Chapter Text
"Fuck."
You'd almost had her. You felt like you'd been running for hours, following glimpses of white and red in your peripheral, and footsteps so light you could barely even hear them. If this were any other situation, you'd concede that you were probably just seeing things as a result of the isolation of your job, but you'd finally spotted her in full view, and now you knew you weren't imagining things.
You'd been seeing and hearing suspicious things from day one on the job when your coworker Vanessa had shown you the bare minimum of things and then seemingly vanished completely. You hadn't expected the Pizzaplex to be eerie at night, and yet you found yourself on edge as you walked through the vast yet empty atriums. The S.T.A.F.F bots were there, sure, but they were hardly company, and they didn't react even if you waved your hands in front of their flashlights. That was why, when you saw a flash of white out of the corner of your eye, you spun to face it, your breath in your throat.
But there was nothing there.
It had been easy to brush the first sighting off. It was just first day nerves, your anxieties twisting the shapes at the edge of your vision the same way the shadows at night contorted your bedroom into an unrecognizable nightmare when you were paranoid. But the second, the third, the fourth, and all the ones that came after that? Much harder. You remembered telling Vanessa in passing that you thought you'd seen something on the first day, and she'd brushed it off with a dismissive comment about how you were probably just not used to how empty it was. You'd been inclined to agree then, but as you kept seeing and hearing things and she didn't budge, you started to feel like she just didn't believe you.
"I told you, it's like there's another mascot in there."
"Right." The condescension in her voice was almost palpable.
"I'm not joking. Maybe I was just seeing things before, but I promise I'm not now. They're white, like fully white - yes, I'm sure it's not Chica - and they look like a rabbit of some kind? At least I think, they always vanish as soon as I get close."
After what had to be the tenth time you'd had this conversation, Vanessa gave a long sigh and turned to you from the CCTV she was monitoring.
"Y/N, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but have you considered talking to someone?"
You'd just huffed and left, giving up on trying to convince her. Unless she saw the thing herself, she was going to stay convinced that you were making it up.
So instead, you decided to start investigating on your own. You came in early, even before Vanessa, and scoured the CCTV footage. Nothing. You listened in on day worker's conversations - no mention of a white rabbit. In the end, you settled on an idea that sounded almost as stupid as it felt.
They always seemed to show up in the corner of your eye, right? And then vanish when you turned in an attempt to catch them. This time, you were going to pretend you didn't see them, in hopes of luring them out. You weren't certain it would work at all, but it was the only thing left.
It worked better than you ever expected.
You'd been patrolling Rockstar Row, checking that Chica was in fact in her room just to prove to yourself you weren't mistaking her for another mascot. As you crossed over to the small museum of old parts and the golden statues that were dotted around the place, there was movement in the very edges of your vision.
You stiffened, before forcing yourself to not react. You kept your eyes focused on the parts ahead of you, holding the pose for a long, silent few seconds.
And then you heard shuffling, the light movement of footsteps that were purposely being quieted. You could barely hear them over the sound of your heart beating in your throat. Just a few more seconds...
Your head snapped up, zeroing in on the source of the noise. A feminine figure in a white costume, red eyes staring back at you like a deer caught in headlights. Within a second, she'd turned on her heel and vanished, with you quickly taking chase, yelling “Hey!” (as if that would stop her)
Before now, you’d always felt like she was one step ahead of you, almost toying with you, but now she’d stumbled and you were finally on even ground. That was until you turned a corner next to Fazerblast and she was just… gone. The space all around was open, so there was no way she’d gotten away unless she was hiding in one of the photo booths dotted around the level. Keeping an eye (and an ear) out, you checked each one, but the trail had gone completely cold. The only way she could have possibly disappeared this quickly was...
Fazerblast. There was a staff-only entrance nearby that she could have used (because you didn't doubt she'd managed to acquire a security badge with the way she could evade you) that you'd completely forgotten about. Throwing the door open, you stepped through into the deserted game.
Unfortunately, there were so many places for her to hide - the place was designed to be a maze, after all, and it was likely that she was just leading you in there to make her escape elsewhere, but this was the only lead you had.
You were on edge again, waiting for the slightest sound to signal the presence of anyone else as you peeked around corners. Then you had an idea - she could very well be above you! It would be easy for her to hide out and watch you get lost, which you guessed was what she wanted. Feeling quite proud of yourself, you made your way towards another, better-hidden staff door - the one that let you bypass the game's programming and enter a set of stairs to the winner's room and the network of raised catwalks.
