"Night Guard…"
Mangle sat up and stared at Mike's visage beneath her. His expression was far more stoic and sterner than she had expected.
At a glance, they may appear to look like this, but she was sure they were actually softer and more inviting than what she saw now.
Her eyes were then drawn to his body. Like the night before, just looking at made her immediately made her flustered.
"I'm really sorry, Night Guard. I really didn't mean to barge in then."
Her tail nimbly swept across the stage of her cove.
"…Now for your shirt."
That was her intention, but a loud rumbling coming from above her drew her attention away from that task. She worriedly followed the sounds of crashes and bumps across the ceiling until she heard what sounded like someone sliding across metal.
Suddenly, Foxy burst through a nearby vent cover. She skillfully rolled across the stage before taking one giant leap towards the other side of the room.
"Foxy!"
Sliding out of the same vent was Spring-Bonnie. Seeing the annoyance in golden bunny's eyes was a little scary, even if it wasn't directed at her.
"Ye as fast as ever in the vents, Spring Bon-Bon," Foxy complimented.
"Don't try and sweet talk me, Foxy! I'm still mad at you!" Spring-Bonnie snapped.
"Aye… But all I did was…"
"I was there! The point is that you made Night Guard do his disappearing thing."
An interested smile stretched across Foxy's face. "Aye… Such a slippery mate he is."
"You're missing the point. You ruined a moment before it could even be a moment. I barely got to even talk to him! I couldn't even ask if he was feeling better after last night! I barely got a sentence in!" Spring-Bonnie complained.
Foxy awkwardly scratched the back of head, only for her hair to become entangle by her hook.
"I'm sorry, Spring Bon-Bon… I genuinely didn't see ya this time," she apologized, trying to free her hook from her head.
"I honestly can't tell if you're serious or not…" Spring-Bonnie muttered.
"Um… Spring-Bonnie…"I think Foxy is genuinely sorry," Mangle defended.
"Doesn't change the fact she made me chase her down when I tried to voice my opinion…"
"Ye had a fiery aura," Foxy joyfully pointed out.
"Can you blame me?" Spring-Bonnie moaned. "You clearly enjoying the chase didn't help."
She sighed. Venting her concerns to Foxy genuinely felt like a lost cause at times.
Then again, she found it hard to vent anymore due to the fox mindlessly untangling the hair from her hook.
She then felt something tugging on her right arm. She looked down and met eyes with Mangle. They were innocent and inviting and even though her younger sister did not say a word, she knew what she was offering.
Spring-Bonnie got on her knees then rested her head across Mangle's lap. She felt Mangle's slender fingers run through her hair as her head was stroked.
"I'm not asking for Night Guard to focus on me all night; I'd just like to have a moment where I can spend some time with him like everyone else has," Spring-Bonnie admitted. "Seriously, everyone was able to spend time with him without being constantly interrupted like every time I try to…"
"I'm sorry, Spring-Bonnie, but I'm sure none of it was done with any malicious intent," Mangle said in a soft, reassuring tone.
"I know… But it is one of the few things I get to look forward to at night… You know, other then getting to leave storage and finally interact with my little sisters."
Mangle wanted to say she could understand her elder sister's feelings considering they were both "out of order", but her situation couldn't possibly compare to Spring-Bonnie and Fredbear's.
"So tranquil…" Spring-Bonnie murmured.
That one comment caused a small smile to form on Mangle's lips, erasing the unease she just felt.
Spring-Bonnie's eye wandered among this tranquil atmosphere before catching a glimpse of a piece of paper lying next to her.
It had to be a new drawing, that was what Spring-Bonnie thought as she curiously reached for it.
"Ah, wait…!" Mangle's anxiety skyrocketed as her elder sister brought the drawing to her face.
"Wow…" Spring-Bonnie looked up at Mangle, stunned by what she just saw. "You have a better imagination than I do, Mangle."
"I didn't imagine that…" Mangle timidly admitted.
"You didn't? Then this is from memory…?"
It only took a few seconds for Spring-Bonnie to realize the implications behind that realization.
She hastily sat up with a horrified expression on her face. "You saw Night Guard naked!?"
"No! No!" Mangle denied, frantically shaking her head. "I just saw him shirtless…"
"You saw Night Guard shirtless!?"
Mangle quietly nodded her head.
"You okay? I mean, you're not traumatized or anything are you?" Spring-Bonnie worriedly asked.
