Jarceus: Hello and welcome to the eighth chapter of Freddy's Emporium: Eternal Guard. I hope that you all enjoyed the previous chapter and will enjoy this one. And now time to reply to the reviews.

Reviews

firesage101: oof glad everything was OK. I do not like that guy. seriously why would you use a gun when you would have to reload it. also stay safe Damien.

Replies

Damien: Well, when you know the sweet spots, guns are surprisingly effective, and it is unlikely that an animatronic will know about how to deal with gunmen. Why do you think I just tossed my baton to Chica? She and the other animatronics don't know the fact that you DO NOT run AT people threatening others with guns.

Chica: You don't? Wait, you relied on me not knowing that?! Damien!

Freddy: What I doubt he accounted for was Chica breaking his jaw. That was an unpleasant sound to hear... And I don't even have a jaw that can be broken in that way.

Damien: Oh yeah, did not expect the jaw break… although to be fair, made it very effective. Although I did have to kill myself to get my eye back…

Last Time

"Yeah. This is the guy, got me good too, even shot me in the eye, not that anyone would know thanks to my ability. How about you Offi? How have you been?" Damien asked Officer, who sighed and shook his head at his old high school nickname and the irony of his name

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Honestly, not much happens around here besides the stuff here. Well, that and a small robbery or shop lifting every now and then. Makes me a bit jealous of the people who work here, they get the interesting job. Not that I would even dear go into a deathtrap job unlike you Mr Immortal." Officer joked as he made a call over a walkie talkie to get an ambulance called to the emporium to help with a prisoner. Of course he also got a report from Damien and the animatronics surprisingly enough, minus a few redactions about Damien getting shot in the eye of course. That information can never be too secret now, can it?

Now

"So, how have the past few nights for you been dude? Haven't really talked to you in a while, right?" Officer asked Damien, the two sitting down at a cafe, both of the two having the day off for different reasons. For Damien, it was simply the matter of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Emporium being closed down for the renovations that Dale had called him about four days ago now and the police investigation into the events of last night that resulted in the previous owner of Freddy's Horrors breaking in and shooting two animatronics. Of course, Damien reported to Dale about his theory on how the 'Nightmare' animatronics were programmed.

"Haaaa… well, I've died twice in a week. I think that is a new record for me honestly… usually it takes at least three weeks to have a single death…" Damien said casually as he leaned back in his seat, remembering the conversation he had with Dale about the animatronics and the compromise they reached. A week before the opening, Damien would come in for a night to test and see how the Nightmare animatronics act towards him, and use that as a judge to see if they need to have a complete program rewrite when it comes to the night code or a complete wipe. This would allow the emporium to have enough time to do the resets and reprogramming. Obviously Damien would rather they did the rewrites without a test with his life, but he realised that they probably spent a lot of money for the renovations and reprogramming as it was.

"Yeah, I can already see the scar on your neck is deeper than before. Did you stab it to go with a bleed out again?" Officer asked Damien as he subtly traced the scan on Damien's neck, which had gone from a shallow and hard to notice scar, to one that was deeper looking and easy to notice. Of course the comment made Damien sigh as he pulled a red bandana with a yellow line going over it out of his pocket and wrapped it around his neck to hide the scar "Hold on, do you just… carry a bandana around with you?"

"I just brought it today since I felt like I would need it if the scar was too distracting…Looks like I was correct in doing so at the very least." Damien sighed again as he tugged on the bandana he had wrapped around his neck, trying to adjust it a little more to fit his neck before Officer was called up to retrieve his order, leaving Damien along as he stretched out, his eyes closed as he did so while still dressed in his work uniform from the night earlier, having not gone home since the incident while the police were collecting evidence and the Emporium was closed.

While Damien was waiting for Officer to come back, a woman walked up to him carefully, looking at the badge he had on his chest with an air of concern. The woman looked to be in her mid thirties with blonde hair tied into a ponytail that went down to her shoulder blades, the pony tail itself seemingly designed to be easy to put up if need be.

