"…this is it?"
"You expected more?"
"Well…I expected something different…"
"This big cylinder here is where you'll be working, you use this terminal to log the procedures and go inside to actually do them"
"Ok…"
"You are expected to have read each of the informational packets we sent you, have you?"
"Yeah, front to back"
"Good, then you'll need no further explanation"
"Wait, shouldn't I meet the animatronics?"
"You will meet them when they come down for maintenance"
The woman left before Ethan could ask her anything else.
"Well…guess I just wait…"
There was no telling how long it would be until one of them needed maintenance.
Just as Ethan was about to sit down, he heard a sound, followed by rhythmic clinks of what sounded like metal upon tile.
It was coming from the direction of the four halls that lead to the greenrooms.
'Already?'
It wasn't too loud, so it probably wasn't Montgomery or Freddy…
Chica, maybe?
The door that opened was Roxanne's, the wolf stepped out.
She stepped around and down the stairs, he stiffened when her gaze locked on him.
He felt like was being judged, her expression didn't look happy.
"So you're the new technician, huh?"
"Y-yeah, my name is-"
"I don't care, just fix my knee joint"
Ethan blinked and directed his gaze to her legs, her right knee had…
Was that…frosting?
"One of those little brats threw a piece of cake at me"
That definitely wasn't good…
"Ok, I'll take care of it"
"Well duh, that's your job"
Ethan held in his sigh as he got to the terminal and selected a simple cleaning procedure.
Clearly she was just upset, he might have better luck interacting with her after she was cleaned.
He entered the information and unlocked the cylinder, waiting for Roxanne to enter first and get settled in the seat.
Ethan stepped in and waited for the door to close.
"Ok, now I just-"
"Don't shut me down"
Ethan blinked before looking at her, confusion filling his eyes.
"…but then I cant-"
"It's just cleaning! You don't need to shut me off to do that"
Clearly she didn't like being powered down…
Ethan thought for a second, he supposed shutting them down for maintenance was the equivalent of using sleeping gas on a human for surgery.
You definitely don't get put under just washing frosting off of your leg…
Perhaps not doing it will improve her mood, maybe even get him a point or two in her book.
"Alright, whatever you want"
He saw shock flash across her features for a second, and he knew why.
He's going against standard regulations, not to mention breaking a rule.
He couldn't count the number of times each instruction manual told him how important it was that the animatronics were put into maintenance mode before working on them.
No one would find out, he was sure.
Ethan grabbed a few tools and cleaning supplies, moving over to her leg and getting started.
"Do you feel anything wrong with your joint? Is it sticking or anyway hindering your movement?"
"No…"
"Good, I'll check anyway"
"You actually aren't doing it…"
"Yeah, the last thing I want is to upset you when it can be avoided, I'd rather be on your good side"
She hummed.
"You're smart"
"I take it others that had this job before me didn't really care?"
"Ugh…yeah…the worst of them shocked me, or forced a remote shutdown"
"I saw that in one of the booklets; the whole thing about 'controlled shocks', you won't have to worry about that" he chuckled. "Unless you're planning to hurt me, of course"
"Like I'd want to get my nails covered in your blood" she spoke with a scoff.
"Speaking of that" he began while closing up her leg casings. "Would you like a quick polish?"
"Hmm…maybe you aren't worthless"
Ethan gave a smile and grabbed the polishing equipment, then began to polish her nails, making sure each one got a nice shine.
Once that was done, the wolf looked at them.
"You actually did a pretty good job…"
"I'm trying my best here, heh" Ethan cleared up everything and logged the completion of the procedure.
Roxanne stepped out of the protective cylinder and stood by a bit awkwardly.
"I…I'm sorry for…being rude before"
"It's ok, I'd probably be upset too if someone threw cake at me"
"…what is your name?"
"Ethan"
"…I'll remember that"
"Have a nice day, Roxanne"
"Roxy"
"Huh?"
"Call me Roxy"
"Ok, Roxy"
The wolf turned and went back to her hall.
XXchangeXX
Roxy stepped out of the back room and sat down in front of her mirror, her thoughts focusing on one thing only.
This new technician, he wasn't like all the ones that came before. He was…kind.
He gladly did what she told him to do, despite the rules and the risk of getting fired if management found out.
He even polished her nails for her, something that would normally only happen under a full cleaning procedure.
He did a pretty damn good job too for his first day…
He did it because he understood that she had feelings, and did not want to upset her.
'-the last thing I want is to upset you when it can be avoided, I'd rather be on your good side'
Not once did he act nervous or fearful outside of her hostile first meeting, not once did he attempt to touch her in a perverse way, and not once did he meet her eyes without a smile.
He was more afraid to upset her than he was over the fact that she could be upset, he treated her like a person.
It was really the first time anyone had ever casually spoken to her like that, and she liked it…
A part of her wanted to speak to him again, to have a genuine conversation with someone who believed her to not just be a piece of equipment or property…
A part of her hoped she could find a reason to need to go back down there, they are only allowed to go into the maintenance room when they need to.
All because of Monty and his violent acts towards the previous technicians.
Maybe, she could ask him to give her a full polish?
How far is he willing to go to stay on her 'good side'?
She'll have to see for herself next time.
What could she do-
"Huh?"
Roxy opened the door to leave her room and was immediately approached by Chica, who was apparently waiting for her.
"Is it true? Is there a new tech?"
"Yeah"
"Ooh! Is he cute? What's he like?"
"He's ok, I guess. He didn't shut me down to perform the procedure"
"What!? He broke the rules?"
"Yeah, I told him not to shut me off and he didn't" the wolf decided not to tell Chica why he didn't.
"Wow…he might last longer than two weeks here"
"I wouldn't go that far, he hasn't met Monty yet"
'He better not hurt Ethan…'
"I want to meet him before Monty does, I might take him if he's cute~"
The wolf hid her growl, not liking that at all.
"You know you can't go down there unless you actually need maintenance"
"I know, and it would totally be a shame if my paint got scratched suddenly"
"No, I just got my nails polished"
"Ohhhhh? And how exactly did that happen, Hmh?"
Roxy froze for a second.
She slipped up…
"Did the new guy do it?"
"S-shut up, I need to practice for the next show"
"Uh oh~ someone's blushing~"
"Shut up!"
XXChangeXX
"Guess it's time for my lunch break…"
It's quite a distance to the employees lounge…
He could get there quicker from Rockstar Row, but he can't just enter their rooms.
So he'll-
"Heeey!"
Ethan jumped slightly and spun around, seeing Chica standing by the stairs that lead the elevators.
"Ah! H-hey Chica"
How did she get there so silently?
"You're the new guy, right?"
"Uh-yeah"
The chicken walked closer, allowing Ethan to take notice of the red stains on her torso and chest.
"Listen, I kinda had a little accident in the kitchen"
Pizza sauce…
"Ok, I'll get you cleaned up-huh?"
She stopped him from moving toward the protective cylinder by standing between him and it, confusing him greatly.
"Uh-"
"It's just a little bit of sauce, I think you can clean me up without using that thing~" she spoke flirtatiously.
She got closer, leaning down a bit.
"Why don't you lick me clean?~"
"Wh-what?"
"You heard me~"
Ethan was paralyzed in both confusion and embarrassment that he was getting aroused by her.
"I-I-I can't do that-"
"Why not? No one will know~" she took a promiscuous pose. "Are you afraid to taste me?~"
Ethan calmed himself as much as he could, then thought.
He could get out of this by shocking her, but he didn't want to hurt her for any reason.
It didn't seem like she'd take no for an answer, so that left him one option.
Especially now since his back was to a wall…
"Come on~"
"I-I really shouldn't…"
"I think you should~"
Why is she doing this?
"Nh….f-fine…"
"Good boy~" she wrapped her arms around him, but not too tightly. "Now lick up aaaall that sauce~"
'This is officially the weirdest day of my life…'
Against all of his better judgment, he closed his eyes and granted her request.
"Mh-Ahh~"
It only got worse when she began to moan as he did so.
'Why is this happening to me?'
XXXXXX
It was the next day, and he was currently polishing Roxy's outer shell upon her request.
She originally came down because one of her nails got damaged, she didn't tell him how it happened.
He had a theory, however.
