CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: PRINCESS QUEST

I exited the elevator and stepped into the Atrium. I grimaced at the memories of what took place hours ago. What should've been a fun time for everyone turned into a nightmare the moment Lisa went missing. I tried to imagine how it would've gone had my sister not disappeared.

I began heading over to the third floor where the elevator that led to Fazcade was located. As I did, I remembered the first time I entered the Atrium with my family.

It was on the day the Pizzaplex opened. I remembered how crowded the place was. People of all shapes and sizes came bursting through the entrance doors to see the wonders that was Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, the biggest location the company has ever opened, according to what I've heard during its construction.

My sister was ecstatic and wanted to visit all of the attractions. I saw that as an impossibility due to the size of it and how long that might've taken. Instead, we decided to visit the Atrium where a mass majority of the attractions were located. Going through the elevator was a slight hassle, mainly because people were crowding it to reach their destination.

Stepping out of the elevator, the amazement that washed over me is one I will never forget. The way music blared through speakers that we couldn't see, the neon lights that littered the walls in many different shapes, some of them in the shapes of the heads of the 4 mascots. At the time, it was a sight to behold. Now, all the place reminded me of was all the disappearances that took place here. To be honest, it's still a shocker that so many had disappeared in a place that was crowded with many people.

However, the place that took most of my breath away was Fazcade, an attraction that was the king of arcade machines.

Fazcade was a huge attraction filled with arcade machines and 3 floors so that there was plenty for the kids to play on. In the center were golden statues of the Glamrocks standing proud and tall. It was probably one of the largest rooms in the Pizzaplex, only being surpassed by the Lobby and the Atrium.

To be very honest, it was a smart design plan and move to have the place be fitted with 3 floors with a bridge branching across the 3rd floor. That was more than enough to keep the kiddies very entertained. If that wasn't the case at all, the kids would have to find other ways to play arcade games. I was sure that there were plenty of them, but if you really wanted the full experience, Fazcade was the right place to be. And if I had to guess, the office had to be on the second floor.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I reached the top of the stairs. I walked over to the elevator and the door opened. I stepped inside. I pushed the button and felt it begin its descent to the attraction itself.

As I waited, I thought about how fun those years in the Pizzaplex were before it all went to shit. I would never admit it, but I really did have a fun time, despite how annoyed I was that we kept coming every single day even as the disappearances happened. To be honest, I had been a jerk a mass majority of the time. A man child to more exact. Despite the kids going missing, I could've handled the whole thing much better.

'What has become of everything?' I thought grimly to myself. A ding snapped me out of my thoughts. The doors opened and I stepped out. The familiar layout, the neon lights, and the sound of all the arcade machines filled my ears. I was now inside Fazcade.

'Time to find that arcade machine and end this damn nightmare,' I thought to myself with determination.

I ran up the stairs and entered the second floor. I looked around for the entrance to the security office. It was disorienting, to say the least. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I wished it wouldn't take me forever to find it. We didn't have the time to waste.

I reached the end of the room and found a red metal door. I opened it and stepped into a hallway. The hallway was large and filled with junk. It looked like the people working just went in here and dumped whatever was not needed. If I was the manager, I would've made them clean the whole damn place. They made it look like a damn tornado hit the place.

I ran down the hallway searching for an entrance to the security office. I could only hope that it wasn't too far away. It would've been a huge pain in the ass if it was. To be honest, I was very surprised with how big it was. It was like the hallway was fitted for something huge to crawl through. I didn't want to think about what it could possibly be.

I reached the end of the hall and turned left. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that there was more to the hallway. I felt the urge to faint, but I resisted. How the fuck a hallway this huge could even exist was beyond me. I couldn't even imagine how long it took to complete it. Probably a good month or so.

I continued running down the hallway to reach the end. There were arcade machines everywhere. I had no idea why there were so many, but if I had to guess, I say they had to be replacements in case the ones that are in Fazcade were either broken or were suffering a malfunction. I guess you had to be prepared for anything.

I reached the end of the hallway and began searching for the damn office that Lisa was talking about. I looked to the left and found a red metal door. I walked to it and opened it. I was happy to see that it was indeed the security office. It was there, at the far end of the room, was what I was looking for.

It was an arcade machine with a unique layout. On the top of it were the words 'Princess Quest'. On the right side of the machine was what looked like to be a princess with a golden color holding a lantern, looking frightened. This was it. The machine that Lisa had told me about.