You were sure only human staff knew about this. Oh, and maybe her too.
Taking the steps two at a time, but trying to stay light on your feet, you ascended. You must have figured this out quicker than her because as you scaled the stairs, you heard shifting, and then a second pair of steps. She was in the stairwell with you.
You were so close.
You felt adrenaline flood your veins, dulling the fatigue that had been building, the end of the hunt so near.
And then, you got to the top of the stairs and you saw her on the catwalk. She was moving quickly and precisely like she'd lived her whole life in the heights (because you were a good distance from the ground, and if you weren't so pumped up on adrenaline you'd surely feel vertigo).
She turned back and for the second time that night, locked eyes with you. And then back to where she was heading. You both noticed at the same time. She'd somehow, unknowingly, backed herself into a dead end.
This was perfect.
Chest heaving with exertion, you stepped forward onto the catwalk and towards her.
"I knew I wasn't imagining things," you said, a disbelieving laugh bubbling in your throat as the situation began to fully sink in. She tilted her head, the movement uncanny with the big, unmoving grin of her mask. She took a step back.
"You're smarter than I thought." The voice that came out of her was light, edged slightly with a robotic echo as if she was using a voice changer, and also the slight desperation that proved she wasn't as nonchalant as she was trying to present herself; the shift in pitch and inflection at the end of her sentence making it sound more like a question than otherwise.
You stepped forward again.
She stepped back.
Her back hit the wall, and you still had room to advance.
"Who are you? How long have you been here? Why do you keep watching me?" Each question punctuated by a step, you were too caught up in the elation of having finally caught her to notice her change in stance.
As soon as you were close enough, she pushed forward and grabbed you, catching you entirely off-guard. She was a lot stronger than she'd seemed, what with her soft footsteps and agility, and she flipped your places on the narrow walkway. You only truly noticed what happened when your own back was against the same wall you'd seen her hit, your shirt bunched in her gloved hands to keep you there.
Looking to your side, you saw the drop - easily 15 meters, and you gulped. Your attacker let out a quiet, slightly manic giggle, and you come to a scary realization. You are completely at the mercy of this stranger. One shove and you were gone. She had the upper hand again.
(Thinking about it later, she probably never didn't have the upper hand. You wouldn't be surprised if she was just doing this to toy with you.)
You reached out a hand to grab the railing, but she didn't interpret it that way and let go of your shirt just to catch your wrists and pin them against the wall on either side of your head. The change in position caused her to encroach on your personal space, even more, a costumed leg between yours, and maybe you were just losing it, but there was a shift in energy that shocked you as all you could suddenly think about was how close you were, and how in any other context this would be extremely compromising. You couldn't see her face due to the mask, and you hoped it also obscured her own sight enough that between that and the dark, she didn't notice the way your cheeks were beginning to redden.
Now is not the time, you thought to yourself, but it was hard to focus.
"You-" the broken silence shocked you almost as much as her, and you were the one causing it, "You didn't answer me. Who are you?"
There was a beat, in which you could almost see her pondering despite not being able to tell her expression. After a while, she answered.
"Vanny." Her grip on your wrists loosened, and as much as you felt slightly disappointed at the loss, you had an idea. If you could keep her talking, maybe you could get her to let go enough to get away, or even overpower her.
"How long have you been here?" you repeated your question from earlier, although this one she deigned to not respond to clearly, instead interrupting you with a patronizing "Longer than you, clearly. It took you so long to find me." You would never mentally live down the fact that you found the tone attractive.
"Oh, so you wanted me to find you?" You hoped your voice sounded more confident than you felt.
"Duh, it's no fun otherwise." Vanny sounded almost petulant, but her guard was lowering. Good.
Your back-and-forth continued a bit longer, with you trying desperately to ignore the way the situation and she affected you until you finally built up enough confidence, and her hands were closed around your wrists rather than holding them in a vice-like grip. Taking a breath, wrenched your hands from hers and shoved, sending her staggering back with a winded gasp and a curse that, if you weren't mistaken, glitched her voice. Taking the brief opportunity before she recovered, you pushed past her and started running. As you did, though, you heard the strained, distorted voice of Vanny echo behind you.
"Shit, you're lucky you're pretty or I'd kill you for that."
You almost stumbled but kept your momentum going until you were safely on the ground and she didn't seem to be following you. Only then did you let the importance of the words sink in.
She thinks I'm pretty?