Sam had reached out to the company several times, first as a concerned employee, then as a journalist praising them for their animatronics and asking to write an article about how they worked. He tried several different avenues, but all of them seemed to be dead ends. No one wanted to talk.
Dean's research turned up much more. There were four children who had went missing, but only one that died there. This one had taken some digging, as the child had not died in the pizzeria, although technically on the premises. Some kid was attending a birthday party when he went outside crying while the other kids were being served cake. A man wearing purple was driving by when he stopped outside the restaurant, got out of the car, murdered the child crying outside by stabbing him several times, and then got back in the car and drove off. Witnesses inside said that it appeared that it was a Fredbear employee due to his purple uniform, but no one could identify which employee and after a thorough investigation, no leads were ever found.
"If it was an employee, it could explain the other four kids that went missing here," Dean continued from inside the security office. "He killed them off and hid their bodies by stuffing them inside of the suits. Wires or not, they were already dead."
"That would explain some of the discharge I noticed around Chica's eyes," Sam said.
"I noticed that on Bonnie too," Dean confirmed. He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "Looks like vengeful spirit it is then. But that had to have happened, what, over twenty years ago? The bodies can't still be inside the suits."
"No, but they've probably possessed the suits," Sam answered. "It was probably a night guard from back then, which is why they're so determined to kill us."
"Maybe a night guard they actually haven't gotten to yet," Dean observed. "I mean, hear me out, if they kill the guy that killed them, they'd move on, wouldn't they? Find peace? Maybe after he stuffed them in suits he skipped town."
Sam cocked his head to the side. "Makes sense. So now they're just killing indiscriminately, hoping that one of these night guards will be the right one?"
"Best guess we have so far," Dean answered. "Odds are we're not going to find them, so I say we just come back during the day when they're less active and salt and burn them."
"With all the people around?" Sam asked. "Good luck with that one, Dean."
"Okay, then," Dean sighed. "You have a better plan?"
"Yeah," Sam said. "We keep up this job. As long as we're doing it, we can make sure no one else is going to get killed. At least until we figure out a way to de-activate them for good. Then we can take them out back one night and burn them, they're too dangerous to try to take them down when they're all running around at night."
"Yeah," Dean swallowed, mulling it over. "Yeah, okay."
"Only one question," Castiel spoke up. "What am I doing here?"
"You-" Dean pointed to him and laughed a little under his breath. "You are here for uh, uh- Sam?"
"Don't ask me, you were the one insisting he come with," Sam said, turning his attention to the monitors.
"For protection," Dean said loudly.
Cas squinted at him, tilting his head to the side. "I am an Angel of the Lord. I am not here to perch on your shoulder and protect you from…from…robotic animals." Sam shot Dean his "he has a point" look.
"Come on, buddy," Dean clapped Cas on the shoulder. "You saved us last time. We can't do this without you." He put both hands on Cas' shoulders. "We're a team, remember? Take one for the team? We got to do this together."
He looked Cas straight in the eye and didn't stop until Cas eventually looked away. "Oh, all right."
Dean smiled victoriously as the phone rang and the tape clicked on. "Uh, hello? Hello? Uh, well, if you're hearing this and you made it to day two, congrats! I won't talk quite as long this time since Freddy and his friends tend to become more active as the week progresses. Uh, it might be a good idea to peek at those cameras while I talk just to make sure everyone's in their proper place. You know-"
Dean and Sam turned to look at each other. "Didn't we already hear this tape yesterday?" Sam asked slowly.
"Maybe we didn't beat the night?" Dean asked. "I mean, Freddy did attack us last night. Maybe we have to finish the night in order to move onto the next one?"
Sam shot him a look. "This isn't a video game, Dean," he said as he turned back to the monitors. Dean sighed and let his shoulder brush against Cas' as the tape continued to talk.
"So where we at?" Dean asked Sam as he clapped his hands together and rubbed them together.
"Chica's already moved into the dining room," Sam replied.
"So these things just walk around at night?" Cas asked. "I thought you said they were machines?"
"They are," Dean answered.
"And yet they possess free will?" Cas asked again.
"Well, we think they're really spirits," Sam said. "Inside the, uh, machines. I mean, yes the machines do move around on their own but we think these are uh, uh-"
"Because they had people inside them?" Cas asked.
"Yes, because they had people inside them," Dean answered. Cas gave him a look, and Dean returned it for a moment, confused, before he realized what Cas meant. He opened his mouth, shut it, and looked away. Sam shook his head before looking back at the monitors.
As Sam clicked around the monitors, Cas looked at Dean. "So this man, he murdered children, and stuffed their bodies into these, these robot suits?"
"Looks like it," Dean said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Cas squinted his eyes again. "Why?"
Dean opened his mouth. "I don't know what you want me to tell you, Cas, there's some sick people out there."
