Mike tossed and turned in his bed for what felt like forever. It was a struggle to keep his eyes shut and for once, he could confidently say it wasn't his fault or that it was just life making things harder. It had to be due to the experience he had earlier that day.
Sometimes, I just have mixed feelings about her.
Mike crossed his arms as he looked up at his bedroom ceiling. He honestly could not understand what drives her to do such things sometimes. He wanted to think he was used to it; that nothing was different, but he knew deep down that wasn't the case.
All he could do now is let out a heavy sigh as he hoped the same thing would not occur later today.
"I have doubts about that however..."
Mike continued to stare at the ceiling, but no matter how long he watched section of plaster above him, nothing changed. He was still wide awake.
Maybe if I put some paint on it to dry...
He briefly considered that possibility, but in doing so, Mike came to realize something about his current predicament.
"I'm bored and yet I'm not tired. This isn't fair..." he softly complained.
Mike slowly sat up and slid out of bed. He crept up to his bedroom door and peeked through the open crack.
He felt both relief and curiosity when he saw nothing down the dark hallway. Urged on by those feelings, Mike opened the door and stepped into the darkness.
He once posed the question whether or not if leaving the safety of your bedroom at night was supposed to be as nerve wrecking like it always was for him. He was told that houses were always scary at night, especially basements, but that truly didn't seem the case for him. At least, it didn't seem as simple as that explanation sounded.
Whenever he left the safety of his room this late, he felt a chill, like something was creeping up on him. It felt like if he looked over his shoulder, then something would jump out of the shadows to get him.
He would then be asked, "What's the difference?"
The difference was that it wasn't hyperbole in his case. Most would just wander about for the nearest switch and let the light ease their concerns. He tried that of course, but in the end, that just made things feel more dangerous.
What he felt was comparable to some of his nightmares, only now, those feelings were brought into the real world.
It was then when, Mike started to question why he would leave his room if he knew this in the first place. Was it to scare the excess energy that kept him up away or was it something else. Pondering this question, he felt his legs slowly pull him back to towards his room.
He was sure that going to sleep would no longer be a problem, but as he tried to slide through the open crack, he heard a strange sound. It sounded like something was being dragged across the floor.
Paralyzed by the horrifying implications that came from below, Mike was reminded of a question that was posed to him: "What happens at night when children sleep?"
Closing his eyes, he could only imagine what the response could be and even to this day, he still wondered.
"One would assume that as an adult, I should know," he thought aloud. "I assumed that the timeframe was just a something kids made exciting, after all the prospect of what happens late at night was always enticing."
Mike opened his eyes and looked down at his phone. It was almost time for him to depart for work.
However, ever since I got this job... It made me wonder whether or not my life was too uneventful and that maybe the excitement was justified after all.
Of course, I'm comparing the secret to sentient animatronics to more mundane late night hijinks.
Still, I can't deny that for a while, what my curiosity was directed towards was not exciting in the least.
Mike stuffed his phone into his pocket and reached for a nearby backpack. Inside was the security guard costume he used to fulfill his role as night guard on his last shift.
He had no idea whether or not he would need it tonight, but it was still something he felt he needed to carry on him.
If anything just to return it. After all, it isn't mine in the first place.
Mike slung the straps of his bag over his shoulders and approached his TV.
Something he wondered about the last few days was whether or not he could watch anything while on duty.
He didn't want to do anything that could cause him to slack on his job, but considering how he had one shift where he actually did what he was hired for, he couldn't help but wonder if he could take 20-30 minutes for himself.
"Either way, I'm very grateful that digital recording was invented."
Checking off the last box on his internal checklist, Mike grabbed his umbrella and departed for work.
...
"Geez, Mike, you're soaked."
Charlie eyed Mike from head to toe. Despite him holding an umbrella, every inch of his body was still drenched.
"The buses weren't running today," he explained.
"I heard..."
