The moon hung low outside, illuminating the interior in a hazy blue light. The air became still and tense as three dark figures approached the building, their shadows stretching across the walls and floor of the establishment...
The bells above the entrance soon rang for the umpteenth time that night as three people entered the building. The sound of light patting filled the room as one of them, Vinny, repeatedly struck his baseball bat against the palm of his hand. Joel cracked his knuckles while Margaret simply crossed her arms. Y'know, they'd probably look pretty badass right now.
...If it wasn't so dark in here.
The trio looked across the room, getting a good look at the restaurant's main dining area. The three always liked to get a good view of whatever room they happened to be in, before eventually smashing it. Comparing the 'Before' with the 'After' made them feel better about their work.
...Or rather, at least, they would get a good view of the room if it wasn't so dark in here! In fact...
"Hey boss?", Joel suddenly asked, looking over at Vinny.
"Yeh, Joel?", the man replied, confidently looking forward despite the lack of light.
"Weren't there lights on in here or somethin'?"
Vinny suddenly stopped his bat-palm-gesture-thing-that-probably-has-a-name-but-I-don't-know-what. Joel had a point. He could'a sworn he saw some lights on in here, now that he thought about it. Plus, they did just have to walk past some car on the way inside...
"...Well, there's pro'lly someone in here then, ah?", Vinny finally replied after a bit of thought. "Judgin' from the car outside 'n all. Pro'lly some guy holed himself up in 'ere, I'onno. ...Or maybe, he's try'na do what we're doin' now!", Vinny suggested. Joel gasped!
"But this is our turf, Boss!", he exclaimed. Vinny nodded.
"Yeh, exactly... Which means, when we encounter 'im, I'll have to introduce him to Mister B here!", Vinny said, giving his bat a few test swings. "Yeh... Good ol' Mister B! Swing! Swing!", he trailed off, giving his bat a second, then third test swing. He seemed to be really into it...
"...Yeah, let's just go," Margaret said, completely uninterested. She walked ahead of the other two, her hands in her pockets. Joel stood there, perplexed, before running after her. Vinny, however...
"Swing! Swing! Swing! Sw-"
"C'mon, Vinny!", Margaret called out in an exasperated manner. Vinny blinked, snapping out of his bat-induced trance.
"Wh- Oh, yeah, right! Comin'!", he exclaimed before heading off to join up with the others. As he began to make a few defiant exclamations, stating that he was the boss and as such gave the orders, mechanical whirring could be heard onstage. Similar sounds emanated from the Cove.
Show time.
"Chhht," uttered Bonnie in a deepened voice as he put a hand to his mouth. "Freddy, this is Bonnie, do you copy?"
"H-Huh?", Freddy replied in a hushed voice. "Would'ja keep it down, Bonnie? We don't wanna get caught," he said. Bonnie, however, wouldn't listen.
"Chht," the rabbit began once more, though much quieter this time. "Commander Freddy, this is Private Bonnie, do you read?", he asked. "I am awaiting orders. Is Operation: Intruder Extermination a go?" Freddy and Chica looked at each other, both equally perplexed, before looking at Bonnie once again. What's the rabbit trying to do? What's with the tacti-cool speech? What's with the-
...Oh.
Freddy's confusion slowly melted away as he realized just what his pal was doing.
"Chtt, Commander Freddy to Private Bonnie. Operation: Intruder Extermination is a go. Refrain from confronting them for the time being. Your mission is to follow and keep track of them. Chica, Foxy, and I will join you shortly," Freddy explained in a similar voice as he placed his hand over his mouth.
"You are free to proceed," Freddy then declared. Bonnie grinned in delight, giving his best salute. Freddy and Chica watched as he carefully stepped offstage, before creeping his way into the darkness. The bear smiled, always an admirer of the rabbit's enthusiasm...
"A-Are you sure about this plan, Freddy?", Chica suddenly asked with an edge of worry in her voice. Freddy flinched in surprise, turning to look at his avian compadre.
"Oh, don't worry, Chica," he replied. "These guys don't seem very tough. Taking care of them'll be easy," he assured. "Unlike those predators that we had to deal with back when we were still open...", he said, looking away slightly. Chica blinked.
