Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

  Sitting alone in the supply room closet, the bear held in his hand a photograph. The photograph had been ripped in two, along the middle. He had the bottom half, but didn’t know where the top half was, or who even had it. The photo itself was of himself and his younger brother from when they were children. They looked so happy in the photo, without any cares.

  Fredbear had owned this photo for as long as he could remember. Unfortunately, that wasn’t even very long. His memory didn’t go back any farther than the opening of the Family Diner. Nobody’s did. It was a strange thing, but who was he to complain? Maybe this had been their whole lives. And if he was being honest, it was pretty good. Getting to make children happy every day, singing songs with his closest friends. It brough him joy just doing it!

  The golden bear was suddenly pulled from his thoughts, when the supply closet door was pulled open. In peered one of his band mates—Spring Shine. “Hey, Goldie! The party’s missin’ ya!” She told, enticing him to come back out to enjoy the small groups annual Christmas party. Smiling, the bear replace his photograph on the inside of his purple, star patterned vest pocket, before standing up to leave the small space.

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  Patiently waiting for the clock to hit midnight, Freddy Fazbear was replaying the events from some nights ago in his head. Their Christmas Bash. It was always a blast each year the group would have them, even if there was only five people there to enjoy it.

  He thought back to all the Christmas karaoke both himself and Spring Bonnie had done, not caring if either missed a note or two. They were just happily jamming away at various Christmas songs—both carol and pop—while Spring B. strummed away at his wooden, acoustic guitar.

  Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Spring Shine had convinced Fredbear—his older brother—to bake Christmas cookies with her. Luckily, those turned out pretty tasty, and no kitchen fires were started. (Unlike the previous year).

  The Marionette had even managed to get a gift for everyone, which just added to the magic of the occasion. Of course, they were all curious on how he’d even done that, but being the mysterious individual he was, Puppet refused to give any details away, and told them to just be grateful. A good laugh was shared, and no one would soon forget that night. Smiling, Freddy leaned back against the wall of the supply closet, happily reminiscing.

  His reason for being in the back of the Diner, was due to one simple reason. The Diner wasn’t that big of an establishment. Having three mascots performing—Fredbear, Spring Bonnie and Spring Shine—was plenty, the humans determined. And then, they had a small Prize Counter where the Marionette would assist an employee in giving out small plushies and toys to the kids, whose parents would purchase. At the end of the day, there wasn’t any more room for Freddy. So, the employees kept him in the supply closet until he could be put to good use.

  The bear’s thoughts got interrupted by the door being opened. Looking up, he saw a tall, looming figure slowly entering the room. “Oh, hey Puppet. I’m guessing it’s midnight?” The Marionette gave a small nod, before going to sit on the ground next to Freddy. Something seemed… off. Cocking his head slightly, the bear asked, “Is… Is something wrong?” Puppet hesitated a moment before answering, seemingly looking for his words. “Freddy, I have some… news, to tell you.”

  “Okay?” Puppet continued. “There was an incident today, while the Diner was open.” Freddy’s confused look never wavered as he listened. “To make a long story short, a younger kid was being shoved around by a few older ones. Your brother tried to put and end to it, but just got tangled in the crossfire. One of the older kids ended up getting hurt by Fredbear.”

  “… What?” Averting eye contact for a moment, the Marionette sighed. “I think the Diner is going to be closed down, because of what happened.” He explained, seeing an upset look in Freddy’s sapphire blue eyes. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but for now, go spend some time with your brother. He’s not doing to great, in light of what’s happened.”

  “O-Okay…” Freddy quietly said, standing up to leave the room. Once he had, Puppet sighed again, Adjusting his red ribbon tie around his neck, the Marionette got up to leave, too—closing the supply closet door on his way out.

Chapter Text

  For the most part, the room was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the faint ticking of a nearby wall clock, as it ticked away the seconds that passed that night. This was the only sound Freddy could hear when he finally opened his sapphire blue eyes. 

  Blinking, he looked around. It didn’t take him long to realise something. This wasn’t the Family Diner. He was in a different restaurant, from the looks of things. A larger dining area, some hallways leading down to other rooms, a small stage with purple curtains across from where he stood. It looked different. The bear even noticed the posters on the walls, depicting himself alongside these new characters. 

  Looking to his sides, Freddy found said new characters. To his left, stood a yellow-feathered chicken, wearing a confetti patterned bib saying “Let’s EAT!” on it. She held a small, pink cupcake on a faux ceramic plate. The two of them looked to be asleep still.

  To his right, was a bunny. A purple bunny, with a deep, crimson red vest dawned with brighter red stars as a pattern. The bunny was holding onto a bright red electric guitar. Nothing like Spring Bonnie’s acoustic guitar he had. 

  Looking forward again, the bear took notice of the microphone he held in his hand. Was… he the mascot now? This was all very confusing, he had to admit. Sighing a little, Freddy stepped off what he assumed was also a show stage, to continue looking around.

  Going over to the other, smaller, closed curtain stage, Freddy read the wooden sign put out in front of it. The words read “Coming Soon!” That was curious. Was someone else behind the curtain? For a brief moment, the bear considered peaking through the curtains to see for himself. However, a voice interrupted him.

  “Heya, pal!” Looking over, Freddy saw the purple bunny debarking from the stage. The chicken was, too. He hadn’t noticed them waking up. “Oh, um, hello.” The bear greeted in reply, still too puzzled to give a more cheery, and friendly greeting. “The name’s Bonnie Bunny. Pleasure to meet ya!”

  “Yeah, nice to meet you too.” Freddy began, seeing the bunny gesture to the chicken. “This here is Chica.” Chica smiled, as she brought her cupcake companion up to her shoulder–which he promptly hopped onto. “Hi! And this is my best friend, Carl!”

  “I’m a cupcake!” Carl exclaimed, in what could only be described as a greeting-like manner. The bear nodded in greeting. “And I be Foxy the pirate Fox!” A new voice suddenly exclaimed. Looking back to the smaller stage, Freddy saw a red, pirate looking fox emerge from the purple curtains. Hook, eye patch and all. “Pleasure ta make yer acquaintance, Cap’n!”

  “... ‘Captain’?” Freddy mumbled to himself. “You got a name, ‘boss’?” Bonnie asked curiously, the title sounding to be a bit teasing in nature. “Oh-!” Freddy suddenly exclaimed. “I’m Freddy Fazbear. It’s nice to meet you all.” The bear answered, smiling a little bit just to come off as polite. Then, another voice joined in. “And I’m the Marionette, but you guys can just call me-”

  “Puppet!” Freddy looked over his shoulder upon hearing the familiar voice, the Marionette giving him a small nod and smile. “Well, I for one can’t wait to get to know you all!” Chica commented, tone excited. “Aye, what th’ lass said!” Foxy agreed.

  Just as the three new characters began to chat, Freddy felt Puppet tap his shoulder to regain his attention. “Can we speak for a moment?” The bear nodded, following the Marionette to a hallway. The chatting continued.

  “I’m guessing you’re a bit confused?” Freddy nodded to confirm the assumption, before asking, “What happened? Where’s Fredbear and his band?” Crossing his thin arms, Puppet began with, “Well, like I said might happen, the Diner got shut down. This is a new, rebranded restaurant. You’re the new face of the company, now.”

  “I am?” Puppet nodded, nodding out to the main room and adding, “Those guys out there are your new band mates.” Freddy glanced back to them. “Ok… but, what happened to the others?” Sighing a little, the Marionette gave a small shrug. “That’s what I’m going to find out as soon as possible. Right now, I don’t know.” He confessed. “Look, go get to know those guys, and I’ll tell you when I learn anything. Alright?”

  “Okay then.” Freddy agreed, still sounding a little despondent. “Hey, try not to worry. They could be just nearby and we don’t know it. Heck, maybe they’ll find us!” Puppet commented, trying to cheer the bear up. He merely shrugged, leaving the hallway. The Marionette shook his head a little, before going off elsewhere.

Chapter Text

  The room was cold, and dark. A basement, no doubtedly. “... Where are we?” A voice asked out into the darkness, hoping someone was there to hear. “No clue.” The first voice was then met with a pair of white, glowing pinpricks that shone through the dark. There was a pause. “Gold?”

  “Yeah?” Spring continued. “Are you alright?” He heard a tired sigh from the golden bear. “I’ve been… better, I guess.” Gold’s tired, southern tone replied. Spring grunted quietly, and was about to say more, when a new sound caught both their attention.

  Footsteps were suddenly heard walking across some sort of metal surface. It sounded as though it were coming from above them, sort of. The two remained quiet, lest it turn out to be an employee. Following the footsteps, came a voice calling out, “Hello?”

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 Foxy glanced over to where Freddy sat at one of the tables, by himself. The bear seemed to be acting mopey ever since they’d all met, and both he and the others were a little worried. The fox walked over, taking a seat next to Freddy. “Ahoy, Cap’n.”

  “Oh, hi.” Freddy answered, sitting a little straighter. “Erm, Cap’n, are ye doin’ a’right?” Foxy wondered, explaining, “Yer crew is seemin’ ta notice that ye seen a li’l down e’er since we’s met.” Freddy gazed off a little. “It don’t be anyt’in we did, do it?”  The bear shook his head ‘no’. “Don’t worry, it’s not you guys.”

  “Aye, then, what be th’ matter if I may ask?” Foxy asked next, still not understanding. “I’m just a bit worried,” Freddy began. “See, before this place, and before you guys, there was my brother and his crew.” Foxy gave a small, subtle nod as he listened. “Puppet and I don’t know where they are, and well…”

  “Ye’re hopin’ not’in happened to them?” Freddy nodded, a small upset look on his face. “Aye, tha’s understandable, Cap’n.” The fox commented. “Maybe yer crew could-”

  Screaming was suddenly heard, cutting off what Foxy was going to say. Everyone froze, eyes widening and ears pointing alertedly. “That sounded like Chica!” Bonnie commented from where he’d been sitting on the stage. Another scream, though, this one sounded like a cry for help. Getting up from his seat, Freddy added, “I’m gonna go see!” 

  “So will I.” Puppet added, going with the bear. The two promptly began to make their way to the “EMPLOYEES ONLY” room–Bonnie following after him.

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    “P-Please…! D-Don’t hurt m-me…!” Chica pleaded to the golden bunny, who had her pinned up against the wall. “And why not? You’re one of our replacements, afterall!” The bunny refuted, spite and anger clear in his tone. “You’re probably the reason why she’s gone!”

  “Spring Bonnie, stop this!” Gold all-but-demanded to the bunny, whilst Carl continuously exclaimed, “Cupcake! Cupcake! Cupcake!” from where he’d fallen to on the ground. He was also trying to get the bunny to let Chica go, but the golden duo couldn’t understand him. 

  Glaring daggers at his friend from over his shoulder, Spring asked, “So you’re on HER side now?!” Gold’s brow furrowed. “I’m not on anybody’s side, but hurtin’ her won’t bring Shine back!”

  “NOT HURTING HER WON’T BRING SHINE BACK, EITHER!” Spring snapped, his anger only growing. “...p-please…!” Chica quietly pleaded, still trying to pry the bunny’s hands off of herself. Before Gold could say anything more in rebuttal to the bunny, another voice chimed in. “Gold?”

  Turning around, the golden bear was a bit shocked to see his brother standing there, the Marionette stood at his side. The younger bear’s eyes were filled with a mix of shock, and disbelief. “Freddy!” Gold couldn’t help the small smile that came across his face at seeing that his brother was alright. He quickly pulled his brother into a quick hug.

