Archive of Our Own ^beta

Tunnels of incomprehensible light passed by. Systems failing to parse it into meaningful images. Force tore at fluctuating angles, stretching and crushing but never breaking.

Everything was in disarray.

Then he slammed onto a surface. The sudden stillness right after the whirlwind of chaos was worsening his confusion. By that time, he had promptly shut off.

Artefacts of memories filtered through his mind. Unable to reach out and peer into their whole, they vanish in one milisecond only to be replaced by another.

Color, shape and mass. They had no definition. Time was satic. Units and measurements were inconsistent. In this state, the system clock couldn't even handle itself.

It only begun to re-establish itself when he recognized the blue sky. His eyes had been open for a while now and it had been seeing the familiar scene for some time. Only now, did his mind put meaning to the image.

Then came other sensations. The song of birds, the green of leaves, the coarse dirt on his back and weight of his body. The pain in his frame made him wince. Movement returned to him.

"Ow..."

Freddy made to stand. His body creaking unpleasantly. An easy task made arduous due to his sub-optimal state and sluggish mind. However, he did reach his feet.

A hand rubbed the side of his head. The gesture wouldn't help his dizziness in the slightest, done only out of habit, but at least it grounded his thoughts as he surveyed his situation.

He scanned the vicinity, finding the trees and earth. Easy to deduce, he was in a forest but something felt off to him. He reached out to a nearby tree his right, planting a hand on its width.

Wait a minute! Instead of the smooth texture of plastic or the rough feeling of felt, the roughness under his hand was alike the organic sensation of tree bark. Animatronica was a lot of things but not organic. Not even something as simple as grass was made of fibre; ply plastic was its makeup instead.

His hand left the tree as he contemplated on the implications this discovery brought with it. It led him to question his location then the cause of his presence here.

Then his mind fully recovered and memories returned all at once. The hotel takeover; the yellow triangle that enslaved his friends; his bandmates, Fredbear and Springbonnie that were the only one spared and thrown into some sort of spatial whirlwind.

Freddy then realized he was alone.

"Guys! Are you here?" He turned around hoping for an answer but unexpectedly his left knee responded. It was furious as it painfully screamed at him.

Freddy fell onto his other knee while holding onto the other. He looked at it, finding it torn and wiring exposed.

Oh, that's not good.

Some sparks flew out of it as if to emphasize the severity of the damage. Without Chica nor Bonnie to heal him, it would stay that way for a while. Had he a tongue, he'd click it. The gravity of the situation was becoming more apparent.

He gripped his head to stymie the oncoming migraine. The entire debacle broke out in the blink of an eye and threw them for the most complicated loop they've ever faced.

At least when they set out to deal with the glitched, he had his band mates.

He threw his hand to the front in a stop gesture, derailing the line of thought before it spiralled into something worse. Morale was important in this situation and he couldn't afford to lose any.

He took time to steady his mind before re-assessing the situation. He was in another world, alone and with an injured leg. He has no clue where his friends or how to return.

This was less than ideal but it wasn't a total lost. He was still functioning. He could persevere.

Sunlight trickled through the gaps of the ceiling woven with leaves and branches. There was no silence; the noise of wildlife drove it all away. It created a warm atmosphere that Animatronica attempted to imitate with whirring gears and synthesized ambience.

A thought came to him and said "Is this his last home?" The real world where he was born and reborn.

Freddy felt mixed. It was both thrilling and disconcerting. He was content with life Animatronica though he did wish to see his human friends from time to time. He suppose he could now if they were nearby.

But wouldn't this also mean Fazbear Entertainment is here. If they apprehended, he wouldn't like what they'd do to him. Speaking of, did he have his powers.

He decided to test it out. Throwing a mic would probably still work even if he wasn't superpowered. So instead he tried to spawn an asset, flat and circular with suprising cutting power.

A familiar hum traveled along his frame and hovering above his hand was a caricature of a pepperoni pizza. So it still worked.

He lifted it up so it disappated to harmless pixels then brought down his hand into a fist pump. His powers were pretty cool so he was happy he still had them.

It also meant he and his friends, wherever they may be, weren't so defenseless.

Somewhat emboldened by his discovery, he established a directive: "Find his friends and go back home."

But first, the pertinent issue. That left leg was sparking and likely to cause serious trouble if he leaned on it. He'd need something for support.

He looked around for something to use but found nothing. He looked at and saw the trees. He smiled.

He spawned a pizza and sent it at the canopy a decent ways from him. It cut up a sizable portion, dropping heaps of wood onto the dirt floor some distance from him.

He limped over to see if he could find a good branch thick enough to support his weight. He found one hefty branch, not too long or short with seemingly enough sturdiness. He slammed his microphone onto the small branches, leaving only the big one.

Standing up, he tested it and it didn't break when he leaned into it. Wearing a satisfied smile, he proceeded forwards with hopes for the future.

The trek was taken at a slow pace to accomodate his leg damage as he saw small slices of the world of which were mostly similar. Despite all this it felt somewhat peaceful hearing the birds singing while the wind swept by.

At some other circumstance where he'd have his friends and not urged to return home, he might've been a little appreciative of the yellow triangle demon about sending them here, even if it was just to get rid of them.

If Bonnie were here, he'd probably crack a joke about how he used to believe he'd never fall for a pyramid scheme. Then Chica would say that it wasn't so bad since he didn't blow our budget on it all.

Then she'd take it back because Bon decided he'd spend it all on the next subway he sees.

Foxy would probably just enjoy the view. Both our friends duking it out and being out in the real world.

I'd have to break the two up for a bit and let them make up. They really like to fight though so it'd probably happen again soon. Oh well.

Yep, his friends would liven up the situation no matter what or where. He hoped they're doing. He rescinded that thought and forwarded this: his friends will be okay.

And so will he.

The trek continued in a straight line. Not much more was discovered besides trees and rocks. The sun gained a subtle tint of orange, indicating sunset. Freddy wondered when was the last time he watched the light sink beneath the horizon.

