02 ★ join the party

❝ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇ ᴀꜰʀᴀɪᴅ, ᴡᴇ'ʟʟ ꜰɪɴᴅ ᴀ ᴡᴀʏ, ᴊᴏɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛʏ! ❞

★

          A MORBID sense of nostalgia submerged you, as the bright light-up sign spelling out 'FREDDY FAZBEAR'S MEGA PIZZAPLEX' loomed overhead.

New place, old faces. Well, some of them, anyway. There was the bear, of course, along with the chicken, a wolf, and some kind of crocodile.

The huge illustrations of the mascots smiled down at any arriving guests. To you, though, it was all but welcoming. Like they were smiling because they had all the more people to sink their teeth on...and smiling toward you specifically.

Like they could not wait to get a bite out of you.

Just how did you find yourself here, at the single place you swore you would never go to in your life?

Ah, right. Your people-pleasing tendencies, and the thought of disappointing a child (on her birthday no less!). Those factors have severely overpowered your decision-making skills.

'You wouldn't ever go near that place, for anyone.' Yeah, right. You just had to think that, didn't you?

Beside you, your friend noticed your staring. She pushed your arm lightly.

"So, what do you think?"

You gulped, trying to gather your words.

"It's...It's bigger than I expected." You said, laughing toward the end. Understatement of the century. What did they have in there, mechagodzilla?!

"Yeah," Rosemary agreed. "This place is the real deal!"

You could tell why the place had gotten to be such a big deal. The mall's brightness and grand size made any other establishment in your sad little town look disappointing. You weren't surprised that every kid and their mom wanted to come here.

It shined like a star through the void. But even stars lose their splendor, eventually. Then they explode in a supernova, and take out everything around them as well.

All it takes is a spark to light the fuse.

You side glanced at her. "Did you have to hold it here?"

"Y/N! Sophie loves this place!" She defended.

"Yeah," You irked. "-and I love playing video games and ignoring my responsibilities. Doesn't mean it's good for me now, is it?"

"Don't tell me this is because you're still afraid of their mascots."

You sputtered. Looking around, making sure her kid, Sophie was nowhere in listening range, then leaned closer to your friend.

"No, this is not because of that! And what about their controversies when we were children? Do you really not care about that?" You whispered loudly.

"Oh, come on Y/N! All of that happened like, back in the 80's and it was all probably just some false propaganda anyways!" She argued, also whispering. Must've looked quite weird to any passing stranger.

False propaganda...yeah, right. I would know all about that...

"Look, it may have the same name, but this is not at all like their past locations. I admit, those were always a bit run down and smelly,"

Well, at least that was one detail you could agree on.

"-But this is different! It's so much bigger, and way more advanced, and safe. Do you really think hundreds of people would visit it in a day if it wasn't?"

Yes. Yes, they absolutely would.

"Could've at least told Sophie not to bother inviting me. You know how I feel about this..." You looked away. "I only came because I didn't wanna disappoint her in case her friends bailed or something."

You were not speaking from personal experience. Nope, nuh uh. Your friends always came to your birthdays.

Rosemary's expression turned to one of remorse. "Sorry, I guess I just thought there might be a chance you got over it. I mean, I know that you used to have some distaste for Freddy's and all, but..."

Oh, she didn't know half of it.

Rosemary put her hands on your shoulders in assurance. "...Trust me, you'll love it!"

You wanted to go home.

Sophie however, looked like she was about to explode from excitement in front of you.

"Come on, come on, you slowpokes!" She called impatiently. Her friends were gathered at the entrance, some of them holding gift bags.

You and Rosemary sighed, sharing a look of amusement before following after her. Rosy continued holding onto you, giving no chance of escape.

"Okay, okay, we're going!"

It was your own choice to accept that invitation, after all. Maybe it would be easier once you were inside.

Rosemary firmly pushed you forward, just like a parent would with their hesitant child. It wasn't too far off, your own parents used to do the same.

Your heart pounded when you finally stepped through the doorway, as if the door behind you would lock you inside forever.

Straight into the lion's den. Or in this case, the bear's pizzeria.

Goodbye outside world. You thought. If I don't make it back, make sure to sue the hell out of this place.

You couldn't believe yourself. You were really doing this! You were going inside! What the hell was wrong with you?!

You tried to hype yourself up. Whatever waited for you beyond couldn't be that bad, right?

It would only be a few hours. You could face your fears for a few hours.

Your bad luck with Freddy's had to have run out by now, right?

A worker greeted you all by the lobby doorway.

"Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, enjoy your stay." The worker said in a jaded tone as he checked you in. You felt for him. You would've been the same if you were forced to say the same stupid slogan all day.

