AN: Been a while since I released a new chapter. But I managed to make one while being busy with uni work and now here it is! Sorry if it may be short.
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Chapter 20 - The Ghost in You
Elena's POV, Superstar Daycare
It took me quite a while to reprogram Sunnydrop. He had a lot of codes that I felt that he should just go to the Parts and Repairs room. Though me using more of the technology in the pizzeria might place me in bigger trouble. It was just a bit too time consuming eventually due to how much I needed to change in his programming. You wouldn't want to know what else I have to do to make sure that Moondrop wouldn't go psycho on Gregory.
Augustina had been watching me the entire time, though she ended up looking through her phone. Apparently, one of her sorority roommates was online - in the middle of the late night - and texting her. It was mostly on her checking up with what was happening with an acquaintance of hers named Cassandra. It was said that she was doing better but still needing rest.
Augustina was mumbling about 'how could something that belonged to Fazbear Entertainment do a huge explosion like this' several times worriedly.
I thought of asking, but I decided not to. After being chased by those Toy Animatronics earlier, I didn't really want to dwell on anything. I heard enough, though hearing about this 'explosion' got me surprised.
Even the fact that she muttered that Fazbear Entertainment responded to this with a half-hearted apology.
Could this be…something like the mysterious murderer who was responsible for the missing children back at the Brooklyn location?
Well, it wasn't really related since it was separate news from this Pizza Plex.
People disappearing is one thing, but an explosion is at another extreme.
"Crazy night, isn't it?" I muttered as I adjusted a few more dials on my phone.
"Yeah," said Augustina. "It's getting weird here." She stayed silent for a while before she decided to ask. "…do you really think what Sunnydrop said was true?"
I turned my head to her. "What? Why are you asking me?"
"You…" she hesitated, looking nervous. "...haven't been really nice to the animatronics around here. And when you started yelling in Freddy's face, I thought you held such hatred towards all of them."
I closed my eyes, shaking my head.
"I…look, it isn't really going well for what is happening so far," I said. "Leave that. For the Daycare Supervisor, he is…pitiful."
"Pitiful?" said Auguatina, wincing a little with the way I said that. " That's a bit of a conceited term."
"OK, I know that!" I said as I finished the final touches on Sunnydrop. "But I am not sure if he might act up again. This might work, but flipping the switch…" I looked back at the animatronic I was working on, flicking the switch to 'on' and closing the lid. "...can't really change who they are."
Augustina thought for a while. "You're really worried about Gregory, are you?"
I blinked. "Yeah, why's that?"
"You kind of got a bit defensive on him and barred him from hearing any of this initially. He is one of the main reasons you fought hard to validate your judgment."
I frowned. The boy kept getting himself into many mishaps and this one wasn't due to him. The fear of him getting lost and snatched up by one of the animatronics would be a nightmare I would want to wake up from.
"Gregory could have been the next child victim right here," I said bluntly. "Death of a child. That might be worse. Wouldn't you be worried that it would tarnish the company's reputation you're working for?" I immediately took it back, feeling frustrated with myself. "I-I mean, argh, what am I saying? You…wouldn't get it."
Augustina sighed. "Look, I didn't mean to tip you off about getting to be here in the first place."
"I was just making a damn point about working here!" I insisted. "I-I told you several times."
"I heard about it. And instead of…" She paused for a while, trying to look confident. "Sucking up to not doing anything, I really want to try here. I can take responsibility. I am steller with my job!"
"Really? You think so?"
"Maybe you might have more faith in me if you people stop trying to tell me what to do!"
"Me?" I stood up. "And what people?"
"I don't know," said Augustina, coming towards me. "I mean, look around you. See how you act to other people. I haven't done anything wrong. I don't want to make anything unfair for anyone. But either you're just too…" She softly pushed me in the chest. "Proud of what you say or gutless in giving me a chance in doing anything!"
"Excuse me?! A chance to do anything?" I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, where did I hear that from? Did I even say that? I gave YOU the chance to walk out of here. You know how this will eventually end and I swear that you aren't going to like it. I-I-I just…I just don't like it with you and Melody taking on a suicide mission, and me talking to you two is like…I don't know! A bit distressing? Something like seeing young people in your place? This is the truth, whether you like it or not!" I crossed my arms, my voice dripping in sarcasm. "You want to make things fair? Then apologize for not listening to me."
Augustina took a step back, looking frightened for a moment. There was a look of disbelief before she sighed. She took a few steps in front of me, looking glum about it.
