See the end for author's notes.

"Good morning and good night
I wake up at twilight
It's gonna be alright…"


X. Halloween Special: Behind the Mask

It was a chilly, brisk night in late October, and Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria was closing up for the night.

The last of the clean-up crew headed out, single file. They spoke to one another, giving only moderately worried glances up on stage. No one stayed behind, which was nothing new. The doors were closed, and locked.

They would not be touched again until the Head Guard arrived for his night shift. In the meantime, though, blue eyes tracked the progression of humans and when the last car was heard leaving the parking lot, something happened.

Freddy Fazbear, the titular star of the pizzeria franchise, blinked once. Twice. He turned his head toward the door, ears lifting a bit as he lowered his arms from his stage pose.

"Quittin time!" He said cheerfully, aware of his friends flanking his left and right were now moving in similar fashions. Bonnie released his guitar and set it lovingly on its stand while Chica stretched and yawned her beak.

"Oh!" She grabbed her bottom jaw quickly and held it in place when it tried to swing off. "This isn't good—I knew it was loose!"

"So have Mikey look at it, he'll be in soon." Bonnie shrugged, not seeing the big deal. Now of course, it was his guitar, then that would be a different story.

"I better." Chica agreed. "I can't cook with only one hand."

Right on time, they heard the deadbolt being fiddled with. The door was pushed open, and the gangly night guard strolled in, tablet and cap tucked under his arm.

"Evenin' gang." He called, pausing only once to relock the door before walking toward the stage.

"Hello, Michael." Freddy nodded pleasantly, while Bonnie gave a little wave and said something about finding Foxy.

"Mike, do you think you could take a look at my mouth?" Chica asked right away, stepping off the stage toward their friend.

"Eh? Oh, sure thing Chica. Just let me drop off my stuff and meet me in Parts and Services, okay?"

"Got it!" She chirped cheerfully, and headed on her way.

"So, are you excited Freddy?" Mike asked as he headed for his office. He struck up a conversation simply because he could hear Freddy wandering after him. He wasn't surprised, the old bear liked to be around whenever he did maintenance on the others.

"Excited for what, son?" Freddy asked politely.

"Halloween, of course! It's in four days, don't tell me you forgot big guy."

"Ah, yes. Halloween." Freddy looked a little uncomfortable. Mike pitched him a look over his shoulder. "Why the long face, Fredbear? You were excited for it a month ago when they started making your costumes."

It was a pretty cool idea, really. In an attempt to pull in more cash, the Fazbear gang would celebrate Halloween for three days, with the final day falling on Halloween itself. Though the pizzeria would close its normal hours, kids who wore their costumes on any of the days got free tokens, and on Halloween the bots would walk around giving out candy. Ever since they had been taken off their free roam, Corporate had been concocting this plan.

"I, I still am!" Freddy assured, but a little too energetically. "It's just…the puppet ain't—it doesn't—"

Mike was too busy looking at Freddy to see where he was going. Besides, he could walk this joint blindfolded, and he wasn't used to the doors being closed anymore.

So when he walked chest first into his closed office door, the young man was, understandably, more than a little confused.

"Ow! Jiminy Christmas—" Mike clutched his shoulder and rubbed the wounded limb. He twisted to glare through the window.

"BB! Is that you!?" He cupped a hand to try and see into the darkened room. "I need my tools, BB. Open this door right now mister!"

"Ya'alright, son?" Freddy drawled in that easy going manner of his, stepping back to give the night guard room.

"Yeah—ugh. Why do we even have these doors anymore! I swear, he thinks he's cute. When I get my hands on that little—"

"Hello?" Came a confused voice.

Mike and Freddy twisted as one to see BalloonBoy moving slowly down the hall, a few last balloons he hadn't given away swinging in the light.

"Wait. BB, you're…out there? Then whose…" Mike pointed to the shut door. "In there?"

"Dunno." Freddy said, sounding a little concerned. "Ain't no one in there—hold yer horses lad, I see that look in yer eyes."

"What look? I wasn't—" Mike huffed, but relaxed. His eyes went back to blue, and Freddy nodded in satisfaction.

