Somewhere in Downtown Japan
No One's POV
It had been hours since Ken had sent the SOS signal. The boys had sent messages to their parents to explain to them that they were going to be a little late coming home. Because they didn't want to worry their families or risk police intruding on a personal matter, they'd fabricated a story. The official reason was that they were pulling an all-nighter at the Monastery - the fact that it was a Friday night sold the lie.

But the real reason? Ken was in trouble. And they had no idea where he was.

"Let's start with the facts," PIXAL instructed the boys. She'd joined them on the street where Ken had disappeared in her fleshy Miss Piper form, and had ushered them over to a dark alley where they could talk without worry of passerby. Now her vision lit up to project a ghostly blue image of a street map in the middle of the group. "We know that Ken exited his school at 3:16pm," She continued, pointing to a large rectangle in the upper left corner of the projection that was marked with the school coat of arms. "He was presumably walking home until he got to this street, where we are right now." Her finger moved down a sequence of streets away from the school. "Then he sent the SOS signal at 3:27pm."

She blinked out of the projection and looked out of the alley back onto the main street. "It's a quiet street, out of the way; there's a good chance no one noticed the actual abduction." She focused her attention back on the boys. "Did you find out anything about the surrounding area?"

"There's a line of businesses at both ends of the street," Naoki answered. "We made a point to check them all to see if anyone had seen Ken or a suspicious person walk by."

"Unfortunately, no one seems to have seen anything," Jin added with a note of exasperation in his voice; the fact of Ken's disappearance was really making him stressed, and he was currently fitted comfortably under Naoki's arm. "Everyone either made the excuse that it was their busiest time of day, or no one was manning the front at the time."

"To be fair," Honcho spoke up. "Once you take away the puppets, Ken's not the kind of guy that you would pick out in a crowd."

"But he was wearing the puppets when he disappeared!" Cuza protested. Pressing a palm to his forehead, he added with a sigh, "You'd think someone would notice a tall guy with Shadow the Hedgehog style hair and dog puppets on his hands walk by their store!"

Valt, who had taken possession of Keru and Besu, held the felt dogs close to his chest and whimpered. Shu put a comforting arm around his shoulders and held him close.

During the entire exchange, Daigo had a thoughtful look on his face. "Hey PIXAL, can you pull up the street map again?" He asked the Nindroid. When she complied, he outlined the route Ken had taken with his finger. "This isn't the way to Ken's house," He announced. "If he was walking home, he would have taken a right-" He pointed at an intersection. "Here. Instead he took a left."

"And how do you know where his house is?" Ukyo inquired, sounding skeptical.

"He and my little brother Ryota are pretty close, and they hang out often," Daigo explained. "I have to walk him to Ken's house whenever he wants to go - it's pretty far and there's often a lot of traffic, so we often have to find back ways to his house. I know every possible way to Ken's place -" He gestured to the route Ken had taken. "And that is not one of them."

Ren Wu took a step forward to take a closer look at the map. "So he wasn't heading home, then," He concluded. "His parents run a puppet show, right? Maybe he was heading towards the next performance."

Daigo shook his head. "They only perform at hospitals, and there aren't any along this route," He explained.

"So what is along this route?" Wakiya asked, one hand on his hip in a cautious pose.

PIXAL narrowed her eyes, causing the projection to zoom out slightly. Now the group was looking at a more complex map of the surrounding area. One of the buildings was marked with the symbol of a police badge. "There's a police station near here," She said definitively. "If Ken had been allowed to continue, he would have reached it at least 4.2 minutes later."

There was a pause as the boys digested this new information. "So he knew he was in danger," Xander realized for them. "Or at least had a feeling he was."

Beside him, Yugo nodded. "The question is, what exactly was he in danger from?" He added.

—————

Disclaimer: this will mostly be based off of Markiplier's gameplay.

Freddy Fazbear Pizzaplex
Ken's POV
After catching my breath after the whole pizza debacle, I decided it was now or never. I opened the door to the security office and cautiously stuck my head out of the doorway to check if Chica had miraculously teleported back to the hallway. Finding no sign of her, I decided to try my luck with the door at the other end of the hall. I opened the door and found myself on top of a metal platform that lead to a lower level. It looked too small to be a loading dock, so I went down the stairs in the hopes that I somehow find clues as to where I am. Underneath the platform, I found a set of double doors with a large red sign with white letters that read LOADING DOCKS above it.

