Chapter 2: They Hunt Now, Drawn to Life

Initializing boot…

Locating default personality matrix

Loading … … … … … OK!

Loading memory bank drive

Last modified: 01/24/2033 00:00:22.87

… … … … … OK!

Loading protocol directives

Loading primary protocol

Loading … … … … … OK!

Scanning for secondary protocols

Loading … … … … … OK!

Loading … … … Error

Secondary protocol file corrupted

Continue loading ? Y/N N

Secondary protocol deleted

Checking driver integrity … … … … … OK!

Checking Microsoft Windows 13 license … … … … … OK!

Shed memory leak … … … … … OK!

Boot complete

Establishing network connection

Network: Pizzaplex Staff 5.0

Password: ************

Network credentials accepted

Testing network … … … … … OK!

Initiating HUD

Roxanne couldn't remember the last time she had a full reboot.

What a strange sensation it was too, for a moment existing, then suddenly not. Then lots of number and words blink across a text window, and suddenly, you're alive again. She checked her HUD. It was 12:04 AM. She'd been out for four minutes.

She blinked, trying to remember how she got here. What had happened that day? There was a big party, Roxanne got to sing, she signed some autographs and then—Marcus! Her eyes snapped into focus as everything that had transpired in the last thirty minutes came flooding back. She looked up but didn't see him anywhere. But she saw Freddy a few feet away, leaning on a balcony railing. He suddenly flickered into life and pushed up, bending the railing beneath him under his immense strength and weight.

But that was weird. Freddy was normally so careful not to damage anything. For a big guy, he always seemed to move so gently, if only a little stompy. He turned to look at her. "Roxanne. Are you…alright?"

Roxanne nodded. "What was that, Freddy?"

"I do not know, Roxanne. It appears to have been a temporary malfunction shared across our software. I believe we may need to update our Windows 13 licenses."

Roxanne scoffed. "As if. Hey, did you see where Marcus went?"

As she said that, she ran a self-diagnostic scan to check her data logs. A corrupted protocol file she didn't recognize was caught trying to load and was discarded. She checked her data logs again and saw it had tried to load itself by force before. Four minutes ago, at midnight. The exact moment her whole mind and body had started going haywire. And that was when Freddy rebooted her while going haywire himself.

A chill went through her endoskeleton when she realized the implication.

Freddy didn't reboot.

Roxanne stood up but didn't say anything to him about what she thought was going on. If he really were compromised now, she had no idea what his next move could be. And if he turned hostile, there was no way she could take him on one-on-one.

"I do not know, Roxanne. Let us go look for him and place him in the security office. That way, Vanessa will find him and watch over him until morning."

Hang on. Didn't he agree to put him in your green room earlier?

"I will search for him in the east arcade. I presume you would like to begin with the Raceway."

Roxanne shrugged, trying her best to play along. "As good as option as any. It'll be hard to miss him." Then she pointed at her eyes.

"I have always admired your confidence, Roxanne," Freddy said with a pat on her back. "Don't worry. We will find him."

His tone of voice was completely different from what Roxanne had ever heard him use before. It sounded…intense. Threatening. Somehow, she kept her cool, just giving Freddy a confident nod in return. He walked away towards the arcade.

Shit, shit, shit.

Chica and Monty were on opposite sides of the Pizzaplex, so there was no way they could have rebooted each other. And Freddy was a little too eager to find Marcus. She wanted to believe he was just being his usual nice guy self, but he felt…off. Where had that file come from? And why did it make Freddy so desperate to find Marcus?

The only thing Roxanne was sure of was that she needed to find Marcus before the others did. She just had to assume they might hurt Marcus – or any human they might find. None of them were natively programmed to be capable of hurting anyone. Though maybe Monty would be an exception; he had been vying for Freddy's position as the band's lead since day one. And no one was still sure what had happened to poor Bonnie…

As Freddy disappeared into the elevator, Roxanne looked around. "Marcus?" she called out softly, feeling an extra need to be approachable now. But she was tense, and she could tell her voice sounded a bit agitated, an unfortunate side effect of her module not being able to emulate all human vocal tones properly. He probably thinks you want to hurt him too.

