Michael wandered the street. It had been six years since his encounters in that dreaded pizzeria. He didn’t remember how long he worked there after he transferred to the day shift. He only remembered the pizzeria closing after a certain amount of time. But the nights were near impossible to forget. He had bad headaches constantly now, and unending nightmares about dripping black goo and shadowy rabbits in the darkest corners of his house, begging to be set free, or about the black bear he’d seen those last two nights, or the brown bear… he hated the brown bear. He didn’t know why he was waiting for a new location to open, but it was the only job that really enticed him.
He was still appalled that his co-workers hadn’t said anything about… well, he couldn’t remember. It frustrated him, to say the least. He remembered the fuzzy faces of… what were their names again? It was… Steve and Dave, right? He couldn’t even recall their faces. Michael wondered how his memory had become so poor, he knew he used to remember as clear as day. Things he couldn’t forget, no matter how hard he tried, were the screams of… someone from the parts and service room, being crushed to death under the mass of a suit, or… his brother.
Evan.
And yet… he wasn’t afraid of that black bear anymore, it was more of a nuisance now. He still slept with his lights on, because if he didn’t, he’d see that old black rabbit, staring from the corner at him as he tried to fall asleep. His thought process paused as he stopped outside of a set of glass double doors, unsure of why, but looked up at the sign above them anyways…
“Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza!”
His eyes fell on the 4 mascots on the sign, first the brown bear, then the purple bunny, then the yellow chicken and her almost… ugly cupcake, and then finally the red pirate fox with an eye patch and a hook for a hand. He reached hesitantly for the door handle, and opened it, wandering inside. He looked at the stage, and his blood froze, but he wasn’t sure why. He was back, why wouldn’t he be?
The massive brown bear on the stage continued his song, but suddenly paused his usual turning and stared directly at Michael, but didn’t charge off the stage, instead turned away, and kept singing, giving him the side eye. Chica and Bonnie kept singing, as normal.
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Turning to the left of the stage, he could see a small, separated stage, with purple curtains with shining stars. A sign above read “Pirates Cove! Come see everyones favorite pirate fox, and sail the 7 seas with him!” What upset Michael, for some reason beyond him, was the out of order sign in front of it. He turned back to Freddy, who stared him dead in the eyes, as he sang, and waved, with no friendly energy behind it at all. Other parents around, of course, brushed it off as Freddy being programmed to make eye contact, and the kids laughed and were too busy playing with the much more energetic behavior of Bonnie and Chica to notice Freddy’s friendly demeanor drop… but Michael knew better.
He really couldn’t escape him, could he?
He wandered to the hiring office, and sat down in a chair, in front of a man in a purple suit, who was on the phone, seemingly arguing with someone. He spun his chair around, and placed his elbows on the table, and smiled, although he wasn’t smiling with his eyes.
Why’d he look so familiar?
“Hey there! Are you ready to be hired, maybe stay the night with your favorite mascots?”
Michael nodded, but he wasn’t sure why.
”Heh, it's not like you have a choice,” The man chortled, "After all, only the night shift is open. Everyone crowded the day shift after what happened in… heh… it's not really important.”
The man held out his hand, and Michael took it. It felt bony and cold, like a man who wasn’t used to handshakes, rather holding an object like a knife or fire ax… but he didn’t think much of it. What confused him the most, however, was just how sickly he looked, with pale skin and oily black hair… almost like he was stressed about something.
“What’s your name, sport?”
Michael hesitated, he couldn’t use his real name, that he knew.
“M-Mike Schmidt.”
The man nodded.
“William. William Afton. It's a real pleasure to meet you, Mike.”
Michael paused. He’d somehow almost forgotten that it was his father that ran these places still, and his old business partner, Henry.
Michael had more important things to think about, however. He knew what the night would bring for him, now it was only a matter of waiting.