  “Let go of her!” Puppet demanded, taking a step closer to Spring. The golden bunny stared hard into the other’s eyes–his rage still visible–but he eventually obeyed reluctantly. Chica slid to the floor with an audible “oof!”, Carl promptly hopping over to her. “Cupcake!” He exclaimed, asking if she was alright. 

  “What’s goin’ on here?” Bonnie suddenly asked, having just caught up with the others. He almost instantly noticed Chica on the floor, rubbing at her neck–whose feathers had been noticeably ruffled. “Chica?!” He was rather quick in going to make sure she was alright. Looking down to the purple bunny, Puppet began to ask, “Bonnie, take Chica upstair-”

  “Bonnie?!” Spring exclaimed, sounding even more angry, along with some disbelief in his tone. “So they’re stealing out names, along with our place on stage?!” Bonnie glared up to his golden doppelganger, nearly matching the other bunny’s rage. “Well, better us than you, it seems!”

  “You care to repeat that, pal?!” Gold faced Spring again. “Spring, please don’t start a fight…!” He tiredly pleaded. “Whose side are you even on, Gold?!” The Marionette replied to that with, “There are NO sides, Spring!”

  “AREN’T THERE?!”
  “EVERYONE STOP IT!” Freddy suddenly shouted, causing everyone to fall silent instantly. “Everyone go back upstairs, and we’ll figure this mess out, okay?!” A few silent nods were then followed by people making their way to the staircase to return upstairs. Stopping at the first step, Gold looked back to his brother–who was looking overwhelmed, if anything. “... You comin’?”

  “Yeah… just give me a sec, okay?” Nodding, the golden bear gave his brother a pat on his shoulder. Then, in a blink, he disappeared.

Chapter Text

All eyes were on the new band leader, who was standing at the end of one of the longer dining tables. Everyone sat quietly, waiting for the bear to say something. For a moment, Freddy simply exchanged glances with everyone, trying to think of where to start. His gaze fell on Spring, as he decided to start with the obvious. “Spring Bonnie, why’d you jump on Chica like that?”

  “She was poking her beak where it didn’t belong.” The golden bunny answered, lingering spite in his tone. Chica then quietly spoke up. “I-I was just… c-curious when I saw th-the basement door…” Looking over to the chicken, Spring commented, “Well didn’t you know? Curiosity killed the duck!”

  “Chicken!” Bonnie defended instantly, leaning forward a little, towards Spring’s direction. The other bunny glared at his replacement, but said nothing.

  “Okay, so you’ve clearly got issue with my crew.” Freddy began, before that turned into anything more. Vaguely gesturing to Spring, the bear urged, “Let’s hear it, then!” The bunny blinked. “They’re our replacements, Fred! What else do you want me to say?” He nearly screeched, as though he were offended by the question. “If I may,” Gold chimed in before Freddy had the chance to answer. “I think this is more than havin’ issue with your band.” Pausing, Freddy quietly exchanged puzzled looks with the Marionette.

  “Are you alright, Chica?” The bear then asked, looking to the chicken. She gave a small, timid nod. “Yes, sir.” Freddy smiled a little, and just as he was about to comment on the “sir”, Puppet spoke up. “Could we have the room, please?” Bonnie and Chica both nodded, before they went to stay in the back room–Foxy following along.

  Once the three were gone, Freddy pulled out a seat close to the remaining three at the table. “What do you mean, Gold?” The bear asked, looking to his brother. “I think this is about Spring Shine.” Huffing audibly, Spring leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. Pausing a moment, realisation came to both Freddy and Puppet.

  “Where is Shine?” Freddy wondered, saying the question cautiously. Hesitating a small moment, Gold sighed. “You both had already been prepped to be moved to this location when it happened.” He began, sounding a bit upset himself by what he was about to say. “There were businessmen who came by the Diner before we were all moved.” Puppet narrowed his eyes somewhat suspiciously. “Businessmen?” Freddy questioned. “They bought Shine off the Diner’s owners.” Gold told with a heavy heart, while Spring’s ears drooped nearly over the griefed expression on his face. “Oh… I see.” Puppet quietly said.

  Looking towards Spring, Freddy felt as though he had to say something. Afterall, his and Shine’s relationship was something special. Not like how it was between her and any of the others. The two were basically head-over-heels for each other. “Spring, I’m so sorry.” The bunny made no move to speak, or even look the bear’s way.

  The Marionette shook his head a little. “I should’ve seen something like this happening.” He began. Gold glanced his way. “You can’t blame yourself, Puppet.” He tried to tell him. “But, I’m usually on top of what the employees and the boss do, I should’ve known they’d do something like this.”

  “You couldn’t’ve known, it was a sudden thing.” Gold refuted. Puppet sighed somewhat frustratedly, but said nothing more on the subject. He instead looked to Spring. “I am so sorry, Spring Bonnie.” A quiet huff was heard in response, along with the bunny mumbling something that couldn’t quite be heard.

  Taking a glance to the nearby wall clock, Freddy quietly noted, “It’s almost six.” Pushing his seat back, Gold told, “We’ll take our leave,” He began. “We’ll send your band out.” Freddy nodded in thanks, as his brother and Spring went to leave the room.

Chapter Text

    Freddy was sitting on the edge of the main show stage, holding his head up by resting his elbows on his knees. Puppet sat next to him, explaining various things about Fazbear Entertainment and what directions the company was going for the franchise. Looking back to Freddy, he suddenly asked him, “This isn’t interesting to you, is it?”

  “Huh? Oh, no, yeah it is!” Giving a sceptical look, the Marionette then asked, “Okay, so what was I just saying?” Freddy looked at him. “You were telling me about the new marketing management that has been discussed.” He answered, tone sounding somewhat bored. “You know, you don’t have to listen to everything about this if you don’t want to, Fred. I can just keep you in the loop about the important stuff.”

  “No, that’s not necessary. This sounds like stuff I should know!” Puppet smirked a little. “Really, it’s okay.” He assured the bear. Freddy shook his head a little. “... Thanks.” Stifling a small laugh, Puppet replied. “Don’t worry about it.”

  Looking back to what had his attention a moment ago, Freddy watched as his three bandmates stood around, locked in conversation. He wasn’t quite sure what they were talking about, but what did get his attention was the way Chica seemed to keep glancing at Bonnie's direction. It was a bit curious, and Freddy wasn’t sure what to make of it.

  “What’re you looking at?” Puppet wondered, noticing that his friend’s attention had been grabbed. “Oh- nothing!”

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  Freddy was awoken when he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Opening his sapphire blue eyes, he glanced over to see Chica wanting his attention. “Yeah?” He quietly said. “Why do we have to stay here until midnight?” She wondered. “And why do we have to stand here again at six AM?” The sound of the security guard entering the building could then be heard. Remaining quiet, Freddy watched as the minimum wage employee made his way to the office down the hall, while also thinking of a response. Once the guy was out of sight, the bear answered, “Because it’s the rules.”

  “Whose rules?” Chica asked, sounding very curious. “The company’s rules.” Freddy answered. She still looked puzzled. Another question came. “Well, what’ll happen if we don’t follow the rules?” The bear thought for a second, before giving a small shrug. “I’m… not actually sure. But, following the rules hasn’t done any bad, so we just go along with it.”  

  “Oh, okay, sir.” Chica replied, looking forward again. Half rolling his eyes a little out of amusement, Freddy told her, “You don’t have to call me that.” The chicken glanced back up to the band leader. “... I don’t?” The bear shook his head, indicating ‘no’. “Oh, sorry.” She apologized, along with a small giggle. The bear smiled too.

  Not long into the night, Freddy went to approach Foxy in Pirate’s Cove. The fox was sitting on his stage, leaned against the wall as he polished his hook. He was also half humming, half singing a sea shanty as he did. “Hey, Foxy.”

  “Ahoy, Cap’n.” The pirate greeted in return, giving a nod to Freddy in greeting. “You ready for your show to open?” The bear wondered, sitting on the smaller stage’s edge beside Foxy. The fox nodded. “Aye, the ship be ready ta set sails!” Freddy laughed a little.

  “Cap’n, ye got ‘ny advice? Seein’ as it be my first e’er show, it’d be nice ta get some pointers.” Foxy wondered, setting aside the cloth he’d been using to polish his hook with. Pausing, Freddy had to think for a minute. “Well, everything I know about performing, I learned from my older brother.”

  “He was the Cap’n of his crew, aye?” The bear nodded. “The most important thing, I have to say, is try to keep a hold of the kids’ attention. They can lose interest easily.” Freddy explained. “So, makin’ sure th’ show be excitin’ ‘nough for the kiddos ta not get bored?”

  “You got it. Maybe add a little extra to your performance, stuff the audience won’t expect. That’ll make it interesting.” Foxy nodded. “Aye, I think I be catchin’ yer drift, Cap’n.” He answered. “Thank ye.”

  “Anytime, Foxy.” Freddy replied. Just as the two fell silent, the sound of Bonnie strumming away at his guitar was heard. Looking over to the main stage, the bear took notice of Bonnie sat against the wall playing, Chica sat next to him. She was looking at him with a curious fondness in her violet eyes.

  Smiling, Freddy felt happy. Life seemed to be going great. He hoped it never changes.

Chapter Text

  Waking up, Gold made no move to get up, or do anything really. There wasn’t much point. Taking in a deep breath, the bear said, “Another night, eh Spring?” No answer came from the bunny. Blinking, Gold glanced about. “Spring?” Still no reply. Squinting to see in the dark, the bear stood up. He walked around, slowly feeling through the dark hoping to find his friend. “Spring?!”

  Meanwhile, upstairs, the gang were all beginning to go about their business for the night. Chica and Bonnie had already gotten off the stage, and just as Freddy was about to do the same, his brother suddenly appeared in front of him in a blink. Nearly falling backwards from shock, the bear clutched at his chest. “Gold! Don’t scare me like that!”

  “Sorry,” Gold quickly apologized. “Have you seen Spring?” Recovering from his momentary fright, Freddy shook his head ‘no’. “Why? Wasn’t he downstairs with you?” Gold gave the same answer Freddy had. “I couldn’t find him.”

  “Find who?” Puppet asked, approaching the two. “Spring. He’s gone!” Gold explained, looking over to his friend. Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, an idea came to the Marionette. Looking around, he spotted Foxy. “Hey, Foxy?” 

  “Aye?” Approaching the fox, Puppet continued. “Can you come with me? I think I’m going to need that hook of yours.” Nodding, Foxy followed after the Marionette as he made his way to the basement.

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  “What’re we lookin’ for, matey?” Pulling on the string for a single light bulb in the basement, Puppet answered, “Boxes. Oversized ones, specifically.” He explained, looking around. “Erm… there don’t look ta be any in ‘ere.”

  “I see… that…” Trailing off, the Marionette went quiet. “Puppet-?” Foxy was given a silencing glance, as though being asked to listen. “You hear that?” Puppet whispered. Listening closer, Foxy heard what sounded to be pounding and yelling. “What is that noise?”

  “I’m… not sure. Sounds like it’s coming from there.” Puppet answered, pointing further back in the basement. There, the two saw a door. It camouflaged really well with the rest of the wall, probably explaining why both Gold and Spring didn’t see it. Taking hold of the handle, the Marionette found it to be locked. “Foxy?”

