Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Welcome! Welcome, one and all! Here, at Iplier’s Pizzeria, we make sure that you’ll never.. want to leave! Where you can have fun, eat pizza, play games, and so much more! And.. We are hiring nightguards! Starting at minimum wage per week! Apply no-”

The small TV shut off with a small click. As Mark groaned of annoyance, he tossed the remote to the side. He pushed away from the desk as the chair rolled towards the cameras. He entered through the backdoor this time; Despite weeks before, when he started the job, he was specifically told not to. I mean, who’s gonna stop him? It’s not that big of a deal after all, right?

Mark clicked a pen he was holding, while the other hand rested on his chin. His eyes droopy and tired, as he stared at the bright screen of the cameras. He removed his hand from his chin when he began to flip through the different cameras. The silence was filled with the sounds of the pen clicking.

The Main Stage, Detective’s Corner, Invincible Space Prize Counter –The second one to be exact–, Backstage, main hallways, yada yada.. same old, same old, for Mark at least.

The place was massive, well.. at least it felt like it. Especially from the amount of damned animatronics that stay inside this one building he's stuck in for the next few hours. Mark, after indecisively switching through every camera, ended up just leaving it on the Main Stage. This job was boring as hell, the animatronics didn’t move or anything. He just had to patrol every so often, check the cameras, that's it. It’s been the same way for the past few weeks. The only thing Mark ever needs to worry about is the generator breaking or overheating. Then he’d need to make a note about that, and go fix it himself.

Mark silently stared into the eyes of the main characters. The Actor, Date Mark, and Heist Mark (though he’s actually called Heist— for some reason. Same for Date Mark, that one’s just called ‘Date’). Who would’ve known Mark would sign up for this.. crappy job for a couple bucks to pay his rent?

Mark stared blankly at the camera. The eerie darkness, which makes this place creepy knowing it's alive and full of joy when open. He could’ve sworn the eyes of the damned hunks of metal were staring right at the camera, but then—

Ring—Ring

The phone started to ring, and Mark raised an eyebrow. He stared down at it for a bit, thinking about picking it up. But.. then declined the call. Most likely, it was just the same pre-recorded message that repeats every week, at the same exact time, which would be the beginning of his shift. He turned his gaze back towards the security footage.

Mark watched as the camera glitched, which made his expression turn puzzled. He leaned forward, closer to the desk as he stared into the static. The static remained for only a few moments, filling the silence rather than the clicking of the pen. Although, the camera suddenly switched back to normal. Mark stared with a now, bored expression, and shrugged the weird phenomenon off. Must’ve been just a small glitch.

At least he thought it was until he looked closely at the Main Stage. It looked normal, at first, yes. Due to the camera being just a bit of a distance from the camera, it was hard to see what's going on, especially with the lights out. Something felt off, no doubt about that.

Upon leaning forward, Mark could notice that..

One of the animatronics were missing.

Date and Actor were still on the stage,.. but Heist was missing.

“What the hell..” Mark quietly muttered, as he frowned.

It’s probably just the camera glitching, right? Probably just another malfunction, the cameras here have always been crappy and out-dated. He switched the camera to the backstage, then back to the main stage.

Still gone.

This was when Mark started to internally panic, as he switched through each camera. He was a bit frantic in trying to find where Heist went, because, let's be honest. Those things aren't supposed to move at night, and right now one of them is roaming somewhere.

He eventually found Heist in one of the hallways, standing as still as a statue. It made Mark relieved, but those lifeless eyes of the animatronic stared into the camera. As if it wasn't Mark watching it, but it was watching him.  It's nice to know where it is, but there’s another problem in Mark's hands. That problem, is that Heist is moving. Those things aren’t supposed to move around at night. Mark was told those damned things wouldn’t move.

Mark let out a breath he wasn’t aware of holding. His gaze darted over to a drawer, quickly opening it while rummaging through in an attempt to find the guide. Despite the fact he assumed he threw that manual out, or whatever it was, some sort of guidebook.. There's a chance he probably threw it out weeks ago. The drawer was an absolute mess. There were pencils, random papers and documents, useless stuff to Mark.

The camera glitched, which made Mark jump and look up at the static filled screen. The camera stopped glitching after a few moments, everything was normal. Except for the fact that Heist is gone again. Mark huffed, his lips pressed together as he stood up. His hands on the desk as he flipped through the cameras. He couldn’t find Heist, the damned cameras were basically useless.. where the hell did it go?

He tried to access the hallway cameras that led to the office he sits in, but those are both broken. Right. Great. Fantastic. Why, out of all cameras, must those cameras be broken? Mark grabbed the flashlight beside him, his grip tight as his knuckles turned white. He used the flashlight as a way to relieve a bit of stress,.. maybe as a weapon as well.

Mark began to hesitantly walk towards one of the doors. As his flashlight turned on with a click, he poked his head out of the office. The flashlight illuminated the hallway, the silence deafeningly eerie. Empty. The only things that showed were the closed doors of the closets. Mark let out a small sigh of relief, lowering the flashlight. He turned around, facing the dim-lit empty office. Just a little bit less tense than before, but still tense nonetheless.

Then, he began to walk towards the other hallway. He slowly poked his head out after a bit of convincing himself, lifting the flashlight. The light of the flashlight illuminated the hallway, hitting against a humanoid figure of metal. The dark clothing and hands being visible, reflecting off the light slightly. Mark’s eyes widened, the flashlight very slowly went up to the robot’s face. The robot stared right back, the atmosphere thick. It’s soulless eyes gleaming in the light, and the uncannily-close-to-a-human body, maybe 15-20 feet away from Mark. His breath quickened, and the robot suddenly started to walk closer, with a quick pace, nearly a run.

Mark flinched and almost screamed, quickly backing up into the office as he frantically hit a button. The metal door slammed shut, with a loud thump. Mark could hear another thump, it had followed with a voice, a robotic, “Ah-“

He could care less, Mark quickly backed up from the door, as panic filled his mind. Mark almost wanted to scream again, of both confusion and fear. It was silent, the silence was uncomfortable now.

Mark could hear the metal hitting against the ground, the whirling of the machine close to the door, a voice box activated with lines that were never pre-recorded.. He steadied his breath, listening as the silence of the office was slowly killing Mark’s sanity. The minutes dragged, it felt like time slowed in these few moments.

After what felt like forever, finally, footsteps broke the silence. Metal clanking on the ground, as the sounds slowly faded.

Mark gulped, his hands shaking, his mind petrified by what happened. He was holding the flashlight so tightly, he thought it was going to break under his grip. The ground made light tap noises when Mark slowly made his way towards the closed door. He stared at the two buttons. One to open, one to close. Mark took in a deep breath, as he hit the red button. The door sliding up, opening the black void of darkness into Mark’s sight. He lifted the flashlight, and with a click, it illuminated the darkness.

Nothing. Only the blank walls and flooring.

Mark even poked his head out and looked around with his flashlight. Paranoia flowing through Mark’s very soul. He thought this was going to just be a normal night shift job.

He leaned back into the office, backing up as the cameras were back in his vision.

This place was only about to get a whole lot weirder..

Chapter Text

He stayed frozen in place for a few moments, attempting to regain focus. Mark’s eyes darted over to the cameras. He almost tripped from the sudden movement, immediately beginning to switch through the cameras, as if in a trance. Mark needed to find where Heist was going to now. His mind raced, but was suddenly relieved upon seeing Heist back at the stage.

It didn’t end there though.

Despite none of the other animatronics moving.. there was still this lingering paranoia. Like Mark’s mind was stuck in a ‘Fight or Flight’ response, his body unable to register the fear inside him from the recent events.

The rest of the shift went pretty smoothly. Though the paranoia made the shift more unsettling and eerie. It felt like he was being watched, despite being the one who’s watching the animatronics.

It felt like he was surrounded by some sort of sad and angered presence. Like he wasn’t the only person in the building after all. The atmosphere was thick, it felt like time was dragging. What would feel like an hour was really just 10 minutes. Mark felt dread for the rest of his shift, until he heard the chiming bell that would announce his shift being over.

When he exited the office, the light from the sunlight warmly welcomed him with the pink-ish sky. Mark walked towards the front doors, opening them, walking outside, and smelling the fresh air. While Mark was leaving, AJ was arriving for the day shift. They don’t know each other much, but AJ’s there for the day shift, so..

“Hey Mark.” AJ said casually, though, as usual, Mark gave no response. He was too exhausted, and just wanted to nope the hell out of here.

Mark had rushed away from the building and to his car. On the way home, he even almost accidentally went past the speed limit. He just felt the excessive need to get away as fast as possible. 

