A/N: If I could add gifs on here, there'd be a guy clapping so hard his hands were exploding. I mean, seriously, this is my second most-viewed story now, in hardly any time at all. You people make me happy. Anyway, backstory ahoy.

Ruby wasn't quite sure why Mr. Kiin had called her in so early, at 9 pm. The pizzeria was still open, for one thing, with only a small amount of children running around. Business as usual, sadly.

Currently, she was sitting across from him in his office, which was completely unbecoming of his personality. It was just the same as the rest of the building, with all the oranges and greens, and it was extremely funny to see the sullen-faced manager sitting just in front of a poster featuring the animatronics and the words 'Celebrate!' in block capitals. The only kid-unfriendly part of the room was the pipe sitting on a stand, filled with what looked like Fire Dust. Silently, he pulled said pipe to him, taking a deep puff and blowing out oddly-colored smoke, when then turned into a miniature lightshow of flame a little ways off that miraculously didn't burn the walls. She hadn't known one could smoke Dust.

"Apologies," he muttered, staring off at the embers. "for calling you in so early. I just felt I owe you an...explanation as to why the animatronics act the way they do."

She perked up slightly, curiosity piqued. "Oh, that's alright, I didn't have any classes this late in the day!"

"Good to hear." He took another puff. "Anyway, I can't say that this is all concrete fact. Mostly facts, some inferences I've made that may or may not be true, but the best we've got to work with. So..."

~0~

I haven't always been the manager here, as you could probably guess. I've been here...'bout five years. Longer than most, anyway. Before me was the original owner, Pyron Kasai. He started this place around 30 years ago, I think. You'd think the animatronics would be based on animals, like a lot of these sort of places, but no. Instead, they're grown-up versions of the owner's children and their friends. Pyron Jr. and Ember Kasai, Newt Peater, Carlos Salvador, and Indigo Frystlik. Yeah, there used to be five animatronics, but I'll get to that.

I knew those kids growing up...kind of. They were kind of stand-offish. Only hung out with each other, so I never talked to them. Carlos and Newt were really loud, I can say that. Indigo and Pyron didn't say much, and Ember just followed her big brother around.

I was eight when crap went down here. Apparently there'd been a janitor that had been fired recently, for being too...'friendly' with the kids. He was kind of pissed off about it, so he took his revenge. He lured those five kids into the back room where they keep all the suits, and killed them. Stabbed them in the spine so they couldn't run, then shoved them each into their characters' suit. The suits didn't have the endoskeletons in there, but the inside of those things are full of crossbeams, wires, all sorts of sharp bits; they bled out very quickly. Shoved the endoskeletons back in after they'd died and ran, too. Nasty business.

That's bad enough as is, but they didn't find the bodies at first. The manager had hoped to find them alive, and put on a special show to raise awareness of those five's disappearance. I don't know how the maintenance guy missed it, but when the animatronics went up on stage, they very obviously weren't...right. Their movement was a lot more forced than it usually was, which is saying something, and they had this horrid smell. A lot of kids got scarred for life when blood started coming out of their mouths and eyes. I was there for it, it wasn't pretty. Needless to say, this place got shut down for a couple of years afterwards.

When they re-opened it, they'd done their best to erase those events from the public's minds. Everything had been re-done besides the animatronics, who had been cleaned very thoroughly, and tried to promote the place as bigger and better than before. Even then business never really spiked again, as it's kind of hard to forget that five kids died in those suits. Why didn't they replace the animatronics? They're 'high-tech', so to say. They packed a lot of AI into those endoskeletons. They watched and learned from the kids and the staff, so much so that mind-wise they weren't much different from a human being. When I got here, they actually recognized me, even though I'm obviously much older than I was back then. Remembered my name, too, and what kind of pizza I like.

Yeah, about when I got here, five years ago Pyron Sr. had a breakdown. Losing both your children and their only friends inside your own restaurant is not something that can be brushed off. His wife, not much better at that point, put the place up for sale. I bought it because I honestly felt bad for the animatronics. Imagine living inside this place for years, never seeing the outside, knowing that your body was used as a coffin for one of those smiling faces you used to have so much fun with. It wasn't their faults that the pizzeria shut down, and I just wanted to give them a second chance. Likewise, it wasn't my fault that their AI had become a little...warped.

Despite how they greeted me with cheery smiles, I could tell from the start they didn't like me. They were kind of curt when they spoke with me that first time, with Newt not saying anything at all. When I was almost out of earshot, I heard her ask 'Where's Mr. Kasai?' I didn't blame any of them at first, for they'd never had any manager besides Mr. Kasai, but when they started getting mean my soft spot for them faded.

Around 3 years ago I had to sell Ember, the fifth animatronic. The business was doing particularly bad then, and I didn't have much choice. She was bass in the band, anyway, so I didn't think her absence would be too noticeable to the kids. I regretted it, yes, and still do, because of the other animatronics. It was like I'd really sold one of their family. Honestly, I don't feel as bad anymore, because the others...retaliated.

I'd stayed late to lock up that day, as we didn't have night guards at that time, when I noticed that they weren't up on their stages like they were supposed to be. They'd surrounded me, their eyes glowing in the dark, grins plastered on Carlos and Newt.

"You aren't Mr. Kasai," Newt had said, her voice chirpy like a songbird. "You shouldn't be here, Mr. Kiin~!"

Indigo nodded in agreement. "As I remember, businesses should be handed down from father to child. You aren't Mr. Kasai's child..."

"...I am," Pyron said as he walked closer, much too close for comfort. "This pizzeria is mine. And yet here you are, pretending that you're the one in charge here. That you have the right to do with us as you please." I knew he was referring to Ember. With ease he'd knocked me on my back, Carlos and Newt quick to hold me down, as Pyron loomed over me.

"I think you need a reminder of where you stand."

~0~

"Needless to say, I can't walk on my own anymore," he finished, briefly lifting his pant leg to show purple and black flesh. His whole left leg had been pulverized beyond repair. "Anyway, in the end, I can't say entirely why the animatronics wander at night like this. My best guess is that they're either haunted by those kids' souls or that their AI is just that twisted now. Either way, it doesn't matter. Just don't let them get close."

Ruby had been stunned into silence. Sure, she'd found the animatronics creepy, but she hadn't exactly needed those kinds of details on them. Mr. Kiin glanced over at the clock on his wall. 11:55. With a sigh, he stood up, leaning heavily on his cane like he always did. "Your shift's about to start," he muttered, before heading out the door. She just ran into her office, leaning back in the chair and staring at the wall for a while. When she finally started flipping through the cameras, she noticed how all three animatronics were still on stage, but were staring straight at her. Business as usual.

A/N: Surprise, surprise, a character that actually needs their cane. Anyway, if you're wondering Mr. Kiin's color designation, it's gold. 'Kin' is Japanese for 'gold', so yeah. This actually wasn't intentional, but when I realized it I decided to have him as the manager. That and I just like using him. Anyway, I hope that's enough excitement for one chapter.