AN: Welcome to Gamble Your Life, the reboot. New Title, summary, style and layout, everything!
If you have any issues with anything in the story, criticisms, opinions, questions, review or PM me and I'll respond best I can and address your concern and improve and update should the need arise.
Strong Language Warning!

Nero POV

Waking up to the ceiling of my new home was a sight I had yet to tire of, if the sleepy grin was anything to go by. Months of patience and struggling had finally led up to me being able to get a new home away from my parents, 'friends' or anyone else I may know. A completely fresh start where I could make a name for myself and rise up in the community so when people saw me they'd go "Hey, I know that guy!"

Or something like that.

Shaking my head, I slid out of bed, my feet making contact with the soft carpet covering the floor of my room. A glance at my alarm clock revealed it had just gone five past eleven, meaning I had slept in later than I had intended which caused me to groan in slight frustration. I had missed the debut of that new anime I wanted to watch. I could watch it later, but I seriously wanted to watch it as it came out.

Speaking of anime, a look around my room would reveal to anyone just how big a fan of anime I was. Posters were splashed around my room of various characters from shows I had watched over the years – So what if I've spent a good chunk of my life watching anime? It was worth it!

Anyway, the most distinctive one was of a pink haired girl with small red horns atop her head which was placed just above my bed. A silent good morning was exchanged between the poster and I, before I decided I'd had enough messing around and made my way to the bathroom for a shower, quickly removing the clothes I had on and entering the small cubicle.

Hissing, I flinched away from the shower head which had decided to rain down cold water on my defenceless body as I pulled and twisted the handle to the left. I could only glare at it as the water took its sweet time to heat up to a level I could call satisfactory before washing myself down.

Three weeks. I had been living in this house after having been eager to leave my old town to come to this one and I had been surviving (If you could even call it that) on the wad of money that my parents had given me. Trying to find a job was harder than the teachers in high school made it seem, near nigh impossible in fact, considering the large number of places I had applied for. But I guess it's understandable. After all, what business would want to hire a teenager basically fresh out of college and with no work experience in any field apart from what he'd taught himself?

None. That's who.

So, to scrape by, I had been living as cheaply as I possibly could, within reason of course. That means microwave dinners because, one I'm an utter mess in the kitchen even with the dinners, two I don't have to worry too much about gas bills and three they can actually be pretty decent as long as you don't get the same thing for a week! Also, candles and blankets work surprisingly well together as a replacement for using the radiators on chilly nights.

I should start my own TV show!

"Barely managing to survive in your own house" – Now that's a show I bet would rake in the money.

An amused sigh left my mouth, as I turned off the water and got out of the shower, wasting no time to wrap a towel around my body while grabbing another to dry my hair off. I stopped in front of the mirror, turning to face it as I analysed myself in it. Personally, I wouldn't say I was the most muscular person in the world but nor would I say I wasn't somewhat muscular, I was somewhere in between. Black skin, brown eyes and hair styled in a fade with a mess of a bush on top. With a frown, I aggressively rubbed the towel into my hair before grabbing a sponge with several holes in it to twist said bush into the iconic stylized look I like to call: "Skin fade with twists"

"I should copyright that" I mutter under my breath. All the money I'd be able to sue off of people if I hear them ask their barber for it.

After getting dressed in a plain black t-shirt, jeans and trainers of a similar colour, I went downstairs into the kitchen, making sure to pick up the newspaper by the front door on the way, and poured myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I mean, what better way to start the day than with coco pops?

Yes, I'm a child at heart.
Yes, buying a two-story house may have been a stupid decision while I'm this young.
No, I'm not bothered by either of these things.
Well, maybe the second one a tad but I guess I'm planning for the future?

Moving over to the living room, I sat on the sofa and started on my breakfast while idly flicking through the paper in hopes of finding either an interesting story or an open job position. Only it didn't take long at all for the latter to appear, the first thing that stuck out on the page was this picture of…

A bear?

Confused, I pushed my cereal away for moment because whatever this was it had piqued my interest.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizza

"That restaurant place a few blocks out?" I murmured, glancing up at the window as if I'd be able to see it from where I was sat.

Family pizzeria looking
for security guard to
work the night shift
12 am to 6 am.

Monitor cameras, ensure
safety of equipment and
animatronic characters.

Not responsible for
injury/dismemberment.

$120 a week.
To apply call:
1-888-FAS-FASBEAR

I stared at the advert. Completely forgetting about my cereal, I dived to reach my mobile phone which was conveniently charging on the coffee table beside the sofa.

Note to self, don't leave phone or charger downstairs.
Take them upstairs next chance you get.

As I was putting in the number, I hesitated. A glance up at the text above the number which read "Not responsible for injury/dismemberment" was explanation enough. A nervous grin overtook my features as I looked at the phone and really wondered if what it said was legit. If it was then I'd be risking my body for the sake of just $120 a week. Is that really worth it?

My body or $120?
Money or my personal safety?
Life is full of hard decisions like this isn't it…

"Hello?"

"Shit!" I cursed loudly, the somewhat quiet voice scaring me, as my hand jerked upwards causing my phone to launch up into the air and me to scramble to save it from falling to the ground. Clutching it with both hands, I let out a sigh of relief just before realising that I had actually called the number unintentionally. Damn muscles acting on their own! Panicked, I brought the phone up to my ear and said the first thing that came to mind

"Nero is me and I'd love to be a security guard for you please!" My mouth moved faster than my mind could come up with words meaning that mess of a request was going to be my first impression. Unless they heard me curse at the start. Then that'd make things just be really awkward.

