Another night, another shift. Well, her second shift. Saphira walked towards the pizzaplex with a small spring in her step, she noticed a lot of people were leaving the pizzaplex and she was not too surprised. It was nearly nine pm after all, and it was a Tuesday night, so naturally people would not stay too late. Although there will always be those who stay behind to enjoy the most out of the facility, Saphira hoped to not deal with a lot of troublemakers tonight. And she hoped to also get better at being around the animatronics. Freddy and Chica were at least trying and helping her, so she would likely be calmer around them sooner than the others. Though, she did not know how long, despite the massive progress she had made with Freddy the previous night. Walking through the familiar, front, glass doors, Saphira looked around with a smile as she was happy to be back. She had tied her hair back into a French braid ponytail instead of a general ponytail, and she could not help but want to twirl around. She did not know why she felt this way coming here, but perhaps it was because this was different from her previous jobs.
"Evening Saphira!" Darren's voice booms happily as she approached the entry barriers. She glanced to her left to see him at the ticket booth. He waved to her before he walked around from the counter after dealing with a customer and out of the door. She raised an eyebrow when he wore a sky-blue suit tonight with an emerald, green tie. "I heard nothing but great things about last night. It seems you are liked by the animatronics, and the technicians. Although the technicians are going home earlier tonight due to no maintenance required for the animatronics. They leave at one in the morning."
"Oh nice, I get to be alone with the animatronics for five hours," Saphira said sarcastically with a smile. "I look forward to it. So long asssss…well, Moon was kind of being creepy last night…I am not a fan of clowns. I don't think I'll ever stop jumping around him or Sun for that matter. May I ask how that split personality works anyway?"
"Yeah, he is, I am not a fan of him either." Darren chuckled and placed an arm around Saphira's shoulders. She widened her eyes in shock before frowning and stepping back from him, shrugging off his arm. "Oh sorry…I did not want to alarm you."
"You did, hands off please, that is how I got harrassed last time," Saphira said bluntly and sighed as she walked towards one of the entry barriers and scanned her card to walk through. "I am glad you think he is creepy though. But why does he have a split personality?"
"Personally…I have no idea," Darren responded uncertainly, following her through the lobby to the stairs to go up towards the elevators. "Especially since he changes appearances depending on whether the lights are out or not. Apparently, it is a secret only Cliff knows. He's the only one who does maintenance on him actually."
That was odd. A shape shifting robot sounded rather impossible, but the only thing she could think of was the coverings on his body simply turn around…but it didn't explain the pajama hat Moon wears. She would have to observe how this robot goes from Sun to Moon at some point, it might help her with working in an actual robotics business. However, if she really thought about it, this pizzeria was the best robotics business she has seen so far.
"I find it odd he's the attendant for the daycare. You would never have forced me into that place, not in a million years." Saphira smiled as she pressed the button of the elevator. "And I still am not confident to go in there myself."
"You can always ask one of the animatronics to go with you, I hear you and Freddy are getting on well." She shrugged and stepped into the elevator, turning to face Darren. "He told me he was using the Fazwatch to talk with you and get you to relax. It's a very good idea. I hope it goes well."
"I hope so, he is quite calming I must say. It must be his programming with be like that with everyone though." Saphira inhaled deeply as she thought about him. Darren frowned slightly as Saphira still thought their feelings and thoughts were not genuine. "I suppose in a way it's good, he's better than any person I know in the world."
"He would be thrilled to hear that. I better let you head down to the office, your shift starts in ten minutes." Darren waved at her and turned away to head back downstairs while the elevator doors close and Saphira stood in the elevator, bobbing her head to the music as she reached the atrium.
