Chapter two: Fear

12:00 am

Douglas still couldn't believe that he got the job so easily. When the manager stood up near the end of their conversation the younger man expected him to kick him out or something, or at the very least to not accept him as a night guard. Yet here he sat now in his new office.

Right after Mr. Griffiths accepted him into the company, he had proceeded to show Douglas his new office at the end of the hallways. The younger man had been wondering where they would lead, and he got his answer without even asking. After being taken there, he had been shown how to do his job: the cameras, the doors, the lights, the vent, everything.

When that was done, Mr. Griffiths had given him the uniform, equipment and badge. The uniform looked like a regular guard uniform, which, of course, didn't come as a surprise. The belt that came with it also contained the equipment one would expect from a guard: a taser, a flashlight, a cell phone, you name it.

Douglas' job was simple: watch the cameras for any break-ins, and, most important of all, make sure to keep the anime-tronics from harm, all the while protecting himself. Mr. Griffiths did say he cared for his employees, and that if Douglas found himself in true danger, he would have to lock himself in the office and contact the police as soon as possible.

RING RING!

The new guard jumped when the office phone suddenly rang. He looked at it, confused. Who would call the restaurant at this hour? And why? The young man quickly stood up from his chair, walked over to the desk and put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" he hesitantly said.

"Uh, hello?" a voice, coming from the phone, replied.

"Yeah," Douglas said. "This is Freddy's Restaura-"

"I need you to listen," the voice interrupted in a calm yet urgent tone. "The robots will be active during the night."

Douglas blinked. "Sir-"

"I left this message for whoever is in that office right now. It's really important, so just listen to me, alright?"

"Oh…" the guard said to nobody in particular. "It's pre-recorded."

"The robots, these 'anime-tronics', have minds of their own. During the night, they'll come after you to… well, the point is that you have to keep them out of your office. You see, should you let them enter, they'll play a bit… well… rough."

"What? What do you mean, 'play rough'?" Douglas asked, slightly disturbed.

"However, due to the heavy assets they have in their robotic bodies, the chances for you to survive their… well, the chances are slim, okay? Use the doors to keep them at bay, but make sure to conserve your power. If it runs out, you'll be defenseless. I also recommend quitting, by the way."

*Click*

Douglas was sweating heavily at this point. This was something his manager had not discussed with him. The robots trying to take his life? And then the eventual cause of death…

The guard immediately reached for the security tablet to see if one of the anime-tronics had already moved, but stopped himself. He stepped backwards and fell back into his chair, chuckling nervously. Of course the whole didn't make sense. Sentient robots moving around and killing him? He should have known better than to just believe it all. It was probably a prank, fabricated from one of the veteran employees' creative – or twisted – minds.

Douglas closed his eyes in relief and let his head rest on the back of the chair. They really got him scared for a moment there, but he wasn't going to check the cameras for something he knew was humbug. Nor was he going to quit his job.

"You… awake?" a soft, unidentified voice asked.

Douglas' eyes flew open and he lifted his head back up, his face showing pure shock as he looked at where the voice had come from. It didn't take long for him to see who its owner was.

There, sitting on his desk, was Bonnie, the blue robot bunny. It was giving him a curious look and a small, friendly smile. It perked up a bit when the guard revealed that he was awake, its smile widening.

Douglas, on the other hand, felt fear getting its grip on his body. His breathing intensified and eventually almost turned into hyperventilation, as he rolled his chair away from the bunny on which his terrified eyes were locked. As he tried to increase the distance between him and it, his thoughts were brought back to the message on the phone.

You see, should you let them enter, they'll play a bit… well… rough.

The desk chair hit the wall behind it, amplifying the guard's fear by tenfold as he still focused on Bonnie, which had stood up from the desk, revealing its immense height. Its face showed a bit of what seemed to be worry, but Douglas failed to notice that. All he knew was that he was about to be killed by a giant robot bunny, all because he refused to believe the guy on the phone.

