Charlie Emily grew up surrounded by charming animal characters in her father's pizzerias.
Now 19 years old, she helps with birthday parties and maintains her father's animatronic creations. Mr. Hippo, Happy Frog, Orville the Elephant, Pigpatch, and Nedd Bear make Junior's what it is- a real life fairytale. But no fairytale is without its dark side.
15 years ago, the small town of Hurricane was rocked by The Missing Children Incident at Fredbear's Family Diner- and some still believe that Henry Emily is to blame. When the past catches up with him, it's Charlie who ends up paying the price.
Meanwhile, Michael Afton is struggling with a dark past of his own. After being released from the psychiatric hospital where he spent his late childhood and teens, he has no choice but to take refuge in his childhood home. The isolated old house is much more sinister than he remembers, harboring dark secrets and memories. By the time he and Charlie cross paths, a new threat looms over the small town of Hurricane. Time is running out for both of them. Michael knows what's going to happen- and he can't afford to let it.
"Hello, boys and girls!"
It didn't matter how many times Charlie heard that boisterous animatronic voice- it made her jump every time, at least at 8 in the morning. She looked up from the dozens of party favors in front of her to see Nedd Bear waving to invisible children while Pigpatch, Orville, and Happy Frog sprung to life beside him.
"It's a wonderful day here at Junior's Pizza! Let me introduce you to my friends!" Charlie tuned out the rest of the familiar dialogue and went about setting a nearby table. She neatly placed an animatronic minifigure on each colorful foil plate along with a piece of paper and crayons. Her father had children's drawings all over the restaurant- it was all a part of the charm, he said. And charming it was, with purple and green walls, endless streamers, an old-school arcade and, of course, her father's iconic creations.
Mr. Hippo added to the animatronic banter from his corner of the restaurant as she steadied a Pigpatch figure, and she immediately knew something was off. There was no clicking sound emanating from the purple mascot- his jaw was completely slack.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?" His tone told her that she'd caught him in the middle of inventory. She glanced at the Hippo and then towards the swinging kitchen doors.
"Nevermind!" She strode into the backroom and began digging through her father's multitiered toolbox. Malfunctioning jaws were an easy fix- all she needed was a particular screwdriver and wrench. By the time she made her way back out to the showroom floor, her father had set some boxes on the prize counter. She'd have to move fast. Mr. Hippo's eyes followed her as she approached him from the right side of the stage.
"Too many stories, eh Mr. H?" The 19-year-old carefully felt for the power switch that was situated on an unmoving joint in the animatronics neck. There was still no sign of Henry. He'd gotten weird about her maintaining the robots after she'd come home from her freshman year of college, even though she was following in his engineering footsteps. She'd even created an animatronic of her own. It was really only a vacuum with a self-sustaining power supply and light-up eyes, but she knew what she was doing.
Upon switching the AI off, Charlie stood on her tiptoes in order to examine the moving joint that connected Mr. Hippo's jaw to his head. It was working fine- there had to be an internal issue. Scanning the room one more time, she wrestled with the robot's mask in order to reveal an intricate endoskeleton. All she had to do was press the button directly under his jaw to reveal the internal components…
"Charlotte!"
She stumbled backwards and hugged the hippo, who didn't quake in the slightest. There was a collapsing cardboard box at Henry's feet.
"Dad, it's fine. I was just trying to fix-"
"Charlotte, those springlocks-" Henry sighed, running his fingers through his graying brown hair. "...I know you want to practice, but tell me first."
"You were busy."
"Charlotte."
She sighed and stepped off the stage, extending the tools towards him.
"Just… you can watch. Please just watch."
Charlie opened her mouth but thought better of it- he was already in a mood. Someday
she would pry, but a busy, rainy Saturday with six birthday parties wasn't the time. She
pulled up a chair and watched him work, the urge to tinker getting stronger and stronger.
"That oughta do it…" Henry replaced the large mask and reactivated Mr. Hippo, whose
jaw was functioning but quite laggy. "Or not." He griped.
"I'm going to get some breakfast," Charlie decided, admittedly miffed. I could've fixed it.
"Put these away first," Her father held up the tools. "And get me a coffee. Please."
Her own vacuum creation, Mr. Hugs, seemed to stare at her disapprovingly as she re-entered the backroom. She switched him on and he immediately started his swiveling routine. Eventually she wanted him to follow her around from table to table, entertaining kids and cleaning up pizza crumbs in one swoop. Maybe then her father would let her maintain the robots without a hitch again. She hadn't felt the need to defy him until a few years ago. She stepped into the unseasonably cold August rain outside, debating driving to her longtime boyfriend's house. John's parents, especially his mom, adored her and would give her multiple helpings of whatever the family was having for breakfast.
She decided against it and headed towards her favorite cafe. It was going to be a ridiculously busy day on top of inventory- her father needed her. Besides, there were still three weeks before John moved back to school. It was best not to overdo it if they were going to make it through another Thanksgiving Break with their relationship intact. As Charlie rounded the corner and crossed the street, she became aware of a slow-moving car that inched its way to the crosswalk she was about to use.
The driver appeared to be waiting for her even though she was well behind them. She frowned but kept moving, debating waving them through. The car whizzed past only when she reached the curb. The driver appeared to be a young woman, and Charlie chalked it up to her having just gotten her license. Still, she had a gut feeling that it was going to be a strange day.