[ 10-15 MINUTES LATER . . ]

Mark sunk into the comfort of his couch, closing his eyes as he let out a soft sigh. Work was exhausting, the adrenaline had already left this body. He felt at peace after the dreaded 6 hour night shift. As much as he wanted to melt into the cushion and safety of his bed, Mark felt like he needed to address something to the owner of Iplier's Pizzaria.

He stood up, walking over to his phone and dialing the number to contact the manager. It rang a few times, before someone picked it up.

“Hello?” A man questioned. “Hi. Yea. It’s me, Mark.” Mark had responded with a deadpan tone. “Ah! The security guard! What a delight to hear you calling me.” The man spoke in an upbeat voice, it made Mark internally annoyed.. but that's probably from the lack of sleep he currently has.

“Yes. The one and only, now listen.” Mark had said a bit quickly, his voice firm. “You told me that the animatronics wouldn’t move at night. So why the hell did I get met with one of the main animatronics deciding to come to my office, and probably kill me?” He asked urgently, panic laced in his tone. The owner had gone silent for a few moments, Mark was about to say ‘Hello’ to see if he was still on the line.

“You didn’t happen to go through the backdoor.., did you?” The man said with a lower tone of voice, one that made a shiver down Mark’s spine from the sudden seriousness. Mark let in a small breath, he’ll probably be in big trouble if he answered truthfully. Even if he lies, either way, he’ll probably get in trouble.

“..No, I went through the front door. Like I have these past few weeks.” Mark answered with the best calm voice he could muster. A small frown appeared over his expression, uneasiness punching his gut.

Silence went over the line, Mark could hear subtle shuffling before the manager started to speak again. “It's most likely just a malfunction in the programming. The internal clock for those things bug out from time to time; Which makes them think it’s daytime, and time to roam around. I’ll make sure one of my technicians fix that up.” The manager stated calmly. Mark began to calm down, as a small sigh of relief left him. Though, he couldn’t help but still be uneasy.

“Okay.. Good, good.” He replied to the owner. “Is there anything else you needed me for?” The manager said calmly, the exaggerated happiness slowly seeping back into the man’s tone. “Uh.. No, no.” Mark said softly, but he then remembered about the manual. He was about to speak, but then the manager cut him off with a “Okay, goodbye!” Then the phone line cut out. 

“Damnit..” Mark quietly muttered. He set the phone back down, deciding to walk towards his room. In which, he plopped into the bed, as he slowly drifted off to sleep. 

[ . . . ]

Mark slowly woke up. He yawned as he stretched and sat up, looking at the time. 

1 pm. 

He still has some decent few hours to relax and eat. Mark got up from his bed and decided to eat some cereal. For the next few hours he lounged around, relaxing and remaining comfortable inside his small home. 

Though, he couldn't get Iplier’s Pizzaria off his mind. His body would shiver at the thought of what may have happened if he didn’t shut the door. If he fell asleep like his previous shifts. Those dark, soulless eyes haunted Mark, the feeling of being watched still lingered inside his home.

Mark watched the clock dreadfully. 

Watching videos, 2 pm. 

Playing games, 5 pm. 

He watched as the clock slowly ticked closer to 12 am, well, 11:20 pm, which is when he gets ready to go to work. Mark slipped on the jacket, putting on his work clothes, then his shoes. He also grabbed the security guard hat, despite never wearing it. 

The car ride on the way to Iplier’s Pizzaria felt.. nerve wracking, to say the least. It didn't take long for him to arrive, as he pulled out the keys to unlock the front door. Mark wasn’t going to go through the back door again, if that was truly the reason why Heist had moved. Or whatever. 

The door opened with a slight squeak, darkness covered the usually-vibrant and bright pizzaria. Mark gulped, as he made his way towards the office. He glanced at the main 3 animatronics, though quickly walked by. He could’ve sworn they were staring at him, but Mark didn’t even want to turn around to check.

He entered the security office, flicking on the light. It still amazes him on how the one lightbulb is able to light up almost the entire security office. Mark stared at the door of where Heist attempted to get in last night. Mark can't choose what’s more creepy; The fact that Heist spoke with voice lines that were never recorded and looked creepy as hell,.. or if Heist was trying to get in the office.

Mark shook himself out of those panicked thoughts, those 'what ifs’. He walked towards the chair, taking a seat on it. The cameras turned on with a small click, and a bit of static, until it cleared up and showed the camera footage. 

He flipped the camera to the Main Stage. Mark's eyes were glued to the screen, awaiting for the smallest of movements from Heist. After a good five minutes, he sighed and leaned back into the chair. 

It was most likely a glitch, like the owner of this place said. 

Mark relaxed a bit, but still felt tense. The silence was interrupted by the phone ringing, like usual.

Ring–Ring

He clicked decline, looking back up at the camera footage. Nothing weird has happened yet, which is good in Mark’s book.  Mark opened one of the desk drawers, wanting to rummage through it, out of boredom. He found a pretty cool looking pen, along with a completely empty leather journal.

Might as well indulge in some writing, like a diary. Not like it's going to hurt anyone to write a bit about his own job, and how he feels about this place.

The silence felt peaceful this time. Only the sound of the pen scribbling on paper, and a small hum from the camera footage being background noise. Mark’s mind still felt paranoid, on edge. He found himself looking over his shoulder every so often. Along with the fact he keeps zoning out while staring at the darkness in the doorways. Mark hadn’t noticed the static coming from the screen of the camera. Though blinked, then turned to look at the camera. The static not being there, the stage seeming pretty normal at first glance.

Mark decided to just flip through a few cameras, eventually leaving it in the eating area. He closed the small journal, setting the pen and journal onto the desk. The peaceful atmosphere of the office was interrupted when Mark heard what sounded like pots and plates falling in the kitchen. His eyes widened as he turned around to stare at the general direction of the noise. It's probably an intruder.. but wouldn't have Mark seen someone on the cameras?

He picked up his trusty flashlight, it should be strong enough to knock someone out with enough force. Mark stood up from the chair, taking a big inhale of air before he walked out of the office. His footsteps quietly echoed as he made his way towards the kitchen slowly. The flashlight gave him a strand of sight in the hallway. There were more noises that came from the kitchen, with Mark getting closer with each step. 

He got in front of the kitchen door after walking through the main area and past the Invincible (II) Space Prize Counter. Mark very slowly reached his hand out to slightly push the door open. The door made a small squeak as it opened and revealed the inside of the kitchen.

“Hello?” Mark called out, raising his flashlight to scan the inside of the kitchen. It seemed pretty empty to Mark. He stepped into the kitchen, and the door slowly creaked open fully. He started to walk towards the stoves, but then his foot hit something metallic. He looked down, shining his flashlight onto one of the fallen pots. Mark started to become a little suspicious, as he stepped over the pot and continued to walk around the kitchen. His gaze turned towards the pantry.

There was small shuffling coming from the kitchen, like someone was trying to steal some food or something. Mark marched across the kitchen to go confront the intruder.

“Hey! You aren’t supposed to be in-” Mark said as he flung the door wide open. The flashlight lit up the room as Mark was met with a metallic body turning its gaze towards him. The eye being pink with hearts, and then the other soulless and dark. It wore an apron and gray suit with black business shoes. It was holding the flour while staring dead into Mark.

Mark shrieked, nearly stumbling back and tripping over the fallen pot. His hat fell off and landed on the ground when he stumbled backwards. The automated voice emitted from Date’s mouth, “Wait-”

Mark quickly turned around, bursting out of the kitchen, though he bumped right into another animatronic. The greyscale detective animatronic and Mark collided and fell down to the ground with a loud thunk. He frantically got off the animatronic and ditched his flashlight. He sprung up to his feet as Heist stared dead into his eyes from the stage. Mark turned and full-on sprinted, as there were the automated voices speaking behind him.

He rushed back to the safety of his office, though something was following him. The loud clanking of metal with the line, “Intruder” repeating. Mark basically flung himself into the office, holding onto the doorframe to turn himself around. He let go and hit the red button, the detective nearly reached Mark.

The door had slammed down and sealed the doorway, Mark panting for air as he scrambled backwards. The animatronic pounded its fists loudly against the door, as Mark crawled underneath the desk and curled up into a ball. He began to slow his breathing, and covered his mouth.

Mark could see as the other door, someone stepped in. The black shoes tapped against the ground, he almost exited his hiding spot if it weren't for the voice he heard.

“Hello?” The figure wore a black suit. The voice immediately told Mark that this was another one of the animatronics. It carried this.. cane. The robot noticed the closed door, walking towards it, seemingly curious of the light being on and the door. Which gave Mark a better view of the animatronic. That had to be the mayor one. The slicked back, black hair, and pale-ish skin, it would seem like a normal person if the robotic features weren't visible.

