Author's Note: This will be the only time my notes will be at the top of the page. From now on they'll be at the bottom of each chapter. The only reason this one's up here is because I need to get a few points across. First: This is an AU where the little boy in FNaF 4 *Spoiler alert*doesn't get bit.*Spoiler alert* Second: The animatronics are sentient (as I usually write them). Fredbear and Springtrap will be the main characters, however I do intend to bring in the four from the first game (Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy). Third and final: This story is intended to be like a collection of over-arcing one-shots all following the same head-canon. The intro arc should be released relatively quickly and should only be the first two chapters.
On with the story!
"Please, let me out!" The little boy, Tommy, cried. He had been locked in the back room by his brother and his friends and as a result was forced to be stuck with the terrifying animatronic suits he hated so. He pounded on the door for what felt like the 1000th time, again getting no response from the outside world. It had been so long since he last heard any voices and even longer since he'd been locked back here. Now he was beginning to lose hope.
He sank to the cold concrete floor, sobbing. How could his brother do something like this to him!? He'd never forgotten him like this!
None of it mattered anymore. He was stuck back here forever; no one would ever find him now. He sobbed louder at the thought, not wanting to be with these scary suits anymore. But there was nothing he could do... he was trapped back here.
Spring Bonnie awoke that night to the sounds of muffled sobbing from somewhere in the restaurant. He glanced around, not finding anything. But the crying still continued.
Turning to Fredbear who was still dormant, he frowned. Was he the only one hearing this? In the distance he could see the four silhouettes of the new animatronics—the ones that were supposed to "add to the show." Spring knew well that they were meant to replace him and Fredbear, but the reason behind this puzzled him. Where they insufficient? Not good enough for the kids anymore?
The sound of the crying brought him from his thoughts and now he began to grow concerned. Turning to Fredbear again, he nudged him awake, a thing he'd had to do more and more lately. His poor friend was getting old…
But alas, the bear came to life with a few short whirs and clangs, staring at the bunny beside him with a smile. "Ah, thank you Spring. I'm afraid I was stuck again."
But the rabbit didn't return the smile, still concerned about the crying. "I hear crying." He informed. "I don't know where, but I hear it."
Fredbear pursed his lips, trying to listen for said noise. After a brief moment the distant sounds of sobbing met his ears and he stared back at his companion in concern.
"That sounds like a child!" he announced. Spring's eyes widened.
"You think so?" he asked. Why would a child be here after hours?
The bear nodded, "I've heard that sound plenty to know it's a child, now let's go find him!"
In the supply closet, Tommy, sat up against the door, tears streaming down his face. He didn't want to be here! He hated this place! He hated the scary animatronics and the ways they looked at him! He hated—
He stopped crying as he heard voices outside of the door. Was someone here? Could they help him?
Swiftly he pounded on the door, shouting as loud as he could: "Let me out! Let me out!"
He continued to shout this until the door suddenly opened, and much to his horror, two tall terrifying animatronics stared at him, their eyes wide.
Suddenly the empty suits in the room didn't seem so frightening as he scrambled past them to the furthest corner in the room, where he promptly fell into a ball and screamed at the top of his lungs.
Spring Bonnie flinched at the loud noise, his receptors glitching. "Ah!" he shouted grabbing his ears, "What a horrible sound!"
Fredbear ignored the noise, his receptors not as sensitive as his companion's, and headed toward the child. This was met with rebellion.
"S-stay away! Don't hurt me!"
He stopped. "Hurt you?" Fredbear questioned, dumbfounded. "Why on Earth would we do a thing like that?" They performed for the children every day; they meant everything to them! Why did this kid think they were going to hurt him? But still the boy refused to let up.
"No! Don't come near me!" he wailed, trying to push himself further against the wall.
Fredbear frowned, exchanging a glance with Spring Bonnie. Despite the look of utter pain the rabbit wore, there was still a message of mutual understanding that passed between them. They knew they would need to approach this cautiously.
Stepping away from the frightened child, Fredbear glanced at Spring as if cueing something. The bear spoke up first.
"All right." He said, straightening his bowtie, "If you wish us gone, then gone we shall be." He turned heading out the door, hand guiding it closed behind him. This instant the door shut, the boy's cries resounded with newfound fear. This alarmed Spring Bonnie.
"Fred, what are you doing?" he asked, not exactly understanding the bear's intentions. Fred just held his glance calm and collected as he silently waited.
After a moment he turned and reopened the storage room door, his eyes meeting the child's expectantly.
"Are you ready to come out now?" he asked. The boy sniffled, still not moving from his position.
