Chapter Text
Setting the stage
Chapter 1: Five missing children.
The best part about being a spirit was that fact that he had complete access to everything behind the scenes.
Sure, he did miss certain things, he was only a child when he was killed - Technically, he still was - but being a spirit meant that he had access to certain places that other people couldn't go. He could see things that other people believed were kept hidden. He was made aware of things that other people weren't aware of.
Including the deaths of five missing children.
Honestly now, adults were so stupid. Its no wonder the kids went missing at Freddy Fazbear Pizzeria. They were meant to be watching the children, not slacking off when no one was looking. There were camera's stationed around the building, were there not? Surely, they would have seen the children being lead away by a golden rabbit. They would've seen them entering a room that was out of bounds for them. Failing that, they should of checked the place thoroughly. If the kids hadn't left through the front door - because, really now, anybody could of snatched them up if they had left - then they had to be still in the building.
But, no, they couldn't find the children.
Did nobody suspect the rabbit?
Marcus shook his head as he continued to observe the life less bodies before him, taking notice of the particular cuts on the bodies - Cuts which he was all to familiar with. No, they probably didn't suspect him - Not yet, at least. They probably still had questions for him. There again he did see another man enter the room before the rabbit came out, he didn't exactly know who was in the rabbit suit. The murderer could easily frame that man and, by the look of things, that's what he was intending to do.
His fingers traced over the cuts on one of the boy's faces - This one had blonde hair. The cut on his face was much larger than the others, going from the top of his eyebrow to his left check - It just seemed so out of place compared to the others. Maybe the murderer tortured the kids before putting them out of there misery? But, that didn't really explain the small holes on their bodies. Stab wounds were more bigger than that, weren't they? So why were the smaller ones on the kids bodies.
In fact he had noticed a similar hole on his own body - he didn't know how he managed to obtain that. He could remember glimpses of what happened to him before: The birthday party, the man stopping outside of the Pizzeria, the man telling him that he worked at the Pizzeria and that he could get him inside, being lead down an alleyway and being stabbed in the neck.
… He was stabbed in that moment, wasn't he?
He was pretty certain that he was...
…But then why did he remember sitting in a dark room and being tired? Like something was being drained out of him and he had no idea how to stop it.
Whatever, it doesn't matter now. All that matters now was getting his revenge on that man. He had to pay for what he did to him. He wanted to make him suffer. He had taken everything away from him. He was young was he was killed. He had everything to look forward to and that man took it away from it from him.
…Ah. But he was getting ahead of himself, wasn't he? He couldn't just walk into this head first now, could he? He needs a plan, and he needs time to set that plan into motion. If he was dealing with a cunning man then he needs to be one step ahead of him.
Although, it didn't have to end there did it?
Marcus turned away from the bodies as he started to pace. No, it didn't have to end there - he could decided to end it on his own terms, not anybody else's. He was the one in control now. Not the murderer, not Fazbear Entertainment, no one - There were... other people who had wronged him as well. Perhaps he needs to teach them a lesson? Or maybe he just wants to show people who exactly was in charge - the details weren't exactly finalized yet - because, for a business that had been doing well for so many years, things weren't exactly going well lately. But what do you expect when you start to take short cuts?
It was really bad. The members of staff were so neglectful, they did the bare minimum when it comes to cleaning. There was lack of supervision. The animatronics needed repairs badly. He had heard a few complaints about the food - There was something about the pizza tasting like cardboard. There needed to be some serious work to be done if they wanted to bring in more customers - And, bring in more customers means bring in more money.
But they weren't willing to do that. Considering the amount of effort they put into cleaning the place, they would never do something like that. It would take true dedication to fix this place. It would need someone who was truly devoted to the task, someone who was willing to put their time and effort into the task whilst being open to suggestions and change. But Freddy's would never have someone like that. The people around here just didn't seem to care anymore, so long as they got their money they didn't really care about what happens to this place.
It wasn't like that with everyone. Some people still cared about Freddy's. There was one person who he kept observing - this one had chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes - who seemed rather devastated about what was happening around him. Yet, he felt powerless to do something about it. The only thing he could do was follow orders like the good, obedient employee that he was.
Marcus couldn't fault him for something like that.
When he noticed the poster on the wall - this one had three of the four animatronics on it - an idea came to him. If they weren't going to clean this place up... why not speed up the process and get it shut down sooner rather than later? It was inevitable, really. Eventually, somebody was going to find out about this mess - unless the employees and the manager got their acts together and started to fix this place up - then they would have to close the Pizzeria down.
But, given his incorporeal state, he couldn't really do anything about this situation. The only thing he could do was create something paranormal activity which wouldn't work in the long run. He needs something else...
Well, there was nothing wrong with asking for help now, was there?
