Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Bryan felt the April wind on his face from the open window as his mom’s car flew down the highway. It had been a few hours on the road, and he was bored out of his mind. At this point, the onslaught of air on his face was the only thing keeping him awake. Well, that, and the bubbly excitement about going to the new Fazbear’s Hotel. Ever since it opened last year, all his class seemed to talk about was their personal trip going to the mega-attraction and how great of a time they all had. He couldn’t wait to see Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy perform after decades of being discontinued. He just hopes it doesn’t take another decade to get there. Speaking of which…

“How long until we get there? We’ve been in the car forever.” Bryan complained dramatically. His dad turned to look at him from the passenger seat, a smile adorning his face.

“Just a bit longer, buddy, be patient. Then you can have all the fun you want.” Bryan huffed and kicked his feet idly, letting his hair get blown into chaos by the wind. Then, he straightened up in his seat, his mind consumed by a thought that had just occurred to him.

“Wait, why are we even going to the hotel? I thought Mom hated Fazbear’s.”

“I don’t hate Fazbear’s,” his mom chimed in from the driver’s seat. Bryan glanced at her slightly. She hadn’t spoken much since she announced the sudden trip, only a few mumbles here and there. Bryan was too caught up in the rush to get ready for the weekend stay, however, to comment on her quietness. Bryan’s dad began to answer his previous question, which made Bryan return his attention to him.

“Well, think of it as a late birthday trip!”

“My twelfth birthday was seven months ago, Dad.” Bryan suppressed a giggle when his dad shot him a playful glare.

“Well, a vacation’s a vacation, no matter the reason.” Bryan nodded, and looked back out the window, kicking his feet lightly again so as to not kick the back of his mom’s chair. He watched the scenery wizz past, the colors and shapes blending together and making a hypnotic sight. Bryan, between the wind, gentle music from the radio, and the visuals from outside the car, felt himself being lulled into a light sleep. In a few short minutes, Bryan let out a yawn, and let his eyes close to take a nap.

…

“Bryan…” Something shook his arm slightly, waking him from his sleep. Blinking awake, he was met face to face with his dad’s warm face, smirking slightly. Bryan took a hand and rubbed his eyes, letting out a yawn.

“Good morning, Dad,” Bryan mumbled out. His dad let out a snicker.

“It’s 8:00, sleepyhead. Get out of the car, we’re here,” That alone took away all of Bryan’s leftover grogginess, and he scrambled to get his seatbelt off. His dad let out a full laugh at his sudden excitement, and stepped away to grab their bags. Bryan grabbed his red Pokémon hat from the seat next to him, and slid out of the car fluidly, stumbling as he turned towards the giant building.

It was made of colorful, red bricks, with windows spiraling all the way to the distant top. A small set of stairs led to 4 pairs of glass doors, each frame around the pair's color coordinated with a member of the band. Posters of every animatronic littered the sides of the building, taking space wherever possible. Right above the entrance way was Freddy Fazbear himself, smiling cheerfully down at them, with red words reading “Freddy Fazbear’s Hotel” spanning across underneath him.

“Woah! I can’t even see the top!” Bryan marveled, a giddiness coursing through him as he sped closer to the doors. His mom was at the bottom of the stairs, staring down Freddy with an uncomfortable look on her face, almost as if she were in a trance cast by the bear. Bryan stopped at her side and pulled at her arm. She shook her head and looked down at her beaming son, smiling ear to ear. “Thank you for bringing me here, Mom!” She put on a small smile.

“Of course, Bry. Let’s go in,” Without another word, Bryan happily dashed up the steps, his parents in tow, not far behind. From behind him, he could hear the urgent whispers from them, so he slowed slightly and listened.

“Jen, are you sure about this? He hasn’t talked to us in years-”

“Which is why this must be so important,” His mom cut off his dad. He heard a sigh.

“I just- I don’t know. Fazbear’s is a dangerous place, especially for kids. What about Bryan?” Dangerous? Bryan paused in his step, but pushed onward. His mom hesitated in her response. 

“...I know. Just let me find what he told me to look for, and we’ll leave immediately after. He’s my brother, despite everything, and he wouldn’t tell me to come back if he thought it was dangerous.” Bryan reached the top step, and his parents ceased their conversation as they slowly caught up. He bounced on his heels in thought while he waited. What about Freddy’s is dangerous? The robots are highly maintained, he thought, and the company is just like any other entertainment company. Also, what did his uncle, who he hasn’t seen since he was a baby, want his mom to find here, and why? He was very confused, but decided to brush it off to ask about it later. He opened the door that had the light brown frame and held it for his parents as they got close, before going inside the building himself, letting the door fall shut behind him.

Bryan gasped as he looked around. The first floor was huge, with every inch stuffed with kids running wild. On the left was a check-in area, with employees attending a long line of people, while the right had a dozen tables in front of a large stage, where the floor changed to sparkling tiles rather than lush, ruby carpets. The stage was shut off behind purple curtains, but Bryan could imagine the main four animatronics performing just behind it. The scent of fresh pizza made his stomach growl. Across from him, there was a door to a silver elevator, with the doors decorated with cartoon versions of the main cast. In all four corners, there were emergency stairs, likely leading all the way to the top.

Bryan felt his cheeks aching while he grinned. This was more magical than he could’ve dreamed! He already knew this would be the best vacation ever if this was only the first floor. He was practically walking on air as he followed his parents to a separate line that had less people than the others. He marvelled at the place as he tuned into the conversation between his parents and the employee.

“Welcome to the first Freddy Fazbear’s Hotel! What is your room reservation named under?” The employee asked bubbly.

“Uhm, we’re under the name Emily, for the penthouse,” Bryan’s jaw dropped.

“We have the penthouse?” His dad shushed him and ruffled Bryan’s hair affectionately. Bryan was going to die of happiness, this really was a dream come true! The employee typed something into her computer, before nodding.

“We certainly have that in our database! May I scan your tickets?” His mom, without a word, fumbled around in her purse and grabbed out three pieces of paper. As she reached out to let the employee take them, something else fell out of her purse. She didn’t seem to notice, but Bryan did. He ducked down and grabbed the folded paper and stood back up, reaching out to give the paper back. At least, he tried to when a loud noise sounded from the stage area. Bryan turned to the now crowded stage, immediately forgetting about the paper in his hand.

The stage curtains were opening, and behind them were Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy in all of their glory. The children cheering drowned out all of the music as the crew started to dance and sing along. Bonnie strummed his guitar to the rhythm as Chica and Foxy danced along, singing backup vocals along with the song. Freddy was in front, his eyes glossing over each child in the crowd, not lingering in any one spot as he sang. Bryan watched closely, mesmerized by the synchronized dance of the animatronic band that seemed so human. 

At some point, Freddy’s head jerked upwards from the crowd at his feet, and locked eyes directly with Bryan. His breath caught in his throat when Freddy made a sly, purposeful wink at him, before returning to his routine. Bryan jumped in place, bursting with excitement. He couldn’t wait a second longer! He shoved the paper into his pocket and began to move towards the stage. 

“Hold on there, Bryan, we need to unpack in our room.” His mom grabbed his arm, and began to guide him towards the elevator.

“But Mom,” Bryan pouted. “Freddy saw me! Can’t I just watch the rest of his show, first?” He saw his parents glance at each other. 

“We have plenty of time to watch the shows tomorrow, but for now we need to unpack and get ready for bed so you can have plenty of energy to do fun stuff tomorrow.” His dad said. Bryan huffed, but relented, and followed after the two into the elevator. He took one last glance at Freddy, and saw Freddy staring at him as the song ended. Bryan stared back, smiling and raising a hand to wave. Freddy seemed to smile, as always, but didn’t wave as the elevator door finally closed to move up.

…

“Get plenty of rest tonight, I promise that tomorrow we can see Freddy’s show,” his mom whispered, kissing Bryan’s forehead. They had just unpacked and ordered pizza to their room, before ending the night at about 10:00. Bryan let out a yawn, shifting in the Foxy-themed bed to get more comfortable.

“I will, love you, Mom,” he saw her smile softly at him, in the way she always does that made him feel at home. He directed his attention over to his dad. “Love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too, kiddo. We’ll see you in the morning. And I promise to let you win one round on the arcade machines.” Bryan snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Like you’d win in the first place.” His dad grinned, patting his head a final time before going through the doorway. His mom followed soon after, gently closing the door behind her. Bryan tossed over to face the other side, not quite tired, but eventually started to feel the lull of sleep.

Suddenly, a loud thud made him wince awake.

What was that? He looked around in confusion, waiting for another sound. Another bang sounded, following a short screech. A shiver ran down his spine, and slid out of bed and raced to his door. He yanked it open to peer out into the hallway.

At the end of the hallway, inside the elevator, he saw Chica facing away from him. He let out a breath; maybe Chica was being clumsy trying to surprise them. Perhaps her being here was a perk of having the penthouse? He came out from his doorway entirely, then let out a horrified yelp.

Chica had been propping up someone half-conscious and bloodied against the back of the elevator wall. When the person lifted their head up, Bryan realized it was his dad. Chica had his dad.

Chica turned around to where Bryan was when he screamed, and Bryan could see her raise her eyelids as if she were shocked there was someone else there. Fortunately, before she could take a step closer, the elevator doors began to close to a shut.

Bryan’s heart was in his throat. Where was she taking Dad? He had to go tell his mom about this, she’d know what to do.

He turned and ran towards his parents bedroom, and flung the door open.

“Mom! Chica took Dad!” Silence. He looked around the room, and his mom was gone, too. The double bed was empty. The small lights from the analog clock that read 12:00 revealed the rest of the room to be similarly sparse. Not even his mother’s purse was where she had put it when they first arrived. “Mom?” He tried again, as if she would jump out and say it was a joke. But she didn’t joke like that, not ever. He was utterly alone.

He heard the elevator ding once, a signal that it was coming back up. Panicking, Bryan stumbled into the common area, where the living room and kitchen were.

“What can I do, what do I do?” What could he do, really, against an animatronic? It’s not like it was a human, so he couldn’t just stab it unless he could get to the wires.

Wait, the wires! If they used the same Chica model from the 80’s, then the wires should be easier to get to than newer animatronics. He’s not absolutely certain, but he’d have to try. 

He beelined to the kitchen, and stood on his toes when he got to the edge of the counter. There was a knife block towards the back of the counter holding large chef knives that could probably reach Chica’s systems. He looked down and pulled out some drawers as a makeshift staircase to get a better reach.

