AN: Well. It's been a while, so excuse the rustiness of my writing. This has been very quickly edited by myself but it has not been properly beta-ed.
Disclaimer: I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's or it's sequel. Those rights belong solely to Scott Cawthon. I am broke, don't sue me.
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If hell could be found on Earth, it probably looked exactly like Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. The place reeked of grease and the whole building seemed to be worn down and faded. Tiled floors looked grimy even when being mopped, and the posters lining the walls hadn't been replaced in at least a good ten years. So what had prompted the motley group of twenty-somethings to step foot inside?
A birthday party, alcohol, and the fact that the local Chuck E. Cheese's apparently had age restrictions to stop situations just like this from happening.
Amber slid deeper into the corner of the booth, trying to drown out the sound of children squealing and pretend that their parents weren't watching her group quite so closely. The rest of her friends were arguing over what pizza toppings to order, and whether they could get the animatronic band to play 'Pizza Party Birthday' for them.
"Just order the small personal pizzas if you can't agree, there's no need to hold up the staff because you can't make up your mind." A migraine was quickly building, and the atmosphere wasn't helping any. As if to make the moment worse, the floor show was starting up, and Bonnie's electric guitar let out the first warbling notes.
"Amber, there's no need to snap at us. What is the matter with you tonight?" Jenna, the birthday girl herself, glanced over at the tired brunette. "Try to cheer up okay? Don't worry about what anyone here says, we're totally owning this night!"
"Jenna, you're twenty-five now, and you're trying to get a robot bear to sing happy birthday to you." Amber deadpanned, not understanding how this place could be considered fun to anyone over the age of eight.
"Yeah, and I'm not ashamed of it at all. I loved these sorts of places as a kid, and I don't want to lose that feeling just because people expect me to." Jenna turned and smiled at the waitress, giving her order and staying quiet until she left. "I get that money's tight for you at the moment, but I wanted you to come tonight so you could forget about everything. So spending time together can be your present."
Amber sighed and gave a small smile. "It's not like I can ditch you. You're the one with the car keys."
"That's the spirit! Hostage birthday party at a kiddie pizzeria." Jenna tossed her arm over the other girl's shoulders and shook her gently before letting go and returning to the others conversation.
Held hostage at a kiddie pizzeria. Definitely hell on earth, and the perfectly horrible end to a horrific week. Amber had to hitch a ride with Jenna because her own cars gas tank was out of gas, and her wallet was out of money to go buy more to fill it. That also meant it was too empty to pay for things like rent, credit card bills, and groceries.
The week had started pretty bad, sleeping through Monday mornings alarm meant sneaking into her engineering class an hour late and getting slammed with an extra paper to write or risk failing the semester. It only got worse since calling out from work in order to write the paper had gotten her a nasty message on her phone informing her that she didn't need to bother coming back. Slackers weren't wanted at Jerry's Auto mart.
Her friends were less than helpful, telling her to relax and 'keep positive', but Amber couldn't really be too upset with them. In the end, this week was going to hit her eventually. The only reason her engineering grade was in such a bad place was because she'd missed more classes than she'd attended. The paper was really just the professors last chance of trying to help her scrape together a passing grade. At work, she had been a slacker, hiding in the backroom and drafting up designs rather than actually working or aiding customers.
So now here she was, sitting in an uncomfortable vinyl booth with four other college students, listening to corny music written in the 1980's. Not enough money to get her friend a present, or even continue surviving on her own if she didn't find work quick.
She remembered this place from her own childhood vividly, but it was for a much different reason than her friends. "I have to use the bathroom, I'll be right back." she said, sliding her knees up onto the cushion beside her and popping over the divider into the empty booth next to them. Free from her corner, though now the subject of even more judgmental stares, she wandered over towards the hallway with the bathrooms, passing them and going straight back towards the manager's office.
Raised voices could be heard even through the thick door, and Amber waited in the hall for a minute, a bit nervous to interrupt.
"We can't afford to pay those rates! We've used your company for fifteen years, and repairs have never cost as much as you're trying to bill now! No, I am not willing to negotiate, you price gouging twits, I have bigger things to worry about!" there was a slam and with that as a cue, Amber rapped on the door, biting her lip at the curse she heard ring out. The door opened quickly, a portly balding man with a reddened face glaring at whoever was bold enough to interrupt him. The glare went away once he recognized the girl in front of him.
"Amber? What in the world are you doing here sweetheart? You're a bit old to be playing around a place like this. I thought you were off to that big university upstate?" he reached out and pulled the young woman into a hug.
"The scholarships were less than we were expecting, so I'm actually attending community college." a quick squeeze and release had Amber looking up at the manager and owner of Freddy Fazbear's. "I'm here with some, uh, friends." she smiled weakly. "I promise they aren't troublemakers, they're just a bit odd. Harmless really. It's My friends birthday, and she wanted this as her party." she shrugged. "Uncle Eddy, do you think you can get the band to play that birthday song for her? It would be a good gift, and It would mean a lot to her I'm sure."
