Tales from the Pizzaplex: Tiger Rock

* Version 1
* Version 2

**Tiger Rock** is the seventh installment of the anthology book series: *Tales from the Pizzaplex*. Written by Andrea Waggener and Kelly Parra with Scott Cawthon, it will be published on July 18th, 2023.

## Summary

***Five Nights at Freddy's fans won't want to miss this collection of three chilling stories that will haunt even the bravest player...***

*Have you ever had something stuck in your head...? After a session in the VR Booth at the Mega Pizzaplex, Kai can't shake the feeling that the tiger animatronic somehow has stayed with him. A new attraction at the Mega Pizzaplex leaves Kane's mind full of intrusive thoughts not his own. And Danny's idea to get the attention of his high school crush comes with unimaginable consequences. In the world of Five Nights at Freddy's, truth is often scarier than fiction.*

*In this seventh volume, Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon spins three sinister novella-length tales from uncharted corners of his series' canon.*

*Readers beware: This collection of terrifying tales is enough to rattle even the most hardened Five Nights at Freddy's fans.*

## Plot

### *Tiger Rock*

Kai, Todd and Asher arrive at the Mega Pizzaplex. Being frequent visitors, they were familiar with most of the surroundings. However, they hadn't come over in a few weeks, and in that time, The Storyteller's Tree had been installed. The "Timeless Trio", as they liked to call themselves, went over to the tree, noticing it was covered in plastic and roped off from the public. Kai asks an employee what happened, and they explain the tree was being removed from the Pizzaplex due to system glitches. Bummed about not getting a closer look, the group move on with their visit and notice the VR booths had a special one-day attraction; a simulation of the Pizzaplex ten years in the future.

After standing in line, Kai tries it out first. In the simulation, he is met by a futuristic Glamrock Freddy, who gives him a tour of the future Pizzaplex, which included updated versions of the old attractions, along with new ones. One of those was the Tiger Rock Trampoline, hosted by the titular character. Glamrock Freddy leaves Kai in Tiger Rock's care. As Tiger Rock and Kai explored the Pizzaplex, Tiger Rock kept pulling on Kai's arms, to the point where they hurt. Despite this, Kai assumed that Tiger Rock just wasn't aware of his own strength.

However, when they get to a slide, Tiger Rock pulls so hard that Kai's bicep pops. The tiger also encourages Kai to cut in line. Intimidated, Kai decides to leave Tiger Rock and hide in Monty's Gator Golf. He tries asking the NPC employees for help, but they all respond robotically. Tiger Rock eventually finds him, and Kai runs away but is eventually caught. As Tiger Rock starts to clamp onto his biceps, Kai wakes up in reality. Freaked out, Kai leaves the Pizzaplex abruptly, noticing that his bicep was bruised.

The next day, Kai tries to move on from the incident at the AR booth, but over the course of several days, he saw some strange sights. While feeding his pet hummingbird Berry, Kai saw an owl that had metallic white fur and blue/green eyes like Tiger Rock. While going on a scavenger hunt set up by his dad, Kai ran into a cat who also had similar features to Tiger Rock. These illusions worsened while at school. Kai noticed that the school's front clock had Tiger Rock's face. Kai had also hallucinated one of the Pizzaplex's escalators being inside the school, when in reality, they were stairs. He had fallen down the steps and ended up at the school nurse.

Kai isolates himself in his room. Kai's parents left the house with his sister Malia, who had left five of her plushies to keep Kai company. He was so terrified that he started to believe he was still in the booth, trapped in virtual reality. Suddenly, the plushies came to life and started to climb over him. Tiger Rock appeared in the closet, watching Kai be helplessly pinned to the ground. Kai begged Tiger Rock for him to wake up back in the real world. Suddenly, everything around him disappeared and Kai was in a spiraling void of colors. Kai could see both the present and future Pizzaplex blending into each other, as well as Tiger Rock overlaying it all. Kai spotted a glimpse of the VR booth's wall. He pushed through it and came out through the other side. The last thing Kai saw was a real person, a little girl with short, wild blonde hair, a bearded old guy–maybe her grandfather–was also holding hands and a strange-looking doll with a bulging eyeball and features that were all wrong.

