Christopher Afton gripped his golden, stuffed bear tightly to his chest as he opened the door to get out of the car, hastily following his father and sister through the wide parking lot. He couldn't help but shiver from the cool, winter breeze. Since it wasn't snowing, he'd expected it to be warmer, so the boy had made the mistake of not bringing a jacket.

"Don't fall behind, Christopher," his father told him calmly, without even turning his head to look.

"Y-yes, Father," the boy mumbled. Chris was pretty short, so he had a habit of falling behind his family - especially in crowded areas. One time, he and his family had gone to a carnival, and while on their way to the Ferris wheel, the small child had lost the others in the sea of taller people. He spent hours endlessly crying behind a hot dog stand before they found him. Michael had made fun of him a lot for that.

A soft, but excited British voice paused his memory movie.

"Isn't it exciting that Daddy's bringing us with him to work?" his older sister, Elizabeth asked.

Chris gave a small smile, "Yeah, I guess it is." He wouldn't say he was excited per say, but more relieved if anything. Usually, when Father went to work, his older brother, Michael, would be in charge of babysitting them. Michael's idea of 'babysitting' however, was either locking Chris in his room or chasing his sobbing brother throughout the house with his Foxy mask on until Chris could find a space small enough where Michael couldn't get to him. But since his elder sibling was at a tutoring session, and Father had a meeting he couldn't miss, Chris and Elizabeth had been allowed to tag along (with much begging from his sister).

"Well, I know it is." Liz stated proudly, bearing her brother no mind.

Chris's only response was a shrug.

The two continued to follow their father up to a wide building that had colorful letters surrounded by fake balloons and sprinkles reading, "CIRCUS BABY'S PIZZA WORLD!" Chris could smell the greasy pepperoni and birthday cake before stepping up to the slide door, the sound of soft, pop-like music reaching his ears as well.

Now the boy couldn't exactly explain it, but something made him immediately stop in his tracks. A... strange feeling... and that feeling abruptly grew in his chest, crawling to every part of him, like a weed sucking all sense of safety. He stared up at the letters again. A sudden chill ran down his spine. He clutched his plush bear even closer to him, nearly flattening it. Little flies of thought buzzed around in his head; why did he feel this way? Hadn't he thought of the restaurant as a safe place just mere moments ago? What was there to be afraid of? Why did his stomach feel-

"Christopher!"

The brown-headed boy snapped out of his trance as if a gun had been fired. His eyes met cold, dark blue spheres that were glaring at him with a silent disapproval.

"S-sorry, F-F-Father!" Chris squeaked. All fear of the restaurant vanished in an instant, being replaced with the dread of his father's anger as he scurried inside up to him and a frowning Liz.

The purple-suited man continued to stare at his son when he caught up to them, his silent gaze striking more terror in him than any lecture could. Tears were just about ready to spill over his eyes.

Then, as if finally sensing his son's hostility, the older man gave a thin smile, "Just remember not to fall behind, Chris. You don't want to lose me, do you?"

The boy in question shook his head.

"Good, now be more like Elizabeth, and follow," he said while turning back on his way, heading inside the establishment (the comment also earned a smug smile from his sister).

Now that Chris was more calmed down, he took the opportunity to digest the whole setting of the restaurant while he followed his family at every turn. The best he could describe the place was that it was like Fredbear's but...flashier. The narrow, checkerboard floored hallway almost seemed like a whole other world compared to the multicolored lights and upbeat music that blared from each open party room. Laughing little kids ran in and out in what seemed like flashes. Some even had party hats or pizza sauce and cake crumbs smeared on their face and hands (to Chris's unpleasantness).

The boy didn't like it. Sure Fredbear's Diner was usually packed pretty decently, but he ironically found the other party place, where he went to have fun, calmer than this circus (so the name was fitting). Fredbears also never gave him a headache, which again made him clutch his plush bear for comfort out of reflex.

Liz seemed to think the complete opposite, however. The ginger-haired girl flipped her head back and forth so fast that Chris was worried she'd get a neck cramp. Her bright, green eyes lit up in excitement whenever she looked into a room, seeming amazed by the bright lights. She was even singing along to some of the songs.

