Wow! This is a way better reception than I was expecting for the first chapter after only one day! To celebrate, here's chapter 2! Not that I'll be able to keep up this pace for long, but it will be nice while it lasts. You guys are awesome! Hope you enjoy!
Hours later, Mirabelle slowly awoke to a pounding headache and an almost overwhelming sense of disorientation. She opened her eyes to find that everything looked, red? It took her a moment, but she realized that this was because she currently had a blanket draped over her.
Pulling the fabric off, she sat up to find herself in a brightly lit room. Which promptly began to tilt a bit, so she put one hand on the ground and the other on her head to steady herself. As she peered around, her mind was slowly filling up with questions.
What time was it? What day was it? How had she gotten here? Where even was here?
She appeared to be in some kind of overly decorated, little kid party room. Complete with crazy carpet and toys stacked in every corner. That's when she remembered her party at Fazbear's. But, what happened? How had she ended up passed out on the floor of this room she didn't even recognize?
A sudden grinding sound from the far corner of the room caused her to jump and immediately drew her attention. An animatronic with distinctive orange and red coloring was standing in front of a large mirror, and seemed to be gradually coming to life in front of her.
How on earth had she missed that? Dang! She must really be out of it!
After a moment, he opened his eyes and began blinking and glancing around, until he finally spoke.
"Showtime already?! I am experiencing a malfunction. The recharge cycle is not complete," he declared in a rather loud tone.
"Hey! Would you mind keeping it down?! My head already feels like it's about to explode," Mirabelle growled at him irritably, as she pushed herself to her feet.
"Who said that?" the bear asked, seemingly just as disoriented as she was.
"Over here, dumb dumb," she told him, stumbling a bit closer.
He turned and finally spotted her.
"Oh, there you are," he realized.
He moved towards her, and his eyes began to glow a brilliant blue. Light shot out of them, and it seemed to engulf her face as he looked it up and down. Mirabelle just stared back at him with a weirded out expression.
"Scanning complete," he finally declared, his eyes dulling down back to the normal blue. "How odd. Your guest profile is unknown to me. Who are you?" he wondered at her.
"Uh, Mirabelle Hawkins," she offered with confusion.
"Mirabelle, hmm," he said, as though he were testing her name. "I am Freddy Fazbear. It is a pleasure to meet you," he offered in a cheery tone.
"Yeah, I know," Mirabelle found herself scoffing. "But, wait a minute. What do you mean my guest profile is unknown? I was registered to have a party here today, I think. . ." she trailed, now wondering if it was even still the same day. She shook her head before continuing. "Either way, I should be in the system," she argued.
"Strange. Perhaps there has been data corruption?" he suggested. "I will notify the main office," he told her.
Mirabelle then heard a beeping, but then an error tone come from him.
"Huh, connection error. I cannot connect to the main network," Freddy stated, sounding confused.
"Well, maybe that's why you aren't able to bring up my profile," Mirabelle stated flatly.
"I suppose that is a possibility," Freddy seemed to ponder, but then he glanced up and considered her.
"How did you get in here?" he finally asked. "Visiting hours should be over for the day."
"You know, I was hoping that maybe you could tell me, because I honestly have no idea!" she snapped at him, starting to sound a bit frantic.
"What? What do you mean?" he wondered.
"I mean, I don't remember! It seems like, one minute I'm playing games with my friends, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up on your floor feeling like I just pounded a six pack!" she hollered at him, rubbing at her temples.
"A six pack? Waking up? So, you really do not remember anything?" Freddy asked with concern.
"No! I –" she was about to continue ranting, but then she hesitated as a hazy image suddenly came back into her brain.
"Wait, I do remember, a blonde security guard in the bathroom, and then – and then she jumped me in a bunny mask!" Mirabelle exclaimed.
She shivered and rubbed at her arms, now feeling exceptionally creeped out.
"That is very strange. I cannot believe that any of our security staff would harm a guest," he protested.
"Well, of course you wouldn't," Mirabelle muttered.
The sound of footsteps outside of Freddy's room suddenly alerted her to the presence of someone else. Mirabelle crept to the divide in the curtain and peeked out the window to see who it was. Apparently Freddy had the same idea, talking right behind her a second later, and causing her to nearly jump out of her skin!
"That is the nighttime security guard. She can help!" he exclaimed.
Mirabelle let out a small yelp, falling back against the large, metal bear behind her. He caught her on reflex, and then blinked down at her, appearing a bit startled.
"I apologize. I did not mean to scare you," he told her, and flashed her a smile.
Mirabelle glared at him before recovering, pushing herself out of his arms and straightening out her hoodie.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't sneak up on people when. . ." she trailed off when she realized what she was saying, staring at his rather large frame. "You – move pretty quietly for an animatronic," she said, more to herself than to him. "Must be the carpet," she guessed.
He glanced down at his feet.
