Hey guys! Just a quick note before we begin. So, there's some exposition in this chapter that I had never intended writing when I started, but it just sort of, happened as I went. I haven't actually seen it addressed anywhere else before, so I'm hoping that everyone is okay with my ideas. (I think you'll know what I mean when you get there, but just in case, it's regarding Freddy's 'place' in the Pizzaplex.)
Besides that though, I have to say, this has to be one of my favorite chapters so far, and I really enjoyed creating it! I just hope you guys like it too! Anyway, if anyone else has any opinions on this, I'd love to hear them! But without further ado, onto the story!
Poking around Chica's green room did not produce immediate results. In fact, the longer they hunted, the more grossed out Mirabelle could feel herself getting. The room was stacked with garbage, mostly empty pizza boxes, but some were not so empty. She pulled open one box to find that the food it had once contained was now a soupy green and black mass. Mirabelle gagged and immediately slammed it closed.
"What is with all the rotten food? Do guests bring their leftovers in here and forget to take them home? Why doesn't the staff clean this up?" she had to wonder.
"Oh, it's not the guests. Chica brings it in here herself," he offered.
"Why?" Mirabelle questioned skeptically.
"Chica loves pizza!" he tried to reason.
"That is not pizza, that is an – abomination!" she shot back in disgust. "Besides, how can an animatronic love pizza? It's not like you guys can eat – or have taste buds for that matter!" she argued.
Freddy simply shrugged. "I told you, my friend's programming has always been a bit, quirky."
Pushing aside another mound of trash, Mirabelle discovered a brightly colored pouch adorned with pink and green glitter. She pulled it open to find it full of attraction passes.
"Ah ha! Just had to dig deep enough through the refuse!" She flashed a card at Freddy.
"Well done! You can use one of those passes to get into Fazer Blast or Monty Golf. Where would you like to go?" he asked.
"Well, you said to get one of those blasters, I had to beat some kind of game, right?" she clarified, and he nodded that she was correct. "That sounds like a lot of unnecessary work and we don't exactly have all night, so how about we just get a camera from the golf course," she decided.
"I believe that sounds like the safest course of action," Freddy agreed.
. . .
They, luckily for once, didn't run into any issues on the way there. Stepping into the elevator, they both glanced up as the automatic voice over began to sound out.
"Welcome to Monty's Gator Golf – home of the Hurricane Hole-in-One! We're currently closed for the night. Come back soon!" they heard in Monty's voice.
"You know, my cousin managed to hit the hole in one when we were here earlier. She's really good at mini-golf. It was actually her idea to bring me here for my birthday. I think she was the most disappointed out of all of us when you ended up glitching on stage and we weren't able to use our photo passes. She really wanted to meet Chica, but I think she would have liked you too. I mean, both of them would have if it wasn't for. . ." she trailed off once she noticed Freddy staring at her with a puzzled brow.
"Sorry, I'm rambling," she realized.
"It's alright. You are – worried about your friends?" he guessed.
"Yeah," she acknowledged with a small nod. "I haven't really had much time to think about it. But I guess – even though deep down I know that she's gotta be lying – what Roxy told me earlier, kinda bothered me," she confessed.
"Oh, don't mind her," Freddy said, waving it off. "She has green hair and pronouns," he joked, and was happy to see that it pulled a smile out of her. "I'm sure your friends are just fine," he offered in a more serious tone.
Despite also knowing that there was no actual way that Freddy could be sure of that, Mirabelle still found it reassuring to hear him say.
"We should head for the Security Office in the back hallway. That is where they keep the confiscated Faz Cams, since there's no flash photography allowed in Monty Golf. Yet they are constantly having to take them away from guests, mainly because they are only sold in Monty Golf. It is a very clever marketing plan," Freddy explained helpfully, as they stepped out of the lift and into the dimly lit area.
"That's because it's a scam," Mirabelle informed him matter-of-factly, following him down the hall.
"It is?" he questioned.
"Yes, otherwise they'd give the cameras back when the guests left. Plus, they shouldn't be allowed to resell used cameras! I can't believe people are gullible enough to keep buying them!" she huffed with a head shake.
"The children really seem to like them," he reasoned. "They occasionally will get very angry with their parents if they refuse to purchase one."
"They throw a fit, you mean," Mirabelle clarified. "One of the many reasons why I never want kids," she blew out a tired sigh just thinking about it.
