Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He couldn't believe this. His dad had to be the biggest asshole on the planet to do this.

After nearly 19 years of putting up with his shit, Steve point blank told him he wanted to move out. Barry simply snickered and replied, "You want to move out? Not on that 'rockstar' salary of yours. You want out, then get yourself a goddamn job." He then handed him a newspaper with advert listings and told him to start searching.

With the help of his bandmates, he was able to compile a small list of businesses that were hiring. Soon he had narrowed his choices down to two options: a repair technician spot in an autobody shop that would start in September, and a night guard summer position at a restaurant. Steve was leaning towards the summer job, since being a night guard didn't really require much to do. Pete, on the other hand, strongly suggested the autobody job, since it wasn't seasonal. This led to an argument between the two guitarists over experience, time, and pay.

"You could do both, y'know," Joe said. "Do the summer job, then once that ends, start working at the car shop."

"Joe, I know nothing about cars," Steve countered. "Do I look like I watch Top Gear?"

"Start watching then."

He thought about it for a moment. The position at the restaurant was only for the summer, which was quickly approaching, whereas the autobody position didn't start until school began, but it wasn't limited time-wise. Joe was right. He could do both. In fact, it was really his only choice. The summer job wouldn't even be enough to get him a cheap flat to himself on its own, and the autobody job started later than he liked.

So it was settled. He applied for both places to fill the positions they asked for. As luck would have it, they accepted him. The autobody shop scheduled an appointment for an interview on Wednesday to make sure he would be able to do the job by the time September rolled around. The restaurant simply told him to come by to pick up the security guard uniform sometime that week and that they'll see him on his first day. No interview at all. A bit odd, but maybe, Steve thought, they were just desperate to fill in the position due to being shorthanded. It happens.

Sav pulled up in front of the shop, Jameson's Repair Shop. Before getting out of the car, Steve turned to him. "When you come get me, do you think you could stop by the restaurant real quick?"

"Sure, what for?" he asked.

"Gotta pick up the uniform."

The bassist raised an eyebrow. "They straight up hired you? They're not gonna bother to interview you?"

Steve shook his head. "I can only assume they're shorthanded with staff."

Sounds logical, Sav thought. "Let me know when to come get you." With that, Steve got out of the car and Sav left to do God knows what.

The interview went smooth. The manager was fine with his lack of knowledge at this point in time. He had two months to learn as much as he could, and when he started, his coworkers could help him out.

"Are you working at any other places that might impede your work schedule with us?" the manager asked.

Steve replied, "The only other job I'll be doing is a summer job at a restaurant. Night guard."

"Which restaurant?"

Wait, what was the name? He just applied for the damn place and already he forgot the name of the restaurant. Ah! Now he's got it. "Freddy Fazbear's, I think it was."

The manager's face became gravely serious. "You're working at Freddy's?"

He nodded. "Just for the summer. I start next Monday." Why did he get so serious all of a sudden?

"I want to warn you, Steve," the manager started, "not many people last in that position. The majority that do are scarred for the rest of their lives, they become paranoid."

Steve wanted to laugh in his face. Surely the manager wasn't serious. What the hell kind of joke was that? It was kinda funny. Maybe Sav was right in saying he was a fucked up person. Though, if the manager was being serious, what was even going on for that to happen?

"What, is the place haunted or something?" he asked. Only after did it occur to him that he probably didn't want to know.

The manager sighed. "You could say that..."

Eventually, the interview ended, the manager shaking Steve's hand. "I look forward to your first day here. That is, if you manage to survive working at Freddy's." A little ominous, but Steve still couldn't help but find it funny.

A phone call and 15 minutes later, Sav arrived, and the pair left for the restaurant. Steve still didn't take the manager's words seriously, thinking he was just joking. Even when they made it to the restaurant, he saw nothing, at least on the outside, that hinted at what he said. "I'll be back in a moment." Sav nodded, and the guitarist went into the restaurant. Not even the inside suggested something bad was happening.

A waitress came up to him. "Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Do you need a table or booth, sir?"

"Actually ma'am," he answered, "I applied here for the summer night shift. I was told to come pick up the uniform."

"Oh!" she beamed. "Right this way, um...?"

"Steve."

"Steve," she smiled. "I'm Brandy."

"Nice to meet you, Brandy. How long have you been working here?"

Brandy cast her mind back a bit to remember. "About 8 months now. Yeah, the pay isn't the best, but at least I'm not living by myself. Do you?"

"I'm hoping to soon. Since I'm only going to be here for the summer, I applied at Jameson's for afterwards."

"Ah, that's good," she spoke. "Can't really live on your own just working here." They soon reached the manager's office. Brandy knocked on the door. "Mr Semper, the applicant for the security guard position is here."

Semper looked up from his paperwork. "Ah, Steve, is it? Glad you could make it today. I'm David Semper, the manager of this Freddy's location."

"I'll be getting back to work now." Brandy left the office and had a family of four seated.

The manager dug through a box, producing the blue security guard outfit. "I think these should fit you," he said and handed the uniform to Steve. "Let me show you where you'll be working." He led him to the back of the building where the security office was. It was definitely messy. Pizza boxes, old soda cups, random litter. But then again, the guard was usually the only one in there. Presentation wasn't much of an issue.

The day shift's security guard looked up from the cameras. "This the night guy?"

Semper nodded. "This is Steve. Steve, our day shift guard, Ralph." The two shook hands. "This is where you'll be working during your shift. Ralph, show him the cameras." The day guard ran through the cameras in the system. "These are the different areas in the building being monitored. Check them routinely to make sure nothing happens."

"Got it," Steve replied, nodding.

The two left the office and wandered over to the stage in the main room, where three animatronic animals stood motionless on the stage. "I take it these are supposed to entertain the kids?"

"Yep," Semper affirmed. "They're not on right now. We're doing some maintenance on them. This here is the famous Freddy." He gently patted the bear's arm. "This purple bunny is Bonnie, and the chick is Chica."

"Not very creative names."

The manager shrugged. "I didn't name them, so I'm not concerned about it. There is one more animatronic we have, but it's out of order." He led Steve to another room called the Pirate's Cove, pulling back the purple starry curtain to reveal a red fox animatronic dressed as a pirate. "This here is Foxy."

Something about Foxy told him that he was going to like this particular character. Though, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. In fact, at this point, he was only slightly aware of the fact that all of the animatronics seemed creepy. But something else was on his mind right now. "Mr Semper, if you don't mind me asking, is business going downhill? It looked pretty empty out there for it being the middle of the day."

"Nah," Semper replied. "Wednesdays are usually this slow. Fridays and Saturdays are usually when we have the most activity going on. The place often gets packed on those days." This caused Steve to whistle. "Oh, I should mention. Pay is £120 a week, shift is from midnight to 6. Best to clock in at least ten minutes before your shift starts. Also, during the night, we have a limited amount of power to use, so use it wisely."

Steve figured he would've gotten an orientation much like when he worked at a grocery store a few years back, but maybe because he would basically be working by himself at night with no customers around -- and also because he was a security guard, not a cook -- there was no need for an orientation. Just a basic walkthrough.

As he began to leave, he stopped for a moment and turned to gaze at the stage. There was something about those animatronics that seemed a bit unnerving. It didn't help that it looked like Freddy was staring right at him. Yeah, they're just creepy, that's all. He got back to Sav's car, and they left for band practise.

----------

Monday night arrived, and it was time for Steve's first night on the job. The uniform fit him just fine, though it led to his mom commenting on how handsome he looked. Embarrassing. His dad allowed him to use his car to get to work, so long as he came home before he had to leave for work himself.

Arriving at the restaurant, which was almost empty due to how late it was, he immediately clocked in, despite it being about half an hour before his shift started. Since he had that time before then, he wandered about, familiarising himself with the building and how it's constructed. If he needed to go somewhere, he really didn't want to get lost. He stopped by the Pirate's Cove for a moment, pulling back the curtain to gaze at Foxy. He still couldn't seem to figure out what it was about him that he liked. Maybe because he's red, and red is one of Steve's favourite colours? Who knows. Glancing at the clock on the wall, the time read 23:53. He should probably head to the office now.

On his way there, he ran into Mr Semper, who was locking up for the night. "Ah, good, the uniform fits. Think you'll be alright for your first day?"

Steve nodded. "What could possibly go wrong on my first day?"

The manager opened his mouth to reply, but promptly stopped himself. "Just take things one day at a time, alright?" They said their goodbyes and Semper left, locking up behind him.

After shutting off the lights and starting up the auxiliary generator, Steve settled into the office as the clock read midnight. The first night had begun. The phone rang. Answering it, Steve heard a prerecorded message play.

"Hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night." Well that was nice of him. He also sounded American. "Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now as a matter of fact, so..." Week before messages? This might help him a bit. Steve started checking the cameras. Nothing had moved. No one was there except for him.

"I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you that there's nothing to worry about. You'll be fine. So let's just focus on getting you through your first week, okay?" He checked the hallways beside him for a moment. What was there to be overwhelmed about? He's basically babysitting the restaurant after hours.

"Uh, let's see. First there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. Eh, it's kind of a legal thing, y'know. Um, 'Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occured, a missing person's report will be filed within 90 days or as soon as property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached and the carpets have been replaced.' Blah blah blah." What the hell kind of introductory greeting was that?

"Now, that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about." Some part of Steve begged to differ. "Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night--" Quirky? "--but do I blame them? No. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for 20 years and I never got a bath, I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too." Who wouldn't, honestly? "So remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay.

"So just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit." Before Steve could wonder what the hell he meant, he got his answer. "Uh, they're left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Uh, something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too, but then there was the 'Bite of '67'." Bite of '67? What was that supposed to be? "Yeah. I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, y'know?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know that. He went back to checking the cameras.

"Uh, now concerning your safety, the only real risk to you as a nightwatchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters... uh, if they happen to see you after hours, they probably won't recognise you as a person." The fuck? "They'll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on."