Balanced carefully, he grabbed the biggest handle and unsheathed it, and fumbled with his grip on it. He breathed shakily, feeling slightly better now that he was armed, even though he didn’t know whether or not it’d help.

The elevator made a loud, echoing chime before opening, making Bryan lose a bit of his balance on the open drawer. He jumped off, wobbling as he hit the ground. He peeked around the corner of the island toward the end of the hallway.

Chica was there. Her hands and beak were slightly dirtier than normal, in a color that Bryan didn’t want to focus on. Her pink eyes were piercingly bright, like the headlights of a car. He squinted to see her seams, which were hidden in the dark shadows of the penthouse. From what he could see, there were wires poking out slightly. Not too noticeably out, but just enough that he’d be able to wedge his knife through. His heart thrummed with hope. He just had to pray that the wires wouldn’t be hard to cut, or if Chica would catch him before he could reach anything.

Slowly, she made her way down the hall, bursting into the bathroom and his own room as she walked by. She took a quick survey of each room, before shutting them back up, crushing the door handles to be unusable. She didn’t seem to want him to run anywhere when she caught him.

If she caught me, Bryan reminded himself. He gripped the knife as she came closer, and tucked himself just behind the kitchen counter, out of view. He steeled himself, listening for Chica to come around the corner any moment.

Step.

Step.

Step.

There was a pause. Bryan held his breath. Was he spotted?

Suddenly something crashed into his chest, screaming. He screamed with it, trying to grab hold of whatever hit him. Chica had tried grabbing him from around the corner, apparently spotting him from his poor spot.

Bryan, flailing against the grip, found the seam in her wrist and dug his knife into it, trying to disconnect as many wires as possible. They seemed to fall away like butter against the chafing of the knife, working even better than intended. Chica howled, in rage and maybe pain, and swung the rest of her body around the counter, reaching with her other hand.

Bryan was faster, dislodging his knife from her first hand and dug it into the other. It cut the wires just as easily, creating flashes of sparks in his face. It was almost enough distraction that he nearly didn’t see Chica’s widening beak coming closer.

With his open hand, he caught Chica’s neck, holding her back, just barely. She screeched inches away from his face, her beak snapping open and shut.

Bryan forced himself to keep from freezing in place, urging his hand to take the knife from the place in her hand. As soon as it was unwedged, he brought it down towards Chica’s mouth, hoping that she wouldn’t bite him.

He didn’t exactly see where he was slashing, but if the whirring sounds from Chica’s voice box were anything to go by, he was doing well. He stabbed at her a few more times until she went completely limp, with only loud static emitting from the suit. Bryan breathed heavily from the sudden weight, and shook it off in order to sit up. 

When he felt more stable, Bryan looked down at the animatronic. Both of her hands were barely hanging on by her endoskeleton, and the cloth around her mouth had been ripped up completely, exposing the torn mechanisms for her face. Chica’s eyes were wide open, staring blankly into space. It looked like she was eternally screaming like a banshee, making her look nightmarish, a stark contrast to the bubbly chicken onstage. Bryan felt a shiver go up his back, and looked away from her. He felt kinda bad for hurting her, but someone would understand it was self defense, right?

What does he do now? He was alone, in a hotel he hadn't been in before, with nobody with him, and all he had was a knife. He held up the weapon and examined it.

The blade was generally shiny, except for where he stabbed Chica, which was stained with… rust? Maybe the robots weren’t remakes like he originally thought, but just restored. Apparently, the company hadn’t bothered to clean the endoskeletons at all.

It was still in good condition, so he decided that he should pocket it for now. A quick search of the drawers led him to a portable cover for the knife, which he put on and slid the entire object into his pocket.

He heard a crumbling noise from his pocket, which made him stop to pull out the forgotten paper from his mom’s purse. Oh yeah, I meant to give this back to Mom. What even is it, a receipt?

Bryan unfolded the paper, and revealed it was a note! Although he knew he shouldn’t look through his parents' things, he was very curious about what it read. Besides, no one was there to stop him. He began to read the scribbled writing.

Dear Jen,

I know you hate me, and I understand. But there is something VERY IMPORTANT that I need you to do for me. I won’t be around for much longer. I can’t get into why, but if you do this for me, you could not only save my life, but anothers. I need you to go to Fazbear’s Hotel. I already booked the penthouse for you to use for a month, so take as much time as you need. Hidden in the basement is a grey, locked box. When you find it, don’t open it until you get home. It’s not dangerous, but it’s a secret that CANNOT get out. You’ll find another note inside explaining everything and it will tell you what to do, and after this is done, I will never make you have anything to do with Freddy’s ever again. I will even stop if everything goes according to plan, and we can be a normal family again. That’s what you’ve always wanted, right? I gave you the keys to both the basement and the box in the package. The box contains the most important thing in my life, and I don’t know what to do if HE finds it. Please, be careful if you are willing to help me one last time.

With love, H.E.

Bryan became more confused as he read on. This must be from his uncle, judging by his parents’ conversation earlier. Why would he need his mom to get a box, from Freddy’s, no less? Also, what was so important about it? He wished he had the keys, which were probably in his mom’s purse.

He folded the note carefully and put it back in his pocket. He had to tell someone what happened, sooner rather than later. He rushed over to the landline in the living room, and dialed 911, like his parents taught him to if he was in trouble. He waited, but it didn’t ring. He dialed it again, and there was no sound coming from it, not even static. He inspected the phone, all the way down to the cord, and found that it was cut completely. He groaned.

“Guess I’m taking the long way down…” He dropped the phone back on the receiver, and reached over to grab his backpack that he hadn’t put away. Better to have it than not, Bryan thought to himself. 

He walked over to the elevator, the fastest way down to where the employees would be. He called it, and waited for the doors to open. When they did, they opened up to reveal the, luckily, empty space. With a deep breath to steel himself, he walked in, keeping his eyes on where his dad had been laying against when Bryan last saw him. Shaking his head, he turned to the button panel, and pressed “Plaza”. The doors smoothly shut with two dings.

And he started moving down from the 80th floor.

Chapter Text

Bryan never realized how unbearably slow elevators were until now.

The elevator was spacious; vibrant red and blue walls burned his eyes against the harsh lighting, with silver bars stretched across the left and right sides. Old posters of the Fazbear characters plastered the walls, with broad grins cracking their faces as they held stick figures of kids. Bryan, on the way up, interpreted them hugging the kids. Now, he thought it looked like the kids were being strangled.

The white, tiled floor was glowing ethereally. Well, except for the red spot meeting the wall where his dad had been leaned against by Chica. The red trailed all the way up the back of the elevator, drying slowly. Bryan chose to look away from it and not think too hard about what could’ve happened to his father.

Above the doorway was a floor counter, gradually ticking down from 80. Bryan kept his eyes on it, as if it’d go from “78” all the way to “1” in a second. Did it take this long to go up, or was he just crazy?

“77”

The elevator wobbled suddenly, making him lose his balance. He nearly slipped into the red liquid, but he wobbled forward enough to fall on his face instead.

“OUCH!” Bryan propped himself up, his cheek feeling sore. What the heck was that? The elevator rattled again, making Bryan’s arms shake. The elevator comes to an abrupt stop at floor 76, and red emergency lights blinked awake from the corners of the box. Bryan got back on his feet as the elevator door opened.

What just happened? Did the ropes break? Bryan looked up at the ceiling, spotting an elevator hatch to the roof. I can check it out! But how do I get up there without a ladder? His eyes landed on the bars. Are they tall enough to get me to reach? Only one way to find out, he decided. Carefully, he hoisted himself up on the left bar, reaching up to the hatch as he let himself balance. His hand grazed it once, and he almost fell. He teetered slightly, but tried again.

He stretched upwards, nearly missing again right before firmly grasping it. He smiled triumphantly, pulling the hatch downwards, revealing a folding ladder, stretching down that he could use to climb up. 

Bryan peered up at the dark space from the ground. He couldn’t see a thing, but he could hear what sounded like cloth shifting. He was tempted to climb up, but he doubted he would see anything; especially if it was another animatronic trying to attack him. If only he could find a light…

Oh well, Bryan thought to himself. I can always use the stairs. He directed his attention to the floor he stopped at. The corridors seemed to stretch on forever, with several rooms that had been left wide open. Aren’t hotels usually locked when they aren’t used? Many of the lights in the halls were off, but enough were still bright enough to make a path all the way down. Bryan tentatively got out of the elevator, and peered into the nearest room.

It was less spacious than the penthouse was; only a few rooms seemed to sprout from the main one. Like the penthouse, the living room and kitchen were connected, and a balcony that revealed the dark night sky. Bryan glanced at the couch. It was a mess, as if someone had been sleeping there and rolled out. It looked like there was a struggle, though, considering there was a tableside lamp smashed into pieces near the door. Had Chica been here before she got to his parents?

He decided to walk away from the room, opting that it’d be better if he left the building as soon as possible and to find the stairs.

Bryan walked, and walked, and walked down the endless hall of doors. Most doors were shut, but the doors that were open had something broken inside, or at least in disarray. He tried calling out a few times, but no one answered. Not even a rustle in any of the rooms to indicate there was anyone there to hear him. It left him feeling creeped out, the only sounds accompanying him were the ventilation and constant hum of the few lights that were on in the hallway. He kept to the right whenever there was a split in the hall, each turn leaving him less and less at ease.

Finally, Bryan started to see the stairwell at the end of the hall. Sighing with relief, he sped up slightly, glad to get out of the creepy, sparse hallway. He hadn’t seen another person at all. He hadn’t heard another person at all. He wasn’t used to being so alone. Maybe people were evacuating in the stairs as well.

He got to the door that led to the stairwell with a smile. He reached up and pulled, but it didn’t work. He tugged on it again, harder this time, but it was locked. Who’s idea was it to lock up emergency stairs? With a defeated sigh, he turned and trudged away. It’d probably be better if he just found a flashlight and checked the elevator roof. Maybe one of the rooms had something.

Bryan did his best to search each room. Most doors were locked, to his dismay, but it didn’t stop him from systematically checking every single one. A few times, he thought a door was unlocked when he jiggled the door handle, but trying to push it open was met with resistance, like there was something keeping the door closed. Those doors, to him, always smelled the worst, like rot. He was always sort of glad that the doors were jammed, and moved on quickly.

Unlike the walk to the stairs, Bryan kept hearing noises. There was loud, muffled static he hadn’t noticed from the TVs in all the rooms, Unexplained thuds from around the corners, and light breathing that probably came from the vents, making Bryan turn his head only to find nothing. He tried to ignore all the distractions, but it was beginning to overwhelm him and make him paranoid.