The line was silent and I held my breath pleading that, as unsure as I was about applying, I hadn't ruined my chances before even giving in to the opportunity.

"Sorry, how old are you please?" The voice, female I might add, asked with a bit of suspicion to her tone which made me swallow the saliva that may or may not have been building up from my nerves.

"I'm seventeen, ma'am!" I more or less shouted, my anxiousness getting the best of me again led me to wince as I thought I had definitely ruined my chances this time.

"Oh really? That's great then, for a moment I thought you were like a fifteen-year-old or something" Her voice wavered slightly at the start, it was off-putting for some reason, but she quickly recovered. Although, should I be offended she just said I sound like a fifteen-year-old or just accept it and laugh in an attempt to brush over it?

I gave a half-hearted chuckle which quickly died in my throat when the line had gone silent again. What's with this lady and going silent?

"Hello, you still there?" Calmed from my earlier embarrassment, I checked to see if I was still actually on the line to someone after the silence intruded for longer than I was comfortable with.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, sorry. Just sorting through paperwork, you know, managerial stuff and things." No, I don't know actually "If you can get down here for quarter to twelve tonight that'd be fantastic and you'll start tonight"

"Eh, just like that?" My thought slipped out of my mouth due to the absolute disbelief that I had just been given a job like it was nothing. I had been looking for days and, all of a sudden, my search is over just through a simple phone call.

What the hell?
SO ANTI-CLIMACTIC!

"Yup! Any questions? No? Byee~!"

"What? No way that's it. No interview or anything! Do I even have any uni-" A drawn out beep signalled the end of the call.

Flabbergasted.
That was the only word to describe what I was currently feeling.
Only for the realisation to properly sink in that I'd actually got a job.

A silent fist pump to the sky and I was shoving my phone into my pocket, rushing upstairs to grab a jacket, rushing back down to the front door, grabbing the keys as I went, and rushing outside to my motorbike in some form of eagerness to get to see the place I'd be working at "I mean, it was odd, but I have the job now and it's better I be prepared for it rather than turn up and not even know where to go on the first night" I muttered, quickly setting it as my destination on my phone.

The lock wrapped around my tire came off easily upon being unlocked and, seeing as it would be a short trip, I simply put it around my waist for the time being, as if it was a makeshift belt. Stupid? Maybe, but it beat the effort of raising the seat compartment up. Glancing at my phone, I realised that it had just gone half twelve and I groaned quietly as I leaned forward in my seat "Hopefully they're not too busy, lunch rush and all"

It's Saturday.
Saturday lunch time at a kid's restaurant.
Of course they'll be busy.

Just before I set off, I realised that I was missing a vital piece to my outfit "Damn it, my helmet's in the house still" Although I could just go back inside and get it, looking at the entrance and just how many steps I'd have to take to get over to it (That's like nine whole steps) dissuaded me from doing so and I just flicked my hood up instead "May not offer as much protection but it'll do, looks like it'll rain anyway…" With that said, I set off in the general direction of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, following my phone's directions as best I could.

The journey there was actually shorter than I anticipated, it helped that there wasn't much traffic on the roads and I hadn't ended up taking a wrong turn at any point. The restaurant wasn't much to look at from the outside, a simple grey building with a red band going across it at the top with "Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria" written on the front and pictures of what I assume are the mascots of the place.

I shivered.

Seeing that the parking lot at side was basically full, I simply wheeled my bike onto the pavement where there was a bicycle rack standing just to the side of the building, in front of the car park, and unlocked the chain wrapped around me in order to lock my bike up to the rack. Now, up close and personal with the building, there was one large window which was looking into some sort of reception area with a guy sat behind a desk looking bored out of his mind. As I made my way to the door, which was all the way to the right side of the wall to make space for the window, I checked the time yet again to find that only fifteen minutes had passed "Guess I'll have to leave my house at around half past if I want to make it on time, probably earlier though. Just in case" I thought aloud quietly as I put my phone back in its pocket.

Pizza. Cheese and tomato, the overwhelming scent of sweet things and screams and shouts of children was what plagued several of my senses when I entered. Swiftly followed by a loud grumbling to which I whipped my head around several times to find the origin of. A repeat of the groan let me know it was my own stomach and I couldn't help but facepalm when I realised "I hadn't even finished my cereal" I whined to myself, rubbing my stomach gently, before sighing with the intent to now focus my attention on why I was there.

Moving gingerly to the front desk, I could now see the man clearer who was sat behind the desk with his right elbow on the desk and head supported by his right hand as he kept it leant on the hand. White, green eyes, black spiked hair. A rare combination, at least for me, to actually see in person but one I actually found myself fascinated by.

"Hello?" His extremely bored and monotone voice shook me out of my stupor of analysing his face with disappointment because I didn't think the voice and the face went well together. Oh well, his genetics are probably the one to blame.

"Oi, sorry but the whole party room has been rented out and all the guest seem to have arrived already so if you want to come in you'll have to-"

After listening to him say something that sounded like it had been read a thousand times and committed to memory, I decided to cut him off "Um, I actually work here now apparently…New night guard, got hired literally around twenty minutes ago?"

The moment I said "New Night" he had perked up completely with his eyes wide and his head off the hand he had been resting it on as he sat up straight and stared at me with some sort of fear. Did my voice scare him or something?

