10

Henry Emily was the mind behind the Fazbear franchise. In 1976 he opened a small pizza diner in the town of New Harmony, just north of Hurricane and would wear a yellow bear costume that he had made for himself. He would wear it for the families and would tell jokes and sing and dance in between serving them their pizza. It was an unusual gimmick that got the diner known as 'that place with the bear'. Pretty soon it's real name, 'Fredbear's Family Diner'—Henry being Fredbear—entered the public's collective knowledge and popularity grew amongst the inhabitants.

Before this, Henry had finished his degree in robotics at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where he had made friends with a classmate and future business partner, William Afton. Both of them had ideas of working in robotics, but Henry was always drawn towards children's entertainment and already had visions of his creations up on a stage in the spotlight one day.

William had come from money and had contacts to support him financially if he could convince them to fund his future endeavours. Henry, on the other hand, came from a much less well-off background, his father being a cook for a diner for many years, and Henry already having some experience working with him. Henry and William graduated and went their separate ways but kept in touch with each other while William pursued his career by starting his own company, while Henry opened his diner.

Time passed and money was made, but never enough to fund his project of making his own animatronics. The option was always there to buy or rent from other companies, but Henry wanted his characters to be uniquely his own, to add to the charm and brand of his future restaurant. After the first year, Henry reached out to William, offering him the position of business partner. While Henry struggled for the funding that he needed, William lacked direction and the business credibility from his peers to provide the platform to showcase his talents. The deal was made and the two of them went into business together in 1977, under the business name of Fazbear Entertainment.

With the extra funding from William's own pocket, Henry remade his own suit and made a new one for William—a bear and rabbit named Fredbear and Bonnie—that doubled as wearable suits for the two of them to use, something no other company had achieved at that time. They were a technical marvel and the company grew with a sharp increase in stock prices and shareholder confidence. The restaurant moved to a bigger location where the main four animatronics were built which sang on stage and served the customers their food. Due to the success of Fredbear's Family Diner, William was able to get his own side company, Afton Robotics, up and running and got to work on his own branch of the company.

In 1983 everything changed when William's youngest son was gravely injured by the Fredbear animatronic in its automaton mode. The boy died later in hospital and the company was closed while an investigation was conducted. It had been a private event so the public was largely kept ignorant to the incident, though rumours persisted and internally, it was well known. Henry always blamed himself for the boy's death—the animatronics being of his design and build—and he scolded himself for not accepting more of William's input into their design.

During the brief closure, the wearable Fredbear and Bonnie animatronics were retired to the backstage area and the other four animatronics were brought to the spotlight in a restructure that became the company's image from then on. The characters were given names, Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy and became the main stars of the franchise. Things were looking up as the company moved forwards and Henry tried to put the past behind him and accept the incident as a freak accident. William, however, did not move on.

The night that Charlie, Henry's six-year-old daughter, was murdered in the alleyway behind the restaurant was the night that his hopes and dreams for the future ended. Her life had been stolen and his life had lost meaning. Now a broken man, Henry became a recluse and disappeared from the public spotlight and he neglected his duties as CEO of the company. His role in the company was terminated and William became the sole owner and operator of Fazbear Entertainment.

In his years of exile, hidden away from the rest of the world, Henry never stopped grieving the loss of his daughter. There were no witnesses, no evidence, no suspect that anyone could provide, but Henry knew deep down that her death was at the hands of his trusted former business partner. Every sleepless night he would replay in his mind the image of how he had found her in the alleyway, a wide gash across her throat where it had been slit and pondered the unusual circumstance of the animatronic that was with her. The Puppet, one of his lesser-known characters which resembled a jack-in-the-box marionette, was slumped over her in a protective pose as though shielding her from the rain. It appeared to be a loving gesture but was simply due to its programming to always entertain the children and not leave them unattended. Though he knew there was no special meaning behind it, Henry took comfort at the idea that it had consoled her as she died. Whenever he thought of his dear little Charlie, he always thought of the Puppet.

Henry's sister, Jen, had been a part of the company since the beginning and had kept in touch with him once he revealed himself. He knew of the missing children of 1987 and they both had their suspicions about William, though there was never any evidence to link it to him. For thirty-one years, everything went quiet and the business operated at a steady decline.

Then, Jen got word of the discovery of the old, yellow Bonnie animatronic—one that hadn't been in use for many years—and alerted the man who had been on the case, Clay Burke, to its existence. When a fire broke out in the warehouse where it was kept and the animatronic turned up missing, Henry knew that it was time to act. He now believed Jen's suspicions about the trapped souls when she spoke about Charlie's presence that she felt from the Puppet.

