Holy crap, guys... I am so sorry this took so long to write. Between class, homework, and old fashioned laziness this took far longer than any chapter ever should. It's a bit longer than normal, so I hope that makes up for it somewhat... And there are a couple big reveals here. After all, there's only three nights to go before 'Jeremy's' week ends.
I'll try to get another chapter up soon-ish in order to try and make up for how long it took to get this out. Also, I sincerely apologize to everyone who PMed me and I never answered.
Anyway, on with the show!
The entire way home, I was thinking about that infernal Marionette. I knew it had to be involved in all this somehow… Maybe it was the ringleader of the new animatronics? That'd make sense; after all, the thing seemed intimidating enough, and if it had to have a special way of keeping it down there was probably something important about it… But how did that even work? Too many questions, too many things on my mind. I got home, and Foxy and I climbed out of the truck and headed in. By the time Freddy and the others realized where Foxy had been, I was already most of the way down the hall and collapsing into my bed.
Around one or two in the afternoon, I finally woke up. Foxy was in her charger; I wasn't surprised, considering the fight we'd dealt with. With a yawn, I stretched out and headed back down the hall, my mind set on getting a few answers. Freddy, Bonnie and Chica were all sitting around the coffee table, and by the look in Freddy's eyes they wanted to talk to me. "Give me a minute to get some coffee and we'll chat." I called out. Roughly twenty minutes and a mug of coffee later, the story was told and Freddy did not look terribly amused.
"Alex, I have no idea how these 'recordings' from my perspective came about. It's possible that I could've had my video feed hijacked and uploaded, but it's also fairly unlikely…" His voice trailed off, and his head tilted. "Unless somehow it happened when Golden Freddy hijacked us. That's always a possibility; we still have no idea how he did it or what extent it went to." I nodded, sitting back in my chair and thinking.
"What we have here is a pretty major problem, but it's clear there's a lot more going on. The new bots don't like me, but they also don't like the old ones; seeing that Marionette tear the withered Foxy apart is enough evidence for that. But it's clear that there's more to this place than meets the eye…" I sighed and got to my feet, grabbing my phone. "I'm gonna call Faz. Maybe he knows something." With that, I dialed the number, and he picked up after a few rings.
"Alex, my boy! I recognize that number anywhere. How can I help?" I couldn't help but smile. Faz was always cheerful, and always glad to hear from me.
"Actually, I've got a couple questions about the pizzeria… And anything that may be in its background. Previous locations, incidents, anything." There was a long moment of silence.
"…You're looking into the new location, aren't you?"
I sighed. "Yeah… And things aren't adding up." With that, I told him the story; the murderous new 'toy' versions, the phone calls, the odd 'games' and video files, and wrapped it up by telling him how the withered bots were there and the Marionette had torn one of them apart. Finally, he spoke again.
"Alex, I'll have to dig out a lot of old files in order to give you the full story, but I can tell you this. Those 'new and improved' animatronics are about as new as I am. You're right; there was an old location for the pizzeria before the place where you worked, and these 'toy' versions as you call them were the entertainers. I thought we'd destroyed them…"
"Hold up." My mind raced for a moment. This, I didn't expect. "You're saying these things are refurbished murderbots from a location before?"
He spoke again. "Yes, Alex. Furthermore, they were highly experimental; their predator detection technology was… Flawed, to say the least. We had a number of issues with parents being forcibly removed from the restaurant because of false positives, and even a few lawsuits. This was before I owned the place, but I did work there on day shift." I thought about it for a moment, before nodding.
"Anything you can tell me? Anything at all to help against them, or to figure out what's going on?"
He sighed. "The only things I can give you right now are the official names of the animatronics. The 'Bonnie' is actually known as Bon-Bon, 'Chica' is Cheeks, 'Freddy' is just Fred; we changed that for the new location… And I forget the 'Foxy' bot's name, so Mangle works. I can also tell you that the Balloon Boy was more of a 'support' than an entertainer; he was able to repair any damage done to the animatronics over the day. They all had self-repair rigs, but he was the main 'mechanic'. And one last thing…" He trailed off.
I waited, starting to feel a sensation like ice water trickling into my veins.
"The Marionette? It has no AI. It was meant to be a manually controlled robotic for use in the prize counter." I nearly dropped the phone.
"You've got to be kidding me. I saw that thing tear the withered bot apart. It's active, I know it." My mind was reeling. The thing wasn't on automatic?
"By the sound of things, Alex… You may have more than just synthetic enemies in that pizzeria. Be careful." He sounded worried, and even a bit remorseful. I just nodded.
