-You Can't-
Chapter 13: Challenge
December 25th, 1987; Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria:
Freddy was playing chess with Foxy when he noticed that Bonnie and Chica were spying them. Foxy was playing wisely one of the pawn while Chica and Bonnie were commenting the game without showing up. They were behind the wall next to them, contemplating Freddy playing his turn. The bear heard mechanical footsteps coming from behind them and smiled, not looking at them anymore.
Suddenly, a voice interrupted the spying. "Hey, what are you looking at, guys ?"
Bonnie and Chica cried out in fear before turning around, staring at Springtrap without saying a single word. The golden bunny smiled kindly to them before joining Freddy and Foxy, looking at the chessboard without saying anything. He analyzed the situation.
He saw that Freddy's white king was in the corner of the chessboard, H1, and that Foxy's rook was in the same line, on E1. There were two pawns in front of the white King, on H2 and G2. Freddy's bishop was on C4, preventing a Chekmate because he could protect Freddy's king. But not for long.
The two animatronics stared at him without understanding what he was doing. Springtrap came towards Freddy and simply said: "You've lost."
"No, I'm still fighting."
"That's useless, look." Springtrap replied, showing Freddy Foxy's rook.
The bear just shruggled. "I've this bishop there." He reminded, showing the bishop on C4. "I can put him there and protect my king."
"For one turn, yes. But after that, it's Checkmate." Springtrap tried to explain, wanting Freddy to understand his point.
"He be right, lad." Foxy agreeded, nodding vigorously.
The golden animatronic sighed in an annoyed way before giving up. Freddy was stubborn, nothing could help that. "Do what you want to do..." He concluded before leaving the Parts & Service room. Soon after, he heard Freddy grumbling that the game wasn't fair with him. Foxy just laughed before engaging another game.
While he was coming back to the Show stage, Springtrap saw Marionette right beside her Music Box, giving a gift to Balloon Boy. It was, as far as he could see, a sign with written something on it, but he wasn't sure what. He smiled and walked towards her, saluting her by waving his hand. She smiled back and did the same, looking at her box before glancing at him again.
Springtrap joined her, wondering about what she was doing. She was packaging a lot of stuff, like a pink bowtie, a new guitar... in gifts. There was even a new cupcake, maybe for Chica. He raised an eyebrow, curious, and looked at his beloved Marionette. "Why are you doing this ?"
"You see, we are the 25th today." Marionette reminded, looking at him softly. "I'm preparing gifts."
"But why ? What is going on the 25th of December ?" The golden animatronic asked, twitching his ear with curiosity and, maybe, enthusiasm.
The Puppet had a soft grin on her face as she came closer to him, stroking his head affectionately. The rabbit laughed, amused, and glanced at her. Marionette kissed him on the forehead and went back to the gift boxes. "It's Christmas."
"And what is Christmas ?" Springtrap demanded, sitting on a huge gift and rocking his legs like a child would do.
Marionette smiled and explained calmly: "It's a celebration where people give gifts to other people."
"Oh, okay then."
She finished packaging the gifts and went to Springtrap, sitting next to him and cuddling him, closing her eyes and inhaling the animatronic's odor peacefully. Everything was silent, except Freddy shouting sometimes when he lost or won the game, and the others laughing together while looking at the game. They were nearly alone in the Game Area, Balloon Boy being the only one left.
Springtrap smiled, charmed, and hugged her lovingly, closing his eyes and putting his head over Mario's shoulder. They remained silent, just sharing the embrace like old parents. Marionette opened an eye when she heard someone approaching and smiled to Mangle when she saw her dangling above them. "What is going on, Mangle ?"
"It's 12 AM." The white fox said, looking at the two with a tenderized smile. "It's time for a challenge, boys."
When he heard Mangle's voice, Springtrap opened his golden eyes and glanced at her. "A challenge ?"
Mangle's smile turned evil before she whispered: "The first one to kill the Night Guard."
All the men regrouped in front of the Show Stage, ready to begin the show. They could hear from where they were the phone call the Night guard was receiving. The girls were behind them, waiting for the show to begin and to see which boy was the smartest and also the fastest. It was a real challenge. Everyone loved these challenges. Next time, it was going to be the girls' turn. They were so impatient.
Toy Freddy smiled to Mangle, who gave him a kiss on the cheek to encourage him. "You're going to win, you're the best."
"I know I will win. They have no chance against me." The toy bear said, smiling to the others.
Balloon Boy ran inside the room, holding his balloon and his new sign while smiling as evilly as possible. "It's time."
Every animatronic headed to the Main Hall, looking at the Nigh guard with the same evil grin. The girls were behind them, encouraging them, and Marionette walked towards Springtrap. "Please, be kind with them. Let them win."
