Hey, I'm sorry again for being so late! I started summer school to get an extra credit, and I've been super busy as a result. I hope to return to my original schedule when I can, so please be patient. Thank you so much for supporting me! It makes me so happy to see you guys enjoying this fic!
I'd like to take a moment to thank Timeless Tragedy and Kenwave for beta reading my work for me! You two are awesome friends and writers, and I don't know what I'd do without you!

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza - Friday December 3rd, 1993

The restaurant was quiet that night; not a single animatronic was out of place. The silence was only broken by the distant sound of Foxy singing in Pirate Cove.

He sat alone, singing a tune as he wandered around his damaged set. He'd been left to rot for several years, leaving his former vessel chipped, faded, and anything but seaworthy. Every prop had collected a layer of dust on it too, with a few cobwebs laced between the details.

Foxy paced around his ship until he finished his song, stopping to visit his foe: a wooden pirate prop. It was so battered that it was hardly distinguishable as resembling a human being anymore, yet this didn't repulse him; he continued to dig his sharp hook into it anyway. No matter what it looked like, it was a worthy opponent still begging to be dueled.

Partway through his 'training,' Foxy heard a familiar tune. He lowered his hook and followed the sound to the Main Stage, where he found Bonnie playing a song on his guitar. It was Paint it Black by The Rolling Stones, a childhood favourite of his, one he'd almost forgotten about. He waited a few moments, to ensure he knew what part of the song the guitarist was at, before he began singing along, the lyrics quickly coming to mind as he heard the melody.

Bonnie looked over to Foxy's direction, surprised to hear his dark, low voice coming from the other end of the room. He stopped playing for a moment. "Foxy?"

"Aye, that be me," the pirate replied as he emerged from the dark corner of the room. His partially torn tail was swishing behind him excitedly.

Bonnie noted the poor shape his fellow animatronic was in, considering if it was the reason why he stuck to Pirate Cove more often than not.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned.

Foxy smiled. "I heard one o' me favourite shanties."

Bonnie stared at him, his ears straightening from their slight, relaxed droop. "Wait... You know that song?"

"Aye, lad. Ol' Foxy grew up with it."

An elated smile grew across his face. "No way! Me too! I've always loved that song!" With that, he restarted the song from the beginning, and Foxy sang along. His voice suited the song surprisingly well.

Foxy let out a delighted laugh at the end of the song. "Do ye know any more songs?"

"Oh, uh, I know how to play Master of Puppets!"

"Do ye?" He grinned.

Bonnie couldn't hide his child-like joy. "You know that one, too?"

"Of course I do! Start playin', lad!"

Bonnie began to play the guitar melody of the song. Foxy sang this one quite well too, but he seemed to have more practice with Paint It Black. The pirate's gravelly tone worked better with the first song as well.

Little did Bonnie and Foxy notice, a dark, stick-like figure was standing in the doorway as they played. It only made its presence known after the song.

"That song... What's it called again?"

"Master of Puppets. You know, Metallica." Bonnie supplied. "Don't tell me you've never heard of them."

The figure snapped its fingers. "That's it! No wonder why I liked it..."

Foxy smiled a little. "Well, they do call you 'The Puppet'."

The Puppet chuckled quietly. "It's a shame they don't let me do my job anymore. Apparently, I'm 'too scary'." With a sigh, he added, "At least I'm still activated."

"At least that. They don't let me out either… Too broken."

Bonnie piped up, "It's not that great, really. Screaming kids and those stupid songs... Why can't I play a good set list?"

"You're a children's entertainer, Bonnie," The Puppet explained flatly. "The kids want to hear the Freddy's songs, not rock music."

"I know, but..."

Foxy chipped in, "I'd give me own arm to perform again. Me good arm, too, so enjoy what ye 'ave."

This made the rabbit stop talking.

The Puppet spoke up next. "Boys, it's midnight! You know what that means!"

"Time to get the endo!" Bonnie cheered.

"More like scare the night guard," he corrected.

