Chapter Text
It seems like she’s not coming back. Shame already starts to set in.
Okay, that was a bit dramatic. It wasn't Andre’s first day on the job—it was their second, but the point still stands. Their assigned supervisor, Samantha, left them for a quick call to check everything, leaving Andre in the lobby, and promised to come back and explain how to clean some of the specific equipment. That promise was made almost two hours ago.
The place is almost unrecognizable at the moment. With the amount of damage it endured in one terrific night, it was surprising that the company still wanted to salvage the building.
Andre visited the Pizzaplex only a couple of times as a kid. To bring some color to a dull life.
Not much is remembered from that time, and the building has almost tripled in size over the years, but some memories remain vivid. Neon lights and arcade-style carpets with an odd and sugary smell were too flashy for their eyes, enough for their vision to blur, and the crowds of people made their head spin sometimes, but back then, it was almost worth it. All of the discomfort paled when it was time for the show to start.
It wasn't perfect, far from it, maybe nostalgia is messing with their brain, but it felt comforting.
Right now, in the present and not in the “good old days”, the blank walls were towering over them. The ceiling lights were almost judgmental, casting harsh shadows over surfaces, emphasizing every defect. There was an eerie stillness in the air, strangely, almost unnatural inside a building.
The contrast of this with how things were before was almost nauseating to them. Andre couldn’t help but tense up whenever they entered this place. Maybe it was just the stress; a first-time job is, more often than not, nerve-wracking.
Time continues to stretch with no promise of an ending. They may have done something wrong, made her understand they simply weren't built for this? They are already here, and leaving so soon sounds even more embarrassing than keeping the job.
The train of thought was crushed as Andre’s face suddenly met the floor with a heavy thud, lifting even more construction dust in the air. Some of the particles got inhaled as Andre gasped from the shock of the collision. Their cap fell off, landing in front of them upside down.
That was unpleasant and rather be avoided in the future, but at least they are brought back to the present, rudely, they may add.
After slowly getting up and tying the shoelaces properly, face burning, Andre fixed their cap and decided to stop for a minute.
Boredom wasn’t a new concept to them, but it was getting ridiculous.
Come to think of it, most of the building hadn’t been explored yet, and with the way their training was going, the chance of Samantha walking them through every hall was minuscule.
It can’t be that bad if they wander around for a bit, right? No harm will be done from a little walk. Far better than pacing in circles for another hour.
They knew for a fact there were no night guards around yet, the place is monitored only from the outside for now, to cut costs. The camera system wasn’t installed as well, at least not in the areas Andre was introduced to. It was just too tempting an opportunity to miss.
———————
The lobby area was grand. Despite its size, there wasn’t anything remarkable about it.
Yet.
The same can be said about the atrium. White stretches on endlessly without any clear end. Some areas still lack lighting, making the space look abandoned. It resembles a labyrinth with no clues on how to escape.
Even if you manage to reach the prize at its heart, it will feel like little more than a consolation. Without a map, it would be nearly impossible to find your way back to the starting point. A corn maze has more defining features than this pile of oversized white boxes.
Stopping alongside the main stage, well- a place where the main stage is supposed to be, it’s a gaping hole for now; Andre gulps.
There’s still a chance to find something to make this little journey worthwhile. They don’t even have a plan of where to look first. What did they expect? Excitement took over before the thinking could take its part—good thing they were given a map of this place on the first day. A Fazwatch is tightly secured on the right wrist, a mandatory device for all employees.
As on cue, said gadget beeps.
Skipping over notifications, Andre starts looking for the map to guide them, hands clammy, skipping over the tiny screen. Still, there's a little bit of hope left, desperately clinging to a small opportunity. Ah, bingo.
…It’s too small to fucking see anything. Sign.
Well, this is even more awkward now. And what a way to go too; you apply for a job at a place you know almost nothing about, sign a contract that you can’t leave the place for three months, and now you are sulking on the job without any reason. Pray that your supervisor won’t-
What’s over there?
Tantalising red is glaring from below. A bright sign in a sea of darkness. Breath catches in their throat.
Standing back up ( when did they sit down?) Andre shakily takes their way forward towards the unknown. This feels almost intentional, they muse, like a beginning in an old-school mystery game.
What’s next? An evil spirit, haunting an old house, comes to torture them like a soul that knows no rest?
And it’s doubtful that Andre needs to find thirty crystals or statuettes or whatever to complete the game in real life. That’s silly.
Standing on the edge of the supposed stage, Andre takes a proper look down the elevator shaft. The bare platform is about halfway down to the bottom. It’s gloomy, hard to see anything with the blinding lights from above, except for said sign illuminating an entrance at the at of a hallway, far away.
Bold red casts ugly shadows over grimy metal, emphasizing the pitch back dwelling behind the doorstep. “Do not enter”.