"No… Just a little embarrassed that I walked into him while he was like that. I think he was embarrassed to…" Mangle lamented.
Spring-Bonnie took another glance at Mangle's drawing. "Don't know why. He doesn't really have anything to be embarrassed about. Really… really… doesn't…"
"Please don't tell him about that," the white fox pleaded. "I was just… you know."
"Don't worry, my lips are sealed."
The reassuring smile on Spring-Bonnie's face was comforting, but it didn't last long. That cheerful expression was soon replaced with one of confusion.
"Wait… why was Night Guard shirtless again?" she asked.
"Marionette was taking his measurements."
Spring-Bonnie was dumbfounded. "I didn't think that would involve him being shirtless…"
She wordlessly slid off of the stage and walked towards the exit, her shoulders slumping over more and more with each step.
"Lucky…"
With that almost inaudible statement, Spring-Bonnie walked out of Mangle's Cove.
"Wow…" now Spring-Bonnie's spot on the stage, Foxy stared at Mangle's drawing with wonder in her eyes. "I knew our mate had to have had a hidden build, but… Wow…"
…
"Achoo!"
Mike reached forward and grabbed a tissue to wipe his nose with.
It was strange, he didn't feel it coming at all. When he thought about it, it brough to mind the idea portrayed in anime when one person sneezes when others talk about them when they're not around.
Curious… I never really thought it was real, but if it is true, that would explain why I sneezed twice so much as a child…
Mike continued to switch between the indoor camera feeds, wondering how he keeps forgetting to ask about them. Fortunately, he didn't catch anyone doing anything too private until he landed on a certain storage closest by pure accident.
He honestly was not sure if he was supposed to check this feed at all given Fredbear's desire to be left alone, but before he could ponder too deeply, he saw something alarming.
Fredbear slowly turned towards the camera and just stared at it. Despite the good amount of distance separating them, it was as if she was right in the room staring into his soul.
It was both entrancing and intimidating at the same time.
But as he thought that, the feed was abruptly filled with static before it cut off completely.
"Curiouser and curiouser…" Mike muttered, trying his hardest to hide his astoundment.
What he had just witnessed was something out of a horror movie. He didn't want that relatively negative impression associated with someone he was hired to guard, barely knew and just wanted to be left alone, but whether positive or negative, he knew the comparison was appropriate.
"It could just have been a coincidence but…"
Thinking back to the time that Marionette seized control of his body made believing that almost impossible.
Perhaps, I should just move on.
Before he could do so however, his ears were filled with the sound of desperate growling. His stomach was desperately crying out for food.
"I should really find something to eat first though…" he admitted.
He sat up from his desk and walked out of his office, beginning his trip to the kitchen.
During his walk, he felt a sneaking suspicion that just leaving his office could have prompted something dramatic to happen. It could be just paranoia, but it was still something worth considering.
Then again, I don't think it really matters what I do.
The sudden sounds of screaming from above only served to fuel that belief.
Just above him was a single vent cover. All at once, a skateboard and a Balloon Babe came crashing down in front of him.
She chaotically rolled along the floor, cradling her jaw and screaming. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"
"Are you okay, BB?" Mike worriedly asked.
In an instant, BB stopped moving and looked up at Mike.
"Night Guard?!" she instantly jumped on her feet, looking no worse for wear. "Aw man, I didn't almost hurt you again, did I?"
"No, I kept a considerable distance, BB."
Mike snuck a glance at the vent above. If he had taken another step forward, he would have been at ground zero.
"That's good," BB said, chuckling in relief. "I don't I can handle almost ramming into you two days in row."
"Were you trying to perfect your impromptu vent technique?"
BB shook her head. "It's not impromptu, it's a carefully planned tactic. All my training last night was to build up to the grand finale of me emerging from the vents and drop my way into victory. I would've won too if I didn't hit my jaw on the edge…"
Mike recalled that moment. At the tail end of the race, Bonnie and Foxy were neck and neck, but Balloon Babe was nowhere to be seen. That is until she fell from the ceiling… through the wrong vent cover.
"That's true, but Bonnie also cinched victory by her miraculous turn with her scooter before launching herself to finish things off with her roller blades. An impressive gambit," Mike admitted.
"You should tell Bonnie that. That would make her really happy," BB encouraged.
The gleeful smile on her face made Mike wonder if she really did feel any pain from hitting her jaw two nights in a row.
"By the way, Night Guard, do you know what was up with Mangle last night?" BB asked.