He was getting closer to where the elevator was, and he still didn’t have anything. No flashlight, no matches, or any other light. He felt frustration grow with every drawer he searched, tears brimming his eyes at the prospect of being trapped here. He dug through suitcases, cabinets, and counters with no luck, dimming his hope with each room. In room 7716, Bryan ripped open yet another suitcase, carelessly pulling out belongings in search of something. Once again, there was nothing.

“Ugh! You have to be kidding me!” He shrieked out, kicking the empty luggage away from him. He stomped over to the next room. How, on this floor that could house probably 100 people, did no one think to bring a flashlight? Angrily, he made his way to the next piece of luggage in the extra bedroom. He unzipped it, and flung out pieces of clothing one at a time. Underneath a hoodie, he almost couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a flashlight! Finally! He laughed in relief, grabbing the heavy piece of metal from the compartment. Now, he was ready to check out the elevator.

He rushed to the doorway that led into the hallway, so quickly that he tripped on a carpet that was laid down in front of the room. He stumbled and, luckily, caught himself. He nearly began to go out into the hallway again, but was able to hear something right outside the door. It sounded like footsteps. Heavy, metallic footsteps. Bryan twisted himself out of view from the hall, peeking around the corner gingerly.

He made out a large, blue shape not too far down the hall, carefully walking down the middle. Bonnie, Bryan guessed. Every few rooms he would stop and look into the rooms, looking for something. Looking for me, he realized. Did Chica tell him I was here, somehow? It didn’t matter, he had to take the rabbit out before he was found.

He fumbled with his pocket, getting the knife out of the holder while replacing the space with his newly acquired light. The tip of the blade still had bits of rust from Chica. He peeked out of his room to check on Bonnie. Bonnie was a little ways down the hall, surveying even more rooms rapidly, but not going in enough to the point where Bryan felt confident he could sneak up on him. He needed a distraction to throw Bonnie off, or else he would be found when Bonnie got to his room.

Looking around, Bryan noticed a tissue box on a table near him. Carefully, Bryan crept over and picked it up, willing himself to keep any possible noises as quiet as possible just in case Bonnie’s giant ears weren’t only for show. Tissue box in hand, he made his way back to the door, and waited for Bonnie to duck his head into a room. When he did, Bryan lifted his arm up, aiming quickly, and threw the box into the room opposite of him as hard as he could, then darted back behind the doorway.

As soon as the box hit the floor, making an impressive thunk, he might add, Bryan heard a robotic whirr, likely Bonnie’s head jerking up towards the noise. Bryan held his breath as muffled footsteps came closer, and hoped his distraction worked. He cautiously peered around the corner, and saw that Bonnie had fallen for the bait, seemingly trying to sneak into the room where the box was thrown. Bryan gulped, it’s now or never.

Bryan rushed behind Bonnie, letting out a yell as the blue bunny turned in surprise. Bryan latched onto Bonnie’s back and hit his arm with the blade, hacking away at whatever wires were there so that the rabbit couldn’t grab him as easily. Bonnie screamed ferociously, and jolted his body around, trying to get Bryan off. Bryan held on with his free hand near the neck of the suit, while he used his other to lift the knife and crash it down on Bonnie’s face. The rabbit screeched louder, making Bryan’s ears hurt. Bonnie flung desperately with every strike of Bryan’s knife, who was getting closer at stabbing out the animatronic’s eyes. He almost fell off from how much he was being thrashed around, but tightened his grip as his life depended on it.

After what felt like forever, Bryan stabbed a piece of the endoskeleton that made the rabbit go still, and start tipping over. Bryan, taking his cue, jumped away from it before he could be crushed, flinching when Bonnie met the floor with a resonating bang. Something hit his heel, and he looked down and saw that the mascot’s face and eyes were teetering on the ground, completely detached from the rest of the body. The arm that Bryan attacked was splayed in a way that Bryan knew would fall off at the slightest touch. With a choked breath, Bryan looked at his knife, assessing the damage.

It was beginning to chip on the blade, and even more rust was coated on the knife, some had even gotten on his lower arm. Bryan sheathed the knife, and rubbed at the mark on his arm, making the rust come off in unnatural flakes. He cringed at the bits that wouldn’t come off, feeling incredibly dirty, but decided he would just have to shower it off when he went home. For now, he had to check on the elevator.

He walked over to the entrance of the lift, and climbed the ladder until he reached the top. From there, he grabbed his flashlight and switched it on, before finally lifting himself onto the edge of the top. He shined the light onto the cords of the elevator, and shrieked.

Stuffed versions of the band were there, and they were attempting to chew on the frayed ropes. They seemed to make very little progress, as there seemed to be more wear on their soft mouths than the cords, but there was some damage from the constant grinding. Bryan stood completely on the side of the lift.

“Hey! Stop that!” He yelled out to get their attention. All four heads shot towards him in shock, as if they hadn’t expected to be caught. The Chica plushie made a head movement that looked like it tried to growl, before pouncing onto his leg. Bryan yelped, moreso in surprise than pain, before shaking his leg to get the stuffed plush off. It refused to move, instead it tried and failed to squeeze his leg harder. Bryan, in frustration, hit the chicken on the head with his flashlight, making it come loose, before pushing it off the side of the elevator. Foxy ran up to jump on him next, but Bryan bat it away with the flashlight, and it fell down as well.

Finally, only Bonnie and Freddy were left. They hadn’t moved from where they were trying to loosen the ropes. Freddy backed away a little, as though a little timid of the encounter, which made Bryan feel a little bad, but he didn’t want them to ruin the elevator more. He sprinted forward a little bit, and punted the bear away and it hit the wall. Bryan thought it was a little funny, but didn’t dwell on it as he turned to face Bonnie. The tiny rabbit jumped forward as he turned, and attempted to punch him with its soft paws. Bryan reached down to grab it, making the bunny squirm in his hand, before he flung it off the side of the elevator, watching it fall down into the seemingly endless, dark pit. 

With a sigh, Bryan turned back to inspect the cords. He wasn’t an expert, but it seemed the toys had come close to achieving their goal. The elevator was hanging on just enough to get him down a few floors, but there was no telling how much strain it could take. He didn’t find any ropes in any of the rooms that could work, either, so his only option was to go to the next floor and hope there was some kind of fix he could make.

He went back to the ladder and climbed down, making a quick trip into one of the rooms to grab some clothes; one shirt to help reinforce the cord, even if it was only to help him feel better, and another tied to the latch of the elevator so he can access it easier. He closed the top, and pressed the “76” button.

The elevator jostled at first, but immediately started to slowly go down. Bryan was tense as the elevator took its time, bracing himself just in case the cord didn’t hold. The elevator dinged, and Bryan got off as soon as the doors opened, taking in the room.

It wasn’t a bunch of hallways like the rooms were, but a wide expanse with a closed stage in the center. Everything was pirate themed; the tables were upside down ships, chairs were lifebuoys on top of barrels, anchors and nets hung from the ceiling, a beach decorated area in the corner with a playground decorated like an island in the middle, and even an aquarium was tucked away next to the elevator. The lights were covered in dark blue sheets, making the space look like it was under the water to the point Bryan needed to use his flashlight to see better. Bryan guessed this was Pirate’s Cove, the floor that seemed to be talked about the most at school. It was spotless, as if it was just cleaned, if the organized plates decorated as shells, party hats with sea life print, and trident utensils were anything to go by.

Bryan would’ve loved it if he were here during the day, but the lagoon themed floor only made his stomach sink with a feeling of wrongness. It felt like something was watching him from a murky corner, like a shark preying on a minnow. Bryan wanted to leave the room as soon as possible.

He walked closer towards the stage, acutely aware how exposed he was to any possible attack. He was nervous about the stage being closed, so he decided to check behind the red curtain, just in case. He pulled the corner of the fabric back slightly, just enough to shine a thin sliver of light into the space. In the center was Foxy, seemingly deactivated. At least, he hoped he was deactivated, since it didn’t seem like the pirate was moving. He debated on cutting the wires as a precaution, but one look at his knife was enough to make him decide not to. I don’t want to risk breaking it in case I need it later.

He retreated from the stage, letting his gaze fall onto some netting on the far wall, close to what seemed like a closet. It’d probably work as a replacement for the lift, he decided, so he walked up to it. It was out of reach, even as he stood on his toes. He tried to jump, but his hands still didn’t even graze the ropes. Huffing with annoyance, he looked around for something to stand on. Near the corner was a giant chest that spilled out fake gold, that appeared just flat enough on top to stand on and grab the net. He just hoped it wasn’t bolted to the floor. He went for it and tugged hard on it, but it didn’t budge. The chest was heavier than he thought. He went around to the other side and leaned his back on it, pushing against the floor with his feet with all his might. It began to scrape on the floor in a large squealing sound that seemed to bounce off the walls in a horrible cacophony. 

His legs were straining from the weight, so he took a second to stabilize himself again. When he stopped, however, he heard a thud from the center. He turned his head and saw Foxy, climbing offstage with his eyes trained on Bryan. Oh, c’mon!

Bryan dashed away from the chest, abandoning his original plan. Foxy ran after him, pursuing faster than Bonnie or Chica had ever moved, and much faster than Bryan expected. In a panic, he quickly took in where he could run to.

The elevator was off the table, as he didn’t know if the animatronics could work the buttons, nor was he confident the ropes would hold. The stage was also a bad idea, because the curtains were flimsy. He couldn’t hide under tables, or around the aquarium, since Foxy would certainly grab him. He glanced at the door opposite from the elevator. He could try his chance at it, but he’d have to make more distance between him and the fox before he could. His eyes landed on the playground, and began to veer towards it before he fully made a plan.

He pulled himself up the steps, skipping many, hearing the clanks of Foxy’s feet right after. He ducked around fish and seaweed inflatables, quickly trying to climb away. He smirked a bit when he heard popping sounds getting further away, assuming Foxy got slowed down, but not daring to look. He slid down the first slide he found, scrambling off of it as soon as it was safe.

He sprinted straight for the door, pulling it open violently when he heard a thud coming from the playground behind him. He slammed it shut behind him, leaning his back against it only to immediately feel Foxy thrash at it from the other side. He was safe, for now, but it was too close.

The closet was tight and claustrophobic, with shelves taking up half the space. To his left, Bryan found an extra table, which he scooted closer to take his place at holding the door. He assessed the shelves and found netting, probably in better condition than the stuff on the walls. He pulled one pile off the shelf, but noticed a mark on the wall behind it. He shined his light on it, and saw it was actually rough writing. 