He then looked up at his father to his right, curious about what he thought of the place. From what he knew, Father had mostly spent time as Fredbear's, only now coming here recently, as he just opened it.

Most of the time, his face was as stoic as ever, his cold, dark blue eyes looking forward with what seemed like the concentration of a machine with one goal that it was going to complete.

However...that concentration, that drivenness, seemed to break every so often. He never stopped walking, so at first, Chris was confused by the expression. But he then quickly noticed that whenever his eyes landed on a child of any kind, his face twisted into something else. A look of disgust mixed with a cruel fascination, like staring at a vulture tearing into a dead rodent. It was repulsing, but you couldn't look away. It came and went so fast that the boy almost thought he was imagining it.

Chris looked down, slightly shaking his head at himself. He was being weird just staring at his father like that. He owned part of Fredbear's, so he'd have to like children... but then why did he look so-

"DADDY, DADDY, DADDY!"

Chris jumped, nearly flying out of his shoes. He whipped his head to a room on the right, only to find his sister jumping for joy in the doorway. Her red bow moved up and down with her fiery hair, while high pitched, chipmunk-like squeals continued to emit from her throat.

"Elizabeth!"

Uh, oh. The small boy glanced at Father, whose dark eyebrows were creased with anger, his lips turned into an annoyed frown, and fists slightly clenched.

Liz turned back around, and as usual, did not at all seem fazed by their father's temper (and his frustration with her never lasted long anyway). She was grinning ear to ear with the biggest smile Chris had ever seen on her, her many dimples clearly showing on those round, rosy cheeks. She then ran from the doorway up to their father in a flash, vigorously tugging at his dark, plum-colored sleeve.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" she cried again while one of her small hands pointed towards the inside of the other room, "It's her! It's my robot doll, Daddy! She's here! Why didn't you tell me?!"

Elizabeth was screaming so many different things that Chris lost track of what she was saying, but the one thing that caught his attention was 'robot doll.' He knew his father made robots and many animatronics, but had he really built one just for Liz? Why hadn't he ever known? Surely his spoiled sister would've been bragging to Chris about it over the hills.

Then again... he wouldn't put it past her to keep her mouth shut about it, then decide to show it off when he saw it for the first time to get the 'surprise factor.' Or maybe the thing just wasn't as fancy as the other stuff his dad had given her, so she'd forgotten about it until now, sparking this new excitement.

Curious of what the cause of Liz to burst like a shaken can of soda was, Chris walked past his babbling sister and father, who was busy trying (and failing) to calm her down. Once by the doorway, he then peered into the party room.

His jaw dropped. There, about twenty feet away on a small, round stage, was the biggest animatronic he'd ever seen, standing at what looked to be more than seven feet tall. Heck, it wasn't even an animal - it was completely humanoid.

To start from the bottom, it wore bright, pointed red jester shoes with golden bells on the tips. For clothes, it had on a matching red skirt and tank top as well, and a strange, metallic fan located on the orange spot of its stomach. And its face...oh it's face! The large, long-lashed, baby blue eyes looked like they could rip Chris's soul out right then and there. It was also stuck with an uncanny, permanent smile that held many small baby-like teeth under a Rudolph nose. He was sure it could never change its expression. A rose-colored spot was located on each cheek, standing out like a splash of blood against its white, metal skin. The robot was finally completed with a microphone in its left hand and two red pigtails for hair.

It stood there on the confetti-filled stage, singing all kinds of girly songs to the children in the party room while shaking back and forth in a way a robot would dance.

Chris hated it. He hated it more than anything. The animatronics at Fredbear's were animals, so it gave them more freedom to look less 'real.' This robot clown, however, was trying so hard to look human, that it appeared wrong in so many ways.

The boy was clutching his stuffed bear so hard, his knuckles were starting to turn white. He couldn't stand to look at that thing any longer, so he turned away from the robot's showroom, and back to his (still arguing) sister and father.

