Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Vanessa's head was pounding again. The pressure in her skull throbbed in time with the obnoxious kiddie music playing over the loudspeakers. She groaned, stumbling her way through crowds of rowdy children.

Someone spilled a pitcher of soda as she passed. "Hey!" They shouted. "Aren't you supposed to clean this up?" She didn't stop, didn't look back, hardly even  heard  the undoubtedly colorful complaints hurled at her retreating back. 

The music on the ground level wasn't much better, still loud and slightly distorted due to a broken speaker that corporate had yet to replace, but the lobby was less crowded. She saw a family of four strolling alongside the water fountain: a mother, father, daughter, and son. The perfect American family. The boy balanced on the fountain's ledge, a smug, toothy grin on his face. She passed them, gritting her teeth. 

Vanessa put her security badge up to the turnstile sensor. It thought for a moment as if considering never letting her go.

God, wouldn't that be a nightmare? 

This part of the lobby was nearly always empty, minus the early morning and nightly rushes, of course. There was less security here for that very reason, fewer cameras, and S.T.A.F.F. bots as well. It was the only exit she could feasibly sneak out of for a quick coffee run. 

She was halfway out the door, almost to freedom,  almost  to her designated daily break. Would she get fired if corporate caught onto her misuse of company time? 

Yes.

Did she care?

Also, yes, she actually really needed this job. Rent had been steadily increasing each month, along with everything else, and Vanessa needed help to keep up with payments. Her landlord wasn't the forgiving type either, more of a slumlord than anything, really. 

But the temptation of fresh air away from all the screaming and yelling was too much to resist. Besides, she reasoned, it was the company's fault for overworking her. 

"Vanessa?"

So close…yet…so far…

She slowly turned to face Luis, trying to keep any semblance of guilt off her face. 

She and Luis had gotten hired on the same day. They sat in the waiting area together, awaiting an interview for vastly different positions. He is in the technical department, and Vanessa is in security. She hadn't the slightest bit of experience, having only "game tester" and "babysitter" on her resume. Still, for some odd reason, it had been  Luis  who was all sweaty and shaky and full of nerves despite being an M.I.T. graduate and a much better asset to the company. 

"Hey, Luis," she said, leaning against the sliding glass door and crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Hey…? Um, listen, I just wanted to ask if you were doing alright?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "You…. you've been acting differently." Vanessa narrowed her eyes and let out a little indignant huff, so he quickly added, "Not in a bad way! I mean, I'm just concerned. We used to hang out after work all the time, and now…." he trailed off, smiling sadly. "And I understand if you want space or whatever. You do you. But I'm just worried about you." 

"Luis, I'm fine," she laughed, but it came out sounding forced. 

He frowned, opening his mouth to speak. 

"I promise," Vanessa said, cutting him off. 

"Okay." Luis patted her on the arm. The movement triggered the sensors conveniently placed on the wall for shorter and wheelchair-bound patrons to navigate the sliding doors more easily. 

"Agh!" She tumbled to the floor, arm extended to catch herself. Her arm bent but didn't break, and her funny bone was left ringing in the aftermath. 

"Oh my God," Luis said, always overly apologetic, "I'll take you to the first-aid station." He helped Vanessa to her feet. 

For the second time today, Vanessa had to reassure him that she was alright. And that the only thing hurt was her ego. 

He laughed at that, and he'd always laugh at the stupid things she said. Well, he  used  to. Things had been "off" lately. 

She'd  been "off" lately. 

Luis' phone rang. The sound system was down, and the band was due to perform in half an hour. He asked one last time if she was okay, only to hear the same response, and then he rushed off into one of the side rooms and away from her. 

Vanessa sighed, tired. "That could have gone worse," she muttered, hurrying outside before anyone else could stop her. 

The outside air was chillier than anyone in Hurricane was accustomed to. This winter had set a dangerous precedent of near-freezing temperatures. They had to build a temporary homeless shelter to accommodate the influx of lower-income families that had no heating and would have died if not given a better option. 

Vanessa crossed her arms, holding her hands underneath her security jacket. It barely made a difference, but it was slightly more tolerable than allowing them to hang freely by her sides. 

She moved slowly up the street, eyes locked on the gas station ahead. They had decent enough coffee, at least for the price you paid for it. The owner even threw in a ten-percent discount. She could never tell if it was because she was a loyal customer or because he was an unmarried man in his late 50s. Either way, she appreciated the gesture and tried to be as nice as possible in the few minutes they interacted daily. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see something moving in the alley. She stopped out of sheer curiosity and nothing else. 

She wished she didn't. 

Vanessa couldn't deal with this today.

Couldn't deal with this  any day. 

There, huddled up against the brick wall of an abandoned hardware store, was a small child. They were wrapped in a blanket, and only their eyes and nose showed. But it was still, without a doubt, a child. 

She looked at the gas station up ahead, only a measly ten feet from her now. And then back at the kid, who was blinking sluggishly up at her, his eyes the color of burning embers. 

The kid vaguely reminded her of something. Something far out of her memory's reach. It unnerved her, leaving her unbalanced and faltering in what she should do next. 

What should she do next? 

Vanessa slowly approached the kid, or at least she sincerely hoped this was a kid; otherwise, this would be  very  awkward. 

"Hi," she said, bending down but maintaining a safe distance from the (likely) contaminated slush-colored water coating the alley floor. "I'm Vanessa. Are you okay? Where are your parents?"

The kid continued to blink slowly, not saying a word. But he did wriggle the blanket off of his head, revealing matted brown hair and a dirty face. "Gregory," he told her, voice so soft and quiet, she had to strain to hear.

"Okay, Gregory. Where are your parents?" She asked.

"Gone," he said, finality in his tone like it was the only thing he was sure of. 

"Gone?" Vanessa repeated. "Okay… so who's taking care of you? I can probably get a hold of them."

"No." He said, staring at the wall behind Vanessa, eyes vacant. 

She frowned, and a sudden guilt overtook her. 

Is this what Luis felt earlier? Too helpless, too left in the dark, to fully understand how to reach out and help her?

"Oh. Well, in that case," she smiled and hoped Gregory couldn't tell she was forcing it, "I can introduce you to my friends at the Mega Pizzaplex."

"Friends?" He asked, seeming genuinely curious. 

"Yes, and they'll help you better than I can." 

Gregory said nothing, scooting closer to Vanessa and leaning his full weight against her. She tried not to grimace at the god-awful smell. "Friends help?" He asked, still in that same curious tone.

"Yes, Greg, friends help," she said before scooping him up and returning to the Pizzaplex.

She supposed coffee would have to wait. 

Chapter Text

He was light. Lighter than any young child or toddler should be. She tried not to think about all the potential diseases and or parasites he might be carrying, but it proved to be hard.

Harder still when he woke up, groggy and disoriented, and vomited over Vanessa’s shoulder. Most of it landed on her security jacket. It was a bummer because the facility tended to get chilly at night. She could always take her jacket off, but some of it…

…some of it landed on the back of her uniform, soaking into her undershirt. 

“Suh-ree!” Gregory hiccuped, sobs wracking his body. “‘m so, so suh-ree!” 

He suddenly felt way too warm in her hold. Vanessa booked it to the nearest side door, hoping nobody questioned why the toddler in her arms was profusely apologizing. 

She shushed him and offered meaningless words of comfort as she fiddled with her security badge.

The side door directly led into a backroom of some sort. The room was decently sized for a storage room. The walls are gray, lacking in any decor. There were folded mats in the corner and a laundry basket full of (hopefully) clean blankets.  

Now, inside, in an enclosed space, the stench was more challenging to ignore. She tried to breathe through her mouth instead of her nose. It didn’t work very well. 

The throbbing in her temples returned with a vengeance, reminding her of why she left in the first place. 

“Hey, Greg,” she said, turning her head to look down at him. He was resting his head on her shoulder, eyes half-lidded, and the area around his mouth was covered in drool and throw-up. “I’m going to clean up, and then I’ll be back for you. ‘kay?” 

He nodded, head lulling off her shoulder, eyes already closed. 

She pushed down the inkling of concern and laid him down against a cardboard box labeled “ Glitter Glue and Other Fun Art Supplies ,” outlined in, ironically, glitter glue. Vanessa made quick work of grabbing a cot and a blanket and then getting Gregory situated. 

“I really am sorry,” she whispered to him, using her jacket sleeves to wipe at the crude around his mouth. Her pager rang ( and god, did she  hate  that thing with a burning passion! No one else had a pager, so why did she? ) So, she did the only logical thing when your employment’s at-will, and you’ve been missing for over an hour from an active shift. Vanessa ignored it ( she was just ignoring everything today, wasn’t she? ) 

“I’ll be back,” Vanessa vowed, though she doubted Gregory could hear her.

She stood up and gave one last look at Gregory before realizing she had to go back outside, as the only other exit seemed to be a platform towards the front of the room. “Just my luck,” she muttered, dragging her feet back to the door they entered. “Alright, I can do this.” 

Vanessa turned the doorknob, and with that, she was back outside, facing the bitter cold.

-x-x-x-

If you were to ask Sundrop what his favorite things were, he’d answer in a list:

1. His friends. The children he watched day in and day out were the only company he had in terms of human interaction (sometimes, he got jealous of how little attention they were paid by everyone else). 
2. Art supplies! Anyone who ever attended the daycare can attest to that. Arts and Crafts was his favorite time of the day, and if the kids were good and time permitted, he could sneak in another craft towards the end of the day. 
3. Moon-most of the time, though he did get on his nerves. Sun wasn’t a human, and he had never had a family. Still, he thought of Moon as being the closest thing to a brother an animatronic such as himself could have. 
4. And last but not least, the light. His A.I. chip was only active in the light. In the dark, when the daycare is closed, and no one is around, he has to sleep. He hates sleeping. Hates, hates, hates it! The feeling of floating in nothingness was enough to drive him mad (so why did he make Moon endure it?)

The last point is why he tended to stay in the backroom of the daycare. It was the only room where he could control the lights and avoid being watched by his friends through the cameras. 

He crawled up there now, using the cable Moon used, already having said goodbye to the last of his friends for the day. The lights by the security desk had shut off, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the daycare went dark. 

The backroom was dreary. It held all the extra items the daycare could ever need. Boxes of books and art supplies and coloring pages. Crates full of plastic army men, dolls, and puppets. There was a small pile of cots in a very far corner of the room, decorated in spider webs as the daycare now used mats instead. If he squinted, he could make out the faded name tags on some of the rims. Right next to this was a small series of drawers, where they kept clothes for accident-prone kids, blankets, and plushies for his super anxious friends. 

He sat down, planning what games he would play with his friends tomorrow. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear Moon trying to tell him something. But to be able to listen to him clearly, he would be required to turn the lights off, which he’d never, ever do. 

“Ow!” Sun yelped, a pain he’d only ever experienced in the beginning trials of his existence as a trigger-happy engineer spiked through his entire being. An electric charge that left him tense and unfocused. “Moon,” he whined, wishing he could frown, “That hurt! You hurt me, no fair.”

“Look,” Moon whispered to him, which is a first. As far as Sun can tell, he was still in control. So, why was Moon talking to him? “Look!” He said again, more urgently. 

Sun stood, hands on his hips; he surveyed the empty room. “What? I don’t see-”

There!

“Oh! A new friend!” He yelled, taking the first step forward to go greet them.

“No!” 

Sun was rooted to the spot, frozen. “Hey!” 

Moon apologized. “He’s sleeping. Good children sleep, so let him rest.”

Ah, that makes sense. Moony has always been big on rest. 

“Okay, but I want to sit next to him.”

Moon sighed loudly. “I don’t think that’s such a great idea, Sun. He might-”

“Lalala, I can’t hear you. I can’t hear you!” He held his hands over his ears. The shiny bells tied around his wrists, wrapped like Christmas presents, jingled with each movement.

“We share a body, idiot. You can’t block me out.”

“Yes I can~” Sun sing-songs, tilting his head from side to side.

“No, you can’t,” Moon shot back.

“Can~”

“Can’t!”

“Can~”

“Can’t!”

“Can~”

“Mama?  Hic….  mommy?”

Moon went silent, and Sun allowed his hands to drop to his lap. “New friend?” Sun leaned closer but kept his distance from the child so as to not startle or overwhelm them. “Are you okay? Did your mommy leave you here?”

The child looked at them with big brown eyes. Sun felt a sense of relief, and then….

…his new friend was screaming.

Chapter Text

Vanessa hurriedly buttoned up her shirt. The employee showers are usually empty, given that the basement seemed to creep everyone else out, but she’s out of options. She threw the dirty clothes into her locker to be dealt with at a later date. 

Her pager went off again. This time, without any excuse not to, she decided to read the message.

“Ness, where are you? Staff meeting starts in 5!”

Shit!

Vanessa groaned, clipping the pager to her pants. How had she forgotten about the stupid fucking meeting? It’d only been reiterated time and time again for the last month. 

Idiot!

She booked it out of the locker room, into a winding hallway, around the corner, into an elevator, and up two flights of stairs. All to burst through the conference room door and see no one else in the room. Well, no one else besides Luis, who was sitting at the long conference table, facing the door.

“Uh…where’s everyone else?” 

“Ness, and I’m sorry if this is blunt, but did you kidnap a child today?” Luis looked at her over the computer, eyes pleading with her to tell the truth.

Vanessa was taken back by his forwardness. She faltered, mouth opening and closing. 

“No!” She retorted. 

“No? Then what’s this?” He asked, turning his computer around. A grainy video, oddly reminiscent of the Pizzaplex’s security cameras.

The video slowly focused, and it showed her, holding a crying Gregory, and looking around suspiciously before veering off down an alleyway. It finished,  Luis moving his computer out of the way. He folded his hands on the table, mouth forming a thin line.

“Then, what the hell was that?”

“It’s not what it looks like.” She waved her hands around frantically. “I mean, it’s exactly what it looks like but-”

“Where’s the kid? Did you hurt them?” Luis asked, tone sharp.  He almost never sounded this angry. The last time had been…

He continued on, starting to visibly shake with anger and disgust. “Am I even talking to YOU right now?”

Luis rose from the chair, snapping Vanessa out of her trance-like state. 

“I’m going to the-”

“Wait!” She waved her arms around, again, like it made her more believable the first time. “Wait,” she repeated, trying to gather more time to find a reasonable explanation. “It isn’t like…that…”

“It isn’t?” 

“No, it isn’t. If it was, I probably wouldn’t even be talking to you right now,” Vanessa answered, quietly. 

“Alright, what’s going on then?”

“I found him lying outside in an alley, he didn’t look so good so I figured I’d bring him inside to clean him up and stuff.” Vanessa said

Luis looked her over. His dark brown eyes, which have never looked at her with anything but a warm familiarity, looked so disappointed. So…betrayed. 

But he must've found something on Vanessa’s face, because his pinched expression relaxed. 

“Okay, so this is not like last time. You’re you."

Vanessa sighed.

“But,” Luis continued, “I still want to go and see the kid, can you show me them?” he asked.

“Oh sure! “I can show you the kid. He got sick down my back, so I left him in some storage room.” Vanessa responded.

“In some storage room?” Luis asked, incredulously. 

“Yes,” she said, but it quickly occurred to her how bad that might sound, so she quickly added, “On a cot. The room had cots and blankets, so I left him on a cot. It looked really comfortable too-”

“Ness?” And there it was, that soft, doe-eyed look that she’d grown accustomed to. 

“Yeah?”

“You’re rambling again, which I happen to find to be one of your best qualities, but right now we need to get to the daycare center.”

“Daycare center?” She asked, a little lost.

He rounded the table, laptop close to his chest. “The place you described sounds like the little room behind the Daycare Attendant’s podium.” 

Luis waited for her in the doorway, holding the door. “After you,” he says, any previous grievances gone with the assurance that she hadn’t done anything unspeakable. “And, maybe on the way, you can explain yourself.”

-x-x-x-x-

“New friend,” Sun crooned, shifting on his knees an inch closer to the sobbing boy. “How can I help you? Would you like a few minutes alone? A story? A lullaby?” He wouldn’t like it, but-if it calmed the little one, even a tiny bit-Sun would endure sleeping. Moon had always been better at the quiet sort of activities that calm children down. 

“Mama!” The boy cried out, moving off the cot. The blanket fell, revealing the most dirty, thread-baren clothes Sun had ever seen. “Momma… hic…. momma…. hic….. ”

Sun was caught between two conflicting thoughts:

1. Continue trying to settle and comfort his new friend, who surely needed it.

           Or

1. Going against their programming, and tracking down whatever neglectful, irresponsible parent left his new friend in such horrid condition. 

The boy had backed himself into a corner, settling between a laundry basket and an old milk crate. He was trembling, shaking like a leaf. His knees were drawn to his chest, and he was actively avoiding direct eye contact with Sun.

Maybe they could go against their programming later…right now their friend needed them. 

“I’m sorry,” Sun started, sitting down a fair distance away from the boy. But he made absolutely sure he was still within sight distance, so the boy knew Sun hadn't completely left him alone. 

No one should have to endure the deafening silence that loneliness brings. 

“I startled you. I didn’t mean to, but I understand I can be…” he trailed off, trying to think of a word that a young child might resonate with, “... a lot. ”

A series of giggles filled the room, and it took Sun a solid minute to process that it was coming from the boy. The laughter was light, joyous, and carefree like all children should be. Not like this child, who evidently hasn’t even been granted the bare necessities like clean clothes.

The boy looked up from his knees, meeting Sun’s eyes with a timid smile. “A lot, a lot,” he repeated with emphasis, like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard. 

“Yeah, a lot. My name’s Sundrop, but a lot of my friends like to just call me Sun. I also have a…uh…brother of sorts. His name is Moon.”

The boy nodded; brows furrowed as if committing their names to memory. “Gregory,” he told Sun, pointing to his chest. 

“Gregory,” Sun said, overjoyed that his new friend finally had a name. “Well, Gregory,” he said after a minute of peaceful silence, “Do you like arts and crafts?”

Chapter Text

Luis Cabrera was many things: socially inept, purposely ignorant of any faults a certain blonde may or may not possess, and an overall dork (as Ness sometimes jokingly calls him). But one thing he was not, was a fool. 

As a child he had been privy to information the general public hadn’t, regarding the five missing children’s case. His abuela, and by extension his mother, never recovered from Gabriel’s disappearance, and were probably the most paranoid people in all of Hurricane.

Attending any gathering (birthday parties, school-sponsored events, concerts, and anything remotely similar in nature) was prohibited without someone to actively watch over him.

It was embarrassing, to say the least. 

People whispered amongst themselves, and it felt like only he could hear them. Nasty, horrible things that made the flesh underneath his skin burn with unbridled rage. He once made the mistake of asking his mother why people were so “concerned” with their family. 

She stopped smiling for a few days following his question.

His abuela, especially as she got up in age and her mental-state slowly declined, became more and more lax. But never, in all the years Luis knew her, did she ever smile. 

After his father passed away-joining Luis’ abuela, abuelo, and mother in their eternal slumber-he had been tasked with cleaning out his childhood home. Lots of old junk and knick-knacks from way back when, covered in cobwebs and layers of dust, but in between all that, he uncovered photographs from his mother’s youth. 

Overexposed pictures that had worn edges and a smell that Luis can only liken to a really old book. He found a bunch of them hidden under his abuelo’s mattress, like he was afraid the man who took Gabriel away would return and snatch them right up.

There were his grandparents’ wedding pictures. Both of them young, scared, but oh, so hopelessly in love. Adoration written across each and every glance they paid one another-something that would never change, even after their son’s disappearance, and would remain so until Luis’ abuela took her final breath. 

And even older pictures of abuela and abuelo as children, playing freely on the streets of a place he can’t quite recognize. 

But the photographs that really grabbed his attention were the ones with his mother and uncle. 

His mother was a few years younger than Gabriel, being five-years-old when the incident took place. In the few stories she managed to get through without tearing up or lashing out, she liked to reiterate how much he reminded her of her brother.

And, seeing his uncle in color and not in the black and white print of a newspaper obituary (which always seemed to be the photo placed at the altar on Dia de Los Muertos), Luis could see the resemblance. The same broad nose, wide brown eyes, and curly, untamable, inky-black hair.

He and Luis’ mother are standing outside one of the original Freddy Fazbear’s restaurants. They’re standing hand-in-hand and smiling-the very last time either of them would ever smile so freely.

It made him unspeakably angry.

It made him so, so, so angry. 

It made him so angry that he almost ripped up the photo, trying to erase his uncle’s smiling face from his mind. All those years of being socially isolated and alone, not being able to keep friends because they all-eventually (because it’s not a matter of if but when)-grow impatient at tip-toeing around Luis’ family overly-strict rules. All because his uncle had to go and get himself kidnapped.

He felt bad as soon as the thought popped into his head. 

But it didn’t go away, and it sat there at the back of his mind, like an itch he couldn’t scratch. 

He tried to make up for it by taking his childhood home off the market. He cleaned the place up as best he could on the limited budget he had, but eventually-as it always does-the money ran out. And, though he hadn’t wanted to work within the borders of his home town, he decided that being able to afford food and other necessities far outweighed his desire to never see his peers again. 

But it was hard finding somewhere that was in need of an IT guy, especially in a town as worn down and in shambles as Hurricane. All the positions, from the highest paying to the lowest, were full-not that there were many to begin with. 

So, when yet another Freddy’s location opened its doors, Luis saw an opportunity. 

An opportunity to: A, finally get a decent job behind the scenes, and B, leave behind his family’s no nonsense policies and perhaps enjoy all the things (even vicariously) he was denied as a child.

And he scored an interview…a job…a friend …

Still, the itch stayed, nestled firmly in between thoughts of concern over Vanessa’s odd behavior and the sweet, rose-tinted memories of his childhood. 

He tried to make up for it again, throwing himself headfirst into his work. 

Luis quickly rose to the top of the IT department and was soon in charge, second only to Mr. Shaffert, the head administrator. But it still wasn’t enough.

So, he threw everything he had in him to maintain his friendship with Ness.

She was kind and the prettiest girl he’s ever talked to before. He had been unsure (is still unsure) why she was so forthcoming, honest and earnest in a way that he hadn’t been used too. Always so anxious and unsure of herself, but also one of the wittiest people he had ever met. 

God, he loved her so much.

Not that he would ever tell her that. 

And the itch remained.

Watching Vanessa on the CCTV footage had been a shock to his very core. It had been by pure chance that it was him in the security room-the main one at the heart of the Pizzaplex-and not one of his many coworkers. 

Luis was fast, downloading the video to his laptop, and then deleting it from the security system.

It couldn’t be happening, not again. 

All the tabloids and true crime podcasts about his family’s misfortune-about all the other missing children’s families’ misfortunes-came to mind. How the narrators always made it sound like-with their power of foresight and retrospect-the incident could have been prevented entirely. 

But retrospect is retrospect for a reason, and no amount of wishing for a different outcome will ever make the dead come back to life.

He wished he could’ve seen the signs earlier, all those months ago.

He raced to the conference room, tripping over his feet on the stairs and nearly dropping his laptop (which is arguably the most important thing he owns). 

Maybe he couldn’t bring the dead back to life, but maybe he can save someone’s life.

Stopping the madness before it could begin anew, saving her again if he has to.

Luis sent a message to Vanessa’s pager and another and another, until she finally responded. He almost feels bad for lying to her about the meeting. Almost. 

She entered the room in a frenzy of anxious energy, wearing a noticeably different shirt then she had been earlier. Wide eyes looking at him confused and a touch worried.

Why did it have to be so familiar?

They talked.

He felt the same sort of rage that felt all those years ago, still burning underneath his skin. He hates it! And he thinks-for just a moment-that he might hate her.

Again

She explained herself, kind of. 

He felt himself slowly calm down, slowly…very slowly.

This wasn’t like last time.

Luis put the pieces together, and had Vanessa take the lead to the daycare storage room. 

She explained herself better, sounding unsure if she did the right thing.

He reassured her. He loved her (even though he hated her a minute ago), and seeing her so distressed made him feel off balance.

“Ness,” he said, they were outside the mall, just outside the side door she had told him about, “I’m not mad at you, okay?” Luis needed her to know, for some unexplainable reason or another, that his earlier dramatics were for a purpose. And that purpose was designated for a version of her that no longer existed. 

“Okay, and I understand why you would be mad if I was going to do…that again.” She nervously laughed, turning to swipe her card on the reader.

He looked at her, the world feeling a little more balanced and thoughts clearer than they usually are. 

The door opened with a mechanical click, sensor blinking green. 

Chapter Text

“Oooooh…down…he…goes!” Sun stood at the end of the slide, waiting patiently for Gregory to sit down and push himself off. It was always a little frightening at first for the little ones, especially when-

Gregory squealed, all but throwing himself down the slide…headfirst. 

“Friend! No!” Sun gripped the sides of his head, eyeing the fast approaching toddler frantically. Then he remembered the last stop for the slide. 

Towards the end of the slide was a little bump. Just something to stop the littles from flying off the end. An unnecessary safety precaution that caused way more injuries than it prevented. As he watched Gregory get closer to it, Sun is reminded of a little girl who took a similar approach down the slide. She ended up with a severe concussion and a black eye, from where her head bounced off the side of the slide, smacking her face right into hard plastic. She was fine, given the circumstances, but she was also school-age. 

Sun rushed forward, covering the bottom portion of the slide.

