Luiginaryworker553: True, but Zach didn't really mean it in a hostile way or anything.

Zach Smith: Yeah, sorry for the wait. I've got five stories to worry about (including two unpublished ones), and this particular chapter's suffered its blocks.

So, as you may know, college is interfering with writing. A lot. Don't expect frequent updates (even though the next chapter is probably the last).

Also: this chapter was difficult to write. I constantly got blocks that prevented me from continuing certain parts.


Chapter nine: Bother of a guard

After having shown Zach all around the restaurant, the anime-tronics thought it only appropriate that the human would meet the last person he was supposed to meet—a certain she-fox with a habit of not showing her face. Knowing that Mangle wasn't exactly the most adventurous person in the world, the decision to send Foxy to get her was made. Zach was confused by this at first; how would the energetic Foxy be able to convince the shy Mangle to get out of her cove?

In response to his confusion, Foxy had simply given a mysterious smirk before leaving for the green curtains. She wanted to see the surprise on the human's face when he saw just how similar Foxy and Mangle were—if only on a physical level.

Upon reaching the entrance to Mangle's cove, Foxy peeked through the opening between the curtains. Her sharp eyes allowed her to see every detail of the room, upon which she quickly realized that the white and pink anime-tronic that resided there was absent.

Foxy stepped inside and looked around the cove. "Huh…" she mumbled to herself. Where'd ya go, Mangle?

Then, she realized that there was one place she and the others hadn't shown Zach during the tour. Taking him there wouldn't've made sense, as he'd already spent quite a bit of time there…

The red she-fox left her twin sister's cove, after which she quickly but quietly sprinted down the hallway to the security office. She reached it mere moments later, allowing her to notice that the metal door was shut.

Confused, she peeked through the window, but what she saw on the other side only presented more questions than answers…

Mangle and Douglas were good friends, but it was no secret that they found it difficult to talk to one another. Both were shy, and that made some conversations quite awkward. They didn't even dare look each other in the eye most of the time.

Because of those reasons, Foxy was surprised to see them both in the office, sitting next to one another at the desk while holding what seemed to be a surprisingly normal conversation. Neither looked too happy and their moments of eye contact were still brief, but the air—which was visibly serious—didn't seem as awkward as usual. Even better: their stuttering had been reduced to a few sporadic stammers.

Not wanting to eavesdrop on the conversation, Foxy lightly tapped on the window with her hook, drawing the duo's attention. Douglas immediately stood up and opened the door for her, allowing the red she-fox to enter the room.

Foxy looked at them both. She tilted her head. "Hey," she greeted. "Is everything alright with you guys?"

Douglas raised an eyebrow. "… Why?"

"Well," Foxy said, "don't take this the wrong way, but I ain't used to seein' you two in the same room for longer than, like, two minutes."

The guard blushed and looked away as a response. Mangle also didn't seem too comfortable. Foxy sighed.

"Sorry. That sounded…less polite than I wanted it to."

"It's fine," Douglas said. "Uh, everything's fine. We're just…talking…"

"Douglas…" Mangle softly interrupted.

The guard glanced at her. Then, he sighed. "Alright…fine." He inhaled, preparing to say something, only to stop himself.

When Douglas remained silent, Foxy turned her questioning gaze to Mangle. The white she-fox glanced at the ground, hesitating.

"Not tryin' to rush ya, but are ya goin' to gimme some answers?" Foxy asked with worry audible in her voice. "Y'all are scarin' me."

"Sorry, sorry," Douglas quickly said. "Uh, I, uh… Well…" He paused, hesitating. "How do I put this…"

"Foxy…" Mangle softly spoke, her gaze aimed at the ground. "D-do you…remember…w-when I said t-that…I-I admired y-your c-confidence?"

Foxy nodded. "Yup. That I do." She suddenly looked at Douglas, realizing something. "Uh…how's that with you and your bro, Doug?"

Douglas said nothing. He looked straight at the ground, obviously ashamed. Foxy, who already suspected the answer, sighed and put a hand on the guard's shoulder.

"Doug," she said. "I already told ya that you'll always be our favorite…"

"I know," Douglas said. "I-I…I don't r-really understand myself. I-I mean, Zach's the best brother I could wish f-for…a-and I'm jealous of his confidence."

