//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: The Nightmare 
// Story: The Perfect Pair 
// by CarolineCheney 
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Foxy and I were outside the Prize Counter room now. Like before, I teleported us to the other side of the doorway so the others wouldn't see us, and we quietly walked inside Pirate's Cove. Once we shut the door, it was safe for us to speak.

"So, how'd it go? I saw ye get along alright, aye?"

"Yeah. You were right. Mari is nice." As we walked to the curtain, I started thinking about what she said. That Foxy was mentally and emotionally broken. I couldn't help but wonder what he's thinking now, or how he could've felt finding out I had and still have no memory of him. He's smiling, so he must be happy. Right? Unless it's the mask he wears like Mari said. He's probably wearing it for my sake. But why? I wanted to tell Foxy about what me and Mari talked about so badly, but I decided to keep it to myself since I didn't know how he'd react. Foxy must've noticed I was deep in my thoughts, since he spoke up first.

"Everythin' alright, Lassie? Ye seem dazed out." I had to think quickly about what to say next.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just thinking." It was the truth. Though, what if I get caught by the others if I out for any reason? And what will happen to me if they do. It's apparent that even though he's sneaky, Foxy has been caught before. He was messed up really bad when I got here, so who knows what would happen. I decided to sleep on that thought. Foxy was already tired, so I suggested we get to sleep, to which he agreed. 

A few hours later...

I was rudely awaken by somepony poking my muzzle. But what made me uncomfortable was that they were cold to the touch. So when I opened my eyes, I was flabbergasted. In front of me, was one of those creatures, but they were translucent.  They had green eyes, with the right one covered by an eyepatch. They had red hair, a red and white striped shirt, blue shorts and what looked like red, something, covering their would have been hooves. But something else caught my attention, and it was the blood. There was blood all over the front of their shirt, blood from a cut across their neck, and even blood leaking out of and through the eyepatch.

"HI! Are you the one that fixed Foxy?"

"Um, yes. But, um, who are you? WHAT are you?"

"I'm Fritz! And I'm a person."

"Okay, nice to meet you Fritz. I'm Caroline."

"Nice to meet you too Caroline! I've come to thank you for fixing Foxy. I care about him a lot."

"Anytime! Is he your friend?" Fritz hesitated, as if trying to think of what to say. Then, he finally said,

"You can say that. Remember when you opened his back and took out the stuff inside?"

"How can I forget? Wait, how did you know? I never told anypony." This Fritz 'person' was starting to look a bit sus here.

"Because that stuff was me. I possess Foxy, and I know what he does and sometimes doesn't know. I know you're trying to help him, but you know what Mari said."

"Yeah, I know." But what Fritz said started to get me thinking. If Foxy is possessed, what about the others? What about Mari? Is she possessed? Fritz must've known what I was thinking, when he said,

"The others are possessed too. Though the kids are nicer than the ones they possess. Even Mari is possessed. You should meet Charlie! She's the one that helped us." I was actually starting to like this kid, until he told me he was involved in the bite. Apparently, he wanted to help Foxy with the show, since he was malfunctioning. But it backfired terribly. A few years later, when Foxy was finally able to see and hear him, Fritz told him what happened. What happened afterwards was Fritz saying he got really upset and was unable to help him. But through my years in school, I knew that to be a mental breakdown. He said he felt really bad for it, and wanted to make up for it, but didn't know how. I didn’t have any ideas that would help either. Then he said that he had to go back. So we said our goodbyes, and he disappeared into thin air while I went back to sleep.

I woke up again to the sun rays hitting me in the face. Guess Foxy hates waking up this way like I do. When I opened my eyes, I could already see him stirring awake. I got up and went to sit at the door, but kept it shut as to not get caught. Then, I heard yelling.

"Mike, I've had it with you! You've tampered with our animatronics, you're extremely unprofessional, and you smell like shit!"

"W-well boss, if you let me explain-"

"No need to explain this. Mike Schmidt, you're fired. Here's you're termination letter. Now, get out of my restaurant!"

"Yes sir." I heard "hoof" steps as they got quieter and quieter until I couldn't hear them anymore. And then, I heard the first voice again.

"What am I gonna do? How will I get another-" He paused in the open doorway. There wasn't enough time for me to hide. He was wearing round glasses, a white collar shirt, long pants, and the same thing wrapped around where his hooves would've been, but black and different. He had grey in his light brown hair tied in a ponytail, and a mustache while his brown eyes were wide and stared into my red eyes. We both stared at each other for what felt like forever, till I decided to speak first.

