Universal Language

Chapter 8: Freddy v Freddy

A flashlight, a set of keys, a plastic baton, a duck-tape wallet, and a smart phone. Roni took a step back from the dining hall table, hands on her hips, and surveyed the tools in front of her. None of them were going to be particularly useful in fighting off a giant, possessed gold-colored teddy bear. Freddy and his clone were still wrestling in the office, judging from the yells and thumps coming at random intervals. She'd attempted to wake up Chica, but the animatronic hadn't budged, no matter how hard she shoved or yelled. Skipping Bonnie's closet (it was too close to the security office for comfort), she'd snuck across to Foxy's cove, only to be met with the same results. It seemed that she was on her own to save Freddy.

What she wouldn't give for a gun. Or a flamethrower. Hell, even one of those little butane lighters chefs used would work better than a plastic baton! She'd give her left arm for a worthwhile weapon. Well, maybe not her left arm – Foxy's left arm, sure. She could always make him another hook. There had to be an extra one in the backroom somewhere. Maybe she could replace it with a working flamethrower hand...

Roni shook her head, pulling her thoughts back on track. Right. She was trying to find a way to stop the gold teddy bear intent on killing her, not turn Foxy into the next Inspector Gadget. The guard groaned and looked over her tools again – none of this would help her. She snatched up the cheap, plastic baton and, with an angry huff, threw it.

It knocked into the stage, creating an odd, hollow noise as it smacked into one of the amps. Roni paused and stared at the amp – there was one on each side of the stage, and she knew the sound system was hooked up to the intercom. Bonnie had shown it to her before, when he was explaining how his guitar worked. The controls for the relatively-new sound system were just behind the curtains to the side of the stage. Her tired mind clicked through the options in front of her, and with a triumphant smirk she grabbed her phone and raced across the dining hall to the stage.

The sound system – a very basic set up compared to what she'd seen at concerts and such, basically a suped-up stereo with lots of inputs and outputs – was turned off. She moved to switch it on, then paused. If she hooked her phone up to the system, she could blast music throughout the restaurant and hopefully distract Gold and wake the others. She should wait until she had music playing to turn the machine on – static on the PA would tip the discolored Freddy-Clone off. A quick look through the neatly labeled cords hanging from the wall above the system provided a double-ended headphone jack. She turned on her phone's music program and, without paying attention, hit play. It would just cycle through all her tracks – there was no need, nor time, to try and set up something elaborate. Holding her breath, she plugged one end of the cord into her phone, and the other end into the machine, and then flipped the stereo system on.

There was a split-second pause as electricity raced through the wires in the building, seeking out the speakers in the ceilings and the amps on the stage, then-

NAH, NAH, HONEY I'M GOOD

I COULD HAVE ANOTHER BUT I PROBABLY

SHOULD NOT

I'VE GOT SOMEBODY AT HOME

Roni swore under her breath as Andy Grammer's "Honey I'm Good" blasted through the speakers a few feet away from her. It was echoing all around the building, thanks to the intercoms pumping it through the un-padded halls and party rooms.

Despite the noise, Roni could hear a loud crash from the office, as well as a rather inappropriate swear as one of the Freddy's was hurt. She jumped off the stage and crouched behind one of the table, watching as a top-hat-wearing-bear-shaped shadow appeared from the office. She couldn't tell which one it was, so she held her breath, waiting to see which animatronic would emerge.

I GOTTA BE LIKE OH BABY, NO BABY

YOU GOT ME ALL WRONG BABY

MY BABY'S ALREADY GOT ALL OF MY LOVE

Golden Freddy emerged from the west hallway, a sneer on his mechanical mouth as he looked around the dining room. It was a bit dim since the restaurant ran on reserve lighting during the night, but his red eyes could still see the tables, chairs and stage. His arm had been re-attached, though she couldn't fathom how. At the opposite end of the dining hall, Roni swore and crawled under the table she had been crouched behind, trying to get as far away from the yellow maniac as possible.

