Part 3
"He appears to have left the show stage," Cyrus remarked. "I would assume that he is wandering around the Pizzeria on his own".
"He's…walking round?" Mars gasped.
"Yes. Isn't it fascinating".
"B-but where is he now?" Jupiter asked nervously.
"Let's see…" Cyrus flicked between cameras on the monitor. "Ah, here he is". The dining area was now occupied by a large, purple bunny, standing eerily between the tables.
Saturn blinked, staring at the monitor as if he couldn't believe it. "How did he get in there?"
"He must have walked," Cyrus said, "Perhaps he was weary of standing on the stage all night and wanted a change of scenery".
"Bur Boss, he's a robot," said Mars. "Why would he move on his own?"
Before Cyrus could reply, a phone suddenly rang. The members of Team Galactic all looked round but they couldn't locate the source of the noise. It was as if an invisible or phantom phone was operating.
"Hello? Hello?" a disembodied voice called out.
"Where's that coming from?" Jupiter hissed.
"Ah, Team Galactic? Mike said you would be along tonight to cover his shift," the phone guy said. "That's either very kind of you or very foolhardy".
Jupiter and Mars exchanged worried glances. Saturn shrugged and Cyrus remained impassive.
"So, Mike has told you about the nocturnal behaviour of the animatronics, I presume?"
"Erm…not exactly," said Mars.
"Oh". Phone Guy sounded a little caught off guard. "Uh well…I guess I'll have to fill you in them".
"Yes, go ahead please," said Cyrus.
"Uhuh, right. Well, the animatronics roam round the restaurant at night. They don't have an off mode because their servomotors would lock up and cause irreparable damage to them".
"How inconsiderate of their designers," said Cyrus.
"Yes…well, the problem is, if an animatronics encounters a person after hours, they assume that they are a spare endoskeleton. Obviously, spare endoskeletons aren't allowed to go wandering round, so the animatronics would grab the person and erm…forcibly stuff them into a spare Freddy Fazbear suit".
Mars moved a little close to Saturn. Jupiter gulped and Cyrus raised his eyebrows by about a millimetre.
"That sounds inconvenient but no real cause for alarm".
"Uh, not quite," Phone Guy continued. "The suits are full gears, wires, various animatronic machinery. Being placed into one…well…the chance of a human surviving is nil".
Mars clutched at Saturn's arm and Jupiter gave a little squeal.
"Don't worry though," Phone Guy said in a reassuring voice that was anything but. "You can keep Freddy and his friends away with your door lights. Just press the buttons to switch on the lights and scare them off".
"Oh wicked!" Saturn said happily. "I get to play with the lights after all".
"But Saturn, the Boss said we only have limited power," Mars pointed out.
"Uh yeah, that's right," Phone Guy said. "You've got a power meter on your monitor. If it reaches zero, all the lights go out and the doors won't operate. You're then vulnerable to an animatronic attack".
Jupiter shivered and moved closer to Cyrus. Mars clung to Saturn, who now looked ever more afraid than her. Cyrus patted Jupiter's back absently and checked the monitor.
"We have 80% power left".
Saturn looked at his watch. "It's five to one," he said. "What time does our shift end?"
"Six 'o clock," said Cyrus.
"You should make it, as long as you're careful," Phone Guy said. "Just use the lights sparingly and don't close the doors unless it's absolutely necessary".
"Like if there's a killer robot outside them," Mars muttered.
"Just try and relax," Phone Guy said. "You should all be fine. Just keep calm and conserve power. Good night!"
There was an ominous click, reminiscent of somebody putting a receiver down on an old fashioned phone. The room became eerily silent.
"What a helpful man," Cyrus said.
"I'm going to murder Mike when I get my hands on him," Jupiter growled. "Free pizza or no free pizza".
"Boss, where's Bonnie now?" Saturn asked. "Is…is he still in the dining hall?"
Cyrus raised the monitor and checked. "No. He's moved somewhere else. Calm down Commanders". This was in response to three frightened squeaks.
Cyrus flicked through the cameras again. "He has gone backstage".
"Good, I hope he stays there," said Mars.
"It is really quite fascinating," Cyrus said. "I am sure that I could easily program the animatronics with an off mode".
"Yeah, if they aren't trying to stuff you into a suit first," Jupiter scoffed.
"Don't be afraid Commander," Cyrus said. "Phone Guy said that everything would be alright". Jupiter made a disbelieving noise and Cyrus checked the show stage cam again. He nodded thoughtfully.
"It would appear that Chica has left the stage too".
Mars gasped and Saturn fell off the chair. Jupiter grabbed the monitor off Cyrus and stared at it. Sure enough, now only Freddy was there, all alone and well behaved.
"Boss, I don't like this," Jupiter whimpered. "Where's Chica gone?"
"Jupiter, it's alright, "Cyrus said, using her name to try and comfort her. "Look, Chica is in the restrooms".
"Is she having a rest?" Saturn asked.
"No silly, that's a polite word for the toilets," said Mars.
"Well, I hope she's in the ladies then," said Saturn. Jupiter smacked him across the butt.
"Ow!" cried Saturn. "What was that for?"
"What if Mars or I need to go?" Jupiter demanded.
"Well, Chica can't go in the gents," Saturn said in a hurt tone. Mars hugged him and Cyrus looked at the monitor again.
"Bonnie is at the far end of the west hall now," he announced.
"Ugh, he's getting closer! I hate this," Jupiter moaned.
"Here," Mars said suddenly. "Where's Foxy?"
"Foxy's out of order," Saturn said. "He can't move".
"Let's make sure of that," Cyrus said, checking the monitor again. He brought up pirate cove and nodded. The other three peeped at the screen and saw that the curtain was pulled partly back; Foxy peering out from behind it.
Jupiter shook her head and put her hands over her eyes.
"We're done for!"