Chapter Text
Night 1
RING RING
“Okay, I wasn’t expecting this.” Morand muttered at the ringing sound that had signalled the start of their nights.
“Expect the unexpected.” Davout answered, briefly trying to check the camera.
“I think you should have the honor of answering it, Monsieur Gudin.” Trobriand turned to the older man. Reverently, the General picked up the device. He cleaned his throat.
“Greetings, this is General Charles-Etienne Gudin.”
“Uh, hello? Hello, hello?”
It was that familiar voice.
“It’s him!” Gudin laughed.
“I thought he died.” Morand narrowed his eyes.
“He got better it seems.” Oudinot replied, scratching his chin.
“Uh, hello and welcome to your new summer job at the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Uh, I'm here to talk you through some of the things you can expect to see during your first week here, and to help you get started down this new and exciting career path.”
Davout scoffed.
“Speaking like nothing happened.”
“Uh, now I want you to forget anything you may have heard... About the old location, you know.”
“It was an unforgottable experience.” Trobriand smirked bitterly.
“Uh, some people still have a somewhat… negative impression of the company...”
“Don’t call me out like that.” Morand jumped in.
“Hush.” Gudin replied in turn, eagerly listening to the helpful voice.
“Uh... that old restaurant was kind of left to rot for quite a while, but I-I want to reassure you: Fazbear Entertainment is committed to family fun and above all, safety.”
“Ah hah hah hah haa!” Morand laughed out loud, almost dropping his tablet.
“Wait, old restaurant?” Trobriand questioned. Davout gave a knowing glance at his aide.
“They've spent a small fortune on these new animatronics. Uh, facial recognition, advanced mobility… They even let them walk around during the day! Heh, isn’t that neat?”
“Uh huh. So long as they don’t bite.” Oudinot crossed his arms.
The voice cleaned his throat.
“But most importantly, they're all tied into some kind of criminal database, so...”
“We’re all men of clean records, right?” Gudin questioned.
Davout though about his actions during the Revolution, both against Royalists and Revolutionaries.
“Yeah.” He answered simply.
“Aside from throwing some hot beans at some Jacobins, I suppose so.” Oudinot shrugged.
“I was a lawyer, so of course.” Morand boasted with not-so hidden pride.
“Lawyers are inherently soulless though.” Oudinot responded.
“I passed the bar when I was twenty, and I’ll have you know I only sold my hours of sleep.” Morand seethed.
“My sole crime is being roguishly charming and charmingly roguish!” Trobriand gave a flourish.
Davout smacked the young aide upside the head.
“…They can detect a predator a mile away. Heck, we should be paying them to guard you!”
Morand’s eye twitched slightly.
“Oh hey, it turned 1AM.” Trobriand noted, pointing at a screen.
“Really? Huh, time flew so fast.” Oudinot looked at the camera. Static.
“And this guy yapped for an hour.” Davout murmured under his breath.
“Uh, now that being said, no new system's without its...kinks.”
“Here it comes, our new pains in the rear.” Morand raised his hands.
“Uh... you're only the second guard to work at that location.”
“Wait, didn’t this place just open?” Gudin tilted his head.
“And we are presumably only ones to live to tell the tale.” Davout agreed.
“No, did you forget, the guy just said they had moved on to other things.” Morand mocked, mimicking the voice.
“Uh, the first guy finished his week, but complained about...conditions.”
“Two guesses on what they were.” Trobriand pressed his lips together.
“Uh, we switched him over to the day shift. So, hey lucky you, right?”
“Gudin, I’m gonna break your heart, but I want to stuff this guy in a suit myself.” Morand grounded his teeth.
Gudin looked horrified.
“Uh, mainly he expressed concern that certain characters seemed to move around at night, and even attempted to get into his office.”
Davout exhaled in a manner that heavily implied that he was thinking ‘no shit’.
“Are we sure this guy isn’t Kellermann?”
“But he is about your age.” Oudinot answered.
“I’m talking about the senior, idiot. One who is even older than Brunswick.”
“My bad.”
“Now, from what we know that should be impossible. Uh, that restaurant should be the safest place on Earth. So while our engineers don't really have an explanation for this, the working theory is that...”
“Dead kids haunting them.” Morand answered.
“But we freed them…” Gudin looked troubled.
“Did we fail somehow?” Trobriand rubbed his chin.
“...The robots were never given a proper night mode. So when it gets quiet, they think they're in the wrong room, so then they go try to find where the people are, and in this case, that's your office.”
“Yeah…” Davout muttered, tired of hearing things that he already knew and were proven wrong.
“So our temporary solution is this: There's a music box over by the prize counter, and it's rigged to be wound up remotely. So just every once in a while, switch over to the prize counter video feed and wind it up for a few seconds. It doesn't seem to affect all of the animatronics, but it does affect... One of them.”
