1Down the rabbit hole
Chapter 3: Rekindle
Morning arrived all too quickly for Fritz, yet he made a promise to himself that he would arrive at the pizzeria early. He wanted to check in on Mike and Jeremy. There was no denying their experience but anything could go wrong at the pizzeria. And considering the track record for loosing employees mysteriously he wanted to make sure that they were okay. Besides he felt it was his responsibility to do so. After all he was the one who defended Mike when his boss was drilling him. What else could he do? Mr Johnson was yelling at him, not giving Mike the chance to explain himself as best he could, and was ready to throw him out. If Fritz hadn't step in when he did Mike would have the job he so desperately needed.
There again what was Mike hiding in the first place? And why does he need the night guard job when he was the one who got fired for tampering with the animatronics? There was something about it that was bothering Fritz. Whatever Mike's secret was he didn't feel comfortable talking about it. He didn't want to push the night guard but maybe he could help him in some way.
When he arrived at the pizzeria the first thing he saw was the car in the parking lot. Surprisingly, there was only one car and not two. So either the two night guards carpooled together or one of them made there own way to the pizzeria. Next he noticed the light in the building were on. That probably meant the night guards were still in the building, they couldn't leave until the janitor showed up. Fritz exited out of his car and made his way to the door. He opened the door, Jeremy must have opened them, and walked inside. Passing the reception desk he entered the main party room and saw Mike and Jeremy sitting at one of the tables. Only Jeremy was awake, Mike looked like he was sleeping.
When he walked over to them Jeremy was the first to noticed him.
"Hey, Fritz" Jeremy greeted. "Your here early"
"Morning, Jeremy. I came in early to check in on you two" Fritz replied. "Seeing as I was the one who defended Mike yesterday I took it upon myself to look out for him, you as well"
"What happened to Mike yesterday?" Jeremy inquired.
"Well, Mr Johnson was yelling at him yesterday and wasn't allowing him to talk, even though Mike wanted his old job back. He seemed... upset about the whole thing" Fritz told him. "I merely step in when Gavin was ready to throw him out"
"Really? Mike never told me that"
"He didn't?" Fritz questioned.
"No, all we talked about was the old location and the animatronics" Jeremy replied. He turned to look at Mike. "That explains why our Boss wanted me to watch him"
"Don't be too hard on him, Jeremy. Mike has his reasons, he'll open up eventually" Fritz consoled him.
"Maybe" Jeremy said. He didn't like it but they were meeting later today so maybe Mike would talk to him about it later. "Anyway we better get going. Sleeping Beauty here needs his beauty sleep and I'm almost out of energy"
"Don't call me names" Mike murmured.
Raising his head Mike looked at both of them coldly before standing up and walking out of the room. Jeremy and Fritz looked at each other in confusion. Did they say something wrong? Jeremy said a quick good bye to Fritz, with the dark brunette in turn telling him to drive safely, before hurrying after Mike before the redhead could hurt himself. With nothing else to do until the Janitor showed up Fritz decided to give the place a proper look over. He trusted the night guards but considering one of them was under close supervision he needed to make sure that nothing was damage.
He checked each of the rooms carefully, starting with the main party room first. The animatronics appeared to be fine and in proper working order, though Gavin would probably have somebody check on them before they opened. After that he went backstage, the men's bathroom, the kitchen (which was tidy for once), the separate party rooms and the closet with the cleaning supplies in it. They were all clean and tidy and nothing was broken. Satisfied with what he saw Fritz made his way to the security office. Once there he brought up last nights feed.
He wasn't surprised to animatronics moving. Anybody who had applied for a job at Freddy's knew that they had to move around at night or their servos would lock up. Somehow those words were always taken out of context. Most believed that it was just a rumour, that the Pizzeria wasn't haunted. Some believed that it was just slander against the company. Whilst others used that information to prank the new employees. Fritz didn't believed it for a second. It was just rumours, speculation and practical jokes - the latter of which Fritz could not stand.
As he was checking the feed he started to regretted it. It was just another boring job, nothing interesting was happening. Fritz started to skip through most of it until he saw something different. He was on the camera that was overlooking the main party room. He saw Bonnie, Chica and Foxy standing by the tables, Bonnie and Chica were talking to each other whilst Foxy was humming. A few seconds later Freddy comes into frame with Mike and Jeremy behind him (Weren't they suppose to stay in the office?) Before any interactions could happen Foxy bolts towards Jeremy and slams him into the wall. Fritz watched in horror as Foxy kept the night guard there for a few minutes. There was some sort of interaction going on between the two of them before Foxy dig his hook deeper into Jeremy's shoulder. Somehow Foxy was snapped out of his rage by Chica, he looks at his paws for a brief second before running of to Pirate's Cove.
