Summary: Sequel to Delta Wave. Takes place 2 years after the fall and collapse of the mega PizzaPlex. Luis' free runs into the supply depot finally catches up to him in the worst way possible: Bringing about a series of consequences that could bring trouble to the bots and the rest of the family. Vanessa meanwhile decides to orchestrate a rescue operation to save him- gaining the aid of the Glamrocks in order to do so.
This fic will also include the cast like the Glamrocks, the daycare attendant, the children- and will cover loose ends that were leftover from Delta Wave. It will also include some 'slice of life' bits, eventually!
Author's notes:
Welcome, people! To the sequel of Five Nights at Freddy's Security Breach: Delta Wave. Whistleblower is most likely not going to be built as neatly as the original story- more or less focused on whatever loose ends hadn't been tied up in the OG story and giving some more 'slice of life' bits. It DOES have plot, don't get me wrong- and its evident just from this opening chapter what it may or may not entail. It just won't be as intricate as the first.
I'm writing this because I enjoyed writing Delta Wave so much. I LOVED it. I felt truly impassioned by its development and I adored all the love that was given to Delta Wave on Archive of my own! (The story is being shared there too and seems generally well received). I wanted to add on to that love and show the animatronics and the people who saved them what their lives will be.
IMPORTANT:
NOW. I must say again: This is a SEQUEL. If you haven't read Delta Wave, go do that right now before reading this, or you'll be lost and confused! I must emphasize you do this. I'm not going to hold hands here, and I will not do so.
With all this said and done, enjoy Whistleblower!
LUIS
Everything wasn't well.
He knew it'd end eventually- All those free runs into the warehouse- it was bound to catch up one of these days. He was glad he never got any of the animatronics into whole debacle to begin with; otherwise, he'd be in a lot MORE trouble. Granted, how much more trouble can one can get into if your life is already in danger? For that matter, what can be more dangerous than a raging bot charging after him?
This bot was special: It's something akin to a sentinel here; a very interesting variation of one of the characters in particular- and its uniqueness wasn't lost on him. This couldn't be more evident in just how extraordinarily intelligent it was, and the fact it's armed in more than just one way. This thing had a TASER built in- A TASER! And it too can see through walls like Roxy. Its hearing must be close to Bonnie's level as well- its only drawback seems to be its own movement slightly hindering it. It hadn't been oiled and maintained in quite some time. After all, this warehouse nearer to the company's main office building was about derelict now. You'd think Fazbear Entertainment would do something about it- but no, they hadn't needed to intervene- this thing was acting all on its own.
This behemoth was not only fast, strong, and intelligent, but endlessly patient. It knew, once Luis got into the safe room inside the lower basement level of the facility, that it's only a matter of time until he had to come out. It had all day. Luis meanwhile, did not.
Shakily, he drew in rattling breaths and staunched the blood-flow on his shoulder and upper arm; his hands already unsteady and white at the knuckles and tips. The slashes were both deep and wide; and the man was left wondering if survival was even plausible unless something was done.
This errand wasn't just for parts- no, it'd been for another... more obscured reason. He'd come here with multiple intentions; one of which being he access the computer system here and check things out. He was allowed to do this, for a while. He was a programmer and professional nerd; its literally his job at the software department to refine programming to animatronics and various other apps and systems (until he got moved to marketing... real pleasure that was). He helped keep Fazbear Entertainment's systems running clean and smooth; diagnose and troubleshoot errors in the matrix, so to speak. So yes, certified programming genius here whose allowed to use the computers-
Until he wasn't.
Did corporate and his superiors know he was intending to leave? He supposed he'd been leaving bread crumbs- though it hadn't been the intention. He even lined himself up another job before this day- he planned to quit literally the next day over. Did they somehow account for that? The timing was just too perfect...
Then again, he supposed he could've also accidentally tripped something here and set that horrid abomination after him. Go figure. And he also supposed, with his snooping around here and his ill intentions this time around, this kind of thing wasn't warranted in some manner or another. Maybe corporate anticipated his treachery, maybe they didn't and this horrid instance was an accident- either way, he was fucked. Royally, painfully fucked.
