Hey! Sorry about the late updates, I kept meaning to update, but it kept slipping my mind. I hope you had a good easter everyone! (if you celebrate it of course)

PK - SPRINGTRAP HUG MEH:Yep, and Leo is pretty easy to manipulate sadly, but that has to do with his background.

TU4QU0I53T4IAN6L3: Indeed it has, and yes, rather intense they were, the affect it will have on the children will be interesting.

Fantom Knight: they do remember him, but they are afraid of him, and despite everything, they are still children.

I own nothing but my characters and ideas.
Credit to my best friend for all the help in plotting this with me.

Chapter 38
New Waiter

Enix yawned as he removed his helmet, the parking lot was full of cars, and those cars were full of families ready to get inside once it opened. With a quick glance at his watch, he confirmed that it was ten minutes till the place opened.

Taking a breath and headed inside, he hoped that today would go well, things had been rough lately...for some reason.

Enix couldn't figure out what was happening with Leo. When the guy was even around them, he was quiet and distant. He engaged with the animatronics, but not Enix.

His eyes flickered around the room as he entered, and immediately he knew something was off.

There was a tension in the air, a strange sort of feeling...like something really bad had happened, but no one was willing to talk about it.

Enix let the door shut behind him and failed to notice the paper on the door announcing a new animatronic.

He glanced around to see if Leo was there, but nothing, there was no one else in the room. With a breath he turned his attention to the three on stage.

"Guys? Hey, guys what's wrong..." he trailed off as he scanned the room once again for Leo...only to catch sight of an animatronic he didn't see beforehand. His brow furrowed deeply and he took a step closer, "Steven? Are you standing on a box or something? Dude we talked about you being appropriately sized for your function. There is no need to be jealous of Bonnie's height." He said coming over, but as he did, the shadows cleared better and he came to a halt and stared up at the tan colored rabbit before him.

The bot was gazing down at him, head tilted to the side and ears drooped a bit. He looked fresh and new, his coat...brand new, he had the same model type and appearance of the originals.

But he had never seen this one before.

Gathering himself up again, he took a breath and straightened up, "um...hello, you...must be new huh?" He chuckled nervously, and then took a hard breath, "my name is Enix." The guard offered up with a half smile.

But...when the heck did this happen?

"Yes, Enix, Leo told me about you." He hummed and Enix's brow furrowed, so Leo had known about this?

"Oh uh….okay, well what's your name?" The guard glanced around briefly looking for the elder guard.

But of course he was nowhere to be found.

"Scott, but this suit is called Spring Bonnie." The animatronic offered, and Enix slowly nodded.

Something about this rabbit was eating at him.

Okay, a lot of things were eating at him, the first and foremost was…

Where the **** did he come from?!

But, the other one was a strange feeling of knowing something, but unable to place it.

Especially when he stared at the color of his fur.

Apparently he had been staring too long, as the hare moved, leaning down to get a better view of the guard.

"Are you alright Enix?" The voice had the same echoey tone that the children did when they spoke.

Well, to be fair he had only heard Fritz speak, so he couldn't be an accurate judge of it.

"Huh? Oh uh...yeah...um, do you know where Leo is?" Taking a breath, the guard looked around the room as if he could spot the elusive guard.

"Last I checked he was in the office." Scott offered up, and Enix looked back at him before nodding and stepping back.

"Okay...okay, I'll be seeing him then..." he trailed off and the animatronic nodded, but didn't respond. Enix took a breath and headed for the office.

He leaned into the room and spotted Leo, but just as he was about to demand answers from the man…

But there was a problem.

The guard was asleep.

Enix blinked and gazed at him, he was curled up in the chair knees drawn up to his chest. He was contorted in a ball, breathing softly. The taller guard took a silent breath and leaned against the doorframe.

He wanted to come in here and bark at him about the new animatronic and not telling him about it...but…

The guy looked so peaceful...and that, as Enix knew, was a very rare occurrence.

Usually...he was tossing and turning on the couch, it was more often than not at night Enix would be startled from his sleep by him speaking. Usually it was nonsense stuff.

But...sometimes, every once in awhile, he would say something that would make Enix pause.

The younger guard...did not know terribly much about his roommate, he knew that he was a drug addict, that he had been in prison...and that he remembered nothing from his past.

At least...while he was awake.

The words...mom and dad were only mentioned once or twice...and the words that came either before or after them...it made him worry...and put a few pieces together.

There had been one night in particular that gave Enix his final clue about what had happened to his friend.

The soft muttering from the living room finally pulled Enix from oblivion. But he didn't get up, he took a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling. There had to be something out there for noisy roommates.

Taking another breath, he dragged himself out of bed to go and see if he was having a nightmare, or selling a Russian man bacon.

That had been a weird one to listen to.

