Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.
"Gift Girl, seriously, what do we do?!"
"You calm down, I'm trying to think!"
It had only been three minutes since the corpse-like golden bear had appeared in the hallway, much to the night guard's horror. It was still there, empty eyes staring into Jeremy's soul, without moving an inch. Those three minutes somehow felt like the longest in Jeremy's life, and he was too horrified to look away from the creepy bear. He felt like the moment he looked away, his life would end.
Gift Girl was switching through the cameras with a tap of her finer, obviously using her supernatural abilities to change the camera views without using the remote. She was looking for something – or someone.
"I knew it, I knew it," she hissed. "I can't find the endoskeleton Rika uses anywhere. The Puppet caught her!"
"You keep saying that 'it caught her', but I don't understand what you mean," Jeremy said nervously, still not looking away from the bear. "I thought she was on our side!"
Gift Girl turned to look at him. "And she is, but – don't flash that thing!" she exclaimed suddenly, taking the flashlight off the guard's hands without asking for permission.
Jeremy yelped, finally looking away from the creepy yellow suit. "B-but I have to use the flashlight to make them go away!"
The ghost robot shook her head. "Not with this one. You do that, and it's over for you," she explained, glancing at the golden bear.
The robot looked back at her, and its jaw seemed to drop a little more.
'Can that thing get any creepier?' Jeremy wondered.
"That right there is the suit called Golden Freddy," Gift Girl informed. "I think the staff uses it as a suit. It isn't sentient like the others, so they just put a random endoskeleton inside him with a minimum AI so he can interact with the kids, but all under a script."
The night guard gulped, going back to staring at the bear. "I figured that was Golden Freddy, from the color, but… P-Phil told me that he was sentient once, but he shut himself down or something…" he remembered.
"That's what Rika told me too," Gift Girl said, nodding. "He's not supposed to be able to move around since they take the endoskeleton out once the pizzeria closes." She turned back to Jeremy. "That endoskeleton they use is the one Rika took over to help you out."
"Right, but you still haven't told me -"
"Music box," Gift Girl cut off.
Jeremy quickly picked up the remote to wind up the music box that kept the ominous Puppet under control. Once he wound up for about 5 steps, something happened.
Golden Freddy's body twitched lightly. The bear turned around and stepped in a slow Frankenstein-ish walk into the darkness.
The night guard squinted, trying to make sure the bear was actually gone. "… I think he left… Just as I winded up the music box…"
"Of course, because this is the Puppet's doing," Gift Girl stated. "You know how the withered robots are walking around, right?"
Jeremy huffed. How could he not know? "Yeah…?"
"They're not supposed to. The only reason why they move is because they are haunted," she revealed, ignoring Jeremy's whimpers of fear. "The other kids that were killed along with Rika control those suits. But it was whatever is controlling the Puppet that bonded the ghosts to the robots in the first place."
The night guard nodded lightly, trying to wrap his mind around the idea of the ghosts of children being trapped inside robots for all eternity. "A-alright… What about Rika?"
Gift Girl sniffed. "She refused to be trapped inside a suit back then, but stayed behind to watch over her friends," she explained. "It looks like the Puppet managed to bind her to a suit against her will this time though…"
"And… what exactly is the purpose behind all that?" Jeremy asked hesitantly, almost 100% sure he was not going to like the answer.
His ghostly friend made a sad look. "Revenge. They all want revenge on the man who killed them. All except Rika, of course," she added, returning to her monitors. "They never accepted the fact that they're dead. But they can't tell adults apart anymore, so they just attack anyone that wears the same uniform as their killer."
Jeremy's eyes widened as he looked down at his uniform, horrified. "You mean… You mean this uniform?" he asked, pointing at himself. "That's why they've been trying to get to me? They think I'm the m-murderer?"
Gift Girl nodded solemnly. "They do. And it won't do you any good to try and convince them otherwise," she added, just as he was about to suggest doing so. "They won't listen to anything you have to say. Rika already tried talking to them. They don't recognize her either."
The guard leaned back on his chair, feeling an oppressive feeling of helplessness and sadness overwhelm him. It was the kids. The children that were killed in 1977 never really left. They were trapped inside the robots they loved when they were alive, unable to let go of their hatred, and cursed to keep going after the man responsible for their deaths… only to end up hunting down innocent people…
What if they did capture Jeremy? Would that calm them down, if they thought that they had finally captured their killer…? Would that bring them peace? Or would they just go after the next night guard anyway, assuming that their killed somehow came back?
He picked up the remote to wind up the music box again. He glared at the toy box the Puppet hid in. That slender, creepy robot was being haunted by something – that something was the one responsible for trapping the kids in the robots in the first place.
"Does Rika know who the spirit controlling the Puppet is?" he asked in a mutter.
"She's not sure," Gift Girl admitted. "Rika thinks it's another kid, but he never really got into detail about his past or why he wants the kids to stay here and go after their killer. Maybe he was killed by the same guy, who knows…"
"Can we do something to help Rika?" Jeremy wondered. "She tried to help me, so the least I can do is help her…"
Gift Girl looked at the now empty hallway with a frown. "No," she muttered. "Now that she's bonded that suit, the only way for her to be free is for it to be destroyed."
