Hey guys, Tora here! Sorry about the late upload, I've been busy, and things keep coming. I wanted to say that while I will keep uploading each week, it will not be as rigid as I originally wanted. I will likely upload within a four-day timeframe a week after my last upload. Also wow! Ten Chapters! Thank you, guys, so much for all the support, I never thought Discovering the Past would be as liked as it is! Thank you all so much! You are the best!

Also thank you to those who told me about the chapter 9 and 10 mix up, I'm technically still new to FFN and doc manager can get a little tricky sometimes. Thanks again :D

I do not own Freddy Fazbear or any other Five Nights at Freddy's characters, only my own original characters. Now please enjoy!

—

It had only been less than a half-hour since Iza had found the new glasses. The moment recalled only joy, no, excitement when she discovered the small object that might return an ounce of clarity to her blurry vision.

And that lucky feeling only grew; by some miracle, those thick, industrial grade, black-framed glasses matched her prescriptions perfectly. For a second, she had forgotten everything that had happened before and felt happier than she had ever been that night.

Now no semblance remained of those former emotions. Now Iza wished she never found those cursed things as they flawlessly revealed to her every haunting minor detail of the glowing army of optics staring at her and Roxy.

Dozens of Monty-sized robots watched them emotionlessly as they slowly walked forward. Roxy pulled Iza closer to her body protectively while they inched onward and moved through the crowded corridor.

The robots themselves never moved, but their eyes saw the duo's every motion; they watched both, but many were trained on Iza specifically. Yet they never attacked, only watching.

Chills radiated through Iza's spine as she clung to Roxy's arm and her eyes and flashlight darted over the unmoving robots. Iza noticed that they had no casing from her flashlight, just exposed wires and metal gears. "Roxy, what are they?" her voice quivered.

Roxy hunched her body over low and flexed her fingers, revealing the sharp claws ready to strike. Her eye moved around quickly, trying to anticipate the motionless robots. Then Roxy's voice box expelled a deep but hushed snarl. "Endos."

While still terrified, Iza's features changed. "Endos?" she asked, confused. "As in an endoskeleton?"

Roxy replied with a slight nod, not removing her attention from the danger. Iza glanced down at Roxy's caseless feet and other missing outer plastic. Her jaw gaped open before she snapped her head back to the creepy endos. "Wait, are these things like you guys?"

Her words broke the wolf's concentration as she stared down at the human, annoyed. "Of course not," Roxy scoffed. "These things are practically brainless zombies. They have no personality, feelings, nothing."

Iza looked back at her, surprised, and then bravely, or stupidly, shined the flashlight in one of the endo's optics; it didn't flinch. "They're not doing anything. Why did you say they were so dangerous?"

Returning attention to the endoskeletons, Roxy's face turned grim, and her voice grew irritated. "A zombie is still a zombie, Iza. They're all dangerous one way or another."

Iza boldly shone the light in another's optics again. "If that's true, then why aren't they attacking?"

A sigh passed Roxy's maw. "They won't attack one they perceive as their own." Those words dripped with venom and hatred as she stared at them.

Iza raised a brow. "But I thought you said—"

"Remember what Monty said about our customization chips?" Roxy said, interrupting her and her voice softer.

She nodded. "He mentioned it gave you guys your personality."

"Yes," Roxy responded. "But it's also a separate component from the hardware located in our endoskeletons that control basic movement and commands."

Roxy unfurled a clawed hand and pointed at the bare animatronics. "Before we gain them, however, this is what we are, mindless endoskeletons that are only driven by basic programming. These ones likely have plenty of viruses and malware from years of neglect and corrupted code," she grumbled. "Especially after that."

The last part piqued Iza's interest. "What's 'that'?"

Roxy froze. Iza's question caught her off guard before quickly returning to normal. "Nothing, let's just get to the storage room."

Her answer didn't satisfy Iza, and despite wanting to argue, she dropped the subject. "If that's what you guys were before your chips, why didn't Chica or Freddy's endoskeletons attack when they were removed?"