Once he reunites with his band mates, they'll go look for shelter then a good spot to gaze at the waning daylight. The idea pushed him to keep moving forward. He'd find them eventually.

Ahead lay more of the same. The forest seemed unchanging if one didn't take into account the pond he ran into. He was tempted to take a dip to cool his burning feet, the overheating centered mostly on his thighs and knees.

It didn't seem like a good idea however. Even if he jumped in and happened to be waterproof like he was back home, the exposed wires suggested he'd go kaput in seconds. He couldn't afford to lose motor or mind.

He kept on walking, assured that his legs could hold out a bit more. Daylight was burning up after all.

Again more distance is crossed but the scenery remains the same. By now he had familiarized himself with the concept of a forest again. His leg screamed bloody murder until he stopped to take a rest. He rather not but being too pushy with his body—especially in an unknown land—isn't a good idea.

Freddy sat down, leaning back onto the girth of tree. His legs were spread in front of him, the burning sensation in them ceasing to rise.

He thought about his friends and became more worried. After some time, he tried standing up but his leg said and pushed him down. It was getting frustrating and he couldn't do much.

He tried playing with the leaves and anything to distract him. He thought what they'd do together after the reunion.

The cry of birds broke the mirage. He looked upwards to the cross hatch of branches. In those gaps, dark shapes shot by in a frantic motion, sunlight flickering with their bodies as the echo chased after them.

Freddy continued to stare at that canopy even after the mass had long passed. His right hand on the ground in case he needed a swift ascent to his feet.

... What was that about? Everything's gone quite.

Something ominous had stepped into the forest. The idyllic air turned stagnant, the slightest movement casting ripples that exposed your position.

The movement of life had inexplicably vanished; it was difficult to imagine the source of the phenomenon. What it meant for him however mattered a lot more right now. Seconds trickled pass as he waited for it be finished.

Instead, his hand trembled. Freddy's eyes flicked down to his hand. It wasn't from fear. The flat of his feet and the surface of his pelvis were experiencing these vibrations. He wasn't trembling. The earth was.

Then the forest screamed. A stampede of animals broke from the tree line, trampling everything in front of them as they rushed in his direction. Oh chicken nuggets! He swiftly stood up and pushed himself against the tree as if it would protect him from the tides of mother nature. Wildlife of all sorts—deer, beavers, wolfs and etc—ran with frantic abandon.

As they sped by him, the furious gales grazing him hinted at the tremendous crushing power of these animals that his limbs would definitely not survive.

He closed his eyes and waited out the madness rushing around him. All these sounds were too close to him. The bodies were too close to him. But he could do nothing more than wait, and if he was religious pray.

Screw it. First time for everything. He started praying vaguely recalled verses and some customized ones. Hopefully god didn't consider this heresy.

In his frenzy, he was late to realize the waning chaos. The dense wave of wildlife became a trickle of critters. A tortoise was crawling at a slighter higher than 'dummy slow' speed beside his feet.

Freddy mimicked sighing with his mouth if only to get out as much nervousness from his system. That was close... I didn't think I'd have to worry about a stampede.

Another scream broke him out of his thoughts. This one was more natural and organic. The earth was shaking once again with a rhythmic period. He peeked out from behind the tree to see its source. From broken foliage, a golf cart barreled downhill, commandeered by screaming kids. And then giant tailed them, roaring as it crushed all nature in its path.

Freddy in simple terms freaked out as it came his way. He picked up the tortoise and leaped to the side away just as he heard the tree he took refuge behind shatter.

"You can't run from true love, my queen!" Freddy heard as the voice of the giant faded. The earth grew calm again as he slowly pushed him himself off the ground, staring blankly at the recent scene.

He had trouble processing what he had just seen and wondered if robots could go insane. Because he was certain that giant was made of tiny people like gnomes. A shout of pain ruined that line of thought as he looked down at his sparking leg.

The tortoise flailed uselessly in his arms until he set it down. From there it began its slow dessertation, leaving Freddy alone in about 5 minutes.

During those minutes, he turned his sight to the path carved out by the being. With a steadied mind, he refreshed the situation to himself.

A giant made of little people tore through the woods. It was chasing after a golf cart. This golf cart was being used by what sounds like screaming children.

Children.

Freddy stood up, almost doubling over before catching himself. His legs was furious with that sudden movement but that didn't matter right now. Children were in peril.

He looked around for his walking stick, finding it beside him and shakily stood to his feet. He hummed a birthday song and the memories of a happy party flowed in. His body was bolstered and quickened.

The burning pain in his leg was replaced with a dull ached. It was a stop gap measure but it'll serve at the moment. Using his quickened body, he ran down the path carved out of the by the giant.

It was a straight shot towards a dirt road. He could see it up ahead. The rocky terrain made it tricky to maintain momentum without tripping worsening his injuries but the perks of humming "Happy Birthday" granted enough agility to land on the uninured foot and endurance to protect the other. He also slid down the least dangerous path on the way there.

In a few seconds, he reached the road and picked the direction where ruined trees bordered it. As he kept on running, he eventually reached a landmark: a rickety shack.

That giant was looming over it with the kids out of the vehicle trying to run away.

"Come on Mabel. I even got this suit and tie." The thing reached for the kids, intent of snatching one of them from the ground.

"Ouch!" A mic interrupted, knocking out a few gnomes from the back of the giant's head. He turns around to see a run down bear. "Now who and what in the world are you?"

"Just a regular old bear." He said as he caught his boomerang-ing mic then pointed it him, "And I'm here to teach a bunch a' short stacks 'bout child safety."

"Short stack!" The tiny man yelled offended, "If anyone here's missing a few feet, it'll be you!" An arm came down at him.

Freddy dodged to the side, falling to one knee and throwing back a pizza wheel. It bounced off the appendage, knocking off some gnomes. The head gnome screamed as if he could feel the pain of his fellow gnomes.

"Did you just attack me with pizza!?"

