THE EXAM WEEKS STRIKE AGAIN, and I have to study for it during my spare time if I want some decent grades to compensate for my current ones! These teachers always know when the time is 'right' to turn my spare time into working time! It's beautiful!

Seriously though, writing is going to become more difficult as the exam week approaches. The idea I had of writing three stories at the same time wasn't a good one to begin with.

That being said, I just wanted to say that while I'm glad I got this story done, I really enjoyed writing it.

Thank you all for reading this story and putting up with my laziness and lack of time and/or energy to write lately. Every time I saw that this story had a new follower, every time I saw that someone had put it on their favorite stories-list, every time I read a new review or even an increase in views…all that kept me going. So thank you.

Epilogue – You have to stay

Douglas didn't look up at Golden as he stubbornly continued reading his book, not wanting to know what the anime-tronic had to say to him about recent events. The two were back in the dream version of the young man's living room. Just like then, Douglas was reading. And just like then, Golden was in the room with him, watching him with her uniquely dark eyes.

The only difference was the atmosphere. The previous time, it had been relaxing for the two of them, and it was the beginning of Douglas' friendship with the golden she-bear. Now, the tension that hung in the air scared and saddened the guard.

He messed up. He had been incapable of defending himself against Blake, so the girls had to save him from getting beaten up. It shouldn't've been like that; he was supposed to protect them. And how was he going to do that if he couldn't even protect himself?

When he could no longer bear the lack of communication, the young man finally snapped his thoughts from his book and looked at Golden.

"I messed up, I get it," he said. "What do you want from me?"

Golden closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them to look at the guard again she spoke in a soft tone, which she purposefully allowed to betray her pity towards him.

"I don't want this. I don't want you blaming yourself for something nobody could've helped."

"You helped," Douglas simply responded. "You shouldn't've had to help. I'm supposed to be able to protect myself." He averted his gaze. "Maybe you shouldn't've helped to begin with…" he muttered.

"Don't say that!" the golden she-bear protested.

"But it's true! Maybe I'd have grown some backbone if Maxwell had given me a beating!"

Another sigh escaped Golden's throat, followed by an even tenser silence. Douglas resumed reading his book as a response, feeling even worse than before he started the conversation.

"You're waking up…" the anime-tronic said after a while.

15:27 pm

"Crap…"

Douglas continued to mentally assault himself while attempting to eat breakfast (or a night guard's equivalent to it). He had also been thinking about what to do next, and although his plans for the upcoming night conflicted heavily with what he really wanted to do, he realized that it was for the best.

He was unable to protect himself, and by extent, unable to protect the girls and the restaurant. He had proven himself to be too incompetent for his current job, which he knew confirmed what Maxwell thought about him. Instead of helping the girls, they had to help him. They deserved so much better…

They were his only friends next to his brother. And he was their only human friend. Upon doing some simple math, it would become clear that they'd be able to manage their lives perfectly without him; they still had each other, after all.

Seeing how all that added up, the young man had reluctantly made a decision he felt he needed to make. For the girls' sakes.

Tonight was going to be his last night before his resignation.

23:59 pm

It took some effort to convince Griffiths to let Douglas have overtime tonight, especially after what had happened the night before. It took even more effort to inform him that he was going to quit afterwards, as the manager had immediately begun a desperate debate about the topic – over the phone. However, being Douglas' boss didn't give him the power to force the young man to stay, and he eventually gave up.

The guard decided that he'd tell the girls after he filled in the resignation form in front of him, with which he was halfway done. It would only make it harder for him to actually give up his job, as the anime-tronics would likely object against his decision without relent.

He also made a mental note to apologize to them after informing them. Especially Golden, to whom he may have had been a bit too harsh in the dream.

"Good evening, Douglas."

The guard in question snapped his head to his right upon hearing the soft, formal voice. He hadn't had the chance to talk to the girls yet this night; he had made his way to the office before the day guard was gone.

Freddy was standing in the doorway, giving a worried look.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she fully made her way into the room. "After Mr. Griffiths had sent you home previous night, we hadn't had the chance to speak with you."

Douglas blinked as he stood up, trying to block Freddy's view of the resignation form on the desk.

"Uh…y-yeah, I'm fine," he airily said.

He mentally punched himself – again – when he saw the she-bear's blue eyes narrow in suspicion.

"Are you certain?" she asked as she took another step towards him. "I am aware of your history with this person, and having him assault you is not something I expect you to take lightly." she resolutely took another step, this one somewhat more intimidating as, for the first time, she came close to invading the night guard's personal space.

She continued talking in a calm but clearly suspicious – almost angry – way. "In addition, given your current unusual refusal to move backwards as I continue to advance, I have reason to believe you are hiding something from me."

The human did not reply as he was frozen in fear. He had never seen the formal, gentle she-bear act like this. The only other time he had seen her angry was last night, and that anger had clearly been directed to Blake. But even then, she didn't intimidate him like this.

Freddy blinked, suddenly realizing what she was doing. Her eyes widened and she took a step back, a guilty look visible on her face.

It was silent for a second.

"I…er…" the anime-tronic stuttered. "S-sorry…"

Douglas gave a sigh of relief, but the weight on his mind had only increased as he now had to explain to Freddy what was going on. Even though she probably wouldn't do what she just did again, the guard didn't expect her to stop interrogating him.

