Chapter 12

  William took one last sip from the beer bottle before throwing it on the ground. It was as if he had lost control of himself a long time ago. His legs seemed to walk by themselves to the trunk and his hands had taken an axe out from it without him even telling them to.  Tears streamed down his thin face, but that didn't stop him from doing what he needed to do. Dragging the axe across the ground, William walked through the pizzeria door and broke the handle to prevent anyone from entering. If my children can't come back, then no one else's will.

  This time they had nothing to worry about. There was still no replacement for the night guard and Henry was at the Afton's house, which prevented William from leaving the house that evening.  As the four arrived at the location, Charlie saw that his father had sent her something. "Get out" was all the message said.

  – What? – she asked herself in a whisper, but then quickly typed the same question to the man. There was no response.  – What is it? – Marla asked, being the first to notice that Charlie had stopped walking.  – My dad, he sent me a weird text.  – Let me see – Lamar said, approaching alongside Mike. – Why does he want you to get out?  – Not me, us.  – Get out from what? And to where? Did something happen at Mike's house? – Marla asked, causing everyone to look at Michael as she asked the last question.

  The boy took the cell phone from Charlie's hands and continued rereading the message. With each new read, his hair seemed to stand on end and his eyes to grow wider. There was only one thing this could mean.  Michael handed the phone back to Charlie and ran to the pizzeria, leaving all his friends behind.

  – Mike?! MIKE! – Lamar exclaimed and quickly ran after him, followed by Charlie and Marla.

  Luckily, they were already close to the location when the message was sent.  As Michael approached the entrance, he noticed broken glass on the floor, the broken doorknob and lock, and of course, his father's car. He ran to the door and tried to force it open with his own body, but he didn't have enough strength. Now he was crying, frustrated and panicked.

  – Mike, what happened? – Charlie asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder.  – He's going to try to do something with the robots or maybe even the pizzeria! – he said between sobs, sounding almost unintelligible. – He must have found out about us and about them and now he's going to try to end it all! That's why Henry asked us to get out! He must have hurt him too!  – Who's he, Mike? – this time it was Lamar who asked.  – William – Charlie replied, finally connecting the dots. Why Michael didn't want to stay in his own house, the strange way William was acting, Henry's message and of course, the notorious purple car parked just steps away from them. – He is the killer?

  Michael nodded.  Soon the immersion of the conversation was broken by the sound of glass. The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw Marla with a rock in her hands and a broken window in front of her.

  – Someone has to stop him, right? – the girl said just before entering through the window, being quickly followed by the others.

  When the group arrived in the main hall, they saw the long-awaited figure of the murderer, William Afton. His bloodshot eyes only added to the image of a psychopath, but what would really make even the bravest of people run was the strength he used to try to break animal-like machines with a mere axe. A man with that motivation and brute strength was a clear threat that only at that moment had been discovered.  When he raised the axe a second time, he was stopped from swinging it at Freddy. The bear's own hand had grabbed William's arm, preventing him from continuing. However, the man didn't even have time to think of something to say or do, as he was hit in the face with such a strong punch that he ended up falling to the ground.

  – So you really are alive – Will commented as he wiped away the blood that stained his arrogant smile.  – And stronger than ever – Gabriel added, walking slowly towards the man's body.

  Jeremy and Susie might not want to get their hands dirty, but they knew this man deserved everything that was coming to him. Luckily, Gabriel was never as forgiving as the other two.  But before the boy could strike William again, he stood up, grabbed the axe, and slammed it right into the costume's knee. Now with the enemy stunned, Will was able to hit Freddy several times, making Gabriel no longer able to keep the costume standing.

  – NO! – Michael shouted, watching the robot being destroyed.  – Michael?! You shouldn't be here!  – WHAT DID YOU DO?! – crying more than ever, the boy knelt down next to Freddy and tried to lift him up, but it was useless.  – You don't understand, Mike. I had to do this. I had to do all of this.

  William felt something behind him move, so he had an instant reaction to attack with his axe. Only after hearing the crack of metal hitting metal did he see that he had defended himself from Foxy.  Luckily, that wasn't enough to turn the fox off. But before Fritz could do anything else, he looked down at the ground and saw Freddy lying there, destroyed. Alarmed, he ended up forgetting that William was about to attack him again.

  – Fritz! – Michael shouted once more, quickly approaching his father and positioning himself in front of him to stop him from striking again.  – Get out of the way.  – No! I won't let you hurt them again!  – The choice is yours, Michael. You can get out of my way and let me get on with my job, or you can go with them.

