Prologue: Coping & Interesting News

Three days had passed since Mike was rehired, and for once, there wasn't much for the guard to do. Things were quiet. The guard spent most nights helping with random menial tasks the animatronics performed, as well as having casual conversation. Most of Mike's "chores," if you could call them that, consisted of either assisting Freddy in rearranging the restaurant or helping Chica in the kitchen.

Freddy kept him busy arranging chairs, tables, and after convincing Mike they were empty, the spare costumes Backstage. Chica, on the other hand, rarely made the guard do much of anything. She preferred to do most of the work, which was fine by Mike, considering that all he knew about cooking was where bread went in a sandwich. Most of his responsibilities consisted of handing random ingredients and cookware.

Bonnie never really had any chores, aside from assisting Freddy and Chica similar to Mike, so she and Mike spent most of their time just talking. After learning that the rabbit enjoyed to draw, Mike brought her a stack of paper and crayons to pass the time. He almost regretted it upon returning to his office and finding it plastered with drawings of himself and the other animatronics. Mike decided to tack a few them up on the same notice board they put guest drawings.

The only issue was Foxy, who hadn't so much as left Pirate's Cove since Mike's first night back. The others knew something was up, but whenever they would ask, Foxy would reply, "I'm fine," and continue to sulk.

Mike decided that tonight he would try and get to the bottom of it. As soon as midnight rolled around, the guard strode purposefully for the curtains of Pirate's Cove. Pushing them aside, he could barely make out Foxy sitting on his chest in the darkness. The fox looked up, and upon seeing Mike looked away. Mike pulled the curtains open further, and stepped inside.

"Hey Foxy," Mike greeted. Foxy raised his hand dismissively.

"What's up?" Mike asked, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Foxy replied.

"You sure? You haven't left the Cove since my first day back," Mike reminded.

"I just… be likin' me solitude," Foxy lied.

"Oh really? You weren't shy last week," Mike said.

"I told ye all, I'm fine," Foxy said firmly. Mike frowned. He had to get the fox to talk to him, to figure out what was wrong, and being gentle about it wasn't working. Mike decided to try a little bit of "tough love."

On a large metal fox, with a hook, big teeth, and a temper. Brilliant, Schmidt, this plan's gonna get you killed, Mike thought. He decided it would be worth it if he could figure out what was wrong, and took a breath, before pushing Foxy off of the chest he used as a seat. The pirate crashed to the floor, and glared back at Mike.

"Wha' was that fer?" Foxy demanded.

"What's wrong with you?" Mike asked.

"Wha'?" Foxy asked, confused.

"I said, what's wrong with you!? Huh? What's your problem!?" Mike shouted.

"Wha's gotten inta ye, lad?" Foxy asked, suddenly concerned Mike had lost it.

"Me? What about you? All you've done is mope around your cove!" Mike said.

"So?" Foxy asked.

"'So?' So what's wrong!? Is this about those kids?" Mike asked.

"I told ye! I'm fine! Get outta here before I keelhaul ya," Foxy threatened.

"Why won't you talk about it? Don't you care about those kids? Is that why you're ignoring it?" Mike asked. Foxy suddenly went silent, giving Mike a glare that could kill. The fox suddenly started growling, loudly, and stood up. Mike backed off.

Oh shit, bad idea, BAD IDEA! Mike thought, looking at the massive scowl starting to form on Foxy's face.

"Care? Care!? I loved 'em Mike! I loved 'em more than anythin'. Don' you think I regret everythin'? Don' you think I wished I hadn' gotten meself locked up?" Foxy demanded. He advanced towards the panicking guard.

"Now, hang on, Foxy, you're getting the wrong idea, I-," Mike stammered. Foxy grabbed the guard by his shirt, and hoisted him to eye level.

"What idea am I s'posed to get!?" Foxy screeched, eyes burning.

"That I just wanted you to talk about it!" Mike explained.

"Ye go' tha', lad!" Foxy exclaimed.

"Foxy, I'm sorry! I know you care, I know you're upset! You were just hiding out, and I wanted to see what was wrong! You're taking this entirely the wrong way!" Mike apologized. Foxy's gaze softened, and he set the guard back on his feet, looking at the ground.

"I miss 'em, Mike," Foxy said, not looking up. Mike sighed in relief.

"I know you do, buddy, I know you do," Mike said gently.

"I'm never gonna see the kiddos again, am I?" Foxy asked sadly.

"You don't know that! If there's one thing I've learned working here, nothing ever happens like you think it will. Hell, look at me! Just a week ago, I thought you guys were gonna kill me, and I never dared to step out of that office. Now, all I do is walk around and talk to you guys. Stuff'll get better," Mike said. Foxy looked up.

"Ye think so?" Foxy asked.

"Sure!" Mike replied, "Why shouldn't it?"

"Promise?" Foxy asked.

"I promise," Mike said, "Now will you move on? There's no need to worry about it, okay?"

"Alrigh'" Foxy said, nodding, "I'll try."

"Good," Mike said, and was surprised when Foxy pulled Mike into an awkward one-armed hug.

"Thank ye, Mike," Foxy said.

"Can you let go? You're still…sharp," Mike asked, trying to push away from Foxy's exposed endoskeleton.

"Righ', sorry lad," Foxy apologized, and let go. Mike patted his arm.

