Chapter Text
Michael Afton had died.
His undead body had succumbed to the flames, his soul finding peace for the shortest of moments, too short to ascend into the real peace all of the good souls should be able to grasp.
Ever since then, the soul had been stuck with Old Man Consequences, wandering off with a blank expression, only to come back and cry while staring at his reflection in the pond, and then run away again.
But poor, desperate, lost Michael Afton had nowhere to go, that's what Old Man Consequences knew all too well. This was the end, no matter how much he tried to rebel against it. Any tears that were cried would go into the nothingness of the place, and every thought the soul spat into existence would land within Old Man Consequences' mind, shaking him to his deepest core.
Michael had a dark mind. Not the 'hurting other people' kind of dark mind, no- the traumatized and guilt driven kind of dark mind. A mind full of grief, of hate and self-loathing. Filled with memories of death and the physicality of living in an undead body. Dying in an undead body.
This was someone who had seen so much that even Old Man Consequences had to shudder when on some days the thoughts went so dark that even his inner light couldn't shine fast enough.
When Michael thought of his siblings dying, that's the kind of moment where darkness came so fast that it consumed Old Man Consequences too - at those times, he almost went too far with his pity, and almost granted the unspoken wish of undoing time's process, giving his guiding lights the task to lead Michael into his happiness.
However, while Old Man Consequences was definitely able to easily bring such a thing into motion, he would not do it. He had only ever done it once or maybe twice in all existence, though, to be fair, most of the souls at least listened to him when he told them to rest. Only a very, very little amount of souls shook their head like Michael did, and wandered off like the entity's bewitching words hadn't affected him at all.
...
And then, poor Michael had started to talk to him.
Sinking onto his knees in sheer exhaust, begging quietly for him to do it, to turn back time, to let him go back and change things.
Walking around, rambling and explaining why he had to go back, how Old Man Consequences just had to do this for him. How it was Michael's responsibility to truly and completely end his father's existence, to fix the broken pieces by not having them ever break at all.
Old Man Consequences felt guilty whenever he turned Michael down, whenever he saw the hope break apart and the soul sink into himself, collapsing onto the floor.
He was slowly becoming tired, as every soul does that doesn't have anything in the real world to hold onto.
And yet, Michael still didn't stop trying.
...
"I'm begging you! It can't end like this! I can't just... go. I have to do better, I have to save them all!"
Old Man Consequences was fed up with this soul. So fed up.
You'd think that eventually, Michael would stop trying. His materialized being was fading, even in the soul world. Sooner or later, if he didn't find peace and let it fulfill him, he would just... cease to exist forever.
But instead of worrying about it or letting Old Man Consequences' words have their usual effect on him, Michael just wouldn't stop talking.
He was begging all the time, only ever stopping to take shallow breaths or shift in his position. And then if those little breaks were over, he'd just talk and talk and talk and then talk even more.
"Let me save them" was one of the every once in a moment repeated sentences, and then Michael just started dropping names, started apologizing, and then beat his fists onto the ground.
There was no fulfilling this soul. No way other than doing what Michael just so desperately wanted to happen.
"You need to rest, Michael Afton, or else you'll be wiped from existence," Old Man Consequences warned, and blue eyes glanced back up at him, a determined tone telling him what the answer would be.
"No. I won't rest. Let me save them."
He was either going to lose a soul for eternity, or would have to interfere with time's growth, then. He had to make a decision that Michael had long made himself, deciding that if there was no way for him to save everyone he's lost then he'd rather just stop existing at all.
Old Man Consequences admired the pure dedication to changing everything. The determination that was behind such an intense urge to go back into very traumatic events and single-handedly stop them while still living with what you know from the other then non-existant timeline you've been through.
"Even if I told you that everyone you want to save so desperately is happy and resting right now, you still wouldn't go and join them? You'd still want to go back into real active life and gather them around you in there?"
Michael nodded gently, tears suddenly stopping as he sensed the change of heart that was approaching in the entity. "I need for them to live."
Old Man Consequences leaned back and stared at Michael for more than just a few minutes, more and more, as if to study the soul in front of him. He only got a steady and secure glare back, sadness hidden deep beneath it.
"There'll be a few circumstances."
New tears started to form, but this time they came from a place of genuine joy and relief.
"You will be able to choose three events you will be directly brought to. You have the chance to change the first and then you'll jump through time to the second. Then to the third. If you mess up, there's no other chance. This is the only one you'll have."
Michael nodded and listened like some obedient puppy, a big difference to the resistance that's been there all this time before.
