August 30, 2014, 2:25 am
Kyle was jolted out of his bed by a loud scream. He in turn yelped when he saw a ghostly yellow bear floating above him. Then, he frowned.
"Goldie, don't scare me like that!", Kyle chided.
Goldie giggled as she lowered onto the bed. Kyle heard her springlocks snap into place, allowing her to walk like the other animatronics.
"C'mon, you're going to be late for the party!", Goldie said. Then, without warning, she grabbed Kyle by the arm and stumbled out the room.
"Say, how come I can talk to you, but not the others?", Kyle asked sleepily. It was a question that had been bugging him since the animatronics moved in a week ago.
"Hmm..." Goldie paused to think for a moment. After rubbing her chin, she found her answer:
"I think it's because me and the Puppet have more soul juice."
Kyle furrowed his eyebrows. "Soul juice?"
"Yeah, it's the shiny stuff that comes out of us when we get hurt."
"That sounds gross!", Kyle said. Goldie giggled to that.
* * *
It was then that they made it to the dining room. Kyle was now fully awake to see what happened.
"Wow," was all Kyle could sigh.
Stella had completely transformed their little dining area into a birthday paradise! She had taken all of her old Freddy Fazbear's decorations and set them up.
Star-shaped danglers hung from the ceiling. The table was covered by a tablecloth with a "LET'S EAT!!!" pattern. A large banner that read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" was hung up on the wall.
The centerpiece of this display was a medium-sized birthday cake. Five lit candles (four on the corners, one in the center) were the only source of light in the dark room. Four plushies of the characters were placed around the cake, as if defending it.
Crowding around the smallish table were Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. In the days before, Stella had salvaged parts from Mr. Skelly to replace all of their broken ones. The repairs weren't perfect (Bonnie's eyes were mismatched, and there were visible stitch lines on Chica's face), but for now they did the job.
Kyle walked over to the table. "Wow, it looks just like those old pictures of the restaurant," he said.
"Well, I can't take all the credit," Stella said. She flicked a thumb towards Freddy. "This big guy helped me out quite a bit."
At that, Freddy looked away and smiled bashfully.
"And, Chica helped me make the cake," Stella continued. At that, Chica gave a proud look to herself. However, she couldn't bask further in the compliment before she noticed a greedy blue paw inch toward the cake.
Chica quickly swatted it away. Then, from the other end of the table, a metal hook swung its way to the cake. She grabbed it firmly. Then, swinging her head from side to side, the chicken glared at the perpetrators.
Bonnie retreated his paw and gave a sheepish look. Foxy gave a mischievous "Did-I-really-do-that?" look as he retreated his hook.
"Aren't all these your vintage Freddy's decorations?", Kyle asked. "Aren't they, like, extremely rare and expensive?"
Stella shrugged. "Eh, they've just been sitting here in the cabinet, collecting dust." She smiled. "Besides, I can't think of a better use for them."
* * *
Stella walked up to the head of the table. There, the whole scene unfolded in front of her. The animatronics all sat at the sides. Goldie sat herself down next to her brother. They were all looking expectantly at her.
It was here that Stella started to get emotional. She felt a lump form in her throat as she fought get words out. Then, she stumbled back as her eyes turned watery. She had to lift her glasses to wipe her tears.
Freddy noticed this, and stood up. "Stella, are you okay?", he asked in a concerned voice. Then, he walked over and placed his paws around her arms. Stella looked up.
"Y'know, you don't have to do the ritual if you don't want to," Freddy said in his gentle voice. "We could just stay here and-"
Stella interrupted him in a quiet voice. "No, it's okay! I just needed a moment." She slid back from Freddy. Her breathing was lighter now. Then, she tried to force a smile. "Besides, I know how much you guys need this."
Freddy simply murmured a quiet "Okay" and returned to his seat.
Stella then took a deep breath as her composure returned to her. Then, she sang:
Come around, everyone,
Let's celebrate and play!
It's time to have some fun,
'Cause today's your birthday!
So grab your tokens and play
All the arcade games under the sun!
Here at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza
Where Fantasy meets Fun!
After Stella finished her song, everybody waited for something to happen. Then suddenly, the candles were blown out, enveloping the entire room in darkness...
* * *
???? ??, ????, ??:?? am
Stella stood alone in the dark void. She didn't really know where she was. All she knew was that she wasn't in her apartment kitchen anymore. Despite this, she wasn't afraid. She didn't feel like she was in danger in the slightest.
Then, they appeared.
Five glowing lights appeared in front of Stella. The glowing blobs flickered as they became more and more defined. Eventually, the lights became five children (three boys and two girls).
