Once the reunited gang completed the hassle of cleaning up Freddy, the rest of the day was normal. Charlie's friends said their goodbyes, agreeing to meet later tonight to visit the abandoned restaurant. Edward and Freddy continued playing with one another, and Charlie herself was busy adjusting to her situation.
By now, night has fallen, meaning it is time for Edward and Freddy to sleep.
Charlie was looking at her phone while Freddy was standing on a wall. She has the Fazbear Funtime Service app, learning how an animatronic works, specifically how to charge up its battery.
"Hmm...let's see." she said before looking down at Freddy's left leg. She knelt and crawled over to the back of the left leg.
"Then, you gotta open a little compartment at the back here." Charlie read as she looked at the back, opening the compartment with a coiled-up cable inside.
"Okay. Now I just gotta...pull it up here, and...viola!" she said, plugging in the cable. At this point, Freddy shivered for a moment before he straightened himself up.
"Hahaha! That feels g-g-good!" Freddy said. Charlie looked at him and raised a brow before shaking her head.
"I bet it does." she muttered to herself as she stood up.
"Do I have to go to bed so soon?" a voice made her turn to look at a saddened Edward. Charlie nodded.
"Yep. It's close to 9:00 PM." she said. Edward groaned again.
"It's so early." he complained. Charlie chuckled.
"Not according to your mom and dad." she retorted. Edward pouted before Charlie looked at her phone.
"Let's see. Oh, that's how." she said.
"What are you doing?" asked Edward.
"Telling Freddy to get some sleep." she said. Then she turned to the bear.
"Alright Freddy. Time to get some sleep. Good night." she said. Freddy turned to look at her, and his ears flopped.
"Aww. But I'm feeling more energized now." he protested. Edward giggled as Charlie shook her head.
"I know. But everyone else is tired. You two can keep playing tomorrow." she said. Freddy then tilted his head.
"Y-Y-You're all dressed up. Shouldn't YOU go to s-sleep?" he asked. Edward just went, "oooh" while Charlie just stood there in silence. With a deadpan look, she repeated,
"Good night, Freddy."
At this point, Freddy's eyes lit up for a moment before Freddy straightened himself up.
"Alright. G-G-Good night, everyone." Freddy said before the sound of a machine winding down became audible. Charlie gave a slight smirk of triumph before turning to Edward, looking at her in defeat.
"As for you, young man; you need some sleep as well." she said, picking him up. Edward whined.
"Aww. But I'm not tired!" he said. Charlie just chuckled.
"Oh, Edward. Don't you wanna be up and ready for tomorrow? You know, time for play? " she asked. Edward nodded.
"But I wanna keep playing!" he complained.
"Eddie. Your parents said that you should be sleeping at this time. You don't wanna upset them, do you?" asked Charlie. Edward looked down as if to ponder what she said. Then he shook his head.
"No…" he conceded. Charlie hummed with a satisfied nod as they walked up the stairs.
"Why do you not want to go to sleep?" she asked as she arrived at the room entrance and opened the door. Edward didn't respond as Charlie set him down and began to prepare the bed for him to sleep in. Charlie then prepared to pick him up before Edward stepped away. Charlie raised a brow.
"Edward? What's the matter? Are you…scared to sleep?" she asked. Edward looked up at her and nodded.
"I have really bad dreams whenever I'm alone." he explained. Charlie grew intrigued by this and approached him.
"Would you mind telling me what the nightmares are about?" she asked. Edward fiddled with his thumbs, eyes averting as if he didn't want to talk about it. Noticing this, Charlie knelt and asked him again.
"What are these nightmares?" she asked.
"I...I don't wanna talk about it. Please, Miss Charlie." he said. Charlie was about to press forward when she suddenly remembered something from earlier. Back at the moment where she snapped at him for prodding her too much. Not wanting a similar situation, Charlie sighed again and shook her head.
"Tell you what: how about I stay with you until you fall asleep. Will that work?" she asked. Edward nodded, although he was still unsure if this would work. As he climbed into the bed, he looked up and asked her,
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm going with my friends to visit someplace. I won't be long, though." she explained. Edward then pouted again.
"I wish I can go with you. Sounds fun." he said. Charlie smiled as she tucked him into the bed.
"I know, champ. But it's something only grown-ups can do, " she said with a teasing smirk. Edward just sighed as he snuggled up.
"I wanna grow up faster." he said. This made Charlie laugh.
"Be careful what you wish for, kid." she said. Edward raised a brow. "You'll understand when you hit middle school." Charlie clarified.
Soon, Charlie was sitting next to Edward's bed. Edward laid by himself, waiting to sleep. Waiting, Charlie looked around, seeing the various posters of Freddy and Friends. There is one that especially creeps her out a bit due to how wide its eyes are.
"Thank you, Miss Charlie." Edward's voice made her turn back to look at him, seeing a tired smile on his face.
