Kayla Cautio has been working at Freddy Fazbear's for a while now. Half a year, in a ballpark figure. She's worked with new guards before, but now she has to work with six girls applying for the job, and pick one to be the new guard. Here we go...
Kayla Cautio has been working at Freddy Fazbear's for a while now. Half a year, in a ballpark figure. She's worked with new guards before, but now she has to work with six girls applying for the job, and pick one to be the new guard. They all wanted to have the position, in hopes they could work together as friends. Unfortunately, these girls do not know that it can be every guard for themselves on the graveyard shift. Kayla is in for one bumpy, crazy, possibly magic-filled ride.
(This is an MLP-mixed version of my AU for Five Nights at Freddy's. You're welcome to stop reading at any time if you don't like the way things are going. This is my first story on FIMFiction, and I'm a little too nervous for heavy criticism. Image made by either creatorofpony or Flare-Crasher. If someone knows for sure who made it, let me know.)
Yes, I know it's still twenty minutes until my shift begins. But I have a good reason to be here this early. Mr. Afton has six girls looking into this shift, and he's trusting me to train them in how to do this job, and help in picking out one to hire. They're about my age, I heard, so who knows? This could be fun. I'll record the events in the log as each night passes. That's what this thing was originally for anyway! Kayla Cautio
I finished up my log entry and started listening to my music, just to pass time. Though in the back of my mind I kept wondering what these girls were going to be like. I had never met any of them before, but still my stepfather, William Afton, was trusting me to work with them. Fortunately, he said I'd only be dealing with them one at a time. Yet the only thing I knew about them were their names. Uh, let me see... AppleJack... Rainbow Dash... Fluttershy... Pinkie Pie... Rarity... and Twilight Sparkle. Well, I'm not one to judge.
I tried to suppress my worries and lose myself in the music, but before I knew it I felt someone tap my shoulder. I took out my earbuds and looked up to see a girl about my age, with blond hair, freckles, and a cowboy's hat. I could understand why she didn't have an official security guard uniform like the one I was wearing, this was just training after all. Anyway, the girl smiled and started talking to me like we were already friends. "Hey there! You must be the girl who's trainin' me and my friends how to work this fancy night job. I'm AppleJack!"
She held out her hand for me to shake, which I did for only a few seconds. "Kayla Cautio. And yes, I will be training you. So you better prepare yourself for one heck of a ride."
She laughed and sat down in the seat next to me. "So, ya got all these high-tech devices, which I'm guessin' help with the job... but, what exactly are we supposed to be doin' here?"
"Well, that's the easy part to explain. But at the same time, the most difficult. I'm sure you saw the animatronics up on stage on your way in."
She rubbed the back of her neck hearing this. "Yeah, I did. Those things are kinda creepy.. though maybe that's just because I'm used to the things we see on the farm."
We both chuckled a bit at this before I continued. "Don't worry, a lot of people say they're creepy-looking. But what may be creepier is that they move and walk around the restaurant, and our job is to make sure they don't get themselves in any trouble."
I could've sworn AppleJack's face paled a bit when she heard this. "You let these things wander the joint like they own the place, and only thing you're supposed to do is keep 'em out of trouble?!"
Luckily, I was able to keep calm. "Technically, they do own the place. As far as the kids are concerned, anyway. And we have to let them move around. If they stay in one place for too long, their servos would lock up and they wouldn't be able to operate properly." She seemed a little confused. I'd have to keep in mind that she's a traditional farmhand, and my talk about the mechanics may not make a whole lot of sense to her. "Basically, if they stay on stage too long, they'll break down and won't work the way they should." She then seemed to get it and nodded. "There was one more thing, though... we can't let them get in the office."
And with that she was nervous again. "What would happen if they got in the office?"
I took a deep breath and tried to make up my mind on if I should tell her... I decided on no. "Uh, never mind that. I don't think it'll happen anyway."
She started trying to pressure me to tell her. "Well, come on, don't leave me hangin' here! I'm not gonna tell anyone. Except maybe my friends so they're aware of it for their trainin'.."
But I was going to stand my ground. "It's fine, really. Nothing to be too concerned about."
As she kept trying to get me to tell her, I felt my eyes flicker.. that was never a good sign. Hopefully it wasn't because I was secretly aggravated deep down by the pressure. Soon enough, I snapped at her without meaning to. "I said forget it!" She pulled back at this and quieted down. I instantly felt bad. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that. Just... you're gonna hear some things about this place that you might become curious about. But if someone ever tells you to leave the subject alone, I would suggest listening to them and leaving it alone. For your own safety."
She nodded in understanding and started inspecting the cameras. She probably still wasn't used to all the technology around here, but she seemed to figure out the cameras pretty quickly. Then something came up... "Uh, Kayla... that bunny thing's wandered off already." I glanced over at the laptop to see her on the main stage camera, and she was right. Bonnie was already off stage.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much. Bonnie's always the first one to move, and I'm sure he couldn't have gone far. Let me see the computer." She pushed it over to me and I started skimming through cameras, quickly finding Bonnie in the backstage area. That was almost always his first stop, if it wasn't the dining area.
I then had an idea, something I've done before when working with other guards. "Hey, how about we split the job? I'll keep an eye on the cameras, and you can stand guard at the doors. Whenever I tell you, you'll shut whichever door I tell you to close. That way, it'll be easier to keep them out!"
She beamed at this idea. "Seems like a good idea to me!" And almost instantly, she was up and standing near the door.
