OKAY I'VE ALREADY FIGURED OUT HOW I WANT THIS STORY TO END HOLY SHIT IT'S GONNA BE SAD BUT WHATEVER I'M FCUKING EXCITED FOR THIS

also i think i might be a guy or maybe a demiboy but idk

im thinking of changing my name to either daniel or sebastian but im really leaning towards daniel

SHOUT OUTS: Kitten (thanks :D), ZombieSlayers (thank u too :D), frozem1 (yeah, google translate doesn't really work well), AVFireBlade9472 (thx :D), StarCre8tion (thank you :D), The Purple Gal (I LOVE TIMBITS THEY'RE SO GOOD), and Pokemonmaster223 and alexa03kitty for following the story!

Chapter 21

Fritz settled into his chair in the security guard's office. It was just about midnight, almost time for his shift. He thought about what happened last time with Goldie and shivered. He hoped that wouldn't happen this time.

He glanced down at his watch just as it ticked from 11:59 to 12:00. The security guard took a deep breath and turned on the tablet in front of him. Soon after, the phone on the desk rang. He held the tablet in one hand and picked up the phone with the other. "Hey Scott."

"Hey Fritz," the voice on the other end replied. "So, how did it go yesterday?"

"It was fine," Fritz said. He decided not to mention what had happened with Goldie. He knew that if he said anything, Scott would tell Vincent, and then they might want to shut down the robots, and without them, they would have to shut down the restaurant, and then he and the other guards would be left with no job. So he had made the decision to keep it a secret.

"Were there any problems at all?" Scott asked.

Fritz hesitated. "No. Nothing."

"Okay then. So, you know what you're doing?"

"Yep. I'll be fine."

"Alright. See ya on the flip side."

"Bye." Fritz hung up and turned his full attention to the cameras. He was sure nothing like last time would happen, but he wanted to be prepared, just in case.

xXx

Mari sighed and turned over in her sleeping bag. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already midnight. Everyone else had already fallen asleep, but Mari kept thinking about the nightmares she was having lately. She hadn't mentioned them to anyone.

She stared up at the clock for a few more minutes, comforted by the constant ticking noise. Her eyes began to close, and she was just about asleep when she heard a sudden noise from the other side of the room. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, looking around. The noise sounded again, along with a dim flare of light. Mari pushed her sleeping bag off her and stood up, making her way over to the source of the sound. It was coming from Goldie. Sparks were flying off the joints on his body, and he kept twitching at random.

Mari knelt down and shook his shoulder. "Hey. Goldie," she whispered. "Goldie, wake up."

He squirmed away from her touch and turned over, the sparks popping more frequently now. This was starting to concern Mari. What was happening? Was his software glitching? Was he overheating?

Mari grabbed his arm and shook it. "Goldie," she whispered. "Wake up!"

Goldie's eyes fluttered open, and the sparking stopped. He yawned. "What?" His eyes whirred as they focused on her like a camera lens. "Mari? Why are you still awake?"

She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep. And you kept sparking and twitching, so I thought maybe your software was overheating or something."

He sighed. "Whatever. I'm going back to sleep." He laid down and turned on his side, his back to Mari.

Mari sighed and stood up. If he didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't force him to. She started walking back to her sleeping bag when she suddenly heard a noise from the kitchen doors.

Her head whipped around towards the noise, trying to see what had made it. Unfortunately, she couldn't see very well because it was so dark. She glanced back at Goldie to see if he had noticed, but he was still. Maybe he already fell asleep, she thought.

She turned back to where the noise was coming from. As she listened, she found that it seemed to have some kind of pattern to it. She took a deep breath and made her way towards it, carefully stepping around the sleeping bodies of her friends. The noise gradually became louder as she got closer to the doors.

She finally made it past the other robots and quickly tiptoed over to the doors. By now she could hear the noise a lot more clearly. It was a kind of twinkling sound, like a piano or something, with a quiet ticking noise in the backround. She reached the doors, but there was nothing there. Maybe it's coming from outside the doors, she thought. Should I go check?

Mari thought for a moment, debating with herself, then sighed and pushed the doors open. She glanced at the Show Stage to her right. The camera poised above it was shining a light that illuminated that part of the room. After a few moments, it shut off, and another camera in the Game Area turned on. Mari didn't pay much attention to this, however, because now she could hear the sound clearly.

It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard in her so far short life.

It was obviously a song. She thought it was a piano at first, but then she realized that the notes were shorter and more delicate sounding than a piano. This beautiful twinkling was accompanied by a soft, persistent ticking sound, like one of those giant clocks that some people had. She couldn't remember what they were called. Grand-something clocks.

Mari walked towards her Prize Corner, where the song seemed to be coming from. It sounded very calm and inviting. She felt like she could go to sleep right there on the floor of the restaurant, and it would be the best sleep that she ever had.