“Oof.” Gregory slammed into him. His stomach was down, so his head still hit hard plastic but it was less rough than the girl’s descent. 

Sun popped his head back up, scrambling up into an upright position. 

Gregory was already back up, staring up at him with wide, curious eyes. “Okay?” He asked, reaching out for him. A minor friction burn took up the length of his arm. Sun winced when he noticed it, but resolved himself with the thought that the extent of Gregory’s injuries could’ve been a lot worse.

“I’m okay,” Sun reassured him, taking his outstretched hand. He removed himself from his place on the slide, leading Gregory by the hand. “And…hop!” 

“Hop!” He shouted, echoing Sun. Gregory jumped down, giggling. 

“Okay,” Sun started, kneeling down to be eye level with Gregory, “Would you like a snack or to do a craft?”

Gregory considered this, chewing on his bottom lip, like this was the single most difficult decision he had ever made. 

“What the fuck!?” someone shouted

Gregory flinched back, eyes going impossibly wide. He looked up at Sun through overgrown, matted bangs. His lips were pursed into a thin line and his jaw was moving back and forth.

Sun sent him a worried glance, placing a gentle hand on his head. “Don’t grind your teeth,” he chided, trying to distract the overly-anxious child (and isn’t that so rich coming from you?) It didn’t work, because of course it doesn’t. “It’s probably just a mean ol’ worker. You’re going to go play in the ballpit for a little bit, okay? And I’ll go check on them.”

Gregory nodded, eyes staring straight ahead. “Oh, okay,” he said, voice oddly monotone. 

He watched Gregory hoist himself up, over the edge of the ballpit, and disappear into the array of colorful, plastic balls. It was only once Sun could no longer see him, that he allowed himself to panic-just a little. 

Here he was, in between morning rotation and afternoon rotation, all alone with a (likely, though Sun has to hope his new friend has someone waiting for him) abandoned child. He could count on one hand how many adults had stepped foot in the daycare, and none of them had been anytime recently. So, if there really was a disgruntled customer, worker, or what have you, Sun (and by strictly default and nothing else, Moon) was the only thing standing between their wrath and a small, defenseless child. 

Sundrop was many things.

Most of the time, an entertainer. Loud and boisterous to keep the little ones from feeling excluded from their family’s excursions.

Other times, a nurse. Placing colorful, faz-themed band-aids on the numerous injuries children tend to sustain while…well…while being kids. 

Moondrop was also many things.

A caretaker to the quiet-sort of children that thrived in silence and solitude.

The one that watched over the children while they slumbered, idly waiting until the very last one’s eyes fluttered open. In between shushing and patting at the particularly weary ones’ backs, reassuring them-in his own way-that, no matter what was going on at home or school, they were all safe and protected here with them.

They were created-so different but melded-together in the same plastic, robotic body-with these roles in mind. Each and every day they had the same argument regarding control and which rules applied to who and when. The tug-a-war was almost always won by Sun, only because of the light-sensitive sensors they outfitted them with, relegating Moon to pure consciousness and will-power until called upon. 

They each had their roles to fill, but one thing they could agree on…..

… no one would ever hurt a child on their watch!

-x-x-x-

The minute the door opened, Luis was on Vanessa’s heels, trying to press inside. As much as his mother told him “patience is a virtue”, it never really stuck. The cold air was biting at his exposed skin, and from the way Vanessa rubbed her hands together, it was obvious it was affecting her too. 

She stopped suddenly, hands on her hips. Luis-gifted with the same grace as a newborn gazelle-had to jerk himself backwards to avoid breaking his nose on Vanessa’s head. 

“What the fuck!?” She shouted, throwing her hands up.

“What?” He asked, peering over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. 

An empty cot stared back at him. No blanket. No kid. Just totally empty. 

“Oh.” 

“Where did he go?” Vanessa asked, even though only she would know. She bent down, lifting up the cot to see underneath. “Gregory?” 

“Ness,” Luis said softly, taking a tentative step forward.

“No, no, Luis I promise he was here. I didn’t…I wouldn’t…Gregory!” She yelled, cupping her hands over her mouth. “Gregory!”

Luis tried to help her, searching all the places that a young child could feasibly fit in (and others that no one, not even the smallest ant, could ever possibly squeeze into). He joined her in her search.

It was hardly five minutes later that Vanessa sat down, head resting on her knees. She stared down at the carpet, defeated. “I’m sorry,” she said, and Luis couldn’t tell who it was for. So he remained silent, continuing his search if only to not give up on this child that Ness had probably snatched from his homeless parents (knowingly or unknowingly, it’s all the same). 

He took a deep breath. They’d find the kid, safe and sound, and then Vanessa would return them to their parents. Luis should go with her, he was familiar with most of the homeless people that liked to mingle while he waited for the bus after his shift each night. Perhaps one of them might recognize Gregory. But there was always the trifling issue of human-

The lights shut off. With not a single prior warning or announcement made. 

The switch from light to dark was so jarring that Luis’ eyes began to sting. He rubbed at them, blinking intermittently. 

“The daycare is closed, come back tomorrow.”

Luis opened his eyes, hands dropping to his side. 

Vanessa audibly gasped, clambering to her feet. 

“No one interferes with naptime, no one. Now leave, intruders, before we contact the authorities.”

Eyes bright and mouth slightly agape, Luis bounced lightly on his heels. “Moondrop?” He asked, squealing.

Chapter Text

Vanessa was trying to remain calm. She really was. But closing her eyes and counting to ten, taking slow, deep breaths, and tapping each of her fingertips to her thumbs are just not cutting it. Not when there was a thin, puppet-like animatronic staring them down like they’d killed its mother. 

All red eyes and awkwardly positioned limbs, a thin cable connected it to the ceiling, and it used this cable to lunge to a place only a couple feet away from Vanessa. 

She rushed to her feet, giving herself a minor rug burn in the process. She huddled close to Luis, whether out of a willingness to protect him, or a need for a protection herself, she couldn’t tell. Not that it mattered anyway, because the minute the animatronic opened its maw again, he was stepping towards it. 

The room was dark, lit only by the light shining through the main daycare area and glowing, red eyes, but Vanessa was one hundred percent positive Luis was absolutely beaming at it.

He glanced back at her, making a small noise of pure excitement before taking another step closer. “Moondrop?” He asked.

“Do I know you, intruder?”

“Oh, yes, yes, yes! Oh…uh…sorry…you probably wouldn’t know me. But I got to work on your AI a little bit. Yours and…oh…what did they come up with? Star…no….”

”Sundrop,” Moon supplied helpfully. 

“Yes! Sundrop and Moondrop. I helped build your guys' AIs with a few others. God,” Luis shook his head, Vanessa could imagine a fond smile gracing his lips, “We were so excited to see you both in action. All the limitless potential you two had. Entertaining kids is one thing, but watching them with little outside help is an entirely different beast.” He grabbed Vanessa by the crook of her elbow, pulling her closer. Closer to him and closer to that thing.

“My name’s Luis and this is Vanessa. We work here. Earlier today she brought a kid in here…uh…Gregory. Brown hair. About yay big. You wouldn’t happen to know where he is, would you?”

Moon growled, reminding her too much of a rabid dog, ready to attack at the slightest provocation. “Bad parents, naughty parents, leaving your child behind is against the rules!”

“Oh, Moon, I- we aren’t Gregory’s-” Vanessa hit his arm. “Ow,” he murmured, sending a confused glare her way. 

“You’re right,” she said, trying to avoid Moon’s burning stare. “But the babysitter fell through, and missing today was out of the question. We thought the daycare would be the safest option, because we trust you two.” She smiled widely, the corners of her mouth twitching as she forced herself to look as convincing as possible. 

Moondrop muttered something unintelligible under his breath, eyes staring up at the ceiling. After a moment of serious consideration, his eyes rolled down to meet hers. “Sun says we have to give him back to you, but-” 

“Oh, thank God,” she sighed in relief. 

“But,” Moon emphasized, “ You need to enroll him in the daycare, and if we have to inform CPS even once of mistreatment, we will make sure you never, ever see him again. Dirty, filthy. Parents are responsible for making sure their child is clean and healthy.” 

Vanessa nodded. “Yes, we totally understand. It won’t happen again. Right, honey?” She nudged Luis, who was still standing next to her in stunned silence. 

He nodded, muttering out an agreement. 

“Good. Good. First things first, standstill.” There was a loud whirring sound, and then Moon’s red eyes turned light blue. He looked Luis up-and-down and then did the same for Vanessa. 

“What was that?” Vanessa asked.

“A security protocol,” Luis explained, a note of excitement in his voice. “We took a page out of a previous Fazbear location, but instead of having the animatronics just memorize criminals, we have them create a profile for each and every guest. For the GlamRocks this is used mainly for returning guests, birthday parties, and large school functions. But for the daycare-”

“We use the profiles to link families, primary care givers, and emergency contacts. On top of that our database for each profile is continually being updated, so we also use them to learn a particular child’s dislikes, likes, allergies, and other pertinent information.”

“Convenient,” Vanessa said in place of the other ‘c’ word she wants to use. 

“Very. Now, if you two follow me to the daycare. We can get Gregory signed-up.” Moon creeped back towards the large platform. Upon stepping into the light he made a strangled noise and fell somewhere out of sight. 

“Wait- and he’s already gone. Great, how are we supposed to get down there?” Vanessa looked to Luis for ideas. Except he was already heading for the same platform the creepy moon thing just fell from. “Luis! Luis, get back here,” she hissed, snapping her fingers. 

He waved his hand back at her, dismissively. “Come on, Ness.”

Seeing no way out of this, she joined him on the platform. 

“This is so cool,” he chirped, oblivious to Vanessa’s trembling. 

“Cool isn’t the word I’d use,” she snapped, stepping closer to the edge. And oh, that wasn’t a good idea. Probably-no, definitely-the worst idea she’d ever had. They were so high up. The ballpit beneath them didn’t help matters, because she read an article once about a-

There was a slight but gentle pressure squeezing her right hand. She looked down and then back up to the hand holding hers. Luis smiled at her. “You can stay up here. I can get Gregory signed up for daycare. Then we can meet up in the break room and figure out everything from there.”

“No, no I’ll be fine. I’m fine,” she told him. Though the idea of falling through open air was enough to make her want to curl up in a ball and never go anywhere high up ever again. 

“Ness,” Luis said, squeezing her hand, “I don’t blame you for being afraid. Take a deep breath…in…and…out,” he exhaled, loudly. 

She follows his league, and it worked a little bit. But her fear went deeper than a lack of oxygen, so she was still a little hesitant to make the final plunge. 

“C’mon, Vanessa,” she muttered to herself. “You can do this.” She placed one foot off the platform, and then quickly backtracks.

“I-I’m sorry, I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.”

Luis patted her back. “It’s okay,” he said.

A cry broke Vanessa out of her trance-like state. “Momma ‘Nessa!” Momma ‘Nessa came back!” She dared herself to look over the edge, and there-standing just outside the ballpit, wriggling in yet another animatronic’s arms (Sundrop? But where did Moon go?)-is Gregory. The animatronic was trying its very best to keep hold of the toddler, but was clearly losing an unwinnable battle.

Vanessa steeled herself, inhaling and exhaling…once…twice…and then she fell through the open air. 

She landed perfectly safe, half-buried among the sea of colorful, germ-infested, plastic balls. Admitly, it took quite a bit of effort to wretch herself free, but she liked to think she did it gracefully no matter how hard Gregory and the others seemed to be laughing. 

Finally though, she made it to the edge of the pit, and threw herself over. She landed on her stomach right in front of Sun and Gregory. 

Gregory giggled-and she knows it was him, because it was light and jovial in a way only a child’s laugh was. “Momma Nessa!” He squealed.

She picked herself up, dusting off her pants. “Gregory,” she said back with only slightly less enthusiasm.

She tried not to think about the implications and future ramifications Gregory calling her “momma” might cause. Because right now him calling her, “momma,” was probably the only thing stopping Sun from calling emergency services and CPS on them. Though Vanessa did shudder to think what kind of home life he must have had to attach himself to her so quickly. It also felt…uncomfortable, for some reason.

Sun set him down, and in an instant he was throwing himself into her arms. He smelled even worse now, and she cringed. How could she be so neglectful? Here she had left him, still dirty and in clothes not befitting of even a rat, while she herself took a shower and got clean clothes. 

“Agh!” She nearly toppled over from the sudden excess weight. “Whoa, kiddo, slow down. Almost took me out,” Vanessa joked, ruffling his hair. Again, she fought the urge to cringe when her hand brushed against greasy, matted locks. 

“Sorry,” Gregory mumbled, taking a step back.

Vanessa hurriedly reached out, patting him on the head. “No reason to apologize, just teasin’ ya!”

He looked up at her. “A…ap…apollo…?”

“Apologize,” Luis said, climbing over the edge of the ballpit. Sundrop muttered something about using the stairs, but they all ignored him. “It means to say sorry.”

“Name?” Gregory asked, eyebrows furrowed. A single accusatory finger was pointed at Luis. 

When no one answered him, he looked up at Vanessa. “Name?” He asked again, this time in a quieter voice, finger still pointing at Luis. 

“Hah, you’re so silly,” she joked, anxiety rising because Sundrop was definitely catching on. “That’s Luis.”

Gregory dropped his arm, holding it close to his chest. “‘Kay.” He looked between Luis and Vanessa, deliberating on something, before eventually deciding to go along with whatever they had planned. Either that or the poor kid actually didn’t trust his own memory regarding his family.

He reached over to hold Luis’ hand and then took Vanessa’s in his other. Gregory giggled, swinging their arms back-and-forth. They exchange a glance at one another. God, she wished she could read Luis’s mind. He looked calm and happy (all things considered), but surely he hated her for dragging him into this.

He should hate her for so much more

Sun cleared his throat, bells jingling as he clapped his hands once. “Now, let’s get the paperwork out of the way.”

-x-x-x-

By the time they were finished in the daycare, Gregory was conked out, slumbering peacefully in Luis’ arms. 

Sundrop kicked them out of the daycare, just in time for the afternoon kids to come strolling in. Parents gave them dirty looks as they passed by. 

“Well, my shift is over for today? What about you?” Luis asked, shifting Gregory upwards. 

“I still have another, oh what is it?” She checked her watch. “Another eight hours before I can even consider leaving. Probably more, though.” She tried to think of a viable solution to their current predicament, maybe a place to discuss finding Gregory’s parents. Except there was none, at least none that wouldn’t immediately get them caught by management or nosy coworkers. “Sorry, Luis,” Vanessa said earnestly, “I-”

“Ness, it’s fine. Besides I’m sure Gregory might appreciate a meal and some clean clothes. We can regroup at my house. The one on-”

“Ackerman Road, yeah, yeah I remember. 105, right?”

“105,” he nodded in confirmation. He started to walk towards a side exit, only to turn back around mid-stride, clicked his fingers and made finger guns at her (well, finger gun, as the other one was holding tightly onto Gregory). “Be there, or be square.” And then, as if she imagined the whole thing, Luis spun on his heels and speed walked to the door.

“What a dork,” she giggled to herself.

Chapter Text

Luis ran into the first problem before they even left the parking lot. 

He slipped and slid on muddied snow. Gregory gasped, startled, so Luis tried to make it seem like he was doing it on purpose. “Errrr,” he mimicked a speeding car, foot sliding out to the side. He spared a look back towards the pizza plex, trying his best not to scoff. 

Thousands upon thousands a day in revenue, and they couldn’t afford to pay someone to plow or salt the parking lot.

“Assholes,” he muttered to himself, forgetting whose company he was currently in. 

“Ah-hole,” Gregory chirped back in response. 

Oh, God, Ness was going to kill him.

“No, nope, I said apple,” he said, shaking his head frantically.

“Ah-hole!” Gregory shouted, smiling.

“Yes, yes, apple,” he repeated, hoping the toddler would latch onto the new word. Maybe-if he didn’t slip-up again-Ness wouldn’t ever find out about this. 

Gregory opened his mouth again, tilting his head in confusion. 

“Here it is,” Luis interrupted. He clicked the unlock button on the key fob. And this is where problem number two came in. 

“I don’t have a booster seat for you,” Luis said, dreading the walk he no doubt would have to do across the parking lot. “A responsible person would take you back inside. Call the police in the best case scenario, maybe someone is looking for you. Leave you with Ness or one of our other coworkers in the worst case scenario. At least until me or Ness can buy a seat for you, or borrow one from someone. But…” Luis looked out across the parking lot. 

Gregory leaned his head on Luis’ shoulder. “Tired,” he said.

Luis sighed. He closed his eyes. “I guess I’m not as responsible as I thought. Well,” he started, opening the backseat door on the driver’s side, “I already committed fraud, or, uh, would that count as identity theft? Or impersonation?” He laughed but instead of feeling happy, he felt a bit light-headed. Today’s events were slowly but surely catching up with him. “As well as kidnapping, maybe? I guess not having a booster seat won’t be too much of a big deal, right?”

Gregory huffed out a breath. 

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Luis joked. He spotted a laundry basket, sitting on the floor behind the passenger seat. It held some of his clean clothes that he took to the laundromat a few months back, before he saved up to replace his abuela’s near-ancient washer and dryer, and then never got around to taking inside. 

An idea occurred to him right then. Not a particularly bright one, and his mother and abuela were surely rolling in their graves. But it was the only one he had right now. 

-x-x-x-

They arrived at the store closest to the pizza plex. Luis drove extra careful, checking on Gregory through the rearview mirror. He secured the laundry basket with a seat belt, and buried Gregory in the small mountain of clothes. The thought that if his car was even slightly rear-ended, the toddler he maybe sort-of helped kidnap could potentially die or be seriously injured, never left his mind. 

The store was fairly busy, which was a blessing in disguise. Because the less people that saw the state Gregory was in, the better. 

He tried to think of everything a toddler might need, as he placed Gregory in the front part of the shopping cart. 

“Hello,” a woman greeted Luis. She looked bone-tired, clearly the designated greeter for the store. “Welcome to- oh, ope,” she cracked a smile. “And who is this little guy?” The woman asked, looking at Gregory with what could only be described as deep concern. 

“Okay Luis,” he thought to himself, “Play it cool. Don’t make her even more suspicious.”

“I found him in an alley this morning.”

Goddamnit!

“Ah I see, a foster kid. Well good on you. Hope he’s reunited with his parents soon.” the woman replied.

He forced a laugh. “That’s the plan,” Luis said. “I am in a bit of a hurry, though. We don’t have any supplies at home, so would it be any trouble if you could point me in the right direction?”

“Sure thing. Aisle nine,” the woman told him, pointing somewhere further in the store. 

“Thank you…” he looked at her nametag, “Gerte.”

“No problem. Better get going before this little one falls asleep.”

They exchanged another laugh, probably forced by both of them at this point, before Gerte swiveled back to greet some more customers. 

“Aisle nine…nine…nine.” He never remembered the store being this big, or noisy for that matter. 

“Loud,” Gregory murmured, pointing to his ears. “I don’t like it.” 

“I know. I’m sorry,” Luis apologized. He can’t imagine what must be running through his head right now, and grocery stores can be kind of overwhelming even to him, on the best of days (and unbearable on the worst). “I’ll hurry up. And you can pick a toy and a treat, how’s that sound?”

Gregory eyed him incredulously. It was the first time the kid had done so, and even though he had every right to be suspicious, it still kind of stung. “Toy?” He uttered the word like he’d never heard of one before…or never owned one himself. 

“Yes, a toy. Maybe a doll or a bouncy ball. I’ll let you look after we’re done.”

This seemed to perk him right up. He bounced a little in the cart’s seat. “Happy, happy, happy ~” Gregory sing-songs while he gathered the necessary supplies to care for a toddler. 

“Let’s see,” Luis looked into the cart. “Some of those baby puff snacks, a bottle of baby shampoo and body wash, a carseat that accommodates up to six-years-of-age, some clothes, and some other groceries because I haven’t been shopping since the dawn of time.”

Gregory giggleed, bangs covering his eyes. 

“Ah, that’s what I forgot. Whatever, I'll get it on the way out. For now,” he picked up Gregory, setting him down in front of the toddler-aged toy section, “Be free!” 

Gregory just stood there. He stared up at Luis, bewildered. “Uppie?” He asked, toddling back over to him. He offered his tiny arms up to him, dancing from one foot to the other. “Uppie, now?”

“No, kiddo. It’s time to pick a toy out.” He smiled. He hoped it was reassuring, though it was probably not. 

“Nuh, uh,” Gregory pouted, shaking his head. “Uppie!”

Luis sighed, a little heartbroken for the kid in front of him. He gave in, bending down to allow Gregory to throw himself into Luis’ embrace. 

“Maybe next time. For right now let’s just get you a couple to start off with.”

-x-x-x-

Vanessa was let off the clock early. Well, more like she pretended to be sick, and passed out in front of some of her coworkers. Who, in return, asked if she needed an ambulance. She definitely wasn’t about to pay that amount of money, especially if she was skimping out on her hours for the day. So Vanessa ended up convincing them she’d drive herself to the ER. 

Did she actually fool them? Who knew? Honestly, It was not like they ever paid her any mind anyway, and it wasn’t like her being sick would interfere with her coworkers schedules. 

Vanessa made it to 105 Ackerman Road a little after eight in the evening. The streetlights were on and the world was just the tiniest bit quieter than it had been during the daylight hours. 

She saw Luis’ car in the driveway, and her heart beat just a little bit faster. Vanessa sloshed through the remnants of half-melted, muddied snow to get to the front porch. The porch light was on, which was a good sign that Luis hadn't forgotten their plan from earlier. 

She lightly knocked on the door. Gregory might’ve been asleep, as it was quite late. Even if she was kind of freezing to death, Vanessa would hate to be the one that woke him up. 

Thankfully, Luis must have heard her car pull in, because her fist was just about to knock against the door again when it opened. He stands in the doorway, blocking her view of inside. 

“Ness!” He said, opening the door a bit wider. “Come in, come in!” He took her coat and told her to leave her shoes by the door.

She took a deep breath. His house was pleasantly warm and smelled of cinnamon and recently-washed laundry. There were photos on the walls of a much younger Luis. Some of them included a woman with sad-looking eyes, and others included some of the men in his family. His grandfather, judging by how aged one of the men look in these photographs, but the other was a toss up between his father, uncle, or a much older brother. 

She’d never been good at guessing family relations. 

“That’s the last family photo we took together before abuela’s health started to decline.” Luis said, noticing Vanessa staring at the photo.

Vanessa jolted, holding a hand over her heart. 

He chuckled, patting her on the back. “Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No, it’s fine. I scare easily.”

“Don’t you work the night shift, alone?” He asked, leading her into the living room. 

She shrugged indifferently. “Ironic isn’t it? And technically speaking, I’m not alone -alone. I have friends.”

He rolled his eyes, good-naturedly. “Oh, yes, I’m sure the Glamrocks make excellent conversation partners.”

“In fact, they do.”

He hummed back a response. “Gregory,” he said, “Look who I found.”

She gasped, the toddler in front of her looks nothing like the one she picked up from the alleyway. He’s been cleaned up and dressed in nice clothes. 

Though now it was painfully obvious how underfed he was, she chose to ignore that for now as it was not something that could be fixed in a single night. 

“Mama ‘Nessa!” He squealed, jumping up. In his excitement, Gregory knocked over his makeshift tower made of blocks. He lunged himself into her arms, wrapping his arms around her waist. Vanessa was quite caught off guard by this.

Why did this feel so uncomfortably familiar?

“Did you have fun?” She asked, brushing her thoughts off and hesitantly wrapping her own arms around him, beginning to rock them back and forth. 

“Mhm, yeah.” He looked up at her, frowning. “You came back.” He resumed hugging her. “Thank you,” Gregory said, voice muffled by her work shirt. 

Vanessa fought the urge to cry. Patting the top of his head, she managed to get out the words, “Always and forever.”

Chapter Text

An hour later, Gregory was sleeping in Luis’ old playpen he managed to dig up from the basement. Not exactly ideal, but then again, nothing about this situation was ideal. 

Ten or so feet away, sitting side-by-side on the loveseat, Vanessa and Luis were laser-focused on their devices’ screens. Each conducting their own search: Luis on his computer and Vanessa on her phone. 

Luis tapped the down arrow, scrolling through the local news articles. “You’d think someone would have posted something about a missing kid…right?” 

“Maybe? Unless he was abandoned?”

“Poor kid,” Luis murmured sympathetically. 

“Not one post.” Frustrated, she tapped her keyboard with way more force than necessary. She stood up and started to pace, eyes still glued to her phone.

“Maybe they lost him, and are too afraid that they’ll be judged harshly if they admit they lost him..?” It was weak reasoning at best, but if Luis was good at anything, it was being outwardly optimistic. 

“Not an excuse,” Vanessa snapped, finally looking up from her phone. 

“Didn’t say it was…”

She groaned and shook her head, as if trying to clear it. “Sorry. I know it’s not your fault. Actually, I should be thanking you right now.”

“Aw, don’t even worry about it. Just try to remember I’m only here to help. This whole situation will go a lot smoother if we’re working on it together.” Luis closed his laptop, setting it on the coffee table. “I think we both need some rest.” He stood, motioning further down the hall. “I just cleaned the guest room a week ago, so it should be all set up.” 

Vanessa stared at him. 

