Author Notes

And here's the rest of night 4. Hope you all enjoy. Once again, thanks to Corona Pax for help on this chapter.

Chapter 28

Talks

Hedy stiffened as a large shadow fell over her. She swallowed nervously and looked up to see Chica standing next to her looking equally nervous.

"Are you okay?" Chica muttered, not looking Hedy in the eye.

Not that Hedy noticed, she couldn't look at Chica directly either.

"Uh huh..." she couldn't even make words at first.

She cleared her throat.

"Y-yes..." she squeaked and winced at the sound.

Chica looked like she wanted to say something else but suddenly thought better of it. She turned to walk back to the others who were all still staring at the mechanic. They hadn't even un-paused the movie yet.

Suddenly her numb mind remembered something important.

"Uh actually..." she swallowed nervously again. "We uh, left my chair and my bag in the hallway. Would one of you mind...getting it for me...please?"

Well that was awkward.

The 'bots all looked at each other, silently daring one of them to volunteer. That is until Goldy rolled her eyes.

"I got it." she said before teleporting away.

She was back a second later, popping in next to Hedy and staring at the really bad dent in the wheelchair.

"How the heck are you going to use this?" she asked incredulously.

"I can't. I'm going to have to send it in to the manufacturer and use my spare that's at home." she said bitterly, forgetting her fear for the moment.

She really liked that chair...it was relatively expensive and was customized with silver rims and faint blue pieces shaped like lightning bolts for the spokes. A little fancy for her but if she was going to stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of her life, it might as well look good. Plus it had been a birthday present.

"Oh. Did Ruby really do this?"

"Accident. She was running and turned the corner without looking." Hedy frowned, "She was limping a bit. I hope it doesn't slow her down."

"The lass wouldn't need to worry about being slow if your pals didn't want to kill her." Foxy snapped.

"Foxy..." Freddy said warningly as he pushed play.

Hedy stifled a yelp at Foxy's snap and looked down. She absentmindedly turned the broken wheel. It would be very bad if the Toys caught Ruby because she ran into Hedy…

Goldie looked at her for a second more then went back her place hovering over Bonnie as she read.

"She'll be fine Foxy." she assured as she turned the page.

After Hedy managed to calm her heart rate again, she listened to try and figure out what they were watching. She just couldn't hear properly.

Goldy didn't seem to be paying attention though since she was reading a Harry Potter book. She couldn't see which one it was though. Actually the only thing she could see was the animatronics.

She really was going to strangle that rabbit... He could have at least put her where she could see the screen.

Bonnie couldn't concentrate on the movie anymore. The mechanic was RIGHT THERE and he was already having flashbacks. He determinedly stared at the wall, trying not to think about it. Foxy was glancing at him in concern now and then. Chica occasionally looked at Hedy with uncertainty while Freddy was completely caught up in the movie. Goldy just floated above him reading her book.

The girl shifted her weight and his ear twitched.

Why couldn't Toy Bonnie have put her in a different room?

Hedy tried really hard to ignore them. Or rather the movie.

Finally she strained to see again but huffed in frustration when she couldn't, making Bonnie jump at her noise.

If an effort to distract herself she discretely pulled her reading tablet out and turned it on. It chirped quietly and she winced, thinking the animatronics would notice. They didn't, though Foxy's ear swivelled back.

The tablet didn't have much besides books...but it did have internet connection.

Praying that they wouldn't notice, Hedy typed in the password for the pizzeria and opened an app she got from the manager.

A second later, she had access to the security feeds. She flipped through the feeds, wincing at the sound, while looking for the others. Her heart caught in her throat and she tensed as she found Ruby...and Toy Chica.

Toy Chica was holding Ruby's wrist and seemed to be...scolding her? But Hedy relaxed again as Ruby just laughed and threw something at the already glitter covered chicken.

The feed chose that moment to cut out and a second later an explosion echoed down the hall along with a high pitched scream.

"That was Toy Chica," Goldy noted while Foxy chuckled and made a tally mark on a clipboard sitting next to him.

Freddy shushed them.

Wait? What?

"You're keeping score?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Foxy threw a glare at her while Goldy chuckled.

"We've got a betting pool. On who gets hit the most." she grinned.

Hedy gaped at them. They had to be kidding...

