With the day at a close, I exited my office and locked the door behind me. Stretching my arms, I slowly made my way to the security office. Reaching the small room, I sank tiredly into the swivel chair and propped my feet up on the desk, a heavy sigh leaving my lips. Without bothering to check the time or glance at the cameras, I leaned back in the chair and shut my eyes.
After a few silent moments, I heard a slight clanking sound from the vents above me. Without opening my eyes, I mumbled, "Good evening, Marion." Cracking my eyes open a little, I internally smirked at the pout that was quite evident on the Puppet's face. Of course, being humanoid certainly makes it easier to make facial expressions versus being animalistic like the others. "How are you tonight, dear?"
He shrugged and leaned against the edge of the desk. "The same as always."
"Honestly, Marion, I thought you missed working with the children. I don't know how to keep you from being bored."
He groaned softly and whined, "Can't you give me something more exciting to do? Why can't I perform onstage or walk around the dining room?"
I sighed, sitting up and turning to fully face him. "Mary, I can't just give you a random job, especially when someone else already has that job. I'm letting you do the work you were created for. Isn't that good enough for you? Especially given you were more or less out of order before. And as for roaming around, you have your own room to yourself. Why do you need to walk around the whole building?"
He groaned again and flailed against the desk dramatically. "It's just not the same! It's so lonely in there. I don't have anyone but the other humans to interact with. And the children aren't capable of an engaging conversation. I want to be around someone more my speed."
I sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of my nose. After a few moments of thought and of Marionette poking me incessantly, I said, "What if I let you go backstage when the others are on break so you can interact with them? Would that work?"
He nodded vigorously and grinned widely. "That's perfect! Thank you, (y\n)!" That said, he ran out the door, shouting in victory.
I shook my head, chuckling softly. "I swear, there's no pleasing him." A few seconds later, the chime rang out to signal midnight. I sighed once more and heaved myself to my feet. I bit my lip nervously as I made my way down the hallway to the show stage. "Time to tell them all about the... Changes." I gulped a little. It'd been a while since I'd seen any of them legitimately upset. I wasn't looking forward to it.
The moment I walked into the main room, I was side tackled by a squealing Chica. "Hi, (y\n)!"
I chuckled softly and patted her head. "Hey, Chica. How are you, sweetie?"
"I'm great!" she cheered, releasing me from her grip. "Everything has been better with you here."
I smiled, a bit of guilt creeping into my chest. "I'm glad to hear that."
A loud "yar har har" sounded out throughout the room, echoing off the walls. Glancing over to Pirate's Cove, I saw Foxy excitedly leap out from behind the purple, starred curtains and off the stage. "Ahoy thar, lass!" he cheered happily. "It be good te see ye."
"Hello, Foxy. Did the children treat you well today?"
"Aye, they be wee lil angels," he said warmly. "Thank ye fer repairin' me."
I nodded. "You're more than welcome, Foxy. I know a lot of people are thrilled to see you performing again."
"Aye, but it all be thanks te ye, (y\n)."
"Yes... Well anyway, where are Bonnie, Freddy, and Goldie? I need to talk to all of you."
"I think Bonnie and Freddy are backstage arm wrestling. I'm not sure where Goldie is. Probably pestering Marion," Chica answered.
As if on cue, Marionette came running out from Prize Corner with Goldie cackling madly and hot on his heels; a loud metallic clang followed by a yelp sounded out from backstage. Marionette ducked behind me, whining pitifully, and Goldie screeched to a halt in front of me. Without looking at them, I stated, "Foxy, Chica, could you both go and check on Bonnie and Freddy please? Before they accidentally damage each other?"
"Yes, (y\n)!" they responded quickly, hurrying backstage.
Still looking straight at Goldie, I calmly asked, "Golden Freddy, what have you done this time to terrorize Marion?"
He cringed at the use of his full name and responded, "Nothing at all, (y\n)! He was just overreacting to a small prank, is all."
"He was trying to dump pink paint all over me!" Marionette screeched angrily.
Goldie shrugged. "I just thought he could use some color. Make him a little more child friendly."
"That's enough, Goldie. I don't want to hear about anything else tonight. So please, please just leave Marion alone, OK? Besides, I have something important to discuss with everyone."
Marionette perked up immediately at that. "Oh, does it have to do with free roam?!" he questioned excitedly.
I rolled my eyes and said, "No, Marion, it doesn't have to do with free roam. Well,... Not exactly. Look, just behave you two. And stay here. I'm going to check on the others."
"Yes, ma'am!" Goldie responded, giving me a cheesy salute.
I turned and jumped up onto the mainstage where Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica usually stood to perform. Pushing back the thick curtains, I came across a somewhat irritating sight. Freddy stood backed against a wall, an incredibly apologetic look on his face, Chica stood between the two, Foxy was holding Bonnie back from Freddy, and Bonnie was trying to lunge at Freddy, one of his arms dislocated and hanging limply.
"You broke my arm, you jerk!" Bonnie snarled, lunging once more at Freddy.
