Author Notes
New chapter! Okay so there's a few heavy things in this chapter. Important information at the end by the way.
Chapter 17
Sick Day
The restaurant hadn't even opened yet and the staff were already covered in glitter, paint and numerous other things that hadn't been on them when they walked into work that morning. Since the security guard was coming in for the staff meeting just before they opened they were all storing their rage away to unleash on her.
This was on an entirely new level form before and despite her menacing aura they weren't about to let this slide.
Eventually she walked through the door.
The words died on everyone's lips. The murderous look in her eyes was very clear and focused on them, there was a Taser strapped to her thigh and was swinging a baseball bat slightly at her side. If they didn't know the girl was the night guard they would have assumed that a gang leader had just walked in.
A couple of the day guards who had never met her frowned and moved to kick her out only to be grabbed by the other employees.
"That's the night guard." One hissed. "And she's in a seriously bad mood for some reason."
They watched her stalk through the room and disappear into the meeting room. They had a feeling that this was not going to be a normal staff meeting.
The meeting started off normally enough once they had managed to get the shaking manager to go into the room. Ruby sat in a chair close to the front of the room and watched him like a hawk which certainly didn't help his anxiety levels.
He nervously introduced the new night guard to those that hadn't met her yet before moving on to the boring things. After forty five minutes he seemed to have relaxed somewhat and smiled at them, asking if anyone had any announcements or questions.
Much to their horror, Ruby raised her hand.
His grin fading he nodded at her to speak.
She stood up, stretching and the smile on her face did absolutely nothing to hide the fury in her eyes.
"So," she held up a poster. "What's all this about boss?"
He frowned. "That's the advertisement for the new animatronics that we are bringing in."
"Oh I know that." Her smile grew razor sharp. "What I'm asking is if you're so stupid as to try and replace my buddies?"
They all gaped at her, half from anger at the disrespect and half from shock at her words.
"What?" the manager asked, wringing his hands.
"Listen." She dropped the smile and glared at him. "Freddy told me that this bunch has replaced them before and I'm not about to let something like that happen again. The kids love the 'bots, I love the 'bots. Before you bring it up I don't care about a bit of homicidal behaviour and it's got a long and complicated explanation anyway. At the moment they're my friends, always have been even if they didn't know it. I've been a fan of this place since I was a kid and I'm not letting something happen to them. Now I don't care if these new animatronics are coming in as additional robots. My problem is if they're coming as replacements. So, which is it?"
She folded her arms and watched him critically, no hint of the childish trickster that they knew in her gaze.
"Uh, actually that isn't decided yet." The manager answered.
She raised an eyebrow, silently asking for elaboration.
"Uh, it was going to depend on the customers' reactions over the course of five months." He explained, wringing his hands again under the force of that stare.
"Hmmm, suppose that makes sense. Even if I don't think their popularity would go down at all." She frowned, looking thoughtful but not furious anymore. "But you have to understand that if the 'bot go, I go. Then you get to deal with dead night guards again."
Everyone shuddered at the bluntness of her statement.
"You…really get along with the animatronics?" someone asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, we have movies nights now. They don't try and kill me anymore."
More shuddering.
"And if you bring in new animatronics the killings will continue. I can guarantee that." She seemed serious.
"How do you know?" Henry asked suspiciously.
She shrugged. "That's a secret. But I won't be there to stop it this time. The 'bots are the only draw for me to come here. I've got no nostalgia or connection to these new ones."
She waved the poster around again. The manager nodded, glad that she had calmed down and seriously considering her words now. He didn't think he was prepared to lose her, crazy as she was. She had changed something for the better, even if they didn't know what.
"I'll definitely take that into consideration." He assured her.
She stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright. But I'll be watching. I may be young but I'm not stupid. I'm serious about all this."
She turned and headed for the door. "Well, that's all I wanted to say. I'm going to see the 'bots now."
She paused in the doorway. "Oh, and if you find some fireworks don't worry. Freddy stopped me before I could set up that prank."
That smirk was back as she looked over her shoulder at them and then she was gone.
"Fireworks?" someone squeaked in panic.
Ruby walked into the room, humming to herself. The gang was setting up tables and getting ready for the day when they spotted her and waved.
She returned the gesture and sauntered over to them.
"So, I terrified everyone on the staff." She said conversationally.
Bonnie and Foxy laughed while the other two rolled their eyes.
