CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: CONDITIONS

"And that's what happened, Kyle," I concluded as Kyle and I walked through Rockstar Row.

For the entire duration of me recounting the events of last night, Kyle didn't interrupt or ask questions. He listened very intently, nodding his head thoughtfully. He was obviously happy that my date with Roxanne went well. When I told him about seeing that strange animatronic at the top of the stairs near Roxy Raceway before I'd blacked out, and my encounter with Charlie, his eyes grew wide with slight shock briefly before he regained his composure.

We stopped in front of the large glass window for Roxanne's green room. I looked at Kyle to see a thoughtful expression on his face. I waited patiently for his response. I could only imagine what was going through that head of his.

"Sounds like the night started off well for both you and Roxy in the beginning," he finally said. "It's very shocking to learn what happened to you during and after the race. The situation's 2x worse than it was previously."

"I agree," I said with a nod of my head. "What possibly should've been just some kind of hack is now something both sinister and from the past."

A guilty expression formed on his face. "And again, I apologize for putting you in danger like this. It means greatly that you're helping."

I nodded slowly but didn't say anything else. That irrational part of me still wanted to be angry at Kyle for his reason for giving me the job, but I ignored it. I had to remind myself that I got myself in this mess out of my own will, considering I wanted to find out what happened to the missing kids. Getting angry at him would be kind of petty.

Something clicked in my head. A rush of worry flowed through me, my eyes going wide slightly.

"Kyle, what time is it?" I asked somewhat quickly, slight traces of my worry present in my tone.

He looked at his right wrist. It now occurred to me that he was wearing a fancy-looking watch.

"It's 6:45 AM," he said. He looked at me again. "We have plenty of time to go to Parts and Service before the Pizzaplex opens."

I didn't feel relieved, even when he revealed what time it was. A fear-inducing thought ran through my mind. While it only happened 2 times during the night, the idea of Roxanne being hacked by William Afton during the day made me feel sick. Considering that he had a personal grudge against me, William would undoubtedly use Roxanne to hurt someone to get my attention. The thought of an innocent child or guest getting hurt because of this fiend made me realize something, a realization that made my blood run cold in my veins; the Mega Pizzaplex was no longer safe. As long as William was here, safety wasn't a thing anymore.

"Mihael, are you okay?" Kyle asked, sounding alarmed. "You're pale as a ghost."

I snapped out of my stupor and looked Kyle in the eyes. "Kyle, I think you should have this place closed down for a few days."

Kyle went wide-eyed. "What?"

"I said you should have this place closed down for a few days," I repeated. "It's no longer safe."

He recovered slightly. "Mind explaining?"

"Kyle, while it made have happened during the night, there is a good chance that William will try hacking Roxanne during the day," I explained. He looked at me, waiting for me to explain what I mean a bit better.

I resisted the urge to groan. "Kyle, so many people come to this place every day. That includes the kids. As you said before, this also concerned anyone who comes here, at any given moment when the place is filled with people, and whenever he feels like it, he can decide to hack Roxanne and force her to hurt or kill an innocent person. I don't know why he decided to attempt it twice during the night, but what I'm trying to get at is as long as he's around trying to hack Roxanne, no one is safe."

Kyle stared at me with a strange expression on his face.

"So, let me get this straight," he began in a matter-of-factly tone. "Out of fear over the possibility of William Afton hacking Roxy, you want me to close the Pizzaplex for a few days since you deem it unsafe?"

"That's just about right," I said. Kyle stared at me for a moment.

"I see where you are going with this," he said. "However, for that to happen, we have to give the CEO of the company a good reason why the Pizzaplex should be closed for a few days."

I thought about it for a moment before something clicked. Kyle had mentioned about there being a security breach 10 years prior, but I just realized something; he never mentioned how the company reacted when they heard about this. This might work.

"I can think of a good reason," I said.

"Explain," he said.

"You told me about the breach in security that took place 10 years prior, right?" I asked. He nodded. "Well, how did they react when they heard about it?"

It took Kyle a moment to catch on to what I had in mind. "Just after Vanessa was taken and moments before I informed the public of the Pizzaplex being closed, I informed the CEO of what happened. To say that he was horrified would be an understatement. He instructed me to inform the public that the Pizzaplex would be closed for a while but to not tell them about the events of that night.

