CHAPTER FIFTEEN: PARTS AND SERVICE

The elevator reached the bottom after what felt like hours. In all seriousness, I hoped to God that we never had to use this lift any time soon. It was bad enough that I had to use it like 3 times in the last few minutes. However, I couldn't complain since I was able to reunite with my little sister, who had been alive the entire time.

We walked off the lift and approached the door. The door lifted and we stepped into the Utility Hallways. The hallways were made of concrete and were big with enough space for like 20 - 25 people to walk. There wasn't anything special about them other than those few things.

The sound of rapid footsteps made us stop in our tracks. I pushed Lisa behind me, out of instinct to protect her from any danger. I felt the need to whip out my gun, but I didn't. I wanted to see who it was before I made any rash decisions. The last thing I needed was to accidentally shoot someone, like Gregory for example. That wouldn't be good for any of us.

Someone stepped out from the hallway to the right… and a wave of relief washed over me. It was Gregory, all safe and sound. I took a good look at his appearance. Distress, fear, and annoyance were all clear on his face, along with him looking a little bit disheveled. Whatever happened to him a while ago must've been really bad if it got him to that level.

"I'm… never… doing that again," he said to himself, gasping for air.

"Gregory!" I called out loudly as Lisa and I walked over to him. Gregory turned in our direction, a look of relief washing over his face. As we got closer, I surveyed his body for any signs of injury that he might've sustained. To my relief, there wasn't any.

"It's good to see that you're okay," I said. "Did you find the office and get the security badge?"

"Yeah, I did," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a security badge. "Although, it wasn't easy, considering that I was being hunted by a bunch of endoskeletons back in the warehouse."

"Wait, what?" I asked, confused and curious as to what he meant by that.

"Turns out that the area where the office was wasn't empty," he began to explain. "There were a bunch of weird endoskeletons that followed me the entire time trying to kill me. Every time I turned around, they would stop in their tracks and when I turned my back to them, they would start moving and try to sneak up and attack me at every chance they could get. I just don't get how or why they do that. It was like they were playing some kind of sick game with me."

I agreed mentally. Whatever kind of hell those things put Gregory through and from how he was wording it, it does indeed make it all sound like they were playing a sick game of 'Red Light, Green Light' with the boy. If I was there, I would've smashed those damn things to pieces. Must've been a traumatizing experience for the young boy to have to deal with that.

"At least it's over and you hopefully don't have to go back there again," I said reassuringly.

"Yeah, I hope so," Gregory said. His eyes focused on something. I didn't have to be a genius to know who caught his full attention now. "Mihael, who is that beside you?"

"Gregory, this is my 12-year-old sister, Lisa Patel," I began to say, motioning to her with my hand before motioning it to Gregory. "And Lisa, this is Gregory. I've spent a good chunk of the night to help him find a way out."

"Nice to meet you," she said.

"Nice to meet you too," he said. "So anyway, now that I have the badge, we can open Parts and Service now. Let's go save Freddy."

"Yes, let's," I said. With that, we turned and headed over to the metal doors that led into Parts and Service.

We approached the doors and Gregory used the badge. I grabbed the handles and pushed the doors open. We stepped inside, closing the doors behind us. Confusion struck me when I realized that we were in some kind of rectangular-shaped room and not the main room itself. A few feet away was another set of metal doors with large glass windows at each side.

"I found them both earlier and locked them up in Lost and Found," we heard a familiar voice say. We walked over to the left window to the right of the doors and looked out.

On the other side of the glass was a large room that looked empty, aside from a large cylinder with tubes connecting it to the ceiling in the center with a tiny computer-like console next to it. Other than that, the room looked pretty bland, but it didn't come as a surprise.

My eyes locked onto the cylinder. Standing in front of the door was Vanessa and inside was Glamrock Freddy. I had no idea what was going on, but from the looks of it, it wasn't anything good.

"That is great news," Freddy said, sounding relieved. "The both of them can be returned to their parents."

I mentally smiled. From the sounds of it, Freddy was playing along and acting like he didn't know anything about us. It was nice to know that Freddy wasn't a snitch, unlike Sun.