"Freddy?"
"Yes, Chica?" Freddy replied, looking at the chick once again.
"Those weren't predators," she said flatly. "Remember?"
"O-Oh. Right. Right, of course, of course," Freddy said as he looked away again, this time out of slight embarrassment. Chica stared at him in a mixture of concern and confusion, before shaking her head.
"A-Anyway," she began, returning to the main subject. "One of 'em had a bat, Freddy. A baseball bat. That's definitely a dangerous weapon if I've ever seen one," she said. "And I don't wanna be on the receivin' end of it. I mean, I've already been a 'target' once tonight," she continued, crossing her arms and frowning. Freddy tilted his head slightly, processing what she said. He hrmm'd thoughtfully, realizing that she did have a point...
"True...", Freddy finally said. "We should probably go accompany Bonnie, see if he's alright," he stated. Chica nodded, comfortable with that idea.
"Sounds good," she said, her voice once again filled with confidence. Freddy smiled as well, but – to Chica's puzzlement – it faded just as quickly.
"Hrmmm...", Freddy, well, hrmm'd, furrowing his brow slightly.
"What's wrong, Freddy?", Chica asked. Freddy seemed to hesitate, tapping his fingers together.
"Do you think that Scott's been acting a little... 'odd' lately?", he asked, tilting his head.
"Wha'd'you mean?", Chica replied. "He seemed fine to me."
"He didn't seem... perhaps – indecisive to you at all?", Freddy asked. "Maybe a tad pensive?", he suggested. Chica took a moment to think it over. Now that Freddy mentioned it...
"Yeah, I... I guess," she said. "Foxy mentioned somethin' about him wanting to ask her something, right?"
"That would be correct, dearie," came a voice, all-too-near to the two 'bots for their liking. If it weren't for Freddy grabbing Chica and covering her beak with his hand, Chica would've shrieked right then and there. It took the two a moment to find the source of the voice, which was just offstage.
"F-Foxy?", Freddy whispered, seeming a bit harried by the encounter. "What're you doing here?", he asked as he separated himself from Chica and dusted himself off.
"W-Wondering what you guys are up to," the fox replied. "I heard you two talking about Scott after Bonnie left," she said, tilting her head as she looked up at the Toys. "What's wrong?", she asked. "Is he feeling well?"
"Yes, of course, of course," Freddy replied. "At least... As far as I know. The problem is that he seems 'off'. I've noticed it ever since the power went out earlier, before that Fritz fellow came here. I think he wants to ask, or tell, us something," he explained. Chica and Foxy looked at each other, before returning their gazes to the bear.
"But- What would he want to ask us?", Chica asked. "'N why so hesitant about it?" Foxy nodded in agreement. She had to admit that this was rather odd...
"You don't think it's...", Chica then began, her calm mood jarred a little as she looked down at herself. Freddy shrugged.
"That, I... don't know," Freddy admitted. "And-" he began anew, "Oh, jeez, we've wasted enough time as it is," he said, upon realizing just that. "Let's get going," he said. "The sooner we get rid of these delinquents, the sooner we can find out."
Bonnie hummed to himself as he creeped and crawled through the long, dark hallways in the establishment. The rabbot robit dove from room to room, like the true espionage master he was. He peeked around corners, keeping his eye on his targets as he drew closer. He knew his mission. Stake out the joint. Make sure things were under control. He remembered his superior's words like his remembered the lines for his performances...
"Do not engage, Private Bonnie!", he remembered Corporal Freddy commanding. "I know how much of a loose cannon you can be, but do not screw this mission up or you will be court-martialed!"
Bonnie slowly nodded, affirming his memories. Yeh. That's exactly how it happened.
"Yes sir...", he whispered, saluting once again.
"U-Uh, hey, Marge?", Bonnie soon heard a voice ask. It came from one of the Party Rooms, the one immediately across the hallway from Bonnie's. It sounded like that guy with the bat. Bonnie neared the doorway and stuck his ear out toward the hall, trying to listen in on what was happening...
"Marge. Marge. ...Hey Marge!", Vinny shouted, trying to get the attention of Margaret, who was turned away from him with her arms crossed.