"I always am. Thanks for the intel, Faz… See if you can find anything else, okay? Any kind of blueprints of the old restaurant, anything on the old bots… Anything that you think could help."
"Will do, Alex. Good luck." Click.
I hung the phone up, shaking my head. So at least now I knew what these things actually were, and what they were called… That'd make it a bit easier if I need to get the band involved. I sat down, my mind racing. The Marionette was under manual control? In that case… Maybe the music box had an alternate function. I finally made up my mind. I'd have to show up early tonight and give that thing a good look-over to see if I could figure its function out. I explained what I'd heard to the others, and Freddy immediately sat up.
"Look, Alex… This is getting dangerous. I know you can't take all of us, but… Take Foxy with you, okay? That way you'll at least have someone to watch your back." Reluctantly, I nodded and the others seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. "Thank you. Now, just be careful… And work fast." With another nod, we finally wrapped up and went about the day. Most of it was preparations; I knew that with the self-repairing ability, the Toy band would be back up and running by tonight, and I'd have to come up with a better way of fighting them instead of my machetes.
After a bit of work, I finally came up with an idea; using a magnetic field, I might be able to prevent them from pulling themselves together for a while… So, with another hour or so of work, I'd magnetized the steel of my machetes. Now I'd just have to be careful with them around the others. Loading up my shotgun and revolvers, I set everything aside so it'd be ready for tonight.
The day passed far faster than I would've hoped, and finally it was once more time to head in for my shift. Foxy crawled into my truck, and we headed for the pizzeria. At 11:30, we managed to arrive, just as the other guard looked up and his eyes widened. He didn't ask questions about why I was that early, and Foxy was well hidden underneath a blanket in the back, so we had the run of the place as we headed in.
"Right. Foxy, wait here and keep an eye on the monitors. I should have fifteen minutes to look around before the video plays and the phone rings, and then it's showtime again." She nodded, and I headed off. First stop, the Show Stage, where I grinned as I saw a faint line across the lower half of Fred's jaw. "Best be careful around me, bolt-brain. You'll lose your head." I chuckled softly; I figured they probably could hear me, and I couldn't resist taunting them a bit. With that, I headed for the Prize Counter.
The minute I stepped into the Prize area, I had a chill down my spine. This place… It just gave me a bad feeling. I didn't know what it was, but I wanted to hurry. Making my way over to the music box, I opened it up, keeping one eye on the Marionette's box. I looked in, and my eyes widened.
The thing had electronic components that I hadn't seen the likes of in a long time. Radio equipment, circuit boards… I knew tech fairly well, but I could only faintly figure out what was going on. But, when I did… I froze for a moment. This thing was a makeshift jammer, with the power source tied to whether or not the box was playing. Keep it wound, and any signals within this room would be jammed and non-functional. Let it get unwound… I looked to the Marionette's box again.
So the thing was manually controlled from somewhere… But where? I didn't have time to figure it out as I checked my watch: 11:43. Time to get back to the office and see what's going on with tonight's video and call.
I made it in just as the video played. It was the standard view of the pizzeria… But as the view panned over to Bonnie, it wasn't as safe. I recognized that look… That was the death glare Bonnie used to give to the Backstage camera in the old restaurant. That… Wasn't good. The camera panned to Chica, with a similar effect; an angry, hollowed-out, death glare. The camera slowly panned back… And I froze. Golden Freddy was standing there, staring into the camera just as it cut to static. Once more, there were two words.
It's Me.
It all made sense now, as I sat back in my seat. These videos were from when Golden Freddy had set his plan into action… When he had put the bots under his command. That explained the concerned looks from Chica and Bonnie; they'd probably seen Golden Freddy first, and weren't sure what to think of it. Then the death glares… Freddy had been the last to be taken.
The phone rang. "Hello hello! See? I told you you wouldn't have any problems!" Right. As if the brawl last night, my split lip, and the appearance of the Marionette wasn't a problem.
"Did...uh... Did Foxy ever appear in the hallway? Probably not. I was just curious. Like I said, he was always my favorite. They tried to remake Foxy, ya know? Uh, they thought the first one was too scary, so they redesigned him to be more kid-friendly and put him in Kid's Cove." I grinned and looked at Foxy, before putting on a face of mock-horror. She popped me upside the head and I just chuckled.
"To keep the toddlers entertained, you know... But kids these days just can't keep their hands to themselves. The staff literally has to put Foxy back together after every shift. So eventually they stopped trying and left him as some 'take apart and put back together' attraction. Now he's just a mess of parts. I think the employees refer to him as just "The Mangle." Uh..." Was this thing a he or a she? I couldn't tell, and obviously neither could the Phone Guy.
