First chapter! Hope y'all like it.
Chapter One
First Night
His brakes squealed as he engaged them, the gravel beneath his tires crunched noisily and he took it a few skids on his shoes as he rolled to a stop. Sweat dripped from his brow, but a quick swipe from his hand prevented any from getting into his eyes.
Michael let out a breath and raised his gaze to the building before him. There were faint lamps for the parking lot, and there was some light streaming out of the few windows that decorated the exterior. Michael let out a puff of breath as he dismounted his bike and started heading toward the double…steel doors.
Perhaps it was just a decorative choice, but the thick and reinforced doors gave Michael pause.
He didn't really want to contemplate why the company found that necessary.
Puffing out a breath, Michael pushed aside his thoughts, he was starting to sound like those gossipers that always whispered and muttered when he walked by.
His unease was just due to it being so late, everything was fine.
Leaning his bike against the wall, he went over to the intercom system once the door proved to be locked.
The red light shined invitingly on the speaker, and with a press of a button, a crackling noise filled the relatively quiet area.
"We are currently closed." A crackled female voice greeted him, "we will be opening our doors again at ten am. Please make your rental requests then."
When she finished the likely rehearsed company statement, Michael hit the speaker button and leaned in.
"I know, um…I'm here for the nightshift?" He grimaced as his voice grew less certain toward the end.
"Name?"
"Uh…Mic-"
"Mike Afton? Your father called earlier." Michael closed his mouth and blinked, "you're five minutes late. You're coworker has been waiting."
Michael grimaced as he remembered getting a flat and having to pump it up on his way here, "sorry my bike got a flat I-"
"Don't care, don't do it again." Then the crackling cut off, and Michael paused before stepping back, though his attention went to the door as it gave a loud alarm blare a light above flashing briefly before the sound of a lock unlatching and the left of the two doors swung open.
"This seems…excessive…" He mumbled before shouldering his backpack, grabbing his bike and heading inside.
Though he nearly tipped forward when he was greeted with a set of stairs instead of a hallway.
A curse slipped from his lips as he grabbed at the door to study himself. Though he looked up as the crackling mic started up again.
"Watch your language around here. We don't want the animatronics picking up on it. Also. Watch you step."
For a moment Michael stared at the ceiling before he found a small camera in the upper corner of the room. It was fixed on him, and the Afton had to resist the urge to flip off the lady who was watching.
He was better then that.
With a puff of breath, he grabbed ahold of his bike and lifted it best he could as he made his way down the dark staircase. Behind him the door shut and locked.
Though as he carefully trekked down the stairs he couldn't help but think back on her words. Would the animatronics even be able to do that? Pick up on things he said?
He knew they were pretty advanced in comparison to others like them on the market. But they all had preprogrammed lines right?
Perhaps father had been working on them since the closure of their location.
He wasn't sure how he felt about that conclusion.
Finally he reached a door at the bottom only to once again find it locked.
A large sigh accompanied this discovery. He looked up at the camera, "uh…miss?" He called, his voice bouncing off the walls around him.
After a moment of silence, another alarm wail sounded, making Michael jump and throw his hands up to his ears, but by time he did, the alarm stopped and the door was unlocked.
As he trudged through the door he couldn't help but grumble.
He already missed the noisy pizzeria.
Finally he seemed to arrive in the lobby. There stood a desk before him, two doors to his left, and three to his right. The third and non adjacent door read staff only. Which made him assume that's where he'd be headed.
Though he first approached the desk where he found a young woman engrossed in what looked to be some kind of romance novel.
Michael waited a moment but when she didn't look up, he shifted and cleared his throat.
That drew her attention up to him, though she looked non-too-pleased.
"Yeeees?" She trailed, and Michael puffed out a breath.
"Do I need to check in with you or do I head straight to the staff room?" He asked, shifting his feet on the smooth concrete.
She sighed and shrugged, "I dunno man. I just work the doors and desk. But you're about ten minutes late now, I'd hurry before your coworker decides to start without you." She advised and Michael nodded heading over to the staff door, the chain on his bike softly clicking as he rolled it with him.
