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"Ge-Get ready for a surprise!"
Beware that this page may contain spoilers for related material. If you are new to anything, like if you have not played the games or read the books yet, please read at your own risk! |
“Matt redirects the residual anger over his many failed relationships into a video game, and ends up birthing the horrible consequences.” |
In the Flesh is the second story in Fazbear Frights 5: Bunny Call and chronologically the Fazbear Frights series' 14th story. It was written by Elley Cooper.
Characters[]
Humans[]
- Matt's Family
- Matt
- Matt's Mother
- Jamie
- Hannah
- Brianna
- Jason
- Meghan
- Eva
- Gary
- Gus
- Gene's Family
- Gene
- Gene's Mother
- Madison
- Emma
- Unnamed Police Officer
Animatronics[]
Locations[]
Plot[]
Matt is a game developer working on Springtrap's Revenge, a new cutting-edge VR game and the next installment in the popular Five Nights at Freddy’s series. His role is creating and refining Springtrap’s AI, which he did lots of research to perfect. Matt had previously gotten his dream life, marrying his college sweetheart and getting his dream job, but he soon found himself bored with his relationship. When his wife suggested starting a family, Matt tried as many excuses as possible to prevent that. When his wife found him messaging someone else, their marriage ended in divorce just a year after their one-year anniversary. Since then, Matt has had a string of girlfriends, but none of the relationships last over three months. He uses the rage from these breakups to help create Springtrap.
With the early glitches of the game worked out, Matt gets to play-test the game. In it, he has to escape a maze while being hunted by Springtrap. Matt dies to Springtrap twice in the same area, causing him to throw and destroy things in his cubicle. Infuriated that he’s losing to his own creation, he tries one more time and loses again. Matt, knowing he is in control and is the absolute ruler of the game’s world, programs it so Springtrap wanders the game alone at night and speeds up the game’s time frame by one thousand so one minute in the real world is one thousand for Springtrap. Satisfied, he returns home to his friend and roommate Jason.
After a mostly sleepless night, Matt is excited to return to work and check on Springtrap. He puts on the headset and notices that Springtrap is nowhere to be seen. Matt opens the game’s data log and discovers that Springtrap spawned a new version of himself, which immediately killed the old version. As this cycle continued, the murders grew in violence until half a million versions of himself were spawned and murdered. Matt searches the code and discovers Springtrap’s programming is fractured. Unable to delete the damaged program normally, he enters the game and finds Springtrap’s lifeless body. Matt goes to close the rabbit’s eyelids and, upon making physical contact, feels a sharp sting combined with a mild electrical jolt.
Later, Jason insists on going on a double date. Matt doesn’t think his date would be a perfect match, and he thinks he’s proven wrong when the two girls show up but is disappointed to see the blonde and athletic woman is Jason’s girlfriend. The other woman he thinks is just too plain compared to Jason’s date, and at the restaurant Matt attempts to date her instead. Matt tells stories about his life and accomplishments, and when left alone with her he asks for her number. Jason’s girlfriend refuses and, annoyed by Matt thinks is another delusional woman, storms off. He wakes up feeling queasy and throws up all his food. Matt goes to work and finds little success in repairing the game. He tells the head of his department he’ll be ready to present by Friday, and he goes to a nearby dive bar. Matt spots Pac-Man in the corner, which gives him the idea to simply program a new Springtrap into the game.
Meanwhile, an unemployed man named Gene hacks into the company's computer and gets an early copy of Springtrap's Revenge. He finds Springtrap's body and nudges it with his foot, but nothing happens. Confused, Gene looks at the game’s code and discovers that Springtrap had been extracted from the game by a program called "It's_a_boy.exe." While on another date at a steakhouse, Matt is incredibly hungry and eats as much as he can. His ravenous eating causes a scene, and his date leaves early. That night, Matt looks in the mirror and notices how bloated his belly is, but since his face is still handsome he thinks nothing of it. The next day, he throws up but still feels bloated and wonders if he has a virus.