"Ya shouldn't be." The red she-fox looked up at her white and pink counterpart. "Just look at me and Mangle. I may be confident, but that doesn't make me more heroic or anything." She paused. "… Did Griffiths ever tell ya 'bout an incident that happened in 1987?"

That drew the attention of both Douglas and Mangle. The former gave Foxy a questioning look—although it was more of a glance; Douglas rarely ever looked anyone straight in the eye without averting his gaze immediately after—while the latter appeared hesitant and nervous. Foxy looked at her sister with eyes that asked for permission.

It was when Mangle swallowed and nodded that Foxy turned back to Douglas, who had noticed the subtle exchange between the two foxes. He inquiringly looked at the both of them.

"Back in '87," Foxy began, "there was this guy with a gun. A robber. He wanted to see money. Even threatened to shoot some kids."

Douglas' eyes visibly widened. "D-did anyone get…?"

"No," Foxy quickly said. "It ended well. At some point, the robber started to threaten Jeremy, the day guard. Jerry tried to talk sense into the man. Didn't work." Her eyes briefly looked at Mangle. "Pretty sure he was just about to shoot Jerry…when Mangle grabbed his gun and knocked him out from behind."

Douglas' eyes widened once more and he looked at Mangle, who in turn timidly looked at the ground. "… Wow…" the guard said after a brief silence. "You, uh, never told me about that…"

"Yeah, well," Foxy said, "Mangle gets a lil' timid when that story's brought up." She gave a small smile. "That's 'cause you're so modest, eh, Mangle?"

That was when the white she-fox looked up again, her face red. "Wha-what? M-me?"

Foxy let out a chuckle before turning back to Douglas, her expression serious again. "So ya see, Dougey…it's the shy ones who get to be the real heroes in the end."

Douglas hesitated. He didn't really believe that. Foxy's words almost sounded like every shy person was destined to become a hero…and that didn't really sound too realistic to him. "So…I guess my 'heroic moment' is still going to come…?" he mumbled.

"Actually…" Foxy said after a brief silence. "I'd say your heroic moment came to pass when ya decided to keep this job. Despite havin' to watch over the likes of Chica and me," she added with a chuckle. "And I gotta say, you've been doin' a good job so far."

"Have I? What about Max—"

"And don't say Maxwell!" Foxy sternly interrupted.

Douglas froze, realizing what he had been about to say. Crap, he thought, I almost did it again… He glanced at Foxy. "Uh…s-sorry about that."

Foxy sighed again, calming down. She gave Douglas' shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "'Kay, look; yes, your brother's a nice guy, but I wouldn't wanna trade ya with anyone—not for love nor money."

That made the guard blush a bit. He blinked a few times. "Uh…thanks, Foxy. T-that, uh, means a lot."

Foxy grinned and gave Douglas a not-too-powerful slap on the shoulder. "That's what I'm here for, eh?"

Douglas briefly gave a small, hesitant smile before stealing another glance from the red she-fox. "Uh…" he mumbled. "S-so, uh… What're y-you and the others u-up to…?"


"They're taking their time," Chica noted.

"Let them," Zach said as he stole a glance from his watch. "I'm not goin' anywhere just yet."

"And it is no secret that Mangle is quite…hesitant…to meet new people," Freddy added. "It…may be so that she won't make an appearance tonight."

"That's fine," Zach said. "I can understand if she won't." He wasn't lying—although it would be nice if he were to meet her at some point.

He was barely done talking when Bonnie's gaze was drawn by something. Zach followed her gaze, looking over his shoulder to see three figures emerge from the other end of the hallway behind him. There was only a small amount of light, but he managed to recognize Douglas, Foxy, and…another Foxy…?

He blinked. All he saw was a bunch of silhouettes approaching from the hallway. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to get a better look at them, but to no avail. Was this a trick of the light or something?

A few giggles from the girls at the table made him turn back to them. He met their amused faces with his own questioning one, silently asking for answers to his unspoken questions. The girls remained silent, however—leading Zach to turn to the silhouettes again.

Only when they stepped into the light did Zach confirm that he was not going insane. He blinked in surprise upon seeing that the third, unidentified figure was indeed a fox, yet looked quite different from Foxy herself. Their body colors, clothing styles—even their general facial expressions were different. The only similarity was their matching eye color.

