"Alright. Thanks for the chat big man. any ideas who I should visit first?" Said Cooper.
"Umm, I am not sure." Replied Freddy "Perhaps Roxy since she is your favourite?"
"OK. I'll do that then." Cooper was about to get up and leave in search of Roxy but he suddenly remembered something. "Oh, before I go, how's that daycare attendant?"
"Oh, him? He is... the daycare attendant. His personality is so unique you could categorise it by just his name. He is on a different wavelength." Freddy said.
"Care to elaborate?" Cooper said slightly worried.
"He is very manic, and unhinged. He actually has 2 personalities. One is called Sundrop, and activates when the lights are on. It is like his default personality. The other is Moondrop. He is the less aggressive, but far more creepy personality in charge of putting the children to sleep. He activates when the lights are off."
Cooper had never watched over the daycare. The pizza Plex was so large that only one day guard would never be able to manage. The daycare had a separate day guard that wandered around and didn't have a balcony office, instead, their office was in the actual daycare for some reason. It was no wonder Cooper was quite creeped out at this discovery that the daycare attendant, the one who looks after children, was mentally unhinged. 'Professionalism my ass.' He thought to himself.
"Oh well, thanks for the chat mate, I'm off. No more distractions this time." Cooper told Freddy.
"Happy travels night guard." Freddy said cheerfully. "I look forward to getting to know you more."
Cooper had gotten up from his table and began wandering around looking for Roxy raceway.
He already knew where it was, he was just mesmerised by the beautiful neon lights, the artifacts, the statues, and just everything around him. On his night shift orientation, he wasn't allowed to meet the animatronics for whatever reason. But every time he stayed at the pizza Plex overnight, he just had the same thoughts over and over again. this place is magical.
He suddenly noticed the ac kick into action. the cool breeze consuming his face and limbs made him feel like he was on a neon, beautiful 80's themed beach at sunset. he began to venture onwards towards Roxy Raceway.
When he reached the entrance hallway to Roxy Raceway in the main atrium, he remembered that construction was being done in the raceway, and that the hallway to get there was a complete mess. sheets everywhere, barriers everywhere, miscellaneous props everywhere, boxes everywhere, just, a mess.
When he reached the end of the hallway there was a trophy case just out in the open that contained all of Roxy's trophies for beating her challengers. There were lots. Some larger than others and some smaller than others.
"Wow, she likes to flex." Cooper thought to himself. he continued through a door to the right of him into Roxy Raceway.
The place was huge. from the balcony the door opened up into, you could see the whole attraction. It was beautiful. But this place looked better in the daytime on cams, when all the lights were on, and not just the back-ups.
From the balcony, he could see the racetrack that was under maintenance, a huge clip art figure of Roxanne Wolf holding 2 checkered flags at the back of the room just below a brightly lit neon sign that was almost yelling at you, Roxy Raceway. There was even a saloon.
Cooper was impressed, but no sign of the real reason he actually came to the attraction. He would've expected Roxy to be racing around on her own specially modified and customized go-kart. 'Come to think of it, maybe that's why she's won so many races, like, I'm not doubting her skill, but...' Cooper thought to himself. Suspicious to say the least.
Cooper took a wide, almost panoramic view of the landscape in front of him and found nothing moving other than S.T.A.F.F. bots and the occasional piece of trash being blown around by the ac. "Well that's disappointing." he softly said to himself as he walked back from the raceway into the hallway leading to the atrium.
There was no way he was going to search through the entire attraction for 1 bandmate he wanted to meet up with, even if she was his favourite when it was already almost 1 am.
Cooper ventured from the main atrium into the side hallways that lead to Rockstar Row. He thought the next logical place for Roxy to be in would be her green room.
He had reached Rockstar Row when he noticed Freddy was nowhere to be found. "Huh. must've gone to bed, or charge, whatever it is these guys do at night." he said to himself.
He was near Roxy's greenroom when he started to hear Roxy's voice through the wall. he couldn't make out what she was saying since the voice was too muffled. Cooper put his ear to the wall next to her door so he could hear what she was saying.
"Your performance was perfect tonight! Thank you. your hair is beautiful, your tail is beautiful. everyone was watching you. everyone loves you. everyone wants to be you. you are the BEST! Thank you. I am the best. I am the BEST! Her voice had raised with the last two sentences. She then did something unexpected.
