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

Freddy Fazbear Pizzaplex
Ken's POV
Luckily for me and my full bladder, there was a bathroom in the Fazer Blast Waiting Room. Freddy patiently waited outside for me as I went inside and did my business; I was about to burst by the time I entered the stall. I took the FazerBlaster with me - I didn't want to be unarmed if any of the other animatronics showed up; if Vanny showed up, Project Reboot wouldn't work on her, but the blast could very well make her go blind.

I wasn't lying when I told Freddy that I had to go - and seriously, how could I need to go this bad if I hadn't eaten or drank anything all night? But it was also so I could have a few more minutes to myself. I needed time to process what I had just been through.

First was the main elephant in the room: Vanny, the bunny lady that had been hunting me, was really Vanessa, the security guard. My whirling mind found it strangely ironic that the person that was responsible for the safety of the children was actually the one they should be the most afraid of. But as for why she was doing this, as well as how she came to be like this... I had no idea. And I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know.

Yet try as I might, my mind kept wandering back to how I'd acted when I was playing laser tag. My mind had been a steel trap then, locking everything in my sight and shooting at will. I'd felt as though nothing could escape my sight or my gun, that I could shoot anything I laid eyes on - consequences later.

That feeling terrified me.

When I was done in the stall, I flushed and strode up to the sink to wash my hands. I held my palms up in the light and was shocked at how dirty they looked - my skin almost looked naturally gray. It wasn't really surprising, considering where I'd been crawling, but it felt like half an hour passed before I saw my natural pink skin again, scrubbing furiously.

Almost against my will, my eyes looked up and caught my reflection in the mirror. I almost didn't recognize the boy looking back at me. That boy had black hair matted with grime and dried blood, giving him an almost flat mane. That boy had a coat that may have been green with pink highlights at one time, but the green had been dirtied to a dull muddy color, and the pink highlights were practically nonexistent. That boy had a hollow face streaked with dirt and blood, with a peeling patch of stained band-aids on his left cheek.

The boy in the mirror had definitely seen better days, but what really made me pause was his eyes, which were bloodshot around the edges. There was a mixture of emotions warring in their green depths, though none of them were good. There was exhaustion, first and foremost; but there was also fear, confusion, irritation, sadness, desperation.

But what scared me the most was the steely stare that lied under all those emotions. The eyes never wavered; though I felt tears coming in, they refused to spill.

I hardly recognized this hardened boy staring back at me. Could this really be me?

I HAVE to get out of here.

At least I could do something about the dirty face. I took a paper towel and ran it under the faucet, then rubbed dispenser soap into the damp paper and firmly applied it to my face. When my cheeks were sore and I pulled the towel away, its torn surface was nearly black.

Feeling semi-clean, I gave my reflection a passing glance and left the bathroom. I found Freddy waiting close to the door, and he straightened when he noticed me. "Ken," He greeted, sounding surprised. "You appear... fresher."

"Yeah, it's amazing what a trip to the bathroom can do," I replied drily. I gave a small sigh before putting my hands on my hips and glancing around the Fazer Blast Waiting Room. "Okay, so you said that something in the Security Office can help us? Where would that be?"

Freddy turned and pointed to an ordinary door with a small sign that read NO ENTRY. "Through there," He told me. "Down the hall and it is the last door on your right."

I took a few steps in that direction and looked over my shoulder when Freddy didn't follow. "You're not coming?"

Freddy's eyes gave him an uncomfortable appearance. "Well... as the titular mascot of the game, I am technically one of the main players. And as a player..."

"You're not allowed in the security wing," I finished for him, growling softly. I was starting to realize that Freddy had access to a lot of things in the Pizzaplex, but even he had his limits, and it was causing me to near mine. I massaged the bridge of my nose before continuing towards the door. "Fine, I'll go by myself. Hold this." I thrusted the FazerBlaster over my shoulder in his direction. The clatter of metal against metal let me know that he'd caught it.

"I will wait right out here for you," Freddy proposed unhelpfully.

Wouldn't expect anything less, I thought as I pushed open the door. I decided it was mean, though, so I kept it inside.