"Why should I ? I'm not going to win, anyway. I already know who's going to win." The bunny said, looking at the Night guard.
"Be careful, be fair-play, and good luck !" Toy Chica announced to everybody, and then, it started.
Bonnie ran to the ventilation system, to the left, and Springtrap ran to the right. Freddy approached the guard through the Main Hall, Foxy behind him and waiting for the guard to use his flashlight. The guard looked at the vents, stopping Springtrap's and Bonnie's progression, and used his flashlight, also stopping Freddy's and Foxy's.
Toy Freddy went to the hall, just in front of the guard and peeking in the Office. The guard flashed him with his light, also flashing Foxy and Freddy, but it had no effect on Toy Freddy. The animatronic entered the Office, but fortunately for him, the Night guard put his Freddy head. The toy, confused, stepped back.
Toy Bonnie quickly ran after Springtrap, waiting for entering the vent while the golden rabbit was nearly out of it. His head was visible. The guard used the light and wore his Freddy mask, Springtrap confusing him with Freddy and leaving the vent system. Toy Bonnie looked at him and raised an eyebrow, deciding to take a peek at the Office to see what was going on and why Springtrap seemed... lost. He actually looked like a zombie.
Before Foxy could eventually jumpscare him, the guard used his flashlight, flickering the light. Foxy ran away for a while, his eyes killing him.
Freddy approached even more while the guard was defending against Bonnie's sudden apparition in the Office, and was about to step into the room but the guard flashed him. He closed his eyes for a while, trying to leave the pain aside. Toy Bonnie was about to jump out of the vent when the guard put on his mask, the toy confusing him with Freddy just as Springtrap and going back to the Party Room 2.
Toy Freddy came back, asking to Freddy if he was alright, and remaining at the end of the corridor. He watched closely the guard, promising him a painfull death if he reached the Office before the others. He clenched his fists, raging while seeing him tricking Freddy with his mask. Just wait, Night guard, wait a little longer...
Foxy came back, waiting for the guard to notice him while Freddy was leaving the Main Hall. The guard put his mask on just in time and Toy Bonnie, who was peeking in the Office from the vent, determined to win, was confused, going somewhere else. Springtrap joined the fun again, entering the right vent again and glancing at the camera inside it. Bonnie came back too, entering the other vent and heading to the Office.
Meanwhile, when the guard put down the camera, he barely noticed a golden, bear-like figure beside him before it disappeared. He took his flashlight and flashed the hall but then, a giant Golden Freddy head jumpscared him. He fell to the ground, breaking his neck.
Toy Chica greeted him and ran to Fredbear, kissing him passionately. Springtrap got out of the vent, as Bonnie did, and they just stared at each other and laughed. "That was awesome." Springtrap said, twitching his ear involuntary.
"You said it !" Bonnie nodded, the two giving each other five while laughing happily.
Freddy, Toy Bonnie, Toy Freddy and Foxy came towards them, laughing with them and greeting each other for their performances. Goldie joined them, smiling victoriously, and laughed too. "You were so damn good, guys. I nearly lost against you."
"Oh please, I just let you win." Freddy smiled mischievously, Springtrap nodding by his side while looking at the golden bear.
Fredbear tilted his head to the right and smiled. "Then beat me next time."
"Yer will be humiliated, lad." Foxy replied, challenging the bear.
The girls came closer to them, Marionette smiling softly while grabbing Springtrap's hand. She kissed him and stroke his cheek. "I'm proud of you. You were such a nuisance to the guard."
"Not that much." Springtrap denied, not very proud because he'd been the second one to be tricked by the guard.
"You were, trust me."
"Now, PIZZA !" Chica exclaimed, the animatronics joining the Party Room 4 to eat their meal.
Chica gave one pizza to each of them, and sat next to Bonnie and Freddy. The two were speaking about how it was amazing to hunt the guard like they did. Even if they were rivals when it came to kill Night guards, they were, above all, friends and a team. They teamed up every single time to get more easily to the Office.
"Look, if Foxy, Toy Freddy and I weren't in the hall and Bonnie and Spring creeping around the vents, not counting Toy Bonnie waiting to enter the vent after him, Fredbear wouldn't have killed the guard so easily." Freddy explained to the girls, who were listening to him with an amused and happy smile.
"True, glad you were here to lose, guys." Fredbear smiled victoriously, staring at every animatronic and frowning when he saw Springtrap around the paper-plate dolls. He had a worried expression and teleported next to him, looking at his friend.
This one was staring at the paper-plate doll in the middle. He seemed really sad and surprised at the same time. He touched its face, tracing the tears on its cheeks with a worried look. "Is that what I look like ?" He asked, seemingly noticing his friend's presence.
