Aki swiveled in his chair, his hand steady on the mouse as he waited or the game to load. He was a bit nervous, since this was his first time playing Five Nights at Freddy's on his own, but he'd probably be fine (after all, he was eighteen. What was there to be scared of?). The worst that would happen would be him freaking out and quitting, then saying screw it a few hours later and playing again. He looked over at the picture of him and his sister Hannah grinning at the camera, Hannah raising her hand in a peace sign. She'd gone away to Oxford last week, finishing her last semester of college. Their parents hadn't seen fit to give Aki money for a proper education before they died, so . . . . He got what Hannah sent him. Meanwhile, he would do his damnedest to raise enough money for tuitions and get in himself. The game in front of him had his attention at the moment, though; the opening screen flashed to life in front of him, Freddy's eyes glitching as he stared out into the world.
"Hi, Freddy," Aki muttered to himself. "Ready for me to screech?"
Whenever he'd played with Hannah standing right beside him, or when he stood beside her, they'd play for hours, screaming and laughing whenever they got a jumpscare. Aki smiled as he remembered the time right after they'd seen the fan-made musical; he had been sitting in front of the computer, watching the screens, and singing one of the lines from Mark's surviving song: "Hey, Foxy! Come get a bite! 'Cause I'm survivin' — Holy-crap-I-didn't-mean-literally!" with Hannah beside him as he switched the cameras and found Foxy rushing down the hall to peek around the corner. He had, of course, been unable to close the door in time. They'd both laughed their heads off after Foxy'd poked his head in, Hannah clutching Aki's shoulder for support.
The mouse hovered over "Continue Night 7" before going up to "New Game" and clicking. The screen went black, fading into a newspaper clipping of Freddy Fazbear's wanting a new security guard. Aki murmured the words as he skimmed over it, the familiar words blurring slightly. He blinked, jolting a little as a fly buzzed in front of his face, and waved at it irritably. He was preoccupied enough with the bug that he didn't notice the words on the screen asking him if he wanted to play "real setting" or "normal setting," nor that he clicked the "real" setting option.
However, he kind of couldn't miss when the screen went black, then flashed blindingly white as the annoying bug finally went away. He yelped, covering his eyes from the overwhelming light. When it faded away, he blinked, lowering his arms slowly — and stared incredulously. He was sitting in an office that looked exactly like the security guard's office, a messy desk in front of him, two doors on either side of him, light buttons and door buttons just in front of them. As he took in the details, Aki's feelings changed from incredulity to fear.
"No way . . ." He muttered to himself. He looked down. Sure enough, he was holding a black tablet in his hands, an app that said "cameras" blinking up at him. He jumped as a phone rang, looking up quickly. Phone guy.
"Hello? Hello, hello? Uhh, I wanted to record a message for you — to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you; I'm . . . finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact, so . . . I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you: there's nothing to worry about — uh, you'll do fine! So, let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Ok?"
Aki stared in the direction of the voice, his eyes widening. He was seriously inside of the game? How? He'd just been sitting in his room, twirling his chair around.
"Uh . . . Let's see. First there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read."
Apprehensive and dreadful as he might be, Aki still mouthed the words along with the program out of habit, forgetting for a moment that Hannah wasn't beside him.
"Ehh, it's kind of a legal thing, you know. Um, 'Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza; a magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear entertainment is not responsible for damage, property, or person. Upon discovering the damage or death have occurred, a missing person's report will be filed within ninety days or as soon as property and premise have been cleaned and the carpet have been replaced, blah, blah, blah.' Now, that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about. Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No! If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night, too. So remember; these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children — and you need to show them a little respect. Right? Ok. So just be aware — the characters do tend to wander around a bit. Uhh, they're left with some kind of 'free-roaming' mode at night. D'uhh . . . something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Eh, they used to walk 'round during the day, too, but then there was the Bite of '87. Yeah . . . I-it's amazing that the body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?
"Now concerning your safety: the only real risk to you as the night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters . . . uhh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person. They'll-they'll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now, since that's against the rules at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, they'll probably try to . . . forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit. Umm, now that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area — so you can imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort . . . and death. Uhh . . . the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth; would pop out the front of the mask. Yeah they don't tell these things when you sign up . . . . But hey! First day should be a breeze, I'll chat with you tomorrow, uhh, check those cameras, and remember to close those doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright. Goodnight."
The call clicked to a close, and Aki was left sitting in abject terror. He glanced down again, and his vision was suddenly filled with a screen of the camera "map." He glanced down at the little map that showed where everything was, his gaze falling on cam 1A. He stiffened. Bonnie was already gone. He flicked through the cameras frantically, searching for the purple rabbit. He fought to suppress his rising panic when he couldn't find him anywhere, unwilling to look up again and lower the cameras.
He didn't get a choice, though, when something slammed into him, his eyes closing as the chair rolled to the back of the room, the doors closing without him doing anything. His hands were yanked and brought up to the wall as well so he couldn't move freely. He kept his eyes clenched shut, waiting for the metallic screech to fill his ears. What he got instead was an exasperated male voice scolding him.
"Oh, come on — where's the laughter now, you bastard?"