Defective Souls - Niki's Struggle

Chapter Two

✰Not Again!✰

"And then I go over to find Gregory asleep at the Daycare security desk with Moon singing some kid's lullaby to him. He was really confused why the lights went on so quickly."

Niki laughed at Vanessa's story, bumping Gregory playfully in the side.
"The toddlers are tiring to manage," Gregory defended himself. "And I really had no idea Moon was even there. He must've come over after I was already out."

The group chuckled at the thought. Niki finished the last of her desert, which was cake, courtesy of the robot chefs and Freddy. She hid a small yawn, her eyes feeling heavy. She glanced at her watch and saw it was nearly 11:30. Dinner and talking with the staff had taken quite some time, apparently.
"I think I'm gonna hit the hay," Niki announced. "I'll see you all in the morning."

The group waved, calling good-night to her as she got up from the table. They'd used one of the party tables in the atrium, since there were so many with the few day staff who joined.
Niki made her way to Kids' Cove, the metal door to which was now closed. It opened when Niki got close enough, and she saw Foxy, leaned against the far wall with his uncovered eye closed. Niki wondered if he was asleep, but his eyes opened when the door slid shut again, ears perked to the noise.

"There ye are, lassie. I thought ye'd be stayin' up all night." Foxy greeted her, and Niki smirked.
"That would be fun, but I'm way too tired for that." The fox stood up, and as he did, he swayed in place for a moment, eyes unfocused before he shook his head and steadied himself. Niki raised a brow, concerned.
"Are you alright?" She asked, walking up to him.
Foxy nodded. "Aye. I think so. I've been gettin' dizzy tonight. Could be some malfunction."

Niki blinked. "Maybe you should rest until morning and get the technicians in Parts and Service to check it out. Just in case it's something bad."
Foxy was looking down, unfocused again, and Niki clapped her hands softly. His ears perked up at the noise and he looked up at her again.
"Ye be right, lassie. Good idea..."

He trailed off, still looking a bit unfocused as he leaned back against the wall.
"Feel better soon." Niki murmured, concern still nagging at her as she went to shut the cove lights and collapse on the nearby couch. It didn't take her long to fall asleep.

꧁-----------------------------------꧂

Her eyes flew open in total darkness, taking a bit of time to adjust enough to see dark figures of the things in the room. Niki wasn't sure what woke her, but she thought she heard a faint, mechanical noise; she couldn't place her finger on what it was. She straightened up on the couch, looking over to the wall where Foxy was.
Her concern for the fox from before came back in full force.

The fox was now half lying on the floor, head down and ears pinned back, and the mechanical noise was coming from him. Niki bounced up, going over to him.
"Foxy?" She whispered, and he looked up at her. His eyepatch was raised, both yellow eyes unfocused and dazed looking. He almost looked to be trembling or shaking, and Niki felt a pang of fear. If this was a malfunction, it was a real bad one.

But then Foxy said something, so quietly that Niki almost didn't catch it.
"Niki... R..."

Niki gave a slight nod. "What is it, Foxy? What's wrong?"
The fox gave her an almost fearful expression.
"Run."
With a sudden jolt, he lurched forward, head down, startling Niki as she jumped back shuffling as she watched him in confusion and fear. But slowly, the shaking stopped.

And then without warning, he lunged forward with a hiss, hook raising and nearly slicing down on Niki, before she managed to half roll, half scramble away. And that's when she realized: Foxy's normally bright yellow eyes were now a deep shade of purple, and they were locked on Niki with an evil glint.
No!

Niki scrambled to her feet, running for the utility tunnel doors, the same ones she remembered using all those years ago to enter and leave the cove when it was closed. She slipped through them, just managing to slam the door shut before Foxy could get to her. She heard the impact on the other side, and then a growl of annoyance.
She knew she couldn't keep the door shut, so she just ran for it. She made for the first door up to the atrium, hearing Foxy push the door to the cove open as she darted out into the dark atrium.

She ran for the metal door on the other side that lead to Rockstar Row, dashing through the hall and into Rockstar Row. Almost immediately, she felt two hands yank her down behind one of the displays, and a familiar voice whispering "Shush!"
She recognized the brown-haired 19 year old.
"Gregory? What are you doing?"
Gregory motioned for her to stay low. "You might not believe it, but I think that hacker is back. From when we were kids? Freddy suddenly started acting really weird and left, just in case. I just saw him now and his eyes were all purple, like the others' were that night they got hacked."

Niki gawked at him. "Foxy's been hacked too," she whispered. "That's why I was running. I guess the others won't be much help, either?"
Gregory shook his head. "Nope. They left their rooms with the same purple eyes. I was going to come get you. Vanessa's on duty, we need to find her and tell her what's happened."

Niki gave a nod. It sounded like as good a plan as any, to her. So the two began to navigate the dark Plex, trying to figure out where Vanessa would be. They made their way back to the atrium, and somehow found their way to the elevators, going down to the lobby.
When they reached the lobby floor, they were greeted by something shocking.

Moon was perched on the railing of the stairs, and he looked back as the elevator doors opened, red eyes glowing; Niki could swear she saw a purple hue around them.
Gregory gripped Niki' wrist, pulling her as Moon gave a sinister laugh.
"Goodnight..." He whispered in an evil tone.

"We've gotta get the lights on, come on!" Gregory said, dragging Niki behind him as he ran down the stairs two at a time. She followed quickly as he made for the utility tunnel doors, pushing them open and darting through the hall until they reached the security office. Gregory let go of Niki as he looked at the monitors of the office. He pressed a few buttons, and Niki squinted as light suddenly returned to the office and halls outside.

"There," Gregory said. "As long as whoever's hacking the others hasn't gotten to Sun as well this time, we should be safe. From him at least."
Niki nodded nervously.
"Now what?" She asked him, and he turned to look at her.
"Now we stay alive. If the hacker works the same way as when I was a kid, we're safe as long as we stay out of sight of the animatronics. Although Freddy can't help us now... We're on our own."

That was when footsteps outside the left door, coming up the stairs, made them look over. Quickly, Gregory pushed the button next to the door. It closed shut, a moment before Monty appeared at the top of the stairs. His usually red eyes were now purple like the others, and Niki watched out the window as he banged on the door.

"That power's not gonna last very long," Gregory commented, glancing at the door's power level beside it. It was already a good quarter of the way down. "Let's go. We'll be better off somewhere else."
Gregory lead the way back out of the office and to the main lobby, then up the stairs. Sun was no where to be found now; Niki guessed he'd retreated to the Daycare after the lights turned on.

The two got in the elevator, arriving back in the atrium. Now there was light illuminating it brightly, as they stepped out. Niki was about to ask whether there was a place they could hide, when another voice came from their right.
"There you are, Superstar."

And there, purple eyes and all, and paws balled in fists, stood Freddy.