"The manager said that they're not being brought in specifically as replacements. It depends on customer reactions. But I may have threatened with leaving if they got rid of you guys. He doesn't seem willing to lose a living night guard." She explained as she stopped Bonnie from setting off a glitter mine accidently.
They looked at her gratefully. The idea had still been weighing heavily on their minds.
"What's with the taser?" Chica asked.
She grinned. "In case they gave me the wrong answer. Why else do you think I left the fireworks here?"
"You did what?" Freddy asked sharply while Bonnie looked dangerously excited.
"I'm not going to use them NOW. They gave me the right answer." She rolled her eyes and waved him off.
"Ruby. This is still a KID'S restaurant. Please don't leave dangerous things lying around." He pinched between his eyes.
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Huh, guess I should take that flamethrower home then huh?" she murmured, scratching her head.
"RUBY!" Chica and Freddy yelled while the others chuckled.
She laughed and dodged a half-hearted swipe.
"Okay okay. Well I'll be go-" she interrupted herself with a short coughing fit.
They paused.
"You okay lass?" Foxy asked, frowning.
She nodded, waving him off. "Fine. Just a throat tickle. I'm going to head home now then, since everything's sorted. See you tonight."
They watched her walk off, still slightly worried. They'd seen their fair share of colds in this line of work and could definitely spot the beginnings of one.
But Ruby was a big girl…She could handle herself…
By the time the place closed and her shift was approaching they had already forgotten about the concern. They powered down for a bit, waiting for the night guard and whatever nonsense she was going to bring.
By the time they powered back on, the light was already turned back on so they knew Ruby was there. She just wasn't anywhere in sight. They frowned at each other in confusion. Usually she was the first to come running up to them in the middle of the night.
Foxy came out of Pirate's Cove and raised an eyebrow at her absence. Goldy materialized and looked around confused.
"Where is she?" Bonnie wondered.
The group decided to split up and explore the pizzeria.
Five minutes later Goldy came running to them all in a panic, popping in and out of existence in front of each of them as they searched, yelling something about the office.
Even more confused they hurried over to the office.
The sight that met them was…interesting…and panic inducing.
Ruby was curled around the tablet like it was a teddy bear, using the office chair as a pillow with the lower half of her body slumped on the floor. She clearly had a fever, if her flushed face indicated anything, and yet she had about five jackets on.
They rushed forwards worriedly while Goldy floated behind them, panic clear in her eyes.
"Ruby? Lass?" Foxy asked, hand hesitantly shaking her shoulder.
She grunted and peeled one eye open.
"Tired." She grumbled, her voice slightly raspy and indicating that she had been coughing.
This had clearly had a fast onset since she had seemed mostly fine earlier that day.
Unless she was that good at hiding how she was feeling. And that concerned them even more.
"I can tell lass. You not feeling very well?" he asked gently, relieved that she was responsive.
She regarded him for a moment. "Nope. Think I caught a cold."
"Kind of obvious lass." He chuckled.
She grunted again and turned her head slightly.
"Cold." She grumbled.
Chica stepped forward and felt her forehead.
"You've got a fever Ruby." She murmured, looking concerned.
"Probably picked it up from working in the pizzeria around the kids. Happens to all the employees in the beginning. Surprised that it took this long to hit you." Freddy admitted.
"I gotta good immune system…" she frowned for a moment. "Immune…Funny word don't you think? Immune, immune, immune immune immune immune-" Foxy chuckled and covered her mouth.
"Yeah it's a funny word lass. Aren't you uncomfortable though? Wouldn't it be more comfortable in the staffroom?" he coaxed.
She made a whining sound. "Tired. Didn't get far." She curled more around the tablet.
For once she actually sounded younger than her actual age, instead of older.
"There's a couch there." Bonnie added.
She seemed to debate this, face scrunching up as she stared at them. Finally she seemed to make a decision.
"Carry me." She demanded.
They blinked in surprise.
"Body hurts." She didn't get further as she suddenly started coughing.
They winced. It sounded like a painful cough.
"Alright lass." Foxy agreed, wanting to get her out of the cold office.
He bent down and picked her up, surprised by the lack of weight. She was actually smaller than would be average for her age, and lighter than she looked.
Grumbling something under her breath she cuddled the tablet and shut her eyes again, looking like she was getting ready to go back to sleep.
