Hi ho! Sorry that I've been silent for a while. My parents thought it was a bright idea for us to go on a holiday trip as soon as my exams had finished, and because of that I barely had any time to write since we kept on going to different places all the time. I only managed to be online and type out my stories for a little while before we had to go to somewhere new.

Anyways, enough about that! As an apology, I've made this chapter longer than usual as an apology. I do hope you can forgive me for the delay!

Ciao!

After saying goodbye to your boss, you headed your way out the door and back home. Needless to say, everyone was rather sad that you had to leave, the girls especially when they heard you were going to leave. Though, one huge problem was that Bonnie didn't say anything to you before you left. She was sitting on the stage, strumming on the new guitar you had given her while humming a tune to herself, or at least that was what it was. You weren't sure why she was like this all of a sudden, but you reckoned it was probably due to that.

Yeaaaa...THAT.

-Fucking hell that Freya...Why does she keep pulling all those stunts onto me..?-

You mentally sighed as you exited the door and went to the nearest bus stop, your mind still fixated onto what happened just moments ago. Freya had just given you a kiss on the lips. And not the simple peck on the lips kind. But rather, a full on minute of lip-to-lip contact, and maybe a bit of tongue action. And it didn't help at all that you felt slightly aroused because of it. You could still somehow feel it on your lips right now. The sight taste of her lipstick, her soft lips.

Good god...

You shook your head thoroughly to dispel any images that your brain would have wanted you to see. It was getting rather late at the moment, the sky had a nice orange tone as you could faintly see the sun hide behind some of the tall skyscrapers. You might as well take at least a small nap before your job later on when you reached home. You did feel really tired out from all the shenanigans that had happened throughout the pizzeria.

You took a seat among the many seats on the bus stop and silently waited for your ride home. The area was rather barren, with only another old man sitting just a few seats away from you. Just a moment later, you felt a small vibration in your right pant pocket. You dug your hand deep and fished out for your phone, checking to see what it might be. Surprise to you, it was apparently from your boss Julie.

"Yo, sorry to text you just a while later after you left! Just wanted to say again, thanks a lot for the help. I know it doesn't seem much, but I swear, the girls can be a handful sometimes!" The text read at first, causing you to chuckle along to what she wrote. You continued to read.

"Anyways, I hope you don't mind that I tag along on your job later on tonight. I need to stay back a little late to receive some ingredients and furniture for next week. I wanted to ask you personally, but the fella who would be delivering the items would probably freak out when you go collect it. I mean...You know, walking, talking, sentient robots-turned-anthropomorphic animals..." It continued, causing you to sigh. If it were you collect the stuff, the girls would probably tag along and all hell would break loose. So it was a good call for Julie to stay back.

Suddenly, another text popped up in your messages, which came from her as well. You opened it and began to read. "Also, I need to keep an eye out for the girls later, so as to see that they don't do anything crazy, you know what I'm saying? As well as their rather eccentric behavior around you, in particular. I don't know what the hell happened, but as soon as you left, Bonnie went into a full argument with Freya. I didn't quite hear what they said, buuuut I was pretty sure I heard your name in their conversation"

Fear slightly gripped you. Well shit, this isn't going to be very good for you now, is it? If Julie managed to find out what happened, god knows what she would do. Though, you were sure she would probably kick your ass.

You decided to text back, just to give a moment of caution to her. "Errr...Just don't mind what they're saying. They kind of got into an argument a while ago when we were in my office and I had to break them. I'll resolve the issue later" You texted back to her, obviously not the whole thing otherwise things would get heated later on.

And just like that, another message popped out. "Yea, well you better. The two of them are still going on with their 'talk' and Bonnie looks like she's about to break. Freya...well...she kind of looks...victorious. Don't know why, but I do hope you solve this, Mike"

You sighed. Great. Another thing that you had to deal later on. Just when you thought that you only had to look after them, you also need to resolve this issue quickly.

You heard the sounds of tires screeching and looked up. The bus was finally here. Standing up, you boarded the bus and slightly went on back home, pondering of some way for you to resolve this problem.

