Fritz and Fright {Fnaf au}

Pirates and Past-tence

The phantoms stood crowded near the wall.
Hanging from one of the drawings was a list of names.
"You're saying that night guard lad brought this in with em'?" Phantom foxy asked and phantom freddy nodded.
"Yes, I asked him to leave it here and he did. I just.. thought it would help" the bear looks over at the list, they all knew what he wanted to happen.
It's sad to say they all forgot their names after so long.
Phantom B.B. shrugged and walked away, "I Don't See How Some List Is Going To Help, But Knock Yourselves Out!" He laughed before disappearing to who knows where. Freddy sighed, Chica was studying the list hard, as if it would magically reveal the truth to them all.
But it was just a simple list, it was not magical. Phantom freddy sighed. "I'm sorry, I just thought..." phantom foxy came over and pat the bear on the back. "Ye just be tryin to help us, Captain. I appreciate the effort ye makin" the fox comforted. Freddy shook his head before disappearing into a wall. Soon enough the other phantoms faded off, leaving foxy alone.
Foxy looked at the list again, pausing at one name that stood out to him.
Fritz.
That was the name of the night guard right?
"Hrnn... I be paying the scallywag a visit then" foxy nodded to himself before he too faded into a wall.
Leaving the place quiet.
—————————————-
It was another day that Ethan didn't want to get out of bed.
He was stiff and he had a headache. Ethan let out a tired groan. This was not a good time to have a bad day. Ethan rolled onto his side and stared blankly at the wall, idly wondering if he could come in late.
But that idea quickly was rejected because he knew Springtrap would be waiting for him in the office. Maybe the phantoms could hold him off? No, they aren't physical, best they could do is be a distraction.
Then the idea crossed the man's mind, it was simple, innocent, yet oh so tempting.
What if he just never went back?
What if he just stayed in bed forever and left the haunted building to its own devices.
It would be easy, he'd just have to stay home, maybe skip town, it wouldn't be very hard to just up and disappear.
Up and disappear....
His mind thought back to his brother Fritz. The night he left. He came home pail and shaking. Ethan could never forget his expression as he suddenly started packing.
And just like that he was gone.
If he just up and left these ghosts on their own he'd be no better than Fritz.
That's what did it, with a tired sigh he rolled out of bed to get ready for another round of hell.

————
Ethan arrived back to Fazbears fright, his hair was messy since he didn't bother brushing it, I mean would anyone really care? He didn't think spring mcmurder over here would bat an eye if Ethan did his hair up all pretty. The man soon arrived in his office and sank into the chair, raising the tablet to try and find the rotten rabbit.
But instead he was greeted with a phantom fox looking up at him from the cameras.
"Huh? Is that another-"
"AHOY! Ye scurvy landlubber, I be needing a moment with ye!" Just as suddenly as he appeared on the camera suddenly phantom foxy was standing in the room next to the box of animatronic pars. Ethan let out a startled scream which actually made the phantom flinch, briefly looking worried before quickly putting back on his tough look and standing tall.
"So will ye be answerin my questions? Or will he be shaking like a pice of seaweed?" The fox put its arm on his hip, that's when Ethan noticed he only had one arm. The other was just a nub, he briefly remembered the hook arm that was in the prop box... Ethan decided to shake the thought away for now. "Uh- y-yah sure I'll do my best. Not exactly a sea of knowledge though so sorry if I don't have any answers, er, Captain" Ethan shot the phantom a quick grin, noticing the fox relaxing more at being addressed as captain. "Well ye be as kind as me crew says! That's what I be lookin for in a man. Now let's cut to the chase; ye brought I that list the other night and I noticed a name on it, thought it looked familiar. So I be wondering. Do ye know anything about a lad named Fritz?"
Ethan visibly flinched at the name. Foxy must have noticed, the man was quiet for a long moment, trying to avoid the question by flipping though the cameras.
"That be a yes then?" The fox squinted at the Man, who slowly nodded. "Well.. I know a fritz. My uh...my brother." His voice got quieter as he spoke. The fox nodded. "Ah, 'tis a family matter then? I hope ye don't mind if I press for more info." Foxy phrases it like a question but Ethan had a feeling he would continue on even if the man said no. So he just lured Springtrap away and mumbled. "Do what you want."
