So this is a sequel to a story I posted on my Mini Wheat Consumers account. But sadly I lost the password to that account and the email attached to that account. So why not post it here? If you're interested in reading about Axel's nights check out chapters 9-10, 16-18 in Bedtime Anthology :) (its also Five Nights over on my AO3 account)
It was starting to become too much for Roxas. He was currently sitting on his bed, back against the headboard and knees drawn up to his chin as he blankly watched a news broadcast. That damned children's restaurant in the background as a reporter talked about the owner mysteriously disappearing. Something about tax evasion. Nothing about the employee going missing. Not even a mention about the rumors of killer animatronics.
The young blond hadn't seen nor heard from his boyfriend in over a week. After that horrible phone call...Roxas buried his face into his knees as guilt and regret bubbled in his stomach. Why had he fallen asleep? He knew Axel was feeling anxious about going to work that night, even if Roxas had tried to talk him out of it...he should've tried harder. Maybe if he had forced Axel to stay harder. If he hadn't fallen asleep and had been there to answer the phone...
The screams Axel let out in the message and the sound of what Roxas could only guess was rusty joints squeaking - that part confused the man. Whatever that was, it was key to finding his boyfriend.
Roxas jumped when his phone's ringer blared and the buzz from the vibration shook his leg. The blond fished through his pocket to pull the device out. He frowned as he tried to make the caller ID out through the broken and cracked screen. He had thrown the phone in frustration after a day of trying and failing to get a hold of Axel and trying to file a police report about the disappearance.
Eventually he was able to make out the name of his best friend and co-worker, "Hi Xion." He sighed as he muted the TV and relaxed back into the pillows of his bed. He wasn't really in the mood to talk, but he knew if he ignored her any longer, Xion would break into his home and force him to socialize.
"How're you doing today?" Her voice was soft with concern, which did nothing but make Roxas feel worse, "They're asking about you at work. When do you think you're coming back?"
Roxas groaned as he sunk further into his pillows, hoping the downey and memory foam would absorb him and make him vanish. Maybe that's where Axel was, in the Land of Pillow Forts? "I don't know, Xi. Do you think Mr. Robin will give me another week?"
"Maybe. You know, Saix isn't as bad as you think he is. He really is worried about you. Maybe call the office and tell him how you're feeling. I bet he'll let you work from home and turn out articles as fast or slow as you like."
Roxas sat up again and looked at the discarded newspapers that sat forgotten on his dresser, "I think I might actually have a story. Can you meet me at the office tomorrow?"
The girl giggled into the line, "Of course I can. Have a good night, Rox."
~X~x~X~x~
Roxas gnawed at his lower lip as the anxiety kicked in when he stood in the elevator. He firmly held a manila folder containing articles for the scandals surrounding Xemnas's Xerophagy. He prayed that Mr. Robin would be intrigued enough to let him investigate the going ons in that restaurant and that Xion would go along with him.
A ding signaled for the blond to exit and start walking down the twisting halls. He could feel eyes peek through office windows and people exit their cubicle to watch him. Everyone knew he would never miss a day of work, and here he was, a week of no-shows and finally coming back, headed straight to the boss's office.
"Roxas!" Xion screamed as she threw herself at her best friend, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close, "I'm so happy to see you!" Her squeal hurt Roxas's ears, but it was nice to be around someone.
"Yeah, Xi. It's been too long. Do you know if Mr. Robin's in?"
The girl wrapped her arm around Roxas's elbow as they walked the rest of the way down the hallway, "When isn't he in? And you know you can call him Saix, right? I think you make him feel old by calling him Mr. Robin all the time." She giggled. They had made it to the boss's office. Xion knocked twice, then without any hesitation she waltzed right in dragging Roxas right behind her.
A man sat hunched behind a desk, a pair of glasses at the tip of his nose were practically pressed against the screen. Blue hair was tied in a high, tight bun with a few stray hairs falling into golden eyes.
Roxas shook his head. "That's how you go blind, old man."
Xion removed herself from Roxas' side and pranced up to the desk. The tips of her fingers pressed Saix's forehead, gently pushing his face away from the screen. A coy smile graced her expression once the man was sitting properly, his piercing eyes now taking in her presence.
"What is it?" He asked indifferently.
"I brought Roxas back!" The woman cheered as she took a step back and flailed her arms to one side in a flashy way to show the blond off, "And he says he has an idea for an article!" Saix seemed to perk up again as he quietly regarded Roxas.
The blond felt his legs start to shake from the attention. He clutched the folder to his chest like it was his lifeline, "Well...umm...I was doing some research on Xemnas's Xerophagy. My boyfriend was working there for a few days and noticed some weird things going on, so I started to dig around. And, well...look." He handed the folder over to Saix.
