Told you guys it wouldn't be a super long time before I came back! I will admit, I've been a liiiittle bit distracted by ESO. I just got into it recently thanks to the news about Shadowlands being delayed. But enough about that. I know why you all really came. We have an old face making an appearance...enjoy! Oh, and Tgonthefiery...I had a long little giggle over the last name I picked out. I swear, it was a complete accident!

After fixing Freddy and a long 'discussion' with the manager about her schedule-yes, she really wanted to work nights still and yes, she understood that despite technically being head guard, there still needed to be a night guard there if she wanted to do mechanic related work-she headed home for another nap.

That night, Shadow brought an extra laptop to set a few movies up for the animatronics again while she worked on learning their specific programming on her work laptop so she could make all the needed system updates in the coming days. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, leaning back in the uncomfortable pizzeria chair. She had a lot of work ahead of her, and knowing what she did about the animatronics, she wondered how it would work out.

Freddy heard the quiet sigh over the movie and looked up. The first thing he noticed was Shadow's bad posture, slumped over in the chair like she was. The second thing he noticed was how tired she looked. There were bags under her eyes that made it look like she hadn't slept well. Leaving the other three to the movie, he slipped away and over to Shadow.

At the feeling of a heavy paw on her shoulder, Shadow flinched, before realizing it was Freddy.

"Hey...thought you'd be watching the movie with the other three?"

Freddy hummed.

"I was, until I noticed you looked both tired and troubled."

Freddy snorted and shook his head.

"It has been a very long time since we last worried about an adult..."

Shadow smiled.

"Yeah well, it's been a long time since someone cared enough to actually talk to you guys and cared about what happened to you."

Freddy nodded.

"This is true. Every adult over the many years we have been active have looked at us like we are...well. Machines. Cold and unfeeling."

Shadow cleared her throat, subtly guiding the conversation in another direction.

"How did the afternoon go after I left? Your arm feeling less stiff?"

Freddy gave Shadow a disapproving look, clearly seeing what she was trying to do.

"It went fine, and you did not answer me. Are you feeling okay?"

Shadow scowled.

"Stubborn old bear. I'm fine. Just tired, like you mentioned."

Freddy raised an eyebrow.

"What then is troubling you?"

Shadow let out a muttered curse, earning another look from the bear.

"You're annoying, you know that? It's nothing to be worried about. Just some really weird nightmares."

Freddy sighed.

"You are not telling me something, but fine. I will drop the subject. For now. There is something else I would like to talk about though."

Shadow frowned.

"Can it wait? I'm looking through the blueprints and programming for you four, and I don't want to miss something important."

Freddy frowned again.

"It feels like you are trying to get rid of me."

Shadow rolled her eyes.

"Freddy, you do realize how crucial it is to get you guys updated as soon as possible, right? You haven't had a major system update in FIFTEEN YEARS. I'm surprised none of you guys have had any major malfunctions. It's dangerous for you, and for the customers. The manager is going to have my ass if I don't get this done as soon as I can. And this isn't something I can just learn overnight. It's going to take me at least a week if I want to be sure not to mess anything up. Come here. Take a look. Tell me what you understand of this."

Freddy stared at the screen and the multiple open windows full of coding and shrugged in confusion. Shadow snickered.

"Exactly. There's a lot and if you don't know how to read coding, it's not going to make a bit of sense. And even though I can read it fine, I need time to understand it all. So unless what you wanted to talk to me about is super important, I'd appreciate if you guys left me alone for the next few evenings."

Freddy crossed his arms.

"I'm afraid it cannot wait Shadow."

Shadow sighed and scooted her chair around to face Freddy.

"Alright, what's up?"

"It is about the new night guard we will inevitably be getting in the next few days. We would like you to talk to the manager about...testing him or her...in their first week."

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"By testing, I'm assuming you mean your little hunt."

Freddy inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"Indeed I do. They will be in no danger from us...but they do not need to do that. It would ruin the purpose of why I would like this to be done."

Shadow frowned.

"And exactly why do you want to do this? I need an actual reason to give to the manager."

Freddy snorted.

"Simple. If the night guard cannot figure out how to deal with us, how will they deal with potential intruders?"

Shadow hummed and leaned backwards in the chair, the front legs coming off the ground. Freddy's ears perked up at seeing a unique opportunity presented to him. Moving quickly, he hooked a foot under the back legs and pulled, returning the favor of knocking Shadow on her back like she had done to him. With a yelp and a backwards roll off the chair, Shadow landed on her feet and turned to glare at Freddy when the other three looked up from the movie. Freddy just crossed his arms and grinned smugly.

"What is that saying you humans have? Revenge is a bitch?"

