Old Foes, New Tricks

Four nights earlier…

"Oh, and Foxy? Break a leg. Or two. Because by the end of this week, I'll break 'em myself."

With that, they walked down the hallway towards the security office.

Soon after his speech and subsequent departure, Freddy's eyes lit up and the bear blinked.

"Well, that was just rude." He mumbled, his stiff joints refusing to move more than a few inches. His programming never allowed him to move around that much until midnight came around.

Turning her head to face the bear, Chica growled, "Uncalled for, I'd say!" She glared towards the direction where they had gone, "What would they know? My cooking's great!"

"Ai, lass," Foxy's low, rumbling voice came from behind the curtains of Pirate's Cove, "It be seeking trouble! An' Ol' Capn' Foxy be meetin' it halfway!"

Seeing the rising tensions, Freddy calmly put his hands up, "My friends, they did indeed speak some intolerable words; but we cannot forget why we do what we do."

"Follow the rules," Chica and Foxy said in unison, though not entirely in tune.

"Exactly," Freddy said happily, though a hint of mischief in his words, "Though with that being said, we shouldn't ignore our…unwanted guest. I'd say that they'll not be here for much longer."

"Here, here!" Foxy responded with a laugh.

They fell silent and just as Chica was about to settle down to await the night, something caught her eye. On the other side of Freddy, Bonnie stood with an absent, subdued look aimed towards the ground.

"Bonnie?" Chica asked softly, wondering what ailed her usually-boisterous friend, "What's wrong?"

Stunned back into consciousness, Bonnie blinked and looked up with wide eyes, "Uh, yeah." He cleared his throat, in spite of the lack of a working windpipe, "Grand. Just, eh, thinking about how we're going to catch it."

This caught Freddy's attention, who turned once more to look at the rabbit, "Strange. Usually you—and this is in your own words—just 'wing it'."

With a nervous laugh, Bonnie didn't make eye contact, "Well, I just thought…"

"You're upset," Chica spoke up again, "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine—"

Bonnie finally looked around, being met with stoic, unmoving glares directed at him. His eyes went wide again and he froze.

"Bonnie," Freddy said with an unusual conviction, "Stop lying. What's got you upset?"

With another blink, Bonnie turned away sheepishly from the stone gazes of his friends and his voice went quiet.

"Did…did I really scare the kids?"

Within seconds, those unmoving gazes turned sad and sympathetic. Though Bonnie knew that he usually gave off an outspoken, laidback aura, it did not take much to remove the veil that masked his pain.

"Of course not, Bonnie." Freddy said, stern but caring, "Their claims were unjust and cruel, aimed to put us off our game."

Chica nodded in agreement, "The kids loved you, Bon. They'd always paint you in their pictures."

Though Bonnie gave a weak nod, his eyes told a different story. Years on the bench had lowered morale and esteem. The animatronics weren't naïve; they knew of the rumours and gossip about them in the outside world, where the humans lived.

"Besides, matey," Foxy called from his cove, barely audible, "Wha' does tha' landlubber know? It'll be walkin' the plank very soon!"

Chica rolled her eyes humorously, before giving Bonnie as much of a smile as she was capable of, "Listen; what does it matter what that…that fool thinks? You don't see them being a leading guitarist in a band, do you?"

"Neither do you see them as a beloved mascot!" Freddy chimed in, "If the children were so scared of us, they never would've come back, would they?"

"But they did stop coming," Bonnie responded, his voice despondent and quiet.

The animatronics all fell silent once more. It was undeniable that they had lost their sense of purpose; when the reason you were created was to entertain and people stopped wanting to be entertained by you, what else was there?

Freddy's voice was low, "That wasn't our fault. We did our best."

The truth was, as Bonnie reflected, life within the abandoned halls of the pizzeria lacked meaning and simulation, but he knew life out there was something far too different, yet similar all the same. Whenever Foxy brought up his desire to see life outside, Freddy had always tried to convince him that there wasn't anything worth seeing, to no avail.