"For what?" she asked.
"For staying around even when you don't like Freddy. When you told me that story, I honestly thought that you would either run away or destroy Freddy. It means so much to me." he explained.
Charlie chuckled, admired by his compliments. While she knew that she technically had no choice and must stay here to get paid, it still is flattering to hear someone (and from a CHILD, no less) saying how brave she is.
"Thanks, Edward. Like I said, I just can't bring myself to ruin others' fun just because I had a bad experience." she said. Edward smiled again and reached his hand out.
"You're the second bestest best friend in the whole wide world!" he said. Charlie laughed again before blinking in surprise.
"Wait, second? Who's the first?" she asked.
"Freddy." Both of them said in sync, making them giggle. Then, Edward yawned and began to close his eyes. Charlie smiled and leaned her head down.
"Goodnight, champ." she said. Edward smiled a small smile as he hummed.
"Goodnight, Miss Charlie…" he said, and before long, Charlie could hear snores coming from him. Smiling, she slowly crept away towards the door.
As she closed the door, she looked at her phone. She hasn't gotten any messages from her friends yet. So, she decided to look at her phone. She remembered what Mr. and Ms. Parr were talking about: they have security cameras connected to an app, allowing her to see the cameras through her phone.
Charlie fished through her phone, finding the surveillance app and connecting to the house's security footage. She went through some of the house's cameras, finding herself, and then one at Edward's room. She smiled as she saw him sleeping soundly.
Vmmm. Vmmm.
The vibration from Charlie's phone notified her that someone had sent a message to her. Charlie checked it and saw that it was from Jessica.
Hey. We're here. You coming?
Charlie texted back,
On my way!
As Charlie placed the phone back into her pocket, she moved towards the front door.
However, just as she prepared to open the door, she heard something behind her. It sounded a lot like a high-pitched squeal. Quiet and barely audible, but there. Charlie turned her head towards the source of the noise, and to her surprise, she saw Freddy quivering slightly. His pupils were flashing on and on. Charlie looked on, frozen in confusion, as the robot continued to malfunction. Her legs were stiff, and her mind was racing, wondering what was going on!
Then, without warning, it all just stopped. Freddy's pupils stopped shining, the noise stopped playing, and the body stopped quivering.
For a brief moment, everything was silent. Charlie gulped as she moved her hand towards the door, eyeing the robot suspiciously. Then, she grabbed the handle and opened the door, speeding out of the house.
Charlie walked along the path, finding a car and recognizing Jessica, Carlton, and John! She smiled in relief and approached them.
Tapping on the glass, she caught their attention. John smiled, and so did Carlton, while Jessica playfully scoffed.
"About time!" she said as Charlie climbed inside, although there was a smile. Charlie smiled back.
"Sorry. I was just tucking Edward in." she said.
"Aww." she went. Charlie chuckled.
"Sure. 'Aww' for you. But he doesn't want to go to sleep!" she explained. Carlton raised a brow.
"Why?" he asked. Charlie's smile faltered a bit.
"It's something about nightmares. He won't tell me, though. He looked upset about it, though." she explained as the car's engine turned on. John hummed to himself.
"Looks like you're not the only one with secrets you don't like sharing." he pointed out. Charlie looked outside as the thought of what he said and the moment where she snapped at him entered her mind. She frowned as she remembered that.
"Hey, Charlie? You okay?" asked Jessica. Charlie responded with,
"When John said that, I'm reminded of...well, when I look back, I remember earlier that day when I snapped at him when he asked me about why I got upset whenever Freddy was brought up." she explained. The three friends looked on in confusion for a moment before the confusion was replaced with understanding and pity.
"Looks like you have something in common with him." Carlton stated. John, meanwhile, looked at him via the rear-view mirror.
"Were you able to put him to sleep?" he asked. Charlie nodded.
"Yeah. It took some time, so that's why I got here a bit late. However, he thanked me for staying around even though Freddy's there." she said, smiling at the memory. The three smiled at this. Then Charlie, wanting to change the subject, then asked,
"Hey, where are the others?" she asked.
"Oh, they're at a motel waiting for us." John replied.
"Motel?" asked Charlie.
"Yeah. They've only just got here and haven't really decided where they'd stay for the summer." Jessica stated. Charlie nodded in understanding just as the car began to pull out of the driveway.
Before long, they picked up the rest of the gang and arrived at a block. The streets were empty, and the lights were still on, but some of them flickered. Despite this, Charlie was able to recognize the faint outline of the name of the building.
Freddy Fazbear's…
Strangely, the outline where the word "pizzeria" is supposed to be was not there. Instead, there appears to be something graffitied in its place. She couldn't see what it was saying, however.
"Is this the place?" asked Marla as the car parked nearby. Carlton nodded.