"Yes, but not all," Vanessa snapped. "While the older one is very much possible, the same can't be said for the younger one. Turns out, there's no record of him."

I mentally blinked at that. No records of Gregory? How did that make any sense? I thought about it for a quick moment and came to one conclusion; Gregory was probably an orphan and has been living on the streets for an unknown period of time. If that was the case, he would've looked dirty rather than clean. Something told me that there was more than meets the eye.

"How unfortunate," the bear said, sounding disappointed. "If you reattach my head, I will go look for them now."

I felt a wave of pride washing over me. How Freddy is managing to keep the act was beyond amazing. Once this was all over, I owed him big time. The only problem being was how I was going to do that when all was said and done. Plus, considering all that's happened, I feel Roxanne deserves something in return. I could only hope that whatever she had in mind wasn't anything embarrassing.

"Their names are Mihael and Gregory," Vanessa retorted. "You know how I know that? I recognized Mihael since he and his family are frequents. As for Gregory, his Fazwatch, along it Mihael's, kept repeating it. In your voice… 'Gregory? Are you there? Gregory?'."

I felt my heart skip a beat. I had no idea when that happened, but if I had to guess, I say it must've happened while Gregory and I were unconscious after she locked us up in Lost and Found. I could also guess that Vanessa has seen my family and I enter the Mega Pizzaplex on multiple occasions to call us 'frequents'.

"Vanessa, all the Fazwatches sound like me," Freddy insisted. "It is the default voice option."

There was a brief moment of silence. I had a bad feeling about what would be coming out of that woman's mouth next.

"If you're part of this, you're scrap," Vanessa snapped angrily. "Monty will run the shows until Parts and Service can slap your casing on a new Endo. As for Mihael, once I find him again, I will be giving his father a nice, little phone call, telling him how his own son snuck into the Pizzaplex in the middle of the night and to come pick him up at 6 AM."

I narrowed my eyes at her, my anger boiling. It was bad enough for Vanessa to threaten Freddy by turning him to scrap, but it was an entirely different story with how she said it in that tone on how once she caught me again, she would give my father a 'nice, little phone call'. If Vanessa thinks I will go down without a fight, she's got another thing coming.

On top of that, it took all I had within me to keep myself from kicking those doors open and charging at the woman like an angry bull charging at a taunting red cape. I really DESPISED her snarky tone. It was a miracle or rather a curse that Vanessa kept her job for as long as she did with that attitude.

"Hang out here for a little while," Vanessa continued. "I gotta find those boys, and while I'm at it, I'm gonna find that missing little girl."

With that, Vanessa turned and began to leave, leaving Freddy to his short-lived fate.

"Vanessa, do not leave me like this!" Freddy pleaded, but she paid him no mind as she continued walking away and began heading to one of the metal doors at the back of the room. We waited until we lost sight of the security guard.

I turned my attention to Gregory and Lisa. They both had angry expressions plastered on their faces. It was very relieving to see that I wasn't alone. However, I didn't know if they were angry at what either Vanessa said or the fact that she left Freddy in the states he was in. If I had to guess, I say it really had to be a combination of both.

They looked at me at the same time. I signaled to them that it was time to head in. They nodded their heads, understanding. I walked over to the metal doors and gave it a good kick. The doors swung violently open, hitting against the glass walls hard enough to leave cracks on the glass. We charged over to the cylinder before we stopped about a foot away from the door.

"Freddy!" I exclaimed.

"Mihael! Gregory!" Freddy called out, his tone filled with relief. "I am so glad you boys are here and alive!"

"It will take more to take us down," I said pridefully. "And there is some good news! I found Lisa!"

"You did?!" Freddy exclaimed, the relief much stronger with a hint of happiness.

"Hi, Freddy," Lisa said.

"Lisa! I am so glad you're alright!" Freddy said. "We've been so worried about you!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Lisa said simply. "We should be much more worried about you. How do we get you out of there?"

"Use the console to let me out," Freddy explained. I looked at the strange computer, probably the console that Freddy mentioned.