It stared at the door, before turning around, as if trying to find someone. It's eyes darting slowly around the room. “You don’t have to hide.. You can come out now..” The animatronic said in what seemed to be a softer tone, or a worried tone (which is a bit odd, considering it's a damn robot).

Mark could’ve sworn the mayor character saw him, but then, the robot turned back around towards the door, and opened it. The mayor peeked outside, seeming confused since there was nothing at the door. It walked through the doorway, footsteps fading as Mark assumed the coast was clear. He crawled out from under the desk, as his breathing was shaky. 

Mark sprinted towards one of the doors, peeking outside, unable to see due to the lack of light. Though.. he could watch as the mayor walked away, the cane being held calmly. Mark let out an exasperated sigh, backing up into the office once more. There was fear pierced right through his whole body. When he went to sit down on the chair, and reached out to quickly look at the cameras, his hand was shaking. That’s when he started to register how much that actually terrified him. Mark gulped and then turned around to look back at the door. He’ll just get his flashlight back in the morning.

Right. There’s definitely no animatronics trying to break into his office and probably kill him and become their midnight snack. Totally. 100%.

He was so paranoid, he didn’t even realize how quickly time passed. It went from 3 am to 5 am in what felt like a few minutes. During the last hour, all Mark did was stare into the doorways, listening, every smallest of noise he heard, he’d close the door for a decent 5 minutes before opening it again.

Mark was going to call the owner again, there was absolute no doubt about that. He needed answers. Since one of the animatronics literally chased him down while repeating ‘Intruder’, and two roamed around this time.

Mark tapped his foot anxiously against the floor, staring into the clock that said ‘5:59 am’. The clock on the wall slowly ticked the seconds passing. The moment the bell began to ring for 6 am; Mark stood up from his seat. He picked up the journal and pen, stuffing those into his pocket as he darted out of the building. AJ was just parking in, exiting his car as the two walked by one another.

“Hey!” AJ greeted when he and Mark were about to pass one another.

“Hey.” Mark deadpanned. Though AJ seemed to not mind the tone, he was more glad there was an actual response. But, Mark paused, a sudden urge to ask AJ a question filled his mind.

“Wait.” Mark said, as he turned around to face AJ. AJ did the same, a small frown of confusion plastered onto his face. “Huh?” He questioned. “You haven’t noticed anything.. weird .. with the animatronics, have you?” Mark asked a bit hesitantly, a subtle furrow of his eyebrows appearing when he spoke. “No, nope. They seem pretty fine to me.” AJ said with a shrug as he put his hands on his hips, letting out a small sigh as he looked back up towards the building. “Any reason why you asked that?” AJ questioned when he looked back towards Mark. Which Mark seemed lost in thought, but snapped out of it.

“Oh.. uh, no. No. Just curious.” Mark replied, rubbing his eyes to shake away the exhaustion. AJ let out a small hum. “Well, make it back home safely.” He spoke calmly with a small smile, turning around to continue walking towards the building. Mark looked down, a small scoff exited his mouth as he turned back around to get to his car.

He forgot about the flashlight, and his hat. Whatever.

Mark opened the door to his car, sitting inside as he started up the car. He paused for a bit to stare at the building, a frown appearing, but Mark looked away and started to drive back home.

…

He really likes that hat, as much as he hates it.

Chapter Text

The phone rang again. No one picked up, which made Mark extremely annoyed. He’d been trying to call the owner for the past 5 minutes, and he’s not picking up. Mark slammed the phone down, walking away as he went to get ready for work again.

He made sure to grab his journal and pen that he took home with him. He got into his car and drove toward the pizzaria.

Again.

Why the hell does he even keep coming back to this job? He has no clue aside from paying rent. It’s decent pay, at least. 

Once he arrived again, his gut already twisted in dread. The door creaked open with the silence of the pizzaria. Mark quickly jogged to the office, as he flicked the light switch on. The lightbulb flickered for a couple moments, but then it remained lit. It probably needs to be replaced soon, but that’s a problem for later. 

He went towards the cameras, immediately checking them, everything was normal for now, so that’s a relief. Mark looked down on the desk, seeing his hat and flashlight next to one another. It also had a small sticky note as well.

‘Found your hat & flashlight. I wanted to give it back to you! : ) - AJ’

Ah. Mark picked up the sticky note, rereading it once more. He looked back at his flashlight and hat, tucking the note into his pocket, before he had picked up his hat. He let out a soft hum, might as well wear it if AJ was so kind to return it.

Mark grabbed the flashlight, turning it on with a small ‘ click ’ and it shined towards the doorway brightly. He raised his eyebrows, were the batteries replaced?

No matter, at least he had his flashlight again. Mark looked back at the cameras, but then at the doorway again. This is a stupid idea, but why not explore a little? (Despite it being a horrible idea to do-- Why not?) He can just go back to the office if he hears anything. 

Mark had some sort of sudden confidence and bravery, since he walked out of the office with little to no worry. His footsteps echoed, the flashlight being his only current source of light. Mark aimed his flashlight in the distance, towards the general direction of the stage. His light hit against the main animatronic, the mascot, in a sense. 

‘Actor Iplier’. It’s red and black suit, slicked back hair and black shoes, it was just.. unsettling. “ Why the hell are all these things so creepy.. ” Mark quietly mumbled, as he stood next to one of the party tables. The light shining up on the face of the main character. Its eyes were closed, as still as ever. 

He turned his flashlight to the direction of Date. That one also had his eyes closed. Mark started to relax, looking over at Heist, which also had its eyes closed. He looked towards the direction of Detective’s Corner.. he wasn’t going to risk going over there and being chased by that stupid thing again.

The place was quiet.. too quiet. It was unnerving to know how children run rampant around the place at day, playing games and having fun. Unaware of how dangerous these animatronics truly are when the clock hits 12 am. Walking closer to the entrance, he saw the children’s play area, and then the arcade. The arcade probably has that.. 80’s themed animatronic in there, who the hell would know if it’s on or off at this time.

Mark turned to the left to go towards the closed double doors, the pastel-colored “CHILDREN’S PLAY AREA” labeled above. He opened the door, needing to put his whole body force to open the heavy metal doors. It slowly opened with a squeak, and then a click once it hit the door stopper.

He nearly lost his balance, but otherwise, he examined the inside. Mark’s flashlight illuminated the various toys still on the ground, crayons scattered around the place and walls pastel and with waves of other pastel colors. He took a step forward, the crunch of a doll beneath his feet. When he looked down, he noticed that the front part of the doll’s head was now shattered. 

Mark sighed, bending down to pick up the doll, going towards the trash can, (while being careful of where he steps to avoid breaking anything else) and then tossed the doll into the trash. He had stared at it for a moment, turning around to see the other door inside the play area. It’s that ‘Mayor’s Office’ thing. Mark has no clue when or why someone even had an idea to make a mayor animatronic, and then place it next to the children’s play area.

The mayor is probably shut off right now, maybe even still deactivated from how rarely anyone goes in the office. Curiosity killed the cat, and Mark is probably going to be next. Just a small peek wouldn’t hurt anybody.

Mark walked towards the door, nearly stepping on other toys that children left behind or out of the bins. He reached his hand out, feeling the cold metal of the doorknob. It opened with ease, as Mark peeked through the small gap of the door and doorframe. It was pitch black, too hard for him to see anything.

He began to open the door just a bit more, the flashlight on and illuminated a small portion of a desk. There were two shoes, obviously belonging to the mayor robot. Mark could see that the animatronic wasn’t going to turn on anytime soon, at least he assumed so.

Attempting to go in, Mark suddenly felt pain shoot through his shoulder. He yelped and turned around, meeting the cold gaze of the Heist robot. The grip of the animatronic was so tight, that Mark’s shoulder felt like it was burning. Mark had backed up, practically falling into the office and the door slammed shut by Mark kicking the door. His back hit against the desk, knocking over a cup of pens and pencils. Heist seemed to just about to try and open the door, but Mark lifted up to his knees as quickly as he could. He locked the door with some struggle from frantic panic.

His heart pounded against his chest, his breathing quick and short. Mark’s back was against the front of the desk, his flashlight off to the side with its light hitting a wall. 

After about a minute of the door pounding, Mark slowly calmed down once footsteps went away. He registered his surroundings, most of it too hard to see from the lack of light. Mark picked up his flashlight once more, seems like this thing is just really handy in this god forsaken place. 

Mark’s shoulder was still burning in pain, he ripped off his jacket uniform, revealing the white t-shirt underneath. He used his other arm to aim his flashlight towards the injury. 

The injury was red, only small specks of blood. But other than that, it was fine.. aside from the burning pain and irritated skin. He let out a shaky breath, squeezing his eyes shut for a few moments. His hands and body was shaking from the initial shock of whatever the hell just happened, or however the hell Heist was able to sneak up behind him.. how odd..

