When the hour hand of the clock had struck ten, Michael and Helpy worked alongside one another to escort the remaining stragglers out of the premises— with Fredbear waving at them goodbye, and enthusiastically telling them all how excited he was to see them all again. Once the last party of guests had vacated the building, Michael locked the front doors from the inside before making his way back to the party room where Miss Piggy was awaiting to give her debrief.
Wanting to be part of the team meeting, Fredbear chose to sit down on the spot on the checkered floor that was closest to the edge of the party table where the pink muppet was stationed— his emerald eyes reflecting a sense of relaxation and satisfaction in them.
"My, my! I've got to say friends: today's grand opening sure was a heck of a lot more successful than the one at my family diner," Fredbear admitted with pride in his warm, goofy voice.
Having considered herself part of Michael's team— even though technically she was already the leader of her own team, that had long since left to return to their homes— Ruby greeted Michael with a smile, before turning her attention back towards the seven-foot tall animatronic bear.
"Really now? And just how successful was that old grand opening of yours?" Ruby asked with an upbeat voice, as she sat happily across the table from where Miss Piggy was sitting— her gray eyes staring down at the beige colored bear, who looked up at her with a reminiscent smile across his felt-muzzle.
Raising a clawed finger up to his chin to tap it softly, Fredbear thought to himself for a moment before opening his jaw to speak.
But before the animatronic could get a word in, Michael interrupted him by telling Ruby, "Fredbear's Family Diner was prominently successful; its opening day saw a particularly large influx of curious customers," as he made his way past her, before taking his seat down beside her.
Although Michael at that point had long since gotten comfortable enough around the prescience of the animatronic bear, from what Ruby and everyone else in that party room could see, the same couldn't be said about Fredbear.
Upon hearing Michael's voice, Fredbear's goofy, warm smile, and in its place resided an uncomfortable look of guilt written across his felt-face. "Y… Y-Yes, that's… T-That's more or less what I was gonna s-say," Fredbear muttered quietly, as he slowly lowered his head down to seemingly avoid having to look up at Ruby's curious gaze.
Having noticed clear as day the shift in tone, Ruby looked across towards Miss Piggy, who in turn acknowledged her unspoken question by subtly nodding her head at Michael, before gesturing down towards where Fredbear was sitting.
Giving the blond pig an appreciative nod, Ruby attempted to play it cool as much as she possibly could— whistling an inconspicuous whistle, and tapping her fingers rhythmically against the cheap nylon table-cloth— before abruptly asking Michael, "So like, what's the deal with you and Fredbear?"
Even without having to look, Ruby was able to tell that the question had made Fredbear flinch— from the way she heard him whimper, and the sound of his felt-fur shifting against the checkered tiles, it was even more obvious to her at that point that there was some bad blood between them.
Or at least, that's what Fredbear figured from her observations, as Michael seemed perfectly calm as he turned his head toward his shoulder to greet her with a content look on his handsome face.
"Well, that's a bit of a loaded question, innit?" Michael asked back with a soft chuckle, before letting out a soft sigh as his blue eyes flickered towards the sight of the animatronics purple top hat— as the animatronic bear was too curled into his knees for the young man to see more than the top of his large head.
"Kinda, yeah," Ruby replied chalantly while softly shrugging her shoulders, before raising a hand up towards the level of her small breasts and telling Michael, "But you know what I mean, don't ya?"
Letting out an amused, albeit quiet, laugh, Michael nodded softly at her with a cathartic grin spreading across his lips. "Yeah… I suppose it's pretty obvious, huh?" Michael mused with a bittersweet sense of nostalgia resonating within him, as he slowly turned his gaze back towards Ruby's gray eyes.
"Well… First and foremost, I'd like to preface what I'm about to tell you with the fact that none of what happened was Fredbear's fault: he was inanimate at the time— lacked any sentience or even an artificial consciousness to act on his own accord," Michael explained to not only to Ruby, but to everyone else in the party room— especially the anxious bear on the floor, who had his face buried between his knees in shame.
