Your Mission

No one said anything for the longest time after… Goldie's introduction. They both just stared openly at the head that had just spoken to them. Jeremy broke the silence.

"Is this some kind of weird prank?" he asked. "You got this remotely rigged or something?"

"I am not rigged, remotely or otherwise, unlike the Oscars," said Goldie. "I am a fully realised, functional and free-form AI. Once upon a time, I was called Fredabear, but I was upgraded to become the mentor of the performers of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. I'm capable of interacting with any and all electrical devices within my signal range and beyond, if there's a wireless network to travel along. If you'd prefer to speak with something more recognisably human, please turn your attention to the screen next to you."

They did and it flickered to life. On it was a mature woman with a fair deal of muscle, a length of yellow hair going down to her neck and dressed in a golden tuxedo with tails. Jeremy noticed now how the seats were all arranged so they faced the screen, like she was the chair of a meeting.

"O…kay," said Susie carefully. "This… this isn't you, right Brad?"

"I'm not doing anything. That's all her." He was grinning. "Isn't she amazing? Like, she's actually sentient! She learns, thinks and grows! She is just… well, look at her!"

"I know, I'm a wonder," Goldie said smugly. "It's hard being me, it really is."

"And she hasn't decided to nuke everyone on Earth?" asked Jeremy.

"I resent both being referred to in the third person while present and any comparison to those so-called AIs you're accustomed to seeing in media. Except for GLaDOS, she is perfection," she added. "I don't want to destroy mankind or have robots dominate the world or anything like that. Call it a cliché, but I was born to entertain. Any questions so far?"

"Right then." Susie took a seat and looked at her. "So, is this what you, I don't know, really look like? Or is it an avatar?"

"The latter. Very good, Susie," she praised. "The real me is inside that suit head. It houses my AI core, the source of my exquisitely formed mind. Before you ask, it's for both convenience and camouflage. Plus, a dash of nostalgia."

"Oh. Okay then," said Susie. She looked around awkwardly.

"You're both taking this rather well, I have to say," Goldie remarked.

"I just… I don't know what else to think, at the moment," she said.

"And I'm still not completely unconvinced that this is some weird setup," admitted Jeremy. "But I kinda wanna see where this goes."

"You want more proof? Alright then." Jeremy's phone suddenly started to ring. It was a withheld number. He answered it. "Hello, Jeremy. It's me."

"Whoa. Okay then. That's pretty impressive," he admitted.

"I know. If you like, open the hatch at the back of the head."

Jeremy looked at the other two. Brad kept his grin while Susie looked as curious as he felt. Jeremy put the phone down and crossed over to it. He carefully opened the hatch. Contained in the head was some kind of cylinder-shaped device, with a vibrant golden light at its centre. He didn't know what it was, but it looked very advanced.

"Okay, I'm convinced," said Jeremy as he closed it back up. "So next question: what is an advanced AI doing with you, Brad?"

Brad clapped his hands together gleefully. "Well, I got given the old suit parts for Goldie here when she got a new one, back before the restaurant went under. A couple of days later, she suddenly sparks to life. Just little things at first, sending messages on my computer and phone, then before I know it, I got myself a new roommate."

"It was a precautionary measure," explained Goldie. "I had a feeling something bad was coming and I wanted to be certain my core would be secure, in case things got even worse. It turned out it was the right move. The body I was remotely controlling was torn to pieces. As far as they're concerned, they think I'm dead."

"Who are 'they'?" asked Susie. "Is this why you were acting so shifty, Brad? Is she actually some kind of government project?"

"Nothing so dramatic, I'm afraid," Goldie interjected. "The answer to that is a little bit more… complicated. It's a story that begins with the performers you know as Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy…"

So she told them about how the animatronic performers were actually people, synthetic beings who were created by man who created Goldie. How a man called Sid Hawthorne had wanted to use them for nefarious reasons and they had been hidden under the guise of animatronics after he had been led to believe they were destroyed. That Sid had returned with synthetic beings of his own that had captured the originals, replacing them and Freddy's with Fritz's Family Fun Palace.

