The bear let the young girl guide him through the hallways and followed in silence, as Genesis explored the pizzeria inch by inch, hysterically opening all doors, switching lights on and shouting in awe at everything she saw; costumes, games, posters and children's paintings of Freddy and his band, equipment, furniture, even toilets.. She asked the animatronic all kinds of questions about the pizzeria and its different areas, who replied to each one of them as he was programmed to.. She then went to the office, grabbed a sheet paper and some pens, and started drawing a map of the pizzeria so she won't get lost from now on. Freddy kept observing the young girl as she was setting the place's layout, complementing her drawing skills and reminding her of minor details now and then.
When the tour came to an end, both Freddy and Genesis went back to the dining area, neither one exhausted.
-"Helloo there littl' ladyh.. How was yor' exploring? Which area did'ya like the most?", Foxy asked, waving his hook at the girl and kneeling to her height.
-"The office is so cool and has lots of devices and interesting things!", she replied cheerfully.
-"You must be hungry then. Lucky you, little one, I prepared pizza for all of us!", Chica walked over with a soft smile, carrying both her and Bonnie pizza boxes.
-"Ohh Chica! Bonnie! You both woke up already?! That's great! We can play together and have lots of fun!" , Genesis giggled loudly as she was happily jumping around and spinning nonstop.
-"You have to eat first dear, or else the pizza will go cold.." , Bonnie said as he rested his metallic hand on top of her head, halting her hectic movements. The kid looked up to the rabbit and pouted at his words.
-"We will all play together once we eat, now go wash your hands..", Chica reassured Genesis who quickly went back to her restless jumps and spins as she stormed out of the main area and headed to the W.C.
-"Been a'while since we interacted with'a child this much, but it's kinda fun.." , Foxy said with a smirk.
-"She's so energetic and enthusiastic..", Chica affirmed smiling warmly.
-"A sight to admire.." , Bonnie continued with a chuckle, arranging the pizza boxes.
-"That's youth.." , Freddy quietly sighed and walked to Bonnie to help him set the table.
Genesis ran through the hallways and to the restrooms jumping joyfully and pausing briefly each now and then to admire the scribbles that covered the walls, mostly made by children, but a certain poster drew her attention and she stopped.
This wasn't here before, I checked every single hanging paper earlier with Freddy.. I'm sure it wasn't here before..
Unable to clearly see the poster, she took out her flashlight and lit the wall in front of her, only to shout out loud and fall backwards, her back hitting the cold wall, as she looked with terror at the displayed picture: Freddy cracking his jaws wide open, ripping his head off with both paws..
Her mouth stretched open to a nearly impossible extent, her eyes screaming pure terror, unable to move away from the poster, she froze in her place, streaming ghost-cold tears..
Several seconds passed and Chica was rushing in towards the girl, taking her in her arms and calming her down, and the rest of the animatronics followed quickly after her.
-"Are you okay, child? Are you hurt?" , Bonnie asked worriedly.
-"What da'hell happened here?", Foxy questioned, scanning their surroundings for any visible threat.
-"F-Freddy.. His h-head.. r-ripped.." , Genesis was stuttering and stumbling over her words, barely abke to speak, her eyes flickerd and her body quiverd in the robot's arms.
-"It's okay girl, nothing's wrong with Freddy, he's standing right there look!" , Chica pointed at the bear in an attempt to soothe the terrified child.
The kid looked over at Freddy, who was a bit uneasy and gazed back at her with a frown and worrying blue eyes. She then turned to the wall facing her and the poster wasn't there anymore, instead was another boring childish doodle.. It made her feel as if she was just making things up, yet she knew that what she saw wasn't an illusion..
Genesis stood up slowly to her feet, apologised for worrying the animatronics over 'nothing', and hurried into the restrooms. Stepping in, she closed the door behind her, and moved to the nearest sink to wash her face and cool down. She let the water flow as she gazed at her reflection in the broken mirror in front of her: a pale face, tired round brown eyes with small dark rings underneath them, shades of red and grey marked her skin revealing the bones beneath, her clothes were wrinkled and untidy, which made her uneasy, as she didn't get used to dust and dirt and wearing the same clothes for long, not even back in that cell.. Oh that cell, she thought, I miss my house, home sweet home, was it even sweet? All I have left are bad, bad memories.. Why?.. she lowered her head, as she sunk deeper into her thoughts, trying to hold back the tears that started filling the corners of her eyes..
-"Don't worry, child. Everything will be fine. It'll be over soon." A familiar voice rang in her ears, bringing her back from her horrible daydreams. She slowly rose her head, only to see Purple Puppet's reflection in the mirror. The girl turned around quickly and gazed at her friend, with unbelievably wide open eyes, taking in the sight in front of her.