He told Vanessa he was done working with Fazbear Entertainment- he'd been waiting for the right time to quit. Not only with another job lined up, but also because he'd been looking for more evidence as to help keep Fazbear Entertainment closed forever. After the mega PizzaPlex collapsed, MANY people came forward with both very strong words and a resolve to keep the vile company rising from the ashes again. Luis, as an employee of the company itself, he's actually LOST some good friends by staying here. He literally couldn't stick around anymore- its affected more than just his social life.
Vanessa never left him, at least. That thought had been a blessing he greedily embraced. He was gladdened to have her still; wishing he can say the same for his other former friends and acquaintances. They criticized him for his place here- not unlike Cassie's father, he realized. He'd been steadily going down that same hole her father went through... but unlike that man, Luis intended to dig himself out without dying in the process.
He didn't exactly disagree with the people who judged him, disturbingly enough. Fazbear Entertainment was EVIL. There's no getting around that. The fact they killed children for show business said enough. After Glamrock Bonnie told him his story and divulged what he knew, not to mention what Vanessa and Bonnie told him of Vanny, it couldn't have concreted Luis' resolve more. He HAD to help find a way to shut Fazbear Entertainment down forever. So, why not take advantage of his position here as a worker while he still had it?
Well, you can't say that hadn't both been successful and a massive failure in some ways- especially now that his life was actually in danger. He could very well die right now; if it wasn't from his injuries, it'd be from that abomination outside.
He looked around; his eyesight already a bit blearier than he recalled as he searched the safe room desperately for any means of stopping his wound or some other alternative method of escape. He supposed ventilation was a plausible idea, but Luis was too big for it himself- maybe someone Vanessa's size and smaller can go through, but not himself. So, he slashed that and noticed the wall had... miraculously enough, an emergency first-aid kit!
He couldn't even spare an exasperated and relieved sigh or witty commentary; barreling over to it and yanking it free of the glass case. He pulled it open- but was disappointed by the lack of needles or sutures inside. Nope, no way he can close the wound- not that he expected to be able to do so in this state. So, that left the other, grizzly option:
He mashed his lips and looked at the spare set of paws he had. He wondered if any of them was a lighter? Freddy's model tended to have, by default, at least one digit with the feature. Bonnie's model did too at one time; as he was the second-most requested animatronic for birthdays. But, they wanted his paws more or less for playing the bass... Luis can never figure out why they sacrificed the lighter for him for the claws. Couldn't he have both? It made no sense!
Frivolous decisions aside, He pulled out the spare set of Freddy model paws he had. Freddy back home said he wouldn't mind a secondary set- in case he mashed his digits again (he once got his claws caught on the car door... poor bear sometimes forgot how big he was and underestimated the clearance of it). But as it were, it meant the animatronics, by default, could do anything to themselves and no one would be able to anticipate what. So, having doubles of everything worked out- its why Luis kept coming back here too. He'd been the only one able to secure them the parts he needed, and he volunteered for it.
Luis was breathlessly relieved to find the finger lighter itself; and guess what? It still lit! He put it down, opened the medic kit now, and found a set of scissors and tweezers- both metallic. Perfect. This should work.
He turned on the finger lighter and blasted the tweezers with the heat; holding it to the flame for a set amount time until it started to glow visibly. It wasn't very fast, with Luis bleeding every second that passed, but it had to work. It had too.
Outside, the metal, electromagnetic door had been doing its job keeping his pursuer at bay. There'd been banging for a couple minutes, but now it ceased. Instead, he could hear the scraping of claws along its surface; akin to nails on a chalkboard. Was this bot teasing him now? Was it that intelligent? Was it actualized like Bonnie? It hadn't spoke a word to him, and yet... he couldn't help but wonder.
Meanwhile, he held the heated tweezers to one of the gashes on his shoulders. He took another shaky breath, then while pinching the walls of the wound together, plunged it in-
And he SCREAMED.
Cauterizing wounds isn't pretty, but it HAD to do for now. He'd hold it there for a solid minute or two; simply absorbing the fact he had to do this at ALL let alone the fact he was in so much pain he damn near passed out. He considered using the fire itself, but he wasn't sure if direct flame was as good as a heated metal surface. He was no expert on mending wounds like this- not like a programming genius knew anything about wounds.