He faltered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean…unless you want to drive home. But…but it’s late. And the roads were already bad. I can’t imagine they’d be any better now, and-”

“No, sorry. Long day. It took me a second to process what you were saying. But yeah, I’d like that- uh, sleeping in the guest room.”

She started for the hallway but paused, turning back to Luis. 

“It’s the third room down the hall to the right,” he supplied helpfully. 

“Yes, thank you. Just, what about Gregory?”

“Oh, well, I figured I would camp out on the couch.” He smiled, plopping back down on the couch to emphasize his point. 

“No,” she said, placing her hands on her hips. “This is your house, and it’s only fair that you get a goodnight’s sleep without worrying about babysitting.”

“Nah.” He grinned, already laying down. There was a throw blanket on the back of the couch that his abuela had made for him years ago. “I’ll be fine.”

“Gregory is my responsibility. I brought this on myself.”

Luis tsks her, propping himself up on his elbow. “What’s with all the talk of bringing things on ourselves? It’s depressing, and I already told you we were in this together.” A sudden wave of exhaustion sent him laying back down. “Besides, it’s not like the police will care about whose fault it is. We’re both just as culpable.”

Vanessa sighed. “You’re right.”

“That’d be a first.”

“But I still feel bad about sleeping in a bed when you’re uncomfortable on a couch.”

“You’re not going to drop this, are you?” Luis asked, looking up at the ceiling. 

“Nope.”

“Then there’s only one solution.”

-x-x-x-

Vanessa shifted. The air mattress had deflated in some places, and she’d nearly rolled off the bed because of it. 

Per her previous concerns about Luis being uncomfortable. Her co worker took it upon himself to rummage around his basement in search of the one thing more uncomfortable than an antique couch -

A hole-ridden, duct taped-together, dust-covered air mattress. 

They couldn’t risk waking Gregory up, so he used a manual air pump to avoid making unnecessary noises.

“Ness, you can still sleep in the guest room,” Luis told her, once they were both settled in. “Or I could trade with you. I take the-”

“I’m okay. Thank you. Let’s try to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow,” had been her only response back.

Now, three hours later and two hours until she had to report for work, Vanessa was rethinking every single life choice she ever made to get here. She turned on her side, hoping to find rest for half-an-hour or fifteen minutes - contrary to popular belief, she wasn’t picky. Sleep was sleep. 

She closed her eyes, the long day behind and ahead of her weighing heavily on her shoulders. Nearly asleep…almost asleep.

“Momma!”

Vanessa jolted awake, sitting straight up. Behind her, she heard Luis mutter something definitely not of the English language. 

Not having fallen asleep herself, she was the first to act. In seconds she’d hurried across the air mattress and was trying her hardest not to stumble into the coffee table Luis put off to the side to make room for the air mattress. 

Once she made it off the death contraption falsely labeled a mattress, Vanessa was pleased to see Gregory was, in fact, not actively dying, on fire, or dead. He looked up at her, face red and scrunched up. 

Upon seeing her, he lifted his arms. “Up,” he said.

Luis, finally awake enough to remember their predicament, joined her at the playpen. “I’ll go make breakfast. Let me know if you need any help.” He gently patted Gregory’s head. “Good morning, bud.”

He left for the kitchen. 

“Up,” he repeated, eyes pleading with her. 

“Yes, yes, sorry.” Vanessa hesitantly picked him up, and propped him up against her hip. “Did you have a good rest?”

Gregory laid his head against her shoulder. 

“Hm, not very talkative in the morning?” He didn’t respond to her question, which oddly was the only answer she needed. 

She did her best to make him look presentable, and left him with Luis-who had already made breakfast and gotten himself ready-while she got ready for work. 

Shutting the bathroom door, Vanessa slid down to the floor. In truth she was pretty much ready. She didn’t go back to her apartment last night for an extra change of clothes, and the only thing she needed to do is pull back her hair. But she just wanted to be alone.

Even though Luis seemed gung-ho about sharing the blame if they’re both caught, and equal responsibility if they were not, Vanessa couldn’t shake the feeling that something’s decidedly… off about this entire ordeal. Well…besides the obvious.

There was a knock at the door. She jumped, leaning forward away from the door.

“Ness?” Luis asked, giving one last tap at the door. “It’s getting to be that time.” He laughed (Vanessa’s always liked his laugh, it was warm and deep and…) “I wouldn’t want your breakfast to get cold.”

“Thanks, Lu,” she called. “I’ll be out in sec.”

Luis hummed back in response, leaving her be. 

She got to her feet. Bracing herself against the sink, she looked into the mirror. “Okay Vanessa, you can do this. Today has to be better than yesterday, right?”

-x-x-x-

They carpooled together in Vanessa’s car, and arrived at the pizzaplex at a quarter past eight. She parked in the nearest parking spot to the side door. Gregory was conked out by the time Luis was pulling him from the seat.

He groaned, trying to snuggle deeper into the seat. 

“I know, bud, but you have to go to daycare,” Luis said, sympathetically. “At least for a few hours.”

They moved quickly, keeping an eye out for their coworkers. The side door took a moment to open, the sensor having been frozen over the previous night. Impatiently, Vanessa rubbed the stupid little box with the sleeve of her jacket, hoping to make it work. 

Somehow, after winning the battle against the door, they managed to make it to the daycare without any more problems. 

It was still early, so the only kids that would be in the daycare would be the early, early morning staff’s kids. And not many of them had kids in the first place, so it was really no surprise that the whole place looked nearly empty. 

Sundrop pranced up to them. “ Oh ,” he said, enthusiastic in a way only a robot, programmed to always be happy and excitable no matter the circumstances, could be. “You came back.”

“Yeah…” she said, because honestly, what choice did she have? If she hadn’t come back, then the daycare attendant could go blab to the higher ups. Which undoubtedly would lead them to questioning her, and Vanessa had never been good under-

“Sunny!” Gregory squealed. He wriggled out of Luis’ grasp, toddling over to Sundrop. “Missed you,” he murmured, hugging the daycare attendant’s legs. 

“Well, we should go clock in,” Luis said, nudging her to the exit. “I’ll be back to pick Gregory up by four. Bye Gregory.”

Sundrop gave only the barest hint of acknowledgement, but knowing what these robots were capable of, it was likely he heard him loud and clear. 

“Bye Gregory,” Vanessa said, allowing Luis to lead her to the door. 

Gregory, too preoccupied with the colorful room and potential friends, doesn’t see them leave. 

-x-x-x-

The rest of the day was spent doing menial tasks, dealing with entitled customers, and researching all the facebook pages and websites dealing with Hurricane’s missing and runaway children. 

On her lunch, she saw Luis. He was just as frustrated as her, with the progress they’d made regarding Gregory. 

“Maybe he was abandoned,” Luis floated the idea, apprehension bubbling to the surface, but he quickly recanted it. 

“You could be right.” 

“I hope I’m not.”

He was paged not long after, leaving Vanessa alone with her thoughts. 

Chapter Text

Sun was pleasantly surprised that Gregory was brought back to the daycare. And, judging by his little friend’s reaction, he’d hazard a guess Gregory was just as happy to see him. 

His friend’s guardians leave (an itch, a voice, a whisper in his head, telling him that something is off about them, won’t leave him alone until the heavy, wooden door slams shut). Gregory didn’t seem to notice, clinging to his legs. But that was for the best, because dealing with separation anxiety had never been his strong suit. 

A kid getting injured and needing a bandaid? 

Sun had bandaids of all different colors, Fazbear characters, and sizes. 

A kid was cranky or too overwhelmed?

Not really Sun’s forte, but Moon had always had a talent for calming down the ones that couldn’t be quelled with finger paint or funny voices. 

But give them a kid with separation anxiety and they’re lost. Not for lack of trying of course. 

A couple of years ago, a two-year-old girl, named Erica, was placed in the daycare. All smiles and giggles up until the very moment mom and dad were no longer in view. 

You would have thought the world was ending with the tantrum she threw. 

That day had been particularly busy - thirty-seven children being placed in the daycare, even though he’s legally not supposed to watch more than twenty at a time. But, despite that, he tried his best to calm her down. Singing, dancing, funny voices, and promises of stickers later on did nothing. It was…disheartening to say the least. 

Erica continued her tantrum, albeit quieter (the little ones always run out of steam so quickly) up until her mom and dad popped into view a few hours later. 

He thought of her every time a young child walks through the door, or slid down the tube into the ballpit. Most children go through a period of being upset - being separated from one’s caregiver(s) could be a very scary thing to go through, especially if there was any history of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. 

Still, all this to say, Sun was very happy that Gregory didn’t seem to mind his parents’ absence. He scooped him up, and brought him over to introduce Gregory to all his other friends. There weren't very many (usually only three or four during the week) until the afternoon. 

All his friends had already found their place on the carpet. As he approached, they all looked up at him expectantly. 

“Makayla,” he said, pointing to a little girl, six-years-old, with thick, dark, curly hair. 

“Xander.” He pointed to a red haired little boy, four-years-old, with large, wired glasses. 

“And Sarah.” He motioned towards a small girl, three-years-old, with large blue eyes and a face full of freckles. She was also the reason Sun had to ban any products containing tree nuts. 

Gregory clinged to him, refusing to look at the other kids. The kids stared up at him, confused and a little bewildered with the newest addition. 

“Mister Sun, who’s that?” Makayla asked, pointing at Gregory. 

“His name is Gregory,” Sundrop said, allowing the aforementioned child to bury his head in the ruffled lining of Sun’s shirt. 

“Why’s he hiding?” Sarah leaned forward on her knees to get a better view of Gregory. 

“He’s a bit shy right now, but he’ll talk when he’s ready.” Shifting Gregory to one arm, Sun snapped his fingers (usually he claps his hands to get the kids’ attention, but that really isn’t an option right now). “O-kay!” He shouted cheerfully. “Let’s start with our morning song.”

-x-x-x-

One thing about working at Fazbear’s that they didn’t tell you (among many) was the fact that no one was allowed to breathe a word of the restaurant’s bloody history. Oh, they’ll say it started in Hurricane (or some other, nearby smalltown). They threw names around when employees or curious customers asked. Upper management even had a whole backstory regarding the “supposed owners.” Which was probably for the best because the real story was not for the faint of heart. 

Anyone who had lived in Hurricane for more than a day knows why everyone avoided the pizzaplex like the plague. It was only the business from tourists that kept the lights on. 

Vanessa wasn’t alive when the original murders took place. Nor was she alive when the killer struck again (and then another time), but her parents had been. She grew up hearing their stories and warnings about a killer hiding behind a mask as trustworthy as Spring Bonnie.

She recalled their tales of two men who ran the original diner in the center of town, and then several more preceding that one. She remembered how distraught her mother would become at the memory of a blonde-haired little girl with the greenest eyes and most obnoxious accent. 

“Elizabeth,” her mother had once said during one of these recollections, rocking back-and-forth on their porch swing, “Her name was Elizabeth Afton. And she was my only friend.”

She thought of her mother’s tears whenever management gets a stick up their ass regarding the retelling of the who, why, where, and when of how Fazbear’s came to be. Their retelling of events erased the Afton and Emily families. It erased all the pain that the residents of Hurricane went through. 

Now Vanessa knew more than she ever wanted to about the murders, because sh-

“I’m sorry ma’am, Officer Vanessa must have been reading up on the conspiracy theories surrounding Fazbear’s,” her manager, John joked, bringing Vanessa out of her thoughts. He winked at the middle-aged woman, who giggled in response. 

The moment the woman left, Vanessa knew she was in for it. 

He turned to her, eyes cold. “What does policy say about telling customers what happened back in the eighties?”

She shifted. “Don’t do it?” 

“Right. But yet here you are trying to dredge up the past.”

“Sorry,” she muttered, eyeing the floor. Honestly, Vanessa was not. It was a stupid policy that had only made the residents of Hurricane angrier (it was quite frankly a miracle that the stupid mall hadn't been set ablaze). 

“Manager John?” A deep, cartoonish sounding voice asked a little sheepishly. 

Vanessa looked up, past John - who had gone noticeably tense. 

She grinned. “Hey, Freddy.”

Chapter Text

See, another key thing they didn’t tell you about working here was the animatronics. If they didn’t like you (and how a robot can like or not like someone is beyond her), you wouldn’t last long. The programmers took notes from the past lines of Fazbear robots, tweaked them and made them the closest thing to sentient. 

Some of the new hires didn’t believe this. They took it upon themselves to mess with the animatronics.

Those people never lasted long.

But Vanessa has the special circumstance of seeing the animatronics after everyone else had gone home. 

Sometimes it was special for all the wrong reasons.

Creepy as that could be, it meant she’d built up a repertoire with the band. 

“Officer Vanessa!” Freddy greeted, throwing a comically large paw out for her to shake. “Long time, no see.”

John remained frozen. It was not often the leader of the Fazband and mascot of the entire company randomly talked to the workers. 

“How’s it going, Freddy?”

“Busy. I’ve hardly had time to use a charging station.”

Vanessa shook her head, tsking sympathetically at the large bear’s plight. “Try not to work so hard.”

“Will do,” he laughed. 

She laughed as well, turning to leave. “Well, I’ll just be going then.”

“Okay, nice seeing you.”

-x-x-x-

“I need to file a missing person’s case,” a man said, voice trembling. 

The receptionist took in the man’s distressed demeanor, rumpled clothes, and untidy hair, and was instantly reminded of all the crazies that waltzed through the police station’s doors. Occasionally one of them would try to report a family member missing that either; A, wanted nothing to do with them, or B, never existed in the first place. It was not common but it did happen. 

She should have felt bad, but she didn’t. 

The man leaned on the desk. He had to be in his early to mid forties with chocolate brown hair and bright blue eyes. Not exactly a sight for sore eyes, and she was kind of bored. May as well hear him out. 

“What’s your relation to the missing person?”

“I’m his father.”

She opened up the necessary program, typing up the report for an officer to look over. “Okay, you’re his…” her nails tapped against the keyboard, “...father. Great! I’m going to give you this to fill out.” Rifling through the contents of her desk drawer, she pulled out a small packet. 

She handed it over, along with a pen and a clipboard. “Fill this out and bring it back when you’re done. We also require a birth certificate from the missing person and an ID from the person filing the report. And a current photo of the missing person.”

Dejectedly, the man reached for the paperwork. “Okay,” he said, turning from the desk. 

Looking back over the report, the receptionist almost slapped herself. How had she forgotten?

“Sir?” She calls.

“Yes?”

“Ah, name of the missing person?”

The man stared down at the paperwork. He made no move to answer the question. 

“Sir-”

“Gregory,” he finally answered, obviously on the verge of tears. “My son’s name is Gregory.”

“Okay…Gregory. Last name?” She asked, annoyed. 

The man didn’t answer her, choosing instead to focus on the paperwork. 

God, she hated customer service.

-x-x-x-

Completely oblivious to all of this, stuck in the daycare, Gregory babbled happily to his new friends. More kids came in, filling the daycare. They screamed and screeched, hurting his ears. 

“They’re loud,” Xander said, pressing his paint-covered fingers against the construction paper. 

Sarah nodded. “Yeah.”

“I wish they’d shut up,” Makayla remarked, pouring a healthy amount of glitter onto her own paper. 

Xander gasped, as did Sarah. Gregory copied them. They’re older and seem to know everything. 

“‘Kayla! Bad word!” Sarah shouted. 

“Agh! Sorry! Don’t tell Mister Sun, please,” she begged. “I won’t get a sticker, and I’m so close to getting a prize from the toybox.”

Gregory focused on his own craft, using his friends’ arguing as background noise. It was a coloring page of the Fazband. They all seem so cool. He hoped Momma Nessa and Papa Luis let him see them. All the other kids have.

He scribbled in the image with a dull, blue crayon. A shrill bell rang out, signaling the main door being opened. According to his friends, that really only happens when someone’s getting picked up or dropped off. 

Gregory looked up from his coloring page. Near the door, a brown-haired man is kneeling down, arms out. A little boy, a little older than Gregory himself, runs to him. They embraced, and the man stood up, whirling the little boy around. 

“Gregory,” a deep voice crooned, fondly. 

His eyes fluttered open. Standing over his crib is-

“Da,” Gregory babbled. A warm sort of feeling flooded his tiny chest. He couldn’t do more than smile and babble up at the man, but that always seemed to be more than enough. 

Large hands-warm hands-scoop him up. He’s held against his father’s chest. His dad turned in a slow circle. Gregory loves when his dad does that-loves the weightless feeling that follows. 

His dad laughed. It’s a nice sound, and it made Gregory feel safe and loved. “I love you so much. I hope you always remember that.”

A sharp pain in his side had Gregory turning back towards the group. Sarah poked him again. “You okay?” 

Hearing the door close, he nodded. “Mhm, now I am.”

-x-x-x-

A perk of working behind the scenes was that Luis was granted a little more freedom than other workers. Exhibit a: currently, he’s scrolling through the nearby towns’ missing persons cases.

There are countless. Kidnapped children, runaways, and everything in between.

But none of them matched Gregory’s description. 

He refreshed the page once more, trying to see if anything would change. The internet was slow, especially during peak hours. “C’mon, c’mon,” he urged his laptop.

“Luis?” His manager asked, voice still a little ways off. “Luis!”

Panic seized him. Luis looked between the door to the I.T. office and his laptop and back again. Doing the most normal thing he can think to do, Luis closed his laptop and shoved it in his bag. Just in time too, because not a second later his manager burst through the door like a less cool version of the kool-aid man.

“Aha! Caught ya!” 

Luis stared up at his manager, face impassive. He’s slouched over, elbow propped up by the computer desk. 

They stared at each other for a solid minute before his manager started cracking up. “Aha! You should have seen your face.” He mimicked a stunned expression. Wiping a tear from his eye, he continues on, “Anyways, you can go home. You’re already at forty hours, and you know how corporate is about giving overtime.”

Slowly, Luis felt himself calm down. Vanessa and Gregory were still safe. 

He forced a laugh. “I sure do. Thank you, Paul. I’ll start packing up.”

His manager grunted, leaving the tiny office. 

Packing up his supplies and shutting down any other equipment he had been using, Luis can’t help but feel grateful for the shortened day. 

More time for research.

Chapter Text

Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! Not again! Not again! Fuck! Fuck! 

Luis had been on his way to the security room, as he wanted to see if the daycare was currently in sleep-mode (Moon was said to not allow caregivers to pick up their children while they were sleeping), when he came across his best friend passed out in front of the doors. 

And all he could think was a string of curses and half-garbled thoughts. 

He made sure she was breathing and her pulse seemed to be steady enough. The skin on her face and hands was slightly dry and cool to the touch. Mixed with her occasional complaints in the past about headaches, he hoped it was just dehydration (serious but not as serious as what they had to deal with four months back). 

Management was sure to have a fit if they saw her passed out. Whether it was her fault or not, the company would try to paint her as the villain and toss her out like yesterday’s newspaper. It was for the best that he put her into the security room and kept an eye on her until she woke up. 

It helps that the daycare was indeed having their naptime, so it wasn’t like he could go anywhere for another hour or two. 

He set an alarm. He’d wake Vanessa up when it went off, and if she didn’t respond he'd call 9-1-1. 

-x-x-x-

The office smelled strongly of cinnamon and disinfectants. Bookshelves surrounded the room, boxing them in, save for the wooden door off to the side. A child-sized table sits towards the back. A board game with worn edges laid haphazardly forgotten on the table’s top. 

“So…want…issues…” The person in front of her said, their voice muffled.

Vanessa thought it must be a person, but with how blurred they were, it could be anything. Unless this was a dream, in which case perhaps animals could-

“Vanny!” A woman’s voice cuts off her train of thought. Her voice was clearer than it had ever been. It was firm, commanding in a way that was expected from someone who’d been teaching for many years, but also comforting like a mother. 

Vanessa didn’t so much as react. She never does. She can’t.

“Yes?” She heard herself ask. 

The woman inhaled deeply. “Are you…are you feeling alright?”

“Fine, why do you ask?”

The woman was quiet for a good minute. The clock hanging over the door was the loudest thing in the room. Each tick was another second less on the countdown to ending the session. 

“No reason. As your therapist, I worry about you, is all.”

Vanessa felt something in her boil in pure, unadulterated rage. Thoughts that were definitely not hers bubble up to the surface. 

Weak! If I’m weak he’ll get rid of me! How dare she insinuate I’m weak! Not weak! Not weak!

Vanessa was overwhelmed with the oscillating emotions. Still, she couldn’t move a muscle to show this. The corners of her mouth uptick into a smile. 

“I’m alright, Dr…” Her voice trailed off, everything becoming blurry around the edges like a watercolor painting. 

Vanessa felt herself sink into the couch, being sucked in and in and in, until she was falling through an open void. She squeezed her eyes shut, heart dropping into her stomach. 

“Vanessa…?” 

Suddenly, she wasn’t falling anymore. Someone was shaking her. “Vanessa?” They ask. 

Vanessa took a second to open her eyes, relishing in the feeling of being awake and in control of her own actions. She sighed deeply. 

When she finally opened her eyes, Luis was seated next to her. Concern was written all across his face. She hadn’t seen him look so worried since…

“I’m fine,” she said, sitting up before she froze in horror upon realizing she was in a completely different place than where she was last. Judging by the large monitors taking up the entire room, they were in the main security room. But…she didn’t remember moving here herself. 

“Luis… How did I get here?” Vanessa nervously asked.

“I found you passed out in the hallway. I carried you in here so management wouldn’t write you up.”

“Oh… Phew,” Vanessa sighed in relief. “Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”

“You want to pay for a ride in the whee whoo wagon?”

Vanessa looked down, shaking her head. “No.” She cracked a smile. “You don’t think Faz Entertainment would foot the bill, do you?” 

“No, absolutely not. They’re allergic to the words: accountability and lawsuit. You’d be fired before the ambulance even arrived.” He laughed, not at her but at the corrupt company that employed them both. 

“Right, right. Well, thank you for not leaving me to die out there. I must have been dehydrated or something.”

“Anytime. And, considering the last time I saw you drink any water was…” he hummed, tapping a finger to his chin, “Never. I would say you’re probably right on the money. Here.” He tossed her a water bottle.

She fumbled with it, casting Luis a (pretend) annoyed look.

“Drink up, and call me if you start feeling off .” 

“Yeah, yeah.” She unscrewed the cap. 

“I’m going to pick up Gregory. Don’t die.”

“No promises. And Luis?”

He poked his head back into the room, holding onto the doorframe. “Yes?”

“Thank you. Really, thank you.”

“Like I said, anytime,” he smiled brightly at her before leaving for real. 

-x-x-x-

Gregory laid curled up. His cot was situated between Sarah and Xander. The two got in trouble with Mr. Moon, so they had to be spaced further apart. They still talked in loud whispers anyways. He ignored his new friends, focusing on the twinkling stars over their heads and the soft music playing from some unknown place in the daycare. 

The next thing he knew, Mr. Sun was kneeling next to his cot. The lights were back on and his new friends are no longer next to him, nor are their cots. 

“Friend, it’s time to wake up.”

“Nuh, uh,” he groaned, pulling up the blanket Mr. Sun let him borrow for naptime over his head. The material is soft and keeps him warm. He started to fall back asleep. 

“Friend, it’s time for you to go home.”

That woke him up. 

He pulled the blanket away, hopping up. As fun as the daycare was, and he hoped Mama Nessa and Papa Luis let him come back tomorrow, he really wanted to leave. His new friends are really loud and kind of messy. 

He helped Mr. Sun take care of his blanket, pillow, and cot. And then he was led to the daycare’s door. 

“Papa Luis!” He shouted, racing the rest of the way there. 

He was scooped up, and he leaned into the warm hold. It reminded him of…..

Gregory shook his head, removing the thought before it could lead anywhere. He hated thinking about that. Hated thinking about his life before this. Hates, hates thinking about her.

It hurted his head anyways, and sometimes he can pretend it was all a bad dream. Mama Nessa and Papa Luis were taking really good care of him anyways, even if they thought he was a tiny little baby and not a toddler. They were really nice, and he had no doubts that they’ll learn. 

He closed his eyes, putting his head on Papa’s shoulder.

Chapter Text

“Welcome to Salt Lake City News at 10 and thank you for joining us. For those just tuning in, we’ve been covering the disappearance of a child from the Little Friends Daycare center in Sunnyvale, Utah. For more on the story, we go to-”

Click.

A man looked blankly at the (now) dark TV screen in front of him. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he choked on his sobs. He’d recorded that broadcast a year ago. Nothing had come of it. Just a few thoughts and prayers on Facebook that amounted to absolutely nothing. 

He was alone. 

-x-x-x-

Vanessa muttered to herself, filling out an incident report. A wily kid got it into their tiny, underdeveloped brain to climb the statue of Freddy. They fell, but thankfully they hadn’t gotten very far up before their grip slipped. Unfortunately, the kid still wound up with a concussion and Vanessa had gotten an earful from their mother. 

Incident reports were the least fun part of her job. They took way too much time, and they were just thrown away within the week. 

She scribbled down the necessary information. Pushing down with much more pressure than required. 

Her pencil-her last pencil-snapped. 

“Agh!” She shouted, frustration creeping in. 

Behind her the door to one of the many security offices slowly creaked open. 

Vanessa swiveled towards the door. “Hello,” she called out. “Anyone there?”

No one answered her. 

She shivered, some primal part of her brain telling her to shut and lock the door. Goosebumps formed on her skin. 

“Hello!?” 

