Chapter 5 - Manipulation

Roxy was making her way to the nearest medical aid station while carrying Jack, who seemed to be taking a quick nap on her shoulder. "Hey kid, this is no time to sleep! Wake up." She shook him lightly, Jack's eyes shot open with a slight yelp, causing the animatronic to laugh, "Did you seriously sleep on me?" he placed a hand on his forehead, 'How did I allow myself to sleep under these circumstances!?' "Yeah... I'm sorry about that." Roxy sighed and rolled her eyes, "You gotta stop apologizing so much kid." She said while placing him down since he was no longer tired, he looked up at her, "Oh, I'm so-" he stopped himself before finishing the sentence, "Yeah... I guess I do apologize a lot." She playfully ruffled his hair "It's alright kid... Anyways, here we are." They both entered the medical aid station, Jack sat on a nearby chair while Roxanne searched for bandages, after finding what she was looking for, she went up to him and started working on his wound, "This might sting a little." She warns before placing the badges, Jack nodded and she applied them. "Hey, Roxy..." The boy said right after she finished working on the wound, "Everything on this place is out to get me... But not you, why?" She avoided his gaze for a moment, unable to come up with a concrete answer, "I don't know... I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do, helping guests is part of my job, the others should want to help you too, but something has corrupted their system... Chica was complaining about a "headache" before I found you."

Jack thought for a second before speaking again, "Like a virus?" Roxy snapped her fingers, "Yeah! Like a virus, some punk must have infected my friends with a virus, likely the person who is after you." 'Vanny...' Jack thought to himself, "But... Why aren't you infected?" a smirk grew on her face, "I guess they didn't dare to infect the great Roxanne Wolf!" She exclaimed proudly, causing the boy to giggle, "Yeah, right.", Roxy chuckled as well, she didn't like to admit it, but she was getting quite attached to the boy... Which wasn't a good thing, she'd likely never see him again after he left the Pizzaplex, her expression saddened at the thought, which didn't go unnoticed by Jack, "Hey, you're alright?" he asked softly, Roxy stiffened her expression, "Yeah, of course." Roxanne would rather die than show any type of weakness to Jack, this behavior would always result in her suppressing her true feelings, but she didn't care as long as it meant keeping her reputation safe. Jack stood up from the chair, "Well, I'm all good now, we should keep going..." He looked at the FazWatch on his wrist, "Ugh, It's only 1 AM, we still have 5 hours until 6 AM and I'm already sleepy." "I could try getting you a Fizzy Faz if we pass by a vending machine, seriously, those things have enough sugar to keep you awake for weeks! Anyways, we should get going."


The duo entered an elevator that would take them to the main atrium "So how exactly do we go to Parts and Service?" Asked Jack, "It's under the main stage in the main atrium, the stage lifts us down there after every concert, it's the only way I know honestly." she said while pressing the elevator button, "So we just need to find a way to turn on the lift." "And how do we do that?" "By using the lift controls on the Backstage Office of course, " "Right..." The elevator opened its doors and they stepped outside into the main atrium. "You can't hide forever!" "Your family is looking for you..." Jack instantly tensed up at the sound of two familiar voices echoing through the atrium, "Damn it! They're here!" "Don't worry, keep going, and don't let them see you, I'll notify you of their locations." The boy raised a brow, "Wait, you can see them?" Roxy smirked proudly and pointed a finger to her eyes, "I told you I have the best eyes around here, they have special sensors that allow me to see movement through walls." "Oh wow, that's really convenient for my situation."

The duo parted ways to avoid suspicion, Jack cautiously sneaked alone through the atrium, carefully avoiding Chica, Monty, and the Patrol bots, but he was unsure of where to go. "Roxy, where should I go?" He said to his FazWatch, Roxy hummed before answering, "You'll need a Backstage Pass to access the lift controls, there should be one in the Rehearsal Room on the other side of the building... Go to the Roxy Raceway entrance, I'll meet you there." "Got it" Jack finished the call and began making his way to Roxy Raceway.

After a few more minutes of hiding and sneaking, Jack finally reached his destination where Roxy was waiting for him. "Hey Roxy!" he yelled but at the same time was mindful of his voice to not alert the others. "Hey there kiddo, alright now listen, the quickest way to the Rehearsal Room is through Roxy Raceway, just follow me okay?"

They both made their way to what appeared to be a construction area of the Raceway, they went through a door into what seemed to be a large and dark storage room, "This is the way to the Rehearsal room, this place is kinda dark so stay close to me." Said Roxy, the boy nodded and turned his flashlight on.

As they walked through the dark storage room, Roxy looked around looking for Monty or Chica, but instead, her sensors picked up a strange figure standing at the end of the room. At first, she thought it was an error, the figure appeared as a purple glitch, but it had a strange humanoid shape. She shook her head and blinked a few times, thinking it was only a malfunction of her eyes, the figure didn't disappear.

