Freddy Fazbear's Pizza - Monday, December 13th, 1993

Moments before the clock struck midnight, Fritz heard footsteps charging down the hall toward the security office. Although he knew he no longer needed to shut the doors for his safety, he still readied his hand above the button, just in case. He saw a familiar golden blond colour flash past the window as Mike dashed into the room, panicked.

"Mike...?" He frowned a little. "Are ya alright?"

The running proved to be quite difficult for him, considering his lack of frequent physical exercise. Combined with his anxiety, he needed to take a moment to calm his breathing before he could speak.

"I was almost late!" Mike shrieked. "You know how bad that is!"

Fritz sighed, stood, and put an arm around the younger man's slight shoulders. "Didn't ya hear 'em? The animatronics won't hurt ya. Relax, kid. Ya don't need to worry about your safety."

He nodded quickly. "I know, but…"

"You're fine," Fritz insited. "Come on, Anthony decided to come in for a visit. Let's go say hi, okay?"

"Oh, um, alright..." Mike mumbled.

He slapped him on the back. " There ya go!" he chuckled as he left the office.

"D-Don't leave me here!" he wailed as he chased after his friend. "This place is still pretty creepy, you know!" He was only answered with playful laughter that grew increasingly distant, which he followed as quickly as he could.

Out in the Dining Area, Anthony was chatting with the animatronics, laughing and smiling, as if he was merely catching up with some old friends.

It occurred to Mike: that was exactly what was going on. He knew Anthony had been with the company for many years, so it would have made sense for him to have had at least some relationship with them when they was alive, especially Freddy and Gilead.

He saw Mike charge in and smiled at him. "Hello, hello! Mike, how are you?"

As Anthony spoke, the animatronics took their cue to leave, giving them some privacy.

He felt his stomach twist in fear. After his last encounter with the assistant manager, he couldn't be entirely sure he could trust him. To Mike, this was everything. If he couldn't trust someone, he would only continue to be afraid of them. He gulped and answered, "I-I'm, uh, fine, y-you?"

Anthony's grin faded as he saw his discomfort. "Hey, is there something wrong?"

"N-No!" Mike jittered. He shifted his attention to Fritz, hoping he'd take the hint to speak up for him. Unfortunately, he only stared at Mike with a baffled expression, as if he was unsure of what was expected from him.

"Well, you seem rather anxious," Anthony commented. "Uh, there's nothing to worry about."

Fritz frowned. "Mike, what's wrong?"

"N-Noth-"

"Don't give me that crap," Fritz interrupted sharply. "I've known ya long enough to know what yer like. You're awful at hidin' your fear." He sighed. "Something's clearly botherin' ya. So, what is it?"

Anthony frowned a little, "Yeah, I thought something was up…"

Crap crap crap crap crap… Fritz, why did you have to say that?

Mike proceeded to then make several unintelligible, nervous sounds. He felt caught, worrying that Anthony would find out what he'd suspected since the staff lunch earlier that month. Who would actually take it well? Especially… that.

"Take your time," Fritz said.

After taking a few moments to collect himself and muster up the courage to speak, Mike mumbled something as he took a sudden interest in the carpet beneath his feet. His fear made his speech too quiet to be understood.

"Pardon. Could, uh, you repeat that?" Anthony requested.

He was met with slightly louder mumbling, only able to hear him say 'Were you' before becoming unclear once again.

Neither of them spoke, both watching Mike closely. They young man shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. Having the attention focused on him didn't make his task any easier. Eventually, he repeated himself, loud enough this time.

"I-I, um... W-Were you... i-i-i-involved in..." He drifted off briefly before completing the sentence. "the m-m-missing children i-incident...?"

Their eyes widened in surprise. The tension created by the question was so think, it could have been cut with a knife.

Anthony broke the silence. "M-Mike, what are you talking about?" Judgement was nowhere to be found in his tone of voice.

"Anthony... D-D-Did you do it...?"

Horrified at the mere suggestion, he quickly answered, "No, not at all! I-I-I only did what Thomas, a-asked me to do: t-to protect the company from the press!"

Fritz was still shocked, almost more surprised by the fact that Mike made an accusation at all, rather than who it was directed at. He spoke with a certain sense of gravity that he found quite surprising. "Mikey, I was workin' at Freddy's when it happened. They caught the killer. Anthony didn't do anything. Why would ya think he would do somethin' that disgusting?"

"I-I don't know!" Mike shrieked. "T-The lunch t-trip… U-Um…" Mentally, he grasped at thin air as he tried to assemble a logical, coherent sentence.

Anthony filled in for him, speaking calmly. "When we had our chat in the buffet line, right?"

He nodded.

"I, uh... I understand why you might have thought that," he continued. "I just don't like to talk about that much, and I'm sure you can get why. So much happened… But, rest assured, Fazbear Entertainment's number one focus is on safety."

"Anthony's right," Fritz interjected. "The company's been through some really terrible stuff. Knowin' how easily frightened ya can be, I think ya should leave well enough alone. All ya really need to know is that back in '87, a lot of crap went down. Jeremy got hurt, and five children died. They haunt the animatronics, as we now know." He paused for an almost uncomfortably long period of time. "Don't trouble yourself with the details, but Anthony didn't do anything wrong."

Despite Mike's skepticism, he accepted the explanation. Much to his relief, Anthony didn't appear to be even the slightest bit angry with him.

"So, if it wasn't Anthony… Who did it?" Mike inquired. "A-And what about James? Was he, um… killed, by the same person?"

Fritz shook his head. "I don't know, Mike… I don't know."

"E-Even I don't know, and I've been with the company since the Fredbear's days… When he went missing."