"Come out, come out, little girl." Gold sang as he slowly walked into the room, his eyes skipping over the tables and chairs and zeroing in on the stage. She'd used the sound system to interrupt his thorough thrashing of Freddy and draw him out of the office. He skirted the tables and walked around the edge of the room, stopping beside the stage and pulling back the curtains to peer at the sound system. She had hooked up her cellphone to the stereo, then turned the volume on the machine up in order to make it deafeningly loud.

NO, HONEY, I'M GOOD

I COULD HAVE ANOTHER BUT

I PROBABLY SHOULD NOT

I GOTTA BID YOU ADIEU

TO ANOTHER I WILL STAY TRUE

"Clever girl." Just as Gold was about to grab the phone and turn off the stereo, a chair in the middle of the room fell over. He froze, head turning unnaturally far to peer at the chair. The small child-sized party chair had tipped over onto it's side, but there was no sign of the girl. Still, she was in here, probably looking for a way to get to the office. Smirking, Gold moved unnaturally fast to block the two halls. She would not be escaping him this easily.

SING IT NOW

OH-WOAH-OH

I WILL STAY TRUE

Roni swore as her leg knocked against one of the kids chairs, tipping it over. As soon as Gold had moved to the front of the room, she'd begun army-crawling her way to the back. Without pausing, she scrambled frantically out from under that table and over to the next one, which had a birthday party tablecloth on it that provided better cover. Absently, she noticed the first song winding down as a second one began, an up-beat eighties synthesizer heralding it's start.

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

I'M GONNA FIND YA

I'M GONNA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

I'M GONNA WIN YA

I'M GONNA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA

Roni poked her head out from under the edge of the table cloth and spotted Gold guarding the entrances to the hallway. His gaze kept returning to the fallen chair in the middle of the room. Silently, Roni army-crawled beneath the tables to the far side of the room nearest the main exit and entrance. There was a shift of movement from the hallways, and she froze, holding her breath as Gold began to move.

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

I'M GONNA SEE YA

I'M GONNA MEETCHA MEETCHA MEETCHA MEETCHA

Gold was getting frustrated. He had never been a patient bear, and this stupid music playing over the speakers was making his ears twitch. The girl was somewhere in this room, hiding beneath the tables. He just had to figure out which one. Or, maybe...

A smirk crossed his stiff lips as he grabbed the table nearest to him and flipped it onto it's side, revealing a strip of unswept floor beneath. He growled and grabbed the next table, flipping it over as well. Nothing. He began flipping all the tables around him, intent on working his way through the whole room until he found the brat.

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER

I'M GONNA GETCHA

I'M GONNA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA

Roni winced as another table bit the dust at the hands of the golden monstrosity. He was flipping them all over, apparently, though at least he had started on the side nearest the kitchen. While he was distracted with replicating an internet meme, she moved towards the west hallway. The repeating chorus covered her footsteps, and holding her breath, she crawled between the last table and the west hall, unseen by Gold's angry red eyes.

HAPPINESS HIT HER LIKE A TRAIN ON A TRACK

COMING TOWARDS HER STUCK STILL NO TURNING BACK

Oh thank God, he hadn't seen her. Roni crept as quietly as possible down the hall, loathe to make any noise that this odd animatronic could hear through the music and bring him running. Just as she was halfway down the hall, one of the tables nearest the front doors was flipped, and the animatronic roared in frustration.

FUN FAST FOR YOUR MOTHER

RUN FAST FOR YOUR FATHER

RUN FOR YOUR CHILDREN

FOR YOUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS

On the advice of the song, Roni took off in a dead sprint and closed the gap between her and the office door in seconds. She threw herself into the room, panting, and waited anxiously for the sound of the clone's footsteps echoing through the hallway. There were none – only more crashing as table after table fell to his wrath.

As soon as she was certain he wasn't going to crash into the room with an axe and a tired movie line, the guard turned to find Freddy laying spread-eagle on the floor, his costume torn and a rather bad dent in one shoulder. She winced in sympathy, then dropped to her knees beside his head and gave him a shake.

"Wake up, Freddy. I know you're tired but we really don't have time to nap right now." She hissed, just loud enough to be heard above the music but not loud enough to be heard in the dining hall.

THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER

THE DOG DAYS ARE DONE

CAN YOU HEAR THE HORSE?

'CAUSE HERE THEY COME

The shaking and subsequent whispered threats did nothing to wake the animatronic, who appeared to be out cold. Roni groaned in frustration – the loud music obviously hadn't woken the others from their naps, and apparently Freddy had been cold-clocked by his clone and was down for the count. With an angry grunt, she guard brought her fist down on Freddy's forehead, not expecting a reaction.

THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER

THE DOG DAYS ARE DONE

THE HORSES ARE COMING

SO YOU'D BETTER RUN

Bright blue eyes flashed open, showcasing confusion and pain as Freddy's systems rebooted. Roni had hit him just hard enough to jolt his systems into action, resetting his sleep cycle and pulling him from his unwanted recharge.

"Roni?" He asked slowly, blinking at the surprised guard leaning over him.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry I hit you but it worked!" Roni took a step back as the bear dragged himself upright. He leaned heavily against the desk, still sitting, and looked around in worry.

"Where's Gold?" He demanded.

THERE'S A MAN GOIN' 'ROUND TAKIN' NAMES

AN' HE DECIDES WHO TO FREE AND WHO TO BLAME

EVERYBODY WON'T BE TREATED ALL THE SAME

THERE'LL BE A GOLDEN LADDER REACHING DOWN

WHEN THE MAN COMES AROUND.

"Dining hall," Roni immediately answered, dropping to her knees beside him. "He's destroying the tables, I think."

Freddy winced at that, then winced again as the music picked up speed. "And what is this racket?"

"That racket is Johnny Cash!" Roni responded, sounding offended.

"Why is Johnny Cash making a racket in my restaurant?" Was it her imagination, or did Freddy look almost amused at her reaction?

"I plugged my phone into the sound system and played music to draw out Goldie Bear."

The brown animatronic nodded in thought. "Good idea. Where are the others?"

Roni bounced back to her feet. "Asleep. I'll need your help to wake them up." She held out a hand to help the bear to his feet, and was stunned when instead, he pulled her forward. She yelped and landed on top of him.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" She demanded as soon as she'd gotten her bearings.

Freddy flashed her an apologetic grimace. "I'm sorry, it seems my legs are – are out of commission."

Roni scrambled off of him and saw deep dents and a cut down one side, towards his hip. Freddy tried to push himself up using the desk, but as soon as he reached his feet they wobble, and he fell face-first onto the floor. To the guards surprise, he swore as he pushed himself back upright, leaning against the desk again.

WHOEVER IS UNJUST, LET HIM BE UNJUST STILL

WHOEVER IS RIGHTEOUS, LET HIM BE RIGHTEOUS STILL

WHOEVER IS FILFTHY, LET HIM BE FILTHY STILL

LISTEN TO THE WORDS LONG WRITTEN DOWN,

WHEN THE MAN COMES AROUND

"You need to run." Freddy grabbed her uncasted arm, pulling the guard closer so she could hear him past the music. "Gold will not stop until you're dead, and I can't protect you tonight. Neither can the others. You have to run, now."

"What?" Roni stared at the bear, who only a month earlier had been the threat she tried to run from.

"Leave through the backdoor. I'll do my best to distract Gold while you run."

"No!" She jerked her arm from his grip, absently rubbing at her cast. "He hurt you, and he could hurt the others too. They're my friends – I'm not just going to abandon them!"

"Is that so?"

AND I HEARD A VOICE IN THE MIDST OF THE FOUR BEASTS

AND I LOOKED AND BEHOLD: A PALE HORSE

AND HIS NAME, THAT SAT UPON HIM, WAS DEATH

AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH HIM

Golden Freddy sneered at the pair as he entered the room, ignoring the strains of a guitar as the next of the guards silly little distraction began. Freddy fought to get up, but his strength was spent and he ended up looking more like a fool than a defender. The girl stood slightly behind him, looking torn between fear and defiance. The old animatronic couldn't decide which he liked more.