Well, if I was looking for a sign, that's as good a sign as any, I thought, slightly amused.

Through the doors, I found a kitchen area with a checkered floor. To my surprise, I realized I was in the kitchen where I had piloted the delivery bot to make Chica's pizza.

And when I heard the sounds of ravenous eating coming from the opposite end of where I was, I realized that she was still here.

It's fine, I told myself, trying to keep my breathing slow and steady. As long as I stay away from her, I should be fine.

Then I saw a similar set of doors to the ones I just came through on the opposite wall. Near the oven. Where the sounds were coming from.

Oh great.

I highly doubted that Chica could hear me over the sound of her chomping, but I found myself walking on my toes as I made my way over. As I got closer, I saw her standing over what looked like smashed robot parts and a flattened pizza box, shoveling fistfuls of the snack into her beak. I shuddered, but there was no way I could shake the feeling that something was wrong with her.

When I was a few feet away from the double doors, I risked ducking into a run and sprinting the short distance. I reached the doors and hurriedly pulled them open, practically falling inside before carefully closing the doors behind me as to not alert Chica. After waiting a beat to check if she had spotted me, I turned around and took in the room I'd entered.

At first all I saw was a big wall, but then I realized that it lead down an equally big hallway. Following the hallway, I found myself what was essentially a large garage, complete with roll up doors and a few scant trucks. Seeing as it was a garage, I started looking for a button or a switch on the walls that one would use to raise the doors. However, there was none in sight. Deciding Freddy would be useful, I lifted my FazWatch to my face and rang him up. "Hey, Freddy? I found the loading dock, but there's nothing here. There are some big garage doors, but I don't see a way to open them."

"Do you see a set of controls?" Freddy came through.

A little peeved at myself for not assuming that what I was looking for was not singular but a set, I took a second look at the room. Against the far wall was a desk with a computer that had the Pizzaplex logo as a screensaver; next to it was a tall podium that elevated a glass box, that of which had another Freddy-head button, several feet above the floor. "I see a locked box with one of those buttons that are shaped like your head inside it," I informed Freddy. "Does that count?"

"Those are the loading dock controls," Freddy told me, sounding worried. "Something is not right. Someone must have changed the permissions. You are going to need a much higher security level to get out that way. Come back to me right away."

A little surprised at his adamant tone, I made a closer inspection of the glass box that held the button. It didn't seem that strong. I could probably break it open if I had something solid and thick. "Are you sure I can't just pop this thing open with a bat or something?" I double checked with Freddy as I went looking for said item.

"Ken!" Freddy admonished me through the FazWatch. "That is considered vandalism of private property! You could go to court for such an act - or worse, prison!"

His scolding scared me back into my place, and I mentally scolded myself for even considering such an unlawful act. But something told me that, eventually, I'd have to cross that line tonight. "We're running out of options, Freddy," I reminded him solemnly. "Sooner or later, something's gonna have to give."

Freddy was quiet for a few seconds before replying just as solemnly, "I know. Perhaps we will have better luck with the third floor fire escape. Come back to me right away."

Dropping my wrist, I sighed and glanced back at the door to the kitchen. There was a chance that Chica was still out there, which already didn't make me want to go out that way; then I remembered that I had gotten this far using the ventilation ducts and had gotten chased by a creepy spider-robot in the process. I couldn't go back that way even if I tried, let alone wanted to.

Looking back at the security desk, I noticed another flashlight charging station mounted on the wall, and right next to it was another door. It seemed as good an exit as any. After plugging my flashlight into the machine shaped like Freddy's head and waiting for his hat to fully light up, I gathered what remained of my bravery and pushed open the new door.

I appeared to be in another underground bathroom, only much larger than the one I'd been in previously. Like the other, however, it was dark and probably hadn't seen the end of a mop in ages.

"Employees only."

And like the other one, Chica was also in here.

Great First Spinjitzu Master, I griped, clamping a hand over my mouth and ducking beside a stall. Does she teleport?

Fortunately, Chica was pretty loud in her advances around the bathroom. All I had to do was sit still and keep quiet while tracking her footsteps. She made a few rounds in front of the stalls, then turned somewhere away from me and I heard the sound of a door closing. Taking a guarded peek around the stall, I saw a door against the opposite wall swing shut. The perky question "Are you lost?" followed her.

Okay, so Chica went that way, I noted, trying to keep the hand holding my flashlight from shaking. All I have to do is avoid going that way, and I'll be good.