This got a smile out of me as I continued looking through the cameras. "You won't have to worry about it for a while, but I like that you're staying close by. It's certainly a good idea to be able to react as fast as possible."
Things were pretty quiet for the rest of the night, with Bonnie and Chica being the only ones to move. AppleJack only had to shut the doors a few times, and six a.m. arrived pretty quickly. It seemed like the animatronics were going to treat these training sessions like the original five nights. But then... how would the sixth training session go? I decided to cross that bridge when I came to it, and when the bell rang, I thanked AppleJack for her help and told her I'd consider recommending her to the boss.
We soon enough went our separate ways, but once she was out the door, I turned towards the animatronics. "Guys... I understand these are new potential guards, but there are six different girls. AppleJack was only here for tonight. She can't do a re-trial of any kind, but if I'm going to be able to fairly judge the rest of these trainees, I'm gonna need you guys to treat them all on the same level. Like, Night 3 difficulty. I hope you guys understand." With that, I finally started walking home.
Last night's training with Applejack seemed to go pretty well. But, if my suspicions are correct about how the animatronics are treating the training, it might be harder to judge the girls fairly. If they turn things around, however, then this might actually be fun. I have absolutely no clue what order these girls are going to come in, but I'll take them as they come.
As I put my journal away, I saw someone in the doorway. She waved a bit as she greeted me in a sing-song voice. "Helloooo~!" I waved her inside, and the first thing I saw was the most fashionable version of a guard's uniform I've ever seen. I assumed if she was hired, she would wear this to the job. Once I managed to look away from her outfit, I saw that she seemed to be a pretty nice girl, with purple hair in a very stylish 'do.
"You must be Ms. Kayla Cautio, the one training me and my friends to work this shift. I honestly thought it would be fun until I realized how dreadfully late we'd be working; it'll put a bit of a tamper on my beauty sleep. And while I like the vibrant colors up front, that I'm sure will appeal to the younger audience this place aims for, they could at least put some work to make the rest of the place look less dreary. After all, the children can't be the only ones whose eyes get a colorful treat!"
This whole rant went on while she sat down and afterwards. I just smiled and listened until she seemed to be done. "Well, maybe if you get hired, you can suggest a few ideas to the boss."
She giggled a little, then seemed to realize something. "Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners?! I'm Rarity."
I smiled at this. "Nice to meet you, Rarity! So, despite the dreariness and late time of night, are you ready for this?"
She seemed a bit embarrassed. "Oh, right, sorry about that rant. But I am most certainly ready to start when you are!"
"Alright! So, I had a little trick with AppleJack last night. We divided the job so one person would watch the cameras, and the other would keep track of the doors. You ok with that?"
"Well, of course, darling! Whatever you think would make this job easier."
"Great! If you can handle the doors, I'll look over the cameras." She nodded and went to stand near the door. I just smiled and started skimming through the cameras.
"Speaking of AppleJack, she said that the animatronics tend to move around.. is that true?"
I wasn't surprised AppleJack decided to tell her friends about what she had seen during her training. "Yeah, it is. But as long as we can both figure out what we're doing, there's no need to worry. And I'm gonna teach you everything you need to know." I turned back the cameras, and Bonnie was already on the move. I couldn't help but mumble something under my breath. "Guys, I said Night 3 level, not Night 5."
Unfortunately, Rarity heard me. "What was that, darling?"
"Uh, nothing! Nothing, it's fine."
Clearly, this was suspicious to her. But she shrugged it off. "If you say so, dear." I bit my lip a bit as I turned back.
For a while, it seemed like Bonnie and Chica were the only ones moving, a lot like last night. But I eventually noticed something off... once I realized what was happening, my instincts kicked in. "Rarity, close the door!" She slammed the door shut and within seconds, there was banging on the other side.
She backed away with a little scream. "What is that?!"
I put the cameras down and tried to clear my head. "It's Foxy... I was so focused on Bonnie and Chica that I wasn't watching the Cove... Gonna need to make note of that..."
She came over and looked over my shoulder at the laptop. "Didn't we have more power than that before?" We were at 57%. I had calmed down enough to explain why we had lost so much.
"When Foxy bangs on the door, he takes some of our power. So now it's urgent I start watching him more closely...." I checked Pirate's Cove, just to make sure he had gone back as he usually does. "He's gone back now, you can open the door again." She seemed a bit nervous as she went back and opened the door. Part of me expected Bonnie to be there, but I caught him in the Supply Closet and knew we were safe. Somewhat. I guess this was Night 3 sort of behavior. As long as they kept this up for the other girls, it'd be easier to judge them fairly. Then again, thinking over this... Night 3 was the night I met... him. If he remembered this as well and took advantage of it... these girls wouldn't know what to do. I'd be by myself, and he'd actually have me in his grasp for a while. I shook my head a little to forget about this, and just tried to stay calm as I kept looking through cameras.
The shift ended without too much further incident. We only needed to close the doors a couple more times, and he didn't show up, luckily. Once six o' clock came around, I thanked her for coming and told her I'd consider her for the job. And I actually kind of meant it, she did have a few good ideas for the restaurant.
As we made our way out, we saw that it had started raining while we were inside and because of this, my stepbrother's car was pulled up in parking lot. I quickly went up to him but then saw that Rarity wasn't following me. I told Vincent to give me a second then went back to her. "Rarity, what are you doing? Why are you staying in here?"