Expressing genuine pity in his blue eyes, Michael silently gazed at the animatronic bear's iconic top hat for a few brief moments, before slowly looking back at the intrigued and concerned teenager beside him— his chest warming up and his lips softening, the moment he took notice of the way Ruby was reaching down with one hand to gently pet the top of Frebear's exposed head.
"Where I'm from, there was this… Vision that was shared by my father, and his best friend," Michael began, as he rested his arms over the table. "Combining their innovative ideas and engineering expertise together, they had this idea to create a pizza parlor. But not just any mere pizza parlor, but one that would cater specifically to children— a place where "Fantasy meets Fun," as their motto went."
Although she had her paperwork in order, Miss Piggy found herself becoming more interested in Michael's story than the original purpose as to why they were gathered in the party room, and upon hearing him say the Fredbear's Family Diner motto, she couldn't help but to mused aloud, "Sounds like something Walt would have said, dearie."
Hearing that name spoken, Michael and Ruby, turned their attention across the table to stare inquisitively at the blue-eyed muppet. "Walt…? Who's that supposed to be?" The young man asked with a bewildered look on his face.
Although the response she got was one that she somewhat expected, Miss Piggy couldn't help but to let out a dry chuckle as she shook her head to herself. "Heh…! Nevermind, Mikey— guess Disney wasn't a thing for either of vous, it would seem," Miss Piggy said dismissively, while waving her gloved hand at them.
And while Michael seemed content on moving on from the mentioning of Walt, Ruby furrowed her brows while momentarily rifling through her newfound memories before suddenly bursting out, "I know a "Walter White"! Does that count, Miss Piggy?!"
Seemingly knowing who she was talking about, Miss Piggy remained deadpanned for a few seconds— visibly stunned at what she had just heard— before cautiously asking Ruby, "H… How do vous know who that even is, sweetie…?"
"Oh, I don't really know him personally persay, but I've heard about him from my friend Yang," Ruby replied with an oblivious smile across her face, and told Miss Piggy, "She said she met someone by that name over at New Vegas— said he sold her some jank "Dust" that her tripping balls for a couple days— whatever that means."
Exchanging confused glances with Helpy— who had finally joined them, after delivering an extra-large pizza from the kitchen for all of them to share— Michael turned to raise a brow at Ruby, before asking her, "Is "New Vegas" some sort of location that's here? Or was it some place that existed, back where you were from?"
"Nah, it's a place that's here! Uh, well— not really here-here, cause it's kind of a far off pl- nevermind, y-you know what I'm trying to say," Ruby replied with a giggle, and placed an elbow down on the table to prop her arm up on its surface, before telling him, "It's a massive city in of itself— looks a lot like the Hub, but it's still somehow different in style, I guess? You see, it's in the middle of this big-ass desert called the "Mojave"…"
"But… I don't think it was always called that though. I think it used to be called something else— before some hotshot guy ended up taking control of the area," Ruby continued, and narrowed her eyes for a brief moment, before her facial expression went back to being lackadaisical. "It's a pretty cool place, Michael— you outta come with me sometime to see it!"
Under the impression that Ruby came from a world entirely different from the one Miss Piggy and him more or less had in common with, Michael simply gave the excitable teenager a smile and a nod. "I'll have to take you up on that offer sometime… Whenever we get this place running on its own, that is."
"Eh— no worries! I can help with you that later," Ruby said confidently with bravado in her voice, before leaning her chin against her upraised palm and telling Michael, "Go back to your story though— I wanna hear the rest of it," all while still gently comforting Fredbear by stroking her fingers against his pelt-fur.
Having gotten distracted with the conversation that followed suit after Miss Piggy had accidentally interrupted him, Michael let out an embarrassed laugh as he brought a hand up to his forehead. "Bloody hell…! I damn right forgot where I left off…!"
Before either Ruby or Miss Piggy could remind Michael, it was then that all eyes turned toward the edge of the table at the rising animatronic bear who got up from the floor. Towering above them with an embarrassed and apologetic look on his still ashamed face, Fredbear subvertly gestured at the tantalizing pizza that Helpy had set in the middle of the party table.