He was sure that the wolf just wanted a polish.
"…are you ok, Ethan?"
Ethan blinked and paused in his task, both at the sudden question and at the genuine concern in her voice.
"Oh…yes, I'm just…thinking" he resumed polishing her.
"If…there's something on your mind…I'll listen"
"I don't think you'd want to know"
"W-well you're thinking wrong, then"
Ethan sighed, deciding to just tell her, maybe she could talk some sense into that crazy bird.
"Yesterday, Chica came down here after she had a little accident in the kitchen, leading to her getting some pizza sauce on her"
"…what's wrong with that?"
"She made me lick her clean"
"What!?"
Ethan flinched back at her sudden outburst.
"S-sorry…I didn't mean to scare you…"
"It's ok…"
"Did she hurt you? Or threaten you?"
"No, she just kinda pressed me until I gave…"
"You could have zapped her, you know"
"I know, but I don't like the idea of hurting you guys"
"You can't just let her get away with that"
"Right, right, you're the only one who's allowed to seduce me"
"That's right-gh-uh-I-"
Ethan chuckled loudly, causing the wolf to pout.
"Jerk…"
Ethan moved over and stood by her head, causing the wolf to instinctively close her eyes so he could polish her face.
Seeing her eyes closed gave Ethan the opportunity to tease her even further, and he was not one to waste such opportunities.
He leaned in by her ear, whispering.
XXRoxyXX
'I can't believe she did that…'
Roxy closed her eyes when Ethan stood over her, preparing to polish her face.
She liked to believe that an animatronic being polished was similar to humans going to a spa, she liked to imagine this as a spa treatment-
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle"
The wolf felt a shiver of some sort, hearing those words being whispered to her less than an inch away from her sensitive ears.
She felt the human begin to polish her face before she could say anything, being gentle just like he said…
She could hear his chuckling, most likely from the explosive blush that no doubt came to her face.
He's teasing her again!
The worst part was that she didn't hate it!
Her pride was screaming at her to not let him get away with this sort of thing, but what could she do?
How could she get back at him?
Maybe…maybe she could play along?
Yeah…
She could see how far he will go, and she definitely won't be the one to back down first.
'I don't lose…'
"There we go, all done"
Roxy opened her eyes, looking over at the human.
His back was turned, cleaning up the supplies he used.
Chance.
Roxy, as quietly as possible, got to her feet and stood directly behind the human.
XXEthanXX
He was sure that the wolf wasn't going to let him get away with his teasing, so he had to prepare himself for a counter attack.
However, if he stayed on the offensive, she couldn't counter.
"Has anyone ever told you how cute you are when you blush, Roxy?"
"Grrrrr"
Ethan blinked at the deep growl emanating from directly behind him, telling him that the wolf had indeed launched a counter attack.
He turned around, having to look up at her.
Her expression suddenly turned into a grin, and she took a pose.
"I know how beautiful I am, everyone loves me"
'Ah, she's playing along…'
She looked over her freshly polished shell, humming a bit.
"You did well, which means you're useful to me. I suppose I should reward my servant for a job well done"
'So she wants to play that game, huh?'
She looked down at him and held up a finger.
"You may make one request"
"A request huh?"
"Yes, and make it quick, my time is precious"
She's testing him, trying to see how far he'll go.
"In that case, my queen-"
A look of surprise flashed through her eyes.
"I'd like to request a kiss"
Ethan held a challenging look in his eyes, watching the shock in her own.
"Nh-a-as if you're worthy of such a thing"
"Then how about this?"
Ethan knelt down and took one of her hands, the wolf was frozen in confusion.
He kept his eyes locked on hers as he held her hand and kissed it.
"Y-you should feel lucky to have been granted that…"
"I do, thank you very much, my queen"
He watched in amusement as the wolf practically fled the room, trying her hardest to contain her blush.
Once she was gone, Ethan finished cleaning up.
XXXX
Ethan didn't exactly know what the wolf's personality was like, but he assumed she was a prideful girl.
She sees herself as a celebrity-which she is.
Freddy and his band are very popular.
She knows her fans adore her, and she loves the attention.
He also knew that Roxy runs a raceway, one with her face plastered all over it.
She's apparently never lost a race, which means her celebrity image is mixed with hotshot pride.
However, underneath all that, was a girl like any other.
She wants to love and be loved, but not just loved as a celebrity.
Deep down she wants to be loved as an individual, as a girl.
Roxy is-
"Hello"
Ethan nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice and turned around, finding a certain bear by the stairs.
"Oh, hello Freddy"
"I was happy to hear we had a new technician, are you enjoying your time here?"
"Very much, actually. I don't have a single complaint"
That wasn't exactly true, but he didn't want to go telling everyone about his encounter with Chica.
"That is good to hear"
"Is there an issue somewhere? Or have you just come to meet me?"
"We are not allowed to come down here unless we need maintenance, it is a safety precaution taken because of Montgomery's anger problems…"
That was reassuring, he won't have to worry about Chica coming down here every day.
"There is a small issue, a child accidentally spilled some Fizzy-Faz on my leg as I was delivering a cake to their table"
"Ah, has it done any internal damage?"
"None that my system is aware of at the moment"
"Ok, let's get you cleaned up before that happens"
Ethan opened the cylinder and waited for the bear to get settled, then stepped inside.
Ethan began to inspect the bear's leg.
"Um, please excuse me…"
"Yes?"
"You haven't put me into maintenance mode yet"
"It's just a simple cleaning procedure, you don't need to be in maintenance mode for something as quick as this. Besides, I know that you guys don't like being in maintenance mode"
"That…is true, but it is against the rules, you could get fired"
"Only if someone finds out, are you going to report me for wanting to make you feel more comfortable?"
"Well…No…you are the first technician to…take our feelings into account…"
"As far as I'm concerned, you guys are just as human as I am"
"…thank you, Ethan…"
"No problem, but…I have a question"
"What is it?"
"Are you sure the drink was only spilled on you? Because it seems to me like it was splashed on you"
The stains he was seeing looked more than spills, it was practically splattered all over his leg.
"Ah…well, the cup wasn't exactly knocked over, b-but I'm sure it was an accident nonetheless"
"You can be honest with me, Freddy. Did the child throw the cup at you?"
"…it seemed that way…"
First they throw cake, then entire cups of soda…
Next it will be an entire Pizza having been thrown at one of them.
"That's what I thought, Roxanne came down here yesterday after a child threw some cake at her" he glanced up at the bear. "Do the children often throw food and drinks?"
"I'm afraid it's more often than none at all…I do not blame them for being excited"
"Well I'm simply here to make sure you can still walk properly, and it helps me more if I know exactly what's caused the issue"
"I…apologize for not being truthful from the start…"
"It's ok, there was no harm done" Ethan finished his inspection and came to two options. "Would you like me to just clean your leg, or replace the casing?"
"I would like to return to the party as soon as possible, the Fazer-Blast arena will be opening soon"
"Ok then" Ethan got to work with the cleaning supplies, working quickly but making sure to get the job done properly and not leave any sticky stains.
Freddy seems to be a stickler for rules, but at the same time concerned for the children and their safety and happiness. It made sense, he was designed for it after all.
It seemed like he would rarely need maintenance, only ever having problems like this one.
He hoped he would never have to deal with anything serious…
He had all the tools and parts he would ever need, but that didn't mean he wanted to see them so badly damaged that they needed to be rebuilt or something.
Ethan waved as the bear walked back to his elevator, taking a seat and resting.
"The only one I haven't met yet is Monty" Ethan spoke out loud to himself.
He hoped he wouldn't have to deal with the gator any time soon, especially after what he's heard.
Apparently the gator has a very large temper and a very short fuse, definitely not someone to mess with.
What would he do when he inevitably comes down for maintenance?
Would staying silent and performing his job normally be enough to keep the gator from becoming irritated?
Only time would tell…
For now, he had something to think about.
"I should probably prepare some sort of plan in case Chica pulls another stunt…"
From what he knew from the informational packets, Chica promotes fitness and food, running an exercise maze that serves food you can eat while walking around it.
It didn't seem like something kids would be the biggest fan of, but he imagined some parents might take interest.
He chuckled a bit imagining a group of mothers speed walking around the maze while gossiping about their children, all while said children were stuffing their faces with cake.