She seemed a bit nervous. "I... I don't want to go out there while it's raining. Not without some protection. Um... would you mind driving me home, please?"
I started back towards to the car, gesturing for her to follow me. "I'll ask Vincent if we can carpool you." She nodded and tried her hardest to keep herself dry as we went out to the car. "Hey, Vince, can my trainee carpool with us? She doesn't want to walk home in the rain."
He looked her over a bit then unlocked the back door. "Get in." Rarity and I smiled at each other as she got in the back and I got in the passenger seat.
Vincent then started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "So what's your name, kid?"
She brightened up in the back as she answered. "I am Rarity. I'm so glad you were willing to drive me home."
He just chuckled a little. "Ah, it's no problem, kid. I'm Vincent Afton, Kayla's stepbrother. So where do you live?" She told us her address, and Vincent luckily knew where that was. So we dropped her off at her house then continued home ourselves. I finished out the night by taking some notes on the shift and heading to bed with the hope that things keep going smoothly for the rest of the girls.
I think the animatronics took my advice on the difficulty level for these trainees. I think I'll be able to compare AppleJack's to the rest, even if they went kind of easy on her for that first time. Just like the last two nights, I don't know who's going to be my next trainee, though this time I do expect it'll be pretty interesting.
I put my journal away then skimmed through the cameras once, noticing someone moving across the dining area. I couldn't help but think to myself, 'Well, someone's early.' Then again I was too, I kinda had to be. I decided I might as well go out to meet the person, it was probably the new trainee. I grabbed my flashlight and headed for the dining area. Soon enough I found that I was right. The girl was wearing a traditional guard's uniform, with no changes whatsoever. She adjusted her glasses a bit as she looked around and then smiled to me. "Oh, hello! I'm Twilight Sparkle, I'm here for the night guard position?"
"Ah, so you are the next trainee. Well, it's nice to meet you, Twilight. I'm Kayla Cautio. Come with me, I'll take you to the office." I smiled and started walking towards the office, with Twilight following me. I sat down as soon as we got there and pulled up a seat next to me for her.
"AppleJack and Rarity have already told me about this experience, and I've been thinking of strategies since I first heard about it." Well, this girl certainly had some intellect on her. Maybe that was something to look out for...
"Well, that at least means I don't have to tell you anything much, since you already seem to know everything." I smiled and opened up the cameras, which she seemed instantly intrigued in. Everything was ok so far, so I let her look through them a couple times before she set them down.
"So, how quickly are the animatronics supposed to start up?"
"It usually takes a couple hours, but maybe if we're lucky it'll be a bit sooner."
"Great... so what are we supposed to do while we wait?"
"Well... why don't you tell me why you and all of your friends want this position? All at the same time?"
"Oh. Well, we tend to do pretty much everything together, and if we were going to get a job then we might as well try to do that together. This was one of the first places we saw that had a 'Help Wanted' sign, and it seemed like a thing we could all do together, so we decided to take it. Even if it is minimum wage..." We both gave nervous, awkward chuckles at this.
"Well, I can't guarantee you'll all get to cooperate on this exactly like I'm training you, but hey, there is the chance." I didn't dare tell her William's plan was to only have one girl take the job, that would be something she'd have to learn on her own with the rest of them. She just smiled and looked through the cameras, noticing Bonnie offstage. She kept calm, always a good trait in a guard, and just looked through cameras until she found him. Then she put them down. I was kind of impressed by her seemingly natural knowledge of what to do. "Well, you seem to have this down pat."
"It's pretty self-explanatory. And as I've already told you, my friends have already told me about all this."
"True. But the night will get tougher, so we'll see how you fare." I couldn't help but let out a playful, evil chuckle. Twilight seemed confused at first, but she went along with it.
As I had predicted, the night did get tougher as we went along. Twilight even seemed to get a bit nervous at times. Freddy even got the nerve to start moving around. I let her take the cameras while I handled doors, and things were almost as simple as ever. I think he tried to do a few things to me though, cause I got a couple headaches and Twilight mentioned a couple times that I had had this crazed look in my eye. But it didn't really matter, as nothing went wrong. Soon enough, everyone was back in their spots and we were walking out of there. Just before we got to the door, though, Twilight turned to me and seemed to have a worried look on her face. "So, from what I've seen here tonight.... the rumors are true."
I knew exactly what she was talking about, and got a bit nervous myself. "Uh, well..."
"This place is haunted, isn't it? I saw newspapers on one of the walls relaying a story about a murder here... the robots move because of those children, don't they?"
"I... y-you can't tell anyone about this. It would ruin Fazbear's... and if you want this job, it'd be better to keep the place safe so there's actually a job to be earned. Do you understand..?"
She looked at me a minute, thinking, then nodded. "Yes. I promise I'll keep my lips sealed. I just hope these kids can find another way to go about getting what they want..." She glanced to the animatronics for a second before walking out. This left me standing there, nervous knowing that she knew what secrets this place holds. I glanced to the animatronics, and walked up close to the stage.
"Guys... you have to be careful with these next few trainees. If Twilight can figure it out this fast... I'm scared she's going to tell her friends, despite her promise just now. Please, be careful and... don't get yourselves killed a second time." With that, I walked home, trying to clear my mind of what had happened before Twilight walked out.
