Just Another Silent Night at Freddy's, 1982
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!" Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica all sang on the Show Stage. The gathered children below them belted out the lyrics as well, making such a festive cacophony of noise Foxy poked his head out of Pirate's Cove's curtained entrance, watching with a grin.
The day was December 18th, 1982, and the first official holiday season for the pizzeria. And Christmas was one week away. Of course, the staff had prepared the restaurant much sooner than that, the instant December 1st arrived, and wreaths hung from the walls and on the doors as tinsel crisscrossed the ceiling.
The stage received a new festive set, with a fake fireplace serving as the new backdrop, a paper fire "burning" inside. Stockings bearing the animatronics' names were hung up as well, and a Christmas tree sporting a large amount of red, purple, yellow, and brown ornaments sat in the back right corner.
The usual tablecloths had been replaced with cartoon portraits of each animatronic sporting a Santa Claus hat with the words "Merry Christmas!" written in red, blocky font with a green outline. For the first time, desserts were offered in the form of Christmas cookies (made by the quick-learning Chica and the two cooks, Sal and Gus). Suffice it to say, the holiday spirit permeated through every inch of the restaurant. And Nathan found himself in the role of mentor once again.
Naturally, Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy immediately bombarded the mechanic with questions about Christmas, having overheard a great deal from the children they entertained.
"Who's Santa?" Chica asked, "I heard he's some fat guy that brings presents."
Nathan chuckled from the fake fireplace, checking to make sure everything worked.
"That pretty much sums it up," Nathan said. Bonnie sat on the edge of the stage, swinging her legs.
"I heard that when people are nice he brings them presents, and that he does it all in one night, and visits everyone by going down the chimney," Bonnie offered. Nathan nodded, fiddling with the stage chimney's fake fire.
"Yup, that's what they say," he said, flicking it on. The fake fire fluttered as air was blown from underneath it. The mechanic dusted his hands and stood up.
"Is tha lubber fer real?" Foxy asked. He had heard the same thing from all of his crews, and wanted to know for sure.
Nathan fidgeted.
"Well..." he began, unsure of how to explain it. Bonnie saved him the trouble.
"Of course he's real! Why wouldn't he be?" Bonnie exclaimed. Foxy nodded in acceptance.
Chica rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but Freddy put a paw on her shoulder. She looked at him and saw him subtly shake his head. The bird shrugged and crossed her arms, indifferent. Bonnie didn't notice.
"I'm so excited for Christmas! Nathan? Do you think we could stay powered on Christmas Eve so we can see Santa?" Bonnie asked. Nathan shook his head.
"If you guys aren't aslee-er, shutdown, then how do you expect to be fully charged for Christmas?" Nathan reminded.
"But we aren't open on Christmas," Bonnie countered, "We could charge then."
Nathan frowned. She got him, he couldn't think of a legitimate reason other than to avoid disappointment. He sighed in defeat.
"Fine," Nathan allowed, "You guys can stay up. But I expect no complaints about low batteries, capiche?"
"Capiche," Chica replied. She might not be onboard with the whole Santa thing, but getting to roam around longer was something to look forward to. Sal, one of the cooks, had shown her a few new pizza recipes to try out, but Nathan never let them stay active long enough for her to bake them.
