A/N: Here you are guys, another chapter. I've finally figured a (rough draft?) for this story so I at least know where I'm going, plot-wise. All grammer and edit mistakes are mine. Apologies in advance.
Enjoy!
The darkness of Gabe's basement was illuminated by the large flat screen TV on the wall. Both Terra and Gabe were hunched up on the couch, Terra had a blanket wrapped around her lower half and she made a face as the screen flashed red.
"Ew, why did I let you guys talk me into watching a horror movie?"
"Because you said you would watch whatever Mike wanted," Gabe said. Without turning he grinned. "Why you scared?"
"No! It's just gross the way they're dying. And who's that stupid? When someone goes missing you don't split up like that."
"Hush, you'll ruin it," Gabe chided.
Mike smiled to himself, listening to his friends bicker. He was sitting next to the couch in his wheelchair. It was true that he had chosen the movie, but it was some old video that his parents probably watched in their day. The special effects were so bad that it took away from the whole horror aspect.
He hadn't picked it to get scared though. They were winding down after a rather eventful day. Mike hadn't laughed that much fun playing Cards Against Humanity in a long time. Earlier they had gotten pizza, played some video games, and talked. Things that they had done countless times before. Things that he wouldn't give up for the world.
Terra leaned over the armrest of the couch and looked at him with a warm smile. "So do you like your present?"
Mike looked down at his lap where his present sat. It was a brand-spankin'-new tablet. Of course he had gotten mad at them, and of course they had just laughed it off like it was nothing, but still…
So he had done the basic set up, putting in his name, and creating a password. Now it just sat there, blinking up at him. "I still don't think you guys should have gotten me this," Mike grumbled half-heartedly. The smile on his face was enough to know that he didn't mean it. This was better than Christmas and his last birthday combined.
Terra shook her head, watching him as he scrolled through the default apps. "Nope. This is what we wanted to get for you."
"Yeah, but it's expensive!" Mike said.
"Aw-shut up and take it." Gabe butted in. He was still staring at the TV. "I threw away the receipt so your stuck with it."
"Guys, what am I going to use this for?" Mike asked, holding up the tablet.
Gabe shrugged. "School? Recreation? You don't have a computer at home. Tablets work just as good as computers now days."
Mike sighed and opened up the browser idly. While he was still happy that they had gotten it for him, he knew part of it was out of pity. And that he didn't like. If he hadn't ended up in a wheelchair, would they still have gotten the tablet for him?
Realizing that he had typed Freddy into the search bar he quickly backspaced and saw Terra frown.
A few quiet moments passed by and the walls were occasionally lit with flashes of red as people met unfortunate ends in the movie. Using Gabe's Wi-Fi, Mike was able to find a cool background for his tablet and download a few free games he could play offline. Eventually though the movie ended and Gabe turned off the TV and flicked on the lights.
"That was dumb," Terra snorted. She out of all of them found horror movies the least appealing.
"I thought everyone like watching people get murdered by a tree?" Gabe said teasingly.
"No," Terra said flatly.
Mike snickered and was about to join in on messing with her, but Gabe turned his attention to him, his expression suddenly serious. "So Mike, promised to tell us about it later and I'm dying to know. What happened to you in the pizzeria?"
Mike felt his expression go neutral and Terra shot Gabe a death glare. Taking a deep breath, Mike briefly fought over the idea of telling a lie before shooting it down. These guys were his friends – why should he lie to them? He had known he was going to have to tell someone eventually, but he hadn't thought it would be this soon. His stomach felt a little ill, but Mike looked up at the two.
"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Terra quickly said. She looked worried for him, like she was afraid that he might pass out or fall over.
Shaking his head, he took another deep breath. "No, No… It's okay. You guys just have to promise that you won't interrupt, and that you won't tell anyone."
Both of them nodded. Gabe looked excited, his eyes gleaming. Even Terra while she looked uncomfortable, appeared to be interested. Mike began gathering his thoughts to tell about the events. What if they didn't believe him and thought he was crazy? He had to force that worry to the back of his mind. He trusted that his friends would believe him, no matter how crazy it sounded.
Taking a third deep breath, Mike began recounting his experience at Freddy Fazebear's Pizzeria.
He described everything, from his first impressions of the place, to the phone guy and his messages. Everything was still fresh in his mind making it both easier, and harder for him to tell his friends. It was painful remembering what happened that night and he had to pause his story when he told them about what the animatronics did to the man.
He did tell them about Freddy saving him, but left out the part where John and Julie gave him Freddy. When he was finally done, Terra and Gabe were staring at him. As seconds ticked by Mike realized that he could hear the water heater in the adjoining room.
"Let me get this straight; At night you had to survive by keeping away 'haunted' animatronics?" Terra asked skeptically.
Mike nodded sheepishly when she emphasized the word 'haunted'. Almost as if she didn't believe him. He waited as she digested the information. Gabe off to the side, laid back and stared at the ceiling.
"I always knew that place was messed up, but the mascots trying to kill you? That's some pretty fucked up stuff." He sat back up and looked at Mike. "Like, it sounds more painful than that time I broke my ribs."