The booth had broken down, causing Kai to be trapped inside for five hours. Kai had been able to break out on his own. Kai goes home but remains restless. As he's about to go to bed, he hears an owl hooting outside. Kai looks out, only to see an ordinary white owl. As Kai pulled his head out back into his bedroom, Tiger Rock burst through the window. He latched onto Kai's arms, ripping them from his body. As Kai fell to the ground and lost consciousness, he watched Tiger Rock take his arms and disappear into the night.

### *The Monty Within*

Kane woke up to prepare for his busy day. He needed to look after his brother Archer's school project, pick up his girlfriend Sienna, talk to his English teacher about his essay spend some time in shop class during lunch, and then go on a date with Sienna at the Pizzaplex to celebrate the one-year anniversary of their relationship. After the school day was over, Kane went over the thesis of his essay with Sienna while on their date; how the human brain works. Kane wrote how the left side of the brain was like an algorithm that manages tasks, while the right brain was a person's actual consciousness.

One week later, Kane presents his oral report titled "The AI Within", explaining how humans are never fully in control of their brains, which are ran subconsciously by the "AI", represented by the left brain. After the assembly is over, Archer begs for Kane to bring him to the Pizzaplex. Kane begrudgingly repents, cancelling his date with Sienna. When the two brothers arrive at the Pizzaplex, they passed by a new arcade game titled "Fazcade Tag-Team". A flashing neon orange sign above stated that the game could make the player be their own partner.

Invested, Kane checks out the game. The premise was that the animatronics are having a food fight, with teams coming in pairs controlled by the player. The catch was that the technology allowed the player to sync their mind with the animatronics and control them with their thoughts. Kane chose Montgomery Gator and Orville Elephant, while Archer chose Bonnie and Glamrock Chica. Montgomery Gator specifically was glitching out throughout the fight, copying the movement of other players, go still, and move when Kane's hand was off the joystick. Kane noticed a circular yellow light directly above him, which was flickering. Before he can think on it further, he and Archer's time in the game is up. Archer leaves happily, but Kane remains worried.

The next night, Kane returns to the Pizzaplex alone to investigate further. Kane chooses Orville again, and Monty is once again his partner. Kane notes that Monty's odd behavior was still present. Kane looked up at the yellow light, believing it was part of the technology that linked player and character together. He climbs up and punches the light's panel, only to cause the whole game to shut down.

Kane returns home, lying to his mom about where he went. As Kane heads upstairs, he starts to have uncharacteristic thoughts, such as going out to run, throwing a party, and throwing one of the house's paintings out the foyer. Kane was starting to think like Montgomery Gator. The bizarre behavior continues to worsen until Kane went on a date with Sienna while at the market. Sienna had a large zit on her nose that she was self-conscious about. Kane is fine with it, but the Monty within him objects, wanting to buy some cream for the zit. Sienna storms off insulted. Kane went home guilt-ridden, realizing that Monty had somehow invaded his mind.

The next day, Kane goes to play in a school baseball game. While Kane sees that a knuckleball is going to be thrown, Kane's inner Monty believes that it's a fastball. Without warning, Monty takes control of Kane's limbs and prepares to catch the ball but misses. As the school day went on, Kane had to constantly fight against Monty's impulses. While in the bathroom, Monty forces Kane to make fun of a nerdy kid who had been bullied by most of the school. While in the school cafeteria, Monty wanted to start a real food fight despite Kane's objections. Monty forces Kane to spill food onto himself. Kane and Monty end up fighting during shop class and shred aboard to pieces. Kane is especially upset since it was supposed to be a gift for Sienna to make up for the market incident.

Kane wakes up the next day exhausted. He tries apologizing to Sienna over voicemail, only for Monty to butt in and force Kane to insult her. Kane gets ready for the day, but Monty tries to shave off Kane's hair to give them a mohawk. Their tussles cause Kane to cut his own hand and he rushes to the hospital. After the visit, Kane doesn't hear anything from Monty. Kane believes that Monty is gone, and the problem resolved itself. However, as he is about to get in his car again, his body moves on his own. He walks all the way to his school, specifically the shop class. Tired of Kane's constant rebelling, Monty plops Kane onto a table saw and turns it on. Kane is helpless as the blades cut through his body.