  “Aye.” Taking the cue, the foxy knelt down in front of the lock. He was able to pick at it with his hook to unlock it–likely breaking the lock’s mechanism in the process. “Thanks.” Puppet thanked, entering the room before Foxy. The sound from before got louder, as they entered a room full of boxes and crates. A few stacked in the corner were moving in sync with the sounds. 

  Without taking a moment to think, Puppet brought his hands up towards the stack of boxes–his magic glowing from the palm of his hand. Then, what looked to be gold, magical marionette strings were suddenly pulling at boxes, moving them out of the way as Puppet manipulated the strings with hands. Foxy watched, eye widened a little at what he was witnessing. The box in question was soon layed gently on the ground before them.

  “Foxy, help me pry it open.” Puppet asked, as he knelt down to the crate that was being shaken from the inside. In what seemed like no time, Foxy was able to almost effortlessly break open the crate. Before he could get to the last nail, though, the lid was forcefully broken off. Spring shot up with a growl, sending packing peanuts flying all directions. “Spring!”

  “What took you so long?!” He practically spat, looking to Puppet. “Hey, you’re lucky we found you at all! They could’ve very well sent you off to a warehouse, never to be seen again.” Huffing, Spring said nothing in response to the Marionette’s valid argument. Standing up, Puppet watched as Foxy lent the bunny a hand in standing up. “Come on, you two. I have to talk with everyone.

Chapter Text

“I think we’ve got a problem.” The Marionette announced to everyone. “Does it have something to do with why I was put in that crate?” Spring asked, clearly still angry about what had happened. “I think so.”

  “Well? What’s wrong?” Freddy asked, his look of confusion being shared across the table. “So, to make a long story short, something terrible has happened at another location, and ever since it’s been doing terrible things to the brand.” Puppet explained, before then asking, “Freddy, you remember how you were telling me that it seemed like the amount of customers coming here had gone down?”

  “That was because of whatever happened?” Bonnie wondered. The Marionette nodded. “And the incident with Foxy a while back wasn’t much help either.” Foxy raised his hook, quickly defending with, “T’was an accident!”

  “I know, but for some people, putting you out of order isn’t good enough.” The fox huffed, crossing his arms. “So… what does that mean for us?” Chica asked next, sounding a little worried–to which Carl leaned against her feathered neck to comfort her a little. “I’m not positive, but I’ve heard the idea being tossed around of this location possibly being closed, among other things.”

  “But, we haven’t been open for nearly as long as the Diner has! They can’t do that, can they?” Freddy argued, sounding upset by that prospect. “The company’ll have to if they want to keep their heads above water, Fred.” Puppet answered, giving the bear a sympathetic look.

  “What’re we goin’ to do now?” Bonnie asked despondently. The Marionette shook his head a little. “Just go on like normal. We’ll see what happens. Try not to worry, alright?” The main band gave small nods. “Alright. That’s all I wanted to say.” Puppet dismissed.

  As everyone left the table, Gold approached the Marionette. “Among what other things?” He quietly asked, not having missed those words. “Well, I heard there were dealings outside of the country a while back. They were talking about putting whatever that was to use.”

  “Any idea what that’s about?”

  “No.” Puppet answered, shrugging a little. Gold merely hummed, before excusing himself.

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  On the unknowing final night of the restaurant, Freddy was sitting alone at one of the tables. He was quietly worrying about what might happen if their location were to close, hoping there to be no repeats like what happened with Spring Shine. 

  To try and keep his mind off his worries, Freddy was quietly watching his band. Over in Pirate’s Cove, Foxy was sourly carving away at the back of the wooden “OUT OF ORDER” sign with his hook. What he was carving? Who knows.

  Across the way from Foxy, Chica and Bonnie were engaged in what looked like a serious conversation. As thought the bunny were breaking something upsetting to the chicken. The bear, once again, didn’t know what that could be about.

  Sighing, Freddy leaned back in his chair to rest his eyes for a bit, as his waves of unorganized thoughts were beginning to give him a headache.

  The bear was suddenly awoken by someone pulling up a chair next to him. Looking over, Chica was slowly sitting down next to him. Noticing that she’d woken him up, she quietly said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “It’s alright, I was just- ‘Wake me’?” Chica nodded, explaining, “You’ve been asleep over here since one.” The bear looked to the wall clock, which read 3:45AM. “... Oh.” He shortly said, sitting a little straighter.

  Freddy watched as Chica leaned her chin atop her arms, Carl hopping onto the table from her shoulder. “Hey, are you alright?” He wondered, noticing how upset she was looking. “Huh? Oh… I’m fine.” Carl rolled his eyes, obviously indicating that he knew she wasn’t. “Are you sure?” The bear gently pressed. “Yeah. Bonnie and I just… had a disagreement, it’s nothing.” Not saying anything more, Freddy thought it wise not to open that can of worms. Both him and Foxy had speculated that the two had been getting close, but seems as though they were wrong.

  “What about you?” Chica asked, obviously trying to change the subject. “I’ll be fine. I’m just trying not to let worry get the better of me, is all.” Freddy answered truthfully. “... Really?” The bear gave a small, reluctant nod. “Don’t get worried, yourself, it doesn’t do much good.”

  “I’ll try.” The bear nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Chapter Text

  Foxy was the first of them to wake up. Instantly, everything felt wrong. He didn’t recognize where he was, as this was someplace new. The room was dark, the only light coming from underneath the door nearby. Sitting up from where he was slouched against the wall, the fox’s ear, hand and chest all felt strange. 

  Looking at his hand, it was all white–covered in bandages. Gingerly, Foxy moved his hand to press against his chest. It was bandaged, and also had a dull ache. Said same dull ache was also prevalent from one of his ears, which he quickly found to be bandaged also.

  Looking over, Foxy saw Freddy laying on the ground not far from his feet, he too looking worse for wear. “Cap’n!?” Sliding closer to the bear, Foxy shook the bear to try and wake him. Luckily, that seemed to do the trick, as sapphire blue eyes were slowly seen again. “...mm… wha…?”

  “Cap’n? Can ye ‘ear me?” Blinking a few times, Freddy brought a hand to his aching head as Foxy helped him sit up. “... what happened?” Foxy shrugged, as his gaze slowly shifted to look about the room. His eye suddenly widened. “Cap’n… look!”

  Looking over, Freddy squinted to see Chica and Bonnie sat against the two other walls, both slowly beginning to come to. They also looked to be in horrible condition–Bonnie more so than Chica. Chica’s hands were both bandaged, while a few bandages were wrapped around her arms and legs. There were also mild slashes around her ‘jawline’, the feathers in that area looking to be horribly ruffled.

  Bonnie on the other hand, has the entire top half of his head bandaged, eyes covered in the process. One of his arms was wrapped against his chest, as though a makeshift sling had been made to keep it in place. He too had various bandages around his legs, though thankfully, his one good arm seemed to be unscathed. 

  “Guys!?” Freddy called, as Chica glanced over to him groggily. “Freddy…? What’s… happening?” Bonnie followed the question with, “Wha- I c-can’t see!” He sounded panicked, which was understandable. “I don’t know what happened-”

  “The employees did this to y’all.” Gold told, having appeared just in time to catch Chica’s question. Freddy looked up, a bit puzzled as to how he’d not see Gold there a moment before. He noticed the opened door behind his brother, where he’d probably been hiding out. “Did you see?”

  “... Yes.” Gold answered, sounding a little guilty. He could’ve tried to stop them, but he would’ve gotten himself hurt in the process too. “I’m not sure where Puppet is, though.” He then added. “Oh.” Freddy answered shortly, suddenly realizing the taller one’s absence.

  “Okay, look, you all stay here.” Freddy began, moving to stand. “Foxy and I’ll-” The bear stopped mid sentence, sucking in a sharp breath. A pain suddenly made itself known from his ankle. He looked down and saw it to be wrapped up also. “Careful on your ankle, Fred.” Gold warned. His brother nodded, before continuing what he was saying. “Foxy and I will go look around.”

  “Okay.” Chica and Bonnie quietly jinxed. Turning around, Freddy was met with a suddenly pour of light. The bear squinted as he brought an arm up to cover his eyes. “The door be unlocked, Cap’n.” Foxy told, holding it open for Freddy. “Thanks.”

  As the two made their way out into the hallway, they were quick to notice that they went two ways. One was to another, smaller hallway, and the other end went to a larger room. Foxy then noticed the colorful posters stuck to the walls, showing new, animatronic mascots. They looked all cutesy. He wasn’t sure he liked it.

  “This way.” Freddy told, beginning to limp towards the larger room. Foxy was slow to take his gaze off the posters, but followed. Before they made it to the other room, they heard the ‘Parts and Service’ door open again. The two turned around to see Chica guiding Bonnie along towards them. “I thought I said to stay there.”

  “We wanted to come with you.” Chica explained, before Bonnie told, “Correction; she wanted to come with you. I was more than happy to stay back there.” Freddy shook his head a little, as Chica came up next to him, Foxy taking her place of guiding the temporarily blind bunny along. “Fine, you guys can come.”

  “Thank you.” Chica thanked, hooking Freddy’s arm. Then, the four continued to walk. 

  Making it into the large, assumingly main room, the quartet took a moment to look at all the decorations, tables, attractions and arcade machines adorning the place. Freddy was the first to notice the group of three standing around talking just by the large show stage. They consisted of a bear, a bunny and a chicken. They also didn’t look like animatronics, like what they’d seen in the posters.

  Freddy narrowed his eyes a bit, as the other ‘Freddy’ of the group glanced over his shoulder and spotted the older gang. “Ah! You’ve all finally woken up!” The bear exclaimed, English tone sounding happy about the fact. “Glad to see you all out and about!”

  “... Who are you?” The English bear’s cheeriness faltered. “We’re your replacements, unfortunately.” He sounded very apologetic about the fact, as the bunny and chicken he’d been talking to came up behind him. “My name’s Fredrick, but feel free to call me T. Fred. The company has officially dubbed me ‘Toy Freddy’, you see.” Fredrick gestured to the two others. “This here is my troupe, Bonbell and Toy.”

  “Let me guess, you two are supposed to be ‘Toy Bonnie’ and ‘Toy Chica’?” Freddy wondered. The two nodded, while Bonnie chimed in with, “What now?” Fredrick continued to look about. “There’s another… but I’m unsure where she is.”

  “Oh, Vixen’s at the Prize Corner.” Toy told, looking over in that direction. She flagged over a white and pink fox, who was speaking with someone familiar to the original four. “Oh! There’s Vixen!” Fredrick said, before going on to explain, “She’s technically ‘Toy Foxy’, but nobody really calls her that.”

  “Hello!” Vix greeted as she came up to the four. The Marionette smiled, seeing the four awake. “Hey, are you guys feeling a bit better?” He asked. Freddy gave a small half nod. “Well, kinda. We’re still achey.” He answered. 

  “What happened?” Bonnie asked, facing Puppet’s general direction. “Well, after seeing what the employees did to you all, myself, Bonbell and Fredrick helped patch you all up.” He explained. Freddy looked back towards the other bear and bunny. “... You did?” They nodded. Feeling much less skeptical about these new guys, the worn out bear smiled a little. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. If it wasn’t us to do it, we don’t think anybody else would’ve.” Fredrick confessed, giving a sympathetic look. The four all seemed to share that look. “But, that’s all in the past. What’s important now is for you all to heal.”