Charlie didn't know what more to say. She was still trying to figure out whether Mike was trying to put on a brave face while clearly freezing cold or does he naturally show no emotions while in such a state.
"C'mon, I got some towels in my office."
She knew that the weather had to have been bad from what she heard outside, but seeing Mike made her wonder if a tropical storm was hitting.
But that wasn't her biggest concern. Sneaking glances back at him as she led him down the halls, Charlie wondered whether or not Mike could catch a serious cold after soldiering through the storm.
Once they were in her office, Charlie dug through a nearby basket and tossed a dry white towel his way.
"Thanks."
Rubbing the towel across his face, Mike soon found himself entranced by how soft it felt. Surprisingly, it was somehow even softer then his own bed.
But as he wondered how that was possible, he felt a different sensation brush against his skin. Pulling the towel away from his face, he could see a super-deformed image Mangle's face on it.
"I get it now..." he muttered.
"Fazbear branded towel. The softest towel you'll ever buy," Charlie said in a mock-advertising tone.
"I see... Whoever the company paid to make these did a good job," Mike openly complimented.
"Yep, Fazbear entertainment only gets the best for its customers. We don't like to cheap out on our products."
"I see."
Something about that phrase seemed off somehow. It wasn't that Mike didn't believe her but there was just something about it seemed wrong in some sense.
He then looked up, surprised to find Charlie eyeing him up and down again.
"You know, I gotta admit that I'm impressed with your determination to get here, Mike," she complimented.
"Determination?"
"Yeah. You went out into a storm on foot and got drenched from head to toe all just because you didn't want to miss work. Plus, you're doing a really good job hiding how freezing cold you are."
"Cold?"
"You're shivering?"
"Am I?" Mike glanced down at his own body. Sure enough, he was indeed shivering. "Hm."
"You... seriously didn't know you were shivering?" she marveled.
Mike shook his head.
"Aren't you cold at all?" Charlie queried.
"Now that you mention it..."
Like with Bonnie the night before, there was a brief, awkward silence between him and Charlie. Or at least, that was what he guessed by the perturbed look his boss had.
"Okay... Anyway, what I was getting at was that I was kinda expecting you to call in that you were unable to come due to heavy rainfall," Charlie continued. "Not saying it like I'd expect you'd latch on to any excuse not to come to work but just... well you kinda look like you stepped out of something else that could have literally blown you off your feet and, you know, the buses weren't running."
"I see... To be honest, I didn't really see the heavy rainfall as much of a nuisance that would have necessitated that. Plus, it wouldn't have felt right to stay away after my last shift," Mike explained.
"Right... That strange woman that kept knocking until you answered. Everyone kept their eyes open today, but no one saw her here. I even went through the security tapes, but nothing."
"Does that mean she was just a Good Samaritan after all?"
"Probably. It's not like it's impossible for someone to want to report their mistake. Still, the paranoia this job has instilled in me suggests that we should all be on the lookout for a little longer just in case."
Mike nodded his head in agreement. "Understood. On that topic, may I ask the status of my uniform."
"Right... Your uniform..."
Charlie hung her head as she sighed.
"Um..."
Suddenly, her head snapped back to its upright position. From what Mike could gather by her subdued elated expression, she must have thought of something that pleased her.
"Tell you what, go find yourself some dry clothes then go see Marionette so she can get your measurements, alright?"
"Okay."
"Alright," Charlie reached over her desk and grabbed a heavy-looking rain coat and umbrella. "Well, I'll see you at the end of your shift."
With those parting words, Charlie walked out of the office, leaving Mike alone with his thoughts.
Last night... If I wasn't around, what would have happen? Would that woman have continued to hang around? A human face was all it took for her to leave...
Mike crossed his arms. It was a very small thing, but a part of him believed that it could possibly be considered an achievement in some sense.
"Perhaps there's some truth to the title of my position after all."
Somewhat content with that thought, Mike stepped out of the office only to be greeted by a loud, "LOOK OUT!"