"Stop shouting," she finally replied. "You're gonna catch the attention of whoever's in here."
"Well maybe I wouldn't be shouting if you answered me the first time I called you!", Vinny snapped.
"Maybe I'd answer if you didn't call me Marge," Margaret snapped back, looking at him. "That's like, what, the name of that Simpson's character? I'm not a Simpson, Vinny," she said.
"...Buh-...", Vinny sputtered, dumbfounded. "It's just- Mar- It's just short for Margaret!", he said. "Stop being stupid!"
"Whatevs, Vincent," Margaret said passively, turning away again. Vinny sighed, putting his hand to his face.
"Fine. Fine, fine, whatever," he said exasperatedly. "I'm sorry for calling you Marge or whatever, but listen. Have you been hearing stuff lately? Like, I heard whispering just now. And earlier, I heard some weird humming," he explained.
"It was probably Joel or something," Margaret replied, waving her hand. "You know how he is."
"Yeah, I guess...", Vinny said, looking down slightly. "B-But it sounded almost, like, robotic or something," he then continued. "What if... What if those things onstage're still – like – alive or whatever?" Margaret couldn't help but snicker.
"What, you think the scaaaary robots're gonna come alive and get'cha, Vinny?, she asked, looking at him once again. "Is that what you're scared of?"
"W-What? No! No, of course not!", Vinny retorted, only garnering Margaret to further chuckle.
"Is little Vinny scared of the big bad robots?", she asked in a mocking tone, leaning towards the man, who in turn leaned away.
"N-No!", he exclaimed once again. "Look – The only thing I'm scared of is Nothing, y'hear that?"
"Sure, sure," Margaret said, still smirking. "Let's just hope we don't run into any of 'em. Your screams're the last thing I wanna hear." She still couldn't believe it. This guy really was scared of the bots. It's been forever since this place was closed, wasn't it? There's no way those things could just suddenly turn back on. What a joke. He's been watching way too many movies.
"Listen, I'm gonna go see what Joel's up to," Margaret said. "He's in the security office, right?" Vinny simply nodded.
"Thanks," she then said. "We can start tearing stuff up when I come back I guess. You sure you wanna be left alone, though?", she asked. "The robots might get'cha!", she said, laughing before she headed off, leaving behind a quite unamused Vinny.
Bonnie quietly chuckled to himself as he withdrew back into the room. That was a riot! Some team those folks were! He and the rest of the Toys'll definitely make short work of these guys! They won't know what hit 'em!
Speaking of which, where were Freddy and the others? They said they'd be coming soon...
As Bonnie thought this over, he began to feel... funny. Not 'ha-ha' funny, but the other kind. His stomach felt weird, a feeling that soon moved to his neck, then his nose. He twitched slightly, feeling an urge coming on...
"Ah... Ahh... Ahhh!... Achoo!", he sneezed, before immediately panicking and covering his nose. His eyes widened as he heard some shuffling and footsteps from the other room and down the hall.
"Hey, did'ja hear that?", he heard someone say.
"Yeah, I heard it!", someone else said. "C'mon, I think it came from one o' these rooms!"
Bonnie had to act, and fast. He looked around the room he was in, searching for any possible escape routes. He grinned as he spied a hole in the wall. The air-vent! Not wasting any time, he hurried over to the vent, crouched down, and began to crawl into it. Just as he thought he was safe, however, he felt something stop him.
Oh no.
Then, he felt something pulling him back.
Ohhh no.
Bonnie pushed against the walls of the vent in an effort to anchor himself inside, but found it to be no use as he easily pulled out of his would-be hiding spot. Before he knew it, he was staring wide-eyed at three equally surprised individuals in a rather well-lit room. The one closest to him, and holding him up, seemed to be the largest. He wore a small skullcap neatly fitted on the center-top of his head. Behind him were the other two – a lady and another man, both of whom seemed less than amused.
"Alright, what's with the get-up?", one of them asked. "You some kinda cosplayer or something?"
"Yeah, and what're you doing on our turf, ah?", another inquired. "C'mon, talk! Or we'll have to introduce you to Mister B-"
"Can you stop with the Mister B thing?", the lady cut in. "It's starting to wear real thin!" The man frowned in defense, holding his bat protectively.
