Freddy Fazbear Pizzaplex
No One's POV
There was no need to be scared at the Freddy Fazbear Pizzaplex. Colors of every hue dominated the walls. Vendors every few feet sold either pizza, cookies, or nachos. Every hall had a fun new experience at the end. The friendly animatronic mascots happily posed for pictures with their ecstatic fans. And of course, top-notch security, both flesh and metal, patrolled every square inch of the place so the festivities could continue without fail.

So there was no need to be scared.

But the place was drenched in fear. The very name of the establishment sparked trepidation amongst families, for every business to ever carry the name Fazbear also had some bloody legend worked into its infrastructure. Parents who had gotten tired of their child's begging and consented to going to the Pizzaplex eyed every dark corner and made sure that their precious babies were in sight at all times.

And their uneasiness was not unfounded. Deep within the bowels of the Pizzaplex, blood splattered the walls. Kids ran for their lives from a bunny with a taste for fear. Their hearts nearly beat out of their chests as cold fingers clung to walls in a desperate attempt to catch their breath.

Then all of a sudden, the hearts stopped beating. The fingers lost feeling. And more blood joined the previous victims' on the walls.

The sounds of something heavy being dragged across the concrete floor filled the air, followed by the sound of a heavy grate opening. Heat became a small firefly in the dark body of the basement as a dark mass was thrown into the flames, then went dark once more as the grate slammed shut. A bunny with stained fur leaned against the metal cylinder, listening to the telltale crackle of flesh catching fire as it cleaned its dark weapon. Alone with its thoughts, the bunny gazed out into the shadows of the basement and sighed.

WhAt'S wRoNg, My DeAr? A glitching voice in the bunny's head said. WaS tHiS pReY nOt SuFfIcIeNt?

The bunny smiled slightly at the voice. It was a comfort knowing that it was never truly alone. "Unfortunately no, Master," It replied shamefully. "I'm afraid that the pattern has become too predictable. Bring the child in, chase it around, corner it, kill it, dispose of the body. And the children we bring in all act the same, like scared little mice." Red eyes stared disdainfully at the furnace door and the dark mass inside. "Some of them don't even fight back, which only makes it boring." Felt ears drooped as a covered head bowed shamefully. "Please forgive my ungrateful opinions."

The voice was quiet for so long, the bunny began to worry that they were about to be punished. Then its glitching tone responded, I fEaR yOu ArE rIgHt, My DeAr. ThE pAtTeRn Is BeCoMiNg ToO pReDiCtAbLe. WhIcH iS wHy I pRoPoSe ThAt We ChAnGe OuR pReY.

That certainly made the bunny pause. "'Change our prey'?" It asked. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

WhAt I mEaN iS cHaNgE oUr StAnDaRds So ThE nExT pReY pUtS uP mOrE oF a FiGhT, The voice continued. ThAt Of WhIcH mAkEs ThE gAmE mOrE fUn.

It did sound appealing. "So instead of a kid still in elementary school and scrawny," The bunny muttered, weighing in the statistics. "We go after someone older - in middle school, perhaps - with a slightly muscular build." It made a mental picture in its twisted head of the future prey, and an electric thrill ran through its body at the thought of playing with such a different character. "Alright then - I'll start searching for someone who fits our description right away."

No NeEd - I hAvE aLrEaDy FoUnD a SuItAbLe CaNdIdAtE, The voice informed the bunny, making it pause a second time. Usually the voice left the prey search to it.

"Who have you found?" The bunny inquired, curious despite everything.

YoU wIlL sEe, The voice told it impatiently. ExTrAcTiOn Is ToMoRrOw.

The bunny bristled. "Why can't you just tell me who we're going after?" It asked hotly. "You usually tell me exactly who the next target-"

It was cut off by a high pitched squeal in its head, accompanied by a cranium splitting headache. The bunny shrieked and dropped to its stained knees while the now clean knife clattered silently beside it. It grabbed desperately at its ears and gasped for breath, silently begging for something, anything, to make the pain stop.

But it knew its attempts were futile. It had made its master angry, and now it was paying the price.

Do NoT fOrGeT yOuR pLaCe In OuR rElAtIoNsHiP, mY dEaR, The voice murmured in the bunny's ear, though the name was more condescending than parental warmth this time. I aM iN cHaRgE. I tElL yOu WhAt To Do AnD yOu Do It WiThOuT aRgUmEnt. Is ThAt ClEaR? The headache worsened to remind the bunny that it didn't have much of a choice - either give in or join the nameless slew of victims.

So, through gritted teeth, the bunny sighed. "Y-yes, Master," It relented.