"You don't like children?" Freddy asked with a frown. Mirabelle just smirked at him.
"I know this might be hard for you to believe, but not everyone wants their whole lives to revolve around kids. I wanna be a career woman, make an impact on the engineering world, a significant contribution – ya know?" she tried to explain.
Freddy seemed to ponder her words before responding.
"Is there, not time for both?" he finally decided to ask.
"Not all of us are immortal, Freddy," she reminded him with a huff.
Stepping around the corner, they soon arrived at their destination. This office appeared to share a very striking resemblance to the first one Mirabelle had encountered. Complete with monitors and sliding metal doors, which explained her sudden hesitation at the entrance. Freddy blinked down at her curiously for a moment.
"As long as you don't break into anything, it should not set off any alarms," he reassured her with a smile.
"I. . ." she trailed off, staring at him. It was weird to think about how perceptive he was getting so quickly. Especially considering how clueless most human guys were. It was both refreshing and at the same time, a bit unsettling – resulting in quite the complicated emotion.
"Right," she eventually acknowledged, stepping into the room with him. Freddy was in there with her after all, so what was the worst that could happen?
It didn't take long to locate the camera stash. Freddy wasn't kidding when he said they were often confiscated here. The cupboards were full of them! It was bright orange and sported a familiar pair of ears and a top hat on the case.
"Huh, I guess I can see why they call it a 'Faz Cam', and why kids would go crazy over it. I don't even wanna think about the demand when they start selling these watches," she realized, eyeing the little Freddy head on her wrist.
"Once they do, I suppose the Map Bots will no longer be needed," Freddy determined.
"Well, thank goodness for that!" Mirabelle joked.
Pausing to gaze at the scenery for a moment once they were back out on the course, a sudden puzzling observation occurred to Mirabelle that she felt curious enough to voice.
"Hey, Freddy?" she questioned, getting his attention.
"Hmm?" he replied, turning to her.
"So, Monty Golf is Monty's signature attraction, right?" she began.
"Why, yes. When he's not in his green room, he spends most of his time here," he confirmed.
"And Roxy, has the raceway and the salon. Chica has Mazercise and her cupcake stand. The sun/moon thing has the Daycare, Music Man's in charge of the dance arcade. Heck, even Bonnie and Foxy have themed areas, and they aren't even active animatronics. So, what about you?" she wondered.
"Me?" he asked, not quite following.
"Yeah, you're like, the main character – the face of the whole franchise! So, where's your signature attraction?" she pressed.
"Funny you should ask. Actually, Fazerblast was originally designed more around me, due to laser tag getting the most votes in attraction popularity polls. Back then it was called, 'Freddy's Fazerblast'," he explained.
"So, what happened to change it?" she asked.
"Well, as I said before, a shot in the eyes from a Fazerblaster causes animatronics to briefly malfunction, and despite all the warnings, there were too many – rule breakers," he seemed reluctant to admit.
"Are you telling me that the kids kept shooting you in the eyes, on purpose?" It was hard enough to ask the question, but even worse when he confirmed it with a nod.
Mirabelle couldn't help the sudden wave of sympathy that came crashing down on top of her, like ice water. She didn't even want to think about how long the staff made him put up with that before finally moving him out of the attraction. It was hard to swallow, now knowing what she knew, and made her feel even worse about how she'd initially treated him with a similar calloused disregard.
"And you still like spending time with them?" she wondered with no small amount of surprise.
"Of course. They are only children. They didn't understand, but I still enjoy that I am able to make them happy," he told her.
"Jeeze! They should give you your own holiday, because you're a fricken saint!" she declared without any exaggeration.
He cocked his head at her, clearly confused by the statement.
"Are you sure your friends have a virus? Maybe they've just gotten fed up with how people treat them?" she suggested, only partially joking.
It brought on the disturbing possibility that perhaps the Daycare Attendant wasn't inherently psychotic, maybe he'd just snapped from all the abuse? After all, even the most loving and loyal of dogs would eventually fight back if they were pushed too far.
"Roxanne, did suggest as much. However, it is not usually so bad as she claimed. Besides, that still does not explain this mysterious 'him' and the other's obsession with you," he pointed out.
"I guess that's true, but still. . ." she trailed.
