One's Lonely, Two's Company, Three's a Crowd

AU 2

AN: This chapter is a non-canon prequel to all the others, in which Lefty tries to attack Michael, so Henry intervenes. This retroactively explains why Lefty protects Michael in the preceding chapters. Requested by RandomPersonThatWrites

"There's room for one more..." a hoarse whisper echoed through the vents and Michael barely had time to look over his shoulder before something massive lunged at him. His scream was cut off with equal speed as a large, metal paw wrapped itself around his throat. His eyes bugged out and he began to choke, clawing uselessly at the paw. It lifted him clean off the ground and he found himself face to face with a very big, very angry black bear. It was missing an eye, but although the socket was empty, Michael could've sworn that he saw something flicker within.

"I've been looking for you, and now, I will never let you go..." Once again, that nightmarish and raspy whisper filled Michael's head. He began to thrash as the animatronic brought him closer and closer to its face, but it was still no use. Michael may as well have been trying to move a mountain for all the good that his squirming did. Then, the bear's jaw began to move, as if it were trying to open its mouth...

"Come spend eternity... inside... with me..." the bear hissed. Michael gave one more horrified gag, certain that it was game over for him...

But life was always full of twists, turns and the most unexpected of developments.

"Charlie! Stop!"

Michael managed to, somewhat, jerk his head to the left. The bear, Charlie?, did likewise. Another voice had come from another vent, but this one was entirely human, and it was one that both of them recognized.

"Henry!" Michael managed to wheeze. And only a second later, Henry's aged face popped out of the vent.

"Charlie! Stop!" he repeated. "Let him go! He is not the man you're looking for!"

For a moment, the bear did nothing. It only turned to face Michael again, its gold eye piercing his soul. But Henry continued to plead.

"You've made a mistake! This man is with me! He is innocent. He hasn't harmed anyone. Instead, he is trying to save you all!"

Then at last, the bear finally spoke. "Why... should I... believe you?"

"Because, Charlie, it's me! Henry! Your... father..." Tears immediately sprung into Henry's eyes. "Don't you remember me, baby girl?"

"What?" Unlike Henry, Charlie didn't sound nearly as longing. Instead, her voice turned cold and ominous.

"Charlie! It's me!" Henry repeated, carefully making his way out of the vent to stand directly in front of Charlie's massive body.

"You..." Charlie's one eye narrowed. She leaned closer to Henry until their noses were nearly touching. Henry was unflinching while Michael braced himself for the worst. What if Charlie bit his head clean off?! She was certainly big enough to do so!

"I'm so sorry, baby girl... My sweet, darling, little angel! Light and love of my life..." Tears continued to flow down Henry's face as he looked Charlie's new body up and down, regret written on every line in his face.

"You... left me... You... abandoned me... You let this happen! You left me there..." Anger and sadness filled Charlie's ethereal whisper. Now she recognized him, but she was still far from happy to see him again.

"No, baby girl, no," Henry managed to soothe her even through his own tears. "I wish I could've protected you, believe me, there is nothing I regret more than failing you! But I never knew this would happen and I never meant to leave you behind... I would give anything to bring you back! I would gladly trade places with you if I could! And I have never stopped loving you or missing you in all of these decades that we've been apart! That's why I've been doing all of this! Ever since the day I lost you, I vowed I would not stop until you were avenged!"

Henry's eyes flashed with fury and memory. It was enough to surprise Charlie. So... Perhaps her daddy hadn't forgotten her after all? But still... "That does not excuse you from allowing this monster to go unpunished for so long!" Charlie's surprise changed back into anger as she turned to look at Michael again. She began to tighten her grip around his neck...

"No! Charlie! Wait!" Once again, Henry cried out desperately, and once again, it was enough to make Charlie pause. As hardened as her heart had become, she still had a soft spot for her dad. Especially after hearing that he hadn't forgotten about her after all! And although it infuriated her to hear him beg for the evil nightguard, hearing him sound so desperate was something she could not ignore. So, albeit reluctantly, she loosened her grip once again. But she did not let Michael go.

"Why?" she hissed softly. "Why do you care so much about this monster?"

"He's not the monster!" Henry cried, trying again to get Charlie to realize that she had the wrong man. "I know they look alike, and it's because they are indeed father and son! But the man you want is not this one!"

"Father and son...?" Charlie sounded genuinely baffled, but Henry nodded urgently.

"That's Michael! The man you want is his father, William!"

For a moment, Charlie seemed genuinely stupefied, and she didn't move a single inch. But after a bit of thought, she realized that Henry was telling the truth! Even though Michael looked a lot like William, it lined up timewise that this was indeed not her killer. By this time, her killer was probably incredibly old. So it would make no sense for him to appear as a middle-aged man, as Michael was. Likewise, somewhere, in the very depths of Charlie's mind, she did remember a Michael Afton. Even though she'd spent most of her time with Elizabeth, since Michael was so much older than them, she did recognize the name.

The realization, which seemed so obvious in hindsight, surprised Charlie enough that she finally released Michael, letting him drop to the floor in an undignified heap. Henry ran to his side immediately, and Charlie allowed him to. She watched silently as Henry checked up on Michael, helping him calm down and stand up. Only after Michael had risen to his feet did Charlie speak again.

"Sorry..." she mumbled, looking at Michael.

"No worries," he gave her a nervous smile, still rubbing his throat.

"I thought you were-"

"I know, and I'm sorry," Michael's eyes filled with genuine empathy. "But like Henry said, I'm actually here to help."

"Yes," Henry nodded his assent. "Charlie, he's going to help us destroy the Fazbear franchise once and for all!" Then he turned back to Michael. "That's why I brought "Lefty" here at all. Because she's going to help us! But she'll cover the animatronic side of things."

Well. This shift had taken quite a turn... But now that the confusion had been cleared up, Charlie seemed much more willing to work with Michael. Likewise, although Michael was still somewhat nervous around her, he wasn't going to turn down such a powerful ally.

"So, are you two ready to hear the plan?" Henry gave them a mysterious smile. In response, they leaned in closer to him. Things were going to take an even bigger turn very soon, weren't they?