=Meanwhile=

You looked at your phone, sighing as you read the message you had sent. Ever since he had left the building, those two had been arguing on and on and on, non-stop. Honestly, you were getting annoyed at their constant bickering.

As you were sitting on one of the long tables that was near Bonnie and Freya, you heard the sound of footsteps gradually get louder and louder. You looked up and around to see where it came from before you found out who it was. It was Chica, who looked to be finally done with her job in the kitchen with her apron really greasy and the chef hat she wore slightly dirty. You grinned at her before asking her to come over.

"Sup Chica. How was it inside the kitchen?" You asked her personally, which caused her to laugh out loud.

"Honestly, better than I had ever imagined! The chefs over there were really quick in their actions and didn't hesitate to anything I asked them to do" Chica grinned as she hummed. "They were really friendly as well. No one back talked and whatnot. They also seem to actually like what they're doing" Chica continued as she remembered everyone from the kitchen.

You laughed. "Well, no big surprise there, really. Most of them were actually friends I made when I was in high school while the others are folks that my parents know personally" You replied with a grin. "Was really surprised that they were willing to work for me, since I did have a knack for being bossy back then, but everything went better than we had personally thought"

Chica giggled before taking a seat next to you. "In all cases, it was really fun!" She replied enthusiastically, her eyes seemed to glimmer for a moment,as her accent caused you to laugh and couldn't help but smile. She then noticed that something was rather off, in particular the whole commotion on the stage regarding a bunny and a bear. She turned her head and looked at you for a moment. "Since when were they arguing?" She asked, pointing a feather like a thumb in their general direction.

"Literally, as soon as Mike had left the building" You quickly replied without hesitation, causing a brow of hers to raise upwards. "Not joking, Chica" You added with an anamused look on your face.

"Huh...Why though?" She asked, to which you merely shrugged your shoulders and told her that any idea she might have would be more plausible than her own. "That's weird...Could it be that...?" You heard her whisper to herself, which only made you curious.

"Could it be that what?" You piped in, obviously wanting to know what it may be. You had a hunch that Chica knew what it might be. But knowing the large hen, she probably wouldn't tell you until later on.

"Oh nothing! Just curious, that's all" She replied in a peppy tone, which only made you more curious.

You shrugged your shoulders. "Meh, whatever. Anyways, I'll be joining you guys later on tonight. A supplier of mine will be delivering some goods over later on for next week" You told her in advance, which made her look rather surprised. "He'll be delivering some ingredients for the kitchen and a few brand new furniture to replace some of the older ones" You added to your previous statement, trying to make it a bit clearer for her to understand the situation.

"Oh I see. But why at night? Why not during the day?" She asked.

'Clever girl' You thought. With that statement, you were highly impressed at how they were capable of processing information. With all that time being sentient as a robot.

"Well, sure, day time is alright and all. But it might cause some problems" You told her, causing her to cock her head sideways. "Well firstly, there is a backdoor behind the pizzeria which he will be using to transport the stuff. Problem is, the corridor that leads to the other rooms would be blocked with all the boxes of ingredients and stuff being moved about and the kitchen is one of those rooms. All the chefs would have problems going from place to place"

"In addition, our current storage unit is not in one of the rooms at that particular corridor, but nearer to where Mike's office is at. It would be really inconvenient for them to transport it over there during the day as there is a whole bunch of people walking about at the main hall. We are trying to see if we can build another one over there nearer to the back so that stuff like that wont happen" You told her in an informative way, causing her to hum deeply.

"I see..." Chica mumbled to herself just loud enough for you to hear. "Looks like I still have a lot of things to learn about the real world, isn't it?" She asked with a smile, causing you to laugh heartily.

"Hahaha! You got that right, Chica" You smiled, to which she returned the favor. "You know, out of the four of you, I think you and I would get along quite well" You honestly said, causing her to laugh.