“WITH THE MASK, THEY CANNOT SEE’? What does that mean?” Bryan read aloud. He then noticed a Foxy mask just below where the rope was, hidden near the back of the shelf. He reached across, grabbed it, and turned it over in his hands. It was eerily similar to the pirate, much more than the cheap ones that were sold, but it was obviously not designed as a suit piece. He held it up to his head, not yet putting it on, and realized it was sized perfectly for him. 

He slid it onto his head, carefully propping it so he could wear his hat and the mask at the same time. A sense of calm and cognizance fell over him. Despite only being able to see out of the left eye due to the eyepatch, he became more alert of the banging on the door, the streak of light from his flashlight, and the crowded room. It was not in a way that was overwhelming, though. His mind actually felt clearer than it was moments before, and he could think. With one look at the door, Bryan knew it wasn’t going to hold for much longer, he could see the slight, unnoticeable splinters in the wood that widened with every hit.

Without another thought, Bryan strung the net at the top of the door frame with the extra anchors hanging from the ceiling, and held it down with some extra props on the floor. He dug through the shelf some more and grabbed a rock prop, likely for the aquarium, and gripped it in his hands. Standing at the side of the door, he pushed the table away from the door with his foot, and twisted the knob open.

Foxy slammed in almost as soon as Bryan snapped his hand away, and crashed straight into the net that Bryan set up. Foxy’s foot fell through the holes in the net, an unexpected yet helpful holder keeping him in place. Bryan kicked the props away from the bottom of the net to make it harder for Foxy to escape. The fox stopped struggling, instead twirling around, trying to reach Bryan with his gnarly hook. Bryan stepped out of the way, pulling the rock up before bringing it down onto Foxy’s stomach. Foxy howled at the impact, but Bryan didn’t stop. He kept swinging the rock back down on the same spot, tearing at the fabric and breaking more metal with each hit. Sparks flew from the robot, and Bryan didn’t stop. It was only when Foxy’s eyes stopped glowing yellow did he cease.

He barely spared a glance at the fox, only reaching past the animatronic and grabbing the second piece of net. He walked away without another word.

Bryan boarded the elevator in a daze, unfolded the latch with ease, and made his way to the cords. With professionalism he didn’t have before, he used his knife to saw through a piece of rope, getting a long enough piece that could adequately replace the damaged part. Bryan tied a knot with the new piece above and below the damaged area, making them as small as possible while effective. Finally, he used his knife to cut off the damaged part. It was good enough, he decided, and gathered the net and broken rope, throwing it down the hole into the elevator.

He climbed down, closed up the roof, and pressed “1”. He reached up to grab the mask and take it off, but stopped. It felt wrong to take it off. Unsafe. The moment he touched it he had a wave of anxiety that told him it was a bad idea. Even with the slight obstruction of his sight, he kept it on. He’d live, right?

The elevator worked as normal, even though it was slower than he would like. It left him bored, but it’s all he can do. 

At some point, near the 70th floor, he heard something. It sounded like screaming. A human screaming. Immediately, he pressed the nearest floor to get the elevator to stop. When the door opened to an office type of area, the screams only got louder. He quickly followed it down one of the halls, trying to navigate and checking the rooms for anything. He reached the door at the end of the hall, and the screaming peaked in volume, but there were no animatronics inside. Just a giant meeting room.

“Hello? Is someone there?” He called out. The screams stopped, and on the opposite side he saw a head peer up, only for their eyes to widen and shriek again. They backed up, and held up a metal bat threateningly.

“St-stay away! Don’t hurt me!” They yelled. It sounded like a kid around his age. Bryan held his hands up.

“I’m not here to hurt you, though! I promise!”

“I don’t believe you, Foxy!” They yelled out, making Bryan tilt his head in confusion.

“Foxy? But I’m not- OH!” He realized he still had the mask on. He pulled it off of his head, a feeling of waking up washed over him. “See? I’m a human, not Foxy!” The kid blinked, then relaxed.

“Oh. Sorry,” they said. They were slightly taller than Bryan, and had dark hair, bright blue eyes with liquidy tear tracks leaking from them. He had a dark grey striped shirt on with a black leather jacket over it, and long, baggy black jeans over his shoes that together made him seem very pale. Altogether, he looked put together and unscathed. Not what he expected to find when he first heard the screaming.

“Are you alright? I mean, I heard you screaming from the elevator. I assumed something was wrong-”

“Oh, I’m sorry, It’s just- I have no idea how I got here, man, and I’m all alone, and my family is gone while there’s creepy robots roaming- I came down here and thought they were here but it was Freddy so I ran-” The kid continued to ramble, but Bryan heard Freddy was here and tuned him out. He shut the door firmly, making the kid jump.

“Freddy’s here? And you decided to start screaming?” The kid went red from embarrassment.

“My bad for being scared, you would be, too,” they mumbled. Bryan felt bad for snapping, now.

“I’m sorry, that was rude,” they were silent for a moment, only listening to the ambiance of the ventilation. Bryan sighed. “My name’s Bryan, my family was taken from the penthouse. Who’re you?”

“Uhm- I’m Cody. I was having my 13th birthday party in Pirate’s Cove when everyone went missing.” Foxy’s Cove? Bryan thought about how clean it was on the floor. It didn’t seem right, but maybe Cody’s just a tidy kid.

“Well, happy birthday? I’m sorry this happened,” Bryan said, feeling awkward. Cody snorted in slight amusement.

“Thanks, man. You’re probably the first person today who actually means that.”

“Yeah, but uhm, we should probably get away from here. I didn’t see Freddy, but you probably alerted him as to where we are.” Cody tensed and shook his head.

“No! No, I can’t go back out there! Freddy will get me if we do!”

“Freddy will find us if we don’t, we have better chances getting to the elevator!” Cody shook his head, his entire body quaking in fear.

“No, no, no, you don’t understand! I can’t, I can’t, I can’t! I’m all alone, the phones don’t work, and the stairs are locked! There’s nowhere safe to run! Please don’t make me go…” He trailed off, sliding to the floor. Bryan shifted on his feet, anxious to get back to the elevator. He rounded the table and placed his hand on Cody’s shoulder.

“Listen to me, please. I know it’s scary, but we can’t stay here. We can’t afford it. If we stay together, we can make our way to the elevator and get to the first floor. We can leave and get the police! We just have to move. I promise I won’t leave you alone.” Cody looked up at Bryan, sniffling.

“Promise?” Bryan nodded, and smiled. Cody still looked uncertain, but Bryan got an idea. He reached up and took off his Pokémon hat.

“Here, put this on.” Cody looked confused. “I can’t leave without my hat, can I? Now I have to come back for you, no matter what.” Cody let out a laugh, and shakily took it.

“I mean, I guess that makes sense.” Cody said, putting it on backwards with a smile on his face. He looked back up at Bryan. “Do I look rad?” Bryan grinned wider.

“Definitely. Now, c’mon!” Bryan pulled Cody to his feet. They made their way to the door and into the hallway, slowing their pace significantly in order to hear Freddy. Bryan pulled the fox mask back on his face, noticing Cody flinch slightly at the sight of it, but said nothing.

They crept to where the room adjacent to the elevator, and stopped. Freddy was there, standing in front of the elevator, as if waiting for it to open. Cody dragged Bryan back, whispering harshly.

“What do we do?”

“Well, I don’t know!” He whispered back. “I didn’t think he’d be right there!” A moment passed, both boys trying to think of a plan.

“I’ve got it. You run out and distract him, then I’ll get behind him and hit him with my bat. As soon as he’s down, we’ll run to the elevator together.” Cody offered. Bryan felt queasy.

“I don’t like the idea of being bait very much. Can’t we just attack him together while his back is turned?” Cody shook his head.

“He’d hear us! Trust me, this- this will work.” Cody already moved back to the doorway before Bryan could respond. He had a bad feeling about it, especially wondering if Cody would be courageous enough based on their brief meeting, but he didn’t have any better ideas. He approached the doorway.

Trying to be brave, Bryan took a breath and approached Freddy carefully, but with enough distance to run.

“Hey! Freddy!” He yelled out. No response, not even a twitch came from the bear. Bryan’s gut told him to run, attack, anything, but Bryan only stepped closer. “Hey! Are you… even on?” Bryan got closer when he didn’t get any response. Maybe his mask made his voice muffled? He took it off and got closer. “Freddy! Look at-”

He was cut off as a large roar emitted from Freddy, as he swung around and swung his claws down on Bryan’s face. He tried to dodge out of the way, but it was too late. A sharp pain of agony erupted on the left side of his face, making him screech instinctively. He stepped back from Freddy, who sped after him.

“Bryan!” He heard Cody call fearfully. Bryan spared a glance at the boy, still frozen in the doorway with his mouth agape. The poor kid was too terrified to help him.

The mascot bear suddenly grabbed Bryan’s shirt, lifting him up into the air. Bryan kicked and squirmed, but nothing seemed to faze Freddy. All it did was make the ever prominent smile on his face grow bigger. Then, he winked at him, much like the wink he did when Bryan first arrived. Freddy let out a withering shriek, shaking Bryan to his core. He was toying with him.

Bryan didn’t know what to do, he could barely think straight. Time seemed to slow down for a second as Freddy retracted his arm weirdly, just enough for Bryan to realize what Freddy would do. He scrambled against the grip and clawed desperately, but it was useless.

Freddy threw him, hard. Bryan felt the air whizz past his ears as fear constricted a scream out of his lungs.

A burst of pain suddenly erupted on Bryan’s back as he bounced off the wall. He barely heard Cody make a noise of panic, but couldn’t tell if they were words.

His face suddenly met with the floor, but he didn’t feel it.

Then it all went dark.

Chapter Text

28…

29…

30!

The young child opened his eyes, a feeling of something missing washed over him as he faced a yellow house. The garage door was open, and inside was a man hunched over a workbench.

The boy walked over to the man, stopping at the side of the table. He noticed the dark bags under the man’s dark and bloodshot eyes, though his expression wasn’t upset or tired. Just focused on nothing, as if he were thinking.

“You won’t find her here,” the man said, without so much as a glance down at the boy. Said child stood on his toes, barely able to look at the rest of the items littering the workbench. He pointed at a little unicorn on wheels.

What’s that? He didn’t open his mouth to say the words, but they were received all the same. The man, however, still didn’t look up or seem swayed from his thoughts.

“That’s Stanley,” the man said simply, as if that explained all that the toy was. It was enough for the boy.