Bonnie, meanwhile, was too scared to say anything. Out of all the situations he's gotten himself into, which – granted – isn't a lot, this was by far the worst. He didn't know what to do! He wasn't even programmed for this kind of thing!
"Uhh, boss? It's... It's shiverin'," Joel remarked. Vinny rolled his eyes as he approached Bonnie and Joel.
"Listen, buddy," he said. "You'd better stop shiverin' or we'll give you a reason t'be scared. Now talk! Or we'll... We'll-..."
And that was when Vinny actually got a good look at who he was dealing with. For an animal suit, it definitely had quite a sheen. Not to mention the look in the rabbit's eyes, and the sounds of its joints as it tried to wriggle out of Joel's grasp... They looked and sounded so mechanical... So... robotic... So...
Oh.
"Ohhhh crap, ohhhh crap!", Vinny exclaimed as he took multiple steps back, realization hitting him like a freight train. "It really is a robot! Marge, I told you! I told you!", he exclaimed, pointing at the animatronic.
"Shut up!", the lady snapped. "And stop calling me Marge!", she added one. "Joel, what is this?", she then asked, looking at the larger man in hopes that he had an answer. Joel, however, was just as confused as the rest of them. ...Well, just as confused as Margaret at least. Vinny was only barely coping with what was happening.
"Oh gosh...", he began. "Ohhh gosh, what if the others're still alive or whatever?! Guys, I think we should get outta here! Like, right now!", he shouted. A voice behind him would only serve to further solidify his beliefs, and give Bonnie some much-needed relief.
"Well," it said with a chuckle. "You ain't wrong, after all."
Scott nervously tapped the table he was sitting at with his fingers. He had been in this dusty, dimly-lit room for heaven knows how long. He had no way of knowing whether the Toys were okay! In fact, he felt like he should've been out there helping them!
"Hey, what's wrong?", Fritz asked, picking up on Scott's anxiety. He stood up, separating himself from the wall that he had been leaning against for the past... however long they've been in here. Scott shook his head, averting his gaze slightly.
"Nothing... N-Nothing, nothing," he said. Fritz, however, wasn't having any of that.
"Look," he said, "I know you hate bein' in here, alright? Trust me, I do too. But, it's our only option. I mean, 's safer than bein' out there, right?" Scott initially didn't respond.
"It's my safety that I'm really worried about...", he finally said. It took him a moment, but Fritz realized precisely what the other man meant.
"...Scott," he began. "They're robots. They don't feel pain like us, or really at all. If you hit 'em with a baseball bat, they're probably not gonna go down that easy. Plus, it's four of them versus three of whoever decided to try 'n invade this place. I think we'll be fine. Besides, they should be done dealing with our little 'problem' in a few minutes. I'd be surprised if they took any damage whatsoever," Fritz said. Scott frowned slightly, before continuing to tap his fingers on the table. That didn't really help. With what he had witnessed earlier tonight, he wouldn't be surprised if they could feel pain like he did...
"Whoa!", Freddy shouted as he ducked yet another one of Vinny's wild swings, watching as the bat sailed overhead. Things had 'gone south', as they say, alarmingly quickly. Barely a minute ago, Freddy had tried to civilly outline the rules that these delinquents had broken and had politely asked them to leave.
However, that obviously didn't work out.
With one hand, Freddy caught Vinny's bat, just keeping it from striking him straight in the side of his head. The man, stunned, let go of the bat and took a step back, leaving Freddy to hold the bat by the fat end.
"You know, that is quite rude," Freddy said, seemingly unfazed by the whole thing. "And breaks yet another rule! No assault shall be committed on the premises!", he said, before dropping the bat. Vinny could similarly feel his heart drop into his stomach as the bear approached him. Vinny took a step back, then another, until he couldn't go any further.
Mostly because he had bumped into something plastic.
"And you, sir, are by far the worst rulebreaker I have ever met," Freddy finished. "Foxy, please tie him up!" Vinny yelped and flailed a bit as he felt two hands grab him. He felt his wrists being tightly tied together. Before he knew it, he was hopelessly restrained and at the mercy of these... robots.
