I do not own Freddy Fazbear or any other Five Nights at Freddy's characters, only my own original characters. Now please enjoy!
—
It could be worse. It could be worse. It could be worse.
Those words repeatedly played in Iza's head, something she found herself doing quite frequently over the last few hours, especially as she followed the miniature robot that resembled a humanoid spider.
It could be worse.
Iza's body ached, the sharp pain had long subsided, but the dull soreness radiated through her person, still wrapped in the old and loose bandages from before. Using her left arm to hold up the flashlight and her badly injured right arm to propel herself forward, Iza continued onward.
It could be worse.
The vent was hot, and the metal she touched was cool. Usually, that was a good combination, but not now, especially not to Iza. Her movements, although slow, kicked up much dust with each inch forward, and she inhaled it as she went. The struggles of her body were one thing, but the dust only worsened the dryness in her throat.
The light illuminated the dark abyss ahead; the only object visible was the rays reflecting off the speedy animatronic's metallic head. It had been a while since she started following that spider, how long she knew not, but it all felt the same.
Iza stopped, then hung her head and shut her eyes. It could be worse. She sighed; the mantra seemed to no longer work. "What am I doing?" She muttered to herself.
She remained in her quiet solitude for several moments before realizing the complete silence. Then, confused, she opened her eyes, coming face-to-face with the unsettling grin of the robotic arachnid. "Woah!" she gasped, startled, and abruptly scooted farther back.
A staring contest ensued between the human and animatronic. No sound escaped as Iza gazed unsurely at the robot before she dropped her head and let out a tired laugh. "You know, I've just kinda accepted that I will have heart problems after tonight from all the adrenaline."
Iza looked up and made eye contact with the peering animatronic as it tilted its head to the side. "Strangely enough," Iza continued. "You're actually one of the first animatronics that has not tried to kill me tonight upon first glance. For that, I'm thankful." She wiped her brow and gave the animatronic a small smile.
The robot let her finish and returned its head upright when suddenly a screeching audio burst from its tiny body. The racket was loud and echoed across the chute as what sounded like skipping radio channels screamed from its voice box.
The sudden noise startled Iza, causing her to roughly slam her injured arm against the metal wall. "Damn it!" she yelled. "Every time!"
She gritted her teeth and then glared at the loud little robot. Iza was ready to lay into it when she stopped; the audio now sounded audible. "Hey!"
A scratchy voice burst through, scaring Iza for the second time; it continued. "Hey! I. requested of. You. Keep. Together. When. You and I. Here."
Iza's jaw dropped, stunned at its voice. Tonight had been more eventful than most would experience in their lifetime, but this was new, and it was strange.
The audio heard seemed pre-recorded as each word or phrase sounded like it was taken from several different records and put together to form a somewhat coherent sentence. "You can talk?!" Iza gawked.
"Keep it down, would ya? Silence. Here," it repeated, voice changing octaves for nearly every word or sentence.
Iza placed a hand over her mouth and quieted down. "Sorry," she whispered, then readjusted herself and the flashlight. "Are you the thing that saved me from the endo?"
It nodded.
Iza sighed, then smiled. "Thank you." She scanned the robot up and down. "Who are you?"
"Music," it said and gestured to itself.
Iza looked confused. "Music? Your name is Music?"
It shook its head. "Music," it replied, then pointed again. Iza realized they would have to play charades to understand each other.
She looked at its body then her eyes landed on the lanky lower appendages. "Music Spider?" she guessed.
With the patience of a god, it shook its head again. "You. Here." It gestured to its legs and shook its head. "Music. Here." The robot outlined its more human upper half.
Iza scratched her chin. "Music Person?" Again not the correct answer, but it seemed Iza was getting closer with the robot becoming visibly more excited. "Music Human?"
Once again, the animatronic signaled no, before rapidly outlining its human half. "Music!"
"Music Man?" Instantly the robot jumped up and hugged Iza's tired face. The little hands felt cool against her skin. "Music man? That's your name, Music Man?"
Music Man nodded vigorously as he released Iza's face and scampered around happily. "Sweet, sweet sound of. My. Song," he said joyfully albeit quietly. "Long, long time. I. Hear that. You. Sing. My. Song!"
"Your song?" Iza looked at him dumbfounded. "Wait, do you mean your name?"