  Michael didn't get out of his place. His lips trembled with fear and his entire body seemed to pulse with adrenaline, but he couldn't live with himself knowing that he had helped the same person who had taken the lives of five children and teenagers.  Everyone expected Will to attack the boy, but before he could do anything, Lamar hit him in the back with a chair. The effect was minimal, just enough to distract the older man. With that, Marla and Charlie managed to take the axe from his hands, now being the ones threatening to use the weapon to hurt someone.  William laughed.

  – I was wondering if you were just going to watch from afar or help your little friends!

  William might have lost his axe, but that wasn't the only weapon he carried. His movements were so fast that everyone present only noticed when the blood touched the ground. Charlie had been struck on the right side of her pelvic region.

  – Charlie! – Marla dropped the axe and tried to grab her friend, but the man plunged the same knife into her shoulder before that could happen. – G-GAH!

  Lamar screamed as he jumped on Will's back and began punching him and pulling his hair, but the strength of a fifteen-year-old boy would never be a match for that of a person in his late thirties. As expected, the man threw the boy away by pulling him by the arm. Now with nothing to stop him, he picked up the axe and began walking slowly towards Michael, ending with anyone who got in his way.

  – Fucking hell! You won't win! – Will hit Foxy again. – I was still merciful and gave you the chance to escape, but no! You preferred to defend a bunch of children who are already dead! – the next hit was right in Bonnie's face, which made it fall to the ground. – the most ridiculous thing is the fact that you don't even know them! You are about to die for people who may not even deserve this sacrifice – With that, William gave Chica the final hit, finally deactivating all the robots.  – Y-you're really gonna kill your own son? – Michael saw the man lower the axe slightly. – Gary is already dead, Izzy too. Do you really want to stain your hands with the blood of the only one left?  – I can't risk leaving any evidence – His tone of voice seemed neutral, morbid, but his eyes were already filled with tears. – You will never understand the reason for all this. No one will – now at the peak of his vulnerability, the man placed the axe on the ground, still holding the end of the handle, and tried to control his crying.

  Mike looked around and saw the catastrophe caused by his own father. The robots' batteries were already too damaged for them to remain powered on, Lamar could barely stand, as he was weak from the impact and Marla was kneeling beside Charlie's body, doing her best to stop both of their bleeding and call an ambulance. But when he looked to the side, he saw Fredbear's figure sneaking through the walls. The bear pointed to the knife lying at the boy's feet, so he soon understood what the plan was. Michael swallowed hard.

  – We can change that – slowly, he moved his foot to push the knife closer without William noticing. – Why don’t you tell me what the intention of all this was?  – I can't explain it to others without first finding an explanation for myself – Will smirked. – I guess I just felt jealous of these people with their happy families. That and also because I hoped they would somehow manage to possess the robots. I planned all of this. If it worked, it would mean I could bring the twins back.  – A-and why did you destroy the robots?  – I tried to do the same with them, but it didn't work. There was nothing left of Garrett or Elizabeth. If I can't have my children back, why can they?  – What about me? You still have a son, dad. We can be a happy family, even just the three of us – after much caution, Mike managed to get the knife close enough. Without taking his eyes off William, he slowly lowered his arm until he was able to grab the weapon.  – Oh God... what will Margaret think about this? – the man looked at the ceiling in an attempt to hide his tears, thus giving Mike the cue.

  When the boy tried to stab William with the knife, the man turned his face just in time to dodge it. Shocked, he looked at his son's face, which seemed much more terrified.

  – It was all just to kill me?! – he exclaimed.  – D-dad, wait, y-you have to understand! – Michael put his arms in front of his own face, even though he knew that wouldn't protect him from anything.

  This time, William would not hesitate. He kicked Michael's leg with the intention of knocking him down, grabbed the axe handle with all his strength, raised it quickly, aimed it right at his son's chest and... the attack was unsuccessful.  The man felt a tightness in his throat, but it was only after he noticed that he was being lifted that he realized that it was not just a feeling, but reality.

  – You haven't ended all of us yet – the yellow figure said, looking deep into the elder's eyes.  – W-what are you?  – Did you forget about me? I'm the one you shouldn't have killed.  – Y-you're alive...? Argh! – Cassidy began to squeeze the man's throat a little bit harder, making him start to lose his breath. – B-but Fredbear doesn't have a battery.  – Do you really think that would stop me from getting revenge? I won't rest until I see you burn.

  When the sound of sirens began to echo through the place, Cassidy had already done her job. William had already taken his last breath and his body, thrown against the cold tiles of the pizzeria, began to lose color and heat.