> "Welcome to the first day of your exciting new career!
Whether you were approached at a job fair, read our ad in Screws, Bolts, and Hairpins, or if this is the result of a dare — we welcome you!
I will be your personal guide to help you get started. I'm a Model 5 of the Handyman's Robotics and Unit Repair System, but you can call me… HandUnit.
Your new career promises challenge, intrigue, and endless janitorial opportunities!
Please enter your name as seen above the keypad. This cannot be changed later, so please be careful."
---
Well.
Isn't this a fantastic way to start things off?
---
The elevator vibrates as it descends, dimly lit by flickering fluorescents. The walls are lined with metal plating and bolts. There's even a poster of Baby and Ballora, faded and peeling at the corners — a cheerful lie plastered on cold steel.
I'm not sure how I got here. One second I was dying — pretty sure it was a classic car accident, though everything after the blinding lights is a blur — and the next, I woke up in this body. His body. Michael Afton.
Reincarnated. Or possessed. Or… whatever. All I know is, I'm not in my world anymore. And this body? It's not mine. But the memories flooding in, the sharp guilt and broken fragments of another life… those are real enough to make me feel sick.
Michael Afton — the guy who "accidentally" got his little brother killed at his birthday party with the help of his friends. The one whose father is William Afton, also known as the Boogeyman behind the slaughter. Yeah. That guy.
And now I'm on an elevator heading straight down into one of his twisted little funhouses. Not exactly the afterlife I imagined.
---
I reach for the keypad. I try to tap the letters, but the screen seems to be a bit too shaky — no surprise there — and if it weren't for me playing the game in my last life, I wouldn't even know what I typed. "Mike" turns into "Eggs Benedict."
Eggs Benedict, huh? Go figure.
> "It seems you had some trouble with the keypad. I see what you were trying to type, and I will auto-correct it for you. One moment. Welcome, Eggs Benedict."
Fantastic. Even the voice assistant is mocking me.
---
So here I am. Alive again — technically, for the next five nights. But stuck in a death trap filled with killer animatronics, faulty doors, and a father figure who makes Hannibal Lecter look well-adjusted. And no, I can't just leave. Believe me, I've thought about it. But if there's one thing I've already learned from the flickers of Mike's memories, it's that William Afton doesn't let you walk away.
He sent me here. Told me to come down and "put her back together." Whatever that means. And whether it's guilt, brainwashing, or some twisted version of loyalty, I'm going along with it.
For now.
---
Eventually, the elevator's light goes off, and the HandUnit starts speaking.
> "You can now open the elevator using that bright red and obvious button. Let's get to work."
I swallow hard.
This is where it starts. The game. The nightmare. The slow descent into madness, wires, and voices that shouldn't speak. But somehow, I already know how this ends.
Or how it's supposed to end.
Still... maybe fate isn't set in stone.
Maybe being Michael Afton with my mind means something different this time.
---
Dying sucked. No doubt about it.
But if this undead body comes with a second chance...
I'm not wasting it.
Even if it kills me again.
I proceed to press the button, and the door opens up. The other side has a vent at the bottom — and I go in.