Michael held the yellow slip of paper tightly, his hand shaking ever so slightly. It was the page with Henry Emily's phone number on it. He had torn it out of the phone book at Freddy's in order to take home. There was only one Henry Emily listed, so it had to be him. If it wasn't, then Michael was fresh out of luck.

He glanced over to his phone, sitting cozily in its spot on his night stand. He picked it up, staring down at the receiver as if it were judging him. This was the most nervous he had ever been making a phone call before, and that included doctors and dentist appointments. He took what would have been a breath had he still had lungs, and began dialing the number.

The phone began to ring. For a moment, he almost thought that no one would pick up. Was that what he wanted? Maybe it would just be better to hear the message from the answering machine. His hopes were quickly dashed, however, when a voice answered from the other end.

"Hello?"

It was him. It was really him. Henry Emily. The voice was older, undoubtably, but there was no mistaking it for the same man who Michael remembered from his childhood. What was he supposed to say? He could scarcely believe this was even happening. Henry really was right there on the other end of the line and all he needed to do was say something… anything!

He opened his mouth, intending to say hello or hi or even Henry please help me it's Michael. Instead, he said none of this. He said nothing at all. His mouth hung there, open and unmoving, without any sound coming out. He so desperately wanted to just yell, to make a noise so at the very least Henry knew there was something on the other end of the line, but he just… couldn't.

"Hello? Hello, is anyone there?" Henry asked, oblivious as to who he was talking to.

All Michael was able to do was let out the quietest of wheezes, his hand trembling as it held the phone. A soft click could be heard on the other end. Henry had hung up. The call was over. Michael unclenched his fingers, letting the phone drop to the floor. Without thinking, he crumpled the paper into a ball, throwing it across the room.

"Coward!" he yelled, bashing his head into the wall, "You fucking coward! Can't you do anything right? It was one phone call! One damn phone call, and managed to mess even that up!"

/

"No, no, no way in hell," Jessie said, sweeping up some of the confetti from around the stage area.

"But I've already told you he's not dangerous," Freddy begged, "besides, I really think he needs someone human to talk to."

"I don't care," she snapped, "there is no way I'm coming to this place at night in order to talk to some freak, just for the sake of his mental health."

"What about you Aiden?" Freddy asked, turning to the young bus boy.

"Oh, gee Freddy, I'd love to but uh," he paused nervously, "but my parents have a pretty strict curfew, you know? No way they'd let me come here that late."

"I see," Freddy said, rather dejected. It was rather foolish of him to think that anyone on the day staff would be willing to meet Michael in person, but he had still put in the effort regardless. Freddy just hated the idea that the closest thing to people Mike ever interacted with were himself and the other animatronics. As sociable as they were, it was hardly a substitute for genuine human interaction. It was a long shot, but it was possible that if Michael put himself out there more, then he would begin to have a higher opinion of himself. At least, that was what Freddy thought.

He took a seat on the edge of the stage, looking out at the rest of the pizzeria. This had been the first time since their reopening that things had been a bit quiet. The restaurant had wisely chosen to open right in time to catch the weekend rush, but now that they were in the middle of the school week, things were notably less busy. Still, this didn't mean they were without customers. Now that it was later in the afternoon, a fair few kids had come out to play the arcade machines, just not nearly as many as before.

While the staff was universally happy about this development, Roxy couldn't help but mope in the corner, bemoaning the fact that she was not in the spotlight.

"What if they've gotten tired of me?" she said to herself, "Have I really lost my fans so quickly?"

"Would you relax Roxy, with our luck they'll be back in even bigger droves next weekend," Jessie assured her.

"Oh, that's a relief," she smiled, looking back into her mirror.

"Maybe for you," the waitress sighed, "for the rest of us it's a nightmare."

Freddy stood up, looking around the room. If he wasn't going to be performing on stage, then the least he could to would be to go and interact with some of the children one on one. Besides, their next performance was not scheduled for another hour, which meant he had plenty of time to wander around the place. Not to imply that the animatronics were encouraged to wander during the day, but if it involved entertaining kids, then he could get away with it.

It was not long before he spotted a young boy sitting all by himself in one of the corners, eating what appeared to be some left over pizza. He seemed to be around ten or eleven, with brown hair and a band aid over his cheek.

Freddy kneeled down in front of him, "Hey there."

The boy looked up, a bit panicked, apparently only having just noticed the giant animatronic bear.

"Um, hi. I-I can go if I'm not supposed to be here."

"Don't be silly," Freddy said with a smile, "I just came by to say hi, you looked lonely. What's your name by the way?"

"I'm… Gregory."

"Nice to meet you Gregory, my name is Freddy Fazbear."

The boy smiled, "I already knew that. Everybody knows who you are."

"Not everyone, only the cool kids," Freddy said, smiling back.

"Hey Freddy, who you talking to?" Aiden interrupted, approaching from behind.

At the sight of him, Gregory ran off. Freddy stood up, as close to annoyed as he could get without actually being it.

"I was talking to that boy who you just scared off."

"Gee sorry," Adien said, embarrassed, "You know, I didn't get a good look at him, but I haven't seen that kid around here before. I wonder if he's new."

"All the more reason to not go scarring him off," Freddy lightly chided.

"Hey, I said I was sorry."

"It's fine," the bear shook his head, "I just hope if he really is new, as you have suggested, then he doesn't have any trouble getting along with the rest of the children."

