Things are going better on my side, but it is still hard to write. I write best on my laptop, but apparently, I write so much that it broke the keyboard.
Foxy: ...
Don't give me that look! And don't you have a meeting to attend?
Foxy: Right... the meeting.
Enjoy!
The tension is high when an elderly man, balding on the top and does look like he hasn't been taking good care of himself, walks inside the empty restaurant. Everyone but the golden animatronics recognizes the man, and the moment George steps inside. Goldie and Spring took the younger members outside as they did not need to be part of the brewing conflict.
Mike kind of hope the two golden robots will return, for his friends look ready to murder that man; a man who is so ignorant about a situation that he got no idea what he's about to deal with.
George scans the room, and Mike can tell that the man does not recognize him, but by how his face scourge up when spotting the glaring Jeremy, it seems his fellow coworker made himself known at the former location. Mike isn't surprised; Jeremy is the type who does not keep his mouth shut if he got a problem, while Mike is much more hesitant to confrontations.
George casts the animatronics a look, and somehow he does not see them glaring at him as well. Instead, the man turns his back to them (something Mike would never have done if he was the one receiving those glares) and walks over to Scott. "Right, let's get to business. I want everything you took from me; money, the rights to the company, and of course, the new versions of the animatronics." He looks around again "Where's the office? I want to speak more about this without—"
"It's not me, you should talk about this." Scott interrupts the man's tone of superiority. It's like George thinks he got the upper hand or something. The former owner turns back to Scott, giving him a look of confusion, which turns into a dumbfounded stare when the head security guard points over to Freddy. "It's him."
Clearly, he does not understand the deep water he just threw himself into, for George rolls his eyes. "Don't tell me you still got all data stored into Freddy." He walks over to the surprisingly still bear, but Mike knows what is about to happen, and it will be glorious, "He and the others belong to me. This stupid trick won't work on me again." George stops before Freddy, then realizes there's no way he can reach the bear's head on his own. "You," he points at Mike. "fetch me a step ladder."
Mike does not move; this person isn't his boss anymore.
George opens his mouth to most likely yell at him, not seeing that Freddy is now moving. When the bear speaks in a low, threatening voice, "You're not getting anything from me." the man spins around, and Mike does not blame George for staring as Freddy walks around him like a bear on the prowl. "Less so from everything you did to us." George turns to Scott, but Freddy is quick to regain his attention. "Look at me, George," Freddy sneers, which makes George flinch but did look up and sees the rage— a pain this man brought onto him and the others. Mike has seen that look before; it's the same back when Freddy would stare into the cameras beside the security office at the former place. "I may look different, but I am the same. The same animatronic you threw away and used for parts, the same you crudely repaired and imposed so many restrictions that you created an animal. And I am definitely the same who you tried to burn down when I refused you the data needed to have the rights for this company."
George backs away from Freddy, terror shining out from his eyes, and Mike does not blame him. His friend can be terrifying when he wants to be. "H-How?" George eyes Scott, still with that fearful look, "How can this be that same, Freddy? No A.I. is this advanced!"
"Oh, I am the very same." Freddy speaks and sounds very pleased to have the chance to throw that right at his former tormenter's face. "We all are." George looks at Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy; somehow, only now can he see the loathing glares they have given him since he stepped inside. Freddy gets his attention again by stopping right in front of the man, towering over him. "As Scott said. I am the owner of this company now, and you might as well try to set me on fire again, for there's no way I am letting you have Fazbear Entertainment."
It comes as a surprise for Mike that this man does not back away, leaving knowing he won't regain what he lost from Scott's scheme. But Mike guesses his first impression of George is proven correct. "You're the owner?" George's fear is replaced with anger at this slap in the face fact that his golden goose is not under his control as he thought. "No, no! You are a robot. You cannot own anything! I own you!" He cries up to Freddy, trying to sound superior, but it's hard when his voice cracks up from the fear Freddy has installed in him. "I own all of you!"
Freddy lunged forward, snapping his jaws inches from the man, "We are not your property!" it made Mike flinch as that move gave him some severe flashbacks to when Freddy and his friends weren't fully there in the head.
