Discovery

Day 1

"Come in, take a look. Even if you can't fix 'em, we'll still pay you the full night."

You are (Y/N), a freelance mechanical engineer and sometimes electrical technician.

"Any machine, large or small, I can work on!" was your calling card.

Since a young age you had been skilled with a wrench, soldering gun and any tool to work on machines. You stipulated, of course, you would repair anything as long as it paid enough. Well, usually. In this economy you took whatever job you could get.

A rep from a company reached out to you this morning via phone asking if you would come by to take a look at busted animatronic they had long since retired. He purported to be a representative of the Fazbear Entertainment chain.

He gave you a quick history of the place. It was a restaurant and entertainment brand that used animatronics as a gimmick and was primarily geared towards children and young families.

You'd heard the name appear in the news regarding various disappearances and strange occurrences before. You question him about it but he just stammered and offered an entire day's pay if you could just look at the model and diagnose it for a few hours. With a full days pay for a few hours of work you you accepted. To play safe you left a little stipulation that if it was beyond repair you would still get paid.

He agreed. Relieved, the rep asked you to come by after closing and there would be someone there to let you in.

It was a little after 10:00PM. You were standing at the entrance of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Plex. It was a massive kid's mall based around the said chain. You had only been vaguely aware of the establishment, mostly hearing the name appear in the news every few years. Other than that, it had never came on your radar, at least until this evening.

You spent some of the evening looking at videos of the animatronics. You found them interesting and although the videos weren't the highest quality you could see a lot of work went into them. You wondered which one it was they wanted repaired. You had also read a bit about the shady history of the company. There was lots of public information about disappearances, rumours, incidents and more. And that was just what was publicly known.

Those headlines juxtaposed with the massive animatronics gave you another idea. You packed your trusty tazer and holster and strapped them to your pants.

"Just in case." You said aloud.

Before you left you got your backpack filled with various electrical and mechanical tools and a small toolbox for some stuff that wouldn't fit. You had also charged your phone just before leaving.

A few hours after dinner and prep you had arrived. You approached the guard at the entrance, a blonde woman, hair wrapped in a pony tail, likely waiting for you. She wore typical security guard attire, black dress pants, shoes, security hat, white buttoned up shirt with the logo and a long sleeved vest. If you had to guess it said SECURITY on the back.

"Can I help you?" She asked, staring at her phone.

"I'm (Y/N), here to help repair one of the robots."

"The correct term is animatronics, not robots actually." She put her phone away. "Anyways, management said to be expecting you. My name's Vanessa. I'm the night manager here. Come with me." She beckoned and unlocked the door. Perturbed by her correction you proceed.

You were lead inside. At first glance the place wasn't at all what you expected it to look like. It had a very 80s era retro theme to it. With the checkerboard floors, neon signs and palm trees it looked picturesque. Most of the lights were off sans a few from the ceiling but you could imagine how the place looked during the day. Normally, you'd call it tacky but you found it strangely endearing. There was a giant statue of a bear holding a microphone. It looked to be made of gold.

"This must be Freddy." You thought. He looked like the singer from the videos you'd watched.

"Oh right. Here." Vanessa stopped and handed you a lanyard with a security card of some sort on it. The security card appeared to be stylized to look like Freddy. It had small ears and everything. You put it on.

"Make sure you wear that at all times. It'll help the other security guards and animatronics identify you."

Before you could continue to follow Vanessa her watch rang a lo-bit tune. The both of you stopped. She held the watch up to her face and clicked some button on it. "Speak." She said sternly.

"Uhh, Vanessa. We are having a bit of a problem here." A gruff voice said. You noticed there was a bit of reverb, it almost sounded mechanical. However you weren't sure if it was the watch doing it.

"What's going on, Freddy?"

How were the animatronics could communicate like that, you think.

"Well I'm in Bonnie's Bowl and one of the endos..." Freddy trailed off.

"C'mon speak, what's the problem?" Vanessa demanded.

"I think you should just see it." You see Vanessa squint looking at the watch. "How in the..." She says in disbelief. You try to peer over her shoulder to see but are unable to do so.