The truth wasn't that life outside was uninteresting, quite the opposite. Life was limitless and free. Life was unpredictable and brilliant. Life was new and confusing.

Life was dark and dangerous.

Freddy knew that no words would be able to convince his family of those dangers; they'd long since forgotten. The truth was that there were some sick, evil people outside those doors and Freddy would be happy to never set his eyes on one of them ever again.

Though they hadn't talked about it in a while, Bonnie agreed with him.

Finally, a grandfather clock told them that midnight had finally arrived.

Freddy turned to look at Bonnie and nodded, "What do you think? Time to try out that new camera trick?"

Though it was barely a flicker of life, it was undeniable when Bonnie glanced back. "Why not? Early or later?"

"Moderately," Freddy answered, ready for the hunt to begin, "Don't want to ruin the fun, do we?"

Though their morale had taken a hit, the animatronics were ready to get back into it. A smile played through Bonnie's eyes as he saw the camera's light flash red. They were going to rise up and strike back against the invader. They were going to ignore the niggling thoughts in the back of their minds to question why they did what they did.

They were going to visit what seemed to be an old foe. They were going to bring some new tricks into play with them.

And by the time they'd be finished, that endoskeleton would be lying battered and beaten in a suit, where it belonged.

Three nights earlier,

Chica had her orders; to their surprise, the endoskeleton had given them a bit of a struggle that night before.

Though they certainly hadn't expected an easy capture, any attempt they had made had been battered away, ineffective and mocked for their efforts. It had made the first insults play on their minds even more, as the last thing they needed was a rude opponent.

Even Bonnie's camera trick had been reversed, though it had seemed to shake the endoskeleton somewhat.

So that night, right off the bat, Freddy had told his next plan; the classic kitchen sweep, as Chica had lovingly called it.

Simply enough, it'd all start with Chica going down her usual route, diverting around the dining hall to the restrooms, before stopping just mid-way through the hallway. She'd then turn around and step into the kitchen.

From there, her job was simple; cause as much ruckus as she was capable of. The commotion would likely distract the endoskeleton enough for Foxy, lying in wait, to make his sprint.

It was very rare for her to catch an endoskeleton herself, but she liked to think that the kitchen sweep was one of her main contributions to the group. It required pin-point timing and execution, after all.

She'd already stopped in the restrooms, so she started towards the hallway. As she passed through the dining hall, she spotted Bonnie standing between the tables, gazing at the camera. Knowing that she was in a blind spot, she gave a quick wave, though not expecting one back.

Soon enough, she arrived at the entrance to the kitchen. Although she never complained about it, she did not like going in there at night. It lacked the wonder and excitement of days old, perhaps due to the lack of care.

Once she steadily pushed the door open and walked in, she started her usual mantra of banging pots. Giggling to herself at the idea that the endoskeleton believed it to be her clumsiness rather than a purposeful distraction, she soon was ready to leave.

She turned right into the gaping, silent scream of a golden shape.

Yelping, she jumped as much as she could back. For several frightening moments the shade of Freddy, yellow and mouldy, shivered before vanishing with nary even a cloud of golden dust.

With a blink and the closest thing to an embarrassed blush as an animatronic could experience, she dwelled on the shade for some time. They'd all spotted the 'Golden Freddy' at some point, never understanding its purpose. Was it like them, a silent guardian? Or merely a hallucination?

Freddy had told them not to think about it, but nevertheless, the mystery remained on their minds for what had felt like an era.

Shaking her head, she forgot about it. As she left the kitchen, she heard something from down the hall. Excited, she diverted her course and waddled over to the entrance of the hallway, but to her dismay, she heard more taunts from the nasty endoskeleton.

"Better luck next time, Seadog!" It cruelly laughed as Foxy trudged back up to the Cove, his back slumped and a scowl on his face.

"Argh, tha' lad be askin' for a hook up the—"

"Language!" Chica quietly scolded, leading to Foxy mumbling something under his figurative breath before leaping back into the cove.