This door was the first without a lock, and seeing the mood of the woman in charge of that, Michael was thankful he didn't have to get her attention again.
Once he entered he was greeted with a bright white light. And quickly found this was the brightest room so-far.
After his eyes adjusted to the light he crept further in. It appeared to be a knockoff of a school locker room.
There were metal lockers lining the walls, a few changing stalls to the side, and benches scattered about the middle.
When his eyes caught the sight of an old looking hoodie and pair of pants, and the man they likely belonged to sitting on one of the benches, hunched over, elbows on his knees as he played with what looked to be a game boy.
And the soft electronic noises that came from the device only confirmed Michael's conclusion.
But what stood out the most, was the familiarity of the figure.
He was the guy from the shop earlier. Michael balked at the sight for a moment, and a moment long enough for the man to finish his game, sit up, and catch sight of Michael.
For the second time that day, the two locked gazes.
"Well —-t." The man broke the silence first, "this is a weird." He finished, before standing and looking over Michael and pulling the sucker from his mouth. This time it was red. "So you're my tardy partner huh?"
Michael opened his mouth, closed it, before regaining his composure and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh yeah…'ppose I am."
The man nodded and pocketed his game-boy, "alright, well I'm Leo. You?"
His name was familiar too…why couldn't he place him?
"Uh…Mike." Michael paused, that wasn't technically a lie, he'd had the nickname before, "Mike Schmidt."
…that was a lie.
And as his coworker nodded, Michael felt conflicted about the fib. It's not like he was ashamed of being an Afton…it just…made things easier when people didn't know…
Still he winced when Leo spoke, "Schmidt huh? Alright well I'm Leo Vega. Now hop into uniform so we can get started I'm —-king bored and this stupid place is messing with my games." He informed, and the second swear made Michael look around for a camera, certain the receptionist would correct Leo.
But no crackling mic sounded.
"Mike?" Leo's prompt made Michael look over to him, he had an eyebrow raised before nodding to one of the closets.
Realizing he meant to get changed, Michael nodded and set his bike against the wall, hanging his backpack on the handlebar and headed over to the closet.
It took a few moments to find his size in the company issued purple attire, and Michael tried to ignore the tears and brown spots which suspiciously looked like old blood.
With a breath, he shut the closet door a bit more forcibly then needed before heading over to the stalls, a quick glance at his coworker confirmed he'd returned to his game-boy.
The glance also made Michael note that seemingly due to his height, the uniform was baggy on him, the arms and legs were rolled up into cuffs.
Once in full uniform, Michael joined his coworker who waited by another set of double doors. The shorter man looked up from his game and pocketed the device. Then without a word to Michael he turned and hit the summoning button to the elevator.
The moments of silence were broken by a soft ding, the elevator doors slid open and Leo ventured inside first, the decaying metal interior made Michael hesitate only a moment before following.
Soon enough the doors slid shut before the pair.
Above them a fan hummed loudly, its blades causing breaks in the light that shined down on them, making them flicker.
"Welcome to the first day of your exciting new career!"
A voice came from the speakers above them, causing both men to jump and look around a moment.
"What the —-k…" Leo muttered and Michael couldn't help but agree.
"Whether you were approached at a job fair, read our ad in Screws, bolts, and hairpins, or if this is the result of a dare, we welcome you. I will be your personal guide to help you get started. I'm a model 5 of the Handyman's Robotics and Unit Repair System. But, you can call me "Handy-Unit". Your new career promises challenge, intrigue, and endless janitorial opportunities. Please enter your name as seen above the keypad. This cannot be changed later, so, please be careful."
The voice…or rather, Handy-Unit explained, and before them a small device shot up from the ground. It had eyes on the top of it and was a bright yellow color. There was a text prompt on screen and a keyboard below it. However, the keyboard continued to glitch out.