Shadow scowled again.

"So you can swear, but I get yelled at? Hypocrite."

Freddy just grinned.

"My restaurant, my rules."

Shadow scoffed.

"I hate to break it to you, but just because it's your name on the building, doesn't mean it's yours. All the name does is feed your already massive ego."

Freddy growled, which just led to a smirk from Shadow. Eyes sparkling mischievously, Shadow danced backwards when Freddy made a half-hearted swipe at her. Foxy, Bonnie and Chica all snickered, which led to their leader glaring at them. Foxy tilted his head at Shadow.

"Y'know lass, you could always lend us a hand with our game if the manager says aye."

Shadow grinned.

"I didn't even think of that. That's genius Foxy!"

Freddy looked confused.

"How exactly can she help? She is human Foxy, I highly doubt she could scare another human."

Foxy just shuddered at Shadow's predatory grin.

"Ye have no idea Fazbear...ye weren't in the same ship as the lass fer a week."

At Freddy's confusion and the fear on Foxy's face, Shadow just cackled. Hearing the evil sounding laugh, Bonnie and Chica both shivered on the stage. If Shadow was anything like her mentors when she was not at the pizzeria, the two of them could understand why Foxy seemed so frightened. Shadow's eyes sparkled mischievously again.

"It's the perfect opportunity to introduce you three to something Foxy met while he was staying with me. I'll definitely talk to the manager about this when I come in this afternoon for the night guard interviews."

With everything settled, the animatronics went back to their movies while Shadow continued to work. Morning came and went, and Shadow was soon back in that afternoon. She waved at the band on the stage and made her way to the manager's office. She knocked and entered to find the man looking over a few resumes.

"Ah, there you are Ms. Walker. How did last night go?"

Shadow hummed.

"Fine, but Freddy had something he wanted me to bring up to you. They'd like permission for the first week of our new night guard's shift to continue their...uh...game. Killing free of course. I asked why and Freddy said if the night guard wasn't resourceful enough to keep them out of the office, he probably wouldn't be able to deal with any potential intruders."

The manager leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful.

"I can see where their concern is coming from, I suppose. I trust you would be here for that week to keep an eye on things to make sure it did not get deadly?"

Shadow nodded.

"Of course. I'm going to be partially responsible for whoever that poor sap is after all."

The manager chuckled.

"That you will be. Our first candidate should be here soon."

The manager looked at his watch.

"It is between shows, if you would like, you could go tell the animatronics that I have approved their request."

Shadow mock saluted and darted out the door and down the hallway.

15 minutes later

Masiar nervously tugged at his collar when he opened up the door to the pizzeria. He'd heard the rumors about this place, but was desperate for a job, especially after his botched burglary almost a week before. Walking into the main room of the pizzeria, he froze at a familiar sounding voice. Up, talking to the very animatronics the rumors centered around was a young woman with long brown hair and the exact same voice as the dark robot bear in the home he had tried to steal from. The brown bear – Freddy, his mind supplied – turned to look in his direction before nodding at the young woman. She too turned to look at him and he flinched when her eyes widened in apparently recognition.

"Just my luck...the owner of the creepy animatronic bear that apparently has cameras for eyes works where I'm applying...perfect."

Looking up again, he flinched backwards when he realized she was now right in front of him. She just smirked.

"I take it you're one of the applicants?"

Masiar just nodded silently.

"Well, the manager is waiting down in his office. Follow me."

Trying not to fidget, Masiar followed the woman down the hallway, past a room with a loud, accented voice, and into the manager's office, where he sat down in a chair, only to be surprised when the young woman sat down in the other and folded her hands together. The manager looked at the young woman, who only grinned.

"Well then, Mr. Verwey, it seems Ms. Walker has taken a liking to you already. Seeing as you happen to be our only applicant who is qualified...the job is yours. Ms. Walker will get you your uniform and run you down on what to expect on Monday night."

With that, the manager gestured them out and shut the door. Masiar swallowed nervously as the woman...Ms. Walker?...glanced at him with a predatory gleam in her eyes.

"Only the manager calls me Ms. Walker. Sounds weird to me, I'm not my mother. Just call me Shadow."

"Uh...Masiar. But you can just call me Mas I guess."

Shadow nodded.

"Alright well, there's not really much to tell. You're going to have limited power at night, so don't waste it. Oh, and whatever you do...get to the office before 12. Unfortunately, I can't tell you any more than that. Company policy you see."

By this point, they had reached the lobby, where the secretary was giving Shadow a nasty glare as she reached under the counter for a uniform. Handing it to Masiar, Shadow pretended to look worried.

"Good luck. You're going to need it."