Beyond the door was a plain white brick hallway that wound slightly to the left. I went down the concrete flooring, a dull contrast to the bright indigo of the Fazer Blast arena, until I came to the end and found the door that Freddy had told me about. It was the same roll-up door as the other Security Offices, and it rolled up as soon as I was near. Inside was a similar layout to the other offices; so much so that I knew exactly where the Security Badge was going to be. Sure enough, I found the Freddy Security head and pressed the nose to open its mouth. Laying in its jaws was a Security Badge with the number 5 printed on it.

Now I can enter the other animatronics' rooms without having to go through Freddy's first, I thought to myself, relieved that I wouldn't have to run into the spider bot again. I made a mental reminder to myself to drop off the Level 4 Badge the next time I was in Parts and Service, then reached in and pulled out the Badge.

The second I did, Freddy came through on my FazWatch. "Ken, they know you're here! Get the Security upgrade and get out!"

I stared down at my wrist in shock. "What? Are you kidding me?" I questioned. I quickly patted down my body and remembered that I had left the FazerBlaster with Freddy. I held up the Security Badge and stared at it like it was my enemy. "Are these things wired or something?"

I gripped the badge until the lamination began to bend, then forcefully stuffed it into my pocket. I turned towards the door to get the heck out of there; but then my gaze caught on something sticking out of one of the desk drawers. It looked like a colorful slip of paper, though there was obviously more to it. Curiosity pushed me to pull the item of interest out of its confines. I discovered it was a small paper ticket with the picture of a purple cartoon bunny balancing a bowling ball on its finger; next to the bunny were the words BONNIE BOWL: UNLIMITED PASS.

Bonnie Bowl. That sounded familiar. I brought up my FazWatch to get Freddy's take on it. "Hey, I found a ticket to Bonnie Bowl in here. And it says 'unlimited'?"

"What amazing luck!" Freddy replied immediately. "You got an annual Bonnie Bowl unlimited pass. Free bowling for a whole year! Mega Pizzaplex entry not included. Shoe and ball rental fees still apply."

I looked down at the ticket and scoffed. "Not exactly FREE, is it?" I grumbled. I turned it over in my hand, pondering my next move. "Well, I HAVE it, so what can I DO with it?"

Freddy was quiet for a minute; then I heard what sounded like a finger snap. "I know! We can use it to lure out Chica!"

I stared at my wrist. "Uhhh... does she like to bowl?" I asked dumbly.

"No no, let me explain," Freddy quickly amended. "I overheard some of the maintenance workers earlier today. They were complaining that Chica had gotten into Monty's Mystery Mix again, which wrecks havoc on her systems. The others and I have tried to talk to Chica about it, but she always dodges the subject."

"Hold up, hold up," I interrupted. "What's Monty's Mystery Mix?"

"An ice cream that the Pizzaplex developed, which has the flavoring of a pizza fresh out of the oven. Are you okay?" He asked when I choked.

"Yeah, I just threw up in my mouth a little," I told him weakly, holding a hand to said body part. I took a quick breath and swallowed the bile before continuing, "That honestly sounds disgusting. Why would Chica gorge on that?"

"Like I said before, she loves anything pizza-related," Freddy explained. "Anyway, the maintenance workers said that in order to keep the Mystery Mix away from Chica, the higher ups had them hide it in the Bonnie Bowl Ice Cream Parlor. Since Chica is not the titular mascot of the attraction, she does not have direct access to the parlor."

"So we can get the Mystery Mix and use it to lure her out - then I can take her by surprise and use Project Reboot on her!" I exclaimed, filling in the gaps. I was excited for the new plan, but something still nagged at me. "Wait... ice cream usually doesn't have a strong smell, regardless of the flavoring," I pointed out. "How am I going to lure Chica out if she can't even smell it?" Suddenly, the memory of the last time I'd had a direct encounter with her popped to the front of my brain. "Freddy, how often does Chica go down to the kitchen?"

"Oh, quite often," Freddy said readily. "Aside from Mazercise, it is her happy place. Why do you ask?"

"When I was down near the garbage compactor, the pizza smell nearly burned my nose hairs," I explained. "She's bound to notice the Mystery Mix when it's boosted by all the other pizza smells! I'll just put it in there and wait for her to take the bait!"