"Ya see, back when I still had me body, there was a new face that appeared one night, the last lad had gone off somewhere and must 'ave been replaced. Thinking back I think the lad looked like ye, maybe a bit younger tis have been a while." The fox chuckled as Ethan slowly stared to tighten his grip on the tablet, he didn't want to hear what came next. He wanted to just run off and hide, or maybe just let Springtrap catch him, death by zombified bunny seemed much better than this. But the fox continued.
"We scared the britches off the lad! Mari was tryin to get him to help but none of us were havin it, we still be mad and that lad be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Barely survived the night he did! But survive he did with his tail between his legs, never saw the lad again after that." The fox paused and asked the dreaded question Ethan knew was coming.
"So what I be askin is, do ye know what became of him afterwards? I'm sure yer connected to him somehow, bet me hook on it!" The fox looked over at Ethan expectantly. The man was shaking, his grip on the device becoming tight enough that his knuckle turned white. All at once he slammed the decide down and stood up.
"...You want to know what happened?" He mumbles slowly, his voice picking up with each word, "that night he got back, he packed his things and left. Didn't even say goodbye to his only brother, who he was close with, who was all the man had left after his parents kicked him out of the family; and instead of telling him anything he fucked off to god knows where leaving me alone!" Ethan's emotions boiled over and all at once he stormed out of the room, he was vaguely aware of the fox calling out for him to come back but Ethan didn't listen. He wanted to punch something until his fists bled, he wanted to cry until his throat burned, he wanted to laugh until his lungs ached, something anything to get is mind off of his brother.
At this point he didn't care if he ran into Springtrap
Death by that robots hands would feel like a mercy.
His path was suddenly and unceremoniously stopped as he suddenly tripped over something. He landed on the floor with a loud thump, causing the man to curl up and hiss in pain. He looked back trying to find whatever tripped him up and saw a darkly colored cupcake innocently sitting there.
"W-what the hell?" He croaked while reaching out to pick up the strange Pastry. It felt oddly chilly in his hand before suddenly fizzling out of existence with an odd sound.
"...what was... oh right, cupcakes" Ethan groaned as he slowly tried to push himself to his feet. He wanted to just sit there, maybe the cold of the building could seap into his bones and freeze him solid? Maybe then he could forget. It sounded nice, a quiet way to go... but the universe decided he didn't deserve that mercy, as heavy footsteps soon found him. Ethan didn't even have to turn around to know that Springtrap had found him, and was looming over him.
"Oh, hey, you found me, cool" he deadpanned, not turning to look up at the rabbit. Springtrap must not have been amused as he suddenly grabbed the scruff is Ethan's sweatshirt and heavily tossed the man across the room. Ethan's form went limp as he crashed against the prop present boxes with a loud THUNK! A whine escaped his lips as he heard the stomping of the animatronic approaching again. Ethan would have just accepted his fate then and there, but another cupcake caught his eye, he shakily reached out and put a hand on it, and just like the other it fizzled out. Ethan remembered the promise he mad earlier that week, he couldn't really just die here could he? That'd be even worse than just running away, he would have failed...
And Ethan desperately didn't want to be a failure.
With a sudden rush of adrenaline Ethan pushed himself onto his feet and spotting Springtrap from the other side of the room. the man flashed a shit eating smile towards him. "You want me? Come and get me Springbitch" and with a push he dashed into the other room. His pace was slower than he'd like, the pain from before making it harder to run, but Ethan just needed enough time to find the rest of those cupcakes, then he'd be in the clear. Dashing into the next room he grabbed the cupcake on a box, Springtrap was following quickly on the man's heels, kicking aside boxes and growling. Ethan ducked into the next room and reached for the next cupcake that was balancing on a prop head, one more left, but Springtrap was close to grabbing him. Ethan spotted the final cupcake on the floor, and just as he thought the rabbit would grab him he lunged over and grabbed the final cupcake, as it faded so too did Ethan's consciousness.
And Ethan's world went black.
