Freddy and friends hurried as fast as they could toward the restrooms where they'd heard Katrina Marlowe scream out in terror. It sounded like something may have attacked her. Freddy led the way there. He tried to stay calm but his biggest fear was that once again he would fail to save another kid. He didn't want to lose Katrina too… They've reached the restrooms at last and Freddy reached for the door handle. To his dismay, the door had been locked from the inside and there was no way he'd be able to open it from out here.
"Katrina! Open the door! Please let us in! We can help you! Katrina? Let us in now!" Freddy pounded on the door and tried the knob many times, but was unable to get it open. By now, he was truly starting to panic. He had to get to Katrina and fast.
"It's no good, Cap'n! The door won' budge. Did ye think me can jimmy the lock wit' me hook?" Foxy offered while also trying the door knob with his silver hook.
"That won't work! Your hook is too big for the keyhole!" Bonnie cried. "And we can't use a key! Isn't there any other way to open the door?"
Meanwhile Freddy was still pounding on the door and desperately calling out to Katrina. Hearing all the loud commotion and alarmed voices brought Golden Freddy to the scene. "Thank god you're here, Golden! Quick! Katrina is trapped in the bathroom! Go through the wall and tried unlocking the door from the inside! Hurry now!" Freddy shouted.
Golden quickly turned and tried using his supernatural abilities to gain entrance into the bathroom. But for some unexplainable reason, it felt like there was some invisible force preventing him from doing so. "I…I can't. There's something in there and it's keeping me out," Golden whispered.
"How is that possible? What is in there?" Chica cried. She too frantically was knocking on the door and tried looking through the keyhole. "Please Katrina! You need to stay strong! Open the door and let us in! We're here for you! Are you in there?"
Suddenly there was another scream from inside, and that was when Freddy decided he had enough. "Forget this! Step aside Foxy!" With that, Freddy lowered his shoulder and began ramming into the bathroom door over and over with determination.
"No Freddy, don't! You'll seriously damage yourself!" Chica protested.
But Freddy ignored her and continued to use his animatronic body as a battering ram. After slamming himself into the door a good five times, finally the lock broke off and he immediately entered the bathroom at once. It was pitch black inside but Freddy was able to use the light from his robotic blue eyes to see his surroundings better. And the first thing he saw was Katrina lying motionless on the tiled floor.
"Katrina! No!" Freddy felt pure fear when he knelt down beside her. "Don't be dead. Please don't be dead! Please be alive!" With his hands shaking, Freddy placed his paw onto Katrina's chest and was able to breathe a sigh of relief when he felt a heartbeat. She was alive… He got to her in time.
"Noooo! Katrina! Is she dead? What happened to her?" Chica became so hysterical that she had to be held back by Bonnie. She couldn't take her teary eyes off of poor Katrina who was sprawled out on the floor like a corpse. She instinctively buried her head into Bonnie's shoulder for comfort.
"It's okay, Chica. Katrina's not dead," Freddy said soothingly. "She's alright. I think she only fainted." Freddy managed to sound calm but inside he was shaken up. For a moment there, he thought he lost her. He was still concerned for Katrina. "We have to get her to safety. I'm taking her away from here."
With that, Freddy carefully lifted the unconscious girl as though she weighted no more than a feather and gently carried her away in his arms. His friends followed him out of the girls' bathroom and Freddy took Katrina straight to the Employee Lounge. There he lowered her down onto the soft couch where he knew she'd be safe. Katrina didn't appear to be hurt in any way; it looked like she'd been knocked out. Now Freddy turned to face his friends and saw that they all held the exact same grave expression as him.
"What happened at the girls' bathroom? I heard Katrina scream but…," Bonnie said slowly. "Do you think there was someone else in there with her?"
"Are ye sayin' dat someone or somethin' attacked her?" Foxy growled. "I don' believe it! When I find the low-down scum who attacked Katrina, I'll force em' to walk the plank and into shark-infested waters!"
But Chica looked worried the most. "Katrina didn't have any bruises when we found her. She sounded really scared when she screamed. Do you… Do you think "he" came back to the restaurant?" They all knew exactly who she was referring to.
"No way. I don't think so," Bonnie said doubtfully. "If he came back, we would've known." Bonnie smiled reassuringly to the animatronic chick. "No need to worry, Chica, I don't believe he's returned to the restaurant."
"Well if it ain't "him," then who?" Foxy wanted to know.
And then a quiet shy voice spoke out from the doorway. "I think he disappeared…" All heads turned to see Golden Freddy standing there, silently observing them all with his empty black eyes. "He was there…but he's gone now. He's no longer at the restrooms."