I walked over to it and turned it on. The screen lit up and a menu screen of some sort popped up. On it were the words in light green 'Select Upgrade'. Underneath were 'Power Upgrade', 'Claws Upgrade', 'Voicebox Upgrade', and 'Ocular Upgrade'. Those upgrades caught my full attention. Why the hell were they options? Something deep down told me that something was up. Were these upgrades that were used for the others? Maybe, but I had a bad feeling about it.

A strange sound echoed from the small computer, almost giving me a heart attack.

"Welcome to Parts and Service," it said loudly. "Please select your desired procedure."

I selected 'Power Upgrade', seeing it as a way to help Freddy get out of the cylinder. I didn't know how it worked, but if I had to guess, some machinery would do the work for us and Freddy would be out of there in no time.

"Please enter the protective cylinder to continue," the computer said. We looked at the door in time to see it going up, allowing access into the cylinder.

I felt my heart drop at that. I didn't like this one bit. All of this meant only one thing; one of us was going to have to enter the protective cylinder and reconnect Freddy's head back to his body. I felt the urge to throw at that thought. Here I thought it was going to be easy, but I guess fate had other plans for us. A stupid plan that could very well end with us either getting hurt or killed.

We all looked at each other, a look of apprehension plastered on our faces. Looks like none of them were thrilled with the idea as much as I was.

"Do we really have to go in there?" Gregory asked uncomfortably.

"Seems like it," I replied slowly, the urge to throw up growing. "I don't like this one bit."

"Neither do I, but it seems we have no choice," Lisa said. "One of us is going to have to go in there and reconnect his head back to his body. If we don't, we don't know what Vanessa will do to him once she comes back."

I thought about our options. I didn't like the idea of having to go in there and reconnect his head, but Lisa was right on that. The more time we wasted, the less time we had to save Freddy before the security guard came back. If Vanessa followed through with her very disgusting threat, good chance it would cripple the Pizzaplex's big reputation. Despite the fact that I didn't care about the Pizzaplex like most kids, the angry outcries of Montgomery Gator taking over the shows instead of Freddy would be a nightmare.

I sighed, the decision having been made. There was no way in hell I was going to let Gregory or Lisa go in there and do the procedure themselves. I rather have it be me than them.

"I'll do it," I said, trying to sound confident. Gregory and Lisa looked at me with surprise. "I don't know much about this, but it's worth a shot."

"Are you sure?" Gregory asked nervously.

"No, I'm not," I said bluntly. "But that doesn't mean I can't give it a try."

They looked at each other for a moment, silently debating whether to let me go in there. I waited impatiently for their response. The longer they debated, the less time we had left to get Freddy out of there. I really didn't want to lose any more precious time.

"Okay," they said at the same time, nodding their heads. I nodded and stepped into the cylinder before stopping beside Freddy.

"What did they do to you, Freddy?" I asked, hoping that whatever it was they might've done to him wasn't anything terrible.

"Routine maintenance," Freddy replied. "I am functioning much more better… now. Hm. Grammar function error… Perhaps I am not at peak performance." Freddy paused for a moment. "Could you, uh… reattach my head?"

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do," I said cautiously. "It all looks complicated."

"Just reconnect the wires," Freddy said, "and please be careful… I am not quite myself at the moment."

That caught me off-guard. What was that supposed to mean? Did that woman do something else to him that we aren't aware of? I felt cold beads of sweat form on my forehead. If this was what I thought it was, then I pretty much might've sealed my fate. This whole damn procedure might very well be a trap.

"In case of an emergency," the computer began to say loudly, "the protective cylinder will protect important personnel outside of the protective cylinder. Deactivating animatronic safety protocols now. It is recommended that no mistakes are made during the procedure."

With that, I heard the door behind me begin to close. I turned around in time to see it fully closing. Gregory and Lisa looked at me with horror plastered on their faces. I felt a wave of horror wash over me as well. Out of all the things to expect, I sure as hell wasn't expecting this. To think that something like this could have been a thing…

The urge to vomit skyrocketed to unbelievable levels. It clicked in my head at the grave mistake I just made. If I made so much as a tiny mistake, there was a good chance that Freddy would attack, and possibly kill me because of it. Fear began bubbling up inside of me like a balloon being inflated, but I did my best to keep it under control. I had to do it. I had to.