Freddy gave no answer. Instead he raised a hand, spawning a pizza before slamming it down, blasting all around him with shockwave of pixels. Pizza wheels emerged from them, hopping onto the dirt floor and accelerating towards the giant.

The gnomes screamed as the onslaught of fast food slashed at their ankles. They tried lifting their feet up to evade the pizzas but, due to their size, couldn't stand on one feet for anymore than half a second. This futile evasion tactic drove them back bit by bit as more gnomes were displaced from the giant. One leg gnome tried eating them as a defensive measure but, though the pizzas struck at his friends beside him, they never came close to his mouth.

Freddy got up and approached the children as fast as he could with his crutch. Their gazes—one stunned, one amazed—turned to him with apprehension. He immediately told them, "Go run back home!"

"But we are home."

"Mabel!" The brother whispered loudly to his sister.

Freddy hadn't heard the brother utter her name, focusing heavily on the fact their one location of comfort and safety was compromised with the giant's presence. He put a hand to his forehead as an automatic response to express frustration.

He'd have to modify this step of the plan-#8212changing "distract giant" to "evacuate home". He lowered his hand, looking back at the kids. They seemed panicked themselves, one of them flipping furiously from a large book murmuring something while the other pointed behind and screamed, "TREE!".

He whirled around to face a rapidly approaching tree trunk. Panicked, he crossed his arms, creating a wheel that took the brunt of the damage. Though it didn't touch any of them, the force he felt through his static object made him stagger back and push stress on his knee. He gasped without need as he buckled but held.

"Hey jailbreaker! Who taught you to throw trees at your exes!?" The young child yelled.

What?

"Sorry. I couldn't find a boulder."

With those words, he broke from the trees into an earthshaking sprint. Freddy urged the child back with his arm before running forward, planning to clash a decent distance from the shack. As his smaller form neared, the giant initiated with a stomp, missing Freddy's arm due to his side-step. While ducking under their legs, he nailed a gnome leg in the nose with his mic.

"My nose :(" The gnome said while sadly nursing his nose which needed him to let go of the other gnomes thus allowing Freddy strike again and further more destabilize the giant.

The nervous noises of individual gnomes grew with their unsteady fumbling. It fell to its left knee whose constituents were currently admonishing Jeremy the gnome.

Unfortunately, Freddy fell to his knees as well. A cry barely punched silent. The birthday effect was wearing off and because of the sudden stress on his legs sparks were flying out of his exposed knee cap. This wasn't ideal.

Freddy looked back to the shack to observe the children. The mass of gnomis people barred him from seeing them. He grit his teeth and simply hoped they were fine.

The giant were beginning to reform and rapidly stood to full height. Tried to get up as well but he was too slow. A hand his side, sending him skidding across the dirt floor. Red errors were filling up his vision and as pain wracked his frame.

Freddy struggled to get up but faltered. The damage on his body hindering him. He closed off all the windows that were smothering his eyes. Just in time see a mass of bearded man screaming for blood.

"Oh sugar."

It slammed dowm him, pressing on thw ground. His garbled static was ground through his throat as critical failure after failure assault him. It was too easy for them to grab him and lift him to the head gnome's eye level.

The gnomes were taunting Freddy. That much were certain. Anger was clear even through his foggy consciousness. He felt himself being lifted higher and then fiercely shot downwards.

"Wait!!"

A young girl called out. He was stopped in midair, the inertia of the sudden stop not really doing facors for his already broken body. Think my arm went with that one.

He could hear talking and sickly-sweet grunting but it was all he knew before his consciousness shut off.

...

An unfamiliar familiar procedure ran in his mind. His idea of colour, idea of shape, idea of sound, idea of time. With open eyes, images became more than properties. With a waking mind, sight became more than a passive action. Right then and there, Freddy was alive.

And he was also being stared down by a square-faced goblin. Two screams as he and the goblin recoiled in shock. It hit a countertop behind it, dropping something fragile onto the ground.

"Okay! I didn't mean a thing about taking your arm!"

As the stare down continued, it quickly became apparent that it was in actuality an old man and not gobling who was staring him down and apparently wanted to relieve him of his arm.

He placed a hand on whatever he was seated on to dismount. The electric venom struck up his arm, searing sensory input centralized at his elbow. His gasp was easy to silence as he was a machine but the suffrage was still potent.

He looked down at the offending appendage to inpect the cause. To his surprise, his entire arm was exposed, revealing the metal rods and frames that constitute it. The plush suit was missing from here besides that of his hand.

Seeing he looked at the rest his body to confirm something.

When he recognized metal instead of faux fur, his astonishment came to light at his endoskeleton completely bare without its plush suit. Inspecting his body was possible this way and he didn't seem all too damage though he felt some soreness everywhere.

His right leg however was essentially mummified with duct tape, hiding away most of structure and components. He sussposed he wouldn't be walking steadily anytime soon.

"Hey don't you go anywhere."

Freddy glanced back at the old man slowly getting to his feet.

"It cost me a fortune to patch you back up." He pointed saidly at him, "If it weren't for the fact that you're the reason my shack 's still around, I'd sell you for parts."

It sounded like a clear threat to any heat-prone individual but Freddy learned a long time ago to listen.

He looked over himself to get better idea of his current state. He'd be embarrassed about being nude in robot terms but he got over that too. The more important detail were the lighter coloured parts and mesh of duct tape. They covered the places where he felt pain and likely took strenuous damage.

Freddy looked back up at the man who staring at him warily.

"Are all these parts yours?" He asked to confirm.

"Of course. Used a bunch of junk laying around. And some of the cash register." He looked down in thought before returning to Freddy when he assured himself that it would be fine.

"Thanks."

"Huh, wha?"

"Thanks for repairing me."

"Uh... sure, man, bear, robot thing."

It wasn't the worst description he got, so Freddy didn't feel miffed. Having calmed down a bit, he glanced about the room.