He notices that George is staring at him and does not like the look the man suddenly gets. Like an evil idea has come to mind. The former owner turns back to Freddy. "So, you're are the same from all the other locations?" Freddy does not answer; the glare aimed at the man is enough. Mike suddenly gets a terrible feeling about what George is about to reveal, "Then that means you are responsible for what happened."
"Don't you dare blame that on them!" Scott yells at George. Looking over, Mike can see that Scott has realized the same. "It wasn't their fault!"
His friends stare, confused but also a bit scared about what is going on between the two men. Freddy does as well, "What are you talking about?" he asks Scott, but a laugh from George makes him turn back to the man. One who is going to use that against them: "Oh yes, it was. You say you are the owner of the franchise." George got a manic look on his face like this is giving him one hell of euphoria, "You, one who has at least killed three people." while Mike only sees a man who is willing to throw his own faults at people who couldn't get out from their terrible situation
He feels so bad at seeing the horrified expression on his friends' faces, at Bonnie crying out, "You're lying!" but the eyes reveal that Bonnie knows— dreads it is true that they have taken lives.
George faces Bonnie, ignoring the frozen stiff Freddy. "Am I? If you like, I can ask a lawyer to look through the mass quitting at the other locations. Show them where the bodies you made are hidden. Terrible way to go, to be stuffed inside a suit like that." Bonnie's expression becomes the very same he had when Vincent attacked them all those years ago, except this time, it's from the death he and the others have caused. "I say you were the worst, Bonnie. So aggressive; you definitely held a grudge. I'm surprised you haven't killed this man." He points over to Jeremy, whose enraged expression turns to horror at being exposed. "He was one of the people who took your parts for the Toys." Bonnie looks at Jeremy, and Mike isn't sure what is going through his friend's mind, only it brings him pain to see the headstrong and quite courageous Jeremy stare at Bonnie with sheer terror painted all over his face. George, having glee about this entire situation of revealing the animatronics violent past. "You are all animals, dangerous and deadly. You want freedom? Well, do you think you deserve it from what you all have done?" He turns around to Freddy and still in that boastful tone which only makes Mike feel sick. "And you, Freddy, you're the worst of them. I didn't believe the workers, but now, I can see that you love to torment your victims. Laugh as you approached, play that little tune of yours and then strike when their will is broken."
Freddy does not move, and Mike cannot see his friend's eyes from where he stands. And George just has to go lower in gaining control. "Why I think one of your former victims is right here." The bastard points at him. Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy stare at him in horror. "He flinched when you started to get aggressive. A surprise he's here and not at a mental hospital."
Okay, that's it! Mike is not accepting this man tormenting his friends any longer. "You bastard! You really are so full of yourself that you cannot see they turned out like that because of your lack of care!" Even back when he took the job as a security guard at the former location, having his life on the line due to his friends. Mike knew the fault wasn't entirely on them. "You tormented them! Forced them to do the same darn thing day in and day out, and sure, you can claim you didn't know about their awareness, but for god sake, your management was the worst shitshow I had ever seen in my life!" Mike throws his arms out to his friends, "It's not them we should blame, it's you! What you did tormented them to the snapping point! Your lack of care for everyone is the reason so many people got hurt; you are the cause of why a murderer could kill more victims!"
"Mike's right," Jeremy speaks up, his former scare of being thrown before the bus by George has subsided, and his known bite is back. "you're a shitty CEO and person. If you had just a fraction of decently acknowledging your workers' complaint, then maybe I wouldn't have a mangled animatronic lunging at me from the ceiling. You know what, even if that wouldn't happen, you didn't give shit about the hygiene of the kitchen! I am helluva surprised you didn't get sued for that; consider how many customers complained about the quality of the food."
"There was nothing wrong with my leadership." George retorts calmly at them, "I followed the procedure of what the law required for a company such as this." He then turns to Freddy with such arrogance, "Now, with the knowledge of your awareness, certain precautions need to be set in place. Can't have you go on yet another rampage. But first, I would need all the data Scott stuffed inside that head of yours." George snaps his fingers as if calling a dog and heads to the office.
