Ethan walked out of Sinclairs office, still mulling over the small details that he had figured out. Still, he had more questions than answers at this point. How the hell did those animatronics move if they were bolted to the stage?

Right as he thought that, he walked past the animatronic stage. Freddy and friends weren't at their usual post on the stage. According to Sinclair and the official memo from the company, the animatronics were "undergoing renovations" and would not be performing for about two months. For better or worse, Freddy and the gang were out of Parts and Service and would be performing for the first time in, as stated in the memo, two months.

Today was the end of that two months.

Ethan wondered what the new upgrades would entail.

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10:00 AM. Opening time.

Ethan patiently waited for the pizzeria to open. His truck radio played an alternate rock station as he sat there, still deep in his thoughts. A few other cars pulled up as ten o'clock hit, and Ethan, already knowing it was his friends, killed his truck's engine and got out. The other cars parked, the occupants getting out and making their way over.

"Hey, Ethan!" Brandon ran over to him. Standing at around 5'10, Ethan still had to look slightly down at him, as he himself was closer to six foot. The brown haired and green eyed teen was one of the most popular kids at Ethan's school and was constantly swarmed by girls. However, to his credit, he stayed loyal to his friends. "How's the day going?" His baritone pitched voice was clear and distinct.

"It's ten o'clock my friend, and I have yet to kill someone, so it could be better."

"Sounds about right, at least for you."

Someone else walked up behind Ethan. "Y'all really trying to get on a watch list, aren't you?" The deep voice behind Ethan could only mean that Jerome was here. Taller than Ethan, around six foot 4 and the football star, Jerome was dark skinned, had jet black hair, and deep emerald eyes.

"Aye, shut it, you oversized gargantuan." Ethan turned around and lightly punched Jerome on his arm. "We're all on a damn watchlist already, so why worry?" His two friends chuckled and nodded in agreement.

A final car pulled into the parking lot. Most people (other than his friends) didn't get to the place before eleven, so this could only mean that Emma and her sister had arrived.

Before the car was even turned off, a young girl no older than eight eagerly jumped out of the backseat and ran over, giggling like a maniac. She was met with a hug from Ethan, and then from the others almost immediately afterward.

'Really, Elizabeth?' Emma came walking over, shaking her head while she smiled. 'Just gonna run over to the boys and forget your stuff?' She held up a small backpack, and Elizebeth eagerly ran back to her sister and grabbed it, quickly opening it and rifling through papers.

Ethan went over and hugged Emma while her sister did her thing.

'How's it going, Emma?'

'Not too bad. Car's been having issues recently.'

Ethan nodded. Along with being a gaming prodigy, he also knew a decent bit about cars and could usually fix a problem with one if it wasn't too complicated. 'Any idea what it could be?'

'No idea. But it's been making a horrible screeching noise whenever I hit the brakes.'

Ethan chuckled. 'Need new brake pads then. Probably rotors too. Simple enough fix.'

Emma chuckled. 'What would I do without my faithful servant, o' fixer of cars?' The rest of the group burst out laughing while Ethan blushed slightly. Elizabeth finally got up, holding a sheet of drawing paper in her hands and tugging on Ethan's pant leg. Ethan looked down, and his smile only widened.

On the paper, Elizabeth had drawn Ethan and the gang on stage with Freddy and his friends. They all looked happy, as happy as stick people could look anyway, and decently drawn ones at that. Ethan chuckled as he took the drawing. 'I bet your grandpa will love this one.' Elizabeth simply smiled and twisted her body back and forth.

Brandon cued in at this moment. 'So, did we come here for an art expo or are we going inside?' Everyone chuckled and began walking towards the door, still joking and pushing each other around. By this point, one or two other cars drove in, full of kids eagerly wanting to play arcade games and with parents wanting nothing more than a few hours of alone time with their spouses, albeit with a lot of noise.

Walking into Freddy's at opening brought back memories of Ethan's earlier childhood, especially with his dad. He smiled softly, savoring the fond pastimes of him doing some of the most random things with his father.

Ethan was suddenly shook out of his thoughts as Jerome patted his back. 'You good, man?'

Ethan looked confused. 'Why wouldn't I be?'

'You got that misty look in your eyes, man. That only means one thing.' Both Brandon and Emma were also looking, and Ethan suddenly realized that he was sitting at one of the booths that had been recently installed in the renovation. 'How the hell?' He mentally shook himself.

'Trust me guys, I'm fine.' He sighed. 'Just some old memories.' Everyone nodded, knowing the stories about Ethan's bond with his dad. Ethan decided that now was as good of a time as ever to bring up the mood. 'So, how much are we spending on tokens today?'

Jerome grinned like a maniac. 'I got about fifty to blow.'

Brandon had an even wider grin. 'Same, got fifty.'