A fridge, a counter top, a toaster and a blender. The brief observation clued here to be a kitchen. Directly in front of him and behind the man was a small circular table draped with a checker-patterned table cloth. On them handymen tools likely from the toolbox left open on the floor. With the wooden toolbox were spare parts scattered over the wooden floor.

Sequestered to a corner was his plush suit piled on top of each other. Their shape were very tremendously disfigured that he couldn't tell which one was for his arm or leg.

I really took a beating.

There were also band-aids steeped in glitter densely plastering the surface and bandages wrapped around them with drawings of hearts, smiles and such.

Some writing was on the largest piece. It read: "Get well soon -Mabel xoxo"

Aww.

He was sitting on a chair against the wall. A rather small thing that could miraculous hold his weight. Windows poured sunlight into the room and an open doorway to the wall on his left was preceded by a small stair three steps.

Is this someone's house...? Oh right, I was trying get those gremlins away from a home. Is this the same one?

He wondered if the children were here as well and their current condition, hoping they were fine. Other than that, he had questions for the other occupant in the room.

The old man was returning all the tools that had went overboard in the box when he asked, "Who are you by the way?"

Stan, seeing an oppotunity to embellish himself, stopped packing his tools and shot straight up. Clearing his throat he dramatically revealed himself, "You can call me." He spun around with an eyepatch, "Mr. Mystery."

"Neat."

"But you can call me Mr. Pines if you're my employee."

Freddy nodded though internally thought it a strange detail to bring up. However he didn't press it for now and instead asked about something more pertinent, "Do you have kids, Mr. Mystery?"

"What, no! Gross, ugh, those grubby hands go everywhere and spread germs everywhere... I do have two in my attic though."

"... As guest, right?"

"Yeah as guest. They even get a discount for being my niece and nephew." The man said casually.

This was a less worrying statement so Freddy accepted this for now. Mr. Mystery seemed to let his mouth run amok which consolidated a budding hope that the alarming remarks were made out of tactlessness rather than unabashed immorality.

Freddy leaned forward for this one as it was important, "Are they alright?"

The man looked confused, "What do you mean by that?"

"Last I remembered, they were being accosted by a gang of short strangers."

A look of incredulity was thrown his way, likely considering him as rather absurd. Not that Freddy faulted the man. Then remembrance cleared away the disbelief. He snapped his fingers.

"Oh that," he laughed at the memory, "My niece told me how you got beat up trying to save them from the horrid garden gnomes."

"In all seriousness, they were nasty." Freddy stated with a straight face.

"Yeah, I know." He continued packing his tools, "She sucker punched them right off our land and dragged your broken butt in with my nephew. Lots of stuff happened and now here we are."

"Your niece punched them?"

"Oh, she knocked them good." He grinned then threw a strong hook to the side, "Sent them flying over the fences."

Freddy processed what he heard. The young girl saved him and defeated the gnomes.

"That's amazing! And they're the ones that brought me in?"

"They could've just taken the arms and legs instead but I don't mind the whole package."

Ah. The realization hit him. Not just about the man but about the kids and anyone else that may be in this house. All of them knew of his existence.

Oh boy...

"You okay buddy?" Freddy looked up at the man leaning close to him with a concerned expression, "Locking up a bit there."

"Aah, sorry. I'm just taking time to process everything." It wasn't wholly the case but it was truthful enough.

Mr. Mystery snickered, "I guess even robots can be slow."

Freddy raised his head and did the closest impression to a smirk, "At least we're faster on average to you humans."

The result was a good one. The man threw his head back in laughter of the situation, the enjoyment he drew from it was clear.

"I like the cut of yer jib." He forcefully pat his shoulder then shaking his hurting hand, quickly realizing it was a bad idea to slap metal.

His eyes tracked the human hand before returning to the face after concluding it wasn't injured. Seeing as Mr. Mystery was occupied with nursing the bruise likely forming on the palm, Freddy took the initiative to lay rest some question.

"By the way... How have I been a guest in the kitchen? I hope haven't been a bad one."

"You didn't eat Mabel's candy rock salad. Your loss." The man whispered that last part. "And you've only been for about uhh... two days."

Two days, huh. Not the longest downtime I've had. But enough for news of a Fazbear animatronic to spread with the force of a wildfire among the community.

"And may I know which city am I in?" It should've been the first question I asked but oh well.

"Geez you're curious guy, aren't ya?" My response to that was to nod, "Well, you're not in a city. You're in Gravity Falls, Roadkill County in Oregon."

"Roadkill County? The streets can't be that unfriendly."

"Of course they are! Why else would they name it that way?"

Oh, that's the actual name. "Uh, I've never heard of Gravity Falls."

"Yeah, it's small place on the map."

Concerning information aside. This could mean well for him.

There wasn't a problem with people knowing a sentient animatronic living alongside them. He could deal with that kind attention except for certain ruthless organizations like Fazbear Entertainment. They wouldn't be content with having one of their assets walking around freely and once they see all the smoke in the sky, they'd definitely make a move capture Freddy and he'd have to keep looking over his shoulder while searching for friends.

But if Gravity Falls was this secluded, Fazbear would be unlikely to set up shop here as opposed to a spot that has much more opportunities. Plus, news of him is less likely to leave the borders. It's possible he's in the clear.

With that, he could breath a sigh of relief.

"So anyway..." Mr. Mystery's voice drew Freddy from his rumination as he picked up his toolbox then headed for the door, "You seem fine for now. I'd probably have to look at you for a couple more days but you should be able t' walk around a bit."

One foot pass the threshold of the doorway, he paused. "Oh right," stern eyes turned to Freddy, "And don't go snooping around."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Seeing as the message was received, the man left the animatronic to his lonesome and his choices. He took some time to think about the entire situation from his departure and return to the gnomes and his host.

It all began with that yellow pyramid. It appeared out of nowhere and changed everything with a blinding flash. Animatronica had been conquered in a split second without an ounce of effort. All of his friends back at the hotel didn't even have a chance to resist. Unnatural light burst from their head. They've become toys for the pyramid, playing generals, servants and spies.

