I'm sorry for disappearing...again...but things happened. Had to get used to the meds I'm on now, not to mention other things that I'd rather not talk about. But I'm back, hopefully won't disappear on you guys again! Now. I know there have been a few inconsistencies in my story. I've found them, I know they need to be changed, I will get to it eventually...they're nothing major. Just a bit annoying. As for the slight personality changes in Fredbear and Nightmare...I really don't have a real explanation for that. For Nightmare, he's always just kind of been this...never really know how he's feeling because he's so good at hiding his true emotions kind of character. As for Fredbear...I'm just going to chalk that up to 10 years of dealing with Shadow and her nonsense and he only has so much patience for mortals...even the ones that are half his own species. Not to mention, I've been working on this story for awhile now...ideas change. I try to keep consistent, but it's hard. Anyways! Enough talking, on we go!
Shadow sat straight up in bed with a strangled gasp, clutching her sheets tightly. Another nightmare of terrified thugs and broken bodies and the blissful feeling of their fear. Hearing her door creak open, she looked over as Plushtrap poked his head in and chirped. Shadow smiled and patted the bed beside her, eliciting a happy squeak from the little rabbit as he launched his way across the room and up onto the bed. Flinching at the sudden pain in her stomach when the small rabbit landed on her lap, Shadow whimpered quietly. Plushtrap burbled quietly in concern at her.
"I don't know Plush...I must have slept wrong. And not enough...I'm still tired. I have to get up though, I need to go in and speak to the manager today. Hopefully it's good news and I'll be able to start working on getting the others fixed up. I don't think they really notice it themselves, but they've got some very visible ticks that let me know there's things wrong. Freddy for instance. He's the one holding together the best of them, but he still has some big problems. He's got a heavy limp, and his left arm seems to be very stiff. He has trouble moving it sometimes. It was super noticeable last night while they were playing Monopoly. Plus I can hear some of his inner mechanisms grinding against each other when he turns his head. Bonnie and Chica have just as many, if not more problems.
Then there's their suits themselves. Even after their baths, there's a few dark stains that won't come out. I can take an educated guess at what those stains are, but I really don't want to think about it..."
Shadow frowned.
"Then there's also the tears in their suits. None as bad as Foxy of course, but if I get my way, any holes in their suits could potentially be a big problem."
Plushtrap chirped and tilted his head questioningly. Shadow just grinned.
"Sorry Plush, that's my little secret. You'll find out when they do."
Shadow shoved Plushtrap off with another grin, getting an indignant squeak out of him.
"Out you go buddy, I gotta get dressed. Can't show up to a meeting in my pajamas!"
Shadow pushed open the door to the pizzeria, surprised by the amount of people in the restaurant. She hadn't seen it this busy for years. When she heard the loud, telltale voice of Foxy, she realized why. Grinning brightly she made her way down to Pirate's Cove and peaked her head in. Foxy was happily on his stage, curtains pulled back and arms waving around as he told his tale. When he got a look at her out of the corner of his eye, he gestured grandly in her direction.
"And there be my ship's doctor right there! Lady Shadow patched me up after me battle with Blackbeard so that I could come here and tell all the good lads and lasses about me adventures!"
Some of the younger kids in the crowd giggled and waved at Shadow, who smiled back warmly.
"Just thought I'd check on you before I headed to my meeting Captain. Make sure you don't pull those stitches!"
Foxy waved as Shadow left the room, immediately going back to his story telling. When she finally got to the manager's office and knocked, the man pulled the door open and gestured her inside.
"Well Ms. Walker, you've certainly held up your end of the bargain. Though I was not expecting the fox's free roam to be disabled..."
Shadow cringed.
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't even think to check if Foxy's free roam was on or off, he never left the cove before 12 on days I came in a bit early. Might I ask what he did?"
The manager grimaced.
"Not much, other than give me a heart attack. He charged down the hallway to my office and stopped in the doorway. I was expecting to get attacked but he...spoke to me. Asked if since I had allowed you to fix him if it meant he could have his show back. I only said yes because I didn't want a no to lead to him attacking me, but it seems he is drawing in quite the crowd. I had been undecided on whether or not I would hire you on as a mechanic until I saw what a fixed animatronic without their free roam on could do."
Shadow blinked.
"Wait a second. I just realized you didn't call me night guard. You called me by my last name, sir."
The manager chuckled.
"You night shift folks are all the same. A bit slow to pick up on things during the day."
Shadow turned red and muttered something about rabbits and sleep. Ignoring the muttered excuses, the manager continued.
"As of this moment, you are now head guard and head mechanic. You will be getting a raise to reflect this, and I expect your help in finding at least one other night guard to pick up shifts, as you will have to be here during the day sometimes. I will be putting an advertisement out that we are hiring, and you will be here during interviews to pick who you think will best fit with the...unique situations...that this position deals with."
The manager frowned.