"Yarr!", he heard a voice behind him say, prompting him to gulp. "I be takin' ye to the brig now, ye wee scurvy landlubber!"
Freddy watched as Foxy pulled the man out of the room and down the dark expanse of the hall. For a moment, the bear almost felt bad for Vinny. For the entire duration of that engagement, the man seemed quite scared.
But then again, he was going to trash the already dilapidated pizzeria.
Freddy's pizzeria.
Freddy shook his head, pushing those thoughts out of his head for the time being. Time to see if Chica needs any assistance.
Chica wasn't having as much luck for the moment. She and a very confused and agitated Margaret were locked in combat with each other near the office, with neither seeming to come out on top. The latter grunted as the chicken pushed her away. She stumbled, before gritting her teeth.
"Alright, that's it, Ducky! I don't know what you really are, or how you're still active, but I've had enough of this!", she exclaimed, reaching into her pocket.
"H-Hey!", Chica exclaimed. "I'm not a duck! Why does everyone think tha—wha!", she yelped as she narrowly dodged a glowing blue light. Thanks to her previous experience with certain blue lights, she knew quite well what she was dealing with.
A taser.
Chica continued to dodge Margaret's lunges, the weapon coming closer and closer each time. Margaret made one last jab, surprised as Chica met her halfway. The chick donned a determined expression as she grabbed the other's wrist and abruptly forced it upward. Margaret involuntarily let go of her weapon, watching as it clattered to the floor. Chica wasted no time in crushing the thing under her foot. She pushed Margaret away, watching as she fell to the floor. Chica hmphed.
Tasers, what good are they?
Chica looked back, noticing Freddy rapidly approaching her. She grinned, putting a hand on her hip.
"Well, look who's late to the party!", she teasingly greeted.
"Y-Yes, yes, terribly sorry," Freddy said, seemingly a little winded. "But, I see you have this under control!", he said with a smile.
"Mhrm!", Chica replied. "She wasn't all that tough!"
"H-Hey!", Margaret retorted from her spot on the ground. "I-"
"Oh, shuddup!", Chica cut in. "Unless you want a rematch!", she said, detaching her beak while keeping her grin.
Margaret kept quiet. Freddy, meanwhile, chuckled as Chica reattached her beak.
"Heheh, well, why don't we go see if Bonnie needs any help?", he asked. "He's probably gonna have a spot o' trouble fighting that large fellow."
"No need!", a familiar voice shouted. Chica and Freddy turned to see Bonnie tugging and pulling Joel, a man taller and wider than the bot himself, out of one of the party rooms by his collar. "I just bagged me the world's biggest criminal!"
"B-But- How?", Freddy asked, astonished.
"Yeah, I thought he'd be... Well, a challenge!", Chica added.
"Oh, he was!," Bonnie replied. "...Kind'a! We fought for a little while, and trust me, it was not fun, but then... Well..."
The entire hallway seemed to vibrate as a deep, rumbling sound came from the man.
"He's...", Freddy began in disbelief. "Snoring?"
"Yep! He just up 'n fell asleep!", Bonnie said. Freddy and Chica exchanged looks, before glancing at Margaret, who shrugged.
"What can I say?", she said. "Fighting tires him out."
As soon as everyone was tied up and seated at the tables in the main room, the bots celebrated.
"Whoo!", Bonnie cheered. "We did it, we did it!"
"Haha, that we did!", Freddy agreed. He watched as Bonnie hopped in place, continuing to cheer before being promptly hugged by Foxy and Chica. It was true – They did it. They really did it! The threat has been eliminated, and the pizzeria was safe! He felt so happy, so capable! And to think, he was feeling so glum earlier! Hah! Never again!
Though, there was one thing that bothered him. Where were Scott and Fritz? Throughout that entire engagement, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of 'em! Perhaps they were outside? Hrmmm...
Suddenly, he heard something open behind him. He stepped aside and turned around as a small piece of the wall opened up, and two men promptly stepped out. Freddy gasped.
"Scott!", he exclaimed, quickly grabbing one of the men and pulling him into a tight hug. "A-And Fritz!", he made sure to add on, glancing at the other individual.
