The guard stands at the end of Rockstar Row, all is quiet and still, save for the few staff bots making their rounds up and down the hallway. She spied Chicas room first. Looking through the glass, said chicken is currently plucking at random notes on her guitar, accompanied by a thousand-yard stare. It didn't look like she would be changing activities anytime soon. She walks up to the window to get a better view of the room and its occupant; both are relatively clean. So far it was the complete opposite of what she was expecting, all the horror stories the tech team spread around about her seemed unfounded, then again, the night is still young.
The guard backs off, moving to the door between them. For a while she just stands there, taking the time to consider just moving on to the next animatronic. It is still up in the air whether or not she wants to actually talk to the robots, she could technically call it here and say out loud to herself that she checked on them. But then she remembers that her shift only just got started, and she would need to pass the time somehow someway.
So she knocks.
The muffled notes come to a dead stop, afterwards shuffling could be heard before heavy metallic footsteps rush towards the door. The guard didn't have time to regret her decision before the door slid open. To say Chica didn't expect the guard to be there is an understatement, she even looked a whole head above her thinking it was one of her friends. The initial confusion was amusing to see.
"Down here." The robot listens to her, finally seeing the culprit. She scans her to see if she is an intruder, which gives a negative result.
"I didn't know we were being given a night guard. What gives?" Not that she didn't like the human staff, she just doesn't like being out of the loop of things.
"Quite simple really, with all that happened last night, you four gave the company quite the scare. So here I am. The 'new' night guard."
"Oh…Was it really that bad? I can't remember anything."
"Well…to put it as nicely as possible, all of you were either physically damaged, or a massive glitch-fest, or both. Montgomery in particular had it bad, it was a miracle that he was able to be salvaged at all." The animatronic remembers how broken he was that morning.
"Thank goodness for that too. I thought for sure he would have ended up in the scrapyard when I saw how beat up he was." Chica leans onto the door frame, a bit more relaxed. "Did they find out why we were so out of it?" The guard shrugs her shoulders.
"Eeehh, sort of. From what I've heard there was a malicious type of virus lurking within all your systems. For some reason you and Monty got the brunt of it while Roxanne and Freddy were spared. Took a lot of time to completely scrub it and install countermeasures. As for who or what did it…that is still a mystery." Chica started to get tense again, straightening her posture once more.
"What if it happens again? I don't want to become a mindless drone again!" Her frightened tone caught the guard by surprise.
"Hey now, don't freak out on me. I'm more then confident that the tech team has ensured that it won't."
"It better not! It almost cost me my friendship with Roxy!" The hen still felt bad about that.
"Almost being the keyword there." The guard looked her up and down trying to find any physical damage to her being. Upon coming up empty, she straightened her cap and prepared to leave the robot to her own devices. "Anyways, I've come to make sure you are working properly, and it seems that you are. You may continue to do what you were doing." With that, the guard left the chicken, who went back to her couch to brood over last nights events.
'That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.'
The next room sent a chill down her spine. She can hear all sorts of destruction taking place within the chamber. The lights within were out, preventing any kind of visual on the occupant.
'Montgomery Gator. If a wrecking ball grew a face.'
She really had zero plans to interact with him, especially since he seems to be trashing his room mercilessly. Unlike him, she preferred to have all her limbs attached. Besides, his rabid shouts are proof enough that he is there, maybe not in the head, but there.
'I'll just jot him down as operational and leave it at that.'
She is about to walk off when she hears something impact the durable glass. It was tough to see, but she could barely make out the gators silhouette. She could feel his gaze piercing into her own, causing a feeling of dread to take hold. As fast as it came, it then disappeared, with his outline retreating back into the darkness to resume his blind path of gleeful destruction.
The guard speed walks down the hall, consciously skipping Roxannes room in favor of getting to Freddys room; he was the last of the 'on watch' animatronics to check. She noticed that his curtains were drawn, unlike the two previous bandmates. She was prepared to repeat the same process as she did with Chica, only to be thrown off when he opened the door just before her fist made contact with it. For a few moments both stood completely frozen, neither knowing how to continue from this awkward situation that they found themselves in. Freddy regained his composure first.
"Officer Vanessa? I didn't expect to see you here after hours." His voice is strained, like he is trying to sound normal.
"Join the club, I wasn't expecting to be thrown in here either. Everything went to hell all at once when you malfunctioned. The amount of crying kids and screaming parents security personnel had to escort out of the showroom was colossal." She rubs her temples when the memory comes back to haunt her.
'So much back and forth with those entitled idiots.'
"I'm sorry. I never anticipated anything bad to happen at that moment. I had no time to react."
"No, no. I blame the tech team, I already shouted enough swear words at them to make their daddies blush. I'm fresh out of anger today." She lets out a big yawn. "Besides, I'm too tired to care anymore, right now my focus is on trying to keep y'all from falling apart again or giving the building more love taps." The bear finally takes notice of the dark circles on her eyes.
"Did you not get proper rest Vanessa? Maybe you should take a nap." She brushes off his worry.
"I appreciate the concern, but I have a job to do, this isn't my first all nighter and it certainly won't be the last. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish up my round." Once she finished her observation of his physical condition, she then attempts to leave Freddy behind, only for him to follow her out. She softly groans in restrained frustration. "I don't know what your nightly routine is, but I'm sure attaching yourself to me isn't part of the plan, now would you kindly scamper back to your room so I can finish up here?" Freddys drooped at her annoyed tone.
