Question of Freedom {Freedom AU} [Book One]

Chapter One

Thank you once more for giving my reading the time of day. This was also my very first fan work I've submitted to any fandom so I hope you enjoy it!

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  Sitting alone in the supply room closet, the bear held in his hand a photograph. The photograph had been ripped in two, along the middle. He had the bottom half, but didn't know where the top half was, or who even had it. The photo itself was of himself and his younger brother from when they were children. They looked so happy in the photo, without any cares.

Fredbear had owned this photo for as long as he could remember. Unfortunately, that wasn't even very long. His memory didn't go back any farther than the opening of the Family Diner. Nobody's did. It was a strange thing, but who was he to complain? Maybe this had been their whole lives. And if he was being honest, it was pretty good. Getting to make children happy every day, singing songs with his closest friends. It brough him joy just doing it!

The golden bear was suddenly pulled from his thoughts, when the supply closet door was pulled open. In peered one of his band mates—Spring Shine. "Hey, Goldie! The party's missin' ya!" She told, enticing him to come back out to enjoy the small groups annual Christmas party. Smiling, the bear replace his photograph on the inside of his purple, star patterned vest pocket, before standing up to leave the small space.

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Patiently waiting for the clock to hit midnight, Freddy Fazbear was replaying the events from some nights ago in his head. Their Christmas Bash. It was always a blast each year the group would have them, even if there was only five people there to enjoy it.

He thought back to all the Christmas karaoke both himself and Spring Bonnie had done, not caring if either missed a note or two. They were just happily jamming away at various Christmas songs—both carol and pop—while Spring B. strummed away at his wooden, acoustic guitar.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Spring Shine had convinced Fredbear—his older brother—to bake Christmas cookies with her. Luckily, those turned out pretty subpar, and no kitchen fires were start. (Unlike the previous year).

The Marionette had even managed to get a gift for everyone, which just added to the magic of the occasion. Of course, they were all curious on how he'd even done that, but being the mysterious individual he was, Puppet refused to give any details away, and told them to just be grateful. A good laugh was shared, and no one would soon forget that night. Smiling, Freddy leaned back against the wall of the supply closet, happily reminiscing.

His reason for being in the back of the Diner, was due to one simple reason. The Diner wasn't that big of an establishment. Having three mascots performing—Fredbear, Spring Bonnie and Spring Shine—was plenty, the humans determined. And then, they had a small Prize Counter where the Marionette would assist an employee in giving out small plushies and toys to the kids, whose parents would purchase. At the end of the day, there wasn't any more room for Freddy. So, the employees kept him in the supply closet until he could be put to good use.

The bear's thoughts got interrupted by the door being opened. Looking up, he saw a tall, looming figure slowly entering the room. "Oh, hey Puppet. I'm guessing it's midnight?" The Marionette gave a small nod, before going to sit on the ground next to Freddy. Something seemed... off. Cocking his head slightly, the bear asked, "Is... Is something wrong?" Puppet hesitated a moment before answering, seemingly looking for his words. "Freddy, I have some... news, to tell you."

"Okay?" Puppet continued. "There was an incident today, while the Diner was open." Freddy's confused look never wavered as he listened. "To make a long story short, a younger kid was being shoved around by a few older ones. Your brother tried to put and end to it, but just got tangled in the crossfire. One of the older kids ended up getting hurt by Fredbear."

"... What?" Averting eye contact for a moment, the Marionette sighed. "I think the Diner is going to be closed down, because of what happened." He explained, seeing an upset look in Freddy's sapphire blue eyes. "Listen, I don't know what's going to happen, but for now, go spend some time with your brother. He's not doing to great, in light of what's happened."

"O-Okay..." Freddy quietly said, standing up to leave the room. Once he had, Puppet sighed again, Adjusting his red ribbon tie around his neck, the Marionette got up to leave, too—closing the supply closet door on his way out.