"Hello sir, do you work at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Emporium?" The woman asked, making Damien open a single eye to look the woman over before he hummed softly and nodded his head, spotting a name tag on her shirt, a simple long sleeved green shirt that covered her beige long legged pants somewhat. He did this for two reasons, to try and remember where he had heard the woman's voice before in the past, and to get a good grasp on who he was talking to

"Indeed I am Sharron. Everrim Orphanage right? Called a few nights ago for a party reservation after the renovations are complete, right?" Damien answered, the name tag on her shirt helping him to remember the call he was talking about, where a Sharron from the local orphanage called to organise a party to get the kids out into the community. Hearing Damien's voice made Sharron smile softly as she realised who she was talking to

"Ah, you are the night guard I talked to over the phone. It is nice to meet you in person sir. As I introduced myself last time, I'm Sharron. I was going to ask about the reservation that I had, but I didn't know how to go about it… especially with what was reported to have happened last night…" Sharron said awkwardly as she ran a hand through her ponytail nervously, sighing a little as she seemed to calm herself down

"No need to worry. While the break in and shooting of two of our animatronics is unfortunate, it was perfectly timed with the closing of the emporium for the renovations, so we did not lose out much on that. If you are worried about me as the night guard on duty at the time, then don't, please, I only took a grazing shot to the forehead that I've covered up until it heals." Damien said, pointing to the bandage he had wrapped around his head last night, just as Officer walked back towards where Damien, and now Sharron were, noticing Sharron he waved

"Hey Sharry, how are you?" Officer asked the orphanage worker with a smile as she waved back at him softly and smiled back at the man

"I'm doing good Officer. Have you had any interesting calls recently?" She asked Officer, who could only chuckle and jab his thumb towards Damien, who had an eyebrow raised at the interaction between the two

"Yeah, this guy here gave his phone to the Marionette animatronic to get it to call the police for that break in at Freddy's last night. I have to wonder how that news company got the story out this morning, I mean it hasn't even been eight hours since the incident happened and they already reported on it." Officer said calmly as he smirked and nudged Damien with his shoulder, making the temporarily bleeding man's left eye twitch a little before he coughed

"Soooo, Officer… are you going to properly introduce me to your friend here?" Damien asked Officer, his eye still twitching a little before he let out a soft sigh, calming down his twitch a little as he rubbed his forehead to try and move the bandages a little so that he could tighten them again easier while listening to Officer talk

"Ah right… This is Sharron, I call her Sharry as nickname, she's from the local orphanage. I've had to talk to her a few times in the past due to some of the children in the orphanage escaping and going around the city." Officer said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head, blushing a little as he talked making Damien chuckle

"I already knew who she was since she called me to arrange a party at the emporium… on a Friday night… morning… Thursday night…? No it was past 12 so I guess it would be a Friday morning. Anyway, not the point. Just wanted to put ya on the spot for talking like I wasn't here at all." Damien said with a smirk on his face before Officer, still blushing, now in even more embarrassment than before, punched him on the shoulder hard, making Damien grunt a little before he smirked even more, Sharron watching the two interact with intrigue

"You two seem to know each other rather well. Would you be able to tell me how you two met?" Sharron asked the two making Officer secretly pale, facing away from her, not knowing how to really go about explaining how the two met without exposing Damien's secret. Damien on the other hand knew exactly what to do, so he smiled at Sharron kindly, his eyes closed to hide any indication of emotion

"Of course Sharron. I'll just go grab my order before I tell you about the story, alright?" He said, using the tone of voice that said that while what was said did indeed have a question mark at the end of it, it was in no ways a question. In this context, the tone that tells you that you have no place to complain about delays or being forced to listen to something.

After finishing what he was saying, Damien got up out of his seat and went to go check on his order, coincidentally getting up just as he was called to come and get it, making the raven haired man smirk to himself at his timing. Meanwhile Sharron sat down in an empty seat, having taken it from another table and moved it over, curious on the story. Meanwhile Officer calmed himself down and sat back down in his seat, internally wondering how Damien was going to explain the situation with his ability… or how he was going to leave it out…

Eventually Damien came back and sat down as he sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes as he hummed to himself softly

"Alright… where to start… I think that we first met on the first day I came to school, right Offi?" Damien asked as he reminisced about his old school days while Officer nodded his head calmly

Alright. I think I remember it enough now. It was my first day at the local school. I had definitely made my first impression on my new class as a loner… and I kinda wanted that as well to be honest with you. I… wasn't in a good mental place back then.

