'Free him...'

'...'

'You must free him...'

'...'

'Free him...'

'...'

'He will help...'

"AH!" Your body pulsed with shock. A harsh cough erupted from your sore throat, causing you to wince and rub your neck as you slowly sat up. "...Ugh... My throat's... dry... And... my head... Uhg..." You groaned. Combing your fingers through your tangled hair, you weren't surprised to find a small bump on the back of your noggin. 'I must've passed out... My whole body feels... weird...' You opened your heavy eyes and rubbed the haze from them. "Wait... Wha..." Your eyes widened as you glanced around you. You frantically stumbled onto your feet and peered around at your surroundings.

You weren't in the house anymore.

"W-what the... How am I... What the heck is going on here?! W-where am I?!" You spun around in shock, staring into the dim void you were now standing in. It seemed unreal. You weren't in a room, and you weren't outside. This new place was just an endless mass of dark grey and black. The further from you, the darker it was. It seemed as though a light of some kind was above you- Or rather, reflecting from you, as if you had some sort of an invisible light bubble around your body. "Am I... Dreaming...?" You asked yourself. Your quiet and confused voice seemed to echo into the emptiness, and then everything fell silent once again. If this was a dream, then shouldn't you be able to wake up? But if you were somehow awake... Then who or what brought you here? Where even IS here? And WHEN was here...?

"...What is going on...? Where am I...?" You began a slow pace in front of you, your light steps echoing into the void as you proceeded forward. Your mind raced with thoughts and conclusions of why and how you got in this strange place. And they all made sense in some way or another, but then they didn't make any sense to you.

'Did William find me after I lost consciousness?'

'Did one of those horrible animatronics track me down while I was passed out and... Oh, geez...'

'Am I in a coma?'

'Did someone find me and rush me to a hospital?'

'Is this just a dream? A-am I still unconscious...?'

Reframing from thinking too much, you cleared your mind. Whatever was going on, you had to find a way out of this place. There had to be some kind of exit, somewhere that lead out of here, or something that could wake you up if you were dreaming. "This has to be a dream. I must be unconscious still. This- AH! What the...!" You jumped when your foot hit something on whatever surface you were currently walking on. Whatever it was, it'd made a crinckling sound when your foot had collided with it, almost like it was made of thick paper or something of a similar material. Your eyes darted to your shoe... And both of your brows furrowed with confusion at what the object was. You studied it for a moment before hesitantly bending down to pick the small item up. The item was decorative. It had polka-dots on it in various colors. Red, blue, green, pink, and orange, and the hat itself was a hue of purple. "Is this... a party hat...? What's it doing here...?"

"You're such a coward, ▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎! What do you think he's gonna do, bite you?"

Your eyes widened at the sound of a boys voice. You dropped the party hat and looked ahead of you. There was an entrance doorway with a sign mounted above it. The letters on the sign were all blurred out, but you could make out to tell that the last word from the combo of three said 'Diner'. You approached the doorway as you heard another voice, one that belonged to a younger boy. His stuttering and sniffling gave away the fact that the young boy was on the verge of crying.

"Y...You know I-I... don't like it he-here, Michael... I wanna go home!"

You stepped into the room to find two young boys standing in some kind of party room. You could faintly hear the sound of music and children playing off in the distance, or in a different room. The younger boy wiped the tears from his eyes as the older boy scoffed. The older one was angry.

"You know dad is planning your party here! I don't understand why you're not happy about it."

The two were brothers. You noticed that the older boy had a mask pulled up on his forehead. It was red and had a long snout, with ears to match. A fox. You questioned why he was wearing it. The younger brother sniffled back another sob.

"But, Michael... I don't... I don't want to have my birthday party here... I'm scared of-"

"STOP BEING SUCH A CRYBABY ALREADY! HE'S A STUPID ANIMATRONIC- ALL OF THEM ARE!"

The older brother yelled, causing the younger brother to flinch and start crying. You angrily gritted your teeth at the older boy and yelled. "HEY! Leave him alone, you jerk!" You'd stepped fully into the room and angrily balled up your fist. The older brother didn't acknowledge you or your harsh tone. You scoffed and marched up to him as he continued to harass his younger sibling. You readied your hand to push him. "DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? LEAVE HIM-" You gasped as your hand went straight through the boys shoulder, like you were a phantom or something. "W-WHAT THE CRUD?!" You exclaimed. You pulled your hand back and looked at it. Nothing was wrong with it. Your wide eyes went from your hand and then back to the older brother.

"I don't even get why your afraid of him. You carry around that stupid plushie of him like it's glued to your hand!"

Your eyes darted down to the little boys palm. He was latching on to a limp, golden-yellow teddy bear. It's stomach and inner ears were a tanish-brown color. The plushie had a small hat and bowtie that were colored a light shade of purple... Just like the color of the party hat from before.