I took a deep breath, turned my attention to Freddy, and climbed over the chair. I got on my knees so that I was at the level I had to be in order to see the wires. I knew very well that this wasn't a good idea, but I had no other choice. I looked over the wires and saw that they were different colors. Confusion took over the fear I was feeling.

'What the hell?' I thought to myself

"To reconnect Freddy's head," the computer began to instruct, the voice snapping me out of my thoughts, "repeat the correct sequence by pressing the flashing connectors."

I blinked at that. That was it? I looked more closely and saw four buttons that were under the wires. I blinked more at that. I didn't know what to think of it. It all seemed like some kind of game made for little kids.

I paid attention to what the sequence could be. The fear came back 10 fold, but I kept my composure calm so as to not make the fatal mistake, which could cost me my life.

Blue. Yellow. Red. Green.

I gulped and slowly pressed the blue button. The wire immediately connected itself to Freddy's head. I went ahead and pressed the 3 buttons that flashed during the sequence. The wires reconnected to Freddy's head. With that, Freddy's head reconnected to his body, and his top hat was placed back on his head. I hopped off the chair and looked on with pride.

"Good job," the computer said. "Now, use the testing console to run diagnostics and complete the procedure."

I looked over and time to see a console position itself in front by Freddy's left foot. I walked over to it and saw that the buttons were the same color as the ones to reconnect the wires to Freddy's head. Something told me that this was going to be similar, if not a little different than the one I just did. If so, I had to be very careful. Even though I reconnected his head, the procedure was very much still ongoing, which meant that if I messed up the sequence, I would meet my Maker.

Yellow.

I pressed the button.

Yellow. Green.

I repeated the sequence, my determination growing.

Yellow. Green. Blue.

I pressed the three buttons, my fear slowly fading.

Yellow. Green. Blue. Red.

I repeated the sequence as instructed. I prayed that was all I had to do. I really didn't want to repeat the damn sequence again with more buttons to press.

"Good job," the computer said. "Freddy is all patched up and ready for the big show. You may exit the protective cylinder."

I mentally sighed in relief. I turned around in time to see the door rising up. Once it was fully opened, I walked out. Gregory and Lisa all hugged me tightly. I was taken aback by the action. I was expecting Lisa to hug me, but not Gregory. Was he that worried for me? Maybe, but it was probably in my head.

"Mihael, you did it!" Lisa cried out. "I thought something bad was going to happen."

"Me too!" Gregory said. I hesitated for a moment before hugging them back.

"It's okay, you two, I'm fine," I said reassuringly. "Now, let me finish the procedure so we can get Freddy out of there.

They let go of me and I walked over to the computer. I turned it on and saw that instead of the menu, all I saw were two simple words that read 'Finish Upgrade'. I clicked it. I looked in time to see Freddy getting up from the chair. He hopped off and walked out of the cylinder.

"Way to go, superstars!" he said proudly. "Thanks for getting me out of there."

"It was no trouble at all, Freddy," I said, even though I was not okay with the idea of getting attacked by a headless mascot.

"And it's so good to see you safe and sound, Lisa," Freddy said, a hint of relief present in his tone.

"Thanks, Freddy," Lisa said.

"There is so much tech stuff in here," Gregory chimed in before he looked at Freddy. "Is there anything we can use to stop the other bots?"

"Bright lights in the eyes cause us to briefly malfunction," Freddy began. "I suppose a Fazerblaster or a Faz Cam could work."

"Where do we get one, Freddy?" Lisa asked.

"You can win a Fazblaster in Fazer Blast," Freddy replied. "Faz Cams are often confiscated in Monty Golf, but you will need a Party Pass to open one of those attractions. Chica normally gives them out for birthdays. Check her green room in Rockstar Row. You may find one there. Use the service elevators at the back of the room. They go up to Rockstar Row. It looks like they are all out of order except for Roxy's."

The mention of Roxanne brought a feeling of sorrow and anger in us all. I clenched my hands into tight fists. Just the memory of Vanny taking Roxanne away to do God knows what with the wolf crying out for help fueled a fury deep within me.

