Matthew wakes up to find that the events of last night weren't just dreams.


Do you even have a clue?

He almost panicked when he opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't in his room but then recalled the events from last night. Information resurfaced as he laid in bed, knocking the sleep out if his mind and still, he did not want to get up. The pleasant feeling of simply laying there distracted him from his thoughts and kept him relaxed. The shock he had experienced yesterday had worn off and now he had to deal with the aftermath; the uneasy, painful feeling of drowning one suffered through after losing someone important, only in his case it was amplified tenfold. He was lost and it was awful to witness as his mind brought forth memories of the wonderful moments spent with everyone back home. Things that he wouldn't normally think about were suddenly very clear and trying to think of something else only made it worse. Joy and laughter clouded his vision, making it seem like he was there to relive it all over again. He blinked several times, wiping away the illusion. Those memories full of happiness were now more precious to him than ever and he found that the phrase "You only truly miss someone when they're gone" was very much true. At least he didn't feel guilty about not cherishing those times before as he had appreciated every second spent with his loved ones even when he was still a regular teen, just not as much as he did now.

Still, pondering the past only made the present more evident which, in turn, rekindled the inferno of emotions held deep within his aching heart. He didn't want to cry again as it was not something he did very often. A part of him wanted to forget everything so that he wouldn't be reminded of what he could never have and another part of him felt disgusted at the prospect of forgetting his family and pretending they didn't exist. It was wrong to act as if they didn't matter and bury his love deep down underneath a façade. He didn't want to forget his family, no, what he actually wanted was to stop hurting, but it was all muddled up and confusing and hard to make sense of.

Getting tired of wallowing in his self-pity Matt shook his head and glanced towards the clock on his bedside table. It read 8:37 AM. No point in sleeping any longer since he had no idea what day it was and did not want to keep Henry from going to work. He rose, stretching as he did so, and noticed that the blanket was undisturbed, still covering his legs the same way it had last night. It seemed like he did not move at all while asleep, much like how a dead person would lay motionless in a coffin. The irony wasn't lost on him and he supposed that comparing the bed to a coffin was fairly accurate.

He got out of bed and took a look around the room, observing as every piece of furniture was bigger than him, a fact which he had yet to get used to. Inhabiting a young body when he was used to an older one was a foreign sensation. Simple actions like moving and breathing were strange and his brain screamed at him that something was wrong. If he closed his eyes, he could swear that there was something in the back of his head that told him he wasn't supposed to be here. Matt could almost feel the objects and particles around him shy away from his presence as if to say he was unwelcomed in this reality. It was very unnatural and made him feel like he was being watched, but he supposed he shouldn't be too surprised about that as he was in a world where a bunch of unnatural stuff could happen, including one's own emotions haunting the things around them.

Matt sighed and rubbed his face. He needed to get a grip and start thinking about what was to come. First important thing was to thank Henry for his overwhelming hospitality. The man had been more than kind to him the other day, taking Matt, who was essentially some stray kid, to his home, giving him fresh clothes, offering to feed him and even allowing him to stay in his house as if that was a normal thing to do to someone you had met fifteen minutes ago. Most people would've just called the cops or taken him to a hospital or something like that and certainly not bring a child they didn't know into their home trusting him not to cause any trouble. That amount of kindness from a stranger seemed fake to a kid that had previously lived in the cold, hateful world of 2022 where most people would rather watch you die on the sidewalk then do anything to help.

Even so, Matt knew for certain that the man didn't have any hidden motivations for doing what he did. Henry had taken him in out of sheer responsibility and goodwill and he found that he was beginning to develop a deep respect and appreciation for the man. He had no issue trusting Henry because he knew he'd be safe while in his care, Matt only hoped he wouldn't be too much of a burden.

Before he could reflect on anything else, he was pulled out of his thoughts by the light footsteps going up the stairs.

o0o

After her uncle had brought her home, Charlie had run up to her dad, hugging him, and began to tell him about all the fun stuff she'd done at Liz's place. As she was doing so, she couldn't help but notice that there was something wrong with her father. His attention seemed to be on something else while she was speaking. Being the curious, caring girl she was, she he had asked him if he was alright. Henry had apologized and brought her to the dinner table, telling her that they had something important they needed to discuss. Initially, Charlie thought she'd done something bad but her father quickly proved that theory wrong when he informed her of what had happened last night while she was away.

