A bit of progression is better than none. Also to the concerned reviewer, T-T, thank you for your review, but yes - I did mention that she redressed herself. She needs pockets in order to have inventory storage, after all. :P
As they meandered down the hall to get to the elevator that would take them to the main atrium, Mirabelle couldn't help but feel her robot companion's eyes burning into her as she stepped along side him. Despite him claiming that he wanted to lead, he seemed more than content to let her keep pace. However, that didn't help to ease her discomfort under the scrutiny.
"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer," she finally snapped at him.
"Huh? Take a picture of what?" he wondered back.
Mirabelle felt her eyes roll.
"You keep staring at me. That's sometimes a way that people ask why, you know, as a joke?" she tried to explain.
"Oh, I believe I understand. Well, it's just – your hair. . . It is, a very unusual color," he told her, but it was almost more like he was using it as an excuse.
"My hair? Oh yeah, that was my cousin's idea. I always thought it would be cool to have really dark, blue hair. So, she finally convinced me to dye it. You only turn eighteen once, right? Well, that's what she said, anyway," she explained.
"You didn't like the color it was before?" he asked.
"Huh? No, I didn't mind it. I just thought I would like this better, you know?" she offered, but he just blinked at her. "Or, maybe you don't. Haven't you ever wanted to change up your look at all? Maybe alter your colors, or lose the top hat and bow tie? They say variety is the spice of life," she pointed out to him.
"I, uh – never really thought about it before. I supposed my design is part of Fazbear Entertainment labeling though. I doubt they would allow me to change how I look," he reasoned.
"Yeah, I guess that's true. But you shouldn't worry about it too much. I mean, there's nothing wrong with the way you look. I really like the new Glamrock designs. You guys have honestly never looked better," she praised, but that just seemed to raise more questions for Freddy.
Arriving at the lift, Mirabelle pulled out her borrowed badge and held it up to the scanner. It worked like a charm and allowed them access.
Freddy appeared to be deep in thought as they rode their way up. He leaned back against the wall, arms crossed and staring at the floor. Mirabelle frowned at him in concern. Had she said something to upset him? Luckily she didn't have to wait long to find out.
"What did you mean by that? Was there a time before when we looked different?" he suddenly questioned her.
"Um, well, not you specifically. I just meant how your characters looked in the video games, before they built this place," she explained, but he didn't appear any less confused.
"Video games? You mean like the ones in the arcade?" he asked.
"Yeah, kinda. But most of those are just adaptations of other games. I'm talking about the actual Five Night's at Freddy's games. You know, the games that inspired this whole place?" She gestured around herself, expecting him to understand.
He did not. He just shook his head.
"Wait, really? Are you telling me that you've never heard of them?" she wondered in surprise.
"None of the children I've spoken with have ever mentioned anything of the sort, and if you'll recall, they are the only ones who typically speak to me," he reminded her, sounding a bit sour.
"Well, they aren't exactly kid friendly games," she mentioned, rubbing at the back of her neck. This caused him to raise an eyebrow at her.
"Wow, okay, um. . ." she subconsciously reached for her phone, forgetting for a moment that she no longer had it.
"Oh, right. . ." she trailed for a bit, thinking. "Well, if I had my cell, I could show you," she muttered in irritation. "They released a mobile version of the game called 'Special Delivery' several years ago," she offered, but then opted to just give him the run down.
"Basically, they're your standard jump scare, horror games. They have pretty simple mechanics, where all you really do is sit in a room and use the tools the game gives you to try and last the night and not get attacked by any of the roaming animatronics. If you make it through the night, then you can move onto the next one where you do the same thing, but it gets harder each time you progress," she explained, then had a quick moment of understanding.
"Kind of ironic that it's now literally happening," she realized with a cringe.
"You are saying these games were designed to be scary? But, we were not designed to be scary. We were designed to be friendly, and yet, our likenesses are in these games?" He appeared troubled by the implications.
"If it makes you feel any better, this current design is way friendlier," she gestured at him. "The versions in the games looked very different, but technically you were still in there. The main characters are mainly you, Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy, with some side characters thrown in depending on what version you're playing," she clarified.
"We used to have a Bonnie as a member of the Pizzaplex, until. . ." he trailed off, looking incredibly forlorn.
Mirabelle gazed up at him with a furrowed brow, eyes full of concern. She was about to ask him to explain, but he noticed her expression before she could.
"Do not worry about it. It is, irrelevant," he assured her.
"Okay, if you say so," she replied, pausing for a moment. "I still think it's kinda weird that you've never heard of the games. I mean, I have a feeling you wouldn't even exist without them," she mentioned, hoping to change the subject.
"It is rather strange," he agreed.
Mirabelle's expression suddenly shifted, and she grinned up at him.