Quietly the group moved to the staffroom, worried about the normally boisterous night guard. Seeing her so out of sorts was disturbing.
Eventually Foxy set her down on the couch.
Or at least tried to.
She didn't seem quite willing to let go in her half asleep state.
"Come on lass. Let go." Foxy used the tone of voice he used with sick or injured kids at the pizzeria.
She made another whining sound.
"Cuddly." She mumbled.
They stared at her in confusion.
"You guys are cuddly. Not like the ones on the poster. They look like dolls. Not cuddly. You can't cuddle a doll since it'll poke you. I tried before. It's very uncomfortable. You guys are like plushies. I like plushies." She was rambling by now and Foxy was able to set her down.
"Think she's delusional?" Goldy asked, panic edging her voice.
As Freddy turned to reassure her Ruby spoke again.
"Hey, when did we get an elephant?" she asked.
They turned back to her. She was staring suspiciously at one of the other chairs in the room.
"I didn't know elephants came in green…" she mumbled.
"…how high is her fever?" Freddy asked Chica.
"Maybe you should call someone to pick you up lass." Foxy suggested gently. "We'll survive one night without you and you need to rest.
She shook her head. "I walk home." She explained, still staring at the chair.
Her eyes were slightly unfocused.
That didn't sit well with them since she was a minor walking around alone every night then. They pushed that aside though as they focused on the present.
"We can call your parents though lass. I'm sure they would want you home if you're feeling this bad." He pressed.
She shook her head again though. "You can't."
"Why not?" Bonnie asked, brow creasing.
She was stubborn, even when sick it seemed.
"They're dead." She explained matter-of-factly. "I don't think the elephant likes the giraffe."
The silence felt like it was strangling them.
"Ruby?" Freddy spoke softly, keeping his voice level with an effort.
She looked at him quizzically.
"What do you mean?" he asked gently.
She blinked a few times, eyes becoming slightly more focused.
"Oh, I never told you guys." She flopped back on the couch. "I live in an orphanage."
Memories of the girl entering the pizzeria with her parents flashed through their minds and they stared at her in confusion.
"After I turned ten. It was a car accident. Nothing bad like drunk driving or anything. The roads were slick after the rain and it was misty. I was the only one who survived the crash." She stared at the ceiling.
Chica covered her mouth in horror. "Oh Ruby."
"It's just you and Ricky then?" Bonnie murmured sadly.
To their surprise she shook her head again. "I'm an only child."
Now they were confused again.
"After I arrived at the orphanage, Ricky kind of grew attached to me. He's an only child too. Parent's died in a home invasion gone wrong when he was younger. So after a while he started calling me his sister. I didn't mind so we kind of adopted each other as siblings? Everyone refers to us that way, even the guardians at the orphanage."
The 'bots got the feeling that she wouldn't be sharing this much if she wasn't sick to the point of hallucinating.
"I'm sorry lass. We didn't know." Foxy murmured, kneeling next to the couch.
She shrugged and winced. "I never told you."
"But can't we call your guardians then?" Freddy asked, still worried about her health.
She shook her head again. "There's two. One's out of town at the moment and the other can't leave the kids alone. I'm the oldest in the orphanage."
They fell silent again, watching as she starting playing with the tablet. Upside down.
"Alright, but take it easy tonight. Okay lass?" Foxy felt her forehead, frowning at the temperature.
She nodded, humming slightly. "I take care of myself when I'm sick all the time."
She probably meant it to be reassuring but it really wasn't.
"Don't worry. We'll keep an eye on you." Chica was already entering mother-hen mode, bustling around and collecting pillows.
"Want anything?" Bonnie asked.
Before she could shake her head, Foxy stopped her.
"We're programmed to take care of kids lass. We couldn't ignore you being sick even if we tried. So just take advantage of it." He chuckled at the look on her face at the word 'kid'.
She nodded slowly. "I'm thirsty." She admitted.
Bonnie left to get some water from the kitchen fridge. Chica began fluffing the pillows around her while she stared at them all bewildered.
"You okay?" Goldy asked, floating closer.
"Yeah, just not used to being…taken care of. I take care of the kids usually. They're a real handful for the guardians most of the time." She mumbled, eyes going out of focus again and flickering over to the 'elephant chair'.