Enix leaned against his doorframe rubbing his eyes as he squinted in the darkness. There was moonlight streaming in from the window and it landed right on his obnoxiously loud sleeping roommate.

With a yawn, he rubbed his eyes again and stepped inside to make out what he was saying.

He was fussing, gripping the pillow tightly, taking hard breaths, his face and brow covered in a sheen of sweat.

It was a bad night.

The taller man went over and sat on the coffee table next to the couch, like he had done many a night.

"Leo?" He inquired softly, hoping he would wake easily tonight.

But no.

"...stop...stop it...stopit..." The man muttered fitfully, and Enix sighed before putting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle shake.

"Leo, hey, man you gotta wake up." He urged, but the realm of sleep had entrapped his friend in it's hold.

"No...no...wait! Mom! Dad! ****it wait!" At that Enix paused and looked at him a moment.

"Parents?"

"Hey! **** off! Don't touch me! No! No! NoNONONONONO!" And with that order, he jerked harshly away from Enix, the man jumped gazing at him confused. Then he took a breath and went back in to wake him up, but that's when the elder man sat up panting and eyes wide.

Enix stared at him a moment unmoving, before leaning in a bit, "Leo?" But there was no response, "hey...hey Leo look at me." The blue haired man ordered, but he got no response.

But Leo did move this time...he flopped back onto the couch and curled up once more.

Perhaps he had never woken at all.

It was after that night that the pieces clicked a little better together.

Leo's parents had left him somehow, Enix wasn't entirely sure under what circumstances but it certainly hadn't been good.

But knowing that Leo hadn't been getting good sleep is what prompted Enix to sigh and decide to handle the situation himself.

With a breath the guard exited the room but paused as his foot crunched on something. He blinked and looked down, the floor looked clean, aside from a few pieces of...something.

Enix leaned down and retrieved one of the pieces, it was a bright cherry red.

He gazed at it for a moment trying to place where he had last seen this color…

When his eyes drifted up to the desk.

Hadn't they gotten a new phone?

"Huh..." He trailed, before glancing at his comrade, he would have to ask him when he woke.

With another breath he headed out of the office only to find that they were open.

...and everyone was crowded around the new animatronic oohing and ahhing. Enix looked over him watching uneasily.

Something...was just...off.

Suffice to say, Enix watched the new employee all day long, it was already strange that he didn't go on a stage like the others, but according to John he was supposed to be a waiter.

Enix could think of a million ways that could end terribly.

So he sat in the back and he watched, he bounced his knee and watched him get food from the kitchens and bring it over.

The smoothness of his movements was remarkable, it was more fluid then the human waiters.

But that may be because they were quite intimidated by his size.

Jamie nearly knocked over his and another waiter's tray of drinks when Scott came too close.

Jane ran into the mechanical man and stumbled back wide eyed and apologizing, it caught the attention of several tables and Enix got up ready to run over, but then the tan bunny just chuckled...patted her on the head and said no harm done, then he went and served his tray.

The kids seemed to love him, they were enamored by the animatronic who came up to the table, he seemed to enjoy being around children as well. He would do dramatic motions in order to get giggles from them, and once even did a full on cartwheel receiving a standing ovation.

Parents at first seemed tense, of course knowing the rumors and stories about the animatronics being haunted and such, but his friendly demeanor and smooth talking seemed to put their minds at ease.

Enix should be at ease as well, this was fine. There wasn't a problem, he wasn't aggressive, or hostile, he liked children and adults equally.

Maybe he did once work as a waiter when he was alive, he seemed quite proficient in it after all.

Scott seemed to really enjoy the job.

He just...wished he could put aside this feeling.

But it wouldn't go away.

It was around two that Leo finally emerged from the office looking like he had been hit by a semi.

The younger guard glanced back at him from where he had been watching Scott. Leo yawned and scratched at his head, "how's everything going?" He slurred out, and the blue haired man sighed as he got to his feet.

"As well as they can I suppose." He paused and looked down at him, "with the new animatronic and all." It was probably his tone that made Leo tense up and take a deep breath.

"So...you met Scott then..." he trailed off and the taller man crossed his arms.

"Yes, I met the new animatronic you told me nothing about." He hissed out, and Leo chuckled nervously rubbing the back of his neck and looking over to said animatronic.

"It's uh...it's complicated Enix..."

"Complicated? Complicated how?" The demand slipped out harsher then he intended, and regret instantly flooded when the shorter guard tensed up more and looked up at him guardedly.