So I shone the flashlight and started looking for another way out of the bathroom. I found out that the room was two sided, with toilet stalls and mirrors on one side and a line of showers on the other. I found a lot of discarded trash and a concerning amount of dirt and grime, but there was no other way out of the bathroom.

That meant that the door that Chica had left through was my only exit. Sighing, I stood in front of said door with my flashlight shining full force on it, a mixture of trepidation and misery curling in my gut. "Well, here goes nothing," I muttered, and pushed open the door.

I found myself in a locker room. Like in the bathroom, Chica was making rounds at the far end, so I crouched beside a wall of lockers to wait her out. I heard her loud footsteps as she circled around the lockers, then they faded, signifying that she had left the room. Peeking around my hiding place, I saw an opening in the wall with strips of black plastic acting as a barrier between this room and the next; a few of the strips were still swaying, signifying that Chica had exited that way.

I chewed my lip as I thought about my next move. I really didn't want to follow Chica, but I couldn't see any other way out of there. Figuring the animatronic knew best, I decided to push my uneasy feelings down and retrace Chica's steps out of the locker room.

I pushed the strips aside and at first, I didn't know where I was. On first impression, it looked like a room dedicated to large generators, with the machines dotting the walls at regular intervals and a maze of shelves in the center of the room. When I took a longer look at them, however, I realized that they weren't generators, but giant washing machines. So this was a washing room for the employees of the pizzeria.

And it was crawling with cleaning bots.

And security bots.

And I spotted Chica stalking in the corner.

Hoo boy.

To ensure I wasn't spotted by any of the boys and/or Chica as I planned my escape, I eyed an empty laundry bin and quietly slipped inside. Immediately, the smells of all of the clothes that had been in there previously assaulted my nose, and I had to plug my nostrils as I peeked over the edge of the bin. There was an opening between two washing machines on the other side of the room, beyond the maze of shelves and roaming robots. Okay, so it's all about timing, I reasoned, tracking the movements of the bots and Chica. Knowing when to rush in. It's just like a Bey battle - search for an opening and take it.

With that in mind, I carefully jumped out of the laundry bin and waited for a security bot to retrace its path, then ducked past the first line of shelves. Sidestepping a cleaner bot, I waited for another security bot to double back, then cleared the second line. I continued this dance throughout the entirety of the washing room, all while keeping an Chica as she made her rounds; I nearly had a heart attack once or twice when I thought she'd spotted me, but she always turned away at the last minute. Each time, I took a breath, counted my lucky stars, then started the pattern again.

Finally, finally, I reached the gap between the washing machines and practically fell through the opening before Chica could notice me. While I attempted to catch my breath, I took in my new surroundings and found myself in a small passageway that ended a few yards to my right; at the end was a new door. I checked back over my shoulder to see if any of the bots and/or Chica followed me, then ran over to the door and pulled it open.

"Take a map. Take a map. Take a map."

Immediately, I found myself being harassed by another Map Bot, who was trying to give me another paper map. Before I could politely tell it off - or wonder why there was even a Map Bot down here, of all places - another voice caught my attention, "Outta my way!"

A blonde head popped up behind the Map Bot, and the beam of a flashlight bobbed as the poor robot was pushed down. "Gotcha!" Came the victorious shout of a predator that had finally caught their prey. Before I knew it, I was staring into the blazing green eyes of Officer Vanessa, and her free hand was latched onto my shoulder with a vengeance.

The relentless running through the basement, the constant dodging Chica, the tango around the other security bots, the anxiety from not knowing my way around the pizzeria, and now being caught by the very person I'd sworn to avoid... it was all too much.

Under Vanessa's probing gaze, I felt my knees buckle beneath me and I fell forward into darkness.

—————

I don't know how much time had passed, but I woke up later in totally different surroundings than the ones I remembered last. Vanessa and the Map Bot were gone - in their place was boxes on boxes and shelves on shelves of toys. There were no price tags, and most of the toys looked gently used - most likely a Lost and Found office.

Vanessa must have brought me here. And if she brought me here, I most certainly can't stay here. "Freddy?" I spoke into the FazWatch frantically, hoping he could tell me how to get out of here. "Freddy, are you there?"

"I bet you think you're real clever, Ken."

I jerked backwards, holding the FazWatch far away from my body. That didn't sound like Freddy - and he would never say anything so mean! To my surprise, the voice hadn't come from the FazWatch; there was a desk with at least five different monitors stationed above it in the room with me. At the moment, they were all turned on with the glitchy picture of the upper half of Officer Vanessa's face.