"It is actually a good thing you got the fox fixed when you did Ms. Walker. Freddy seems to be having some problems today. His arm has gotten stuck in one position and scared the children with the sounds coming from him. I had to close the main stage. If not for the fox, we would have to had closed for the day."
Seeing the worried look on Shadow's face, the manager rolled his eyes and stood up.
"Come then Ms. Walker, show me your magic with these animatronics. Show me why they did not attack you."
Hurrying down the hallway, Shadow jumped up onto the stage and slipped behind the curtains. Bonnie, Chica and Freddy's eyes all darted to her, surprised to see her in the middle of the afternoon. When the manager stepped behind the curtains as well, Freddy's eyes turned to glare at the man. Rolling her eyes, Shadow came around front and flicked Freddy's nose, making it squeak and the bear's eyes to dart to her in shock and the manager to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
"Be nice Freddy. He's your manager. He keeps the place running, and pays for the electricity that keeps YOU idiots charged and running yourselves. Now behave yourself so I can fix that arm of yours or you're going to have to wait until tonight!"
With that final statement, Shadow grabbed the stool and got up to the back of Freddy's head, turning on his free roam. The manager backed up a step when Freddy straightened up to his full height, which earned an annoyed groan from Shadow, who flicked the back of his head this time. The bear turned to glare and growl at Shadow, who only grinned.
"C'mon Freddy, stop being a grump. I need to fix that arm of yours, which means you have to behave. I'm not that night guard from 30 years ago. The manager isn't the night guard from 30 years ago. The past is the past...don't let it ruin your future."
Freddy rolled his eyes and grumbled.
"That's funny coming from you."
"Oh, shut up Fazbear."
The manager looked at the pair, eyebrow raised again.
"You certainly have a... unique dynamic with the animatronics Ms. Walker."
Freddy snorted in amusement, earning a swat from Shadow.
"Stop laughing at my last name Fazbear, it's no worse than yours."
The manager cleared his throat, getting their attention back.
"I would like you to put the other two on free roam as well please Ms. Walker. It is far time I had a civil conversation with what seem to be quite sentient animatronics."
Shrugging, Shadow brought the stool around and turned free roam on for the other two as well, leaving the 3 large animatronics free to move. Chica wrung her hands together slightly nervous, and Bonnie's ears were twitching. The silence was broken when Shadow let out a muttered curse, leading to Freddy scolding her with a loud 'Language!' and a snort from the manager. Chica giggled and Bonnie just facepalmed.
"Freddy, where are the latches for the torso of your suit? I need it off so I can get to the mechanisms at your shoulder joint."
Freddy grumbled and shifted nervously. Shadow rolled his eyes.
"I swear to god Fazbear, you know I'm not going to do anything to mess up your systems. If I wanted to, I would have done it during your bath, before you lot finally stopped hunting me down."
The manager frowned.
"So, they did hunt you then. I was under the impression that they did not."
"Never said that they didn't sir. They just couldn't get to me. I managed to convince them by the third night that attacking guards wasn't going to do anything but get this place shutdown and them melted down and sent to the scrapyard."
By this point, Shadow had gotten Freddy's torso off, along with the top half of his left arm. Quickly finding the problem, she hopped off the stage and headed for parts and services, leaving the animatronics with the manager. After a couple minutes, the manager sighed.
"I had hoped to close down in a few months. We have been losing business, thanks to rumors that guards who work here would disappear, and you three being dirty, broken down and quite frankly, out of date. Thanks to recent events, I am having to reevaluate my plans."
The manager chuckled and shook his head.
"Anyone who told me I would be asking my animatronics how they felt about a decision would be laughed out of the building before now. I do not care if Ms. Walker trusts you. I still do not. I do not yet know if you truly have stopped with the murders, or if you will continue the minute she is gone."
Freddy narrowed his eyes at the man, who just glared back.
"It is for this reason only that I ask you this now. When I hire a new night guard in the upcoming days, which is a must if Ms. Walker is to be your mechanic, are they safe?"
Freddy continued to stare at the man for a few more minutes, Bonnie and Chica shifting in the background, before the bear finally nodded.
"Young Shadow has shown us the error of what we have been doing. Obviously by now, if you are talking to us normally, you know we can learn. Our AI is like nothing you have seen before."
Both parties fell silent when Shadow returned with a handful of items, which led to her looking between them suspiciously.
"Ms. Walker, when you are done, you can leave their free roam on."
The manager then looked at the animatronics.
"You three are to stay on the stage at all times, unless told otherwise by myself."
Freddy nodded curtly, and Shadow shrugged. She shrugged when the manager left, and focused on fixing Freddy's arm before the customers got too restless waiting for the band to return.
Weird way to end off I guess, but I'm starting to get that 'If you don't stop now, you're gonna fuck something up' feeling. Enjoy the new chapter, I hope to see you all again in a few days, bar any unexpected delays.