Author's Note: Hello there! This story is originally based off of a Five Night's at Freddy's AU my roleplay partner Hunter Mikaelson and I decided to do together on Skype, and since we were using script format but also integrated paragraph into it, I figured it would be summarily easy to change it into a story format for everyone's reading pleasure. ^^ Keep in mind though that since the roleplay hasn't been completed yet that there is a high probability of this story falling into hiatus within the course of a few days, but it won't exceed that unless the rp has been completely abandoned or something happens to either us of on the other side of this screen. In any case, we hope you enjoy it and we're looking forward to any questions, comments or concerns. Thank you!

Disclaimer: Five Nights at Freddy's belongs to its developer Scott Cawthon and was released by Desura. I do not own any of the characters or the settings save for the ones designed specifically for this AU.

Chapter 1

10%, 9%...

The power was slowly being depleted by the usage of the hallway lights and closing of doors. Mike glanced back up from the cameras and looked at the stretch of blackness in the empty corridors outside the entry ways leading to the security guard's office.

7%, 6%...

Oh god, it just turned 5 AM thirty four minutes ago and he was already way below the minimum amount of power needed to ensure his survival. 4%, 3%, any time now and he would be unerringly met with his dismal fate.

Foxy had been watching him closely. He didn't know how much power he had left but he knew he was getting lower than what he should be at. He didn't know this new night guard. He didn't have to. They were all the same. He hated every last one of them. He peeked out from the curtain for a few minutes before taking off at a high speed down the hallway, heading straight for the security room. He knew that despite the night guard shutting the door, he would still lose quite a bit of power if he ran into it. And Freddy would be quick to get there as soon as the power shut off.

The telltale sound of metallic feet thumping on the black and white tiled floor caused the night watchman's hairs to stand on end, a chill running down his spine when he saw that Pirate's Cove was deserted, which could only mean one thing. He looked up and quickly slammed his hand on both of the control panels on the walls, closing the doors immediately despite the power level already being on 3%. No, no, he wasn't getting out this time. Mike bit down on his lower lip and stood up, backing away against the wall which was farthest from the doors.

2%, 1%...

There was no denying it, he was definitely a goner.

Foxy had gotten to the door just as the power went out. He chuckled quietly to himself. He stood just outside the door, barely visible without the lights while simply waiting for Freddy to show up. A few seconds later, the lights from Freddy's eyes and mouth could be seen in the doorway. He grinned at the night watchman. He was going to make him pay. Even if he wasn't the one who made them into slaves, he wanted revenge and he didn't care who it was on. He stepped closer into the room, only about five feet away from Mike, trying to intimidate him.

Despite the darkness, the brunette could clearly see the flickering lights from the main leader of the animatronics' eyes. The sight of the glaring, cold illumination caused tears to well up in his own and the night watchman pressed himself further back against the wall, legs trembling as he slowly slid down onto the floor, eyes wide and vision blurring. "P-P-Please, I'm not an exoskeleton, I'm a human!" Foxy had stepped into the room by now, leaning against the wall. "Oh, we know. But you work for those damn factories." He growled out the words. Freddy turned to him and told him to shut up. He took a step closer, leaning down. Eyes still flickering in the darkness. "We know what you do. And you're going to pay for it."

Mike stared up at them, terror and shock written over his face as he hugged his legs tightly and fought to keep his voice from quavering. " N-No, please I want to live!" It cracked at the end and tears slid down his cheeks, face pale. "I-I don't even know what factories you're talking about! I just w-want to go h-home!" He glanced at the telephone which had been inactive since the fifth night, fighting to hold back a sob. "I-If you s-stuff me in one of your s-suits, you might k-kill me you know? I-It wasn't made for humans, please let me go and I'll j-just save the phone guy from the Employee's room and leave and never come back!" The brunette was wrought with fear and he pressed his back further against the wall, desperately trying to stay out of reach from the animatronics towering over him.

Freddy rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed with the man's antics. "Shut up, night guard. You're all the same. You come in here at night and watch us, not even bothering to help. Then during the day, you create more of us to use as slaves. You're all disgusting and deserve to die." Foxy tilted his head, confused as to why the man was denying knowing about any factories. "Freddy, wait." He stepped closer to Mike, even closer than Freddy and kneeled down. "Don't lie to us. You know what factory we are talking about. If you didn't, then why do you work here?"

"I-I-I needed the m-money, that's w-why...!" He let out a wail. "That's why I endured seven nights of hell here, just for the money! I don't know anything about this place or any factories, so please let me go!" The brunette's shaking was uncontrollable and his voice trembled to no avail. Chica peeked inside the office before moving in quietly with one of the spare Freddy suits in tow, her own lights flickering. "What's taking so long? We usually get this over with quickly." Freddy growled and shook his head. "Foxy is taking his sweet ol' time. Asking the man questions. I say enough. We kill him now."

