Mable: How about chapter a couple of days early? ^_^ Enjoy!

Going Home in a Box

Chapter Nine

The day after the interview Natalie got a call confirming that she had gotten the job, and it was the day after that when she was to have her first shift. Both she and Fritz spent that day on the edge of their seats, with their goodbye before she left being a notably long one. She knew he was starting to get cold feet about the idea, but she had made up her mind. She kissed him before she left and wished he could've driven with her, but they couldn't risk it.

She arrived at the Pizzaplex a few minutes before eleven to find the parking lot mostly empty except for a couple of cars. The Pizzaplex was alit like it was open though which made her feel a little less uncomfortable with how dark and foreboding everything was right outside the door. She hurried over and found the front door unlocked, letting herself into the lobby.

Right away, Natalie spotted a man who she assumed was waiting for her. He looked to be on the shorter side, perhaps even shorter than Jeremy, with a chubby build and soft brown hair. He was wearing a jumpsuit similar to the technician they saw during the tour, Chaz, and leaning on the turnstile while talking to someone around the corner. He looked up to see her and she waved at him, and he seemed surprised by her.

"She's here," she could hear him say to whoever was nearby before raising a hand in greeting. "Hey. Vanessa, right?" he greeted.

Though before she could answer, the second person stepped out from around the corner to reveal himself as Chaz himself, the technician who had seen her with Fritz, Mike, and Jeremy. She kept up her smile and still continued to walk over even though she was in a panic underneath it. She could just feel herself edging towards a nervous sweat, waiting for that look of familiarity.

"So, you're the new night guard! I'm Chaz, that's Stanley. How's it going?" he greeted in a friendly fashion. He grabbed her hand in a bold shake and for a second it seemed like he didn't recognize her. She had just started to dare relief when he suddenly stopped. "…Do I know you? I swear I've seen you before," he said with more curiosity than suspicion.

"Nope! Not that I remember. Maybe you saw me somewhere?" Natalie asked, trying to keep her cool. He studied her for a moment longer before shrugging.

"Eh, maybe. But let's get this show on the road. We've got an hour before this whole place locks down and that's barely enough time to show you the ropes. C'mon." He released her hand and motioned for her to follow him. Stanley followed from the back as he led her through the door under the Faz-Pad, then took a sharp left through a door, then through another into a compact office crammed with boxes of stuff.

It might've been a security office from the bunch of monitors on the desk, but it looked a little subdued compared to what she was expecting for a place this big. Her eyes snapped to the desk as she noticed him picking up a stack of folded clothes topped with a black hat branded with "Security" in bold, white letters. He handed it to her.

"Here's your uniform. If you want to go over and change in the locker room, we'll wait here," Chaz suggested. He noticed her eyes briefly glance at the screens and got an amused smile. "Don't worry, we're not creeps. Him maybe, not me."

"Don't say that. She won't know you're joking," Stanley grumbled. He sent her a tired look. "You're good. We've got you covered."

"Sure. I'll be right back," Natalie said. She believed them enough, but she still changed as far into the corner as she could. Scanning the room for cameras and not spotting any, so she felt a little more comfortable.

The uniform was pretty standard. Not purple like she was expecting, considering Mike's old uniform and what Fritz said. The top was instead a simple black and gray with a Fazbear security logo on the breast and the pants were a simple black. There was also a belt provided that she put on, assuming they would provide her with a radio or a taser of some kind. They didn't provide her with shoes, so she just put hers back on.

Finally, she slipped her ponytail through the hat and secured it on her head. The uniform fit fine, though that wasn't a surprise since they had taken her measurement over the phone and provided her with the closest match. She left her clothes folded up on a bench and made her way back into the office. Both men looked over as she stepped in, and Chaz even whistled.

"Smoking," he complimented.

"Quit that, I have a boyfriend," Natalie said. She had a tinge of a joking smile, but it was clear from the sharpness that she actually meant it. Chaz got the message loud and clear.

