Hey. Remember me? Yeah, I live. I know, it's a shock after all this time. I've learned recently that I am incredibly slow when it comes to writing anymore. Sorry about that.
Sooo this was a thing that happened. I blame Markiplier, ihascupquake, and polebear, the former two for their FNAF videos that got me into the fandom and the latter for her amazing artwork of the animatronics as humanoids rather than animals - seriously, go look those up, and not just because I'm using those designs in this fanfic, although, that said, that's exactly what I'm doing here. All the characters appearances are exactly as you'll see them if you go to Google Images and type in 'polebear FNAF', and the main character is... eeh, decently described for a first chapter. I tend to get more in-depth as I go along, as old readers of mine might know.
Anyway, I sincerely hope you all enjoy this; save for a few sections I got temporarily stuck on, I had a pretty good time writing it ;D
Uniform: check. Hat to never wear ever: check. Shiny badge: check. Backpack full of assorted necessities (i.e. flashlight, pepper spray, homemade Harley Quinn 'GOOD NIGHT' bat, box of matches, box of Pop Tarts, pack of Reese's cups, few cans of Monster, etc...): check.
Official readiness to start new job: check and check.
Izzy nodded at her things, completely satisfied for once. Then the backpack fell over, crushing the hat, sending the badge skittering across the floor to hide under the bed, and crumpling the nicely folded uniform; everything destroyed in a matter of seconds and with only a low shifting sound to precede the chaos. For a moment, she stared. "I," she finally said to the bag, "hate you." And it most definitely deserved the sentiment - the struggle to retrieve the badge was real.
~.~.~
Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, where fun and fantasy come to life!, or so proclaimed the massive, glowing sign, because what was a business without a massive glowing sign? Nothing, that's what!, or so mentally proclaimed Izzy as she trudged down the sidewalk towards the building. "I still can't believe this was the only place in town that would hire me," she groused aloud, completely ignoring the other pedestrians and the scandalized looks they gave her for talking to herself where other people could hear. Yes, like so many before her, Izzy had just been hired at Freddy's and was heading in for her first night at work. However, one big difference among many smaller between her and the countless others before her was that she had no childhood memories of the restaurant - she had not lived here her whole life (mainly because she hadn't lived anywhere her whole life) and made lots of naively happy memories of the place. As a matter of fact, she'd never heard of it before arriving in town two weeks ago and finding the ad in the local newspaper. After exhausting every other offer in the classifieds (and noting that the fridge and her wallet were both precariously close to empty) she'd finally growled out an 'alright already' to her silent apartment and called the number on the greasy page. Needless to say, she'd gotten the job, because if she hadn't, what exactly would she be doing walking to the place in a security guard uniform?
After several consistent minutes of dodging the multitudes of small children whose purpose in life seemed to be to block the doors to the establishment, the new employee finally reached her destination, taking a deep, grateful breath of pizza-scented air as she stepped inside, if only because it was conditioned and thus not sweltering like the air she'd left outside. It was late evening, after 9:30, but the pizzeria was still packed with screaming kids running amok and little families sitting at dining tables, a few harried-looking waitresses doing their best to make it through the chaos with their steaming pans of pizza intact. Izzy snorted as she took another step in. "At least I'm not doing that anymore," she remarked to herself, shuddering at the mere sight of them. Waitressing was a horror she never intended to go through again as long as she lived, and if that meant she had to babysit animatronic characters instead, then so be it. Just one problem with that resolution - having never set foot in this restaurant before in her life, Izzy had zero idea where she was supposed to go to meet her boss. The security office, he'd said, but where exactly was that?
"Hey!" a cheery voice said from somewhere nearby, and Izzy turned to glance around for its source, which turned out to be one of the waitresses she'd been pitying earlier, weaving her way through the knee-high crowd to come and stand (if you could still call it that when she was bouncing on the balls of her feet) in front of her. "You're the new hire, right?" she asked, but didn't leave time for a sarcastic comeback. "Obviously, given the official nature of your badge. You look a little lost, though. Who are you supposed to see?"
Izzy blinked, mildly surprised that she was getting a chance to answer this time. "Think he said his name was Scott?" she hedged, slightly uncertain. It had been a couple days since she'd talked to him on the phone, and she wasn't exactly great at paying attention. Some career choice she'd made.