"If you're trying to embarrass the poor girl, I won't ask questions." he joked. "All it takes is a small change in the song lineup. I can do it from here." he guided her into the little office and sat down. "If you just type in your friends name here, Freddy will even sing it for her specifically." he slid the keyboard over for her to type in Jenna's name.
"thanks Uncle Eddy. This means a lot to me that you'd do this. I'm sure having us hanging around isn't the best for business." she slid the keyboard back over and straightened up.
"It's not for free." He said sternly, his face holding the serious expression for a few seconds before relaxing. "I haven't seen you since you graduated. If I'd known you were living so close, I'd have made you visit." he joked. "Stick around once the party is over and we can catch up."
Amber shuffled her feet. "I came here with my friends, so I don't really have a ride if I stick around." she said quietly, feeling bad that she sounded ungrateful.
"Oh, well, I suppose you can just leave your number for me then so we can pick another time to talk. I'm very busy these days, the place takes up a lot of time to keep it running. Your friends party might be the last birthday party Freddy Fazbear's sees." the stress lines littering her uncles face deepened a bit and Amber felt terrible for him.
Freddy Fazbear's was her uncles dream, It had been open for longer than she had even been alive. All of her cousins had worked there, and her Aunt Sarah had worked in the kitchens making homemade pizzas until she'd had to retire from it due to her failing health. Amber knew very vague things about the pizzeria's past, only knowing that there was a reputation that had kept the place from blowing up into a huge nationwide franchise. Even in the dire situation she was in, she still felt pity for the place and her uncle.
"Hey, If you don't mind driving me home, I can stick around and talk. I think we both could do with some family time, and maybe I can help you out some?" she really didn't know what sort of help she could be, but as much as she hated the kids and the smell of grease, she did love her Uncle.
"I think I can do that. Now why don't you get back to your friends. You won't want to miss the show. Make sure to get a good picture of your friend's face when Freddy sings to her, It was always a hoot when they heard their names." he hugged her and sent her off. "Come on back before closing, we can get some real food and catch up, I just need to make a call and have a chat with the night guard before tonight."
She nodded. "Alright Uncle Eddy, I'll see you in a bit." She hurried back to the main party room just as the band was gearing up to change songs. Tugging on Jenna's sleeve she grinned widely.
"I figured out what to do for your birthday present." Turning to the stage she pointed at the band. "since you were so dead set on it, I pulled some strings. Happy birthday."
The tune for 'Pizza Party Birthday' geared up, Freddy starting off with his iconic laugh, and a quick dum-de-dum-dum before wishing Jenna a personal happy birthday and starting to sing.
"Oh my god, this is ridiculous." Jenna laughed, her face buried in her hands even as she giggled. "I don't know if this is the most embarrassing thing to happen or the most awesome." she wiped the tears out of the corners of her eyes and elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs for trying to jeer at her. "How did you even pull this off?"
"My uncle is the owner of the place. I just went and asked him to set it up. It's a lot faster than trying to talk to a bunch of robots." she looked pointedly at the others. "Honestly, did you really think talking to the animatronics was going to work? They're not people, they just play what they're programmed to."
"Whoa, so you're Uncle is THE Freddy Fazbear?" Josh, Jenna's boyfriend asked with wide eyes.
"Freddy Fazbear is the one up on stage, not actually the owners name. My uncles name is Edward. And no, before you ask, his last name is not Fazbear, that would just be silly." Amber sat down and rolled her eyes at the stupid assumption. "He started out with buying the robots from some diner called Fredbear's or something years ago. He had the idea before Chuck E. Cheese was ever set up. I don't really know what happened, but my dad says some stuff went down in the late eighty's, and it really hit the company bad. It all happened before I was born, and obviously the family never talks about it."
"Whoa, that's rough. Why didn't you say anything when we came in? We could have gotten free pizza or something?" Andy, Josh's brother piped in, annoyed since they'd already paid.
"Hey, he's my uncle, why would I try to cheat him out of money? This place needs it pretty bad don't you think?" Amber said defensively. She didn't like the place with how run down it was, but after talking to her uncle, and having her friends know about her connection to it, she felt compelled to stick up for it.
Jenna bit her lip. "Actually, since you brought up money, why don't you ask your uncle about getting a job here? I know it's mostly teenagers, but a job is a job, and working around animatronics would probably help with your degree right? Weren't you talking about trying out for those creature shop jobs for movies and stuff?"
Amber rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, but that's for stuff like in Hollywood. I doubt it's the same as these old guys." She sighed and thought it over. "I promised I'd talk to tonight anyway. I'll bring it up. Not sure if he'll be able to even pay me much though, there's just not that much business. He's promised to drive me home though, so I won't be heading back with you guys. Sorry, I know you were looking forward to a horror movie fest, but You'll have to just do it without me."
