NOTES
Heya. Back in action.
Thank you so damn much for your patience. Everything should be back to normal now.
College schedule is a little unorthodox, but I don't think it's gonna get in the way too horribly much.
Just about everything I wanted to say was said in the little notification chapter I made, so I'll keep this relatively short.
Mentioned some of you in the notes chapter, but in case you missed it:
Mathew Sandbox (Your name got removed, but the first reviewer paragraph was about you. Sorry about that! You're awesome!)
Conderl
IDon'tNeedAName
Mechani07016643
You guys are the best. Don't wanna copy-paste the entire paragraphs in here, but just know I greatly appreciate your inputs!
Additionally!
Knight of the Lunar Republic
You were absolutely intended to be mentioned in that document, but I got tired and completely forgot, and I feel horrible about it. I want to type another wall of text for just you, but I really shouldn't until the next time I put a notes chapter up. Until then, thank you! It feels better than you could possibly imagine to know that you truly enjoy this! Don't be afraid to message if you have anything you wanna talk about!
Alright, anyway.
Welcome back, y'all! Thanks for stickin' around!
Enjoy!
Omen
...
"Night guaaard~!"
"..Chicken?"
"Nope!" A bouncing figure hops into my peripheral and walks alongside me. "Chica!"
..Okay.
"What's up?"
"Freddy said to come find you; we're gonna play somethin'!"
"Sure. Freddy couldn't have sent me a message?"
"..I 'unno, He said this would be funner."
"He said 'this would be funner'?"
"Yep!"
"Freddy said the words 'this would be funner'?"
"Oh, well.. He said 'It'd be better if you'd go find Mike yourself, if just to see how he reacts.' "
That was a horrible impression, but an objectively funny one.
"Ah."
"I don't really get it.."
Suppose that's because you've never been able to experience the joy of pawning off a Chica to somebody else.
"Was it Freddy's idea to play a game?" I ask primarily change the subject, though am truly interested in her response..
"It was, uh-!... Where are we going..? What are you doing?" Chica 'responds', completely ignoring my question and leaning forward to see what's in my hand on the opposite side of her.
"Making a poor decision."
"Like what?"
"You'll see, follow me for a second."
"What is that thing? Is it wet..?"
"I guess so."
"It's dripping off your hand..! You're gonna make a mess!"
"It's just water."
"It's getting all over the floor!"
"What are you supposed to clean it with? More water?"
"Mop!"
"Mm."
Fair enough.
...
"Oh- Stop for a sec.." I extend my arm, preventing Chica from walking past me.
The bird stares at me blankly before peering around the corner I stopped us at.
"Why..? Are we hiding?"
"For the next three seconds."
"..Oh, that's Roxy!" Chica perks a bit and pulls herself back from the corner to look at me. "Are we hiding from Roxy?"
"Check this out."
"Oh-.. Okay..!"
...
Hmm...
...
Hup!
- Pomf -
"Ow..! Wh-?!"
"Oh! Snow!" Chica finally puts together what was in my hand just as it collides with Roxanne's noggin, clapping softly.
"Look at me go.." I mutter, admittedly a little proud of that throw. Wasn't confident I would hit her at all.
"That was cool! I wanna do one!" Chica whisper-yells in my direction.
I spin 90 degrees and start to walk back the direction we came, out of Roxanne's line of sight.
"Today might be the last day we get snow for the year."
"That's okay! I'll do it today!" She assures, hopping back to my side.
"Don't hit me with it."
"Imma hit Freddy with it!"
"Please hit Freddy with it."
"Heheee~!"
...
Oh, right.
"So was Freddy the one who wanted to play something?"
"Uhhhhhhmm..! Maybe? Monty was there too, so he mighta did it.. Coopy and Arin too."
Oh. Really?
"..You think those two are going to play as well?"
"Looked like it!"
"Huh.. What time is it?"
"Like, uhhh..! 10? Around 10."
I was asking rhetorically while I checked my watch, but thanks for the input. It's 11:40 by the way.
"Thought they'd be on their way home by now.."
"That's okay, though! That means more people to play with!"
"I guess so."
My arm lowers to my side but my gaze doesn't raise from the floor yet.
...
"Y'okay?"
"Yeah, sorry. Trying to think of a game we could 'all' play.."
"Oh- Freddy knows already!"
"Really..?"
Chica doesn't remember the name of it, but she lists off some details she heard that strike a few familiar keywords. Eventually, I start listing off some games that fit her description, and I eventually come up with the correct one.
It's something we all actually play using a screen, which is interesting. Only one, though. From what I remember, it resembles how all the Jackbox games are played.. Kind of an interesting choice, but there aren't many other games I can think of that's made to accommodate something like seven or eight people.