"I was going to make your death quick," he said conversationally, inspecting the tips of his fingers as though he had nails to observe. "A few minutes of air deprivation and it would have been over. But you," he shot Freddy a nasty look, "had to interfere. So now I'm going to do just what Freddy was." He leaned towards the two silent do-gooders. "Shove you, alive and screaming, into a suit."

IF I DIE YOUNG, BURY ME IN SATIN

LAY ME DOWN ON A BED OF ROSES

SINK ME IN A RIVER AT DAWN

SEND ME AWAY WITH THE WORDS OF A LOVE SONG

"NO!" Freddy tried to lunge at his copy cat, and had he been able it would have been a heroic gesture. Instead, he flopped onto his side, unable to bring his legs up in time to push him towards the yellow bear. Said bear cackled and smirked at his replacement as the stupid girl tried to help him back up. As soon as Freddy was able to sit up and watch, Gold grabbed the guard by her arm and pulled her from the room.

"So long, brother!" He tossed a casual wave over his shoulder as he dragged the struggling guard down the hall.

A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?OH NO, I'LL SEEL 'EM FOR A DOLLAR

THEY'RE WORTH SO MUCH MORE AFTER I'M A GONER

AND MAYBE THEN YOU'LL HEAR THE WORDS I'VE BEEN SINGING

FUNNY WHEN YOU'RE DEAD HOW PEOPLE START LISTENING

"Let go of me! Let go!" Roni tried to pull her arm from the bear's grasp, panting and digging her heels into the tiled floor to try and slow him down. The bear didn't even bother to acknowledge her, just kept his tight-as-steel grip around her upper arm and bounced his head to the tune of the song as he dragged her into the dining hall.

The room was practically destroyed. Every table had been flipped over, and almost all of them either had legs broken off or were broken in half. Several of the chairs were completely torn apart, and others were missing one or two legs or the back. Roni felt her jaw drop as she looked around at the destruction. The birthday party table cloth she had been peeking out from not even ten minutes before had been torn to shreds, which lay over the splintered wood and twisted plastic like some kind of sick confetti.

UH OH, UH OH

THE BALLAD OF A DOVE, UH OH

GO WITH PEACE AND LOVE

GATHER UP YOUR TEARS, KEEP THEM IN YOUR POCKET

SAVE 'EM FOR A TIME WHEN YOU'RE REALLY GONNA NEED 'EM

"Do you like what I've done with the place?" Gold asked as he dragged her past the wreckage and up onto the stage. She made a faint squeaking noise in the back of her throat as he approached the backroom. She'd avoided it like the plague for the past month.

"Please," her voice was faint, and had he not been an animatronic Gold would have missed it within the music, "I don't want to die."

He chuckled, throwing open the replaced door with it's poorly-taped up 'employee's only' sign and squeaky hinge. "My dear, nobody wants to die. But you're a night guard, and this is what you signed up for." He dragged her into the darkened back room. The lights flipped on when he glanced upwards, not that Roni noticed. She was staring at the table in horror.

The Bonnie suit was lying on it, completely still and innocent.

"Like I said earlier," Gold dragged her farther into the room and swung her about, slamming her into the table, "Freddy picked out a lovely Bonnie suit for you." He released Roni, who collapsed to the floor, the breath completely knocked out of her. Humming to himself, Gold began to pull apart the suit, making sure to lay the pieces on the floor so that the human could see all the sharp, pointy parts.

A choir of violins split the silence as a new song began to play – Gold scolded himself for not unplugging the cellphone on his way up, but he'd had his hands full with the struggling guard. The violins were joined by horns, and a man started singing in an unfamiliar language. He shrugged to himself and ignored the song, despite the nagging feeling that it was familiar in some way.

On the ground, Roni rolled over onto her stomach, groaning in pain. She was certain she would have a nice, purple bruise all along her back where she had hit the table by tomorrow. If she was alive tomorrow, that is. Gold glanced at her, then went back to dismantling the Bonnie suit. He was muttering to himself as he did so. Unable to move, Roni closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for her nearby fate.

TOREADOR, EN GUARD! TOREADOR, TOREADOR!

