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Crying. Someone was crying. It was the first thing he noticed when he came back to himself.
He first thought that the sound came from him, like it usually did, and he braced himself for his brother's harsh scolding as he called him a useless crybaby. But the wretched sobs continued, with nothing coming to make it stop, and Evan soon started to realise that he wasn't the one crying at all.
Curious and confused, he opened his eyes only to instantly shut them again when the brightness of a light right in front of him suddenly assaulted him. He whimpered automatically, his body expecting the pain that normally followed the action, but he frowned as nothing came. Tentatively, he opened his eyes again and found that he could do so easily, the brightness not bothering him in the slightest.
He kept staring at the lamp for a moment, trying to understand what was even happening, when a broken sob on his left reminded him of what had first gotten his attention. He turned his head to the side, in search of answers, only to stop dead in his tracks as he took in the sight welcoming him.
There, crying uncontrollably and muttering neverending apologies, was his big brother. His big brother - who always mocked him for crying non-stop, who he couldn't even remember ever seeing cry, who had always been the strongest and the bravest person he knew - was crying, and it terrified him.
"M-Mikey ?" He tried calling out to him, but the complete lack of response had him frowning. He tentatively sat up from where he had been lying down on some unfamiliar bed, and he properly turned to his brother, trying to get his attention again. "Mikey ? What's wrong ?"
Despite his efforts, Michael didn't show any sign of acknowledgement and his whispered rambling continued, only interrupted by his crying and the occasional gasp for air as he struggled to breathe in-between sobs.
The sight alone made Evan's eyes start to water too, but he hurriedly wiped his tears away, resolved to be the strong one this time, for his brother's sake. He had no idea what could be bad enough to make the older boy break in such a way, but he wouldn't let him deal with it alone, even if it frightened him. Mike might have enjoyed regularly scaring and bullying him, but he had still been there when Evan truly needed it, and he wouldn't abandon his brother now that he was the one needing someone to be there for him.
It was dead set on helping his older brother that Evan reached out a cautious hand, wanting to give him a comforting touch, but he recoiled in horror as it went right through Michael instead of making contact. His breathing hitched up as he stared at his hand in terror.
He tried reaching out again, hoping that he had just imagined things, but to no avail. He couldn't stop the tears in his eyes from falling down anymore as he struggled to understand what was happening with him. He looked back at his brother, searching for some kind of answer, but the older boy remained completely unaware of Evan's turmoil. "W-what ? Mikey ? What's happening to me ?"
As he was left, once again, without any answer from his sobbing brother, Evan started to look around the room for some sort of explanation, only to finally realise that they were in a hospital room. His frown deepened as he realised that he couldn't remember how they got there in the first place, and he quickly scanned over Mike and himself for any injury, stopping as he came across bandages tightly wrapped all around the top of his head. Touching it didn't seem to cause him any pain so he continued to poke at it curiously as he scanned the rest of the room until he eventually found his attention taken by a small device at his side flashing a couple of zeros on a screen next to a long flat line.
Dread filled him as everything started to slowly add up into the beginning of some horrific realisation and Evan quickly turned back to his brother, a pleading look on his face. "Mikey, please… I'm scared…"
Before jumping to hasty conclusions, Evan tried to remember what had happened before he lost consciousness, but nothing came back to him. He began to listen to Mike more attentively, hoping that his sobbed out words could clear up at least some of the mystery but as he tried to make sense of the jumbled muttering, he found himself momentarily distracted by the sight of his brother crying. The sheer foreignness of it made his heart clenched, and he once again wondered what could have happened to the strong and unaffected teen he knew to turn him into such a crying mess.
He eventually shook his head, forcing his focus back onto the task at hand, only to wish he hadn't when he finally deciphered Mike's words.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"It wasn't supposed to happen."
"I didn't mean for that to happen."
"It was just a prank."
"Please. I'm sorry."
"I never wanted this."
"Please, come back."
"It was an accident."
"I'm sorry..."
Slowly, the flow of apologies helped trigger Evan's memory.
It had been his birthday, but despite his pleas to remain home, where he would be safe from the animatronics, their father had insisted that they go celebrate at Fredbear's. He had gone and hid under a table as soon as they arrived, hoping he would be left alone until they could leave. Mike soon joined his scary friends in the arcade area and his dad left to work in his office, like he usually did.
To his relief, no-one paid much attention to him. He had successfully settled himself as far from the animatronics as he could, not trusting them after what had happened with Lizzie, and he had planned on staying there until his dad came back to get them all home, but Mike and his friends had other plans.
