Night 3: I stand in the doorway of the monstrous pizza place, trying to determine if risking a lawsuit is worth possible death by robots. If someone had told me a week ago that I’d be having to make a decision like this, I probably would have laughed it off. But I’m not laughing now. Sighing, I finally give up and push the glass door open. To my surprise, Springtrap is standing in front of me with his ever-present smirk, which widens slightly when he sees me. “Glad to see you finally decided to stop by,” he deadpans. “As I said last night, I don’t want to be sued. I can’t afford to pay for a lawyer, and I probably couldn’t afford whatever ridiculous amount the company charges. So…Yeah. I’m back for another night.” He just grins at me and steps aside to let me pass. I feel a slight sense of dread when, instead of leaving me alone, the yellow rabbit falls in behind me and follows me towards the office. I whirl to face him. “And just what do you think you’re doing?” I ask, irritated. Springtrap doesn’t even bat an eye at my tone. “Following you,” he responds. “Why?” “I don’t want you to follow me! I’d rather go to the office all on my own, thanks.” I turn around, but the decaying animatronic behind me responds with: “Oh, so you don’t want protection? That’s fine. I’ll just go off and leave you all on your own…” “Wait. Protection? From what?” I turn slightly, so half of my body is facing him. I don’t trust him yet, and I tense slightly. If he tries anything, I’m sprinting for the office. “From the others, of course. They all want you dead, and I’m the only thing standing between you and them out here.” I stare up at him. His expression is unreadable. “I thought they weren’t hostile until 12:00 A.M.?” I say weakly. “My dear, I’m afraid you were a bit late tonight. It’s currently 12:02 A.M.” My mind goes into overdrive, analyzing every single worst-case scenario and wondering if there will be enough of my body left for a burial. I snap out of it when Springtrap adds, “And that’s why I’m escorting you to the office. Unless, of course, you’d prefer to walk there yourself?” I shake my head quickly, and he grins down at me. “Good. Let’s go, then.” I recoil when he suddenly takes my hand in his huge one. Before I can react, he’s dragging me down the halls towards the office, and it’s all I can do to stay on my feet. “S-Slow down!” I gasp, trying to keep my balance on the slippery tile floors. “And why should I?” he asks. “Do you have a death wish?” “N-No…” I stutter out. “Then keep up!” I’m about to shoot back a retort, but I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. “S-Springtrap…” I hiss. “I saw it too. Hold on!” The next thing I know, the yellow, decaying robot has me in his arms, and is sprinting down the hallway. Then the figure gets closer, and I realize that it’s the animatronic from Pirate’s Cove. Foxy, I think. He’s screeching while his metal feet pound down the hall after us. We’re nearing the office when another animatronic suddenly swings down from the ceiling in front of us. I cry out and duck, while Springtrap simply punches the white, mangled fox out of our way and keeps going. “W-What was that?” I ask, craning to see over his shoulder. I duck back down when the thing, now a pile of metal on the floor, starts to turn its head towards me. “Mangle,” he replies, finally reaching the office. He hits the door button, and I hear something slam into it. “Get out of here, ya dumb fox!” he yells at the door, before setting me down. I dust myself off, then turn back to Springtrap. He’s grinning at me, and I feel a cold chill go down my spine as I realize that I’m trapped in the office with a killer bunny rabbit. “Umm…Do you think you could…go?” I hesitantly ask. He throws back his head and goes into hysterics. “L-Leave?” he gasps out. “Doll, you don’t understand, do you? There’s a lot of robots out to get you, and I’m the only friend you’ve got in this entire place. I mean, I’ll leave if you want me to, but I can guarantee that the end result won’t be pretty.” I swallow, my mouth going dry. “So I’m stuck with you all night?” I ask quietly. He nods, and I slowly sink into my chair. “So, what do you want to talk about?” he asks, leaning on the back of my chair, still grinning brokenly. “Hush,” I order, checking through the cameras. “Don’t forget Cam 11, now. I’m sure the music has nearly stopped by now,” he muses, standing back up. My eyes widen as I flip back to that dreaded camera. Springtrap is correct. I wind up the music and look over my shoulder at him. “Thanks for saving my life back there,” I begin. He nods. “No problem,” he replies. “After all, a face like yours shouldn’t be destroyed.” I wince and turn back around. “So, why exactly did you save me?” I ask, still checking the cameras. “I have my reasons,” he says, and I hear the sound of a door shutting. I jerk my head up to see that Springtrap shut Chica out for me. He glances over at me, his expression neutral.
