Landing a job at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex was probably the best, and worst, thing Skyler did in her 23 years of life. Having been employed as a server there at 17 years old, she quickly fell in love with the place, and the lovable animatronics themselves. She always had an idea of what she wanted out of life, the possibility of an engineering degree or even the work life of a mechanic. With her position at the pizzaplex, she made the decision to base her schooling around being a mechanic and a caretaker for maybe at least one animatronic. It would be so worth it to see how they worked and learn from their advanced robotic systems.
So, after two years of being employed by Freddy Fazbear's franchise, she began classes for her new career choice, while also moving up to the position of assistant daycare attendant. Working beside Sundrop himself was absolutely amazing, and extremely healing for her inner child. Even the kids loved her, always ready to see Sun, Moon, and Sky as they called her. It just fit too well. Everyday was fun filled with Sun, and during nap time she would quietly chat with Moon as she worked on her schoolwork. Her employers were very flexible with her classes, excited even, about her career choice. Her boss, Ernie, oh he would just gush about her work ethic. 'I knew from the moment you walked in for your first interview that you would do great things for this company!'And the money wasn't too shabby either. Because of her degree choice, her employers have been paying majority of her tuition and books. The Superstar Daycare reviews had gone up exponentially too. From a wobbly 3.6 stars to a whopping 4.9! Skyler had been so proud of Sun, Moon, and her own hard work. Of course they continued giving her great bonuses with her keeping up the reviews.
But alas, her classes had come to an end. Proudly, she graduated with a 4.0 GPA. Nothing more, nothing less. And her dream position, to work alongside the band members themselves, was finally in her grasp. A couple months after graduating, the position opened up. Not surprising though, a couple members of the band were, well... difficult. It was hard to keep anyone employed in that position for long.
Even though she was moving positions, she let Ernie know that she was still available during the daytime if they ever needed her to cover daycare shifts. Sky would miss seeing Sun and Moon and playing with all the children everyday, so she would be sure to cherish these last couple of weeks with them.
"Hello, Sunshine!" Sun rushed toward the door, knowing who it was before they even stepped him.
"Hey, Sunny! How was your night?"
"Oh, just swell! Moon and I had a great night! We doodled and played with glitter glue- oh, friend! What happened to your shirt?" He peered down worriedly at his blonde haired, blue eyed friend.
"Oh, this? Some ass- sorry I mean butthead cut me off in traffic this morning and I spilled my coffee. Any spare shirts in the back?" She tried not to cuss, especially in front of Sun, but it was a hard habit to break. Luckily, he brushed off the cuss word and went straight to work.
"Oh yes, yes! We do, here let's go fetch some clean clothes for you, friend." His large hand patted her back, leading her toward the break room as they chatted about the kids coming in today, and the new daycare assistant they were scheduled to train.
It was my last day as the official daycare assistant.
"Charlie, sweetie, don't put that in your hair." Gently coaxing the 4 year to listen to me, I snatched the bottle of glitter glue from his hand. "Here let me help you with that, where y'a want it, bud?"
"On Sun's hair!"
"Okay" I chuckled and delicately applied the glue to his doodle of Sun. It really wasn't even used as glue by most kids. Seriously, they wanted sparkles on everything.
"Hey, Skyler?" I glanced to the side to see Ernie standing there.
Ernie was an older man, 46 years old to be exact. His chocolate brown hair was only just starting to grey, and his smile lines were prominent. He was tall and lanky, he had to be generally fit since he ran around the megaplex all day to keep an eye on all the departments. He wore his normal attire, khakis and a bright colored button up, with an equally bright tie to go with it.
I straightened up to face him, "Oh, hey boss man. What's up?"
"Well since tomorrow is your first official day as the bands personal mechanic, I figured we could go ahead and get a head start. We still have to update your security badge and introduce you to the crew."
"Oh! I don't know, I don't wanna leave Sun and Hannah alone with the kids." I mumbled nervously. I was excited to be moving up, but still sad. Four years is a long time to stay in one position.
