Chapter Seven
Mike really didn't know why he continued to come to the pizzeria anymore. It was bad enough when the robots had scared the living shit out of him. When they tried to get into the office was terrifying, but now things were getting to be weird. It wasn't that he didn't like them now that they weren't trying to hunt him down, and to his knowledge kill him. It was the fact that he knew that they had killed and despite the fact that they now wanted him to be their friend. Mike's knowledge of this kept him on edge. He didn't know what was worst, the fact that none of them seemed to care about what they had done, or the fact that it was very possible that they could kill again if they so wished. Nothing was there to stop them, and for some reason they had gotten away with countless murders. Knowing all this chilled Mike to his very core, and it wasn't like he could tell anyone. Who would believe that there were killer robots that only came alive at night. No one that's who.
Still there was a part of him that just didn't feel right about quitting, besides the fact that he needed to help his alcoholic mother with the rent, if he left that baby with these killers what kind of man would that make him? One like his father? Just a guy who left when things got ugly? No, he couldn't do that to this kid, not after spending so much time with the kid.
At the moment Mike was playing his favorite game with Felix, race care driver. The entire premise was that Mike would hold the baby as if he was driving a car and run up and down the halls with him while he made car noises. Felix seemed to love this game and would scream in delight as Mike would pretend to make sharp turns or slap on the breaks. Mike remembered playing this game with his little brother, before he disappeared, it made him rather happy that he could play this game with another kid, even if it wasn't his brother.
Mike and Felix continued to play under the watchful eye of the animatronics. Mike pretended that they weren't there for the most part, as it made leaving the office a little easier; but when ever they came to close Mike instinctively ran towards the office.
"Hey where are you going?" Chica asked as she came out of the kitchen with yet another slice of pizza,
"Doesn't she know that no one can possible eat all this pizza?" Mike thought as Chica set the slice on the corner of the dining table just in case he got hungry.
It had been about a month since Freddy had first dragged him out of his office and Mike had named the baby. Ever since then the robots hadn't let him stay in his office for long periods of time anymore. Whether it was Foxy who said he wanted the baby to be around humans, to Chica who wanted to pet him, something that made Mike's stomach crawl. To Freddy and Bonnie who just wanted to talk to him all the time. It was just too weird for Mike, his only real escape was playing with the baby, or his occasional bathroom break.
"Only decent thing about all this." Mike thought to himself bitterly. "Don't have to hold it all night anymore."
Still relieving his bladder seemed like a high price to have to spend time with these things.
Mike retreated into the office with Felix, jumping a bit when Chica entered.
"Hey you aren't suppose to be in here anymore sweetie." Chica grabbed the night guard, dragging him out like a rag doll. "Come on it's much more fun in the dining hall, we can all play a game together if you'd like."
Mike whined but didn't say anything as he held Felix protectively. He hadn't noticed Freddy in the corner watching the scene, who didn't notice the puppet watching Freddy. Only when the puppet spoke did Freddy react
"Made a new friend I see." The puppet asked quite amused.
"What do you want?" Freddy asked coldly, just as things were becoming peaceful the puppet had to show. Freddy knew how the puppet liked to create chaos, and the leader of the group really didn't want the puppet here now.
"I've been worried that's all." Marionette said with a smile. "None of you have come around lately and the toys were rather sad."
"Tell them we've just been a bit busy-"
"They want to meet the baby."
"Rude" Freddy silently thought. "They are free to come to our pizzeria any time, just warn Foxy. You know how he about people meeting his son."
"Of course, wouldn't want Papa Foxy in a tissy now would we." He paused for a second before adding "Funny how he's so fond of the baby's uncle."
"Yes," Freddy began, before realizing what the puppet was implying "Wait, the boy-"
"Is the child's mother's younger brother. I thought you knew. He is the child's biological uncle."
"But I thought you said that the boy had no family."
"The child's grandmother is a drunk who can't even take care of herself, and Michael there isn't quite old enough to care of the child. Not to mention that Michael's father left the family, took the youngest son and hasn't been seen him since."
