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

Freddy Fazbear Pizzaplex
Ken's POV
We set off through the shadowy hallway, my flashlight beam never wavering from Freddy's hunched form. I was glad that we were traveling together again and that he knew where he was going, but my relief did nothing to squash my worry for him. He was still limping and holding his middle as if something was truly paining him, yet he kept pushing himself for my sake. He was kind of like Shu with Valt that way.

Only Shu nearly permanently damaged his shoulder pushing himself for Valt's sake, I reminded myself. I hope Freddy doesn't have to do that with me.

Freddy led me through a dizzying maze of halls that made me grateful that he was the one leading. He may have been the injured one, but I still felt myself hurrying to catch up with his sweeping footsteps. More than once, I debated asking him to slow down, but I didn't want to risk putting more strain on him than I probably already was. And if his body was shutting down, it was better if we got to Parts and Service sooner rather than later.

Eventually we came to a short flight of stairs that led up to a nondescript door. Freddy went ahead and opened the door, revealing that we were back in the main atrium, where most of the attractions were; I looked to my left and realized the door had spat us out right next to the stage.

Freddy led the way up a few steps onto the stage, then came to a stop in the center. "Ken, my systems are failing," He told me weakly, looking and sounding exhausted. The hand that wasn't holding his middle lifted to point shakily at the opposite side of the room. "Go to the sound booth on the third floor balcony. Run the performance program on that disk, then meet me back on the stage." His arm dropped like a weight. "Please hurry. You do not have much time. I will wait here."

I eyed the third floor balcony that he'd pointed at, then at the path up to it. The place looked like it had been reserved for a large birthday party - several long tables topped with neat lines of colorful cone hats made a neat grid in front of the stage. Other than a few security bots roaming the spaces between the tables, it didn't look like it was that heavily patrolled. I couldn't see any sign of the other animatronics anywhere.

That being said, this night had taught me that the animatronics are fast, and they can turn up when you least expect them.

I had qualms, but Freddy needed my help. "Alright - save your strength," I told him, placing my hand on his arm in a way I hoped was reassuring. When he said nothing to stop or contradict me, I turned around and jumped off the stage.

Once I was on the floor, I made for the pathway between the party tables. Security bots were making rounds through the pathway, so I had to pause every few feet to let a couple of bots go past before making a break for the next line of tables. The entire time, I kept an eye and an ear out for the other animatronics, positive that they were going to show up any minute. Sure enough, the rough voice of Monty called from somewhere in the otherwise empty room, "Hey kid, come on out. We're only trying to help."

I highly doubt that, but I know you think you're trying to help me, I thought sadly. I didn't know exactly what was going on with the mascots, but the purple computer chip that I'd found in the Security Office had given me a clue - someone was most likely hacking them and convincing them that they were helping return a lost child to its parents.

My heart ached with the hope that they would wake up soon and come to the conclusion that they weren't helping me, but hunting me.

A bright light appeared at the top of my vision. Looking up, I saw that a spotlight had been activated on one of the higher balconies, and it was making a steady trek through the party tables. It probably had a purpose that made the show more enjoyable for the audience, like illuminating a lucky child as they made their way to the stage, having been selected by the animatronics to join them for a song.

But if I had to guess, I'd say that its main purpose tonight was to find me and give every robot in the pizzeria a searchlight to locate me with.

I made a point to keep out of the beam of the spotlight and continued making my way to the escalator that lead to the second floor. I hadn't realized before, but the escalator wasn't moving, making it even more time consuming to get up the steps. I took them three at a time to make up for lost time, emerging on the second floor slightly out of breath, yet eager to get my task done and get back to Freddy.

"Third floor, third floor, third floor," I repeated under my breath, swiveling my head around to find some way up to the floor above me. My gaze landed on a line of metal security barriers at one end of the floor, which would prevent me from going that way. I racked my brain of what had happened in the night so far, but I couldn't recall there being so many barriers on this floor as of yet. The rabbit lady, I realized, gritting my teeth at the memory of her smug, albeit glitchy, tone. She must be trying to make it harder for me to get around.

I glanced over my shoulder at the main stage and allowed a small grin to pull at my face. Well. Little does she know, I have some inside help.