Chica frowned as she considered her options. Never had an endoskeleton gotten to her family as much as their current adversary. It wasn't just the avoidance of justice that was getting on their nerves; they usually dealt with that on a weekly basis. It was the attitude of their foe that upset them.

They knew that a costume wasn't always comfortable and some of their one-time cousins didn't like being made to follow the rules, but that wasn't an excuse to be rude.

She shook her head, annoying and fed up, before considering taking her own chance. She very rarely did so and almost she never succeeded, but what was the harm?

With a forced smile and an attempt to rally the troops, she stepped into her own hallway, tip-toeing as quietly as she could. The camera's light turned red so she froze until it went back to white. She passed the battered walls with the banners on, reminding her of the good days. She smiled when she remembered the animatronics' last Christmas party, back when the restaurant was still open.

It had been such a good day, filled with happy kids and content parents. Their last good year until…

Truth be told, things had been falling apart for a long while. Freddy Fazbear's had been running on fumes until the place had been mostly closed, although it was still unofficially 'open'. Just that they weren't accepting customers anymore.

Not that any would come, Chica reminded herself. Bonnie had it right; people had stopped coming. She couldn't blame them, but neither could she accept the fact that their time was long since gone.

Finally arriving near the office, she crept towards the door. Before she even got within arm's length of the giant steel barrier, it closed right in her face.

She stared through the glass at the endoskeleton within, who smiled before giving her a gesture that made her sad.

Much like Foxy had, she walked back towards the dining area, slumped and defeated. Halfway there, though, she stopped and remembered the endoskeleton's face. She recognised it from somewhere.

That's impossible, She denied in her head, they never come back, We always catch them. Unless…

Nine months. It had been nine months since their first, true defeat. When somehow, someway, just as they had been moments from winning, their victory had been snatched away at the last possible second.

"No," She spoke quietly to herself, "It isn't. We never see them again. They malfunction. They break. They get taken away."

She continued mumbling that to herself, almost in a trance, as she walked back to resume her route.

Two nights earlier…

Freddy was angry.

Years of living under the same roof, of rejoicing with each over during the highs and supporting each other during the lows had taught them to read each other's behaviours.

Though Foxy remained a loner, that was not different for him. Sitting in his cove just waiting for an opportunity to charge towards his prey, he eavesdropped and occasionally took a peek to look at his friends, who were quietly conversing on the stage.

Both Bonnie and Chica were offering ideas and strategies, but they were met with disapproval and rejection from their leader.

"How about we all charge at the same time?" Bonnie asked, his eyes wary.

Freddy shook his head, "It won't matter. All it has to do is shut the doors and we can't just stand there waiting for the power to turn off."

With a blink, Chica looked at him, "Why not? We don't have to all stay there, but we can make cycles—"

"No," Freddy said coarsely and without any compromise, "That's cheating. We follow the rules."

The rules. It always came down to the rules. It was always an obstacle that they had to—for whatever reason—had to leap over like they were a pack of show animals and it usually felt that the rulebook itself would be changed and altered every so often.

Foxy lowly growled. He wasn't a show animal. He was a Pirate Captain! He knew the rules shouldn't hold any value to him, but he respected Freddy's authority and command. Even if he more often than not disagreed with him.

So he remained silent and allowed the others to try and spur the bear into action.

"What if we use the camera trick again?" Bonnie asked again,

Freddy scowled and his patience finally ran thin. "That won't work. Because you messed it up."

Silence erupted and Foxy's eyes went wide, before returning into a scowl. He was ready to throw open the curtains and start berating the bear for a fool, but as he opened the curtain, he saw the looks on his friend's faces.

Freddy's own eyes had gone wide in shock, as had Chica's. But while the bear's were wide in shock, horror, and guilt, Chica's slowly resonated into anger and disappointment.

It was Bonnie's that hurt the most. Though his own were aghast and sad, they were also forgiving.

"Freddy." Chica said quietly, barely audible, but furious.