"What do you mean?"
"She was acting really weird around you and the usual weird where she's really nervous to be around you because you're a new night guard and a man plus the fact that now she's a little on edge now that she's asked you to touch her until she comfortable with it so she knows she opened the gate to possibly being touched when she's not prepared for it, but the kind of weird someone acts when they have a weird moment with someone and can barely look them in the eye afterwards."
Mike was silent for a moment. …Ah, that's right, BB doesn't need to breathe.
"So what happened? Did she hug you again?"
"We…" Mike wasn't sure if he wanted to answer that question or not. Would answering that cause him to relive some of the embarrassment he felt last night? "We… Didn't engage in any physical contact whatsoever. The only hug I received was from Spring-Bonnie and something similar from Marionette taking my measurements."
"Measurements… And Mangle unable to look at you at the end of your shift…" BB scratched her head as she pondered the information she had. "Ah! Mangle saw you naked?!"
Mike didn't know what was scarier, the fact that Balloon Babe had once again easily deduced his dilemma or that she immediately assumed he was fully naked.
No, it was definitely the latter for him.
"I only had my shirt off!" he hastily corrected.
"Mangle saw you shirtless?!" BB frantically eyed Mike from head to toe. "…Yeah, that would do it."
It was all coming back now. Having attention drawn to his half naked form was quite unsettling for Mike. But there was something else that unsettled him.
"Her seeing me like that wouldn't have possibly triggered something, right?" he asked.
"No, Mangle's always been like that with shirtless guys," BB nonchalantly admitted.
Plus, if Night Guard has something underneath that matches what we can see then it's a surprise Mangle didn't outright faint.
Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of Mike's growling stomach.
"Wait, were you on your way to the kitchen?" BB asked.
"Yes."
"Right. To the kitchen!
…
Chica merrily whistled a short tune as she watched the pizza in the oven heat up.
"Still needs some time…"
Even through the darkened window, she could tell that. She continued her whistling as waited until she heard footsteps.
She curiously turned around and saw a sight that brought a smile to her face. "Hey, Night Guard. Did you catch a whiff of the pizza?
Mike shook his head. "Not exactly, but… You may want to to take a few steps back from the vent above you."
"Ah."
Without saying any more, Chica took a few steps back as Balloon Babe came crashing down from the ceiling.
"Dang it! Dang it! Dang it!" she loudly complained.
Chica leaned over her sister sprawled out across the floor and calmly asked, "Still at it?"
"I'm not giving up until I mastered it! Just imagine it: BB's spectacular entrance! Not only will she drop in unannounced from the sky, but she will do so in an extreme daredevil type way!"
She's found another reason to keep trying.
Mike found her resolve to be impressive, but was unsure if what she was planning could actually be done.
"That would be spectacular," Chica encouraged. "Ah, but remember what Freddy said last night?"
"You probably shouldn't try that stunt again? Keep it up and you'll may eventually break your jaw." Recalling those cautionary words caused BB to frantically cup her face
"I can't get my jaw broken! Who will fix it if that happens!?" she fretted.
"Isn't there a maintenance staff for that?" Mike instinctively asked.
Chica and BB exchanged brief, but meaningful glances.
"The only person who would know how to fix us in case something happens would be Henry," Chica explained.
"And I seriously doubt that he would come here to fix us if something happened," BB added.
Henry… It was incredible how a single person's name could change the mood in a room so suddenly. Even the usually unfazed Chica and energetic BB act differently, at least judging now and the last time he was mentioned.
Charlie seemed a little unbalanced too after that phone call. Of course, like with BB and Chica, I don't really know everyone long enough to safely say that this is truly strange.
Still, I wonder if Fredbear feels the same way Spring-Bonnie did back then. Could that be a reason for her isolating herself?
He continued to ponder this this until he felt something tap his shoulder. Curiously turning around, Mike soon found himself face to face with Spring-Bonnie.
"Hey, Night Guard," she said with a seductive smile.
With only a mere few inches of space separating them and the usual way she looked at him, it was obvious what would happen next.
Spring-Bonnie's arms rose up and her hands clamped down on his shoulders. She then pressed her forehead against him and closed her eyes.
This turn of events was something Mike found surprising.
After silently spending a few moments like this, Spring-Bonnie opened her eyes and smiled. "Looks like that storm didn't give you a delayed cold after all. I'm glad."
"Delayed cold?"
"Charlie said that you may get sick later if it didn't happen right away. Glad you didn't."