"Maybe you should reprogram the characters," Steve mumbled to himself.

"Now since that's against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, they'll probably try to, uh... forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit." What. "Um... Now that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area. So you can imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort... and death..." Steve may have had a rather dark sense of humour, but even this was a little excessive. "Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask."

At this point, it had begun to register in his brain that the employee was being entirely serious and not trying to appeal to his morbid sense of humour. Did that mean the Jameson's manager was being serious too? That means... these animatronics will try to legitimately -kill- him!? "Yeah, they don't tell you these things when you sign up." No shit! "But hey, first day should be a breeze. I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, goodnight."

Steve nearly threw the phone back on the base. What the fuck did he get himself into? So far, it looked like none of the characters had moved, which was nice, considering they wanted to kill him. Depending on what happens, he -might- come back for his second night. However, just knowing what the characters can and will do to him, he was quite scared.

He looked up at the clock. 2:36. He saw that he had about 77% power left. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what would happen if he lost power. But so far, things were fine. Maybe it was a joke. He chuckled to himself. Pretty good joke.

But that thought was quickly thrown out the window when he checked the stage camera to see Bonnie wasn't there. Turning pale as a sheet, he quickly checked the other cameras to see where he could've gone, and breathed a sigh of relief spotting him in the dining room, though not long after he had moved into the West Hall. Please don't come back here, please don't...

As 3:30 came around, all was still relatively quiet. Bonnie seemed to want to stay put where Camera 2A was. By 4, there was still nothing, and he had about 55% power left. If every night was going to be this quiet, maybe things will be fine.

However, the bunny's appearance at the left door startled him. Steve quickly hit the button to shut the door, breathing heavily from the scare. "That was close." He checked the other hallway, thankful it was clear, then checked the cameras. Wait, where did Freddy go? Oh, never mind, he was still on the stage. Good.

Bonnie still hadn't left the door when 5 came around. He needed to fuck off, Steve was down to 34% power just using the goddamn door to keep him out. He couldn't let this keep him from doing what he was paid to do. At least his shift was almost over. Oh great, Chica moved. He frantically checked the cameras to find out where she disappeared to, eventually finding her in the girls' restroom. How fitting.

Finally, Bonnie left at around 5:21. He opened the door, relieved to see no one there, but his power was down to 20%. He just needed to survive the next 40 minutes and he would be alright. But it hadn't even been 10 when he came back. Steve quickly shut the door on the bunny's face. 16% left. It was almost 6. 11%. 5:58. Come on...

He could hear Bonnie moving away from the door. It was finally 6 AM. His shift was over. He survived the first night. He opened the door and checked the cameras once more. Both Bonnie and Chica were back on the stage. Freddy and Foxy hadn't moved all night. Even though Chica moved, she hadn't come to bother him, unlike Bonnie. On top of it all, he didn't run out of power. This he was definitely thankful for. Yes, if every night was going to be like this, he should have no problem for the rest of the summer.

The doors were unlocked by another employee as he was clocking out. "Hope your night went smooth," the employee spoke as Steve went to his car and went home. Without bothering to take the uniform off, he promptly fell asleep as he reached his bed.

Chapter Text

All day long, Steve avoided talking about his first day and what he was told by the previous night guard, which worried his bandmates. It wasn't too bad of an experience, but he didn't want to dwell on it, lest things take a turn for the worse.

The band finished up a late gig at a school, ending at about 23:00. Steve was dreading having to go back to work, but he still had hope that things would be just like the first day. Of course, he could hope and pray his ass off for a good result all he wanted, but he knows it likely won't happen. He quickly showered in the gym's locker room -- no one said he couldn't -- and dressed for work. Just because he worked by himself didn't mean he didn't have to look somewhat presentable. Especially since the last person he'll see before he goes home will be Semper. Anyone with a clean cut hairstyle like that is bound to be a stickler for appearance.

A fan from the audience wandered in with Joe, his arm slung around her waist as the two flirted with each other. "Heading to work, mate?"

"Yeah." Steve really wasn't in the mood to chat.

"Where does he work?" the fan inquired, seemingly curious about the fact that one of these band members has a day job -- er, rather, night job.

Joe mercifully answered for him. "He's a nighttime security guard at Freddy's."

The fan's eyes widened. "Freddy's?" Joe nodded in response. She looked over at Steve, a look of worry on her face. "You be careful. Bad things have been known to happen there."

The guitarist didn't bother to look at her, but simply muttered, "Don't I know it." Once he was fully dressed, he left without another word.

Joe was utterly confused. First Steve didn't want to talk about his first night on the job, now his groupie just gave him a cryptic warning about said job. Even worse, Steve seemed to understand what she was telling him. What happened that first night to prompt his guitar player to keep his mouth shut about it? Something wasn't right here. He turned to the fan. "What was that about?"

She looked at him as if he had a third eye. "You mean you don't know about the incidents with that restaurant chain?"

The singer shook his head.

Sighing, she spoke, "Allow me to fill you in then."

Once she had explained everything to him, Joe began to panic. "Steve doesn't know about any of this!"

"Trust me," the fan said, "he'll find out soon enough."

----------

It was 23:44 when he clocked in. He sighed heavily, really not wanting to work tonight. But he had to. He needed the money.

Semper had already left, leaving Steve by himself with the animatronics. He didn't bother to walk around like he did the last night, instead heading straight for the office. He suddenly felt like Arnold from Magic School Bus. Please let this be a normal day at work. At Freddy Fazbear's? No way!

Midnight finally came around, the phone once more ringing. Answering, the employee from last night spoke again. He checked the cameras while the employee began talking to find Bonnie was already on the move. This cannot end well.

"Uh, hello? Hello? Well, if you're here listening, you made it to day two. Uh, congrats!" Lousy congrats, in his opinion. "I-I won't talk quite as long this time, since Freddy and his friends tend to become more active as the week progresses." Oh no. "Uh, it might be a good idea to peek at those cameras while I talk, just to make sure everyone's in their proper place, y'know."

About this time, Steve found Bonnie backstage, his face filling the camera view. "Jesus balls!"

"Uh, interestingly enough, Freddy himself doesn't come off stage very often. I heard he becomes a lot more active in the dark though, so hey, I guess that's one more reason not to run out of power, right?" Definitely. At least he still had about 91% power left. He hoped he would be fine. But it wasn't even 00:45 yet. Oh boy.

"Uh, I also want to emphasise the importance of using your door lights. Uh, there are blind spots in your camera view, and those blind spots happen to be right outside your door." Steve could've gone the rest of his life without knowing that. But he worked here. He needed to know this. "So if you can't find something, or someone, on your cameras... uh, be sure to check the door light. Uh, you might only have a few seconds to react. Uh, not that you would be in any danger of course. I'm not implying that." Bullshit! He also realised the employee says 'uh' quite a lot. Must not be that well with words.

"Um, also check on the curtain in Pirate Cove from time to time." Foxy!? "The character in there seems unique in that he becomes more active if the cameras remain off for long periods of time. Uh, I guess he doesn't like being watched. I dunno." Steve kinda knew that feeling. Maybe that's why Foxy's his favourite. He can relate, apparently?

"Uh, anyway, I'm sure you have everything under control. Uh, talk to you soon!"

At least the conversation was indeed shorter. But constantly checking the cameras and side hallways drained him to 83%. It just turned 1, for fuck's sake! And what the hell was that 'dum d-dum dum' noise!? It was driving him nuts!

He continued checking the cameras, finding Chica in the dining room. Bonnie moved again, into the West Hall again. Steve definitely had half a mind to rip that purple Easter bunny's head off if he came down there again like last night. Chica moved again, but he couldn't find her anywhere, not even outside of the door. Checking the kitchen camera, which only registered audio, told him that she was in there. Good. Stay there, bitch.

Once again, Bonnie surprised him by showing up. He shut the door quickly. "I've got no time for your shit, Bonnie!" he shouted at the door, then allowed himself a chuckle. "Look at me, I'm talking to inanimate objects. Well, more like nonliving moving objects. They're not really inanimate. Not really objects either, they're designed like animals." He then laughed aloud. "And now I'm talking to myself. That's chaos theory." Sav would definitely get that, having taken physics and seen Jurassic Park numerous times.

Sometime after 2, he heard what sounded like classical music. On any normal day, he would not be bothered by this, since he liked classical music. What of it. But he's hearing it at work in a restaurant, 2 in the morning, with animatronics out to kill him. This was actually disturbing. Though it reminded him a bit of A Clockwork Orange. He quickly forgot what the reason was when he checked the Pirate's Cove to find Foxy peeking out of the curtains, startling him. Even more startling was Bonnie coming by again, Steve once more shutting the door on his face. At this rate, he was going to be more likely to die of a heart attack than by being stuffed in a suit.

As quickly as he came, Bonnie was gone, out to the dining room. How can they move this quickly? 3 AM. Less than 50% power left. Steve had a really bad feeling that he was going to run out of power. The bunny was back, and at this point, Steve wasn't really frightened by him coming by anymore, since he seemed to do it so often. Much like a video game. The more of an enemy you see and more familiar you get with it, the less scary it becomes. If Bonnie was going to be an example of that, then Freddy, Chica, and Foxy, if they ever show up, were going to scare the living hell out of him.

Bonnie began banging on the door. That was new. But he didn't keep at it, thankfully. Chica was in the girls restroom again. Foxy disappeared. That can't be good. At least Freddy hadn't moved. 4 AM now, 34% power. He was definitely going to run out, and if the employee's words were anything to go by, if he lost power, Freddy would quickly be on his ass. No one was allowed to be on his ass except... eh, let's not go there.