Even if she had never met that boy before, she'd been a little worried about him after she'd heard her father found him in the rain all alone. It must've been pretty scary to wake up on the side of the road. Apparently, the boy, whose name was Matthew, had told her father that he thought he'd been taken away from his home by someone. Charlie couldn't really understand why anyone would do something so mean to another person, especially a kid her age. What did people gain from doing bad things? When she'd said that, her father had ruffled her hair and told her that there are some people who choose to do bad stuff because they only think about themselves. Charlie didn't agree with that attitude.

At first, she didn't understand why her dad said the boy he'd found would be living with the two of them from now on. Not that she had anything against the idea, but she found it very weird that her dad would make that decision without talking to the boy's parents. After all, she and Liz couldn't have sleepovers if their parents didn't agree to it.

But then her dad had revealed to her why that was and her heart had been immediately shattered. Matthew had told her father that everyone he knew, including his parents, were gone. Gone as in dead. The boy that was sleeping in the guest room upstairs didn't have anyone. It was hard to lose a loved one, she knew that, but to lose your entire family? It was so incredibly cruel that no one should have to go through it, Charlie thought. If she were to lose Henry she'd be beyond heartbroken. Her father meant the world to her. She had cast that thought aside when it had occurred as this wasn't about her, but a kid no older than her who had lost everything…

It just wasn't fair. He didn't deserve to suffer like that. She didn't know him but she was sure of it. Without any hesitation, Charlie had made a promised to her father and to herself that she would always be there for Matthew and help him get through the loss of his family in any way she could, as best as she could. She was going to be his friend and she was going to help him. She didn't know how she was going to do so, but she was going to try her hardest.

After their talk, Henry had started preparing to make breakfast and Charlie had volunteered to go see if Matthew was awake, to which Henry had responded with: "Alright, dear, but if he's still sleeping don't wake him. He's had a rough night.". Now Charlie found herself in front of the guest bedroom door. She'd been careful not to make too much noise coming upstairs, God knew it, the boy needed his rest. She hesitated a little before she knocked lightly on the door. After a moment of silence Charlie concluded Matthew must not have been up yet and so she turned around since it wasn't as if she was going to invade the boy's privacy by walking in on him while he slept, but before she could go back a voice suddenly called out.

"Uh, hey Henry, sir. Good morning! I'm uh, I'm awake." she turned to face the door again, smiling ever so slightly.

"Morning! I'm not actually my father." she called back. "Can I come in?"

"…Yeah, sure." she grasped the handle and poked her head inside, waving.

"Hi there!" she opened the door fully and came inside. "My name is Charlie. It's nice to meet you!" she greeted with a sweet, friendly voice, offering the boy her hand. His hair was black and messy, while his eyes were brown, much like her own. He was wearing some of her clothes, Charlie noticed, and figured it made sense since his would've been soaked from the rain.

They fit him quite nicely, she thought.

He seemed to want to say something but stopped, instead taking her hand and shaking it.

"I'm Matthew. It's nice to meet you too." he said a little reserved. He regarded her for a few seconds then let go of her hand. This was probably a little awkward for him. Charlie had never had any problems introducing herself to people, but she was an extrovert that loved to make friends. Matthew's reaction consisted of him keeping quiet and waiting for her to say something.

"Dad's making pancakes for breakfast so I thought I should come to check if you were awake." the boy nodded.

"Okay." With that Charlie took his hand and led him downstairs excitedly. Only after she did so did she realize that taking the boy's hand like that might have been a bit much. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but when he didn't pull back, she took it as a good sign and continued leading him to the kitchen.

Henry had finished preparing all the necessary ingredients for making pancakes. When he heard two sets of footsteps approaching, he spun to greet them.

"Good morning!" he shifted his attention to Matthew. "Did you sleep well?"

"Morning, sir. I slept okay." Henry chuckled ruffled Matt's hair.

"I told you not to call me sir." he joked at the fact that the boy couldn't help himself from being polite. "Anyway, do pancakes sound good for breakfast?" he asked, to which Matt responded with a "Mhm.". The boy then took a seat at the table, with Charlotte doing in front of him in her usual spot.

