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Stranger things have happened to him, Michael has decided. Randomly appearing in some neon led light filled place themed after the animatronics he so loves to deal with, getting blinded by the horrible floor patterns and colors as well as a growing migraine isn't that odd. Since, well, he's technically a walking, rotting purple corpse with sentience is probably the oddest thing to happen to him. Since he's supposed to be dead.
Then again, fighting his murderous father’s rotting corpse in a dilapidated rabbit suit is pretty strange, too. Also having your body stuffed full of haunted robot parts is pretty close third.
But none of that could have still prepared him for whatever the freddy-fuck is happening now. This place is huge and is teeming with robots. These robots seem to be sentient enough to clean on their own, but he's wary of a few dressed as security. Sure he's a security guard at a Fazbear Restaurant, but he's not entirely sure if he's ready to reveal himself before knowing what the hell is going on. He hasn't spotted any animal themed robots yet, but by the cartoonish paintings on the walls and floors he's sure there are some abound. Lurking somewhere. Just that thought sends shivers down his spine- because where is a security office for him to stay in until the place opens to avoid those twisted things?
He knows they're haunted by the tortured souls of the children his father killed, but come on, they have to attack him just for looking like him. He already hates that fact about his appearance himself.
He's also come to realize that this place is even bigger than he'd originally thought. He's been walking through its dark halls for about an hour now, and he keeps finding new areas and rooms. And isn't that yet another terrifying thought? There could be anything roaming around these halls.
Specifically, the version of Freddy, Chica and whoever the hell the other two band mates are. Where's Bonnie? Where's Foxy? Instead of them, there's a “Roxy” and “Monty”. Roxy is clearly the Foxy replacement, since she's another canine themed animal. But what about that alligator guy?
Ugh. This is way too confusing, and his head hurts.
Michael turns another corner, just in time to finally see one of the animatronics he's been dreading. It's Chica… or at least, what he thinks is Chica.
She's white and pink, similar to her original design that Father had made, with a clearly 80’s themed outfit. Completely normal appearance. What makes him question if it's really her, however, is the fact there's no beak on her face. Instead, it's a large, jagged hole gaping in the center of her face, her eyeballs bulging out of the sides of the sockets, and her body covered in cracks and dirt. She looks horribly maintained. Maybe she's like the withered boys he'd had to deal with years ago.
She hasn't noticed him, so he presses himself against the wall, on the opposite corner from her. A horrible, staticky sound is emanating from her, and he thinks that she might be trying to form some kind of speech. Not any kind he can make out.
She's dragging one of her bird feet, her arms hanging limply in front of her and her head tossed to the side. Static sparks from the cracks and holes in her plastic skin.
She really is a horrible sight to see.
He decides to go the opposite way as her.
This causes him to backtrack, but he doesn't care. He'd rather start over at the spot he'd appeared at than deal with her. He doesn't want to get stuffed in or full of more robot pieces, thank you very much. Once was enough. Been there, done that.
Something darts in the corner of his eye, something small. He quickly turns his gaze in the direction, and is able to just catch the sight of a small body rushing through an open door. This door leads into what appears to be a gift shop that has a large, detailed face of Freddy painted over it. He grimaces. Whatever that was could have been human. But it could have also been a robot. But, if it was a human, it was most likely a child, and he couldn't just leave a child to fend for themselves even if he hasn't the faintest clue of what's going on.
So, Michael follows after the child, crouched low to hide from any possible threats. He just needs to get close enough to see if this child is human or robot, and then he can get the hell out of dodge.
First, he's got to find the child again.
He's going to do just that, but the sound of heavy footsteps makes him freeze in place. He looks over his shoulder, and finds a window behind him, filled with the hulking frame of that Monty guy. He stops his breathing, in case it's sensitive to that, and doesn't peel his eyes away until it's disappeared from sight. He lets out high breath, relief filling him.
There’s a small clatter nearby, and when he looks for the origin, he spots the child attempting to pick up the flashlight he'd just dropped. He’s glad he's wearing enough clothes to hide his hideous complexion, because then the child looks up, and their eyes meet. They both freeze, before the kid begins to scramble away. Michael jolts back to awareness, shaking himself and hurrying after the kid.
“Hey, wait!” he exclaims. He doesn't want to be loud, but he also doesn't want to lose the kid.
“Wait yourself!” the kid snaps over his shoulder, making Michael’s brows scrunch. Wow. Kid’s got an attitude. Doesn't matter, though. He just wants to keep any child safe.
The kid darts out of the gift shop, and Michael follows. The hall they enter is empty and long, and Michael realizes the kid may be fast, but he doesn't have much stamina. Michael, on the other hand, has plenty. He runs after the kid until finally, he tires out, and he's able to catch a small wrist in his hand.