Time seemed to slow to a crawl the moment he looked to his right. A mere few inches away from him, coming towards at an inhuman speed was a desk chair with BB riding on top.
At times like this, he assumed that one would see their life flash before their eyes. It sounded like a tease, showing someone what they could have had.
Perhaps, it was best he didn't see anything.
In the next moment, Mike found himself flying through the air. Soaring over BB, he could only wonder if a messy impact was not the cause, than what was?
The answer soon became clear as he fell into a pair of arms. Looking up, Mike found himself face to face with Freddy.
"Are you okay, Night Guard?" she asked.
"Y-Yes..."
Even though he had seen demonstrations of their super strength, experiencing it first-hand was still a bit jarring.
"Oh man! Oh man!" BB rushed over to them with an extremely regretful look on her face. "I'm sorry, Night Guard, I didn't see you coming! You okay?"
"I'm fine, BB," Mike assured her.
"You sure?" she asked, gently poking his arm. "No broken bones or anything?"
"I'm fine."
"BB, this is why I told you it's dangerous to go that fast when you don't know if the hallways are clear," Freddy softly rebuked.
"I know... But I need to practice my turning and reaction speed for the big challenge and the hallways are all I have to practice with," BB anxiously explained.
"Well... How about you wait until you're sure everyone settles in, first?" Freddy suggested.
BB silently nodded her head then looked back down at Mike.. "Sorry again, Night Guard."
The dejected animatronic walked back to her chair and slowly rolled away. Seeing the normally cheerful animatronic sporting such sorrowful looks instinctively prompted Mike to ask, "Will she be okay?"
"BB, will be fine; she bounces back quickly," Freddy assured him. "Though speaking of being okay... Are you sure you're not okay."
"Yes, I'm fine."
"You sure? You're shaking."
Surprised, Mike once again examined his body. Like he was just told, he was still shaking.
"Actually, this isn't a sign of anxiety. I'm still cold," he explained.
"Ah."
Freddy gently stood Mike up and shook her hands at a speed he was barely able to comprehend. Droplets of water splattered on the floor around them in a way that one would think she was trying to create an indoor drizzle.
"Pardon me, Freddy, do you think you could show me the way to where Foxy acquired the security costume I used last night?" Mike requested. "I need some dry clothes."
"Sure... But couldn't you just wear the uniform you already have?"
Without saying a word, Mike took off his backpack. He unzipped it and slowly pulled the costume for her to see. To her shock, it was as soaked as he was, perhaps even more so.
"I didn't get this bag new," he explained.
"Yeah..."
Taking a closer look, Freddy could see that the backpack itself was on the verge of falling apart. It was as at this point that she wondered whether mentioning that would be staying the obvious or staying the obvious and rubbing salt in the wound.
Instead, she cleared her throat and smiled.
"In that case, let me be your guide."
With a wink, Freddy twirled around and began guiding Mike down the hallway. As he followed behind her, Mike noticed a slight numbness centered around his left heel.
Hm.
He continued to silently follow Freddy until she suddenly stopped in front of a pair of doors.
"To be honest, if there are any male costumes here, it's only because we were bought a two for one package," she said as she opened the doors.
"I see..."
Despite his response, Mike didn't realize what Freddy was preparing him for until he stepped inside. While he could only see a few rows of clothing that lied up front, he could tell his chances of finding something for him was even less likely than he initially assumed.
This may take awhile...
Looking around again only caused that feeling to grow. Clown costumes, dresses and bunny suits with moving bunny ears; so far he saw nothing that he could comfortably we-
Wait...
His gaze swiftly snapped back to the pair of ears moving down the closest row of costumes. Emerging from the side, Mike and Freddy watched the owner of the ears effortlessly carry a large crate their way.
"Can someone tell me why it was so hard to find mine and Fredbear's old costumes? And in a box covered in dust?" they complained.
