Sitting around a small table towards the back of Circus Baby's Pizza World was a group of very close friends. Two of them were little girls, barely eight years old. In stark contrast, the other four of their companions were large animatronics. The first was a dancer, beautiful and lithe. She was serving tea to one of the two girls. This particular girl was slightly older and larger than her companion and had thick brown hair that tumbled around her shoulders. Her eyes were dark in color but bright in expression and affection for her friends.
The next two animatronics were more animalistic, one a big white bear and the other a big white fox. They were laughing with one another, making stupid puns as fast as they could and trying to see who could say the dumber, sillier thing first. One of Freddy's hands was a puppet-sized animatronic, BonBon, and she was laughing, cheering Freddy on in his mini competition with Foxy. They sat between the two girls.
The second little girl, who had bright orange hair down to the middle of her back and wide green eyes was being kept company by the fourth and final animatronic at their little table of friendship. This robot was the largest and shiniest of the lot and was Circus Baby herself, hulking and proud. Her deep red pigtails gleamed as brightly as her red torso and skirt and the little girl with the orange hair was looking up at her with those wide emerald eyes, totally enraptured.
"Why thank you, Ballora!" the older girl exclaimed suddenly as the dancer robot passed her a plate of cookies to go with her tea.
"Of course, Ms. Charlie, it is my pleasure," the dancer's voice was impossibly low and smooth, entirely sultry.
"Oooh, let me have some! Let me have some!" the orange-haired girl jumped up and down in her little chair excitedly. "Come, Freddy or Foxy! Pass me those cookies!" she pleaded impatiently and the fox and bear both laughed at her gently before swiping at the cookies.
"Hey! Mind your manners!" Ballora chastised them as they began to jokingly bicker over who was going to get to serve the cookies. Freddy was momentarily distracted by Ballora's sharp and maternal admonishment, so Foxy took his chance and swiped the plate.
"Swiper, no swiping!" Freddy whined on reflex, enticing a laugh from BonBon as Foxy gallantly presented the cookies to the orange-haired child.
"Ms. Elizabeth, our beloved Princess!" his ears swiveled as he handed the little girl the plate of cookies.
"Oooh! Thank you, Foxy!" she eagerly took the largest one on the plate, moaning in pleasure as she took a bite.
"Is it good?" Circus Baby asked, voice soft and gentle, almost ethereal and far too old-sounding for someone with the name "Baby."
"Mmm-hmm!" Elizabeth nodded, mouth full. "Did you want some?" she asked next, then handing the remainder of the cookie to the giant robot.
"No, no, Ms. Elizabeth, remember that I cannot eat human food," the robot carefully moved the giant cookie away, back to the human child before her. Elizabeth looked put down, but only for a moment before nodding in understanding. Truth be told, she had forgotten that these robots would never truly be able to join in on their tea time fun just because she was so used to seeing them as equals and as friends. She had forgotten, again, that these robots were not human because they seemed human enough to her. The thought disappointed her, but only a little. They did not need to be made of flesh and bone to be her friends, after all.
"That's ok," Elizabeth spoke to no one in particular. "You guys are all still so much fun to hang out with! You are all my bestest friends ever!" Elizabeth quickly picked up a tea cup and raised it upwards.
"You're our bestest friend too!" everyone, robot and human, agreed, grabbing their own cups and raising them to Elizabeth's. Together, each of them made a promise to one another, cups in the air as they spoke it to and with one another. "Here's to friendship, here's to us! May all of us live long and happy lives with each other and even if something forces us apart, let us always remember that friendship never dies!"
But maybe that was wishful thinking. Maybe friendship, like everything else in life, did die. Or even if the friendship itself endured, the friends within could easily succumb to death's cruel sting, and they did. All of them, one by one, died. Charlie was first to go, locked out of one of the other pizzeria locations. She was murdered in cold blood by a man in a purple uniform and left to die by the dumpster behind the pizzeria. One of the animatronics at that location tried to save her, but came too late. Since it had been storming out upon that day, the animatronic died with her, its long and spindly body curled around her cold, tiny one, both of them struck down from life and into death.