The voice cleaned his throat again, uncomfortable.
“Hey, we did hear music when we entered, right?” Oudinot snapped his finger.
“Yes.” Morand opened his mouth but closed it when he realized something. “Since this guy is afraid of that animatronic and the music was playing before the night even started…”
Davout’s eyes widened slightly.
“Morand, I know you might not believe me but this is the first time I’m actually praying that you are wrong.”
“A week ago, I wouldn’t have believed you.” The younger man replied.
Gudin smiled a little at how those two got closer.
“…Uh, and as for the rest of them we have an even easier solution. You see there may be a minor... Glitch in the system, something about robots seeing you as an endoskeleton without his costume on, and wanting to stuff you into a suit.”
“Come on man, even this guy realizes we already know those things.” Oudinot laughed.
“He has first hand experience after all.” Morand said as he played with a few strands of his hair.
“He is the second guy I know who came back from the dead.” Trobriand joked.
“And it’s now 2AM.” Gudin said, trying to remain professional.
“So hey, we've given you an empty Freddy Fazbear head! Problem solved! You can put it on anytime, and leave it on for as long as you want. Eventually anything that wandered in, will wander back out.”
“We’d be stuffed by a quarter so they’re going to get the other pieces.” Morand theorized sardonically.
“Uh, something else worth mentioning is kind of the quirky modern design of the building. You may have noticed there are no doors for you to close, heh.”
“If Kleber were here, he would have a made more comprehensible place.” Morand glared at the open corridor.
“Knowing Kleber, he designed this place.” The Iron Marshal huffed.
“Uh, but hey, you have a light! And even though your flashlight can run out of power, the building cannot. So, don't worry about the place going dark.”
“He does make a solid point, our main problem was the lights going out in the previous week.” Trobriand nodded.
“Our gentleman here is reliable as always.” Gudin smiled.
“Gudin… You’re too good for your own good.” Oudinot sighed.
“Well, I think that's it. Uh, you should be golden.”
Trobriand choked.
“Uh, check the lights, put on the Freddy head if you need to, uh, keep the music box wound up, piece of cake. Have a good night, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Good night Monsieur, it was so excellent to hear your voice again!” Gudin replied cheerfully.
“Wonder how long he will last this time.” Davout commented, hitting his tablet as it still showed static. “Longer than us if this doesn’t work.”
“Don’t break it, Davout.” Morand warned. “Or we’re gonna have to pay for it. In money, specifically.”
“Nah, our families will pay. After the funeral.” Oudinot used the flashlight on the corridor. Nothing. “Seriously, what’s the deal with the camera though?”
“Monsieur Friant, you’ve been very quiet, perhaps you might-“ Trobriand was cut off when he turned to see that the General in question was still as a statue, his head hanging low and limp.
“Monsieur?!” The aide jumped out of his chair to rush to the man’s side. Oudinot turned to his close friend, shaking him vigorously, perhaps stronger than it was necessary.
“Louis!?”
Davout and Gudin got out of their spot to check out their colleague. Morand stayed seated to make sure at least one person was on duty, though he threw a worried glance at the group. Gudin looked around if there was any water, medicine or anything that might help. As expected of this uncaring hellspawn of a restaurant, none were present.
“Monsieur Friant, please wake up!” He could only cry out helplessly.
Davout raised Friant’s head, holding it with his hands, checking whether he was breathing.
“I swear to God, if this is just the start I’m gonna burn this place-“ His threat ended when he saw Friant opening his eyes with a frightened gasp. Before Davout could feel relief, a strong punch from Friant landed on his nose, sending him staggering backwards to the desk.
Trobriand left Friant to care for Davout while Gudin and Oudinot held Friant down.
“Calm down, Monsieur!” Gudin tried to reassure his comrade-in-arms. “Trust me, you’re with your friends!”
“I… You…” The old general mumbled.
“You’re safe, Friant!” Oudinot smiled.
“Not for long if you all don’t return!” Morand called out, sweat starting to pour from his forehead.
Friant, uncharacteristically ashamed, looked at Davout.
“Davout, I’m sorry.”
“You’re okay?” Davout asked, wiping his nose with a handkerchief Trobriand offered.
“I guess.”
The Iron Marshal nodded.
“That’s all that matters.”
“Guys, now there is an orange sign.” Morand tapped the screen rapidly in a nervous attempt to do something. “We already had some cheesiness hours ago.” He muttered under his breath
Back in the mood, the group settled back on their chairs, their faces buried towards the cameras, which now worked, showing images of the restaurant.
“We’re in.” Trobriand said.
“Alright, the sign is flashing here.” Gudin clicked on the spot. The Prize Corner.
“This is what the guy was talking about, with the box and all.” Trobriand continued.
