A week after what happened with Sun, Sharon opens the door to Parts and Services, seeing that Kyle was talking to Rick, the maintenance manager.
"No way! I only know how to fix the Glamrocks, the base and structure of it is totally different! And from what I've seen, they're more delicate. I'm too rough for these things." Kyle argues.
"The problem is that we don't have specialized mechanics. Justin was the only one." Rick sighs.
Sharon walks silently to her desk.
"Maybe you can help us Sharon." Kyle calls.
"What's the problem?" she moves closer.
"Justin has been fired." Rick sighs.
"Who is Justin?"
"The daycare attendant's mechanic. It seems he wasn't doing the maintenance, it was reported about the attendant overheating and shutting down." Sharon looks away, best not to mention she was present when Roxanne sent the report. "And we need someone to take over until we find a new mechanic."
"And I'd probably just mess it up, if I messed with it." Kyle sighs. "Who else could fill in?"
"Sarah maybe, the problem is she already spends too much time on the DJ and DJ Minis. The other mechanics are focused on fixing whatever breaks on the attractions, they've never touched anything with AI." Rick puts his hand to his forehead, sighing. "The only one we have left is…"
The two face Sharon, who looks from one to the other.
"D-don't tell me…"
"You are our only option. You see, the attendant is different from the Glamrocks, more delicate, and you are more delicate than Kyle."
"I-I don't think I would be any good. Isn't he two AIs in one body? It must be very complicated…" she begins.
"You will earn extra."
"How much?" Rick pulls a clipboard out of nowhere and writes, then shows it to her. "That makes it hard for me to refuse…"
"I know you have a lot going on, but we can reconcile everything. Besides, the attendant's check-ups aren't every day and you don't need to mess with his AI, leave that to the mechanic we hire. Just get your schedule straight and everything will work out."
"Can I think about this some more? It's okay that Chef Bot isn't requiring me to make deliveries yet, but I don't want to accept without knowing if I can."
"Okay. I'll leave the attendant's manual for you to look at. By the end of the week let me know if you can do it." he approaches her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "And think about the money."
"I'll think about it."
With that, Rick bids them both farewell and leaves.
"Are you really going to accept?" Kyle leans against one of the tables.
"Well, they don't have much choice, and besides, it's a good amount."
"You're always driven by money." he laughs.
"Money is good, I can help Alan with it." Kyle holds out a large book to her. "What's this?"
"The attendant's manual. It is very different from everything here, I want to see if you will understand everything that is here."
"Are you doubting my abilities?" she picks up the book.
"Maybe…" she blows a raspberry at him and opens the manual, starting to look over the animatronic's specifications.
"Hmm, really, he's quite different. The base of the endoskeleton seems to be based on the STAFF, but modified for all the functions that it can perform…"
"I said he was complicated."
"Sun is made specifically to take care of the Daycare, Moon was also programmed to do the security. I never understood why they did that."
"Have you seen Moon? He'd make any half-witted thief run away just by looking at him."
"No, I haven't seen him, only Sun." she looks at Kyle.
"Then pray it stays that way." he stares at her. "Anyone who gets involved with Moon ends up hurt, or worse."
"Tell me it's not what I think it is." Sharon sighs.
"What?" Chica stares at her, confused. The two were sitting at a table in FazPad, drinking coffee and eating a piece of cake.
"That Freddy is spying on us through the kitchen door."
"Hmm, let me see." before Sharon could say anything, Chica turns her head, looking at the kitchen behind them. Sharon almost spits out the coffee she was drinking, choking as Chica finishes the three hundred and sixty degree turn with her head. "Yeah, it's Freddy… are you okay? What happened?"
"Please… if you're going to do that again… let me know first." She speaks between coughs.
"Do what?"
"Spin your head like The exorcist. That was scary." she finally manages to stop coughing and breathe.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I thought you were used to it." she laughs.
"It's just that sometimes I forget that you all are animatronics and that you don't have all the limitations of a human." that gets a few laughs out of the chicken.
"I'll let you know next time. But for Freddy to be here…"
"He probably wants something with me." she finishes the sentence.
"What did you do this time?"
"Nothing." Sharon huffs, crossing her arms.
"Then it can't be a bad thing. Do you want me to text him to come here?"
"Yes, please."
In less than a minute, the bear comes out of his hiding place and makes his way to the table.
"H-hello Superstars!" he is nervous.
"Hey Freddy, how was the spying?" Chica laughs, leaving the bear in awe.
"I-I was not spying…"
"Sit down Freddy." Sharon offers him the chair across from her, which he sits on. "Did you want to talk to me about something?"
"W-well… yes…"
"And what is it?"
"T-the attendant spoke to me…" the sentence makes Sharon tense up, which Chica notices. "I just wanted to know… is everything okay with your injury?"
"Injury?" Chica stares at her.
"Yes, everything is fine, it's taken care of."
"Could I… look? You know… I'm equipped to help with that sort of thing." He offers.
She looks at him and then at Chica, they both look worried and she knew they were not going to leave her alone. With a sigh, she tries to find a way out of that situation without being interrogated.
"Chica can look."
"Bawk? Me?" the animatronic lets out a chicken sound, surprised.
"Yes. Freddy already took care of me in the golf club incident, now I want to see you in action, since you all have a protocol for cases like this, let's test it!" It was obviously an elaborate excuse, but the two of them looked at each other and silently agreed.
"Right, let's go to one of the first aid stations so I can check it out." she gets up, the other two do the same. "I'll take care of it myself, Freddy."
"But…" he notices the chicken's gaze and shuts up, understanding. "Okay, I'll see you later."
"See you later!"
The two leave the FazPad and head for the station.
"Sharon… why didn't you say you were hurt?" Chica was apprehensive.
"Well, I didn't see the need, it doesn't affect my work at all, and I'm fine." she replies, sighing.
"But you know that if you are hurt, just call one of us to take care of it, we are here to help."
"I know, you just don't have to, it's okay."
"But let's just take a look so that Freddy will stop bothering you, right?"
"Yes."
The two arrive at the first aid station.
"Alright, sit on the chair and show me where the injury is." Chica indicates, Sharon sits down and then lifts up her shirt sleeve, revealing her bandaged arm.
Soon Chica sees that the bands were clumsily done around her arm, probably Sharon had taken care of herself.
"I'll undo it and check it out, ok?"
"Go on."
Carefully, she unwraps it and finally sees the famous injury.
It was worse than expected.
"Hm, Sharon?"
"Yes?"
"What medicine were put on this wound?"
"Hmm, water."
"And?"
"Just water." this draws an incredulous gasp from the chicken.
"How long have you had this injury?"
"About two or three days." the answer makes Chica grab her arms and face her, frightened.
"And how is that 'being well'?! You don't feel pain?!" She raises her voice.
