Hey Guys, I'm not a fan of long Author's notes so I'll keep this short. Just wanted to say, I don't own any of FNAF, and this story will not be following the canon. Too complicated and too depressing.
"Crap, crap, crap…" he muttered to himself as he stared down at the unmoving night guard on the floor. He returned his attention to the four menacing figures in front of him, their faces displaying a mix of shock, fear, and anger. Tightening his grip on his electric weapon, he held his defensive stance waiting for one of the four robots to make a move. How had it come to this?
"Mike… it's me, it's me. Please… come back, it's me…"
Blinking awake, Mike Schmidt, a twenty-one year old college student with messy brown hair, stared groggily into the wooden bed frame above him. 'Another nightmare…' The light footsteps he heard told him his roommate was already up and probably preparing for the first day of summer holidays. Groaning and moving his pillow onto his face, Mike began to drift back asleep, just a few more minutes...
"Idiot, wake up."
Removing the pillow from his face, Mike stared up at the figure standing above him. Matt, his long brown-haired roommate and best friend stared down at Mike impatiently. "C'mon, idiot, it's already eleven, and you haven't even gotten up."
After a few rinses of cold water to the face, Mike stared up at his reflection. Baggy eyes and a bedhead, damn he was a mess. Ever since those nightmares started a few weeks ago, Mike had been getting even less sleep than usual. Each of them was always the same, an eerie voice calling out to him for help and to come back, but he had no idea what they meant. At first he'd thought the weekly college all-nighters had finally gotten to him, but the frightening dreams persisted. The voice seemed so familiar, and yet he still couldn't place it. Realizing he was getting sidetracked, he quickly finished up before running out after Matt, who had already left without him.
Lunch was good, and it was great to finally see some of his friends who had been as swamped as him from the school year. Mike silently listened into their small talk.
"Did you you guys hear? There was another murder at that creepy pizzeria."
"Oh gods, not another one, who was it this time?
"Another night guard..."
"At Freddy's? Wasn't he just missing?"
"Oh c'mon, we all know that night guard's dead. People don't just go missing, Matt."
Mike decided to remain silent and tune out; he wasn't a fan of talk about Freddy's. After the group parted, Matt and Mike began heading back to their apartment for some much needed time to rest after exams.
"So, you staying in engineering next year?" asked Matt, as they strolled around the mall.
"Dunno, not been going well, and I don't think college's really for me. I think the all-nighters are starting to get to me too. I might just take a year off… I'm gonna stay with my parents for the summer anyways."
"Just come back and visit if you do, hey?"
Back home, Mike had finished the rest of his packing and opened up his laptop. The conversation from earlier was peaking his curiosity. Giving in, he hopped onto the news, scrolling through the mostly unexciting stories until he found it. Pizzeria Under Investigation of Missing Persons. Another missing night guard. As he read through the article, memories of the pizzeria began resurfacing.
Back when he was young, he lived awfully close to that local pizzeria, Freddy's, and he loved it there. He'd probably visited every second week at least, always glad to see the always smiling faces of the four animatronics there. At the time, he'd thought they were sentient, actual people who cared and loved him, but Mike had long dismissed that as nostalgia twisting his childish memories. He loved the place, till that one unfortunate day that sparked the never-ending controversy surrounding the franchise. As much as Mike had tried to suppress it, he remembered that day all too well: the day his little brother, Mark, went missing at the pizzeria.
November 12th, 1985, the day before his little brother's birthday, Mike had snuck out of class early to visit the pizzeria, only being fifteen minutes away. He knew he'd get yelled at for skipping, but he needed to make sure his brother's first birthday at Freddy's would be extra special. Jogging through the streets, he saw the small, yet bright building in the distance. Bolting in through Freddy's glass doors, 9 year-old Michael Schmidt impatiently looked around the near empty restaurant for his favourite animatronic. Spotting him near the stage holding his guitar, he dashed over to say hi. Noticing the boy, the bunny's smile widened as he set down his guitar to pick up the child.
"Bonnie! Bonnie! Hi!"
"You're here early Mikey, hehe!" responded Bonnie, as he lifted Mike up and into his arms.
"Yeah, I needed to come early! My little brother's birthday is tomorrow and I need to make sure it's the BEST birthday EVER!"
