A New Start

Freddy and his merry gang of robotic individuals had been wandering around town for the past half hour. Aside from the mechanical whirring of their joints and the clanking of their feet against the sidewalk, everything was quite quiet. The animatronics passed under streetlight after streetlight as they continued on toward the pizzeria from which they were separated for all these years. However, judging from the fact that the group had passed under these particular lights at least three times in the past thirty minutes, they...

...They had no idea where they were going.

Freddy knew this. He didn't know if the others knew, but he definitely knew. He didn't have the slightest idea as to where their pizzeria was. Heck, he's never even been outside of the pizza until after...

...Well...

...He's never been activated outside of the pizzeria until only recently! And by that dirty, no-good liar Scott nonetheless. That guy had some nerve, taking them from their home and putting them in his huge house under the guise that it was a new pizzeria! What a farce that was! And it looked like it was full'a stuff stolen from the old pizzeria too, now that the bear thought back on it!

Regardless, that was then. This was now. And right now...

“...I-It's occurred to me that I have no idea where our home is,” Freddy said as he abruptly halted. Bonnie, being inattentive as to where he was going, ran straight into the back of the bear as Chica walked up alongside him.

“Wha'd'you mean, 'you have no idea where our home is'?”, she asked, frustrated. “You're supposed to be the leader! Y'gotta know where everything is!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms up.

“W-Well, I mean just that! I don't know where the pizzeria is! I thought I knew, but-- I guess I didn't!” Freddy replied, putting his hands up in defense. Chica stared in disbelief before face-palming. She then flinched in surprise as her beak detached from her face from the shock and fell to the ground with a clatter. She gave an exasperated, white-noise-like sigh and bent over to pick it up.

“...Well, what do we do, boss?” she asked as she tried to reattach her much-needed component to her face. Freddy tried to speak up. However - Bonnie, who had finally removed himself from the bear's back, spoke up first.

“Why don't we ask that guy over there?”, he jovially inquired, pointing at a shape not too far away from the group.

Mark had been waiting at this bus-stop for heaven knows how long. He had just gotten off of a particularly late shift at work and, as a result, was absolutely tired. But, of course, the bus had to run late tonight. Mark checked his watch, frowning at the time listed.

...12:05 AM...

Mark shivered and clutched the sleeves of his coat as a gust of wind blew by him. Oh, he would absolutely kill for a warm cup of cocoa right about now... And some sugar, and with those little marshmallows too... Mmm...

“Hi there!”, resounded a voice nearby, throwing Mark straight from his Cocoa-Dream. The man groaned and turned, expecting to see, possibly, perhaps another person. However, what he got was... different, to say the least.

Before him were three people – at least, he thought they were people – all in animal costumes. The first was a bear in a top hat. The next, a blue rabbit carrying a guitar. And the last, some sort of chicken-like thing with... bikini-pants?

Mark blinked, making sure that he was seeing that last thing clearly. That wasn't something he was gonna forget any time soon...

“Say, pal, do you know where 'Freddy Fazbear Pizza' is?”, asked one of them.

“Yeah, we need'a get there, like, pronto! Considerin' it's our home and all!”, added another.

Mark rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to make sure that his peepers weren't playing tricks on him. He stared at his visitors, before quietly asking,

“...What?”

“I said, 'do you know where Freddy Fazbear Pizza is'?”, repeated the bear, leaning forward slightly so that the man could hear him better. “It's our home and, well, we'd really appreciate it if you'd help us get there,” he said, holding his tophat respectfully.

“Yeah! We gotta get back there before dawn, or else all the children're gonna be sad 'cause they won't know where we are!”, interjected the genuinely worried rabbit.

Mark continued to stare, trying to make sense of the situation he found himself in. This was getting a little too weird for his liking. The guy had never heard of “Freddy Fazbear Pizza” before, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know about it now thanks to these three. At this point, he wasn't sure if they were even people anymore. The gaps in their suits revealed wiring and bars of metal, and... who in their right mind would wear an animal suit seemingly made of plastic? In this weather?