"I…am…sorry…" she whispered.
I raised an eyebrow. Was she actually apologizing?
"...that you can't accept my choice!" growled Augustina.
I rolled my eyes. At this point, it was no use. I did too much already and if she wouldn't listen, fine then. It shouldn't be my worry, but I couldn't help thinking that Augustina and Melody might not be able to make it through the night, even by some miracle. I walked past her, softly pushing her aside. She groaned as she grabbed my arm, dragging me back to face her.
"Alright, I 'apologize'!" she exclaimed, looking fed-up. "It's just that people like me have our own problems! I mean, wouldn't working in a place rumored of bloody bodies all over build character? Of course you wouldn't know that, you selfish jerk!"
"Maybe I am one!" I said. "But you might be selfish yourself."
"S-Selfish?! What does that even mean at all?!"
It was at this point I didn't even know what I was saying anymore. "I-I don't know!"
"You didn't even think that through, did you?"
"Go put a sock in your…" I paused, switching the word. "...your mouth! Maybe tasting a bit of that sourness might knock you into some sense that anyone can die."
Augustina faked laughing. "Well, sure. Let's see. A guy who has a rope tied to the ceiling? Yes. Rappers who take too many drugs and alcohol to replace their depression? Definitely. Me? Well, at least I'm lucky enough to pull through all of high school! I mean, I thought you would do worse on me yesterday."
"Worse on you?" I was baffled. "I wasn't even planning to get even." I paused for a while, remembering when I exploded at her. Me taking a step forward, trying to scare her. Nearly getting ready in a fight. Crap. "Did I? But...what would you think I would have done?"
"Well, I don't know. You might have made a clenched fist and did a sucker punch in the face so hard in the cheek that it would nearly dislocate your jaw-?"
DING!
And Sunnydrop was just 5 centimeters away, suddenly bouncing out and punching his fists in the air.
His right fist crashed into my cheek.
The force of how strong he punched sent me flying right into Augustina's stomach and the two of us sprawled onto the soft blue mat floor. Stunned, shocked, we could only watch Sunnydrop making his presence once again.
"HELLO, WORLD!" he said in glee. "So nice to be back here again! What day is it? Where am I? Did someone order me an Uber takeaway for the upcoming Lunar Moon Festival?"
It was then I acknowledged the sore bruise in my cheek. I moved it around, wincing. Once again, for a robot, he was REALLY strong! Augustina just laid there, surprised as I was. I rolled over and stood up, helping Augustina up as well. Sunnydrop twirled around a little before turning to us.
"Oh!" he said. "Hello there! I forgot about you two! I didn't expect you two to visit"
He had been sleeping the whole time and he didn't know we were in the same room as he was for the past hour?
"So…how do you feel right now?" asked Augustina nervously and hopefully.
"I'm feeling great!" said Sunnydrop, dancing around. "Light as a feather! I don't know the last time I put myself to sleep, but I feel as refreshed as the flowers blooming open!"
"Huh," I muttered. "Do you feel any different so far?"
Sunnydrop drooped his shoulders, scratching his head. "Thinking about it, somewhat. It's funny since I feel much lighter. Speaking of which, I feel that my mind is rewritten to become a newborn baby. Did you…actually manage to…'fix' him?"
I nodded. "Yep. I did. I figured out the problem."
"Should we test it out?" asked Augustina.
Sunnydrop hesitated. "I-I'm not sure about that. You know how that might work."
"Well, we can't really produce results without trying."
"I'm not so sure about it," he said, sounding afraid of getting his dark side to appear. "Would it even be safe to do so? Testing it again might tempt him to take over and harm the kid once again."
"But we have yet to see if Moondrop will exactly go hostile on anyone," I said. "Let alone being trigger-happy."
"I-I don't know."
It took me a few seconds to figure out the right words to tell him. I gave Augustina a look. A glance. I felt bad that I foul-mouthed her again earlier. She looked at me, reading my look. She frowned, taking a step back. I sighed, knowing that I didn't go easy on her due to my temper. There needed to be a change somehow for…me. I turned back to Sunnydrop.
"Look," I said. "Looking through how this situation is, I have to trust all of you lot. Honestly, I don't feel safe here, but if I want a safe place, then it has to be here while Gregory is around under the company of the other animatronics. But I need you to trust me on this one."
"Maybe you can trust the other animatronics as well?" asked Augustina softly.
She immediately closed her mouth in fear of getting slapped. However, I wasn't repressing anything at the moment. I gave her a look, wanting to tell her that I was sorry.