Through Jen, Henry had learned about the souls she had always suspected had remained in his old creations. The original four animatronics that roamed the restaurant every night hoping to be discovered were destroyed before she could claim them, though through their destruction, she knew that they were freed. Henry's plan was to do the same to the rest.

First, he had to protect his daughter. She was fearful of William, so to keep her safe Henry built a character that would hide her in plain sight. Lefty, the black and grey bear, was designed to capture and contain the Puppet within it, opening all of its parts rapidly and smothering it, keeping it within. It felt cruel to do, but he couldn't risk her knowing of the plan and possibly resisting. And in the end, he wanted to finally put her to rest along with the others.

Second, he had to lure his old partner, William, back from the shadows, and what better way than to recreate the sights and sounds of his old haunt by opening a pizzeria? Opening Rockstar Pizza and re-establishing Fazbear Entertainment as a legitimate business made acquiring Afton Robotics much easier as it was done legally through the proper channels. Legally, the animatronics were now his. Managers were hired and workers were put on to clear the old factory and collect every known animatronic that was built there. It was much too dangerous for Henry to show his face and for him to do the audio tests himself. He feared that he would be a prime target of Afton's wrath through the characters and felt that it was safer to have them processed for shipping and testing by people unknown to and not involved in the company's dark history.

The plan had worked, and the disturbances at Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental did not go unnoticed. The old rabbit appeared there one day, as Henry expected, and the workers were under instructions to crate it for shipping immediately. With all of the remaining animatronics packaged for transport, all that was left was to close the doors at Afton Robotics for good.

Henry kept a close eye on things at Rockstar Pizza, posing as a senior engineer who had experience with the Fazbear animatronics and was recommended by the bosses higher up. Using his false name as CEO, Henry sent e-mails stating that the engineer was to be given security clearance and would be coming and going at his leisure—often in the small hours of the morning—and that he was not to be disturbed. Doing this, Henry was able to extract information from the 'toy' animatronics that were in use during the incidents of 1987.

In the dead of night, when it was time to move the responsive animatronics to the hidden room, Henry would wear a replica mask of the Puppet. It was the only animatronic that William seemed to be afraid of, and its presence during his active period in 1987 kept the smaller children in Kids' Cove safe. It was a tribute to his daughter, Charlie, and it would be the last face that William, if he could perceive it, would see. Henry operated silently while moving the animatronics, never revealing his identity, and he refilled their empty crates with spare parts to weigh them down, then arranged for them to be shipped off to the head office. Knowing what audio stimulus each animatronic responded to, Henry compiled the files into an endless loop—including one of his voice which only William seemed to take notice of—keeping them in the room as they searched for the source.

Henry's plans, however, came into jeopardy when a curious night guard named Mike Schmidt tampered with the camera in the storeroom through which only Henry could see. He was forced to risk suspicion and possible exposure by contacting the manager about the incident and giving a disciplinary warning. Mike's curiosity sped up Henry's plans when, weeks later, he re-entered the back room and found the false wall. Henry watched the scene unfold in horror, not only at Mike's discovery, but at what he had seen moments before when Baby attempted her escape. A death on the premises at the hands of an animatronic would shut the restaurant down and ruin his plans. Mike's actions forced Henry's hand and he had him put on a week's leave to keep him out of the way.

The manager, Tim Anderson, was just as curious and had opened the crate containing Lefty, risking exposing the girl inside prematurely to the other creatures hidden behind the wall. Henry now needed to have the restaurant closed so he could operate in peace, fabricating a report of a gas leak and putting the staff on temporary leave. Though he wasn't yet ready to say goodbye to his daughter, he knew that it had to be now. It had to be tonight.

Standing over them in the small room, wearing the face of the Puppet, Henry addressed the animatronics that sat on the floor around him. He addressed Baby first.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth, if you even remember that name, but I'm afraid that you're mistaken. This restaurant is not your gift, nor were you sent here by your brother to carry on your father's work. You have all been sent here, into a small black room you cannot escape, with the sounds of your would-be victims on the other side of the wall. It is a room you cannot escape. You don't even realise you're trapped. This room, this building that I have built for you, this is where your story ends. It is where my story will end, too.

"This place will not be remembered and the memory of everything that started this can finally begin to fade away. To you monsters fused together through some doomed plan, be still, and give up your spirits. They don't belong to you. For most of you, I believe there is peace and perhaps more waiting for you after the smoke clears. Although for one of you, the darkest pit of hell has opened for you, so don't keep the devil waiting, old friend.