The room grew quiet as the boss flipped through the articles. Xion squeezed Roxas's hand in encouragement, she didn't even grimace or pull away at the sweaty feeling that was there. The blond man bounced on his toes in anticipation.
With a sigh Saix closed the file, "You know our newspaper wrote these, right?"
"Uhh..yeah, that's how I found them." Roxas blushed in embarrassment, of course, Saix wasn't going to let him recover a story that they've already covered, "But I was thinking, we could go back to the restaurant. They're closed now. We can plant cameras and investigate. Axel told me the animatronics would malfunction at night and go crazy." He took a moment to take a breath and steady his voice, he knew it was growing shaky with nerves and he could feel his arms and legs start to shake. He didn't know why Mr. Robin intimidated him so much, "I was thinking, hoping, that I could go into the building and plant hidden cameras. It's closed down, but I have a feeling that Xibar is doing something seedy there still. I want to investigate at night. See if I can find anything about the missing children and what happened in '87. The animatronics were mostly active between midnight and six, that's an odd time for them to be up and moving. Maybe Xigbar is hiding something."
"Or someone", Saix said with a tired sigh as he closed the folder, "Roxas, I'll greenlight this solely to get you back to work so you can start earning a wage again and to get Xion off my ass. But I just need to know for my sanity's sake; you're not doing this in a crazy scheme to find Axel, are you?" The man's tone was soft and non-judgmental, "I just want to make sure you're not rushing into danger for some rush of vindication."
Roxas blushed, "Kind of. I would like to know where he is and what happened. The cops aren't any help and it's keeping me up at night. But on top of that, five others have gone missing from the same place. There's something bigger than finding Axel going on."
"But if he turns up, all the better", Xion cherped up with a wink directed towards Saix, "I think it's a great idea! The cops are already after Xigbar for tax reasons, if we find anything else out before them, think of the publicity that would give our paper! Sales will skyrocket!" She threw her arms up in the air dramatically to emphasize her point.
Saix seemed to perk up more at the thought of selling more papers. But he still took a moment to think. He really didn't want anything bad to happen to Roxas. But on the other hand, the man did seem determined that even without his boss's blessing he would still go and investigate that damned restaurant, "Okay. I'll give you one day." He held up a finger, "That's it, then I never want to hear about this again or any extension. Are we clear?"
Roxas beamed, "Thank you! When can we start?"
"I have nothing going on today if you wanted to head down and set up cameras now", Xion offered.
~X~x~X~x~
Breaking into the building was no problem. For the owner being under investigation and being sought out for by the cops, the restaurant was oddly abandoned. The back door wasn't even locked! Roxas was a little suspicious of that, but Xion seemed to see it as good luck and a sign this story was meant to be covered.
Armed to the teeth with cameras, microphones, and flashlights, the duo snuck inside. Light streamed in from the uncovered, large windows that surrounded the dining area. Roxas and Xion were both disappointed when they realized all the power to Xemnas's Xerophagy had been cut, meaning the current battery power on their cameras was all they would have to work with. It would hinder the investigation to go from camera to camera and pull them down to replace the battery as they died.
"Do you think you're going to be alright?" Xion asked as she stood on her tip-toes to place a high corner to get a good angle of the dining room while Roxas hid a microphone on the underside of a table.
"I don't know." Thump! "Ow!" Roxas crawled out from under the table, rubbing the top of his head that he had hit, "Fuck, that hurt. But...umm...yeah. I actually wanted to start looking for him. I don't know what my next steps are if he's not here."
Xion hopped down from her chair so she could help pull her friend to his feet, "Well, we still have to wire the other rooms up. Maybe we can find some clues." She grabbed their large duffle bag and the two walked down one of the hallways. Xion opened the first door they crossed and took a peak, "It's just a closet. Should we set anything up here?"
Roxas shook his head, "Maybe a mic just in case? But I don't think we'll need a camera. It'll be too dark in there anyway."
Xion agreed and grabbed one of the microphones and excused herself to place it. While alone in the hall, Roxas took in the area. After the sun had gone down, it would just be him in this place. It was bigger and more industrial looking than he was expecting. With none of the lights working either he would be stuck with whatever flashlight he brought with him.
"Done!" Xion hopped out of the door, "Onto the next room!" She sang as they made their way down the hall, stopping from room to room to place the equipment. It wasn't until they got to the back where the security office was. That's where Roxas felt his body freeze and his heart rate pick up.
Sitting on the table was Axel's prized DS.
A sob escaped from the base of the blond's throat as he lightly traced the gaming system and picked it up. He flipped the fire engine red device over and saw a sticker of Sonic the Hedgehog he had placed there back when they first started dating.
A hand came from behind and was placed on his shoulder, "We'll find him." Xion gave the shoulder a squeeze before leaving Roxas to finish setting up. Roxas collapsed on the old squeaky desk chair. They just had to find Axel. He was here, Roxas just knew it.
