Caleb followed the others into the living room, making no eye contact with John. Zach and Ellie made room for him on the three-seater couch. The rest of the employees found a spot in the room. Over by the door, on the two small couches, against the wall. There were twenty-five of them in all, excluding John. Waiters, cooks, janitors, and maintenance workers. It was extremely cramped. Caleb was torn; he didn't want to sit in this cramped position any longer than he had too, but he wasn't looking forward to talking to John. Every since they found the hidden room, simply being in the same room was awkward.

"Thanks for letting us use your house, John," Ellie spoke up after a tense silence.

"It wasn't any trouble," John said stiffly.

"Your wife isn't bothered?" Zach asked.

"She's not here," John replied, "She's in Maine visiting relatives.

"So, let's get down to business. I've looked at every cranny of the building, and it can be restored, and it won't cost much. But that doesn't mean the place isn't ageing. It's been in use since '89, and it shows. The technology dates back to the 70's, and it's small considering how many customers we get. We were hardly surviving when we re-opened, and we hardly drew in any income. Lately, we've had to turn away a few customers because the place was full. So, I've found a new building that we could use. It's got far more space and it's a mostly crime-free area. I haven't bought the place yet, because you guys deserve to have a say in what's happening. So, Zach, what do you think?"

"I think we should move," Zach admitted, "but keep the building. We could use it for storage."

"The buildings are a fair distance apart, just so you're aware," John told him.

"In that case, what use is their for the old building?" Ellie pointed out, "According to John, space isn't a problem, and the neighborhood it's in is just shit. Why keep the place?"

"Caleb," John asked, "What do you think?"

Caleb looked up. John was looking back at him, his expression unreadable.

"Does it matter? he finally said.

"What do you mean?" John replied, narrowing his eyes.

"You know what I mean, Caleb told him, "Does it matter what we think? Or what anyone thinks? You'll do it your way regardless."

John looked disappointed.

"You really wanna have this argument now?" he asked, sighing.

"No. I'm just saying it how it is."

"Anyone else have anything to add?" John asked the crowd. Nobody said a word.

"It's settled then. I'll give you guys a call when we start moving. Thanks for coming tonight guys."

Everybody filed about, but John motioned for me to stay. When the last person had left, he sighed.

"Why did you do that to me, Caleb?" he said, shaking his head.

"They have a right to know," Caleb replied firmly.

"It's for their own good that they don't know," John replied.

"John, those things are dangerous!" Caleb pointed out, rising off the couch, "Do you have any idea what happens if they find out themselves?"

"They won't," John retorted, "And they can't. Word cannot get out that the old animatronics weren't destroyed. We don't need more bad publicity with the police still searching for Mike."

"Then destroy them!" Caleb told him.

"Do you really think I haven't tried?" John said, his voice rising, "I tried many times after that place shut down. I tried everything. Crushing them, burning them, dumping them in acid. I even tried to just take them apart like I would for maintenance. But ever since the Bite, and what happened with the children, they won't come apart. I swear it.

"Eventually I gave up and locked them underground. They remained offline and never caused trouble. If there was a way to destroy them, I'd do it. But there isn't. There's something not right about those animatronics, Caleb. They're not normal."

Caleb was silent for a few moments.

"Alright then, is there anything else I should know?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"There is... one thing," John said hesitantly, "But it's crazy."

"John, I found out four months ago that those animatronics were somehow alive. I can't rule out jack shit these days."

"Back in the 80's, the company was trying to make the animatronics seem more lifelike, and one way they did that was by making the endoskeletons hidden behind the mascot costumes. We made a successful prototype that went into service in '84. It had a few different names, but most of the staff called it "the Marionette".

"The weird thing is, after the Bite we never saw it again. The next day, police found the body of our nightguard, Jeremy, in the office. His throat was slit and the Marionette's mask was placed on his face. We never found the rest of it."

"Are you saying...?" Caleb began.

"That the Marionette is alive?" finished John, "I think so, and I think it's in control of the old animatronics. I'm sorry that I never came clean about this, to you or the band, but I thought that it wouldn't be an issue anymore. I didn't want to worry you."

"I wish you would have told me sooner," Caleb admitted, "But I know that you were doing what you thought was best. I'm soryr I was so harsh on you."

Caleb offered John his hand, and John shook it slowly.

"I'll give you a call when we get things up and running again," John said, "And Caleb, thanks, for understanding."

It was four and a half months before Caleb heard anything again. He visited the band in the old building from time to time. But one day, he found them gone. He checked the whole building, but it was completely abandoned. Then, as he reached for his cell phone to call John, he heard a voice behind him.

"They've already been moved."

Caleb whirled around. John was standing by the show stage.

"We're reopening in two weeks. I had the band moved over to the new location," he told Caleb, "We're using this place for storage."

"Storage of what?" asked Caleb.

"The old mascots are coming with us," John said, "I don't want someone breaking in and finding those things. We'll use this building for parts and stuff."

He wandered around the dining room, apparently reminiscing.

"You never did meet the guy who started this place, did you?" he said, looking around. Caleb shook his head.

"I think you mentioned him once. Built Freddy and the others, right?"

"That's right. He didn't know how they were alive either. At least that's what he said. I've been thinking about getting in touch with him. There's something about the animatronics. They're so strong and mature, but in a way a teenager would be if they were forced into a situation they weren't prepared for."

"John," Caleb said cautiously, "What are you suggesting?"

John stopped wandering, and looked at him.

"Caleb, I think those animatronics used to be something else. Think about it. Even though they have bodies made of metal, they can still understand and feel emotion. Pain, loss, happiness, anger. Things that every human is capable of."

"John, this is crazy."

" Is it?" John asked, "How else could they think and feel like humans without being human? Caleb, face it; they weren't artificially created. They were born."

So hi guys. I'm sorry that there's not much too this chapter ,but I want you guys to get an understanding of what this story will be about. Things are going to pick up the pace very soon.

I'd also like to ask you guys to sometime check out my first original story; Walton's Ship, on . I'm really excited to start my own original concept and it would be awesome if you guys could give me some feedback. Don't worry though, I'll continue to do work here on and I won't be abandoning my current stories here anytime soon.