Chica was in the East Hall, while Bonnie had not moved from the doorway. If she showed up at the right door while Bonnie was still there, he was definitely going to be screwed. Thankfully, Bonnie left a little before 5, but he was down to 17%. Face it, he thought, you're screwed anyway. Losing power was inevitable at this point. It didn't help that Bonnie came back at about 5:16.

Not long after, the power finally went out. He could hear an animatronic, which one he wasn't sure, coming towards him. This was it. He was going to die. The band was going to have to carry on without him. He'll never get to meet Jimmy Page. His partner was going to be devastated and heartbroken. And he'll never get to go to his first anime convention. What a wonderful time to realise how much of a weeb he was when he was about to be killed.

A music box began to play. Steve recognised the tune, but he couldn't name it off the top of his head. Then he saw it. Him. Freddy. Though with the darkness, it was really just his face, but it was still him. He kept perfectly still, barely breathing as he stared at Freddy, the bear just staring back. Maybe he would have time to say his famous last words?

Then the tune stopped. The power returned, Freddy having left. The clock on the wall read 6 AM. Holy shit, he lived! He got to live another day! Steve heaved a huge sigh of relief and slumped back in his chair. He for sure thought he was a goner. His eyes began to well up as he gazed upwards. "Thank you."

The doors unlocked, Brandy arriving, since she was working the morning shift that day. She went over to the security office and was surprised to see Steve the way he was. "Tough night?"

He nodded, still grateful that the animatronics didn't kill him. "Ran out of power too. Speaking thus, how is it back on?"

"The manager didn't explain?" she asked, Steve's reply being a shake of his head. "Our main power supply shuts off at midnight and doesn't come back on until 6, the entirety of your shift. Electricity bills were pretty high for a long time until a previous manager decided that while the restaurant is closed, have the main power shut off and use an auxiliary generator to power the building during the night. Our bills significantly lowered thanks to that."

So -that's- why they have a generator. "But if the power runs out on the generator..."

"Not much of a problem," Brandy replied, "It's recharged when the main power kicks back on. That's how you still get a full charge each night." That made a lot of sense.

They said their goodbyes and Steve headed home, absolutely exhausted from this ordeal.

----------

It was about 14:10 when he felt himself being shaken awake, panting and sweating from a nightmare. He dreamed that the animatronics managed to get to him while he was working and put him inside a yellow Freddy suit, then heard what sounded like Freddy speaking. "Now it's time you got what you deserved, Reese." That was when he felt extreme pain as wire, metal rods, springs, and finally the endoskeleton itself forced their way into him, slicing him up and cutting through him in multiple places. Only right before he died was when he woke up to find himself staring at a very concerned Sav.

"Are you alright? What the hell happened?"

"It's nothing, Sav," Steve waved it off, groaning as he sat up in his bed.

"Bullshit, it wasn't nothing," Sav retorted, then noticed something very alarming. "Love, you're shaking."

Steve looked down to notice his hands were very unsteady. He quickly hid them, not wanting to worry the bassist any more than he already was. "I'm fine."

"Working nights at a restaurant with killer robots and having nightmares afterward don't exactly constitute as being fine, Steve."

He shot a look of surprise at his bandmate. "Wha--"

"Joe filled us all in," Sav interrupted. "Some bird he scored with happened to know all of that." His groupie from last night, Steve assumed. She did warn him to be careful. "As soon as he told us, I had to come make sure you were alright, and apparently you're not. Why the hell are you still working there after all of this?"

"You already know this," the guitar player answered. "I can't stand living in this place for much longer."

"Are you so desperate to get out of this shithole that you're willing to risk your life over this job!?"

"What would you do, Sav!? If you lived here, what the fuck would you do!?"

"I'd have fucking waited until the end of the summer to start working than jump into a dangerous job!" Sav then began to sob and pulled his friend in for a hug. "I just don't want to lose you...!" Steve choked back a sob himself as he held him back. He had to do this job, whether he liked it or not. He couldn't just up and quit now. Not when he needed the money so he could get a place of his own.

After a moment, he pulled away, using his thumb to wipe the bassist's tears off. "Rick, I promise, I'll be as careful as I can." He then quickly added, "If it gets too dangerous, I'll quit, alright? Does that make you feel any better?"

Sav sniffled, "A little."

Steve smiled. "I'm not easy to get rid of, y'know." He kissed Sav's forehead. "Lemme get dressed and I'll wait for you downstairs, alright?" Sav nodded, then left the room. The guitarist was not going to let this job be the death of him. He was going to do this job and live to tell the tale. But while he was putting his clothes on, one question about his dream was continuously on his mind.

Who the hell is Reese?

----------

Steve sat in the car for some time, pondering what was even happening here. Nightmares, killer animatronics, some guy named Reese. Something was up, but at the current point, he didn't really have much to go on. With a sigh, he got out of the car and went into the restaurant, clocking in.

It wasn't a long wait until midnight. He was beginning to dread what was coming. All he could do right now was hope for the best. As usual, the phone rang. Another message from his predecessor. Steve answered while he immediately went to check the cameras.

"Hello, hello! Hey, you're doing great! Most people don't last this long! I mean, you know, th-they usually move onto other things by now..." Chica was on the move. "Uh, I'm not implying that they died. Tha-that-that's not what I meant..."

Steve rolled his eyes. "You could've worded that better, mate." He checked the hall lights next to him. Nothing there... yet.

"Uh, anyway, I better not take up too much of your time, uh, things start getting real tonight." Wait what. "Uh, h-hey listen, uh, I had an idea." He was afraid to ask, but he couldn't exactly stop him from talking. "If you happen to get caught and want to avoid getting stuffed into a Freddy suit, uh, try playing dead. Y'know, go limp. Then there's a chance that, uh, maybe they'll think that you're an empty costume instead."

For a moment, Steve pondered that idea in his head. That could work. "Then again, if they think you're an empty costume, they might try to, uh... stuff a metal endoskeleton into you. I wonder how that would work..." Way to burst his bubble, dude. "Yeah, never mind, scratch that. It's best just to not get caught." Obviously. "Um, well, okay. I-I'll leave you to it. See you on the flip side."

He was really not looking forward to this, but yet, here he was. It seemed that no one else was moving for the moment except Chica, which was strange. Usually Bonnie was the one pissing him off. Maybe the damn thing took the hint. The sound of pots and pans clattering about told him that she was once again in the kitchen. This begged a question. Why the hell was she almost always in there? What's so special about the kitchen? Food? The fact that the camera doesn't work? Maybe it was best he didn't know. As long as it kept her occupied, he didn't give a rat's ass.

The damn 'dum d-dum dum' sound was going on again. Checking Pirate's Cove, he saw Foxy peeking his head out through the curtain, and the odd singing seemed to be the loudest in this room. Foxy can sing? What the hell? Why? Nearly 2 AM, a quarter of his power was gone. If Chica remained the only animatronic freely moving about, this night might go a bit easier than he thought. Though he wasn't really sure of that, since his predecessor did say in last night's message that they get worse to deal with as the week goes on. Mondays will no longer be the worst day of the week then.

Out of nowhere at 3, he heard a low laugh that startled the living daylights out of him. Who was that and where was it coming from? He checked all of the cameras, but saw nothing out of the ordinary -- as ordinary working here could get. But soon the video feed began flashing images of Freddy's face with bloodshot eyes. He could also see Bonnie's face a few times, while the phrase 'IT'S ME' flashed intermittently. Looking away from the cameras, he saw Freddy right in the middle of his office, sitting somewhat slumped on the floor motionless. For some reason, he was a gold colour. That's not right. Steve quickly rubbed his eyes, then found that the golden coloured Freddy was gone, but the laughter continued. As a precaution, he shut the right side door, but opened it a moment later.

"This is fucking horror film material here," he muttered to himself as he checked Pirate's Cove again. Foxy was gone. Pulling up Cam 2A revealed Foxy running. Towards. Him. Panicking, he quickly shut the door, resulting in Foxy pounding on the door. That meant... it wasn't Bonnie banging on the door last night, it was Foxy! The previous guard did warn him. Where the hell was Bonnie anyway? Oh hi, right outside the door.

It was now halfway through the night with roughly 52% power remaining. All of the animatronics, even Freddy, were roaming around. This led to him shutting the right door periodically. Steve could tell he wanted to stick around the right side of the building. Why though, was another story. Around 4, Chica finally decided to pay him a visit, peering in through the window. At least the door was already shut because of Freddy. One less thing he had to do. Oh Christ, 4:23ish and Foxy was gone again. Please no. Steve shut the door again, ignoring the banging as he continued to check the cameras. Chica was coming by again, while Freddy was in the kitchen, the Toreador March music box the dead giveaway.

He now had only 9% power left and it had just turned 5. He began to pant, afraid that he just got lucky last night and that tonight, his luck was going to run out. At this point, death was inevitable. Maybe, fingers crossed, he'd make it. But given the time, he was beginning to doubt it. He wasn't paying attention to what the time was when the power finally went out. It was the same as before, and all Steve could do was wait, keeping as still as possible while Freddy played his song.

Someone must've been looking out for him as the power returned and the animatronics returned to their proper places. Steve chuckled, barely believing his luck was still going strong. On a spur of the moment, he picked up the phone, dialing for Sav, the bassist groggily answering.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Jesus Christ, you sound like shit."

"Thanks. Did I wake you?"

"Not really, can't sleep."

"Mind coming over? I'm about to head home now."

"Yeah, lemme wake up a little."

"I'll see you there."

Chapter Text

Normally when someone sees a person in deep thought, standing in front of a whiteboard full of writing on it, they assume that person is a mathematician or a scientist. Working out problems, solving equations, and so on. But Steve was no mathematician or scientist. And the whiteboard had no equations written out on it. He had made a diagram of the restaurant's layout and the animatronics' movement patterns, studying them intensely to make sure that he would not get by just on sheer luck. He needed to know what the hell he was doing. At the moment though, he had no explanation about the golden coloured Freddy that appeared in his office. By now though, he had pieced it together that it was the same yellowish Freddy he was stuffed into in his nightmare.