After a minute simply gasping, he strained his ringing ears. The bot was scrapping and rapping outside- tip tap tip tap of horrid claws. Yup, definitely still waiting on him to make a move. The sound itself was meticulously timed; a certain pattern of noise as if suggesting a beat-
...Oh. It was simulating a heartbeat's rhythm, wasn't it?
Could it hear his own thumping in his ears?
Luis sighed, then gazed thoughtfully at the finger itself. He'd have to speed it up. Now he didn't want to use the direct flame, but the bleeding wasn't improving. The tweezers may be too small and he'd have to keep heating it up. Dammit- looks like he'd have to use plan B:
He shut his eyes, gulped, cleared his throat, gulped again- all in that order. Then, with his esophagus clenching tightly around a dried lump in his Adam's apple, he apprehensively held the paw to his shoulder, turning up the focus and blast of it like he would a regular kitchen lighter-
The literally searing pain was so horrid, he did end up passing out in the end.
He had no idea how long he'd been on that floor, curled into a whimpering ball.
He managed to close the wound- thank god. But now, he still had to contend with the severity of his predicament: He was trapped in the 'safe' room; unable to contact his friends on the outside world. His phone had been long-since disabled- and by 'disabled' he meant that the menace on the other side of the door had crushed it. Worse yet, even if he DID have it, he would've cut the line himself. He didn't need that thing blasting his location to the others- they'd try rescuing him and getting into danger. Also, he was pretty certain there's a digital virus here that managed to get into his phone once he plugged it into a computer terminal briefly so he can hack his way into it. He'd been using M.X.E.S to help in his endeavors; but now, he was afraid with M.X.E.S' presence in his device, the virus would've uploaded itself into him too.
No. No need to repeat the tragedy of the PizzaPlex. The virus in that system alone already costed too many lives. He couldn't imagine if Vanessa's program got itself taken over by this... anomaly. It's better his phone was broken now.
Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.
It... they, they were still tapping at his chamber door. The raven that cried 'Nevermore' to the madman trapped within his only remaining and fleeting sanctuary. The rhythmic and almost thoughtful, meticulous beat was deliberate and contemplative. The abomination would only continue to wait. And wait. And wait. How long was its battery life? Was it staying charged somehow?
Luis grabbed at his shoulder again. How long had he been in here? A few hours? Several? A day? No... not a day, he would've been hungry by now. He never had a huge appetite to begin with. No doubt, he was missing his date with Vanessa- she will know something's wrong.
Crap. He should've considered that. He's always been consistent with telling her if something's come up (not that anything did minus the one time he had to go to a family member's funeral; the one time he called off their date). He's always been prompt about their outings; always let her know more than a week ahead of time if he had something planned. Always showed up- At this rate, his absence today will no doubt be noticed. Worse, she knew where he was at last-
He didn't want to say this, but he didn't want to be rescued- But he wagered he will anyways. Knowing her, Vanessa will not only figure something's up, but she may ask a bot to come here and help find him. He TOLD HER where he'd been going- and she's smart enough to know that if ANYTHING happened, blame Fazbear Entertainment and their terrible facilities!
He shut his eyes now; his terrible eyesight was already bad enough; but he'd also lost his glasses at some point. He hadn't wanted that to happen, but here he was. About as blind as a bat and having just barely stopped his own bleeding. He had no plan, no back-up plan, no way out of this room- nothing!
What's an affectionately tokened 'smart-ass' to do?
Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.
He barely moved his head; groaning as he glanced at the door. Yeah, they weren't going anywhere. No, it's here this bot would remain. And here, in this would-be grave, it will preside; ever the ghoulish gargoyle atop the silent and lorn sepulcher.
Guess he was going to be here a while.
Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.
Luis eventually pulled himself up against a wall, listening to the maddening rap of steel talons on a reinforced door. It wasn't electrified... couldn't that thing come in? It wasn't exactly EASY to get through, even if you're Monty, and its not like Luis could go anywhere. This thing had him right where it wanted him-
Oh.
Of course.
It was mocking him. Man, how can that have gone over his head? Luis always figured himself a little oblivious but... this was different. Was he THAT stupid? No... he supposed blood loss had something to do with his slower thinking right now.