Chapter Text

  It was a new night at this new location, and everyone was getting to know each other. Standing in the doorway of Kid’s Cove, Foxy and Vixen were engaged in conversation. The two seemed to get along fairly well so far. “So, you used to have your own stage?”

  “Aye, I did.” Foxy confirmed, smiling a bit proudly. “Though, me show ended up being closed not long b’fore the restaurant did.” He said, now sounding a little disappointed. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Why was it?” Vix wondered, still sounding a bit curious. “Ta make a long tale short, ther’ was an accident wit’ one of the guests. I, erm… don’t really want ta talk ‘bout it.”

  “Well, I hope you get to perform again some day.” Vixen commented, smiling. Foxy shared a similar smile.

  Elsewhere in the building, Toy had just finished ‘showing’ Bonnie around. It was her idea, and seeing as she seemed nice, the bunny had no obligations. “Well, that’s the last of the party rooms!” Toy chirped, looking to Bonnie. “My, this place seems so huge!”

  “And your guys’ place sounded so tiny!” Toy mirrored. The two laughed a little.

  “I’ve got a question.” The bunny told. “‘Toy’. Is that a nickname?” Toy nodded, before verbally answering with, “Yes, it is.” She confirmed. “So, what’s your actual name?” Bonnie wondered. “The boss and employees call me ‘Toy Chica’.” Smirking, Bonnie specified, “That’s not what I meant.”

  “I know,” Toy began. “I just… don’t really like using my real name, is all.” Somehow, the blind bunny was able to tell that wasn’t a full truth. However, he thought it impolite to pry any further. “Okay, then.”

  “Hey, you wanna see something?” Toy said, suddenly realizing her choice of words. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-!” Bonnie laughed. “No offense taken, don’t worry.” Sighing in a bit of relief, Toy laughed a little too. “What do you wanna show me?”

  “Here, come with me!” Taking the bunny’s hand again, Toy led him through the building. The two went across the main room, and into the smaller, front dining area. The kitchen was also located there, along with a smaller door off to the side. Toy led Bonnie to it, and opened it. The two went inside. “Watch out, there’s a small staircase here.”

  “Where are you taking me??” Bonnie wondered, as Toy helped him up the handful of steps. “The boss has a bookcase in his office. I like coming up here to read them sometimes.” She answered, as they made it to the top. While Toy reached above the door frame for a hidden lock pick, Bonnie then asked, “How did you know his office was here?”

  “Well, sometimes I entertain guests in that smaller dining area.” She began, unlocking the office door. “I noticed the boss going into that door, and he didn’t come back out until closing. I figured it was his office.” As the door opened, Toy replaced the pick. “Bonbell and I were curious to see what was up here, so he helped me make a lock pick for the door. Been sneaking in here ever since!”

  “And you haven’t gotten caught yet?” Bonnie asked her, as she helped him to a small office sofa. “Nope!” She chirped, going to find a book. “What genre do you like?” She asked him, looking over titles she’s read before. “... Um, I don’t really know.”

  “What?” Staying silent, Bonnie felt as though he’d offended her. “Have you never read a book before?” The bunny shrugged, realizing her offense was somewhat sarcastic. “I’m… not sure.” Toy gave a small, dramatic gasp. “Well then, I’ll have to fix that!” She proclaimed, pulling out a generic romance novel, which wasn’t half bad. 

  “The boss really only has romance, mystery and non-fiction.” Toy explained, going to sit next to the bunny. “In my opinion, the romance one’s don’t look like they’ve been read, so they’re probably for show.”

  “Did you pick a romance?” Bonnie asked, scooting closer towards her. “Yeah. Why? Don’t think it’s your taste?” The bunny shook his head a little. “No, romance is fine.” Toy nodded, opening to the first page. “Alright then, settle in. I think I’ll make it to at least chapter seven–unless you interrupt me with questions.” Bonnie chuckled. “I’ll try not to.”

Chapter Text

  A good couple of months had passed since the opening of the new location, and the opening of various other locations just like it. Business had been going swimmingly, and everyone was happy.

  It was past closing, and there were only two employees left to finish up before the night shift guard arrived. Putting away the rest of the napkin dispensers, Jim checked his watch. “A’right, my shift’s over.” He began, gaining his co-workers attention. “You’re closing up, Rob.”

  “Sure thing.” Jim continued, suddenly remembering something. “Oh, Rob, can you make sure the robots are all in their places?” Rob gave him a curious look. “The night shift’s been saying that Toy Chica is being forgotten in the front dining area. Take care of that, will ya?”

  “You got it.” Heading towards the front door, Jim took his car keys from his pocket. “Right, that’s everything. See ya tomorrow!” He called. “Yep, see you!” With that, Jim left the building. Smirking a little, Rob quietly said to himself, “I’ll take care of her, alright.”

  From the show stage, Fredrick and Bonbell were eyeing the lone employee. Both felt something off putting about him, as he had an odd expression on his face. They watched as the guy went to the front dining room, and waited for him to escort Toy back to the stage. “I don’t like that guy.” Bon whispered, leaning closer to his ‘brother’. Fred simply nodded in agreement, though neither could do anything for the moment.

  A minute passed. And another. After the third minute, Fred began getting suspicious. “Where is she?” Bon whispered in question. The bear made no comment, as a fourth minute passed without the employee escorting Toy back. “I’m going to check.” Bon looked at Fred. “But, you can’t-”

  “I don’t care.” Fredrick told, handing off his microphone to Bonbell. The bunny watched, somewhat nervously, as the bear stepped off the stage and made his way to the front dining area. 

  Entering the room, Fred looked around. He quickly noticed the employee over in the farthest corner, Toy pressed against the wall. To say the least, he was invading her personal space, whispering heaven knows what to her, making her look visibly distressed. Toy glanced over the man’s shoulder, and saw Fred. Her expression changed to pleading in an instant.

  Without tipping his presence off, the bear quietly approached the employee. Once he was close enough, he grabbed the guy by his shirt collar and threw him off to the side–unintentionally causing him to hit the edge of a booth’s table. “ARG!”

  The minute the guy was away from her, Toy hurried to stand behind her ‘brother’—who held a protective arm in front of her. While the guy recovered, Fred looked over to her. “Go to the stage.” Nodding, Toy turned and hurried off to the main room, just as the employee stood up. Holding his now bleeding nose, the guy gave a frustrated look to a now neutral faced ‘Toy Freddy’. “Stupid robot! Thing’s gotta be defective!”

  Standing a little straighter, the employee used one hand to forcefully ‘escort’ the bear back to the main area. After shoving Fredrick towards the stage, the employee left the room again as the bear went back to his place. A minute later, the guy returned with a post-it note in hand. He then slapped it on the bear’s bow tie, grumbled, and finally left.

  Once the coast was clear, Fredrick took the note, which read, “Someone get Josh to look at this thing, it nearly killed me! -Rob” He crumpled the note and tossed it aside. The bear then looked to Toy, who had begun shuddering. “Are you alri-” Fred was interrupted by his ‘sister’ all-but-falling against him in a desperate attempt for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders, while Toy’s cupcake companion, Claire, hopped onto Fred’s shoulder where it was a bit more safe. 

  “What happened?” Bonbell asked, just as their sister quietly began crying into Fredrick’s shoulder. Looking to the bunny, Fred answered with, “That employee. He was going to do something to her, I’m just not sure what, exactly.”

  “The guy closing up?” Puppet suddenly asked, having noticed the whole thing from the start. The bear nodded. With a knowing look, the Marionette merely nodded. “Excuse me.” With that, he went to another room.

  For the rest of the night, Toy stayed with Fred as the two sat against the stage’s far wall. She was stuck to his side the whole time, as he simply comforted her in hopes of making her feel better. 

  Some of the others would occasionally glance her way, but as a form of respect, no one went up to ask what was wrong. Either they could just tell it wasn’t any of their business, or Bonbell would quietly advise them to just give Toy some space.

  By the time opening rolled around, and everyone was in their places, Toy was doing her best to just shut her emotions away to make it through the day. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?” Fredrick questioned, still a bit unsure. “Yep.” Toy shortly answered, immediately earning a skeptical look from Claire. “Cupcake…” She said in her ‘cupcake language’. The chicken looked to her companion. “I promise, I’ll be fine.”

  “... If you say.” Fredrick said, still sounding skeptical. The restaurant opened, and the band began performing as usual. At first, it was going well. No hiccups, or anything, and Toy was performing perfectly fine–if not a little less than usual, but it was no problem.

  About halfway through another song was when Toy’s attention was grabbed. A female employee was hanging around near the back, watching the crowd for any spills, or accidents of that nature, from where she was leaning against the wall. Then, the employee approached her, his demeanor off setting. 

  Toy watched their exchange closely, her attention fully captivated as she watched the guy subtly taking closer side steps to his co-worker. Toy’s breathing began to pick up a bit, as the girl’s face began to contort somewhat in confused, or even uncomfortable expressions, as she began stepping away from the guy.

  As the female employee promptly took her leave to do anything else to get away from the creep, Toy hadn’t realize she’d suddenly stopped singing. Her breathing was getting quicker, and shorter, leading to her slowly begin hyperventilating. Following, she began shaking. Claire was quick to react in hopping up onto Toy’s shoulder, just as she dropped the plate she’d be sitting on. The sound of the faux ceramic hiding the stage floor sounded louder than normal to Toy, as she began to curl in on herself in panic.

  Arms were suddenly grabbing at her, pulling her off of, and away from the stage. Next thing she knew, she was being thrown into the ‘Parts and Service’ room. The original band all looked towards her, each sharing a puzzled look. In a haze, Toy quickly shuffled to the nearest corner, and curled into a ball–slowly beginning to cry again. 

  “Toy?” Freddy quietly asked, just as confused as the next person as to why she’d been thrown in the back with them. He tried going over to her to see if she was alright, reaching a hand out towards her. “Are you okay-?”

  “Don’t touch me!” Toy snapped, burying her beak deeper into her knees. Freddy instantly backed off, not wanting to overwhelm her in any way. He then glanced to Chica, giving her space to try and get closer–assuming Toy would be more comfortable with her instead. 

  Sitting a couple feet from Toy, Chica asked, “Are you alright?” Toy looked up just long enough to say, “I d-don’t wanna t-talk about it.” Before burying her beak again. Settling back against the wall, Chica simply answered, “That’s okay.”

Chapter Text

Not long after the incident, the boss fired that employee. Even though it was due to entirely different reasons, everyone noticed how the Marionette seemed to be acting about it. He too probably had something to do with that, and now, the employee was gone. That was all that really mattered.

  After a couple days, the employees got the OK from the lead technician that Toy could be brought out to perform again. She’d appeared to be doing better, especially when she heard that employee had gotten fired.

  So, things returned to normal again, and another night came. Chatter filled the room, as people were engaged in conversation with one another. Discreetly, Gold entered the room. Himself and Spring always hung back in the ‘backroom of the backroom’, and therefore, didn’t come out very often to catch up with either Puppet or Freddy.

  It wasn’t hard for Gold to find Prize Corner, and therefore finding the Marionette. He was leaning against his oversized present box, not currently talking with anyone. He approached his friend. “Hey.”

  “Oh, Gold, hello.” Puppet answered, giving the golden bear his attention. “We haven’t talked in a while, figured I’d come out and say ‘hi’.” Gold told, going over to lean against the Prize Counter. Crossing his arms in a casual manner, the bear then asked, “What’s new?”

