Chapter 4
The Fourth Night

Naru was talking to Seb, as she was sitting in the table. Amos and Sanderson were adjusting the animatronics, as Naru was shaken. Seb said to her that the two technicians will be in another room, waiting for anything going on. If something bad happens, such as attacking the employees or shorting their servos out, she comes to them. Naru agrees, as she said to him, "I don't know who or what is doing this… but you will protect me, right?"

Seb nodded, "I will. And I promise you, you'll be safe."

Naru asked, "One question… I was worried about the whole girl in the other place."

"The other place? Oh, you mean the one in South Tokyo. We just opened it, and in one week, since this diner opened."

"Who was that girl who worked there? Does she have a name?"

"Well, I'm gonna give her a call, tomorrow morning, and maybe we can ask her some questions about this place. So, tell me… Has she given you advice?"

Naru explained that the girl on the phone, or "Phone Girl" as she is called, has been given good advice, including how to stop the animatronics from attacking. Seb said that the lights are useful, in case something goes bad. Naru smiled and said, "Good. Also, I'm a little worried about the animatronics here. They look more like androids than full-body suits."

"Well, it's not an easy predicament, when it comes to making costumes for the characters. Lemme show you."

He showed her a room, with the animatronics of each Sailor Guardian, including parts from their exoskeletons. It also shows a display of lifelike full-body costumes, about 18 centimeters (or seven inches) bigger than the life-sized android versions. Seb even said that these special costumes respond to the exoskeletons, and in the process, shrink down into normal-sized bodies, like the ones she seen in the stage. The costumes are usually worn by men and women, in small body statures. And no damage can be made, whatsoever. She shivered, as she asked about the exoskeleton thing. She asked would the robots think that she's an exoskeleton. He replied that it's a possibility, since they may or may not respond to human behavior, or even to the engineers. He even explained that one engineer almost died, when a Sailor Mercury robot grasped his throat, choking him to death. The Mercury Robot would be relieved of its thrusters in their hands, and replaced with looser servos, and given a proper prime directive, which is to not attack any humans. But there are a few glitches that have been made, thinking the humans could either be exoskeletons or extra body costumes of the Guardians or anybody else. Naru said, as she was shaken, "Well, that is good to hear. So, if anything bad happens…"

He replied, "Sanderson and Amos will fix them. Just as long as they are halted for a moment, so we can turn them off."

Naru laughed a bit, and then said, "Okay… but if this doesn't work out, I quit. I have had it with this place. I think I can stay longer, since I wanted to do it."

He said, "And don't worry. Everything will be alright. You outlasted three nights. You might last longer."

She whispered, "I will outlast them all… but you say it like it's a bad thing!"

He said, "Miss Osaka, I can assure you, five nights and you survive, you'll be alright. But… I am not so sure. Maybe we opened the store, under the wrong circumstances."

Naru was still a bit shaken, as her night was about to start.

Night 4 – 12am

At Midnight, Phone Girl was calling Naru, as she was monitoring the situation, "Aw, man. He told you that? Well, it's best to have back-up, just in case. I worked here for three weeks now, and they didn't bother asking about my complaints!"

Naru said, as she was still focused on the cameras and the doors, "Well, I am just scared. A Sailor Venus Robot almost got me, as does a Sailor Mars. Did you see the looks on their eyes?"

"Yeah…" Phone Girl said, "Those were a very horrific look… like dead black eyes, minus the dripping blood from it. Ew… Well, for what it's worth, until they find proof on what's going on, they are planning to close its doors, for a couple of days. But it's pretty much a precaution. These things happen, sometimes. And Moon Enterprises denies any of those rumors, or the wrongdoings it does. Corporate fat cats. So, anyway, I'll give you a call later, if anything else comes up."

Naru gasped, as Phone Girl asked, "Something wrong?"

Naru saw Sailor Venus walking down to the Party Room. She whispered, "It's happening, again… How about your end?"

