Author's Notes: So I didn't keep up with my schedule as well as I'd hoped. Oops. I got stuck trying to figure out how I wanted part of it to go, but I realized if I spent too long on character development rather than storyline development, then I have an uneven storyline that sucks. SO NOW, WE MOVE FORWARD.

Also, about that one review. The one review. The only review. ;_; All self-made jabs at the lack of interest aside, I understand that the usual path for FNAF-fics includes talking, sentient animatronics that are all buddy-buddy with the security guards. I apologize beforehand, but I don't think this isn't going to be one of them. Considering what happens, it doesn't seem all that fitting to put that in. But the animatronics will be featured, but less as actual characters. I'll get to that later, even thought this fic drowns in activity compared to the other ongoing fic I've got going.

Inside the pizzeria, children squealed with delight at the food and games, and the bright lights flashed and shined illuminating the bright colors of their surroundings. Game screens whirred and music played as the kids ran around having fun, but one could find at the skeeball machines that Jackson was in fact not having fun.

"WHY AREN'T YOU WORKING?!" He kicked the machine in frustration. Normally, Jackson had great luck with playing the skeeball machines, but today luck was not on his side. The machine had eaten over half of his tokens, but refused to play or start the game. Rather than move to a working one, the boy thought it wise to just keep sticking tokens in. Looking back, now he knew that wasn't wise, and was horrified that he now had only nine tokens left to play games, and all the good games that he could win lots of tickets on always take like 2 or 3 tokens, and a few tries to learn the game's play style. He gave up on the skeeball machine and went to take a seat on one of the benches that lined the walls of the playroom. He looked at each of the games and tried to figure out which ones would give him the optimal amount of tickets for a doll. Hungry Hungry Hippos? Nah, they're weak in the ticket prize. Whack-a-Fox? Ticket prize is weak and it malfunctions, according to the child crying by it while it flashed a high score but spit out no tickets.

He didn't seem to find anything worthwhile until he spied the claw machine in the corner. Taking up the space of a wide window, its lights shined on the assortment of toys that filled its container. And sitting right in his line of view was a medium-sized plush toy of Freddy himself! Jackson got up and ran to the machine, looking at the price on the side of the machine. It would need three tokens to play, and he had ten. "Alright," he said, putting his token into the slot to play and readying himself on the controls for the claw. The game started, and he guided the claw over to its position right above the Freddy plush. Pressing the button to grab, the claw opened as it lowered itself above the toy and closed around it. "I got it.. Now I just-" He stopped short as the claw lifted into the air, taking the toy with it part of the way before dropping it into a lower part of the pile of toys. Jackson groaned as the claw returned back to its starting position and the game shut off, giving off a sound of failure.

Frustrated but undeterred, Jackson slid in three more tokens, and played the game once more. He managed to get the toy back out of the dip, but it caught on a leg of another toy and fell out of the claw's grasp. He grew more agitated and popped his knuckles as he slid in three more tokens. The game started back up and he moved the claw back into that prime position right over the toy. It went down and clamped over the toy, then raised back up and over to the prize chute, taking the toy with it. Jackson cried out in glee at his win, but stopped short as the claw prematurely released the toy back onto the pile of toys and returned back as the game shut off. He groaned loud enough that some of the kids looked back at him, but hung his head and sulked to a nearby bench, placing his head on one of his hands. He'd spent all of his tickets just trying to win one doll, ONE measly little doll, and he couldn't even do that! He lamented having to back to his house, having to face Robin with that sad little face and hearing her cry that the big brother didn't win her a-

"Are you okay, little dude?" Jackson lifted his head to face an older man, close to his 20s, looking down at him. He wore a brown leather jacket over a grey shirt and faded blue jeans, with a pair of navy Adidas on his feet. His shaggy brown hair laid over pale eyes, but on his face sat a kind smile. Jackson was a bit unnerved at this guy's appearance; where did he come from?

"Y-yeah, I'm alright..." Jackson said uneasily. He rubbed his face, but glanced around the room. No one was watching them, not a single eye from a child or employee was on them... He wasn't sure if he needed to run or yell for an employee to come and-

"I saw you trying to get that Freddy doll in the claw machine. Did you run out of tokens?"

Jackson's attention snapped back to the man in front of him. He'd been watching him? There's no way this was okay! No way at all! ... But he wasn't really doing anything wrong, was he?

