Chapter Text
Click . The sound of a tape recorder being turned on echoed through the empty parking lot. A teenage girl, no older than 17, stood near a rather beat up, old car, clutching the tape recorder in her hand. She cleared her throat before speaking. “Recording of Cassidy Alexander, currently investigating one ‘new and improved’ Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza,” she began, as she started walking towards the pizzeria in question. Its facade was dark, it was clearly closed. The only things illuminating the parking lot were a few sparsely placed streetlights. “It is currently… 11:50PM, and I am here at the request of one William Afton. His son, Michael, disappeared here back in 1985, along with four other kids.”
She was now in front of the building. It was a newer building, with tan stucco walls and a green roof. A line of black and white checkered tiles wrapped around the building at about Cassidy’s waist. Standing in front of the glass doors, peering into the darkened building, Cassidy couldn’t help but feel uneasy. There was certainly something off about the place, but she wasn’t quite sure she could place it.
“Since the incident two years ago, there have been rumors of the animatronics moving at night. Rumors of them killing you if they catch you. This is somewhat supported by the amount of people who have disappeared after applying to be night guards at the establishment. Admittedly, I wasn’t expecting Mr. Afton to ask me to investigate the place. But, money is money, so I’ll do what I can.” Cassidy pulled a key out from the pocket of her skirt, placing it into the lock on the doors. The doors unlocked with a satisfying click. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that ghosts like to come out at midnight.”
Upon opening the doors, Cassidy was immediately hit with a wave of emotional energy. A wave of rage. She felt her stomach drop as she looked over at the animatronics on stage. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica, no longer the plush robots of her childhood, were still just as consumed with this overwhelming fury as they had been the last time she’d seen them. Static echoed from the room across from the stage, and Cassidy decided to check it out. Quietly, into her tape recorder, Cassidy said, “The animatronics have this overwhelming feeling of rage to them, but I can’t see any spirits attached to them. Something in here is very upset, and I want to figure out what it is.”
Before Cassidy could make it to the room adjacent to the one she was in, she felt something grab her shoulder. Upon turning to look at it, she found herself staring up at a teary-eyed mask. Cassidy stumbled back, letting out a frightened shriek before sprinting off. As she ran, she saw out of the corner of her eye that all three of the plastic animatronics had turned to stare at her. Frantically, she began searching for a place to hide, eventually darting into one of the party rooms. Pulling out a pocket flashlight and shining it around, however, revealed someone with her. The silhouette of a young boy became illuminated in the corner of the room.
“Hey.” The young boy spoke with surprising calmness, and a slight British accent. “Why are you here?” Cassidy found herself unable to respond, utterly baffled as to how a kid made it in here when the doors to the building were locked, and even more puzzled as to why he was so calm about the whole thing.
“Who… what…?” Cassidy began to try to formulate her questions before the boy cut her off.
“Shhh. Quick, hide under the table. Toy Bonnie is coming.” And with that, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her under the table. Cassidy held her breath as she heard the mechanical clunking of plastic feet grow near to her.
“Turn your flashlight off. He’ll pick up on the light,” the boy whispered. Cassidy did as she was told, turning the flashlight off and surrounding the duo in darkness. Now in the pitch black darkness, Cassidy could only listen in horror as the footsteps grew closer and closer to where she was hiding.
“Oh, birthday girl~!” A high pitched male voice rang out, which Cassidy could only assume was Toy Bonnie. “Birthday girl! I just want to play! Play with your guts . Grown ups aren’t allowed at night! Last time they were… last time they were! They did not leave! We did not let them!” Cassidy covered her mouth as her eyes adjusted to the near pitch darkness, only to see the blue, plastic feet of the rabbit animatronic were right beside her. The animatronic, however, didn’t seem to care to look under the table, and eventually stomped out of the room.
“Holy shit.” Cassidy said softly, letting out a relieved sigh. She looked to her side to see the boy who had helped her in order to thank him, but he was gone. Cassidy’s stomach dropped. That kid was a ghost. The place really was haunted. A ghost had just saved her life.
But now wasn't the time to think about that. Cassidy could still hear thudding in the hallway outside of the party room, as well as the voice of another animatronic. This voice was more girlish, in a cutesy, slightly annoying way. Cassidy assumed this was the voice of Toy Chica.
“Birthday girl! Come on out, we just want- want- want to take a bite . Come on, we won’t hurt you unless you keep hiding . I have cupcakes!” This was bad. Cassidy could hear her just outside the door to the room she was cowering in. Looking around frantically, Cassidy’s eyes landed on a large vent on the far side of the room. It looked big enough for her to crawl into, and so, steeling her nerves, she began carefully crawling across the floor to the vent.