"Of course it will be, little Michael," responded another approaching animatronic. Mike turned his gaze over to the large brown bear walking towards them. Smiling, Freddy assured, "Leave your brother's birthday to us, we'll be sure it's the best in the world."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
As Mike led his little brother through the doors of Freddy's the next day, it was obvious the small golden haired birthday boy was afraid. Despite Mike's constant tales of excitement about the place, the little boy still shivered.
"Don't worry, everyone here is really nice! You'll love it," assured Mike, sensing Mark's anxiety.
The day started wonderfully. Mike's little brother had met Freddy first, and though he was afraid, he eventually opened up to big bear. The animatronic bear carried the small boy around, introducing him to the gang. Eventually, as other children arrived, Mike and his brother split from the animatronics as they prepared for the show.
Children were screaming, excited to see the giant curtain on the stage open. Taking their positions, the four animatronics began their usual routine. As the large red curtains folded open, Freddy stepped forward, "Are you ready for Freddy?" The piercing screams of children replied, but Mike's brother stayed silent. After a few songs, Freddy called out, "Now for our next song, we'll be needing a little help from our special birthday boy!" The children all turned to look at the small golden haired boy who sat shaking.
"C'mon, go up!" Mike nudged.
"N-no I can't… I-I'm scared..."
"Afraid?" Freddy replied, "that's Ok! Perhaps you'd like your brother to come up with you?"
Hesitating, the small boy nodded. Holding hands, the two climbed up the stage. "Alright, gang, are we ready to show Mark how we do things at Freddy's?" Nodding at the cue, the gang started their song.
Slowly, Mark's chattering teeth and anxious look faded away into excitement as he listened to the song, clutching his brother's hand. As the chorus came, all the children joined in, including Mike. Finally, the song faded away, and applause erupted, slightly startling the small boy, but eventually his smile took over. "I hope this never ends," whispered the small boy.
As the show came to an end, the two brother's left the stage and split into their groups of friends to hang around until the cake arrived. Through all the excitement, everybody failed to notice the dark figure enter the building.
The rest of the party was nothing but a blur to Mike. The day was full of excitement; a large birthday cake carried out by Chica, the tales of thrilling adventures by Foxy, and the soft music of Bonnie's guitar accompanied by Freddy's singing wore the day away. As the last of the children left, there was only Mike's family left. After hugging goodbye to Bonnie and promising to come back soon, Mike searched around for his brother. Noticing a man heading to the entrance, Mike wondered who he was. He didn't remember seeing him during the party. As he walked over, the man noticed him, and make a quickened his pace to the entrance, exiting the glass doors before Mike could say a word. "He's weird," Mike thought as he headed back to his parents.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Mike stared forward at the computer screen. As he closed down his laptop, he thought back to that tragic day. He was certain that man was to blame, and yet he couldn't bear to think about it. There were no more tears; Mike had shed far too many already, and all that was left was a dull aching feeling. For a second, Mike stiffened at a strange presence, and glanced behind is back. Seeing nothing, he began to relax.
"It's me… Mike… please. Come back,"
Mike shuddered. He could've sworn he just heard…
"Can't you hear me Mike…? It's me..."
Suddenly the realization began to dawn on him. That voice, it was him...
"It's me…"
"Mark!"
He felt the presence fading, but he was certain he knew who it was. The voice that haunted him for weeks, the voice that had an eerie pitch to it: it was his brother's. Though it was distorted, he was convinced it was Mark. He called out, but all he met was silence. Scratching his head, Mike began to think maybe he was going crazy. PTSD or something.
"It's me... come back. Please, help me..."
As the voice faded away, Mike felt the presence completely disappear, and assumed the strange voice was gone. Was that really his brother calling to him for help? Mike wasn't quite sure, but he knew he needed to do something, but where did he have to go to help him? Mike lay on his bed to think. Perhaps his brother's ghost was trapped somewhere? Maybe the pizzeria? Squeezing his head, he realized how crazy it all sounded. Imaginary voices? Haunted Pizzerias? Maybe he'd finally snapped. Crazy or not, Mike knew one thing. He was damn well gonna figure this out.
So, first time writing fanfiction, hope it turned out alright. I'd love to hear what you guys think in reviews. So anyways, thanks for reading and expect a new chapter soon! I'm looking forward to completing this story.