Of course, this didn't keep Joe from being completely confused upon arriving in the room. "Is this really necessary, mate?"

"Would you rather I get stuffed into an animatronic suit?" Steve quickly retorted, his gaze unwavering from the whiteboard.

He did have a point.

----------

Steve arrived at the restaurant much earlier than usual, just as the last customers were leaving before closing time. The janitor was already working to clean up the messes left behind by the children that had been there earlier. He went to Mr Semper's office to oddly find that the manager wasn't there. It was just as he decided to wait to come back until later that he noticed some newspaper articles sitting on the desk, almost hidden by the paperwork. "What the hell?"

Picking up the articles, he noticed they were from some town in Virginia, reporting of two separate, but apparently related incidents that occurred at a stateside location of the restaurant chain in 1961 and 1967. The first couple of articles reported that five children had gone missing when someone put on a mascot suit and lured them into a back room of the building. The children were never found and no suspect was charged. The other articles reported that six years later, a similar incident occurred at a newer location not far from the first. Five more children went missing, never to be seen again. This time, the one responsible was caught and convicted. Some assumed that --

"Something caught your interest?"

Semper's voice startled him, but at least he didn't seem to be angry. "It's alright, Steve," he continued before Steve could explain himself. "Yes, what happened in Danville was indeed a tragedy, but we're certain it won't happen here."

"But why have these on hand when it's mostly said and done with?" Steve asked. "Is it because of the children?"

"Somewhat," the manager replied. "The case was supposed to be done and closed, but..."

"But what?"

"Danville police are thinking of reopening it."

"Why?"

"The person convicted was innocent. Framed. The manager of the Danville location actually knows who the real culprit is, but refuses to give up a name, though he specifically mentioned that the children were dead. Needless to say, he's not working for the company anymore, but the fact remains that whoever the real killer is, he or she is still out there and may know that the Sheffield location exists." He held up the articles. "This is the beginning of us being on our guard. Fazbear Entertainment as a whole has its quirks, that's a given. But among the individuals... well, I think it's obvious that we'll do everything in our power to prevent this from happening again."

"So what do we do?"

"For now," Semper started, "we keep our eyes out for anyone suspicious and do our jobs in the meantime." The manager then grabbed his keys and left.

Steve could barely wrap his head around this. Maybe this could be a reason why there was a Freddy's location in England: to prevent another such incident from happening at another location. A very corporate decision, Steve thought, but it seemed to work. This location had been there for six years now, and while stories and rumours about the stateside locations followed it, the tragedy didn't, so business was probably better here than it was across the pond.

But now was not the time to be thinking of the history of the restaurant chain. He had work to do. He clocked in about 20 minutes before midnight, then settled in his office. However, a few minutes later he got antsy. There was something he needed to know. Grabbing a flashlight, he made his way towards the bathrooms and into the safe room. Why they put the safe room next to the bathrooms was a question that will likely never be answered. He turned the flashlight on, seeing only a few labeled cardboard boxes as well as old soda cups and cigarette butts littered about. 'Miscellaneous', 'Spare Parts', 'Party Essentials'. However, two of the boxes were labeled 'Golden Freddy' and 'Springtrap'. The Springtrap box was taped shut just like the others, but the Golden Freddy box was simply folded shut. The original tape was cut open. Steve took caution and slowly opened the box to reveal the same Golden Freddy suit he saw in his office. Its endoskeleton, presuming it had one, was gone, leaving it as an empty suit. He could see that the suit appeared to have spring locks, something the other animatronics lacked. A startling detail was that there appeared to be blood on the inside. Not much, but it was noticeable.

Maybe that's why he got into his office. The box wasn't properly shut. Blood stains aside, he seemed harmless. What could this thing possibly do to him?

His attention was then drawn to the Springtrap box. Curiosity killed the cat. He picked up a discarded box cutter -- probably the one used to open Golden Freddy's box -- and carefully opened it. It was another spring lock suit, but it looked like a much older version of Bonnie and was also gold coloured. Its endoskeleton was also missing and the suit looked to be deteriorating a bit. The poor thing's ear was almost broken off. This guy couldn't do any harm either, Steve thought and folded both boxes shut. He was unsure as to why these two suits were here, as well as why the hell the golden Bonnie suit would be called Springtrap, but he decided to leave it for another day. His shift was going to start in a couple of minutes.

He arrived back at his office just as the clock struck midnight. Another night of warding off killer robots. The phone immediately rang and he answered, waiting for what the previous guard left behind for him this time.

"Hello, hello! Hey! Hey wow, day four. I knew you could do it." He sounded very distressed. Something was wrong. "Uh, hey listen... I may not be around to send you a message tomorrow..." Steve could hear what sounded like something banging on the closed doors in the call. "It's-it's been a bad night here. For me." He rolled his eyes and checked the cameras. Why, Chica? "Um... I-I'm kinda glad that I recorded my messages for you..." The employee cleared his throat. "Uh, when I did. Hey, do me a favour." Foxy was already peeking out of the curtain. "Maybe sometime, uh, you could check inside those suits... in-in the back room? I'm gonna try to hold out until someone... checks. Maybe it won't be so bad."

His tone finally registered in his head and he suddenly became alarmed. Something was not right at all. "I-I-I always wondered what was in all those empty heads... back there..." As he spoke, the Toreador March played in the call. No no no! "Oh no..." A loud distorted scream sounded out and the call went dead.

Steve's face drained of colour. Of all times to take this threat seriously, now was a pretty damn good time. They killed him! That was probably why there was blood in the Golden Freddy suit and why his box was open. They stuffed the employee in him! He now realised how big of a mistake it was to not tape the boxes back up, but it was too late now. His shift had already started. If by some miracle he made it through the night, he was going to tape those boxes back up like they should've been. But right now, he just needed to survive the night.

He quickly flipped through the cameras, keeping the main focus on Foxy as part of his strategy. Foxy was the only one that needed consistent monitoring, and he had studied the other animatronics' patterns. Hopefully by tomorrow, he wouldn't have to look at any other cameras. 1 AM, everyone was on the move. Bonnie was going to pay him a visit soon. Freddy was nowhere to be found, and Chica... dammit, he forgot where she was already. Fuck!

The low laugh returned, along with quick footsteps. On impulse, he shut the right door, hoping it would keep Freddy out. Or was it Golden Freddy? At this point, he didn't know nor did he care. A quick check of the cameras told him he had quickly gone to the kitchen. As long as he could hear the music box only faintly, he knew the bear would be nowhere near him. Bonnie surprisingly left for the supply closet. An interesting change, but a good one.

2 AM, 71% power. This might be a long night for him too. Freddy moved, judging by the laughter. Where he went, he wasn't sure. Chica was now in the kitchen. Foxy hadn't moved yet. He was trying not to check the cameras too often. The last thing he wanted was to be too dependent on the cameras and have it drain his power. Besides, he needed to put his strategy to the test. So far, it was working. Chica was now at the East Hall corner, near the door. However, something looked very odd. Her head was twitching like crazy. What fucking even. It didn't help that he was beginning to hear what sounded like a distorted voice attempting to speak. He did not remember having smoked any pot before coming to work, so this was really weird. "Please tell me I'm not going insane."

Whatever was wrong with her was gone as fast as it came and she was in the window. "Hello..." Steve quickly shut the door, then flicked through the cameras, stopping at 4B to find Freddy's darkened face filling the camera view. "Hello!" Good thing the door was already shut. Bonnie had yet to leave the supply closet. Almost 3 and he still had more than half his power. His strategy was working. "Jesus Christ, you fucking Christmas dinner, go away!" If Chica stayed there for much longer, it would throw a huge wrench in his plan. Having Foxy charge the door twice is bad enough, though thankfully Foxy was staying put. He didn't need Chica lingering around for so long.

The sound of footsteps retreating told him that she had finally left. He opened the door and checked his power. 57%. He had already accepted that it was likely with this strategy that he may run out of power and it would just be a matter of timing it very close to 6 AM. It seemed that he was still prepared to do that. Goddamn, the classical music again! 3:51, half power. This was going a bit better than he originally thought, but he didn't want to continue to think about it and jinx the whole thing. Bonnie was now in the West Hall. Steve shut the right door again, hoping his timing was right. It had to be, otherwise he was dead! After enough time had passed, he opened the door. So far, so good.

A little after 4, he began to wonder why the hell Foxy hadn't moved. He had anticipated him charging at least once. Oh hi, Bonnie! Down the left door. Chica went to the kitchen again, while Freddy remained where he was. He was definitely proving to be a persistent threat, and it was a good thing Steve accounted for this. As a precaution, he shut the right door as well. The bunny was gone as quick as he had come. 33% power left, about 4:40ish. He just might make it through the night with a little bit of power left. He skimmed through the cameras again, finding Bonnie in the dining room.

Foxy was now about to charge. 23% power remaining. He finally opened the right door around 5 and shut the left one. It was possible the animal pirate might charge anyway, so it was best to be prepared. Sure enough, he did. Now he was down to 15%. Just a little longer and maybe he'll make it. After he left, Steve switched the doors to prevent Freddy from getting in. 9%. Oh boy. Bonnie was by the door again in the corner. It was really going to come down to the wire. 5% now. Come on, 6 AM, hurry up! 2%...

Finally, 6 AM arrived and the animatronics once again returned to their places. He fucking did it! Minimal power remaining and he did it. Some power can be left over after all. Of course, it was still likely that he would lose power tomorrow night. In fact, he was sure of it. But for now, he savoured his victory. Whoever his predecessor was, he was sure to be proud of him. Speaking thus, what the hell happened to his body? It wasn't in the Golden Freddy suit nor Springtrap's, and the smell of a dead body would be pungent and obvious.