"I'm sorry!" Freddy screeched defensively. "I didn't know it would break!"
"Calm down, lad! It be an accident," Foxy pleaded vainly.
"He should have been more careful!" Bonnie retorted.
"That's enough, the lot of you!" I barked angrily. They all froze and looked apologetically to where I stood. "I sent Foxy and Chica back her to retrieve you two. I didn't realize they'd have to prevent you two from ripping each other to pieces. While you both should have known better than to act so foolish, Bonnie, you know it was an accident and that your arm can quite easily be repaired. Now, I want all of you to come into the main room. I have something I need to speak with all of you about. And Freddy, could you please grab the tools from the back so I can fix Bonnie's arm?"
He nodded quickly and ran off. The others silently made their way out from behind the stage where Goldie and Marionette were sitting bored. The others sat down with them and I kneeled at Bonnie's side, examining his injured arm. After a few moments, Freddy appeared with the tool box in hand and set it down beside me. I pulled out a wrench and set to work.
After a few moments of silence, aside from the metallic clicking of Bonnie's arm, Freddy asked, "So what were you wanting to talk to us about, (y\n)?"
I stayed silent for a few moments, focus solely on Bonnie's arm. Then, "You all realize how hard I work, right?" There were murmured responses in agreement. "Then I imagine that you all realize how tired I am."
"What's wrong, (y\n)?" Chica asked. "I don't understand where you're going with this."
"I'm getting to it Chica." I finished fixing Bonnie's arm. "How's that, Bon?"
"Much better, (y\n). Thank you," he said with a small smile.
With a heavy sigh, I sank tiredly into a sitting position. "Guys, I just can't keep doing all this. Between running the place, working as the night guard, and repairing you guys when you damage yourselves, it's just too much to handle."
"You're not going to leave us, are you?!" Bonnie shrieked, panicked.
Before I could respond, Marionette shouted, "You can't leave us! Things are just now getting better!"
"Guys!" I barked, silencing them. In a calmer voice, I continued. "I'm not quitting, OK? It's just... I can't keep doing all of this work myself. I'm going to have to divvy things up a bit."
"What do you mean?" Goldie asked, a twinge of anxiety in his voice.
"I'm hiring a night guard."
They all gasped in shock and horror. "Lass, ye can't do this te us!" Foxy protested.
"Foxy, I don't have a choice," I mumbled, deflating under their hurt expressions. "I know you still don't trust the idea of having night guards, but I can't keep doing it. Not if I'm going to run the place. I'm not getting any sleep. I'm scarcely finding time to eat. I don't know what else to do!"
"Why don't you find someone to handle the business?" Freddy suggested. "Then you'd be able to stay overnight with us!"
"I can't do that. Not only would I not be doing my job, but that could potentially get us shut down. Many in the business industry still don't trust this establishment, and I don't know anyone I'd willingly let handle the finances," I retorted.
"What if you slept here? You could rest in the office," Chica suggested.
"Again, I wouldn't be doing my job," I said. "And besides, isn't the point that you want to actually interact with me while I'm here?"
"Well... Yeah...," she responded slowly.
"And guys, it's not like you won't see me. I'm still going to be here during the day. And you guys can come see me any time you want to during your breaks. Not to mention I almost always stay for a couple hours after closing," I added, hoping they'd understand.
They all stayed silent for a while. Then Freddy spoke up quietly. "You really are tired, aren't you."
I nodded slowly. "I am. Very."
Freddy gave a resigned sigh a said, "OK. Do what you have to do."
The others gawked at him. "Are you crazy?!" Bonnie roared. "What if something like last time happens?!"
"Bonnie, please," I groaned. "I promise, I'll thoroughly research anyone and everyone who applies. I'll make sure they're suitable for the job. And there's no guarantee anyone will apply for the job anyway. So I'll still be here for a while."
He looked desperately at his friends and saw the resigned expressions on all their faces. He deflated and muttered, "All right, fine. Hire your stupid night guard."
I nodded. "Thank you, Bonnie. Look, I know this is going to be hard on you guys. And I'd keep doing it if I could. But the point is that I can't. But I promise you all that whatever happens, whoever I hire, everything is going to turn out OK. I'll be sure to hire someone decent and if there are any problems, you guys can come to me and we'll work things out. But I need you guys to promise me something."
"What be it, lass?" Foxy asked hesitantly.
"I need you guys to promise me that you won't kill the night guard," I stated firmly.
Freddy looked at me with a rather hurt expression. "(Y\n), you know us better than that. We wouldn't even think of doing that again. Right guys?" They all murmured in agreement. "That's not to say we won't mess with whoever you hire (cue skeptical glance), but we certainly won't kill the person."
I offered him a small smile. "I know you won't. I just wanted to clarify it anyway. And I love you guys. I know this will be tough, but we'll get through it. We always do."
"When will ye start interviewin'?" Foxy asked.
"I'm starting tomorrow. And the person I deem most qualified is the person I intend to hire. So get ready. And you all had better be on your best behaviors."
Freddy flashed me an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, (y\n). We'll be good. You just wait and see."