“And it’s nearly empty.” Davout pointed at a circle. With his click, it started to fill up.
“So that’s how it’s wound up.” Friant said.
“Well, if you were listening-” Morand stopped himself.
“What happened back there, Louis?” Oudinot asked.
“…Let’s check on the creatures first.” Friant replied.
“It just turned 3AM.” Gudin noted, a sigh of relief leaving his lips.
“We’re halfway through the night and it already feels like we ended the week.” Morand shook his head. Narrowing his eyes, he could see the silhouette of something very slender going lower and lower before disappearing. He shuddered but decided not to mention to give the illusion he wasn’t completely scared.
“Most of them should be active now, if our past experience is to go by.” Davout commented, flinching a bit as a small wave of pain flooded his nose.
“I think this should be the main area and they are… Still there. Huh.” Trobriand said, looking at the animatronics, their eyes hidden behind the shadows.
“I guess the first night will not be that bad after all.” Gudin said, smiling confidently.
Oudinot shifted nervously.
“Okay, since they don’t seem active… Can we talk about you, Friant?”
Friant leaned back in his chair, considering the suggestion.
“…Alright. I closed my eyes for a second and-“
A sound stopped him. Footsteps, heavy but quick.
“Oh man…” Trobriand whined.
“Here we go again…” Morand ran his hand over his face tiredly.
The group clicked through the cameras, hoping to see the origin of the sound. Inconveniently for them, most of the cameras showed darkness, conveniently for the creatures.
“I hate this place already.” Friant muttered.
“Me too.” Davout agreed.
“So we just have to guess where they are.” Oudinot frowned.
“Actually, I have an idea. Monsieur Morand, can you hand me the flashlight?” Trobriand played with his moustache. With a quizzical look, Morand handed the tool over. Holding the flashlight in one hand and the tablet in the other, the aide flashed the screen. Surprising them all, the area got brighter, getting rid of the darkness.
“How does this crap even work?” Davout grumbled. “I hate this place even more now.”
“At least we aren’t blind now.” Gudin offered.
“Davout still is.” Morand snickered.
“I found it!” Trobriand yelled. There it was, the animatronic. A light blue bunny, with shiny green eyes staring directly at camera, a fancy guitar in his hands, perhaps as a weapon meant to be plunged into their hearts.
“I’m gonna hand you to it if you continue your comments, Morand.” Davout side-eyed his subordinate, a small lighthearted smirk on his face.
“And there goes the peace treaty.” Morand fired back, amused.
“Don’t forget the box.” Trobriand reminded.
Switching the screen, III Corps wound the music box. As the circle filled up, they heard footsteps again.
“The show Stage.” Davout ordered. Different-looking Freddy and Chica were still there.
“We looked away for a second and he already moved. What an opportunistic little bastard.” Oudinot said, offended.
“Christ.” Morand leaned back a bit, as he switched the screen to see that Bonnie buried his face to the camera, eyes emotionless as it peered at them.
“Brings back memories.” Friant replied as he used the flashlight towards the camera. The animatronic ever so slightly twitched. “Hmm.”
“The box.” Gudin reminded.
“Come on, that circle is barely empty. No need to be so neurotic.” Morand rolled his eyes.
More footsteps. The atmosphere in the office changed, an unnatural sense of dread creeping up on them.
“Where..?” Trobriand mumbled. It only took a second for him to find Bonnie. It was on its knees, near on open vent, still staring at the camera. Taunting them, no doubt.
Davout looked closer at the camera.
“That vent has a direct route to our office.” He said calmly.
“Without a door to hold it off.” Friant muttered, annoyed.
“We got those heads.” Oudinot pointed out.
“Still, it would be better if that lowlife doesn’t come anywhere near here.” Morand replied.
“Agreed.” Davout nodded.
“It is now 4AM.” Gudin said, just loud enough for all of them to hear.
“Huh, we just might survive.” Morand commented
“Did Freddy and Chica move?” Friant asked, remembering the other threats.
“Let’s see… No, surprisingly.” Davout replied, the animatronics in question still looking lifeless as ever. They switched to the Prize Corner to wind up the music box. They heard another sound. This one was louder, more metallic and closer.
“Please don’t be in the vent.” Trobriand begged as he switched to the camera that was in the vent. The answer for his begging was pure disappointment, as Bonnie was indeed in the vent. The robot banged its head against the top of the vent when the light hit its face.
“It seems to react to light.” Gudin noticed. “Perhaps that could help us.”
“I don’t know, it might make it angrier, if twitching is anything to go by.” Morand shook his head.
“I noticed that as well.” Friant jumped in. “But yeah, until we get confirmation, I say we don’t risk it.”
“I would say it’s worth a shot.” Davout shrugged. “Besides, we have the masks if it gets here.”
