Chica had managed to follow me into the backrooms. I don't know how she found me, but it was irrelevant. I hid behind shower curtains and inside laundry baskets, all while trying to connect to Freddy through the Faz watch. Hiding gave me a lot of time to think to myself.

What happened to Chica? She was so happy before. At first I thought she was angry with me, but I remembered that there have been other strange occurrences, like Moon and those cupcakes. Something bigger was definitely going on, and whatever it is is causing these animatronics to act strangely.

Would I be unable to reach Freddy until his repairs were finished? If what Roxy said was true, then he'd be decommissioned for several days, possibly even replaced. Mechanics don't work night shifts, so I thought maybe I could find him once their shift ended. Of course, once they're sent home, Vanessa is back for her nightly duties. I was going to have to be strategic.

What if Freddy changed, like how Chica did? Is that the malfunction that they're trying to fix, but they just didn't catch it on her? How long before the others change, if they do? I'm so confused. I had all these theories running through my head. Maybe a mass attack on the company was hacking into their systems and changing their programming? Or someone from the inside, like Vanessa or that guy on the VHS tapes? But why?

What kind of malfunction did Freddy have? Chica said he collapsed on stage, but that's about all I know. Did he have missing or old parts? The signs in parts and service had a demonstration of the new parts given to the other animatronics, but Freddy didn't have one. Did they purposefully not give him new parts? If I gave Freddy new parts, could I fix him?

It was a gamble, but considering that I had nowhere else to turn to, it was the only thing I could try.

Usually, I'd run to the next place I wanted to visit, but since Chica was roaming around, it was going to be tougher. I had to find a way to get rid of her.

I remembered my and Freddy's trip through the basement last night. If I recall correctly, there should be a kitchen by the loading docks. I wondered if Chica's taste buds still worked even when in this state.

I leapt out of the basket I was hiding in and crept my way through the laundry room to the kitchen. I could hear Chica muttering things to herself, trying to entice me to let her catch me, like promises of candy or that my parents were looking for me.

The kitchen itself was lined with countertops and cooking utensils. There were several machines I'd never seen before that displayed different kinds of pizza toppings. I thought about how Chica made pizza for me and followed her recipe.

There was a S.T.A.F.F. bot circling the kitchen, so once I grabbed the dough and roller, I placed them on the counter and climbed on top. This way I'd avoid it's sight. The dispensers for the condiments were spread out throughout the kitchen, so I took the pizza and ran to the sauce dispenser first. Once I poured enough, I crouched below one of the tables to let the S.T.A.F.F. bot pass.

I followed this process, for the next ingredients. I added some cheese and meat and stuffed the pizza into the oven. I waited cautiously, both for the S.T.A.F.F. bot and Chica.

I could hear Chica approach from the other room. The pizza wasn't done yet, but it was hot and smelled good, so this should be good enough. When Chica saw me, I waved the pizza for her to see and threw it into the trash compactor. She then charged at me.

I thought for sure that would work! I ran into the trash compactor, picked up the pizza, and blocked Chica's face from mine with it. Her beak went through it, and now with a taste of the pizza, she started to munch on it.

Chica eats fast, so I didn't have much time. I crawled around her and out of the trash compactor and turned it on. The compressor slowly lowered, and though it made noise, Chica didn't notice. Not until it caused one of the cleaning supplies to fall. The mop hit the floor, and she turned to look at it. She then noticed the ceiling closing in on her, but right before she could jump out, the compressor slammed into the floor, crushing her.

I slowly approached the compactor as it rose. "Chica...?" I said. There's no way she could've survived that, but if she did, I hoped maybe it would've fried her evil circuits and return her back to normal.

It did not, however, as her head suddenly sprung up and grabbed my leg. I tripped and screamed, all while kicking her head. I watched her beak fall off, and then the compressor began to push us down to the trash dump. The wall crushed Chica's head, and I saw her eyes pop out of their sockets. She still kept hold on my ankle, and I was dragged along with her. "No, no!" I held on tight to the wall, but with Chica's weight pulling me down, I didn't stand a chance. I lost my grip, and Chica and I fell down into the abyss.

