Chapter Text
Micheal Afton was supposed to have died 30 years ago. But he didn't, and he was alive for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill his father. He needed to put an end to his family's horrific legacy, make sure none of those tragedies would repeat themselves.
Finally, after years of searching, he had found his father. This is what lead him to his current situation: sitting in a run-down office room with his father burning in the next room over.
Now that he was gone, Micheal could finally rest. Or.. at least he thought he could.
See, he had been thinking of this moment for the past 30 years. 30 years of living with this tunnel vision, his sights set on one goal, thinking it would finally make him feel complete. But why did this victory feel so... hollow? He finally did it. All the Fazbear restaurants were shut down (of course except for the one he was in, which was currently burning down), the spirits of everyone his father had killed were put to rest, and his father would soon be dead and unable to hurt anyone else.
But as Micheal reflected on his life, he realized practically every major decision was controlled by the man he hated the most. His childhood was spent trying to avoid William's wrath, his whole adulthood trying to track him down. Hell, even his death was influenced by his father.
And so, sitting in that burning building, something inside him snapped. He would not let that man puppet him around anymore. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of ruining one more life.
Thankfully, Henry had set up an escape route for him. Micheal had profusely expressed that it was a waste of time and he wasn't going to use it, despite Henry trying to talk him in to it. Henry knew better, of course, and Micheal would be forever grateful for that.
So he clawed his way out of the burning pizzeria, finally making it outside and collapsing on the pavement. As he looked up at the burning building, it felt like watching his old life go up in flames. He had gotten a second chance, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. This time he wasn't gonna let William have any control over him anymore.
Micheal had died 30 years ago, but he figured now would be a good time to finally start living.
See, the issue with only having one goal for the majority of his life was that now that it was accomplished, he had absolutely no idea what to do.
While most people got to spend their teenage years doing self-discovery and figuring out who they wanted to be, Micheal got to spend his shambling around as a corpse and surviving haunted robots. So, needless to say, he was now a little lost. All he knew is that he wanted to spite his father, and that was about it.
Micheal sat on the mattress in his tiny apartment. He had to admit, his room was pretty sad looking. It was completely empty apart from a small dresser filled with a couple articles of clothing, some papers and files strewn across the floor, and an air mattress sitting on the ground. He had always felt like he had one foot in the grave, so he never bothered to decorate or anything. It seemed like a waste of time to do anything beyond the basic necessities. Now that he knew he was gonna be staying he a bit longer, he was starting to regret that decision.
It felt very strange for him to have free time. Before, Micheal had spent every minute he could searching for clues that might have helped him track down his father. So, to be sitting with nothing particular to do felt... odd.
He decided to pull out his laptop. He used to browse forums where people would share stories of supposed supernatural occurrences in hopes that one of them might be about one of the Fazbear locations. Most seemed very fake, but every now and then he found one that seemed believable, based on his own experiences. Maybe he could check out some of those other stories? Wouldn't that be a fun idea... Micheal Afton the paranormal investigator. He could become like... a Ghostbuster or something.
He sighed, leaning his back against the wall as he scrolled through the posts. It was nice to finally have some relaxation, but at the same time it still felt weird. He'd figure out what he wanted to do with his new life... eventually.
Sebastian Solace was painfully aware of the date. October, 2023.
Ten years since he had been taken to this stupid facility. Ten years of putting up with their bullshit, all the while keeping a smile on his face, trying to earn their trust.
It was excruciating.
But, it seemed to be working. He was their top underwater maintenance worker, which meant he got to gain a good understanding of the layout of this place, as well as how its machinery worked.
He had been upgraded to a slightly nicer jailcell too, and sometimes they even let him hang out with the other prisoners during their recreational activities. He had to be supervised at all times, of course, but he was working on that too. He was quite friendly to all the guards who watched him, and it seemed some of them were starting to believe they were actually friends. Given some time, he was sure he'd be able to convince one of them to leave him alone for a few minutes. It was a waste of time and resources to have anyone watching him after all, since little ol' Sebastian never caused any trouble.