Freddy was silent; he sounded hesitant when he spoke again. "Alright Ken, but just... promise me that you will not take advantage of Chica when she's in there. She could get really damaged if she's caught in the garbage compactor."

I stared at my wrist in shock - I was actually insulted that he thought I would do such a thing. "Look, I know perfectly well that Chica has been a huge pain tonight," I told him assuredly. "But she's still one of your friends - I would never do that to a friend's friend!"

"Thank you, Ken," Freddy said gratefully.

"No problem, Freddy," I told him, then realized I was still in the Security Office and unarmed. "Now let's get out of here - I left the FazerBlaster with you and I do NOT want to be without it if the others show up!"

I went back through the white hallway and back into the Fazer Blast Waiting Room, where Freddy was waiting for me with the FazerBlaster in hand. I strode up to him and asked determinedly, "Okay - where's Bonnie Bowl?"

"On the third floor. Hop in," Freddy said, opening his stomach hatch. "I'll take you there."

I took the FazerBlaster from his proffered hand and climbed into the hatch, clutching the toy gun uncomfortably close to my chest. Together, we took the elevator down to the main entrance to Fazer Blast and back out onto the main floor. Freddy quickly found a line of stalled escalators and took us up two at a time. We soon arrived on the third floor - finding Bonnie Bowl was a breeze after that.

I signaled to Freddy that I wanted to exit, and I climbed out of his stomach hatch. "I can take it from here," I told him over my shoulder.

"Why?" Freddy inquired. "Would it not be more logical for us to stay together? What if one of the others catches you and I am not there to help?"

"You've been running around way too much - it's draining your battery," I explained to him sparing him a glance. "How about you go charge up, and then I'll call you when I need your help."

"Alright," Freddy responded, sounding dejected. "Just... be careful." The pounding of his footsteps on the escalator announced his exit. If only I could, I thought just as dejectedly.

With Freddy gone, I was all alone in front of Bonnie Bowl. Beside the entrance was a giant wall print of the infamous bunny mascot; the one whose fate was still undetermined, and everyone seemed content with forgetting about. The one not even Freddy what happened to. "By the end of the night, I'll know what became of you, Bonnie," I silently promised his picture. "And I'll make sure that something like this never happens again." Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like the cartoon bunny smiled at me.

At the entrance was another Party Bot, though this one had a slightly lighter color palette from the one in front of Fazer Blast. I walked up to it and it did its funny little dance before I gave it the unlimited pass, which it fed into its scanner. Pleased with my pass, it motioned me to the roll-up door and wheeled away.

The roll-up door led to a purple toned lounge area with even more pictures of Bonnie. There was another roll-up door at the other side, which also rolled up when it sensed me near. I found myself in a high ceilinged arcade area, with several old-school video games organized in clumps around the carpeted floor.

This... doesn't look like a bowling alley, I thought, slightly confused. I ventured through the consoles and was relieved to find that the arcade area was just another fun attraction for the kids - the actual bowling area with all of the ball dispensers and lanes was at the back of the room. "Okay, ice cream parlor, ice cream parlor..." I muttered to myself, scanning the area to see if I could spot anything that even remotely looked like ice cream. Luckily, there was an 80's style parlor at the edge of the alley, topped with a neon sign that read ICE CREAM. Well, that's as good a sign as any, I thought ruefully.

I hurried over to the ice cream parlor, making my way through sitting areas and ball dispensers, only to discover at the last second that I wasn't alone. The ice cream parlor was manned by a couple of bots that had headpieces that resembled orange pigtails, and their expressionless eyes were topped with three eyelashes. I considered ducking, but there was no way they hadn't already seen me. I just had to shoulder on and deal with the consequences.

Thankfully, the bots didn't appear to be activated, as they didn't even turn in my direction as I made my way around the counter. I counted my blessings and checked everywhere upfront, though I was fully aware that the bots could activate and notice me any second. Nothing labeled Monty's Mystery Mix, so there had to be more. I found two swinging doors at the back of the parlor and entered what appeared to be a long vertical hallway.

A long vertical cold hallway, I realized as my teeth started to chatter and goosebumps broke out on my arms.

Shivering, I glanced up and down the hallway. One end led to a set of stairs while the other was a dead end that had a set of shelves. I checked the shelves first. A good move on my part - I scored on the top shelf. There was a collection of nearly brick-solid boxes labeled Monty's Mystery Mix lined in a neat row.