A scream ripped through the office. Roxas didn't even think. He tossed the DS back on the desk and bolted from the office. He raced down the hallway where he knew Xion had disappeared to. He found her in the back standing in an open doorway. The girl was visibly shaken as she had dropped the duffle bag and had her hands held out in front of her in a defensive manner.
"Xion!" Roxas ran up to her and pulled her away from the door, away from the unseen threat. He stood in front of the door to block whatever scared his friend.
It was animatronics. They sat still in their respective space. Eyes blacked and limbs limp. They were obviously powered off. But something still wasn't right. Axel had been right about the smell. The three robots smelt like rotten meat. He wanted to go in and investigate further. They played such a major part in this story. There had to be something here.
"Are they safe?" Xion asked as she peeked around the doorframe to look at the animatronics.
"Only one way to find out." Roxas tried to sound and look brave as he walked into the room, but really on the inside he was shaking. These robots were huge! Towering over him and with all the metal and gears, they would definitely outweigh him as well. But curiosity helped him walk straight up to Mickey. The blond held his breath in anticipation as he stretched his hand out and poked the mouse's pointy nose. Besides the squeak of metal moving from being pushed, Mickey didn't do anything, "They're powered off." He confirmed as he turned to face his friend. Besides the wretched smell, everything seemed normal.
Xion sucked in a breath and her eyes widened, "He…" Roxas turned back to Mickey, only to see him in the same position. He faced Xion again and gave her a confused look, "He winked at me." She took a couple steps back and looked like she was about to bolt.
"I'm sure it's fine, Xi." Roxas tried to reassure her. But instead of going back and pointing at the robot anymore to show it was safe, the blond just closed the door behind him, "Let's just set the cams up out here. That way we can get a good view of the hall and we won't waste an extra camera that'll just be sitting in a dank room."
"M'kay." The woman gave the door one last fleeting glance before gesturing to a corner near the ceiling, "How do you expect me to get up there to set up?"
"We can always drag Goofy out here and you can stand on his shoulders", Roxas said with a nonchalant shrug.
"NOT FUNNY, ROXAS!"
~x~X~x~X~
The sun was starting to set. Roxas and Xion had finished setting up for the night. The two were sitting in a van that they had borrowed from the newspaper checking their signals and double checking they had good visuals. Audio would be up in the air until that night since neither one wanted to go back in just yet.
"You know," Roxas said carefully as he flipped the channel, "We were all over that place, and I know he wasn't there. And this is gonna sound weird, but I can swear I felt Axel."
"Me too." The girl shuddered, "Well, I'm not sure if it was him, but I sure felt like we were being watched. Do you think Xigbar has access to the original cameras? What if he can see us and is planning on ambushing us tonight?" The girl sounded on edge as she clicked through the settings. She refused to look at Roxas as she did it.
"Are...are you having second thoughts?" Roxas carefully asked, "If you don't feel comfortable or safe here, I'll be fine going in by myself." No, he wouldn't. Besides finding Axel, having Xion by his side was Roxas's driving courage. Without her, the blond wasn't sure if he could wander the halls during the night. What if the animatronics did come to life? Or even worse - what if Xigbar did come back?
Xion hummed and tensed for a moment, "Hmm...I mean...kind of? It was creepy enough when we went in, and that was with the sun working with us. I don't know what's going to happen once it goes down and everything's dark and spooky." There was a brief hesitation as she waited for Roxas to cut her off from her rambles, "I mean, I want to be here for you! I really do! I wouldn't have made Saix let us cover this if I didn't want to be here...it's just dark and scary….and…."
"Word barf." Roxas cut her off. The two looked over their shoulders at each other and laughed. The tension was instantly lifted, "You know, if you're not comfortable going in, you can stay out here. We can use the pair of walkie-talkies and you can tell me if you see anything weird on the cameras." He could see his best friend perk up, "It would probably work better this way. You can warn me before anything happens. And keep an eye out for anyone that might interfere."
"Yeah...o-okay." The girl sounded hesitant, but her posture relaxed a bit, "That sounds like a better plan than us both just going in blind."
"Exactly!"
~X~x~X~x~
"Roxas, can you hear me?" Xion's voice filtered through the quiet restaurant. It was finally night time, around the time Axel would go to work to be exact. Roxas was sitting in the security room, rifling through drawers and trying to find anything incriminating. They were there to prove the robots would come alive and attack humans at night, but if he could find anything else to show Xigbar's guilt, then even better.
"Loud and clear. How's it looking on your end?" He tried to open the bottom desk drawer only to find it locked, "Fuck." He quietly muttered to himself as he jiggled it hoping it would pop loose.
"You okay?"
