And so, a new era of an exciting career has begun. William had his reservations and doubts about Alison taking an interest in them and accepting them with such haste, but he made sure to mention all of their talents he could use. This may have been normal for a company in the middle of exponential growth.
Barring Michael dropping a few jokes about his father now needing an animatronic mask to wear, everyone was excited to hear the news. Clara always had her doubts about the uneven and chaotic flow of William's work and always advised him to seek a position with more stability and potential for growth. His usual reasoning against it hinged on the difficulty of finding a career that would specifically fill his niche, but Fazbear Inc was a rare exception to this rule.
Elizabeth and Chris, on the other hand, were simply excited to know that their dad was to become a "part of the family" among animatronics and those that bring them to life. They weren't shy about asking questions on what exactly will he work on now, what kind of animatronic there would be next, what new character would be brought to life…William made the mistake of shrugging and saying that he could hardly understand how a simple cartoon about adventuring animals could be a source of such excitement. Elizabeth was quick to tell her father that he'd understand if he saw it and began the excruciating process of begging him to watch some of the episodes with her and Chris. He agreed reluctantly, mostly because if he was about to make the new animatronics as reflective of those characters as they could be, he needed to see them for himself, but there was also a certain amount of curiosity William shared. After all, something must have caught the attention of so many children for a reason.
The time for that would come later. However, now he had to get into the workflow and show Alison that he wouldn't regret hiring him. William was given an office in the Fazbear Inc buildings where he could freely work on his ideas and designs for the four animatronics he was tasked with making. Occasionally, however, he would get called down to the restaurant to perform maintenance on the golden duo. So far, it has been after the pizzeria already closed, but today something unexpected happened. He got a call from one of the guards telling him that Spring Bonnie had gone out of order. His singing grew distorted during one of his performances, and the apparent glitches in programming made the animatronic fail at his duties. The suit was hastily moved to the back room, an area where the spare parts and malfunctioning animatronics were stored before they were ready for use once again. His was the job of fixing Spring Bonnie, so he was ready to entertain again while also being the first opportunity to get a look at the structure of those animatronics, something that William had waited for a while now.
When he arrived at the restaurant, William was once again stricken with the warmth and the aura of joy it exuded. Fredbear continued to cheerfully sing on the stage in solitude with a couple of children gathered around him. Alison was right to set up a business like this. The place was full. Each table had a few adults having their meals and discussing their news while their children were free to play with whatever they would like. Some were enamored, but Fredbear's singing, a few more players with Vigo, and another group were near the stage entertained by a familiar jester. Gron did his job wonderfully, and even though William didn't want to distract him, he couldn't help but look at him with intrigue. He was telling a story to the children around him, one they listened to with utmost joy while holding two figurines in his hands. One was of a black bunny with red eyes, and another of a brown bear with a cylinder hat similar to Fredbear's and eyes blue as the sea under sunlight. The bear was Freddy, the main character of the show, while the black rabbit wasn't someone William remembered.
Before checking up on the animatronics, however, something else caught William's eye. A TV that was attached to one of the walls had always been on, broadcasting all kinds of news across the entire pizzeria, and the moment he looked at it, William noticed that the news was not too bright.
"…It has been reported that the number of deaths has increased exponentially over the last year, and this is a phenomenon to which there is yet no solution. To remind you of what happened, over the last three years, the number of deaths from various forms of cancer has increased exponentially in the east, specifically in Japan. There is still no consensus on what caused such a phenomenon, yet the numbers continue to grow. You might have heard of it being dubbed 'super cancer' in public. The research into the phenomenon among with the most productive help that could be offered sadly came to a tragic end a year ago, when Gilbert Facility was caught in a fire and burned to the ground as a result; if you would like more information on the issue, stay tuned…"
Nothing but doom and gloom, William was reminded of why he didn't take much time watching TV. After he looked away, however, the man noticed a vending machine that was housed beneath the TV and had four children gathered around it. It had plush toys of various characters inside, and four more children gathered around it, pointing at the plushies and arguing between themselves. Maybe this could be an opportunity to get a present for his children, a souvenir from work, so to speak. William walked towards it, soon getting a glimpse of the talking children.