"Anyway," Mirabelle shook herself, refocusing on the problem at hand. "She isn't going to be able to help me, because she's the one who attacked me! I need to find my friends and get out of here!" she exclaimed.
"Is there anything I can do to assist you?" Freddy asked, still sounding strangely cheery despite the bizarre circumstances.
Mirabelle paused and gave him a wary look, giving him the once over.
"Hang on, why would you help me? You don't even know who I am. In fact, why haven't you ratted me out to her yet? Aren't you programmed to report unauthorized people or something like that?" she questioned dubiously.
"I –" he seemed to hesitate for a moment as he considered her words. "I have been disconnected from the main network. I could not report you even if I wanted to. But, I would never turn over a child to a member of staff who has threatened them! That would go against everything Fazbear Entertainment stands for," he tried to reason.
"I'm hardly a child, and it doesn't make any sense that you would believe me at face value, which means you're probably just following a secondary guest service protocol until you can reestablish your connection," she postulated.
He cocked his head and blinked at her, like he wasn't sure how to respond to that.
"So, I guess that means, as long as you're still listening to me, that no – I don't need your assistance. Why don't you just, stay here," she instructed, skirting around him and heading towards the door.
She attempted to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge.
"What the. . .?" she mumbled irritably.
"You need to have a photo pass in order to open that door. Apologies, I assumed you already had one," Freddy stated from behind her.
"Oh, right."
Mirabelle then dug into her back pocket to get her wallet where she'd put her passes earlier, but then suddenly realized to her horror, that it wasn't there! She began frantically checking all her pockets in her coat and pants, only to discover that everything was gone! Her phone, her keys – everything!
"Oh, my gawd! You have got to be kidding! That bitch robbed me!" she growled in indignation.
"Apologies, but cursing is not permitted on Pizzaplex grounds," she heard Freddy drone.
She turned and lobbed another glare at him.
"Don't you start with me!" she snapped. "It would seem that I don't have my photo pass anymore, so could you please open the door for me?" she requested, with phony politeness.
Freddy glanced hesitantly between her and the door before responding.
"I am sorry, but I am unable to access the main door controls," he told her.
"Seriously? You're not allowed to leave the room on your own?" she questioned, but then thought about it for a second. "Well, I guess that kinda makes sense," she realized with a sigh. "Okay, fine then. Is there any other way out of this room?" she asked.
The robot bear then cocked his head the other way, continuing to study the girl.
"Are you asking for assistance? Did you not say earlier that you did not require any?" he wondered at her.
At hearing this, Mirabelle had half a mind to rip him a new one, but then realized that it wouldn't do her any good. He was just a robot, after all.
"You're right, but that was because I thought I didn't need any. However, now it seems that I do. So, would you be so kind as to answer my question?" she requested through clenched teeth.
"Very well. There is a button on the wall there that will open a door to the back room," he told her, gesturing towards it.
She quickly spotted the green, glowing, bear shaped button and clicked it, watching as a previously hidden door slid to the side. Once inside, it appeared that this was some sort of maintenance room for the animatronic, complete with what appeared to be a charging station and an elevator that she doubted he would have access to.
"Okay, how is this supposed to help me?" she wondered back at Freddy.
"There is an open air vent along the wall in there. You will have to climb through the ventilation system in order to access Rockstar Row," he instructed.
"Through the vents?" she questioned skeptically.
"That is correct. Without a photo pass, it is the only way," he added.
"Ugh, fine!" she consented.
He watched her as she moved toward the vent and popped off the hatch. She turned back to see him peering in at her.
"Well, it's been weird, but thanks, I guess. See ya!" And with that, Mirabelle made a motion to climb into the tight space.
"Wait, before you go," she suddenly heard Freddy say, halting her progress.
"What?" she snapped, narrowing her eyes at him.
"It just occurred to me that there will be insufficient time for you to exit the Pizzaplex before the automated lock down if you take the usual route to the main entrance, as it is almost midnight," he informed her.
"What?!" she barked with a start. "It's almost midnight!? I was seriously out for that long?! Aw, jeeze! My friends and family are probably worried sick! But, what did you say about an automated lock down?" she asked, now feeling even more anxious.
"The Pizzaplex has an automatic lock down protocol that happens at midnight every night. The main doors will close so nothing can get in or out. I just thought I should inform you of this if your goal was to leave," he explained.
"So, you're saying that there's not enough time for me to get to the exit, and I'm going to get locked in here?! W-well, then what am I supposed to do now?" she questioned, sounding close to having a meltdown.
"Do not panic. I can help you, that is, if you are willing to accept my assistance," he offered.
"And just what will you be able to do? You said yourself that you can't even leave the room," she questioned incredulously.
"There is a faster way to the exit through the maintenance tunnels. I can show you the way, but you'll need to locate a photo pass and let me out first. You should be able to find one at a convenience counter," he informed her.