"Okay, Chica is in the bathroom," Sam said quickly. "Bonnie is gone again."
"Pirate's cove?" Dean asked.
"Still no sign of Foxy," Sam answered. "Maybe he's shy."
Cas and Dean stood around awkwardly. For some reason, this was a lot less creepy than the previous night. Maybe the animatronics weren't as active? That's what it seemed like at least. It was 2 AM already and no one had popped up at the door. Last night it was only 1 AM when Bonnie popped by to visit.
"I can't find Bonnie," Sam said. Dean stood up quickly and checked both lights.
"Not here," Dean answered. "You sure you aren't missing anything?"
Sam scrolled through each live feed carefully. "Oh, oh wait – she's in the supply closet. Sorry, false alarm." He continued scrolling through the live feeds. "Dean," he almost shouted. "Chica. East Hall."
Dean slammed the door shut without even checking the lights.
Sam huffed. "Dean, I have her on the monitor. Dean, open the door." Reluctantly, Dean flipped on the light switch and opened the door. The hallway was empty. He peeked over at the monitor Sam was looking at. Sure enough, Chica was in the east hall. Her eyes were open wide and her beak was unhinged at a weird angle.
"Keep an eye on her," Dean said. "Also, where'd the rabbit go?"
"Oh, she's right here," Cas replied. Dean looked up to see the rabbit's ears poking into the room. Her eyes were wide open and her mouth was gaping open again in a sort of demented smile. Dean quickly slammed the door shut on the button to shut the door.
"How much power we got?" he asked Sam.
"59%," Sam answered. "And it's already 3:20 AM. We're doing pretty good for time, Dean."
"Good, good," Dean sighed with relief. Suddenly his voice became strict. "Cas, if you see, or hear, or, or sense one of these things coming, you have to shut the door okay? But only if it's right in the doorway, we can't afford to waste any power. If you think someone's coming and you're not sure, just check the lights, okay? Capisce?"
"Yeah, I capisce," Cas said glumly.
"Hey, hey," Dean said, putting a hand on his upper arm. "You're doing great, really Cas, really."
Dean smiled at Cas, a knowingly smile, which Cas happily returned. Sam turned around to look at them before turning back to his monitors without saying a word, his eyebrows raised but his lips pursed shut.
"Bonnie went back to the dining room," Sam reported. Dean checked the lights to the West Hall and then opened the door. No one there.
"Okay, good," Dean sighed. "The more power to get us through the night, the better."
"Uh, Dean, she moved-" Sam started.
Castiel flipped on the light and Dean was about to yell at him to conserve power when he saw the familiar rabbit ears in the hallway again. Castiel quickly hit the switch to seal the door shut, and Dean nodded approvingly in his direction.
"That was fast," Dean said, turning to Sam. "Too fast. How the hell did he make it all the way to the dining room to here in less than a minute. If it's a spirit, fine, but in a physical suit? How is that possible?"
"Not sure, Dean," Sam replied distractedly as he closed the monitors. "But we need to conserve power. If we keep the door shut and I stop checking the monitors as much, I think we should be good for the night."
They sat there in silence for a few minutes, before Castiel checked the light in the East Hall. There was no one there.
"Sense something Cas?" Dean asked quietly.
"No," Cas said, looking down. "I just have that feeling you humans have? Of, unease?"
Dean smiled softly in his direction and went to check the West Hall. The rabbit was gone. "Check the cameras."
Sam pulled up the monitor. Chica was still further back in the East Hall, same crazy expression in her eyes, her beak still unhinged. Bonnie was back in the dining room, but this time-
"Dean?" Sam asked.
Foxy had finally peaked out from behind the curtain in Pirate's Cove. In the dim light, his eyes looked like they were glowing. His snout was poking out just past the curtain and his jaw was open wide to reveal a row of sharp, pointed teeth.
"Just great," Dean murmured. "Keep your eye on him. Phone Guy said if you keep checking in on him he won't move as much."
"But the power-" Sam started.
"We should have enough to get us through the night," Dean replied. "It's almost 4 AM. Only two hours to go."
Sam closed the monitor and sighed sitting back. By the time it was 4 AM, they had reached 46% power. Sam checked the monitors again. Chica had moved back in the East Hall, which, Dean noted, the further away the better although apparently they could move at lightning speeds so it didn't really matter how far away they were. Foxy was sitting still in Pirate's Cove and Bonnie had taken up position in the West Hall.
"Keep an eye on that door, Cas," Dean said, pointing to the doorway. "Anything comes by, slam it shut."
"Is this really what hunting is like?" Castiel asked.
Sam looked at Dean and laughed. "No," Sam answered. "No, Cas, it's usually much more, uh, Dean?"
"Generally a lot more blood, carnage," Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Usually a lot less sitting behind a screen-"
"Although there was that bank in Milwaukee," Sam pointed out. "Remember, that bank? With the shifter?"