—————————
Ethan awoke to a room where the walls were green, he was laying face down on the floor, and honestly his back hurt so he just stayed there groaning,
"Mister Ethan? Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" Footsteps approached and Ethan slowly lifted his head and looked up to see Chica standing above him, but she looked different than the phantom Ethan remembered, for one she was thinner, smaller, and had pink cheeks and tights on. Ethan slowly blinked up at her, "Uh... did you get a haircut?"
"Oh! You noticed? I did, do you like it?" Chica giggles and offered a hand to help the man up. Ethan gives a short nod in thanks, but Chica must have noticed something off about him. "Is something wrong? You don't look so good." She looked concerned, Ethan knew she would ask and desperately didn't want to bring up his own problems. "I.. I don't want to talk about it" He dismisses while looking away, Chica gave a quiet "oh" and nodded, leaving the two standing in silence for a few beats.
Chica then slowly started pushing a pink and yellow cupcake into the mans hands. "Want to help me pass out cupcakes then?" She offers with a kind smile.
Ethan slowly nods. "Yah..." Chica grins and lightly placed a hand on his shoulder, leading him further into the green room.
The area was almost like a maze, with blue wearing kids crying out for cupcakes. A few had red shirts and were happily eating the cake they were given. "I already gave a few out, but there's still a handful of hungry kiddos, I got all the cakes we just need to hand them out." Chica explains as Ethan nods. Soon they split up and it wasn't long before Ethan has passed out all the cakes he was given, he meets back up with Chica on a platform. She smiles at him. "Great! but there's one kiddo left."
"Really? Where are they? I didn't see anyone else" Ethan asks, Chica answers by pointing at a wall. Ethan knows what's up and deadpans "you're not going to shove me though the invisible wall are you?"
"What? Oh goodness no who was doing that!"
"Literally everyone else" Ethan sighs and Chica lightly pats his back. "She should be though there though, you've got a cake just for her." She answers, Ethan looks up confused. "I do? Since when did I have..." He trails off remembering that large birthday cake he found the night before, he slowly nods. "Right.. right! I do have cake. Okay! One birthday cake coming right up." He pumped himself up before jumping through the wall.
Mercifully his fall was short, landing in a smaller room with two red balloons acting as a staircase up to a grey child. As Ethan got closer he could see the child better. She was a little girl with sort curly hair and a cute little dress that went down to her knees completing the outfit were ankle socks and black pump shoes. As Ethan approached the little girl looked up at him, she was clearly upset and this caused Ethan to pause. "Hey there, sorry if I'm bothering ya." Ethan waved to the girl who blinked up at him, it was almost like she recognized him but couldn't place the name.
"So I heard there was a kiddo needing cake, and I just happen to have some... somewhere where did I-" Ethan looks around himself trying to find somewhere that'd hold a cake, it couldn't be that hard to find something that big right? He held out his hands to shrug in defeat when suddenly that cake appeared in his outstretched hand, he stumbled to catch it so it wouldn't fall. Blinking for a beat he lightly joked. "See that? That was magic, just for you kiddo. Definitely could do that this entire time, yep." The little girl actually giggled at the joke. Ethan carefully approached and kneeled to hand her the cake. Once she had it she seemed to light up, her eyes filling with recognition.
"Mister Ethan!" She spoke, and it startled Ethan.
Because she sounded just like Chica.
"Woah! Chica?" He blinked in surprise but the girl shook her head. "I remembered! I remember you and my doggie and, and my name! It's Susie!" She cheered lightly. Putting the cake down she suddenly jumped up and hugged Ethan's arm. "I remember I remember! Thank you thank you thank you!" She bounced on her feet and giggles, the joy was contagious and Ethan couldn't help but let out a laugh of his own, he smiled at her. "You're welcome Susie." The child let go and stepped back to the cake, waving goodbye, Ethan waved back.
And then Ethan's world went black.
—————————
Ethan awoke back in his office. He pulled out his phone and checked the time
4pm
His back ached and he remembered being tossed earlier, letting out a soft grown he pillowed his head in his arms, just taking in a brief moment of silence.