"The CEO may be the greediest son of a bitch in the world, but he cares a lot about the Pizzaplex since it's been the most successful establishment in the company's history. He also gave me strict instructions to inform him if anything like what happened 10 years ago took place. He's been fearing that sort of thing for a long time."

I had to resist the urge to smile wickedly. This could work to my advantage. In my eyes, it was the only way to have the place closed down for a moment while we tried to find William. It all sounded so perfect until I thought of something. Roxanne.

Even with the place closed, Roxanne was still in danger of getting permanently hacked by William. I felt my heart drop. I looked down at the floor. I didn't think about how I was going to keep William from hacking her.

"Mihael, are you alright?" he asked. I looked back up at him.

"No," I said. "While we have come up with an idea on how to have the Pizzaplex closed for a few days, there's still the issue with Roxanne. As we speak, her systems are slowly getting hacked. At any moment, she will be hacked permanently. There's got to be a way to slow it down or keep him from getting to her."

Kyle went into deep thought again while I tried to come up with a solution. Nothing came to mind. I felt myself growing desperate. It couldn't end this way for Roxanne. It just couldn't.

Kyle snapped out of his state. I watched as a soft smile spread across his face.

"I have a solution," he said.

"Share it," I said, feeling hopeful.

"From what we can tell, William is specifically targeting Roxy and no one else," he began. "If we get Roxy out of here, he will lose the only thing he has a hold on."

I arched an eyebrow. "And how do we get her out of here? It's not like the CEO is going to let us take Roxanne out of the Pizzaplex willingly."

His smile grew slightly. "True, but if I was to explain to him about the threat of Roxy being hacked permanently, the fear of having to decommission or even scrap her will change his mind." He frowned. "We already scrapped 3 animatronics over the last 12 years since the place's opening. It took a massive toll on the Pizzaplex as the loss of those animatronics greatly upset a lot of people, including the kids. If Roxy gets scrapped or decommissioned, it might be the final nail on the coffin for us."

"And where do we take her if the CEO decided to have her be taken out of the Pizzaplex?" I asked.

There was a brief pause before a strange expression formed on Kyle's face formed. From the looks of it, it looked as though Kyle came up with a solution.

"Mihael, how big is your house?" he asked. The question caught me off guard, but I got a hold of myself.

"It's a one-story house fitted with a garage," I said. "It has one bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen. Not the biggest house, but it's decent. Why do you ask?"

His smile became bright.

"How would you feel if I convinced the CEO to have Roxy stay with you for the time being while we try to find William?" he asked. My heart skipped a beat at the question, a wave of shock washing over me.

My mind was racing as Kyle's words echoed in my head. Roxanne Wolf staying at my house while we searched for William Afton? A part of me was screaming in joy at the idea of Roxanne staying with me. Me and her doing things together sounded like a dream come true.

However, another part of me found this too good to be true. I knew he wasn't kidding, but that part refused to believe I will be able to take Roxanne home that easily. It was doubting that it will ever happen. For all I knew, the CEO might refuse and it will mean doom for Roxanne.

"So, what do you think?" Kyle asked, the smile still on his face. I recovered from my shock, a frown forming on my face.

"It sounds like a good idea, but I doubt that the CEO will go with that idea," I said dejectedly. Even after pointing this out, the bright smile still remained on his face.

"I will do what I can," he said reassuringly. He gestured to the door near Roxanne's vanity desk. "For now, let's head to Parts and Service. They're undoubtedly waiting for us."

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. We stepped into a long corridor with bricks painted light gray and purple with the lights emitting the same purple color. A rush of fear washed over me seeing the purple-colored bricks and lights. They reminded me too much of those damned purple eyes.

Kyle gestured gently for me to follow him to Parts and Service. I hesitated for a moment.

'It's just how the bricks are painted, as well as the lights,' I reassured myself. 'I don't know why they went with this color, but it doesn't mean anything.'

Pushing the feeling aside, I forced myself to follow Kyle down the corridor. As we walked, I noticed Kyle staring at me with a frown on his face. I didn't know whether it was from something he saw on my face or due to my hesitation to follow him. Either way, I gave him my best reassuring smile.