When I opened my eyes, everything was blurry. My head and back ached, and my whole body felt heavy. I forced myself to sit up. I touched the back of my head and winced in pain. When I looked back at my hand, it was covered with blood. I groaned, annoyed to get yet another injury. I just hoped I didn't get a concussion.

Beside me was Chica's mangled body. Her beak was missing and her casing was horribly cracked. "Oh no," I said to myself. I kneeled down beside her and felt my hands shaking. "Chica," I shook her shoulder, trying to wake her. "Chica, wake up!" I didn't care if she hated me or if she suddenly turned evil or whatever happened to her, I wanted her alive. Seeing her like this was devastating. Around us was just trash. Piles upon piles of trash. She didn't deserve a death like this. "Chica! Chica, please! Get up!" my voice cracked as I cried out to her. There wasn't so much as a twinge of movement from her.

"Chica, I-I'm so sorry..." I don't know why I was trying to talk to her, there's no way she could hear me. I felt disgusted with myself. I wanted to stay and cry. The culmination of pain from losing a friend and the pain of literal injury was bringing me to my breaking point. Everything around us was so quiet, and yet so loud. I heard the sounds of sewage and leakage, rats scurrying around, and cockroaches crawling on top of garbage bags. My cries echoed, so I tried to stop myself from sobbing with sharp inhales, but those two bounced off the walls.

What the hell is wrong with me? I overreacted, Chica would never hurt me. She wanted to take me home, and I killed her. I killed her. I killed her in a garbage dump with rats lining the cracked walls and sewage water filling the crevices in the floor. I smacked myself in the head, trying to force myself to think more clearly. "Stupid, worthless!" I called myself in distress. I felt like throwing up.

Her missing mouthpiece caused a huge hole to rip into her face. That's where her voice box should be located. Her special voice box, the new one given to her as an upgrade. The one she used to mimic the voices of the other animatronics. The one she used to tell her story with funny voices.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I took it. I stood above her like how she once stood before me and ripped it out of her now visible endoskeleton. It was about the size of my hand. It was just a black box with a light on it and some loose wires. With shaky hands, I shoved it into my pockets.

I took one more look around. This place really was filthy. It didn't feel proper to leave her here, but I didn't have the strength to carry her out, nor did I have anything to give her. I hesitantly left.

The sewers were way more disgusting than I had anticipated. I felt nervous to touch anything in fear that it would get me sick. I didn't really know where to go, so I just followed the path along the trash. It must be used by employees when the pipes need repairs.

While walking, I came across what appeared to be some kind of shrine dedicated to Chica. As if this place wasn't unnerving enough, pizza boxes and flowers with a framed photo of her sat just a few feet away from her death site. I felt a shiver down my spine.

I entered a large room with a small generator in the center, just like the ones in the daycare. Without much thought, I turned it on, and followed the wire to find an exit.

Before I could leave the room, I saw Chica. She was walking down the path I had just used. "Chica!" I yelled at her. I can't believe she's alive!

She made a loud mechanical noise. I have a voice box, she must not be able to speak. When we locked eyes, she sprinted towards me. Her face didn't come across as very loving.

When I realized she was running towards me with malicious intent, I turned around and continued to follow the wires. "Chica, I'm sorry!" I yelled at her, but she did not slow down. She made beeps and sounds reminiscent of broken wires.

The pipes led us to the basement floor. I had managed to outrun Chica, but she was close behind me. I saw yet another generator. I flicked that one on and the gate in front of a door unlocked. I ran in, trying to avoid Chica seeing which way I went. While running down the halls and rooms, I thought about what to do.

I must've passed out when I fell down to the sewer, because now the S.T.A.F.F. bots have doubled in numbers, meaning it must be night. What time was it?

I checked my Faz watch. It read 1:13am. Jesus, how long was I out for? I tried to connect with Freddy.

"Freddy! Are you there?" I waited.

