Work Text:
Vanessa sighed as the doors to the Pizzaplex opened in front of her. It had only been a couple days since the events that had transpired there. All of the animatronics were still being repaired in the maintenance room, which somehow made the empty building feel even emptier. She wasn't looking forward to going back to a place that held such painful memories. She anxiously tugged at the sleeve of her uniform, the feeling of the heavy fabric against her skin becoming more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment. She paused just in front of the main doors, taking a deep breath. "Just get in, get it over with, get out. Get in, get it over with, get out…" Vanessa thought to herself.
She quickly straightened her posture and smoothed the wrinkles on her sleeve, then walked through the beckoning doors.
As soon as she entered the building, her senses were being assaulted by the atmosphere of the Pizzaplex. There were advertisements plastered on all the bright screens. Everything was colored in brilliant neon as far as the eye could see. The scent of new plastics and the lingering smell of dozens of different kinds of snack foods formed an odd and familiar amalgamation that filled the room. Music from half a dozen different stores poured into the main lobby, clashing with the music already playing over the main speakers and forming a cacophony of mismatched sounds and rhythms.
Vanessa closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing. "Get it over with, get out. Get it over with, get out." She heard slow footsteps approaching behind her. She opened her eyes and turned back to look at Gregory, his face blank as he glanced around the lobby. He glanced at his fazwatch and adjusted his backpack before looking up at Vanessa. After a moment or two, Vanessa shook her head and smiled at Gregory.
"Right," she said as she turned towards him, pulling a spare security card and some spare passes out of her pocket, "I guess I'll just... let you go off and do your own thing then..." She handed him the card and passes, with just enough clearance to let him into places like one of the various arcades scattered about the building and some of the other attractions. She knew he could probably find a way into those places anyways, but it would be safer, and would end with less property damage, if she just gave him the clearance needed to enter.
"Yeah, I guess so..." Gregory said as they stared at each other for a few moments as the building began to still, with most of the shops now starting to close down for the night. After a few more awkward moments, Vanessa clicked her tongue and turned away from Gregory, starting to venture deeper into the Pizzaplex.
"Well, I should probably check in and get to work," Vanessa said as she turned to glance back at Gregory. "If you need anything, let me know and... uh... have fun." She paused for a moment. "And please, try to stay out of trouble..." Gregory huffed and rolled his eyes at her before meandering further into the Pizzaplex. After he left, Vanessa turned back towards the main office and went over to check in.
The first half of Vanessa's shift was fairly boring. She checked the stores in the lobby after they had closed, making sure everything was locked and accounted for and making sure no one was hiding in the back storerooms, then moved on to the shops and party rooms at the daycare and the theater, and finally proceeded on to the main atrium.
The atrium was bright and colorful, plastered floor to ceiling with ads and pictures of the animatronics, the star attractions of the Pizzaplex. Despite the vibrant atmosphere, the overwhelmingly familiar scenery put Vanessa on edge as she wandered the first floor. She took a deep breath. "Get it over with, get out…" She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I can't wait to get my old job back," she muttered to herself. She slowly continued through the first floor of the atrium, occasionally bumping into a staffbot or two along the way. Although most of the major attractions had been shut down for the night, the area was still filled with an interesting mix of music and sound effects pouring into open space around her.
Vanessa quickly turned her head as she heard one of the doors behind her open, and out of the corner of her eye she saw something quietly dart into one of the side halls connecting the various attractions. She held her breath for a moment, contemplating what to do next. "That wasn't a staffbot…" She thought as she took a step back, realizing that the only thing that it could have been was a person. She felt her heartbeat start pounding faster in her chest as she stared at the slowly closing door. Would she have to deal with a dangerous intruder? Would she have to follow this stranger into the dark hallways that wound like a maze through the entire pizzaplex? Would she really have to do this all alone?
She tightly shut her eyes before taking a few deep breaths, trying to slow down her heartbeat. "Get it over with… get out…" She opened her eyes and hesitantly walked over to the door, pausing for a moment with her hand hovering over the door handle. "If there is someone in here, might as well try and figure out what they're doing here… I guess…" She thought as she huffed anxiously before pulling open the door and quickly walking through.
