Author's Note:

So, are you ready to read what Springtrap said about being at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza?! Well, sorry, I decided to "Tarantino" it and go back a bit, first. I really want to flesh out Karl's character a bit more and explain the frame of the story a bit better.

I also am introducing another couple of characters at whose roles I hint here, but that become clearer later.

Please let me know what you think! I may jump back and forth a few times in the chronology of this story as necessary, but I will do my best to make sure that the timing is clear by providing transitions between chapters so that one can piece them back together mentally without much difficulty. :)

I was surprised that I had to come to you. I had not been expecting your need for my help.

I arrived and saw you there, at the bottom of a ravine, in so much pain. Your body and your soul were both aching terribly. Your life had been a difficult one, even as short as it was, and I appeared to you in a form that represented in your mind what I offered to you, comfort. I appeared as a kind and beautiful woman, wearing a soft, blue gown.

Your eyes met mine and you pleaded to me with your heart. I offered you comfort, a relief from all of the pain, so you would never have to feel any disappointment again. I offered my hand, and you took it.

I held you to me, and we left your broken body behind. Briefly, a dark shade also appeared near us. It, too, reached out to you. It whispered:

Are you going to let him get away with that?

However, you clung to me, eager to leave behind the pain. You were a good child, Albert. Most are. I wish they all could be like you...

I parked my pickup truck in front of Edward's house. It looked like a fairly normal two-bedroom house in the suburbs. I guess somehow I was expecting something... out of the ordinary, considering what I had come here for.

I was so excited! This was going to be huge for me. This, right here, was going to be a defining moment in my career, I just knew it! I took a deep breath, and then I knocked on his door.

A minute later, I heard the latches opening, and I saw Edward. He looked pretty ordinary, too. He was in his fifties, about six feet tall with dark hair and a fair complexion. "You're... Karl. Right?" he asked, nervously.

"Yup! We spoke on the phone before. Let's see him!" I responded.

Edward looked at his watch nervously. "You're late."

"Better late than never, right?"

"You understand you have to have him secured by midnight, right? No matter WHAT-"

"I have it covered. Please, let's not waste any more time, then!" Edward opened the door and let me in. He started to walk toward the back of the house, heading to the stairs leading to the basement.

"How... did you find me?" Edward asked me.

"You know what a public auction means, right?" I replied.

"Ah."

For a few more seconds, there was silence, and then Edward said:

"Why do you want him? Do you not believe what I told you?"

I chuckled. "I want him because of what you told me. I'm a scientist, and I do believe you! I'm going to study him and put this whole mess to rest! You spent a pretty penny on him yourself at the auction. Why do that and now give him up so easily?"

Edward gave a single, dry laugh and said, "Heh. I was a fan. Back in the day. I was really into the whole Freddy Fazbear's craze. Jeez. What a weird fad that was. You're too young to really remember..."

"Oh, I've read all about it, believe me."

I tried not to be offended. I was very eager to be taken seriously as a scientist, and being told I'm too young to remember something or being called "kid" was one of my pet peeves. I was twenty-one years old, but I was ready to earn some respect. This project would certainly do that for me.

Edward continued talking as we walked through his basement, and I realized that most of his house was underground. This was more than a two-bedroom house.

"Well, I was in the middle of it, when it was at its peak. I mean, first there were just the news stories and rumors, not much attention... and then somehow it got this sort of cult following... I mean like an urban legend, people started writing creepy pastas about it, making animations and even some really messed up fan-fiction, if you can believe it. I think it really took off with the release of that video game... what was it called again?"

"Five Nights at Freddy's." I answered.

"Yeah. Jeez. That was back in twenty... fourteen? Fifteen? Not sure. I was just your age then, but... we didn't know what we were doing. It was so much more real than any of us knew. Kids were wearing fucking Freddy Fazbear costumes for Halloween, and..."

Edward trailed off and then got a more serious look on his face.

He sighed and shook his head. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into, kid... Just... be fucking careful, okay? I mean..."

"Right, right" I replied, eager to get to my prize. I continued reciting back to Edward: "Get him secured before midnight, he's only active from midnight to six AM, and he stinks like dead meat; I got it." I was starting to smell it myself by that point, so I was excited to know that we were getting close.

"Okay..." Edward replied somewhat deadpan. "Just get him out of my house."

That is when I saw... him. The one the community had come to call "Springtrap". The outer frame was that of an old animatronic suit from the 1970's. The idea was to have a robot that could double as a suit. If a person needed to wear it, a hand crank would be inserted into a socket and turned to retract the robotic components, fixing them in place with spring locks, so that it could be returned to robot form with the gentle push of a button, but in the mean time, it would have given room for someone to get inside.

It had a slightly rounded belly and bunny ears on its yellow frame. Well, at least it was probably once yellow. Now, it was a sickening greenish yellow in some parts, burnt brown on most, part of one of its ears was missing, some pieces were rusted through and looked like they might fall off. The outer frame was thoroughly damaged, scorched, and worn over the decades. The internal parts were showing in several places, revealing torn wires, rusted metal, and the distinct scent of rotting carcass. There seemed to be places where, under the outer covering, even underneath the mechanical frame, there was something else, something soft that should not have been there. The rumors had been true.