There was someone's life at stake!

"Why are you all treating this like a game?" she asked, the words just slipping out at this point.

Foxy just huffed and ignored her. Freddy muttered something under his breath about movie etiquette and paused the movie again. Bonnie was still stubbornly not looking at her. Chica glanced over at her again and away.

"We know what she's capable of." Freddy shrugged. "If we worried too much she would take it as an insult to her abilities."

"The lass is more than capable of taking care of herself." Foxy grudgingly joined the conversation though he still wasn't looking at her.

Chica nodded timidly while glancing at Bonnie. The rabbit was just staring at the wall.

"The Toys don't have the same...experience...that we had." Goldy said, struggling to explain it without talking about uncomfortable topics.

"...I'm not doubting her ability." Hedy said quietly but shivered at what the bear meant.

Experience. Right.

Ruby had said something similar but Hedy had forgotten to tell her about...She cleared her throat.

"Uh...what makes you think that?"

They looked at her just a bit longer now. Never before had Hedy wanted to shrink into nothingness so much.

After a long pause Freddy answered, "They only worked for about a month...as entertainers and...otherwise. We've been...We did this for a lot longer while they were in storage."

Uh oh.

She really debated telling them, "...Um...they were stored in a warehouse."

"So?" Bonnie actually looked at her suspiciously now.

"A pretty expensive third party warehouse that rents to large corporations who want to store expensive stuff..." Oh she really wished she could keep her mouth shut.

"What? Someone thought they were worth something?" Foxy said sarcastically.

"...what are you watching?" Hedy said trying to abruptly change the subject to something that was harmless.

"Oh no." Chica said warningly, taking away the remote from Freddy who wanted to end the conversation and start the movie again.

She pointed it at the mechanic. "Don't do that. What did you mean?"

That's it. They were going to kill her and stuff her in a suit and her family would never know what happened.

"The warehouse...used to employ night guards," she said. "S-seven years ago they decided it would be simpler to spend a million dollars on a high-tech self-automated system instead of lawsuits. They, uh, never figured it out. Th-there was a lot of stuff from a lot of different companies there..."

It didn't take them long to get it.

"Oh." Freddy said, before trying to get the remote back.

The others didn't look as calm. They actually seemed pretty angry.

Foxy snarled, making her flinch back.

"We were cutting 'em some slack since we thought they hadn't killed before. But they have? And they're still doing this?!"

"No one's even forcing them and they...they still..." Chica muttered angrily.

Goldy had lowered her book and was glaring at the floor. "Do they even understand what they're doing?"

Bonnie was glaring a hole in the wall and clenching and unclenching his fists.

"They have a choice." he muttered. "They have a CHOICE and they're still continuing this nightmare?"

Hedy stared at them in confusion but they seemed to have forgotten that she was even there.

Freddy was even looking angry although he was keeping more calm than anyone else.

Silence descended on the room.

Finally, Freddy spoke, deciding it wasn't the best time to start his movie again.

"How do you know this?" he asked.

Not for the first time in her life Hedy wished she could just disappear.

"...They uh...told me," she mumbled.

"They told you," he repeated coldly.

Hedy nodded, the knowledge of how utterly helpless she was in this moment finally sinking in..

"What do you mean 'they had a choice'?" she asked, honestly confused.

"I'm not done." Freddy said, refusing to answer her. "They told you. What I don't get is why they would even trust or even speak with an adult, much less tell you that."

They were listening now at least.

Hedy hesitated but didn't give him an immediate answer. "I...I was very stupid."

"When?"

"When I first took the job. A guy showed up at my door looking for my dad but found me and offered me the job." she took a deep breath, "I told him I couldn't do it since I had school and he asked if I would be willing to pull night hours fixing them up. I agreed."

"Nice one." Goldy sighed.

"...then I accidentally got locked in by the automated system when I stayed a little too long to look around the place..." she winced. "They uh...didn't react well. And uh...the Puppet liked following me around a lot. Freaked me out. His music box was broken and I didn't know any of the 'rules'. But they didn't attack the first night."

"So they hunted you and you weren't even a night guard?" Freddy growled.

"Not even at the pizzeria." Goldy muttered.

"I hope Ruby really gives it to them tonight." Chica glared at nothing.