"No need to be letting him out. I'll go and see if the west end's shut." Freddy clapped a paw onto Mike's shoulder in a gentle pat. "We'll get to the bottom o' this."

"Kay, Freddy." Mike watched the bear go, then turned to BB as he waddled up.

"Hi?"

"You know who's in there?" Mike asked, arms folded over his chest.

The little balloon bot shook its head, looking confused.

"Well…don't worry. I'm sure Freddy will figure it ouuuut?" Mike dragged the last word in confusion as he heard something behind the door. Without warning, the lock disengaged and the sheet of steel shot up.

Something white and flapping came flying out at him. Mike, like any human who had spent the better part of the year living in sheer terror, understandably screamed at the top of his lungs and flung himself back on instinct. His spine smashed into the wall, BB scrambled onto him for—what, protection? Mike couldn't even protect himself!—and it took them both a second to realize they were screaming at a reversed table cloth with two black dots for eyes.

And another second to register Bonnie and Foxy's roaring laughter.

"Bonnie! Foxy!" Mike yelped, kicking the ghost-come-blanket off his legs and trying to get to his feet. This only served to tangle him more, which in turn made Foxy and Bonnie howl even harder, clutching at each other.

"What in blazes is going on in here!?" That was Freddy, who blustered in looking mildly panicked, considering all he had heard was Mike's scream of fear once he had left his side.

Freddy didn't receive his answer though, mostly because there was a horrific crack from the present box. Instead of sitting in its usual spot on the left side of his desk, it was sitting on the little cot that was in Mike's office.

Bonnie's and Foxy's laughter died in their throats as the entire room darkened, and the present box shook, its side sucking inward. Which…wasn't so much scary to Mike as it was confusing as all get out. But the chilly wind that swept over them from the present box was a different story.

"Eh?" said Mike, letting Freddy pull him to his feet with one giant paw. He shivered at the creepy chill and moved a little closer to the towering bear for warmth. A second gust of strange wind whuffed a second time, dropping the room by ten degrees at least.

"What—holy shit!"

Now THIS cry of surprise was because the Marionette was rising out of its present box like a goddamn horror movie, porcelain painted face the picture of pure rage. It stretched impossibly long arms toward the two robots, eyes narrowed in something close to hatred. The animatronics yelped and flinched back, ears flat and stumbling to avoid the puppet who was suddenly on the warpath. Without thinking, Mike jumped between the three, Bonnie and Foxy safely behind him. It was on instinct, because something in his gut told him things would be Very Bad if Marionette got a hold of the two pranksters.

"H-hey take it easy!" the night guard called, holding his hands up placatingly as the puppet tried to weave its stretching arms around the human to get at the bots. "What's gotten into you, it was just a little joke—" But he was being ignored, and that actually sort of bothered the normally easy going guy. Something warm like molten lava bubbled in his chest and, for a brief instant; he let the Other One speak through him.

"Knock it off!" The echoing voice that sounded like Freddy's (minus the accent) seemed to snap the Marionette out of its anger. The arms halted and hovered there, five feet long and pointed fingers curling in hesitance. They clutched at nothing, those pin prick white eyes flicking down to the human standing defiantly before it. Mike winced—he always had a raw, irony taste in the back of his mouth after He spoke, but he let it go. His main concern right now was getting Mari down from whatever anger high he was experiencing.

"…Mari?" Mike asked softly, voice normal once more. His eyebrows bunched worriedly and he wandered closer, sparing a quick glance over his shoulder at the cowering animatronics.

"…what was that about? C'mon, it wasn't a big deal! Ya didn't have to go all poltergeist on their butts." He tried, going for levity. Marionette's eyes narrowed behind its mask. As soon as Mike got within reaching distance of the puppet, it had grabbed its box and jammed the top of its home back on tightly. Marionette was quiet usually, and this spoke volumes. 'Leave me alone.'

Silence reigned.

After a beat, Mike swallowed and turned to the remaining robots.