"Sorry, my social skills went down the can once I started working here. You're the first woman I've seen in, what, a month?" he asked Stanley like he would know. He just shrugged again, and Chaz turned away to grab what turned out to be a security badge off the desk and handed it over. "Put this on and we'll get down to business."

"Sounds good," Natalie said and slipped it on her belt. She then watched attentively as Chaz clicked the mouse and turned on the computers.

"Just give me a second to pull this up… We've got a security clearance keycard too, but the system's not up yet so don't worry about it," Chaz said. Regardless of this, Stanley fetched it off the desk and handed it over, which Vanessa slipped into her pants pocket. "Okay, come look at this." She did, peering over Chaz's shoulder to see what looked like a map on the screen.

"Here's a map of the Pizzaplex. See those little boxes? Click on them and bam!" He clicked on one and a small window of a camera feed popped up. "That's how you check the cameras. Now, this whole thing's rigged up with the Staff Bots too, so if you see a red dot and hear an alert, that's a Staff bot alerting to something. Check it on the cameras and hike over there to figure it out. I'd check first because these bots false flag."

"A lot," Stanley added in. Natalie looked to him and he sort of fumbled under her gaze, "We're still fixing the bugs…"

"We've got a full-fledged infestation in here. They're like cockroaches, nothing kills 'em," Chaz remarked. He pointed back to the screen, "Okay, okay, see this little icon over this room? Looks like a badge? Security room. Fit with monitors just like this one where you can get into the system. Now this isn't the main security room, but you're not gonna want to be up there. Place is huge and it's a lot harder than managing this thing."

"I think I've got it," Natalie agreed. She squinted at the screen. "So, where do I make my rounds? Just circle the whole place?"

"Nah, I'd say… Just, like, every hour or two, do a circle around the atrium. Maybe hit each level, swing by the lobby, and then you can come back here and kill some time." He suddenly pointed back at her. "Two things. One: don't go into Monty Golf if Monty's in there. Twp: if you go into the daycare and the lights are off, turn around and walk back out. Don't go trying to get the lights on, don't go poking around in there, just leave."

"Should I even ask?" she asked.

"Don't get him started," Stanley quietly said.

"Yeah, yeah, look: there's a twitchy bot in there who gets a lot twitchier when the lights are off. Lights are on? You're good. Lights off? Get out of there," Chaz clarified. "Monty's just a loose cannon when you get a golf club in his hands."

"What about the other ones? Like Freddy," Natalie dared to ask. Chaz shook his head.

"Nah, they're safe. The bots too. Any of the Staff Bots start giving you a hard time, show 'em either your hat or your badge. They'll recognize either of 'em and clam up," he said, much to her relief. Unlike the corporate talk of James, Chaz was much more forthright, so she had no reason to believe he was lying. "But make sure they stay in their green rooms. We don't need any more wandering off and getting busted up."

Natalie nodded in understanding. She wondered if that was the real reason, but then again, she did remember what James said about the scrapped bot. Didn't seem like it needed much more explaining.

"Okay!" Chaz clapped his hands and got up from the chair. "I think that covers it- Oh! And if the place catches on fire, don't go for the fire escape. Just go out the exit by the loading docks. Then split town."

"Thanks for the tip," Natalie said.

"Eh, don't worry about it! Just covering bases," Chaz said. "Last thing: when six comes around, go here and here to clock out. You can clock out on any of the security office computers, and it'll get you out of the system. The doors will be unblocked, just lock 'em on your way out. Nobody gets in here until about six-thirty, seven, but you don't have to hang out here. Just get home and get some sleep. Think that covers it?"

"I think so."

"Don't worry, it's not hard. Really," Stanley assured. He managed a smile. "The hardest part is going to be staying awake."

She returned the smile and proceeded to walk them out to the front door. Stanley headed out first while Chaz stopped to hand her a small ring of keys and a slip of paper.