Jeremy rubbed his eyes and checks his watch. He still had a quarter of an hour left until the end of his shift.
Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes left until he was finally free from the burden of handling the night shift. Fifteen minutes that Jeremy expected to be relatively easy and quick to pass by. As usual, he was tragically wrong.
The animatronics had never been so aggressive in five nights. Jeremy almost had no time to breathe in-between attacks by the robots. The withered robots got inside his office one after the other, and the Toy Bots were no different.
And now there was Golden Freddy, controlled by the unwilling Rika. It stood in the dark hallway, like a zombie, forcing Jeremy to wind up the music box to make it go away – said music box was unwind unnaturally fast as well now. The Puppet was obviously doing all in its power to capture the night guard that night.
Jeremy was a nervous wreck. His legs were trembling, his hands were trembling, his soul was trembling…
"You're safe, you're alright…" he muttered under his breath while he flashed the light on both Bonnie's and Foxy's faces as they stood in the hallway. "You're safe, you're alright…"
Gift Girl looked at him apprehensively. "Why do you keep saying that?" she inquired.
"Keeps me focused," Jeremy stated, blinking nervously whilst the two robots disappeared in the darkness.
"Sounds like a madness mantra to me…" Gift Girl commented. "My brother's here," she added, immediately turning invisible.
Jeremy looked to his left, and sure enough, Balloon Boy emerged from the vent, his frown deeper than in any other night.
"Battery, now," he ordered, showing his open hand to the night guard. He seemed nervous for some reason.
"Hello to you too," Jeremy said sarcastically, as he placed not one, but all five of the batteries he had brought from home in the small robot's hands.
He saw Balloon Boy stare in bewilderment at the batteries he had given him from the corner of his eye.
"You're giving me all of these?"
"Of course I am," Jeremy confirmed, sighing exasperated once he spotted Mangle in the right air vent. He put on his mask and turned to Balloon Boy, who was still looking up at him with shock all over his face. "What are you still doing there? Those are all the batteries I have, they must be enough to fix your sister, right?"
For a second, the child-like robot seemed surprised to hear that the night guard knew why he wanted the batteries for in the first place. Then, slowly, the surprise disappeared to reveal an honest, bright smile. The same smile the robot most likely had before the mistreatment from the staff caused him to change into what he was now.
Jeremy was stunned at the difference between this smiling Balloon Boy and the prick he had met the past couple of nights. Before he could place his amazement into words, he heard a familiar sound of static.
"H-hello, bzzzzt JeRRRRRRy," Mangle greeted, slithering into the office. "HOW is bzzzzt y-y-y-y-yoUUR night bzzzzt g-going?"
"C-could be worse," Jeremy lied, shrugging to appear casual. 'Could be better…'
The white fox looked at Balloon Boy. "Hi BB. Have yOOOOu bzzzzt seen t-t-the inTRU-bzzzzt-der?"
"I did, actually," the small robot admitted.
Jeremy gulped. What was he going to say next?
Balloon Boy pointed at the hallway. "I saw him run down the hallway just now. Jerry must have scared him off," he informed.
The night guard managed to not sigh in relief, but the feeling of gratitude towards Balloon Boy was there.
Mangle's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'll FIND bzzzzt h-him. He w-w-w-won't GEEEET away bzzzzt this tiMe…"
With that, she climbed up to the ceiling and disappeared into the shadows of the dark hallway.
Jeremy turned to Balloon Boy to thank him, but the robot had already slipped into the vent, taking the batteries with him. Once Jeremy removed the mask, Gift Girl reappeared again.
"I can't believe you gave him all of those batteries," she scolded. "Didn't I tell you not to help him?"
"Yes, and I ignored you," Jeremy said curtly, going back to winding up the music box.
Gift Girl looked like she had just been mortally insulted by the guard. "How rude! And here I thought you were the nice, polite one… Oh, Rika is back."
Jeremy looked up from the monitors. There was Golden Freddy again, standing in the hallway like something out of a monster movie. The night guard gulped. No matter how many times he saw it, it was still creepy as hell.
"… so… rry…"
He frowned. That voice… That was the little girl's voice he had heard from the endoskeleton. Rika's voice… She was trying to talk to him.
"Rika?" he called.
Gift Girl started patting on his shoulder spastically. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "I told you, talking won't work…!"
"You said it wouldn't work on the other kids, but it could work with her," Jeremy reasoned. "She's being forced to do it after all, she's not willing like the others."
Golden Freddy twitched. "Mi… mister… S… so… sorry…"
"It's alright," he said, getting up from his chair lightly so Rika could see him clearly, while ignoring Gift Girl's constant hisses about how bad of an idea that was. "I know it's not your fault, so… d-don't worry about it, okay?"