Hannah, the new daycare assistant, perked up from helping a kid tie their shoes,"Its okay! Me and Sun can handle it, you trained me for this after all." She smiled at me, trying to help, "Pickup time is in 30 minutes so the kids won't be here much longer anyways."
I took a deep breath and nodded, following Ernie out of the daycare. I stopped at the door, and turned around to give it one last look. Sun caught my eye and waved excitedly. I knew he was sad to see me leave, but also so excited for me.
I waved back with a small smile and left.
"Are you excited?" Ernie piped up, trying to make small talk during the long walk to Rockstar Row. I followed behind him, my shorter legs working double to keep up with him.
"Yes I am. I won't lie though, I'm extremely nervous." My fingers pinched and pulled at my elastic lanyard.
"Nervous? How come?"
"Well, I... what if they don't like me?" I peered up at him as he slowed to a stop and turned to look at me.
"Oh, come on! They're gonna love you. Even Moon likes you and that's saying something." He rolled his eyes and held open a door for you.
"Yeah. 'Likes'. I really don't think so." I scoffed at him. Moon was indifferent toward me at best, I wouldn't call it 'like'. It was just convenient for him to play nice to make our lives easier.
"Quite the opposite, I'd say. I heard he's been sulking since he found out about your promotion." I waved him off, chalking it up to how Moon just hates change.
I followed Earnie through another series of doors to a small office. It looked like it had been recently remodeled, spotless black carpet with grey walls, a black L-shaped desk with gray marble countertop with a chair to match, a black filing cabinet, and a gray futon with black railing. The doorway and borders were a sleek white, accenting the blue tones on the grey walls.
"This will be your office, you can rearrange it and organize things however you'd like. Rockstar row is right around the corner, so it's pretty convenient. Uh, it's remodeled since the last mechanic... well, threw a fit. But look!" He pulled something out of the desk drawer and placed it on top of the desk proudly. The rose gold name plate had Skyler on it, with a couple cloud accents above the name. The sentiment was very touching.
"Aw, cmon boss man! Are you trying to make me cry?" I feigned a dramatic sob and quickly picked up the name plate to inspect it up close.
"Maybe" He teased, handing me more keys to add to my lanyard as he moved passed me and out of the office. "Now let's go, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy your office while you get used to your new graveyard shift."
I once again overworked my legs as I followed him down the hall and around the corner.
"Welcome to Rockstar Row! They should be waiting on us in their main room, just past Freddy's room. We only installed it a couple months ago but they love having their own living room."
I smiled widely. It was nice to know that Ernie saw them as more than just machines. After knowing Sun and Moon for so long, I quickly learned that there was more to these characters than just metal, wires, and silicone padding. They were practically human, with they're own personalities and character growth.
My smile wavered, though, as we finally stepped into the rockstars' 'living room' as it was called. They all immediately stopped what they were doing to look at us, more pointedly at me.
"Who dragged this stray cat out of the alley?" Roxanne sneered immediately.
Ernie fixed her with a stern glare and she huffed, but laid back in her seat with her arms crossed.
"Rockstars, this is Skyler, the new mechanic. Skyler this is Freddy, Chica, Roxanne, and Montgomery. If you have any problems or concerns, she'll be the one you report to from now on. I don't wanna hear about any of you cause any trouble for her- Roxy, Monty, I'm talking to you two." He quirked his brow sternly at them, as if he were talking to his own children. I smiled warmly at that thought.
Freddy gently outstretched his large hand, and I shook it, noticing how it felt a lot like Sun and Moon. Warm, and human-like.
"Hello, Skyler! I speak for all of us when I say we are happy to have you here. I do hope you stay a while."
The gator animatronic's little "Tch" from the other side of the room did not go unnoticed.
Freddy's ears gave a little excited wiggle and I smiled at him. "Me too! Happy to be of service to you all. Please let me know if any of you need anything."