"Here's my number. I swear it's not a come on, just call me if you need something," he said. She agreed and he headed out the front with a final, "Good luck!" Stanley also waved and soon the two were walking off towards their cars.

Which meant Natalie was left alone in this massive building. For a second, she suddenly felt more nervousness return, but she shrugged it off and returned to the lost and found office. She hung around the office waiting for midnight to come and knowing it was the effective witching hour- also from what Fritz and the others had said. She managed to find a magazine someone left behind and started skimming through it.

Midnight came with unexpected silence. She was thinking maybe the dimmed lights would go off or there would be an alarm or something, but instead she ended up checking the clock and realizing it passed a few minutes ago. She quickly checked some of the lobby cameras before deciding to go do her rounds and check the place out. It wasn't until she was out in the lobby and looked at the front doors that she realized the entrance had been sealed with a security door.

"Locked in," she thought. It wasn't an assuring thought in the slightest, but she pressed on with the rounds.

She walked along the second-floor walkway of the atrium with her flashlight in hand and took in the same sights she had seen a few days earlier. Walking past Roxy Raceway and looking down into Kid's Cove. She decided to walk the upper floor on her next go-around and for now returned to the same office in the lobby. It just felt more comfortable being there instead of somewhere in here.

Except she was in for a surprise when she got back. As she opened the office door, Natalie heard a beeping from the computer and hustled over to look. "Here we go," she murmured under her breath.

As luck would have it, there was a red beacon flashing in the daycare. She turned on the cameras and it was enormous, way bigger than she was thinking, but she couldn't find the proper angle to look at what had tripped the alarm. From the actual map it seemed to be located near some stairs. Taking a deep breath and grabbing her flashlight again, she began to hike over.

The hallway before the daycare was the most unsettling place so far. It was darker than even the atrium and for some reason there seemed to be a chill in the air. In the distance she could hear music, as otherwise the hall was dead silent. Even devoid of the constant mall background music she had heard when she came for the tour. That too must've been an unfinished feature. She quickly made her way down to the garage-like entrance door. It opened automatically.

Natalie was immediately hit with light and a full blast of music as it opened. Unlike Chaz's warnings, the daycare was completely alit, not even dimmed like the rooms outside. There was bouncy, goofy music playing over the speakers, which seemed inappropriate considering that the place wasn't opened yet. At least it drained any amount of creepiness out.

She was also greeted with a tall golden statue that looked like the cartoon sun character she had seen on ads dotted around. Walking around it, she found a moon one behind it. Both of them didn't look quite as cuddly as their cartoon counterparts, but that was probably because some genius decided to leave the details out on their eyes. Around them was a small sitting and locker area, and she continued forwards to peer into the daycare.

The room was an atrium in and of itself with its own walkway and other rooms branching out, but the main attraction was the absolutely enormous play area in the center. A totally padded enclosure with a full indoor playground of climbing tubes, slides, ball pits, and plush toys spread out amongst the floor. A large castle decal was on the wall with its own balcony too.

"Why couldn't they have had this when I was a kid? I would've loved this," Natalie said to herself, trying to break the weird tension in the room. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, but she blamed that on Chaz. She looked towards a slide into the daycare and then down the walkway, deciding that the latter path was likely where the alarm came from.

Besides, she couldn't slide in pants this stiff. Not to mention if she lost her badge, she would never find it. Or if someone saw footage of an adult woman wading through a ball pit, she would never live it down.

She kept her eyes peeled as she walked down the long stretch to the other side of the room, past doors leading into party rooms, which she only knew because of the ones with windows. At the end she found two sets of stairs leading into the lower level around the actual daycare. That was when she saw it, the source of the tripped alarm.

There was a robot laying on its side at the bottom of the steps, flailing its free arm around like it was signaling for help and making a warning noise.

