Daddy Issues (FNAF) *ON HOLD*

Chapter Twelve: The Party

CW: Blood, child endangerment, slapping

It was Chris's birthday and the air in the Pizzeria was filled with the laughter and screams of young children. It was more lively than it had been in the past few weeks. Children crowded the stage at which the two golden animatronics stood. The arcade games added to the noise of the pizzeria. There were a group of preteens climbing up the ski ball games and dropping the balls in instead of actually playing. Annoyed teenage workers answered dumb questions from kids and adults alike. Parents of the children sat at the booth tables and chatted over pop and pizza. Michael, Rico, and Alyssa were searching for Chris, who had run off about a half an hour before.
             Michael peaked under a table in the corner and groaned.
            "I can't find Chris anywhere."
            "Maybe he went outside." Alyssa suggested, leaning against the table.
            "I doubt it. He's too scared to go out by himself." Michael sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Alyssa tapped her foot against the carpet.
            "We could try that room safe room." Rico chimed in, pointing behind his shoulder to the back hallway.
            "Yeah, I guess so." Michael said, stepping in the direction of the hallway with his friends following behind him.
             None of the kids or parents seemed to be concerned that the birthday boy had disappeared. Emily was the only one who noticed and asked the teens to look.
            Michael shoved open the heavy metal door that read 'Employees Only'.
            "Hey! You kids can't go back there!"
            The trio turned around to see a college age employee. He was crossing his arms over his chest. He had a badge on his purple button-up shirt. It had his name 'Devin' and 'Assistant Manager' on it.
            "Are you kids deaf or something? I said you can't go back there."
            "Look, Devin, we're looking for my brother. You know, Chris Afton, the son of your boss. Henry Emily, your other boss, sent us to look for him. I'm pretty sure we can go in here."
            "What about 'employees only' do you not understand?"
            Emily walked up behind Devin, placing his hand on his shoulder.
            "Is there a problem over here?"
            "Just these kids trying-"
            "These kids are fine. That's William's son and his friends. Don't go bothering them, Devin." Emily said, patting Devin's shoulder. He nodded at Michael and left the area.
            Michael stuck his tongue out. Devin grumbled and walked away.
            "Well, isn't he fun." Michael laughed.
            "Michael, don't be immature." Alyssa said.
            The trio walked into the hallway. After shutting the door, it was much darker than the rest of the building. "Ya know," Michael began, "I was thinking we give Chris a good scare today. He's been snooping around my stuff and I don't want him telling my dad."
            "What kind of stuff?" Alyssa asked as she ran her hand along the indents in the wall.
            "Oh I know." Rico teased, smirking.
            "Shut up, Rico! You don't know anything!" Michael shouted, elbowing him in the side. His face felt hot. He was glad it was dark; his friends couldn't see how flustered he was.
            "I'm just messing with you, Mike." He chuckled. Michael stomped on Rico's foot. He let out a groan of pain. He pulled the Foxy the Pirate mask he had on his head over his face.
            "Will you guys quit it?" Alyssa shouted, slapping both of their arms. Michael stopped in his tracks, causing Rico and Alyssa to bump into him.
            "Here's the safe room." He put his ear up to the door, hoping to hear his brother. There was another voice in there with Chris. Michael didn't recognize it.
            "What do you mean? Daddy's not bad..." Chris's voice was muffled. "I bet he's looking for me right now."
            "Do you hear anything?" Alyssa whispered.
            "He's talking to someone." He continued listening for a few moments. Michael turned the rusted door knob and pushed the door open. He slid the mask up to the top of his head and flicked on the lights. "Who are you talking to?"
            Chris tilted his head up from his Fredbear plush. His eyes were puffy and his cheeks were stained with tears. He dug his face into Fredbear. "Nobody. Where's daddy?" He squeezed his bear.
            "In his office."
            "Was he looking for me?"
            "Yes, then he sent us to look for you." Michael lied. His father was too busy in his office to notice Chris ran off.
            Alyssa snuck past Michael.
            "What happened? Why were you in here, with all of the lights off? " She asked in a soft voice. She glanced around the room. There were animatronic heads and parts scattered all around the room. "It's so creepy."
            Chris lifted up his bear. There was a rip in the arm stitching. "Some meanie tried to take Fredbear from me." He pulled his bear back into his chest. "I can't reach the light switch..."
            Michael snickered. Alyssa shot him a deadly glare.
             She held out her hand. "Come on, we can find someone to fix him." Chris took her hand. They stood up together and exited the safe room. The door shut behind them.
            Rico glanced around the room. "What the hell are these?"
            "Creepy robot parts my dad and Mr. Emily scrapped. They sometimes use these parts when stuff breaks." Michael explained, picking up an empty Fredbear head. This one was never used, but still looked worn. He set it back down on the shelf.
            "Creepy." Rico muttered, leaving Michael alone in the room.
            Michael awkwardly patted the Fredbear head and left.
 