"Yep. Like I said earlier, I remember seeing vans when I was little. Although I did not think they would remove the sign either." he explained. As the gang began to move towards the building, Charlie looked at the building, and she felt a sense of nostalgia and tension coming from the building.
"I...I remember this place." she said as she walked closer to the building.
"This place...it certainly has seen better days." Lamar commented.
"Yeah. Well, what are we waiting for?" John said as he looked back at the others, who nodded as well. However, before they got inside, Carlton pointed something further down the left.
"Hey...what is that?" he asked. The gang looked to the left and saw a scribbled-out sentence that made them chuckle.
Carlton smellz like feet
Charlie was especially struggling to hold in a laugh. She remembered seeing that because she was the one who wrote it. Carlton, however, didn't think it was so funny.
"Aww, come on. Who wrote this?" he asked, pointing to it. The others shook their heads frantically, although they held in their chuckles as well. Charlie shook her head as well. Carlton looked at her and hummed before pouting.
"Come on, Charles. Why?" he asked. Charlie giggled as she shrugged.
"I don't know. I-I was five when I did that!" she said, pointing to the sign. Carlton grumbled.
"I stuck by you while everyone left." he said as he pointed at her.
"You stuck by because of your parents, not out of your own volition." Marla pointed out. Carlton groaned again.
"Let's just get inside before I do something bad." he said as he pressed the door, only to realize that it wouldn't open. Carlton tried to push again and again, but it didn't work. Smugly, Jessica walked beside him.
"Um, Carl. Have you tried maybe...I dunno, opening it like this?" she asked as she grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. Carlton simply stared at her and gave a facepalm. The others laughed again as they walked inside.
"Are you okay, Carlton? Did you get any sleep or something?" asked Marla. Carlton shrugged.
"I don't know. I was up the night before, and didn't get much sleep." he said.
"Why?" Lamar piped in.
"I just, uh…" Carlton began.
Charlie, meanwhile, didn't pay any attention to her friends talking. Instead, she walked ahead, staring into the interior building, passing a set of outlines where the posters might've been.
Soon, she arrived at the main area of the restaurant. It was...smaller than she had last remembered from all those years ago.
"Then again," Charlie thought as she stepped in. "I was a little kid back then. Things used to be a lot bigger back then."
"Wow. This place is so...empty." Marla said from the side, and Charlie looked at her.
"No kidding." she muttered as the others walked in.
"See what I mean. Not much to go by. Just an empty shell of a once joyful place...at least, until that happened." Carlton said. The others nodded before they just stood around.
"So...wanna search around anyways? We didn't sneak in here just to turn back." Lamar pointed out. John nodded.
"Yeah. Maybe they left something behind." he said.
"Heh. Maybe there's a cult living here and wants to cut out our hearts, maybe as some sort of virgin sacrifice." Carlton teased as he got closer to Jessia. Jessica's eyebrow twitched.
"Carlton, I swear it's like you WANT me to kill you." she threatened, making Carlton laugh.
"*sigh* Some things truly don't change. Come on, guys!" Charlie said as she took Jessica's hand and walked further inside. By now, the gang had gone their separate ways to explore the rest of the building.
As expected, there's barely anything left of note; everything was taken away, leaving only faint outlines or just… nothing at all.
Carlton and John arrive at the section that was once home to the pizzeria's indoor play place.
"Heh. Do you remember how we used to hide out inside the tunnels for hours on end?" Lamar asked. Carlton nodded.
"Yeah. I remember being lost in there for what felt like hours. So much so that they had to get a guard to come and get me!" he explained, and the two of them laughed.
"I remember Jessica telling me and John that you supposedly peed yourself, you were so scared." Lamar explained. Carlton groaned.
"I did not do that! Why does she always want to humiliate me?" he asked. Lamar nodded.
"Dunno. You two always bicker with each other when we were kids...You think it's because she likes you?" Lamar asked. Carlton grew surprised by this.
"Where did THAT thought come from?" he asked. Lamar shrugged.
"Don't know. Just saying." Lamar replied. Carlton shook his head, making a mental note that he needed to find new friends.
Meanwhile, John and Marla were in the area where the party rooms used to be. John then noticed a faint outline of a sphere and pointed it out.
"Hey, I think that's where the little carousel used to be?" he asked. Marla looked at the direction he was pointing at and nodded after a moment of pondering.
"Oh yeah. I remember that! And now I want to forget it again. Ugh…" she groaned, placing a hand on her forehead. John chucked.
"What? Still trying to forget when you threw up after riding one time?" he asked. Marla groaned.
"I was four years old! Ugh, so embarrassing. I'm SO glad Jason was still a baby back then because he would've blackmailed me with that." she said. John looked at her.
"Blackmail? So Jason's a devil?" he asked. Marla nodded.
"Yeah. There are times where he can be just a pest. Thankfully, the angel that is my step-mother manages to keep him in line. But I can never tell with him." she said. John chuckled.