"I… I used to perform with my best friend on stage— our stage was a bit like the one here: set up in front of the dining area, with an open space for children to gather around and watch us perform for them," Fredbear explained solemnly with his head still lowered— even as he quietly thanked Helpy, who had brought him a slice of pizza that he slowly took a bite out of.
Swallowing the chewed up food in his mouth, Fredbear stared silently at his slice— letting out a heavy sigh and closing his eyelids softly, as he told everyone in the party room, "I… I, by no means at all, want to excuse myself from what I did to Michael's younger brother— just because I didn't have a soul, or anything of the sort back then, doesn't mean that I don't carry that weight on my shoulders…"
Sensing that there was perhaps a tragedy experienced between the two that she was clearly unaware of, Ruby took a moment to contemplate how she would ask the emotionally fragile bear her question, before finally approaching the situation with finesse as she asked him, "Who was Michael's younger brother, Fredbear? Were you close to him back then?"
Unable to answer Ruby's delicate question immediately, Fredbear took in a sharp, trembling breath of air in through his maw— tears beginning to mat his beige-colored fur, as he nodded his head while trying to recompose himself enough to speak.
"P-Part of m-me does, y-yes," Fredbear whispered out in an emotionally anguished tone, before slowly raising his trembling paw up to point a clawed finger towards the left side of his chest. "R-Right here… This is the part of m-me that remembers Evan the m-most," Fredbear said with a bittersweet smile forming across his muzzle, as he slowly raised his head up to look onward with remorseful eyes toward Michael.
Although he had come to terms with what happened to his younger brother, hearing Evan's name spoken along with having to see firsthand just how devastated Fredbear was of his death brought an unexpected wave of grief throughout the young man's entire being— one that took him by surprise, as he didn't realize that he too had begun shedding his own tears, until he noticed Miss Piggy's hand reaching across the table to offer him a napkin.
"T-Thank you," Michael quietly said with a small smile, all while trying his best to sound unaffected by his own emotions. Wiping his eyes with the disposable napkin, Michael couldn't help but to let out an embarrassed chuckle as he felt Ruby's hand patting him on the back— an attempt to casually comfort him that he appreciated, but wanted to think was unnecessary.
"F… Fredbear," Michael addressed calmly, as he gave the emotionally vulnerable animatronic a reassuring look. "I've already said that I don't blame you for what happened to Evan— that's not your burden to carry, mate."
"I… I know— and words cannot describe just how much that means to me," Fredbear said with a trembling voice, and offered the young man a grateful, albeit sorrowful, smile, before it faded away from his muzzled lips. "But… I d-don't forgive myself, Michael… I-I… I still remember his screams… His cries…!" Fredbear mumbled hauntingly, while his entire body started to shake— appearing as though he was on the brink of having what Michael could only assume was a panic attack of some kind, as the look in his horrified eyes told him just how traumatized the animatronic bear still was.
"H-He used to see me as a comfort…! As his b-best friend…! A-And I killed him…! I-I murdered that p-poor boy and…! I-I…!" Fredbear uttered out, before getting too choked up to continue as he stared at the horrified expressions that were on Ruby's and Miss Piggy's faces.
Falling to his knees and bringing up his paws up to his face, Fredbear began sobbing loudly as the vivid memory of hearing a loud, bone-crushing pop echoed in his newly gifted consciousness. Unable to shake the image of the same crying child who grew to hate and fear him towards the end of his life, Fredbear hysterically mourned for Evan— speaking aloud how sorry he was, despite the ten-year old not actually being there with him.
It took about an hour for the four of them to calm Fredbear enough to usher him up to his stage— Michael sacrificing his own blanket to give the distraught bear something to cling onto, while he quietly cried himself to sleep.
Deciding to move their meeting over to the security office— so as to monitor the party room, if needed— Michael and Ruby stood behind the swivel chair Miss Piggy was occupying, as she sat her stack of papers down on top of the mechanical keyboard.
