The time passed slowly locked in the back room. I sat alone on my stage and listened to the other three in the main room, singing their cutesy little birthday songs. For such a young sounding girl, Chica sang with a beautiful voice. I laid on my back, eyes closed and listening to their songs. I didn't have a clock for reference, so I could only guess how long I'd been sitting here.

Half the room plunged into darkness as I flipped my eye patch up and down. I'd only recently realized that I could move it without touching it, as well as several other inconsequential discoveries.

The curtain of the cove drew open. As quietly as I could on the wooden stage I rolled on to my front , careful not to give myself away. A small endoskeleton sat in one of the farthest chairs.

Looking at the little hunk of metal, I felt angry. I don't know why, but in rose to my full height. A voice in my ear whispered the rules: All endoskeletons must be inside a suit at all times. I willingly obeyed, though something in this scenario felt . . . wrong. I stepped down off the stage. My long strides were across the room in a second. I reached out my hand, and grabbed the endoskeleton by the neck. The metal creäture began to squirm. I recoiled in surprise, dropping the metal skeleton. I blinked, and the metal figure was gone. In its place, a young, dark-haired child lay sprawled across the floor. My body froze in place.

The child let loose a shriek and scuttled away on all fours. My mind couldn't process the events taking place before me. Taking advantage of my paralysis, the child sprinted through the curtain, and out of the Cove.

Suddenly as it had come, the urge was gone. I dropped to my knees. My shoulders heaved, as if trying to catch my breath, though I had no need of it. Steeling myself, I climbed to my feet. I picked a metal object up off the ground. Gripping the dropped object in my hand, I studied it. As I researched the small flip phone, images of a large, blocky model flashed in my head. I headed toward the front of the room. I left the phone outside and closed the curtain.

I hopped up on the stage just in the nick of time. Light flooded into the room as the curtains pulled open. The boy had returned, along with an older man dressed in a janitors uniform. An employee, no doubt. I steeled myself as my optics began to glitch again. The voice returned, but I was ready, and fought against its influence.

"He was right here." The boy pointed to his seat. "I swear. He tried to kill me."

The janitor sighed. "Listen here, boy. Old Foxy here's been shut down for years. There's no possible way he could've attacked you. Besides," the old man crouched down and took the cellphone, "You aren't supposed to be back here anyway, the Pirates Cove's closed." Handing the child his phone, the employee ushered him out of the room.

Once the light vanished, I poked my head up from my hiding spot behind the stage. The small crevice between the stage and the wall, just large enough for me to cram into. I crawled out of the niche, but stepped into a flashlight beam. My body went numb.

"Foxy?" I turned slowly. The janitor stood in the center aisle, flashlight in hand. I couldn't see his face. "You know you nearly gave that child a heart attack." I remained still. If I revealed myself, I ran the risk of being shut down.

"Foxy, quit being coy. It's me, Jeremy."

"You . . . You know me?" I stuttered. I unlocked my stance, stepping toward the old man.

"Of course I remember you." His smile faded. "But it's clear you don't remember me. They must've knocked you head harder than I thought."

"I'm sorry, I don't remember." I explained.

"Yeah. I figured as much. You didn't attack me this time, though, so I suppose that's a start."

"I attacked you, too?"

The senior chuckled, taking a seat where the boy had been before. "Yeah, darn near tore my head off. You really don't remember anything?"

I shook my head.

"You might want to have someone fill you in, then." He said.

"What happened? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"My memories have faded over the years. You want the most accurate description, ask him." Jeremy shined his flashlight to my right. I turned to find the white and purple face of the Masked man from the previous night."

"You're memories may have gone, but your wits are as sharp as ever." The masked man said, striking past me."

"Why didn't you tell him what happened?" Jeremy pointed to me.

"Because that isn't him. A new tenant lives on that vacant lot now."

"You mean you got it to work?" Jeremy asked incredulously. "Impressive."

"It took a few tries, but I think I finally got it right."

"And the other three?" Jeremy motioned to the curtain at the front of the room.

"Yeah, them too." The Puppet dropped off the stage and leaned back against it, arms crossed.

"You'd never guess. They're good at their job." The Puppet nodded. "Even Foxy here's improved."

The Puppet turned to me. "If he were good, he wouldn't have gotten caught by a kid." I stepped back, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment.

Jeremy wave him off. "Give the guy a break. He's new to the gig, and has a damaged CPU to boot."

"I know," the Puppet sighed. "But if someone besides you'd caught him, he'd be scrap."

Jeremy fell silent for a while. I stood awkwardly in the center of the stage. The Puppet remained stoic as well. Finally, Jeremy stood to leave. "I'd better get back before I'm missed." He raised his cap to me and the Puppet. "Before I go, however, if have some news."

"Good or bad." I spoke up.

Jeremy thought for a second. "Couldn't say."

"What is it?" The Puppet pushed himself back to his feet.

"There's a new night guard. Or rather, they found one. The manager plans to have him start tomorrow."

"Son of a . . . Alright, we've still got one night, I'll have to teach them what to do."

"I hope you teach them well. Good bye, Foxy, and good luck." The janitor vanished through the curtain.

I stood for a moment, staring at the Puppet. "What does that mean?" He sighed through his mask.

"It means we've got work to do tonight."