment, breathing in the moist air. You were about to turn the corner when a small mewing got your attention. You took a few steps back, and stared down the dark allyway next to you, trying to locate the source of the sound. The mewing came again, this time coming from a small box right off of the sidewalk. You walked over to it, and opened the lid. Inside, a calico kitten was staring back at you, sitting on a small purple cushion with an empty food and water dish. You picked up the cat, looking it over. You then pressed it against your jacket, looking around for the owner of the cat. And yet, there was nobody around. You sighed, staring down at the kitten in your arms. " What am I going to do with you?" You mumbled, walking back to your apartment. They did allow pets at your apartment.
You stroked the small kitten as you opened up the door to the apartment, the familiar smell of home washing over you. You set the cat down, making a mental note to grab cat food tomorrow morning. You walked over and flopped down onto your couch, staring at the ceiling. Soon, you drifted off into a deep sleep.
(...)
Another sip from your coffee, and you were ready to leave. You had sent out a text message to Mike, Scott, and Vincent, telling them to meet you at your house. You grabbed the warm coffee cup off of the table, thanked the barista, and returned to your car. Then, you backed out of the Starbucks parking lot, pulling into the street. You sighed, tapping the steering wheel as you drove back to your apartment. Soon enough, you had reached your humble abode. You stepped inside, and set down a small bag of cat food on the counter.
The little kitten you had rescued the night before came running up, brushing against your leg and looking up at you. It let out a small mew before scurrying off into the distance. A knock came from your door, and you sighed again. Probably Scott. You opened up the door to find that it was actually Mike. He grinned when he saw you. " Sup. " He said, brushing past you. " Nice place. Bigger than mine. " He commented as he started to explore your apartment.
" Don't break anything. I mean it. " You told him. Mike didn't turn around. " Yeah yeah, I know. Got an Xbox? " He asked, walking into your kitchen. " I do, actually, " You answered, following him. " though I never really play it anymore. Think I still have Doom on there. " Mike turned around upon the mention of Doom. " Really? Hot damn, I know what I'm going to do. " Mike walked past you, but you put a hand against his chest, stopping him." Maybe later. We've got other things to do right now. " There was a knock on the door, and Mike fake-pouted.
You ignored him, and answered the door. Scott and Vincent were waiting on the other side, Scott leaning on a small cane. You looked at the cane, then at Scott. He just shrugged. " Can we come in? I'd rather not sit out here. " Vincent butt in, stopping your little staring contest. " Yeah. Come on in, make yourself at home. Mike's already here. " You stepped aside, letting them in. After they were inside, you closed the door behind them. You led them to the couch, and sat down on it. You poured a few glasses of water on the table, and sat back.
" We need to talk. That's the baseline. We need to talk about what we are going to do about Afton and his murderous animatronics. " You said, leaning forward. " Payne in general. " You shot Mike a look, who didn't return it. " I say we kill him. Nice and simple. He's ob-" Vincent was cut off by Mike. " Hell no! Cal is in there; an innocent little boy. We are not killing Payne. " Vincent leaned back. " So you are saying that Cal was the one behind killing that girl? Almost killing Scott? That was all your ' innocent little boy'? I think not. Let's face it. Cal is no more. " Vincent said, staring Mike down.
" I think that we may have started off on the wrong foot. We, uh, let's talk about something else first. Like Afton. " " I say we kill him. Nice and simple. " Mike said, mirroring Vincent's remark earlier. " Hell n- Actually, that might just be a..." Vincent looked at Scott, then at Mike, and finally at you. " No. He has a reason for all of this. Even if it does seem a little... obscure. " Vincent said. You raised your eyebrow. " Really? And what would that be, might I ask" You asked with a smirk on your face.
" Just... listen, alright? He has a reason for this. A real reason. Not for some petty revenge or anything, but an actual reason. Every villan has a motive; Afton's motive is his family. " Vincent looked around, as if fearing he gave away too much. He sighed. " Afton has a son. Had a son. His son was killed in 1983, " Vincent looked at Scott. " The bite of 83', it was labeled. Scott and I were the only two workers at the time. That night, his wife was killed in a car accident. A drunk was driving a semi-truck, and he T-boned her vehicle. She died instantly. After that, Afton was shattered. He'd lost his entire family in one night. You don't want to know what he did next. " Scott, who had been mostly silent for the entire discussion thus far, finally spoke up. " I would, actually. What did he do? " Mike nodded, and Vincent sighed. " Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you. "
" Back then, when Afton was still angry, he told me to... to... kill. I told him no, of course, but then he told me that he'd go after my family. That he'd kill every last one of them in front of me. " " Vincent? Having a family? Ha! " Mike laughed, but the cross looks pointed in his direction made him shut up. " I had no choice. So I did what he asked. And now, I'm stuck. If I don't do what he asks, he'll expose me for my crimes. "
" Yeah yeah, that's cool and all, but I don't think this really relates to Afton all that much. And why he's done what he's done. " A few more stern looks in Mike's direction made him shut up again, and Vincent continued. " Anyway, before I was interrupted. Afton experiments on the children I give him. Seeing if he can put a dead child's soul into an animatronic body. So far, the tests have proven positive, and he put his son into an animatronic. I don't know much about that. He hasn't really told me. But that's why I murdered all those children. That's why I murdered Shara. " Your gut twisted. You didn't like where this was going. " And that's why I murdered Cal. " Fuck. He said it. That bastard said it.