"Death would probably hurt more than broken ribs?" Mike said humorlessly. "I think it would hurt more than a lot of things Gabe."
Gabe rolled his eyes. "You know what I'm talking about. I'm just imagining what it would feel like to get stuffed into one of those things. Don't they have those metal bars and wires and crap inside? So if they shoved you in it would be like a human sized slicer. In goes a human and out comes hamburger."
"That's gross," Terra gagged.
Mike looked back and forth between them, hopefully. "You guys believe me?"
Gabe nodded instantly while Terra seemed a little hesitant. She ran her hand through her purple streaked hair. "Mike, this is a big pill you're asking me to swallow. As much as I want to believe you, there just so many things that don't make sense."
Mike bit back his disappointment. Well… he couldn't ask for everything. Gabe seemed to believe him, and Terra didn't think that he was delusional. He reached up and wiped the cold sweat off his brow. It felt good to tell someone about everything he had gone through, to tell them the real reason behind why he was in a wheelchair.
To his right Gabe's eyes suddenly lit up and he snapped his finger pointing towards Terra. "What if we had proof?"
"Proof?"
"Yeah. If we had physical, actual proof about what Mike's been talking about you would believe him right?"
Terra bit her lip and glanced towards Mike while he stared at Gabe like he had grown two heads. Where the hell were they going to get proof? There was no way in hell he was going to go back to the pizzeria – not even if the president asked – and the only other proof that he could think of was…
Mike felt his face go blank for the second time that day as the image of Freddy leapt to the front of his mind.
"I mean, I guess I would have to believe him," Terra finally replied. She seemed cautious with her wording, as if she were afraid of hurting Mike. "But let's be honest. How could that be possible? How could so many night guards go missing without someone noticing? How could the animatronics be that intelligent? We don't have AI's that advance yet."
Gabe however seemed to be in a different world. Mike could see his mind spinning with ideas and he instantly didn't like any of those possible ideas. If it were Gabe it would be something stupid like trying to break into the pizzeria. "I'm not going to go anywhere near that place." Mike said quietly but firmly. It seemed that his guess was correct as Gabe seemed to deflate.
"Fine, you don't have to back in, but you and Terra could wait outside while I snuck in and-"
"No you don't understand. I'm not going anywhere near that place," Mike stressed. His heart was pounding so fast that his chest was starting to hurt. He unconsciously put a hand against his chest, pressing it against where he had gotten shot.
Terra put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and gave Gabe an exasperated look. "And I'm not going to be a part of some petty crime."
"But how else are we going to get proof?" Gabe whined. He didn't see scared at all about the prospect of breaking into a place that housed killer animatronics. The thought scared Mike like nothing else and in the back his mind. Maybe subconsciously Gabe was looking for a little more proof for himself.
Mike forced himself to remove his hand from his chest and run it through his hair instead. Again, Freddy popped into his mind, but he wasn't sure that he should tell Gabe and Terra about him. Telling them what happened was one thing, but to show them that he had decided to bunk with a killer animatronic was another.
And a selfish part of him didn't want to tell anyone else about Freddy.
It was strange, this selfish want to keep Freddy to himself. He shared everything with his friends, from his family problems, to the few possessions he had. It was why they were so close. And even if he did tell them, how would they react?
How would Freddy react?
Taking a shuddering breath, Mike looked up at his friends. They deserved to know, and besides, it would be hard to keep something like this a secret. They would feel betrayed too if he kept it a secret.
"I know how to prove it to you."
Mike Ignored Terra as she looked at him nervously. The truck came to a stop as Gabe shut it down. For a moment it was quiet and Mike studied the front of his house, impatiently waiting for one of his friends to help unload him.
"Mike… I know that you want us to believe you, but what could you possibly have that could convince us?" Terra asked.
Shaking his head, Mike opened his door. Gabe was quick to come to his aid, helping lower him and his wheelchair to the ground. Terra got out with a frown on her face. Mike didn't care what she thought. He was excited and nervous about showing Freddy to them. During the tense car ride to his house he had debated how both his friends and Freddy would react. He was worried about Freddy's reaction far more than his friends.
He didn't think that Freddy would freak out, but he could never know for sure. If he did all he could hope for is that he could calm down. Freddy didn't seem to want to hurt him, for whatever reason.
Wheeling himself out of the grass he pushed himself towards the steps leading to his front door. Gabe was instantly there to help raise him over them and Mike mumbled a 'thanks' before placing a hand on the door.
"You guys have to promise that you won't freak out." He said. His voice was a little shaky
"Of course we won't bro," Gabe instantly said.
"We've been over to your house before, there's nothing to freak out about," Terra said, looking confused. "Mike, what's going on? If you're trying to scare us it isn't funny."
Instead of replying Mike steeled his nerves and opened the door, wheeling over the threshold.