“Birthday girl! Come on! It’s time to party! Don’t you want to celebrate your birt- funeral ?” Cassidy could hear the door to the party room opening just as she crammed herself into the vent. She tried her best to control her breathing, feeling panic welling up in her chest. Cassidy normally wasn’t scared when she went on ventures like this, but this was different. Normally her life wasn’t in danger. It was now. Shifting so that she was on her hands and knees, Cassidy began trying to quietly crawl through the vents. The vents, however, bent and warped under her weight, causing each movement she made to make a metallic thud. Looking back, she could see glowing white eyes whip towards the vent. Now knowing her hiding spot had been compromised, Cassidy began crawling as quickly as she could through the vents. Had the situation been different, the tight squeeze would have stressed her out. Tonight, though, there were more notable things to worry about.
After a few seconds of crawling, Cassidy reached a fork in the vents, with one path going to the right and the other to the left. Behind her, she could hear metallic thudding. Toy Chica had followed her into the vent. A voice rang out to her right, the same voice she’d heard earlier. The ghost boy.
“This way! I already told Charlie to call them off if she can. Just follow my voice! Hurry!” The boy sounded more frantic than before, and Cassidy could understand why. She began crawling for her life down the right vent, trying her best not to sneeze from the dust she was kicking up.
“This way! Come on, you’re almost out!” The boy said encouragingly. A few moments later, Cassidy tumbled out of the vent system and onto cold tile flooring. The static sound she’d heard earlier was back, and far louder than before. Turning to look at the source of the sound, Cassidy found herself staring at a mangled mess of parts. Her eyes widened and she froze in shock as the thing turned to look at her.
“Ignore Mangle. Follow me!” Cassidy turned to look at where the voice was coming from, her eyes landing on the same silhouette she’d seen before. She got up quickly and the boy began running off, leaving Cassidy to sprint after him. He left the room she’d tumbled into and made his way through the main dining area and towards the hallway she’d run through before. Looking at the main stage, Cassidy felt her heart drop as she saw that none of the toy animatronics were onstage.
“Come on! Hurry!” The boy was now standing outside of the girl’s bathroom. “Hide in there! I’ll tell you when it’s safe!” Cassidy found herself internally questioning whether or not this was a good idea, but she did as she was told, as she couldn’t really think of a better option. She threw the door to the bathroom and bolted into a stall, quickly locking it and pulling herself into a crouching position on the toilet. Only a few moments later, she heard something else enter the bathroom.
“Birthday girl! You’re gonna miss the party!” A deeper, goofy-sounding voice called out. Toy Freddy, Cassidy assumed. “Come on, birthday girl! We have can- lives to snuff out . Come on! Join the party! There’s so much fun to be had!” A loud bang echoed through the bathroom as the stall door next to the one Cassidy was hiding in was forcefully thrown open. “Are we going to play hide and seek now? How fun! But I always win the games I play!”
Cassidy could now see the brown plastic feet of her mechanical attacker standing right in front of her hiding spot. A loud bang echoed through the bathroom again as the lock on the door gave under the strength of the mechanical bear, causing the door to swing open violently and reveal Cassidy’s quivering form.
“There you are, birthday girl! Let me show you to the party!” With that, Toy Freddy grabbed Cassidy by the back of her sweater, hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Cassidy punched the plastic bear’s back, but he gave no indication he even knew she was trying to harm him.
“Put me down!” Cassidy screamed, kicking and squirming as much as she could in the vice-like grip of the animatronic bear. Toy Freddy, however, ignored her plea, bringing her back to the main dining area and placing her on a chair. Cassidy moved to stand up, only to quickly realize she was already surrounded by the entire band. She was trapped.
“What suit will suit her?” asked Toy Chica. “She’s quite small. She’ll fit in anything!”
“Come on, Chica, you know the rules. Charlie will decide. She’s awake now, she just needs to wait for the music box to wind down.” Toy Freddy said, turning to look at the large gift box by the prize corner.
“Please. You don’t understand, I want to find out what happened here! I- I was paid by one of the owners, I swear I’m not trying to do anything bad!” Cassidy insisted. Toy Bonnie turned to look at her, somehow looking hateful despite his plastic face.
“You’re an adult. You don’t belong here. So we are teaching you a lesson.” There was ice in his tone, despite the robotic nature of the rabbit. Cassidy stared up at the blue rabbit fearfully.
“I’m 17! I’m not an adult! I just-” Cassidy was cut off by Toy Bonnie hitting her in the stomach, leaving her gasping for air. A puppet left the music box in the corner, wearing the teary-eyed mask Cassidy had seen when she had first been frightened by the animatronics. It floated over, cocking its head in curiosity at Cassidy.
“You can leave her alone. She is telling the truth. Michael told me.” Despite having no way to speak, the spector had a girlish, childish voice. Something clicked in Cassidy’s mind upon Michael being mentioned. Was he the spirit who had been helping her? The child she’d been looking for answers from was already trying to help her? Upon catching her breath, Cassidy spoke up.
“I- I have so many questions. Please. Will you let me ask them?” She asked, her voice shaky. “I promise I won’t make you answer any of them. I just need answers. That’s what I’m paid for.” The puppet paused for a moment before responding, as if thinking over its answer.