ET SONGE BIEN, OUI, SONGE EN COMBATTANT

QU'UN OEIL NOIR TE REGARDE,

ET QUE L'AMOUR T'ATTEND,

TOREADOR, L'AMOUR T'ATTEND!

ET SONG BEITN, OUI, SONGE EN COMBATTANT

QU'UN OEIL NOIR TE REGARDE,

ET QUE L'AMOUR T'ATTEND,

TOREADOR, L'AMOUR T'ATTEND!

That horribly familiar tune brought Gold up short, and he snapped his head down to the side to glare at Roni. Feeling his gaze, she glared back up at him, a smirk curling her lips.

"Not a fan of classic opera?" She asked mockingly, deciding that if she was going out, she might as well go out snarky and sarcastic. "I heard a rumor Freddy likes it."

Gold dropped the Bonnie head he'd been inspecting and grabbed the guard by the throat, dragging her upright and into the air. "I'm not afraid of Freddy's little 'theme song.'" He sneered, before dropping her back to the ground. Roni grunted as she hit the ground and didn't bother to get up, trying to get her breath back once more.

The song continued, the French singer telling the story of bull fights to the two listening. At least that's what Roni thought it was about – she couldn't be sure, as she didn't speak French. Hell, she didn't think half the people who spoke French could understand this opera anyway – the singing seemed to distort the language, almost. Or maybe it was just that you had to be in the theater to understand the words.

TOREADOR, L'AMOUR T'ATTEND!

L'AMOUR! L'AMOUR! L'AMOUR!

TOREADOR, TOREADOR, L'AMOUR T'ATTEND!

The song came to an end, and Roni groaned as she was dragged upright once more by the golden monstrosity, who had the back part of the Bonnie suit laid out on the table, ready for stuffing. "It will be more painful this way," he said conversationally, pointing to the pieces of pipe and rod sticking out of the suit, meant to attach to an endoskeleton. "And it will take longer. Much, much longer. I figured we'd do one limb at a time." He glanced down at her cast. "Starting with this one."

Just as Roni was getting ready to spit off a fountain of vitriol and swears, a soft jingling filled the room. Gold rolled his eyes once more and glared at her. "Really, Freddy's silly little jingle?" He sneered, bringing her nose-to-nose with him. "You can't scare me!"

"Aye, she can't. But I be betting we can."

There was a clatter as Foxy dropped Roni's cellphone to the floor. The guard slumped in relief at the sight of her friends – Foxy was standing in the front, glaring at Gold as though hoping his look could kill. At his side was Chica, who had her hands on her hips and a ferocious gleam in her eyes. Bonnie was behind them, supporting a still injured Freddy. Roni felt a shudder run down her spine – the look in the brown bear's eyes was absolutely murderous.

Foxy lunged at Gold, kicking the cellphone out of the way as he did so. The screen blinked to life, and another song began to play, echoing from the phone's speakers.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE GOOD MEN GONE

AND WHERE ARE ALL THE GODS?

WHERE'S THE STREET-WISE HERCULES

TO FIGHT THE RISING ODDS?

Gold dropped Roni in favor of defending himself. She hit the floor for the third time with a pained groan, and did her best to pull herself away from the conflict. Chica, who was right behind Foxy, gave her a glance before throwing herself at the old bear with a shriek of rage. Together, she and Foxy drove him back, away from the table and human.

I NEED A HERO, I'M HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO

'TIL THE END OF THE NIGHT

HE'S GOTTA BE STRONG

AND HE'S GOTTA BE FAST

AND HE'S GOTTA BE FRESH FROM THE FIGHT

A pair of purple hands grabbed Roni's shoulders, pulling her upright. Bonnie didn't say anything – he just led her from the room and onto the stage. Freddy, still unable to stand, was sitting near the door against the wall. The bunny sat Roni beside him.

"Stay here," he demanded, pointing a finger at her. She raised a brow, but nodded. Bonnie pointed at Freddy and repeated the command. Then, with a rather dangerous gleam in his eyes, he ran back into the storage room. There was a crunch, and the music from the cell phone immediately cut off. Roni winced at the thought of having to buy a new phone, then wanted to smack herself for worrying about losing her phone when she'd just nearly lost her life.