"You're the new night guy?" I nod as he looks me up and down, I can't deny that I feel a little uncomfortable with him clearly judging me "Poor kid"

"What?" My mouth instantly blurted out the question as soon as I picked up on the whisper under his breath, but he only waved me off before going back to his previous pose and looking at the computer he has set up on the desk.

"Head through the double doors over there" He jerks his head off to the left "And ask for a Mike Schmidt. I'm sure he'd love to help you out…" Something is off about his tone right at the end and familiar at the same time, familiar in terms of being recently heard. Shrugging, I give him a quick 'thanks' before walking briskly over to the doors.

Of course, I was still excited and eager to do what I came to do but my interactions with the receptionist man (or should I call him my co-worker?) had dulled down that excitement tremendously with his aura of being bored and his voice being basically devoid of any emotion. Was being a receptionist really that bad?

Regardless, I was here on a mission and I can't stop and turn back now!

First impressions, face to face I mean, are everything and the receptionist telling whoever the boss is that I turned up and left before even finding them would certainly paint a bad image. Licking my lips, I pushed the door open and was battered with the even louder shouts of children and some sort of weird singing that sounded too robotic to be real. My hands reacted quickly, shutting the door to protect my poor ears from anymore abuse only to catch the snickering of the guy at the desk.

"My bad, should've told you the band were performing" What was the point of an apology if you didn't even attempt to sound genuine!

A glare was all I sent his way as I went through the doors, better prepared for the noise this time. A few adults turned their head my way, only a few looked curious about me, but they soon turned their heads back to whatever it was they were looking at in front of them – to the right of me. Walking forward, I kept my eyes straight and weaved between the hyperactive children as I blocked out the singing for now – for some reason my head was screaming at me not to look at the source of it.

Literally screaming.
Like, I just came in and now I'm getting the feeling I should actually leave.
Odd, kinda scary, but doing this right was more important than my paranoia.

The employees loitering towards the back gave me confused stares, so I walked over to the closest one while clearing my throat "Um, hey there"

"Hey, can I help you?" He replied, his tone laced with weariness as he frowned and looked me up and down. Again, being judged like this made me uncomfortable and I couldn't help but fidget a bit as I avoided eye contact.

"I think so? My name's Nero, just got hired and I'm looking for a Mike Skidmt?" I explained briefly, making eye contact yet again as he finally stopped analysing me, eyes lighting up and eyes widening with surprise as a shaky smile etched itself on to his face.

"You're the new night guard, huh? How old are you?" His tone completely shifted and, if anything, he seemed too cheerful now but I can't complain. It suited the energy around us and it put me at slight ease that it didn't seem like I was going to get in trouble as he accepted my explanation so quickly.

But then again, why does it seem so forced?

"I'm 17, sir" I said, getting a faint sense of déjà vu. His eyebrows raised. He pursed his lips a bit. Eyes glancing around quickly, before his brows lowered again and he sent me a sceptical look, leaning down a bit to reach my level.

"Really?"

"Should I be offended?" I quickly shot at him, getting defensive over the fact he didn't believe me. I can take a lot of things, but when people are slow to believe my age that's when my patience runs very thin very quickly. Hands rise up in a placating manner as he waves them gently in an attempt to calm me down.

"No, no…It's just-" He paused when I sent him a fierce glare that dared him to say it.

Say I'm small. I dare you.

"Nothing, never mind" He looked off to the side as he rubbed his neck "And it's Schmidt, not whatever you said" He quickly said as his head snapped back to me.

"Wait, are you the guy?" I asked, shocked when he nodded because of the fact that the person I'd been referred to looked to be in his early twenties.

Wait, why am I shocked?
It's not like reception guy really mentioned who Mike is or why I had to speak to him. Still, I was expecting some forty-year-old guy who 'knows this place like the back of their hand' and, while I don't mind Mike being this young, I feel I would've felt more at ease with someone much older than me as opposed to a fellow young lad .

Mike was a brunette with hair that swept towards the left side of his face, brown eyes and noticeable stubble in place of a full beard. He was lanky, meaning he was a good couple of inches taller than me and was wearing what I could guess to be the uniform for the place – grey shirt and trousers and a black apron that said "Freddy's Helpers" with a similar picture in the middle of the apron between the words which had the same animal trio from the front of the restaurant.

A bear, duck and rabbit.
A chill goes down my spine at the sight of the cartoon logo.

"Hey, you okay?" I snapped out of my thoughts and back to Mike who was crouching just a tad to get a closer look at me, a smile plastered on his face. Normally I would be mad about it but considering this guy was my superior, I think, I let it slide.

"Yeah, sorry, just started day dreaming" I waved off the concern with a nervous chuckle. He didn't look like he believed me if the eye narrowing was anything to go off so I quickly changed the subject "Anyway, I got hired a little while ago so I came to see what exactly I would be guarding…" I trailed off when I saw Mike's grin falter slightly, eyes darkening.

"Yeah, guarding…" He said, sounding…Off? Again? I guess? Except, in this case, it sounded hostile but the hostility wasn't aimed at me.

Wait, why on earth would he hos-

"Anyway, I used to be a night guard here too. Let me give you a few tips then in order to he-"

"No, I don't want tips, I'd like a tour, thank you!" I cut him off quickly, stating exactly what it is that I had in mind. While tips would probably be nice, I'd forget them the moment I got home and even if I writ them down I'd probably leave them behind. So just seeing things should be enough for me.

"Are you sure? I mean, I'm definitely sure they'd help you out tonight" I nodded in confirmation of the fact I was sure "I'm not exactly allowed to tell you what will happen tonight but I can assure you going in with tips will incre-"

"I appreciate your insistence but it's okay" I smile to show him I'm definitely sure about my choice but also to hide the small tickle of frustration that was building up.