As if to emphasize their point, they dropped the crate, letting a large amount of dust fill the air. Once the dust dissipated, the two could see Spring-Bonnie looking down at the crate.
"See," she pouted.
The golden animatronic looked up, her eyes immediately drawn to Mike. Unlike her usual gaze however, her eyes were filled with nothing but worry.
"Night Guard? What happened?" she asked. "You look like you jumped into the ocean during a hurricane."
"Close. I walked here on foot during a storm," Mike explained. "The rest is self-explanatory."
"Also explains why you're shivering so much."
Mike looked down at his body a third time, wondering if his lack of awareness regarding him shivering could be detrimental to his health.
Looking back up, Mike was taken aback by the fact Spring-Bonnie was now standing right in front of him.
"Fortunately, I can help with that."
Mike didn't have to guess what going through her head; the smile on her face made it all too clear.
"You do know the solution to your problem is, right?"
Spring-Bonnie wrapped her arms around Mike's waist and drew him into a tight hug. "Sharing body heat."
"But you don't give off body heat," Freddy reminded her. "None of us do."
"Oh yeah..." Spring-Bonnie immediately released Mike and hung her head. "Now I feel kinda dumb."
She then looked down at her hands. She puffed her cheeks out as she nonchalantly started shaking her hands at a speed similar to Freddy's.
"Not to mention the fact the moment was killed..." she muttered.
Once she was done, she turned back to the two and asked, "So, what brings you two here?"
"We're hoping that there's something Night Guard can wear in here," Freddy explained.
"What about the security costume that he pulls off really well?"
Mike silently pulled the aforementioned costume out of his backpack.
"Wow... whoever sold you that backpack seriously ripped you off..." Spring-Bonnie marveled. "That said, I just spent the last hour or so looking through here and there's no costumes you'd probably want to put on."
"I se-"
Spring-Bonnie pressed her left index finger against Mike's lips, keeping him from saying anymore.
"Lucky for you however, I bet there's an alternative in my stuff right here," she continued with a smile.
5 minutes later...
Mike wordlessly stared at the image of the shirt he was given. When Spring-Bonnie said she has something for him to wear among her things, he didn't expect for it to be an extra large shirt depicting her and Fredbear.
"How do you like it? What you're wearing is some rare, limited edition Fredbear and Spring-Bonnie merch; you can't get it anywhere else," Spring-Bonnie proudly explained.
"Hm..."
"Something wrong, Night Guard?" Freddy asked.
"No. I'm grateful to get this, it's just... With the t-shirt and towel from earlier, I'm honestly feeling less like a night guard and more like a living advertisement," Mike answered.
"An advertisement worth paying attention to," Spring-Bonnie approved.
Shooting Spring-Bonnie a knowing smile, Freddy asked, "Is that because you find him cute or because he's wearing something with your face on it?"
"I unashamedly admit to both being the reason," Spring-Bonnie replied as she approached the rest of her stuff. Looking back, she shot her younger sister a similar smile. "And you say that like you don't find him cute either."
"Touché," Freddy conceded with a chuckle.
With a triumphant look on her face, Spring-Bonnie lifted the crate back up. Once she had it securely in her arms, she turned her gaze to Mike and gave him a seductive smile.
"Bye, Night Guard," she said as she walked out of the room.
All Mike could do in response was gingerly rub the back of his neck.
"So, is that all you needed, Night Guard?" Freddy queried.
"Yes," Mike confirmed. "Thank you for guiding me... again."
"My pleasure," Freddy beamed. "Ah, by the way, you should be careful traversing the building tonight. There's an event..."
She paused, her face telling Mike that she just had a realization.
"...one that I'm actually supposed to be helping with right now..." she mumbled. "I gotta go. Bye, Night Guard."
"Mm."
As he watched Freddy depart, Mike felt a part of him suddenly become filled with curiosity.
"Now to see Marionette," he quietly declared.