Natalie hurried down the steps and got a closer look before noticing its cleaner mop, its position, its slightly dented side, and realizing that it must've fallen down the stairs. So much for having automated staff. Though this was her first time seeing one of the robots and while it was a little weird, she couldn't deny that it was kind of cute. In a helpless sort of way.

"Alright, up you go," she said. It was heavier than she expected, but she managed to hoist it back onto its wheels.

It made a confirmation noise, cutting off its wailing alarm as it fidgeted its arms as though righting itself. It then did a small circle before facing her directly, leaning in a little closer than she expected. It tilted its head as though looking her over and she realized that it was probably looking at her hat and badge like Chaz had said. Then it righted, made a waving gesture, and began to roll away into the daycare. Taking a sudden turn into some room underneath the stairs.

"Huh… Okay. Mission accomplished," Natalie said. She looked around to make sure there was nothing else going on and then headed back upstairs.

She hoped this wasn't going to be a common occurrence. Not that she didn't appreciate a quick job, but if she was going to have to walk around and pick up bots all night then this was going to be a much different job than she was expecting. She let herself back through the little gate into the entrance area and took only a few steps before she noticed something out the corner of her eye and looked towards the slide.

There was something there that wasn't there before: a smiling face.

A very familiar figure was laying inside the slide. Its sun shaped head propped up with its hands as it stared at her with stark white eyes. Its legs slightly bent behind it to rest on the top of the tube, but not having quite enough space.

It was the same animatronic from the statue and the posters, the sun-shaped one, and it was much more unsettling in person. Not just how in snuck up on her, but just its silent stare with that toothy grin. It was oozing the same off-ness that she felt just walking around this place. It left her utterly speechless, just staring back at it as though expecting it to do something.

Which it did. It removed one of its hands from its head, sun spines popping out where it had just been, and waggled its fingers at her in a wave. Still thoroughly alarmed by the whole thing, Natalie cautiously raised a hand and a brow.

"Uh… Hello," she greeted awkwardly.

"Heeeelllloooo,~" it answered back. Then, while still drawing out the word, it lowered it legs and slid down the slide with a small twist. Its voice following as it disappeared down the slide before fading out.

She pursed her lips and listened to hear it dropping into the ball pit beneath the slide, and hastily left the daycare when it didn't. She was just too thoroughly creeped out to stick around.

"Was that the Sun?" she mumbled to herself once outside the safety of the daycare security door. "But Wight said they scrapped it… But then Ness said it was still there. Why would he lie…?" Probably because it was twitchy, she guessed. She would run it by Fritz later, for now she was needed elsewhere and ready to be back in the safety of the office. She pulled open one of the double doors into the lobby.

An arm thrust through towards her.

Natalie yelped and immediately slammed the door back again, catching a metal arm in between them. She studied it with eyes wide and her head reared back before it suddenly clicked that it was the arm of one of those Staff Bots.

"Hi! Please take this map."

Her brows scrunched together as she slowly leaned enough to peek through the crack in the door. There was another Staff Bot standing on the other side, though this one had a different design. It had a yellow chest with a black 'i' painted on it. It also had what looked like black glasses frames and a light gray hat. Upon seeing her face, it repeated itself.

"Take a map."

She looked down its arm and, sure enough, there was a map clenched in its fingers. She slowly and cautiously opened the door and as soon as it was free it rolled in towards her. Stopping only a foot away with the map held out.

"Okay…?"

"Take a map."

"Okay, okay!" She threw caution to the wind and reached out to grab the map away. "There. Thank you."

"Thank you. Please enjoy."

The Map Bot then turned itself around and began to roll into the lobby, its wheel riding the edge of the stairs- "No, no, not that close!"- before taking a sharp right and rolling to the elevators. They opened and it rolled inside, and Natalie breathed a sigh of relief before continuing to the lost and found.

She got to sit down and hang out for a while. About an hour later she went to do her rounds again, this time doing them on the upper floor of the atrium. She considered walking into Mazercise and seeing if it was like a normal gym. It had been about a few months since her last gym visit and while she was still fit and fine, instead exercising at home, it felt like something that could've helped pass the creeping time.