Michael looked to Leo, but the man made no move to approach the device, so with a sigh he went over and started trying to type in his name, he assumed Leo would also be required to do so after him.
However, he wasn't sure how either of them would be able to as his continual attempts proved to fruitless. The keyboard glitched out far too much, before finally giving an error screen.
"Of course." He mumbled.
"Having problems?" Leo prompted and Michael turned to him with a breath.
"It's busted."
That caused the shorter man to glance around with an arched eyebrow. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."
"It seems that you had some trouble with the keypad. I see what you were trying to type, and I will autocorrect it for you. One moment."There was a loading icon for a moment before a name popped up on screen.
"Welcome, Eggs Benedict."
Michael stared at the screen a moment, and Leo soon joined his side before snorting.
"You like eggs huh?"
But Michael puffed a breath momentarily before he grabbed the device off its stand trying and failing to edit the name.
"No, the stupid thing bugged out on me." That only earned a slight chuckle from Leo before the man went up to the posters that hung on the walls.
Michael soon relented his fruitless attempts and looked over to his companion. The shorter man stood before a poster of the ballerina animatronic.
"These things are…creepy." Leo finally muttered, and Michael sighed.
"Yeah, you're telling me." He mumbled, Michael remembered when his father first showed him the designs. Being son of the inventor, Michael was often one of the first few to see the blueprints and concept designs. These bots seemed to mirror the more plastic and modern look of the toys. Though they also seemed to have a far more…unsettling and uncanny look. Perhaps it's because two out of the four were humanoid.
Shaking his head, Michael turned and looked over his companion a moment, "so…I was wondering, what made you decide to take up a job he-"
The elevator and the music came to an abrupt stop, causing both men to stumble slightly and look around with unease.
On the wall next to the doors a red button lit up invitingly.
"You can now open the elevator using that bright, red, and obvious button. Let's get to work!" Handy-Unit's all too excited voice prompted them forth, and seeing how he was closer, Leo approached the button and stared down at it with a frown before sighing, his shoulders slumping.
"This whole —-king place gives me the creeps." He muttered before hitting the button.
Before them the elevator doors slid open only to reveal the opening to what looked to be some kind of vent shaft.
A opening that was covered in caution/danger tape.
"Well…that's always a good sign…" Michael trailed before approaching and crouching down, he tried to peer into the vent, but there was no light, just darkness before him "You got a flashlight?" He prompted, looking up at Leo. The man paused before looking down at his belt and pulling one off its clip.
However instead of handing it over, Leo crouched down next to him and turned it on.
The vent before them was illuminated, but it only went so far. It didn't look like there was anything lurking inside. But it was hard to tell from where they were.
"This doesn't bode well." Michael mumbled, but Leo sighed and stood up, turning off his flashlight.
"Well, I doubt just sitting around is going to get us anywhere." He said before rolling his shoulders, clipping his flashlight to his belt and ducking down, crawling into the vent.
Michael stared after him a moment before shaking his head and once there was ample room, he climbed in after him.
The sound of shuffling filled the silence around them. But the soft thudding and groaning of the aluminum vents still gave way to the ambient hum that filled the facility.
Michael thought about speaking to the man in front of him, but he wasn't sure of what to say or ask. His new coworker didn't really seem to be the type who appreciated conversation.
Though luckily he soon wasn't the one responsible for filling the silence.
"Allow me to fill this somewhat frightening silence with some lighthearted banter." Hand-Unit began, and Michael couldn't help but glance up, "Due to the massive success, and, even more so, the unfortunate closing of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, it was clear that the stage was set (no pun intended) for another contender in children's entertainment." Michael knew most of this information already. But he kept quiet for the benefit of his companion. "Unlike most entertainment venues, our robotic entertainers are rented out for private parties during the day, and it's your job to get the robots back in proper working order before the following morning." At that Michael paused, looking up at the vent ceiling as if that's where Hand-Unit was located.
What did he mean private parties? His father had mentioned something about it being a rental service…people had these things in their homes?
And for parties no less.