Henry started cooking, occasionally listening in as his daughter asked the boy all sorts of questions from what his favorite color was to what games he liked to play. He mostly gave her short answers but seemed to struggle with questing like what he did in his spare time. Eventually Charlotte had changed the topic of the conversation, informing Matthew of all the stuff she liked to do as well as how many nice people there were in Hurricane and how she was sure Matt would make a lot of friends. The boy asked her about the town and what fun places there were to visit and she happily began talking about everything fun you could do in Hurricane. He was listening quite intently as she spoke. Henry, for his part, was glad the two got along so well.

He had tuned their chatter out and only paid attention when he needed to ask what they wanted with their pancakes. By now they were discussing cartoons, with his daughter doing most of the talking, Matt simply nodding along with whatever she was saying. Charlotte preferred to eat her crepes with fruit jam most of the time since, well, she was allergic to chocolate, while Matt, it appeared, liked chocolate. Henry himself was type to always top his with peanut butter and maple syrup. You couldn't go wrong with classics, after all.

The three of them ate in relative silence, no one knowing what to say. It made for a stiff atmosphere that neither adult or children knew how to break out of. Charlie had managed to eat only two pancakes as she had already eaten at Liz's place earlier that morning. Still, she hadn't had a problem doing so again if it meant she could keep Matt company, something she was more than happy to do. Matthew had eaten four and was close to finishing his fifth. Henry, meanwhile, ate seven and did not look like he was going to stop. Surprisingly, the man could have quite a large appetite, something that wasn't obvious from his slim build.

Matt wanted to say something but didn't know how he should start.

Why are you overthinking it? Just spit it out already! he thought to himself.

He cleared his throat before beginning.

"Um, I wanted to thank you for what you did for me yesterday." He faced Henry. "Letting me stay with you… I mean, you didn't have to do that. You could've just thrown me out and that would have been perfectly understandable. But you didn't. So, thank you. Really." he bit the inside of his cheek, waiting for a reaction.

"Of course I was going to let you stay, kid. What kind of person would I be if I were to leave you out there on your own? You don't have to keep thanking me. And don't feel guilty about it either, alright? I did it because it was the right thing to do." Matt nodded and pressed his mouth into a thin line, looking to the side. "In any case, I've been thinking…"

"Uh oh." Charlie joked, giggling to herself after receiving a small laugh from her father. Matt fought to keep himself from snorting.

"I've been thinking it'd be a good idea to go on a little shopping trip to get you some essentials if you're going to be living with us. How does that sound?" that caught the boy's attention.

"Well… okay." He didn't like Henry spending money on him but he supposed he didn't have a choice in the matter. "But only if you are free to do so. I don't want to keep you from going to work or anything like that, Mr. Emily."

"It's Saturday, kiddo. So how about it, you ready to go?"

"Right now? Uh, o- ok then. Let me just go get my shoes form the bathroom. Thanks for the breakfast." he said, rising from the table.

"Yay, we're going shopping! Oh, it's going to be amazing!" she cheered happily as she followed Matt. "Can I choose your stuff for you?"

"What? No! Why would you want to do that?" that appeared to get a reaction out of Matt.

"Please? I promise I'll get you something nice. I won't choose anything pink or girly, if that's what you're worried about." Henry could practically hear the puppy dog eyes in his daughter's voice. He smiled fondly as he saw them leave the kitchen. Going shopping was a good idea. For one, Matthew needed to have his own stuff if he was staying with them and second, it was a great way to get the boy's mind off of what happened to his parents, thought Henry. He wasn't sure what exactly had happened to the boy's family but he had made it clear they were dead. He had no intention of asking for clarification. He wasn't going to make Matt relieve his trauma. If the boy would ever be comfortable to talk about what happened Henry would be there to listen, if not, that was fine.

His heart ached in sympathy for Matthew. Something so traumatizing was sure to have a giant effect on the boy. He was sure to do his best to help the kid but he wasn't sure if his best was good enough. He didn't appear to shaken, but that obviously didn't mean he wasn't hurting on the inside, the kid could be very good at hiding his emotion for all Henry knew. And it wasn't as if Henry was the best at reading others. He was quite the unobservant individual, or so he had been told multiple times throughout his life. He could be caring and kind, but at the same time dense as a brick.

