Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.
[A/N - Hello guys! As I had announced, this arc will be a little extra to tell things from the Toy Bots' POV. Nothing much on this one, just a bit of backstory on why they acted the way they did in my arc "A Golden Opportunity - 1987", especially Balloon Boy...]
1987
A pair of blue eyes scanned the surrounding area carefully. Everything was a mess – still getting things ready for the show, he presumed – and there were busy people running around wherever he looked.
Toy Freddy had just woken up. One could say he had just been born, though he considered the saying incorrect, since he was not human. No, that day was the day he was first activated. Yes, that sounded like a more correct term.
From the moment his eyes first opened, he immediately noticed that he was not alone on that stage where he stood. Asides from himself, there were four other robots; three were about his height, while the fourth was rather small. He looked down at himself. All he could see were light brown feet, a round belly and black buttons. Checking his head revealed the presence of round ears and a black top hat.
"Hello," greeted the robot nearest to him. A yellow chicken, with a bib that read "Let's Party!". She was smiling sweetly. "You're Freddy, right?"
The bear blinked, and then nodded. "Yes, that's my name… You must be Chica."
She giggled. "Yep. Hi over there!" She waved enthusiastically at someone to the bear's right.
Toy Freddy followed Toy Chica's eyes and spotted a blue rabbit and a white fox. The blue rabbit looked extremely bored – he had his hands behind his head, and was staring at the ceiling with absent-minded green eyes. The white fox looked at the bear timidly, but once she noticed she was being watched, her whole body shivered and she went back to staring at the ground. Neither of them answered Toy Chica's greeting.
The last robot, very small when compared to the others, looked at Toy Chica and Toy Freddy with a large grin. He was the only one with clothes, and something about him told the brown bear robot that he looked like a child. Whatever this "child" person was, he had a feeling that it was his job to protect every single one of them. That probably meant he'd have to protect this child-like robot as well.
"Hi!" the small robot said, waving happily. He had a balloon in one of his hand. The name "Balloon Boy" popped up on Toy Freddy's mind. So that was his name.
The chicken kept smiling warmly at the small cheerful robot, as the bear frowned at the other two bots. It was clear that the fox was a shy one, something they'd have to take care of eventually, but the rabbit was obviously just being rude. He would not tolerate such lack of manners.
"Chica said 'hi', Bonnie," Toy Freddy said, arching his eyebrows as something in his mind told him what the bunny's name was.
Toy Bonnie sighed. "I heard."
"Well then…" the bear went on, his eyebrows shooting down to form a frown. "Aren't you going to greet her back?"
"Nope," was the robotic bunny's curt and blunt answer.
The metallic bear gasped. "That's rude! You should be more polite, you know? The way you talk is really improper -"
"Whatever, chubby."
Toy Freddy was about to display his shock at such a grave insult when the distinct sound of someone clearing their throat was heard.
All the robots' eyes turned to face someone who stood in front of the stage they were in. A man with a round kind face smiled at them. Toy Freddy straightened himself. How long had that man been there?
"Good morning," the man said, nodding. He looked extremely pleased. "Sorry to interrupt, but there are a couple of things that I need to explain to you. First things first, do you know your names?"
Before Toy Freddy could answer, the blue bunny grunted loudly.
"Duh," he spat. "Didn't ya hear Officer McPosh from the 'good-manners' police?"
The bear closed his eyes, focusing every circuit of his being into maintaining a composed and serious demeanor, indifferent to the blue bunny's awful attitude.
The man in front of him chuckled. "I did hear Toy Freddy, yes," he admitted. "I was simply checking. But there is one of you whose name I didn't get. Do you know your name, sweetheart?"
He was directing himself towards the timid white fox, who was still shivering in her corner. She didn't dare to look up at the friendly man, instead gulping and nodding nervously.
"I'm… I'm…" she stuttered, in a very soft and low voice, almost inaudible. "F-F… F-Foxy…"
A green parrot that sat on the fox's shoulder made a soft "Kraw" sound. Balloon Boy looked up at the mechanic bird with his eyes wide in amazement, as if he was the coolest thing ever.
Toy Bonnie stared at her with the most indifferent look one could imagine. He sniffed, and looked at her up-and-down, as if he was evaluating her.
Toy Chica also looked at her, but with a kinder expression. "Nice to meet you, Foxy."