"No, I have no pain, just a slight discomfort." Chica stares at her in disbelief, she seemed to be speaking the truth. Her pain tolerance could be so high as to only leave her with a slight discomfort.
"I need you to tell me what made that cut." Sharon opens her mouth, but Chica interrupts her. "I don't want details, I just need to know what the object was so I have an idea of the damage and how to treat it."
Sharon compresses her lips and then replies.
"A bottle of wine." she whispers.
"Right, I'll do a little scan to make sure there's no glass shards left." she lets go of her and then picks up her injured arm, her eyes shining and then returning to normal.
She makes a sound of disapproval.
"What is it?" Sharon raises an eyebrow.
"The discomfort you speak of must be because there are some shards left. I will have to call James to extract them."
"Wait a minute, if you call him, he'll give me another sick note!" she holds Chica's arm. "I can't get another sick note!"
"Why not? A lot of people would be happy not to have to work." she is confused.
"But not me! I need to work!" the two face each other.
"What if I ask him not to give you a sick note? We need to get those shards out of your arm, and I'm not authorized to do something like that. Besides, your wound is going to reopen because of this, best to rest that arm afterwards." she tries to bargain.
"He takes out the shards and fixes my arm, that's all, no sick notes."
Chica sighs, Sharon clearly wouldn't budge on this insane decision not to work.
"Okay, I'll call him." she sends the message, asking for urgency. "But if the wound gets worse or hurts, I want you to stop and call me, you hear me?"
"Right."
Chica stares at her for a moment, she knew that she would only really call sick if she was no longer able to work, however she wanted to give a vote of confidence that the mechanic would trust her more to ask for help.
"What's the emergency?" James appears, flustered, until he sees the two. "Hey, you're the one with the golf club."
"Yes, and by the looks of it I missed you." she laughs.
"What happened?" he comes close, seeing the wound.
"Glass bottle injury. I did a scan and there are still shards of glass." Chica explains. "I sent you the scan."
"Thanks, let me see…" he checks the tablet "Yeah, this is going to hurt, especially since the wound has already started to heal. I'm going to have to cut it open, but I don't have any anesthesia with me."
"You can do without it." they both stare at Sharon in disbelief.
"It will hurt more than when you were cut."
"No problem."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure, just go." he faces Chica, who shrugs, just accepting her decision.
"If it hurts too much, let me know and I'll stop immediately and find some way to get some anesthesia." he pulls out a scalpel.
"You won't need it."
And he starts the procedure.
During the whole process, Sharon didn't even shudder. During the whole time she was calm.
Too calm.
Chica didn't like that, but, in a way, it explained why the mechanic didn't worry about injuries.
Her pain tolerance was high.
But how did she develop this?
And who attacked her?
"Okay, they're all gone." James announces. "I'm going to disinfect and apply this medicine, you don't need stitches, which is a good thing."
"Okay." he starts disinfecting.
"You really don't want a sick note?"
"No, I don't want one." she is firm in her decision.
"Still, I'm going to prescribe you these pain meds, and I recommend using this arm as little as possible, so it doesn't reopen." she nods in agreement as he bandages it up. "And if you want this to continue under the table, come back to me in a couple of days, so I can see how it's healing. It may not have been deep, but it's still a pretty big wound and easy to infect."
"Right."
He finishes bandaging.
"There you go. You are ready to go."
"Thank you, the discomfort has eased a lot." she thanks him. With a smile, he gets up, pats Chica on the shoulder and leaves.
"Doesn't it hurt?" she goes over to Sharon, who gets up.
"No, it's fine." she looks sideways, then at Chica, a little nervous. "And thanks… I think it would be worse if you weren't insistent."
"Ah… n-no problem! That's what friends are for!" that catches her off guard "just… If you have another injury, any injury, could you tell me? I can take care of it like I did today." she takes her hand.
The two face each other.
"Yes, I will call you." she agrees. This time, Chica saw more firmness in her answer.
This made the animatronic happy.
It seemed that she had finally made some progress in getting Sharon to open up to her.
This was already a great achievement.
"There you are, little lady!" Montgomery's powerful voice rings out.
"I'm not little." Sharon complains with a sigh, DJ Music Man nods in agreement.
The three of them were at Fazcade, in the hallway next to the security office where all the unused arcades were kept, already the next day.
"But you're short, like, really short." the alligator teases, making her huff and getting a few laughs from him.
"Why were you looking for me?" she tries to ignore the laughter by changing the subject.
"Some Wet Floor Bots malfunctioned at Gator Golf, so I came to get you."
"Just text me, you didn't have to pick me up." she closes the Security Bot panel.
"But what fun is in that? And also, you wouldn't be seeing me in all my glory." he strikes a pose.
Sharon and the DJ stare at him, until they simply ignore him and go back to fixing with the Bots.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!"
"I'll help you after I'm done with these cuties, until then, let me enjoy my time with the DJ." to illustrate, the giant animatronic makes a "get outta there" sign with his hand.
Montgomery growls, hating to be contradicted.
"Can you turn it for me?" Sharon asks the DJ, who agrees and turns the bot around so she can access it better to tidy up.
Why was DJ Music Man so forthcoming? He was usually more reserved.
Seeing Montgomery's confusion, DJ signals a letter emote in his eyes.
That's when the alligator remembers the day before.
Chica had sent a message to all the Glamrocks letting them know that the little mechanic had an injury and to help her in any way they could.
But without speaking to her.
This was all very confusing, why was she working if she was injured? And why not say anything?
He growls in frustration and backs himself into a corner, making Sharon stare at him for a moment with a raised eyebrow.
Thinking was not Montgomery's thing. He preferred more action than thinking.
Thinking complicated things.
But he didn't have much to do at the moment, so he didn't want to interrupt her friendly moment with the giant animatronic.
"Why are you so angry Monty?" her voice catches his attention.
"Huh?"
"You're growling and snorting in there, and your tail is hitting the wall." she laughs when he looks at the tail and grabs it with his hands to stop the movement.
"I-I'm not angry!" he speaks.
"Clearly you are."
"Am not!"
"What are we going to do DJ? He's in denial." she laughs, looking at the animatronic, who just shrugs and makes a sad sound. "Yeah, he's a lost case."
"Stop making fun of me." he snorts.
"Sorry." she laughs, until sparks come out of the Bot she was fixing and hit her hand. "Auch, is that how you treat me?" she complains to the Bot.
"Are you okay?" Montgomery approaches her, alarmed. DJ Music Man too, moving his hands in panic.
"It was no big deal, I touched where I shouldn't have." she looks at her hands. "Well, I deserved it, since I don't wear gloves."
Despite her lines, Montgomery grabs her hands and does a little scanning.
"Really, do you need all that?" she laughs, until he is satisfied. "Did you find something?"
"No… It's alright." he looks away. DJ Music Man puts one hand on his chest, looking relieved.