He eyed the bodies again. He could always ask the children for help, after all there was only so much he could do by himself. It wouldn't take loo long for the kids spirits to appear - he hoped! Maybe he could offer them sanctuary in exchange for there help? If he... told them about what happened to him, maybe they would sympathise with him - with that said, he could go onto linking their stories together. Maybe, if he offered them the chance at getting revenge, they would be willing to help him?
There were some... other details that needed to be taken care off but they didn't need to know about that now, did they?
It didn't take too long for the kids spirits to appear. A few days had passed since they were discovered, and the police did come back... only, they took the wrong man. It wasn't him. He wasn't the one who killed him or the other children. The murderer had dark brown hair and black eyes and he was much more taller than the man who was arrested, the man in question had ginger hair and green eyes.
They had the wrong man!
Marcus growled. Sometimes he hated his incorporeal form. He was powerless to do anything again! He saw what happened. He could of told them about it. Or, at the very least, he could of left some sort of sign that would've pointed them in the right direction.
He would need to do something about his incorporeal state. Maybe he could find something to possess, something that would allow him to move objects or allow him to walk around the building without waiting for night fall. If he was going to shut Freddy's down, or get his revenge on the murderer, then he's going to need some sort of physical body or something similar to that extant. He needed to get up close and person, not linger around behind the scenes for more than he had to.
He had been practicing his abilities whilst he was waiting for the children's spirits to arrive. He could move objects now and, much to his delight, he could move those objects to places where they wouldn't be. He had great pleasure in watching the day staff tidying up the place before the Pizzeria opened, complaining about the sudden mess that was created over night. They blamed it on the animatronics since nobody broke in the night before. That made Marcus smile.
It was the children crying that caught his attention. Thankfully, it was night time now so he could talk to the children without any interruptions. Marcus went back to the room where he found the bodies in. The children were already there as expected. Some of them were either sitting on the floor with their knees brought up to their chins whilst others were curled up on the floor. There were four boys and a girl. Each one of them had different hair colours. One of the boys had ash brown hair, another had dark red hair, the third had chocolate brown hair and the fourth had blonde hair. The girl had blonde hair too but here was much more longer than the boys.
Marcus lingered by the door, unsure of what to do next. He needed to talk to them but they hadn't noticed him just yet. They were too busy muttering words, begging and pleading so that they could go home to see their families. He felt sorry for them. He too had been in the same predicament before once, longing to go home, to see his friends, to see his family.
It was all pointless in the end. Nothing could change what happened to him. His pleas were left unanswered.
Before he could even get close enough to the children, one of them - the boy with red hair - looked up and made eye contact with him. Though, within a instant, fear was present on the boy's face and his eyes widen. Slowly, he started to push himself backwards like he was trying to put some distance between himself and Marcus. The other children noticed this and they turned there attention to him. There was a mixture of fear and curiosity on their faces.
"W-who are you?" The boy with chocolate brown hair asked,.
"Are you going to hurt us?" The girl asked solemnly.
"Have you seen my Mommy?" The redhead asked.
"I want to go home!" The boy with ash brown hair said. His tone was rather demanding.
Marcus raised his left hand. "Hush, children. I mean you no harm."
"That's what he said." The boy with blonde hair replied. His arms were crossed over his body, and he was keeping the boy with chocolate brown hair behind him. It was almost like he was protecting the boy. Too bad he couldn't protect him from the murderer. "He said he had special gift for the birthday boy or girl, and Felix said he wanted to see it. We all went with him but... That man tricked us."
"I know... I saw him do it." Marcus admitted.
"Then why didn't you stop him!" The boy with ash brown hair yelled. "Why did you let him hurt us. Did you really see what happened to us? He used that... that weapon to... to..."
To kill you. Marcus thought but he didn't say it out loud. There's no need to add salt to the wound. He had expected some sort of retaliation. If he could help them he would. But, at that time, he couldn't do anything to help them. Truthfully, he didn't know how to.
"I'm sorry, children. I wish I could of done more for you. I should have saved you yet... I did nothing. And I allowed that man to hurt someone again." Marcus apologised
The girl tilted her head to the side. "Again?"
"I was his first victim." Marcus revealed.
He went over to the table and sat down on it, allowing the children to come near him - expect for the the blonde boy who decided to keep his distance. Revisiting his past had been worrisome for Marcus. Not only was he revisiting old memories, he was also revisiting the day he met the murderer. He hated himself. He hated how weak he was, how easy it has been to manipulated him with promises of sweet delight. He should have known better. He shouldn't have trusted him so easily.
"I met him on the day it was my friend's birthday. It was going to be a wonderful day but then I was locked outside. I tried to everything I could to get back inside but nothing worked. I turned around, then I saw him pulling up in his car." Marcus remembered. "He was rather angry about something, I think he was having problems with his car, but I went towards him anyway. When I caught his attention he seemed surprised to see me."
