The trip to the pizzeria was mostly uneventful, partially because of the time that they chose. It was in the wee hours of the morning and, barring the occasional passing car, hardly anyone was out.
Scott was glad that this was the case. He wasn't entirely sure how people would react if they saw a train of robotic animals just... walking around. Then again, he did take them out once for Easter, and there didn't seem to be any trouble.
...Aside from the machine Freddy broke at the theme park, anyway.
But, that was then and this was now. Scott supposed that he would think about it later. He'd probably just play it safe, like usual, and keep the four indoors for the most part.
Scott smiled as he looked back at the bots who were following him. For the entire trip, they had been talking about the things they planned to do once they reached their destination. Chica brought along the radio from earlier, just in case the pizzeria's old sound system didn't work. Foxy was also carrying a box filled with things such as her eyepatch, hook, and various papers to draw on and play games with. She grinned as she gazed down upon her assorted goodies. Tonight was going to be fun.
"Oh, hey, we're here!", Bonnie suddenly exclaimed as the group approached a building. He ran ahead of the group before stopping in front of a set of glass doors, peering inside.
Scott tensed up slightly as he knew for a fact that this was the wrong building.
"B-Bonnie, wait!", he exclaimed, pursuing the animatronic. "I know you're excited, but... this is not our building!" he said.
"He's right!", Freddy agreed as he ran with Scott. He grabbed Bonnie's arms and gently pulled him away from the doors. "Look up!", he said, pointing at the sign.
"O-Oh, right... This is the... new place," he said, his ears drooping slightly as he looked up at the sign.
"Oh, cheer up, Bon!", Freddy assured, patting his friend on the back. "We'll be at our pizzeria soon enough! Besides, it's not like you have any reason to be embarrassed or anything," he continued. "Remember the last time we were here? I made the exact same mistake!", he pointed out.
"O-Oh yeah, heheh!" Bonnie replied, cheering back up. "I do remember that!"
"R-Right, well, why don't we get moving?", Scott asked, taking a step closer to the two. "The sooner we get to the other building, the sooner we can have some fun!" He grinned wryly, putting his hands behind his back. He really wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible. He remembered the complicated situation that arose the last time he was here... Plus, from what he knew of the four, he was pretty sure that Bonnie was a little more than simply embarrassed...
"Oh, yes, good idea!", Freddy replied. "Come on, Bonnie! Let's get moving!"
"Right, boss!"
And so, after a bit more walking, they arrived at their destination. Its appearance didn't change much since the last time most of them were there. Much like before, it was a small, old, dilapidated structure. It was larger than the "newer" pizzeria, but not by much. Its faded and peeling blue, green, and brown paint complimented the rocky grey parking lot to create a sort of a "dried-up" atmosphere. The windows were cracked, some full-on broken, and the sign above the entrance was missing a letter or two.
Nonetheless, Scott and the Toys were happy.
They were here.
The interior was also what one would expect from a long abandoned restaurant. Absolutely everything was covered in dust, or otherwise marred. Some tiles were cracked, some banners were torn or moth-eaten, and the balloons had long deflated. Similar to the outside, the walls' paint was also quite worn.
But to them, this was a-okay!
"Well!", Freddy began, taking a proud step forward. "We're here! The place where aaaall the magic happens!", he exclaimed, putting his hands up.
Scott grinned as the other three cheered. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica walked ahead. They seemed to inspect the place, talking and gossiping as they went. Scott almost took a step forward himself, but he took a moment to look at Foxy, who was oddly still beside him.
Foxy, meanwhile, was beside herself with wonder and glee! She slowly put down her box, then looked down at her feet. She wiggled her fingers, then her toes, opening her mouth in an odd, silly sort of grin.
"S-Say, Foxy, are you alright?", Scott asked.