He relaxed, his breath slowing down as he opened his eyes. The pain very slowly subsided, with Mark looking towards the knocked over cup with pencils and pens spilled on the side. Mark began to pick up the pens and pencils, putting down the flashlight so he could grab it all. It was surprising that the cup didn’t break, considering the fact it's made of what seems to be glass. Mark sat on his knees, placing the cup of pens and pencils back onto its original position. 

He could see the faint reflection of his flashlight onto the metal of the animatronic. Turning his gaze to a metal name tag that sat on the table, engraved into it was ‘Damien the Mayor’. Hm. Mark grabbed his flashlight, choosing not to turn on the actual light in the room.. might cause the animatronic to turn on.

He shined the flashlight towards the chest. The white fabric and black suit visible as he stared. The metal hands with small gray slits of where the joints are, barely visible. Mark slowly stood up, examining the small ‘Mayor’ badge on the animatronic. ..Creepy.. Mark turned around to exit the room. He first peeked out, only opening the door a small amount to make sure the coast was clear.

Mark slowly exited the room, quietly shutting the door behind himself while watching his steps to avoid crushing any toys. AJ will probably clean up before the place opens. Unless AJ doesn't.. and just lets the place be messy.

Mark had swiftly exited the play room, quickly trying to get to his office without being chased. Heist wasn’t on the stage, neither was Date. Who cares? Mark doesn’t. He just wants to get back to the office as quickly as possible.

He basically sprinted down the right hall to his office, his anxiety melted away as he started to slow his breathing once more. Mark went to sit down on the chair, ignoring the cameras. He pulled out the journal and pen, writing in it for the next hour about random things.. but also about the animatronics’ behaviors.

Next thing Mark knew, 2 hours later and 30 minutes until his shift’s over, he really lost track of time while writing, since he thought he'd been writing for an hour. Heavy metal footsteps came closer and closer via the right hallway, Mark's Fight or Flight kicked in. Which made Mark toss the journal and pen aside as he stood up and shut the door. His heart raced from the sudden panic. He picked up his flashlight, shining it towards the thick glass window. His breath slow and steady, though he was panicked.

Mark only saw a glimpse of it, but he knew it was the animatronic Heist. He lowered his flashlight and listened closely. It was maybe a painful 3 minutes until Heist finally started to move away from the door. That made Mark sigh of relief, waiting another minute before opening the door. He made sure Heist was gone before walking away from the door.. sitting back down onto his seat. 

Mark closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He allowed his body to relax from all the random 'jumpscares' and stress that was occurring. Next thing Mark knew, he had accidentally fallen asleep on the job,.. again.

[ . . . ]

Mark suddenly jolted awake from a light slap across his cheek. Nearly jolting forward as AJ backed up. His heart beat increased, his eyes wide. But then Mark went unamused when he heard AJ’s voice.

“Woah- woah- woah- Calm down.” AJ said with his hands out. Mark relaxed and sunk back into the seat. “You fell asleep on the job..” He paused for a quick moment. “Again.” AJ added with a small smile. Mark groaned and stood up. “Whatever..” Mark had stated as he picked up his journal and pen, shoving it into his pocket.

“Hey- you’re injured.. Do you-“ 

AJ had started to talk, but Mark was ignoring AJ and walked out of the office. AJ seemed a bit startled by that, but shrugged it off. Mark stared at the main stage for a few moments, the animatronics standing there as if they never moved at all. He frowned and then continued to exit the building. Getting ready to go home and sleep in his bed. Mark almost completely forgot about his shoulder.

Just almost.

Chapter Text

Mark’s eyes slowly fluttered open. His mind was fuzzy and his body was heavy. He slowly lifted himself up, letting out a small groan. Oh. It’s 1 pm. It’s Saturday, one of his days off.. That’s nice.

He completely forgot about the injury in his shoulder. Not like it mattered, though it was concerning because of Heist being the cause for it. Mark’s mind slowly regained the memories of what happened last night, his stomach twisted in dread. He closed his eyes for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed as he pushed away the lingering fear from last night.

Mark lifted himself up and off his bed. He walked towards the door frame, his hand placed onto it as he stared off towards the kitchen. His phone sat on the counter, like it was waiting for him to try and call the owner.

He sighed, worth a try. Mark walked up towards the phone, grabbing it as he began to dial the number that was on a piece of paper and taped on the wall.

It rang.

Ringed again.

Then a little more.

But then it was immediately sent to the automated message.

Ugh.

Mark placed the phone back down, feeling a bit annoyed. There was no use in trying again, considering the fact it seems like the owner enjoys ditching Mark when it comes to complaints. Mark decided to continue on with his somewhat-ordinary day. 

Though, an idea struck his mind. What if he went to Iplier’s Pizzaria during AJ’s shift? It’d be nice to chat with someone for once.

…Even if he kinda hates AJ. 

AJ’s nice company, from what it seems. Mark’s usually just exhausted from the lack of sleep after his shifts to speak to AJ. He feels replenished from his lack of sleep, and Iplier’s Pizzaria is still open for another few hours.. so might as well. Not like anything bad would happen.

Mark didn’t bother changing out of what he wore, it was just a t-shirt and dark gray sweatpants anyway. Though he might as well take his security jacket and hat since he’ll have to come back anyway for his shift. He picked up his keys and tiredly walked out of his home. He hopped into his car, starting it up as Mark then drove off to Iplier’s Pizzaria.

[ 10-15 MINUTES LATER ]

Mark slammed his car door shut, his hand a little on the roof as he looked up at the building. The dread was still there, but not as much. Considering the fact Mark isn’t going to be stuck in there at night, alone, until some few hours later.

The parking lot was filled, unlike how it’s usually empty by the time Mark comes in for his shift. The sunlight hit his eyes as he walked towards the building, opening the doors and entering. The atmosphere inside was completely different compared to the night. Many voices of people chattering, distant noise of arcade machines and children playing. He could see kids running around with toys from the Intergalactic Invincible II Gift Shop.

It felt weird seeing the place so.. alive. Mark’s eyes adjusted to the colorful scenes, his eyes caught onto AJ’s infamous all-dark purple outfit. He was leaning against a wall, wearing his security badge while supervising everyone around. Mark’s eyes lightened up slightly, as he went up to AJ, walking past some kids as he also leaned against the wall. Mark crossed his arms as AJ turned his gaze towards who just stood next to him.

“Hey.” Mark stated calmly. His eyes darted over towards the different areas in the pizzaria. AJ seemed to be surprised by Mark’s sudden appearance. “Oh- uhm.. Hey! I’ve never seen you actually come for a visit during the day.” AJ said while he slightly paused, looked towards Mark. 

“Just thought it would be nice to come.. talk.” He hesitated a little at the end. Mark still wanted answers as to what causes the animatronics to act up at night. His gaze slowly turned back towards AJ. Mark’s dark brown eyes meet his. “Really?” AJ questioned in disbelief. Mark didn’t respond for a couple moments. He almost seemed a little distant, his sleep schedule still affecting him. “Yea. I also wondered what this place looked like when it was open.” Mark continued with a hint of a softer tone, his voice sounded a tad more tired.

“Well, I’m glad we can finally chat for once!” AJ said a bit happily, a small smile plastered onto his pale skin. He turned his head to look out and around the colorful and vivid scenery again. AJ let out a small sigh of content. A small silence went over the two, the sound of children playing and chatting filled the void of quietness. 

Mark’s eyes looked around for a few moments, his gaze landed onto Heist. Standing on the stage while laughing and acting.. oddly human. Heist was basically the complete opposite when it's day, or night. Heist’s robot eyes glanced over to Mark for only a split second, simply examining every human in the building. Its smile,.. forever plastered onto its metal, painted face.

“I always wondered why no one else thinks they’re.. off.” AJ suddenly spoke out. His eyes were also glued onto the animatronics. Mark seemed a bit surprised, his eyes turned towards AJ. AJ got up from leaning against the wall and began to walk around. Mark quickly followed, walking alongside AJ around the pizzaria. “What do you mean?” Mark questioned while the two walked. “Just the way some of them are built. It feels.. off.” AJ shrugged, after a short moment they stopped walking and the two were a bit closer to the stage.

“It's probably nothing.” He continued, his arms crossed as he looked off to the side. Mark hummed slightly in response, his eyes went up towards the three animatronics. Heist, the farthest from him, bent down on one knee to speak to a child who seemed to be a big fan. Date, the closest, a bit messy with flour in some parts of his hair and face, along with the apron still on. Then..

