Mike's Apartment - Monday, December 6th, 1993

Mike awoke to the sound of his phone ringing at 9 am. After having worked until 6 am, 9 was much too early. He dragged himself out of bed, bringing the comforter with him as he went to answer the phone. He pulled the plush material tightly around himself as he lifted the phone to his ear.

"Hello...?" Mike mumbled tiredly.

"Hello hello! This is Anthony Howard calling, how are you, Mr. Schmidt?" The voice on the other end enthusiastically replied.

At the level of consciousness Mike was at, it was difficult for him to fathom how anyone could feel that alert. He grumbled, "What do you want?"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Wonderful guess, Sherlock."

Anthony was almost stunned, his tone of voice reflecting the mild offense he took at the dig. "No need to be so harsh... Anyway, Mr. Fazbear was arranging a staff lunch for tomorrow at noon, and he asked me to get a complete guest list ready. Will you be attending?"

Mike sighed. "I-I guess..."

"Great, we'll see you at noon! Remember to come hungry!" And before he could get another word in, the man hung up.

With no other reason to be awake, Mike shuffled in his blanket cocoon back to bed, where he fell asleep once more.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza - Tuesday December 7th, 1993

Mike arrived at the pizzeria at noon, where Fritz, Thomas, and three other men he didn't recognize were waiting for him. He raced over to the group.

"I-I'm sorry, am I late?" Mike asked, hurriedly.

"Not at all, my boy." Thomas replied. "We were just here early."

Fritz smiled at Mike. "Glad you're here. I've got someone special for ya to meet."

"You do?"

"This is a good friend of mine I've told ya about. Mike, this is Jeremy."

"Uh, hi…" Jeremy said, extending his hand to Mike.

Mike shook his hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

Jeremy smiled back, shyly. Mike looked at the man's face, noticing the crescent-shaped scars that curved down onto his forehead on both sides, partially covered by warm brown curls. He figured the oddly shaped scars were from the Bite of '87. His hazel eyes rivaled the scars for attention, standing out against his olive-toned skin.

Thomas interrupted the side conversation. "Anyway, we're glad to have you all here."

Mike looked over at the other two men he didn't recognize. The lanky one with striking red hair, spiked up at the front spoke first. "Hey, hey! It's nice to meet you in person. I'm Anthony," he said with a sparkle in his green eyes. He looked as if he always wore a smile on his face, probably because of his high cheekbones.

The other man beside him, with unruly black hair tied into a ponytail that brushed the back of his neck, didn't acknowledge him. Anthony playfully elbowed the man in the side to get his attention. He shot his gaze up, revealing his cool brown eyes.

"Go on, introduce yourself to the new kid. He doesn't bite," Anthony teased. Jeremy shifted uncomfortably as he heard him say 'bite'.

The man rolled his eyes before speaking up. "I'm Maxwell." He scratched at the stubble on his chin and regarded Mike with disinterest.

Despite this, Mike smiled warmly and offered his hand to both men. Anthony shook it without hesitation, while Maxwell simply stared.

"I don't do handshakes," Maxwell retorted.

"O-Oh, sorry…" Mike squeaked, taking his hand back. Not wanting to get his head bitten off, he returned to Fritz and Jeremy. In the daylight and without his uniform, he could get a better look at Fritz. He had short, light brown hair, and grey eyes. His expression was warm and friendly, yet his strong jawline made him seem like someone Mike would hate to end up in a fight with. He could see that Fritz was clearly in excellent shape as well, adding to his irrational fear of getting his face caved in if he somehow managed to anger him. He knew he would never do such a thing, but it still made him uneasy. Being weak and cowardly tended to do that. Yet, despite his fears, he found himself smiling for a reason he couldn't quite place.

Thomas interrupted Mike's conflicted feelings with a group announcement. "Gentlemen, now that we're all here, why don't we get some lunch?"

Jeremy chuckled a little as he said, "T-That's good… I'm, uh… s-starving."

"That's wonderful to hear, lad." A devious grin crossed his face. "I was thinking we'd get some pizza, how does that sound?"

