Chapter Text
Day One
Five children went missing tonight on February 10th, 1991, at the newly opened “Freddy’s Rockin’ Pizza”, which first opened on March 25th, 1990. This isn’t the first time the infamous restaurant chain has been under fire. First was the incident in 1983, the most damaging was the death of William Afton’s son. Then, the famous- yet infamous Missing Children’s incident at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza in June of 1985. There are also many incidents at the spin-off locations, but We’ll dabble with that another day. Then, we can’t forget the two incidents at Freddy’s Fantastic Pizza Parlor. Dangerous bloody animals. But now we come to 1990. Where the new Freddy’s Rockin’ Pizza opened. But of course, it can’t be a Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza without Tradgey…
He will make sure of it.
March 10th, 1991.
Steve Raglan sat at his desk, tapping his pen against the file in front of him. His eyes shifted to the man sitting across from him—a bearded figure in formal attire that seemed slightly too polished for the occasion. On the surface, everything checked out, but something about him felt... off. "What’s your deal, Tom?" Steve asked, his tone blunt. "Are you some kind of headcase or something? Because, looking at your file, you don’t seem to have the best track record." The man, Thomas Rose, didn’t respond immediately. He just stared, his expression unreadable. "Not talkative, huh?" Steve continued. "Well, that’s fine. But you need to understand something, Mr. Rose: here at Freddy’s, we value safety above all else. The safety of our customers, our staff, and—most importantly—our star attractions. That’s what keeps the big bucks rolling in." Steve got up, moving to the coffee machine in the corner of the room. The sound of it brewing filled the silence. “As a night guard, you will be in charge of protecting the establishment from any intruders, as well as anyone trying to damage the property. Do you understand that?” Finally, Thomas spoke. "Yes, I understand completely." Steve turned back, raising an eyebrow. “Well, well, well! The statue speaks! What happened? Cat catch your tongue?” Thomas tilted his head slightly, the movement stiff and almost mechanical. "My apologies," he said. "I’ve been... at home a lot recently. I seem to forget how to communicate sometimes." Steve shrugged, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Fair enough. If you don’t mind me asking, what kept you at home and out of work for so long?" Thomas sighed, his hands clasped tightly on his lap. "It’s my daughter," he said quietly. "She went missing recently. At Freddy’s." Steve froze mid-sip, lowering his cup slowly. "It happened during a rough patch in her life," Thomas continued. "Kids can be so cruel, you know? They pushed her too far."
For a moment, Steve didn’t say anything. His expression shifted, concern briefly flashing across his face before he masked it with a professional demeanor. "Is everything alright?" Thomas asked, breaking the silence. Steve shook his head, muttering under his breath, "So that’s why you’re taking this." "What?" Thomas asked, his tone sharp. "Nothing," Steve replied quickly, forcing a smile. "Would you like some coffee?" Thomas shook his head. "No thanks, I’m good." Steve set his cup down and picked up the file again. "Well, according to your application, you were fired from your last job for—let me quote this directly—‘getting into a fight with a guard.’ Huh. Ironic." He smirked. "But, lucky for you, I feel like taking a chance on you. Especially since the press is breathing down our necks right now. So, congratulations—you’re hired." "Wait, I’m hired?" Thomas asked, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Yes. Do you not want to be hired?" Steve chuckled. “No No, thank you, When do I start?” Thomas asked. Steve leaned back in his chair, his smirk widening. "Well, you can start tonight, if you’re up for it." Thomas hesitated briefly, then nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn’t mind." "Great!" Steve said, extending a hand. "Come by Freddy’s later today, and Ralph will show you around. Oh, and one more thing—shave that beard."
A few hours later, around 5 PM, Thomas pulled up at Freddy’s Rockin’ Pizza. The sign had the main 4 animatronics, on them, Rockafeller “Rockie” Fazbear, Byron the Rockin’ Rabbit, Clementine the Chicken, and Captain Foxtrot. Thomas sighed, remembering pulling up here weeks ago when his daughter went missing, but the police wouldn’t let him in. But, he was doing this for her. So, without hesitation, he walked into the building.
The entrance had a large banner on the ceiling, saying “WELCOME TO ROCKIE’S!”, with cutouts of Byron the Rockin’ Rabbit and Rockie Fazbear on both sides of the entrances to the show area. There were guard rails set in front of the front desk, with posters of the characters lining the walls. Red sofas were on each wall, and sitting on them was a man. He had a red vest on, with white sleeves. He was mixed, with a mustache and glasses. “Ralph?!” Thomas shouted. Ralph looked up and quickly got up. “Thomas? What the hell are you doing here?” Ralph asked. “I was going to ask you the same thing! I didn’t know you worked here!” Thomas shouted. “Well yeah, I do, I guess you are the new hire, night shift?” Ralph asked. Thomas nodded. “Sweet, alright, let me give you the grand tour. First off, this is the entrance, probably an important place to keep an eye on to make sure no one tries to break in.” Ralph explained. Thomas looked around. “Huh, nice place.” Ralph motioned Thomas to follow as he walked into the dining area.