Stepping out on the second floor and breathing in the scent of the food, she smiled to herself and walked towards the stairs. She jumped when the map bot sped towards her and stopped, she glared at it as it seemed to realize she had a map and turned to roll away to wait for the next unsuspecting person, although it likely had no one else at the moment since people were leaving the facility. She was glad it did not do anything else like it did before, so she made her way to the lower floor. She did not see the animatronics in the atrium, but she could probably find them with the cameras when she arrived in her office. Some of the customers did notice her when she walked along the bottom floor of the atrium, but as she was already wearing her security uniform they were quick to look away to try not seem like they were in trouble. Although Saphira did not care right now since she was not clocked on yet. She entered her office and closed the door behind her, she smiled and looked at her desk, only to jump a little as she saw a large, plush, Freddy toy sitting in her seat. She smiled, Freddy must have done this. It was sweet of him, she was sure he did this to everybody so she did not take it to heart. She walked over to an empty shelf to place her bag on before walking over to the coffee machine to make herself a mocha. She needed some caffeine even though she slept very well, but she wanted to have the energy to go through the night. While she waited on the machine, she picked up the bear and sat on the seat, holding the toy in her arms as she glanced up at the monitors. She looked at each of them to find the animatronics. Bonnie was easy to find, she was surprised to see him playing bowling. It seemed he had been challenged by a family and he had taken the challenge. She watched him curiously, she was surprised he was not damaging the alley with his strength as he launched a bowling ball towards the pins. She smiled, that sounded like fun. She's never done bowling before, and it would be something she could learn if the bowling alley was operational during the after hours of the facility. Of course, that might be a bad idea if she started getting laxed on her responsibilities. Buuuut, if she decided to come during the day, that might be different. Monty was in Monty golf putting on a show while people golfed in his pretty cool mini golf. Saphira did wonder how many people get scared by the gators popping up from the fake river as she would be afraid of them. Foxy was at Kids Cove, it seemed to be where he spent the most time and he was being chased by the kids. The way he ran was slow and steady, it was somewhat funny, especially with the kids chasing him with fake swords and guns. And he looked like he was having a really good time. Chica was in the Bakery, going around to the tables to talk about all the delicious cakes that were made there, while entertaining the kids and their parents at the same time. Freddy was outside Fazer Blast, it seemed he was congratulating some kids on their win in the game, but she was not sure as he was surrounded by kids and teenagers right now. The only one she did not find anywhere she should be Roxy. She was in her room, her curtains were closed and there was a sign on the glass telling guests she needed maintenance.
Great, so much for no maintenance
Roxy was in front of her mirror, she appeared to be frustrated and she was rubbing her jaw like she was in pain. Saphira would be incredibly shocked if these bots could feel pain, that would be rather startling to know. But if there was something wrong, why was she not told about it from Darren? Unless he did not know. She glanced at the time, it was five to nine now. She shrugged, she figured she could ask Cliff about it anyway.
She turned on her Fazwatch to connect to Cliff. "Evening Cliff, I hope you have had a good day today," She said in a cheerful voice. "Mmm…I love the coffee smell in the office."
"Ha, ha, yeah, that is always the best," Cliff responded happily as Saphira looked at the machine and saw it had finished filling the cup. "We had a good day. We had to do something for Roxy, some kid hit a bat on her jaw and unhinged it slightly. The poor kid is a bit scared for life thanks to her response, but it was justified."
"That does not sound good." Saphira picked up the cup and walked back to her seat and sat down. "She's in her room right now, rubbing her jaw. She seems like she's in pain."
"I hope she does not rub it too much, or it will come loose again," Cliff said with a sigh, seemingly annoyed at Roxanne. "She cannot follow a simple instruction…"
Or you did something wrong and she knows it. "Well…at least general maintenance is not necessary tonight. I guess there will be tomorrow night right?" Saphira was curious about the schedule. She did guess the animatronics are given a maintenance check before and after the big shows, and she luckily would only have to deal with the maintenance after the shows.
"That is correct. Then Thursday as well, we got to keep them in good condition leading up to the shows, especially the days before," Cliff said. Saphira heard the sound of typing, he must be on a computer. "Dave! Secure that endo! It's twitching like mad!" She widened her eyes when she heard that through the Fazwatch. "Sorry, we're in the endo facility. We are doing some tests on them right now."