Actor. The one in the middle. When Mark looked towards that one, it was staring right back. Its eyes were completely black at that moment, and its eyelids unseen. It seemed frozen in time, just staring into Mark as if he were a murderer. A shiver went down Mark’s spine, his expression blank but his eyes said it all.

After a few moments of what felt like a staring contest, AJ had turned to look towards Actor. He was only able to catch a glimpse of the animatronic’s black eyes. Since the Actor blinked, its eyes returned to normal as it continued to look around the room and hold the microphone. Mark was still creeped out, and AJ was a little concerned. “That was weird..” He muttered as he turned to look at Mark’s pale expression.

“Mark?” 

“...”

“Mark??” AJ waved his hand in front of Mark’s face, Mark blinked and was snapped out of his train of thought. AJ had a minor frown on his face, staring at Mark with concern. “Are you okay? You zoned out there.” Mark let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. “Yea. Just.. was thinking about something.” Mark responded with a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” AJ asked with concern. He gently placed a hand onto Mark’s shoulder. Mark shivered at the touch, remembering the metallic hand that did the same as AJ. “Yea.. It was just staring at me..” He said as he looked up towards the Actor bot. AJ did the same, before he patted Mark’s back.

“C’mon, we can go to a different spot.” AJ said as he started to walk toward one of the arcade areas. Mark quickly followed, his gaze lingered on the animatronics. It was a different atmosphere inside the arcade. Machines beeped, and kids played while trying to earn as many tickets as possible. It had a dark but neon theme to match the arcade games. 

“Huh..” Mark quietly muttered, which made AJ turn his head to Mark. “What? You’ve never been over here?” He questioned while seeming almost puzzled. “Out of all the weeks I’ve been here? Yea, no. Only once.” Mark replied calmly. 

“Well, that’s surprising. C’mon, let's just walk around and chat.” AJ offered with a small smile.

“Have you seen Warfbot?” AJ casually questioned.

“What?”

“Warfbot. Wilford? The automated Warfstache bot? He’s the one animatronic who hangs out here in the arcade.” AJ said calmly with his gaze on Mark.

“..Ah.” Mark replied blankly. Great, another animatronic. He almost completely forgot about that one.

“I think he was created for some of the parents to be able to reminisce about the 80’s.” AJ continued calmly. There was the sound of someone on roller skates across the room, but neither of them paid attention. There was already enough noise from kids and arcade machines to muffle out the noise.

“They really made one for parents’ entertainment?” Mark raised an eyebrow.

“Yea. We could see him if you want to?” AJ offered as he gave a small shrug.

“Nah.. I think I’ve had enough robot-stuff for today.” Mark said a little tiredly. A subtle frown appeared over his face.

“Mm.. Well you are stuck here for the night shifts so,..” He reminded Mark. AJ looked back to watch where he walked in front of the two. Sometimes he glanced over some games kids were playing while being supervised.

“Thanks for reminding me.” Mark said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes as they kept walking around. 

Chapter Text

“See you in the morning!” AJ shouted out to Mark as he waved goodbye. Mark gave him a small wave as AJ drove away. He stood just outside the building, Mark’s breath made a small puff of fog. Why does Mark even call his day offs, a day off when he still has the night shift to do? Well, that’s just him for once going out somewhere in the day instead of being cooped up in either his room or the pizzeria.. Whatever.

He turned around to enter back into the warmth inside the building. It was either just him, or being suddenly alone made the place all the more creepy. Especially since only a few hours ago, he saw the pizzeria occupied and lively. Now it's all eerily quiet, with the atmosphere feeling tense. 

Mark slightly frowned as he looked down at his watch. It read, ‘11:55 P.M,’ so he started to make his way towards the office. He glared at the three main animatronics, but turned his gaze away as Mark kept walking onward. Once Mark entered the office, he flicked on the light. The lightbulb flickered a little, but eventually stayed lit. It emitted a familiar, soft yellow light across the office. Mark checked his watch again, only a minute passed by.

He didn't know why, but he already felt like he was being watched. Mark’s eyes slowly looked towards the security footage. Mark went up to it once more, his eyes darting between the different screens of which didn't show all the cameras, with some being just silent static. When he flipped through the cameras, he noticed there was one less camera than before. What the hell?

Maybe he just skipped over one.

Main Stage cameras 1 and 2, Kitchen, Customer Service, Detective’s Corner, Invincible II Gift Shop, Arcade Cams 1 and 2, Hallway Cams (both have always been broken), Children’s Playroom, and-

..

Static. It was static for the camera that was supposed to be for the Mayor’s Office. Maybe it's just malfunctioning? Mark tried to flip back and forth from that camera, but it didn't fix itself. Damnit. Mark groaned as he sat down in the chair and leaned back. His head tilted up and eyes closed. His eyebrows furrowed in frustration, just how many stupid cameras are gonna break?!

Mark opened his eyes again and looked back down towards the cameras, Date already moved… What the hell? Not again. That's another problem Mark has to deal with, and it only just now hit 12 am. Mark heard clattering in the kitchen, a pot or pan falling. That must be Date, which means Date’s distracted. If Mark can just try to go into the Mayor’s Office without attracting any attention.. it wouldn't hurt to try to fix the camera. He had some experience with engineering, so it's worth a shot.

Wouldn't it?

Mark picked up his trusty flashlight from the desk, as well as he left his hat on the desk. Don't want to lose that again. Mark stood up and the chair rolled backwards only a small amount. He really wished things weren't being so.. weird suddenly. Especially with the owner no longer responding to his calls after that one complaint.. weirdo. Mark stared at the right door for a few moments, just blankly staring with no thoughts. But he quickly snapped out of it, shaking his head as his shoes hit against the ground with a small, ‘ thump’ . 

He made his way through the right hallway, shining his light towards the stage. Heist and Actor are still there. Good. Mark let out a small huff of relief as he walked towards the Children’s Playroom. Mark opened one of the heavy metal doors, putting his body weight into it as it locked open with a small click. He took a moment to look around inside the room. The toys, once more, were scattered around and everywhere. Just like before, but more messy. He sighed in subtle annoyance, making his way towards the Mayor’s Office as he avoided nearly stepping on another doll.

The door opened up with a creak, the flashlight emitting through the crack of the door. He brought it towards where the mayor animatronic sat. As still as a dead animal, as if it hadn't even moved during the day. Mark’s eyebrows furrowed as he slowly entered the room, the door shut with a quiet click. He looked around the room to see where the camera was. He didn’t realize how small and narrow the room was until now, its rectangular shape with the desk just barely giving enough space to feel not-so cramped. Mark found the camera’s faint reflection in the corner of one of the walls. It was above a metal filing cabinet, at first glance it seems to have no problems or technical malfunctions. 

Mark turned to look back towards the animatronic, double checking to make sure it wasn’t activated. It still remained in its position, the only noise being the distant footsteps, Mark’s breathing. and subtle clattering of things moving in the kitchen. His gaze went back to the camera, and Mark walked closer towards it. The camera was out of reach, of course. So he tossed the flashlight carefully onto the filing cabinet, the filing cabinet supported his weight as he was kneeling on it. It seemed more like a big drawer, in all honesty. 

He reached up towards the camera, gently taking it out of the spot it was lodged in. The wires were connected somewhere inside the wall, so he couldn’t move it much. Mark picked up the flashlight and quickly checked if there was any sort of thing that made the camera malfunction. That’s when he noticed one of the wires was cut. The hell? 

Mark felt confused, there was no way that the wire just so happened to be cut in half. Something had to have been done to make it that way. Like scissors or.. something. He propped the camera back to how it originally was. He carefully got off the metal cabinet while trying to make as little noise as possible.

He aimed his flashlight back towards the animatronic. Mark felt paranoid as to if the animatronic moved even the slightest. Nothing. That’s a relief. Mark closed his eyes for a moment to relax, he didn’t notice how tense he was the entire time. Ever since those animatronics started to attack, he’s been on edge. That’s a bit too much stress for Mark to be comfortable with. He then took a few steps towards the door, his hand touching the cold metal. He pulled the doorknob down, and the door opened up with a click and a creak.

He peaked only a little bit out, making sure that Heist wasn’t awaiting for him, or a different animatronic. Nothing. He slowly opened the door fully, watching his step to avoid the toys. Mark shivered as he exited the Children’s Playroom, not noticing the quiet sound of something mechanical whirling. He peaked around the corner, but then suddenly went into a full-on dash towards the office. Mark’s footsteps loudly hit against the ground, though the coast seemed clear for now. Mark looked up at the small lightbulb, it flickers every few moments. Which is pretty odd, considering it was changed recently. Mark heard a pair of footsteps slowly walking towards the office. Mark almost hesitated, but he immediately went to shut the door close via button. But the problem was, the door wasn’t closing.