The girl's face lit up as a wider smile stretched across her face. "Oh, okay! You'll need to go to the security office, then; follow me!" She whirled around and immediately started off, gesturing with the notepad that was still in her hand from taking the last customer's order. Izzy blinked again, bemused, but followed as bidden, making mindless replies to the waitress's equally mindless chatter as they left the main area behind and turned down a slightly narrow hallway that more than made up for it in length. It could have been an eternity later when they at last made it to their goal, having long passed by the doors to the kitchen and the restrooms further down the hall before the other employee finally pointed to an open doorway. "It's just right there!" she chirped, all smiles. "Scott should be at his desk, but if not, just have a seat and wait for him to come back, his breaks are never very long. I've gotta get back to the dining room, but it was nice to meet you! Have a good night!" And with that, she was flouncing back down the hall, leaving Izzy standing alone in the hall, realizing belatedly that she hadn't even thought to say thank you. Whoo, what a first impression she probably just made, but, damage done, nothing for it but to go on.
"Hello?" she called as she approached the door, peering in around the frame. The room was occupied, thankfully (she thought she might have lost her mind if she'd had to wait), by a lean man with messy black hair and green-rimmed glasses, who jumped a little at the sound of her voice and scrambled to stand up, adjusting said glasses even though they looked straight to begin with.
"Ah, hello, hello!" he said, striding around the cluttered desk to come and shake her hand with a big smile on his face. Izzy smiled back, recognizing the slightly raspy voice as belonging to the guy who'd given her the job. "You must be the new girl! I'm Scott-"
"He's lying!" came a sudden shout from somewhere down the hall, loud enough to startle them both. "His name is Phone Guy!"
'Phone Guy' rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses again, this time out of actual necessity, as they'd unsettled themselves when he jumped at the other voice. "You suck, Mike!" he yelled back, then smiled apologetically, gesturing for Izzy to come into the room and have a seat. "Sorry about that! What you've just heard is the voice of one of your fellow guards; for some reason he's decided that I'm not worthy of a normal human name," he said, shaking his head despairingly.
Izzy, only plopping down into the chair she been offered once Scott had fallen back into his, smirked at him over the stacks of paper and other assorted articles covering the surface of the desk. "Phil? Uh, his first name is Agent," she quoted, hoping he would understand the reference. He'd just opened his mouth to respond, smiling promisingly, when a laugh came from the doorway, where a man in a similar if not similarly-colored uniform to her own was, for lack of a better term, lurking, a wolfish grin on his face; unlike the white button-up Izzy had been given, this guy's shirt was a deep purple.
"Finally, someone who speaks English!" the newcomer exclaimed with false cheer, tilting his head to peer at Izzy from beneath his brown fringe. She met his gaze evenly, which widened his smile.
"Is that what just happened?" Scott said dryly. The brunette just laughed again as he pushed off the doorframe where he'd been leaning against it, throwing up a hand in a small wave as he disappeared down the endless hallway. Scott's dark eyes refocused on Izzy's bright green, and though he broke that eye contact by rolling them again, he seemed very pleased as he plunked his elbows down on the desk and laced his hands together. "Well, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're going to get along with the guys just fine," he chuckled, though he sobered quickly. Izzy sat up straight in her seat as the black-haired man shuffled through the mess of papers for a moment, pulling one out of the sea with a sound of success. "Now, then, let's get down to business. I have most of your information here already, but due to company policy, we have to go over it again anyways. Name, please?"
"Isolde Ravenswood," she answered dutifully, flicking a strand of her long blue hair out of her face. It was pulled back into a bun, but as usual, some of it had had managed to escape and had taken its self-appointed rightful place dangling in her eyes. If it was going to stay out of the way, she might actually have to put on the hat. Ew.
He nodded, pulling a pen out of a mug full of them and clicking it, scribbling something down on the side of the paper. "Age?"
"22."
"Height?"
"4'11"."
"Weight?" he asked in the same bored tone as he'd asked the other questions, then froze, eyes flicking up to meet hers again, obviously expecting her to be angry. "I-I don't know why we need to know that, honestly, but it's on the form, I-"
"119," she said, cutting him off, and he nearly sagged in relief.
"Really, I'm sorry. Just a few more and we can actually talk about something useful. Uh, okay - well, I can just fill these out without bothering you. Hair color, blue, eye color, green, ethnicity, Caucasian... Um... Okay. Emergency contact?"
She tried not to flinch. She hadn't considered that she'd need one of those. "Igraine Ravenswood," she answered hesitantly, rattling off the number when prompted and replying 'sister' when questioned as to their relationship. The rest went by quickly and was of little import, just a brief overview of company policies that she could have guessed on her own if she had to; no drugs, alcohol or firearms on the premises, blah blah blah.
