
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/7472217.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Major_Character_Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      Gen
  Fandom:
      Five_Nights_at_Freddy's
  Relationship:
      Foxy/Original_Female_Character_(No_Sex)
  Character:
      Foxy_(Five_Nights_at_Freddy's), Fredbear_(Five_Nights_at_Freddy's),
      Freddy_Fazbear, Withered_Chica_(Five_Nights_at_Freddy's), Withered_Bonnie
      (Five_Nights_at_Freddy's), Spring_Bonnie, Withered_Foxy_(Five_Nights_at
      Freddy's), Chica, Bonnie, Toy_Freddy_(Five_Nights_at_Freddy's), Toy_Chica
      (Five_Nights_at_Freddy's), Toy_Bonnie_(Five_Nights_at_Freddy's), Mangle,
      Purple_Man, Phone_Guy_(Five_Nights_at_Freddy's), Springtrap_(Five_Nights
      at_Freddy's), Kids_(Victims), Rose_(Original_Female_Character),
      Marionette_-_Character, Nightmare_Fredbear, Nightmare_Foxy_(Five_Nights
      at_Freddy's), Nightmare_Mangle_(Five_Nights_at_Freddy's), Nightmare_Chica
      (Five_Nights_at_Freddy's), Nightmare_Bonnie_(Five_Nights_at_Freddy's),
      Nightmare_Marionette
  Additional Tags:
      Overtures_of_Child_Molestation, Murder, Child_Killing, Haunting, lost
      souls_-_Freeform, Living_Animatronics, Angst, No_Sex, dark_themes,
      supernatural_happenings, Game_Theories/Lore
  Stats:
      Published: 2016-07-13 Updated: 2018-03-30 Chapters: 9/? Words: 36261
****** Cobwebs and Gears ******
by FlameWolf
Summary
     A young woman has been working for the Fredbear Franchise ever since
     it started, even helped build the first animatronics. Over the years
     she has seen a lot of strange things, not limited to finding out the
     animatronics she considered her friends are actually alive. Not only
     that, but they seem to be sentient. Things only get stranger when her
     Uncle, the current owner of the restaurant, starts decommissioning
     some of the more dangerous animatronics for newer models.
     Things don't really start getting scary until a new person joins the
     day security. Soon her friends are acting erratically, even dangerous
     and she finds herself feeling afraid of the animatronics for the
     first time in her life. Just what's going on to cause this change in
     behavior and what connection does it have to the new guy on security?
     More importantly, will Rose find out the answers before the machines
     turn on her?
Notes
     Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Five Night at Freddy's with the
     exception of a few O.C. animatronics. I make no profit from this,
     this is just for fun.
     Author's Note: This takes place before Five Nights at Freddy's 2,
     going with the idea that 2 is a prequel to 1. This is before they
     changed the name from Fredbear's Family Diner but after it changed
     ownership. Also, the animatronics featured right now are the
     'withered' ones from 2.
***** First Night Jitters *****
“You'll do great! The kids'll love you! You'll see!” the cheerful female
chirped, polishing the hook on the animatronic fox's arm. Her aqua eyes
shimmering, Rose stepped back to admire the red faux fur covered machine.
Smiling affectionately, the black haired female gave the machine's cold nose a
brief kiss.
“All ye land lubbers out thar put yer hands together for the best pirate in the
seven seas!” came a gruff male voice from the other side of the purple, velvet
curtain.
“Alright! That's your cue! I have to go check on the others now. Remember,
don't be nervous! You'll be the new favorite, just wait and see,” Rose
chuckled, giving the fur covered machine a hug before sprinting off the stage.
She never noticed the fox turn its head towards her, an almost smile on its
animatronic face.
Rose had been with the Fredbear family since they had first opened the doors,
taking it upon herself to personally repair the animatronic performers. Tonight
was the debut of their newest family member and she had wanted to make sure he
had someone to cheer him on. She almost felt ridiculous for treating the
machines as if they had feelings but she couldn't shake the feeling that they
appreciated her efforts. With a smile at the curtain as it started to slide
open, the black haired female snuck towards the Party Room where the other
animatronics waited for their turns. “This here be Foxy! The roughest pirate
ever to sail the briny blue,” came the gruff voice of the performer on stage
with the machine, his voice following her into the deserted next room.
On a stage in a huge, deserted room stood the three older members of the group,
their lifeless eyes staring ahead at nothing. Most other people couldn't help
but feel afraid or creeped out by the lifeless machines but Rose felt oddly
comfortable around them. “Hey Bon-Bon! Are ya jealous of your new brother?” she
asked almost conversationally as she walked onto the stage. The purple furred
bunny starred at her blankly, his huge, square jaw hanging slightly open.
“Don't worry Bonnie! The kids won't dump you and the others over so easy. Just
put your all into your performance like always,” she chirped giving the
machine's rigid arm a reassuring pat. Bonnie only shifted slightly, his head
almost seeming to hang in sadness.
“Hey, Freddy I think Bonnie's really upset,” Rose whispered, to the golden bear
in the middle, a worried look in her turquoise eyes. The blocky looking bear
only stared blankly at her, his tiny black top hat sitting jauntily on his
head.
“Bonnie, don't be upset! The kids will be here soon and you want to give them
your best!” Rose encouraged, pumping a fist in the air in an effort to
encourage the machine in front of her. A strange creaking beside her made her
turn her head to Chica. To tell the truth, the chicken was the most creepy
looking one of the bunch and had been the cause of several nightmares. Still,
she couldn't just leave the poor thing out.
“Oh hey Chica, I didn't mean to ignore you. I know! Lets try and make you a
little less scary for the kids,” the black haired female offered excitedly,
scooting past the slumped, yellow chicken and off the stage. She didn't notice
the chicken slowly lift its head as if to watch her.
Rose rummaged in a box set by the stage, tossing odds and ends in her search
for something. Finally, with a triumphant crow, she pulled out a large bib with
a party motif printed on it. A slight grimace appeared on her face as she read
the jaunty words that simply said 'Let's Eat!' “Not very flattering, is it?”
Rose sighed, slumping slightly in defeat.
The sound of approaching voices made her jump slightly and the pale, purple
clad woman heaved a sigh. “Sorry Chica, this will just have to do for now,” she
apologized, wincing as she slipped the unflattering bib over the chicken's
neck.
“Rose! Stop playing with those things and go clean up Pirate Cove!” snarled the
familiar, angry voice of her overweight boss.
“Sorry Roy! I was trying to make Chica pretty for the children,” she explained
as she turned to look at her glaring boss.
The man easily towered over her, his huge mass jiggling slightly with each
wheezy breath he took. His goateed mouth pulled into a disgusted sneer,
revealing several crooked, yellowing teeth. His beady, brown eyes glowered at
her with a marked look of impatience. “They're fucking machines! They don't
care if they're pretty! Besides, Chica is going to be replaced soon anyway. Too
scary for the kids,” he snarled, the light reflecting off his bald head.
“Oh, don't say that! These machines, I think they're alive and they can hear
you,” Rose whispered, her aqua eyes flicking quickly to the three on the stage.
Freddy was in a slightly different position, his head raised slightly as if he
was watching them. Chica's head was also turned toward them and her tooth
filled mouth hung open.
“You're fucking crazy Rose! If it weren't for the fact you were my niece, you
would have been gone long ago! Now go fucking clean the Cove!” Roy hissed,
shoving past the smaller woman on his way to the Party Room.
“Fuck you Roy! You can't just get rid of Chica just because she's a little more
scary than the others! It was bad enough when you decommissioned old Rob Rabbit
and put him in the back to rot!” Rose exclaimed, following close behind the
severely overweight man.
“Rose, listen to me, this is mybusiness and I will run it how I see fit! Chica
isn't the only one going either! Old Freddy there is getting a whole new look
too,” Roy announced, gesturing to the golden bear who stared at them with black
eyes.
“But Roy...,” she began to protest only to be interrupted by a glower from her
Uncle.
“I'm not going to tell you again, go do your job and clean up Pirate Cove,” Roy
snarled, the foul stench of his breath hitting her like a punch.
Rose glared at her Uncle for a few moments before shaking her head and moving
into Pirate Cove. Unknown to her a deep chuckle came from Freddy as soon as she
left. Roy whirled to face the golden furred bear, a glare on his jowly face as
the kids filed in. “Fuck you Freddy. Soon you'll be locked in the back and
deactivated. Then you won't be much threat to anyone,” the overweight man
wheezed at the machine, his dark eyes narrowing angrily.
The golden bear only shifted slightly, another deep chuckle coming from a voice
box deep within the mechanical works. A strange screeching noise nearly made
the obese man jump out of his skin and he whirled to see Chica leaning slightly
towards him, its lifeless eyes fixed on him. Fear replacing his confidence of a
few moments ago, Roy cleared his throat and backed away from the lifeless
machines. “They're only settling in place,” he whispered to himself as he moved
to a control board hidden behind the stage. With a deft flick of his fat
fingers, Roy pressed the button that activated the animatronic band. Almost
immediately a tinny, old track started to play and the band jerked to life.
Rose smiled at the cheers of the kids as the old music started up. Picking up
the discarded, empty popcorn boxes the kids had left on the cove floor, the
black haired female found herself humming along to the jaunty tune that played
in the other room. The sound system it played on sounded like it had been run
over a few times by a tractor but the song still came through crystal clear.
“Grab your party hats and your cake! Its time to celebrate,” she sang softly as
she moved onto the popcorn littered stage.
Rolling her aqua eyes, the pale female swept the popcorn into her waste bin.
“Man, why do they always have to throw it,” she grumbled in playful
exasperation. The purple curtain beside her rippled in a phantom wind, making
her halt in her tracks.
“F-foxy? Are you playing with me?” she chirped out in a voice that sounded far
too nervous. Again the purple material rippled slightly, as if something was
moving around behind it. Her heart thumping in her chest, Rose reached forward
with a shaky hand and pulled open the curtain. A self depreciating giggle left
her lips as she saw Foxy standing where he had been when the show ended.
“Foxy! You scared me!” she admonished playfully, giving the fox pirate's head a
fond ruffle.
“Actually, I was hoping to be able to talk to you,” she whispered softly, going
back to sweeping up the loose popcorn on the stage. The sounds of the kids
singing along with the band faintly made her smile despite how sad she felt.
“Roy's gonna be replacing Chica and old Fredbear. It'll be like ol Rob all over
again,” she confessed quietly, stopping sweeping to lean on the broom.
“I just don't think its right. Chica, Fredbear and Rob have been here for
years, even before Uncle bought the place,” she hissed, her eyes narrowing as
she straightened.
“I can't stand the thought of Freddy and Chica sitting in the back and just
rotting away. If I had my say, Rob wouldn't be back there right now. Even old
Fritz was remade into you,” Rose grumbled, turning her head to glance at the
slumped animatronic beside her. What she saw nearly made her have a heart
attack.
Foxy was in an entirely different position, his head lifted slightly and his
eye patch raised. Both of his golden eyes were fixed on her and his fang filled
mouth hung open. Fear slowly began to fill her and she took a small step away
from the towering fox. Right now it almost looked as if the machine was waiting
for an explanation. That was impossible, right? Clearing her throat, Rose
squared her shoulders and moved back towards Foxy. He was just a machine, he
wasn't going to hurt her. “I suppose you want to know who Fritz was,” Rose
began cautiously, her turquoise eyes watching the fox animatronic carefully.
A faint 'Ar Matey' came from an ancient voice box deep inside the mechanics,
making Rose jump back from the machine. Her eyes wide and frightened, Rose
clutched a hand over her racing heart as she stared at the animatronic. It had
to be a mechanical glitch! There was no way Foxy had just responded to her. “F-
fritz was here when I first started working here. God that was years ago, when
this place was still owned by Mr. Bedian. He was a lot like you, a pirate fox.
But he was the first animatronic Mr. Bedian ever made so he wasn't that well
built. When he started to fall apart on stage, Mr. Bedian decided to retire
him. I couldn't just let Fritz die, so I managed to convince Mr. Bedian to let
me rebuild him. It took me a long time, but I finally managed to make you. I
just wish Mr. Bedian was around to see you. Fritz was always his favorite, mine
too,” Rose explained, feeling more and more silly the longer the story went.
What was she doing talking to a pile of animated gears as if they could
understand her? Maybe Roy was right, maybe she was crazy. An odd creak broke
into her thoughts, drawing her gaze to the red fox machine in front of her.
Foxy's arms were hanging open, as if offering a hug. His jaw was closed and his
golden eyes bored straight into her. Fear fluttering in her chest, Rose moved
slowly toward the completely still animatronic.
Her aqua eyes flicked over the lifeless machine's fur covered features, her
teeth worrying her lower lip. She had always had a sense the animatronics were
more than they seemed but she had never seen them outright move like this
before. Before it had always been slight, subtle movements, movements that
could easily be played off as the mechanics settling. For the first time since
she had started working here, Rose found herself feeling fear around her
animatronic friends.
Giving herself a firm shake, Rose moved into Foxy's open arms and gave the fur
covered machine a tight hug. She had never been afraid of her friends before
and she didn't aim to start now. If they were dangerous, they would have
attempted to harm her years ago. Still it was extremely startling when she felt
the thing's arms wrap loosely around her. With a gasp, Rose jumped back and
away from Foxy, fear written all over her pale face. Foxy slumped forward, his
jaw hanging open and his eyes closing slightly. It almost looked as if she had
hurt his feelings. “I-I'm s-sorry Foxy, I just. You moved!” she gasped,
clutching a fist over her racing heart.
A sudden hand on her shoulder made her give a small scream as she whirled to
face her assailant. Behind her stood her overweight Uncle, a frown on his pudgy
face. “R-roy!” she gasped out, turning slightly to look at Foxy.
Foxy was back in his original position, his eye patch down and his hook raised
in a wave. His square jaw hung open in an almost smile as his lifeless eyes
stared into the empty room. “The party's over Rose, finish up here and then
move on to the Party Room,” Roy grunted before waddling out of the room and
leaving her alone with Foxy.
Rose swallowed noisily before going back to sweeping. “I'm really sorry for how
I reacted earlier. I was just startled,” she whispered, not quite daring to
look at the machine. She was afraid that if she did, she would start screaming
and be unable to stop. A faint creaking let her know that Foxy had shifted
again and she found herself looking up despite herself. Right in front of her
face was the fang filled mouth of Foxy, hanging open to show the endoskeleton
within.
Unable to stop a slight scream of fear from escaping her lips, Rose jolted back
from the animatronic. Foxy's jaws clicked shut mere inches from her nose,
making her heart tighten in her chest slightly. It almost seemed as if Foxy was
pissed at her. “F-foxy... please. Try to see it from my point of view! I never
expected you to be able to move,” she gasped out, unable to stop the sliver of
hurt from slipping into her voice.
Never in her wildest dreams would she have ever thought any of her friends
capable of harming her, yet Foxy had very nearly taken her face off. Tears
beginning to brim in her aqua eyes, Rose got to her feet and brushed off her
purple pants. A faint 'Matey' drew her attention back to Foxy who was now
standing with his head hanging slightly, almost as if in shame. “Oh, I can't
stay mad at you. You did great today,” Rose sighed with a slight smile. Despite
the oddness of the situation, she found herself easily slipping back into
feeling comfortable around Foxy.
Foxy's head slowly jerked up, his jaw opening into a horrifying facsimile of a
smile. Unable to help a slight shudder of fear, Rose smiled back unsurely
before going back to sweeping. As she swept up the popcorn kernels and empty
boxes, Rose wondered if she could get used to the fact that her friends were
actually alive. Every now and again while she was cleaning she heard faint
creaks and groans as Foxy moved around.
After a while of this, Rose looked up to see Foxy stiffly bending over to pick
up a discarded candy box. “Er, thanks,” Rose whispered, taking the box from the
animatronic. Foxy stiffly nodded to her before jerkily bending down to pick up
another box. Blinking at her odd help, Rose went back to cleaning and soon had
the Cove spotless with Foxy's assistance.
“Uh, apology accepted on my part. I assume you feel the same way?” she asked,
feeling a little off balance. The faint 'Ar' that came from within Foxy's
mechanics still caused her to jump slightly.
“Heh, this is going to take a while to get used to,” Rose chuckled, rubbing the
back of her head in embarrassment. To tell the truth, she was beginning to feel
horrible for how much fear she still felt around Foxy. Despite the close call
earlier, it had become quite apparent to her that Foxy meant her no harm.
“Well, I have to go see to the others. I'll come say good night before I lock
up,” Rose whispered with a small smile.
“See ye later matey!” came the tinny prerecorded voice as Foxy jerkily raised
his hook in a wave.
Rose chuckled softly before grabbing her supplies and moving back into the
Party Room. The sight that greeted her made her jaw drop in horror. The floor
was coated in confetti, bits of discarded cake, candy, popcorn, spilled soda
and paper plates. To her further horror she saw the animatronic band was
covered in streamers and cake. Freddy had even had his jaws pried open and a
piece of cake shoved into his mechanics.
The band jerked and twitched, still obviously turned on but jammed by the sheer
amount of cake in their gears. Fighting the urge to throw up at the shocking
sight of her friends, Rose immediately moved to the control box in the back of
the stage. “Oh fuck Roy! Why the hell did you let them do this!” she exclaimed
as she turned off the motors forcing the band to move. A brief shower of sparks
spat at her from the control board, making her flinch back and shield her face.
A thick, acrid smoke slowly began to curl in front of her face, drawing her
attention to the machines on the stage. Thick, black smoke and sparks billowed
from both Freddy and Chica as they slumped to the wooden stage in a heap. “Oh
god no,” Rose whispered, a desperate edge to her voice as she hopped on to the
stage. Her black work shoes skidded slightly in the cake that was smeared on
the wood as she scurried to the fallen animatronics.
Rose immediately went to Fredbear, whose head was tilted almost upside down.
The golden bear's mouth hung off its hinges and a shower of sparks spat from
deep within his mechanics. Pink and blue frosting from the cake jammed in his
mouth was smeared all over the exposed endoskeleton. “Oh fuck, oh fuck! I don't
know if I can fix this!” Rose moaned out, tears beginning to roll down her pale
cheeks.
An odd creaking made Rose jerk her head up. There, in front of her, stood
Bonnie; his purple mouth hanging slightly open. “Bon-bon, what the hell did he
let them do to you guys?” she asked in a distraught voice, wincing as Freddy's
ajar mouth spat more sparks at her. Bonnie's head slightly jerked to the right,
an odd screeching noise coming from deep within the rabbit.
“Don't worry Bonnie, even if I have to stay here all night, I'll fix Freddy and
Chica. I can't leave you guys in this condition,” Rose assured, a hard glint in
her normally kind eyes.
“Ar Matey!” came a sudden voice from behind her, making her jump and whirl
around to see Foxy. The fox's eye patch was again raised and both eyes were
fixed on the prone forms of Chica and Freddy.
“Help me move them to the back. I'll need to take their skin off to get at the
machine parts,” she ordered, not even stopping to think just how strange the
entire situation was.
“Aye Cap'n,” came the tinny, mechanical reply from the fox. Then, while moving
rather jerkily, the animatronic fox picked up the sparking body of Freddy and
began to carry it to the back.
Rose watched in stunned silence for a few moments before moving to pick up
Chica. The chicken looked like several of her wires had been pulled free and
there was a large piece of cake jammed directly into the gears that moved her
head. “Oh Chica,” Rose moaned softly, gritting her teeth as she tried to drag
the heavy machine.
“Let's party!” came a cheerful, mechanical voice from beside her, making her
nearly jump out of her skin. Looking up, the black haired woman saw Bonnie
jerkily bending down to help her drag Chica.
“Uh, thanks Bonnie. You know, with my luck this will all turn out to be a dream
brought on by too much pizza,” Rose quipped with a chuckle, still a little
stunned by the current events.
“Be sure to eat your vegetables!” came the nonsensical reply from the purple
rabbit. Bonnie then haltingly bent to pick up the sparking Chica and carried
the prone, yellow chicken to the back.
Some of the fear from earlier beginning to come back, Rose squared her
shoulders and gave herself a firm shake before following her friends. 'You
always treated them as if they were alive before. Them actually being alive
shouldn't make that much of a difference,' she tried to reason to herself as
she moved into the well hidden repair room. “Kzzt bzrt h-hey k-k-k-kidssssh,”
came a broken, staticy voice, jerking her back to reality.
In the room was several spare parts as well as tools for repairing the
animatronics. Spare heads stared at her from the walls, almost giving her the
creepy feeling of being watched closely. It didn't help that both Bonnie and
Foxy were staring at her in an almost expectant manner. Smiling at her friends
a bit nervously, Rose knelt beside Freddy. Freddy jerked slightly, his head
swaying almost sickeningly while sparks shot from his dangling mouth. “I have
to remove your skin in order to have any hope of fixing this,” she explained
apologetically, reaching cautiously for the latches that held the hard, fur
covered shell on.
“W-w-welc-come t-to bzrt zzzrt Family Diner,” came the broken, glitched
sounding reply. The golden furred bear seemed to almost lean toward her, as if
giving his permission.
After several nerve wracking hours of touch and go, Rose finally pulled back
satisfied. Her hands were coated in black oil and her black hair clung to her
sweaty forehead in a very unflattering manner. Heaving a shaky sigh, Rose
swiped an oil coated hand across her head; leaving a black smear on her starkly
white forehead. She still wasn't sure she had gotten all of the cake out of
their gears but she had done the best she could. She was amazed they even
worked at all after all the damage that had been caused. “Well, I did the best
I could guys. Sorry for not being able to fix you all the way,” she apologized
in a shaky voice, slowly getting to her feet.
Despite her best efforts the mechanics seemed irreparably damaged. Freddy and
Chica had odd twitches that happened at random as well as some strange audio
glitches. Nothing she did seemed to even help the problems and she eventually
had to admit defeat. She just didn't know as much about the animatronics as Mr.
Bedian and he wasn't exactly around to ask for help.
Her legs nearly buckled under her as she stood, almost causing her to fall.
With a grunt, Rose managed to lean against a nearby wall and just barely
managed to stay on her feet. “Phew, I must have worn myself out,” gasped the
tired female, fighting to steady herself as she leaned heavily against a wall.
Several strange creaks drew her attention and she raised her head to see all
four of the animatronics staring at her. “I'll be okay. I just stayed up longer
than I should have. I just need to get some sleep,” she assured, smiling at the
almost concerned looking machines.
“Aye,” came a tinny reply from Foxy as he jerkily began to move towards her.
Hiding a yawn behind her hand, Rose only smiled at the animatronics as she
swayed slightly on her feet. “Lets eat!” came a cheerful reply from Chica, the
yellow chicken also beginning to move towards her.
“We really need to work on your guys' sayings,” Rose sighed, hiding another
yawn as she turned and began to walk out of the repair room. A sudden, fur
covered, cold hand grasping her wrist stopped the black haired woman in her
tracks. A bit of helpless fear running through her, she turned slowly to see
Fredbear staring right at her.
“S-s-st-stay a-a-at... kzzt,” came a garbled voice from deep within the
mechanics. Rose couldn't help but blink a bit. It almost sounded as if Freddy
was trying to get her to stay the night.
“Do you... do you want me to stay here?” she found herself asking, almost
dreading the answer. Freddy's head jerked slowly up and down, an unmistakeable
nod.
“I can't! Roy would kill me!” she protested, another jaw cracking yawn escaping
her. Bonnie jerked his head slightly in response, odd bursts of static coming
from his voice box.
“Zzzrt come bzzrt join kzzzt not frzzzt s-s-s-s-s-a-a-afe,” came a halting,
glitching, screeching voice from deep within the purple bunny. Rose blinked,
looking at the mechanical rabbit with a mixture of astonishment and a bit of
fear. The end of that phrase had definitely not been programed into Bonnie's
voicebox.
“Zzzzt kssh bzzrrrrrrrrr mmmmatey kzzzrt s-s-s-s-st-stay R-r-rose,” came an
equally garbled reply from Foxy as the vulpine animatronic haltingly reached
forward and placed his hook on her arm.
Her turquoise eyes going wide, Rose jolted back from the machines. Her heart
beat erratically in her chest as she stared at the animatronics with fear-
filled eyes. There was no way in hell something like her name had been
programmed into Foxy's sayings. “Ksssh n-n-n-no ssshhhrrrt f-f-f-bzzrt fear,”
came a garbled reply from Chica, her horrifying, tooth-filled mouth hanging
slightly open.
Looking at the animatronics as they all closed in on her slowly, Rose pressed
as tightly into the wall as she could. “Y-you guys are t-talking. Actually
talking,” she gasped out in a weak voice, sliding slowly to her knees as her
legs finally gave out. The four machines looked down at her, almost seeming to
be concerned. Her vision beginning to gray around the edges, the purple clad
woman desperately clung to her consciousness.
Despite her best efforts, her fear had become an all encompassing thing and her
vision was beginning to lose all its color. The last thing she was aware of
before she lost consciousness was Foxy leaning slowly down towards her. His
oddly angular, faux fur covered face was merely inches from hers and both his
golden eyes stared at her. Before she she knew no more, she could swear she
could almost see worry in the glass orbs.
***** Security Detail *****
Chapter Notes
     Author's Note: More surprises in store this chapter. If you don't
     like fan theories based on games, this fic isn't for you and you
     should probably stop reading now. If you're hoping for some
     animatronic/human sex you are going to be sorely disappointed. This
     fic is going to be sex free with implications of child molestation.
Roy closed and locked his front door with a grunt, drawing the curtains over
the windows by the door. Once he was satisfied, the obese man waddled slowly
into his living room. His beady brown eyes immediately went to his large living
room window and a fine sheen of sweat slowly appeared on his forehead. A look
of almost abject fear on his jowly face, Roy reached forward with a pudgy hand
and rapidly pulled the curtains shut. A shaky, guttural chuckle leaving him,
the barrel shaped, squat man shook his head at his own stupidity.
   A sudden flickering of the lights made him tense for a few seconds until it
stopped. His piggy eyes flicking around in an almost paranoid manner, Roy stood
in the middle of his living room as if waiting for something. The next few
moments seemed to stretch into an eternity as nothing seemed to happen and he
found himself beginning to relax despite himself. Just as he was about to write
it off as an electrical fluke, the entire room was plunged into absolute
darkness.
   Tinny, familiar music began to play, making his skin prickle when a deep
laugh echoed from somewhere down the hall. “Shit,” hissed out of the obese man,
his heart racing while a cold sweat coated his pallid skin. That was when a
pair of eyes flickered on in the darkness, the glow from the bulb also
illuminating blunt teeth.
“Ah, I w-was just joking about replacing you and your friends. Really. And, uh,
sorry 'bout them kids messin' with your friends,” he groveled, a faint wheezing
coming from him while he backed away. For a few, horrible moments, the
apparition was getting closer.
Then with a flicker and another laugh, it was gone and the lights were back on.
Clutching his heart, Roy glared at where the thing had been. He didn't care
what he had said, those things were being dismantled as soon as he could do it.
The new models were more kid friendly. Already, the new Fredbear was going over
well. The other redesigns were likely to go over just as well. The only problem
was the fox. It would have to stay while he had Rose make one that matched the
others. The only reason he couldn't just dismantle it was the fact the kids
already seemed to love him. The fox could be a huge draw. Tomorrow couldn't
come soon enough for him. At least he would be able to replace that damn
chicken.
Groaning, Rose opened her eyes to see figures hunched over her. Gasping as she
remembered last night, she backed away from the hulking bits of machinery until
her back hit a wall. To her surprise, none of them moved. They simply opened
their eyes, making confused noises as they took in her frightened form.
Creaking loudly, Foxy began to straighten in a jerky motion; waving with his
one normal hand. “S-so it wasn't a dream,” whispered out of her, her heart
thudding in her ears as she took in her friends. Friends she had considered
inanimate up until last night.
Jittering slightly, Chica nodded her head like it was on a rusty spring. Then,
one by one, they were shambling out to the Pizzeria; likely in an attempt to
get back to their appointed spots. Rose could only follow, still feeling a bit
stunned. Still, she had a job to do and she had little choice but to brush it
off and continue onwards. Besides, who would really believe her. So, with a
wave to the machines, she went to check the back for packages.
Just entering the delivery bay was enough to make the fine hairs on her arms
stand on end. It was dark and just felt… off. Not to mention the fact that this
was where they staged the new animatronics that were still going through safety
testing. Already, they had Bonnie as well as Fredbear but the model they had
been sent was the wrong color. They'd had to get a new one, leaving this one in
the delivery bay. Though, there had been talk of Fredbear getting a cousin or
brother just to use it. Roy hated wasting money.
Moving past the shadowed machines, Rose made her way to a tall box, dread
filling her as she took in the cardboard monstrosity. It no doubt contained
Chica, one of the less popular characters and much easier to replace than
Bonnie or the newly made Foxy. It still amazed her that Fredbear had been the
first one to get a replacement ordered and was the first one to be replaced. It
was almost as if Roy was afraid of the golden colored bear, a notion she would
have simply shaken off before last night. Now, she wasn't so sure. Now, she
thought her Uncle knew far more than he was willing to say.
Pulling out the purple handled box cutter she had been given when she first
joined the 'family', she cut through the tape; shuddering at the sound it made
in the stillness. Once that was done, she was pulling open the front to reveal
a more plush-like version of Chica; matching the others that had come in. “Hey
there. Wish we were meeting under better circumstances. I'm sure we'll get to
know eachother soon. Just wish I didn't have to leave you here in the dark,”
she greeted, just like she had the others. It was a ritual she had always
followed simply because she regarded these things as her friends. Now, she did
it on the off chance these new machines were alive as well.
Still, when she heard a faint creak from behind her, she felt her heart leap
into her throat. She didn't know these animatronics as well as the old ones.
There was a good chance they wouldn't be as friendly toward her. Turning to
look at the sound, she heard a gut wrenching clunk come from the replacement
for Chica. Unease turning into outright terror, Rose turned back to the
chicken; letting out a quiet squeak when she saw the yellow covered machine
leaving over her with its beaked mouth slightly open. “Ah! I mean no harm,
really! I just… I just want to be friends…,” wheezed out of her as she became
aware of a presence behind her.
Turning her head slightly, she saw the brown version of Fredbear staring down
at her with oddly curious eyes. “F-Fazbear F-family…?” choked out his much
newer sounding voice box, sounding much more friendly than the ones installed
in the current animatronics.
“Guess you could call me that… D-do you guys somehow know me?” she tried, her
heart still racing despite the sense of danger fading away.
“C-can bzzrt s-ssseee… o-older…,” screeched the broken, yet familiar voice of
Bonnie from behind Fredbear. Blinking, Rose did her best to puzzle out what
that broken phrase could mean while the replacements for her friends simply
seemed to examine her.
“Can you… can you see through the eyes of the older models?” she tried, feeling
slightly encouraged when they nodded in unison; the movement much smoother in
these models.
“G-good grown-up. Ksh bzzz zrttt n-nnot like.. fshhh crackle crack zzzbrrrrR-R-
…,” Chica tried, seemingly unable to get the last part out. Yet, the long time
employee could make a fairly good guess what the facsimile of poultry was
trying to say.
“Like Roy… Is it because he's replacing the older models?” whispered out of her
as she took in the odd creatures. She was surprised when they shook their
heads.
Before she could ask anymore, the door to the bay opened; revealing her Uncle.
Beady eyes glaring into the darkness, he made an impatient noise when he saw
her standing amongst the mascots. He only smiled when he saw the newly unboxed
Chica. “Glad to see you weren't just playin' around with these things like
usual. Get her ready to replace the one upfront and get ready for the kids,”
bit out his gruff voice before he was turning to leave. Rose could only do as
he asked, grateful for the fact that she no longer had to move the machines on
her own. Still, having an explanation ready just in case Roy saw them was
probably advised.
Soon, she and the faux fur coated machine were wandering down the hall; heading
to the large room where the stage was. Looking at the raised platform where the
older machines stood, she felt a fair bit of apprehension about being the one
to introduce the replacement. While her friends had never really been violent
before she'd found out they were alive, there was no telling how they would
react now that she did know. Now that they didn't have to hide their true
nature around her. Still, some part of her was hopeful that she knew them as
well she thought she did.
Over the years with them, they had been some of her closest friends. She had
repaired them countless times, making sure they never got rusty or worn out.
Just the fact that the originals were still working was a testament of her
skill with the wrench. It also helped she had been taught all she knew by the
creator and original owner, Mr. Bedian. She always had a sense the feeling was
mutual. Today would be an unintentional test of just how well she thought she
knew the machines. “Hey guys! This is the replacement for Chica,” she announced
to the trio heading the stage.
A series of creaks and groans came from the animatronics as they turned to face
her, the old version of Chica tilting her head to one side. Moving up onto the
polished platform, the replacement stood toe to toe with its outdated
counterpart; the pair almost seeming to communicate without words. Then, with
an unsteady nod, the original began to make its way off the stage; heading to a
hidden back room where they kept the old version of Fredbear. Deciding not to
ask, Rose moved off to set up for the day before unlocking. If her friends
weren't bothered, then she wouldn't be either.
Watching as the kids filed into the party room, Rose couldn't hep but keep an
eye on the new guy Roy had brought in this morning. While he was supposed to be
on night duty, he was taking over temporarily for one of their day guards. A
man that had been with the company nearly as long as she had. To have this
newcomer taking his place made her a bit nervous. Still, Scott was sick and
they didn't really have a choice. Besides, she had been put on watch duty for
him for a reason. She was the most experienced employee and would be there if
he needed help.
Movement from the door leading out to the hall to Pirate Cove drew her
attention and she felt her heart sink when she saw Foxy's attendant peeking
around the door. Jaunty parrot dangling from his right shoulder and eye patch
on his left eye, he looked like he'd stepped off the deck of a pirate ship.
Once he saw he had her attention, he was waving to her frantically with a black
gloved hand. Sighing, Rose made a motion to the new guy before heading to see
what he wanted. “One of the kids got sick. We need a clean up,” hissed in her
ear, only adding to her horrible day.
As soon as she was gone, three older kids near the back began to gather just a
bit closer together. “Looks like she's finally gone. Think we can get the geek
before she comes back?” hissed one of them while the others kept an eye out for
any sign of her return.
“He's not even paying attention to us. Look at him staring at those silly
machines,” grumbled another while the third just looked uncomfortable.
“While he's a spaz, he's still my brother. Just… don't get too crazy?” he
tried, eyes shifting to the bespectacled boy entranced by the mascots.
“Don't worry about it Will. Little Mikey boy will be just fine,” assured the
first boy, green eyes gaining a mean glint.
   Staring up at the animatronics he had come to see as his only friends, the
youngest member of the Afton family felt something tug hard on the inside of
him. He could still see the nightmares far too clearly in his head, fangs
replacing the blunt teeth of the golden bear leading the forefront of the
robotic band. It only helped a little bit that the bear and bird had recently
been replaced by models that more resembled the toys he had at home.
Shuddering, he found himself almost afraid of the animatronics for the first
time in his short life. All of a sudden, he regretted begging his brother to
take him here in their parent's stead.
   All he had wanted was a happy birthday for once. A birthday that kids
actually came to and had fun at. Fredbear's Family Diner had seemed perfect.
Even if none of the kids that had come here had come for him, he would at least
have Fredbear and the others. Now, he didn't even have that. Backing away from
the stage, Mike squeaked when he felt his back his something rather solid.
Feeling behind him with tiny hands, he felt terror shoot through him when he
found fur under his chubby digits. Craning his head up, he saw the golden face
of Rob Rabbit. A character that had been replaced on the stage long ago. The
pizzeria was just too cheap to buy a new costume for Bonnie.
   Hearing the faint creak of steel springs, Mike found his eyes tracing the
hinged jaw of the dead eyed costume. With an unholy sound of rusted metal
screaming, the mouth slowly opened and a tinny voice issued out of the horror's
mouth. “Happy Birthday! You should have some delicious pizza,” advised the
robotic voice, sounding like the voice box had been beaten severely with a
baseball bat. Biting back a scream, the boy shook his head; backing toward the
stage. Thankfully, the lumbering mascot soon moved off; leaving him with the
ones behind him.
   “Hey Mikey, Will says you really like these robot things. How would you like
to see them up close?” hissed a suggestion that chilled the child's blood as he
turned to see one of his older brother's friends. Boys that were supposed to be
helping watch the others. Then he was being lifted across two shoulders, the
one in the lead pushing his head toward the flapping jaw of Fredbear.
   Doing her best to keep her swearing to a minimum, Rose blew her dark hair
out of her face as she mopped up the last remnants of slightly used cake.
Seriously, if the kid had felt sick; why had he eaten two more slices. Not to
mention the normal popcorn and soda mess that littered where foxy had stood
just moments before. A sharp, shrill scream broke the stupor that had settled
over her, adrenaline dumping into her system as she ran towards the room where
more screaming was coming from. Flinging open the doors to the party room, she
saw a sight that both horrified her and turned her stomach.
   Kids were running from the stage in a huge wave, three older boys gathering
around a much smaller figure on the stained carpet. Seeing blood coating
Fredbear's face as well as most of the polished surface of the stage, she felt
a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. It certainly didn't help that
the program was still turned on, the singing and dancing of the mechanized
mascots making the scene even more ghoulish. “Back up, give him room,” came a
demand that didn't sound like her as her body moved her toward the cause of all
the mayhem. When she saw the dazed gaze of the mangled boy staring up at the
ceiling, it was all she could do not to vomit.
   There was an obvious bite wound around the circumference of his skull, the
head itself looking unpleasantly flattened and deformed. Blood oozed out of the
teeth marks in his forehead as well as his stretched, cracked skin, eyes
staring blindly. The worst part was, the child was still breathing. Looking up
frantically to see where the new guy was, she felt her blood boil slightly when
she saw him just watching. As if this was the most fascinating thing in the
world. “Call 9-1-1 Jeremy!” she called out, pulling off her purple uniform
jacket and beginning to tear strips from it.
   Unnoticed, the band slowly ground to a halt; a strange clunk coming from
inside Fredbear while blood dripped from his lower jaw. Unseen, the blood that
had splattered onto the stage was slowly absorbed by the shadows of Fredbear
and Bonnie. Cocking his head jerkily to one side, the ursine robot's eyes
flashed red for a second. Whispers began to murmur amongst the machines,
unheard over the noise of Rose trying to save the child's life.
   Watching as the paramedics wheeled away the covered body of the boy, Rose
felt numb on the inside. She had done everything she could but it      it
seemed like the child was likely to never regain consciousness     .      The
paramedics had gotten him breathing normally but there was likely irreperable
brain damage     .      Even if he survived, he was likely to be brain dead.
Of course, the parents had to be called and they were righteously furious. Roy
was already making promises of replacing the band with the model that had
replaced Chica. Promises of replacing Fredbear altogether.      Still, all she
could feel was just numb     .
  Staring at the machines, she felt something inside her break at the
possibility that they had attacked a child. That she would even consider them
capable of such a heinous act. Just seeing the blood drying on Fredbear's teeth
was enough to make her come close to vomiting, a sour taste linger     ing
in the back of her throat as she thought about the clean up. Clean up that
would happen after both parents and police were nice and paid off. The thing
that unsettled her most was the new guy. He had little to no reaction to what
had happened, simply watching as they lifted the tiny body and carried him out.
It honestly chilled her blood.
   Suddenly, there was a mop in her hand; a coarse whisper in her ear drawing
her out of her stupor. “Get it cleaned up while I get them all out of here. I
also want you and Jeremy to dismantle the animatronics and get the new ones in
place. Especially Fredbear. We'll start work on rebranding before we outright
change our name. Don't want to be associated with the death of that child after
all,” Roy murmured, a fairly gleeful light in his mean eyes while his goateed
lips sneered. Glaring at her Uncle, Rose simply pulled away before giving the
man a piece of her mind.
   “Roy… I have always struggled to consider you family but tonight is an all
new low for you. A child has been maimed here and they might not even survive.
If Jeremy here was watching things, why didn't he do anything to stop it? You
could also at least try to seem worried for that boy. Instead, you almost seem
happy,” she hissed, feeling more hate for the man than she ever had in her life
as she stomped toward the stage     .
  Before she could get very far, she felt an iron grip close around her upper
arm; drawing her attention to the only family she really had left in the world.
Lifting his upper lip to bare his teeth at her, the much taller man yanked her
close to him; anger shimmering in his dark eyes. “Listen here you little…,” he
began trailing off when there was a bone-chilling creak from the platform
behind her. It sounded like all the      band      members had moved at once,
the way her Uncle's gaze shifted making her skin faintly tingle. When he lost
all color in his fat face and dropped her arm, she felt her stomach drop
through the floor.
   Turning slightly, she saw the trio all looking at Roy; their mouths yawning
open. For just a moment, it seemed like their eyes had flashed red. Then, as if
they noticed her fright, they slumped; their bodies moving in a jerky motion
that emulated shutting down. Licking her dry lips, she turned back to the man
behind her. He was sweating profusely, backing away from the mascots like they
might try to kill him. “Just… just do as I asked. We have to act before one of
those parents gets it in their heads to sue,” he blurted, backing out of the
party room to leave her with Jeremy.
   Frankly feeling creeped out by the new guy, Rose decided to make him move
the new      machine     s out of the delivery bay. While he was gone, she
would have the others move to the back. As much as she hated to do it, she was
just an employee. She had to do as she was told, even if she disagreed with it.
“Alright newbie. You got get the guys from the delivery bay. Roy should have
showed you where it was during the tour,” she ordered, feeling a slightly slimy
sensation on her skin when he grinned at her and nodded. Then he was heading
into the hall, the air almost seeming to clear once he was gone.
   Even the animatronics felt safer, despite what had happened. Rubbing the
bridge of her nose as she let out a small whimper, she nearly jumped out of her
skin when she felt something land on her shoulder. Tur     nin     g her head,
she saw the still blood coated Fredbear looking down at her. “What happened?”
she whispered, dreading the answer the mechanical animals would give her.
   “O-older-rrrr b-boyyszzt. P-put child i-in m-m-m-m-my mouth,” came the
broken response, both surprising and enraging her.
   “You mean he stood here while those three older boys lifted that poor child
and put his head in your mouth?!” spat out of her, disbelief mixing with