"…So, anyone know what that was about? I mean—I get he was just trying to protect me but—from you two nuts?" Mike glanced accusingly at the pranksters, who had the decency to look sheepish. Everyone animatronic shared a look with one another, leaving Mike feeling very out of the loop.

"…best let me explain, son." Mike looked up as Freddy clapped a hand on his skinny shoulder. "C'mon, let's go…somewhere else." He grabbed the night guard's red toolbox and made sure Mike saw, giving him a clue where they were headed.

"Uh, sure Freddy." Mike followed willingly, but not without a worried backward glance at the present box.

Somehow it looked like it was sulking.

Mike found himself in Parts and Services, which wasn't unusual. He stood by the table in the middle, working on Chica's jaw as Freddy leaned in a corner with his arms folded over his metal chest. This also wasn't unusual. In fact, if Mike tried only a little bit, he could imagine things were as they usually were, on this strange night in late October. He sighed a little, finally addressing the elephant in the room.

"Alright. Bon and Foxy pull crap all the time. Just last week all my pencils had the tips broken, and my pencil sharpener was unplugged." He frowned, mid pause in picking a screwdriver best suited for Chica's mouth. "What made this so different?"

"Ya, but never in front of the Marionette."

"They did it in front of Mari? Idiots," That was Chica, her mouth wasn't moving but her voice box echoed from the back of her throat. Mike smiled at her exasperated grunt and began screwing a bolt back into place.

"I reckon it was cause it's almost Halloween." Said Freddy, more to Chica than Mike now.

"Those two can get carried away." Chica agreed.

"Mhm. They just didn't think about it."

"Do they ever?" Mike laughed a little at the hopelessness of his friends, "Hey, hold this side of your teeth for me, thanks girl."

"So Mari doesn't like pranks, no big deal. But he knows none of you would ever hurt me." Mike noticed the silence a moment later. "He does know that, right?"

"It's not so much Mari as it is, his…Erh, you know." Fazbear tried to word it delicately, but it was obvious he was choosing to be at a sudden loss for words.

"Arthur?" Mike politely ignored the way everyone flinched when he said the kid's name.

It was still surreal, knowing he was the only one who called the Marionette's ghost kid by name. The others were too afraid, even Freddy avoided it. In hindsight though, if you were up against a slightly unstable bundle of ghostly powers that could singlehandedly power the Marionette's suspicious abilities, the robots had every right to be a little afraid of Arthur. Mike mulled it over quietly to himself, and chalked up his lack of fear with the fact he hadn't been that afraid of Mari to begin with. And he had only seen Arthur angry once. Which he never wanted to see again, but at the same time it hadn't been directed at him.

Mike frowned, suddenly realizing something about this whole affair.

"It's not Mari. Arthur doesn't like pranks." Mike murmured softly, looking at Freddy for his answer. The bear's expression said enough.

"So, Arthur got the best of Mari, which made him go all Haunted Mansion on our butts—what was he going to do if he actually got a hold of them?" Mike wanted to know.

"Probably shut them down for a few days." Freddy shrugs, "Arguably harmless. But it's, that's never a sensation any of us like son, no matter how harmless it is."

Mike nodded. It was like if he was knocked unconscious for a few days. At the end of it all, he'd most likely be just fine, but it would still be scary.

He finished the final touches on Chica's jaw and got out of her way so she could sit up and see for herself.

"I can't believe those two!" She complained as soon as her mouth worked in sync with her words. "They could use a lesson in maturity, you know." She said, voice clipped. Then she noticed Mike's growing grin.

"Uh-oh, I know that look." Chica sounded amused. "You have a plan, mister."

"Whaddya say we give those two a dose of their own medicine, eh?" Mike asked. Noting Freddy's look, he quickly went on "Don't worry big guy, you can stay out of it if you want. BB too, he's too young for this. But I think me, Chica and Mari can kill two birds with one stone here."

"How d'ya figure?' Freddy asks, tone light and but warning.

"Easy. It's a lot better to be the scareer than to be scared. Hasn't anyone ever tried to talk to Arthur about that?" Mike stretched a little, thinking up at the ceiling. "And with Mari's powers, he could get some serious pranking done."