"I-I…"
"OK then," sighed Sunnydrop. "OK. But…when do we know he will be activated?"
"I overridden the switch of activating Moondrop," I explained. "So you won't automatically turn when the lights turn on."
"Wait, really?" he asked, beaming upwards. "You're sure about that?"
I thought of lying, but I decided it was best to be truthful then giving him a reason to boot me and Gregory out. "No. It depends on what kind of lighting he likes. Try it!"
Sunnydrop nodded. He took a huge breath and clenched his fist. Then, he bent down as if about to vomit. I raised an eyebrow at this sight. He then started growling like a wolf, trembling. I wasn't sure if he was changing, but the fact that I could hear his metal parts rattling got me nervous.
Then, he reared his head back and opened up his chest, letting out a screechy, high-pitched scream.
"OoooooOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
I immediately covered my ears, feeling as if a sound wave was cracking everything around me. The fact that he was screaming in a way like how Lemongrab screamed loudly. Or a goat having their needle shot, being forced to be strapped to an operation table to stay still. Even Augustina was cringing as she crossed her arms to show she didn't like this at all, her glasses slightly cracking due to how loud Sunnydrop was.
Wait, weren't her glasses made from plastic glass or REAL glass?
Nothing changed.
He bent down, panting.
"What are you exactly doing?!" I hissed.
"I'm trying…to scream the loudest…to force my…inner beast out!" puffed Sunnydrop. "If I can vent out my frustration…then it should power me up to go berserk!"
How much anime did he watch?
And then, he suddenly changed.
It happened so quickly that it felt like his form MELTED smoothly into another form instead of all of his parts crunching and shifting around. He looked like a color palette swap except that his face resembled a moon and wore a sleeping cap. Completely opposite due to the more darker blue colors he was wearing.
"Geez, you idiot," grumbled Moondrop, his voice raspy. "That doesn't work."
And he wasn't muttering some kind of mad mantra like what Gregory told me.
"Holy s***! It works!" I said.
"Wait, what?" said Moondrop.
He shifted back to Sunnydrop. The sun side took control due to his surprise of what I said.
"What are you talking a-?" He froze before nodding. "Ohhh! I see what you mean."
He transformed again.
"Wait, what just happened?" said Moondrop, confused.
A fourth time.
"Can you hear me well, Moon?" asked Sunnydrop.
A fifth time.
"Well, yes! Obviously."
One more transform of seeing his head spinning around and I was going to be dizzy.
"Hold on a minute," said Augustina. "Moondrop, you're feeling…good so far? Do you remember anything?"
Moondrop hummed, scratching his chin. "Well, all I can remember is…me punishing two kids so far since they refuse to have their night-time. Though, I'm surprised that I had these thoughts of…" He paused, sounding lost. "I…" His voice was more quiet with a note of panic. "...didn't think of them, did I?"
It was at this moment where I realized that Moondrop might not be in control of the sadist and murderous actions and thoughts he had before. With the night before, it was like this side was mind-controlled to attack Gregory then thinking this through. This moon side was slightly distressed. Confused. With the mentality of punishing children harshly mitigated from his head, it was like he could even FEEL again.
He transformed as Sunnydrop took control to talk.
"You…you did," he whimpered, holding onto his arm.
Auguatina whimpered, looking down.
I sighed, aware that I did manage to help Moondrop/Sundrop be free from their murderous coding.
Moondrop took control again. "Oh my moon. I…thought I was doing the right thing. Now, I feel…" He paused, covering his mouth. "...lucid…that's the term." A moment of silence before he looked over my head. "Did I scare the soul out of you?"
I blinked. "What?"
He pointed a finger at what was on top of my head.
I looked up before turning around. Augustina followed.
I was wondering if I was actually dreaming the whole time.
Right behind us was a man in a translucent form. All in a light silverish blue color. While the blue hint made it nearly impossible to identify the real colors, he seemed to be a man in his 40s with slicked back hair. He was wearing what must be a security guard outfit, though the symbol on his shirt. appeared…corrupted due to how distorted it appeared. He was wearing a shirt with a black tie, black trousers and black shoes.
He was staring at Moondrop the entire time before realizing we were staring at him.
"It's not what it looks like!" he said sheepishly. "Take a hike!"
Oh, he was floating as well.
Augustina turned to me, understandably horrified. "Am I the only one seeing this?"
"No, are you?"
She turned to Moondrop. "Are you?"
