A/N: Here we go, ladies, gentlemen, and others! Second rewritten chapter. Enjoy!

(Also, two new people just since the update of the first chapter? Awesome!)

"M-Mike! Oh, no, what happened?"

Surprisingly, I didn't pass out. Probably looked kinda like it, huh? Nah, as dumb as it sounds, my hands must have started sweating. Cue my support sliding out from under me. Never say I'm not graceful.

I placed a hand on the desk, trying to stand back up. Yeah, this wasn't going well. The ghost ran towards me, and I flinched back, sure he was going to steal my soul or something. He stopped a few feet away from me and spoke. "L-listen, I'm not going to hurt you-"

"Who are you? How do you know who I am?" I snapped, starting to freak out. I placed a hand on my head, trying to stop the growing headache. "What the hell's going on here...?"

The ghost stepped back, fidgeting with his hands anxiously. "Look, I-I get that this doesn't make any sense, but, um, you have to trust me. Just... let me explain." I stared for a moment, then nodded. He sighed, smiling. "Th-thank you.

"My name's Thomas. I worked here before you, until, uh... Well, I think you can guess." He crossed his arms and looked away. "Anyway, I-I-I saw you needed help, and I couldn't let what happened to me happen to you."

I eased myself upright. Well, he seemed harmless enough. I took a closer look at him. Sure enough, he had the blue shirt and grey vest of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria's security unit. He had light brown hair, which was a complete mess, and if I was right, brown eyes. He had a few scars on his arms, including a wide one that ran from his wrist halfway to his elbow, and an small, open cut above his eyebrow. I'd always thought ghosts would look the same as when they died, and while he mostly fit that standard, there was one oddity: he was clean of blood and major wounds-y'know, the kind you'd expect from someone impaled by metal and wires, since he probably got stuffed into one of those suits backstage.

Hold on a sec. He was the guy here before I got hired? And I thought the voice sounded familiar... "So you worked here before me?" I asked. Without waiting for a response, I continued, "Were you the one who left those messages on the phone?"

He looked up from the floor and nodded. "Uh, yeah, th-that was me. Sounds like they helped...?"

I dropped the remaining tension. Yeah, no way someone like this could be dangerous. "Are you kidding? I probably would've died without your help." I grinned despite myself. "Thanks a ton, man."

Thomas scratched the back of his neck, smiling a bit. "What, that? I-it was nothing, really." He continued, "Hey, ah, I-I'm sorry if I scared you, but I'm really glad you're okay." He sighed, saying, "Like I said, I just couldn't stand by a-and let someone else get hurt."

We heard moaning from outside the open door. In an instant, Thomas was on the other side of the room, hitting the button and closing the door. He turned on the light, showing Chica standing on the other side. He looked back at me and (probably after seeing my mouth hanging open like an idiot) said, "Heh, g-guess I should say I was the one messing with the doors, too. Thought it'd be a bit easier for you."

I sat down in the office chair, sighing. "Seriously, thanks. You saved my life."

Thomas came over and put a hand on my shoulder. It was cold to the touch, and felt like it was charged with static electricity. "I-I already told you. It was nothing." He shrugged slightly, saying, "So, I-I guess you're saying you don't mind me... staying to help you out? Um, it's not like I have a lot to do around here. I mean, I d-don't think they can see me, so I could go anywhere I wanted, but..." He trailed off, eyes drifting away again.

I hesitated, trying to find a real reason not to. Pros: Not being nearly as likely to die, plus having someone to talk to. Cons: ...None came to mind. I sighed, and then said, "Sure, why not? I could use the company anyway. It's better than talking to a set of automatic doors."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I-I noticed. I thought you've only been here for a few weeks. Is it already g-getting to you?"

"Well, if they could move by themselves, it can't be too big a leap to assume they can hear me," I said, faking offense. Honestly, what was he thinking? When he gave me a funny look, I turned to the door and muttered, "Don't mind him. He's boring."

Thomas put a hand over his eyes, obviously pondering whether it was really worth his time to save my sorry ass. Luckily for me, he sighed and said, "W-well, as long as you can keep those things out, I-I'm sure you'll be fine. How much power's left, anyway?"

I turned on the tablet. "Not a lot. About 20 percent, but a little less than an hour left to six. I think we can make it, so long as we don't leave the doors closed when we don't need to," I said, looking at him pointedly at that last part.

The other man blinked, and then went to open the doors, saying, "Heh, sorry. I-I didn't want anything sneaking in while we were talking."

"Yeah, they weren't real great about not interrupting you at times when I started here, either." I cracked my knuckles and started flipping through the cameras. Suddenly I saw a flicker of movement, and before I got a good look at it, I was on my feet, yelling, "Foxy's making a charge! Close the door!"

I swear, if he wasn't a ghost, we would have been screwed. We both ran for the door at once, and he-I kid you not- went right through me. I froze, a sudden chill settling over me, while he kept going, slamming a fist onto the button. If he had been flesh and blood, we would've smacked right into each other, hit the floor, and died.