Finally, both the headache and the squealing stopped, allowing the bunny to intake a grateful deep breath and loosen itself from its stiff position on the floor. ThAt'S bEtTeR, The voice said smugly. NoW, gO cLeAn Up AnD gEt A gOoD nIgHt's ReSt - ToMoRrOw, ThE gAmE bEgInS aNeW.

—————

Just as promised, the next day, the bunny found itself outside of a nondescript middle school, in nondescript clothes and in a nondescript van. Nothing to draw unnecessary attention - and to be honest, the bunny didn't understand why the school had caught its Master's attention.

Then it reminded itself, it wasn't the school that its Master was interested in, it was a person inside the school.

But there was currently no one outside the school. "How much longer until this 'mysterious' prey shows up?" It grumbled to the ever-present voice in its head, resting its arms against the steering wheel.

PaTiEnCe, My DeAr, The voice said soothingly. OuR pReY wIlL sHoW hImSeLf SoOn.

So it was a boy they were looking for. It didn't narrow the search by much, but that small detail was more than what the bunny had to work with before.

The wait lasted for about fifteen more minutes, both master and servant silent. Then, at last, the school bell rang, and the disguised bunny straightened in the driver's seat.

This was it. The character selection screen before the game officially started.

Hundreds of teenagers streamed out of the school doors, either heading for the sidewalks or making a beeline for the other numerous cars that lined the street. Everyone gave the van a wide berth - some even casted disgusted looks into the mercifully tinted windows, wondering who the hell was marring the peaceful school with such a foreboding vehicle.

The bunny didn't care. It had a purpose in life. More than half of the kids would be lucky if they even landed a stable job in high school.

There were kids all around the van now, but the bunny knew that its master had picked out one kid in particular. It waited for the voice to speak, to command its attention towards a certain individual. It waited until its patience was stretched paper thin, and then finally, its master spoke: ThAt OnE. ThE tAlL bOy WiTh LoNg BlAcK hAiR aNd A gReEn CoAt.

The bunny found the boy that its master was referring to, one of the many kids using the sidewalks to walk home - and it was seriously let down. The kid was tall, sure, but that was about the only intimidating thing about him. His long black hair looked more fluffy than fierce, and the combination of a lack of eyebrows with a tooth poking out of his mouth, which may have come off as opposing to some people, only made him look like an overgrown baby.

Heck, the kid even had DOG PUPPETS on his hands. Freaking. Dog. PUPPETS.

"Master, forgive me for speaking out of turn," The bunny spoke up slowly, cautiously, afraid of making its master angry once again. "But I honestly don't see the appeal of this kid. What exactly makes this prey different from the others that we've played with?"

I dOn'T bLaMe YoU fOr BeInG sKePtIcAl, mY dEaR, The voice told her. I tOo HaD mY dOuBtS wHeN I FiRsT nOtIcEd HiM. HoWeVeR, tHeRe Is SoMeThInG aBoUt ThIs BoY tHaT oUr ReCeNt PrEy HaSn'T gOt. I cAn'T rEaLlY eXpLaIn It, BuT I hAvE a FeElInG tHaT pLaYiNg ThE gAmE wItH tHiS pReY wIlL mAkE fOr A vErY iNtErEsTiNg TiMe InDeEd.

It seemed like a plausible reason, but there was an undertone to the master's voice that made it clear that the bunny really had no choice in the matter. Whether it liked it or not, the boy was the next target.

The bunny sighed and took another look at the kid. Along with his height, he also had a lean build, which meant he could probably run pretty fast - possible chases in the future. And his build was also slightly bulky, which meant he had some strength - he could put up a fight if he was cornered, and the bunny found the up close and personal moments to be simply DELICIOUS. "Well, maybe playing with this prey won't be a total waste of time," It relented.

ThAt'S tHe SpIrIt, The voice commended it. A slight hiss in its words let the bunny know that it was hungry and ready for the game ahead. ReMeMbEr - WaIt UnTiL tHe PrEy Is AlOnE aNd VuLnErAbLe, ThEn StRiKe.

The bunny grinned. "I know."

—————

Ken's POV
I was aware that I was being followed. The creeping feeling of eyes on you gets pretty hard to ignore if it continues for a while. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark van with tinted windows tailing me a few yards back, and I broke out into a cold sweat.

I didn't want to risk sprinting, worried that they would hit the gas and follow me home - or attempt to run me over. So instead, I started walking in the direction of the nearest police station, hoping that they feared being in jail more than whatever they wanted to do with me.

But no matter how close I got to the police station, the van continued to follow me. I started to worry that they wanted to do something unspeakable to me and started to sweat even more.