Can you make me one? The man didn’t answer right away. The child didn’t mind, waiting patiently for a response.

“...Okay,” He finally said, and the boy smiled widely. The child walked away, euphoria bubbling under his skin.

When he’s done, I’ll name him Helios, his stray thoughts decided, remembering the stories his mother told him not too long ago about the sun. He liked his mother’s stories.

The boy rounded the house, the vibrant colors of the tall grass capturing his attention no matter where he looked, but he kept seeking something out. He made it to the backyard. A long line of trees expanded across the sky, their shockingly dull colors against the bright property discouraged him from approaching them.

Closer to the house was a singular tree, the bright branches swaying without the wind blowing through them. His curiosity got to him, and he walked towards it, and peered up between the labyrinth of wood.

Suspended in the branches, limbs caught unnaturally like a doll or a puppet, was a girl without a face. She was older than him by a couple years. The boy waved up at her, and the faceless girl laughed. It was a jingling sound, like a bell being rung over and over. He liked the sound.

The girl untangled herself, immediately plummeting to the ground. The boy didn’t flinch when she landed right in front of his face. She grabbed him, and lifted him up into a smooth twirl, the sounds of their giggles intertwined into a nice melody. She stopped spinning as she set him back on the ground, pulling him into a tight hug.

She retracted from the hug, and brushed a strand of brown hair off of her face. He couldn’t see her face, but he knew she was smiling. He couldn’t feel his own face, but he knew he was smiling. He didn’t feel like he was missing anything anymore.

He heard her take a breath, and her voice seemed to be the only sound in the world.

“You found me again, Bryan.”

…

Bryan felt awful.

It was like his head had been split open by a wild animal.

He groaned and rolled onto his side, his entire body seemingly screaming at him for it. He opened his eyes slowly, feeling nausea permeating through his stomach as brightness stinged his right eye, but his left eye was still pitch black. Bryan lifted his hand to it in the little concern he could muster, only to feel a thick gauze wrapped messily around the entire side of his head. He sat like that for a minute, his body slowly adjusting to the pain while he racked his brain, trying to remember what had happened.

Oh.

Freddy had launched him into a wall.

No wonder he felt like death.

Bryan turned to sit up on his knees, and looked around.

Close to where Bryan had woken up, hidden under a desk, was a piece of paper, his knife, and a can of tea. Seeing the drink, Bryan realized just how dry his mouth felt. He cracked the top open and greedily drank it, stopping only when some of it had accidentally poured down his chin from his haste. When he finished, he tossed the empty can into a small bin under the desk he had gotten it from. He then picked up the note, and began to read the neatly written contents.

To Bryan, whenever you wake up.

If you’re reading this, then I’m not back yet to explain anything to you personally. After Freddy knocked you out, I went through with the plan and hit him with my bat, as you can probably see by his body on the floor.

Bryan stopped reading there, looking around to see that Freddy wasn’t there. He felt a rise of panic, but turned his attention back to the note.

You were bleeding really bad from where Freddy scratched you, so I found first aid and patched you up. Unfortunately, there weren't a ton of bandages in there, so I decided to go down a few floors and get some supplies. I’ll be back up soon, depending on when you wake up, but if you want to find me first, feel free to as long as you don’t get hurt more. I’m not sure when you’ll start bleeding through those bandages, but we want them to last as long as possible until we can get to the first floor.

Something after was scratched out, as if he wanted to add something, but decided against it.

See ya soon, Cody. P.S., that tea is for you when you wake up.

Bryan sighed loudly. At least Cody was looking out for him, but he would have rathered him to stay until he woke up. He grabbed his knife and put it as well as the note in his pocket. The question now was whether he should stay or look for Cody.

If he stayed, then it’d be easier for Cody to find him when he came back, well, if he came back. On the other hand, Freddy might still be on the floor, and Bryan didn’t think he could outsmart the bear very easily. Also, Cody might get hurt and Bryan would never know. He made up his mind quickly.

He got to his feet, only stumbling slightly despite how sore he felt, and made his way to the elevator.

When he pressed the elevator button, he realized how dumb he was. Cody was probably using the elevator. Obviously the elevator won’t come up to him if Cody was already going down, and he’d have to wait extra long in order to use it. Also, he wasn’t sure if the elevator would hold going upwards, since he fixed it as best as he could in a trance. He’d be better off using the stairs-

The elevator doors opened with a cheerful ding that made Bryan jump out of his thoughts. Or maybe Cody is on a floor and not the elevator, Bryan thought, a wave of embarrassment for his second guessing. He looked into the elevator doorway only to see an empty shaft with two long ropes going down the middle.

Bryan, confused, cautiously peered down the shaft to find that far below was the elevator, unmoving. I’m no mechanic or an architect, but I’m fairly sure this is a hazard and not meant to happen. He took a step back from the pit and turned away. He really should just find the emergency stairs for this floor.

…

There are no emergency stairs on this floor.

Who designed this place to be a literal death trap? Bryan thought to himself in disbelief. On the bright side, he hadn’t found Freddy, either meaning the bear took the elevator to another floor, which sounded simultaneously hilarious and terrifying to Bryan, or he just had incredible luck and they were on opposite sides of the floor.

Regardless, he found himself back in front of the elevator that hadn’t closed his entire search. Bryan had come to the conclusion that the only way down was to climb the ropes. All he had to do was psych himself up.

“It’s alright, I can do this! They do it all the time in movies, so it can’t be that bad, right? I’ve got this, I’ve got this!” He whispered to himself, pacing back and forth. He still felt his nerves crawling on his back, so he stopped and took a few grounding breaths. “Just… don’t overthink this, Bryan. It’ll be fine.” His anxiety was momentarily quieted, so he decided now was his chance before he could convince himself otherwise.

He took three steps back, then ran forward, jumping off the ledge into the elevator ropes. As soon as he felt the rough feeling of one of the cords, he wrapped his hands and legs onto it as tightly as he could, not letting go even as he felt himself slide down slightly before stopping.

He did it! He sighed lightly, relief flooding his body.

Now all he had to do was climb down to where the elevator was, go through the hatch on the roof, and reunite with Cody. Easy peasy, Bryan thought to himself in full confidence. He brought one hand down with the other close behind, then let his legs slide down to become equal distance again, marking the start of his trek downwards.

Then, he made the dumb decision of looking down. The lift was much farther away than he originally thought. Anxiety returned with a vengeance and he snapped his head back up, his grip tightening on the rope tenfold. Unfortunately, it'd be much more difficult getting off than on, so his only option was to go down.

One shaky hand after another, he slid down the rope. He looked up to track his progress, feeling like he wasn't making any progress. The elevator had to be somewhere on the 60th floor, and he had just passed floor 68, if he counted correctly, that is. 

He felt his hands and legs burning from keeping him held up for so long, but he was too scared of falling to relieve the knots in his muscles or the burn from the rope. He told himself he'd be able to deal with it later, and that was enough to make him climb down more.

The shaft was quiet, eerily so. He thought he'd hear Cody at any point, or an animatronic echoing from a higher floor, but there was nothing. It was like all sound had been sucked away, leaving only him and his strained breathing. It left Bryan to his ever persistent thoughts. 

Where had Freddy gone? He should've been broken, considering he and Cody were still alive. At least, he assumes Cody wrote that note and was alive somewhere. A sense of dread washed over him. Maybe Freddy was the one who wrote the note.

Bryan slid his aching legs down again, reaching his right arm down to repeat the descent.

That doesn't make sense, though. It's not like a robot would let them go after trying to kill them, and Bryan had been unconscious, left vulnerable. It made the most sense that Cody was alive, deactivated Freddy, wrote the note, and was on a floor below. That still leaves the question, where was Freddy? It's not like Cody would lie about that.

Bryan paused to regain his grip.

Would he?

Grab, grab, slide.

He wouldn't. He had nothing to gain by doing that, Bryan reasoned.

Grab, grab, slide.

Besides, Freddy was glitched out. He wouldn't just listen to a random kid.

Grab.

Cody also wouldn't be strong enough to drag Freddy onto the elevator with him.

Grab.

We're just kids.

Slide.

Suddenly, the ropes shook violently. Bryan stopped moving, instinctively tightening his hold as fear and confusion interrupted his thoughts. He'd only gotten about halfway down. A loose, terrifying thought came to him.

Was the rope snapping?

An excruciating screech of metal bled throughout the shaft, making Bryan wish he could cover his ears from it if he did not have to hold on. Then, the rope began to move up, trembling violently as the elevator began to move down.

Bryan yelped, the sudden movement making his already sore limbs unstable on the rope. If he didn't get off the rope now, he was bound to fall.

His eyes parted around for an escape. The doors to the nearest floors were too far away, and also closed. He'd likely not make it, and if he did, he might not be able to fit on the thin ledge.

The shaft had no windows, but it did have large vents in between each floor. He was close enough to a vent cover. If he swung, he might be able to latch onto the wide slits until the ropes stopped moving. It was a stretch, but his best bet.

He untangled his legs from the rope, immediately feeling the burn in his arms as they became his only support. He kicked his synchronized legs back and forth, the cords quivering in resistance with every movement. He made them move as much as he could in an effort to get closer to the vent. In a blur, he felt his fingers begin to slip from the rope. It was now or never.

He flung himself from the rope when it got to its closest point to the cover, and reached his hands for the vent.

He made contact and slipped his fingertips down the slit he was closest to desperately, his body slamming onto his hands soon after.

Before he could take the moment to breathe, the vent cover started falling forward. Bryan's breath caught in his throat as he was pulled down along with it, only to come to a clanging stop on its hinges.

Bryan swallowed the lump of terror in his throat before assessing his situation. The elevator was still moving, and so were the ropes. He could wait, or he could climb into the now opened vent. The strain in his arms made his choice for him.

Carefully, he rounded one hand to be on top of the vent cover, then the other. He pulled himself upwards until he got one knee stable, then pulled himself into the vent with both hands. As soon as he was inside, he let himself collapse onto the cold metal with a relieved sigh. 

The vent was dark as far as he could tell, but it was slightly noisier than the shaft was. There was the thrum of fans echoing from every direction, and distant sounds of music, however the genre was indescribable as it seemed to cut in and out. There was a certain smell in the air, somewhere between mildew, rust, and rotting food, enough to make Bryan wrinkle his nose in disgust.

He sat up after what felt like an eternity, and stared at where the ropes were. They had come to a stop. If he tried, he could jump back onto them and continue climbing.