"We should get Freddy. He's the main hero, there wouldn't be an adventure without him!" A blue-eyed boy with brown hair argued.
"Just because he's the main one doesn't mean he's the coolest." Another boy responded with annoyance. "Ask anyone; Foxy is much better."
"Foxy is too mean, and he helped the bullies once!"
"So what? He knows that he was wrong, and he made up for it. Don't you remember how he helped the band escape? And how he threw Saber right into Davy Jones's locker? That was just so cool!"
"Hey…" A blonde-haired girl spoke up. "Jack, Gabriel, you shouldn't get so angry over this. We can just pick one and get all the others next time when our parents give us more money!" She smiled and tried to soothe two boys.
"But we should start with the best one!" Jack retorted. "We should choose someone, and that should be Foxy…Or who would you buy, Jessica?"
"I'd get Chica…She's always so nice and caring; Freddy and Foxy would never stop fighting without her help." She explained in a soft voice, but then the last boy who had remained quiet so far finally spoke up.
"Do you not like Bonnie at all? He's the most loyal friend Freddy and Chica could have. How many times did he save them? Remember when they got caught by the Beast?"
"I like Bonnie…" Gabriel began. "But he wasn't the coolest. He helped, yeah, but Freddy started that fire and saved everybody; he's the best one!" He was about to continue but quickly went silent after noticing an adult come towards them.
"Now, now…" William began. "I see someone's being far too eager about cartoon characters."
"Oh, sorry, sir…" Jessica looked down. "Were we too loud? It's okay. We won't stay for long."
"Don't worry, I'm just here to buy a toy," William reassured them, immediately noticing the eyes of the last boy to speak be filled with happiness and excitement.
"You watch 'Freddy and Friends', too? Wow, I thought adults didn't like it!" His voice gained in pitch and excitement, though William had to disappoint him.
"No, not particularly. It's for my children, they're big fans."
"Oh…" The boy sighed, and Jack continued.
"Come on, Liam, you don't expect them to actually watch it, do you?"
"Well, I wanted to ask who he thought was the best character, that's all."
"I only know those my children like," William noted as he glanced over the machine, looking at the toys it had. His eyes stopped on a yellow Fredbear plush with dark eyes and a purple cylinder. This was Chris's favorite and would make for a great gift. "Yes, this one."
"Fredbear, really?" Gabriel wondered.
"What's so surprising?" William wondered as he put the coin inside the machine. "Wasn't he one of the big figures there?"
"He is, but he's always very mysterious," Jessica explained. "He helps his friends sometimes, but there are many things he doesn't tell them and keeps to himself most of the time. No one was sure whose side he was on…Some really like him, some hate him." Sounded like an intriguing character and the one Chris would enjoy. His younger son was just as secretive at times, preferring to keep to himself and his own imaginary world.
"Who's your son, by the way?" Gabriel asked. "If he comes here, maybe we know him!"
"No, I don't think so. He doesn't often talk to others." William explained as he took the plush out of the vending machine. "Although I think he'd come here more often now that I work here." He hazarded a guess, though he wasn't sure. Chris said that while he enjoyed the show greatly, he found the animatronics themselves to be rather creepy, even Vigo, and William could see where he was coming from. There was something about those animatronics that made them seem out of place, as if they were a blend of a cartoon character and a real person that imitated life, sometimes successfully, other times not at all.
"Oh, you work here?" Jack wondered. "I see. You're the master they called to fix Spring Bonnie, right?" His eyes gleamed with delight; as strange as it felt for William to be called a master, he couldn't help but exude a faint smile at the children's excitement.
"Indeed. Rest assured, he'll be ready to perform by evening."
