A/N: Here we go! The first chapter never before seen by human eyes!

...Makes it sound so cool, right? Anyway, I split what was going to be chapter three into two parts, and expanded both parts a bit. I hope to have hapter four up soon! Thanks for all the support so far!

I groaned as I hauled myself out of bed. "Well, time for another day in robot hell," I muttered, opening the fridge to get something to eat. Didn't want to get tempted to make a run for the kitchen once those things started moving.

As I got ready, I thought about what happened the night before. In addition to four killer animatronics, I had a ghost lurking around. Interesting. I mean, I guess a ghost isn't the weirdest thing that could show up there, but still...

I still didn't know why I trusted him so quickly. I mean, I guess I had no reason not to, but I'd seen what that place was like. If a dead person showed up out of the blue like that, you can't blame me for getting scared. But if he was planning something, he would've done it while I couldn't see him, right?

I puased, thinking for a moment. Kinda strange I couldn't see him, wasn't it? Could he just turn invisible whenever he wanted? He'd seemed worried about scaring me, so maybe he thought helping me out-of-sight would work better? And hey, if he could just make himself disappear, what else could he do? What were normal ghost things-turning invisible, going through walls, maybe even possession?

...Why don't I just ask him?

Sure, it sounded dumb at first, but if was really helpful, he'd at least try to answer my questions. Test how trustworthy he was and get an inventory of what he could do at the same time? It was a win-win!

After getting dressed and ready, I checked my watch one more time. 11:45, just enough time to make the short drive to Freddy Fazbear's. I jumped into the car, praying to any higher being that there wouldn't be a traffic jam. Last thing you want to do is show up to this job after your shift has started.

I pushed open the doors to the pizzeria, taking a deep breath and steeling myself for the next six hours. I can do this, I thought, clenching my fists. You've done it before, and you can do it again. Especially with someone to help you. Making my way towards the office, I heard voices.

"-won't need to put an ad in the paper," Bella said, leaving the office. Seeing me, she said, "Hello, Mr. Schmidt. Good to see you tonight."

I nodded as she passed by me. Better save the insults 'til after my shift. Turning back to the other person, I said, "Hey, Walter."

Walter Jackson was Bella's assistant, somewhere between a secretary and a minion. He seemed to be a nice guy, just not the brightest bulb in the box. Or maybe even more desperate for money than me.

He smiled at me. "Hey, Mike. You've been doing alright?"

Dumb as a box of rocks, the eternal optimist, or just didn't want to piss his boss off? An age old question, and one I don't think I'll ever get an answer to. "Meh, it's life. Could be worse." I stepped out of the way, taking the opportunity to shoot a glare towards Bella. She didn't seem to notice, and neither did Walter, who passed by me.

"Well, I don't want to hold you up," Bella said. "Good luck, Mike." She waved cheerily to me, a sweet smile on face. "Not like you'll need it, though."

Walter said, "Yeah, I should go too. See ya, Mike."

I waved to the two, forcing a small smile as they left. When they were both out the door, I dropped both my hand and my smile. I took another breath. All right, put on your game face, Mike. You can do this, got it?

"Got it," I said out loud. My eyes wandered to the show stage, where the animatronics stood. "You guys better watch out," I said, putting my fingers to my eyes in a "Watching You" motion. "I've got a partner to help tonight."

Well, probably. But they didn't need to know that.

The first hour went by smoothly. Bonnie and Chica showed up at the door once each, and Foxy, despite peeking out of the cove, hadn't made a run at me yet. Fine with me.

Come 1:10, though, I got a more pleasant visitor.

"M-Mike? Are you there?"

I looked up from the tablet, raising an eyebrow. "No, Bella fired me. The new guard is a set of magic doors."

I heard an annoyed sigh, and Thomas entered, shaking his head. "I-I guess I shouldn't ask dumb questions. Uh, how's it going?"

I shrugged, absentmindedly flipping through the cameras. "Well, Freddy hasn't moved, so that's good. Foxy's still in the Cove, and Bonnie and Chica-" I heard a gasp, and when I looked up, Thomas wasn't there. "-Aaand you're gone."

I heard one of the doors close, and saw he had hit the left door button. He gave me a scolding look, saying, "Y-you need to pay more attention."

Looking down, I realized I'd stopped on the Pirate Cove camera. Which was empty. I looked up sheepishly as the fox banged on the door. "Oops."

Thomas sighed and shook his head, still frowning. "Look, I-I get this is a lot to handle, working this job, but you have to learn to multi-task if you want to make it." When the banging stopped, he hit the button.

"Hey, wait," I said, rushing for the door, "Shouldn't we check and make sure he's gone first?"

Thomas shook his head, saying, "Nah, as soon as he stops banging on the door, he leaves. Doesn't have the patience to wait you out like the others, I guess. Um, anyway, you can open the door as soon as he stops beating on it."

"Huh." I picked up the tablet. Flipping through the cams again, I relayed the animatronics positions to Thomas. "Alright, Bonnie's backstage, Chica sounds like she's in the kitchen, and Freddy's still on stage. Thanks, Fazbear," I added. "Looks like you are good for something." I turned back to Thomas, who was staring at the floor. "Hey, you alright?"

"Huh?" He looked up. "Oh, uh, yeah. Just... looking for something."

I got up and walked towards him. "Do 'ya really think I'm going to fall for that? C'mon, it's the oldest lie in the book."

His head shot up, and I saw his eyes were shining, like he'd been crying. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Mike, I-I-I know you're probably just trying to help, b-but it's nothing for you to worry about."

I wrung my hands out awkwardly. "Right, sorry."

He shook his head. "D-don't worry. I'm sure I'll find it later." His eyes wandered to the hallway as he said, "Hey, I saw you talking to Bella. Did she say anything about, uh, this morning?"

"What, you scared she saw you?" I meant it as a joke, but by the look on his face, I'd hit the nail on the head. "Hey, don't worry. She acted like nothing happened."

"Yeah, she's good at that..." Thomas grumbled, sticking his head out into the hallway. He looked around, then ducked back in. "Guess Bonnie's still backstage?"

"Let's see." I dropped into the desk chair, grabbing the tablet. "He's in the dining room right now." I checked the rest of the cameras, making sure we weren't about to get ambushed. Chica was in the bathrooms, Freddy was still on stage (Rough day at work today, man?) and Foxy was back behind his curtain. I flipped to one camera, then said, "Any particular reason there's a camera in the closet? There's nothing in there that's gonna come to life and try to murder me in there too, right?"

"Heh, nah, I think they just put it in there so nobody would steal anything. Uh, Bonnie goes in there sometimes, but that's it, I think."

"You think? I thought you knew everything about this hellish place, what with working here for-" I looked up, realizing something. "Hey, how long did you work here, anyway?"

"About six months."

I nearly dropped the tablet. "Six months?!" He nodded from his position by the right door. "How the hell did you last six months? Why did you last six months? Please tell me you got a freaking raise or something."

He hesitated before speaking. "Uh, mostly luck, I-I think. Rode on luck until I figured out how to survive."

I was about to point up that he still needed to answer my second question, but then I noticed his posture. He was slumped over, hugging one arm around himself. He was dead. He died here, probably only a few weeks ago, and I was pestering him. It hadn't quite set in, I guess, that he was actually dead.

And to think, maybe, if I was faster, I could've helped him...

I looked away, feeling more than a bit guilty. I looked back at the screen, checking the cameras in an attempt to distract myself, but I couldn't help but wonder why he worked here for so long.

Perhaps some things are best left for later...