Freddy was silent for a while, now that he looked at the boy he could see it. The baby had a face similar to the night guard's. It was round with a soft chin, with just a hint of freckles on their cheeks. "So Michael is the boy's name?" Freddy chuckled, "And they call me a narcissist."
"You didn't know his name." The puppet asked surprised "Tisk, tisk Fazbear."
"Don't you start with me, you don't know the boy-"
"Michael Schmidt, better known as Mike. Born October 21st, 1996. Attends Cassy High School, currently a Junior. Has few friends, mostly keeps himself occupied with school and work. Often takes care of his alcoholic mother, who will probably died within the year from her new drug addiction. Has a brother who was taken by their father nearly ten years ago, eldest sister recently desisted from a lifelong battle with cancer, anything else Fazbear?"
Freddy was speechless for a long while before asking, "How did you know?"
"Oh I've spent a while watching the Felix's human family, by the way lovely name chosen. Anyway, I just wanted to see who was related to the child, maybe someone to help the child's transition into the human world once he gets a bit older. Plus I always like to do my homework on our security guards." Casually he glanced at the nightguard. "In a few short years Michael can be the child's legal guardian, then little Felix will be able to go to school and do the usual things that humans do."
"But he's ours" Freddy said quietly. Deep down inside however he knew that the baby couldn't stay in the pizzeria forever.
"Oh don't look so glum Fazbear, the baby would still live here, I've already made plans for his room. I think I'll make a little house under the pizzeria, nothing that will raise too much suspension."
Freddy noded, he didn't like planning with the puppet, but he didn't like the idea of not knowing about the baby's future. "Did you plan Michael to work here?"
"It had taken a bit of magic to tempt the boy here but it's all worked out in the end. Although… I think you should all be very careful that he never falls asleep here."
Freddy gave the puppet a curious look. "Why?"
"Well after we heard about all of you getting cuddly with your night guard the toys got rather jealous so they made friends with our night guard. It was going all so well… until the boy fell asleep."
"What happened?"
"I don't know exactly how it happened but I know it all started once the boy fell asleep. I guess it started slowly, every night when he goes home the ghost, or spirits or what is left of the guards began haunting the boy whenever he closed his eyes."
"What do you mean haunting him?"
The puppet looked at Freddy almost with a sad expression. "He sees what they saw, when they died." Freddy felt himself tense up but before he could say anything the puppet added. "What's even worst is he feels what they felt as they died, every metal shard that went into their body, every ache and pain-"
"Enough!" Freddy begged "I don't want to hear this." He shook his head as if he was trying to get the puppet's words out of his head. "Please just stop."
"I'm just giving you some warning, I'd hate to have to do to Michael what I had to do to the other boy." The puppet sighed "It was quite an awful job."
Freddy was almost afraid to ask but he knew he had to, he had to tell the others why they could never let there new friend fall asleep while he was here. "What did you do?"
Marionette looked at Freddy like he never did before, he looked so defeated. Almost as if he regretted what he did, which Freddy knew the puppet never did. "The boy went insane, he couldn't function, he tried… to end his life."
Freddy leaned on the wall, this was too much, and he really didn't want to hear this. "He did?"
"I had to stop him, he's just a boy after all, and it was all our fault. But it was cruel to let him live with those memories, and I couldn't just pick the ones that hurt him so." The puppet sighed "I had to wipe his memory, all the events of his life."
Freddy was quiet, trying to process what he had just heard. At first it didn't seem so awful until he really thought about it. "What happened to him?"
"We're taking care of him, re-teaching everything, how to eat, how to walk. It's slow but he's making progress. Anyway" The puppet said as he turned to walk towards the tunnel. "Just don't let Michael fall asleep in the pizzeria, because I really don't want to do that again."
Freddy was silent as he watched the puppet go, for the first time Freddy couldn't help but feel sorry for Marionette. But beyond that he felt an old feeling of guilt return to him, Freddy had come to terms of what he had done. That was true enough, but he believed that their murderous past was all behind them and they were turning their lives around. A new chapter was starting for them, one that was suppose to be happy, and now Freddy wondered how long it would be before their past came back to haunt them.