"Michael…"

"It'll all be harmless don't worry. And if Arthur doesn't wanna do it, I won't." He crossed his finger over his chest. "Cross my heart and—well, I already died once, so I better think of another way to promise stuff I guess." Freddy didn't seem convinced, but he did drop the subject. So Mike that took that as an ok, and turned toward the chicken animatronic.

"What do you say, Chica?"

"Count me in—what should we do?" She was far more willing to stoop to the boy's level despite her earlier words on their maturity.

"Let's wait to see if we can get Mari and his kid in on it. Gimme a minute, yeah?" Mike paused to wipe his hands on his jeans. "I'll meet you in the kitchen with them if I get the okay." He said.

"That boy is crazier than a bowl of mice." Freddy shook his head fondly, once Mike had trotted out.

"Yeah, but he's ours.' Chica giggled before she left.

Freddy smiled, and watched her leave. Couldn't argue with her there.


Mike quickly headed back for his office. He was delighted to see it was void of any animatronic expect the still silent present box. Closing both doors to ensure some privacy, Mike walked over and sat on the little cot beside the box.

"…knock knock." He said, rapping his knuckles lightly on the side.

Nothing.

"You can't stay mad at me forever, you know." Mike reminded, then waited. The bow shifted as the lid lifted a few inches. Black fingers curled over the lip, and Mike could see that white face with those black eyes. They stared impassively at the young man.

"It is not you I am mad at.' Marionette snapped haughtily in that odd feathery pitch. Mike's grin widened. Good old Mari.

"I don't even think it's you who's mad." Said Mike in response. He was just letting his friend know that, on some level, Mike understood.

Something able to influence your mindset and actions without your direct influence? Your body being hijacked for someone else's gain? Even if it wasn't for anything terribly bad, it was still unsettling. Yeah, Mike got that.

"Let me talk to him. Trust me, okay Marion?"

'Night Guard…' But Mike shook his head before Mari could talk him out of what he was about to do. Talking was harmless.

"Freddy told me, Arthur." He started speaking to the ghost child without warning. Switching gears like that didn't seem to bother the Marionette. "Arthur? You in there, buddy?" The Marion had gone very still and quiet.

"How you don't like pranks? They leave you and Mari alone, but then they got me, and…" The room was getting cold.

'I Was sCared for You.' Came the bumpy, lilting voice of a young boy.

Mike smiled at the glum little voice. Even when he was happy—or close to it—Arthur's ghostly voice constantly sounded depressed. It was a little cute, if worrisome.

"Thanks, Artie. I'm glad I've got you to look out for me, yeah?" And Mike meant it. He watched as Marionette crept out of its box even more, but it was obvious it was Arthur edging out to really look at him.

The Marionette nodded, black fingers absently fiddling with the frayed bow of the present box.

"WereN'T yOu scAreD?" Arthur finally asks, a question that seemed a long time coming.

"Sure." Mike shrugged, he's not going to fake bravery when he rarely had any. "But then I was thinking of all the ways I could spook them back. You know, even the score? Something harmless to let them know I'M capable of pranking them."

"EvEN the ScOre?" And for the first time, Mike hears interest piquing the boy's voice.

He smiles. There we go.

"Yeah! You see, it's a lot more fun to trick someone yourself. You don't even have to scare them."

"YOu doN't?"

"Nah. You could confuse them, make them scratch their heads over your prank."

"Th…ThAt's nOt what…my BRoTHeR did. H-his were scary—his were…were m-mean."

"There's more to jokes than being mean. Jokes are meant to make you laugh—everyone laugh, Art." Mike quickly fished for an example, "Like, what if we put pink paint in a seat, and Bonnie sat down. Then, when he stood up, he'd have a big pink butt and pink cotton tail."

Mike grins at the little specter's sudden giggle.

The Marionette—or, Arthur rather—looked surprised at the noise. The overhead lights flickered once, but Mike knew it wasn't faulty bulbs. His own smile widened, encouraging the noise.

"…Y-you're going to prank them, Mikey?" Funny how stable the little guy sounded after a laugh, no matter how small.