The fox robot in disrepair shook his head and stepped in front of the man. "Wait. I believe him. He has no clue what we are talking about. Don't kill him. Not yet."

"Y-Yeah, I really don't! You can ask any of my college friends and they'll agree I'm the most honest one in our group!" The night watchman was astonished- the fox robot was helping him? "I know a far easier way to settle this. Why don't we question him? Then we can see whether he's telling the truth or not?" Chica smirked at the once again horrified expression on the brunette's face at her words. Freddy thought about it for a few seconds then nodded. "Yes, alright. That sounds good. Chica, go get Bonnie and we will go from there. Hopefully we will be able to settle this."

Foxy sighed and stood up, leaning against the wall. As much as he hated all the night guards, he didn't want to kill someone who was innocent of their situation. He did have morals, after all. Only kill the ones who put them and others of their kind into slavery. "Alright." The female chicken robot left the suit in the office and hurried off, finding Bonnie not so far off from the office.

"W-Wait, what?!" Mike's eyes widened and he glanced back and forth fervently from the faces of each animatronic. "Y-You're not going to i-interrogate me, right?! That's crazy, you guys are robots! You c-can't know about- I m-mean it's unrealistic...!" Foxy shook his head and looked down. "Just keep your trap shut for now. We know what we are doing, and it really isn't unrealistic if you even knew us. But, you know. None of the night guards ever tried to get to know us. They all deserved to die."

"Every. Last. One of them." Freddy chuckled darkly to himself, sitting down on the chair that Mike was sitting in before they entered the room. "H-How can you know what you're doing?! O-Oh god, I'm finally going insane now, right? Haha, yeah, that has to be it! N-None of this is real, it can't be real! R-Robots don't talk, they can't walk! Hahaha!" Mike gripped his head in both hands, staring at the floor in disbelief as Chica returned with Bonnie and stood by Foxy's side. "Remind me again why we're taking the time to actually talk to a night guard?"

"Because I want to. Got a problem with that? I don't want to kill someone if he doesn't deserve it. What if he is telling the truth and he doesn't know about the factories?" Foxy replied, still gazing down at the brunette. "This is really weird though. We have never done something like this before." Bonnie commented as all four animatronics watched the distraught human cowering away from them on the floor. Freddy just laughed. "Oh, you poor soul. Thinking this is all just a dream and when you wake up we will be gone. How wrong you are. Oh, how wrong you are. And I don't even feel a bit sorry for you. You pathetic piece of trash."

"N-No, none of this is real! It's not real, it's not, it's not!" Mike screamed, curling up on the floor. "I-It's not...!" His heart pounded, beating rapidly as if it was about to burst out of his chest and tears continued to streak down his already stained cheeks. Chica nodded in agreement. "I know, but still. We didn't do this for the one before him."She looked over to the grizzly bear animatronic. "Freddy, what should we do?"

"I guess we question him. It can't cause any harm, now can it? I mean... He is already freaked the fuck out and thinking this isn't real."

Foxy sighed. "Honestly, guys. Can we just hurry this up? This is getting ridiculous. Ask the poor man some questions."

"Okay. I have one. What's your name, night guard?" Bonnie asked as she and Chica turned their gazes back to the terrified human expectantly, clearly anticipating his answer.

"I-I-It's M-Mike Schmidt..." The brunette whimpered, looking up at the rabbit through his blurred vision. He remembered vaguely that he used to like Bonnie back when he was a little kid, before he heard about the bite of '87. He used to like all of the animatronics... But his parents refused to bring him back after the two incidents which tainted the place's reputation. Years later, after falling on hard times Mike sought out the pizzeria in the hopes of earning some cash to pay off his student loan debts.

Freddy looked thoughtful. "Hmm... So, Mike. Where did you work before this? Have you ever worked on animatronics before becoming as a night guard here? I'm honestly quite curious as to what you did." He chuckled, obviously trying to be intimidating yet coming off as caring- which was quite creepy to be honest. Foxy however simply narrowed his eyes and watched the man carefully. He was almost one hundred percent sure that he had nothing to do with other animatronics.

Despite the bear robot's slightly threatening inquiry, Mike lowered his gaze, eyes softening a bit as he quietly shook his head. "T-The last place I worked at was-" He stopped, memories rushing through his mind. "I-It was at another restaurant. I used to be a dishwasher, but..." The night watchman bit down on his lower lip before going on. "I didn't want to work there anymore despite my parents, and we had a fight before I could quit. T-They died the next day... Freak accident, they say. A truck r-rammed into them when they were walking together and killed them i-instantly..." Mike kept his gaze fixed on the floor, the stark images of that day flooding through his mind and causing even more tears to fall. It was just three years ago when it happened, and he still found himself haunted by the memory as the events unfolded.

" ... They left me everything as well as the house in their will, but I used most of my money on college... Which is why I'm working here, since they pay $120 for five days, and I earned the same amount plus 50 more cents yesterday for staying a sixth night..."