Same thing went for the bowling alley. It had been a while since she went with the guys or with Louise to bowl. Things had just been so hectic after they discovered the Pizzeria opening that nobody had been feeling like going out. She wondered briefly if she would get an employee discount before immediately recoiling at the idea of actually handing her paycheck back to Freddy's. Never mind, they could bowl full price in town.

The evening was still creeping along as she made it back to the lost and found once more. By now she was starting to feel the effects of not having time to prepare for the night shift. She didn't go to sleep too early, so she was moderately sure she was going to make it, but the hours of silence were not helping. She helped herself to some coffee up in the Faz-Pad and hoped nobody would notice.

After a cup of that, she went on her rounds again, this time on the first floor of the atrium. However, this time she decided to go a little further. If only to wake herself up but also to snoop around a little more. Not too much though. Not after seeing the Sun and being jumped by that Map Bot, and when she was already feeling sore and weary.

She did walk into Rockstar Row though. At least far enough to see the curtained enclosures of the animatronics. Sounded like there was music coming somewhere from the other side of the hall, but after the daycare had its music on, she wasn't too concerned about it. She only lingered there for a few minutes before returning back out to the atrium and back to the lost and found office.

Soon Natalie collapsed back into the office chair and was pulling up the cameras to flip around again. It was the closest she had to television, and it filled the job she was supposed to be doing. Also allowed her to look beyond the touring zone without having to actually walk that far. She checked the daycare and saw what was probably the same bot mopping the floor and no sign of that sun bot.

Remembering earlier, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion and checked the cameras around the locker area. Turned out that they weren't set to face into the locker space, so there was no way the technicians could've peeped at her. That was a relief. Not that they would've seen much, but it would've definitely annoyed her. She moved on to scan the lobby and then out into the atrium.

That was when she noticed something moving on the lower floor. It didn't look like a Staff Bot, so she moved to a closer camera and her eyes popped open.

"Oh wow, that's Freddy," she mumbled. She leaned in closer while zooming the camera in as though to see better. Not that she needed to. She knew what she was looking at. "Yup. That is Freddy Fazbear himself walking around down there."

Indeed he was, and he looked exactly like how he was portrayed in his statue and posters from what she could see. Even closer than the sun was. He was walking around outside the laser tag arena like he had just come from hallway his enclosure was in. In fact, it looked like he had followed her straight out and was looking for her. That was concerning.

…Well, that was one of the many concerning things she had seen this evening. This one had her drawing a blank though. Perhaps she should've been expecting the animatronics to come out and wander around after seeing that the sun wasn't contained, and after being told they were supposed to stay in the enclosures, but now she was at a loss. Unsure whether she was supposed to just observe Freddy or go try to corral him.

Her knowledge of Freddy's in mind, approaching a wandering animatronic seemed exceptionally dangerous, but part of her did at least consider getting a closer look. Then she would be on the cameras attempting to put him away before coming back to hide in the lost and found until the doors unlocked. Natalie sat there for a long moment before finally getting up from the chair.

By time she made it into atrium he had moved to the snack bar directly underneath her, which she could tell through his heavy footsteps. This angle made it impossible to see him unless she walked down one of the walkways or went down an escalator, and after some consideration she dared to do the latter. She got around the corner at the midway landing and then caught sight of Freddy.

Freddy was standing at one of the doors that led behind the snack bar with his head tilted forward. She couldn't tell if he shut down or was trying to listen through it. He only did that for a few moments before starting to turn around, Natalie didn't have time to run so she went completely still and hoped he would notice her. Alas, he caught sight and his eyes locked directly onto her. She braced herself to run.

"Hello, ma'am! I did not see you there."

She hadn't braced herself hard enough for that. Natalie started in partial surprise as Freddy jogged over to the bottom of the escalator and looked up at her.