"Uh, everything okay, sir?" I asked sheepishly. His eyes seemed to get wider, but then he looked like he was calming himself down.

"Uh, yes. Everything's alright. Just had to fire a night guard, and now I have to find a new one. Where'd you come from? And what's your name?" He said as he knelt down. The name part was easy. It was my place of origin that was difficult. But I did my best. Maybe I could have him think I'm a robot. That's believable, I hope. And there was a name on Foxy's endoskeleton when I was cleaning him out. I'll use that. And if it's out of service, I'll just say that they're just getting rid of everything. 

"My name is Caroline. My location, uh, Afton Robotics sent me here in the middle of the night. They were just getting rid of stuff." Thankfully, he seemed to buy it. But then he started to look like he was thinking. He was silent for a moment, but then he finally spoke.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Caroline. I'm Henry. And welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza!" He exclaimed. He seemed happy, which is good. And then he kept talking.

"Like I said, I'm looking for a new guard. Would you like to take that position?"

"Sure! I'd be happy to help you out! You seem like a nice person."

"Then it's settled. You'll be in the security office from 12:00AM to 6:00AM. All you have to do is check the cameras to make sure nobody gets in. Got it?"

"Office from 12:00 to 6:00, check cameras, keep intruders out. Got it!" I happily repeated.

"Good! See you in the office then!"

"See ya then!" And with that, Henry walked out and shut the door behind him. I turned and trotted happily back to the curtain. I get to help somepony else in the building! Can't wait to tell Foxy! But, he said I'd be working most of the night, so I better get some sleep. I'll tell Foxy that I got something to do that'll take up most of the night, hence why I'm going back to sleep so soon. When I hovered through the curtains, Foxy was just starting to get up from the floor. He then looked confused when I was curling myself up on the floor.

"Uh, Lassie? Didn't ye just wake up? Why are ye going back te sleep?"

"Because I'm gonna do something tonight that'll take up most of the night. Don't worry, I'll be back by tomorrow morning." Foxy seemed a bit skeptical about this. But before he could argue I was fast asleep.

Night 1: 11:58PM

When I woke up, Foxy was curled up asleep on the other side of the stage. I got up and went out of the curtain to look at the clock. It read 11:58PM. Well, better get to that office! Hope I'm able to find it in time. It took me a few twists and turns before I finally made it to the office. Once I made it there, I glanced at the clock on the desk. 11:59PM. Wow! One minute to spare! I decided to sit on the chair at the desk while I waited for Henry. While I waited, I got to look around the room. The room had two doorways, one on my left I just came through and the other on the other side of the room. Each door had a window next to it, and opposite to each door, were two buttons. One glowing red, and the other glowing white. On the desk, there was a phone, a clock, a grey rectangle with various buttons, a cupcake with pink frosting, teeth, and eyes staring at me, a noisy fan, and discarded trash. On the wall above the desk, there were crayon drawings of those persons and those characters and a poster of the characters on a stage with the word 'Celebrate' in bold letters. While I was looking around the room Henry came in. He smiled when he saw me.

"Hey Caroline! Glad you could make it!"

"Well, can't be late on my first night on the job, now can I Henry?" We both laughed at the comment. Henry showed me how to use the grey rectangle, which is apparently called a 'tablet' that's used to access the cameras. Then he showed me how to work the doors and lights. The red button turns green when pressed to shut the door, and the white button glows brighter when it's pressed to turn on the light. He then told me the names of the characters. The bear is Freddy Fazbear, the rabbit is Bonnie The Bunny, and the duck, who was actually a chicken, was Chica The Chicken. And since he found me in Pirate’s Cove, he figured I already knew who Foxy was, which was correct. Then we said our goodnights and he headed out. About ten seconds after he left, the phone started ringing. I glanced at the clock, and it was 12:00AM. Then the phone stopped ringing, and the person on the other end started to speak.

“Hello! Hello, hello! Uh, I wanted to record a message for you, to help you get settled in on your first night.” Well this guy’s nice! I thought as I listened to the person on the phone.

“Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I’m finishing my last week now, as a matter of fact!”

“Wait, I thought that Mike guy worked here before me.” This was starting to get a bit sus, but I decided to continue listening, just incase there was anything important I needed to know.