She reached the Prize Corner, and sitting there on the counter was a small blue wooden box with a metal crank on the side. It looked very plain, nothing special, aside from a few faded, delicate lines painted around it in a darker shade of blue. The crank turned slowly as the song played, and she realized that this must be one of those music boxes she read about in a book just the day before. The camera light next to her shut off, making her unable to see anything, but she didn't care. The music was so enchanting, that she didn't care if she lost her sight forever, as long as she got to continue listening to that mesmerizing song. She was just reaching out towards the place she thought the box was when she heard a small voice:

"Mari?"

She snapped out of her trance and whirled around, ending up face to face with a small boy of about ten years old, his sky blue flannel pyjamas hanging off his small frame. He held a pillow wrapped up in his arms, hugging it to his chest. His big blue eyes stared at her, barely visible but clearly confused.

She shook her head vigourously. The music had stopped. She glanced back at the prize counter and saw the faint light shape of the box. Its crank had stopped turning, just as the music had stopped playing.

She turned back to Balloon Boy. "What are you doing up this late?" she asked, slightly annoyed that the music had stopped upon his arrival.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he said, clutching his pillow tighter.

Fair point, she thought. "Well, I heard a noise out here, and I decided to come check it out." It wasn't really a lie. She just wasn't telling the whole truth. "Now why are you up?"

"I saw you leaving, so I decided to come see what you were doing." He tilted his head. "And you know Dad's on security guard duty. Whatever the sound was, he would take care of it."

Mari shrugged. "I was just curious, is all." She put a hand on his shoulder and steered him towards the kitchen. "How about we just go back to bed?"

He hesitated, then nodded. "Okay." They started towards the doors, when they suddenly opened. Both robots jumped in surprise, but then they saw who it was.

Goldie rubbed his eyes as he walked towards them. "What are you guys doing out here?" he asked sleepily.

Mari sighed. "Nothing. I just heard a noise and came to check it out. But it's fine now, so we're going back to bed." She started walking past him, but then the doors opened again and another figure stepped out.

"What in the name of Blackbeard's bloody bones are you all doin' up at this hour?"

Mari recognized the programmed pirate speak immediately. "Go back to bed, Foxy. Everything's fine. We were just coming back in."

"Not until you tell us what you were doing," Goldie said, crossing his arms.

Mari rolled her eyes. "Look, I told you, I just heard a noise and came out here to see what it was. It's no big deal, okay? Besides, why do you want to know?"

Goldie's expression was firm. "I have my reasons. Just tell me."

Foxy rolled his eyes- well, eye. His other was still covered by his eye patch. "Oh, leave it alone Goldie. Just let 'em go alrea-"

His sentence was cut off when the camera from the Prize Corner turned on, along with the flashlight. BB turned towards the camera and waved at it. "Hi, Dad!"

Mari flashed a smile at the camera, glancing back at the music box on the counter. "Sorry we're up so late, Dad. Don't worry, we were just getting back into the kitch-"

She stopped short when she saw the reflection in the camera lens. She whirled around turning to look at Goldie and Foxy. Goldie was standing completely still, staring at the flashlight as though he was paralyzed. Occasionally. He would twitch or spark, but that was the only movement he made.

Foxy on the other hand, was having a giant spazz attack. His eye lens continuously zoomed in and out, as though it were trying to find something to focus on. He was constantly twitching, and sparks flew from his body, turning him into a robotic fireworks show. Smoke curled from his joints, electricity fizzling along his endoskeleton. A few of his screws came loose from all the jolting, and his hook fell off. His kneecap disconnected from his body, and he stumbled backwards, holding up his good arm as though trying to ward off the light.

BB blinked, holding his pillow tighter. "What's wrong with them?" he asked, a twinge of concern in his voice.

Mari furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't know," she admitted. She was freaking out inside, but she had to appear calm for BB's sake.

"It's the light," BB whispered.

Mari looked at him. That made no sense. She and BB weren't reacting to the light, and they were all made with the same programming, so why would Goldie and Foxy be affected by it and not Mari and BB?

But on the other hand, they had only started reacting when the light turned on. It was a possibility, but still, it must have been a coincidence.

"I really don't think so-"

"No!" BB insisted. "It's the light! I know it is!" He turned around and glared at the camera. The flashlight immediately flickered out, but the little red light that showed that the camera was being used stayed on. Goldie gasped and stumbled backwards, breathing heavily. Foxy stopped twitching and sparking, but smoke was billowed around him in clouds. He tried to step backwards, but his broken leg crumpled underneath him and he fell onto his back.

Mari rushed forwards and knelt next to Foxy. "Foxy? Are you okay?" She waited a moment, and when he didn't respond, she stood up again. "I think he's unconscious."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Goldie muttered sarcastically, rubbing his eyes and looking up at the camera.

Mari squinted. She couldn't see very well in the dark, but she could have sworn that, just for a moment, his eyes were black. She zoomed her vision in on his face and saw the faint white shape of his eyes.