Henry sighed and rose from the table, he needed to get ready as well. They'd have a long couple of hours ahead of them.

o0o

The whole shopping trip had taken close to three hours. They had bought, or well, Henry had bought all sorts of things from a toothbrush to school supplies and notebooks to whole bags of clothes. Matt felt bad that Henry had to spend so much money on him but the man didn't mind at all, instead telling Matt to go wild and not worry about prices. Even with that, the boy only chose a reasonable amount of clothes as he didn't want to take advantage of Henry's compassion and charitable attitude. When the man saw the amount the boy had settled on, he had deemed it too little and had told Matthew to come back with at least double the quantity, and so, albeit reluctantly, Matt went back to pick out even more stuff to wear.

Speaking of clothing, he had been overwhelmed at how many options he could choose from. Surprisingly, there were a lot of very different shirts, sweaters and turtlenecks in terms of design and color. No two hoodies were the same, and Matt was blown away by the diversity. It was very easy to create an outfit that could make you stand out. Not to say that couldn't be achieved using modern means, but doing so meant that you'd still be dressed in mass produced crap that was almost identical to some other company's products that was sold all over the globe. You couldn't express yourself quite as well with modern clothing, or at least that was Matthew's opinion. Everything here, in this time, was more authentic, if that was the right word, and comparing 80s fashion to 2022 fashion where everything was more of the same was a one-sided battle.

He had been lucky that Charlie was there. Without her to give some very valuable feedback, he would've ended up looking like a complete buffoon. She had a knack for fashion and with her help Matt was able to select stuff he liked that he also looked good in. He'd thanked her for the assistance and she'd cheerfully responded by saying that she'd been extremely delighted to help.

When they had returned, both her and Henry had helped the boy sort through the things they'd purchased and arrange them nicely in their proper places; clothes in the closet, notebooks in the desk drawers and so on. Afterwards, Charlie had brought him downstairs to watch some movies together. The two of them were sitting on the couch, munching on popcorn. They had watched "One hundred and One Dalmatians", a classic that Matthew had absolutely loved when he'd been a small boy. It had been great to refresh his memory and experience the nostalgia that came with rewatching one of his favorite animated movies.

Currently, they were watching "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", which Matt had never seen before. It was more of a musical comprised of multiple parts all connected with some extra footage rather than a simple, linear narrative. A three in one sort of thing. Although it was interesting to see, the boy was unable to pay as much attention to this one as the previous film. He used the time he had to instead reflect on some of the things he had learned today.

Welp, it's been 100% confirmed I've been transported to some version of the FNaF timeline where the events of the series are about to happen. Though I'm not exactly sure what timeline, or universe, I've been sent to. The games universe? The book series? The new book series? When I asked Charlie what fun places were around Hurricane, she said Henry and her uncle were working together to build a family restaurant, so that means this is at least before 1983. The first restaurant opened was Fredbear's Family Diner, which in the novels was opened in 1982. Now, I have no way of knowing just how faithful this universe is to the series' lore, but since Charlie is seven and the diner isn't open yet that means I'm not in the novels version since that Charlie died when she was three years old in 1982 after the diner was opened. I can only assume this universe is as accurate as possible to the original timeline because I don't really see why someone would put me in a world that resembles the series that I know of but doesn't follow its events. I hope that isn't the case, anyway.

He let out a puff of air.

So, if I'm not in the novels, or the new books, since those didn't make any direct references to either Henry or Charlie existing, only maybe parallels, then that leaves the games timeline. It's a good thing if that's the case since the games are what I'm most familiar with. So, I'd say I'm either in 1981 or early 1982. One year seems like enough time for a restaurant to be built. The games do draw from the novels and vice-verse, which might make it safe to say that Fredbear's was opened in 1982 in the games too, so that's probably when it'll open here as well.

Matt glanced at Charlie, who was captivated by the film.

Asking what year it is would raise too many red flags. Guess I could just find a calendar or whatever and then I can figure out how much time I have before everything starts going to shit in Hurricane. Elizabeth's death, the first bite, the missing children's incident… Hmm. Evan is bitten on his birthday in 83, dying later in the hospital and Elizabeth before that during Circus Baby's opening day, judging by her empty room in FNaF 4. The MCI is the only early event in the timeline that doesn't have a fixed date. Both the novels and Into the Pit had the MCI happened in 85, but then again, in Into the Pit there were six victims as opposed to five and the novels had Jeremy replaced with Michael Brooks. Cassidy in the books is described as having long black hair while the girl in the logbook, theorized to be Cassidy, has black hair in pigtails. Susie's appearance in Fazbear Frights differs slightly from the one in Pizza Sim. The date is important enough that it's mentioned at least twice, but the novels tell their own separate story that's only loosely based on the games lore and so are the Fazbear Frights books. The MCI could be the first event in the timeline, as MatPat theorized, somewhere around 83 after Charlie's death but not before Evan's, or in 1985.