"Hehe! I kind of feel the same way, really. Freya can be...cunning, I suppose, that makes me really weary of her. Bonnie is always quiet and reserved, unless Mike is around, so it makes it a bit hard to get a good conversation. And Foxy..." She rubbed the back of her head with her feathers and gave an uneasy grin. "...Well...She's a bit...crazy I guess from time to time"

"Tell me about it" You replied, rolling your eyes. Ever since your encounter with the girls that fateful night, you have observed the various traits that Chica had said about the other three. Freya was definitely one to be the scheming, playful type. Bonnie was very, very reserved, unless the matter involved Mike, children, or a performance.

And Foxy...

...Well...Foxy was a special and crazy one. Not the type you would want to mess with and expect to get away with it. You recalled, just before Mike had entered the building, she was swinging her sword about the place to frighten those journalist. Needless to say, they were frightened, but oddly enough they never backed off. That was until she chased them out of the building yelling pirate profanities, which luckily enough, none of the children knew.

"...Anyways" You started after your mind had finished daydreaming. "I want to ask something" You looked at her for a moment with a curious gaze, "What do you think of Mike?"

From the look on her face, she was quite startled from the question, probably not seeing it coming. "Mike?" She asked, to which you nodded your head in confirmation. "Well, to be honest, I don't know where to start" She replied cheekily, laughing as she stuck her tongue out in a cute manner.

You lifted one of brows and gave a look that said "Please elaborate". 'Don't know where to start'? What does that mean?

"Well...Let's see..." Chica said at first before humming, closing her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. "I guess the first thing is that he's really nice. I mean, as far as I know, you don't immediately buy presents or gifts to a random person that you just met in one night" She stated, causing you to think really hard. Now that she had mentioned it, those times when Mike said he was getting something for a friend of his, he was really referring to the girls that he had just met.

"He's also really helpful and does things out of his own kindness. Guys I've seen around the pizzeria don't really do that too often, yet Mike does that quite a lot" Chica giggled. "He can be a bit of an oddball at times, but that's also probably one of his many cool perks. I mean, you did see him fight Foxy in a duel using a spatula, right?" Chica asked you, causing you to laugh heartily.

"Hahahaha! Oh man...Yea, I remember. Weird guy, but sometimes like to show off" You noted, causing you to think back about that rather hilarious battle.

"He's also never mean to any of us, never tries to make us feel bad, except a little joke here and there and overall, a really quirky guy. He told us stories of his past, some adventures he went to, competitions he participated, you know, stuff of the likes" Chica said with a small smile before it erupted into a big grin. "Oh! And he is super cool when he wants to! You should have seen how he fought Foxy for the first time! Moved fluidly, fought amazingly...Made me think as if they were really enemies in some sort of big boss battle!" She added with as much enthusiasm as a kid on Christmas day.

You chuckled at how much enthusiasm she was showing. "Seems like he put on quite a show, by the look on your face" You pointed out with a smirk on your face.

"Sure did! A+ rating in my books!" She exclaimed with a huge grin. "Anyways, overall, Mike's the type of guy that can really stand out if given the opportunity. But he prefers being around others that he's comfortable with. From what I've seen, he's really close with Bonnie, cuz that bunny just cannot contain herself whenever they are together. A really nice personality, with a friendly aura that somehow exudes from him and, in my opinion, good looks to top it off" Chica finalized what she said, which caused you to hum for a moment.

"Hmm...Gotta keep that in mind, Chica. And thanks for answering" You replied with a smile, to which she replied immediately.

"Oh shucks, don't mention it! But it's all from my point of view. You can give whatever ratings you want for him for all I care" Chica laughed before looking over to the nearby wall clock. "Oh crust! I forgot I was still helping out in the kitchen!" She exclaimed as she suddenly rose from her seat. She looked at you for a moment and sheepishly smiled. "Well, gotta jet Miss Julie!" Chica exclaimed as she began to make her way back to the kitchen.

However, before she had entered the hallway towards the kitchen, you called out her name. "Don't mention it Chica! And please! Call me Julie! We're friends aren't we?!" You yelled, hopefully loud enough for her to hear. Thankfully, it was loud enough over the hustle and bustle in the main hall which you just suddenly realized. You saw her grin and gave a thumbs up using two of her opposable feathers before running off, fading into the distance.