Mike flew into a rage. " You did WHAT?!" Mike immediately lunged for Vincent, who was helpless against Mike's rage fueled attack. Mike went for Vincent's neck, but Vincent began to fight back. He pushed Mike off of him, giving him a second to breath. Vincent looked at Mike, then at you. Finally, he darted out of your apartment and into the hallway. Mike ran after him, screaming profanities. You could do nothing but follow.
You ran after them, screaming at Mike to stop. He didn't. He didn't even acknowledge that you were there. Mike just kept on running. And he was catching up to Vincent. Soon, Mike was upon him, and he took Vincent down in a tackle. They had gone quite far, making it to the park where you and Scott talked last night. Mike took Vincent down in the grass, and started throwing punches at Vincent. " THIS. IS. FOR. CAL. YOU. ASSHOLE!" He yelled between punches. You finally caught up with Mike, and pulled him off of Vincent, who was bleeding from his nose.
" Mike! Get a hold of yourself!" You yelled at him. Mike turned towards you, his eyes red, nostrils flaring. " Shut up (Y/N)! You don't know the pain! " Mike turned away from you trying to get back at Vincent. " Let go of me! " He yelled, struggling against your grip.. " No! Not until you-" Then, a gunshot sounded. You went numb, and you could feel that Mike was numb to you. You looked down at your body. No blood. No blood. No blood. You looked up and saw Vincent, holding a gun facing the sky. He pointed it down at Mike. " Don't. Move. " He said, his voice strained.
Mike put his hands up, complying. " You're a bastard, you know that? The police are gonna come, and they are going to arrest you. Fuck you Vincent, for all you've done. " Mike spat, wiping blood off of his face. Vincent stood up, the gun still aimed at Mike, and he began to back away. Soon, he turned around full sprint, running from the scene. Mike began to follow, but you grabbed his shoulders. " Don't. It's not worth dying for. " You told him, staring in his eyes. Mike was shaking with rage. Before you could react, he had pushed you over. He turned to run after Vincent, but he was stopped by a voice behind you. " Mike. Stop. " It was Scott. " Please. This isn't all Vincent's fault. " Mike turned around, seething. " So you're taking his fucking side now? Scott, I though you were friends with Cal? " Scott looked down for a second, before looking back at Mike. Before he could speak, though, Mike turned to you.
" Wait. When you think about it, all of this started with you. " Mike pointed an accusing finger at you. " You joined up. Cal died. Scott almost dies. All of this happened after you joined up. " Scott walked between you and Mike. " You know that isn't true. You know that this wasn't his fault. " Scott said, leaning on his cane and grimacing slightly. A flicker of doubt waved across Mike's face. " But... think about it, Scott. What if it was? What if our little buddy (Y/N) here was actually a cold blooded murderer? " Mike took a step backwards. " But I'm sure as hell not going to stay here for when the police arrive. I'm going after Vincent, and you can't stop me. " Mike turned around, running towards the way Vincent had gone. You watched him leave, and you stood up.
" We should probably leave as well. " You said, turning towards the direction of your apartment. You took a deep breath, and began walking, leaving Scott to catch up. Sirens began to wail in the distance, causing hurry along a little bit faster. After a few minutes, you had arrived back at your apartment. The door was left wide open, and there was glass on the living room floor. There was no sign of the kitten you had rescued from the night before. You closed the door behind you, and leaned up against it, sliding to the floor. You thought over the events of today, wondering what would happen. You had the night-shift tomorrow, and you were scheduled to be with Vincent. You had the feeling that Vincent wouldn't arrive, so that would lead you to have to deal with the animatronics alone. Along with Payne.
" Fuck. " You groaned, covering your eyes. Payne was growing more dangerous. Cal was loosing control, and he would only take the lives of others until he was stopped. God, how were you going to do it? He had superhuman strength, and you were sure he wasn't going to go down without a fight. There was also the problem of Afton, along with Mike and Vincent. What would you do if Vincent actually showed up? You didn't know, but you hoped you'd be able to figure it out on the fly.