Disclaimer: I do not own "Five Nights at Freddy's" or its characters.


Home, sweet home.

Mike sighed happily as he sat on the couch of his living room. Finally, he was out of that hospital! No more hospital food, no more hospital bed, and no more check-ups – he was home at last.

Sure, not everything was good news – he still had to be report back to the hospital next week to make sure his organs were indeed recovered, but for now Dr. McKinley had assured him that he was good enough to conduct the rest of his recovery at home. Plus, now that he was home, he would have to get back to work. Once Lawrence found a partner for him, of course.

After going to Jim's funeral, he stayed one more day at the hospital, during which he was bombarded with visitors. First, Claire and his parents, then Lawrence (who had been convinced by his daughter Samantha to visit him) and, finally, Ray.

The manager didn't have much to say to him – still no luck on getting a new night guard it seemed – but his daughter had been a sweetheart and made a get-well-soon card to give to Mike. At that point, Mike was pretty sure the little girl must have gotten her sweet nature from her mother, because she certainly didn't get it from her father.

Ray, on the other hand, went on a rant about how much he loved learning mechanics. As much as Mike wanted to believe his friend was finally straying away from the "life of crime", he didn't want to get his hopes up. Ray mentioned being taught by some "hot chick" who was apparently some kind of genius in the field. Mike couldn't help but smile. Could it have been that girl who got him into mechanics in the first place…? And then there was this…

"Well, nice to see you're doing alright, man. I gotta go – I have class in one hour," Ray said, standing up as he winked at him. "Before I forget, I met this one guy… he's into mechanics too. I told him about how you're a night guard at Freddy's, and he seemed pretty interested.

Mike remembered raising an eyebrow at that statement. "'Interested'?" he repeated.

Ray snorted. "Not like that, man," he laughed. "He seemed to know a couple of things about the pizzeria, and when I told him you got seriously injured but still wanted to keep working there, he asked if he could get your number."

"What for?"

His friend shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe he's just into the stories that are told about the place and wants to know if they're true."

Mike didn't know how he felt about that. Lawrence had given him permission to tell the truth to Claire, but no way in hell would he allow him to tell anyone else. He wasn't sure if he should trust this guy Ray talked about… First, he had flirted with Claire, so he already had a bad impression of him… and second, why would he be interested in talking with the night guard of the pizzeria? Could he be some kind of reporter? Or maybe he was just over-thinking things…

At least that day he didn't have any weird dreams! Maybe Golden Freddy was out of clues to give him… And Mike still didn't understand the full extent of what was going on. But, now that he was back home, it would be easier for him to do some actual research.

Taking a second to stretch, he reached for a notebook and pen and started writing. It was probably for the best if he wrote things down before he forgot something.

"Do you want me to make you some coffee?" Claire asked sweetly, caressing his hair.

"Sure, thanks," he replied, pausing his writing to search his memory for anything he might have missed.

When Claire returned with his coffee, he put the notebook down to take the cup. As he took a sip of coffee, he re-read his work.

"1. What is controlling the animatronics and why?

(Ghosts? Revenge against a guard?)"

After reviewing the dreams he had in his mind and every single detail he could remember, he realized that that "Purple Guy" he saw in the last dream he had didn't necessarily have to be a night guard. After all, the night and day shift uniform were exactly alike. The only reason why the animatronics didn't bother Stewart, the day guard, was because they didn't walk around during the day, so even if they wanted to hunt him down, they couldn't.

"2. Who is Golden Freddy and why is he/she helpful?

(A ghost – maybe a little girl named Rika?)"

After all, if the animatronics were controlled by ghosts, there had to be reason as to why that one in particular was trying to help him rather than get him killed. And it was too much of a coincidence that, on his experience with the "haunted" TV, he saw a ghostly girl saying "It's me" to Phil, considering that was pretty much Golden Freddy's "catchphrase". Whether or not it was Rika, the girl whose tenth birthday was being celebrated in one of the images he saw on the "haunted" TV, he couldn't be sure.

"3. Why does Golden Freddy use Phil's voice?"

Mike really didn't have a clue about that one… If the ghost could contact Phil by using her own voice, why couldn't she contact Mike like that as well? Could she be disguising herself for some reason? Maybe she was hiding from someone…

"4. Who is the other Golden Freddy?"

Again, no clue about that one. The two Golden Freddies were definitely different entities, but other than that, Mike had nothing else.

"5. Who is Shadow Bonnie? Did I meet him before?"

All he could he imagine was that it had something to do with what happened to him when he was eleven that caused him to forget everything that happened prior to that day. He would have to ask his parents exactly what day that took place…

"6. Who was that crying child?"