I mean, the guys making it sound like there's some big risk I should be worried about. The only thing I should be thinking about is what happens if a thief comes in. But who'd bother breaking into a pizzeria, right?

Mike shrugged, eyes narrowing as he turned his head away "Your loss" he muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing! Let's take a look around" Completely brushing over what he just said, his over the top cheery demeanour back, he took my arm and dragged me all the way to the right side of the big room we were in and in front of a corridor very similar to one we were just next to. "Well, first off this is the west hall and the one we were just by was the east hall. As you can see, they're just big corridors which lead down to what'll be your office tonight"

A bit taken back by the amount of energy he put into showing me a corridor, I recomposed myself and asked "Can we go see the office then?"

"Nope, I'm afraid we can't" He replied, as cheerful as ever. I frowned as I looked down at it, the lights that lit up the corridor so brightly made it hard to get a hint as to what was going on in there and if the light in there was even on within it.

"Why not?" I asked, curious but a bit disappointed that I wouldn't get a glimpse at my future work station.

"It belongs to the boss during the day and one of the staff rules is that you don't bother her during the day unless she comes out or it's a really important and urgent issue" He explained, his voice turning serious at the end to punctuate just how much of deal that was "Oh, and the door just here is a supply closet which just has cleaning supplies and things. East hall is basically the same with a few changes in terms of décor and no supply closet" he carried on with a smile upon his face yet again.

"Nice" I said, not really knowing what else to say. Swiftly, he grabbed me again and dragged me just a few meters to our right, in front of a purple star covered curtain with a sign in front of it saying "IT'S ME" – Oddly enough.

Oof, my head.
A strike of pain ran right through my head, causing me to rub at the side of it gently as my subconscious was screaming at my instincts to move away.
Seriously, call me paranoid but I think my sixth sense is trying to warn me of danger!

Psh, I'm not Spiderman.

"This is pirate's cove. It was shut down due to an accident from a while back, probably will never open up again" He paused slightly, looking at it with disdain as he bit his lip "Don't ask" He says before I can even get the words out of my mouth. Next up, he grabs my arm again and I just let it happen even though I could tell him to let go, he takes us over to a door that's closer towards the other side of the large room. My eyes trained on the grey wall to the left with the black and white tile stripe going across and pale red paint the lower third of the wall while the singing got louder as we got closer to its source.

Yet my body and mind still refused to let me look at the stage.
Until we reached the door where I felt my body tense up.

He pulled me through the door, into a room littered with fake animal heads and some sort of metal skeleton sat on the table in the middle of it. My eyes made sure not to look directly at the heads due to the intense amount of discomfort they were causing me – it was difficult considering they were literally everywhere.

I was sweating.
What is this?
The hell kind of room filled with robot head and parts causes someone to break into a cold sweat?
Yet my mind was fogging over slightly, causing me to stumble slightly, unable to focus on the words Mike was saying.

"Hey, you okay kid?" Mike, for the second time, snapped me out of my brain. I shook my head rapidly, trying to shake off the discomfort and haze to give him an uneasy smile.

"Yup, the room is just kind of creepy" I said, trying pass it off as a joke.

"Agreed. It's off limits to the kids for a reason after all, not just because it's the backstage room" He said, shoving his hands in his pockets as a pitying yet resentful look overtook his features. I chewed the inside of my cheek a bit, before shuffling back to the door.

My mind was clear now.

"Okay, so let's move on, right?" I said quietly, hopeful that he'd get the hint that I want to leave.

"Yeah, right, let's go!" Mike instructed as he quickly walked passed me and through the open door. He didn't take my arm this time as he walked us to the back of the room where we once started "Heads up by the way, the place has been going through a bit of financial trouble over the year so if things seem a bit off or run down then don't get too freaked out about, alright?" I simply nodded. Grinning, he turned to face me and stopped us against the wall before putting a finger to his chin "Oh right, there's the kitchen as well but only the cooks and chefs are allowed in there. None of us out here know why, but it's one of the rules so we follow it" He added, sending a look my way that screamed 'don't break that rule or else'

"Understood, sir" I muttered, somewhat fearful of what 'or else" could be.

"Great! So, restrooms are through that doorway over there" He pointed over to a rectangular opening on the right side of the room – how the hell had I missed that on my way in? – before regarding me with the most intense look I'd seen from him yet "Make sure you go before your shift starts"

"Umm…" His stare was making me uncomfortable again.

"Swear to me that if you take away anything from this, you'll take away that advice. Okay?"

"Okay! I swear" I said, wanting to quickly placate the man and the intense feel he was giving off. Again, he relaxed back into his casual stance which led me to think this guy appeared so casual on purpose so he could catch you off guard with all the mood swings he seems to go through.

"Good, now, saving the best for last" Sarcasm. Oddly placed and his voice slightly lacked the energy he had been forcing out previously "Take a look on stage for the most important things you'll be protecting tonight!"

'Don't do it!' 'It's me' 'They'll see you''Can you be the bad guy?'

'Is it you?' 'You'll regret it' 'We'll get our peace'

'Once you go down this road you'll have to complete it' 'I'll guide you'

Voices spoke out in my mind, each one layering over the other yet I could hear them with clarity that scared me. Had my mind just been invaded? Was I suddenly being haunted?