Chica didn't seem to care much about her responsibilities, if she had any...
"She's annoying…"
"Aww! Why'd you have to say it like that!?"
Ethan spun around and locked eyes with the aforementioned bird, she was covered in pizza sauce stains again…
"You make me sound like a problem to be dealt with…"
"You're not too far off"
"Geez, you're mean…"
"You made me lick pizza sauce off of you!"
"Don't act like you didn't like it~"
"I didn't like it, and i'm not doing it again"
"Come on~"
"No"
She pouted.
"Do you hate me?"
"No, I don't hate you, I just want you to stop making me do weird things"
"I thought boys liked it when girls do stuff like this?"
"Not everyone, besides, I like Roxy more"
The chicken was silent for a moment.
"So if Roxy got covered in pizza sauce you'd lick her clean?"
'How can she just say things like that?'
"…maybe, but she doesn't seem like the kind of girl to do something like that"
"I see…"
With that, Chica left, still covered in sauce.
Ethan felt like things would only get more annoying somehow…
XXRoxyXX
'I can't believe that happened…'
The wolf expected him to back down as soon as she started fighting back, but he didn't.
She stared at her hand, the one he kissed.
'My queen'
…why did that sound so good?
She only started the whole 'servant' thing to get back at him, but he rolled with it…
How far is he willing to keep that up?
Suddenly, the door to her room opened.
"Hey, guess what"
It's Chica…
"What?"
"I found out that Ethan really likes you~"
"…what?"
The chicken giggled to herself and left without another word, leaving the wolf to think about what she said.
'Ethan likes me?'
Thoughts began to circulate through her head, lots of inappropriate thoughts.
'…what's happening?'
XXEthanXX
"Hello?"
'Hey, Ethan'
"Amanda?"
'Yeah'
"Oh, hey"
'Geez, you don't sound happy about that'
"Considering you fired me, I don't see why I should be happy"
'I know, and I'm sorry…I can give you your job back'
"Sorry, I already found a new job"
'Really?'
"Yeah, it's already much better than working for you"
'Where are you working now?'
"I'm working the job you wouldn't give me, but at a different location"
'What location?'
"I don't have to tell you that"
'Ethan…Chica misses you…'
"I…imagine she would…"
'Please come back, Ethan…'
"…I can't"
'Why?'
"Multiple reasons, I've got a contract, and working here is much better than there"
'Are you really willing to break her heart?'
"She's one of the reasons I got fired in the first place"
'We never really wanted to fire you, Ethan'
"What's done is done, goodbye Amanda"
*click*
Ethan sighed, leaning back on the couch.
Before he took the job as a technician, he used to work as a nightguard at a different location.
It was much smaller, and pretty gross.
Throughout the course of working there, he found out that the animatronics were sentient, and had advanced feelings like humans do.
The Chica from that location became attached to him, and he was even warming up to her.
Then, an incident occurred, one that resulted in him getting fired.
Ethan was brought out of his memories by an alarm.
'Time to go to work'
XXRoxyXX
The wolf got to her feet from the chair, she'll do it now…
"Hey…Ethan?"
"Yes?"
The wolf was hesitant about this, but she needed to find out for herself if what Chica said was true.
"Uh…d-do you-"
"Yes, Roxy, I like you. I like you more than Chica and everyone else"
How did he know!?
"H-how-"
"I don't mean for this to sound insulting, but you're easier to read than a children's picture book"
The wolf pouted.
"I had a feeling that Chica would tell you what I told her"
"Well…I-it made me happy…"
Roxy couldn't imagine the blush that was probably on her face right now.
"Oh my, does the Roxanne Wolf have feelings for me?"
"…yes…"
'D-did I really just say that!?'
"Hmh, maybe now you'll grant me that kiss?"
"You know, if you kiss me, it means you won't ever be able to play with any other girls, because you'll be mine~"
"What if I like that idea?"
"Then get over here and kiss me, jerk"
The wolf grabbed him by the front of his uniform and pulled him close, their lips touching rather firmly.
Somehow they felt warm, but still hard instead of soft.
"You're aggressive with everything, aren't you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't worry about it"
She forced her lips upon his again.
Then it broke.
"So, how far are we taking this?"
"Oh? Wanna take my clothes off already, pervert?"
"I wouldn't object to a little strip show if you're willing to take off your clothes down here, where someone might see you" he grinned and looked her up and down. "Going up to your room for a lap dance doesn't sound too bad either"
Roxy could feel her face heating up.
"W-what?"
"Im kidding"
"I hate you…"
"Oh? You're already breaking up with me?"
Her eyes widened, sputtering and blushing.
"Wh-I-y-I-"
"You're too easy to tease, you know that?"
She huffed.
"Jerk…"
"If you don't like it, why is your tail wagging?"
The wolf blushed harder, grabbing her tail and turning her head away.
XXEthanXX
'Ohhhh boy…'
This wasn't the best of scenarios, truly the opposite.
He was currently standing face to snout with Montgomery Gator, and he didn't seem like the happiest of campers…
He didn't know what to do.
Should he speak?
Should he wait for the gator to do something?
Was the gator waiting for him to do something?
Ethan cleared his throat.
"U-um…hello Monty…c-can I help you with something?"
The gator let out a puff of air from his nose.
He held up his left arm, showing off the large crack in his lower arm casing.
There were pieces missing, and his inner structure could be seen.
"Fix it" the gator spoke aggressively.
"R-right"
Ethan moved over to the terminal and opened the capsule, letting the gator enter first.
Ethan prepared the new casing and stepped over to the gator's side-
"Wait…"
Ethan froze, looking into the gator's shades.
"Y-yes?"
…
"You…aren't going to put me in maintenance mode? Or shock me?"
"No, I know you guys don't like it, and I'd like to avoid pissing off someone who could rip me apart like a stuffed toy…I'm just going to replace your casing and give you a fresh paint job"
"...paint job?"
"Yeah, your paint is chipping and scratched up pretty bad, and I don't mean for this to be an insult, you are pretty dirty"
The gator looked at himself as if just noticing how dirty he was.
"So I'll give you a fresh coat and I'll polish your shell" Ethan gently began removing the cracked casing. "Unless…you don't want me to…"
Silence passed, Ethan successfully removed the cracked casing.
"Hey…" the gator spoke out, his voice less harsh than before.
"Yes?"
"I…I'm sorry…for being aggressive…"
Ethan hid his shock at the sudden softness from the gator.
"It's ok, I understand, I heard that you've had too many bad experiences with everyone else who took this job before I did"
"...yeah…"
Ethan sealed the new casing on and tested its sturdiness, making sure it wouldn't fall off.
"They didn't understand that you guys are just like humans, you've got feelings and sentience"
Silence fell again.
"Did you want me to repaint you?"
"...yeah…"
"Ok…uh-you're uh, going to have to take off your glasses"
He grunted, but took off his sunglasses and handed them over.
Ethan put on a filtering mask, gloves, and ear protectors, then began the cleaning process, trying his best not to do anything that might somehow upset the gator now that he's gotten through partially.
The cleaning and painting process went on without a single word, Ethan was sure he wouldn't have heard anything anyway with the ear protectors.
After it finished, he took off the mask and ear protectors, setting them aside and began waiting for the paint to dry.
"You…your name is Ethan, right?"
"Yes"
…
"Thank you…"
Ethan was again surprised, but composed himself.
"No problem…I'm just glad you aren't ripping my head off, heh"
…
"Are you scared of me?"
It was Ethan's turn to pause for a moment.
"I won't lie, I was a bit nervous about meeting you, after all I've heard…"
"So…are you still afraid?"
"Well…yes, though not as much as before. You don't seem like a bad guy. If you ask me, it sounds like everything I was told about you was wrong" Ethan readied the polishing equipment.
"I…I did it to protect them…" he said. "They're my friends…and I don't like the idea of them being hurt because no one understands us…"
"Well, you won't have to worry about that as long as I'm here"
The gator said nothing in response.
"Ok, i'm going to give you a quick polish" he spoke before noticing something. "Oh, would you also like your claws sharpened? They look a bit dull"
"...yeah…"
"Alrighty" Ethan gave a smile before putting a fresh pair of sunglasses on the gator's freshly painted face.
