March, 1982. It's been three months since Mr. Fazbear's tragic passing, and Fredbear's Family Diner was in turmoil. The company's true namesake, dubbed 'Fazbear Entertainment', was passed on to his next of kin, it became clear that they wanted no part of Mr. Fazbear's 'empire' as they tried to sell their shares to someone willing to do something with the company.
It juggled around through a plethora of buyers, before finally securing a new owner in the form of Mr. Matthew E Forrester. Not much was known about the man, although he did seem to have quite the reputation for being an excellent business man.
An excellent human being, however... Not so much.
Three months on and the impact of Mr. Fazbear's death stayed strong with Freddy, he became more reclusive as time went on. One would almost think that he was somewhat depressed over the matter. Bonnie and Chica tried their hardest to support the emotionally torn bear, much to his appreciation. They continued their routine and started interacting with the children as a group, Freddy was finally starting to perk up again.
Things were about to take a turn for the worse, Mr. Forrester was due to make his first appearance at the diner to assess the conditions and potential changes that could be made to better suit the restaurant as business rather than a 'kid's play house' as he thought it was.
Scott spent the majority of the day behind closed doors, frantically trying to organise all of Fazbear's old paperwork whilst the three animatronics held the fort on stage.
As he continued filing through the records, a small piece of paper, crumpled between the larger documents slipped through of the cracks of the mountain of paperwork and plummeted to the floor. Scott placed the paperwork to one side to look at the strange document. Upon further inspection, it was actually what appeared to be a child's drawing, depicting a small girl on Freddy's shoulders.
Somehow, she managed to make Freddy look even more silly. He noticed a poorly written name in the bottom right hand corner smudged over in crayon, he took a closer to read the name.
'Maria Fazbear' - Mr. Fazbear's grand-daughter.
"Poor girl" He muttered to himself in sorrow. Mr. Fazbear was a good man, anyone could have seen that. It must have torn his family a part when he died. Scott folded the drawing up and placed it in his back pocket, he was going to make sure that this drawing found its way back to Maria. It's what the good ol' boss would have wanted.
On stage, it was another world all together. Freddy and the gang were finishing up their sing-a-longs with the children, before addressing them like they always did.
"Hey kids! I hope you've had a wonderful time at Fredbear's Family Diner!" Freddy bellowed. Met with a roar of applause from the audience.
"Yeah! And don't forget to eat up kids! It's important to keep healthy to grow big and strong, like us!" Chica chimed in. The children always enjoyed it when Chica talked about food, it was all she ever talked about when she was on stage.
"Woah! Wait a minute guys!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Don't you think you've got just one more song in ya? I sure know I have! What about you guys?" He addressed the audience energetically. He was met with an equally energetic response from the children, they always loved to watch the three animatronics perform on stage.
"Oh, I don't know. Freddy? D'you think we can sing more song for the little ones?" Chica asked. It was all apart of their routine, it was obvious to anyone who'd seen it before what Freddy was going to say.
"Sure! Anything for all you little tykes out there!" He responded before letting out another one of his trademark laughs, it echoed throughout the halls as they prepared themselves for one more song.
"Ready guys?"
"One"
"Two"
"One. Two. Three. Four!" They called in unison, before breaking out into one last song for the children.
Unbeknownst to them, a grown man, not accompanying a child, slipped through the party hall towards the office. This man featured a sleek, dark grey suit, together with all the accessories present. Ruffled, crisp blond hair and facial hair covering parts of his young, smooth face. Dark blue eyes seemingly piercing the barrier of happiness that accompanied the animatronics on stage.
It could have only been Mr. Forrester, who silently opened the door to the office. Only to find Scott still preparing the office his arrival.
"Ahem!" He scoffed. Startling Scott.
"Uh, oh, umm, Mr. Forrester! What a pleasu..."
"Save it!" Mr. Forrester rudely interrupted the panicky worker. "You know why I'm here" He continued, a veil of darkness coating his every word.
He was met with a silent nod from the fumbling employee, who handed Mr. Forrester a profit/loss spreadsheet which detailed the diner's profit to loss since Mr. Fazbear's death and three months prior.