You had to read through a virtual policy on your phone, which was a bunch of fancily-worded corporate spiel that suspended Faz Ent. of any liabilities which may occur. Of course.

Ah, I see that hasn't changed one bit.

When everyone's profiles were recorded, you were set to go into the lobby.

"You ready to have your breath taken away?" Rosemary asked rhetorically.

"Huh?" You replied, confused. When you finally looked up, though...

Your hands shot up to your mouth.

Holy pepperoni...

You did not know what to expect...but this certainly wasn't it.

Your breath was taken away, literally. The place looked even bigger from the inside, if that was possible. It was like someone took a Freddy's, made it 10 times bigger, gave it a modern makeover and lit it all up in neon.

A haze of colors glowed from every surface one could lay their eyes on, besides the ceiling and the checker-patterned floor. Gigantic posters and murals of the mascots adorned the walls, featuring various poses with their instruments.

Pillars that held up the roof had enormous screens built into them, displaying their performers in the limelight. A nostalgic synth melody played over the speakers. The smell of popcorn caught your senses. Likely coming from a vendor.

The Pizzaplex was like some retrowave wonderland.

Rosemary laughed at your expression.

"So? Pretty great, isn't it?!"

As much as you really hated to admit... yes. This was all so, so cool.

But at the same time, both awe and dread infested your mind. How in the goddamn world could they get away - or even afford, to open a place such as this?

"...and this is just the lobby?!"

"Yep!"

You could only wonder how much this all cost to build. Where did they get the money from? The video game they released?

You continued inside. All the birthday guests had checked themselves in and went through the turnstiles.

Ah, turnstiles. Truly a death contraption if they fly back and hit you square in the stomach.

Your eyes wandered the area. It was decorated with faux plants and palm trees, with rentable strollers placed everywhere. A few kids (who were much too big to fit in one) stood by some, begging their parents to rent one out.

To the right, there was a gift shop. Glamrock Gifts

To the left is what appeared to be customer service. You knew from the subtle fact that you could hear someone's mom yelling for the manager in there.

You passed around a fountain, and a towering Freddy statue holding a microphone by its stand. It looked to be in the middle of performance, stuck in a quite dynamic pose.

Huh, by the look of all the decorations and other promotion materials around, it seemed like the pizzaplex had suited for a 'rock n' roll' sorta theme. Makes sense, that would be more popular with kids nowadays, and definitely fit better with the mall's aesthetic.

Everything here was a lot more...ambitious than how it was in any of the old locations.

...You really hoped the statue was not life-sized.

You and Rosy went up the escalator, while Sophie and the other children followed behind like ducklings. You noticed more that the second floor had to offer. There was something called a Faz-Pad. Rosy explained that it was like a coffee shop.

You got to the second floor, noticing a photo booth in the center, some coin machines placed around, two elevators in front of you, and a double doorway to the side.

Superstar Daycare Pickup? This place has a freaking daycare?! Because of course it did.

Wow, what a great idea. you're sure nothing could go wrong there!

Your little group cramped into the elevator and went up.

Soon enough the elevator stopped and the doors opened. The children ran out excitedly.

Your eyes met the main atrium. It was even bigger than the lobby, and much louder, too. People, customers and staff alike were spread all over the place, at every viewable attraction. It was so big you could genuinely get lost.

You were busy taking in the sight. That is, until something was forcefully shoved into your face.

"WHAH THA MMPH?!"

"Map. Please take a map." a robotic-sounding voice instructed.

You ripped the paper from your face and backed away from your attacker. It was some kind of...humanoid robot on wheels. It was a white color with imitation blush patterns on its face, and some...really creepy eyes. It wore glasses too, for some reason.

"WHAT IS THAT?"

"Just a worker bot," your friend said. "It's supposed to be a more engaging way to hand out maps, I guess."

Well, I hate it.

You pointedly glared at it while crumbling up the map in your fists. Then, when you were done, threw it in the nearest trash can.

There's your stupid map, stupid. YEAH, you really told it off with that one!

Sophie told it to shoo away as you want past. "He's always there and freaks us out everytime!" She added.

Could've at least given a warning. You nearly just had a heart attack.

"They didn't have those at any of the old locations." You commented. BaCk in mY dAy, we diDn't haVe no maP bOts!

"There's a bunch of them around. They're supposed to be substitutes for boring jobs and function as extra security, I think." Rosy said.

Putting security in the hands (or screens?) of robots that shoved maps into people's faces. Well, that's just great. Maybe the crazies in tin foil hats were right about technology.