Phone Girl said, "Yeah, lemme see… OH! A Mars and a Venus has just left the stage. I'm going to hold them off. Okay. By the way, I did say not to make any eye contact with the animatronics. I think someone tampered with the facial recognition systems… but I'm not so sure. As soon as everything boils over, I'll call you back."

Naru said, "Okay. AGH! CALL YOU BACK! BYE!"

She threw the phone down and quickly shut the left blast door. Sailor Jupiter was running to the door, pounding on it. Naru gasped in horror, as she whispered, "Oh, god. Oh, Jesus… What's going on here? The girl said that the facial recognitions are tampered, the engineers in the other room… They…"

She whispered, as she hung up the phone back in place, "Okay. Soon as Jupiter leaves, I'll head to the engineer room, and tell them about this news."

She flashed the light on the door, as Jupiter spoke, "Argh! Sailor Moon… ye best leave thar stage, before a typhoooon runs over."

She walked off, as Naru whispered, "That makes no sense!"

She waited for 30 minutes, as she stepped out of the hallways. She looked around, using her flashlight, and then said, "Okay. Since these two hallways intersect, the Animatronic Room is this way."

She walked into the dark hallways, as all of the animatronics were walking around the place, with Sailor Venus and Mercury in the middle of the right hallway. They peeked inside the office, but did not get in, just yet. Venus whirred her head to Mercury and nodded. Mercury nodded to her back, in affirmative, and then stepped inside Naru's office.

XXXXX

One hour later, Naru ran into two engineers in white lab coats. It was Amos and Sanderson. Amos said to her, "Welcome. Any news on the robots' malfunctions?"

Naru said, "No… But the girl from the other diner in South Tokyo said that someone must've tampered with their facial recognition systems."

Sanderson said, "Ah, that might be it. Well, we'll be safe here, until this boils over. So, would you like some tea, before you return?"

Naru said, as she realized, "I don't know… I think I left the blast doors open, and they might jump at me, in surprise."

Amos said, as he offered her a cup of herbal tea, "Don't worry. The robots can get into certain areas. But they are programmed to not enter your office. Arm length, maybe, but not the whole body. So, you don't have to worry. Just, when you get back, keep that flashlight intact."

He took her flashlight and said, "Four nights of this… and it's in due of a changing. Here."

He removed the top of the flashlight, and replaced the two D Batteries inside. He gave Naru back the flashlight, as she smiled, "Thanks. Hopefully, I don't think they'll enter here, too."

Sanderson explained, "Amos is right. The animatronics are allowed in certain areas – the Party Room, the Kitchen, the Bathroom, and backstage area. They're not allowed here, since there is a possibility that they may enter. If so, they stop completely, and then they turn back. They may not look it, but some of the robots tend to cook the pizzas and food, clean the toilets and floors, and even rehearse by themselves."

As he explained everything to Naru, about some of the duties the animatronics do in the pizza place, meanwhile, in Naru's office, Venus and Mercury walked off, seeing a faint light on the ceiling. They walked off in each hallway, as the phone rang. The answering machine played, as it was Phone Girl, in a bit of a panic.

"Hello? Hello! Miss Osaka? I know you're there. PICK-UP! Ugh, fine…"

Her message played, as pounding was made in the background. She continued, "Okay, look, I know this is your fourth night and all, but, this may be the last time I can talk to you. Yeah… It's about 2am, and already, bad stuff is going on. And I think they found me out… It's been a bad night here, for me. But hey, three weeks is a good start. Well, anyway, I'm glad I got to talk to you… when I did. Hey, one thing…"

The pounding stopped, as she continued, "Okay, she's gone. That Jupiter is very hostile. Anyway, do me a favor, if you have some time, see if you can check in the backroom, and check inside those suits… I mean, try to hold out, until the night's over. Maybe it won't be so bad. I was wondering what was in all those heads and suits, back there…"

The music of Moonlight Densetsu plays, as Phone Girl spoke in fear, "Uh… … …Oh, no… Uh, Miss Osaka… Miss Os-!"

A loud scream was made, as the message was cut off. The machine ended, as Sailor Mars watched on, by the right doorway. She let out a deep electronic buzz and walked away.