"Okay!" Scott finally said, rummaging around the desk until he found a file folder to stuff her paper once he'd gotten her signature on it. "Now that that's done with, we can talk about what you'll actually be doing here." He paused to clear his throat before launching into what was obviously a pre-rehearsed and often repeated speech, smiling blandly and sounding much the same. "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 committed to family fun and most of all, safety, but is not responsible for damage to property or person. Remember to smile; you are the face of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza." Izzy raised an eyebrow, and he just shook his head, standing back up from the desk and gesturing her to follow him as he made his way out of the room. "Just something I have to say to the new employees. Onto the real stuff, now!" He paused to let her catch up with his longer strides so that they were side by side as they went down the hall before flashing her a more genuine smile and continuing.
"So, basically, your job is to keep an eye on the animatronic characters during the night," he explained. "Since you're new in town, I'm guessing you don't know much about them...?"
"I don't even know what they look like, much less anything else about them," Izzy admitted.
Scott nodded acceptingly. "Well, let me fill you in, then." A slight blush colored his pale cheeks as he glanced over at her. "Uh, j-just so you know, this will, um, probably sound like science fiction, but I-I swear, it's all true," he stammered nervously. Izzy said nothing, but tried to give him an encouraging look. "We don't really know how it happened, but each of the animatronics here at Freddy's has, uh... somehow gained sentience."
"...Do what now?"
"Uh, y-yeah, that's kinda how I felt when they first told me," he said with false cheer. "But it's true - these characters have their own minds and personalities; in all honesty, the only things that keeps them from being classified as real people is the fact that they're made of metal and synthetic skin instead of real flesh and blood. When the management first realized what had happened, they were thinking about getting rid of them, but a court actually decided that they couldn't, because it would be constituted as murder to destroy something that can think and feel on a human level. So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right?"
"Right," she replied, slightly dazed by the information, but she tried to pay attention, as her escort was still talking. They'd exited the hallway, finally, and seemed to be making their way back to the main area.
"Okay. Now, the only reason I had you come in this early is so we could get all this preliminary stuff out of the way. Usually, you'll come in right before 10:30, which is when we close, so that you and the other security guards can help make sure that everyone leaves the restaurant safely," he went on, gesturing towards the front doors, through which people were thronging, while the waitresses were frantically wiping down tables as the families departed. Just as Scott had said, three men in security uniforms were in and around the crowd, including the brown-haired man in the purple shirt from earlier, keeping the flow of people going. "See, a lot of kids don't want to leave, and we've had trouble before with them slipping off and hiding out somewhere so they don't have to go home. After we close the doors, the first thing you'll do is take a flashlight and search a section of the building for any stragglers. After that, you've got a little time to kill - technically, your shift doesn't start until 12, but most people who've worked here in the past, as well as our current security staff, don't think it's worth it to drive home just to come back in a couple of hours, so they just stay here. During this time, you're free to do whatever you like as long as you don't get too in the way of the clean-up crew. We have free wi-fi for our guests and employees, though we ask that you please not abuse it while on the clock, and the kitchen is yours so long as you clean up after yourself. Once 12 o'clock rolls around, you'll start your patrol. It's a pretty easy job, all told. Just keep your eyes and ears open for anything that shouldn't be here, or something that should be and isn't. You won't have to wander the halls all night long, either; Jeremy and Mike each have a tablet that's connected to the camera systems for each part of the building, and you'll switch off on who's manning those throughout the night so you aren't just wandering around in circles for six hours."
The last few customers went out the front doors, young mothers attempting to placate small children sobbing their hearts out, and said doors slammed shut with an almost eerie note of finality, enhanced by the loud sound of the locking mechanisms clicking into place thanks to the purple-clad guy's use of a large key. Instantly he turned around and headed in Izzy and Scott's direction, a swagger in his step and that grin from earlier back on his face. "He talked both your ears off yet, or just one?" he asked as he approached, seeming to delight in the fact that Scott almost instantly rolled his eyes at him again.
Izzy shrugged, unable to keep from grinning back. "I'd rather have a manager who gives too much detail than one who says 'go to this unknown location and do an obscure thing' before vanishing off the face of the earth," she quipped, and he laughed, an easy and sincere sound.
"Fair enough," he conceded. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Scott interrupted, "Don't you have things to do? Because we're not finished yet." The brunette pouted at him. "What have you got left? I'll tag along." Scott immediately started fidgeting and glancing around nervously. "Uh, w-well, I still have to, um, run this by the head man..." he stuttered, and the reaction was instantaneous; the purple guy straightened his previously relaxed stance and cast a few glances of his own around the room. "Right, yeah, I have to- go look for kids or whatever," he said, and beat a hasty retreat from the dining room, pulling a small but powerful LED flashlight out of his pocket and beginning to sweep the corners and shadowy areas.
Izzy was concerned. "I'm starting to get a very Star Wars-y bad feeling about this, Scott," she informed him, feeling her face frowning. "What's the problem?"