"Man. I'm glad I don't have any siblings." he muttered. Marla replied by gently hitting him on the shoulder.
"Screw you," she said, although a laugh accompanied a teasing smile on her face. John responded by laughing as well.
Meanwhile, Charlie and Jessica were at the show stage area. Charlie approached the outline, and she smiled.
"I remember this part. This is where Freddy and the others were at, singing their songs. Right?" she asked. Jessica nodded.
"Yeah. I especially remember because when I was little, I always talked to Bonnie. I don't know why, but I always found him relatable, so I would always talk to him about things that happened in my life: my problems, my favorite things, the usual stuff." she said.
"Aww. That's cute." laughed Charlie. Jessica smiled before the two of them stared at the empty outline again.
Literally two seconds later, Charlie groaned.
"What?" asked Jessica, a bit worried about her friend.
"It's that stupid song that they play whenever the day starts. Ugh, so annoying." Charlie complained. Jessica raised a brow before widening her eyes.
"Oh, I remember that song. I loved it; I even remembered the lyrics!" she said. Charlie groaned again.
"I hate it." she iterated. There was a moment of silence before Charlie looked back to see Jessica with a smirk. Charlie frowned as she pointed at her.
"Don't you dare. I swear I will-" she began, but before she could go on,
"Cause it's Freddy Fazbear's Pizza! For kids it's number one! Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where Fantasy Meets Fun!"
Charlie groaned again as she covered her ears with her jacket while Jessica sang the song.
Eventually, Jessica couldn't keep going, as she soon broke down laughing at her.
"Hold on, let me just," Jessica began as she pulled out her phone and took a picture of a grumpy Charlie. Charlie blinked at this.
"I swear, if you post that," began Charlie before Jessica shook her head.
"Hell no, girl. I'll just keep this as my personal treasure. By the way, you have a cute grumpy face." Jessica remarked before laughing. Charlie just shook her head.
"I'm gonna check on Edward," Charlie said as she fished out her phone and checked her Security App.
She checked the various cameras, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. She checked Edward's bedroom, and all she could see was Edward snuggled up in his bed, holding his yellow Freddy plushie. Charlie smiled, happy to know that Edward's safe.
"Hey, can I see?" asked Jessica. Charlie nodded and showed her the camera feed, and Jessica smiled.
"So cute." she said. Charlie nodded.
"Yeah. I'll admit, he is kind of cute," she said before checking the living room feed.
That was when she noticed something strange.
On the living room feed stood Freddy, as he should be. But what made Charlie uneasy was that Freddy was staring right into the camera. What makes it even worse is that his eyes were not visible. Instead, it's just two bright spots. Charlie's throat tightened.
Jessica, who was watching with her, was also a bit alarmed.
"You turned him off, right?" she asked. Charlie nodded.
"I did. I followed the instructions online." she said. Jessica and Charlie looked at one another before looking back at the camera. This time, Freddy was no longer staring at the camera.
"Uh...well, that happened." Jessica said. Charlie hummed herself as she placed the phone back.
"I...think we should head back." she said. Jessica raised a brow.
"Why? Freddy hasn't done anything." she replied.
"He looked at the camera. A turned off robot isn't supposed to do that." Charlie argued. Jessica then raised a brow.
"You're right, but I think it might be just a bit of a glitch. This robot is not perfect; remember that it glitches whenever it speaks?" reminded Jessica.
Charlie pondered for a moment as she remembered the times Freddy would glitch up whenever he would speak, which was a lot of the time.
"Oh. You're right, I guess. Heh, I guess I was a bit paranoid." she muttered. Jessica then approached her.
"Charlie, if you want to leave, that's fine. I kind of figured that you haven't completely gotten over what happened here, so…" Jessica began, pausing a bit near the end. Charlie looked at her and shook her head after a pause.
"No. Y-You're right: I shouldn't be so paranoid. H-He's just a robot after all." she said, placing the phone down. Jessica looked unconvinced.
"You sure, girl?" she asked. Charlie nodded again.
"Yes, Jessica. I'm fine. Anyways, it was 10 years ago." she said before shifting her eyes around, looking for something to distract herself with. That was when she noticed something on the wall near the right hall. It appeared to be a door, and it was slightly open, leading to another room inside.
"Oh. Let's see what's inside." Charlie said and walked towards the room. Jessica was a bit concerned, but upon realizing that Charlie wasn't gonna be backing down, she shook her head and followed after her.
Charlie pushed the door open and she and Jessica walked inside. It was darker than the rest of the building, so they turned on their phone's flashlights and aimed at the interior. To their surprise, while the rest of the restaurant was completely empty, some objects were still inside the room. There are arcade machines, lockers, and a box containing various parts of former animatronic suits.