Again, no one responded. Even the annoyingly catchy pop songs that play on repeat over the loudspeakers had stopped playing. 

Reluctantly, Vanessa stood up.

Slowly, inch by inch, she crept towards the door. Her only weapon was a clipboard, which she raised above her head. With each passing second, her anticipation grew. 

The door creaked open…

“Vanessa, hi- What are you doing!?” Her manager, thankfully one of the better ones, looked between Vanessa and the clipboard. “Are you okay? You don’t look well.”

Vanessa dropped her arms. “Sorry, Muriel…I…think I might have that bug that’s been going around.”

“Oh, no, that sucks. Well, no sense in keeping you when you don’t feel good. Take the rest of the day off.”

“Are you-”

Muriel shook her head. “Don’t worry about us. The pizza plex will remain standing while you’re gone. Just promise to get some rest, alright?”

Mutely, Vanessa nodded. 

-x-x-x-

The library in Hurricane was the least visited place in Hurricane. It sat on the edge of town. Some say it was built long before the town was established. Others tell of the many horrors that occurred within its walls; of ghosts that appear and disappear right before patrons’ eyes. Not that that makes much sense, but it doesn’t stop elementary schoolers with overactive imaginations from circulating the same rumors Luis heard way back when he was in school.

He unbuckled Gregory from his car seat. “This shouldn’t take more than five minutes,” Luis told him. 

The inside smelled the exact same as he last remembered it, like an old house that had been left to sit for decades on end - mildewy. The shelves are covered in a layer of dust, and only the librarian who looked up at them from her desk told Luis that the library hasn’t been abandoned yet. 

If he remembered correctly, the library had a kiddy corner. Somewhere the adults could drop their children off with kid-friendly material to keep them entertained. His abuela used to take him here all the time as a kid, because the only other form of family-fun entertainment came in the form of Faz-Ent. (and his abuela and extended family could come up with a whole host of reasons why stepping foot in that place was inviting trouble.)

He found the corner, and set Gregory down. “I’ll be right over there,” he told him, pointing to the display machine on the other side of the library. “I just have to research a couple things, and then we can go get ice cream. How’s that sound?”

Gregory gave him a thumbs up. 

“Cool.” Luis ruffled his hair. “Thanks, bud.”

It turned out using the newspaper display machine was a lot harder than his abuela made it look. After fiddling with it for a few minutes more, he did the walk of shame up to the librarian’s desk. 

“Excuse me, miss,” he started, “can you please help me with the newspaper machine?”

“The microform machine has been out of commission for the last decade.”

“Oh,” Luis said, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice. “I apologize for bothering you.”

The librarian sighed. “Lucky for you, I happen to keep a record of all major in-town events dating back since the early 1900s.” She looked at him over her glasses. “At least I hope you’re looking for a major event, otherwise you might be out of luck.”

“Yes…I mean yes, I’m fairly certain what I’m looking for would constitute a major event.”

Ten minutes later, Luis found himself at a table surrounded by newspapers, some older than he himself and others only months old. From here, he could see and hear Gregory - who was having the time of his life, eyes widening with every picture book. 

He smiled, sorting through all the dates. 

Hurricane Elementary Millage Passes: What Does This Mean for the Future of Our Children?

(September 17th, 2019).

Local Hurricane Resident Wins the Jackpot! 

(November 1st, 2021).

Grand Opening of a Brand-New Restaurant! 

(January 4th, 2023).

His smile dropped, reading the next headline.

Local Woman Found Dead!

(May 9th, 2023).

…and the next…

New Killer on the Prowl? 

(June 11th, 2023).

Killer Claims Another Victim

(August 24th, 2023). 

…and the next…

Two More Local Children Go Missing.

(September 23rd, 2023).

Behavioral Therapists Advised Not to Practice in Hurricane or nearby cities. 

(September 25th, 2023).

Is This the Work of the Same Killer From the 80s? 

(January 11th, 2024).

Luis eyed a different pile, one that looked older. Pulling the pile over to him, he set the papers out in front of him. 

Grand Opening! Fredbear’s Family Diner: Come One, Come All!

(May 4th, 1979).

He felt his stomach drop upon seeing the next few headlines.

Local Girl, Twelve, is Still Missing!

(November 12th, 1982).

Boy, 8, Nearly Dies After Tragic Accident at Fredbear’s Family Diner.

(October 6th, 1983).

Five Children Missing!

(June 27th, 1985).

He recognized his uncle’s smiling face on the latter newspaper’s front page. Shaking his head to rid himself of any oncoming negative thoughts, Luis turned in his seat to look at the librarian.

“Miss, is it alright if I check all these out? I need to feed my son dinner, and-”

“Sure thing. Just make sure to bring them back in one piece….or else.”

He chuckled nervously. “Of…of course.”

Once Gregory and the boxes of newspapers had been secured in the backseat, Luis slid into the driver’s seat. He sighed, trying to put the headlines out of his mind. 

He promised himself he wouldn’t bring up the past. That this was all water under the bridge for them. 

“Ice cream…?” Gregory asked, eyeing the colorful pages of the book Luis checked out for him. 

Luis hummed, straightening up. “Yeah, of course, bud. Do you want-”

His phone buzzed in the cupholder. “Hold that thought.” He pressed the answer button. “Hello?”

“Luis, hi! I got sent home-”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I was wondering if I could come over for a little bit? I haven’t seen Gregory all day, and…” Vanessa trailed off.

“No, yeah, that’s fine. I’m picking up some ice cream, and then I’ll be right there.”

They muttered a series of goodbyes before finally hanging up. He looked back at Gregory. “Hey, guess what?”

Gregory looked up from his book.

“‘Ness is going to meet us back at the house earlier than expected.”

He bounced in his seat, eyes lighting up. “Yay!”

“But first we have to get ice cream.” He turned back around, buckling his seatbelt. “How does ice cream sundaes sound?”

Chapter Text

Vanessa sat on the front stoop, waiting for Luis and Gregory to return. She hoped that they would hurry up, the neighbors were eyeing her. Awkwardly, she waved at an old woman checking her mail across the street.

The old woman scowled at her, hobbling back to her house. 

Vanessa sighed, staring down at her lap. Interacting with people had never been her strong suit. Well, interacting with adults anyway. 

They were so…judgmental and rude. Perhaps it was hypocritical of her to say so, as she herself was over the age of eighteen. But it was true. Adults had always given Vanessa a hard time, berating her controlling her and never listening to her. An endless cycle that was destined to repeat until she died. 

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Here she goes again, being overdramatic. 

Luis chose that moment to pull into the driveway, saving her from a downward spiral that could only lead to bad things. He parked, and she practically sprinted to the car. 

( Calm down, Vanessa. She told herself, slowing down. Why are you so excited to see them anyway?)

She…she didn’t have an answer to that. 

Gregory squealed when he saw her, wriggling in his car seat. 

…and maybe she didn’t need one, at least for now. 

Right now, looking at the toddler’s chocolate-covered face, there was a bigger issue to be dealt with. 

-x-x-x-

Vanessa helped Luis with dinner. Well, at least she attempted to. But Gregory refused to leave her side. He clung to her, like a baby monkey. It would be cute, if not for the hot stove and hotter oven that he kept getting way too close to. 

At one point, Luis kicked her out of the kitchen. Though he used the word, banished (the absolute dork).  

She played with Gregory in the living room. He smiled up at her, before running a truck across the floor. Vanessa had no idea how she would ever repay Luis’ kindness. All of his time, energy, and limited funds to help rectify a stupid mistake she made. 

“Vroom! Vroom!” Gregory shouted, sounding nothing like the shivering, sickly boy she took from the alley. He smiled at her again. “You see? My truck went reeeealllly fast! Wanna see?”

She nodded.

As Vanessa watched him play, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. A clawing, terribly gut-wrenching feeling that has only seemed to get worse the longer she spends with Gregory. And it was not the boy’s fault either. 

She’d certainly dealt with kids of a worse temperament (not that Gregory’s at all hard to manage). Kids have spat on her, hit her, cussed at her, and threatened all manner of awful things. But she never once felt this uneasy around them. 

And she really did enjoy his company. Hearing his tiny giggles makes her feel all warm and sunny inside. 

So, as she did with most things nowadays, Vanessa pushed her feelings of dread, deep, deep down. 

It’s not long after that dinner was served. Spaghetti and meatballs. Simple and fast. Luis was a wonderful cook.

Gregory babbled endlessly about his new friends and the daycare between bites of garlic bread and sauce-coated spaghetti noodles. Both Luis and she made a valiant (but gentle) attempt to scold him for talking with his mouth full. He didn’t listen, and neither of them could bring themselves to get upset about it.

They listened intently to the same story about glitter glue drying on the carpet for the sixth time in a row. Vanessa’s eyes flitted over to Luis, curious for his reaction. 

He always had the best reactions. 

He was laser-focused on Gregory, nodding along. “Yeah, and then what?” Luis asked, tone completely serious. 

“And then….” 

She smiled down at her half-empty plate. 

See, she told herself. There’s nothing to worry about. 

She always got so worked up over nothing. 

-x-x-x-

After dinner was a blur of bedtime routine (bath time, brushing teeth, and getting a wriggling, squirming three-year-old into pjs). She cleaned up in the kitchen while Luis dealt with all the craziness. 

Washing the dishes and wiping up the table gave her a moment to breathe. The actions were repetitive in nature, and she quickly found herself floating away. As a child she often found herself having incredibly imaginative daydreams. 

They ranged from placing herself in the book she was reading at the time, imagining her ideal future in game design, or even present solutions to problems (for instance, her bull-headed mother apologizing to her for once instead of the other way around). 

Maladaptive daydreaming was apparently the word for it. Though, it never interfered enough with her day-to-day life for her to ever seek help. She used to love that feeling, clinging to it like a lifeline. It was addictive. Getting through the day was made bearable by her dreams. Rewriting the wrongs in her life (or escaping them all together) were only a single thought away. 

Now…

….now she hated that feeling. 

Of floating away. 

Of being lost in her thoughts. 

It reminded her of-

“Vanessa?” 

She got startled, the plate falling from her hands. Thankfully, it was Gregory’s plastic kiddie plate, so it just thudded against the floor. 

Luis moved to grab it before she recomposed herself. “Are you alright?” He dropped the plate in the sink. 

She looked at the cupboard over his shoulder. It was better than facing the concern etched into his every feature. 

(All she ever did was make him panic and worry.)

“I’m fine.”

Luis tilted his head to the side, in a way that usually indicated he didn’t believe a word she was saying. “And you’d tell me if you weren’t, right, ‘Ness?”

“Of course.”

He sighed. “Well, if you’re feeling up to it, Gregory has requested your presence. He wants you to tuck him in.”

She nodded, drying her hands on a dish rag. 

“I’ll finish cleaning up,” Luis said, swapping places with her. “I put him in the guest room. It’s up the stairs, first door on the left.”

The uneasy feeling returned, contrasting heavily with the happy warmth she experienced earlier. She tugged her sleeves down. “Are you sure you don’t want to tuck him in?”

Luis shook his head. “Of course, I do. But I already said goodnight. He wants you now.” He smiled, trying his best to reassure her. “It won’t take five minutes.”

“Five minutes?” She asked rhetorically. 

“Five minutes at most ,” Luis answered, turning away to start on the remaining dishes. He sounded so sure of himself. 

He always did. 

She loved that about him. 

Vanessa has not been sure about a single thing, in her entire life. 

-x-x-x-

Gregory sat on the edge of the bed, kicking his legs. It was a queen-sized mattress, and way too big for someone so tiny. But Luis had boxed some pillows in the center into a makeshift gate of sorts. She fought the urge to mother-hen about it. Luis’ phone was charging on the nightstand, so it was likely he planned on camping out here. 

Gregory squealed, throwing himself at her. 

“Oof!” She managed to catch him, earning a round of bubbly giggles. 

“Yay!” 

She plopped him down in the center of the pillow-gate. He sank into the mattress (which gave her a mini heart attack. The image of him suffocating made Vanessa dig her nails into her palm until it disappeared). She made sure that he was able to wiggle around, and that his head was supported and not buried under the heavy comforter. 

She tucked him in. “Goodnight.” She soothed his hair back, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. 

Despite his energy not two seconds ago, Gregory fought to keep his eyes open. He leaned into her touch, almost basking in it. It made her heart sad, though she didn't dwell on it. She started to move off the bed. 

Gregory yawned, snuggling deeper into the covers. “‘Night, mommy. I love you.”

All of the air in Vanessa’s lungs vanished. She gritted her teeth, fighting back the urge to throw up. “L-lo- uh…Goodnight.” Her stomach curled in on itself. An image flashed before her. Brown hair. Amber eyes. Kind face.

Gregory had completely passed out, which was probably for the best. She swallowed down bile, and hurried from the room. 

She stumbled into the hall. Brown hair. Amber eyes. Kind face. 

Luis was right outside. He caught her, holding her delicately by the shoulders. “‘Ness? ‘Ness, are you okay?”

Vanessa shoved him away. “I-I need to go home.”

He looked at her, eyes wide. “‘Ness, you need to rest. You only ever get worse without sleep.”

She shook her head frantically. “No. I need to leave. I want to go home.” She didn’t wait for his response, turning tail and running until she reached the confines of her car. 

Vanessa caught her breath, starting the engine. 

Brown hair. Amber eyes. Kind face. 

The air was knocked from her lungs again. 

She needed to leave, now!

Putting her car into reverse, she pulled out of the driveway. 

As she drove away, she looked into her rearview mirror one last time. 

Luis stood at the end of his driveway, head in his hands. 

What had she done?

-x-x-x-

The time she made it back to her apartment would be impressive if not the countless traffic laws Vanessa had violated in order to do so. 

Everything was exactly as she left it. Even the glass of water she forgot to finish before she left for work. She stumbled to her bed. The image was fading now, but the overwhelming dread lingered on. 

Some rest should make her feel better. 

Energy completely depleted; Vanessa hopped into bed. Still dressed in her work uniform. She pulled the covers over her head, hiding. It was uncomfortable. Stifling hot. 

She’s safe. 

…She’s safe…

…she’s…s…a…f…e…..

Chapter Text

Vanessa was floating again. The bright lights of the office and droning, monotone voice of the person in front of her make it easy for her easily bored mind to wander. 

She hated it here. 

There was nothing wrong with her (besides a minor anxiety disorder, which she was already being treated for), and she had only a vague recollection of setting up an appointment with the therapist sitting across from her. 

Was that weird?

That was weird, right? 

Vanessa should remember making this appointment. The fact that she didn’t should be cause for concern. She should bring this up to her physician. Alzheimer's runs in her family. But she was probably too young for it to be-

“Vanny?” Her therapist asked. His voice was muffled, like she’s under a surface of water. 

Vanessa blanched, sitting up ramrod straight. “W-what did you call me?” The sterile air suddenly felt thinner. She felt her hands start to shake. 

Her therapist-a middle-aged man with graying dark hair-leans forward. “Vanny? Is something wrong?”

Gripping the sides of her chair, Vanessa frantically shakes her head. “Please, don’t call me that. I don’t like it.” Her voice sounded childish, even to her own ears. She sounded weak. 

She sounded like… her …

Her therapist’s brow furrowed. “But Vanny’s what you insisted on us calling you. See,” he turned the pad of paper he’d been using to take notes around, “I have it right here in my notes.”

Again she shook her head. “N-no. I…my name is Vanessa. Don’t call me-”

A phone rang. 

Her therapist sighed heavily. “I apologize. I know it’s unprofessional, but it’s probably my wife. She’s-”

Just wanting to be left alone for five minutes, Vanessa dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“Thank you,” he said, grabbing the still ringing phone off his desk. He left the room, a stony expression on his face as he clicked “answer.”

She was left alone. 

The clock, hanging right above the door, ticked loudly. She shifted, wanting to be anywhere but here. 

“Vanessa….” 

Who- she turned her head, looking about the room. The clock’s ticking was deafening. But over the noise, she could make out a hauntingly familiar voice.

It struck a chord of wrong deep within, like she needed to run away. To escape and run and hide and get away!

“Vanessa,” the voice called again, closer. 

Her nails dug into the chair’s armrests. It can’t be him. It can’t be him. She’s dreaming. She’s dreaming. It’s not him! It’s not-

“Vanessa!” The voice was right behind her now. 

She hunched forward. “Leave…leave me alone.” Her voice was small and weak, barely above a hushed whisper. 

“Hm? What was that?” 

Vanessa couldn’t move. “Leave me alone,” she repeated. 

He laughed, mocking her. “Sorry, what was that?” 

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

She jolted, sitting upright. Sweat clung to her like a second skin. In the darkness, she could make out the glowing red numbers of her alarm clock. 

“3:00am.”

Her racing heart calmed some. “You’re being silly, Vanessa. Everything’s fine.” Her words felt hollow, but her shift started in a few hours and she needed to get some sleep. Preferably some that wasn’t plagued with nightmares. 

She laid back down, still unsettled. Putting the stupid nightmare out of her mind, Vanessa started to close her eyes. 

Thud!

For the second time in five minutes, Vanessa jolted upright. She looked frantically around the room, spotting the culprit of the noise. A book that was knocked off her nightstand. 

She sighed, relieved. Vanessa pushed off her covers, reaching over the side of the bed to fetch the item. 

A sudden movement to her left-a blur of yellowish green-made her freeze. Her blood ran cold. It can’t be….

"Surprised to see me?"

At a loss for words, she could only stare at her tormentor. He stood in her doorway-Glitchtrap-staring back at her. His faux grin, forever stitched onto his face, was unnerving as always. 

Her bedroom changed, and suddenly she was back in the Pizzaplex. Sure she still worked in that horrid, horrid place where she did all those awful things, but it was different now. She was different now. 

He was gone. 

Everything was supposed to go back to normal. 

He crept closer, hovering just over her shoulder. She swallowed down the bile threatening to escape her throat. 

“Did you think you could get away from me? Really now, Vanessa, I thought you were smarter than that.”

She glanced down at her hands- which were now covered in a familiar stitched fabric she thought she had gotten rid of.

“No. No! No! No! NO!” Her vision took on a hue of red, coloring her perception. 

Glitchtrap didn’t acknowledge her tantrum, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Now Vanny. I hope you enjoyed your silly little fantasy, but it is time for us to return to business."

He turned her around, showing her-

No…

He shouldn’t be here. Luis was watching him. He was safe. 

Gregory was leaned up against the wall, covered in blood. His eyes were wide, terrified and forever frozen in a state of horror. The footie pajamas he had been in were coated in blood and dirt. His hair was a mess, tangled and ratty. 

“Greg…Gregory,” she choked out in a voice that was not her own, blocking out Glitchtrap’s raucous laughter. She collapsed to her knees, crawling over to the boy she failed in so many ways. “I…Gregory. Gregory, I...I'm sorry.” She started to reach out, but stopped herself, remembering the costume she’d been forced into for a second time. 

Helpless, Vanessa curled into a ball. Her surroundings grew blurrier. A numbness slowly overtook her, overriding all her other senses, as she sank…further…and…further down. 

She opened her eyes, seeing the familiar ceiling of her apartment. This did nothing to quell her anxiety. She sat up, searching for something, anything, to make her feel better. A lifeline to make sure this was real and not just another cruel ploy by him.

Vanessa’s eyes locked on her cellphone, sitting on her nightstand. 

Luis. 

She scrambled for the phone, holding it in a vice-like grip. Vanessa’s thankful that she finally remembered to add his contact into her phone, so she didn’t have to dig through past call logs. 

It rang once, then again…

“Hello?” Luis said, voice groggy. 

“Luis,” she whispered, choking back her own panic. 

“‘Ness?” He asked, suddenly more awake. “Is everything alright?”

“He- he’s back.”

“Who?”

“Him, he’s- Gregory! You need to check on Gregory!” She clutched the phone close to her ear. 

“‘Ness, he’s right here, next to me. I promise he’s safe.”

“Okay…okay,” she breathed deeply, trying to calm down. “Can you talk to me? I-I’m scared to go back to sleep.”

“Of course. What about?”

“Anything. Just talk.”

“Okay, okay. Um…Oh! Remember that time, back when we first started working at the Pizzaplex, when Freddy ran into the wall?”

Her anxiety retracted its claws just a little, allowing her to breathe easier. She giggled, picturing the incident. “Yeah. He insisted he hadn’t seen it there.”

“Oh, or that time a full school worth of kids booked out the entire Pizzaplex?” 

She groaned, laying down. “Agh, I heard they were scrubbing pizza sauce off the animatronics' casing for weeks.”

“Try months. They made the IT department help the technicians.”

Vanessa laughed, a warm fuzzy feeling overtaking any lingering terror. “Why?”

“I dunno. My boss wasn’t happy, but I doubt Faz-entertainment cared.”

“Probably not.” She bit her lip, considering her next words. “Hey, Lu, have I ever told you about my job before Freddy’s?”

“You mean your beta-testing job?”

“Yes, but I also used to visit schools and talk about the engineering-aspect of game design. The kids loved it.”

Luis hummed. She took it as a cue to keep going.

“You should have seen the way their faces would light up, and I…I miss that.”

Her mind started to wander. Back to Glitchtrap and all the awful, terrible things she did under his control. 

“Ah, ‘Ness, have I ever told you the story about the time I rode my bike down the stairs when I was nine?”

She shook her head, leaning into the phone (into her one lifeline right now). “No,” she giggled, “but now you have to tell me.”

“Okay, so…”

-x-x-x-

Twenty minutes across town, a man settled in for the night at a shoddy-looking hotel. He barely acknowledged the clerk handing him the room key. 

He laid down to sleep that night with a photo clutched tightly to his chest. Right now, this was his only lifeline. 

Chapter Text

Gregory scribbled on the paper in front of him. He leaned over the coffee table, focusing intensely on his picture. It’s a family photo with Mama ‘Nessa, Papa Luis, and him. He was using a lot of blues and reds, because it reminded him of Freddy (who’s the absolute coolest), and yellow and orange (because it reminds him of Sundrop). 

Behind him, he heard Mama ‘Nessa and Papa Luis giggling about something in hushed voices. He was glad Mama ‘Nessa was feeling better now, Papa Luis warned him this morning before she came over that she might not be in the mood to play. 

Gregory understood. Sometimes he didn’t feel well either. 

For a while he didn’t feel well, at all. He didn’t like to think about that, so he doesn’t. It….it doesn’t matter anymore. 

But, to his surprise, Mama ‘Nessa came straight for him, wrapping him in a tight hug. She held him tightly, and refused to let go, even when Papa Luis said it was time for breakfast. And he made pancakes, which were the bestest food ever! But Mama ‘Nessa needed a hug. So, he hugged her back. 

Eventually though, she let him go, but not before ruffling his hair. 

He furrowed his brows, concentrating on writing his name. Yesterday, Mr. Sun had them do writing exercises to practice writing their names. He wasn’t very good at it yet, but Mr. Sun said all things take practice. 

He leaned back on his knees, looking over his work. Almost finished. He scribbled a messy three next to his name. Perfect!

“Mama ‘Nessa!” He turned around, excitedly waving his paper in the air. “Papa Luis! Look!” They both looked at him.

“Oh, what’s that, Gregory?” Papa Luis asked, gently taking the paper from his outstretched hands. He nodded. “Wow! I love all the colors you used.”

He giggled, getting to his feet. “Uh, huh! That’s me,” he pointed to the stick figure with messy hair, “and that’s you,” he pointed to a stick figure that’s taller than the rest (almost abnormally so), “and that’s Mama ‘Nessa,” he pointed to the only stick figure with (strangely) long hair. “And I wrote my name!”

Mama ‘Nessa leaned in, looking over his attempt at writing his name. “That’s wonderful! Great job, Greg,” she praised, ruffling his hair. 

“Is this a three?” Papa Luis asked.

“Uh, huh, yes. ‘Cause I’m three.”

They exchanged a look. They seemed to do that a lot around him. 

“Oh,” Mama ‘Nessa started, “I thought you were ...um… younger…”

“Nope, I am three. My birthday’s April 9th.”

“ Oh, your birthday’s coming up quickly then,” Papa Luis said. “Four-years-old, wow! That’s a long age!”

“Yep!” Gregory agreed, bouncing on his heels. “Can we have a cake? Oooh with…uh…chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. Like mommy and daddy used to make.” 

“Gregory?” Mama ‘Nessa asked, lips pressed into a thin line. 

“Yeah, Mama ‘Nessa?”

She smiled. “N-nothing. Go get your shoes, it’s almost time to take you to daycare.”

“Yay!” 

He couldn’t wait to see all his friends and Mr. Sun, and even Mr. Moon. Though he was kind of scary, maybe Gregory just needed to get used to him. 

-x-x-x-

Luis wasn’t an idiot. Last night was a wake up call that, while Glitchtrap was no longer prowling around, Vanessa’s ordeal was far from over. 

He sneaked Gregory into a side door, keeping his head down while signing him into the daycare. Sundrop greeted him warmly, hugging him. Gregory disappeared into the daycare, chasing after his friends. After saying a farewell, Sundrop was greeting the next child (though he didn't hug the parent). 

Vanessa was sitting in his car, flipping through the radio stations (most of which are pure static, or sermons delivered by some particularly zealous pastors). She groaned, switching the radio off. “You survived,” she joked, tone flat. 

“Ha, ha, very funny. Now, where to? We both have until four. I would say four-thirty, but four is peak pick-up time and it would be easier to smuggle him out of the building while other parents are there.” Luis said.