Now he was looking around the room again, then back at the Freddy paws on the floor where he left them. He supposed it was fate today that dictated he grab these spare paws; as they already saved his life. He pulled one up, then gazed at the lock again- now he had a different plan. It'd have to do, he figured. Seeing as he suspected Vanessa and the bots would try to investigate what happened here, he may as well bar himself in for the long hull.
The door was electronically locked- yes, the aberration outside could've likely found a way in by now, but it wasn't bothering. It played at patience; simply waited for its prey to give up or bleed out. The former technician wasn't going to let it have the satisfaction of actually killing him though; not today.
Sucking in air through his teeth, he went to the door and turned on the finger lighter again to full blast; its akin to a blow torch. The force was... unnecessarily powerful. He never figured why Fazbear Entertainment went all-in with the assets they had sometimes but he also recalled that Freddy can cook and broil things on the fly- also good to note. He held the lighter to the door's hinges; welding them sealed and procedurally doing the same to the rest of the door. He knew the electronic locks may give out thanks to the electrical system at some point- each powered door like this was attached to a generator that sat independent of the power grid. Even if the building shut off, the doors would continue to function-
But then, the generators could only prolong the inevitable: They ran of juice at some point, and then they too give out. With this in mind, Luis continued sealing the door in anticipation of this eventuality. He wouldn't be able to complete the door however; as the finger torch went out. Dammit- it needed more fuel. Even Freddy's lighter fingers needed a source of fluid sometimes.
Luis swore, but kept the paws on hand despite the fact they were now out of butane or- whatever was in them. The claws could maybe help him with something else- and now that he was slightly clearer headed, maybe he can figure something out. On that note, he shakily braced himself on the wall and steadily climbed it. He shuddered several times; blinking rapidly and looking back up at the vent.
The bot... could he turn the air off? Maybe. He could try to choke Luis out but... not like it could help. Luis has done sealed the door. That sadist out there still wouldn't be able to get the pleasure of killing him now. Ah well! Its not much in terms of consolation, but Luis supposed choking to death may beat getting disemboweled alive and quite slowly.
He walked over to it; still keeping his hand on the wall to keep himself on his feet as he gazed at the vent's aperture. Again, it's too small to accommodate him, but it may be his only way out too. He could stay and eventually asphyxiate, or go in there and get stuck. Or, even if he didn't asphyxiate here, that bot out there may eventually get bored and tear through the door. It wasn't like that thing was weak.
Now he gazed at the door. The tapping continued, picking up rhythm here and there. It definitely heard Luis' heartbeat. Despite it being the model it was, it didn't seem keen on talking him to death- that was different. Vanny herself, while Luis never met her or had the misfortune to deal with her, knew from Bonnie's story that she was not only a talker, but she could even be bubbly, in her own messed-up way. A cruel echo of Vanessa's own personality.
How morbid. To think, Vanny was born from an aspect of Vanessa when an errant program captured her brain and held her hostage in her own body. Vanny became her own person at the end, but she was still, at the end of the day, a sliver of Vanessa's leftover insecurities and self-taught lies. The former security guard herself had been reluctant in explaining this to Luis, but it allowed him to understand why she's been the way she was at the time.
Bonnie only serving to validate this and point out the nasty chip in Cassie's brain only continued to frighten him. And speaking of which- when Cassie had her operation, Bonnie had kept the chip. He hadn't wanted the hospital to dispose of it- said he didn't trust their methods. From hence, he'd been studying it in the garage and nearer to the modules running both their repairs and maintenance. M.X.E.S helped him crack down on it too- the two trying to understand how it works. Luis himself saw the chip in person- and he couldn't believe how disturbed it left him feeling.
That had been in a little girl's brain... let alone Vanessa's. How gross can this company get?
So disturbing- but just side tangents. Where was he going with this?
Oh yeah- Vanny. Something of her personality always seemed to survive somewhere; leaving Luis to wonder if she made a copy of herself and released it unto the world before her shut-down at the mega PizzaPlex. It's partially why Luis had been here; to make SURE nothing of her was here too. He was pretty sure he managed to clean out whatever's been in the system here, but it sadly woke up that... that... that hulking monster sitting outside his door right now.
