I do not own Sister Location.
~ At Freddy's ~
"Michelle, may I speak with you privately?" Mr. Fred asked as Jeremy, Becca, and I sat in the Office, waiting for our shift to start in an hour. Yes, Becca was on the night shift. Her job was to keep track of the building's inventory so the day workers would know what to order when it ran low. It seems strange to have someone just for that, but the day workers are usually unable to focus on that when they have to worry about helping customers and keeping kids from damaging anything and hurting themselves in the process. Everyone who knew Becca before she moved away was happy about that, especially Freddy. I guess the saying 'time makes the heart grow fonder' is true.
"Of course, sir," I responded, standing up from my seat and following him to the Main Hall.
We were just outside of the bathrooms when he stopped and turned to me, causing me to halt in my tracks.
"Have you heard of Circus Baby's Pizza World?" Mr. Fred asked.
I nodded. "That's the place your friend Mr. Afton opened four months ago, right? The branch off of this place you both agreed to?"
Mr. Fred nodded. "It seems he's had some trouble hiring someone to work as a late night technician there. Says everyone he's hired keeps quitting after just a few nights. I was wondering if…"
He trailed off, but I knew what he was going to ask.
"You want me to work for him and see what's going on?" I finished.
He nodded. "I want you to try working a few nights at his restaurant, starting tomorrow. I won't force you into anything you don't want to do, but I know you're qualified because after everything you've put up with here, you're still willingly working as a night guard when anyone else would have left long ago. And I'm sure your degree in Robotics Engineering will come in handy, too. Who knows? From what William's told me, it'll be fun. "
I was skeptical about that last sentence. If everyone Mr. Afton hired as technicians quit after two or three nights, there was likely something going on that they didn't know about.
"I'll try it out," I responded, my curiosity on what was happening there getting the better of me. "I'll stay for five nights. If nothing happens that'll make me quit, I can probably help him find someone more suited for the job. I'm sure some of my old classmates wouldn't mind working there if it checks out."
Mr. Fred smiled. "Thank you, Mike, but I'm sure William can find someone to work for him on his own. What you're offering is much more than I can ask of you, and I don't want you to feel obligated to do everything just because he's been finding people who exaggerate their skills on their resumes. Now, I must get going. It's getting late, and your shift is going to start soon. I'll see you tomorrow."
I nodded as he turned to leave. Once I knew he was gone, I moved to go back into the Office to let Jeremy and Becca know. I was just about to pass the Parts & Service room when Bonnie's voice sounded from behind the door.
"Y-you're leaving for a job at another pizzeria, Mike?"
His voice sounded sad, as if he believed I was leaving for good. I stopped and opened the door, seeing Freddy, Chica, Foxy, Golden Freddy, and even Springtrap looking at me as if they thought so, too. I gave a soft smile in an attempt to put their minds at ease.
"I'm not leaving to work there permanently, guys. It'll only be for five nights. I'm just going to check the place out. Mr. Fred said that everyone who works there as the late night technician quits after a few days, and I want to see if I can find out what's going on."
They all seemed relieved after I finished my little spiel, though I could tell Springtrap was trying to hide it, and they walked out of the room to join the others near the Show Stage.
"Hmph, a few nights without one of the guards watching over our shoulders can't be that bad," I heard Springtrap mutter.
I rolled my eyes at his comment and made my way to the Office to get Jeremy and Becca. As we talked over what was going to happen the five nights I'd be at Circus Baby's Pizza World, the toy animatronics minus Marion ran into the room, the originals, Springtrap not included, behind them.
"Are you really leaving?" BB asked.
I opened my mouth to speak when Mangle cut me off.
"Why are you leaving?"
Again, I opened my mouth to reply, and again I was interrupted, this time by Bonbon.
"Don't you like us anymore?"
"Guys-" I said, being cut off once more as everyone began talking at once.
It was impossible to get a word in, and the shouting only grew as they all tried to talk over each other. I tried to calm them all down, but nothing I did seemed to work. I noticed Marion standing behind all of them, obviously amused by my panic as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. I shot him a pleading look, and he seemed to chuckle at my expression before he moved around everyone and stood by my side. Everyone quieted down immediately when they noticed his presence, and I looked at him gratefully as I was finally able to speak.
"I'm only leaving for five days. Mr. Fred wanted me to go to a sister location that opened four months ago because the man who owns it, William Afton, has been having trouble hiring people for the late night technician position. I'm just checking it out because the people he hires leave after two or three nights and I want to know why. It's not a permanent position. It's just to see what's going on."
"Oh," Freya responded.
"Th-that's what we were trying to tell you," Bonnie said, a hint of anger in his voice.
"I told you not to jump to conclusions!" Springtrap's voice sounded from down the hall.
"Have you ever been there before?" Chica asked. "Have you seen the other animatronics?"
I shook my head. "No, I haven't, but I will soon."
As we all went to relax in the Show Stage and Game Area, Springtrap stopped me where he stood leaning just outside the doorframe in the Main Hall.
"Be careful when you go tomorrow night, Mike. You don't know who or what you could be up against there."
I nodded at his words. He let me pass by him after that, though he remained leaning near the doorframe the rest of the night, watching as Becca, Jeremy, and I interacted with the others. He was still rough around the edges, but he was slowly warming up to us.
Finally got the next part done.