outright disgust. The trio of machines nodded. Then Fredbear was shuddering,
his mouth moving while his speech box stuttered and threw static.
   “R-r-r-ro-r..kssshhrt,” he tried, unable to get the name out like before.
   “Roy?!” He was here too?! Just what the Hell is he getting at,” she hissed,
reaching up with a rag to carefully clean the face of her friend.
   Yet, even as she cleaned up and followed the machines into the back, she
knew there was nothing she could do to prove any of this. There was no video
feed, just the confessions of some machines no one knew was alive but her. Yet,
she suspected her Uncle knew too. The way he was acting around them made her
suspect as much but she didn't have the courage to bring it up. “I just wish it
wasn't just my word against his. There's nothing I can do here but continue to
follow orders and you guys did nothing to deserve being dismantled. Not to
mention the entire company,” she whispered, watching as two members of the trio
made their way into the hidden room; seeming happy to be reunited with Chica
and the decommission Fredbear.
   When they simply nodded and gave a wave, she allowed a bitter smile to grace
her lips. “I'll come visit, I promise. I won't let you rot like Rob,” she
assured, shutting the door and locking it with a final sounding click. Heading
back to the party room, she wasn't surprised to see Jeremy just getting started
on setting up the new Bonnie. Heading over, she made sure assembly went
smoothly; the pair working well into the night. By the time they were done, it
was three in the morning.
   A pair of eyes watched the door to the restaurant, waiting until they saw
the two employees leaving. With a grunt, the large man was out of his vehicle;
heading toward the door to unlock it. Moving toward a room hidden in the back,
he intended to make sure Fredbear would never be able to move again. Him or the
older version of him. Besides, there was no reason to keep either of them
functional. Not when he could finally take the opportunity to make the
franchise really his.
***** Shift Changes *****
Staring up at her Uncle, Rose couldn't quite bring herself to believe what
she’d just heard. He was giving Jeremy the dayshift. At least until he got more
used to things around here. Meanwhile, Scott would be moved to nightshift;
citing the fact that he seemed to need a break. While, normally, she wouldn’t
even have thought of arguing. Something about the new hire just felt… off to
her. It certainly didn’t help that he had sat by and watched three older boys
put a much younger boy’s head in Fredbear’s mouth. There was also the fact that
Roy had also been there.
Both of them were equally suspect in her eyes. The only problem was, she had
nothing but the word of the mascots to prove it. Still, that didn’t mean she
had to like what was happening. Silently vowing to keep an eye on him, she
began to explain the various shows to the new hire. She also took the
opportunity to outline his duties as a security officer. Under no circumstances
was he to allow any of the guests to be in any sort of danger.
Instead of saying anything, he nodded; an unsettling grin on his pale face. A
grin that had been there since the night of the accident. There was also
something about his eyes she found unpleasant. Something empty and reminded her
of horrifying things found under the bed of a child. Things that had sharp
claws and hungry teeth. Shuddering while he looked over Foxy, she lamented the
fact that she was pretty much stuck with him. At least she could do her best to
keep the kids away from him.
With him being a newbie, it was within her right to saddle him with the grunt
work. Instead of her being the one to clean up the popcorn and puke, the job
was handed over to him. In all honesty, she was glad to have an excuse to be
rid of the job of janitor. She felt much more at home near the stage with the
mascots. It was the spot she could be the closest to her friends the longest,
even if most of them had been replaced by her overnight.
Looking up at ‘Freddy Fazbear’, she felt a pang of sadness. It felt like the
beginning of the end of an era. The restaurant known as ‘Fredbear’s Family
Diner’ would slowly be phased out for ‘Fazbear’s Family Diner’. Eventually, the
idea was to have the name be ‘Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria’. All in all, she
couldn’t help but feel sorry to see the change happen. She had loved the man
this place had once belonged to. It felt a bit like spitting in his face to
change it so much. Especially the mascots.
Already, Rob Rabbit had become Bonnie Bunny, Fredbear had become Freddy, and
Fritz had become Foxy. What else could be coming? She could only shudder at the
thought. At least she could always see the discarded husks that had been here
from the beginning. She would do her best to care for them and keep them in
better condition than poor Rob had been. She still couldn’t believe she had
just believed Roy and still blamed herself to this day. Especially with the
fact that, no matter how hard she tried, he would never really be in fully
working condition again.
The best she had been able to do was keep his costume in one piece, a ghastly
affair she honestly thought they should retire. It was dangerous and she could
make a much better one. But her Uncle, being the cheapskate he was, wouldn’t
even hear of the idea while the old one could still be repaired. One day, the
thing was going to have a catastrophic failure and kill someone. It was full of
powerful springs held in by a wing and a prayer. It was a miracle nothing bad
had happened yet. If one good thing could come from this name change, Rob’s
costume would have to be relegated to the back.
“At least you guys are less scary for the kids. You look more like plush toys
and less like angular nightmares. Mr. Bedian was a genius but he didn’t have
much to work with. Bet if he knew he could get custom cases, he’d have done
that from the start. Still, I’ll have to do something about Foxy so he matches
better. He’s so popular already, I doubt Roy would want him shelved,” she mused
to herself, taking in the blocky, fur covered forms of her new charges.
Reaching up in an unsteady motion, Freddy was lifting his tiny top hat to her
before one of his eyes was closing in an obvious wink. A fact that startled her
at first.
Feeling her heart galloping, she gave a shaky smile to the brown furred
doppelganger for the old mascot. Looking into his blue eyes, she saw an odd
sort of affection the older models had no capability of showing. Yet, despite
the fact his name was Freddy, it was like she was looking at the old Fredbear.
It was the same with Bonnie and Rob as well as Foxy and Fritz. Like her friends
had said, it was like each version was sharing a consciousness with the other.
It was the strangest thing she had ever witnessed and raised all sorts of
questions about the conscious mind.
In fact, her friends’ existence in the first place raised questions about the
nature of life and souls. Being machines, could they really have souls? Could
they really feel anything at all? After all her years with them, she could say
yes with a fair amount of confidence. Even with her only knowing of their
sentience for a few days. Still, they were more than just a little bit spooky.
The way they moved, they way they spoke. While they couldn’t help it, all of it
made her skin crawl in the worst way.
Then the doors were banging open, slamming them into their roles quite
effectively. Soon, the daily flood of kids was coming in. The only problem was,
the person in the Rob costume wasn’t coming out. In fact, the longer it was
taking, the more uneasy she became. If he didn’t appear in a minute or two,
she’d have to alert Roy. That is, if he didn’t know already. There was always a
chance the guy had quit due to safety concerns. With how creeped out she was by
Jeremy, she hoped that wasn’t the case. He’d have to take the other guy’s place
if that was what was happening.
Moment after moment passed without any sign of the golden rabbit costume and
she had reluctantly left her post the head to her Uncle’s office. Looking up at
the camera at the end of the hall, she raised her door to knock. She was
unsurprised when the door was already open. “If you’re here about ol’ Rob, I
already know. I was just about to send you to get Jeremy. Have him put on the
fur and interact with the kids,” came the orders she knew were going to happen.
Giving a nod, she moved to carry out what had been asked of her; wishing the
entire time she was just a bit taller. That way, she would at least be in the
running.
Fifteen minutes and a quick wardrobe change later, she was watching Mr.
Fitzgerald cavorting around as Rob. Just seeing him with the children gave her
a chill. Still, they didn’t have much choice at this point. At least she was
off clean-up duty due to the unexpected change. Yet, she doubted that applied
to after work. She suspected she would be manning the dustpan and mops once
more. After all, Jeremy will be off and Roy won’t want to touch the dirty work.
At least she wouldn’t have to do it all alone anymore. She had the animatronics
to thank for that.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. There was a kid that had gotten sick in the
Cove again, making her wonder what on Earth these gremlins were eating. She had
to leave the party room to do an emergency clean-up, leaving Jeremy alone with
the kids for a few good minutes. By the time she was done, they were flooding
out in a mob of noise only the young are capable of. The new hire was already
gone, probably in the back changing. This meant it was time to do more cleaning
before the next wave. They had at least one more show before they closed.
So, when Jeremy got back, they got to work. Between the two of them, the debris
was shoved out of the way enough to not be overtly visible. It would be taken
care of after closing time. For now, it just needed to not be noticeable. Then
she was helping the newbie put on the suit again, mitigating a possible
disaster happening. One failure and the springs could tear into him,
irreparably injuring him and possibly trapping him in the suit until paramedics
arrived. Honestly, she really wished she could talk her Uncle into just
allowing her to design new costumes. Unfortunately, he was too cheap to even
buy materials.
As soon as they were in position, the doors were swinging open to admit a fresh
flood of children. To her amusement, most of them noticed the absence of
Fredbear right away. All day, she was answering questions about what the name
of the brown bear was. Another question was where Fredbear had gone and would
he come back. It seemed they were much more perceptive than her Uncle had
bargained for. Still, kids were easy. As long as it entertained them, they
would come to love it. Though, some of them would always have a nostalgia for
the original mascots. A fact that made her feel a bit warm on the inside.
Watching the kids while they sang along with the trio, she couldn’t help but
hum in tune as well. She had grown up around these songs, had memorized them
until she could sing them in her sleep. She’d even been asked to fill in on the
few times the older animatronics’ electronics gave out. Even the new guy was
dancing along, spinning one of the young girls while his ears flopped in his
face. With the costume on, it was honestly a heartwarming sight. Yet, knowing
the man that was inside, she felt a bit of unease. Shaking her head, she kept
her smile on her face while the party gradually came to its conclusion.
Pushing his way though the cranky kids fighting their parents about leaving,
Roy opened the door to the party room to give the nightly objectives. When he
saw both his underlings busily cleaning like they should be, he felt a bit of
pride blossom inside his chest. He ran a tight ship here and he had control of
one of the largest restaurant chains in the world. Not to mention the biggest
threats to him had been decommissioned in such a way they could never move
again. He felt like he was on top of the world. Placing his hands on his wide
hips, he cleared his throat for attention. When he got it immediately, he felt
his ego inflate immensely.
Just looking at her Uncle, she felt her heart sink at his expression. Already,
the changes were going to his head. It wouldn’t be long before he was entirely
insufferable. “Alright, I want all the rooms swept as well as vacuumed. Polish
and mop the stage. Finally, Rose, you do maintenance on the animatronics.
Fitzgerald there can clean the delivery bay while you do that,” came the orders
he gave every night. Just the inclusion of the new guy was different. Rolling
her blue-green eyes, she nodded before simply getting back to what she had been
doing.
All in all, it was a typical closing. The pair each did their assignments and
got everything done in a decent amount of time. Jeremy had even left first,
giving her the opportunity to visit her friends hidden in storage. Something
she had been looking forward to all day. Giving a final pat to Foxy on her way
out of the Cove, she made her way through the maze of halls until she reached
the well hidden room. Opening the door with a low squeal, she felt her greeting
die on her lips when she took in what awaited her. In fact, it was all she
could do to keep from vomiting.
Someone had come in and torn all of them apart. Bits and pieces of her
mechanical friends were strewn everywhere, making her feel weak in the knees.
Without even asking, she knew immediately who had done this and felt rage mix
with the sick sensation in her stomach. “Oh… oh Jesus…,” gasped out of her
before she was running to the extra parts room. In her panic, she was unaware
of metallic clanking coming from down the hall. All she knew was she had to do
what she could to put the mascots back together.
Sneakers skidding on the tile, she entered the creepy room; ignoring the empty
stares of the extra heads lining the shelves on the walls. Even the arms that
seemed to be reaching for her. With a singular purpose, she grabbed a tool box
as well as supplies. Then she was running back into the hall, squeaking when
she slammed into something rather solid. Landing on her ass, she looked up to
see Freddy staring curiously at her. “Dismantled… back room… have to help
them,” came out of her before she was trying to get by. She was a bit shocked
when she heard the thud of his metallic feet as the animatronic followed her.
Deciding not to worry about it, Rose rushed to her destination; swearing to
herself while tears blurred her vision. To her horror, the decapitated head of
her friends turned to face her as soon as she entered the room. “J-just hang
on. I’ll… I’ll do the best I can to put you guys back together. Christ… I’ve
never seen anything this bad before,” she whispered as she rolled up her
sleeves and got out her tools. She only paused when the door she had closed
slowly opened. Turning her head, she saw Freddy. Motioning for him to come in,
she wasn’t surprised when he was followed closely by the others. Making strange
screeches, the others began to twitch violently before beginning to help her
put their fallen doppelgangers back together.
Elsewhere, in the darkness and silence of the restaurant, a small child giggled
at the adventure he was having. Rob Rabbit had asked him and only him to stay
behind for a special game of hide and seek. He had waited for such a long time
and had almost left with the second group of kids. Now, hiding under the table
from the golden rabbit, he was glad he hadn’t. He couldn’t remember ever
feeling so excited, yet scared at the same time.
Suddenly, in the gloom of the dining area, he could hear the humming of Rob.
The tune of one of the many songs he was familiar with. Pressing his hands
against his mouth to keep in his laughter, he felt his tiny heart pound against
his ribs as the humming got closer. Then, it was moving away and he was given a
few sweet moments where he was allowed to believe he might win the game. Then
the hinged, slightly scary face of the friendly bunny was appearing under the
table. “Found you,” sing-songed a chipper voice from inside the golden fur of
the suit.
“You get two more chances,” advised the mascot, offering a hand to the young
boy. Nodding, the child was crawling out; scampering off when his companion
began to count once more. He didn’t ask what would happen what would happen if
he lost. Such things simply didn’t matter when he was enjoying himself this
much. Besides, Rob would probably just pat him on the head and let him go home
after. Then he could tell all his friends about how he had stayed at Fredbear’s
after closing.
Focusing on trying to rewire the arms, she directed the others in how to repair
the rest. As she and her friends worked through the night, it was becoming
apparent that neither Fredbear would quite be the same again. Some vital parts
had just been taken, leaving him without the ability to move or even speak.
Yet, somehow, he still retained his ability to laugh. It should be impossible
without his voicebox but Rose found she couldn’t be all that shocked. Instead,
she felt both sad as well as deeply violated on her friends’ behalves. Her own
Uncle had come in here and torn them apart, had even stolen parts of them.
The worst part was, she would never be able to prove it. Even if she could,
there wasn’t anyone left alive that would care enough to stop him. Mr. Bedian
had died long ago and his children had never had any interest in the franchise.
That left this place entirely in the hands of Roy. As far as the machines went,
it was his show to run. Yet, she wasn’t about to just sit by and just leave
them disassembled. Wiping her tears she continued to tighten bolts and screws.
Even with the help of the others, she had a very long night ahead of her.
Looking up at Rob while he was led to a dark, back area, the boy couldn’t help
but wonder if he was really allowed back here. Tightening his grip on the
furred appendage around his, he came to the conclusion he was. Why would the
rabbit lead him here if he wasn’t. “While you lost, you still get a prize for
being such a good hider. Its in this room ahead. Just hold on tight if it gets
scary,” assured the voice of his hero, instantly putting him at ease.
Rob would never do anything to hurt him. Rob was a friend to all children.
Besides, the bunny was the one that had let him stay after. He had never been
allowed to stay up this late and found the entire situation wholly exciting.
Nodding, he began to hum the song from before; startling when a huge door
rattled open in front of him. “Now close your eyes until I tell you. Uncle Rob
is gonna show you something real special,” sighed the same voice from earlier,
holding a slight edge he didn’t like. He just couldn’t put his finger on why.
Yawning, she tightened the final bolt on the old Chica’s head; feeling
exhausted down to her very soul. Yet, she could rest until she knew all her
friends were alright. Thankfully, to her relief, they began to get to their
feet one by one. The two versions of Fredbear were the only exceptions. “I’m
glad you’re okay. I just wish I could prevent it from happening again. For some
reason, Roy has one Hell of a vendetta against you guys,” whispered out of her
as she allowed herself to sit down on the chilly, oil stained tile.
“Ksssshhh zrrtttt th-thank y-you for ea- ea- bzzzrt fixing us R-r-r-ose,”
stuttered out of Bonnie’s voicebox while Foxy gently bent to pick her off the
floor.
In the delivery bay, nothing was there to witness what was happening or even
hear the distressing noises. No one but a pair of shadows seeming to lurk
behind the towers of cardboard boxes. Shadows that didn’t look like they
belonged to any human being. Shadows that had glowing red eyes. Shadows that
followed the purple clad figure while they carried a small, limp bundle in
their arms. Shadows that saw when that tiny bundle was simply dumped into a
dumpster. Shadows that dug the bundle back out again.
Moving down the hall with his precious burden, Foxy didn’t have to turn his
head to know his fellows were behind him. In their own way, they cared for this
odd female. This human who had treated them like they were alive long before
she had found out their secret. Staring down at her, he felt the beginnings of
a foreign emotion sparking across his circuits. It was protectiveness,
something he and the others normally only felt for the children.
Laying her down on the stage of his cove, he wished he knew where to find some
soft things to lay her on. The best he could do was use the vest he wore as a
makeshift pillow. Pulling away from her, he moved toward the shadows waiting
for him in the doorway. Despite being unable to move, Fredbear still gave the
orders. Right now, he wanted them to go to the party room. The body of a child
had been found and something must be done.
Moving stiffly into the huge room, the animatronic moved toward the shadowy,
almost solid looking figures standing on the stage. At their feet lay the boy
of the boy as well as an odd looking doll. A doll that was the same size as
they were and appeared to be an unused mascot. Freddy was the first to mount
the platform, picking up the body of the child. Bonnie was next, tearing open
the body of the massive jester puppet. Chica came third, taking the body from
Freddy to place in the cavity of the doll. Foxy was last, sewing up the tear
with his one good hand.
Staring down at the smiling, white face of the marionette, the small group
looked up at the shadowy twins. Red eyes flashed and the unnaturally long limbs
of the lifeless thing lifted. Slowly, blue paint began to dribble from its
blackening eyes; resembling tears in a haunting manner. Then it was slowly
sitting up, moving like it was controlled by a drunken puppeteer. Looking down
at the cloth gloves that were its new hands, its thin chest began to writhe
while chilling laughter echoed from an unused voicebox.
Floating deep in comfortable darkness, Rose frowned when she felt something
trying to rouse her. Hissing, she rolled away from the person shaking her; only
to have a chuckle grace her ears. “Come on beautiful. There’s a much more
comfortable spot to nap in my office,” offered a familiar, slightly nasally
mid-tone from above her. Opening one eye, she felt a bit of her die when she
saw Scott. Of course he would find her, he was on night duty temporarily.
Still, she cursed her luck that it had to be her crush, of all people.
“Thanks for the offer. I had to do some late night repairs, came an explanation
while she allowed the purple clad security guard to pull her to her feet. Then
she was allowing him to lead her to his office, honestly looking forward to the
couch he had in there. While it was small, it was bound to be more comfortable
than the Cove stage. Still, she couldn’t help but notice Foxy was still missing
as she walked out of the room.
The next day, all Hell broke loose. One of the kids from the first group
yesterday had gone missing and the mother was in complete hysterics. She had
called the restaurant twenty times despite the cops already investigating and
finding nothing. Yet, Rose had a vaguely sick feeling inside. A feeling that
told her she knew all too well what had happened. That she knew who had been
responsible and his name was Jeremy Fitzgerald. Looking up at him, she did her
best to read his face while he swept up nothing.
To her horror, he was still smiling. In fact, he seemed even happier today;
whistling one of the songs that was popular with the kids. Worse still, the
trio on the stage were all staring at him; their mouths yawning open. In her
brief experience with their living behaviors, it was a show of aggression. It
immediately filled her with a deep dread. Had the newbie really done something
to the boy who had never come home. If he did, what on Earth did he do with the
body? Making a note to ask her friends after work, she kept a much closer eye
on Jeremy for the rest of the day.
***** Stare Into Madness *****
Chapter Notes
     Author’s Note: Rose meets with the Marionette. Should be interesting.
Ticking of a clock echoes easily off concrete walls, the faint sounds of a
child crying mixing with much louder music. Music that sounded like it came
from a Jack-in-the-Box. Pressing a spindly hand on a wall, the thing that used
to be a boy slid into the nothing between. A place where you could watch
without being seen. A place where your physical limitations did not matter. It
did not know why it was doing this, only that it must remember. It must
remember why it was so angry. Why it felt so betrayed. Why it felt such a
burning need to do something about it.
So it watched. It watched the children playing with the animatronics and felt a
need to join them. It wanted to laugh. It wanted to sing. Most of all, it
wanted to know why it hated the color purple so much. Why it wanted to harm the
grown-ups but protect the children. Why was it alive? It couldn’t ever remember
being so before. Not to mention these feelings didn’t feel like its own.
Fumbling at its chest in the empty nothing, it was shocked to feel something
warm nestled inside it. Something young. Something that had once been alive but
was no longer. Closing its eyes, it allowed its mind to drift so it could
communicate with whatever this was was inside it.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rose noticed her friends were shifting around a
lot more than they normally would. Every now and again, they would look at a
wall or a vent; eyes shining red briefly. Unfortunately, she couldn’t really do
much about it. It was time for Scott to take over as night security and she had
done all the cleaning that had been needed. Giving the trio on the stage a hug
each, she moved off in the cove to say goodbye to Foxy. She didn’t see the
almost spider-like figure drop out of the ceiling.
Spindly limbs held up an equally thin body, red points blinking on in the inky
gloom. Tinny music began to play, sounding like a wind-up music box but a bit
more eerie. Straightening, the strange shadow giggled when the three on the
stage turned to look at it. One by one, their mouths yawned open as they began
to move toward the thing. “N-not h-her,” stammered out of Freddy, brows
lowering into a frown while faint clanking came from the hall outside the party
room. The thing only giggled before flickering out of existence again.
   Flipping on the light inside her exceedingly humble house, she felt an odd
reluctance to go any further inside. As ridiculous as it was, some instinct was
warning her against being here; a feeling she had never felt before. Not even
when Mr. Bedian had given her this place. It had always felt safe, a place she
could relax and just be herself. Somehow, tonight was different and she didn’t
really know why. Pushing the oddly cold sensation aside with great difficulty,
she entered her living room; unease shooting through her when an icy feeling
settled over her flesh.
Licking suddenly dry lips, the min wage employee felt her heart pound against
her ribs when the lights blinked out behind her. Red circles that so resembled
her friends’ eyes appeared in front of her but she had a feeling that whatever
this was, it wasn’t any of them. Suddenly, there was a tinny, deranged laugh
followed by music you would hear in a baby’s nursery. Yet it was twisted
somehow, giving chills rather than any type of comfort. “Uh, h-hello. You must
be someone I haven’t met before,” whispered a small voice that sounded so much
like a stranger that she came very close to looking around for the other
person. The only response was more of that laughter, sounding a bit like a
mischievous child.
“I’m sorry if I s-sound a bit scared but… well… I am… I don’t mean any of you
any harm. In fact, I consider many of the others my good friends. I see no
reason why we couldn't be the same,” Rose continued, feeling more apprehension
the longer there wasn’t a response.
The crimson points of illumination tilted slightly before there was just a
child singing. No words, just a simple tune that made the fine hairs on her
arms stand on end. When a hand landed on her shoulder from behind, she came
dangerously close to shooting through the ceiling. It certainly didn’t help
that said appendage was metal. “M-matey,” stuttered a robot voice in her ear,
filling her with instantaneous relief. It was Foxy, the one animatronic she had
been allowed the build by herself from parts left over by Fritz. Of all the
mascots, she felt the deepest connection with him.
“B-be… s-s-top-p-p kssshrt,” came a broken command from just behind the vulpine
machine.
Finally, whatever had been waiting for her there simply allowed the lights to
come back on. Of course, it was long gone but she wasn’t all that bothered by
this fact. Slipping to her knees, she felt tears of fear leave her while her
body shook all over. She had never felt such malice before. Yet, under it,
there was confusion as well as sadness. Whatever she was dealing with was
extremely dangerous and wasn’t to be underestimated. Covering her face while
uncontrollable sobs left her, she leaned into the furred machines that wrapped
their arms around her.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Staring up at the cartoon version of Fredbear on the cheerful sign, Rose felt a
shudder roll through her. Since last night, she had been reluctant to come back
here. Something about the thing that had visited her felt wrong. It had also
felt angry. Rubbing the chilled skin under the purple t-shirt the company
forced them all to wear, she reluctantly reached for the handle of one of the
glass doors that lead into the darkened building. Like most mornings, she had
beaten both Roy and Jeremy here. This meant she would be here alone for at
least an hour.
   Shaking off the urge to flee, the young woman forced herself to walk into
the eatery; flicking on the light switch in the entry. She nearly fled right
back outside when she saw all the animatronics lined up in front of her.
Swearing while she took a few breaths to get her heart to restart, she gave the
machines in front of her a weak scowl. “Really, after what I went through last
night. You’re going to do     that     to me?” grumbled out of her, her tone
more playful than scolding.
Jerking slightly, the quartet at least had the grace to look ashamed before
motioning in unison that they wanted hugs. Foxy in particular seemed eager, a
strange look in the singular golden eye that was visible. Rolling blue eyes,
she moved to her favorite Captain first. When a cold nose nuzzled into her
neck, she let out a gasp of shock before looking up at the robot. A strange
whirring noise came from deep within the fox’s mechanics, emulating a
computerized purr. It almost seemed like he had been worried.
Smiling up at Foxy, she backed out of his arms to move to the others. None of
them seemed put out by the fact she had hugged the vulpine first. They simply
accepted her affection before shambling off to their appointed spots. In a few
hours, it would be time to let in yet another wave of children. More than
likely, one of them would vomit. Some vindictive part of her hoped it would be
on the new guy and that it would be full of nasty chunks. Maybe then, that
creepy smile would leave his too pale face. A smile that made her look forward
to the day Scott would be back on dayshift. She didn’t know how much longer she
could put up with the other guy. Not to mention the fact that she wanted him
away from the children as soon as possible.
   Sweeping up around the stage, she saw a brief glimpse of something that made
her blood run cold. For the briefest of moments, she could have sworn she saw
blood on the ebony surface. After she blinked, however, it was gone; making her
wonder if she had just lost her senses. Leaning against the one part of the
wall that didn’t have a poster, she closed her eyes for a moment to regain her
composure. Yet, no matter what she did, there was an underlying tension in the
atmosphere. Not to mention she thought she could smell something coppery.
Almost like… Shaking herself, she got back to work.
Rose had been so absorbed in what she had been doing that she had no idea that
her Uncle and Jeremy had arrived. At least until the greenhorn had placed a
hand on one of her shoulders. Feeling a bit like her soul had come out of her
mouth, she whirled around to glower at her ‘trainee’. “If you have nothing
better to do than to scare the shit out of me, you can go sweep up the cove and
make sure everything is ready,” growled out of her while her heart did its best
to beat its way out of her sternum. Giving her a salute, the grinning man
wandered back out of the party room; making her shudder slightly.
Soon, the pair was working hard; making sure there were plenty of tables as
well as plates and party hats. They were having one of their higher profile
regulars here today and Roy wanted everything perfect. The family had been
having birthdays here since Fazbear’s had opened its doors so it was easy to
see why. “Alright Fitz, let’s get that blasted costume on you again. Rob is a
big favorite on the floor,” Rose commanded, ushering her purple clad companion
into the back. It was a routine she had been through many times and today would
be no different. Hopefully, none of the kids would go missing this time.
   Unbeknownst to them, the two humans were being watched. Two shadows lurked
in the corners of the room. Shadows that had no right being there but you
wouldn’t notice unless you were looking out for it. Shadows that weren’t even
remotely human. Shadows that possessed red eyes and seemed to shimmer in and
out of reality. Accompanying these strange figures was something else.
Something hidden deep in the spaces unreachable by the human eye. A thing that
was unnaturally thin. A thing that was just beginning to remember what it used
to be and how it had become what it was now. A thing that recognized Jeremy and
hated him.
   Yet… the other. The other was forbidden to it for reasons it could not
comprehend. The other wore purple too. Why were they not as guilty as the one
who had… who caused this to happen? Why was the other being protected? It would
watch. It would understand. It would stay out of things for now. There was
something about the other that its fellows liked. Something that made them
consider the other a friend. Especially given how much trouble it had gotten
into for its harmless visit last night. It had been treated like it had killed
the other when it hadn’t even harmed a hair on the other’s head. There was also
the fact that the other had made no move to hurt it either.
   Maybe… maybe the other was not like the beast. Maybe the other really was a
friend to all of them. If that was the case, why was the other helping the
creature? Why did it appear that they worked together? Would the other help the
beast to kill more? Would the other animatronics become like it did? Its
thoughts were interrupted by a fresh flood of children, filling it with a deep
fear. Yet, the other only seemed interested in making sure they had a good
time. The other made no move to get any of them alone, unlike what the beast
had done to it. If it could frown, it would definitely be doing so now.
   Despite the light atmosphere, there was a very slight, dark feeling clinging
to the edges. Even the band seemed to feel it, their singing a bit more halting
than it normally was. Every so often, one of the trio would look at one of the
corners of the room but she would see nothing when her own eyes strayed there.
In all honesty, she hoped it didn’t haven anything to do with what had happened
to her last night. She’d had a hard enough time just falling asleep after that
little visit, let alone the nightmares. Just thinking about them made her
shudder.
   They had been twisted, dark things. Full of blood, children screaming and
flashes of chilling imagery. Flashes of knives, smiles full of teeth and a
golden rabbit that had a man’s head inside its own. It all felt very scattered,
almost like the memories of a young child. Because of that, she had awoken
highly unsettled and reluctant to come in to work for the first time in her
life. Not to mention the fact she was more than a little frightened of her
visitor. Back in the days of Mr. Bedian, the character had simply been known as
‘The Jester’. He had been deemed too scary for the kids and shelved before he
had a chance to make it to the stage. She had only seen him once, giving him
the name Jasper due to feeling sorry for him. As far as she knew, no sound
equipment had ever been installed in him. Not even a voicebox.
   Needless to say, this made the fact that it had laughed even creepier. She
had no desire to run into ‘Jasper’ again, even in the daylight. Heaven knew
what he would do to her. He certainly didn’t seem to like her, which she
couldn’t blame him for. While the others had been cared for to the best of her
abilities, he had been left to rot; much like Rob. It wouldn’t surprise her to
find out he was angry at her. Still, why was he moving around     now     after
decades of just laying there. Had something happened to trigger it? Worst of
all, did it have anything to do with the missing child?
   Shuddering, she forced her attention back onto ‘Rob’ and the children.
Thankfully, all of the kids had stayed in one group today. This meant that they
would move to the Cove as one and there would be no chance of any of them being
left with Jeremy. While she didn’t like to think he was capable of doing
anything to a kid, she couldn’t ignore the gut feeling she had about the guy.
He was just plain weird and she would feel a lot better once the work day was
over. Yet, the end of the day would leave her with all new problems.
   She technically still had to clean, as did her new partner. At least she
wouldn’t be alone in the shop. While it wouldn’t have bothered her normally,
she had a feeling tonight would be different. She couldn’t quite put her finger
on it but there was something about the atmosphere today. Something a bit
menacing and more than a little scary. Something that felt a bit like the dark
being that had visited the other night. Something that made her skin prickle
and filled her with an instinctual need to flee. Even now, she longed to hide
behind the trio on the stage.
   Looking towards the mechanized band, she allowed the sounds of the kids
being served their pizza to fade into the background. To her shock, they were
staring directly at her; as if they knew what she had been thinking. Freddy
even gave a very subtle nod, obviously trying to tell her something. After
their intervention yesterday, she had a fairly good idea they were trying to
tell her they would protect her. Smiling at her friends, she felt her heart
buoy just slightly. Just knowing they cared about her as much as she did them
filled her with warmth.
Mouthing a thank you, she turned back to the room in front of her. Next, the
kids would head to the Cove. This meant it was time for Jeremy to change out of
his costume. Next would come a few hours in the arcade and the inevitable fight
to get the children back out the building. The more wily ones hid in the ball
pit, where they knew no grown-up could get to them. Though, eventually, they
could be lured out with enough bribes. Bribes that more than likely went as
unfulfilled as the threats never to bring them back here again. It was all just
part of the routine but it never failed to amuse her. Some of those kids could
get quite inventive in how they tried to get away.
Some even utilized the tube systems, taunting pissed parents from the clear
orbs that overlooked the room. That one had to be her favorite. Those kids had
almost always been through all the bribing before and were a lot less likely to
come out. It also took more than empty threats. All too often, desperate
parents would call her in as a last resort. Thankfully, she was authorized to
use extreme means to get the kids out. Usually, this meant offering a plush or
one of their high powered squirt guns. Showing them the goods was all it took
to sucker the child down. After that, the kid was banned from using any of the
playground again. Mostly due to the fact that luring them out again would be
next to impossible.
   Moving in the back to help the newbie remove Rob, she was dismayed to find
the unease from earlier had gotten much worse. It was so bad, it almost felt
like the temperature had dropped several degrees. Looking around on instinct,
she felt the hair on the back of her neck raise when she saw something moving
through the shadows. Licking her dry lips, she followed Jeremy into the room
they used to change; helping him carefully remove the bulky head.      Just as
she got it off him, she saw a shadow move in the back. A shadow that
suspiciously resembled Bonnie. Shuddering, she placed the costume on the shelf
as quickly as possible before practically running out of the room. She had run
so fast, in fact, that she had left Jeremy behind.
   Scratching his head, the new hire simply shrugged. He hadn’t been here long
enough to really form an opinion of Rose. Still, so far, she seemed more than a
little bit odd. Not unkind. Just a bit.. strange. Then again, weren’t they all?
Shaking his head, the young man got to his feet to leave. That was when he got
the oddest feeling. The feeling that he was being watched. This wasn’t the
first time either. Those damn animatronics… Since day one, they had made him
feel uneasy. It almost felt like they hated him, a notion that was ridiculous.
They were machines. They didn’t have any feelings. Still, sometimes, it was
harder to shake off that feeling than he would like to admit. Not to mention
the feeling that they… knew.
   A metallic clank from the back made him jump, dark eyes widening while he
backed toward the door. Not taking his eyes off the darkness that ate up the
back half of the room, he had the most horrible feeling that the door would
simply be locked. So, when the knob turned, he took his opportunity and ran. He
never saw the two pairs of red eyes flash in the inky void. He never heard the
laughter that would have been all too familiar too him. He never felt the
extreme drop in temperature while malice began to pour from the mass of
darkness.
   Getting a head start on the sweeping, Rose was a bit surprised when her
trainee came running from the back. The paleness of his face suggested he had
seen something that had disturbed him greatly. “What happened to you? See a
ghost?” she asked, having a nagging feeling in the back of her head he had just
had a visit from ‘Jasper’ as well.
   “What? Oh, no… Just… No…,” came a response that had her raising a brow.
Still, if he didn’t want to talk about it, she really couldn’t make him.
   Shrugging it off, the young woman decided to just leave it alone. Besides,
whatever had happened had finally wiped that ever loving smile off his face. He
actually looked a bit scared instead of looking like he was about to do some
horrifying thing. It almost made her thankful to the odd little creature she
had encountered last night. Chuckling softly, she shook her head before moving
on to mopping the stage. This crop of kids had been surprisingly well-behaved,
leaving a minimum amount of mess in their wake. It almost made her want to
pinch herself to see if she was dreaming. Tonight would be a fairly easy one
for once.
   As soon as the last kernel of stray popcorn was swept up, Jeremy was fleeing
like his ass had been lit on fire. Not too keen on being left alone but even
less willing to leave without saying goodbye to her friend     s     , Rose
stayed behind. As soon as the front doors swung shut, she really wished she
hadn’t. Immediately, a chill filled the air while the fluorescent bulbs above
her flickered wildly. Staring up at the ceiling, she instinctually backed
toward the stage; seeking safety from the trio standing there. So, when she
bumped into something rather solid, she had to bit     e      back what would
have been an extremely loud scream.
   Turning around, she saw her friends had come down to back her up; moving in
a jerky manner to stand by her side. From the sound of the metallic thuds
coming from down the hall, Foxy was also coming. Instantaneous relief filled
her just knowing they would support her. Still, she had to restrain herself
from running to the vulpine robot that opened the door. As weird as it would
sound, he was the one she felt safest with. Maybe it had to do with the fact
that she had built him with her bare hands while the others had been sourced
out after Roy had taken over. At least the outer shells. He was too cheap to
replace the endoskeletons themselves.
   As if sensing her thoughts, the furred pirate quickly closed the distance to
stand directly behind her. Just in time too because that was the exact moment
the lights went out. Breathing in sharply through her nose, Rose did her best
to swallow down her fear. A feat that wasn’t easy, especially when a pair of
eye flashed in the abyss the room had turned into.      This was soon followed
by the same laughter from last night, sending a chill skittering up her spine
with tiny claws. The quartet tensed, going into protective poses that did
worlds to help her feel safer.
   Out of the gloom, a spindly figure gradually became visible. It was, indeed,
Jasper. Just like she had thought. Still, seeing him in silhouette wasn’t doing
much for her frazzled nerves. “Jasper, if that’s you, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean
to just leave you in the back for all those years,” she began, hoping against
hope that would placate the machine. Bulbous head jittering in a sickening
manner, the jester animatronic flew toward her. Lacking any endoskeleton or
mechanics, its limbs were limp like a marionette’s. This illusion was only
helped with how it moved like it was controlled by a demented puppeteer. As its
pale face came out of the shadows, she saw something that gave her a start.
There were now painted tears on its laughing face. Tears that certainly hadn’t
been there before.
   Empty eyes seemed to study her, a vaguely rotten scent coming from its cloth
body. Fighting the urge to back away, she simply met the unused mascot’s vacant
sockets. “N-not th-th-the s-same bzrshh,” intoned Freddy’s voice to her right,
making her jump slightly.
   “What? What do you mean not the same?” husked out of her before the thing
was grabbing her upper arms with thin hands. Eyes rolling back in her head, she
passed out while nightmares filled her consciousness.
***** Year One *****
Chapter Notes
     Author’s Note: Next few chapters will have time skips. Mostly to get
     the story along. Each chapter will be a year. (There’s only so much I
     can do by writing bout job chores. Ultra exciting)
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month One~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    To say there was tension would be a severe understatement. While Rose knew
why       she       was afraid, she couldn’t say the same for Jeremy. Ever
since the day he had come from the back pale as a sheet, he was acting almost
paranoid. While he was out of Rob, his eyes would be wandering over to dark
corners, like he was expecting to see something there. Maybe he really
had       met ‘Jasper’. Yet, why had the odd animatronic shown itself to him?
Was there more going on than the thing simply feeling neglected? Did it have
anything to do with the awful images it had filled her dreams with until Scott
had found her? She sincerely hoped it didn’t.
Those dreams had seemed to be told through the eyes of the child, the point of
view being much closer to the ground than she was used to. As far as she could
tell, she had been hiding; a voice off in the distance calling for her. Saying
it was going to find her. Yet, it was all wrong. While the body she seemed to
inhabit felt excited, she felt a deep seated sense of dread. Like something
awful was about to happen. Then the tablecloth she was hiding under had been
lifted, a pair of glowing eyes blinding her. The rest happened in a blur. A
blur of blood, screaming and a deep sense of betrayal. Needless to say, she had
been rather shaken up when she woke up.
Still, at least he wasn’t showing anymore of his worrying behavior. The smile
had been wiped off his face and he seemed almost afraid to make eye contact
with the kids. A fact that confused her but she was honestly grateful for. Yet,
the animatronics seemed to keep an even closer eye on him than before. When
they weren’t performing, their glassy gazes were fixed on the costumed
employee. It was like they knew something she didn’t. Unfortunately, she didn’t
think she could get much from them. Between their glitchy voice-boxes and
limited vocabulary, it was near impossible to get good information from them.
 