Luis meanwhile, back in the present, used Freddy's talons to unscrew the vent's corners and remove the grate. He jolted once; hearing a single BANG! from the door- did it hear him trying to escape? Was it frustrated? Was it still teasing? He just didn't know- he never expected it to behave as it did.
Once he got the vent undone, he threw the paws inside and forced himself into it- Obviously, it was a tight fit and true to his earlier woes, it was constraining on his bruised body. Luis thanked being a somewhat average-framed man as he slid inside it; although he knew it's going to narrow and taper down the further he went- at least he'd be out of that thing's hands! He didn't know where the vent went on the building's maps, but he had a faint idea as to where it should empty out. At least for the moment, he'd be safe.
He'd be crawling around a while- leaving behind the tapping of the claws and the irritated bot. He stopped several times just to breathe; and to fight the pain in his wounded shoulder. He stopped at an junction where the vent turned left, then just settled himself right there. He's wedged himself into a hole, and that's where he'll stay and wait.
He really didn't want this- but he knew, deep down, Vanessa and the others wouldn't let this be. They'll be here, its just a matter of time. For the moment, all he could do is stay out of that thing's hands until they did get here. If he tried progressing from here, he'd get stuck in the walls and never be found again until this building gets demolished.
Fazbear Entertainment will eventually finish cleaning this building out- it'd just a take a while. And recently, Luis knew they've made moves to do so. They probably set up this security sentinel to keep all its lower-status workers out- maybe he didn't trip the system? Maybe they really wanted to protect their investment and try and open up a new location-
He hoped not. There should never be another mega PizzaPlex. Never. One way or another, he was going to help find a way to keep them closed forever- but before all was said and done, he needed to utilize what existed in here first. He's been managing to take and take and take for the last couple years for the bots at Vanessa's house- milking his privileges here until he couldn't. He's pretty sure he stole more than a $200,000 worth of parts and tech- and Fazbear Entertainment couldn't have known thanks to M.X.E.S hacking its security software and covering his tracks.
Ah well. It was a matter of time until his luck ran out. He anticipated it- he just never expected it to happen on his very last visit to this death-trap. Talk about karma!
He turned over in what little space he could, laid on his back, and shut his eyes. This was all he can do until something changed out there; to sit, recuperate, and wait.
And wait.
VANESSA
Luis would be correct in one way-
Vanessa indeed noticed, as she stood in front of the Barleyton Coat shoppe that Luis was not only late, but not answering any of her calls or texts. Its bad enough his phone went straight to voicemail and said something about the line being disconnected. These signs alone were more than enough.
Sitting on the bench, her leg bouncing away, she hardly noticed the shoppers that pass. The crowded mall was stuffed to bursting with activity; most having come in for the early deals for the holidays. Christmas was around the corner- and Luis had an idea planned for today's date- not that she knew what.
She rang him up again; only to be answered by the same monotone female message. "We're sorry. The number you're trying to connect to was-" and there she'd hang up. If he hadn't answered the first two dozen times, he wasn't going to answer now.
Its been over an hour. He's NEVER late.
What happened to him?
Vanessa sighed and stood up. Luis should've left the warehouse more than five hours ago. Was he still there somehow? Was it possible he's trapped in there? Did he lose his phone? No, he was more careful than that- something must be wrong.
"Fuck me-" She murmured as she finally left the bench. She brushed past some agitated parents; many would bark at her or shoot glares- she didn't notice. She didn't care.
Luis was gone.
And the last place he'd been in had been the closed, run-down Fazbear Anima Supply depot. That was all she knew, and that's all she needed to know from hence. She was glad he tended to tell her where he was; bless his heart for being as honest as Freddy in that facet- but dammit, wasn't he more careful than that? She could've swore this was meant to be his last day dealing with that place! They were going to celebrate too!
Nope.
Not-uh.
Guess there was a rescue operation to get under-way.