His entire body ached in protest, pain burning deeply into his muscles that he didn't think the soreness would stop until he was old. He was afraid that if he started climbing down again, he wouldn't be able to move when he reached the bottom.

He reached into his pocket and fished out his flashlight. The only way out from here is the vent, Bryan told himself, turning the light on and shining it down the space.

The darkness extended farther than the light could reach. Bryan sighed, before turning and crawling down the narrow space.

He crawled for what felt like an eternity, winding through turns and hugging the right wall whenever there was a split. His repetition and slowness felt lifeless, as robotic as the animatronics who attacked him. It made the sting in his arms numb, but not comfortably so.

The constant silver metal everywhere he looked made it feel like he was going in circles, even though the turns made that impossible.

Still, the longer he crawled through the vent, the more it made him believe he'd gone in a circle. Bryan was fairly certain he should've been outside of the building for how long he's been in the vents, or at least seen a cover that led outside, but there was nothing. Just the same droning of fans and music that got louder but less identifiable as he crawled, rattling his brain into goo.

At some point he stopped taking right turns, and started to listen to his gut. Whenever he got to a fork in the vent, he would blindly choose a direction without pause. It was uncertain and sporadic, but at least it made him feel better, more alive.

He wandered on until he almost slipped off of a sudden ledge. He yelped in surprise, getting his bearings again inside the vent and looked into the unfamiliar area.

It was a perfectly cubic room. The ceiling and floor each had a giant fan covered by metal grates, each darkened by years of rust building up. The walls were the same steel as the vents, but there was more corrosion along the edges that suggested the material was older than the building itself. However, attached to the ceiling was a speaker that stood out for its newer appearance. 

Bryan cautiously crawled from the opening, making the numbness in his legs turn into tingling static. He noticed similar vent openings on the opposite and left walls, however slightly bigger to where he could simply walk through if he crouched enough. He got closer to the left side and peered down one with his flashlight, finding a small, straight path of vent into a room.

What is this for? It seems too high tech for just ventilation.

He decided to crawl through into the middle vent. On the other side, the room was nearly identical to the previous one. This is so weird, what's the point of this in the vents? Bryan asked himself. He walked towards the center of the rooms, the metal creaking under his weight.

Then, from ahead, there was a faint click. He snapped his head towards the vent, reaching into his pocket and grabbing his knife.

Then, music.

Carnival music, from his left. It sounded like what he was hearing closer to the elevator. He was tempted to go after it, but the click he heard still nagged him.

He decided to go after the click. After all, the music seemed too joyous to be anything other than a trap.

He turned off his flashlight to be cautious, then lifted himself up into the middle vent. Nearly as soon as he began to walk, two more clicks happened, and the music began to play in the room he just left.

So it was to lure him away. For what?

He continued down the vent, noticing it was a little longer than the other crawlspace. Nonetheless, Bryan continued until the opening, and immediately heard a scream.

He jumped back in surprise, a screech erupting from him when he met the end of a pistol. His hands shot up.

“DON'T SHOOT ME, I'M JUST A KID!” He half expected his plea not to work, but the gun snapped down by the body of a girl with a surprised look on her face.

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Wait- are you actually here?” She asked. Bryan was caught off guard by the question.

“Uh, I think so?” Bryan offered as he analyzed her.

She seemed to be older than him, about 15 or so. She had a denim jacket that matched her jeans, and a white shirt underneath. She had small scrapes all over her, the deepest ones being under her blue eyes. She messed with her ponytail that held her long, brown hair nervously as she cleared her throat. 

“Sorry, I just haven't seen anyone in so long. I think I've been stuck up here for weeks.” Bryan gasped.

“Weeks!? What happened? Why didn't you get help?” She gave him a look that he couldn't name.

“The animatronics attacked everyone at my party. I had to steal this-” she gestured to her pistol, “-from a dead security guard and escape into the vents. No one has come into the building since.” Bryan shivered. The animatronics killed someone already. Then he thought about what she said.

“But the animatronics just went haywire earlier tonight, not weeks ago.” She widened her eyes.

“That- no, that can't be right. It should be May already, I've been counting!” She stopped and shook her head. “Actually, it won't matter how long I've been here unless we get out, and that won't be happening if we keep making noise.”

She turned her attention to a monitor on a desk he hadn't noticed before, then clicked a few buttons. A moment later, a hazard sign appeared on a square near the middle, but towards the right. She made a face, and clicked another square that made a volume image appear. The music from behind Bryan moved somewhere farther away. Bryan hopped out of the vent and closer to her side, watching her movements.

“What are you doing?” He asked her.

“An animatronic, Mangle, has been following me from my party, and it's only lured away by sound. Unfortunately, that means I'm trapped here until it forgets about me.” She said bitterly.

“Can't you just lead them far away and leave the opposite direction?” He suggested, she shook her head.

“I tried. It's too fast to do that.” He frowned.

He couldn't imagine having to stay here for who knows how long she has, trying to keep herself alive forever in a rusted, old vent. He'd probably hide like Cody did.

With the memory of Cody, Bryan was reminded of the weight against his head.

“I can help! I have a mask!” He smiled at her. She looked at him in confusion.

“What do you mean?” She asked as he took it off.

“When I wore it, Freddy didn’t even see me. I'm sure it'll be the same for other animatronics!” Her face morphed into anxiety as he continued to rattle off his plan. “Make a distraction right… there,” he pointed at the bottom right corner of the screen. “I'll sneak in after Mangle so it doesn't see me, then I'll dismantle it so we can leave.” Misty watched his enthusiasm in quiet contemplation. 

“But what if it doesn't work? You're just a kid, what if it hurts you?” Bryan gave her a determined look.

“It will work, trust me.” She didn’t look convinced in the slightest, but she apparently knew it was better than nothing. She gave a nod as she turned back to the computer. 

“OK, kid. Whatever you say.” She said quietly. He pouted slightly at the word kid.

“My name is Bryan, miss.” She snickered and turned her head back to him.

“And my name is Misty, kid.” And with that, Bryan noticed something appear on her face he didn’t even realize was missing.

Misty looked hopeful.

…

They had to lure Mangle into the middle vent on the left before they could start.

Bryan tried not to show it, but he was honestly relieved that he had time to prepare himself. He felt embarrassed to be afraid, considering he already broke Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy. It's just that Freddy overpowering him made him nervous. Made it clear that the animatronics were trying to kill him, and were enjoying it.

It didn’t help that Misty gave him a description of what Mangle looked like.

“It was meant to be the toy version of Foxy, so the fox itself is white with rosy cheeks much like the rest of the toys. The bad part is that kids broke it. Like, really broke it. What's left of the fox is impaled on its own insides.” Bryan couldn't visualize what she meant, but he wished he wasn't going to find out.

It felt too soon, but Mangle was in position. All that he had to do was crawl into the vent over for Misty to activate the music, then Bryan was meant to crawl into that room and take Mangle out.

Misty turned to him with a grim look on her face. She spent most of the time complaining to Bryan about how uncomfortable she was with sending him into the same vent as the fox. He assured them both that he'd be fine.

“I hope you know what you're doing, Bryan,” she mumbled, as if any louder might alert Mangle of the plan. He gave her a smile.

“We'll get out of here, don't worry,” he said, before turning and climbing into the vent. Bryan climbed forward before he could hear her wish him good luck.

He jumped down into the next room, and only took a few steps before music began to play up ahead. Carefully, he walked forward and got into the other vent. When there, he reached up and put his mask on-

Oh.

How did he not think of this sooner?

The Foxy mask had its right eye covered by the eyepatch, while his own left eye was covered by bandages. Putting on the mask had rendered him completely blind.

He nearly backed up. He had to go back and tell Misty it wasn't going to work, and that they should've swapped places.

But unfortunately, it was too late.

He heard the clamoring of metal ahead of him, something heavy collapsing into the room.

Mangle.

Static emitted from the robot filled his ears and swam around his head, numbing down the rest of his senses. Despite it, his own steps rivaled the all encompassing buzzing from the animatronic. 

If he left, Mangle would hear him. He'd lead it to him and Misty. He had to carry the plan out.

Bryan settled back on the edge of the vent. He couldn't see, but he could still hear it clumsily thrashing around the room, trying to find the source of the sound to terminate it.

Luckily, the supposed disrepair of the robot made more clangs that he could listen for.

He waited for the robot to move farther from him. He could barely tell with all of the echoing, but soon Mangle drifted to the opposite wall. He had to act now.

He jumped from the vent, the static picking up in his head. He couldn't tell if it was from Mangle or elsewhere.

One foot ahead of the other, he beelined to where the most clanging was, and brought out his knife. With one hand ahead of him, he guided himself to where Mangle was.

The banging of metal on metal increased as Mangle realized it wasn't alone, thrashing its head to try and find the source of the sudden movement it heard.

Before it could pinpoint an exact location, Bryan's outstretched hand met its wires. He began to climb up, brushing each hand on the robot until he got leverage to pull himself up. Despite the thrashing, it was shockingly easy to Bryan, much like fixing the elevator was.

It didn’t take long for him to reach its head. He felt the spiky pieces of plastic around the cheeks. Like an instinctual reaction, he brought his knife up, and jammed it down, hitting what felt like the jaw.

The static morphed into a horrible screech. It sounded more animalistic than he was expecting, the way the static scratched at his ears like vocal cords being strained and torn.

However, he didn’t falter. He pulled the knife out and struck again.

And again.

And again.

Until the static stopped. 

Until the clanging stopped.

Until the fox collapsed. 

And for good measure, he stabbed it once more. Just in case. He didn’t want another animatronic to walk it off.

He sat there, suddenly feeling how winded he was. Despite it, he didn’t want to take off the mask, even though it made it much harder to breathe. It concerned him slightly, but he thought it was worth staying undetected.

However, there was nothing to detect him right now. He really should take the mask off and get back to Misty.

His hands shook, but he eventually peeled the mask off. It felt heavier in his hands than before. At least now he could see again.

Mangle was a heap of wires. He wasn't prepared for the sight. It's head was in pieces from the knife, with a bunch of holes from his frantic stabbing. Most of its casing was also missing, leaving the metal, that reminded him much of a human skeleton, exposed. All of that wasn't what shocked him.

What scared him was the amount of blood.

Mangle's wires were drenched. It's maw was coated. It didn't have a white coat like Misty had said, but a rusted crimson speckling everywhere like it had rained. The metallic stench invaded his nose when he took the mask off, and he didn’t think he'd ever smell anything else. It was overwhelming, the copper smell threatened to make him throw up. He turned to his side, ready to give in.

Then he realized he messed up.