"Because once a customization chip is placed within an endoskeleton, it overrides whatever asinine coding makes them do this."

Suddenly a loud sound came from the rear. Iza spun her head around, and instantly, the color drained from her face. Behind them were the immobile endos, only closer and in a different position. "When did they move?" The flashlight trembled in her hand as sweat started to form on Iza's forehead.

Roxy sighed and held Iza closer as they kept moving forward. "They move when no attention is on them."

"But you said they saw you as their own."

"Iza," Roxy spoke quietly. "Those things are after you, not me."

Iza's face went ghost pale, and she felt her heartbeat quicken. "What?"

"Why do you think I didn't want you to come? These things hunt humans," Roxy growled. She hardly restrained herself from taking a swipe at the unthinking counterparts. "They've been active since before Gregory was here."

"But that was close to thirty years ago!" Iza yelled.

Roxy nodded while her eye returned to surveying the endos. "When he was head mechanic, Gregory forbade any human staff from coming here and always had one of us retrieve the parts from this area."

Iza grew shocked. "Dad knew about this?!"

"Yeah," Roxy sighed. "Unfortunately, there was nothing he or we could do. It's too dangerous for a human to get close, and these things actually fight back if attacked."

"That's why you're not fighting them?"

"Correct."

Iza nodded, and the conversation ended. For several minutes Iza observed the forms of the endos. Then, she realized how advanced the endoskeletons were, old by current standards but still quite complex and intricate.

Roxy noticed Iza's strange interest in the seven-foot death bots. "What is it, Iza?"

Iza jumped at her name. "Oh, sorry, I was looking at the endos. I'm just impressed at how advanced they are. I remember seeing this stuff when I grew up, but I have never seen one so complex before."

A hint of print flashed across Roxy's eye. "I'm happy you like it, glad to hear at least someone still appreciates animatronics."

"Man, I really need to explain modern-day to you guys," Iza laughed. "You'd all fit right into society."

Roxy was dumbfounded. "Yes, please explain."

Iza chuckled. "I will once we get back, there's a lot to mention, and I'd rather do it when you are all present."

"Fair," Roxy hummed. "But anyway, we're here."

Iza looked up as they came to a stop. In front of them was a large metal door with the scuffed-up letters that read Extra Parts and Robotics Storage. "This is where we'll find everything?"

"Yup." Without releasing her hold on Iza, Roxy grabbed the large metal handle on the side and yanked the door open with all her strength. Her voice box emitted a grunt before a strained and protesting scraping sound filled the room. "In here."

Roxy quickly ushered Iza inside before immediately shutting the door behind her. A sudden shuffling of footsteps from the endos was heard, followed by a crash into the thick steel door. Iza jumped back and tripped over Roxy's foot; the wolf caught her before Iza fell to the floor.

"That was close," Iza breathed. Both human and wolf let out a collective sigh of relief.

"No kidding," Roxy replied. "Those things start running the second both our backs are turned.

"Now!" Roxy clapped her hands. "Let's get those parts."

"I meant to ask you," Iza said, turning her head as Roxy walked away. The lights buzzed to life, flickering after years of disuse. "Do you know what pieces we are supposed to get?"

"Yes, Monty gave them to me."

Iza raised a brow. "When? I don't remember him giving you a list or anything before we left."

Roxy smirked, then tapped a clawed finger to her head. "One of the perks of being an advanced animatronic, we can communicate directly with each other through our comms."

Iza chuckled and shook her head. "You're just like Inox. He always liked to tease me with the things he could do as an android that I lack as a human."

Roxy hummed and scratched her chin. "You know that's not a bad idea."

Iza frowned. "Please don't tease me."

She giggled. "Don't worry, I won't. But no, I mean, it's probably a smart idea for you to be able to contact us."

"How could I?" Iza asked. "My phone is long gone, and I don't have a brain that can connect to a server."

"Little comedian, aren't you?" Roxy rolled her eye. "But if we can find a fazwatch, we could reconnect it to our line of communication."