He nodded enthusiastically but then grew calm. Music Man walked over to Iza and tugged on her ragged sleeve. "Keep. Making. It down. Here." He pointed in the direction they were initially going.
"You want us to keep moving?" Iza asked, trying her best to decipher his encoded speech.
Music Man gestured for Iza to follow before walking ahead, his little footsteps echoing off the enclosed space. Not wanting to argue and unwilling to be left alone, Iza followed quickly behind.
Together they traversed a great distance; Iza didn't know the duration but what she did know was that she was breathless from trying to keep up with Music Man. Sweat dripped from her temple, and her throat felt like sandpaper as ragged breaths pounded the air.
Music Man turned around and saw her exhausted state; he moved closer and lightly tugged on her clothing. She felt his pulling and waved one of her hands. "Wait, I just need," she said between breaths. "I just need a moment to catch, to catch my breath."
Her words fell on deaf ears as the tiny animatronic continued to yank on her shirt and pointed forward. "Together. Down. Now. Here."
Iza looked up at him, baffled. "What?"
He released his grip and did the equivalent of a sigh with his body. "Now. Here." Music Man repeated, signaling to keep moving.
"Here?" Iza muttered, her breath returning to normal. "Is there an exit nearby?"
Music Man nodded towards the back of the vent. Following his gaze, Iza shined the light through the darkness, dust particles visible in the beam. Through the dark passageway, Iza squinted and barely made out the distant reflection of a vent grate; the human's eyes brightened. "The exit!" she bellowed.
"Silence. Eternal silence. Here!" Music Man hissed, holding a finger to his wide smile.
Iza chuckled, embarrassed. "Sorry, lead the way."
Music Man rolled his white pupils and continued forward with Iza crawling closely behind. Finally, after a minute, they reached the air duct exit, and without a word, Music Man curled his tiny fingers around the little holes in the vent and pulled.
The grate effortlessly came loose, throwing up some dust. Despite the wave of debris, fresh air poured into the ventilation shaft, and the flooding of fresh oxygen into her lungs felt fantastic. Before she could convey this, Music Man carefully set the metal object to the side and looked through the opening.
He seemed to search for something before turning back and motioning for Iza to follow. Immediately after, Music Man scurried forward and hopped out of the vent. Surprised at the sudden action, Iza crawled forward and looked down.
Iza looked down and saw Music Man about six feet below atop a pile of pillows and gesturing for her to come down.
Iza was too eager to leave the cramped space and maneuvered her legs until her feet dangled from the edge. Then, taking a big breath, Iza leaped forward and landed with a soft thud.
Recovering from the impact, she saw Music Man silently laughing at her. Iza gave him a half-hearted scowl. "Hardy har har, laugh it up," she said as she stood up and brushed herself off.
Iza looked around. "Where are we?"
Music Man tugged on Iza's pant leg and pointed towards the center of the room. Iza looked up and shined the flashlight around. Although Iza could see the piles of debris everywhere from the beam, the room seemed to be abandoned much longer than the rest of the pizzaplex.
Glass floors were cracked, and the roof was completely caved in at the far right of the room. Then Iza shone her light towards the center back of the room; the sight made her stomach drop.
On the opposite wall sat the largest animatronic Iza ever laid eyes on. It was difficult to see, but it was massive and seemed to have multiple arms; one hand flopped over its large stage and rested on the ground.
Looking further, Iza realized the robot was wearing giant headphones. She scanned the area and saw the decorations. "Are we on a dance floor? Music Man?"
Iza saw the tiny toy animatronic walking towards the larger, deactivated one. "Hey, wait up!" she yelled.
"Eternal silence!" it hissed back as Iza caught up. They were about a quarter the way across the room. "No song here!"
Iza looked at him, confused, but a sound came from behind before she could ask. One that was all too familiar and twisted her stomach into a knot.
She slowly turned around, a hand slapped over her horrified mouth as Iza looked on at the dozen STAFF bots staring at her cynically.
"Music Man?" Iza whispered.
"Keep. Making. Now!" he screamed as he started sprinting for the stage.
The STAFF bots wailed as they charged the human and robotic spider. Iza sprinted towards the animatronic as she heard wheels spinning closer. Feeling brave, Iza glanced over her shoulder and saw the bots only inches from her. "AHHHH!"
