Here's chapter two! It's longer, as promised. I'm thinking I'll try to update once a week, if not more often. The story is done, it's just a matter of getting it all on here. So rest assured, you'll be able to read the ending of this one should you decide you want to! Also, I forgot to note: I totally ignored why Yugi and Atem are separate. This is set in a time after the Millennium items were sealed away... but it really didn't feel relevant to the story to explain why Atem has his own body. I hope that doesn't ruin it for anybody. Use your imagination? Anywho, happy reading!
The place was a little less than humble on the outside. The building was bright and colorful, with glass doors and large windows so you could see how much fun everyone inside was having, obscured only by the Help Wanted that read: 12PM-6AM, security guard willing to work for great pay! Inquire within, or call- Yugi stopped reading at that point, he knew he wouldn't remember the number for more than a few seconds anyway. There were a few cardboard cut-outs of the characters standing outside with signs that had the store hours and show times posted.
It was noisy when they entered. Lots of children running around, some sitting in their seats eating pizza or cake. From the entrance they could see a few of the arcade machines tucked away in another room, it a source of chaos in itself with each game playing melodies and sound effects to get your attention. Front-and-center was a stage, upon which stood a lavender rabbit holding an orange guitar, a yellow duck, or maybe a chicken- it was a little hard to tell from this distance- with a bib and a large plastic cupcake on a plate. Between them stood a brown bear with a top hat and a microphone. Currently they stood silent.
"Hey hey hey, parents and kiddies! Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria!" Yugi and Atem both jumped back, shocked by the sudden loud voice. It wasn't human, either. It came from another animatronic, that looked similar to the bear on stage. However this one looked more shiny, like maybe he was encased in plastic while the one on stage was more like fur. It also had large round red dots on its face, reminding Yugi of Pikachu. His guess was that it was meant to be rosy cheeks. "Uhm, thank you, Freddy?" Yugi squeaked out, staring into the large blue eyes. "Is it your birthday today, little boy?" asked Freddy, and Yugi frowned. "No, we just came for some fun." "Then you must be here for the pizza, games, and music! Just head on over to the green counter if you'd like to order food! Or, you can head straight for the arcade! And don't forget, our next show starts at 10AM!" And with that, the animatronic walked away to pester another family that had just entered. Their son seemed to think it was the coolest thing ever though, so Yugi couldn't knock the effort.
They went to the aforementioned green counter, where the perky cashier greeted them with a huge smile, "Good morning guys, what can I get for you?"
"Sorry, first time here. What do you recommend?" Atem replied.
"Bonnie's vegetarian pizza is my personal favorite!"
"Sounds good to me," Yugi replied, looking over at Atem. They agreed, and figured a small would be plenty between them.
"Here's your number! Just have a seat anywhere and we'll find you!" The cashier replied after they paid.
"Thanks. …Hey, I have a question. That bear animatronic- it seemed to respond to me when I talked to it. Is that just a weird coincidence?"
"Oh no, they have pre-programmed ways to reply to anything the owner thought they might be asked. Of course, there's a lot of stuff they don't reply to. But it's still cool to have a robotic bunny tell you where the bathroom is!"
"Heh, I bet the kids sure get a kick out of it." Yugi smirked.
They wandered around a bit more before finding a cute little sectioned off area on the left side with a play structure that resembled a pirate ship. Across from the play structure was another pirate ship, this one more closely resembling a stage. There stood a red fox with an eye patch and a hook hand. He looked fuzzy, so he was probably more closely related to the other stage animatronics. He wore ripped brown pants with a rope tied around the waist like a belt. Yugi thought he looked really dangerous for a kid's restaurant because of his hook hand and sharp teeth, but he was high up enough that unless enough children got together and figured out how to stack themselves or objects high enough they probably couldn't reach him. There were tables and chairs positioned far back enough so that they still had a clear view of the fox.
They decided this was where they'd eat, since most kids seemed more interested in the arcade or impatiently waiting in the other room for ten o' clock, when the stage animatronics would start their band.
"I'm really enjoying myself," Atem said with a smile. Yugi was surprised, "Really? I thought for sure you'd get bored within the first five minutes."
