". . . Remember to smile, you are the face of Freddy Fazbear's pizza," concluded the man on the tape.
"Jeez, hand cranks and spring locks? This was considered safe in the eighties?" the night watch muttered. "I guarantee somebody got hurt!"
Springtrap was just outside of the window. "WE SHOULD DO IT NOW... NO!... WHY NOT?... JUST ZIP IT, YOU TWO!..."
The guard was startled by the sudden yelling and glanced up from one of the monitors. She accidentally met eyes with the animatronic and was immediately filled with regret. Nightmares for a year it was.
Almost instantly, the alarms started blaring and flashing an ugly red color against the rotting walls. The girl panicked and fumbled for a monitor. She wasn't the only one who was scared. Springtrap managed to get out of there somehow without any bickering or stumbling.
The security guard looked at the screen.
VENTILATION: ERROR... AUDIO: ERROR... VISUAL: ERROR...
"WHAT?! Is everything broken?" she said. She hit "REBOOT ALL" multiple times for good measure. One by one, the ERROR messages faded from the screen as if they were never there, and the alarms went out. She sighed with relief, putting down the device.
There was something behind it.
The thing was relatively humanoid, but it had the animatronic touch most relics here had. Maybe it even wore an ugly propeller hat, it was hard to see the specific shapes. Dull stripes and make-up could be seen through the murky shadows. The creature's dead eyes and ugly, wide smile complete the look.
It lunged straight for the night guard.
She cringed at the sight, holding her hands up defensively. For a moment, it was quiet, other than the guard's raspy breathing. She peeked at the place she saw the phantom. The abomination's appearance would be seared into her mind forever, but she was still alive.
For now.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU- I JUST DIDN'T WANT T- WE STILL STINK- SHU-APPLE-T UP!- NO WA- I'M OLDE- HOW DO YOU K-" Springtrap argued. "PIZZA- THAT'S NOT- I SAID SHUT UP- NEV- CAN WE JUST-"
Shut. Up.
The robot spun around with a rusty creak. A very disappointed man in purple was glaring at them with such ferocity that anybody would think he was about to cause something to spontaneously burst into flames.
I disabled the technology so that YOU could get in. I scared the girl out of her mind so that YOU could get in. And what do you do? Yell. Flee. More yelling. Is one moment of cooperation too much for you?!
Springtrap simply stared.
Well?
"WE'RE SORRY, MISTER STRIDER," they finally replied, drooping with shame. For once there was no fighting. Everybody regret their decision.
An all too familiar jingle chimed over the speakers. Six AM. Night shift was over.
I have the perfect idea! Strider exclaimed.
Luke sneezed again as everyone collectively looked up at the purple man. Jack said for them all, 'What is it?'
John Strider rubbed his hands together like a cartoon supervillain who just came up with an evil scheme. He smirked, I'll be Springtrap this time, and you six can cause hallucinations of certain animatronics! Derek, you can be Freddy, Ron'll be the one to cause errors. Chel can be Chica-
'My name is not Chel.'
Jack will be the Puppet, Luke here will be Foxy, and Will will be Balloon Bi-BOY. Balloon Boy. Any questions?
Ron raised his hand as if still in school. He said sweetly, 'Why am I not Bonnie?'
Springtrap is technically Bonnie, and I got Springtrap. Okay? Good.
Ron didn't seem okay with this decision, but kept his mouth shut.
'Has anybody else been scared of Strider?' Derek asked.
Ron broke in, 'He's a nice guy!'
Chelsea said, 'You think the fan is a nice guy!'
'He's never been rude to you or me!'
'That doesn't-'
'EVERYBODY SHUT UP!' Jack shouted.
Will giggled, 'He sounds like that cartoon character Jack liked to watch! The way he talks is weird! His laughing echoes!'
Jack gave him a stern look. Luke twirled the puppet boy's hair around his toy cutlass, but received the same "I mean business" glare.
'John Strider is creepy, but we should give him a chance,' Chelsea smiled. 'After all, what has he ever done to us?'
What do you think?
'I think you need to tell us your secrets."
Just to "get used to it", Strider had taken control of Springtrap. This was not unusual behavior, but it was unusual to see an animatronic move in such a lifelike manner. The costume had the same unnerving grin as he did most of the time, complete with wide eyes. He moved smoothly, unlike the casual robotic movement most ghosts end up doing. The only thing that was out of place were the limping movements. Every action seemed to cause him great pain, like stepping on needles. But if this was bothering him, he didn't show it. The animatronic was pretty much made for him.
John Strider simply shrugged in amazingly realistic motions.
'You still stink,' Will reminded the man. Derek shoved him.
"B-Boss! The animatronic moved!"
"Moved? Sweetie, did the ventilation fail?"
"Y-Yes, but-"
"There you go, Julie, problem solved."
"Sir-"
"You still doubt me? Have you heard of Jeremy Fitzgerald? He used to work here back in nineteen eighty-seven. Claimed that the robots were sentient, out for blood. Do you know what happened to him? He ended up in a mental hospital!"
"Because an animatronic malfunctioned and bit his frontal lobe right off!"
"Many people who worked here were injured by the animatronics. It's common. Heck, people say a man who murdered several children here disappeared here, too! What, did a robot animal kill him? No, ridiculous as a flying hedgehog. Go get some rest, me and Vinny here will clean out the place for more supplies and he'll leave you more recordings."