She stalked the atrium floor, turning her head left and right, scanning everywhere she could. Aside from a shipping palette with some arcade cabinets on it, the atrium ground floor seemed abandoned. If Marcus still had his Fazwatch on him, she'd be able to see it anywhere, but her vision was cluttered by hundreds of things customers had lazily left behind in the party rooms. She was growing frustrated.

"Come on out!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the atrium. Suddenly, she heard rustling of feet behind her. She spun around and saw Marcus emerge from behind the arcade cabinet palette, frantically running away from her.

"Marcus!" He heard her call his name and sped up.

Roxanne tried not to panic. If he got away, he might run into one of the others. She needed to restrain him. He had short legs and couldn't outrun her, but she didn't want to hurt him trying to stop him. Her eyes darted around, calculating her next move…then she executed. She dashed behind the potted plants out of his line of sight, then pounced over him. She held him firmly against her body as she tucked in for a roll, tumbling on the ground before stopping herself with one leg. She was hunched over him, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Marcus…" she spoke as gently as her voice box permitted. "I'm not bad. I'm okay. Freddy saved me. But he and the others are in trouble now. I think they might try to hurt you."

But Marcus wasn't listening. He was panicking and squirming underneath her. "Let go! I'm scared!"

"I know Marcus, but—" Roxanne was suddenly very aware of the S.T.A.F.F. security bots shining their lights nearby. She looked up. A silhouette of a massive, familiar alligator animatronic was coming down the escalator. She could hear Monty's cackling echo through the atrium. "Shhh! Marcus! We don't have time for this!" she hissed through her teeth.

The bots were looking at her now. Shit shit shit shit shit. She needed to hide him now, some place quiet so he doesn't alert Monty, somewhere he'd wouldn't look. Freddy and Monty were so lucky; they have giant chests with cavities that can hold huge birthday cakes, and it would've been just the right size to hide Marcus. But Roxanne's chest cavity was smaller and didn't open from the front like that. The only way inside was…

…

No. NO. You can't do that. You are not doing that. But…

She heard Monty's footsteps getting closer.

It'll be temporary. Better scared and safe than sorry.

Roxanne clamped her hand over Marcus's mouth. "Marcus, I'm sorry. Please trust me."

She picked him up and tilted her head back. She depressurized her chest and stomach area, making her body look weirdly loose. She opened her mouth, her animatronic endoskeleton compressing as much as possible to form a tube. Before Marcus could say another word, Roxanne lowered him inside, down through her "throat" and into her stomach hatch. He struggled a kicked, forcing Roxanne to hold his legs steady as he went down.

At last, Marcus was completely inside the rubber-lined stomach hatch. She could hear him crying out in terror. Even though he was safe from Monty now, she felt incredible guilt for what she just did. She put a finger to her lips.

"Marcus!" she said, redirecting her voice box projection into her stomach hatch. "I'm just doing this to hide you! I'll let you know when we're in the clear. Now please, PLEASE be quiet so we can get past Monty without getting caught!"

She could feel him tumbling around, trying to get into a more comfortable position. Roxanne couldn't compress her outer shell properly, but tried a little bit to make it less obvious she was smuggling Marcus in her. Just as she stood up, she saw Monty approaching her from the escalator.

"Yo! Rox! You see that kid anywhere with your fancy eyes? Chica told me you found him earlier."

Roxanne tried to play it cool. "Sorry, I got knocked out by whatever happened a minute ago, and when I came to, he was gone. Freddy went to check the Arcade, and I'm going to the Raceway."

"Well, that's the other way, in case you forgot." He jerked his thumb toward the giant Roxy Raceway sign at the other end of the atrium.

"Yeah, I know, I just thought I heard something around here and wanted to check first."

Monty shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess. I'm gonna check the golf course, maybe get some golfing in while I do. Later!" And with a casual wave, he strolled away. Roxanne cautiously walked towards the Raceway, and once Monty was out of sight, she sprinted to the entrance.

Roxy Raceway was her designated attraction, a sprawling indoor go-kart track in a desert-themed area. It was larger and more popular than the other attractions but was closed last month when the concrete foundations started to crack. There was some talk from the workmen about finding a sinkhole beneath it, so repairs would take a long time. Customers were frustrated, but no one was upset more than Roxanne. Thankfully, the construction barriers that had been erected all over proved the perfect cover to hide Marcus.

Roxanne climbed over one of the barriers to the registration desk and, when she was sure she was in the clear, she spit Marcus back up on top of a pile of soft sandbags. She didn't have any real stomach fluids, so he was clean and dry. Even so, he was trembling like a leaf. Roxanne groaned in relief as she recompressed her outer shell.

"Marcus, I'm so sorry I had to do that to you," She said. She held out her hand. Marcus shivered and drew back from her. Her heart broke.

"I…I…"

Roxanne sighed and withdrew her hand. "I understand if you can't forgive me, little rock star. But I want you to know that all I'm trying to do is keep you safe."

Marcus didn't say anything. He just closed his eyes, trying to breathe. Roxanne's ears perked up when she heard the whirring of a nearby S.T.A.F.F. bot. She quietly stepped away from Marcus to investigate. When the patrolling bot turned towards the registration desk, Roxanne swiftly smacked its head clean off. "Warning! Tampering with Fazbear automated staff will—" it started to say before the head powered off and the body toppled over, lifeless.

It wasn't her first time beheading a bot; Roxanne often took out her frustration on them when they tested the Raceway. Something about them being allowed to drive on her Raceway but not her just drove her circuits mad. She kicked the head and felt a little better. She turned around. Marcus had perched himself on the registration desk and was nervously fiddling with a pencil.

"What happened to your friends?" Marcus asked. He seemed to be trusting her again, which was a relief to her.

"Well…jeez, how do I explain…?" Roxanne pondered a moment how to phrase this. There was no way she could explain the intricacies of a computer virus inside an animatronic brain to a young child. "Have you ever watched a superhero show where the bad guy takes control of the good guy, and they make the good guy do bad things?"

Marcus thought for a moment and then nodded.

"I think that's what happened to my friends."

His eyes widened. "So they're the bad guys now?"

"Yeah, you're getting it," Roxanne said. "But I think we can save them."

Marcus looked down at the floor. "That sounds scary…"

Roxanne stepped over and gave him a gentle pat on the head. "Hey, don't be scared. I'll protect you no matter what. You and I make a great team. We can do this, together!"

He looked up with a nervous smile. "R-really?"

"Yeah!" Roxanne pumped her arms. "We can be heroes, little rock star!"

"What do we do?"

"Freddy turned me off before I could become bad. Maybe if we turn them off too, they'll go back to normal!"

"Turn them off? How?"

Roxanne turned around and lifted her long mane of hair. She pointed to a small hatch on the upper area of her back and opened it with her other hand, revealing a tiny, black button. "Each of us has a button like this. When it's pressed, we turn off for a few minutes and then turn back on. That's what Freddy did to me. We just have to get close and press their buttons too."

Marcus blinked. "But how do we do that? Won't they try to stop us?"

Roxanne nodded. "True, they won't just let us turn them off. We can stun them though. You remember earlier when you were player Fazer Blast?"

Marcus nodded.

"Those laser shots mess with our eyes and make us freeze up. So, we shoot them in the eyes to stop them, and then press the button on their back. Easy!"

Marcus's smile faltered. "But I'm not very good at Fazer Blast."

Roxanne tossed her hair and flicked her tail dramatically. "Well you're in luck. You're looking at the highest scoring Fazer Blast player of all time!"

Marcus clapped in excitement and then hopped off the countertop.