But was soon interrupted by marionette appearing next to him.
"Ethan?" She lightly tapped his shoulder, causing the man to jerk up from his position. "I'm up I'm up." He shook his head and cleared his jumbled thoughts.
"My apologies, but I wanted to check in on you. Foxy said you ran off suddenly and... well he was worried." She explained, Ethan looked down at the tablet on the table. "Oh, sorry about that..." he mumbles. "It's alright, I just wanted to make sure you were alright" she reassured.
Ethan thinks back to something foxy said during their chat. Looking over to the phantom puppet he quickly asked. "Wait, did you know fritz? I mean, back when uh, he was working at that new Freddy's place?" This caused the puppet to pause. An unreadable expression passed her face and she looked to the side.
"I... yes, I knew of him." She quietly answered. Ethan was silent.
"...was it true that you scared him off then?" He asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
"I didn't mean.... you have to understand, I wanted to help my friends find peace.. I thought he could help since Jeremy was.." she cut herself off, she tried reaching out to Ethan but pulled her hand back. "I'm sorry, I was desperate and stupid, my meddling didn't help him during his night. I would take it all back if I could" she answered honestly, Ethan continued to stair down at the tablet.
So she was part of the reason Fritz left so suddenly? He wanted to blame her, wanted to be mad for taking his only family he had away. But then he remembered Susie, how happy she was to be helped, to be saved. Ethan had actually done something good, he couldn't say he's done something like that in a long time. So instead of getting mad, he took a deep breath in, and out.
"It's fine," he answered, "you didn't know."
"Are you mad at me?" Phantom puppet asked, Ethan couldn't help but notice how childish the question sounded, but also how genuinely nervous she looked. He waves his hand. "A little bit, but I'll get over it. It's in the past, can't change it anymore." He looks over and gives the puppet a small smile. She soon returned it with her own grateful grin. Ethan checked the time,
It was 5AM
He spotted Springtrap nearby and decided to do something possibly risky, but hey he was suddenly in a Better mood so why not? Phantom puppet made her exit but Ethan briefly stopped her to ask, "Hey so uh the other day, did you have a fight with Springtrap?"
"Oh that? It was just a disagreement"
"But there were props thrown everywhere"
"It was a vocal disagreement" Ethan didn't entirely believe that but he didn't press any further and they went their separate ways.
6am was approaching and Ethan saw Springtrap coming towards the window, so he decided to put his plan into action, he made sure everything was in order, and when he looked up the rotten rabbit was staring him down from the window. Ethan put on a casual smirk, and waved.
"Heya springding. How are you?"
No answer.
"Ah, okay silent treatment again? That's fair, I'll just keep talking then."
Springtrap started glaring at the man.
"Okay, first off, I'm sorry about the springbitch comment, I was in a bad mood." Ethan paused, "but that isn't an excuse, I shouldn't have said that. And I'm sorry,"
The rabbit slowly blinked at him.
"I'm not expecting any sorta forgiveness, I mean I'm pretty sure you hate me either way, but uh.... yah"
Springtrap looked like he was about to make his way to the office, but his ear twitched and he realized how close it was to 6am. He shot the man a dirty glare and Ethan responded with a smirk and a shrug. "Not one for conversation then?" He asked innocently.
"Your luck will run out soon enough" Springtrap threatened before walking off. Not long after the bell signaling 6 am rang.
And Ethan's calm posture crumbled. He let out a huge breath of air and a laugh. Cutting it so close like  that wasn't a good idea, but then again when has Ethan smith ever had good ideas? With a final sigh he stood up, and immediately regretted it because his back ached in protest. He hissed in pain and rubbed his back. "That's going to bruise bad." He mumbles as he grabbed his few items and made his way to the exit.
On his way out Ethan didn't see phantom Chica watching him leave, she was waving him off with a grin.
——————
Back home Ethan wanted to flop right into his bed, but he knew he should probably check his back, and bandage any wounds he might have gotten from being tossed. So he pulled off his hoodie and shirt in one go and trudged into his bathroom. Craining his neck to look back at the mirror he saw several dark bruises starting to form on his back, he curiously poked one and hissed in pain. "Yep, that's going to leave a mark." He mumbled while leaving the bathroom, "at least nothings bleeding..."
after slipping into something comfortable, a baggy novelty t shirt and some pants, Ethan climbed into bed. After struggling to find a position that wasn't painful for his back he soon drifted off to sleep.
