Freddy slowly walked down one of the hallways in the establishment, thinking to himself. He wasn't sure precisely where he had planned to go, but that detail didn't matter to him for the moment. Aside from the hard thumping of the bear's feet as they struck the tiles under them, the pizzeria was deathly quiet since Fritz had left. As far as the bear knew, Scott had since sat down at the edge of the stage, where he ate the rest of his popcorn. Bonnie and Chica were in one of the party rooms, and Foxy had gone to reside in her Cove. It dearly bothered the bear to see his friends in such a sorry state, and he felt powerless in the fact that he didn't know how to cheer them up. There was only one word that he could use to describe this situation.

This was terrible.

That wasn't to say that he was feeling any better than any of his pals. And to think, he felt absolutely fantastic earlier! He sang, he danced, he didn't have a care in the world! But, then, that Fritz fellow came. He didn't hate Fritz. In fact, he had some respect for the man once he revealed why he was here. It's what he said that bothered him. It reminded Freddy of what happened all of those years ago. It reminded him of how powerless he felt when he couldn't stop what was happening around him.

And how powerless he feels now, unable to do anything about this current situation!

Furthermore, it made him feel like he couldn't escape what had happened long ago. No matter what, it seemed like '1987' would just keep coming up! It kept teasing him, reminding him of what occurred, what he couldn't do! And now, he felt terrible, his friends felt terrible, everyone felt terrible because of it! It reminded him of how he and his friends were replaced! He was forgotten, slated to languish away in some dump-

Honk!

Freddy blinked, snapping out of his thoughts as he heard a light honking noise. It didn't take long for him to notice that he had also stopped walking, and was blocked from going any further. He backed up slightly, noticing that he was also facing the Parts & Services room door. It didn't take much thought for him to realize that he must've hit the door when he reached the end of the hall.

He sighed in the usual odd, white-noise'y sort of manner, turning away. He felt his hat and his tie, realizing that both were knocked askew from the impact. And to think, he was supposed to be an entertainer, a role model, something that the children were supposed to look up to. He used to make people laugh, lift their moods, give them something to talk about!

And, as Freddy suddenly realized...

He did.

He remembered his day at the Easter Fair. That day went so swimmingly. Despite Bonnie's disappearance, he and his friends had loads of fun! They were able to do things that they weren't able to do before! But, most of all...

They were praised.

He remembered beating that Stravinsky fellow in that strongman game. People were cheering for him, taking pictures, the works! They were taking so many pictures of him, he didn't know where to look when the cameras flashed around him! He hoped they got his good side...

But, back to the point! He still had his touch, his appeal, his likability! People still loved him, given the occasion! And as he recalled the stories the other Toys told him about that day, they had a whale of a time as well! So...

...What was he doing, moping around like this?

What were they doing, moping around like this?

Freddy closed his eyes, grinning. He began to quietly chuckle, before adjusting his hat and tie. As was mentioned before, he was an entertainer. He made people happy.

And, dangit, he was going to do just that.

It didn't take much looking to find Chica and Bonnie in one of the party rooms. Freddy peered into the room, trying to see what was going on inside.

Bonnie was leaning back in his seat, quietly strumming his guitar. He didn't seem to be playing any tune in particular. Chica watched from across the table, her head supported by her hands. Other than the low sounds of the guitar, the room was quiet.

Freddy's frown returned as tilted his head slightly. This reminded him of when he found the two of them just a short while ago, after they ran away from Scott's house. They seemed so dejected then, so forlorn, so-

No. Let's have none of that now.

Boldly, Freddy stepped into the room, garnering the attention of the two Toys. They lurched in their seats in surprise, having not expected anyone.

"O-Oh, hi... H-Hi, Freddy!", Bonnie greeted.

"H-Hey, Freddy!", Chica followed up. "Um... What's up?"

Freddy took a moment before responding. He had to make sure that he knew how he was going to cheer up these two. If there was one thing he didn't want to do, it was to mess this up.