"You don't have to panic, it's normal for sparks to come out." she smiles, but sees that the alligator was still nervous, moving his hands and looking to the side, seeming to think about something. Taking advantage of the moment when Montgomery was distracted, Sharon decides to do something that she always wanted to do and that might make him stop being nervous.
She stands on tiptoe and with her hand, pats Montgomery on the head, next to his mohawk.
He widens his eyes and stares at her, surprised.
"You…" he points at her.
"Hey DJ, can you get your face closer?" she ignores his reaction, turning to the big animatronic, who does as she asks. "You're amazing, you deserve a cuddle." she pats his cheek, the only area she can reach.
The gesture causes DJ Music Man to put his hands to his face, clearly in a sign of embarrassment, drawing a few laughs from her.
"You guys are so cute." she laughs, going back to fiddling with the STAFF Bot.
"I-I'm not cute!" Montgomery stammers.
"Don't try to deny the truth." she keeps fiddling with the bot. DJ Music Man just agrees, which makes the alligator snort. "It's not bad to be cute."
"Rockstars are not cute."
"That's where you're wrong." she stares at him holding the screwdriver. "The ones who are cute are the most successful."
"You're making that up."
"I am not."
"Yes, you are."
"I'm not, DJ agrees with me, right?" the two of them stare at the giant animatronic, who backs away and signals to leave him out of the discussion. "And I thought you were my friend."
The three stare at each other for a moment, until they start laughing.
"What are you doing there Nerd?" Roxanne's voice draws Sharon's attention, who was on one of the couches at El Chip's.
"Reading the daycare attendant's manual." she replies, flipping the page.
"Really, a nerd thing." Roxanne comes over and leans against the sofa. "But do you have to be upside down? Doesn't it hurt your head being upside down?"
"Nah, I was tired of acting like a normal person." she closes the manual and sits down normally.
"And why are you with the attendant's manual?"
"Rick is out of mechanics and wants me to take care of the attendant until he finds a mechanic for him, so I'm seeing if I can do that."
"And how is it going?"
"He's a bit more complicated than a STAFF Bot, but not as much as you guys. If it's just for cleaning and basic testing, I can do it. But if I have to mess with the AI, then it's beyond my capabilities. It's very complicated." she explains. "But this is too nerdy for you, right, and I have until Friday to give an answer."
"Well, it's your decision, but don't forget that seeing me is more important."
"You're not going to come with a speech that I shouldn't and that it's dangerous because of Moon?"
"What, why would I do that?"
"Because that's what half the people I talked to have said."
"Moonface may be 'dangerous', but he's no idiot. And if he tries anything, he'll have to see me, and probably the rest of the band." that brings a smile to Sharon's face.
"I can't disagree with that." she stands up. "I'm still on my break, do you want to do something?"
"How about some Combat Kids matches?" she points to Super Fazcade.
"Why not? But I warn you, I'm awful." she shrugs, the two of them heading inside the attraction.
"I'll take it easy." Roxanne laughs.
The two arrive in front of the arcade machine.
"Want to bet something?"
"Hm, if I win, you give me a free plush."
"Oh, for free? Clever." Roxanne laughs. "If I win, you'll have to spend your entire break for a week doing my bidding."
"I expected nothing less. I'll take it." she laughs, the two shake hands and turn to the machine.
"Prepare to serve me for a week."
"Let's see."
And the game begins.
"NO! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!" Roxanne shouts as they finish their games. "YOU CHEATED IT!" she points at Sharon accusingly.
"Hey, you saw that I didn't cheat." she puts her hands up in surrender.
"BUT YOU SAID YOU WERE BAD!"
"I am!"
"THEN HOW DID YOU BEAT ME?!"
"Beginner's luck?"
"GAAWH!" with a screech of frustration, Roxanne begins to march out of the Super Fazcade, people stepping aside for her to pass.
During the matches, a small crowd gathered to cheer on the two, as it was unusual to see one of the Plex stars playing an arcade.
"Will I go after her?" Sharon thinks out loud.
A sound of cymbals crashing catches her attention, one of the Mini Music Man stands in front of her.
"Oh, what's up Mini! Were you watching us play?" she bends down. The little one agrees. It makes a few more movements with the cymbals. "Hm? Are you telling me to leave her alone? Are you sure?" again it agrees. "Well, if you say so."
Her Fazwatch rings.
"And there goes my break, let's see what I have to do…"
Fix the Comedy Bot.
"Comedy Bot? Is that the one that performs at the Theater?" she glares at Mini Music Man, who agrees, clattering its cymbals. "Come on, maybe he can tell me some good jokes." and she heads for the Fazcade door, accompanied by Mini Music Man.
"Are you still here?" a voice snaps Sharon out of her concentration, who looks at the owner of the voice.
"Huh?"
"Thirty minutes until the Plex closes." a man with glasses warns her.
"But already? Wow, I didn't even see the hours go by." she stands up, adjusting her glasses.
"If it wasn't for your friend, I wouldn't have even noticed you were here." he points to the Mini Music Man, who looks a little annoyed. "It kept banging the plates, but I guess you didn't notice."
"Oh, sorry! I was just so focused!" she apologizes to the little one, who turns its head to the side, frowning. "And thank you for warning me, er…"
"Reyes." he holds out his hand.
"The security guard that Moon broke his hand?" she speaks in surprise, until she realizes she had said it out loud. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean it!"
"Don't worry, I figured I'd end up earning this reputation. At least it's better than Bóris'." he laughs.
"I'm Sharon, mechanic of the STAFF Bots." she shakes his hand. "Not that it's any of my business, but I thought you weren't doing rounds at the Theater anymore because of what happened."
"'I wanted to, but Edna couldn't change my itinerary because we were short on people." he sighs.
"Edna?"
"The security manager."
"I don't think I know her."
"Fifty years old, brown hair, short, always wearing a suit and looking angry?" he describes.
"Isn't she always running around like she's going to rip someone's head off?" she thinks a little.
"That's the one."
"I've seen her a few times."
They both laugh.
Until they are interrupted by the sound of cymbals.
Mini Music Man faces them both, clattering its cymbals.
"Okay, got it, I just have to do the final check." she replies.
"Do you understand it?" he looks at them both.
"Yes, it's warning us that we're wasting time, we have to go soon before the Plex closes." she explains.
"How..."
"'You start to understand when you talk to them every day." she laughs. "I'll finish looking at the Bot, and thanks for warning me."
"Ah, no problem. I'll finish my rounds, I'll be out before the Plex closes too." with that he smiles and leaves.
Sharon makes the final adjustments to the Bot and turns it back on.
"Right, I need you to do a scan and let me know if there's anything wrong." she instructs him, who stands still for a while.
"Scan complete, no anomalies detected." his voice startles her.
"Gosh, I'd forgotten that you spoke!" she laughs, the Bot stares at her.
"Is there a problem with me talking?"