——————-
He was in a dark void, surrounded by a blanket of cold.
He looked around and saw nothing.
He felt nothing.
Only the cold tightening its grip on him.
Then he felt something grab his arms and pull hims down.
Ethan recognized the old dream Pizzeria when he saw it, he also recognized the voice that spoke.
"We can't make this a habit Ethan, it's not my job to pull you from your dreams."
He saw the shadow bear standing next to him, holding some kind of pocket watch which he quickly shut and put away... somewhere did this guy have pockets Ethan didn't know about?
"Uh, right but first I need to-"
"Check the wall, of coarse, come along then" the bear spoke then started walking towards the side room, Ethan blinked in confusion.
"Wait you're not going to like... yell at me for not following you?"
"Ethan, you have a pattern to your behavior, as all humans do. If I don't adapt then I'd simply be waisting valuable time. Now will you go get that clue of yours or stand there gaping until the sun blows up?"
Ethan stayed quiet and quickly caught up to the bear. "Good choice."
Ethan looked up at the wall once he got there and blinked up at it dumbly, it had a long stream of numbers written on it.
"Okay, Uh, lets see 39, 52, 48. That shouldn't be hard to remember!... wait what was it again?" Ethan struggled to memorize the code before the shadow bear let out a groan.
"Give me your arm."
"Wait what?"
"Just give it" the bear ordered, Ethan slowly did as commanded and lifted an arm towards the bear.
The shadow bear took it and used his finger to write out the code on Ethan's left arm, the numbers gave a soft white glow,
"That should due. Now let's go, we are on a schedule" the bear turned on his heels and Ethan wasn't far behind.
"So uh, you talked about seeing more, what did you mean by that?" Ethan asked as they followed Chica off the stage
"I'm simply showing you what needs to be seen, but there is more that has happened that cannot be seen by the naked eye" the bear explains as they get closer to the safe room.
"What is like is there more like secret backstage pass or like there's some ants that are here but I don't see since they're not important?" Ethan questions. The bear silently ponders for a moment and answers. "The ant comparison isn't inaccurate." He hums. Soon Chica had reached her final destination. Ethan stood beside the shadow bear as once again the purple man charged at the animatronic with an axe and tore her apart. Ethan winced. "Jeeze, you think he's trying out for a slasher movie villain with how swing happy he is with that axe" he joked, but nobody thought it was funny. Suddenly the bear put a hand on the man's shoulder and pointed towards the remains of the recently broken animatronic. "There, do you see it now?"
"See wha-" Ethan was cut off as he noticed something hovering around the broken pieces. They were tiny orbs of light that gave a soft yellow glow.
"What... what is that?" Ethan asked but before anyone could give him an answer
Ethan's world went black.
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Springtrap sat alone in the room, some props were scattered around, kicked out of the way earlier by the robot. He expected to spend the day alone waiting for his programming to click into night mode.
But someone had entered the room with him.
"Hey There Old Timer! Wanna Chat?" Phantom B.B. grinned as he strode up to the animatronic.
"So This Night Guard Is Giving You Some Trouble, And I'm Personally Unhappy With How Calm Everything Has Been. I Came Here For Thrills! Not Some Boring Game Of Cat And Mouse." The phantom laughed, if Springtrap could he would have hissed at him.
"But Let Me Get To The Point. You Hate Him, I Think He's Annoying. How About We Team Up? When He Comes In Tomorrow That Guard Won't Know What Hit Him!" The boy grins devilishly towards the robot.
Springtrap was tired of the nightguard getting away each night, if a team up is what was needed to finally corner him than so be it. Springtrap gave a short nod, it was the best he could do with his limited movement. Phantom BB smiled even wider. "Now That's What I'm Talking About! A Pleasure Working With You!" The phantom laughed and disappeared.
Leaving Springtrap alone to fester in his building frustration and rage.