Sunnydrop took control. As soon as he switched to his sunny side, he placed his hands over his mouth, this time in a way of an excited child. "Oooh! It must be a hologram!"
He shifted to Moondrop who crossed his arms, annoyed. "No. There aren't any projectors around. It is right here! A ghost!"
Did I hear that right? "A ghost?"
"What?" said Augustina. "There's…no mention of ghosts from the Brooklyn location, right?"
I tried to remember. "Rumors, but not exactly…"
Augustina turned back to the ghost man who was still hovering silently.
"W-Who are you?" she stuttered, trying her best not to freak out.
The ghost flinched before clearing his throat. "Eh…hello there?"
He seemed to be ready to wet his pants. He even sounded young for a man seemingly in his 40s. I felt a faint glimmer of recognition. Something about him seemed familiar. Or did it?
"Your voice sounds familiar," I said out loud.
The ghost tried to change his accent to British. "No, I don't."
"That's a fake accent right there," muttered Augustina.
"Nope," he lied, switching to another accent.
"And you are straining to say that in that accent," I said.
"No, it isn't!" he insisted. "I'm a ghost, so I don't feel pain."
"I can tell when you feel your throat feels weird," I said.
"I had the flu!" he lied. "A sore throat. It makes my throat sound funny and strained."
"But you said ghosts don't feel pain," said Augustina.
"If ghosts really feel pain, then you're screwed," I deadpanned. "Tell us who the f**k you are."
He hesitated, pressing his hands together. He took a long deep breath…before letting the floodgates open.
"I…hadbeenpossessingElena'sbodyasahostforthepasttwodays,Ikeptquiettheentiretimeandhidden,tryingnottobecaughtbyanysoulsuckersouttheretostealmebackandIusedsomeofmypowertohelpyouandGregorygethere, thus…" He paused, grinning sheepishly. "...betraying my companions' secret?"
Wait, he did WHAT?!
He was inhabiting me for two days straight?!
A chill ran down my spine.
Two days and I didn't notice despite the strange signs of me glowing light blue and picking up more speed than I usually do. I didn't even feel ANYTHING when he was stuck with me. Was he spying on me or controlling me the entire time?! At the right time, I could hear my own heartbeat in my chest as I tried to control my breathing. The fact of knowing someone possessing you without feeling any different just terrified me more than the facts of the animatronic capable of killing.
Before I could even think or react, Vanessa's voice was calling for us from the top level.
"You girls ready to go?"
"S**t," swore the ghost.
He flew right into me. I grunted, expecting to feel him overtaking my entire body and controlling my mind. However, it felt more like cold water splashing all over my body before I felt nothing.
"Hey! Hey!" I shrieked, flailing my arms around.
"Get out of there, sneaky Casper!" hissed Augustina.
"Is he paratizing you?" said Sunnydrop as he took control of his own body.
"Look, let's explain later," said the ghost's voice, loud enough for us to hear. "I'm sorry about this and freaking you two out. Let's…keep this secret for now unless my companions reveal this later. I'm not doing anything to you at the moment, but I'm just resting inside you." He sounded upset. He wasn't trying to lie anymore. "Call it like a personality making peace with the current personality. You get it?"
"No, it doesn't make sense," said Augustina flatly.
"Just whatever you do, don't…reveal…it…yet."
What could I say? This s**t was getting goofy. At this point, I didn't even know what I should be concerned about for me and Gregory's wellbeing. Maybe I knew that the disappearances of the night guards would be something due to supernatural things, but I didn't expect that here there would even be fricking ghosts hiding inside a person's body! I thought it might be due to coding and physical hands that screwed over people's lives, not hauntings!
Knowing that this ghost didn't try to f**k with my life over two days, I begrudgingly agreed to keep silent. Augustina and Sunnydrop weren't really settled with this.
"We…really need to keep our mouths shut about everything that has been going on?" she asked.
Sunnydrop hummed. "Well…I never seen a ghost before, so let's not try to spoil anything or they'll bring out the vacuum cleaner!"
Moondrop took control. "Eesh. I hate ghosts. They interrupt you in your sleep. Not good for kids."
Sunnydrop took over again. "Perhaps so, but ghosts would be really cool to have around!"
Seeing how the Daycare Attendant kept changing forms, it nearly looked like he was having a conversation to himself.
As soon as Vanessa came in, me and Augustina decided to play dumb.
"Hey there, you two," she said, climbing down. "I'm guessing that you managed to fix the Daycare Attendant?"
In my shell-shocked condition, I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists.