For moments, Freddy struggled to find his own voice. "B…Bonnie, I so—"

But Bonnie raised a gigantic hand to pause him. "You're right, Freddy. I'm sorry. I messed up. I should've—"

"No." Freddy interrupted himself, "I was a fool to push you into using that trick too early. If we had waited…"

Silence fell over the animatronics again, until Foxy finally spoke up.

"We both hit the Crow's Nest at the same time," Foxy growled with conviction, "an' we teach tha' landlubber why it shouldn't 'ave messed with us!"

They all looked at Foxy, meeting him with hesitation and confliction. Finally, Freddy's smile came back.

"You and me," He said, his stride back, "Just like the good days, old boy."

Hours later, the endoskeleton had continued it's resistance. While Bonnie and Chica both attempted a run-in, it had been easily countered.

That was alright. That was the plan.

As they had decided, Freddy hadn't moved off the stage. Once they had come back from the office, the signal was passed when Bonnie gave a brief thumb's up, a sign to go and a token of good luck.

But luck had never been for Foxy. With a confident grin and a brief warm-up, Foxy leapt from the cove and charged.

He charged as fast as he could, going down the hallway in less than three seconds.

But just as he reached the office, the door slammed in his face and he almost screamed through the glass. He pounded at the door, furious, and hoping that Freddy had been fast enough.

Sure enough, the bear had met his pace. Though Freddy was old and not built as dynamically as the fox, the old man could still run. Within less than a minute, Freddy had gotten off the stage, rushed through the shadows, and had gone down the hallway all without so much as making a sound.

It was still not enough.

The endoskeleton slammed down the door and this time, Foxy did scream in rage.

It was a mechanical roar, but nevertheless, Foxy could only hope that their adversary could sense the fury in his voice. When he spotted the bilgerat's face through the glass, he snarled at him, hoping for any reaction other than scorn and bravado.

The endoskeleton smirked. "That the best you got?"

Without so much as a twitch, Foxy span around and prowled back to his cove.

He glanced at Freddy, whose face had reverted back to that hopeless, humourless scowl. They didn't say a word to each other as they returned to their places, defeated.

More half-hearted attempts ensued over the rest of the night and not one dented the endoskeleton's defences.

Once dawn came and his allies switched off, Foxy brooded and mourned what had been their best attempt. There was nothing they could do.

The endoskeleton stepped out of his hole, a bag in hand. Foxy briefly contemplated poking his head out and trying another scare, but he decided against it.

Las' thing Ol' Foxy needs is for tha' landlubber to know me ship's been docked, Foxy mumbled to himself, but he continued watching.

A few glances around to ensure it was in the clear, the endoskeleton went back through the right hallway and there were sounds in his wake: a mechanical clang, some shuffling, and a heavy object thudding. Eventually, the endoskeleton returned, the bag gone.

Foxy's interest was piqued. Could there be treasure? He wondered, before slumping down and switching off for the day.

One night earlier…

Freddy glumly looked at the clock. Two minutes until dawn.

With a hefty sigh and empty glare at the camera when it flashed red, Freddy closed his eyes. So many attempts and no such luck.

Constantly, they had thrown everything they had at their foe. Every single attempt, a well-rehearsed strategy. Every new plan, thoughtfully planned out. Every plan of action, executed to perfection.

Every time, thoughtlessly and effortlessly reversed and pushed aside.

It simply didn't make any sense. Until Chica had passed around her belief that the one that had proven to be such a menace was not, as previously believed to be, a new endoskeleton.

This one was familiar. Experienced. Confident. It could only be the one that got away.

With a low, inaudible growl, Freddy thought back to that week in November. A cold year, even inside the halls of Freddy's. Something had seemed off about their foe, even back then; like it was destined to allude them. With a lot of effort and a bit of luck, it had evaded them. Freddy still remembered clutching it by the collar—as for whatever reason, they wore clothes—and just at the last possible second, they had escaped.

It had returned. There was no other explanation. It knew how to survive, how to avoid him and his family. To make it all so much worse, it was going to walk out untouched once more.

