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At first, Michael thinks he’s hallucinating, or something along those lines.

It was his third shift here at Circus Baby’s Entertainment and Rental- his plan was simple for this night originally: travel through the Funtime Auditorium without Foxy biting his face off, and remove the power module from Funtime Freddy’s chest cavity, completing whatever menial tasks he had to do in order to complete the shift here.

However, curiosity somehow gets the better of him. Earlier he had found an unfamiliar keycard in one of the private offices, and a strange sort of access badge in the scooping room, both of which he had found no use for… until recently. A few minutes ago, to be as exact as he could. He had pressed the keycard to a strange access panel, then arrived at a metal corridor which then asked for the access badge. 

“Motion trigger- Safe Room Corridor.”

Huh…?

Michael’s eyebrows were a question, of which the ensuing silence around him failed to answer.

The familiar voice of the HandUnit spoke to him strangely satisfying words when he displayed the access badge in front of the door: “ACCESS GRANTED. TREAD WITH GREAT CARE FROM THIS POINT ONWARD.”

“Why?” he grumbles under his breath, british accent heavy in his voice with frustration. “Is there yet another robot in there that’s about to bite my damn face off?”

Wrong. He was oh-so very wrong. 

The contrast from underground facility to cryptic, abandoned temple was stark, punctuated with just one step. The floors and walls were still made of the same substance, but the surroundings were doused in a healthy dose of practical pitch black of which he couldn’t see beyond, save for the faint outline of some large stone wheel decoration at the end of the room with cryptic symbols, runes and glyphs carved on every section encircling one big one at the center- an elaborate triskelion.

Blue eyes dart back to the same triskelion frescoes carved into the large marble and gold pedestal at the center of the room. Strangely enough, despite the lack of natural light, butterflies fluttered around the altar to and fro.

Michael finds himself haphazardly trying to brush off the dust and grime present on his security guard outfit as he glances to the steps leading up to a glass case positioned at the center of the pedestal, surrounded by a plethora of offerings: memorabilia in the form of framed photos that looked like they were from his early life, flower bouquets of blue hydrangeas and cotton flowers, candles that were somehow lit and have barely melted, bowls of seemingly perpetually ripe persimmons, ceramic vases full of incense that still gave off the faint scent of sandalwood- there were even plushies of Freddy and Chica in the front, with Bonnie and Foxy presumably on the back.

Guardians, his mind unhelpfully supplies. To protect the one contained within while he slumbers.

He almost scoffs at the fact that the whole shrine, ofrenda, whatever, was built for a deactivated, weirdly human-like robot draped in a red cloth with gold stitching across his legs- but… it wasn’t deactivated, his less logical brain protests. Even as it sleeps near-motionless upon a soft mattress covered in white silk as unblemished and as pure as lily petals resting upon the first winter’s snow, it wasn’t just deactivated- such words failed to describe the ethereal, entrancing sight before him that sent shockwaves of goosebumps up his entire body.

He glances at the other features- the smooth, human-like skin of a pale complexion tinged with apricot blush here and there, the whirring of a white LED on the side of its head that sometimes sped up, sometimes flickered and sometimes stood still, or even went out entirely- its thick and shimmering locks of brown hair sprawled out around him, its bangs framing its delicate, demure face… and to think he was observing such details only from a distance.

Michael stares and gawks, forlorn and yet flabbergasted, at a mythical creature: a peaceful, slumbering beast.

And oh, does he find himself treading lightly for no reason at all, just for the fact that he cares immensely all of a sudden about this place: he was walking on eggshells, and one wrong misstep could potentially wake the strange robot humanoid up- this strange alien creature that looks so close to human.

Michael’s suddenly treading upon sacred ground- a holy place, the dim, golden and white rays of light above the altar providing the illusion that the sleeping thing before him was basking in respite far underneath the trapdoor to heaven- a comforting warmth is upon his skin as he walks into the light’s grasp.

This thing locked deep in stasis isn’t his brother- and yet…

A single tear slips from his burning eyes, trickling down his cheek and falling from his chin as he stares upon the figure asleep in the glass case, transfixed. He almost feels like he’s about to break down into a quietly sobbing mess when he tiptoes closer up the stairs and sees the more intricate details- the sleeping humanoid’s lips slightly parted to reveal a thin crease of teeth, hands folded across its chest with its fingers interlocked as if it were in perpetual prayer, brows relaxed and yet conveying a hint of sorrow…

There’s even the gentle breaths coming from it- the occasional fluttering of lashes, the slow, punctuated rise and fall of its chest.

It looks so peaceful. This robotic, scarily human doppelganger of his sweet baby brother, Evan, mired in the same warm, dreamless bliss that he couldn’t have. That Evan tried so hard to earn, but could never, ever have.

Michael’s knees give out, betraying him shamelessly as he collapses into a half-sitting, half-leaning position against the marble steps, head and hands pressed against the glass burning frigid and yet warm upon his skin. How dare he descerate this beautiful, divine resting place- how dare he defile this sacred ground with his impure presence, his less rational mind spits out once again.

“I want to stay here forever…” he croaks out, choking up pathetically on his words again.

He should leave, and leave he eventually shall, because if he stayed here a moment too long he’d be bawling in front of the coffin instead of getting anything done. But the warm embrace of the light above him- the soft breaths next to him, and the sounds of faint heartbeats echoing throughout the room… he can’t help but picture those nights with the distant sound of thunder rumbling outside, the phantom sensation of soft locks of brown hair running through his coarse fingers… baby soft skin being peppered by endless kisses and gentle whispers of lullabies...

It was like Michael was sleeping next to his brother again.

The surroundings fade to a static, dreamless white as he allows a sliver of time to indulge in his childish desires brought on by grief and love persevering forevermore. Of happier, simpler days, of carefree moments that he wished could last for all eternity. His tear-stained cheeks prickle with warmth as his eyes flutter closed.

***

The next night, he is sure to bring a bouquet of cotton flowers and blue hydrangeas as an offering of sorts to pay respects to the quietly slumbering creature that was a lookalike to his brother- the only flowers that Evan particularly enjoyed. Knowing that the humanoid creature sleeping inside the glass case would probably enjoy those as well, for some reason, puts a satisfied smile on Michael's face- a grin wider than it should be.

My body broke today

Not for the first time

and not by my hands

but by the gift of pain

I was blessed with from birth.

The fire burned like nostalgia

and my teeth clenched

but I did not weep, no

what the mind wanted

what the soul wanted

was to resurrect you.

And when it came in waves

your scent crashed the synapsis

and broke my heart to find

that my body chose you

to be the keeper of my pain.

And logic rears its head

Like the fools that came before

Steel, force, cancer, fire

never brought me close to death