With all the excitement on pause for the moment, Freddy took the opportunity to hike over and check on Roxy, hefting the kart off of her. Similarly to Chica, he found that while she'd taken heavy damage, it was thankfully mostly superficial. After some repairs and a recharge, she'd be able to make a full recovery.
Once he'd finished with his scan, he turned to find Mirabelle perched next to him. He blinked up at her as she threw her hands up, defensively taking a step back.
"Hey, at least it wasn't my fault this time," she pointed out, as though she needed to remind him.
"The implication being, that everything else is?" he asked skeptically.
Mirabelle just shrugged. It sure felt that way from where she was standing. Her motion causing Freddy to sigh.
"Mira, would you have actually let Roxy take you if she'd succeeded in winning the race?" he wondered.
"She was obviously never planning on keeping up her end of the bargain, so why would we?" she hinted slyly. Freddy raised a dubious brow at her. "I figured the whole race bet Michael was making was just a way to try and get her off her guard. I guess he wasn't anticipating her turning on us so quickly though," she glanced down at the heavily damaged wolf. "Is she gonna be okay?" she couldn't help but ask, despite being nervous over the answer.
"No worse off than the others," Freddy confirmed.
"Are you serious? Then why didn't we just do that from the beginning? What was the point in coming here at all?" They suddenly heard Nicole exclaim from where she, Michael, and Vanessa were huddled.
"Because it's the first place they would have expected us to go. You're dreaming if you think it's not gonna be completely surrounded by guards by now," Vanessa argued back.
"She's got a point, Nicky. But, I mean, if we could find a way to lure them all somewhere else. . ." Michael then trailed in thought.
Freddy and Mirabelle exchanged questioning glances, before hiking over to join the others in their pow-wow.
"Hey, what are we talking about now?" Mirabelle wondered.
"Vanessa's idea to disable the S.T.A.F.F. bots," Michael answered for them.
"Which we shoulda just done in the first place," Nicole muttered.
"I'm telling you, it would have been a waste of time to try. At least, not without dealing with Roxy first, which your boy here handled in spectacular fashion," Vanessa mentioned, gesturing at him. Michael taking it as a much higher complement than she intended.
"So, what's the plan then?" Mirabelle pressed, tired of being kept in suspense.
"You know how the Glamrocks and most of the Pizzaplex runs on a combined network?" Vanessa directed at them. Mirabelle nodded in acknowledgment. "Well, what most people don't know is that the S.T.A.F.F. bots don't. Since their programming was so rudimentary, our engineers felt that it would be easier just to keep them on their own separate network. One that they could just set and forget, and not have to worry about needing to constantly update," she explained.
"Okay, that sounds like good news then, right? If we can just disable this secondary network, won't it also disable all the S.T.A.F.F. bots?" Mirabelle reasoned.
"That's what I said!" Nicole protested.
"And like I was saying before, it isn't going to be that easy!" Vanessa argued back. "Our mysterious foe has locked me out of the networks, remember? We can't just shut it off. To even access it, we'd have to head all the way down to the server room at the basement level. And even then, you won't be able to disable it without whatever he's changed the clearance to," she pointed out.
"But, I'm getting the impression that you still have some other idea?" Mirabelle humored.
"Even if we can't access direct control, the server is designed in a way that it can still accept incoming data, just as long as it passes a simple virus scan. So, the only other thing I could think to do, would be to flood the network with massive amounts of junk data. That will overwhelm the S.T.A.F.F. bot's programming, until eventually, it will force an overload," she determined.
"That, seems like it could be, destructive," Mirabelle commented carefully, casting a side eye in Freddy's direction. He returned the gaze, flashing her a knowing smirk.
"Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary. S.T.A.F.F. bots do not have any conceivable form of consciousness," he assured her.
"The only issues would then be, for one, I'm sure the server room is being guarded, and two – we'd need a program to upload the data quickly enough, that by the time they get wise to what's happening, it'll be too late to stop it," Vanessa reminded them.
Mirabelle hummed, putting a hand to her chin. "I could probably whip something up. I'd just need access to a computer, and a way to physically transmit the data," she mused.