"Found something locked up. Think there's something juicy in there." He shook the drawer one more time, "Scan the cameras and tell me if you see a crowbar or something that I can use to pry it open with."
The line went quiet as Xion was hopefully looking around for him. In the meantime, Roxas decided to go over the wall covered in newspaper articles and old advertisement flyers.
BE THERE OR BE SQUARE! One advertisement boldly stated with a picture of Mickey holding a large birthday cake with his friends dancing in the background. CELEBRATE XEMNAS'S XEROPHAGY'S 10TH BIRTHDAY!
Roxas idly wondered how old this restaurant was. He grew up a town over and had never heard of anyone ever coming here. And with the animatronics and games offered, it would be a hotspot in his sleepy town. So how long had it been closed down? And why did Xigbar need a security guard, and at such odd hours at that? Hindsight had Roxas mentally kicking himself.
The blond frowned as he scanned other papers. The newspaper clippings were the ones that Axel had found from his newspaper.
A missing poster caught Roxas's attention next. It was a missing person's flyer with a picture of a teenage boy with dirty blond bedhead and a mischievous smile. The most disturbing part was the x-out eyes. MISSING: HAYNER ARNOLD. LAST SEEN 11/22/1985. CASH REWARD FOR ANY INFORMATION.
Roxas felt queasy looking at that, "Hey Xi. Can you do some research for me for a Hayner Arnold."
"Roger that. Also, no movement on the cameras. But I'm picking up a weird sound in the play area, but the screen's fuzzy when I try to see anything. Might be worth looking at."
The blond agreed to investigate. Armed with a walkie-talkie and flashlight, he left the security of the office and wandered down the dark hallway, trying to not jump at every small shadow or even the sound of his own footsteps echoing.
Once he safely made it to the play area the man leaned against a nearby wall and took a few calming breaths. He was fine. There was nothing after him. He was safe for now. Nothing was moving.
When he had gained control of his heart rate and calmed down a bit, Roxas looked around the area for anything off that would be making any noise. He scanned the open area with the flashlight across the room.
Wait.
Roxas focused the light on the next room with 'Kiddy Corner' written across the top of the door frame. Did the curtain for the stage just move? "It's just the wind", the blond muttered to himself. He made sure to keep the room constantly in his peripheral, or at least not have his back turned away from it for too long, as he scanned the room for whatever Xion had heard. It was faint. But a lullaby was slowly playing. Roxas was never into classical music or good at recognizing tunes, but it sounded like something that would be in a ballet. It was a nice sound that made the man want to hum along to and forget his problems.
Another movement caught in the flashlight. A box sat in the middle of the room. It looked like a giant birthday present wrapped in purple and yellow striped paper. A crank stuck out the side and was slowly turning to the tempo of the lullaby.
"Hey Xi, do you remember there being a music box or something in here earlier?" Roxas asked as he cautiously approached the box.
"Hmm...a box? No, I don't think there was. Why?" Roxas looked at the camera in the corner and saw a red light blink on, telling him Xion was now watching that room, "I can't really make anything out." Roxas could tell she said that through gritted teeth in annoyance, "Wait...can you wave your arms around?"
"Why?"
"Because I think I see something and I want to make sure it's you."
Roxas felt his blood run cold. The sound of the music box drowned out and all the man could hear was a slow thud of metal hitting the ground in a steady rhythm that was slowly getting closer.
"Fuck!" Roxas turned away from the mystery box and saw a large cat wearing overalls charging at him. Dropping his walkie-talkie, the blond bolted from the play area and back down the hallway towards the office. He could hear Xion call him, but Pete was hot on his heels. The fat cat was catching up on him fast. Roxas could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He just had to make it to the office. The blond was making it just to the door when he felt heavy, metal, fingers caress his back as they tried to grab at him.
Using one last burst of energy, Roxas made it to the office, but he knew he wouldn't be able to stop with how close Pete was to him. He kept running, hitting a button near the door frame, hearing the satisfying sound of the door closing.
Wait, the door closed?
Roxas turned and gave the large piece of reinforced steel a inquisitive stare. He remembered Axel telling him that they only worked when the power was on, staying permanently open if the power went out to prevent anyone getting trapped inside. He spied a small console sitting on the desk next to a small black box. That hadn't been there before.
Just to be on the safe side, the blond made sure both doors were closed before picking up the box. He studied it for a moment before realizing it was a jewelry box. He traced the lip of the box then opened it. A simple golden ring sat in the middle. Roxas bit back a sob and felt tears start to form in his eyes. Carefully he picked the ring out of the box to study it more closely. It wasn't the most expensive ring, that much was obvious. But something inside the ring caught Roxas's attention 8-13. Their anniversary.
Axel was going to propose. That's why having the job was so important to him. Roxas felt his stomach twist into knots as he fell back on the chair and cried. The ring firmly clasped between his hands as he tried to process everything. He didn't know how long he had sat there and cried everything out. All the frustrations and fears melted away.
