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ACT I
Chapter 1. Changing of the Guard

"They say he's, like, seven feet tall and can crush a piece of metal with his hand."

"And got like, half an eye. Or one glass eye, I'm not sure."

"They don't say that." Scoffed the first kid.

"Yes they do!" defended the second one.

"Who!? Who do you know that says that?"

"Guys!" A third voice, more panicked and aggravated than the others, interrupted them. "Can we please drop the subject? I'm nervous enough as it is applying for this job."

"Awright Danny, jeez, don't get your panties in a bunch." There was a pause, each teen looking at the darkened restaurant. "So…you gonna go in? The ad said to come during after hours."

"Well, they closed at eight but I know the clean-up crews still here." Danny, the boy who was starting to regret his life choices, fiddled nervously with the newspaper ad. 'Day guard wanted at local pizzeria for weekends.' it said. 'No previous experience necessary, please come after closing. Ask for Mike.'

Mike. The night guard and manager of Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria. The rumor at Mulrone High was that the restaurant had been saved by this giant angry guy who could make the animatronics do what he wanted. They said he walked in and ripped off that pirate thing's jaw and put it back on when it snapped at it. They said he stuffed the creepy bear into a suit instead of the other way around, and they said he was even scarier than the robots were.

'They,' being the local populace at Mulrone High, most notably the lunch table of Danny's regular crowd of friends. Whether or not any of them had even been to Freddy's in the last four months was a mystery to him, but whatever. Danny wasn't really one for gossip, and half those things sound fake as all get out but…he still couldn't help but feel scared shitless. Maybe it was the 'come after closing' or the general air of the gloomy pizzeria. The restaurant was sitting under a yellow lamp post in the early winter night, and not for the first time, Danny regretted this.

"Sucks your mom's making you get a job, man." Said Carl, one of this buddies who had curly red hair and a trust fund.

"Yeah, it was nice knowing you." Said the other. That was Sam, who had zits all over his face but a license and access to his mom's car. "They might stuff you into a suit when the guard's not looking."

"Or the guard might—"

"Knock it off, guys!" Danny whined. Just to get away from these knuckleheads, he pushed himself out of the backseat of Carl's mom's car and grabbed his hoodie.

"Just come get me when I tell you too, awright?" He asked, because these two weren't the most reliable. Danny was prepared to walk the two miles home if need be, but he'd rather not this late at night.

"Sure thing man." Sam promised as he started the engine.

"Hey, good luck, really." Carl stressed, sensing his friend's obvious discomfort.

Danny nodded, but felt too sick to speak. By the time he got to the front door, he could see his breath and his nose felt numb. A sign said 'Sorry, We're Closed, but Tomorrow is Another Day!' with a cheerful painting of the brown bear waving from behind the glass. Danny was too busy staring at the sign to notice someone coming to the door and opening it.

He looked up, and nearly wet himself.

"What can I do for you, son?" There stood the titular character of the pizzeria, old Freddy Fazbear himself. Horrifyingly, he was missing his entire left arm.

"I-I-I—ad….news…answer…" Danny held up the newspaper add, staring at the hanging wires.

"Oh, pardon me being undressed—I was just getting a tune up and noticed a car's lights. You come on in—you're here for the ad in the paper?" Freddy asked as Danny stumbled in, looking briefly over his shoulder to see if his friends were still there. Maybe he could get in the car and just tell Sam to floor it and—no, they were gone. Traitors.

Danny tried not to shake as he walked further into the dining hall. He was relieved to see other people here—real human, nonrobotic people—and quickly made eye contact with at least four of the cleaners to make sure they knew he was here. Just in case…

"A bit young to be lookin fer a job, ain'tcha? You look ya should still be in school!" Freddy commented amiably as he walked toward a door across the room.

"It—it's for the weekends. I don't have school then." Danny managed, feeling like he was about to swallow his own tongue. Finally, he kicked a neuron in gear. "C-can I talk to Mike?!" it came out as a squeak. Freddy raised an eyebrow at the noise.

"Was just going to get him, but—here, I need my arm before I can do anything else." Freddy stopped before the door and turned toward the stage. "You take this door, see, take this door, go straight and make a right. Then ya go straight, past the kitchen. Next door'll be on your left. Now, if ya hit a dead end ya's gone too far."