At work, Matt’s coworker is concerned but he brushes her suggestions off as the meeting starts. With the game releasing in two weeks, reviews from early screening copies are mixed. The main issue every review agrees on is that the AI design of Springtrap is sloppy and subpar to the game’s standards. Matt snaps and accuses his supervisor of making those claims up, and he drives home enraged. He stops to eat fast food and returns home to Jason packing. Jason reveals that his girlfriend told him what Matt did, and he’ll be back in the morning to get his stuff. Blaming Springtrap for his misfortune, Matt drinks a beer and gets a headache. When he massages his head he feels a hard knot pushing against his scalp. Isolated and misunderstood, Matt cries for the first time in his adult life.
As Matt’s getting ready for another date, he’s unable to fasten his pants. He finds a pair that barely fits and arrives at the bar incredibly bloated and sweaty. Matt is disappointed when he discovers his date is chunkier than her profile picture used to be, seemingly having gained twenty-five pounds. The two barely talk when Matt begins to leave due to the pressure in his abdomen, and after telling his date she’s bigger she points out how bloated Matt is and calls him a hypocrite. The buttons on his shirt pop off as he leaves, and at home the pressure in his stomach and the pain from the weird knot gets worse. His shirts feel uncomfortable, and when he takes it off he sees movement underneath his belly. Desperate to get it out, Matt grabs the largest, sharpest kitchen knife and cuts open his stomach. He watches as a perfectly formed Springtrap the size of a healthy, newborn infant pulls itself out of the incision. This Springtrap, looking more real and organic, places Matt’s head on its lap, and as it strokes his cheek he hears the word Daddy.
Thinking Matt is at work, Jason arrives around ten a.m. only to find his corpse in a blood-drenched kitchen. He calls the police, who question him about Matt’s relationship with others. Jason doesn’t believe anyone would have wanted Matt dead, and asks why someone would do this to themselves. The police officer tells Jason stuff like this isn’t totally unusual in his line of work, and then he notices something. Putting on a rubber glove, the officer picks up a clump of green and fuzzy fur covered in slime. The officer and Jason don’t know what it is, so the officer wipes it away with a paper towel.
Speculation[]
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"I was the first! I have seen everything!"
This section archives a lot of theories and speculation, which usually occurs from pre-release media, or just things that are still unknown, so please keep that in mind while reading. The page will continue to be updated with the most accurate information as more solid evidence is supplied. |
- In this story, Springtrap represents both Glitchtrap and Plushtrap, whereas, Springtrap had escaped into the real world and became a manifestation, and when he was able to do that, he appeared in a baby version.
- It's implied that Matt wasn't only incubating the Springtrap fetus, but also turning into Springtrap himself.
- Throughout the story it's stated that Matt was becoming more aggressive, his skin took a sickly yellowish hue, his hair started thinning and a knot grew on his head in the place where Springtrap's ears would be.
Trivia[]
- The ending is foreshadowed by the story's description, where Matt is said to end up "birthing the horrible consequences."
- It is also foreshadowed by Springtrap's description, where he is referred to as "the child of Matt's rage."
- Furthermore, it is foreshadowed by Matt's refusal of his ex-wife Hannah to become pregnant, as he believed it would ruin her figure. His figure would end up being ruined by a pregnancy.
- This is the second story to have Fazbear Entertainment expand upon just being a children's restaurant chain, the first being Out of Stock, focusing on video game development rather than hosting a chain of pizzerias.
- There was an illustration made for this story, but the illustrations were ultimately scrapped for the whole series. Although it was reused for its own page in The Ultimate Guide.
- The illustration shows Springtrap glitching away, as if his code got extracted from the game.
- This illustration was also used as a teaser in Five Nights at Freddy's: The Ultimate Guide.
- Strangely, in this story, the events of Five Nights at Freddy's are considered a fictional video game franchise, similar to real life.
- This could also tie in with The Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience, in Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted, as the company wanted to make light of their properties and better themselves in the general public. This makes more sense when paired with Glitchtrap's story.
- The baby Springtrap and the Plushtrap Chaser seem eerily similar, although it's unlikely they are both the same entity.
- Some have theorized that Matt is a reference to Matpat, an online theorist famous for his FNaF theories and his friendly rivalry with Scott Cawthon. Scott Cawthon himself would later come out and confirm any potential references weren't intentional.
- In the Flesh is Scott's least favorite Fazbear Frights story.[1]