sorry I didn't update for a couple weeks

idk why I didn't though like I had this chapter all planned out and I was writing some of it over the february break but I guess I just never got around to finishing it

ShoutOuts: None

Chapter 42

*One week later*

Fritz walked into the pizzeria the next day at 12 o'clock, right on time for his shift. The room was dark; they had to turn the lights off every night to conserve power. There was light coming from under the kitchen door, so Scott must already be there. He quickly made his way to the hallway, blindly bumping into tables and pushing chairs out of his way. He glanced nervously at Vincent's door as he passed it in the corridor. After listening to Mike's story a couple nights ago, Fritz had been a bit weary of his boss. Despite Mike's reassurances that Vincent wasn't the murderer from the 1980's, he was still a little suspicious.

Fritz sighed and sat down behind the desk, ready for another boring six hours of work.

xXx

*3:11 a.m.*

Fritz sighed and leaned back in his chair. At this point, he was just absentmindedly scrolling through Facebook on his phone. It was pretty cool that he got paid for doing literally nothing, but he wished his job was a little more exciting. Sure, he occasionally got attacked by slightly murderous robots, but he thought that was more terrifying than fun.

He heard something from the hallway and sighed. "If you're here to kill me, can you fuck off? I'm tired of your shit."

There was no response, so he figured it wasn't Scott. He grabbed his flashlight and shined it down the hall. He saw that Vincent's door was open and groaned in frustration. He was a little scared, but not at all surprised. He was actually almost expecting this to happen. He turned off the flashlight and stayed quiet, waiting for something to come out. Sure enough, he saw a small pale shape waddle out of the room and start making its way towards him. Another one followed close behind it, clumsily crashing into the walls as it stumbled after its friend.

Fritz sighed. Not these things again, he thought to himself. He decided to just sit there and wait for Scott or Vincent to show up and deal with them, because he had no idea what else to do.

Then he spotted four more smaller shapes crawling out of the room, quickly scrambling towards him in the dark.

Well, now he was getting a little bit nervous.

He heard a high-pitched giggle, and something else appeared in the hallway. It was a small blue shape that was pulling itself towards him, scraping across the black and white tiles.

And now he was scared.

He stood up and grabbed the flashlight off the desk, ready to use it as a weapon. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. You've dealt with animatronics before, he told himself. And those ones were much bigger and much more dangerous than these ones. You can do this. You'll be fine.

He opened his eyes again and looked at the animatronics, ready to defend himself. Then he noticed that there were only three of the smaller crawling shapes. That's weird, he thought. I could have sworn there were four.

Then he felt a sudden sharp pain on the back of his head, and his vision went black.

xXx

Fritz opened his eyes, a headache pounding in his skull. He was sitting propped against a wall. He tried to move his arms to push himself up, but they were pinned to his sides. He tried to move again and winced. His arms and torso were covered in random places of sharp pain. He looked around; he appeared to be in some kind of basement or storage room. There was a set of stairs leading up on the far side of the room. Cardboard boxes and cleaning supplies littered the floor, along with- wait, was that an animatronic head?

He squinted. Everything was blurry. He must have lost his glasses somehow. He tried to scootch closer to see it better, but his stomach flipped and the pounding in his skull grew more intense. He closed his eyes, waiting for the nausea and pain to recede.

After a few seconds, the pain in his head faded to a dull throb, and he took a deep breath. He looked down at his body to see his restraints.

He was inside the furry torso of an animatronic suit. His arms were pinned in by some sort of framework, the arms of the suit hanging limp from the sides. There were other things inside the suit, pieces of metal that pressed against his skin. Something pressed into the sides of his neck. He tried turning his head to see, but it dug into his skin. He tried once again to stand, but this brought on another wave of pain and nausea.

"I wouldn't do that," a feminine voice sang. Something moved from the corner of the room, and Fritz squinted, trying to see it. It didn't really help that the only light in the room came from a dim bulb on the ceiling whose light didn't quite reach some parts of the room. But he didn't need to see to know that the voice belonged to one of the little baby animatronics.