"Speaking of Roxy, did you guys find her?" Freddy asked, worry in his tone.

"No," I replied. "According to Lisa, she saw what happened to you and Roxanne. She tried searching for them on the cameras but was unable to because in her words 'it was like they went invisible'."

Disappointment formed on his face. I felt bad for him. To have one of his friends be dragged away and have things done to her must be a huge blow to him. When the time came, I was going to make her pay for everything she's done.

"How unfortunate," he said sadly. "But, let's not give up hope. I am sure we will find her. I hope she's alright."

"Yeah, I hope so," I said softly. With that, we began walking over to the service elevator that led to Roxanne's green room.

As we walked, I looked at the walls to my right. Confusion struck me like a bullet at what I was seeing. From the looks of it, they looked to be blueprints of some kind. Maybe for upgrades for Chica, Montgomery, and even for Roxanne. It was all I could think of.

"What the hell are these?" I asked out loud.

"They look to be upgrades for Chica, Monty, and Roxy," Lisa said. I guess I wasn't the only one who thought that.

"Chica has some sort of special voice box, Monty was giving better claws, and Roxy has new eyes," Gregory said. I looked at him to see what looked like a lightbulb lighting above his head as if he just got an idea. "Freddy, we have to get these! We could upgrade you!"

I felt a wave of horror wash over me. Sure, upgrading Freddy kind of sounded like a good idea, but something told me that Gregory had a plan to somehow get their upgrades… maybe forcefully. It all made sense now. The Voicebox, Claw, and Ocular Upgrades I saw on the menu. Gregory probably saw them while I was picking an upgrade and now seeing those pictures on the walls, this must be Gregory's way to get payback.

"Are you crazy?!" Lisa exclaimed in horror.

"Gregory, those parts belong to my friends," Freddy said, hints of horror present in his tone. "I… I would never do anything to hurt them."

"What?!" Gregory exclaimed angrily. "Are you kidding me, guys?! Except for Roxy since she turned a new leaf and helped us for a good chunk of the night, all they've done all night was try to hurt me, Mihael, Lisa!" He humphed before a vengeful tone took over his voice. "They get what they deserve."

I was taken by surprise by this. From the sound of it, he took all of this very personally and has had enough of them hunting us down. I couldn't blame him for feeling that way. If I had to guess, I say that it was all his way of getting even with them. At least Roxanne wasn't going to get her eyes taken from her. I would give Gregory a piece of my mind if he ever did that to her, I swear.

"There must be a good explanation," Freddy insisted. "They are not capable of hurting a guest. None of us are. It would go against our programming."

Something clicked in my head at what Freddy just said. Memories of what Roxanne told me back in her green room when I woke up came to the forefront of my mind, her words echoing loudly in my head.

"When I was powered back on, I discovered I wasn't myself. I had no control over my body and felt trapped in my own mind, like it was being controlled by something else with only one objective; find you and that kid and kill you. I tried to fight it but it was futile. I was trapped, forced to obey whatever was controlling me. When I saw you and that kid down in the utility tunnels, all I could think about was harming. The worst part was knowing that it wasn't really me."

That was it. It had to be. Chica and Montgomery aren't trying to hurt us out of their own free will. They were being controlled by the very thing that took over Roxanne. If so, they were all victims in this, pawns in a sick, twisted game.

Then, it hit me. Everything that happened during the night and the thing that Vanny said that struck me as odd… It all clicked into a giant puzzle-piece set. It was Vanny and whoever she was working for. They were the ones who did this. They must've cut off the power, allowing Moon to roam freely and catch Freddy and Roxanne. To top it off, they had to be the ones responsible for the missing kids. There was no other way around it.

I clenched my fists tighter, my teeth bared.

"Vanny…" I growled through my teeth.

"What?" Freddy, Lisa, and Gregory said at the same time.

"Vanny, she did this," I growled. "She and whoever she's working for are responsible for all of this. The missing kids, the mascots trying to kill us, the power going out resulting in both Freddy and Roxanne's capture. All of it."