That kind of insinuates that either Coop or Arin came up with the game to play, since Freddy likely wouldn't have had any knowledge of games on the internet like that.. Neat?
"Huh.."
"Freddy says he can get our Faz-Watches to do what we need since we don't have phones.. I wanna phone."
"You do not need a phone."
"Can I have a phone for Christmas?"
"What? No, Christmas was two months ago."
"Next Christmas."
"Ah."
"Can I?"
...
"If you ask nicely."
I can see Chica glance up at me in my peripheral.
"I know, I'm not a baby bird.."
"Well then maybe the 'grown-ass bird' should learn some manners."
"I do have manners!"
"Uh-huh."
"I already did ask nicely! I asked nicely the first time!"
"What about 'please'?"
"Well now you're makin' fun of me and I don't wanna anymore!"
"If you don't say please, I'm not getting you a phone."
"Mmm..!"
"Just say it quick, it'll be over before you know it."
"..Fine..!"
...
"Can I please have a phone for Christmas?"
"No."
"What..? Why? Mikey! That was mean!"
"Phones are expensive, and they don't work unless I keep paying for them forever."
"You have a phone!"
"If I give you a phone, I'm gonna have to give everyone a phone, and then keep paying for 5 phones."
"Nuh-uh! I can keep it a secret!"
"You absolutely will not. You have a Faz-Watch anyway, and they're the only people you ever call."
"You have one too! Do 'you' call anyone besides us?!"
...Well...
"I.. Had this phone before I had a Faz-Watch.."
"You're making excuses!"
"Maybe."
"Hmph!" Chica crosses her arms with excessive motion.
"You might get coal for Christmas with that attitude."
"...Why would I want coal?"
"You don't, that's the point. You've never heard about this..?"
" 'Bout what?"
"Santa gives coal to naughty children."
Ow..?
"I'm not naughty! Or a kid! I told you I'm not a baby bird!"
"Are you 'pinching' me?"
"You needed it! You're being mean!"
"Wow." I respond with a snicker.
"Don't laugh at me!"
"I wasn't. This is just awfully tame compared to what Rox does when she's mad."
"Well, I don't have claws like she does..!"
"I guess not.. You have a beak, though. That could do some-"
Ow..!
"Okay! Okay! Alright-!"
"Hmph..!"
I rub the effected shoulder.
"Might not wanna go around biting people in the future, though.."
"Well you were being mean..!"
"As long as you don't bite guests for being mean, then fine."
...
"How bad did it hurt..?"
"About as much as I deserved. Still, Rox has done considerably worse."
I keep facing forward despite Chica now turning her head to face me again.
"Really?"
"Uh-huh."
"What does Roxy do?"
"Last time I-"
"Wanna see?" An ill-willed voice emanates from behind me, followed shortly by a sharp and slightly damp claw nagging me by the back of my collar.
Ah.
Acknowledging that the wolf is directly behind me, I decide to just let my head fall backward to face her and feign ignorance.
...
"Hey."
"Mike."
"..It wasn't me?"
"Your hand is still dripping, dumbass."
"Nuh-uh."
"Mike."
...
- Whap -
Let it be written on my gravestone that I managed to wipe my frigid and sopping wet hand on Roxy's face moments before she killed me.
Well..
I'm not winning, that's for damn sure..
Think we realized a bit too late that this kind of game would be difficult to play with the current group. There's a glaring and should-be obvious culture gap between the animatronics and everyone else, which can make a game with as much creative liberty as this one a little restrictive.. Thankfully, it doesn't look like anyone really minds. There's enough hearty conversation and bickering echoing through the room that seems to imply that everyone's content just vibing in a room together.
Speaking of the animatronics and.. The humans, I guess..? Dunno how much I enjoy saying it like that.. It makes it sound like we're sitting in the room with aliens.
Anyway, speaking of the two groups, we did kind of separate INTO those groups. There was a small portion where we made teams, and there were 4 animatronics and 4 of us, so we kinda shifted to our own part of the room about 30 or 40 feet away from the other group. That portion of the game has since passed, but no one's really cared enough to scoot back to where we were before.
Each side of the room had a couch, though. So that's cool.. I mean, each one can only really accommodate 2 of the 4 people in each group, but no one's complained. Cooper and the incredibly out-of-place Arin are the two occupying the couch. Trudge's standing behind them, leaning on top of the couch and talking loudly. I've just kinda made do with sitting on the floor and leaning back on the armrest on the right side.
