Three days passed and nothing changed. You would turn on the lights, see the animatronics--except for Circus Baby--and go back home. The job started to become bland. You wished today would be different, in hopes of all the nostalgic feelings.

It was around 10 PM, and you decided to take a shower to pass the time. You searched through the dresser, grabbing a dark blue, flannel shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans with cuffs.

After getting out of the shower, you slipped on some Playboy socks and put on your black--Converse--high tops. You grabbed your black drawstring bag and filled it with a bottle of water, your phone--including its charger and earbuds--and a flashlight. You decided to get a few snack bars on your way there. Before you headed out the door, you rolled up your sleeves as you grabbed your keys and keycard.

~ ~ ~ ~

You punched in the code and the elevator opened. You pressed the red button and descended. You awaited your welcome from HandUnit. You were oddly disappointed when the elevator came to a stop in front of the vent.

'That was odd,' you thought.

Every other time, Hand-Unit would welcome you back and give you the same instructions he did the first night. You had a weird feeling as you crawled through the vent.

Although you hadn't been there long, you had grown accustomed to the odd figures that sat in the Control Module with you. You pressed the light button, not waiting to be instructed to do so, but Ballora was missing.

"Uhm, where's Ballora? Did someone steal her?"

You paused for a moment, flabbergasted, before turning on the light to Funtime Auditorium. Funtime Foxy, like Ballora, was nowhere to be found.

"Did I miss a call about how I didn't need to come to work today because the animatronics were at some night party?" you wondered, hoping nobody stole them. "What kind of party is in the middle of the night, and why would they need- Ooh, no, I don't want to know the answer to that."

The vent to the Circus Control opened. You grew suspicious, but started to crawl to the other side anyway.

"Motion trigger: Circus Gallery vent." The woman's voice didn't startle you as much as it did the first night.

Upon reaching the end of the vent, HandUnit's voice boomed around the small room, making your heart jump into your throat. "Oh, Circus Baby, we aren’t here to play hide and seek. Let’s encourage Baby to come out of hiding with a controlled shock."

"'Controlled shock'? Wha- I don't want to--"

"Let’s try another controlled shock. Let’s try another controlled shock. Let’s try another controlled shock."

The power went out. You stood in the darkness, questioning whether or not you should just book it. The silence hummed in your ears as you contemplated your decisions.

The lights abruptly powered back on and HandUnit spoke, "Thank you for your patience. It seems that the power system cannot be restarted automatically. You will need to restart the power system manually. Please return to the Primary Control Module."

"What?"

You traveled back in confusion. Before you exited, HandUnit spoke again.

"You will now be required to crawl through the Ballora Gallery using the vent to your left to reach the Breaker Room." The speakers gurgled and squeaked as his voice distorted. "I will deactivate myself momentarily, as to not create an auditory disturbance. Deactivating."

"Yeah, I've done enough crawling," you grumbled, ducking under the entrance and entering a dark room.

You slowly walked forward, reaching into your bag for your flashlight as you tried to keep from walking into anything. You could see a dim light at the end of the room, so you abandoned the search for your flashlight. When you got close enough, you could see a poster of Funtime Freddy and Bon-Bon, with the words 'GET READY!' Before you reached the door, you could hear faint music.

"Woah- Hello? Is someone there?"

The music stopped, and you stood quietly, listening for any sounds. Your shoulders stiffened and your eyes widened when the speakers emitted the same loud, messed up sound it did in the Circus Gallery vent. You let out a sigh shakily, entering the Breaker Room.

A light popped as it flashed on and off. The room was filled with a bunch of cables, but it was too dark to see anything else.

"Motion trigger: Breaker Room," said the womanly voice.

"You may now interface with the breaker control box. Using the interface may disrupt nearby electronics. If you feel you are in danger, feel free to disconnect the interface temporarily until it is safe to reconnect."

"Um, danger? What kind of danger?" you questioned.