Somewhere in the building Ruby suddenly got a sour feeling and hit Toy Bonnie extra hard.

"Stupid Barbies..." she muttered stomping off.

Bonnie had gone back to staring at the wall but it was clear that the whole group was furious with the Toys. Not her for some reason, but the Toys.

They still hadn't given her an answer about the 'no choice' comment' though. But did she really want to bother them when they were this angry?

Leave it for later. She thought to herself.

"Well it really wasn't terrible. I mean I thought it was awful at the time but looking back it was like they were conflicted. I uh...heh...they wanted to kill me but at the same time they didn't think it was 'fair' since I couldn't run. So they held back sometimes. But they also...it was weird...like they wanted me to come back every night. They're never going to admit it, but I think they were... Lonely." She snapped her mouth closed. Why on earth was she telling them this?!

"Lonely." Freddy repeated again.

"They...they didn't have kids to play with. I think it helped them to actually have something to look forward to. ...even if it was trying to kill me. They didn't know I was there to fix them though. They thought I was the night guard."

They were quiet for another moment.

Freddy, Chica and Goldy at least seemed to be thoughtful. Foxy and Bonnie were still radiating hostility.

Suddenly Ruby came skidding into the room, giggling like a maniac.

"I love my job." She snickered as she slumped in a nearby chair.

Their demeanour changed a lot when she came in.

"Having fun lass?" Foxy chuckled.

Ruby glanced over at Hedy before nodding with a smirk.

"Two minute break." She grinned. "So what's going on here?"

"Not much," Hedy sighed tiredly and rested her dirty blond head in her hand and put her elbow on the table.

Ruby in the room made her feel mentally exhausted. "Just talking."

And obsessing about a movie that. She. Can't. See. Because. Of. A. Stupid. Rabbit. Robot.

For some reason, she was just a teensy bit less scared of the Originals now, or at least less scared of Freddy, Chica, and Goldy. It was strange but it was like talking to anyone besides the Toys about what happened at the warehouse was comforting, even if she barely mentioned it to them. And while she wasn't comfortable with them being so angry with her friends, it was understandable why they were.

And maybe it helped that they didn't seemed particularly angry at her. It was more like they were all suspicious of her at varying levels. It was probably because she was a twenty year old adult... Her dad had said that they were all usually wary with adults compared to children.

Ruby ignored her, leaving Hedy feeling a slight bit miffed, and waited for one of the others to say something.

"Just talking to Ms. Hedy about the Toys," Chica answered truthfully.

Hedy wasn't sure but she felt like the animatronics wouldn't want her to tell Ruby about the Toys "experience" at the warehouse, with her as the target or otherwise. Or maybe it was just her not wanting to tell. Hedy liked to keep certain things to herself, a lot of certain things. But what happened at the warehouse was something she would tell if they did ask.

Which the 'bots had while Ruby hadn't.

And honestly? Even though she was being reckless, immature and seeming uncaring about a little thing called her life, Ruby seemed to be doing fine without warnings and with Mangle out of the so called game.

She did seem to limp a little though...

And on a side note...what was with the "Miss" title?

"I just needed to teach them." Hedy groaned and closed her eyes like she had a headache, "They're getting the hang of it, though. At least Toy Chica is." She sighed and looked at them sideways. "I understand why you think they're annoying most of the time. I'm not going to deny it. I swear I'm acting like a mom half the time with their childishness. Which is ironic since I wouldn't even know what a mom is supposed to do since I didn't know mine. Actually, I think I count as a big sister. To Toy Bonnie and Toy Chica at least."

"I knew it!" Ruby cried out. "They are children! Or teenagers at least."

Hedy looked at her weird, not sure what she was talking about. "Uh...you do know that they are literally about fifteen years old?"

"Oh." Ruby shrugged. "Moving on, I think I broke the oven."

They stared at her for a moment before they reacted. Foxy and Bonnie started laughing, the hostility emanating off of them evaporating. Chica groaned and muttered about 'her kitchen' always being a target. Goldy looked interested while Freddy pinched between his eyes.

"How?" he asked, trying to keep calm.

She grinned evilly.

"Toy Bonnie got his head stuck in there. When I left he was still stuck." she snickered.

"How did you manage that?" Goldy asked.