"Got something you can look at, this awful pain in my-"
"Monty!" Chica exclaimed, visibly flustered as her feathers fluffed out. This new mechanic seemed nice and she didn't want her friends scaring them off on their first day. Monty rolled his eyes at her.
"-tail. I was gonna say tail."
Ernie turned to leave the room, waving behind him, "We better hop back to it. I have a conference meeting in 30 minutes and Sky still needs her new badge and keys."
Before following after him, I turned around and gave the band a small wave. "It really was nice to meet you all, and I mean it, please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything."
Monty locked eyes with me, his glasses slipping down his snout and his ruby eyes glared at me. Yikes, definitely not friendly. I gulped and quickly followed after Ernie.
With a sigh, my body slumped into my new office chair as I prepared for my first real shift. The schedule for the band was in order starting with Freddy, Chica, Roxanne, and finally Montgomery. I snorted to myself, I thought we were supposed to save best for last. Not worse for last.
I knew Monty was distrustful when it came to mechanics. There were many rumors that spread through the building, and though many were exaggerated, I knew Monty could be hostile and dangerous. It'd be best for me to tip toe around him if I wanted to stay in this position, with my arms and legs still attached.
Delicately sipping on a bitter coffee from the break room, I got to work on each of their files in my laptop. Reports on their maintenance, consistent problems with hardware and tech, certain quirks and things to watch out for. Freddy was good at hiding problems, especially if he felt it put burden on others. Chica ate garbage and pizza, literally ate garbage and pizza. Roxanne was just grouchy overall but would let maintenance be done without too much difficulty. Monty, well he was put on lockdown every time work was done on him. The file read that he was too violent, and working on him without shutting down his physical system was a safety hazard. I snapped my laptop shut with a frown.
Once I was satisfied with the information I had gathered, I headed out the door and around the corner to Freddy's room. Before I could even knock, the automatic door slid open, scaring me momentarily speechless.
"Superstar! It is so good to see you again!" Freddy's ears wiggled as he stepped aside for me to come in.
"Hello, Freddy! Do you have anything for me to check out today?"
"Yes! Some of the kids were very excited to see me today, and they may have chipped my paint a little." He said as he rubbed the back of his head bashfully. Upon closer inspection, I could see that his paint was scuffed up around the left side of his face and partially down his neck.
"Yeah, I can see that. Let me grab some of your paint real quick and I'll get you fixed right up. I'm gonna go ahead and add a new protective coat over your paint, too." I informed him as a walked over to his storage and pulled out the tools and colors I needed.
After I finished his paint, adding the protective sealant, he inspected himself in his mirror. His bright blue eyes lit up and he turned to me, setting a large hand on my shoulder, "Thank you, Skyler! My face looks good as new."
"No problem! Let me know if you need anything else, okay? I just set up my new fazwatch today so I should be in your contacts now."
Once I finished my work in Freddy's room, I headed to Chica's next. My knuckles rapped against her door three times.
The door slid open to reveal Chica, who quickly scooped me up in a hug. I gasped, frozen and not quite sure what to do. She pulled back to get a good look at me, holding me by my shoulders.
"Skyler, I'm so glad you came! I thought you might not come back."
I chuckled and awkwardly patted her forearm, "I've already invested 6 years and a whole degree into this place, I'm not leaving anytime soon." I heard a scoff from the back of the room and looked past Chica to see Roxy sitting at the vanity.
"You haven't been here that long, we would've seen you." Her eyes were squinting at me suspiciously.
Not wanting to make her think I was arguing, I eased into my explanation. "I worked in the diner and the daycare, so that's probably why we never crossed paths."
Roxy's eyebrows rose in disbelief and she bellowed out a laugh, keeling over in her chair. "You worked in the daycare? Now it makes sense, you're a weirdo."
"Roxy, don't be so mean." Chica walked into the room and I followed her. Not wanting to question what conclusion the wolf had come to, or how I'm already labeled as a weirdo, I got straight to work.
"Okay, sooo did you eat anything today?"