Your brows furrowed with confusion. "...Who's 'him'...?" You knew the question wouldn't get an answer back. The two couldn't even see you... But a phrase kept repeating in the back of your mind. And you didn't remember it, or know why.

Free him...'

'...'

'You must free him...'

'...'

'Free him...'

'...'

'He will help...'

Before you could do anything but blink, the two boys that stood before you had walked off and disappeared. The older boys name was Micheal... But when he'd said his younger brothers name... All you heard was distorted static. And you were starting to hear it again. You turned as you heard a voice. A strange voice. You hesitantly walked back out of the door, and you could've thought that you'd seen something black disappear from in front of you when you did, but you were startled as a light flashed on. The brightness of it caused you to wince and squint your eyes. "AH! W...what..." Before you was a stage. The scene was blurry, but you could make out that there were two large beings placed upon it. The first on was larger than the second and was a golden-yellow in color, and the other was a bit shorter and more slimmer than the first, and it was a brownish-gold color. The two beings moved, their actions resembling singing, or the larger on was at least. The shorter one appeared to be playing some kind of instrument. "...Are these animatronics...? ...They're... animatronics..." Your question answered itself. And it seemed as if your answer had cleared some of the blur. You could now make out that the first animatronic was a large, heavy set character. No doubt it was a male. His stomach was a shade of brown. And there appeared to be a purple object on his chest, as well as something small placed on top of his head that was the same color. 'A hat and bowtie...' Your mouth opened with the realization of what this animatronic reminded you of.

"The little boys teddy bear... That's who the teddy bear is a plushie of..."

Instantly, the blur faded from the animatronic to prove you were correct. It was a bear. The jolly golden bear had the most gentlest face an animatronic could have, and his large hands gently swayed to and fro as he sang into his grey colored microphone. ...But you couldn't hear the singing... The bears turquoise eyes gazed here and there, and then to his stage companion, which brought you to do the same. This animatronic was still blurry. You stared at it for a moment bewildered. It's movements were a bit more quick, but not by much. You could see two long objects atop the beings head that moved along with it's motions. On it's chest, you could see the same purple object that the bear had on his own chest. A bowtie. 'A bowtie... If it has no hat, then those long things must be it's ears. This animatronic is a rabbit.' And once again, you were proven correct as the blur faded away and revealed exactly what you had thought. This animatronic was also male. He had a sturdy posture with a gentle face as well. He had ruby green eyes that were slightly closed to accommodate with his soft facial expression. His ears were long and slightly folded forward. The insides of them were a darker brown than what his fur was, and so was the color of his stomach. The same darker brown. The rabbit held a grey and red guitar that he strummed gently as he sang alongside his bear companion. Your E/C eyes gazed at the animatronic rabbit. Something about his straight and elegant posture, accompanied by that sweet and gentle smile he held was making you stall. This animatronic heavily resembled someone. The rabbit gazed around the room, and you froze when his emerald green eyes locked with yours. You swallowed hard as the animatronic froze. It was as if his smile had faded. You slowly shook your head as you realized something. "No... It can't be..." Your eyes burned with pain as you refused to break eye contact with the animatronic as his guitar fell from his hands and disappeared. The rabbits head had lowered as his gentle facial expression slowly faded into one of hurt. The light above flickered, and when it had came back on... You almost burst into tears at what you saw now standing in the golden rabbits place.

"...Springtrap..."

Your voice left as he glitched and then was replaced by the same golden rabbit, him standing in the exact same, lifeless position. Only this time you realized that he was stained with a dark red substance in various places. You knew what it was... The rabbit stood lifelessly as his bear companion continued to happily move about. You felt your eyes burn with tears as you continued watching what happened next. You saw a man appear from behind the animatronic rabbit, a man in a purple suit. He walked out from behind and that was when you noticed that he held a small knife in his hand. And the same red substance layered the knife as well as the sleeves on his suit. You gasped and shouted as you saw the man reach a hand up to the rabbits face and caress it sickly. "N-NO- GET AWAY FROM THEM! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!" You knew the man couldn't hear any of the words you shouted. But you didn't have to think twice about who the sick man was. "WILLIAM AFTON! YOU SICK MAN- YOU'RE A MURDERER!" The moment you said that name, the man had disappeared, and the stage was back to normal- Even the rabbit was back to singing and playing his guitar. And he wasn't covered with the red substance anymore. You fell to your knees and started to cry. Seeing all of that was too much. Tears rolled down your cheeks as you cupped your face in your hands. You realized what the scene was... Because you remembered Springtrap telling it. William used the golden rabbits suit as a guise to murder children... And the golden suit was Springtrap... your voice was weak as you wiped your wet eyes. "...The rabbit... The golden rabbit. Springtrap is not his real name." You thought hard at what Springtrap had said his name was before it horrifically became Springtrap. But you couldn't remember him even telling you.