"Ohhh... Nothing much is up," Freddy replied. Good start. "It's just that... I hate seeing you guys like this!", he admitted. "And, well... I've been thinking. Do we really have a reason to feel this way?", he asked.

"H-Huh?", Bonnie asked.

"Wha'd'you mean, Freddy?", Chica inquired. "Isn't Fritz, well... Kinda right about what happened? A-About, um...", she looked down, putting her hands together. She seemed a bit reluctant to fully admit what happened. Bonnie glanced at her, before looking at Freddy, who began to look away as well. Try as he might, there was no fully escaping what happened all those years ago. So, with a heavy heart, he said...

"Yes."

"However!", he quickly continued. "When you think about it, it doesn't mean much! It doesn't make us a bunch of useless, washed-up robots with no purpose! Do you two remember Easter, by any chance?", he asked. Bonnie's ears twitched at the mention of that day.

"H-Hey! Yeah, I remember that!", the bunny exclaimed. "That day was awesome!"

"And what did you do?", Freddy asked with a wide smile, putting his hands behind his back.

"W-Well... I got to explore a bit, a-and... Oh! I got to meet these two guys!", he said, beginning to smile. "They said they were missing a performer, and asked if I wanted to fill in! I said yes, and then...", he trailed off, his eyes and smile widening.

"Oh man, I got to perform! I-It was a solo thing, but- I got to be the Easter Bunny! I sang for the kids, a-and I got to host an Easter Egg Hunt! It was the best day ever!", Bonnie exclaimed, putting his arms up.

"Yes!", Freddy exclaimed, both in agreement and in relief that his plan was working. "And didn't the kids enjoy it?", he asked.

"Oh, yes, they did!", Bonnie replied. "Y-You should'a seen their faces! They were so happy to be there! And the ones who won the Hunt, ooooh!...", Bonnie put his hands to his cheeks, wiggling in his seat. Freddy chuckled. Now that was the Bonnie he knew.

"Now, Chica...", he began, looking at the chick in question. "What about you?"

"W-Well... me 'n Foxy won some games 'n stuff", she said. "A-And well, I saw..."

"Saw what?"

"I saw that big, purple Bonnie! Y'know, the new one! ...Or, the old one! Whatever! She was standing with some guy, probably an employee like Fritz! It felt really... Weird seeing 'em," she said.

Freddy and Bonnie stared for a moment, before the chick continued.

"B-But," she began, "Foxy basically told me what you're tellin' me now. Then after that, we sort'a kept going. By the end of the day, we won so many prizes that we almost couldn't carry all of 'em. So, we kind'a... gave 'em away! Some of 'em, anyway."

"To whom?", Freddy curiously inquired.

"A-A bunch'a kids, of course!", Chica replied. "They seemed real sad before we showed up. They were pro'lly having some sort'a losing streak or something. But – they seemed real happy when we gave 'em our stuff! They thanked us, then left, then Foxy hugged me and-", he suddenly halted her speech, realizing something. Until now, she hadn't really thought about that incident – or what it really meant.

Slowly, Chica began to smile.

"Freddy?", she asked.

"Yes, Chica?"

"You're right," she admitted.

"Yeah!", Bonnie agreed. "What're we doing here, moping around like this?!", he asked, standing up. "We're awesome!"

"Exactly!", Freddy agreed wholeheartedly.

"H-Heh, yeah! We are, aren't we?", Chica asked. Freddy nodded, now grinning.

"Mhrm! Now, why don't we go see what our foxy friend is up to, hmm?", he asked. "As far as I know, she's still a little 'down in the dumps'."

"Right!", Bonnie agreed.

"Yeah, good idea!", Chica added. Nodding in acknowledgment, Freddy turned and made his way out of the room, followed by his two compadres.

Next stop, Kid's Cove.