Or did she know by this point? I honestly didn't know, nor did I want to know; better to have the benefit of the doubt.

Well, regardless if the rabbit lady knew Freddy was helping me or not, I now knew that every hallway and walkway was going to get harder to navigate as the night wore on. Luckily for me, there didn't seem to be any escalators up to the third floor on that side of the security barriers, anyway. So I went the opposite way, and I soon noticed the promising slope of a set of stairs. I headed that way.

"I bet you don't even have friends..."

Oh great. Roxy is here, too.

Breath hitching, I slowed down and took in the second floor in front of me, trying to see where Roxy was. I spotted her walking by the glass railing, her metal claws out and curled, looking every bit a wolf on the prowl. There was no way I was going to get past her without her seeing me. My eyes went stretching for a hiding place, landing squarely on a line of baby strollers against the back wall. Not exactly ideal - but I had no other choice.

I selected the stroller closest to me and rolled up the polyester covering. I took a moment to gawk at the space inside. The toddlers they bring to the Pizzaplex must be huge - there was plenty of room for me to slip inside, draw my knees to my chest, and pull the covering back over my head. There was an opening covered by a felt grid in the polyester that acted as a window into the space outside. I had a full view of Roxy as she continued her trek next to the glass railing, eventually walking out of my line of sight. I waited for a few moments to make sure she didn't backtrack, then slowly pushed up the covering, carefully (and clumsily) extracted myself from the stroller, and made a break for the escalators.

These escalators were deactivated, too - I practically flew up them to compensate their lack of movement, not wanting to risk Roxy seeing me. After two flights of the stalled steps, I emerged on the third floor and slowed down. I hadn't been on this floor yet - I had no idea what to expect.

"Where are you?"

Chica. Okay, I kind of expected that.

Chica was just standing in the center of the floor, still making her concerning twitches. She was faced outward, towards the main stage, so I assumed that meant she wasn't paying attention to what was going on behind her. Keeping an eye on her, I made a slow advance towards the space along her back; when she didn't seem to notice me, I broke into a full out sprint and blew past her. Ducking behind a planter, I peeked out to check if she had seen me. She was still staring out at the main stage; after a few seconds, she turned and walked the other way.

I sighed in relief and checked my surroundings. Not far from my hiding place was a slightly elevated stage surrounded by metal walls. From what I could see, there seemed to be a series of desks and computers set up on the stage - it was probably the sound booth Freddy had told me about. Double checking that Chica was a safe distance away, I left the safety of the planter and ran to the stage.

Once within the few walls of the sound booth, I found that there was a lot more computer screens and technology that I had originally anticipated. Now I really wish Naoki or PIXAL was here, I thought anxiously as I searched among the keyboards and sound systems for something that could play the Showtime disk. They would know how to make heads or tails of this stuff.

Eventually I came across a simple disk player that looked roughly the same size as the disk. Elated about the fact that this technology was one I could work with, I slipped the disk out of my pocket, opened the top of the player, and secured it inside. After I closed the top, my finger found the power button and I pressed it. A second later, loudspeakers hidden in the ceiling started to play a cheery electric tune.

"That should do it," I said out loud, proud of myself for accomplishing the task. "Now I have to get back to Freddy." I looked out to the main stage, which was still lit up with the light from the holographic animatronics. Looking at the dancing images, it was easy to forget that they were currently hunting me: they looked so energetic and happy, creating a soundless melody with their various instruments as they moved slowly above the stage. Chica with her guitar, Monty with his bass, Roxy with her keyboard, and Freddy with his microphone.

My eyes caught on Freddy's shape, which was dark from the light of the holograms. He looked sickly even from my vantage point, a large contrast to the happy singing version of him dancing right above his head. Seeing the two Freddy's side by side was almost surreal - it made me realize just how much this night had affected him. He was a mascot, an singing bear loved by children everywhere - he wasn't supposed to be running around, helping a teenager, who wasn't even supposed to be here, survive.

Yet he's still helping me, I thought remorsefully. I pressed my hands into the desk in front of me and hoped that Freddy could feel my apology and my thanks from here.

