Mechanical Hearts- Chapter 1

As you walked into the pizzeria, the first thing you noticed was the smell infused into the place. It was the delicious aroma of pizza, but not just any pizza... This was the high-quality stuff! Automatically, your mouth began to water and you tried to force the gut reaction back. You were here to get a job, not have pizza! Though, you could definitely understand why adults came here now from the smell alone. There really was something to the tagline to the place, "A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike."

Okay push that back, you needed to be professional. You drew youself up higher in an attempt to stand proudly before nearly being mowed over by a group of children. You gave an undignified yelp as a giggling girl raced by holding a purple plush bunny, followed quickly by three other children. An older man called out after them, trying to catch up to the young ones before shooting you an apologetic glance.

You shrugged it off. After all, it was a children's playplace, you'd expected that kind of conduct walking in. You looked up at the lobby of the pizzeria, noting that it was a sort of isolated area with a corridor on each side leading somewhere. Fanciful colors and shapes were outlined on the white ceiling, stenciled on by an artist. A great sign hung over the entrance, welcoming all to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The faces of the mascots were depicted in a cartoonish style on the banner. 'I'll bet that those are going to be the animatronics I have to work with,' you thought to yourself as you tore your gaze away from the sign.

There was a front desk to your left, a sign on the front reading 'Party Registration' and a podium next to it with a sign that read 'Please wait to be seated'. Somewhere in the distance you could hear music and sounds from game machinery as well as another type of music in the background. A dull undercurrent of many voices echoed just under the music. Suddenly, a young woman emerged from around the back of the desk. She wore blue slacks and a white shirt with the pizzeria logo emblazoned on the front. "Hello and welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza!" she chirped happily, "How can I help you out today?"

In your panic of trying to gather your wits, the only thought that occured to your flailing mind was, 'Well, at least the uniforms are decent...' "U-um, yes!" you sputtered, attempting to realign your thoughts, "I'm actually here about the mechanical engineer job..."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Really?" she asked, her tone astonished, "You're the new mechanic?" She paused for a moment, scrutinizing you gently. You felt your cheeks start to heat up from the quiet gaze. "You're... much younger than we thought you'd be. You're probably my age." She giggled, then gestured to the desk. "Wait here at the desk, I'll call Mr. Faz up to the front. He said he wanted to speak with you first." You nodded numbly as she hurried herself over to the desk to answer a ringing phone.

You felt your mind lock up, stuck repeating nervous spirals of failiure in your head. 'What if this isn't the great job they made it out to be? What if Mr. Faz changes his mind? And those others that he mentioned, what if they don't like me?' You were shaken from your imminent breakdown by the sound of a PA system chiming to life over the ceiling speakers.

"Attention, valued Fazbear customers! We regret to inform you that our doors will be closing for the day in 30 minutes. Thank you very much for spending time with us. We hope to see you again soon!" The voice was a kind female voice, though it was not the woman that just helped you. Either it was someone in the back or a recording. Soon there was a chorus of movement in the background of the building's ambient noise as a good portion of customers seemed to be moving to pay and exit.

You shook your head to clear it, wanting desperately to get your thoughts straight. You were determined to pull this off without a hitch. There was no room for negative thinking! You brushed a few strands of [h/c] hair away from your face while you psyched yourself up. You were interrupted by a joyful man's voice. "Well well, [Miss/Mr.] [l/n]!" Mr. Faz called out, "Right on time! Punctual, I like that."

You immediately stuck your hand out to shake with him as he did the same. He took it and shook heartily, his eyes sparkling with humor behind his glasses. Mr. Faz was a jolly sort of man, a bit on the short side. He was a bit stout as well, but not overly so. Thinning dark brown hair formed a short ruffled look on his head. He wore the same uniform as the girl did, with the exception of a bear-patterned tie and a pin that read "OWNER, Mr. Phillip Faz" on his shirt.

"Um, actually, sir," you started as he continued pumping your hand up and down, "I prefer to be called [y/n], if you don't mind." You hoped that he didn't mind the informality, it just wasn't in your nature. He gave another laugh, finally releasing your hand from his grip. You wriggled your fingers slightly in merciful freedom.

"Don't like formalities, huh?" he asked, "Well, that's a good thing around here. Here at Freddy Fazbear's we try to treat everyone like family. So now I guess I can skip all the [Miss'/Mr.'s] then! Great, fantastic." You couldn't help but smile at the man in front of you. His jolly attitude and constant smiling was actually helping you feel better about the whole situation. He placed a hand on your shoulder, turning you towards the right of the lobby and pointing the both of you down a long corridor. "Right-a-rooney, I won't show you everything until we're closed, but let's let you get a feel for my establishment once and for all."

He began guiding you down the hall, his hand still at your shoulder. "So then! Last time we met, you said that you'd never been to my little pizzeria before. Is that right, [y/n]?" You replied in the negative, shaking your head. He chuckled again, giving your shoulder another reassuring pat before letting go. "Oh, boy. I love seeing peoples' faces the first time that they get a good look."

As you let him walk you along the hallway, the sounds of game machinery and children's laughter rang louder in your ears. You glanced at the walls of the corridor in silence. They were lined with flat glass display cases filled to the brim with children's drawings... Most of them depicted the children having fun in the pizzeria, but almost all of them featured one or more of what looked to be the animatronic figures in the pictures. You smiled to yourself. The imagination of these children was a beautiful thing, playing with the mascots on paper.

