Prologue
There's too many memories here. Everytime I regain control and see those...relics, those broken pieces of machinery and recycled body parts, I can't help but think of all that could have been, if only we'd been able to stop it. I'm sure that, even if we've been mostly forgotten and exist only as urban legends, people still remember the Bite of '87. I know I always will, after all...
I was there.
I try to remember the good times instead, all the way back to Fredbear's Family Diner, where I was first introduced along with good old Fredbear himself. We, and many others, used to entertain kids and give them all the laughter and smiles that all kids deserve. We were loved, respected, and we loved everything we did.
But then the place closed down. I don't claim to know what happened, Fredbear and I were simply left to rot away until, one day, we were needed again. But in that diner, a place that truly is lost to time now...I know I heard a scream. It sounded terrified, helpless, as if it was in horrible pain or agony and there was nothing it could do but futilely call for help. But nobody came. I tried to find that voice, I had to help them somehow, but I was taken away before I could see anything and it remained a mystery. I was said to be 'acting strangely', though I didn't know why. I was just trying to help when no one else could. But just under a week after I heard those screams, Fredbear's was closed down, and that golden bear and I were forgotten altogether.
For years, we festered in the rotten dump that had once been a beloved place, and our AI wouldn't allow us to move anywhere but the soaked walls of the Diner, covered in mold and damp.
But then one day, we were salvaged. We didn't know what was happening exactly, knowing only that we would most likely be destroyed. But we were taken somewhere else, that seemed all too familiar.
Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.
And though that place exists only in memories now...
I still wonder if, somehow, I can go back to what I used to be.
In With the New
Fredbear and I were going to be used again. From what I could gather, the current animatronics, the Toys, I think they were called, were acting strangely, presumably just like I had, and me and Fredbear were going to be used instead. They fixed us, sewed us back together, and we looked as good as new, if not still a little scruffy. I think someone reprogrammed us, as well, and though I don't know who it was exactly, thinking back I have a very good idea.
We were placed in a back room, until finally the day came when we were going to relive the glory days. Though we didn't know if this would be permanent, or if we'd ever be used again, we were glad to have another chance.
It was a birthday party that day, and we were more than happy to make it one of the happiest days in the kids life. Fredbear and I took to the stage, singing those same old songs and giving those same familiar smiles, just as we'd always done.
Then everything went to hell.
As Fredbear and I sang our songs, we noticed that there were no children around. We thought nothing of it, thinking that maybe they were simply in another room and having fun elsewhere, so we continued on our own until they came in. We were on opposite sides of the stage, so I can't have seen everything as it happened, but I still remember those screams.
Fredbear and I were known as springlock suits. That meant that we had two modes. One was an animatronic mode, where we were controlled by AI and whatever sapience that designated us with. The other was a 'costume mode', where our animatronic parts could be wound back to the sides of the costume to make it safe for a human to wear and control the suits themselves. But there was a design flaw, not unusual considering the time, and even the slightest movement could cause our mechanical parts to spring loose, and if a person happened to be wearing the suit at the time...luckily I hadn't experienced it back then, and I was glad of it.
Right now, we were in our animatronic mode, being controlled by both our AI and our apparent sapience. I could hear voices from close by, off to the side where Fredbear was still continuing his routine. I ignored them and simply carried on, though it was clear that these were kids, and they were alone with no adult supervision. I'd heard that the day security guard was staying close to the Toy animatronics, but I suppose that wasn't his descision. It was also clear that these kids were taunting another, as one of them was crying while the others were laughing, cracking jokes about how the kid wanted to see Fredbear, even though it was obvious the kid was terrified. I looked towards them for just a second, to see what was happening or if there was anything I could do...but I was too late.
The older children carried the kid towards Fredbear's open mouth, and stuffed him into it just far enough that the kids head was right inside. They continued to laugh, though not as much now, and as Fredbear's AI obliviously tried to carry on with it's programming and keep moving...there was suddenly a sickening crack, and everything went silent. Blood began to drip out of Fredbear's half-open mouth, dropping to the floor and seeping into the suit. The kid's head was still jammed inside, with an obvious crack where Fredbear's mouth had bitten in, and something pink just visible through the gash.
Nobody moved or even said a word, no one screamed or cried...
No one did anything.
Everything became a haze after that. I think Fredbear was taken away, either to be cleaned or destroyed, but I never saw him again. As for the kid, he was rushed so fast to a hospital there was no time to react, and as far as I know, he didn't make it. If he did, I'm glad, and I hope he's all right. But I don't know how anyone could survive something so horrific as that.
As for me, I was shut down, obviously because I'd been there and I might be the next culprit of a similar incident. I don't where I was taken, or where I was exactly when I woke up, but I remember everything after that.
All I know is that Fredbear must have been reprogrammed. He'd never hurt anyone on purpose, not if he didn't have a damn good reason. Thinking about it now...it's all becoming clear.