"Would this work?" Michael wondered, pulling a, surprisingly intact, MP3 player from out of his back pocket. "They might've stolen our phones when the animatronics grabbed Nicky and I, but they didn't seem to have a problem with me keeping this," he offered.
"Probably because it's so old. Who even uses those anymore?" Nicole wondered.
"It doesn't matter. I think this should still do the trick," Mirabelle realized, snatching it up excitedly.
"Great! And I think I can help with the computer part," Vanessa told her.
. . .
Seated comfortably in a small office, Mirabelle merrily taka-takked away on the keyboard in front of her while the others went through the run down of the game plan one more time, preparing for what they hoped would be the final obstacle of the night.
"Here," Vanessa was telling Michael, passing him a now very familiarly adorned, orange watch. "I've got my Fazwatch all linked up with Mirabelle's, so we'll be able to contact you as soon as we know for sure that it's safe for you to move."
He eagerly accepted the bauble, strapping it securely around his wrist.
"I don't know about this. Isn't splitting up usually a bad idea in these situations?" Nicole pointed out with concern.
"If you're worried about getting caught, you don't have to be. The S.T.A.F.F. bots seem pretty focused on just locating Mira at this point. They'll be sure to zero in on us as soon as we head down into the tunnel," Vanessa told her. Although, that didn't seem to help put her at ease any, as she cast a wary glance towards her cousin.
"You shouldn't have to worry about Mira either, Nick. Because at this point, I'm pretty sure that Freddy's gonna do whatever it takes to make sure she stays safe," Michael added with an impish, but reassuring grin.
Freddy watched the bionic girl tense at her friend's hinting comment, and he could detect her heart rate slightly increase. Other than that, she didn't register a reaction of any kind, and he was left wondering if that was a good sign or a bad one.
"Michael is correct," he decided to confirm nonetheless.
"Alright, fine," she consented with a sigh. She didn't like it, but there wasn't much she could offer in the way of argument, either. "Anyway, so, once Mira's finished, Mikey and I are gonna sneak our way down to the server room while you three head back to the Raceway?" Nicole questioned, starting off the recap.
"That's right. We'll poke around in the tunnel to try and find a way to put a stop to this guy, while simultaneously leading all the S.T.A.F.F. bots away from you. Once we know for sure that we have them far enough away from the server that they won't be able to stop you, we'll give you a signal on the Fazwatch to plug in our 'override'," Vanessa confirmed with a nod.
"Sounds like a plan! Say Mira, how much longer?" Michael called over to her.
"Just give me another second for it to finish uploading. . . and. . . there!" she yanked the device out of the computer, whirling around in the office chair to hand it back to her friend. He took it, although not without giving her a bit of a skeptical look.
"You sure this is gonna work?" he asked.
"Yes. All you should have to do is plug it in. Then the program will trigger it to rapidly upload the 'Toreador March' about six billion times, or until the server runs out of data space. Whichever comes first," she confirmed, pushing herself out of the chair. "Alright, guess this is it, then?" The question sounding more ominous than she intended.
The others nodded, before Nicole stepped forward to wrap her arms around her cousin.
"Mira. Please – please, be careful, and promise me you'll be okay," she all but begged.
She glanced up to see Freddy watching them, shooting him a pleading look as well. He responded with a large, affirming smile.
"I will," Mirabelle assured her, returning the hug. "Don't worry. This is going to work," she declared with determination.
. . .
Separating herself from her friends again was turning out to be harder than Mirabelle thought. Not knowing for sure if they were going to be okay themselves kept causing her to second guess this plan. Except, no matter how many times she ran over it in her head, she couldn't come up with a better solution. Not a lot she could do about it now, anyway. She just had to trust that Vanessa would be right, and the S.T.A.F.F. bots would all chase after them once they realized they were headed into the tunnel.
Carefully making their way down the crudely constructed staircase, it didn't take long before the trio stumbled upon a large room that looked like it had been bored directly out of the foundation! Cement support beams were strategically placed at equal intervals throughout it to keep the whole thing from caving in.