Thankfully, no one seemed to notice that he was internally vomiting every time he had to suck up to one of those assholes. They also didn't notice that a couple pages from some documents had mysteriously gone missing.
Sebastian sat on his uncomfortable bed, flipping through the pages of one of his stolen documents. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, exactly, just that he hadn't found it yet.
His escape plan was almost complete, he just needed to figure out a way to actually leave the blacksite after he caused the lockdown. The plan needed to be perfect, he couldn't overlook a single detail. He only had one shot at this, after all. If Urbanshade caught him after causing the lockdown they'd surely kill him. Or worse.
So, he'd keep looking for the missing pieces to his plan, no matter how long it took him. He was getting out of this alive, that was for sure.
He paused on a page in the document. It mentioned something about a rival corporation to Urbanshade. Well wasn't that interesting? Sebastian didn't know Urbanshade had any rival corporations. Actually, he didn't even know there were any other companies even similar to them.
That could be very useful to him. Surely there was something in this place that would interest one of those companies. If he could figure out what, he may be able to bargain a way out.
He grinned, closing the file. It seemed his plan was coming together.
It had been 3 months since Micheal had escaped that fire, and he was starting to doubt if that was really the right decision.
He was supposed to be dead. He had died a long time ago and everything since then had been a gift. Was he really deserving of it? There were so many others who should've gotten this chance, why him?
But that thought was precisely what kept him going. He couldn't waste this opportunity he'd been given. He just needed to figure out a way to do something meaningful with it...
He didn't really have many skills, but dealing with supernatural stuff was the one thing he was good at, so he kept looking to see if he could find more. If his father was able to discover this stuff, surely someone else was too, and he could be the one to stop him.
One name had come up a couple times across different posts. Some company called "Urbanshade," some sort of weapons manufacturer with a handful of suspicious stories attached to it.
There were rumours about people going missing, prisoners who were seen leaving with Urbanshade guards days before their supposed 'execution'. Rumours about monsters being held in containment.
What really caught his eye though was the post from a throwaway account claiming to be an ex employee, which was mysteriously taken down only 30 minutes after he read it.
The post claimed that the company was doing all sorts of weird experiments, some of them on human patients. The post had attached a document detailing how they removed the eyes of a bull shark to make them radioactive, for some reason. Why anyone would want to do that was beyond him.
It also mentioned unsafe working conditions for the employees, having them work with some sort of dangerous creatures. A blurry image was attached, showing some sort of ghostly fish thing.
If this was all true, it seemed like this place was even worse than the Fazbear corporation. His father had his fair share of mad scientist moments and had created some dangerous creatures, but this was on a whole new level.
Bringing an end to this sort of evil was exactly the kind of thing he wanted to do. He had taken down a corrupt corporation before, how hard would it be to do it again?
If he could get hired at this place, then he should be able to take it down from the inside.
So it turned out that Urbanshade's main facility was in Norway, but luckily there happened to be a smaller facility a couple hours from Micheal's city.
He had prepared probably the more interesting resume ever written. It had such lines as: "skills: basic knowledge of mechanics and robotics, survival against hostile entities, ability to run a successful franchise." He was quite confident it would land him the job.
Assuming the rumours were true, that is. If Urbanshade was actually just a weapons manufacturer he was going to look insane. Hopefully that wasn't the case, though.
Micheal walked through the doors of the suspiciously mundane looking office building.
"Hey, I'm here to apply for a job," said Micheal, holding up his resume.
"We're not hiring at the moment," sighed the exasperated receptionist.
"Just... take a look at this. I think you'll find it worthwhile."
The receptionist snatched his resume out of his hand, glancing it over. Her eyes widened as she read it.
"I'll... set you up with an interview. Write your phone number here, I'll call you when we have a time scheduled," she said, sliding him a pen and paper.
Micheal grinned. And they said finding a job in this economy was supposed to be difficult...
"Well I must say, Micheal, this is certainly the most unique resume we've ever received. It's rare we get someone so... well qualified for our team."