After the rabbit rolled his eyes, Foxy added, "Didn't Freddy tell ye? There ain't any rogue endoskeletons."

Bonnie opened his mouth to speak in protest, but promptly closed it again as he realized he had no basis to argue his point. With this, he ventured Backstage.

"How about we go introduce ourselves, Foxy?"

Foxy smiled. "Aye, that's a fine idea."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Mike came to his office and found someone sitting in his chair, again. The person in it was turned away from him, but he knew who it was this time, unlike the night before. With a yawn, he said, "Hey, Fritz, how are you?"

Only, it wasn't Fritz. The person in the chair spun to face him, revealing himself to not be human at all. In his co-worker's usual spot sat a creepy, white-faced, creature with stick-like black limbs. White stripes decorated its arms and legs, complimenting the white buttons on the chest. It was wearing his uniform cap that read 'Security', too.

The night guard almost screamed, but managed to keep himself quiet. He did flinch, however. "Holy crap! What the-"

"I'm not Fritz, but I'm sure you already noticed that."

"Noticed that?! That's putting it lightly! What are you?!"

"Me? Oh, they call me The Puppet, but I also go by Marionette. It sounds a bit more like a name if you ask me." He smiled, yet his soulless black eyes made it downright terrifying, despite the innocent intentions.

"T-That doesn't answer my question..." Mike muttered.

"I'm one of the animatronics here at Freddy's." He extended his hand to the man before him. "It's nice to meet you."

Instead of returning the gesture, he tensed, staring at the hand extended to him.

"What?"

"You're not going to stuff me in a suit..." He gulped. "A-Are you?"

Marionette lowered his hand and cocked his head to the side, appearing to be genuinely curious. "No... Why would I want to do that?"

"B-Bonnie tried to... S-Said I was an 'endo'..." the night guard stammered.

"You, an endoskeleton?" he repeated, bemused. "Hardly. You look about as human as they come. And you're clearly not that man, so we have no reason to give you any trouble."

His mind began to race with questions yet again. He mentioned 'that man', like Freddy had earlier. Whoever he was, Mike could only guess what he did to set them off. From what he could see, he wouldn't be receiving any answers any time soon, assuming he would have been brave enough to ask them. Instead of continuing to ask questions he couldn't answer by himself, his focus remained on how he would get the animatronic out of his office; how he would protect himself.

Mike continued to stare down the animatronic before him, fear filling his eyes. He was trembling a little too.

"Mike? Are you feeling alright? You're not looking well..."

"I-I'm fine..." He was about to ask 'How do you know my name?' but then remembered he was wearing his name badge on his security jacket.

"I'm not going to hurt you, really." Marionette took off Mike's hat and handed it back to its owner. The man took it quickly and put it back in its rightful place on his head. "You don't have to be so skittish. I know I'm not exactly cute, but I'm not that scary!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Mike squeaked.

"It's alright. Just relax, please?"

He nodded and tried to take some calming breaths. When he collected himself, he asked "Why are you so different? F-From the others, I mean."

"How so?"

"You don't want to kill me…"

Marionette grinned. "I believe you're mistaken, night guard. It's only Bonnie who wants to kill you. Freddy, Foxy, and Chica already know you're human. They're very nice, once you get to know them."

Mike laughed nervously. "Nice… Right."

"What? Chica's a sweetheart. If anything, she'd probably make a pizza for you if you asked her to. That or she'd sing. The last thing she'd do is hurt you." Mike nodded in acknowledgement and the animatronic continued. "Then there's Freddy. He has a kind heart. He's happiest singing on stage for those kids, always giving it everything he's got. This restaurant truly is his heart and soul. Although, he's been a little out of sorts lately… Again, he wouldn't hurt you."

"What about, um… Foxy? That's his name, right?"

"Foxy? Yeah, he's… not in the best shape. He spends most of his time behind his curtain in Pirate Cove, hiding from everyone. Even us." His tone grew sad as he explained the fox's situation. "He can be touchy. Sometimes he will be in character, even away from the children. Other times he is completely different, so it's hard to predict how he'll behave. It must be from all of that damage to his suit. I think he's too bothered by his own thoughts to be concerned about you, however."

