"No, no, no, absolutely not! I refuse to bring you! I told you before, I'm not doing it!"
Your brother was supposed to be the man of the house, but he was the one throwing the hissy fit. The pizzeria's owner had called him one Monday afternoon, asking your brother if he could stay that night, that their night guard had the stomach flu. He agreed, but told you he wouldn't bring you for his regular shift that evening.
"I don't understand why!" you called out from your place in the living room. "The place is closed and it's not like it's a dangerous neighborhood! I'll be fine, do you really think I'm stupid enough to go wandering around?"
He sighed heavily, wiping his forehead. "I never said you were stupid. But... there are things that go on there at night that aren't... normal." He almost said "safe", but decided against it.
You were nineteen years old, and even at that age, you still liked going to the pizzeria. It was your home away from home, in a way. Your brother still had his job, still second-in-command to the owner, but had gotten a hefty pay increase over the years. He could support the two of you, but you felt more like a burden than anything.
"... Normal? Really? Spooky shadows getting to you again?" you taunted. "I don't get why a place like that needs overnight security, anyway."
Neither did he, if the company track record was true. "It doesn't matter. You're not going."
You frowned. "It's Monday."
"So?"
"Mondays are boring and I always go with you."
"You're acting like a kid, you know."
"You were the one having a tantrum. If you don't want me around, fine. Fucking leave me home alone, then. See if I give a shit. It's not like I'm any use there, cause I'm no use here, either!" you cried out, angry tears welling up in your eyes. Maybe you were acting childish, but going with your brother to his job felt more like a family tradition now. You enjoyed it, and the two of you had never really fought before. Why now? Over the pizzeria, no less? You hadn't set foot in that place in about a year and a half; you were busy with college courses and trying to do a little job searching, yourself, but it was nostalgia calling you back.
You heard a heavy sigh. "You aren't useless."
"Bullshit."
"You and I both know your agent is trying to get you somewhere to record, sis, but it takes time. I make enough for the both of us, now. I just... I don't want anything to happen to you."
You frowned, confused and angry. "It's a restaurant. It's not deadly. Just keep the knives and spooky shadows away and I think I'll live."
"Why the hell do you even want to go back? You're an adult! What's there for you?"
"My voice coach."
A slapping sound; he'd hit his forehead. "Really? Really? You're being ridiculous."
"So are you."
You felt his weight sink into the couch beside you, an arm wrapping your shoulders in a hug. You didn't fight it, but you didn't return it. "Look. There's something you need to know about that place after hours. It... it is dangerous. The mascots go into some weird night mode that makes them roam freely."
Scoffing, you replied, "They've always done that."
"It's the computer that's the problem. Their night modes don't let them..." He trailed off. If he told you the truth, you'd stop him from going, and he'd been told there had to be a night guard every night. It was Monday, so the animatronics would be pretty easy to manage, at least... "... look. I just worry about you. I know you're convinced those things are more realistic than they are, but they're robots. They have a lot of advanced technology; "teaching" you to sing is probably a part of it."
"What about when Freddy caught me singing and went up to the window?"
Yeah, because he needed to be reminded of that. The mascot gave him the creeps ever since. Like he was resentful. "Probably in their systems. They have to go where other people are." He rubbed his face. Why was he even explaining this to you? "You aren't going to let me go to work without you, are you?"
"No," you answered, stubborn. Sure it was nostalgia. But you were also curious if they really would "remember you", like they promised.
How advanced were their systems?
*****
Stepping inside, the familiar smell of pizza and years of cleansers used on the floors hit you like a brick. You walked in cautiously. As a kid, you were always taken by the hand. Now, you were able to simply use a small device that would send out a clicking sort of sound with the push of a button. Echolocation for humans, you supposed, but your well-honed ears used it easily. The pizzeria, however, was the only exception. You knew it so well, knowing it still hadn't changed, that you didn't need it, slipping the box into your pocket.
The owner seemed surprised to see you after asking your brother to work that night. He pulled him aside to try to send you home, but your brother said you were stubborn as a mule, and besides: Mondays were the easiest, right?
You wandered into the party room, the scattered footsteps of kids either running around you or slowing down to get a better look at you. A tiny hand on yours tugged a little, and you knelt down. "Yes, sweetie, what is it?" you asked.
"How come you're wearing sunglasses? It's dark outside," the little boy wondered.
You smiled. You were used to this. "Well, do you know the X-Men?"
"Yeah!!" he cried out, excited.
"You know how Cyclops wears his sunglasses everywhere, too?"
"Yeah, yeah! Can you shoot lasers from your eyes, too?! That's so cool!! Show me!" He sounded ecstatic, and you couldn't stop the grin on your face.
"I would totally show you, but I think I like the pizza place a little too much to wreck it. Don't you like it here, too?"
He was nodding. "Yeah... yeah, I do. Mmkay, then, can you keep your glasses on? Freddy's almost done singing, and then he walks off stage! It's so cool!"
Yeah, it was pretty cool...