       ~~     ~~~~~~~~     ~~~~~~~~     ~~~~~~~~     ~~~~~~~~Month Three~~
               ~~~~~~~~     ~~~~~~~~     ~~~~~~~~     ~~~~~~~
                                        
   “Fitz seem a bit… twitchy lately?” came a question that startled Rose out of
her daydreams. Jolting slightly, she looked up at her fellow employee with
hazy, cerulean eyes.
“Huh? What were you saying?” yawned out of her, the circles around her eyes
more prominent than they had ever been.
    Tilting his head slightly, Scott sighed before resting his hand over hers.
“More importantly, are       you       okay?” murmured the older man, the harsh
lights reflecting off his sandy colored hair. Sighing, the exhausted woman gave
her friend a weary smile.
“Haven’t been sleeping all that great these nights…,” husked out of her, her
voice a dusty croak that made her reach for her glass of soda.
Sighing, the temporary night guard shook his head. “I can see that. If you
needed to rest, you should have told me. We could always have lunch some other
time,” he admonished gently, his own blue eyes glimmering with deep concern.
“Nonsense. With the hours Roy has us on, its a wonder we get any time off as it
is. On top of that, you’re my best friend besides the machines and I barely get
to see you,” she pointed out after she had taken a hearty sip of her beverage.
Blushing, the man across from her rubbed the back of his head before he cleared
his throat. “Still, if Foxy knew I got you sick I don’t think he’d ever forgive
me,” came a confession that made her heart stutter in her chest. Did he know
they were alive like she did or had it been some offhand comment? With Scott,
it was honestly hard to tell. The times she had seen him with Foxy before his
debut, it almost seemed like pair had been communicating. Still, that didn’t
mean she could afford to expose her secret. Not when she would be seen as
insane.
“Don’t be silly,” she tried to play off, slightly testing the waters for his
response.
“I’m quite serious Rose. The nights you work overtime… He always seems so
worried. Following you around like a little puppy,” he informed, the words
making her heart come to a grinding halt in her chest.
“The cameras honey. But that wasn’t the first time I saw them move. However,
there’s been something that’s been worrying me,” Scott continued while her
panic gradually died away.
Going slightly pale as he licked his lips, the blonde seemed reluctant to
continue as he eyes shifted away from hers. Without him saying it, she could
already guess what he was talking about. ‘Jasper’. Its behavior was anything
but normal, especially with it lacking any means to move itself. “The Jester
mascot,” she murmured, watching as he shuddered and nodded.
“I knew about it but I had never seen it move before. Not like the others.
Something happened to it. It almost seems… evil,” whispered out of him,
terrified eyes shifting around. Almost like he was paranoid about the thing
listening. With how odd the being’s behavior was, it wasn’t a strange thing to
be worried about.
“I know… And we don’t seem to be the only ones who know about it. Fitz has
likely encountered it too. He’s been so jumpy lately, a dangerous prospect
while he’s wearing Rob’s costume,” Rose sighed, finding little use in hiding
what was going on. In fact, it felt better to have someone to share the
insanity with.
“It gets worse. The night that kid disappeared, I thought I saw a child run
into the kitchen. With the animatronics moving around, I played it off as one
of them. Now…,” Scot informed, his words making the fine hairs on her arms
stand on end. Just what the Hell was going on here?
“Any way the footage was recorded?” she asked, dreading the answer. When the
man across from her shook his head, she felt her heart drop into the pit of her
stomach.
“You know your Uncle is to cheap to put any tapes in the cameras. He figures
having a live feed is good enough,” came the response she had expected.
Unfortunately, this also meant nothing else was ever likely to be saved for
evidence. Still, what did it all mean?
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Four~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Sitting in the back room, repairing the older versions of the band on the
stage; Rose hummed a soft song to herself. While she could feel the cold eyes
of Jasper on her, she found it easy to ignore him. Since the first two
encounters, the odd animatronic had yet to show himself to her again. Still,
she could feel its presence. While she wanted to ask what it wanted and why it
was suddenly so active, she knew she wouldn’t get much of a response out of it.
It couldn’t speak beyond the chilling laughter it was able to let out. At least
the hulks that were left of her friends were good company and seemed to keep an
eye out for her.
Even Fredbear, letting out an occasional chuckle while his eyes shone at her.
While he had no voice box either, she wasn’t surprised by his ability to
continue to make sound. The only one that was completely still was the slumped
form of poor Rob. His wires hung freely from the open gaps in his arms, his
once golden fur turning a distressing shade of green from the mold growing all
over him. It honestly broke her heart but there was nothing she could do for
the old mascot. All the spare parts were allocated for the others. Besides, it
seemed like he was no longer necessarily alive.
Just thinking about it filled her with guilt. She had no idea Roy would neglect
the old mascot so badly. Yet, she still felt foolish for thinking anything
else. If she had come back here to check on him before he had started to rot
away, maybe she could have preserved him like she was doing with the others.
Walking over to the heap of rusting metal, she placed a hand on a slumped
shoulder while the others she had been working on came to see what she was up
to. She was utterly taken off guard when the animatronic made a few, horrific
noises before its head lifted and its eyes flickered to life.
Jumping back, Rose could only stare while the abandoned mascot did its best to
move its mouth. Due to its joints being firmly rusted together, the circuits
meant for movement began to make an unpleasant squealing noise. “Easy! Easy
Rob! You’ll only make yourself worse. Just… just hang on! I’ll get some oil and
steel wool. You guys, try to keep him awake and calm,” she ordered before
getting to her feet so she could sprint to the Spare Parts room. Foxy, who had
been standing outside the room to keep watch, was right on her heels.
“Rob woke up. I have to do what I can to help him. I can’t just allow him to
die,” came an explanation while shaky hands opened a door.
“Aye m-matey,” buzzed a mechanical voice from behind her, the animatronic
vulpine grabbing what it could with the hand it had. Then, the pair was heading
back to the ailing machine.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Six~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Rob became her secret project, helping her forget about the strangeness that
was Jasper. Jeremy, on the other hand, seemed to be growing more paranoid every
day. What was worse was the way he was starting to look at some of the
children. While he hadn’t done anything to harm any of them, it seemed like it
would only be a matter of time. It was something about his body language. It
set off all the alarm bells inside her head. Unfortunately, without any proof
of wrong doing, her uncle was extremely unlikely to listen to her concerns.
Especially since he and Jeremy got along so well.
It wasn’t lost on her that the two of them would go out for drinks every night.
Or the fact that Roy was often a lot more patient with the new recruit. It
almost made her wonder if there was some connection between the pair that she
wasn’t seeing. Sighing as she moved into the room where the decommissioned
animatronics were kept. The best she could do was force herself to think about
other things. Like the fact thet she had at least gotten Rob’s jaw to move
after a lot of work. Still, there was nothing she could do for the mess that
was his voicebox.
Like Fredbear and Jasper, he was doomed to be silent but that didn’t seem to
stop him. He was able to let out a warped version of his laugh, sending
goosebumps dancing up her arms every time it happened. At least the golden
furred rabbit wasn’t angry at her, seeming honestly relieved to be finally
getting some maintenance. There was also the fact that helping him was
improving her already exemplary standing with the animatronics. The older
versions of the mascots seemed much more affectionate than before, giving her a
hug in greeting as soon as she opened the door. It was almost like they
considered her to be part of their family at this point.
Even Rob wasn’t angry with her, just seemed happy to have what life he had
saved. And, while he couldn’t really move due to the damage to his gyros as
well as the rust, he still seemed to enjoy being touched. It had been so long
since the mascot had seen anyone that she couldn’t really blame him. Still, she
couldn’t help but apologize to him every time she saw his slumped figure. It
would take a long time before she was able to fully forgive herself for not
making sure he was actually dead. For allowing him to suffer as long as he had.
There was also something else. Jasper. For some reason, the Jester animatronic
kept following her around. As if it was trying to figure her out and was having
no success. What was worse was the dreams kept getting more and more vivid,
almost seeming like she was living them out herself. On top of that, during the
nightmare she felt a deep sense of foreboding. A sense of being hunted that
left her paranoid when she awoke. Yet, the thing seemed to be growing more
friendly towards her. Like she was slowly earning its trust through the amount
of care she showed to the machines. Just recently, it seemed like it was trying
to communicate. As if it was trying to tell her something. Even weirder, it
seemed to be about Jeremy.
Its hatred for the newbie was becoming more and more apparent simply through
the fact it wouldn’t leave him alone. While it never came out of hiding around
Fitz, Jasper went out of its way to make his life a living Hell. It would tip
over the mop bucket or shove the poor guy while he was wearing Rob, a fairly
aggressive action given the fact the costume was full of springs that were
under extreme amounts of pressure. If even one came loose, it would likely kill
the person wearing the outfit. It almost seemed like Jasper had a grudge
against Jeremy for reasons she couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Unfortunately
she had no way to ask the mysterious machine what was going on. On top of the
lack of voicebox, it likely wouldn’t explain itself to her in the first place.
The best she could do was continue with her daily routine and do her best to
try to ignore the oddness.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Eight~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Gripping his head in his hands, Jeremy clenched his eyes shut while he did his
best to block out the voices. Or, to be more precise, the singular voice that
had been haunting him non-stop for months now. “Shut up,” hissed out of him,
his voice strained while his fingertips dug into his scalp. The only response
he got was insane laughter echoing down the passageways of his mind, driving
him that much closer to the ragged edge of going insane.
“Just leave me alone! I didn’t mean to… it was all an accident!” he protested
to the empty room, gritting his teeth as the laughter morphed into something
else. Something sinister and taunting.
Growling low in his throat, he punched the wall of his tiny room; huffing in
and out while his dark eyes glared at the dents. At last, this seemed to quiet
the strange noise rippling through him like nails on a chalkboard. “Just… just
leave me the fuck alone already. You have no idea what I’m going through.
Besides, what does any of this matter? You’re dead, alright? There’s nothing I
can do about that,” whispered an unsteady voice, hoping to placate something
lurking in the shadows. Unseen, three pairs of red eyes flashed in a dark
corner of the room. As if in response to his murmured words.
Whistling while the keys to the pizzeria jingled in her hand, Rose unlocked the
door to enter the darkened building. As she made her way toward the first light
switch, she saw the pale face of Jasper appear in the gloom in front of her.
Licking her dry lips, she paused her hand; despite desperately wanting to turn
on the light and banish the odd animatronic. “Are you… okay?” whispered a shy
squeak, sounding more like a mouse than a grown woman. The ghostly visage with
painted tears simply gave a slow nod before floating toward her, the bits of it
that were white standing out in clear relief.
“Then, is there anything I can help you with?” she gasped out, thankful that
her voice sounded a bit stronger than before. Another nod before metallic
clanking came from down the corridor.
Knowing full well it was Foxy, Rose called to the mechanical vulpine that she
was alright. Last thing she wanted was for Jasper to be frightened off. Not
when it felt like they were finally beginning to communicate. Seeming confused,
the forgotten mascot floated down so its empty sockets met hers. Then, ever so
faintly, a young child’s voice came from the grin that had been carved into its
mask-like face. A voice that said “Help…,” instantly making all the hairs on
her body stand on end. Before she could press the issue, she heard two voices
behind her; making her instinctually turn to see who it was. Seeing it was her
uncle and Jeremy, she turned back to face her strange companion; only to find
that he was already gone.
Perplexed, Rose simply turned on the lights before Roy had the opportunity to
yell at her for not doing so already. Thankfully, Foxy had also moved back to
the Cove; eliminating another of her worries. Not paying any attention to the
men, she simply moved into the party room to start her day. Whatever was going
on would have to wait until after work. They had a fuller schedule than usual
today. She had to be ready for anything, including the inevitable increase in
mess as well as puke. It was like a rule that kids make as large a mess as
possible while they were here.
 