I listened to the song coming over the loudspeakers, noticing that there was no singing along with the music. It occurred to me that Freddy was supposed to sing along to the tune - of course his voice wouldn't be included in the track. Thinking back over the events of the night, I realized that I had never heard Freddy sing. I silently swore that when the night was over and I got to go home, I'd come back (during the day, obviously) and listen to one of his shows.

I became painfully aware that I was wasting time, and that the lights were most likely going to go out soon. I left the sound booth and made my way towards the escalators that had taken me up here. It was time to make my trek again, only in reverse this time around.

Once I was back on the second floor, I headed to the escalators that would take me down to the first floor. Only problem was I spotted Roxy and Chica heading my way - with two pairs of eyes, it would be next to impossible to sneak past them. I eyed another line of large baby strollers and decided what the heck; it took me a split second to roll up the polyester covering and slip inside, closing the covering in my wake.

Through the makeshift window, I saw Roxy and Chica walk a few paces past the strollers before Roxy suddenly stopped and turned towards the stroller; Chica continued on. She was close enough for me to make out the flaring of her metallic nostrils as the sound of heavy sniffing filled the air. My blood froze and I did my best to slow my breathing. It was a known fact that wolves had an acute sense of smell - just how how true to her design was Roxy?

Luckily for me, not that much, because Roxy eventually gave the strollers one last scalding look and walked on to the escalators.

That went to the first floor.

Where I needed to go in order to get back to Freddy.

It's fine, I told myself, not daring to speak out loud in case Roxy had an acute sense of hearing, too. There are two sets of escalators to the first floor - I'll just take the other one. I cautiously pushed up the stroller covering, double checked my surroundings, then leapt out of my polyester refuge and sprinted across the second floor to the other escalator.

On the first floor, I noticed that there was a line of photo booths next to the party tables that the security bots weren't patrolling; the sides that weren't facing the tables formed a straight shot to the stage. Why didn't I notice this before? I thought bitterly. It would have saved me a lot of time. I ran through the line of photo booths, all the while keeping an eye out for the security bots and the other animatronics. I hadn't seen Monty yet, but I'd heard him, and I didn't trust him not to pop up.

I made it to the main stage without any opposition, greeting Freddy with the brightest smile I could muster. "I did it!" I told him ecstatically.

"Great job, superstar," Freddy told me as warmly as he could, as he was still having trouble speaking. "Just push that button, and the lift will take us down to Parts and Service." I looked around to see what he was referring to, and discovered that there was an elevated Freddy head button in the center of the stage. Wondering how I could have missed it before, yet choosing not to comment, I pressed the button, and the stage beneath us jerked. Part of the floor separated and we started to descend into the bowels of the Pizzaplex. I started to think we were home free. Well... not literally.

Then the lights in the shaft went out, and I saw a pair of red eyes attached to a round face at the edge of the platform.

"F-Freddy!" I stammered, rushing over to him and hiding behind his back. I pointed a shaky finger at the dark shape. "T-there - holding onto the stage! I-I think that's Moony!"

Freddy glanced in the direction I was gesturing, though I doubted he could really see it. "I am afraid our time is up - the lights are out," He told me. "Quickly - we must get to the Recharge Station! Follow me once we reach the bottom."

I nodded jerkily and eyed Moony as we continued our descent. He seemed to notice that I was watching him and waved jauntily at me, then let go of the platform and vanished from sight.

I didn't like that.

After what felt like an eternity, we reached the bottom of the lift shaft and came to a roll up door. Freddy left his place in front of me and walked up to it, causing the door to roll up and leaving me without my shield. I got my flashlight out and quickly followed him, casting a glance back at the platform in an attempt to track Moony. With the lights out, I couldn't see him.

"It's past your bedtime."

I shuddered. I could hear him, though.

Even in his weakened state, Freddy found it in him to quickly move through the basement, with me doing my best to keep up with his stride. My flashlight formed a bobbing beacon on his stumbling form as we wove through countless hallways, once again making me glad that he was taking the lead. I kept my senses on high alert for Moony. He was hot on our tail and kept getting closer, and his creepy comments - like "Bad children must be found... bad children must be punished." - seemed to haunt the halls.