  “Well-” Puppet was cut off as Foxy approached them. “‘ave any of ye seen Vix?” He asked, sounding a little bit frantic–as though he’d already been running around the building looking for her. “Vixen? No, I haven’t. You can’t find her?” The pirate shook his head ‘no’. “Weird. Ask around, maybe?” Taking Puppet’s suggestion, Foxy was off again.

  After some time of more searching, Foxy wound up in Kid’s Cove. He was sitting at the lone party room, a despondent look on his face as he mindlessly tapped his fingers on the table’s surface. He still hadn’t found Vixen, and was beginning to worry. Suddenly, a party hat fell from above. “What in th’ seven seas…?”

  Looking up, something strange caught his eye. There was an odd, looking shadow just above the hanging light fixture. He squinted to get a better look, then recognizing what–or rather who–it was, “Lass?” It was Vixen. She was pretty well hidden in the shadow above the light, Foxy just barely able to make out the features of her face as he stood up to get a closer look. “Hi…”

  “How’d ye get up there?” Foxy called up to her. In answer to his question, Vixen slowly made her way down, landing from the light and onto the table’s surface. Foxy’s eye widened in shock at the sight before him. He couldn’t find the words to even describe it.

  Her body looked nothing like it had when he’d last seen her. She looked like a twisted, mangled, pretzel version of herself. Her limbs were twisted in impossible ways, some even twisting around her torso. Everything looked out of place. And her left eye looked exactly like how both of Gold’s eyes looked–dark, with a white, glowing pinprick. Without a word, Foxy quickly left the room to get the Marionette.

  A moment later, Puppet entered the room, following after Foxy. He too had the same reaction as Foxy did upon seeing Vixen. “What in the world?!” The Marionette exclaimed, dark eyes widened. “What on earth happened?!”

  “There were some reckless, and unsupervised kids who came in.” Vixen began, as Puppet approached her. Using his magic, he summoned her SOUL to see the extent of the damage. “They started trying to ‘break’ me.” Puppet had a puzzled look on his face. “Then this happened.”

  “What’re ye doin’?” Foxy questioned, leaning over to get a better look at what the Marionette was doing. “That’s weird… Vix, does anything hurt?” Vixen thought for a moment. She then shook her head no, before explaining, “Other than the small cut on the back of my head, no.”

  “Ye sure, lass??” Foxy asked, finding that statement to be impossible. She nodded. “Show me the cut.” Doing as Puppet asked, Vix somehow managed to turn her head a full 180° to do so. Like she said, there was a small cut visible amongst her white fur, a small amount of red liquid still slowly oozing–though, it looked to have stopped for the most part. “How did that happen?”

  “One of the kids had a small pocket knife, and, well…” Vixen trailed off, Puppet and Foxy getting the idea. Puppet had a lot less to comment on about the cut, compared to the fox’s more obvious problem at hand. Looking to Foxy, he instructed, “Go tell Bonbell to get the first aid kit, please.” The pirate gave him a puzzled look. “First aid kit? But, don’t that be for th’ humans?” 

  “How do you think we got your gang all patched up when you got here?” Thinking for a second, the pieces all fell into place in his mind. “Oh.” Foxy said shortly, before going to do what the Marionette had asked. While waiting on those two, Puppet had called Gold in to help out. 

  It took a minute to figure it out, but eventually, the two deduced that Vixen being all twisted, and mangled the way she was, was actually normal. Equally as normal as Gold’s ability to teleport, or the Marionette’s ability to manipulate objects–among other things.

  Now, the only issue was trying to help Vixen figure out how to turn back to normal. That was the hard part. Hopefully, though, once she had it figured out, it would be easier to do in the future. “I can’t do it!” Vixen said for the umpteenth time, though, this time she tagged on with, “I’m going to be a pretzel for the rest of my life!”

  “Vixen, no you won’t! You can do it, I’m positive you can!” Puppet said, still trying to encourage her. Gold then cut in with, “You’ve got to stop thinkin’, Vix!” The fox looked at him, visibly confused. “Thinkin’ ain’t how this works!” The bear explained, sounding a hint of exasperation in his southern tone. “Do this. Remember when the kids were trying to ‘break’ you. Remember how you felt then? Use that emotion, and change back.”

  “Okay…” Think for a moment, Vixen thought back to how she felt when those kids started to pull and yank at her. A minute later, the glow of her left eye increased. Puppet and Gold both stepped back and watched as Vixen finally used her ability to change herself back to physically normal. For a second, the fox didn’t move, having squint her eyes shut about halfway through. She cautiously opened them again–both eyes now normal. “Did it… work?”

  “Yes, I said you could do it, Vixen!” Puppet answered with a smile, as Vixen looked herself over. She too, smiled. Looking up to the golden bear, the fox then said, “Thank you, Gold!” Before leaving the room to find Foxy outside waiting for her.

Chapter Text

  It was a fairly busy day for the restaurant. A number of birthday parties had been booked that day, resulting in quite the crowd of kids and parents. One of the parties were being held in the main showroom, being entertained by the band on stage. Some kids were standing in front of the stage watching, while others ran around.

  In the Prize Corner, Puppet had taken it upon himself to help arrange the plushies on the shelves. The employee who’d started doing so, was quickly called elsewhere before she’d even gotten the chance to finish the task. So, he was finishing her job.

  After doing so, a small voice, coming from behind him, caught his attention. “Hi.” Looking over, the Marionette had to lean over the counter to see who it was talking. A little girl, who looked no younger than six, was stood there–cotton candy covered hands clutching onto the small mass of tickets she’d won. “Can I have a pwize, pwease?”

  “Which one would you like?” Puppet asked her, as the little girl struggled to see over the counter to the shelf of plushies behind. Stepping around, the Marionette picked the girl up and sat her on the counter’s edge to get a better look. Once she had a good view of all the plushies, her green eyes carefully scanning each shelf. 

  “That one!” Her little hand pointed to one of the classic Bonnie plushies. “Alrighty!” Giving her tickets to Puppet, the girl watched as he went to take the plushy from the shelf. As he put the tickets away, the Marionette looked at the Bonnie plush with a contemplative look. An idea came to mind. He looked back to the girl.

  “Do you want to see something neat?” Her little eyes widened a bit, as she nodded her head–ringletted strawberry hair bouncing as she did so. Setting the plushy down next to her, Puppet held his hands above it. Gold hued, sparkling strings appeared above the plush, making it seem as though they were marionette strings. The girl watched as Puppet pulled his hands up just enough to make the plushy stand on it’s little stub, plushy feet.

  “Woah…!” Continuing to move his hands, the Marionette manipulated the plushy to do a small little dance. The girl watched in wonder, as the Bonnie plushie then did a little twirl, gave a bow, and promptly fell to a sitting position. 

  “Soooo coooool!” She nearly squealed, taking the plushy and squeezing it with a hug. Puppet picked her up and put her on the ground. “Thank you!” She exclaimed, before running off to her party’s members. The Marionette smiled warmly, but his smile soon disappeared when a different voice suddenly spoke up. “My, what impressive technology you’ve got here, Dale!”

  Puppet froze where he stood, as two men in business suits approached the Corner. He slowly turned to look at them. The younger looking one he recognized as the new boss of this location and others. Though, he could normally be found at their location. Dale Jenson. The other man, Puppet didn't seem to know who it was.

  Crap. Puppet thought to himself, realizing what it was the men probably saw. “Thank you, Mr. Lauder.” Jenson thanked, as this “Mr. Lauder” character approached the Marionette. The man looked him up and down. “Glad to see you guys are upgrading the older models still in use. A good idea.”

  Upgrading? Simply thanking the man again, Jeson kept smiling. He wasn’t entirely sure how to answer that comment, though. “And I thought ‘The Mangle’ was an impressive robot. Seems the Puppet is right up with her in the ranks!” Mr. Lauder said with a hearty chuckle. The Marionette merely masked his confusion of what the guy was even talking about. 

  “You should really be investing this kind of tech at other locations, Dale!” The man suggested, stepping back towards the boss. “I, well, we are definitely considering it. For a future project, maybe?” Jenson replied, making the statement up on the spot to appease the man. “Why wait? Imagine the money you could make from animatronic tech like this!” Dale laughed, a bit nervously, before trying to bring Mr. Lauder’s attention elsewhere.

 Later into the evening, just about everyone was gathered together in the main showroom. Everyone except for Puppet and Vixen. Puppet had pulled Vixen aside to have a brief word with her. “What’s up?” The fox asked, as the two stood inside Kid’s Cove. “Vixen, did you use your abilities today?”

  “Oh, well, yeah. I thought it’d make things interesting for the kids!” Vixen answered, before noticing the look of concern on the Marionette’s masked face. “But um, y’know, it wasn’t like, anything huge, or whatever.” Puppet sighed, and shook his head a little. “Vixen, I need you to listen to me.”

  “Okay?”

  “Please don’t do that again.” Vixen cocked her head a little. “Why not?” She asked. “Because humans can exploit you for your abilities. I’ve seen it happen, and I wouldn’t wish the same for you.” Puppet explained. “Believe me when I say you’d be doing everyone a huge favor.”

   “Oh… um, okay. I’ll stop, then.” Vixen agreed, still sounding somewhat puzzled. However, she picked up on the seriousness in the Marionette’s voice, and set her questions aside. “Thank you. That’s all” With that, Vixen was excused for the rest of the night, off to join the others.

Chapter Text

  “I can’t believe you.” Spring said in an accusatory manner. Himself, Gold and the Marionette were all gathered in a currently vacant Parts and Service room where Puppet had called them too. “I thought the coast was clear,” Puppet began in his defense. “I used to do that sort of thing all the time for the kids at the diner!” 

  “This ain’t the Family Diner anymore, Puppet!” Gold reminded him, Spring piping up again with, “Don’t you remember what happened to the last guy who did this kind of thing?” Puppet crossed his arms. “Yes, I know. You don’t need to tell me twice.” He then pointed to the bunny. “Especially since I’m the one who told you two about it.”

  “Funny, isn’t it?” The two looked to Gold. “The earliest memory from before the Diner, is what happened to that beaver. Nothin’ else afterwards.” Spring hummed. “Yeah, I get it.” He sympathized, adding, “Heck! Do we even have pasts?”
  “Yes.” Puppet answered, a beat too quickly. Sounding a little too sure. “And how would you know?” Thinking a minute, the Marionette gestured back to the bear. “Fredbear’s photograph. That’s proof enough, don’t you think?” Gold took the ripped photo in question out of his vest, while Spring eyed him somewhat warily. 

  A small smiled found its way onto Gold’s muzzle as he looked at the photo. “Listen, what happened with that beaver, won’t happen to us,” Puppet began again, tone lowered. “I swear it.” Gold looked up to him. “No matter what the company does to us?” Puppet’s answer came in the form of a confident nod. 

  Meanwhile, at one of the dining tables, sat T. Fred and T. Bon. A couple months back, while Toy and Bonnie were upstairs reading in the boss’s office, Bonnie had stumbled across a wooden chess set. Every so often since then, people would take the set out to play, being sure to return it before the night ends. And tonight, it was the brothers’ turn to play the game.

  “Your move.” Bon told, having just moved his bishop. Fred’s eyes were carefully scanning the chess board, determining his next move. While the bear did that, something caught the corner of the bunny’s eye. A figure. Glancing over, Bon saw nothing there. 