He was chained to the concrete floor with different sizes of chains and numerous locks, all seemingly selected and placed haphazardly. It was as though he were locked down in stages. I surmised that Edward had just gotten paranoid and added additional chains and locks whenever he felt panicky. It took us several minutes to get the chains and ropes all off. The stench by this point was really rancid, but I barely noticed. I could scarcely believe I was laying hands on the real, bona fide Springtrap.

Edward and I wrapped Springtrap up in a thick blue tarp, and we carried him back through the basement, up the stairs, out the door, and into my truck. Edward then offered me his chains and locks, saying that he would not need them anymore, but that I would. I told him that, where I was going, I would not need them, either. He seemed angry and demanded that I take this seriously, so I took the chains and locks to help him calm down.

"Oh, Jesus! I almost forgot! Please wait, just a second!" Edward said, running back inside.

A minute later, he returned, carrying a small, rusted, bent metal object. "Don't forget this." He said.

I stared at it in confusion for a moment, trying to figure out what it was. It was like a metal rod, bent in two places at ninety degree angles, and then it hit me. "The hand-crank! Thanks!" I said.

Then I drove, with a priceless treasure in the bed of my truck, to the bunker.

The bunker had been built almost a century ago, back when mankind was on the brink of destruction from global thermonuclear war. This was going to be far more secure than Edward's basement. I loaded Springtrap onto my wheeled cart, and we got into the freight elevator. There were stairs, but there was no way I was getting him down the stairs, and there were quite a lot of them.

We reached the bottom, and I got his heavy frame through the corridor, down to the observation chamber I had set up. Months of planning and searching were finally going to pay off.

I loaded him onto a table, sort of like an uncushioned stretcher, against the wall, and I locked the inch-thick solid tempered steel cuffs around his large wrists. The cuffs were bolted into the concrete wall by three inch steel bolts. This guy was going nowhere until I said so. I set the hand-crank down on a tray next to the harness.

I got out my phone. Sure enough, no bars, no wi-fi, no connectivity whatsoever. That was important. If there were any chance of any radio signals getting in or out, someone could try to use that to discredit everything for which I had worked so hard, by claiming it was a hoax run by some sort of remote control.

I turned on some music I had saved to my phone's memory, and set the phone down next to him. Then, I left the room, locking the steel door behind me. I walked over to the control room I had set up. I was pleased to note that I could not hear the music, so at least the sound was being properly blocked by the wall. I could see Springtrap clearly through the glass separating us.

I powered on the ancient console, and my heart raced with anticipation as I saw the 20th century displays lighting up and displaying their various boot screens. I reached for the audio controls and flipped the switch that would link me to my subject. The music from my phone came in clear as crystal. I checked the cameras. They were recording, and I could see and hear the observation chamber on the feed. Success! Everything was in place.

Unlocking the door, I retrieved my phone, and went back to have a seat in the control booth. I checked the phone's clock. It was 11:00 PM. I was ready.

…

I was tapping nervously as the clock continued to display "11:59" for what felt like an hour. The most important research of my life was about to begin. My notification finally beeped at me to tell me that it was midnight, and I looked up to see Springtrap's eyes had opened and were staring right at me. I felt my heart skip a beat. The eyes were cold and glassy, and they did not blink.

I took a deep gulp and listened closely. The switch was on to receive audio from his chamber, but I heard nothing. I could still turn on my own audio and try to speak to him. I checked my recording. It was still running smoothly. I turned on my microphone.

"Uh... he-hello-hello?" I stammered slightly. I had not expected my excitement to shake my speech so much.

"You sound like someone I once knew."

Even though I had been anticipating it, the reply took me by such surprise, I felt a surge of blood down in my toes as the animatronic spoke to me in a raspy, somewhat tinny voice. He sounded... annoyed.

I switched off the microphone for a moment, I took another gulp, and I cleared my throat before reactivating my microphone.

"I know who you are." I told him.

"Good for you." He replied coldly. I was mesmerized. I had not known what to expect. His attitude was intriguing. I continued.

"You will find that you cannot escape. I am going to ask you some questions, and if you do not co-operate, then things will not go well for you... Do you understand?" I realized it was important to make sure he knew who was the boss down here.

Springtrap looked up at his wrists. First to his left, then, slowly, he turned his head to his right. He did not struggle. He just turned back to stare at me and replied. "I understand... very well." Something about the way he said "very well" made me uneasy, but I knew I had to avoid letting him get into my head.

I cleared my throat again. "Ahem. Now, tell me... Tell me how it began... what you've done."

"Very well, then. I will start at the beginning."

Author's Note:

As always, please review and let me know what you think! Constructive criticism is welcome, and honest praise is especially welcome! What did you like about it? Are you interested in reading more? The better this is received, the more motivated I am to keep writing! ;)