Out With the Old
For years, I was left to rot inside a so-called safe-room. Springlock suits like me and Fredbear were deemed too unsafe, so we were locked away and never mentioned again, though I suppose that was for the best. After that, I think I was asleep for a long time. I might have been moved somewhere else, but I don't know for certain. When I woke up...that was when this nightmare began.
I stayed in that safe-room for years, with nowhere to go and not much of a way out. While there wasn't much between me and freedom, the map programmed into my AI wouldn't let me out of the room. It was built and sealed off, and like me, it was forgotten and treated like it didn't exist. It was my prison, but I could accept that. After all, if Fredbear and I couldn't save Fazbear's or even one child, then what good could we ever be to anyone?
And it was far from the worst thing I'd done, anyway.
I remember now, in Fazbear's, I was used before the birthday party. I was placed into costume mode, and while the person inside was in control, I could see everything he did through my AI. I suppose I did have some degree of sentience- sapience, after all.
That man...he was almost the stuff of nightmares. Stuff...now that's an operative word. Though Fazbear's was already starting to lose business, and wasn't exactly the safest place imaginable anyway, this man was the true reason that place closed down, he had to be. Though he can't have known, I was forced to watch as he lured at least four kids into the Pizzeria, and killed them. I don't know how exactly, but I think one may have been simply stuffed into a suit, where the various wires and crossbeams and heavy machinary practically butchered the kid. The other three? Lets just say there are countless horrific things you wouldn't want done to a child, and he committed at least three of those. A blunt object to the head, a couple of stab wounds with some leftover pieces of metal...don't get me started on the third kid. There could have been more, as far as I know, but I simply tried to block it out.
Each and every time I looked at those kids, I saw what true terror must have felt like, looked like...all those scary dreams and monsters hiding under your bed, and in your closet, all gunning for you with every intent to kill you in the most gruesome way possible...that's what I saw on those faces, and those are the faces I'll never forget.
That night and those days have haunted me every time I look at myself. But at least I could do one thing that could at least try to make those kids smile again. I had to find a way to beg for forgiveness.
In that safe-room, I stayed just where I was and didn't dare move for fear of breaking completely. The years hadn't been kind to me at all. The fur was ripping and tearing, exposing my metal skeleton. I was stuck in costume mode, so I couldn't move anyway. I could do nothing but watch as time wore away at me and left me simply a forgotten piece of hardware, an urban legend. Then one day, I heard voices...
I was reminded of the very first scream I heard, all the way back at Fredbears. It sounded like something smashing, breaking...metal against metal, scraping and trying desperately to destroy something. Then the safe-room opened. The thin cardboard walls were torn down, and in came the man who had caused all of this. I looked around at the soaked walls, covered in mold, the few rats scurrying across the floor and the leaking roof. How long had I been here?
Behind the man...there were ghosts. I knew exactly who those spirits were meant to be, and I knew I had to help them somehow, I had to apologise...I had to show them they were still loved and that someone was still there for them. As one of the ghosts began to chase the man around the room, he suddenly climbed inside my suit, and began to laugh. I had my chance. Using all the strength I could, I caused my springlocks to snap back, trapping him inside and brutally killing him. Though it was gruesome, and a moment I can never forget, I knew I'd done the right thing. Blood poured out of the suit, soaking me. The man shook as if he was having a seizure, as the metal beams and wires mutilated him and tore him apart, leaving nothing but a mummified corpse. My animatronic eyes were jammed into his, but my springlocks continued to crush him. It must have been agony more than anyone could imagine. It must have been such a long, gruesome death that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.
It had to be done.
Epilogue
So here we are. Thirty years since then, and I'm still alive, though just barely. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but the man is the one in control now. I suppose his soul, though he doesn't deserve one, merged with my AI or took over the suit and animatronic, and now this is the burden we both share.
After all those years, time hasn't been any kinder to me. My rips and tears now expose organs, nerves, veins and bones hanging through the metal skeleton, wires stick out of the many holes I have in my body, and in some places the fur has completely worn away.
But to me, the worst thing is the smile. The worn-down fur has etched a wide grin permanently onto my face, a gruesome reminder of what I used to be and what I loved to do.
We're in another location now, a place known as Fazbear's Fright, a grim horror attraction based on the supposed urban legends and terrifying tales of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. There's a night guard who comes in to watch the place, though it hasn't been open for long yet, if at all. I heard there's faulty wiring as well, so I don't how this place will even still be here in a week, if the safety procedures in Freddy's are anything to go by. Sometimes the man takes control and goes after the night guard, and I have to watch as he gets closer and closer to gaining another victim. I try to stop him, but it's no use, and there's not much of a point. Everything's over now, and there is no way to go back to what once was.
And as every night passes and we lie in wait, I look for a way out, anything that could get me out of here or finally destroy the one who broke apart our lives and left us scattered. Though of course, this place is already unsafe enough.
As I take control for the final time, prepared to let the past burn, I hear the distinct crackle of fire, I look around at the bits and pieces of the past, the animatronic heads stuck to the wall as lamps, and the bare suits hanging from the ceiling like puppets on strings...and I think to myself...
I am still here.