The animatronics have sorted themselves similarly, with the two girls (including your highness) sitting on the couch while the other two sit on the floor right in front of it. Rox's looking about as boredly-bemused as she always looks, but simply sitting near Chica guarantees that the latter is constantly forcing the former into participating in whatever conversation is going on at the time. Monty's emphatically trying to show Freddy something on his watch, and Freddy's doing his best to resist killing him.
Admittedly, I haven't made a huge point of engaging in the conversation.. Occasionally I'll have a small back-and-forth interaction with one of the guys, but honestly I've been thoroughly enjoying just sitting here and listening.
This might be a peculiar way of putting it, but it feels 'right'. Like this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I guess this is all I've ever been 'supposed' to do.
Just.. Sit here and watch. Keep an eye on everything, make sure everyone's okay, listen in on the conversations for any new pieces of information but don't actively participate.. Y'know, stuff that the 'night-guard' is supposed to do.
Ever since the pizzeria burned down, I've no longer had to run around and get things done. There's no objective for me to accomplish anymore, it's all finally boiled down to 'keep everyone alright, protect them if I must, make sure what happened never happens again.' Y'know, prevent that 'Doomsday' scenario I was thinking about earlier.
Well. This moment is about as efficient as I could ever perform that task. Everyone I'm supposed to protect is right here, in my line of sight. There's no problems, everything's okay, and I just gotta keep it that way. That's about as 'night-guard' as a job gets.
Of course, I'm exaggerating a bit.. First of all, 'protect everyone' makes it sound like I'm some kind of hero, when I'm really just a purple man sitting around and pretending to do his job. And while everyone is in my line of sight, I'm not exactly doing much of a 'job' at all. I'm sitting here playing a game, and it just so happens to fill a couple requirements I like to have filled.
Still.. If something goes 'wrong', I'm the person who's expected to deal with it. Such is the way of a night-guard.
..Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.. It feels good to be the night-guard, like I've always been.
...
My back sinks into the armrest a little bit.
Welp. If I find enjoyment in this, then I'm gonna relish in it while I can. Think I'll just sit back and listen s'more before everyone heads their separate ways.
"..Fred."
While all the chatter in the room remained scattered and unimportant, I couldn't help but instinctively fixate on Monty's wildly distinguishable voice.
"Monty, don't."
"Fred, look."
"Why won't you call me Freddy?"
"Look."
"I'm not finished with my turn, please hold on.."
"Looook."
"Monty."
"LoOoOoOoOk."
"..."
"Freeedd-"
"I-! Good lord-.. There! I'm finished!" Freddy lets with watch hand fall and exasperatedly turns to Monty. "What on earth do you want?"
"Oh."
"Oh?"
" 's gonna show you a good answer fer that one.."
"That is absolutely not allowed."
"Mine was better."
"Your what?"
"My thing, answer thing."
"..Did you look at my answer?"
"Nup."
"What?"
"No."
"How'd you know what my answer was..?"
"I didn' say I knew what your answer was!"
"Montgomery-.. You told me a moment ago that your answer was 'better' than mine, didn't you?"
"Don' say my full name!"
"Didn't you?!"
"Yeah! Mine was better, what about it?!"
"But you don't know what my answer is!"
"So?!"
"Wh-?! Monty, what are you talking about?!"
"All I said 's that my answer was better..!"
"You did! How do you figure?"
"...Whaddya mean?"
"What do you mean 'what do I mean'-?! Why is your answer better than mine?"
"I was tryna show you my answer 'cause mine was better!"
"Why?"
"So ya'd get outta last place."
"I'm not in last place!"
"Y'will be with an answer like that."
Freddy stares forward with frustrated bafflement for a full 5 silent seconds before responding.
"So you did read my answer?"
"Why would I read yer answer?"
"To know if yours is better."
"I didn't need to read yer answer if mine was already better."
"How would you know if it was better if you hadn't looked at my answer?"
"Why would I needa look t'see if mine's better?!"
"Monty-.. What?!"
"What are you talkin' about?"
"You told me that your answer was better, and I asked how you knew that if you didn't-!"
Cutting Freddy off was a soft chime indicating that the votes were cast and the results were in. Monty's answer placed higher than Freddy's.
"Thar she blows."
"Monty."
"I looked at yer' answer."
"Monty!"
"Didn' wanna tell ya until after the results thing in case ya' tried- Give that back!"
"You are not playing the next round."
"Nuh-uh! I was tryna help you and you said no! That's entirely on yerself- gimmie the watch!"
"You will get it back in five minutes after the next round starts."
"Y'can't decide that!"
"I can. I have your watch."
"Just 'cause you, friggen-..! MIIIIKE!"
Uh oh.
"Don't bother the night-guard-!"