"Feel better, okay?" Mike asked, and left.

A few hours later, Mike walked back into the security office, and saw Chica squeezed into his swivel chair, spinning herself around idly.

"Hey, Chica," Mike greeted.

"Hiya Mike," Chica replied.

"What's up?" Mike asked.

"I'm bored," Chica said.

"I can see that," Mike commented. Suddenly, the phone on the desk rang, and Chica reached for it.

"No, wait!" Mike said, reaching for it as well, but Chica grabbed it first, hitting the button.

"Hello?" Chica asked, phone still set on speaker.

"Mikey?" a woman's voice asked.

"Mom!?" Mike exclaimed.

"Mikey?" the woman asked again.

"Why are you calling me? Aren't you on vacation? It's really late!" Mike told her.

"We just got back today! We're still on vacation time, so it's not late for us!" Mrs. Schmidt said.

"But why are you calling me?" Mike asked, confused.

"Well, your father wanted it to be a surprise, but…" Mrs. Schmidt began.

"But?" Chica asked.

"Who's that, Mike?" Mrs. Schmidt asked.

"Coworker," Mike answered quickly, "But?"

"Well, we're going to visit you at work tomorrow!" Mrs. Schmidt said excitedly.

"What!?" Mike asked, "No, no, you don't have to do that, my shift starts at midnight, that's way too late for you guys."

"We've been on our vacation for nearly a month, Mikey, we want to see you!" Mrs. Schmidt said.

"A month? Wow," Chica commented.

"We had been saving our whole marriage," Mrs. Schmidt said proudly.

"Right, right, but, seriously, you guys don't have to do that," Mike argued.

"Oh come on, dear, we'll be there a few minutes after your shift starts so you can prepare, okay? Be lucky I gave you warning!" Mrs. Schmidt explained.

"No, no, Mom, wait!" Mike said.

"See you tomorrow, Mikey!" Mrs. Schmidt said, and hung up. Mike sat in stunned silence, and Chica started sniggering.

"Mikey?" Chica asked, laughing.

"Shut up," Mike shot back, and ran a hand through his hair, blowing air out through pursed lips.

"Oh man, I don't know what to do about this," Mike admitted.

"Let's just say hi. What's the worst that could happen?" Chica said.

"Caleb's mom, those cops, take your pick," Mike pointed out.

"Fair enough," Chica replied. A tapping noise sounded from behind Mike. He turned around, and saw Freddy standing in the doorway.

"Hello Michael, Chica, what are you up to?" the bear asked.

"Mike's parents are visiting here tomorrow," Chica said. Mike nodded.

"Oh, that's nice, I hope they enjoy our show," Freddy said.

"No, no, they're coming during my shift," Mike explained. Freddy arched his brow in surprise.

"That's… interesting. Do they know about us?" Freddy asked.

"Not how you mean. They know you exist. They used to take me here, remember?" Mike said.

"Oh, yes, I remember. But not about…" Freddy gestured to himself.

"No. Not your sentience. They never really watched you guys walk around," Mike explained.

"Ah… So… What's the plan?" Freddy asked.

"I don't know," Mike admitted, "I was hoping to ask you guys."

"Maybe we should just tell the truth," Freddy said, "Every time we've tried to blend in, things only got worse."

"That's true," Mike agreed.

"Then let's just do that," Chica said, "It would be nice, and besides, they're your parents. You can trust them."

"Alright, fine, but we're gonna take it slow, okay?" Mike said, "One at a time, baby steps."

"I guess that will work. I'll inform the others," Freddy announced, and walked off.

"Hey, how's the fox doing?" Chica asked.

"Better, I guess. Saw him walking around earlier, so that's good," Mike said. Suddenly, loud metal footsteps could be heard clanking down the hall, and Foxy stuck his head through the doorway.

"Yer parent's are comin'!?" Foxy asked, excited.

"Yes…" Mike answered, confused at Foxy's sudden excitement.

"And we don' have ta hide?" Foxy continued, stepping further through the door.

"Yes," Mike again answered, wondering where this was headed.

"Ha ha, finally!" Foxy cried, breaking into a little jig, "I get ta interact again!" With that, Foxy sped off back into Pirate's Cove.

"Well, he's excited," Chica said.

"That's what worries me. I hope he keeps it together," Mike told the chicken. Bonnie appeared in the doorway.

"I can't wait to meet your parents, Mike!" Bonnie said.

"Yeah. Great." Mike replied flatly.

"I bet they're really nice! Oh, I should draw for them!" Bonnie said happily, "Can I?"

"Knock yourself out," Mike said dismissively. Bonnie smiled widely, and left. Chica turned to Mike.

"Sounds like they're gonna be ready for 'em," she said.

"I'm more worried about the other way around," Mike said, and leaned against the desk.

A/N: Hello again, everyone! It's finally here, Night Four, and since we dealt with the animatronics being outside the restaurant last time, I figured it was time for something in the pizzeria. I didn't want it to be too serious after bringing in law enforcement, so I decided to bring in Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt. Hasn't really been done, and I'm excited to see where this goes. Secret project is going great, and my life is finally slowing back down so I can be free to do sweet F. A. And write, more importantly. You know, not a lot of people make it to Night Four, so you're doing great. See you on the flip side. –DeltaV, "See What I Did There, Like I Was Phone Gu- Nevermind."