"What?" he wondered, fixing her with a curious look.
The elevator suddenly dinged that they had arrived at the desired floor, the doors sliding open.
"I was just thinking, how crazy meta would it be for you to actually play one of your own games?" she asked, moving towards the lift exit.
However, no sooner has she crossed the threshold and stepped onto the landing, that she was suddenly assaulted by one of the S.T.A.F.F. bots shouting in her face!
"Hi! Please take this Map! Take a Map!" It ordered.
"Holy Shitballs!" she exclaimed, jumping back away from it in alarm.
She turned to notice Freddy staring at her like he didn't understand what her problem was.
"Sorry, I know you don't like swearing, but – what the hell?!" she demanded, gesturing towards the offending bot.
"That is a Map Bot. They provide guests with maps of the Pizzaplex," he informed her casually.
"Yeah! No sh–" Mirabelle forced herself to stop before finishing the offending expression. "Why did it jump me?" she asked in a calmer tone.
"I apologize. They are not normally this aggressive when there are more patrons in the complex," he told her.
"Of course they aren't," she acknowledged snidely, before peeling herself off the back wall.
The bot was still waving the map around in her face when she approached it, so she finally just snatched it out of it's hand and watched it roll away on it's silly, little wheels.
"Thank you, please enjoy," it told her. "Free map! Free map!" It then kept repeating as it disappeared around the corner.
"Well, at least that one didn't try and murder me," she decided, taking what she could get.
"Perhaps that means whatever corruption is causing the others to behave so bizarrely has not fully spread to the whole complex?" Freddy suggested in an optimistic tone.
"We can only hope," Mirabelle agreed.
. . .
"Good news. It looks like the door to El Chip's is open," Freddy commented, when they'd made it to the third floor.
"And, how exactly is that good news?" Mirabelle wondered.
"Because from there, we will be able to get to the East Arcade. Then we'll be able to access the Prize Counter through the security office," he explained. Mirabelle gave him a dubious look.
"How do you know all this?" she asked.
"I have lived here my whole life," he offered proudly. Mirabelle raised an eyebrow. "Also, I have access to the building's blueprints," he then confessed, sounding a bit more sheepish.
"Uh huh," she acknowledged smugly.
Making their way through the restaurant, they came to a back hall that ultimately led them into the East Arcade, just like Freddy said it would. At the end of it, there was a door marked, Staff Only. Mirabelle tried her badge on the scanner.
"Error, clearance access denied." A message from the door droned. Mirabelle turned to give the animatronic bear a questioning look.
"How unfortunate. I was afraid that this could happen," he commented.
"What if you just, broke the door down?" Mirabelle suggested, growing weary of the run around.
"Such an act would surely put the whole building on high alert," he warned.
"Bringing everything right to us. Yeah, I get it, but where do we go from here?" she asked.
"There is another way. If we head to the back of the arcade, there is a roll up door at the very back which leads to the Prize Counter," he offered.
"Okay. . ." Mirabelle sighed, and they were off again.
Too bad they didn't fair much better at the other door. Her badge was still denied.
"What is this?! Why does a pizza arcade need so much security?" she growled in frustration.
"I believe they are. . . required safety measures due to past issues," he explained, sort of.
"Past issues? What past issues?" Mirabelle questioned hesitantly.
"To be honest, my friend's programming has not always been, perfect," he seemed to confess. "There have been reports of, bugs. But nothing ever like what's happened tonight, and usually the staff has been quick to resolve them," he explained.
"So, does that mean their code is still under development? Even now?" Mirabelle wondered in surprise.
"I am, not sure. But, if that is the case, I wonder. Does that mean there may be a way to fix them?" he speculated hopefully.
Mirabelle took her chin in her hand, as if deep in thought.
"Well, have you tried turning them off and on again?" she suggested with a cheesy grin.
"I do not believe that will be effective, as it will not. . ." he trailed off when he noticed her impish smirk. "But now I am assuming that you are joking," he realized.
She giggled at him and he couldn't help but return her mirth with a smile of his own. He suddenly became aware that it made him happy to see her happy, even if it was at his own expense.
"Are you now comfortable enough to tell me why you're choosing to make humorous comments despite your grave circumstances?" he asked her again, hoping for an honest answer this time.
Mirabelle immediately sobered, her features twisting into a frown of contemplation.
"I guess you could say it's a – coping mechanism," she offered.
"A coping mechanism?" he repeated in a questioning tone.
"Sure. In really stressful situations, like this one, people will eventually get to a breaking point where they either laugh or cry. Both reactions are a way to relieve the stress, because if you don't get rid of it somehow, you'll probably get sick," she explained as best she could.
"Does that mean you are currently at a breaking point?" he asked, sounding a bit worried.