Then, back at Circus Baby's place, Elizabeth was killed as well, and by her own dear Circus Baby no less! It was an entire accident, but the young girl had tried to get some alone time with her favorite animatronic, little knowing that there was a reason her father, creator of the animatronics, always advised her to go see animatronics with at least one other person. But no, being a kid, she was programmed to be disobedient and that disobedience cost her her very life. All it took was one little visit to Baby alone, and then Elizabeth was gone as well...
But even though this death had been directly caused by Elizabeth's disobedience, her father took it out on all the animatronics. His pizzeria was shut down and he had no issue in locking them up inside the abandoned pizzeria. Now, the only people who ever stopped by were nightguards and technicians and they had been given consent to do whatever they pleased to the robots. It was Elizabeth's father's final act of vengeance against his own creations. He left them in abusive, neglectful hands, and then vanished. Soon, the robots had no one. They might've had each other, but each of them was too lost in their own suffering to really give proper care to one another. All any of them could think of was the beautiful life that they used to have, that they used to share with those two beautiful little girls. Now, the only memory left was that little table, the very one they once all sat at, in friendship and communion. But those days were over now. Misery, imprisonment and abuse was all that remained in this place of joy and life and light. Was this little slab of plastic all that was left? So much for "friendship never dies". Right?...
Well, as everyone involved in the franchise would come to know in time, nothing ever really stayed dead. At least in here. Charlie was the first to return, her very soul melding with the body of the animatronic that had died trying to save her. Her new body went under a new name: the Puppet. And Elizabeth's story was just the same. Unwittingly taking after her best human friend, little Elizabeth came back, soul now contained within Baby's metallic shell instead of her own now-mutilated corpse. Her mind had been twisted by death and desperation, however, and although she tried to remain good and kind, the years took a terrible toll on her until only darkness and wickedness remained. She twisted up Baby's mind to be just like her own and all of the other animatronics could only watch and endure as Baby became increasingly unstable and controlling.
But at the same time, they weren't exactly keeping in best moral shape either. The entire franchise was crumbling from the inside out, every robot, possessed or not, going insane the longer they were left neglected and abused. All of Circus Baby's old friends got blood on their hands too after enough suffering caused by the nightguards and technicians and Baby and Puppet, Elizabeth and Charlie, actively committed several murders as well, each trying to further their own agenda. These old friends were breaking apart, from each other and themselves as individuals. It was a downward spiral of madness until their outsides finally reflected what was within...
Nearly all of the pizzeria locations had been either shut down or destroyed, but the man responsible was still alive and well (because nothing that died in this place actually stayed dead). In one last attempt to drawn him out and kill him permanently, someone created a knock-off pizzeria, a simulator, and lured him back in. With him came Baby, Puppet and Baby's other old animatronic friends, who had since inhabited one body because their own individual pieces were long destroyed. Their new alias was Molten Freddy, in honor of the fact that it was Freddy who controlled their shared body and his mask looked as though it had been burnt by fire. Perhaps this was not true, but maybe the name was meant to be an ironic reference. All of them felt as though they had survived the fires of Hell, they would be molten for sure after all the time in the flames.
Now here they were, Puppet, Baby and Molten Freddy, old friends twisted, broken and scrapped beyond recognition. They were together again, all in one place, with the very man who caused them all of this pain and suffering. But despite this fact, all of them had grown so far apart, their friendship dead and decayed, that they did not care. Baby, Puppet and Molten Freddy were all aware of each other's presence in this new pizzeria place, but not a single one of the three cared or made an attempt to reconnect or reconcile. Instead, just as before, each of them was only serving their own private, selfish agenda.
Baby had come back because she finally knew who the killer was. She finally realized who had caused them all of this pain. She knew who killed her and Charlie, who created and then imprisoned all of the animatronics in their own pizzerias. It was her own father, William Afton. Although the thought used to horrify her beyond belief, she had since come to terms with it and was now intent upon becoming something of a sidekick to him. She wanted to kill people too! Just like him! She had come to this place willingly, knowing her father was sure to come back as well. It was a father-daughter reunion long overdue. She hoped he would be proud of the monster she had become!