No response. I felt my anxiety grow. They wouldn't leave him in parts and service if they didn't manage to fix his repairs in time, right?

I'll check anyway.

"I'll meet you in parts and service," I said to my watch. I didn't know if maybe he could hear me but couldn't respond.

"Aha!" I stopped in my tracks after I heard this new voice. In front of me stood Vanessa, and she grabbed my shoulders before I could run away. "I found you!"

"Ugh, seriously? I've got much bigger problems than you!" I told her. Her grip on my shoulders tightened.

"Alright, kid, let's go," she said, pulling me by my arm. I tried to slip out of her grip, but nothing I did made her let go. "You have to let me go! I-I can't go home yet!" I said to her.

"You should've been home 24 hours ago! I can't believe you managed to actually stay as long as you did," she said. I had to think of something.

"Vanessa–"

"How do you know my name?" she interrupted.

"I-it's not important. Haven't you noticed strange things happening inside the pizzaplex?" I dodged her question.

"Yeah, a scrawny kid like you sneaking around," she said.

"Not me! Everything else! Like, animatronics acting weird?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

She tossed me into a small room. I fell from the force, and she locked me inside before I could run through the door. "Now you wait here until your parents pick you up or the police arrive," she said.

"No! Vanessa, open the door!" I yelled. There's no way she doesn't know about the strange things happening in the pizzaplex. I don't know how long she's worked here for, but from the way she acts she must've been working here before Moon changed.

She stomped away, leaving me locked inside. This was a small room with monitors displaying security cameras. The walls had lockers and there were piles of boxes.

I spotted a vent next to the desk. Maybe if I found something to unscrew the screws in the vent. During a quick search around the room, I managed to find a screwdriver. Clearly, Vanessa didn't think this through.

As I turned the screws with the drive, I felt my head pounding. I thought it was from exhaustion and getting a head injury, but when I looked out the office window, there was a bunny staring right back at me.

This bunny had to be the same one that led me through the endoskeleton trap. I quickened my pace and opened the vent. Quickly, I crawled through, but it grabbed my ankle just as I almost made it through. I kicked it in the face, and it let go as it held its nose. Then I continued my way through the vent.

It led to the otherside of the wall. When I looked around to get a sense of where I was, I realized I was on the very first floor.

"I'm on my way to parts and service," I updated my watch.

I raced my way through the building. It really felt like I was starting to get used to the floorplans of the area. It didn't take long before I was back in the sickening basement before parts and service.

I saw Freddy, but he was inside the protective capsule, the same one I had used to install the power upgrade on him the other night. "Oh, Freddy..." I sighed.

I went to the monitor, and it gave me several options, including a voice box upgrade. I selected it, and the cylinder opened.

The process was similar to the power upgrade. Open the chest cavity, remove and replace the voice box, and then calibrate it. The process was much easier now that I knew what to expect.

When the upgrade finished, Freddy finally woke up.

"Gregory!" he yelled. He hadn't fully gotten used to his new voice box yet, and so his voice sounded more mechanical than usual. "Freddy!" I yelled back.

He brought his hand up to his chest. "What is this? Is this..." he paused for a moment to think. "Gregory, is this Chica's voice box?"

"Um, well, maybe," I admitted.

"How did you get this?"

"She may have gotten crushed by a trash compactor..."

"What? Is she okay?" he said. Showing emotion with this new voice box was going to be tough on him.

"Nothing seems to stop her," I said. Freddy sighed in relief.

"Gregory, this doesn't belong to me. We should remove it and give it back," he said.

"No, no!" I said. "We can't! You missed it!"

"Missed what?" he asked.

"Chica turned evil, I think. It's kind of confusing, but I have a theory that something is changing the animatronics and it got to her," I said.

"Hmm..." Freddy thought to himself for a moment. "I know you think something is happening too! This morning, when you were talking to Chica, you said it yourself! Let's stop this evil thing first. Then we can fix Chica," I said.

Freddy nodded. "Yes, let's."