It started making its way towards him, tripping over its own feet and bumping into boxes. A box from the opposite corner of the room fell over, and the other baby robot fell out, landing on its face. It quickly righted itself and joined its friend. The four small ballerina animatronics tumbled out of another box closer to him, crawling towards him on all fours like spiders. The bunny animatronic (which, he realized, didn't have any legs) yanked itself out of another box, pulling itself along the floor.

Fritz sighed. "Not you guys again," he said, trying to hide his fear. "Why are you trying to kill me, anyway? What did I ever do to you?"

The animatronics ignored him and continued walking towards him. He had no idea what they were going to do when they reached him, but he decided he didn't want to find out.

Suddenly, he heard a door slam from the direction of the stairs. Footsteps echoed off the walls, getting louder as the person got closer. Fritz sighed in relief. Was someone coming to save him?

"FUCK!"

There was a loud crashing sound as whoever it was fell down the stairs, scaring the animatronics away from Fritz. He winced in sympathy as the person tumbled off the last step and fell into a pile of empty boxes.

Vincent pushed himself to his feet, accidentally bumping into the wall. "Mother fucking son of a bitch," he muttered.

Fritz shifted nervously in the suit. "Uh, Vincent? A little help here?"

Vincent shook his head vigourously and looked around the room, disoriented. His eyes widened when he saw Fritz, and he ran over to him, tripping over boxes. He skidded to a stop and knelt in front of Fritz. "Oh shit, did the Minireenas do this?

Fritz stared at him. "The Mini- what?"

"The Minireenas," Vincent repeated, pointing at the little black and white ballerinas, which were now hiding behind a pile of boxes. "They have a bad habit of kidnapping security guards and putting them in springlock suits."

A wave of fear washed over Fritz. "Springlock suits?"

Vincent nodded. "Yeah. Which is why it would be best to get you out of that as soon as possible." He moved so he was beside Fritz. "Okay, I'm going to need you to move away from the wall."

"But this is a springlock suit," Fritz reminded him. "If I move too much, won't the springlocks-" His voice tapered off. He didn't want to think about it.

"You're just going to have to trust me."

Fritz tried to turn his head to look at him, but the springlocks dug into his neck and he gave up. "No offence Vincent, but I don't really trust you."

"I know." He didn't sound very surprised by this news. "But if we don't get you out of this, you're dead."

Fritz hesitated, then nodded. "Okay. I'll try." He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the fact that anything he did could trigger the springlocks and crush him. He slowly shifted his arms so his hands were touching the floor, fearfully aware of the metal pressing against him, waiting to snap. He carefully lifted his body off the floor with his hands, pushed himself forward, and lowered himself back down. The movement brought on more nausea, and he clenched his teeth until it passed.

He heard Vincent shuffle along the floor. "I can't quite fit. I need you to move a bit more."

Fritz gulped. "Again?"

"Look, do you want to get out of this thing or not?"

"Well yeah, but what if I trip the springlocks?"

Vincent sighed. "Look, Fritz, if I don't get you out of there, your breathing will eventually trigger the springlocks one way or another."

Fritz hesitated. "But-"

"Fritz," Vincent interrupted. "If you trigger those springlocks, they'll snap right into you, making deep cuts all over your body, and a split second later, all the animatronic parts they've been holding back, all that sharp steel and hard plastic, will instantly be driven into your body. You'll die, but it'll be slow. You'll feel your organs punctured, the suit will grow wet with your blood, and you'll know you're dying for long minutes. You'll try to scream, but you'll be unable to. Your vocal cords will be severed, and your lungs will fill with your own blood until you drown in it. Do you want that?"

Fritz shuddered. "No."

"Well, there's a chance that won't happen if you move again. If you don't get out of that suit, you're definitely dead. Either risk dying now with a possibility of survival, or die later. Your choice."