"Fred' took my watch and won' give it back!"
"Only because you brok-, Only because he broke the rules!" Freddy stutters mid sentence to yell towards me instead of Monty. "I'll return it next round!"
"Mike, tell him it's a safety thing!"
It is, technically, a safety thing.
"You are plenty safe! Mike is in the room with us, he has no need to contact you with your watch!"
"What'f I leave the room?"
"Don't leave the room!"
"I'll get lost, and Mike won't be able to call me!"
"You will not get lost! You've wandered around the facility a thousand-!"
"MIIIIIIKE!"
"Monty!"
"Imma tell Cooper on you."
"Are you seven?!"
"COOOOPEEEEEERR!"
Oh look. It's my turn.
...
"That.. Is 'not' correct.." Arin mutters, staring at the results screen.
"He answered first, so he got more." Cooper responds, pointing lazily towards the top two contenders.
"Right, I understand.. I don't believe it was calculated correctly, though.."
"I'm inclined to believe the computer is better at calculatin' things."
"Where did the extra 200 come from?"
Cooper stares at the screen again.
"Oh-, the multiplier."
"I'm 'considering' the multiplier."
"Methinks you're just upset 'cause he beat you."
"I'm not upset. Look at the score; multiplying doesn't give you that amount."
Think I zoned out during the time the scores were being totaled, so despite my best efforts, I'm at a loss for what they're talking about.
...
"It does, don't it..?"
"I don't believe so."
"..Yeah it does..? What're you saying..?"
"No, I'm-... I'm almost positive that isn't correct."
"Ya take the big number and times' it by-"
" 'Multiply' it, not 'times'.."
Cooper responds with a hefty chuckle.
"Aww, well aren't you a lil' salty!"
"I'm not..! You don't multiply it by that amount anyway, that's the combined total."
"Yeah?"
"..Does that not make sense?"
"It multiplied the combined total. That's what it's 'supposed' to do."
"What?"
"What'dya think it did?"
"He only got the multiplier on that one round, right?"
"Ayup."
"It doesn't make any sense for it to multiply the entire thing if he only got it during one round."
"Kid, that's what it's always done."
"That's not true..?"
"Did it last game, too."
"It did?"
"Ayyyup."
"That doesn't make-.." A few seconds of silence follow before I hear Arin lean back into his cushion with a squeak. "That's.. Incredibly poor design.."
"Aww- What's gotten into you? You're supposed to be havin' fun..!" Cooper prods the former with an elbow.
"I 'am' having fun.."
It's admittedly a little amusing to hear someone as stoic as Arin respond emotionally to something.
"No temper tantrums in my restaurant."
"All I was trying to say was that it should have calculated appropriately."
"It did, ya friggen sour-pus!"
"I'm not sour..!"
"Gotta teach ya' how to lose with 'manners' next time."
"I didn't lose, I got second.."
"First loser."
"That.. is a horrible way of interpreting the situation.."
"If you're good, we'll get ice cream to make ya' feel better."
"We're not going for ice- What? We drove here separately..!"
"They got yer' favorite down the road. The one with peanut butter."
"Coop- Sir, what are you talking about..?!"
Equally amusing is Arin's utter inability to tell when someone's messing with him.
"Go."
"What?"
"Go."
"Go where?"
"It's yer turn, cabbage-head!"
"It's my..?" Arin leans forward to look at the screen to discover that a new game has been going on for a good two minutes now. "What in the-?"
"It 'was' yer turn."
"I- Damn it..!"
"Good goin, Genghis."
"No one told me it was-.."
"No one else needed anybody to tell them it was their turn neither."
"This game is ridiculous.."
"May need myself a new manager."
"I'm 'fine'.."
"Yeah-huh."
Arin just sighs and falls back into the couch.
"Aw sheesh- I'm messin' with you, kid! Yer' fine!"
"I'm aware, just.. I'm tired.."
"Keep yer head screwed on and you could still win."
"That is entirely untrue."
"Nahh, cmon..! Keep a cool head and you'll do fine!" Another second of silence passes at the two return their gaze to the game. "Like 'Mikey' right here. Cool 's a cucumber."
Almost positive he's referring to my actual body temperature.
"Michael has to have a 'cool head'.."
"Yeah, 'cuz he's winnin'."
"No, because he's a security guard."
"Don't get snippy with me, young man."
"How old do you think I am?"
"Maybe we 'won't' get ice cream."
"We aren't getting ice cream."
"Mike's gettin' ice cream."
...
"Are you drunk?"
"Mm."
"I'd.. strongly advise against drinking when you have yet to drive home.."
" 'I' think you're changin' the subject."
"What?"