I approached the machine. As I did, a dark sinister energy emitted from the machine. It felt as though I was approaching danger. Lisa wasn't kidding when she told me what it was like approaching the damn thing. There was something unearthly about it.

I pushed forward until I was in front of the machine. I rested my hands on the controls. I pushed the button and the machine turned on. The title screen popped up. The title read 'Princess Quest I'. A strange song began to play, one that sent shivers down my back.

I pushed the start button and began to play.

The princess found herself in a dark room with only a lantern as her source of light. She was a beautiful girl whose body was a gold color and wore a dress fitting for royalty.

With the lantern in hand, she moved it around and surveyed the room she was in. The room was square-shaped with only a large rug, which she was standing on, a table at the far left corner of the room, and two doors to her left and right.

Fear gripped her heart, threatening to burst it. How did she get here? Who put her here? Questions rang in her head, ones that she had no answers to. All she knew was that she had to find a way out. She had to.

She grabbed the lantern and walked over to the first door, but found it sealed shut. She walked away and approached the other door. She hoped that it wasn't locked. There was nothing in the room she could use to open it if that was the case. She pushed against it and it swung open. A wave of relief washed over her, but she knew it wasn't over.

She looked and saw that she was in a different room. There were 2 holes in the floor, possibly leading into bottomless pits. There were four torches with two of them being lit while the other two were not. At the far end of the room was a door.

'Maybe if I lit the other two, the door will open,' she thought to herself.

She went over to the unlit torches. She used the lantern clutched in her hand to light them. To her delight, both of the torches lit up. In an instant, the door opened. She smiled and walked out of the room.

Entering the next room, her heart skipped a beat. In the room with her were strange creatures that looked to take the shape of bunny heads with white pupils. Waves of dread and fear threatened to glue her to her spot. Something inside her told her to steer clear of them and not let them get her.

She looked around and saw 5 unlit torches scattered across the room. At the far end of the room was a door sealing off entry into the room it was blocking. On the opposite wall was another door. She knew right away what had to be done.

With determination, she went for the first two torches, lighting them up with her lantern. The creatures took notice of her and went over to her with malicious intent. She maneuvered as best she could to avoid them catching her. She didn't want to know what would happen to her if they got her. Lighting the torch in the center, she went over to the other two and lit them up with the lantern. The door immediately opened. Without hesitating, she went into the doorway and entered the room.

The room was rectangular-shaped with a chest sitting on top of a platform. She went around it until she found the stairs. She walked up them and walked over to the chest. She opened it, hoping it was something useful. She whipped out a key from inside the chest. Her heart filled up with joy.

"A small key," she said to herself. "This must open something…"

She thought about what it could be for until she remembered the door in the other room. That had to be it. She ran off the platform and headed over to the door. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the creatures coming after her. Dodging them, she ran out of the room, over to the door, and used the key. To her relief, the key fit, and the sound of a lock undoing filled her ears. On instinct, she pushed the door and entered the next room.

Her heart filled with dread when she heard the sounds of more of these creatures in the room with her. It didn't help that the room was pitch-black. She moved the lantern around and saw a torch. She understood that there might be more torches that had to be lit.

Navigating through the dark room was like walking through a dark, empty tunnel with slim hope of escape. She dodged the creatures that threatened to bring her harm. She didn't know why they were so persistent or who created them. All she knew was that she had to get out before they got her.

One by one, the princess found the unlit torches and lit them with her lantern. The creatures moved and tried to surround her, but as if there was another force at play, she maneuvered past them and got away safely. She was afraid of them, but she couldn't just stand there and be afraid. If she wanted to get out of here, she would have to fight for her freedom.

Lighting the last torch, she heard the sound of a door opening. She ran over to it and entered the next room.

The room was bare aside from three doors and four lit torches. Two doors to the left and right and one just ahead. She eyed the last door. That one looked to be locked with some strange substance covering it. That door had to be the exit. She could only hope it was. All she had to do was find the key.

She walked over to the door to the right and entered the room on the other side. The room was dark and, unsurprisingly, she heard the familiar sounds of the creatures occupying the room, searching for anyone that could be inside. Somewhere in this room was a door that led out of the room.