Something the gator noticed.
"...you cleaned these too?"
"Yeah, I figured I might as well since they'd look strange on your face now that you're all clean and they weren't"
XXMontyXX
The gator hummed, then began to feel the sensation of his claws being sharpened and heard the loud whirring of the machine the human was using as well as the polishers.
Why was this human doing all of this when he didn't need to?
Was he up to something?
Or was he just…kind?
Could he be the first kind human to take this job?
Monty certainly wasn't complaining about getting a repaint and polish, he couldn't remember the last time he was freshly cleaned.
He'd finally go back to being shiny and brightly colored alongside his friends.
His claws would be sharpened too, he could play his base better now…
What was this feeling?
Was this…joy?
Contentment?
…happiness?
Whatever it was, it was nice.
After a few silent minutes, the human stood up.
"Ok, all done"
The human pressed a button, lowering down a large mirror for the gator to view himself in.
"Does everything look good?"
"...yeah"
"Great!"
Monty stepped out of the cylinder and faced the human.
"Thanks…again"
"No problem, feel free to come down if you want another polish or something"
For once, Monty left the parts and service room in a better mood than when he came in.
This human, he understood and accepted what they are, he treats them like equals instead of machines.
He doesn't have to worry about his friends being hurt or mistreated, and he could look nice again.
He won't allow anything to happen to Ethan, as long as he continues to stay the way he is.
He would also speak with Cassandra and make sure Ethan keeps his position here.
That woman was known to fire staff if they made the smallest of mistakes, and Ethan has broken several rules already.
Stupid rules, honestly…
He'll make sure she listens.
XXXX
"What are you doing here, Montgomery? You're not allowed to be in here"
"I'm here to give you a warning"
The cold woman raised a brow.
"That new technician you hired, you will not fire him for any reason"
"What do you care about a simple technician? You injured the last one and made the others quit out of fear"
"I happen to like this one, you'll listen to me if you want to stop dealing with lawsuits"
Her eyes narrowed.
"Are we clear?"
"...yes"
"Good, the rest of us are happy with him, you will regret it if you fire him"
XXXRoxanneXXX
"I'm surprised you really kissed him"
"W-what? How did you know?"
"I didn't~"
The wolf growled to herself.
"You need to stay away from him"
"But what if I get damaged?"
"He's mine, just remember that…"
"Ok, ok" she spoke with a giggle while leaving the room.
Roxy idly touched her lips while thinking about the kiss.
Her first kiss…
It felt nice, it made her feel warm inside…
She wanted to do it again…
The wolf blinked, noticing in the mirror that her tail was swaying.
That damn tail…
She had virtually no control over it, it wagged on its own most of the time.
She hated being teased, but her tail wagged anyway. Did she like being teased by him?
No!
She should be the one doing the teasing!
He should be the one blushing and hiding his face!
'I can't let him get away with it…'
Her thoughts were cut short by a green object caught in the reflection of her mirror, causing her to turn and look out of her window.
There she saw Monty, but something was different…
Monty was…clean…
He looked fresh off the assembly line…
There was only one way for that to happen…
'E-Ethan!'
XXEthanXX
Ethan let out a breath, proud of himself for managing to live through the hardest part of his job so far.
His thoughts were interrupted by the rapid clangs of what he knew now to be Roxy's feet, but was confused as to why she was running.
"Ethan!"
He turned just in time to be hug-tackled by the wolf.
"You're ok!"
"Y-ye-agh-gh-I won't be if you hug me any tighter!"
The wolf gasped and loosened her grip on him.
"I'm sorry!"
"It's ok…what's got you all worked up?"
"Y-you met Monty…"
"Oh, yeah, he was down here before"
"What happened!? Tell me!"
"Hey, calm down, ok?"
"You could have been hurt!"
"Aww, I love you too~"
"Gh-take this seriously, you idiot!"
"There's the blush I've been waiting for~"
"You-Mhh! Mh…mhhh~"
Ethan decided to calm her down with a kiss, holding it until he needed to breathe.
"I'm ok, Roxy. I showed him I'm not like the others"
"...I was scared…" the wolf wrapped her arms around him again, but this time it wasn't crushingly.
"I-I don't…I don't want to lose you…"
"Don't worry, I won't be that easy to get rid of, Roxy" he pulled away from her. "You should go back up before someone sees you here, you don't need maintenance"
"Right…"
Ethan waited until Roxy reached the doorway that led to her hall.
"Hey! On my next lunch break, I'll come up to your room for that lap dance"
He heard her huff before continuing to leave to her room.
'Seems like you're having fun here…'
Ethan sighed.
"Damn, the ghost found me"
He turned around to see a ghostly apparition only he could see not too far away, it was Golden Freddy from the place he used to work at.
'I see you've already found yourself a new lover, Chica won't be happy'
'Just get to the point of why you're here'
'Please come back'
'No'
'Why?'
'I'm under contract'
'Then get yourself fired and break it'
'Listen, I can't leave this place, not after everything I've learned in the past three days'
'So three days at this place is enough to undo months of being back there?'
'I wouldn't exactly say undone'
'She's been crying, Ethan'
'I'm-'
"Slacking off, Arron?"
Ethan blinked away his trance and locked eyes with his boss.
"Uh-it's Ethan, ma'am, and no, I've just got nothing to do at the moment…"
Why is she here?
When did she get here?
Did she find out about what he's been doing?
"Whatever, I don't know what you've been doing, but the animatronics are happier, and Montgomery even told me not to fire you, so keep it up" the woman then walked away before Ethan could say anything else.
…
"Huh…sweet"
He'd have to thank the gator in some way.
'That is your new boss?'
'Yeah, she's…serious, about her work'
'Do you really prefer her over Amanda?'
'It's not a matter of preferring my boss, as long as they pay me'
'What is it then?'
'You wouldn't understand'
'If that's the case, maybe I'll stick around until I do understand'
'Ugh, I've already got one annoyance, I don't need a ghost haunting me as well'
'I have to speak to Amanda about what you've told me, but I'll be back'
Ethan sat down on his metal folding chair, letting out a sigh.
XXChicaXX
Closing time…
For six hours she'd be free to roam the building, not that she really had anywhere to go.
The door to her room opened suddenly.
It was Vanessa, the security guard.
"Hello"
"Hey, listen. I think there might be someone sneaking around through the building, I need you to help me find them. I've already told everyone else"
"Ok, I'll get on it"
An intruder?
A burglar?
Or maybe someone who was trapped inside after midnight?
Only one way to find out.
'I think I'll hit up the kitchen while I'm at it'
Chica made her way from Rockstar Row toward the entrance area, deciding to take the long route in case this intruder was around there.
Just as she was passing through the bathroom along the hall, she heard the sound of cans falling.
She walked around and found that the paint cans stacked on the cart were knocked over.
Those couldn't have just knocked themselves over…
!
Someone is here!
Chica spun around, catching a little bit of blue rounding the corner.
There's a place she could probably cut him off from in that direction.
XXX
'Damn!'
He's fast…
Chica was currently in the entrance area, having seen the boy run around in this area.
He was by the customer service counter before, then the gift shop, then back by the service counter.
What's he doing?
That damn kid just disappeared!
He was right there by the photo booths, now he's just…poof!
Like he wasn't even there!
Chica turned when she heard a door sliding open, catching sight of the boy running into…the Daycare?
Why would he go there?
Chica shrugged.
The Daycare Attendant can deal with him, it's his job to take care of kids anyway.
'I should probably tell the others, just in case'
XXRoxyXX
There's someone sneaking around the building…
Roxy believed that it was impossible for anyone to sneak around in here…
What with all the STAFF bots and security passes needed to just cross between levels.
However Chica said she saw him enter the Daycare center, which confused her.
She shivered lightly thinking about that Daycare attendant…
There's no way a kid could escape from him.
Right…?
After a few minutes, the power in the Daycare went out entirely.
…
Maybe…
Maybe this kid is a bit more troublesome than they thought…
With the power out, they can't get in.
However the kid now has to deal with Moon.
She shivered again.
XXX
'Gh-where'd he go!?'
He was just here!
The kid somehow got the power back on, and the Daycare attendant kicked him out.