She looked down at Jack to ask him if he was seeing anything strange, "Hey kid-" she suddenly stopped talking after realizing something strange about him...He was shaking. She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Jack? Are you alright? Why are you shaking?" The boy looked up at her with a distressed expression, "I-I'm feeling a bit strange..." he grabbed both sides of his head, "Ah! It's like a h-headache, I- I swear I have felt this before!" Roxy simply stood still as a statue, shocked as Jack whimpered in pain, none of her protocols prepared her for these types of situations, she had no idea of what to do. Meanwhile, the boy desperately tried to remember where this strange feeling came from, 'This weird migraine... This dread... I swear I have felt this before! But where? And when?' His eyes widened after finally remembering where that feeling came from, he had felt the same thing earlier that night, when he encountered Vanny, that could only mean that she is nearby.

"Vanny..." he muttered under his breath, which didn't go unheard by Roxy, "Huh? Who? Who is Vanny?" She asked confused, "Vanny! S-She's the one who is after me! I felt the same migraine when I first met her! She's somewhere near!" He explained in a panicked tone while looking around for any signs of her, Roxy rolled her eyes, she thought that he was just overreacting, "Calm down runt, stop whining, she's not here-" She stopped mid-sentence at the sight of a pair of two large, glowing red eyes watching them from across the large room.

From the darkness, a bizarre figure emerged, the bunny lady Jack had met before, she had a large kitchen knife in one hand while hiding the other hand behind her back, and she slowly approached them. "It 's her!" Jack yelled, pointing at Vanny, "Jack! Behind me! Now!" Roxy demanded, Jack didn't think twice and hid behind her tail. Roxy looked in shock at the bunny approaching them. She didn't know what the "intruder" looked like, but she surely didn't expect this. Roxy growled and flashed her claws at her, "One more step, and I swear I'll rip you apart, freak!" Vanny stopped and giggled at Roxy's threat, "Ohohohoh... Don't worry, I'm not here to fight... yet... I just wanna talk...~" her voice had a sickening teasing tone to it, Vanny waved at Jack who was hiding behind the animatronic, "Hello there Jack, it looks like you've got an ally, you're playing our little game in a very interesting way..." "Stop acting like this is a game! What do you want from me? You psycho!" Jack shouted from behind Roxanne, but Vanny only giggled in response, as if she couldn't control her excitement over the situation, whoever was behind that creepy costume, was completely insane.

Vanny then locked her eyes on Roxy, "Oh, hi Roxanne...~ It's an honor to meet you, I have heard that you are the best." Roxy snarled, "Shut the fuck up, give me one damn reason not to tear you to pieces!" She was ready to pounce on the bunny with her claws, but she wasn't prepared for what Vanny had to say next. "Because I can give you something you want~" Roxanne stopped for a moment, slightly confused "What the hell are you talking about!?" Vanny giggled some more before speaking again, "How about we make a deal huh? I know your deepest and darkest desires... I know how much you envy Freddy, for him being the company's face and the band leader... But I could make YOU the real star, you could become unstoppable! Imagine... Your face showed all throughout the Pizzaplex, you'd be the main star! The best of the best! All eyes on you and only you! You want that don't you?~ I could give you all the power and popularity you want so much... In exchange for a worthless little brat..." She ended her monologue pointing at Jack, "What do you say?~ Hand him over and I'll give you what you want." Roxy gasped, she couldn't believe what she was hearing, how on earth could Vanny know so many personal things about her? Vanny laughed, "Hahahaha... I can see it in your eyes... My idea got you excited, didn't it? I know you like the blade of my knife~" She said while staring at her knife like it was some kind of baby. Roxy hated to admit it... But Vanny was right, deep down Roxy has always felt a bit envious of Freddy, her obsession for fame and competitiveness would always make her try to prove herself as being "better than him". She has always desired to be the main star of the Pizzaplex and Fazbear Entertainment, and Vanny was giving her that chance. But then she looked behind at Jack... The same boy she has been protecting all night was now slowly backing away, staring at her with terrified eyes.

"I'm screwed..." Jack thought to himself, it was clear to him that everything Vanny was saying was bullshit, she was trying to use Roxy's ego to manipulate her into handing him over, and he had to prevent that from happening somehow, or else he would be over. "R-Roxy, Please don't listen to her! She's lying to you, she's trying to manipulate you!" The animatronic seemed lost in her thoughts, Vanny narrowed her eyes at Jack. "Come on, get a hold of yourself!-" "And what about you, Jack?" She suddenly spoke, cutting him off, "You know... For a gifted child, you sure are stupid! Do you really trust her? Can't you see? She's only using you, she doesn't care about you at all... If I were you, I'd run away from her." "Shut up you piece of shit! Your mind games won't work with me!" Jack shouted, clenching his hands into fists. Vanny sighed and rolled her eyes, "Where does all that bravery come from? You may act like you're tough and smart, but you're just a coward... Weak... And most importantly... You're a failure, Jack." Jack's body was boiling with rage, it's almost like Vanny knew exactly what to say to piss him off, she was both a psychological and a physical threat. He was about to shout back, but got interrupted by Roxy, "ENOUGH! You can shove your damn deal up your ass! I don't need your popularity, I'M ALREADY THE BEST! And I'm NOT handing you the kid, so FUCK. OFF." After yelling, Roxy immediately charged at Vanny, in a quick move, Vanny pulled one of her hands from her back, showing that she was holding some sort of device.