"How do you know this?" Gregory asked. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because of what Roxanne told me and what Vanny said while we were in the recharge station," I replied. "Earlier in the night, in her green room, Roxanne told me that before I freed her, she tried to fight whatever was controlling her, but couldn't. According to her, it was like she was trapped in her own mind.

"As for Vanny, she said something about her 'master' before she dragged Roxanne away. That means only one thing; she's working for someone and that someone was responsible for all of these missing kids. It's a hunch, but it all makes sense."

Silence filled the room. I didn't bother to look at them. The mere silence alone was enough for me to know that they were processing what I just said. It all made sense. Plus, with what Lisa told me, Vanny must have some kind of ability to show herself to kids, but make herself invisible to the adults or anyone close to that age to take the kids away, tearing innocent families apart. Basically, making herself visible to whoever she wants to be seen by.

"It all sounds crazy, but I have to agree," Lisa chimed in. "While it doesn't explain how I got taken away, it does sort of answer the question of what has been going on here."

"I guess so," Gregory said, now sounding doubtful. Something told me that he was doubting whether we take the upgrades from the others or not. However, determination formed on his face. "But, I still think we should still get those upgrades. If we can get those, we might stand a better chance against Vanny."

"And Roxy will be able to tell us where Vanny's been hiding this entire time," Freddy suddenly added. "Considering her new eyes, she has a much better chance of doing so."

That caught my full attention. Roxanne having a better chance of finding out where she has been hiding this whole time? From the way he said it, it sounded like he knew more about her eyes than we did at the moment. My curiosity peeked and the urge to ask him overtook everything.

"What do you mean by that, Freddy?" I asked. Freddy paused for a moment.

"You see," Freddy began to say. "For a year and a half before she got her new eyes, Roxy has been desperately wanting to help find the missing kids. Me and my friends have been affected by the kids going missing, but she was the most affected. Unfortunately, the manager has been refusing, saying that it was a police matter and wanted us to stay in our green rooms.

"Then, 8 months ago, Chica and Monty got their upgrades. I guess the manager couldn't bring himself to keep us in our green rooms for much longer and decided to have them help find the missing kids and bring them home. Even though I didn't receive an upgrade, I was eventually allowed to help with the search. 2 months later, Roxy got hers. After getting her upgrades, she told me how her eyesight was much different and how she could see movement through the walls."

"Wait, so you mean to tell us that Roxy can see through walls?" Gregory asked, interrupting the bear. Freddy looked at Gregory, a smile forming on his face.

"From what she told me," he replied. "However, even with the new upgrades, we were still unable to find the kids. Roxy, on the other hand, has been claiming to see a strange figure walking throughout the Pizzaplex during the searches and at night when the place is closed ever since she got her new eyes but hasn't been able to get a good look at them. Aside from me, Chica, Monty, and the manager, nobody else in the Mega Pizzaplex believed her. Not even the police believed her. It was frustrating for her since no one could see like she could with her brand-new eyes. She has expressed those frustrations to me on multiple occasions and has once burst into tears over that. It has been heartbreaking to see her like that. Despite that, she has never given up on helping the police find the missing kids."

I blinked a few times at that. I never knew about any of that. To think that Roxanne could see through walls and has probably seen Vanny, but wasn't able to get a good look was some of the craziest odds I have ever heard. It also hurt to hear that the police didn't take her very seriously when she told them about seeing a figure. I could only hope my father wasn't one of them.

"That's awful," Lisa, Gregory, and I said at the same time.

"It is," Freddy said before he recomposed himself. "Let's head to Rockstar Row and get that Party Pass."

We nodded. With that, we headed towards the second door on the left and entered a small hallway that no doubt led to the elevator that led to Roxanne's green room.

Author's Note:

Here it is! Chapter Fifteen! :D

This took a little more time as I decided to add some backstory to make the chapter longer. This helps add in more lore for what I have in mind for the series. In all honesty, this was a fun chapter to write and I hope you guys had fun reading it too.

That's all for now. Keep an eye out for Chapter Sixteen. Constructive criticism is appreciated and I will see you guys next time! :)