Vanessa sighs. "Alright, just hang tight. I'll be there in a minute." She hung up and rubbed her forehead idly, pinching between her eyebrows.

"Uhh, new guy? I gotta step out for a bit." She turned around to face you. "One of the endos-I mean endoskeletons for the animatronics got stuck in the bowling machinery. I'm going to go pull it out. Head over to the raceway entrance and wait for me there." Vanessa said, motioning down a hallway.

"Wouldn't it be better to wait here?"

Vanessa shook her head. "The raceway has an alternate entrance to parts, if the main path is ever blocked off you should know it at least."

"Sure...wait a minute, you fix the animatronics yourself?"

"We're really short-staffed on techies so it's just up to everyone else to pick up the slack."

"I see."

"I'll come find you when I'm done." She nods to you and runs off down the opposite way of the race track.

You probably could have helped but would rather not overstep your boundaries yet.

Alone now you decide to continue to the raceway. It would help to get a better look at the place too.

The place was dimly light with only a few light fixtures actually on. Thanks you your phone you could light the ground. Because of past experiences working in the dark you had made sure to buy the phone with the largest battery. 10,000mAH was perfect and there was no worry you'd have to charge it on the job.

Proceeding down the hallway you were met with huge television screens showcasing the animatronics, pillars of swirling purple lights, shiny, almost futuristic looking flooring and a purple haze emitting from the light fixtures giving the place a strange look. You could only imagine how it looked during the day with the full lights on.

Retro? Definitely. But you also felt it was a little cyberpunk.

You notice a wall fixture depicting a wolf holding two race flags just behind a massive trophy statue. This must be Roxanne's domain you think.

You followed the signs eventually stepping in to the grand raceway. Being night the whole area was dimly lit with wall lights pointing up making most of the visible light. The race track was lit up and it rose off the ground. The walkways were stylized as roads with two lanes. You use your phones flashlight to help you see better.

The area looked under construction though it later occurred to you that was the aesthetic they were going for.

Hell, a few UFOs and this could Area 51 themed, you think. Maybe a Roswell, New Mexico sign too.

You notice a few janitorial bots cleaning around, sweeping dust into specific piles and putting things away.

It was definitely handy, probably saved costs too. You recall what Vanessa said, how did they do all the maintenance? Surely they had to have some people working on the stuff. Did they really have nobody? You make a mental note that if you find yourself enjoying the job you'd consider putting your name forth. First impressions were positive, this place was beautiful.

You continued to wander the raceway. You think you should probably stick by the entrance for whenever Vanessa comes back but you shrug it off. She'll find you. After all, that was basically half her job.

As you get closer to the main race track you hear someone speaking.

"Damn! C'mon, I know I can do it."

Judging from the voice it sounded feminine but also slightly husky. You duck behind a pile of steel pipes and peer over. A ways from you, you see a large person working on kart. They were clearly annoyed with it, banging it occasionally. Above them was a street lamp lighting the surrounding area. She was carrying an absolutely massive wrench too.

Eyes adjusting you realize it wasn't a person. It was one of the animatronics, you think it was Roxanne. Your weight on the pipes causes them to shift slightly making a noise.

"Huh?" The animatronic says. You quickly duck behind them hoping you weren't spotted. You weren't sure how it would react.

"Come on out. I know you're there." She said. No chance you would, she had to have been lying.

"I can see through walls you know. I see you hiding behind those pipes. Don't make me come out." She said, more forcefully this time.

Frozen with fear you stay put. There was no way she could see through walls right? She let out a growl.

"If you don't come out right now. I am going to come after you." She said fury rising in her voice. "And you won't be able to out run me." Her voice sounding more ominous now.

Maybe she was bluffing?

She threw the wrench to the ground, hitting the sandy ground with a thud.

"Unless...you're into that." She said more sensually. "I'll give you a headstart. 10, 9-"

The jig was up. You step out from the side giving a wave.

"Aw, you're no fun." She pouts. "But, was that so hard?" She said smugly. "Come here. Let me look at you."