Instinct's telling me to follow the "don't do it"
I really should.
Yet the conviction wasn't there in the voice. It felt more like advice.
Plus my curiosity needs to be sated and that's more important than petty fears.
Right?
Looking is inevitable, right?

Slowly, despite my better judgement, my head turned around to face the stage for the first time, eyes zoning in on the objects occupying it.

""We-hell Chica wasn't that f-fun!"

"Totally F-Freddy! I can't wait till n-next time!"

"Yeah, I h-hope next time c-comes soon!"

Their voices sent a shudder down my spine as whispers of 'it's too late now', 'Reap what you soul' and 'it's you' echoed through my mind.

Three animatronic animals were on stage. A brown bear with a top hat adorned atop its head and a bow tie placed where it's neck would be. To its right was a purple bunny, with a red bow tie, holding an electric guitar and to the bear's left was a duck wearing a bib with the words 'Let's Eat!". Let's not even mention the creepy cupcake with eyes that it was holding on a plate. Taking a look at them, I couldn't fathom why I was so against even glancing at them but yet another shudder went down my spine as my mouth went dry. I couldn't help but feel I'd just made a huge mistake-

Wait, am I going crazy?!
The hell?
Why was I hearing voices in my own mind?!
Holy shit, I mean I noticed earlier but it's just sinking i-

"Say hello to the Fazbear team featuring: Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the bunny and Chica the chicken!" Mike chuckled. Although it was a bitter chuckle. Escaping my internal panic and revelation, I put all my attention on Mike with a pointed look even though he wasn't looking at me, before pointing at Chica.

"Chicken? You mean the duck?" Mike quickly shook his head, looking back at me aghast with horror as I could only be confused about his reaction.

"No. Whatever you do, don't call Chica a duck or-" He abruptly cut himself off, slapping a hand over his mouth which surprised me, before he shook his head "Or else things will happen" He ended ominously, a blank look overtaking his features as he faced forward again.

Odd. From all the little changes in tone, it's clear this guy isn't the biggest fan of this place despite how it seemed at first. So why is he working here still?

I turned back to the stage, shoving my hands in my pockets to hide my clenching fists, watching the animatronics move with discomfort. They were fluid with their movements, more human like than I'd care to admit. If their voices got fixed up so they weren't so glitchy that would really sell the realism to me. But do I want that? As it is, it's kind of creepy just how easily they moved – surely something that big looking would have more trouble, right?

"A-alright boys and girls, we'll be back later so until then p-please enjoy the p-" Freddy, the bear, suddenly stopped and turned his head to me, Chica and Bonnie quickly following suit. I seized up as they all made direct eye contact and I could hear the distinct sound of far off giggling in my head. A single bead of sweat dripped down the left side of my forehead, my eyes darting at all the kids who turned to look at me as well – Hell, all eyes were on me and I couldn't help but be nervous, fists clenching tighter as childish laughter continued to echo in my mind.

Or was is that just one of the children?

"Umm...Mike?" I spared him a look at the edge of my vision and didn't like what I was seeing.

"What the hell is going on?" He whispered to himself with a rather aggressive tone I wasn't expecting, as he confusedly looked between me and the robots on stage, biting his lip in confusion as his gaze narrowed.

"H-Hey! Why don't you c-come on up-...Here" Freddy outstretched his arm, a foot moving forward and hand waving back and forth in a "Come here" motion, beckoning me towards him. Looking around, some of the workers were whispering amongst themselves as they had no idea what to do, at least I could assume that was the case from the fact none of them were moving.

"Miikkee" I drawled out, voice cracking in the middle due to how nervous I was as my body was stood stock still "What's going ooonn?" I asked, almost like I was singing, as I buried my hands deeper into my pockets to hide them shaking.

Was I scared?
A bit.
Yes.
Possibly.
Was I going to show that I was?
Lord knows I'll do my best not to.

"Do-Don't be shy Kiddo! Come on kids lets encourage him!" At that a lot of the kids were calling for me to go up to the bear. Some parents could tell something was wrong but their concerns were being waved off by either other parents or employees who decided to take action.

Not the action I would've gone with, but hey what do I know?

"Okay, just go up there for now. Something is wrong, I won't lie" I really appreciate your bluntness Mike, it soothes me so much "I'll get the manager, see if she knows. I'll be ba- Don't give me that look!" Said look was an incredulous one (A brave face) at the fact he wanted me to go on stage with a group of robots that clearly had something seriously wrong with them "It'll be fine. I'll be back" He then rushed off without another word.

Sighing, I looked back forward, Freddy was now right at the edge of the stage, a grin on his face as he once again gestured for me to come up. Chica and Bonnie were right there along with him, encouraging the kids to encourage me.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
It'll be fine.
I'll be fine. Right?

'Wrong'

"Hush" I muttered at the mental voice that just taunted me, walking forward to the sound of cheers from the kids as I finally gave in to their wants. Although, maybe taunted is too weak of a word since I couldn't help but notice the slight glee in the somewhat high-pitched voice.

Meh, what do I know.
After all, I'm succeeding at staying relatively calm on the outside after hearing voices in my head and being thrown into this dangerous situation, heck I'd even managed to stop shaking as much as I had been before – maybe it's all the adrenaline from everything that's happening right now?

If that's how adrenaline worked.
Probably.

Having reached the front of the stage in a matter of seconds, Freddy's hand stretched down to me and, hesitant, I took it and he basically dragged me up onto the stage with literally no time to prepare myself. Quickly regaining balance, I spun around to face the crowd and put out my arms for stability, which led to the kids cheering even louder as they must have seen it as some sort of pose with the gang. It may as well have been seeing how the trio had crowded around me and taken their own poses while I was stood still in confusion.