The black-haired man let out a heavy exhale, running a hand through his messy spikes. "The problem is that I hired you without checking first to see if it was okay with..." He trailed off, staring into space for a few seconds, before snapping back to reality and setting off towards a new destination, Izzy following closely. "Let me put it this way: we have human managers here, but in all actuality, they're not the ones running the show - final say in all company matters belongs to Freddy, and that includes who we hire."
"Freddy," the blue-haired girl repeated, gulping slightly. "As in, the main character. The bear." While she hadn't been lying about her lack of knowledge regarding the animatronics, it would have been nearly impossible not to notice the huge bear on the massive, glowing sign when she'd walked here.
Scott sighed. "That's the one. And he's probably not going to be very happy with me for doing this without asking him first. B-but don't worry!" he exclaimed after he glanced over and saw the worried look on her face. "He's a really nice guy, Freddy is, and I can't see him having a problem with you, just as long as you don't break the rules or anything. Um, he is strict about the way his employees behave though, and his standards are kinda high. I, uh, don't really wanna tell you to be as polite as possible when you talk to him, but, um... Be as polite as possible when you talk to him," he warned, tensing slightly as the show stage, their apparent goal, came into sight, the dark red curtains drawn. "And definitely don't use any kind of profanity; he hates bad language, and he expects people to watch their mouths whether there are any kids here or not."
Izzy tried to smile, but she could feel that it was happening a little lopsidedly. "That won't be an issue, I don't ever use curse words. Ever."
Scott actually stopped and looked at her, expression incredulous, before he gently clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Then you don't need to worry about a thing; Freddy'll love you, even if you happen to come off as a little disrespectful. The language is his main problem with most adults." They approached the stage with Izzy feeling slightly more optimistic about her upcoming interview. "Freddy?" Scott called, reaching out to rap his knuckles against the wooden stage. "You back there?"
"Ye'll not find him here," said a deep-ish voice with an Irish accent; footsteps signaled the origin's approach, and Izzy stared openly as she came face-to-face with her first animatronic, who looked her over with equal curiosity. "An' who's this, then?"
"This is the new security guard, Izzy," Scott introduced her; she bobbed a quick curtsy out of habit, ignoring how dumb it probably looked with her current attire. "Izzy, this is Foxy the Pirate."
Well, he certainly was foxy, alright. Dark red hair partially covered the right side of his face, although it didn't hide the stereotypical black eyepatch he wore over it. His visible eye was amber in color, and hadn't yet stopped roving over her - and this guy worked with children? - and his 'skin' was pale. Also, it was humanly warm when he reached out and took her hand in one of his to lay a kiss on it, a gesture that matched well with his elegant black, gold-embroidered waistcoat. A roguish grin adorned his face when he pulled back and straightened up. The orange fox ears protruding out of his hair twitched and swiveled as though they were really listening to the sounds that echoed through the building, and an accurately bushy tail could be seen swishing behind him. Overall, he was stunningly impressive, and Izzy wondered if all the animatronics were on such an insane level of craftsmanship that they could pass for human beings in great cosplays like he could.
"Nice to meet ye, Miss Izzy," Foxy said respectfully, sweeping her an elaborate bow. "Good to have ye aboard. Now why were ye lookin' fer Freddy, Scott?" As the black-haired man gave a summary of the situation, Izzy took the opportunity to wonder about Foxy's warm hands and lips, recalling Scott's earlier comment that one of the only things separating the characters from humanity was that they weren't made of flesh and blood. Could've fooled her. She reined her attention back in when Foxy moved, leaning back against the stage and crossing his arms over his chest. "Last I saw of 'im, Freddy was headin' over toward the Toys' side o' the buildin'," he said with a slight frown on his face. "I'm not rightly sure why, though. I'll ask Bonnie if he knows. BONNIE!"
Izzy and Scott both cringed at the unexpected shout given by the fox animatronic, though only the latter giggled when an irate-sounding "WHAAAT?!" came back from the direction of the kitchen. Clearly, the new girl was missing something.
"COME IN HERE!"
"I'M BUSY, FOXY!"
"LIKE HECK YE ARE!"
An inarticulate groan was the only response to that, and after a series of clanging sounds, the doors to the kitchen burst open, a tall, pale figure with fairly long purple hair in a ponytail came stomping towards them, angrily drying his hands on a dish towel. "I mean it this time, Foxy, one of these days I am gonna muzzle y-" He broke off when he realized that the pirate was not alone, a light dusting of red appearing on his cheekbones. "Oh, Scott. Didn't realize you were in here. With... company?" The red color deepened when he caught sight of Izzy, which sent the blue-haired girl's conspiracy-prone mind spinning - seriously, how were metal things doing human things like blushing? - and he cleared his throat, crimson eyes averted in a way that clearly showed his embarrassment. "No offense," he mumbled, watching himself tuck the end of the towel in his pants pocket as though it were something fascinating, "but aren't all the customers supposed to be gone by now?"