Roxy then broke down into tears and started sobbing dramatically. "Why am I like this?" she said softly through her tear-filled eyes. Almost as if she was being snapped out of a trance. Cooper was feeling really uncomfortable and started questioning whether or not to go in there and comfort her, or to leave and come back later.
Cooper felt like he could help her, and maybe comfort her. So he knocked. Knock. Knock. Knock. those three knocks had sent chills up Roxy's endoskeleton, and she quickly wept away her tears and grew angry thinking that someone was watching her without her knowing.
"Who is it?" Roxy snarled whilst saying it.
"Hi, it's me, Cooper, the new night guard. I-uhh, heard you crying and thought I'd stop by and see what was wrong? would that be OK with you?" Cooper calmly explained.
Roxy knew that they were getting a new night guard, she just didn't know the changeover would happen so soon. she wasn't ready for this kind of confrontation.
Since this was the new night guard attempting to introduce themselves, Roxy couldn't really refuse.
"Ohh, uhh, sure just give me a minute." she said whilst wiping away the rest of her tears. Cooper could hear the large wolf get up off of her chair and slowly walk towards the door.
sheeeeshchch. The door opened with an almost futuristic, mechanical sound to it. He stood face to face with the beautiful yet intimidating Roxanne Wolf.
Roxy invited him in and told him to take a seat on the couch. the couch was covered in fur and fluff, but Cooper didn't mind. "I'm sorry you caught me at a time like this." Roxy said apologetically whilst sitting on the couch next to him. "I knew we were getting a new nightguard but I had no idea when. If I had known I would've..." She then paused for a moment. She realised it would've made no difference if she knew.
"Hey, it's ok. we all have to let out our emotions from time to time." Cooper said with the calmest voice he could.
Roxy replied with a quiet "Yeah," whilst looking away from him. She thought to herself that this night guard, and other people's 'time to time' was probably maybe once every 2 months or something. Her's was once a day.
"What's your name, new night guard?" Roxy questioned.
"My name is Cooper." Stated the night guard.
That's a unique name. Roxy thought to herself. It's a nice change of pace from all the Noahs and Henrys and Jacksons and all the modern guy names I'm used to. "That's a nice name." She told Cooper.
"I'm glad you think so." Replied Cooper. "Do you mind telling me why you were upset? It's ok if you don't want to."
"I would but... I don't know why either." Roxanne started to sob again after this sentence.
"Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Ok! It's Ok!" Cooper said slightly raising his voice, whilst putting his hand on Roxy's shoulder pad. This seemed to have comforted her a little.
"I'm sorry, I'm just... a mess right now." Roxy said whilst wiping away her tears.
"No you're not." Cooper said whilst gently rubbing her shoulder. "You're beautiful, and no one can tell you otherwise. There's a reason you're my favourite."
"I-I am?" She stammered. "I'm your favourite?
"Yes." Roxanne was feeling much more comfortable around him and was enjoying being praised and loved. She just didn't want the night guard to see this soft part of her. She was known for her stubbornness and quick fuse, but she didn't know if she liked it or not. It was just a habit to be like that for her since she was known for it. But she guessed him seeing her cry kind of ruined that tough attitude.
"O-oh that's nice." Roxy tried to act casual at that comment, but Cooper knew she took it to heart.
"One question Roxy?" Said the night guard.
"Yes?" Roxy Replied
"Can I hug you?" Roxy was shocked. She never liked being touched by anyone. Kids and grownups alike, even her bandmates. She wanted to say no and leave the room and forget any of this had ever happened. "Yes." she said.
Their hug was long. About 7 seconds. "Do you feel better now?" Cooper asked. No. her mind told her. "Yes." She replied.
Roxy's tears had halted completely after their hug. She didn't realise that an action as simple as someone wrapping their arms around someone else could have such a big impact. But here she was.
"Do you know my relations with the previous night guard?" She asked.
"Yes, I think I do. And I'm so sorry for the way she treated you." Cooper replied with sympathy.
"I-I can see you are nothing like her. She would have barged into my room without knocking and yelled at me to shut up. I thank you for not being like her." Roxy told Cooper.
"Your starting to sound a bit like Freddy now, eh?"
"Ooo, we have a funny guy!" Roxanne replied jokingly. "Also, if you ever want to hug me again, don't hesitate. Please." Roxy wasn't begging, but it felt like she needed those hugs. So Cooper hugged her again. She didn't resist. At all.
After they hugged Roxy said, "Thank you for this, I will not forget this night. But, before you go... what is your favourite instrument?"
"Keytar." Cooper said without hesitation. A small smile formed across his face.