WHAT IF: Henry Emily dismantled the FNAF1 Animatronics? (Story)
To start this out: 1. This is not a theory, sorry if you were looking for me to try and convince you that Henry was Purple and became Springtrap, and 2. This WAS Inspired by a story on the Bagos YouTube channel about Henry Emily being springlocked... but, it was something I was a bit disappointed in, so I decided to change it around to create a different story. Overall, it's completely different besides the sole idea of Henry Emily being springlocked (different location, different story, different point in the timeline, different outcome, etc) but if you want to support his video you can check it out.
We all know by now that William Afton, depicted in FNAF 3, would dismantle the cast of animatronics from the FNAF 1 games and then be pressured by their spirits into the Spring Bonnie costume... but what if things changed? WHAT IF, that night... Henry Emily was the one dismantling the animatronics?
This story starts to diverge from the main timeline by a combination of Henry's wit and William's understanding of the spirits. Henry, by this point in the new timeline, had managed to find out the true nature of the animatronics and the MCI / missing kids all around Freddy's. Either through finding some of William's work or their own investigation, they knew that the animatronics were haunted and that William was the costumed man who had led the kids to the backroom and was most likely responsible for the other murders. Henry, too conflicted to go to the police with his doubts about managing to convince the police of the haunted costumes, especially with how the spirits could act unpredictably and maybe even fail to show themselves to the police should he report it, Henry decided to confront William.
This confrontation failed to truly sway William's heart, and Henry had soon left after William began to talk about how their research into souls could be so useful... but what it did do, was tell William one thing; Henry was a loose cannon and needed to be dealt with, and with a task on his to-do-list looking especially unfinished, he knew a perfect way to get rid of them.
Soon after, Henry would receive a parcel left at his doorstep. Inside, was a purple Freddy mask and hand crank, attached to a note from William:
"Henry. I've understood you long enough to know that you do not want these souls to rest unsatisfied and trapped within a suit, and so I have an offer for you. If you truly wish to free these souls, disassemble their suits and their spirits will come free. The animatronics may be aggressive- they may mistake you for someone else, which is what the mask is for. Don it and they may not be as aggressive, and you might even be able to lead them alone for disassembly one by one.
We haven't been partners for a long time, Henry. I understand you may be reluctant, but all along I needed a second gaze to understand what I was doing was wrong, and you opened my eyes. If you truly have what is best in mind for these spirits, complete my offer."
Sitting on their desk, stumped and conflicted, Henry twirled the note around in their hands. On the back of it was the location of the old Freddy's location, though one of the more recent ones compared to others. He wondered if William was lying, if William needed Henry to do this for some part of his evil scheme, or if William was truly working on something else to put all the other souls at rest and Henry just needed to disassemble this animatronics to aid. In the end, Henry would head to the pizzeria and go through with it.
Henry, donning the purple bear mask, almost looked like a shadow in the dark hallways of the Pizzeria. Soon, they saw an animatronic, and almost tauntingly Henry let out a 'follow me'. Quickly reconsidering their idea of taunting an animatronic able to tower over him so easily, he was surprised when they really did follow him, and all the way to the backroom... where Henry would disassemble the animatronic. This would continue until they were all finally disassembled... and Henry had a sinking feeling in his gut like he did something wrong. As he looked around, the parts stirred only a bit as he saw a spirit come out from the costume- and more were quickly surrounding him. Adjusting his mask, he knew that it would no longer stop any aggression, and he would go to the only location he could, the backroom. Soon, a fifth spirit had arrived, and it looked aggressive- did it mistake him for William, or did it somehow know they worked alongside him once? Henry didn't know what to think, he tried explaining himself but only stutters came out as he knew he had gone too far listening to William's ideas. As he tried and weave past the ghost multiple times, he finally recognized something in the corner of the room- the Fredbear costume, unused and available. Thinking back to the bear mask, he knew he had only one shot at 'pacifying' the spirit, and so he would quickly don the springlock suit of Fredbear. As he stood there, breathing heavily- though quickly stifling it, he saw the spirit stop. As he tried to finally explain himself or reassure them, he felt a piece of iron tear through his leg... and soon his entire body, as he collapsed, the suit no longer a suit. He thought he knew perfectly well how to operate these suits, and as he looked up, he saw nothing but a still-intact ceiling and a dry room. He had only one thing to think of before the pain became overwhelming- William. He must've rigged this suit to fail; he must've somehow known this would happen... and he knew that the spirits would not be satisfied. They stood there, unmoving, as if they knew they had not brought justice, but had only eliminated one piece of the puzzle. William would soon be there to scrap the animatronic suits that Henry had taken apart, wouldn't he? Henry had played right into his hands...
And so, through a mist of agony, 'Henry Emily' was dead. Perhaps, he was dead, but his body... not his spirit. It had been determined to keep moving on within this world, and in his costume that seemed to rot almost instantly as his pain had interfered with his sense of time, he would free the souls that William had too forced into their own bodies. And the time to escape seemed to be nigh, as a group of salvagers found Henry's suit and brought it to a new horror attraction.
The End. If you couldn't tell, this story would have major impacts on the timeline from here on forth and you can think of your own path that Henry took after he arrived at Fazbear's Fright. After all, I like stories that set you on a path to think "what would happen from here" and I think you would too. There might be some simple lore inconsistencies here but I tried to generally stick to the main timeframe.
Some assorted trivia; yes, Henry in this timeline is Shadow Freddy- he wears a purple bear mask and sticks to the dark, telling animatronics to follow him. I know, I'm so smart for making him that role here, I should be elected President of the FNAF Fan Club. This takes place earlier in the timeline then William's destruction of the FNAF 1 animatronics, so the roof is not collapsed, and water is not the cause of the springlocks- William specifically put the Fredbear suit there and rigged it to fail, so there is more hatred of William from Henry and thus even more 'Agony' / motivation to possess their springlock suit.
Feel free to talk about how you think Henry would proceed from here in the timeline of FNAF 3 to onwards, and maybe in the future I'll make more FNAF What If stories... also yes its inspired by Marvel What If / other comics like that.