On a side note, to me it was always apparent that Charlie was the one possessing Psychic Friend Fredbear. For one, it'd be reasonable for Evan and Charlie to have been friends due to their fathers' partnership, which explains why Charlie would be there to help him, what with her being the one who took the others into her own hands. It would also explain why Fredbear could apparently teleport all around the place. If a ghost was possessing it, then it could probably do all types of supernatural things. But, the piece of evidence that really solidifies that theory is the fact that in Fredbear's speech at the end of FNaF 4, the font color changes, signifying that someone else is speaking to Evan. Even the Freddy Files make mention to this; "Could whoever is spying on you be able to put your soul into an animatronic?". The only character who is clearly shown to be capable of such a feat was the Puppet, aka Charlie. The font color change could also explain something else, now that I think about it.

During Midnight Motorist, it's a fact that you are playing as the purple guy, his purple car is plenty of evidence of that. A lot of people were confused as to why Scott would choose to represent him using a mustard color. Well, when purple guy speaks during MM, his text color is yellow, much like Psychic Friend Fredbear's during the majority of FNaF 4. And since Pizza Sim was a game made to tie loose ends, Scott probably intended for that minigame to confirm that purple guy did, in fact, talk to Evan through the plushie and that when the font color changed in FNaF 4, it showed that someone else that wasn't the purple guy was talking to Evan, that someone most likely being Charlie. It makes sense logically, it makes sense timeline-wise, confirming that she died before the bite but probably after Elizabeth, and it makes sense with Charlie's powers of putting souls in animatronics. After all, Evan died on a hospital bed, who else could have made him possess Golden Freddy/Fredbear if not Charlie? The Freddy Files make reference to it and it all falls in line with her ability to put other souls "back together". It's her, she's the one in Psychic Friend Fredbear.

He sighed… He was getting sidetracked…

Even if I knew the exact year the murders take place, they all happen on separate days, if the newspaper clippings in FNaF 1 are anything to go by. Those things say the last two murders happen on June 26th, after which the murderer was caught the following morning. Plus, the fact that Susie was first also suggests that the kids weren't all killed at once. All of these facts make the Foxy GOGOGO minigame more symbolic of the event than anything else. Essentially, what's shown isn't entirely true and what occurred isn't accurately portrayed… It's all just a big mess, said every FNaF theorist ever… And I'm what? Supposed to prevent all of those tragedies from happening?

He pondered that question for a while.

That's true, isn't it? I was brought here to use my knowledge of future events and stop them.

That made the most sense, if he thought about it. Of course, he had no way of confirming it, but he felt that was the truth. Why else would a fan with extensive lore knowledge be brought to a world that mirrored his games'. If it was only for the amusement of some higher being, then bringing a clueless person that had never heard of Five Nights at Freddy's would've been the better option. No, he was here because of what he knew, that was for certain, and it wasn't as if he could change his predicament.

Henry had taken him in out of the kindness of his heart and Matt felt like he could never repay the man. But maybe, just maybe, he could do so by ensuring everyone survived.

Matthew made up his mind.

This wasn't about repaying a man's good deed. This was about having the power and knowledge to make a difference. It was about responsibility. His responsibility. To save those that would otherwise perish. The fact that he had been taken from his home was unfair, but so was what would happen to the children. To Charlie. To their parents. Their lives would be cut short before they'd even have the chance to begin properly. And he couldn't allow it. He couldn't just stand by the side and allow the kids to be murdered with the knowledge he had.

Matthew wasn't going to let it happen. He was going to stop it. All of it. William Afton would be stopped, one way or another.

I'll start by writing down everything I know so I don't forget anything important, then I can work on a timeline.

William Afton was not going to come back. Ever. Matthew swore it.

No tomorrow day would ever come for that lunatic.


Chapter title from "Do you even?" by CK9C.