Ethan chuckled. 'Guess we all got fifty, don't we?' Emma nodded in response. Ethan smiled wider. 'Good. So, that's get's us how many tokens?'

'Around four thousand if we spend it all.' Brandon had that look of an eager eight year old, hyped up on caffeine and pizza and just waiting for his parents to let him loose. The rest of the friend group nodded in approval.

'First things first though, food.' Ethan clapped his hands together and rubbed them.

'Damn, you are always hungry! How have you not gone broke from grocery bills?'' Brandon laughed. Ethan shrugged, not really knowing or caring. After placing their orders for drinks and two pizza's, they began to discuss what games they would play. After all, Freddy's had a mixture of retro and modern arcade games.

Ethan was the reigning air hockey champion, while no-one had beaten Emma's high score on Pac-Man. Brandon had no equal on Street Fighter, while Jerome was the best arcade racer in the town. Soon, the pizza came; an extra large pepperoni and meat lovers pizza. The gang chowed down, the pizza soon gone within ten minutes of it getting there. Soon, the arcade wars would begin.

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After about an hour and a half of playing and not even going through half of their money, Ethan kept the title of air hockey master, Emma laughed as another person failed to beat her score, Brandon reigned supreme in Street Fighter, and Jerome once again out-raced everyone in one try.

The friends sat back down again, laughing. They needed a break after an hour of butt kickery, and ordered more drinks for themselves and Elizabeth, who had opted to stay at the table and draw. The group of friends had no need to worry about her, as the restaurant staff kept a careful eye on her, knowing that she was the granddaughter of their boss and that if anything happened they would probably all lose their jobs.

Ethan rubbed his temples, feeling another headache coming on. He groaned slightly. Brandon and Jerome were deep into a conversation about the latest football scores, so Emma took his opportunity to talk to her friend across from her.

'You okay?'

Ethan shrugged. 'Standard for me, ain't it?' He chuckled at his own jest. 'Guess all the noise and the excitement are hitting me now. I'll be fine. I'll power through it.'

Emma shook her head. 'You really need to stop doing that. That's going to start hurting you long term.'

'The hell are you, my doctor?' Ethan looked up in exasperation.

'I do plan on being a doctor, yes, so I might as well try to help my friends, right?' Emma was indeed planning on going to med school, and had already been volunteering at the local pharmacy/clinic.

'Look, I'm fine. I've powered through these things before. Only time I need meds is when it's a migraine, and this is no were near that.'

Emma scoffed. 'You've got to learn to take care of yourself, Gunner. This could be a sign of something worse than just frequent headaches.'

Ethan returned the scoff. 'Christ, you trying to be my damn mother? Look, I'm fine, alright? I get it, you care about your friends, but I'm not the one to worry about. I think your sister should be your main concern.'

Emma scoffed again and sat back in the booth. 'Stubborn much?'

Ethan grinned. 'Only with you, lovely.'

'Don't play that card, Gunner. Your little flirts don't work with me.'

Ethan's grin only got wider. 'Now who's being stubborn?' Emma shook her head in amusement and smiled. Ethan had won once again. He always did.

'Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.' Sinclair had stepped up on the main stage, microphone in hand. Every head in the restaurant turned, and the usually noisy arcade seemed to get quieter as the people in the room listened intently.

'Now, I know that these past two months Freddy's hasn't had its animatronic characters on stage performing. And I know what most of you are thinking. "How can Freddy's be Freddy's without Freddy?"' Everyone chuckled in agreement, and at the repetition.

'Well, ladies and gentlemen, us here at Freddy's are happy to announce that Freddy and his friends will now be, once again, performing on this stage!' Cheers throughout the restaurant, and more people started to flood in from the arcade. 'Now, who wants to see Freddy and his gang perform again?!' More cheers. Sinclair bowed and walked off the stage.

The lights in the restaurant dimmed, now only a faint glow. The stage lights went up, showering the red stage curtain in light. The air was tense, anxious. Sinclair spoke again. 'Ladies and gentlemen, Freddy and the Gang!' The curtain opened to reveal…

'Well hey there, friends! Long time no see!' Freddy stood on the stage, front and center, waving and smiling as best an animatronic could smile, wearing a tuxedo and bow tie now. Bonnie and Chica next to him, wearing a bow tie and hair bow respectively now, and they too waved and smiled, and everyone cheered.

'Y'ar, aren't ye forgetting something, Freddy?' Everyone's head whipped around to see Foy at Pirate's Cove, decked out in his full pirate regalia, hook and all, waving at the crowd and smiling, or as close to smiling as he could. One thing about the animatronics is that their faces didn't have the detailed functions to actually smile, their facial expressions limited to the way their eyes, eyelids, and ears moved, along with their voices helping make it easier to tell their mood.

The crowd inside Freddy's cheered with even more excitement. Finally, the beloved mascots were back, entertaining and bringing back joy. Nothing more was more exciting than this.

Well, it would have been.