You sighed. The long girl talk with her was probably one of the more real breathers that you had ever taken. You didn't have too many girlfriends that were free to just hang out and gossip about stuff, so it was nice to talk to her normally.

Moreover, with what she had said about the other girls and her view of Mike, you were beginning to feel that something might be amiss.

"Hmm...I wonder if I'm right..." You muttered to yourself. If it was true that Bonnie did act like that around him...Then maybe...

...

"...Maybe...Just maybe..."

=Later that night=

=Time; 12:06 AM=

-Jeez...My back hurts...-

You thought to yourself. stretching a little to try dismiss the pain. You had no idea why, but it was probably from your squeaky bed. You made a mental note to try and fix the bed at some point of time or buy a new one.

You arrived at the restaurant at around your usual time. You were just ever so slightly late due to the fact the bus was off schedule by a bit. Nevertheless, it didn't really give any major problems for you. Looking around at your office, you made a note to put aside the drawings that the kids had drawn from this morning. You didn't want to dispose of them, in case they would want to have it back or something.

You were casually picking the pieces of paper one by one, looking over at the drawings the kids had made. You were rather amused by a lot of them, since the drawings were rather crude. Drawings of each of the girls, either by themselves or together. Though, there were the more exceptional ones, ones that look like a middle schooler who took art classes would make. Details and all. Though, out of all of them, there were also some that took you by a huge surprise.

And all of those had you inside of them in some manner. You smiled as you looked at them one by one. It was pretty heartwarming to see that some kids had taken a liking to you. For example, one of them had a drawing of you, in what seemed to be your security outfit, with a kid standing next to you, who seemed to be in a police outfit of sorts. Crude, but you had to give the kid a lot of credit.

Another was a drawing of the girls sitting around a table, probably chit-chatting, with you sitting with them. All with a smile on everyone's faces. This one was a bit more well drawn. At the bottom, the kid had written, 'Freya and her cool friends!' in blue crayon, causing you to smile.

There was also one that, you probably guessed, was based from earlier this morning. A drawing of you, Freya and Bonnie, just simply talking with kids all around.

"Heh...These kids really like this place" You muttered as you looked through all the drawings, carefully stacking them together and putting them aside on your desk. "Glad that the restaurant is more lively"

Just then, you heard footsteps coming from the right corridor. It was slightly soft at first, but due to piercing silence, it was enough for you to hear it. As the footsteps gradually became louder, the sound echoed all throughout the restaurant, ringing the place in the same rhythm. You stood up from your chair and walked over to the right doorway and peered through the corner, allowing to see who the culprit truly was.

"Oh! Hey there boss!" You said with a smile before emerging out of the office. Julie was wearing different clothing that from this morning. A green blouse with a left breast pocket that had a flower design on it and light blue jeans. She was also wearing a light yellow jacket with the zipper open. When she had heard your voice, you saw her gave you a smile.

"Hey Mike. Good to see you made it" She smiled brightly, chuckling a little a while later. "The guy would be arriving in about 20-ish minutes, so I still have a bit of spare time before he arrives. Thought I might drop by and check to see if you were already here" She added, placing a hand on her hip.

You chuckled. "I see. Anyways, where are the girls? Are they still backstage?" You asked her curiously, causing her to shrug her shoulders.

"Beats me dude. I haven't seen them ever seen..." She stopped for a moment and lifted up her left arm, pulling up the sleeves of her jacket, showing a digital watch around her wrist. "...10:24, if I'm not wrong. The last place I saw them was that they were simply lazing around at the main hall" She pulled back her sleeve and lowered her arm, giving you a small frown.

You frowned in return, rubbing your chin and closing your eyes. That was odd. Very odd. Normally the girls would be around in their respective areas, most associated by their personality and what they like, but seeing as how even your boss did not see them for at least an hour and a half, there was something very fishy going around. After pondering about it for a moment, you looked back at your boss. "I'll go try and find them. See that they're not doing anything crazy or something had happened to them" You replied, causing her to nod her head.

"Alright then. I'll see you later then, Cassanova" She waved a hand goodbye as she turned around and headed back to where she was beforehand.