"Daddy, she can make balloons!" Liz exclaimed with a smile, "Have you seen her make balloons? I know she can also-"

"ELIZABETH AFTON."

Liz finally stopped talking, her mouth snapping shut while also letting go of his sleeve. She looked up at her father with something Chris had never seen in her eyes when she was with him. Fear.

There was a long moment of silence. Father's face was a tomato red, his breathing heavy, almost looking like he'd run the hardest in his life. The small boy could feel the eyes of curious children, who were no longer running room to room on them, peeping from the party and game rooms, wanting to know what the shouting was all about.

Father then took a slow, deep breath, clearly trying to calm down. Once his face was back to its usual pale hue, he knelt down to Liz's level, meeting her face, then spoke in such a low voice that Chris had to step a bit closer to hear.

"Elizabeth Mary Afton. You are not to go near her in any circumstance. Do I make myself clear?"

Liz sniffled back what looked like tears, "B-but Daddy... why wouldn't you let me go play with her? You let the other children go see her."

He sighed, "Elizabeth, this is not something we're going to-"

"Afton, my friend! We've been waiting for you for more than ten minutes now!"

Startled, Chris turned his head to look at the source of the new voice. Several feet away, but walking towards the trio, was a broad-shouldered, dark-haired man who wore a big, flashy, almost artificial smile on his face.

"Mr. Fischbach." Father greeted blankly, quickly standing up while straightening his suit and tie.

Huh. So this was Mr. Fischbach, the supposed CEO of Fazbear Entertainment. Chris had overheard Father mention him before (though it always involved many naughty words).

Mr. Fischbach however, extended his arms in a friendly way, like they were great buddies about to hug, "My friend, as I said, we've been waiting for over ten minutes. Please, tell me, what is it that's so important?"

"Nothing, Mr. Fischbach," he answered stiffly, "I'm ready for the meeting."

"Excellent!" the CEO proclaimed (a bit too happily) while slapping his hand on Father's shoulder, "Let's go, then. Best to not keep them waiting, right? " he said with a wink, like it was some sort of inside joke.

There was a brief pause for a split second, as Father seemed to stare at his superior with the slightest hint of ...anger? No...hatred? Maybe, but Chris was sure it was a descriptive feeling of a word that was too big for him to know (he was only eight after all).

Father eventually gave a single nod. Just like before though, the strange look passed over his face so fast that you could've missed it if you blinked. Something in Chris's head told him that it was wrong and bad, but he immediately pushed the thought out of his head. Nothing was wrong. And even though he didn't know much about jobs and that sort of stuff, he bet it was normal for people to hate their bosses. He heard adults complain all the time about work.

Without exchanging words, the two businessmen then started to stride towards two wide, black double doors at the end of the hallway. But before Father could take more than three steps, a small, soft hand gripped his sleeve. Liz.

Chris's stomach turned into mishmash. Father's already icy stare turned to look straight into Liz's large, sad, green eyes.

"Daddy, just once let me go play with her," she begged in a final pitiful attempt, "she's so pretty and shiny. Didn't you make her just for me?"

"Elizabeth." Father hissed in a dangerous whisper.

"Oh, Daddy," she pleaded anyways, nearly sobbing, "let me go to her."

Father opened his mouth as if to say something, but the voice of an impatient Mr. Fischbach called out "Afton!" before he could get a word out.

Immediately, Father snatched his wrist from Elizabeth's grip as if it were a viper trying to bite him. Not bothering to make any more eye contact, he straightened his tie, then pointed a finger at Chris, his blue eyes meeting Chris's green.

The gesture instantly made the boy's blood freeze and squeeze his plushy as he started to shake like a leaf on the verge of falling off a tree. What had he done wrong?

"You make sure she does not go in there," Father ordered bluntly, leaving no room for argument. And before what Father had just told Chris could fully don on him, the dark, violet suited man promptly followed Mr. Fischbach into the meeting room without saying another word.