"Well that was… Heartbreaking, to say the least," Miss Piggy said half-jokingly— so as to lighten the mood first, before beginning to go over her projections and planned business model that she had drafted earlier.
Within the span of an hour, Michael and Ruby both ate their portion of pizza slices while Miss Piggy ran the numbers with them: telling Ruby that in order to fairly give her a portion of what she invested, she would be entitled to.
Requiring an average of at least one-thousand and five-hundred lien in earnings per day to reach their monthly quota of about forty-six thousand and five-hundred lien a month, the business would be left with about five-thousand and five-hundred lien in net income— after paying for Michael's incoming business expenses, and of course, giving all of them a salary to live off of. Including the animatronics, Helpy and Fredbear.
Which left Ruby with a five-percent claim to their left monthly earnings, to which Miss Piggy projected to be roughly around the ballpark of two-hundred and seventy-five lien a month— much to Ruby's mild disappointment.
"Is… Is that good?" Ruby asked with an uneasy expression, to which Miss Piggy nodded her head.
"Think of it this way, sweetie: after twelve months, you'll have more than doubled the amount of money you invested in this business," Miss Piggy explained reassuringly, which immediately dispelled any doubts that Ruby clearly had in her head.
Letting out a relief, Ruby's lips curled up to reveal a toothy grin, as she raised a hand up to press her palm dramatically against her own heart. "Oh thank the light!" Ruby said aloud with a nervous chuckle, before looking over to Michael to tell him, "For a second there, I was beginning to think that Weiss was right about this whole thing being a waste of lien! Uh… N-No offense to anyone here, of course…!"
"None taken," Michael said cooly with his own look of subtle amusement written across his face, and let out a quiet laugh before admitting to Ruby, "Statically speaking, her haunch was sort of warranted: Freddy's historically hasn't had a good track record of success."
Upon hearing that, Ruby's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she stared at Michael in shock. "Y… Y-Ya really shoulda mentioned that before I gave you that much money!"
"Maybe, yeah— but I was really confident in myself, and you were just as eager to invest," Michael sarcastically quipped, and offered the gobsmacked teenager a smug grin before breaking character, and letting out a chortle. "No you're absolutely right, I should have— sorry about that."
Not one to hold unnecessary grudges, Ruby rolled her gray eyes as Michael before brushing it all off with a gracious laugh of her own. "Eh, it's fine, I guess! Hopefully this doesn't end up biting me in the ass though," Ruby said with a glimpse of genuine worry re-emerging in her voice, as she let out another uneasy laugh before suddenly asking Miss Piggy, "Any chance of that return, or whatever, coming back larger than two-hundred and seventy-five lien a month?"
Showing off a prideful smirk that ran across her lips, Miss Piggy grabbed a hold of her stack of papers before offering them to Ruby. "Circling back to Walt… Where I'm from, he was able to build an entertainment empire that brought forth four theme parks into one conglomerate called "Disney World"," Miss Piggy explained, while watching as Ruby attempted to flip through the pages of her paperwork, before visibly getting overwhelmed and immediately passing them off to Michael.
"So long as Mikey here uses the business plan that moi has drafted up, he should be able to follow Walt's footsteps closely enough to emulate his success," Miss Piggy declared confidently, before growing visibly excited on their behalf as she leaned in to eagerly tell Ruby, "If there's one thing all of us have here, it's time! Give Mikey your support, and within a few decades or so, you'll be seeing about seven-million or more lien a month, sweetie— just from passive income alone!"
Although Ruby had no idea what "Disney World" was— other than what her imagination could scrounge together from Miss Piggy's vague description of what it was— the prospect of potentially making millions of lien a month by simply doing nothing was one that sparked ambition within the awe-stricken teenager.
"Holllyyyy, shiiiiiiiiittt-ahhhhhh…!" Ruby muttered in an elongated cadance, as she felt her mind boggling at the thought of becoming a multimillionaire. Turning to face Michael with stars in her eyes while he was preoccupied with skimming through the first few pages of Miss Piggy's business model, Ruby stared at him while beginning to jump up-and-down with excitement— until finally she let out an ecstatic scream of joy, and pounced on him while vigorous shaking him with her powerful arms.