"My daughter, Charlie, if you can hear me. I hope you can forgive me for bringing you here. I'm sorry that on that day, the day you were taken, no-one was there to lift you up into their arms the way you lifted others into yours. And what you have become… I should have known you wouldn't have been content to disappear. Not my daughter. You knew that more children needed protecting. I couldn't save you then, so let me save you now. It's time to rest."

Henry raised his hand, producing a lighter from his pocket, and flicked it.

"This ends. For all of us."

The flash of light illuminated the small room, blinding Mike as he fell backwards. In the roar of the flames, a chorus of screams rang out into the air, more voices than would ordinarily be expected. The smoke engulfed him as the building burned, the wooden tables and shelves crackling and splitting around him, but Mike stumbled his way to the exit. Spilling out into the back alley loading yard, Mike ran down the narrow alley towards his car, scrambling in and turning it on, then reversed away to a safe distance. His first thought was to call the fire department, but after what he had just overheard, and what he had felt during his time working there, Mike knew to just let it be. He watched in shock for a moment as the flames rose and the night sky was brightened, the plume of smoke rapidly billowing up from the roof and spreading across the sky in the cold wind.

The next day, when the smoke settled and reports were being filled out, Mike was taken in for questioning about the fire but was released soon after when the story he told lined up with the evidence that was recovered. His car licence plate was detected on the neighbouring businesses security cameras as he drove by that night, so police knew he had been there. The body in the hidden room was identified as that of Henry Emily, the original owner of Fazbear Entertainment. His death was ruled as a suicide and the animatronics around him were considered by police to be symbolic of the man's past regrets. His surviving family member, Jen, was questioned by police, but she maintained that she knew nothing about it.

A few days later, Jen was visited by an old acquaintance, one who she had passed information on to during the incident of 1987 and the more recent construction of Fazbear Fright only a year ago. She sat on the front porch of her house on the hill and watched the car driving up the dirt road. The car pulled in front of the house and an old man got out, giving her a small nod before closing the door. The man was Clay Burke, the former police chief who had been in charge of the investigation of the missing children, the one who had been so close to convicting William Afton all those years ago. He approached Jen and sat down next to her and the two of them stared out over the town.

"Hello, Jen. Sorry to hear about your brother."

Jen didn't respond, only giving a slight nod of acknowledgement as she thought carefully about how much she would tell him.

"So, I saw the photos. The animatronics around him… one of them looked like a rabbit. Was it the same rabbit from the warehouse? The one my grandson, Scott, saw?"

"It was. Henry made it and it was his to destroy."

Clay considered this in silence for a moment, still looking out over the town.

"What about the other ones? The three other characters in the room with him?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, and what I believe doesn't matter. But I can tell you what Henry believed." Jen fumbled in her pocket and retrieved a small handkerchief, dabbing her eyes before she continued. "Henry believed that when his daughter was murdered, she didn't completely leave. He believed that she resided within the Marionette that was found with her in the alley."

Clay unconsciously gave a disbelieving grimace, though he remembered the case well—he was one of the police officers that did the investigation. Jen pretended not to notice his reaction and continued with her story.

"I kept that Marionette and—you don't have to believe me—I absolutely felt my niece with me all those years, in this very house. I believe Afton felt it too. He always kept his distance from it until the incidents of 1987 closed the restaurant and we had to relocate and he made sure not to have a spot for it. But it didn't matter, her work was already done. Henry's animatronics, the four from the start, were inhabited by those poor children who vanished that year and didn't find rest until Afton was dead."

"But" Clay interrupted, his brow furrowing into a row of creases. "There were five children. One from years earlier. I remember it… Cassidy! That was her name. She was the first one who went missing."

"Her, I'm not too sure about. But you'll remember that Henry's own yellow suit went missing not long after that… after Henry left the company."

The missing Fredbear suit was a loose thread that Jen had never been able to tie off. Wherever Cassidy was, Jen hoped that she found peace the same night that the other four children did.

"I remember," said Clay. "So, you said those children were finally free after Afton died. You wouldn't happen to know when exactly that was…?"

Jen said nothing, letting only a small smirk cross her face for a moment as she watched the traffic crawl in and out of view between the buildings of the town below. After a moment's reflection, she replied.

"All I know is, he died in that suit and was trapped in it the same way those children were. And ever since he died, Charlie was scared."