"Y-Yes," I said, trying my best not to look like I was about to break down. "Got him all repaired."
I shot Augustina to tell her to play dumb.
"Yeah, it's all good!" said Augustina, grinning anxiously. "Nothing weird going around here. I mean, look at him! He's good!"
I glanced back at her. She wasn't really a good liar.
But it seemed that Vanessa was more concerned about Sunnydrop than the fact that we were thinking about something else.
"So it seems that it helped you make your moon side sane?" she asked.
Moondrop took control. "Wait, what are you implying me to be?!"
"Hmm…you don't have that demon undertone in your voice. You remembered trying to hurt Gregory and I was there, right?"
Moondrop looked down. "I'm…sorry, Officer Vanessa. I wasn't in the right mind that time. I…didn't know I was in such a murderous state like that."
The blonde security guard sighed. "Well, yeah. You must have been so deep into a madness that you didn't know what was going on. One more thing taken down."
Sunnydrop took control. "So, does that mean it would be safe for Gregory to come here?"
Vanessa shrugged. "I suppose. But it depends on if Moondrop wants to see Gregory again. He wants to owe you two an apology."
Sunnydrop nodded happily. "Well, we get to have our old friend again! I'll make sure to forgive him since there is nothing to worry about now!"
Moondrop took over. He huffed and crossed his arms. "OK, ma'am. I'm not saying that I want to hurt this child, but now, I think I need some sleep for ONCE."
He switched to Sunnydrop. "Aww! We don't need sleep! We're robots! Let's have some fun since this would also be your first time having some company."
He switched to Moondrop. "I don't need company. I need my beauty sleep and sanity."
"But your health may improve if we hang around with more people. Figuratively, you are really grumpy now."
"I'm certainly NOT grumpy! I'm a stern watcher who is given a task to make sure that kids are given their proper bed-time and not end up drooling on their tables in the day, much like you, uncle!"
"Oh, don't have all your feathers plucked!"
"Well, you can't keep getting children asleep. They need all the energy to refresh."
"But don't you feel bored from resting?"
"I crave peace and silence."
"And I crave excitement!"
"And I deny too much excitement."
"And I deny too much whining about wanting to be lonesome. You little angsty egg."
"My head is as round as yours, you know!"
The two personalities of the Daycare Attendant kept arguing to each other as they kept switching to different forms. Sun to Moon. Yellow to Blue. They could transform really fast! It was halfway through when I realized that Sunnydrop immediately was happy that Moondrop was no longer a sadist. Quite quick for a guy like him. In the midst of a serious event, he was still bonkers.
Vanessa gave us a look. "They'll come back to us. I guess that we'll leave them there."
Me and Augustina shrugged before following her out. The yacking from the two personalities of the Daycare Attendant echoed throughout the room as we made our way out. Augustina was called over to check on Glamrock Freddy while there was news from the others, wanting to meet with us at the Main Party Room. We didn't say anything else to Vanessa, possibly due to us trying to piece together the appearance of that ghost.
I could feel him sighing in relief as we were escorted out.
"What is your angle, you stalker?" I thought, trying to give him a piece of my mind.
"Sorry, sorry," he kept whispering. "Just please…later."
I rolled my eyes as he fell silent.
What did he exactly want with me?
Why did he give me the power of super speed?
Vanessa's POV, West Arcade
Augustina had suddenly become pretty quiet.
Since Elena made her way back to the Main Party Room, she became silent as a stone.
I wasn't sure why, but she looked pretty nervous. She had a similar body language when she came across the active Glamrock Freddy the first time. Her eyes were in a daze, her face nearly turned pale as a sheet of paper and she could have choked on her own saliva. Here, she looked like she might scream or try to run away. It seemed like she got spooked by a ghost.
Well, figuratively, yeah. She did get spooked by one.
Though, I didn't know about that until later.
She seemed pretty suspicious as we made our way to the West Arcade where Glamrock Freddy and DJ Music Man should be at. The blinking lights coming from the nearby arcade games flashed onto her anxious look, complete with a sweat drop trickling down her head. I assumed asking in case she found something that I should know about. She looked horrified in this nearly frozen state. [1]
My attention was taken away when we spotted Glamrock Freddy wrapping up his conversation with DJ Music Man. The gigantic DJ animatronic was resting on the big stage, equipped with a turntable. I shuddered a little, knowing that I could be squished like a bug. I didn't consider his size before.
This might be a much bigger threat I was facing from the Pizza Plex than I thought.