We made a turn and continued down the corridor. A wave of relief washed over me when I caught sight of a metal door at the end of the corridor. It felt kind of foolish for me to become unnerved by the sight of the color purple since I've seen the color many times. I guess I can blame the times I'd seen Roxanne's eyes turn purple when William hacked her. I prayed that I didn't end up developing a phobia of purple.

We reached the end of the corridor, and the door slid open. We stepped out into a large room that looked to be made of concrete with a big protective dome of some kind that had these large light blue tubes attached to the back. This room was undoubtedly Parts and Service.

We turned left and slowly walked down the stairs. I smiled when I saw Freddy staring intently at whatever was on the screen of a small computer with Chica and Montgomery looking over both of his shoulders.

"Hey, guys," I said. They all looked away from the computer and in our direction. Small smiles formed on their faces as soon as they saw us.

"Mihael! Kyle! It's good to see you!" Freddy said, sounding very relieved.

"Did you tell Kyle what happened?" Chica asked.

"Yes, I did," I replied.

"Not to be rude, but why are you still here?" Montgomery asked. "I thought you were going to head home to do some investigating after informing Kyle."

"That's what I originally planned," I said. "But after I informed him of what happened, he told me that he wanted to talk to me about something in his office."

"What did he want to talk about?" Chica asked curiously. I looked at Kyle for a moment. He had a look that said 'don't tell her'. I looked back at the chicken.

"It's a private matter," I replied. "I will personally tell you all myself, but right now is not the best time." They all nodded. "So, now that we're all here, I must know. Did any of you guys find anything that might give us a clue on to how this bastard is doing what it's doing?"

Their smiles faded from their faces. My own smile was next to die. This didn't look good.

"I apologize, Mihael but we were unable to find anything," Freddy replied apologetically. "We checked her programming, her AI, all of it. There was nothing."

I frowned, but I nodded my head understandingly. I had a feeling they might not find anything, but again, at least it was a way of saying they tried their best. I was disappointed, but I was proud of them for their efforts.

"It's okay, you guys did your best," I said reassuringly. "Where's Roxanne?"

"I'm in here!" called out the familiar voice of Roxanne. I walked over to the door of the dome and saw Roxanne lying down on some chair in the center of the dome. She was still missing her shoulder pauldrons, spiked bracelets, her arm and leg warmers, and her hair had remained the same.

"Roxanne, are you okay?" I asked softly, resting my right hand on the glass.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. I didn't believe her. While Roxanne said she was fine, her tone told a different story. However, I had decided to not pursue the topic right away.

"Freddy, can you let her out?" I asked, facing the bear. He nodded and I backed away from the door. After pushing a few buttons, the door slowly slid up. I waited, trying to keep the frustration from building up at how slow the door was opening.

When the door opened, Roxanne hopped off of the chair and stepped out of the dome. She walked over to me and stopped a foot away from me. She looked at me with worry plastered on her face. None of us said anything for a moment.

"Roxanne…" I said softly. The wolf looked away, pushing her index fingers against each other, her ears lowering, and her tail tucking itself between her legs. "Roxanne, they did their best."

"I know…" she whispered. "It doesn't add up. How is this monster doing what he's doing to me?"

"I wish I knew," I replied honestly. I was planning to correct her by saying the culprit's name, but I held my tongue.

"What are we going to do now?" Chica asked, worry present in her tone. Thankfully, she didn't have to worry about that for long.

"I'll tell you what we can do, Chica," I said. "Just earlier, Kyle and I somewhat came up with a plan. Some of you might not like a certain part of the plan, but it has to be done in order to keep the people safe."

"What's the plan?" Montgomery asked.

I looked at Kyle. "Kyle, if you would like to do the honors?"

He nodded and took a deep breath. They all turned to Kyle. "In a few minutes, I will call the CEO of the company to inform him that due to the circumstances that are happening right now, I believe that it would be best to close the Pizzaplex for a few days so that we can find the one who is hacking Roxanne."

I watched as shocked and heartbroken expressions formed on their faces. I couldn't blame them. They probably look forward to seeing the kids that come here every single day, doing everything they can to keep them happy. If I was in their position, I would be feeling the same way.

