I honestly never thought I'd be writing a fanfic about this game. I've never played Five Nights at Freddy's, and no power on this Earth will change that fact, but I've been reading some other fanfictions about this game, and when it birthed this idea I just couldn't stay away.

And so we've got this. It's mostly gonna be one-shots, with some tighter story arcs throughout. I'll upload the intro arc as quickly as I can and go on how people react to it from there. Please do enjoy, because I really want this to be a successful story.

But enough of that, enjoy the tales of Mike Schmidt and his Fazbear buddies!

After Hours

Stepping Out Part 1: The Best Worst Idea Ever

Mike Schmidt was bored.

No, no, he'd been past bored since around 2:00. Now he could actually feel himself dying inside just a little with every passing moment. Hell, by this point he almost wished Bonnie or Chica would slip in and scream in his face again.

Granted, they'd stopped being dangerous since he'd reprogrammed them at the start of his second week, and so he wasn't really in any danger anymore, but it would at least be something to break the monotony.

A quick sweep of the cameras revealed no immediate threat, and the power was still at a manageable level, so Mike leaned back and groaned for the umpteenth time that night. Just as he'd stayed put for the two weeks prior to this one, he'd be staying put once again tonight. Someone had to watch the animatronics after all.

Mike switched to the backstage camera and saw Bonnie standing around, looking up into the camera. For a moment, Mike flinched – he was half expecting to see the rabbit's demonic black eyes once again. But it seemed as though Bonnie wasn't in that kind of mood tonight, as he just grinned and flashed a thumbs up into the camera.

Mike was still surprised at just how friendly the animatronics had turned out to be when they weren't hunting him down. He still hadn't really gotten a chance to talk with any of them, since they were only active at night and he was stuck in the guard booth during that time. But judging by their interactions with each other, and what little snippets of dialogue they'd given to him after they'd slipped in and given him a good scare, they seemed to be pretty casual, friendly guys. If Mike hadn't been explicitly told they were animatronics, he might have even thought they were just people in suits.

Unfortunately by the time they became active for the night Mike would already be in his booth. Plus, over the past couple of weeks he'd gotten incredibly good at keeping them out; he'd been in danger for long enough that surviving the night was literally a basic instinct for him now. Even Freddy couldn't slip into the room anymore.

It was too bad, really – Mike wouldn't have minded getting to talk to the others a little.

Unless...

It was one of those ideas that could've turned out to be absolutely brilliant or really freaking stupid. Like the metaphorical Schrödinger's Cat, the only real way to really know would be to give it a shot and see how things progressed. Then again, the cat in question could very well die...

But Mike was really bored, and judging by how the animatronics were acting tonight, their AI hadn't reset to malevolence. Maybe he really could trust them... or maybe they'd shove him into a suit.

Shifting through the cameras halfheartedly, Mike lightly tapped a finger against the left light button and felt his stomach drop upon seeing Bonnie leaned against a wall just outside, arms folded casually. By pure reflex Mike slammed his fist into the door button, and the door fell quickly between the two. Checking quickly on the other side to see if Chica was waiting there (she wasn't), Mike sighed in relief. Bonnie probably wouldn't stick around too long – he never did – so Mike would be able to get the door back up before it drained too much power.

And yet there was a part of Mike that thought differently, a little part that wanted him to push that button and let the rabbit in so they could formally meet. He hadn't done anything like that since his first week, when he'd accidentally let Foxy in and they wound up becoming friends. But he could still remember that one moment when the pirate was screaming in his face and he was lying on the ground, too scared to even cry, certain that his life was about to end. Could he really bring himself to relive that? What if Bonnie wasn't as friendly as Foxy had been?

And most importantly, was Bonnie even still out there? It'd been a while, and the bunny tended to give up fast. Slowly Mike's finger rose up to the door button and held itself there, waiting for his mind to make itself up already. Mike quickly ran through the idea one last time. He knew deep down that he really did want to befriend the animatronics, and not just out of boredom. Crazy as it was, he'd actually grown to like them. In a way, they were just like his coworkers, and Lord knew that he could use some friends to keep him company. It might actually be kinda nice.

Or, he could get stuffed into a suit.

…

…

Oh, what the hell? What was life without a little risk... or trust?

Mike jabbed the door button with a determined vigor.

And that's chapter one. Short, I know, but I don't want these chapters to be too long, at least not at first. Let me know what you think.

Tomorrow's Hero, signing out.