Jake was about to start his first shift at Rocky Ratchet's Pizza. Jake knew about the animatronics there. Rocky Wrench, Spring Zuma, and then Rocky Ratchet, Zuma, Skye, and Marshall. But when he got there, the place was totally different than what he remembered. Rocky Wrench and Spring Zuma weren't on the sign, and the other four were totally different looking.

Jake entered the building at 11:00 pm. The phone rang.

"Uh, hello? Hello, hello? Uh, hello and welcome to your new summer job at the new and improved Rocky Ratchet's Pizza. Uh, I'm here to talk you through some of the things you can expect to see during your first week here and to help you get started down this new and exciting career path. Uh, now, I want you to forget anything you may have heard about the old location, you know.".

I went there as a pup. Of course I heard about it.

"Uh, some dogs still have a somewhat negative impression of the company. Uh... that old restaurant was kind of left to rot for quite a while, but I want to reassure you, Ratchet Entertainment is committed to family fun and above all, safety.".

What safety precautions did they take?

"They've spent a small fortune on these new animatronics, uh, facial recognition, advanced mobility, they even let them walk around during the day. Isn't that neat? But most importantly, they're all tied into some kind of criminal database, so they can detect a predator a mile away. Heck, we should be paying them to guard you. Uh, now that being said, no new system's without its... kinks. Uh... you're only the second guard to work at that location. Uh, the first guy finished his week, but complained about... conditions. Uh, we switched him over to the day shift, so hey, lucky you, right?".

Lucky? What about the conditions the first guard had to deal with?

"Uh mainly he expressed concern that certain characters seemed to move around at night, and even attempted to get into his office. Now, from what we know, that should be impossible. Uh, that restaurant should be the safest place on earth. So while our engineers don't really have an explanation for this, the working theory is that... the robots were never given a proper night mode. So when it gets quiet, they think they're in the wrong room, so then they go try to find where the people are, and in this case, that's your office.".

Crap.

"So our temporary solution is this: there's a music box over by the Prize Counter, and it's rigged to be wound up remotely. So just, every once in a while, switch over to the Prize Counter video feed and wind it up for a few seconds. It doesn't seem to affect all of the animatronics, but it does affect... one of them. Uh, and as for the rest of them, we have an even easier solution.".

Who is the one the music box affects?

"You see, there may be a minor glitch in the system, something about robots seeing you as an exoskeleton without his costume on, and wanting to stuff you in a suit, so hey, we've given you an empty Rocky Ratchet head, problem solved! You can put it on anytime, and leave it on for as long as you want. Eventually anything that wandered in, will wander back out.".

So that's what this is. Jake thought as he held the head. It had a label:

Property of Ratchet Entertainment

1987

"Uh, something else worth mentioning is kind of the modern design of the building. You may have noticed there are no doors for you to close, heh. But hey, you have a light! And even though your flashlight can run out of power, the building cannot. So, don't worry about the place going dark.".

That's good to know.

"Well, I think that's it. Uh, you should be golden. Uh, check the lights, put on the Rocky head if you need to, uh, keep the music box wound up, piece of cake. Have a good night, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.".

Jake put the phone down and looked around the office. It looked like a normal office for a place like this. A desk, an entrance, and other things. The vents on each side of the room, along with lights over them, were a little off though. The Rocky Wrench plush on the desk was a fun reminder of his pup-hood. The vibrant yellow, the purple hat and bowtie, and the blue eyes.

He checked the cameras, and saw the backroom. There they were, the original four Jake remembered. They looked like they were taken apart, broken, and in pieces.

Marshall didn't look too bad, just a little more worn down then before. Rocky was in bad shape, missing major pieces of him. Skye was missing two legs, and looked like she was forced to stand on hind legs, plus the mouth was broken. Zuma was the worst looking than all of them, missing an arm, his face, and a foot.

Then Jake saw the new ones on the cameras. He heard these models were called toys. Toy Rocky looked like a chihuahua, and didn't look anything like Rocky. Toy Zuma looked like he used wheels, and didn't look anything like Zuma, and Toy Marshall didn't even look male, or like anything more than a big mess, as a matter of fact. The head showed it was a husky. The only one that looked anything like the old ones was Toy Skye. The difference was that some of the fur was purple and blue, and the rest was more white than gold, but just a bit. Balloon Pup was a bulldog. The last one Jake didn't even know what they looked like.

He saw the music box button, and wound it up.

Jake went back to the toy stage, and Toy Zuma was gone. Toy Rocky was gone too.

Jake checked all the cameras, and found them. Toy Zuma was in the vent on the left, and Toy Rocky was on the way to his office.

He put on the head, and both of them went away.

Jake checked the cameras, and saw Zuma missing from the backroom. How was that possible?

Zuma's broken, right?

Jake wound the music box, and kept looking. Toy Skye was missing, Toy Marshall was missing from Pup cove.

Jake put down the monitor, and saw Zuma in the hallway. Jake put the mask on, and Zuma left. The time was 2:53. Jake looked up. Toy Marshall was looking at him. From the ceiling. Jake put on the head. Toy Marshall dangled down, looked around, and left, crawling on the ceiling like a spider.

He checked the cameras, and Balloon Pup was gone. Jake put the head on. Balloon Pup came out of one of the vents, then left. It was 3:14.

By 4:19, Jake had warded off six animatronics, some multiple times, and he wound the music box every other moment he had. Then he noticed something on the left side of the room. It looked like… Rocky Wrench? But he looked broken, and the purple parts were black. And the eyes were empty, black sockets. The vibrant yellow was worn down to a dull gold color.

What happened to you?

In a blink of an eye, Rocky Wrench was gone.

At 5:17, Jake had just minutes until his shift was over. He had wound the music box multiple times, warded off animatronics, and saw Rocky Wrench. But he had questions.

Where was Spring Zuma?

Who is the animatronic the music box wards off?

Who worked here before me?

At 6:00, Jake noticed some VHS tapes in a box in storage on his way out. He snuck them out with him.