New night, new trainee. I'm a little nervous this time, still worried that Twilight spilled the beans about what she had figured out last night. I just have to hope for the best. I think that phantom-bear is trying to get at me, which isn't always common with new guards around. Maybe he's just getting bored. If anything happens tonight... well, the entries might stop, I'll say that much.
Something in the atmosphere felt wrong tonight. But I tried my best to ignore it as I waited for the next trainee to show up. I ended up closing my eyes and almost drifting off until someone grabbed my shoulder. Having developed the usual bit of paranoia from staying with this job so long, I jumped at the touch, and looked up to see a girl with rainbow-colored hair looking down at me. "If I had known we were allowed to sleep on the job, I would've signed up long ago." She joked. I gave a weak chuckle and pulled up a chair for her next to mine. "Thanks. I'm Rainbow Dash. Let's just say you're lucky to have someone like me by your side."
"My, egotistic and confident on your first day. Actually, not even your first day, just a training session. Reminds me of another guard here... Anyway, I'm Kayla Cautio. Let's see if you can really live up to your supposed abilities." I smirked and handed her the cameras, then went to stand by the doors.
She turned to me with a bit of surprise. "What, you're just gonna throw me in without explanation?"
"My main job is to keep you trainees alive. If you really think you can pull this off so easily, then you should have no problem with being launched in without me having to tell you anything. Besides, I'm sure your friends have given you the basics."
She looked between me and the cameras, then pulled on an arrogant smile. "Pfft, yeah, I can totally do this. I know the basics, why wouldn't this be easy?" She opened up the laptop then, and after a few seconds gave a little scream which easily caught my attention.
"What's wrong?" I asked as I rushed over to the desk, looking over her shoulder.
"Is your computer glitched or something, because something popped up on the screen before you got over here. Said something like... 'It's me...'" That was a phrase I knew all too well. So he was coming. I just took a deep breath and started back over towards the door.
"Probably some sort of glitch, like you said. Just ignore it, I'm sure it won't happen again." She nodded and started looking again, calming down at a decent pace. Now I had reason to be paranoid, though. Hopefully he wouldn't show up directly, I wouldn't want Rainbow Dash to have to deal with that. That was the last thing I needed, honestly. The phantom did not listen to reason, so he was going to be unpredictable and I couldn't tell him that he needed to take it easy. But, I tried to take my own advice and try to ignore it, and go on with the night as usual.
For a while, not much was going on. But around 4 am Rainbow seemed to forget about checking on Pirate's Cove, and soon enough I heard Foxy's metal feet pounding against the tile in the hall as he ran towards us. I went to hit the button but I wasn't fast enough, allowing Foxy to barge in. He went straight for Rainbow, who screamed and jumped out the chair. I quickly got in front of him and held my knife out, pointed at the animatronic pirate. "Down, boy. Back off. Get back to your Cove."
Foxy seemed suddenly nervous seeing the weapon. "S-Sorry, lass, I just... I was doing what I'm used to. And ye know I'd never hurt ye.."
"But you can't hurt my trainees, either. So get back to your Cove and try to stay there." Foxy was going to protest, but seeing the look in my eyes he backed off and started off. I put my knife back on my belt and turned to Rainbow Dash, who looked at me in bewilderment.
"How... how did you do that?! You just.. spoke to him like it didn't matter! He was rushing towards me and then you stepped in and... how?!"
I just gave her a little smile and sat down. "That's my secret... you take the doors now. We have two hours and I don't want another one of them coming in."
She stood there stunned for a minute, then went over and stood by the door. I'm glad to say there were no further incidents, aside from the same headaches from last night. We were out of there soon enough, though I started to feel bad for threatening Foxy like that. I shook it off as I walked home, though what I couldn't shake was this; could that phantom try coming after me at some point during the week while I was training these girls? Would they have any idea of what to do? Well, I'd have to hope it didn't come to that.
He's getting closer. I'm getting more nervous. I'm scared that he will come for me very soon. I can already feel his presence in the atmosphere. Hopefully my trainee will be safe, and I will make it out alive. I don't expect her to know what to do if he does come for me, whoever she will be tonight. I only have two more to train, then I don't have to worry. I'm praying that I can make it.
I'll admit it, I was stressed. I knew he was already here. I knew he was plotting to do something to me. But I didn't know what. I couldn't get this off my mind. I didn't even really look at the cameras, so I was surprised when I heard the next trainee's voice. "Hey, what you doing? Are you thinking? What are thinking about? It seems serious." I looked up to see a girl dressed in pink and some blue, with pink curly hair standing next to me.
"Oh, sorry. You must be tonight's trainee. Here, have a seat." I pulled up a chair for her. I didn't realize at the time but my voice likely made me sound tired. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep before I came here for tonight, I was so worried about him. "So, let me guess... Pinkie Pie?"
"Yessiree! I'm excited for tonight! My friends have told me so much, so I pretty much know how everything works. Oh, and you don't have to tell me your name, they told me that too, Kayla Cautio!" She giggled and nearly turned upside down in her chair, but seemed to catch herself from doing that. First impressions, I guess. I just opened up the cameras and pointed towards the doors. She seemed to understand instantly and got up and walked over to one. I started skimming through cameras, though I honestly wasn't paying much attention. Pinkie seemed to get the gist, though. She would check the blind spots occasionally, and close doors when necessary. Eventually she turned to me, her energy having turned down a tad. "Hey... you alright? You seem kind of out of it, not like how my friends had described you."
I looked up to her and shook my head a bit to get my thoughts out of my head. "Uh, yeah. I just... didn't get a lot of sleep before my shift, is all.."