"What is all this?" Vanessa finally asked in awe.
"I think a better question is, how did it get here without any staff members realizing it?" Mirabelle pointed out dubiously.
"Well, it was sealed off until recently," she reminded her. "But honestly? I don't think anyone really cared enough to try and find out," she confessed.
A sudden clang from behind them caused the girls to whip around in surprise. Only to find Freddy stumbling backwards, sheepishly rubbing at his forehead. They narrowed their eyes at him, as dust trickled down from where he'd collided with an angled column.
"Be careful!" Vanessa hissed. "This place doesn't look all that structurally sound," she warned.
"My apologies," he murmured, ducking after them.
At the end of the room, they discovered what appeared to be some kind of old elevator shaft being dimly illuminated by a few construction lamps.
"Well, I guess this explains the cause of the brown outs," Vanessa commented. She trailed the beam of her flashlight along some very thick power cables that were running along the ground, until ultimately disappearing further into the foundation. "Something down there is pulling power. A lot of it," she confirmed.
Freddy hummed in displeasure as he studied the run down lift more closely.
"We should be very cautious when using this elevator. It does not appear to follow any safety protocols," he informed them.
"Oh? Ya don't say? So, what else is new?" Mirabelle mocked with an eye roll.
"I know this might be hard to believe, but the Pizzaplex usually strives to uphold strict health and safety guidelines. I mean, this franchise can hardly afford any more bad publicity," Vanessa argued.
"My point is, this is hardly the most dangerous thing we've attempted tonight. What could possibly go wrong?" Mirabelle teased, slapping the large button next to the doors, causing them to slide open.
"Famous last words," Vanessa commented, as the three of them stepped inside.
The music that played during the ride down sounded like a dying version of the normal elevator tune. Maybe that's because it was? Either way, Mirabelle didn't appreciate the goosebumps it was giving her. She breathed out a small sigh of relief when the lift finally settled onto the level below.
However, that relief was short lived as they ventured out into what appeared to be some kind of Fazbear hell! Although, Mirabelle realized, what else was she expecting to be down here, a department store?
"Is anyone else getting the feeling that the Pizzaplex was built on top of this freaky cavern?" she questioned the others, keeping close to Freddy as they methodically moved along.
"Oh, it's more than just a feeling. Look!" Reaching down near the rock wall next to her, Vanessa flicked up a large switch on a purple, metal box that resembled some kind of generator.
Neon lights suddenly sprang to life in front of them, along with several more construction lamps, all illuminating a large sign over a very familiar-looking double door. The small group stared up at it in shock, simultaneously reading the words: Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Place!
"Wait, what!? What the hell is this?!" Mirabelle exclaimed first, waving wildly at it.
"Looks like all those rumors about an old location were true," Vanessa mentioned.
"Are you saying that this is one of the previous restaurants where. . ." Mirabelle trailed, but Vanessa shook her head.
"No, this place was more recent than that," she was quick to assure her.
"Really, because it looks ancient," Mirabelle scoffed.
"Vanessa, what were the rumors that you mentioned before?" Freddy wondered pensively, his gaze not wavering from the looming sign.
"Just that, some private investor purchased the rights to put the Fazbear name on an Italian restaurant he was building. I'd heard he managed to even get his hands on some animatronics with, questionable, origins. Unfortunately, it wasn't open for very long before the whole thing burned down," Vanessa elaborated.
"Seems to be a trend," Mirabelle muttered, recalling that's how many of the games ended.
"Either way, the private investor was never heard from again, so Fazbear Entertainment reclaimed the property, and apparently, decided to build the Pizzaplex over the old site," Vanessa added, before placing a hand on her chin. "Although, looks like the remains of the old one dropped into this sink hole sometime before then," she murmured.
A loud screech brought their attention back down to the door, to find a rather withered S.T.A.F.F. bot had pushed it's way through it. It unleashed the horrible noise as soon as it spotted them.
"Freddy!" Vanessa called frantically, the robot bear reacting almost an instant later.