"No no, it's just that you caught me off guard!" she adjusts herself. "Well, let's go to your place on the stage and do a test to see if your routine is correct and then I'll release you."
The Bot agrees and the two leave the dressing rooms and head to the theater stage.
"Right, how long is your show?"
"About one hour."
"I don't have all that time unfortunately. Can you shorten it?"
"I can tell two jokes." he holds up his two fingers.
"That works."
The two arrive at the front of the stage. He quickly climbs up and positions himself, straightening his bow tie.
"You may begin."
"I just rolled in here, and boy are my wheels tired." He speaks and on the speakers on stage, the famous drum sound, the well-known baduntss, sounds.
Sharon glares at him.
"Is this serious?" she asks in disbelief.
"Next joke loading…" he announces. "So, where are you from? How interesting. I've never been there. I am confined to this building. Tell me; where you come from, do they call it pop or soda? Well, here we call it half off at our concession stand for the next fifteen minutes. And that is no joke."
The two stare at each other for a moment.
Sharon laughs.
"No, it can't be! Is it really these jokes you tell?" she keeps laughing.
"Yes, those are the jokes in my database." he confirms.
"God, the heads really only think about money!" she laughs harder. "Can't I teach you some better jokes?"
"Negative, my guidelines mandate that I only present the jokes that have been passed down to me since my creation."
"There's no advantage there, the heads are being idiots." she stops and notices what she said, looking around. "Oh, please, don't tell them I said that!"
"It will not be spoken. They don't even see me."
She stares at him. That sounded so sad.
Until the Bot points both hands in her direction and the sound of baduntss sounds again.
"Was that a joke?"
"Maybe."
She starts laughing and makes the same gesture to him.
Until bells sound behind her.
"What are you doing here?" a harsh voice sounds, and she turns around. The Comedy Bot recoils a little, showing fear.
In front of her was none other than Moon.
"Is there a problem?" she stares at him, confused.
"Yes, you."
"What?"
"'You're always butting in, making everyone's head up, pretending that you care and that you're important." he grabs her arm.
"H-hey! What are you thinking?!" she tries to break free from his grasp, but to no avail.
"Do you think I haven't noticed that everyone is following you around like puppies?" he brings his face close to hers.
"What are you talking about?"
"Stop pretending you don't know! I'm talking about them! The band! And Sun!" he practically shouts.
"What? I'm just their friend!" she tries again to disentangle herself, in vain again.
"Bullshit, you're just playing the good girl to get their trust." he squeezes her wrist, who groans in pain.
"I am not! They are my friends! I'm not pretending to be a good girl!" she practically screams at him.
"Yes, you are! You are not a good girl!" he shouts back.
"I am a good girl!"
"You are not!"
"I am a good…"
"You are not!"
"I…" her voice drops.
"You are not!"
"I'm… I-I…"
And she falls to her knees on the floor, scaring the animatronic, but he doesn't let go of her wrist.
She had her face turned to the ground, and was mumbling something. He moved his head closer to listen.
"I'm sorry… I won't do it anymore. I'll be a good girl, a good girl. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." and she kept repeating these words.
"What…"
"Freeze!" a voice makes him turn towards the entrance of the Theater. "Get away from her Moon!"
Reyes and the Mini Music Man stare at the two, Moon standing, and Sharon kneeling, looking totally defeated.
"I won't say it again, Moon!"
The animatronic practically lets out a growl, letting go of Sharon's wrist and then his cable comes down from the ceiling and he jumps on it, disappearing.
Reyes and the Mini Music Man immediately rush over to her, while she's still kneeling, muttering repeatedly.
"Sharon! What did Moon do?" he stoops down in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders, which tense up. "Hey, look at me."
"R-Reyes?" she finally seems to come to her senses as she looks at him.
"Yes. Moon's gone, you're safe now." he lets her go. "What did he do?"
"I-it was nothing, he just grabbed my arm." she feels something touch her hand, Mini Music Man was hugging it, in a sign of comfort. "It was nothing, I'm okay little one."
"Involving Moon, it's never 'nothing'. Come on, which of the locker rooms do you use?"
"The one from the Daycare, why?" she gets up with his help.
"We have fifteen minutes to get out of here, and I don't want any interruptions." he looks to the sides and ceiling, the two of them heading for the locker room.
Arriving there, he closes the door and she heads for her locker and takes out her things.
"Why didn't you want an interruption?" she asks.
"Because that's probably the last straw for Moon." he sighs.
"What do you mean?" he holds out papers to her, who reads the title. "This is…"
"An incident report. I'll fill it in here and you just have to sign it." he sits down on one of the chairs and starts writing.
"Sign?"
"Yes, this attack of his on you is unacceptable, even though he is under restrictions and knows it, he goes and does it! I had some hope that he would change after breaking my hand, but he has proven not to! With this here, the directors will dis-…"
He is interrupted with Sharon's hand holding his that was writing furiously on the paper.
"Don't report it." she looks him in the eye.
"What? Have you gone mad?"
"Maybe." she laughs. "But he only squeezed a little, I'm not hurt."
"But you were on the ground…"
"I just got a fright."
The two face each other.
"Are you sure everything is really all right?"
"Yes."
"You really don't want me to report that?"
"He did not hurt me, there is no need to make a report."
He sighs, looking at the wrist Moon had grabbed, it was covered by the sleeve of her shirt, preventing him from seeing the bruise he knew was there. He looks at her face, she had made her decision, she would not sign the paper even if he forced her.
"'Right, I'm not going to force you." he stands up, sounding disgruntled at being contradicted. "But if it happens again, I'll send you a report, and you'll sign it, even if you don't want to." she nods. "Well, I'll let you get ready, I'm also going to run out before the Plex closes."
"Right."
"Take care Sharon." he opens the door to the changing room.
"You too." she gives a smile and he closes the door.
She waits a few seconds standing up.
Until she leans against the wall and slips to the floor, and when she sits down, she hugs her legs.
"I-I'm a good girl… I promise I won't do it anymore… Please…" she murmurs, tears filling her eyes as she hides her face between her legs. "Don't stop loving me… I'm a good girl."
What idea was that?!
Sun screeches at Moon's head, making him grunt.
"I don't know what you're talking about." he gets down from his cable in front of the doors of the Daycare.
You may have blocked me, but I can still see your memories Moon! Why did you attack Sharon?!
"If you can see my memories, you know why." the animatronic huffs.
Have you forgotten the restriction?! What do you think will happen now, eh?!
"The heads will fight me, but nothing will change."
Wrong! Have you forgotten that they want to shut you down?! They warned that if there were any more incidents they would shut you down forever!
"They have no way of doing that."
They can't separate us. But disconnecting one of us is much simpler!
"You are bluffing."
I'm not and you know it Moon! God, why do you have to keep screwing it up!
"I wouldn't screw it up if you didn't act like an abandoned dog because of her!"