"Hey new guy. Where are you from?" I don't remember who asked it, all I do remember is that I shot the guy a death glare and told him to back away. Let me tell you, while it was an overreaction, seeing the look on his face was hilarious… oh come on, don't give me that look Sharron, he was the local bully. I saw him wedgie a guy while coming into school… although thinking on that, wasn't that you Offi?

No. No it was not.

Anyway, the most of the day isn't really important. More for generally setting up the general image of who I was back then, you know? Anyway, our story really picks up during lunch time, I was chilling up on the room, since the school is one of those that… ah, you went there as well Sharron, good, so you know about the room floor. Anyway, this was back when the railing wasn't properly in place, so most people stayed away from the edge. I, in the interest of staying away from people, did not shy away from the edge… I see the stare, put down that stare.

May I ask why you decided sitting on the rim of the roof of a three story tall building was a good idea?

Like I said Sharron, I wanted to be alone, and I was a kid. They aren't the best at thinking. Anyway, Officer and some other kid were throwing things… I think they were having an argument, eventually it kinda got into a more physical fight than just throwing things at each other, so, reluctantly since they were disturbing me, I got between the two and told them politely to shut up

You said that if we didn't shut up you would throw us down the stairs.

Like I said, politely telling them to shut up. ANYWAY, the kid that Officer took offence to that, and gave me a shove… off of the roof… like I said, this was before the railings came into effect. Luckily I was able to land in some bushes but that is still a three story fall from the top of a building, so it hurt a lot. And I mean a lot. I woke up in the school infirmary, why they didn't call the hospital is beyond me, but I guess the bushes saved me a lot more than I thought thinking on it. Anyway, the school nurse said that she had called my guardians at the time, my grandparents to get them to come pick me up. Anyway, after that day, Officer here insisted on getting to know me and help me as an apology for partially being the cause for me falling off of the room in the first place. For the first week or two I kept brushing him off until he eventually managed to get me to break and accept his help and friendship. Although I was very cautious about him for a few months.

Like, secretly plan to murder you if you cross me type cautious.

I was NOT going to murder you at all. Merely made good on my threat to push you down the stairs.

So you admit it!

Boys, both of you, calm down.

Sorry Sharry…
Sorry Sharron…

Where were you again?

Oh yeah. Anyway, after that we became friends and did some dangerous things, like, has Offi told you about when we went into a haunted house on Halloween?

Oh? No, he hasn't told me about that at all.

We only went in because YOU wanted to see if you could use your little gift for survival in it. I still don't understand how you were ok with just a day in the SCHOOL infirmary after that fall. Or the time you almost got stabbed in the head while knife juggling because you saw it on the internet.

You did what now?! When was this young man?

First off, I'm older than you, second, this was back when I was sixteen and third, please stop poking my chest. You really took into the role of a carer, huh?

I… I guess you have a point. I have to deal with Robbie for so long that I've gotten used to reacting like that…

This last comments makes Damien raise an eyebrow softly as he motioned for Sharron to continue, which she did with a sigh

"Robbie is one of the kids in the orphanage. The only person he ever calmed down for was his older brother… He took a job somewhere without telling any of us about it and went missing… we have no idea what happened to him or if he is even alive. Robbie's been wilder than ever before after that… I know that Marco was only four years younger than me, but I say him as someone to look after still you know? Especially since Mum had me working in the orphanage on the weekends during school unless I had homework…" Sharron explained, holding her hands out onto the table while fidgeting lightly, looking away from Damien's gave as he sat leaned back in his seat and hummed

"His last name was Splatton, wasn't it? Marko Splatton… wasn't it?" Damien asked as he pulled his phone out of his pocket subtly, making sure neither Officer nor Sharron saw it while Sharron's attention was focussed completely on the realisation that Damien knew in some way what happened to Marko… but before either she or Officer could ask him to explain how he knew about Marko… a recorded voice began to play

"Hello? Hey, if you can hear me, I'm a previous employee, a fellow night guard if you will. I'm recording these messages to instruct you on how to survive your nights. I have no idea if I'll survive all of my own nights, but I can guide you." The voice said, making Sharron freeze as tears formed in the corner of her eyes, hearing the voice of Marko Splatton, the man who told Damien what he needed to know to survive… not that he needed it in the end, but the thought was what counted. "Can you make sure my brother is ok? I… I took this job for him you know? After Mum and Dad died it was just us… so I would hate for him to be all alone… Oh right, you'd need to know my name to do anything like that. I'm Marco, Marco Splatton."