The entire group, save for Thomas, groaned. Naturally, working at a pizzeria deemed that option as off limits, and he already knew this. Yet, he couldn't resist joking with them.

He laughed at their complaint. "Thought so. I was thinking we'd go to a Chinese buffet, on me."

The staff brightened, clearly preferring this idea. Even Maxwell cracked a smile of sorts, which Mike didn't expect to see. Without further delay, Thomas got into his car and drove to the restaurant, followed by Anthony who brought Maxwell with him, and Fritz who drove Jeremy and Mike.

If he was honest with himself, Mike was happy to have the ride, since he usually took the bus. Even if he could afford to drive, he found the task to be quite daunting.

The group arrived at the buffet without incident, and went in. A waitress lead them to a table reserved for their event. As Mike followed her, he noticed she was pretty. He felt as though he should have been interested in her, yet his gaze settled on Fritz instead. He hastily redirected his attention to the waitress and fought to remain focused on her until they made it to the table.

At the table, Thomas took his seat first, Anthony sat beside him, followed by Maxwell. Opposite to him sat Fritz, Mike in the middle across from Anthony, and Jeremy in front of his former employer.

Jeremy didn't work at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza anymore. Jeremy was on disability since his accident, and was in no shape to return to his previous role. Mike had no clue as to Maxwell's position at the restaurant.

When ready, the Freddy's staff made their way to the buffet, splitting up to grab the foods they found most appealing. Mike made his way to the sushi table where he began to pile his plate with as much as it would fit. Anthony came by just as he was getting ready to leave, finishing off his plate of stir-fry, chicken balls, and breaded jumbo shrimp.

"Hello hello!" Anthony greeted.

"Hey," Mike replied.

He laughed when he saw the younger man's plate. "I take it you like sushi?"

"I love it!" Mike beamed. "These are california rolls, actually but they're still nice."

Anthony took a few pieces of sushi. "Are they now?"

"Not all of them, actually. That piece you have with the shrimp is sushi."

"Ah, I see," he answered. He grabbed another piece before declaring his plate complete. "So, I see you've met Jeremy and Maxwell."

"Yeah, I have. I know Jeremy doesn't work at Freddy's anymore, but what about, Maxwell? What shift does he work?"

"He, uh, doesn't work with us anymore, either. He… quit, just before the Bite of '87. The animatronics were acting very, um, strange, you know? I can't blame him, really. Anyway, they're both good friends of ours, so we still invite them to our events. I mean, just Thomas, Fritz, you, and I is a pretty small group."

"I see…" Mike mumbled. Something seemed off to him about how Anthony was speaking about the entire situation.

"They're fine, really. Well, at least Maxwell is. Uh, the company's seen some rough times…"

"So I've heard." Mike proceeded cautiously with his next question. "Um, Thomas mentioned something about missing children, or…"

Anthony sighed. "Things have been… rough for Fazbear Entertainment, especially since that happened. Uh, I'm not sure what exactly happened, but they were never really... found." He cleared his throat and grabbed a california roll to distract himself.

Mike simply stared, his jaw dropped in shock.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Mike. R-Really, it's nothing to worry about."

He couldn't figure out if Anthony was trying to ease Mike's discomfort or his own. Why was he so hesitant?

"I, uh, wouldn't ask the boss about it. He still hasn't gotten over it…" Anthony added quietly.

"Okay…" Mike said. Something was amiss; he was sure of it. Thomas seemed much more open to discussing the history of the company, and he would logically be the most interested in hiding the company's secrets. Why would Anthony want to hide this more than the owner? At least Thomas needed to protect his business' reputation. But what about Anthony? He seemed like he had some secret he was trying to keep, but Mike couldn't think of what he would be hiding. Did he… no, he couldn't have, could he?

Without further discussion, Mike returned to the table, along with Anthony. Everyone else was already there, enjoying their food. All except for Maxwell. His plate was at his seat, yet he was nowhere to be found.

Maxwell returned later, hardly saying a word about his mysterious absence. He'd seldom even looked at Mike for the entire time the group had been together, but it was enough to make him feel uncomfortable around the ex-employee. He liked Fritz and Jeremy, and Thomas, of course, but couldn't help but feel wary of Anthony and Maxwell. Something felt off about them.