  Blinking, the bunny looked around some more. He had to make sure he was only seeing things, and that nobody was standing in the corner watching him. “Bon?” He looked back towards Fred. “Your move.” He told, before then noticing the confusion in his brother’s emerald green eyes. 

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah. I just thought I saw something,” Bon answered. “It was nothing.” With that, the bunny looked back down to the chess board to play his next move. However, for the rest of the night, he wouldn’t be able to shake the feeling of being watched.

  Elsewhere in the room, Freddy was taking a moment to himself, sitting at one of the tables closest to a far corner. He was quietly resting his eyes for a bit. However, he opened them when he heard someone sitting down next to him. It was Chica. “Hey.” He greeted, sitting a little straighter. “Hi.” She answered, giving him a half-hearted smirk. 

  “You’ve been awfully quiet lately,” Freddy noted, watching as Carl hopped onto the table. “Are you doing alright?” He asked her. “Yeah…” Chica paused, Carl eyeing her. “No.” She instead confessed. “What is it?” The bear wondered. “I miss performing.” Chica told, violet eyes meeting his sapphire blue ones. Freddy gave a small sigh and shrug. “I know. I miss it too.”

  “Do you think we’ll ever perform again?” Chica asked, sounding uncharacteristically skeptical. “I’m sure we will,” Freddy began, tone lightening. “I mean, why else would the company keep us around if we won’t?” Chica processed the comment. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She agreed, still sounding a little glum. 

  “Hey, I have an idea.” The bear began again. “I remember how you used to bake sometimes at our old location.” Chica eyed him curiously. “Fred told me the kitchen is open. Maybe I could help you make something?”

  “Really?” Freddy nodded, smiling. Chica then smiled, too. “I’d love to!” She exclaimed happily, bring Carl up to her shoulder again who was also sporting the same happy expression as the two. “Well then, let’s go!”

Chapter Text

  Puppet sat on the edge of his closed gift box, somewhat deep in thought. It seemed as time went on, trying to keep up with Fazbear Entertainment’s business dealings became more and more difficult. So many new things were coming up, many new things being planned. A lot more to keep track of.

  For instance, there were plans to open a new pizzeria once the five year mark of their current location came. There were some ideas being tossed around for what they planned to do with said new location.

  There was also talk of a rental facility. Puppet was unable to learn much about it. What he did know, however, was that the company had ‘acquired’ brand new characters for this ‘sister location’. The company seemed to be considering opening two of these locations.

  While lost in thought, the Marionette nearly missed the blur of color from his peripheral vision. He blinked. Looking around the Prize Corner, Puppet was suddenly met with “Mangle”’s upside down face mere inches from his head. “Boo!”

  “If you’re trying to scare me,” The Marionette began, sounding nearly unfazed. “You’ll have to try harder than that.” Vixen smirked mischievously. “I know.~” Her gaze shifted from Puppet’s face, and to over his shoulder. With a puzzled look, he turned around and was met with Foxy jumping at him. 

  “GAH-!” He exclaimed, nearly falling off his box. The two foxes began to laugh in amusement, sharing a victorious high five. “Guys!” Puppet stood up again, recomposing himself as their laughter died down a bit. “Don’t you have anything better to be doing?”

  “We just be tryna pass th’ time.” Foxy answered, leaning against the large gift box. Puppet gave a small sigh. There really wasn’t a whole lot to do by way of entertainment. Some did have to go to lengths to have fun and kill time.

  Suddenly, the chime of 6AM resonated through the building. “Alright every body, time to get ready for the day.” Puppet told, more so to everyone nearby and not just the foxes. With a nod, Foxy and Vixen took their leave, Foxy to Parts and Service, Vix to Kid’s Cove. “And stay in one piece, Vix!”

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  Josh was reading over the note his boss had given him as he and his co-worker entered the building. “What the crap…?” The technician muttered. Jacob looked over to Josh. “What is it?”

   “Boss wants us to make sure the Puppet’s working right.” Josh started, looking to his co-worker as they walked through the building. “You wanna hear why?” Giving his colleague a confused look, Jacob accepted the note as Josh handed it to him. After a moment of reading over the note, Jacob then asked, “What the heck is ‘illusion-like puppetry’?”

  “Man, I don’t know.” Josh admitted, as the two made it to the Prize Corner. “Just get the thing out of it’s box, and we’ll check it over anyways.” Jacob mumbled an affirmative, removing the oversized gift box’s lid. He reached inside, and guided the Marionette out–who kept a neutral, non-aware looking expression on his face. “A’right, wake up.” Josh commanded. The Marionette blinked, and glanced between the two technicians, indicating he was ‘awake’.  

  “Okay, now what?” Jacob asked, placing his tool bag on the countertop. Josh re-read the note, letting out a sigh. “I dunno, dude. I didn’t even know this thing could do illusions.” Sticking the note in his pocket, Josh went to grab a plushie from off the shelf. “Let’s just see what this thing can do right now, and if there’s any problems, then we’ll fix it, I guess.”

  “If you say so, man.” Placing the Freddy plush on the counter, Josh looked up to Puppet. “You see this?” He nodded. “I want you to move it.” Already two steps ahead of the two technicians, the Marionette internalized his smug look. He picked the Freddy plush up by the sewed-on hat, and moved it over a few inches. Josh had a bit of a dumbfounded look on his face. Technically, that was what he’d asked.

  “No, like, make the plushie move without touching it.” Josh reiterated, moving the plush back to where he’d placed it before. Puppet merely gave the man a confused look. “Move it without touching it.” Josh repeated again, enunciating slowly to make sure he was being understood. Glancing to Jacob’s bag, Puppet noticed a wire cutter sticking out of a pocket. Taking the tool, he used it the shove the plush back over a few inches.

  “Give me that!” Josh snapped, snatching the tool from the Marionette’s hand. “This is stupid, man…” Jacob tried to say, before Josh cut him off–still addressing Puppet. “I want you to make this plush move without touching it at all!”

  “I don’t understand.” Puppet lied, keeping his tone impressively emotionless. “Give me the note.” Josh requested. Jacob hurriedly pulled it from his pocket, and gave it back to Josh, who read it over again. “What does the boss mean?!”

  “... Telekinesis?” Josh deadpanned, looking up to Jacob. “Yeah, thanks for the input, Yoda.” Jacob shrugged, crossing his arms. Josh then proceeded to read part of the note out loud. “He hasn’t been making the plushies move without touching them for a while. Look into that.” Sighing, Josh tried to think of what exactly Jenson was talking about. “Are the plushies battery-powered?”

  “No clue.” Jacob answered, shaking his head a little. Josh looked back to Puppet. “Can the toys move on their own?” A smart-mouthed response immediately came to mind. “Yes. The Toys have been ‘programmed’ to perform several-” He was cut off by Josh. “No! Not the robots!” He said, before clarifying. “The plushies! Are.They. Battery. Powered?”

  “No, they are not.” Puppet replied. Josh sighed, scratching the back of his head. “Okay, so, the boss seems to think this thing is telekinetic, or some crap.” He began, looking to his co-worker. “Since that is clearly not the case, I have a better idea.” Jacob arched his brow curiously, before Josh led him elsewhere.

  Puppet remained where he stood in the Prize Corner, looking to be puzzled as to what the two employees were up to. His gaze slowly glanced to the show stage, where the ‘Toys’ were giving him equally puzzled looks. He simple gave them a small shrug, indicating he knew nothing.

  Not long after, the employees returned. They had a small container with them. Josh placed the container on the Prize Counter, and opened it to reveal rolls of thread. “You got sewing needles in your bag?” Jacob nodded, already going through the smaller pockets of his tech sack. “Right here.”

  “Great.” Josh commented, pulling out a pocket knife to begin cutting strands of thread. The Marionette watched them warrily, becoming suspicious. “Alright.” Jacob then asked, “How many strings?” A beat of silence. “I’d say three. Two on one hand, one on another.”

  “Gotcha.” Puppet did his best to not let any emotion show on his face, or in his body language. However, that didn’t mean there wasn’t a small feeling on dread setting in. “Hand me the plush. I’ll sew the string to the plush first, and then you can hold the thing’s hands down while I thread it through it’s hands.”

  “Sure thing.” From the stage, the ‘Toys’ were quietly watching the scene before them. “Fred…?” Fredric quietly heard Toy begin, as she leaned in closer towards him. “What are they doing?” She whispered, brown furrowing in concern. The bear merely gave a subtle shrug and shake of his head. “I don’t know.”

  They continued to watch as the Marionette sat there and took it–’it’ being the employees sewing a plush to his hands. They watched every flinch that came from him when the two techs weren’t looking directly at him. Watched as he all-but-willed himself to not squirm as the sewing needle pierced his hands, drawing small amounts of dark blood as it did so.

  After was felt like an eternity, the Toys watched as the employees finally finished. The men then put Puppet back in his box, before packing up and leaving before the restaurant opened a couple hours afterwards.

Chapter Text

  The day was over once again, midnight rolling around. The moment it did, Bonbell was already off the stage and rushing towards the Prize Corner. There, the Marionette was leaning out of his box, his hands resting on the nearby counter where the plushy was also set, probably to take as much edge off from the toy’s weight on his hands as possible. “Puppet?!”

   The Marionette tiredly glanced up towards the bright blue bunny, looking completely tired out from that day. Bon carefully grabbed Puppet’s hands to get a look at them, being mindful to not jostle the plushy still attached to them. The thread attaching his hands to the plushy looked to not only be thread through Puppet’s fingers, but also in the palms of his hands. Probably to ensure the thread didn’t snap, or rip out.

  As the bunny looked over the Marionette’s hands, he noticed a stickiness to them. He blinked. “You’re bleeding.” Bon noted, just as Freddy came over to see what was going on. “What happened?”

  “Long… story…” Came Puppet’s tired reply, voice sounding void of energy. Freddy came up next to Bon, sapphire blue eyes widening at the sight before him. “Oh no… Who did this?” He quietly asked. “Couple of… employees. Per the… boss’s request.” Puppet slowly answered. Gently placing Puppet’s hands back onto the counter, Bon told, “I’m going to go get the first aid kit.”

  “Yeah, okay.” With that, the bunny rushed off. Freddy glanced about, and noticed Toy standing nearby. “Toy, could you bring a chair over?” She nodded. Looking back to the Marionette, the bear then offered, “Let me help you up. You look uncomfortable.” A quiet “thanks” was heard, as Puppet let himself be helped out of the large gift box. He then shakily sat down in the chair Toy pulled over to the counter.

  “Got it!” Bon announced, coming back to the Corner. Setting the kit down on the counter, the bunny found a small pair of scissors he assumed were for cutting bandages, but in this instance, would work fine for cutting the thread. Freddy stepped back, and watched as Bon took care of the Marionette’s hands. 

  It didn’t take much time for Bonbell to undo what the technicians had done. However, considering how deep some of the needle’s had been thread, it would take some time for the more internal injuries to heal. So, once his hands were cleaned and wrapped up, Puppet was left to rest in his box for the rest of the night. He would need the energy for the following day, as he’d had to perform once again.

❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈

  “It didn’t used to be like this, Gold!” Freddy vented to his older brother, as he paced inside the ‘Parts and Service’ room. “I know.” Gold simply answered, leaning against one walls as his brother paced. “I mean, do you remember the boss and employees being like this back in the diner?” Gold shook his head ‘no’, before then saying, “But, the diner also had different management back then.”  