The children were completely monochrome: there was not a lick of color on them. Stranger still, they were all wearing Freddy's mascot masks. The three boys wore Freddy, Bonnie, and Foxy masks. Meanwhile, the two girls wore a Chica mask and a yellow Freddy mask.
Before Stella could register what happened, the children's masks started cracking. The cracks spread all across the masks, until eventually crumbling them into pieces. The pieces fell off the children's smiling faces. Then, the children themselves gained color.
Stella couldn't help but smile when she finally saw the freed children. They were all so cute! But, at the same time, a bittersweet feeling rose in her heart. Oh, how young they were taken...
Jeremy (the boy who was Bonnie) ran up and hugged Stella's legs. The other children followed suit.
"You're so big now, Stella!", he giggled.
"And you're all so cute!", Stella replied with a smile.
"Don't call me cute!", Fritz (the boy who was Foxy) growled. He shook his right hand... then stared at it confused. It took him a second to realize why it wasn't a hook anymore.
"We're free," said Cassidy (the girl who was Goldie). She pointed to Stella. "And it's all thanks to you!" All the children cheered to that.
A bright light then appeared above them. Everybody stopped to look at it. It got brighter and brighter, until it eventually filled the whole sky (or, at least the closest thing to a "sky" that a formless void could have).
When Stella looked back down to the children, she saw that they were all suddenly holding balloons. Each balloon was color coded to what animatronic that particular child possessed.
"It's time for us to go now," said Susie (the girl who was Chica) with a bittersweet tone.
Jeremy giggled as he began floating. It seemed his balloon was lifting him up. When he was a few feet up, he turned and smiled down on Stella.
"Goodbye, Stella!", he cried before disappearing into the light.
Before long, the other children started floating, too. They all cried their goodbyes as they too disappeared into the light. Stella waved back, trying her darndest not to cry.
There was one child who didn't pass on yet. For a moment, Gabriel (the boy who was Freddy) stood there, looking back to Stella. Then, still clutching his balloon, he ran and hugged her.
"I know my hugs were softer as Freddy, but-", Gabriel was interrupted by Stella saying in a soft voice:
"No, no, it's okay."
They stood embraced for a moment. Then, Gabriel let go and backed up into his original spot. With a bittersweet smile, he said:
"See you on the flip side, Stella." With that, Gabriel let his balloon take him to Paradise...
* * *
2:28 am
All the lights in the apartment came on suddenly. Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. After the candles blew out, he tried flicking on the light switch, but it didn't work. Apparently, the power in the entire building was cut off.
Still, Kyle felt on edge. Was this all part of the ritual? Or, had something gone terribly wrong? He dashed over to Stella.
"Stella!", Kyle called. Then, he stopped. "Stella, are you okay?", he then asked with concern.
Stella stared blankly at nothing, as if in a daze. Then, at the sound of her name, she jolted back to life. She turned to her boyfriend.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay," Stella answered. "Why?"
"Stella...", Kyle said softly. "...you've been crying."
Stella quickly lifted her glasses and brushed her eyes. Sure enough, wet rivers had emerged from them.
The couple were suddenly startled by a loud BANG! noise. They quickly spun to the table, where the sound came from.
Bonnie had fallen forward on the table; his head banged against it. Then, Foxy slid off his chair and fell onto the floor. Chica leaned backwards on her chair, threatening to tip it over.
Goldie completely fell to pieces. Each piece hit the floor and rolled away in a different direction. Finally, Freddy fell face first into the cake. His nose honked sadly when it hit the plate.
Stella went and lifted Freddy's face from the cake. Even covered in cake, she could see its lifelessness. She then turned and glanced at the other animatronics. They all shared the same frozen, blank expression.
All the life and energy they shown throughout the past month had disappeared entirely. Now, they were what they were supposed to be: lifeless mechanical puppets.
"So, they're really gone now, huh?", Kyle asked, putting Stella's thoughts into words. "I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'll miss them."
Stella nodded along to that, with her eyes still glued to the festive but empty scene before her.
"So, now what?", Kyle asked. Stella turned to him.
"Well, we have about three hundred subscribers waiting for these guys to look their best," she answered with a wistful smile. "I guess it's about time we gave them what they want."
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A/N: Hello? Hello, hello? Uh, if you're reading this, that means you're at the end of the story! I've got to say, it's been quite the journey to get here! Hopefully, this will be the first in a long, satisfying writing career :)
I suppose some thanks are in order! Thanks to Scott Cawthon, for creating this amazing series that, even to this day, still continues to inspire me.
Thank you to all you who took time out of their day to read my silly little story.
Special thanks to all you who voted on these chapters. Especially to @flyingpotato1234 , Your continued support helped me keep going.
But, wait! Stick around for the EXTRAS MENU! There will be cut scenes an extra world-building!
-Love, KaneTheSheep 🐑