if I ever write a Security Breach sequel in this AU universe, then this chapter (and the next) is an introduction to one of the characters that will appear in Security Breach. I'll leave you to decide who I am kinda introducing for a possible future story.
enjoy
The daily customers either became aware of the birthday party from the webpage that kept everyone updated when birthday parties would be held, or if the group of people didn't do that, they would still be aware of the soon-to-be party with the decorated table. The place has a theme of the birthday child's choice. Most would pick another day or tell their child that they aren't allowed to sit at the pretty table, but every animatronic knows that there are some who would try to hijack the party for their own benefit.
They are rare, but they can happen, and therefore, Freddy is happy to not be the star of the show this time around, so he can keep an eye out for these people. He decided to do it when looking human as Freddy is aware that these kinds of people will make a scene and demand some higher up. It is easier to throw them out when he reveals to be the owner and does not accept their behavior.
The children are disappointed that Freddy is sick for the day, but Sean knows they can deal, more so since Foxy got the spotlight, and he's truly taking the advantage that he has a bigger stage to do his show on. Bonnie, Chica, and Spring handle the music, so really, there's no need for him to take people's attention away from Foxy.
Ten minutes before the agreed time, Sean gets a strange feeling, a sense of déjà vu, except this time, his conscience is away from his bear form. He recognizes this instantly, yet, in so many ways, he has no idea why he feels like he has just spotted a very familiar face. Scanning the place, Sean cannot see anyone familiar, only those he already knows. He has trouble seeing the faces of these people. His systems are in a sort of overdrive to find this person; some part of him says they are nearby, but he cannot see them.
"Sean," his name and a touch on his arm help his systems stop overworking in this search for this elusive person. He turns and notices that Mike is looking at him, somewhat worried. "You alright? You got all intense back there."
"Not sure…" Sean muses; he can still sense it. His mind wants to find this person and make sure they are alright. But there is no one, and everything seems safe enough. "I have this strange sense of déjà vu."
Mike blinks at this. He does not recall having seen his friend like this. Only the staring gaze Sean had reminded him a tad too much about the night Freddy was seconds from attacking him but was stopped by the clock. "Like how?" He asks, inwardly praying that his friend does not remember that night.
That's the problem… "I don't recall how, only last time I felt it." Sean stares out to the restaurant, but his mind has gone to a place where his nightmares began. A place where he and his friends were discarded as mere parts for the Toys, thrown into a room to rot, but their imprisoned souls didn't allow them to entirely shut down. "Tt was at the Toys' former home. Like now, I feel compelled to find them."
However, this time around, he does not sense a sense of danger; he does not have a great wish to help whoever is calling for him. "I don't know why I feel like this…." Sean admits, and it kind of disturbs him.
He feels sorry for his friend; Mike would too if he felt what Sean currently is feeling. "Anything I can do?" His friend shakes his head, and caresses his temple: "I can deal." Sean muses and still busy trying to ease his mind by messaging his temple, though Mike isn't sure it works on a body made out of metal. "Anything you needed?"
Guess Sean isn't in the mood to get further into this strange sense he's getting. So, instead, he hands his friend a paper. "The people that asked for the party have arrived— the adults at least."
Sean takes the paper, and after a quick scan, he can see that it's indeed the right group. "The papers are correct. You can show them the table." Mike nods and leaves to do so.
Leading the adults and birthday child over to the prepared tables, it pleases Mike to see that the child is ecstatic at the sight. The kid runs over to the table to admire the pirate-themed decorations before going to the stage where Chica and Bonnie are playing. Foxy is gone, but Mike thinks he has drawn himself away for a big surprise. He did talk about that yesterday.
He walks over to who he presumes is the mother; the man seems a bit too young to be the father. He looks in his early twenties, while the woman is in her late thirties. "Is everything to your liking?" He addresses the woman as if it was her name on the bill.
"Everything looks to be in order." The woman replies, and she starts looking around for something. "Where is Foxy?"
He's hiding for a big surprise, but Foxy mentioned that he wanted to do it when all the children arrived. Not that Mike can say that, so instead. "We have programmed Foxy to stay hidden until we give him the word. I can make him appear, but his greetings are meant for a larger group of children."