Fritz swallowed nervously. "Okay." He put his hands on the floor, lifted himself up, and pushed himself forward. His stomach flipped and he almost threw up, but the nausea receded quickly.

Vincent moved behind him. "Okay. I have to disable the springlocks at your neck first, then I can undo the back of the costume and get you out. But you can't move at all. Got it?"

Fritz almost nodded, then stopped himself. "Uh, yeah. Got it."

He felt Vincent's fingers reach into the costume and take hold of one of the springlocks. The metal pressed harder against his neck, and Vincent's hand slid out of the costume. "Shit," Vincent muttered. "I can't fucking get it," he whispered angrily, standing up. "I'm going to get someone else. Just hang on," he said at a normal volume.

Fritz glanced nervously at the little animatronics. "Um, what about them?"

"They won't try anything," Vincent promised, glaring at each of the robots in turn. "They know I'm coming back." He turned around and jogged up the stairs, occasionally tripping on a step and cursing at his own clumsiness.

As soon as he was gone, the bunny animatronic pulled itself out from behind a box. Fritz tensed up nervously, but the bunny just stared at him, its ears tilted at a jaunty angle. Fritz heard the hushed voices of the two baby animtronics in the corner. The ballerina robots pulled themselves out of a box and scrambled across the floor. One of them was running instead of crawling, and it appeared to be carrying something in its thin little hands.

Fritz squinted. "Hey! Those are my glasses!"

The bunny giggled as it watched this little scene play out. Suddenly, Fritz heard the door at the top of the stairs open, and the animtronics all scuttled into boxes. Footsteps echoed off the walls as Vincent and someone else made their way down the steps.

"Fritz?" Zoe's voice called. She and Vincent appeared at the botton of the stairs, although from a distance, they both just looked like blurry blobs.

"Are you okay?" she asked, running towards him.

Fritz tried to nod, but the springlocks dug into his neck. "Uh, yeah. At the moment."

Vincent jogged across the room to join them. Zoe turned around to look at him. "How did this happen?" she asked, glaring at him accusingly.

Vincent held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, don't blame me. I tried my best to keep them in my room, but apparently they know how to unlock doors."

Zoe knelt next to Fritz. "So how do we get him out?"

Vincent sat down next to her. "I'll walk you through it. You just need to get behind him first."

"'Kay." Zoe shuffled along the floor until she disappeared from Fritz's vision. "Okay. Now what?"

"You need to reach into the costume and grab one of the springlocks on his neck."

"Be careful," Fritz reminded her. "I'd rather not die, thank you very much."

"I'll try," Zoe promised. She wedged her fingers in between Fritz and the springlock. "Okay, I've got it."

Vincent stood up and looked into the back of the costume. "Okay. Reach down farther. There should be a trigger there. You need to pull it so the springlock will snap. It might hurt your hand a bit."

Fritz heard Zoe take a deep breath behind him. It was a little unnerving, feeling Zoe's hand pressing against his back. He liked his personal space, and really didn't appreciate it when people touched him. However, he knew that it was necessary for him to get out of the costume, so he didn't complain.

"I think I've got it," Zoe muttered. He heard a loud snap, and almost jumped at the noise. Fortunately, he was able to stay still.

"Good," Vincent said. "Now you need to pull that one out and do the same with the other."

Zoe removed her hand, and Fritz shifted in the costume trying to get comfortable (or as comfortable as one could get while stuck in a death trap). One of the pieces of metal at his neck was gone, which was good because it had been starting to dig into his skin.

Zoe stuck her hand into the costume again to remove the other springlock. Fritz wasn't surprised when it snapped this time, as he'd been expecting it.

"Okay." Vincent backed up a little so he could see the back of the costume. "Zoe, you see those fasteners on the back there?"

"Yep," Zoe replied.