"Wow. I guess they must've missed this room." Jessica said. Charlie walked towards the box and shined her light on the parts. Most of their colors have faded, and they appear to be quite rotten, but Charlie could still recognize the left leg of Chica, the hat of Balloon Boy, the hook of Foxy, and the empty head of Bonnie.
"Wow. Wonder what this room is for?" asked Jessica while Charlie reached towards the box, picking up the Bonnie head, lower jaw missing. She looked at it and chuckled.
"Heh. Hey, Jessica." she said. Jessica turned around, and Charlie showed her the Bonnie head.
"It's your friend." she said teasingly. Jessica giggled.
"Oh yeah. Hey there, Bon. You've clearly seen better days." she said, gently patting Bon on the snout.
"Hello there, Jessie!" Charlie went, making quite a poor attempt at a Bonnie voice. Jessica just laughed.
"That's not how Bon sounds. His voice is higher and sounds like an Englishman with his nose covered." she said. Charlie shook her head.
"Nobody's perfect." she replied as she placed the head down, and the two chuckled.
A brief pause later, Charlie shines her light on the wall nearby, and she saw faded drawings on the walls. Most of them are children playing with some of the characters, such as Freddy and his friends.
But there is one crudely drawn picture that caught Charlie's attention. It was two children playing with some tiny figures that looked like stuffed toys. Nearby is a yellow bunny, looking at them with a crude smile.
Charlie stared at it for a while, closely analyzing the drawing.
"I kind of wanna know why they shut this room off from the rest of the restaurant. Maybe it's like some kind of storage room or something." Jessica muttered to herself in the meantime. Then, she turned to see Charlie, still looking at the drawing.
"Charlie?" she asked. Charlie hadn't heard her, and so Jessica approached her, looking at what Charlie was seeing.
"Oh. Wait…is that a yellow Bonnie?" she asked. Charlie heard her this time, looked at her, and nodded.
"Y-Yeah. I think this might be an older version," she said as she gently tore the drawing from the wall to get a better look. The two girls inspected it, and Jessica smiled.
"Hm. Those kids must've been having the time of their lives. Although I'd be creeped out if I saw a yellow Bonnie standing there and staring at me like a creep." she muttered, pointing out how the yellow Bonnie's eyes, which are just white pupils in a black hole, appeared to be eyeing at them.
Charlie, on the other hand, felt a bit uncomfortable the more she looked at it. To her, the scene looked a lot like how it had been all those years ago. Back when she and Sammy were just toddlers. Back when…
Vmmm. Vmmm.
Charlie and Jessica gasped again as Charlie's phone rang off. Charlie gave the picture to Jessica as she fished out her phone.
"What is…movement?" she muttered as she began to open the app. Jessica looked at her and raised a brow. Charlie looked at her and replied,
"The cameras have picked up movement."
"Oh. You think it might be Edward?" asked Jessica as she approached her. Charlie shrugged and shook her head.
"I dunno. I hope not. Last thing I need is anoth…wait a sec." Charlie began before she laid her eyes on the camera showing Edward. To her surprise, Edward was still in his bed.
"Oh. Eddie's still in his bed." Charlie said with a smile. Then, her eyes widened.
"Wait. He's still in his bed?! Then who's-"
Charlie began to look through the camera feeds around the house. Then, she got to the living room camera feed.
Freddy was gone!
"W-Wh? Jessie, you seeing this?" asked Charlie. Jessica, who was watching the screen as well, nodded.
"Yeah. I'm with you, I swear." she assured. Charlie blinked as she searched through the cameras again.
"M-Maybe there might be an intruder and they might've stolen Freddy," Charlie said, although she knew deep down that it would not be the case.
"Check the upper halls." Jessica said, growing concerned. Charlie did so, and to their shock, there was Freddy.
Freddy was barely visible at the far end of the hallway. The only things visible were his stomach, which was barely illuminated by the camera lights, and his eyes, which were still just two bright spots.
Charlie and Jessica paled at this, and they looked at each other.
"Think it's time to head back?" asked Jessica. Charlie nodded.
"Yeah. Let's get the others." Charlie said as she placed the phone back in her pocket. Jessica and Charlie then rushed out of the room.
The two then found the rest gathered in the main room, telling each other what they'd found. John was the first to notice the two and grew concerned almost immediately.
"Charlie? Jessica? What's wr-" he began before Jessica pointed to the entrance.
"We need to leave. NOW." Jessica instructed as they sped towards the entrance. The others grew concerned, but they followed after them.
"What's going on? Did someone notice us?" asked Marla, rushing towards Charlie and Jessica. Charlie shook her head.
"N-No. I think something's wrong with Freddy." she said as they sped out of the restaurant. The gang grew confused, but they said nothing for the moment as they got to their car.
Later, as the car sped along the road, Charlie and Jessica were explaining everything.
"So it turns out Freddy's NOT turned off?" asked Carlton. Jessica nodded.
