First of all, I'll give credit where it's due. I do not own Five Nights at Freddy's, Mr. Scott Cawthon does.

Hello everyone. This is my first serious attempt at writing fanfiction, but I'll still try to create a story that's enjoyable and creative for both you and me. The only other thing that needs to be said right now is that Foxy is female in this fic. Let's get started!

Prologue: Saturday, November 14, 1987, 6:32 AM

"Mommymommymommy!" Mike screamed with excitement as he tried to pull his poor mother out of bed. He had been waiting for this day all week; someone in his class, his best friend, in fact, was having a birthday party. He didn't even like parties that much, but had craved cake for the last month. Plus he'd get to see his classmates.

His mother, still half asleep, muttered that it didn't start until five in the afternoon, while slowly rolling over, away from her son. Mike let out a dramatic sigh and stomped off to his messy room while trying to ignore his big sister's snores from across the hall. Brushing the Transformers from his bed, he lay down to think about how great the evening would be. Food, fun, friends...

One thing he knew he wouldn't like, though, was that the party was at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. It had been there for as long as he could remember, and it always sort of unsettled him. The gaudy exterior, dining area crammed with other kids and loud noises were all turn-offs, but the animatronics were the worst. They were terrifying – tall as adults and freezing cold, with unnerving monotone voices and dead plastic eyes. He had been there for other events and tried to never approach them. If one did start slowly lumbering towards him, he always took off in the other direction.

Mike thought it disturbing that most of his friends could even tolerate that place. The boy sighed as he tried to put these thoughts to rest, and slowly stood up, wandering to the kitchen for breakfast.

4:55 PM

Mike bounced up and down as his mother guided their car towards the restaurant. In the passenger's seat, his father turned to him and smiled. "Are you excited, Mike?" he asked through a shining grin. He nodded enthusiastically, knowing that he'd get to play with his friends, whom he hadn't seen all week.

After a few more minutes, they cautiously pulled into the parking lot, which was already crammed with the cars of young children and their bedraggled parents. The building's façade betrayed a small family business within, although it felt like much more. Fazbear's had been a town staple for a decade, largely because of a convivial atmosphere and their ubiquitous robots. Though they often broke and sometimes frightened the children they were meant to entertain, general response was still positive.

After Mike's parents had made sure everything was in order, they left him with waves and smiles.

...

When Mike first entered the restaurant, he found many of his classmates were already present, playing some arcade games in the back. It was there he found who the party was for – his best friend James. They had a lot in common: smart parents, annoying older sisters and a dislike of cauliflower. But one thing Mike never understood about him was his love of Fazbear's. It seemed he was there every weekend, and it showed in his adoration of the animatronics. At recess, he often liked to imagine going on adventures with them rather than pretend to be an astronaut, which Mike and some of his other friends did.

The boys met up and challenged each other to see who could get the best score on Pac-Man. Although Mike won, they still both did horribly. After getting his tickets, he decided against exchanging them; he didn't want to carry whatever he got around the rest of the evening. At this point, they split up so James could play with some other kids. Mike spent the next fifteen minutes with a few others arguing about which of them should push Freddy off the stage, when an intercom announcement prophesied the impending dinner.

5:45 PM

The kids finished up the last of their pepperoni pizza while Freddy and his band played on stage. Mike thought he hid his nervousness very well; he just sat at the table farthest away and didn't look directly at them. He started to wonder what they would all do next, when one of Fazbear's typical bored teenage employees announced over the intercom that the fox robot's show would start in a few minutes. James sprang from his chair and demanded that people come with him to Pirate Cove.

About two dozen children and a few parents filed towards the swashbuckler-themed room. Mike had to admit it was impressive; probably the nicest area of the whole building, with a ship that kids could climb on, a foam ball pit, and eye patches and rubber hooks for maritime adventures. But Foxy – that was her name – roamed the place, which usually kept him out.

They sat on the floor before the platform. The same employee spoke to them again, dispassionately saying that Foxy would tell a story and then pose for photos. There was a small cheer as the robot lumbered in from behind some curtains.

"Yarr, me hearties!" she yelled in monotone. "Ta' day, Cap'n Foxy's going ta' tell all o' ya' a swashbuckin' tale 'bout 'er exploits on the high s" - she cut off. Everyone looked at the stage with confusion as Foxy powered down.

The soft whirring of her servos stopped. Her head drooped, and she teetered slightly before collapsing face-first onto the varnished wood floor. Mike thought he could hear other clangs coming from outside. The group sat there, silent, wondering if this was a part of the show. Then the lights started to flicker and hum. They dimmed, glowed, dimmed, glowed, and a few even popped, sending out showers of sparks. For a split second, space itself seemed to warp before his eyes, making Mike flinch.

