Saturday, February 11, 1995

While Evan and Mangle had expected to get a bit of recognition following the science fair, they had severely underestimated how big of an impact their presentation and the subsequent TV interview would have.

In a single day, the two became local celebrities. And it wasn't just due to Evan's scientific accomplishment or even Mangle's advanced AI, but also because of the half-true story behind them. As it turned out, the American public found the tale of an inventor creating an animatronic to serve as a companion for his lonely, eight-year-old son, and how said animatronic learned to become more human through their friendship to be incredibly compelling and endearing.

Already on the next day, the local newspaper came by to interview Evan and—much to her delight—Mangle herself. The reporter wanted to know all about them—their history and what kind of people they were. Not only that, but in the days that followed, they were contacted by more major news publications and TV networks, all of which wished to cover their story and interview them.

While Evan understood the benefits of his newfound fame, he ultimately felt like the interviews were a distraction that kept him away from his work. Mangle, on the other hand, relished every moment of it at first and used everything she had learned to present herself as a charming, sharp-witted young woman who merely happened to be a fox animatronic. However, she wound up being disappointed by the coverage, as she would always be portrayed as an incredible piece of technology, but never as a real person.

Evan and Mangle had spent most of the morning being interviewed by a CBS News reporter, who was given a tour of the barn. They regaled the reporter about their half-true past and told him that the barn served as Mangle's room as well as Evan's workspace.

The whole thing had gone quite well, and Mangle had high hopes that CBS would show her in a much better light than the local news outlets and actually talk about her like she was a person rather than just a machine.

Following the interview, the two had enjoyed a nice lunch consisting of some leftover meatloaf from the day before.

They had just finished eating and were putting away their dishes when the phone suddenly rang.

"Ah, looks like someone else is looking for an interview," Mangle remarked. While she had enjoyed being interviewed for the most part, it was starting to become exhausting.

"Yeah, probably," Evan agreed as he set his dishes down. Then, after walking over to and picking up the phone, he said, "Evan Afton speaking."

However, the person on the other end of the line was decidedly not with the news.

"Evan?" A vaguely familiar male voice said. "It's Henry."

The sixteen-year-old was quite taken aback. He hadn't heard from his godfather since he was a little kid. "Oh, uh… Hi, Henry," Evan said awkwardly.

A rueful chuckle could be heard on the other end of the line. "I take it you're surprised to hear from me. I don't blame you, and I do apologize for that."

"No no, it's perfectly understandable given everything you've been through," Evan reassured him. He couldn't help but feel bad for the guy—first he lost his only child, then his wife divorced him, and to add insult to injury, some psycho infiltrated his restaurant, killed a bunch of kids, and stuffed them all inside of the animatronics.

"It… hasn't been easy, to say the least," Henry sighed. "Anyway, the reason I called was because I saw you on the news and I was… completely blown away by what you have accomplished. It's absolutely incredible."

A proud smile spread across the sixteen-year-old's face. "Thank you. Hearing that from you certainly means a lot."

"But I'm not just calling to congratulate you," Henry continued. "I'd like to invite you over to my house. There's something I… There's something you should have."

Evan blinked. "Uh… sure? But, uh, could you provide me with some directions? The last time I was at your house I was about three, so I'm afraid I don't know how to get there."

"Oh, yes, of course." Henry thought for a moment and then gave Evan directions to his residence. "Could you come by around, say, two o'clock?"

"That should be alright," Evan replied. "Provided that I don't get lost, that is."

"Excellent," Henry said. "Oh, and bring that animatronic of yours with you. I would love to see her."

"Will do," Evan replied, eyeing Mangle. "See you soon, Henry."

As the sixteen-year-old hung up the phone, Mangle shot him a questioning look. "Was that Henry Emily?"

"That it was," Evan confirmed with a nod.

"As in the founder of Fazbear Entertainment?" The vixen probed further, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

"The very same," Evan replied. "He asked us to come over."

Mangle looked away and rubbed her elbow. "O-oh…"

Evan gave her a reassuring smile. "Mangle, you don't have to come if you don't want to. But if you do, you have nothing to worry about. There's simply no possibility of him identifying you without a close inspection of your internals, which I would never allow."