"That's what we said, yeah." she said.
"W-Wait, so…what does this mean?" asked Marla.
"The bot's faulty. I thought it'd be functioning well even with the glitchy voice, but apparently not." Lamar pointed out.
Charlie then felt her phone vibrating again and immediately fished it out, checking the camera feed. She looked for Freddy in the halls, but he was nowhere to be seen. Charlie panics and hits the next feed, which shows Edward's room. Her skin paled as she saw an outline of Freddy standing right next to Edward's bed, the boy still sleeping but now tossing and turning.
"Oh god. Edward!" Charlie shouted. The others were alarmed.
"What happened now?" asked John.
"Freddy's in Edward's room! Please hurry!" Charlie explained.
"What?" asked Jessica and Marla simultaneously. Charlie nodded as she looked at her phone again.
"We're almost there. Don't worry." John assured as he slightly sped up the car. However, Charlie wasn't paying attention to what he said. She was too focused on the screen.
Suddenly, the screen began to glitch up.
"No. No. Not now." Charlie went as she stared helplessly. Then, the screen flashed to a glitchy mess, which created a noise that startled Charlie.
Now, Freddy's face covered up the entire screen, his bright eyes glowing like a wolf. The net continued to glitch up, and something flashed over the screen before going back to Freddy's face for a moment.
Charlie was gritting her teeth. She was so focused on Freddy that she wasn't paying attention to her fingers pressing the volume and power button at the same time, taking a screenshot of whatever it was.
Marla, all the while, had her hand on Charlie's knee.
"We're gonna make it. Don't worry." she assured. Charlie looked at her and frowned.
"I don't know, Marla. I…there it is!" Charlie said as she looked up and saw the Parr's house. The gang looked at it and grew relieved.
"Told you." Marla said. Charlie nodded as she looked at her phone…only to widen her eyes again.
"He's gone. Freddy's gone." she said as the car stopped.
"Alrighty. Come on. Let's go! You got the keys?" asked Jessica. Charlie nodded. Then the gang got out of the car and rushed towards the house as fast as possible.
After a brief moment of unlocking the door, Charlie rushed inside and stopped to find…
Freddy.
He was back in the living room, slumped down, and turned off, almost as if nothing had happened.
"W-What's going on?! Where's that bear?!" demanded Jessica as she and John rushed inside. They too, noticed the animatronic.
"Huh?" asked Jessica.
"How did it-" John asked as the others rushed inside.
"That thing Hooudini now?" asked Carlton, panting slightly.
Charlie stared at the Freddy animatronic suspiciously. But before she or anyone could do anything,
AAAAHHH!
Charlie quickly turned her head in the direction of the noise. It was a scream! Edward's scream!
"Edward?!" Charlie called out as she rushed up the stairs, pushing her friends aside by accident without knowing.
"Edward! I'm coming!" she called out as her friends followed her towards the door leading to Edward's room.
Charlie yanked the door open and looked inside. There, sitting upright and panting, was Edward. He looked like he had been crying, with tears and bloodshot eyes.
Charlie and Edward stared at each other silently before Edward peeped out,
"M-Miss Charlie?"
Charlie didn't hesitate. She walked over and nodded.
"It's me, buddy. I'm here." she comforted softly. When Charlie got close enough, Edward leaped forward and hugged her in response. Charlie, after a second, returned the gesture, rubbing his back gently.
"Shh. I'm here now. You're safe." Charlie hummed. Edward was whimpering, shivering.
All the while, John, Jessica, and the others decided to give the two some privacy. So, they quietly stepped back and slightly closed the door.
After a while, Charlie and Edward pulled back and looked at one another.
"Are you okay? What happened?" she asked. Edward shook his head.
"I-I had a bad dream." he said. Charlie hummed as she sat down next to Edward.
"You've said that you've had bad dreams before… were they this bad?" asked Charlie. Edward nodded sadly, looking down. Charlie sighed as she looked down as well. She thought that Freddy had woken him up, and he grew scared because of it. Thus, she decided not to tell him what happened that might have caused his abrupt awakening. Plus, with her friends outside watching over the bear, she could take care of something more important at the moment.
"Edward. What was your dream about?" she asked. Edward looked at her and raised a brow. Charlie gave a shy smile and shrugged.
"I-I'm thinking maybe if we talk about it, then maybe we'll fix this little problem of yours. How about it?" she asked. Edward stared for a while and asked,
"You won't laugh?"
Charlie blinked and raised a brow.
"I'm not gonna laugh, kid. Especially not about something like this." she assured as she wiped Edward's cheek.
Edward soon caved in and nodded.
"O-Okay."
And this is the dream.
*Dream*
"I was sitting in this room with this girl. I-I don't know why, but she looked very familiar. W-We were sitting down, playing with our Freddy toys." Edward began as we saw him with a little girl playing with one another. The little girl was having the Freddy plush hug him, and Dream Edward was trying to get away, although both of them were laughing like crazy.