The very first image he saw on the "haunted" TV bugged him. He had seen an image of a crying child before – in a drawing, at the pizzeria. One of the things that led him to believe the place was actually haunted was the fact that the drawings on the walls randomly changed to depict a crying child. Where they related? He could only guess they were.

"7. Who was that guy in the prison cell? What was he arrested for?

(Blonde, apologizing)"

Mike had never seen that guy before. There was nothing in the cell, that he could remember, that would hint as to what he had done to get him in jail, or what it had to do with the pizzeria.

"8. What does Mira's assault have to do with the pizzeria?"

He put down his coffee, frowning as he read the sentence. Mira had been sexually assaulted when she was fifteen, resulting in her getting pregnant and having twins. That was an awful thing to happen, but how did it relate to Freddy Fazbear's? If he saw it on the "haunted" TV then there had to be a connection…

"9. What was the 'Bite of 87' all about? Does it have to do with the reason why Lawrence wants to keep the place open?

(Victim – Keira Richards)"

Even though he was now pretty confident that Lawrence's wife had been the one to get bit, he wasn't sure under what circumstances that event took place. Why would an animatronic bite her? Which animatronic did it? He had a pretty strong suspicion regarding that white mangled fox, but he didn't have any evidence. And he knew for a damn fact that Lawrence had some secret reason to keep the pizzeria open – something about losing something important? Did it have to do with Keira…?

"10. Who were those kids that died in 87? Who killed them?

(A guard – why purple?)"

'Why purple' indeed… It seemed too much of a coincidence that Shadow Bonnie would be purple as well… Those two were related somehow, but he wasn't sure how exactly.

"11. What is that 'puppet' thing?"

And, last but not least, that creepy-ass puppet he saw twice in his dreams. First time, that thing almost strangled him, and then it led him around the pizzeria from 87. He didn't know what to make of that thing.

He sighed, drinking the last of his coffee. Getting it all down on paper had been a good idea. Now he had order of business when he actually started doing some research. Claire had already shown how un-interested she was in finding out the "secrets of the pizzeria", so he would just have to figure it all out on his own. Hopefully Phil would wake up from his coma soon, and then he'd have someone to help.


"Do you want more rice, Mike?"

Mike looked at Claire for a second with a pleased expression. "Well, if I knew this was the treatment I would get for staying at the hospital, I would have gotten injured sooner…" he commented.

Claire narrowed her eyes slightly, though her smile remained in her face. "Don't joke about that," she scolded. "The state you were in when you got to the hospital… It was like a scene from a horror movie…"

"How would you know?" he retorted, his mouth full with rice and beef. "You hate horror movies!"

"I've seen enough to know how they look like. So, do you want more rice or not?" she asked again.

Mike shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm already struggling to handle what I have here…"

"You could have fooled me," Claire said. "By the way you're feasting, it's like you haven't eaten in months."

Mike had his mouth so full of food he couldn't utter a word. The result of him trying was him almost choking, which made Claire laugh loudly as he reached for his glass of wine, coughing violently.

"Take it easy, you might hurt your stomach!" she warned.

Ding Dong

Since Mike was busy with tapping his chest lightly to recover from his coughing, Claire stood up to see who was at the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Probably my parents or something…" Mike muttered weakly, drinking more wine.

The person on the other side of the door took some seconds to answer. "… Is this where Mike Schmidt leaves?" It was a female voice, young from the sound of it. Probably a teenager.

Claire frowned and looked at Mike with a questioning look. Mike mirrored her expression. He didn't recognize that voice.

"Who wants to know?" Claire questioned, looking at the door apprehensively.

"Is there where he lives or not?" the voice insisted, followed by a "hush" sound. Someone shifted their feet on the other side, and another voice, a boy's it seemed, made a "huff" sound.

Mike frowned, standing up. Who could that be? He didn't know any teenage girls… Why would one be looking for him? Well, the only way to find out would be to talk to the person.

He approached Claire, who was apparently ready to argue with the voice, and put his hand on her shoulder, showing her he would handle it. She crossed her arms and stared at the door again.

"This is Mike," he announced. "Now can you tell us who you are?"

"Lily Vallance," the girl replied promptly. "Your cousin."

Claire's eyes went wide as she stared at Mike. He blinked, and quickly unlocked the door. Once the door was open, Claire gasped and held his arm.

He had never seen his cousin before in his life. His only aunt, Cherry Vallance, had ran away with some guy when he was six years old. He knew he had two cousins now, but had never met them. But he had never expected them to be in this condition.

The girl who had spoken to him was a curvy red-haired teenager now. She had a bruise in her cheek, which Mike assumed to be from someone slapping her really hard. She had another similar bruise in her arm, and was carrying a backpack. She was holding the hand of a young boy, with similar red hair. He looked at Mike and Claire with an extremely suspicious expression. He too carried bruises in his arms and face.

