Chapter Text
Fazbear Entertainment seemed to loathe the fact they had to spend money on human employees, but even their incredible advancements in robotic artificial intelligence couldn’t cut it for retail customer service. Staffbots received endless complaints from gift shop customers for repeating the same messages in response to, say, trying to return a shirt without a receipt. So you find yourself as one of the few human employees at Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex, working the lobby gift shop at the entrance of the megaplex. Only one person was scheduled for a shift at a time, and they were damn long at that. To be honest, the pay wasn’t even that good. If you didn’t need a job so bad, you would’ve been long gone. Everyone in town was thrilled when the megaplex first started construction- of course, no one knew back then the place would be staffed exclusively by robots. Even the tourism didn’t bring in enough to make a difference since visitors were mostly from the big cities nearby, or spent all day at the megaplex and stayed in the Fazbear Entertainment Luxury Hotel, staffed mostly by, you guessed it. Hell, you would’ve skipped town long ago if it wasn’t for your boyfriend Mason.
Still, they were a thing of wonder- these animatronics. There were the simple ones, of course, that did basic cleaning and security (and scared the shit out of you with their damn maps), but the stars of the megaplex were really something else. You never really saw them that much, working the closing shift in the lobby. But what little you did see you found seriously impressive. Even from a distance Freddy seemed to radiate charisma and tenderness in how he talked to the children. I mean, they really seem to move and interact almost like people. It kinda freaked you out a little, to be honest. Especially Monty. That robot looked and acted like a scalesona of one of the asshole guys you’d always inevitably end up hooking up with at the bar. That is, before you met Mason.
Sure enough the time came when your boss called and told you that you were going to be covering for the opening shift while they look for someone new. Five whole days and you were upgraded to full shift. Honestly, it took longer than you expected- everything about your job so far showed how little Fazbear Entertainment gave a shit about their staff, and apparently burnout working here was insane. You accepted the “request” from your manager and told Mason, who was upset you would be gone most of the day but excited about the money.
-
You chatted for a few minutes with the other opening staff waiting outside about coffee and early mornings. At 6 a.m. on the dot, the heavy metal gates automatically raised and a night shift security guard named Vanessa came to unlock the glass front doors and let you all in the megaplex. God, she looked exhausted. But she was friendly enough.
“Zed, right?” She smiled tiredly at you and handed you something. “I’ve got your upgraded security pass.”
She held the card out to you. Woah, Level 10? This is a little more of an upgrade than you were expecting, given you’ve worked there a week. But you gave a polite smile and took it. “Thanks,” you said. “Um, is there anything different I should know about opening?”
“Well, probably not,” she rubbed her neck, looking more than ready to head home and get some sleep. “You’re in the lobby, right? So the performers will probably be waiting for opening. We get a big rush at opening and closing but you already knew that.” She gave a big yawn. “Oof, sorry, I’m just really tired. It’s been a long night, you know?” She glanced further in the megaplex. “Those guys are getting needy.” She seemed to catch herself and look back alertly at you. “Anything else?”
“Nah, I’m good. Thanks, Vanessa. Get some sleep, yeah?”
She laughed. “Bet your ass.”
You unlocked and prepped the gift shop, essentially doing the reverse of your closing routine. They really should’ve bothered to train you, you think to yourself again for the millionth time. It was hell at first, but you figured out your own routine and way to do things. You’ve had some experience in retail before. Besides, one of the few great things of working by yourself was the impossibility of being caught fucking up. As long as the numbers came back right, and, you know, you didn’t steal or trash the place or anything, it’d be pretty tough to get chewed out. You even got to be a little generous to yourself on how long your lunch and rest breaks were- I mean, they’re making you work the full shift, you didn’t exactly feel bad about it.
Once you were ready for opening, there wasn’t anything to do but wait. You heard chatting in the main lobby and cautiously walked toward the opening of the gift shop, where you saw them. Freddy Fazbear, Glamrock Chica, Roxanne Wolf, and Montgomery Gator. You only rarely catch glimpses of the animatronics so you watched them cautiously, still standing tucked back in the shop entrance. You couldn’t make out what they were saying but they seemed to be laughing and chatting casually, almost like you and the other employees outside had been- hyping each other up for a long work day. You smiled at the sight. They seemed so… human. You heard plenty of rumors they were essentially human-level AI. Nobody seemed to be able to really tell if they are or not, anyway, so whatever it is it’s way past Turing Test. But there were also some dark rumors about the animatronics, and about this place. It was hard to tell how much of it was true, given how bitter all the locals have been about it since it’s opening- but there was no denying your already shitty hometown had only gone downhill since the megaplex arrived. The dying economy, the homelessness, the disappearances- sometimes it felt like the looming, glowing Freddy Fazbear Mega Pizzaplex was draining the life out of the town around it.
“Oh!” You snapped back from spacing out when an excited voice called out across the lobby, and you looked over to see Glamrock Chica smiling and waving at you. Once again you were impressed by how expressive she seemed- you couldn’t help but smile and wave shyly back.
She walked quickly over to you and the others turned in interest. “Zed, right? We’ve never had a chance to meet before!”
She grinned and took your hand, shaking it excitedly. You couldn’t hide your outright shock that she knew who you were. “Um... hello, Chica! It’s nice to meet you… I didn’t know you knew my name.”