This was their chance to get him, now he's gone!
Like he just vanished into thin air!
Roxanne stepped past Freddy and began to prowl around.
Freddy went up the stairs, but Roxy paid him no mind. She continued to search the surrounding area with Chica and Monty.
Wait…
Why is Freddy leaving?
Roxy shrugged.
Higher chance for her to find the kid first.
Maybe Ethan will be proud of her for finding him first.
Roxy blushed lightly and focused back on her search.
This was no time for those thoughts…
After about ten minutes, they had no choice but to say he wasn't there anymore.
"That little brat…where did he go!?"
"Calm down, Roxy, we'll find him"
Monty simply left up the stairs, followed by Chica, followed by herself.
All they know is that the kid swiped a security pass from the daycare, which means he's probably going to the main atrium. Which means it'll be harder to find him.
Great…
XXEthanXX
"Hello?"
'Where are you?'
That was his boss, and she sounded absolutely pissed…
"Uh-I'm just outside, I-*click*
Ethan blinked, confused and fearful.
What happened?
Ethan approached the doors and was immediately confronted by Cassandra.
"You're late, but that doesn't matter right now, we have a serious issue"
"What happened?"
"I don't know yet, but Roxanne, Chica, and Montgomery are extremely damaged"
"Damaged?"
"Come on"
She quickly led him down to parts and service, there he found a sight that caused him to freeze.
Chica, Roxy, and Monty were laying on the floor surrounded by STAFF bots.
Each of them looked completely destroyed…
"W-what the hell!?"
"We're still trying to figure out how it all happened, but Chica was found in the trash dump under the building, it's assumed that she somehow ended up in the trash compactor in the kitchen under the food court. Roxanne was found in a part of the building under her racetrack having been crushed under one of the race karts, though we suspected that it wasn't her reckless driving that caused it. Finally, Montgomery was found at his golf course split into two pieces, we believe he fell from the catwalks, but we don't know why. Freddy is still unaccounted for and we're still searching for him" the woman turned to him. "You need to repair them, ask them what happened, then report to my office with what they tell you"
She gestured to the STAFF bots.
"These robots will assist you with getting them into the cylinder, just tell them what to to"
She left without another word.
Ethan was left in a state of bewilderment.
How did this happen over night?
They were completely destroyed…
He shook off his thoughts and decided to start with Chica.
"Put Chica in the cylinder"
The bots complied and placed her in.
Ethan logged a full repair procedure and got to work immediately.
'This will take a while…'
XXXXXX
'There…'
Ethan finished the final touches and manually activated Chica.
"-AAAHHH-ah?...huh?"
"Hey, you're ok"
"E-Ethan? What happened?"
"That's what I was going to ask you…"
"I…I was looking for a little boy…"
"A little boy?"
"Y-yeah…he was running around during closing time, and I was chasing him through the kitchen and…"
"What?"
"I…I smelled something really good…I got distracted and stepped into the trash compactor…then he activated it…"
"He-you mean the boy? He turned it on after you went in?"
"Y-yeah…"
She began to cry.
"I-it hurt…it hurt so much…"
"Hey, it's ok…"
A child lured Chica into the trash compactor and turned it on?
Something wasn't adding up here…
"Listen, I know-well, I don't know what it was like for you, but I need you to be serious for me, ok?"
"W-what do you mean? I was almost completely destroyed…"
"But you're ok now, and your friends aren't" he gestured through the glass at the other two causing Chica to gasp.
"I need you to go look for Freddy while I fix Roxy and Monty"
"Freddy?"
"Yeah, Freddy is still missing"
"O-ok…"
"Thank you"
Soon, Chica was gone, and Roxy was being placed in the cylinder.
XXRoxyXX
'Rhh…where'd that little brat go!?'
She almost had him, now he's just gone!
He was here before, then he was gone, now he came back.
He's running around somewhere in her racetracks, and she wouldn't stand for it.
"That brat will not make a fool out of me"
Suddenly, she heard a familiar sound, gazing down at the track and seeing a kart moving down it.
The brat was driving it!
'That little shit!'
Roxy jumped down onto the track, intending to stop the boy and drag him to Vanessa.
However, the kid didn't stop or even slow down, instead he turned hard and jumped out of the cart before it-
X
"-AAAHH-huh-Wha-"
"Hey, calm down…"
"E-Ethan?"
"You're ok now, calm down"
"...I…what happened to me?"
"You got damaged, badly…"
"Rrrh! That little brat!"
"Roxy-"
"He ran me over!"
"...what?"
"He hit me with a whole kart! It hit me right in the face!"
Ethan blinked multiple times.
"Ok, listen, I need you to calm down"
"No! I'm gonna find that kid and-Mh!? Mh…mhhh~"
'He's kissing me!'
The kiss lasted for a few seconds.
"You know what you're gonna do, Roxy?" He whispered in her ear. "You're gonna be a good girl for me, ok?"
"Y-yeah…"
"Good, now please go look for Freddy, he's missing"
Freddy is missing?
Did that little bastard do something to him?
XXMontyXX
What is this kid up to?
Against his entire assumption, the kid was running around in his golf course.
Why?
There's nothing here of interest…
As much as it hurt him somewhere in his core, kids rarely came down here.
Most children don't think of golf as something more fun than laser tag or race kart driving, even running around in a maze is usually more entertaining for them.
It's mostly the parents that come down to his golf course while the children were elsewhere, except for the kids that get dragged down here by said parents.
Once they do come down and see all the decorations and other things, they have a blast.
It's really why they added the ball blasters and splash bucket above, as an extra attraction for the kids.
However, the boy here now had stolen one of the confiscated cameras in the security office, then left again.
Now he's back, running around the catwalks with the ball blasters.
What's he trying to do?
Monty blinked and turned to the sound of a familiar buzzer, one that sounded when the splash bucket was full.
He looked back just in time to see the boy pressing a-wait!
Monty reacted just in time to catch the edge of the bucket as balls spilled out around him.
*crrrrk*
…
Not good…
*CRACK*
XXXX
-falling!
Huh?
Monty blinked rapidly as his eyes flicked around.
"Hey! You're ok"
Ethan…
Monty relaxed.
He's in the maintenance room, Ethan is here…
Which means he did fall…
"Monty?"
"That…that kid…he dropped the splash bucket on me…"
For the very first time in his life, he was…scared…
It wasn't the first time it had happened, but those were all accidents that were mostly his own fault.
But…this kid did it deliberately…
"It's ok, I fixed you, and your glasses"
Monty looked over to find the human holding his sunglasses.
"...thank you, Ethan…"
"Not a problem, but listen, and please try to stay calm"
The human sounded nervous, like he was afraid to say what he was going to say.
It hurt him deep inside to see the fear in the human's eyes…
"I…I won't hurt you, Ethan…please don't be afraid of me…"
"I trust you Monty, I'm just afraid you might get angry"
Trust…
"I won't…I promise"
That is something he needed to keep with the human.
Trust…
"Ok, the kid, whoever he is, he also hurt Roxy and Chica-"
*creeak*
Monty blinked as he realized he just warped the metal of the chair out of subconscious anger, the thought of his friends being hurt, damaged…
"I-I'm sorry-huh?"
Monty was shocked deeply when he felt the human place his hand on his arm, the one warping the metal.
"I understand, I'm upset too, but I fixed them, they're ok now"
His grip eased.
They're ok, they're fixed…
Calm down…
"Freddy is still missing, and we need everyone we can get to help search for him"
Freddy…
The child must have done something to him as well.
"I will help"
"Good"
Monty stood up and began to walk away with thoughts swarming his mind.
Ethan is the first human to truly care about them and actively see them as more than machines made to do a job, he's the first human to be kind to him…the first to ever treat him like he isn't a rageful monster.
He'd only put on that act to keep his friends safe, but now he didn't need to…
He needed to make sure Ethan stays safe and feels safe working here with them.
Humans can't be put back together like they can…
Once a human gets broken, once they…die…they can never come back…
Though he was sure that Ethan wouldn't be comfortable with Monty being around him all the time, he would just need to be vigilant.
That comes later, right now they need to find Freddy.
XXEthanXX
That kid…
He somehow did all of this in one night.
A child.
Why?
How?
