Michael was walking down the street after a long day at school, going slowly to waste time. If he wasted enough time, he wouldn't have to help his dad out at his diner. He usually had to help clean up after all the little kids who came to Fred Bear's Family Diner to see the two animatronics that his dad's business partner, Henry, had built. Michael didn't see the big deal about the two animatronics, Fredbear and Bonnie the Bunny. After all, who had ever heard of a golden bunny or a golden bear?
His little brother, Alex, actually liked the animatronics. He considered them his friends, and he liked to pretend that Fredbear was always with him as his best friend. He was kind of a weird kid.
His little sister, Elisabeth, was the same way, without the weird Psychic Friend Fredbear thing. She liked Bonnie best, and was always doting on Henry to see what other ideas he had for an animatronic. She liked the idea of a little girl one, but Henry was always saying she'd have to wait and see what he did. Michael had a sneaking suspicion that his dad might help Henry with building a little girl one for her. His dad didn't like many kids, but he did love his own.
"Hey! Mike!" Michael turned around, and saw his friend Charlie running up. "Wait up!"
Charlie was Henry's daughter, and she was one of the other few kids who thought that the animatronics were really weird. The other kids who saw them thought that Charlie and Michael were mad, and thought that the fact that Charlie and Michael got to be up close and personal with Bonnie and Fredbear made them really lucky. Neither kid would mention that they had been having birthday parties at Fredbear's Family Diner since they were born, nor would they let it loose that Bonnie and Fredbear were also suits. You took out their endoskeletons, turned a few spring locks, and a person could go inside.
"Hey, Charlie." He muttered as she reached him, and she sighed.
"Guess you're heading for the diner, huh?" Michael nodded. "Me too. My dad mentioned though that he was working on some new animatronics. Said that two other companies reached out to him and asked him to make them some animatronics."
"Really?" Michael asked, barely interested. "Like what?"
"Well, he finished one. It's a Marionette puppet that hides in a present box. He's also partially a security method, to keep kids from running out the door by accident. He's a little creepy looking, but I kind of like him."
"Is he going to go in the diner at all?" Michael asked, and Charlie nodded.
"Yeah, for a little while. Dad wants to see if he works right, so he's going to go into the diner until the other animatronics are done. I think he's actually going to build that one that your sister wants him to build."
"No kidding?" That caught Michael's attention. He never thought that he would hear that.
"It's for one of them companies that reached out to him." She explained. "Circus Baby's Pizza World, I think it's going to be called. They're going to have some sort clown, circusy theme, I guess. Dad says he's going to give them the puppet, a clown girl called Baby, a ballerina, and a little boy who gives out balloons. I think he's even testing an idea on a fox, so he's giving them a girlish version, and your dad actually suggested they get their own version of Fredbear and Bonnie."
"Why do you think he did that?" Michael asked.
"Probably to promote the company, since Fredbear and Bonnie are so significant. Dad calls them the Funtime versions. Funtime Freddy with a BonBon hand puppet. The fox is going to be called Funtime Foxy so that when he builds the fox he wants for us, he can just call it Foxy."
"What's the other company?"
"The other companies not going to be so big." Charlie told him as they turned onto the street. "They're making a party place for the mall, so they're only getting one big animatronic and a few small ones. The big one's a chicken, and she has some little cupcakes around her."
"A chicken and her cupcakes, huh?" Michael nodded, not really caring, but it was better than silence. And Charlie was nice to talk to.
They reached Fredbear's Family Diner, where they found Michael's mother, Barbara, and Charlie's father Henry carrying a large present box, both huffing under the weight of it as Elisabeth held the door open for them. "Do you guys need any help?" Michael asked warily.
"We've got it, Michael, thank you!" Barbara gasped as Henry directed her towards the door.
"Where's your husband?" Henry muttered. "Shouldn't he be helping us?"
"You know him! Off doing his thing!" She grumbled, before they reached the stage where Fredbear and Bonnie were standing in animatronic mode, though both were off for now. They'd probably be on later, or the two workers who went inside would be controlling them. Either way, it'd be weird.
"Ah! Michael! Charlie! There you are!" William, Michael's father, came out of the back office, and handed them each a bracelet, Michael's blue and Charlie's green. "You'll have to wear these tonight. This is how the Security Puppet will keep an eye on you. Because we're testing it's system to make sure children don't get lost, we need as many people as we can to wear the bracelets tonight."
"So why do we have to wear them?" Michael asked, putting his on. "Shouldn't only the customers wear them?"
"It's just for the test, son." William assured him, patting his shoulder. "Don't worry. Both Alex and Elisabeth will be wearing them as well, so don't feel left out."
"Will! Friend!" Henry called, coming over. "There you are! We were looking for you!" William smiled at Henry.
"Sorry, I have been swamped with calls all day from Mr. Jay about his animatronics. Simply keeps coming up with ideas! Now he wants a balloon boy, and a balloon girl! Said he wanted equal treatment, of all things!" Henry shook his head.
"Well, the balloon girl will have to wait. I'm still working on Mr. Cawthon's chicken. I've grown quite attached to her really. Even gave her a name for him to use."
"What do you call her?" William asked, pulling another bracelet from his pocket and toying with it.
"I call her Chica. She's the only lady in the workshop right now, until I get started on Circus Baby and the ballerina. Still don't have a name for her yet." William chuckled at that.
"Could name her after Barbara, I'd bet she'd love that. Right, Barbie?"
"Huh?" Barbara wasn't listening. She was preparing for the dinner rush that night.
Henry was disagreeing anyway, though he smiled. "I try not to name the characters after people I know. That'd get confusing. What about something similar though?" That was when Elisabeth wandered in from the kitchen with a rolled up banner.
"Let's see..." William scratched his chin, thinking. "Barbara... ballerina..." That made Elisabeth jump up at once, dropping the stack of plates and creating a loud clatter.
"Ballora!" She shouted, running over and grabbing her father's arm, bouncing up and down. "Ballora! Name her Ballora! It sounds like ballerina!" Henry smiled at the small girl's excitement of helping them.
"That's a good idea, Elisabeth! Ballora the ballerina. Sounds perfect." William smiled as well and patted her hair.
"That's my girl." That was when the phone rang from the office, and William let out a sigh. "That'll be Mr. Jay, probably wanting to yell at me about the animatronics need this and that." Henry chuckled and patted his shoulder sympathetically.
"Don't keep the devil waiting, old friend."