"Yeah, sure. You see, you're still a wonderful little bunny, hm ?" Fredbear smiled, trying to cheer his best friend but his worry didn't seem to fade away. "Don't be so sad... The past is the past."
Springtrap blinked before asking louder than he thought: "Why weren't you scrapped ?"
The room felt silent after those words, everyone looking at Springtrap with fear and apprehension. Why was he asking that to Goldie ? Did he hope that ?
Only Marionette really knew why he asked that. They were originally going to be scrapped, he and Goldie, but Fredbear hadn't been destroyed. He was even brought to the new pizzeria. Marionette knew that, if Spring Bonnie escaped the pizzeria, it was mainly to escape this tragic fate. And it was just a lie.
That question was, indeed, very important to Springtrap. The fear of being destroyed had caused... all those bad events to happen, after all.
Fredbear cleared his throat, wondering before answering: "They said that they didn't want to destroy us at all. It was just to reassure people."
"Really... ?" Springtrap demanded, tears starting to running down his cheeks. "All of this... These four years... were just a lie ?"
Goldie nodded, a sorry expression on his face. "I know what you think. That I should have told you."
"Indeed. What prevented you to tell me ?"
"I can't tell you in front of everyone." Goldie answered, Marionette narrowing her eyes when she heard that.
Why did Fredbear hide from them ? Why was he so secretive ?
Springtrap turned to look at Fredbear, his glance harder than ever towards the golden creature. "Why. Didn't you. Tell me ?" He insisted, clenching his fists furiously. Seeing that the bear wasn't answering, he shouted at him: "TELL ME !"
Marionette was about to stand up, wanting to calm her boyfriend, but Fredbear told her to stay where she was. Every animatronic stood their ground, preventing an attack by Springtrap while looking at Fredbear. They also wanted an explanation, especially Chica, Foxy, Freddy and Bonnie who lost a friend because of that.
The golden bear sighed sadly before admiting: "I was mad at you, happy now ?"
Springtrap's eyes widened when he heard those words. "Why ?" Was the only thing he could ask. He didn't understand. Why didn't he tell him ? Why was he mad at him ? What did he do wrong ?
Fredbear gulped before starting to relate the story. "I will tell you everything. Some days before you left, I was thinking about leaving. I was hopeless. The pizzeria was going to shut down, and I couldn't do anything from where I was. Plus, I gave to Fazbear Entertainment a bad reputation because of... the incident in 1983. I'm not going to talk about that. Anyway, I was hopeless and I wanted to go somewhere else."
The animatronics stared at him, wondering about why he hated Springtrap for that, and the golden bear went on. "But you see, above all, I was frightfully jealous. I was stuck in a room without endoskeleton, nobody except Marionette came to see me (except Freddy one time), and Spring was with everyone, staying all day long with Marionette and the crew."
"That's where you're wrong, my dear Fredbear." Marionette said kindly, explaining. "The other animatronics hated him because he had been used to kill the children within them. He was always alone, I remember everything."
Freddy nodded and added: "Marionette forced me to speak with him, otherwise I would still be scared of him."
Goldie's eyes widened. "So he wasn't... with you ?"
Springtrap shook his head negatively before pleasing him to continue his story. The golden bear nodded and continued. "Then, there was the birthday party. I was so surprised. I didn't like too much birthday parties since the incident but this one was so good. And for once, the others were thinking about me. But then... Tragedy struck. The restaurant closed down some days after because of the blood and mucus that came from the animatronic suits."
Freddy, Chica, Bonnie and Foxy lowered their heads, remembering precisely how the children were scared of them and were crying because of them.
Goldie smiled softly to them, glancing at the toys who were totally fascinated by the story before going on. "That's when, I guess, the origin of everything happen-"
"And what was it, finally ?" Toy Bonnie interrupted, very curious because nobody told him what really happened and why Spring Bonnie was so lonely and heart-broken since then.
"Toy Bonnie, don't interrupt Fredbear please." Mangle replied, looking at him in annoyance.
"Oh, okay..."
Fredbear laughed friendly and answered: "I was going there, Toy Bonnie." before continuing his story. "That's when Spring Bonnie decided to tell Mario about his feels. That didn't go the way he wanted it to go. Indeed, Marionette remained silent, and Spring thought that she was rejecting him. That same-day, he heard about the fact that he and I were going to be scrapped, and he ran away from the pizzeria."
To be continued...
Hello everyone ! I hope you're doing well ! Here is the new chapter, I'm hoping that you liked it :) Tell me everything in the comments.
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Until next time,
Circle of J.