Freddy is still missing, that would suggest that this child has also done something to Freddy…
"Allan, we've located Freddy"
Ethan resisted a sigh, turning to face his boss.
"I repaired the others, they all confirmed what you thought happened. Monty said something about a splash bucket"
"I see…"
"Where is Freddy?"
"He's somewhere deep under the building, in a place where a restaurant had been previously before this building was constructed, all other information regarding that place is confidential, so don't ask about it"
"How did he get down there?"
"We aren't sure yet, but we are attempting to have a team of STAFF bots retrieve him"
"What about the child?"
"Still missing, we haven't found a trace of the child. But we know he's still in the building, several security passes have been stolen from the security offices, Vanessa says one was taken recently, so he's still here"
Vanessa…
He hasn't met her yet.
"May I speak to Vanessa?"
"She is very busy searching for the child, your job is to fix the animatronics, just wait here until Freddy is brought in"
"Yes ma'am…"
The woman left without another word.
Too many questions were left unanswered…
Apparently there used to be a restaurant here, it's still here, deep underground.
Somehow, that kid managed to get down there, somehow he brought Freddy with him…and somehow, he made it back up here…
Several seconds of silence passed, before it was broken.
"You fixed them…"
Ethan turned around to find a young boy with brown hair and a blue T Shirt, he was holding a golden ray gun of some sort.
That must be a 'Faz-Blaster'
This also must be the boy responsible for destroying the animatronics…
A laser blaster emits a light bright enough to make a human blind, it can also cause the animatronics to glitch out.
Ethan slowly picked up a spare pair of Monty's glasses, hiding them behind his back.
"So, you're the one they're looking for, huh?"
"Maybe…"
"Look, kid, I don't know what your problem is, but it's not cool to do what you've been doing"
"They were chasing me!"
"So you destroyed them?"
"It was the only way to stop them" the boy tapped on a wristwatch that beeped, which prompted a set of loud footsteps.
After a second, Freddy entered the room from the doors at the back, the Freddy that was supposed to be under the building…
"Gregory?"
"Freddy?"
"Oh…h-hello Ethan"
"Freddy, what's going on?"
The bear was noticeably different from last time he saw him.
His voice was warped, his eyes were the same color as Roxy's, and he had Monty's hands.
Ethan had noticed something when he was repairing the animatronics.
Chica's voice box was missing, Roxy's eyes were missing, and Monty's hands were missing…
"I am sorry, Ethan"
There was something he had to do, he needed to stop them.
He quickly placed Monty's glasses on, then tossed a wrench as hard as he could at the security bot closest to him, which damaged the bot and caused it to start sounding an alarm and calling more bots to its location. It would stir up enough of a commotion for the others to notice.
Ethan then closed himself in the cylinder, watching as Freddy's chest cavity opened, allowing the boy to climb inside, then they left through the doors.
A minute passed before a veritable swarm of security bots entered the room along with a blond haired woman wearing a security guard uniform, who he assumed was Vanessa.
She was matted with sweat and breathing heavily, she must have run down here quickly.
Ethan stepped out of the cylinder.
"What happened?" The woman questioned.
"The boy you were looking for was here, and Freddy was with him"
"Wh-Freddy? Why?"
"I don't know, but it seems that Freddy is helping the kid"
"Damn it…where did they go?"
"That way"
Vanessa commanded the swarm of bots to give chase, then looked down at the bot he destroyed.
"Wanna explain that?"
"I had to get you down here somehow, that seemed like the most effective way"
"Right…no big deal, there's thousands of these things…" the woman sighed and plopped down into a metal chair.
"Tired?" Ethan decided now was his best chance to speak to her.
"Exhausted…I was running around all night looking for that kid, then the animatronics started getting destroyed one by one-that kid is crazy…"
"Just you here at night, huh?"
"Yeah…"
"Sounds rough"
"It is..but, I'm glad to be talking to another person that isn't our boss…I rarely get to interact with anyone that isn't a robot"
"Well, you can take a break here, I won't tell anyone. I've broken lots of rules already"
"That's a ballsy thing to say to a security guard"
"Are you going to report me for trying to keep the sentient robots from hating me?"
"Honestly, I don't care if you break any of the stupid rules, as long as you're not doing anything stupid or breaking shit"
"My job is to fix shit, robots specifically"
"Then I think everything is fine"
"Does seducing Roxy count as something stupid?"
"Is that why she's been acting a little strange?"
"Yup, that'd be my doing"
"You could get fired, you know"
"I don't know, Monty vouched for me"
"Wait, Monty doesn't hate you?"
"Nope, he even told our boss not to fire me"
"Damn…you're one lucky bastard…"
"One could say that"
"Anyway, we're in a bit of trouble if that kid somehow got Freddy on his side, it won't be easy dealing with him"
"That kid took parts from the other three animatronics and put them on Freddy. He took Chica's voice box; which causes robots to malfunction when singing, Roxy's eyes; which allows her to see through walls, and Monty's claws, I shouldn't have to explain what they can do"
"Ugh…this just keeps getting worse…"
"Hmh…I guess I could force a remote shutdown…"
"Can you!?"
"Yeah, but I don't want to risk doing it when the kid is still inside of him"
"Inside of him?"
"The kids been hiding inside of Freddy's chest cavity"
"Damn it! I had a feeling something was up…"
"If I force a remote shutdown, and Freddy is moving while it happens, the kid could get seriously injured or even killed"
"We can't have that happening…"
"If you can find them and get the kid out of Freddy, find a way to contact me and I'll shut him down"
"I'm not sure it'll be that easy…"
"Freddy has to recharge eventually, the kid can't be inside of him when that's happening. Considering Freddy's top concern is guest safety and the well-being of children, he'll do whatever he can to protect the kid, which means he won't risk anything happening during a recharge"
The woman blinked.
"You know…I never realized the benefits of having someone who actually knows them inside and out"
"I'd love to help you more, but our boss says I'm not allowed to leave this room. I'm sure you can take care of it, you seem capable enough"
"Sure…do…you mind if I come down here…e-every once in a while? I-it's nice to talk to another person"
"Sure, I don't mind the company of a cute girl"
"W-Wha-"
"Are you flirting with another girl, Ethan?"
It's Roxy…
"No, are you spying on me, Roxy?"
"I just came down here"
"Well I'm only into sexy robots, so there's no need to worry"
Roxy blushed, Vanessa got up and walked out of the room with a quick 'thanks'
"Idiot…you're not supposed to say stuff like that in front of people…"
"Don't worry, Vanessa and I are cool, it's a human thing-you wouldn't understand"
The wolf crossed her arms.
"Aww, I think someone needs a kiss to remind her I still love her"
He closed in on her before she could do anything and kissed her.
"Listen, Freddy is helping that kid"
"Tch…that's not surprising, really. His number one concern is the safety of guests and kids in general"
"You probably didn't realize it, but he stole your eyes"
"What?"
"I had to replace them, but he stole your original pair and gave them to Freddy"
It took her a minute to realize what that meant.
"He'll see us coming…"
"He also took Chica's voice box, so he can temporarily stun you enough for them to get away, not to mention the Faz-Blaster he has"
"That…is a big problem"
"Yeah, which is why you need to tell the others, you're the fastest out of all of them, you can do it" he quickly grabbed two extra pairs of Monty's glasses and gave them to her. "Take these, one for you and Chica. I'm sure Monty will understand if you explain the problem"
"Right…"
The wolf quickly left, once again leaving Ethan to-
"Aiden, I need you to assist Vanessa in disabling Freddy"
'Will she ever get my name right?'
"Yes ma'am, however I'm concerned that the child may get hurt"
"He's damaged too much of my property already, I'll take care of any legal repercussions, just disable Freddy when Vanessa contacts you with this" she handed him a watch, the same one the kid was wearing. "It will beep when Vanessa has successfully located Freddy"
"Right…"
"Also, don't flirt with Vanessa, she's very busy" she left just as she finished speaking.
Well, she didn't say anything about the robots…
XXXX
A few hours passed, he was sure Cassandra closed the place for today to get this whole thing sorted.
The animatronics would be on stage right about now otherwise.
Ethan sighed as he relaxed, slowly becoming concerned about-
*beepbeep*
Ethan quickly scrambled over to the terminal and began to initiate the remote shutdown sequence, hitting a few more walls than he'd have liked before finally completing the sequence.