Mark began to panic. He started to frantically hit the button, looking to see Heist slowly making its way towards his office. Mark muttered a frustrated curse, the lightbulb that lit the room suddenly was glowing brighter. It kept getting brighter, until it suddenly popped. The lightbulb caused Mark to flinch and cover his neck, even slightly ducking. His sight was blinded now, the flashlight once more his only source of light. Mark basically said screw it, and dashed over to hide under the table. He held his flashlight close, balling up to hide under the table as much as he could. The metallic footsteps reached the door, the eyes so subtly glowing. Mark knew it had to have been Heist, at least he assumed so. Heist has been the most active, and violent so far.. But, following those footsteps, were loud running footsteps that bursted into the office. He could see another pair of glowing eyes, scanning the room. A subtle coloring of blue and red flashing from that specific pair of eyes. 

“Intruder?” The mechanical voice said as its movements were unpredictable. “Somewhere.” A different mechanical voice responded. The eyes that didn’t glow much, looked towards the desk. Mark covered his mouth to hide his breathing, his eyes squeezed shut while silently praying he wasn’t caught. His heart was beating quickly, as footsteps got closer. Mark could hear the mouse click a few times, with it being followed by what sounded like someone playing around with the keyboard or buttons. “Power out?” The mechanical voice questioned. Mark slowly opened his eyes, barely being able to see the shadow outline of legs. Heist was barely a few feet away. The other animatronic moved around the room, seeming to most likely examine everything.

The sound of glass crunched under one of the steps. It made Heist turn around, facing the other animatronic. “What was that?” It was questioning with a monotone voice. “Safety precaution: Glass.” Mark could hear the animatronic bend down. As if it were trying to pick up the fragments of glass from the shattered lightbulb. He went to adjust his position to be more hidden. His hand pressed down on the ground, which suddenly he sucked in a sharp breath from a painful jab in his hand. A fragment of glass managed to make its way under the desk, he was now bleeding. It hurt a lot, for Mark pressed one of his sleeves against the cut in hopes to stop the bleeding. He looked up to notice the subtle flashing of red and blue emitting from one of the animatronic’s eyes was staring right at him. A shiver of fear shocked right through his core. “Did you hear that?” The animatronic questioned as its mouth lit up with a small amount of light when it spoke. 

“Hear what?” The Heist robot responded as it was facing the other. Mark was staring with wide eyes. The animatronic leaned back up to stand fully. “Someone’s-” it began to say, but then the distant clatter of pans distracted the robots. “INTRUDER.” Its mechanical voice boomed loudly as it suddenly bursted into a sprint in the direction towards the kitchen. “You idio-” Heist began to say, but then it went silent and just slowly went to follow the other robot. Mark clenched one of his fists in pain, the other was still bleeding as he slowly crawled out from under the desk. 

His breath was shaky. But nonetheless, he was somewhat fine, for now at least. Mark was breathing through the pain. There must be a medkit somewhere. He could’ve sworn being told there was one in a drawer. Mark held his flashlight in the uninjured hand. He set his flashlight to the side and began to open different drawers in hopes to see a med kit. Mark was paranoid and felt as if he was being watched. He’d constantly turn around to be met with silence and distant mechanical movement. It took a painful amount of time of shoving aside papers in different drawers to find the med kit.

Mark could hear footsteps creeping closer in the left door. So, he scrambled out of the office through the right. He made sure to hold both the medkit and flashlight firmly to his chest. He went to the closest area, the arcades. It was tough to open the heavy metal doors. Mark didn’t even bother leaving it open once he entered. It’d probably be better to keep it that way, considering all the animatronics that are just roaming around. He snuck towards a corner of the arcade room. Mark could easily see the vibrant, colorful neon colors under the blacklight on the Warfbot. Or whatever that thing is called. Its pink ‘hair’ also glowed under the light. Mark made sure to distance himself as far as possible. Just in case.

He quietly opened the med kit. He was using the flashlight as his source of light in the dim lit arcade. The room filled with silence and the slight ringing in Mark’s ears along with the shuffling of the med kit. Mark took out the gauze, he didn’t have almost any knowledge of medical stuff. But oh well. He pressed the gauze against the bleeding wound. A small wince escaped through his teeth. The blood soaked the gauze, which Mark decided to just use the bandages and wrap it around his palm. He wrapped it tightly, it hurt a lot. But he continued to bandage it and then made sure it was secure to his hand.

He examined the dimly lit surroundings. His imagination is thinking of all the children and parents talking, the sound of arcade machines playing and people running around. But right now it’s as quiet as a dead body. Mark examined his now bandaged hand. 

The metallic thumps of footsteps roamed around from outside. Mark’s breathing filled the silence only subtly. His eyes stared at the Warfbot, then back at the arcade door. It slowly began to creak open. Mark’s eyes widened as he scrambled to hide behind a row of arcade machines. He ditched the medkit, but kept the flashlight. 

The door opened with a click from the door stopper. The atmosphere felt thick, the dim lighting providing Mark a bit of sight.

He listened. The footsteps slowly moved inside the arcade room as Mark slowly rose to his feet.

The subtle whirling of gears and slight buzz from movement came closer and closer to Mark. As if he were to breathe it would be heard.

Chapter Text

He creeped towards the end of the arcade machines. Mark’s eyes darted to see a figure slowly moving. Its eyes glowed underneath the blacklight. The movements were almost unpredictable. While the animatronic went to where Mark originally was, Mark fled from the arcade silently. The carpet muffled his footsteps until he exited the arcade area. His footsteps light taps against the cold marble floor. The small ringing in Mark’s ears filled the silence, along with distant footsteps roaming around. Mark caught his eyes on the detective animatronic. It seemed to stare into the Actor animatronic. Not moving, nor budging a single bit. It’s eyes glowing a subtle red and blue.

Mark felt.. confused, to say the least. But that isn’t the biggest of problems. At least it isn’t roaming around somewhere that he has no clue of where. He snuck towards the office, at least he started to…

But something made him stop in his tracks. 

He saw a door.. right beside the stage, how did he never notice that before? Mark should check that out later, but with the Actor and other animatronic, it’s best he doesn’t try to take the risk. Mark took his gaze off the door in the distance, quickly running down the right hall to reenter the office. The flashlight was shining down to the ground, to avoid stepping on glass. The power’s out. So what the hell should he do?

Mark huffed in annoyance. He had no idea where the damned generator was. Unaware of the horrors that laid outside his vision, and which roamed the halls, some hidden behind the walls.

Mark’s blood ran cold as he examined the dark room. His flashlight was like a beam of light inside the cold and terrifying darkness of the joyous pizzeria. The floor underneath the desk had a small hint of his blood that fell from the skin of his hand. The piece of glass sitting still beside it, shining off of the light with glints of blood. His breath came out as a puff of hot air. 

There were footsteps approaching the office once more, Mark clenched his teeth in frustration. He paced and sat under the desk once more, sliding the piece of glass to the side. It was hard to see in the darkness, his flashlight turned off with a small click. The robotical footsteps became louder and louder.. his heart was beating heavily. It didn’t take long for the darkness to swallow Mark’s vision. His hearing faded into a faint ringing..

Mark woke up to a smack on his cheek. His eyes flung wide open, almost hitting his head on the desk from surprise. Mark’s heart pounded like sirens in his ears. He frantically looked up to see.. some new guy? The guy had black hair, glasses, pale skin, and the usual work attire.

“Hey.. uhm..” The guy hesitated. He held a hand out for Mark to take. In which Mark calmed down as he firmly grasped the guy’s hand. As he lifted himself out from underneath the desk. Mark relaxed as he stared at the man’s dark eyes. He shook off the thought of Heist’s soulless eyes that’d bore into his soul.

“What the hell are you still doing here? AJ told me to come check up on you.” He questioned with hints of concern that faded into his voice. 

..Did AJ just seriously let Mark sleep under the desk for who knows how long?

“I—“ Mark had begun to say, though interrupted. “Aren’t you the nightguard?” The man paused for a quick moment to think. “It’s dangerous to sleep on the job, y’know?” He continued calmly, which sent a small shiver down Mark’s spine as he stared at the man. The man gave him a small smile, “Name’s Nate. I assume you’re Mark?” He said casually as Nate put his hands into his pockets. “..The one and only.” Mark said as he placed his bandaged hand into his pocket. 