"MICHAAAAEELLLL!!! MICHAELLLL, WE'RE GONNA BE STINKING RICH, MICHAELLL!!! WE'RE GONNA BE FREAKIN' RIIIIICH!!!" Ruby shouted out with a crazed look in her eye, as she let out her inner autismo and began blabbering to the bewildered young man about how far they were going to get together in their afterlives.
Making sure not to drop Miss Piggy's papers, Michael eventually was able to calm down Ruby, only after she had spent her energy spazzing out. With the exhaustion beginning to creep up on the teenager, she started to yawn and grow woozy while doing her best to remain standing awake as Michael turned to gaze down at the pink muppet with a concerned look in his eyes.
"With all of this being so sudden, and with your contact information written down on the second page… I can't help but to feel as though this is your way of leaving us a parting gift," Michael expressed with an understanding tone in his voice, and found his suspicions to be correct as Miss Piggy smiled softly at him before, nodding her head at him.
"Mikey… While vous and moi might have had a… Rough start to our relationship, our time spent together here has been invaluable to me," Miss Piggy explained, while sounding sincerely appreciative of the young man, as she reached up from her chair to gently squeeze his hand.
"Whether vous intended to or not, vous gave moi back something that I thought Kermie took away from moi long, long ago," Miss Piggy said with a heartfelt voice, and paused a bit to collect herself, while seeing the shaken expression of confusion on Michael's face grew two-fold.
"A… And what was that?" He asked quietly, while catching Ruby's tired eyes staring at him with integument, before shifting his focus back down into Miss Piggy's hopeful, and gratuitous gaze.
"My soul, and my freedom," Miss Piggy said in a hollow voice, and felt her heart warming up as she saw just how much of an emotional impact her words had on the stunned man before her.
"I… I'm going back into entertainment, Mikey— I'm gonna make it big again, and find my own success in this brave new world," Miss Piggy revealed with nervous excitement in her voice, and kept holding Michael's hand as she got up from the swivel chair— her blue eyes slowly darting over to the screen of the CRT monitor.
"We… We can't change our past, Mikey… I know that now," Miss Piggy said with a heavy heart, all while silently gazing at the security footage of Fredbear sleeping soundly on stage— the young man's blanket held tightly in his large paws.
"But even so, dearie: we can still change our futures— take control of our own destinies, and find solace with the here-and-now," Miss Piggy declared cathartically, and gently squeezed Michael's hand one more time, before slowly pulling her hand from his.
"Goodbye Mikey; if you need moi, vous knows where and how to find moi," Miss Piggy said with a bittersweet voice, and made sure to give him and the exhausted teenager both heartfelt hugs before gathering her belongings from the security office.
Before being let out of the building, Miss Piggy was given a surprise when Helpy handed her a paper-bouquet of flowers that he had crafted earlier that day. After closer inspection and recoiling after trying to smell it like she would done with roses, Miss Piggy came to the discovery that the small animatronic bear had made her gift entirely out of a well-used porno magazine.
Unable to help but to appreciate the genuinely kind gesture, Miss Piggy made sure to thank Helpy by planting a sloppy kiss on his plastic cheek— making him gush like a schoolgirl, as she left a thick lipstick stain on his face, before departing into the night.
Knowing that Ruby had friends who were expecting her home, Michael sent her home with a large pizza, and thanked her for her help before seeing the teenager off— receiving an exhausted hug from her before she too took off into the night.
Armed with a business model that would ensure his success, Michael locked the double doors once again before taking his "homework" to his desk to stow it away safely. Tomorrow was a new day for him, and he and Helpy would need their rest to conquer it all together.
Author's Note: Three-for-three, baby! Thank you for the continued interest and support you've given to this dumb story of mine! I forgot just how fun writing this stupid thing was lol!
FNAF will never die; we're all too autistic to move on from it.