"Mike ain't gotta have a cool head, you do."
"..That is not true.. All security positions require composure."
"Psh. We got tons of security that get excited easily."
"Perhaps that's something we need to think about, then.."
"Nah that's why we got a bunch of em. If one guard goes nuts, then the other 20 will handle 'em."
" 'All' of them shouldn't be at risk of 'going nuts'.. If any members of the police force didn't regularly keep calm, there'd be no one to call and stop them."
"Military?"
"We are not calling the military, for any reason."
"Ooh, that reminds me of somethin' I saw on, uhhm..." Cooper perks a bit and reaches down to shuffle through his pockets.
"..Something about the military?"
"Somethin' about the police, hold on.."
"Did you do something?"
"Nah it was just on the news, thought it was interesting.. What do you mean 'didja do somethin?' Who do you think I am?"
"Sociopathic drunk on weekends.. -sigh-, what type of news? Local?"
"Uhhhhm, probly' not.. Here, you can see fer yourself once I get this thing workin'.."
...
A few moments pass with only background chatter occurring on the other end of the room. I'm assuming Coop's showing Arin something on his phone, but I can't conjure enough willpower to look back and check.
Honestly, I was pretty close to zoning out of that conversation. The only reason I haven't is because Cooper's insinuation that something happened regarding the police that could be important enough to warrant national news caught my attention.. Still, current events rarely keep me entertained for very long, so I think I'll just listen in for long enough to glean what it is that was so newsworthy before zoning out and listening in on something else.
...
"This article is both captivating and wildly unhelpful.." Arin mutters.
"Ayup. Gets the point across pretty alright, though."
"I wish it would tell me what they-"
Unexpectedly, a phone suddenly drops in from the top of my vision and settles in front of my face. I played it off, but that broke my focus so hard that it actually made me jump a bit.
"Didja see this?" Cooper's voice rings from above me. I bring my hand up and gently grab the bottom of the phone to hold it still while I read.
"I doubt it.. Is this about the police?"
"Well, yeah. Guess it's kind've a forensic thing instead of a police thing.. Police use it though, suppose that's my point."
"..How long ago was this written..?"
" 'Bout a week or two. 's about a new method they discovered for all their 'investigations'. They seem confident it's better than what they were doin' before."
I hum in acknowledgement, but continue to read the length of the article.. As Arin said, it really struggled to go into any specifics, but I guess the main point is that there was a small breakthrough in the forensics field that they can use towards investigating crime scenes. It's not revolutionary or anything, but any improvement they can get is a welcome one.
"Huh.."
"Maybe they intentionally left out the details of what changed.." Arin theorizes while I push the phone upwards, indicating that I'm done reading.
"Keeping it a secret..?"
"Maybe they just don' wanna see it spoiled before they get their fill of usin' it." Cooper provides his nearly indecipherable input.
I guess that makes a little sense, though.. If the police just found a more effective way of investigating crime, the last thing they're gonna want is to make the information public so people can think of counters to their new method.
"Is it legal to withhold information like that?"
"To be blunt.." Arin begins again, providing a different theory. "It's more likely that the article's publishers didn't want to confuse their target demographic.."
Cooper lets out an amused huff.
"They think we're dumb, eh?"
"I doubt we'd need to be.. Even if they were to explain the difference between the old and new methods, I can't say for certain that I would be able to understand it all."
"Bahh, it couldn't be that hard to get.." Cooper claims with (misplaced) confidence, lifting the phone up to read another portion of the article. "Even if it was, they coulda dumb-ed it down fer us."
"I'm.. Unsure how simple it would be to 'dumb down' forensic science.."
" 'Bout as hard as it would be to dumb down any other kind of science."
"How could you have possibly reached that conclusion?"
"I'm just sayin'! All it- Ohhh, lookie there!"
I turn my head slightly, though still can't see anything as a result of the phone being turned in the complete opposite direction. Good goin', brain.
Arin does lean over some though, trying to figure out what Cooper's motioning towards on his phone.
"Y'see that guy?"
"I do..?"
"Used to be one of me 'buds'. Knew him from the start 'a high school all the way through college."
Arin and I both visibly relax a bit.. Cooper's reaction made it sound like he found something actually important..
"Oh.. Well, that's interesting, I suppose.. Was he one of the authors for this article?"
"Nope. Police guy, 'pparently."
Arin leans back over into his own seat.
"Did he help with the discovery?"
"Nahh, think he's just showin' up 'cause he's workin' in the sheriffs office a little ways away."
"Lucky. Perhaps you could reconnect." Arin dismissively comments, looking down at his watch as a new round starts.