XXXXX

Back in the backroom, Naru finished her tea and felt better. She said, as she was calm, "Well, this was pretty good tea. And this whole thing about the robots, you will fix them, right?"

Amos said, "Well, we heard the news that it will be closed for a couple of days, giving the amount of glitches we had. But it's not certain, just yet."

Sanderson added, "We'll take care of the animatronics, once your shift is over. Also, be careful, on your way back."

Naru bowed and said, "Thank you."

She left the backroom, flashlight in hand, and continued to trot down the dark halls of the pizza place. She then whispered to herself that she's not afraid. She knew that the robots were malfunctioning… but she was partially wrong.

A Sailor Jupiter roared at her, from behind for doorway, and Naru ran off, shrieking in terror. She flashed the light at her face, as Jupiter walked away. Naru was staggering a bit, as she returned to the office, with the flashlight off and her legs shaken and wobbly, in the midst of seeing a Sailor Jupiter Robot, completely scared. She dropped to the floor and started to cry. She sobbed, as she started whimpering, saying she wants to go home. As she was on the floor, the robots were far away.

XXXXX

Inside the backroom, at 3am, Amos and Sanderson were relaxing, waiting for Naru to make a signal. A knock on the door was made, as Amos opened the door. Sanderson halted him and said that it could be one of the animatronics. Amos just scoffed and opened the door. Sailor Mars was by the doorway, as she was smiling. Amos asked, "A Sailor Mars animatronic? How did she get here?"

Mars spoke, "I… I… I… I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-."

Whrrr…
The robot powered down and her head suddenly fell. It fell to the floor, as Sanderson caught it. Amos let her in, as he and Sanderson carried her inside. They laid her down on the table, as Amos suggested fully dismantling her, and then checking to see if any glitches are installed into her. Sanderson agreed, as he went to the red toolkit. Amos placed the head of Mars on a small desk, and then unzipped her sailor fuku uniform from the back. As he removed the clothes from the shoulders, Sailor Mars' arm lifted up and grabbed his wrist. Amos gasped, as the robot sat up, with her uniform baggy a bit. Her head turned to Amos, in her black exoskeleton eyes and small lit pupils.

"Hello… Boys and gi-gi-gir-girrrls."

He called to his partner, as Sanderson asked, "What the hell? I thought she was-."

The head roared, "Kill them!"

Sailor Mars's headless body lunged at both of the technicians, roaring in a demonic guttural roar.

After that, Sailor Mars, covered lightly in blood, refastened her head on, and then walked off, leaving Amos and Sanderson, in the dark, and a bloodied mess.

XXXXX

Two hours later, Naru stopped crying, as she was standing up. She whispered, as she looked around. She was lost in the dark. She whispered, "I hope the power didn't go out, yet. Enough time. I have to hurry."

Huge noises were made from far away, as Naru shrieked, "AAAGH!"

She ran off, but she could not find her office. She turned on the flashlight and looked around. She said, "Okay… where is it? Hello? Amos? Sanderson? Anyone? I'm kinda lost…"

She went to a small doorway and said, "Maybe this is the way out."

She opened the door, as Mercury appeared, hanging upside down, roaring at Naru. She dashed out of the way, before Sailor Mercury grabbed her. She dropped to her feet and stood up. She then said, in a stern compressed voice, "That's against th-, THa-tha-tha-that's against the rules, buddy!"

Naru ran as fast as she could, as she screamed, "I GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

She saw a faint light in the dark hallway and smiled, "THE OFFICE!"

She ran back inside and said, "Oh, thank god… OH, GOD! Oh, thank you…"

She sobbed, as she shut the blast doors. She laughed in tears, as she whispered, "Okay… I'm safe. It's almost six… Now to find Amos and Sanderson, and end this nightmare. Oh. I better see how that girl is doing."

As she reached for the phone, the room went pitch black. The blast doors opened, as Naru was trapped in the dark. She sobbed, "The power… … …Oh, no, the generator…"

She looked at the clock and whispered, "No power. It's dead."

She looked at her watch and sobbed, "Oh, man… 5:32am… I have a half an hour left."