Up in the air, connected to Mangle from a wire by the neck, was a robot skull.

The head he destroyed was either a decoy or only half of the animatronic. Bryan didn’t know nor did he care.

The skull reared upwards, like a viper about to strike prey. Bryan fell backwards, but he knew he couldn't get away. The skull began to descend.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three shots rang out. The last hit the animatronic under its eye where most of the wires were bunched up. On impact the skull made a static sound before dropping down, dead.

Bryan snapped his attention to where the shooting came from. There, eyes and mouth blown wide in fear, was Misty. Bryan released a wild laugh.

“Misty! Great timing!” He said between his howling. She snapped out of her trance, joining him in nervous giggles.

“Yeah, you were taking too long,” she stopped giggling and walked to his side. “Are you alright? Did it get you anywhere?” She fretted. He shook his head.

“No, thanks to you,” he said, the sensation of breathlessness overtaking him again. Misty noticed, and rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him.

“C'mon, bud. We have to get out of here.” He nodded, latching onto her arm as she pulled him off the ground.

“Where do we go?” He asked, looking up at her while still attached to her side. She hummed, as if going over a map in her head.

“Follow me, the opening is over there,” she pointed to where Mangle had come from, before walking in that direction. Bryan trailed close behind her, not releasing his hold on her arm. She didn’t seem to mind it, and Bryan was very glad for it.

Finally, neither of them were going to be alone.

Chapter Text

If he was anything, Cody was a coward.

It must’ve been true, since many have called him such.

So he wondered why he had to remain in a place like this.

He remembered the day vividly. It was one of those days he went to the Fazbear’s Hotel. His family went often, due to his father working there. In fact, he could recall more days inside the building than anywhere else in his life. Most kids would dream to practically live in the attraction, with the bright colors, mediocre foods, and of course, the dazzling animatronic characters that every child adored.

He, however, hated it.

He loathed the sounds buzzing all around, threatening to drown him. He hated every bright, whimsical color that flashed in front of him that threatened to make him throw up all of the hot, greasy pizza he forced down nearly every day. The pushing and shoving as kids tried to barrel through him like he wasn’t even there.

The animatronics that stared at him for too long.

That day he was in Pirate’s Cove. A crown jewel for the company, being the most popular floor that parents rushed to rent out months in advance on the behalf of their snotty kids. His own family had no trouble getting it on short notice, however, only renting the room a few days in advance. He never bothered to ask how. He just knew they got it for his 13th birthday.

Which was a shame, because he really, really hated Foxy.

So immediately, before the fox could be unveiled from behind the curtain, he hid himself in the playground area, where he couldn’t see the stage. He didn’t know what threw him off the most about the fox. Was it the sharp teeth? Or was it the hooked hand? Maybe it was the fact that it was a glitching, ticking timebomb, one that could never quite get fixed, despite the numerous repairs it went under daily? It didn’t matter, he just wanted to stay away from it.

He let himself close his eyes, hearing his little sister’s friends tear up the once organized room. He didn’t talk much so he barely had any friends of his own, but his family still wanted to fill out the guest list. Cody obliged quietly. He was always more at ease just listening, it made it harder to think about what worried him constantly. He didn’t have to wonder if what he was doing was right.

Dignified, yet heavy steps grew closer. He didn’t even have to check to know who it was, he could already tell by his body tensing. It was like he had a sixth sense specifically for the man’s presence.

“Hello, father,” He mumbled out, giving a curt nod of acknowledgement once he knew he was in the adult’s line of sight. His father didn’t respond, opting to stand right across from the boy, who sat on the ground. There was a pause for several moments.

“Cody,” he said, like reading a command to a servant. Even with that, Cody was entirely tuned into whatever his father had to say. Like Pavlov’s Bell. He opened his eyes, but stared down at his feet, avoiding his father’s gaze. All other sounds dissolved in his ears.

“Yes?” Was all he asked, tentative and low, unsure if his father was intentionally creating space before speaking his reasons to his eldest.

“What are you hiding back here for?” His father asked after a pause, softer than before, as if he realized that he forgot to be nurturing before. “I took a break from work for a second, and you had vanished. What’s wrong?” It was said, meant, to be sweet, but Cody didn’t feel any comfort in the concern. He felt expected to give him real answers, no matter how much his father fretted or how much more appropriate a white lie would be. So, he told him exactly why, like always.

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“Hm,” His father hummed, as if he were dealing with a visitor rather than his son. “How troubling. I know Foxy has its faults, but it’s constantly surveilled. Also, all of its regular maintenance has sent back no errors.” Cody nodded, a tight smile as if he was reassured. He wasn’t, but his father hated when he wasn’t acting as he should. It was better to avoid more questions.

His father had a few more things to say before leaving into the elevator, taking his sister down with him. Apparently, he wasn’t finished with work, and his sister pestered to follow like always. So once again, Cody was left alone, surrounded by strangers instead of friends and family. 

What another fantastic birthday.

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Cody felt a sudden and intense pull of exhaustion. It felt like he could never get enough sleep some days, with sleep threatening him like a tsunami. He had nothing better to do, nor a reason to stay awake, so he let himself be lulled by it. He tightened his legs closer to himself, holding them up by his arms, and cradled his head into them. His eyes dropped closed, his body shutting down one sensation at a time. His hearing was the last thing to go, with the distance, resonating clang of metal being the last sound he heard.

…

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When he returned to consciousness, he felt a surge of dissonance. Vaguely, he knew he woke up somewhere else that he didn’t fall asleep at, not even close to Foxy’s floor. Immediately, the thought was expelled from his mind, like it never existed. A slew of memories took its place instead.

He had awoken after his father left because of the sudden silence of the floor. Everyone was gone, so he had gone down the elevator with a bat he was gifted by a guest who he barely knew. He ended up in the office area after Freddy broke the elevator and was chased into this current room. He hid under a table in fear. He didn’t remember falling asleep again, but it must’ve happened.

He finally opened his eyes, staring up at the underside of the table. There were areas where gum had been stuck, dried and cemented to the wood. He laid like that for minutes, silence permeating through the room, aside from the continuous hum of the air conditioner. He felt frozen to the ground.

Of course, he had to get up at some point. He slowly rolled out from under the table, and used the bat like a crutch to pull himself up. He walked his way over to the daunting, wooden door. Freddy could be on the other side, waiting. He didn’t know where the bear went, or if it even followed him. He wasn’t too keen on finding out. He just wanted to go home to-

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A burst of static filled his ears, making him shriek in alarm. His eyes and ears flared with pain, like his head was shot with electric bolts.

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A visage of Freddy’s face swarmed his vision. He screamed. Had the robot been in the room the whole time?

He swayed backwards, stumbling his way back to the other side of the table. He held tightly to the bat, but his arm locked up, preventing him from swinging at the bear. He ducked underneath the table, squishing himself into the leg of it.

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He didn’t stop screaming. It’s like his throat was stuck. Freddy’s face faded from view, but he kept screaming and screaming and screaming like a record that broke in half. His jaw hurt from it. His eyes hurt from crying. His ears hurt from his own wails. His head hurt it hurt it hurt-

The door opened. Only then was Cody able to stop at the new sound. He slowly rose up, just enough to see who was there.

Foxy. It followed him downstairs. But it wasn’t the same. Foxy’s maw was gaping with blood and viscera, and its dark eyes dripped with a dark, undiscernible liquid. It was tall, too tall for its stage, its red, dirty cloth torn up and exposed sharp, metal rods that stuck out like barbed wire.

He screeched again, holding up his bat threateningly.

“St-stay away! Don’t hurt me!” He pleaded to the robot. He knew these things were soulless, glitching machines, especially this one. It was over for him.

To his surprise, the thing didn’t try to attack him. Instead, it put its hands up. In a glitchy, low pitched voice, it responded.

“I’m not here to hurt you, though! I promise!” The sound made him flinch, the garbled words grating on his ears. He clenched his bat as hard as he could. It was trying to trick him. He knew that for a fact.

“I don’t believe you, Foxy!” He growled, emphasizing the name. He wouldn’t be tricked. Not this time. However, the thing continued to feign ignorance, confusing him more. With a robotic cock of its head, it spoke.

“Foxy? But I’m not- OH!” It suddenly exclaimed, making Cody jump at the spike of the static. He watched as its ruby meathook redirected to go under the head, digging into it before pulling upwards. 

And then, there was no Foxy. Not even an animatronic. In the beast’s place was a kid, around his age, with dark brown hair and a red Pokémon cap. Gone were the tattered clothes that adorned the spiky metal, and in its place was a red and white striped shirt with a blue jacket over it. In his hand– not hook, his human hand– was a Foxy mask. Blood splatter free. The kid blinked, his pupils shrinking into focus.

“See? I’m a human, not Foxy!” And there wasn’t any static in the voice. He felt his arms grow heavy, and let his bat fall to his side. All the adrenaline from the past few minutes drained out of him.

“Oh. Sorry,” He said lamely. The boy was quiet for just a moment, studying him. Then, almost tentatively, he spoke up.

“Are you alright? I mean, I heard you screaming from the elevator. I assumed something was wrong-” Cody decided to cut him off. He didn’t need to be fretted over.

“Oh, I’m sorry, It’s just- I have no idea how I got here, man, and I’m all alone, and my family is gone while there’s creepy robots roaming- I came down here and thought they were here but it was Freddy so I ran-” The kid looked startled, before turning and slamming the door with a hard thunk. Cody jumped at the slam. The stranger cast an accusatory glare at him.

“Freddy’s here? And you decided to start screaming?” Cody’s lungs seized in embarrassment, his ears steadily getting hotter. He felt pretty dumb when it was phrased that way. However, he thought back to the way his senses became overwhelmed in a tangle of static and visions. He immediately felt the need to defend himself.

“My bad for being scared, you would be, too,” He trailed off, the sass dripping out of his mouth dying almost as soon as he began. He felt bad, the kid was clearly as nervous as he was, and didn’t know what happened. Maybe he didn’t need to, either. Cody hadn’t processed what happened yet, but he already knew he’d sound insane. The other kid made a face at him, akin to pity.

“I’m sorry, that was rude,” Yeah, it was, he almost said, but like always, he held his tongue. The boy across from him breathed out, sounding tense from the tension. “My name’s Bryan, my family was taken from the penthouse. Who’re you?” How direct.

“Uhm- I’m Cody. I was having my 13th birthday party in Pirate’s Cove when everyone went missing.” Bryan pulled a strange face at the mention of Pirate’s Cove, but it quickly smoothed out. Bryan only seemed to get weirder the longer they spoke.