"Aww, there's an idea." Cooper lets his phone fall back to the armrest next to him. "Plenty 'a places to eat around here."
"Does he know you own this place?" I ask, reminding myself and the others that I was part of this conversation at some point.
"Ayup. We still talk every now 'n then. Guess I figured he had a different career, given his college degree had nothin' to suggest he was interested in workin' for the force.."
"Maybe you could ask how that new forensic trick works."
Cooper chuckles a bit, then falls silent for a moment.
...
...
"Your turn, Coopy." Trudge calls out to him, materializing from thin air a few feet away.
I glance at the screen and see that it 'has' been Coop's turn for a little while. In all likelihood, he probably just wasn't paying attention, but I turn to look in his direction anyway.
Arin turns to look for what I assume to be the same reason, and the two of us kinda cock a brow upon seeing what Coop is up too.
It's.. Kind of a new expression, or at least one I haven't seen yet. When Cooper gets interested in any given topic, he usually wears this lazily entertained/bemused grin while he thinks; though it can be a little hard to discern from his regular lazy grin.. This time, Cooper looks fascinated. He's staring into space like I just told him the most exciting/life-altering thing in the world.
...
Before Arin and I come up with anything to say, Cooper seems to break out of his trance.
"Heyyy, Mikey..!"
"Huh?"
"That ain't a half-bad idea, kid..!" Cooper praises, reaching for his phone again. "Maybe we could put a lil' of that forensic stuff to use.."
"Use it..?"
"Well, nah, probly not 'use it'.. Maybe I could shoot that friend 'a mine a message, though. If all goes well, maybe we could convince them to look a lil' further into a 'cold case', y'know?"
I have zero idea what the hell you're talking about..
"What cold case..?"
"They couldn't figure out anythin' back when there was a 'tragedy', right? Y'remember?" Cooper prods at my mind, peeking over his phone to look at me.
Oh-, he means the... Why would he think about this now of all times?
"..You mean with the disappearances?"
"Ayup."
"At.. Freddy Fazbears Pizzeria?"
"Aaayup."
"What about them?"
Cooper shuts off his phone briefly, leaning forward to rest on his knees and put his hands in the air in front of him like he's explaining some master-plan for a heist.
"Arright, so my buddy works for the sheriff's office, right? If he and I talk a lil' bit, maybe I could ask him a favor. It wouldn't be much; maybe just dab around in that old pizzeria a bit with their new-fangled forensic nonsense." Cooper leans back in his his cushion. "They couldn't figure nothin' out way back when the disappearances happened, but that was a long time ago, y'know? Who knows, they could have better luck this time."
Uhm..
"..Are you sure? Hasn't that place been brought down by now?"
"It was shut down, yeahp. Building hasn' been touched for years now, I reckon, but it's still standin' there."
"Really..?"
"It's still there." Arin suddenly butts in with considerably less interest than I imagined he would share with me. "It may be the only 'Freddy's' location that hasn't devolved into a mound of soot, other than the building we're currently in.."
"Oh-, right, there was.. No fire.." I recall, slowly starting to get lost in thought.
"I suppose there'd be no harm in trying. Perhaps we could get a step closer to finding out who was responsible."
Arin's disinterest is jarring at first, but I have to remind myself that this topic likely wouldn't mean very much to anyone who isn't obsessed with the mysteries.. Or, y'know, is 'me'.
...
"Why would you want to have the police search around in there again..?" I turn to Cooper again, who seemed to be in the middle of thinking through his plan.
" T'see if there was anythin' they missed the first time."
"Well yeah, but what are you hoping to get from it?"
"Aww, pff." He waves his hand dismissively. Nothin', really. If they do manage to find somethin' that brings a bit more of the story to light, then that would be amazing, but only 'cause this is a hobby 'a mine."
...I'm not entirely sure I want to bring this up, but:
"I thought William was the one you were interested in..?"
"Hoo yeah baby, he's still the one I'm lookin' for. Guess this is just a little meek hope that whatever they might find in there would point me 'n the right direction."
"How so?"
"Dunno yet. Guess we're just gonna have to wait 'n see." Cooper resolves, picking up his phone and steeling himself to send a message.
...
I feel like I should be stopping this...
"How do you expect to convince the sheriff's office to do this favor for you?"
"Welp, havin' a bud in the business is definitely gonna help. I like to think I'm alright at talkin' to people."
"Is that gonna be enough?"
"Mm.. Probly not, but hell, I could always sweet'n the deal."
"Please don't bribe the sheriff's office.." Arin mutters, completely aware of how little his input will effect what Cooper plans to do.
"I never said nothin' about bribes! Bribes are against the law, 'n all that. All I'm doin' is payin' them to do a job, just like how I pay y'all."