"He was a walking corpse, his exoskeleton was completely decayed, there was dried blood, a putrid smell, you think I wanted the other animatronics to see the full reality of what they had done to a man? A man with a family mind you, the same man who recorded all those messages over the phone for all the guards. The only one who didn't tell me to leave and go get another job knowing full well it was impossible for me to do so." Then his brown eyes hardened and his fists clenched, "and the only one who hasn't spoken behind my back. So yes, it's complicated. And no, I haven't been doing drugs in the back, I've been with Joey trying to repair him up because **** the last thing he deserves is to be trapped in a suit that can barely even move." He let out a breath as he finished and Enix's mind swirled a bit as he collected his thoughts and the new information.

"Leo...I..." he trailed, but the younger guard only scoffed and turned to look at Scott. Enix shifted on his feet and took a deep breath before frowning as something occurred to him. "Wait...you said that he recorded the messages right? He was phone guy?" Leo nodded with a breath.

"Yes, his name is Scott." He added the name with emphasis, but Enix's brow was furrowed deeply.

"The phone guy...a bit ago...the phone was ringing..." then he blinked as it hit him. Immediately he went over to where Scott was serving a pizza.

He heard Leo call him but he didn't care right now. Taking a breath he waited for the bunny to acknowledge him.

Eventually he did turn and look down at him, "yes Enix?"

"I have a quick question for you." The guard said, and the bunny stared at him a moment before nodding and stepping off to the side. Enix followed, he could feel Leo's eyes on him. "So, it was a bit ago...maybe a few weeks or whatever, but the phone...the uh, same one that apparently doubles as a tape player sometimes. Well...it kept ringing, and when I picked it up, it was you, but it was talking about stuff I didn't know, about like...a back room...and a suit being off limits...I think...it was actually this one, the Spring Bonnie one." He supplied pointing to him, Scott paused thinking but Enix wasn't done, "you were talking about previous employees and how the safe room was off limits…and how the Spring Bonnie suit had been moved…a lot...and how someone used it." He looked up, "who was the someone? Do you know? Was it the murderer?" That last part was whispered after a quick glance around.

He could feel the eyes of a few tables on him, along with the stage animatronic's and Leo's.

Scott didn't answer for a moment, but when he did, he placed a large paw on Enix's shoulder and took a breath.

Enix tried not to think about how that should be impossible.

"You know that some mysterious things happen in this place right? Between the obvious animatronic stuff, and the occasionally random incidents. I think something triggered those tapes to replay...probably to tell you about me in the safe room. So you guys could free me and all. As for who moved it all those years ago? I don't know, it could've been him, it could've been an employee who was trying to pull a prank. It's impossible to tell now." He finished with a shrug, and Enix frowned scratching at his jaw, the stubble scratched back, he had forgotten to shave…

"Yeah, speaking of...him, did you know him? The guy I mean, like...was he an employee? Do you know if he is still out there? I think the kids know, but they won't say anything. Like...should Leo and I be concerned? On the lookout?" Then he glanced around, as if seeing if the criminal was there at this very moment.

"I don't believe you should be worried, I think, even if he was still alive, he has moved onto other things in life." Scott supplied causing Enix to look back at him, he didn't notice Leo coming over yet.

"Did you know him?" He pressed again, the animatronic shook his head and Enix dropped his shoulders.

"I'm afraid not, I think he may have been a janitor or something. Which meant he would've had access to the building when others wouldn't have." At that the guard nodded stroking along his jawline.

"Yeah...that would make sense..."

"Uh, guys, orders are getting backed up." Leo said stepping up next to Scott, something Enix couldn't help but notice.

"Ah yes, back to the grind right Enix?" He lifted his hand, that Enix had forgotten was there. Then he turned heading back to the kitchen, but not before turning back to look at him. "It was nice chatting with you. I certainly hope we have more in the future." He dipped his head and then ducked heading into the kitchen.

Enix watched him go, taking a breath and furrowing his brow.

"Satisfied?" The taller guard jumped at the voice of the shorter, Leo was gazing up at him, brows set low. Enix took a breath and looked away.

"Yes. Sorry...I just...it's weird circumstances okay?" Turning back to his comrade he watched Leo take a deep breath and gaze at Scott as he emerged from the kitchen, he waved at the two of them before going over to the table.

"Yeah, I get it, it's weird. He is an adult while the others are children." Enix's eyes pulled from the animatronic and back to his fellow guard. But Leo still gazed at Scott. "I'm sorry Enix, but you don't understand what it was like, to sit there in that room, listening to them come closer, imagining your body being shoved into a suit in the back. Okay? He was stuck in there for years. That could've been me Enix." At that the taller guard looked to his shorter comrade. Leo looked back up at him, "they are our friends now. But there was a time before you came that I wondered if each night would be my last. I know it's weird circumstances, but he went through the same thing I did. He wasn't as lucky as I, I want to help him. He doesn't deserve to spend who knows how long in a decrepit state." Leo finished strongly, and then took a breath and just nodded a bit before heading over to where they usually stood during the day.