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~      Month Ten
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Staring at the invitation in her hands, Violet couldn’t help but feel excited.
This would be the first time she had ever been invited to a party. Not only
that, but it was being held at Fazbear’s Family Diner; one of her favorite
places on the planet, She had begged to go there every birthday, even had a
plush toy of each animatronic. The only one she didn’t have was Foxy due to him
being so new. Despite knowing she would still be out of luck, a huge part of
her hoped there would be some this time. Of all the animatronics, he was her
favorite. Often, she spent most of her time in the Cove long after the assigned
show was over.
To be honest, it almost felt like the huge machine was alive; seeming to smile
at her once everyone was gone. One time, when she was sure no one else was
looking, she had reached out to pet him. As soon as her hand had met his soft,
red fur, there had been a soft, purring noise that startled her at first. Yet,
she had felt no need to pull her hand away. Instead, she had hugged the
artificial animal before hearing a call of her name. Since then, she had
secretly hoped to see him move. Maybe then, she could officially ask him to be
her friend. Just the thought of it made her feel excited from the simple fact
that she would have a secret all her own.
Gathering her jacket, the young girl sprinted out of her room; the pink dress
she had chosen by herself rustling with her movement. Chuckling, her mother
bent to give her dark hair an affectionate ruffle before grabbing the present
off the table. A gift the young girl had also insisted on wrapping herself. She
was getting to the age where she was wanting to be very independent, no matter
the result. Still, Miranda could only feel pride for her headstrong girl. When
she got older, she would no doub
t break her share of hearts. “Ready Miss Violet?” she inquired, doing her best
to treat her eight year old like a lady with a straight face.
“Indeed mother,” came a forced, sophisticated tone that was far beyond her
young age. Fighting back a snicker, the matriarch led the young girl out into
the bright sunlight.
    Tinny, cheesy music, the smell of cheaply made pizza, stale popcorn and
soda. The mechanical band swayed drunkenly, their stiff joints moving while the
songs came from their flapping jaws. It wasn’t exactly Disney level but you
would never know it by how enthralled the tiny audience was. The all too brief
performances were the only time the hellions were still as well as silent,
giving the chaperons and parents of the birthday child a much needed reprieve.
Needing some time to be their own age, the adults would strike up conversations
amongst themselves; allowing the man in the golden rabbit costume to keep an
eye on the rest.
    Letting out a deep chuckle, the chipper mascot made his way from table to
table; serving pizza to the eager children. None of them were aware of the pair
of crazed, desperate eyes that watched from within the costume. Eyes that were
moving to Violet. A girl so young that was trying so hard to be an adult. A
girl that seemed to be heading his way with a huge grin on her cherub-like
face. “Rob! Its been so long since I’ve seen you! Can I have a hug?” she
gushed, forgetting all about the fact that she was supposed to be a lady due to
how excited she was. It was almost like she was greeting an old friend.
    Kneeling so he was eye level, the golden rabbit opened his arms for the
child. With musical laughter, she ran into his embrace. As soon as she
was close enough, her expression changed to curiosity as she listened to the
whispering coming from Rob. Slowly, ever so slowly, a large grin curled her
lips before she was giving the lapine a gentle hug. Running off to join the
other children, she spared one last glance behind her; giving her second
favorite a tiny wave. Tonight, her wish would come true. While it wouldn’t be
with Foxy, she wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity to have a secret
adventure with one of the Fazbear Friends. It would be all she could do to keep
her anticipation to herself.
 
