Freddy Fazbear had collapsed in front of a live audience. Children cried out in horror. Pizzaplex staff desperately tried to usher everyone out of the area. But they missed a few pairs of shoes darting off in unauthorized directions.

A small boy pulled open a door and slammed it shut behind him. He looked around for any place to hide from the commotion outside. He dived behind a large couch and covered his mouth. Scents of old pizza boxes assaulted his nose. When had this room last been cleaned?

The door handle jiggled and creaked open. He held his breath. A woman was humming while a guitar was being strummed. No, wait. The woman's voice sounded warped, like it was being filtered. The boy looked up and around, making sure he hadn't left any part of himself visible.

He thought it was a nice song, all things considered. He felt minutes pass by like hours.

The door opened again. "Chica!"

Something mechanical whirred just as the guitar stopped playing. "Hmm?"

"Did you happen to see a kid sneaking around?" This voice was accusatory.

There were two more short whirs.

"Well, keep an eye out for me, okay? He needs to be escorted out." Footsteps turned on their heels. "I'm going to go relay to the others. Call me as soon as you see him. Don't get distracted by eating."

The door shut. Were those two talking about him? He exhaled slowly. Something about that security guard made his hair stand on end.

"Is it really that comfortable back there?"

The boy yelped at the sight of a robotic bird with lipstick. She was staring right down at him. He scrambled to his feet and attempted to run. He ended up in front of the wall farthest from the door. He turned around and gulped as the chicken clunked closer. He stared unmoving as light streamed out of the animatronic's eyes.

"Hmm, a-ha!" she said while glancing to the side. "Guest profile: Tess-un?"

"Um… it's pronounced Tsun." The boy lifted a shaking index finger. "My friends call me Tee if that's easier."

"Tee," echoed Chica. "That sounds wonderful. It goes well with cookies."

"Please, don't eat me." Tee gripped one hand with the other.

Chica blinked twice. "Eat you? What are you talking about? That would go against my programming."

Tee scratched his head. "Well, I've seen you scarf down a pizza before and… lose yourself to it."

"Gosh, I could go for a pizza or two right now." Chica tapped her beak, then shook her head. "But you should probably find your parents. It's almost closing time."

Tee looked down for a moment, then back up at the bird's eyes. "Well, I would. But… I'm not sure I want to cross that security lady's path. She sounded super aggressive."

"Oh, that's just Officer Vanessa." Chica set her guitar onto its stand. "She takes her job very seriously. In fact, why don't I call her first to explain the situation?"

"No, wait!" Tee held out his palms.

A few mechanical clicks were followed by a short beep. "Huh? That's strange. I can't connect to the internal call system."

"Whew." Tee lowered his arms. "Don't scare me like that. Talking to guards of any type stresses me out."

"Oh." Chica's eyes moved to the side. "What if I went out with you? If somebody is aggressive, you can stand behind me while I try to calm them down."

"You'd do that for me?" Tee asked.

"Why, sure." Chica smiled. "Bless my heart and hope for soda."

Tee couldn't help but laugh at the silly sentence. Chica slowly reached down her glossy hand. Tee reached up to hold it. The unlikely pair walked toward the door and stepped out into the pizzaplex proper.

…

An intercom blared overhead with a message on repeat. It addressed how Freddy was resting and that the band was looking forward to playing again soon. There was a fast-forward reminder to parents to sign a waiver that relieved Fazbear Entertainment from all liability and legal responsibility. Tee didn't know the laws inside-out, but even he thought that the fine print sounded sketchy.

The pizzaplex looked different near dark hours. One of the staff-bots was mopping a spot on the floor. There was an absence of panic, and the open areas were quiet. Tee wasn't sure he had ever seen another human being working in this entertainment center. He looked around as he walked, uncertain if every wall had a hidden camera.

"It is now closing time," informed a voice like the intercom. "Beginning lock-down protocol."

"Wait, what?" Tee watched a giant shutter slide down before he could react.

"No, no, no! I'm still in here!"

Tee turned his head to see another boy sprint toward the exit. The new face pounded his hands against the metal cover and sighed in defeat. He looked down at what looked like a wristwatch. "Freddy! The exit's blocked! What do I do?"

Chica released her lost child's grip.

Tee looked back at her. "Chica?"

She did not respond. Instead, she gazed intently at the new boy. As if realizing he was being watched, the boy in blue turned his head with fear on his face.

"~Gregory.~" She practically sang while stepping closer. "Let's go find your parents."

The alleged Gregory sprinted away while breathing heavily. Chica marched toward the retreating child. Tee ran ahead of her and faced her. Her eyes looked eerily red.

