Unsure of how to handle the situation and cheer Bonnie up, Lea eventually coaxed him into going with her to join Foxy and Freddy's game.
"Avast, ye scallywags!" Lea called up to them.
Foxy and Freddy peered over the top of the RV to look at her pointing up at them. Bonnie and Chica were standing on either side of her.
"We'll be a-takin' that there ship o' yers!" Lea continued in a silly pirate's accent.
"Oh?" Foxy grinned.
"We out number ya! Give up now and maybe we'll spare ye the plank!"
"Ha! Ye may have numbers on yer side, but ya ain't got the nerves!" Foxy called back. "Have at thee!"
…
When Alex returned, she opened the storage unit's door to find a most peculiar scene. Freddy, Bonnie, Foxy, and Lea were all on top of the RV, while Chica appeared to be in the midst of climbing up the front of it. Freddy was pinned down on his belly with his arms hanging over the edge as Bonnie sat on his back. Lea had apparently found an old umbrella, which she was using to prod Foxy in the back as she edged him closer to the back end of the RV's roof. Alex couldn't decide what surprised her more: the fact that her sister not only allowed, but joined the big heavy robots on top of the RV, or the fact that the only one acting "normal" was, ironically, the creepy Puppet, who was merely observing from the sidelines.
"WHAT are you guys DOING?"
They all froze and looked at her with mixed looks of surprise, fear, and guilt.
"Oh…" Lea said. "Um, you know, just…playing."
"ON THE RV!?"
"Erm…" She exchanged an awkward and shameful look with Foxy. "Y-Yeah…"
"GET DOWN ALREADY!"
They quickly scrambled down from the vehicle without a word of protest.
"Um, s-so did you get everything?" Lea asked after a minute, hoping it was enough time for her sister to stop fuming.
"Yes," she said shortly. "Freddy!"
The bear jumped and looked at her, startled.
"Come help me bring this stuff over. It's heavy."
He blinked, seemingly surprised that that was all she wanted, then followed her to retrieve the items from the back of the van.
"I told you playing on the RV was a bad idea," Bonnie muttered behind Lea.
She rolled her eyes and echoed him, speaking in a silly mocking voice.
"Stop that!" He couldn't help but smirk at her silliness.
She giggled.
"Lea," Alex called. "Come help!"
"Okay, okay!"
…
Alex may have been the one to go get the things they needed for the RV, but it was Lea who ended up putting it all in place. Although Alex was the older sibling, it was Lea who had taken their father's interest in machinery and robotics. As a result, Lea was much more knowledgeable about machines and even vehicles. With Freddy and Bonnie's help, Lea had the battery and tires swapped out in no time.
"Okay," Lea said as they finished. "Go turn the key in the ignition and see if it works."
Alex did just that. Upon turning the key, the RV roared to life and all of its interior lights turned on to display the dusty insides.
"I guess it's not too bad," Alex muttered as she looked back at the interior.
"What do you mean?" Chica smiled as she entered the RV. "It's amazing!"
"It's so much bigger than the van," Bonnie added.
"It's got a tiny kitchen!" Chica squealed. "And a table! Cuuuute!"
"What's in the back?" Foxy asked.
Lea followed them all inside; she was also eager to explore the RV's interior.
"Look!"
She walked over to see Chica standing in the little bathroom.
"I can barely fit in here!"
"Well, Chica," Lea said, "You're pretty tall."
"Careful you don't get stuck," Bonnie fretted.
"What did you find, Foxy?" Lea asked when he joined them.
"There's a space in the back with a bed. Looks big enough for maybe three people, I think."
"The sofa stretches out into a bed, too," Alex said from the front. She turned the knobs to set the heater on; it was getting colder every day and the weather report she heard on the radio earlier spoke of early snowfall. "We're going to need to get gas on the way out, but we might as well stay here the rest of the afternoon and leave in the morning."
"Hey, Alex," Lea said.
"Hm?"
"Did you see a library or anything when you went get the tires and battery?"
"No. I don't know. I wasn't looking for one. Why?"
"I need to find a place with Wi-Fi so I can access the internet. There's something I need to look up."
"I saw a building that might have been a library, but I don't actually know if it was. It was just on the corner, not far from here."
"I'll take my laptop and go check it out. I won't be more than two hours. Promise."
"…Fine. Be careful."
"You're going to a library?" Bonnie asked.
"Mm-hm." Lea nodded. He followed her over to the van and watched her lean over the front seat to grab a black, rectangular bag which contained her laptop. "There's something important that I need to look into. I'll tell you about it later. For now, can you help Alex clean up the RV and move our stuff into it?"
He nodded. "Of course!"
She nodded too. "Okay. I'll be back in a little while."
"Actually," Alex called from the RV's open door. "Can you stop and get some groceries on your way back? The fridge, stove, and microwave all work in here." She threw something at her that flew through the air like a shuriken.
Lea barely managed to catch the debit card then slipped it into her pocket. "Sure! Two hours at the library and an hour at the store. That's at most. Expect me back before nightfall."
"I do," Alex told her.
…
Following her older sister's directions, Lea quickly found the building she had mentioned. Sure enough, it was indeed a small library. Upon entering, a young woman greeted her with a kind smile.
"Do you have a library card with us?"
Lea shook her head and showed the woman her bag. "I just came to access the internet, if that's okay?"
The woman nodded. "Sure. Find a chair or table anywhere and go ahead. If you change your mind about the card, let me know."
"Thank you."