The halls smelled musty and stagnant, the walls mostly dismal gray concrete. A few sections were plastered with colorful posters, all of them with the smiling faces of the animatronics, most captioned with some half-baked slogan or warning about workplace safety. She wanders through the halls, trying her best to keep her footsteps quiet, though she could hardly hear them over the sound of her heartbeat thumping in her ears. "Get it over with… get it over with…" She pulled at the hem of her sleeve anxiously, her breathing slow and deliberate as she tried to stay calm. She slowly turned the corner, and stopped dead in her tracks.
A little girl was standing at the other end of the hall, facing away from her. Her light pink sweater stood out in stark contrast to the dark gray walls. Her blonde pigtails bounced as she skipped over to one of the other posters on the wall, admiring all the bright colors and giggling at the characters on the posters. Behind her, she dragged a worn-looking Chica plush, covered in dust from the hallway floors. She continued to wander from poster to poster, completely unaware of Vanessa's presence.
Vanessa stared wide-eyed at the child, her heartbeat pounding louder and louder in her ears as her surroundings narrowed, her focus fixed. She could feel a tightness in her chest as she slowly blinked, her heartbeat going faster and faster with each second. She blinked again, and when she opened her eyes, the world was tinted red. "No…" She looked down at herself, and immediately felt her entire body tense up. She was wearing a patchwork costume, the hand stitching and the pattern unmistakable. "No no no no…" She thought as she raised a shaking gloved hand up to her face, struggling to breathe. "No… this… this isn't possible…" She felt her breathing getting heavier as she turned her hand over and over again. "I-I got rid of it… I-I BURNED it… this isn't possible!" She thought, bringing her other hand into her view and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the glinting metal of the blade she held in her hand.
Her focus snapped back in front of her when she heard muffled sobs in the shadows. The room was different from the hallway she had just been in. It was dark and smelled of iron and old, rotting cardboard. There were shelves on either side of her filled with boxes, so much so that the shelves sagged under their weight. And, backed into the corner of the room was the little girl in the pink sweater, her eyes red and tears streaming down her face. Vanessa's heart broke when she looked at the little girl. She was clutching her arm, blood seeping between her fingers, and her Chica plush was on the ground in front of her, spattered with blood and slashed open, spilling its stuffing onto the floor.
Vanessa attempted to back away and drop the knife, trying to salvage the situation or at least avoid causing more harm, but nothing happened. She struggled and fought as much as she could, but her body didn't respond. Instead, against her will, she painfully took a step forward. "No no no stop!" A sickening, familiar cackle echoes in the room around her. She tried to fight against herself as she took another step forward, each movement agonizing as Vanny forced her to advance. "Stop!" Vanessa thought as she took another step, her head forcibly tilting to the side as she stared into the terrified child's eyes. "Stop! Please, stop!" She mentally screamed as Vanny's laughter filled the room, much louder than humanly possible as the echo was distorted in the hollow bars on the shelves, creating a dull ringing as the metal shook.
"Let's have some fun!" Vanny said as she lunged forward and grabbed the child by the arm, pulling her closer as she raised the knife in her other hand. Every muscle in her body ached and burned as she tried in vain to fight back. "STOP! PLEASE STOP!" Vanessa thought as she shut her eyes so tight that it hurt, the little girl's screams and Vanny's maniacal laughter ringing in her ears, until both abruptly ended with a loud thud.
"Ouch!" Vanessa opened her eyes, her ears still ringing. She was back in the hallway, still frozen in place. The little girl had tripped on her untied shoelaces and had fallen onto the ground. She got back up, giggled, and trotted off down the hall away from Vanessa, oblivious to Vanessa standing at the other end of the hall.
Vanessa stood, paralyzed and unable to move. "Get out…" She thought, struggling to breathe, her heart beating so strong she felt like it could break through her ribs at any moment. "Get out…" She began to tremble, her hands cold and clammy. "Get out." The sounds and music from beyond the hallways faded into static and were drowned out by the loud thumping echoing through her chest and pounding in her ears. "Get out!" She took a step back. "GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"
She turned on her heel and sprinted towards the door back to the main atrium. As soon as she burst through the door, the sights and sounds became overpowering, disorienting her. Her eyes darted around, looking for a way out, looking for a way to get away. The bright lights and vibrant neons blurred her surroundings. She couldn't tell where she was anymore. Seeing no other option, she picked a direction and ran. Everything began to blur together as she ran aimlessly, hoping to run into something she could recognize. Her stomach was tying itself in knots, and she felt a tightness in her chest as her breathing got faster and faster. All she could hear was her thundering heartbeat and the sound of her footsteps.