Iza's ears perked up. "Oh, you mean like this?" Iza pulled out Gregory's fazwatch from her ruined sweatshirt.

Roxy's eye widened. "Where did you get that?"

"Freddy dropped it after the scuffle," Iza said quietly. "I grabbed it off the floor earlier."

Roxy stared at her blankly. "Just put it away for now. We can program it later."

"Right." Iza replaced the watch in her pocket, ensuring it didn't fall through the torn fabric and followed Roxy. Walking forward, Iza got her first good look at the room. It was a medium-sized space with a ten-foot ceiling, stacked top to bottom with dusty crates and metal storage tubes.

Roxy stopped at the back of the room and started moving around some boxes, sending dust flying into the air. "Alright, let's grab those supplies."

"What do we need?"

She continued to move items as she talked. "According to the list, Monty needs us to grab some casting for my legs and a new optic for me. A replacement chest casing and several endoskeleton parts for Freddy, a leg for Chica, an arm for Monty, some more faceplate pieces for Sundrop, and random small pieces. I'll tell you more later."

"What about Inox?" Iza spoke. "He also needs repairs."

"Don't worry, I just sent a message to Monty. He said they have a plan to fix him."

Iza smiled, reassured. "That doesn't sound like much, though," she mentioned. "Why did Monty say I was the only one who could grab stuff?"

"Because the big brains who designed this palace made a small crawl space leading to an extra room that only humans can access."

"What do you mean?" Iza looked forward just as Roxy finished moving the last box. She revealed a small three-by-three foot entrance of a tunnel.

"Everything we need is in there. But, unfortunately, I cannot fit into that small space, so you will need to get down on all four and retrieve the items from the back room."

Iza stared in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me. Why on Earth would they make this? Because clearly, employee safety was not in the original architectural plans!"

Roxy sighed. "Trust me, I'm surprised we didn't get shut down a long time ago for safety concerns."

"Whatever," Iza grumbled. "Let's just get this over with." She paused and looked up. "Wait, how will I know what to grab? I've never seen these things before."

"Don't worry, we'll be able to see and hear each other. The passageway is only about ten feet long, then it opens up into a bigger area. I'll verify whether you found the correct item."

Iza felt hesitant, then sucked in a deep breath. "Alright, let's do this." She kneeled on the ground, ignoring the dull pain in her right arm that she'd nearly forgotten about as the night went on.

She pressed her body to the ground and started to army crawl across the floor. She was about halfway in when Iza realized how hot it was, no airflow came through the enclosed space, and there were cobwebs everywhere. Iza closed her eyes and mouth as she trudged through.

One web tickled Iza's nose and caused her to sneeze. The sudden movement sent a torrent of dust into the air, causing her to cough violently. "You okay?" Roxy called.

"Yeah," Iza coughed. "It's very dusty here."

"Be careful; we'll get you some water when we get back."

Iza continued forward in the dark and hot tunnel. After a few minutes, the space finally ended and expanded into a larger room. Iza reached the end and stood up, catching her breath for a moment. "I need to work on my core more."

Laughter followed her comment. "Alright, Iza, what do you see?"

Turning her flashlight on, Iza searched the room; it was smaller than the other chamber. Boxes and crates filled floor to ceiling. "A bunch of boxes."

Iza crouched down and looked through the crawlway. She could see Roxy looking through as best she could. "Okay, good, try looking through them for a chest piece that looks like Freddy's." Her voice was accompanied by a slight echo.

Iza nodded, then moved towards the boxes. She shifted through the storage before her hand hit something hard wrapped in bubble wrap. She undid the wrapping and saw the familiar blue lightning bolt. "Found it!" Iza yelled.

"Great job!"

Iza picked it up and was stunned at how light it was. "What should I do with it?" she asked, looking back through the entrance.

"You'll need to crawl back through and bring them out."

Iza stared at her mouth open. Then she looked forward blankly and breathed deeply. Without a word, Iza slid the part through the hole. She made her way through before coming out on Roxy's side. Roxy pulled Iza to her feet and picked up the casing. "Way to go."