"Nope!" Chica chirped quickly, busying herself with the wolf's hair. Roxanne rolled her eyes dramatically, "Dont let her lie to you, I saw her scarf down a whole pizza today-OW!" Chica thumped Roxy on her head.
Chica sighed and turned to me, opening her hatch. Shreds of pizza fell onto the floor and I grimaced, "Not too bad then. Let me grab some of your cleaner real quick", I said as I turned to her supply storage, grabbing a trash bag and the soap and chemicals I needed.
The two animatronics sat quietly and watched as I cleaned out Chica's hatch. First, pulling out the bigger chunks and putting them in the bag. Then I grabbed a towel and spray and wiped out the inside, using wet wipes on the more sensitive wires that were coated in tomato sauce. By the time I was finished, she smelled clean and citrusy. I shut her hatch gently and stood up.
"There! That wasn't so bad, huh?"
Chica engulfed me in a second hug, squeezing a bit tighter than the first time. "Thank you!"
"You don't have to thank me, really. Just doing my job", I flushed, a little bit embarrassed. When she finally let go, I turned to Roxy.
"I don't have anything today." She waved me off before I could even ask, turning back to the vanity to start picking at her hair again.
I said my goodbyes and stepped out of the room, nervously passing by Roxy's door to Monty's door. My legs wobbled weakly as I shuffled in front of his room. I quietly knocked on the door and waited for what seemed like 5 minutes.
I can't believe I signed up for this.
I huffed and swiped my badge, the door sliding open with a silent 'hiss'. The room was dark with sparse lighting, and I couldn't see more than 5 feet in front of me.
"Montgomery?" I called out. No response came, so I tentatively stepped into the room.
I yelped as the door automatically slammed shut behind me, wheeling around to look at it. My hand placed itself over my stammering heart as I caught my breath.
Geez, stop being so jumpy. He's probably not even here.
Warm air, no, hot air cascaded over the top of my head and my body went rigid. After a few seconds, I slowly turned to see two red orbs glaring down from at least two feet above me.
"H-hello, M-M-Montg-gomery." I stuttered pathetically as I gazed up at him under the dim purple lighting.
Without saying a word, his 7 foot frame seemed to loom over my five foot one as I backed up against the door. His clawed hand struck out against it, right beside my head, effectively trapping me between him, the door itself, and the wall to my left.
He was shirtless, wearing a pair of grey sweatpants with a gator design on the front of his left thigh. His signature star shaped glasses were nowhere to be seen, probably mixed up in the mess of his room somewhere.
My eyes darted to his arms, green scales glistening under the violet hue of the room. The huge, muscular looking limbs could crush me in one easy swipe, like smashing a bug on the wall. I gulped.
"What do ya want?"
My eyes locked with his as soon as he spoke, his voice deep and rough sounding, as if he had just woken up. I licked my dry lips, trying to find my voice again.
"Just-just checking i-if you nee-needed any work done, sir."
'Sir?!' So stupid.
I mentally slapped myself. I sounded like an absolute child right then. I was his mechanic, not some kid asking for an autograph from the big, bad gator.
He hummed, looking me up and down for a second before leaning back away from me and pulling his hand back away from both the door and my head. I tried not to sigh in relief.
"Where's yer stun gun?"
My brows furrowed for a second. "Uh, why would I need that?"
He cocked his head slightly to the side, looking at me from a slightly different angle. "Ya gotta put me on lockdown to work on me, cher. I don't play nice with others, I might just bite ya." He grinned mischievously and snapped his teeth together, making me jump.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves, "Well, I guess we'll just have to do without it today." I pulled the small notebook out of my back pocket, clicking my pen, and peered up at him. "So, any problems to report?"
He seemed to think for a second before fixing me with a new bright red glare. "Yeah, actually." He leaned in close to my face. "I have that pain in my ass again, and she needs to get lost." He blew hot steam in my face.
In the span of just a few seconds, the door behind me flew open and I was shoved out of the room, landing harshly on my bottom. The door slammed shut in front of me.
That could've gone a lot better. Could've gone a lot worse too, though.