“It’s now 5AM.” Oudinot said, a bit shocked. “This job and place make me lose all my sense of time.” He grumbled.
“Friant, keep clicking that light button on your side.” Davout pointed towards the vent. “We shouldn’t be caught unaware.”
“Got it.” Friant gave a small nod and pushed the button with a 2 second interval. “Why do I have a feeling this thing has power that’s running out as well?”
“The gentleman in the device told us it didn’t require power, Monsieur.” Gudin defended his unseen friend.
“He died. I don’t take advice from the defeated.” Morand sneered.
“…But he is alive.” Gudin answered.
“Yeah…” Morand played with his collar, this detail in particular was gnawing at him since he heard that voice. “Still, we survived an onslaught, so I trust us more than him.”
“Definitely!” Trobriand jumped in, grinning. It disappeared slightly as he heard footsteps.
“Doesn’t sound like the vent.” Davout adjusted his glasses.
“So someone else moved. Possibly Chica, if the previous rules apply.” Trobriand said as he switched to the Show Stage. As he had thought, the chicken had left. Since it wasn’t hidden behind the darkness, Trobriand easily found the missing animatronic in the hall. It was partially hidden in the shadows. Using the flashlight, Trobriand could now see its face. Its eyes and beak were gone, in the absance of eyes there were only sharp bright white lights. The removal of the latter giving it what seemed like a bloodthirsty smile.
“Nope.” The aide said as he quickly switched to the Prize Corner to wind up the music box.
“That chicken is going to be trouble again.” Davout theorized darkly.
“Their new appearance makes it even worse in my opinion.” Gudin said. “They look so… ‘perfect’ that it is off-putting.”
“Others were at least clear about being mindless savages.” Oudinot joked.
“Not completely mindless.” Trobriand reminded. Oudinot looked uneasy.
“Be careful with that light, a quarter of it is gone.” Davout warned as Morand used it on the hallway to make sure nothing was there. Morand only smirked in reply.
“No need for that, as you can see…” Morand gestured to a box that showed hour.
6AM.
“…We survived the night.”
Trobriand jumped and clapped.
“Hell yeah!”
“That was certainly a night.” Oudinot scratched an old scar on his forehead.
“Indeed.” Friant agreed.
“I knew we could do it.” Gudin smiled as he walked into hallway with others. “This is nothing compared to our last night.”
Unlike the last place, this place was already swarming with children and their parents, whom seemed to ignore men in unusual uniforms. Soldiers of III Corps didn’t mind being invisible to them. They left the restaurant and got on Davout’s carriage.
“So.” The Iron Marshal crossed his arms, looking at Friant.
Friant understood what his commander meant. He sighed.
“…There was that fox.” He answered quietly.
Trobriand raised his eyebrows. That was certainly unusual. But then, what wasn’t unusual regarding any of this?
“Go on.” The aide urged.
“That’s all there was to it. I had closed my eyes for just a second and there it was, staring at me without any eyes.”
“…So you just had a nightmare?” Morand asked, though without any malice.
“I didn’t fall asleep.” Friant defended himself.
“Hallucination then.” Morand guessed.
“It might be. I also had some visions like that on the previous place.” Trobriand added in his own opinion.
“Right at the beginning of the night. This feels like a sabotage.” Davout rubbed his chin.
“Perhaps. But as long as you’re alright we shouldn’t let it demoralize us.” Gudin said, smiling at the older man. Friant gave a small smile in return.
“Thanks.”
“Can we go home now?” Trobriand asked sweetly.
“Yes.” Davout raised his finger. “We are going to come here early tonight. I have an idea about these vents.”
“Of course you do.” Morand muttered.
“What was that?” Davout turned towards the younger man. “You volunteered to take a direct role for my strategy? How selfless, brave and honorable of you, my dear Morand.” Davout gave a wide, mocking toothy smile.
Morand’s eye twitched.
“…Goddamn it.”
It was a perfect day for another show! He peeked through the curtain. Five children, jumping up and down, yelling his name. He saw the command.
Go! Go! Go!
He ran as fast as he could out of his cove. Confetti dropped as he entered. Children gathered around him. Life of the party was here!
Another round, another time of joy. He peeked through the curtain. Five crewmates were still there. He has always been the favorite of everyone, as expected of a great pirate!
Go! Go! Go!
He ran, children celebrated his arrival. One asked for treasure, another one threw the confetti all over the place. Another hugged him, telling him he wanted to be a pirate just like him.
A final run, just before the day ended. He peeked through the curtains.
Where were they?
He looked around. He saw Him. Smiling, as joyful as the children themselves.
And worst of all, it was a genuine smile.
Go! Go! Go!
He ran, this time faster than unusual. He slowed down as he finally saw them.
They were not jumping around. They were not celebrating. They were not smiling.