You looked around. From the look of it, there were three levels to this area, all connected with stairs and escalators. Gigantic moving holograms of the animatronic characters danced in the middle of the main stage.

They really spared no expense to make this place flashy, huh?

Fazerblast..? Roxy Raceway..? You read the names of the attractions. This was obviously way more than just some showroom and arcade. Sophie and her mother had (somehow, even through the girl's excitement) made sure to keep information of the pizzaplex a secret for the most part, wanting your first (and only) impression to be a surprise.

Well, consider yourself surprised.

You went down to the first floor for a party check-in at the center. Rosemary went ahead to notify the staff of your group's presence, and so the party room would be ready on time.

This floor featured the food court, as well as a bunch of party tables. This must've been where the rich VIP kids would hold their parties. You doubted that renting out the main room would be anywhere near cheap.

Suddenly, there was a look of surprise among Sophie's friends and a few excited gasps broke out from the group. Your eyes followed as they ran off, toward...

Your body tensed as you caught sight of one of...those things. One of the animatronics standing around while interacting with the kids. Oh, so this place allowed the performers to get off-stage too...yay.

You...you didn't think you would see one so early. You hoped you wouldn't.

You didn't want to get any closer, but the birthday girl had other plans. Sophie took hold of your hand, and started dragging you off toward the mascot.

"Woah- Sophie! What are you doing?!" You were surprised at how much strength she had in her tiny body.

"Come on Y/N, we have to go say 'Hi' to Freddy!"

You glanced in the direction of her friends. They were chattering excitedly to it. It nodded at their words, when it suddenly looked up. Oh god, it looked up. It was looking at you now.

You got over your initial surprise, pulling back and keeping yourself in place with your weight. Sophie tried pulling you again, but soon gave up. She asked what was wrong through her confused expression.

"S-Slow down, kiddo! You can go ahead with your friends if you want, but I uh, think I'm just going to stay right here..." You explained.

You looked back at the group. The mascot was now focused on the kids. Oh, good.

"Why? Come on, we can talk and play with him!"

"I know, kid, but..." You hesitated. "-playing with animatronics for kids, y-y'know? And I'm a boring ol' adult, I'd just make it all boring!" You gave a lame excuse. You hoped she wouldn't see through your fake grin.

Sophie tilted her head. "What's an amina-tronic?"

Being a child, she couldn't pronounce the word 'animatronics' correctly. How adorable.

You kneeled down to her level. "A robot, sweety."

"Oh." She made a :0 face. "But, you won't make it boring! You're fun!"

Oh, bless her little heart. You sighed.

"I...I promise I can do something else with you guys, just not this."

"...Alriiiiight. You don't have to if you really don't wanna." She seemed to understand now. Even if she was disappointed, she was a nice kid.

She took your advice and joined her friends. You watched from afar.

Rosemary came back soon after. She looked to you, then to the animatronic further away.

"Huh, would you look at that? There's a robot right there." She said.

"Rosemary," You warned. You knew what she was doing. She never did take your phobia seriously.

Who would? To the average person, it was like being scared of Mickey Mouse.

And she definitely wouldn't be as nice about it as Sophie.

"What? Everyone else went to say hello, don't you want to?" She stepped closer and placed a hand on your shoulder. "Don't be so shy. Maybe you could tell him you're a big fan, perhaps get a picture? Or give him a hug?"

At the same time that your face morphed to that of disgust, she had maneuvered behind you. Now both hands on your shoulders, she started shoving you in the direction of the mascot.

"No, I know! Why don't you go over there and give him a biiiiig kiss~?"

Its head rotated in your direction. You made eye contact with it.

You suddenly got flashbacks to your childhood.

"What a crybaby!"

"You dummy, don't you know they aren't alive?"

"I think they're still scared..."

"Let's help them get a closer look..."

Your feet complied for a few steps. Until abruptly, you shut your eyes and forced your legs to halt.

"STOP." you gave a clear, precise, and understandable warning.

You knew she was joking around, and most of the time you didn't mind it. But this was where you drew the line.

Rosemary frowned at you, then let go. "Okay, okay, sorry. I was just kidding!"

"Well it wasn't very funny."

The tension was thick, so much so that not even a pizza cutter could cut through it.

You sighed. "I'm- I'm gonna go to the bathroom. You just go ahead and get everyone in the party room. I'll catch up to you."

She merely nodded. Her words wouldn't do much now, anyways.

And so, you made your way towards the nearest bathrooms.

You hoped nobody was judging you from the cameras.

★

╰┈➤ 🌠Wow, what a nice chapter.  I sure do hope nothing bad happens...

 :)

The reader when a robot looks at them for 1 second: