Saphira bit her nails nervously as she stood in the elevator with Freddy and Monty heading back up to the utility tunnels. It had taken ten minutes for the animatronics to convince her to get going, Monty even ripped the clown head off the string and pulled it in half like he did the doll. Both animatronics were silent currently while Saphira leaned on Freddy as she felt like jelly right now. She had decided it was best to return to her office. She had checked the cameras on the Fazwatch to see the place was empty, and it was ten thirty right now, meaning she was a bit behind on her job task of sweeping the building. But Saphira did not feel like walking right now, and she needed to sit down.
She swallowed and glanced up when the elevator came to a stop and she heard the ding. "Has anything like what is happening now happened before?" Saphira asked in a hoarse voice, stepping out of the elevator shakily with Freddy still supporting.
"No, it has never happened before. Uhh, Freddy? You've been around longer than I have, has anything like this happened before? Somebody is sending her a message. At least, that is what it seems."
Freddy shakes his head. "No one has ever had this…but we also have never had a night guard stay for longer than a week. Whoever is behind this…" He paused as he pondered his words carefully and glanced at Saphira, although she was not looking at him as she was determined to leave the tunnels. "I think they see you as a threat."
"I don't know why they would." Saphira shrugged before she tugged on his arm to move quicker. "Can we please move quicker? I really don't want to be down here for much longer."
"Alright super star, we will do that," Freddy responded and she tensed slightly hearing the brisk walking from the animatronics. "And you are right, I do not understand either. You have done nothing that would make anyone dislike you."
"Yeah…I know…that is what makes it worse." She swallowed and breathed out in relief when she saw the staircase that leads up to the lobby. She practically ran to it, her hand slipped from Freddy's when she ran. He was surprised she would do that. "Sorry Freddy, I really need out. I feel like I am going to suffocate otherwise."
Freddy did not try to stop Saphira, but he also did not move any faster. He had felt her tense when he and Monty increased their walking pace, and he did not wish to scare her anymore. Saphira did not stop until she reached the lobby and smiled, seeing the bright neon lights in the lobby, the posters, the standing screens and the golden statue, it was as if it welcomed her with warm arms. Saphira heard the animatronics behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to smile at them.
"Thank you, you really helped me tonight. Even if it really did not go as planned. Hopefully we can have more fun." Saphira did appreciate it, and she was glad that she managed to break the ice with Monty. At least she hoped for that. "Sorry if I am being a burden in anyway."
Monty shakes his head and Freddy stepped closer to her. "Absolutely not. Not to me anyway." He glanced back at the gator and Monty rolled his eyes, shaking his head at Freddy. The bot chuckled lightly and looked at Saphira. "Shall we escort you to your office?"
"Yeah…you can…and I know you shouldn't…buuut…I really would like the company."
"I would like that very much…however…we are pushing the rules this much by helping you into the tunnels and basement. And Monty also wanted to talk ask me something. Sorry super star…the least trouble we are in, the better." Freddy extended his hand towards her. "Shall we walk together hand in hand?"
Saphira was disappointed, she wanted to have Freddy's company. It was soothing. Plus, it would help by talking about random things to pass the time, and to try and forget about the incident as much as she could. But she took his hand anyway, at least he could take her to the office. It sort of felt like he was taking her home in a way.
"Hmmph…as much as I would like, it is best I get to my room Saphira," Monty said calmly, moving his hands to his hips and smiled at her. "You will see me at Roxy Raceway in a few hours. Don't expect I go easy on you punk."
She smiled at him. "Thanks Monty for helping."
He nodded and glanced at Freddy for a moment before he turned to head back into the utility tunnels to get to Rockstar Row that way. It was quicker than using the elevators and going through the atrium. Saphira and Freddy both begin to walk to the barriers to go through to head up to the elevators. Practically all the staff had gone, so as far as they knew, there were no eyes on them.
"What do you think Monty wants to ask you Freddy?" Saphira asked curiously as they walk up the stairs. "There must have been something said or done that he wants to talk to you about."
"Hmm, I have no idea. However, conversations between myself and my friends is usuaully private Saphira…so please don't be upset if I don't tell you about the discussion." Freddy didn't want to hurt Saphira by saying that, but he also knew that conversations were private and he wouldn't speak about it unless he was allowed. Just as he has not told any of his friends about his conversations with Saphira.