"O-Oh, yes, yes! I'm more than alright!", she replied, breaking from her stupor. "I-It's been so long since... Since I've actually been able to walk upon these tiles! Ohh, this place looks just the way I remember it!", she continued, putting her hands together as she surveyed the room. She shuddered for a moment, feeling something coming on.
"Ahh... Ahhh... A-choo!", she sneezed.
"Th-Though, it's... a little dustier than I recall...", she then remarked, waving her hand in front of her nose.
Scott chuckled. He was glad that this was already working out. He checked his watch, noting the time as 12:30 AM. That meant a maximum of 5 and a half more hours with which he and his friends could do almost anything they wished!
However, Scott blinked in sudden realization. Did she just... sneeze? Can robots sneeze? Just as he opened his mouth to voice his curiosity and slight concern, he heard Freddy address him.
"Hey, Scott!", the bear called from upon the stage. "Why don't you go explore a bit? I reckon there isn't much sense in standing around when you've got a whole building to check out!"
"Yeah!", Bonnie agreed. "Plus, we gotta clean this room up!"
"Exactly!", Chica added. "We can't have you sitting here for six whole hours when the place is this dusty!"
"O-Oh, yes, and I should probably unpack as well...", Foxy said quietly. "Scott, would'ja be a dear and give us a few minutes to get situated? We'll get you when we're done!"
Scott smiled widely, nodding. "Sure thing!", he replied, before setting off.
Scott walked with a bit of a swing in his step as he went down the hallway. He was feeling better and better by the minute. He hummed as he made his way toward the Security Office. For him, all was quite well in the world!
However, as Scott would soon realize as he entered the office, not everything was quite right.
"Huh?", he murmured as he flipped the office's light switch, confused at the lack of response.
Flick. Flick-flick-flick-flick.
"Weird...", he said to himself. "This thing used to work!"
With a bit of difficulty, he maneuvered himself through the office and sat at the security desk. Though the office was dark, he could at least see the outlines of the objects immediately in front of him. He put his hands on the desk, shuddering slightly from the sheer amount of dust on the thing! Who would've thought that ten years of neglect would result in so much... dust?!
...Well, a lot of people would assume that, probably.
Anyway, Scott waggled his hands around, trying to shake the dust off.
"Egh...", he said. "Where's the fan?"
He felt his way around, gathering more dust on his palms as a result, before he felt something metal.
"Ah-ha!", he exclaimed. He moved his hand to the back of the fan and, feeling a switch, turned it.
He really, sorely regretted doing that.
"A- Ahh! Agh!", Scott exclaimed, flailing a bit. Fortunately, the decade-old fan worked. It blew most of the dust off of the table.
However, just as unfortunately, the fan worked.
Scott shouted and coughed as years of dust blew into his face. He almost fell out of his seat as he rubbed his eyes, getting some dust in them on accident. Why must the fan forsake him so?!
He quickly turned the thing off, coughing and hacking as he did so.
"Bad idea...", he said. "Really bad idea..."
But, he had to admit that at least the desk was clean. It looked a lot better this way and, hey, look what he found!
Scott grabbed and held up an old tablet. He marveled at it, having never seen this thing before! As a matter of fact, he was sure that this was...
"The Security Tablet!", he exclaimed in triumph. This was great! He could use this to check up on the Toys, to see what they were up to!
Assuming the camera system still worked, anyway.
"Well, here goes...", he announced as he pressed the 'On' button. After a few seconds, the tablet flickered on, showing the Freddy Fazbear Pizza logo before displaying the camera feed. It was blurry and filled with static, but Scott could see well enough. He poked the various camera options on the screen, watching as the bots spruced up the building. He smiled as he then switched to the Kid's Cove camera. Judging from what he saw, Foxy had just finished cleaning her little room and was busy unpacking her things. She hummed as she set various items upon the table, making sure that everything was perfectly organized. Upon realizing that she was being watched, she turned and smiled, waving up at the camera.