"And as you know, when it comes to patting children on the head," said Freddy casually, leaning against the stage which was something I had never seen before. "It is not always about this." He motioned grabbing something out of thin air. "It's about this." He slowly waved his hand up and down as if patting something.
"Hmm, do you do it gently or hard?" asked DJ Music Man, his voice robotic and with the voice of an African American.
"No, don't do it hard."
"Just tap on the top of the head. Like petting a dog!"
"Do I press against the cheeks?"
Freddy thought about it. "Unlike toys, human heads are fragile and have bones inside, so they can't be used as squishy balls."
"But there were children around who looked chubby."
"But they have a delicate jaw and skull not to be broken."
The mental image of DJ Music Man patting children HIS way with the fact that the children were plushy came up in my mind. I imagined him bouncing them around like a bouncing ball or just slapping them against the floor. And the children wouldn't mind at all, blissfully saying 'I love how gentle you are!' Wait, that kind of looks wrong.
I shook my head and decided to speak up. "Freddy! Good that you're still here."
Freddy looked up. "Officer Vanessa! Officer Augustina! Didn't know you might pop up."
"Just thought of letting you know that we are gathering back at the Main Party Room. I've heard that Melody has some news, so Augustina can escort you there."
"And what about you?"
"I…" I hesitated as I tried to find a lie. "Like to talk to Music Man for a while. Just for any technical difficulties."
Kind of true in the sense of needing to figure out any unhidden difficulties around here. Since it was implied that DJ Music Man 'knew everything', then I might as well try to ask. And speaking of hidden difficulties…
"Sure then," asked Freddy. "You're doing alright, Arena?"
Augustina suddenly snapped out from an unnoticed daze. "W-What? I'm fine! I'm alright!"
"You don't exactly look alright," said Freddy in concern. "Your smile appears quite strained."
Augustina's grin tightened, looking…strained to say the least in comparison to her usual smiles. "No."
"It's not very convincing," I flatly said.
"Well, it's a normal smile everyone has!" She chuckled nervously. "I'm just having the time of my life!"
"You seem distressed at the moment," said Freddy as he came up to us. He patted Augustina on the shoulder. "Perhaps, you can tell us what is bothering you-"
"No, no, nope!" insisted Augustina as she pushed Freddy from the back and spun him around, grabbing onto his hand like a parent. "I'm just excited to…get back with you to the…Main Party Room!"
Excited? You call this exciting?
"You got me really concerned, Augustina," I said. "You can still tell me anything in case it's something urgent. We're security guards after all and as a team."
The young girl took a deep breath and grinned sheepishly.
"Thank you for your concern, Vanessa," she said robotically before she stared at the distance. "I'll be fine."
Despite Glamrock Freddy trying to say a few things to tell her to slow down, Augustina started to break into a speed walk. A bit stiff. She looked back at me.
I waved a little as if trying to return her welcoming gesture. Like asking her if she was alright.
She just gave an awkward thumbs-up, grinning nervously.
She turned around and dragged Freddy away.
There was something so sad about this that I couldn't be able to tell her again that she was hiding from me. She looked like she would definitely spill it out later. I was a little disappointed since she did open up to me the day before about how she felt about the bullying episode. And I did choose to let her know about my secret. Good thing I didn't blurt out that I was working for a protest party.
I didn't know why, but it made me feel a bit sad that she didn't tell me anything. I guess it must be due to not having a team before when I first worked on the night shift at Freddy's. I had my brother before, but it was kind of rare to work with other workers outside my circle.
"Officer Vanessa, is that correct?" boomed DJ Music Man's voice.
Startled, I twirled around to face him. "Yeah, though, let's just drop the formality. It feels weird. And you would be called…"
"Call me, DJ," he said, bowing a little. "At your service."
I smiled. "DJ. Has a nice ring to it."
"I know." He yawned and stretched his arms. "I was just packing up and cleaning through the arcade with Freddy's help. We were about to get finished and I will be sleeping for the rest of the night."
As he turned around to sort a few boxes nearby him, possibly carrying CDs, I decided to ask. Asking an animatronic for information might be stupid. They weren't stupid at all. But I already thought through what I was going to say to them. Just have to play on their side and record down all the information.
I pressed onto my spy watch to record our voices.
"So, there is something I want to ask," I said.
DJ growled a little. "If it's something about asking me if I know when the universe will end, then no."
"Well, not exactly, but…" I chuckled before sounding serious. "How much do you know of the Pizza Plex?"