She heard quiet footsteps, as Naru turned on the flashlight. The tune of Moonlight Densetsu was playing, as a face with bright eyes, was walking towards her. It was Sailor Mars. She spoke, "Found you."

She said, "In the name of Mars, I will chastise you, you troublemaker."

She held up an ofuda and tossed it at Naru. She swatted it away and shrieked. She crawled out of the office, but Mars grabbed her ankles. She tried to break free and cried, "NO! NO, NO, NO, NO! PLEASE LET ME GO!"

Mars dragged her, as Naru held the chair, trying to break free. Mars pulled her, but Naru resisted. Mars said, "Please calm dow-dow-dow-down, or we're gonna have to restrrrain you."

Naru kept screaming in horror, screaming to be let out. But Mars said, holding another ofuda, "Okay-ay-ay-ay-ay. You were warned. Die."

She slammed the ofuda into her face and roared, "EEEEEVIL SPIRIT, BE EXORCI-CI-CI-CI-CI-CISED!"

WHAP!
Naru was out cold, with the ofuda, a white sheet of paper with black Japanese writing, stuck on her forehead. She moaned, as she was being dragged away, "No… I don't… wanna die…"

Her vision went blurry, as she whispered, closing her eyelids, "no… Don't kill me… No… … … …No… … … Help me… … Sailor Moon…"

Her eyes closed, and she was unconscious. Sailor Mars continued to drag her away.

At 8am, moments later, Naru came to, as Seb nudged at her. He whispered, "Miss Osaka? Miss Osaka? Wake up! Come on, wake up!"

Naru woke up, as she saw him in her vision. She said, "Seb. It's you."

She viewed at the Sailor Mars animatronic. It was motionless, with her body bent down, and her arms rigid, looking like she was reaching for Naru's ankles. Naru hugged Seb, as she started bawling. She couldn't stop crying, as he comforted her. He said, "It's alright. There, there, it's fine. Miss Osaka, it'll be alright. Come on, let's go home."

They walked out of the building, as Naru was still crying from the most horrifying night of her life. The remaining technicians appeared and carried the Sailor Mars Robot away to the backroom.

The next morning, Naru was on the phone with Usagi. She told her about what happened, including everything else in the diner. Usagi said to her, "Oh, dear. I was thinking I'd get a job here, but no luck. If it sounds scary-."

"I can assure you, Usagi, it's not. But do me a favor, don't. Also, tell Umino that if I don't survive the fifth night, tell him… he was right."

"Huh? Naru, you feel okay? What did that Umino do to you?"

Naru teared up, as she cried, "NOTHING! ALRIGHT? HE WAS RIGHT! I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE LISTENED TO THAT STUPID URBAN LEGEND! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT'S ALL TRUE! I WISH I DIDN'T GOT THAT JOB, IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

She hung up, as she was sobbing. She held her face and sobbed uncontrollably. She got another call. This time, it was from Seb. He called her and asked her to turn on the television. She turned it on and saw a shocking moment on the news. Two bodies were being carried out of diner that Naru worked in, as Seb said that the two engineers, Amos and Sanderson, were brutally murdered. He also said that the diner will be closed for a couple of days, until the situation has gone away. Naru asked if the robots did this. He replied that he has no clue, but he saw something, before he witnessed Amos's corpse. He saw a blood marking that says "You're next.", and it would be intended for Naru or Seb. But he thinks it's preferably both. He also noticed that the Mars Animatronic was lightly covered in blood, which makes sense, seeing that someone must've controlled the robot, making her kill people. He insisted that Naru come by and take a look, but she refused. She said that she couldn't, after that tragedy. And she tried to call the girl that worked in the South Tokyo area, but she kept getting her voicemail. He then said, as he was worried, "Just come right over. Maybe we can shed some light to what is going on."

"No." Naru wept.

He insisted, "Do it… for me?"

Naru sniffled, "Okay. 9 at night?"

He said, "No, come by at around 6pm. I'll explain everything… Just get some rest, and be there at about 6:00, tonight."