"I have never seen you before," Freddy said. He looked up at her hat and it clicked. "You must be the new security officer!"

"That's me," she was quick to agree. She wasn't sure if this was the kind of situation where he might attack if he thought she was an intruder, but she had to admit that he seemed pretty friendly. Maybe a little too friendly, she considered.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," he greeted. He started to come up the escalator and she considered stopping him, or making a run for it, but she was frozen and found him soon right in front of her. Standing a step down so they were almost at eye level. "Give me a moment to check your employee profile."

"You don't have to-." Natalie was cut off by Freddy's glowing eyes literally scanning over her face. She tightened her lips and stood through it. This must've been why they made her take a picture after getting hired on.

"Scanning completed. Your name is Vanessa! That is a very nice name," Freddy greeted. Thankfully, he then took a step back to give her room. "I am Freddy Fazbear, the lead singer of the band and the face of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex… Which I suppose is self-explanatory."

"Yeah, I sort of picked that up when I recognized you," Natalie said. She tried to joke but it came out feeling awkward, so she cleared her throat and was back to business. "What are you looking for?"

"Oh! I-I was just looking around. I thought I heard something over in Rockstar Row," Freddy said. His eyes darted about a bit, almost like he was nervous.

"That was me. I just wanted to take a look in and make sure everything looked alright," Natalie explained. The bear's ears twitched a little lower.

"Oh. I see. Well, I am glad to have met you. I will return to my room now." Freddy turned around and started to walk back towards Rockstar Row. His posture seemed a little slumped, like he was upset about something. It didn't take her long to come to the assumption that maybe he just didn't want to return to his room. After a moment of consideration, she stopped him.

"No, wait! I'm not going to make you go back to your room," Natalie said. Freddy turned back towards her. "You can walk around and do whatever! Just don't knock into any bots. I had to pick one up off the floor earlier."

"Really?! Where was it?!" Freddy asked with renewed vigor. It almost caused her to step back, but she didn't She definitely wasn't getting danger vibes from him.

"Over in the daycare. It looked like it fell down the stairs."

"Hmm… I should go check for myself… But it is against protocol for me to stay outside my room unless called for repairs or for rehearsal… Is it alright if I do?"

"Of course! Go right ahead. I'm not going to tell anyone," she assured him. He seemed to perk up a bit, but she got a slight frown on her lips. "Are you always stuck in your room?"

"…We were not always, but… things have changed. It is safer for us to stay where we belong," Freddy said. There was something he wasn't saying, she could tell, but before she could ask, he perked back up. "But once the Pizzaplex is open, we will be free to walk around the Pizzaplex and entertain guests. I am very excited!"

"I can imagine," she said with a small smile. "If you want, you can come with me, and I'll walk you over there. I'm heading back in that direction anyway."

"I would be happy to have you escort me to the daycare! But only if it is not a bother…"

"It's no trouble. Come on," Natalie said. She turned and headed back up the escalator with Freddy following behind.

In honestly, it was less about comfort or duty and more about reluctance to let him wander alone and an insatiable curiosity to why he was walking at all. Though she definitely didn't feel comfortable enough to ask him directly why he was. She learned a long time ago that not all animatronics were capable or comfortable of talking about their creation. If he started freaking out or rejecting his own wiring, she wouldn't be able to fix it. That was a quick way to get fired.

Though by time they were approaching the elevator, she realized she was going to have to say something. Freddy let her press the button and stood across from her as they rode down. He was looking at her with curiosity, but between his height and stature he was a little intimidating. She still managed to find her voice.

"Sooo how long have you been here? At the Pizzaplex, I mean."

"I am not sure. There have been times when I have been shut down for maintenance and do not know how much time passes, but I do remember when much of the Pizzaplex was still unfinished. So much has changed since then! It is a little overwhelming," Freddy said. It kind of answered her question. "What about you? Have you worked with Fazbear Entertainment long?"