It spoke volumes about where Bonnie was not looking that he didn't realize she was wearing a uniform, but Izzy decided to act like it was her fault he didn't know who she was. After all, if she was going to be guarding these people, she ought to make an effort to make a good impression, even if she was still fuzzy on the subject of why her job even existed. "Oh, sorry," she said, stepping forward with one hand outstretched. "I'm Izzy, the new night guard-"
And the rabbit did a 180, all traces of shyness fleeing his face in favor of a big grin as he instantly brought his eyes up to meet hers, a slightly disturbing gleam in them. "You're staff?! Hallelujah! I thought I broke character in front of a customer again but if you work here I'm safe." Before she could ask 'safe from what,' the second animatronic also took her hand and kissed it rather than the handshake she'd been offering it for, which effectively stalled her out. What even...? she thought dully as she realized that this robotic character was also attractive, what with his pale skin, ponytailed purple hair and lean figure, though the purple bunny ears took more away from his look than they added in her opinion and the red eyes were a little disturbing. "Great to meet you! I'm Bonnie, as if this loudmouth didn't tip you off to that already," he snarked in Foxy's direction. The pirate fox was unphased, and Scott just shook his head in response to Izzy's questioning glance, so this must have happened a lot. "Now, what can I help you with?"
"They're lookin' fer the Cap'n," Foxy answered before either of the humans could reply. "Seems Scott forgot to talk to 'im about hirin' the lass."
Bonnie's already white face blanched a little further, and his fluffy ears, formerly standing straight up, drooped down as though trying to hide. Izzy was forced to concede that the ears were kind of cute after all. "I'm guessing he hasn't come back from the other side of the restaurant yet?" he said more than asked, casting a concerned glance at a pair of double doors over on the left side of the room that were propped open and only seemed to lead to another large room filled with games, much like the one they were in now. Foxy gave a slight shake of his head, and Bonnie sighed heavily, clearly stressed out. "Ugh, I wonder why. Usually his 'meetings' don't take that long. Hope he's alright over there in their territory..."
Yet again, Izzy was prevented from asking anything when Scott and both the animatronics suddenly straightened up, eyes fixed on something over her shoulder; heavy footsteps were coming their way, and if she had to guess, she'd say they belonged to someone made of metal and designed with a bear motif. "Excuse me," said a surprisingly youthful voice (she'd been expecting something far deeper and rougher) from close behind her a few seconds after the footsteps halted. "Can you please step aside?" For a second she stood there, frozen in place, but Scott's frenetic waving finally registered in her brain and she scurried to stand at his side, hesitantly raising her head when he tapped her to look at the person who now controlled her fate.
He wasn't half as scary as she expected, though there was an aura of danger around him that was notably absent from Foxy and Bonnie, and the straight-backed, almost militaristic way he held himself was intimidating to say the least. Freddy was fair-skinned and freckle-y, with light but intense blue eyes and light brown hair that seemed like it would be in constant danger of falling into his eyes, a hunch that was proven right as he turned his head to lock eyes with Scott and it shifted to cover the left half of his face, casting it into shadow in the dim room. Izzy wanted to not be freaked out, but he was suddenly much creepier, especially with the very displeased face he was making in response to the question she just barely heard Scott asking.
"H-hey, Freddy! Uh, you don't usually go over to their side - is, uh, s-something wrong?"
"The Marionette is acting up again," the bear-themed character rumbled, and the obvious anger in his tone only increased with the next sentence he uttered. "And the parts are... misplaced - again."
Scott's nervousness increased also; Izzy could practically feel him trembling next to her. Some vague part of her mind wondered if he had Italian ancestry; they were the only people she knew of who acted like he did when frightened, waving their hands around wildly while talking like a machine gun. "R-really, again?! I-I-I'll l-look into it right away, Freddy, I promise-"
"No need. I've dealt with the second problem already," he interrupted, and even Foxy, the most difficult to ruffle of all those present, shivered at the dark tone used by the main animatronic. The bear flicked one of his rounded ears in a surprisingly realistic motion when the top hat resting behind them slid forward as he turned to glance at Izzy, the black fabric obviously irritating said ear with its presence. The blue-haired girl subtly stood up as straight as she could, hoping she wasn't in a similar situation to the hat. "Scott. Who is this?" The warning was clear, but the man dubbed Phone Guy stepped up to the plate anyway, shaking like a leaf in the wind but doing an admirable job of keeping his voice from reflecting it aside from his stuttering.