"Right, I'll see what I can do," she told him, before finally ducking into the vent.
"Be sure to hurry!" he called after her.
Part of Mirabelle was thinking that this all sounded pretty fishy, but at the same time, she wasn't sure if the animatronics were capable of giving false information. After all, what would be the point in programming them to be able to lie?
As she made her way through the vents, army crawling as quickly as she could. She discovered that this system seemed to connect to all the other animatronic's rooms as well. She spotted Roxy after the first turn, admiring herself in her personal boudoir.
"Your performance was perfect tonight! Thank you. Your hair is beautiful. Your tail is beautiful. Everyone was watching you. Everyone loves you. Everyone wants to be you. You are the best. Thank you. I am the best. I am the best," she was seductively repeating to herself.
"Man, what a narcissist!" Mirabelle muttered under her breath. "It's no wonder she never lets anyone else win on the go-karts!"
It was a bit unnerving passing by Monty's room. The entire area was pitch black, and it sounded like he was throwing a massive temper tantrum in there. Mirabelle was now feeling grateful that he wasn't on the ground interacting with them earlier. Not if he was capable of being this violent!
And then finally, she noticed Chica wailing away on her electric guitar in her showroom. It appeared as though she were practicing, but that seemed a bit strange as well. As a robot, shouldn't she just be able to play perfectly every time? She could just be programmed with whatever songs they wanted her to play, why would she need to practice?
Unless, were all these strange behaviors just for the people who would be watching them through the glass as they passed by Rockstar Row? Even if that was the case, Freddy said that the complex was about to close. Shouldn't that mean all the animatronics would be powered down by now? It's not like they kept them on all night, right?
Either way, Mirabelle didn't really have time to think about it now, she realized as she dropped down into the hall of Rockstar Row. She needed to focus on locating a convenience counter and swiping a photo pass to let Freddy out.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for visiting and we hope you enjoyed the show! Freddy and the gang are pretty tired, but they'll be back again next week after a few days of scheduled maintenance! Please make your way to the front of the building where you will be given novelty glasses, a voucher for one free soda refill, and where you will sign a legal disclaimer releasing us of all liability for anything that might have happened during your visit. Have an awesome night, and we'll see you again soon!" Came a sudden announcement over the speakers.
Ha! As if some free soda could make up for all this! Not to mention, there was no way she'd be signing any waivers!
She managed to glance at a clock on the wall to check the time. It read: 11:46 pm. Shoot! Well, at least she knew that Freddy was telling the truth on that front. Luckily, there was a conveniently located counter – hence the name – near her that looked similar to an informational booth. She dashed around it and pulled open the top drawer.
Bingo! There was a whole pile of photo passes!
She snatched one up before making her way back down the hall, keeping her eyes open and ears alert, so she wouldn't end up running into any possible 'night time security'. She passed by the windows of the other animatronics, but none of them seemed to notice her. Just as well.
When she finally came to Freddy's door, she ducked under the rope line and held the pass up against the scanner. And just like that, the door slid open.
"Way to go, superstar! I knew you could do it!" he praised enthusiastically, grinning at her.
"Yeah, sure. It – wasn't that hard," she scoffed.
"Well, I am – glad to hear it. Now, I know how to get you out of here. Follow me," he instructed, and she stepped aside to let him pass.
"There is still time, but we must hurry. If I am spotted, I will certainly be taken back to my room. Like I said before, I will escort you to the main exit through the utility tunnels. It is the safest and fastest path," he was telling her as she tailed after him down the hall.
She noticed that he kept continually glancing back to make sure she was keeping up with him, or maybe to make sure that she wasn't sneaking off. She couldn't be sure, but either way, she was still keeping her eyes and options open.
He took her through an industrial-looking door that had stairs leading down into the depths of the complex. Made since that the maintenance tunnels would be located underground. Everything seemed to be going alright, until she suddenly started hearing shouting coming from the floors below.
"Hello? Young lady? If you're down here, say something!" Came a woman's voice calling out.
It sounded exactly like the security guard woman that she'd met in the bathroom!
"Shoot! Sounds like she's already down here looking for me! We can't keep going or I'll be spotted for sure! We gotta go back!" Mirabelle exclaimed harshly under her breath, and immediately made a motion to turn around.
However, Freddy suddenly reached out and took ahold of her arm, effectively stopping her. She was about to freak out, until she realized that he wasn't actually pulling her. It seemed that he was just trying to get her attention, and he let her go almost immediately after.
"Do not worry, Mirabelle. Even if we are spotted, you are safe with me. I will not allow anyone to harm you. However, we should still do our best to avoid her, otherwise we will never get you to the lobby before midnight," he offered sincerely, before continuing on and just expecting her to follow.
She complied after a moment, not really seeing any other options. However, she still felt herself reeling a bit at the fact that he'd remembered her name without her profile being accessible to his data banks.
Until the next time! Bye Bye!