Slowly, Freddy turns to where this wannabe owner is heading, Mike notices a controlled rage in the musician's eyes, and if this had been under any other circumstances, he would've been worried, but now, Mike is relieved to see that his friend still got some fight in him. "I have another proposal." George stops, and before the man can say anything, Freddy has closed in the space between them, and a hand at the doorframe stops the man from entering the office. "You're desperate."
"I am not despe—"
"It's the only reason why you bothered "reclaiming" your former ownership. Because whatever you have been doing these past years; it's not working." Freddy bows his head down so as to be closer to George's eye level. "You want the money in a pitiful attempt to save your new company. Saddle us with your problems."
The elderly man's jaw tightens at what Freddy said, so it looks like the bear hit that right on the head. Still, not giving up on this fight. "I will reveal your every dark secret if you try and stop me."
"Oh, I won't stop you. But I am not going to make this… co-ownership any easy for you either." Mike is disappointed to hear that they will be stuck with this asshole, but he does feel a certain glee at how Freddy said that. "You see, George. You need the success of this company to continue on this cushy lifestyle you feel entitled to. You NEED us, and it's in your best interest to keep us around." Freddy straightens up, towering over the man with a firm voice, "Here is my only offer: I will give you 5% of the Fazbear Entertainment, including the money we are going to earn. You have the rights as an owner, but every decision has to be taken with me; so you cannot fire our current workers without my consent. Knowing your issue keeping a stable budget, I am not letting you near our funding. Instead, that will be given to Goldie, so none of us can draw money from that account without his knowledge."
George stares at Freddy in disbelief at what the bear is saying, but his friend is not done with this "agreement," which Mike is glad about.
"And as your new coworker, let me make something crystal clear." Freddy gets up in George's face, his teeth bared, and the glare in his eyes shows that he is super serious about this. "If you try and sabotage us, anything that will make us lose this company. You will not only lose your source of money, but I will personally make sure your life will be royally screwed."
George takes a step back, hitting the wall. "Is that a threat?" He tries but fails to keep his voice level. It's clear that the man is scared of Freddy.
"Call it whatever you like, only that you should heed these words." Freddy growls as he steps away, "Unlike you, it's much harder to kill me." Then offers the man his large hand. "This is my deal, take it or get out of my restaurant."
"Darn, that's one slam dunk Freddy did there." Jeremy says quietly to him. Mike merely nods, happy to see they have gained the upper hand. From how enraged George looks, the man knows it too. This deal is the best he can get, for if he tells the media, thus the world, about what the animatronics did. Then Freddy will make it his mission to ruin this man's life in more ways than just making people aware that George was at fault: for why Vincent could continue killing people inside the former locations and how Geoge covered up the past night guards' demise. Reluctant and more than miffed, George shakes Freddy's hand; Mike is baffled that his friend does not try and crush it, but he guesses Freddy now wants to prove that he's the bigger man.
After the handshake, Freddy has a calm, business smile, baffling enough not any trait of smugness. "Glad we could come to an agreement. Now, let me put you up to date on our current plans and schedule."
And he walks into the office like the boss he is. George follows, anger seething out from him but also an air of defeat. The door closes, and Mike turns to his other friends, no victory cheer from them, only stares of dread about what George has revealed about their past. Glancing over to Jeremy, his fellow worker is troubled about this as well, unsure how to break the ice on this very dark subject.
Scott moves to the middle circle and, after giving each a somber look. He sighs and to the three animatronics. "I think it's about time I tell you all about how things ran before I gave Freddy ownership of this company…." He walks over to one of the tables where he takes a seat. Waiting for the rest to join him.
Slowly, one by one, Mike and the others join Scott, allowing him to put some light as to why the animatronics ended up turning hostile in the end.
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emOf all the places that fool wanted to rebuild and reclaim to the franchise, one of them just had to be that place. "You gotta be fucking kidding me." Jeremy wasn't happy, less so when this place held a lot of dark history with his family. "Why the hell, of all the goddam places, you want THIS" He angrily waved at the debilitated building with a broken symbol spelling Fazbear Fright hung on the top. "to be part of the company?! Do you want people to remember the bad things that happened in the past? For they will with this horror show!"