Freddy went to the dining room finding Mike looking so tired, immediately Freddy slapped the boy's back. It had been a little harder than he had intended but Freddy couldn't help it. When Mike looked at Freddy with a terrified look he tried to play it as if everything was fine. "Not sleeping on the job are you boy?"
"Uh, no" Mike said, trying yet again to find some kind of exit. "I was just-"
"Oh hi Freddy" Chica bounded in with a blanket in hand. "Foxy and Bonnie have the baby now, and Mr. Schmid seemed tired so I thought he could have a little nap-"
"No!" Freddy shouted making both Mike and Chica jump. "I mean that technically Michael is working, and it wouldn't be right now so we shouldn't encourage sleeping when he isn't suppose to."
"Michael?" Chica asked "Who's that?"
"Um, that's me." Mike said raising his hand weakly,"But you guys can call me Mike." He tried not to yawn but he really was tired and it almost felt to Mike that something wanted him to fall asleep. It was a whisper in his ear but with the animatronics around it didn't seem to be a good idea. Plus Mike knew once he got home his mother would be too wasted to bother him so he could sleep all he wanted before he actually had to go to school, at eight in the morning.
"Look Michael go to pirates cove, and tell the others to come here, you can take care of the baby." Chica seemed ready to ask a question but Freddy silenced her. "Please just wait till the others are here. I really don't want to have to say anything twice."
Chica nodded and smiled at Mike. "Alright Mikey you heard Freddy, off to the cove with you."
After Mike left Freddy sat in a chair and let his face fall into his hands. "Why can't this all be behind us?" He whispered to himself.
It had taken some time to tell the others exactly what the puppet had told him, but Freddy did. Though he couldn't tell them everything in one night. By the time it was six Freddy had only been able to inform them that the puppet had somehow lured Mike into working here because he was the Felix's uncle when they assaulted him with question.
"Wait so Mike is my little potatoes uncle?" Foxy had asked excitedly, he really liked Mike and now to know that he was a blood relative made his servos jolt in delight. "I knew he looked familiar."
"So he's part of the family now?" Bonnie began "Does this mean he'll be here forever?"
"Oh!" Chica squealed "Mikey is one of us now."
Before Freddy could get a word in the bell rung and he watched Mike come out of the cove with Felix in hand. He yawned as he gave Foxy the baby. "He fell asleep, I think I'll go home and do the same." Mike waved at the animatronics before leaving.
Before Foxy could return to his cove Freddy stood up. "Tonight everyone meets in the service room and doesn't ask any questions until I'm done telling you what happened to the other's pizzeria's newest night guard."
Foxy had an ominous feeling as he stayed in his cove for the rest of the day. As usual the sounds from the children and their parents came through his curtains but didn't deserve him as he continued to play with his son. Yet as he continued to play with his son by rolling a large ball towards Felix, who was sitting up with the help of several blankets, Foxy couldn't help but wonder what Freddy was going to tell him. All Foxy was sure about however was that it wasn't going to be good.
The puppet had told him bits and pieces about their night guard Jeremy, other than the fact that the toys had managed to befriend him. But after that whenever the puppet visited, which was ever rarer as time went on, he didn't mention his night guard anymore. Foxy had thought it odd but now that he knew something had happened to him Foxy felt worried.
"What if the toys killed him" Foxy thought "Even if it was an accident, they could be more dangerous than I thought." Still he pushed all thoughts of what Freddy was going to tell him, pushing his focus onto Felix.
Felix was now five months and Foxy was proud to say that his baby had definitely hit all of his milestones. Ever since Mike had dropped off a bunch of baby books with Foxy, he had taken the time to read and reread them all at least three times. It was definitely comforting to Foxy that Felix was growing up quite normally. He couldn't deny that there were points that he had been worried that his son was too weak, after all he couldn't even hold up his own head at first, to know that it was normal for humans to be so weak when they started up was nice.
