Author's Note: Heyyyy, everyone! Sorry for not updating this story yesterday, I was working and completely forgot to do it when I got home!

When we last left off, Mike was in pretty big trouble. Let's see if he can get out of it!

Mike felt a shiver run up his spine and he quickly turned on his heels to see two purple eyes staring at him from outside the other door. He yelped in surprise and pushed the button for the door to the right hallway. He then turned on the light and saw Chica standing there with her wicked smile, seeming to be staring into Mike's soul. The guard tried to hide his quivering and furrowed his brows when the chicken began to speak.

"Aww, Michael, what's wrong? Can't I come in?" A dark snicker followed her words.

Mike shook his head and clenched his fists. "Will you just leave me alone, Chica?! Damn it, you both are the most annoying things in this whole building! What the hell do you all have against me?!"

Chica blinked in surprise, before her brows furrowed. "If you really feel that way, I understand. Hmph!" And with that, the robotic chicken turned on her feet and walked away. Her footsteps faded as she made her way back towards the stage.

Mike took a moment, watching the window to make sure she wouldn't just reappear, before pushing the buttons for the right hallway as well. The guard pinched the bridge of his nose and growled under his breath. "These animatronics are going to be the death of me, I swear to God," he muttered.

Mike moved back towards the chair in the room, flopping down into it and picking up his tablet again. His face tightened in thought as his mind wandered to the animatronics.

It was weird. It was really weird that they did this at night, because Mike had come to the restaurant during the day before. He had seen how kind and gentle the animatronics were with kids during the day, singing their songs and handing out food to them. The children and even the adults seemed to love them so much…

But there was something else Mike noticed about them during the day. They seemed so much more robotic and programmed compared to the way they walked and moved and talked at night. They seemed so… artificial during the day time, and yet, at night, they threatened him and talked to him in such a human way. It didn't make sense in his mind.

How could a robot–a robotic animal–be so unliving during the day, and yet seem so alive and intelligent at night? It was… strange.

But it's not like that really mattered when they were trying to get into the office to come kill him. Mike filed that thought away for later and looked back at his tablet as he picked it back up. He tapped the camera view for Pirate's Cove–

Oh, shit.

The curtain was open and Foxy was gone.

Mike's heart leapt into his throat and he felt panic take him again. "Where did he–

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP

"HE'S COMING DOWN THE HALL!" the guard shouted as he sprung out of his seat and nearly fell as he reached for the button for the door Bonnie had been at. He slammed his hand onto it and panted as he looked up at the window to the side. A flash of red went past it, followed by a loud thud against the metal. There was a brief moment of silence, before Mike heard loud cursing followed by metallic footsteps.

Mike waited for at least a minute before opening the door back up. He stuck his head out to look down the corridor and saw the curtain to Pirate's Cove close. He could still hear Foxy grumbling to himself, and the human sighed in relief. He moved back into the office and slumped down in his seat. "Good lord," he muttered. "Will these idiots ever leave me alone?"

Mike screamed in fright as he looked at the tablet again, seeing a pair of glowing eyes and a set of glowing teeth were moving down the right side hallway. He knows he shouldn't shut the door, but out of panic, he slams his hand into the button again.

A noise from his back has Mike running to the other side. The guard closed the left door and then ran back when another noise came from the right door. Mike could feel his heart thudding in his chest, threatening to break through his ribcage and out of his body.

"Mike… we know you're terrified right now," came Bonnie's voice from the left hallway. "How about you let us in to calm you down?"

The guard went to speak again and he was stopped when loud thumps came from the doors on both sides of him. He let out a frightened shriek and moved to the chair in the middle. He looked down at his tablet and gasped as he noticed the battery life left.

Five percent.

"No, no, no, no!" Mike shouted. "No, you can't run out now! Not now, damn you!" Mike looked back and forth between the two doors. Both of them were down, the lights were on, the battery was running out, and he hadn't even checked what time it was. He couldn't risk it. Not with his battery quickly draining and getting ready to leave him at the mercy of the animatronics.

Mike looked down after a minute or so of the thumps getting louder and more violent. He cursed softly, looking down at his tablet, murmuring "Oh shit…"

And that was when the lights went out.

There was a moment where Mike could hear the electronics power down, before the only sound was his quickened breathing. And then, that dreadful music began to play.

A pair of glowing eyes and a set of glowing teeth stared at him from in the doorway of the right door. Mike couldn't make another sound as he stayed in silent terror. The sounds of Freddy's footsteps came into the room, and a hand began to reach towards him. "Fre–Freddy, please–"

And then, Mike's alarm on his phone began to go off.

6:00 AM.