"That is not legal.."
"Are ya sure?"
...
"..No.."
"Well it can't hurt to ask, then!"
"Can you take your turn, please?"
"I'm typin' a message, hold on."
...
I find myself slowly returning to the position I was in before I had been inserted into the conversation.
Breakthrough or not.. I seriously just can't imagine a universe where they end up finding anything even remotely worthwhile.. That place is so damn old and decrepit that anything you could ever find with forensics is long, looong gone..
It's easier to imagine that I'm just overreacting.. Even if they 'do' find something, how bad could it possibly be? If Coop wants to double down on his 'hobby' of his, then who am I to stop him.
...
Sigh..
This isn't a sentence many people have the pleasure of saying, but..: Kinda starting to wish I burned that place down too..
It never really mattered to me before, since all of the stuff that I needed to be burned was moved from the pizzeria to Fazbear Frights, which I 'did' burn down. So theoretically, everything that was ever a semblance of value should be nothing more than a pile of ashes.
Hell, that should still be the case, so what do I have to worry about?
Not a damn thing. So I need to calm down already.. Enjoy the game with your friends and let everything else fade from my mind for a bit.
...
Unfortunately, the next few moments don't provide as much comfort as I has hoped..
I really do believe that there isn't anything to worry about, but I still haven't gotten over my habit of 'thinking' yet.. As soon as a topic regarding the past is brought up, even for a minuscule amount of time, I can't help but continue to 'think' about it.
A few rounds pass, and to be fair, I'm managing decently fine. My attempts at breaking my habit of 'thinking' haven't bore much fruit, but unintentionally, I've made progress towards preventing myself from reacting too poorly when I fall into these 'fits'. Honestly, that's probably a better thing to improve on than trying to not 'think' about these things at all, but it still isn't a pleasant experience.
..Welp, clearly I'm still not quite able to force myself into thinking about something else, so it might be time to look for a distraction..
What do I know is effective at dragging me out of these fits?
The answer must've been obvious, since my head tilted in the direction of my 'distraction' before I could even think it through.
Let's see how the animatronics are doin'..
Before I'm able to think of an excuse to get up and move, Chica's voice captures my attention from across the room.
"Hey- can we switch?"
Roxanne continues propping her head with her hand on the armrest, entirely oblivious the bird is trying to talk to her.
...
"Wolfy!"
...
" 'Wolfy'?" She finally responds, lifting her head slightly.
"Can we-?"
"Don't call me 'wolfy'."
"Uh-huh. Can we switch?"
"No. What? Why the hell would we 'switch'? I'm beating you."
"Huh?"
"You can't have my watch, Chicken." Roxy denies outright, returning to resting on her hand.
"Nooo, silly~! That would be cheating!" Chica responds with a giggle, leaning closer in response to Roxanne trying to disconnect from the interaction.
"It would be. Go away."
"Can we switch seats? For a lil' bit?"
Roxanne opens her mouth to say no, but stops and stares blankly ahead as she tries to make sense of the chicken's request.
"What? Why?"
"I wanna be on that side for a little!"
"We're both on the couch. This side is the exact same as yours."
"Nuh-uh! Your arm-thingy is on the right!"
"So?"
"I wanna try it?"
"You want to 'try' the armrest?"
"Yep!"
"No."
"Please~?"
"I don't feel like moving. The armrest feels the damn same over here as it does over there anyway."
"I'll give it back!"
"Chica. No."
"Well-, we should switch with those guys anyway!" Chica extends her arm downward, pointing to and grabbing the attention of the two animatronics sitting on the floor in front of them.
"Whussup?" Monty's head falls back to look at Chica.
"You wanna sit on the couch? Rox and I have been sitting here all day."
"Don't call me 'Rox'.." The fae weakly interjects.
"Aww, that'd be great, actually." Monty replies, moving his hands to start pushing himself upwards. "Bottom's gettin' sore from supportin' all this weight.."
Monty is considerably heavier than the others. Though I really think it's muscle instead of fat, which the gator insists it must be.
In an energetic motion, Chica hops off the seat and slides into sitting where Monty was positioned before.
"You too, Freddy!"
"I am not moving." Roxanne forcefully responds to Chica's offer.
"Nuh-uh!" Chica retorts, spinning around to face her. "I got off, so you have to get down too!"
"You made that up. I got here first, so I'm sitting here as long as I damn please."
Freddy just chuckles knowingly at the light debate.
"Rox-y! You've been sitting there all day!"
"It's barely been more than an hour, Chicken! We started playing at midnight!"
"All night, then!"
"Still only an hour."