"Close the Pizzaplex?" Chica asked dejectedly.

"That's correct," I said. "Remember that it will only be for a few days, Chica. It's not like the whole Pizzaplex is being shut down to never be reopened again."

That seemed to have lightened up their spirits a little bit. It was nice to see that, instead of seeing them all upset and all.

"But, what will happen to me?" Roxanne asked.

"We have an idea of what will happen to you, Roxy," Kyle said. "As we all know, it has its sights set on using you to kill Mihael. If I'm successful in convincing the CEO, you'll be staying at Mihael's house for the time being."

Roxanne's eyes widened at this. At the same time, Freddy, Chica, and Montgomery all slowly turned their heads in the wolf mascot's direction with shocked expressions on their faces. I watched as Roxanne's face changed from shock to disbelief. She stared at Kyle for a moment.

"Are… are you serious?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I'm serious, Roxy," Kyle replied with a nod. "I think that by having you stay at Mihael's house, the culprit won't be able to hack you since you'll be in a different location. It'll only work if the CEO agrees to it."

Roxanne continued to stare at Kyle in utter disbelief. It took everything I had to keep myself from laughing at her expression. I was in disbelief when Kyle brought that up to me. She was probably thinking the same thing I was just moments ago.

"This is so surreal," Roxanne whispered.

"But, what about us?" Chica asked. We looked at her. "What if this guy tries to do the same thing to us that it's doing to Roxy? What will we do?"

I thought about it carefully. Chica had a point. If we were to take Roxanne out of the Pizzaplex and have her stay at my house for the time being, William Afton might try to hack either Freddy, Chica, or Montgomery and use one of them to finish the job. I never thought about that at all when Kyle came up with the idea. I had a feeling Kyle didn't think about that either.

"You make a good point, Chica," I said. "We will cross that bridge if that happens. For the moment, we have to remain focused on what we have to do at the moment." I looked at Kyle. "Kyle, I think it will be best to call the CEO right now before it's too late."

"I was going to do just that," Kyle said. "While I make the call, I want you all to stay in Roxy's room. I will come up once the call is finished."

We all nodded.

"Let's go, everyone," I said. "Better do what he says."

No one argued. We began to go back the way we came. Roxanne walked over to my right side and held my hand in hers. I looked at Roxanne to see her smiling weakly at me. I gave her a smile of my own as we walked down the corridor back to the elevator.

Roxanne and I sat next to each other on the couch while the others sat on the floor. Though we'd only been waiting for a few minutes, we were all getting anxious. While both Freddy and Montgomery were handling it pretty well, aside from the occasional glance in our direction, Chica was becoming restless, glancing at Roxanne every 1 to 2 minutes. I felt myself getting at this, but I couldn't blame her. She was obviously worried for her friend. Honestly, if I was in her robotic feet, and acted like her, I would be doing the same right now.

Neither of us said a single word to each other since we got to Roxanne's room. What was there to even say? And even if there was, I doubt any of us would be in the mood to talk. To be honest, I was grateful for the peace and quiet. It allowed me to think about the situation we were all in.

Freddy, Chica, Montgomery, and Roxanne had no idea that the one doing this was William Afton. Thinking about him now, I couldn't help but wonder if William Afton had some kind of connection to the company. If he did have a connection to the company, how was the question?

Then, I began to wonder about Charlie. The way she spoke of him made it sound like there was something personal between them. Did William and Charlie have some kind of history? Were they connected somehow? Not having the answers to these questions was frustrating, to say the least.

The sound of a door sliding open snapped me out of my thoughts. At the same time, we all looked to see Kyle stepping into the room. He had a blank expression on his face. A wave of dread washed over me, making my heart pound rapidly in my chest. I prayed that it didn't go too badly.

I got up from my spot on the couch and walked over to him.

"Did you tell the CEO what was going on?" I asked.

"I did," Kyle said. "I told him everything."

"How did it go?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"It went just as I expected it to," he said. I had no idea what he meant by that, but I didn't like the sound of it.

"So, what did he say?" I asked a little too urgently.