"I am not asking for your opinion on this." George snapped, "So stay quiet unless you want someone else to take your job."
Jeremy laughed at that worthless threat; he knew this idiot did not have that sort of power. "First; you can't do shit about employees," The co-owner does not look happy at the reminder. "and second, I am not going to stay quiet about whatever garbage you are going to do. This horror show is NOT going to become a part of the company, and if you want to try and include this idiotic side project into the franchise, then you won't get my help."
He hated not having control over the employees, forced to hear their opinion and complaints. But George, for now at least, had to deal with it. Those blasted animatronics are the obstacle to what he's entitled to, but unfortunately, he cannot get rid of them either, as they are the key to the company's success. "Fine, you can leave. I get someone else, one who is less vocal."
"You have to pay them from your own pocket, as I doubt our lovely gall will give you any money on this."
Another thing he hated about this "agreement." It feels more like an empty title, and George loathed how he had to fight these unholy animatronics just to get something done. It was so much easier when all he should do was learn back and watch the money flow in. George grunts in response to this man's remark, annoyed to see him leave and tattle on the others. Whatever, he will prove that this is a good idea, just like the other restoration of the former location was.
It took a few calls, but George got hold of some cheap labor, and they soon at full work on making this place ready for customers. The demonic bear did try and get hold of him, but George ignored those calls. He will prove to them that they can use the past… incidents to their advantage.
It was annoying that he had to pay out from his own pocket, but George knew that when this attraction was ready, he would earn a lot more than he had to pay.
The work went slower than he wanted, the place had gathered a lot of molds, and the labor did complain about the creepy atmosphere. At least they shut up and went to cleaning when he threw more money at them.
He may not have access to the bank accounts, but George did have the key to their storage. Too bad that scary animatronic couldn't move like the rest, but George figured that this mute mechanic could solve that issue by making it move around and perhaps make some scary noise—
"Argh!"
George's thoughts about how to make that lifeless animatronic move got cut short by the cry from one of the workers. He went to see what the fuzz was about and found the man lying on the floor, having a scratch over his cheek. It looked like he got attacked by a cat. George rolled his eyes. "Of course, there's a cat in here. Find it and throw it out."
"It- It w-wasn't a c-cat," The man stuttered, a trembling hand pointing at the lifeless animatronic "it- it i-is in th-there."
Again with an eye roll, not in the mood for this, "Then get it out before it destroys the animatronic prop." But the man does not move, too afraid of doing so. Why is he surrounded by idiotic people? George walked over to the animatronic and, through the many holes, tries to find that critter. Does not take long, but it's not what he expected. Instead of a cat, his eyes stared at the creepiest plushie he had ever seen, latched onto the wires like a rat fried by the wire it bit. "What the…" The animatronic suddenly moved, jerking and making some hissing and moaning sounds. That made George jump away, like the worker, can do little else but stare at the withered-looking moldy green animatronic jerk forward. It landed on its hands, fisting them and those metal claws left several marks on the floor. It was wheezing as if someone was trapped inside of it.
"W-Wh-What i-i-is t-th-that?" The workers asked, utterly terrified.
The animatronic let out a small metallic hiss, among it a garbled-up voice. It's hard to know what those words meant, only when it repeated those same words, then, as if it gained control of the voice, it spoke: "I—am—Springtrap—" the animatronic jerked up on a standing position, giving them a grand view into its eyes. They were black, with a white dot that pieces into their very being. So much hatred, a loathing of everything alive, and there's no doubt that this thing wants to tear them to shreds. "I am Springtrap!" A voice that didn't belong to man or beast, the animatronic screeched with its garbled-up voice and lunged at them with its claws poised to strike and tear them to shreds like a large predatory animal.
Some truths are best left alone, but people like George will use others' worst mistakes to grab and hold onto any sembles of power. No matter how terrible they are with said power. I am glad I don't have to deal with such a person in my life, but I have read enough Reddit stories to know that such people exist, and to those who deal with such asshats: I feel so sorry for you.
Springtrap will return at some point in the future, and if you have been following since Facing the Past, then you can probably guess who it is.
Till next time.