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later That
                    Night~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
   A tiny, crumpled figure, three shadowy forms in the gloom. Six, red eyes
flashing briefly before a tall, slender silhouette began to float forward. A
hand with four, spider-like digits reaches out      to touch a soft cheek; a
quie     t, mechanical song beginning to play.      Mechanical clanking echoes
in the empty room, drawing the hidden being to turn to face the newcomers. More
eyes flicker on in the darkness, the red      light      giving the entire
scene a surreal feeling.      Then the points of light all centered on the
small bundle, becoming like a blood tinted spotlight.
   With a few clanks, Foxy came forward; scooping the child into his faux fur
coated arms.      Lifting his head, he met the red gaze of the Mannequin. After
a few moments,      the thin machine gave a slow nod. Slowly, the others
enclosed Foxy and the child. Eventually blocking them both from sight. When
they dispersed again, only the mechanized vulpine was left; jittering in place
while its mouth yawned open in a silent scream; a girl’s voice coming from the
depths of his mechanics.
 
             ~     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     Month Twelve
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     ~
                                        
    Two months, the poor girl had been missing and Roy was doing everything he
could to divert suspicion from the restaurant. Still, the incident wouldn’t
matter since the entire franchise was due to change names at any time now. Once
that happened, any of the        ev       ents that happened under the old name
would be simply lost in the legal shuffle. It was disgraceful but there was
little Rose could do to stop it. She had much more pressing matters to worry
about. Like the fact that Foxy was acting very strange lately, bordering on
unpredictable.
    Most of the time, he was his normal, protective self. But, every so often,
she would catch him staring at her with his mouth open in a menacing manner;
his eyes strangely dark. There was also the fact that, just a few days ago, an
unpleasant smell had started coming from him as well as Jasper. It almost
reminded her of the stench of rancid meat. It was only working on the remains
of Rob that was helping to keep her safe amongst the increasing madness. The
strange malice that seemed to be pouring off Fitz certainly wasn’t helping
either.
***** Year Two *****
Chapter Notes
     Author’s Note: Another year passes and things start to get worrisome.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month 1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Staring up at the marque above the restaurant, Rose couldn’t help but shake her
head. Some part of her had honestly been hoping her Uncle wasn’t serious about
changing a decades old business. A business that had been in the Bedian family
since it had started. The only reason it had been passed to Roy was the fact
the Mr. Bedian she had known had been unable to have kids. He had trusted Roy
to care for the place, to keep the traditions he worked so hard to establish
going. To see it all torn apart like this broke her heart. Her only solace was
the fact that all the old animatronics were around in some manner. Even Fritz,
who had been refurbished to Foxy.
Shaking her head, she opened the door to see the inside was being redone as
well. Instead of a family diner, it was now beginning to resemble a cheesy
pizzeria. It was then the recent menu changes began to make sense. Her Uncle
was trying to become like a rip-off of Chees-E-Chuck’s, the very notion making
her skin crawl. Soon, they would have an arcade full of ticket belching
machines instead of the ball pits and fairly innocuous kids entertainment
littered around. The small jungle gyms would likely be taken out for video
games that would bring in more revenue. Just seeing the checker pattern going
up on the walls made her skin crawl.
“Ah, Rose! Good to see you’re here early as usual. One would think you actually
like this trash heap,” came the teasing voice of her Uncle, drawing her
attention to the entry of the dining room. Fighting the urge to shoot him a
glower, she simply shook her head before walking toward him. As much as she
hated everything happening, she wasn’t about to leave her friends alone. Unlike
her, they had no way of escaping; of fighting against any abuse. Poor Rob was
enough evidence of what he would do if left to his own devices. So, when he
wrapped a meaty arm around her should to pull her closer to his overweight
body, she forced a smile on her face.
    “Your good with those damn machines right? Think ya could make a Freddy
costume out of some spare parts? We gotta replace that damn Rob costume before
the change completely takes place. Otherwise, we’ll risk being associated with
the old franchise,” cooed in her ear, something in his smarmy tone filling her
with the need to get as far away from him as soon as possible. After how hard
she had fought him about replacing Rob, this felt a bit like a trick. Like he
was trying to give her a project to keep her out of the way during renovations.
Still, it wasn’t like she had any       real       choice in the matter.
“You mean like I suggested many times before?” grumbled her sarcastic response,
the best she could do given her circumstances. Instead of being angered or put
off by response, Roy smiled and gave her back a few hearty pats; coming close
to knocking her on her face.
    “Why do ya think I’m havin’       you       do it Rosie? I know I was
neglectful to keep ol’ Rob around but there didn’t seem to be much of a point
to change what was working. Now, with our whole business changing, we gotta get
a new mascot. There’s no one else I’d trust to do it,” murmured his almost
smarmy tone, making the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
Something about this felt off, slimy in a way. Everything inside her was
screaming at her to refuse, to just quit and never look back.
Instead, she shook her head while rolling her eyes. “Whatever you say. But Fitz
will be on day duty alone. Are you sure that’s okay?” grumbled her only attempt
at a protest.
“’Course! He’s been on long enough to know what to do. Besides, he eventually
wants to move to the night shift. He’ll need to know all the ins and outs of
the business. There’s also the fact we won’t have much business during the
renovations. This would be the ideal time to learn how to handle things on his
own,” came the handy explanation, filling her with a terrible feeling of dread.
After the odd behavior she had seen from two animatronics coupled with how they
acted around Jeremy, she knew it wasn’t a good idea to leave him alone with the
kids. She had the strangest feeling he had something to do with the
disappearances but she had no real reason to feel that way at all. The only
person that could back her up was Scott and he wouldn’t be here until the night
shift. The only thing she could do was keep her protests to herself, simply
giving a nod before she was heading into the spare parts room. Unfortunately,
she wasn’t alone. As soon as she entered the hall, she felt the familiar
presence of Jasper.
Fighting off the fear filling her from the malicious energy the animatronic
gave off, she turned slowly, feeling her heart thud against her ribs when she
saw the telltale red eyes appear in the gloom of poorly lit passage. Since not
many guests came here, Roy felt no need to make sure it was well lit or well
maintained. “Jasper… you and the others know what’s going on here don’t you?”
she whispered, feeling even more apprehensive when the thin silhouette simply
floated toward her. Bulbous head nodding, the strange being, wrapped a spindly
hand around hers before pulling her down the hall. Instead of fighting, she
allowed it to lead her; feeling even more uneasy when they approached the door
for the delivery bay.
Looking back at her, the jester animatronic began to let out child-like noises;
making her skin crawl as it opened the door to the pitch black room. A room
where two pairs of red eyes seemed to be suspended, just staring at her. Making
a motion that told her to stay where she was, Jasper moved into the room that
looked to be more like an abyss. Unsure of what to do, Rose stood where she
was; well aware of the fact that she was beyond any help from her friends. With
so many construction people around, they couldn’t afford to walk around like
they normally did. She was more alone than she had ever been. Still, she
decided to trust Jasper. Especially if it helped her to get to the bottom of
things.
All too soon, Jasper was returning; something truly horrifying following behind
him. They looked like purple versions of Fredbear and Roy, dark, smoke like
tendrils trailing from their twitching bodies. Parts of them seemed to shift
into unnatural positions only to pop back to normal like nothing had happened.
There was also the fact that parts of their outer shell kept splintering off in
random spots all over their bodies, disintegrating into squarish shapes and
disappearing only to be back in place. Feeling a bit like she was going mad,
she could only stare into the dark maw of the ‘shadow’ Fredbear while it closed
over her head.
 