“Where are all of the Toys?” I ask, shining my light at the hallway in front of me. Springtrap’s reply is a chilling one. “I shut them off.” “How?” I’m actually curious now. I mean, he’s a half-rotten, burned, decaying animatronic. How could he possibly overpower all of the Toys? “Simple,” he responds. “I messed with their AI. I set them all to 0. You won’t have any problems with them for the rest of your stay, I can assure you.” “What about Mangle? It’s a Toy, but it’s still on. And the originals?” “I can’t turn Mangle off. Its AI is encrypted with a password for some reason, and I can’t figure it out. As for the originals and the withered ones, their AI is more sophisticated. It will take me longer to crack their code.” I nod, checking the front hallway. Seeing Withered Foxy, I flash the light at him until he runs back into the darkness. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I flinch involuntarily. Turning, I see Springtrap staring at me. “I’m going to go restart the generator,” he says. “Can you handle yourself while I’m gone?” His tone is serious, and he actually seems concerned for my safety. I nod, confident that I can handle it. After all, I made it through the other two nights without his help. Barely. He looks unconvinced, but sprints off down the hallway anyway, leaving me all alone in the office. I check the time. 4:00 A.M. I suddenly remember the picture, and decide to ask Springtrap about it when he comes back. I rewind the music box, still curious as to why that’s a requirement. Another question for Springtrap. I replay the scene in the hallway over again in my mind. Why did he save me? Shouldn’t he be trying to kill me? Hearing a noise from the east hallway, I check the light, and see Springtrap leering at me through the window. I don’t shut the door, and he walks into the room. “So, Springtrap, I have a couple of questions for you,” I begin. He leans against the wall, waiting for me to continue. I check the hallway again, and seeing nothing, turn to face him, tablet in hand, of course. “First question…How did you know about the photo? And the knife?” Springtrap’s entire demeanor undergoes a change. His ears droop slightly, his expression falls, and his eyes focus on the floor. “I…” He clears his throat, and I wait, drumming my fingers on the back of the tablet, still checking the cameras. “I used to be a security guard here. A long time ago.” I nearly drop the tablet. “Wh-What?!” I gasp. “How? You’re an animatronic!” He holds up a hand. “I was the man in the photo. Vincent.” He seems to spit out the name like it has a bad taste. “He-I-did some terrible things in the past. The victims got their revenge, trapping him in this suit. Forever.” He passes a hand over his face, almost like he is trying to wipe away the memories. “I-I’m sorry…” I don’t know how to respond to this. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault. It was all mine, his…The lines are so blurred now, it’s hard for me to tell who I am sometimes.” I decide to change the subject. “My other question was, why do I have to constantly wind the music box?” I ask, while doing that very thing. Springtrap sighs, closing his eyes. “I’m not entirely sure, except that it defends against…HIM.” I detect actual fear in the rabbit’s voice. “Him?” I press, curious. “The Marionette. He leads all of the others. He’s the one that wants you dead, Ivy.” “O-Oh…” My mind, still in shock from the last batch of information, is now doubly confounded by this new revelation. “I’m trying to atone for what I did in the past. That’s why I saved your life.” I finally look up, and see a shadowy figure behind Springtrap, in the east hall window. “Behind you!” I exclaim, lunging for the door button. To my horror, it won’t work. The button won’t depress all the way. “Get back!” Springtrap cries out, shoving me behind him and getting into a defensive stance. I crouch in the corner behind him, utterly terrified. “Why won’t the button work?” I whisper to him. “It doesn’t work if an animatronic is in the office,” he replies. “It’s supposed to allow you time to escape, but I just find the whole idea ridiculous.” I’m about to reply, but chimes ring out. I jump out from behind Springtrap and suddenly hug him. I pull away quickly, embarrassed. I’m just so relieved that I didn’t die. “See you tomorrow?” he asks, winking. “Sure, Springtrap,” I reply. I walk out the front door a few moments later, shaking slightly from that close call. “Why did they hire me?” I wonder aloud, walking to my car. “That job is a death sentence.” End of Night 3