"You said this place would be very 1980s. I wasn't around for that particular decade," he said with a chuckle, "So it's kind of like going back in time. It's cool to see what people could do then, and what entertained them."
"Yeah, I guess that's one way to put it," Yugi smiled, "And here I always thought I was the optimist."
Just then stereotypical pirate music kicked up, "Ahoy there, maties! How is Foxy's crew doing today?" A few children stopped whatever they were doing to turn and yell, "Great, Captain Foxy!"
"Argh, that be the spirit! But what's this? I see some new faces! Come to join me pirate crew, have ye?" He looked right at Yugi and Atem, who both hesitated. Remembering what the cashier had said, Yugi spoke loudly, "Aye aye, Cap'n!"
"Argh, that be the spirit! Let's all recite the pirate oath, in honor of the new recruits!"
The same few children started shouting along with Foxy, "Whether we're on land, whether we're on sea. True pirates we'll always be! We'll eat our veggies, and do our homeworks. And after that, enjoy the pirate perks!"
"I want to experience more of the 1980s if there was really this much cheese involved," Atem said through his laughter. "I think they're trying to be way more health-conscious than they were in the 80s. Consumers used to be much more responsible for their stupidity," Yugi replied, wiping a tear from his eye from laughing so hard.
Foxy then began to sing pirate-related songs. It seemed that he was meant to perform in between the main band's scheduled performances. They knew he would be finished for a while when he announced that Freddy Fazbear's band would be playing in the main hall in ten minutes before the lights around him dimmed and the light that had shone in his eye went out, and he slumped over a bit.
"Poor Foxy, forced to be a side attraction and not the main event. I really liked him though! And he has a chance at fame if he's always performing between shows!" Yugi smiled.
On their way to the main hall they were stopped by a large white and pink fox, with a pink snout, a painted-in lip outline that reminded Yugi of lipstick, and those same rosy cheeks that Freddy had. Upon her shoulder sat a green parrot. "Ahoy, maties! Hope you're enjoying your stay at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria!" The fox spoke, and soon after the parrot repeated, "Pizzeria!"
"Uh, yeah! Who are you?" Yugi responded.
"Argh, you can call me Lady Foxy! And this here is Polly!" "Polly want a cracker!"
The couple stifled a chuckle, "Nice to meet you, Lady Foxy! We're going to see the band play!"
"The show starts at 10AM! Better hurry and find a seat!" The animatronic responded, before carrying on its way.
They did exactly that. They took the first two seats closest to them. Yugi took note of the cute, possibly animatronic boy holding a fake balloon and a sign that simply read "Balloons!" There was indeed a few balloons tied to a counter next to him, presumably where they sold the advertised product.
His attention was pulled away from the balloon kid when he heard one of the on-stage animatronics speak, "Hello, kids! Is everyone having a good time at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria?"
There was a roar of "Yeah!" from the children and parents in the crowd who were really into it.
"Glad to hear it! In case you didn't know, I'm the one and only- Freddy Fazbear! And these are my band mates, and closest friends- Chika the Chicken and Bonnie the Bunny!"
"How creative…" Yugi muttered, although Atem was still enjoying the cheese factor. He vaguely wondered how he could be the one and only when there was obviously at least one more Freddy Fazbear walking around, but he assumed the owner had just hoped no one would question it.
The band played for a good hour before finally saying goodbye and shutting down. Just then a rabbit that looked similar to Bonnie- but again, looking more plastic and with rosy cheeks- came in asking who wanted to go to the arcade, while a rosy-cheeked (and weirdly curvy) Chika offered to escort young ones to the bathroom. Yugi decided to take her up on her offer, and agreed to meet with Atem in the arcade after.
He walked with a small group of children and adults to the restroom. He'd never heard any stories of animatronics being so interactive, and helpful. He had to admit, it was pretty cool despite their lame dialogue.
He finished up in the bathroom and wandered back out into the hall. He was polite enough to wait while all the boys occupied the facilities, their tiny bladders about to burst from sitting through the hour-long show. By the time he was back outside, Chika was nowhere to be seen. He'd heard her outside earlier offering to escort everyone to the arcade now.