"What're gonna do to me?" he asked sheepishly.
The bear stared at the child. This was the most delicate moment; the one that would decide whether or not they would win over the child's trust. He had to word this carefully.
"As long as you don't scream, you'll be fine." Spring said dryly.
Fredbear sent him a glare that could kill, and the bunny went immediately silent. He replaced the glare with a soft smile as he looked back at the child. "We're going to get you back to your parents." He said matter-of-factly. Spring confirmed this with a vigorous nod.
Once the boy's crying had subsided, he continued: "Now…" Fredbear said. "What's your name?"
The boy stayed silent for a long time, before shyly saying: "Tommy."
"So, Tommy," Spring said, "how'd you get locked back in that room?"
They were on the stage now, having finally made it there after a long trial of persuasion with the boy. He had been adamant about staying away from them, and still was. But at least now they had managed to convince him to come out and join them on the stage, even if they had to keep their distance.
The boy didn't meet the bunny's gaze, too frightened of him still. He did answer the question though: "My brother and his friends locked me back there…" he said.
Fredbear, who was beside the bunny, furrowed his brow in confusion. "Was it an accident?" he asked. Tommy shook his head.
"On purpose." He muttered. "He knows I'm scared of you guys."
Spring's face contorted into a grimace. "So he did it to scare you?" His brother had locked him back there and just left without him… That was outrageously cruel! And it angered the bunny deep within.
Fredbear on the other hand was more focused on something else the boy had said. He asked: "Why are you scared of us?"
This seemed to strike a note with the boy as he tilted his head further away from the two animatronics. "I… my brother and his friends said you guys—you guys kill people at night, and hide their bodies so no one can find them."
"Your brother seems like a really great guy," Spring said sarcastically. "How old is he even?"
"Thirteen." Tommy replied. "All thirteen year-olds are mean like that though."
"Thirteen?" Fredbear questioned. "Isn't he a bit old for this place?" Normally they catered to children no older than eleven.
Tommy nodded at the bear's question, "He likes to scare the other kids with his friends, but he gets me the most… at home too."
"He's a bully, eh?" Spring surmised, hand caressing his chin in thought. "I don't like bullies…"
"Tommy," Fredbear said, grabbing the boy's attention, "Why don't you tell your parents about him? I can't imagine they'd be okay with him torturing you like this." The boy just shook his head violently.
"They don't care." He said bitterly. "He never gets in trouble for doing anything!"
The bear leaned back, considering this. In all truth, this boy's problem was none of their business; it was up to the parents to discipline their children. But they didn't seem to be doing all that well where that was concerned… As much as it lines of code warned against it, he felt he needed to take measures into his own hands. The boy had been locked in a storage room for goodness sake!
Standing, Fredbear looked down at the child: "Wait right here Tommy, Spring and I will be back in a moment." He turned to face the golden rabbit, gesturing for him to go behind the stage where their voices wouldn't be heard by the boy. Spring was quick to question him.
"What is it, Fred?" he asked, brow arched.
"I think we should do something to help this child. I don't like that he was locked in that room like that."
Spring's grin was wide and devious. He clapped his hands together. "I like the sound of this…" he hummed. "What're we gonna do?"
The bear gave his companion a wary glare, "Don't get carried away, we're not going to be doing anything too extravagant, just enough to correct the teens' behaviors." Spring frowned slightly.
"We shouldn't hold back!" he argued. "Those kids deserve what's coming to them!"
"What're you going to do, Spring? Lock all of them in the back room? They're not afraid of us like Tommy is... No, we need to think of something different." The rabbit opened his mouth to speak, but was immediately cut off. "We're not hurting them either!"
Spring let out an indignant huff, crossing his arms. "Well how else are we gonna scare them then?"
Fredbear stared at the floor as he formulated a plan. After a moment he glanced back up at the rabbit. "I have an idea." He said.
"Okay, what is it?" the rabbit asked impatiently. "Hey! Where're you going!?"
He had to run to catch up with the bear as he returned on stage to the boy. Tommy lowered his head shyly as they stood a thoughtful distance from him.
"Tommy?" the bear said. "Spring and I might have a way we can help with your brother and his friends."
For the first time, the youth turned to face them, hope and curiosity burning in his eyes. "You're gonna make them stop scaring me?" he asked. Was that even possible? The bear nodded.
"Have them come here tomorrow, after dark. You come with them… Until then you need to get some rest. It's much too late for a young one such as you to be awake!"
Hope you like this so far! Be sure to let me know! I'm still working on Just an Animatronic? by the way. Next chapter won't be as short. Count on it.