"Chica, what are you doing?" Tee waved his hands around. "You sound like a predator!"

The red glow fizzled, and Chica blinked twice. "Huh? What's going on?" She looked from side to side. "I was just facing the exit a second ago. Now, I'm… not."

"You called that other boy Gregory and looked like you were chasing him." Tee crossed his arms. "Why?"

"Another lost boy?" Chica gasped. "We should help him too."

Tee raised his brow. "Do you seriously not remember sounding creepy?"

"Creepy?" Chica held a hand up to her chest. "Oh, my. I'm so sorry if I did anything to scare you, Tee. I'm sure I didn't mean to."

"Never mind me right now." Tee shook his head. "Why don't you apologize to that kid? He seemed way more scared than I was."

"I really don't know what I could have done to frighten him," she claimed.

Tee lowered his arms. "You hear that tone you're using to talk to me? Try using the same tone with him."

"Okay, I'll do that." Chica nodded.

"Alright, good." Tee looked up the hallway. "Hmm, there are a lot of doors that way. He could have hidden behind any one of them."

"Not any of them." Chica pointed. "Most of those doors are only accessible to security with the right clearance level. It'd be tough to get that without staff assistance."

"That sounds like a pain," said Tee. "Maybe it'd be better if we waited back in your room."

"I don't know," said Chica. "Officer Vanessa told me to be on the lookout for a particular child. If she came back to my room and saw me sitting around, she might ask questions."

"Oh, yeah." Tee looked down. "And I wouldn't have anywhere to run if things got dicey." He rubbed his temple. "This is going to be a long night."

"Hey, you know what we need?" Chica asked rhetorically. "A little pick-me-up. Let's go get a pizza!"

"Well, I guess that beats doing nothing." Tee grabbed Chica's hand as she guided him toward one of the dining areas.

…

Tee sat at a table and stared, slowly chewing the one bite of pepperoni he had taken. Meanwhile, Chica was shoving cardboard boxes into her beak and tearing them to pieces. Tee swallowed once before setting the rest of his slice back onto the paper plate. He stood up and walked over to one of the soda dispensers. He grabbed a cup and filled it.

After a few seconds, the sweet carbonation won its battle against the acidic bile in his throat. When he looked back at Chica, she had somehow added a couple party hats and a napkin to her midnight snack. Tee looked away.

"So, uh… how did you know that kid's name?" Tee asked.

"Mm?" Some half-shredded garbage dropped from Chica's beak.

"You called him Gregory right away." Tee tapped his cup. "But you needed to scan me before you could say my name. Why is that?"

"I don't know." Chica grabbed the plate across the table.

"You don't know?" Tee looked at her in disbelief. "How do you not know?"

Chica shrugged as she demolished the half-eaten pizza slice and the plate underneath it.

Tee hummed. "Hey, I've got a game idea. I'll say a word. Then, you come up with a different word that you feel resonates with it and say it. Got it?"

"Sure!" Chica placed her hands down onto the table.

"Hot."

"Pizza!"

"Yeah, I should have expected that. How about… cold?"

"Moondrop." Chica shivered.

"Interesting." Tee held his chin. "Entertainment."

"Music!"

"Children."

"Safety."

"Mission?"

Chica's eyes briefly glowed red. "Hunt."

Tee recoiled. "Uh… maybe that's enough of that game for now."

"Okay." The red glow faded. "Did you have fun?"

"Well, kind of." Tee steadied his breaths. "Say, did you ever figure out why your call system was broken?"

"No, I haven't." Chica sounded sad. "That's never happened before. I should stop by parts and repairs sometime."

"Where's that?" Tee asked.

"Oh, that's in a room on the floor underneath the main stage." She hummed. "But I can't use that lift by myself. It needs to register the weight of four band members, or scan one security pass."

"That sounds complicated," said Tee.

"Yeah, my friends had a lot on their plate after tonight's performance." Chica looked off to the side. "And the closest office that could provide a security pass is behind Roxy Raceway."

"Then, we should go get that pass." Tee threw dropped his cup into a garbage can.

"Oh, no. I couldn't force you to do that just for me." Chica got up from her seat.

"You'll be better at doing your job if you're in the best condition, right?" Tee asked. "It's like your workout videos say: A healthy body leads to a happier playtime."

Chica chuckled. "You make a good point. Okay, let's find a pass."

…

"Hi. Take a map."

Tee flinched at the emotionless robot holding a folded-up paper toward him. It was way too close to his face.

"Go ahead, Tee," whispered Chica. "It doesn't bite. Just humor it."