“Well, happy birthday? I’m sorry this happened,” A short snort escaped him before he could suppress it. The tension from before wasn’t as suffocating.

“Thanks, man. You’re probably the first person today who actually means that.” Actually, has anyone even wished him a happy birthday today? He doesn’t recall. Bryan gave an awkward smile.

“Yeah, but uhm, we should probably get away from here. I didn’t see Freddy, but you probably alerted him as to where we are.” He sucked in a breath at the mention of Freddy.

“No! No, I can’t go back out there! Freddy will get me if we do!” Bryan didn’t seem to notice the urgency in his voice, but his smile tightened at the refusal.

“Freddy will find us if we don’t, we have better chances getting to the elevator!” 

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Cody could feel himself shake, but he wasn’t quite sure why. He wasn’t really that scared, maybe he was frustrated? Overwhelmed? He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to go. He had to get through to Bryan.

“No, no, no, you don’t understand! I can’t, I can’t, I can’t! I’m all alone, the phones don’t work, and the stairs are locked! There’s nowhere safe to run! Please don’t make me go…” He fibbed slightly. He had no idea if the stairs were locked, and even though the lines in the building were faulty, they could always reach emergency services. He just really didn’t want to leave the room, it felt safe. If he and Bryan stayed in here, they could wait it out until someone else called the police. To emphasize his point, he sank to sit on the floor. There were a few moments of silence, until he heard the sound of footsteps closer. Bryan placed a careful hand onto his shoulder.

“Listen to me, please. I know it’s scary, but we can’t stay here. We can’t afford it. If we stay together, we can make our way to the elevator and get to the first floor. We can leave and get the police! We just have to move. I promise I won’t leave you alone.” Bryan was persistent, and much braver than Cody. He looked up at the other, seeing pure determination in his eyes.

“Promise?” To that, Bryan smiled and nodded, free of worry. Cody wasn’t used to such trust given so carelessly. If he had half a mind, he’d be calling Bryan a fool. That’s what his father would say, at least.

Suddenly, Bryan held something in front of Cody’s sight.

“Here, put this on.” A red and white Pokémon hat, more specifically, Bryan’s hat. Cody cast a questioning look to Bryan, who had a weird look on his face.

“I can’t leave without my hat, can I? Now I have to come back for you, no matter what.” Cody barked out an amused laugh. He couldn’t help it. Bryan was so selfless, it was hilarious. He didn’t even know if he could trust him, and was already making excuses to string him along. It was smart and idiotic at the same time that ensured Bryan he’d never be alone. It was admirable.

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His family was never like that.

Cody reached and grabbed the hat from him, an unspoken agreement.

“I mean, I guess that makes sense.” He poked. He turned it around in his hands, before pulling it on his head backwards. A style he saw from TV that his sister made fun of. He flashed a rare grin at Bryan. “Do I look rad?” Bryan had a humored smile.

“Definitely. Now, c’mon!” And suddenly he was on his feet, following Bryan out of safety. It was strange, but he didn’t feel the usual twist in his gut that he’d get in stressful situations. If anything, he felt like something loosened in his brain. It felt freeing, if only temporary.

Bryan grabbed at his mask before pulling it down. Cody could’ve sworn he saw the gruesome image of Foxy again, making panic rise in his throat. However, he blinked rapidly and reminded himself it was just Bryan, and when he opened his eyes it was his friend once more. Even still, the mask made his chest tighter.

They reached the main office room that connected to the elevator, only to see Freddy standing in front of the elevator. It was faced away from them, staring down at the doors. Cody quickly grabbed Bryan’s jacket, unsure if the boy was bold enough to try to attack the bear immediately.

“What do we do?” He whispered to Bryan.

“Well, I don’t know!” He whispered back. “I didn’t think he’d be right there!” The elevator was the fastest way down, so it was clear they needed a plan to get by. They began to bicker back and forth about ideas, never settling on one in fear that it was dangerous. Cody shot down most of the ideas Bryan offered, everything from luring the thing away to looking for a different way down. He didn’t like the sound of anything, and began to regret leaving the room in the first place.

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Then an idea struck him, and he knew it was the correct one. It made so much sense to him, that he wondered why they didn’t think of it before. He offered it to Bryan.

“I’ve got it. You run out and distract him, then I’ll get behind him and hit him with my bat. As soon as he’s down, we’ll run to the elevator together.” Bryan’s mask tilted in thought.

“I don’t like the idea of being bait very much. Can’t we just attack him together while his back is turned?” He shook his head immediately at the flawed idea.

“He’d hear us! Trust me, this-” He began to creep closer to the door, feeling more confident than usual. “This will work.”

He waited by the doorframe while Bryan walked past, hesitance emitting from every step. Cody couldn’t grasp why, the plan was great. Freddy wouldn’t know what hit it. Bryan stopped a few steps away from the thing. “Hey! Freddy!” he shouted out. Cody clenched his bat in anticipation. Freddy, however, didn’t turn.

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Bryan stepped closer, saying something that was muffled too much by the mask for Cody to hear. Another step, and Bryan reached up to pull up his mask. “Freddy! Look at-” Bryan was cut off by a loud roar emitted from the mechanism. It turned and reared up its claws. Cody could barely react before Bryan was suddenly slashed at, and screamed out. The noises were deafening. He dropped his bat and held his ears shut tightly, willing for the screams to go away. Bryan swayed backwards, but Freddy quickly stepped forward to make up the distance.

“Bryan!” He screamed out in warning. Said child turned his head towards him. Cody felt his mouth fall open and nausea grew in his stomach, seeing the gory crimson spout from the claw marks over Bryan’s eye. The sight of blood made the room spin around Cody, keeping him in place while the bear picked Bryan up like he was nothing to it. He watched as it paused, before shrieking into his face as it hurled Bryan into the wall. Bryan plummeted to the floor as soon as he made contact, then stopped moving. Cody made a noise from fear.

.. .----. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.-- .-.-.- / .. / .--- ..- ... - / .-- .- -. - . -.. / - --- / -... . / -.-- --- ..- .-. / ..-. .-. .. . -. -.. .-.-.-

Freddy stopped and stared at Bryan’s crumpled form on the ground. It paid Cody no mind, like he wasn’t even there. Why? Cody was sure he wasn’t being quiet. He wasn’t even trying to bite back the yelps of shock from Bryan’s easy defeat.

He had to take a breath. In, and out. In, and out.

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He looked down at his bat, dropped in the chaos, and picked it up. He might as well take advantage of Bryan’s distraction. Another grounding breath. Then he ran forward, bat raising up to strike while letting out a war cry.

--. . - / --- ..-. ..-. / -- . --..-- / .-.. . - / -- . / ..-. .. --. .... - / -... .- -.-. -.- .-.-.-

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Freddy didn’t turn when the bat met its shoulder. Not even when Cody raised it and smashed it on its torso, effectively pushing it away from Bryan. Freddy seemed to groan in pain, but didn’t fight back. It just fell to the floor as Cody continued his onslaught. 

.--. .-.. . .- ... . / ... - --- .--. --..-- / .. - / .... ..- .-. - ... .-.-.-

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Eventually, Cody landed a final blow. His arms felt tired, and he was breathing heavily. He looked at the bear on the ground. His blunt bat had smashed the mechanisms on the inside to pieces. Shrapnel that came off of some parts had ripped a few holes into the suit. Cody readjusted himself to stand straighter.

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He has never fought back before. It was almost surreal to stare down at the animatronic on the floor. It made him feel nauseous and wrong, staring down at the shattered parts. What would his father say for destroying property?

He shook his head intensely. That wasn’t his problem. Instead, he turned around and spotted Bryan, still on the ground unmoving. Oh, god, please don’t be dead, Cody begged internally. He rushed to the kid’s side and started shaking him.

“Bryan? Bryan, wake up! We need to go downstairs!” Unfortunately, he still didn’t stir. He recalled something about checking the heartbeat, and put a hand over on Bryan’s left side of his body. He sighed in relief when he felt a steady beat. He must just be knocked out. That’s… okay.

Cody assessed Bryan’s slashed face. It looked really bad, he really had to bandage it up. He hummed, squeezing his eyes shut in thought about where a first aid kit could be on this floor. He didn’t visit the offices often, but he’s pretty sure there was a kit down the hall.

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He retrieved it, only to realize he wasn’t sure how to use any of the things inside. There were a lot of bottles, syringes, and medication for different ailments that he wasn’t sure were appropriate. He decided to keep it simple and grabbed out the bandages. Bryan wasn’t on the floor that long to get an infection, right?

He haphazardly wrapped the bandages around the entire left side of Bryan’s face, trying to make it tight as possible. He had no idea what he was doing, but doing something was better than doing nothing, he reasoned.

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Unfortunately, he ran out of wrap, and he could see dots of red already beginning to bleed through the white tape. He dug through the kit, but couldn’t find extra bandages. He groaned and ran a hand down his face. He didn’t think there were any more first aid kits here, he’d have to run and get more on a different floor. Bryan should be fine while he’s gone.

Except, what if he woke up while he’s gone? Or worse, what if Freddy got up while he was away and finished Bryan off? He already spent so much time bandaging up Bryan, and didn’t want it to be for nothing.

Cody dug around the desks, finding a few things for Bryan. The first thing he came across was a can of iced tea. He wasn’t going to touch it, until he considered how lethargic Bryan might be upon waking up. He stashed it near Bryan for when he woke up, a little bit more energy was better than none.

While he searched, he nearly tripped on something on the ground near the elevator. Cody looked down, finding a knife. It must’ve been Bryan’s, as he recalled seeing a similar handle sticking out of Bryan’s pocket. He put it next to the tea.

Finally, in a drawer, he found what he was looking for. A blank paper and a pen. He jotted something down quickly, mostly filling in what happened after he was thrown, then put the note with the rest of the stash. Finally, he was satisfied.

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He walked hastily to the elevator. The faster he got medical supplies, the less time he’d spend alone. The elevator arrived with a loud ring, and the doors opened. He cringed seeing a trail of blood on the back of the elevator. Maybe he shouldn’t take this way down.

He shook his head at the thought. No, this is the fastest way to get around. Bring it together, Cody! He chastised himself as he walked into the elevator. He turned his back to the spatters, facing the large panel of buttons. He tried recalling where the first aid kits were located.

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Unfortunately, he didn’t remember where they were, it had been too long since being told. Looks like he’d have to do it the slow way. He pressed the button to the floor below him, and the doors closed instantly. It was going to be a long night.

…

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