"But he will address the birthday child?"
"Of course, Foxy will ask for the birthday child, and the moment your son reveals he is the birthday child, Foxy will focus most of his attention on him." Mike replies and hopes he made it sound like a program and not just how Foxy is.
The mother nods and looks pleased with the answers. "I'll tell you when Foxy should come out. The same about the cake and such." Mike nods, not surprised by this request. Most of their parties for younger children go like that. "Will you stay nearby or…."
"I will do my best staying nearby, but other things may come up." Mike replies that he has been here long enough to know that things rarely go as they want. "But if I have to leave, you can ask my coworkers to get me."
The younger man learns away from a plush that looks quite like Freddy, though not the model they use at the gift corner. The man's eyes land on his nametag, "Mike, huh? Shorten for Michael?" not a question Mike is used to on these occasions. Usually, a customer would look at his nametag and then addresses him by name forward.
The woman gives the younger man a stern look, which the man does not seem to notice. He keeps his gaze on Mike, waiting for an answer. Not sure what this is about. "Uh, no, it's just Mike." He replies to the man awkwardly. Sure, Freddy sometimes calls him Michael, but it's more to tease him, just as he sometimes calls him Frederic. He leaves the table and stands a distance so as not to be in the way. Still close enough to hear the woman hisses at the younger male: "I told you not to bring him up today. It's bad enough you brought that toy." The young man says something, but it's too low for Mike to hear, only it makes the woman makes an excessive eye roll. "It's been over a decade. Leave the past already." This gives him flashbacks of how his parents treated his friend's passing, which hadn't helped his mental health. The young man returns to sitting before that plush, and something tells Mike that this plush used to belong to whoever has passed.
The other children arrive, and after their happy birthday greetings to the birthday child and putting the gifts on the table sat out just for that. Foxy made his entrance, hook, hat, and an eyepatch on. "Ahoy matey!" He waves out, making the crowd of children cry excitingly back; "Hi Foxy!"
Bonnie and Spring continue playing the pirate-themed music, and for once, the purple rabbit kept his face straight and pretended he actually liked to play this kind of music. "I hear thar's a lucky sprog around us. It comes to me ears that it's his birthday. So, which one o' ye ankle snappers be the birthday sprog o' this crew?" Foxy asks the crowd, kneeling down to get a better look. The boy eagerly shoots his hand up in the air, so excited that he can barely stand still. "Ah, so ye're the one? Congratulations!" Foxy jumps back up and points at the beaming child with his hook. "Yer for one day will be the cap'n o' the show! And as the cap'n, ye can decide which chantey I will sing for ye."
The child decides on a typical pirate-themed song, and Foxy turns to the two music players. "Ye heard the captain, crew! Let's start this chantey!"
"Aye, aye!" Spring grins, and together with Bonnie, they start the melody. Foxy spins back to the children and begins on this earworm of a song. The children loved it, though, so the others kinda just had to deal.
After the song, the mother asks Mike to bring in the cake. He nods and gives the sign to Foxy, who responds by saying, "I hear from me matey that it's time to get some cake." He turns his attention to the birthday child. "Captain, can ye ask yer crew find thar galleon at the table?" The child nods and demands the other children to take a seat at the table. Much to the amusement of those working at Freddy's.
While Foxy brings the cake to the table, the young man pulls Mike aside and asks him, "Where is that brown bear?" a question they hear fairly often when Freddy decides to walk around the restaurant in his human form.
"Freddy is currently to repairs," Mike replies the line everyone uses when the animatronics are using their human shapes. The man scans the restaurant and stops when spotting Theo. The younger bear is playing in the arcade, to the astonishment of the surrounding kids. "That's Theodore. He used to be another version of Freddy, but we decided to change that." Something Mike is fairly certain Theo appreciates, he definitely acts a lot calmer compared to when Mike first met this young bear.
The man keeps staring at the younger bear. "I take that one used to be that plastic bear in the other location."