But the little boy seemed attached to you, tugging a little at your hand. "Can I ask you a question, lady?" You smiled and nodded. "What do you do if you can't wear your sunglasses? My mom said it's rude to wear stuff like that indoors."
"Aye, laddie, but this particular lass be very powerful!" Foxy was watching from his Cove, sitting on the edge of his stage. "She can tell anybody to do anythin' she wanted, and they'd do it faster'n you could say "Ahoy, matey!"."
Suppressing a giggle, you stood back up, feeling the little boy release you and scamper to Foxy. "Can you really, lady? Tell Foxy to do something!"
"Sure thing, sweetie." Foxy gulped loudly and dramatically, pretending to be afraid. "Foxy, go and kiss Bonnie."
The little boy bursts into giggles, exclaiming that Bonnie was a boy, while Foxy stood up from his place. As he walked by you towards the stage, he whispered, "Lass, ye be payin' fer this."
The mascots were already off the stage, so Bonnie looked extremely confused when Foxy approached. The boy's loud, uproarious laughter told you that Foxy had, in fact, followed your orders, stomping his way back to Pirate's Cove and trying not to let the child see his humiliation. "Argh, ye see, laddie? She be as wily as a sea serpent, that one. I had no control over me legs, I felt like a jellyfish out the water!" You didn't see his scheming grin, nor his eyebrows wiggle a little. "It be a shame if she goes an' tells Captain Freddy himself that she wants a kiss, aye?"
The little boy made the typical "EEWWW!!" reaction and ran off, screaming behind him, "Bye Mutant Lady!"
Foxy hooked you gently around the arm and pulled you over. "Lass, ye owe me fer that one."
Unable to hold it back any longer, you burst into your own giggling fit. "Did you... r-really kiss Bonnie?"
"I ain't about t' let ye make a liar out of ol' Foxy. And Bonnie be just as embarrassed as I be, so ye best be explainin' yerself. He's comin' now."
Sure enough, you could hear the footfalls of another robot, yet even though they were extremely heavy, Bonnie the Bunny's steps were still the softest. You felt him inch right next to you. "Can you tell me why the very first thing you do when you come back is make Foxy kiss me in front of those kids?" he whispered.
Snorting a bit, you explained. "Really, it's not my fault. The kid wanted me to tell him to do something, and it was the first thing that I thought of."
"Leave it to a girl to think of kissing first," he mumbled, and you patted his face. Used to their height by now, you'd learned to approximate where their parts were years ago. "Next time, at least tell him to kiss his girlfriend, okay?"
This made you raise your eyebrows. "Really, now? So the pirate found his booty, after all?"
"Lass, ye be walkin' th' plank if yer mouth be flappin' like that." The bunny only chuckled and walked away.
*****
For the most part, when the restaurant was still open, you remained off to the side, seated alone and listening to the kids and the mascots. Every once in awhile, especially when you were still going through your moody phase, you'd have music with you. Those times, everyone mostly stayed away.
Except for Freddy, of course. Even at your worst, he could always approach you without fear of being sent away again. He relished that fact. But the moment you'd stepped inside this time, his endoskeleton didn't seem to want to work properly. It was as if his free roaming had been corrupted: he couldn't walk towards you.
For that matter, he could hardly look at you. Not that you could see that, but every time your head turned towards the stage, his electrical wiring sparked something fierce, making his eyes dart away again. Luckily, the kids were too enthralled with the fact that they could wander the floor to notice.
One little boy in particular, however, was gently prodding his leg, and he knelt down to his height, his joints needing a little oil, they were so damn creaky this week. "Yes, child? Is something the matter?"
"M-Mister Freddy, did you know there's a real mutant here?" he asked excitedly. Mutant? What? He pointed to you, and Freddy merely looked generally in that direction, afraid to really see you. "That lady over there says she's a real mutant, like Wolverine and stuff! She can make lasers shoot out of her eyes like Cyclops!" He just smiled. Kids, right? "She can even tell people to do something and they have to do it! She told Foxy to kiss Bonnie and he really did it!"
Freddy heard a muffled snicker behind him; Chica must be listening. There was no way she'd let the fox live this one down.
Much to the bear's humiliation, the boy went on, "Foxy says she could even tell you to kiss her and you'd have to do it! I think it's kinda gross but isn't that cool?!"
Freddy's eyes went as wide as they could go. If his mechanical body had a heart, it would have been pumping hard in his throat. Instead, his gears were turning rapidly, and he stood up, patting the kid on the head. He giggled and ran off again, and the bear shook his head.
The kid was, in a way, being honest. If you wanted a kiss from him, who was he to deny? But not in this clunky, awkward mechanical form, no. The best this side of him could do would be to nuzzle you-- even the thought of that made him nervous. He was still too afraid to approach you, and a small part of him hoped you thought that maybe he was too busy to come over?
No. You were far from oblivious. You knew he was avoiding you, and he could only hope that you weren't mad, or worse... upset.
He wouldn't be able to handle it if his favorite little songbird was upset.