The dark interior was a lot cooler than outside and Mike blinked, trying to get his eyes to adjust. He wheeled forwards as his friends followed him, shutting the door behind them. For a minute it was quiet and Mike stopped, checking to see if Freddy was in the living room. Not seeing him he cupped his hands. "Freddy!"
For an agonizing second it was silent.
Mike felt Freddy approaching before he heard him. His footsteps were freakishly light, but Mike could feel it through the old floor as it shuddered. Freddy came around the corner, his eyes almost glowing in the shaded house and Mike could hear Terra's breath catch in her throat.
The bear animatronic came to a quick stop directly in front of Mike and almost seemed to scan him. Mike silently pleaded to whatever deity existed that Freddy wouldn't do something to freak out his friends. For a split second Freddy's eyes dimmed and Mike could almost see his permanent smile grow more genuine. A paw came up to rest on his head, ruffling his hair. The unpleasant smell was still emanating from Freddy.
"Hey, how's it going big guy?" Mike said with a nervous chuckle, removing Freddy's paw from the top of his head. Fixing his hair, he glanced back to see Gabe and Terra staring at Freddy in disbelief. "Um, Freddy. These are my friends, Terra, and Gabe… Guys, Freddy."
Freddy gaze went from him to his friends. Mike thought he saw his expression turn more sinister. Then, Freddy slowly stepped between him and his friends.
"Hey, hey… Freddy, there my friends," Mike stressed. He wheeled around the bear to look up at him. "They're okay. They won't hurt me."
Freddy seemed to gauge him for a moment before his frame relaxed slightly. Mike let out a small breath that he didn't know he was holding. The brown-furred animatronic planted himself besides Mike, and began staring down Gabe and Terra.
Both of his friends appeared to be shocked with Gabe recovering more quickly. He worked his jaw before he hesitantly stepped closer, looking Freddy over. "Dude… No freaking way! How did you get him? Did you steal him? Are you going to steal the other's?" Mike shook his head, watching as Gabe walked completely around Freddy.
Freddy tried to follow Gabe's movements with his head, but the squeal of metal on metal came from his neck. It made everyone in the house jump and Freddy's eyes flashed as he automatically backed up, one of his paws came up to cup his neck.
"That sounded painful," Terra said quietly, finally breaking her silence. Twirling a string of her hair she moved to stand next to Mike and Gabe as they all observed Freddy. The animatronic for his part, did his glared at all of them still cupping his neck as if it were their fault. Terra meekly nudged Mike. "Have you tried to fix him?"
"What?" Mike said.
"It sounds like something is broken in his neck," Terra replied. She looked Freddy up and down and wrinkled her nose. "And it looked like he could really use a cleaning."
Gabe snickered. "Yeah right, how do you clean something like that? A vacuum? Oh, and is does Mike have enough proof now?"
Terra gave Gabe a deadpan, and he held his hands up in surrender. With a huff she returned her attention to Freddy. "Yes. Although Mike I really want to know how you were able to… acquire him."
"You know that old couple that gave me a ride from the hospital?" Mike asked. When Terra nodded he itched the back of his neck. "Well, it was actually John and Julie. They gave me Freddy. He saved my life so… I save his, ya' know?"
"If you're story is true; he's killed people Mike. Has he tried to hurt you?" Terra asked. Her voice was dead serious.
Mike shook his head quickly. "No… Well when he broke out of the box they brought him in, he scared me pretty badly, but he hasn't really done anything to hurt me." Terra nodded, as if she had come to a conclusion and studied Freddy thoughtfully.
Even though things seemed to be moving way too fast, Mike couldn't help but pleased. His friends didn't freak out about Freddy. Freddy wasn't doing anything crazy to them. It was a win in his books.
Mike thought to the few days he had Freddy. It was actually shocking the changes Freddy had shown from being in the pizzeria. It looked like he had his free-roam again, the one that phone guy had talked about. And even though he had only one expression, Freddy seemed to be able to communicate his emotions easily through posture and movement.
"Does he do anything creepy?" Gabe asked, rather excitedly.
Mike shrugged. "Um, he is rather… clingy. He'll follow me everywhere in the house if that counts."
Freddy finally relaxed his guarded look, and marched over so that he was standing directly in front of Mike. Both of his friends backed up automatically and he smiled wryly. "He also doesn't know the meaning of personal space."
"Well then tell him!" Terra said eying Freddy.
Laughing Mike looked up at Freddy. "I would, but I got the feeling that he wouldn't listen, or care."
"Tell him that it's to preserve your sense of smell. God, how do you stand that stench?" Terra said. She exaggeratedly retched. And Mike gave Gabe a questioning look.
"She's right," Gabe said sheepishly. "The bear does stink."
Raising his eyebrows Mike sniffed. Freddy still smelled the same as he always did, it definitely wasn't nice, but he didn't understand why his friends were reacting the way they were. There were a lot worse smells out there.
Mike smiled innocently at Terra. "You know, it's easier to get over the smell if you give him a hug. Why don't you come over here and give him one?"
"Nope!" Terra exclaimed. She made a fist when Gabe approached her. "I'm not getting any closer to him unless we clean him."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Gabe asked.