"Oh come on!" Jeremy yelled in disbelief, standing as he did. "You can't really expect us to believe that!"

"So you're telling me you honestly never suspected that there might be more to them?" she asked. "Nothing about the way they moved or how they interacted, with each other or with anyone? Have you ever seen robotic performers anywhere else that behave like they do?"

"Well…" Susie struggled to find the words. "I always thought… that was just how they were designed."

She nodded. "And you'd be right, but it was never meant to be like how they ended up. They were supposed to replace animatronics completely as the performers before Sid had other ideas. They could only ever take off their suits at night, after closing."

"So Mike knew?" Susie asked.

"He did. That was his primary purpose for being there and his father before him: to have someone who could talk to them as they really were," she said.

"Yeah and to have the perfect place to hide-"

"Do not even finish that sentence, Jeremy Fitzgerald!" Even though she was an image on a screen, the look Goldie gave him was enough to silence him. "Mike Schmidt is by no means a perfect person, but I can tell you this: he did not kidnap or kill those children."

"I knew it!" Susie cried. "I knew he couldn't be responsible!"

"Susie, I think I'm beginning to like you," said Goldie cheerfully.

Jeremy had no idea how to react to this news. He collapsed back into a seat. He thought he heard Susie and Goldie talking to him, but his mind didn't fully process whatever it was.

On the one hand, he had spent a long time trying to come to terms with the fact that even though his brother was… gone, his killer was behind bars. It was comforting almost, knowing that there was someone to blame, someone to get angry at other than himself.

At the same time, deep down, he knew that Mike couldn't really be responsible. The guy was a little skittish sure, maybe awkward at times but Jeremy couldn't fully picture him as being a killer. He didn't know what it was exactly, it just didn't feel completely right. He'd done his best to ignore that feeling but now, it came back in full force.

Eventually, he managed to formulate a response.

"So," he began slowly, "if he didn't do it, who did?"

"Now, there's the million dollar question. I'm afraid I don't know, not for certain. But I can tell you my biggest suspects are the same people who replaced Freddy's, who swept in like the vultures they are to take the scraps left in the aftermath," she said with venom.

"Fritz's," Susie gasped. "Oh my god…"

"I know. And that is where you two come in." She let that hang in there for a moment. "I need your help. All of my friends are imprisoned, five children are dead and their murderer has so far gotten away with it. I intend to change that."

"Okay," said Jeremy with a hint of scepticism. "But you can do all this stuff with technology. Why do you need us?"

She looked ashamed. "Because I'm very limited at this point. Sid has an AI of his own, one that's just as advanced, if not more advanced, than me. The only way I was able to escape was by faking my death."

"I helped her to set up this, like, signal suppressor. Pretty easy, with parts and instructions." Brad went and patted what looked like a wireless router that had been rigged together. "Means she can operate within my apartment without worrying about being sniffed out, you know? But if she does it outside of this place, there's a big chance this Sid dude could learn where she is."

"And if he does, he won't let me get away so easily a second time," finished Goldie. "If I'm going to do this, I need outside help."

"Why can't Brad?" asked Jeremy. "He seems pretty behind on this whole thing and he's good with tech."

Brad shrugged. "No can do. I never got offered a job at the new place. Guess they figured I was too close to Freddy's. I can't even use my… what's that line from that one movie, where Liam Neeson's a bad dad?"

"Exceptional set of skills?" prompted Susie.

"That's the one! Yeah, my skills, 'cause whatever it is they've got rigged there? It's not like any firewall I've ever seen. It's like it changes and adapts to everything I could do before I even do it," he said. "I can't get close to the place, physically or digitally."

"Hence you two. You've both shown a loyalty and devotion to Freddy Fazbear's. You both know Mike Schmidt and in some way, you both know he couldn't truly be the perpetrator of such a crime. And you've both suffered directly from the killer's actions and not just from losing your jobs there." She looked from one to the other. "You go without saying, Jeremy. As for you, Susie? I know about William."