With uncertainty written on his face, Tee reached his hand toward the map. In a swift motion, he pulled the page away and squeezed his eyes shut. When nothing happened, he slowly looked forward again.

"Thank you." The map-bot turned 90 degrees and rolled away. "Please enjoy. Free map."

Tee exhaled and unfolded the map with both hands. "Wait, what's the point of having a legend if none of these symbols are on the map itself?"

"I don't know." Chica shrugged. "I usually just use my internal guidance system to figure out where I am. Although, I sometimes get lost in the kitchen. Eh heh."

"Distracted by pizza, I'll bet," commented Tee. He rolled up the colored page and pocketed it.

Roxy Raceway had two spotlights on the course. It was a giant loop, at least compared to the kids that would compete on the track. Tee and Chica walked around a few shelves with some spare bot parts. There were some helmets and racing pennants mixed in the supplies. Tee's eyes looked up when Chica suddenly stopped.

They were standing in front of a plain-looking door. Aside from the handle and panel next to it, the door blended into the wall's colors. Chica made a sound mimicking the clearing of one's throat. But the voice that came next made Tee's eyes widen.

"Entry Code: Franklin-Ronald-Eleven-Dave-Damascus-Yard."

It was a man's voice, and completely devoid of Chica's usual voice distortion. A green checkmark appeared on the panel. The door slid open.

"Whoa, how did you do that?" asked Tee.

Chica's voice returned to normal when she answered, "I was given an upgraded voice box. One of its perks lets me alter my voice to match other frequencies."

"Does that hurt?" Tee looked concerned.

Chica waved her free hand dismissively. Her next line sounded eerily close to Tee's own voice. "Not a problem."

Tee deadpanned and shook his head. "Please, don't do that again."

"Okay." She was back to her default pitch once again.

Entering the security office, Tee saw a few monitors set up. It looked like they were getting feed from the raceway and its entrance. Off to the side was a glass-covered stand. There was a button that looked like the outline of Freddy Fazbear's head. Tee walked over and pressed the button. Two seconds later, a laminated card popped out.

"I don't know what this says about the pizzaplex's security." Tee picked up the pass.

"Hmm?" Chica turned.

"What is it?" Tee followed the hen's gaze.

"I thought I saw a shadow zip past one of the cameras."

Tee whispered, "Oh, crap."

Chica positioned herself to face the open doorway. Tee stood behind her and held tightly to one of her legs. Mechanical footfalls from outside were getting louder and louder. A moment later, a bipedal wolf was blocking the only way out. A hungry growl escaped the beast's throat.

"Roxy?" Chica held up her hands. "What's wrong?"

Roxy was not looking at her friend. She was looking through her friend's legs at something else. Two red points were burning in the center of her golden irises.

"You can't hide from me, brat." Roxy slowly stepped closer. "You are nothing!"

Tee froze and held his breath. Roxy pounced with her claws unleashed. Chica took a step forward and caught Roxy's grip with her own. However, the wolf was stronger and continued to push forward. Chica grunted as she struggled to hold her ground.

"Move it!" Roxy snarled. "He is my prey!"

"I'm sorry, Roxy." Chica inhaled as much as a robot with no lungs could. "Bah-gawk!"

Roxy shook in place and yelled out. She closed her eyes and held her ears down with her paws. She leaned over until her elbows were on top of the desk. Tee blinked in confusion. Before he could ask what happened, Chica grabbed his hand. She pulled him into a run out of the security office.

"Oh, no!"

Tee saw a pair of light-up sneakers slide to a stop. The feet inside those sneakers were attached to a girl approximately his height. Tee quickly turned to look at Chica. Her eyes were flickering red, and her beak was gaping open.

"Chica, wait!" Tee called out. "Remember what we talked about? Treat others the same way you talk to me."

Chica's eyes returned to normal. She tried shutting them before turning to face the girl again. "Hello there. I'm sorry to have scared you. I haven't felt like myself all night. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Uh… try not chasing me anymore," said the girl.

"I'll do my best." Chica's voice sounded a bit strained.

"You think you're better than me?"

Roxy's voice caught the attention of all three bystanders. The bipedal wolf had recovered enough to charge out of the raceway. She had claws and fangs revealed and was quickly closing the distance to Tee.

"No, stop!" The human girl stepped in front of him.

Roxy gasped as the red lights flickered off. "Cassie?" She slowed to a standstill.

Cassie hopped enough to hug the wolf's neck. "You're supposed to care about kids, remember?"

Roxy looked down at the floor and slowly hugged the girl back. "I'm sorry. I… error."