His expectations became reality as the she-bear spoke up again.

"Douglas…" she said, her voice not much more than a whisper. "You know that you always have us to talk to…"

The human sighed, hesitated, and sighed again before stepping aside, revealing the resignation form on the desk.

Freddy's eyes widened again upon seeing it.

Another silence.

Douglas didn't dare make eye contact and instead chose to look at the ground. Freddy looked at him, but he was too nervous and ashamed to look back. He closed his eyes, ready for whatever the she-bear was going to say or do next.

"Douglas?" the anime-tronic finally spoke. "Is that…?"

The guard silently nodded as he felt his eyes beginning to water. With an increasingly shaky voice, he explained how he felt that he was not fit for keeping anyone safe, and that the girls were better off without him. That they deserved better.

His throat felt as if it had been forced shut when he was done talking. His face was resting in his right hand, and his shoulders were shaking uncontrollably. Freddy's face was shocked at first; despite everything she knew about the young man, she never expected him to quit…even after the Maxwell incident.

The she-bear quickly regained her senses, however, and with a look on her face that betrayed her sympathy, she walked over to the sobbing man and gave him a warm hug, which he returned.

"Douglas…" she softly said.

When Douglas was pretty much done crying, the guard slowly pulled away from the hug, still not ready to look Freddy in the eyes. The anime-tronic still kept him in half a hug as she looked down at him.

"Douglas…" she repeated. "Listen. Being a guard here doesn't simply mean having to protect us; it means keeping us company. And so far, you've been the only guard, the only person, capable of doing that." She paused, giving the words some time to sink in before continuing. "Even if you were to be replaced, it would be unlikely for your successor to be willing – or able – to do what a guard here is supposed to do. It would be far more probable for them to flee, just like your predecessors."

"But I tried to flee, too…" Douglas weakly countered.

"Maybe so…" Freddy replied, "but you grew to trust us eventually."

"Only because Chica stopped me."

"That doesn't matter. You're here now, and even if we could convince another guard to stay, whether or not they'd be a good friend is up to chance. I know for a fact that some guards only applied for this job simply because they felt…attracted to us. If we were to gain the trust of such a guard, it would negatively affect our prospect for getting a true friend. We've been extremely fortunate with you."

Upon hearing that, Douglas finally looked up at her.

Golden was sitting in the back room on her own.

Spring had been a bit surprised when the other anime-tronic made the decision to stay there. The golden she-bear was usually very willing to go hang out with the others, as the back room felt kind of lonely. Golden had reassured her friend that it was nothing to worry about and that she just had to rest a bit.

The real reason why she stayed was because of Douglas. After that debate they had in the dream world, she knew that the other anime-tronics would sense the discomfort between her and the guard, and they didn't need to know about her argument with him. They knew her too well to be fooled by her, so trying to hide her thoughts was out of the question. She had barely been able to fool Spring.

What to do next…

She looked up as the door suddenly creaked open, revealing a silhouette that could only belong to one person.

Despite the darkness, Golden could see Douglas' expression, which seemed to be a combination between nervousness and guilt. He looked around the lightless room in search of the she-bear, until he eventually found the glowing white pinpricks of her eyes. He nervously flinched upon noticing them, froze, and then hesitantly stepped into the room.

"H-hey…" he stuttered.

Golden stood up, not saying a word. Douglas swallowed before continuing.

"U-um…hey…back in the dream, I…"

He paused when she began to approach him.

"…uh…I…was…kind of being…uh…well…"

He started to sweat when Golden came closer, but he refused to back off.

"I-I just wanted to say…uh…I'm-"

He fell silent as the anime-tronic suddenly pulled him into an embrace.

"Don't you dare say you're sorry," she softly spoke. "You shouldn't be."

Douglas' eyes widened. "Wh-what?"

Golden smiled. "You were just giving your opinion. It was a debate. You're not supposed to apologize for giving your opinion in a debate."

The young man blinked, then chuckled and returned the hug. "Huh…I never thought of it that way…"

It stayed silent for a while, before the golden she-bear spoke up again.

"Are you going to stay?"

Douglas was caught off-guard by the question, and he looked up at her.

"Wh-what do you-"

"I know you were planning on quitting."

"How do you-"

"Same way I'm answering your questions now before you're done asking them," Golden replied, her voice playful.

"And how…oh, y'know what, I feel stupid for asking now," Douglas grinned, remembering the she-bear's…unusual abilities.

The two chuckled for a while before ending the hug. Golden looked at the guard.

"But really…" she said in a serious tone. "Are you staying?"

Douglas nodded. "Yes. Freddy changed my mind. But…" he gave her a pleading look. "Please don't tell the others about the whole quitting thing. I think it'd be better if they didn't know."

The golden she-bear looked back solemnly. "I won't tell them."

The two looked at each other for a few more seconds before Douglas' face turned red, after which he quickly looked away with his usual, timid expression.

Golden's smile returned and put a hand on the guard's shoulder. "That's the Dougey I know! Come on. Let's hang out with the others."

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: I'm not entirely sure if I mentioned this before, but there are going to be sequels for this story. I will have to finish my other works first, though, so please keep that in mind while you're waiting (IF you'll be waiting, that is).

Also, thank you again for reading!