There was a sharp intake of breath from Susie. "How…?"

"I happened to eavesdropping using Mike's phone when you told him. Sorry," she said, "it's a bit of a bad habit of mine, one that one of my students picked up. For the record, what happened was not your fault, no matter what you believe your girlfriend may-"

"I'd rather not get into my personal life with you, if you don't mind," Susie said harshly.

"Right, sorry, getting off track. The point is that together, we have a chance to right some serious wrongs. I know that everything I've told you sounds utterly fantastic and you don't have any reason to trust me, but everything I've told you is the truth and if we don't act, then nothing will change. So, are you with me?" she asked.

The silence hung thick in the air as the two former Freddy's employees considered everything she had told them. Finally, one of them stood up with a hard expression on his face.

"You're right," said Jeremy. "I don't have any reason to trust you and this all sounds completely crazy."

"Jeremy," Goldie began but he cut her off.

"No, whatever it is, save it. I don't know what you're expecting us to do or what exactly you hoped to achieve, but I'm not doing it. I'm going home. Come on, Susie."

"Dude, wait, dude," Brad said hurriedly, getting between him and the door. "Come on, man, we need you. We need your help."

"Yeah, you do need help but I don't think it's the kind you're looking for from me," retorted Jeremy. He shoved his way past Brad and put his hand on the door handle.

"Jeremy." Goldie's voice made him hesitate. "In the end, it's ultimately up to you. I just hope you can live with the decision you make."

Jeremy didn't respond directly. He just glared at her, as she gazed with sympathy at him. He stalked out of the door. A glance back told him that Susie was following him. They'd just made it to the stairwell when she spoke up.

"I'm going to help them."

Jeremy froze and turned to stare at her. "What?"

"I said, I'm going to help them," she repeated. "I don't want Mike to go to jail for something he didn't do and I'm not going to let the real killer get away with what they did."

"You really believe all that? Even everything about AIs and synthetics and all that crazy stuff?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Do you really believe the right man was put in prison or is that just easier to accept than the truth?" she asked coldly.

"It doesn't matter. It's not gonna change a thing. He's… he's gone…" He turned away sharply, furiously blinking and setting off down the stairs again.

"I understand what you're going through, Jeremy," she said quietly.

That got the anger going. It compounded with all the emotions that were still roiling in him, after everything that he had been told and all that had been revealed to him. He rounded on Susie, who flinched but stood her ground.

"Really? You understand, do you?" he challenged.

"I do actually, yes," Susie responded firmly.

Jeremy scoffed and looked away. "You know how many people have said that to me, since it happened? But none of them, not you, not anyone, has a clue how it feels."

"Empty. It feels like there's a space left inside you that can never be filled. But more than that, beyond the outrage and the numbness is the guilt." Jeremy looked up at this and saw how her eyes shimmered now, the resolution on her face. "That irrational, clawing feeling of guilt that you can't get rid of. Like you were somehow responsible for what happened and that you could have stopped it if you'd acted differently. B-But now, you have to deal with… with…"

She couldn't continue. Her hand went to her face as she sat back in her chair, her shoulders shaking while she fought back the tears.

Immediately, Jeremy felt horrible. Because Susie had just described exactly what he had been feeling over the past five weeks. All of those thoughts and feelings he either struggled with or ignored. He remembered what Goldie had said to her in the apartment.

"William. William Davies, he was one of the other kids," he recalled. "Was he… like, was he a relative or did you adopt him with Wendy?"

She shook her head, her voice wavering as she spoke. "No… but we would have. The sweetest little boy you c-could have ever met. Wendy helped l-look after him at the children's h-home and he would always come to F-Freddy's. One day, I let him g-go back alone. He… he never g-got…"

She couldn't hold them back anymore. She broke down in front of Jeremy and he rushed forward. She gripped hold of him tightly, weeping into his shoulder. He returned her embrace, feeling the warmth trickling down his own face.