The Cove was dark – a little too dark for the three's liking. The room wasn't usually this dark, except for when the building was closed. Luckily for the Toys, however, they had night-vision, thus rendering that detail mostly irrelevant to their mission.

Aside from the fact that it was still rather odd.

Even odder, however, was the fact that their entrance to the room hadn't garnered a reaction from the fox who inhabited it. In fact, where was she? As the three Toys looked around, they soon found out.

She was sitting in a corner, slumped against the wall. Her jaw lifelessly hung open as her eyelids settled halfway over her eyes. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica looked at each other wryly.

"Do we usually look that weird when we're asleep?", Chica asked.

"To hear the guards tell it, yes...", Freddy simply replied. "Say, would'ja turn on the light? Hopefully, the bulb hasn't burnt out." Chica nodded, doing just that. In the meantime, Freddy approached the limp fox, crouching in front of her.

"Foxy? Foxy, c'mon, wake up!", he said, giving the fox a few soft pats on the head. "Now's not the time for sleeping!"

Soon, Foxy's eyes filled with life as she began to reactivate. She shuddered a bit, her joints clicking. She blinked a few times, quickly noticing the large bear in front of her.

"F-Freddy?", she asked. "What're you doing here? I-I'd rather be... alone right now, i-if it isn't any trouble," she meekly stated.

"But Freddy's got somethin' to tell you!", Bonnie said, punctuated by Chica nodding. Foxy's ears lowered a little as she subsequently noticed the other two Toys. Freddy, however, simply sighed.

"Foxy, listen..."

Scott stared in confusion at the nearby door to the Kid's Cove. Only a few minutes ago, it was silent – like the rest of the pizzeria. But then, he saw not one, not two, but three of the Toys head in there. And now, he's hearing...

Chuckling?

Scott blinked. What was going on in there? This was quite the change from earlier, and a welcomed change at that! In fact, why wasn't he in there right now? He should take part in this!

And so, that was what he did!

As he slowly made his way toward the Cove, he couldn't help but feel just the slightest bit... guilty. He felt like he had a huge opportunity to try and cheer the Toys up earlier, but he just wasn't sure of what he could do or how he'd go about it. Like the others, he was surprised – and subsequently saddened – by Fritz's story. And, as a result, he couldn't really bring himself to do anything.

Scott facepalmed. Gosh, that's so irresponsible of him... Hopefully, he won't have to meet this 'Jeremy' anytime soon.

Scott peered into the room, gazing upon what was inside. To his surprise, things actually seemed quite jovial in there! The Toys seemed to be discussing something, though Scott wasn't sure what.

"Oh, hey, Scott!", he soon heard Chica exclaiming as she waved, soon followed by similar greetings from two of the other animatronics.

"Hahah, heeey, Scott!", Freddy said, approaching the man. Scott blink-blinked, looking up at Freddy. "Just the man I wanted to see!"

"O-Oh, uh, hi!", Scott replied, a little bewildered by the bear's unexpected cheerfulness. "What's... going on in here?"

"Quite a few things, actually!", Freddy replied. "Y'see, Scott, I think we all let Fritz's words get to us a bit," he explained. "Due to what he told us, we began to... Well, dwell a little on the now-distant past, and forget about what we've done recently! All the good times we've had, and even our recent trip to the Fair! I trust that you remember that, right, Scott? Oh, what am I saying? Of course you do!", he said, chuckling.

"Anyway," Freddy continued, "Sorry for rambling. The point is – We shouldn't've let the past put such a damper on us. We have to keep looking to the future! And we thank you for giving us the opportunity to do that," the bear finished, putting his hands behind his back.

"Yeah, thanks!", Bonnie exclaimed from further in the room, followed by a few nods from Chica and Foxy.

"A-Ah, jeez, it's... It's nothing," Scott said, looking down and rubbing the back of his head. "S-Sorry for not doing anything to help you guys, though," he apologized. Freddy smiled.

"Oh, don't you worry about that!", the bear replied, before pulling Scott into a hug. Scott yelped, surprised by the sudden action – though from how many times this has occurred to him, he probably should've been numb to this by now.

Speaking of numb, jeez this hug was tight.

"It was probably for the best that we worked it out on our own, anyway!", the bear said, before releasing.

"Now... How about we get back to what we were doing before?", Freddy asked, looking down at the man, his hands on his hips and his head cocked slightly. Foxy's ears flinched at that question, remembering something.

"Oh, yes!", she exclaimed before quickly joining Freddy and Scott in the doorway. "Scott, I know it's getting close to Six and all, but do you think we could finally get to that 'playdate' of ours? In fact, we could all play together!", she said, looking at Freddy, then at Bonnie and Chica. "After all, we do need someone to play the villain in this little adventure of ours!"

"Sure!", Bonnie replied. "I could be a villain!"

"Yeah, sounds fun!", Chica said. Freddy, meanwhile, simply laughed.

"Sounds like a fantastic idea, Foxy! But – What do you think, Scott?", he asked, looking at the man in question. Not one to turn down an opportunity like this, Scott eagerly nodded.

"Oh, fantastic!", Foxy said, lightly clapping. "Now, we're gonna need some little accessories for you three!", she said, referring to the other three Toys. "I have my hat 'n hook, and Scott has his little bandana! Lemme see what I can find in here for you three...", she said, searching through her box on the table. She began to mutter some things as she put a few objects aside – objects that weren't fit for the occasion at hand. This went on for a few moments, until...

Ring-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding...

Five heads turned as the bells above the front entrance rang, signaling that someone had come inside. Scott, Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy tensed slightly as they heard footsteps.

"S-So, who d'you think's coming in here this time?", Chica whispered.

"Another predator?", Bonnie suggested.

"Bonnie, Fritz wasn't a predator...", Foxy corrected.

"Shhh, shh, whoever it is, he's coming this way," Freddy hushed.

The footsteps came closer and closer to the room, before a hand grabbed the edge of the doorway. Then, the unidentified intruder revealed his face...

"Fritz?!", they all exclaimed at once in utter surprise.

"Y-Yes, yes, now, shhhh!", the man replied, putting a finger to his mouth. However, Scott and the Toys were having none of that.

"What're you doing back here?"

"Weren't you heading home or something?"

"Back so soon?"

"What, have you come to taze me again?!"

"Hiya, Fritz!"

"Shut up!", Fritz exclaimed through gritted teeth. The group fell silent for a few moments, before Fritz spoke again.

"L-Look, I was gonna leave, okay?", he began, "I really, really was. But then, before I could even start my car, I saw some van drive up outside. Some guys came out, and I heard 'em talking about how they were gonna tear the place up," he said. He noted that the group instantly began to look worried at the mention of this...

"And considering the overall integrity of this place matters to me as much as it matters to you," Fritz continued. "I figured I'd head in here to give you guys a warnin', and pitch a plan as to how we can get rid of these folks."

"But why should I- we trust you?", Chica asked. She still seemed to be a bit salty from earlier. Fritz facepalmed, growing even more frustrated.

"Do you want them to put this place into an even worse condition than it already is?!", he asked. "Because that's what's gonna happen! They're already outside, spray-painting the walls! Do you-"

"Wait- Spray-painting the walls?!", Freddy asked, shocked. If there was one thing Freddy didn't like, it was desecration of property! He rolled up his metaphorical sleeves, beginning to march out the room. "Well, I'll have to teach them a thing or two!" He suddenly stopped, however, as Scott clutched his arm.

"Freddy, you can't go out there!", Scott said. "They're vandals! If they see you, they're probably gonna do some... pretty bad things to you!", the man warned. He didn't want to outright state the extent of what a group of thugs would do to a kid-friendly robotic bear, but he was sure that Freddy got the point, seeing as how he began to relax a bit.