From what he'd heard, he knew Anthony to be a trustworthy assistant; however, meeting him in person created a different feeling entirely. He seemed much too agitated concerning the company's past for his liking. It made him come off as sketchy.

Of course, Maxwell could easily be called unsettling as well. He barely made any effort to appear friendly in his introduction to Mike, seemingly for no reason. It seemed strange as well.

Mike couldn't shake his anxieties, but still managed to enjoy his meal and the time with his friends. He at least had Fritz there, which helped. He'd only just met Jeremy, but he could tell they'd be good friends before long. He mainly focused on them to ease his discomfort.

After the men ate their food and were gearing up for dessert, Thomas got their attention. "Are you gentlemen having a good time?"

The staff murmured in agreement.

"Wonderful to hear," he continued. "I haven't arranged this meeting for entertainment alone, however. We have a few things we need to discuss. First order of business is about our staffing as a whole. As some of you are aware, we've been short on staff as of late." He smiled a little. "As you all know, we're hired Mike to offset this. Welcome to the family, Mike. Of course, this hasn't addressed our day staff shortage." Thomas turned to Jeremy and Maxwell. "That being said, on behalf of Fazbear Entertainment, would you, Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Richmond, care to resume your employment at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza?"

Maxwell grinned at him. "I'd be honoured."

Thomas smiled warmly. "That's wonderful to hear." He focused his attention on Jeremy. "And how about you?"

"I… Uh…" He looked uncomfortable as he searched for the right words to articulate how he felt about the job offer. "M-Mangle…"

"I assure you, she's no longer there. It's perfectly safe."

Jeremy opened his mouth to speak, but Thomas kept talking.

"We'll put you on day shift, so the animatronics won't be wandering around. We'll find a job you'll feel comfortable doing. We've been short on staff, and I figured it'd be best to offer positions to our previous employees first. Please, would you be willing to work for us again?"

He remained silent for an uncomfortably long period of time before he nodded timidly. Yet, Jeremy didn't appear to be comfortable with his decision. Mike noted this and decided to take it up with him after the meeting.

Thomas smiled. "Welcome back, Mr. Fitzgerald. It's nice to have the full staff once again."

"And a new member," Fritz added, lightly elbowing Mike in the side, which caused the other man to whine.

"Yes, of course. That being said, what do think so far, Mr. Schmidt?"

Mike had to take a moment to shake himself from his thoughts before he could reply. "Oh, it's nice, I guess. I'm not a fan of Bonnie, to be honest."

"I don't blame you. You have a good reason to dislike him. I hope you can settle in more with our little family."

"I'm sure I will," he answered. He could only hope his words were true.

The rest of the meeting continued on, and Mike nearly fell asleep out of boredom. Nothing personally concerned him that much, and it was far too early for him to be awake. At noon, he was usually still asleep. The warm cocoon that was his bed almost begged him to return.

After the meeting had ended and they'd broken for dessert, Mike caught up to Jeremy at the dessert section.

"Hey, so, congrats on the job!" Mike praised.

"Oh, um… Th-Thanks." Jeremy muttered.

"Is everything alright?"

He sighed. "That place s-still gives me n… It's scary. I wouldn't go i-if… My wife…"

Mike frowned a little. "What?"

"She's pregnant."

"Oh, well that's something to be excited about, isn't it?" he exclaimed. He was happy for him, and couldn't imagine why he'd sound upset about that.

Jeremy explained, "T-The money… And I c-can't work…"

He put a hand on his new friend's shoulder. "You'll do fine, I just know it." Mike smiled. "I mean, you've worked there for longer than I have, and you did really well from what I've heard. Besides, you'll be on the day shift, so it won't be as creepy, right?"

"Being in that b-building is bad…" Jeremy mourned as he left the dessert table with a small bowl of ice cream.

With that, Mike was alone. He got his own dessert and returned to the table, where he made sure to not pester Jeremy about the new job. He was sure he'd do just fine, even if he had a fear of the animatronics. After all, Mike knew that feeling all too well.