Yet the more Foxy learned about what was normal the more he was convinced that his boy was special. He doubted that any regular baby was as handsome as his little potato, or as smart as his son. Though Felix couldn't speak Foxy was convinced that he could understand what he was saying to him. Felix didn't have that dumb look that so many other children seemed to have, the one where they were curious about everything but had no idea what was going on.
"Aren't you excited Felix? Now that you have another uncle? Good old Mike doesn't look like such a pushover like Bonnie, or a bossy bum like Freddy." When the baby cooed in response Foxy laughed "I know your so happy to get to know your uncle. Do you like when he plays race car with you?"
Felix waved his arms in delight, he didn't understand much of what his daddy was saying but he knew who Mike was. He liked this Mike fellow mainly because he would me a bit more gentle than Chica was but also because Felix knew Mike was more like him than the others. He began trying to make the same noises that Mike made when they played and Foxy laughed.
"Yes you love playing with your uncle." His smile dropped as he remembered that Mike didn't exactly know that Felix was his nephew. "Oh boy, I'm gonna have to tell him aren't I?" Foxy stretched himself out "Well I guess there's no point in fretting about it. Here" Foxy said as he gave his son his bottle. "Eat your lunch and go night night, I have a feeling you'll be spending most of the night with uncle Mike."
Bonnie was a little annoyed that Freddy had sent Mike to the cove the minute he began his shift. He really wanted to be the one to tell Mike that he was related to the baby, sure he had been the one to tell Freddy but that hadn't really gone the way he had planned. This time the subject wasn't a secret and surly Mike would be happy about it. After all Bonnie remembered Mike mentioning that his sister had recently had a baby and he hadn't gotten to see it. Mike had really sounded pretty sad about it and now he'd get to tell him that he'd already met his nephew.
Still Bonnie had been curious to find out what had happened to the second pizzeria's night guard. Bonnie had met Jeremy once and from what Bonnie could tell Jeremy was a nice kid. He was polite, and didn't seem as fidgety as Mike. And despite the fact that Bonnie had accidently scared him by taking off his face Jeremy was quick to forgive him. Bonnie liked Jeremy very much and he very much hoped that he was okay.
Only as Bonnie watched Freddy sit on the stage he knew something bad had happened. Freddy looked so worried, and sad. Which could only mean that he didn't have good news for the group. He waited for the others to sit down in the dining room until he sat up and started.
"Before any of you even thinks about asking a question I want you three to just listen." He let out a long sigh. "As many of you know we've all done some terrible things in the past." The group's excitement seemed to drop at the mere hint. "We've put the past behind us and moved on like we need to." He paused not sure of how to go on. "The second pizzeria recently made friends with their new night guard. Marionette tells me that they all got along pretty well, they liked each other and all seemed well. Until Jeremy went to sleep in the pizzeria."
"What happened?" Chica nervously asked. She didn't like how Freddy was saying things, especially since she had seen Jeremy and knew that he was even younger than Mike. "He's okay right?"
"No" Freddy said sadly "No one really knows what happened, only that when he went to sleep he started to have nightmares, about the past." Freddy began to shake making the others worry. "Marionette said that he dreamed about what the guards saw, before they died."
A look of terror fell on each of the animatronics faces.
"No" Foxy said quietly
"But it gets worst" Freddy began as he tried his best to stop shaking. "He felt.. what they felt.. as they died."
Chica began to make a sound that sounded a lot like crying. "But is he okay?" She begged "He's so little, littler than Mike."
This made Freddy feel ever worse, after all he had never met this Jeremy but when the puppet had told him that he was just a boy Freddy hadn't expected him to be so young for some reason. "Jeremy went insane, he couldn't take what he had been through." Freddy stopped himself, he really couldn't say any more about the boy. "Look what I'm trying to say is under any circumstance we can not allow Mike to fall asleep while he's here."
Glad you guys have liked the story so far, thanks for all of your reviews.