"Oh.. Okay then. If you say so." She turned her attention back to the doors, and I turned my back to the cameras. Once I hit the West Hall Corner, I had to do a double take.. the poster. It changed. Shoot. The cameras started to glitch, showing 'It's me' just like Rainbow Dash had seen last night. I felt an overwhelming headache come over me, and did not hesitate to grip my head to show it. Pinkie turned to me and soon came over, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"
As soon as she approached I shut the laptop and put my head down on the desk, resting on my arms, especially trying to cover my eyes. "Pinkie Pie... get back... I don't want... him to hurt you..." Naturally she had no clue what I was talking about. But she did back up a bit, just in time too. I started to laugh like a maniac and eventually lifted my head up. I knew this wasn't really me doing these things, especially since my vision was becoming blurry. I turned my head towards Pinkie, who seemed pretty scared by what she saw. The last thing I remember before my vision went black was standing up and saying "̢It'́s me͏!̷"
Pinkie Pie's POV
Hello! Kayla didn't remember anything after getting possessed so she asked me to help her with what happened. I convinced her to just let me write this part! Anyway... when Kayla turned her head to me, I got scared because her eyes had lost that cute little blue in them. They were completely black apart from a tiny white pupil. Then she stood up and shouted "It̀'̴s ́m̨e͞!̡" After that she laughed like crazy and just looked at me. But she did speak up eventually, and that's when I noticed how distorted her voice sounded. "̵S̛o ̧y͜ou'r͢e͘ o͝ne of Ka͏yla's little trai̴n͝e͞e͏s."̧ She chuckled a bit. "̛Ỳeah, ̕sh̕e'l͢l ͘n͟e̢éd̷ a̡ll ͡th́e h̴e͟l̢p҉ ̧sh͡ę ̨can g̕e̛t ͠t̀o҉ ͞d̕e̶al with mè.̸.͟. sh̶e'͢s sò opt̢im̸isti̢c,̴ t͜hin͘ks ͞s͜he ćan ͡g͡e͝t̷ rid ̶of m̶e so͝m̀ed̡ay̵ ìf ̵she'͞s p͘a͝t̀i̴e̶n̷t.̴" She chuckled again, she must've really thought all of this was funny. "Sh͢e ͘j͡ùs͠t ̢c͟a̶n'̕t̨ ͘tęll ͘t̨hat ͝Í'l͏l ͠ne͏ve̷r w͜a̡n̕t̕ ̨t́ǫ ̕st͜o͏p ҉play̨ing wi͘th ḩęr. The m̸ǫre ͠s̕he ̴re͝sìs͟t̡s ̷me,̧ ͜the͢ ͢more I ̵want ͟her a̴s my͞ l̶i͠ttle puppe̛t̨.̨"
Then I figured I had to speak up. "Hold on a second! Just who are you? You must not be Kayla, since you're talking about her like she's not here."
So this wasn't Kayla at all... it was this Golden Freddy character possessing Kayla... I think I'll call her Golden Kayla! So, after her little monologue, I decided I had to stand up to Golden Kayla. And I did. "Wait a minute! Using a living person as a puppet just because your brother has a crush on her? That seems a little extreme, don't you think? And honestly, coming from me, that's saying something." Yeah, I can't lie about that. I can get pretty extreme at times, but I wouldn't start trying to control anyone if my sisters developed crushes on guys or anything.
But she seemed pretty upset either way. "̶He ch͢a̸n̢géd e̕v͜e̢ryt͝h͠i̵n͡g̷ ̛ju͘s̀t ̕for̸ ̷o͡ńe per͟s͏o͝n̕! We'r͟é look̢i͡n͡g ͞for͡ ̸some͜o͡n͢e, ̀an̶d͟ ͡ìf͏ ̴h̀e̵ re̢c̨o̶g̛n͟i͜s̛ès ̨t́hat̕ ̴sh̀e's͠ ͡no̧t͢ th̵e ̀o͟ne ̴t͠h̶e͟n͠ wh͢y ҉not j͡ust̛ get͡ he̵r͞ o̸ut̸ of͝ th̶e wa̡y͟?͞!̛ I d͟on't know̵ whe͘rȩ ͜his̸ s͝e̷n̢s̡e ̴of ̢l̛ogi͝c̵ ̵ha̴s͟ ͜go͜ńȩ,́ b̷u͏t ͠a̸pp̸aren͢tl̴y ̸I have ͠to͢ b͠e ͢t͜he͘ replac̀e̵me͞nt̕ òf ̡t͞h̵a͞t f̡or ̸h̸i̸m҉. ͡Besi͏d̕ȩs̵,̷ ͟I̧'͘ve̷ ̡b̵ee͡n͏ ͠bored̡ òùţ o͢f m͡y ̕min͞d s͢in͢c͢e ͞I lost ͞every̢thi͠ńg͘. H̷av̵i̡ng ҉a l͘i̢t̸tl͡e͟ ̵f͏un wi̡th the ̴gu̧ar͠d ͞mig̶ht ̛be a̶ ͟g̡oǫd̷ ́wa͜y͜ t͟o͟ get ̕my ̸mi͡nd of̵f i͘t̡." Yeah, this guy had to be his brother's logic replacement...