"His real name... I don't know it... But the bears name... the bears name is... Fred... The bears name is Fredbear..."

As soon as the last word left your trembling lips, the room fell silent. You looked up at the stage to see Fredbear and the rabbit facing you. They were frozen and lifeless. You slowly stood to your feet and took a few steps back as you heard the sound of distorted static once again. It was coming from the stage. Your eyes went wide as the two golden animatronics began to distort and shift into two dark figures- Both of them turning to an almost black shade of purple. The two glitched and shook, and you caught sight of another dark figure approaching from behind them. You were frozen with fear as the being came into the dim light. It was a black puppet, a marionette with white stripes on its long fingers, and the same stripes could be seen on its thin legs. The puppet was tall and slender. It's white and grey mask showed a wide smile lined with tiny dull teeth. The puppet eyed you before taking notice of how terrified you were.

"Do not be afraid. I am no danger to you."

The calm voice that came from the puppet surprised you. It's low tone proved it was a male. You swallowed the lump in your throat as the black puppet spoke again.

"You must free them."

It took a moment to actually realize what he said, and it left you confused. "Who... Who is them?" Upon hearing your question, the puppet raised his hand. You stepped back as four blurred figures appeared in front of the stage, all of them motionless. You almost gasped as the blurr cleared and revealed the awful animatronics from before. The large brown bear, the purple rabbit, the yellow chicken, and another animatronic that you've never seen before- and you were glad you didn't. This animatronic was a fox. He was covered in bumps like the rest of the three, and he had a razor sharp hook in the place of his right hand. His jaw was open to show teeth that only a shark or piranha would have. You grimaced at the sight of the four. The puppet spoke again to answer your question, his tone low and gentle just as before.

You fell silent. "...'Him'... Y-you mean... William...?" You asked.

You gave a short nod and then looked at the two animatronics that stood at the puppets side. They both had white orbs in their empty eyes, accommodating for their pupils. The bear was a deep purple with a black hat and bowtie, and he resembled Fredbear. The rabbit was more strange. He was a slightly lighter shade of purple and was lacking a bowtie. His suit appeared to be pixalated on the edges of it. The few times he had moved, his form glitched oddly. The strange rabbit held a grin on his muzzle. His white teeth glowed like his pupils. His ears were long and hung down in front of his face, almost covering his eyes. He resembled Springtrap... You then looked back at the puppet and pointed to the two animatronics before lowering your hand. "What about those two?" You asked. The puppet glanced to the bear, then to the rabbit, and then answered you.

"They are with me. There is no need to be afraid. They are shadows of the past. Shadows of what used to be."

Your eyes widened after realizing what the puppet meant. ''Shadows of what used to be'... The purple bear and rabbit are shadows of the past... Mere shadows of what used to be Fredbear and Springtrap.." The puppet had outreached his long arms and then levitated towards you until he was a few feet away. You didn't realize he was so tall before... His long fingers curled for a moment as he brought his hand to be eye level with you and then opened his palm. In it was a strange looking golden key. He handed it to you, which you hesitantly took. "...A key?"

Your eyes furrowed with confusion. "Y...You mean William?" William was trapped? Why does the puppet want you to free him?! There was no way you were setting him free if he was trapped! You'd be doing everyone a favor by not letting that crazy man run loose.

You blinked as you took another glance at the key, and then looked back up at the black puppet. You were confused and speechless. Who was he talking about? And what box? If it wasn't William who was trapped... Then who...? "But, what about my friends? William took them. A-and he has these twisted animatronics working for him... I can't fight them all on my own... And this box... And this 'him'... I don't know what you're talking about... Can't you help me?"

"No. Just like them, I too, am only a shadow of the past."

Your shoulders dropped as a frown covered your face. "Please... I don't understand... I don't even know what I'm doing..." You softly spoke. The puppet studied your saddened facial expression for a moment before he reached his hand out to gently place it on your shoulder.

As soon as the last word was said, the puppet and the two purple animatronics glitched and faded out of view. Then the ground beneath you started to shake. "What-" You wobbled to catch your balance, your hand intentionally grasping the key in a tight embrace. You looked down to see that the floor under your feet was glitching away and disappearing. "W-WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Your voice echoed across the grey void as you frantically tried running away from the area you were standing on, but you didn't get anywhere. It was like you were running on thin air- On nothing. A shocked yell forced itself from your mouth when you suddenly found yourself falling through the floor and into a tunnel of glitching purple and black. The moment you hit the bottom, you felt a shock hit you.