Suddenly, she slipped on a freshly mopped section of the floor. She gasped as her feet disappeared from beneath her, sending her crashing to the cold tiled ground. The shock was just enough to bring her surroundings slightly back into focus. As she quickly got back to her feet, she saw a familiar sight. In the hallway in front of her, there was a door to one of the security offices.
She stumbled through the door, slamming and locking it behind her. She stared at the door for a moment, slowly backing into the corner. She slid down the wall and curled up into a ball on the floor, her knees held tightly against her chest as tears streamed down her face, her crying muffled by her hands as she curled in on herself.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she murmured to herself. She stared wide-eyed at the blank space in front of her, her breath shaky as she shivered and trembled. She felt her throat tense as she tried to hold back tears and stay quiet, but after a moment she completely broke down and sobbed loudly, the sound muffled as she held her face in her hands.
After her crying quieted to little more than a whimper, she rubbed her shoulders and picked at the fabric of her uniform, her eyes closed as she tried to calm her breathing. She felt very sore, her muscles still tense. She sighed and wiped her tears on her sleeve, the damp spots showing up clearly on the white fabric.
Her eyes snapped open when she heard a knock on the door. She glanced at her fazwatch. It was nearly the end of her shift already. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath, trying her best to hide the fact that she had been crying before she responded.
"Yes?" Her voice was still very shaky and strained, her response sounding very forced.
"Uh… Vanessa? Are you… okay?" Gregory paused for a moment, giving her some time to respond.
"I'm fine," Vanessa croaked, holding back more tears. She heard Gregory shifting around on the other side of the door for a moment. Suddenly, she heard the card scanner ding on the other side of the door, and quickly tried to compose herself. She straightened her posture and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes as Gregory walked into the room, a look of concern and confusion in his eyes.
"I think you accidentally called me with your fazwatch…" Gregory held up the watch on his wrist, making Vanessa freeze for a second. "So… what're you doing in here? And… why are you crying?" Vanessa took a deep breath, picking at the hem of her sleeve.
"I… It's… There's… there's a… a-" She tried to continue, to explain, but the words got stuck in her throat. She could feel more tears flowing down her face. She couldn't fight it anymore, and she covered her face before bursting into tears.
Gregory took a step back, unsure of what to do. After a moment, they heard a faint noise. Then, the room fell silent. Gregory looked up. The monitors in the office were tuned in to some of the security cameras from around the pizzaplex. One of the monitors displayed footage of the back hallways, and he could see a little girl in a pink sweater sitting on the floor, playing with a Chica plush. The sound of her giggling could be heard coming from the screen.
"A… kid?" He glanced over at Vanessa. She was staring at the floor, picking at her sleeves, avoiding looking at the monitors. "You're scared of a kid? Why, I don't understand?" He glanced back at the monitor. Vanessa shut her eyes, thoughts and memories running wild in her head.
"I…" She hugged her knees close to her chest, trying to force the words out. "I… I can't be responsible for another one…" She buried her face in her arms. "I can't… I-I don't want to k-kill another…" Her voice lowered to almost a whisper. "I can't… I can't… I can't," She repeated over and over again.
"What? Why would-" Gregory paused, his eyes wide when the realization hit. "...Oh…" He looked over at Vanessa. She continued to cry quietly in the corner, hugging herself and seemingly trying to take up as little space as possible. Gregory cautiously walked over to her, before sitting down on the floor beside her.
After a long moment of silence, Vanessa could hear Gregory rummaging around in the backpack she had packed with snacks and stuff for him. He hesitantly patted her shoulder, and she slowly glanced towards him, her eyes red from crying.
"Here," he said, holding out a bottle of water. "Trust me, it helps." She took the bottle of water, and Gregory scooted over on the floor to give her some space as she calmed down. Gregory looked through his bag again while Vanessa took a drink of water. He held out a pack of fruit snacks, offering them to Vanessa. She shook her head, taking another sip of water after wiping the tears from her eyes with the edge of her sleeve. Gregory shrugged and put the snacks back in his bag. They sat in silence for a few moments, giving Vanessa some time to catch her breath.
"Look," Gregory turned to Vanessa, "I know this is scary." Vanessa glanced at him after a moment or two. "But we do have to do something about this." Vanessa took a deep, shaky breath.
"I can't…" She held her head in her hands. Gregory thought for a moment, wrinkling his nose up and tilting his head, creating an odd expression as he tried to think of a way to help. Then, he looked over at Vanessa and gave her a slight smile.