"D-dead end?"

"Ah, ya can't get thar from here." Freddy said, his country tone really selling his statement. It was almost comical.

"Course, that's only if Mike even be in the guard's room." Freddy said, glancing at the ceiling thought. Danny felt his stomach crumble at the possibility.

"A-and if he's not?" Another squeak. Puberty wasn't being fair to this boy.

"Oh, then he's prolly with the puppet, ya aint never see those two apart." Freddy informed.

Danny wondered the hell 'the puppet' was, and hoped to God it wasn't some torture device.

"Okay, so, uhm—just…through this door?" Danny pointed, begging his finger to stop shaking.

"Yep." Freddy nodded, and Danny headed through before the bear could say anything else.

"Okay, okay, it's okay." Danny whispered to himself, as he was apt to do when his anxiety was getting too high. "It's allll good, we're fine. Totally fine—"

"Hello!"

Danny screamed, turned around to see what had made that noise and saw a squat robotic boy staring up at him. It walked—no, it rocked—toward him, wide smile falling into a confused line when he didn't respond.

"Hi?" It said, getting nearer as it reached behind its back to pull out something.

"Ahhhh!" screamed Danny, convinced it was a knife and he was about to be stabbed to death right here in the hall. Without thinking he took off at a dead sprint, and ran through the first door he found.

Heat washed over him, and he skidded to a halt as a giant yellow chicken turned around holding a large cleaving knife, bigger than his hand.

"Hi! You're new, but you're just in time! Let's eat!" a girl voice chirped cheerfully at him, knife raised.

"Let's eat what!?" shrieked Danny, who scrambled out of the kitchen fast as his legs could carry him. His gym teacher would have been so proud at the record he was making as he careened down the opposite way that boy animatronic was.

Danny was too busy looking over his shoulder to realize he had come to the end of the hall, the dead end, as it were.

When he'd first exited the kitchen, though in his panicked state he probably didn't notice, there had been nothing but bathrooms way before the end of the hall. There were some posters tacked up on the far wall, but that was it. But some things in the pizzeria simply didn't need to use doors to move, as ridiculous as that sounded, it was true.

When Danny turned to see where he was going, all he could make out was blue, black, then a brief flash of gold and he ran into what felt like a wall. The flash died as quick as it had come.

"Arrgh!" went Danny,

"Gyaah!" went the wall.

'Well.' Said another voice, light and monotone.

It took Danny a solid two minutes to get the lost breath he'd had knocked out of him.

'Did you mean to do that?' The tone was uncertain, and not aimed at him apparently, because someone else answered.

"Uh…no? I think—we gotta work on our timing." Came a surprised voice, it sounded like a young guy. "He needs to stop coming out whenever he thinks I'm in danger."

'Well, you can't blame him. You seem to attract it like a magnet.' Chastised monotone guy.

"Oh, I get into a car accident one time and am late for work—and suddenly I'm a trouble magnet. Is that it?"

'Yes. I'm glad you understand.' Said the monotone voice actually sounded blithe.

Danny groaned, trying to let them know he was still down here. And mostly conscious.

"Whoa whoa! Hey, take it easy—Marion, gimme him hand here, wouldja?"

'Of course, Night Guard.' Said a voice from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Before Danny could react, spindly fingers curled around the back of his shirt and hoisted him gently up into the air. He trembled and waited to be murdered, but only found himself face to face with a young man with shaggy brown hair and wide blue eyes. Over his shoulder was a floating puppet thing, its long arm impossibly stretched almost five feet out as it held Danny in place as if he was a kitten and not almost a full grown adult.

"You okay?" The man asked nicely, and Danny just whimpered, staring at the creepy puppet by the man's shoulder.

"Aw, set him down Mari. The kid's shaking like a leaf."

'He does look rather distressed.' The puppet was speaking, but its painted mouth did not move. Danny was set down on his own two feet, and was proud to say he wobbled only a little.

"He did just run into me head on." Despite the gangly guy's average frame and terrible posture, he looked none the worse for wear. It was like Danny hadn't even hurt him at all from colliding with him dead on.

'Yes, seeing you with your hair like that would scare anyone.'

