A/N: self harm warning for this chapter, it's kind of graphic. also sorry for the late update i was crazy sick like crazy insane sick like all the way sick also almost done with the cover lmao.
also i just rn the day after publishing edited the end a tiny bit cause i forgot to add smth lmao
Words: 2870
┌─── ∘°❉ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ❉°∘ ───┐
Footsteps echo throughout the pizzeria. Freddy paces in the main room, Chica trails closely behind him. The 6 AM bell went off some time ago, and Freddy has yet to find (Y/n). Thankfully the dayshift staff really don't take their jobs seriously and never show up as early as they're meant to. That buys him some time, but nothing is concrete. Now he just needs to think, where could Goldie have taken (Y/n)? He's checked every room in the pizzeria at least three times. Goldie must've taken her somewhere else entirely, but where? He really doesn't know. Of course, it is pretty hard to think when there's a frantic blonde at his heels.
"He just threw her around like it was nothing! God, she must've been so scared, he was holding on to her so tight it must've left a bruise. We need to do something- we- we need an icepack, he was holding her too tight-" Chica relayed her witness of the kidnapping for what must be the twentieth time. Freddy knows she's just worried, but the constant mental image of Goldie's hands digging into your shoulders really isn't doing him any good.
Freddy has to admit, he was a little shocked to hear that Goldie was so rough on you. Goldie's always been... intense, anyone knows that, but Freddy knew him better than just anyone. At least he thought he did. There was a time when they were friends, or quiet acquaintances at least. Freddy really had tried to stay amicable with Goldie, even when he was defending you from him, the memory of when they used to be brothers echoed in his mind. He did miss it. He missed the mundane conversations and comfortable silence. He missed the way they could practically have a conversation with eye contact alone, he missed the sleepovers where they'd read books together and talk until they passed out and dear god, how stupid could Freddy be. He stops walking, Chica runs into his back.
"He took her to his room." Freddy says.
Freddy honestly forgot about those old underground storage rooms they'd repurposed. He and the others used to love those rooms, back when they were new and childish. He's surprised that Goldie still uses his.
By the way the others were silent as they watched Freddy pry that dusty panel off the stage floor to reveal an equally dusty staircase, they'd forgotten, too. Bonnie immediately tries to bolt down the stairs, Freddy catches him by the back of his shirt. Freddy leads the group down the stairs and skinny corridor, until they come across the faded door that leads to the room Freddy hasn't dared enter in years.
No one breathes while Freddy peeks through the keyhole. He doesn't know what exactly he was scared of, but he breathes a sigh of relief when he sees the rise and fall of (Y/n)'s chest anyways.
"They're sleeping." Freddy whispers.
"In the same bed?" Bonnie asks.
"...Yes." Freddy looks away.
"What the- move," Foxy pushes Freddy out of the way and looks through the keyhole, "He must've knocked her out, there's no way she could fall asleep next to him, right?"
Freddy is silent.
He motions for everyone to go back upstairs. Bonnie gives him an incredulous look.
"What are you doing? They're right there!" Bonnie says in what barely qualifies as a whisper, "Let's break down the door and kick Goldie's ass!"
Freddy shakes his head, "If we barge in there, he'll wake up and teleport somewhere else. Then we'll never find them."
Bonnie holds his hand out to the door, but ultimately drops it.
"We'll come back after closing." Freddy says as he ushers everyone upstairs and to their places for opening.
Back in the storage room, a golden blonde silently gets out of bed.
Bonnie hops up on stage, preparing to change into his animatronic form, "I don't understand why we couldn't've just fought him then and there. We can take him!"
Just as he speaks, something in the air shifts.
Goldie rushes Bonnie, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and throwing him into the stage wall. Bonnie hits shoulder first with a crack. He pushes himself off the wall, revealing the hole his now dislocated shoulder made.
Foxy sprints towards Goldie, Goldie just sidesteps him and sends him careening towards Bonnie. Chica tries to sneak up behind him with a chair, but he disarms her before she could even swing. He holds her by her bib and readies to swing her into the floor. Freddy takes quiet steps toward Goldie, he reels back, ready to throw a punch.
A vibration through the floor stops everyone in their tracks. Goldie turns his head to look at Freddy, they have the same thought.
A car must've pulled into the parking lot.
"Don't even think about trying to take her away from me." Goldie drops Chica and teleports away.
─── ∘❉(・⊝・)❉∘ ───
You wake up to yelling. You sit up and see Goldie shouting through the door, now barricaded with a shelf.
"Go away!" He yells.
It takes you some time to make out what is being yelled on the other side of the door through the banging, you realize it's your friends.
"I swear if you hurt her-" That sounds like Foxy.
"I didn't hurt her!" Goldie yells, enraged.
With every bang the barricade shifts. The door is about to open.