Before it slipped his mind, he quickly clocked out and made a beeline for the safe room, a roll of heavy duty packing tape in hand. Just as he was about to re-tape Golden Freddy's box, Brandy showed up. "About time someone taped that thing back together."

"How long has it been like this?" Steve asked.

"A week," she replied. "And I heard about the Danville incident. I was beginning to fear it was going to happen all over again."

"I don't think it will," he said while he taped the box shut. "Do you know the guy who worked as the guard before me?"

"Scott?"

So that was his name. "Yeah. What happened to him?" He taped Springtrap's box shut.

She shrugged. "He didn't show up to finish his last day last week." Her eyes widened. "You don't think..." Seeing Steve pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh, it confirmed what she was implying. "Poor man never did no harm to anyone. He didn't deserve this. I should've known when they said he wouldn't be coming back to work that he..." She began to sniffle and choke back tears.

"But why would they hide an employee's death, especially from their coworkers?"

"I wish I knew," her voice cracked. "As soon as I get off my shift, I'm going to find out where he is... Maybe the company will have some decency to let us attend his funeral..."

----------

The smell of fresh pancakes woke Steve up. His eyes fluttered open, seeing Sav carrying a tray of what looked like breakfast. "Morning," the bass player greeted him with a smile.

"It's 5 in the afternoon," Steve groggily responded with a glance at his alarm clock.

"It's morning for you." Sav then set the tray down in his friend's lap once he sat up.

The breakfast tray consisted of buttermilk pancakes with butter and syrup, seasoned omelettes, two slices of buttered toast, and a couple of pieces of sausage and bacon. The meal was accompanied with a glass of apple juice. "American style breakfast." He gazed up at Sav. "What's the occasion?"

"I was hoping it would make you feel a bit better," he answered, "especially since the person who was last in your position... well, you know."

"How do you know that?"

"Your coworker called." Sav sat on the edge of the bed. "She said she wasn't able to figure out which funeral home has him." Steve sighed, then Sav continued, "She said she was gonna call some local hospitals, see if they have him in their morgues."

"Yeah, it's not likely he would be in a funeral home here," Steve pondered as he began to eat his breakfast. "He's American, so if he's been sent to a funeral home, it would likely be over in the States."

"Good point." Sav sighed. "So what now?"

Steve answered, "All I can do now is my job, wait until Brandy finds out where he is."

"First name basis, eh? You fancy her?" Sav joked.

"Sod off, she's not my type. Yours, maybe."

Sav snickered, "Jackass."

"Proud of it."

----------

Tonight was going to be hell. And Friday is supposed to be the best day of the week. Not really the case when you're working the night shift at Freddy Fazbear's. It's the complete opposite.

Steve arrived at around 23:26 and immediately clocked in, then lingered around the dining room for a bit, staring at the animatronics on the stage. It was unnerving to see them staring back, but he kept calm. Besides, they weren't so much scary anymore as much as intriguing. Well, they were still scary, just not as much as when he first had to deal with them. He stood staring at them for several moments, thinking about what he learned the night before about the missing children. Without thinking, he climbed up on the stage and got right in the brown bear's face. There wasn't a change in the character's face, but Steve could tell his look was meant to be menacing.

"What do you have to do with those kids, eh, Freddy?" He glared at the animatronic. "What the hell are you hiding?" He averted his gaze for a moment to find Bonnie had somehow turned towards him. So had Chica. They both looked pissed. Freddy would turn towards him too if Steve wasn't already in his bubble. Even Foxy poked his head out of the curtain, but his face seemed softer than the others. He was startled by the animatronics' reaction -- weren't they supposed to be off right now? -- but the feeling quickly dissipated. He was not having it today. "Same goes for you three!" A strange time to feel a confidence boost, but Steve was strange himself. Made sense. "You think you scare me?" They kinda did, but that was besides the point. "You're all hiding something. Something that you would go attacking people to keep hidden. I don't know what your motivation is or whatever it is you're trying to keep secret, but don't think for a second that I won't find out." He heard a slight mechanical noise, turning to find Freddy's face had become much more menacing than before. "You think you can stop me?" He could've sworn the bear nodded. "Go ahead and try. I fucking dare you!"

Steve glanced at the clock on the wall. It was a few minutes to midnight. He hopped off the stage and gave the animatronics another look. They were still glaring at him. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this, whether you like it or not." Without waiting to see how the animatronics would react, he left for his office.

He settled in, fuming a bit. Was he pissed? Yeah. Was he nervous? A little. Was he ready for Freddy? As ready as he'll ever be. The clock struck midnight, his shift had begun.

He immediately went to checking the cameras. There would be no phone call tonight. Not since Scott was dead. He was pissed about that too. This man took the time to leave him messages with hints about how to survive each night. Now that he's not here, Steve was on his own. It was the last day before the weekend. If he could survive tonight, he was ready for the rest of the summer.

Suddenly, the phone rang. What? Scott!? He switched cameras for a brief moment to find Chica was already gone from the stage. He answered the phone, but instead of Scott's voice, all he heard was static and a distorted voice. He couldn't make out what it was saying. The same scream repeated in the call several times, even at a higher pitch. What the actual hell? The call quickly ended, leaving Steve confused as to what the hell he just heard. Then it hit him. Freddy. "Hardy har har, Freddy." If this was a scare tactic put up by the animatronics, it certainly didn't work. Maybe he could grab a spare cassette and record that call, put it to use on Halloween...

As if nothing happened, he went back to checking the cameras. It was the last night he would be working this week. Then it would all start anew on Monday. The rest of the summer would be just the same as this week. Why is Chica the only one moving? Wait, where's Freddy? No, still on the stage. "Where'd you hop off to, Bonnie?" It took him a moment to realise what he said, then chuckled. "Heh, hopping. You're a bunny. You hop." That'll be something to share with the band later. That is, if he lives.

A low laugh signaled Freddy was on the move. Barely 1 AM and already down to 86% power left. Fucking hell, tonight was going to suck. Not to mention he pissed off the animatronics earlier. They may be out for revenge this time. He continued to keep his main focus on Pirate's Cove. Foxy hadn't moved yet. Maybe, Steve thought, the pirate felt bad for him having to work here. Then again, he highly doubted it. It's a goddamn robot. How can robots feel?

More classical music was playing, but it wasn't bothering him this time. It was more soothing background noise now. Foxy was singing his little tune again. More background noise. He really seemed to do that quite often. Why though? Checking Pirate's Cove again, he saw Foxy peeking out again. Not surprising. 77% power left. Hello, Chica. As quick as she came, she was gone. Freddy's constant laughter told him he was moving around. He could faintly hear the Toreador March music box playing. He must be in the kitchen.

Five minutes after 2 and Foxy was ready to charge. Shit. Chica was at the door. Not a minute later and Bonnie showed up too. "Don't come anywhere near me, you filthy casuals." Might as well flip through the cameras while both the doors are closed. He stopped at Cam 2B to notice the poster on the wall changed. What the hell? Is that Golden Freddy? Sure enough, the moment he looked away from the cameras, there he was. Slumped over on the floor as usual. But the doors are closed! "Hi!" Obviously, Steve was startled. "How did you get in here? And didn't I tape your box up?" Golden Freddy didn't move at all. Steve stared at the lifeless gold bear for a good solid minute wondering how the hell he got in. It didn't make sense. There was a vent, but it was too small for anything other than a domestic house cat to climb into.

After another moment, he gave up. "I'm gonna go back to work and you're gonna fuck off." The bear remained silent as Steve resumed what he was doing. He turned to open the doors, but before he could, he looked back to find Golden Freddy had disappeared just as mysteriously as he had shown up. Weird. But as long as he actually stayed away, he really didn't care. He opened the doors and went back to checking 1C. Foxy hadn't moved, but he might soon. Sure enough, a few moments later, he was gone. Steve shut the door and waited. Uh oh, Freddy. He quickly shut the right door as Foxy pounded on the left. After waiting a moment, he reopened them.

The sound of pots and pans clattering about told him Chica had moved to her favourite spot in the entire restaurant. What a time for his stomach to start rumbling. Next week, he was going to bring a lunch with him. Maybe he could get his own pizza. The kitchen stops operating once the restaurant closes, and he was sure everyone noticed the Pizza Hut boxes in the security office. No one would mind.

Checking 2B again, Bonnie was in the corner. Just like Chica last night, his head was twitching uncontrollably. The same distorted voice from before was attempting to speak. "Great," Steve said to himself as he went back to the Pirate's Cove feed. "Everyone's heads are being screwy, Golden Freddy got in my office with no logical reason as to how, I receive the most demonic fucking phone call I've ever heard, and on top of that, I'm working here!" He groaned and rubbed his temples. "I really am going insane." He and the band had seen and heard some crazy shit before, but this might top it all, and everything that comes after it. All Steve will be able to say about it is 'You had to be there.'

Bonnie showed up again ten minutes to 4, leaving soon after the hour change. Before he could close the right door, the phone rang. What the hell? Leaving the left door closed for when the fox would charge, he answered, not even getting a chance to greet the caller.

"Steve?"

What the-- "Brandy?"

"Oh good, the animatronics haven't gotten to you yet."

"Don't speak too soon." Right then, Foxy charged. "I'm still working." Jesus Christ, not even 5 yet and he's down to 18%.

"Sorry," Brandy apologised, "I should've waited until your shift was over."

"Ah, don't worry about it." Maybe if he kept the left door shut, left the cameras alone, and kept a watchful eye on the right door, he might be alright. He'll still lose power, but hopefully it wouldn't throw a huge wrench in his plan.

"Well, I have good news."

"Good news, eh? What is it?"

"Scott's not dead."

What. He's alive!? "How the--"

"Apparently Ralph had found him in the safe room stuffed in the Golden Freddy suit," she explained. "He got him out and to hospital as quick as he could."

"That is the best news I've heard all damn night. Where is he?" 5 AM, 12% power.

