Help Because Of Guilt - First Encounter

Vent repair

Nervously, Luca jumped from one leg to the other. It was 11:23 p.m., so over half an hour before his shift would start normally. However, the cleaning crew was his only chance to get inside safely. He just needed to find an excuse if they would ask. Quietly, he opened the door and took a quick glance at the stage. The animatronics were staring at the wall on the other side of the room, their eyes empty and dark. Luca felt chills running down his spine but after he noticed one of the cleaners walking towards him, he quickly shook his head and put on a warm smile. "Ah, the early bird!", the cleaner said, grinning widely. The man patted his shoulder and threw the gloves he already took off into the trash behind the other male. After that, he pulled out the plastic bag, made a knot in the ends and took it with him to his small cleaning cart. Luca yawned, then he went in direction of the office. After arriving, he noticed a note on the desk. Curiously, he picked it up and read it.

𝒩𝑜𝓉𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝑔𝓊𝒶𝓇𝒹: 𝒱𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓀 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓀𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝑜𝒹𝒶𝓎. 𝐼𝓃𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝓉, 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝓈, 𝓉𝑜𝑜.

"You didn't close the door again", a voice from his left said and he turned around. Mimi entered the room and closed the door and vent. "I didn't feel the need to", he answered. The female tilted her head. "You didn't feel the need to survive? The cleaners are already gone", she told him, grabbing the note he was still holding. The animatronic went to the desk and searched the drawers. She suddenly stopped and got three things: a small bottle of what seemed to be machine oil, a screwdriver, and a headset. "Why were these things in there?", Luca asked surprised when Mimi handed him the headphones. She shrugged her shoulders to demonstrate how she didn't know, then she rolled the chair to the vent. "If I remember correctly, there is a chip that allows us to communicate over headset. It used to be used for performance or something. Since that headset is colored blue and purple, I assume it's the one connected to my animatronic", she explained, climbing onto the chair. Looking at the monitor and then at Luca, she put on a questioning face. "Do you have something like a plan for the vents and fans on the computer?", she asked, and he clicked through some things on the PC until it showed a plan of the building. "I have one right here", he and a voice in her head said at the same time. The female noticed that he had put on the headset and was relieved it worked how she wanted it to. Quickly, Luca skipped through the cameras to see where the other animatronics were, then he opened the small door and Mimi pushed herself into the opening. "Be careful", Luca's voice told her over the headphone, but as she had the bottle and screwdriver in her mouth, so she was able to crawl through the shaft, she just made a 'Mhm' sound. "Okay, listen, the other fans seem to be alright. The only one with a problem is the one above the kitchen", he said, and the female heard mouse clicking. "So, first off, you need to crawl right, then left and then right again", he explained, and she started to slowly move forward. Even though she tried to be as quiet as possible, she still made noise. Nervously, she took two or three breaks on her way to check if there was someone else in the vent with her. When she finally arrived in the shaft above the kitchen, she sighed. Carefully, she sat down and put the bottle of oil and the screwdriver next to her. "I'm there. I can't see anything wrong. If it's off, I'll try to oil it", the female whispered. Luca nodded, then he realized that she couldn't see him. With a quiet chuckle, he told her the system was off. After she finished, she crawled back. Before Mimi spoke again, she listened carefully, if there was someone near her. "Try now", she said and a few seconds later, the fan started circling again. "It sounds like it works, you should come back now", Luca's voice in her head told her. After grabbing the bottle and screwdriver, she hesitated. There was a quiet bumping noise. Someone was in the vents with her, and they were getting closer. In front of the fan was a way out. Just as she wanted to jump down, her sleeve got stuck on the side of the opening. She tried to pull it out without damaging it, but as soon as she saw Flora at the end of the shaft, she didn't care anymore. The female didn't want to get caught. She fell through the opening and her sleeve got ripped apart. When she stood up, she sneaked out of the kitchen. Relieved, she wanted to run to the office when someone grabbed her arm. "Did you really think we'll let you get back this easily?", Toby asked. "Mimi? What's happening?", Luca asked worried, and she let out a sharp breath as she tried to pull herself away from the other animatronic. "I'm fucking struggling!", she yelled aggressively. Toby grinned and started to pull her towards the parts and service room. "Seems like you found out about some other functions of the animatronics. Now you'll know what'll happen to you after the installation of the control chip", he calmly said. Mimi remembered the screwdriver in her hand. This was the moment she wanted to hit herself in the face. How could she be this stupid?! The female smiled and stopped resisting. Toby turned around, a quite surprised look on his face. Before he was able to say anything, Mimi stabbed him in the left eye with the screwdriver. Out of confusion, he let go of her arm for a second and she ran away. He tried to grab her once more, but since he only managed to hold a piece of fur, it ripped off and she got away. "Open the door!", she said when she was close to the office. The entrance opened and she threw herself inside, the door closing right after. Mimi took a quick glance at the monitors and saw Toby standing in front of the office, then leaving. When she put the bottle and screwdriver back in the drawer, she noticed Luca's concerned look. "What happened to you?", he asked worried and confused. The female shrugged her shoulders. "Minor inconveniences", she said, looking down herself. While her left arm was completely alright, her right arm was showing her endoskeleton, the only thing still covered in fur was her hand and a small part of her lower arm. Luca raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "How am I going to explain this?", he asked. "We'll think of something. Be glad I managed to escape", Mimi answered smilingly. She didn't want to show the fear she still felt, so she tried to laugh it off.

"Oh god, what did you do?!", Flora said when she found Toby in the parts and service room. Some kind of dark liquid, most likely oil, was coming from his left eye, the iris had turned grey. With a piece of cloth, he cleaned it up and went to one of the shelves, grabbing one of the spare animatronic eyes. "She stabbed me", he said in a cold tone. Flora chuckled. Her friend had always been rather aggressive, so she wasn't too surprised. "We can't do anything since they locked the door again. Do you need help?", she asked, and Toby nodded. "Would be nice", he mumbled as he took a screwdriver.