"How many extra endos do you even have?" Saphira asked curiously, signing into her computer to clock on.
"Uhhhh…oohhh, that is a good question, we have not counted." Wait, what? They had to count the endoskeletons! Oh hell nah! "Does anybody know how many endos we have down here? Saphira wants to know!" Saphira heard someone's voice, but she could not make out what they are saying. "Jake said there is at least fifty."
"Fifty?! Are they animatronic endos for the main stars?" Saphira asked in disbelief. "That is so many for just six!"
"Yes and no, the endos are also used for tests we can't do on the animatronics, that could ruin their programming and destroy them. We have a few endos that we could use if their current endos stop running, but those animatronics have been running well for years and there has been zero need of changing the endos. So the ones down here are merely for experimentation. Heh, you might even enjoy it yourself if you become part technician. After all, working on bots is something you want to do."
Saphira had to admit, it sort of sounded interesting, and like a horror show at the same time. She doubted the animatronics were aware of the endos below the building. Especially if they're being experimented on. If these bots did not have great programming, they could be dangerous and Saphira did not like the idea of going somewhere that was dangerous. Working on robots was one thing, but these animatronics had complex AI and if these endos had the same, and responded to the experiments in a way that was violent to protect themselves, there was no way she could be safe there.
"I will consider it…but given how I feel about the animatronics…I have already seen part of their endo, and I am not really keen to actually be near them. Maybe the actual bots that are cleaning the place at least, I particularly want to try cracking the code of making the map bot less aggressive. It would be a nice challenge." She smiled, stretching her fingers out and cracking them. "Only if get the chance of course."
"We will see, this is just your second night Saphira. Darren wants you to become great at general maintenance first before going into anything more detailed, which could be months off." Saphira was not surprised, her main job was to be a nightguard, so she expected not doing more with the animatronics. "Anyway, I better get…Marian! Help Dave! That endo needs to be rewired!"
"Alright, I will talk a bit later," Saphira said, relaxing in her chair and sipping her coffee. She relaxed her arm and frowned, wondering what more she would find out about this place.
It was not the animatronics that were scaring her, there were other things. She glanced down at the toy in front of her as it rests on her lap. She could not help but wonder about a few things regarding the facility, and she also knew she would take a visit to Roxanne later. As much as she hated the idea, if the technicians did not do a great job, she might be able to figure that out. But she also did not want to be in trouble for showing them up too. She did have her small flashlight with her that she often used while working on robots, as there could be other damages that the technicians did not see, or even care to see. Her opinion of the pizzaplex was not great at the moment, but she would still give it a chance. She flicked through the cameras casually to find anything that might need her attention, so far, there was nothing that was needing her attention yet. There were some tipsy people leaving the Shy Foxette, but they were not causing a scene, and those who were in the bar were just laughing and joking with other people. That was better than the night before. If this was going to be an easy night regarding the guests, that was good because she already dealt with a Karen and a few other things. But she knew working here meant she might not always have a quiet night. She also had to wait before she could talk with any of the bots, though as Roxy was the only one in her room, that was an idea.
She pressed a button on the Fazwatch to connect with Roxy. "Evening Roxy. I heard a kid was stupid enough to hit you. But you look uncomfortable. Did the technicians do a good job?"
"Oh, you're back," Roxy responded in a bored tone. "I did not think you would care."
"Of course I do, you are pretty important to people here and people miss you, so I definitely care," Saphira responded enthusiastically. "But seriously, I can see you on the camera and can see you're uncomfortable."
"Argh! Those idiots did not do anything!" Roxy snapped, startling Saphira by the verociousness of the voice. "They did manage to put my jaw back together, but it is not even on tight enough! I can't even move my jaw without it creaking loudly. Ugh! I can't show my face like this! Not with the show coming up in a few days. I am ruined!"
"Calm down Roxy, I could take a look later if you would like. When the technicians go home of course." Saphira knew that would go against the rules, but Roxy needed someone to look at her again and she figured she could see what else could be bothering her.