Freddy thought back to the days before all of this. Before their night hunts, their lonely days, and even before the event that sent them to the underbelly of urban legends and superstition. Things had been so bright back then; the bear smiled despite the current situation when he remembered one of the employees suggesting that the seventies and eighties were such good years.

But it was all gone. Gone were the parties and the children. Gone were the parents and friendly employees. All that was left were Freddy and his friends; washed up and forgotten.

But the truth was, it wasn't the animatronics' pasts that he reflected on. It was his own.

Freddy closed his eyes again and sighed; he knew that they had forgotten. He couldn't blame them. What they were was so very different from what they once were. Their link to mortality, their long-ago reality.

They'd forgotten. He hadn't.

Glancing around the room, Freddy looked upon the faces of the most important things in his life. His family, much like himself, were aimless and depressed. What more could they do?

It had been such a good few attempts, as well. Bonnie's camera freezing, Chica's mid-night distraction and attempted run-in, Foxy's plan for both him and the bear to charge at the same time, and that night's own four-way of every single plan put together.

None of it had worked.

At the same time, Freddy knew that they couldn't simply abandon what they had put together. It was unlikely to work, but jumping at another strategy so close to the end of the game would simply kill their chances, however small they now were.

If only they could reorganise what they had accomplished, going about it in a different way, a remix almost, much like what they used to play on-stage…

That was when Freddy understood. His eyes lit up and a smile crept into his tone.

"On-stage." Freddy murmured, barely audible, "That's it. Why did I not think of it before?"

Blinking, Bonnie looked at him, "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Switching between Bonnie and Chica, Freddy glowed with inspiration, "Your camera freezing trick. Chica's misdirection. Foxy's charge. My hiding tactics. None of them worked, either separately or together."

"Freddy," Chica said, irritation in her voice, "What are you getting at?"

"None of them worked," Freddy explained, "Because we've done it before. This endoskeleton, it knows all of our tricks."

Bonnie nodded, "We've established that. But how does it help us? We can't just try something new! Every strategy we've developed, it's been tested!"

"Exactly!" Freddy replied, irritated that they weren't getting it, "Throwing in something new this late won't work. But what if we use what has worked, but in a different way?"

"Like what?" Chica pressed him.

Freddy's eyes glowed in excitement, "Like freezing the camera and getting in before our foe knew what we were doing."

"But that didn't work!" Chica exclaimed, her voice quickly becoming quieter afterwards, "The endoskeleton survived that! It'll know what to expect!"

"No," Bonnie spoke up, "It won't."

As soon as Freddy turned to look at the rabbit, he could see it in his eyes. With a glow similar to that of Freddy's, Bonnie had figured out where the bear was going with this.

"What do you mean?" Chica asked quietly, looking between them.

"If the camera was frozen in Pirate's Cove," Bonnie answered, "but Foxy wasn't in there…"

Chica's eyes went wide, but slowly that expression of confusion and irritation turned into glee.

"That," Chica responded, "Is genius."

With a nod and an edge of excitement for what came the next night, Freddy explained his plan.

"Chica misdirects," Freddy explained, "causes as much confusion as she can. I will hit the endoskeleton early and hard, try to get it's attention on me and me alone. Bonnie will go a few times, but then he will switch with Foxy."

Bonnie nodded, "Then I'll freeze the camera and Foxy will sprint at the best point."

Once more, the animatronics were back into the game. Freddy was anxious for the next night. But no matter how long it would take for their next—and potentially final—plan to take place, Freddy knew that they would not fail.

This had long since passed the point of business. This was personal. This endoskeleton had insulted, degraded, and demoralised him and his loved ones. But tomorrow night, their fate would change and their dismay would end. Tomorrow night would be the endoskeleton's last night in these halls.

vaetta: Really appreciate this review! I hope I can continue this throughout the rest of the story.

Parzival3215: Thanks! I've been writing for a while, so I've mostly got a good flow going, but I'm always ready and willing to learn.

Blaze0227: Nah, back to the whole 'animatronics see humans as endoskeletons' explanation. Oh, I miss 2014 FNAF...

Next chapter coming soon!