"New. I've never worked at a Freddy's before," Natalie quickly denied.

"Well, I hope you stay! I think it is a good idea to have a security guard in case of an emergency," he said. The elevator was slowing to a stop, but before it could Natalie had a thought.

"So, are any of the others out?" she asked quietly so nobody could overhear.

"No. They were still in their rooms when I left. They were not as curious as I was," Freddy said, which was a relief. The doors opened and they stepped out into the lobby.

"Okay, so the daycare's down there. I can walk you over there if you want," Natalie offered.

"Th-That will not be necessary. Thank you for letting me come out. I promise if I see anyone, I will tell you right away," Freddy assured. The beginning part sounded rushed like he was hiding something. She considered questioning it before noticing that Freddy was silently staring at her for a little too long.

"No problem. Just do me a favor and pick up any bots you find tipped over," she answered. "…Need anything else?"

"Can I ask you something?" Freddy asked. It felt like a weird question after they had been talking for so long. Apparently, he thought so too as he didn't wait for an answer. "I know they are our competitors, but… have you heard of Foxy's? The Foxy the Pirate themed pizzeria outside of the Pizzaplex?"

It took all of her control to show no reaction. "Sure, I have. How do you know about it?"

"I think I may have heard a technician talking about it. They have very advanced animatronic intelligence," Freddy explained. "Do you know if there is a Foxy animatronic entertainer there?"

"I'd guess so. Not that I've seen him but probably," Natalie said, voice growing increasingly halting. "Why…?"

"I was just wondering. I heard of him and just… was wondering if you knew. It is also no problem," he said. "I will get going now. Maybe I will see you again?"

"Sure you will. I'm going to be working here from now on. We're bound to run into each other," she kindly said. Even managing a smile even though there was an increasing franticness under the façade. That question about Foxy's totally threw her off and she couldn't help but make a quick escape back to the lost and found.

At first Natalie had been suspicious and borderline panicked that she had somehow been found out, but by time she made it to the lost and found she realized that Freddy's questions were probably brought on by the break-in. It was still concerning that Foxy's was brought into the conversation when talking about the crime, but it was expected.

This was all just weird enough that she got her cellphone out of her pocket and went to call Fritz, sure he was still awake. To her surprise the call didn't go through. She checked her phone to see why. No cell service, weirdly enough. Maybe it was the levels and layers of cement above the office. She returned to the cameras and flipped to the daycare to watch for Freddy.

Freddy walked all the way back to the daycare stairs and ended up finding the mop bot who Natalie had picked up cleaning the floor in front of the daycare's massive doors. He looked it over before going under the stairs. From the angle of the camera, Natalie could see two bathrooms underneath, and she watched as he went into them one at a time. Judging by the length of time he spent in them, he was searching them.

"What are you looking for?" Natalie murmured as she looked closer at the bear. Then it suddenly clicked. "…He's looking for the vandal."

That had to be it. The way he was searching, the interest he showed after she mentioned an alarm went off, asking about Foxy's- he had been asking because of the mask. He was aware of and looking for the vandal. Though what he intended to do when he found them was a mystery. A switch could flip, and he could suddenly become something terrifying and violent, but in this state it was hard to imagine the gentle sounding bear being that way. Though looks could be deceiving.

She continued to watch him as he left the bathrooms and, after looking around the room for a long moment, and then staring at the daycare doors for a long moment, suddenly took a sharp turn and walked into what looked like a gift shop. She continued watching him for a little longer before switching cameras to check the lobby and atrium. Him searching so feverishly left her paranoid that someone really was in here, but there was no sign of anyone.

Except the map bot looping around the second floor of the atrium. At least there were plenty of railings to corral it in.

Natalie returned to the daycare cameras and found that Freddy was now standing in front of the large wooden doors which were opened a little. Zooming in the camera, she could see the sun's face through that slender gap. It was up higher than she would've ever hoped it to be. Freddy's mouth was moving so he was probably asking it about what happened, which was somewhat confirmed by a long arm reaching out and pointing directly to where the bot had been picked up.