The atmosphere returned to normal as soon as he left. Kids immediately laughed again while chasing after one another, as if nothing happened now that the gloomy adults were gone. It was like a switch had been flipped from quiet to crazy on them, with Chris and Elizabeth being the only quiet ones, silently standing in the hallway as hyper energized kids constantly ran past the siblings.

Chris hardly noticed them though. He felt too dumbfounded by what Father had just told him. Had he really just told him he was in charge? Or had he imagined it? The boy had never been in charge of anything, not even himself, so had Father really just put him in charge of his older sister?

Chris could feel his breath becoming more shaky, his anxieties increasing with that thought. How could he do this? It took a lot for Liz to listen to Father (or any adult for that matter), so why would she even bother with him? And what was so horrible about that (already creepy) animatronic that Father wouldn't allow his beloved daughter to go near? And why, why, why had he entrusted-

"Daddy isn't watching." his sister stated plainly out of the blue.

"H-huh?"

"He isn't here," she said again, this time smirking, "so what's keeping me from going to finally see her?"

"W-wait! No! You c-can't!" he stuttered, rushing in front of her.

She raised an eyebrow while placing her hands on her hips, "And who says I can't?"

"M-m-me!" he squealed trying to sound tough like Mikey, but ended up more so like a startled mouse, "Father s-said so!"

She rolled her eyes as if it was an unfunny joke, "Come on, Chris." She then made an effort to try and charge past him, but Chris again stepped in front of her.

He shook his head almost apologetically, "No, Liz. I-I just...I won't let you..."

Chris didn't really know why he was so keen on being a guard dog to his sister; he couldn't recall any time when he'd ever really commanded her to do something. Maybe it was because Father had ordered him to do so, so like a machine, he automatically felt obligated. Maybe it was just how freaky the clown thing looked, making him not want the sister he loved to go anywhere near it. Or maybe...maybe it was just the bad feeling that was continually swirling back and forth in his stomach ever since he saw the place. But whatever the case, he didn't want to risk anything bad from happening, so... yeah.

Liz studied him with hard eyes for a moment, like she was trying to evaluate whether or not Chris was actually serious (he also couldn't help but notice how similar her expression was to their father's).

Seeing that Chris (to her surprise) wouldn't budge, Liz seemed to try and change tactics. The red-haired girl let out a small sniff. And then another. Her pink lips then started to quiver - and before Chris knew it, Liz was full-on crying; fat, moist tears rolled down her round cheeks, hitting the tiled floor with a small plat.

Don't fall for it, don't fall for it, Chris told himself repeatedly. He had seen the little sorceress perform this witchcraft on her teacher, Miss Grayson, and the principal plenty of times. She would get in trouble for name-calling, hair pulling, or whatever - be called to the office, and with a few simple tears and heartbroken words, they'd be put under her spell, sending her home with nothing but a warning that Father would hardly pay any mind.

So Chris continued to stand his ground, feeling determined to win their standoff.

Liz again let out a sad sniff. He knew what was coming.

"Chris, p-please," she hiccuped, "she was made ju-just f-for me... she's my friend... would you want to be separated from a friend? ...Or me?"

Chris took another shaky breath, not breaking eye contact. He'd been expecting that... trying to make him feel guilty. But even though he'd known it was coming, the questions still played with his mind like a cat before eating a mouse, because he knew the answer - no, he wouldn't want any of those things. He wouldn't want to be separated from the soft, plush friends he had in his room, or the golden bear and rabbit he used to visit nearly every day, so...was it really fair to keep Liz from seeing a friend made specifically for her? So then maybe...maybe it wouldn't do much harm to...

You make sure she does not go in there.

"Chris?"

"No, Liz," he told her plainly, making up his mind. His usual nervousness was suddenly being replaced with something different...was this what they called courage? Bravery? Surety? He wasn't sure, but he knew one thing - he liked it. He almost thrived in how it felt, so he continued, his voice sounding stronger.

"I-I know you really want to see her, and I can understand why," he reasoned, "but...if Father doesn't want you to, then-"

"Move it, Dip!

SMACK!

Before Chris knew it, something struck him from behind, and he was suddenly lying face down on the floor, his head throbbing, with his favorite Fredbear plush thrown out of his arms.