To his surprise it was Mike who was trying to stop the bleeding Freddy said something to Bonnie and rabbit rushes of to backstage room. When he returned he was carrying a small box which, when he was close to the group, he gave to Mike. After that the redhead starts patching Jeremy up.
"There's more to that kid then meets the eye" Fritz muttered "I wonder... No, that was a long time ago. I doubt he still remembers..."
Still, there was one matter that needs to be taken care of.
Foxy.
He needs to find out what happened between the Pirate Fox and the night guard. He hoped it was just a misunderstanding and not a malfunction. Ever since they brought back and fixed Foxy he was starting to becoming popular with the kids again. It would be a shame if something happened to him again. And bad for business.
With that in mind Fritz made his way to Pirate's cove. It was only a short work to the pirate theme room since Fritz power walked his way to the door, despite having at least another half another until the Janitor showed up. When he was outside said room Fritz turned the door knob and walked inside. The light were turned off. Instead of turning them all on he only turned the stage lights on so wouldn't be bumping into things. He found Foxy sitting on the floor by the Pirate Ship with his head looking at the ground. The brunette walked over to him.
"Foxy? Are you awake, Captain?" Fritz said.
Foxy didn't look at him.
"I know you and the others can hear me, Captain" Fritz said again this time more loudly.
But Foxy still wouldn't move. It was like he wasn't there at all, and all there was left was this animatronic. Fritz was starting to loose his patience.
"Please, Captain. I really need to talk to you" Fritz begged. Oh, if only his brother could see him now. He would be having a field day. "Its about what happened last night"
"What do ye want?" Foxy asked.
"I was watching the camera feed from last night. I know what happened between you and Jeremy" The brunette told him. "I'm not jumping to any conclusions but I need to know what happened between the two of you"
"What else is there to tell ye? Once I saw the landlubber I attacked him" Foxy responded.
"Yes but nobody attacks somebody without reason unless they are drunk" Fritz replied. "Something must have happened between the two of you. That, or you malfunctioned"
Foxy looked away, making a hissing sound in the process (Though to Fritz it sounded like a growl) He remembered that all too well. It wasn't his fault.
"Uh, Foxy, you still there, Captain?" Fritz asked.
"Aye lad" Foxy replied before turning back to the brunette. "As for what happened last night... I can't say it was an accident. I... I lost control again but it wasn't a malfunction. It was more out of anger, really"
"What do you mean?" Fritz questioned.
"I wasn't provoked, if that's what your wondering. I remembered him from the last location. Him and that stupid flashlight" Foxy explained. "I thought he was going to hurt again. And when he mentioned that name... I just lost it"
What was Foxy talking in about? What happened to them last time and who's name did Jeremy mention?
"Am I going to be dismantled again?" Foxy asked.
"Uh, no, at least I don't think so. As long as this doesn't happen again, and Mr Johnson doesn't find out, you should be golden" Fritz replied, snapping out of his thoughts. "Anyway I better go, the Janitor's going to turn up soon so I better go and help him. And try not to let this incident get you down, Captain. We can't have our beloved Captain down in the dumps now, can we?"
That seemed to cheer the Pirate Fox up, as Foxy started laughing. Fritz decided to leave him to it and made his way out of Pirate's cove. Despite having the answers he needed he couldn't help but feel like something was missing. Who's name did Jeremy mention? And why did Foxy react the way he did?
Later that afternoon Jeremy made his way to the coffee shop. For once he slept well, he wasn't bothered by any nightmares and he did accidently slept past his alarm thankfully, his sister woke him up. Before leaving he took a shower and changed into some casual clothes (White shirt, dark blue trousers, black sneakers and a black jacket) He was almost out of the house when his Mother stopped him. She told him to have something to eat before going out.
As he was driving his thoughts turned to last night, mainly Freddy's promise and Foxy's attack. He didn't blame Foxy for attacking him, if anything he made the situation worse by bringing up Toy Foxy's horrible name. He couldn't help but wonder what happened to the Toy animatronics after the incident. Scott told him that they were being put in storage until they were moved to a new location but, considering what happened with Toy Foxy, were they moved or not? Were they still in storage or were they dismantled?
