The elevator descended down once again, shaking as violently and ominously as ever. As uncomfortable as it was, at least this was the worst part of the job.

When I arrived, Tyler welcomed me, made sure I didn't have any loose or dangling items that could get caught in something, handed me the HandUnit, and let me back into the elevator. Good thing my hair was shoulder-length and not too long to be an issue. It used to be longer, though, but a few months ago, Jane convinced me to try short hair, saying it would look cute on me. All it did, though, was make me look like a teenage boy. My flat chest didn't help, either.

"Welcome back for another night of intellectual stimulation, pivotal career choices, and self-reflection on past mistakes. We're committed to creating a unique and fulfilling work experience. One part of that commitment is ensuring that you don't get tired of the voice that you're hearing right now."

Too late.

Suddenly, the keypad behind me opened up again, revealing the glitchy keyboard. I stand corrected; THIS was the worst part of the job.

"Using the keypad, please select a new companion voice. For 'Male', press 1. For 'Female', press 2. For 'Text Only', press 3. For more options, press 4."

Well, maybe I could pick one if you had numbers on this keypad! I groaned and looked at the keyboard. I think a female voice would be more reassuring to me, so I decided to try typing the letter Z, since that kinda looked like a 2.

"It would seem that you had some trouble with the keypad." The AI told me in the default voice. "I see what you were trying to type, and I will autocorrect it for you. Thank you for choosing...Angsty Teen."

Great; as if this couldn't get more annoying. The rumbling then stopped and the elevator went dark. Suddenly, a new voice played from my pocket.

"The elevator stopped," the voice of a depressed and angsty teenage boy told me. "You know the routine. Get out now or...whatever. Stay here if you want."

And here I thought I had to wait a few years before I had a teenager to get snappy with me. Since I didn't want to be stuck here all night, I pressed the red button, exited the elevator, and crawled through the vent shaft.

"So, funny story? A dead body was found in this vent once."

I stopped crawling and paused with fear.

"Okay, so...not that funny, but...it's a story."

That was less of a story and more of a factual statement, but I can see where the confusion came from. I crawled the rest of the way into the vent and found myself back in the main control room.

"Okay, let's start with your nightly chores...you should check on Ballora and make sure she's on her stage, but...whatever."

I proceeded to the blue button on the left and pressed it, illuminating the Ballora Gallery. The problem, though, was that not only was she not on stage, but her shadow illuminated onto the window, implying she was pretty close to me...

"Huh. I guess Ballora has better things to do....let's zap her! That should be fun!"

Only an angsty teen would sound excited at the thought of torture, I swear.

I then pressed the red button, administering the 'controlled shock'. A second later, though, I heard a weird, unexplainable sound. It kinda sounded like some sort of deep, distorted laughing. That wouldn't be coming from Ballora, would it? I don't think it's supposed to if it is.

"Let's check on Funtime Foxy, make sure he's ready for showtime tomorrow."

Wait; I haven't even checked to see if Ballora is back on her...ah, screw it. I went to the right side and pressed the blue button there. I was greeted to a similar sight: no animatronic on stage, but there was a shadow casted on the window. When the light turned off, though, I heard another strange noise.

This time, it was still deep and distorted, but it sounded like someone was saying "Great" over and over...or was it saying "Grape"? Either way, it was disturbing as hell.

"There seems to have been a problem with the voice synthesizer; default settings have been restored," the familiar adult male voice told me. "Please proceed through the vent ahead of you to Circus Baby's Auditorium."

Darn; I was kinda getting used to the depressed teen. Anyway, I crawled down into the vent ahead of me and made my way to the control room in Circus Baby's place. It would seem that all I have to do now is check on Baby and I'm out of here for the night!

"Circus Baby had a busy day today!" HandUnit told me as I made it into the control room. "Let's check the light and make sure she's in proper working order."

I walked to the blue button and I saw the same faint light behind the window as I did yesterday.

"Oh, Circus Baby," the AI told the robot that was supposedly there in a childlike manner, "we aren't here to play hide and seek!" He then started talking to me again. "Let's encourage Baby to come out of hiding with a controlled shock."

Well, if HandUnit says she's there, I'll believe him. I then pressed the red button, only to be greeted by a quick zapping noise that sounded as if something wasn't connected properly.

"Let's try another controlled shock."

I don't think the first one worked, buddy, but sure. I pressed the red button again and the same noise played. Something didn't sound right.

"There seems to be a power malfunction that is affecting our ability to properly motivate Baby. Please stand by while I reboot the system."

Oh, that figures. Something went wrong when things were going too perfectly. Well, he better be quick about it!

 "I will be offline momentarily during this process. Various other systems may be offline, as well, such as security doors, vent locks, and oxygen."

Wait, WHAT THE HELL DID HE JUST SAY??

"Commencing system restart."

Instantly, all the lights shut off, leaving me in complete darkness. God, I hope he's quick if he's serious about the oxygen thing! I pulled out my phone and turned on the flash, creating my only source of light. I looked around the place. It was even creepier than before. I tried seeing if I could see past the window, but all I could see was the reflection of the light.

"Motion trigger: entryway vent," a female automated voice from overhead called out.

Motion trigger?? Was someone crawling through the vents??

"Funtime Auditorium maintenance vent open."

That doesn't sound good...!

"Ballora Gallery maintenance vent open."

Oh, no...am I safe in here?? I mean, even if by some miracle the robots themselves get in here, they won't hurt me, will they?