The question is: how to get down there? There’s no control panel nearby, and jumping down is too risky. It would be awkward to be found with broken legs at a place Andre wasn’t supposed to be. If they even come looking, that is.
It’s much more entertaining than yesterday. Training video logs were mandatory, but sitting through all of them was hell. It seems it wasn’t for nothing. Some of those videos included a brief description of how Pizzaplex operated for employees to avoid getting lost.
With constant breaks consisting of existential crises and zoning out at a dead bug on the desk, some parts were missed.
But! Some interesting details got special treatment in being remembered. For the potential future.
Skipping down the steps, Andre already had a plan. Better not let their excitement ruin things again.
——————
Getting backstage is a little tricky. One obvious thing Andre remembers from childhood about Fazbear Entertainment is how they overcomplicated things.
One of those things is stage control.
No matter how convenient it would be to have that panel somewhere nearby, or at least on the same floor, reality is far from it. Both literally and figuratively.
The walk upstairs to the sound booth is agonizingly slow and irritating. There is a loud chatter in the distance. The lack of action is almost disappointing, they have to remind themself it’s for the best. Patience is key; a little waiting, and this place will gain its personality back.
Minding people on the other side of the floor, Andre decides to quickly sneak into the utility tunnels, making the path to the sound booth longer, but safer. Better not risk it. The closer the goal, the higher the disappointment of being found out.
They remember going in one of those as a child. For their little self, it left like a great achievement, especially with no one noticing them walking around unsupervised. Nothing changed much, it seems. Except now they actually might get in trouble.
Utility tunnels stretched for almost eternity, and not knowing where the right path was didn’t help.
All of the doors looked practically the same, a few mismatched scratches here and there, without any indication of what was behind them. The whole building was unwelcoming, closing in on itself for unneeded guests.
A door opened behind them with a clear-sounding creak. A contradiction.
Andre enters anyway.
With each step, dust specs rise in the air. The space is cramped, and various carton boxes sit on the floor, making a straight path towards the controller. It's humming softly.
Looking ahead from the balcony, Andre can see the main stage. Still open, still dark down below. The absence of red light from that angle is mocking.
Not wasting any more time, the attention is returned to the control panel. A bunch of various CD dicks are scattered across it, all labeled as a “show time”.
There should be a manual somewhere.
Crouching down, they were hit with a strong smell of old paper. It probably wasn't even sitting there for that long. After digging through a multitude of paper stacks with registered stage usage, they finally found what they were looking for.
In the far back of the cabinet, worn and crinkled, lay an instruction manual.
They have some reading to do.
—------------
Turns out, the control is relatively simple. There's a part of a panel on the right side that is reserved for stage movement. Above it is a tablet of sorts, a timer set for each command to run.
Straightening back up, Andromeda carefully types in one command after another, setting a specified time limit from the manual. Their eyes water from the intensity of their stare, their gaze narrows with thoughtful checking of each symbol.
Seems promising.
They brace themself against the panel, barely breathing from anticipation. Run the program?
Yes / No
Yes / No
…The humming got louder. A new window opened on a tablet, the code flowing rapidly without a hiccup. Some of the small lights turned on. A beeping sound went off. Looking back up and- it’s working! It’s going up!
Maybe they weren’t so bad after all!
Oh, they need to run. Like, right now, or the stage will lower itself without them onboard.
After quickly scrambling all of the paperwork and even quicker showing it all back, Andre dashes out of the utility tunnels and straight to the escalators, almost tripping on them in the process.
It’s hard to be quiet when leaping fast through an empty building. Despite their efforts, the sound of their boots colliding with concrete might be too loud. It’s hard to tell over the fast beating of their heart.
The stage started to go down. They are almost there.
Taking last strides and finally arriving at the destination, Andre stumbles on the final steps leading up to the stage, resulting in an awkward crawl on all fours.
Someone howls in the distance, but it is barely acknowledged. Doesn’t matter.
The only thing that is important in this moment- finally getting to know the red light personally. And what awaits them after it?
Andre finally jumps in, covering a good couple of meters before meeting the platform surface with their feet, knees bending instantly to avoid breaking. The ground below shakes with the force of the collision.
The next second, they fell forward, bracing themselves on arms, eyes painfully shut. All of the air got punched out of their lungs.
It's scary to imagine what would have happened if they tried their luck before, but that worrisome thought is distant in a clouded mind.
Sitting up properly, Andre lifts their gaze. A beam of light from far above grows distant, a point of no return.
As the world grows darker, and with nothing to do but wait for the platform to reach the bottom, a moment of hesitation creeps up on them. Gliding its chilling arms up their back.
Was it worth it? Or did they ruin everything again for some short moment of entertainment?
Would a normal person do it?
…
The platform stopped with a moan. Time to start moving again.