"Oh, thank the First Spinjitzu Master!" I exclaimed, my breath making a white cloud in the frosty air. I stuck the handle of the FazerBlaster between my teeth and grabbed the box closest to me, ignoring the way the cold bit into my skin and jumping off of the shelves. On the way down, I caught a whiff of the pizza-flavored ice cream and gagged. I take back what I said about ice cream having no scent, I thought. This stuff positively REEKS.

Stuffing the smelly treat under my arm like a football and taking my FazerBlaster in my other hand, I made my way back into the ice cream parlor, through the bowling alley, through the arcade area, through the lounge area, and back onto the third floor. From there, I took the same line of escalators Freddy took back to the main floor, then made my way over to the Sides and Salad bar I'd gone to before. I found the same vent opening and peered inside at its dark depths. Trepidation sent chills down my spine as I considered the deep shadows and eventual high drop - not to mention the spider bot lurking somewhere. I couldn't even carry my flashlight to help me find my way.

At least I'm not ENTIRELY unarmed, I reminded myself, hoisting my FazerBlaster in my grip. Let's just hope that my aim is still on point.

I figured it was best to let Freddy know where I was, so I lifted up the wrist that had my FazWatch. "Freddy, in case you get this," I began. "I'm going back through the vents to the kitchen, so you won't be able to track me via signal. Just... wanted to let you know."

I took a deep breath and crouched my way into the vent system. Without my flashlight and with my hands currently occupied, I relied mostly on touch, hooking my thumb around the handle of the FazerBlaster to pull it forward as I relied on my other fingers to find my way. It was a slow process and it was agony every time I passed a sparking lightbulbs, but I was making progress.

Then I heard the telltale sound of metal skittering against metal.

Not this time, I thought defiantly, wrapping my fingers around the handle. I was ready.

I pulled the FazerBlaster to my chest and peeked over my shoulder. I could barely see anything in the shadows, but I thought I could make out the shape of something small moving against the light from the sparking lightbulbs. It was close - getting closer. Every nerve was stretched tight and sweat was poring from every pore in my body, but I forced myself to keep still.

Almost...

There! I could make out its eyes!

Without a second thought to slow me down, I aimed the barrel of the FazerBlaster over my shoulder and fired in the direction of the bot's eyes. There was a flash of green, its form shook and convulsed against the light from the broken lightbulbs, and it released a sound that was equivalent to that of nails on a chalkboard. After a few seconds, it stilled and the vent was silent for the first time all night.

With that done, I turned painstakingly around so I could face it fully, then set the FazerBlaster down so I could take my flashlight out of my pocket. I shone the beam on the bot, revealing that it had a pinkish exterior that was nearly dirtied beyond recognition. Its cracked cymbal hands may have been a bright yellow at one point, though now they were more a muddy brown. Its bulbous eyes were so dirty, it was a wonder it could see anything.

Now that I could see it up close, it didn't seem so scary. It just seemed... sad. And alone.

I don't know how long I knelt there, staring at the spider bot, though it felt a lot longer than the amount of time it took for the bots to renter the game in Fazer Blast. Eventually its cymbal hands twitched and its head slowly raised in my direction. It seemed to stare at me for a while, tilting its head this way and that as if it didn't know what to make of me. I got the impression that it was waiting for me to speak, so I decided to start a conversation.

"H-Hello," I said softly. I didn't bother to be very loud - the vents were great at boosting vocals. "M-My name is Ken. What's your name?" In answer, it turned on its many tiny legs and showed me a label on its side that I hadn't seen before. It was faded, but I could make out the words MUSIC MAN PRO. 3. "Music Man," I read out loud. "So that's your name! This whole time, I was calling you 'spider bot'." It shook its head and rose up on its legs, clacking its teeth in an indignant manner; I had to laugh at its display of arrogance. "Yeah yeah, poor name, I'm sorry. In my defense, I didn't have a lot to work with."

Music Man turned to fully face me. Its bulbous eyes looked up and down the vent system before focusing back on me. Its cymbal hands moved in a shrugging motion and its head tilted, the picture of confusion.