He turned down a few corners, wondering why the back halls with the bathrooms were sort of labyrinthine. No wonder the kids needed an escort here.
Finally he came across Lady Foxy, who was just walking down the hall. "Lady Foxy," Yugi said, wondering if he could tap into that pre-programmed phrasebook of theirs. The fox stopped and turned to him, "Could you please take me to the arcade?"
She stared at him for a moment, and Yugi could swear he heard a faint buzzing coming from her. He wondered if they all did that, and he could only hear it now that it wasn't so noisy.
Finally the fox replied, "Argh, of course Matie! Just follow ol' Lady Foxy!" "Foxy!" echoed the parrot.
Sure enough, Lady Foxy lead him to the arcade. "Argh, if you ever need help again, just holler for ol' Lady Foxy!" "Thank you!" Yugi replied as the animatronic turned and walked away. He entered the arcade and looked around for his boyfriend, finally spotting him sitting behind the wheel of a racing game with a crowd of children watching him. "C'mon, Yugi!" "You can do it!" "You're the King of Games!" they cheered. Yugi was still taken aback when people referred to Atem as "Yugi." They never really felt the need to explain to anyone that Yugi was now two people, and the King of Games this whole time was really an ancient Pharaoh named Atem.
But then, who would believe them anyway. The two of them were so evenly matched that neither of them really cared or even kept track of who officially held the title.
The crowed erupted in cheers. Atem must have won. Suddenly all the children were asking him for an autograph, and the one kid who was lucky enough, or perhaps just nerdy enough, to actually bring a pen started charging tokens to use it.
Atem frowned, "Hey, wouldn't it be nice of you to share your pen? I promise I'll give it back. I'll even pay for you to play a game with me, any game in the room you want." The kid hesitated at first, but finally gave in. Yugi watched Atem sign autographs for about five minutes before he stood up from the arcade machine. He gave the child back his pen and smiled, "So, which game would you like to play?"
The kid stared wide-eyed up at him, "I wanna race you! Please! I don't care if I lose!" Atem gave him a thumbs-up and a wink, "Sounds like fun!"
You've really learned the art of fan service, haven't you? Yugi thought with a flat face. He squeezed in between the children and tapped Atem on the shoulder, "Hey, when you're done with that race, meet me at the skee ball?" Atem looked up and nodded before handing the child a token.
It didn't take long, but by the time Atem was finished and made his way to Yugi, Yugi had already won a good amount of tickets. They played a few games of skee ball together before moving on to other games.
Around one o' clock they decided they'd better start heading home so Atem could get some sleep. Before that though, they decided to exchange their tickets at the prize counter.
When they got to the counter they were greeted by yet another Freddy Fazbear, however this one had a much more yellow tone to its fur. "Wel-Wel-c-c-come to the Prize C-c-c-corner! I hope you enjoyed-joyed the game-joyed the games!" it waved at them, but didn't move much beyond that, and repeated itself every time someone new walked up to the counter. No wonder the poor thing is glitching Yugi thought. There were a few people behind the counter helping to count tickets and trade them for prizes. Eventually someone was able to help the couple, "What can I get for you guys?"
They had, of course, agreed on getting all of the Dual Monsters packs they could as soon as they saw them. Even after buying them out they still had enough tickets for small pieces of candy.
They spent the trip home opening the packs and arguing over who should get the better ones (each of course arguing that the other should take them). Once home, they both went straight to bed.
Yugi fumbled with his alarm, trying to shut it off before it woke Atem. He still had school today, but the nap definitely helped.
On the ride to school he recalled the trip to Freddy's, That was way more fun that I could have imagined. I didn't think Atem would like it so much, and his enjoying it definitely helped me forget how silly the whole this was. The arcade was actually pretty cool, too. I wonder if the employees have any fun? Ah, I can't work a day shift or else I'd never be able to see Atem. Suddenly he remembered the Help Wanted sign. I wonder how well "pays well" is…
Soon as the train pulled up to his stop, he got out and walked to school.
Shit's about to get REAL! Heh heh. Leave a review to let me know how I'm doing? I know I'm pretty rusty on my Atem but I hope he's, at least for the most part, in character.