Collecting himself, Roxas wiped the tears. He had to make it out of here...for Axel.
Slipping the ring on his left ring finger, Roxas stood up, ready to face the monsters that were roaming the restaurant. He glanced up at the camera that he and Xion had placed in the office earlier before picking up the restaurant's original camera controls. Underneath was a yellow sticky note with big red letters.
GAME ON
Roxas's heart picked up as he switched the device on. At least now he could keep track of the monsters that were roaming the hall. The screen flipped on and Roxas noted the 95%. He was going to get that one-eyed son of a bitch.
~X~x~~X~x~
"Roxas?" Xion screamed into the walkie-talkie. She was on the edge of her seat as she watched something big speed into the room and chase Roxas out.
The woman cursed under her breath. What should she do? They proved there was some foul play happening at Xemnas's Xerophagy. They could use this as proof for Axel's disappearance and even the five other missing kids that were mentioned in the newspaper.
"Rox, if you can hear me, get out. We have what we need! Get the fuck out!" She yelled into the walkie-talkie, but got nothing but silence back. Could she call the cops? Would they come to help?
Xion picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1.
"9-1-1. What's your emergency?" A monotone woman said after the first two rings
"I'm outside Xemnas's Xerophagy. I just heard a scream coming from inside. I think someone's in danger." Xion had a feeling if she had said the truth then the cops would be coming to arrest her for trespassing rather than save Roxas.
There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line, like the woman had a long day and was tired of responding to calls, "Miss, can you and your friends please stop calling. I already dealt with this same call last week and the cops found nothing."
"What? I'm serious! There's something happening here. I'd go in myself to make sure the person was okay, but I thought it would be safer if you could send a squad out. Unless you want me to put myself in harm's way."
"Look, our cars are all busy at the moment. I can put out a disturbance alert and when someone close by has time they can come check it out."
Xion gnawed at her lip as she flipped through the cameras, finding Roxas trapped in the security room, "How long do you think it will take? I'm really scared."
"Look, I can't give you a guaranteed time frame. Best guess? An hour, maybe two? It's been a busy night. If you're scared for your own well-being, don't interfere and leave."
Xion wanted to scream! What good were the cops if they weren't going to take her seriously? With a huff she hung up the phone. But before she could check on her friend again, the cameras shut down. "The fuck?" She yelled as she flipped through the channels, only coming across black screens. Dead air filtered through her headphones. She had been disconnected.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, the woman picked up her walkie-talkie, "Roxas? Please tell me you're there.
"Oh don't worry, Poppet." An unfamiliar voice filtered through, "He's here. But I don't know how long he's going to be. And don't even think about setting foot in here or I'll make sure you both die."
The line went dead. Xion reached for the sliding van door but it was jammed.
She slumped back in her seat and stared at the walkie-talkie. Who was that? The cameras were still down so she couldn't check on her best friend. And she did not want to talk to whoever Mr. Creep was on the other end. Cops weren't going to be of any help. And she was stuck in the van.
Maybe that kid Roxas told her about would help give her clues to what was happening. Feeling useless as it was, Xion decided to look up this kid as long as she was stuck.
What was his name? Hayner Arnold. Xion pulled out her phone and Googled the name. Articles filled her screen. Missing children reports and public police reports about the now cold case. Xion flipped through the reports and was able to put together a few things. One Hayner had last been seen at her current location. There had either been a birthday party or just a group of friends going to have fun, the reports weren't clear about it. But what it did specify was that the group consisted of five friends and two parents. Besides Hayner, the other kids that have been with him had gone missing too.
"What the hell is going on?" Xion muttered under her breath. Going down the rabbit hole, the woman found herself on YouTube watching an old interview from '85. A woman with blue hair stood at a podium with a man standing next to her and holding her hand as they both held back tears.
"Please, whoever has our sons, we won't press any charger. We just want Ventus and Vanitas back." The woman pleaded into the camera as the tears finally broke and her words were cut off by sobs. The man pulled her aside as she weeped into his chest. The interview was cut off and instead showed a reporter standing in front of Xemnas's Xerophagy that had 'crime scene' taped over the front doors and windows.
"That's right, Bill. Right here in our glorious town, who would have ever fathomed children being snatched from a popular restaurant that caters to kids. With their games and animal-themed mascots, Xemnas's Xerophagy seems like the ideal place to take your kids out for a nice treat after a hard week of school. But for parents Terra and Aqua Ways, it became nothing but a nightmare. The couple took their two sons and three of their friends to the restaurant for a birthday party, only for all five children to vanish. There's no video footage or eye witnesses to this crime. All involved families are devastated at the loss of their children. If you have any information on these kidnappings or see the children, please call your local police."