"Yeah," Dean laughed. "I mean, let's face it. How many times have we had to play security guards sitting back behind a screen? I think enough times to actually qualify us for an actual position if we ever wanted to give this hunting gig a rest."
Sam looked at the camera again. "Oh, looks like Bonnie's moved into the West corner."
Dean checked his watch. "It's almost 5 AM and we're at 35% pow-ER." He yelled as Bonnie popped into the doorway. Cas got up from where he had been sitting and rushed forward to shut the door.
"Cas!" Dean yelled. "I thought I told you to keep an eye on things."
"I can't find Chica," Sam said. Dean sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Oh wait, nevermind, she's in the- Dean?" Dean closed his eyes and let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.
"What, Sam?"
"Foxy's on the loose." Dean peered over Sam's shoulder to see the Pirate Cove curtain opened wide.
"Shit," Dean cursed under his breath. "Okay, well find him, find him." Sam opened the live feed of the West Hall, only to watch Foxy running down the hallway on its stiff robotic legs towards the office.
"Close the door, close the door!" Dean yelled, spinning around.
"It is shut," Cas said defensively.
"Keep it shut," Dean said quietly. "Keep it shut, just, be quiet. It's right outside, it's got to be."
Dean crept quietly up to the door and stood outside of it, listening intently. Someone knocked three times and Dean could see the power drop down to 24%. Maybe they weren't going to make it after all. Against his better judgement, he flicked on the lights to see Bonnie pressing her face against the security window in the West Hall. Dean quickly turned the lights off and took a deep breath.
"Guess he doesn't like light," Sam said quietly. "Foxy's back in Pirate Cove."
Dean flickered the lights again and opened the door. The West Hall was empty. "You-" he pointed to Sam. "Keep an eye on Pirate's Cove. We can't let that thing get out again. And you-" he pointed to Cas. "Man this door, okay? Nothing comes in."
"Nothing comes in," Cas repeated, as Dean turned back to reviewing the monitors over Sam's shoulder.
"It's 5:13 and we have 23% power," Sam noticed. "We should be able to make it through the night if we're conservative with the power."
"Yeah," Dean said softly. Bonnie was back in the supply closet just outside the West Hall. "Oh, that one loves to play with us, doesn't she?" Chica had abandoned her position in the East Hall to run back to the dining room, Foxy was still in Pirate Cove, and Freddy hadn't actually moved off the sound stage, although he was directly facing the camera this time.
"Freddy's not really that active, is he?" Sam noticed. "Maybe he-"
Suddenly the door slammed shut and Dean and Sam turned around to face Cas. "The rabbit," he said in a grave voice.
"Eighteen percent," Sam said, rubbing his face with his hand. "Let's just, keep that door shut for the rest of the night, okay Cas? Watch the other door, will you?"
Cas nodded silently and went over to watch the other door. "It's interesting, Dean," Sam said. "Look at their patterns. Chica comes close, then runs away. Freddy hasn't moved, and Bonnie just seems to be toying with us."
"What about that Foxy dude?" Dean asked. "I thought when we had the cameras on them they aren't supposed to move."
"I guess they never gave him that memo," Sam shrugged.
"Just," Dean clapped Sam on the shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. "Watch the monitors, okay Sam?"
Dean sighed and sat down next to Castiel, their shoulders touching. "You doing okay?" Cas asked.
"Me?" Dean asked, picking a bit of lint off the knee of Castiel's pants. "I should be asking you that question."
"Sam told me you were frightened," Cas replied.
"Sam?" Dean laughed. "You should have seen him yesterday. Nearly peed his pants when Big Bird jumped in the window."
"Shut up, Dean," Sam said loudly.
"Don't worry, Dean," Cas said seriously. "I'll protect you…both," he added hastily when Sam turned around to look in their direction.
"How about watching those monitors, Sammy?" Dean asked loudly as Sam huffed and turned back around. He smiled as he looked back at Cas. Cas offered him his hand and he took it gladly, letting their fingers intertwine naturally.
Cas adjusted his position so that he could lean over and whisper in Dean's ear. "Your palms are sweaty."
Dean smiled in spite of himself. He almost missed what Cas had even said to him, as he was too intensely focused on the way Cas' lips had just barely brushed against Dean's earlobe as he spoke.
"Where are we at with power?" Dean asked loudly to distract himself, giving Cas' hand a little squeeze.
"Eight percent," Sam said. "And it's 5:52."
Dean turned to Cas. "Well, I'd say this is the easiest night we've had so far. Guess bringing my guardian angel as a good luck charm wasn't such a bad idea, huh?" Cas smiled and looked away. Dean could almost swear that the angel was blushing. "So what do you say, Cas? You in? Coming back tomorrow night?"
Cas looked at Dean and sighed. "Might as well," he said reluctantly. Dean only laughed and squeezed his hand a little tighter.