"Just wind up the music – ah forget it, I'll do it!" Gift Girl finally grunted, picking up the remote and winding up the music box herself.
"I… I don't… want t-to… hu… hurt…" the voice sobbed, as the golden suit started twitching more violently. "I don't… w-want… to… k… k…"
The empty eye sockets of the suit were suddenly filled by an eerie white light. Jeremy froze. That didn't look good.
"KILL," the voice thundered, now sounding more robotic than ever. "I WILL KILL YOU"
The night guard grimaced, whimpering silently. Looks like whatever will Rika had left to fight against the Puppet was gone now. "God help me..."
"Uh-oh…" Gift Girl muttered, staring at the monitors with her eyes wide.
Jeremy kept looking at Golden Freddy, as if he had been hypnotized, but his body moved slightly towards Gift Girl. "'Uh-oh' what?" he hissed. "What happened now?"
The ghost held his face in her hands and turned it towards the monitors, so he could see what she was seeing.
It was the spare parts room. Shadow Freddy was there again, slumped in the corner like the first time he had appeared, still purple, and still with his head leaning to one side as if his neck was broken. Its eyes darted on the direction of the camera.
"duck"
Jeremy frowned, finding room to feel confused amidst the fear and dread.
"Duck…?" he repeated. "What does he mean…"
"Duck!" Gift Girl screamed, forcing his head down so that he would fall on the floor.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. The office walls were shaking so hard one would think there was an earthquake. Loud static filled the night guard's ears to the point of making his head hurt. A loud, horrible scream echoed in the small cubicle he called his office.
Jeremy only had time to see something golden and mist-like jump from the hallway and pass right above his head, then disappearing as it crashed into the wall. He stared at said wall for a good amount of time, lying on the floor with his belly down, his mouth open in horror in a scream no one heard.
"W… w… w…" He tried to regain his breathing, as he pointed at the wall with a trembling finger. "What… w-what the hell was that?!"
"Excellent question," Gift Girl responded, hovering above his head. "If I didn't know any better, I would have said it was Golden Freddy's head flying straight towards you."
The speed in which Jeremy turned his head upwards to look at Gift Girl almost made his neck snap.
"How is that even possible?!" he shrieked, rubbing his now aching neck.
"I don't know – how is it possible that a robot can have a ghost?" Gift Girl retorted. "Face it, Jeremy, when it comes to this pizzeria, I'm pretty sure anything is possible."
She was taking things way too lightly for Jeremy's liking. He was almost killed – by a flying head! It sounded like something out of a B-horror movie… He could watch those at least – the plot was so ridiculous and the visual effects were so bad not even he could be afraid of that…
"Is that Shadow Freddy thing still there?" he asked, once he felt like it was safe for him to stand up without falling down due to his legs shaking too much.
Gift Girl turned the monitors back on. "Nope, he's gone," she said. "He warned you… That means he's on our side at least."
"I just wish I knew who he is," Jeremy admitted as he sat back on his chair, carefully flashing the light on the hallway to make sure Golden Freddy was gone. "I mean, I now know who's controlling the withered robots, I know who's controlling Golden Freddy… but who the hell is Shadow Freddy?"
Gift Girl shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe some other kid that is trying to help?"
Jeremy rubbed his eyes, once he made sure there was no animatronic trying to approach his office. "Just how many kids do you think that could have died here…?" he muttered. "The voice didn't sound like a kid… sounded like an adult to me."
"I have no idea then," the ghost admitted. "I never heard of an adult dying. Well, actually, Rika mentioned that back in 1977 one of the staff members committed suicide, but that was a woman. Shadow Freddy sounds like a guy…"
The night guard sighed, switching back to the camera view of the spare parts room. It was empty.
Who could that Shadow Freddy be? Someone else that died in Freddy Fazbear's? Just how many deaths could there have been in that place?
Those were the questions that Jeremy had in his mind as he walked out the pizzeria, once his shift ended. The night shift was done for him, but he would have to return to Freddy Fazbear's in just a few hours to work the day shift. But hey, at least there was no chance of fearing for his life during the day, right?
Wrong. So very wrong.
Just like on the third night, something followed Jeremy as he walked out his workplace, shrouded in invisibility. But it wasn't Gift Girl, and it wasn't friendly.
"Silly little Jerry," snickered a voice, as the night guard walked into his car, sighing in deep relief from having survived yet another night. "Don't you think you'll be any safer on day shift. Do you actually believe that you can get away now, with all the things you know? Well I have news for you buddy…"
The ominous figure of a purple shadow, like Shadow Freddy, only this time in the shape of Bonnie, materialized itself in front of the pizzeria. Jeremy did not see it; he was already driving away.
Shadow Bonnie grinned wickedly.
"… YOU CAN'T"
[A/N - Sorry, Rose Verdict, but mindscrewery is so much fun 8D
Note for all the ones following all my "A Golden Opportunity" stories - the sequel for "The Other Guard" will be uploaded today! - at least the Prologue. It will be called a "The Forgotten", and it will finally reveal what Mike has to "remember".]