"Yep. Gotta even the score." Mike stood, signaling he was going to leave the two alone. He counted in his head. One, two…

"You wouldn't…wanna help me out, would ya? Chica's gonna help us too."

"…okay." the soft voice faded. "I'll help."

"Sweet. C'mon, you two." Mike walked over to the rather dazed looking Marionette and gently picked up the box. Mari let itself be carried out of the office and down the hall.


"Ya think we oughta apologize?"

"To who, Mike? Oh—him? Uh. You first, bub."

"Belay that! It was your idea!" growled the fox as he stomped around the corner of the west hall.

"Well you were the one wearing the sheet!" Bonnie accused, as if this put all the blame on Foxy.

"That's because your ears made ya look ridiculous, rabbit." Foxy reminded sharply, shoving his hook at the rabbit's face.

"Oh yeah? Well has anyone ever told you—" Bonnie paused then, the aforementioned ears swiveling this way and that.

"Hey, you hear that?

"I dun' hear nothing."

"Exactly. It's quiet. Too quiet for this place."

"It be nighttime, Bon." Foxy reminded, but he too suddenly felt a bit of unease.

"No, I mean—"

"Guuyss!"

"That sounded like Mike!" Bonnie jumped a mile at the sudden noise. How long had he been calling?!

"Guys—I need some help!"

"Aye, he sounds scared." Foxy's tail switched in worry.

"He sounds like he's coming from Parts and Services, c'mon!" Without thinking, the two robots headed for the back room, Foxy in the lead. But his speed became a liability the second he tried to go through the doorway of the back room. Something sprang to life, filmy and sticky, and caused the startled fox to rebound and fall back into an equally confused rabbit. The sheer plastic went with him.

"Foxy—gerrof!" Bonnie tried, tripping backwards.

"What in Jones' locker IS stuff!" Foxy roared, swinging his hook around get rid of their see-through attacker.

But cellophane cared little for the sharp hook.

Their struggles caused them to step back, where someone had left a toolbox lying out. The rabbit's ankle hooked over it, and down went the fox and the rabbit.

The crash shook the whole restaurant, but then they became distinctly aware of laughter ringing from all around them.

Mike poked his head cheerfully out of Parts and Services where he'd been hiding.

"Gee, what happened here?" He asked in mock, pleasant innocence. "Ya look a little...tangled up at the moment, guys!"

"Mike!" Foxy whined, his jaw stuck over Bonnie's shoulder, and one of the rabbit's ears in his face.

"What did you DO!?"

"Cellophane trick door. Gets em every time." The young man walked further out, Marionette following.

"Mari helped me hang it—" said Mike, standing proudly with his hands on his hips.

"And I supplied the cellophane." Chica, who had been hiding in a corner in the hall. She looked very pleased with herself.

But Bonnie, perhaps because he could see, noticed something first.

"Wait, the Marionette helped you—"

'They do look very ridiculous, don't they Arthur?'The puppet asked lightly, reminding them that just because they couldn't see Arthur, didn't mean he wasn't there.

A soft distant sound of a child's laughter, so unlike BB's sound clip was heard between Mike and Marionette.

'Y-yeah! I can't believe they walked right into it! Are they okay?' Arthur asked in that quiet, gentle way of his.

"Well?" asked Mike, his tone warning them to be honest. Of course they were okay.

"Oh—uh, yeah!" Foxy said, struggling to his tail free from Bonnie.

"Oi, stop pulling! Yer only making it worse!"

This set the two off into another verbal argument, which just made Mike and the others laugh some more.

"You realize," said Bonnie once they'd been freed. "That this means war." His dangerous grin was shot at Mike, who stared fearlessly back up at the bunny.

"Bring it, Bugs." Mike challenged, smile just as fierce. "You got three hours before opening, think ya can top us?"

"Oh, I know we can top you, matey." Foxy shook the last of the cellophane off and cackled.

'…c-can we get them again?' Came Arthur's hesitant, unsure little voice from behind Mike's shoulder. Mike smiled and waved a hand nonchalantly.

"Don't worry about it Art. Hey, if you want out, you can go back to the office with Mari."