Lea wandered around the place for a minute before finding a somewhat secluded area in a corner where she decided to set up. It was time she looked into the history of Freddy Fazbear's Entertainment. It did not take much searching to come across articles of old newspapers about the pizzeria.
'LOCAL PIZZERIA THREATENED WITH SHUTDOWN OVER SANITATION', was the title of one article. Lea quickly read it over.
'Local pizzeria, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has been threatened again with shutdown by the health department over reports of foul odor coming from the much-loved animal mascots.
Police were contacted when parents reportedly noticed what appeared to be blood and mucus around the eyes and mouths of the mascots. One parent alikened them to "reanimated carcasses".'
Lea felt a slight chill along her spine as she read the last sentence and quickly moved on to the next article.
'KIDS VANISH AT LOCAL PIZZERIA – BODIES NOT FOUND.
Two local children were reportedly lured into a back room during the late hours of operation at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza on the night of June 26th. While video surveillance identified the man responsible and led to his capture the following morning, the children themselves were never found and are presumed dead.
Police think that the suspect dressed as a company mascot to earn the children's trust.'
'FIVE CHILDREN NOW REPORTED MISSING. SUSPECT CONVICTED.
Five children are now linked to the incident at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where a man dressed as a cartoon mascot lured them into a back room.
While the suspect has been charged, the bodies themselves were never found.
Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has been fighting an uphill battle ever since to convince families to return to the pizzeria.'
Lea echoed in her head, "Five… Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy…Puppet. Five." She continued reading.
'LOCAL PIZZERIA SAID TO CLOSE BY YEARS END.
After a long struggle to stay in business after the tragedy that took place there many years ago, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has announced that it will close by year's end.
Despite a year-long search for a buyer, companies seem unwilling to be associated with the company.
"These characters will live on. In the hearts of kids – these characters will live on." -CEO.'
Something about that CEO's quote bothered Lea.
'After being open only a few short weeks, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza is closing its doors.
The new animatronics will be scrapped due to possible malfunctions; however, the original characters are being kept in hopes of possible reorganization of the company.'
Before she knew it, Lea had found herself falling deeper into the rabbit hole that was Freddy Fazbear's history. 'Five children reported missing – bodies never found – bite of '87 – malfunctioning robots – mascots reported to have odd behavior.' Suddenly, she found a different kind of article, though not all of it appeared to be there.
'Henry Emily and friend/partner William Afton co-founded Fazbear Entertainment and opened Fredbear's Family Diner. Henry, being the entrepreneur and William being the inventor and designer of the animatronics, including the unique "springlock animatronics" which could act on their own or be used as a suit for a human within…
William's youngest son was involved in an incident at the diner where the boy was reportedly stuffed, headfirst, into the mouth of one of the animatronics on stage by his elder brother and the brother's friends. The movement of the robot caused it to crush the younger boy's head and…
Diner temporarily closed for…
…when one of the robots, known simply as "The Puppet", left the building on its own accord on a rainy day. It was later found in an alley just outside the diner, laying beside the lifeless body of Henry's daughter, Charlotte "Charlie" Emily…
…Diner shutdown and springlock animatronics banned for…
…a dispute between Henry and William…
William opens Freddy Fazbear's Pizza in 1985 with all new…
…missing children… the names of some of the children have now been… Cassidy, Fritz, Gabriel and brother Jeremy, and Susie…'
So that made a total of six, Lea thought to herself. Did police never actually know how many kids vanished? Were there even more than those six? She kept reading.
'…William Afton arrested…later released without charges… True suspect believed to have been caught and will…
Afton goes on to create Circus Baby's Pizza World in… swiftly shutdown after the accidental death of his daughter… William Afton reported missing… Michael Afton, William's only surviving son…'
There was no more of the article to read, but she had managed to find what appeared to be leaked blueprints of sorts relating to some of William Afton's robots.
'Freddy –
Personality: Laid-back, happy-go-lucky, fun-loving.
Height: 6.3
Weight: 585 lbs.
A: Visual light sensor
B: Advanced endoskeleton joints allowing lifelike movement
C: Advanced audio system'
A blueprint of Freddy, it seemed. There was another below that she did not recognize, however.
'Lefty –
Lure, Encapsulate, Fuse, Transport and Extract
A: Navigational sensors
B: False sensory output'
What does that mean? Lea wondered.
'NOTES: Bracelet code 93401233. Emit for security receiver frequency FZ554
C: "Dream Wand"/soother
NOTES: Use lullaby index 01. Upon suit-seal, provide steady voltage throughout. Behavior upon suit-seal not guaranteed.'
"What the heck does any of that mean?" Lea muttered to herself. She leaned back in her chair and took some time to process everything she had read.
Henry Emily and William Afton worked together to open and run Fazbear's Entertainment. William's little boy died in an incident with the animatronics. Henry's daughter was found dead not long after. It seemed that Henry left and William continued to run the company on his own. More children vanished but bodies were never found. Was William actually the one responsible? Michael… Hadn't Michael been the name of the strange man that was following them lately? Puppet… Charlotte… Cassidy, Fritz, Gabriel, Jeremy, Susie… Where some of those the real names of the kids within the animatronics currently staying with her and Alex? What would happen if she mentioned their names aloud around them? Would they recognize their names or react in some way? Her mind was racing.
She happened to glance at the time and jolted upright. She had been there longer than she had intended. Quickly, Lea tucked her laptop away into its bag and hurried away.
To be continued…