"A-a-actually, I-I needed to talk to you about that, Freddy. Um, I-I know I'm supposed to check with you about this kind of thing first, b-but we've been so busy lately it kind of slipped my mind, uh..."
He cut off as the animatronic stepped closer to him and slung an arm around his shoulders, sighing in a way that was close to a growl. "Scott, we've talked about this," he reminded the bespectacled man, who wisely (in Izzy's opinion) kept his mouth closed. "I really hope you're not going to say what I think you're going to say, but the uniform tells me all I need to know. I'm very disappointed, Scott. You promised me you wouldn't do this again."
He took in a deep if shaky breath. "I know, a-and I am sorry, but I honestly didn't think about it - we need the help, Freddy. I know you remember what happened last month..." The bear tensed up slightly and looked away. Taking that as a good sign, Scott continued, his voice progressively steadier. "S-So, see, I just didn't want to let the opportunity slip by. People don't call that often, you know." He paused, seemingly debating with himself on whether to add on, and went on after a quick glance at Izzy. "She's been told she has the job, and I've already started training her. I know the final say is yours-"
"That's right, it is. But, I'll keep that information in mind," Freddy broke in, moving away from one human to stand before the other, whom he was significantly taller than. Izzy had to look up to make eye contact with him, which only served to make him more unnerving. She was sure that was the point. For a moment, Freddy said nothing, merely gazing down at her with a steely look in his pretty blue eyes- okay, why in the absolute flip were these characters so good-looking? Terrifying he might be at the moment, but even so, it wasn't hard to see past the scary to the fact that he was also designed as an attractive young man, the plainest of the three she'd met but still leaving the majority of real men she'd ever met in the dust. Despite that slight wander her brain took, Izzy kept her eyes focused on Freddy's until she finally had no choice but to blink; when she reopened her eyes a split-second later, he was taking a step back to a normal distance, shifting to stand at parade rest (it said something that that was a more relaxed stance than he had been in), and she had to fight not to sag in relief that his intense scrutiny seemed to be over. "So," he said in a resigned tone, giving a little sigh to go with it, "what's your name?"
"Isolde Ravenswood, s-"
"Your real name!" the bear snapped before she could finish tacking on the 'sir'; all four of the room's other occupants jumped back, Foxy even scrambling up onto the stage to get out of range.
Izzy tried to steady her breathing as she stuffed her hand in her pants pocket to fish around for her wallet. She wasn't above admitting that had scared her, but if she wanted to eat sometime this month, she needed this job, and she didn't figure tiptoeing around the main animatronic wouldn't get her anywhere, so she forced herself to get over it, tamping down her fear until she had it back under control. At least she was doing better than Scott - poor guy looked like he might have a heart attack. "That is my real name," she said, finally pulling her wallet out and flipping it open to show her driver's license to the irate character, who snatched it roughly and peered at it with a frown. "Promise. I think I got a copy of my birth certificate in there somewhere if you need more proof."
Spots of color appeared high on Freddy's pale cheeks as he handed her things back; he took another step away as soon as she accepted the item, eyes on the floor. "Um, no, that won't be necessary," he said quietly. "I apologize. It sounded made-up. That's no excuse, of course. I'm sorry."
She shrugged, trying for a smile. "Eh, it's okay. Happens all the time," she said nonchalantly. His eyes flicked back up to hers before he bowed, a simple motion very unlike Foxy's showmanship but more respectful by its utilitarian nature. "Still, I shouldn't have assumed, and shouldn't have reacted that way even if you had been lying. Please accept my apologies."
Despite the fact that he'd nearly made her and the rest of the 'people' in room jump out of their skins a minute before, all the input Izzy's brain had to give as she looked at the embarrassed bear was d'aaw. Thanks, brain, you're so helpful. "Okay, then, apology accepted," she confirmed, realizing he wouldn't take anything less than that proper response for an answer, and thoughtlessly curtsied again in response to his bow. A tiny smile found its way to his face, vanishing when he glanced around at everyone else to see them still shaken up.
"Everyone, I'm sorry again for my conduct," he declared, and he really did sound it. "I've... had a bad day, but I shouldn't take it out on you. Scott, if you could bring me Miss Ravenswood's information please?" The other security guard nodded, stepping out of the way as the brunette brushed past him on his way to the stage's stairs.
"Sure thing, Freddy. Should I just leave 'em at your desk?"
He nodded. "Please. I'll look everything over in the morning; I'm going to bed now so nobody has to deal with me and my bad mood for the rest of the night." He paused in front of the heavy velvet curtains and looked back at Izzy. "Sorry for the hostility of it, but, welcome to your new job. Provided you come back tomorrow... maybe we could have a real conversation?" She didn't reply, but smiled, and his little smile returned. "Well then, good night, everyone." With that he disappeared through the curtain, his answers to Bonnie and Foxy's 'good night's barely audible. Izzy immediately slumped, scrubbing a hand over her face with a quiet "Ugh!" as the other animatronics silently followed their leader backstage.