“...Uhh, listen, I don't know what's happening here, but... I-Ineedtogo,” Mark said as he backed away, before turning and breaking into a sprint. Forget about waiting the bus. He'd rather run home.

The trio watched as the man ran away. Bonnie reached out his hand in concern as the man tripped, but Freddy grabbed the rabbit's arm, discouraging him from helping as Mark got up and continued to run.

“...Well, that went nowhere,” Chica finally commented.

“You're tellin' me...”, Freddy replied, looking down slightly. He was beginning to wonder if coming out here was a mistake.

Detecting his friend's sadness, Bonnie gave Freddy a reassuring pat on the back.

“Oh, don't worry about it, boss!”, the bunny said in his usual, happy tone. “We'll find our home soon! I'm sure of it! Isn't that right, Chica?” he asked, looking over at the aforementioned animatronic.

Chica shrugged, looking away slightly.

“Ehh...”

“I said, 'isn't that riiiight?'” Bonnie repeated, craning his neck toward the bird.

“Yeah, sure, I-I guess,” Chica replied a little begrudgingly, crossing her arms.

“See, boss? Everything'll be fine! Now, let's get going, huh? We're burning moonlight!”

Freddy smiled, looking down at Bonnie. He really appreciated the bot's words of reassurance. Adjusting his tophat slightly, and with newfound confidence, he took a brave step forward.

“Right.”

And so, the three continued to walk. As they walked, the three began to look at their surroundings. That blimp from before had long removed itself from the night sky, allowing the three to gaze upon that big bluish-black thing's true panoramic beauty.

“Hey, that constellation looks like my guitar!”, exclaimed Bonnie, pointing toward the sky. Chica tilted her head as she looked up.

“...I don't see it,” she said.

“Well, that one looks like my hat!” said Freddy happily.

“Haha, yeah, it does!”, replied Bonnie before looking at Chica.

“What do you see, Chica?” asked the bunny.

“I just see a bunch'a stars...” she said quietly, her arms still crossed as she looked straight ahead.

“C'moooon, surely you see something!”, Bonnie said. Looking up once again, the chicken adjusted the zoom of her optics, trying to find something of note. In the end, she shrugged.

“I-I guess I see... my cupcake?”, Chica offered. Really, she didn't see anything interesting up there. Heck, she just wanted to get home...

“Oh, haha! Yeah! I can see that too!”, Bonnie replied, grinning. His grin soon faded a little as his friend sighed. “...Though, I've noticed you haven't been feeling all too happy lately... What's wrong, pal?” he asked, pulling Chica closer.

“Oh, Bonnie, it's just that... I wanna get home, y'know? I'm sure all of this is really, well, entertaining you 'n all, but I'm just focused on getting back. I mean, it's been ten years. I really hope the kids still remember me. If they're even still kids...” she replied, looking down slightly. She felt that that was a legitimate reason for her attitude this whole night. She just wanted to return to a sense of normality, something that was shattered ever since that day in 1987. She wanted to return to her old routine of activating every morning, wandering about and doing things for the children's enjoyment. This was why Freddy's next declaration would quickly lift her mood.

“We're here!”

“Well, ask and you shall receive, haha!”, Bonnie exclaimed gleefully as he ran ahead of his friend, stopping next to Freddy.

“This... This is it?”, Chica asked as she joined the other two as they looked up at the building before them.

It was a relatively small structure, being primarily constructed of cement with a mostly glass front. It had a shingled, dark red roof, adorned with one large sign.

'Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria', it said, with four animal characters posing in different places around the bubbly text.

“I'd say so!”, Freddy exclaimed proudly, his hands on his hips. “Place doesn't seem to've changed a bit either!”

“...A-Are you sure about that, Freddy?”, Chica asked as she gazed up at the sign. The first things she had noticed were the characters depicted. Bonnie was purple, Foxy was red and dressed like a pirate, and Chica herself was... fat? The only thing that seemed to've stayed the same was Freddy being brown and having a microphone! Another thing she noticed was the fact that the sign, like the rest of the building, seemed a bit dingy and dirtied. The pizzeria she remembered was always clean and well-maintained!