"G-Glad to see I was missed, heheh!", Scott said after Freddy released him. "You... are okay, right?", he asked, looking the bear over as Fritz made his way across the room. "Those guys didn't hurt you, did they?"
"Hahah, of course not!", Freddy replied gleefully. "This bear's a-okay! I assume you're alright as well?", he asked. "Where were you, anyway? You and Fritz seemed to've disappeared!"
"Oh, Fritz & I were in some kinda 'secret room' or something," Scott said. "Maybe a storage room?" Freddy hrmmmed. The only storage room he knew of was the Parts & Services room, and he didn't see Scott or Fritz in there...
How peculiar...
"Heeey, Scott!", Bonnie greeted, approaching the two. He was followed closely by Foxy and Chica, who seemed equally excited.
"Oh, hey guys!", Scott replied. "I see you've taken care of these guys, huh?"
"Oh, we did!", Bonnie said. "You should'a seen us! It was a fight to the death! Man against machine! Machine against man! We barely made it out with our lives!", he exclaimed dramatically. Scott blinked, a bit stunned.
"Well... Sort'a like that," Foxy said with a giggle.
"It's good to see that you're alright, though!", Chica said. "Can't say I wasn't worried about'cha while everything else was happening!" Scott nearly found himself blushing from the Toys' kind words...
"Aw jeez...", he said. "S-Say, where's Fritz?", he asked. He had only just noticed that the technician wasn't with him.
"Hm? Oh, he seems to be over here!", Foxy said, turning and pointing at the man. "I wonder what he's doing near the tables..."
"Well, guess I'll find out," Scott said. "Gimme a moment."
"What's going on, ah? Who're you supposed to be?!", Vinny asked as he tried to wriggle out of his restraints.
"Yeah, this is uncool!", Margaret agreed. "Is all o' this some kind'a joke?! What's the meaning of-"
"Look,", Fritz began. "This isn't your business, and was never meant to be in the first place. If you keep askin' questions, I assure you that I won't let those robots over there hold back. Y'know, the fox over there committed the Bite of '87," he said in a chilling tone, an effective way of shutting the two up. Of course, he didn't really mean what he said. In fact, he wasn't even 'in control' of the Toys. He just wanted these folks to shut up.
"H-Hey, Fritz? Is this a bad time?", he heard a voice behind him ask. He turned around to see Scott, seeming rather awkward and timid.
"E-Err, no, it's fine," he replied.
"Well, good," Scott said. "I just wanted to say, uh, thanks, y'know? For warning us and... And, basically giving us a good chance at winning this," he said. "I'm sorry about what happened ten years ago, but-" he stopped as Fritz put up a hand.
"Listen, it's fine," Fritz replied. "What happened happened, I guess. Especially considering it's been ten years 'n all. Besides, you're pretty cool yourself. You and your bots." Scott rubbed the back of his head in modesty.
"Oh, speaking of which, hey guys!", Scott called out, turning around and approaching the Toys. Worryingly enough, they didn't respond.
In fact, they didn't even move.
"F-Fritz? What time is it?", he asked. Fritz checked his watched.
"Six," he simply said. Scott frowned, seeming rather disheartened. Fritz, however, smiled.
"Y'know...", he began. "I can fix that for you."
A/N: Whew! Hard to believe it, but we're almost done! Seems like it was just yesterday when I first published this! ...Even though it was actually just over a month ago. As usual, thanks for all the support! I hope that this was as much of a pleasure to read as it was for me to write! Also, be sure to drop a review, telling me what'cha think! I'm always aiming to improve, and I crave criticism.
Until Next Time!
Yumdeliciouscriticism.
Oh, and – sorry for being extra late on this chapter! I've been doing other things, such as – y'know – art and stuff. I've also been trying to learn how to use Blender, so that'll be interesting! But, more importantly in terms of the story, I've been trying to expand the story's 'universe' a bit, separate it from the run'o'the'mill FNAF story – especially in terms of the Toys. But just a tiny bit! You'll see what I mean in the near future! RonwetheFallenOne already inadvertently gave away just a small bit of what I mean! Yourreviewsaregreatbtwdude.
Now, for real, Until Next Time!
Also holy crap that teaser.