Scott waved back, despite knowing that the Toy wouldn't be able to see the gesture, and shut the tablet off. He laid back in his seat and sighed contently.
This was awesome.
He found himself always repeating that, or something similar, in his head, but this really was awesome! Everything about the past few weeks has been nothing short of awesome! He didn't know how else to describe it!
Scott sat up as he heard some footsteps down the hall. He sat in anticipation as the footsteps got closer and closer. Then, he heard the low screech of metal as something was set down and moved a bit to the side.
"Hrmm...", came a voice in the dark, a voice that he recognized as Freddy's. "Scott, could you hold this ladder for me? I just need to screw in this here lightbulb," the bear said. Scott assumed that the bot probably held up a bulb so as to cement his claim, but Scott wouldn't know.
...Considering how dark it is in here.
"Oh, sure, sure," Scott replied, getting up. He awkwardly felt his way around the desk to the ladder and, upon reaching it, grabbed the ladder's legs. Said ladder creaked a bit as it supported Freddy's weight. In fact, Scott could feel the old thing bending as the bear traversed it
"F-Freddy, I don't think this is safe..." Scott said, looking up.
"Hold on, hold on, I'm almost done!", Freddy replied. "...Ah! There we go! All good 'n replaced! Scott, would you mind turning on the light? I want to see if this works!"
Scott nodded and, after taking a cautious step back and making sure that the ladder wasn't going to fall, obliged! The light flickered on, illuminating the office. Freddy smiled down at Scott, prompting the man to smile back.
"Well, now that that's done and over with...", Freddy began, climbing back down the ladder. "Why don't you head on over to the main room while I put this ladder away?", he asked. "We've got quite the surprise for you!"
"Okay, sure!", Scott replied. He and Freddy exchanged waves, and Scott walked down the hall.
As Scott walked toward the stage area, he thought about Freddy's mention of a surprise. What could the Toys have in store? As he went, he also began to notice how clean the place looked. Sure, the tops of the walls and most of the ceiling was still rather grimy, but it was a definite improvement over the state they were in only about ten minutes ago. As he reached the main room, he noticed that Bonnie and Chica were onstage. Foxy was in front of the stage, sitting on one of the mats that were laid out on the floor.
"Oh, hi, Scott!", Bonnie greeted, waving and hopping.
"Hey, there's the Guest of Honor!", Chica exclaimed as she hopped offstage.
"Hey, guys! What's with the set-up?", Scott asked, wondering what the three were up to.
"Oh, you'll see when Freddy comes back!", Chica replied before giving Scott something. Scott looked in surprise upon what he was given. There, in his hands, was...
A bowl of popcorn!
"...Wh-Where did'ja get this?", Scott asked, looking at Chica. "Did you make this yourself?"
"Well~...", Chica began modestly, putting her hands behind her back. "Yes! I did! It's not burnt, is it? I haven't really... made anything in a long time, y'know!"
Scott looked down at his bowl again, then glanced back at Chica. He wasn't sure about the safety of this popcorn... Could unpopped popcorn stay edible for ten years? Could it stay edible indefinitely?
"...Mmm! Well, it's definitely delicious!", Scott commented before taking another bite. "Where did'ja make this?", he asked, his mouth full.
"In the kitchen!", she replied. "Where else?" Scott shrugged.
"I guess that makes sense," he said after chewing and swallowing. "I'm just surprised at how much stuff still works in here!" He made a move to grab another handful, but stopped as Chica held his wrist.
"Heh, well, I'm glad you like it," she began. "But, don't eat it all here! Go sit down with Foxy, will ya'? The show's about to start!" she said, gently pushing Scott.
"Right, right! Wait – show?"
"You'll see what I mean! Now, get going! Bonnie 'n I will get Freddy!", Chica exclaimed, now using both of her arms to coax Scott along.