She got out to her van; the repainted party bus having been done with the improved likeness of her extended family. All the bots living at her house was on its sides now; even down to the daycare attendant and his new, revised look. Two years after escaping the PizzaPlex, her family couldn't have looked better than ever. She had to pay someone to do up the custom look- but it was Gregory who came up with the new design! The kid had a talent when it came to art... and yes, while a side-note, it's been useful for the graphic design work he's been getting into. He showed an aptitude for art-
But yes, tangents aside- she belted herself in, unlocked her phone, then put it on speaker and linked it to her vehicle. She was already driving out to the highway when Bonnie picked up:
"Heya, Summer-Eyes! Didn't expect the call- kinda rude on your date, innit?"
She fought to keep her breath level as she said, "Bon, Luis never showed up- something's wrong and his phone is off for some reason- I can't get a hold of him! Can you get M.X.E.S to give me a run-down on his last known location and what happened?"
The rabbit was quiet for a beat- no doubt blinking stupidly in surprise and concern. "Scanning," He reciprocated. She didn't have to wait half a minute before she got, "Oh shit-"
"Don't tell me..."
"Yeah... last known signal was at the depot. Aw hell-" He trailed off, no doubt mussing his hair. "Okay... yeah. Just asked M.X.E.S what's up- looks like Luis cut him off after a bit on purpose."
"Why was his reaction delayed-?" Vanessa bit scathingly.
"...Luis did it on purpose, by the looks of things. He hadn't wanted to upload to M.X.E.S what happened until we figured it just now. Delayed response feature, I think. Dammit! The hell is he doin'-?"
Vanessa wanted to smash her head on a brick wall- but her steering wheel would have to do. So she indulged the whim and beeped her vehicle. People next to her honked back. She didn't care, of course.
"Vanessa... do you want us to check it out-?"
"You know how we feel about that! If you guys show up there and surveillance catches sight of you in functioning order- who the heck knows what Fazbear Entertainment will do! They may sweep by my home and pluck ya'll out of our lives," She spat. "Probably why Luis delayed M.X.E.S, on that note-"
"Look, hun. I ain't gonna let that man get caught up in that mess literally on his LAST day messing with it. 'Sides, we have M.X.E.S-"
"Bonnie, for the love of god-"
"Listen-"
"No, don't even START-" she snarled at the other end of the line. "Luis doesn't want you guys exposing yourselves after all this time and he-"
"FOR CARROT'S SAKE, HUN! SHUT IT FOR A SEC-" He bellowed back. He inhaled gustily on the other end of the line, his pleasant tenor thankfully a balm as he went on, "The hell you want us to do here, then? You called me for a reason, yeah? And you know as well as I do that no one's gonna be able to help him. The authorities in this town- I swear to shit they're bought out by corporate. Its the only way they coulda let all that crap fly for so long and for so many years. Wouldn't doubt FE has been paying them off to turn their noses up at every missing case that's cropped up-" He sighed next. Then, "Aside from that, no one here in this home- no one in their right frame of mind, would let that happen to Luis. We'd WANT to help, and we'd be the only help he has. I don't wanna say that, but its the truth, and even you know it."
Vanessa swore colorfully.
"I thought so. Look- just get home and out of that cold. I'll have M.X.E.S run a scan on what was Luis' last signal and what he's been doin'. From there, I'm sure we can come up with something. And chin up, sweets-" He sounded calm and completely self-assured as he said, "Ain't no one's smarter than that giga-nerd boyfriend of yours. 'Kay? I wager he's got himself locked up somewhere and just needs to be picked up. And you know that we're capable of doing this without getting found out. Yunno that. Its why you called me, right?"
Vanessa snarled again. Its like English has forsaken her at that moment.
Bonnie meanwhile thankfully didn't rub it in- like he tended to do. He was also able to decipher her gorilla impression flawlessly and ever so calmly assured, "Don't worry, Summer-Eyes. We'll get it done, I promise. Ain't like we don't know what we're doing."
"I still don't like this-" She finally found her tongue again as she said, "I'd rather you guys not be involved at all."
"I know. But... technically speaking, Luis got himself into this trouble for US. Kinda makes us involved by proxy, yunno? And the more heads on this, the better. Now then- Get off your phone so you can drive safely. Those roads have been labelled an ice hazard today, and its gonna snow shortly. So- yeah. See ya when you get back, love."
She didn't even leave him with the curtesy of a good-bye. She simply hung up, and that was that.