Foxy listened carefully to what the night guard had to say. He knew that Mike was telling the truth and was hoping that Freddy could realize it too. He didn't want this guy to get killed for nothing. The grizzly bear animatronic narrowed his eyes at the man. He wasn't sure whether he believed him or not. He thought about it for a few minutes before nodding. "Okay. So you don't work for the factories..."

"N-No, I don't! I don't know anything about any kind of factory!" The night watchman looked at them fearfully, still shaking and on the verge of sobbing if they so much as reached out for him. Chica looked at Bonnie and back at the terrified man. "Well, there's our answer. Now what do we do with him?"

"I guess we let him live...? I don't know. What do we do with him, Freddy?" Bonnie looked to the head animatronic who tilted his head, watching the man a bit more. "We let him live. Maybe he can help us. He could do more than we can." Foxy sighed quietly in relief, grinning a bit. "How could he help us? I mean... What are we even trying to accomplish?"

Mike blanched, mind reeling towards the worst case scenario. "Y-You don't mean you want me to stuff other security guards in suits?! I-I can't do that, that's virtually murder!" The brunette was close to fainting- this night was certainly the most horror stricken one there was! He thought back to a time when he was still a kid, remembering the bright colors, happy songs and smiling faces on the ever cheerful animatronics during the day amidst a crowd of children and their parents either walking around through the diner or while standing on stage. Never in his life would the night watchman have thought that these happy mascots could be capable of hunting people down at night and killing them.

"What? No. We do not want you to kill people. We need you to help us... We are slaves for this company. We were created for the sole purpose of others' enjoyment. They treat us like dirt. Force us into this life against our will. And they are still making more like us out there! They are torturing us! You don't understand anything that goes on in here... If you did, you would help stop it." Foxy nodded. "He is right... We only kill the people who work for the monsters. They know who they are working for yet they choose to ignore the damage they are causing... I'm tired... I'm so tired of doing the same thing day after day... You can see how torn I am... They haven't even attempted to help me."

The night watchman slowly sat up, still keeping his distance from the animatronics, staring at them in shock and confusion. "W-What...? What do you mean? Slaves? I-I thought you guys were possessed or something..." Chica frowned. "We may have been stuffed with children's bodies, but we have a life of our own. If anything, that's further proof that the management here could care less about us." Bonnie looked at her sadly. Every animatronic has their own life. We are all alive. We all have our own personalities and thoughts and we're all unique like you. Like any other humans. We are just as alive as you are... We have feelings too."

Freddy stood up and nodded* "So. We need help in saving our kind. Being forced into this life isn't right. And you're going to help stop it. And possibly, if you can, help fix Foxy... He is the most damaged of us all."

"O-Oh, so you were always sentient... Even since way back then...?" Mike didn't appear to be so afraid- at least not to the extent he was before, and listened to their words carefully, realization finally dawning on him. "I-I'll do my best, but I don't have the money to take the company to court." He thought deeply for a moment, eyes naturally glancing over at the clock which read 5:56 AM, remembering the story of the Bite of '87 distinctly in his head. "I'll see what I can do, but-" The alarm sounded then, indicating it was now 6:00 AM. "I have to go now, bye!" Without looking back, the night watchman bolted, shoving past the animatronics and dashed down the hall to the front entrance of the pizzeria just as the city lights turned on. He threw open the door and locked it before racing away from the restaurant and into his car, turning on the ignition as he drove away to his home just as the dawn lit up the sky.

Chica was caught off guard when she was shoved aside, but caught her balance as she watched the human make his getaway. "Now we've done it. He might tell someone and get this place shut down! And we all know we'll be separated once the company gets a hold of this!" Bonnie reached out and caught and Chica, steadying her. "He won't... He better not! I don't want to get separated from you guys! We are family..." Foxy had ran to the door after Mike, watching the night guard run to his car and drive away. This was the first time he had actually wanted to help someone that wasn't like them. He hoped he was actually going to help them. But all of his hope disappeared when he ran off... He felt awful now. They should have just killed him.

Freddy frowned. "No. He won't dare to tell." Chica hugged the purple rabbit animatronic tightly. "I don't want to leave any of you!" She looked at Freddy and Foxy with anguish. "The next time we see him, we have to kill him. At least we can make him pay for betraying us!"

"Exactly! He will pay for this. And it will be even more painful than anyone before him." Bonnie hugged Chica back just as tight, keeping her close. It was no secret that they were in a relationship. "Yes. With him... We will torture him before we kill him. He deserves it. He deserves so much worse than what we gave him." Freddy agreed. Foxy only stood there listening for a bit before silently sneaking away and walking slowly back down to Pirates Cove. He didn't really want to talk to anyone or hear about hurting Mike.

There was light in the sky by the time that the night watchman reached his home. He closed the blinds and locked his door before taking his laptop and headed upstairs into his room. He knew there must be some way he could help the animatronics, but he would have to do some research first.