"Yeah, I know your name," Vanessa continued, sounding throughly peeved. "You're in big trouble! This is not the night to be wasting my time."

My pulse quickened as I realized she somehow knew my name, but I tried to stay calm. There was always the possibility that Vanessa was not my kidnapper - if that was the case, I might be able to reason with her. "O-Officer Vanessa," I stammered, centering my hands on the desk and attempting to appear non-threatening. "I'm sorry that I'm wasting your time, but I swear, that's not my intention!"

"Oh really?" Vanessa replied through the monitor; she sounded anything but convinced. "Then why exactly are you in the Mega Pizzaplex after hours? All of the attractions are closed, in case you didn't know!"

"Trust me, this is the last place I want to be at night," I told her. "But I was brought here against my will! Some lady picked me up while I was walking home from school and locked me in here." My face twisted at the memory; I hoped it sold my story. "She said it was some kind of game - and if you ask me, this game is pretty sick!"

Vanessa was quiet for a minute, and I thought that meant that she believed me. My hopes were squashed, though, when laughing came through the monitor. "Do you really expect me to believe that?" She asked me snidely. "First off, school hours ended a long time ago and I've only been chasing you for like two hours! If you want me to believe a ridiculous story like that, at least make it sound believable."

My anxiety went through the roof when Vanessa flat out said that she didn't believe me. To be honest, I wouldn't believe me either if I hadn't seen what I've seen with my own eyes. "I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, I'm not ly-"

"Shut up!" Vanessa ordered. "You've caused me enough trouble as it is. So you are going to wait right there in Lost and Found until your parents or the police arrive."

"No, Vanessa," I pleaded. "Please, I'm in danger!"

But Vanessa's face had already disappeared from the screens. In her place was someone wearing a felt mask with sewn-on red eyes, floppy fabric ears, and a permanent smile. "Are you having fun yet?" Came a glitchy female voice.

I gasped - it was the bunny lady I had seen earlier! "YOU-!" I yelled. "Why did you bring me here?" It probably wasn't in my place to ask questions, but now seemed like a good time to get some answers.

"Let's just say we thought you would make the game more interesting," The bunny lady told me, sounding slightly disappointed. "And I must say, this whole night feels like a re-run. I'm on my way now - unless you can find a way to make this fun."

Before I could ask her what she meant by that, all of the monitors turned off, leaving me alone in the room once more. I started to panic - she'd said that she was on her way, which meant that she was on her way here, to the Lost and Found, where she would find me and most likely kill me! I had to find a way out!

I tried the door but it was locked - of course! The only other way out was by a large vent in the wall, but it was secured in place by screws.

WAIT - I was in a Lost and Found office, for crying out loud! Who's to say someone didn't lose a screwdriver and it didn't ended up here?

I tore apart the office, getting more and more frantic with every shelf and box that came up empty. I finally found one at the very bottom of a box of lost teddy bears, taking a few triumphant moments to admire it in my hand before going to work on the vent. Thanks to my panicked mind state and inexperience with tools, it took me a little longer than I would have liked and my hand cramped up a few times, but I was eventually able to get all four screws out and I gently set the vent cover on the floor next to the opening.

I was ready to make my escape, but as I put my hand into the vent, I realized that it was starting to blur in front of me. Actually, my vision wasn't just starting to blur - everything was starting to take on a red hue around me. I remembered that I had gone through something similar before, but I had been in Freddy's stomach hatch last time.

When I'd seen the skipping rabbit lady.

My breath catching in my throat, my head slowly swiveled around on my neck to face the door of the Lost and Found. Right next to it was a semi-large window.

The felt rabbit mask I'd seen on the monitors was staring at me through that window.

When the rabbit saw that I had noticed her, she picked up her hand in a teasing wave before stepping out of sight. I realized that she was going to open the door - my window of escape was closing, fast. Whipping my head back around, I practically launched myself into the vent and scurried away from the Lost and Found.

Back into the heart of the Pizzaplex.

Away from the crazy rabbit lady who saw me as nothing more than a game.

A game she had every intention of winning.

—————

3962 words.

Yeah, it's shorter than the other chapters.

In my defense, Markiplier took forty five minutes to find the exit to the washing room, and I really didn't want to drag it out that long. Our Ken is a smart boy!

Plus, I wanted to give the other boys and PIXAL some time. We haven't seen them for a while.