Chapter Text
Chica was humming to herself as she left the office behind Robbie.
It had been a fairly quiet night, once Tryss got Foxy under control. Bonnie hadn’t reappeared, and Freddy had stayed put on stage, while Goldie stayed… wherever it was they liked to stay.
(Foxy was the first animatronic that Tryss had gotten the go-ahead to remodel and upgrade, and if it worked, they were all in for a long awaited and highly anticipated upgrade.)
Honestly, she was looking forward to it. Tryss had only been working on Foxy for a few weeks and he already looked better than before he lost his lower leg coverings.
“So, Chica. If they already have Tryss, why did they hire a new guard?”
Chica sighed. “No clue. Bonnie might know, but he’s not exactly happy right now. My guess? They felt unsafe leaving the restaurant to Tryss while she’s busy remodeling Foxy.”
“That makes sense. If someone were to break in while she was in the middle of that, she wouldn’t be able to do much about it.”
“Here’s hoping you’re here for a while! Most guards leave after two nights, but most are also a lot more threatening than you are.”
Robbie let out a weak chuckle. “So you’re telling me I’m not threatening? Why was I hired, then?
“And she’s remodeling?”
“Boss wanted to let her try, and if she gets it right, we all get a remodel. We’d be lighter, faster, capable of leaving our stages and actually interacting with customers again.
“And I don’t know. Women are less likely to get a reaction out of us, while men are more purple, but you aren’t very purple at all.
“We also haven’t talked to anyone aside from Tryss before,” Chica muttered. “There’s just something about you… something good and friendly.”
“Good and friendly, huh?” Robbie chuckled, stopping as she reached a cross passage. “Uh, which way to the exit, again?”
“It’s just off the dining hall,” Chica said, placing a guiding hand on Robbie’s shoulder. “This way.”
Robbie sighed as soon as the was out of the restaurant. It really smelled overwhelmingly of pizza in there, and it was starting to get on her nerves.
The animatronics, on the other hand, had smelled different. Almost like old blood, but she couldn’t think of why that would be. Or how she could smell that over the pizza.
Footsteps followed her outside, and the person groaned. “Sunlight… why do you have to be so bright…”
“Rough night, Tryss?”
Tryss chuckled. “You could say that. Foxy splattered oil all over the hall, but thankfully I don’t have to clean that up.”
“Leaving it for dayshift?”
“Sure am. They don’t have much else to do while the place is refurbished.”
“How’s Foxy?”
“Better. I’m working on updating his internals, and then I’ll be doing his exterior.”
“Sounds like you have your work cut out for you.” Robbie found the bench and sat, waiting for her bus. “Are they all so… lively?”
“Yep.” There was a soft creak as Tryss leaned against the bus station. “They all tend to get more lively as the week progresses, but I think you’ll be fine. Chica sat with you all shift, right?”
“She did. Is that… good?”
“If you can get on their good side, you can just sit back in the office and they’ll take care of themselves. They have their hobbies, after all.”
“I think I might have upset Bonnie.”
Tryss scoffed. “He doesn’t like sharing. Emotionally, at least. He’ll probably leave you alone from now on, so long as you don’t egg him on.”
“You sure?”
“Mhm. I’ll talk to him tonight. He probably just thought we didn’t need a nightguard again, but I can’t do two jobs at once.”
“So,” she shifted on the bench, ‘looking’ roughly in Tryss’ direction. “Was it your call to hire a new nightguard?”
“Sort of. I requested one when Henry got the business, but I’m not that high up in the chain of command, I think… but I guess you could call Henry my friend.”
“Why not be higher up the chain, if you’re friends?”
Tryss sighed. “Because I don’t want to be. I just want to be a technician, not deal with all that paperwork.”
Robbie giggled. “Ugh, paperwork. I’m lucky my boyfriend can do most of that for me.”
“That is pretty lucky. I don’t have anyone like that in my life.” The station creaked again as Tryss stood upright. “Your bus is coming. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Do you drive?”
“I do. Good morning.” Her footsteps faded away as the bus pulled up with a hiss, and Robbie stood and made her way on, showing her card before finding a seat.
So, she just had to get on the animatronics good side? That was likely easier said than done. She had Chica, but may have upset both Foxy and Bonnie… with Freddy having not even interacted with her. For all she knew, he had stayed on the stage all night.
But Foxy may not be in a state to be walking around tomorrow, so that was one thing she didn’t need to worry about.
Maybe she could get through to Bonnie tonight, if Tryss was already going to talk to him. He certainly seemed to listen to her, if nothing else.
Tryss sat behind the wheel, letting out a tired sigh. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Goldie?”
Goldie leaned forward slightly, tilting their head. Static burst from their speaker, and the golden bear thumped themself on the chest. “Why did you ask for a new nightguard? We’re perfectly capable of handling ourselves.”
“Am I not allowed to have a little piece of mind?”
“You have us.”
Tryss heaved another sigh. “Goldie… come on. I’m old, I’m tired, and I can’t keep an eye on everyone at once.”
“Bonnie can hear everyone in the building-”
“You need friends, Goldie. Not just each other and me and Henry. Can you at least give her a shot?”
The gold bear sat up abruptly and vanished, and Tryss leaned her head against the steering wheel. “I’m too old for this...”
Once home, Robbie collapsed on her bed and pulled a favored stuffed animal closer. “What have I gotten myself into?”
The plushie didn’t reply, and she didn’t want it to. If her stuffed animals started talking, she was going to lose her mind.