"What if I go with you? Would that help?" Vanessa looked over at Gregory. Why was he so calm about this? Shouldn't he be afraid of her? What if she tried to hurt him? A million questions ran through her mind. She didn't want to go out there alone, but she was worried about having Gregory come with her.
"I don't know if that's a good idea…" Gregory looked over at Vanessa.
"If you're worried you'll hurt me or something, I can tell you that I know you won't. Besides, even if something does go wrong, I think I can handle it." He stood up and threw his backpack over his shoulder. "I made it through 6 hours here being chased around by Her and a bunch of crazy robots! This is nothing compared to that." Vanessa stayed tucked into the corner, still worried and not entirely convinced.
"But what if She comes back?" Vanessa said, causing Gregory to pause. Vanessa ran a hand through her hair as she looked up at the ceiling. "I can't stop her…"
"I don't think she will come back." Gregory readjusts his backpack as he heads towards the door. "Even if she does, like I said, I think I could handle it." He opens the door and turns back towards Vanessa. "So, ready to go take care of this?" He asked. Vanessa stared at him for a moment, then she sighed and picked herself up off the floor.
"Okay… let's get this over with…" She replied before walking through the door, Gregory following close behind her.
The two of them made their way back to the main section of the atrium, stopping on the second floor balcony to look around and see if they could find the little girl.
"Hm… hold on, let me check something…" Gregory said before he looked down at his fazwatch and pushed a couple buttons on the screen, eventually ending up on the screen where he could view the security cameras. "Oh, sweet, I can still use the cameras from here!" After a few minutes of flipping through the different cameras, he pointed at the screen and looked up at Vanessa. "Looks like she's still in the back hallways. Come on, let's go!" They headed down the escalator towards the main floor, Gregory leading the way. Once they reached the main floor, Gregory ran towards the door to the hallways.
Vanessa stood frozen at the base of the escalator. She could feel her heart starting to beat faster once again. She felt paralyzed, all the noise starting to become overwhelming once again. "Get out. Get out. Get out. Get-"
"Vanessa?" Gregory called to her, noticing she had stopped moving. Vanessa shook her head and blinked a few times. She looked down at Gregory, now walking back towards her. "Are you okay?" he asked. She tried to focus on her surroundings and tried to calm herself down, but it wasn't working.
"This may sound… a bit strange… but…" Vanessa stopped as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, embarrassed. "Could you… hold my hand? Please?" She asked before looking over at Gregory, even more embarrassed after seeing his shocked expression.
"Uh… yeah, sure." He said, walking over and holding Vanessa's hand, leading her towards the door.
"Thank you…" She said gratefully. He glanced at her and shrugged, a slight smile on his face.
"I really don't mind. If it helps, it helps." Gregory said, opening the door, the familiar and unwelcoming scene of gray concrete walls and still air stretching out before them. The bright lights and overpowering music faded away as they walked slowly into the darkness.
It was very dark, seemingly even darker than it had been earlier when Vanessa found the girl. After a moment of blindly wandering, Gregory took a flashlight out of his bag. It was dim and needed to be recharged, but it would have to do. He navigated them through the maze of identical corridors, stopping only for a moment when there was a branch-off in the hallway before continuing.
After a few minutes, they could hear the little girl giggling nearby. Vanessa took a few deep breaths as they got closer, trying to keep herself calm. They turned a corner, and wandering down the middle of the hallway, they saw the little girl. She turned to look at Gregory and Vanessa, smiling and waving at them.
"Hi!" She said to them, before looking back at the posters on the wall, lifting up the Chica plush to look at them as well. Vanessa took a deep breath, then she smiled softly as the girl faced her once again.
"Hello there, what's your name?" Vanessa asked. The little girl smiled and wandered to the posters on the wall once again.
"Alice." She held her Chica plush up to one of the posters before turning back towards Vanessa, holding the plush up towards her and waving its hand. "And this is Chica!" Vanessa waved at the Chica plush.
"Hello, Chica!" Vanessa said. The little girl giggled and hugged the plush close to her, messing with the bow on top of its head. "Well, Alice, my name is Vanessa, and this is Gregory." She said, waving a hand towards Gregory. "So, Alice…" She knelt down to Alice's eye level. "It's awfully late for you to be here. Are you here with someone?"