They had been calling for him for a while, and they had eventually found his hiding spot despite his effort to remain hidden and silent. He couldn't remember what they had said to him, but he could remember the overwhelming fear he had felt as he was slowly dragged towards the main stage. He had never been as terrified as he had in that moment, even after all the pranks and jumpscares Mike had enjoyed playing on him for years. But as he started to lift him onto the stage, his brother seemed to remain unaware of the realness of his fear under the cheers of his friends and the overwhelming noise of the diner.
The next thing he knew, Evan was stuck inside Fredbear's mouth, crying his heart out and pleading to be let out, before a loud noise rang in his ears and everything went black.
What had happened after that ? How did he get here ? Was that why his head was bandaged ? Had he been badly hurt ? Was that why Mike was crying ?
Nothing made sense and, still shaken and desperate for answers, Evan looked back at Michael. He started reaching for him again, hoping to get at least some comfort from his brother, before he remembered that he would only go right through him. Sad and confused, he let his hand fall back onto the bed, suddenly noticing the person he was half sitting into as he did so. He quickly turned around, surprised by the unexpected sight, but he froze as he was met with his own inanimate body lying down on the hospital bed.
It suddenly made much more sense. He was a ghost. He had died , and now he was a ghost.
Weirdly, this realisation came as less of a surprise than the one that the reason why Mike was crying was because he was dead. Because he had killed him.
Mike had killed him.
Evan didn't know what to make of this. Too much was going on and he couldn't make sense of any of it. Did Mike really hate him that much ? He would often mock and bully him with his friends, but while it was scary in the moment, Evan had never thought too much of it. He had assumed it was mostly because he was a teenager and he had grown annoyed at having to always deal with his childish behaviour and constant crying. It was hurtful and confusing, sure, but Evan had hoped Liz had been right and that it really was nothing more than him being a dumb teenager and that it would eventually subside.
There was no way Mike had really wanted him dead, right ? Why would he be crying and apologising if he had ?
The proof that it was all an accident was right in front of him, and even if a part of him couldn't help but feel betrayed and hurt by Mike's apparent involvement in his death, he also couldn't ignore the pang in his heart at the sight of his brother, broken down in a way Evan had never expected from him. And even if he wanted to be angry, to hate him, to not ever trust him again, he found himself believing the sincerity of his apology anyway.
Michael had always been a bit rough around the edges, even back when he had been nicer to him - not that Evan ever fully understood why he had started acting up in the first place - but he still knew that his older brother loved him regardless. He was the one who always took care of him - and Liz before she went 'missing'. He would prepare his food, help him get ready in the morning, walk him to school, tuck him in bed at night… And even if he complained about it all, Evan knew that he did it because he cared , and it was his way of showing it.
So when he swore through heartbreaking sobs that he had never meant for Evan to get hurt by his prank, Evan believed him easily and he wished he could find a way to comfort him, to tell him that he knew it was an accident. He wasn't sure he could forgive him, at least not just yet, but he knew he didn't want to see his normally so tough big brother sounding so desperate and utterly broken. Mike wasn't supposed to look like that, or sound like that. He wasn't supposed to be crying. Mike didn't cry , he made fun of Evan for doing it. It was wrong. Everything was wrong.
Even when Liz had gone missing, Michael hadn't shed a tear about it, and he had scolded Evan when he did, telling him to man up - though he had been noticeably quieter and nicer to him the following weeks. Granted, unlike Evan, who had directly witnessed it, Mike didn't know what really happened that day, and he hadn't believed him when he had tried to tell him, so maybe his death appeared to be objectively worse than Liz's disappearance and that was the reason why his reaction was so much stronger.
But even with that in mind, Evan couldn't shake the feeling that something else was going on as, utterly powerless, he continued to observe his brother openly crying next to his bed. There was something wrong about it and he couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe it was because he expected him to be angry, or ashamed, of having such a childish reaction, and he wasn't. In fact, now that Evan was looking more closely, he almost seemed scared.
He was still trying to make sense of the foreign scene in front of him, having long given up trying to reach out to Mike as nothing seemed to work, when his older brother, whose crying had eventually subsided into silent sobs as he had no more tears to shed, suddenly tensed out of nowhere.
Not knowing what had happened, Evan could only watch, confused, as Michael frantically wiped the drying tears off his face while trying to straighten up his clothes and hair. His eyes were fixed on the door, dread written all over his face as he forced his breathing to even out. Evan didn't know what to make of the sudden and unexpected change of attitude, and he tried to figure out what might have caused it when he heard his father's voice coming from just outside the room.