Instantly, the kid begins to panic, twisting this way and that. He's feisty, clawing at Michael’s dry arm. Luckily for Michael, he doesn't feel much pain anywhere anymore. It's more of a dull scraping that causes his skin to flake.
This close to the kid now, Michael can see the scrapes and bruises all over his skin. The kid is tiny and thin, like he's the corpse instead of Michael, the actual corpse. His hair is messy and he's covered in bandaids and dried blood. Looks as if he's been through hell. Michael would assume so being stuck in a place like this.
“Let me go!” the kid shouts, and it almost sounds like he growls at Michael. “Let me go!”
“Hey- calm down-” Michael says with a grunt, pulling the kid closer to him. “I won't hurt you, I want to-”
The kid throws his head back, draws in a deep breath, and shouts, “ FREDDY!!”
Michael’s eyes widen, and he smacks a hand over the kid’s mouth, wincing when his teeth bite into his palm. “What are you doing? Are you trying to get us killed?” he demands. “Now listen, I want to help you. Just-”
The floor shakes, and heavy footsteps sound behind him. He tenses as said footsteps grow closer and closer, and he yanks himself and the kid towards what looks like a safe hiding spot. But the kid takes this as a moment to escape, tearing himself in the opposite direction as Michael. Michael fumbles for the kid, and he finally sees the animatronic coming towards them.
It is, in fact, Freddy himself. The tallest and smoothest version Michael has ever seen, yet the most terrifying due to that same height. His eyes glow brightly, and his fingers are tipped with sharp claws. One could hardly even tell that it's an animatronic the joints are hidden so well. It looks as if he'd jumped at least twenty years into the future with how pristine Freddy’s condition is.
The kid scurries towards the lumbering thing, and Michael curses under his breath as the metal bear’s eyes lock onto the small child. It turns in his direction, taking a lumbering step towards him. “Wait, kid, don't-!”
Freddy’s stomach opens in two, revealing a hollow area beneath its plastic skin. Michael can see red lights and wires from within, and his heart stops as the bear kneels in front of the kid, giving him easy access inside. No, if the kid gets in there, he’ll be crushed, spring locked by the endoskeleton within. “Stop!”
The kid, of course, doesn't listen. Instead, he throws a glare back at Michael before he leaps up onto the lower half of the opened stomach hatch and willingly crawls inside. Michael’s heart stops as the panels close as soon as the child fully pulls himself inside, sealing him to his doom.
He can't breathe as Freddy turns its blinding eyes on him, standing back to its full height. Out of all of the animatronics, Freddy has always been the one Michael fears the most.
He can still see the spray of blood, and can hear the grinding joints and the snapping of flesh and bone. He can still smell copper and taste cotton in the back of his mouth. He can still feel his hands and feet going numb, unable to do anything but stare at the limp feet hanging from that pair of golden jaws.
He can picture a young girl being yanked into a prison of metal and cold, screaming as her body was churned to mush.
Now, he was still unable to do anything to help. The kid crawled inside of the bot, and now he's probably dead, twisted into some kind of meat pretzel inside.
Freddy steps closer to Michael, but he can't move, his lungs burning and his eyes stinging. He can't look away from the spot the child had disappeared into. He can't hear the kid, but he just knows that he's been turned into yet another victim of his father’s evil industry.
He's failed yet another child.
“I do not recognize you,” Freddy’s voice is obviously robotic, but it's not scripted. Michael doesn't care. He can't breathe, much less speak. “I was not informed of a new security guard…”
Michael doesn't think. He just acts. He launches forward with a yell, taking the animatronic enough by surprise to tackle it backwards. He claws at the hatch panels to try and pry them open, just as Freddy lets out a growl.
He's pushed off unceremoniously and Freddy gingerly stands back up, glaring at Michael. “I am sorry but I can not allow that kind of roughhousing,” the bear snaps, his ears lowering. He looks down at his chest as the panels open then, and when it speaks again, it somehow sounds concerned, “Are you alright, superstar?”
The kid- Gregory, Michael assumes- sticks his head out of the compartment, glaring at Michael like he was the threat. “What the hell?!” he exclaims. Then his eyes widen, and he gasps, drawing back in on himself as something like fear registers on his face. He's scared of Michael, not the animatronic he's currently curled up in, that could kill him at any second. And how isn't he dead? The spring locks and metal should have already pierced his flesh in thousands of spots, shredding him- “You're trying to kill me too, aren't you!”
Michael blinks, utterly confused. Freddy’s eyes widen, and it hovers a hand in front of the child in a protective manner. Michael only gets further confused. The panels seal closed once more, and the bear keeps a sharp eye on Michael.
“Is this the truth?” the bear asks, its voice a deep, rumbling bass. “If so, I will have to deal with you, as my programming dictates.”