Ten minutes later Jeremy arrived at the coffee shop. He parked his car and made his way inside. It was surprisingly quiet for a Tuesday afternoon. Jeremy made his way to the counter and place an order for a drink. As he was waiting he scanned the area for Mike. He saw the redhead sitting at the back of the coffee shop. He was wearing a beige jacket with red plaid on the inside, white shirt, blue trousers and black shoes. On the floor he could see a brown messenger bag. There was a drink and a plate of half eaten food on his left side but he wasn't looking at it. Instead he was looking at the table with a pencil in his right hand. When his order was ready, Jeremy payed for it and took it with him to Mike's table.
"Hey, Mike" Jeremy greeted.
Mike jumped, dropping his pencil in the process. He saw Jeremy taking a seat in front of him. Sighing, he closed the book before him and put it away. Looks like he wasn't getting any more work done today.
"Jeremy, don't scare me like that!" Mike exclaimed.
"Sorry. I didn't realise you were busy" Jeremy apologised.
"Its fine, I"m just working on something for a friend" The redhead replied. He took a sip of his drink before talking again. "How's the shoulder?"
"There is some dull pain but its not bleeding anymore" Jeremy told him. "My shirt was ripped a little. Luckily, Mum's stitching it. Oh, and thanks by the way, for helping me last night"
"No problem. I've have had some practise so I know what I am doing" Mike said.
Praise yourself, Mike, even if nobody else will do it for you.
Mike took a bit out of his sandwich whilst Jeremy took at sip of his drink. At the back of his mind the same question kept entering his head. He knew it was time to ask the vital questions.
"So, Where have you been for last thirteen years?" Jeremy question.
Mike looked away, an uncomfortable feeling came over him. Somehow he knew Jeremy would ask him that. But... he couldn't remember. The last few years had been... hard on him.
"I... I don't know. I don't remember much about my childhood, that's why I didn't recognise you when I saw you yesterday" Mike replied. "I just starting living at Aisha's house one day, I can't even remember how I came to live there"
It was frustrating. There have been many times when Mike had questioned his past. Yet, no matter what he did he couldn't find the answers he was looking for. He tried asking Aisha but she was very vague with her responses. Sometimes Mike wondered if she actually had the answers he needed or not. He trusted her, after all she had practically been a Mother for him whilst he was living at her house but he couldn't help but wonder if she was hiding something from him.
"I want nothing more but to find out who am I, who my family are and why they left me behind" Mike said. "And, if I'm not getting any help from her then I guess its time to move on. Once I saved up enough I'm finding a place of own, whether she likes it or not"
"That's not a bad idea, I could help you if you want" Jeremy offered.
"Your doing enough all ready, Jeremy, but thanks for the offer" Mike replied. "But enough about me and my problems. What have you been up to?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Dealing with somewhat deadly animatronics, moving from other hectic job to another" The brunette replied. "Dads still up to his usually antics, Mums recently got a new job and Lucy working towards becoming a teacher"
"Never a dull moment in the Fitzgerald household, huh" Mike remarked.
"You could say that" Jeremy replied.
The duo started laughing. It was just like old times. A friendship rekindled. Its like they had been together all this time. Nobody was missing and they were back to being children. When things were a lot more simpler.
Then Mike remembered something from last night.
"Jeremy, I have been meaning to asking you something. When we received that phone call last night the Phone Guy mentioned something about an incident. I noticed you shuddered when he brought it up" The redhead said.
Jeremy didn't know what to say, he... he didn't want to go through that again. He opened his mouth, tried to find some sort of answers that would tell Mike what he wanted to know before closing it again. Jeremy calmed his nerves and took a moment to collect himself. Despite his fears on the subject he knew at some point he would have to go through it again, if he wanted to get justice for Carlos's family.
"Do you remember how I told you about the old location?" Jeremy eventually said. Mike nodded in response, allowing Jeremy to continue. "Well, as I already told you, I used to work there. I was there until my sixth night until I was moved to the dayshift. So, that following morning, there was a birthday party, one more before the placed was closed for good. Sadly, the event didn't end well"
"What happened?" Mike asked.
"There was... an accident. Before the party there was an investigation. A police officer by the name of Carlos Jones came to Freddy's, he was investigating a series of strange events that had happened at Freddy's. He and his partner, Diana Winters, came to the location on my third night. They had heard about the rumours about the animatronics and wanted to see it for themselves so I let them join me that third night" Jeremy explained. "Fast forward to the day of the party and, well, Carlos was attacked by one of the animatronics. Somebody, and I guessing it was the person who Carlos and Diana were looking for, tampered with Toy Foxy and she attacked him in the Parts and Service room"
"That horrible!" Mike exclaimed. "Who would do something like that?"
"Some sick asshole. They didn't tell me what they had done but Carlos and Diana were looking for them for a reason" Jeremy replied.