As they calmed down and the bots began addressing them again, everything in my mind began to haze over slightly and as did my vision as things got slightly blurry. I shook my head slightly, trying to get things back to normal, as my hand went to my head. My senses tuned out and the noise around dulled, even the feeling of Freddy patting my back was lost after a few moments. Abruptly, everything blacked out and a bright yellow bear face coated my vision accompanied by giggling. I didn't even have time to react, that's how quick it was there and gone. The giggling still echoed through my mind for a few moments. I blinked, wincing as a stinging sensation made its presence known on my back. Thanks Freddy.

"A-Alright guys! All together now! G-Group H-hugggg" I heard Bonnie call out to the kids, everything going back to normal before I felt the cold presence of three bodies surrounding me in some mess of a group hug between the animatronics and me. The kids echoed the word 'Hug' as, from what I could see, they all moved over to each other to give hugs and were laughing. The parents were laughing along. Everything seemed normal again and I sighed in slight relief, pushing back the panic in my mind as to what had just happened.

But then why was Bonnie's body blocking the audience's sight of me?

"We remember a face like yours…" I stiffened again, my body quickly twisting to look at Freddy behind me. His eyes were black with a singular white dot in the middle of each one "A face that is yours…" His voice was twisted, dark, demonic and something out of a nightmare. The fact it was whispered right into my ear sent chills down my spine. An involuntary whimper escaped my mouth.

'It's me' 'You're the one, aren't you?'
'It's you isn't it?'
'We remember your face' 'We'll break you, like you did us'

The voice whispered over itself, layer and I could only listen in fear and confusion, letting out a strangled cry as one of the arms around my stomach wrapped slightly tighter around it and was gently crushing me. Freddy's eyes were trained on me, watching me intensely, before abruptly looking off behind me, eyes quickly reverting back to normal "We'll show you little mercy" Freddy whispered, an extra squeeze prompting a wheeze from me when I tried to look where he was just looking.

The animatronics let go suddenly, taking steps back as Freddy stepped around me while I was regaining my breath. Again, blocking me from view. His voice overshadowed the coughing and noise I was making, not to mention the applause of the children.

"L-Like I said kids! This is a-a man me and my friends u-used to see a-a lot, ri-right Bonnie?" Freddy's boisterous voice exclaimed, a massive difference to the whispers I was just subjected to.

"S-Sure is! He was sm-smaller when he last came b-but he was a g-good friend of the b-band!" Taking a few more seconds to properly recompose myself, I took deep breaths, shook my body off to try and relax it, wipe away the whatever it was that had gotten in my eye – definitely not tears, nope, no tears here – and appear cheerful as to not alert the audience that I just gone through something utterly traumatic. With a small grin, trying to look as natural as possible, I moved over to Bonnie's side of the stage and made myself as small as possible as I got off the stage. Thankfully, only a few people looked over my direction as I stayed as close to the wall as possible and shuffled to the back of the room again.

"Alright, time for us to say b-bye! We'll b-be back la-later!" Chica called out, winking and waving out with a massive smile on her face. As she said this I managed to spot Mike back where we were stood before, only this time he was talking to some woman in a black office skirt and white shirt with a black suit jacket to go with it. I gulped slightly when I caught sight of her hips.

Goddamn, she has some hips.

"Bye Chica! Bye Bonnie! Bye Freddy" The kids chorused. I made my way over to the pair as the animatronics all said goodbye before promptly shutting down. Along the way I managed to hear some of the kids asking/whining to their parents that they want to get a hug from the robots as well. I could only cringe at the idea of a child experiencing what I just did.

"Mike, I'm never following your instructions again" I stated bluntly as I dropped the smile off my face, in its place came my tiredness making itself visible.

"Ow" He winced, as if I physically hit him "Was it that bad up there?" I nodded in response, briefly glancing over to the woman beside us that he was just talking with "Sorry about sending you up there then. None of us are really sure what just happened" He said as he now looked over to the woman.

Upon actually looking at her, I noticed the label on her chest that said 'Manager'.
That was all that caught my attention.
Not the two noticeably large bumps nor the weird pattern in black showing through her shirt.
Definitely.

Oh God I'm a pervert, aren't I?
But hey! This is like my compensation after having gone through that?
Right?
Right!?

The manager had fairly pale skin, her hair was long and black with half of it going down to just her right eye brow while the rest was tied back in a pony tail. Her eyes were a pretty bright green colour, making them stand out against her skin and I couldn't help but be a little nervous around her. Not to mention her body was god like.

I had a girlfriend once.
Doesn't mean I'm exactly the most comfortable or confident guy when it comes to talking with pretty girls. I'm barely an adult as is, remember?

"This hasn't happened before, I can assure you that much" Even her voice was perfect. I mean, I heard it over the phone but back then I wasn't really paying attention to what she sounded like. Hot damn. Her head was tilted down in thought and her chin rested against the knuckles of her hand as a small pout formed on her face, like she was thinking really hard.

How old is she?
She looks too cute to be much older than Mike.
But her voice has that odd sexy mature tone to it.
I need to stop.
"They mentioned that you were a friend of the band?" She asked, snapping me out of my slight trance.