Ruby hummed in thought.

"Not sure actually." she admitted. "He called me short and then he was in the oven."

"Ah, rage blackout." Foxy chuckled.

She nodded, looking highly amused.

Hedy looked slightly horrified...then again...not entirely surprised.

When did this become normal? Or at least unsurprising? It was actually pretty funny but Hedy needed to do her job. Which meant checking something in this instance.

"Um...excuse me?" she asked trying to get their attention.

Ruby looked over at her in annoyance.

"What?" she asked grudgingly.

She didn't want to listen to a lecture on 'safety' again.

What Hedy said next actually surprised her.

"Is his head still attached?"

Ruby stalled and blinked. "What?" she asked.

"Is his head still attached to his body?"

Bonnie actually had to try stifling a laugh, the bots understanding what the mechanic meant.

Normally Hedy would check on Toy Bonnie herself and she was hesitant to give Ruby prank fodder. But at the moment...she was stuck where she was.

...And Toy Bonnie was possibly decapitated.

"..." Ruby crossed her arms and hardened her glare,."He was still yelling like a diva when I left. He's fine. I'm not going kill him, unless he's extra annoying."

"..." Hedy bit her lip.

"T-that's not what she meant lass," Foxy wheezed, laughing harder.

Ruby rolled her eyes as Hedy tugged on a strand of hair.

"Then what did she mean?" she asked, annoyed.

"Our heads come off lass. For maintenance. " Foxy explained with a snicker. "He'd be fine without his head actually."

Ruby stared at him for a moment before a dangerous light sparked in her eyes.

"The prank opportunities this opens up..." she murmured.

"Oh dear..." Chica whispered to Freddy. "I don't think this was a good idea..."

"Well I don't think the Barbie Rabbit did that." Ruby finally said. "Besides, Barbie Bear was outside the kitchen when I ran out."

She was absently rotating her wrist and Hedy remembered seeing Toy Chica grabbing that wrist when she was watching the cameras.

"Good," she said, referring to Toy Bonnie.

She really didn't need a repeat of the warehouse elevator incident...

"I have one of those chemical ice packs in my first aid kit if you want it." She offered to Ruby after a moment.

Ruby looked at her oddly.

"What do you mean? Why would I want one of those?" she frowned, more in confusion than anything else.

Hedy glared mildly at her. "For your wrist. I know better than anyone how strong their grips are. You don't take care of it then it might swell up. Then good luck going bat crazy," she pointed at Betty who had fallen to the floor.

...Oh dear... When did she start thinking of the bat as a "who?" Ruby and this place's insanity was infectious.

Ruby actually laughed at her.

"I ran around with bruised ribs and a completely sprained wrist before and I still won. A little pulled muscle isn't going to slow me down. Also spent most of that night running around with cuts all the way down my back." she waved Hedy off.

She also didn't seem to notice the guilty flinches from all the 'bots. Goldy looked at them in sympathy.

Hedy stared at her in disbelief. Not about the "winning" part, but oh did she want to knock some sense into someone for being so arrogant, never mind reckless.

Toy Bonnie had an immature kind of arrogance, but Ruby was a weird "dangerous to herself" kind. Considering the fact that it was obviously the originals who hurt her, what kind of person bragged about scars her friends gave her?

Hedy didn't show off the scars the Toys gave her...

In a more selfish way, it annoyed Hedy that Ruby was refusing her honest help.

"...Fine," she finally said shortly with a nod, annoyed.

Ruby stayed a little longer before leaving to cause trouble again and the 'bots watched the rest of their movie in silence.

When six rolled around Ruby left with a cheery goodbye while the Toys searched frantically for a missing Toy Bonnie. The originals just found it hilarious and watched.

They found him eventually although he refused to tell anyone how he'd gotten stuck in the refrigerator.

Ruby tossed her bag down on the floor when she got to her room and prepared to get some rest. Something odd caught her eye though. Her bag was slightly open.

She pulled out a package that hadn't been there before and frowned.

"Nosy mechanic…" she muttered as she grudgingly wrapped it around her admittedly stinging wrist.

Author Notes

Hope you all enjoyed. I was planning to release an extra chapter but an assignment kind of took this week over. I'll still try and get an extra chapter up next week. Next chapter up on Sunday.