"I hope so. He's one of the funniest characters!" Gabriel jumped in excitement. "I like the way he sings as well; it's so sweet!"
"Well, if that's the case, it seems I have much work to do." William looked towards the stage. The other children have separated from each other and returned to their parents, leaving Gron alone beside Fredbear, likely in one of his short breaks. Perhaps this would be an opportunity to check up with him.
"Good luck!" Jessica smiled at William as he left the four children.
"You too. And don't pay too much mine to those toys; you can always choose at random and then get the others the next day." He gave his last piece of advice before approaching the stage. When Gron noticed his friend, he waved immediately and hopped up just like a child. He still wore his green jester outfit, and it was clear that his energy was coming back to him.
"Am I having a good hallucination for once, or have you finally decided to descend?"
"Can't say I 'decided' to do it, but yes, here I am," William responded with a welcoming and slightly sarcastic tone. "I'm here to look at Spring Bonnie and whatever is wrong with him."
"Ah, of course, you're the main technician now." Gron commended him. "It was an awkward thing to witness, really. He just fell right on the stage in the middle of his performance. At least the children could laugh it off, and the animatronic got taken away."
"I'll go and see what can be done."
"Mind if I join you?" Gron said suddenly. "I was always interested to see you work on an actual animatronic."
"I don't mind, but don't you have children to entertain?"
"It's fine, I'm allowed some breaks, and they seem more interested in Fredbear anyway…Funny how they get more excited over machines rather than actual humans. I had to make up a story about the characters from the show to even keep their attention!" Gron shook his head as his eyes fell to the floor.
"They seemed to enjoy it from where I saw it, pretty lucky considering they know more about this show than any of us and would probably shun you for inconsistencies."
"Oh, I'm fine on that front. I watched some of it to know what I'm talking about."
"Is it as good as they say?"
"Pretty good for a kids' show."
"Really?" William chuckled. "I shouldn't be the one to talk, to be fair. I'm watching it soon, as well…Who is the black rabbit you had, then?"
"Oh, that one. It's Buster; he's a bully who is a pain in Freddy's ass, along with his cronies. Quite an asshole, to be honest, I'm not even at the end of the first season, and he's already annoying."
"It's just a fictional rabbit…"
"Hey, we all get sucked in by the things we watch from time to time, even when it's a children's show." Gron retorted eagerly, leading to William sighing calmly.
"Fair enough…Well, if you care for seeing me work on Spring Bonnie, the time is now."
William beckoned for Gron to follow him into the corridor, away from the bustling noises of the main stage exuded by both Fredbear and the children, making their way to the back room.
"Neat things, those backstage rooms." Gron pondered. "Pretty well hidden and has all the necessary parts right here in the restaurant."
"And a suitable workplace, from what I was told."
"I think they don't even have a camera there," Gron spoke with suspicion.
"Really?"
"Yeah, don't know why. Maybe they don't want you to feel watched while you work."
"How considerate of them," William said with sarcasm before approaching a grey door away far away from the main stage; only the workers were allowed inside, and even so, it was only at certain times. William opened the door with the key Alison gave him a few days ago, and the two entered the secret room.
Immediately after entering, they saw an environment that was far more of a mess than the rest of the pizzeria. No surprise that it was hidden away from the public. A large space covered in black and white tiles quickly became cramped with all the countless containers and spare animatronic parts that remained to lie around. It wasn't uncommon to see a metallic hand or leg popping from underneath those containers. The contents of those boxes remained undisclosed, though William assumed those were the details to be used for other animatronics, as Alison mentioned.
Their target was the offline Spring Bonnie animatronic that stood beside the wall, looking down on the floor in silence. His jaw was open, and his eyes were stale and soulless, even if still open. When getting a closer look, William could definitely see the source of Chris's fear.