"N-no!" And even Mari blinked at the stubborn little voice. "I, I want to help!" The child's voice declared.

"As long as no one will be scared…' Arthur's tiny voice reminded, meek and small once more.

"Arright. Deal." Said Mike, who was willing to keep going. And judging by the looks on Chica's and Mari's faces, they were too.

Cleaning up the cellophane mess was another story, but thanks to Mari's box that seemed to 'eat' everything, it only took maybe twenty minutes to get the mess taken care of. After that, they headed back to the office to drop off Mike's toolbox. Now it was time to regroup.

"I think I saw some paper plates in the dining room, we could use those for something." Chica suggested.

"Never hurts to be prepared." Mike commented as they headed for the double doors that would take them to the big room. He pressed his palm to the door and pushed, Marionette at his shoulder and Chica back a step.

"I wonder if we can find some—"

White covered his vision as the door swung open, and a thick cloud of flour came down on the four. Mike inhaled in surprised, which sent him into a coughing fit. Marionette startled and floated back, now mostly white instead of black with just a white mask. Not even Chica was spared, and she too let out of a squawk of surprise as the flour doused her thoroughly. What didn't hit them covered the floor, slid down the door and poofed into the air like a little bomb of snow.

"H-hey!" That was Arthur. Who got everyone's attention because, astonishingly, when they turned toward the sound of his voice, there floated a little figure. He was covered in flour.

"C-crud!" Went Bon as he and Foxy peeked around the corner. "We weren't supposed to hit—huh?" They froze too at the sight.

"Art, you okay?" Mike asked in concern, giving himself a whack to the chest to clear his lungs. He wasn't sure what flour could do to a ghost that was harmful or scary but—

Oh.

The little boy was looking down at his flour covered hands. It clung to him wherever it hit, giving him a semi-transparent look.

"I-I can see me!" the head turned, obviously looking delighted. And then he noticed Marionette, his normally stern guardian looking extremely ridiculous covered in the powder.

"M-Mari you look, r-really silly—" Peals of laughter emanated from the visible ghost, and the lights twinkled in and out cheerfully as Arthur's giggles grew to laughter.

"I have flour in my mouth." Said the puppet quietly, which only seemed to make Arthur laughed harder, clutching his small stomach.

"He's gonna blow a circuit like this," Bon whispered to the night guard as the two walked up.

"Hey, but he's happy." Mike smiled, trying to dust himself off. "How do I look, Arthur?" in-between giggles, Arthur tried to answer.

"I-it's all in your hair…y-you look like a ghost too." The boy seemed rather excited about this statement.

"I'll leave it in then, I don't mind being a ghost for Halloween. Uh, but I think I'll use a different costume for the actual day, yeah?" Mike laughed, and stopped trying to clean himself.

"Ya'all look ridiculous." Freddy grunted from the stage, but his voice was laced with amusement. "But I'm glad yer having fun."

"Hey, big guy, you coulda joined in on said fun." Mike reminded, wandering over to the stage to grin up at the leader.

Freddy politely shook his head, looking like he was going to say something else. He stopped though, when Mike pulled out his ringing cell.

"Who's calling me at this hour? Oh—the boss," Mike pressed the Call button and held it to his ear. "Uh—hello?"

"Schmidt! Just a quick check-in, you've got the place ready for its inspection this morning at 7, yes?"

"W-what!?" Mike covered his squeak. He turned horrified eyes to the white walls, white floor, and white Chica and Marionette. Not to mention the now visible little ghost child.

"Sir, no, I don't think you ever mentioned an inspection today—"

"Was quite sure I did, you didn't get the memo? No problem how bad could the place be? The clean-up crew was there last night. Just tidy up and I'll see you in a couple hours, okay?"

"Sir, w-wait—" Mike tried, panicking right there on the tile.

Click.

Mike froze, twisting his upper body giving the clock a mortified look.

"Two—two hours?! We have to clean this mess up in two hours!?"Mike moaned, to the chorus of the animatroincs (except a highly amused Freddy) all expelling their own outrage at this injustice and poor timing.