“Well.. Have you ever noticed a.. door? Specifically near the stage?” Nate randomly questioned Mark. His expression looked serious, scrunched into a slight frown. Mark’s face became puzzled, he did last night. It’s probably just some sort of storage area, in which the owner specifically said no one’s allowed to go back there. “I mean.. yea? It’s just some storage unit.” Mark said with a shrug. Nate stayed silent, his expression softened up. “Hm. Mark,..” Nate patted Mark’s shoulder, a smile was placed back onto his face. “You should go home now.” He said casually, as the two began to walk out the office. The lights on inside the pizzeria,  children ran around happily. AJ off to the side, supervising the parents and children. Mark gave AJ a small wave goodbye, which AJ looked towards him, and waved as well.

Nate walked with Mark until the two exited the pizzeria. The noises of children and faint music was blocked out once the door shut. There was silence that went between the two, with the peaceful sound of wind. Mark walked away towards his car, but felt Nate’s gaze linger on him for a bit. When Mark entered his car, Nate waved goodbye, then entered the pizzeria once more. Mark sat quietly for some time, though finally turned on the car and began to drive back home. He couldn’t stop thinking of what’s behind the door. Why that.. Nate guy questioned him about it. His face rested into a frown while he drove, lost in thought while his eyes were glued to the road, and the lights. 

When Mark arrived home, he didn’t sleep. Not like he felt tired anyway, he felt more hungry and parched. He did what was practically his routine now, eat and drink.. watch some videos, ..Mentally prepare for work. He sighed, that door was tugging at his curiosity. The fact the owner of the pizzeria didn’t want anyone inside, made it all the more mysterious. Like a dark secret that isn’t meant to be known. Though another thought randomly popped into Mark’s head..

He kind of wants to get a dog. Though, he’d be mostly out of the house because of his job but.. it’s a dog.

[. . .]

[11:30 P.M]

Mark sluggishly put back on his uniform jacket, fastening the security badge back onto his jacket calmly. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed his hat, wallet, keys, and small journal with a pen. He glared at his phone, just the thought of his calls being ignored by the pizzeria owner made him annoyed. Mark placed his hat firmly on his head, the wallet and journal into separate pockets. He walked towards the door, but paused for a moment to look back at his bland but reliable apartment.

Before he switched off the light.

Once Mark parked his car and stepped out. He saw AJ, who waited for him to say bye. “Hey Mark.” He casually greeted Mark. “Hey AJ.” Mark responded calmly. A pit in his stomach at the thought of being alone during night shift.

“Was Nate nice to you?” AJ said nonchalantly while his dark brown eyes made eye contact with Mark’s. “Yea. He seems.. okay.” He shrugged. “Y’know, Nate used to work as a nightguard like you.” AJ said as he patted Mark’s shoulder. “Wait— really?” Mark questioned with a hint of confusion. “Yep! I’ll tell you more later; I gotta get home. Bye Mark!” AJ said as he jokingly nudged Mark’s shoulder. Mark couldn’t help but smirk. “..Bye.” He responded as he turned around to look at AJ. Their conversations were always brief, at least when Mark’s shift was starting.

His blood ran cold as he slowly turned to look up at the pizzeria. The atmosphere didn’t feel as comfortable as it did being accompanied by someone. The gentle wind breezes made his neck cold, as he stepped inside. 

There was faint buzzing entering his eardrums. Mark would be lying if he said it felt not as bad as the first night, of things going spiraling down into madness. It feels as if it just is getting worse, like falling too far down a rabbit hole. Mark entered the office with pace. He tested out the doors, still working perfectly fine. But the light was still broken, making Mark have to rely on his flashlight. He scoffed, he kind of wished AJ took notice of the broken flashlight. At least he didn’t question the injured hand?

Mark went over to the computer, tapping the spacebar a few times until the screen flickered on. The dimly lit cameras showed what’s happening outside of the office. Both hallway cams were still out. At least the power was fixed before opening. He huffed when he switched the camera to the Main Stage. They were still up there, but that.. door remained shut. Like always. It seemed almost hidden in plain sight, something he didn’t dare to ever go open, he didn’t even think about it until yesterday. His curiosity filled his mind with questions. But he ended up shoving all of that aside with ‘It’s just some storage room.’ What would a storage room have the owner of the pizzeria so.. insistent on not letting anyone inside though?

Mark stared at the camera. He felt like if he were to look away, the animatronics would be onto the lookout for their next victim of flesh. A trickle of cold sweat ran down his face, with his hands subtly shaking without him noticing. The eyes of the damned, that’s what those things have. 

Behind the walls of joy, are screams of fear and terror. What’s meant to be entertainment at day, becomes insane nightmares at nighttime. The thought of that brought fear through Mark, no matter how much he may return night after night. 

The screen switched to the Mayor’s Office camera. It filled the screen with unnerving static. The camera was fixed just yesterday, at least it should have been. Mark might as well go down there before any of the animatronics start up. He poked his head out the hallway, the flashlight flickered for only a moment. The ray of light brightens up the hallway to just almost how it looked when it’s bright with life. Yet it still filled Mark with dread. 

His footsteps were quick, next thing Mark knew he was pushing open the Children’s Playroom’s door. There was only a hint of struggle due to the pain that shot through his bandaged hand, as the metal door creaked open. It was propped open with the door stopper, as he examined the room for a short moment. The floor was cleaned, toys were placed away in the clear drawers and small doll houses. Too bad the tidiness of the room was going to be wrecked next opening. There’d probably be another doll ruined, torn limb from limb and tossed aside like nothing.

Mark carefully opened the door to the Mayor’s Office. His hand felt a small surge of the cold metal, the door squeaking open. Then it shut behind Mark slowly, it sounded like a click of a pen. He was cautious of aiming the flashlight, not wishing to activate the animatronic’s sensors. Mark looked back up towards where the camera was, with its lens subtly reflecting the light. No matter where Mark was in the building, he felt as if he were being watched by something.

He slowly climbed up the cabinet. As he set the flashlight aside, it made a subtle noise of metal against it. While he went to check the camera, Mark was startled by some noise, making him turn around and accidentally hit the flashlight. The flashlight swerved, now aiming at the animatronic. Mark was focused on whatever fell, which was the cup of pencils and pens. His gaze darted towards the whirling of gears; In which the animatronic was starting up because of the light. He quickly grabbed the flashlight, and switched it off. 

The eyes of the animatronic were slightly glowing in the dark room. Mark felt as if he were being as still as possible. Though despite his efforts to remain hidden.. the dead eyes of the mechanical body stared dead into him. Mark’s breath hitched, as the voice hummed out of the still mouth. “Hello?”

…

Mark didn’t respond.

The animatronic slowly stood to its feet. It seemed to struggle in balancing itself. Its joints seemed rusted by the sudden movements and the slight squeaks. Mark’s breath was shaky, he felt a heavy amount of dread. The animatronic slowly walked toward Mark. The movements were stiff, and a rotting smell came off of the animatronic. Mark backed up as far as he could on the cabinet. The Mayor’s eyes darted around the body of flesh. 

“It’s after hours. Why are you here?” Its head tilted to the side in a sudden jolt. A subtle squeak was heard, the eyes flickered. It seemed to glow a bit brighter. Mark shuddered, trying to think of what to do. While the robot was met with silence, Mark slowly went to grab his flashlight. But the animatronic grabbed it firmly, seeming to quickly become angry.. somewhat. “Don’t even think about it.” it said with a cold-ish tone. Mark immediately froze. The room was filled with a foul, rotting stench, the chest cavity of the robot was open just a small amount. Mark’s gaze slowly went towards it, his eyes adjusted to the dark only a little.

“You’re the night guard.. aren’t you?” the animatronic continued. Mark immediately looked back up, staring at it before slowly nodding. The Mayor seemed to calm down, seeing the fear inside of Mark’s eyes. It released the flashlight, and then noticed its chest cavity was hanging open only a bit. So The Mayor shut it, and made sure it wouldn’t open again. The eyes were cold and glass-like, as its head tilted back up towards Mark. The foul stench slowly disappeared from the air, only lingering a little among the small room.

“My name is Damien the Mayor. You may call me Damien.” The animatronic had leaned back, taking a small step back as well. He did a small bow, a small squeak had been heard of metal scraped against metal. “Your name is not in my database.” it said as it looked up. There was a small head tilt, slowly rising once more and staring down at Mark. “Would you like to give me your name?” he questioned calmly, his voice buzzed out of his forever still, wide open mouth. Inside of that mouth would just ever so slightly show the robotic insides, but the darkness hid it. 

“…Mark. It’s- It’s Mark.” He slightly hesitated. The Mayor blinked, staring silently for a couple of moments. “Mark.” It repeated. “..Mark.” It seemed to be thinking of something. If it can think, that is. “You are already in the database, Marc Iplier.” It responded with a blank robotic tone.