While the second recording would play, Damien would place his phone down on the table in front of him, allowing the two to see the recording he made was new, made just before the emporium closed for investigation and repairs… Originally Damien has taken the recordings in a bout of dissatisfaction to use as blackmail later on… but he felt like allowed Sharron to at least have some modicum of closure on the fate of Marko was a better use for the recordings, even if it would hurt at first… and hurt it did…

"He… he made recordings to let people know he was alive… to help people survive… Marko was always a good guy… I'm happy he went out in the way he did… helping others…" Sharron said softly, tears falling down her cheeks by now as a sad smile appeared on her face, the kind reserved for the loss os a person you knew well, but knew that they died in a way they would have wanted or died doing something good.

Meanwhile, Officer was looking at the phone with a raised eyebrow, while Sharron was focussing more on the fact that Marko went out guiding others, he was much more interested in the reasons behind Marko leaving the messages in the first place. That second sentence struck him almost immediately 'instruct you on how to survive'. Of course, out of respect for Sharron, he would not dig into the issue at the moment as to not hurt her, out of professional standards after all, but once she was gone, Damien has some questions to answer about his work place and some disappearances that had gone unexplained… and un-investigated. A fact which was worthy of investigation by itself.

"Yeah, he definitely helped me to survive with the messages he left behind for night guards. Told me what I needed to look out for and what I needed to do in reply." Damien said calmly as he smiled softly and put his phone back into his pocket, sending a knowing look towards Officer to let him know that he would answer what he could in private so that Officer can be pleased by what he learns… or at least partially pleased.

"Thank you for… for at least letting me know the truth about what happened to him… it hasn't even been that long, but I hope that Robbie will be calmer knowing that his brother left doing some good… I doubt it though… haaa… what am I going to do…?" Sharron asked as she rested her head in her hands, looking down at the table while Damien sighed softly

"If you want, I can help you out around the orphanage. I'm currently out of work, so I can easily work with you as a casual worker. I come in when you need me, and leave when things are under control." Damien suggested as he closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, finishing off his drink as he sighed "Look, I can at least be a breath of fresh air for the kids and an item of interest for some time, take their minds off of things you know?"

"That would be amazing. Sadly not many people here want to come and help the children, even though we don't have many in the orphanage, fifteen if you remember, they can be a really big handful, especially once Robbie gets involved…" Sharron explained as she smiled and shook hands with Damien before she got up and looked at a nearby clock, gasping as she realised the time "Oh dear, I really should be getting back… hopefully Robbie hasn't broken the toilet again this time. Thank you very much for the nice talk. Hopefully we can talk about you helping out around the orphanage." She said as she bowed slightly before speed walking away from Officer and Damien, the two men waving goodbye

"Hold on a damn minute, did she just say 'hopefully Robbie hasn't broken the toilet' with an AGAIN on top of that?! What have I gotten myself into…" Damien sighed as he shook his head, officer chuckling in pity as he gained a serious look on his face

"So, you added a nameless and faceless person into the story, huh? Can't say I blame you since our meeting wasn't that good…" Officer sighed as he looked Damien in the eyes as he nodded

"Yeah, although I will say that the goldfish impression you made when I walked into class after hitting the concrete was well worth the temporary brain damage I sustained. Although you did kinda learn about my ability… heh… how things could change so simply… if only it was as simple as I make it sometimes…" Damien sighed as he rubbed his face, making Officer nod his head softly in understanding

"Yeah, I get cha. We both hide the fact that you 'respawn' for lack of a better word. If the wrong type of people learnt that, it would not be pretty in the slightest…" Officer said in agreement before he gave Damien a slight glare "Now then Damien, how about we go to my office to have a little talk about that workplace of yours."