Micheal was in some sort of office, but with how cold and sterile the room was it felt almost more like a prison cell. It was just white walls and a metal table.
The interviewer matched the vibe of the room as well, sporting a white coat and dark slicked back hair.
"You have quite a lot of relevant experience that make you a good candidate for multiple positions. It says here you have experience as a security guard, as well as robotics?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"Now... what I'm most curious about is this section here. What exactly do you mean by 'first hand experience with anomalous entities?'" The interviewer leaned forwards, folding his hands on the table.
"Well, most of my previous jobs have required me to evade hostile entities."
That was corporate speak for 'not die to murder robots.'
"Also, as you may have noticed, I myself am in... possession of an anomaly, hence my appearance."
There was a sickening gleam in the interviewers eyes at that statement. This sent a chill down Micheal's spine.
"Now that sounds like exaclty the kind of experience that will really help you excel here at Urbanshade. We would be happy to have you join our team, given that you agree to partake in some tests."
That was absolutely a terrible idea. Giving these people access to a substance that can bring anything to life...
But, this place should be long gone before they ever figure out what the stuff even does. They shouldn't be able to do any damage with it, right? He would make sure of it. And it seemed if he wanted to take this place down, he would have to agree.
"I might be willing to cooperate on that."
The interviewer grinned. "Wonderful! Now, once you sign this contract, you will become an official member of Urbanshade. We eagarly welcome you to our team."
Before Micheal knew it, he was booking a plane ticket to Norway and flying off to the Hadal Blacksite.
It was a crazy facility... kilometers under the ocean, you had to take a submarine just to get there. If you looked out any of the windows, all you would see was the black abyss of the sea. It was more than a little unsettling.
He was given a quick rundown of how the place operated by some guy who looked like he would have rathered been doing anything else besides that.
He was told that he wouldn't have one particular job, and would be working wherever he was needed. They were short staffed, apparently, so he was there to fill in the gaps.
There was some sort of project that they were building a robot for, but they needed the mechanics for some other project and so this one got shelved. Now it was Micheal's job to pick up the pieces.
He was handed a map that looked more like a modern art piece than any sort of coherent building plan. This place was designed like a maze! He didn’t know what the architects were on when they designed the place, but clearly it was good.
Micheal looked up from the 'map' to see his tour guide had already left him. He supposed that was his cue to get to work.
Sebastian dug around a shelf full of tools, looking for the ones he needed for his next job. Apparently there was a broken pipe he needed to fix? He wasn't quite sure... he wasn't exactly listening. But he couldn't raise any suspicion by disobeying so... whatever. Pipe duty it was.
He was in the storage room where the kept the mechanic supplies. There was some other guy in there with him, but he hadn't paid much attention to him. Sebastian glanced just outside the door where the guard asigned to supervise him was waiting, who looked to be getting increasingly more agitated at how long Sebastian was taking.
Sebastian sighed, accepting his defeat. Clearly he wasn't going to be able to find what he was looking for.
"Hey, you seen the soldering iron?" He asked the other man. It took him a second to respond
"Hmm, me?" He asked, barely looking up from whatever it was he was doing.
Sebastian rolled his eyes, "yes, you, literally the only other person in this room."
"No, sorry, I haven't," he replied, finally looking up, giving Sebastian a chance to see his face for the first time.
He recoiled slightly in shock. "Oh! You're-"
Purple??
"...new here! Welcome, my name is Sebastian. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Sebastian grinned looking down at the strange man. He kept his two main hands clasped together by his chest, offering his smaller third hand out for a handshake. He always liked to do this when meeting new people. Seeing how they reacted was a good way to get a quick judgement of their personality. Some people were afraid, others seemed almost disgusted. He even had had multiple people straight up refuse to touch him, like they thought it was contagious or something. Plus... seeing the look on their faces was really funny.
Much to Sebastian's dismay, this man barely reacted to Sebastian's extra appendage. In fact, he seemed almost completely unfazed. There was a quick moment of shock, confusion, and then he reached out and shook his hand.
"Micheal. It's nice to meet you, too."