The conversation was wrapped up pretty quickly, ending with Freddy walking back to the stairs and the sun quickly shutting the door once more. Natalie was able to easily track the bear's movement as he returned to the lobby.

She considered going out to see him when he was passing through the lobby, but then decided against it, still feeling a little wary. He didn't come looking for her, instead taking the long walk back to his green room.

It was precisely when Freddy returned to Rockstar Row that Natalie began to crash again. This time it was much worse too. Coffee wasn't helping and she hadn't brought in any money to buy a soda with. She got up and paced a little and did another set of rounds, even walking back towards the daycare in the hopes of getting her blood pumping. It wasn't helping, but at this point it wasn't too long until six crept up.

Ten minutes before the hour hit, even if she wasn't supposed to, she changed out of her uniform and into her normal clothes in preparation to leave. She then propped her head up with her arm and tried not to fall asleep as she watched the numbers ticking to morning. If she had been prepared, she would've done one last check of the building, but she was too tired to consider it. She didn't have the strength to pick up even one more robot.

As soon as six came, she clocked out like Chaz showed her to and headed out to the lobby. Thankfully, the security doors were sliding open as she was making her way there, and she let herself out and locked the door behind her using a key from the small keyring she had been given. Soon she was in her car and driving home, and by some blessing she was able to stay awake the whole trip.

The house was dark as Natalie unlocked and pushed the front door open. By now Fritz had to be asleep, no doubt because he stayed up half the night with worry. She quietly shut the door back and made her way through the house and into the bathroom. She had left her nightclothes in there with the intention of taking a shower when she got home. Now that she was here, she didn't really feel like it, but got in anyway.

She dropped her clothes in a pile against the wall- she would deal with them tomorrow. Same with her uniform, left folded up and abandoned on the dining room table. Right now, she just wanted to get in and out and into bed as fast as possible. She stepped under the warm spray and shuddered at the heat, like it wasn't entirely expected. She tilted her head forward and allowed it to soak her hair.

Through the water, Natalie detected the sound of footsteps, and she raised her head to listen. The ordeal of the night left her a little paranoid, but it didn't take long to recognize that it was Fritz.

"Natalie?" he called in. His voice was a little groggy which gave away that he just woke up.

"Yar, guess again, Landlubber," Natalie said in a fake Foxy voice. She gave a light chuckle before sighing. "I'm so tired, Hun, I can't even think."

"I know how you feel," he sympathized. She knew he did, he probably went through the same thing whenever he was stuck doing the night shift. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm good. Go back to bed, I'll be there as soon as I'm out," Natalie assured, rubbing at her face to try and rouse enough to finish washing. She noticed he hadn't left but didn't say anything about it. He was probably just worried about her.

She fumbled around for the shampoo and squirted a glob into her hand before she noticed Fritz moving around outside the curtain. Sounded like he was moving clothes around and she began to massage the shampoo into her scalp. She didn't get very far into it when the curtain partially drew aside and Fritz stepped into the shower behind her.

Natalie immediately turned to face him and dropped her arms to her sides and her head onto his shoulder. He wrapped his arms comfortingly around her.

"I've got you," he said, his voice low and warm. He began to run his fingers through her hair and work the shampoo into it further before gently combing it out. It was so soothing that it was a wonder she didn't fall asleep then.

It was almost like she had to be woken up just to get out and dried off, but soon she was in her night clothes and into the bedroom. She didn't check the clock, but she wouldn't have been surprised if sunrise was any minute now. With her last moments of consciousness, she spread the towel over her pillow and then flopped into bed. She was almost asleep by time Fritz laid down and put his arm around her, nudging his forehead against her damp bangs.

He hadn't even asked about her night, but that didn't mean he didn't stay awake thinking about it. There was always tomorrow.

…When she would be going back.