"Or, you could just... I don't know... support your brother? Let him deal with his emotions on his own? Wait, animatronics have emotions? Well, maybe creepy, possessed ones do. That could be understandable. But what I'm trying to say is, just because your brother is having a change of heart, that doesn't mean you have to go crazy and try to torture and kill the girl he likes. That's just insane."
Jeez, this guy was stubborn. "No, I don't know what you've been through. I have no clue what it feels like. But still, whatever it was, it's no reason to believe you need to kill and torture people just because someone hurt you. Every sane person knows that, silly."
"T̵hen̢ ma͝ybe͜..̡. ͜I͠'m͡ ́n͢ot s̶ane̸..̡.̴ ̸w͏h̡e̢n I̴ ͟ĺos͝t̨ ́my̨ lif͡e͞.̴..͠ I l͡ost m̷y͏ m̨or̴al̸i̢t̨y.̶.̀.͏ wh͜at̵e̡v̀e͡r͡.̨ It͟ ҉may̧ h͘ave̸ been ͘a̴ po͞or ju͝d͟ge̕m͞én͞t̸ ̶to͘ ͜t̵ry͜ t̛h̕i̡s w͞h͠i͘le͠ she҉ ͠has a ̨tra͞i͜ne̕e̵ ́here.͞ ͞I'll̀ ̸ha̛ve̡ more ̴ch̀a͠n͏ce̵s.҉.̛. b̛u̧t ̸p̀e̸r̛h͏aps w̨e̛'ll ̕meet̢ ag̴ai͏n͠,͠ M̡ś. ̵Pie̵.͘ We'll ̢h̸a͞ve̡ ţo ́wa̸i̕t͠ ͞ąn͡d ̢s͝e͞e." Well, at least she was seeing some reason finally. But after she said that, she sat back down in the chair and put a hand to her head, with her eyes closed. Luckily, it only took a minute until she opened her eyes again, and they were back to normal! She seemed kind of out of it, though. When she looked back up at me she seemed unfamiliar with what was going on..
"Pinkie...?"
Kayla's POV
"Pinkie...?" The first word out of my mouth after I got my vision back. It was still blurry though, so all I really saw was a pink blob in front of me. I had no idea what had happened, and hopefully Pinkie's recap makes it understandable. "Pinkie... are you hurt?"
"Nope, he didn't lay a finger on me. He just kept ranting about how he didn't like his brother having a crush on you and eventually decided that possessing you while there's a trainee here wasn't the best plan, so he left."
I was honestly surprised by this. "He... left? Just like that? Without any sort of problem?"
"Yeah! But don't ask me what got into him. I'm not some ghost mind-reader." She laughed a little as she said this, even though it made me nervous.
"Wait... how did you know he was a ghost?"
"Well, what else could have possessed you?"
I gave a weak chuckle as I realized she was right. "True. But... you won't tell anyone, will you?"
"Of course I won't, silly! Why would I need to? Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye~" She did a few motions as she made what I later found out was called the 'Pinkie Promise,' and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Well, good. Cause I don't want anyone else knowing what Goldie does to me... I mean, I've told other guards, but they've almost never believed me."
"No problem! I mean, at least it's not like this secret is so huge that I won't be able to contain it and I just have to tell somebody even though I know telling them might cause you some trouble or even get this place shut down."
"Uh... yeah. Thanks, Pinkie." An oddly specific description but I couldn't pay attention to that now. Our shift ended pretty quickly after the incident, so I thanked Pinkie for the help and then followed her to the exit. But before I went out I turned to the animatronics.
"Guys... Goldie paid us a little visit tonight... I don't know if any of you saw, but I know you couldn't really do anything. But, if he comes nearby again.... don't be afraid to warn me before he gets to me." Then I went home.
One more trainee to deal with. Then I won't have to worry about hurting any more newbies. From what I could gather, the last one to meet is Fluttershy. Hopefully Goldie got his fill of me being his puppet last night, cause if her name suggests anything to me, I don't want him showing up tonight. A couple days after tonight, Mr. Afton will choose who to hire based on the notes I gave him. I just hope that none of the phenomena that happened this past week will affect anything.
So I started the final day of training, and I could only fear that this session would be the most difficult to deal with. Of course, there was the possibility that this trainee could actually the ideal partner I need tonight. I'd just have to wait and see. As usual, I was skimming through cameras, keeping special focus on the dining area for her human figure to appear. Once it did, I noticed she was moving kinda slowly and seemed almost panicky. The exact opposite of what I was hoping for, but pretty darn close to what I had predicted. I grabbed my flashlight and headed out to her, quickly waving her over and getting her to follow me without saying much. Once we were in the office I sat down and offered her a seat, which she took. I think we had different reasons for not talking to each other in the first few minutes, me being tired and slightly aggravated with everything that been going, and she was just plain shy. As I had predicted. Soon enough I finally got the nerve to say something. "So, you're the new trainee.. your name is Fluttershy, right?" She nodded, and smiled a little, probably happy that I knew her name without her having to say it. "Nice. So, do you need me to show you how things work, or did you already get the advice from your friends."
She blushed now that she had to speak, and the very first thing I noticed was how quiet her voice was. This would take some getting used to. "I.. I know what to do..." I simply nodded and started going through the cameras, though no one was moving yet. "Um... d-do you want me to go to the doors?"
"If you want to, sure. I won't force you into anything, though, I'm not in a particularly bossy mood." She giggled a little and stood up. That's when I noticed she had a backpack on, especially since it wriggled a little. I saw this out of the corner of my eye but it was enough to make me look up at her. "Do you... have something in your bag?" She blushed at this and held the bag close to her, seeming scared. "I won't get you in trouble for it, not this time anyway, but I really should know in case there's something dangerous in there."
