Author's Note: This will be the only note featured at the top of the chapter. From now on, all my messages will be found at the end. Anyway, before we start I need to get across a few things. One: There will be certain things in this story that follow the story of the main games, however, for the sake of this story, just pretend that *Spoiler Alert* Purple Guy wasn't killed inside Springtrap. Two: While this story will primarily focus on the location of the first game and the four main animatronics there, just know that the Toy animatronics, Mangle, Balloon Boy, and the Marionette will make appearances throughout the story (also Golden Freddy and Springtrap's suits might possibly still exist) ;). Third: This story will be dark, but that doesn't mean there won't be moments of fluff and whatnot. This story will mostly focus on the relationship between Mike and the animatronics, and dealing with all the returning problems from the restaurant's dark past. Since it's now summer, I have much more time to think about plot and get chapters out more frequently. As of now, I plan on this story running about twenty chapters, but we'll see.
To Save a Family
1987, 11:45pm
The cold night air of November sneaked past the man as he slipped into the building through a back door, bulkiness dragging behind him.
He wandered down the vaulted passage, rounded a sharp corner, and continued straight until he reached a lone gray door labeled 'Parts & Service'.
He paused for a moment to straighten a fold in his bluish-purple uniform, allowing the bulk hidden beneath a tarp to sag against the tiled floor.
The look worn upon the man's face was one of deep anxiety and paranoia, eyes always vigilant to his surroundings. But he had to be this cautious; it was what kept him from discovery for this long.
There could be no slip-ups—not a single mere mistake. With the police now fully involved with the murder case, searching for leads like hungry beasts, one little left-behind step would instantly sink him. He kept this at the forefront of his mind as he opened the door and hauled the bulk into the room. He paused casually a distance from the door, staring at the wall as if he'd rehearsed the action many times. He heard the whirring of the security camera behind him, remembered the necessity for thoroughness.
There can be no witnesses… He thought. Not with a crime such as this.
Meanwhile, the guard on-duty for the shift, a man named Fitzgerald, had seen the intruder naively reveal himself on the Parts & Service camera, before hurling a large piece of scrap metal at it; breaking it.
Now Fitzgerald was a rather strong man, and considering what he'd endured with the animatronics the past five nights, this hooligan would be no struggle to take care of. The fool obviously didn't know that the security footage was recorded and that destroying the camera wouldn't magically erase the frames where his face was captured!
Shaking his head, the guard stood from his chair, hesitating only for a moment as he stared down the darkened hallway where the horrid animatronics had lurked the previous nights.
He sighed deeply as he pushed himself to into the hallway, knowing the animatronics wouldn't begin to roam around for another fifteen minutes. If he wasn't so sympathetic, he'd just wait for the animatronics to wake up and take care of him…
He arrived at the door, readying the blunt end of his maglite as he tugged on the door's handle.
It was locked.
He couldn't help the chuckle that slid from his throat, "I've got keys, moron." He mumbled, sticking the right one in the lock.
He suddenly collapsed to the floor as numbing pain arrested his muscles. His mind had no time to process what was happening as a tall figure appeared over him and the blackness of a baton descended upon him.
Present Day
Mike sat in his office flicking slowly through the cameras as a purple rabbit appeared in his left door.
"Well you're here early." He stated. "Usually you're five minutes late."
Mike didn't glance up but snorted, "Well I decided to be a good employee for once." He said sarcastically.
Bonnie just shook his head and entered the cramped room, finding a place to sit against the back wall. "Man this place is small! I'm tellin' ya, you should come out by the stage. Your body wouldn't get locked up out there."
He stilled an involuntary chill as the animatronic stepped into the room and made himself comfortable. "Uh-h-h, I think I'm fine back here, thanks. Besides, I have to keep an eye on the cameras." He responded as casually as he could.
Bonnie frowned, seeing right through the façade. "Mike," he began, noting the surprise on the guard's face upon recognition of his name. "Don't worry, I saw the name on your card-thing when…" he trailed off, remembering the horrible night.