"Don't worry about it too much. The Main Stage is my signature attraction now. I am still the lead singer of the band, after all," he reminded her proudly.
"When you're not glitching," she teased lightly.
He smiled down at her with an expression that conveyed more affection than she was comfortable with, and she had to look away. It dawned on her that if everything he'd been telling her was true, then it only made sense why he seemed so desperate to keep her around. He had to be feeling incredibly lonely right now, what with his only real friends apparently turning on him – because of her. . .
This sudden realization began to plant a serious seed of doubt in her mind. If everything that was happening here actually was her fault, then how long until Freddy eventually came to that same conclusion? Wouldn't it be easier, and make him happier, if he just. . .
Mirabelle quickly shook her head, trying to rid herself of the scary and saddening thought. No – he wouldn't do that. He promised her that he wouldn't! And at this point, she didn't really have much of a choice but to believe him. Or was it, that despite all evidence to the contrary, that she actually wanted to believe him. She wanted it to be true! Except, what exactly did that mean?
Stop it! She finally ordered herself, growling and grabbing at her head. It was a waste of time and energy to be thinking about all this now! She needed to focus on what was most important, getting out of here alive.
"Mirabelle? Is, everything okay?" she heard the robot bear ask her. He sounded distressed.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she did her best to assure him, forcing a smile. "I was just thinking, um. . ." she glanced around, looking for inspiration for an excuse. "That if Monty wasn't actively trying to hunt me down, he might actually be a pretty cool guy," she voiced lamely.
Luckily, Freddy didn't seem to be particularly phased by it.
"Oh yes, before he started having his, violent episodes, he was very easy going. Also quite good with the older children. The boys in particular seemed to really like him," Freddy confirmed.
"Oh, I see. Well, I was, going to ask – we need info if we're ever going to get to the bottom of what's going on around here. And, now that we have this," Mirabelle waved the camera around. "I was just wondering who you think might be the most cooperative. . ." she trailed, but decided to continue when the only response she got from Freddy was a questioning look. "I mean, it's obvious that we're not going to get anything from Roxy, but what about one of the others? If we could just incapacitate them for long enough, then maybe –"
A sudden, low crash in the distance instantly cut Mirabelle off from her musings. She flipped around, eyes and ears now on high alert.
"What was that?" she wondered fearfully.
"That is a replica of an alligator head. I do not believe they are normally that large, but the designers increased their size for effect. They are programmed to pop out of the river occasionally to –"
Not seeing any clear end to this, Mirabelle finally just cut him off.
"Not the gator heads! You didn't hear that suspicious crash?" she snapped.
"No, I didn't –" he stopped when they heard another one. Louder this time. "Alright, that I definitely heard," he confessed.
Acting quickly, Mirabelle grabbed Freddy by the bow tie, pulling them both down behind a conveniently located bench. She then carefully peeked over it, searching for any sign of what was causing the racket while keeping a firm grip on her new weapon.
"Mira. . ." Freddy called in a hushed tone, but she just shushed him, trying to listen.
"But Mira, since we're not sure who that is, we should –"
This time, Mirabelle reached a hand out to clamp over his muzzle, effectively silencing him. However, in doing so, she also managed to press down on the top of his nose. The surprising squeak of a party horn suddenly sounded out from him.
Mirabelle froze for a moment, wondering if that had actually happened, or if she'd just imagined it. She flipped around to find him blinking at her, looking rather nonplussed. Now she had to know for sure! Slightly lifting her hand, she pressed it back down on his nose again.
~Party horn~
Forgetting the serious situation for a moment, Mirabelle instantly broke out into a massive grin!
"Oh my gosh, your nose actually does that? That's so adorable!" she practically squealed in delight.
Freddy rolled his eyes and sighed at the beaming girl, pulling her hand off of him.
"Mira, focus. You need to listen to me," he ordered. "Because if that's Monty –" but she didn't give him a chance to finish.
"Don't worry, I've got it covered!" she told him, brandishing the camera. "Once I flash him, you jump out and grab him, and then we'll see if we can get him to tell us anything," she offered for quick explanation, before rolling out of hiding, camera flash at the ready.
"Mira, wait!" Freddy tried reaching for her, but he wasn't quite quick enough.
"Hey, little lady. . ." Monty was calling as he stalked down the lanes. "There you are!" he shouted as soon as he spotted the girl.