The screen flashed to pictures of four children with their names and basic identifiers to help the viewers.
Ventus and Vanitas Ways ages 10
Hayner Arnold age 9
Olette MacReynold age 9
Pence Pearce age 10
Pausing the video, Xion grabbed Roxas's file off the table and flipped through the clippings until she found the one she was looking for. These had to be the kids who went missing. Whoever was behind this had to be the one that took Axel.
"Xigbar, what have you been up to?" She said under her breath. A loud bang against the van's sliding door.
"Yo! Poppet! Time's up!"
~X~x~X~x~
Roxas rapidly flipped through the screen. From his peripheral vision, the man could see the power rapidly deplete since he refused to open the doors and that was going to become an issue. He was down to 50%. If he wanted to make it out of here while the power was on, he would have to make his move soon. Running through a locked building in the dark didn't sound ideal.
He flipped to the camera to the closet that stored the animatronics. He cringed when the room came up empty. Going to Kiddy Corner, he saw the curtain closed, Roxas hoped that meant Pete was tucked in and not running a rampage with the other three.
He would need a game plan if he wanted to make it out of here alive. Putting the camera down on the desk, Roxas started to root around the office a bit more. Maybe he could find a weapon. Roxas ripped through drawers only to come up empty handed. What could he possibly do with a notebook that had a penis drawn on it? Maybe he could use the cord from the fan and strangle the animatronics. Would asphyxiation even work? They had the capacity to move and think on their own. So that meant they were alive right? If anything, he could use it to try and pry the head off. Would that stop them? But then it would put him in grabbing distance. No, bad idea.
Roxas groaned as he watched the battery go down a bit more. He had to be quick. In the back of the room, he found a metal locker. Roxas opened the unlocked door and frowned when he saw nothing but winter coats and a moth-filled security guard uniform.
With an annoyed groan, the blond pulled the uniform out and threw it across the room. Then there it was! A nice shiny axe hung on the back wall of the locker.
Roxas picked the weapon up and bounced it in his hands as he tried to figure out a grip. It was a bit heavier than he would have liked, but he could use the momentum of the weight to his advantage.
The blond faced the large, steel door. Just thinking of the horrors he was about to face made Roxas freeze. The adrenaline made him bounce on his toes and his fingers around the hilt of the axe twitch, yet he couldn't bring himself to move.
The glint of the ring on his finger caught Roxas's attention. Axel. He was doing this for Axel. He needed to find his boyfriend. He wouldn't rest until he saw him again. Before he could talk himself out of it or think too much in general, Roxas smacked the door buttons and let them open.
He barely stepped into the hall before Goofy rounded out of the supply closet, apparently hiding in there for Roxas to emerge from the safety of the office. Roxas squeaked in the initial shock as those dead, beady eyes landed on him. His reflexes made him recoil as a large, gloved hand reached for him. His body told him to run. But his path was blocked. And that meant only one thing.
Reeling back, Roxas swung his axe down. Landing a clean cut on Goofy's arm. Dark, foul-smelling oil seeped from the wound. The smell made Roxas's stomach churn, but it seemed to stun the large dog as its arm limply hung, wires and oil spilled, soaking the floor. Roxas felt his feet slip under the liquid, but he didn't let that slow him down as he let the rage of everything that had happened flow through him and he didn't let up his assault. With a yell, the blond put his weight behind his next swing as he came down on Goofy, completely cutting his arm off.
Wires jetted out of the dog's shoulder joint. They swung around like loose veins searching for something to anchor onto. Goofy stumbled backwards as he was thrown off his axis. He banged against the wall and into a door jam like a bad game of plinko before collapsing onto the ground. It didn't look like he was getting back up. Roxas almost felt relief as his limbs grew heavy from the previous effort. But he had to keep moving. Goofy had made a lot of noise which would no doubt attract the others.
Before he could leave the area though, the flickering of the fluorescent lights made something shimmer that caught Roxas's attention. A white stick of some kind was slowly starting to slip out of the animatronic's shoulder. It wasn't until it hit that ground that Roxas was able to make out what it was. A tiny bone. Judging by the shape, he was able to gather that it was either a humorous or femur bone that probably belonged to a child.
Roxas felt sick. He looked down at the oil on the ground and was able to spot bits of a red hue. Was that blood?
While Roxas was stuck in the shock of this, he barely noticed Goofy start to rise up. The blond jumped at the sudden movement, "Fuck!" Using the blunt end of the axe and smashed Goofy's head in with it. It took a few smacks, but soon the dog stopped moving. White chunks of bone fell out of the now mutilated head with a plop.
There was a fucking skeleton in there! Roxas wanted out. If he stuck around, who knew what Xigbar would do to him. Or what he had probably already done to Axel.