                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Night
                    Shift~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Humming to himself while he walked into the restaurant, Scott was a bit
impressed by just how much had gotten done during the day shift. Heading to his
well hidden, temporary office; he swung open the door without a care in the
world. As soon as he was able to see the interior, he saw he was not alone.
There, slumped in his chair with his eyes glowing; was Fredbear. Feeling his
heart come to a sickening stop, He forced himself to stay put while his entire
body began to shake. With the wires and lines required for movement having been
removed, there was no way it could be in his office. Yet, he wasn’t surprised
to see the old bear. “Uh, h-hi Fredbear. L-long time no see,” he stammered out,
wondering what on earth the silent machine could possible want.
Laughter came from deep inside the animatronic’s metal shell before the monitor
he used to watch the camera flickered to life. There, in the party room, was a
slumped figure that looked an awful lot like Rose. Surrounding her were two
shadowy, purple colored figures that seemed to be exact copies of Fredbear and
Rob. Hovering over her was Jasper, making terror rush through his veins.
Without another word, he was running out of there; leaving the slumped figure
of the Fredbear behind. A figure that disappeared as soon as he had turned his
back. The only evidence it had been there at all were a few strands of golden
fur, blown into the air by the gentle breeze of the fan beside the monitor.
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Two~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
After being found unconscious by Scott, her Uncle had begrudgingly given her a
couple weeks off. A fact that had made her more than nervous for the
animatronics in the storage room. Not to mention Foxy, who had yet to be
updated to the ‘more friendly’ style the others now had. Her only solace was
the fact she had keys to the back door and the fact that Scott was willing to
allow her to make sure her friends were well maintained. Especially after
Fredbear had shown him where to find her and that she was in desperate need of
help. An event she was still trying to figure out.
Every day she was on ‘vacation’, she had snuck in through the back entrance;
spending most of the night working on Rob. Most of the rust was now gone from
his joints and all the rotting wires had been pulled. There wasn’t much she
could do for his rotting exterior shell either. Still, he seemed happy; always
seeming to perk up as soon as she walked through the door. The only continuing
problem was Foxy. He seemed barely in control of himself anymore, staying far
away from her while giving her a mournful look. It was almost enough to break
her heart.
Thankfully, she was back to work now and was able to spend some much needed
alone time with her favorite mascot. Despite the fact he was wildly
unpredictable, she wanted to be near him. At least long enough to figure out
just what was wrong with him. It certainly helped that Roy had given her less
hours to ‘allow her to build the Freddy’ costume. For now, Rob was out of the
picture; giving Fitz a chance to actually learn what was expected of him. Now,
instead of simply delivering pizzas and keeping a peripheral eye on the kids,
he had to go back to helping clean as well as actually making sure they
actually didn’t hurt themselves. No doubt he’d be very busy.
    Glancing up at the vulpine machine on the stage, she found herself taken
back to when she had originally found out all the machines were alive. An event
that seemed so long ago after everything that had happened. “Foxy… I want you
to know that, no matter what happens, I can never hate you or really be afraid
of you. I don’t know exactly is going on here but I still trust you,” she
assured, smiling up at the unmoving mascot. The only si       gn        she got
that he had heard her at all was his upper body leaning slightly toward her,
his arms slumping at his sides.
“I just… wish you guys could just tell me without scaring the ever loving piss
out of me. I can’t even remember what happened the night Scott found me,” she
continued, walking over to one of the trashcans to empty out the dustbin.
“R-r-rob-b-b… k-kidszsh,” came a static filled response from the stage,
immediately getting her attention.
    Licking her suddenly dry lips, Rose asked a question she was fairly certain
she already had the answer to. “Rob? Do you mean the one in storage?” squeaked
out of her, only to get her a shake of the head. Despite knowing that would be
the case, she felt nausea crash over her in a wave. That meant that all her
suspicions had been right. That Jeremy had been… Clamping a hand over her mouth
while her stomach gave a heave, she ran to the trash can she had just used;
vomiting what little she had been able to force down this morning. All the
stress had her stomach in knots, being found unconscious by the guy she had a
crush on certainly not helping matters. What she didn’t know was the fact that
Scott had left several things out about how he had found her. About how there
were two animatronics he had never seen before standing on either side of her.
Or how blood seem to be coming out of the mouth        of the one        that
looked like Fredbear.
   Once the wave was over, she slowly straightened while wiping the back of her
hand over her mouth. “Christ. Fucking Christ… And there will be no evidence of
this either, giving Roy no reason to believe me. I can’t even guarantee I can
keep an eye on him once I’m done with the Freddy costume,” she gasped, her
entire body shaking while her stomach twisted and turned. Feeling a cold sweat
settle over her, she leaned into Foxy when he jerkily wrapped his fur covered
arms around her. Taking comfort from the contact, she fought to ignore the
rotting meat smell coming from him; let alone what it could mean when added to
what she had just found out. If anything else happened, she would likely snap;
running for home and never coming back. Not to mention the fact she would seek
out some serious mental help.
 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Four~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    Having secluded herself in storage so Roy wouldn’t constantly bother her
about the progress of Freddy, Rose could only hope the animatronics were
keeping an eye on things for her. With Fitz out there alone for most of the
day, she felt more than a little nervous about another disappearance happen
ing       . Thankfully, whatever was wrong with Foxy seemed to have fixed
itself. At least for the time being. Since their meeting in the ‘Cove’, he had
returned to his old self. Yet, every now and again, it still felt like he was
staring at her with his jaw agape. Shaking herself while working the needle
through the brown faux fur, she forced herself to focus on her current project.
    She only had the arms and one leg done, currently working on the last leg
before she moved to gluing the faux fur onto the metal shell. Like Rob, Freddy
would use parts from an actual animatronic to make the person wearing the suit
look more like the mascots. Unlike Rob, she would use another means to hold the
joints together that didn’t involve thick springs. Thankfully, she had found
some spare wire that would work just fine and be a lot less dangerous. While
she loved Mr. Bedian, she had to question some of his decisions. Sighing, she
pulled one of the lower arm covers toward her so she could begin the honestly
frustrating process.
    She had to make sure to get the faux fur glued down as smoothly as
possible. Any bubbles would mean she’d have to tear up to glue it down again
until it was gone.        Not to mention the fact she’d have to make sure no
glue got on the fur. Any matted spots would mean she’d have to make an entirely
new faux fur cover. The hardest part by far would be the head, having to look
like Freddy while not having any of the metal parts inside. She wasn’t even
confident about being able to pull it off but at least it would help keep her
from thinking about things she couldn’t possibly control.
    Three figures watched her from a reality that existed between realities.
The two purple colored figures twitched in unnatural ways while the one in the
middle watched the female. Of all the employees in this place, she was the only
one the machines seemed to recognize. Given technological limitations, they
could only really recognize who was an an employee and who wasn’t by the color
of clothes they wore. Anyone wearing all purple obviously worked at this place.
Everyone else was either a child or a parent. After observing her for a while,
it finally understood the reason why. She was… unique. Something about her sang
out, unlike all the other mundane people that came here. It might be what ended
up saving her in the end.
 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Six~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    Why couldn’t the bitch hurry up with the damn costume?! Didn’t she realize
he       needed       it? He       needed       to be one of the mascots! It
was the only way the children        would get closer to him. It was the only
way the voices would fucking stop! If only for a little while. Unfortunately,
instead of getting better like all the other times before he had taken this
godforsaken job, the voices were getting worse; more violent. It almost felt
like there was something else growing inside of him. Something that was slowly
taking over his soul. Something that was making his lips curl into a rictus of
a grin if he didn’t pay close enough attention.        It was another reason he
needed the new costume, topping an ever growing list.
    Letting out a laugh that sounded more like a scream, he ran his hands
through his hair.        For a few seconds, his blue eyes flashed purple;
making him take a few steps back from the mirror. “No… I did not just see that.
I just need another kill is all. It’ll all go away,” husked his crazed voice,
echoing o       f       f the tile of his tiny bathroom. Laughter greeted his
words, coming from the air around him while a darkness crept up behind him in
the mirror’s reflection.        Spinning around, he saw nothing but still had
an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Like something was lurking in the
darkness of his apartment.
 
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     M     onth
                   Eight~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    Staring at the ceiling, Roy found himself scared too get out of bed for the
first time since he had been a boy. Silently cursing himself as a fool, he
gripped sweat soaked sheets with piggy hands while he fought to gather the
courage just to get up and go to the bathroom. He had committed many
indignities in this bed but pissing it would never be one of them. He had more
pride than that. Still, his body was reluctant to follow his command. A few
weeks ago, he had started hearing weird shit in his house. Noises he thought
would stop after he had made sure Fredbear would never move again. Tonight,
gruff laughter echoed up from the foot of his bed; turning his bladder into a
tight, pulsing ball.
    Hissing through his teeth, he felt a cold sweat cover his body while his
eyes searched the abyss of his room for anything that could have made that
sound. After a few minutes of nothing, he pushed himself into a sitting
position; knowing he wouldn’t be able to hold it for much longer. Whatever was
out there could kill him after he took care of his problem. So, clutching his f
ilthy        briefs to his cellulite covered body, he shuffled into the hall
and towards his bathroom. Swinging open the door and turning on the light, he
felt his bladder finally let go when he saw the slumped form of Fredbear on the
lid of his closed toilet.
    Taking an instinctual step back, the heavy set male slipped in the puddle
of his own urine; landing on his back with a house shaking thud. Letting loose
a long string of swearing, he lifted beady eyes to see the golden furred mascot
was no longer there. “Just my mind playing fucking tricks on me. Been working
at that damn restaurant too long,” growled his shaky voice while he carefully
got to his feet. Moving into the bathroom to get some toilet paper so he could
clean his mess, Roy found himself unconvinced by his own words.
 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Ten~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    He was finally whole, finally at home. It didn’t even feel like he was
looking through the eyes of a costume or even speaking in another character’s
voice. These things were all him now. He       was       Freddy and he was here
to make children smile. If only that bitch could see that. If only she could
understand this was his calling. All the kids were his friends, trusting him
with deep secrets they could never tell their parents. Unfortunately, she went
out of her way to make sure they stayed away from him. Did her best to keep him
from doing the one thing that kept the voices at bay. The one thing that
brought sunshine to these young ones’ lives.
    The only time he got time alone with them, time to touch them; was when one
of the kids made a mess in the ‘Cove’. While it only afforded him a few
precious minutes, it was the highlight of his shift. It was only logical he
would take advantage of the pattern he had noticed. After all, small amounts of
rat poison couldn’t be all that bad for the kids. Just enough to get them sick
and allow him time with the children in the Party Room. So, while the bitch
hadn’t been looking, he sprinkled some in the popcorn; impatient for when it
would start working.
    Thankfully, it wasn’t long before she was getting a call of a puke
emergency; causing her to run from the room. In an instant, a sea of youth was
surrounding him; tiny hands touching all over his suit. Gathering a young boy
into his lap, ‘Freddy’ made plans for another special game of hide and seek. A
night the boy would never forget. A night he honestly couldn’t wait for. Soon,
this child would feel the joy he did. The sense of being… whole.
 
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~That
                   Night~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    Sounds of choking come from a dark corner of the kitchen, punctuated by
heavy breathing. Then there was a thud, followed by the sound of chilling,
empty laughter. A figure resembling a bear waddles out, still giggling while a
white faced being appears over the slumped body. Without a sound, it scoops the
boy into its arms, carrying it through the restaurant until it encountered one
of the machines. Looking up at the creature that had no real name, Bonnie
looked down at the body in its arms and nodded. He would be the next vessel,
the next protector. So, the sound of metallic footsteps bouncing off the walls,
the rabbit followed the jester into the darkness.
 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Twelve~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
   Smiling at the patrons that flooded in, Rose found it more than a little sad
they were busier than they had ever been. All because it was the ‘Grand Re-
Opening’, a phrase she still had trouble swallowing. None of this was an
upgrade and only spoke of the end of a much simpler era. Still, she had no
choice but to act like the good little employee; all while not being able to
stomach being near her co-worker. It certainly didn’t help that Scott hadn’t
seen anything during his shift while she was in the back with the machines.
This wasn’t assisted by the fact      every now and again, the cameras would
simply blink out for a few minutes due to being old. “Hey, Rose! Can I talk to
ya ‘bout Foxy for a sec!” called the hated voice of her Uncle, filling her with
apprehension.
***** Year Three *****
Chapter Notes
     Author’s Note: Things will get darker from here on. A lot of children
     die but people who play these games already know this. I’m just
     giving my version of popular fan-lore.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month One~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Staring at the parts before her, Rose found herself flabbergasted by what her
Uncle wanted her to do. He had wanted her to build a new Foxy but, there had
been a huge catch. He had wanted her to use the original frame. That meant she
would have had to disassemble her closest and dearest friend, just the thought
of it made her sick. She had been so upset, she had told the mechanical vulpine
about it on the same day. To say he wasn’t amused would be a massive
understatement. He had come close to going to kill her Uncle, forcing her to
spend many hours calming him down.
As much as she hated what was happening, it was no reason to allow more death.
Besides, she had come up with a plan to get around having to tear Foxy apart.
Given the fact she was the one responsible for doing inventory, it wasn’t
likely Roy would notice a few things going missing from the spare parts room.
With some help from the animatronics, she had squirreled away the parts she
would need while the older model made himself scarce in storage. Now, she found
herself measuring the head she would be using; drawing out a pattern that would
go on to the faux fur.
It was a painstaking process, not to mention all the wiring and electrical work
she had yet to do. If it weren’t for her friends, she would have gone crazy
from the sheer monotony. Yet, the deaths of the children weighed heavily on her
conscience. As much as she wanted to alert the authorities, her word was worth
nothing without the evidence to back it up. There was also the fact she was in
no position to quit or even protest anything Roy decided to do. She felt
trapped, the project she had been given the only escape available to her.
Rubbing her face, she leaned back while a sick feeling churned in the pit of
her stomach. “What am I even doing? Why am I staying when things are so wrong
here? Is any of this worth being associated with the horrifying occurrences?”
she wondered, the sounds of creaking metal bringing her attention to the
figures that circled her.
Staring into their eyes, she already knew the answer. She was here to protect
them as well as do her best to try to prevent any more harm coming to the kids.
If it was all she could do, she was going to do her damnedest. Picking up her
tools, she got back to work with renewed vigor; determination in her blue eyes.
She never noticed the fact ‘Jasper’ had joined her or the fact that the useless
hulk of Fredbear had shifted just slightly. Or even the fact that both Foxy and
Bonnie had started gaping at her, strange looks in their red eyes.
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Two~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
“Alright, try it now!” she called elbow deep inside the very machine she was
talking to. With a few, rather unpleasant sounding squeals, the head began to
swivel in a jerking motion.
“Damn. Still too tight,” hissed her harried voice before she was holding out an
oil covered hand. With a jerky motion, Chika placed a wrench in her palm;
watching the proceedings with great interest.
Quiet whirrs came from all around her, alerting her to the presence of her
friends. Not minding her audience, she kept working on the servos that would
turn the new Foxy’s head and control his mouth. “Okay, I think have it,” she
called, voice sounding cautiously triumphant. On cue, the new Captain moved his
head from side to side with much less trouble; mouth opening and closing with
audible snaps. Smiling, she straightened to pop her sore spine. She had been at
this for hours and had just gotten it working smoothly. Now she only had the
rest of the animatronic to go. Feeling exhausted by the amount of work ahead of
her, Rose decided now was the perfect time to take her lunch break.
“Sorry Foxy 2.0. I’m starving,” came a heartfelt apology while she proceeded to
dig out a bologna sandwich she had made for herself that morning. Thankfully,
he didn’t seem to mind; amusing himself by swiveling his head in all
directions.
The original watched the antics of his replacement, seeming to have accepted
his fate. In fact, he almost seemed to see the other version of himself as a
son. And why not? The two would look and act exactly alike. Taking a bite of
her food, she looked up at the machines over her. Especially Bonnie and Foxy.
The pair had been acting strange, a strong odor coming from them and making her
want to gag. While she was afraid to admit it, some part of her wondered if
Jeremy had hidden the dead children in their endoskeletons. If the mascots were
now haunted by vengeful spirits. Maybe, that had been what Jasper had been
trying to tell her from the beginning.
Grimacing at her gruesome train of thought, she set her food aside before
getting to her feet. If that was the case, then what she was doing was probably
the best way she could help. Giving the bunny and fox a final glance, she got
back to work; carefully threading wires and oil lines through hollow arms.
Attaching them to the shoulders, she moved onto the lubricant line meant to
keep the machine from overheating. Then she got to work on tightening, tweaking
and pressurizing; not stopping until it was long past midnight.
                                        
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Four~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Faces pressed against the ceiling. Faces of children. Faces that screamed,
faces that cried. All of them seeming to loom just inches above his bed.
Covered in a sheen of cold sweat, Roy struggled against his body to close his
eyes. Some part of him had hoped the renovations would make all of this go
away. In fact, it was making things so much worse. Groaning while his heart
galloped in his chest, he squeezed his eyelids shut and covered his head like a
small child. “Go away. Its not my fault you died at my restaurant,” he pleaded
to the wailing apparitions above him.
    Suddenly, it all went silent. Peeking out, he saw things had returned to
normal. Breathing a sigh of relief, he laid on his side and tried to convince
himself it had all been a bad dream. Yet, some part deep inside him knew the
truth. Everything that was happening was all too real and it was only going to
get worse from here. “This all started happening when I hired that Jeremy kid.
Fucking christ… he can’t be the one that’s…,” he murmured, the question in his
voice going unanswered by the silence of his room.
That boy… If it weren’t for the fact he was likely an illegitimate son, he
would have fired him long ago. As it was, he felt a deep sense of duty toward
him. Likely due to the fact he had been absent for so many years of Jeremy’s
life. It wasn’t by choice either. His bitch of a mother had kept the child a
secret from him, leaving it to their son to track down his daddy. Now that he
had his boy, he wasn’t about to allow anything to happen to him. No matter how
sick the kid was, he would protect his own.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Six~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Laughing wildly, Jeremy huddled in his closet while knocking came from all
around him. It had been happening non-stop for months now. There were also the
wails, the screams that were so loud he wondered how the police hadn’t been
called on him yet. Couldn’t anyone hear this? Didn’t anyone know how much
torture he was being put through night after night? The only time he was safe
was once the sun had risen and he was at work, in his Freddy costume. The
costume seemed to keep them at bay, let alone the glares of the animatronics.
Just lately, he’d had the strangest feeling the machines wanted to kill him. A
notion he had pushed off as simple paranoia. After all, a person could only go
through so many sleepless nights without snapping. It would only make sense he
was experiencing some form of mental breakdown. Clutching his head, he rocked
while the noises around him got louder; sounding like he had been transported
to Hell. “Shut up,” hissed out of him over and over like a mantra, eyes
squeezed shut while shadowy fingers reached for him under the closet door.
Just as they reached the leg of his jeans, his alarm was ringing; driving away
the demons for another night. Yet, he had a feeling he couldn’t avoid it for
much longer. What he had been doing was going to catch up to him. In fact, he
was surprised it hadn’t already. He had done nothing to hide the bodies. The
authorities should be on him like a duck on a june bug. Yet, here he was,
getting dressed for work like he hadn’t killed three children and wouldn’t kill
more. Here he was, driving to a job that allowed him to be as close to kids as
he wanted; allowing him to get close enough to possibly lure them into a night
time game of hide and seek.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Eight~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Settling into his chair for the night, Scott wondered what he would see. While
he wasn’t concerned by Rose’s activities, the mascots were beginning to worry
him greatly. Just lately, Bonnie and Foxy had developed the habit of staring
into the cameras with their mouths gaping open. It was almost like they were
trying to intimidate him, making him feel more than a bit unsettled. Had Jeremy
done something to piss them off? If he had, they were all boned.
None of the mascots could recognize separate people, only being able to see
what color you were wearing or how tall you were. It would be entirely possible
for the machines to blame an individual’s misdeeds on the entire staff. The
only exception seemed to be Rose. For some reason, the mechanized animals could
recognize her. A fact that still puzzled him. Watching as said female made her
way to the storage room, Scott found his gaze wandering to the doors on either
side of him. Darkened halls that yawned at him like mouths, filling him with
the urge to shut them for the first time since he had taken this shift.
    For some reason, he had the idea he would be safer if he did; even if it
meant possibly wracking up the power bill. Reaching for the lights, he only
felt safe again when they came on to reveal nothing. “You’ve been working here
for too long Scott old boy,” he admonished himself, getting to his feet to see
what Rose was up to. Whatever it was, it had to be better than jumping at
shadows and wondering if Bonnie or Foxy was going to pay him a very unwanted
visit. Still, just peeking into the hall took a lot more courage than he cared
to admit; a large part of him expected his head to be taken off as soon as it
cleared the door frame. So, when he saw nothing, he felt a fair measure of
relief.
Whistling as she sewed some of the new Foxy’s skin, the security officer turned
seamstress jumped when she heard a knock at the door. Blinking, she motioned
for the older machines to hide; waiting until they were in position to see who
it was. When she saw Scott, she let out a laugh that was a sheer alleviation of
tension. “I thought you were Roy or Jeremy. Come on in! Has to get lonely in
that room by yourself,” she offered, standing to one side so he could enter. As
soon as he crossed the threshold, she was shutting the door and the others were
coming out of the shadows.
The change in their body language was apparent. Where they had been relaxed and
happy before, they were now on the defensive; seeming almost aggressive. “Easy,
he isn’t here to hurt any of you,” she soothed, placing herself between her and
the sole human in this place she honestly liked. For a few moments, they still
seemed ready to tear him apart. Then they were relaxing, moving back into the
shadows while keeping a watchful eye on him. A fact that wasn’t lost on the
female security guard.
“Maybe you shouldn’t come here any more after tonight,” came a hesitant
suggestion he couldn’t help but agree with.
“Yeah, I can see that but… what’s happened? Did Fitz do something to piss them
off? And, if he did, why aren’t they targeting you?” he whispered, almost
afraid his voice alone would be enough to set them off again.
Flinching, Rose looked at him with haunted eyes before setting down the faux
fur and needle she held in her hands. “I don’t know how much of it you’ll
believe. Hell, I still have a hard time believing all of it myself. Yet, with
the evidence in front of me, its hard not accept it,” she began haltingly
before going into what she had been able to discover through the mascots. By
the time she was finished, Scott looked as horrified as she felt.
“You have to be kidding… Fitz, a pedophile?” he murmured, seeming utterly
stunned.
    “Like I said, I didn’t want to believe it either. Feels good to finally be
able to tell someone,” she responded, motioning for him to leave the room while
she followed behind. With how hostile her friends were toward him, she couldn’t
entirely guarantee his safety.
    Leading the way to his office, Scott wished he could argue against Rose’s
accusations. Unfortunately, it explained far too much for him to put them aside
easily. It certainly didn’t help he had known the woman behind him for years.
She just didn’t seem like the type to make up stories. Feeling disgusted as
well as unsettled, he was all too glad to sit in the one chair he had
available; staring at the floor below his shoes. As much as he wanted to ask
her why she hadn’t gone to the authorities, he knew all too well what the
reasons were. With how things were set up, there would be little to no
evidence. Just her word and some odd acting animatronics. “Christ…,” whispered
out of him, his eyes rising to meet hers.
“I know… believe me… Doesn’t help Roy has me sidetracked with making a new
Foxy. I can’t keep a good eye on Jeremy to make sure he doesn’t hurt anymore
children,” came a confession that made his heart ache for the young woman.
“None of this is your fault! You can only do so much,” Scott assured, grabbing
her upper arms in a loose grip.
Watching the exchange from the hall, Foxy found himself confused. Why was his
friend talking to the ‘Other’. Had she already forgotten what he had done. Then
again, there often seemed to be a lot of the ‘Other’. Maybe this one was
innocent of the crimes. Accepting this reason and not wanting to doubt Rose,
the vulpine went back down the hall to storage. Yes, she was his friend.
Therefore, whoever she was talking to was also a friend. He would have to be
sure to tell the others not to harm the ‘Other’ that works at night. It would
not do to upset his friend after all.
 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Ten~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    A lonely little boy swung his legs over the multicolored carpet, jealous
eyes watching the group of kids gathered around the arcade machines. He was
well aware of the fact he had only been invited because of his mother.
Sniffling, he bravely fought back his tear before picking up his piece of
pizza. Well, he would show       them.       He would have fun without them.
Taking a triumphant bite of his food, he placed it back on his plate before
hopping off his chair. Chewing his food quickly, he made his way over to the
Freddy that was moving through the restaurant.
    So far, everyone else had been too intimidated to approach the bear. If he
was the first one to talk to Freddy, he might impress the others enough to get
them to include him! Still, coming up to the much taller animal was a bit scary
and he had to fight against his innate urge to flee.       ‘There’s nothing to
be scared of! Its just Freddy!’       he admonished himself before reaching out
to tug on one of the mascot’s furry legs.        When the towering ursine
turned to look at him, he found himself wanting to run away more than ever.
There was something strange about him, something about his eyes.
    Slowly, he was bending to meet the child’s nervous eyes; a huge paw landing
on one of his shoulders. “Don’t be scared little guy! I’m Freddy Fazbear, a
friend to all children,” boomed a friendly, goofy voice. One that set the boy
at ease instantly. Letting out a giggle, he hugged his favorite around the
neck. That was when the whispering started. A secret that had his heart
pounding with more fear than excitement. Did he dare accept the invitation for
a night time game of hide and seek? It would mean hiding in the restaurant for
a long time. Until after dark. Looking back at the group of children that was
now staring at him, he found himself agreeing.
    It would be something he could finally make the others feel jealous about.
Maybe just staying here during the night would make them finally include him!
Smiling up at Freddy while he pulled away, the boy ran back to the others;
feeling more confident about his decision when he was swarmed with questions.
Shrugging them off with a coolness he had often envied of the others, he walked
over to one of the machines and began to insert tokens.
    Behind him, Freddy watched; a mouth deep inside the costume curling into a
rictus of a smile. It was so easy! The loneliest ones always wanted to play the
game. Tonight, the voices would stop; if only for a few hours. Those moments of
silence that were slowly becoming more sacred to him. Going back to his work,
he fought off the urge to look at the mascots. For hours now, he had felt the
sensation of their eyes on him. Like they were aware of what he was up to and
they were going to make sure he paid for it. Shaking it off, he placed a pizza
in front of a group of eager kids before heading to the kitchen for the next
order.
 