Mike had a lot of thinking to do. Who was actually responsible for killing the children? Where were they right now? Almost more importantly, he wanted to know what would drive someone to want to kill in the first place. Now that he knew who wasn't responsible, he needed another lead. He began to ponder who he could turn to for clues. Eventually, he concluded that Freddy would probably be the most knowledgeable source of information.

He took a deep breath as he approached Freddy after Anthony and Fritz had made their way to the break room in search of leftover pizza. Although he still found the animatronics terrifying, to say the least, he knew that he needed to conquer his fear to find the truth. It's not like they'd strangle him again or stuff him a suit.

"F-Freddy?" Mike squeaked.

The bear turned to face him, smiling. "Good to see you, Mike! How are you?"

"U-Um… fine, I g-g-guess…" He was near trembling, but managed to keep his composure by some stroke of luck.

"Wonderful!" Freddy beamed. "I'm so happy you came to see me!"

Mike nodded shyly, bringing himself to smile slightly. "Actually, I-I-I need your h-help…" he announced as he took a seat on the stage floor.

"Oh… Well," he began, sitting in front of Mike to help him feel more comfortable. "how can I help you?"

Mike looked away with an uneasy expression on his face. He had to think carefully about how he would phrase his question. If he said the wrong thing… he didn't even want to know what would happen. Then again, he knew that if he didn't just spit it out, he'd never find out what he so desperately wanted to know. It was now or never.

"Freddy, um…" he stuttered. It was much harder than he'd hoped to force the words to come out.

"Yes?"

"Y-You know, uh… Back in the '87, when you all…" Mike stuttered.

"Died?" Freddy supplied.

"T-That, yes…"

"What about it?" he probed.

"D-Do you… know who did it?" Mike asked rather timidly.

Freddy sighed and looked away. "I do… He was a night guard, much like yourself. He worked the day shift for a while, but he left, just a bit before the… bite."

He felt a chill go down his spine. A night guard, just like him. Although he knew Anthony, Fritz, Jeremy, and Maxwell were innocent, it still made him uncomfortable to think that the cruel, horrible person responsible was so similar to him and his friends.

"O-Oh, um… So, what happened to t-that person?"

Freddy took off his top-hat, examining it as he spoke. "I can't say for sure. I heard he was arrested, but that's all I've managed to overhear over the years. He hasn't been back, so I can only assume he's locked up somewhere." His expression became stern, his voice bitter. "He deserves it."

Mike sighed in relief. "A-At least he's gone…"

"At least."

"I-I'm sorry for a-a-asking about that… It m-must be a s-sensitive topic…" Mike mumbled. He began to fidget, twisting his hands into and out of various positions repeatedly.

"It's fine. It's been a few years since it happened." A thin smile spread across his face. "I've learned to enjoy my job; singing on stage for the children. It keeps me going."

He cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "It does?"

Freddy put his hat back on his head. "It gives me a sense of purpose; a reason to smile. I entertain in place of my programmed A.I. because it makes other people happy. And that, Mike, is what truly matters in the end. I also remind myself that God gave me a second chance at life, for whatever reason that may be. I intend to make the most of it." He could've sworn he saw his eyes twinkle.

Mike couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth creep up. He could hardly believe that Freddy could still manage to be happy, let alone believe in God, after the horrible fate he'd been met with. He could only imagine that even he would've grown cold if he had been forced to exist as an animatronic entertainer for the rest of eternity. He assumed that having been so young was both a blessing and a curse to them. It allowed them to move on and accept their less than desirable situation. Yet, it would've been all the more devastating as well. Freddy really had embraced life, as if he'd never been through the hell before that would break most people down beyond recovery. Despite this, he somehow remained strong.

"Freddy, that's… that's amazing," Mike remarked in awe. "I can't believe you still have so much hope…"

He grinned at the night guard. "And you're talking to me. That's pretty amazing as well. I'm proud of you, Mike, you seem much more at ease than when you first started working here."

"I-I am," he replied, absently rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess it helps to know you're j-just like us, in a w-way…" It occurred to him afterwards that he could have offended the bear with his phrasing. At least Freddy seemed to understand that he meant well.

"We certainly are. I know we don't look too nice, but we mean no harm. Even Bonnie does. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but he does feel badly for that little incident," Freddy explained. "You haven't been able to see this side of him yet, but under all of his arrogance, he's a really good friend. He's just…" he hesitated as he tried to find the right word, or more accurately the most polite word, "insecure, believe it or not."

Mike stared at him in shock, examining his face closely. Not that it would help him much, he realized, seeing that the animatronics weren't exactly known for being the most expressive. The fact they could show emotion on their faces at all was quite impressive, he thought. Seeing that Freddy wasn't joking, he shook his head in surprise.

"Wait; he's insecure?"

He nodded. "You can't tell him I said that, but I thought it'd help you to hear that. I know you're wary of him, but he isn't quite as intimidating as he may seem. Get to know him a bit, I'm sure you two would get along well."

After some of the shock had worn off, Mike smiled a little. "I never would have guessed."

"I hope we can be good friends as well. I'd be nice to have someone else to talk to," Freddy said.

"We can!" he enthused.

Considering all Mike had learned that evening, he knew he had a lot to think about later. Between the fate of the murderer and his developing friendships with the very people (more accurately animatronics) he feared, he began to reflect on how far he had come. He never would have guessed that he would be searching for the truth about a murder. Him, a 'fraidy cat', investigating the works of such a scary person. Even more so, he was now talking to the animatronics, and that was a major accomplishment for him. If someone had asked him to do that even last week, he wouldn't told them they were crazy.

Regardless, he hoped to move forward and become good friends with the characters. Besides, he figured they were probably lonely after being there for six years.