Mike bit off a nervous laugh as the traumatizing memory resurfaced. He quickly ran into the next question. "So…what brings you back here? I take it you're not gonna stuff me into a suit, so…"
Mike felt his air of familiarity, strange. He felt he should be more apprehensive of the rabbit that had tried to murder him only a month ago…even if it was a misunderstanding. The only reason he found himself permitting the smallest, most minuscule level of trust toward the rabbit was because it had been him who had realized he was human and saved him mere inches from a mutilated demise inside a suit.
Ever since that night, interactions with the animatronics had been at an absolute minimal, Bonnie being the only one to dare to venture back, and even then the rabbit would move no further than the window, stealing a brief guilty glance before retreating back to the stage. It was only in the following weeks that the purple animatronic pushed himself to stay longer at the window, until finally mustering the courage to mutter a brief apology to the guard before once again returning to the stage.
And now there was tonight…
Mike shifted awkwardly as he awaited the animatronic's response. Bonnie sighed.
"Look, I know what happened…what we did—well, almost did—I can tell it's still bothering you. Badly. And I really want to make it up to you. The others do too—well, Chica and Freddy do at least—and I know you must have some sort of trust in you because you still work here!"
Mike could see the nervousness betrayed in the eyes of the animatronic, focusing on anything but the guard. He could tell the rabbit really wanted this to work out, but… why? Why did it matter?
Mike held his tone even as he asked: "Why do you want to make up with me so badly?"
The rabbit's eyes stared at him before falling slightly, "Because we owe it to you." He said.
Mike narrowed his eyes, feeling something was being left out. "That's it?" he asked.
"Well…it would be nice to see another face around at night other than the usual." He admitted. "We don't need to talk or anything, but… just another person around would be enough."
The guard huffed incredulously, leaning back in his chair as a wave of disbelief washed over him. "You think I'm gonna just put myself out in the open like that, just because you're lonely?" He allowed more bitterness into that question than intended and instantly felt the regret ball up in his throat.
The rabbit let out a low snarl, "I'm not lonely," he snapped. "I'm trying to be nice here, and if you don't care then I'll just leave."
"Fine." Mike said indifferently, turning dismissively back to his security tablet. He much preferred to stare at the blank images of the other dim rooms and halls than converse with an touchy purple animatronic that had tried to kill him only a month ago anyway.
From behind, Bonnie swiftly rose to his feet, storming wordlessly out of the room in a deep scowl. His sullen footsteps carried down the hall with unwavering petulance. Every heavy step the robot took audibly echoed back to the security booth, almost as if the childish rabbit wanted him to hear his movements.
But at least he was gone.
The guard sighed in relief at the animatronic's departure, soaking in the precious silence his rattled mind so desperately craved. It was a music in and of itself, serenading his mind with a hum of pure tranquility. And he drank in the silence as he flipped through the feed of the cameras, finding Freddy Backstage, hearing Chica in the kitchen, presuming Foxy was behind his curtain… But then he flipped to the feed of the stage, spotting the rabbit standing there, angry and alone not even bothering to pick up his guitar resting beside him.
He stared at the image for about a minute until a wave of guilt washed over him. He groaned throwing himself back into his chair with a curse.
Damn robot! Making me feel this way! He resentfully thought.
Now he felt like the cruel one, guilt riding on him with a vicious sneer. It's not like it's my fault! There's no way in hell I'm gonna go out there while they're roaming around! The rabbit's stupid for thinking that, he shouldn't be so upset!
He blew out a long breath of air, closing his eyes momentarily. This dilemma certainly wasn't solving itself, and something told him the rabbit wouldn't be the one making the moves.
With a growl he pushed forward in his seat, grabbing the mic for the intercom. He spoke quickly, "All right Bonnie you can come back to the room, we'll keep talking." He felt a sour wrench of shame in his stomach for announcing this sort-of apology for the ears of all the other animatronics. But at least it was quick.
The animatronic glanced over at the nearest camera, a faint look of surprise passing, before the camera's audio picked up: "Nah, I'm good. You're obviously too busy to be bothered."