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hours
                   Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
   Run! Run from the man in purple! A horrifying apparition that had come out
of Freddy’s skin. Tears pouring down smooth cheeks, a small figure speeds down
winding halls; looking for anywhere to hide. Darting into the party room, the
boy does the only thing he can think of. He hides under a table and squeezes
his eyes shut. Praying this will be enough to drive away the boogeyman that was
hunting him. Soft calls of his name echoed in the empty room, drawing a
hiccuping sob out of him against his will.
   Clapping both hands over his mouth, he clamped his eyes shut even tighter
while rocking back and forth. This was all a bad dream! He would wake up in his
safe bed, his mom smiling down at him and making all the scary things
disappear. A rustling to his left drew his frantic gaze, the tablecloth lifting
like some terrible curtain. A grinning, pale face appeared before a hand was
grabbing his upper arm and dragging him out. Another hand settled over his
mouth to halt any screams before they were moving toward a more secluded
location.
   Shadows moved, a soft voice is heard for a brief moment before it is
silenced. A sickening crack and it is all over. The man in purple slinks out of
the loading bay, giving a wave to the poorly functioning cameras before
leaving. He did not see the Jester appear from the darkness, picking up the
body in spindly arms. Beside him, Chica slowly makes her way forward. Mouth
gaping, she stares at the body before taking it into her own arms. She would
become the next protector and soon they would have enough strength to act. To
put an end to all the death.
 
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month
                   Twelve~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    William Afton was being haunted by his own nightmares, tossing in his bed
while apparitions of the mascots chased him down endless halls. Mascots that
had much sharper teeth than any of them had ever possessed. Shooting upright,
he ran a shaky hand through his sweat dampened hair before getting out of bed.
There was only one thing he could do after such horrible dreams and that was
create. Heading to his shop in the basement, he paid no attention to his
girlfriend’s soft calls of his name. Only one thing held his interest. The
machines he was building. Machines that looked like toy versions of the
animatronics that haunted him. The very machines that had killed his brother.
    Staring at his unanswered letters to the current owner, he contented
himself to wait. The man couldn’t ignore him forever. Especially with how many
letters he was sending. Sitting at his work desk, he ignored the sounds of
creaking metal. Or the murmuring voices that sometimes sounded like his
brother.        Voices that spoke of terrible things happening to the children
that had gone missing. Voices that sometimes seemed like they were coming from
his machines. Picking up his screwdriver, he began working on the voicebox that
would be for the one he affectionately called ‘Toy Freddy’. A white and pink,
robotic take on the more plush-like Freddy.
    He was only a few minutes in when he phone rang. “Yeah?” he breathed into
the speaker while holding the phone to his ear.
    “Yeah, of course! They just need some adjustments but they can be ready for
a side franchise,” came an excited response, his silhouette straightening.
    “No, making copies for another reboot won’t be hard. I already have a few
started,” echoed his voice, the machine that looked like Foxy shifting slightly
while its eyes flickered briefly.
***** Year Four *****
Chapter Notes
     Author’s Note: Last of the ‘Year’ chapters for a bit. Though, there
     will still be a few time skips. Things are gonna be complicated from
     here on.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month One~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
The atmosphere in the shop was different, almost oppressive. Licking dry lips,
Rose reached for the light-switch with a fair amount of apprehension. When
several pairs of red eyes flashed in the darkness, she pulled her hand back
with a sharp gasp. Fighting back her innate urge to run, she stood her ground
while metallic footsteps got closer. When she saw Foxy, Chica and Bonnie, she
didn’t feel any safer. All three had been acting odd since the disappearances.
It was only recently she’d started having suspicions that it was because they
now held the souls of the children.
Gaping at her threateningly, the trio closed the distance with a strange hate
in their red eyes. “Easy, I’m your friend,” she whispered, taking great care to
keep her voice calm and even. Raising her hands to show they were empty, she
stood in place and waited; almost too afraid to breathe. Then Foxy was shaking
himself, almost seeming as scared as she was to realize just how close he had
come to attacking her. As if triggered by the vulpine, the others soon
followed; jerking violently before looking around like they couldn’t remember
how they had gotten here.
Allowing herself to relax slightly, she allowed herself to turn on the light;
gasping at what greeted her eyes. The floor, walls and ceiling of the hall had
been coated in gore like it was a new paint job. To make things even worse,
bits and pieces of offal were on the floor; making her gorge rise dangerously.
Breathing in, she could almost taste the coppery blood and she was closing her
eyes to block out the horrific scene. When she opened them again, everything
was back to normal. Swaying slightly, she leaned on the nearest wall while
chilling laughter filled the air.
Knowing it was Jasper, Rose frowned slightly before making her way to storage.
With how long she had to spend there working on the new Foxy, she just knew he
would be waiting for her. Opening the door, she wasn’t surprised to see the
jester animatronic hovering near the almost finished animatronic she had been
putting all her blood and sweat into. All he needed was a few touches and he
would be ready to take the stage. At this moment, however, her project wasn’t
her main concern. “I get you’re pissed! I get that Jeremy is killing countless
children! But do you have to scare the shit out of me?! I’m as helpless to stop
this as you are!” she spat, uncaring that the specter she was yelling at was
exceedingly dangerous.
Silence fell, the doll staring at her with the perpetual grin painted on its
white face. In the blink of an eye, it was mere inches from her face; drawing a
small scream from her as she took an instinctual step back. That was when the
laughter began, eerie laughter that sounded like it was coming from a child.
Soon, there was more voices joining in; becoming a terrible cacophony. Covering
her ears, she slid to her knees while tears dribbled down her pale cheeks.
“Please, I didn’t kill any of you! I just want to help,” came a desperate plea,
the sounds around her becoming deafening. Suddenly, it all stopped; leaving her
on edge as she slowly lowered her hands.
Looking up with a fair amount of apprehension, she looked up into the perpetual
grin above her. “What else can I do?” she croaked out, wanting an answer to her
simple question. An answer that would end the torment she was being put
through. The only reply was a very telling silence that caused her heart to
sink.
“K-keep… u-us s-safe,” buzzed a glitched reply from Bonnie, its large hands
gesturing to its fur covered, metal body.
    With that one motion, all her worse suspicions were confirmed. Feeling sick
to her stomach, she was covering her mouth before fleeing from the room.
Sprinting toward the bathroom, she barely made in time; losing all the contents
of her stomach to the porcelain god. Clearing her mouth, she spat into the
toilet with a grimace; not paying attention to the sound of the door opening
due to the fact she was in a public restroom. What she       did       pay
attention to was the fact a pair of hands had grabbed her around her ankles,
dragging her bodily out of the stall through a gap in the bottom.
Still facing the closed door, she began to kick out at her assailant while
screaming for help. Grunts came from behind her while they struggled to pin her
down, heavy breaths gusting against the back of her neck. Jerking her right
elbow backward, she felt an impact followed by a rush of swearing. Finding
herself released, Rose scrambled for freedom; barely making it out the door as
her pursuer’s fingertips brushed the collar of her shirt. Not stopping to catch
a glimpse of who it was, she made her way back to storage; the only place she
felt safe.
As soon as she was back in the room, the machines could sense something had
happened. Even Jasper hovered close to her, seeming almost concerned for her.
“Th-the bathroom… I think Jeremy tried to attack me,” gasped out of her despite
the fact the machines couldn’t really know who she was talking about. Not if
they could no longer distinguish Scott from Jeremy. Then again, maybe they
never had been able to tell the difference. The only people who seemed to be
individuals to the mascots were herself and her Uncle.
None of that seemed to matter however. In an instant, she was surrounded in a
group hug; even the Foxy she was making getting in on the action. Feeling safer
with the machines than she had earlier, she leaned into the embrace while her
eyes slid shut. She never noticed Jasper fading into the background, his
smiling face the last thing visible before he disappeared entirely. Nor did she
notice Bonnie, Foxy and Chica giving eachother knowing glances.
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Two~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    Watching the ‘Freddy’ serving the kids, Roy pursed his lips while he tried
to push away his irrational thoughts. At least, he sure as hell hoped they
were. Watching Jeremy with the kids, he couldn’t see anything out of the
ordinary going on. Yet, there       had       to be       some      thing
happening! Four kids didn’t just simply disappear into thin air! Rubbing his
scruffy face fitfully, he took a seat before leaning back in his chair and
closing his piggy eyes.
Switching over the camera, he took some pride in the fact that his niece had
done a fine job. The replacement Foxy fit in with the newer models flawlessly.
No one would be the wiser that he was using an older, less safe version of the
endoskeleton. An invention that had formerly belonged solely to a certain
Gregory Bedian. At least until the old coot had died and left the rights to the
patent in his hands. A patent he had given over to William Afton a few years
ago in exchange for his silence about the circumstances of his brother’s
maiming and eventual death.
Glaring at the phone, he knew he would soon have to make another call to check
on the progress for the replacement animatronics. New, more futuristic looking
mascots that would coincide with a new reboot as well as the launch of a sister
location later down the line. All things that would be expensive but were
necessary. Questions were beginning to be asked about the safety of his
franchise and he had to find some way to quell them. Any way.
Getting to his feet to check on Rose, something caught his eye and froze him
mid-step. Squinting, he leaned closer to the glowing screen. “Huh, I had
forgotten about you. Don’t worry though, I’m sure my little Rosie can find some
use for you,” cooed out of him when he took in the slumped body of ‘Jasper’
leaning in the hall close to the Storage room. Then he was leaving, a whole new
purpose filling him as he strode down the narrow hall to the Cove. Sticking his
head through the door, he wasn’t surprised to see she was at her post.
Since she had started working at the age of sixteen, she had been nothing but
diligent. It was one of the reasons why he put up with her innumerable
eccentricities. “Rose, when the show ends wouldja come on over to my office,”
he purred, grinning at her when her blue eyes shifted to look over at him. When
she gave him a wave to show she received the message, he nodded and retreated.
With any luck, she would be as excited about his plans as he was.
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Four~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Against her advice, her Uncle had given ‘Jasper’ a job. While she was
originally supposed to get him into working order, she had deemed the task a
bit superfluous given the fact he could move under his own power. Instead, she
had turned her focus to making something to hide in. A fact that would be
essential given the fact he was meant to be a security jack-in-the-box. Though,
Roy was a bit worried he might be too scary for children.
Rose was more worried about whether or not the jester would be a problem around
the parents. Still, it was too late to do anything about it now. Putting the
spring in place for the lid of the giant present, she found it more than a bit
ironic he would be popping out of it to scare anyone that might try to abduct a
child. Or to stop a child from leaving through an exit they shouldn’t.
Tightening the metal coils, she asked ‘Jasper’ to get inside to test out the
mechanism.
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Six~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
    He was being ‘promoted’ to security again, one step before being moved to
the night shift. A fact he was less than happy about. He only had a week left
with the costume, something he intended to use to his advantage. While the bear
was smiling for him, he was falling apart inside the baggy collection of faux
fur. Didn’t his father understand that he       needed       to be near the
kids? They were one of the few things that made the voices go away.
Once out of the costume, he would be stuffed into a purple uniform full-time.
He would even be forced to wear a badge as well as a belt with pepper spray on
it to look as much like a policeman as possible. This would likely make the
kids scared of him and reluctant to get close. That would mean no more nightly
games of hide and seek. If that happened, it would be no time at all before the
shadows chasing him closed in. He needed a way to stop it! At least one more
life to appease the demons! Not letting how frantic he felt show, he set the
pizza down on the table. All the while, scanning the room for someone lonely.
Someone that would make an easy target.
To his relief, he saw a young boy who looked a bit thin and sickly. Despite
having friends, he seemed unable to join in the festivities. Making his way
over, he made sure to wave to the child to get his attention. Like all the
other children, he didn’t hesitate to run over to wrap his arms around some
stranger in a mascot costume. Leaning down so they were on the same level, he
began to whisper; taking delight in seeing the child’s eyes light up with
obvious excitement. Like all the others, he was very willing to play a special
game. One only the two of them would know about.
Then he was scampering back to his seat, leaving Jeremy feeling much better
already. Humming the song the mascots on the stage were singing, he went to the
kitchen to get more pizza. Reaching for the trays, he got a bad jolt when he
saw something shadowy shifting out of the corner of his eye. A shadow that
looked an awful lot like one of the demons that had been clawing at his door
every night since he had killed his first victim. Shaking it off, he moved off
to serve tables; keeping focused on what would be happening tonight.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hours Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Only the animatronics were witness to what happened, a faint feeling of
repressed rage filling the air while the man in purple stalked his prey through
the covered tables. A small child that had no chance against the adult. Yet,
the machines could not move themselves to do anything to stop what was
happening. Soon, though, soon they would be able to do what was needed to get
justice. To stop any more innocent blood from being spilled. Soon, they would
be able to avenge the souls of the children they carried. Until then, they
could only watch; the actions of the man in purple reflected on their dead
eyes.
As he moved to the delivery bay with the child, the mascots followed while
remaining unseen. Their mouths gaped open while the children inside them let
out sounds of lament and sorrow. Lingering on the fringes of the shadows, they
were the only ones to hear the boy’s demise. As the hated man left the room, he
seemed to sense them. Pausing mid-step and looking around himself with fear
filled eyes. Then he was heading off, his pace quickened as he unconsciously
fled the danger behind him.
In his wake, Freddy moved into the delivery bay to take the body into his furry
arms. Looking up at the mannequin that appeared before him, the new face of the
Fazbear franchise gave a slow nod. He would be the last vessel that was needed,
the last soul. Then they would be able to do what the humans could not. They
would achieve justice for all that had died and stop the horror from going any
further. If all went correctly, this child would be the last that would have to
die. They just had to wait for the right time to strike. A time when the man in
purple would be visible as well as vulnerable.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Month Eight~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Looking up at the building, Will found himself a bit surprised he was here at
all. He hadn’t been to this place since his friends had maimed his brother,
contributing to his eventual death. His brother had been reduced to a vegetable
from the bite and the doctors had advised his parents to pull the plug. After
several months of heated debate, the decision to allow his little brother to
pass on was made and the nightmares had started. Nightmares that had led to his
unhealthy obsession with the Fazbear Franchise. An obsession that had led him
to buy the patent to the endoskeletons so he could make his own mascots.
What had started as a way to keep the encroaching darkness at bay became an
obsession in and of itself. He had made and tossed many prototypes over the
years, even making a few straight up copies that now dwelled in his basement.
Copies that sometimes moved when he wasn’t paying attention. From those
beginnings, he had starting on making improvements on the mechanics; eventually
calling Roy relentlessly to make sure he knew about the upgrades. Now, here he
was, waiting to show off the blueprints for his half finished mascots.
Reaching for the door, he pulled his hand back when he felt a sense of
foreboding and nausea settle in the pit of his stomach. There was something
sinister here, something he had felt from his own animatronics as of late.
Shuddering, he forced himself to open the door and walk through over the
threshold. Almost immediately, a rather overweight man with a goatee was there
to greet him; piggy eyes glimmering while a swollen hand shook his. “Good to
finally meet ya Afton! Let’s just go into my office to discuss what ya have
there and we’ll see if we have a deal or not,” purred a sleazy sounding voice
that made his skin crawl.
“You made it sound like we already…,” came the beginning of a protest before he
was swept into a tiny, very stuffy office. The only method of cooling was a
tiny fan by the monitor for the cameras, making Will feel terrible for the poor
shmuck that had gotten stuck on security.
    “       Its just formalities. Gotta get some blueprints, gotta get ya to
sign a contract.        All that kind of shit,”        came an explanation the
younger man didn’t quite believe.        Still, he wasn’t exactly in any
position to argue.
    Despite having agreed to sell him the patents to keep him quiet about the
circumstances of his brother’s death, Roy        had been extremely hard to
work with or even get a hold of. He didn’t think it was too insane to a be a
bit on guard. Especially after the man had made it sound like there was nothing
left to discuss. Bringing out the blueprints he had brought with him, he laid
them out on the table while they began to discuss what he would be making as
well as just how much he would be paid for all of it.
 