And also...Cassanova?

What?

-...Meh...-

You went back into the your office and took your phone as well as one of the spare flashlights that was under the table. If you needed to go into a dark area, it would help illuminate it in case there were no lights. You didn't want to use your phone's batter in case you needed to call or text someone. You had a habit of draining its battery for some reason.

As you exited the room, you made your way towards the main hall first. You thought long and hard for a while, thinking that 'If I'm one of the girls, where would I go if I didn't want anyone to find me?'.

-Boss already said they weren't in the backstage. But I have a feeling they might be hiding in some corner over there...-

You told yourself. It seemed odd at first, but your brain seemed to accept the request of going there first. You did remember faintly that there were areas where, if people were not looking properly, would be a good hiding spot.

Once you had reached the main hall, you looked around for a moment. The area was still brightly lit, though not too much so as to not attract suspicion from outside. The area looked much more tidy as compared from this morning, which made you smile a little. Everyone really did work hard to make the restaurant as perfect as a place for anyone to eat. You slowly walked over to the stage with the curtains drawn, looking around more carefully to try and spot if anything was amiss. Though unfortunately, there wasn't.

At least, you thought so.

You couldn't help shake off the feeling that you were being observed. You were not sure what it might be causing it. Paranoia maybe, or perhaps the girls were looking at you from somewhere else. Paranoia was probably the main one, though.

You hastened your movement and got up to the stage, entering through the curtains. This area, however, was not illuminated as compared from the hall. You had to use your flashlight to see since it was rather dark. The area looked to be rather neat, with everything to be in proper place. Bonnie's guitar was there, so you were sure that at least she wasn't somewhere idly strumming it and humming.

You walked around for a moment before finally finding the area leading to the backstage. Here, there were more props. Some stands, chairs, a microphone holder, some fake cutlasses and...

...

-...A piece of paper? Looks important too...-

From afar, there were some words on it. Looked to be of importance to you, but your mind was consciously saying that it was just probably trash and that someone was littering. You focused the flashlight onto said paper and casually walked towards it. It looked to have been written on a notebook page before someone tore it away. You picked it up and began to read it.

"Oh...How my heart yearns for a man such as him.

A charming gentleman that had caught my heart.

But even so, I don't know how to convey these emotions to him.

I was never one to be lovey dovey...Nor shy

And yet...When I see him, my heart beats like a thousands drums.

I sub-consciously grow more weaker and shy inside.

But I do not want to let him see me like so.

...Why does the world have to be so cruel..."

You re-read the whole thing and hummed. Weird. The words were too advanced for a kid to write this, so probably an adult wrote it. And seeing as how there were the words that conveyed love and 'him', whoever wrote this was probably a female. Either that, or a gay man. You snickered at the thought of the gay man part.

But you thought harder. Who would write this? Miss Julie perhaps? She did mention in your previous talk at the burger cafe that she was in the drama club back when she was in school, so maybe her? Or maybe one of the female staff members?

You were honestly very confused at the moment. Oh so very confused.

You decided to turn the paper and see if there was anything else. Luck as you might have, there definitely was. Thought, it wasn't what you had expected.

"My heart...It throbs so much...

Why must you do this to me...?

Your charming smile...Your infectious laughter...Your eyes...

Why...? Why do this to me...?

...Michael Schmidt...

...Why do I love you so much...?"

As soon as you read the last line, your breathing stopped. You re-read it for confirmation and found that, it was in fact true. How...How on earth did this person know your name?!

Your list of candidates had dwindled to only your boss. When you were talking with her at that burger cafe, you were asked as to what was your full name, to which you replied without hesitation. It must have been her. Unless there was someone you personally knew who worked here and that you merely forgot who she was. But that was highly unlikely.

You tried to think of the situation more rationally, but you felt a hard thud from behind you. You couldn't think of anything else as you fell face first onto the floor. Everything started to blur as your eyes gradually grew more heavy. The last thing you saw was a figure standing before you. But the figure was so blurred that you couldn't make out who it was.

And just like that, you slipped into unconsciousness.