They were supposed to be AI-powered right? Why did she sound so lifelike? In between fear you were also confused and worried. You step into the street lamps light.

You step closer. It was Roxanne. She didn't look how she appeared on the various pictures. Her hair was tied in a pony tail and most of it was obscured by a red bandana tied on her head. Only her ears poked out of it.

Instead of the chest plate you'd seen there was a bright red cloak with a few star patterns across it covering her body. She was dressed more like a mechanic than some kind of rock star. There was even a toolbelt with a few different tools you could make out, screwdrivers, drills, pliers and more.

She bent down to pick up the wrench.

You see her eyes light up as she gets a look at you. "Funny. I don't recognize you. You'd better tell me who you are otherwise..." She smacked the wrench against her free hand threateningly.

It was worrying how she holding a gigantic wrench like it was made of paper.

"(Y/N), I'm a technician." You said scared straight. Only now did you realize she was taller than you. You hold up your lanyard.

Leaning in she narrows her eyes at the lanyard. "First day today and a technician huh?" You hadn't noticed it but your lanyard did have your position and start date on it.

"Y-yep."

She lets out a grand laugh. "Hahaha, well why didn't ya just say so? Welcome to the plex. Name's Roxanne." She held out a robotic hand and you shook it. It was much bigger than yours.

"So what brings you here? Just looking for stuff to fix? There's lots to do. We've needed a new technician for a long time now. Monty keeps scaring em' off."

You were starting to ease up a bit though the giant animatronic in front of you was still causing anxiety. It was only seconds ago she was about to attack you or worse.

"I-I'm just waiting for Vanessa to show me around."

"Ah, well she can be slow sometimes. She's not as fast as me. I'm the fastest." Roxanne said, bragging. You chuckle with her, not wanting to anger the large wolf.

"So, are you good with karts (Y/N)? Maybe you can help me with this."

"Yeah somewhat. What seems to be the problem?"

Roxanne knelt down and pointed at the underside of the flipped kart. The bottom part had been removed.

"Well it's all loose here. I've tried tightening the screws but I haven't figured out the problem yet."

You take a look at the interior. Suspension was fine and there but it was indeed loose, quietly rattling as you pushed it. You use your phones light to illuminate the interior better as you searched. It took a few minutes but you figured it out. One of the screws was slightly loose and was bent. It was near the wheel so you had to flip the kart just to get it.

"Right here. It needs a new screw and it's bent." You say motioning to the damage.

"Aha, you are the real deal." Roxanne said enthusiastically. "I would have figured that out. After all, I'm the best with the karts." She added.

"So can you really see through walls?"

"Yep." She looks around eventually eyes resting on something behind you. "Like for example, there's Vanessa." She said pointing.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you. I said just wait at the entrance!"

"Sorry. I got sidetracked. I helped Roxanne out though."

"Well that's swell. You should consider working he-" Vanessa wasn't impressed.

"C'mon Vanessa, lay off the kid." Roxanne said stepping beside you.

"Hmph, fine. Just be careful. It's a big place and you could get lost." Vanessa said, rubbing her temples. "Let's go."

The walk back was mostly in silence. You of course had questions but were just in awe at the animatronic intelligence. From the voice to the mannerisms they were far more lifelike than you were expecting.

It occurs to you she must have forgotten that alternate path to parts that she mentioned earlier. You weren't going to question it.

Reaching the lobby again, the two of you continued. There were escalators and a set of pink stairs. The floors here had that old-school arcade, cosmic aesthetic you remember seeing as a child. You both went up a set of stairs behind the statue into an "Employees Only" door. She turned on her flashlight. The back rooms seemed to be stylized with checkerboard floors and neon signing just like the outside.

"Do you know which one I need to look at? They didn't really specify in the call."

"I don't know. They told me to bring you to repair workshop 3B and that you'd take care of the rest. If I had to guess it would probably be Bonnie. He just sort of showed up one day."

"What happened to him?"

"Beats me. He was out of commission long before I started working here. Apparently missing, until like a month ago or so. He was one of the band members, I think Monty replaced him. Oh, also don't mention his name to the animatronics. Freaks them out."