She seemed a little sad, but she kneeled down and set the bag on the floor. "Oh, okay..." I stood up and took a couple steps towards as she unzipped the bag, and I was honestly shocked when a little bunny popped out. "This is Angel. He goes with me everywhere, I just hide him in most places since many buildings don't allow animals indoors."
I couldn't help but smile. This was so sweet, there's no way I could rat her out for this. "So you brought a pet with you... That's fine, just keep a close eye on him so he doesn't get himself into any danger. After all, you never know what trouble a little bunny could get into in a place like this."
To my surprise, she giggled and nodded, letting the bunny hop out. I closed the doors to make sure he stayed inside the office where we could see him; hopefully we wouldn't lose too much power. She sat on the chair with Angel in her lap as I sat next to her. "So you really carry this cute little guy with you everywhere, huh?"
"Well, I just can't stand to leave him. I guess you could say I spoil him a little, but I just can't help it. How can I say 'no' to this face?"
"Yeah, I can kinda see that. I just hope he's not so spoiled that he goes running around whatever part of the restaurant he wants, we already have one bunny doing that."
"Oh, I'd never let him get into any danger like that. I'd feel just horrible if he hurt himself or-- wait, what bunny is already going around the restaurant?" Maybe she didn't know everything about this... I can understand if her friends spared her some of the scary parts, but she needed to know otherwise she might have a heart attack.
I smiled and opened up the cameras again, seeing Bonnie was already setting the example. I found him backstage, as per usual, and kept the monitor on that camera. "This guy. Our very own Bonnie the Bunny. He and his friends move around restaurant during this shift, and we have to make sure they stay out of the office while we're here."
She already seemed scared, which I honestly felt bad abut. "Why do they have to stay out..?"
"Well, if they get in here they might mistake us for endoskeletons without a suit, and that's against protocol. So they'll try and put us into suits and for humans like us, that doesn't really end well."
"But, those suits are made of felt, aren't they? Shouldn't just be all soft and cozy like a cocoon?" I could tell she was trying to cheer herself up, but it didn't seem to work.
"They are made of felt, and it probably would like a cocoon... if not for all the gears and wires and things that are not meant to come so close to the human body. They keep the suit running in time with the endoskeleton's motions, and if they grind against our bodies trying to keep us moving... it'll cut us open, we lose blood, and eventually that cocoon becomes something like a coffin." I don't know why I decided to be so graphic about it this time, but I could tell by the expression on her face she was the wrong person to be that graphic with. "But, that won't happen as long as we keep them out, and you have me here to help with that, so there's nothing to worry about."
That only seemed to calm her a nearly microscopic bit. Just in case, I opened the doors seeing as she had Angel on her lap. Of course, as soon as the doors opened he struggled out her arms and hopped out the left door, leaving Fluttershy nearly terrified. "Angel, no!"
I just stared at the door for a second, then turned to her. "I can go get him for you, you don't have to move. Besides, might be a decent little exercise for you to practice working on your own. All you have to do is watch the cameras and make sure the animatronics stay put as much as you can. In fact, I have an idea." I dug in one of the lower desk drawers and pulled out an earpiece and a microphone, handing the mic to Fluttershy. "As you're watching the cameras, just tell me what camera Angel is on and I'll make my way there. If there are any animatronics nearby, you can warn me about that too. I'll be wearing this earpiece the whole time until I get back, so if you talk into the microphone there, I'll get the feed on the earpiece." I smiled as I turned on the earpiece and put it in position in my ear. She turned the microphone on and looked at me. I took that as my cue to go out and get Angel.
I simply kept straight down the hall until I heard Fluttershy's voice through the earpiece. "I found Angel. He's backstage. And, luckily the robot bunny isn't there... but he is in the west hall which is exactly where you're headed!" She seemed very panicked as she said this, but then I remembered my connection with the animatronics. I could see Bonnie's silhouette in front of me, but I didn't slow my pace. I walked right past Bonnie, and even winked at him even though he didn't respond. Guess he was trying to keep his cover. I couldn't blame him. I just walked right past him and continued with my sights on the backstage door. I didn't hear a word from Fluttershy about it, but I could guess she was confused.
I finally got to the backstage door, and slowly opened it, but as soon as it was opened even a crack the little bunny ran right out and into the dining area. I wasted no time in chasing after him, but before I knew it Fluttershy squealed in my earpiece. "Kayla, the bird has him! The bird has Angel!!" My only guess could be that she meant Chica, especially considering I could see her silhouette in the room.
I turned on my flashlight and saw Chica had something in her arms, so I approached her. "Hey, Chica. Have you seen a bunny run through here? A pet bunny, I mean."
She smiled to me and looked down at Angel. "You mean this little guy? I was wondering where he came from."
"Yeah, he's the trainee's pet. And I don't want her to get in trouble, so you mind if I take that back to the office?" Chica only chuckled and handed the bunny back to me. He was a little squirmy but I kept a tight grip on him, enough that he wouldn't jump out of my arms, but loose enough he could breathe. I then thanked Chica and started back towards the office.
Fluttershy nearly jumped out of the seat when I returned with the bunny in my arms. She quickly got up and took Angel from me, hugging him tight. "Oh, Kayla, thank you so much!"