She shook her head. Maybe something was wrong with her software. She could ask Zoe or Fritz about it in the morning.

Suddenly, she heard what sounded like rapidly approaching footsteps coming from down the corridor next to the Show Stage. Mari whirled around to see Fritz running towards the four of them with a flashlight in his hand. He must have come to the same conclusion as BB had, because he was purposefully keeping the beam away from Goldie and Foxy. He reached them and set the flashlight on the counter, pointing it towards the wall so Goldie and Foxy weren't in the light.

"What happened?" Fritz asked, kneeling down to examine Foxy. "I saw Goldie and Foxy spazzing out, but then the light just shut off."

Mari shrugged, still annoyed that the pretty music had shut off. "Nothing, really. I just came out here because I couldn't sleep, BB followed me, Foxy and Goldie followed him, and then they just had a seizure or something. I don't know. But it's not that big of a deal, so I'll just be going back to bed now." She turned as was just about to go back to the kitchen when BB said, "I thought you came out here because you heard a noise."

If Mari had known any swears at that time, she would have said them all.

Fritz stood up. "A noise? I didn't hear anything."

Mari shook her head. "It doesn't matter. It must have been my imagination." She didn't want to tell Fritz about the music box. She wanted to keep the music all to herself.

Fritz crossed his arms. "Mari."

"It was nothing. Just leave it alone."

"Mari, as the security guard, I'm supposed to know of anything that might be a danger to you and the pizzeria. If you heard something, there could be someone else in here. I'm supposed to make sure this place stays safe at night. Whatever it is, I need to take care of it."

Mari hesitated, then slumped in defeat. "Fine." She walked past BB to the counter and picked up the small music box in both hands. She dejectedly held it out to Fritz. "This is what was making the noise."

She expected him to take the box, maybe throw it away or break it or something. Instead, his eyes widened and he took a step backwards. "Wh-what is that?" he stuttered.

Mari shrugged. "It's a music box, I think. I didn't even know we had one."

Fritz gulped. "Ah, we don't."

BB cocked his head in confusion. "Then how did this get here?"

Fritz reluctantly held out his hand. "Could I see that for a second?"

Mari tightened her grip on it. "Promise me you won't throw it away or wreck it?"

Fritz hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. I promise."

Mari reached out and placed the music box in his outstretched palm. He turned it over in his hands, examining the peeling paint and cracks in the wood. Hand shaking, he took a deep breath and grabbed the metal crank and turned it once. When he let it go, the enchanting music started up again. Mari was immediately struck with the same sensation she had been before, like she was in some kind of a trance. A look of fear appeared on Fritz's face as he listened to the music. Mari didn't know why. How could someone be scared of a pretty song like that?

Goldie tilted his head and took the box from Fritz. "I think I've heard this song before. I can't remember where it's from, though."

The music stopped, and Mari was snapped out of her trance. She looked up at the terrified expression on Fritz's face, and almost panicked herself. "Please don't get rid of it," she pleaded.

Fritz nodded. "I know. I won't. Just- could I maybe show this to the other guards?"

Mari hesitated. Fritz obviously thoight this music box was dangerous. If he showed it to the other guards, what would they think? Would they think the same and want to get rid of it?

But she also knew that he wouldn't be satisfied until he got a second opinion from the other guards. If she said no, he might keep it anyway.

She nodded. "Okay. Could you please give it back after, though?"

"Sure," Fritz said, taking the box back from Goldie. To her surprise, he held it out to her. "You can actually keep it for tonight. The other guards don't get here until morning, anyways."

Mari blinked and looked up at his face to see if he was serious. His expression still had a twinge of fear in it, but other than that, his face was blank.

She happily scooped the box up and cradled it in her hands. "Thank you," she said gratefully.

Fritz knelt down and picked up Foxy in both arms, struggling under the weight of the metal. "I'll take Foxy to the Parts and Service room so I can try to fix his software. Zoe can probably re-attach his hook and knee in the morning," he said, standing up. "Hey, could one of you pick up his screws and stuff and bring them to Parts and Service? My hands are kinda full here."

"Sure." BB gathered up all of Foxy's spare parts and walked after Fritz down the hall, his pillow still tucked under his arm.

Fritz stopped walking and turned around. "Hey, Goldie, you might want to come, too. Maybe I can fix whatever's in your software that's effecting you like that."

Goldie shrugged and walked towards them. "Sure, I guess."

"You go back to the kitchen and get some sleep, okay Mari?" Fritz gave her a smile.

Mari grinned back. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning." She skipped off to the kitchen, opened the doors, and slid inside, her music box tucked under one arm. She tiptoed past the sleeping forms of her friends and sat down on her pillow. She was debating whether or not she should play the music. She didn't want to wake anyone up, but still...

She held the music box in one hand and took the metal crank in the other. Slowly turning the crank, she managed to wriggle into her sleeping bag. Once the box was as wound up as it could be, she set it down next to her and rested her head on her pillow.

She had no nightmares that night.