Henry promised they were done killing kids. 

Dee’s gone. Jack was only away for a moment – just one moment – and now she’s missing. How could the birthday girl disappear without a trace at her own birthday party? Not in the dining room, or the arcade. He checked both bathrooms. He’s running out of places to look. He burst through the kitchen’s double doors, ignoring Ronaldo’s questions and digging through the cabinets. He’d been so careful. She can’t be gone. He shoved pots and pans out of the way, despite her not being able to fit in there without him noticing. Henry promised they were done killing kids, he promised he’d leave Dee out of it. He slammed the last cupboard shut and swallowed harshly. She’s not here. All that’s left is the safe room.

Henry promised.

Slowly, like something is weighing him down, Jack exited the kitchen and dragged himself down the hallway. He’d had nightmares of this exact scenario, but with the tightness in his chest and the ringing in his ears he knew this couldn’t be another. The bathroom hallway felt impossibly long, but finally, he reached the heavy door concealing their murders from unsuspecting parents who let their children play in the same establishment where othershad gone missing. They don’t really care , Henry had told him. They were saving the kids. But Dee wasn’t going through that. Henry knew he was trying. He reached the door. He pushed the grey door open just enough to slip inside, then shut it quickly.

“Henry?”

Henry didn’t turn to him. Did he even hear him?. He continued working away on some sort of long, slender, dark- puppet he couldn’t make out details of. The only light in the room is a lamp on the table Henry used to work on the animatronics. He squinted, his eyes adjust, and-

Oh god.

The room is drenched in blood. More than it already was. A large puddle in the direct centre of the room. There was no way anyone, let alone a child , could survive after losing that much.

Dee.

Jack fell to his knees and threw up.

At last, Henry turned to him.

“Hello, Jack.” The older man spoke in a monotone voice, unaffected by the current circumstances like he always was. In his hands was a puppet. Now he could see the white and black striped limbs, white buttons on its torso, and its face, a white mask with large empty eyes, a wide smile, and rosy cheeks. It would have looked friendly if it weren’t for the blood that leaked from every joint and hole on its small body. This wasn’t part of the plan. They were supposed to stop at two .

“Henry, what did you- I, I thought we were done. Why did you…” He held a hand over his mouth as he felt bile rise in his throat again. He couldn’t breathe . He gasped for air and practically vibrated. He didn’t notice Henry moving until he was right in front of him, an unreadable expression on his oily pink face. Henry reached into his pocket and pulled something out. It was the scarf Dee had chosen to wear today; since it was her birthday, she decided she would dress in her favourite clothes, despite the temperature outside. The red fabric was stained with darker spots. 

Tears overflowed from his eyes in an explosion as he ripped the scarf from Henry’s loose grasp. He held it to his chest and curled in on himself. Oh god. She really was gone. He failed her. She was his responsibility and he failed her. He failed Peter, he failed their parents . He hiccuped loudly.

Henry watched him cry until he calmed down enough to speak.

“The night guard, William, killed her. I didn’t notice he had taken her until it was far too late.” 

What?

“ Bullshit .” He spat, snapping his head up to stare at Henry. “He- Why would he be here during the day?! What did you do, Henry?!”

“Why would I do this, Jack? What do I gain from this? We already have eyes on the diner. Why do you believe I would do this, hm?” Henry looked down at him with disgust. “And Dee isn’t like the others. She had a good life, from what you’ve told me, anyways. It doesn’t make sense, Jack. Think about it.”

Jack sniffled and shriveled under Henry’s gaze.

Why would he kill Dee…

“But-”

“He always was strange, wasn’t he?” Henry looked directly into Jack’s eyes. He always hated Henry’s eyes. “Think about it, Jack. I would have thought my own business partner would trust me.”

He was strange. Always staring at Henry with a sort of longing, or staring at Jack with so much jealousy that it made his skin crawl if he wasn’t avoiding him completely. Long, spindly limbs with nails that were more so like claws, a wide smile with teeth too sharp… 

“Don’t worry, Jack.” Henry kneeled in front of him. Jack sniffled again.

“I will put her back together.”

—

Later that night, the same night guard laid in one of the spare suits after a long shift of animatronics hunting him. Blood gushed from where the metal had pierced his flesh, digging deeper every time he breathed too hard or twitched. He was going to die here. The man who owned the diner, Henry – his idol, had walked in and saw him. And he laughed .

So this was it, huh?

But there was a voice. Small and quiet, asking him to not give up. To free the souls of children that Henry had hurt. 

He promised to do it as he took his last breath.

Moments later, he found himself awake outside of the suit. Tomorrow, the papers will have headlines stating that the main suspect in the disappearance had gone missing. His face would be plastered everywhere.

But tonight, all that mattered was getting out of this diner. Because he had made a promise.