### *Bleeding Heart*

Danny and his friend Aaron are walking at school, until Danny sees Daisy Zayland, a girl that he has a crush on. Danny believes that Daisy was special, refusing to believe that she was just an ordinary girl. She also had a little star tattoo on her wrist, which made her stand out more. Being an artist, Danny also drew Daisy, and snuck his drawings into her locker, although she ends up throwing them away. Danny desperately wants to win Daisy's heart, despite Aaron's concern for Danny's fixation. One day, Danny's mom surprises him and his two brothers, Bobby and Johnny, with a trip to the Pizzaplex for dinner.

Danny is amazed at the Pizzaplex's splendor, with the location also being decorated for the Christmas season. While at the Pizzaplex, Danny asks Bobby for advice on how to win over Daisy since he had an ex-girlfriend. Bobby states to be confident in himself and just communicate his feelings honestly. He also mentions to give Daisy a gift rather than sneaking it into a locker, pointing to a Santa-themed giftshop nearby. As Danny makes his way there, the loudspeaker announces that the Pizzaplex is closing in fifteen minutes. He heads into the shop, noticing a machine by the gift-wrapping booth. He looked to see a girl, who had a tattoo on her arm, which was painted by nanobots the size of a grain of rice. Danny grabs some of the bots right before the store closes.

Danny returns home, only to find his pockets empty and the tiny bots gone. Danny gives up on the idea the next day, and decides to talk to Daisy, following Bobby's advice. But right as they get to know each other, Danny feels a pain at the side of his head. Danny goes to the bathroom, finding a heart tattoo ingrained into his skin, realizing that the bots were behind it. Daisy catches up and notices the tattoo, surprised by its quality. Daisy gives Danny her phone number, much to his excitement.

At home, Danny investigates and notices two tiny marks on his right thigh. The bots had went through his pocket and cut into his leg, producing the heart tattoo from within his body. Danny goes about his day, hoping to solve the problem eventually. Danny continues to hang out with Daisy, who asks him to draw a tattoo he'd like to get. Later, while drawing a grizzly bear, Danny says out loud that he wants a tattoo of the bear on his shoulder, unknowingly activating the nanobots. The tiny machines cut through his skin, etching another tattoo in his shoulder.

The next day, Danny shows off the bear tattoo, amazing Daisy. While Danny is getting closer with Daisy, he was starting to drift apart from his friendship with Aaron. Over time, Danny continues using the nanobots to get new tattoos, patching up his wounds and enduring the pain for Daisy's sake. But when Daisy asks if she could get a tattoo like Danny's, he declines despite the rejection upsetting her. Aaron believes that Daisy is manipulating Danny, but he denies the prospect. Danny ends up requesting for a fully colored cat tattoo, causing a large chunk of flesh to come off his stomach as the nanobots go to work.

Daisy invites Danny to a local body art expo, with Danny even dismissing a potential reunion with his dad, who wasn't home all that often due to being a traveling businessman. As time passes, Danny starts to realize how dismissive Daisy had been not just with her few interactions with Aaron, but with Danny himself, despite everything he had done to please her. He ends up getting jealous when Daisy starts talking to one of the artists. Danny decides to double down, stating loudly to the artist that he wants all of his tattoo designs. The nanobots hear Danny's commands and begin to skewer Danny's skin as they draw the various tattoos all over his body.

Daisy runs away terrified as Danny pursues her. Daisy goes into a restricted area of the expo and locks herself in an office. Danny pleads for Daisy to let him in, confessing that he liked her and just wanted to spend time with her. Daisy opens the door, only to find a trail of blood leading down the hallway. She follows it, finding all of Danny's tattoos on the floor and covered in blood, along with his clothes. Eventually, she runs into what remains of Danny; his heart.

### *Epilogue*

Still reeling from Jayce's death, Lucia and Kelly try to find a way out. Kelly tries burrowing through the concrete blocking the door to no avail. Their search is interrupted when they hear noises nearby, indicating the Mimic was trying to escape. The Mimic recalls Jayce's attempts to crawl in the tunnel and is able to shift its body to accommodate the small space.

Elsewhere, Lucia and Kelly return to the backstage area and grab some costumes. Lucia believes that if they're wearing outfits, the Mimic won't detect them. She is about to put on a jester costume but realizes it's a springlock suit. After putting on regular outfits with no springlocks, Lucia and Kelly plan on going back to the door. Lucia noticed that the slabs on the door were crumbling due to being in smaller chunks and hopes that if they continue chunking away with the endoskeleton arms, they can break free.

