If there's one good thing I could say about the day, it was that the birthday party went off without a hitch. If there was one bad thing I could say, it's that we'll probably never get another one.
 
After Mike and I finished decorating, I glanced at the clock; the kids were supposed to arrive within the hour, and Anondos hadn't come back with extra food. After dismissing Mike and asking him to get back into costume, I retired to the office to look through another guidebook and make sure everything would run smoothly. The first thing I wanted to do was test out Baby's birthday show disc--sure, if I knew Baby at this point, she could fake her way through it. Unfortunately, I still wasn't sure if she was lying or not when she mentioned being 'asleep' while entertaining kids.
 
I popped the disc into the console and set the show to begin in a few minutes, giving me time to return to the show room and get settled in to watch. As I walked back in, I heard loud banging sounds coming from the kitchen. I ran over and burst into the room, pushing the door so hard that it slammed into the wall. I saw Tricia sitting on the floor surrounded by circular pizza pans and long, metal baking trays. She rubbed her head and wore a grimace on her face, I assume from pain.
 
"Are you okay?!" I asked, sounding frantic without realizing it. I quickly helped her up and she dusted herself off.
 
"I'm fine, yeah," Tricia replied. "I was just trying to make it easier on Anondos when he gets back, but I didn't know the cabinets were so crammed full."
 
"Me neither." I replied. "If you're sure you're okay. Let one of us know if you ever need help." Tricia smiled in reply.
 
"I know. Thanks." She said, reaching down to pick up the pans from the floor. "I'll be fine. I've done this line of work before, remember? I can be a waitress and cook, too."
 
"Awesome." I replied. "I gotta get back out there and manage your cousin." She nodded and chuckled; she must be familiar with Mike's laziness, I figure. I walked out of the kitchen and saw that Baby was just starting to perform. Quickly sitting down in a chair at the front table, I watched in anticipation.
 
"Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza!" Baby greeted me. She looked around, as if looking at the children supposedly in the room. "I hear it's someone's birthday! Someone has a special day today!" Her blushing cheeks lit up and her blue eyes started to shine brighter. Her pigtails bobbed as she continued to move, looking around the room. "Now, where is the special birthday guest? They're my special friend today!"
 
God, she's so fucking cute. I wished it was my birthday. Baby moved her microphone to her mouth and leaned in close to it, beginning to sing. The familiar melody of the birthday song began to play from her back speaker.
 
"Happy birthday to you ...!" Baby started to sing. Just as she had got into the song, another voice rudely interrupted her.
 
"I'm back." It was Anondos. I turned around, seeing him holding many shopping bags on his arms and a large sheet cake in his hands. "I figured we'd need one of these, too. What's Baby doing?" He asked, looking up at her.
 
"I got the birthday show in to test it out." I replied. "Good call on the cake. I can't begin to think of where the cake ingredients are in the kitchen."
 
"We both know you can't begin to think, but that's why I'm here." He said, with a smug tone to his voice.
 
"Ha-ha. Go write the kid's name on the cake." I said, or more precisely, ordered him. "You'll have time for jokes when we're done."
 
"I'm on it." Anondos replied. He looked around the room as he headed for the kitchen. "Looks nice in here, good job."
 
"Yeah, thank you. Mike does good work." I said, standing up from my seat. I had listened to Baby with one ear and Anondos with the other; she sang the song properly, so I had nothing to worry about there. I headed for the kitchen to help prepare the food, but something stopped me in my tracks. The door to the office hallway opened, and something very large was wheeled out. "Uh ... dude?" I called to Anondos. He turned and looked as surprised as I was.
 
"Yeah, put it up there, next to the clown one." The same smiling man from this morning walked out from behind the large thing being wheeled in on a flatbed. The man pushed it was a 'Stan's' worker and gave me a friendly wave as he headed for the stage. It took some effort, but he dragged whatever he was hauling on to the stage, taking care to keep it covered by an ugly, brown tarp.
 
"Can we help you again?" Anondos asked as both of us approached the man. He gave us that creepy smile again.
 
"Nah, I've got it." He replied. "After you told me about your party today, I mentioned it to the big guys. They insisted we give you a little help."
 
"Help? After you threatened to kick us out?" I asked. I looked up at the stage, seeing the mover had moved under the tarp. I could hear a loud drill. "If that's what I think it is, no. Get it out of here."
 
"You don't have an option." The man replied. "You work for us, not the other way around. Now then, meet the star of your show!" As if he knew the cue, the mover moved out from under the tarp and grabbed it, pulling it off to reveal a beaten-up, filthy and outright unpleasant-looking Freddy Fazbear animatronic. It wasn't even the 'Toy' one! It looked like it came from the store that got closed down because of the 'mucus and blood' incident.
 
"I thought you tore these up for parts." I said. "What's it doing here, and when is it leaving?"
 
"Oh, Freddy isn't leaving." The smiling man replied matter-of-factly. "Actually, why don't we just take the other one with us? That way Freddy can get the spotlight he deserves."
 
"Get out." I snapped at him. "You touch the clown, you don't get out of here with both hands." Anondos looked surprised at the sudden confidence in my voice. "You take your fucking bear and you get out of my restaurant. Baby isn't going anywhere."
 
"Pardon me?" The fedora-man stepped back. "Y-You don't threaten your superior, boy. What we say goes, and if we're getting rid of that one, we're-"
 
"You're not getting rid of her." I didn't allow him to finish. "You think I didn't plan on you trying this?"
 
"You did?" Anondos asked. I nodded.
 
"Keep an eye on him. I'll be right back." I said, walking back into the office. I knew exactly what I was looking for; I had planned on this since before I had even found Baby in the alley. I stepped into the office doorway and grabbed my 'plan' leaning against the wall and walked back into the show room, brandishing my 'solution' in my hands: a very large sledge hammer.
 
"What do you plan to do with that?" The man asked. "Certainly not what it looks like."
 
"Every birthday party needs a pinata." I replied. "You provided me with one, unless you want to get Freddy out of here. You have ten seconds."