"Northern General," she answered. "I talked with the doctor just now, he said we could visit him after 7."

"7?"

"Aye."

"Alright um..." The power was about to go out. He couldn't continue to sit still and chat with the waitress. Besides, Freddy had moved. "Listen, I'm about to lose power and I might barely make it out, so if I do--" He shut the right door and opened the left. "--can you write this address down?"

"Yeah, sure."

Steve then gave her his address while he checked on Foxy. "Meet me there. The car I'm using is my dad's and he needs it to get to work in the morning."

"Alright." Bonnie appeared again. This is definitely going to be a close call. Well, he -is- in a call. "Hey, what'll happen when the power goes out?"

Without missing a beat, the power cut out. "Well," he said, "you'll be witness to either my stroke-of-luck survival..."

"Or?"

Right on cue, the Toreador March played. "My death."

"I hope it's the former," he heard her murmur on the other end.

Thankfully, it was as the power returned and Freddy and company returned to their places. "You just got your wish, Brandy."

"That's wonderful!" She sounded relieved. "So I'll meet you at yours?"

"Yeah. I say we go early, I haven't eaten much today."

"Can do."

Right then, a light on the phone base went off. Another call was waiting. He must be really popular today. "I'll see you there, I've got another call."

"Alright."

After she hung up, Steve pondered for a moment how to greet the caller. He doesn't work here during the day and he's not a part of the wait staff. Just wing it and see how it goes. "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, how may I help you?" The stupidest greeting he could think of, but hopefully it worked.

"Oh thank God." It was Sav. "You were taking a while to answer, I thought you were dead."

"Sorry, Brandy called. She found out which hospital has my predecessor."

"Is he...?"

"Somehow, he's alive. We're gonna go see him in a bit."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Be at my house before I get there."

"Alright. Though I want to ask, why are we going so early?"

"Doc cleared him for visitation at 7ish. Besides..." A wide grin played on his face.

"I can hear your look, Steve. Don't do it."

"My stomach is making the rumblies--"

"Stephen Maynard Clark."

"--that only hands will satisfy."

"You motherfucker."

Steve howled with laughter. "No, seriously, I haven't eaten much today, so we're eating at the hospital. That alright with you?"

"Sure."

"I'll see you in a bit, love."

Chapter Text

"Oof!"

Steve felt a sharp elbow in his side, waking him up from a near doze-off. He yawned and stretched, then settled back into his chair.

He, Sav, and Brandy had been in the waiting room for nearly half an hour before they could be allowed to see Scott. They had just gotten back from eating breakfast in the hospital cafeteria only ten minutes ago and already Steve was beginning to doze off. At least he had a good excuse for his tiredness. But he was having problems keeping awake after such a long and dreadful night. This made him grateful that he didn't have to work weekends, though he had a sneaking suspicion that he'd have to at some point. He didn't want to know how bad the animatronics were on weekends.

Finally, 7 o'clock arrived and the trio began to make their way towards Scott's room. Brandy was verging on tears knowing that he was alive and going to be alright. She was constantly sniffling and trying to hold back her tears, leading to several people, including Steve, to ask if she was alright. Steve knew the answer before he even asked, but asked anyway.

Upon arriving to the fourth storey, Sav walked up to the nurse's station. "Excuse me, ma'am? I'm looking for this room number." He showed the nurse at the desk Scott's room number written down on a strip of paper. "Where exactly is it?"

She pointed down the corridor. "Around the corner, third door on the right."

"Thank you." He motioned to the others and led them to the room.

Brandy sighed, eyeing the nameplate on the door that bore the night guard's name. "I hope he's alright."

Steve eyed the nameplate as well. 'Wells, Scott,' he read to himself. "Only one way to find out." He then knocked on the door softly and waited for a response.

"I hope we're not disturbing him," Sav whispered.

Before the others could agree, a voice called from inside. "Come in!"

"Apparently not," Steve whispered back, then opened the door, leading the others in. The man on the bed had several scars on his body that were patched with gauze and his glasses were cracked in a couple of places, but he seemed otherwise fine.

The man sat up in his bed. "Brandy!"

"Scott!" Brandy came up and hugged him tightly. "I was so worried about you. No one told us where you were."

"I'm fine, don't worry," Scott chuckled, then gazed over at Steve and Sav. "Are these friends of yours?"

"Oh!" Steve stepped forward and offered his hand. "I'm Steve, the new night guard. This is, uh... my friend Sav." Sav then offered his own hand.

Scott smiled as he shook their hands, "It's great to get to meet you, kid. I really hope your first week wasn't too terrible."

"Everyone's first week is terrible, Scott," Brandy giggled.

"Good point."

"Well, if it weren't for your prerecorded calls, I'd have been lost. And probably dead by now."

Sav glared at Steve. "You're gonna get a right bollocking if you keep that talk up."

Steve smirked smugly. "You love me."

Sav rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

"Prince Foofy."

"Weeb supreme."

Scott laughed at the exchange between the two bandmates. "Do you two always act like that?"

"A bit," Steve replied.

Sav added, "We're in a band together, so we tend to have some strange conversations."

"A band?" Scott thought for a moment before having a eureka moment. "Were you two on an EP? Uh..." He snapped his fingers as he tried to remember. "Uh... Deaf... something? I'm a little foggy on details."

"Def Leppard," Sav smiled, "and yep, that's us."

"I knew it!" the guard seemed pretty happy. "I bought the EP some months back, it's really impressive."

"Thanks!" Steve exclaimed. "We're hoping to start recording our first album sometime within the next year."

"I definitely look forward to it."

Now it was time for the real questions. "I have to ask, Scott," the guitarist started, "how the hell did you manage to survive?"

"I figured you would ask that sooner or later." Scott sat up a little more and cleared his throat. "You've seen the suits in the back, right?"

"Golden Freddy and Springtrap?"

"Yeah. Those are spring lock suits. You probably know that already. But I was lucky to be put in Goldie's suit instead of Springtrap's or any of the spares for the other four. Some of the spring locks snapped, as you can tell--" He pointed out his various injuries. "--but thankfully it wasn't too bad. Ralph found me before he started his shift. If I had been in there any longer, I'd probably be dead from a really bad staph infection."

"I thought those spring lock suits were discontinued," Brandy said.

"Discontinued?" Steve asked.

"Mmhm," Scott hummed. "They should've been trashed, but apparently corporate doesn't want to get rid of them just yet. I mean, c'mon, Springtrap's in terrible shape. Not to mention what's happened with that thing."

"I'm afraid to ask."

"The reason they were discontinued was because of a really bad spring lock failure involving one of the Springtrap suits. We used to call him Spring Bonnie and Golden Freddy used to be called Fredbear. They're relics from an old restaurant the company bought. Hell, it's why Freddy Fazbear's exists. We kept the old suits for birthday use, but at one particular party... I think it was '60... 2? Yeah, '62. One of the entertainers was wearing one of the Spring Bonnie suits. It was a particularly hot day, the AC was a little busted. But nearly every spring lock in the suit broke."

Steve was shocked. "Holy shit."

"The guy was lucky to have survived, but that's why Springtrap is named so. We threw out nearly every suit of those two, since they're the only spring lock suits, but we were told to keep one of each. I assumed at first that they could potentially be fixed, but the more time passed afterwards..." He shook his head. "Yeah, they didn't fix them at all."

Sav asked, "Did anyone attempt to fix them?"

"Yeah," Scott responded. "Some of the staff would try to work on the spring locks during their breaks. It wasn't until a few years ago that we finally got them all fixed, but no one volunteered to be a guinea pig." He chuckled a bit. "Looks like I got nominated." A nurse then came in with Scott's morning medicine, which he quickly took. "Eugh, disgusting."

"At least you're taking it, Mr Wells."

"Well," Brandy spoke, "we should get going. Steve just got off work and he kept dozing off in the waiting area."

"Yeah, Fridays are a pain. The weekends are worse though."

He knew it. "Let's hope I don't have to work weekends."

"Let's definitely hope," Scott agreed. "But should you have to fill in for Danny, it'll likely be rarely. He's mastered the weekend shift."

"Why would he miss work then?"

"This, that, and the other. Usually it's family business. Sometimes he really wants to get away from work, but not always. I think he likes the challenge."

"Good luck to him," Sav muttered under his breath.

"But yeah, just talk with him if you need to fill in."

----------

Three weeks later...
So far, Steve was managing to do pretty well at work. The animatronics seemed to not be happy with how long he was lasting as they seemed to get more aggressive. While he was a little scared, he was still more intrigued at their behaviour. Why were they acting this way? What did they want?

6 AM arrived as the power came back on. Freddy really seemed to hate him today, but at this point. Steve didn't give a shit. It's Friday and he wants to go home. Scott came into the office dressed in his uniform. "Good day?"

"Get fucked," Steve chuckled. "Glad to see you're back working, mate."

Scott nodded, "Moved to weekend day shift. They want me to work up to full day shift and eventually move Ralph to weekends."

"Heard he was starting university."

"Yep, classes almost all week, so he doesn't have the time to work. But that won't be until September-ish. I think? I never got used to the school schedule here," he chuckled.

"Well, that's what you get for being American."

"Guess so." Scott cleared his throat. "Uh, Danny called me up this morning. He would've called you, but he doesn't have your number."

"Should I leave it posted somewhere?"

"Maybe. But uh..." He scratched the back of his head. "Danny has to go out of town. He's got a family reunion in Southampton on Sunday, so he needs you to cover his shift this weekend."

Dammit. The one shift he did not want to work at this godforsaken place and he's got to cover it. He's already endured five nights of hell for three weeks, and now he needed to work on the weekend!? What the bloody shit was this!? Calm down, Steve. Calm down. "Guess it'll be a little extra towards my rent then."

"Yep," Scott said. "Since the weekend night shift is an absolute nightmare, it's considered time and a half to work it."