"Oh, hey, before I go, uh, I wanted to ease your mind about any rumors you might have heard lately. You know how these local stories come and go and seldom mean anything." Stories? Were there even stories about this place back then? Something else to ask Faz about.
"I can personally assure you that, whatever is going on out there, and however tragic it may be, has nothing to do with our establishment. It's just all rumor and speculation... People trying to make a buck. You know... Uh, our guard during the day has reported nothing unusual. And he's on watch from opening til close." Seems like Phone Guy and I would've gotten along, considering our opinions of the media. Then again, this time the media was right.
"Okay, well anyway, hang in there and I'll talk to you tomorrow." Click. I still couldn't figure out if these were old calls, new calls, or somewhere in between… It didn't make sense. With a shrug, I checked the cameras, flicking to the Show Stage… And tilted my head. Fred, Bon-Bon, and Cheeks were both limp, powered off. I wondered about this… Before nearly screaming as the withered, ragged, face-less Bonnie poked its head in front of the camera, red LED eyes burning in the darkness.
Oh, this wasn't good. Apparently tonight they'd managed to hijack the Toy bots and now wanted a piece of me. Flipping to the Parts and Service camera, I swore under my breath. Withered Freddy and Withered Chica were both gone, and Withered Foxy had pulled itself together after last night's thrashing and was now coming as well. Immediately, I threw on my tac gear and looked to Foxy. "We need to get out of here. This place is about to get crowded."
With that, we headed off for one of the party rooms… Just as Withered Bonnie came out, let out a banshee screech, and charged at me with its one attached arm. I brought up my machetes, hoping this worked… And scythed right through the elbow joint on the blasted thing, forcing it apart as the magnetic field interfered with the connections. Withered Bonnie screeched at me, lowering down for a ram attack and I dove to the side, letting it slam into a few tables. I winced as one collapsed under its weight.
Foxy had her own problems, I found as I turned back; she was locked in a fight with Withered Chica, and my eyes widened as I saw the ends of its arms sparking with live, bared wires. A good jab from those and Foxy would be in serious trouble, so I rushed in behind and drove my blades into its back, causing it to screech with its distorted jaw and voice box, swinging around and delivering a harsh blow to my middle. I fell back, doubled over for a long moment as it reared back with its sparking arms, getting ready to fry me… Before Foxy drove her cutlass through its head, and out its gaping mouth.
A bit of breathing time gained as it collapsed, we turned to Withered Bonnie, who had gotten its arm back attached and was now accompanied by Withered Freddy. We squared off, before Withered Foxy came in and nailed my Foxy with a punch, dragging her into a one-on-one duel. I sighed, thinking fast as I faced the two menacing robots I was stuck with. Withered Freddy made one step towards me, and I charged.
I rushed in, taking two quick swings at Withered Freddy, cutting large chunks of its fur open and gashing it, grinning as I saw fluids and oil leaking out, before feeling pain in my side; Withered Bonnie had taken this as a chance to kidney punch me. I countered with a quick downwards stab and slash, taking its leg off at the knee and bringing it down, curb-stomping on its head for a moment before Withered Freddy grappled me from behind in a full-Nelson. I swore; it was too heavy for me to throw, bit I did have one idea… And judging by the razor sharp claws on Withered Bonnie's bare hand, I'd have to move fast.
Quickly, I pitched back and brought my leg up to kick Withered Freddy in the knee joint. It howled out, and I heard an all too familiar grinding sound as I knocked the joint out of position, giving me enough leverage to toss it around and squarely into Withered Bonnie, knocking them both into another table and snapping it underneath them.
Meanwhile, Foxy had her own issues in the duel; she attempted to come in with a quick stab and kill, but with every swing and stab, Withered Foxy was countering it, and coming in with a slash with its hook. Foxy was looking a bit beat-up, some tears becoming clear in her costume and a few issues as she twitched slightly with every impact. Immediately, I grabbed a nearby chair, rushed behind Withered Foxy, and brought it down on the infernal machine's head. The chair shattered on impact, and Withered Foxy collapsed into a heap.
We rushed out of the party room and headed out, running into the main Game and Show room… Just as the Toy animatronics seemed to come back online. Seeing us, they stepped off stage and started coming. I told Foxy to head for the security office, and set to work. Bon-Bon came in, reaching out to try and grab me. Grabbing onto her wrists, I spun around and tossed her squarely into Balloon Boy, sending them both tumbling into the carousel once more. Cheeks charged in, catching me in the middle and bringing me down to the ground, before leaning forward with her jaw gaping; my eyes widened as she tried to bite me!