"Yeah... That could've gone better," Scott mumbled, hesitantly reaching out to pat her on the back. "B-but, really, I think he likes you!" he said with forced enthusiasm.
The blue-haired girl gave him an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? 'Cause I can't tell."
"No, honestly, I think he does," he said earnestly, and Izzy couldn't tell who he was trying to reassure more, her or himself. "This just wasn't the best time to have this conversation - as soon as we found out where he was, we should have left; I know better than to try talking to him after he's had to go spend any time with the Toys..."
Izzy blinked blearily, her vision still fuzzy from rubbing her eyes. "And who are they, again?" Scott bit his lip and glanced over at the doorway from whence Freddy had come, Izzy following his gaze. The doors were still propped open, but it looked like the flourescent lights had already been turned off on that side of the building, leaving only the dim emergency lights to illuminate it, and they didn't do that great a job of it. As such, the figure on the other side of the doorway was ensconced in shadow, but it was more than clear before it stepped back out of sight that they were being watched. A shiver ran up Izzy's spine, and she jumped when Scott touched her to get her attention, gesturing for her to follow him as he started walking again. She scurried to catch up, unable to help noticing that the black-haired man didn't say another word until they were far away from the double doors.
"We're just going to grab your paperwork from the office real quick, and then I'll take you on to the break room so you can get acquainted with your co-workers and we'll answer any more questions you might have about the job," he explained as they started down the hallway once more.
"And does the Toy question fit into that category?" she asked, refusing to be brushed off.
He sighed and looked around at the empty halls as though expecting to see someone there, but when there was no one, he conceded. "Alright, look. This is not the original location of the restaurant. We've only been here for about ten years or so, but the first restaurant, Fredbear's Family Diner, was open back in 1993. There was... an accident there that led to it closing for a while, and when it opened back up in the early 2000's, the managers at that time ran the characters into the ground and got it closed down. At first, the plan was to repair the animatronics and reopen again, but..."
"But what?" Izzy prompted.
Scott stopped in his tracks, startling her into doing the same, and fixed her with a hard look. "Don't mention to any of the animatronics that I told you this, okay?" he said seriously, and she nodded fervently. "Good. They don't really like people to know. But, anyway, what happened was that the new management decided that instead of fixing up the old cast of characters, they were just going to make new ones. So they did. They had a team redesign Freddy and the gang and build new characters from the ground up, leaving the originals to rot - or worse, using them for parts." They had finally started moving again, though the pace was about equal to a snail's, and Scott looked truly pained to be saying this. "No one actually knows when the animatronics gained sentience, just when Freddy finally stood up for his friends, and while I really hope they were just robots at that point in time, I'm afraid... I'm afraid they were already people when all that went on. You just don't know; they were left in such horrible condition. Wires sticking out, limbs broken due to bad handling or the technicians stealing them to use on the new characters - during the worst of it, Bonnie had his left arm and most of his face taken to be used for the new Bonnie instead. It was awful. A-anyway, because of the way the new characters looked when they were finished, people started calling them the Toys. Where the original cast look like real people, the Toys are noticeably fake; they're just too shiny and weird to pass for humans."
Izzy was quiet for a moment, teeth worrying at her lower lip as she tried to imagine the flawless, all-too human characters she'd just met looking like broken-down robots and couldn't. "So the whole parts thing is why they hate them, I guess?"
Scott shrugged helplessly. "I'm not sure exactly what went on between them," he admitted, pushing his glasses back up his nose as they began to slide. "All I know is how they interact now, and it's not pretty. Bonnie and Toy Bonnie - or Bon Bon, as most of the staff calls him - don't get along at all. In fact, they fight almost constantly, to the point that we don't even ask security to try to stop it anymore. I mean, if you happen to catch them fighting on one of the cams, you're welcome to run over there and try to break it up if you want, but chances are it'll already be over by the time you get there." He laughed a little. "You'd think Bon Bon would have given up by now, but he hasn't. Almost ten years they've been working 'together' at this location, and he has never once won a fight with Bonnie. I mean, he couldn't beat Bonnie even when he was missing his face and arm back in the day, and he sure as heck can't beat him now that the gang is back in good condition, but he still tries for some reason."