When Zach looked into the eyes of the white she-fox, he realized something that he decided he should remember: she didn't seem to share Foxy's confidence. The way she constantly averted her gaze—which, Zach noted, was quite similar to how Douglas reacted whenever he met someone he didn't know well—allowed him to confirm that she was probably a bit shyer than the others. He'd have to be careful not to make her feel awkward or anything.

"There she is!" Chica grinned. "Zach, meet Mangle—Foxy's twin sister."

Mangle gave a shy nod and a whisper of a greeting. Next to her, Foxy grinned and gave the white she-fox a slap on the shoulder.

"She ain't too talkative," Foxy said to Zach. Zach nodded before looking at Mangle again.

"Hi," he said to the white she-fox. "How're you doing?"


Douglas himself had firsthand experienced how easily his brother could remove awkwardness or uncertainty from a situation. Zach radiated confidence, yet his voice, presence, and humor tended to have a calming effect on people. He had almost always been the one who convinced Douglas to talk about the bullying that occurred at his school—something their parents seldom accomplished.

Douglas could see that same charisma when Zach talked to Mangle. Something that made her less shy and more talkative… Well, slightly more talkative. She still remained timid and a bit nervous throughout the whole conversation—something even Zachary Goodwin couldn't completely remove.

Still…Zach had needed mere minutes to accomplish what Douglas had achieved in two to three weeks.

Douglas did his best to force down his returning jealousy. Eventually, he excused himself and went to the kitchen for a coffee, earning an ashamed gaze from Mangle. The guard felt a sting upon seeing that; it wasn't her fault that he couldn't stand not being confident, and seeing that she blamed herself was painful to him.

Upon reaching the coffee machine, he sighed as he waited for the plastic cup to be filled. When that was done, he proceeded to grab it.

He had barely lifted his hand when he sensed a presence behind him, making him freeze up.

Silence.

Douglas soon felt his heart thumping in his throat. Was that a robber? Were they waiting for him to turn around?

No, that couldn't be the case. With how much time Douglas was taking in grabbing his coffee, they would have attacked by now…unless, maybe, the unidentified person was specifically here to kill him. Was he being held at gunpoint as he stood there?

Douglas' eyes gravitated towards where his taser and baton were held. If he was fast enough, maybe… But was it worth the risk?

He grimaced slightly. I'm probably dead either way.

With a surprisingly swift motion, the guard's slightly lifted hand went to his baton. Drawing it, he turned around and proceeded to smash it against his opponent's head…only for an impossibly strong hand to close around his wrist, stopping him.

For a moment, Douglas felt more panic rise. It subsided when he realized who actually stood next to him, upon which he sighed—partially relieved, partially annoyed.

"Spring," he finally said, keeping his voice neutral. "Uh…could you please refrain from sneaking up on me in the future?"

"Sorry," Spring said, sounding regretful. "I, ah, thought…"

Douglas tilted his head.

"I…" the bunny continued, "thought I'd be able to help by…doing that."

"… What do you mean?" the guard asked.

Spring looked him in the eye. "You've been off today, Doug," she softly said. "Golden told me what's going on with you."

Yet another sigh escaped Douglas' throat as he finally hung his baton back on his belt. "I'm fine. I've had this conversation with Golden, Mangle, and Foxy already, and I appreciate your concern. But I'm fine."

He tried to walk past Spring, but she stopped him. Preparing for a lecture, Douglas stood back to lean against the kitchen counter next to the coffee machine.

But the lecture never came. Instead, Spring hesitated before saying, "You were pretty good with that baton. I probably wouldn't've been able to stop it if I hadn't expected it."

Douglas didn't move. He didn't speak. But Spring could tell that something behind his eyes had changed. She gave a small smile and a nod before turning around and walking out of the doorway, her dark clothing almost making her invisible in the dim light.

Having forgotten about his coffee, Douglas pensively stared at the open doorway where the golden bunny had gone through. Had she really meant that? Could he possibly have been able to stop a robber? Sure, she'd been able to knock him out from behind easily before he'd made any movements, but if the situation were different…? Did he actually have the necessary strength and speed to…?

Or was she just saying that to make him more confident…? She'd looked pretty honest about it, and during his time as a night guard at Freddy's, Douglas had never had any experience where Spring lied about something as far as he could tell. She'd even taken pity on him a few times, warning him about some prank or trap Chica had readied for him.

Still feeling unsure, the guard absently grabbed his coffee. He was going to have to think about this…


Next chapter will (probably) be the epilogue.