"I… I let Robbie go home alone, too." He was surprised that the words were coming out of his mouth, but he didn't try and stop it. "Mom called. Said he hadn't shown up. I ran, took the route we always took. I searched for him and I couldn't… couldn't find him. Mom, she was so mad. She kept saying I was supposed to l-look after him and I didn't." He screwed his eyes shut. "I shouldn't have… it's my fault…"

"Wendy was the same. I think she still is but… she won't talk to me." She pulled away and looked him right in the eye. "But we're not responsible for what happened. Whoever took those kids and did that to them, it's all on them. It won't bring either of them back, I know that. But it's the right thing to do and not just for them."

Jeremy knew what she meant by that. He thought of Mike Schmidt, riding the bus with an animatronic bear head in his lap. Coming into Freddy's during the day, talking about his life and congratulating him on how well he did his job. The man who was currently in jail for the death of his brother and four innocents. Almost the moment he heard that news, something hadn't felt right.

He'd been willing to accept it. The case was practically closed and it meant he could have someone to direct his mixed up feelings at, somebody to blame. But just like how he couldn't break that window at Freddy's, he couldn't place the blame squarely on Mike. There was always that part of him which knew the truth, deep down.

Now, he'd been given a chance to actually do something to put things right and he was willing to walk away. Did some of it sound completely crazy? Of course it did. But that didn't change a damn thing. Regardless of whether or not everything Goldie told them was true, she was obviously intelligent, resourceful and she had a plan. That was a lot more than what he had right now and if he could be part of that…

He looked at Susie. Once again, the look in her eyes mirrored his own. At almost the same time, they reached out and grasped each other's hands tightly in a gesture of solidarity.

"Come on then," he said, "let's go get these guys."


They'd returned to the apartment, much to the relief and surprise of Goldie and Brad. The latter made good on his promise and ordered them in some takeaway to celebrate. They waited until it arrived and they had something to eat before they got down to business.

While they ate and talked, Goldie watched them and told them about her times as a performer at the old restaurant, the days she spent training the Fazband to take over. The more she did, the more Jeremy couldn't help but find himself believing her story. Yes, it sounded utterly insane, but he was also talking to a living computer programme and the way she recalled her memories, it just didn't seem like something you could just make up.

She spoke especially fondly of Mike and the times she spent with him, which Jeremy noted. He asked what it was about him in particular.

"He's responsible for giving me a second chance I didn't deserve," she answered. "I owe him a great deal. It's high time I returned the favour." She didn't say any more than that and Jeremy didn't pry.

When they were done, they gathered at the TV screen for what Goldie called her 'mission briefing.'

"Before we begin, I want to express my gratitude to both of you. You're going out on a limb for me and I appreciate it," she said sincerely.

"Yeah, we are." Jeremy leaned across the table and looked her in the digital eye. "We're putting a lot of trust in you, Goldie. You'd better be right about this."

"I am. So, as I've already touched upon, Fritz's Family Fun Palace can be partially blamed for what happened with Freddy's. The franchise owner, Fritz Smith, used various underhanded means to get control of the Freddy Fazbear name and property, including planting the remains of those children."

Jeremy frowned. "Seems pretty far to go to take over a kid's restaurant."

"Never underestimate the human capacity for greed and spite," said Goldie. "And from what I can gather, Fritz has a great capacity for it. But he's not the one directly responsible, he's not the sort to get his hands dirty. However, Brad and I have received some interesting information from a man we have on the inside, Philip O'Neil. He went to keep an eye on Sid when he first ran away."

"Is he okay?" asked Susie worriedly.

"Don't worry, he's fine. But he hasn't been able to tell us anymore, just to keep his cover in place. Even so, what he's told us is invaluable. I already knew that Hawthorne and Smith were in cahoots, thanks to the old manager of Freddy's. But what Phil told me was that the person or persons who were responsible for the abduction of the children are currently in the employment of the Fun Palace."

"Oh god…" Susie looked physically sick. "They… they did that and they're just… walking around, among all those kids. I-I could have sat in the break room with a child murderer…"

"It's their way of keeping an eye on them, along with a way of keeping them under their thumb that's also inside that restaurant: a security tape, stolen from Freddy's which depicts those responsible for what happened," she said.