“So I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I’m here to tell you there’s nothing to worry about. Uh, you’ll do fine. So, let’s just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay?” What does he mean when he said ‘there’s nothing to worry about’? Is there something Henry didn’t tell me?

“Uh, let’s see, there’s an introductory greeting from the company that I’m supposed to read. It’s kind of a legal thing, you know.” I rolled my eyes at this. Of course it’s one of those.

“Uh, ‘Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. A magical place for kids and grownups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that death or damage has occurred, a missing person report will be filed for 90 days, or when the property and premises has been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced.'” Wait, what?! Alright. This place is starting to look more sus than it already is.

“Blah, blah, blah. Now that might sound bad, I know, but there’s really nothing to worry about.” NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT?! No shit, sherlock! Of COURSE that sounds bad!

“Uh, the animatronics here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath, I’d probably be irritable at night too.” Wait, they’ve NEVER been cleaned?! How cheap is this company?

“So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children, and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay.” I’d only be nice to them if they were nice to me. But they treated Foxy like a punching bag, so I think we’ll be enemies here.

“So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit.” Well, they ARE alive. I wouldn’t like to stay in one spot all day or night either.

“Uh, they’re left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Uh… something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long.” Okay, that one is a lie. I knew something was up when he said that, since I knew that for a robot’s servos to lock up, they need to be turned off for years and be exposed to the elements outside. Not turned off overnight. I just figured that they were trying to cover up the fact that they’re alive.

“Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day, too. But then there was The Bite Of ‘87. I-It’s amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?” Welp, guess I’ll be telling Foxy the kid survived. He’d probably be happy to hear it. I was already imagining Foxy”s happy yet surprised reaction once I told him, but then the person on the phone said something interesting.

“Uh, now concerning your safety, the only real risk to you as a nightwatchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours they’ll probably won’t recognize you as a person. They’ll p-most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without it’s costume on. Now since that’s against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, they’ll probably try to… forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit.” Well, that doesn’t sound so bad. Especially since I’m not a ‘human’.

“Um, now that wouldn’t be so bad, if the suits themselves weren’t filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices. Especially around the facial area. So you could imagine having your head forcefully stuffed inside one of those things could cause a bit of discomfort… and death.” Oh great, they’re out to kill me.

“Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out of the front of the mask, heh.” I cringed at that part. A death like that sounds brutal. I was and still am sure if that happened to me, I’d be just as unrecognizable as Fritz was.

“Y-Yeah, they don’t tell you these things when you sign up. But hey, first day should be a breeze. I’ll talk with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and close the doors only if it’s absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power.” Wait, this building is running off little power, and the doors use it up? Great. How would Foxy react if I told him about tonight?

“Alright, goodnight.” And the call ended. So now it was just me and my thoughts. I decided to check the cameras for the sake of it, and Bonnie was gone. I checked the other cameras and he was in the Parts & Service room, with his face right in the camera, staring into it with eyes that were black in the cornea and iris, and tiny white dots as pupils. It kinda creeped me out, so I checked back on the stage camera, and Chica was gone. I only had to check one camera to be able to find her in the dining area. Freddy was still on the stage, so I decided it would be alright to check the rest of the place out through the cameras. The one in Pirate’s Cove only showed the curtains and the ‘Out Of Order’ sign, and I could hear Foxy singing. Apparently, he doesn’t sleep all night. There was one in the west hall and one in the east hall, but it was difficult to see in either since it was so dark. There was one in a supply closet for some reason, and had the typical stuff a supply closet would have. There’s the west hall corner, which had a poster of Freddy, and the east hall camera, which had a list of rules on the wall. The kitchen camera was out, so I couldn’t see what was in the kitchen, but I could hear pots and pans being banged around, so somepony was in there. I checked the bathroom, which the only one visible was the female’s. I checked all the other cameras but couldn’t find Chica, so I checked the door lights since I couldn’t see the doors with any of the cameras, and nopony was at either of them, meaning the only place she could be in was the kitchen. And since I didn’t see anypony else disappear, I knew that Chica was the source of the pots and pans clanging.

I decided to check back up on Bonnie, but he was gone. I flipped through every other camera but couldn’t find him. So I checked the lights. And sure enough, he was right outside the door on my left. I shut the door immediately. But Bonnie pressed his face on the window, and I could make out his pissed expression.

“What the fuck are you supposed to be?!” He asked in a rude tone. I knew just how to answer a question like that.