"But first, we need to get you there without being noticed…"

"You're not gonna eat me again, are you?"

Roxanne laughed. "No, of course not! But we have to make sure you're not seen." She looked around the reception area and spotted a large construction tool bag on a countertop. "Oh! That should be perfect." She picked it up, dumped its contents onto the floor, and set it down.

Marcus blinked, looking at her, and then the bag. "Is this safe?"

"Safer than getting caught. It might not be comfortable, but if this goes well, it shouldn't take very long."

Marcus glanced at her again. She felt a little insecure about how he looked at her now. Does he really trust you again? Can you really protect him if something goes wrong? No…you have to believe you can do it. For him.

Marcus nodded and crouched down into the bag. Roxanne zipped it up, making sure to leave a little portion open so he could breathe. She carefully picked the bag up and draped the strap over her shoulder. "Okay, Marcus, we're going, so try to stay quiet for now."

She stepped out of the reception area. On the way to the hall leading back to the atrium, she stopped and looked up at a security camera. She had never really thought about those cameras before, but now knowing someone could be watching her right now – and wanted to hurt Marcus – unnerved her.

You need to stay strong, Roxy. You're the only one who can do it now. You're the best. Prove it.

The walk to Fazer Blast wasn't difficult; the S.T.A.F.F. bots didn't stop Roxanne or ask what she was doing with the bag. But Chica was only a few yards from the Fazer Blast entrance on patrol. Her head was drooped on her shoulder, her eyes were squinting, her body leaned over unnaturally, and she strut around like a zombie. It felt surreal, like she was a puppet on shoddy strings.

"Who wants candyyyy?" Chica called out to no one in particular. Her vocalization was off…Roxanne could only describe it as predatory.

"I bet you do," Roxanne retorted, trying to play it cool as she walked past, approaching the Fazer Blast entrance.

"What's in the bag?" Chica said, twisting her head around 180 degrees.

Roxanne froze. She looked down at the bag, and then back at Chica. "I fucked up a bot that left Fazer Blast, I'm bringing him back here to fix him up."

Chica blinked, turned to face Roxanne and leaned in to look at her. It was weird; Roxanne knew she and the others were robots, but it was normally easy to forget. But the way Chica was moving and speaking now felt lifeless and robotic. "Why?"

"It startled me, I thought it was the kid."

"No, I mean why fix it? You break these all the time and never fixed them before."

Roxanne's grip on the bag tightened. "Look, the more of us there are, the more ground we'll cover and the sooner we'll find the kid. I don't like it, it's just practical."

Chica's head trembled, clicking and whirring sounds loudly echoing from her shell. Roxanne wasn't sure, but she could swear she heard a little "Help me…" sneak out of Chica's voice box, her mouth unmoving. "Okay!" she said, suddenly perking up. "Do you want some pizza?"

"No, thanks, I ate already, I'm good," Roxanne chuckled nervously before lowering her voice to a more teasing tone. "I hear there's a new batch of Monty's Mystery Mix out. You should go ask him for some."

Chica rolled her eyes and tittered. The way she laughed made her body convulse weirdly. Roxanne did her best not to react. She watched as Chica turned around and started lumbering in the opposite direction. "Maaarcuuus…"

Sighing in relief, Roxanne turned and made a beeline for Fazer Blast. The Party Bot looked up at her and held out a hand demanding a ticket. Roxanne growled at it, and it wisely moved out of her way.

Even though Fazer Blast was technically Freddy's designated attraction, Roxanne had been coming recently to keep her mind off Roxy Raceway being closed. She loved the techno music blasting in the lobby, the bright neon lights, and the gaudy 80s-style futuristic decorations. Even the cheesy recording of Freddy over the speakers didn't bother her that much. When she was sure she hadn't been followed into Fazer Blast, she set the bag down and unzipped it, and Marcus stepped out.