"Kind weird Charlie said that considering that she also said that she hasn't been sick a day of her life," BB mused aloud.
"That's technically not true," Bonnie interjected, appearing from behind Spring-Bonnie. "She said she hasn't been sick since she was a kid."
"Still, thinking about it… Charlie's never even taken a sick day, right?" Chica recalled. "It's like she's such a hard worker that she can't even get sick."
"While I'm sure that she's a hard worker, I'm pretty sure she must have simply developed a strong immune system," Mike theorized, mindlessly walking past Chica.
"Wha-?! It was at that moment Spring-Bonnie realized that she was no longer standing in front of him. "You did your disappearing thing again…?"
"Actually, I just walked over here while pondering what I heard."
"You could have said something though…"
"I'm sorry. I didn't really know whether that's necessary or not sometimes."
"You mean outside of your Batman trick, right?" BB asked.
"I'm pretty sure my 'trick' isn't anywhere near what Batman does."
"Says the Night Guard with the body of Batman who disappears exactly like Batman," Spring-Bonnie joshed.
"Excuse me?"
The withered animatronic's heart sunk upon realizing what she just said. "Nothing!"
"Hey, where you there too when Night Guard was shirtless?" BB asked.
"No…"
"Then how do you know he really has the body of Batman?"
"That is an excellent question."
After her calm response, Spring-Bonnie swiftly slipped out of the room.
"…Do you really have the body of Batman, Night Guard?" Bonnie questioned.
"That's a bit of an exaggeration. That build is impossible to obtain in real life," Mike answered.
"Still, now that I think about it…"
When she thought about it, Bonnie realized that she may have felt something when she wrapped her arms around him during their round of "Artic Thunder".
"Nothing, never mind. You're right, it's an exaggeration," she agreed, laughing nervously.
"You know what, that's right!" BB jumped on her feet and took another extensive look at Mike. "You may have Batman's most famous trick against Commissioner Gordon and his enemies, but you don't have his impossible build."
She snapped her fingers and grinned. "Yours is more like Spider-Man!"
"Spider-Man?"
"Am impressive build that's obscured by clothing; that's totally Spider-Man's thing."
Mike didn't know what to say. Despite all the remarks regarding his body were all positive, they were still all awkward to hear.
Despite that however, it was also reliving to hear too.
"Hey, can we see you shirtless too?" BB requested.
With those few words, the relief Mike felt like it was forcibly drained out of him. "I'd rather not…"
"Aw, come on! Please!"
"I'd rather not."
"What if go shirtless with you? That way it'll be like wearing a shirt is the unnormal thing to do right now."
Mike's heart skipped a beat a two. Being the most human of the girls, wass it possible that Balloon Babe was the most "anatomically correct"? Even if that wasn't the case, there was no way Mike could accept that offer. There was no way BB could be serious about it either.
It had to be something random she thought up then would retract, right?
The sight of her preparing to take her top off proved immediately proved that thought wrong.
"BB! You know you're not allowed to do that!" Bonnie shrieked.
"But she said not in front of the crowd Night Guard's one of us though," BB argued.
"Yeah, but he's still a human male and Charlie made it pretty clear that you're not supposed to do that in front of any human."
"Night Guard included?"
Bonnie nodded her head.
"Okay…." BB pouted. "But that was all I could think of."
"Perhaps, we can put the subject on hold indefinitely…" Mike requested.
"Fine… But now I'm even more curious about what Mangle and Marionette saw."
"There wasn't much to see. Just a normal man having his measurements taken."
"And soon enough, you'll have a uniform showing the world you're a night guard, Night Guard," Chica giggled.
"During the day, he's mild-mannered Night Guard, but little do they know that he's actually the Ultimate, Amazing, Spectacular, Sensational, Friendly Neighborhood Night Guard!" BB playfully announced.
As if on cue, Mike's stomach growled again, undermining the dramatic effect Balloon Babe was going for.
Chica curiously looked back at the oven then turned back to Mike.
"Just in time," she said with a wink.
Smelling the freshly baked pizza in the air was almost enough to make Mike cry, a feeling that remained with him until he took the first bite of what was offered to him.
He quickly went for another bite but stopped right away. From the corner of his eyes, he could see BB staring at him.
" Night Guard, Night Guard. Does whatever a night guard- " Caught without a way to continue, BB looked around and asked. "What rhymes with guard that makes sense?"