Naru sniffled, as she rubbed her eyes, "Okay… For you, I'll come by. But I won't like it. I wanna quit. Right now. Goodbye."

She put the phone down and said, "Okay. Just come by, tell the manager, and say "I quit". I want to go home, so badly. But the animatronics…"

That night, on a rainy Friday night, Naru stepped in the diner, as she saw some of the displays and rooms being taped up in yellow warning tape. Seb was waiting for her, as he turned to her. He smiled and said, "Ah, Miss Naru Osaka. Welcome to Night 5. Sorry, but it does sound like a bad thing…"

Naru barked, "What's going on?"

Seb was about to explain what was going on. Naru sat down and he spoke to her, "Well, the robots are being deactivated, for the time being, until we know what was going on. But there are a bunch of murders going on."

"Murders?!"

"Yes. And… Well, promise not to laugh?"

"If it's a joke, I'm not laughing. I believe."

Seb explained the story:
"We've had this problem before, being that the malfunctions were not just simple glitches. We promised to keep this from going to the public, but… There was another person who worked here, years ago, under a different management, and we saw all the animatronics destroyed; only the Sailor Guardians of Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter were salvaged. There was one girl who lasted a full five nights, and she ended up not coming back. The place she worked in was a Sailor Moon Pizzeria in Tokyo, which closed down, after a problem with the animatronics. And with it, the worst moment ever in the company's business."

"The worst? Was it vandalism?" She asked.

"Worse than that…" He said.

He held up an old newspaper clipping and said, "Here. I kept the original clipping from the pizza place, from years ago."

It read:
"After a few weeks of opening, Sailor Moon's Pizzeria will be closed, until further notice. All the animatronics available will be scrapped, and replaced with newer versions. However, relics of the original animatronics will be saved for a possible reopening, if and when the diner opens again.
Darien Shields, owner and manager of the Sailor Moon Pizzeria, could not be reached for comments; likewise the CEO of Moon Enterprises, who states calmly that it was a minor glitch in the robots' OS drives.
As of this moment, an investigation is going on, concerning the mess in Tokyo's branch of the pizzeria, as they will remain closed, until further notice."

Seb explained, "I was the only one who doesn't believe that it was just a malfunction… but rather… something else."

Naru sobbed, "No… You don't think…"

He said, "Of course, that was years ago, and we've reopened, without a single flaw… well, almost…"

"What happened that day? How did it close down?" She insisted, "I want to get through the fifth night, but not without the truth! Just tell me… What happened that day, at the diner?"

"You won't like it… but it happened on the girl's fourth night in the diner…" he said, as he explained, "A young boy was playing with a Sailor Jupiter animatronic, and suddenly… ugh… I rather not tell you. It's disgusting."

Naru said, "No, please. Tell me…"

Seb bit the bullet and said, "Okay… … … Theoretically impossible, but that Sailor Jupiter Robot bit off the boy's head."

She gasped in horror, as he explained that it wasn't a serious or fatal bite, but rather a near fatal one. The bite was at the boy's head, and he survived the accident, caused by a faulty robot. Unfortunately, the boy died, months before the pizza place reopened. Moon Enterprises refused to lift a finger in this tragedy and said that they were not responsible for the death of the young boy's sudden attack.

"Oh, god…" Naru whimpered, "You mean… You don't think?"

"Believe me… The other girl survived the week, but we have not heard from her, since then. Of course, the company kept her name anonymous, for legal reasons. All I can tell you, Naru… Be safe. And try not to die. The fifth night of your week is tough, but you can do it. If it happens again, and someone dies once more… then chances are… I was right…"

She asked, "Huh? What do you mean you are right?"

The manager arrived, in his black pants and white shirt, smoking a cigarette. He was very crossed, as he boomed in an angry look, "It's about time you two came! You two! MY OFFICE! NOW!"

He marched to his office, as Naru shivered, "Uh-oh…"

Seb said, "Believe me. Since the murder of two of the technicians, he has been a worried mess."

They went into the manager's office, as the manager was fuming.

One night to go… the final night begins…