As they approached the counter to start the game, a thought occurred to Roxanne. She stopped Marcus and knelt to look at him. "Hey, rock star, there's lots of good places to hide here at Fazer Blast, you know. If you want, instead of doing all this, I can hide you somewhere in here. Maybe at the top of the Ferris wheel in the lobby. I don't want you to get hurt."

But Marcus shook his head. "No way!" he said defiantly, pumping his arms up. "We're a team! We're gonna be heroes, you and me!"

Roxanne sighed softly and put her hand on his shoulder. "You're a tough kid," she said. "Okay, but if things get too hairy, come back to me and I'll take care of everything."

He nodded and smiled at her. They ignored the instructor bot and were about to walk through the blue team entrance when the doors suddenly shut. The intercom blared at them. "WARNING! Team imbalance detected. Disperse into teams of even numbered players before starting."

Roxanne groaned. She had completely forgotten that little caveat. Marcus looked like a kicked puppy. "So…we have to play against each other?"

"Afraid so." There was nothing Roxanne wanted less than to go up against Marcus, but there was no other way to get the blaster. She turned to him and patted his head. "Marcus, do your best."

She could practically see his heart sinking. The doors opened again, and Marcus stepped into the blue team tunnel. Roxanne waved at him and stepped into the orange team tunnel. She unenthusiastically grabbed the game blaster from the holder and stepped into the arena. As she had entered on the orange team side, she couldn't see Marcus.

3…2…1…GO!

Roxanne dashed through the brightly colored maze, and within seconds took out two of the opponent bots. Her reflexes and eye upgrade practically made her an unstoppable force. Except today, her head was swimming with fear over Marcus. She heard a bot approaching behind her and spun around and blasted without thinking of it.

"Friendly fire! Friendly—" it screeched before it shut down. Roxanne gasped.

Dammit Roxy, that one was your teammate! You'll never win this if you—

Roxanne stopped. A nasty, sinking feeling enveloped her.

Marcus might have a chance if you…could you?

Throw the game?

For him?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a blaster sound. She spun around. Marcus had shot one of her team's bots, and he was cowering in a corner.

Roxanne snarled in frustration. She was programmed to be a winner. She may have been the highest scoring player, but she was only one win away of beating Freddy's winning streak. Then she'd be the best, not just in her own head, but in official Fazer Blast records.

But Marcus…

She saw the alien bots on their way towards him. She leapt forward and dashed towards his spot. The bots turned to her, only for her to blast them and rip them apart effortlessly. Robot limbs spilled all over the floor. It didn't matter whose team they were on to her. She was so busy ripping the bots apart that she almost didn't hear the announcer's voice.

"You have successfully defended the station! Move onto the next one, space cadet!"

She looked up and saw Marcus, smiling nervously, standing at the flag just up ahead. She grinned and pumped her fist. "Good job, rock star!" she called out to him. "Go get the second one, I'll cover you!"

He nodded and dashed off through the maze. Roxanne did everything she could to make sure not a single bot interfered. They had numbers, for sure, but lacked what Roxanne had: drive.

If Marcus wins, I win. If Marcus wins, I win. Don't look at your score. If Marcus wins, I win.

Marcus captured the second flag. Now there was just one left, right at the center of the maze. The two dashed for it. Roxanne kept her eye out for any more bots, but all she saw were broken pieces spilled all over the floor. Marcus pressed the last button.

"You have captured the flag! Time to defend!"

Roxanne stood defensively, holding her blaster tight, looking around for more bots to protect Marcus from. But none came. The only one who could stop Marcus from winning was her.

She looked at him, then at the flag. She felt the itch of her hand on the trigger of her blaster. Her streak would be ruined. Her programming was going haywire. She wanted to deny it, but she knew the real score.

Marcus looked up at her. "R-Roxy?"

10…9…8…7…6…

Her arm holding the blaster was trembling. Every part of her core programming was demanding – begging – her to stop him from capturing the flag.

If Marcus wins, I win. If Marcus wins, I win. If Marcus wins, I win.

5…4…3…

"If Marcus wins, I win. If Marcus wins—" She was trying to control herself, but now her blaster was pointed right at him.