Ignoring his innate curiosity, Mike walked back into the hallway. Once outside, he heard what sounded like wheels gliding across the floor. Once again looking to his right, Mike noticed Bonnie riding a scooter towards him.
Coming to a screeching halt, Bonnie hopped of the vehicle and fastened the the white scarf around her neck.
She removed her goggles from over her eyes as a bright smile crossed her face. "Wow, you really are here Night Guard."
"Did Charlie tell you all I may not come in?" he asked.
The blue bunny nodded her head. "She said expect you not to come in since it seemed really bad outside."
"I see..."
When he stopped to think about, perhaps another reason he refused to call in was because some jobs would not allow the weather to be an excuse to not show up. That could be the reason he was somewhat surprised by Charlie's admission that she was expecting him to call in.
Then again, she is the same woman who told me I can slack off when I started. Though with hindsight, I understand why she would say that.
"...their performances..."
"Pardon?"
Brought back to reality, Mike noticed Bonnie eyeing his shirt.
"Huh?" She immediately stood back up with a flustered look on her face. "I was just thinking that I didn't take you for the type to wear fan-wear."
"Do I really give off the that impression?"
"Well, maybe not the type isn't the right words. I meant more that I never figured you'd wear any of our stuff."
"I see."
Following his response was a full minute of silence. As they just stood there, Mike came to the quick realization that this moment added to the already significant amount of evidence that conversations usually end because of him.
"Hey, Night Guard, are you busy right now?" Bonnie suddenly asked.
"Actually, I need to pay a visit to Marionette for some measurements," Mike explained.
"Oh... You need a lift?"
"Um..."
"I promise not to go super fast. Motorist's honor," Bonnie promised. "Plus, this would give me a chance to pay you back for the snowmobile ride."
"That was an arcade game," Mike pointed out.
"Still."
While she didn't offer much in arguing against his point, Mike was still swayed by her insisting smile. He followed her on top of the scooter and held on to her shoulders as she took off.
As she had promised, while moving fast through the halls, Bonnie did not reach a speed he knew she could easily achieve.
"Hey, Night Guard, can I ask you a quick question?"
"Sure."
"What do you think would be faster: a scooter or a pair of roller-blades?"
"I'm not really sure. I believe it depends on whoever is using it."
"Okay..." Bonnie's ears briefly slumped forward, matching her disheartened tone of voice. "Do you know any pros or cons that would make one better in a jack-of-all-stats kind of way?
"I'm not really into stuff like that, but from what I glimpsed over the years, wouldn't the only common factor between the two be speed? There would be factors to consider such as balance, control, reaction time, etc."
"So, it really is something I have to see for myself..."
"I believe that's the only way."
"Okay."
They suddenly turned a corner and soon came to a complete stop.
"Here we are," Bonnie happily announced.
"Thank you, Bonnie."
Mike stepped off Bonnie's scooter.
"No problem, Night Guard. See ya later."
Bonnie took off, disappearing from sight in no time at all.
"Hm."
Mike wasted no time walking in Marionette's room and called her name.
"Marionette?"
There was no response. Mike looked around the room filled with large prize boxes and called her name two more times.
Wondering whether she was actually around or not, Mike noticed something rustling among a group of prize boxes. The top of one slid off and a pair of fingers rose into view.
Like the undead rising from the grave, Marionette slowly arose from the box and just as slowly flipped out of it.
"Did you need something, Night Guard?" she asked.
"I was wondering if you were free to take my measurements," Mike requested. "Charlie said it was needed for my uniform."
"Really? It's been a while since she asked me to do that."
Marionette raised her left hand and a roll of measuring tape immediately flew into her palm.
"Let's get started."
Mike nodded his head and approached Marionette. It was a little jarring how quickly she agreed to his request, but it was nothing to be concerned with.
"I'll need you to take your shirt off."
"Excuse me?"
That however caused him some concern. Just hearing that instruction brought to mind all the innuendos he had heard the night Mangle first requested his help in conquering her fear of being touched by men.