One of PIXAL's lessons rang in my head: "The Masters have, unfortunately, made many enemies within their years of existence. One day, you may come face to face with one of these previous enemies; it might not even be a previous enemy at all, and you unwillingly make a new enemy. When that happens, and being discreet is necessary for your survival, take the collapsible headset I gave you. Give it three quick presses, then three slow presses, then another three quick presses. That will send an SOS signal back to the Monastery, and activate the tracking device in the headset. Anyone back at the Monastery will see the signal, know that whoever sent it needs backup, and will be able to send the others to your location.

Using Besu's head, I reached into my coat pocket and brought out the collapsible headset she'd given each of us. It was the same size as the teleportation device and looked about the same, too - the only difference being the teleportation device was a plain black while the headsets were color-coded for our liking, and mine was a metallic green.

I held the headset in Besu's head, but I didn't want to press it just yet, just in case the van ended up peeling away. If I pushed it and nothing happened, or the person in the van just ended up being lost, the others would never let me live it down. I could hear the taunts now: Wow, Ken, you're jumping at stray cars now? What's next, are you going to jump at your shadow if it comes out on a cloudy day?

No. I would just see this through and see what the van does. If things got weirder, I would press the headset and risk being humiliated for the rest of my life.

I couldn't have guessed that the van would suddenly be in front of me.

I couldn't have guessed that the door would slam open.

I couldn't have guessed that a hand would come from the darkness inside the van.

I couldn't have guessed that it would grab me by the front of my coat.

I couldn't have guessed that I would only have three seconds to press the SOS sequence into the headset before I was dragged into the van, and the headset, my backpack, and my precious puppets were torn from me and out onto the street.

I couldn't have guessed that I would be injected with a needle before I could get a word out.

I couldn't have guessed that I would see shadows before night ever fell.

—————

The next thing I knew, I was waking up on a cold concrete floor, the overwhelming smell of pizza burning my nostrils. My head felt too heavy for my body, and my cheek felt numb from where it had been lying against the floor. My mouth felt numb, and I got the impression that I had been thrown unceremoniously against the floor.

My eyelids felt sticky, and I had to bring my hands up to physically wrench them open. Through blurred vision, I took in the sight of a large concrete room with no windows and only one door, which was closed. I vaguely heard the distant sound of electric guitar, bass, and keyboard combining to create an electric pop-style tune.

And then there was the pizza smell. I had nothing against the food, but the smell was overwhelming.

Question was: where WAS I, exactly?

I stayed on the floor for a few more seconds, trying to get my senses into working order. Once I felt solid enough to stand without falling, I crawled onto my knees and rose to my feet. Even at my full height, the ceiling still stretched a good yard or two above my head.

I noticed a security camera in the corner of the room. Figuring that whoever had brought me here had been watching and waiting for me to wake up, I turned fully toward it and tentatively spoke up, "H-hello? W-where am I? W-why did you bring me here?"

No sound came from the camera. I was worrying that I would never get an answer before a glitching female voice filled the room. "Congratulations, kid. You've been selected for a fun little game. You have until closing time in order to exit the premises...in an easy manner. If you're unable to do so...well, then I have the right to use every tool at my disposal to hunt you down and dispose of you. After all, an intruder after hours would reflect on the company very poorly."

"B-but...didn't you bring me here?" I asked, still not entirely believing this whole thing.

My complaint fell on deaf ears. "However, the same can be said for you. If you are unable to exit the premises before closing time, then you also have the right to use anything and everything you find in the building to help you escape. Have fun - use your imagination! And please, make the game interesting." A click sounded behind me, and I turned to see the door opening into a dark hallway. "Remember - getting out before closing time is easy. Getting out after closing time is hard." A haunting giggle filled the air. "I'm afraid several others have found that out the hard way. Try not to end up like the rest of them."

It was then that I noticed the numerous dusty footprints inside the room. Some were large, but most were small. They went all over the room, and some stopped next to stains on the concrete, where I guess whoever it was wet themselves.

They were all pointed towards the door. Towards the last hope of freedom.

It was clear that I wasn't the first they'd done this to. Even worse, it looked like they'd been doing this to kids. Kids that had probably been scared out of their minds.

My mind raced and my heart nearly beat out of my chest as I took one last look at the camera. I still didn't understand what was going on, and I wanted more direct answers.

But I was fully aware of one thing.

Wherever I was, I was supposed to find a way out, like some sick game of Rat in a Maze.

Before something found me first.

—————

2820 words.

Part One of "Ken vs. the Pizzaplex!"

Are ya'll excited?

And if you're not, let me say this - they're going to have a little fun with metal.