Don't blame me for your actions!
"Shut up!" Moon puts his hands to his face, in a vain attempt to stop listening to his angry counterpart.
It's always like that! You can't take responsibility for your actions and you keep telling me to shut up!
"Shut up!"
"Moon." a voice interrupts the heated discussion between the two. Moon looks back, hands still on his face and seeing that Reyes is staring at him, papers in hand.
"What do you want?" he grunts.
"Consider yourself lucky." Reyes practically spits out the words, throwing the papers towards the animatronic.
The papers spread out in front of him, who looks and reads that it was an incident report.
It's about Sharon...
Until he sees where her signature should go.
It was blank.
"She refused to sign and give the report to the board. She kept pretending that everything was fine and that you didn't hurt her, even though it was clear that it wasn't fine." he stares at him, serious. "You owe her your metallic ass, for me you'd be off by now." he turns around. "This is the only time I'm going to let it go. You won't get another chance."
And with this last warning, the security guard leaves.
Moon, do something!
"She… Didn't let them turn me off?" Moon finally moves, picking up one of the papers from the floor, the one she was supposed to sign.
You have to go after her, apologize!
"Huh? Why?"
You just heard! She saved you, you ingrate!
"She did it because she wanted to."
That's enough! I can't take it anymore! Give me control!
"No!" the rays of sunlight on his head start to come out. "Don't you dare Sun!" he holds the rays, trying to put them in, the two of them beginning to fight for control of the body.
If you won't apologize, I will! It's the least she deserves!
"You idiot! It's past midnight, she's gone!"
It doesn't matter! I'll make sure that the moment she arrives tomorrow, she'll earn an apology and that you won't do anything to her!
"Ah, so now you want to stop me from controlling the body? No different from what the directors want to do to me!"
With that, the fight for control of the body ceases. Moon feels relieved.
Sun says nothing, and that begins to worry him.
"Sun?"
It is not my intention to be like them.
Sun practically whispers. Damn, he had hurt his counterpart.
"N-not what I meant…"
Don't try Moon. Just let me be quiet now. I need to… think.
And with that he feels that Sun has cut off all communication. He knew that even if he called him, he would not get an answer.
Why did he have to be so horrible to Sun? Why does he have to be so hard-headed and not accept his mistakes?
Things between the two of them only got worse with each passing day, and he hated it.
Moon simulates a sigh, now that the Plex is closed and Sun has disconnected, he had the control of the body for himself, and he wasn't in the mood to lock himself in the Daycare and mope around.
He starts walking, making a few more rounds, maybe take out his anger on some STAFF Bot and maybe by then Sun will talk to him again.
Heading up the stairs he hears a sound.
Sound of cymbals?
He follows the sound, taking him near the staff locker room, and finds the source of the sound.
One of the Mini Music Man was trying to get into the locker room, it looked nervous.
"What are you trying to do?" Moon speaks, making the little one stop and stare at him.
She needs us! But she won't leave the locker room! We can't go in there!
Mini Music Man speaks through the communication channel.
"What are you talking about?"
Sharon! She's locked herself in and is now mumbling in there! If we don't do something, she won't come out of this!
"The girl? Is she still here? But the Plex has already closed."
Damn, you're dumb! I'll have to call Chica and…
"You can stop, no calling the chicken. You're not making sense." he grabs the head of the little one, who starts hitting his hand with the cymbals. "Explain it properly now."
Just you listen through the door idiot!
It indicates the door, which Moon stares.
Letting go of it, he goes to the door and increases his auditory sensors.
And then he hears murmurs and an obvious cry.
"Damn." is all he says as he walks away.
We usually managed to calm her down quickly, but we couldn't get to her in the locker room. We've never seen her like this for so long.
"And you want me to do what?"
Something!
"Have you forgotten that I can't come in either? You'll have to wait for her to come out."
How can you say something like that? It's because of you that she is like this!
"And?"
Ah, enough! I'll call Chica!
Totally frustrated, the Mini Music Man starts running and enters a ventilation duct, probably going after Chica.
Seeing that he was alone, Moon shrugged and took a step away, making a point to leave. That wasn't his problem, she was getting what she deserved…
Until there were Sharon's mutterings again.
The sound of her sad crying makes him stop, he knew that sound very well.
He grunts, regretting what he was about to do.
"Ah, fuck it." he turns to the door and approaches.
What would he do now? Would he knock? Call for her?
He chooses to knock and wait.
Nothing happens.
He hits harder, more audibly.
The murmurs stop.
Had it worked?
Some strange sounds occur, and the door is opened.
"Moon?" Sharon casts a curious glance, straightening her glasses that were in a crooked position, as the animatronic stares at her.
She had obviously cried, but her face was dry, and her attitude was also trying to hide it.
If it weren't for her red eyes, she'd pass that she was fine.
"What is it? Do you need something?" she cocks her head to one side, puzzled, seeing that the animatronic has fallen silent. He wants to answer, but he can't find the right words. Seeing his nervousness, she decides to intervene. "Do you want to come in?"
"Huh?" he stares at her in disbelief, his nervousness fading.
"You're going to stand there and try to say something and I can't stand up, so you better come in and say what you want while I sit down." she shrugs.
"A-aren't you afraid I'll attack you again?"
"Are you going?"
"N-no."
"Then come right in." she sighs. "I, Sharon Delisle, confirm that you, the daycare attendant, may enter the Daycare locker room."
"W-wait a minute! You have to specify that it is-…"
Ding!
"Only now…" he grunts, his guidelines already warning him that he no longer had any restrictions on entering the locker room. "Great, now I have unrestricted access." he huffs.
"Is there a problem? Are you going to start spying on everyone in the locker room now?"
"I could! Or take my anger out on someone!" she stares at him for a few seconds.
"Yeah, no, you wouldn't." she opens the door wider, indicating for him to enter.
"How can you be so sure? Have you forgotten what I did? What I do?" he brings his face close to hers, who just stares at him and sighs, tired.
"Yes, I know your fame in the Plex." she says. "But after the 'conversation' we had, I feel like everything you do has a reason, only nobody understands." this catches him off guard, who takes a step back, a little scared. "So I want to trust you, that you won't try to break everyone's hand who enters the locker room."
"You're putting your faith in someone you shouldn't."
"Yeah, yeah, if you go around hurting everyone and they see that I'm the one who gave you unrestricted access, I could lose my job, or even get arrested, who knows." she shrugs. "But I want to give you this chance, so can you please come in? I really need to sit down."
"You'll regret it." he says, entering the locker room.
"Yeah, I've heard that a lot." she closes the door. "So, what made you come to me?" she sits down on one of the chairs, sighing and closing her eyes momentarily.
"Do you know you're stuck in the Plex? It's past midnight." he decides to start with the easiest.
"Yes, I noticed when you knocked on the door." she opens her eyes and seems to remember something. "Oh yeah, I'll have to warn Alan." she reaches into her purse that was conveniently on the floor next to the chair, pulling out her cell phone.