Iza didn't react. "One down, however many more to go." She got back down on all fours and crawled back through.

—

An hour had passed before Iza stood up with the final piece in hand. She pulled the item through and stretched her body. Iza cracked her back. "Man, I need to stretch more. That was not easy."

Roxy snickered at her remark. "Hey, you're doing alright for a girl whose body has been through heck and back tonight."

Iza finished her stretches then grinned at Roxy. "Please." She waved her hand dismissively. "You're one to talk. You only have one eye and missing several key parts, but you were still able to show those STAFF bots what for!" Iza fake punched the air like she was fighting someone.

"Thanks, Iza."

"No, really!" Iza stopped and made eye contact. "You're incredible, Roxy! And honestly, a great friend."

Roxy nearly dropped the parts she was holding when she heard that. For a moment, she stared at Iza, then looked away. "I mean," she said, clearly embarrassed. "You're not so bad yourself, megastar, definitely got guts."

Iza laughed brightly at the nickname. "Without you, I wouldn't be able to hold onto them. I'm only alive because you guys protected me," Iza sighed and scratched her hand. "If it's not clear already, I'm a little impulsive." She gestures to the state of her body.

Roxy shifted the items to one hand then gently rustled Iza's already wild hair. "Sometimes, a little impulsiveness is needed. Heck, if you hadn't rushed in with that STAFF bot arm, Freddy and Inox would've been toast." Roxy smiled. "But talking from experience, you should definitely learn to keep it in check."

Iza nodded, grabbed the casing and animatronic leg off the ground, and walked over to join Roxy. "Can you guys not swear?"

Roxy made eye contact. "Pardon?"

"You guys keep saying heck, are you not able to swear?" Iza asked again. "Because I've heard plenty of androids and animatronics who would have sworn like crazy in a situation like tonight, but I haven't heard it from any of you."

Roxy nearly doubled over laughing. "Part of the job when you work at a children's pizzeria."

"Right," Iza responded. "Guess parents wouldn't be too happy if their kids suddenly came home and started cussing."

The wolf continued laughing. "No, they would not, but anyway." She recomposed herself. "We should get back to parts and service; Monty and Sun are waiting."

"Good idea." Iza and Roxy started to make their way back towards the door, positioning the somewhat heavy pieces into a more comfortable position. "So, how are we going to get past those things?"

"There's a button that we installed to get them away from the door for a short while until we can leave." Roxy moved towards a button pad and pressed a light green switch. Right after, a loud horn was heard outside the door.

Roxy raised a brow, and Iza looked up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She pressed the button again. "Strange, what's going on?"

"What is it?"

"Usually, that button scares them off, but I don't hear any footsteps."

"Maybe they left?"

"Unlikely, let me try again." Again, the alarm rang, but it was accompanied by a heavy bash against the door.

Both of them jumped back, then Roxy looked closer, the metal door had slightly warped inward, and now a tiny bump was visible. "What the heck?"

CRASH

The sound came again and again. "Roxy, what's happening?!"

Before she could respond, part of the metal door splintered like wood, opening a small hole to the outside. Through the opening, a glowing crimson eye stared murderously at Iza.

The two screamed. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Iza cried. "I thought you said they couldn't get in!"

"They can't!" Roxy stared, but her heart dropped when the endo continued to move despite them looking at it. "Something is wrong; the endos are moving without restriction."

The bashing continued, and the hole got larger. Instantly Roxy dropped everything she was holding and grabbed Iza by the arm, causing her to lose her items as she was dragged to the corner of the room.

"Roxy?! What are you doing?!" Iza shouted.

"You need to get out of here; something is terribly wrong!" Roxy released Iza's arm then latched onto an old vent duct cover similar to the one Inox used to escape previously.

She yanked on the old metal, the steel screws holding firm against her strength. The pounding on the door continued; now, the frame started to creak from the force. The hole grew more prominent, and more glowing red eyes were visible. "Roxy!"

