Disclaimer: I'm a girl. I'm biracial. I'm single. Therefore, I'm NOT Scott Cawthon, and as such don't own the Five Nights at Freddy's games.

A/N: Here we learn something about Ian-and one of the other kids comes back to normal...well, for a little while, anyway.

Confession time-I had a Goth phase back when I was fifteen. I wore nothing but black, wore more make-up than Fritz, and tried dyeing my hair…only to screw it up and end up looking like a skunk. It didn't last long (mostly because of my dad threatening to beat me black and blue), but the Goth lifestyle fit me like a glove. I was antisocial, quiet, and looked down on everyone. Idiots, every one of them. Shallow, airheaded idiots obsessing over stupid things like going to the mall or making out with each other every two seconds.

Four years later, not much has changed. I'm still quiet and antisocial, but I don't look down on other people anymore. I envy them.

That night as I got ready for what might very well be my last night alive, I looked at Fritz's bedroom door as I passed it in the hall. I still felt bad over making her so upset earlier, but it was better that she didn't know. I could only hope that if I didn't come back, she'd learn to better control her temper. I knew she had trouble with her anger due to missing 20% of her brain, but I wanted her to have a happy, normal life.

"Ready to go, Mike?" My mom asked. She looked really tired, as if she'd been up for 24 straight hours. I could tell that having to drive me to work so late was taking its toll on her, and I couldn't help but feel guilty. Nonetheless, I tried to keep my tone neutral as I answered

"Yeah." I vowed to get my own car if I made it out of this thing alive.

I got two surprises as I went inside Freddy Fazbear's. First of all, Mr. Fazbirch had already left. I pulled on my blue jacket and hat, then went to the night guard's office, where I got my second surprise. Ian was already outside the door…and he was asleep. Now, seeing an animatronic fox lying slumped against the wall, its head tilted to one side and its eyes closed would've been a bizarre enough sight-but that wasn't even the weirdest part. Above Foxy's form, the ghost of a little boy was doing the same. He had a mop-top type hairstyle, a t-shirt that looked about two sizes too big for him, and a pair of shorts. The ghost boy was completely silver-his skin, clothes, hair, everything except for two gray tear-like markings under his eyes. Ian tilted his head a little, and the apparition did the same. It suddenly dawned on me that it was his soul.

"Ian?" Both animatronic and ghost opened their eyes, and I noticed that Ian's real self, his soul, had the same yellow eyes as Foxy.

"Mike?" Ian turned to look at me, and the image of his soul faded. I blinked a couple times, coming back to normal.

"I…I didn't think you could sleep." I said. Ian shrugged, pulling himself up.

"I can't, not really. It's just-I was waiting for you, and..."

"It's okay." I said, cutting him off. "Let's get ready." I went inside my office, Ian following me.

"After last night's close call, I want to be better prepared. Next time I might not be so lucky."

I settled down in my chair, getting ready for the usual phone message.

"Hello, hello! Hey! Wow, day four-I knew you could do it!"

"I cut it kind of close yesterday." I said.

"Hey listen, I might not be around to send you a message tomorrow…" As me and Ian kept listening, I heard the sound of something banging on the door on the tape. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ian look away uncomfortably.

"It's-it's been a bad night here for me." The sound of banging continued, and I couldn't help but wonder how Phone Guy managed to sound so calm.

"Um, I'm kinda glad that I recorded those messages for you er, when I did."

"I remember this part…" Ian said in a small voice. I glanced at him, then turned back to the phone.

"H-hey do me a favor: maybe sometime you could check out those suits in the back room? I'mma try to hold out until someone…checks."

The banging continued throughout the message, and I got a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Maybe it won't be so bad. I-I-I always wondered what was in all those empty heads back there…"

Ian let out a whimper. Suddenly, an ominous tune started to play.

"Oh no…" I said at the same time as Phone Guy. The tune kept playing for a few seconds, then a screech, the same heart-stopping shriek Freddy/Travis had let out last night when he tried to grab me, was heard. My eyes widened. I let out a few breaths before looking up at the cameras. Naturally, all of the animatronics were gone. I checked the cameras. Like before, Freddy/Travis was looking right at the cameras with those eerie black eyes, while Bonnie/Tricia and Chica/Hope were in the halls, getting close. I let out one last, shaky breath before looking at Ian. He kept pacing, going from the east door to the west, peeking out every few seconds.

"You tried to save him." I said in realization. "That guy on the phone. That was you banging on the door, like you did on my first night here." Ian nodded sadly.

"He thought I was one of them. That I wanted to stuff him into a suit. I tried to talk to him, but he thought I was tricking him, changing my voice somehow, so he always locked me out every time he saw me coming.

"But on the fourth night-I panicked. All of them were coming quickly, and I just wanted him to get out. I didn't know that banging on the door that much would drain the power." He looked at me sadly, and I was about to comfort him-but then I saw Chica/Hope outside the right door. Thankfully, Ian saw her too, and ran to close the door. The metal door didn't slide down.

"No." He said, and kept pressing the switch again and again. "No no no no no! It's jammed!"

I let out my trademark scared laugh. Was I really about to end up like Phone Guy? Faces started to fill my mind-my mom, who in spite of her faults genuinely cared for me, at least enough to drive me out late every night without complaining. Jeremy Fitzgerald, who could've probably been an ally, or a valuable source of information about the dead kids. And Summer, quite possibly the ONLY girl in college who didn't recoil in disgust when I was around. Pity.