"That's right." Mike affirms, and the young man turns back to him with a strange comment: "I don't like being here. But my brother does. His favorites are the bears."
"Oh, okay." Mike isn't sure how to respond. That comment came out of the left field.
The young man does not look bothered by his confused state, "He loved that job. Wouldn't shut up about the animatronics, how wonderful they were. I just found them creepy." Mike is a bit unsure why this man is telling him this, but when this young man meets his eyes with a darkened gaze. "Your company never told what killed him, but I know what; it was one of these animatronics." The young man looks at those performing on the stage. "Something is seriously wrong with them."
Huh, sounds like this brother is an unfortunate victim of the company's former owner's incompetence. He wonders if that had happened at the Toys' former home, this man did know about their former appearances. "I'm sorry for your loss." Mike truly is; he knows the pain of losing loved ones. "But this isn't the same company that took your brother away." The young man gives him a look that he does not believe him; Mike can understand that. But he still feels like saying this; "I know about the cruelty of what the former owner of Freddy's did. Their lack of care was the cause of many accidents that could've been avoided and spared families pain. The company has a new owner now, one who is doing his darn hardest to make sure such things won't happen again." The young man does not look convinced, and Mike isn't surprised, but he does hope this one will see it by how they are running things. He leaves the man, though he can't shake the feeling that this man may know more about Freddy's darkest secret. Man, now he wishes Marion was around so the puppet could tell him if someone else got away from Vincent.
The young man did indeed not believe this worker. In his eyes, this company is rotten to the core. He isn't the type to stir the pot, though, and could've left the horrors behind… if it wasn't for one simple thing. His brother refuses to leave it be. He's still here, protecting him like he's always done. The younger brother wishes that it wasn't the case, that the ghost of his brother didn't quietly remind him about the mystery of what happened to him. But he does not wish to get involved with this darkness, not to be stuck in the past. That's why he has to do this.
The young man figures it won't be that hard, considering how lousy the security was at that other place. How easily his brother had taken him inside the Parts and Service, shown those withered old animatronics and how he could make that bear move. Seeing that animatronic move on its own, scared the younger brother to the core; he didn't believe his brother saying that Freddy was a friend and harmless. Something about that robot… it wasn't right! But his brother loved that thing, so he guesses that's where he will stay from now on.
He had planned an opening during one of the shows, but while the robot fox entertains the children, the young man notices that there's always a security guard nearby. Keeping an eye on the children and the other patrons.
'Okay, so I guess this place has tighter security.' That does make his plan a bit tricky, but it won't stop him from doing it. Not if it means that the ghost of the past will finally leave him alone. It takes some careful movements, but since the security guards are more focused on the children and crowd wishing to buy food, he manages to get inside the Parts and Service room. In there sits the large bear, and like the others, has a much friendlier appearance. But all he sees is that withered old bear, about to move every second.
He better move quickly.
He takes out the plushie, one his brother has a strong attachment to. He feels a familiar sense, the sign his brother's ghost is right beside him. The young man ignores it and steps over to stuff this plushie into the animatronic, hoping it will bind the spirit to the animatronic his brother loves so much. It's hard to find an opening. The new shapes do not have gaps that give a view of the endoskeleton. So he resolves to try to stuff the plush into the bear's mouth, but right as he forces the mouth open, he hears people go in a sort of outcry. Then, to his surprise, the door to the room gets locked. "What the hell?" He ponders and wonders why the people here will lock the door when something happen— the bear suddenly jerks, causing the young man to lose his balance and end up on the floor. Like caught in the past once again, the animatronic bear gets up on its feet. Except for this time, no older brother is standing in between, and the workers have replaced the striking blue eyes with black orbs, two small white dots pointed right at him.
He can feel his brother's presence, it is very strong, and maybe, his plan has succeeded.
"M-Michael?" he asks shakily, and from how the bear starts baring its teeth, having a snarl of anger. Something tells him that his brother is not happy about what he was trying to do.
yeah... this guy screwed up, and he screwed up bad. Freddy does try to keep this side of him down, but when first provoked, nothing can really stop his deadly side. less so an utter stranger.