"Come on, Jen" said Clay, incredulous. "I suppose you're going to say the reason we couldn't find it in that burned-out warehouse was because it was haunted and just got up and walked away. You don't think somebody came and took it?"

Jen turned and studied him as though she were patiently waiting for him to come to her conclusion, as though her answer were the most obvious one. Clay, irritated, stood up and crossed his arms, staring at the old wooden porch.

"Either way," he continued. "The suit is completely destroyed and now we'll never know who was in it. Because you didn't turn it in when Henry had it, we have no evidence and we will never be able to pin Afton as the murderer. The whole thing is just going to be forgotten about."

"Good. There's no more reason to dig up the past. Let them rest, Clay. They're finally at peace."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment and Clay could see the earnest look on Jen's face. She really, truly believed in what she was telling him. He shook the keys in his hand absent-mindedly, indicating his intention to leave and gave her a courteous nod before saying goodbye.

"Goodbye, Jen. Sorry again about your brother."

As his car drove back down the laneway, Jen checked the time on her watch. She was expecting another visitor, one who would believe her story as he had experienced much of it himself. One who would be able to answer some of her own questions.

The sun began to set and the overcast clouds were soaked in a darkening red. A pair of headlights appeared at the end of the laneway and moved through the lengthening shadows on the ground. The car parked in front of the house and this time Jen stood to greet her guest. The headlights and the engine turned off and for a moment Jen couldn't quite see the man inside. The door opened and out stepped Mike Schmidt. He had received her call and knew that his curiosity was not worth fighting. He knew that he would finally have answers and know that he was right. He walked towards her and the two of them stepped inside the house. They had more in common with the history of Freddy's than they realised, and they had much to talk about.

The sun set on Hurricane and from that day forward, the shadow of the past and the Fazbear name never darkened the town again. After many years, the souls that had remained were finally at rest. All had found peace. All but one.

One who burns.

William.

THE END

Author's Note

I would like to give a special thanks to my dedicated follower and commenter, Cheah, better known as TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3. Keep writing your stories and keep rockin'.

I never thought that I would be writing fanfiction, let alone for a video game, but that changed when I finished reading the official Freddy's trilogy—The Silver Eyes, The Twisted Ones, and The Fourth Closet, all by the game series creator Scott Cawthon. While these are good stories, they weren't what I expected them to be. The tension and snippets of dark backstory from each game seemed to me to be better suited to a crime novel, or a murder mystery from the perspective of a detective trying to solve the case. The 'Young Adult' genre didn't really do it justice and I always imagined it to be grittier and more horror based. I realised that I already had my own story forming in my head and set to work writing it—the one I had been hoping to read.

High Turnover was originally meant to be a single all-encompassing story featuring the lore and scenes from the first four games, which I feel tell the real bulk of the story. The hard part was making it feel less like a video game and more like a real job and filling in the blanks of the day-to-day routines of the restaurant. I replaced the Phone Guy with Fritz, an in-game character mentioned only once in the second game, and had him as an actual character acting as Mike's supervisor. Jen, who I originally wrote as a minor side-character, turned out to be much more important as I realised that she was actually Aunt Jen from the book series who I had accidentally written in.

I wrote Burn as a loose follow-up story set entirely during the events of the third game as chronologically, I couldn't properly include it in the first story. I originally pictured it as being like the old slasher horror movies from back in the day with a group of teenagers sneaking in and fooling around in a creepy old location only to be despatched one by one by a psychotic killer. As I wrote it, it became more of an emotional story than I had intended and more characters from the book series made their way in. It's a five chapter story featuring four original characters, one of them being the teenage son of Carlton Burke, all encountering Springtrap on the night of the fire at Fazbear's Fright.

The Back Room came to me as a necessary conclusion to the story set during the events of Pizzeria Simulator with the events of Sister Location acting as the backstory to each of the animatronics as they arrive. I couldn't write a Sister Location story as I find it too sci-fi and having the animatronics really being alive and able to converse with the characters removes the tension for me. The monsters in the dark are much more terrifying when they're completely unrelatable. So instead, I gave it a vague backstory with Michael Afton repeatedly going to the old factory and being driven mad by events known only to him, and then creating Ennard at the command of his little sister, Elizabeth, who is trapped in Circus Baby. It's a different, more subtle kind of horror story with the tension coming from Mike Schmidt's growing unease at the animatronics and the feeling that they are more alive than they first seem.

To those of you who have been following these stories, I hope I did it justice. Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you in the next fandom.