"We were having fun, until…the monster came in." Edward then said as the two children in the dream then heard clunky footsteps coming over to them. They turned around, and they saw a disturbing sight.
It was a rabbit animatronic, but rotten to the core, with wires and screws loose. The top of its ears was missing, and its eyes appeared to be entirely metallic. However, what was scariest for Edward were the razor-sharp teeth glistening in the light.
Dream Edward was frightened, but before he could scream, the nightmare animatronic's hand reached forward and covered his mouth shut. Then, Dream Edward has pulled away, with the little girl calling out for him but not running towards him. Dream Edward tried to break free, but it was no use.
"It took me away…It took me away. I-I don't know where, but it took me away." As the monster took Edward away towards a dark, empty room, Edward said, slamming the door shut behind him.
*Dream ends*
"I-I thought I was gone. I thought I was gone." Edward whimpered, wiping his eyes and nose again.
Charlie listened, shocked to hear about the dream. A small part of her told her that it was exactly like what happened with Sammy all those years ago. But a more rational part inside of her told her not to be so ridiculous that it was probably a big coincidence.
Shaking that thought out of her mind, she placed a hand on Edward's cheek and gently wiped away tears.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, sweetie. Must've been scary." she said. Edward nodded.
"It was, Miss Charlie."
Charlie then looked down on the floor, thinking of what to do next. She knew she couldn't leave him by himself. Ignoring the potential risk of Freddy coming inside and possibly doing something terrible to him, she also knew the pain of having such terrible nightmares, even if Edward didn't suffer such trauma as she had.
"Hey, Edward? How about you sleep with me tonight?" she asked. Edward's eyes perked up, and his frown lessened.
"Really?" he asked. Charlie nodded with a smile.
"I've gotten everything unpacked in the guest room, which is where I'm sleeping. So for tonight, we can sleep together, and I'll be sure to keep you safe from any bad dreams. Is that good?" she asked.
Edward then grew a small smile and nodded.
"I'd love that! Thank you so much!" he said and hugged her again. Charlie chuckled and stood up as she carried him.
"That's good. Come on, let's get-" Charlie began before,
"Wait!" Edward yelped. Charlie flinched as she stopped.
"Ow. That was in my ear." she pointed out, rubbing her ear against her shoulder.
"Sorry, Miss Charlie. But I can't sleep without Freddy!" Edward apologized before pointing to his yellow Freddy plushie. Charlie nodded and smiled.
"No worries. I'll get that fixed up. And here you go." Charlie said as she picked up the plushie and handed it to Edward, who hugged it tightly. Charlie just smiled at the sight and walked out of the room.
As Charlie walked towards the guest room, she could see the others talking about something while standing in front of Freddy. She frowned slightly as she walked towards another door, entering the guest room.
"Hey. I've gotta say goodbye to my friends. I'll be back as soon as I can." Charlie said. Edward immediately grabbed her by the leg and refused to let go.
"No! Please don't leave me." he pleaded. Charlie looked at him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Edward, I'm not gonna be far, nor for very long. It's just downstairs," she assured. Edward, however, did not believe her. He only tightened his hold on her legs. Charlie sighed as she picked him up and set him back onto the bed.
"Edward. I'm not gonna leave you. I came back after leaving with my friends, just like I said I would. You can trust me. I promise." she said. Edward looked at her, and Charlie could see hope in his eyes.
"You promise?" he asked. Charlie nodded as she made an x on her chest.
"I cross my heart and hope to die." she said.
Edward smiled and gave her another hug.
"One more hug," he muttered. Charlie gave a soft laugh as she hugged him back. However, she grew a frown as she remembered what she had just said.
"'I cross my heart and hope to die.' I hope I can keep it this time." she thought to herself as she slightly tightened her hold.
Eventually, the two parted, and Charlie left the room to check up on her friends.
Soon, Charlie arrived back in the living room. All the others talked with one another while keeping an eye on Freddy.
"Hey guys. Everything alright?" she asked. The others turned to look at her and grew slight smiles.
"Hey, Charles? Everything alright with Eddie?" asked Carlton. Charlie gave a light half-shrug and a small frown.
"Not really. The poor little guy's got a really bad nightmare, and he doesn't want to be by himself for too long. So he and I agreed that I'd sleep with him tonight." she explained.
"Poor little guy." Marla said with a concerned frown on her face.
"Well, glad to know he's in good hands at least." Lamar said, and the others agreed. Charlie smiled at her friends before looking around Freddy.
"So, what do we do with him?" she asked. They simply shrugged.
"Not sure. He hadn't done anything really bad aside from giving you a good scare." John replied.
"Yeah, but he's not supposed to be doing that. Charlie turned him off, right?" asked Jessica, turning towards Charlie. Charlie nodded.