"... Yeah, I did..." Jackson shifted in his seat. "I was trying to win it for someone..."

"Do you want me to get it for you?"

He shook his head. "You don't have to do that... I can just get her one from the store.."

"For your girlfriend?"

"N-no!" Jackson shook his head furiously. "It's for my sister! I just promised to get her one while I-"

"It's okay, I didn't mean to embarrass you." The guy walked over to the claw machine and slipped a hand into his pocket, pulling out a handful of tokens. He took three of them and slid them into the token slot, starting the game. Jackson watched as the guy guided the claw to the toy and latched onto it, finally bringing it back over and releasing it into the prize chute. The guy bent down and pulled the toy out of the chute and presented it to Jackson, who sat with a confused look on his face.

"You... didn't have to win it for me..."

"It's alright, I know how hard that game can be. I had trouble with it when I was younger." The guy sat down beside Jackson on the bench, who took the doll in his hands and looked it over. With fuzzy brown fur and blue eyes, the doll was a spitting image of the Freddy that Jackson had grown up loving. His black bow-tie sat a little crookedly, but the boy thought it gave the doll some character. "I'm sure your little sis will love that doll."

"She will," Jackson said, sitting it in his lap. "Thanks for getting it, I guess... Do you work here?"

"Nah, I just moved here." The guy ran a hand through his hair. "I'm just job-searching for right now. I figured I'd stop by here since I hadn't been in a while. You here with friends?"

"Classmates. We stopped here for lunch after our field trip.. Went to a space museum that was pretty neat."

"The one downtown? I had no idea it was still open... Time sure flies when you leave town.."

"Why'd you leave?" Jackson hated that he was talking to someone he didn't know; his mom always warned him and Robin about strangers, especially after the Adam Walsh case rocked the US back in 1981. But he figured it'd be rude to ignore him after he spent his tokens getting the doll for him.

"College. It was a total bust, so I moved back here earlier this month." The guy sat lazily with his arms draped over the back of the bench. He took in the sights of the playroom with nostalgia; admittedly, the designs on the wall were very outdated, hearkening back to the establishment's beginnings in the 1970s.

"I see.." Jackson looked around. To him, the colors of the playroom were as welcoming as his own home; warm and inviting with the smell of food floating around.

"What's your name, little dude?"

Jackson turned back to face the man, still a little nervous talking to him. But he'd been nice so far... It'd be rude to not answer him now... He tried to look the man in the eyes; he still had that kind smile on, but his eyes looked distant.

"Here, I'll even tell you my name, if it makes you feel better."

"Your name...?"

Jeremy. His name was Jeremy.

The afternoon sun was beginning to set past the horizon as David's mom dropped Jackson off at his house. He held the Freddy doll under his arm; the kids had snickered at him holding it as they boarded the bus, but his friends cheered for him getting the doll. He didn't tell them that *he* didn't get the doll. But he was glad that Robin was going to get a doll after all. She'd be so happy, and he knew Mom would be glad to know he didn't exactly let her down.

He ran up to the front door after he waved to David and his mom, and entered into his house. Closing the front door, Jackson called out to his mom and Robin as he ran up to his room on the second story. Opening the door to his room, he ran to his bed and set down the doll, his backpack and his coat on it. Grabbing the doll, he ran back down and heard the TV on in the basement. Darting to the basement door, he threw it open and ran down the steps, stopping when he entered the room. "Robin, I got you a doll like you wanted-" He stopped when he saw what was on the TV.

"-what they call a never-ending nightmare. Police are now investigating an attempted kidnapping at a local restaurant, where a man was trying to coerce a young child into leaving with him. Eyewitnesses interviewed on the scene assessed that the man, wearing dark clothes with sunglasses, approached a young child in the building that houses Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, a popular location for children and teens to hang out or have birthday parties. From there, he attempted to bribe the child into following him outside the building with a item, possibly a piece of candy or a small toy, but when the child tried to refuse him, the man then became angry and began to advance on the child before a nearby adult spotted him and interfered. The stranger is now a suspect in the ongoing investigation behind the earlier kidnappings, and the pizzeria's management assures that they will be increasing their security for the safety of customers and their children. If anyone has any information on who the suspect may be, or any leads on the missing children, please call the police at-"

The TV clicked off before Jackson could say anything, and a figure on the couch stood up quickly, revealing it to be his mother. Tears streaked down her face as a sad relief rushed across her face at the sight of her son.