“How…?” is all Michael manages to say, his voice a tight whisper. He can't look away from the spot Gregory had disappeared, his stomach a tight knot of confused dread. “How is he not dead…?”
Freddy seems to pause at this, joints clicking as it tries to process Michael’s puzzled words. The bear blinks, its plastic lids clicking before it speaks again, “Why ever would Gregory die?”
“You- you!” Michael shouts, pointing an accusing finger at the metal bear. “That's all you animatronics do! Kill people!”
The bear takes a step back as if it'd been struck, and something akin to disbelief is on its face, “You truly believe I would harm anyone? Especially a child?” It sounds so shocked, Michael almost thinks it was actually something that could harbor any feelings except for murderous intent. “I could never do such a thing!”
Michael can't stop himself from laughing, on the verge of a breakdown. What the fuck is happening?? Is he seriously holding a conversation with a Freddy? A Freddy that has a child somehow living inside of it? He gapes, and looks down at his hands, which are trembling.
“I've never met an animatronic that couldn't not kill someone,” Michael mutters, his eyes stinging, and he can feel himself shaking. He doesn't want to show his weakness in front of this thing, but it is far too late for that. He'd already had a panic attack a few minutes ago.
There's a moment of silence, in which Michael struggles to catch his breath, and Freddy stares at him from a few feet away. It's still, aside from the flashing lights and Michael’s erratic breathing.
Then, something unexpected happens. Freddy’s chest hatch reopens, and the kid hops out. Freddy doesn't stop him from jumping out. And the kid is unscathed after being inside of an animatronic. Michael gulps at the air like a fish out of water, his revived heart struggling to keep thumping blood through his panicking body.
“I don't know about the other animatronics, since they've been chasing me all night,” Gregory says, his little arms crossing over his lithe chest. He shifts nervously under Michael’s gaze, and looks anywhere but at the man. He's still close to Freddy, as if he's ready to climb back up at any given second. Which Michael can't comprehend- not just for the fact of past happenings, but also because the compartment does not look suitable for a human child to sit inside. It's small and full of pointy bits and tangling wires. Michael wouldn't want to go in there even without his past knowledge, yet the kid seemed as if he wanted to and liked to. His confused brain cannot keep up. “But Freddy is different. He's done nothing but help and keep me safe since I got here.”
“That… that's impossible,” Michael mutters, eyes darting to said animatronic. Freddy hasn't moved aside from his chest closing back up, watching the human’s interacting curiously. And how does it look curious? How does it appear to have any emotion? It shouldn't. “It’s going to kill you- you can't trust it!”
“I can't trust anybody but Freddy!” Gregory snaps, his small hands clenched at his sides. Freddy’s head turns to look down at the tiny child, ears lifting while its head tilts to the side. “I don't know you- I shouldn't even be talking to you! But you…”
He looks so much like Michael’s little brother, it makes his heart ache. Michael wants nothing more than to embrace the child and keep him safe, but Gregory is clearly opposed to that.
“I don't know,” Gregory says, his eyes darting back up to look at Freddy. He's scooting closer to the bear again. “You're trapped here too, aren't you?”
Michael wets his lips, not sure how to respond, because is he trapped here? Wherever here is? He swallows heavily, and shakes himself. He needs to regain his composure. He wouldn't be able to survive if he remained in this state.
“I believe so,” Michael says slowly. He looks back at Freddy as well, warily, ready to move if it tries to do anything to him or Gregory. Poor kid. He's probably so alone and terrified that it's come to him trusting Freddy of all things. Hopefully, now with Michael here, he could help the child, keep him safe from everything including Freddy.
Gregory looks away from Michael, picking at the skin on his wrist. He draws in a deep breath. “I'm sorry…” he says just as slowly. He's still refusing to look at Michael. “But I can't trust you. I can only trust Freddy.”
“Wait!” Michael says quickly, as Gregory turns to fully face Freddy once more. The bear has already knelt once more, chest opened invitingly. “Please. Those things can only kill.”
“Not Freddy,” Gregory says definitively. He grimaces at Michael. “You could be working for her…”
“No- wait-!”
But Gregory is already climbing back in, and Freddy is already sealing him inside. Michael wants to vomit all over again, and says nothing as the bear straightens back to its intimidatingly looming height.
“I do believe Gregory has finished speaking with you,” Freddy informs him pleasantly, with a smile. The thing is smiling at him. He feels even sicker. “As I am already helping Gregory, I am sorry to inform you that I cannot help you as well. I can direct you to the entrance, however, and if we run into one another again, I can help you further.” The bear pauses, thinking once again. How is it thinking? “I should also warn you, my friends are not acting as themselves, so I’d suggest avoiding them. You could speak with our night guard, Vanessa, for further guidance. Good night.”
And then. It just. Walks away. With the child inside of it.
What the fuck is going on?!