"Come on!" she screamed before Roxy was thrown back as the screws gave way. Roxy threw the grate to the ground, grabbed Iza by the waist, and hoisted her up into the vent opening. "Iza go! These tunnels will keep you safe!"

"I'm not leaving you!" The metal door burst open. Dozens of endos poured into the room, their massive footsteps deafening everyone. They beelined straight for the vent where Iza was. Roxy was grabbed by the arms and jerked back, flying to the floor.

"Iza! Go! NOW!" An endo reached into the vent for Iza. It snatched her leg in a tight grip.

She screamed bloody murder as Iza used her other foot to kick the hand and free her ankle.

Roxy sprung to her feet and tried to push her way through the crowd. It was pointless; a metal arm backhanded her with inhuman strength, sending Roxy crashing to the ground.

Iza kept kicking; tears streamed from her eyes as desperate wails escaped her. It was no use. The endo started pulling her back. Iza could see its razor-sharp fingers ready to strike her down.

Iza squeezed her eyes shut as the grip on her ankle dug into the delicate skin, and the claw plunged at her.

Before it made contact, metal collided against metal. Iza opened her eyes and saw something attacking the endo. However, she couldn't see the figure as its movements were too fast.

The hold on her ankle loosened, and Iza kicked until she was free. She scurried further back. Iza didn't know what saved her, and she didn't want to find out.

Fueled by adrenaline, Iza scrambled through the vents, taking blind turn after blind turn in the dark labyrinth until finally, she collapsed, exhausted.

Iza lay down against the cool metal, blood pumped in her ears as her body struggled to breathe and her lungs screamed. The world swirled in her vision, and it was difficult to swallow.

After ten minutes, Iza managed to calm herself and take a deep breath. Then, she felt a dull pain radiate from her ankle. She leaned against the duct wall in the dark and then felt her ankle.

The pain slightly intensified as she grazed it, but thankfully no blood. Iza let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed against the wall when suddenly, the quiet pattering of something sounded against the duct.

Iza jolted forward and looked every which way as she searched for the source. Even with the glasses, it was fruitless in the dark, but she heard it again.

Iza raised her fists, ready to fight, and she heard it coming from the way she arrived. She squinted then two glowing dots appeared.

She screeched as the things came closer, their movements quick and relenting. Iza struggled to move but collapsed when she felt the weight on her ankle.

Iza fell forward. Snapping her head around, she saw the creature only feet from her. She covered her face with her arms but then heard nothing.

Confused, Iza cracked open an eye. The thing was standing directly next to her in the cramped space. Iza jerked back, hitting her head against the metal.

She recoiled in pain. "Ow! Why does every damn thing keep hurting me!" Her voice echoed through the endless tunnels.

She looked back at the miniature robot. Its eyes were the only visible thing. "What the hell do you want?!" she shouted, angry and on the verge of crying. "I've dealt with worse than you tonight, so if you're going to do anything. Bring. It. On!" she growled through gritted teeth.

The creature didn't respond. Instead, it placed something in front of Iza. They scooted the object forward until it touched her exposed skin.

Completely baffled at this point, Iza reached down, never taking her eyes off the dots. She felt around the object then felt a button. She pressed it, and a beam of light shot out.

The sudden glare blinded her, and Iza dropped the light source. After her eyes adjusted, Iza looked up and saw the creature. It was a small animatronic.

Smaller than even Inox, its bottom half was supported by six spider-like legs. Its upper half looked slightly more human with two hands coming from its side and a permanent, albeit creepy smile plastered onto its faceplate and pitch-black sclera surrounded the two white dots.

They stared at each other until Iza broke the silence. "I'm guessing you're not going to hurt me?"

The spider shook its head without sound; it calmly walked in the opposite direction. It walked about five feet before turning around and stomping one of its feet. Iza cocked her head to the side then pointed at herself. "You want me to follow you?"

It nodded yes.

Iza exhaled, exasperated. "Not going to question it, not the weirdest thing that has happened to me." After a moment, Iza took a few deep breaths then started to crawl after her little savior through the air vents of the Mega Pizzaplex.