Recalling all the weird things that had happened so far--Ballora and Funtime Foxy missing, whatever was wrong with HandUnit, and the faint music in Ballora Gallery--your hairs stood on end. You had the feeling that you were being watched, but you brushed it off as you just being paranoid. You hoped it was only all in your head.

"Let's just get this over with," you shuddered, turning on the box and starting to reboot the power.

"Hey, Bon-Bon, looks like we-we've got a new frie-iend!"

You froze in place, your heart thumping in your ears. That definitely wasn't in your head. You disconnected from the interface and looked around. You pulled out your flashlight from your bag, flipping it on and scanning the room.

"Hello? I don't take too kindly to having the wits scared out of me!" you called out.

When you didn't get a reply, you lowered your flashlight, slowly looking back down at the panel. You heard shuffling behind the screen and you quickly looked up.

"Oh, god damn it! Who the hell are you? Have you been the one doing all of this? Look, you can either come out right now and have a little laugh, or have the piss knocked out of you when I find you!"

There was silence, and you huffed, looking around with your flashlight. When you came across a familiar white and purple-pinkish bear, you relaxed some. He was standing behind some cables hanging from the ceiling. His mouth was agape, and he was staring past you.

"Hello," you cooed.

You studied the animatronic, tempted to go up to it and feel its metal skin. It seemed to calm you down enough to get your head fixated back on your job. You shook your head as you booted up the Breaker Panel and continued to restart the power to each room.

"Looks like somebody's go-got a potty mouth!" they sang, practically mocking you.

You looked up and jumped when you saw Funtime Freddy standing in front of you. You opened your mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. You searched around the room, looking for this prankster. You slowly walked towards the metal bot, who was staring at you.

You reached out and poked him in the chest; you quickly jerked your hand back, expecting something to happen. Your shoulders slumped as Funtime Freddy continued to stare at you. You hummed, furrowing your eyebrows as you poked his chest a couple more times. You stepped back, looking him up and down for any cords, wheels, or something that could move him. You walked around him, searching for anything. You scanned the floor up to where he was standing, searching for any skid marks.

"How in the world is someone able to move this hunk of metal so quickly, and still not be seen?" you said, becoming a bit impressed.

You turned around and was shocked to see Funtime Freddy looking down at you. You backed up some, not sure what was happening.

"Someone's gonna ha-have to wash your mou-mouth out!" Freddy's jaw moved in sync with the speaker on his chest.

"Holy shit," you gasped, dropping the flashlight.

Freddy's face plates split apart as he lunged at you and let out an ear-splitting scream. You ducked under his arm and ran towards the door. He grabbed your bag, pulling you back, and you quickly slipped it off your shoulders. Your heart pounded as you jerked open the door. You ran through the darkness, completely oblivious to the loud music playing. You collided with what felt like a brick wall and fell onto your back.

You looked up, gripping your shoulder. Ballora slowly looked back at you, her face plates opening. She dropped on all fours, her knees bent behind her like a spider. You looked past her, where Funtime Freddy was running towards you. Ballora's face plates twitched as she crawled up to you, getting closer to your face. You breathed shakily as you scooted away from her.

"Go-go get her, Bon-Bon!" Freddy exclaimed from behind Ballora as the small blue bunny disconnected from his arm and started crawling towards you.

Bon-Bon crawled up Ballora's leg and up her back. Ballora grabbed the small rabbit and tossed it across the floor. Bon-Bon's interference gave you enough time to start crawling towards the vent. You tried to crawl as fast as you could, but the pain in your arm was almost unbearable.

A cold, metal hand grabbed your ankle and dragged you back. You screamed and thrashed, trying to escape its grasp. You turned on your back and tried to push Ballora off of you. She pulled you under her and pushed your injured shoulder into the ground, holding you in place. You screamed in pain as tears ran across the sides of your cheeks. Ballora shrieked at you, putting what little hope you had, behind you.

"Ballora, we need her," a soft voice silenced the room.

Photo is by LadyFiszi on DeviantArt