Toy Freddy took off his hat in greeting, but said nothing, preferring to shoot a scolding stare at the blue robot next to him. That was one robot he was not going to get along with…
"Hi Foxy!" Balloon Boy greeted enthusiastically. He also looked at the fox up-and-down, but he didn't look as condescending as Toy Bonnie. "I like foxes, so I like you. I think you're pretty. Why are you so quiet?"
The fox smiled shyly. "I-I… d-don't want to b-bother…" she admitted.
"Oh you don't bother me," the small child-like robot assured, waving dismissively. "You can talk to me all you want. I like talking!"
"Uh, who would have thought," Toy Bonnie groaned, completing his mocking tone with a loud yawn.
Toy Freddy coughed, as way to prevent the bunny from making any further unpleasant commentaries. The bunny glanced at him and shrugged.
The round-faced man cleared his throat again. "Well then, now that you all know your names, it's time for you to know mine." He smiled widely and looked at all of them, as if nothing made him happier than to see them there. "My name is Francis Anderson. I am the manager of the pizzeria you are in – Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. This is a place for children to have fun and be happy. That will be your job – to make children happy."
Mr. Anderson chuckled once again, as if he was lost in memories for a few seconds. During those few seconds, Toy Freddy wondered when he'd get to meet those "children".
"Heh, I did this exact same explanation to other robots a long time ago…" Mr. Anderson muttered, sounding like he was talking more to himself. He then clapped his hands and took a couple of steps closer towards the stage. "Now, as for your particular roles…"
"So… what are those things anyway?"
The robotic bear frowned, bending over slightly to take a closer look at the broken robots that lied on the floor. He didn't answer Toy Bonnie since he, naturally, didn't know who those animatronics were either.
Just a few days after they were first activated, the five animatronics already knew every inch and corner of the pizzeria they called "home". The only place they were yet to visit was a dark room that seemed ominous even with the door closed – the spare parts room.
After the day of their activation, Toy Freddy had taken Mr. Anderson's words to heart – well, circuits. The manager told the bear that he was to be the leader of the group of robots, responsible for making sure they acted correctly and did their jobs. That made him feel a sense of pride, knowing that he was the leader – despite Toy Bonnie's complaints.
Asides from learning their own individual roles, they also received their rules. They could not leave the pizzeria, naturally, and could not walk around without their suits; walking around with their endoskeletons visible was forbidden. Once the bear inquired where could they go then in case their suits needed to be repaired or clean, he was told to go to the spare parts room.
This is where he was at the moment, along with the other bots. Toy Bonnie was wrinkling his nose at the sight of the wires hanging from the ceiling, casually kicking a piece of spare metal that was on the floor. Toy Chica looked at the masks displayed on the tables, looking as if she was apprehensive about whether or not it was safe to touch them. Toy Foxy was cowering behind her, doing her very best to not look at anything, as if everything was too scary for her to take. Balloon Boy was apparently trying to check every corner of the room at least twice. It almost looked as if he was looking for something, before he disappeared in the darkest corners of the room.
Toy Freddy had just come across a group of broken robots that caught his interest, and was now tapping the one closest to him with a finger. The robot looked a lot like him, in fact. It was a brown bear, like him, and had a top hat and bowtie, like him. His suit was obviously old and worn-out, thought. Who was that?
"Hey, Freddy," Toy Chica called. "That one looks a lot like you."
"That's what I was noticing…" the bear muttered. "Maybe they are older models…"
Toy Bonnie kicked one of the broken robots harshly – a purple rabbit, that was missing its whole face. "What is this old piece of junk? If they have us, why do they need these?"
Toy Freddy grunted. "Bonnie, just because they're old, doesn't mean they're expendable," he reasoned. "They might be here to get repaired."
"Well, they sure need it," Toy Chica commented as she approached a yellow chicken that lied on the floor, her arms and jaw completely torn to shreds. "Poor things… What happened to them to get them all mangled?"
The bear couldn't answer her. Obviously, he didn't know. He was sure that these robots were probably some older models of them, since they looked a bit similar, but they should have come from another location. Another pizzeria that had since closed down, maybe. The more he looked into the face of the broken brown bear that stared at the ceiling emptily, the more he thought like that robot was some kind of older brother that he lost…
He was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud squeak. Toy Foxy had finally dared to take a peek from behind her yellow friend, but one look at the red fox that held a pointy hook dangerously close to her leg and she went back to hiding her face and shivering uncontrollably.