“Yo mama!” I exclaimed smugly. He was taken aback, but then just stormed off. I even heard some kids laughing a few rooms down. I decided not to think much of that since there’s kids haunting the place. I checked the cameras again and found Chica in the east hall cam and she was looking pissed. I checked the right door light and sure enough, she was glaring at me through the window, so I shut the door.

“Alright, missie! I don’t care who or what you are, but you don’t get to talk to us like that! And I know you’ve been with that Foxy!” she spat out his name like it was poison. Oh shit, they know.

“Well, Chica, if y’all are rude or mean to me or my friends, I’ll be rude or mean back.” That was true. One time, before we got our cutie marks, when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were making rude remarks about me and my friends, I’ve had enough and made rude remarks about them, which was what they were technically asking for. Of course, Diamond threatened to tell her dad. But of course, I never got in trouble for it. I felt a sense of victory when I found out she was the one that got in trouble. My friends even congratulated me for standing up to them, and we hugged a bit and went off to see what else we could do to get our marks. Chica didn’t seem impressed though.

“Oh yeah? Well wait till Freddy hears about this!” She said trying to sound threatening.

“Go on and tell him. I’m not scared.” I said as I crossed my forehooves with a smirk. But then Chica smirked too.

“Well, you should be. You know what he did to Foxy. Could do the same to you. Probably even worse.” Shit! She’s right. What the fuck was I thinking? But before I could say anything else, she walked off. When I looked at the stage cam, Freddy was glaring into it, and he looked just as pissed as the others. And then Chica came into view, and told him what happened. He looked more pissed than before and stormed out of view. Welp, I’m fucked. I thought as I shut the other door, not knowing which one he’d pop up at. Then I heard banging from the right door.

“OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR, RIGHT NOW!” Shit! I knew immediately that was Freddy. And I was fucking screwed. I glanced at the clock on the desk. 5:58AM. Alright, I can do this. I just have to wait him out. I looked at the Pirate’s Cove cam and saw Foxy peeking out, looking fearful and concerned. Freddy was still pounding on the door, yelling at me to let him in. But I obviously didn’t want to, fearing what he would do to me. But then the banging stopped. I glanced at the clock again. 6:00AM. I had survived the night. I wanted to celebrate, only to realize I had the rest of the week left. I opened the doors, and quickly teleported back to Pirate’s Cove, where I was met with a very concerned Foxy.

“Caroline, what were ye doin' last night? I heard the others and how pissed they were, presumably at the night guard, so I hope ye didn't cross paths with them."

"Don't worry Foxy. I didn't get into their line of view. I was just, uh, looking for something!" I blurted out, hoping he bought it. Abd thankfully, he seemed to since he started to look relieved. I didn’t remember much after that cause I must’ve gone to sleep. And I think Foxy noticed how tired I was, since I had a busy night, cause I woke up on the stage again. When I saw Foxy, he was sitting on the edge drawing something in the sand with his back paw. I wanted to go up to him to tell him about the kid. But since I was still tired, I went back to sleep.

I was back in that office again, but this time I had no doors to protect me. I then heard big paws steps heading towards the office I was in. Maybe if I used a barrier spell, I could keep him out. I didn’t have time to think over the pros and cons of this plan as he was outside the window. Quickly, I created the barrier hoping it would work. It didn’t. Freddy walked effortlessly through my barrier and was closing in on me with a smirk plastered onto his face.. When he was right in front of me, he raised his left paw which was curled up into a fist. I shut my eyes tight preparing for the blow. And then, I felt the worst pain imaginable in my head, and then nothing.

I jolted awake drenched in sweat trying to catch my breath, and Foxy rushed to me.

“Lassie, is everythin’ alright?” I nodded, still trying to slow down my rapidly beating heart.

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine. It was just a nightmare.” At this, Foxy put a paw on my shaking shoulder.

“Wanna talk ‘bout it?” He asked in genuine concern.

“N-No, I'm good.” Foxy still seemed a bit concerned, but left it alone.

I didn’t feel like sleeping anymore, but Foxy told me that I needed to, so I obliged. But before I went to sleep, I decided to tell him.

“Oh, and before I forget, that kid you bit is still alive (somehow)." He looked happy yet surprised at that.

"Wait, really? Where’d ye learn that?"

"Some old newspaper I found." He chuckled a bit.

“Just go te sleep, Lassie.” And I was out like a light.