Turning on his heel, Roxas sprinted down the hall. He could hear the tapping sound of something walking down the hall. Roxas didn't want to deal with another creature. Ducking through a nearby door, the blond found himself in the kitchen. The stainless steel counters and appliances were rusted from lack of care or use. Dirty dishes were piled up in the sink. But that didn't stop the blond from resting his forearms on the counter and leaning over to take a quick break. The sweat on his brow started to cool now that he was still making a chill set in.
Roxas idly wondered if he could wait out the night here. From what he could remember Axel telling him was that after six, all of the animatronics would go back to bed. Glancing at his watch, it was only three. Fuck, three more hours?
A sudden clank by the walk-in freezer snapped Roxas out of his break. Picking up his axe, the man quietly approached the freezer. With every thump Roxas could feel his heart skip a beat. He could see the door thump outwards with each hit of whoever was in there. Roxas clutched the axe harder in one hand as the other reached to open the door. He grabbed the door handle and raised his weapon over his head. He could feel the vibrations from the hitting.
Steading his footing, Roxas opened the door. He didn't hesitate to bring the axe down.
Donald stood in front of him. Blood/oil dripped down his face and his wings raised to pound the door once more, but was now frozen. Sparks flew out of the duck's head from the crater Roxas had made in its head. Pulling back, the axe was freed from the animatronics head. More oil and skull fragments came out of the hole. Donald's eyes went black and he started to slump towards Roxas as he powered down.
Roxas barely made it out of the way in time. His shoulder got clipped by the falling animatronic, but that was the worst of it. He gave his weapon a test swing. His range wasn't as wide anymore, and lifting was going to be hard, but the blond had a feeling he would be able to defend himself well enough to get out of here.
With one quick check to make sure Donald wasn't going to get back up anytime soon, Roxas left the kitchen. The lights in the hall were starting to flicker. That couldn't be good, hopefully it didn't mean the power was about to go out. But he had been able to take down two animatronics. That means only two more to go. And the man knew where to find one of them.
Creeping down the hall, Roxas prayed he wouldn't come across anything before he could get to his destination. The sound of the lullaby coming from the strange box started to fill the air, Roxas knew he was on the right track.
Walking through the play area, Roxas peaked into the Kiddy Corner. Peaking around the corner, the blond confirmed that the curtain hiding his target was closed. If he could catch Pete while that fat cat was resting, he might stand a chance.
Going from behind, Roxas found a small break between the wall and the curtain. Pete stood motionless in facing the front of the stage. His eyes were dark. Taking his chance, Roxas slid across the stage, the blade of his axe at the foxes legs.
A horrible scratch came from the fat animatronic as it fell and tumbled off the stage with a loud crash. Quickly standing, Roxas ran through the curtain and jumped off the stage and landed on Pete's back. The animatronic squirmed under the attack, his screams not letting up. It twisted and turned, trying to throw Roxas off. But the blond dug his knees into the cat's sides to hold himself upright. Getting steady, the man raised his weapons as far as his injured shoulder would let him, then came down with a WHAM on top of the struggling cat.
It was a clean cut that left Pete headless and motionless. Something wet and warm hit Roxas in the face. He wiped at the oil, knowing he was smudging it across his cheek.
Roxas's legs were growing weak as he struggled to stand up. His knees were bruised from the impact and he was running low on energy. If he wanted to survive until morning, he would have to find Mickey and dispose of him fast.
Making his way out of the Kiddy Corner, the blond wandered into the dining area. Party hats were lined up across the long tables as well as banners and balloons. A forgotten birthday party. A shiver ran down Roxas's spine at the spooky scene. But his legs called to sit at one of the dusty chairs. Taking advantage of the seemingly empty room, Roxas decided a short break was a good idea. Why keep fighting when he was already so exhausted?
The lull of the music coming from the oversized mystery box was almost soothing enough to put the blond to sleep.
A rustle in the corner made Roxas startle. The blond sat up straight and was about to grab his weapon. He scanned the room and saw his last target. Mickey stood in a corner. And was he playing with streamers hanging from the ceiling?
The mouse didn't even seem to notice or care about Roxas as he went about the room. Roxas could feel his eye twitch as he watched Mickey kick at a balloon. What the hell was this animatronic's problem?
"Hey!" Roxas called. Dull yellow lights that represented Mickey's eyes turned on the blond. But something seemed to catch the mouse's attention. Apparently, knocking a hat off a table seemed more important. The mouse didn't seem that much of a threat. But Roxas knew that would probably lead to his death later on if he didn't nip it in the bud soon.
Picking up his axe, Roxas crept behind the tall mouse. Using all of the strength he had left, Roxas swung and stuck his axe in Mickey's back.
The mouse began to wail. The high-pitched noise made Roxas stumble back and cover his ears. It felt like his head was about to explode. Mickey whirled to face Roxas, his eyes were bright and blinding. A large gloved hand grabbed Roxas by the ankle, snapping the joint like a toothpick.