“Your mind terrifies me sometimes.” Vanessa replied, lightheartedly.

“And yet, it has never steered you wrong before.”

“No, no it hasn’t.” Vanessa admitted

They sat there, in the parking lot of the Pizzaplex, looking at one another. He couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she was in the soft morning light. A car alarm went off elsewhere in the parking lot, breaking the spell.

Luis cleared his throat, starting the car. “Where to?”

“The mall across the street. We can get a few things for Gregory’s birthday.” Vanessa answered.

“Remind me again why Faz-Entertainment decided to build a mall across from an extremely popular mall?” Luis questioned.

“Because their only hobby is losing money at an exponential rate.”

Luis laughed, because with all the employees and patrons they’d had to pay out over the years (not to mention the scandals they paid off to avoid being in the media for negative reasons, again, or the various incidents that resulted in significant property damage) it was a miracle they’re still in business.

-x-x-x-

He sat outside the local mall, watching families pass-by. Pushing down the pang of hurt, it was kind of nice seeing others having a good time. He took tentative bites of his pretzel, keeping an eye out for his own family. 

(As unlikely as that is). 

A couple walked past him-and he can tell they’re a couple, because they both had that look in their eyes that indicated a certain level of adoration-and he smiled at them. They remind him of how he and his wife acted when they first got together. 

They walked past, and he took one last bite of his pretzel before getting to his feet. Maybe he could convince the mall to post missing person’s posters? It was a long shot, but the staff here were pretty easy going. At least they used to be, truth be told, he hadn’t been here for a hot minute. 

-x-x-x-

Vanessa walked through the mall, side-by-side with Luis. He idly chatted with her, but mostly pointed out the stores that he thought would have something Gregory might like.

“Oooh! ‘Ness! ‘Ness! Look!” Luis excitedly pointed at the toy store up ahead. 

“Sounds-” Vanessa stopped her reply as she caught something white in her peripheral vision. Vanessa whirled around, following the movement.

In the center of the mall was a photo booth with a line of families eagerly awaiting their turns to take their photo with-

She swallowed, eyes locking on to the “Easter Bunny.” The fur of the costume was white and its eyes were red. It shifted, turning into a bunny suit with red eyes and patched together with crude stitches. 

Her heart skipped a beat. 

“Luis…Luis…” she reached out, but she couldn’t feel him. 

“ Vanessa,” A familiar voice said in a sing-song tone, mocking her. It was her. “Vanessa, don’tcha wanna play?”

Vanessa covered her ears as she sank to the floor. “No…no…leave me alone…please…”

“But Vanessa, that’s not very nice. C’mon, play with us.”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Vanessa screamed. She looked up, to see everyone staring at her. Luis was quickly in front of her, he offered her his hand. 

“Nothing to see here. Stop staring!” He said, waving his hands dismissively at the patrons still watching her.

He ushered her through the mall. A gentle hand on her back. 

All she could do was offer a pitiful apology. Vanessa trembled, body feeling weak after the outburst. 

She collapsed into the passenger seat. 

Luis said nothing, starting the car up. “Do you want me to take you home?” 

She mustered up the energy to stare at him. “Are you asking me?”

“Well, do you want to go home?” Luis asked again.

Vanessa hesitated for a while before she quietly answered, “...yeah, I’d like that.”

Chapter Text

Luis sat in his car outside Ness’ apartment, keeping  a careful eye out to make sure she made it inside. When the door closed behind her, he slumped in his seat. He stared upward, blinking back tears. 

It’s not fair, he thought to himself, pulling out of the parking lot. It’s not fair that good people suffer so much! 

His uncle, who just wanted to celebrate his eighth birthday party. 

The other missing children who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

His family who lost a child and never fully recovered.

Gregory who, through mysterious circumstances, was thrown away like yesterday’s newspaper, scared and skittish and much too small for a three-year-old. 

And Ness, who-

He took a deep breath, turning into the parking lot for the Pizzaplex. It was a little early for pick-up (a glance at the clock tells him it’s 12:30, which is four hours too early), but Luis was certain the Daycare Attendant wouldn't mind.

Besides, what was it going to say, no?

-x-x-x-

“No,” Moon crooned, wagging a spindly finger side to side. “It's rest time. The children are sleeping.”

“But rest time doesn’t start until 12:45, and it’s,” he pulled out his phone, “12:46.”

“Schedules are important.”

Luis fought the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he sighed. “Please, I’m very sorry I upset your routine. It won’t happen again, but I promised his mom I’d pick him up.”

Moon was less “expressive” than its counterpart, being the less outgoing of the two. It stared at him, tilting its head to the side. “Alright,” it finally said, turning back towards the children. “I’ll go get him. Stay there.”

-x-x-x-

Twenty minutes later, Luis stood in front of Vanessa’s door, hands full of sleeping toddler, take-out, and a brightly colored backpack. 

He knocked on the door with his foot. “Ness!” He called. “Can you let me in? My hands are full.” Luis heard the telltale sound of shuffling feet, followed by a couple seconds of silence, and then a series of locks being undone. 

“Come in,” Vanessa said, ushering him inside. “Here let me take that.” She grabbed the take-out. “You can put him in the guest room, first door on the left. I borrowed a playpen from my neighbors downstairs.”

Luis hummed, heading down the hall and into the designated room. It was plain, with off-white walls and yellowish carpet. In the center of the room was the playpen. Not the most comfortable-looking thing, but he was sure Gregory wouldn't mind. Besides, it was only for a night or two at most. An old, woven blanket hung over the window, barely keeping the light at bay. 

Luis leaned over the playpen. Soothing Gregory’s hair back, he kissed his forehead. “Sweet dreams.” He quietly said.

By the time he made it back to the living room, Vanessa had the take-out all set out on her tiny coffee table. He joined her on the couch, helping himself to some of the food. 

“So,” he started, “How are we feeling?” 

“Good?” She answered with uncertainty.

“Are you asking me?”

She sighed, slumping back against the couch. “I don’t know.” Vanessa frowned. He hated it when she did that - it didn’t suit her at all. 

He hated not being able to make her feel better even more. 

They finished their food in silence. Through the paper-thin walls they could hear the neighbors’ TV blaring Price is Right reruns. 

“...I thought I was over this…” Vanessa whispered, eyes starting to brim with tears for the millionth time today. “I…I was doing better.”

Luis placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, listening intently. 

“And I know healing isn’t linear, but it honestly feels like an uphill battle. Like no matter how hard I try to move forward, I can never truly escape.” She sniffled, wiping at her eyes. 

For a moment-a second-Luis is transported fifteen years back in time. Back to an overly familiar living room, but instead of Vanessa, it’s his mother weeping quietly. She didn’t do it often, choosing to hide herself away on the days she couldn’t bear to face the outside world. But every once in a while, when it all became too much, she would break down. 

He had been a child then. Frozen in place and helpless. Useless.

But he wasn’t a child anymore. 

Luis wrapped his arms around Vanessa, hugging her close. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through,” he said. “And I can’t tell you everything will work out.”

She sniffled again, hugging him back. 

“But I promise you that I’m not going anywhere. I won’t leave you.” 

Vanessa just hugged him tighter in acknowledgment.

They sat together for a little while. Long enough for the neighbors’ TV to turn to another program. He’d never felt so warm, or….happy before. But eventually, when Vanessa finally started to pull away, he let go. 

“Thank you, Lu.”

“Anytime,” he said, meaning it with every fiber of his being. “Anytime.”

Vanessa smiled but it quickly turned to a frown. “We still don’t have anything for Gregory’s birthday.”

Luis pulls his phone out. “Well, it’s a little late to do anything about it now.” Sensing her growing worry, he hurriedly added, “we can worry about it tomorrow.”

“Yeah….you’re right.” She settled back onto the couch, leaning her head on Luis’ shoulder. 

The action took him by surprise. He tensed up, afraid if he made the tiniest movement, Vanessa might startle - shattering their rare (near nonexistent) peace. 

He shifted to make himself more comfortable, and Vanessa followed, head still on his shoulder. Luis gingerly brushed a strand of hair out of her face, soothing it behind her ear. 

She fell asleep quickly. No doubt completely drained from their earlier endeavor through the mall. He winced, guilty (even if it wasn’t his fault. He should have known better. He does know better.)

As careful as he could, Luis stood up. He kept her head supported, so she didn’t flop over. With some effort, he managed to lift Vanessa into his arms-bridal style-and head to the guest room where Gregory was.

Luis laid her down on the bed, tucking her in. He stood in the doorway for a minute, smiling fondly, before shutting the door quietly, and backtracking to the living room.

-x-x-x-

Vanessa yawned, stretching her arms. The couch she’d been laying on was cramped and much too small to be slept on. Still, judging by the light streaming in through the moth-eaten curtains, she had done just that. 

She sat up. The leftovers Luis and her had shared yesterday had been cleaned up, and everything else seemed to be in place. Vanessa smiled.

Luis was truly one of a kind. 

Getting to her feet, she started her normal daily routine. Luis had probably gone home. Though, she supposed she’d see him today at some point. 

It was quiet. 

That was the first thing she realized after the morning grogginess disappeared. Way too quiet, like if she dropped a pin the sound would be ear-splittingly loud. She ignored it, if only because her anxiety tended to get the best of her, and if she as up this early, she most likely had a shift today. 

She thought of Gregory as she brushed her hair, pulling it into a ponytail. It kind of surprised her that he'd slept for this long. Most kids his age would be up with the sun, but Gregory hadn’t made a peep since Luis brought him here a little after lunchtime. 

The door to her guest room was closed, a note taped to it. She picked it up, squinting her eyes at the blurred words. They seemed to bend off the page, swirling and warping. Vanessa hummed, not paying it any mind. She opened the door. The playpen was pushed up against the twin bed in the center of the room. From her spot in the doorway, she could see a small lump under a blanket in the playpen. 

“Gregory,” she called softly, going to the playpen. “Time to wake up.”

Nothing. 

She laughed a little, nervousness bubbling up in her like a shaken-up pop can. “Greg…?” She called again, standing over the playpen. 

Nothing.

“Are you-” Her hand touched something warm and wet. No longer able to keep her worst thoughts at bay, Vanessa yanked the blanket off of Gregory.

Screaming.

"Who’s screaming?" She thought to herself; her last coherent thought before running from the room. 

In her hallway, the image of Gregory, bloody and twisted and-

She dry heaved at the thought. The smell was too strong. It was everywhere. She needed to leave. Needed to get out.

OhmygodGregoryI’msorryimsorryimsorry…

The room spun. Her stomach twisted, and she scrambled to find her phone. NeedtocallLuisLuisLuis….

She felt feverishly hot, and it was hard to focus on anything. Her hands trembled, searching becoming a near herculean task. 

“Oh, Blondie.”

Vanessa tensed, blood running cold. 

Ineedtorunrunrunrun!

“Missing something?”

Slowly, she turned to face the subject of all her worst nightmares. A being made from her own twisted and corrupted consciousness. 

“Vanny,” she gritted out. 

“Vanessa,” Vanny said back, tilting her head, “Long time, no see.”

“W-what do you want?” Looking down helped her rising panic a little. Anything to avoid looking into those soulless red eyes. 

“Hm…? Let’s see…” Vanny giggled, the sound grating, echoing off the walls. She crept closer. Vanessa refused to look up. “Oh, can’t you look at me?” There’s a mocking edge to her tone, like she’s enjoying all this. 

Like she was enjoying tormenting Vanessa. 

“L-leave me alone,” she croaked out, bringing one of her arms up to create some distance. 

“You knew it was too good to last. He gave you time off. Really, you should be grateful.” Vanny said cruely as she began to walk towards Vanessa.

“No! No! No!” She shook her head frantically as Vanny got closer and her surroundings started to blur. “Getawaygetawayfromme-”

-x-x-x-

Vanessa sat bolt upward, hand over her racing heart. It was dark, nearly pitch-black, save for the dim light from the streetlamps that showed through her makeshift curtain. 

Relief floods her. It had all been a dream. A terrible, horrible, awful dream, but a dream, nonetheless. 

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread. 

“Hic… Mama …Hic…” 

Vanessa scrambled to look into the playpen. She had to squint, but she could make out Gregory’s trembling form. “Here, Greg,” she said, voice groggy. With all the care of a mother, she lifted him from the playpen and held him close. “What’s wrong?” 

He shook his head. 

“Bad dream?”

He nodded, tucking closer to her. His messy hair tickled her chin. 

“Ah, I get those a lot. They aren’t fun.”

Gregory didn’t acknowledge her, but he did stop trembling. And his hiccups and sniffles slowly tapered off. 

She stroked his hair, even after he fell asleep. Hoping that the gesture brought him some sort of comfort while he slumbered. 

“Goodnight, Gregory,” she murmured, words slurring as she fought against sleep. “I’m glad I met you.”

-x-x-x-

Waking up was always hard. It was harder still when you spent the night on a couch, limbs curled at awkward angles to fit. Luis yawned, stretching his aching arms above his head. Dim morning light streamed in through the window. 

He rubbed at his eyes, untangling himself from the couch. A quick glance at his phone told him that it was only seven in the morning. Which meant, considering it was her day off, Vanessa was unlikely to be up anytime soon. And Gregory seemed fine at the moment. 

Luis combed his hair with his fingers, scanning the room for paper and a pen. A list formed in his mind, everything they’d need for an impromptu birthday celebration. 

-x-x-x-

The next time Vanessa woke up, it was to a pudgy finger poking her cheek. When she looked down, Gregory’s big brown eyes stared up at her with all the guilelessness of a child. 

“Hi,” he giggled, patting her on the head. “Mama ‘Nessa, up now?”

“Yep. I’m up.”

Gregory smiled.

She tried her best to put her awful nightmare out of her mind. But bits and pieces snuck through to haunt her. The coppery scent of blood. The image of Gregory d-

Vanessa shook her head. “How do pancakes sound?”

“Yay!” Gregory cheered.

-x-x-x-

The mall was dead by the time Luis got there. Which might be surprising in any other town, but it was quite frankly a miracle that the mall got any business at all.

He started his shopping at a party store. Looking at the various themes, Luis comes to the horrifying revelation that neither Vanessa, nor he knew what Gregory really liked. Sure, they had a vague idea. Kind of. 

But, staring at the wall covered wall-to-wall in anything kid-friendly you could possibly think of, he didn’t feel very confident. 

He looked down at his phone. Maybe Vanessa could ask Gregory? Luis put his phone away. No, that felt like cheating. And she might still be sleeping.

Maybe a worker could help him narrow it down? He glanced around and found no one around him in the aisle, save for a rugged-looking man. 

“Hey,” he said, tapping the man on the shoulder.

The man jumped a little. 

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No,” the man said, his accent familiar but hard to place. He resisted the urge to ask about it. “I’m fine. I startle easily. Not your fault.”

Luis nodded. “Still, sorry. I was wondering if you could help me pick out a theme?”

“Uh…sure. Who is it for?”

Luis had to think for a moment before he answered. “My kid. He’s turning four.”

The man blanched. “Oh,” he murmured. 

Luis laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah, and I’m kind of hopeless at this. My-” he tried to think of the correct term to call Vanessa, “...Partner is usually the one that does all the shopping.”

The man cleared his throat and wiped at his eyes.

“I- sorry, if I upset you, Mister….”

“No, no, I’m fine.” The man wiped at his eyes one last time before regarding Luis with a serious expression. “Let’s start with the plates, cups, and utensils. It’s probably the easiest part.”

-x-x-x-

“Would you like to stir?” Vanessa asks, looking over to Gregory who’s standing on a chair, watching her eagerly put the mixture together. 

“Yes, please!” 

She held the bowl tightly, while he put all his strength into mixing everything together. It was a team effort, but it didn’t take long for Gregory to grow bored. 

“All done!” He announced.

“Already?” She teased, reaching over to brush some flour off his nose. 

“Uh, huh.” 

“Well, after we’re done here, what do you want to do next?”

Gregory shrugged. 

“You don’t know?”

He giggled, shaking his head. 

“Well, that’s okay. I have something really fun planned.”

-x-x-x-

It’s noon by the time he picked up the necessary supplies for the party. The man he met earlier had to run an errand (something about needing to talk to security), but reassured Luis he’d be right back. 

Luis wandered aimlessly, pacing. Anything to help time move faster. He really didn’t want to pick out Gregory’s gift himself.

Not for the first time, he wished Vanessa was here with him. 

-x-x-x-

“And push that button to jump,” Vanessa instructed Gregory, holding her hands over his. An old Nintendo 64 controller in his hands. On the screen, Mario jumped. 

“I…I did that!” Gregory cheered. “Do it again!” She helps him push the button again. Carefully, Vanessa guided him through the level. Every little trick, sending him into a fit of excited giggles. He sent wide-eyed looks back at her.

She laughed, enjoying every minute of it. 

-x-x-x-

“Hey, thanks again for helping me out. I really appreciate it,” Luis said, walking with the man to the door. 

“No problem.”

“You seem to know a lot about what kids like. Do you have one?” Realizing how strange that might sound, he hurriedly rephrased it, “I mean, are you a parent?”

“I’d like to think so.”

Luis couldn’t comprehend what he meant by that, so he nodded along politely. The man had been helpful enough anyway. As he hurried away, to the relative safety of his car, Luis couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit bad for the guy. He seemed all alone, lost in thought, and not all the way there. 

Hopefully, he found what he was looking for.

-x-x-x-

Luis made one last stop on his way back, for pizza. 

One would think, with his job, and the almost steel-grip monopoly Faz-Entertainment has on pizza, he’d want nothing to do with it. But, actually, outside his mom’s home cooking, it was his favorite food. 

(Especially when it comes from anywhere that isn’t the Pizzaplex). 

He placed an order with the first place he could find on Google. Luis was told it would take twenty minutes to make - not like he had anything to do. Fortunately, the pizzeria was connected to an old thrift store. The building, old, and sign faded with the weather and age. 

He vaguely remembered coming here as a child. Occasionally, Luis would find something cool, like a book, or movie. Though, mostly, he just followed his mom around the store as she searched through the clothes with a speed so agonizingly slow it would make a sloth jealous. 

A little old lady sat at the register, reading a book. She smiled at him before returning to her book. 

The place smelled of dust and mildew. The store felt smaller, somehow (or maybe he’s just older). It was an odd feeling, finally being taller than the clothing racks he used to hide in the center of. 

He headed straight for the back where the toys, books, and movies were stored. He already had a present for Gregory, but maybe he could snag a few children’s books. Or a movie that he could put on for a movie-

Luis stopped mid-step. Freezing in place, his eyes lock on the item in front of him.

Down, at the very end of the aisle, laying haphazardly on the floor was a stuffed bunny rabbit. Its beady red eyes stared into his soul. The thing had two pink dots on each side of its face. 

For a minute, a second, a millisecond, Luis was no longer standing in a thrift store. 

He was holding Vanessa as she sobbed. She was making little sense, her words blended together, and her tone bordered on hysterical. 

“I- he…I don’t want to go back, Lu! Help me! I can’t go back! It hurts…so, so much. And I hurt others, and I’m not me!” She had pleaded with him back then, and he hadn’t understood at the time. At least not at that exact moment. All for he knew for certain was two things:

One, his best friend was in crisis (either one of her own makings, or of someone else’s design). 

And two, the bunny costume-stitched together with various patches-seemed like an odd choice to wear to their workplace. The only piece missing being the head, or mask. 

He’d been more concerned about the former, rather than the latter. Though, in hindsight, he should have put more stock into that part of the equation. 

More than anything in the entire world, Luis wished he had believed her then. It would have saved her (and others) from so much pain. It wasn’t until weeks later, that he had an opportunity to watch some of the footage from her previous job. 

How that monster got its claws into her, turning her into something that she wasn’t, warping her perception of reality. 

Luis’ phone beeped twice, shaking him from his thoughts. He pulled his phone from his pocket, not taking his eyes off the plush. 

Two text notifications filled his lock screen. One from the pizza place next door telling Luis his food was ready, and one from Vanessa.

He hurriedly opens the second one. 

The text was a picture, taken by Vanessa, of Gregory and her. Both of them are sitting at the coffee table, crayons and crumpled paper covering the surface. 

Luis smiled, thankful for the distraction. 

-x-x-x- 

Later that night, after dinner (thank you, Luis!), dessert, and some video games, they both sat at Gregory’s bedside (he asked very nicely to sleep in the same bed as Vanessa, instead of the playpen). 

“I want a story,” he said, fiddling with a loose string on the comforter. 

“A story?” Vanessa asked. “About what?”

Gregory shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno.” 

Luis chuckled, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Silly.” 

“Once upon a time ,” Vanessa began, “There lived a princess in a faraway land. She ruled over a vast kingdom, with many, many people. Her royal subjects loved her, and her kindness and generosity were well-known. For not only was she their princess, but also a beacon of hope. The princess welcomed the needy into her castle fairly often, offering them food and shelter.” She frowned. “Until one day, the curious princess awoke an ancient evil.”

“And then?” Gregory pressed, staring up at her intently. “What happened next?”

Luis squeezed her arm, silently supporting her.

“And then, the evil overtook the princess, possessing her.” It occurred to Vanessa that Gregory might not understand the words she was using, but he continued to listen anyway. “Her people noticed their princess behaving strangely. No longer as warm. The doors to the castle no longer open to those in need. Her temper was shorter, and she could sometimes be found talking to the open air.”

Vanessa soothed Gregory’s hair from his eyes. 

“Meanwhile, the evil continued to grow. Gaining power and influence. It kept growing, and eventually it expanded outwards, trapping people. Feeding off their life force, but not doing much more. The ancient evil tormented the girl, day in and day out, frustrated with its lack of progress.”

Luis squeezed her hand. 

“But,” she said, “All hope was not lost, for the princess’ friend, the knight in shining armor, grew worried when she stopped sending letters to him. He went straight to her castle.”

“Was the princess, okay?” Gregory asked, genuine concern in his eyes. 

Vanessa smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. “So, the knight traveled to her castle. Except, when he got there, no one was home. This was strange as he’s always known the princess to welcome everyone into the castle. But there he stood on the doorstep, with no sign of her. He was about to call out to her, when the most peculiar thing happened.” She paused. “The door creaked open, but when he entered, no one was there. The castle was completely empty.”

Another squeeze. 

“But he entered anyway, feeling like his friend-the princess-needed help. At the very least, he had traveled very far and wanted to make sure she was okay. So, he crept up steep stairs and down winding hallways. Until finally, he came across a door that was slightly ajar.”

Gregory blinked up at her, tiny hands gripping her shirt. Like he could sense her uneasiness. (Or maybe her story was making him feel uneasy.)

“He knocked on the door, announcing his presence. ” She mimicked the sound of someone knocking on a door. “'Hello’, the knight called out, ‘Is anyone there?’ But no one answered him. The room was an office of some sort. Tiny and the desk was cluttered with papers, books, and other knick-knacks. Curiosity soon took over the knight. He looked through the papers on the desk, hoping to find a reason why no one was there. But he found…nothing.”

“Nothing?” Gregory echoed.

“Nothing,” she repeated, nodding. “That is until he comes across a little leather-bound journal. The princess’ diary! He recognized it, as the princess rarely went anywhere without it. The knight flipped through the pages, hoping beyond hope that she left a hint as to what happened in its yellowed pages. And then, as if all his prayers were being answered, he came across a page of scribbles. A drawing of an entity in red and purple crayon. A chill swept the room. He flipped to the next page. A list of sorts is laid out. ‘Help me,’ it started, ‘It won’t let me leave. I don’t want to hurt anyone else. All the books I found say I need to serve the thing’s connection to the mortal plain. But what could it possibly be attached to? It is not human. It has no earthly attachments. Perhaps I just need to research more…’”

She felt tears starting to brim in her eyes. 

“There were no other notes after that. The knight’s worry grew tenfold. He tore through the room, searching for this so-called “attachment.” He just knew there had to be something, anything to prove it was all for naught. In a little box he found a small, glowing orb. This, he rejoiced, must be one of the entity’s attachments. He had no idea how many there were, only that he likely needed to collect the orbs. He ran from the room, searching high and low for the orbs. At one point, he even came across the princess… ” Her voice shook slightly, guilt returning with a vengeance. “She- but she wasn’t well. She fought the knight, not recognizing him. The evil had won out, completely taking her over.” 

Vanessa couldn’t bring herself to smile. 

“But, thankfully for the princess, the knight was stubborn. He pushed onwards, collecting the orbs. Upon getting the third one, a wondrous thing happened.” 

“What happened, Mama ‘Nessa?” Gregory pressed, half-sleep. His eyes drift close, and his head started to loll onto the pillow behind him. 

“The evil was banished back to where it had come. The knight had succeeded, the princess was saved! Because of the knight’s persistence, she was back to her warm, welcoming self.”

She glanced at Gregory, who was fast asleep.

“And they all lived happily ever after.”

Chapter Text

Vanessa opened her eyes. The light in the room was dim, likely still quite early in the morning. Next to her, Gregory slept soundly. He was cuddled up next to Luis, who was sleeping just as soundly. She breathed deeply, basking in their presence. 

It occurred to her then, eyes drifting closed, that her dreams last night had been pleasant. Perhaps something to dwell on later. 