/

Michael was certain that he had been pacing around his apartment for at least an hour, if not more. He stopped, glancing at the clock; yup, way more than an hour. He had already retrieved the crumpled-up paper with Henry's number on it, now all he needed to do was make a second phone call. It was easy, the easiest thing in the world in fact! Ok, maybe not the easiest, but still, it should have come more naturally. All it was, was pushing a few buttons, holding the phone up and saying "hello," so why did he find the process so… stressful?

He sat down at the side of his bed once again, taking the phone in hand. This lasted all of one second, as he immediately placed it back on the receiver. All that work psyching himself up for nothing. He stood up, looking to the clock once more. There was no point in making the phone call now anyway; if he didn't get a move on soon then he would be late for work.

He quickly got changed then drove over. By this point, his habits with the new animatronics had become almost routine. Upon entering, and locking the front door, Freddy was there to greet him as always.

"Hello Michael," the bear said warmly.

"Hi Fred," Mike said back, not nearly as compassionate, "Anything interesting happen today?" In truth, the guard had no interest in the daytime activities of the restaurant, but Freddy always seemed so excited whenever he asked, so he decided to inquire anyway.

"I'm glad you asked," the bear smiled, "Today was actually quite interesting as-"

Suddenly, they stopped, Michael holding out his arm as an indication to be quiet. There was a noise, coming from up above by the sound of it. Some sort of shuffling.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say there was something in the ventilation," the guard said.

"I believe you are correct. Should we assume it is some kind of animal which has accidentally crawled in?"

"I don't want to go making assumptions. You gather the others and get in the security office, it's safest in there. I'll follow the sound and try to catch whatever it is. As weird as it may sound, I am the security guard."

"With all due respect Michael, might I propose a minor change to your plan," the bear offered shyly, "While our primary function is to entertain, we animatronics are equipped with additional security features should the need arise. I believe this is one such instance for which that purpose was intended."

Michael looked up at him, reluctant to give the go ahead.

"Fine, but only because I don't know what it is we're up against. Be sure to prioritize your own safety above all else, none of you are to go taking any unnecessary risks. And remember, our goal is to catch this thing, unless your only option is self-defense, I don't want anyone to hurt it."

Freddy nodded, "I will tell the others."

"Good, I'll start the search."

With that, the two split up. Michael did his best to follow the pounding of the vents, but it was difficult to keep track of things through the walls. There were a few times where he almost lost the trail, before just barely picking up the sound again. It was only while walking through the dark halls of the pizzeria that he began to realize how creepy the place was. The renovation had done a lot to modernize the place, but at the same time, they had left a lot of the less important areas untouched. He had thought the place was creepy enough from his spot in the security office, but walking around in it was another experience entirely. Still, knowing the animatronics were not going to kill him did a lot to give him some peace of mind.

He followed the sound into the kitchen, shining his light around in order to get his bearings. From the other side of the room, he could hear something drop to the floor, landing with a rather soft thud. There was then a sound of sneakers scuffling on tile. It was human, that much was clear. Michael shut his flashlight off, doing his best to silently sneak around the dark kitchen. It did not take long to realize that he did not know the space well, as he immediately bumped into a counter.

"Ah! Dang it!"

"Michael, is that you?" a feminine voice whispered.

The guard glanced around, trying to figure out who had spoken, only to see two glowing red dots off in the distance. Instinctively, he pulled out his flashlight, shining it at the dots. Chica immediately recoiled back, trying to shield her eyes from the bright light.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" she complained.

"Sorry!" Michael quickly put the light away, "Look, you just go that way, and I'll go this way, and we'll try and flank whoever it is."

"Ok, sounds like a plan… wait a minute. Which way did you gesture? I can't see in the dark."

Before Michael had a chance to clarify, they both heard what sounded to be someone running. The door swung open. Both Mike and Chica turned their heads to try and get a glimpse of who it was, but they had already slipped out of sight.

Not that it mattered much, as almost immediately afterward, they could hear a youthful voice yell, "Hey! Let go of me!"

They both stepped out of the darkness that was the kitchen to see that Freddy was holding the culprit, with Roxy and Monty blocking off both ends of the hallway. He was a young boy, no older than ten or eleven if Michael had to guess.

"Wow, good job everybody," the guard said surprised, "I guess you guys make a pretty good team when tasked to do this sort of thing."

"All a part of the job," Monty shrugged.

"Would you just let me go already!" the boy complained, doing his best to get out of Freddy's grip.

"Now Gregory, it is no use struggling. Everyone here only wants to help you."

"Yeah, I've heard that before!"

"You know the kid?" Michael asked.

"He was here during the day. Must have stayed longer than recommended."

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Gregory screamed, only now seeing Michael's ghastly appearance, "Get away, get away, getawaygetawaygetaway!"

The guard simply rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to hurt you kid."

"You're a freaking zombie dude! I know better than to trust you!" the boy retorted, "Not to mention you smell!"

"Really Gregory, that is not a polite thing to say. You should apologize, he is the security guard after all. He is simply trying to keep all of us safe," Freddy advised.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Gregory barked, "What kind of kid's franchise hires a straight up monster to look after the place?"

"Freddy Fazbear's, that's who. Now tell me your parent's phone number so I can call them to come and pick you up."

Gregory folded his arms, pouting. Michael shook his head, disappointed.

"I can see you're going to make things difficult."