"Why are you asking me, security guard?"
"I'm just wondering. It's my job to keep the place safe. At the moment, since I have a lot to handle, I wonder if you know what is underneath."
I wasn't able to plan time properly in searching through the underground section. Due to Elena and Gregory taking refuge inside, it got to me that I needed to find a way to be on low profile when we have two wanderers walking around curiously despite orders not to go further. I would need to structure a better plan for the next night. Besides, I was kind of lost on where the way to the underground level was, so I needed to know. The tour didn't show us where.
DJ turned to me, his mouth moving as the only way of showing how he felt. "You really want to know?"
I shrugged. "If you don't want to answer, then I can go."
"No, wait. You see, I…actually know a lot about the Pizza Plex. Not through a map. I explored it."
That got my interest. "You already had?"
"It was during the testing stage when I was given the practice of walking around," the large animatronic explained. "Took me a while to get used to my new legs and hands, but I managed to go through each room nicely." He paused. "Well, that's a lie, since there are a few hallways that are too narrow and I can't get through them."
I took one look on the right to find a nearby door that had scratches around the frame.
"Huh," I muttered. "Explains those badly unfixed scratches right there."
"Don't mention it," continued DJ. "You wouldn't even want to use the pipes I went through. Kept bumping into mini versions of me. Anyway, I have been the eyes and ears around here. I didn't tell anyone about this since they only gave me the task of being the DJ performer and a bouncer - in which that ruins my nightly sleep."
I learned forwards. "Was there anything strange going on?"
He shook his head. "No. Nothing at all. I've checked every room around and there isn't really a single trace of anything 'strange' going on. Every room is allowed for every employee depending on their role, so no other secrets were found in the Pizza Plex."
Damn. Harder than I thought.
DJ looked around to make sure nobody was watching. "Though, this is only between us. When I first looked through the underground level, I…I think I saw…"
I raised an eyebrow, hearing the worry in his voice. "You saw what?"
"Another animatronic. But…it's not a Glamrock."
Uh oh.
"Do you have the footage?" I asked.
He nodded and a beep from my security watch rang. I tapped into the new message that contained the file. I played it and the sight was surreal.
It was through the eyes of DJ due to the many tabs and features all around the corners of his vision. It seemed to be in a dark hallway. He didn't put on night vision mode just yet. I could hear him grumbling as he ventured around. A long gray brick wall hallway with several wooden crates and stage light equipment on the sides. He turned around the corner, but quickly hid back.
He peeked again.
My eyes widened as the watch presented me with an image of what seemed to be…Toy Freddy? He was just standing there in the hallway. One could mistake him as being just a statue. There was only movement in his mouth, opening up and down like a broken machine. A red object was inside his mouth.. I didn't see a proper look of what was in his mouth, but the fact that there were some red stains near his feet revealed something.
DJ's vision turned away as he muttered to himself. He peeked back.
But the bear was gone. Even the blood stains. A state of implied hallucination.
"When I first saw it, I didn't take the time to think if it actually belonged here," explained DJ. "When I got back to my position, it was when I realized."
I suddenly grew paranoid. "D-Does anyone know about this?"
"No one knows. That bear suddenly disappeared. Neither I nor anyone see that animatronic again in the underground level. For now, I think…it's best that you don't go down there."
"What? Why?"
"It's a bit complicated, but the underground levels are only accessible to the staff who have high clearance. I don't think you would be able to get in since you just started working. Unless you are allowed to enter the level provided you have a clear reason to. If you even have another role, then it might allow you to enter underground. And besides, the manager got a bit worried about who should enter the underground level due to a brief hacking session."
I gritted my teeth when I heard 'brief hacking session'. They nearly found out what I did.
"Did anyone find out about who did it?" I asked.
"No one knows," said DJ, shaking his head. "I'll let you know anything else. But for now, keep clear of that level. There is even a rumor that someone is going to take control of the underground levels anyway on a 24/7 basis."
I nodded. "OK then. Thank you for letting me know."
"Now if you excuse me, I need my sleeping time."
With another yawn, DJ stretched his arms before walking into the dark tunnel behind him. [1s]
As I finished the recording on my spy watch, I could only stare in the empty arcade as I made my way back to the Main Party Room.
There was a sighting of a Toy Animatronic here before? I was surprised that DJ didn't report it, but it must be due to him thinking he was going crazy. Considering that the animatronics were sentient, it might mean that they could think they were seeing something delusional. It didn't give away the fact that a prototype of Toy Freddy was lurking around, chewing on something HUMAN with blood dripping down.