“W-What? No- I’m Mark Fischbach..” He responded with a confused tone. His eyebrows had furrowed and Mark shook his head. It's easy to assume that ‘Marc Iplier’ is the owner of the pizzeria. The animatronic tilted its head to the other side, examining Mark for a little longer. “Hello Mark Fischbach.” It continued to say blankly. The animatronic turned to face the light switch. It took a step forward, and then flicked the lightswitch. 

The light began to flicker. The lightbulb slowly came to life. It swayed side to side, the slight yellow, fluorescent light filled up the room. Mark felt a bit safer being able to see his surroundings in the room. The animatronic was… tall. A lot taller than Mark thought it was. Mark could see the black suit and such on the animatronic, it gave off a sense of fake friendliness. It was almost like a sense of uncanniness, it resembled close to a human except for the obvious robotic and metal looks. “Why are you in my office, Mark?” Damien asked curiously, as its head turned towards him.

Mark remained silent. In a moment of panic, he shoved the animatronic with his entire strength. What sounded like a robotic yell filled the air, as metal hit the ground. He sprinted out of the room, and slammed the door behind himself. He dashed out of the room, and then bursted through the Children’s Playroom, running right into another animatronic. Mark couldn’t see, he didn’t care. In fact, he purposely shoved whatever it was away, and then continued to run. He heard the noises of footsteps following right behind him, his hip hit against one of the tables. Mark winced but kept running, his breathing was quick and short.

He held his hand out, suddenly finding a door handle, in which he grabbed it with haste. Mark fumbled, and panicked even more. Until the door opened, and then he flew inside and slammed the door shut. A few noises were heard, of a fist pounding against the door. But it slowly ceased, and went quiet. A quiet noise of water droplets falling into a puddle filled the tense atmosphere. Mark had never been in this room before. It seemed to be a hallway, wide and not too long. It was hard to see, though his eyes adjusted to the dark. The lights were extremely dim, almost as if they were to give out at any moment. As if the lightbulbs were barely clinging onto life.

He hesitantly stood up. His back rubbed against the cold door and caused a shiver to run throughout his body. Mark looked around, seeing a door a few steps ahead to his left. Perhaps this was some sort of backroom he never noticed? His eyes looked around once more, before he hesitantly began to walk towards the door. The way this sort of.. backroom area was open and dark, made Mark feel uneasy. It felt colder than the main area, almost cold enough for him to see his own breath. 

He placed his hand onto the door handle, his hand flinched away from how unexpectedly cold it was. He let out a huff, and pulled down his sleeves. His hand grabbed the door handle firmly, as he turned it. Mark paused for a short moment, and then slowly opened the door as it squeaked.

Chapter Text

The door opened and the room came into view. The squeaking noise ceased upon the door becoming still, lifeless. Mark’s eyes attempted to adjust to the light, though the room was too dark for sight. Mark’s left hand was still warm from both sweat and the bandaging.

He lifted up the flashlight, the white light gleamed inside the room. The room wasn’t that big. Many parts of animatronics, or endoskeletons, were sitting around the room. Perhaps this is some sort of parts and service room? He shuddered as a shiver went up his spine. It made Mark’s body go cold. All the work-in-progress animatronics, and many parts scattered about, it looked even more creepy; like body parts scattered across the room.

He took a step in, and the glass bits of a robotic eye crushed under his shoe. Mark flinched and lifted his foot, looked at the eye, but then looked away and now around the room. It looked more like a storage room than anything. Fragile and messy. Such as that doll he stepped on that one time. Mark pushed the shattered eye aside with his foot, and continued inside the room. The eye made a quiet metallic sound as it rolled to the side, stopping when it hit a wall. The room had many boxes stacked on shelves, some open or none even touched.

Mark decided to check out what was more in the other area. Seemed like there was nothing important in the storage room— at least nothing interesting. He slowly stepped out of the small storage room, it felt like the air was more breathable out in the hall than in there. The door shut quietly behind him, with a minor click. It made Mark jump– since he didn't expect the door to shut by itself; yet for some reason he decided to not question it. Mark turned to look back out in the dimly lit, eerie hall of stone and cement. There was still water slowly dripping down, it created small puddles upon the cold cement ground.

He stared off into the distance of the hallway. Mark felt as if the hallway was becoming longer, he was almost.. stunned suddenly. There were whispers, echoing in faint cries.. or perhaps of dead children’s laughter? Mark slowly walked deeper down the hall, there were no cameras in the area. Well, maybe there was. He wasn’t paying attention anymore. The cries grew louder, as he slowly turned the corner. He almost felt as if he needed to go towards whatever he was. Mark’s breath exited as puffs of hot air in the cold atmosphere. There was a faint ringing in his ears, stopped by the occasional but faint droplet of water hitting the ground. The whispers were unintelligible. He could only pick up a few words, but it was all nonsense and madness.

Mark

Shh

Walk

Find

Mark reached the room, and then his hand placed onto the knob. The cold metal on his skin caused him to snap out of whatever trance he was in. All the voices had suddenly ceased, as a feeling of dread filled Mark’s body.

Mark hesitated, he let himself just stand there for a bit. Just.. staring. Maybe this wasn’t the smartest idea?

The moment he was about to turn the knob, he felt a pair of hands grip his shoulders tightly. Mark shrieked and turned so quickly he lost his footing and fell to the ground in the room. He frantically looked at what could’ve done that.

Hide

But there was nothing.

Mark slowly regained his breathing, seeing nothing in the doorway. The room.. smelled horrid. Like some sort of rotting flesh? It was disgusting.

Mark rose to his feet and turned to aim his flashlight into the room. When he did, Mark was met with some odd-looking animatronic.

…

The paint was all scraped off, and it showed the metallic faceplates from under the paint. The eyes were pitch black, seemingly like a soulless husk. Eugh.

An arm was missing, perhaps used as parts, with many wires sticking out from where the arm used to be. The animatronic seemed old, almost seeming ready to break apart any moment. Its face, it had sharp metallic teeth, and cracks on its face like a porcelain doll.

Creepy.

Run

Mark could've sworn he heard someone whisper, which, before Mark could even react–

“Mark?” The light flicked on, Mark’s eyes widened as he turned to the doorway. Nate stood with a puzzled look. “AJ’s been..” his eyes slowly turned to the animatronic behind Mark. “..looking for you.” Nate’s face contorted into a frown. He seemed confused, as if Nate had never seen this room before. Or, something else.

“..What are you doing here? It’s 6:10 A.M?” Nate spoke with a puzzled tone.

“…” So much time has passed already? It only felt like a few minutes.

“Yea.. I just wanted to explore a bit more.” Mark said as he walked out of the room, horribly obvious it’s an excuse. Nate watched as he walked away for a moment or more. Then, Nate turned off the light of the room, checking if there were cameras. He caught his eyes on the camera in the small distance, then closed the door. He wanted to say something to Mark, but cameras were.. mostly everywhere. It was as if he didn’t want someone to know.

“You're not even supposed to go in there, y’know?” Nate spoke with slight concern as he caught up with Mark. For some reason, Mark didn't reply.. lost in thought.

“Mark?” Nate repeated. “What?” Mark replied as they got to the door that goes back to the main area of the pizzeria.

“You aren’t allowed back there, y’know that?” He continued, staring at Mark with concern. He watched the hesitation of opening the door back to the main pizzeria. Nate didn’t bother to comment on it. “Yea,.. yea. I guess curiosity got the best of me.” Mark muttered, somewhat to himself. “You could get fired for that.” Nate added as they spoke to one another next to the stage.

Mark felt uneasy beside the stage. The fact Nate’s back was turned from it too made him more anxious. “Didn’t know that until now.” He spoke blankly as he teared his eyes off of the animatronics. Mark could still feel the cold gazes, as if being stared at by the undead.

“What do you mean, ‘didn’t know?’ It literally says—“

“Just shut up.” Mark scoffed. He rubbed an eye. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep getting to him. Nate listened to him, at least.

AJ was setting up the tables for the day. He perked his head up at the sound of their voices.

”Oh hey, there you are Mark! I was worried about you-“ He started to speak. Though Mark simply mumbled a greeting, and left.  Nate stayed quiet for a few moments, placing a hand onto AJ’s shoulder.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Nate questioned calmly. Though his expression spoke otherwise, with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. AJ’s eyes met Nate’s, and they stood silent for a short moment.

“Yea..” AJ looked back at the doors, staring as Mark left the pizzeria, and got into his car, driving away.

Sleep

Chapter Text

The broken animatronic sits silently in the dark room. The cries of the unknown forever echo within its confined space.

The hand twitched. Though empty, that emptiness is full of rage.

…

…

Wake me up.  Am I dreaming?

No.

Can you hear me?

It’s lonely and cold.

I’m so cold.

We want to go home now.

…

I know you know who we are. Let us out, Marc.

We want to go home.