She pressed a button and Roxanne was immediately hit by strange purple energy, she fell to the ground as she convulsed. "ROXY!" Yelled Jack. Vanny laughed maniacally as she stared down at Roxy, before sighing and kneeling at her side. "I'll be honest, I'm disappointed... I thought you were the best, I guess I was wrong... Do you want to protect him so much? Fine, you can have the other loser, you both deserve each other~" Roxy was filled with rage, all she wanted to do was beat the shit out of that bunny, but her body refused to move. Vanny leaned closer and whispered into her ear, "Mark my words Roxanne, by the end of the night... You'll be mine too~" Vanny laughed once more and stood up, "Bye for now losers~ I'll see you soon." That was the last thing she said before disappearing into the darkness.

Jack let go of the breath he was holding as his migraine disappeared with Vanny. Roxy stopped convulsing and regained control of her body, immediately standing up, "THAT BITCH! HOW DARE SHE TALK TO ME LIKE THAT? I SWEAR I WILL TEAR HER APART BIT BY BIT-" Roxy tried to chase Vanny, but was stopped by Jack holding her tail tightly, "ROXY STOP!" She looked back at Jack, "Please! Get a hold of yourself! Can't you see? She's trying to get into our heads, she wants to put us against each other! She wants you to get nervous and lose yourself, we cannot give in to her mental tricks... Please, calm down..." Despite him trying his best to sound calm, Jack's voice was shaky. Roxy sighed, buried her face in her hands, and growled, trying to stay calm. The sudden action made Jack flinch and back away a little, he glanced around, unsure of what to do, they didn't have time for this, they had to keep going. Vanny's words had also hurt him, but he was good at self-control, something Roxy clearly didn't have at that moment. "Hey Roxy, don't listen to her okay? We need to keep going-" "Oh my god you brat, can you PLEASE leave me alone for a moment?!' Roxy yelled, her voice sounding distressed and irritated. Jack frowned, he wanted to shout back at her but kept himself calm, he simply sighed and turned his back, walking away from there.

—-

After walking away from her in the storage room for a bit, he sat down and leaned against one of the concrete walls, hugging his knees.

'You may act like you're tough and smart, but you're just a coward'

Vanny's words echoed through his mind, making him hug his knees tighter, 'Calm down... She doesn't know what she's talking about...' He thought to himself, in an attempt to calm his anxiety.

'Weak...'

'I'm not weak...'

'You're a failure, Jack.'

'No...I'm not... A failure... Right?'

At that moment, Jack could only think of one thing to calm him down... His mother. He thought back to all the good moments he had with her, all the art things she taught him, all of her sweet lullabies she used to sing before sleep... Even if she had passed away a couple of months ago, he would do anything to see her one more time.

'I miss her so much...'

He could feel himself start to tear up, so smacked himself in the face with annoyance. 'Don't get distracted! This is no time to break down! I need to keep focused on surviving...' He closed his eyes, trying to push all of his emotional mess into the back of his mind.

'I hate this place...'

"Hey, kid." A familiar robotic voice suddenly called him. He opened his eyes to see Roxy kneeling in front of him. "What do you want?" He asked with an annoyed tone, "Uh... Sorry kid, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, I just lost my temper for a moment. I know what happened back there was scary, but I promised I would get you out of here safely, and I'm keeping that promise, okay?" Her voice was soft-spoken and she seemed a lot calmer now, this sudden change in her mood both relaxed and unnerved Jack. He slowly nodded, "It's alright..." Her expression relaxed and turned into a smirk, "You really called Vanny a "piece of shit" huh? Didn't know you could swear like that." She said in a playfully teasing tone, Jack avoided her gaze embarrassed, "Yeah... I'm sorry, that wasn't very nice of me." Roxy chuckled, "Pfft- It's alright kid, I don't get crazy over swearing like Freddy does, but you're right, it doesn't sit well with a kid as polite as you." Jack slightly smiled at the compliment. Roxy helped him stand up, "We should keep going, let's go." Jack said while walking away, but was stopped by Roxanne placing a hand on his shoulder, he looked at her confused. "Jack, are you really okay?" Her question confused him a little, "Y-yeah, I'm fine, totally fine, why do you ask?" "Uhm... Nothing, let's keep going." It was clear to her that he was not fine, something was bothering him deeply. The fact that he was choosing to hide what he was truly feeling concerned the animatronic, it strangely reminded her of herself.

'You really are something aren't ya kid?'