After a complete minutes of uncomfortable silence, Micheal spoke up again. "You were wondering why I look like this, yeah?"
Oh. Sebastian was hoping he hadn't caught on to that... although he supposed he hadn't exactly been subtle with his surprise.
He laughed uncomfortablely. "Heh... guilty..."
"Ah, it's alright. I was wondering what the deal was with your... situation, so I suppose now we're even."
"You don't ask questions about mine, and I won't ask any about yours."
He laughed. "It's a deal."
Sebastian went back to the shelves, turning his back on Micheal. There was something very... off about that guy. For starters, his skin was obviously the wrong color, his eyes were pitch black with only a white pinprick pupil, and his skin had weird tears and scars all over, almost like it was rotting. There was one spot on cheek next to his mouth where there was just a hole, you could see all the way through to his teeth.
But besides his appearance, there was just something about him that set him apart from the other Urbanshade employees. He just couldn't place his finger on it...
"Soo... Micheal, what brings you to Urbanshade? I see you're an employee which means you came here willingly. Why?"
Sebastian kept searching the shelves, glancing slightly behind him to gauge his reaction. He seemed to tense slightly at this question.
"Uh... well you know... it just seemed like a good opportunity, fit my skill set, decent pay..."
Bullshit. There were only two reasons someone chose to work here: either they were desperate or psychopathic. No in-between.
"Yeah, fair enough."
Well now Sebastian was certain this guy was up to something. Which he absolutely could not have, not now when his plan was so close to complete. Any small change could throw a wrench in his whole plan. He wasn't gonna let this idiot screw things up for him when he was so close to finally escaping.
If he was gonna convince this guy to tell him why he was really here, he would have to gain his trust. Which meant playing nice with this idiot. Greaaat...
"So, where're you from, Micheal?"
Micheal glanced up at him, narrowing his eyes.
"You sure ask a lot of questions."
Wow. Ok-ay then... Maybe earning his trust was gonna be harder than he thought...
"Just trying to make conversation," he assured him, raising his hands up defensively.
"Uh... well, that's a good question actually. I've moved around quite a bit in the last few years, so I don't feel very attached to any particular place."
Sebastian scoffed. Could this guy get any more suspicious?? "Thank you, for completely avoiding my question. Very informative answer."
Micheal sighed, "well, I grew up mostly in Utah, I guess."
"Utah?" Sebastian repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Then why are you British?"
"I lived in Englad before that."
"Ah... I see."
They both went silent for a moment, each returning to their respective tasks.
"And what about you?"
"Hm?" Sebastian flicked up an ear fin, turning slighted back to glance at Micheal.
"Oh, you mean where am I from?" He grinned, leaning towards him.
"Secret underwater cave," he snickered.
Micheal nodded thoughtfully.
"Nah, I'm just joking. I'm from Michigan."
He blinked, looking more confused than before. "Oh, that's cool."
Even though he was trying to earn his trust, Sebastian just couldn't resist messing with him a little. It got pretty boring being stuck down here so long...
"Aha, found it!" Sebastian exclaimed, pulling a soldering iron off of the shelf. Someone had stuffed it in the very back on the lowest shelf, making it pretty difficult for him to spot.
"Well... it was nice talking to you, Micheal. I'll see you around."
Micheal turned towards him, offering him a little wave. "See ya."
Sebastian returned to his chaperone- who looked annoyed at Sebastian for taking so long, but relieved they were finally leaving- and he lead Sebastian off to whatever unpaid labor he was expected to do now.
But the whole time Sebastian just couldn't get that weird interaction with the new Urbanshade worker out of his head. It just kept gnawing on the back of his mind... what could he possibly be up to? Maybe he was just being paranoid, but then again he didn't get this far by being careless.
So, for the time being, figuring out if this guy was a threat would be his main priority. He wasn't too worried about that, he was sure within a couple of weeks he could get him to talk. What was a few more weeks after a decade of being stuck in this place? This minor detour wasn't gonna derail his plan, he was getting out of here.
Whatever it takes.