The thought made him tense a moment before he forcibly clenched his jaw, trying his best to banish the memories that attempted to conjure in his mind.
He'd been to plenty of parties since then.
But they always reminded him of-
"That seems stupid." Muttered Leo, breaking Michael out out of his spiraling thoughts. A puff of breath escaped him, and back to reality, he watched as Leo he climbed out of the vent, Michael soon followed suit.
"Yeah…just a bit," Michael breathed as he looked around the new room. There were two windows on each side, and what looked to be two control modules. Each module had two buttons stacked atop each other. One looked to be some kind of sun icon, and the other was a small lightning bolt. Leo went over to examine the one on their left, while Michael ventured to the one on the right.
"You are now in the primary Control Module; it's actually a crawlspace between the two front showrooms. Now, let's get started with your daily tasks. View the window to your left. This is the Ballora Gallery: Party Room and Dance Studio, encouraging kids to get fit and enjoy pizza! Let's turn on the light and see if Ballora is onstage. Press the blue button on the elevated keypad to your left." Hand-Unit instructed, pulling Michael's attention from the darkened window he stood before and to where Leo stood.
The man hovered his hand above the small console for a moment before pressing down upon the light button.
Their attention went to the window as a loud hum accompanied a light shining upon what looked to be…an empty stage.
Michael tensed, shouldn't there be an animatronic there...? Where was it?
"Uh…unit guy!" Leo barked, "dancing lady isn't there!" The shorter man kept his hand on the button, keeping the light flickering.
"Uh oh! It looks like Ballora doesn't feel like dancing. Let's give her some motivation. Press the red button now to administer a controlled shock. Maybe that will put the spring back in her step." Hand-Unit instructed, Michael tensed up a bit more and opened his mouth to question the idea, however his companion didn't have any hesitation. As his hand came down on the button nearly seconds after Hand-Unit instructed it.
There was the sound of electricity cackling, and brief flashes from somewhere in the dark dance studio. The light had gone off and for a moment there was silence. Michael waited holding his breath.
"Let's check the light again." Hand-Unit ordered, and Leo obeyed, hitting the light button and leaning in as the flickering bulb turned on.
And…there she was, the tall ballerina themed animatronic twirled around on her stage. Leo puffed out a breath and released the light button.
"Neat system." He muttered, and Michael stared at him for a moment before following the man over to the right window.
"Excellent. Ballora's feeling like her old self again and will be ready to perform again tomorrow. Now, view the window to your right. This is the funtime auditorium where Funtime Foxy encourages kids to play and share. Try the light! Let's see what Funtime Foxy is up to." Their guide instructed, and with a breath, Leo hit the light button…only to once again find an empty stage.
"Of fricken course." He muttered, and Michael chewed lip nervously.
"Looks like Funtime Foxy is taking the day off. Let's motivate Funtime Foxy with a controlled shock."
Like last time, Leo didn't hesitate before hitting the shock button, Michael winced at the crackling electricity. And after a moment of waiting, Leo checked the light only to find the stage still empty.
"Let's try another controlled shock." Suggested the voice from above, and Leo moved to do so, however he jumped when Michael grabbed his arm.
The shorter man turned to look at him before yanking his arm away. "The hell man?" He questioned, and Michael puffed out his cheeks a moment.
"I…don't think we should be shocking them." He said, though his voice was laced with hesitance.
"Why? They're just robots." Leo challenged back, his thick brows furrowing. Michael puffed another breath, his eyes drifting toward the blackened window to Foxy's room.
"I dunno…it just…feels wrong…" He muttered, he couldn't really explain how his father's bots had always seemed oddly…lifelike, not so much with the first generation's Fredbear and SpingBonnie, but as time went on…they just seemed to grow more and more…
Sentient.
"Well, I feel like if we don't get them back into 'working order' as Mister Unit claims, then we might lose our jobs. And I'm not losing my source of income because you're sympathizing with metal hunks of junk." Leo huffed, and Michael chewed more on his lip.