"Hey, no sweat. He's family, and if you get a job out of it, it's way more important for you than sitting around watching movies all night." The others agreed with Jenna's statement and when they got up to leave, Amber headed back to the managers office.
The owner was just locking up his office and getting his night manager to get ready to close down the building. "Tony, close up and get the place cleaned up, okay? I'm taking off early, my niece came to visit and We're heading out for coffee." he patted the young woman's shoulder and led her out the back entrance to where is old beat up green Chevy was parked. The sun had long ago set and the parking lot was near empty. "I'm glad you decided to take the time to talk to an old man like this. I'm sure you had a fun evening planned with your friends."
"It really was nothing Uncle Eddy. Besides, It would be pretty messed up for me to stop by your work and not even say hello." She didn't mention that until she'd thought about asking him for a favor, she was going to do just that.
"Well, it was good for your friends to bring in business for us." he stayed quiet until they pulled into the parking lot of a twenty-four hour diner. "I'm just a bit embarrassed that you'd do something like that just to help out the family business. We're hardly making a profit, and that you'd get your friends to come here just to add a bit of income-"
"Uncle Eddy, it wasn't my idea to come by. I didn't even know the place was doing so badly. Jenna is just a bit odd, she really did want to have a pizza party." Amber cut him off, not wanting him to think she'd actually brought her friends just out of pity for him. "Just how bad is it? I mean, sure, there wasn't a lot of kids around tonight, but people are still coming right?"
"Honestly, there have been days when no one has come in. we keep the band playing because they have some trouble getting going if we turn them off for too long, but the electricity is a drain, and so are the pizza ingredients we end up wasting. Even with the cutbacks we've had to make, it just seems more and more like a struggle we can't win." He shook his head. "Just today the company we usually use to service the animatronics gave us an estimate that was three times the amount we usually pay. There's no way we can budget that in." opening the door for his niece he followed her in and sat at a booth near the back. "I shouldn't be bothering you with all these troubles. You're a bright young woman and I'm sure college is enough of a worry to you. Tell me what you've been up to?"
Amber ducked her head, feeling even worse about her state of affairs. "Um, actually not too great. My engineering class is looking pretty difficult, and I was just let go from the place I was working at." She looked down at her lap. "I was going to ask if there was any jobs open that you'd be willing to hire me for, but I'm sure you can't really afford another employee."
"Actually, I have a position open right now." He said tentatively. "See my night guard is on his last week. I didn't see him this morning like I usually do, so he probably took off before his shift ended. I wouldn't be surprised if he decides to just not show up the rest of the week. He's put in his notice, and besides setting up some basic training information for whoever we hire on next, he's really got nothing to do. I was calling him today to make sure he'd actually show up, but he never picked up his phone." He shook his head, as if it wasn't an uncommon occurrence. "The pay is as low as it gets. I really can't afford anymore than the absolute minimum."
Amber bit her lip. "Uncle Eddy, have you thought about taking out a business loan? I know you're really against them after you worked so hard to get the business off the ground, but I think if you put the money towards fixing up the animatronics and remodeling the building, you could really get business back. I mean, people have been coming here for over twenty years. And that's a really good record for any business." she pulled out her cell phone.
"My roommate has been looking for a job for months. I'm sure he'd take anything at this point. And I'll work on the animatronics during the night shift for a lot cheaper than any professional company would try to charge. I might even be able to get my professor to accept it as some extra credit towards my grade." she offered while scrolling through her contacts. "He's a really hard worker. He worked night shift at his last job, so the hours won't be a problem. I can have him come in for an interview, and if you like him, I know he could start next week." she looked up at him, her finger poised over the call button. "Should I ask him?"
The aging man slumped back in his seat. "this is a pretty big risk Amber. If we take this loan, and we don't make it, that'll be a debt that I don't think my savings could cover." he frowned and looked down at his hands, deep in thought.
"Did that stop you when you first opened? I know the place has been through a lot, but it's still standing, and I'm sure that with the right work put into it, you could be making good money again." Amber smiled as brightly as she could, really hoping she could get her uncle to agree.
"It's a huge risk, but at the very least, I do need a new night guard. Call your friend, and he can come by in the morning to fill out the paperwork. Before I make the decision to get a loan, I want to see what you can do for the animatronics. There's one that's been out of order for years. Foxy. You can work on him first, and I'll pay you for your work. If I like it, I'll get a loan and you can fix up the band."
Amber grinned, feeling a lot better than she had since the week had started. "Deal." she hit the call button and waited for the other end to pick up.
"Hey Mike? I have a great job opportunity for you."
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If you thought Amber was going to be the night guard, you were wrong. Nope, this takes place just before the event's of the first game, and will mostly follow the game where it can. I'm trying to give some reason for Mike to be the guard even after night one, and explore the workings of the pizzeria as a legitimate business.
Please review, tell me if you like this and what your thoughts are, constructive criticism is always accepted and I would love to know what you liked or disliked about this chapter so the next chapters can be even better.
-Red