Chapter Text
Michael was grinning as he walked to the pizzaplex. He was smoking as he walked. It used to just be a bad habit when he was a kid. It was still a habit, just less of a bad one. It had been a few weeks since he had gone to the job interview. To be honest, Mike was still shocked it actually worked. He had used his real name and it took all he had not to laugh during the actual interview. Well, it’s not like anyone could make a valid argument that his name and visual similarity to the founder’s son was anything more than a coincidence. And besides, he did have quite a lot of experience as a night guard. For his first night at the job, he was meeting with another guard to show him the ropes. He was excited for his life to get a little more interesting with an actual job!
Mike walked into the building. He looked around the now-familiar entrance, spotting the other night guard sitting on a bench and looking at her phone. She had red-ish brown hair and freckles. She was short and a little plump. She must have heard Mike’s footsteps because she looked up from her phone and waved at him, standing up. Michael walked over, his hands in his pockets.
She smiled as he approached and she held her arm out for a handshake. Mike took it as she spoke, “Hey there! You must be Michael, am I right?”
“Just Mike is fine.”
“Well it’s lovely to meet ya, Mike. My name’s Angel.” She certainly seemed very nice. Although, Mike could have just figured out her name by looking at her uniform.
“So, I’m here to get you settled in and help you find your way around. Although, I’m sure you already have an idea of where everything is by now, right?”
Mike shrugged, “I have a vague idea of the layout.”
Angel grinned, shaking her head, “But you don’t! It was a trick question, ya see!? This place is nothing short of a labyrinth, filled with hidden rooms and all sorts of nooks and crannies!”
Michael smiled, “Sounds fun.” He breathed out a plume of smoke and Angel stepped back, not saying anything about it, though.
“I’d say so! This place is a treat to explore!” Angel started walking, gesturing for Mike to follow as she continued to speak. “Your duties are pretty simple. You go around the plex, making sure nobody breaks in and that the animatronics are all in order. It helps to research how the robots work, cause if they malfunction during the night, it’s gonna be tough to fix em’. Usually there’s a weird voice that tells you what to do if the robots break down, but that thing is useless. Constantly feeding ya useless information.”
Mike chuckled, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“As ya should! Now, there’s always two night guards on duty at a time. Since this place is so huge, you probably won’t run into them too often. But if you do, be sure to say hi. It gets pretty lonely round here.” Angel kept talking as the both of them entered the Atrium. “Your hours go from 10:30 to 3:00. But you can stay all night, if you want. That’s what I do. You get a little extra pay at the end of the week if you consistently do over-time. Oh! And finally, your uniform is in the laundry room. It comes with a fazwatch and a flashlight.”
Mike took a few moments to process everything she said before nodding, “Alright. Sounds simple enough."
“Yeah, it ain’t too hard. You better start heading to the laundry room to pick up your uniform, though. Need me to show you how to get there?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“Of course not, sugar! I’m here to help, after all.” She started leading Mike to the laundry room. Mike began to analyze her just a little bit as they walked. She had a thick southern accent and seemed to maybe be in her thirties? She also seemed rather cheerful. Overall, Mike found her company to be enjoyable.
“So Mikey, what made ya want to work here?”
Mikey? “I’ve had a bit of experience working at some of the older locations.”
“Really? Wow. How old are you?”
“Old.”
She laughed, giving him a warm, full smile, “That doesn’t answer my question! Are ya older than me?”
“Probably. How old are you?”
“I’m thirty-four.” Mike felt a moment of satisfaction to learn that he was right in his guess. He nodded, “Yeah. I’m older than you.”
“Really!? Are you sure? You seriously don’t look like it.”
“I get that a lot.”
The two of them went down some stairs and a few elevators, walking down dark corridor after dark corridor. Angel was right. This place was a maze. Finally, they made it.
“Your uniform should be in there. There’s a restroom nearby where you can change. I’ll wait here.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
He immediately spotted the white uniform, picking everything up. He almost dropped the fazwatch, but he caught it and adjusted so that he carried everything in a more secure way. Now he just needed to find the restroom. Michael wandered around, running into a security bot before finally finding it. He rushed in, going into one of the stalls. The first thing he did was take out the illusion disc. It just made things easier when he didn’t have a mildly disorienting illusion in the way. He changed as fast as he could since the restroom did not smell particularly amazing. He adjusted his name tag, put on the fazwatch, and stuck the small torch in his pocket.
Michael sighed, putting the disc back before walking out of the restroom, taking a deep breath. He made his way back to Angel and she smiled when she saw him.
Mike had thrown his cigarette away in the restroom and so he decided to instead take out a piece of gum.
“Oh, can I have one?” Angel asked when she saw it.
Mike nodded, handing her one, “What now?”
“Now you’re a security guard!” She announced, popping the piece of gum into her mouth and crumpling up the wrapper. “I’ll be heading off to do my own duties. So you’ll be by yourself the rest of the night. I’m sure you can handle that, right Michael?”
He was about to respond when he thought he heard a very, very distant clicking echoing from the halls. He glanced down into the dark, frowning.
“Is somethin’ wrong?” Angel asked.
“I thought I heard something..” Mike responded, taking out his torch and shining it into the darkness. There was nothing.
“Maybe ya heard one of the endos. They’re stored not too far from here. They like to move around when no one’s watching.” She answered, shrugging. “Ya must have really good ears, though.”
“Yes, I’d say my hearing is better than the average person’s.” Mike clicked off the torch, turning back to look at Angel, “You were saying that this is where we depart?”
She nodded, “Yes! I’m sure you can handle things just fine! Maybe check up on the animatronics if ya want.”
“Yeah. I think I’ll do that.”
She smiled, turning away, “Welp, good luck Mikey!”
Michael watched her leave before glancing back down the hallway. The clicking was so soft, but it was definitely there. It was honestly kind of annoying. So, after a few moments, he left as well, eager to leave that part of the pizzaplex. The basement did not seem like a place he wanted to hang out at..