But suddenly, something happened. Chica/Hope started making some jerky movements, her wings rising slowly to grab the sides of her head. She let out a groan. Not an animatronic screech-a sound like a child in pain.

"I…I don't want to do this anymore!" A little girl's voice came out of her beak, higher and more childish than the tinny animatronic voice I was used to hearing from back in my childhood. Her eyes flashed yellow like Ian's, instead of their usual black with tiny white pinpricks. Ian's mouth fell open.

"Hope?"

"Don't make me kill him, PLEASE!" She sounded like she wanted to cry. Ian took a step forward, reaching out to touch her with his good hand.

"Hope, is that you?" She looked at him-and her eyes flashed back from yellow to black. Hope's brief moment of clarity was over, and Chica was back. She started to lunge at Ian, but then I saved him by doing something very stupid. I pulled off my left shoe and tossed it at her. Of course, it did nothing but bounce harmlessly off her…and now all of her attention was on me.

"Oh fudge."

Ian let out a panicked cry and slammed the door lever again. Fortunately, this time the door slid down, and we were able to lock Chica/Hope out. I quickly checked the other door. Of course, Bonnie/Tricia had come to say hello, so I had to lock her out. I looked at Ian, who was still staring at the door.

"Ian?"

"That was Hope!" He said, whipping around at me. "Not Chica-my friend Hope! Just now, just for a second, she was herself again!" He looked down at the ground. "She…she was always so nice. Just now, I thought…I thought…"

He couldn't finish.

"We'll get her back." I assured him, getting up and putting my hand on his shoulder. "She was able to fight Melody's control over her, even if it WAS only for a little bit. There's…pardon the pun, hope." Ian looked at me, and silvery light appeared as the image of his soul materialized above him, like earlier in the hall. I honestly couldn't tell whether or not the streaks under his eyes were real tears.

"It kills me seeing her like this, Mike! All of them! I want my friends back!" He sank to his knees…and so did his soul. Both entities buried their faces in their hands and started to cry.

And that was when it all finally hit me. I knew before that Ian had died when he was very young, but actually seeing him like this-seeing how small and helpless he really was-big animatronic body or not...I suddenly felt very helpless myself.

Then I got an idea. After checking to make sure that both girls were gone, opening the doors, and getting my shoe back, I opened my bag and pulled out the head of my bear costume.

"Hey, Ian?" I pulled the mask on as he turned to look at me. "You think they'll leave me alone now?" He just stared at me as his soul faded again.

"You do know that whole 'facial recognition' thing isn't true, right?" Ian asked, a bit of a sob still in his voice. "They'll know you're not an animatronic."

"You sure?" I asked. "Cause I've been working on my Freddy impression." I cleared my throat, and in the deepest voice I could muster, boomed out

"Hey kids! Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza! Nice to eat-I mean, MEET you!"

"You really are crazy, you know that?" Ian asked. I could hear him trying not to laugh, however, and I took that as a good sign.

"Yeah, you're right." I agreed, pulling off the bear head. "I should've gotten the fox suit instead. I'd make a better Foxy than you."

"What?" Ian pulled himself up.

"Yar har har har!" I laughed in a 'piratey' voice. "Ahoy, landlubbers! Ye lot behave, or I'll make ye walk the plank!"

"That was terrible!" Ian laughed, his sadness seeming to disappear. "Sorry Mike, but I've got you beaten there." I raised an eyebrow as I sat back down in my chair to check out the others.

"Sure you do." I snarked. "Just because you look like Foxy doesn't mean…"

"Ye best be watchin' what ye say, lad. This cap'n don't take kindly to disrespect." I stared at him wide-eyed. That was a perfect imitation of Foxy.

"You can change your voice?" I blinked in surprise.

"Of course I can, I'm in an animatronic." Ian said in his usual voice. "It sucks not being able to get out, but it's got some good bits."

"Like being able to project your soul?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"What?"

"Nothing. Hey…aren't I supposed to be scared for my life right about now?"

"That reminds me…" Ian went back to patrolling the doors, looking like one of the tigers at the zoo. Or a fox at the zoo. Whatever. Somehow, I was able to make it through the night, even when Freddy/Travis showed up. Thank God for Ian and his Roadrunner legs.

"Made it." I said when we reached six. "And with 2% power to spare." I was tempted to say that Phone Guy would've probably survived if he'd just let Ian help him, but thought better of it. I didn't want to make him cry again.

"Well, tonight's my fifth night before Mr. Fazbirch takes me on permanently. I'm gonna have to have a word with him about just giving me a cruddy tablet with a little battery power. Well…among other things."

"You want me to pop out and scare him sometime?" Ian asked. "Teach him a lesson?"

I smiled at him-the first genuine smile I'd given anyone in a while.

"Later, Ian." I walked out-and out of the corner of my eye swore I saw a white face glaring at me.

"Hmm?" I turned around. Nothing. Shrugging, I turned back around and went outside to wait for my mom to pick me up.

A/N: Yeah...I lied ^^' No intense action in this, just some cute big brother/little brother moments between Mike and Ian. But hey, things obviously wouldn't be as tense as in the game, since one of the dead kids/animatronics is helping Mike. Also, I think this might be my longest chapter yet! :D Feeling pretty proud of myself for that. Now let me explain a few things:

1. From now on I'm gonna refer to the other kids by both their real AND animatronic names, i.e Freddy/Travis, Bonnie/Tricia, etc.

2. Ian's soul becomes visible outside of Foxy whenever he feels strong emotion or is really relaxed. When the other kids eventually get their minds back, the same will be true of them.

Well, that's all for now. Review, please!