"See?", Fritz asked. "This guy knows what's up. What he said is why I've come up with a plan! It's not a... good plan, but it's a plan," he said.

"Well... Let's hear it," Freddy reluctantly said. While he was willing to listen, he was sure that – perhaps – he could get through to those delinquents with a stern talking-to. I mean, how bad could they possibly be?

"Okay, so," Fritz began. "The plan is that you guys wait onstage," he said, pointing at the band. "And you wait here – in your Cove," he then added, pointing at Foxy. "They'll think that, y'know, you're deactivated, will head deeper into the restaurant, than you guys come to life and snatch 'em up." Scott and the Toys looked at each other, then at Fritz.

"Well... It's a plan, all right," Chica simply said.

"Look, when you're trying not to be seen by a bunch'a thugs in a van, you tend to not come up with the most thought-out plans, okay?", Fritz said, offended.

"I'm just saying...", the chick replied, shrugging.

"Yeah, well, I'm just saying that – unless you can come up with anything better – let's stick with my plan, okay? Wha'd'you guys think?", he asked, looking at the rest of the group. While Scott, Bonnie, and Foxy remained silent, Freddy spoke up.

"If you're sure this'll work, then... So be it," the bear said. This was his pizzeria, after all, and he was willing to do anything to protect it. Fritz sighed in relief.

"Finally," he said with a relieved sigh. "Thank you."

In a few minutes, everything was in place. The band was onstage, and Foxy was in her Cove. If anyone were to see them in this state, they'd confuse them for statues.

Aside from the fact that Bonnie was waving at them, anyway.

All of the lights were also turned off in the hopes that the vandals wouldn't realize that the place was still inhabited. Scott and Fritz stood in the middle of the main room, admiring their work.

"C'mon," the man suddenly said, walking and beckoning for Scott to follow. "I've got the perfect place to hide."

"Where?", Scott asked. "Of all the rooms in this pizzeria, I have a feeling that the vandals're gonna try and ransack, well... All of 'em."

"Ohhh, not all of them," Fritz said, prompting Scott to raise a brow in confusion. The two soon approached a wall. It seemed like a regular old pizzeria wall, really.

Except it wasn't.

"Okay, let's see here...", Fritz said quietly, feeling up and down the wall as he illuminated it with his flashlight. "It's around here somewhere..."

"What're... Wh-What're you doing?", Scott asked, now completely confused.

"Looking," Fritz simply replied.

"For what?"

"For- Ah, here it is!", the man said. He pulled on a piece of the wallpaper, resulting in it flipping back – sort of like a lid or cover. He reached into the resulting hole and pulled. To Scott's surprise, a small section of the wall turned and opened like a door, leading into a dark, unused room.

"Wh-Whoa!", Scott exclaimed. "What's this?", he asked. And, further, how did he not know about this room?

"Secret room, employees only. Supposed to be used for emergencies and such, and considering how this is kind of an emergency...", Fritz trailed off before beckoning Scott to enter.

"C'mon," Fritz said, turning off his light. "In you go."

And so, the two walked inside. It was nothing short of pitch black in the room before Fritz found the light switch. Scott gasped, looking around. It was a terribly dusty and warm little room, illuminated by a single lightbulb. Tables and chairs were lined in the corner of the room, as well as discarded and spare animatronic parts.

"...Homely...", Scott quietly remarked. Fritz hmphed.

"S-So, what're we gonna do in here?", Scott then asked, turning and looking at the man.

"Well...", Fritz began.

"We wait."

A/N: And, another chapter! Even though this new update schedule is a lot slower, I actually find that it gives me a lot more time to get these chapters written down – and I think (read: hope) that they're of a higher quality as a result! Sorry, MrNotDop!

Also, thanks, all o' you, for the continued support! Did'ja guys see the new Foxy teaser, by the way? Of all the things I would've expected from a Five Nights teaser, I did not expect a tongue...

Anyway, Until Next Time!