The VHS tape was straightforward enough. It specifically mentioned a relocation project: moving animatronics to open a new Bon's Burgers. Mike had Lolbit look into it when he was at home. According to her, the place shut down a couple of days after opening and, surprisingly enough for a restaurant with animatronics, carried its own history of missing people.
Now Mike was driving toward the facility hidden deep within the Saint Juan Forest Reserve. It was a long drive out from Utah, so the other two had been sleeping the entire ride right up until a harsh, bumpy path violently jolted them awake. Mike hadn't planned on letting them pick him up at his house anyway, so he'd agreed to handle the driving.
"Are we finally here?" Kevin said, looking exhausted for someone who had just woken up. "I sure hope you guys are prepared, because we're going to be having a wonderful next few days with some wonderful animatronics."
Getting out of the car, Kevin stretched while Ashley started recording on the camera.
"So why are you recording the doorway?" Kevin asked. "Is there something I'm supposed to watch out for, or are you just planning to edit me getting tetanus into a documentary?"
"You really didn't do your homework," Mike said.
"Nancy wants everything recorded for the higher-ups," Ashley said, keeping the lens focused ahead. "Besides, if you had paid attention to the news, you would know that several cases occurred around Bon's Burgers."
"Damn," Kevin muttered.
"And there were complaints from people who lived near the restaurant about the place playing music at midnight. Two, three in the morning. Lights on. Weird, because back then the company didn't really worry about hiring night guards. The place officially closed when people reported hearing the screams of an adult woman inside."
"That got dark," Kevin said, shifting uncomfortably.
"If something does happen to us, it will be recorded and handed over to the police to deal with," Ashley added.
"So are we done with the lore? If so, can we do what we came here to do?" Mike interrupted.
"I'm suddenly having second thoughts," Kevin muttered.
"If you follow the instructions on the VHS tape you were supposed to watch, then there won't be a problem," Mike deadpanned.
The three of them opened the door and walked in. Just on the other side was the resting area. The light was dim and flickering, so they took out a flashlight. The place was dusty and messy.
Kevin looked around the dusty room. "So what exactly did Nancy want us to do with the assets?"
"According to this checklist, we need to salvage animatronic parts and take them back to Freddy's," Mike replied. "And, if possible, repair the animatronics, although mechanic stuff isn't exactly in my job description."
"Well, Nancy included you in the crew, so you're stuck here regardless of what your contract says," Ashley pointed out. "Unless you want to spend a really long time walking back."
"Why does Nancy want us repairing these animatronics?" Kevin asked.
"Who knows. Maybe get them back on stage or something. Just focus on cleaning this place up a bit, prepare the sleeping bags, then take a look around," Ashley said as she placed down the camera.
Mike took charge of moving the crates aside, tossing the heavy wooden boxes effortlessly as rusted metal scraped loudly against the floor. Kevin lazily dragged an old broom through decades of grime, coughing into his elbow.
"Seriously, Mike," Kevin wheezed, "do your lungs not burn from this? How are you not nauseous?"
Mike didn't even pause. "Some people can handle environments like this better than others; I just seem to be one of those."
Nearby, Ashley's shoes struck something under a broken bench with a sharp metallic clink. She crouched down, wiping away a layer of dust to reveal a tarnished brass key. Unrolling the sleeping bags onto the cleared patch took less than two minutes, though none of them looked particularly thrilled about sleeping on the cold floor.
"Well, it seems like this is as clean as it's gonna get," Kevin said, dusting off his hands. "Are we ready to start actual work?"
Ashley grabbed the camera to resume recording. The three of them pushed open the door into the next hallway, where three heavy doors lined the opposite wall. Ashley tried using the key on each lock, but it wouldn't fit in any of them. Pushing past the one marked Employees Only, their flashlights cut through the dark to reveal the looming silhouettes of the abandoned animatronics standing motionless.
"Kevin, help me take apart and reprogram this sheep," Ashley instructed, stepping up to Sha with her tools ready. "Mike, take those boxes with parts back to the resting area."
Mike began carrying the crates, moving between the two rooms, setting them down before returning for the rest. He moved the boxes effortlessly; by the time he dropped the final crate onto the pile, a good chunk of time had passed.
Ashley and Kevin were standing over Sha, a pile of rusted screws sitting on the floor between them and the sheep animatronic's left arm lying completely detached on the table. Kevin was practically leaning against the wall for support, wiping sweat from his face.
"Hand me that connector," Ashley instructed.
She clicked the cable into place, and the animatronic violently moved around. Sha's eyelids snapped open with a harsh clack, and her head twitched.
"It's going to take a long time to reprogram them, and that's not mentioning repairing them," Ashley sighed, stepping back to wipe her brow. "Help me take a look at Bon."
Working together, they connected a couple of wires through the damaged chest plate. Ashley bypassed the blown relays while Kevin held the flashlight steady.
"Alright, Mike, activate it," Ashley instructed.
A sharp, violent hiss of pneumatic pressure exploded from Bon's neck joints. The blue rabbit jolted into motion with a loud mechanical screech. His head snapped forward at a sickening angle, eyes rolling erratically before locking straight ahead. The jaw began to snap open and close with a rhythmic crunch clack, clack, clack as the fried speaker burst to life, spitting out a garbled, pitch-bent jingle through heavy static: 'W-W-Welcome to B-B-Bon's-' before dissolving into high-pitched feedback.
"Holy shit!" Kevin stumbled backward, hitting a storage rack.
Ashley immediately yanked the wires connecting to Bon. The pneumatics gave one final, dying hiss before Bon collapsed into complete silence. None of them moved for several seconds. Kevin gagged, pulling his shirt over his nose against the suffocating stench of burnt copper and old grease, while Ashley waved the smoke out of her face. Mike just stood beside them, staring at the dead animatronic without reacting to the fumes.
Kevin panted, leaning against his knees. "My hands are shaking, my back hurts, and I'm pretty sure that rabbit just tried to bite my face off. Can we continue this tomorrow?"
"Probably for the best. I'm tired as well," Ashley admitted, looking down at her pocket, "though I'm curious as to where this small key leads."
"We have enough time to worry about that later," Mike said plainly.
Upon reaching the sleeping bags, Ashley stopped the recording and placed the camera down beside her. Kevin switched off his flashlight and collapsed onto his sleeping bag, exhausted. Mike turned off his flashlight as well, lay down and pulled out his phone to text Lolbit.
Mike: Lolbit, you there?
Lolbit: Right here.
Mike: Can you check to see if this place has cameras? If it does, see if you can get into the feed and share it to my phone.
Lolbit: Sure, give me a moment... Well, it seems this place doesn't have cameras.
Mike: I see. So how exactly is everyone doing at home?
Lolbit: Everything seems to be going great. Angel went out for a walk, and Yenndo went along with her to keep an eye on her, even though we got her on house arrest; sure doesn't get any more entertaining.
Mike: I'm sure we can figure something out when I get back.
Lolbit: Hopefully soon enough, though. Try not to miss us too much.
Mike put away his phone, closed his eyes, and eventually fell asleep.