"T-this place… i-is scary…" she whimpered.
The yellow chicken looked back at her with an understanding look. "Yeah… I think it's time to leave." She looked around. "Balloon Boy? Where is Balloon Boy?"
Toy Bonnie huffed. "Who cares? That guy is annoying anyway…"
"Don't be mean, Bonnie," Toy Chica scolded. "I think he's sweet. And he's just like a kid, so you better not treat the children like that when the pizzeria opens."
The bunny shot her an annoyed look before he stomped out of the dark room.
Just after he left, the small balloon-wielding robot emerged from the shadows with a content grin. "Hi Chica. Did you call?"
The chicken smiled sweetly, showing a hand for the child-like robot to take. "Let's go outside, okay? Foxy doesn't like it here."
Balloon Boy looked at the white fox worriedly. "Oh, is she scared? It's okay - there's nothing to be scared of!" he assured, holding Toy Chica's hand. "These robots are ours friends too, I bet. Hey, you want me to make you a balloon animal, Foxy? That should you make happy. Right, Foxy?"
Toy Freddy watched the three robots walk out of the room, hearing only the smaller animatronic's voice trail away as they got more and more distanced from the spare parts room. He looked back at the older model of him. Before he made his way out as well, he adjusted the robot to lean on the wall, with his hands on his lap, and closed his eyes, so that he would look as if he was meditating.
The brown bear stared into nothingness for what seemed like hours. Now that the pizzeria was closed for the day, everything was peaceful. Not a single sound.
It had been months since that day when Toy Freddy was first introduced to the other robots and staff. The pizzeria opened its doors for the first time that day, and it had been a great success.
He finally got to meet the children that he'd entertain for the rest of his days, and he got to perform on stage for the first time. He had to admit, at first, he as nervous, but once he started singing, it all went away. He felt great on that stage. Better than how he felt down on the dining area, he had to admit. Once the bear went off the stage, he was swarmed by excited children that kept grabbing at him and pulling him everywhere. It was clear that those children were not going to be content with just looking – they had to touch and pull. Toy Freddy had to retrieve his hat a couple of times from some more mischievous young costumers.
Luckily, he didn't have that much direct contact with the children. He was told that he would mostly stick to the stage, and that was fine by him. These children were all way too enthusiastic… He could only hope that it was just because it was the opening day. Hopefully they'd calm down in time.
"Hey," came the familiar voice of Toy Bonnie from his right. "Hey, fatso."
Toy Freddy sighed. "Language, Bonnie, please."
The bunny, as usual, paid as much attention to what the bear said to him as he would to a fallen leaf. "Sure, whatever – listen, you know that room they call the 'security office'?"
"Yes. What of it?"
"Is that where this so-called 'night guard' is gonna be?" he wanted to know. "'Cause the boss said we'd have someone watching the pizzeria during the night…"
Toy Freddy pondered for a while. Since the day he and his partners first woke up, they were introduced to the members of the staff and told to be helpful and friendly if they were ever approached by them. The bear had, obviously, followed the manager's instructions – the workers of the pizzeria were, as a general rule, a cheerful bunch, so it wasn't that hard to at least exchange pleasantries. As of now, he had only met entertainers – workers who had the task of wearing some special suits that did not possess sentience as Toy Freddy and the other Toy Bots – and cooks. There was a day guard, but he didn't talk to the robots. Actually, Toy Freddy was under the impression the guard didn't talk to anyone, period. They hadn't met this "night guard" yet, so the bear didn't know how this person would be like.
"Well, I can only imagine that the 'security office' would be the most appropriate place for a night guard to be," Toy Freddy said. "Why?"
Toy Bonnie got a very mischievous grin that didn't forebode anything good.
The bear arches his eyebrows. "What is that nefarious mind of yours plotting?" he croaked. "You are not going to bother the night guard with your nonsense, are you?"
Toy Bonnie rolled his eyes. "Again with the fancy speech – it really doesn't suit you," he commented. "Stop acting like that old piece of junk would."
Toy Freddy made an indistinct sound instead of reacting to the taunt, and then cleared his throat.
Ever since they visited the spare parts room that he was intrigued by the old broken robots.