He frowned at what seemed to be nothing but a coincidence. Could it be the reason why Mike had reacted this way ? Did he not want their father to see him cry ? Did that mean he had only let himself cry because he thought he was alone ?
He didn't get the chance to continue wondering about it as the door opened and a doctor appeared in the doorway, quickly moving to the side to let their dad into the room. His piercing gaze was directed right at Michael, the sight alone making Evan shiver. Never had he seen their father look so dangerous, and it scared him to no end. An awkward silence filled the room as Michael kept his head down, eyes fixed on the ground, under their father's displeased stare. The doctor looked between both men and quickly excused himself, closing the door as he left.
As the two were left alone - or so they thought - Evan was shocked to see their father's disgruntled look instantly turn into one of open disgust and annoyance. He slowly crept towards Michael, and Evan frowned as his brother tensed at the movement. Mike remained frozen in place until their father stood right behind him and grasped his hair, forcing him to turn his head and look him in the eyes. Evan winced at the abrupt gesture and kept on watching, with growing confusion, as his dad scoffed at Michael before violently letting go of him, almost making him hit the edge of the bed with the force of it.
"Pathetic." Mike gulped, keeping his head down, eyes staring at the ground, as their father towered over him. "Crying like a child. I thought I taught you better than that."
Evan was left even more at a loss for words than before at the pure venom coming out of the older man's mouth. He had never heard their dad sound so hateful before, and he had never commented on him crying, even though he would do it almost constantly.
Why would he comment on it for Mike, though ? Was it because he was a teenager ? Was he not allowed to cry anymore ?
"I'm sorry, sir." Mike's insincere and bitter apology brought Evan out of his musing and made him take notice of his brother's slightly shaking frame. "It won't happen again."
The whole room was so tense that even though he knew no one could see him, Evan was frozen in place, too scared to move even an inch. Their father was still staring down at Mike, looking like he was assessing his words and posture.
It seemed like he found what he was looking for as he eventually stepped back with a strange-looking smile that sent a chill down Evan's spine. "Good." Mike continued to look at the ground, but Evan kept watching as their father silently walked to the door. Before he left the room, he talked again, not bothering to turn back as he did so. "Get ready. I'll deal with the paperwork, and then we are leaving."
Evan winced as the door was slammed shut, almost missing the way Mike's frozen expression melted into one of pure hatred as he stared at the spot where their father had stood moments before. The sight made him recoil, having never seen his older brother look so angry - especially at their father.
Mike never seemed to like their dad very much - not that Evan had ever really known why, though he believed it to be because he wasn't around a lot - but he had still always respected him, and made sure that Evan did the same. But then again, the whole interaction he had just witnessed between the two was beyond weird.
Something about it all felt very wrong .
Their dad had never been the nicest, sure, but Evan had never seen him use actual physical strength on any of them, or even look as dangerous as he had been just a few moments ago.
But as he kept on watching Micheal, Evan came to the dawning realisation that his brother didn't seem shocked, or even confused, by their father's sudden change of behaviour like he was, but rather defeated and tired - almost as if he was used to it.
Was he ? Had their dad acted that way towards Mike before ? Why wouldn't Mike say anything about it if he had ?
Evan couldn't even start to understand what any of this meant and he was still trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened when Mike suddenly stood up from his seat. He stayed there for a moment, unmoving, and staring down through Evan's ghostly form, at his body, before he reached out to grab the Fredbear plush that Evan had failed to notice beforehand. A flash of fondness filled him at the sight of his beloved plush, before disappointment replaced it as he realised he wouldn't be able to hold it close to him anymore.
Instead, he could only watch as Michael stared at it, softly stroking the fur. "I'm so sorry…" His words came out in a whisper, and he clutched the toy to his chest, looking close to bursting into tears again. But before that could happen, he shook his head, taking a deep breath to try to calm himself. With a final resolute look, he grabbed his schoolbag and carefully hid Fredbear into it before walking away from his chair. The action made Evan smile a little as he was glad to see his brother being so gentle with his plush, and seemingly wanting to keep it with him.
Michael gave one last sorrowful glance at the bed before opening the door. Evan, scared to remain stuck forever in this unfamiliar hospital, rushed after him. After everything he had just witnessed, a part of him was also reluctant to leave his older brother alone, even if the other couldn't see him anymore.
Something was terribly wrong. And from the looks of it, it had been the case for a long while. In fact, the whole ordeal made it seem like there might have been more to his brother's recent bullying and acting out than Evan had originally thought, and he was dead set on getting to the bottom of it.