"Well, let's try it in practice," William said before approaching the suit. He thoroughly explored the manuals that explained the structure of those animatronics and how they operated, but this was the first time he got a chance to work with one directly. To see what exactly the problem was, he would have to unlock the spring suit. As he remembered those steps from the manual, William walked around the animatronic and noticed a small blue button on its back. "Here it is." He pressed it and immediately heard the clicking sound of countless joints liberating themselves and transforming the endoskeleton inside. The transformation went quite smoothly, but William immediately noticed a creak inside it, which didn't allow the body to complete it. "Now to look inside…" William took the head off the animatronic, allowing access to its inner endoskeleton, while Gron watched with a look of distinguished awe on his face.
"I didn't know you could just take them apart like that."
"A function of the spring lock suits, make it easier to work with them…And supposedly allows a person to get into them and entertain others." William explained with doubt in his voice.
"Really?" Gron wondered. "First time I hear about it."
"Alison mentioned it when I met him last time, and it's also in the manual. They haven't used this function extensively, but it is there and is accounted for in all their instructions…Except for the fact that it hardly sounds safe. If any liquid gets on the springs while they're open, they will automatically get back to their original position…" He spoke quietly, feeling the shivers in his spine as the gross image emerged in his head. This death wouldn't be immediate, but the process would be impossible to reverse or stop after it starts. It will be agonizingly painful.
"And just crush the person inside?"
"Well, there is a reason it's not used much…Though Alison says he would like to see that changed, he thinks risks are overstated, and it will be worth having workers perform in the suits."
"That would be one way to attract the kids' attention, at least…" Gron pondered.
"As long as it's safe, yes…Guess it's up to me now to make sure those are as safe as they can be and no incidents happen."
"You aren't complaining, are you?"
"No, that's exactly the kinds of things I expected, hope it stays that way for a while, really." William sighed as he began looking through the wires and metallic parts to find a failing part. "And you? Enjoying it?"
"Well, it certainly gives me a chance to do something fun and change the setting, not that it helps with occasional…Images. Still, it doesn't get worse, and I don't feel like my life is entirely pointless, so there's that." Gron was doubtful, yet it was clear from his reserved voice that he didn't want to complain. After all, finding a job in his position was already incredibly hard, no point making it worse.
"Is that what you need more of, then? A change of setting?"
"It's easier to become too caught up in my own thoughts when I'm alone and don't have anything to do…And my thoughts are shit."
"You're being too fatalistic."
"Come on, that's one thing you definitely don't have an experience with. It's not as bad now, but Jesus…It can just get so…Draining sometimes." Gron spoke with disappointment and aching, he still had a long way to go, but Afton was proud of all the progress his friend had made.
"Ah, here it is!"
"What?"
"Oh, sorry, just found the flaw," William said as he set his eyes on the damaged spring that got stuck. Thankfully, it shouldn't be too difficult to restore it.
"Ah, that…Good job. I think I'll go back to check on them. I need to earn my paycheck somehow, after all." Gron was about to turn around, but William wanted to remind him of something.
"You know how I mentioned Clara's ballet opening soon?"
"Yeah…"
"I'm taking all our children there, and you should come too." William invited him, immediately noticing a switch in Gron's disposition. His eyes were gleaming with delight, but he attempted to conceal it by looking away shyly and beginning to blink. "Here's the opportunity you wanted."
"I…It's not really a place for me; it's your family's occasion, not mine's."
"It can be both if you invite Lynda and Charles."
"What? Again, so soon?" Gron spoke in a surprised tone, shocked at the such suggestion.
"You can still be friends, and that's just clear from how your reunion went at the party. All that remains is making some more steps, and here you are." William was not one for emotions, but he tried to sound as kind and encouraging as possible, even allowing himself to smile comfortingly. "So why not try again, you know?"
"Huh…" Gron chuckled with pain and shame in his voice, but they quickly got replaced by a faint smile. "I'll think about it…Thank you."
"Always glad to help," William said before turning back towards Spring Bonnie as Gron strolled towards the door. They both have a lot to work on.