"You…you would? Twerp, you are not even comfortable around us. How are you going to help me without freaking out when I flinch?" Roxy was not wrong, but Saphira frowned as Roxy resorted to insulting her. "Argh! My jaw…it hurts…"
"Huh? Hurts? So you do feel pain?!"
"Of course we do! Did you think we could not feel pain? Idiot…"
This definitely complicates things. Why were these bots given the ability to feel pain?! They don't need that! On top of that, she already knew they could process feelings and thoughts like humans do, so this was just another thing to find out. Next thing she is going to be told they can cry too!
"Sorry…I didn't know…most bots I work on generally don't feel pain." Saphira sipped more coffee to try and swallow her awkwardness. "So this is entirely new to me, and it is going to make me change how I approach it."
"Hmmph! Whatever you want…but just so you know, if you screw up, I am not going to keep my mouth shut about it. You got that? And you will lose your job like everybody else does before the end of the week. Nobody will miss you!"
Roxy cuts off the connection after hissing her final sentence. Saphira did not know if she believed her or not. But that bot had a serious attitude problem. Or she simply did not like Saphira. But it was true, if Saphira did not succeed, she would be in big trouble. And she did believe Roxy would talk. It was risky, but a faulty animatronic was not a good thing. Besides, if she did fix the issue, she hoped Roxy would keep it quiet because the technicians will notice she is feeling better in the morning. She finished her coffee and remained in the office until it was ten thirty and began to make her rounds through the pizzaplex. She was more confident in her way around this time, and she started at the Shy Foxette, and to her surprise it was empty as everyone who was in there had gone. She smiled, satisfied with that and continued onto the next. She checked Bonnie Bowling next, she was surprised the roller door opened and she walked in, people were packing up and ready to leave.
"Hello Saphira!" Saphira tensed and felt herself shiver when she heard his voice. "I am surprised you would come to my territory. But I am happy to see you anyway." Saphira tried to put on a smile as she turned and saw him several feet from her. "I was about to head down to Rockstar Row. I see you are going around and making sure people are behaving."
"That is part of my job." Saphira turned away and walked into the bowling alley, and looked at around to see there were twelve with light brown wood lanes, the pizzaplex symbal at the end of each lane and numerous neon stars all around. "This place is pretty cool!"
"It definitely is, if you ever decide to bowl, talk to one of the bots at the kiosk over there…" Saphira glanced over to the kiosk. She saw they would give out bowling shoes, snacks and light meals here. "They will give you the right size shoe and tell them the weight of the ball you prefer. And they will give you a ticket to your lane to play twelve games."
"That sounds nice…but to tell you the truth…I never bowled before." Saphira felt embarrassed to say that, especially after she heard him gasping in surprise behind her. "Eh, maybe I will try it. But, I just do not know when I can. Anyway, it is just one of the many things I never got to do as a kid. But there's plenty to catch up on."
Bonnie was silent for a few moments before taking a step forward. She stepped forward and turned sharply, looking at him with wide eyes. He looked away from her, sad she was still afraid of him and stepped back again. "I wish I was able to comfort you properly Saphira. I bet you have never had a real hug before either. But maybe one from an animatronic will be more authentic and real than a human hug."
He was not wrong…and that comment nearly brought her to tears. She's never felt loved, she's never had proper hugs or kisses, so she envied people who gave and received them. "You know…you would be right. But not right now."
"Well…at the very least, you can always count on me to teach you how to bowl," Bonnie said, smiling at her and tilting his head slightly. "I am a master at it. After all, I did just beat my challengers…" He waved at the family who waved back to him. They did not seem unhappy though, they were happy. "By one point of course."
Saphira smiled at him, of course he was a master. He probably was programmed to be like that. "Well…I would definitely enjoy the lessons…when we can stand side-by-side of course…"
"And you would have to be here when you are not working to learn. But at least you can get bowling for free, well most of the attractions really are free for staff who come here when they were not on. It's just another perk aside from free food after close." He and Saphira glance towards the lanes as they hear the lights being turned off in the alley. "Ah, I better get to my room…but at the very least, I can tell Darren you held me up with a nice chit chat."