Unless he would somehow manage to avoid death.

Having started to make a quick and definitely flawed plan in his head, the guard stood up from his own seat. He was starting to get his breath back under his control, but his body was still shaking heavily.

He made an observation as to how best to do this: the bunny was standing rather close to the west door and going through the vent was not an option either. That left him with only one chance to save himself…

Suddenly, Bonnie spoke up. "Now, there's no need to be scared…"

Its voice was warm and calming. Or it would've been, had Douglas not been blinded by how disturbing it was that this thing appeared to be talking freely. He couldn't risk his life trying to reason with a machine that apparently wanted to… well, a machine that was dangerous.

The young man froze for a second before making his move. Before the bunny knew it, Douglas had stormed off through the east door with all the speed his adrenalized body could provide him with. As he ran through the hallway, he made a quick final part for his plan: run straight for the entrance and leave the restaurant.

He sprinted into the party room and headed for the exit, not bothering to look if the other anime-tronics were still on stage. His speed allowed him to reach the door to the outside in mere seconds, after which he grabbed the handle and pulled.

It didn't budge.

"Shit," Douglas muttered under his breath. He had completely forgotten that the doors were locked during the night. How could he be so stupid? His shaking hands immediately went to the keyring on his belt.

Despite the uncontrolled vibrations, the guard managed to get the keyring and was about to unlock the door, when a soft, yellow hand coming from behind him wrapped its fingers around his wrist. Before Douglas could react, another yellow hand had stolen the keyring from his grasp.

As the first hand let go of his wrist, the night guard whirled around to come face to face with Chica, the yellow robot chicken. It was holding the keyring in its hands in a teasing manner, moving it with its fingers as if she was going to use it for a magic trick.

Douglas pressed his back into the door behind him, fear gripping his throat and preventing him from screaming. All that escaped was a whimper.

Upon hearing that, the chicken's teasing expression vanished and was replaced by the same worry the bunny had when it paid a visit to the office. It stopped playing with the keyring and firmly held it in its right hand.

"Everything okay?" a familiar voice from behind Chica asked. The chicken turned its head to where it came from and Douglas was horrified to see Bonnie emerge from the darkness behind the yellow robot.

With both artificial creatures looming over him, the guard's fear was almost tangible. His body was completely frozen, and his face had a seemingly permanent expression of terror as he looked at the bots. This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't possible. This-

"H-hey, now, don't be scared," Bonnie suddenly said. She wasn't sure if it would help much, but it didn't hurt to try. She understood that sentient robots weren't exactly normal in the human world. Apparently, they would be a huge threat to mankind, and she didn't blame the humans for thinking that. Sure, the robotic gang members here were potentially dangerous due to their inhuman strength and durability, but they would never hurt anyone.

Despite this, the night guards were always scared of them. Again, she understood that, especially since the message on the phone told them a terrifying myth – which still disgusted her to the bone. But the bots were in great need for a friend during the night, and never stopped trying to get one. Unfortunately, the guards would always quit their job first thing in the morning.

Chica looked at the bunny. "Maybe we should bring him back to the office," it – no, she – softly said. Bonnie seemed to agree.

The latter looked back at Douglas and reached out her arm to him. His reaction was to try and move away, but his body didn't seem to fully obey him anymore. He was literally frozen in fear.

He did flinch, however, when Bonnie's hand slowly landed on his shoulder. She tried to pull him away from the door as gently as she could, but it did eventually require some force.

Once Douglas and the door were separated, the bunny moved him forward, leading him towards the west hallway.

"C'mon," she softly said. "Let's go…"


Fun fact: this chapter was originally going to be called 'The first night'. However, since that was rather cliché for a FNAF/FNIA story, I decided to make the name fit in a bit more with the chapter itself. I think I did a good job on that part…

Also, to avoid any misunderstandings, the anime-tronics still wear their full attires during the night.