"Of course not, I am not asking. There is no harm in pondering about though. I guess it is a friend thing…I don't really know what that is yet." She walked up the elevator and pressed the button before stepping inside.
"Yes you do. You and I have had private conversations that I do not tell the others about. You are simply getting used to having friends. And that is a good thing super star." She nodded silently as she listened to Freddy before she began to hum to the elevator music. Freddy listened to the music for a few minutes as well, waiting for the elevator to reach the atrium before they step out onto the second level balcony. "I do have to ask Saphira…" She glanced at him when he spoke to her, she heard the worry in his voice. "Are you going to leave?"
"Huh?"
"Someone is threatening you…we do not know who is watching you from the shadows and I fear it will get worse. I guess…I wonder if you will leave because of it…?"
Freddy looked so sad asking her that, Saphira felt sad herself like she had just broken his heart. "If I leave now, it might not ever be safe for any other staff here Freddy. Plus…I really need the money."
"Even if it risks your life? I know human life is fragile, from what I've observed. You cannot be replaced like the staff bots can. So I…I don't know if I am worried about you leaving…I worry more about what will happen now. I worry that…we cannot protect you." Freddy glanced away from Saphira, she had stopped walking and was looking at him with wide eyes. She was surprised he questioned his own ability to protect her. "I failed to protect you tonight…"
"Freddy! Being scared by something isn't a lack of protection," Saphira said to him quickly. "If that clown was alive and it chased me to the point of hurting me and you did nothing, that is failing to protect. You did shelter me when that head fell from the ceiling in the basement. That is a version of protection in a sense you're shielding me from what had scared me. I am surprised you would even question yourself Freddy."
Freddy smiled warmly at her, he still doubted his ability and he wanted to protect her from whoever was doing this to her. "I guess…seeing you being sick from the fear made me think that…I am glad you feel protected by me Saphira. With these new events…something that has never happened before, I guess I am unsure."
"I know. I worry something will happen to you too Freddy. All of you. Whoever is doing it…they're a coward. They are not showing themselves to us Freddy. That means they are hiding behind some kind of mask, we might actually know the person, but they are doing a good job of hiding their identity."
"I guess so." Freddy blinked for a moment and realized the time. "We should keep moving. The last thing we need is for a grumpy Cliff to come up here and yell at the both of us. And Monty is not one for patience. I am sure you already know that."
Saphira chuckled softly. Oh yes! She did know that very well. However, she hoped he would not break anything. She knew it was expensive to repair Monty's room whenever he caused damage. And his new claws were stronger, meaning he could do more damage. At least she knew when they find out who was doing this, Monty is not likely to hesitate to hurt them. Freddy was not like that, but…she did think if Freddy ever got enraged, it would be scary.
"Alright, well, I don't want to keep Mr Gator waiting." Saphira chuckled softly and turned to head down to the bottom atrium floor. "Hmm…in a way, it was kind of good to have that clown incident. You got to leave your room early."
"I am not so sure that is an ideal situation Saphira. It would be better for you to come to my room, but I know you want to do your job with the first lot of routines first. Maybe after, just as we planned?"
"Yeah…I think I can definitely do that." She smiled at him, she definitely would enjoy spending some alone time with Freddy. She did worry his self doubt about his protectiveness would get to him. But none of this was his fault. "Thanks again Freddy…just for being here."
Saphira felt herself blushing as she glanced to the floor. She had not expected the sudden rush of feelings and the butterflies in her stomach suddenly made her want to hide from him. Not because she was scared, but because she felt like her feelings were growing. It was slow, but…Freddy ignoring the rules to tend to her while she was in the bathroom being sick was beyond something a friend would do. At least, that is what she thought. She did not know if close friends do that. And she knew it was not part of his programming, Freddy was acting on his own accord.
"I wish I could stay Saphira. It makes me happy when you are happy." He glanced down at her hand and moved his thumb inward to rub the back of her hand gently. He feels her flinch at the touch, but she looked at him and relaxed with a smile. "I will see you again very soon. Do not hesitate to tell us if something else happens. We will get to the bottom of this."
Saphira had almost expected him to kiss the back of her hand. But she realized she was dreaming of something so silly. Her cheeks were still blushing and Freddy definitely noticed, he wondered if he was causing her to blush. And if it was really a good thing. "I will definitely let you know Freddy." She glanced at the blue door and opened it, she had expected to find something inside. There was nothing new here. "Luckily nothing is in here."