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     M     onth
                    Ten~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
   Watching as the new Foxy waved to the children, Rose felt a sharp pang
somewhere deep inside herself. In a matter of years, the restaurant was going
to be renovated again. All the mascots would be put into storage so new, more
robotic looking ones could take their place. Her only solace was the fact she
could at least make sure nothing happened to her dear friends. There was also
the fact that today was Fitz’s last day in costume. From this day forward, she
would be in charge of training him to be night security.        With him being
constantly watched, there would likely be no further disappearances.
    Looking up at the mechanical vulpine, she walked over to give her creation
a sad pat on his arm. “       At least you’ll have a few years before you’re
put in the dark,” she assured, giving him a smile before leaving the Cove to
head to the Party Room.        Behind her, the new Foxy was staring at
something that was behind him. Something that had golden fur and shouldn’t have
been able to move at all. Something that flashed its eyes, as if in a silent
signal.
Heading into the noisy room, she was more than a little amused to see children
crowded around the massive present that had been placed near the fire exit.
Instead of being frightened by ‘Jasper’ the kids seemed to be drawn to him. At
the moment, the strange mascot was playing peek-a-boo with them; lifting the
lid just enough so his eyes were visible. Jeremy, who was just coming from
putting on his new uniform, sent a very skeptical glance toward to brightly
decorated box. “I don’t like it… It could hurt the kids,” he whispered, his
words making bile rise to the back of her throat.
Biting back heated words she had no proof of, she simply shrugged before
leading the way to the stage. “Your job isn’t to question Roy. Your job is to
do as you’re told,” she spat out, her skin crawling from the fact she had to be
in the same room with him. After the incident in the bathroom, she didn’t want
to be anywhere near him. Not that she had any solid proof he was the one that
attacked her. She hadn’t even seen who it was. But, with everything that was
happening, it made far too much sense.
    Glaring at the woman in front of him, Jeremy crossed his arms in front of
his chest while pursing his lips. While she droned on about how to perform
maintenance on the machines, he wondered just how much she really did know. The
fact she hung around the mascots made him more uneasy than the fact that all
the bodies he’d left behind had disappeared into thin air.        A sudden
creak drew his attention to Bonnie. He jumped back when he saw his head was
practically in the mechanical rabbit’s mouth. Licking dry lips, he met the
robot’s dead eyes; seeing something shift in the back of them for a split
second.
Having long ago noticed Jeremy was no longer listening to her, Rose turned to
see Bonnie and the trainee having a staredown. Taking some pleasure in the
young man’s pale visage, she reached forward to grab his sleeve; giving a sharp
yank to get his attention. When he turned to her with wide, scared eyes, she
could barely contain a feeling of glee. “Better pay attention Fitzgerald. If
you fuck up, you could very well electrocute yourself,” she advised, half
hoping he would do so and just put himself out of both of their miseries.
 
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     M     onth
                   Twelve~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
   Standing next to the stage for Foxy, Jeremy felt nervous without knowing
why.        It seemed like all the mascots lately had been glaring at him, even
gaping at him. Especially when he was trying to deal with the children. The
moment he went over to calm a rowdy subject, he would feel the sensation of
eyes burning into the back of his skull.        It certainly didn’t help that
every time he looked away from the mascots, they were in slightly different
positions. Taking a step away from the stage, he looked up while the vulpine
animatronic and his human partner began the show.
    The man was dressed in an over-exaggerated pirate costume with a stuffed
parrot on his left shoulder and a patch over his right eye. Gesturing with his
fake hook, he introduced his mechanical captain to a crowd that likely already
know who he was. The more plush-like mascot bowed in response before a jaunty
sound       ing        sea shanty began to play. While the employee in charge
began to lip sync badly to the tinny tune, Jeremy kept an eye on the man-made
fox. Maybe moving to the night shift wouldn’t be all bad after all.
***** The Infamous Bite *****
Chapter Notes
     Author's Note: We're entering into FNAF 2's Timeline now. Yes, I am
     going with the theory that the game is a prequel to the original.
Entering the restaurant to begin her day, she was relieved to see Scott was
already there. Some part of her had almost believed her Uncle was lying about
switching Fitz to the night-shift Smiling at her coworker and secret crush, she
moved past him to the delivery bay. New animatronics were being put together by
some man named Will Afton. While he hadn't asked for help so far, she still
wanted to ensure he was treating her longtime friends with care as well as
dignity. There was also the fact she wanted to make sure he wasn't going to
entirely disassemble them. With them holding the souls of dead children, who
knew what would occur if that happened.
Knocking on the steel door and getting no response, Rose carefully opened it
enough to stick her head through. The odd man was up to his elbows in his work,
the older versions of her friends standing around him in a tight circle. While
they were intact, they were staring at him with an unsettling gleam in their
mechanical eyes. Nibbling her lower lip, she weighed the pros and cons of
intruding unannounced before deciding to go back to the Party Room. As worrying
as it was, the mascots hadn't shown any drive to hurt anyone outside of an
employee uniform.
Looking up at the plush copies that would soon be replaced like the ones before
them, she began to sweep up for a fresh wave of kids. While sad everything was
changing, she was glad the strange man building the new models seemed to have
the same reverence for them as she did. Giving a pat to both Chica and Freddy,
she moved off into the cove to check on Foxy. From now on, she and Scott would
be switching places. This meant she would have her duties split between puke
duty in the Cove or brat duty in the Party Room.
Taking a position beside the stage, she simply waited while the kids filed in
through the door. Seeing their faces light up while watching a mascot she had
built from scratch buoyed her spirits. Smiling at the gathered munchkins, she
hoped against hope that the vomiting would be kept to a minimum today. With the
mood she was in, she didn't want it spoiled by the smell of used popcorn mixed
with soda. Unfortunately, some things are simply not meant to be.
Humming the song the band was playing, Scott wasn't surprised when Rose
motioned for him frantically from the door. Before Fitz, his main shift had
been during the day. He was more than familiar about what state the Cove would
be in after a swarm of sugar filled, excitable children. Children that all too
often started to rough house on a full stomach. As much as he liked Foxy, he
was starting to wonder if the stage show had outlived its day in the sun. Maybe
it was time to re-purpose the pirate into the band and turn the Cove into
something else. With the way things were going, it would likely wind up being
another arcade.
Entering the small theater, he looked at the vomit splattered carpet with an
expression of horror. Taking a carpet cleaner as well as some gloves, he got to
work helping her. While secretly enjoying the opportunity to be alone with
Rose, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. A sensation that
wasn't helped when Foxy seemed to move almost every time he looked up. Eyeing
the supposedly lifeless machine, he found himself wondering now more than ever
if the mascots were alive. Since he had start working here, he had his
suspicions. What he'd seen and experienced on the night-shift had only deepened
these feelings.
Once they were finished, he met gazes with his quiet companion; licking his
lips before flicking his gaze toward the stage. “Some part of me didn't want to
believe what I had seen. Let alone what you told me. Its getting harder and
harder to ignore it. Especially after old Fredbear came to let me know you
needed help. Are... are you sure they're safe?” he murmured, making sure to
keep his voice low in case the mechanical vulpine was listening in.
“Around the kids, yes. Around other employees, probably not,” came a concise,
exceedingly concerning answer.
  “In fact, given how they reacted to you last time, I would go as far to say
I'm the only one here who    is     safe. How long that'll last, I have no
idea,” she continued, looking toward the mascot she considered her closest
friend. Almost seeing him as a son, given how many hours she had put into
building him.
Scott could only stand there, a deep feeling of foreboding filling the pit of
his stomach. It felt like something terrible was about to happen. Though, he
couldn't really say what that would be. Shuddering slightly, he followed Rose
back to the Party Room. Maybe it was time to move jobs. Yet, some part of him
was reluctant to leave the woman in front of him here alone. Not only had she
been attacked by one of the employees already but he didn't like to think about
what would happen once he was gone.
 
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Night-
                    shift~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
The job sounded simple enough. Watch the cameras to make sure the animatronics
were okay and make sure not to use too much power. Yet, there was something Roy
had neglected to tell him about. The fact that the mechanical mascots sometimes
walked off on their own. A fact he found out while watching the cameras. One
moment, Freddy and his two friends were in their spots on the stage. The next,
they were in the middle of the Party Room floor; staring up at the camera with
deceptively empty expressions.
While they hadn't made any aggressive moves toward the security office, Jeremy
had a feeling it was only a matter of time. Still, he couldn't afford to close
the doors. For some reason, the hinges were powered; causing a massive drain in
the system if he kept them shut for too long. The same went for the lights as
well as the cameras, leaving him with a rather awkward juggling act. If he
dared to go over the allotted power given to him, the charge would come out of
his paycheck. Something he couldn't afford with his rent as expensive as it
was.
Licking his lips while he tried to maintain an eye on both the Cove and the
Party Room without keeping the cameras constantly active, he got a bad jolt
when Foxy went from on his stage to right in front of the camera in the blink
of an eye. In fact, the machine was so close, he could see inside the fanged
mouth straight to the endoskeleton. Yet, just past that, he could swear he saw
something else. A familiar, yet twisted face that resembled a child.
Then, as fast as it had happened, the fox pirate was back to his previous
position. Almost like nothing had happened at all. Feeling unsettled, he
reached to turn off the monitors for a while when he saw something. For just a
second, there was a shadowy figure near the delivery bay. A figure that almost
looked like a dark version of the older Bonnie design. But with red eyes.
Sharply reminded of the shadows that had been haunting him since the first
child he'd killed here, he slammed shut both doors on simple instinct alone.
To his horror, the ethereal creature disappeared from sight seconds later.
Leaving him to wonder where it had gone while he frantically flipped through
the different screens. All too soon he had to open the doors, leaving him far
too vulnerable to attack from either side. Looking from side to side fearfully,
he found himself wishing for the sweet release of six a.m. An event that was
hours away. Taking a deep breath to force himself to calm down, he looked up at
the fan drawings the children over the years had given the establishment.
The earlier ones were all innocent, depicting the children playing with their
favorite mascots. There was even a version of the cupcake Chika held sitting on
the desk, its dead eyes seeming to bore into him. Switching on the chintzy fan
next to the doll for background noise, he made himself push away any thoughts
of the machines being alive. Or of them being haunted by the children he had
killed. Such things were impossible. They had to be. So, his lips finally
curling into a smile, he relaxed in his seat to get through the rest of his
shift. After all, being alone so long was bound to make anybody start seeing
things.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Two Days Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Over the past few days, Rose and Will had built up a strange but strong
friendship. One that had started when she dared to go into the delivery bay. He
had been working on the pink and white vixen that would be taking over for her
Foxy. Wondering why he had decided to change the gender of the mascot, she
tried to strike up a conversation about it. To her surprise, the old Fritz had
been a favorite of his right before he had been replaced by the original Foxy.
Needless to say, when she admitted she had built both versions, he had been
more than willing to gush over the intricacies of building the new mascots.
After being alone for so long, the man seemed excited to have someone to share
his interest with. Someone that seemed to share the outlandish idea that the
robotic animals were alive and had a mind of their own. He didn't even blame
her for what happened to his brother, having seen just how hard she had tried
to get him help. Because of this, she found herself in the position of
disassembling her friends so he could begin set up on the newer models.
Starting with Chica due to her being the least popular, Rose apologized
profusely before looking around to make sure there was no one there to see what
was about to happen. Thankfully, the restaurant was closed and Jeremy had yet
to come in for his shift. If she hurried, she could get the bird animatronic to
walk to the back before anyone would notice. “I need you to move to storage
honey. I hate doing this when you've just settled in but I'm a mere lackey
here,” she whispered, hoping against hope the plush-like model would be as
understanding as the one that had come before.
To her relief, the mechanized hen gave a nod before heading off toward storage.
Not a moment too soon either for, the second the mascot was gone, Will was
entering from a smaller, less used door on the opposite side of the room.
Behind him, a more toy-like, almost sexualized version of Chica followed in a
jerky walk. “These models have actual free-roam. Phasing out the need for a
costumed person entertaining the kids. Freddy will even be able to deliver
pizzas to tables once I'm done with him,” the young inventor boasted, grinning
widely while his creation took her position with the others. For just the
briefest moment, while she was settling into place, her eyes flashed a
dangerous red.
Feeling fear spike in her veins, she fought against the urge to back away from
the more advanced animatronic. Something felt a lot more off about this one.
Almost like it was more angry than any of the previous models had been. Unlike
with the others, she wasn't so sure she would be safe once all the replacements
had been made. While they would have the memories of the others, there was no
guarantee the spirits inside them would tolerate her lack of action to keep the
models they used safe. Sticking close to Will for the time being, she followed
him back to the delivery bay.
The moment she opened the door, she could feel the oppressive, angry atmosphere
inside. Stopping in her tracks and feeling like she was being watched, she
turned her head to see Jasper lurking in the shadows behind her. Excusing
herself politely, she walked toward the dangerously unpredictable mascot. She
didn't get a few few feet before he was suddenly in front of her face, slender
body jittering in a rather unnerving manner. “I... I know. But its really the
best I can do! I have no power here,” gusted her small, scared voice.
Seeming to study her for an endless moment, the strange entity gave a nod
before placing a spidery hand on the crown of her head. Almost immediately, her
eyes rolled back in her head while the sounds of screams and angry voices
swirled inside her head. She had no idea how long she had been lost when she
felt someone shaking her body and calling out her name in a voice full of
terror. Groaning while the maddening noise faded, she opened her eyes to see
Will as well as both Foxies hovering over her. Taking their offered hands, she
tottered to her feet while holding a hand up to her forehead. “R-rrrr- r-r-rose
bzrt sssshhhh... o-o-okaaaaay?” snarled out a mass of audio glitches from the
original Foxy while the one she had built looked her over for signs of injury.
Looking at both mascots with a vaguely mystified expression, the inventor to
her right helped her limp to the delivery bay. Once there, he had her sit on a
sturdy box before fetching her one of his bottles of water. Taking the cool
cylinder gratefully, she took a few swallows while the mechanical vulpines
settled themselves on either side of her. “They know who you are,” whispered an
incredulous voice from in front of her. Lifting her head, she let out a sigh
before nodding.
“I have no idea how or why but they do. Maybe its because I was a friend of
theirs long before they were replaced or the murders started happening. I
always treated them like they were alive, even before I knew for sure they
were,” she whispered, not really expecting him to believe everything she was
telling him.
To her shock, he was nodding while taking a seat in front of her. “All the
mysterious child deaths that have happened here. I had a feeling something else
was going on than mere coincidence,” he murmured, his eyes gaining a slightly
manic edge while his hands clasped tightly between his legs. A bit taken aback,
Rose leaned back into the comfort of the machines currently book-ending her.
Letting out identical snarls, the mascots wrapped protective arms around her
while narrowing their eyes at the strange male.
Holding up his hands to show he meant no harm, he immediately leaned backward
while an apprehensive expression crossed his face. “Since my brother died, I
became a bit obsessed with this place. I couldn't find peace unless I was
building copies of the machines that now haunted my dreams. This place... the
tragedies here have given it a dark power. Like a magnet it seems to only
attract more death. Like it craves the souls,” he whispered, paranoid eyes
glancing around the room nervously. Furrowing her brow while she absorbed his
words, she found some, small part of her agreed. Since the first tragedy with
this man's sibling, things had been on a disturbing downward spiral.
“Maybe... maybe the first spirit has caused everything that followed. Maybe, it
couldn't take revenge until more souls had been gathered,” she added, twisting
her hands nervously while a whiff of something rotten came from both the
animatronics beside her.
 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Two Days Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
Despite their reservations, everyone involved was merely a lowly employee. They
were at the mercy of Roy, neither of them able to say no to what he wanted to
happen. Will especially. Given the fact he had signed a contract to replace the
mascots, he was backed into tighter corner than her. Thankfully, replacing the
others on the stage had taken no time whatsoever. The only hold out seemed to
be the vixen that would take Foxy's place. No matter what the builder tried,
the vixen fell into a tangle of limbs the moment his back was turned. Despite
that, however, it would only be a matter of time before the pirate was removed
anyway.
Not only had he lagged in popularity but his older mechanics could label him as
an added hazard. Something the restaurant didn't need given how prone to
'accidents' the place was. More than likely, even without the vixen dubbed
simply as 'Mangle', Foxy's cove would be shut down after tomorrow. After that,
the tangled animatronic that would have been his replacement would become a
'build-it-yourself' attraction. Moving into the Cove to spent what time she
could with her dear friend and creation, she gave a nod to Scott.
While worried about Rose, the purple clad male took a position against the wall
to keep watch over the children. That was when Will Afton came into the room, a
shy girl close on his heels. Feeling a bit confused, he smiled at the young man
as the pair approached him. “Would you mind watching over her today? Wife had a
family emergency and I had to bring her in with me,” came an entirely
unexpected request.
“Uh, sure. I doubt any of the kids will mind an extra,” he agreed before
squatting down to the girl's level and smiling at her.
Orange-red hair crowned her head, freckles dotting the swell of her cheeks and
a timid expression in her green eyes. “What's your name darling?” he cooed in
his his most gentle voice possible. Giving him a gap toothed smile, the pig-
tailed girl began twisting the hem of her skirt nervously.
“Lizzbeth...,” came a quiet response.
“Well, Elizabeth, just you come to me if you need anything or even if the kids
are mean to you,” he offered before straightening to nod toward her father.
Taking that as a signal, the young girl wandered over to the crowd gathered
around the giant present; an unsure expression on her young face. Turning to
look at the newcomer, one of the youngsters motioned her to get closer. To her
shock, something inside lifted the lid briefly to peek at her. Jumping back out
of instinct, she blushed when the others gathered around her began to laugh.
“That's just Jasper. He likes to play with us and keeps the guards busy,” a boy
that appeared to be the leader explained. Then he was slinging an arm around
her shoulder, eyes sparkling with mischief while he grinned down at the younger
girl.
Thinking the kids were taking her under their wing, Scott decided just to keep
a peripheral eye on things. Besides, Jasper was unlikely to allow anything too
bad to occur. So, when Rose came to ask for his help after Will had left, he
saw no reason why he couldn't walk away for a few minutes. Giving one last
glance to his temporary ward, he left the Party Room to help clean the Cove.
The moment he was gone, the children formed a ring around the stranger. Looking
up at the others with vague confusion, Elizabeth leaned into the older boy next
to her for comfort. “Wanna play a game Lizzie?” he whispered, a wide grin on
his face.
Running outside while the other children counted, the young girl hid behind
some trashcans while giggling to herself. It didn't take too long before she
started to get cold, a biting breeze gusting against her tiny body. When the
rain started, she began to wonder just where they were. Getting up and dusting
off her skirt, she walked toward the square of light coming from the window.
Peering in, she saw the kids that were supposed to be looking for her playing
like she didn't exist. Reaching for the door, she felt the first tingles of
fear when she found it was locked.
Rubbing her icy arms, she looked from side to side; unsure of where to go or
what to do. She was just about to start crying when she heard the sound of a
car engine. Turning her head with a hopeful expression, she immediately felt
safe when she saw a man dressed in purple approaching her. “Hey hun, what are
you doing out her all alone in the rain?” husked a gentle voice while kind eyes
looked down at her.
“I was playin' hide an' seek an' I got locked out,” she whispered, reaching for
him with a tiny hand.
Taking the offered appendage, the much taller man led her further back into the
alley. Given her trust for people in authority, the child never suspected
anything was wrong. Not even when he pushed her against a brick wall and knelt
so he could more easily look her in the eyes. It was only when a large hand
covered her mouth that she began to feel just the smallest bit of alarm.
Shushing her softly, the purple clad man wearing a security badge started to
fumble with her clothing. Above them, the rain intensified; the only sound
muffled sobs followed by a sickening crack a few minutes later.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A Few Moments Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
 A spindly figure creeps into the brick corridor, rain plinking off its metal
shell. Heading toward an unknown destination, its movements became more rigid
the longer it was exposed to the moisture. Eventually ending up on the
concrete, it crawled over to a tiny, prone form while several voices called a
name from a distance. Curling around the ice cold body of the girl, 'Jasper'
gave a few shudders before rust began to freeze over his mechanical joints. A
few moments later, the pair was found and an anguished scream issued into the
air. It wasn't too long after that, the sound of sirens filled the air;
followed by flashing, blue and red lights.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                                        
 All day long, the cops had been in and out; to her Uncle's frustration. On top
of that, Will had completely buried himself in his work, refusing to talk to
even her due to the guilt he felt. Not matter what anyone said, he would always
blame himself for not doing more to protect his daughter. Then there was Scott.
After the girl had been found, the man had been utterly inconsolable. He was
more like a zombie, going through the motions of the job. Unfortunately, she
couldn't afford to worry about either of them.
 Despite what had happened, her uncle had decided to open anyway today. Any
time now, the tidal wave of kids would be coming. She would have to be ready to
do the work of two people. Moving to go to the Party Room, she passed a too
silent Scott on his way to the cove. Looking at him over her shoulder, she got
the strangest feeling something terrible was about to happen. Feeling an urge
to insist he just go home, she continued on to her appointed position. Just a
few minutes later, she would come to deeply regret not listening to her
instincts.
 Walking into the Cove, Scott took his position by the stage while the first
wave of children filled the makeshift theater. Despite the aching void in his
chest, the sight of the joy filled face brought a smile to his lips. Not paying
attention as the curtain pulled back, he didn't notice Foxy moving toward him
in a rather spastic manner. Last thing he heard was an unholy screech before
his entire world became nothing but searing pain and the screams of terrified
kids.
 
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