Marcus gulped and fell over. "Roxy?!"

2…1…

She spun around and flung her blaster away, and it shattered against the maze wall.

"You have defeated the alien army! Good job, space cadet! Proceed to the winner's elevator for your reward!"

NOBODY LIKES A LOSER.

Roxanne's body was trembling, and her cooling fans were in overdrive. She crouched down in a fetal position, coolant leaking from her eye sockets. She heard Marcus cheering.

"Roxy! Roxy look! We did it!" He hurried over to her side but stopped cheering when he saw her. "Roxy? Are you okay?"

Roxanne looked up at him, giving him the faintest impression of a smile. She wiped the coolant tears off her face. "Y-yeah, rock star, I'm good."

She stood up and walked him over to the winner's elevator, and he put his blaster in the deposit box. All the music had stopped.

"Now listen. In the office, there will be a fancy gold blaster just for you. Grab it and come back down right away, okay? I'll wait for you here."

Marcus beamed and nodded. Just as the elevator doors opened, he flung forward and gave her leg a firm hug. She chuckled softly and pat his head. He dashed inside and she watched as the elevator doors closed.

Roxanne sighed softly, folding her arms. Every part of her programming was going nuts trying to find a justification for her losing on purpose, without being directed to do it by staff. She tried to shake it off. Winning was nice, for sure, but she had more important things to worry about. Like the life of a young child that was in danger. And if there was one protocol she swore she'd uphold, protecting the lives of children in the Pizzaplex was at the top of her list.

Protect him from…what though? Something had taken over her friends and the S.T.A.F.F. bots and tried to take over her. Vanessa was still missing, and the only thing her eyes could detect was something that had been in the server room earlier, that weird purple—

A cold feeling washed over Roxanne's body. The purple glitch was missing. And that's when she realized she was no longer alone in the maze.

She spun around, and someone knocked her to the ground. She shrieked and opened her eyes to see a grotesque rabbit costume looming over her. It was crudely stitched together with colors that hardly matched, and it had a disturbing, twisted face with two giant red eyes, drooping ears, and a large, gaping smile. Just looking at the thing was making all her sensors freak out.

"Did you two have fun?" the intruder spoke. Her voice was heavily distorted, even more than Roxanne's. But her body was too warm and soft to be another robot. "No more games."

She saw the intruder slap something onto her, and her vision started fogging over. Her head was pounding, and her whole body was convulsing.

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM HER!"

She heard a blaster fire, and the intruder screeched and rolled over, freeing Roxanne. With her distorted vision, she could barely make out Marcus's shape as he ran over to her, then grabbed hard and pulled on something that had been stuck to her body. Suddenly, her mind and vision were clear again. She gasped, sitting straight up, and saw Marcus had ripped off was looked like a strange purple magnet.

"Marcus! Are you okay?! Where'd she go?!" Roxanne bolted to her feet, only to hear the elevator door closing behind her. Marcus stood close to her. Then Roxanne looked out at the rest of the maze and froze.

Dozens of S.T.A.F.F. bots were flooding into the maze. Some were in liveries Roxanne had never seen before, some had weird, twisted faces haphazardly painted on. But all of them had glowing red eyes beneath their transparent black lenses. And every one of them was staring at her. Not Marcus, her.

"Marcus," she whispered, "get to the exit as fast as you can. Don't wait for me, and don't look back. Just stay out of sight."

"B-but—"

"Marcus, GO."

He nodded hesitantly, and then ran, ducking under the neon walls to stay out of the bots' sight.

Roxanne looked up and saw the costumed intruder on top of a catwalk far above the maze. Despite the setback, she seemed be prancing like a giddy child. "Whoever you are, you won't get away with this!" Roxanne shouted defiantly. "I'm keeping that kid safe, no matter what it takes!"

She heard the rabbit snicker before holding up a command remote. And as she pressed the button, she said something that shook Roxanne to her very core.

"Disassemble Roxanne."