Silence reigned for a few minutes.
The terminal buzzed suddenly, and he saw an error in the process.
Something was preventing the shutdown.
Freddy is fighting back.
Ethan cracked his knuckles and doubled down on his admittedly lackluster hacking skills, following all the errors to their roots and fixing them.
More just kept popping up, like a procrastinator coming up with more and more excuses to put something off.
Eventually, the errors stopped, and the process was fully completed.
Freddy should be offline now, he imagined the bear freezing up and tipping over like a falling tower.
Another beep brought his attention back to the terminal.
"Wait…what?"
A manual booting sequence was being run.
"No you don't!"
He had to override it quickly before Freddy got back online.
A manual boot shouldn't be happening, unless it was the kid's doing.
That would imply that the kid is hacking into Freddy's secure system somehow, which should be virtually impossible even for the most skilled of hackers.
The animatronics systems are more secure than every bank vault in the world combined, or so he was informed by the informational packets he was provided with.
Someone would need to use a computing device already connected to the system to even begin to try and hack in.
Ethan thought.
The watch?
Sure it's a pretty advanced watch, but it shouldn't be enough to hack into Freddy.
Ethan shook off his daze and continued to fight against the booting sequence, halting it, but unable to stop it entirely.
Several more attempts were made, Ethan just barely was able to stop them.
He let out a relieved sigh when Freddy's main, backup, and emergency backup safe mode systems all went offline.
Now, he waits.
Only ten minutes passed before the doors opened and a small swarm of STAFF bots entered, a few carrying Freddy, while the rest spread out around the room. Vanessa also entered the room with a smile on her face.
"Thanks a lot for your help, I seriously doubt we could have stopped him…"
"It wasn't easy, Freddy almost managed to deny my shutdown, and some outside force was attempting to reboot him"
"Tch, yeah. It was the kid-God knows how he was doing it…"
"The others?"
"They're fine, Monty took a bit of damage from his own claws that Freddy had. He insisted on Freddy being put back to normal first before you fix him"
"Right, I'll get right on that"
Ethan walked over and logged a full repair procedure, almost being spooked by Vanessa, who was hovering over his shoulder.
"Uh…"
"Oh! Sorry, I-I'm just…curious…I-is it ok if I watch you work?"
"Uh-sure, just know you can't leave the cylinder until after I finish the procedure"
"Ok"
Ethan and Vanessa both entered the cylinder.
"Please try not to touch anything-I'm serious, any wrong move could cause both of us serious injury"
"You sound calm about that"
"I'm a professional, I'm confident enough in my own skills"
Ethan grabbed the tools and began to work, then hid a grin.
"Whoops…"
"W-what!?"
"Just kidding"
"Tch…jerk…"
The whole thing went smoothly, Vanessa periodically asked questions about what he was doing, and he answered as best he could under the assumption that she wasn't familiar with them at all.
"Ok, Freddy, wanna explain yourself?" The woman questioned once the bear was back online.
"I…I was just trying to help the child find a way out-"
"Well, were you aware that the child you were helping was destroying your friends?"
"T-they were accidents-"
"Is that what Gregory told you?" Ethan jumped in.
"Yes…"
"Well I can assure you that the damage done to them was not accidental"
The bear looked more and more ashamed.
"I am sorry…"
"It's not us you should be apologizing to"
"Right…I will explain everything to Cassandra, and I will apologize properly to my friends…"
"I will be escorting you"
"Yes, officer Vanessa…"
Ethan waved to the blond woman as she left with the bear, then turned around and found Monty stepping into the room.
He was covered in scratches, but he was sure he was feeling more emotional pain than physical.
Monty had to hurt his friend in order to stop him, and Ethan was sure the gator was affected by it.
Ethan stepped in front of him.
"Hey, you did what needed to be done, Monty. Freddy doesn't blame you or hate you for what you did"
"I still hurt him…"
"It looks like he hurt you more…"
"He wasn't himself"
"Listen-" Ethan put a hand on the gator's shoulder, which probably looked funny considering the gator was considerably taller. "-if anyone is to blame, it's that kid, but he's gone now. I'm sure we can all put this whole thing behind us and everything will be ok"
"I can not just forget something like this…"
"That's good, because simply forgetting would mean you don't care, keeping something in your mind means you care deeply. Just don't bring it up"
"I meant that literally…"
"Uh-right…well I can wipe the memory from your mind if you want"
"No…you were right"
"Good, let me fix you up and you can go talk to everyone"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XRoxyX
"I told you before, I can't come back"
…
Who's he talking to?
Roxy had come to visit Ethan, only to find him talking to himself it seemed.
"For the last time; I'm under contract, and I can't just break it"
He sounds very upset…
"I can't exactly stop you from sticking around, but it won't change anything. I don't care what Amanda does or says"
Amanda?
"What about her?"
…
"That's…Mh…yes, I still care for Chica"
What?
"I can't simply forget about her…"
Why is he talking about Chica?
"Tch-you don't have to remind me about that, she's kissed me more than once-"
What!?
Chica kissed him!?
Why!?
When!?
It happened more than once!?
Ethan didn't sound happy about it, so maybe it was like that time that she made him lick sauce off of her…
That still made her mad…
'She's going to get it…'
Roxy silently went back to her elevator and rode it back up.
XXEthanXX
'Aside from that, I believe you are in danger'
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
"Why do you think that?"
'I feel some sort of malicious presence within the building, it almost feels…familiar…I just can't place it…'
"Trying to scare me away?"
'No, Ethan, I genuinely believe you are in danger if you continue to stay here'
"I'm sure I can handle myself"
'Do not say I didn't warn you…'
The bear faded away.
XXXXX
"So you used to work at a restaurant?"
"Well, it wasn't a real restaurant, it was a place that served food, had robotic entertainment, arcade games, the works, you know?"
"Yeah, and it was owned by this company?"
"Yeah, it wasn't bad, but let's just say this place is a lot better"
"So you quit just to work here?"
"Well-no, I got fired, then found out this job was open"
"Oh…what did you get fired for?"
"Heh…I got caught making out with one of the robots on camera a few too many times"
The woman giggled.
"And you're not afraid it'll happen here too?"
"There aren't any cameras in this room, plus Roxy has only kissed me once so far" he chuckled a bit. "And I've got Monty backing me up"
"I still can't believe you got him on your side…"
"I wouldn't say it like that, I just showed him I'm not like the other dickheads that took this job"
"Well you are a lot different then they were, you're a nice guy, handsome too~"
"Hmh, sorry, I'm not allowed to flirt with you"
"Oh yeah, Mr rule breaker?"
"Cassandra herself told me not to, apparently you're a very busy woman"
"If you consider staring at screens all day and night to be busy, sure, I guess"
"Is that really all you do here?"
"It's really all I need to do here, what with all the robots rolling around. At most I'd need to go investigate an area if any of the robots send a report of suspicious activity or rule breaking, you know, like when you threw that wrench at one"
"Hey, it seemed like the best option at the time, didn't want the kid to get too far away before I could even tell you he was down here"
"That Damn kid…"
"I know kids can be strange, but seriously, he had a serious problem"
"I know, he was so off the handle that the Daycare Attendant banned him from the Daycare"
"I don't think I've met the Daycare Attendant yet…"
"Well be glad…they're really creepy"
"They?"
"Oh, apparently the Daycare Attendant is actually two animatronics in one"
"Huh…now that I think about it, I never received an information packet for them"
"I don't think you'll need to worry about them, the kids are too scared of them to get rowdy"
"That's…good yet bad at the same time…"
"Yup"
…
"Right-"
Suddenly, the tablet Vanessa had with her beeped, so she picked it up.
"Something wrong?"
"Yeah, it's…huh?"
"...what?"
"There's a disturbance in Rockstar Row, in Chica's Greenroom to be precise"
Chica's room?
"What kind of disturbance?"
"I don't know…it might be nothing…"
"Do you get false alarms often?"
"Actually no, despite the STAFF bots being simple, they don't malfunction very often. Though sometimes they might report a discarded napkin as a disturbance" she rolled her eyes. "They don't get specific with things unless it's like…a fire-or an intruder, or something like that"
She sighed.