Mr. Faz noticed you observing the cases. "Yes, children often draw pictures for our friends here," he told you, gesturing to the many pieces of art drawn in crayon, marker, and pencil. 'Friends?' you thought to youself. "Heck, even some adults do too." He chuckled as he pointed to a pencil drawing by a more skilled hand than a child's. You raised your brow at this, but shrugged. In your opinion, if someone wants to draw something, they draw it. No matter what age they are.

You noticed the music and voices getting less muffled as you both came upon an opening. Just as you were about to turn the corner onto an elevated part of the walkway, Mr. Faz spoke up again. "On behalf of- well, myself," he smirked, "I'd like to welcome you, [y/n], to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza." As you rounded the corner, you almost couldn't believe your eyes. You felt your jaw go slack just a bit and you didn't even bother correcting it.

A large circular open room was laid out in front of you, obviously having been hidden by the wall at the front of the building. Murals were drawn on the rounded walls, sprawling and colorful. Many, many game machines were scattered about the floor with their lights flashing and music chiming. There were booths at the walls of the room where some people were sitting and eating the last of their pizza or counting tickets. A prize counter and a sign leading to the customer exit and registers was on the far wall, a line of people at both. A section of the curved back wall was occupied by a stage, sound equipment at the back of the stage along with a stylized red guitar. Close to that is what looked like a playstage that was set up to resemble a pirate ship, but some things on it were low-set to cater to children getting up and playing on it. Many tables were set up in front of the two stages, a party seemed to be wrapping up there.

You were in total awe at the sight sprawled in front of you, looking over the whole room from the high-up point of view. Was this... Was this what child heaven looked like...? A noise above you caught your attention and you looked up just in time to see a large colored ball rolling through a tube-and-conveyor-belt device that framed the whole top of the room. The whole mechanism was sealed in see-through tubes and bolted securely to the ceiling and walls. Mr. Faz chuckled next to you as you stood with a dumbstruck expression.

"Oh, I love seeing people discover this place," he adjusted his glasses with a wide smile. "I'm glad to see that you appreciate what I have built." The older man gestured to a small set of stairs leading down to the main floor. "Shall we?"

Oh, heck yeah. You carefully readjusted yourself in embarassment, trying to pick your gawking jaw off of the floor before you followed him. How come you never knew that this was an hour away from your home?! This was NO fair... But then again... You might actually work here with any luck, but until you knew for sure... It was sure going to be a kick living here for a week!

Mr. Faz started talking again as you both descended onto the main floor, so you had to tune back into the real world quickly. "-my pride and joy. But of course, this couldn't have been at all possible without the miracle that was the Freddy Fazbear gang." You blinked in contemplation as he began to speak louder in order to be heard over the music and noise. "It all started back when I was just starting to build this place-"

He gestured you forward and you came to a stop as he placed an arm around your shoulders again. He pointed to a group of people when he continued. "You see those figures over there? They are the key to my success... And they'll be the key to your success too, if they like you." You squinted into the group of people as the man beside you fell silent. There were a few adults hanging back with big smiles on their faces as they watched their children. The children were grouped together, chattering excitedly to- the mascots?

The children were smiling and carrying on, speaking with what looked to be large bear, bunny, and bird characters. You watched as the mascots smiled and laughed as well, carrying on with the children happily. 'Huh, must be people in a costume...' You thought to yourself as you twisted your mouth in a confused gesture. What was so special about-? Wait. There were metal pieces just visible in the joints between the fur on their costumes. A person could never fit their arms and legs in a costume with those components... They couldn't... be people in a costume.

You stared agape as a young girl jumped up to the bear and hugged onto his legs. The bear laughed again and reached down, wrapping his arms around her in a gentle hug. Several other children took this as a prompt and rushed the mascots, all of them ending up with armfuls of children. The animals looked truly happy though, hugging each child by themselves at least once as their parents gathered them up to leave.

Mr. Faz drew himself up proudly. "Yes, those are the animatronics that you are going to be helping repair and maintain here. Several years ago when I first started out with my pizzeria, I was offered a chance to test out an experimental type of animatronic by a tech company." The man adjusted his tie as he spoke. "They offered to compensate me well for testing them and I agreed. The AIs were made to my specifications and the children ended up liking them so much..."

Mr. Faz and yourself watched as a boy asked to be picked up by the bird animatronic and she complied, gently lifting the boy. He whispered something to her and handed her a drawing before hugging the yellow bird. "Once the trial run was over I asked that instead of compensation, they allow me to buy them for permanent use here in the pizzeria. The rest, as they say, is history." He smiled to himself as the animatronics waved good-bye to the children. "They talk, walk, and think just like you or me. They each have a personality that is their own and they have emotions and feelings as well."

"N-n-no way..." you whispered in awe. You'd read about AI like this in a magazine a few years ago, you heard that it had been perfected and that it was finally being developed for consumer use... But you'd never imagined that the trial run was being hosted less than a hour's drive from your freaking house! You'd always wanted to get your hands on this type of animatronic and now... here they were, standing right in front of you!

"Come on, [y/n]," Mr. Faz smiled and waved you on, "I'll introduce you to your new co-workers." The older man grasped your wrist and tugged you towards the animatronics.