The vixen remained silent, seemingly deep in thought. Finally, she turned back to Evan and replied, "No, I should come with. It'll reflect badly on you if I don't. Besides, I think it would be good for me to finally get some closure on that chapter of my life."

"Well, in that case, we should get ourselves ready," the sixteen-year-old said. "He wanted us there at two."

"Right!" Mangle replied with a nod.

As Evan and Mangle made their way to Henry's house it became abundantly clear to them just how big of an impact the news coverage of them had left on the public at large. Most people no longer reacted to Mangle as if she was just some animatronic that Evan brought along with him, but instead acted as if she was his pet unicorn. While this was certainly an improvement, it was a far cry from what Mangle truly deserved. Even so, the difference had done wonders for her self-esteem. As they walked through town, she held her head high, occasionally smiling at onlookers in a way that was subtly condescending. It was obvious that she enjoyed the attention, but was fully aware of how people viewed her.

Watching her, Evan couldn't help but to smirk. Mangle knew her own worth, and while she was always polite, she didn't take crap from anyone.

Having finally reached Henry's house, which was really more of a mansion, Evan was struck with how lifeless it looked. While his memories of this place were vague at best, he could recall how vibrant and beautiful the yard used to be—a sharp contrast to the unkempt and overgrown grounds welcoming them. The condition of the mansion itself wasn't much better, as it looked like it was halfway towards becoming a stereotypical haunted house.

Evan and Mangle walked along the overgrown path leading to the front door and then rang the doorbell.

From what Evan could recall from his earliest memories and the various photographs he'd seen, Henry Emily was akin to an affable Santa Claus—in fact, he was fairly certain that he had actually dressed up as Santa Claus once. However, the man who greeted them at the door looked anything but. His body was gaunt as if he was undernourished, his skin was so pale that it was easy to think that he had never before been exposed to sunlight, and his eyes—which were filled with regret—were turned completely inward.

With a nostalgic, yet saddened smile, the man said, "Hello, Evan. It's good to see you again after all these years."

Evan opened his mouth and then closed it. The polite thing to say would've been 'likewise' of course, but he knew that was a lie. Instead, his gaze drifted to the ground and he replied, "I… I wish I could say the same, but the truth is that you're almost like a complete stranger to me."

Henry frowned, his eyes filled with regret. "I apologize for that. I really do. But hopefully I can make up for it… Some of it, at least." He then looked at the vixen and his expression brightened somewhat. "So this is your creation. She's absolutely magnificent."

A smile spread across Mangle's face upon hearing that. Putting her hand on her hip, she replied, "Thanks! The name's Mangle, by the way."

With an amused smile, Henry replied, "Hello, Mangle. I'm Henry. Pleased to meet you." He then returned his gaze to Evan and gestured for both of them to come inside. "Now why don't you two come in?"

The inside of Henry's mansion was in an even worse state than the outside. The one thing Evan remembered most clearly about Henry was how colorful and full of life his home was, but now it looked more like a tomb—the curtains were closed, blocking all natural light, making everything look faded and lifeless, and plastic covered most of the furniture as if they now only existed to be preserved.

"Come," said Henry and gestured for Evan and Mangle to follow. "Let's go to my office."

As he led them upstairs, Henry continued, "When I saw you on the news last night, I was absolutely amazed. Had someone told me just a couple of days ago that a robot like Mangle would be created within thirty years, I would've laughed them out of the room, and yet you and William were able to do it before the turn of the century. Absolutely astonishing." He glanced back at Evan. "How is your father, by the way?"

"He seems… relatively fine, considering everything that's happened," Evan replied. "His work takes up most of his time, but he still makes sure to spend some time with us everyday."

"Good. That's… good," Henry said with a brief smile.

Evan glanced at Mangle, who seemed to be a bit on edge. He then asked Henry, "If you don't mind me asking, whatever happened to the Toy animatronics?"

"Why do you ask?" Henry replied with a quizzical expression on his face.

"Well, as you may or may not have heard, Mangle was based on Toy Foxy, who I was rather fond of as a child," Evan lied. "Given how abruptly Freddy's closed down in 87, it left me wondering about the fate of the animatronics."

