A few hours later, in the newly constructed silo, Miko quickly told the boys (along with Ratchet who pretended not to listen) about her interview scheduled for the next day.

"You actually got a job?" Jack asked again for the tenth time it seemed.

Exasperated, she was about to curse him out in a mixture of Cybertronian and Japanese before seeing a playful glint in his eyes. He was trying to get under her skin. "Yes! I don't know how many times I hafta tell ya!" She huffed as she crossed her arms, "I'm not repeating myself again."

"I never thought the day would come." Raf commented with a smirk; he slowly stood up. At fifteen-years old, he had hit a growth spurt and was on his way to towering over Miko, who would soon be the shortest of the three. She didn't like that.

"Come on, guys. I've gotten more responsible, I think I could handle a cruddy job." Miko stated flatly.

"I know, we believe you." Jack replied diplomatically.

'Yeah right.' Miko thought.

"I heard that Freddy's was haunted at nights." Raf said. Miko perked up. And so did the remaining Autobots who were supposed to be helping Ratchet repair the computers.

"Haunted?" She practically shrieked with joy.

Raf and Jack gave her a weird stare in return. "Yeah," Raf ventured, "a lot of Jasper's ghost stories originate there. I'm surprised it's still standing after the Decepticon siege." The last statement was more or less aimed at himself with a puzzled expression settling on his face.

"What kinds of ghost stories?" Miko asked. She turned to Jack, since he likely knew most about the town and its history.

"Yeah, Jack, what stories?" Bumblebee asked, startling Jack.

He ran his hand through his dark hair uneasily; he never particularly liked the stories. "Well...rumors say that a long time ago, five children went missing there and never came back. Uh, and night guards also keep disappearing during their shifts too. It got a bad reputation and is actually set to close down later this year."

"Uh huh?" Miko prompted eagerly, sensing more to the story.

"Rumor also says that the animatronics there - Man, I hated those creepy things as a kid! They were always watching me..." Jack broke off his narrative suddenly, his lip curling in disgust.

Miko rolled her eyes, "get to the point, you wimp!"

Startled out of his recollections, he stammered, "s-sorry! Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah - the animatronics will walk around when they're not supposed to or something like that. I'm not sure. But long story short: dead kids haunt the robots; robots turn evil; robots get you; robots kill you. The end." Jack bluntly said.

There was awkward silence that lasted for a beat before a breathed out "cool..." was uttered. Miko found herself the center of attention, "what? That sounds totally intense! I'll get to battle robots and get paid for it? Sweet!" She cried, turning into the fifteen year old that everybody knew.

"How is that cool? You could get killed!" Bulkhead voiced his worry.

"Chill, Bulk! It's just tales parents tell their bratty kids to force them to behave. They're not real." Miko quickly reassured. Though secretly she was already excited for her interview. Babysitting puppets: boring! Fending off haunted robots; more her style!

Bulkhead did not like that look in her eyes.


"Seriously, what's your deal, Bulk? You've been kinda moody all day," Miko stated, "you're still upset about my interview?"

The pair were driving along the deserted road towards Jasper. Miko no longer had the extra time to go dune bashing, and Bulkhead could only be away from Cybertron for a little while. This was the only time they could spend time together before their work caught up to them.

Bulkhead groaned softly, "I dunno, Miko, I have this hollow feeling in my spark. That place ain't right."

Miko sat straight up, "how would you know?"

"I went by just the other day. There's something really creepy about that place." He shuddered while still driving, causing him to swerve slightly.

"Whoa!" Miko gripped her armrest as the Wrecker straightened himself out. She shot his dash a glare as she relaxed back into the seat. "Watch it!" She snapped.

"Sorry," Bulkhead apologized.

She sighed before she spoke, her voice reassuring, "I know you're worried, and to be honest I'm not sure why, but I'll be fine. Trust me." Miko patted his dash. She resigned herself to look out the window. Bulkhead could feel her excitement pouring from her; he didn't have the spark to say how much he didn't want her to have this job.

"I do, Miko."


"Alright, you guys." The manager muttered to the still forms of the animatronics the next morning. "I want you to be on your best behavior. The new prospect doesn't sound like she'll cave in easily to your shenanigans. Just respect her and she'll respect you."

The animatronics didn't reply thankfully.

Cawthon nodded and stepped off the show stage, ignoring the burning feeling of them staring after him with their animosity-filled glares. It had been a long, tiring night and the day wasn't going to be any better. Life as a videogame creator/publisher/voice actor wasn't easy. Not to mention this job.

The first few workers started to arrive and he unlocked the doors for them. The girl would be there any time now. He jumped into his car in preparation to head home and wash up; sweat and fear usually ruined the image of a stern boss.

...If he was going to be boss any longer. The Health Department was forcing him to close the pizzeria down due to complaints by worried and disgusted patrons. Scott couldn't truly blame them. The animatronics were creepy, with the blood, mucus, and the horrid smell of decomposing flesh not helping their case in the least.

He backed out of his parking spot before driving out of the lot. After shifting his focus from the task, his thoughts wandered back to the animatronics: the very things that Scott wanted to dismantle himself, but couldn't bring himself to do so.

In an odd, messed up way, he grew fond of them despite their hatred. It would be a shame to scrap them, especially since they were advanced even in this day and age.

Not bad for the eighties.


Author's Note:

Alright, I decided to end this here since I was having trouble finding a spot to end. But anyway, just a little sneak peak for the next chapter: Miko finally goes for her interview; she gets something of a weird vibe coming from the robots...

Yes, she will soon become a night guard and battle every night for a paycheck that doesn't even meet minimum wage. Let the chaos begin! :D

Oh, and please, leave a review and tell me how you like it so far!
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-Winterbornbree