Time and a half? Hell yes!

But is it worth the absolute hell?

----------

"Looks creepy at night."

"You're just now catching on?"

Steve stepped out of the car, followed by Joe and Sav. He hoped he wouldn't have to see this place on weekends, and yet here he was. Who knows how bad it'll be, but he didn't want to think about it. He had work to do, whether he liked it or not. Shit, that made him think. What would happen to his bandmates if they were all caught? Would they get stuffed too? That's the end of the band. Steve couldn't let that happen. Not to his friends, not to his family, not to anyone. Especially not to... No, no! Don't think about it! He couldn't bear to think about what would happen if his partner was caught.

"Come on." He led his friends inside the restaurant and clocked in, then proceeded to take them on a tour of the place, showing them the animatronics and the safe room with Golden Freddy and Springtrap, regardless of the fact that he's not supposed to. Oh well. Fuck the rules.

"Alright, so where's the security office?" Joe asked.

"Pick a hallway, they both lead there." Steve checked the clock on the wall. "My shift starts soon anyway."

The trio then headed to the office and settled in. "Messy," Joe commented.

"Well, no shit."

"Okay, so," Sav spoke, "what do we need to do?"

"Hit the doors when you're supposed to," Steve replied. "You do remember the pattern, right?" Both nodded. "Good." 12 AM hit and the night began.

Steve immediately started checking the cameras. Hopefully Danny's pattern will work for them. It should, since Danny mastered the damn thing. Not bad for a Mayfair man. He kept switching between the stage and Pirate's Cove. So far no one was moving, but that was likely to change soon. Yep, there goes Chica. "Chica's on the move."

Sav gulped. He did not want to have to deal with both Chica and Freddy, especially when Freddy's the worse of the two. But as long as Freddy stayed on stage, he figured it would be alright. He was only manning the right door.

A check of the lights, no one at the doors yet. Steve left the camera at Pirate's Cove since Foxy was really the only one that needed watching. It might also keep his power usage down, especially since Joe and Sav memorised the pattern for the doors and lights. All Steve needed to do was watch the cameras, though he knew that he would eventually have to do this by himself. That is, if he needed to work Danny's shift again. He certainly hoped not.

Freddy's laughing could only mean one thing: he's on the move. No one liked this at all, especially Steve. He was really worried for Sav.

"What the fuck!?"

Steve and Sav turned to see what Joe was reacting to. It was nothing. "What the hell, there's nothing there!"

"I saw fucking faces and... words!"

"Words?"

"Yeah, like... 'It's me' or some shit like that."

Neither Steve nor Sav saw this, but now was not the time to worry about it. Though it did remind Steve of the first time he saw Golden Freddy. But Joe didn't have a camera screen in front of him. He just... saw it. Was it a hallucination then? 1 AM, 86% power left. On cue, Sav closed the right hand door to block Freddy from getting in. Steve wished the building had unlimited power and the doors could stay shut. His job would've been much easier, and he wouldn't have to worry about his friends possibly being attacked too. Up with the right door, back to the lights. Everyone seemed to be faring alright, despite the sense of dread and panic.

Sav continued to periodically shut and up the right door to keep Freddy out. Was he really that fast? The bass player highly doubted it, but he wasn't the one actually working here. Steve was. "Oh shit!" Sav exclaimed as he quickly shut the door. Chica was here. A shout and a door shut from Joe's side said that Bonnie was there too.

"You alright?" Steve asked the both of them, receiving nods in reply.

They checked the lights and found they were gone as quickly as they had come. "How can they move so fast?"

"I wish I knew the answer to that, Joe."

"What the fuck is playing the goddamn Toreador March?"

"Freddy. He's in the kitchen."

Sav looked at Steve like he had a third eye. "How do you know that?"

Steve sighed, "The kitchen only registers audio, and Freddy only plays that music box of his in dark areas, like the kitchen."

"Why would he go there though?"

"Haven't the foggiest. Chica!"

Sav nearly forgot and switched on the light. "She looks creepy."

"The door, Sav!"

"Oh!" He quickly shut the door, then opened it once she had gone.

Steve letting out a sigh of relief. "You've got to pay attention, mate. One slip up and we're all dead."

"Hi. You're still disturbing," Joe commented as he shut the door on Bonnie's face, then turned to his guitar player. "And you do this shit every night by yourself?"

"Barring weekends like this, yes," Steve answered.

"How? Just how?"

Steve grinned widely at him, but said nothing.

Joe rolled his eyes. "Go suck a cock."

"I thought that was my job," Sav mumbled under his breath, then shut the door again. "How are we doing?"

Steve looked at the power percentage. "64% power left. And it's..." He looked up at the clock. "2 AM."

Joe groaned. "Is this night ever going to end?"

"Uh, yeah, in four hours."

"Smartass."

The constant Freddy laughing was beginning to freak Sav out. He was even beginning to feel paranoid since all he had done for the better part of two whole hours was open and shut a door. How the fuck does he do this!?

Bonnie was back, and still no sign of Foxy. This might actually work. But it was only 2:30. There was still plenty of time for him to become active. Pots and pans rattling. Chica's in the kitchen. Foxy was singing, but so long as he stayed behind the curtain, Steve didn't give two shits what he did. He could fucking masturbate for all he cared. Wait, how do animatronics even masturbate? Can they? On second thought, Steve wasn't sure he wanted to know. 3 AM and a little over half the power remaining. If they manage to get through the entire night and not lose power, that would be amazing. Hi, Bonnie. Again.

"This entire restaurant sounds like the remains of a Saturday morning cartoon show reject." Joe's comment sent his friends into a fit of laughter. "What?" he questioned as he shut the door on Bonnie. He really seemed to want to visit a lot. And it's not even 4 AM yet!

"Scott told me there used to be a TV show about these guys," Steve giggled.

"What?"

"I shit you not, it was really old. Like, Looney Tunes old."

"You're a Looney Tune."

Steve thought for a moment as he continued to check on Foxy. "Well, not quite that old, but you get my point."

Joe shut the door again. "Maybe you could rename Bonnie to Bugs?"

"It's copyrighted, mate."

The two continued to bicker for a while until...

"Um, Joe?" Sav piped up. "The door?"

Joe checked the door. Bonnie hadn't moved at all. "Why do I have a feeling this is not good?"

Eventually the bunny left, but having gone so long without checking the cameras... "Shit, Foxy!" Steve quickly checked the camera. He was out and ready to charge. At least he was still on the camera. If he wasn't, they would be screwed. Now he just needed to make sure Foxy didn't go anywhere. Stop laughing, Freddy!

It was nearly 5 AM and the trio were exhausted. The constant repetition of lights-camera-lights-door-camera-door-light-camera-door and so on was beginning to take its toll on Sav. He already got the least amount of sleep of anyone in the band, but this was going to make it worse. They only had one more hour, but only 15% power remaining. This was not going to end well.

"Haven't seen the chicken in a while," Sav said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I thought it was a duck?" The singer was confused.

"It's a chicken," Steve and Sav said simultaneously.

The night was almost over, but they had 5% power left. Steve was surprised Foxy hadn't charged yet, nor did they see Golden Freddy, but there was still a little bit of time left. Anything could happen. But soon there was only 1% power remaining. "Stop!" Joe and Sav stopped messing with the door switches. "Power's about to go out. Sit still and do nothing."

"But what about--" Sav's concern was cut off by the power going out.

"Keep perfectly still and quiet," Steve whispered.

They didn't need to for very long as the power came back on. "My asshole clenched big time."

"TMI, Joe."

"Well, now you guys know what I deal with on a daily basis." Steve stood up and stretched. "I vote sleep, anyone else?"

"Let's hope I don't have nightmares."

"Awesome, let's go."

----------

Joe and Sav could barely sleep after the ordeal they went through. Steve slept soundly, but was plagued with nightmares like before. Just who the fuck is this Reese person? Maybe Scott knows who he is? If he does, he'll have to ask him later at a more convenient time. Steve just hoped he wouldn't forget before then. He wanted answers.

At the moment, however, his dad decided to give him a hard time.

"Not making enough, so you have to work on the weekends. Is that it?"

"No," Steve replied, "I'm just filling in for someone. It's not permanent."

Barry sneered. "You say that now, but just wait. The next weekend comes up, you'll have to fill in again. And the weekend after that, and the weekend after that! Pretty soon you'll end up quitting because you can't get a day off and the pressure is too much."

"Dad, how many times do I have to tell you it's not on a permanent basis? I'm only filling in for this weekend and that's it."

"Clearly you're not listening, but then again you never listened when--"

Now Steve had had enough. "You know, I wish I didn't have to listen to you at all. But no, apparently due to some convoluted idea that you have to respect your parents no matter what, I'm forced to have to listen to your bullshit day in and day out. I don't want to, nor should I have to."

"Don't you take that tone with me, Stephen!"

"Speak for yourself!" Steve shouted. "Everyone's always saying respect your elders, but you know what? How I see it is that you only respect those who respect you in return. So why don't we put that into perspective, eh?"

"Stephen--"

"No, shut up! You haven't given me an ounce of respect since the day I was fucking born, so why should I give you any respect at all? Give respect, get respect, that's how school's always taught it. That's how you and Mum always taught it, but apparently you're too much of a hypocrite and can't even follow your own goddamn words!"

"Watch your language!"

"Shut your damn mouth, I'm not finished!" Barry was going to get an earful from his eldest son whether he liked it or not. "Every damn day, you've been on my back about this, that, and the other and you've tormented me while you were at it. I was obviously foolish to attempt to earn any praise from you when I know you're never gonna give any. That's going to change today! I don't need your praise, and I don't fucking want your praise. If all my efforts are just going to lead to you cutting me down, then I've wasted my time. I'm not going to continue to live my life in your shadow! I've got dreams and aspirations that are actually looking up for me. And what have you got, eh? Jack and shit. So keep your envious bitching to yourself cos neither I nor Mum nor Kevin nor Chris wants to fucking hear it!"