He stared at me for a moment before he responded. "He agreed that it would be best to close the Pizzaplex for a few days. He freaked out at the possibility of another breach taking place."

I felt slightly relieved that the CEO agreed to have the place closed for a few days so we could find William. However, I still felt like there was a weight on my shoulders. I knew why that was the case.

And what did the CEO say about Roxanne?" I asked.

Kyle didn't say anything. The blank expression remained on his face, which didn't help with the anxiety that began to grow within. My legs grew weak, threatening to give out on me.

"He didn't give me a yes or no, but he did say that there are some conditions that he wanted me to lay out to you," Kyle said finally. "He said that if you agree to them, then you may. There are 3, to be exact."

I didn't know whether to take that as a good thing or a bad thing. Roxanne being able to stay at my house for the time being was still a possibility, which was a huge relief, but the problem was the conditions. Whatever conditions the CEO wanted Kyle to lay out on me could be anything. I could only hope that they were fair.

"What are the conditions?" I asked.

He sighed. "You are responsible for anything that happens to Roxy, which means that if she gets damaged during her stay at your house, you will be held accountable. If Roxy says that something is wrong, you are to call me and I will inform Ben and Ian to head over to your house to do a checkup. The last one is what I'm worried about telling you the most."

"Tell me," I said confidently. Whatever it was, I would take and accept it like a man.

He paused. "You will not be paid while the Pizzaplex is closed. He said you can help us find the culprit, but you will not be paid for that time."

Okay, I wasn't expecting that. Not being paid while trying to find William Afton and stop him? It was absurd.

I felt a rush of anger flow through me. I wanted to scream at him, tell him that it wasn't fair. However, I pushed the anger aside and thought about it carefully. If I reacted in that manner, no doubt I would be making a huge fool of myself and ruining any chances of preventing that monster from permanently hacking Roxanne.

Plus, it would be just like how I acted when Peter told me that he was having Emmett's birthday at the Pizzaplex. Thinking about it, I realized how despicable my actions were that day. Even though I hated the Pizzaplex, that still doesn't excuse my actions. I wished I could go back in time and undo that mistake.

I sighed. "Those are the conditions?"

"Yes, they are," Kyle replied grimly. "I know that the last one isn't fair, but knowing the CEO, he wouldn't change his mind even if I tried no matter what. So, what do you say?"

I sighed mentally. Though I wasn't happy with the last one, I knew what had to be done. However, before I did so, there was one last thing that I wanted accounted for.

I looked at Roxanne, who was looking at me with a slightly worried expression on her face. It would be wrong to not let her voice her opinion on the matter. After all, it concerned her greatly.

"Mihael?" I heard Kyle say. I didn't turn to look at him.

"Before I give you my reply, Kyle, I think we should give Roxanne a chance to voice her opinion on whether she wants to stay at my house for the time being or not," I said firmly. Freddy, Chica, and Montgomery turned to look at her. I imagined that Kyle did the same. "Roxanne, what do you think?"

Roxanne Wolf stared at me for a moment before she went into deep thought. We waited patiently for the wolf's answer. As time passed, I watched her face change from anger to sadness to uncertainty and such as she continued to think it through. It was clear to us that she was thinking about her choice very carefully.

After what felt like an eternity, she sighed and looked me in the eyes. Strong resolve was present on her face. "Yes, I want to stay at your place for the time being. I think it's better than living in constant fear of being hacked again."

I nodded, satisfied with Roxanne's reply, though I didn't smile.

"Now, it's all up to you, Mihael," Kyle said. "Do you accept the conditions I laid out to you?"

I looked back at Kyle, who was waiting patiently. I sighed and looked him in the eyes. "I accept the conditions, Kyle. Know that Roxanne will be treated properly and taken care of. She's safe with me."

Kyle nodded, satisfied with my reply. Something clicked in my head upon remembering what Chica brought up moments ago.

"Oh, what about the others, Kyle?" I brought up quickly. "Did the CEO say anything about what should be done if they become targets too?"

This time, a small smile spread across his blank face. "After I mentioned it to him, the CEO said that if they were to get hacked too, they were to be brought to my house."

I nodded, feeling relieved. At least we got that covered. It would make things worse, more difficult even if one of them were to get hacked by William Afton.