"Mutiny!" Foxy moaned with a raise of his hook, as Bonnie tugged on his ears and Chica furiously tried to clean her suit.

"We're SO gonna get fired for this!" Bonnie cried.

"Oh, this stuff will never come out!" Chica wailed.

"C'mon gang, we can do this if we, if we don't panic—I said don't panic, Bon—and, everyone! Grab a broom or a mop or whatever and start cleaning this crap up!" Mike pointed, mind trying to form a plan. He followed his friends to the utility room, getting some bags and dust pans.

Arthur watched the commotion, covering his mouth to avoid the giggles. He knew the situation was serious, judging by Mikey's frenzied look, but it was also kind of funny.

"W-we can help Mikey too, Mari." He told his puppet, who nodded. "Go get your box and let's get to work." Instructed the boy, tone as grown-up as he could muster.

"We should get that flour off you too, child." The puppet said calmly.

"Let's save that for last. I like being able to see myself." Arthur said, sounding chipper.

Marionette nodded, if only because the happy tone of the small child was something to be treasured, and not swept away.

It was too rare to be taken for granted.

Freddy watched from his spot on the stage as the six friends labored overtime to get the dining hall cleaned up of all the flour. Though they didn't have time for it, Mike promised to return the favor in their little prank war. Bonnie and Foxy just cackled and told him to name the time. Mike pushed the broom, sending some flour into the puppet's box where it vanished. It appeared a moment later in a nearby trash can.

"Hope they don't notice the missing bags of flour." Mike muttered as he brushed the last of the flour into Mari's box.

"Or all of it in the trash." Bonnie said, glancing into one of the giant trash bins.

"Oh, god." Mike clapped a hand over his face and sighed.

"Alright everyone, I think this has gone on long enough. What about you, BB?"

"Hello." Came an amused BalloonBoy as he rocked out from behind the stage.

Everyone blinked as Freddy walked off the stage, followed by BB, who was holding one of the wireless phones. Mike instantly recognized it as one of the ones from the boss' office. And from there everything just…fell into place.

"…wait a second."

Freddy Fazbear grinned, and Mike's suspicions were confirmed.

"…you pranked us."

"He what?!" Bonnie squawked.

"Careful with throwin' accusations, lad…" Foxy mumbled.

"F-Freddy!" Chica gasped.

"Aye, ya caught me, but I ain't done it alone."

"Hi!"

"BB!" Mike said, flashing the bot a smile as he waddled up. He looked immensely pleased with himself. "Let me guess…you mimicked the boss's voice, didn't you? Proud of yourself, are we?"

BB giggled in response, handing over the cordless phone.

"Alright you two, you got us." Mike laughed. He turned to where the still covered in flour ghost child floated. "I gotta admit, that was pretty good."

Mike hoped Arthur understood what he had meant before. Judging by the quiet form floating beside the Marionette, the boy did. Good, that was a relief.

"Happy Halloween, guys." Mike said, flopping into a chair and letting himself rest after that mad dash to clean the place up. He rested his head back in his laced fingers, yawning a bit as BB rested against his leg. Marionette's box found its way over to the table just by Mike's elbow. Arthur was nowhere to be seen, but going by the cold spot at his right, the little guy wasn't far.

"Happy Halloween, son." Freddy grinned. Mike smiled, and let his eyes close. He let the sounds of the pizzeria fade out, let his mind relax and felt the previous tension drain away. He was lucky this job was as awesome as it had become. That in itself was still a miracle. For now, Mike takes solace in the company of his friends, no matter how strange or impossible they seem. They were his friends, and that was what mattered. He yawned a bit, smiling as he thought of the upcoming possibilities to get back at Foxy, Bonnie...and now Freddy and BB.

Tomorrow is another day, after all.


"We don't even have to try,
It's always a good time!"

Well, did you enjoy your little break from the story? I certainly did! It was nice to write some general fluff and silliness with these guys. Tonight's song was 'Good Time' by Owl City. A much more cheerful song than the usual ones I pick in this story.

Depending on how long Devil's Spine goes, I do plan to do ONE more story for FNAF. More on that at the end of DS, though.