Inside the Dining area was the main showroom. The curtains were opened as a few children scurried by. On the wall, was a small stage with the curtains closed. The three animatronics moved on stage, looking around as music played on the speakers. “So, this is the main showroom, this is basically where patrons eat and watch the show, we have Rockafeller “Rockie” Fazbear, Byron the Rockin’ Rabbit, and Clementine the Chef Chicken, with her buddy Sargent Sprinkles of course,” Ralph explained. “...Wait, Bonnie’s a rabbit now?” Thomas asked. Ralph shrugged. “Well, basically the company thought it would be better to make them cousins of the original gang. So he’s a rabbit now.” Thomas raised an eyebrow, staring at the animatronics as they performed their routine. "Huh... Cousins, huh? Feels weird seeing them like this. What’s behind the curtain?” Thomas pointed to the small stage propped against the wall. “Oh, that? It’s the three Bonnets, Bonnet, Bon-Bon, and…I don’t even know the last one’s name. It’s Cylde I think? But anyway, let’s move on to the kitchen.” Ralph replied.
The Kitchen was on the right side of the stage. It was small, with a few tables and standard kitchen equipment. “This is the kitchen, this is where the Pizza and other things are made. Pretty standard.” Ralph explained. “Before we continued, I noticed another showroom to the left of the stage, what was that?” Thomas asked. “That showroom? That’s the Rainforest Jamboree Showroom. There isn’t a show going on at the moment, so it’s kind of just quiet over there. Do you want to see it?” Ralph asked. “No, don’t worry about it, I can check it out after my shift. What’s next?” Thomas asked.
Ralph opened the door to the backstage room. The room was quiet and mute, a large contrast to the colorful showroom. There was a table with a few endoskeletons on it, a shelf with a few heads, and a Freddy costume on a stand. However, what was most interesting, was that there were a few animatronics sitting in the room. “Jesus, that Freddy stand looks creepy,” Thomas remarked. Ralph chuckled. “Yeah, it was based on the old Portrait prototype bot. You should have seen them, looked weird without the legs.” Thomas looked around, seeing the animatronics sitting on the floor. There was a brown dog, with its tongue sticking out and broken shades, his arm was missing. An Alligator animatronic who lay on the floor that had a bright yellow mohawk. A…weird humanoid one, that just sat there, it had a blue suit on. And..a weird yellow bear, that just sat there slumped. “That’s Sparky, Argyle, Frankburt, and Golden Freddy,” Ralph explained. “Golden Freddy?” Thomas asked. “Yeah, we originally were going to try to bring back the character from the 80s, but I heard up the grapevine that corporate cut funding on it, so back here he remains,” Ralph explained. Thomas shuddered, his eyes lingering on the slumped yellow bear. Something about it felt off, as though its vacant gaze was somehow aware. “That thing gives me the creeps.” “You’re not the first to say that,” Ralph said with a smirk.
Thomas pointed at the humanoid animatronic. “What about him? Frankburt doesn’t look like he belongs here. He’s...weird.” Ralph sighed, glancing at the blue-suited figure. “Yeah, he’s from one of the old spin-off locations. They sent him here after that place shut down. He’s one of those old springlock suits. Real death traps, honestly. I wouldn’t get near him even if he was active.” Ralph paused, shaking his head. “Whoever came up with springlocks? Total idiot. Glad I never met that moron.” Thomas chuckled nervously, but his unease lingered as he turned back to the other animatronics. “This whole room feels like a graveyard for ideas that didn’t work out.” Ralph nodded. “Pretty much. But hey, better here than out where the kids can see them, right?”