Bonnie, Chica and Foxy exchanged uneasy looks with one other. It could only mean that there was something lurking in the pizzeria. An entity so dangerous and scary that it nearly frightened Katrina to death. But nobody was more concerned than Freddy Fazbear who remained silent the whole time, listening closely to what the others were saying. If there was an unseen enemy here, they had to find it. Before it got the idea to attack other kids…
Looking down upon Katrina's sleeping face, Freddy turned to his friends. "Bonnie and Foxy, I want you to check both bathrooms. Report back to me if you see anything suspicious. Golden, I need you to search the entire restaurant and try to locate the assailant. If he's still here, he has to be hiding somewhere. Get going, all of you!"
"Be careful you guys," Chica said, watching as Bonnie and Foxy exited the Employee Lounge together and Golden disappeared from sight. Once they left, she turned to see Freddy return to the couch and kneeled down beside it which brought him closer to Katrina. "What are you going to do?" Chica asked.
"What I should have done before…," Freddy replied softly. "I'm going to be here for her…" Because for Freddy Fazbear, he finally had a change of heart. He almost failed Katrina, but never again. And Chica noticed the way the animatronic bear stayed vigilantly by Katrina's side. It was a comforting sight to see.
Half an hour later, Freddy continued to keep an eye on Katrina. She slept for so long, but what bothered him was seeing her expression. It looked like she was having haunting dreams. Freddy hoped she was alright. He looked up when Bonnie and Foxy finally returned from their mission. Judging by their puzzled expressions, they didn't find what they were looking for.
"Jus' searched the restrooms, Cap'n. We didn't see anything suspicious. Whoever attacked Katrina got away. No worries though, I'll hunt em' down!" Foxy declared.
"Take it easy, Foxy." Freddy turned expectantly to Bonnie. "You've checked both bathrooms?"
"Yes," Bonnie nodded. "It's like Foxy said, we couldn't find anything. There was nothing out of the ordinary around the area. Except for you know…the off-limits place."
Freddy knew what they meant. Now he looked at Katrina and really started to worry. The culprit hadn't been caught. Katrina wasn't alone in that bathroom; someone had been in there with her. But who? It made him uneasy to know that there was a hidden enemy around here. And then Golden finally showed up to give his report.
"I searched everywhere, Freddy. No trace of an intruder." Golden Freddy informed him.
After doing some careful thinking, Freddy decided to do some investigating of his own. "You two stay here with Katrina," Freddy told Bonnie and Foxy. "I'll be right back. There's something I need to check."
Freddy headed back to the restrooms where the incident took place. However instead on entering the bathrooms, Freddy was much more interested of a certain area. All the animatronics had the map of the restaurant in their program. They could go anywhere they liked. Except for one place… Freddy stared and stared, but as expected, he couldn't come any closer to the place. It was strange. No matter how hard he tried, "ERROR" kept popping up before him. What was back there?
"You can't go there…" Freddy turned around and saw that Golden Freddy had followed him. The golden bear was also staring transfixed at the unknown area. "Puppet said it's dangerous. Said we shouldn't go anywhere near there."
"I take it that the Puppet didn't give a reason?" Freddy said dryly. He sometimes questioned the Puppet's motives. He couldn't decide if the Puppet was truly an ally or not. But even Freddy had to admit that so far, the Puppet hadn't steered them wrong before. With a sigh, Freddy decided that there was nothing else to see here and turned to leave.
Golden Freddy watched the brown bear make his way back to the Employee Lounge. Once Freddy was out of sight, Golden decided to head back to the Puppet. Golden was much more trusting toward the Puppet and had struck a close friendship with it. As promised he was going to assure the Puppet that Katrina wasn't hurt. And that Freddy Fazbear was his old self again… Returning to the Employee Lounge, he dismissed Bonnie and Foxy. Then Freddy approached the couch where he was just in time to see Katrina finally wake up after sleeping for so long. She blinked her eyes open and appeared dazed for a moment, but then sat up with a look of fear.
"Where am I?" Katrina cried. The poor girl was so emotionally distressed that Freddy quickly reached out to calm her. She was close to tears and talking in hysterics. Freddy held onto her arm and refused to let her go.
"It's okay! You're safe now. There's nothing to be afraid of. You're in the pizzeria, don't you remember?" Freddy tried telling her soothingly. Getting down on one knee, Freddy was able to see her face-to-face. "Are you alright? We heard you scream. What happened?"
"Didn't you see "him"? It was awful. He enjoyed scaring me. I begged him to stop but he wouldn't!" Katrina whimpered. She was shaking from head to toe and looking positively traumatized.