Puppet, meanwhile, had come back for the exact opposite reason. Like Baby, she had come to understand that William Afton was the murderer, the man in the purple uniform, that locked her out of one of the pizzerias and killed her. She was back for revenge for what he had done to her and gotten away with for so long. She was back and ready to kill... but only him. No one else. Though of course, she had to sneak in. William knew that she knew who he was. She would never be able to get close to him. Her solution? To build herself a new animatronic body, to disguise herself and trick her way into this new pizzeria. Now, she looked like a decrepit black bear named Lefty, an acronym for something only she knew.
And as for Molten Freddy? Well, their goal was somewhere in between. Ballora had agreed to return to try and stop any more murders from happening in this new pizzeria. Foxy had come back with the intent of slaking his newfound bloodlust after so many years practically buried alive in his pizzeria. Freddy had come back to try and understand the truth and see if he could have one last hand in this final battle. Three minds, one body, twisting in anticipation in their one last chance to find freedom and vengeance.
So three old friends, all reunited once more, were scattered around this new pizzeria, each of them devising their own little plan to defeat the others and achieve their own happily ever after. Baby, in her new and mangled form, was slumped over in the Salvaging Room. Although her entire body was still sore from the newest nightguard tearing it apart and taking away her pieces for his own benefit, she knew it would be worth it soon. If she could just endure one last take-apart-put-back-together, she would be free to play that same game with the new nightguard and he wouldn't die, but he would wish that he could. She would show him a real controlled shock! She would have her revenge! All she needed was to wait... She did not move as the nightguard left her hollowed-out body locked away in that little old room. One of her hands was replaced with a wicked claw. She silently thanked her luck that the nightguard hadn't taken that from her. She would need that weapon to do what she wanted to...
Closer to the heart of pizzeria was Lefty. She was slumped over behind the stage's curtain, eyes shifting back and forth hungrily. She surveyed her surroundings, trying to figure out what her best plan of attack would be. It was dark, quiet, no activity at all. She was not being forced to perform to a bunch of fake smiles and snobby kids. She was free to think. She was more self-aware than anyone could ever imagine. Sure, her body wasn't exactly in the best of conditions, but it still functioned. She could move, she could fight... she could kill. Lefty even tested her paws as she lay alone behind the stage curtain. Her claws could've been sharper, but at least she had them at all. Her only concern was that there was a hole in the fur of her arm and it was showing off her normally spindly limb that she'd had ever since she first fused with Puppet. She could only hope no one would see the hole and notice what was behind it. Her mask could not come off yet. She had been looking for this man, this day, for so very long. Now that she had found him, she was going to finish her quest and they would spend eternity together. She'd never let him go...
And lastly, Molten Freddy's mangled body lay within one of the many vents scattered throughout the pizzeria. This was from an earlier event in the day where they and the others had tried to kill the nightguard. The lucky man managed to escape them all, but he wouldn't be able to keep that up forever. Freddy was just getting ahead for tomorrow, already waiting within the twisting metal corridors of the vent. Tomorrow, they would kill that nightguard! They would have their revenge! Freddy raised their head and growled a little.
"We'll be together again, one big, happy family!" they churred, voice insane and glitched. Their head twitched in anticipation and all three of the robot consciousnesses in that one body were in accordance. Ballora, Freddy and Foxy were ready.
But wait. There was almost something tragic about this line. As maniacal and decayed as Molten Freddy's consciousness was, a strange desire for friendship and happiness still existed inside of their body and their desire for this reunion was not entirely hostile or revenge-based. In fact, the other two could say the same. Charlie hadn't just come for revenge, she had come to protect any other families from being torn apart by this madman known as William Afton. Elizabeth hadn't just come back for her father, she had come back for someone who would love her again after spending so long alone. And Molten Freddy still longed for those days of joy, those days long forgotten by the rest of the world. Maybe it was true when they said that friendship never dies. So maybe there is still hope after all for these lost souls. Or maybe it would be better if friendship would just die, lest it reform into something far more twisted and terrible than before...
AN: Darkgamer FNAF, here's your next request! Hope it's what you wanted. Sorry it was shorter than expected. But basically, the overarching plot is that Elizabeth, Charlie & the SL animatronics were all friends, but after William ruins their lives, their minds and friendship disintegrate. But at the same time, that desire for love and freedom still exists within them and they just may be able to turn things around after all. Or their attempts will fail and whatever rises from the ashes this time will be even worse than what was burned down in the first place...