  With a huff, Freddy finally sat down against the wall. Gold slid down to the floor next to his brother. “Is this how it has to be?” The younger bear began, giving his brother a sad look. “Do we get to be stuck in this position for the rest of our lives?”

  “Some ‘life’, huh?” Gold commented, leaning his head against the wall behind him. “This can’t be right…” Freddy contested. “But, accordin’ to the humans, this is perfectly fine.” The golden bear reminded him, a sarcastic lilt in his southern tone. “And there’s nothin’ we can do to change it.”

  “It’s not fair.” The younger bear complained, leaning his head against his brother’s shoulder. Gold pulled his half photo from his violet vest’s pocket for the umpteenth time. He looked at the happy, innocent expressions on both him and his brother’s faces. They both looked so young in the photo, and carefree. Freedom to do whatever they wanted. 

  “I know it’s not,” He began. “I don’t think it’s right for us to have this question of our freedom, like we do.” The two then fell quiet for a moment, or two. “But, best not to dwell on it.” Gold told, trying to lighten the tone a bit. “We’d do best to make the most of what we have now.”

  “I guess.” Freddy mumbled. “Somewhat speaking off…” Gold earned a curious glance from his younger brother at that. “I’ve been noticin’ how you and Chica seem to be close with one another.” Gold commented, smirk clear on his muzzle. “Well, of course I’m close with my gang, Gold. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “That’s not what I meant.” The golden bear clarified, a knowing look on his face. “I mean, y’all remind me of Spring and Shine.” Freddy’s eyes quickly widened. “It’s not like that!” He denied, suddenly averting eye contact. The golden bear laughed a little. “If you say so.” He left it at that, more for the other’s sake. But, he still found it amusing.

Chapter Text

  “So you mean to tell me it was all in my head?” Dale Jenson asked his employee, who was sitting on the other side of his desk. Jacob gave a short, hesitant nod. At that, Jenson slowly began to laugh. As though he’d been told a funny joke. Jacob began to laugh, though nervously, in a confused response. “Jacob, do you value your job at all?”
  “What-?” The employee blinked. “Well, I mean, yeah. Yeah, sure I do.” He answered, a little off-put by the question. Jenson’s laughter suddenly ceased. “Then if you want to keep this job,” He began, putting out his cigarette bud on a small tray. “I expect better from what I ask of you!”

  “But sir, that puppet thing isn’t telekinetic!” Jacob reiterated once again. “Listen here,” Jenson refuted him, pointing a finger to the other man. “I know what I saw!” He said angrily. “Now, if I send you back down there, are you going to get that stupid thing working again, or not?!” Jacob’s gaze shifted to a spot on the wall behind his boss. “... No.”

  “GET OUT!” The employee blinked. “W-What?” Dale gestured to his office door. “You heard me, you’re FIRED!” Jacob scowled a little, got up, and stormed out of his boss’s office—now headed for the unemployment office.

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  In a moment of spontaneity, and also group-wide boredom, almost everyone in the Pizzeria were engaged in a large game of hide and seek. The first round had already begun, with Toy sat on the sole table in Kids Cove counting to sixty, while everyone else ran off to hide anywhere subtle they could slip in to.

  Foxy and Vixen had decided to stay together, as they hastily made their way down the hallways. “I know just the place to hide!” Vix whispered to him, as she led him over to one of the party rooms. Foxy went into the room, but paused when Mangle seemed to suddenly stop in her tracks. “Lass?”

  “... Look!” Peering out of the party room’s doorway, Foxy glanced over to the security office. There was an employee sat at the desk, going about his duties as the night guard. Mangle’s eyes narrowed. “That’s him!” She quietly exclaimed. “The guy who hurt the Marionette!”

  “That landlubber do look familiar…” Foxy commented, trying to think of where he’d seen the guy before. “Aye! He be the same landlubber who hurt me and me crew!” He told, features twisting in anger. “I think he aught to be taught a lesson…!” Mangle said, to which Foxy nodded in agreement. “Aye!”

  “Fifty-Nine… Sixty!” Toy exclaimed, hopping off the party table. “Ready or not, here I come-!” The chicken was interrupted by the sound of a man yelling. “What the…?!” Running out of Kids Cove, she caught sight of the night guard running to the building’s exit. Puppet was watching in confusion, too. 

  “And don’t ye come back, ye bilge rat!” Foxy yelled, as he and Mangle stood in the doorway leading to the hallways. They watched as the man fumbled with his keys for a minute, before unlocked the door and bolting out to the parking lot. The foxes both gave a nod, happy to see the human gone. The Marionette approached the duo, Toy following after him. “Guys, what are you doing?”

  “That was him, Puppet!” Mangle told, figuring he’d know who she meant. Puppet gave her a puzzled look. “That’s the guy who sewed the plush to your arms!” Foxy then added, “And who tried ta tear us apart!” Puppet blinked, crossing his arms. “And you thought that chasing him off would do any good?”

  “Well- I mean, he hurt you!” Mangle tried to reason. “You guys are going to set yourselves up badly if you keep this up!” Puppet reprimanded them. “I…” Vixen and Foxy exchanged glances. “I’m… sorry.”

  “Look,” The Marionette continued, tone softening a little. “I know the company doesn’t treat us well, I can’t pretend like they do. But, taking to terrorizing the employees will only make things worse.” Both foxes’ heads were hung low. “It won’t… happen again.” Mangle said.

  “Do you guys um… want me to count longer?” Toy then offered. Foxy shook his head ‘no’. “Nah, go ‘n find the ot’ers, we’ll be sittin’ out.” With that, he and Mangle walked off. Toy sighed, before continuing on with the game.

❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈

  The front doors of the building were now unlocked, as the employee was in too much of a hurry to leave to remember to lock the doors. The golden bear noticed this, while looking for somewhere quiet to sit alone, by himself. Stepping outside, he noticed a bench by the sidewalk in front of the building. He hummed, walking over to sit on it.

  Gold stared forward, taking in a breath. He needed to clear his head, maybe the fresh air would help. He looked up to the dark blue sky. He could make out a few clouds slowly floating along freely, though the stars were seemingly invisible. That was probably due to the light pollution. Either way, it didn’t matter to Gold. For someone who rarely went outside, it was nice to get out at all.

   Seeing the vast expense above him made the bear realize just how big the world was. And yet, with how big it was, he and those he cared about had ended up with quite possibly the worst lot. Being stuck to be controlled by humans, forced to bend over and do as they’re told. No choice, no freedom.

  But, had it always been like this? Reaching into the inside of his vest’s pocket, Gold pulled out his half photograph. He looked down to the younger versions of himself and his brother. It always pain him to see the abounding hope in their younger selves’ expressions.

  One could tell the obvious child-like bliss in their expressions. It was obvious that the two children had hopes of a wonderful life with a bright future. So much innocence was captured in that one photo. Innocence that Gold had lost since their arrival to the family diner, and that his brother lost when the diner closed.

  He missed the days when his brother had no care in the world and was full of hope. Even though Gold did have days where hope seemed bleak, his brother would always be able to build him up again. Gold sighed, knowing he’d probably never see his little brother like that again.

  Closing his eyes, the bear tried his hardest to remember anything before the opening of the diner. It didn’t matter what, so long as he could remember it.

❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈

  “... Look! She’s happy to see you two!”

  “... Very good, son!”

  “... proud of you… both…”

  “... This truck… go…”

  “... Watch it…!”

❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈-❈

  Gold was pulled from his vague memories when he heard a sudden, and loud gust of wind. He hummed to himself, and standing up, he found it odd that he didn’t feel any breeze. Though, that wind was probably a sign of the weather changing. With that, he turned around and went back inside the building.

Chapter Text

  “What was that?” The sound of murmurs began to fill the room, everyone asking the same question. A huge gust of what seemed to be wind had suddenly gone through the building. It was strange, and it also left everyone feeling as though something had changed. Nobody could seem to pinpoint what the change was, as they weren’t even sure how a gust of wind had come through the entire building.

  While still trying to figure out himself what had happened, Puppet was approached by Gold. “I need to talk with you.” He said, still holding onto his photograph. The Marionette looked at him. “You felt it too?” He wondered. Gold gave his friend a small, puzzled look. “Felt what?”

  “Something’s changed, and I… I don’t know how to explain it, but I can just… feel it,” Puppet explained, though with some difficulty. “Don’t you feel it?” Gold sighed a little and shook his head ‘no’. “I felt nothin’,'' He began. “Look, I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, but I have to ask you somethin’.” Gold said, trying to change the subject.

  Puppet blinked. “You didn’t feel it?” That fact seemed a little impossible to him. The bear slowly shook his head ‘no’, truly clueless to what his friend was talking about. The Marionette had a bit of a dumbfounded look on his masked face. “Can whatever ‘it’ is wait a moment?” Puppet sighed a little in defeat. “Fine, I guess. What is it?”

  “How much do you remember about our pasts?” Gold asked, wasting no time beating around the bush. “What? Gold, you know I can’t remember anything either.” Puppet reminded him, crossing his arms in a casual manner. Gold shook his head. “I don’t believe you.” The bear told, keeping a piercing stare into Puppet’s eyes. “What do you mean you ‘don’t believe me’? I… I wouldn’t lie about this.”

  “I just feel as though you know more than you let on.” Gold argued, before saying, “Like the other day, when you, me and Spring were talkin’. Spring asked if we even had pasts, to which you replied we do–as if you know that.” Puppet’s semi-casual demeanor slowly melted, gaze falling for a moment. He had to think of an answer that would get the golden bear off his case, without telling too much. “So, what if I did? What would you say then?”

  “I’d ask you why you aren’t just bein’ honest about it.” Gold answered, hands forming weak fists at his sides subconsciously. “I wouldn’t appreciate the secrecy, especially with how long we’ve known each other.” The Marionette stepped closer to Gold, lowering his voice somewhat. “Listen, I’ll admit it, I do know more than most of you,” He began, tone becoming more serious. “But I can’t tell you anything.”

  “Why would you hide that?” Gold asked, his southern tone remaining at its regular volume. “I… can’t explain why, I’m sorry.” Puppet answered, looking apologetic. “Will you just… trust me if I say it’s for your own good?”

   The golden bear didn’t know how to react to this. He finally broke eye contact, expression becoming embittered as he looked away. “I’m protecting you all by doing this.” Puppet added in a somewhat pleading manner.  “... Fredbear, please, trust me-”

  “... don’t call me that.” Gold muttered lowly. “Sorry?” The bear closed his dark eyes for a brief moment. “Nevermind.” He said in a more clear tone, looking back up to his ‘friend’. Gold turned around and began his walk back to the storage room he and Spring had been hiding out in. “Gold, wait.”

  “What.” Gold paused, though didn’t turn around to face the Marionette. “Are… Are you sure you didn’t feel anything?” At that, an exasperated sigh sounded from the bear before he answered with, “No, I didn’t.” With that, Gold vanished from Puppet’s sight.

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  Dale Jenson had just arrived at his office that morning, not long before the restaurant would be opening once more. He took a sip of his coffee before placing it on top of his desk, while sitting down himself.

  Pulling out the envelope he’d acquired the day before, he opened it. Inside was a payment for the man he’d hired not long ago. He was still surprised that he’d taken the recommendation from the small competitor. The same company who’d bought the Spring Shine “animatronic” off the Family Diner’s owners.