"Who did this to you? What did he look like?" Freddy demanded. He wouldn't rest until he found the villain who attacked Katrina. He would never let anything bad happen to her ever again.
"I…I don't know. I couldn't see him. He likes hiding in the dark. I don't know who he was…" Katrina said in a shaky voice. She remembered the uncomfortable conversation she had with that thing. The mysterious figure had warned her to stay away from Freddy Fazbear.
"Don't worry about it. Whoever frightened you like that is gone now. I'll personally make sure it never comes back again. As long as I'm here, you'll always be safe, Katrina," Freddy told her warmly.
Katrina stared up at the animatronic bear and couldn't help noticing a change in him. No longer distancing himself or acting aloof, now his blue eyes were twinkling compassionately, and his smile appeared genuine. She was seeing a whole new side to Freddy Fazbear, the same one she'd seen in the kids' drawings. Katrina remembered their argument in the kitchen before she got scared out of her wits. Feeling her anger coming back, she stubbornly pushed him away from her.
"Why would you care? You're only going to make me leave. You don't want me around anymore," Katrina grumbled while wrapping her arms around her knees while sitting on the couch. The truth was she was still scared. Being angry was the best distraction for her.
Freddy felt guilty all over again when he saw how disappointed she was in him. He didn't blame her. He'd given her every reason to doubt his good intentions. It was time to make this right. Time to show her the real Freddy Fazbear. "You were right about me," he admitted to her."
Katrina looked up at him and Freddy could tell that she was trying to hide her surprise at this. "Look, I'm not going to send you away. Actually I've been thinking about what you said, and you're right. But you have to understand how I really feel…" Freddy sadly lowered his head and finally told her the truth. "My problem is that I love kids too much… When those five kids died… I thought it was my fault. I was afraid that I was getting too soft. I wanted to be strong so I closed my heart."
Freddy looked down at Katrina and saw that she was listening to his every word. "But I didn't realize what I was turning into. I pushed all my loved ones away and the darkness in me just grew. My behavior only got worse, and I kept trying to convince myself it was for the best. But now I know better… Shutting my friends out wasn't helping me or making me stronger. And I can't turn my back on children; it's not who I am."
It made Freddy feel better to at long last talk about his feelings with someone. Now he gazed upon Katrina, this amazing girl who never gave up on him. "I was wrong. I'm so sorry Katrina." Now he held out his paw to her. "I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. Can we start over? Do you still want to be my friend?"
Katrina felt deeply moved by his sincere apology. She stared at his offered hand and felt tempted to accept it. But she needed to know that he was for real this time. Seeing the uncertainty on her face, Freddy understood that he needed to win her over first. It was time to do what he did best. "Want to see something interesting?" he asked her.
Again Freddy held out his big paw to her. "Give me your hand." With curiosity in her eyes, Katrina reached out and finally placed her hand in his. "Reach up here and press gently," Freddy instructed her. There he guided her hand up to his nose where Katrina heard a loud (honk!) like a party horn when she pressed his big black nose. It was a funny sound and it made her laugh.
"I used to get a sore nose because kids loved honking it," Freddy chuckled. "Want to see something else?" Next Freddy took her hand and placed it where his heart would be. "Press this spot and see what happens," he told her. When Katrina pressed down on it, the music box rendition of Toreador's March started playing. The cheery melody filled the entire room with its song.
"Wow, that's amazing," Katrina said impressed. Then she looked up at him. "The music box is inside your heart?"
"Yes. Whenever I hug kids to my heart, I'd treat them to a calming little jingle." Freddy's smile deepens as more fond memories flashed through his mind. "Kids used to line up for the famous Fazbear hug. I haven't hugged a kid in a very long time. I really miss it…"
Hearing his sad words, Katrina reached out and snuggled her head comfortably on the animatronic bear's chest. She closed her eyes and with a smile allowed the warmth to envelope her, making her feel safe for the first time. Freddy gazed down upon the girl and could no longer deny his feelings toward her. He wrapped his arms around Katrina and gave her her first Fazbear hug. And just like that, she'd come to forgive him. Freddy cuddled the beautiful girl affectionately and realized that he was no longer afraid. His depression was over and now he was ready to recover.
"Thanks Katrina," Freddy said gratefully. He gently released her, only to wince from the soreness in his left shoulder. Katrina noticed this.
"Freddy…your shoulder. What happened to it?" Katrina asked, eying the animatronic bear in concern.
"Well you kinda locked the bathroom door, so I had to break the lock off," Freddy explained sheepishly. "It's okay though, it doesn't hurt. The staff here probably won't notice, and even if they did, they could easily fix it."