"I guess I should go check it out…don't wanna take the chance that something might actually be wrong…" she got up and walked toward the four hallways and entered the one that leads to Chica's elevator.
What kind of disturbance could be caused near or in Chica's room?
Did she have some sort of accident?
He hoped that this wasn't a ploy to corner him again…
Ethan decided to forget about it for now.
His mind focused on Vanessa.
She's one of the very few humans working in this place, the only others being himself and Cassandra.
She works here day and night, which confused him at first.
Does she get to go home?
She'd mentioned that she simply just picked a secluded security office and turned it into a makeshift 'apartment' for herself.
Ethan briefly considered doing something similar, but didn't want to risk it.
The only reason Cassandra had approved Vanessa's plan was because of her working day and night and that the place she'd chosen was out of the way entirely of customers.
Vanessa hadn't told him where it was, for obvious reasons.
He couldn't imagine Cassandra would allow him to start living here, though he believed there was a small chance he could convince her if he'd simply explained that a situation like before could be avoided if he was always here and could also avoid arriving late.
Yeah…
That could work.
He'd just need to somehow run it by her…somehow…
A few minutes passed, Vanessa had yet to return, which caused him some amount of concern.
Vanessa had brought a bag with her, he didn't think she'd want to leave it down here…
Maybe something did happen?
Unfortunately he couldn't go find out for himself, so-
"Ethan!"
Ethan jumped up out of his seat at the call of his name, he looked around to find a few STAFF bots entering the room, they were carrying Chica with them.
His eyes widened once he saw the state she was in.
It wasn't as bad as before, but still pretty bad.
She had scratches all over her upper body and a few chunks of her shell were taken out.
She was twitching and shuddering, making it hard for the STAFF to carry her.
Ethan quickly got to the terminal and forced a remote shutdown.
Once it took effect, she was placed in the cylinder.
"What happened!?"
"I don't know! When I got up there Roxy was going crazy and attacking her!"
"What?"
Roxy attacked Chica?
"The STAFF managed to subdue her, but she was going ballistic…"
"That…doesn't sound like Roxy…"
"I saw it with my own eyes, your girlfriend went insane"
"Where is she?"
"She wasn't damaged, so she's under lockdown in her Greenroom"
Ethan-
"Aiden" Cassandra entered the room with more hostility in her tone than the usual coldness. "I know you have been having some sort of involvement with Roxanne, I want an explanation right now"
"Ma'am-"
"Do not get involved, Vanessa, you need to make sure Roxanne stays in her room"
"Nh…yes, ma'am…"
Vanessa left the room with the STAFF in tow, leaving Ethan alone with his boss.
"Talk, now"
"I swear I don't know anything about what Roxy did before now, I-"
"Will be getting sued if I find out you've tampered with her"
"You ain't doin nothin"
Ethan grew stiffer at the sudden presence of Monty, who walked over and gently placed Roxy on the floor, who was motionless, before stepping up to the woman and standing over her.
"Why are you here, Montgomery?"
"I'm here makin sure my friends are ok"
"Chica and Roxanne will be-"
"I ain't only talkin about them"
A moment of silence passed, Ethan shortly realized the meaning behind Monty's words.
He basically just said that he considered Ethan a friend, just like the other three…
"I know Ethan didn't do anything to Roxy…and I know he'll find out what really happened and fix her"
More silence passed.
…
…
…
"You will fix them and give a report to Vanessa"
"Y-yes ma'am"
The woman walked away, leaving Ethan with Monty and the unconscious girls.
"...hey-"
"I won't let her fire you…" the gator spoke, Ethan idly noted the sudden absence of his accent.
"I'm more worried about you"
The gator looked at him with a raised brow.
"Aren't you afraid she's going to have you replaced or something?"
"Heh, it won't be so easy" he turned and began to leave. "Just focus on them"
"Right…thanks"
Ethan waited until the gator was gone, then turned his attention to Chica and Roxy.
"Alright…"
XXXXX
Chica's eyes flicked open, glancing around.
"Ethan?"
"Hey"
"...R-Roxy-"
"I know, just tell me what happened"
"...she came to my room really angry about something, saying something about me kissing you…"
Kissing?
"Then she attacked me when I told her I had no idea what she was talking about…"
Ethan thought deeply for a moment, before he realized what had happened.
Roxy overheard his conversation with Goldie, he must have been speaking out loud.
"Damn it…I'm sorry, it's my fault she attacked you"
"What…?"
"I'll talk to her, just go back to your room"
"Ok…"
Ethan sighed heavily after she was gone, looking down at Roxy and using the terminal to activate her.
"...huh?" The wolf looked around, noticing she was on the floor. "W-where-"
"Good morning, princess"
"Gh-Ethan?" She quickly got to her feet. "W-why am I-"
"You overheard me talking, didn't you"
"Huh?"
"You heard me talking about my previous job, and the previous version of Chica I used to be dating"
She was silent.
"Roxy…you hurt Chica"
"I-I-"
"I still love you, Roxy, but you gotta tone down the possessive jealousy"
She blushed.
"Don't go all Yandere on me"
"...what?"
"I'm really disappointed in you"
"I'm sorry…"
"That won't do, I'm afraid you'll have to take your clothes off if you want to be forgiven"
Her eyes went wide, her blush darkening.
After a second, she slowly reached up.
Ethan was surprised that she was really going to do it, and began to laugh, confusing the wolf.
"I'm not serious, Roxy"
"Gh-y-you jerk!"
"Heh, wow, is it really that easy to get you naked?"
"S-shut up!"
"Anyway, you need to go apologize to Chica"
"Right…"
XXXX
"-and that's what happened"
"Wow…"
"Yeah"
"Did she really almost strip right here?"
"Yup"
The woman began to laugh.
"That's hilarious"
"That's my girlfriend, possessively jealous and oh so gullible" he chuckled.
"Well, I'll have to make a report to Cassandra"
"Good luck with that"
"Heh…yeah…thanks"
Ethan watched the woman leave, relaxing back in his seat.
That was until he heard a female's giggle, however it sounded warped in some way…
He blinked, then turned to find a peculiar sight.
At the far end of the room, standing just in front of the doors that lead to the stage elevator, stood a white rabbit.
It held a feminine body shape, and seemed to be patched together, the rabbit's face was set in an eternal smile with red eyes.
She was waving at him with one hand while holding a large kitchen knife in the other.
That can't be good…
He glanced around and noticed that none of the STAFF bots that had been brought along by Vanessa and left here were reacting to the bunny's presence.
Something felt off about her…it felt…strange…
Was this the 'malicious presence' he had been warned about?
The bunny slowly raised her knife and began to slowly stalk toward him.
Ethan stepped over to one of the toolboxes and looked inside, finding several unhelpful items except for one…
Ethan grabbed the handle of a large screwdriver, holding it in a reverse grip and turning back toward the bunny.
"I hope you're ready to have fun, you're in for a world of trouble if I win"
XZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZXZX
WHOOOOOO-
Damn, this is my longest chapter ever!
Here's the thing about this story; I don't know what I'm doing with it…
I spent a very long time just putting this whole thing together piece by piece.
It's something I worked on bit by bit over a period of…well a long time.
I suppose I'm putting this here as a 'Here's a thing I've made! Let's see what people think about it'
Which, I suppose, is kind of how lots of other people on this planet show off things.
I guess if enough people like the idea of this story and want to see more, I could continue it.
Actually, as I'm writing this note I had an idea; why not just make a fic where each chapter is an idea I've had and people give me their feedback.
However, I know that by doing that, I'm neglecting my current stories and letting down the people that actually took the time to read them and like them.
It's one of my biggest problems as a writer, I can't seem to stick to any one thing.
When I do manage to commit to something, I hit a small block and suddenly I'm off doing other things in the name of 'I'm sure I'll figure out something while I'm working on other things' and next thing I know, I've got a pile of unfinished projects and I've buried myself under it.
So, now that this project is started, I'll put as much focus as I can into some stories that I haven't worked on in a while, such as; Loving A Toy, Salvager's Heart, and They Are Alive.
So keep any eye out for updates to those if it's one of the ones you enjoyed.
As always, have a lovely day/evening/night!