            "So, what's your plan?" Rico asked, taking a sip of his drink.
            "I was thinking we hold him up to Fredbear; he hates the animatronics so much. It'll scare him shitless." Michael chuckled.
            Rico mixed his drink with the straw. "Put his head in the bears mouth."
            Michael laughed.
            "That'll scare the absolute shit out of him." He took a sip of his drink, glancing over at the stage with the animatronics.
            "You guys are assholes." Alyssa said. "You better not hurt him."
            "Oh, I won't."
            All of the younger kids crowded the stage as the animatronics performed their songs. Chris sat at a table by himself. He was playing with his bear. "Let's go." Michael stood up from the table and slipped the mask on over his face. Rico did the same.
            "I'm not gonna be apart of your scheme. He's only six." Alyssa protested.
            Michael rolled his eyes. He approached the table and scooped up his little brother from the chair. Chris looked up at Michael with wide eyes.
           
            "Put me down, Foxy!" He squealed and squeezed his Fredbear with one hand, hitting Michael's chest with the other. Michael pushed through the crowd of kids. When he reached the stage, he hopped up onto it. He glanced down. Rico stood at the crowd.
            "Say hello to Fredbear." Michael hoisted Chris up by his legs, forcing him to look at the animatronic.
            Chris started kicking at Michael and punching the bear's nose. "Put me down!" He cried again. Michael held Chris as closely as possible to the bear's mouth.
            "Only if you don't tell dad about my notebook."
            "Okay! I wo-"
            A loud crack rang throughout the Pizzeria. Blood splattered and seeped out of the animatronics mouth. Michael's face and hands were covered in his brother's blood. Time stopped for a moment, leaving Michael to stare at his crime. His ears rang and could barely hear the crowd of kids and adults screaming. Michael stood there, up on the stage, completely horrified.
            Within a few moments, what he had done hit him and he snapped out of his trance. "CHRIS!" Michael threw off his mask and carefully pulled his injured brother out of danger. "DAD!" He shrieked for his father. He sat on the edge of the stage, cradling his brother in his arms. Blood dripped out of his brother's wounds and soaked into his clothes. "Chris, come on! Can you hear me?" Tears soon clouded his vision. He turned his head to Rico. "Get my dad!"
            Before Rico was able to leave the room, his father entered. "What the hell have you done?" His father yelled.
            "I-I was just trying to scare him! I didn't mean to hurt him! I swear!" Michael cried, looking up at his father who wore a darkened expression. Chris was ripped from his arms and he was met with a firm slap on the cheek. Michael held his hand up to his cheek. His skin stung. He bore the same scared expression Chris had just a few moments ago. 
            There was an unusual first rage in his father's cold eyes. "I don't need to hear it from you!" His father turned around and left the room carrying Chris.
            "Are you okay?" Rico asked, sitting down next to Michael. He couldn't bring himself to speak and only shook his head. Rico wrapped his arm around Michael's shoulder.
            Alyssa came running towards them; Emily followed shortly behind. "What happened? I heard screaming. Oh my god! Michael! You're covered in blood! Are you hurt?" She asked frantically. She cupped his face and turned it from side to side.
            "He's not hurt. Chris is." Rico answered.
            "Michael, what happened?" Emily asked calmly.
            "Mike wanted to play a prank on Chris, and that clearly didn't go well." Rico explained, rubbing Michael's shoulder.
            She covered her mouth. "Oh my god..." She picked up Chris's bear off the stage. It had a few spots of blood. "I hope he turns out okay..." She said softly, placing the bear in Michael's lap. She wrapped her arms around him, not caring that he was covered in blood. Michael returned the hug. "Don't worry, Michael..."
            "You kids should probably get home soon." Rico and Alyssa looked up at Emily. "You can stay and comfort Michael for a little while, but we're gonna have to close down the restaurant soon." They both nodded. Emily ruffled Michael's hair and left the room. The pizzeria had been deserted.

            Hours later, Michael sat on the stage, leaning against the wall. Chris and his father had left for the hospital hours ago. He stayed with Emily who had to stay while police investigated. They had questioned Michael, but he wasn't up for talking. The officer who arrested him at the bridge was there, and kept giving him dirty looks. The police dubbed the animatronics and springlock suits too unsafe for people. New, safer animatronics had to be made by the end of September or the pizzeria would be shut down for good. It would be closed temporarily if they made the deadline.
            He was mostly cleaned of blood. Emily forced him to clean up and gave him his flannel to wear. Michael was playing with Chris's bear. As Emily entered the room, Michael looked up at him.
            "Can we go see him?"
            "Probably not until tomorrow. He has to get surgery immediately and I'm not sure how long it could take." Emily sighed. "You could pack him a bag of some things, like his favorite comic books. And we could get his bear cleaned up to bring it to him." He made the gesture with his head to follow him. Michael jumped up from the stage and followed. "Your cheek has a red mark on it, what happened? You didn't get hurt too, did you?"
            Michael took a deep breath.
            "My dad hit me."
            "He what?" Emily stopped and turned around. "William hit you?" His voice had raised and tone changed.
            "It didn't hurt that much."
             "It doesn't matter if it didn't hurt that badly. That bastard knows never to lay a hand on his children." Emily huffed and began walking again. "He has this coming."