Katrina examined the damage done to Freddy's shoulder and felt a little guilty. But it also made her realize how much Freddy cared. He'd been so determined to help her that he practically broke down the door. After all her efforts to get the brown bear to open up to her, she finally succeeded. Sudden whispering voices from the door caught Katrina's attention. Freddy heard them too and went over to investigate. Yanking the door open revealed Bonnie, Chica, Foxy and Golden Freddy standing around, spying and eavesdropping on them.
"Yikes! Time ter weigh anchor, mateys!" Foxy hollered to the others. All the animatronics immediately started to scatter.
"I swear, you guys," Freddy shook his head nonsensically. Once his friends left, Freddy turned back to Katrina and became serious. "We've all had enough excitement for one night. I want you to stay in here where it's safe. Whatever attacked you managed to get away. I don't want you going anywhere alone in this restaurant, especially at night-time."
"You're the boss," Katrina teased. She looked up at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it read 1:00AM. "Anyway, I'd better get to bed. I'll leave in the morning before the restaurant opens." She went over to her backpack and pulled out her pillow.
Freddy was silent. "Will you come back?" he quietly asked her.
Katrina looked over and saw that Freddy looked worried. "Only if you want me to." But she couldn't hide her smile. Freddy wanted to see her again. Freddy returned the smile which said it all.
"I'll come to check up on you later. Sleep well, Katrina." Freddy turned to leave the Employee Lounge. He was feeling better than he had in weeks. Now that he knew Katrina was safe, he could focus on trying to locate the unknown assailant. He wanted to make sure that this never happened again.
Hours later, at precisely 3:00AM, Katrina Marlowe was fast asleep on the couch at the Employee Lounge. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy had patrolled the restaurant all night, but there were no other incidents. They never found out who terrorized Katrina in the girls' bathroom. It was still a concerning matter. When the other animatronics went back to their proper places, Golden Freddy waited until the coast was clear before emerging from his hiding place and teleporting straight to Prize Corner.
The Puppet had been expecting him. After hearing of what happened to Katrina, the Puppet had had some troubling suspicions. If its hunch was right, then the ghost children might be in danger. Luckily Golden Freddy had been a big help, providing the Puppet with inside information about the goings-on in the pizzeria. And now the Puppet rose out of its music box and looked to Golden Freddy expectantly for the latest news.
"Freddy and others couldn't find the culprit," Golden reported. Similar to the Puppet, two white pinprick eyes loomed large in his empty eye-sockets.
"I understand. I didn't expect them to find anything." The Puppet paused for a moment. It had another uneasy thought. "He's never attacked anyone before. I wonder…" The Puppet looked back up at Golden. "I want you to keep an eye on Katrina. I hope I'm wrong about this, but I have a feeling that "he" will come after her again. Now that she's won Freddy's heart, he won't take too kindly to that."
"But what about Freddy? Won't he protect Katrina?" Golden asked softly.
"Not to worry. Freddy will protect Katrina with his life. I have no doubts about that," the Puppet said with confidence. "But this is a devious foe, one that not even Freddy can detect. It's best that we keep an eye on things." The Puppet's glowy eyes looked over at the Show Stage where it had a good view of Freddy, Bonnie and Chica. "Keep a close watch, Golden. You know that's where he likes to hide. I don't know what his motives are, but I won't allow him to corrupt the ghost children."
"I promise I will," Golden said with a nod of his head. He trusted the Puppet's wisdom. No doubt that there was something evil lurking around. If anyone could sense it, it was Golden Freddy. The only animatronic who was more in touch with his supernatural side.
"One more thing. I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention our conversation with anyone, Golden,"the Puppet said mysteriously. "I don't want to alarm the others. But in the meantime, watch over Katrina." The Puppet reached out and gently touched Golden's face. "Get some sleep, ok? You have nothing to worry about for now."
Like a trusting child, Golden Freddy disappeared before the Puppet's eyes and teleported back to the parts & service room. Once he was gone, all that was left for the Puppet was to retreat back inside its music box and sleep for the night. Before entering the musical box, the Puppet couldn't help but look warily around its shadowy surroundings and wonder. The Puppet didn't trust the darkness, because the darkness always had something to hide. But for now, it would worry about bigger matters in the morning.
Yeah I know, the chapter must have been a bummer. FNAF readers never get the chance to find out who attacked Katrina in the bathroom. The mystery lingers for now but not to worry, the answer will come in a later chapter. In the meantime, it'll give my readers plenty of time to figure out which FNAF villain was capable of the crime. Thanks for the reading so far, hope the story is proving to be an interesting one so far! Until next time!