"Hmm" Mr. Forrester's eyes were glued to the sheet of paper, documenting in his mind each tiny figure and each tiny drop or escalation in profits throughout the time the spreadsheet covered. He was a ruthless business man, who took everything into account when making decisions. They were never the most favoured decisions, but they were usually the best decisions.
Usually.
He finally broke silence. "It's apparent that we've not been making a real profit this month. The past two months were expediential, but the profit intake has dwindled" He uttered monotonically. "The problem is these blasted animatronics!" He 'revealed'. Causing Scott to raise his right brow in confusion.
"The animatronics? But sir, the children love them! It's why we've made good business recently!" Scott replied, angered by the new managers obviously bogus statement.
"You're missing the point!" Mr. Forrester retorted. "These animatronics are indeed, very good business, but you can't force feed the same three animatronics together at the same time! We need variety!" He screamed.
He paused momentarily, thinking over what he was going to say next.
"I'm going to make a small financial donation towards the production of two new animatronics" He continued. Scott's eyes were wide in amazement, two more animatronics? That makes five animatronics in total!
Okay, so maybe he wasn't that bad at all.
"That's amazing!" Scott finally responded. "But, what will they be?" This brought another deafening silence to the room. Mr. Forrester clearly lost in thought about what he wanted these two new animatronics to be, his thoughts continuously disrupted by the sound of Freddy, Bonnie and Chica on stage. It was beginning to irritate the scrounge.
He anxiously peered through the small crack in the door, an almost sadistic grin appearing on his face as he watched the animatronics like a hawk.
"What's his name? The bear?" He asked, pointing over towards the golden animatronic.
"That's Freddy Fredbear, the head mascot of this place" Scott replied almost instantly, confused about how the new manager was unaware of Freddy's identity. Surely he should have known that before he bought out the diner.
"Fredbear?!" Mr. Forrester's face cringed in disgust. "This is Fazbear Entertainment! We need a mascot for the company as a whole, not a mascot for the diner." He aggressively continued.
There was another pause as Mr. Forrester watched Freddy, one would think that he was in complete shock over the name.
"Scrap him" He carelessly snapped.
Okay, so he was actually that bad.
"Scrap him?! B-bu-but, you can't!" Scott cried. "The children will be devastated if Freddy goes." He pleaded to the despicable boss.
"I can and I will!" Mr. Forrester raised his voice to Scott, he clearly wasn't going to get into an argument with some who 'clearly' didn't know good business.
Scott quickly jolted back at the sudden lash-out from his new boss. It was became clear that this man was indeed a ruthless business man, willing to toss anything he deemed unworthy aside in the name of 'good business'.
"I understand that it is somewhat 'special' to these children, but don't worry, it'll all work out" Mr. Forrester became creepily calm all of a sudden, placing his hand on Scott's shoulder, sending a bone-chilling shiver down the employee's spine.
"I know exactly what the two new animatronics will be..." He quietly slipped out of the office and through the party hall once more, undetected by anyone present, he never took his burning gaze off the animatronics as he disappeared through the double doors, exiting the diner.
Scott stood there, horrified by his altercation with his new boss'. That announcement racing through his mind, scrapping Freddy felt like a terrible idea, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.
How would he explain the situation to Freddy? More importantly, how would Freddy react? He'd never known Freddy, or any of the animatronics to become angry for that matter, and he didn't want to know what an angry Freddy would be like.
Freddy and the gang finished their time on stage, having been totally unaware of Mr. Forrester's presence throughout. Bonnie and Chica always enjoyed interacting with the children, much like Freddy. They started looking towards Freddy as some form of mentor/leader, they would have been totally lost without the animatronic bear.
An almost impossible reality, soon to become just that.
"Freddy!" A familiar voice called out from the waves of children. Freddy observed the crowd to find the source. Only to be met with a child hugging the animatronics rubbery stomach, it was none other than Sophie.