"Wow." But Mike was laughing. "Freddy said there was a kid here looking for the day guard job on weekends. Uh, you got lost, huh?"

Danny nodded, still not trusting his voice.

"Well, they told ya to look for Mike, and ya found me." Mike held his arms out. "Good job! First impressions are very important."

'He ran into you.' The puppet thing stated with a hint of distaste, looking at Danny as he was something the puppet had found on the bottom of its pointy little this point, Danny fully expected to be murdered.

"Same difference!" said Mike cheerfully.

'That statement is an oxymoron.' The puppet's attention was taken off Danny, and now it stared at Mike.

"So's a puppet who doesn't need strings to move." Mike said, giving Danny a grin he hastily tried to return. It must have worked, because Mike motioned for Danny to follow him.

The puppet gave a rather theatrical sigh as it followed Mike, inches from his shoulder. 'When did my dear night Guard become so impolite?'

"Oh my god, the most dramatic. Drama-marionie, we oughta call you." Mike shot back as they entered the only door on their left. Danny entered a small, cramped room with more height than width. He took note of the cot in the back, the lack of computers, a single phone and, for some strange reason, two exits on either side of the room.

The Marionette gave a dismissive noise and lowered into a large white box taking up most of Mike's desk. Danny wondered briefly if he was expected to work alongside this puppet robot, and immediately regretted every life choice that lead up to this moment.

Suddenly it pulled out a very old GameBoy and turned it on. The first few notes of Pokemon Crystal were heard, and Danny tired not to stare.

"Don't mind him." Mike said, and Danny wondered if there was anything that bothered this guy.

"You're…you're Mike? Mike Schmidt—the night guard?"

"Technically head manager, night guard and day guard, but. Uh. Yeah. Those first two titles are questionable at best, and I really just prefer my title being the night guard. You?"

"Uh, Danny. Okay…"

"What's wrong?" Mike asked as he sat on the cot. "Oh, take a seat, yeah?"

"I'd just…I thought, thought you'd be…" Danny trailed off lamely as he settled in the chair. He realized he had his back to the creepy robot and quickly wheeled to the side.

"Taller?" Mike grinned. "I get that a lot."

Danny coughed, still faintly out of breath.

"Want something to eat or drink?" Mike shot him a worried look Danny wasn't sure he bought. "You look a little pale."

Danny went green at the mention of eating, but managed a quiet "I'm good, thanks."

"If you're sure…" Mike was clearly leaving an opening for him, but Danny, distinctly aware of the puppet playing a child's handheld game behind him, said nothing. "Well, let's start with the basics."

"It'd be from ten am to seven pm. Uh, you can bring lunch or pick something up here—Chica makes a great pizza and she's working on learning mac'n cheese right now."

"O-oh." That explained the knife wielding robot in the kitchen. This only sort of comforted Danny.

"I'll show up around three normally, but the gang will be able to help with any problems, should they arise. I'll be honest, you look a little young—not that I can talk but. How old are you, Danny?"

"S-sixteen, sir."

"Well, that's legal. You still in school?"

"Yessir."

"Mike, Danny, not sir." Mike laughed, and Danny wondered how anyone could mistake him for a seven foot tall bear of a man who beat up animatronics. He looked like he couldn't win against a flower.

"I'm going to be honest, I'll have to pay you under the table. I figured—oh, that's okay? Great. You can use this tablet here to walk around the restaurant and still be able to see rooms you aren't in. Let's see, general rules, no smoking, no drinking, even on your break. I know, obvious right? But stuff I gotta say. And, uh—oh man I always forget this part…"

The puppet tsked. "Night guard, I'm surprised at you."

"Yeah, where did I leave that thing I wrote down—" A black arm stretched over Danny's right side. He squeaked, but all it did was elongate across the room and hold out a little worn notebook for Mike to take. The night guard perked up.

"Oh! Thanks Mari." Mike cleared his throat. "Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. …Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced."

At Danny's wide eyed stare, Mike stopped. "Look, I know that sounds bad—and it was but all that stuffs in the past. You can trust those guys completely, okay? I know every job says this bit, but working here means you really are family."

"So…that all sound okay? Do you have any questions for me?" Mike asked.