Navigating the room was disorienting to the poor princess. It also didn't help that the room was littered with holes that possibly led to an abyss that would spell certain death. The carpet on the floor was split into different paths, some of them leading to dead ends. The creatures tried to catch her, but she maneuvered out of their way. She didn't know how, but it was like something was protecting her, keeping her away from danger.

After what felt like an eternity, she found a door. Hope filled her heart as she pushed it open. She instantly felt herself getting wet, which was quickly followed by the sounds of rain and thunder filling her ears. She made it outside. From the looks of it, she entered some kind of courtyard.

She walked across the bridge and saw six tombstones scattered across the yard. Only one of them was lit. She checked out the five other tombstones and saw strange markings on them. She lit one of them up, but it instantly went out. Something inside her told her that this was some kind of puzzle. All she had to do was light up the torches in the correct order and it might get her somewhere.

Trial and error came and went as she tried to figure out the right pattern. The rain didn't make it any easier on her, the tiny drops of water soaking her entire being. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, she got it. The pattern was bottom right, center, top center, bottom center, and top right.

Upon lighting the last torch, a drawbridge formed, allowing her to get across. Crossing the bridge, she walked the stairs and entered a room. There was a torch, which she quickly lit, allowing a bridge to form. She looked at the far end of the room and found a chest. The chest looked weird. It appeared to be static, looking as though it defied all reality. She walked over to it and opened it. Inside was a strange key with a bunny head.

"A strange key," she said to herself. "Maybe this thing opens the strange door I found earlier."

With that, she walked across the bridge and exited the room. To her surprise, she found herself back in the room with the strange door. She walked over to it and used the key. The door swung open, allowing access inside. She walked in and found herself in a dark room with a path leading forward.

She walked down the path, her heart suddenly beating loudly in her chest. A strange feeling filled her stomach, one that made her feel very queasy. She didn't like it. It was like she was walking into certain doom.

At the far end of the path was another torch. She lit it up with her lantern… and screamed in fear.

Standing over her was something beyond anything she could explain. Its body was black as the darkness surrounding it and its body shape made it look like a blob. Its white eyes and creepy distorted smile pierced the darkness, making itself look more like a demon.

It began to speak in a language she couldn't understand. All the horrors she went through were only a false hope, one that led her to certain doom.

Her vision became static before everything went black…

I blinked a few times as the screen turned black and an 'ERROR' appeared on screen. I slowly let go of the controls, slowly backing away from the machine. I didn't know what to make of what the hell I'd just seen. The best way I can describe the damn thing was that it was something evil. Pure evil. Something with only one goal; to keep the princess trapped in an abyss of endless torment.

As for the princess, I felt like I was her. As I played the game, I felt all of the emotions and feelings that coursed through her. Her fear, her desperation, her determination, all of it. I couldn't imagine what it would feel to be trapped the way she did. It would probably feel like being trapped in an endless nightmare.

"Mihael?" came Lisa's voice from my Fazwatch. Her voice sounded worried. "Mihael, are you there? Can you hear me?"

It took me a moment to get a hold of myself. I pushed the button on the watch.

"Yes, I can hear you," I replied slowly.

"Thank goodness," Lisa said, sounding strangely relieved. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for 20 minutes now. What happened? Are you okay? You sound shaken."

I blinked a few times in response. Has 20 minutes really passed that fast? I chuckled mentally at that. I guess when you're so focused on something, time flies by very quickly. I could only hope it wasn't the end of the hour. The last thing I wanted to deal with was Moon trying to kill me.

"Yes, I'm okay," I said. "I just finished playing 'Princess Quest I'. I do not like what I saw."

"You can tell me all about it when you get back to Rockstar Row," Lisa said. "Roxy is awake."

I felt relief fill my heart at that. Roxanne was finally awake. It was nice to hear that she was okay. At the same time, I dreaded what she might have to tell us. Who knows what kind of shit Vanny has done to her.

"That's great news," I said, relief in my tone. "How is she?"

"She's doing alright," Lisa replied. "She has something she wants to say."

"Okay, I'm coming back," I said. "I will be there shortly."

"See you then," Lisa said. The line went dead immediately.

I looked back at the machine. The dark energy that emitted from it was no longer there. It was as if it never existed. If I had to guess, it must be because I completed it. Whatever it was that infested the machine was gone. That meant only two machines were left to be found and played. I could only hope I could help the princess escape from her prison.

I looked away from the arcade machine and ran down the hall back to Fazcade to go see Lisa and Roxanne, curious as to what the wolf had to say.