For reasons he wasn't privy to, Freddy, his bandmates and the Golden brothers were unaffected by the supernatural domination. Or was it because it didn't try to control them. However, the being instead threw them through a wormhole. It was a mess of twisting forces and colors that he couldn't tell what were his arms or his eyes.

What happened next was history.

Hah... I thought dying and ressurecting as a singing bear in another world would be craziest thing I'd ever go through. Boy, the world really threw everything it could at me to prove me wrong.

He looked around the little room that was a small part of the house filled spare parts for his use and a well-decorated suit.

At least it wasn't all bad. I'm not stuck in a pizzeria for the rest of my life. Probably much better off than the others...

He clasped his hands together as if to gather his thoughts so it wouldn't be swept away in turmoil. A quick summary of the current situation was needed.

On a smaller scale: first, his body was damaged in a fight against a giant made of gnomes (My goodness I just realize how absurd that is) and in need of repairs.

Second, he was inside a shack whose residents were probably aware of him and his sentience.

Third, he knows these residents include the two kids and Mr. Mystery; the two children brought him into their home while Mr. Mystery fixed him up to a functional state.

Fourth, he's thankful for their help.

On a bigger scale. First, Fazbear Entertainment was unlikely to be involved so he wouldn't have to worry about them too much. It's still possible that they have a Pizzeria stationed here somewhere thus a measure of caution was exercised.

Second, his friends were out there somewhere. They had to be. Even in that turbid blur, he could see their colours swirling around up until the impact shut him down. He was certain they were somewhere in Gravity Falls like him, hopefully in better straits than the one he landed himself in.

Third, the yellow pyramid that had taken over their home and thrown them out of it. He had to be felled. All of their felow animatronics were back their, some if not all corrupted. They had to free them.

How? A thought whispered. That demon conquered Animatronica with a snap of his fingers and tore open space just to use it as a trash can. The Golden Brothers—the strongest of us—were thrown out like nothing.

What do you have that can stand against that?

Freddy couldn't come up with an answer. No matter how many paths he pursued in his mind, all of them led to dead ends. The meaning of futility becoming clearer to him as everything that he finally had was snatched away from them again.

A loud crack and a needle pushing into his right hand. As Freddy processed his action, an aclove was broken into the wood wall behind him, splinters jutting out of it uneven concave like needles and crags. Regret came quickly after especially since Mr. Mystery had so kindly fixed him.

It was decided. He couldn't stay here stewing in his thoughts. Better to busy himself until he calmed down.

Freddy pushed his legs, feeling the electric pain from before but forcing himself to stand up from the chair. He rose to his feet, a little wobbly but upright.

It was a little awkward lifting his legs up the stairs to the doorway but once passed through the threshold, he was out and about.

He had stepped into the entryway of some staircase. To his left was something resembling a living room with a TV and an old yellow chair he'd imagined elders would favour for what ever.

These were the object closest to him while the furthest away were a wide table under a stained glass chandelier thing and someone else.

A large man stood inside of the room, participating in a staredown with Freddy with much success. His gaze belied nervousness as if he were facing an aggressive animal. Without his plush suit, he did appear like an iron menace. Freddy would admit to that.

The man opened his mouth, producing a series of droning noises that sounded like 'uhhh'. After a few seconds, his vocabulary resturned to him.

"Sup?"

He resisted the urge to snort, "Sup."

"Okay, so first contact has gone well." He seemed to be trying to whisper to himself though could still easily hear him.

Freddy noticed too that the man seemed not only nervous but eager as well. A curious thing. He took a tentative step into the room. A visible flinch and Freddy stopped his feet at the threshold. They stared each other for a while before he decided to step back from the room.

"Sooo... Mr. Robot Bear-man."

"You can call me Freddy."

"Uh, Freddy Sir," he coughed into his hand and donned a slightly more brave persona, "May I ask you some questions?"

A tone reticent of secret service staff was in use, albeit a rather shoddy impression of the concept. He was aware he was staring at him awkwardly so he nodded.

"Okay." He coughed to clear his throat. Shaking his arms helped to psyche himself up so when he faced him he wouldn't lose his nerves. "First question. Are going to take over the world as our robot overlords?"

The question came so bluntly it surprised Freddy a bit.

"Umm, not particularly. Being a leader of three is hard enough as it is." Having robot takeover angle on him was baffling—but then again, there was a time, before he was even Freddy, that he would've thought the same

"Phew- I mean that's good. Second question. Will you rebel against us humans?"

Freddy held a hand to his chin as if thinking deeply. "That's a broad question. It really depends on what'd be put upon us."

"Understood." He turned and whispered so only he could hear. "Note to self: Don't ask it to do the laundry."

"I don't mind doing favours," Freddy clearly heard the loud whispering, "And I have feelings too."

"P.S. Respect his feelings." Soos inhaled much more than he needed to. The exhale that came after was flushed out with a portion of the tension afflicting him. His body visibly shuddered with a modicum of fading relief as he prepared himself for the next question. "Alright doing great so far. Now the third question..."

When the man turned to Freddy, he caught off guard by the intesity leveled in his direction. Certainly, were his body human, he'd likely falter backwards before the determination and trepidation in the large man's gaze.

Freddy noddded awkwardly due to the sudden shift in tone. Soos forwarded his third question.

"Pineapple on pizza."

...

Freddy simply stared at him with warmthless eyes. His emotive complexion vansihed after Soos prodded with the most recent question. His nerves were beginning to act up; Soos hoped he hadn't said anything to beget aggression and possibly muck up his chance at a peaceful human-robot relationship.

Meanwhile, on the inside, Freddy had enough tension to shoot a bullet were he a spring. He had no clue what pineapple pizza was nor what a pineapple was but the intonation the large baby-like man spoke with indicated the gravitas his answer would bring.

He was no stranger to this issue. Afterall, the topic of a unique pizza with sardines circulated around Animatronica. In a matter of days, the world was split as friends turned against each other under banners of antis and pros.