She playfully frowned at you, and you see the others slowly making their way over to join the conversation. “Of course I know your name! You work the closing shift, so we never have a chance to talk, but you must be covering for Noah, since he’s the one I see in the mornings!”
“Yeah, actually… Noah isn’t going to be working here anymore, so until they hire a replacement, I’m going to be working both shifts.” You notice Chica’s shoulders slump a little at the news.
“What?! You mean you’re going to be working all day? Humans aren’t built strong like us, you can’t run that long!” Roxy huffed in almost shock. Frankly, you were grateful for the indignation. You gave a short laugh and rubbed the back of your neck.
“Uh, yeah, to be honest I’m not thrilled about it. But it’s pretty clear I don’t have a choice, so I’ll just have to deal with it and hope they find someone quick.”
Chica, Roxy and Freddy all frowned sympathetically at you, while Monty looked somewhere else, clearly bored of the conversation.
“That is most unfortunate.” Freddy looked at you with almost puppy dog eyes that made your heart melt. “Please make sure to rest and drink water today.”
“Uh, thank you, but I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. Um, but anyway-!” You started to feel a bit nervous, the eyes of multiple eight-foot animatronics focused on you. “It’s nice to meet you all!”
“Yeah, yeah… what’s your name again, kid?” The bored-looking alligator glanced over at you.
“Monty! Their name is Zed and they’ve worked here for over a week now!” Chica pouted at him.
“Well shit, it’s not like you can blame me for not knowing every human staff’s name. Most of them don’t even make it five days.” You gulped slightly as Monty lolled his head over to look at you, and seemed to scan you with his eyes. You felt kind of nervous with him looking at you like that, but he seemed to find that nervousness amusing, smirking slightly when you tensed under his intense gaze. It kind of felt like he was checking you out, if it wasn’t for the fact you were pretty certain he was actually scanning you. “Nice to meetcha, kid.”
“C’mon, we’re about to open.” Roxy punched Monty’s arm and started walking back toward the main doors. “Good luck today, Zed.”
“Yes, Zed, good luck.” Freddy smiled at you with concerned warmth. “If you need to rest today, please feel free to use our green rooms. You may use your security pass to enter them.”
“Fuck that, stay out of my room~” Monty called back with a dismissive wave. Chica almost seemed to roll her eyes.
“Feel free to use either of our rooms, then, chickadee. We’ll talk more later, hang in there-!” Chica walked off and Freddy soon followed.
“Yes. Be careful today, superstar, and good luck.” The sudden pet names made your heart flutter when he left to join the others.
Well, it was time. You took a big breath and stood behind the counter of the gift shop. Here goes nothing.
-
By noon you’re already having the worst shift of your life. Turns out parents who bring the kids to the opening of the megaplex are way more insane and ready to scream at you than the ones that stay until closing. Or, with your luck, maybe today is just special. You’re more than ready to go home and sleep for another weekend while you look for an open seat at the Atrium to eat your lunch. Fuck, there are so many people here. Is this place always this packed? Usually you like to take your lunch to a quiet staff hallway but since you’re always working during the performances, you’ve never actually gotten to see the main Atrium show. You know there’s a big noon showing for lunch so you decide to go and watch while you eat. You shudder a little looking at the greasy and sugary food everyone else has. No outside food except for staff, baby. You know you’d need to take a heavy nap if you ate all that junk food now. For once you feel grateful Mason insists you pack this health food crap instead.
You didn’t have to wait long before a voice called out over the Atrium speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls- Fazbear Entertainment would like you to put your hands together for the one, the only, Freddy Fazbear!”
Cheers from the Atrium crowd rang out as Freddy Fazbear, Glamrock Chica, Roxanne Wolf and Montgomery Gator entered the stage in an incredibly elaborate and 80s-tastic opening sequence. You clapped politely with the rest of the crowd. They really did look like rockstars up there. You knew they could play- their music was a constant in the gift shop loudspeakers- but you could see, out in front of their fans, they were really performing with their hearts. It made you smile to see them glow like that on stage. You laughed to see Freddy dancing- all eyes were on him, with such a natural showmanship, his iconic Freddy Mercury-esque style. But the others were no slouches. Chica and Roxy played amazingly, and Monty, well shit. His fingers were flying around his bass with incredible skill. You join the crowd in loud applause for the animatronics as the stage below them descends and check the time on your phone. You had a little more time before you should really get back to work. The bright lights and buzzing of the bubbling crowd started to make your head hurt. Let’s find somewhere nice and quiet.
You wander the Atrium, looking for a staff hallway entrance, but your eyes land instead on Rockstar Row. The employee halls would be in chaos right now from the lunch rush… and the bots did say you could rest in their greenrooms (well, two of them did, anyway). Since they were underground anyway after the show, this was probably the best time to slip in and borrow a quiet room, right?
You slide your pass on Freddy’s room and are kind of surprised when it opens right away. Level 10, baby. You close the curtains but keep the lights off. Everything in this place was so goddamn bright, and you rubbed your head with a groan. Your eyes were thankful for the relief. Hands out in front of you, walk forward in the dark by the light of your phone and find the couch, sprawling on your back as you send Mason a quick text. No reply. He probably wasn’t awake yet, anyway. You place your phone down on your stomach and close your eyes, leaning back into the couch. It was a lot more comfortable than it looked- you didn’t mean to, but you found yourself nodding off.