Iza banked left as the close STAFF bot slashed at her, narrowly dodging its metallic claws. Still moving, Iza looked over at Music Man. He was now running in the opposite direction with at least ten bots on his tail.
Suddenly one got close enough to him and rammed against his small frame. Music Man crashed to the floor, unmoving.
"Music Man!" Iza yelled as she quickly changed directions and dashed for the animatronic.
When it reached him, Iza was ten feet from the bot; it raised a clawed hand. Thinking fast, Iza snatched a piece of broken floor and chucked it at the bot. Instantly, the stone collided with the unthinking animatronic and disoriented it. The impact did no damage but gave Iza just enough time to run forward and swipe Music Man off the floor.
Using the adrenaline, Iza hoisted the surprisingly heavy animatronic up and continued running towards an exit. Suddenly five more STAFF bots appeared in the doorway. She quickly changed direction and sprinted for the opposite entrance; six more bots materialized.
Iza turned around but found herself cornered on all sides. She backed up; nowhere to go. Then, her body hit the stage as her breathing intensified, and panic began setting in.
Her eyes darted around for an exit, then looked forward just in time to see the metal hand of a STAFF bot before it struck her cheek.
Demonic laughter escaped from the unpredictable animatronics. The punch threw Iza to the floor with such force that Music Man's body crashed against the ground and slammed into the large animatronic's outstretched hand, making a sickening crunch.
Iza lay on the ground as the world around her spun, and the deafening ringing returned. Iza looked up in a daze, and through the blurred and swirling vision, she saw the distinct changing of the STAFF bot's optics from pale white to eerie violet.
The satanic cackling continued from all the bots except for the one standing over Iza's injured form. It raised its daggered digits as an inhuman voice rattled. "It's been fun, Iza Fasben," the bot cooed twistedly. "But the game has ended; tell your father I always come b—"
Then everything went black.
—
"Iza."
The human stirred in her sleep.
"Iza, wake up!"
She shot up in a panic, her brown eyes darting around for the one who called her name. "What's going on?! Where am I?!" She shouted in the darkness.
There was no one around.
"You're safe, don't worry." A robotic voice echoed, jarring Iza fully awake.
Iza looked around for the person but saw no one. Then, a glow other than the flashlight caught her eye; it came from under her left sleeve.
She stared in confusion; carefully, Iza pulled back the tattered fabric, and her eyes widened. On her wrist sat the fazwatch, fully operational and glowing. "How did?"
"It was me," a voice blasted through the tiny speakers, scaring Iza. "I apologize for frightening you, but I mean no harm." As the voice talked, the words were transcribed on the fazwatch.
"Who are you?" Iza managed, in shock as she talked into the watch.
"We've already met."
She sat with those words for a second before the realization dawned on her. "Music Man?" she whispered. "Wait, how did you?"
"It's all thanks to you, Iza Fasben; you saved my life, and I returned the favor.
A smile crossed Iza's face as she laughed hysterically. "Thank you, but where are you?" Iza asked as she glanced around. "I don't see you."
"I'm right next to you." Iza snapped her head to the side and then shot backward. She felt herself begin to fall; however, the ground beneath her shifted and steadied her body before she could. "Careful there."
Iza's breath hitched as she looked up; next to her was the face of the large animatronic from before. She looked down and realized her tiny frame sat in the thing's hand. She gazed back and studied the titan's face; something seemed familiar, then it hit her. "Music Man?"
Deep chucking erupted from the watch. "You got that right, girl!"
The human's jaw dropped. "What?! How are you so big?!" she blurted out. "You were so small, and, wait, where are the STAFF bots?" The last memories flooded back to her.
"See for yourself." Music Man pointed his colossal hand.
Looking in that direction, Iza's eyes nearly burst from their sockets as she saw the carnage before her.
STAFF bots lay everywhere, either crushed, smashed, or torn in two; not one robot remained intact. Holding onto the edge of his hand for balance, Iza scanned the area before returning her gaze. "Please explain everything."
Music Man laughed. "I can explain on the way, but we need to leave right now before more of these things show up." Then, with Iza in hand, he moved towards the vent they entered. Iza noticed he used his other five arms to crawl.
He placed Iza on the ledge, and she sat down with her legs dangling over the edge. "Here, hold this." He held up his more petite body, and Iza placed it in her lap. Once secure, Music Man stepped back and started crawling towards his stage.