Most of the children shrieked while parents tried to calm them down. As soon as light returned, a man started speaking on the intercom. He identified himself as the manager and did his best to apologize. He claimed to have no idea what happened, but said a mechanic would look into it immediately, and that Freddy Fazbear's would have to close early. The animatronics would need to be rebooted, which could take hours. Mike noticed that James looked distraught, and was staring straight at Foxy, still lying muzzle-down on the stage. Another employee, a mechanic, entered the Cove to tell everyone, sorry, but Foxy wouldn't be back that night. Mike saw James' look of disappointment, but then noticed something else.

She was getting back up.

Her motors revved, slowly at first, but progressively quicker. With some effort, she managed to push herself off the floor and tumbled into the back wall. There was a small cheer from the crowd, but the mechanic just stared, bug-eyed.

Something looked different abut Foxy, something he couldn't quite place. She surveyed the room with a spark in her eye that he hadn't seen before, and her face revealed a state of confusion so realistic that it seemed genuine. Then she noticed her own hook and hand, and stared down at them with interest, as if she had become aware of her own body. A murmur swept through the crowd, and the dumbstruck mechanic pulled out a notepad and started scribbling furiously.

Foxy confusedly looked at the audience, when upset crept onto her muzzle. One child, getting bored, threw a toy at the robot, and screamed at it to go on with its story. The impact caused her to jump back and flail her hook wildly. Most adults gasped, pulled their children away, and fled the room, but a few thought this was an interesting new show. Foxy yelled something unintelligible over the sounds of crying and the pirate themed music, but Mike could make out a hint of fear. He turned his head and saw James, the only person who had remained quiet, approach the stage. One of the few adults left demanded him to get away, but it was no use. Over the din, Mike could hear James ask "Foxy, what's wrong," the only response to which was a snarl.

He was still terrified, but now another feeling overwhelmed him; he had to use the bathroom. He sprang up and sprinted through the curtains, out of the Cove. There was no one in sight except the mechanic, who was using a wall phone and hurriedly explaining to the person on the receiving end how he had never seen animatronics behave like the ones at Fazbear's. "These things used to be walking tin cans, but now they're incredibly lifelike. They must have gotten one hell of a programmer." As Mike entered the restroom, he heard someone shrieking from the other side of the restaurant.

5:58 PM

Mike exited the bathroom, only to be assaulted by utter silence. Walking back cautiously, dread dripped into his mind. He didn't know what was happening, but he was scared. He entered the dining area, only to see Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica standing in the center of the room. Upon closer inspection, they were doing what Foxy had back in the Cove; glancing around, feeling different surfaces, and looking confused and a little scared. That's when he saw the sparks in their eyes that had been present in Foxy's. It would have been hard for him to explain; though made of plastic, they had depth, and could express emotion like a human's eyes could. He snapped out of his gaze when Freddy turned and looked at him.

This sent him wailing toward the exit, but not before he could catch a whiff of fresh blood emanating from behind the purple curtains.

Once Mike had made it out through the main doors, he was surprised to see dozens of people hurrying about the parking lot. Kids screamed and cried, and adults mutedly spoke on those ridiculous phones they tried to fit in their pockets. The police had just arrived, and were questioning people about what was happening. Mike heard a shout from somewhere within the crowd, and his mother rushed over to him. She sobbed softly, saying how she didn't know if he was all right. He felt uncomfortable because he couldn't remember the last time he had seen his mother cry. He told her that he was fine, but that he thought someone else was in the building. Her eyes widened. She muttered something under her breath, and shouted to an officer that a person was still trapped with malfunctioning robots. An older officer barked some commands, and three younger ones went dashing into the building. "Let's get you home, Mikey," his mother whispered. On their way to the car, he noticed that James wasn't around.

The next few weeks were strange. James wasn't at school anymore, and nobody seemed to know where he had gone. When he asked his parents about it, they glanced at each other, and his father said that he had moved to Florida. Mike didn't believe that at all; surely the move wouldn't have been on such short notice. Regardless, he felt crushed. Something had happened to his best friend, and he never even got to say goodbye. Also, his parents wouldn't let him look at the newspapers for about a month. Normally they encouraged him to practice reading, but they demanded he watch television for a while instead. Even then, they kept a close eye on the remote.

Slowly, the months passed. Mike didn't make many friends, but he was content with being a loner. Eventually, at the beginning of summer, he again asked what had happened to James, hoping to receive an honest answer. His parents looked uncomfortable when he first asked, but his mother let out a sigh, and said that he deserved to know. After pausing for a few seconds to collect her thoughts, she continued. The truth was that the robots at Freddy Fazbear's had malfunctioned due to a power surge, and one of them had bitten James in the head. He was brought to the hospital… but the doctors couldn't save him.

Mike's eyes widened as the world crashed down around him.

...

So…that was the prologue! Reviews are greatly appreciated, whether by PM or posted directly in the comments. This is my first shot at writing fanfic, and I need all the help I can get. I will tell you, though, that I tried to write this prologue like a flashback; kind of muffled, distant, hazy. I won't do this again. Thanks for reading.