"N…no." Danny managed. Only about a hundred thousand, but the real question was did he have the strength to ask them?

"Okay, well, I do need you to fill out some information—There, Mari's got you covered." Danny was handed a blank sheet that needed to be filled out with the usual. Name, address, contact numbers. "He'll take it when you're done." To Danny's horror, Mike was standing up.

"Y-you're leaving?" He would be alone with 'Mary' or whatever it was called?

"Oh—well, I gotta get back to work. Freddy kinda needs his arm back on." Mike laughed, missing Danny's surprised look he did that too. "When you're done, you can either go home or I can give you a walk through tonight or—you look like you want to go home." Mike's smile was understanding.

"No problem, just finish that and BB here will show you out."

"Hello?" The same squat robot from before wandered in at the sound of its name, turning a wide smile to Mike, and then swiveling its head to Danny. It was holding a blue balloon, and held it out to him.

"Hi!"

"Heh, you had some leftovers, did ya BB?"

The boy giggled and held the balloon more, prompting Danny to take it. "…hello?"

"It's okay—he says he's sorry for scaring you, and he thought you'd like this."

"Uh. Thanks." Blue was his favorite color, but instead of being awed and in wonder he was just a little creeped out. He also wondered how Mike could get a whole sentence from a single word. The same word, come to think of it.

Mike shook his hand once more, thanked him for applying, and told him he'd see him here tomorrow at ten sharp.

"…why is he going to meet me on Saturday if I'm the guard?" Danny asked the puppet, not really expecting a response.

'Would you rather learn the layout of the restaurant alone, on a busy Saturday?'

Danny flushed at the critical look and, finding a pencil on the desk, began scribbling his answers in.

He had just finished signing his name, under the same statement Mike had read him, when he wondered how he was going to talk to the puppet again. He didn't need to worry it seemed, because without a word the paper was tugged by spindly fingers and pulled into the box.

Danny tried to ignore how when he stood up, he could not see anything in the box aside from the puppet's folded body. It was empty, despite at least two things he had seen being pulled into it.

"Uhm, so…I can leave now?" The teen asked slowly.

'You could have left at any time.' The puppet points out, sounding amused. It does not look up from its video game. 'Rather interesting you didn't, Day Guard. Despite such obvious fear of this place.'

"I, I was just nervous." Danny tried to sound convincing. That was true; it just wasn't the whole story.

'I'm sure.'

Danny turned to go; deciding he did not like that knowing tone the puppet was capable of using. So far, he liked Mike, who he thought he would be scared of, and he was scared of the puppet, who he didn't even know existed but wish he had ahead of time.

"So, I just follow you?" He asked, staring down at the animatronic who had given him a balloon.

"Hello!" The creepy thing nodded, despite only being able to say 'hello.' Danny followed, eager to get out of this place and into the cool night. Nothing and no one was in the dining room, or even the hall. He thought he heard metal clanging when they passed a hallway, or the faint notes of a guitar behind a door labeled 'Parts and Services' but he ignored them and stuck with BB. He was showed the door and decided to wait outside. He felt a little ridiculous holding the balloon while texting Sam to get the hell back here, and when he was sure no one was looking he let the balloon go.

It drifted up, up into the night, blotting out the stars against the pitch black sky. His breath floated before his face, and he tried to let the cold numb him from his previous fear and worry. He was probably insane for getting this job after everything that had happened to his family, but he had to know.

He needed answers.

16 year old Danny Fitzgerald stood in the door way, waiting to see the lights of his friend's car.

So, Danny's come to the restaurant with intent to find out what happened to someone in his life. He would have been 11 when the Bite of 87 happened, but we know from Devil's Spine that the gang might not appreciate someone infiltrating the pizza with intents other than just to work.

Just a heads up, this story will be much longer, and have 3 Acts with an average of 7 chapters, give or take. Why? Because I fucking hate myself, that's why…and because I really enjoy working on the gang and want to give them the best final story I can. Act 1 will focus on Danny and introduce the investigator toward the end. Act II, well…I won't spoil anything else.

ALSO, this is a little late but: If you haven't read Devil's Spine and London Bridge in that order, I highly recommend them. Of course, LD was released before DS, so it's really up to you. And if you HAVE read them, then hi there! Glad you make it!