"Oh, um…Err" Look good, look cool, recover! "Yeah, but I don't remember coming here as a kid…" Nice recovery! I watched as both the manager and Mike took on my words, yet neither said anything so I decided to elaborate "Also, um, they said some weird things like 'We remember a face like yours' and Freddy's eyes were black, also there this moment where all I could see was a yellow bear plus there are these voices in my head tha-"

"Whoa, slow down there. Yellow bear, voices?" Mike interjected quickly, making me shut my mouth as I realised that I may have said too much and that stuff may not even sound believable. My mouth opened and closed repeatedly as I tried to explain, but then I caught sight of Mike's face who didn't seem to be shocked or in disbelief but more worried as he frowned deeply. His skin had paled and he glanced at the manager, who was looking in shock at me, before opening his mouth to say something.

"I've got to say that must have been pretty scary for you" The manager cut him off before he could even let out a noise, causing him to deflate instantly as he sighed, frustrated, while nervously grasping each of his own hands "I'm actually impressed that you're as calm as you are now, especially considering your age, Nero, was it?"

"You remember my name?" I asked in surprise, a small part of me internally cheered at the fact I had impressed her. Little did she know that when I got home I'd probably pass out because this has all been far too overwhelming and I wouldn't be able to take the embarrassment of breaking down in public.

"Obviously, you're one of my employees now, right? I recognise your voice and Mike also told me who you were" She explained, brushing her hair behind her ear as she shot me dazzling smile which almost made me cry with the raw beauty and innocence I was being presented with "You really do look young up close, don't you…" She muttered, her gaze firmly locked on me as her smile turned into a teasing smirk.

'Don't trust her'

The voice startled me, causing me to quickly tense up before relaxing just as quickly. Even though I didn't understand why, I couldn't help but be inclined to agree.

Something was off.
She was keeping something from me.
Stopping Mike from saying anything.
She was deceiving me into something with her charm and looks.
She was playing too innocent and had changed the topic completely.
Thing is, it was working.

"Well, I am young so…" I trailed off, chuckling awkwardly as I rubbed my neck. The manager laughed lightly while Mike just watched on nervously. He really wants to say something.

"Anyway, you remember what I said, right? Quarter to twelve tonight" The manager said, reminding me of when I needed to be here. To be honest, I don't see why she doesn't just tell me what I'll be doing now but I guess it's probably got to do with the fact that there is a party going on and maybe she'll want to do a proper practical tutorial or something.

"If it's okay, I think I'd rather be here for half past. Just so I have enough time to get familiar with everything and whatnot" I replied, letting her know I intended to be here earlier than she wants. She blinked at me, blank look on her face which made me concerned that I'd overstepped my bounds or something, but she clapped her hands together, a more genuine smile gracing her soft looking lips.

Strange that I thought this one to be genuine yet the first one she flashed me I had just thought to be dazzling.

"That's completely fine. In fact, it's perfect and I'm glad to see you're eager to learn the ropes" She stuck her hand out "My name is Jade Sylvia. Looking forward to working with you" At this point Mike had actually been called by someone else in an apron and shot me an apologetic look laced with hesitance before moving away with them.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Sylvia" I took the hand, firmly as to appear confident, and gently shook it. Now that I think about it, a firm hold and gentle shake contradict each other aggressively.

"Just Jade is fine, Nero" She said, before giving a gentle tug and nod of the head to follow her, which I did. I couldn't help the slight disappointment when she let go of my hand, it being smaller than my own made me feel good for some reason, as she took us out of the party room and to the reception where receptionist guy was still looking as bored as ever. But, when he saw me with the manager he saluted with a lazy smirk.

I gave him a thumbs down and he laughed quietly.
Is this a friendship?

"Oh, by the way" Now at the front door, the manager paused before opening it, causing my attention to go back to her as our eyes met "There's to be no weapons during the day in the restaurant, okay?" She gave me a sweet smile which held sinister undertones, causing me to straighten up and move my hand into my jacket to shift a handle which had been previously poking out, not that I had even known.

Wait how long had it been poking out for!?

"Yes ma'am!"

"I should probably take it away or report you or something. But since I like you, I'll let it slide. Just don't let me catch you with it around the kids, okay?" She opened the door, ushering me out.

"O-Oh, right! I won't! See you tonight!" I spluttered out as I turned to face the closing door, the manager giving me a wave and smile as it closed before turning around and going back to the main room.

I watched her go.

'The Road You Now Walk Is a Dangerous one'

Two voices of three simultaneously gave me that warning.

Keeping it all under control, I let out a massive breath of air and made my short trip to the bike rack where I left my bike and quickly unlocked it.

My hands were shaking again.

Hopping on, I put my keys in the ignition and listened as the bike let out a small roar as it came to life.

Raindrops began to splash onto my head as the sky darkened.

With a heavy, shaky sigh, I walked my bike backwards onto the side of the road before taking off slowly.

The rain began to splash down with aggression which would no doubt make the bike harder to control, especially with my vision being impaired with the water dripping down my face and the fat sploshes of it making it difficult to see far ahead. Thunder crackled in the sky.

I should probably put my hood up.
A police car would probably pull me over.
My arms were shaking violently as my mind went over everything that had just occurred.
I could hear voices in my head – all of which I could tell didn't originate from my own being.
Was I possessed? Was I actually being haunted? Is that why I wanted to get out so much earlier? Why are there children plaguing my mind?
Why did I just get threatened by animatronics? What was that yellow bear? Why was I hearing voices? Why did this all start when I visited that restaurant? Why didn't I leave? What's wrong with it? Why did the robots smell so disgusting? How the hell was Freddy able to speak so clearly? What did Mike want to say? Why was he so insistent on giving me tips? Why did it feel like there was more meaning to that salute than a goodbye?