  As he was counting to be sure the full amount was there, he heard a knock at his door. “Come in.” Jenson announced, placing the cash back into the envelope. The door was opened by a man who was more than well on in his years. Although, it was hard to tell, thanks to the dark overshadowing clothing he seemed to wear all the time.

  “Did you do the ‘deed’?” Jenson asked curiously, to which the other man simply nodded. “Now, you will have no worries about nature taking its timely course.” The man began to answer. “They will never change.” Jenson had a grateful grin on his face, as he held out the envelope. “I’ll have to take your word for it.” He said, as the man took the cash.

  “Don’t worry, it’s all there.” The man nodded, before leaving. Jenson looked away for a brief moment, and when he looked back up, the man had vanished. Dale stood up from his desk and looked out the office door—thinking he’d see the man leaving—before shrugging it off.

   As he sat back down, he noticed something. “Where is my chess set?”

Chapter Text

  With some help from Fredrick, Chica was sewing away at the small tears in Freddy’s vest. Earlier, she had found a small metal box stored in the back room, whose contents consisted of a couple sizes of sewing needles, and two colors of thread. Black and light gray. 

  Choosing the black thread, Chica figured it would look less obvious than the gray against Freddy’s almost dark brown—almost black—polished cotton vest, and it’s small handful of black buttons.

   “I think that’s it.” Chica said, as she used a very small pair of scissors to cut the thread. “Very well done.” Fred complimented, as she held up the vest to get a better look at it. “Cupcake!” Carl said, although Chica interpreted it as also a compliment on her sewing job.

  “Here you go, Freddy!” She exclaimed, getting up to give the piece of clothing to the bear. “Thanks!” Freddy responded, as he put the vest on while also getting a look at it. The vest looked to be brand new. 

  “Nice to see you all patching yourselves up.” The Marionette commented, making his way over to the three. Freddy glanced over to him. “Oh, thanks. I think?” Puppet smirked. “Actually, it’s a good thing,” He began, Fredrick and Chica also looked at him. “I have some news for everyone.” Puppet told, raising his voice a little to get everyone else’s attention. It worked, as pretty much everyone in the room approached the table the four were gathered at. Freddy then asked, “What’s the news?”

  “Well, from what I’ve been hearing, a new location will be opening just a town over.” The Marionette answered, continuing with, “It won’t be as big as this place, but they’ll be needing mascots for that location anyways.” Puppet was earning many curious looks. He looked at Freddy and his gang. “You four will be going to that location.”

  “Really?” He nodded, answering Bonnie. The ‘originals’ all exchanged glances that appeared to be only a little bit excited. Their expressions looked more conflicted, in truth. “When would this be?” Freddy asked him. “In about A week, I think.” The bear hummed.

  “Aren’t you guys excited?” Puppet wondered. The four looked back to him. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’re happy that we’ll get to perform again, but…” Freddy’s words trailed off. His British replacement picked up on what the other bear was trying to say. “You’d miss us?” All four nodded. The Marionette hummed. “What?”

  “Maybe you wouldn’t have to miss each other.” Puppet said, looking as though a lightbulb had gone off in his head. “What d’ye mean?” Foxy asked curiously. “I’m sure I could easily find a way for you guys to keep in touch. A phone number, maybe?” A few peoples’ expressions lit up a bit. “You really think we could just call each other?”

  “Sure! Why not?” Puppet told with a shrug. “I could arrange that, no problem.” Smiles grew following that statement, as the mood seemed to have lightened. After all of them being excused by the Marionette, everyone continued on their night, now seeming excited about the new location.

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  The new location’s storage room felt more like a broom closet. Gold never really found himself to be claustrophobic, but found this to be the rare exception. Not long after waking up, did the golden bear notice the absence of his old friend. His first thoughts, were that he’d probably been left behind at the Toys’ location, or maybe he was taken to one of the company’s warehouses which Puppet had mentioned a few times.

  Sighing to himself, the bear got up and went to open the room’s door. He was surprised to find it locked–from the outside, no less. Rolling his dark eyes a little, Gold instead opted for teleporting out of the room. A moment was all it took for him to realize he couldn’t do that. He’d never seen the rest of this building before, meaning he couldn’t teleport elsewhere. He realized this meant it would take him trying to visualize what the other side of the door looked like if were ever to teleport out.

  Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building, the main four were already awake and exploring the newer, and smaller location. It looked to have been decorated for the upcoming winter holiday of Christmas, every decoration appearing to be brand new as opposed to the old and re-used ones from their first location. It was a nice change.

  “This place seems bigger than our old location, don’t it, Freddy?” Bonnie asked, having met back up with the bear in the main dining area. “Yeah, sure looks like it, Bon.” Freddy agreed, taking another glance around. “‘Ave any of ye seen Puppet?” Foxy suddenly asked, also making his way back to the dining area. Bonnie shook his head ‘no’, Freddy responding with, “I take it by your question, you haven’t seen him either?”

  “Nay, Cap’n.” Foxy answered with a shrug and a shake of his head. Then, Chica and Carl came back to the room, too. “Cupcake!” Carl cried out, followed by Chica translating with, “We haven’t seen him, either.” The bear hummed, a thought coming to him. “They must’ve left him back with the Toys, then.”

  “Ye t’ink?” Freddy nodded, Bonnie commenting, “He did have a pretty good set up in that ‘Prize Corner’, in my opinion.” Everyone seemed to agree with that. “Well, then,” The group’s leader began again. “In that case, we have nothing to worry about!”

  “What are we worryin’ about?” Gold asked, having suddenly appeared behind his younger brother. Freddy, nearly jumping out of his skin in fright, stumbled forward a little. Turning around sharply, he all-but-glared at his older brother. “Gold…! What was that for?” The older bear gave a shrug. “My bad, still learnin’ the layout of this place is all.”

  “Sure…” Brushing his brother’s suspicious glare off, Gold then asked, “What were y’all talkin’ about?” Composing himself, Freddy answered, “We came to the conclusion that Puppet’s probably back at the last location, since none of us could find him.” The golden bear hummed. “That must be where Springtrap is too.”

  “Um, ‘Springtrap’? Wait, do you mean SpringBonnie?” Gold nodded in answer to his brother’s question. “He’s decided to go by ‘Springtrap’ now. It’s mainly to avoid any confusion, but we also heard from Puppet that accordin’ to the humans, ‘SpringBonnie’ no longer exists.” He explained, a small sigh tagging onto the end of his words. “Oh, that’s odd.”

  “Yeah, but that’s the company for ya.” Freddy hummed. “Unfortunately.”

Chapter Text

    Three of the now group of four, were sitting together at one of the tables. Bonbell and Fredrick were engaged in another game of chess, while Mangle merely messed with a party hat that one of the closing employees must’ve missed. She sighed boredly. “It’s really quiet without them.” The fox commented, to which the bunny agreed with, “Yeah, it is.”

  “I wonder how Puppet’s gonna get us in touch with them?” Mangle then wondered. Fred gave a shrug. “I’m not sure.” He answered somewhat slowly, as he was simultaneously thinking of what his next move should be. Just as the bear began to move one of his rooks, Toy suddenly hurried into the room. “Guys! Guess what I found?!”

  “What?” Toy handed a small slip of paper to Fred. He read it over. “A phone number?” He asked, eyebrow raised in a puzzle manner. “Not just any phone number,” She began, looking excited. “It’s the phone number of the others’ location!” Mangle’s tail’s pace picked up a little, as she sat a little straighter. “It is?”

  “Yup!” Toy answered, smiling. Fred then gave her a curious look. “Where exactly did you get this?” He asked her. “The boss’ office.” Bon them added, “Were you snooping?” Toy chuckled a bit nervously. “I was uh, just trying to um… find more books to read since I uh… read them all…” The bunny shook his head a little. 

  “Should we try calling it, Fred?” Vix asked eagerly. The bear hummed. “I suppose so, but I’m not certain they’d answer it. What if it calls the security office?” Fredrick speculated. “Let’s just try and see, no harm, right?” Toy suggested with a shrug. Fred gave a half nod, before getting up from his seat. “I suppose not.” He began. “I assume there’s a phone in the office?”

  “Yep!” Toy confirmed, as the four made their way to the other room. Upon arriving to Jenson’s office, Fred stood surrounded by his troup–or ‘siblings’—as they eagerly waited to see what would happen when he dialed the number. After having dialed, the bear held the receiver up and waited for someone to answer.

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    “Hey.” Chica greeted, walking up to Freddy. He’d been standing by a window in the building’s front entry area, watching the snow as it fell from the darkened sky. “Oh, hi.” The bear greeted in return, giving her a smile. “What’re you doing?” She wondered. “Just watching the snowfall. It’s oddly calming, really.”

  “It sure looks like it.” Chica agreed, looking out the window. As she did, the bear took notice of something. “Where’s Carl?” Freddy wondered. “Hm? Oh, he’s taking a nap.” She answered, before then explaining, “I found this little nook in the storage room, and he’s claimed it as his own.” The chicken told with a small giggle. The bear simply smirked and shook his head a little.

  As the two fell silent again, a thought came into Freddy’s mind. There was something he’d been wanting to tell Chica, and now seemed as good a time as ever. If he were to put it off much longer, he would probably end up never telling her at all. Subtly nodding to himself, the bear spoke up. “Chica?

  “Hmm?”

  “There’s something I’d like to… tell you.” Chica gave the bear a curious look. “Oh? Okay, what is it?” The bear paused a moment as he simply looked into her violet eyes. “I… um-” The moment was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. The two listened, assuming it was coming from the security office. “It’s coming from the front counter.” Chica pointed out, spotting said phone just nearby. Freddy hummed. “Who would be calling the front counter at this time of night?” He wondered. “No clue. Should we answer it?” Chica suggested. The bear gave a shrug, making his way over to the counter. 

  Picking up the phone, Freddy stayed quiet and listened to see who it was. The other end was also silent, as though the caller was waiting for him to speak. After a beat of awkward silence, a familiar voice finally spoke up. “Hello?”

  “... T. Fred?” Freddy asked, sapphire eyes widening a little. “Freddy? That you ol’ chap?” Fredrick asked, to which Freddy confirmed with, “Yeah! It’s Freddy!” He said, happily. Chica smiled, having put two and two together. “How are you guys?” Freddy then asked, leaning against the counter as he spoke. “We’re doing grand, thank you. And yourselves? I assume you all made it there safely?”
  “Yep, we did. All five of us are settled in.” Freddy answered. Fred paused for a second, doing a mental headcount. Counting his own troup, plus Springtrap made five. So, going by that, then there should be six people at the new location. 

  “Hey, is Spring with you guys?” Freddy then wondered. “Hm? Oh, he is, yes.” Fred answered, being broken from his train of thought. “You say there’s five of you?” Fredrick then began. “Did they not bring your brother with you guys?” Freddy’s brow arched, puzzled. “What? No, he’s with us.”

  “Okay. I was simply wondering because you said five.” Freddy’s eyes narrowed, as he slowly answered with, “Yes…?” Fred mumbled an ‘oh dear’. “Is Puppet with you guys?” Came the English bear’s next question. Freddy blinked. “... No. No, he isn’t. We thought he’d been left with you guys.”

  “No, unfortunately he wasn’t.” Fred confessed. Freddy gave Chica a worried look, while she simply looked confused–unknowingly sharing said expression with everyone on the other end of the line. This wasn’t good. If he wasn’t with the Toys, and he wasn’t with Freddy and his gang, then… the Marionette was missing.