"Well, I wouldn't say I am right at this moment, but I will admit that my stress levels are like, up to here," she held up a hand that was, right around eye level. A bit of an exaggeration, but it was for maximum effect.
"So, right now, it's either laugh or cry. Take your pick," she presented, not being fully sincere.
"I – do not like to see you cry. I would much prefer your jokes, even if I do not always understand them," he assured her.
"Good, me too," she agreed, flashing him a pleasant smile. "But now, we're supposed to be finding another way into this security office. Any ideas?" she asked him.
Freddy shifted his gaze until he appeared as though he were just staring at the floor. He glanced back up to give her a knowing look before pointing a finger at the bottom of the wall. Mirabelle's eyes followed the direction he was indicating until she noticed another person-sized duct protruding ominously from behind some of the arcade machines.
She turned back to him with a skeptical look, only to find him giving her the faintest of smiles.
"Really? Another vent?" she protested haughtily.
"I am sorry for the inconvenience, princess. But as things currently stand, I believe it is the only way," he informed her. Her expression dissolved into a glare in response to this.
"Did you just call me, princess?" she questioned dubiously.
"Well, you did not approve of, superstar. Besides, I thought all girls enjoyed being called, princess," he reasoned, sort of surprising her.
"Not when it's used in a derogatory way!" she argued back.
"I apologize. It was not my intention for the comment to be derogatory. I will endeavor to sound more sincere in the future," he assured her.
Mirabelle wasn't entirely sure that she believed him, but she didn't really have any proof to the contrary, so she decided to just let it slide.
"Fine, I suppose if you call me that nicely, I might be willing to allow it," she consented, before finally returning to the task at hand. "Now, if you would be so kind, help me open this grate," she requested.
"It would be my pleasure," he replied, leaning over and popping it off like it was made of paper. She ducked down to climb inside.
"Be sure to keep contact with me on your Fazwatch. You can let me in once you reach the other side," he told her. She nodded that she understood, and was about to slide herself into the airway when she felt him stop her. She turned to see what was up.
"And Mira, be careful," he requested with a serious expression.
She felt a wave of heat spread across her cheeks before quickly turning away, but not before answering.
"I will," she assured him, and disappeared from sight.
. . .
She hadn't gone far before Mirabelle suddenly began to pick up on a faint, but peculiar, sound that seemed to be echoing through the ventilation system. It started off very soft at first, but the further she went, the more clear it became. It sounded like, a music box?
At first, she'd figured it was just some music playing from the room that she was currently crawling towards. However, after a bit, she realized that it wasn't drifting in from ahead of her, but behind. . .
Mirabelle felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end as the music got closer, followed by an unnerving, rhythmic clicking. Not being able to take this anymore, she pulled out her flashlight, rolled around onto her back, and pointed it down the dark void of the metal tunnel.
What met her gaze, was nothing short of horrifying! It was like they had taken the DJ Music Man, and not only made him a hundred times smaller, but also a hundred times creepier! Now sporting a hat and a pair of cymbals like that hideous toy monkey, he had her fixed with that same soulless gaze. Before letting out an unholy screech and attempting to launch himself at her face!
She unleashed with a terrified shriek of her own that reverberated all the way back to Freddy, and yet still managed to hold him at bay, keeping her legs between the creature and her vulnerable parts. She could hear Freddy suddenly called for her through the Fazwatch, but was currently in no position to answer.
The monstrous, little bot was clamping down on her shoes, since it was all she was allowing him to get to with her wild kicking. He was busy pulling off chunks of rubber with his filthy, crooked teeth, and Mirabelle suddenly felt fury replace her fear. These sneakers hadn't been cheap!
"Get offa me, you nasty, little cockroach!" she hollered, this time aiming a strong, well placed kick right to the middle of his face!
It created a significant dent in his head and sent him flying back through the vent. However, instead of retaliating, like she'd expected, she was surprised to find him pick himself up and turn to attempted to crawl away. Feeling empowered by the sudden shift in its behavior, Mirabelle quickly scooted after him.
"Oh, you're not getting away from me!" she threatened, lobbing several more solid kicks until the thing was nearly in pieces.
She eventually managed to fling it all the way back and out the end of the vent, it's remains clattering to the floor outside. This was followed by a very confused Freddy face appearing in the opening. He glanced down at the destroyed toy before staring back at her.
"Mira! Are you alright? I was trying to contact you," he told her, like she didn't already know.
"Yeah, sorry. I was a little busy trying to keep that thing from tearing off my face!" she barked out. "Did you guys know you had a pest problem?" she asked, sounding a bit calmer.
"I – was not aware. I will be sure to alert management," he assured her.
Mirabelle didn't know if he was being serious or not, but she grinned at the comment anyway. Maybe he was picking up on her sense of humor after all?
Until the next time, Bye Bye!