One day, the Toy Bots were introduced to a particular member of the staff that seemed to know a lot about the broken down bots – the head of security, Phil Grayson. He was a pleasant and helpful man, and Toy Freddy took the chance to ask him all kinds of questions. Apparently, there had been a pizzeria that Phil Grayson worked at, many years ago, where things didn't work out. The head of security didn't go into detail about what happened, but it was bad enough for the building to close down. The broken robots were from that location, and their condition was mostly due to years of disuse, though it was also due to parts being taken out to create the Toy Bots.
Toy Freddy now knew that the older version of himself – simply called Freddy – used to be a very polite and well-mannered robot, like an old gentleman, one who would not stand for any cussing or rudeness. He had heard it from both Mr. Anderson and Phil Grayson. From that day onwards, Toy Freddy decided that he would honor the old Freddy's memory by being an exact copy of him. The old withered bear felt like an older brother to Toy Freddy… one that he, unfortunately, never got to meet properly.
"Would you refrain from insulting our ancestors?" he requested, without looking at the bunny. "They were picked apart of create us. It wouldn't hurt to be a little bit more respectful."
Toy Bonnie scoffed. "Yeah, good luck with that. Well, I'll be on my way then." He hopped off stage and did some stretching exercises, ones he did not need, naturally.
"Where are you going?" the bear asked in annoyance, though he had a pretty good idea of where the bunny was headed.
"Pay our dear night guard a little visit," Toy Bonnie clarified, confirming the bear's suspicions. "The poor guy, all alone in that office, he needs all the company he could get, don't you think?"
Toy Freddy frowned, picking up on the blue robot's sarcasm. "Please don't bother him."
"Wouldn't dream of it." The blue bunny grinned and hopped away into the darkness.
The robotic bear sighed. Leading Toy Bonnie was so far a failure. Well, it was just his first day as the official leader, with the pizzeria open. He would have plenty of time to adjust to the role, certainly.
"Freddy," called Toy Chica, from his left. "I'm going to hang out with Foxy. She's a bit upset… I think the kids bothered her a lot…"
Toy Freddy nodded. Yes, he had noticed how the white fox looked once the doors of the pizzeria closed. No wonder, considering the kids ripped out her arm.
Once the chicken was out of sight, he too left the stage. He was not going to visit the night guard – that unfortunate fellow would have enough problems dealing with Toy Bonnie… - and he was not going to see the other robots. He knew exactly where he wanted to go.
The bear strutted towards the spare parts room. He opened the door, and sat in front of the withered Freddy.
"Hello, big brother," he greeted. He knew Freddy could not hear him, but it did not matter. "Today we had our first show. It was great – I mean, uh…" He cleared his throat, and tried to make his voice sound more posh. "It was splendid. The children seemed happy and the manager was satisfied."
Freddy remained silent, his empty blue eyes staring into nothingness.
From a distance, the sound of a yelp was heard, followed by a snicker. It sounded like Toy Bonnie had gotten started in messing with the night guard.
Toy Freddy gulped. "I have to admit, though… the children's reaction towards us was a bit… overwhelming," he admitted. "I'm sure it will get better in time. Fear not, I will carry on with my role as the leader and I promise you, I will not fail you." He smiled a sad smile, knowing that everything that he was saying was not going through to the withered bear. "I will make you proud, big brother…"
More silence. Only the sound of Balloon Boy talking loudly to someone interrupted it.
"Well, um… I guess that's it. I… I will come back tomorrow… Good night."
The round robotic bear stood up, adjusted his bowtie and cleared his throat, trying to repress his sadness. As he left the spare parts room, closing the door behind him, ready to search for the robot bunny to give him a scolding, he did not realize that he was not the only one in that room that was awake.
Someone had heard everything he said, and once the door was closed, stepped in front of the withered robots with an expression of spite. It was a short female robot, similar to Balloon Boy in clothes, though it had magenta eyes instead of blue and had her hair tied in pigtails.
With a short grunt, the figure kicked the brown bear, making its head fall off.
"Stupid fat bear. You can't hear him, can you?" the robotic girl hissed, its image becoming clearer and clearer. "You're dead. Like me. And once they get tired of that fat bear and his friends, they'll shut them down too."
She looked around her, observing the other withered robots, and a hint of resent was clear in her eyes.
"But at least… you got to do what you were built to do… you got to live…" she muttered, as her image started to vanish, as if she was nothing but a ghost. "… I wish I could have too… even if it was just for a day…"