"Okay, noted."

"I said his name to Freddy once and he nearly snapped at me. Dunno who are what Bonnie was but they don't like to be reminded of it."

"Uh, huh."

The corridor opened up and you could see a bumper car race course below you. You saw one of the animatronics from the video, Roxanne Wolf walking the course. She looked up hearing you two walk by. She gave a wave and resumed her walk.

"So they roam freely?"

"Yeah, most of the time we just let them wander during the night. Helps with security too."

You were led back into the corridor, a series of doors lined both sides listing various management offices and shortcuts to other parts of the building.

"You're not the first technician they've tried to get to fix it though. From what I've heard most refused the job."

"You know why?"

"Nope." Vanessa shrugged. "Maybe the pay wasn't enough." An alternative theory pops into your head that maybe the technicians were just scared off. That was a possibility. Roxanne alone was pretty threatening. She also mentioned that Monty kept scaring them off. You could only imagine how the others were.

An elevator trip to parts and services later the two of you reached a back room that looked a lot more like you expected. Large bins of mechanical parts, concrete flooring, various gadgets and scraps lying everywhere. It was a little brighter in here though you couldn't make out most of the corners of the room. Finally you saw a door labeled workshop 3B.

"Here we are. Washrooms are down that door and to the left. I'd give you a walkie but they're all being used right now. There's a service phone in the workshop. Probably broken though."

"Thanks."

"If you'll excuse me I have to finish my rounds. If you need to reach me dial 130 on the workshop phone. Oh, and here's the key." She handed you the key to workshop 3B.

"Sure." You nodded.

With that Vanessa walked off flashlight in hand leaving you in the repair depot.

You unlock the door and step into the workshop. It was pitch black in there. The first thing that hit you was the smell. The place had clearly not been used in a long time, the air was stale and the smell of old and stationary dust hung in the room. The place didn't smell dirty or moldy at least. That was a plus for you.

You moved your hand along the wall to find a light switch. It had not been turned on in a long time so you had to apply a bit of force to it.

On came the lights.

The room was a typical workshop you had seen. Tables filled with various pieces of scrap metal, tools strewn about, shelves lining the walls with buckets, label bolts, nuts, etc and a bookshelf in the corner of the room with manuals about the plex and engineering. There was also some kind of animatronic sized booth in the other corner. It reminded you of the robot charging stations you'd seen in Fallout.

Finally, in the middle of the room was an operating chair with a ruined animatronic on it. It had a control switch next to it allowing the chair to turn into a table or move around. It was like the chairs you saw at the dentist, though more metal less cushion. Although the animatronic's design was hard to make it out you determined it was a bunny. It had two long ears. Judging by the layer of dust upon him he had been sitting there for a long time. There was a note hastily taped to the animatronic's forehead. You pick it up and read it.

It was addressed to you. The note explained a bit of information. This was Bonnie, an animatronic that was taken offline in an unfortunate accident a year and a half ago. It then had some information about payment and if you think you can fix it to give a quote on how much the work will take. It also mentioned that there was a proprietary machine that could work on the animatronics just down the hall but due to a data issue they lost the schematics for Bonnie and could only do the very basics on him. Finally was an annotation from the rep that he thought Bonnie was too far gone for the machine to help anyways.

Using a machine to work on another wasn't that appealing. The last thing you needed was that machine to break down and you get blamed for it. You trusted your hands more than some machine you've never seen.

The first thing you decided to do was to clean this room. In such a dirty and messy space you couldn't work clearly. Fortunately you always carry a facemask and goggles just in case. You put them on. One of the shelves had various mechanical tools and you spot a Freddy Fazbear styled mini vacuum cleaner. It even had 2 little ears on it. Leaving the door open you start to blow the dust off Bonnie.

One miniature dust storm later the room was breathable. In the dust you'd found ventilation settings and turned them on. With Bonnie cleaned as best you can you open up your phones notepad and start to note the damages.

Before you could take inventory, something caught your eye. On the wall was a small Freddy head mounted. Could it be an announcement system? It pries open with ease and you see a socket. It looked to match a flashlight lying on the table. There was something else about the socket though.