"Who is that?"
"My boyfriend." she starts typing and sends the message to him, sighing afterwards. "What brings you here?"
"Ah, well…" should he talk about the crying? No, it didn't seem like it would bring a good reaction from her, from the way she was acting. He looked down, noticing her hands. "Your wrist…" he hated how weak his voice sounded at that moment, that just looking at it reminded him of his fight with Sun and the paperwork she didn't sign.
"What about it?" she asks.
"I hurt you at that time." that was a statement.
"No need to worry, it's not even hurting." she looks at her cell phone, seeing Alan's reply.
"No."
"No?" she lifts her head and almost falls back, Moon's face was in front of hers. How did he approach so quickly and silently with those bells?
"I have to take responsibility for my actions." he stares at her, until he gets up and heads for the bathroom, leaving her staring at him totally confused.
He returns with a first aid box in hand.
"Hold out your hand." he commands.
"This is unnecessary…"
"The hand." his tone makes her swallow and quickly reach for the hand he hurt.
Calmly, he examines her wrist, which was purple and the size of his hand. He turns to the box and takes out an ointment, which he carefully uncaps and puts on her wrist, then spreads it. At no point did she show any pain, which raises many questions in Moon's mind.
"Are you finished?" she asks when he stops and holds her hand, seemingly lost in thought.
"Oh, yes." he puts the ointment away in the box and gets up, heading for the bathroom.
She moves her hand, testing the movements she could still make. Yeah, she could still work.
"I'm sorry." she looks back, Moon was standing in the doorway, looking over his shoulder.
"It was nothing, it's okay." she flashes him a smile, it's the first time she smiled at him, however he could see it wasn't as sincere, not like when she smiled at Sun. He grunts, not liking that she treated that whole situation like it was nothing, and that the first smile he's gotten in years isn't as genuine. He puts the box back where he took it from, walking back over to her.
A silence hangs between the two.
What should he talk about now? He never talked to anyone for so long, he always did his rounds alone, and when he still had the children's bedtime, he exchanged few words with them, so how should he continue the conversation for that awkward silence to go away?
Wait, why was he trying to interact with this human anyway? She was the one causing his problems!
Moon turns his head towards her, a sudden anger rising. But stops at the sight of her.
She was sitting on the chair, holding her wrist and looking lost. Her look was that of someone tired, very tired, with sadness attached.
Why does she have that look?
"Y-you…" he begins to speak, forgetting the anger he had felt earlier, but the words die.
"Me?" she looks at him, curious.
"You, why…"
"Hey Nerd! Are you in there?!" knocks sound on the door, accompanied with Roxanne's voice, startling them both and interrupting the moment.
"R-Roxy?" she asks, getting up and going to the door, opening it and bumping into the worried looking wolf and a Mini Music Man. "What's up?"
"Mini warned me that you needed help and…" she sees Moon coming up behind Sharon. "What's Moonface doing in there?!" she points accusingly at him.
"He came to help me, no big deal." Sharon replies as he faces the wolf, his posture not at all friendly.
"Why didn't you call me? I'm better than that… thing." she looks at him, clearly she had changed the curse she was going to utter against him at the last minute.
"He offered, didn't he?" Sharon looks at Moon, who looks at the smile she gives him, the same smile as before.
"Yeah, whatever." he rolls his eyes, annoyed, earning a growl from Roxanne and an angry crash of cymbals from Mini Music Man.
"Guys, calm down, it's okay." she tries to calm down, getting in the doorway, between the three of them. "Moon helped me with a bruise, no big deal."
"Which he caused himself, from what I hear." Roxanne crosses her arms, still staring at him.
"That's water under the bridge, we've settled things, he apologized."
"Him? Apologizing? Difficult."
"I'm not hard-headed like you or your reptile friend." he raises his head a little, showing superiority.
"What did you say?" she growls.
"What you heard."
The two keep growling at each other.
"If you want to fight, fight, just don't get me in the middle of it." Sharon sighs, stepping out of the doorway and into the hallway, Mini Music Man trailing behind her and leaving the two silly-faced animatronics watching her head for the entrance to the Daycare and heading for the entrance to the Pizzaplex.
She sighs, now she was stuck there until morning, she had done everything on her list and was feeling like shit for the explosion of emotions she had in the locker room alone.
Actually, she hadn't done everything, she still had to finish reading the daycare attendant's manual.
She had actually considered turning down Rick's offer, but after seeing how Moon really acted and apologizing for what he did, it might not be a bad idea to accept the offer.
And there was also the extra money she would earn.
"Since I have a lot of free time until it opens, how about we pay a visit to Chef Bot?" she looks at the Mini Music Man, who stares at her. "Yes, I know he didn't call me, and it's been a long time and he doesn't want my help, but I wanted to stop by and see if everything is okay, since I have time now."
The Mini Music Man shrugs its shoulders and agrees, the two take a step towards the Atrium, however they stop upon hearing hurried footsteps.
"Hold on Nerd!"
"Wait!"
Roxanne and Moon were running towards them, looking alarmed.
"What is it?" she takes a step back when the two stop in front of her.
"Sorry for before, I just wanted to know you were okay." Roxanne speaks up. "And that Moonface gets on my nerves."
"The feeling is mutual." he emits what sounds like a growl at her. "And… I'm sorry for fighting with the flea…"
"Hey!"
The two of them glared at each other, about to start fighting again. Sharon sighs.
"I was just going to the kitchen, do you want to come along?" she jumps in.
"Kitchen?" Moon looks at her curiously.
"Didn't Chef Bot forbid you from going there?"
"Not 'forbid', he just kept saying he didn't need my help. But it's been a few weeks now, and now I have a lot of free time, it's okay to check on him. So, are you coming?"
"Well, I've got time on my hands too." Roxanne shrugs, Sharon glares at Moon.
"What is it?"
"Are you coming?"
"Are you sure?" he becomes fearful.
"Of course."
"S-Sun would be better for that sort of thing…"
"But I'm inviting you. Sun can come another time…" she looks away. "I also have to talk to him, apologize."
"If you…"
"This is between me and him, and right now you're here, so let's enjoy it, how about that?" she interrupts him, who looks at her and then at Roxanne, who shrugs.
They had never called him to do something together, it was always with Sun these interactions, he genuinely didn't know what to do, making him nervous.
"Y-yeah, w-well, if that's the case, I-I guess I can go along." he starts fiddling with his hands.
"How cute, you made him nervous." Roxanne laughs.
"N-no, she didn't!" he shouts at her, who laughs harder.
"It's a fact!" she continues to laugh.
"Please, no fighting." Sharon tries not to laugh at the situation. "Come on?" Mini Music Man claps its cymbals in agreement, taking the lead, then the three of them start to follow. "How about calling the rest of the crowd?"