Barry opened his mouth to speak, but Steve quickly cut him off. "And if you say one more goddamn word about my job, I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever say about it. You think it's easy being a night guard? You don't even realise how dangerous it actually is. You want to bitch about my choice of work? Why don't you come to work with me tonight, eh? Why don't we see how tough you really think you are!? But of course, you don't want to come because you're a fucking pussy! Until you spend a day dealing with my job, you can keep your mouth shut. And once I'm out of this godforsaken house, I will leave you in the damn dust where you belong! So save your breath and go fuck yourself!"

With that, Steve promptly left the room, his father standing shell-shocked by the kitchen counter.

----------

Steve pulled the car into the restaurant's parking lot and sighed. Not once had he ever stood up to his dad like that, and while he was a little anxious for what the reaction would be when he got home, he was more pissed off and on an adrenaline rush. He'll definitely need that to get through today.

Sundays, Danny had said, were a crapshoot. They could either be the most docile machines in existence, or the absolute worst. There was no anticipating what it would be, but he said that it was best to be prepared for the absolute worst case scenario. Steve was honestly afraid to ask how that would go. What would the animatronics even do if they got to him? Stab him in multiple places and peel back the layers? Sounded unappealing. Heh, he made a pun.

Stepping in, he could see Scott emerging from the West Hall. "Steve?" he called. "You look like you're about to murder someone."

"Yeah, my dad," Steve huffed.

"Something tells me I don't want to know."

"I'll fill you in later."

Scott looked around. "Where's your friends?"

"Joe and Sav?" Steve momentarily forgot that he was on his own. "Sav needed his rest and Joe's out with his parents. They're celebrating his birthday a little early."

"Oh nice," Scott said. "Let him know I said happy birthday."

Steve smiled, "Will do."

After a little while, Steve was situated in his office. He certainly hoped that he would be able to get through the day on his own, especially when the aggressiveness of the animatronics was completely random. Just remember the pattern and you'll be good.

The night began, and Steve immediately began checking the cameras. Really, Foxy was the only one he needed to watch. The rest were based more on a pattern. Freddy, on the other hand, could be random, but maybe if he tried, he could force the bear into a pattern. Just shut the right door before looking at the cameras. It should save him quite a bit of worry. But this was just worst case scenario thinking.

The cameras made a strange interference noise, and immediately he knew that the animatronics were not going to have any mercy on him. That was proven when Chica showed up only a few minutes later. Yep, it was going to be that kind of night. Wonderful. Bonnie showed up a moment later just as Chica disappeared. Freddy just did not want to leave him alone, did he? That wasn't his biggest concern. Well, in a way, it was, but overall he was more worried about getting out alive. It was now that he wished his friends could've come with him. He could certainly benefit from their banter right now.

Lights, door, camera, door, lights, door, camera, door. Hi, Bonnie. Door, lights. Shut the fuck up, Freddy. Door, camera, lights, door, lights. The pattern barely left Steve any time to think. There was only the pattern with an underlying fear that serves as the only thing to motivate him. By 1 AM, it quickly became clockwork. He had a hard time remembering to check his power usage, but he figured that in the end, it wouldn't even matter. He was going to lose power anyway. It was just a matter of making it last as long as he could.

What the hell, the flashing images! Steve made a quick mental note to talk to Joe about it later. Who knows, maybe that would be great horror game material. Bonnie was back. Down with the door. "Freddy, I swear if you do not shut your trap, I'll tear you to goddamn pieces!" Steve shouted. Something told him that he would be putting up with Freddy's constant laughter throughout the night. It was getting on his nerves. Yeah, his dad would never survive this. Strangely, Steve took pride in that fact. Already he could imagine his dad being forced into one of the spring lock suits -- maybe Springtrap. Watching as every spring lock snapped and impaled him, listening to his screaming, relishing in the sight while laughing in his face and saying that he told him so, and -- wow, he was being extremely morbid.

Shaking his head, Steve mumbled, "Get your head in the game, mate. Fantasise about Dad's gruesome death later." Yeah. Very morbid.

75% power left and Foxy was now peeking out. It was a guaranteed fact that Foxy was going to charge once. It was just being ready for it and trying to keep him from charging a second time. Chica appeared before he could open the door. Might as well leave it closed for a moment. Bonnie was back, then Chica flew off. Foxy was now ready to charge. Yikes. It was looking like Foxy might charge more than once that night. "Someone remind me why I took this job again," he spoke aloud to nobody as he continued to periodically close and reopen the right door while checking on Pirate's Cove. Then he remembered the fight with his dad. Oh yeah, that's why.

A strange thumping noise startled him. What in the hell was that? It sounded like someone was kicking his bedroom door. But he was at work, that didn't make sense. Deciding to disregard it, he went back to the pattern. Door, camera, door, lights, door, camera, go away Chica, door, lights, camera, door, lights, Bonnie again. It was only 2 AM and already Steve felt like he had been working for nine hours straight. This was definitely going to be a very long night. Bonnie again, Jesus fuck. He disappeared, but reappeared a moment later. Very. Long. Night. He took a little too long to leave, and as soon as Steve checked the camera, he knew he was about to be screwed. Quickly, he shut the left door just before Foxy could get in. Once he was gone, he checked 1C again to find Foxy back in his place, but peeking out of the curtain already.

Bonnie again, door, lights, door, bye Bonnie, door, lights, hi Chica, lights, bye Chica, door, lights, door, camera. Steve yawned, taking a bite of a sandwich that he brought with him. The night was looking less scary and fear-inducing and more boring as 3 AM rolled around. Was this how Danny put up with hellish Sundays? Did he focus so much on the pattern that it didn't scare him anymore? Chica again. Bye Chica. Back to the pattern. Hi Bonnie.

Steve chuckled to himself. "You guys need to try harder. This is ridiculous." Who knows, maybe after dealing with tonight, he might stick around a bit longer. Actually, scratch that. He didn't have that big of a death wish.

The pattern had made the night so boring that he actually forgot the animatronics existed until Bonnie reappeared. "Whoa, hi." A very. Long. Boring. Night. Rubbing at his eyes, Steve continued on with the pattern, but became slightly alarmed at the amount of power left. It had just turned 4 AM and there was only 24% power left. He was beginning to have a bad feeling that he might lose power too soon. "Calm down, Steve," he told himself. "Don't panic, you'll fuck things up, just calm down."

Chica returned and quickly drained his power down to 17%. "Don't panic, don't panic." Now he saw what was happening. The animatronics adhered to the pattern for a while to lull him into a false sense of security, then came at him full force to fuck him over royally. Bonnie showing up practically confirmed it, and with Freddy constantly on the move and Foxy ready to charge, Steve just felt like a dumbass.

Not even 5 AM yet and already down to 6%. This was it. This was definitely going to be the end of him. He should've paid more attention. He should've brought someone to help. Maybe he should've forced his dad to work the shift and laugh maniacally at his failure. Well, good to know that in a life and death situation, he was still a morbid freak.

The moment 5 AM hit, Steve stopped everything. This was definitely going to be it. Everything now rode on the power running out before Foxy decided to charge. The wait was agonising. He watched the power percentage slowly drop. The animatronics' footsteps echoing in the hallways and in his head. Freddy had stopped laughing. That was not good. If Foxy didn't get him, then Freddy surely would. Bonnie and Chica would rather wait until his attention was fully diverted elsewhere. 1% left. Come on, run out already! Foxy's coming! He chewed on his lip, anxiously watching and waiting for that 1 to turn into a 0.

As if hearing his prayers, the power finally cut out, leaving him in complete darkness. It was almost 6 AM. If he managed to pull this off, it would be a goddamn miracle. The classical music broke the silence, which struck him as odd. The power was out. How the hell was that music even playing? That made no sense at all. Then again, nothing at Freddy Fazbear's made sense. The fact that he chose to work here made no sense. Now the Toreador March began to play. Timing is everything. Steve just had to hope that he didn't fuck everything up by being off by even a split second.

Suddenly, all sound died out. All he could hear was the sound of his own breathing, shallow as it was. The silence otherwise was deafening. What time was it? How long was he going to sit here and wait for his impending death? He could've sworn it was about 5:30 when the power died, but he hadn't been paying much attention to the clock. The night felt long enough as it was. Looking at the clock every so often would make it feel infinitely longer.

Nothing was happening. He could hear absolutely nothing. No music, no footsteps, nothing but his own shallow breathing. Now he got it. It was only taking so long because Freddy decided to toy with him. Waiting to catch him off guard. Oh no, he'll be ready.

Finally, after such a long and agonising wait, the power came back on, but Freddy still had a scare for him. Once the lights were back on, Steve's field of vision was filled with Freddy's face. "Hi!" he shouted, jumping in his seat. "Oh, goddammit! How are you doing!?"

Without answer, Freddy simply left the office, returning to the stage. Steve sighed. He did it. He finally fucking did it. Picking up the phone, he dialed Sav's number, having the feeling that he was awake.

"Hello?"

"Hey, love."

Sav was silent for a moment. "Shit... didn't see what time it was."

"You weren't paying attention to a clock?"

"I was trying to sleep so I thought it was still about 2 in the morning."

"Yeah, that's what you get for thinking."

"Shove off."

"Hey, I wanted to ask. Do you have class today?"

"No. Why?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe you could come over-- or I could come over, whichever you'd prefer--"

"Had a shit night?"

Steve sighed, "Does it sound like I had a shit night?"

"Don't be obtuse, Steve." He was sure Sav was rolling his eyes. "I know you better than anyone."

"Somehow this doesn't surprise me."

He could hear Sav chuckling on the other end. "If you need to come over, I'll be waiting for you."

Steve smiled, "Thanks, mate." Really, where would he be without Sav?