"Alright, let's get you out of here, Roxanne," I said as I turned in her direction. Roxanne quickly snapped out of her current state and looked at me for a moment before she began shaking her head.

"No, I'm not going anywhere without my stuff, Mihael," the wolf mascot said adamantly. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"Okay," I said. "What do you want to bring with you?"

"My vanity desk, my couch, pretty all of it," she replied simply. I stared at her, stunned at the reply.

I wanted to believe that she was joking, but the firmness in her eyes told the truth. I didn't blame Roxanne for wanting to bring her belongings to the house. The problem was that my truck wouldn't be able to handle carrying all of it over to the house. The bed was not big enough for all of it, and it wasn't meant for big stuff to be stuffed in there. It was stupid and reckless to do so.

I snapped out of my stupor. I had to speak my objections to this. Roxanne was waiting.

"Roxanne, we can't bring all of your stuff with us," I said. I gestured to everything in the room. "My truck's not big enough to carry all of this to the house. It'll be stupid and reckless to stuff all of it in the bed of the truck."

"I'm not going anywhere without bringing all of my stuff, Mihael," Roxanne said firmly.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" I asked, getting annoyed. "As I said before, my truck's not big enough to carry all of your stuff over to the house. The only thing you'll be able to bring is your keytar. Everything else has to be left behind."

I could see Roxanne growing upset. I couldn't blame her, but that is just the way it is. There was no way we could bring all of her stuff over to the house, even if I wanted to. The truck was old so it wasn't suitable to carry a shitton of heavy stuff like the desk and couch around.

"Actually, there is a solution," Kyle piped up.

I looked back at him slowly. "What's the solution, Kyle?"

"There's a van in the loading docks, which is located on the first floor of the basement," Kyle replied. "You can use it to move some of her belongings over to your house."

I looked over at Roxanne to see her giving me a confident smile. I had to resist the urge to stick my tongue out like a five-year-old. I still didn't want to bring all of her stuff to my house, but it looked like she won this round.

I looked back at Kyle.

"Great idea, Kyle," I said, my voice slightly tight. "However, the cart parts, the arcade machine, and the extra table will be staying in the garage. I sure as hell don't want my bedroom to look like a Goddamn workshop."

"Fair enough," Kyle said. I looked back at Roxanne, who still had that smile on her face.

'Don't give me a great reason to wipe that smile off your face, Roxanne,' I thought angrily. 'I wouldn't push your luck if I were you.'

I looked back at Kyle. "What time is it?"

Kyle looked at his watch. "It's 7:12 AM."

'Plenty of time if we get started now before Kyle has to inform the public that the Mega Pizzaplex will be closed for a few days,' I thought to myself.

"So, let's get started with the moving, shall we?" I said, traces of anger in my tone. "Might as well get it out of the way while we still have the time."

I heard metallic footsteps walk behind me. I didn't bother to look to see who it was since I knew who it was. A familiar metallic hand rested on my right shoulder and this time, I looked. Roxanne had a soft smile on her face instead of the confident one from before.

"Don't be mad, Mihael," she said softly.

"Don't push it, Roxanne," I grumbled, trying my best not to think about the brutal torment that would come from having to move all of her stuff to the van on the loading docks. "Let's just get this over with."

Author's Note:

Here is the eighteenth chapter of Robotic Love! :D

I apologize for how long this chapter took. I've been working on this fanfic since February and since I've been forcing myself to work on it, my brain has been feeling fried and I've been feeling tired mentally. It doesn't help that after coming home from work, I'm too tired to do anything. I've been doing everything I can to have this finished.

As for the chapter itself, the idea of Roxanne Wolf moving to stay at Mihael's house has been planned since the very beginning of the fanfic. We can only hope that this plan works. If it doesn't, it's game over. This idea randomly popped up in my head, and I loved the idea a lot. I hope I didn't screw up writing this chapter.

That's all for now. I have no idea how long Chapter Nineteen will take as I'm both physically and mentally exhausted. I will try to get it uploaded as fast as I can after taking the rest of the day relaxing. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. All constructive criticism is appreciated and I will see you guys in the next chapter! :)

Update: Added new content. :)