"Want to make Chef Bot explode?" Roxanne laughs.
"Of course not, just that it would be fun for everyone to cook something tasty together."
"I can send a message to everyone. Well, except the DJ, because, well, he doesn't fit in there." she looks at Moon. "Is everything okay with you, Moonface?"
"Whatever." he shrugs. Sharon slows down a bit and stays by his side.
"Do you have a problem with the Glamrocks?" she asks, staring at him.
"They don't like me mainly because of the… well, you know my fame." he explains.
"Well, if you don't feel well, you can stay by my side." she offers. "And anything, I can talk to them."
"I… thank you." the three arrive at the kitchen door.
"The staff is coming, let's go talk to Chef Bot and set things up until they arrive." Roxanne speaks, they agree and open the kitchen door.
And Sharon could hardly believe what she was seeing.
"I HAVE ALREADY SAID THAT I DO NOT WANT THE *BEEP* OF A MAP!" Is the first thing they hear Chef Bot shouting.
"Yeah, I think I understand now why he was banning anyone from coming here." Roxanne speaks as she sees the chaos that had ensued in the kitchen.
Chaos was not enough, this was the apocalypse.
All the countertops were dirty, with pots and pans overturned, their contents scattered all over. The stoves were all dirty, with the pots and pans in a deplorable state. The refrigerators were open and everything was overturned, with liquids dripping from them. In addition to the deplorable state of the objects, some Bots are trying to clean, but when trying to move around, they hit the utensils on the floor, the pots on the countertops, dropping substances on top of them, spreading the dirt more than managing to clean.
One of them tries to get out from between the benches, but his hand ends up slipping on whatever was on it, and he goes down, knocking one of the pots on top of himself, causing a short circuit and he starts spasming on the floor.
In another corner of the kitchen, a Bot that Sharon recognized as Zeta, was spinning in the same place with his head still in the same place, until another Bot, Gamma, tries to pass, but he trips his wheel on something, which causes the bucket he was holding to fly out of his hand, and hit Zeta. The Bot stops spinning, starts spasming and goes down, smoke coming out of its joints. Gamma, seeing this, crawls over to Zeta and holds his body, trying to wake him up, but gets no response from him.
"BEEEEEEEEPPP!" he beeps, holding his friend's body.
And in the middle of all this, Chef Bot was trying to punch Map Bot, who for some reason was there, spouting his famous "map".
"Can we just ignore them and go, I don't know, Fazer Blast?" Roxanne asks Sharon.
"What? No! We have to help them!" she points to the apocalypse.
"Yeah." she huffs, until she smells something. "Hm, do you smell that? It looks like… fire!" she points to the flames rising from where the Bot had fallen between the benches.
"Where is the fire extinguisher?" Sharon starts looking around, stunned.
Before the two start running in panic, Moon grabs one of the fire extinguishers that was next to the door they entered, quickly going over to the fire and quickly putting it out.
"Crisis averted. But I don't think he's fixable." he says, staring at the Bot.
"I'll look into it later, but first…" Sharon turns to Chef Bot, who was still oblivious to the presence of the four. "HEY CHEF BOT! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!" she shouts, finally getting his attention.
"Oh, she's mad, I've never seen her scream like that." Roxanne mutters to her companions, Mini Music Man nods and Moon just stares in amazement.
"S-Sharon? I-I didn't call you! W-what are you doing here?" for the first time they saw Chef Bot sound afraid, as he backed away with every step she took towards him.
"I came because I'm worried about you, and look what a mess this is! Why didn't you call me?!" she points to the apocalypse that was in the kitchen.
"Y-you see, everything is under control."
"You call that 'under control'?" she points to another Bot that stumbles and goes down, catching fire, which Moon puts out with his fire extinguisher.
"It was a small accident that happened."
"Since when has it been like this?"
"Well, let's say maybe… a week? A little longer?"
"And why the fuck didn't you call me!" she waves her arms in frustration. "I wasn't called to do maintenance on any kitchen Bot, I bet you're all behind on maintenance!"
"Maybe…" his answer makes her shoot him a grimace, to which he recoils.
"Well, you're lucky that I've gone overtime and now I have a lot of free time, and all the Glamrocks are coming here, so we can straighten out this whole mess."
"All the Glamrocks? Why did you call everyone?!"
"Because it would be a nice moment of everyone together cooking and having fun! And I was worried about you!"
"W-with me?" he steps back a little, looking embarrassed.
"Yes, you are my friend too, I care about you!"
The two stare at each other for a moment, until Chef Bot looks away.
"I'm sorry." he mumbles.
"Just call next time chaos breaks out, we can't let it turn into an apocalypse like this."
"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!" a shout draws everyone's attention, the kitchen door open, the remaining Glamrocks were staring at the whole mess.
"Even my bedroom isn't as awful as this kitchen." Montgomery laughs, earning a disapproving look from Freddy.
"Fantastic, the troupe has arrived." Chef Bot ironizes, rolling his eyes.
"How am I going to make food with this kitchen all turned upside down?!" Chica shouts, looking at Chef Bot next. "My food!"
"Calm down Chica, it shouldn't be that bad so we can fix everything and…" Freddy begins, but is interrupted when another Bot goes down and starts to catch fire, being put out by Moon. "I take it back."
"'Well, it's a bit of a hitch in our plans, but if we all help, we can get it sorted quickly and then we can all cook together as we planned, can we?" Sharon intervenes, looking at everyone present.
"Of course! Let's all make this kitchen good as new, shall we?" Freddy speaks with his animated tone, looking at the Glamrocks.
"Let's go!" Chica says excitedly.
"I'll try not to break anything." Montgomery laughs.
"Just because I have nothing better to do." Roxanne crosses her arms.
"Then let's go!" Freddy looks over and notices Moon. "A-attendant?" his tone was concerned.
"Yes, I called Moon, he will help us, he is already helping, right?" Sharon intervenes.
"Yes." Moon agrees.
"Besides, the more people to help, the better, right?"
"Yes, you're right." the bear's posture relaxes, but his tone showed that he was going to keep an eye out.
One of the ventilation ducts opens and out of it come three Mini Music Men, all looking excited. They stop in front of Sharon, along with the one that was with her before, totaling four Mini Music Men.
"Have you called your friends? To help us?" she asks them, they all agree and clink their cymbals. "Well, I think we have enough people to fix this place, it'll be much faster with all of you!" she smiles.
"Shall we get started then? Everyone gather around, let's see what each of you can fix!" Freddy calls everyone.
"I'll have to look at the Bots, let's just say they need a few checks, mainly so they don't catch fire again." Sharon says to Freddy, who agrees.
She goes over to Chef Bot, who was still arguing with Map Bot.
"Why are you here Mapbot?"
"Map."
"This donkey gets on my nerves." Chef Bot snorts.
"Because he speaks map everytime?"