He repositioned himself, and instantly Iza saw the lights of his optics fade as Music Man's body slowly deactivated. Music Man's toy-like body sprung to life as soon as he powered down. "Alright, let's go!"
Iza stared in shock as the little spider crawled off her lap without turning around. "I know you have questions, and I'll explain everything on the way, but we need to leave."
"Okay," Iza responded as she waited for Music Man to gain some distance before she started crawling.
They moved for about five minutes before Iza broke the silence. "So care to explain what happened back there?"
More chuckling was heard from the fazwatch. "Well, long story short, we were attacked by some corrupted STAFF bots, and you actually saved my life when you got me off the floor."
"What happened after that?" Iza asked. "I think one of them must have hit me over because I thought I heard it say my name before I passed out. By the way, how long was I out for?"
"About thirty minutes," Music Man said, then he froze and turned around. "It said your name?"
"Yeah, after I was struck and accidentally dropped you when I fell. My vision was blurry, but I could have sworn I saw that bot's eyes turn purple, then it said my name and I thought something about my dad?"
"Did you say purple?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Iza questioned.
"It—" He paused. "Nevermind."
"Okay," Iza spoke, weirded out, then gazed at the watch. "How are you talking through the fazwatch, and why couldn't you before?"
"In this body, I cannot speak like you because my programming only has five recordings, but I learned to break apart the sentences and communicate as best I could." He paused again. "I can talk through this fazwatch because it's the first operational one in years."
"Really?" Iza inquired as she looked at the glowing electronic. "That's cool you're able to do that. Also, what are your full recordings? Can I hear them?" Her eyes glistened curiously.
Music Man stayed silent; the eagerness left her eyes, replaced with guilt as Iza felt like she had pushed him. "You don't have to if you don't want to.
A sigh sounded. "It's fine."
Then suddenly, the same skipping audio blurted from the speaker on his chest then audio began to play. "'You and I will be making music together for a long, long time!' 'You hear that? It's the sweet, sweet sound of your eternal silence!' 'Hey! Keep it down, would ya?' 'When I'm here, you play by my rules!' 'A song was requested of me, and now I sing it!'"
The audio finished, then followed by an uncomfortable silence. "That was interesting," Iza commented, unsure of what to say. "You said this body was a toy, right? Why does it sound so…creepy?"
"Forward, aren't ya?" the watch spoke.
"Sorry." Iza looked down, ashamed.
Music Man sighed. "It's fine; it's not you. The person who created this version of me was not a good man; he had…issues."
Iza sensed his apparent discomfort with the topic. "So, you can move between two bodies?"
Her question seemed to lift his spirits. "Yes, I was originally programmed as just a toy, but I woke up from a maintenance shut down, and next thing I know, I am thirty feet tall."
"How come the Glamrocks never mentioned you?"
He sighed. "Probably because they thought I was destroyed. Remember that rubble part of my room? About five years ago, the roof caved in over the entrance to the west arcade ballroom, and all the tunnels my larger body could travel through were blocked."
"Then why didn't you go to meet them if you can crawl around the vent?" Iza questioned.
"Because this entire time I have been stuck in my larger body, it wasn't until two days ago that this body started to function again. Two nights ago, I went to recharge with my larger body, and when I woke up, I was in this." He held up his tiny arms.
"Sounds like what happened to Freddy from what the Glamrocks said," Iza added.
"My guess is that it has something to do with your presence here, specifically that watch." Music Man said.
"Geez, seems Dad's fazwatch was of great importance."
He nodded. "It definitely was; Gregory always wore it when he worked here."
Iza shook her head. "Nana has a lot of explaining to do."
Music Man laughed at her comment. "First, let's focus on returning you to the Glamrocks."
She chuckled. "Alright."
—
A loud slam echoed throughout the room. Monty and Sundrop whirled their heads around to see Roxy standing in the doorway, all the parts in hand.
"Roxy!" Monty smiled, then it dropped. "Are you okay?"
The wolf didn't respond as she walked over to the other side of the room and set the robotic pieces on the table. "Roxy? Where is Iza?"
Roxy said nothing as she leaned over the table, head down.
"Roxy?" Sun spoke quietly. "What happened?"
"She's safe," Roxy whispered, a choke caught in her voice box. "For now."