"Oh trust me, I'm not entirely sure what's going on, either," I told it, shaking my own head. "But I can tell you what YOU were mostly doing. Every time I went into these vents, you chased me. You put up a good fight, too - I barely escaped with my life a few times."

Music Man stumbled back a few steps and pulled back one of its cymbal hands to its small torso, shaking its head vigorously. I had to sympathize with its show of denial. "I'm sorry, but it's true. Someone must have programmed you to patrol the vent systems to make sure I would have trouble getting around. And I have a pretty good idea of who did it, too..." I angled my flashlight down so it could see the FazerBlaster at my feet. "Luckily, with this, I was able to flush that programming out of you."

Music Man eyed the toy gun, reaching out to toe it curiously with one of its feet. It looked back up at me and showed me it's cymbals as if to ask So what next?

"You're not the only one who's been chasing me," I informed it, offering it that one bit of solace. "The main animatronics have been after me all night. My main goal is to use the FazerBlaster on them, too. That was what I was going to do... er, before I ran into you. Speaking of which," I said listlessly, starting to turn around in the vent. "I should probably get back to it."

All of a sudden, Music Man rushed forward and brushed the fabric of my torn pants with its cymbals, looking up at me almost pleadingly. "Do you... want to come with me?" I asked. It was just a guess, so I was surprised when it nodded quickly. This small robot, one who had been chasing me and giving me the fright of my life all night, suddenly wanted to assist me? It was almost too ridiculous to be real.

But then my eyes caught sight of the FazerBlaster, glinting gold in the beam from my flashlight. I helped it, I reminded myself. It's better now. And now it wants to help me.

"Well, I could use some company for this next part," I relented with a sigh. "And I guess it doesn't hurt to have a friend." I scooted back a little ways and set down my flashlight so that it cast a spooky spotlight on Music Man, then held my hand out to it. "Alright - climb on up." Seemingly delighted at my willingness to trust it, it crawled up my arm and perched on my shoulder. It glanced at the length of the vents behind us and gestured with one of its cymbals, as if to say Onward! "Onward," I agreed with a smile.

After making sure my new companion was balanced nicely, I replaced my flashlight in my pocket and took back the FazerBlaster. With my sight once again plunged into darkness, I had to rely on touch in order to find my way through the vents. I resumed my slow progress, though I was no longer afraid of what might lay in the shadows. Music Man took the liberty of pushing my hair away from the still-sparking lightbulbs, which probably saved me a trip to the doctor or at the very least a hairdresser.

The ice cream was starting to get warm under my arm, which released its putrid stink even more. I hoped to get to the kitchen at least before it completely melted.

Soon enough, my fingers felt a slight dip in the vent floor; I realized it was the sharp decline that I'd slid down like a playground slide the last time I'd been through here. "Things are about to get fast," I told my passenger. "So you better hold on tight. OW!" I exclaimed when it responded by digging its tiny feet further into my shoulder. "NOT THAT TIGHT!"

When Music Man somewhat released its hold on my shoulder, I swept my legs out from under myself and pushed myself into the decline. A few winding turns later, we were spat onto the harsh concrete floor. I made sure that Music Man was still attached to me before heading to the door that lead to the beginning of the kitchen.

I pulled the door open using two fingers from the hand holding my FazerBlaster, yet almost immediately slammed it shut. There were security bots patrolling the platforms between the generators. There weren't ANY security bots the last time I was down here. If even one of them saw us, the others would be on us in seconds. I could probably take down one at a time - not all three of the main mascots!

Vanny. That was the only explanation for the enhanced security. She knew I had already been down there and was making sure I couldn't backtrack, at least not without some difficulties. "Vanny's not going to make this easy for us," I muttered in disdain, keeping the door open a crack and peering out at the security bots. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Music Man tilt its head at me. "Long story."

Whatever. I knew how to sneak past these guys. I snuck out of the starting room, making sure to close the door silently behind me, and made my way down to the main maze of platforms. Whenever one security bot progressed, so did I, moving behind its back. The entire thing was nerve racking. It was even getting to Music Man, too - I felt it shaking on my shoulder the whole way.

I eventually found the office with numerous computers; the empty desks were a welcome sight, and Music Man stopped shaking when we entered the space. From there, it was a simple matter of retracing my steps through the office, to the Security Office, down the stairs to the main floor, and through the door to the kitchen.