"An hour is a long time to sit on the floor!"
"They should have gotten here first, then."
"Nuh-uh! Freddy was helping set up! You just sat there!"
" 'We' just sat here, don't pretend like you're any better."
"But I just got down!"
"That was your choice, bird. I'm not moving for anybody."
Chica 'hmphs' and turns back around, earning another chuckle from both Freddy and Monty.
"Wh'don't we take turns? We get it fer 20, and y'all get it for 20." Monty offers, talking loud enough for the group to hear, but mostly directed towards Roxanne.
"No." The latter is quick to respond.
"D'aww, think 'a poor Freddy over there!"
"Freddy should have thought to get here before I did. This is my seat, I've made that clear." Roxy declares with narrow eyes, fed up with the gang turning against her.
"It ain't 'your' seat. Betcha Cooper bought it fer' everyone."
"Uh-huh. I'm not included in 'everyone', then?"
"I'm sayin' you ain't the only one included in 'everyone'."
Deciding I've been amused enough, I make an excuse to the people I'm sitting with and start making my way to the animatronic's side of the room.
"Then I'm not responsible for the rest of 'everyone' failing to reach this friggen sofa, leave me alone."
"D'aww, c'mon!"
Roxanne lifts her head from her hand enough to look at everyone and sternly state her final position.
"I'm not moving from this damn couch, and that's fuckin' final, understand? If you got a problem with that, take it up with the big-shots across the room. Until then, this is my seat, and I will not move for anyone. Got it?"
Monty raises his hands defensively.
"Arright, arright. I'll leave ya alone." The gator concedes with a slightly amused grin.
The wolf just huffs and turns away again, resting on her hand once more.
Interpreting that as the end of their interaction, I pick up my pace and make myself known.
"Heya."
"Mi-"
"Mikey!" Chica loudly 'observes', violently cutting Freddy off.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the fae tilt her head in my direction, feigning disinterest.
"Sorry, thought I'd come and bug this half of the room for a while." I elaborate with a half-assed wave.
"Hehee~! Didja tell Trudge to c'mere too?"
I almost laugh at how blunt that was.
"Nope, sorry. I'm sure he'll make his way over here before too long though."
"Okay! He said he'd help me with-!"
A small conversation between me and a couple of the animatronics take place as I circle around the couch, looking for a suitable place to sit.
Welp, there really isn't a convenient one.. Kinda had to settle with sitting on the floor a little uncomfortably far from the couch.
Before long, the conversation returns to occurring between the animatronic crew, leaving me to sit and listen like I enjoyed doing on the other side of the room.
A soft noise alerts me that it's my turn, and I tap around on my watch while trying to find a conversation to lock in on.. Trudge is talking loudly on the other end, but it's mostly unintelligible. Chica, Monty, and Freddy are talking about the same thing I was discussing with them a moment prior, so there isn't much to expect over th-
Oop-..?
A ruffle from next to me breaks my train of thought.
I take an extra second to finish typing my answer on my watch before looking up to find Roxanne, no longer on the couch.. Now partway through sitting on the floor, next to me.
...
Apparently she caught me staring, as indicated by a sudden sharp glare.
"Eyes to yourself, chucklenuts."
"It's your job to get looked at."
"It's your job to pay attention to your surroundings and stop staring at the wolf."
"Fae."
"Wolf, bastard.."
Before I can think of an increasingly sarcastic retort, Roxanne's tail sneaks it's way under my arms.
"Hey. That's my lap."
"It's mine if I want it to be. Pet the damn tail."
I heed her request with a snicker.
"You're like a needy dog."
"I'm a fucking wolf, Mike."
"That's pretty damn close, if you ask me."
"It's not, shut up."
"Whatever you say."
"Damn right."
Well I can't just let her off now.
"You talk like I don't currently have your tail at my disposal."
"You don't. If I- Ow! Mike-!"
"Whoops."
"Mike!"
"Sorry. Slipped."
"You did not! I saw you put- AAOW-! I'll fuckin' kill you, asshole!"
"Whoops."
"Stop it!"
"Sorry. Slipped."
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"My bad. Got a bad case of arrogant-itus."
"Dammit-..! Why did I even-.. Why did you even drag your purple ass over here?!"
...
"Uhm.. I can't remember.."
"My ass!"
"Sorry."
"You aren't!"
"A little."
"Then stop fuckin' twisting the- OW! MIKE!"
"Whoop-"
"No!"
Uh oh.
"Ow, alright.. Alright, fine.. Alright.. Alright!"
"Mike."
"I said alright! I'll stop!"
"You sure fuckin' will."
"Let go of me!"
"No."
"Roxan-!"
Ack!