Maybe he was right, maybe Michael was reading too much into things.
Leo looked at him challengingly to see if Michael would stop him, but Michael puffed out a breath and took a step back, relinquishing his argument.
Leo nodded before turning back to the control module and hitting the shock button again. There was the electric cackling once more before he turned on the light, and there Funtime Foxy was, going through programmed motions. Greeting and waving to a crowd that was not present.
His robotic and lifeless movements gave him a bit of reassurance.
They were…bots after all.
And he wasn't here to do a quality check. He was here to look for his sister, though that was a confusing task unto itself.
Why would she be here?
"Looks like Funtime Foxy is in perfect working order. Great job! In front of you is another vent shaft. Crawl through it to reach the Circus Gallery Control Module." Hand-Unit instructed and Leo nodded going toward the open vent before them. Michael, however, paused and didn't move from where he was.
"Circus Gallery?" he questioned, causing his companion to stop mid getting into the vent and turning to look at him quizzically.
"Indeed. The vent shaft before you leads to Circus Gallery, Circus Baby's auditorium." Hand-Unit informed and Michael swallowed. He knew he'd be seeing it, but he didn't think it'd be so soon.
He didn't really have a reason to dread the clown themed animatronic. Sure it's appearance was unnerving.
But it's red hair brought back to mind the person who inspired the bot's design.
"You alright?" Leo asked, and Michael looked up at him before puffing a breath.
"Yeah…yeah I'm fine." He swallowed, "let's get going."
Leo nodded and climbed into the vent, and after there was ample room, Michael climbed in after.
The vent was shorter then the last, and it wasn't long before they were in the control area again. Just like before the window in front of them was blacked out.
"On the other side of the glass is Circus Baby's auditorium. Let's check the light and see what Baby is up to." Hand-Unit explained, and Michael stole a deep breath, scratching at his palm and trying not to think of the last time he'd seen this bot.
He'd only really seen her once or twice, her finished version at least.
There were still plenty of excitedly drawn versions of her in the storage boxes of the room neither he or his father ever ventured into.
While he had been lost in his own head, Leo had gone over and hit the light button. It buzzed the familiar hum…
But there was no one there.
Michael stiffened as he realized what was going to happen, his eyes flashing to the electrocution button.
He jumped forward and grabbed onto Leo's arm, the man swore and jerked it away again.
"Again man?! I didn't even do anything!" The shorter employee barked and Michael puffed a breath.
"Sorry-! I just…" he huffed, "I…I just know he's gonna-"
"Looks like a few of the lights are out, but we can fix that later. Let's encourage Baby to cheer up with a controlled shock." Hand-Unit instructed and Michael stiffened, his eyes locking with Leo's. The man stared back, brows furrowed low.
"Mike-"
"Not this one!" Michael interrupted and Leo huffed, pursing his lips.
"Why?" That made the Afton swallow and break eye contact.
"Just…please…not this one."
He had no guarantees that Baby really had anything to do with Elizabeth's disappearance, or the reason behind his father's quest for him. And in the end she was a robot.
When he looked up at his companion, he saw the man was waiting for him to provide a justifiable explanation.
Michael rocked back on his heels and shoved his hands into his pockets, avoiding Leo's gaze.
"I…I'm here for a reason…an important one…and I think Circus Baby…is somehow connected to it." He meandered his way through the explanation, it wasn't entirely untrue. But it was a very flimsy connection.
He tried not to think about how he associated the animatronic with his missing sister. "I…don't know what these electric shocks are doing to them…and if she…is damaged because of it…that could…hinder my goals…" He had descended into mutters toward the end, and without even looking up, he could sense the doubt from Leo.
There was a long moment of silence between the two, only filled by the ever-present hum of the computers that surrounded them.
He heard shuffling, and he spared a look up, only to find Leo pulling the now empty lollipop stick from his mouth and pulling a fresh one from his pocket. The sound of paper crunching accompanied the ambient hum as Leo unwrapped the sucker.