-x-x-x-

Luis groaned, sitting up. He didn’t recall falling asleep last night, but obviously he had at some point. Gregory was wide awake next to him, sandwiched between Vanessa and him. Except, her side of the bed was empty. So, either she’d awoken, or moved to her own bedroom at some point during the night. 

“Hey, kiddo. Happy birthday.” He patted Gregory on the head, which made the kid giggle. “Ready to have a fun-filled day?” 

Gregory frowned. “My…birthday…?” 

“Your birthday’s April 9th, right?” 

“Uh, huh.”

“Well, here.” Luis grabbed his phone off the nightstand. He turned it on to the lock-screen, showing it to Gregory. “See the date, there?”

He hummed in acknowledgment. 

“Can you read it for me?”

Gregory stared blankly at him. “No.”

“Right ... can you read the number at least?”

“Nine?”

“Very good, Gregory. So, that word there is April. If we put them together, we get-”

“My birthday!” He cheered. 

“Good job.” Luis reached over to ruffle his hair. “Now, let’s go celebrate!”

-x-x-x-

The Pizzaplex was dead, the parking lot empty and workers and customers gone for the night. There are very few perks of being a security guard here, but one of the biggest is having the security clearance to be able to sneak in after hours. Thank goodness they haven’t switched over to their summer hours yet, otherwise this little excursion might not work. (They could only keep Gregory out so late before he started getting fussy). 

She went in first, doing a perimeter check and turning off the cameras from the security room. No one checked them anyway - all the safety features were just that. Features. Things Faz-Entertainment could point to when disaster strikes and say, “See? We did something.” Besides, Vanessa had an early morning shift tomorrow by herself. If the worst came to worst, she could upload some footage from a few nights back. 

Vanessa returned to the door, ushering in Luis and Gregory. The latter was snoozing peacefully in Luis’ arms. They put him down for his nap way later than normal, and the poor boy absolutely refused to wake up. He clung to Luis, face buried in the crook of his neck. 

“Is everything ready?” Luis asked. 

They entered the elevator. “Yep.” She pushed the button for the second floor. 

“Good.”

-x-x-x-

Luis lightly shook Gregory, bouncing him. “Hey, buddy, look where we are.”

Gregory groaned, lifting his head. Bleary, unfocused eyes blinked up at the bright lights overhead. “Papa Luis, where-”

Luis put him down, turning him around. 

Gregory squealed, jumping up and down. All four main animatronics, the Daycare Attendant, and some of S.T.A.F.F bots stand patiently, waiting for the party to start. 

“Mister Sun!” He laughed, lunging for the robot. 

Reflexively, the Daycare Attendant catches him, bringing him in for a tight squeeze. “Rule breaker,” he teased in a slightly exasperated tone. “No running inside.” 

Gregory laughed again. “You’re silly.”

-x-x-x-

“Thanks again, you guys, for putting this together on such short notice. Are you sure you won’t tell management?” Vanessa asked. 

They were seated at the tables near the stage. Blue and red streamers hung off of the nearby photobooth and the ends of the two tables they squished together so everyone could sit together. A large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese sat in the center of the table. The plates and cups Luis picked out at the mall sat in front of all the animatronics. Even though none of them could eat, all of them seemed delighted at being included. Freddy even chuckled a little at the images on them. They were of two dogs, one dressed in a cop uniform and the other dressed in a fireman’s uniform. The man that had helped him, said his own son had loved the show. And Gregory seems to like it, his eyes lit up when he saw it anyway. So, Luis supposed, the man was right. 

Roxanne scoffed. “Those losers? No way.”

“Roxy,” Freddy started, tone mild, “remember what I told you about appropriate language in front of the children?”

“But they are. Anyways, we love kids.” 

“And the little guy’s cute too,” Monty added, reaching over to ruffle Gregory’s hair. 

Gregory grinned, taking another bite of his pizza. 

“And thank you, Chica, for making the pizza. These tastes delicious.”

“You’re welcome!” She chirped.

-x-x-x-

After the pizza was gone, most of the animatronics started making their way back to their respective rooms. S.T.A.F.F bots quietly clean up the mess. Vanessa and Luis helped them, trying to make sure nothing was left behind, lest the corporate gods find out. 

Freddy was the last to depart. He was seated across from Gregory, listening intently. 

“And then…and then, I’s….I went phew really, really fast down the slide. But-but Mister Sun catched me!” Gregory said, wrapping up the story he’d been telling Freddy.

“Wow! That sounds really fast! Good thing Sunny was there, right?” 

Gregory nods. “Mhm.” He tilted his head to the side. “Freddy, how fast you go?” 

“Well, not fast at all. Roxanne is the fastest out of all of us, but B-” He closed his mouth, cutting himself off. “How old are you turning?” 

“Four!” He shouted, holding four fingers in the air. 

“What a big age!” Freddy smiled. “Pretty soon you’ll be able to play any of the games here. Maybe for your next birthday your parents can take you to Monty Golf, laser tag, Roxanne’s Raceway, or the arcade.”

“Whoa!” Gregory’s eyes practically lit up. 

“Gregory!” Vanessa called, waving him over. “Tell Freddy goodbye.”

“Aw…” Gregory frowned, sliding off the bench. He waved at him sadly. “Hav’ta go. Mama ‘Nessa said. Bye-bye, Freddy.” 

“Goodbye, Superstar, come again soon.”

-x-x-x-

“Thank you, Mama ‘Nessa, Papa Luis,” Gregory said. Vanessa leaned over him, buckling him into the car seat.

“No problem. But your birthday isn't over yet.”

“Huh? Where we going?” Gregory asked.

Luis looks at Gregory in the rearview mirror, smirking. “Can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”

“Are we there yet?” 

“Gregory,” Vanessa said, sliding into the passenger seat, “We haven’t even left the parking lot yet.”

Beside her, Luis hid his laughter behind his hand. 

-x-x-x-

“This is the bestest!” Gregory cheered, melted vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup clinging to his chubby cheeks. A few rainbow sprinkles had found their way to his messy hair. 

Vanessa sat next to him, eating mint-chocolate chip ice cream in a cone. Gingerly, she picked the sprinkles out of his hair. Every so often, she had to move his ice cream sundae away from the edge of the table.

Luis enjoyed his cookie dough ice cream. 

The ice cream shop was fairly busy. Likely since the Pizzaplex was closed for the night. The owner-the son of the previous owner-runs around, fulfilling orders as well as taking them. The shop generally had workers (usually the owner’s kids and wife), but no one else seemed to be here tonight.

“Poor guy,” Vanessa said, wincing in sympathy when he mixed up two of the orders. Both of the customers looked pissed. “Maybe we should’ve come earlier.”

“It’s fine.” Luis took Gregory’s empty cup, using a napkin to wipe off the table. “Besides, John is a natural.”

Vanessa eyed him.

“Watch,” he said, pointing over to the counter.

At the counter, the two people whose orders he mixed up were now happily chatting with the owner. John continued to make orders, but also chatted with the customers. He looked completely unbothered. 

“See,” Luis said, “Things have a way of working themselves out.”

Vanessa said nothing, finishing her ice cream. 

-x-x-x-

By the time they made it back to the apartment, it was nighttime and very nearly Gregory’s bedtime. But since he took a nap later in the day, Vanessa made the executive decision that he could stay up for a couple more hours. 

“Okay, we have two more surprises for you,” Vanessa said, guiding him to the couch. 

Gregory looked up at them. “What is it?”

Luis practically ran to her coat closet. He pulled out two packages. One from each of them. Returning to his spot next to Vanessa, he handed her a package wrapped in newspaper comics. 

“Here you go, kiddo.” Luis put the present in Gregory’s lap.

For a second, Gregory hesitated. He sat there, looking back-and-forth between the box and Luis, as if asking for permission. 

“Go ahead.”

Gregory ripped into the paper, a smile stretching across his face. The newspaper fell away, and Luis caught it, setting it on the coffee table for later disposal. 

“A box!” He shouted. “I love it.” He hugged the unassuming brown box to his chest. 

Luis smiled, gently taking the box from him. “I’m very glad you love the box, but your present is inside the box.”

“Whoa! Really?” Gregory tilted his head to the side, looking at the box with all the intensity that a four-year-old can muster. 

“Yep!” Luis opened the box, placing it back on Gregory’s lap. “See what’s inside?”

“Shoes!” He pulled them from the box. “Freddy shoes!” Gregory bounced in his spot. “Mama ‘Nessa, look!” Excitedly, he pointed out the small Freddy symbol on the heel. “Thank you, Papa Luis.”

He leaned forward, wrapping his tiny arms around Luis. 

“No problem.”

Vanessa eyed her own gift. It was nowhere near as cool as the Pizzaplex-themed sneakers. Her’s was much lighter. She worried, watching the exchange between the boys.

“And Vanessa got you something too,” Luis said, gesturing to her. He stood up, allowing her to bend down in front of Gregory. As he passed her, Luis sent her a reassuring grin. 

(How did he always seem to know?)

Vanessa put her present on his lap. Unlike last time, Gregory started tearing into it immediately. 

“Gregory.” Vanessa started.

He looked at her, pausing mid-tear. 

“My present ... it might not be... good. I tried to look for something that I thought you would enjoy, but…” Vanessa sighed, feeling beyond disappointed in herself. After how many weeks of knowing Gregory, and she barely knew what he liked. And, of course, it never occurred to her to just ask him. (Because that would have been too easy). “So, I made you something instead.”

Gregory giggled. “Mama ‘Nessa, you’re so silly.”

Taken back, Vanessa stared at Gregory. “Wha-”

“You already gave me the bestest present ever!”

“I did?” She asked, quirking a brow. A quick glance at Luis told her that she hadn’t given Gregory any gifts recently. Unless food counted, but that was kind of a necessity.

“Uh, huh,” he said. 

“And what was that?” Vanessa asked, playing along. Anything to avoid the inevitable disappointment, and feelings of rejection from setting in. 

“You!”

“Me?” Vanessa placed a hand over her chest. 

Gregory nodded. “Yep! A mommy!”

Instantly, Vanessa was flooded with emotions. Some good, some bad. She didn’t know whether to hug Gregory and never let him go, or run and hide. 

She felt sick. 

She’d never felt better.

She’d…

…a pair of amber eyes flashed into her mind’s eye. 

“Mama ‘Nessa?” Gregory tugged on her sleeve. “You okay?”

“Yes, sorry. Thank you for that.” Vanessa said, forcing the thoughts from her head.

He grinned widely, returning to her present. Just like last time, the newspaper was set aside to be dealt with later. Gregory opened the box. A framed photo of all three of them together, sat at the bottom of the box. 

Excitedly, he pulled the picture out. “That’s- that’s us. Papa Luis, look!” He held the picture up for Luis to see. 

Vanessa sighed in relief. “I’m happy you like it.”

“I love it,” he said, holding it to his chest. 

-x-x-x-

They sat together on the couch. Luis on one side, Vanessa on the other, and Gregory in between them. Luis put on Tangled. 

“Mama ‘Nessa,” Gregory nudged her, “she looks like you.” He pointed at the screen, where Rapunzel was threatening a man with a frying pan. 

“Thanks, kid,” she murmured. 

Gregory smiled, leaning into her side.

-x-x-x-

It didn’t take long for Gregory to fall asleep. He was sprawled out across the couch, head on Vanessa’s lap and legs on Luis’. Forcing them to scoot closer to each other. It wasn’t the most comfortable of positions, but it could be a lot worse. 

Vanessa rested her head on his shoulder, idly stroking Gregory’s hair. It was getting long. Pretty soon, if his family wasn’t found, they’d have to take him to a hairdresser, or cut it themselves. 

Luis hummed along to one of the many musical numbers. 

She smiled to herself. What would she do without him?

Really, honestly, truly, what would Vanessa do without him? 

Without him, she’d still be wearing a bunny costume murdering people. 

Without Luis, she’d have to manage a sickly, traumatized toddler all by herself. 

Without him, Vanessa wouldn’t be here today. Sitting on the couch, watching “Tangled,” of all things. 

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the low light of the TV, a smile on his face. 

It occurred to Vanessa then, that despite everything she’d done not to, she kind of, sort of, really, really liked Luis. Like a lot. That kind of ‘like’ that made you want to do something stupid, like making breakfast in bed for a person on your only day off or watching ten seasons of a show you despise because they love it so much, and seeing them light up is worth the headache.

The realization made her face burn red, and she was glad that they'd decided to turn the lights off for the movie. 

She needed to tell him. 

“Luis?” Mentally, Vanessa kicked herself. Why, oh, why, was she born without a proper brain-to-mouth filter?

“Yes?” He whispered back, glancing down at Gregory. “Is something wrong?”

“I think…I think…I like you.” She waved her hands furiously in the air. “But it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way! We don’t have to talk about what I just said ever again. It was stupid, I’m sorry for bringing it-”

“Vanessa,” Luis interrupted, “I like you too.”

“Oh.” Vanessa’s face reddened further. “That’s good.”

“So, does this mean we’re a thing?”

“Like boyfriend-girlfriend?” 

Luis nodded.

“Yes,” Vanessa answered without hesitation. Realizing how that might come off, she hurriedly added, “If you want.”

Gently, Luis grabbed her by the chin, and turned Vanessa’s head so she was looking at him. “‘Ness, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, I want more than to be here with you, right now. So, yes, I want to be your boyfriend.” 

They stared each other in the eyes for a minute longer, Luis stroked his thumb along her jawline, before they both leaned in at the same time…

…and proceeded to bump noses. 

“Sorry,” Vanessa mumbled, rubbing at her nose. 

“No, no, it’s my fault.”

They laughed it off and leaned in again. This time they both remembered to turn their heads a different way. But kissing was harder than either of them realized, and they missed the mark a couple of times. 

In the background, “At last I see the Light,” played. 

Finally, through fits of giggles, their lips met. 

His lips were blissfully warm, like slipping under the covers after a cold winter day. 

They pulled away from each other. Both smiling from ear-to-ear, like the fools they were. Luis tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

This, right here, was happiness. And no one could ever take this away from her. Ever.

Chapter Text

Vanessa yawned. Her back and neck ached - a surefire sign that she fell asleep on her couch again. Opening her eyes, she’s proven right. Her body was half-slumped over the armrest, head laying on her arm. 

Ah, that explained why she couldn’t feel her arm. 

Idly, she shook it.

A pins and needles sensation shot up and down her arm. The sound of paper being crumpled up got her attention. Gregory sat in front of her coffee table. 

“Ow,” she muttered, internally cursing her past self for choosing one of the worst sleeping positions ever. When it passed, she reached out to pat Gregory’s messy bedhead. “Good morning, Greg.”

He said nothing, just crumpled up and uncrumpled the paper. Taking his time, smoothing it out, before using both hands to ball it up. 

“Uh…Gregory?” Vanessa poked him.

The crackling noise of the paper seemed impossibly loud in the quiet of early morning. 

For a second, Vanessa feared she hadn't really woken up. It wouldn’t be the first time the rug has been pulled out from underneath her. 

If not for Luis’ soft snoring next to her, and a general lack of impending doom and sense of foreboding, she might have believed that. But-at least for now-she felt safe. Until Vanny, herself, popped out from some dark corner, she was going to hold onto that hope. 

“Greg,” she said again. “Everything alright?”

Gregory hummed. 

Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief. It was odd he still hadn’t looked at her, but she chalked it up to him being tired. They had kept Gregory out late last night after all. “I’ll get breakfast ready, okay?”

He hummed again, little hands crumpling and uncrumpling the newspaper on the table. She made a mental note to clean it up after breakfast.

Her kitchen was a mess. Pans and mixing bowls they used to make cookies sat in an untidy stack next to her sink. 

Vanessa sighed, reaching for a box of lucky charms. Yet another thing added to her bucket-list. Usually, having tasks pile up caused her to go into-what she has fondly started calling-“shutdown mode.” The term, she thought, was very on-brand for someone that worked day-in and day-out with robots. 

Robots aside, when she shuts down, it’s hard to get anything done. 

But today was different. 

She could just feel it. 

Vanessa poured three bowls of cereal. She balanced the three bowls in her arms, somehow managing not to slosh milk or cereal on the ground.

Back in the living room, Luis was awake, watching Gregory continue to play with the newspaper. She placed a bowl of cereal on the table in front of him, patting him on the head. 

She joined her boyfriend on the couch. “Well, goodmorning.” She handed him a bowl.

“What’s this?” He asked, voice still groggy with sleep. 

She giggled. “Cereal.”

Luis side-eyed her. 

“Okay, okay, Lucky Charms. There was a sale at the supermarket.”

“Thank you,” he murmured. 

They ate in silence, the only sounds were the occasional clang from a spoon hitting the sides of a nearly-empty bowl. It was not the oppressive quiet that preluded all her worst nightmares, nor the kind she had gotten used to. The sort that follows you around, hanging over you. Never leaving your side, even in a crowded room. Self-imposed isolation.

Loneliness. 

The crinkling sounds returned as soon as Gregory finished off his cereal. They were louder this time, and Gregory’s movements were more aggressive. 

Luis and her exchanged a glance. “Gregory,” he started, coming over to kneel down next to him, “Is everything okay?”

He uncrumpled the paper (again), using his hands to smooth it out. 

“It’s fine if you don’t want-”

“I hate her,” Gregory interrupted, glowering at the newspaper in front of him. It was so different from his usual cheerful attitude that Vanessa looked around to make double-sure this wasn’t some cruel joke her tormentors are playing on her. 

Even Luis leaned away from him, eyes widening a bit. But he quickly recovered, pointing at something on the paper that Vanessa couldn’t see. 

“Who?” He asked. “Her?” 

Gregory bowed his head. “She’s a liar.”

“Greg, wha-”

He turned to Vanessa. “Mommy promised I’d see her after daycare.” His bottom lip quivered. She reached out for him. The revelation that he may have solved his own missing person’s case hadn’t registered to her. The only thing that mattered was the child on the verge of tears in front of her. 

“She promised,” he cried, looking over his shoulder at the newspaper clipping. “But Miss Cheyenne picked me up instead.”

“...Miss Cheyenne?” Luis asked, voice soft. 

“Miss Cheyenne is mommy’s helper person.” 

“Helper person?” Vanessa tilted her head to the side. 

“Uh, huh, helper person. She has this big, huge book that she writes in. And she writes a lot, especially when she talks to mommy. She also cleans a lot and drived me to daycare.”

Luis’ brows furrowed. “And what happened to Miss Cheyenne?”

“She picked me up from daycare, like she always did. But….” Gregory’s shoulders shook. He threw himself at Vanessa, clinging to her. “She….Miss Cheyenne didn’t take me home.”

Her stomach twisted. 

“I asked-ed her too, but she wouldn’t. She said mommy didn’t want me no more.” He sobbed, burying his face in the crook of her neck. “And she was soooo mean to me. Miss Cheyenne was nice. I don’t understand why she turned mean? Why? Why didn’t my mommy want me no more, Mama ‘Nessa?”

He cried harder, tiny hands gripping her shirt, as if trying to ground himself. 

Vanessa stroked his hair. She fought the urge to track Gregory’s mother down. All this time they’d been searching for a woman that gave up her own son without telling him why. And if he was old enough to remember this then it had to have been somewhat recently. No, the title of mother wasn’t befitting of someone so…vile. 

Monster was more like it. 

“You’re safe now,” she murmured into his hair. “Your mama and papa got you.” 

Luis laid a gentle hand on his back. 

It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, like she could finally breathe again. Gregory recognizing his mom in the paper meant they had a name to work with. 

Eventually, Gregory’s cries tapered off. His breathing evened out, and it was not long before he fell asleep. 

“Poor guy,” Luis said, frowning. 

Vanessa hummed. “Can you hand me the newspaper he was looking at?”

“Sure.”

The newspaper was a mess of wrinkles and creases, making it a little hard to read. She sighed, doing her best to read it around Gregory’s sleeping form. The article itself seemed standard enough. 

It was about the dangers of ignoring your mental health. Something she knew all too well. She chuckled a little at her own joke, ignoring the concerned glance Luis sent her. 

She scanned the article, looking for a sign of what set Gregory off. Because surely a block of text hadn’t done it. 

Vanessa had to reread it again, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. She was just about to ask Luis if he grabbed the right one when her eyes saw the name of the writer of the article. One, Dr. Maria Torrez (pictured with her assistant, Cheyenne Michaels in her office, on page nine).

Amber eyes flashed into her mind’s eye. A kind smile and a soft laugh. 

Blood.

Everywhere. 

Screaming. 

Vanessa shook her head, forcing down the unwelcome thoughts. Before she could think better of it, she flipped the piece over to page nine. 

Two women stood in front of a cozy-looking office. There were bookshelves full of familiar books and a child-size table sat in the corner of the room. One of the women had bottle-blonde hair and a smug smile on her face. The other one……

The other one had dark brown hair and…Vanessa threw the paper away from her. Luis made a startled sound. 

“‘Ness, are you okay?”

She shook her head. 

“…I…I killed his mom…” she said softly, before she started sobbing again.

-x-x-x-

After that bombshell, Luis was shoved out of the apartment so fast his head spun. Vanessa was rambling, which was usually not a great sign. But she told him to leave her be for a few hours, muttering something about needing to be alone. 

He hesitated, trying to reason with her. His attempt failed, if the door in his face and the squirming toddler in his arms was anything to go by. 

Luis got closer to the door. “‘Ness, I’m taking Gregory to the mall for a little bit.” When he got no response, Luis added, “Just know, I’m here for you. You’re not alone.”

Defeated (for now), Luis made his way to the entrance of the apartment building. Gregory tugged on his shirt, making desperate gestures towards Vanessa’s apartment. “Mama ‘Nessa,” he whined. 

“I know, bud. ‘Ness just needs a while to cool down. Everything will be alright.”

-x-x-x-

Everything was not alright. 

There were scratch marks on her arms from where she dug her nails in, trying to distract from memories she’d rather forget. She lays curled up on her bed, covers over her head.

The terrifying panic that had previously gripped her felt less severe now. It wasn't gone, just…Vanessa was too exhausted to continue freaking out. A detached-numbness took its place. 

She closed her eyes, pleading with whatever entity thought it funny enough to put her through all that she had, to let her drift off. To let her forget, for an hour at least. Please, please let her sleep…

-x-x-x-

Luis carried Gregory around the store. He tried to use a cart, but Gregory refused to stop clinging to him. Probably uneasy about ‘Ness’ outburst. Not that Luis could blame him. It was like a switch had been flipped. One second they had been on the cusp of solving a missing person’s case, excited but solemn. The next…

….the next, Gregory was shoved into his arms, and Vanessa begged him to leave her alone for awhile. 

“Papa Luis, look!” Gregory shouted, pointing at the window of a petstore. A couple of large fish tanks sat in the window, clusters of colorful fish swam around inside. He wriggled in Luis’ arms. “Please.”

Luis chuckled, letting him down. Instantly, Gregory was gone, staring in rapt fascination at the different fish. 

He started to follow after the runaway child, but he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. “Hey!” He called out, waving at the man who had helped him out. 

The man smiled at Luis, coming over to join him. 

“Hello,” he said, in the same somber tone of voice. 

“How are you doing?” Luis watched Gregory in his peripheral vision, making sure he stayed put. The last thing he needed was for him to go missing. (Though, he’s sure his uncle would love the company. Wherever he is.)

“I’ve…been better. You must really like this mall. I mean I’ve seen you here this week, what? Three times?” 

Luis laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah, this week has been…chaotic.”

“Story of my life,” the man said. 

“Papa Luis!” Gregory yells. Both of them turn to look at him. His back was to them, and he’s pointing at one of the fish in the tanks. “This one’s blue!” 

Luis went to introduce Gregory to the man, but he was already sprinting towards the preschooler. Immediately, he was on the man’s tail, trying to prevent him from reaching Gregory. His heart thundered in his chest. 

“Stop!” He hollered, hoping someone will do something. “Gregory! Run!” 

But despite his best efforts, the man reached Gregory first. Luis was a second too late. The man scooped Gregory into a hug. He squirmed in the man’s grasp. 

“Let me go!” He slapped at the man’s back. “Papa Luis, help!”

“Gregory, baby, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” The man hugged him tighter, crying. 

Gregory froze, eyes widening. “Daddy?” 

-x-x-x-

The last two weeks had been hell for Vanessa. Time management had never been her strong suit, but surely she’d remember getting groceries? But whenever she tried to think about it, she couldn’t recall getting them. 

And it didn’t stop at shopping.

Other things, like beating a video game she was ecstatic about, making dinner, or even polishing her silverware (which she had never done before in her life, but hey, her knives and forks have never looked better), were done without her having any memory of doing them. 

Ever since she played that stupid video game…

She groaned, feeling a headache come on. 

“Vanessa, sweetheart, are you alright?” A woman-her therapist at the moment, though now that she was between jobs with no insurance, that was bound to change soon-asked. She had dark brown hair and small, almond eyes the color of honey. Her voice was soft, and hearing her speak put Vanessa at ease. Even if she didn’t show it. 

“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.” She cleared her throat, shifting in the chair.

“It’s quite alright.”

Vanessa nodded.

She’d been seeing this therapist for a few sessions now, but the fog clouding her thoughts hasn't gotten any better. If anything it’s just gotten worse, and maybe that was her fault. For one, she hadn’t done any of the exercises recommended to help manage her anxiety. 

But…still, something didn’t feel right. A puzzle piece that refused to click into place. 

“Now, have you started journaling?”

She shook her head. 