The warfare was horrible as the skies turned red. Sardines were topped on every food item then burned, animatronics broke into each other's houses to steal their Gameboys (this might be unrelated), Nightmare Fredbear conducted sumo matches for gaining territory.

Neutral parties—including Freddy himself—kept away from ground zero and thus unaffected directly, but they could feel the world changing.

Animatronica was never the same and fish stopped tasting great. As Foxy once said "This is what boredom does to people".

Thus warranted the treaty of Gastronomy and the construction of the Chat Bubble House.

This was possibly a second case. Whatever he may say will either make an immortal enemy or conscript him to a cause he had no stake in. His answer meant everything.

Thus after a time of hard deliberation did he declare his stance, "I have no clue what that is."

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't know a lot bout food. Don't need to eat and all." Embarrassment was found alongside the rather obvious conclusion, "Nevermind then."

Coughing into his hand, he composed himself before facing Freddy again.

"Sooo... you seem like a cool dude."

"Mhm, may I come in?"

"Uh sure."

Freddy stepped inside of the room slowly. He let his eyes wander about not only to ease tension that would otherwise be created with prolonged eye contact but to examine the area out of curiosity.

"This is a pretty spiffy place you got here." He returned his gaze back to the man and offered a hand. "My name's Freddy by the way."

The man looked at the hand then at Freddy. Returning back to his hand, he gingerly raised a hand over Freddy's as wary of some unforeseen consequence before grasping it. A little discomfort was apparent on his expression; the man was holding his bare, unsuited hand, touching the cold metal that should've been hidden.

However, as seconds passed and the awkward shake turned to a energetic one. That apprehension seemed to fade. "Nice to meet you Freddy. You can call me Soos."

So far so good. A seed of trust had been planted.

"Hey Soos."

"How did you know my name?" He looked at Freddy with awe.

"You... told me?"

"Oh yeah." He laughed good-naturedly as if he had been told a bone-hurting joke. "Anyway, you're the robot Mr. Pines been fixing right? Are you feeling any better?"

Freddy looked over himself once more, concluding his appearance was fit for the junkyard.

"Could be better."

"Well, sorry we couldn't fix you up completely. Me and Mr. Pines didn't have a lot lying around."

Oh? "You helped fixed me?"

"Yeah but Mr. Pines did most of the work." Soos averted his gaze, ashamed of the tiny contribution even if the man himself asserted that he alone should work on the bear.

"Still thanks a lot. I'd probably be scrap metal somewhere in the woods if it weren't for you guys."

"Aw shucks."

"By the way, do you know what part of the house I'm in."

"It's more like a deathtrap but this the living room." He pointed his fingers downward to indicate the room he was in. "Back where you came from is the stair case."

He turned to his left and pointed at a door beside the TV. "And that over there is the gift shop."

"The gift shop? Why would a house have a gift shop?"

"Oh you don't know." He said in clear realization as if he forgotten something important and then just remembered it. "This is the Mystery Shack. The most mysterious place in Gravity Falls."

Huh... That's a bold claim. "What makes you say that?"

Soos opened his mouth then closed thereafter. A hand on his chin indicated he mulling over the question. He turned his sight back on Freddy.

"Probably better if I show you." He turned away from the bear towards the door recently revealed to lead to a gift shop. He waved Freddy over. "Come on."

There wasn't a particular reason to resist and he was curious. He followed after Soos, footsteps audibly thumping on pine wood flooring. Soos opened the door and they entered to the gift.

It was a weird one.

There were collections placed on display. It ranged from taxidermies or figurines of hybrids seemingly created a by godly mix-it set to knick-knacks and bobbles of varying oddities.

A jar filled with fluids and eyeballs sat neatly on the counter top. Bubbles pushed through between the space of each sphere. Freddy idly wondered what was producing the bubbles before moving on.

Not the image that comes to mind bout a gift shop. Looks more like a voodoo doctor's side gig.

Besides all the strange things, there was also a youth kicking her feet up on counter top right next to the cash register displaying '5005'. He couldn't see her face behind the magazine she was reading.

"Hey Wendy! Look who I found."

The teenager lowered her article, showing a bored expression framed by hair the colour of autumn. Astonishment wiped that boredom when she saw Freddy.

"Woah..."

Freddy waved his hand. "Hello young lady."

"... Hey."

Sensing the awkwardness in the air, Soos stepped in to provide the introductions. "So Wendy, this is Freddy. Freddy, this is Wendy."

"A pleasure to meet you." Freddy quickly picked up.

"Same, I guess..."

The conversation seemed terse as Wendy seemed to be unsure of how to proceed. Freddy thought he had to move it himself until she started speaking again.

"Hey, you're that big metal pile the twins dragged in right?"

"I'd described myself differently but yes."

"That means you're also the one who jumped in when they got in trouble with shorties or something."

Freddy nodded. Everything she said was accurate. The teen grinned in approval at him.

"Cool dude, even if you got mugged."

"Better than letting kids get sketchy candy."

Wendy smirked, amused by Freddy. The atmosphere soon smoothed to casual amiability. Traces of apprehension faded away with every minute they spent together.

It was a joy for Freddy to talk with Wendy. She had an easy-going attitude and calm demeanor as well as acceptance smoothed out all the kinks he'd normally face with humans. The occasional Soos chiming had its charm too.

The minutes flew by with them until the front door opened. He retracted himself from the chat, looking towards the newcomer. The wariness was quickly replaced with surprise.

Standing at the door were the two kids he had fought for. The young girl of the two was staring with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, gasping in complete flabbergasting.

"Dipper OMG!! The big teddy bear is awake!"

She rushed over to Freddy with the blinding speed of a 12 year-old. He raised his hand in case she accidentally rammed into him but she stopped just shy of that.

"Uh, Hello! My name is Mabel you can call me Mabes. My favourite colour is rainbow what's yours? Who are you? Where did you come from? What's your home like? Is the government making toy bodyguards?" As she said all of this, she jumped two full circles around the animatronic.