"That's understandable, and I do feel quite honored that you based your magnificent creation on my Toy Foxy," Henry replied. "As for the animatronics of 87, most of them were decommissioned and placed in storage. The only exception was one that was unaccounted for…"

Evan felt a knot in his stomach. He wasn't surprised, however. Of course Mangle would be unaccounted fo—

"... the Security Puppet," Henry continued, completely oblivious to the confused glances Evan and Mangle shared with each other. "The damn thing just up and disappeared at some point during or after the incident. My guess is that some employee stole it during all of the chaos and confusion."

Evan and Mangle looked at each other. While it was certainly a relief to hear that the other Toy animatronics hadn't been destroyed and that Fazbear wasn't even on the lookout for the vixen, they couldn't help but wonder how she could've been accounted for when she hadn't even been there to be decommissioned.

Nevertheless, this revelation seemed to have put Mangle's mind at ease, as she seemed much more relaxed now.

Finally they reached Henry's office, which was by far the most well-used and lived-in room Evan had seen so far in the mansion.

"Please, take a seat," Henry said and gestured towards the chairs facing his desk.

Evan and Mangle sat down in the chairs, while Henry sat down on the opposite side of the desk.

"So what was it you wanted to show me?" The sixteen-year-old asked.

"Straight to business, eh?" Henry said, raising his brow.

Evan let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "My apologies. I'm not used to… this kind of thing."

"You mean catching up?" Henry asked somewhat surprised.

"Yes, I suppose. I'm not very good at interacting with humans, I'm afraid," Evan admitted. "I haven't had much practice, so I'm not too familiar with the various… pleasantries that are expected in situations like this."

Henry huffed a laugh. "No kidding."

Mangle then spoke up. "This would be one of the reasons why he wants me to run the business when William finally retires." She smiled at the sixteen-year-old as she gently took his hand and squeezed it affectionately. "He's probably the smartest man in the world, but he needs someone like me to handle the…" She smiled playfully. "... pleasantries."

Evan smiled back at her. It was nice knowing she had his back whenever he fumbled like this.

A smile flashed briefly across Henry's lips as he regarded the vixen. He then returned his gaze to the sixteen-year-old and said, "Yet another example of how charming and intelligent your creation is."

Evan frowned. "She's not just my creation—she's her own person."

"Of course, of course," Henry replied, but it was obvious that he didn't believe him. "And that's what I like about you, Evan. You're a dreamer—a true dreamer—and that's why I want to make you the beneficiary of Charlie's college fund."

As much as Evan didn't like what Henry was insinuating by calling him a dreamer, he couldn't help but to be taken aback. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Henry assured him with a proud yet nostalgic smile. "I can think of no one more deserving of it than you."

"Are you… absolutely sure about this?" Evan asked, still in disbelief. "I mean, I am the heir to your direct competitor, after all."

Henry looked away and scoffed. "Fazbear's not my company anymore. Sure, I may be its founder and a major shareholder, but I no longer have any real control of it. It's become yet another company run by people who care for nothing but the bottom line." He returned his gaze to Evan. "Do you know what they're in the process of doing now?"

The sixteen-year-old shook his head.

"They're opening a new restaurant in Saint George, but the new animatronics are all just overly simple machines bolted to the floor," Henry ranted. "Do you know why?"

Before Evan had a chance to respond, Mangle replied, "Because it's cheaper and safer?"

"Exactly." Henry let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you know the slogan for Fazbear Entertainment?"

Evan tried to recall it, but he was drawing a blank. Instead, Mangle replied, "A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life."

Henry nodded somberly. "Back when I came up with that slogan, it was meant to be the mission statement of the company, but now it has become nothing but a sales pitch." He added, "So you see, I couldn't care less about what happens to Fazbear. In fact, I would love nothing more than to see it driven to bankruptcy by a competitor led by someone like you."

Mangle suggested, "If it ever comes to that, we could buy up Fazbear Entertainment and realign it to your mission statement. You know, as a way to honor your generous contribution."

"I'd like that," Henry replied with a slight smile before turning to Evan. "You know, I always held out hope that William would get over his pride and join Fazbear, so it would feel quite appropriate if you and your creation finally manage to unite our companies one day."

"Well… hopefully we'll get a chance to do so," Evan replied. "Anyway, thank you so much for this gift, Henry. I promise to do my best to… honor Charlie's memory."

"I appreciate that, Evan," Henry replied with a nostalgic smile.