Before they can do anything, the backstage lights above flicker, go out, and turn back on again. The Mimic had been hiding in a mushroom costume and had changed it form from a humanoid figure to one of a nine-legged spider, with one eye on its leg and another on its back. Kelly tries to run away, but Lucia stops her. The movement is enough to attract the Mimic, and it goes over to inspect Kelly, who is in a blue dog costume. After a few seconds, the Mimic crawls away and Lucia believes they're in the clear, only for the Mimic to try wearing the costume while Kelly was still inside. Kelly screams as she is crushed by the Mimic's mass.

## Characters

### Humans

#### Tiger Rock

* Kai's Family
	+ Kai
	+ Kai's Mom
	+ Kai's Dad
	+ Malia
* Todd
* Asher's Family
	+ Asher
	+ Alex
* Ron
* Mr. Harris
* Eriksen Family
	+ Astrid Eriksen (mentioned)
	+ Farfar (mentioned)

#### The Monty Within

* Kane's Family
	+ Kane
	+ Archer
	+ Kane's Mom
	+ Kane's Dad
* Sienna's Family
	+ Sienna
	+ Sienna's Sister
* Mr. Rivera
* Mr. Freeman
* Ms. Boyd
* Reg
* Candy
* Miles' Family
	+ Miles
	+ Miles' Dad
	+ Miles' Sister
* Lewis
* Frank
* Gerald

#### Bleeding Heart

* Shullenberg Family
	+ Danny Shullenberg
	+ Johnny Shullenberg
	+ Bobby Shullenberg
	+ Danny's Mom
	+ Danny's Dad
* Daisy Zayland
* Tyler
* Aaron Glasgow
* Hank Mason
* Charlie Cooper
* Katie Howard
* Mrs. Jimenez

#### Epilogue

* Lucia
* Kelly

### Animatronics

#### Classic Animatronics

* Bonnie
* Foxy

#### Glamrock Animatronics

* Glamrock Freddy
* Glamrock Chica
* Montgomery Gator
* Roxanne Wolf
* The Storyteller/Tiger Rock

#### Others

* Mimic
* Tattoo Nanobots

## Locations

* Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex
* Freddy Fazbear's Pizza (mentioned)
* Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Place
* Corner Deli
* Bayer High School

## Trivia

### Tiger Rock

* In an argument between Asher and Todd, the former references the famous American writer Mark Twain.
* Kai says Glamrock Freddy doesn't use contractions in his speech. Similarly, all his dialogue in *Security Breach* lacks contractions.
* When Kai escapes the VR Booth, the first thing he sees is a little girl with her grandfather and a strange-looking doll. These are Astrid, her farfar, and Nexie from *Nexie*.
	+ Conversely, in *Nexie*, Astrid describes how she joins a crowd of people to watch "the boy in the glass dome", referencing Kai in the VR Booth.
* Many of the things that Tiger Rock says, as well as his actions, are strongly related to the Mimic1 program and The Storyteller.

### The Monty Within

* It is stated that one year ago, Kane and his girlfriend had a date in the "old Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria*"* and now it is shut down. This suggests that it took less than a year for Freddy Fazbear's Pizza Place to collapse and be built over by the Pizzaplex.
* When the title of the story was originally revealed, it was mistakenly called "*The Manshi Within*".
* Numerous real world people and things are mentioned in the story.
	+ Kane compares the left side of the brain to Alexa and Siri numerous times.
	+ In Kane's essay he mentions Meinard Simon du Pui, Arthur Ladbroke Wigan, Roger Sperry, and Jill Bolte Taylor.
		- When discussing Taylor, Kane brings up her book, *My Stroke of Insight.*
	+ When Archer's friend Miles falls into a bed of poison ivy, Archer goes over to his house to play Monopoly.

### Bleeding Heart

* The title "*Bleeding Heart*" has many meanings in the story.
	+ Most obvious is the heart that Daisy finds after Danny's body is cut off.
	+ A heart is the first tattoo Danny gets, when he first learns to deal with the blood.
	+ A bleeding heart is a type of flower. Daisy is also the name of a flower.
	+ "Bleeding heart" is a term to describe someone who is too sympathetic for other's problems. Danny believes Daisy is lonely and gets tattoos to befriend her.