"It won't be easy. You'll be met with challenges. You'll have to be alert all the time. You won't be told when you jump, or to when exactly, it's just done with enough time for you to successfully change the event. And after the third one..."
Old Man Consequences frowned, and sighed just a moment after, this decision going way easier on his mind, "After the third event, you'll stay in the new timeline you've created."
Michael took a deep breath, relief all written over his features as he moved to accept the deal, an outstretched hand that slowly came to his direction.
"Choose your three events wisely, Michael. Only if two and three still happen if you change one, you can go through with this."
"Okay," the soul whispered, being quiet for the first time in what felt like forever.
"I want to stop the first Missing Children Incident. Then I want to stop the death of my sister, Elizabeth Afton. My father would still build an animatronic like Circus Baby, especially since she's more reliable on luring and killing children when his first attempt didn't work. Liz would still get too close and..."
"You're right, that works," Old Man Consequences agreed, interrupting Michael before he'd have to force out that last word, showering him in more relief judging from his facial expression.
"Then, the third event would be the death of... my brother, Evan Afton. The... death I caused..." Michael started and gulped heavily, "to truly save Elizabeth, she'd have to be afraid of the animatronics. This settles a requirement, which is that her saving has to be a really close call. But it'd work. My father would... he'd be paranoid after almost losing his little princess and would still try to keep Evan away by scaring him. I'd still help father do those... things to him. It'd all still happen."
Old Man Consequences looked at Michael once again, a small nod sealing the deal as he stood up and mood only reached for Michael, but now walked towards him with an outstretched hand. He could feel it all unfold, the jumps Michael would do and either succeed in or fail at.
...
Michael stalled.
Not because of him worrying that his decision was wrong after all, no - he just knew all too well that the moment he'd take that hand, he immediately had to act. This wasn't going to be easy - especially changing the Missing Children's Incident.
How does one convince five children that they were in danger? That they can't follow the bunny man around anymore? He'd have to find a way to convince them and simultaneously prevent them from ever going there again.
Maybe...
Michael had an idea.
And yet, he still hesitated.
"There's an alternative thing you could do."
Michael looked up from where he'd been glaring, right at the creature that had finally granted his desired wish.
"Your father managed to save a part of his soul in the living world, and in the future, he uses it to harm more children. One particular child could use your help to end him once and for all. It would be an easier task. Would that satisfy you?"
His glare dropped to his hand, his human looking hand, and he blinked a few times.
"My father... is still there?" he whispered quietly, his face scrunching up in anger and desperation, "he's still... All Henry and I did to stop him, it was all for nothing?"
"You could help this kid and end it forever."
Michael took a deep, intensely shaking breath despite not needing to as he was still just a soul, and stepped away from the stretched out hand to ponder.
"What's the kid's name?" he asked then, looking at his reflection in the pond, seeing what his human self had once looked like.
"Gregory."
Michael hummed shortly, closing his eyes as he thought about the decision he'd have to make.
Ending his father's reign of terror over the world as an act of true revenge and saving this Gregory kid... He wondered what the kid looked like, whether it'd have similarities with all those souls that have been lost to his father before.
He knew some of the names all too well.
Susie, Fritz, Gabriel, Jeremy, Cassidy.
Those he wanted to save. The start of all torture and pain this world would have to endure because of his father or Michael himself.
Elizabeth, his mother... Evan.
Charlie.
And now, Gregory. Another innocent kid that was to be killed by his father's existence.
By his father's existence...
If he killed his father, wouldn't he technically... shouldn't that save Gregory as well? If he killed his father before he got into the animatronic, he'd have no way of staying in the world with his soul. He couldn't torment this Gregory kid either, then.
Michael took a glance at his truly human self one more time, before turning towards Old Man Consequences.
"No. I'll take the three events," he muttered, his hand now completely and confidentially outstretched, a deeply settled glare on his face, "I will save everyone."
Old Man Consequences came closer, and before Michael could even say anything or reconsider (if he'd wanted to), the being had taken his hand, a firm promising pressure sinking into his senses.
"Good luck, Michael Afton. And remember: You only have one chance."
He wanted to open his mouth, wanted to thank the being, and yet he couldn't - he was torn apart into pieces, his materialized form as a soul leaving this inbetween.
And yet, despite somewhat actively feeling the process of being taken apart and put back together, Michael didn't feel pain. Maybe it was because of his unbelievably high pain tolerance, maybe because this process wasn't meant to hurt... he didn't even feel uneasy about what was going on.
Instead, Michael almost felt like he was finally at peace.