"I don't think there's anything that rhymes that would make sense," Bonnie replied.
"Oh…" She was disappointed to hear that until she thought up something else. " Night Guard, Night Guard. Uses his skills and is such a card. "
"I'm not really a card," he denied.
"What does being a card actually mean? Bonnie wondered.
"I think it means someone thinks you're interesting." Chica replied, her gaze staying solely on Mike. "In which case, I think it actually suits you Night Guard."
"I believe that expression is usually in reference to more 'eccentric' individuals," Mike admitted.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's for people you find really interesting and also sometimes makes you laugh. You certainly met both criteria for me on the first night."
"That's right, I actually thought you were enjoying what happened that night," Bonnie nervously admitted. "Me on the other hand, I was a nervous wreck. I thought we scared away another night guard even though things were going better than before."
"That… was better than other confrontations?" Considering how his first went, Mike found what Bonnie said astounding.
"Well, some just ran out the door immediately."
"I did the same and ended up running into the wall despite your calm approach."
"Yeah, but you also heard us out when you woke up," Bonnie reminded him. "A lot of similar moments like that happened and they never ended that well either."
"A few night guards actually took a few swings at us," Chica calmly pointed out. "That's why Charlie stopped arming the night guards with equipment on the first night."
"Yeah… That was not fun…" BB winced, rubbing the back of her head. "One night guard actually tried to pepper spray me too."
"There was also this one night guard that tried to taser Spring-Bonnie by aiming at her wires," Bonnie added. "Marionette had to intervene, and puppet control that one towards the exit."
"Another one tried attacking Mangle after calling her a robot freak," BB shivered as she thought back to that moment. "Foxy was scary that night…"
"There was also this one that came back after running and tried to dismantle us," Bonnie lamented. "They were this close to sneaking up on me until Freddy intervened. They then tried to get away and that was actually the last I saw of them myself, but Spring-Bonnie said that they had the misfortune of running into Fredbear."
"Fredbear?" Mike questioned.
"Not that she did anything to them! They're totally alive!" Bonnie frantically assured Mike.
Mike then recalled Spring-Bonnie's suggestion of having Fredbear solve their dilemma regarding the mysterious woman who appeared in the middle of his shift. He also recalled Freddy mentioning that the action seemed "disproportionate" at that point.
Though it was possible that the idea was less getting Fredbear to do something and was more of another attempt to have her come out of storage.
Either way, I think I'm starting to understand why everyone treats me staying here as something to praise. I may be the only night guard that didn't resort to violence.
That may also possibly be one of the reasons I haven't received any training or equipment beyond them never coming back.
Still…
"Too bad Spring-Bonnie left," BB suddenly said. "She's missing out on pizza with Night Guard."
"It's not like her to bolt like that unless there was something she didn't want to say," Bonnie noted. "I guess there was something she really didn't want to risk slipping out."
"It definitely has to be about Night Guard's Spider-Bod," BB cheerfully announced.
"But I'm pretty sure that wouldn't make her run though," Bonnie pointed out.
"Maybe she didn't want to get the knowledge to get out," BB hypothesized. "Could you imagine Foxy knowing about Night Guard's Spider-Bod?"
"I don't think she would act any differently if she knew that," Chica said.
"Oh… Yeah, you're right. Freddy?"
"I don't think Freddy would think about after an initial surprise," Bonnie replied.
"Huh. I guess Mangle would be the only one with a long-lasting reaction… Nah, she's probably over it by now."
Mike suddenly stood up.
"What's wrong, Night Guard?" Bonnie asked.
Despite the clear concern in her voice, Mike kept his eyes on the exit.
"Sorry, but I need to return to my office now," he somberly answered.
Before they could even have the chance to respond, Mike walked out of the kitchen.
"We gotta stop meeting like this."
"Why are you here again?"
"Because it looked like you needed help."
"That's it?"
"Is that so strange?"
"Kind of…"
"Oh. Well, it isn't for me. Hey, do you remember my name."
"It's _"
"That's right. Hey, you wanna be friends?"
"Friends?"
"Yeah. Let's be friends.
"Um… Sure, I guess.
"Great! So, what's your name?"
"It's_."
"Really? You _."
"_"
"_. Anyway, let's have be the best of friends, _."
Mike stopped. He was as still as a statue before suddenly turning around. He's puta considerable amount of distance between him and his previous location and his office wasn't too far away.
His feet started moving again, leading Mike back to the kitchen.