"Roni," a brown hand rested on her shoulder, "are you alright?" Freddy was looking her up and down with concern. "Are you injured? Bleeding at all?"

"No, just – just dizzy is all. You okay?" The girl leaned against the wall, trying to blink away the stars dancing in front of her eyes.

"I can be repaired." Freddy kept his hand on her shoulder, though his concerned gaze was pulled elsewhere only a moment later.

A roar of 'ENOUGH!' proceeded Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy being thrown out of the backroom, one after the other. Gold appeared in the doorway and Roni noted, absently, that he was floating and emitting some kind of black, gooey aura. He glared at them each in turn, red eyes shrunk to mere pinpricks inside his head. Finally, his gaze rested on Roni.

"I will kill you." He seethed, pointing threateningly at her. Before she could respond, a brown arm was thrust in front of her, and she found herself herded against Freddy's side.

"You will have to go through me first." The brown bear stated, his eyes stony.

"And me," Bonnie and Chica stated at the same time as they got to their feet, supporting each other. Beside them, Foxy leapt upright, tail swishing back and forth anxiously.

"Aye, ye best be keepin' yer hands off'a me matey!" He shook his hook at the floating bear.

Gold sneered once more. "You'd best all keep one eye open." There was an odd, almost static-y like noise, and he disappeared.

Roni decided she really didn't want to know anything about the magical floating/disappearing bear tonight and instead focused on the bear still on the stage. Freddy had withdrawn his arm when Gold left, and was watching her with concerned blue eyes. To the shock of all four animatronics, Roni leaned against him, wrapping her arms as far around his torso as she could in a hug.

"Thank you for saving me." She muttered, burying her face in his side. A heavy hand dropped around her shoulder, holding her close.

"Of course, Miss Byrd." The bear muttered.

There was a moment of stunned silence, before Foxy finally had enough and broke it. "I don' mean to be interruptin' this homey scene, but wha' in Davey Jone's locker happened?"


By the time Roni and Freddy finished their explanation of the night's events, Roni had been hugged by each of the animatronics several times. They were sitting in a circle on the stage, with Freddy and her side by side, both leaning against the wall. Chica had given Freddy a hug as well, promising to take care of all his chores while he rested his damaged frame. Bonnie and Foxy both agreed to help. After giving the two stern orders to rest, the three jumped off the stage and got to work cleaning up the dining room and figuring out what could be salvaged.

At 6:02, Jonathan Fazbear II arrived to find the dining area of the restaurant in complete disarray, three harried animatronics trying to salvage everything they could, and a damaged Freddy and injured Roni sleeping on the stage. He had to pause at that – he'd never thought the day would come when those two would willingly get near each other, but there they were. Freddy was sleeping sitting up, legs out in front of him, head slightly tilted back as he simulated snoring. Roni was curled up on her side, using his lap as a pillow. Someone – probably Chica or Bonnie – had thrown a table cloth over her like a blanket. Freddy had a hand resting on her shoulder, keeping her from moving around in her sleep. Oddly, both of them seemed to have little smiles on their faces, despite the damage.

"Eep!"

Ah, Chica had spotted him. Fazbear moved his gaze from the stage to her, Bonnie, and Foxy, who were each clutching brooms and had a 'deer in the headlights' expression etched across their expressive faces. He looked around at the destruction once more and pulled out his cell phone. A few quick calls, and the restaurant was closed for the day. Nobody would be coming in for work. As soon as he was done, he looked at the three awake animatronics, crossed his arms, and scowled.

"Explanation. Now."


AN: This was SO MUCH FUN to write! These are some of my favorite songs. In order of appearance:

Andy Grammer – Honey I'm Good

Blondie – One Way or Another

Florence & the Machines – Dog Days Are Over

Johnny Cash – The Man Comes Around

The Band Perry – If I Die Young

Georges Bizet – Toreador Song

Freddy's Jingle

Bonnie Tyler – Holding Out For A Hero

The last one was kinda cheesy, I know, but it was just too much fun to pass up! One chapter, all planned and ready to write, is left!

Reviews and critiques are always welcome! Thanks for reading.