Her therapist sighed. “I really think it would help. There’s been countless….”

Vanessa tuned her out. Something was very, very wrong. She gripped the armrests, trying to refocus on the person in front of her. 

This started after she finished that game. The one that Faz-Entertainment forced the company she worked for to make.

Vanessa bit at her bottom lip, eyes fixated on her lap. She felt awful for ignoring Dr. Torrez, but her thoughts were speeding by her at a million miles per minute. It was hard to pay attention. 

“Vanessa,” a voice hissed. But when she looked around, no one was near her.

Her therapist said something, forehead wrinkling and mouth pressing into a tight line. She motioned to something, but Vanessa couldn’t pay attention to her. 

“Vanessa,” the voice said again. “Listen to me.” 

She blinked back tears, fighting the urge to freak out. This…this wasn’t her inner monologue. This voice was different. Grizzled and old and had an accent Vanessa couldn’t imitate in her wildest dreams. 

“There, there, don’t cry.” 

Vanessa wanted so badly to open her mouth, but she couldn't. It wouldn’t let her. 

“I’m sure you’re confused.”

She did her best to focus on Dr. Torrez, who was going over another exercise to manage her anxiety. 

“Here, let me show you.”

The things she couldn’t remember came rushing back to her. She saw herself racing through levels on the video game she’d been waiting for, cleaning her kitchen, and buying groceries. 

She saw herself at the grocery store, examining kitchen utensils. Vanessa settled on a large kitchen knife.

She saw herself back in her apartment, getting ready for her therapy appointment, sticking the knife in her bag. 

Vanessa gasped, or at least tried too. But the thing, whatever it was, had a vice-grip on her throat. Preventing her from calling out for help. 

“Now, now, don’t be like that. We can do this the easy way, or…”

She shook her head, Maria saw this and assumed Vanessa was talking to her because she turned around to rummage around in a bin behind her desk. A candy bin for anxious patients, to give her something to focus on. Which usually worked wonders. 

Usually. 

Her body tensed up. 

“The hard way it is.”

Vanessa tried to scream. The sound didn’t reach beyond herself. 

A hand-her own hand, though she wasn’t moving it-slipped into her bag. It rifled around, finally wrapping around a handle of some sort. It was small and almost felt like a-

Vanessa felt her face stretch into a wide, almost uncomfortable grin. 

Her therapist turned back, placing a few bubblegum suckers on her desk. Vanessa’s favorite. 

“Vanessa, what…are you alright?” 

Vanessa watched on in horror, trapped in her own body, as she lunged at Dr. Torrez. Knife out and aimed at her heart. 

She screamed. 

It did no good. 

The attack was over quickly. But not quickly enough. Blood covered the walls, desk, and even the ceiling. 

The last thing she saw before she woke up was a framed photo on her desk. A little boy, no older than two or three, with chocolate brown hair and big eyes the color of honey. He was smiling, holding a raggedy-looking bear plushie to his chest. 

… Gregory…

-x-x-x-

“What the fuck is wrong with you!?” The man glared at him, looking two seconds away from pummeling Luis right then and there. He probably already would have if not for Gregory.

“I can explain,” Luis said, waving his arms around frantically. “We didn’t kidnap him.”

“ Oh. Well, did he just waltz out of the daycare by himself, drive all the way to Hurricane, and force you to take him in?”

“No, my girlfriend found him in an alley. He was in rough shape.”

The man relaxed a little. “Gregory, is this true?” 

Gregory nodded, resting his forehead against his father’s shoulder. “Uh, huh.”

“Then who took you?”

“Miss Cheyenne.”

The man scowled, patting his son’s back. “God, I’ve always despised that woman.” Looking down at Gregory his expression softened just a little. “I suppose I should thank you then, for looking after my son.”

Luis nodded, unable to conjure up words. 

“Though, I do need to meet your girlfriend. You said she was the one that found him, right?”

Again, he nodded. 

“Well, I’m not doing anything right now. So, how about I follow you back to your place. We can clear up any misunderstanding, and me and Gregory can be on our way.”

“...Okay…” Luis said hesitantly, remembering what Vanessa had said before he left.

Luis turned towards the entrance of the mall, feeling weirdly numb. Shouldn’t he be happier? This was what they’d wanted this whole time… Wasn’t it?

“Oh,” the man started, walking side-by-side with Luis, “I’ve never introduced myself, have I?”

Luis can’t bring himself to respond, but the man continued on anyway. 

“Evan Afton,” he said, happier than before. 

The name felt familiar, but Luis couldn’t focus on anything besides getting back to Vanessa’s apartment, and trying to explain what just went down. Hopefully she’d calmed down enough by now.

“Luis Cabrera,” he muttered back.

Chapter Text

It started just after the bite. 

Evan was never really a “normal” kid by any stretch of the imagination. He cried easily and had an overactive imagination. Something both his siblings used to make fun of him for. (His heart ached when he thought about Elizabeth and Michael. They should be here with him. They shouldn’t be…) But the bite made him worse. 

His crying spells got better, sure, but his imagination was out of control. At least, that was what his parents (and later, therapists) seemed to think. 

But Evan knew better than them. 

It happened for the first time the day he woke up in the hospital. It was hazy now-the memories almost completely lost to time and the many pain medications he was on at the time-but Evan could distinctly remember the ambush of horrific memories. Memories that were so disgustingly vivid and stained with blood. The diner’s security puppet lay curled around a blurry figure. 

He hadn’t known it at the time, but Charlie Emily had been found dead, in a pool of her own blood. 

It took even longer for him to realize what triggered the memories. 

Literal years passed by with him being harassed by these grotesque memories. Memories that weren’t his own. His parents ( parent - mum left them after Lizzie…) weren’t any help. They just ignored him or passed him off to the nearest shrink. 

Michael-who grew to be a lot nicer after the incident-took him a little more seriously. Though, with his own spiraling mental health, and their father’s constant overbearing presence, there wasn’t much he could do to help. 

It wasn’t until he was a senior in high school that he got a better handle on what was happening to him. 

The gift of hindsight. 

The ability allowed him to look at certain events in a person’s life. Most of the time, Evan had no control over which event he saw (which unfortunately meant he couldn’t use the gift to become a detective, as it was too inconsistent). But the memory was always one that the person associated with a powerful feeling. Whether that was joy, fear, anger, hatred, or sorrow.

Those intense feelings triggered his ability. With a slight caveat. 

The person who’s memory he was viewing has to be experiencing that same emotion in real time, while he himself had to be experiencing the exact opposite of that emotion at the same time. 

The realization helped stop the memories from overwhelming him. Evan moved on, graduated high school, and eventually started a family. 

It would be years later, that he would finally understand the implication of the very first memory he was forced to endure. Because the only one in his hospital room was his father…

-x-x-x-

“Gregory!” Vanessa shouted as she jolted awake. The familiar yellowed-white painted ceiling of her bedroom greeted her like an old friend. It was a welcome relief, though she couldn’t bring herself to fall back asleep. 

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Vanessa inhaled deeply. “Everything is fine,” she murmured, quietly.  

One of her old therapists used to boast about the “power of positive thinking.” At the time, she thought it was utter bullshit, but Vanessa would do anything to not think about the betrayed look in those amber eyes.

Vanessa shuffled into her bathroom. Even if she couldn’t calm down; she could, at the very least, look semi-presentable by the time Luis and Greg-

She leaned over the bathroom sink, turning on the taps. Vanessa splashed her face, hoping the cold water might make her stupid, over exhausted, overly stressed brain work right for once in her life. 

She stayed there, hunched over the sink. Water dripped down her face and onto porcelain white. 

Only she- Vanessa thought to herself, just the slightest bit amused- could have found herself in such a predicament.

It was not a funny thought, but she found herself giggling anyway. So unlike the maniacal giggles Vanny would give, dancing around with a knife. In spite of that, the sound gave her pause. 

Vanessa forced herself to look up at the mirror.  

She tightened her grip on the sink, staring intently into the glass. Her tired reflection stared back. “That…that wasn’t you.” The words stirred something within Vanessa, a flame that’d been doused for far too long. “That wasn’t you.” With every word out her mouth, she could feel herself relax more and more. 

By the time she heard knocking at her door, Vanessa was as calm as she had been that morning. The nightmare lingered in the back of her mind, but for now it was easy enough to banish it with all the others. 

“Luis,” she answered the door, “How was the-”

An older man stood in front of her. His brown hair, though peppered with graying-strands, and big eyes reminded her of Gregory. He smiled politely at her, extending a hand. 

“Hello, I’m Evan Afton.”

It was then that Luis made eye contact with her, as if trying to warn her of something. 

“Nice to meet you…?” She shook his hand.  “I’m sorry. Who are you?” 

“Ah, sorry, I’m Gregory’s dad,” Evan said. 

Any and all thoughts ground to a screeching halt. She stared at the face of the man whose partner she killed in cold blood (she tried to rationalize with herself that it wasn’t her, but for some reason, the thought just felt empty). 

Amber eyes. 

A kind smile. 

A mother.

Gregory’s mother. 

She took away his mom. 

Distantly, Vanessa could hear Luis ushering them all inside the apartment. He gently guided Vanessa to the living room.

“I really have to thank you for looking out for him,” Evan said. “Though I don’t understand why you didn’t go to the cops.” There was no underlying accusation to his words, only a minor curiosity. 

Vanessa settled on the couch, staring straight ahead. Her hands trembled, and she held them close to her chest, hoping to disguise her nervousness. 

“That’s a fair point,” Luis answered for her, sitting down beside her.

Gregory-who had been quiet up to that point-wriggled out of Evan’s arms. The minute he was free from his dad’s arms, he hurried over to Vanessa. It would be endearing if the circumstances were better. 

Vanessa avoided looking at him, even as he braced himself against her knees. Evan chuckled at the display, oblivious to the growing tension. Luis shifted beside her, laughing along (though it sounded forced and stilted). 

Gregory giggled. He rested his chin on his arms, which lay in her lap. “Mama ‘Nessa. Mama ‘Nessa, look at me.” 

She did so - mostly out of habit, but also because she couldn’t afford to seem suspicious. And- oh, no! 

Her heart dropped into her stomach. 

Amber eyes. 

Amber eyes.

A M B E R.

Vanessa screamed.

-x-x-x-

Evan watched in mute horror as that girl-the one that kept his son for all these weeks without phoning the police-lunged for Maria. He knew from experience that trying to interact with the memory did nothing. It was pointless and just resulted in self-loathing.

He still did it anyway. 

Evan raced over to Maria, but…but it was too late. 

She…she was…

And there was blood. Everywhere. 

There was a crooked smile on Vanessa’s face as she thrust the knife into Maria’s chest again and again and-

He looked at Maria. The love of his life. Mother of his child. One of the only people that ever seemed to understand him. 

Her eyes-the same eyes their son inherited-stared blankly up at the ceiling. Dead. Lifeless. 

The memory let him go, and Evan stumbled back, heart thundering in his chest and blood rushing in his ears. He came to his senses, frozen to his seat. 

“You…you killed her,” he whispered, voice hoarse. He didn’t have the energy to argue, and he really didn’t want Gregory hearing what happened to his mother. 

“It wasn’t her,” Luis said, deciding not to question how Evan knew this. Which was just fine with him, Evan didn’t think he could answer how or why he knew the things he did. 

“I’m so sorry,” Vanessa cried. “Gregory, I-I’m so, so sorry.” He watched her lean towards Gregory. Those hands that had been covered in blood. Those hands that were getting closer to his son. 

“Mama ‘Nessa…?”

Evan practically jumped out of the chair (it tipped over with a heavy thud, startling Gregory enough for him to look back at Evan). His heart hammered in his chest, seeing his son so close to a murderer. “Get away from him!” 

-x-x-x-

Vanessa loudly sobbed, tears blurring her vision. She couldn’t force herself to look at Gregory. The boy continued to poke at her, trying to get her attention. 

“Mama ‘Nessa…?” 

“Get away from him!” 

The wooden kitchen chair Luis brought out for their guest fell on its side. She heard Evan’s heavy footsteps stomping over to her. 

She murmured apology after apology. None of it made any sense, even to her own ears. It was too much and not enough. Vanessa rubbed at her eyes, hoping to rid herself of the horrid images. 

Evan scooped up his son. He glowered at her, eyes narrowed. He raised a clenched fist. 

Out of reflex, Vanessa flinched back. Next to her, Luis started to move, arm blocking Evan’s aim. 

Except…the hit never came. 

Evan grunted, shifting Gregory in his arms. “You…killed his mother…you're a…a…” He said, faltering. A thousand different emotions crossed his face. Sorrow, rage, regret… And Vanessa knew she was the reason why. “You’re a monster,” Evan finished. “Stay away from us.”

Monster. 

She was a….

MONSTER.

No, she couldn’t. She wasn’t. No, no- 

Vanessa got to her feet, ready to defend herself. But two amber eyes stopped her in her tracks. Gregory clung to his father, who’s hurrying to the door. He stared at her, over his dad’s shoulder. Confused. 

Right before the door slammed shut behind them, Gregory waved ‘bye-bye’ to her. Despite how terrible she felt, Vanessa managed to wave back at the toddler. 

As soon as the door clicked shut, she collapsed in Luis’ arms. Screaming and crying.

And Luis held her through all of it. 

He always did.

-x-x-x-

The trip back to his apartment took an hour, and by the time they arrived, Gregory was conked out in the backseat. Carefully, Evan unbuckled his son. 

He still felt on edge, the image of Maria’s lifeless eyes were seared into his brain. He tried not to think about it, choosing instead to focus on their son. His only remaining family member.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Evan whispered, tucking his son into his bed. His apartment was small, and the last time he had Gregory overnight was over a year ago. Back then, his son had a crib in the corner of the room. 

A crib that Evan broke during a particularly sorrowful filled night, following the news report on his son. 

So, for right now, this would have to do.

-x-x-x-

Gregory was more energetic than Evan remembered. His little boy jumped around like a rabbit, hopping in place while he waited for his father to pay attention to him. It was endearing (and a little annoying, especially because he had to get this job application in).

“Go play, Greg,” he said, gesturing vaguely over to the pile of baby toys Evan brought over from Maria’s house. None of them looked particularly interesting, and most of them were for young toddlers and babies. But he just needed a moment to think. 

“Daddy.” Gregory yanked on his shirt sleeve. “I wanna play. Come play with me.”

“I’m busy.”

His son huffed, finally leaving him alone. Evan breathed a sigh of relief, returning to the application. He’s been relying on his savings to get him through these past months. It wasn’t much to start off this, but he made it work. But now that he has Gregory….

“Daddy!” Gregory yelled. “Look at me!”

Evan slouched in the seat. This was going to be a long day. 

-x-x-x-

Thank you for your interest, but we’ve chosen to move forward with other applicants. 

Evan sighed, heavily, resting his head in his arms. This was the fourth rejection email today, and the ones that didn’t reject him, have pay that’s insultingly low. Even working two or three of them wouldn’t be enough, especially factoring in childcare (he wasn’t sure how much he could actually trust other people to watch Gregory after what happened last time, but Evan doubted his employer would let him bring his son to work). 

Why was parenting so hard?

A cry broke through the quietness in the apartment. He was on his feet in an instant, running to his bedroom.  

Gregory was sitting up in bed, sobbing. “Daddy!” His tiny arms reached out for Evan. He hiccuped. “Daddy!” 

Evan stared back at his son, unable to move an inch. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the part of him that remembered being a father screamed at him, urging him forward. To comfort his son. To hold him. 

If Maria was here…

Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. His throat tightened. 

If Maria was here, she’d know what to do. 

“I’m so sorry, Gregory,” he murmured.

He locked himself in the bathroom, covering his ears to block out his son’s cries. He sat against the door, squeezing his eyes shut. 

The lights flickered.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, again. Though, he had no idea who he was apologizing to. He had no idea parenting would be so difficult on his own. It had all seemed so easy back then. 

“I…I can’t do it. I can’t take care of Gregory.” The words felt like poison, leaving his mouth. He’d just got his son back only to what? Give him away, because things were tough. Maria would’ve been disappointed in him. She’d never give up on their son. Their child. Their baby. 

The lights turned off. Evan jumped, reaching for the light switch. He didn’t like the dark. It reminded him of being trapped. Of the animatronics. Of him….

The lights turn back on, blinding him. A bright white light fills the tiny room - way brighter than the half-burnt out dollar store light bulbs provided. He opened his eyes, using his hand as a shield against the light. 

“...Maria…?”

Chapter Text

Maria knelt down in front of him, taking his hands into hers. Her hands were pale, the skin almost translucent. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Her soft voice made him smile. It’d been forever since he'd heard that voice. 

Maria’s presence seemed to flicker, like a candle’s flame. Not quite here, but not gone. 

“I’m sorry, Maria,” he whispered, clutching her hands tight. “I-I should have protected you.” He must be dreaming right now, either that, or he’d finally gone insane. All of the pressure has finally gone to his head, making him see his deceased ex-wife. 

She tilted her head. “There was nothing you could have done to protect me. None of this was your fault.”

He nodded, looking at the tiled floor. 

“It wasn’t her fault either.”

Evan stared incredulously at his ex-wife. 

“Don’t give me that look. You know exactly who I’m talking about.” Maria narrowed her eyes. 

He narrowed his eyes right back. The exchange was familiar to him. They used to do it all the time. Stubborn is, as stubborn does. “I saw it. I saw you…” Evan let her hands go.

“I know, and I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to see that.” She rubbed his shoulder. “But Vanessa had nothing to do with that. She was a tool, a puppet.”

“She killed you." Evan replied, frustrated, "She took you away from Gregory. Because of her he’ll have to grow up without a-”

“I can show you,” Maria said, cutting him off. “Here, give me your hand.” She held a hand out. 

He stared at it. A part of Evan wasn’t entirely sure this interaction was real. Between Maria’s flickering frame and everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours, it wouldn’t surprise him that he’d finally lost his mind. But even still…

There was another part of him-the part of him that wanted to hope-that clung to the childish delusion that everything would be okay. That all the bad stuff from ‘83 onward was just a horrible, terrible, nasty, bad dream. And he’d wake up in his bed tomorrow morning, family alive and intact. 

It was that small (wavering) amount of hope that made Evan place his hand in hers. 

His surroundings blurred, as he was yanked into another memory. Sights and sounds mixed together until it all suddenly stopped. 

The scene in front of him was slightly different than before. No blood was being spilled, and both women were seated in their respective chairs. Vanessa was hunched over, voice small and tone overly exhausted. Maria kept sending worried glances at the younger woman.

“Vanessa, sweetheart, are you alright?” 

Vanessa grumbled a half-hearted reply, shifting in her seat. Maria stared at her, seemingly debating on pushing the issue further.

He himself had been in Vanessa’s place many times. The only downside-he’d joke to their friends-of having a psychologist for a partner, was that they had a hard time letting things slide. 

“Now, have you started journaling?” Maria asked.

Vanessa shook her head. 

 “I really think it would help. There’s been countless studies that indicate that writing down your thoughts and feelings can actually help you process whatever it is you’re going through.”

Evan smiled fondly at her - her voice like a melody to his ears. 

She swiveled in her chair, facing away from Vanessa. Evan continued to watch Maria, even as she rifled through filing cabinets for one thing or another. 

A sudden, jerky movement has him turning his head to Vanessa. The young woman was seated upright, back ramrod straight. Her lips twitched into a smile, and her eyes were wide, pupils nearly engulfing her irises. 

Curious, Evan came closer to her. Her face was wet, he noted, distantly. And, upon closer inspection, she seemed to be trembling - no…. not trembling…. Vanessa’s movements looked more like someone fighting a losing battle, muscles contracting and fingers twitching. She shook her head, a smile still on her face, but it felt fake somehow. 

“What- what’s happening to her?” He asked aloud. Not expecting a response, but Maria-the ghostly version of her-answered him anyway. 

“You remember your father, right?”

“I wish I didn’t,” Evan grumbled, continuing to watch the scene in front of him. It was like watching a car accident in slow-motion. He knew what the end result would be-Maria bloody and lifeless on the floor, while Vanessa stood above her, knife in hand-but he couldn't bring himself to look away. 

Maria came closer to him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Even through the fabric of his shirt and safe within the confines of a memory (even one as terrible as this one), Evan shivered at the coldness of her hand. 

“I know,” she murmured. “He was as horrible as they come. But we need to talk about him.”

“No, we don’t. My brother and Uncle Henry already dealt with him. Why drudge up the past?” 

The irony of ‘not wanting to talk about the past’ to his dead ex-wife was not lost on Evan.

“Because it matters,” Maria argued, letting her hand drop from his shoulder. “Because if I can’t make you understand, Gregory will be the one to suffer.” Her voice sounded strained, like she was struggling really hard not to cry. “Because….” she trailed off.

The memory started to fade away, colors blending together like watercolors. He turned to Maria, needing some kind of explanation. Her head was bowed slightly, but he could still make out the quivering of her bottom lip. 

“Because I failed him,” she spoke, voice wavering. “I failed our little boy, Evan. I only wanted the best for him. I tried so hard…so, so hard. And now I have to watch him grow up without me.”

“Maria-” Evan started, reaching a hand out to comfort her, but she interrupted him. 

“We don’t have much time. My energy is almost depleted, and I need you to understand.”

“Understand what?” 

“That Vanessa wasn’t the one that killed me.”

Evan scoffed. “What? Am I supposed to believe she has an evil twin?” 

Maria tilted her head to the side, eyeing him. “I know for a fact that you used to be observant. How sad you seem to have lost that ability.” 

“I did not,” he retorted, flustered. 

“Okay, then….” Maria snapped her fingers, starting the memory over from scratch. “Make an observation.”

Evan grumbled something under his breath, but watched the scene unfold for the third time. He noted the seemingly involuntary twitches to Vanessa’s arm, leg, and facial muscles. The large, almost comically large cheshire grin on her face, as well as the tears slipping quietly from her eyes. 

Evan sighed, crossing his arms. “I…uh…. she looks deranged- ow!” He looked over at a fuming Maria. “What was that for?” He asked, rubbing the back of his head. 

She shrugged him off, taking hold of his sleeve. “Look closer.”

“I don’t remember you ever being this violent.”

“Look closer,” she urged. 

He did so, leaning into Vanessa’s personal space. “What am I looking for?” He hissed at Maria. In all honesty, Evan felt a little silly, trying to find whatever it was that apparently made it a-okay for Vanessa to murder Maria. 

“But everything looks- huh?” Evan looked at her eyes again. He’s seen them before, while sitting across from Vanessa in her living room. Green like a couple of shining emeralds. They almost remind him of- 

But he’s never given them much thought outside of that one meeting. It’s not like Evan was exactly looking into her eyes while she brutally murdered Maria. It’s such a minute detail that it was so easy to overlook it. 

“Her eyes…they’re…they’re purple…”

Maria nodded, a pleased expression on her face. “And where have you seen that hue before?”

Backing up, Evan shook his head frantically. “No, no, no…no! My father’s gone! Michael took care of him! He’s burning in hell!” He can feel himself starting to shake. 

“Evan, he’s gone,” Maria told him, in the same soothing voice she used to use when he was having a panic attack. She stood in front of him. “I’m only showing you a vision of the past. Breathe.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Evan does so. 

“Deep breath in…”

He focused intently on her voice, clinging to the familiarity of it to calm his nerves.

“Now deep breath out…good. Better?” She asked.

Opening his eyes, Evan saw her smiling face. The memory was blurred like a watercolor painting again, but he only had eyes for Maria. 

“Much better.”

“Now, do you understand?” 

Evan’s brows furrowed as he tried to piece everything together. “I…I think so. But I still don’t understand how my father got control over Vanessa.”

“That’s a little complicated. I admit, I don’t understand the logistics of how and when myself. I believe it had something to do with her previous job and a VR game she was testing. But I wouldn’t worry too much about the minor details. Just know it wasn’t her fault, and your father was defeated once and for all.” 

“That’s…uh…” He rubbed a hand down his face. 

“A lot?”

“Yeah.” Recovering from his initial shock, he looked at Maria. “I…understand it’s not her fault, but Maria, how can you be so sure she’s freed from his influence?” There is no malice in his voice. No blame. He knew Vanessa was innocent in all this, but he can’t afford to trust someone under his father’s control (even unknowingly). 

“Let me show-”

“I,” Evan started, sharply, “am not watching you die, again. Once was one time too many.”

“I…apologize for that. I didn’t think about how that would affect you. But I promise I’m going to show you a happier memory. Just something to put your mind at ease.”

He nodded, taking Maria’s hand. 

The scenery changed. They’re standing in a dingy room. Up against the furthest wall, a beat-up mattress sits. The walls are disgusting, and the floor is in even worse condition. But what caught Evan’s eye was the large arcade cabinet next to the bed. The words: Princess Quest were printed across the top of it. 

“Where-where are we…?” 

“Shush, watch.”

The door to the room suddenly opened. A familiar looking man stepped inside. 

“Is that…?”

Maria sent him a knowing look. 

“What is…”

Luis crept forward; his eyes locked on the arcade game. His face was set and determined. Reaching the cabinet, he started playing the game. 

Why was the man he formed a pseudo-friendship with playing a video game? Why was he playing a video game in this room, of all places? Matter of fact, what is the correlation between Luis and Vanessa being set-

BAM!

Out of nowhere, the door is slammed open, hitting the wall. Luis spared a single glance at the person slinking into the room.