"Yeah. I worry about that now…that one night you will arrive to something…I am not even sure what to say." Saphira shuddered at that thought and Freddy realized he might have said something wrong. "Ehh…no, I don't think it will…"
"I was thinking the same too Freddy. Don't backtrack, it is a shared worry." Saphira turned to look at him, her smile was still on her face and she was still blushing. She felt embarrassed by it, but she couldn't stop herself. She looked away shyly briefly before she sideyes Freddy. "I will see you very soon…hopefully…thirty minutes at most…that should give you plenty of time to talk to Monty."
Freddy nodded, he stepped back from the door and he seemed to be hesitating to leave Saphira alone. He well and truly wanted to break the rules to protect her, but he feared doing that would do more harm for them both. He turned away and walked away from the office, Saphira listened to his footsteps as they cross the atrium. She smiled to herself and closed the door, she felt the blush fading and she covered her face with her hands, embarrassed that she had blushed so hard in front of Freddy. She shakes her head and walked over to the mini fridge to get out some water and take a seat, sighing deeply and sipping the cold liquid. While she relaxed, she began to go through the cameras casually and she noticed something. She leaned closer and noticed there was a very light layer of static. That was strange, they had been perfectly clear up until now. She clicked through the cameras curiously, most were the same except for the Parts and Service cameras, Rockstar Row cameras and the animatronic room cameras. Everything else seemed to have static across them. That was strange. She blinked and turned her head when she noticed a strange bright light, and saw it was coming from the computer screen. She pulled herself closer and it suddenly goes darker. She gasped, thinking it had just turned off suddenly. She had always left it on sleep, so she was about to check the computer itself when she saw a white flashing light on the left of the screen. Much like the cursor whenever someone needed to type something. And words began to appear on the screen, making her widen her eyes with fear.
Are you having fun yet?
That was the sentence she saw. Someone was communicating with her! Saphira swallowed nervously, she frowned a little deciding to see if this person would respond to her if she typed. So she simply tried, and words in a different font loaded up as she typed.
Who are you?
Saphira doubted she would get a straight answer to the question, but she wanted to see if she would receive a response. And she does after a minute of silence.
You will know who I am.
She huffed a little, that was not accurate, but that was also a warning. A warning that she would meet this person soon. She frowned and shakes her head before she typed back to the person.
What do you want from me?
The response from the person was quicker this time, and a cold shudder moved up and down her spine at the response.
You don't belong here. You are getting too close. Leave or die. See you soon!
The words suddenly disappear and Saphira stared at it as the screen returned to normal with the normal files and options on the home screen. That was creepy! Someone was watching her! But what did they mean by her getting too close? To the disappearances? Or to the animatronics? It was either one, or both. She glanced at the monitors, she glanced at Parts and Service. Dave and Cliff were talking to each other, it seemed to be a deep conversation and there was no computer between them. It wasn't Dave who sent these messages!
Then who is after me? I didn't do anything!
There was no way to even prove this happened now that the conversation was gone! She did have confidence in her self defence skills, and she was now on high alert, and will be while she worked here until she has dealt with this issue. There was no way she was going to leave herself open for a sneak attack. She had to cope with her fear in order to protect herself. And she did not yet know how to do that other than to rely on Freddy's presence. She may not have him around all the time. That scared her.
She shakes her head and glanced at the monitors, Freddy and Monty were still talking. It seemed whatever they were talking about Freddy seemed to be upset and confused about it, while Monty seemed irritated by it. That was normal right? She wanted to let Freddy know she would head to his room right now, but it would be very rude to interrupt. So she would wait until she sees Freddy returning to his room. She did look through the cameras casually though, the static seemed to disappear now and all the cameras were once again clear. She bit her lip, chewing on it slightly as she hoped to find any kind of clue on who was behind this. She had originally thought it was Dave, now she was not so sure. She wondered if she thought of Dave because he seemed like the most likely person…unless he was just the puppet being pulled by strings too. She was not sure and would keep a closer eye on everything. As much as she wanted to report all of this, if she was able to find and deal with the problem, it would be easier for Darren to deal with this. She did think about Mr Miller though, he was the owner of the pizzaplex. Would he be aware of these things happening? And who was he exactly? She knew him only by that name. What if he was pulling the strings? She hoped that was not the case because if he has wanted to sweep the controversy about the franchise under the rug, he would allow such things to happen. Especially since disappearances happened at the previous establishments too. She knew this.