"Did you witness this?" Mike asked.
"I heard a sound coming from the parts and service room, a screeching sound. Scott was with me at the time and when he went to investigate we saw Mr Jones under Toy Foxy. There was blood on Toy Foxy's teeth, marks on Carlos's neck and head" Jeremy told him. "I... I still have nightmare about the whole ordeal. That the same thing was going to happen to me"
Mike was taken back by the whole thing. The whole story was upsetting. It never occurred to him that was something much more sinister going on then he original thought. It wasn't just a game of survival anymore, there was something else going on. There again there was something strange about the phone calls he received. As for the story about the Police Officer... that was messed up, who in there right mind would do something like that? What about Jeremy? How was he dealing with this? He looked into Jeremy's eyes, he could of sworn he saw fear and horror in them. Jeremy wasn't cooping well.
"So, what are you going to do?" Mike asked.
"I want to get justice for Carlos's family and find the person who did. There's something going on, Mike, and it has something to do with Freddy's and that person Carlos and Diana were looking for" Jeremy replied.
"Is that a good idea? You told me you still have nightmare about the whole thing" Mike question.
"I want to do this, Mike. I promise Carlos's family that I would get justice for them, I intend to do that" Jeremy insisted. "Not only that but I want to closer for myself. I want to move on from this, Mike, but I can't. I keep seeing what happened that day in my nightmares, what could of happened to me. I have to deal with this"
Mike sighed. "All right, I won't stop you. But at least let me help you. I can't let you go through this alone"
Meanwhile, at the Pizzeria, Fritz was sitting in the Security office checking through the camera. Mr Johnson had put him surveillance duty which was just as boring as the night guard job. At least he could leave the room whenever he wanted, providing that he took the tablet with him. So far everything was running smoothly. It was just another normal day at Freddy's. There was no birthday party but everybody was doing the best to keep customers happy, animatronics included. Fritz checked on Pirates Cove, Foxy was doing better then what he saw earlier. He was interacting with the kids just fine. Mr Johnson was busy in his office going over paperwork.
And that gave Fritz the perfect opportunity to do a little research.
He checked the left and right doors before bring up a search engine. You never know who could be watching you, or who could be entering the security office at any given point. Fritz moved his hands to the keyboard. He was about to start typing but he heisted for a moment. What was he meant to be searching for? It wasn't as if he could get a direct answers about previous locations . He typed in 'Previous Freddy's locations' and he hit the search button. As predicted the responses he got were very vague. There was information about current Freddy's location, closed ones, one that had been set on fire. As he was scrolling down there something that caught his interest. It was a newspaper article going over an event that happened at the 'New and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.'
One of animatronics attacked a Police Officer.
The different between this attack and the one Foxy told him about was that this wasn't out of anger or a malfunction.
It had been premeditated.
According to the article one of the animatronics, Toy Foxy, had been tampered with. Apparently, due to the condition that Toy Foxy was in, the Manager - Joseph Griffin - had decided to move Toy Foxy into a parts and service room. Toy Foxy had once been actual animatronic, a pink and white fox who used to tell stories and entertain the children with her Pirate adventures. However, she kept getting ripped apart by younger children and eventually the staff gave up on her all together as they kept having to repair her. On the day of the incident the Pizzeria was having one last birthday party before closing for good. The Police Officer in question, Carlos Jones, had been a part of an ongoing investigation to do with an missing children. Though nobody knows why Mr Jones was at the Pizzeria in the first place he was seen on security camera making his way to the parts and survive room when the attack happened.
It was two employees who worked the dayshift who found Mr Jones. Mr Scott Cawthon and Mr Jeremy Fitzgerald had heard the commotion from the main party room where the animatronics: Toy Freddy, Toy Bonnie and Toy Chica, would preform for the children, with the former being the one to call for paramedics. Mr Fitzgerald hasn't made at comment about the whole ordeal due to shock, whilst Mr Cawthon only made a brief statement. Fazbear entertainment offered the Mr Jones's family their condolences and apologised for what has happened. It is unclear if Mr Jones made a full recovery.
"So, the person in question was actually an animatronic called Toy Foxy. She had been badly damaged on several occasions and the company refused to repair her. She and Foxy must have been close, almost like family" Fritz muttered. "Jeremy knew about this. So did Scott..."
Why does it still hurt to say his name?
"What kind of person does something like that? And for what reason?" Fritz said.
To him the answer had been fairly obvious.
Somebody with malicious intent, with a grudge against the company.
Well, it wouldn't be the first time he dealt with somebody like that, would it?
