Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Jeremy was walking on a sidewalk. His head was lowered, and his hands were in his pockets. His feet skidded across the pavement as he walked. His mind kept torturing him with the memory of him unwittingly murdering his brother in cold blood. No matter how hard he tried not to think about it, the image of his brother's limp body hanging from Fredbear's mouth still ended up in his head. He raises his head up, and shouts "AHHHHH! I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON!" as tears streamed down his cheeks. Strangers look at him, with concerned looks on their face. "S-sorry. I... I'm having a bad day..." He tells the strangers, as he crosses his arms, and looks to the side. Then, he starts to continue walking. However, he is stopped by Henry. "U-uncle Henry? What are you doing here?" Jeremy asks. "Well, I was driving to the store, and then I saw you. Then, I heard what you yelled, and I got concerned. So, what makes you such a "terrible person," Jeremy?" Henry says. "I... I don't wanna talk about it here..." Jeremy says, starting to cry. Henry kneels down on his right knee and puts a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "It's okay. You can tell me at my house, okay?" Henry says. "Okay..." Jeremy responds. Then, Henry takes his hand off of Jeremy's shoulder, gets up, and starts to walk towards his car. He turns around and says "Come on, Jeremy..." Jeremy nods and follows Henry into his old and beat up car. Then, Henry drives to his house.

Jeremy walks into Henry's living room. It wasn't anything fancy. Henry sits down on an old couch, and says "So Jeremy, what happened? I mean, I assume something bad happened..." Henry says. "I... Michael is dead... He's dead... I killed him! I put him into the mouth! I did!" Jeremy says. "Jeremy, calm down! What do you mean "Michael's dead?"" Henry says. Jeremy takes a deep breath and tries to calm himself. "Uncle Henry... I-I... I treated Michael so poorly these past few months... I just wanted to help him face his fears... but... four days ago, I... I put him into Fredbear's mouth, thinking that, maybe it would be the thing that got him over his fears... I thought that if I showed him, it was harmless, he'd be braver... I thought I could show him that he can beat his fears, if he faces them... But I didn't know it would bite down so hard that it would kill him... and in the end, he saw me as the bad guy." Jeremy says, holding his tears back. Henry stays silent for a long moment. "I may not know how it feels to be the cause of a loved one's death. However, I do know how it feels to lose a loved one. I can only imagine how much you're hurting... and I want to help you through this pain, Jeremy. Will you let me?" Henry says. Jeremy thinks for a moment. "Yes Henry, I will. I know I can't get through this alone." Jeremy says. "Nor, do you have to. You have me to help you..." Henry says. "I don't deserve your kindness..." Jeremy says, as his eyes start to water. "Jeremy, you made a mistake... Everyone makes mistake-" Henry starts to say, but Jeremy cuts him off. "IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT WAS A MISTAKE! I STILL KILLED MY BROTHER, UNCLE HENRY!" Jeremy exclaims. Silence fills the room for a moment. "Jeremy, I remember when I first lost Charlotte. I felt like it was my fault. I felt like I could have done more... Eventually, I started pushing everyone away... and then, my wife left me... and my sister died... I felt so hopeless and alone... I was considering ending it all... But then, I realized something..." Henry says. "What did you realize, Uncle Henry?" Jeremy asks. "I realized that... I can't lay down and die... until I kill that horrible person that killed my daughter..." Henry says, as his hand tightens into a fist. "My point is... you still have a reason to live, Jeremy... Even if you don't know what that reason is..." Henry adds, after a moment passes. Then, Jeremy starts to cry. "I just feel so horrible. Michael didn't do anything to deserve what I did to him. If anything, I deserved to be the one who's head got shoved in that mouth..." Jeremy says, in between sobs. Then, Henry gets up, walks over to Jeremy, and hugs him. "I don't know why you and dad forgave me so easily. I'm a horrible person for what I did..." Jeremy says, as he continues sobbing. "Jeremy, with how much you regret this, I'd say you're not the horrible person that you think you are..." Henry says, as he stops embracing Jeremy, and grips his shoulders, looking him in the eyes. Then, Jeremy continues to sob, as Henry embraces him, once again.

A few minutes passed, and Jeremy and Henry were sitting on the couch in silence. "I laughed..." Jeremy says, breaking the silence. "What? What do you mean?" Henry says, looking at Jeremy. "While I was scaring him from underneath his bed, behind the couch, and even when I locked him in the parts and service room... I laughed." Jeremy says, as his voice starts to become shaky. "I think I was lying to myself when I said: "I wanted help him face his fears." I think a sick part of me actually enjoyed his fear..." Jeremy says as his eyes tear up. "I think a sick part of me found it fucking hilarious!" Jeremy says, through gritted teeth, as he hits the arm of the couch with his fist in anger. "Even on his last day... I just... I just wish I could take it all back..." Jeremy says, as he puts his face in his hands. Henry didn't know what to say. There wasn't anything else he could say, so he just patted Jeremy on the back, trying to comfort him.

William wakes up in his bed and rolls over. He was hoping to see Jennifer and realize that this was all just a bad dream... But he knows that that won't happen. He sighs, before sitting up. He then puts his face in his hands.

William was still trying to completely heal Michael. He had found some of the amalgamated child remnant in a syringe. He realized what he needed to do, but he hated the thought of even doing it. "I... I have to do this..." William says, while holding the syringe. "I... I have to... I'm... I'm sorry..." William says, while looking at the syringe, as tears form in his eyes. He then closes his eyes, as he injects the substance into Michael. It still doesn't seem to work all that much, and the huge gash was still on Michael's forehead. He then walks out of the basement and starts to break down. "I'm sorry..." He says over and over again, as he falls onto his knees and starts to cry. "I didn't want to, I swear..." He says. He then hears laughter. "It's like I've told you many times before... You're just like me, William." Dave says. "JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He says. "Just... shut... up..." He says again, as he starts to sob.

It had been a few days, and William had noticed that Michael had been slowly healing. He quickly realized that it must have been the amalgamated child remnant. He was ecstatic that it actually worked. Yet, he still felt regret for what he had to do. He was checking up on Michael, when Michael opened his eyes. "F-father... My head still hurts. It still hurts..." Michael says, as he starts to cry. "I know, Michael. It'll stop soon... I hope." William says, as he holds Michael's hand in his hands.

Michael had been making wonderful progress and was now able to walk around. At this point, the gash was reduced to a scar. He had walked by a picture of Fredbear and Spring-Bonnie. Suddenly, he remembered those terrible nights. His breathing started to accelerate, as he started to cry. His sobs getting louder as his breathing escalates. William hears his cries and runs over to comfort him. He was about to ask him what was wrong but notices the picture of Fredbear and Spring-Bonnie that he had on his wall. He sighs and says: "I'm sorry, Michael... I was so preoccupied with helping you feel better, that I forgot to take it down..." Michael was still sobbing. "Hey, it's okay. I'm still here..." William says, as he hugs Michael. "I'm still here..." He reiterates.