We eventually came to a small room that was awash in the blue light from a Recharge Station. Remembering the last time we were in one, I turned to Freddy. "Should I get in your stomach hatch for this next part?" I asked him.

"I am sorry, Ken," Freddy told me remorsefully, glancing down at his hand on the hatch in question. "I am in no condition to carry you."

Starting to panic, I shone my flashlight at the Recharge Station, then at the hallway where Moony was surely going to appear from any minute. "Then... how do we do this?"

"It does not necessarily have to be an animatronic in the Recharge Station," Freddy informed me. "It just needs to be turned on in order to start the Recharge Cycle for the rest of the Pizzaplex."

I shone my light back at the red cylinder. "But in that case, shouldn't you get in there?" I inquired.

"The Daycare Attendant will grab you the moment he finds you, and then who knows what will happen next?" Freddy reasoned; I couldn't help but notice that his voice was getting weaker. "He is not likely to harm me - I will be fine. Quickly, enter the Recharge Station."

I still wasn't sure, but I found it hard to argue with him. With one last glance down the hallway, I rushed to the red cylinder and pressed the panel along the side. The door slid open with a slight hiss and I slipped into the illuminated interior.

As soon as I stepped inside and the door closed, a resounding THUD came from the room outside. With a bad feeling turning my stomach, I glanced through the bulbous window.

The bad feeling gave way to my entire stomach falling to my feet.

Freddy was on his back, his glowing eyes looking at the ceiling but, I suspected, not seeing. His limbs were strewn star-style around him, as if he'd done a backwards prat fall. Moony was stationed near his feet, both of his thin hands around Freddy's ankles. Almost as if he sensed my eyes on him, his burning red eyes swiveled up to meet mine through the glass.

"No no no no," I muttered, pressing my palms against the window. I wanted to get out, to help Freddy, but I'd already started the Recharge Cycle and the door stubbornly remained closed. I could only watch helplessly as the machine hummed and buzzed around me. "Moony, please - don't do it!"

I don't know if Moony could hear me or not. Either way, he lifted his arm to wave at me, then dug his heels into the floor and disappeared down an adjoining hallway.

And took my only ally, as well as my only way out of here, with him.

—————

Somewhere in Downtown Japan
No One's POV
The boys and PIXAL stood outside the alley as Jin made his call to his mother, Night. They made quite an odd spectacle - nineteen boys and a young woman wearing different color schemes, leaning against the brick walls like some kind of juvenile Crayon Gang. It crossed several of their minds that they probably looked very suspicious to the few passerby, and wondered if they should move back into the alley.

But no one dared to move. They had all met Night, knew she could get menacing when she was angry. The first time they'd met her, Jin had lied to her about being a Master and going to the Monastery everyday.

No one wanted to be in the vicinity when Jin told her that they were currently in a crime scene downtown, and that one of their own had been kidnapped.

Jin's side of the conversation was heard clearly from the alley: "Hi, Mama... yeah, I'm fine... um, here's the thing - you know how I called you before and told you that... oh, you knew it was a lie... 'can't get anything past you', okay... then why did you... knew it was something important... um... do you remember Ken... the ventriloquist from the National Tournament... I think you met him when you showed up at the Monastery... yeah, that's him... uh, he's kind of... missing... I mean he's been kidnapped... we don't know where he is, but we have his stuff, and he sent out an SOS signal a while ago - we're just assuming he was kidnapped... WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU... WHAT... FOR STARTERS, I KNEW YOU WOULD FREAK OUT LIKE THIS... I'm fine, Ken is the one in trouble... I'm not a baby anymore, Mama... well, we have a plan on how to find him, but it involves splitting up and talking to strangers... yeah, some of the smaller kids are a little squeamish... I-I think it's a little belittling to call it 'chaperoning'... -sigh- yeah, that's basically what it is... so you'll do it? Great!" He gave her the details of their location, then said a hasty goodbye and appeared at the entrance to the alley. "She's on her way."