"I thought that maybe I could help you with your stay here, it isn't often we get visitors after hours."
"Can we not do this now? I need you to stay in your room, at least until you three get the green light in the near future."
"But I insist. It can be really boring here without anyone to entertain." Vanessa raises a brow.
"Don't you have your friends to hang out with? Not to mention the attractions you can– you know what scratch that." He just watches expectantly, waiting with bated breath for her answer. "Sorry Freddy, but I'm not ready to have anyone around me for an extended period of time." He visibly sags from this answer. "Maybe tomorrow when I'm actually prepared for the night."
"Oh. Are you sure?" Vanessa nods confidently. "Alright then. Remember that I'm here…if you need me." 'Please don't kick out Gregory.'
"I'll keep that in mind." With that they depart, with one being reluctant and the other indifferent.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
It was a painstakingly long process of reciting the entire menu of each and every mini restaurant to the little kid, but to Roxy it was well worth it. Despite the huge array of options to choose from, Gregory wanted to go small this time, opting to go with only a plate of nachos and some water. With the order being sent through his new FazWatch, all that was left for them to do was wait.
The kid was still feeling lethargic and sore, yet he was unable to sleep it off, his body simply wouldn't allow it right now. This didn't go unnoticed by Roxanne, who paced the room waiting for a knock on the door.
"It should have been here by now. What is taking so long?" She muttered out loud to herself.
"Cut it some slack, the elevators here are the slowest thing in the world. I would know." Gregory didn't feel quite as upset as she is.
"Okay so maybe that is true, but I want you to be taken care of now." Her tail swished to and fro in irritation.
"I've been through a day without even a nibble before, I'm sure that I could go a few minutes longer." She freezes in pace then snaps her view to him, eyes wide.
"That…isn't a good thing! You should have never been put through that kind of trauma!" She zips to him then crouches down placing both hands on his cheeks. "You are only a child, you shouldn't be relying on yourself for something as simple as food, that is…wrong. So, so, wrong." She lowers her gaze towards the floor to regain her composure, the silence between them remaining unbroken for a good amount of time.
"But I have you and Freddy now." He said timidly. She could feel something welling up in her chest.
"...Yeah. You do."
The moment is cut short when the sound of someone banging on her door startles them.
"That must be the staff bot." Gregory said silently.
"Doesn't that stupid thing know how to use a door politely?" Roxanne said to no one in particular.
She stomps to the door, ready to follow Chicas example and make a new scrap pile if it fancies her, of course after safely collecting whatever edibles from its hands. Once she opens it she gets ready to reprimand the machine for being inconsiderate, but stops. There was a person instead with the bot standing behind her, not just any person, it was one of the security guards, and to make matters worse, she is looking just past her, making direct eye contact with the child under her care. He is just as shocked as the wolf.
'No…no.'
Roxanne wasn't ready for this type of scenario, not even in the slightest, she racks her head trying to come up with something to say but draws a blank. Meanwhile Vanessa rubs her eyes to make sure she isn't seeing things; nothing changed.
"Not even an hour in and I have to deal with my first intruder. I'm so good at this job." She mumbled to herself. The guard looks up at the wolf sternly with her arms crossed. "I had enough of dealing with kids during the day, never mind the night." She attempts to move past her and take the kid from where he sits, only to be stopped when the wolf tightly grips her arm. "Let me go!"
"Leave him alone." She growled out.
"Why? He shouldn't be here!" Vanessa turns back to the boy. "What do you think you're doing here kid? Didn't you hear the announcements?" Unlike Roxanne, the boy is quick to retaliate.
"It's not my fault this place is stupidly big for no reason! I got hopelessly lost and couldn't make it to the exit in time." He snarks to her.
"He talks back too– You know what just wait here, I'll call up the police so they can escort you back to your parents." The guard is suddenly pulled inside the room with the door closing behind her. The robot proceeds to body block her only exit.
"I won't let you do that." Roxanne lowly said. Vanessa sputters trying to form a coherent sentence.
"What the hell does that mean!? He needs to go home; it is where he belongs!" The wolf gets in her face then makes a bold declaration.
"...He is home." She stuns the guard, even herself for a moment.
"W-What is with you and this kid? He isn't your responsibility!"
"Who are you to decide for me, hm? I may not be human, but if I was, I would just be another face in the crowd."
"I'm not saying that you aren't– how long has he been here that you formed such a strong attachment!? What else do you guys hide from us!?" Roxanne pauses, reluctant to tell her more.
"It isn't that he was here for a long time, he only arrived last night actually. I…," She hesitates to continue, she could only hope that her friends weren't around to hear, "...hurt him really badly by accident. How doesn't matter, I just did." Vanessa suddenly notices the fresh looking bandages.
"And his parents?" The boy pipes up.
"I don't have any." The adult takes off her cap and rubs back her hair.
"Dammit." Now she felt conflicted. Roxys eyes pleaded to her.
"Please." The guard heavily sighed out her frustration.
"Fine…fine." 'It'll most likely be less troublesome this way.' "Do the others know about him?"
"Only Freddy." Vanessa recalls her conversation with him.
"That explains a lot actually." Roxy silently cheers, she feels at ease enough to retrieve the package from the staff bot that was still awkwardly waiting outside.
"Tip." It simply said. She tosses a plushie to its face. "Thank you." It rolls off.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
AN: Went through multiple drafts for this. I liked this one best.