Mike sighed, speaking into the mic again. "Bonnie just listen…"
The rabbit looked away from the camera, shutting the guard from his thoughts.
Growling, Mike slammed the mic onto the desk with a loud bang. "Motherf—" he stopped, calming himself with a breath. The stubborn rabbit was not making this easy for him and there was no way he was going to be able to let the subject just die. He had learned from countless experiences with people like Bonnie that discord, no matter how small, only worsens when left alone, eventually becoming rancor. And of course it was always him who had to break his back amending the situation.
And there was only one way he knew of that would fix this one...
Letting out a torrent of muffled curses Mike rose from his chair, carefully sliding out of the left door and into the long hallway. He could see the distant figure of Bonnie onstage, still in the same sulky position as on camera.
He stilled a shiver as he began slowly waking down the hall. As it was, Mike knew little about the animatronics. Bonnie was mischievous, certainly, and also a bit prideful. But he had a side of compassion, much to his obvious resent. And it was because of that that the guard could actually trust him enough to let him in the booth while he was there. The other animatronics, however, he knew virtually nothing about. As far as he was concerned, they could still desire to stuff him into a suit, even though Bonnie said they wouldn't. Still he didn't think he could handle being in a room with more than just the rabbit, and he ceratinly didn't want to try.
By the time he'd reached the end of the hall and Bonnie had noticed him, he became aware of his body's trembling, perspiration coating his palms.
The rabbit couldn't help the flicker of surprise that shone in his eyes, but quickly resumed his indifferent, sulky facade.
It was at this point where Mike realized he could travel no further, knowing that the animatronics could come at him from any angle in the open room. Instead he just stood there, trying to discreetly gain the rabbit's attention. He didn't want to speak or make any noises that could possibly alert the others to his presence, so all he was left with was an expectant stare and waving arms.
But the rabbit just ignored it, an unsatisfied look in his eyes.
Mike pressed his eyes closed grimly, laying his head up against the wall he was nearly hugging. Damn it! he thought as he glanced carefully around the room. You'd better be grateful of this, bunny!
Swiftly he dove to the ground, finding cover beneath a clothed table. Now all parameters of safety were shattered should the animatronics come into the room. He tried not to think about it as he began crawling his way up the length of the table, knowing that it ended right by the stage.
When he arrived at the table's end, he carefully poked his head through the draping cloth to glare at the rabbit who stared at him blankly. He looked both ways before whispering, "See? I'm here. I did what you asked now let's go back to the office and talk."
Bonnie's face was unreadable as he processed the guard's words. After a long moment he spoke. "You're under a table." he said flatly.
Mike deadpanned, "No kidding. Now let's—"
"That's not what I asked for." the rabbit added.
Mike's eyes went wide and pleading, "Wh-what do you mean? I'm out here!" What else could he possibly want?
The rabbit crossed his arms, "I wanted you to come out here and meet the others, not hide under a table."
"Oh, come on, you know how hard this is for me! You're asking me to swim across a rapid river here! It's just...too hard for me, okay?"
Bonnie expression softened a bit as he sighed, "All right," he said, hopping off stage and nearing the table Mike was under.
Mike sent him a wary glance, "What are you—"
"Just come with me." he said, grabbing the reluctant guard's arm and carefully pulling him out from under the table.
Mike nearly squealed in protest, being led by the animatronic just like that horrible night with the suit. "Wait, wait! No, please don't! I don't want to!"
Bonnie stopped, turning to face him. His expression was reassuring, "Just relax." he said firmly. "The others are not going to hurt you, I promise."
The certainty in the animatronic's words calmed him slightly, enough to know that he at least wasn't going to die. He sighed as he glanced imploringly at the rabbit, "Do we really have to do this?" he asked, a last effort to try to escape.
The response was predictable. Bonnie smirked widely and said with a simple tone, "Yes."
There you have it! Hope you enjoyed this first chapter and if you did, support it so I know you want more! :)
Any and all questions can be left in the reviews or sent to me via PM.