"Did he say anything to you?" The boy with chocolate brown hair inquired.
"He did. He agreed to help me get inside the Pizzeria once I told him about it." Marcus replied before scowling. "But he lied to me. He told him there a secret door that would take me to a special room inside the Pizzeria filled with games, plushies and cake and that only the nicest of children could go in there."
"That sounds wonderful." The girl said dreamingly.
Marcus nodded. "It does... but it was all a lie. I agreed to go with him and I followed him to a near by alleyway. But it was just a dead end. There was no door, no windows, there was no way to get inside the Pizzeria. Before I could turn around... he killed me."
The room was filled with silence. The children didn't know what to say. How could they? None of them had to deal with this type of news before. And its not like they could do anything about there predicament or the strangers. They were just as trapped as he was. But he wasn't here to hurt them. Perhaps he was here to help them. To guide and to guard them.
As best as they could, they hug him. Marcus was taken aback by such expected generosity. They had no reason to trust him, let alone hug him. He was just a complete stranger to them - nothing more, nothing less. And yet they treated him with such kindness when they had no reason to.
"What are you doing to do now?"
Marcus and the children looked up. The boy with blonde hair was glaring at them, at him. The other children let go of him, the two children who were on the table - the redhead and the boy with chocolate brown hair - removed themselves from the table. Marcus could tell that he was a little standoffish, and almost applauded him for it. He was wise not to trust him, especially after what happened to him.
"What else can I do? Its not like I can change my predicament, but I won't let that get me down." Marcus remarked. "The only thing I can do now is get my revenge on that man."
"Revenge?" The redhead frowned.
"Yes, little one. That man must pay for what he has done. He has stolen something quite valuable from me, from all of you, and I intend to make him suffer for it." Marcus said. "But I cannot do it alone."
"Why not?" The girl asked.
"There's only so much I can do alone, and I cannot deny the man of his talents - whatever they might be. Somehow he has evaded capture and framed someone else for his crimes. And I have a feeling that he had more tricks up his sleeve." Marcus replied. "I'm going to need some help."
The children were all watching him carefully now, intrigued by what he was about to say. Good. They were all listening to him now. They were going to need to listen to what he was about to say.
"I can offer all of you sanctuary, somewhere where you would never be hurt again. All I ask in return is for your help. Help me get my revenge on that man." Marcus told them. "And, as you are doing this, you could do whatever you wanted to. You could cause mischief or mayhem, I don't really mind what you do as this is your home now. And I will do everything my power to protect you from now on. So, will you help me?"
The children didn't answer him. Perhaps, Marcus mused, it was a bit too much for them. It was perfectly understandable. He was offering them so much and in exchange he was asking for so little in return. He was offering them a home and protection and all he wanted in return was a little helping hand. Yet, they had no reason to accept his offer. He was a complete stranger to them. They had no reason to trust him.
But then they turned to the boy with blonde hair and it seemed like they were having a private 'conversation' with him. Curious. It seems that he is the oldest amongst the children. That probably meant that they turned to him for guidance. He would have to keep an eye on that one. He didn't know why but he had a feeling that that one would be troublesome for him. The 'conversation' ended with the other children nodding at the blonde boy and, in return, the blonde was frowning at them. He then met his gaze.
"Alright." The blonde said cautiously. "We'll accept your offer."
Marcus smiled. "Good. Now we can get some proper work done. I can guarantee you will not regret this decision. Now, I believe introductions are in order."
"I'm Gerald." The boy with blonde hair said before gesturing to the boy with chocolate brown hair. "This is my little Brother, Frederick."
"My name's Chloe." The girl told him.
"I'm Felix." The redhead said with a grin.
"Brandon." The boy with ash brown hair said. "But everybody calls me Bran."
"Unless you get into trouble." Chloe chimed in.
Brandon merely shrugged his shoulders in response, clearly unbothered by what Chloe had to say.
"Its a pleasure to meet you all, Children. I'm..." Marcus stopped. He hadn't thought this far ahead yet. He didn't... want to give his real name. There was no need for it. The person who had his name died last year. And now he was starting anew. A new name means a new identity. "My name is Mario."
"Cool." Felix said. "I like it."
"Thank you, Felix." Marcus replied. "Now then we should be going. Morning is fast approaching, and we shouldn't be here when the Pizzeria opens less we be discovered. Follow me, Children. I'll take you to a safe place."
He escorted the children to his place of refuge. He sort of found this place by accident whilst he was practicing his abilities. He was observing the damage he had created whilst he was levitating an object. It revealed an unused room in the Pizzeria that hadn't been used in a long time. It could have been converted into another party room but it was mostly a storage room nowadays.
Ah well. Their loss, his gain.