What was the manager not telling me?
What's being covered up?
What's being hidden from me?
Am I crying?
It's just the rain?

I was in my house.
I blinked. Once. Twice. Looking outside, my bike was placed and locked up where I normally put it and it was still pouring down with rain. Taking my shoes off, I dragged myself upstairs to the shower where I let the hot water wash over me. Yet it did nothing to ease the tension in my body, nor the shaking that was racking it nor even help wash away the taste of salt as tears continued to stream down my face.

Was I joking when I said I'd go home and pass out? Yes.
What I meant was I'd go home and breakdown there because there's no way I'll splay my emotions out like this in public for strangers.

The person in front of them is an act, I don't have many friends yet, I haven't really spoken to anyone in ages, I haven't been able to really be me in ages. So, until I can naturally be myself, I'll keep up this façade.

...

I hate being alone.

I want people I can talk to, joke with and trust.

It's been killing me inside for a while now but I've pushed it away in favour of keeping up appearances.

To who? Myself.

If I don't at least seem upbeat to myself then…Then it'd just make thing a lot more difficult.

God I'm pathetic.

After having stood in the shower for a good few minutes, I switched off the water and dried myself off before slapping on some shorts and collapsing onto my bed. Tears were still falling silently and my hands were still shaking violently as the fear, worry and concern about everything that happened and my hate, discontent and sadness at being alone for so long hit me full force.

Call it a talent of mine. Distracting myself from how I'm feeling and then bottling it up until I can't hold it anymore. Then this happens.

'calm down, I'll help you put them together again, i'm here.'

Put who back together? Who are you in the first place? I don't understand…
Who are you?
Why did you choose me…
And for the love of God why are you comforting me…

why is it helping

...

My tears had finally stopped falling and my body finally ceased it's shaking. Taking deep breaths, I began to calm down again. A hiccup left my mouth and I groaned out afterwards, an unexplainable need to just make some sort of noise after silently letting everything out causing me to do so.

Rolling onto my back, my eyes stared up at the ceiling.
I was fine.
I am fine.
I'm calm now.
relatively.

First of all, I need to come to terms with the fact that I have voices in my head. Three voices that I can hear and tell apart. None of which I really understand the source of other than something it being something to do with the pizzeria and it starting up because I had seen the animatronics – the heads, when my mind suddenly was hazy after suddenly having stopped trying to convince me (rather strongly) to leave. That's probably when they got into my mind, how they managed to is a mystery though.

Fuck me, I should've left when I had the chance…

One seems hostile, taunting yet with a sense of childish glee and cheer which was unsettling. One I'm not exactly sure about as he had yet to make some sort of personality for himself and the other seems to care for me but again had that childish twist to it. Actually, I'm a bit unsure about how I feel having the voice of a child in my head acting like some sort of guardian or tormentor…

Again, the reasons why they're here, I'm not sure. But if they persist and keep coming/speaking to me then I'm going to have to get used to it. So, I may as well accept their presence now rather than freak out about it every time they do.

A sigh left my mouth.
I have voices in my head.
And I'm going to live with that until they leave.
Now I let that sink in, let my head accept that, get accustomed to it, see all the positives…
Now back to the main issue.

"Okay, okay…I have to go back there tonight. I'm probably going to be alone with those animatronics, but it looks like they're confined to the stage so chances are as long as I steer clear of there I should be fine" I mutter to myself as I sit up, reaching over to the small drawer I have beside my bed and placing my phone on top of it after setting an alarm to wake me up at ten. That'd give me a whole hour to get ready and then half an hour to get over there in good time.

"Now the voices, the voices, the friends in my head…" Recalling what I could, lines like 'I'll guide you' and 'Don't do it' were trying to be helpful to me in some way which backs up the fact that at least two of them aren't trying to make my life hell or actually haunt me like I thought they were or something. We've established that they're linked to the restaurant so maybe once I go back things will be cleared up? I mean it will be me alone with my thoughts for six hours and nothing to do, what better way to pass time than to speak with voices in your head?

God I'm going crazy if I'm already trying to make jokes about this.
Wait, how would I even go about talking to them?
How does one command voices in their head to speak to them?
I'll figure out the answers tonight. Probably.

Rubbing my face, I weakly scolded myself "No matter what happens tonight, or for the rest of the week. Don't let this happen again" For getting so overwhelmed with everything and having a meltdown. I was stronger than this and damn it if a bunch of animal robots meant for kids scare me this much.

Even if they seem to be more than that.
Anyway, lesson learnt, reflection done and I'll be prepared for tonight, no problem!

Am I recovering from this too quickly?
Maybe!
Will I still probably be paranoid and scared and not really recovered as well as I'm making myself seem?
Probably!
But it doesn't matter because as long as I don't focus on it or let it get to me, then I should be fine, right? Right!

Shuffling up the bed and sliding myself in between the covers, I did my best to get as comfortable as I could so I'd sleep easier. The gentle pitter patter of rain outside relatively soothing my mind and the cool temperature going up against the warmth that I was getting inside my blankets was more than enough to relax me to the point of getting drowsy.

A song came to mind, an unfamiliar one yet it was humming with clarity and some form of recognition. With a small smile to attempt to cheer myself up further, I let one thought ring out in my mind before shutting my eyes;

I'm only going to be guarding a pizzeria, what's the worst that could happen?

I'm probably setting up a death flag or something aren't I?
Glad this isn't an anime.