Suddenly, I felt that maybe there was indeed something hidden in the Pizza Plex that caused the explosion earlier.
"Need I to remind you what we are working for? You and I don't trust Fazbear Entertainment for all of their unspoken crimes they did. The Pizza Plex is our only opening to make sure this one doesn't do any more harm."
Oswald's words rang in my mind. I shuddered, wondering how much the other animatronics knew. Especially since Freddy had access to every employee file in the network. It was then I wondered if they were hiding something. Something actually devious or it was out of fear of being caught and tortured for it. What secrets were hidden right here?
And with those animatronics roaming around, who knows what they would be doing in their own time. Suddenly, everything felt as if…there was something waiting to attack. Especially at night time. Imagine what would happen to Gregory as well! Was there something trying to hunt us? What if somebody hurt us? What if the Glamrock Animatronics were working for the bad guys? Would their ways of killing be more brutal?
I cursed myself for not taking the time to find another position to help me get to the underground level. To be fair, Oswald wasn't able to look up that much about it, but it got me agitated. How was I going to do a good job if I was getting more questions than answers?
Before I could read into this further, I felt…sugglish. I stumbled a little, drunk-like. It felt as if my brain was melting in all directions. As the world spun around me, I felt something crawling out of my back. Like a jelly casing peeling off me…or out of me. The liquid being sucked out from my skin. Once it detached itself, I took a few steps forwards, nearly tripping over.
"D-Don't worry," said a voice. "I'm sure that you'll be able to find a way. You just got to try."
I froze.
That voice sounded familiar.
I turned around.
My stomach dropped.
I wondered if I was dreaming.
A ghostly form of a floating man around my age, all in a green tint. Blonde hair that looked like it was dyed, a full white tuxedo shirt with a white cotton vest underneath, a black shirt and a purple tie, white pants and brown shoes. A ghostly aura formed around him unlike any human being.
What?
Was he…inside me?
He gasped upon realizing that I was still staring at him.
"I-I'm sorry!" he said. "I wasn't supposed to come out now!" He chuckled nervously, rubbing his hair. "Well, I guess not all things can stay hidden, am I right?
I blinked. I wasn't sure about THAT secret that was hiding inside of me out of all things. Maybe I must be going crazy. I pinched my cheek. Couldn't wake up. Pinch again. I wasn't dreaming. I felt lightheaded.
"W-Who are you?" I asked.
The ghost lifted up his hands. "Hey, hey. It's OK. It's OK. I'm not going to hurt you."
He seemed to be friendly, but I wasn't one to trust him that easily. I narrowed my eyes, wanting answers.
"We should talk with the others," chuckled the ghost.
AN: You can see that Elena has a point, but here, she isn't doing too well and ends up being in the wrong. The argument between her and Augustina takes some influences from scenes of Encanto and the upcoming movie The Bad Guys. Looking into a bit of their contrast and what they really want to do. Both sides have good points and to clarify, Augustina is still nervous about Elena trying to hurt her. It's gonna be hard for those two girls to understand.
Sunnydrop and Moondrop are so much fun to write about! I decided to make Moon a bit more grumpy and stern like the few others since I did think it is funny and cute to see him like this. Similar to Dr. Otto Octavius in Spider Man: No Way Home, he is free from his corruption; here, the original malicious coding affects his thinking as a sentient being. Sunnydrop trying to scream to 'force his inner beast out' is a reference to the Owl House; I thought it would be funny to see! And you can replace his voice with Lemongrab's voice from Adventure Time. I dare you to.
DJ Music Man is an interesting character to write about. He is nice, but he can get a bit grumpy due to some mood swings and pressures along with needing some sleep (I decided to give him some...sleeping problems due to people joking that he got cranky with Gregory for disturbing him). And he serves as the guy who knows about everything in the Pizza Plex. Though, how far it goes is anyone's guess...unless...
We are slowly starting to see the ghosts right here. I can't confirm if they are original characters or not, but all I can say is that a good portion of them...are actually canon. Yeah, REALLY!
Thanks for reading this chapter! This story is still in-progress, so be ready for more updates. If you enjoy this story, be sure to follow or favorite this story, so you can get updates about this story. Make sure to review this chapter on what you think about this chapter. I'm OK of hearing improvements from you (please no flames). Please don't be nervous in telling me your thoughts about this as I would like to hear and they help me with working and doing any needed improvements.
Until next time, keep on rocking!