To be safe, I turned off my phone flashlight, leaving me once again in the dark. I held my breath, if for no other reason than to preserve oxygen, and waited. C'mon, HandUnit! Hurry up!

"I don't recognize you; you are new," a new female voice commented from overhead.

I let out my breath in shock. That voice...I know that voice...

"I remember this...scenario...however. It's a strange thing to want to do, to come here. I'm curious what events would lead a person to want to spend their nights in a place like this...willingly. Maybe curiosity? Maybe ignorance?"

This voice was loud yet soft, as if someone was whispering into a microphone. Call me crazy, but it sounded like Circus Baby! But, there's no way she could be programmed to say these things, could she?

"There is a space under the desk. Someone before you crafted it into a hiding place, and it worked for him."

'Someone before me'? Well, what happened to him? Did he quit, or...?

"I recommend that you hurry, though. You will be safe there. Just try not to make eye contact."

Eye contact? With what??

"It will be over soon; they will lose interest."

Who is 'they'?? What will be over soon??

As much as I wanted to know what the hell was going on, I had a feeling I won't like the answer.

Suddenly, I heard thumping in the vent behind me! Without hesitation, I let out a quiet gasp and turned my light on again. I aimed it towards the desk and found a small space under it, just big enough for a person to fit under. I quickly crawled down into it, realizing it was a bit tighter than it looked, but I was still somewhat comfortable.

I looked to my left and saw what looked like a handle. I yanked on it and realized it part of a makeshift sliding door-type-thing. I pulled the handle to the right and closed the door, leaving me enclosed in the tight space. By the time the door was closed, I heard the thumping in the vent stop. 

I held my breath again, trying to ignore the sweat slowly dripping down my forehead. The door that was preventing me from being seen was full of small holes that were just big enough to peek out of. Curious, I slowly leaned toward one of the holes and saw only darkness.

"Someone is inside," I heard a faint whisper say in the darkness.

My heart started pounding even faster than it already was. Who is out there? It sounded like some sort of child!

"Is it the same person?"

That's when a big blue eye popped up in front of me on the other side of the door! I gasped as I pulled my head back, cowering in the cramped room. What the fuck is that thing?? It looked human, but it was too...metallic and artificial. Was it an animatronic??

Suddenly, I heard a loud clanking sound, as if someone took a metal pole and started tapping the door! It went on for a few seconds before stopping. Then, silence.

"Hello in there," the voice whispered in a sing-song tone.

That's when the door in front of me slowly started to slide to the left! I quickly grabbed the handle and tried to slide it towards the right, but it was barely budging. Whatever is trying to open the door, it's stronger than it looks!

Finally, the door slid back closed with ease, as if whatever was yanking it open just let go of the outside handle. I started breathing heavily, my hands getting slippery from the sweat. God, was I sweaty from the heat in the cramped space or the fear of whatever is trying to get in?

Silence, save for my breathing. I didn't hear anything from outside. I was tempted to look outside through the peepholes, but the Baby's voice's advice of avoiding eye contact slipped back into my mind.

"We always find a way inside."

The door then started to open again. Fortunately, my hand was still on the handle, so I had the advantage of tightening my grip and pulling the door. This time, though, it's as if whatever was the other side got some strength, because it seemed to be pulling harder than before! I used both hands to try and keep the door shut, but it was slowly inching its way towards the left...

That's when my sweaty hands slipped off the handle, causing the door to quickly open up a little bit more! I grabbed it with both hands again and used all the strength I had to try and pull it shut. Jesus, how persistent was this little shit??

After what seemed like forever, the door then shut with ease. Looks like it lost interest, just as Baby said... How did Baby, or whoever it was, know this would happen? Did it happen before? Maybe to the man before me...? No, it couldn't have; she said it worked for him.

"She's watching us! We have to leave now."

Silence again. Were they gone?

That's when a purple eye appeared in the peephole.

"We'll see you again soon."

And just like that, it was gone. I then heard footsteps walking away, then into the vent, and then disappear altogether. My breathing then started getting quieter and my heartbeat started returning to normal. Just what the hell is going on here??

"When your guide comes back online, he is going to tell you that he was unsuccessful and you must restart the system manually," Baby suddenly told me from overhead. "He will then tell you to crawl through Ballora Gallery as fast as you can to reach the Breaker Room. If you follow his instructions, you will die."

Okay, now I'm really confused; how does Baby know all this? How is Baby even telling me this in the first place? There's no way she can say something she wasn't programmed to say! What is going on in this place??

"Ballora will not return to her stage anymore. She will get you."

This can't be happening...there's no way these robots can have any sort of sentience or thought. They're robots!!

"The power will be restored shortly. When you crawl through Ballora Gallery, go slowly. She cannot see you and can only listen for your movement. When you hear her music become louder, she is growing near, listening for you."

This is madness...

"Wait and be still."

She then seemed to cut out as a familiar voice came from my pocket.

"Thank you for your patience. It seems that the power system cannot be restarted automatically. You will need to restart the system manually."

Just like Baby said...

"Please return to the primary control module."

Well, I haven't heard any noise, so I assume it's safe to leave. I slowly opened the door in front of the hiding hole and exited the cramped space. After taking a second to stretch my arms and legs, I crawled through the vent and back towards the control module.

Looks like my quick and simple night isn't as simple as I thought it was going to be.