He's back.. He didn't change at all, and still he's back..
In a mere second, the child was hugging her friend as tight as her little hands could handle, being back to her cheerful self, smiling and giggling, feeling warm at heart.
-"Purple Puppet! I'm so glad you're back! I thought you went away and wouldn't come back.."
-"Don't you worry, my child. I'll always be there for you. I am your friend." The marionette said as he pulled away from the girl's grip, looking down at her with those familiar empty eye sockets, but for Genesis they seemed so alive, just like Freddy's.. Any normal human being would be a bit intimidated with the Puppet's eyes more than those of Freddy, but for her, the animatronic's eyes were fascinating and attractive, and PP's were oddly even more calm and alluring.. He was her friend after all, the first friend she ever had..
A hand resting on her head cleared her vision and she focused back on PP, a welcoming smile crossed her face.
-"Are you okay, my child? You look pale and tired..", the marionette asked.
-"Oh yes, yes, I'm fine, it's just that some disturbing poster seemed to appear out of nowhere in the hall and is frightened me, or maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me..", the girl's expression saddened a bit.
-"Oh you poor little thing, do not worry about it, after all, you do know that this place isn't completely, let's say, normal..I believe you did figure that out earlier, hence, you should be expecting more suchlike acts, paranormal stunts is perhaps a better way to put it right..".
PP was talking slowly and rhythmically, in a soothing calm voice and meditative tone it seemed as though there was nothing to worry about, he seemed as though he had all the time in the world, as though he held all the secrets of existence; a tone so tender and serene it made Genesis rapt, bewitched for a brief while, almost angelic it transported her to a long forgotten time and place where an unmistakably identical voice used to echo, euphorically, then faintly, then sorrowfully..
-"Unfortunately, I cannot explain more or reveal any details, for my presence is limited.. However, you are a clever one, and you will soon come to understand what is it that's unsettling about this place, these animatronics, possibly even me, so until then, I bid you farewell.. Take care, child..".
The girl couldn't regain focus quickly enough to respond to her friend or catch a glimpse of his silhouette before he disappeared into thin air as swiftly as he first took shape.. And so she was left alone, again, trembling to the cold breeze coming in through the high up window. She was sad now that PP left her again, even when he did say he'll be coming back, the fact that he let her in this place and didn't stay with her because 'his presence is limited", that he was shy and nervous then became all formal and composed just wasn't quite right and puzzled her to a great extent.. Although she didn't think much about it as the thing that unnerved her the most was conforming that this place is indeed a mystery that needs to be solved; from the guy who attacked her, to the seemingly sentient robots, the ghost-like puppet, and of course the bite of 87' and the case of the missing children that the workers were talking about..
For now, the only thing I can do to get closer to understanding any of these mysteries is to ask the night guard, because the animatronics, as friendly and accepting as they might seem, are probably still sceptical about me, so I should be more patient and make sure I avoid being doubted, make sure I get them to trust me..
As she reasoned and made up a rational plan, the girl gave her mirror reflection a reassuring nod then walked out of the restrooms back to join the animatronic at the main area, making sure her expression would look as natural and happy as before.
-"Finally back, lil' ladyh, yer fine now?", Foxy approached her, tilting his head.
-"We were worried about you, you didn't seem so well..", Bonnie looked at her softly.
-"I am fine guys, thank you, and I'm really sorry for worrying you..", Genesis tried her best to make her smile look undoubtedly true.
-"Are you sure dear? You still look a bit pale..", Chica insisted, her tone was still uneasy.
-"Yeah yeah, absolutely.. Now let's eat before the pizzas get even colder!", the girl sprinted and took a seat at the table, and soon the animatronics gathered around and joined her, being back to their usual self, with Freddy still looking as emotionless as ever, maybe he was unconcerned, or maybe unconvinced, not even Genesis could tell, but she brushed it off as she was still unfamiliar with his personality, yes she could say they have personalities, being artificial or real wouldn't really matter, but it did intrigue her, and she'd soon know much more, she just had to wait for the night guard..
Hey there dear readers, I deeply apologise for taking this long, even I didn't expect that, but with the studies and sicknesses and lots of doctors and medicines, I didn't even have time to think elsewhere, let alone write, but I did try countless times and I ended up forgetting details and rewriting all over again.. But I can assure you that next time it won't take as much time summer break is hardly in three months and I'll be able to upload even weekly! Anyways hope you enjoyed this chapter I wanted it to be longer maybe to make it up for you but I was just too unfocused.. See ya soon ;) (As always I do revise all my chapters for spelling and typing mistakes so make sure you update the story).