Mike frowned a little as he began to get lost in thought, considering how Foxy must have felt in his unfortunate state. He put his thoughts on hold as he felt himself getting too involved. Robots didn't have emotions. They didn't have feelings. Did they? Mike second guessed himself as he factored in the unusual nature of his workplace. If he wanted answers, as much as he wanted to push the unnerving animatronic from his office and slam the doors shut behind him, he figured he might be able to get some answers to his questions. A small dose of bravery would do him good, for once.

He gulped and asked, "What about Bonnie? Why is he so bent on t-trying to kill me?"

"Well, he's always been a stubborn one. Once he has an idea, it's very difficult to change his mind. That being said, he's convinced you're an endoskeleton out of costume, so in his mind you're breaking the rules. We're supposed to redress bare animatronics when we find them. It's nothing personal, really. Other than that, he's been almost rude and rebellious lately. Bonnie never used to be like that; he used to be happy and friendly, albeit a tad mischievous."

"I see…" After taking a moment to absorb the information he'd just received, he asked, "What about you, Marionette?"

"I'd consider myself to be like a big brother to the others here. I used to run the Prize Corner, until they replaced me with human staff. Since then, I've been 'retired to the back room', no longer serving a purpose. I usually come out to talk and keep the others company."

"Oh… Do you miss being out in the day?"

"All of the time! That back room is cold, dark, and lonely. Being forgotten like that is so cruel! I miss the music box that would play at my station, the smiling faces of the children coming to collect their prizes, the bright lights…"

"I'm sorry to hear that…" Mike thought about the possibility of the robotic characters having emotions once more, considering that there may have been something to it that he was missing. He figured he was reading into it too much.

"It's fine, really… I'm happy to have been useful at one point. At least I can still come out at night, right?"

Mike nodded. Learning about the animatronics' behaviour helped, especially for his nerves. Eventually, he might have the courage to talk to the others. Then again, Bonnie was still a lurking threat to be feared. Little did he know, he would have to face those fears sooner than he thought.

"Foxy said he wanted to meet you, so we could go talk to him. If you're comfortable enough to, that is," Marionette encouraged.

"Well…" He kicked at the floor and looked down.

"Mike, you have nothing to be afraid of… Give it a shot, please?"

"I-I'll try…"

"That's the spirit! Could you check where he is for me? He was out, for once."

The night watchman opened the security camera and clicked through the cameras, eventually finding the fox in his usual location. "He's in Pirate Cove," he announced.

"Great! Follow me!" Marionette cheered as he gracefully slid down the hall, Mike following closely behind him. He only hoped the pirate was in one of the 'good moods' he was told about.

"Foxy~!" The Puppet sang in a cheery voice. "I brought a visitor!"

The pirate fox poked his head out from behind the curtains, grinning when he spotted the employee. "Ah, ahoy lad! I'm yer Captain, Foxy! Welcome aboard! What be yer name?"

Mike was almost stunned by the friendliness he found in place of the terrifying monster he was expecting to be met by. He couldn't believe it was the same unstable animatronic described to him just minutes before. "Um… I-I'm Mike. Mike Schmidt."

"Pleasure to have ye aboard! Did ye want te hear a sea shanty?"

"Sure," he replied. And with that, the pirate animatronic began to sing. It was clearly one of the kids songs, but he performed it well. Mike found himself enjoying the song despite the obvious immaturity to it.

His eyes wandered to the sign at the front of the stage during to performance. It read 'Sorry! -Out Of Order-'.

Without thinking, he asked, "Foxy, what's the sign for?"

"L-L-L-Lad, ye be-e-e-e-e-est not be a-a-a-a-aski'n 'bou-." Before he could finish, Foxy's glowing yellow eye went dim and he was frozen mid sentence.

"What happened…?"

Marionette promptly guided Mike away from the stage. "That sign is there for a reason, Mike."