You swear you had a cord for your tazer that fit perfectly. You didn't have it on you, the cord being in your backpack but you figure based on the currents and cable type you could use it to boost your tazer's power temporarily. You had no idea if it would damage the tazer but decided to test it at some point. It could probably help.

Of course, nothing had required you to use your tazer yet but previous headlines of the plex reminded you it wasn't fully safe here.

You turn to Bonnie. "So what's wrong with you?" You ask aloud.

First thing's first if the animatronic's routines and CPU are busted there isn't much that can be done. You figure that it would be in his head. You notice that where it's jaw was you can see in it. Using a flashlight you check inside. Despite the physical damage on the outside it seemed like the head inside was alright. You also examine the chest area, where a hole was present. Just from what you could see the endoskeleton-exo? No, it was inside Bonnie, it was an endoskeleton. It was roughed up badly.

Spending a bit of time looking at the servos, wires and gears you determine that you can repair him. Pulling out your phones notepad app you start typing down everything you can find wrong with him.

While the inside seemed okay you noticed a many cut wires and damaged gears here and there, all of which you note down. The physical damage to the outside was immense however. One of his ears had been torn off, there were slash marks across the face plate and the left eye, his retro pants had been torn, his throat had been crushed and you found some pieces of metal you guess were a voice box, a huge puncture hole in the chestplate, and there was pieces of glass where you figured a battery could have been in the heart area. The voice box was relatively in tact and you place it aside.

The whole animatronic looked to you to have been crushed, or thrown off something. Based on the immense damage you determine it could not have been an accident. These animatronics looked strong, there was no way this amount of damage could have been done via an incident.

Hours pass as you try to break down everything you could about him and what was wrong. It was close to midnight now and you felt you'd done enough today. Plus, you were getting tired. Bonnie was still destroyed, but at least he looked better.

You mulled over your options. While it did seem unrepairable in parts you found yourself interested in Bonnie and the plex as a whole. You were curious to know what had happened to Bonnie. You found yourself developing a connection to him.

"Very well." You said looking at Bonnie. "I'll help you out." You nodded. You pick up his damaged hand and shake it, affirming your dedication to fixing him.

You start to pack up your gear. As you did it occurred to you that the replacement parts you would order would still need to be painted. You grabbed Bonnie's bow and took it with you. For colour reference, you thought.

You should probably call Vanessa. You ready to dial the number on the workshop phone but notice it has no power. Checking further the wire has been severed from it even if it was fixed you couldn't find a RJ port to put it in.

Whatever, I'll just find a different phone, you think.

With that you shut the lights and locked the door behind you going off in the direction you came from.

Walking back you found the plex so mesmerizing. You were surprised you hadn't come here before. You make a mental note to come back here during the day. Above the race course you looked down, leaning over the railing. Roxanne didn't seem to be around. You took a few pictures before heading off.

As you entered the corridor you start to feel a little uneasy. It was if you were being watched. Walking by the offices it occurs to you one of them should have a phone. Checking the doors eventually you found one unlocked. A managers office with the lights still on and sure enough on the desk was a VoIP phone. You dialed Vanessa asking her to let you out. She told you to stay put and she'd come get you. "Actually stay put this time." She said mockingly. Why was she so lippy, you think.

You put the bow on the desk and open up your phone, idling browsing away.

Just as you were about to watch some videos you hear thumps coming from outside. You freeze. They get louder as it something approaches. Hoping it would pass you see a dark figure stop at the door.

Standing just outside was one of the animatronics. It was about the size of Bonnie but in the small office you it looked bigger. The animatronic ducked in carefully holding the top of the frame. It had large, 4-fingered hands with neon blue claws on the end of it. As it entered you got a good view of it. It was a bear animatronic. It was the same as the statue at the entrance. It was Freddy. The mascot of the whole franchise.