"Alright, you need to undo them. The leather might be stiff and the metal is probably rusty, so it'll be difficult to work them free without moving the costume too much. Just try to keep the costume exactly as it is until all the fasteners are undone."

"Okay." Zoe shuffled on the floor behind him. Leather creaked and metal clicked as she unfastened the clips holding the suit together. The costume loosened a bit, and Zoe hurriedly clamped the sides back together. The springlocks tensed and pressed tighter against Fritz, but they didn't snap.

Zoe sighed in relief. "Okay. I got it. What now?"

"Zoe, you need to open the suit and throw it forward," Vincent instructed. "Fritz, when she does that, you need to pull out of it as fast as you can."

Fritz felt Zoe grab the sides of the costume. "Alright. You ready Fritz?"

Fritz braced his feet against the floor. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Zoe took a deep breath. "One... two... three!"

Zoe pulled the costume open and flung it forwards. At the same time, Fritz pushed himself back, roughly crashing into Zoe, who bumped into the wall behind her. The costume tumbled across the room, making a series of snapping sounds as all of the springlocks went off at once.

Fritz groaned. He felt horrible. His head was swimming with pain, and his stomach felt like it had been turned inside out.

Vincent approached them hesitantly. "You okay, Fritz?"

"Yeah, I'm just fine," he replied with as much sarcasm as he could muster. "I mean, I feel like shit and I just survived a death trap, but yeah, I'm great, thanks for asking."

"You sure?" Zoe asked, scootching out from behind him. "You don't look so good."

Vincent knelt down in front of him. "His eyes are unfocused; he might have a concussion."

"Or he just needs his glasses," Zoe said, taking them away from the Minireenas and handing them to Fritz.

Fritz rubbed his eyes and put them on. His headache had actually been starting to fade a bit, but there was still a dull, aching throb at the back of his head. He raised a hand to touch it, and immediately winced. "Ow..."

"They probably hit you on the head when they knocked you out," Vincent said, grabbing Fritz's arm and helping him to his feet.

"Here, I've got him," Zoe said, taking Fritz's other arm and putting it around her shoulders. They began making their way to the stairs.

"Okay." Vincent let go of Fritz and walked over to the Minireenas. "Come on you guys. We're going back upstairs." Fritz heard the shuffling of boxes behind him as the ballerina animatronics came out of their hiding places.

Zoe and Fritz began walking up the stairs. He could hear faint voices from the door above. How long had he been out? Were they even still in the pizzeria?

He heard loud, heavy footsteps below him. He stopped turned around, afraid that maybe the animatronics were after him again. Fortunately, it was just Vincent. The two baby animatronics were clinging to his legs and giggling as he walked, while the Minireenas were hanging from his shirt, their stick-like fingers tangled in the fabric.

"Where's the bunny?" Fritz wondered.

Vincent lifted his hat to reveal the blue rabbit. "He likes it up there 'cause it's dark," he explained.

Vincent put the hat back on his head and they continued up the stairs. Zoe opened the door and they emerged in the brightly lit room backstage. Fritz blinked. After being in such a dim room for so long, the bright lights were slightly disorienting.

Zoe opened the door to the dining room and walked out with Fritz. The room was filled with kids, running around and drawing on the walls. Fritz looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 10:27. He blanched. He'd been out for 7 hours?

Vincent shut the door behind them. The animatronics that had been clinging to him a minute before were gone. "Well," he sighed, straightening his hat, "I guess we should get back to work."

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Uh, where did the robots go?"

"I'm leaving them in there for now," Vincent answered. "I would keep them in there indefinitely, but they get really twitchy when they don't have any human interaction for a few days, and nobody really goes backstage often." He looked at Fritz. "Anyway, you should probably get home. And take a couple days off. You deserve it."

He turned around and walked towards the hallway. Fritz squinted. It was a little difficult to see from this distance, but he couuld have sworn he saw a bloody piece of metal sticking out of his arm.

ayyy more stuff from the silver eyes