Freddy's hand moved away from the human's neck and back to the robotic bear's side as his wicked smile fell and he looked at the wall ahead of him. Then, he turned on his heels, walked into the hall, and back to the stage.

Mike let go of a breath he didn't know he had been holding after another moment. He shakily stood and looked down the right hall with an expression of horror. The guard could see Chica and Freddy move back towards the stage. He could hear Bonnie and Foxy doing the same.

Mike practically collapsed as he knelt on the floor. The human had actually made it to the morning and the animatronic's programming had gotten them away from him. Another call that was closer than he ever wanted. He didn't know how much more of this his poor heart could take, and Mike knew he had gotten lucky again.

But how much longer until his luck ran out?

The front door of the guard's apartment opened, then clicked shut. Mike carefully stepped into the small space he shared with his girlfriend. He carefully placed his hat on the rack near the door, and moved to the bedroom. He tried to open the next door as quietly as he could so as not to disturb his partner, only to see her sitting up in their bed.

The woman smiled ever so softly as Mike stepped into the room. "Morning, Mikey," she murmured.

Mike managed to get a smile out at hearing her voice, as gentle as a summer breeze. "Morning, Jennifer." He walked to the bed, climbed into it, and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek. He wanted nothing more than to lay in the bed with his girlfriend for a while, but she suddenly asked something that made his heart drop

"How did your shift go, dear?"

Mike shuddered and let out a soft sigh. "It was… horrible, Jen. The animatronics were pretty vicious last night. They really tried to get to me. It was terrifying, because they were talking… talking to me, like they sometimes do. They were threatening me so much, and at one point, I had to close both doors, and I ran out of power, right before six."

Mike put his hands to his arms, as if he was cold, when he had been so fearful for his life. "Freddy even went to grab me before their six o'clock programming kicked in and made them go back to the stage." The guard looked to his girlfriend's face, seeing concern and even pity for him on it. He found himself closing his eyes. "Jen… I thought I was almost going to die again. Again. They never leave me alone and whisper all their wishes of my death to me. And… there's nothing I can really do about it. I'm fucking terrified, Jen. I can't stop them. I can't trick them or do anything to keep them out."

Jennifer found herself carefully taking her boyfriend's hand and she held it close as tears fell from Mike's eyes. She listened to him sniffle and whimper for a few moments, before she held onto him and embraced him.

All was quiet for just a few moments. Then, Jennifer finally broke the silence.

"Mike, it's gonna be okay."

Mike shook his head. "No, it's not, babe. I–I–I can't understand what they want from me! They always do this, and I fucking hate it! I can't do anything to stop them, so every night, I just have to pray they don't get those doors open until the clock strikes six!" He lightly pounded his fists into the bed at his sides.

Mike closed his eyes and his voice became strained. "I literally can't do anything about them! They're going to kill me, and I'll leave you alone, and–"

"Mike, please. Calm down a little bit. You're going to make yourself sick, babe. Take some deep breaths, okay?"

Mike nodded and tried to do as his partner asked of him, regulating his breathing within a few moments. When he had finally stopped crying, Mike looked at Jennifer and watched her smile weakly.

"Mike… I know this will sound crazy. I know it will. But… you say those robots are pretty smart, right?"

Mike nodded softly.

"Well, I figured… why don't you just stand up to them?"

Mike lifted his head and sat up straight. "What?"

"I mean, why don't you just try talking to them in a more civilized manner? You said they're really smart and humalike, so I imagine no one has ever really tried to talk to them instead of… you know, locking them out?"

Mike thought over his partner's words for just a second. "But.. I–I don't know if they'll listen. They seem so cold-blooded and have never tried to talk to me in a more… calm manner. I really don't–"

Jennifer chuckled. "Have you ever tried it?"

Mike shook his head. "I mean… no."

"Then try giving it a shot. I'm sure they'll definitely seem surprised, and maybe, just maybe, you can figure out what they want when you do. If they're really as smart as you say, I'm sure they'll understand you and talk to you. Whether or not they talk to you in a friendly manner is gonna be up to them."

Mike could only gape in shock at what Jennifer told him. "I… I mean… I don't know how it'll go… but I might as well try. I don't know how it'll go, but I just… it sounds crazy, but… I can't help but wonder what would happen if I tried it."

Jennifer nodded. "Go ahead and give it a shot, Mike. Who knows? It might just surprise them enough and show them you won't just lie down and take their threats like an animal."

Mike blinked in surprise. Then, he smiled and nodded.

Time for him to stand up.

Author's Note: Looks like Mike has a plan brewing! But will it work when he tries to confront the animatronics?

Find out next Wednesday!