A woman-and Evan assumed it had to be a woman, given their figure-dressed in a rabbit costume (that kind of reminds him of a patchwork quilt), twirled around dramatically. 

“Are you having fun yet?” She asked, voice slightly distorted. 

But Luis had already returned to the game. “Just hold on, ‘Ness,” he said. “I…I just need to beat this level, and then, you’ll be free.”

“‘Ness, isn’t that short for-”

“Vanessa?” Maria finished for him. “Yes.”

“Wait…is that….?”

“Keep watching.”

“Aw, but I don’t want to be saved,” the rabbit lady sighed. “I like it here.”

“No, you don’t. Vanessa is sweet and kind and would hate the person she’s become.”

“Well, good thing then, that I’m not Vanessa.”

Luis pointedly ignored her, mashing buttons. “C’mon, c’mon…. hurry up.” He casted a few quick glances behind his shoulder, as if making sure the rabbit lady hasn’t moved. 

The rabbit lady (Vanessa?) continued to dance around the room, humming to herself. “I think it’s time we ended this game, don’t you?” 

Again, Luis ignored her. 

Even with the mask totally obscuring her face, Evan could sense her pout from a mile away. 

She stomped her foot, which looked quite ridiculous given the costume she’s in. Somehow, he managed not to laugh. 

“Look at me!” She demanded.

He did not. 

“Luis, Look at me!”

But his gaze was locked firmly on the game.

“....hm….” she started, calmer than before, “you know, Luis…. she really liked you.”

That made him pause. He tensed up. 

“Yeah…really liked you. And I have no idea why. I mean, you’ve been fun to toy with- chase around the pizzaplex all night, but I would rather throw myself off a twenty-story building than go on that lame coffee date you kept asking about.”

Evan flinched back. He felt for Luis. The amount of cruelty in the rabbit lady’s voice was almost palatable. 

Luis slowly relaxed, not paying any mind to her. “Well, Vanny, it’s a good thing you aren’t Vanessa, now, isn’t it?”

The rabbit lady-Vanny-made a noise that sounded more like a rabid dog than anything remotely human. She lunged for Luis, knife out. 

Luis mashed a couple more buttons and moved the joystick a few inches to the right. He kicked his foot out, hitting Vanny in the stomach. 

“Sorry, ‘Ness.” 

Vanny landed on her stomach. “Ow!” She looked up at Luis. “That fucking hurt! I thought you were one of the ‘good’ ones.”

“Guess you were wrong,” he says, attention back on the game. 

“I hate you!” She screeched, leaping to her feet. “You ruined my night! You ruined my game! It’s not fair! Not fair! Not fair!” 

Vanny lunged again, but this time, she wasn't stopped by a kick to the stomach. She grabbed Luis by the back of his shirt collar, sending him tumbling to the ground. Vanny hovered over him, knife poised. 

“I win! I win!” She cheered, waving the knife back and forth. 

Luis laughed, shaking his head. 

Vanny huffed, annoyed with her latest victim’s attitude throughout this whole thing. “What’s so funny?” 

He smiled. 

A chime went off, coming from-

“No, Vanny, I win.”

Vanny hopped up, turning towards the game cabinet. The screen was all glitchy now. She whirled around to Luis. “What have you done!?” She hissed.

Luis sat up. “Goodbye, Vanny.”

Like a puppet’s strings being cut, she started to fall to the ground. Instantly, Luis raced forward, catching her. 

Carefully, he lowered her to the ground. “I got you, ‘Ness,” he murmured, removing the head of the costume. Vanessa’s face was pale. Paler than the last memory Evan had to sit through. Her blonde hair was slightly tangled and a lot longer. “You’re safe now.”

The memory stopped abruptly. 

“How…when…why do you…” Evan can’t figure out how to word his question. “The timeline…were you haunting her?”

Maria suddenly looked sad. She looked at the ground, head bowed. “There were more victims. Younger ones .”

“ Oh .”

“Me and the other adults have been doing our best to comfort them. But the poor things. They want to go home so badly. And they were there, in the pizzaplex, when all this occurred. Some of them shared the memory of her being freed with me.” As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. “I wish I could do more for them. They remind me so much of Gregory.”

Instinctually, Evan reached for her hand. “You can’t blame yourself,” he murmured. 

“Come along now,” Maria said, not responding to his remark. “There’s more you need to see.”

For the third time, he’s yanked into a new memory. This time, they’re outside in some dirty alleyway. Snow has combined with the dirt and sewer water on the ground, creating a disgusting sludge mixture. 

It’s snowing, flurries flutter through the air. People pass by the maw of the alley, chattering. 

Off to his right, a small lump suddenly moved. Evan turned. “...Gregory?” He moved forward. “Why is he here?” 

“Evan, it’s a memory, remember?” 

He can’t find the words to respond, because he’s too shocked to speak. His son’s hair had always been wild. It became tangled even on the best of days, and no amount of brushing ever changed that. But now it was a total rat’s nest. 

His face was dirty too, as was everything about him. His clothes were tattered and were nowhere near appropriate for the weather outside. 

Gregory’s teeth chattered together. He slumped against the wall; eyes squeezed shut. He was cold, wet, and hungry. Everything in him wanted to give up and give in to his desire to sleep. 

Just then, a blanket was thrown over Gregory’s tiny frame. It swallowed him whole, leaving just his eyes and nose showing. 

“What?” Evan asked, confused as to where the blanket came from. “Where did that come from?”

“This is Gregory’s memory of the event,” she said. “And this,” Maria tapped his forehead, changing their perspective to someone hovering above the shivering boy, “is mine.”

She had failed. Her baby had gotten away from that awful woman, but now he was going to die in this alley. And, while Maria missed her son terribly, she didn’t want to see him again so soon. He deserved to grow up, have a happy life. 

Helplessly, Maria watched him suffer in the cold. 

She looked around for anything that could help make the cold more bearable. Even a newspaper would do….

Spotting something that resembled a blanket deeper in the alley, Maria summoned all her strength to pull it closer. Carefully, she managed to drape it over her son. Unfortunately, the display of extraordinary power used up all her energy. 

The memory wavered, glitching slightly, before it faded to black. 

“You…were there with him?”

“The whole time,” Maria confirmed.

Evan stared at her in disbelief. 

“And there’s more.” Before he could speak, Maria pressed one of her hands over his forehead. 

Instantly, he was bombarded by memories. None of which belong to him. A series of moving pictures. The sensation of being carried, kissed, and hugged. The feeling of sadness turning to unbridled happiness.

Cold….worry….scared….alone….mommy….daddy…where are you?

A woman with hair like gold and kind green eyes hovering over him. She took Gregory into her arms, protecting him from the cold. 

Warmth….he hadn’t experienced warmth in a long time. She reminded him-in his sickly state-of his mommy.

Worry….why was she leaving Gregory? Did he do something wrong? He was sick and achy and just wanted to go home. 

Gregory saw her again - the woman. He’s happy. He’s safe. His mouth moved before he could stop it. Gregory called the kind woman, ‘Momma ‘Nessa.’ It feels right. 

Confusion…worry…. why was this strange man taking him away? But Gregory couldn’t find it in himself to worry. He felt oddly at ease.

The man let him pick out toys. His daddy and mommy used to do that too, but Miss Cheyenne was a meanie and didn’t let him play with toys. She made him very sad and scared and-

He couldn’t bring himself to pick something out. He stuck close to the man, needing protection. 

Happy…comfortable…safe…..the man bathed him and dressed him in nice clothes.

Mama ‘Nessa showed up…eventually. He was starting to worry she wouldn’t show up again. Mommy also didn’t show up one day, and Miss Cheyenne-

He squeezed her tight. Mama ‘Nessa was here! That’s all that mattered. He was too tired to think about anything else. 

More memories whirled around Evan, surrounding him on all sides. The feeling of love is evident, almost tangible in how present it is. 

Finally, he’s released from the onslaught of memories. Tears ran down his face. “I…I don’t understand.”

Maria wiped away his tears with her thumbs, smiling softly. “And that’s okay. It’s a lot to take in. It would be remiss of me to expect that of you.”

Evan shook her off, taking a step back. “What do you want?” He croaked, using his arm to wipe the remaining wetness away. 

Maria tentatively put her arm down. “Evan,” she started, “sometimes the best thing you can do for someone you love is let them go.”

“Okay….I love you Maria. I hope to see you again….someday.”

Maria shook her head, frowning. Her eyes softened, looking at him with something akin to pity. “No. Not me.”

“But there’s no one-” Evan’s eyes widen as the meaning of her words set in. “No, no, I can’t. I just got him back. No! I won’t. He’s all I have left!”

Maria remained silent. 

He took a couple steps back, furiously shaking his head. “He needs me,” Evan sobbed. 

“You have to think about what’s best for Gregory. I know it hurts, and that’s okay.” Maria slowly got closer, bringing him into a hug. “You can always be a part of his life. At least promise me you’ll think about it?”

Evan breathed in the smell of her perfume, relaxing in her hold. “Promise,” he said, though his mind was already made up. 

-x-x-x-

After the door slammed shut, what followed was an uneasy silence. Even Luis was silent, hand hovering over Vanessa’s back. “...It’ll be okay, ‘Ness,” he finally murmured, though his voice sounded a little strained. 

She nodded, weakly, before standing. “I…I need a minute. Just…uh…s-” That was all Vanessa could get out before her sobs overtook her. She inwardly cringed. Crying in front of people was never something she was okay with. 

Other people, sure. 

Her? Never. 

Vanessa awkwardly excused herself, dismissing all of Luis’ concerns with a frantic wave of her hand. She hurried to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. 

Turning on the lights, Vanessa was met with a familiar sight. Her eyes, red-rimmed and face ruddy. Her face and neck felt all sticky, which only made her feel worse. Vanessa’s hands trembled as she turned on the tap.

Carefully, she splashed the cool water over her face. For a second, she stood there, watching water drip down her face into the sink basin. Sighing, Vanessa grabbed a towel to wipe her face. She placed it off to the side, glancing up at the mirror. Only to see….

Hiya, Blondie~” Vanny sing-songed. “Long time, no see.”

Vanessa gasped, stuck between wanting to run for her life and standing frozen to the spot. She thought of calling to Luis, but she didn’t want to bother him anymore than she already had. “You…you…” she stuttered.

“Me!” Vanny cheered, giggling. “Wow, you look like shit.”

Vanessa continued to stare in disbelief at her. All her thoughts were jumbled together, unrecognizable. 

“Well, at least your outside finally matches your inside. Get it? Because you’re a monster.” Vanny taunted.

“I don’t look that bad,” Vanessa shot back weakly. 

Vanny shrugged. “Either way, I’m sure Gregory-”

“Shut up! Don’t talk about him!” Vanessa snapped, reaching a hand towards the mirror.

“Or what? You’ll kill me too?” Vanny asked.

“I can’t kill you. You’re me.”

Vanny hummed. “Now you’re catching on.”

Vanessa shook her head. “No…that’s- I’m not like that. He made me do that. I’m not.” She groaned, holding the sides of her head. “Leave me alone!”

“I wonder how long will it take before Luis realizes you’re a monster?” Vanny questioned

Finding the strength to leave the bathroom, Vanessa closed the door without looking back. Right or wrong, all she wanted to do right then was curl up in her bed and sleep. She barely made it back to the couch before passing out.

-x-x-x-

Vanessa was washing dishes. She didn’t remember starting them, and the pile next to the sink only ever appeared to get bigger. An endless cycle. But the thought of walking away didn’t cross her mind. She just continued to happily wash-

“Mama Nessa?”

That voice. 

She knew that voice.

Slowly, Vanessa put down the plate she had been holding. She turned. “Gregory?” 

Next to her stood Gregory, bouncing on his heels and nodding in response to her question.

Vanessa opened her arms, bending down to his height. “I missed you so much.”

He practically lunged himself at her, squealing in delight. “Missed you too.”

It happened in slow-motion. 

One minute he was beaming at her, and she was smiling right back…

The next…

He was lying limp and unresponsive in her arms. 

“What…? Gregory? Gregory?” Vanessa asked as she shook him slightly. “This isn’t funny. Wake up.” She laughed, but none of this felt remotely funny to her. “Come. On. Wake up!” 

He remained unresponsive, skin slowly growing colder and body growing rigid. 

Vanessa clutched him tighter to her chest, sobbing. “No! Please…please….don’t do this to me. Wake up! Wake up! I’m sorry! Come back to me! Please!” She said desperately. 

“‘Ness,” Luis started, appearing from somewhere behind her. “It’s going to be alright.”

She felt his hand touch her shoulder, but before Vanessa could warn him, he too, was lying dead at her feet. 

Vanessa looked up, tears blurring her vision. She gasped, further tightening her hold on Gregory. In front of her were all of her victims. The ones she had slain while under Glitchtrap’s control. She knew there were a lot of them, but seeing them all in front of her made it all the more real. 

They stared back at her with dead eyes and pained expressions. 

Vanny stepped forward, pushing them out of the way. 

“You,” Vanessa trembled. “Stay-stay away!”

Cackling, Vanny gestured towards all the victims. “Now, that’s rich coming from someone like you. I mean, you were the one that killed all these people.” Vanny stated. 

“No. That was you. I’m not like that.” Vanessa weakly said

“Remind me again who I am under this mask?”

“Fuck you!” Vanessa said through gritted teeth. Her voice sounded strained even to herself. “Leave me alone!”

Vanny ignored her. “You ruined so many lives. It’s almost impressive. Hm…maybe you really are a monster.” 

Vanessa felt weak. She felt powerless. It was no use anyway. Fighting Vanny only ever seemed to make things worse. 

Vanny crept closer. She sighed. “Face it, Vanessa, the only thing you’re good at is hurting people.” She bent down, bunny ears flopping over. “The sooner you realize that, the better.” 

Her surroundings blurred together, and Vanny’s voice started to become fainter. 

-x-x-x-

Luis stroked Vanessa’s hair, soothing back her bangs. It had been a long day, and while he was happy Gregory was now back in the custody of his only living parent, he couldn’t deny that he missed the kid. 

The lack of his presence was evident. The only evidence of him being there was his birthday presents still on the coffee table. His heart ached. 

Logically, Luis knew that this could happen. Vanessa and him wanted this to happen. So, why did it hurt so much? He’d lost people before. He had enough dead people in his family that Luis was expecting a family reunion when he finally keeled over. 

It then hit him that, in spite of being called, ‘Papa Luis’ through the weeks they spent together, Luis genuinely thought of Gregory as his son. 

His heart broke again for his abuela.

Suddenly, her grief didn’t seem so unreasonable. 

If this was what missing someone felt like, Luis never, ever wanted to experience the pain his family felt during Gabriel’s disappearance. 

“AAH!” Vanessa suddenly screamed, jolting upright. 

Luis narrowly avoided his chin knocking against the top of her head. He scooted over on the couch, giving her space. Judging by her reaction and names Evan called her, he would hazard a guess that she had another nightmare.

“Bad dream?” He asked, once Vanessa was no longer hyperventilating. 

“Yeah.”

“Vanny?”

“Mhm,” she muttered, staring at the ground. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Luis asked.

“She’s bothering me again. I just want her to…”

Luis leaned in closer, wrapping his arms around her. For a second she tensed up before relaxing in his hold. “Leave you alone?” He said, finished her sentence.

“Uh, huh, yeah, basically. I don’t understand why I can’t get over that.” 

“Ness, it was a very traumatic period of your life. It will take time,” Luis said. 

And Vanessa knew that. She’d known that since the day he set her free. It’d been a lingering thought in the back of her head. The dreaded phrase, ‘It will take time.’ It’d been months since that day, and she hadn’t felt any better. Vanny hadn’t slowed down on stalking her. 

“How much time?” She asked.

“I don’t know, but just know, no matter how long it takes…I’ll remain right by your side.”

Maybe it was the words Luis said, or the earnest way he said them, but Vanessa felt herself tearing up. Her bottom lip quivered, as she looked up at Luis. 

“Promise?” She asked quietly.

Luis smiled at her, tears running down his face as well. “Promise…forever and always.”

-x-x-x-

They fell asleep in each other’s arms, safe and happy. Reruns of an old 1980s sitcom played on the TV, filling the otherwise dark room with a bright light. 

Vanessa didn’t have a single nightmare that night. Instead, she dreamt of the future.

And then, someone started knocking at the front door. 

Chapter Text

Knock!

Vanessa jolted, looking around frantically. Beside her, arms still wrapped around her midsection, Luis stirred. The TV they left playing was brighter than she remembered.

Sighing, she rubbed at her eyes.

"Bad dream?" Luis muttered, half-asleep. 

"No, I heard a-"

Knock!

Knock!

In an instant, Luis was just as awake as she was. He reached for her. "I think it's coming from the door."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."

Luis snickered before leaning in and giving Vanessa a quick peck on the lips. "Cute as always."

Knock!

"Are you expecting anyone?"

"Me?" Vanessa asked, shock evident on her face. 

Luis shrugged, getting to his feet. 

She tried to think of anyone possibly needing anything from her at this time of night (morning? 

Vanessa wasn't 100% percent sure. It was still fairly dark outside, but it was still early spring. And it wasn’t uncommon for her to wake up for her six a.m. morning shifts while the sky was still dark). Nothing came to mind. Her neighbors kept to themselves, and the only person she associated with outside of work was Luis. Well, Luis and-

"Vanessa," Luis whispered excitedly, "Come here." His body was pressed up against the door, eye looking through the peephole. 

"Lu…?" She asked, a little weary. 

He threw open the door, prompting Vanessa to lunge towards him (just in case she was actually dreaming right now, and Vanny was lurking outside. After her earlier nightmare, she didn't feel like leaving things to chance). 

But when the door opened, it wasn’t Vanny or Glitchtrap or any other manner of the terrible beast; she was staring at Evan's wary and tear-stained face. Gregory lay sleeping in his arms. A baby blanket was tucked around him, and his tiny fists were holding tightly to his dad's shirt. 

"Evan?" Vanessa asked, eyeing him up and down. "Is everything alright?"

His bottom lip quivered. He looked at the ground. "I'm sorry for what I said to you," he murmured, voice shaking. "My ex-wife showed me it wasn't your fault."

Vanessa nodded a long, choosing to move past the fact that unless Evan got married and divorced after Maria-he's likely talking about his ( very ) dead ex-wife. Not that she cared either way. What matters most is…..

"Are you and Gregory okay? Did something happen?" She ushered them inside. Turning to Luis, she murmured, "Can you please get some glasses of water?"

Luis hummed, turning to the kitchen. 

Vanessa helped Evan settle in the living room. He clung to Gregory tightly, stroking his hair. 

"I…I want Gregory to be raised by someone who will truly care for him," Evan said once Luis returned to the living room, two glasses of water in hand. He handed one off to Evan, who politely declined. 

Vanessa nodded along, listening intently. Her heart broke for the man in front of her. 

"And I think….I think that place is…." Evan trailed off, blinking back tears. "I think that place is here with you two."

"What?" She asked, brain short-circuiting. His words washed over her, but Vanessa processed none of them. 

"I've seen how much you both care for him. You love him like he's your own son. That's more than I could ever ask from a stranger. I think it would be in Gregory's best interest if I sign over my rights to you, Vanessa." 

"Oh," she murmured, tears springing to her eyes. "Wow, I- are you sure?"

Evan bowed his head, shoulders wracking with silent sobs. He nodded. "He deserves better than what I can provide. I just wish I could be a part of his-"

Vanessa tsked him, waving her hands frantically in the air. "Stop it; of course, you'll be a part of his life. Neither of us," she said, gesturing towards Luis and her, "would have it any other way. In fact, I encourage it. Gregory's lost enough without losing you, too."

Evan looked up at her, tears still falling from his eyes, but there was an undeniable spark of hope in them that wasn't there before. "Really?"

Vanessa smiled, looking into the red-rimmed eyes of the man who had once called her a monster, "really."

-x-x-x-

In the blink of an eye, spring flew by. New life flourished, and the weather steadily got hotter.

Vanessa headed straight for the cluster of graves underneath a large oak tree. Most of Vanny's victims had never been found, so the town bought a small plot of land in the cemetery to put some gravestones in memory of the younger victims. 

She hadn't wanted to come at first. The thought of staring at the gravestones almost felt like she was admitting to herself it was real. That all the bloodshed and lives lost wasn't just a bad dream. But with all the new changes in her life, Vanessa felt like she needed to visit them (Vanny's victims) if only to close the book on that terrible period in her life. 

"I'm sorry," Vanessa started quietly, unsure how to proceed, "I don't know if any of you can hear me, but I truly am sorry." The flowers she brought hang tightly in her grasp. A large bouquet of white tulips, forget-me-nots, lily of the valleys, and daffodils. 

She bent down, placing one of each flower on every grave (and a few extra piles next to the tree for the victims not represented there). It was hard seeing the years engraved on the tombstones. They were all so young, but she swallowed down her tears, tending to the graves. 

"I know I'll never be able to make it up to any of you, but…" Vanessa stuttered momentarily before taking a deep breath and continuing, "I-I hope you're all resting peacefully. It's the least you deserve after I…" Vanessa paused, feeling something cool touch her shoulder. She had opted for a summer dress with thin sleeves, so she felt the full force of whatever decided to lay their icy cold hands on her. 

"Vanessa," a woman said. Her voice was so familiar it hurt, but it felt just out of Vanessa's reach. "I've been hoping you would visit."

She looked up. A gasp escaped from her mouth. "Dr. Torrez?" 

"Please, you can call me Maria," she chuckled, sitting beside Vanessa. 

They sat in silence for the longest time, side by side. Vanessa idly fidgeted with the yellow fabric of her dress. 

"You know, Vanessa, none of us blame you."

"I killed you. All of you," Vanessa muttered. It was not something she liked to admit, but if there was anyone she wouldn't try to skirt blame to, it was her victims. They deserved better than that. 

"Vanessa," Maria scolded, "You might have been the vessel which he used. Your body might have been the one he used to commit so many atrocities. You, while under his control, might have even enjoyed it. But Vanessa, dear," her voice grew softer. She held Vanessa's face in her hands, a gentle, almost motherly look in her amber eyes (eyes that had haunted Vanessa's every waking moment). "You are not Vanny. You were a victim, and it's okay to admit that. You were no more at fault than the rest of us. The children know it wasn't your fault."

The children. 

It felt real coming from Maria's mouth, final. 

Vanessa stared at her lap, fidgeting with the fabric of her dress. Anything to keep her mind off… them. Distantly, she wondered if they were here as well. Hiding somewhere out of sight.

Maria nudged her arm. “You know,” she started in a leading voice, “I’ve been doing my best to watch over Gregory.”

“You have?” Vanessa asked, sniffling. She glanced over at Maria.

“I have,” she confirmed. “Not that it made much of a difference. There wasn’t a lot I could do for my little boy. Being promoted to ‘dead’ kind of messed things up.”

Vanessa cringed away. “Sorry,” she murmured. (And she was, wholeheartedly). 

Maria laughed. “Don’t be. That’s in the past. I just…” she trails off, voice strained. A few strands of hair fell in front of her face. Gracefully, she tucked the strands behind her ear. “At first, I didn’t even know it was you. I needed someone, anyone, to find Gregory. So many people went past that alley, but not a single one of them spared a passing glance. If you hadn't ...” Maria paused, trying to collect herself.  “I suppose I wanted to say, thank you. ”

Vanessa floundered for a moment. “Thank- thank you? You’re thanking me?”

“Yes, thank you,” Maria reiterated. “In spite of the circumstances, you took the best possible care of Gregory. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better.” A gentle smile graced her features. “And…and it would please my heart if you continued caring for him.”

She remained silent, trying to process Maria’s words. 

“It’s okay if you’re not ready. I wouldn’t want to-”

“I can think of nothing I would like more than continuing to be Mama ‘Nessa.” 

Maria hugged her. It chilled Vanessa to her bones, but she pushed past the initial discomfort and hugged back. For once, there weren’t any barriers between them. Not a therapist and a patient, nor a victim and a murder. Just a mother passing her torch to another.

When they pulled away for each other, it was with a new understanding. A shared goal. A vision of seeing Gregory grow up safe and happy.

“I’m so proud of you,” Maria whispered, gently (motherly) holding Vanessa’s face in her hands.

“Mama ‘Nessa!” Gregory called.

With a start, Vanessa’s full attention snapped to where the voice came from. A little way down the hill, hand-in-hand with Luis, Gregory waited patiently for her. Or as patiently as a four-year-old can be. 

“I’ll be right there!” She called back. Vanessa turned to Maria. “Sorry, but I- where did she go?” Chalking it up to the supernatural, she decided to call it a day. Her family’s waiting for her anyway. 

She met them at the crook of the hill. Luis smiled at her, and Gregory was quick to attach himself to her legs. They tell her in excited voices about a bumble bee that they saw on Luis’ uncle’s grave, and how it was the fattest bumble bee ever. She laughed, lifting Gregory into her arms.

When they finally made it back to the car, Vanessa buckled Gregory in. He smiled sleepily at her, a nd as Vanessa looked into Gregory's amber eyes, she recalled all that had happened over the past month and the conversation she'd had with Maria. The sins on her shoulders felt lighter for the first time in months. Despite all the heartaches and headaches, she had endured, it was worth it in the end.

“I love you,” she murmured, kissing his head. 

“Love you, too, Mama ‘Nessa.”