PIXAL took the opportunity to take charge. "Alright, now that could take several-"

A blur of copper shot down the street towards the group, making its way to Jin and nearly toppling the poor boy with all the strength of a mother's love. "I'm here!" Came the fierce declaration of Night. Her clothing - consisting of a pair of sweatpants, a thin looking t-shirt, and an unzipped jacket - looked like it was thrown on last minute and she was breathing pretty heavily, but the constant spark in her gray eyes hadn't diminished in the slightest.

"-seconds," PIXAL finished with a wide eyed stare at the newcomer.

"Where did she come from?" Honcho asked Orochi, both boys staring while also keeping a safe distance from the well-known Mama Shark.

"I don't know," Orochi responded truthfully, since not even he had heard her approach.

"Sorry I'm late," Night said breathlessly, plopping a kiss on the top of Jin's head. She waved one hand in front of her dramatically while the other wrapped around her adoptive son protectively. "Traffic." (Anyone know this reference?)

The boys around her gave her curious looks, then eyed the neighborhood around them. No one was on the sidewalks at this time of night, nor were any cars on the street; the only light came from the sparse streetlights and the windows of the soon-to-be-closing businesses. The boys glanced back at Night, deciding not to comment.

Jin let his mother squeeze him for a few seconds before choking out, "Mama... why are... you here... so soon?"

Night looked down at him with a firm expression. "Number one, you called me here, and I always make time for my baby," She told him teasingly, adding her other arm to the one sided hug. "Number two, I watched that Ken boy during the National Tournament, and during my visit to the Monastery. He seems like a sweet boy with his little puppets, and if he's been kidnapped, you can rest easy knowing that I will track down the guilty party and spill their entrails." She sounded stone-cold serious as she said it; the boys shot nervous looks at each other behind her back.

PIXAL blinked, yet did the wise thing and didn't contradict the mother. "Alright, so there are lines of businesses at either end of that side street," She explained, gesturing to the walkway behind them. "That is where Ken sent the SOS signal, and we found his things there as well. Needless to say, that's probably where the abduction happened. We've already questioned all, or at least most, of the businesses at either end; everyone says that they didn't see Ken. Just because the people say they didn't see Ken, though, doesn't mean that they don't have cameras that did see. The plan is we split our team into two groups - that way, we can cover both sides of the street and question all of the still-open businesses before they close."

Night nodded, showing she understood the situation. "And from what Jin told me, some of the little ones are a little nervous?" She asked, giving the group a side eye. The younger boys blushed, embarrassed, and averted their eyes.

"Yes," PIXAL admitted, sounding tired. "So I can't thank you enough for coming out to help chaperone."

Kit's face turned beet red. "D-Don't call it chaperoning!" He told PIXAL from where he was huddling behind Yugo. "We're not babies!"

PIXAL stared blankly at him. "Do you really need me to respond to that?" She asked him. Kit's face turned even darker and he ducked back behind Yugo.

Night snickered. "No worries, Miss PIXAL - whoops, my mistake, Miss Piper," She amended respectfully, since the Nindroid was in her peachy human form. "I'm always happy to come out and help a few kids - especially if my little Jin is among them!"

"Yeah, except I'm not a kid," Jin muttered at her side.

"You will always be my baby boy," Night told him firmly, pressing her lips against his head again. She broke away as her mouth stretched into a yawn. "Though, while we're on the subject," She said breathily, turning back to PIXAL. "Can we make sure the next call is during the day?"

PIXAL smiled. "I make no promises when it comes to such matters, Miss Night," She said playfully. As the copper haired mother rubbed her eyes, the Nindroid clapped her hands. "Right - let's begin."

She and Night worked together to scrape together two groups - PIXAL would take one group to one side of the street while Night would take the other group to the other side. Jin was obviously put into Night's group; Naoki tried to join them, but Night forcefully pushed him into PIXAL's group and traded him for Daigo, who went along with it simply because he didn't want to aggravate the mother further.

With the two groups formed, they split up and went to opposite ends of the side street. Both groups had one mission in mind: ask to get information about the cameras; therefore, information about Ken.

By any means necessary.

—————

4622 words.

Ta-dah! Mama Night made an appearance!

NightBear15 and I were talking about adding her, and I liked the concept of Jin's mother making a comeback so much that I did it - 9 parts in.

Hoo boy...

Anyways, I hope you like it!