You make a run toward the door, only to be intercepted by Goldie. He catches you from behind and wraps his arms around your stomach, pulling you close to him. He speaks low in your ear,
"If you go with them, I'll kill them."
Your heart skips a beat. He'll kill them. You can't let that happen, and you don't care what that means for you, you can't let your friends die because of you.
"Guys, I'm okay!" You yell through the door. You think you hear them shout your name when the barricade comes crashing down and the door slams open. Goldie teleports away just in time for you to barely get a glimpse of your friends' worried faces.
Teleporting isn't nearly as jarring now as it was the first time. Probably because Goldie's holding you more securely. You recognize your surroundings, you're in that storage room you saw on the office cameras. So you're above ground, that's not good. There are only so many rooms in the pizzeria and it's only a matter of time before your friends find you. You don't know how far Goldie's willing to go to keep you.
Goldie lets go of you and swiftly moves to the door. He drags the shelves and boxes in front of it, though he seems tired. He's breathing heavily and sways on his feet. Just as he gets the door properly blocked you hear knocking on the other side of it.
"Why are you doing this?" You ask him.
"...They'll never let me see you." He answers without looking at you.
"They don't control me," You say, "I could see you whenever I want."
He turns to face you, monochrome eyes.
"You wouldn't want to."
He barely whispers it, but even that is too much. His brows bunch up and he takes shaky deep breaths. From afar, he looks mad. But from here you can see him in full detail and you realize he's trying not to cry. You know what that's like.
You've been him. You've had to claw your way to affection for most of your life. To this day, whenever you get it, it doesn't feel real. But sometimes, you can trick yourself into thinking you deserve it. When it inevitably gets ripped away, you don't feel sad. You stopped feeling sad after the first couple of times. Now, you just feel mad. Not at your abandoners, but at yourself, for thinking you were worth anything good. You see that now in Goldie.
"You don't know that." You answer with tears in your eyes. He turns his head away from you, anger etched into his features.
"Goldie." He snaps his head toward you. His gaze softens the second his eyes meet yours. The black in his scleras fades to white and his irises return to that deep ocean blue.
The makeshift barricade creaks with each bang against the door. You hear someone, you're not sure who, say your name, and you turn towards the door on reflex. That's all it takes for Goldie to go back to his closed off default, his eyes snap back to black and he snarls.
"You're lying." Disappointed, not mad.
Goldie positions himself between you and the door. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a purple switchblade. Oh God, he doesn't plan to use that on your friends, does he? You pull on his arm.
"Can't we just teleport away?"
He shakes his head, "Not right now."
That must be why he seems so tired, he's teleported too much. The door opens a crack, not enough to see whoever's on the other side, but enough that sound travels more clearly. You need to warn your friends.
"Please stop!" You yell, "Just stop! Just leave, please!"
The efforts to get the door open pause.
"What do you mean?" That sounds like Freddy, "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, please just go." You start crying halfway through your sentence.
"Is he hurting you?" Freddy says, "What's going on?"
"He's not hurting me," You cry, "But if I go with you he'll kill you."
There's a moment of silence from the other side of the door before a groan.
"Are you serious, Goldie?" Freddy says.
It seems like all the tension on Freddy's end of the door has been extinguished, though you're not sure why. You look up at Goldie but he doesn't look back at you. He just fidgets with his knife and sighs.
"Goldie, what's going on?" You ask.
He turns to you, not looking you in the eye.
"Watch."
He holds his palm out to you and rolls up his sleeve. With a fluidity that suggests practice, he slits his wrist.
You don't realize how bad it is at first. There's a second where the cut doesn't bleed, it's just a yellowish line. Then, the blood wells up and pours out of the wound mercilessly. Similarly, fat tears fall out of your eyes. It's like you're on autopilot. Your hands fly to shakily press on the cut the best you can. That's what you're meant to do, right? When someone cuts themself in front of you? The blood is slippery and coats your palms entirely, you can't get firm pressure. You can't stop the bleeding.
Goldie doesn't show any indication of being in pain, he takes the both of your hands in his uninjured one and stops you from helping. He shushes you, a vague attempt at comfort.
"Shh," He croons, "Just watch."
Tiny fibers of tissue bridge the gap of the cut. You have no idea what you're looking at. Like some sort of expansive web, the skin connects and smooths over the cut. There's still blood, but the actual wound is gone. It's healed.
"What the hell." You whisper.
"(Y/n)," Goldie says, "We're immortal."
"What- wait hold on," You stutter, "You can't die? Any of you?" Goldie doesn't answer.
"So, what, you were trying to trick me?" You accuse, "You made me fear for my friends' lives all so I would stay with you?" You rip your hands out of his grasp and try to walk toward the door, but Goldie grabs you by the arm.