Roxas let out a silent scream as Mickey started to drag him across the floor, bumping his head and body into anything and everything. Stars danced in front of Roxas's eyes with every smack. His ankle was on fire as it was still in the animatronic's metal grip. He could feel bile rise up from his stomach. He had to get loose and soon.
The blond tossed and turned his torso as he tried to wiggle out of the strong grasp. He didn't make any headway doing that, but Roxas did manage to grab onto a table leg. He pulled against it and tried to pry himself away. A metal snap made the table topple over as it lost a leg. The blunt side of the table hit Roxas right in his abdomen, forcing all the air out of him and making him black out for just a second in pain. But he had a weapon now!
Groaning in pain, Roxas was able to sit up just high enough that he was able to hit the axe that was still stuck in the mouse's back, digging it deeper into Mickey's endoskeleton. More sparks started to fly from the area, sending electric shocks down the metal table leg Roxas was holding. The man let go of the leg as he convulsed for a moment, it didn't take long for it to stop, but Roxas still had an annoying twitch in his eye and in his toes.
Mickey was also twitching from the onslaught of disrupted electrical currents. Steam started to come out of it's ears. The grasp on Roxas started to go lax as Mickey shut down.
Squirming away, Roxas got onto his arms and started to crawl away, but not before backtracking to retrieve his trusty axe. He started to make his way out of the dining area. He needed to get his walkie-talkie back and make sure Xion was okay.
Xion. He had almost forgotten about her.
He used the sound of the music box to help him find his way back to the play area. Roxas could feel himself starting to black out. But he forced himself to stay awake. He was almost there, dammit!
Heavy bootsteps filled the air, putting Roxas in high alert. All the animatronics should be down! Suddenly a heavy body dropped in front of his face.
"Xion!" Roxas reached for his unconscious friend, but a boot on his wrist pinned him down.
"Ah, ah, aahh." The man knelt down and grabbed Roxas by his hair, forcing him to look up at him.
He was old. Long black hair with a thick grey streak. One eye covered by a patch. Roxas knew who he was from the pictures all over the news and from Axel's stories. "Xigbar", he growled out.
"The one and only, kiddo!" He said in a sing-song voice before crushing Roxas's face into the ground, "And you just had to come in here and mess with my creations. And for what?" He dug Roxas's face more in the ground, making Roxas gag on blood that was coming out of his now broken nose, "Some news report? Congratu-fucking-lation, you found it! But we can't have what you found getting out, can we?"
"Axel", Roxas croaked out.
"Oh, him? Long gone, hun. Guess you're going to die for nothing", Xigbar said with a sarcastic sigh. He let go of Roxas in favor of standing up. He kicked the axe away from the fallen man before he could get his wits about him and picked it up, "Knew it was a bad idea keeping this around." He shrugged. "But might as well use it." And with that he brought the axe down on Roxas, making a clean cut through Roxas's mid thigh.
Roxas screamed at the top of his lungs. His whole body went numb from the shock, but his new stump of a leg felt hot, burning as blood gushed out. He was kicked over on his back.
Xigbar stood over him, the bloody axe thrown over his shoulder in a nonchalant way, "Well, if you have ties, I can't possibly leave you alive." The older man pouted, "And what a shame. I had so much fun playing with you."
"Don't hurt Xion", Roxas gasped out. He tried to pull himself away in a feeble attempt to get away from the crazed man. His blue eyes darted over to his still unconscious friend. The steady up and down of her chest confirmed the girl was fine. She didn't look injured either, which Roxas was grateful for.
Xigabr hummed in consideration, tilting his head from side to side as he considered his options, "Yeah, she'd make a good scapegoat." And with that he brought the axe down one last time, taking out Roxas's arm.
The blond wasn't able to catch his breath. Sweat caught on his forehead and tangled into his bangs.
Everything started to go dark for Roxas. He couldn't see, but he could hear Xigbar fuss about for a while. Then he felt Xion's body get pulled away from his. The hum of the fluorescent lights went out. Roxas was alone.
Balancing on the edge of consciousness, Roxas noticed the lullaby stop and the creak of something opening.
He was able to open his eyes enough to see a silhouette standing over him. Dressed in all black, with a ghostly white face and blue lines going down its cheeks, almost resembling a sad kaboki mask. It was long and lanky with strings coming off it's limbs. Crape paper-feeling hands traced down Roxas's left arm, stopping at his fingers, almost hesitating at the ring.
Roxas tried to say something, but blood bubbled out of his mouth instead.
I will put you back together.
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I'm planning on 1 or 2 more instalments of this, but I'm probably just going to post them to AO3, so make sure to check back there for those. Don't know when I'm going to have time to work on them though.