"Okay, okay, sheesh!", he replied. As Chica, and eventually Bonnie, went to retrieve their friend, Scott made his way over to where Foxy was seated. He made himself comfortable on the mat, placing his bowl of popcorn in his lap. Foxy quietly giggled, having watched the whole exchange.
"Glad you could join us," she said kindly. "You know, I saw you watching me through those cameras. Thought I wouldn't notice?"
"Oh, I figured you'd notice!", Scott responded. "I'm just surprised at how many things still work in here!"
"Hmhm~ Oh, believe me," she began. "I'm as surprised as you are! Though, I did tell Chica not to use the stove... I was so worried that a fire would start!"
"Heh, yeah, that'd be... pretty bad," Scott said with a tinge of nervousness.
"Oh, absolutely... It's also why I'm nervous about using too many things in here at once!", she said. "It might blow the circuit breaker, that poor thing... As a matter of fact, it's happened before!"
"L-Listen, Foxy," Scott said. "I'm sure it's not gonna happen. Not if I can help it, anyway," Scott he reassured putting a hand on the animatronic's shoulder.
"O-Oh, I'm sure...", Foxy replied, looking down slightly. "It doesn't mean I'm not still worried..."
Scott frowned.
"C'mon, let's not worry about that now. Let's just focus on what the band has planned, huh?", he offered, setting the bowl down next to him and opening his arms for a hug – a hug which Foxy accepted.
"Oh, yes, the band...", she said thoughtfully. "Oh, okay, okay,", she relented. "You know, Scott, you're a real dear," she said. "I wish we had someone like you around back when this place was still up and running. Probably would've kept these arms for a lot longer, eh? Hehe!" Scott chuckled as well.
"Maybe," he said. "Maybe."
Foxy opened her mouth to further her joke, but was cut off by the distant sound of a door opening and closing.
"Oh, that must be them!", she said. "Get your popcorn. I'm sure you'll love this."
Scott and Foxy watched as the three clambered onto the stage. Bonnie had his guitar, Chica had her plate and cupcake, and Freddy had his microphone. He placed it in the mic stand and tapped it a few times. Grinning, he began to speak.
"Hello, everyb-..."
...Unfortunately, the microphone had other plans. It made an odd whining and screeching noise, prompting everyone to cover their ears.
"Ah... Heheh, sorry about that," Freddy apologized, lowering his voice. He cleared his mostly metaphorical throat before resuming.
"Hello, everybody!" he boomed. "Hello, and welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria! I'm glad that all of you could come on this fine night for our Grand Semi-Reopening! I'll be your host, Toy Freddy Fazbear, though you can just call me Freddy. These are my friends, Toy Bonnie, and Toy Chica!", he said, turning and pointing to the aforementioned bots.
"Hiya!", Bonnie greeted, holding up his guitar slightly.
"Heeey!", Chica similarly exclaimed, winking.
"And unlike the toys you may play with at home, we're quite real! Isn't that right, gang?"
"You bet!", Chica replied.
"The realest!", chimed Bonnie.
"Haha! And now, without further adieu, why don't we play a song for our wonderful friends in the audience? For old times' sake?", Freddy offered.
"Sounds like a plan to me!", Bonnie replied.
"Ready when you are!", Chica said.
"And what about you?", Freddy asked, looking down upon Scott. "Are you ready for Freddy and his friends?"
Scott looked back up at the three, a silly grin on his face. Foxy wrapped her arms around one of his, grinning as well. Foxy was right. He was already loving this. With utmost sincerity, he replied with but one word.
"Yes!"
A/N: MAN. Whew. Finally finished this'un. Sorry for being so late. Procrastination hit me. Itkillsthebestofusmaaaan. I hope you liked this chapter 'n all, andIhopeyounoticeditwaslongerthanusual. Spent practically all day writing it. And, despite how the ending might seem, this fic's far from over. Justwantedtothrowthatoutthere.
Bwah, anyway, see y'all next time! Hopefully soon!
BGBNDR, out!