“Oh, sure I'm sure!”, Freddy replied. “Now, let's get in there and regain our place as the mascots of this wonderful establishment!”, he happily shouted as he put his hand to the door's handle and pushed. He stopped and stared for a moment as the door didn't move. He then pulled. When it once again didn't budge, he let go of the door and put a hand to his chin.

“...Well, this is weird,” he commented quietly. Bonnie approached the door next, squinted for a moment, then noticed a sign hung on the other side.

“Sorry, we're... closed?” he uncertainly read aloud. “Well, that's not good!”, he said. Freddy shook his head in agreement.

“No, it isn't... But, it does make sense, I guess! Say, why don't you two try the back door while I try 'n see if I can get this thing to open?”, he asked. Bonnie nodded, then saluted.

“Yes, sir! C'mon, Chica!”, he said, beckoning for the other animatron to follow.

A few moments later...

“...This door doesn't seem to wanna budge either!”, Bonnie said as he and Chica gazed upon the obstacle before them.

“...There must be a key around he--” Chica began, but was swiftly cut-off by the other bot.

“C'mon, Mr. Door! You gotta open for us! We gotta get back to our positions before dawn! I mean, what good is getting home if you're sitting outside all night?”

“Bonnie, I don't think the door can understand you...”, Chica said, crossing her arms again. “It's an inanimate object.”

Bonnie quickly turned around, facing Chica with a genuinely insulted expression. He opened his mouth to ask that, if inanimate objects can't understand robots, then how could he talk to his guitar. However, an unfamilar voice would keep that thought from coming out.

“Hey!”

Bonnie and Chica ran as fast as they could, stopping at the corner of the building. The two bots peeked around the corner, gasping inaudibly at what they saw.

Someone was grabbing Freddy by the arm, seeming to try and pull the confused bear away from the door.

“Wha'd'you think you're doing, trying to break in here?! And what's with the suit? You some kind'a roleplayer?!”, the mysterious person asked with a gruff, middle-aged voice.

“Wh-What? S-Sir, I assure you, I live here! My name is Freddy Fazbear, and--”

“Cut the crap! See, I know your type, pal. You folks're always tryin' to break in here t'do God knows what! But, see, I gotcha this time. Now, where's your friends? You pro'lly got someone dressin' up as the chicken, fox, 'n rabbit, yeah?”

As the bewildered Freddy tried to sputter up a response, Chica and Bonnie looked at each other. Both knew that they had to do something, and Chica had just the plan. She moved her fingers in a twirling motion, then a clipping motion. Bonnie simply stared, confused. Frowning, Chica repeated the motion, this time a bit faster. She sighed and put her hand to her face as she was met with the same response.

“...Just go around to the other side and distract the guy, Bonnie,” she whispered, annoyed.

“Ohhh... Okay then,” the bunny enthusiastically whispered back, before moving to do just that. Soon, Bonnie would appear on the other side of the building, flailing his arms about.

“Hellooooo!”, he exclaimed, immediately gathering the man's attention. “I'm a rabbit! Look at me!”

“What the-- Hey!”, the man shouted, first looking at Bonnie, then at the fleeing Chica and Freddy.

“Get back h-- Oof!”, he shouted, grabbing his baton before immediately dropping it as Bonnie ran into the back of him.

“Oh-- Sorry, sir!”, the bunny shouted as he got off of the man. The man's dropped baton grabbed the animatron's attention, and he picked it up.

“Ooh, what's this?”, Bonnie asked, twirling the thing in his hands. His vision also drifted to the side a bit as he noticed two small, glowing pinprick lights inside the building.

“Freddy?...”, he whispered to himself.

“C'mon, Bonnie, let's go!”, called Chica from a few yards away.

“Oh, right! Sorry!”, replied the rabbit, quickly bolting so's to catch up with the rest. The man soon got up as well, chasing after the trio.

“Stop! Police!”