Enix watched him go before turning to look at Scott. He was interacting with the kids like any other entertainer would. At the table he was at, he was letting one of the younger kids pull at his ears, the child was giggling infectiously as the large ear bounced on it's spring at each tug.

Maybe he was just being paranoid, Leo had said he had a family before...maybe his interaction with the children was him missing spending time with his own.

That made Enix take a breath and rub the back of his neck. He shouldn't be too judgmental, he hadn't gone through what Leo and Scott had. He didn't know what it was like. Sure the toys had been frightful, but he knew that he could convince them to be friends with him.

Leo and Scott hadn't known that was a possibility.

With a breath, Enix decided to go check on the toys room and make sure Balloon boy hadn't decided to get some sticky fingers around the mother's purses.

Bonnie didn't like this, he did not like this new animatronic, no matter which or what way anyone phrased it, there was something wrong going on here. It was a feeling deep inside his endoskeleton, an unease that only grew as Scott interacted with the children. Was it because he was an adult? But if so, why wouldn't the purple hare have problems with the other adult waiters?

There was just something about this situation that bothered him, he had tried to ask Jeremy what he knew, but the boy had been silent. Gabriel's reaction had also bothered the hare, why had he reacted so harshly? Was it just because Scott was an adult? Did that justify such an intense reaction from the child?

He didn't know, and it troubled him.

Not even Freddy seemed to know why the child was so upset. When Scott had not been in the room before the place opened, Bonnie had questioned his band leader. But the bear had been just as perplexed.

This situation was weird...but nothing had happened. He wasn't mean...he was nice, he even kept distance from the kids when they or the parents seemed uncomfortable.

There should be no reason that he should feel this uneasy, but the feeling wouldn't go away. And the bunny could tell his stage partners felt the same.

Also, Leo...was so at ease with him, that was something the bunny couldn't help but notice how the guard never looked up at him nervously or tensed when he grew near.

But even now sometimes, when they were near Leo, he would still tense up at times or look nervous.

The rabbit would be lying if he said that the difference in how their guard acted around them and the tan bunny didn't bother him.

It seemed, when they all thought Leo was hiding away and doing drugs, he was communicating with Scott...and Bonnie wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Said guard was standing next to said bunny, he was holding a tray for him as the animatronic served the drinks talking with the child at the table.

Nothing was wrong...but Bonnie felt extremely uncomfortable at the sight.

The day passed smoothly and without incident, even though Enix expected there to be one. But nothing happened, Leo helped out Scott with some of the orders, and he was under careful watch of the animatronics and Enix, so he wouldn't really be able to do anything even if he wanted to.

When Enix saw Ashford's bright red truck pull up, he immediately went to go warn the man, but then he got caught up with a customer and ended up getting delayed…

Then Ashford walked in, Enix watched as he opened the doors, walked in...spotted Scott...turned around, and walked right back out.

The blue haired man winced before calling Jamie over to handle the customers, and then running out the door after him.

"Ash! Ash hold up!" He caught up with him just as he was climbing into his car. Enix grabbed the door before he could close it. "Hey, hey, breathe it's okay." He assured him, taking a breath.

Ashford had his hand on the ignition key and was taking deep breaths eyes wide.

"I'm not going back in there. One of them is walking around...it's going to end bad...it's going to end bad…" he trailed gripping the steering wheel with his other hand.

Enix took a breath and came over placing a hand on his shoulder, the man jumped, but relaxed soon. "I know it's freaky...but honestly, the animatronic seems to be even more humanlike then the originals. I don't think he will be a problem, but if he is we will deal with it okay?" He squeezed his shoulder a bit and offered a reassuring smile. Ashford looked at him and then looked at the building before taking a deep breath.

"Fine, but if he starts acting weird, I make no promises as to what I'm gonna do." He mumbled that, and Enix nodded.

"I understand, but it's gonna be alright okay?" He stepped back as the man got out of his car.

"Yeah...that's what they said when I became guard." With a breath he headed toward the pizzeria. Enix paused before following after him.

"...when you were guard...did the animatronics...ever show any sign that they could be like this?" He asked softly, and for a moment Ashford didn't say anything.

But after they let a family out and then entered the building themselves he finally turned to him, "no. They were vicious, and ruthless. I don't know who is in this building, but it is not the animatronics that I know." With that he went to go get ready for work. Enix sighed and watched him go before looking around for Leo. As expected he was by Scott.

Scott however was watching Ashford, something Enix took note of.

The animatronic was interesting, he seemed very observant, always watching everyone, as if learning what they were like.

It could be because he was locked away for so long, he probably enjoyed being around everyone again.

Enix must've misjudged him, he really did seem pretty harmless.

So, Scott is out and about with everyone now, no longer a secret. How do you think this will go? Does Springtrap have bas intentions? Good?

I'd love to hear what you think!