"I doubt it would bother him, he wants me to be more comfortable with you guys. Especially since he says you like me…but I fail to get that impression from Monty and Roxy at the moment." Saphira sighed deeply and glanced around the bowling alley again, making sure no one was hiding behind the chairs. Cleaner bots began to arrive to start their job. "But hopefully it will improve."
"If you mean how Roxy talks to people, never take it seriously. She does like you…she just does not have confidence in you." That did not help at all. "I assume you know about her damage that occurred today. I have no idea why someone would hit Roxy, especially as the child was ten and should know better."
"Usually it is the parents who let it happen." Saphira shrugged and walked towards the doors to leave the bowling alley. "Besides, I highly doubt Roxy was thrilled about it. Cliff said she scarred the kid for it."
"Oh she did! The parents are trying to get a refund, but as he caused damage to us, they are paying for it." Bonnie waited until Saphira was far enough from him to walk. But she was still tense even if he gave her enough space between them. "I also hear from Roxy they did not do a good job at repair…which is not totally unusual."
"What do you mean? I thought they were good technicians." Saphira was confused, if they were good, why would they do a poor job? That made no sense. Unless, they only learned while on the job and were not very experienced.
"Yes and no…Cliffton came from a robotic backround I think, Dave worked with military robotics while the others…I don't really know." She hears Bonnie shrugging, the sound of the joints rubbing together made her think he needed oil. "They do a good job most of the time, but they rely on the system of the pizzaplex to carry out the jobs properly. For Roxy's case, there was none."
"That is not good…" Saphira suddenly wanted to take their place! But that meant working with the animatronics more closely, and the endos as well. "I guess Fazbear Entertainment is still cutting corners somewhere…at least I am here."
"Yes, that is true. I hope you do a great job Saphira. I have high hopes for you." That was so nice of him. Bonnie had a similar vibe to Freddy, but more of the brotherly type. "I wonder if Monty is done yet?"
"He was at Monty Golf last I checked." She stopped for a moment and turned to face him, surprising the animatronics. "By the way…when did you and Monty become a thing?"
"Huh? You mean, when did we get into a relationship?" Saphira nodded and Bonnie rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm…a couple years ago. Before Monty arrived, Chica and I had an on and off relationship. But that stopped when a woman screamed at us for kissing in front of her kids."
"That is why you hide your relationship with Monty?" Saphira asked curiously.
"Yeah. That moment was humiliating to Chica and I, and we both kind of stopped. Besides…we did not really have the feelings for each other. We honestly were wanting to know what a relationship felt like at the time. But now…" He smiled and his eyelids flutter dreamily, he cups his hands together and it looked really cute. "Now I know what it feels like. It took a lot of time for us both to learn what the feelings were, but we would never change it. But we definitely don't want to be screamed at like with Chica and I."
At least it was not due to the fact they were gay. So she understood completely. "To be honest, I would not have bothered hiding if it was me. Some people overreact over stupid things. And you being in a relationship is not stupid."
"Thanks Saphira. But…as much as I would like to, Monty does not exactly have the same patience…although we never intentionally hurt guests, he might pretend to accidentally hurt someone. Especially if it is regarding our bond."
Saphira totally believed that Monty would do that. But she was curious about how they learned what their feelings really were. While Cliff said they could feel the same things humans can, they obviously were not aware of what all those feelings mean.
"Well…we don't want him to be permenantly deactivated," Saphira said and breathed in deeply. "I better keep going. I'll talk to you later."
"Yes, there are still a lot of people in the pizzaplex tonight." Bonnie waved at her as she made her way towards the Fazcade. "I think there are kids still in there by the way, I heard them earlier."
Great…that meant she had to go in there to remove them! And DJ Music Man was in there. She did not know if he could talk or not, but she would find out. But if he could not, she would figure out how to communicate. He had hands, so sign language might be something that could be taught to him, if he hasn't been taught already or programmed with it.
