He walked out of the mess and started crawling through the vent, reaching the Primary Control Module.
He knew where his dad kept some remnant—somewhere in a secret room at the other end of the office.
Just as he was about to make his way towards Funtime Foxy's Auditorium, the screens in the Primary Control Module turned on, displaying the face of what was supposed to be an animatronic. Lolbit—something that was supposed to be standing beside Funtime Foxy. However, William didn't get the chance to build a physical body, so now it was just a program.
"Well, well, well," the voice crackled through the speakers, playful and distorted. "Look who crawled out of the scrap heap. Aren't you that technician from years ago? Eggs Benedict, right? I could've sworn you died."
"I suppose, but I got better," Mike said.
"Hah ha ha! You're pretty calm about the whole dying thing. Got used to it already?"
"It's been about 10 years, so yes, I guess I did," Mike said.
"I am curious... why would someone like you, after experiencing death, want to come back here after all these years?"
"I'm here for something important," Mike said. "But it looks like I can't go back up the way I came."
"Oh, that is unfortunate." Her voice had a teasing edge. "Tell you what—help me, Bonnet, and Yenndo get out of this place, and maybe we can mutually benefit from each other."
"Why would I release dangerous animatronics?" Mike asked.
"Dangerous? Us?" Lolbit's laugh echoed through the speakers. "We aren't entirely interested in going around killing people. Yenndo wasn't given much programming to go by, and Bonnet's just a hand puppet."
"So is Bon-Bon," Mike said.
"Fair point," Lolbit admitted. "But we've been stuck down here together since the place shut down. We just want to get out."
Mike frowned. "If you're in the system, why haven't you opened the elevator to let those two out?"
"Because half the building doesn't have power, including the elevator," Lolbit said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "And the moment it finally becomes usable, you crash it. Brilliant work, really."
"Not exactly my fault it was unstable," Mike said.
"Sure, sure." Lolbit's tone turned sly. "So... what's it going to be? Are you going to help us?"
Mike was silent for a moment.
Trapped underground. Elevator destroyed. An AI offering help in exchange for freedom.
Could be a trap. Could be telling the truth.
Either way, it didn't really matter as long as they weren't dangerous. And if having an A.I. and two animatronics that would be useful to him, it would be great.
"I'm only going to help as long as you guys don't harm anyone," Mike said.
"Perfect! There's a USB drive in the office. Plug it into the monitor—there should be a USB port on the side. I'll transfer myself onto it, and then you can just carry me out in your pocket."
"And Yenndo and Bonnet?"
"They'll be there waiting for you," Lolbit said.
Using the maintenance vent, Mike went through Funtime Foxy's Auditorium.
The office door was near the stage. Mike approached it slowly.
He pushed the door open.
An endoskeleton stood in the corner of the office—tall, skeletal, completely stripped of any outer shell. Silver metal frame. No costume. No plastic covering. Just the bare endoskeleton.
Yellow eyes stared directly at him. Unblinking.
Yenndo.
The endoskeleton didn't move. Didn't speak. Just... watched.
In one hand, it held a small pink hand puppet, blue eyes, red cheeks and a small bow.
"Hi! Hello!" Bonnet's voice burst out, bright and cheerful—disturbingly so given the circumstances. She waved enthusiastically from Yenndo's hand, her smile wide and fixed. "You're the one who's getting us out, right? Right??"
"Yeah. That's the plan."
"Oh good! I was starting to think we'd be stuck down here forever!"
Mike scanned the office.
Desk cluttered with old paperwork. Monitors glowing faintly with static. A terminal on the desk, still powered on—making it seem like someone was here recently, using it.
And there—on the corner of the desk—a small USB drive.
He picked it up, turning it over in his hand. This was it. Lolbit's way out.
Mike walked over to one of the monitors and found the USB port on the side. He plugged the drive in.
The screen flickered. Lolbit's face appeared, glitching slightly.
"There we go," she said, her voice coming through the monitor's speakers now. "Give me a second to transfer myself into the USB."
The screen filled with lines of code, scrolling rapidly.
Then it went dark.
Mike pulled the USB drive from the port and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
There was silence. Lolbit couldn't speak anymore considering she wasn't in the facility's system anymore.
Bonnet giggled. "This is so exciting! We're finally leaving! Aren't you excited, Yenndo?"
"I guess so," he said quietly. His voice was low, deliberate.
"Alright," he said. "Let's find that remnant first before looking for a way out."
The three of them made their way to the other side of the office. Mike approached the back wall, running his hand along the surface until he found the fake wall.
"There," Mike said. "Help me with this."
Yenndo stepped forward without a word. Together, they pushed the panel aside. It slid open with a low grinding sound, revealing a hallway behind it.
"Whoa!" Bonnet said, eyes wide. "We never knew about this place! It looks cool!"
"Calling this place cool would be a stretch when you realize what it was used for," Mike said quietly.
"What was it used for?" Bonnet asked.
"Bad things," Mike said.
The hallway opened into what looked like the inside of a house—or at least, a mockup of one. There was only a single path heading forward with two separate paths at the right side both leading to a bedroom.
In front of the bed sat a closed box.
Mike knelt down and examined it. No key. Just a simple latch.
He opened it.
Inside was a device—a syringe-like injector designed to inject remnant. Beside it were ten small vials, each filled with a faintly glowing silver liquid.
Yenndo leaned closer, examining the vials. "...What is it?"
"Remnant," Mike said.
Mike zipped the bag closed and stood up. "Alright. Now let's get out of—"
Smoke began seeping into the room from under the door.
Mike froze.
"Uh... is that normal?" Bonnet asked nervously.
"No," Mike said, eyes narrowing. "That's not normal."
Yenndo's head snapped toward the door. "Is there a fire?"
"No, this is something else."
The smoke thickened rapidly, filling the room.
The lights flickered.
Then everything went dark.