A rustle in the corner of the room made me pause, but it confirmed my suspicion. Chica was down here. I briefly mused that she must have gone to the kitchen directly from Fazer Blast. Show time.

I immediately found the trash compactor - kind of hard to miss, since it was a giant hole in the wall. The combined smell of burnt and rotting pizza assaulted my nose as I walked over, so I resolved to breathing through my mouth. Kneeling by the hole, I removed the now lukewarm ice cream from beneath my arm and placed it on the pile of trash bags and moldy pizza boxes. The melting of the product inside had caused the box to become soggy, which made it easy for me to rip open the cardboard with one hand and expose the ice cream to the air outside. Its scent became even stronger, and the color of the ice cream itself was a sickly green that was dotted with black to give the illusion of cartoon alligator scales.

"Monty sure has some weird merchandise," I said out loud, still trying not to breathe through my nose. Music Man nodded its head next to my ear.

With that done, I quickly backed away and looked for somewhere to hide. I picked a cabinet a few yards away from the garbage compactor and ducked behind it. I held my hand up to Music Man, searching from some comfort as my heart pounded loudly in my chest. "You and me now, buddy," I told it. The tiny robot squeezed my knuckles between its cymbals reassuringly.

We didn't have to wait long for Chica. Soon enough, the sound of her loud footsteps ricocheted through the empty kitchen, along with the creeping declaration of "I smell pizza". Her white and pink exterior came into view, limping towards the garbage compactor. She practically fell to her metallic knees next to the pile of bags, digging into the trash with a wild abandon. She grabbed fistfuls of the stuff, shoving it inside her beak, moaning with what I could only assume was robotic pleasure.

The entire picture made me sick, but I had to do what I came to do. I tightened my fist in Music Man's grasp, and it tightened its cymbals around mine in turn. Let's do this.

I took a deep breath and then stood up, leveling the FazerBlaster across my forearm in the process. "Hey Chica!" I called out. She didn't give any indication that she'd heard me, so I tried again. "HEY CHICA!" This time, she peeked over her shoulder.

The second she did, I lined up my shot and pulled the trigger.

Chica twitched for a second afterwards before stilling, leaning slightly on her knees. The trash that had been in her mouth and hands fell to the ground with a soft clatter. I waited for a few seconds to check if she would move again. When she remained unmoving, I heaved a relieved breath and held my hand up for Music Man to take. "To be honest, that was pretty anticlimactic," I told it, leaning against the cabinet for emphasis.

I started when I felt something give under my weight. I quickly jumped away from the cabinet and found that it wasn't really a cabinet - there was a Freddy-head button mounted on its side. The height seemed inconvenient by normal standards, but it was at the perfect height for someone with full hands to bump with their foot.

Or for a boy who felt the need to lean against a cabinet to accidentally press.

"Uh oh," I muttered in a panic as a warning alarm echoed through the kitchen. I carefully swiveled my head around, ever mindful of Music Man still on my shoulder. "What did that set off? WHAT DID THAT SET OFF?" The frantic tapping of Music Man's cymbal against my temple drew my attention back to the garbage compactor - and my stomach dropped. The ceiling was slowly descending.

And Chica's top half was still partially inside the compactor.

"Great First Spinjitzu Master - CHICA!" I exclaimed, rushing forward. In a sudden burst of strength, I grabbed her pink imitation of a shoulder pad and yanked her back from the hole. The ceiling came down to crush the rest of the garbage, flattening it into a multicolored pancake; the wall was next, pressing the pancake into vague cube shapes. Finally, the bottom of the compactor opened up, dumping the lumpy shapes into a tunnel of endless shadow.

When the last lump disappeared from sight, I allowed myself a breath of relief and let go of Chica's shoulder pad. A bad move on my part - gravity pulled Chica's body back into her original position and didn't stop there. Before I could blink, she had fallen forward and disappeared into the shadows of the compactor.

Two thoughts ran through my head when she vanished:

What have I done?

Go after her!

So before I could second guess myself, I stuffed the FazerBlaster down my coat and jumped in after her.

—————

5496 words.

Ken's learning how to make friends.

How will the story change from here?