"My uncle brought me here." She said as she sat down by Vanessa, still fiddling with the bow on the Chica plush. "We were playing hide and seek! I waited for a long time, but waiting is boring, so I stopped hiding."
"I see…" Vanessa stayed silent for a moment, trying to think of a way to handle this situation. "Alice, do you happen to know your mom or dad's phone number?" she asked. Alice looked up at Vanessa, a proud smile on her face.
"Yeah! Mommy told me I had to remember it!" Vanessa sighed, relieved that there was an easy solution to this problem.
"That's great!" Vanessa said as she stood up, brushing the dust off of her pant legs. "How about we go wait in the main office in the lobby while I call your mom? I can get you some crayons or something if you want!" Alice jumped up and down in excitement, then followed beside Vanessa and Gregory as they walked back towards the main atrium.
After they had all made it to the main lobby, Vanessa set out some paper and some crayons for Alice to doodle on while she called her parents. Gregory shared some of his snacks and decided to draw with Alice, chatting away about their favorite animatronics. Vanessa stepped out of the room to get some quiet while she made the call. She put in the number, and after a second, she could hear someone on the other end.
"Hello?" A woman answered, her voice calm and quiet.
"Hello. My name is Vanessa, I'm the night guard here at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex." Nothing but silence came from the phone. "I was given this number by your daughter, Alice."
"Alice?" She paused for a moment, her calm demeanor fading. "What's going on?"
"Well, it seems that she was left behind before closing time." There was a brief pause before she heard a sharp gasp from the phone.
"WHAT?!" Vanessa nearly dropped the phone as she pulled it away from her ear, the mother's voice so loud that it hurt. She quickly responded, the woman on the other end now anxiously stumbling on her words.
"Don't worry, she's fine, she's waiting in the front office. Would you or someone else be able to come pick her up?" After a moment, she heard the woman take a deep breath.
"I'm on my way." Her tone was harsh, her anger seeping into every word. After she hung up the phone, Vanessa poked her head back into the office.
"Okay, Alice, your mom is on her way to pick you up, okay?" Vanessa asked. Alice nodded and hummed in acknowledgement, not looking up from her drawings. Vanessa closed the door and continued to wait in the lobby, occasionally looking through the window into the office to check on the kids. After the security doors opened, she looked through the glass doors and saw a woman running towards the Pizzaplex. She burst through the doors, out of breath and very clearly distressed. She walked up to Vanessa after a brief pause to try and catch her breath.
"Vanessa?" the woman asked. Vanessa nodded.
"Yes, that's me. You're here to pick up Alice?" Vanessa asked. The woman let out a deep sigh, brushing her hair out of her face.
"Yes, I am. Thank you so much for the call." Vanessa smiled and led her to the door to the main office. As soon as the door opened, Alice jumped up and ran over to hug her mother.
"Hi, mommy!" Alice said joyfully. Her mother knelt down and scooped her up into a tight hug.
"Hello, sweetheart!" She let go of Alice and looked her over, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw she was okay. "I'm so sorry I didn't pick you up sooner!" Alice giggled.
"It's okay, mommy. Vanessa let me draw with crayons!" Alice said. Her mother smiled and picked her up, hugging her again.
"Well, at least you had fun." She turned back to Vanessa. "I'm so sorry about this. Her uncle can be… forgetful sometimes. Thanks again for the call." She walked back towards the front doors, Alice sleepily rubbing her eyes and waving to Vanessa and Gregory as her mother carried her. "I swear I'm going to kill that airheaded idiot," she muttered quietly to herself as she walked through the doors.
Vanessa stood in the lobby, staring at the doors after they left. She sighed, relieved that everything turned out okay. "Everything turned out okay…" She smiled as she watched the sun rising, the light sending colorful reflections onto the walls around her. "Everything is okay. She's okay." She closed her eyes, letting herself enjoy the warmth that was now enveloping the empty Pizzaplex. "I'm okay…"
"Vanessa? Is everything okay?" She looked over her shoulder to see Gregory walking towards her, packing what was left of his snacks back into his bag.
"Yeah… everything's okay." She smiled, all the worry and anxiety melting away. "Come on, let's get out of here."
As they approached the doors, Vanessa paused for a moment and smiled. A happy melody played over the lobby speakers, and the sun continued to shine brighter and brighter through the open doors, bathing the entire space in a warm glow. For the first time in a long time, Vanessa was hopeful that things would get better.