I was not having any of that. Moving quickly, I reached down into my belt and pulled out a smoke grenade. In a fit of irony, I tugged the pin and forced the canister into her mouth just as it went off, stuffing her system with smoke and heat. She screeched, rolled off of me, and started struggling to get the thing out of her mouth. I came in and super-kicked her square in the face, sending her tumbling backwards onto where Bon-Bon and Balloon Boy were trying to get back to their feet, bowling them over once more.
Fred decided he took exception to this, and showed as much by grabbing me and throwing ME into the pile, knocking the wind out of me for a long moment. As the three animatronics and I climbed on and off of each other to try and get back to our feet, the entire situation was made more complicated as we heard a vent creaking overhead. Bon-Bon and I locked eyes, before looking up…
Just as the grate popped open, and out fell the Mangle onto the pile. Endoskeleton parts, pieces of plastic, metal, and other assorted components all started meeting, locking, and fighting against each other to be the first one back up. In short, it was complete chaos. I managed to get some order to it by ripping the Mangle's head off and throwing it at Fred, who had started coming in to get involved in this utter brawl, before punching Bon-Bon twice and then kicking her down with a well-placed boot to the middle.
Chica managed to get back to her feet as well, and reared back before punching me square in the face; had I not had my face shield down, I probably would've lost teeth from it. Just as it was, it sent me stumbling back against one of the tables, where Fred reached forward and attempted to strangle me once more. I heard running in the hall, and new that Foxy was on her way… But I also didn't hear the music box anymore. I figured I was in deep trouble…
Just as the Withered bots came in. As one, the Toy animatronics ceased focusing on me, with Fred's grip loosening just as I started seeing black haze at the edges of my vision, and let out a collective screech before charging them. Fred nailed his withered doppelganger directly in the gut, came in for a one-two punch, and finished with an uppercut that knocked Withered Freddy's hat clean off and nearly brought the mask with it.
Bon-Bon and Withered Bonnie were having a more interesting fight; Wither had managed to rip Bon-Bon's ear clean off and was now using it as a blunt weapon, smashing the Toy version's plastic suit until heavy cracks were beginning to show in it. Bon-Bon took offense to this, and made it clear as such when she stopped Wither's attacks and performed a quick jump-kick to knock it backwards.
It was about this time I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and ducked into the hall, bolting straight for the office. I made it just as I heard 'Pop Goes The Weasel' beginning to play, and both Foxy and I took cover while I grabbed the tablet, scrolling through cameras.
Back in the Game Room, it was a complete brawl. Cheeks was having some trouble as Withered Chica dug its distorted, broken down jaw into her head, crushing the plastic and causing some nasty damage. Balloon Boy was, to his credit, attempting to help by bashing Withered Chica over the head with his sign over and over again.
Fred and Withered Freddy were locked in a grapple, throwing punches and kicks at each other to try and get their opponent to concede. Bon-Bon was now straddling Withered Bonnie's prone form, tossing punch after punch into the bare endoskeleton of Wither's head. Even Withered Foxy and the Mangle were brawling, with Wither suffering from the issue I had as the Mangle just popped different components apart, reassembling them elsewhere and clinging on, biting and tearing into Withered Foxy's costume.
Then the Marionette arrived, and joined in the fight with his thin, wiry limbs flailing and ripping portions off of the different Withered animatronics. I figured the fight was over, and was about to turn the camera off… When I froze in place. There, having just entered the fight from a small vent in the corner, was an animatronic I had hoped never to see again.
Golden Freddy himself waded into the fight, nonchalantly ripping Fred's head off and kicking it aside, tearing Toy Bonnie's limbs free and smashing her, and even nearly breaking Cheeks in half. He and the Marionette squared off, and it looked like it was about to be a massive brawl… When the camera cut out, and the bells rang. Six AM had arrived.
Slowly, all of the animatronics dispersed, and both the Marionette and Golden Freddy looked directly into the camera before leaving for wherever they were hiding. Speechless, it took a poke from Foxy to make me realize that one of the screens had turned on, and there was another of those games playing. I sat down and looked it over.
This time, it seemed to be Foxy herself, and according to the controls and prompts… I controlled her as she ran out of pirate cove into the main Party Room, and tilted my head as I saw a few children cheering. This repeated twice, and I didn't think much of it. On the third time… I ran Foxy in, but instead of seeing a cheer… All the children were black and white, and that Purple Guy was standing there. The screen flickered, showing a brief glimpse of Foxy's withered face, and went dead.
I looked at Foxy, and both of us were clearly taken aback. So Golden Freddy lived… This wasn't good.
Speechless, the two of us got in the truck and headed back home, minds racing.
So Golden Freddy lives... Well, this is a bit of a problem, isn't it? And the Marionette is manually controlled? The plot thickens.
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