Joel had been working the night shift for weeks. Now he got what it was like for those other guys. To his credit though, those night guards usually only lasted a few days. He had gotten used to the flow of things; when to check the cameras and when to check the lights. He knew the animatronics better than other guards, how certain animatronics moved and how quickly.

The thing was though, even if Joel had to admit that he was a patsy and a suck up to Faz, he wasn't stupid. He came early to the store one day.

"Uh, Mr. Faz? I was wondering if I could get a transfer back to the day shift."

Faz smirked as if it was joke.

"You kidding me, kid? You're doing just fine. You don't whine and you don't just disappear on me." He gave Joel a sideways look. "That's not going to change, is it?"

"No, no sir! At least, I hope not."

"Well that's settled than, isn't it?" Faz went back to reading the paper.

"Mr. Faz, it's just that I prefer the day shift."

"Can't understand that." Faz said without looking up from his paper.

"Well sir…I just feel a bit nervous about the animatronics when they're in free-roaming mode…"

"And there you go!" Faz pointed at Joel. "I've got another whiner here. And to think, after a few weeks, I would have thought you had more stones than that."

Faz wasn't going to listen to anything about the animatronics. For once, Joel had to try a different tact.

"Sir, the job has been…a bit rough. You see, I've been getting some other offers."

Faz dropped the paper and stared at Joel.

"It's just if I can't the right hours, it might be a good…"

Faz groaned out loud.

"Fine! You want the day shift, you can have it." He glared at Joel. "But you're staying there one more week until I can get a replacement, and you're going to be the one to train him." He got back to the paper. "Don't expect to get any more favors from me."

Joel sighed in relief. "Thank you sir, I really appreci…"

"Now get the hell out of my office!"

…

In hindsight, Joel realized that he should have asked to stick around the store a bit longer to use the phone to record his message for his replacement. Now, he would need to do it on his own time, with his own power. This meant more time spent away from the monitor and keeping an eye on the door. It was Monday though, so at least it would be easier. Joel kept his eye on the animatronics in the Show Stage for a few minutes to satisfy himself that he could catch them if they started moving out before he started.

"Hello? Hello, hello? Uhhh…I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night. Umm…I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now as a matter of fact so…I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you: there's nothing to worry about…uh…you'll do fine! So, let's just focus on getting you through your first week, ok?"

Joel read through the introductory greeting, gave instructions on watching the animatronics; ("Yeah…they don't tell you these things when you sign up…"), and made sure his replacement knew to check his cameras and only use the doors if completely necessary. As soon as the message was done, Joel went back to the cameras. Bonnie was already in the West Hall. Joel couldn't let the animatronics get so close so soon again.

…

It had been a long time since they had gotten the Purple Man. He was smarter and quicker now. Bonnie and Chica went out first when they could sense the Purple Man's attention taken off of them. Freddy hanged back, waiting for the Purple Man to run out of power. It had happened before, so Freddy knew he didn't need to rush. Foxy didn't like to leave this early in the week either. He didn't like it when the Purple Man was watching, so it was harder for him to get out of his cove. Freddy sometimes doubted whether Foxy should even be here, but despite everything he had said, Freddy knew Foxy wanted to kill the Purple Man just as much as anyone else. Maybe it was more because he was afraid of the Purple Man rather than wanting to make him pay for what he had done, but it didn't really matter to Freddy. Foxy had killed the Purple Man before too.

Killed him before. How many times did they have to do this? The problem had occurred to Freddy before, but he ignored it. He knew that if they could kill the Purple Man, if they could kill him once and for all, things would be better. He wasn't sure how he knew that, or why it would be better, he just knew it. Sometimes, Freddy thought he could remember the answers to these questions when he looked at the drawings on the walls. Sometimes, they'd change into pictures of crying children. Freddy knew that the pictures were telling him about what the Purple Man had done, and why they needed to kill him.

…

"Uh, hello! Hello? Uh…well if you're hearing this, then you made it to day two…uh…congrats!"

Joel had been so focused on Monday night that he realized he had forgotten a few important points to let the replacement know about; making sure to use the door lights and keeping an eye on Foxy, who would move if the night guard got too focused on watching the Show Stage or didn't check the cameras enough. Once his shift ended, Joel went over everything he thought the new guard would need to know, and felt comfortable with the information he had given to him. The next phone calls would just be trying to encourage the guy to keep going.

On the third night though, Joel thought of one more thing to tell the new guy.

"…Uh, h-hey listen, I had an idea: If you happen to get caught and want to avoid getting stuffed into a Freddy suit, uhh, try playing dead! Ya know: go limp. Then there's a chance that…uh…maybe they'll think you're an empty costume instead. Uh, Then again, if they think you're an empty costume, they might try to…stuff a metal skeleton into you. I wonder how that would work…yeah never mind; scratch that, it's best not to get caught. Umm, o-ok. I-I'll leave you to it. See you on the flip side."