"Yeah. I can even-let me check." she said as she approached Freddy.
"Freddy, do you wanna sing a song?" she asked. There was no response from Freddy. The others grew confused.
"Okay? Now, wanna know about my skeletons in the closet?" she asked.
Still, no response.
Charlie then turned back to her friends and pointed at Freddy.
"See?" she asked. They nodded and hummed in intrigue.
"Then I think that should be something the people at the company should look into." Lamar pointed out.
"Yeah. Hold on." Charlie agreed as she pulled out her phone and went to the Fazbear Funtime Service site.
Due to the company being a relatively new one, it didn't take long for her to eventually find the employee she met earlier, Vanessa.
"Aha. There you are, Vanessa." she muttered.
"Vanessa?" asked Jessica.
"Yeah. She's the one that delivered Freddy over here. Apparently, she acts as one of the company's salespeople." Charlie replied. Then, she began to press the screen again on her contacts, showing her the phone number.
"Alrighty. I'll call her up." she declared. The others nodded in agreement, although Carlton pointed out,
"What if she doesn't answer?"
"If she doesn't, then I'll just leave her a message. Frankly, I'm too tired to deal with this right now." Charlie answered as she typed in her number on her phone and put it next to her ear.
The gang waited and waited until Charlie's eyes blinked as she heard,
"Hi there. This is Vanessa speaking."
"Oh, that's great. Hey, Vaness-" Charlie began before the voice continued.
"Sorry for not coming to the phone right now. I'm either in another office, taking a coffee break, or not working today. Please leave a message after the beep."
"Ugh. Message bot. Hold on, guys." Charlie muttered.
"Hi, Vanessa. This is Charlie, the one who's babysitting in the Parr house. I just wanna let you know that…I think there's something wrong with the Freddy animatronic you've sent me. While I was outside with my friends, my security camera app detected Freddy moving while he should've been off. And uh…Oh, and Freddy's voice seems to be glitching out as well. If you can call me and we can do something about this soon, that would be great. Please and thank you."
Charlie finished and hung up the phone. The gang sat around for a while until Marla asked,
"So, now what?"
Jessica shrugged.
"For now, nothing. We'll just have to wait until tomorrow. And hopefully, nothing else will happen til then." she explained. The others nodded as they stood up one by one.
"So, I guess this is good night?" John asked. Charlie nodded.
"I guess. I've gotta get back to Edward soon." she said. John nodded as they and the others walked towards the door. John nodded.
"Understandable. Honestly, I think you're a good babysitter," he said. Charlie blinked, and she blushed a bit.
"Uh, t-thanks. I guess." she said. John chuckled before Jessica took John's hand.
"Alright, lovebirds. We gotta go. See you tomorrow, Charlie." she said with a tease. Charlie and John blushed.
"We're NOT lovebirds!" they exclaimed. Everyone laughed as Marla approached Charlie and smiled.
"In all seriousness, he's right: the kid likes you." she said. Charlie smiled genuinely as she looked at her friend.
"Thanks. I…I guess I just want him to be happy." she said. Marla laughed as she gently nudged her.
"Anyone would do anything to make kids happy. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take care of yourself, either. Especially with something that makes you uncomfortable. So…you know, let us know if you need help." Marla explained before smiling at the end. Charlie and Marla laughed.
"It's so good to see you all again." she said. Marla laughed and hugged her back.
"So good to see you again as well, pal. Good night." Marla said, and Charlie chuckled softly.
"Night, Marla. Night, everyone." Charlie said as Marla walked off before closing the door, leaving her alone.
Charlie sighed as she looked onto the floor. She was grateful for having friends with her to help her.
As she walked toward the living room to turn off the lights, she noticed something on the table next to where Jessica sat.
It was the drawing from the secret room at the abandoned restaurant. The one with the two kids and the yellow Bonnie character. Charlie quirked her brows as she walked over.
"Huh. I guess Jessica took this and didn't even know. I'll ask her about it in the morning, " she muttered to herself before taking the paper and taking a closer look.
She grew a slight frown as she stared at it. She remembered Edward's dream and how this drawing is similar to it…as well as her dreaded memory. Charlie gulped as she took in a deep breath and then bit her lip, putting it down and sighing, shaking her head.
"Relax. Those are just big coincidences." Charlie thought to herself as she went back to the switch to turn off the lights and walked up to the guest room.
Charlie had so many questions in her mind. But she was too tired to dwell on them. So, she decided to rest and figure everything out tomorrow. After all…
Tomorrow is another day.
AN: Hi!
Finally got this done! Also, at the time of this writing, 4 MORE DAYS UNTIL SECURITY BREACH! YEEE-HAAA!
Sorry. Anyway, I have nothing else to say, so…hope you enjoy it. Criticism is appreciated, and stick around for more!