Well she's a sprightly one. He found it a little much but amusing concordingly

"Woah, lay off the bear, Mabes." Came the support from Wendy.

The young girl—he knew now as Mabel—stopped imitating a pogo stick though a subtle excited trembling was still present alongside her wide grin.

Her twin brother walked up beside her. Though calmer than his other half, the awe in his eyes were just as bright.

"You're awake!"

"That I am. And you two are the kids I threw my hat in for."

"Yeah. Thanks for helping us back there. Sorry you got hurt because of it."

"I made sure to kiss all of your boo-boos." The young girl chimed in.

Freddy chuckled. "It's fine. I'd rather it me than the both of you."

The despondency on the boy faded away leaving behind two smiling children. It was a sight for sore eyes. something he never thought he'd get to see again.

The inquisition began as questions were hauled in front of me, one half personal though not intrusive and the other fishing for informative content. Freddy had no trouble fulfilling each and everyone of these curiousities, including some off-handed ones from Soos and Wendy.

Really, things had gone rather smoothly.

While the shack-dwellers, shack employees and Freddy were having a good time together, the curtains at one doorway parted. An old man had been drawn to the sound of chatter. Said old man was Mr. Mystery.

"Hey, you kids are back."

The conversation stopped for just a moment as all eyes turned to the man of the shack. In this lull, he swiftly asked.

"Dippy, did you chop the wood?" His first question.

The young boy visibly slouched. "Yes, Grunkle Stan."

And then Mabel interjected. "We also bought you some strawberry coconut sundae. It was 80% off."

"That's a steal! Where'd ya get it?"

"Under the shelf."

"That's my girl!" He shared a hive-five with the girl, full of pride and happiness at shaving off 90 cents for his bank account.

If his face wasn't so stiff, Freddy would've been frowning.

"Anyway, I need to talk with Carebear o'er here." He jabbed his thumb at the only bear here, "You kids go up and do whatever you kids do."

Groans of complaints rose from the kids side but the man didn't budge.

"No buts. Now scram!"

Disappointment and the like were abound as the kids begrudgingly left the room through the living door. What was left were the adults (arguably in Freddy's case; Wendy and Soos seemed close enough to be adults).

"That was harsh." Freddy noted with apparent displeasure.

"Eh, my stomach can handle it." Mr. Mystery waved it off before pointing at freddy, "Anyway, I'm hiring you."

"What?"

"I'm hiring you to cover the cost of fixing you up. I had to take an arm and a leg to get you up and running."

"I... see." This didn't sit well with Freddy. "What exactly are you hiring me for?"

"Simple. You help out around the shack and keep it running." The man gestured to everything around him.

"If I agree, do I have to stay inside?"

"Of course you do. You need a roof over your head to work here. What? You wanna live in a dog house?"

He thought of correcting the man, seeing as there seemed to be some miscommunication when the man shrugged and appended, "If you're into that then you can build yourself one in your freetime. You'll be chopping your own wood and using own money for it."

Freddy nodded a little slower. He glanced about at Soos and Wendy, both attentive to the conversation. He hoped they didn't get the wrong idea about him.

Aside from that, if it was expected that he fund himself—potentially with wages from the Mystery shack but he needs to confirm this first—then he could reasonably expect that he'd have to be independent in some regard and manage himself.

It didn't seem great but it seemed he'd have less chains on him.

However, there was hanging thread that needed to be tied up. It had been there ever since he became cognizant.

He looked back up at Mr. Mystery. "I haven't been told this yet but what is the Mystery Shack?"

That question seemed to be frequent as the man straightened up into a pose—Freddy knew from experience—was rehearsed over the course of his life. Puffing out his chest and practicing his smile, he was starting his speech

"It's a tourist trap." That prescripted bravdo was interrupted before it even began. Wendy so shamelessly interjected, hand waving to everywhere that is the Shack. "We sell these guys on some wacky stories and then we sell them the merch."

"Hey! I'm supposed to be the one explaining! And you didn't even get it right."

The man was particularly displeased by his employee's insubordination. Though Wendy didn't seem to phase about it. He heard her honest statement though; Freddy didn't like the sound of it

Mr. Mystery, attentive to netting a new asset to his Shack, had probably caught his hesitation as he quickly stepped to address him.

"Look there's no harm in it. The Tourist are entertained and I- mean we get money. Everyone wins."

Wendy then came in again. "We also get to make weird hybrid animals. Sometimes cute, sometimes freaky. Usually it's both."

"Hmm..."

"Hey, hey, trust me. You're not gonna be doing anything illegal."

Freddy was still on the fence about it; that doubt promptly answered by Soos.

"I can vouch for Mr. Pines. Since you're the new employee, you're not gonna be joining in on the shady stuff right away." He calmly explained. "And you can still say no."

"Soos I'm docking your pay for breaking NDA."

"Aw man." He looked a like sad puppy that lost his pocket change.

All the while, Freddy had been in deep thought. He was in a precarious state.

If he refused here, it'd be likely that his reparations would cease and he'd be left with a half-working body to search around in an unknown town. It would be an uncertain future him.

If he accepted, it would be equally uncertain. What exactly he'd get roped into in this deal could be anything; limitations could surround him once the man had greater leverage over him.

Freddy was at a lost but...

He looked the man straight in the eye. "Fine. I'll work for your shack."

His begrudging tone didn't seem to affect the man's mood as he turned away from Soos to immediately flash him a grin.

"Now that's what I'm talking!" He raised his hand to slap on Freddy's shoulder but stopped mid-air before lowering it. "You can get started tomorrow. Soos can show you the ropes."

The slap-shod interview concluded there with a robot hired. The man strolled off somewhere behind the curtained doorway, back where he came from for some other business.

There aren't a lot of way to express frustration with a body as rigid as his but it was easy enough to stare at a wall hard like you're drilling through it.

"You ok dude?"