"Your shirt isn't form fitting. It will get it the way of the measurements," she explained.
"R-Right..."
Though still hesitant, Mike did as he was instructed and removed his shirt.
"Okay, turn around."
With a silent nod, Mike turned around. He had expected her to start measuring from the front or side, leading to what happened next catching him completely off guard.
Her arms reached past him and she started measuring his waist. Her arms circled around his body like they were made of rubber and bent in ways that not even a contortionist could achieve.
However, that was not what caught him off guard.
While her flexible body allowed for her to reach around him without effort, it also meant that she had to cling to his body to do so. While that would be barely bearable on its own, the fact that her generous chest rubbed against his bare skin with every movement made him uneasy.
"Did you have another nightmare, Night Guard?" Marionette asked.
"Pardon?"
"You have the similar look in your eyes the night Spring-Bonnie brought you to me."
"I see... I didn't have a nightmare, but I did briefly think about my childhood before I came to work," Mike admitted. "It honestly had all the emotional trappings of a nightmare though."
"Really?"
"Yes, but it was nothing more than a child leaving their room at night. Any place is scary at night to a child. You feel a sense of isolation and suffocation at the same time. You feel like you're in a big open space but also feel enclosed too. You're just hoping and hoping that nothing jumps out to scare you or worse.
And then you try to escape the way exact way you entered the darkness until something gets you to stop. You hear a sound that logically should create more incentive to escape, but our natural curiosity keeps you from doing so. You here another sound; it sounds like something lights brushing against the floor nearby. You foolishly head towards the sound and look down. It's dark, but there's enough light spilling out of a nearby room to see what made the sound.
You reach down and realize the source of the second sound was a crude drawing of a clown."
"A clown?"
Mike remained silent before suddenly shaking his head.
"Forgive me," he apologized. "I believe I just finished my earlier flashback through dialogue."
"But that's good though. Talking things out usually leads to some realization," Marionette replied in an accepting tone.
"Still, all that ominous lead up to a drawing to a clown..."
As Mike began to wonder how engrossed he was in his own flashback, he noticed someone walking into the room.
"Marionette, are you- Ah!"
Mangle's face grew bright pink as she beheld Mike's half naked visage. She seemed to be in a trance before quickly placing her hands over her eyes.
"I'm sorry!" she frantically apologized. "I didn't know you were in here, Night Guard."
"It's fine, Mangle," Mike assured her.
Or at least, he meant he didn't hold it against her for coming in at a moment like this. There was as no reason to blame her at all.
That didn't change the fact that his unease grew however.
"Done," Marionette announced as she picked up Mike's shirt. "Here you go."
"Thank you."
Mike wasted no time in putting his shirt back on. Sighing in relief, he then turned to Mangle and said, "You don't have to cover your eyes anymore, Mangle."
The white fox timidly peeked through her fingers before eventually lowering her hands all together. "I'm really sorry, Night Guard. I wouldn't have come in if I knew..."
"It's okay, Mangle. No harm was done."
"That's good... I guess... Um..."
Mangle's cheeks slightly lit up again as she looked away. Still feeling a bit embarrassed himself, there was only option Mike could think of to spare them both of this feeling.
Perhaps, I should leave now. After all, she came here for Marionette.
Mike once again thanked Marionette for taking his measurements before taking his leave.
As he walked towards his office, Mike couldn't help but occasionally look over his shoulder for anymore surprises.
Once he was in his office, Mike sat down and sighed. His eyes were glued to the ceiling, just like they were in his flashback.
"A clown drawing..."
Thinking about what he found all those years ago caused him to scratch his right cheek in vexation. Whether that was what he actually felt or him wondering what he felt then being what caused him to feel the way he does now was unknown to him.
He then glanced at his open doors and vents. Suddenly, he felt a tiny shiver crawl down his spine.
"I wonder if this is a safe spot for when the race begins..."