"Evening Saphira, are you feeling better?" Cliff's voice made her stiffen like she had just been caught doing something wrong. "Freddy told us you were unwell earlier. I hope you can handle the test runs tonight."
"Yes I am fine. I just had to get it out of the system. I am taking it easy right now." Saphira made herself sound as confident as she could be. She herself was hoping Cliff was not part of the whole thing as well, he seemed too nice to her. "Freddy and Monty helped me through the utility tunnels and basement."
"They are not supposed to at this time, but I understand their need to ensure the humans are safe and healthy. So it will be overlooked. I hope it won't happen too often. We don't need guests seeing the security guard surrounded by the animatronics. It will look strange to them."
Saphira disagreed about that, but if she is not scared to the point of being physically sick she would not have to ask the animatronics to accompany her. Of course she didn't intend on telling Cliff the real reason yet. She had little trust in the humans working in the pizzaplex. "I promise to not get sick. I also assure you that it was not because of alcohol either."
"Good, good, that would be the next reason why. But you are not yet twenty-one so I would have to do something if you were drunk on the job. Hopefully it was just something you ate."
"I think so...the chicken I ate earlier before I came here tasted funny, so yeah..." That was a good alibi, even though it was a lie. But off chicken did result in someone being sick, so it was a good reason. "But I don't have much food at home so I try and not waste anything."
"Ew, off chicken..." Cliff definitely sounded disgusted by that and she was glad. "Good thing that it's out. Later you should have something better if you can stomach it. Maybe after Fazer Blast, bowling is not as adrenaline inducing as the other two attractions."
"Good idea. I don't even want coffee since that came back up too." She rubbed her throat as she could still taste some bitterness of the coffee and feel some burning in her throat. "Now I can't have another yet."
"Coffee going wasted like that is just a crime isn't it? I guess you should talk to your stomach about that." Saphira chuckled softly, Cliff seemed to like making jokes. Him being too kind like this didn't even make her think he had anything to do with the incident with the clown doll and head. "At least we have no animatronic maintenance tonight. The attraction tests are often tested by us, the night guard and the animatronics, which is why it is just Dave and I tonight."
Saphira wanted to ask why he allowed Dave to stay, but it wasn't her place . "Chica and Monty will be racing with us and Roxy tonight. They both insisted on it."
"Monty huh? He usually doesn't, so that will be fun to try and beat him and Roxy."
"Indeed it will be." Saphira glanced at the cameras, she saw Freddy returning to his room and slumping down on his lounge, putting his hands on his face. He seemed to be either thinking or sad about something. "I got to go Cliff. Being this quiet means someone is bound to be creeping somewhere."
"Oh yea, Sundays and Mondays are the worst for that. Alright, Dave and I are finishing up here anyway, we will see you at the raceway."
Saphira hears him cut the contact and she relaxed a bit. She didn't realize she had been tense while talking with him. Maybe it was her being very alert, which it probably was. Now she wanted to see Freddy.
"Okay Freddy, I'm ready to join you now," She said to him enthusiastically through the Fazwatch.
"Good. I look forward to seeing you super star. I am waiting for you."
Saphira smiled and walked out of the office. She did pause briefly and looked around to see if there was anymore clowns, or anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing. She glanced back at the computer screen, wondering what she should tell Freddy. She did not know, but being with him would make her feel a lot better and she knew it. She closed the door and walked across the atrium towards the Rockstar Row door. Her eyes wandered around her carefully, scanning the whole area for anything unusual. Nothing. So far, nothing. She remained very alert even once she reached the hallway, she saw the animatronics watching her. They all had worry on their faces, it seemed they have been told. She did find herself smiling when she saw Freddy at the window. He was not on the couch now, and he waved to her with a smile. She giggles and gave another glance around the hallway before entering the room. Freddy stood in front of the door and he chuckled when she wrapped her arms around him, happy to see him again. Freddy rubbed her back gently. He was glad she arrived at his room safely, it was here he felt he could spend the most time with her alone. He hoped that no other staff find out about it.