"For now?" Monty responded, his Louisianan accent becoming more worried. "What do you mean for now? What happened?"
"The endos happened, okay," Roxy grumbled as she refused to turn around. "They managed to get past the security door, and they moved."
Monty stared emotionlessly at the back of Roxy's gray head. "You lost Iza?"
Roxy froze at his words and spun around, her synthetic hair wild and draped over her face as a snarl embedded in her features. "I didn't lose her!" she shouted. "I got her safely in the vents, but something was wrong with those endos; they weren't acting like their normal selves."
Monty's red eyes kept gazing forward stoically. "Let me get this straight, you allowed the endos to get past you, and now you Iza lost in the ventilation system?!"
"I didn't lose her!" Roxy rebutted. "Those endos, something was horribly wrong with them, their eyes were glowing red, and they moved when looked at. Endos don't do that!"
Roxy raised her voice, causing Monty to become irate. "Stop blaming this on the stupid endos! Where is she?!"
"I don't know!"
"You were supposed to be watching her!" Monty yelled, cracking clear in his angry voice. "How did you let this happen?!"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Roxy screeched as she swiped the old papers off the desk in a rage. As Roxy slid to the floor, dust flew from the disrupted documents, and a cry tore from her voice box. "I don't know where she is! I know I messed up! All I ever do mess up, it happened with Freddy, then Gregory, and now I messed up with Iza! I'm useless."
Her reaction stunned her friends as Roxy's crying reverberated off the walls. "Roxy." Sun walked over and bent down, his caretaker programming taking over as he hugged the stricken wolf.
"It's not your fault, Roxy," he hummed and deepened the hug. "Iza's got a lot of fight in her; she'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Roxy whined. "Because tonight I've done nothing but screw up!"
"Of course not," he said. "Nothing tonight was your fault, and you're right; something is going on if the endos are moving while attention is on them."
Sun pulled back from the hug and moved her hair out of her face, looking at her features clearly. "Roxy, what happened to your cheek? It's all dented."
This caught Monty's attention, he walked over to the hug pile and looked over Sun's shoulder, and his eyes widened. "He's right; there's a deep dent in your casing. Did something hit you?"
Roxy stared up at Monty. Anger flashed across her optic. "An endo backhanded me when I tried to get them away from Iza," Roxy mumbled as she turned away. "She managed to get away by herself, but I don't know where she is. After she was gone, all the endos left and didn't bother me. I didn't know what else to do, so I returned with the supplies."
Sun let out an audible breath. "Don't worry, she'll be alright. For now, though, I think we all need some time to cool down." He looked up at Monty and motioned for him to leave.
Monty growled and stomped back towards the control panel while Roxy's cries continually echoed through the room.
—
An hour had passed since the fight. Sun and Roxy talked in the same spot they were before while Monty leaned against the opposite wall and picked the flaking paint from his destroyed arm.
Apart from the caretaker and wolf's quiet conversation, the room was silent until a vent grate on the ceiling suddenly fell to the floor, startling everyone.
"What the heck?!" Roxy yelled, jumping from the sudden crash.
Everyone saw the detached hunk of metal resting on the floor and then at the exposed ventilation entrance. "Finally!" Suddenly Iza's head appeared as she looked around. A bright smile crossed her face upon seeing the Glamrocks. "I found you guys!"
Everyone's jaw dropped before Roxy broke the silence. "IZA!"
Roxy sprung up from her place on the floor and grabbed a nearby crate to step on. Reaching up, she grabbed Iza and helped her down to the ground. "Are you okay?!" Roxy demanded, looking her over. "Did anything happen to you?!"
Roxy froze. "What happened to your face?!" She saw the dark bruise slightly forming on her cheek.
"Oh, this?" Iza asked, grazing her fingers on the affliction. "I had a little run-in with some STAFF bots. Unfortunately, one managed to get a slight hit to my face."
"STAFF bots?" Monty questioned. "Why were you near those dumb things? And how did you find your way here, kid? Those vents are like a labyrinth." He looked up at the open grate.
Iza giggled. "I had a little help."
"FROM WHO?!" Sun blurted, eager to see his friend again.
Smirking, Iza pointed upwards as the little spider appeared from the opening. "How's everyone doing?!" his voice blared from Iza's watch.
"DJ?!"