"What the hell!" You yell as he pulls you back, "Get off me!"
He turns you toward him and holds you tight to his chest in an honest to God hug. You freeze in shock but quickly shake it off and push against him harshly. He only tightens his hold on you.
Right on cue, Freddy breaks the door down and enters the room. Goldie takes a staggering step toward Freddy.
"You don't want to do this, Goldie." Freddy warns.
Goldie holds the switchblade out shakily.
"You have no idea what I want to do."
Freddy walks toward Goldie with a purpose, gets right in front of him, then stops. Freddy nods his head to you, Goldie follows his gaze. The brothers make eye contact and nod. A quiet moment of understanding. Freddy takes you by the shoulders and pushes you out of the room. When you turn back around to try to get in he's already closed the door. It doesn't open, he must've barricaded it again.
"Guys-" You're cut off by a crash, they've started fighting. You bang on the door desperately, this is exactly what you wanted to avoid. You yell for them to stop but they probably can't even hear you. They're getting hurt and it's all your fault.
You jump at the feeling of a hand on your shoulder and turn to see Foxy's worried face.
"(Y/n)," He says, "Are you okay?" He checks you for injuries and visibly relaxes when he finds you have none.
"I-I'm okay," You say, "But-"
"They're fighting in there?" Foxy says. You nod and he begins to walk you back to the main room.
"Wait," You're too tired to really resist his herding, but he stops when you do nonetheless, "We can't leave them. Goldie, he had a knife."
Foxy wipes a stray tear off your face.
"It's okay," He says, "we can't die."
You look at him with confusion in your eyes as he sits on the edge of the stage with you.
"We have a lot to explain."
It doesn't take long for Bonnie and Chica to join you on the stage, and it's only a few more minutes before Freddy arrives, too. The only evidence he's been in a fight is the slight damage to his clothes. He sits down.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
"Yeah," You say, "are you?"
He chuckles humorlessly and nods. It's silent for a while, you'll have to be the one to start this conversation.
"Goldie said, um" You start, "He said that you're all immortal."
Freddy sighs, "That's right."
"How?" You ask.
"Did you ever look up anything about the company?" Freddy asks. You nod and he continues, "So, you know about the missing kids."
"Yeah," You say, "I saw some old articles about it online."
You're not sure where he's going with this, but you have an inkling. You recall seeing some posts alleging that the pizzeria is haunted. With what you saw with Goldie, that doesn't seem so far-fetched.
Freddy looks down. You think this is it, Freddy's shut down and no one else is talking. Once again, you won't get the full story. Then, Foxy speaks.
"Back in the 80s," Foxy says, "we used to love this place. I used to beg my parents to take me. The animatronics used to be different back then. A yellow rabbit and bear."
Oh.
"One day," Bonnie adds, "The rabbit told us to follow him..."
"He killed us." Chica states, "Stuffed our bodies in the suits, no one found us. The guys don't remember, but he got me first. I saw everything."
Oh God.
"He was never caught and our souls never moved on." She says, "Time went by and we learned how to move the suits. All we wanted was to be people again, so we found out how to do that, too."
"I'm so sorry." You say.
Bonnie nods and takes your hands in his.
"It's not all bad." He wipes Goldie's now dried blood off your hands with his sleeve, "We grew up, and now we have you."
"Why didn't you tell me?" You ask, tears in your eyes. You're not upset at them, you just wish they didn't have to bear this all on their own.
"Because if you found out the truth you'd leave." Bonnie says.
You stare at him for a moment, then laugh.
"Why would that make me leave?"
Now it's Bonnie's turn to laugh.
"Why wouldn't that make you leave?"
"Oh, so being friends with animatronics is okay but ghosts are too far?"
"Yes! I don't know! Maybe!"
The others now have smiles on their faces, you're glad. They'd looked so broken up before.
"I'm glad you aren't upset by it." Freddy says.
"I promise I'm not." You respond, "plus I can't just up and leave, I really need this job."
"You need this job specifically? I'm pretty sure the pay is so low it's illegal." Foxy says. Freddy elbows him.
"Do you want me to quit."
"No!"
"Don't diss my paycheck."
A yawn breaks you out of your banter. You lean on Bonnie, who seems very happy. You rest your eyes and try to figure out exactly how long you were with Goldie. It was the end of your shift Friday night when he took you, and seeing as it's nighttime and the pizzeria is closed now, it's probably Saturday night now– or Sunday morning. Your sense of time is really messed up.
"Don't let me fall asleep okay?" You mumble into Bonnie's arm.
"Okay," He laughs, "I won't."
└─── °∘❉U ･ × ･ U❉∘° ───┘
A/N: btw in the original freddy blindfolded y/n instead of kicking her out but like i couldn't make that part not like awkward so i changed it