"Oh my God!" Claire gasped. "Get in – what happened to you two?"

The two siblings walked inside Mike's living room, lead by Claire. The blonde rushed to get the first-aids kit to attend to their wounds, as they sat on the couch.

Mike just stood there awkwardly, staring at them. He had no idea what to say. They had the look of someone who just ran away from home after one too many beatings. Judging from the bruises and backpacks, that was exactly what happened. Mike could only assume the one to beat them had to be that guy his aunt had ran off with.

Claire returned with some ice and the first-aid kit. She instructed Lily to put ice on the bruise she had in her arm, while she turned to her younger brother, with the intention of cleaning the cut he had in his leg. The boy moved away from Claire, glaring at her.

"Eddie," Lily called. "She's trying to help."

Her brother looked at her. He then crossed his arms and allowed Claire to treat his injuries.

Mike stared at the boy. He didn't trust them. If he had indeed been beaten by his father, he wouldn't be surprised, really. The kid probably didn't trust any adults.

"Uh…" Mike cleared his throat, thinking he should at least talk to them and understand what was going on. "Okay, well… So, you're Lily? And, uh, Eddie…?"

Lily nodded, grimacing as she placed the ice on her arm. "His name is Edmund, but everyone calls him Eddie," she informed. "I'm sorry we showed up like this, but…"

"Yeah, about that…" Mike took a quick glance at Eddie, who winced as Claire cleaned his cut. "What exactly happened?"

The red-haired girl looked at him. She had the same blue eyes as him. "The man our mother lives with… our step-father… We can't live with him anymore," she informed.

"Because he beats you," Mike stated, assuming he was correct.

Lily confirmed he was indeed right by nodding. "Obviously," she grunted. "We have no one else to turn too, so… I was wondering if you could… let us stay for a while."

Mike blinked, his jaw dropping slightly. He looked at Claire, who had been listening to the conversation. She looked back at him. He was expecting his girlfriend to have an apprehensive look, so he was surprised to see her with a look that clearly said "It's your responsibility".

"I… uh… well…" he stuttered, still not sure what to say.

As if he didn't have enough to worry about between figuring out what's going on at the pizzeria, worrying about whether he'll have a partner in the night shift or not and trying not to feel a hint of panic when thinking about having to face Shadow Bonnie again, now he had this…

Sure, he wanted to help them – they were his family, after all – but what could he do? He didn't have the money to raise them, or the conditions. But he couldn't let them go back to a house where they get beaten, or a foster home…

"Well?" Lily asked, looking at him sternly. "We need a quick answer, to give us enough time to find another place to stay in case you say no."

"I'm not saying – look, this is… not the best of times…"

Eddie made a "humph" sound. "See? I told you he wouldn't want to help…"

Mike waved his hands, exasperated. "That's not what I said! This is just… really sudden…!"

"Mike…" Claire called softly, with a concerned expression. "We have to do something…"

"I know that I have to – What is it now?!" He reached for his phone angrily, as it started ringing.

What else was going to happen, really? It was like the world had chosen the day he had returned from the hospital to start throwing changes at his face.

"What?!" he snapped at the phone, without even bothering to see who it was. Claire shook her head at his overreaction.

"… Bad timing?" asked an unknown male voice, with a hint of amusement. "Sounds like it. I can call some other time."

Mike frowned and took a quick look at the screen of his phone. Unknown Number. "Who is it?" he asked curtly.

"I'm talking to Mike Schmidt, right?" the person wanted to know, not showing signs of being put down by Mike's aggressive attitude. "Your friend Ray gave me your number."

The guard rubbed his temples. Great, now he had to deal with some random guy he didn't even know, who was probably going to bother him with questions about the pizzeria. He really didn't have time for it right now…

"Oh, right… Look, this isn't the best time…" he muttered, trying not to look at his cousins, who were watching him with curious expressions. "I'm dealing with some issues right now…"

"Hear that, we're 'issues'," Eddie commented, making air-quotation-marks around the word 'issues'. Lily told him to be quiet, watching Mike closely.

"Right, right…" the unknown make said. "Sorry if I'm bothering. Maybe we could meet up tomorrow then? There's this café in town that serves some good food… Mom's Café, you heard of it?"

"Sure, yeah, I know about it," Mike replied quickly.

"Great, I have some stuff to talk with you about," the man said, sounding satisfied and still completely indifferent to Mike's annoyance. "You know, about the pizzeria you work at? Ray told me you seem pretty adamant about working there, so…"

"Yeah, great. I have to go now…" Mike sighed. "Just tell me your name and we'll meet up tomorrow or… whatever."

"Oh, right, how rude of me," the man chuckled. "The name's Fritz. Fritz Smith."