"That's right, big guy. Come over here and say, 'cheese'," she taunted confidently. Unfortunately, little did she know, that confidence was about to be spectacularly shattered!
Once she felt he was close enough, Mirabelle took the picture, activating the camera flash on max brightness! In the same moment, Freddy had leapt out of hiding, just in time to get caught in the crossfire! She heard him cry out in surprise and pain, and he hit the floor, covering his eyes.
Meanwhile, she had only a second to realize with horror that Monty had not suffered the same consequences! It was almost as though he were showing off, as he slightly lowered his star-shaped sunglasses, revealing his menacing, glowing red optics.
"That isn't gonna work on me," he boasted balefully, before replacing the glasses, and aggressively lunging straight towards the glaciated girl!
At this point, it was no surprise that he succeeded in throwing her onto her back, pinning her to the floor. He instantly moved to wrap his claws around her neck, and Mirabelle had only the smallest of windows to throw her hands up to try and push him off!
It wasn't until he was on top of her that Mirabelle began to get a fully accurate sense of just how big he was! And he was strong, and heavy. Really heavy! With gravity on his side, it wasn't possible for her to keep his reaching hands at bay, and after a moment, she began to feel them slowly crushing down on her windpipe!
Complete panic set in as she desperately tried her best to hold him back, but to no avail. She gasped and choked as her air supply was cut off, her mind screaming since her voice could not! Her vision started to get foggy as she realized that this was it. Once she passed out, he would finish her off, for good!
However, just before she lost consciousness, Mirabelle felt all the weight suddenly lift away from her in one fell swoop! She was just able to make out Freddy standing over her, with his hand firmly grasped around the back of the killer croc's neck, Monty now struggling in the air against the bear's iron grip.
Freddy had an almost deadly look on his face as he glared daggers into Monty's now visible optics, the sunglasses having fallen when he was grabbed unexpectedly.
"Get away from her!" he growled dangerously, before launching the stunned alligator across the room and into one of the random vending machines with a loud crash!
There was a bright flash of electricity, as the power from the machine began to short out Monty's systems. He convulsed wildly for a moment as the energy shot through his body. Until finally, the breaker blew, and he collapsed, unmoving, smoke slowly rising from the wreckage.
Mirabelle rotated around onto her side, gripping at her throbbing throat as she began heaving and coughing in an attempt to draw sweet oxygen into her deprived, burning lungs. Realizing this, Freddy was at her side in an instant.
"Mira! Mira, are you alright?" he began asking, his voice sounding almost panicked.
She glanced up at her rescuer with large, round eyes as her body began to slightly calm. The shock and the adrenaline wearing off, leaving equal parts fear and gratitude in it's place over what had just occurred.
Instead of answering, Mirabelle suddenly burst into terrified sobs, throwing her arms around his neck and desperately clinging to him as hard as she could.
Freddy froze for a moment at the unexpected gesture, trying to process what was happening. He glanced down at the girl who currently had him in a death grip, before closing his eyes and slowly wrapping his arms around her comfortingly.
"Hey, there. It's okay. You are safe now," he told her, cradling her head in his hand against his shoulder as she cried. "I am, truly sorry I let that happen, but I am so glad that you are still with me," he stressed, but then felt her shake her head against him.
"I-it – it was – my fault," she managed to choke out. "I shouldn't've –" she tried to say, but he cut her off before she could.
"No, don't say that. This wasn't your fault. You just didn't know," he told her sternly. "Now, come on, let's get you to the first aid station," he offered, rising up while still keeping a firm grip on her.
"B-but – what about – Monty?" she felt herself wondering, staring at the very damaged bot over Freddy's shoulder.
"Don't, worry about Monty. I'm sure he'll be fine. He is, pretty tough. Right now, let's worry about you," he assured her, before he began carting her away from the carnage.
"Freddy?" Mirabelle said, almost whispering his name.
"Hmm?" she felt the vibration of his hum against her as he glanced in her direction.
"Thank you," she told him with immeasurable gratitude, feeling her eyes well up with a new batch of fresh tears. These ones spilling silently down her cheeks as she squeezed him harder. She never should have doubted him!
His face softened into a small smile, letting out a breathy sigh.
"You're welcome," he answered with equal sincerity.
Woo! So, that was pretty intense. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Anyway, until the next time. Bye Bye!