Even with them going so slow, the hallway didn't last forever despite it seeming to, and they'd made it back to the office. Scott vanished inside to rifle through the ocean of paperwork, and returned moments later brandishing the folder into which he'd put the forms; Izzy hadn't bothered going inside. "I don't suppose you've met either of the Chicas yet, have you?" he asked when he came back out, picking up the conversation again. Izzzy shook her head. "They're the only ones you don't have to worry about interacting. Unlike the guys, they actually like eachother, to the point that they've almost got a sisterly relationship, so the only trouble that ever comes of them being together is the nights when they decide to team up and cause chaos. Luckily they don't get into their mischievous moods that often, though."
"What about the Foxys?" Izzy inquired, smiling a little. Scott's own little smile, which he had gained for just a moment, promptly fell off his face and shattered against the floor, and the blue-haired girl could feel hers slipping. "What?"
"Oh, u-um, just... There, uh, used to be a Toy Foxy, but, um, not anymore," he stuttered, not meeting her eyes. "W-we really don't talk about it. There was, um, kind of an accident, uh, involving that animatronic. She's no longer part of the cast, s-so, the only other ones you have to watch out for are the Marionette and Toy Freddy."
Izzy frowned. "What do you mean 'watch out for'?"
Yet again, Scott stopped walking to lock eyes with her, and this time there was a sense of urgency about the words that quietly left his lips. "Listen to me, Izzy. If you can help it, I don't ever want you going over to the Toys' side of the restaurant, and if there comes a day when you absolutely have to, do not go in there without another guard, do you understand me?"
Courtesy of the black-haired man's tone and her overactive imagination, every shadow was suddenly something menacing, or worse, a hiding place for it, and Izzy wondered vaguely how this job at a kids' play place had gotten so incredibly creepy so quickly. "No, I don't really," she said honestly, standing up straight and squaring her shoulders to the invisible assailants in the corners. "Scott, give me straight answer. Why?"
He drew in a frustrated breath through his nose, but relented, speaking lowly and quickly. "Because I don't want you coming into contact with Teddy - Toy Freddy. Look, there is something wrong with that animatronic. He's twisted, alright? You can't trust him. I don't know the details, no one does, but at some point in the past, he did something to Freddy, and he hasn't been the same since. Aside from a few rational fears like fires and dangerous things like that, Freddy's not afraid of anything, which is what makes it so scary to see them interact and realize that he is terrified of Teddy. And that psycho practically thrives on it, knowing that the original Freddy is so freaked out by him and whatever happened between them in the past. Now don't misunderstand me - all of the animatronics are perfectly safe around the children, and in fact, this may be the safest place on Earth for everyone under the age of eighteen, but as soon as the last kid is out the doors, they're different; they're actually themselves instead of the kid-friendly versions they show the patrons. None of them are really that fond of adults, truth be told, because they've all had at least one bad experience, but none of the originals or Toy Bonnie or Chica would ever hurt you. I can't say the same for Teddy, and what's worse, he's smart and he's crafty. I wouldn't put it past him at all to try and trick you into coming into his territory, so promise me, Izzy, that you won't fall for it if he does. Don't ever go to that side of the restaurant without another guard for back-up, and for Pete's sake don't get separated, 'cause between the Marionette and Teddy, I really don't like your chances," he finished bluntly.
"Chances of what?!" she squeaked without thinking, and the sound echoed throughout the darkened hallways of the empty building. Izzy instantly flushed scarlet, but Scott didn't even react to it, keeping his dark, nearly-black eyes on hers as he answered the question in a dark voice she wouldn't have thought the upbeat manager capable of.
"Surviving."
As Izzy stood there, stunned and trying to put her thoroughly wrecked train of thought back together, something made a noise in one of those shadowy corners she was trying not to look at, and Scott wrapped an arm around her, leading her quickly away from the area. If she'd been smart in any way, shape or form, Isolde Ravenswood would have ducked out from under it and hit the emergency exit running, but as it was, she stayed, mind still whirling as she let herself be dragged along. The sound of their footsteps, muffled by the carpeting, wasn't nearly loud enough to drown out the sinister, laughing whisper from the darkness behind them that Izzy hoped to high heaven she was imagining.
"Welcome to Freddy's."
Ooh, menacing! Despite that most of the animatronics will be friendly rather than trying to murder people's faces off, this is still a Five Nights At Freddy's fic, and what would it be without some danger, am I right? The Marionette and Toy Freddy had to be the baddies, because that Puppet freaks me out, and if you'll notice on Toy Freddy's page of polebear artwork, there is a scene where the original Freddy is crying, and Teddy is standing behind him with his hands on his shoulders and smiling far too happily for the situation at hand. Personally, I think he caused whatever made Freddy cry, hence the backstory above.
Anyhow, thank you guys so, so much for reading, and make sure to lemme know what you think so I know whether or not I should continue this!