He shoved the new purple one into his mouth and puffed a breath. Fixing his gaze on Michael again. "Alright. —-k it. No shocking the creepy baby thing? Fine." He pulled the sucker from his mouth and gazed at it, before then pointing it at Michael. His dark eyes flashing darkly in the faint light of the room. "But if your little quest thingy gets me fired…" he trailed off, and Michael swallowed slightly before nodding.
"Yeah…it…it won't." There was a beat, "I swear."
Leo only gave a grunt and put the sucker back into his mouth and pulled in another breath. He paused a beat and looked vaguely…disappointed in something. But before Michael could discern what that look meant, the man turned on his heel to face the black glass. "So, what do we do about the absent clown?" He prompted, turning to look at Michael.
The taller man was still reeling slightly but managed to recover with a cough and turned to look at the glass.
"I…I don't know…"
Leo puffed out a breath, "wonderful."
"Let's try a controlled shock." Hand-Unit spoke again making them both jump and look toward the ceiling.
Michael shifted his jaw about, glancing at the black window and then up at the ceiling, "hey Handy!" Leo's attention was on him now, "didn't you see her? She's there already!" He turned and looked at the control module before hitting the light button. A quick glance confirmed this was a lie but…Hand-Unit didn't need to know that.
"According to my sensory scans, Circus Baby is currently absent from her stage. We should try and encourage her with a controlled shock." Hand-Unit suggested, and Michael cursed under his breath.
He should've known that wouldn't work.
"Ya sure about that?" Leo questioned, and Michael turned to look at him. He leant back against the window lollipop hanging lazily from his mouth. "Your system seems a bit buggy, you might want to run a diagnostic check just to be sure. We can wait." He pulled the sucker from his mouth and looked it over, "you wouldn't want anything to…slip past you…right?" He looked up, and Michael soon followed suit, chewing on his lip as he swallowed down his nerves.
"Diagnostic checks will take several hours to complete. And here at Fazbear's we do not believe in overtime. I will take note of your request, but this will conclude your duties for your first night on the job. We certainly don't want you to leave overwhelmed. Otherwise you might not come back! Please use the vent behind you, and we'll see you again tomorrow." Hand-Unit instructed, and Michael blinked, baffled that it worked. He turned to look at Leo and opened his mouth to speak, but he was never given the chance.
"C'mon, lets get out of this hellhole." And with that, he climbed into the vent, Michael stared after him before shaking his head and starting to follow. Only to hesitate and turn back to the window. His eyes went to the control pad and he lifted a hand, hovering it over the light button.
But soon pulled that hand back.
He needed to speak with his father. Maybe he'd have more information on what to do.
Because Michael was clueless on how to proceed.
The trek back to the employee room was silent, Leo didn't prompt conversation, and Michael didn't feel like he had the brain capacity to do it himself.
So all they were left with was the ambient humming of the facility, interrupted occasionally with what Michael hoped was the vent settling with the addition of their weight.
When they eventually got to the sterile and white employee's room. Both had to squint at the assault of light that greeted them.
Michael thought he heard Leo swear something under his breath, but he wasn't entirely sure, and he was too focused on shielding his eyes from the brilliant lights to care all that much.
The elevator doors slid shut behind them, and once Michael could see again, he went over to his bike and bag, aware Leo was at a locker behind him.
Though now out of the oppressive area, Michael paused, steeling himself briefly before taking in a large breath-
"See you tomorrow." Leo cut him off without realizing it, and what followed was the sound of a locker thudding shut.
Then the man's retreating footsteps.
Michael turned and watched him go, a backpack slung over his shoulder, and a hoodie over his uniform, but otherwise unchanged.
He opened his mouth but then closed it and puffed a breath, "yeah…see ya." With that he withdrew his clothes from the locker and went over to the changing stalls, unbuttoning his top as he went.
He just barely caught the sight of the door shutting and then he was left alone.
But as he was slipping his arms out of his uniform he sighed hands falling to his side.
He felt like he just jumped head first into a —-t-show.