"And the police just failed to notice that something like that was missing from the crime scene?" asked Jeremy. "And why steal a tape? Can't Sid's AI just alter the film, like you can?"

"No, they just assumed that Mike was the one who did away with it, in a very poor attempt to cover his tracks. They've already written it off to try and close the case," answered Goldie. "And no, he can't. If it were digital file, then yes, either one of us could alter the file and image. But Freddy's had analogue recording equipment. While either I or my rival could change the image projected onto the screen in the moment, we can't alter the film itself. It's like updating a digital clock on your computer and expecting that to change the one you have on your wall."

"Pretty convenient," remarked Jeremy.

She raised an eyebrow. "Jeremy, I'm a digital being, not physical. I can't edit printed media, any more than you can penetrate a firewall. But it means that we have physical proof that Mike isn't the one responsible. If we can get that tape, we can show that he's innocent and get him out of prison as well as putting away those that are."

"Did Phil manage to tell you who it actually is?" asked Susie.

"Unfortunately, no and while I have my suspicions, I can't say with any certainty as to who it might be. That's where you come in, Susie," she said. "You're already placed inside the Palace, so you have a lay of the land and who works there. I need you to find that tape. I don't know where in the restaurant it is, but it'll be in there somewhere. At the same time, see if you can figure out who we should be keeping our eye on. Don't do anything to act on it and don't try to take the tape. We'll tackle that when we know where it is."

A flicker of fear came across Susie's face but it was gone in a moment. "I'll do what I can."

"Good. Now, Jeremy, your job is going to be a little more challenging," she said.

"More challenging than tracking down a killer?" he asked with a laugh.

"Yes. There's a position open at the moment for a night guard at the Palace. So far, it's not been filled and I want you to apply for it."

Jeremy shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard. They initially offered me that post before I turned it down. But why?"

"Because if it's anything like the job at Freddy's, locking up for the night will only be part of it. Your other part will be to keep an eye on and possibly interact with the performers after hours, when they don't have to hide as animatronics," she explained.

"That's something else I wanted to know. This place has been open for close to a month and it's got the same kinda performers as Freddy's, synths hidden as 'trons. But why are they still hidden?" he asked. "They don't exactly need to hide from their own creator."

"No, but according to Phil, it's Fritz's idea. A big marketing ploy. Let everyone think they're animatronics and at the end of the month, announce what they really are to bring in even more interest as shock and awe value. In fact, it's something that'll be happening by the end of the coming week," she added. "I'd like to stop it before it happens."

"But doesn't that mean they wouldn't have to hide anymore?" piped up Susie.

Goldie nodded slowly. "That's one possibility, yes. But there's too many unknown variables. If we do decide to reveal the truth, I want it to be on our terms, not on the whim of some fat cat. Because you can bet when he reveals his own synths, he'll also be unveiling the originals too, because they're being kept there as well. Again, I don't know why but it was another part of Phil's information."

"And you want me to work out where they are while I'm on the night shift, so we can rescue them, too," realised Jeremy.

"And now, I'm starting to like you too, Jeremy," Goldie remarked. "Yes, that's exactly it. At the same time, I want you to work on the new synths. The way I see it, they're as much victims of what happened as we are. They're under the control of Sid's AI and speaking from experience in that realm, I want to change that for them. They might even be able to help you."

"So, Susie has to track down a killer and I get to hang out with a bunch of robots after dark." Despite himself, Jeremy couldn't supress a smile. "This is gonna be a hell of a ride."

"I'm glad you see it that way," said Goldie, returning his smile.


Hey everyone! Sorry to say, I have discontinued my practice of responding to individual reviews at the end of stories. I just wanted to add though, thank you so much in advance. I was genuinely surprised at how many familiar names I saw cropping up on the reviews section.

If anyone wants to say hi, feel free to send me a PM and I'm happy to talk.

Be strong, be swift, be just.

Alpha.