I simply chuckled and sat down. "No problem, Fluttershy. But, maybe you really should start keeping him in the bag, just to be safe."
"Oh. Sure thing." She opened up her backpack and tried to get the bunny back in, though he was really struggling. "Oh, come on now, Angel. I know you don't like it in there, but it's for the best. It's not safe for a little bunny like you to be out there."
Suddenly a familiar, slightly robotic voice came from the left door. "Yeah, I can actually agree with that. I mean, I may be a bunny myself, but for that particular kind of bunny, this isn't the best place." Fluttershy gave a soft scream and hid her face, but without having to turn around I knew exactly who it was.
"Always have to try and sneak up on us, don't you, Bonnie?" Then I turned around and saw the purple bunny in the doorway, smiling.
"Well, gotta have fun somehow, right?" He chuckled and looked down at Fluttershy. "So, what's with this trainee? She doesn't seem to have a whole lot of guard potential, does she?"
"Bonnie, I know you like to be straightforward, but you don't have to be rude." I walked up to him and lowered my voice. "Though honestly, no, I don't think she does.. I just don't want to have to say it to her face cause she seems kinda sensitive and I don't want to upset her." He nodded in understanding and I took a step back.
By then, Fluttershy was looking up at us. "You don't have to keep any secrets or anything. I know I scare easily, and I can be pretty sensitive, but the others said that you told them you could get used to all the crazy things that happened around here, and if that's true, then I'm still willing to apply for the job as long as it doesn't scare me for long."
Bonnie smiled and sat cross legged in front of her. "Well, that's good. We're actually pretty nice as long as guards don't try to mess with us. And for new guards or trainees like yourself, we mostly just do the stalky, scary thing to keep our reputation. Really, you just have to get to know us and we're not so bad. A lot like people, I suppose." I saw Fluttershy smile a little, and it kind of made me glad I was able to share my secret with at least one person.
We kept talking and playing with Angel for a while, a couple of the other animatronics checking in on us occasionally, until it was about time for the shift to end. I smiled and stood up, smiling to Fluttershy. Bonnie had gone back to the stage a little while ago. "Do you have a ride or any way home, Fluttershy?"
"Oh, I'll be fine getting home, thank you." Wow, this girl was nice. But luckily, it wasn't the sickening kind of nice. I simply shrugged, gathered my things, and started on my way out. She wasn't too far behind me. We said our goodbyes as we walked out the doors, and for the first time this week I think I completely relaxed. No more trainees! All I had to worry about now was giving William some small advice and tidbits to help with his decision on who to hire.
Finally the day had arrived. I had gone to the pizzeria with William and Vincent to wait in the former's office for the previous week's trainees. I was really curious about William's decision, seeing as most of the girls had pretty redeeming qualities for the job, but at the same time they all had quirks that could risk their lives if they weren't careful. I was sitting in the back of his office while he did some extra work when the door opened and the girl's finally filed in.
"Ah, hello, girls. I was wondering when you were going to show up." William smiled to them and closed his laptop to show that he was now giving his full attention to them. I perked up a little as well and stood by William's side, just as he had told me to earlier. "I take it you've all met Kayla. She was the one who helped you through your individual training. I've been paying close attention to her advice, I trust her to help me make decisions like this." Just then, I became suspicious. Would he have really asked all of the girls here if he only wanted to hire one of them? He's not the kind of guy to enjoy the disappointment of other people. I simply kept my mouth shut as I looked over the girls and waited to hear his decision.
"So, you all seem to have some qualities that would certainly help with this particular job, which makes you all possible candidates. At the same time, you all have quirks that could potentially act as setbacks... but then again, who doesn't, right?" He chuckled a little as he leaned back in his chair for a minute. "But in all seriousness, the decision was a bit tough. You all seemed to be reasonably qualified. Heh, I almost didn't sleep last night as I was trying to think it over. But, I have made up my mind, and my decision is final. I trust none of you will be disappointed in what I'm about to say..." He had become more serious the more he spoke, and now even I was a little nervous. The girls all seemed to shift a little in anticipation for his answer. Finally his eyes opened and he smiled. "You're all hired!"
The girls were in shock for a moment, just as I was though I tried to hide it, then they all screamed in excitement and hugged around each other. I turned to my stepfather. "Will-- Uh, Mr. Afton.. you said you only wanted one guard. Why are you hiring all of the trainees?"
He simply smiled to me with that typical mischief in his eyes. "You've been working here for a while, Kayla. You know how stressful this job is. And people wanting that particular shift are kind of hard to come by. I figured we're gonna need all the help we can get." He shrugged, and luckily this answer enough to convince me. I turned back as he cleared his throat to get the girls' attention. "Now, Rarity, we'll start with you on Monday. And just to have it out there, if any of you ever want to have a day where you work the day shift instead of your normal shift, just come to me and I'll move some things around for you. You'll still be paid for the same hours if you work the day shift rather than your usual night shift." The girls all seemed excited still, but at least they showed that they were paying attention.
Soon enough he dismissed them, they thanked him, and walked out of the office with excited chatter. I sat back where I was before. "Well... that was actually kind of easier than expected."
"Yeah, I guess so. And don't worry, I will arrange the schedule so you can still have some shifts to yourself."
I couldn't help but smile at this. I was never usually close to my stepfather, but now I realized just how understanding he could be. "Thanks, William. Though, to be honest, I can't wait to work with those girls again. After all, they do still have some things to learn about this place."