The next room was the arcade area, where Pirates Cove, the prize counter, and of course the arcades were held. “So, this is the Arcade area, basically another area with booths and tables, so people have more places to sit, but also where kids can play the arcade games and jump into that..filthy ball pit…” Ralph shuttered. Before Thomas could say anything, he heard footsteps sprinting towards him. He turned to see a large Fox animatronic sprinting towards him. He quickly came to a halt inches in front of him. “YOHO-HO!” The fox shouted, its voice box getting louder. Thomas stumbled back into a booth. “A-A-Ahoy there matey’s, Foxtrot is here! I’ve finally made it, don’t ye fear!” Foxtrot sang. “Heh, sorry about that. Foxtrot is the only animatronic allowed to free roam, and even then, it’s super limited. Especially after the bite..” Ralph explained. Thomas got up, noticing Foxtrot powered down. “...Is he ok?” Thomas asked. “Yeah, he’s fine,” Ralph assured him. “Foxtrot just burns through power faster than the others, so sometimes he shuts down to save battery.” Thomas looked at the pirate captain, who simply stood there. He had a purple pirate hat, with a mustache. He had a blue jacket and a pegleg, with a hook and tail. And we can’t forget the star purple bandana. “...What are those scars on him?” Thomas asked. “Those? Oh, those are just his top scars, you normally can’t see them because of the shirt, but we had to remove it since some kid spilled punch on it.” Ralph casually explained. Thomas, in confusion, was about to ask something, when he heard a soft meowing sound. Looking towards the prize counter was..a cat animatronic. But it looked more like the puppet from the older location. Its eyes moved left to right, its tail swayed quietly, the bell jingling quietly. The eyes stopped on Thomas as they stared with curiosity. “...Oh, that’s Twinkles the Prize Kitten! We wanted to bring back the puppet but…it went missing. So we created Twinkles instead. I heard they added something called… ‘Mimic1’ to it. Not sure what that’s about, but she’s far more interactive, it’s almost like she’s alive!” Ralph joked. As if in response, Twinkles tilted her head, the bells on her collar jingling softly. Her jaw opened slightly, letting out another soft meow before her eyes turned a glowing yellow. She raised one paw and waved at Thomas, her movements disturbingly lifelike.“...Freaky cat... Is there…anything else?”
Skipping the restrooms and…The safe room, and the supply closet. Ralph and Thomas made their way to the Security office. The room was bright, with two doorways and windows on each side. Levers sat on the sides as a fan spun in the background. “Well, here’s your office Thomas, this is where you're going to be working from now on, 12 am to 6 am. I know it may seem boring, but you can play the arcades if you want, it helped me when I took my shift.” Ralph explained. Thomas pulled down one of the levers, causing one of the doors to come slamming shut. “Jesus! What am I going to need blast doors for?” Thomas asked. Ralph chuckled nervously as he leaned against the desk. "Ah, yeah, the blast doors. Well, you know...safety first!" He avoided Thomas's questioning gaze, clearly trying to downplay the situation. "Safety first?!" Thomas repeated, his voice rising. "What kind of place needs blast doors in a pizza joint? Are you expecting a nuclear meltdown or something?"
Ralph rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Look, it's just...a precaution, okay? Back in the day, there were some incidents—nothing to worry about now, of course! But corporate insisted on these upgrades to make sure the staff feels safe." Thomas rolled his eyes and was about to leave the office when Ralph stopped him. “Wait, Thomas…What the hell are you doing here?” Ralph asked. “...What do you mean?” Thomas asked. “Come on, I’m not stupid. You and I both know you wouldn’t step foot into a place like this unless you had a reason. Why are you here?” Ralph asked again, his voice stern. Thomas sighed. “...I’m trying to find her. Trying to find out what happened to my kid. Catlin. I don’t know what prompted her to come to a place like this, but, it’s the only lead I have.” Thomas explained. Ralph sighed, unsure how to process the information. “..Well, I hope you figure out what’s going on here. There should be a training tape for you and a prerecorded message. Let’s just head back to the front so I can see you off.” Ralph said. Thomas nodded and got up, but when he turned around, he saw Twinkles looking at him, her cat ears peeking through the doorway. “...Was she here this whole time?” Thomas asked. “Guess so.” shrugged Ralph.
Twinkles tilted her head, her glowing yellow eyes fixated on Thomas. Her tail swayed slowly, the bell jingling softly in the silence. She let out a low, mechanical "meow," as if acknowledging the conversation. “Creepy cat…” Thomas muttered under his breath, his gaze locked on the animatronic. “Eh, she’s harmless,” Ralph replied with a shrug. “Just curious, I guess. She probably heard us talking and decided to check it out.” Thomas frowned, uneasy. “Doesn’t it bother you? How...alive she seems?” Ralph laughed, though it sounded forced. “You get used to it. These things are designed to interact, remember? Makes ‘em feel less like machines. Besides, Twinkles is one of the better-behaved ones. It’s the older ones you gotta watch out for.” Ralph joked. Twinkles sat in the doorway now, her head tilting the other way as her tail curled neatly around her body. Her unblinking stare didn’t waver, and Thomas couldn’t shake the feeling that she was listening far more intently than a simple animatronic should. “Come on,” Ralph said, gesturing for Thomas to follow. “Let’s get you out of here for now. The night shift starts soon, and you’ll want to be ready.”
Reluctantly, Thomas tore his eyes away from Twinkles and followed Ralph back to the front of the pizzeria. As they walked, he couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder. Twinkles was still there, sitting perfectly still in the doorway, her glowing eyes following him until he turned the corner. “...Harmless, huh?” Thomas muttered, feeling a chill run down his spine.
“Alright, your uniform should be in the locker. Good luck tonight; you’ll need it,” Ralph explained. Thomas rolled his eyes and left. It was just a night shift job; how hard could it possibly be?