You saw him clearly now as he entered. He had bright red shoulder pads, an neon electric bolt design on his chest and similar neon blue patterns on his face around his eyes and a piece of his chin. To match his shoulder pads the bottom parts of his legs were covered in a similar material. And to match his claws were toe claws with the same neon blue colouring. He had a small top hat on the very top of his heat and an ear ring hanging off one of his ears.

This was the singer of the band.

He looked up you and down, someone he'd never seen before sitting in a manager's chair.

You had no idea what to do.

"You aren't supposed to be here." He said to you. He looked at you with suspicion.

You were caught off guard by his voice, you didn't expect it to sound do human-like. He stepped forward shortening the distance between you. You stammered. "Let me look at you."

You grabbed the lanyard from your pocket and quickly held it up just as he leaned in to get a better look at you. You flinched and closed your eyes looking away.

"Ah, you are a new techie. Welcome." He said calmly. "Sorry if I scare-". Freddy stopped. You opened your eyes and saw Freddy had noticed the bowtie on the desk. His eyes widened, he gave off an expression you could only describe as shock.

Freddy's mind he was flooded with emotions seeing the bow. He had buried all thoughts he had about Bonnie's disappearance and locked away the memories. Seeing that bow set him off.

Without thinking he grabbed your arm. "Where did you get this?" He demanded. He started to squeeze. He was staring right at you, eyes narrowed in anger.

You recalled what Vanessa said earlier and quietly cursed yourself. Panicking you tried to think of something to say.

"I-I-I found it." You said. You tried to use your free arm to grab your tazer but you were shaking too much to unbuckle it. He started to squeeze tighter.

"You're lying." Freddy said, voice deeper than before. He started to pick you up by arm, grip getting tighter. It started to sting. He was looking you over.

He lifted you above the desk. Using your free hand you immediately move to the tazer holster and start to unbuckle it. It was do or die.

"Freddy! What are you doing!?" someone shouted from behind Freddy. Instantly he dropped you and you hit the chair. You clutched your arm in pain. It was hurting like hell and you'd knew it be sore tomorrow. You grabbed the bowtie, stuffing it into your pocket.

"N-nothing, Vanessa. I was just talking to the new guard." He said, unease working its way into his voice. He tried to smile at Vanessa. She saw right through it.

She went to you first. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Y-yeah. I'll be fine. Just a little startled." You weakly smiled. "Alright. Let's get going." Vanessa said, helping you up. "Freddy, go back to your room. Now. We'll talk about this after." Vanessa said. "Okay, Vanessa." He sighed and stepped out of the room allowing you two to exit.

As you followed Vanessa down the corridor turn to look behind you. Unmoving you could see Freddy staring daggers at you from behind. His eyes narrowed, glaring at you. You shudder.

You wondered what Freddy knew, if his AI did know at all and if he had some connection to Bonnie.

"Sorry about that." Vanessa said, stopping your train of thought. "The animatronics can be...unpredictable sometimes. They're usually harmless though. Most of them anyways. I haven't seen Freddy act like that before."

"It's my bad. I should have been wearing the lanyard."

The two of you continued out of the plex. You were led down the stairs and went past the huge statue of Freddy.

"He didn't hurt you too bad? Did he?"

"No, he just grabbed me is all."

You decided to ask Vanessa about the AI. "The animatronics, how smart are they?"

"They're very smart. We treat them like real people. They have memories, thoughts and all that. I don't know if it's some futuristic AI or something else. If you're going to be sticking around here you should know that." She paused. "I probably should have said that earlier. Figured you would have learned that after dealing with Roxanne."

The two of your exited the plex. It was nice to be out in the cold air. You relaxed.

"It's alright." You said.

"Any other questions?"

"I think I am good. Thanks."

"I'll see you around then, (Y/N)." Vanessa fakely smiled and went back into the plex.

It was after midnight now. Your mind was filled with thoughts on the ride back. You spent a lot of time just looking at the bow and going over Freddy's response to it. You knew you were going to take the job but your mind was flooded with thoughts about the plex. Were the other animatronics as smart as Freddy? How much did he know? Who exactly was Bonnie? Many more questions arose, none you had the answer to. You made a plan to call the rep again and confirm the job.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day.