He lunged for the bot, easily dispatching the thing, as it was already basically falling apart. Despite what he'd said about the S.T.A.F.F. bot's earlier, Mirabelle was still surprised to watch him attack and dismantle it with little remorse.
"That was close," Mirabelle sighed.
"Close? Sorry kiddo, but I'm pretty sure it's already too late. It for sure raised the alarm. Which means this place is gonna be crawling with more of them any second!" Vanessa warned.
"Well, I mean, isn't that what we wanted though? To lead them away from Nicky and Mikey?" Mirabelle reminded her.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to end up in the middle of a massive swarm! We'd better hurry," she encouraged, rushing through the doors.
Once the years of dust had settled, they now found themselves standing in the middle of a heavily damaged and filthy abandoned restaurant, complete with it's own animatronic performance stage. Despite the urgency of the situation, they couldn't help but glance around for a moment. Especially Mirabelle, since this seriously felt like it'd been pulled right out of one of the games!
"How do you know about all this?" she had to wonder at their security companion.
"I told you. I've done a lot of research into this franchise," she reminded her.
"I feel like I, know, this place," Freddy suddenly chimed in, with a rather otherworldly tone that pulled the girl's attention. "Like I, saw it in a dream, once," he mused, as he took it all in. Almost as though he wasn't even talking to them.
"Freddy. . .? Are you okay?" Mirabelle wondered at him with concern. He seemed to snap back to attention at her voice, flashing her a smile.
"Oh, yes. Of course," he assured her.
"Hey guys! Check this out," Vanessa called to them, drawing them over to where she was standing, or more specifically, leaning.
Behind several construction barriers, rested yet another large hole that continued down for, who knows how far!
"Seriously? This thing goes even deeper? Jeeze! How long until we hit bedrock?" Mirabelle joked in an attempt to quell her rising nervousness.
"It can't be much farther now," Vanessa offered, once again pointing out even more power cables leading down into the abyss. "Let's go."
A hop, skip, and jump later, down several – it was a stretch to call them – platforms, and they reached what seemed to be a dead end. Vanessa did a full 360 with her flashlight, but there didn't appear to be anywhere else to go.
"I don't – get it," the blonde sighed in disappointment. "I was sure there would be more to it than this," she muttered.
A small flash coming through a set of boards on the floor at the back of the room managed to catch Mirabelle's attention. She padded over to try and get a better look, going so far as to kneel down, and press her eyes right up against the narrow slit between them.
"Ah ha!" she exclaimed in satisfaction, glancing up to see the others watching her. "There's another room below this one," she pointed downwards. "When in doubt, you just gotta keep digging," she cheesed.
"Let me see," Freddy requested, moving over to join her.
"Wait a second, Freddy. I don't think these boards are gonna –" Except, he didn't wait, and Mirabelle didn't get the chance to finish, before the crude structure collapsed out from under them, and they tumbled to the floor below with a loud crash!
"– hold your weight," she managed to moan out from her new position on top of the bumbling bear bot. At least he'd been successful in cushioning her fall, a bit.
"Are you two okay?" A concerned Vanessa asked from above them, shining her light into the new hole.
"Yeah, fine," Mirabelle grumbled, pushing up to a sitting position and brushing herself off. "Why don't you join us? The water's. . ." The joke she was about to make died in her throat, as Mirabelle's eyes suddenly came to rest on a table along the wall, and the contents on top of it, causing her blood to run cold.
She hopped up and hurried over to confirm what she feared. There, in all it's unhinged, creepy glory, sat the yellow, grinning mask – of the rabbit costume!
Okay, so, for real? I was not expecting the set up to take this long, or for this part to end up being it's own chapter. But my story climax was getting so long, that I figured it might be better to break it up into 2 chapters, you know, for consistency's sake. Also, it leaves off at this beautiful cliffhanger! Everyone's favorite! :P
But seriously though, I'm sorry that this chapter is a little on the shorter and uneventful side, but I feel like it will pay off in the end! This is it ladies and germs, the conclusion is rapidly approaching! So, as always, until the next time, Bye Bye!