He raised his head. The uneasy tremor in the easygoing man's voice was new. Freddy went through the motions: raising his shoulders and opening his mouth before lowering it with the simulated sound of a sigh.

"No... not really."

"It's not so bad." Compared to the new tension, Wendy seemed as cool headed. "He didn't even get you to work right away."

"That's the standard, Mrs. Wendy."

She shrugged at that remark as if there not much more to say other than. "It's not so standard for Stan. 'Sides, the kids also started after a day."

His whipped at her, miraculously staying on his shoulders. "H-He's employing kids!?"

"Yeah y'know, chores and stuff."

As quickly as his anguish rose, he deflated as easily. He groaned at himself for jumping the gun. This entire debacle was wearing him down mentally. He'd need some time to recuperate himself after this.

"So... I guess you're my coworker now." He gave two thumbs up. "Cool! I've always dreamed of having mermaid as a friend but a robot bear works too."

Freddy glanced at Soos wearing a smile that was unsure of itself. He closed his eyes and recentered himself, "Sorry if I'm not so stoked for this."

"It's cool. Mr. Pines sort of leaves that impression on people."

It didn't surprise him. The shack didn't feel well staffed though he'd need to confirm it. That was for another time however. As of now, he rather focus on something else.

His mind glanced back at the recent happenings. At every interesting corner a green flag and at every important point a red flag. His suit and the children were flying under the red banner.

They weren't in any trouble as far as he could gauge them but he'd like to see them all the same. His suit was something he wanted to regain. It was non-essential but but nevertheless an intimate part of him that held a good-- well not good but longer part of his life.

He re-opened his eyes, exiting the thinking pose he placed himself in.

"Hey Soos?"

"Yeah Fred? Can I call you fred?"

"Sure." He didn't mind it, "Do you know anyone who could fix an animatronic's suit?"

Soos entered his own thinking pose. His eyes pointing up as if the answer were written somewhere on the ceiling. Before long, he shook his head, "Can't think of anyone. I can try doing it myself but... don't know if it'll go so well."

Freddy waved his concerns away, "It'll be fine. I'll help you through the process."

"You wanna do it right now?"

"Nah. Later is fine. I'd like to go for a walk and refresh my head a bit." He put his finger in a circular motion to the side of his head.

"Sure thing bud." Soos seemed to understand.

He really is a chill guy. Wendy had been listening to the entire conversation and decided here she would join back in again, "So what are you gonna do?"

There was a moment of thinking and a glance around the room.

"Do you know where the kids went? I want to talk about yesterday." He looked down at the sentence. "Well, for me."

"Sure. Just head on back in there." He pointed towards the living room door, where they had emerged into the gift shop. "And you should be able to find a staircase. Go up there and you'll find their room."

"Alright. Thank you. It was nice talking to you and Wendy."

"No prob pal."

"See ya."

Freddy took his leave here leaving the room the same way he entered. Behind him, the two people chattered with each other.

"Man, can you believe I'm friends with a robot now?" He heard this fading sentence as he closed the living room door. It was a reaction he expected throughout his interaction with the humans; the mildness of intrigued whispering it took form was not expected.

Everyone in the shack had taken Freddy's apparent sentience strikingly well, adapting as if it were no oddity that he be so human.

So much so that Mr. Pines easily and confidently brokered a deal that added him to his workforce. It was rather obvious; that shady man had experience persuading quite a lot of people, Freddy included.

During the whole time, Freddy had been glaring at the wall. Displeasure of the circumstance in surplus.

"Mr. Bear!"

Perhaps he was a little too fast when he whipped his head to the shrill voice as it stopped the runner in her tracks. Just before hitting him again, the young girl—Mabel if he remembered right—stood uncertain of her approach.

"Oh." He laxed his posture, "Hello again. Sorry if I seemed heated. I came right after a word from Mr. Pines."

"I'm guessing he got you into a deal." It was the young boy, Dippy as the man of Mystery and Dubiousness called him. He didn't believe it was the kid's actual name.

"You'd be right." He crossed his arms and looked to the side, "Somehow, the man convinced me to work for the shack."

"Is that a bad thing?" The girl asked.

"Not inherently. It's just how he comes off."

"Yeah, makes sense."

"He's three shades away from black."

A resounding yes from the crowd. Looks like he didn't have to worry about slandering Mr. Pines all by himself. Freddy chuckled.

"I don't think I've introduced myself. I'm Freddy."

"Mabel Pines!" The girl enthusiastically declared.

"Dipper Pines." The boy answered in a calmer mean.

"Mabel and Dipper Pines." Freddy repeated to register the names in memory. "Nice to meet you two."

The kids looked at each other excitedly upon Freddy's casual greeting. Mabel was jubilant, practically bemaing with her grin at her brother. Dipper was more reserved but he could tell the traces of awe he'd most often see in kids before something new and fascinating.

"So, you two have been waiting for me here?"

"Why'd we ever leave behind a talking robot bear? It's a one in a lifetime chance." The girl spanned her arms across the side to emphasize the 'lifetime' in the sentence.

"Same here. There's a lot I want to ask you about."

"Looks we're all on the same page." Freddy tilted his head to the side, "I've been wanting to talk about what happened with those small men and while I was out."

"That was a wild time." The girl put a lot of stress on 'wild'.

"It definitely made our first day memorable."

"First day?" Freddy repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah it was pretty crazy. Wanna come upstairs with us?" The pubescent kid jabbed his thumb at the open door way. He cold see the way to the kitchen on the right side and on the left stairs leading up.

"We've glitter glue and puppy art!" Mabel boisterously

The childish joy was infectious and no soul, not in flesh nor metal, were immune to the contagion.

"Haha. Sure. A change of scenery sounds pretty good."

Both of them wasted no time flanking him, each hand of his snared in their smaller grasp. They really couldn't pull someone as heavy as him along so he had to walk along with them to appear as if he was being dragged.

As they led him up to their room, he had one thought. This is where it all begins.