"No! He's been pestering me about switching off tomorrow and not coming back for two days!" he huffs. "I don't know where he gets that nonsense from!"
"Wait, is it about his upgrade?" she looks at Mapbot, who nods. "You're getting your upgrade! That's amazing!"
"What upgrade?"
"Don't you remember that Annie was looking at helping you to be able to taste food so that you don't have so many problems when you make new dishes? That's it."
"Oh, that. It's about time." he crosses his arms. "But that means there won't be anyone to look after the kitchen while I'm gone. That's unacceptable."
"Is there no one to replace you?"
"Map."
"No, Mark is too positive to run a kitchen!" he complains to Mapbot.
"Who is Mark?"
"A human who is promising, but not fit to run a kitchen."
"You can't be sure if you don't give him a chance." she rebuts him, who makes a point of raising a finger to retort, but stops and thinks better of it.
"Yeah, you could be right." he sighs. "He'll take care of everything, and when I get back, if this kitchen is a mess or anything is out of place, he'll be fired immediately."
"Wait, you can't fire him."
"I can, and I will if he doesn't do his job." he crosses his arms.
"Poor Mark." Mapbot agrees with her.
"Girl." a voice calls her, she turns around and sees Moon.
"What is it?"
"I was told to bring you these dead weights." he lifts a Bot he was dragging.
"Don't treat them like that!" she goes over to the poor Bot and starts looking, it was disabled. "Put them all on that wall, I'll fix them all."
"Right." he starts taking the Bots to where she indicated.
She watches him picking up all the Bots he found unplugged on the floor and carefully positioning them against the wall, telling the ones that were still plugged in to go to that corner so they can be checked as well. All that makes her smile, and influences her to make a decision.
"Okay, everyone where you asked." he warns, standing in front of her.
"Well done, thank you so much!" she smiles more. "And thank you for helping me decide."
"Decide what?" he looks at her suspiciously.
"I will accept Rick's proposal."
"What would that be?"
"You are looking at your new temporary mechanic."
"Huh? What do you mean? Why?" he is surprised, drawing laughter from her.
Until they are interrupted by her cell phone ringing.
"Oh, sorry, I have to see to that, I'll be right back!" she starts heading for the kitchen door.
"Stop! Explain to me what you meant by that!" he tries to go back, but the kitchen door closes in his face.
Outside the kitchen, Sharon sees Alan's message, getting serious as she reads.
She quickly writes a reply, mostly apologizing.
"I… I'm a good girl." she mumbles, sending the message, then takes a deep breath.
Blam.
A sound startles her. She looks at where it had come from.
It had come from a room that was in front of the kitchen, but its doors were always closed, mainly because it had yellow stripes indicating to stay away from that room. She makes a point of ignoring it, but the sound comes again from there. What if it was a customer who is also locked in the Plex? It was also her job to guide those who got lost in the Plex.
With a sigh, she goes to the door, and with a little effort, opens it, revealing that the room was much larger than she expected, larger even than the kitchen.
"Hello, is anyone there?" she takes a step into the room, fearful.
Everything was dark, the little lighting that came from the LEDs on the walls with the band's promotional posters, in addition to a lamp or another fallen on the floor. However, what made her apprehensive was that the whole room was turned over: messed up, destroyed. Whatever had happened there, it had not been good.
"I am a Pizzaplex employee, I can help you." she tries again, without getting any answer.
There was no point in standing there, she would call one of the Glamrocks, they would find whoever was inside the room. She turns around.
Something falls to the floor, startling her and causing her to turn back into the room.
Something rolls further in front of her, next to one of the overturned tables.
"I'm going to regret this." she mumbles, clicking her phone and turning on her flashlight, pointing to where the sound had come from.
It was a STAFF Bot head.
Slowly walk over to it and take a closer look. It didn't look like an ordinary head. She picks up the head with one hand and points her cell phone flashlight with the other, getting a clear view of the head.
"Why would anyone paint something like that on a STAFF Bot?"
The head was totally dirty, all the shine it should have had was gone, and on the face, was a painting of a big smile with teeth and the eyes totally black, plus lines coming from the eyes to the smile, imitating tears. Whoever did this, it seemed to have been a long time ago. The question was, why was it there.
Someone at the Plex must know what that meant. Resolute and ignoring the chill that ran up her spine, Sharon opens her cell phone camera, turning on the flash and pointing it at the head in her hand. And takes a picture, the flash illuminating her surroundings.
A shrill scream rings out beside her, startling her, who jumps and falls to the floor, the Bot's head rolling away, her glasses also falling from her face, and she looks in horror at the scream's holder, who scrambles to the side, it seems the flash had blinded it. Without waiting for it to recover, she gets up and runs to the door, hearing another scream.
"H-help!" she screams, reaching the door and hitting the stripes, which cause her to lose her balance and fall to the floor, tangled in them. She starts screaming as she tries to disentangle herself from them.
"Superstar! What happened?!" Freddy appears in front of her, helping her out of that tangle of tracks.
"It wants to kill me!" she shouts, pointing into the dark room, but sees that her pursuer has disappeared. "It was there… I swear."
"Why did you go in there?" Montgomery asks, helping her up.
"There was a noise, I thought it was a lost customer…" she kept looking at the room.
"What wants to kill you?" Roxanne looks around the room too.
"It…" she pauses for a moment, everyone looks at her, waiting for the answer. "W-was an endoskeleton, and it looked like it had a birthday hat on its head."
"An endo? But they are all disabled." Chica speaks, entering the room.
"Are you sure? Don't you go blind when you're without your glasses?" Montgomery points to her face.
"I don't have a degree that big! It was an endo, I'm sure!" she protests, Chica returns with her glasses.
"Whatever was in there stepped on and destroyed your glasses…" she shows the frame all twisted up, the lenses in pieces. And there goes another good chunk of Sharon's salary to buy a new one.
"It was an endo! It stepped on it! It was right there!" she points to where it was. Freddy goes to check, scanning the spot.
"My sensors don't pick up anything too out of the ordinary except…" he picks up something from the floor. "A moldy cake?"
"I swear I'm not lying! It was coming after me!" she protests.
"Calm down Sharon, we believe in you!" Chica grabs her arms, making her look at the chicken. "We're going to have to dig deep on this, an endo on the loose by the Plex is not good."
"For now we'll worry about finishing the kitchen, the Minis can do a sweep of the Plex to see if they can find any sign of this endo. In the meantime, you'd better not be alone. We can stop an endo, but a human can't." Roxanne takes the lead, Sharon agrees with the proposal, as does everyone else present.
"I'm going to issue a statement to Kyle tomorrow, he can help us with that." Freddy goes over to them. "Don't worry Superstar, as long as you're with us, you're safe."
And with that, everyone heads back to the kitchen.
And all that was going through Sharon's mind was just one thing.
What the hell just happened?
Part 1 - End
