Five Nights at Penny's

Night 1

"You're the new night guard?" The man asked looking the short girl in the red hood up and down,"How old are you?"

"15, which according to Vale law is old enough to have a part time job, I answered all the questionnaire answers right, and you already said I was hired over the phone." Ruby answered, desperately hoping the man wouldn't change his mind. She needed this part time job, expenses were piling up and she felt increasingly guilty writing to her dad for asking for more money. Blake had already stopped lending to her, Yang spent money the second she got it and never had any to lend, Weiss charged interest. The night shift was the only one that didn't interfere with any of her classes.

"Fair enough", the man sighed and handed her the key to Penny's Pizzeria, "Main office is in the back, our old night left you a message explaining your duties, I'll be back at six A.M. to open up and relieve you of your shift. Have a good first night." The man the then got into his car and sped off. Ruby unlocked the door and walked into the building. It was dead silent. It was weird seeing a place that she loved so much when she was little in such disrepair, covered in grime and filth, it was no wonder this place was going to get shut down in a year, forget bankruptcy; the health department wouldn't come within 200 feet of the place. She walked into the back office covered in kid's drawings. A fan blew on a low setting and telephone sat on the desk, it's voicemail light blinking, she pressed the button.

"Hello? Heeeeloooo! Uhh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night. My name is Styg and I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now as a matter of fact so..I know it can be a little overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you : there's nothing to worry about, uhh you'll do fine! So… let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Ok? Uh.. let's see First there's an introductory greeting from the company I'm supposed to read. Eeh it's kind of a legal thing, you know. "Welcome to Penny's Pizzeria a magical place where humans and faunus alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Atlas Entertainment is not responsible for damage, property or person. Upon discovery of the damage or death of the third, a missing person's report will be filed within ninety days or as soon as property and premise have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached and the carpets have been replaced. Blah, blah, blah. Now that might seem bad, I know, there's really nothing to worry about. Uhh the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No! If I was forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I'd be a bit irritable at night too. So remember these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children. You need to show them a little respect. Right? Ok. So just be aware the characters do tend to wander at night. Uhh….something about the anti-upskirt motors locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uhh…they used to be able to wander during the day too but then there was the infamous food fight of '87 it's amazing that the human body can live after having it's frontal lobe caved in by a watermelon, ya know. Now concerning your safety: The only real risk to you as the night watchman here if any is the fact that these characters… uhh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person. They'll most likely see you as an atlasesian knight-60 worker class model without it's costume on. Now since that's against the rules here at Penny's Pizza, they'll probably try to forcefully stuff you inside a Bobby Beowulf or Nancy Nevermore suit. Now that would't be so bad if the suits weren't filled with crossbeams; dust crystals; and animatronic devices especially around the facial area, so you can imagine how having your head forced inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort and…death. Uhh the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day agin would be your eyeballs and teeth would pop right out the front of the mask. …Yeah they don't telel you these things when you sign up… But hey! First night should be a breeze, I'll chat with you tomorrow, uhh, check those cameras and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. There's been a dust shortage lately, and as a result the cost of power has skyrocketed. So the building is set to shut off all devices if the power output exceeds budget. It gets reset in the morning. But trust me you don't wanna run out during your shift. That would be bad for a number of…reasons. In short gotta conserve power. Alright. Goodnight."

Ruby stood there looking down at the phone. He had to be joking right! This had to be some kind of prank, a way of hazing the new girl. They must have been trying to creep her out since she was so young and would be here alone all night. She picked up the scroll, and began checking the cameras one by one the cameras. Camera 00 was of the main stage with all of the animatronics. Bobby Beowulf the guitar player, who had always been her favorite as a kid was on the far left. On the left was Nancy Nevermore who held a pair of drumsticks, though a drum set was no longer around, probably thrown away after it fell into disrepair, like a lot of things in this building probably should have been. In between them was Penny herself who looked remarkably pristine in comparison to the other animatronics. Her curly ginger hair tied with a bow cascaded over pale skin dotted with drawn on freckles and the two most piercing green eyes. Ruby found it hard not to stare, but eventually relented to continue her job. Scrolling through the rest of the cameras, party room 1, party room 2, hallway, spanishland, kitchen camera was broke, she finally looked up at the clock. It was already four in the morning, man that guy on the phone must have been talking forever, either that or she had been staring at penny for longer than would like to have admitted to herself. She scrolled back to the main stage camera. Bobbie Beowulf was gone! Her heart began to race. She immediately began checking the other cameras until…

"MONTY OUM!", she screamed out loud. There in the main hallway leading to the security room was the animatronic, and it was staring RIGHT AT THE CAMERA. Suddenly a bolt of both panic and clarity hit her and she ran over to the doorway and pushed the button. The steel metal door slid down with a thunk. Footsteps followed by pounding came from the other side. She hit the light switch hooked up to the hallway. The animatronic was illuminated in the window. Without Crescent Rose she felt vulnerable. She backed to the rear wall of the office in panic unsure of what to do.

The sound of bells filled the building. This was quickly followed by the sound of children cheering as the man from earlier unlocked the entrance to the building. Ruby looked over at the clock. It was six. She looked up at the window. The robotic Beowulf was gone. The man stepped into the office.

"First night go alright for you? No break ins I hope!", he said with a laugh.

"Fine", she said emotionlessly, her heart still racing. A thought crossed her mind. Had she fallen asleep and dreamed it, only to be woken up by the bells? But then who had closed the door? She walked past the man outside into the now light of the day. She began to walk back to beacon to get ready for her class which began in two hours.