By the way, have you ever had a ghost pass through you? It's not pleasant, let me tell you. It sends a freezing chill straight to your bones, along with a slight electric-like shock.

Over the banging, I heard Thomas mutter, "C'mon, Foxy, nobody invited you..." He turned back to face me, saying, "Hey, a-are you okay?"

"...Yeah," I said with a shudder. "I'm fine. Is the fox gone?"

He looked at me with concern, and then turned on the light outside the door. "Gone. Uh, want me to open the door?"

I waved a hand and sat back down. "Sure. Gotta conserve power, right?"

He raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing me. "Yeah," He hit the door button and walked up to me. Looking over my shoulder, he cringed, saying, "Ugh, I-I hate it when they do that."

That, by the way, was the animatronics staring at the camera from the stage. I nodded, and then said with a grin, "If it helps, at least they're not all doing it. I've had that happen once. Not cool."

"Egh, I can imagine," he said. He moved to the left door, leaning out casually. I mean, it's not like you have to worry about getting killed when you're a ghost, but it still struck me as sort of dumb.

I found myself asking, "You seem awful calm about the whole 'Being dead' thing. Are you alright?"

I could see Thomas flinch even from the desk, and I was worried I crossed some invisible line. Of course he's not alright with it. What the hell were you thinking?

Thankfully, he said, "I-I'm fine, Mike, don't worry." He continued quietly, "To be honest, the only reason I'm so calm now is because I got all my panicking out in the nights that followed."

I wasn't sure what to say. What was I supposed to say to that? I was never very good at comforting people, let alone someone who freaking died.

Anyway, I turned the cameras off and headed towards the other door, trying to avoid making this any more awkward than it already was. I flipped the light on; all clear. Except... Stupidly, I leaned out, trying to get a closer look at the shape in the shadows.

Bad move.

"Shit!" I yelled as a brown shape lurched at me with a scream. I ducked back into the office, slamming the door on the way. "How the hell did Fazbear get here so fast?!" I yelled, resting against the door and trying to catch my breath.

Thomas ran up, looking out the window. "I-I'm not sure! I hate it, they're way too fast." He then muttered, "It's really bad when they all try it."

I gritted my teeth, shuddering at the thought of four killer robots rushing at you from all sides. "I can imagine. Is he gone?"

Thomas shook his head. "Uh, no, still here. Luckily, I think we're almost-" He was cut off by the chimes of the clock on the desk.

"Saved by the bell," I said gleefully. Running for the desk, I grabbed the tablet and checked Cam 1A, and sure enough, all three active animatronics were heading back on stage, and Cam 1C revealed Foxy was pulling his head back behind the curtain.

I fell back into the chair, sighing with relief. One more night out of the way. I waved to Thomas, saying, "Go ahead and open the door. We're home free."

Thomas grinned, pushing the button to the door. "Heh, n-n-nice work, Mike. Looks like someone knows what he's doing here."

"Yeah, well, we all know it's not me."

I walked out of the office a short while later, a tad dizzy from the events of the night. Thomas followed me, a look of pride of his face.

"Well, there's another six hours of my life I'm never getting back," I said, though I was in a much better mood than you might think. I just made it through another night of hell, and in relatively good shape, all things considered.

Of course, the moment I get even the least bit optimistic, the universe has to go and ruin it for me.

I heard the front door open, and in walked Bella Scotsman, the queen of horrible bosses. How else can you describe the woman who left her employees to deal with murderous animatronics?

And if there was any doubt in my mind that people didn't die here, the man standing behind me was proof enough on his own-especially with the death glare he was giving her.

"Hello, Schmidt," Bella said, walking towards me. "I see everything went alright here."

"Yeah," I said, watching her go by, towards the office. "I did great. Fantastic, in fact. After all, it was only my life on the line."

Yeah, yeah, I know. I shouldn't be doing this. Only thing you want to do less than piss off a murderer is piss off your boss. And judging by the look on her face as she turned around, I'd done both quite well.

"Yes, well," she said as she stared me down, "that would be something I wouldn't mind losing."

Right then, I saw Thomas rush towards her out of the corner of my eye. Instinctively, I raised an arm to hold him back, not thinking that he might just go through it. Thankfully for Bella, the gesture was enough to stop him. Instead, he was content to glare her way.

She raised an eyebrow at my sudden movement, and then looked over my shoulder at where Thomas was. The animatronics couldn't see him, but could she?

Either way, she took a step back and said, "Well, you'd best be on your way, Schmidt. I'll see you tonight." Shaking her head, she went to the office and out of sight.

I looked at Thomas, who was still focused on the spot where Bella stood just a moment ago. "Thomas?" I asked, under my breath. "Are you alright?"

He hesitated, then shook his head. "No. N-no, I'm not," he said, walking back towards the back room. I started to follow him, but he raised a hand to signal 'stop.' "Please, Mike, I need to be alone." He turned towards me and added, "Um, same time tonight, I assume?"

I shrugged. "As long as that last stunt of mine didn't get me fired. 'Course, there's no way I'll be that lucky."

He allowed himself a small smile, and then said, "See you then, kid."

And with that, he was gone.