“Who do you want to ask?” Cassidy was taken aback by that question. She’d never really been asked something like that before.
“Michael, I suppose. He’s the one I’m supposed to be looking for.”
“Follow me, then. They won’t attack you now.” The puppet began moving again, down that same damned hall that Cassidy had been down twice already. Cassidy stood up and began to follow her, reaching a room labeled “Parts and Service”. Cassidy assumed that it was where the animatronics were repaired.
“In here. He is… difficult. But he seems to like you.” The puppet said, gesturing towards the door. Cassidy assumed that the puppet didn’t want to come with her, so she carefully opened the door, finding herself in front of three utterly mangled animatronics- the band from her childhood, now reduced to a pile of parts on the floor. There was a smell of rot that seeped from them, and Cassidy barely resisted the urge to vomit.
“I’m over here.” The boy, Michael, appeared beside her, standing at the threshold of a half wall separating the room into two areas. Cassidy followed him, only to find Foxy, an animatronic she never remembered as anything other than “Out of Order,” and a golden bear made in the same likeness as Freddy. Fredbear.
“Are you…?” Cassidy began, her voice trailing. Michael nodded.
“It’s my body now. But I share it with my brother. I don’t want to, but I don’t have a choice.” He said, pouting. A small, shaky voice emitted from the bear before a younger boy appeared, tear stains down his face.
“That’s me. I didn’t want to share either but… neither of us can help it. I use this mostly, though.” The little boy said, gesturing to the bear. He sniffled, like he was going to cry.
“That’s my little brother, Evan. He’s more like a little bother though, so I try to stay away from him as much as possible,” Michael said before looking over at Cassidy. “Can you help me with that, actually?”
“Huh? How?” Cassidy said, confused. Before she could get an answer, though, Evan began to cry. Michael, rather than comforting his brother, however, glared at him with annoyance.
“See? This is why I want to leave. I can just, like, follow you around. You’re good with that, right?” Cassidy stared at him with bewilderment. “If you don’t let me, I won’t answer your questions.” Michael smirked, seemingly proud of his ultimatum. Cassidy sighed, exasperated.
“... fine. But you have to answer my questions. Alright? It’s what I’m getting paid to learn.”
“Alright. Can I ask you a question first though?” Michael asked.
“Sure. Hit me with it.”
“What’s your name?”
Cassidy was taken aback by this question. It wasn’t something she’d really been asked by a ghost before, but she supposed she could humor him.
“Cassidy. My name is Cassidy. It’s nice to properly meet you, Michael.”
“Alright. You can ask your questions now.” Michael said, before sitting down on the floor cross-legged. “Come on, sit down.”
Cassidy sat down across from Michael, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen after checking that her tape recorder was still on her and recording. “Alright, first, state your full name and age you died, please.”
Michael rolled his eyes before responding. “Michael Afton, 15.”
“Thank you. Now, if it isn’t too prying… how did you die?” This was a question Cassidy knew riled up many spirits, but Michael appeared surprisingly calm.
“Head was bashed in. I deserved it.” Michael replied quickly. Despite his calm demeanor, he was clearly still upset.
“Why do you think you deserved it?” Cassidy asked gently. Things seemed to be getting into a rather emotional territory for Michael.
` “Killed Evan. I’m a monster.” There was no pride in Michael's tone, and his voice wavered. Clearly, the young man felt guilty for whatever he’d done, and believed what he’d said.
“In 1983, right? I- I’m sorry.” Cassidy said quietly. “Um… getting back on track… who killed you? Do you remember?”
“... my dad.” A chill went up Cassidy’s spine as Michael spoke. If that was the case…
“Why did… why did your dad hire me to investigate this place then? Do you have any ideas?” Cassidy’s voice shook as Michael’s eyes widened upon this realization. Evan, too, seemed to grow tense.
“We should leave. You can keep asking questions later.” Michael said, clearly slightly panicked. Cassidy could only assume what Michael had realized, but whatever it was, it clearly wasn’t good. “Let’s go. Now.” Evan nodded in encouragement.
Cassidy quickly stood up and began hurrying to the doors that allowed her to leave the establishment. A million different thoughts raced through her head, each one of concern and worry for what William had planned for her. By the time she made it to the exit, however, someone else was standing there. Standing in her way.
“Must I do everything myself?” William Afton’s voice echoed through the main dining area. “I was expecting her to be dead. But, I suppose death by my own hand works just fine to silence a nosy brat like her.” He spoke as if Cassidy wasn’t right in front of him. He looked down at her, a cruel grin spreading across his lean face.
“Well, hello. Are you all done with your little tea party with spirits?” There was venom in his voice, and Cassidy stepped back nervously. She had no means of defending herself. “I see you’ve made a friend. How is my worthless monster of a child? Did he tell you what I did?” Cassidy couldn’t respond beyond a frightened whimper.
“Ah, I don’t really care. For now, you are business I must finish.”