The boy lay there for moment, stunned, reflexive tears already threatening to spill from his eyes, while hardly being able to process what had just happened. It was only when he heard the sound of familiar black shoes, quickly running past him with a click, click - that caused him to jolt upward, spitting out hair that had gotten in his mouth from the floor and ignoring the taste of blood enveloping on his tongue.

He swiveled his head to his back, only to see (to his terror) Elizabeth speedily heading towards the room. Her friend's room.

"No!" the boy cried, forgetting about all the fresh pain enveloping in both his face and joints as he sprung upward, scurrying after his disobedient sister (not even bothering to go back for his favorite Fredbear Friend plush).

"Liz, no!" he called again, desperately trying to dodge past other kids, followed by many "Hey's!" and "Watch it's!" that he paid no mind to. He could just make out that bright, red bow that stuck out like a stain against the many children, hurriedly continuing on its way.

But by the time Chris's eyes fully landed on his whole sister again, she'd just stepped into the forbidden room.

"LIZ, NO!" he screeched at the top of his lungs. Screaming harder than he'd ever had in his life. Running harder than he'd ever had in his life. He could see her. He was so close! Maybe he could make it. Maybe he could-

Slam!

A large, wooden door that he didn't even know was there suddenly bashed in his face, causing even more agonizing-like pain to his already aching head. But even so, he hardly noticed it, because he had failed.

"No..." he whispered to himself in disbelief, "No, no, no! Liz!"

Pound, pound, pound!

He continued to bang on the door and pull on the handle until his fists couldn't take it anymore, and he was practically gasping for air.

"No.." he let out in a pathetic whimper. Just as he was about to give up hope, his eyes caught a narrow, rectangular window right above his eyes. In a last-ditch attempt to stop his sister, he stood on his tippy toes and strained his neck, so he was just able to make out Liz at the end of the room. Right in front of the robot clown.

"Liz... please... don't!" he called out in hard gasps. He knew deep down his attempt was in vain. Liz was too far down in the room to hear him (and she probably wouldn't care anyway), so all he could do was stand there in that uncomfortable position and watch.

Nothing exactly bad looked to be happening. The robot's baby blue eyes were now locked on his sister, who (Chris guessed) was talking to the giant thing. Probably telling it how much she loved her and-

WhRrrR... wHRrRRrrrr...

The sound was more muffled because of the door, but he could hear it. The robot's whole body suddenly started to shake, which caused Chris's heart to jump into his throat, and Liz to take a few startled steps back.

"Liz!" he yelled again, now that he'd caught his breath, he started back up his door banging while juggling keeping his eyes on her all at the same time.

His stubborn sister actually turned her head slightly towards him, and what he could make out of her eyes looked... apologetic mixed with...a little fear? She definitely looked nervous with the robot twitching around like that.

Just as Chris thought she was going to fully turn around, come back, and forget about the creepy thing (and if he was pushing his luck, apologize for leaving him), the robot stopped moving, and to his dread, Liz hesitantly turned back to it. She just stood there, seeming to wait to see what it would do.

Chris held his breath.

The small, orange piece located on the center of its stomach then opened, and out came a... a... a scoop of vanilla ice cream? Was he seeing right? Chris squinted. Yeah, he was. A cone with a pure, white swirl of what looked like the most perfect vanilla ice cream he'd ever seen. It even had a plump, red cherry on top...

The boy could feel his heart finally start to slow down. So... the robot really didn't seem dangerous at all. He knew Liz must've been overjoyed at the gift since she immediately skipped back to her present, bow bobbing and all. His sister even grabbed hold of the desert from the small, claw that held it. Chris let out a sigh of relief when she happily took-

SNAP!

A claw.

A scream.

Gone.

Whew, ok. First fan fiction! I know in this community has a lot of different views and beliefs on the story of FNAF, so not everyone's going to agree with the route I've taken, and that's ok! Consider this story (and future ones if ya'll enjoy it) to be a bunch of headcanons. So yeah. Please let me know what you think!