That simple statement really broke their hearts. Children, no matter how old, were supposed to always have someone to take care of them when they were sick or hurt. Did that mean she had dealt with all those injuries from the sixth night by herself?
Bonnie returned with the water soon after and she drank greedily. A few minutes after that she started whining that she was too hot.
Goldy and Chica helped her pull off the layers of jackets while Freddy and the boys searched for medicine in the cabinets. They'd seen the staff provide medicine on occasion to the employees and customers both. Simple cough medicines and headache pills, but they should help Ruby. If they could be found that is.
Ruby went into another coughing fit behind them and they searched faster.
Goldy managed to coax the tablet out of her arms and replaced it with a pillow which she curled around with a soft whimper.
"Hate being sick." She grumbled is a raspy voice.
"No one likes being sick." Foxy answered with sympathy from nearby.
"It's always like this." She continued whining.
"Like what?" Bonnie asked.
"Tickle in the throat then BOOM!" her sudden yell sent her into another coughing fit.
After she swallowed some more water she continued. "It's super bad the first night and then gets better."
"Why did you come to work if you knew?" Freddy asked, frowning. "You could have called in sick. You've done more than enough overtime as it is."
She shrugged. "I like my job. It's also more quiet here. Love the kids but it gets a bit much if I'm sick back home. They try to help but it's not really help. Last time there was a fire in the kitchen…"
"Makes sense." Foxy admitted.
"Hey, a zebra!" she exclaimed suddenly, followed by another coughing fit.
Foxy moved over and patted her back while she buried her face in the pillow.
"Keep the strain off the voice lass." He murmured, putting a wet cloth on her forehead when she resurfaced.
She sighed in relief at the feeling but her eyes snapped open again after a moment.
"I'm supposed to be watching the cameras." She mumbled.
"Goldy's got that covered." He patted her head. "Just relax."
Freddy finally found the medicine and walked back over to them.
"What's the symptoms exactly?" he asked.
"Hmmmm. Sore throat. Cough. Dizzy. Cold again. Ooh pretty butterfly." She wrapped her jacket more tightly around her and shivered as Chica produced a blanket from somewhere.
"Fever." Foxy added. "Hallucinations. Do you have a headache lass?"
She looked back up at them from rubbing her face against the blanket. "Yeah. Think there's an elephant in my head too."
Freddy sorted through the medicine and picked the ones that they needed.
"Allergic to anything Ruby?" he asked.
She shook her head and then winced again.
"So there's no medicine you can't take?"
"No." she answered verbally this time.
After ten minutes they managed to coax her into taking the sickly sweet cough mixture. A futher five minutes and she took the headaches pills.
"You're impossible, you know that?" Bonnie rolled his eyes.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "It's yucky."
She cleaned the taste out of her mouth with water while Foxy replaced the cloth on her head with a fresh, cold one. Her eyes fluttered closed again as she enjoyed the cool fabric.
"Get some sleep Ruby." Goldy suggested. "It's the best thing for you."
She mumbled something that sounded vaguely like 'can't sleep on the job.' She was losing the battle with her sickness induced lethargy though and was quickly slipping into unconsciousness.
They smiled slightly as she curled up more and fell asleep.
"You know, she's like a cute kid when she's not terrorising anyone." Chica chuckled.
"Yeah. Just wish we didn't find that all out like this." Foxy sighed, allowing his mind to mull over what she had told them now that she was finally resting.
The others nodded sadly.
"Seems she's been through more than we could ever know." Freddy murmured.
Silence fell as they settled in to watch over their favourite night guard.
Author Notes
So lots of revelations about Ruby. Hope you enjoyed.
IMPORTANT NOTES PLEASE READ
I'm going to be putting a fiction story up on Fictionpress and Wattpad. Ruby's story will also be up on Wattpad. I've decided to use multiple sites to make it easier for people to read on a preferred site and to make it easier to talk to me. I find this a brilliant website but I struggle with the communication aspect. So please feel free to use these other sites to contact me if you want to. I also have a DeviantArt account (even though I can't draw to save my life) that I will be using for projects later on. I'm practically always online on these sites so use the site that's easiest for you. I will put the links to these sites up on my profile today. I'll also use these sites to make announcements about stories, polls or anything important.
Also, by request, I'm planning to ask for OC designs for this story in a few chapters so start planning them now if you want them in. I'll make an announcement when I need them. Ruby needs people to interact with after all ;) or torment. Whichever.