"Sophie!" Came from a relieved Freddy. He hadn't seen Sophie since just before Bonnie and Chica arrived, and was thrilled with finally being able to introduce her to them.
Bonnie and Chica noticed Freddy's interaction with the young girl and came over to acquaint themselves with the small child.
"Hey there little one! I'm Bonnie the Bunny" Bonnie happily greeted the young girl. Sophie turned a beat red before taking cover behind Freddy, embarrassed to meet the new animatronics.
"It's okay sweetie, they're my friends, which makes them your friends too" Freddy spoke reassuringly.
Chica knelt to Sophie's height to help Sophie feel comfortable in the situation she found herself in, being a small child around three giant animatronics can be quite daunting.
"Hello! I'm Chica!" Chica chimed. Sophie slowly removed herself from the cover of Freddy, before looking over towards the very friendly animatronics.
"H-Hello" No louder than a whisper as it exited Sophie's mouth. Freddy chuckled to himself.
"Sophie, there's no need to be shy. Bonnie and Chica are as friendly as good ol' Freddy could ever be!" He joined in. Sophie looked straight up at the golden bear, her eyes glistening with just absolute beauty into Freddy's eyes. He slowly nudged Sophie forward so she could address Bonnie and Chica properly.
Bonnie however, turned and headed back onto the stage, burying through the backstage props before taking something and hiding it behind his back before returning. As he returned, he also knelt to Sophie's height next to Chica and revealed what he'd taken from the backstage.
The Freddy plushie he'd been given at Christmas by the jolly ol' bear.
He extended his arm out to signal that he wanted Sophie to take it. He looked up to see Freddy staring in utter confusion, what was Bonnie doing? He brought his vision back down to make eye contact with Sophie once more
"Take it, it's from me to you" He spoke softly.
Sophie slowly reached out to the plushie and gently took it from the purple rabbit's grasp, matching it up along-side Freddy to seemingly check if it was like the real deal. She looked back over to Bonnie, a happy smile across her face before jumping to hug the purple animatronic, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Thank you Bonnie!" She kissed Bonnie on his black rubbery nose, just as she did with Freddy. If Bonnie could blush, he would have most certainly been doing so at that moment.
"Hey" Chica softly spoke up, addressing Sophie. "D'you want to come with me? We can make a delicious pizza together!" She beamed with delight.
Sophie happily nodded before making off with Chica towards the kitchen. Customers weren't normally allowed in the kitchen, but no-one was going to make that argument with Chica. Who would want to argue with a seven foot tall animatronic with a passion for eating? Definitely not the kitchen staff.
Bonnie slowly clambered himself to his feet, he looked up to see that he was met face to face with Freddy.
"Why?" Freddy asked in a low, tender tone.
"It's about the gift of giving, right? It doesn't need to be Christmas" Bonnie replied, exchanging glances with Freddy before being pulled into another tight hug, this time by the animatronic bear.
"And that is why these kids love you, and why I call you my friend" He whispered into the rabbit's slender ears.
Their exchange brought a loud "Aww" and some giggles from the kids who were present as they embraced. They realised that they were in the middle of the party room, being watched by all the parents and children alike. The parent's chuckled with one another as Freddy quickly released Bonnie from his grasp before the two became too embarrassed to even look at each other about the whole thing.
"We never speak of this. Ever"
"Agreed"
Their ears drooped in embarrassment as they continued their rounds across the party hall.
Typical male behaviour.
Scott watched their exchange from the office, his heart breaking at the idea of Freddy being unable to entertain the children anymore. Only he and Mr. Fazbear really knew the true extent of how the animatronics could feel and express real emotions, and it tore him apart knowing that the children wouldn't see Freddy again.
He then began to think about Mr. Forrester's two new animatronics, what were they going to be? If one was to replace Freddy, then, perhaps it was going to be another bear? Maybe sporting 'Fazbear' instead of 'Fredbear' for it's surname. The idea seemed plausible enough to him.
But then there was the matter of the second animatronic, his boss complained about the three animatronics being used together. So, does that mean that this one would be separate from the others? His own stage perhaps? Again, plausible enough for him.
All he could do was wait, Scott tried to reassure himself that Freddy would still hold some sort of role with the diner. Thus, opted not to tell Freddy in-case it would needlessly cause concern among the animatronics.
With that, business at the diner remained at a steady pace. Sophie came to the diner much more often since meeting Bonnie and Chica, spending a great deal of with time the three giants.
They even had a picture together, Sophie was set-up on Freddy's shoulder, with Bonnie and Chica standing on both sides of the bear. Bonnie standing proudly with his freshly tuned guitar as Chica stood there showcasing the goggle eyes she had attached to her cupcake prop.
"Say cheese!" Scott joked as he prepared the camera.
"Cheese!" The four gleefully responded in unison. Before a bright white flash caught the moment, forever.
Scott couldn't help but feel regretful of not informing Freddy of the new animatronics, he stuck to his guns and firmly believed that he wouldn't be removed from the diner.
He hoped. but his hope was starting to falter as time went on.
A few weeks had passed since Mr. Forrester's arrival at the diner. He made daily visits to the diner, always inspecting every nook and cranny of the establishment, from the work ethic of the employees all the way down to the quality of the party hats. Yes, he was that thorough.
However, upon completing another one of his rather ludicrous inspections. He made note to Scott that the new animatronics would be arriving, and he wanted the current ones to be shut down during the process for 'maintenance'. Scott could do nothing but agree with his demands, worrying the ever nervous employee.
It wasn't shutting them down that was the problem, they were always shut down through the night to conserve their power reserves. The only exception being when Bonnie and Chica arrived, leaving Freddy to help them prepare to be on the stage the following day. The problem was what would happen to Freddy if his worst fears came true, Bonnie and Chica would be distressed if they awoke to find Freddy gone.
Eventually, the restaurant finished another busy day before closing up. Scott made sure to discuss with the animatronics about the 'maintenance' procedure that was to follow.
"Umm, guys?" He spoke up nervously, attracting their attention.
"Mr. Forrester wants you to under go a maintenance check tonight. You okay with that?" One could tell he was incredibly nervous. Fortunately, he was met with a silent nod from each animatronic.
He moved over to Chica first, he opened her back compartment and found the switch to deactivate her, doing so in the process. He watched as her head drooped over and her body became limp still trying to keep a hold on her little cupcake, her eyes closing as she shut down.
Bonnie was next, he repeated the same process and watched as Bonnie's ears and head drooped over whilst grasping onto his guitar. Before his eyes closed as he lost all power.
Freddy was next, he noticed the bear's crystal blue eyes gazing at him and felt his stomach churn as he remembered Mr. Forrester's comments about scrapping him.
Why didn't he tell Freddy? His heart began to throb as he realised that this may be the last time he will ever see the golden animatronic again. He opened Freddy's back, flipping the power switch that allowed Freddy to stay functional.
Freddy's body slowly started to limp over, his head tilting to the right as he slowly became defunct. He slowly leaned against the wall before sitting, completely shut down as he eyes closed for perhaps the final time.
Tears began to form in Scott's eyes as noticed the delivery truck begin to pull up outside to deliver the new animatronics, this would be the moment of truth about whether he should have told Freddy about his replacement or not.
He shot one last glance at Freddy, and choked whilst trying to utter one final goodbye to the golden bear:
"I'm sorry..."
Author's Note: Chapter 4! I've would have had had this out sooner, but I was met with a few delays. Sorry about that, but here you go! :)
I've tried separating different scenes to make it easier to read, PLEASE let me know if you think that this is a good idea so I can use it more often in the next chapters to come!
I've seen a lot of positive receptions for this story so far, and I'm so appreciative of all the favourites/follows and reviews I've seen so far, thank you so much!
I'll try my best to respond to any more reviews or any messages I may receive in the future. And please, let me know if there are mistakes I need to address. I do re-check my stories after publishing but another watchful eye could help. :)
I hope you guys liked this chapter, and don't worry. Freddy and Foxy are just around the corner! See you in Chapter 5! :D